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#I meant to take a picture of the first early pages and compare it with the new comics but oh man taking photos was never my strong suit.
poorly-drawn-mdzs · 9 months
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i'm desperate to know how many notebooks you have filled with these drawings. i must know, please, i'm on my hands and knees
Most of my comics are drawn on standard letter paper (8.5"x11"), and to date I have filled 23 pages! I usually manage to fit roughly 6-8 comics per page.
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Mspaint recreation of the first page!
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Meditations on Ovid’s Metamorphoses as a Secular Sacred Text
I’ve never really felt like I had a book that was mine. I was an avid reader from an early age, but I’m not someone who rereads anything if I can help it. Even my favorite books have tended to be one night stands - I’ve never really gotten into a long term relationship with a book where I keep coming back to it again and again.
As a secular humanist, some of that is to be expected. I’ve seen people post pictures of their well-read Bibles, full of highlighting and underlining with choice pages earmarked and post it notes all over. That’s not something I’ve ever had. Sure, I was raised Christian, but even as I tried to understand the faith tradition I was raised in, I was never nourished by my delves into the Bible, even if I found a lot to interest me.
So when I found out about Casper ter Kuile and Vanessa Zoltan's secular sacred reading practices, I was intrigued. Maybe this was the missing piece I needed to let books speak to me in a way they never had before?
For the past few weeks, my partner and I have been reading short passages from Ovid’s Metamorphoses using the Four Ways reading method outlined here, which is based on the practice of Lectio Divina.
I’ve gotten a lot out of this practice. My partner remarked early on that it was a lot like Tarot reading, but he felt a lot more connected to it, and I can see what he meant.
A text really breathes when you read it again and again. You notice things you’ve missed, you make connections you never would have otherwise, and doing it in community really helps bring another perspective into things.
Even simple things like reading Ovid’s account of the war of the giants against the Olympian gods took on a new meaning and resonance when my partner suggested that the image of people being born out of the blood of the giants shed onto the Earth might be connected to the messiness of actual human childbirth.
And comparing and contrasting yourself to figures in these myths results in some very interesting introspection. The story of Pan and Syrinx, might seem like a wholly fantastical story where a nymph is transformed into the first set of Pan pipes, but then we found ourselves drawn to phrases like, “she called on the nymphs of the stream to transform her”, which subsequently turned into a lengthy discussion about how everyone needs help and support networks, and we found ourselves being called by the text to reach out to and be more appreciative of our amazing friends and family.
Not every conversation manages to dive all the way to the depths of the human soul, but a few of our discussions have touched on very intense or important topics to the two of us, and I feel so grateful to share this time with my partner.
I encourage everyone to look into secular sacred reading practices like Four Ways Reading / Lectio Divina. It might add new life to your favorite books, and while I think it is especially well suited to mythological texts like the Metamoprhoses, it was originally suggested by Vanessa and Casper as a way to take the books you already read and re-read and add another dimension of enjoyment to the experience. I think almost anyone could benefit from this injection of the sacred into their lives.
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Title: Zombieland
Author: Zombie Mancara
Rating: 4/5 stars
(This is an effortpost; expect a little longwindedness, meandering, etc., with no pictures or anything. Don't read on if you don't have time to read a book that takes you into the mind of a madman, or if you're scared of madmen. But if you want to go into this with some prior knowledge of Stephen King and/or Peter Watts, feel free to do so, and you'll get the jokes I'm referencing.)
A lot of what is good about Zombieland is the quality of the "bad" part -- the stuff that's clearly a product of the author's schizophrenia. (Which isn't that surprising, since the book was written by someone who got this condition at an early stage in his life.) That said, you can't really divorce the "good" stuff from its origins either. If I'm brutally honest, Zombieland makes for a pretty boring "bad" book overall -- a standard King/Watts plot with no truly novel elements. But, as a whole, it's worth reading just for the sake of that quality.
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Zombieland starts with a prologue, written by Zombie Mancara himself, from the perspective of a book of fiction -- a book that just happens to contain a prophecy about his own future madness. He's pretty keen on this "book of fiction," by the way, and at one point refers to himself in third person with the singular "he":
[The guy in front of him] had a face and figure that weren't exactly normal.
So we get this intro, and then the book begins. (From here on, all dialogue and narration are from Zombie Mancara's own words, presented in the third person.)
The book proper is structured as a series of "chapters," each of which consists of a pair of "parts," which are numbered (A1, A2, etc.). (There are some places where a chapter is missing or ends abruptly, due to the text being a book of fiction.) Each part is a kind of semi-interactive (one-way) story, written by Zombie Mancara. Each part is presented as part of a sort of fantasy/horror scenario -- one that is often clearly meant to be seen through the lens of the writer's personal biases and experiences -- and consists of dialog and descriptions of actions by one or more "characters" (often, but not always, named people). Each part also has a chapter heading, which -- I swear this is true -- you cannot take seriously.
The first part of Zombieland features characters named "Zombie," "Zombie Girl," "Zombie Boy," and "Zombie Dog," all of whom are very attractive young people (although Zombie Boy is particularly "attractive" compared to his fellow zombies). "Zombieland" is a large, sprawling, vaguely utopian compound somewhere in the American Midwest that's populated by an unspecified number of people, one of whom (an unnamed narrator) is a resident of the compound, whose life story we learn in Part One -- his life story consists almost entirely of a string of strange but apparently non-fatal bad luck events. The protagonist's life events are not depicted in any special way; they are merely the ones that happened in his case.
In Part One (which covers the first ~40 pages of the book), there are three main characters besides the narrator: a mysterious man named "Mr. Zombie," a woman named "Mister Zombie Girl" (her first name is not given), and the narrator. Mr. Zombie and Mister Zombie Girl are both very attractive.
The narrator tells us in Part One (from his point of view), but only very briefly in Part One (from Zombie Mancara's point of view), that they are in a strange, possibly hostile world full of zombies. All their fellow residents (in Part One) seem to see things this way too. They are also apparently surrounded by very attractive young people, who do not appear to suffer from the plague at all, so they may be normal. In fact, in Part One we are told that Mr. Zombie and Mr. Zombie Girl are very nice to each other. (Mr. Zombie calls Mr. Zombie Girl "Sweet Pea.") In the prologue, where we learn that this is a book of fiction, we are also told that there is a "plot" in this world:
[…] all of us, together, will someday be able to build a giant robot.
The robots, or "Robots," (there are other, similar-sounding words used for them; I guess that's just the word that means "robot" in this setting) will be capable of doing some really amazing, spectacular, fantastic things.
Part One ends with one of the characters being killed by zombies. The zombies (and zombies-like creatures) are really fucking scary in Part One, too, and it's easy to forget that most of what's going on is just part of a novel. After this, there's a big scene that we don't get to read, presumably because the author is in a very bad place right now.
Then, in Part Two (starting at Page 40), we get what I can only describe as a "sequel" to Part One. This Part Two, written by Zombie Mancara as if it were a second novel, contains many more details about the setting, as well as a long section, in which Zombies are mentioned at length, in which it appears that Mr. Zombie has become very interested in Mr. Zombie Girl, perhaps in a romantic way. Also, this section contains some of my favorite Zombie Mancara dialog:
[Mr. Zombie] was very interested in zombies.
It's also in Part Two (at Page 71) that the narrator first gets a name, which is, in fact, "Stephen King." We have seen King mentioned before, and he's certainly not scary -- but in that very same scene, he's also kind of funny -- and this, along with Zombie Mancara's descriptions of him (above), strikes a balance that makes me very interested in what comes next.
It's not until we get to Part Three (starting at Page 113) that the whole "Robot" thing becomes clear -- the whole plot of the book can be understood, and indeed only makes sense, if you understand that these are robot characters and they are building robots, and zombies are the bad guys who are threatening them (and everyone else) because of the robots. Part Three is the only time when Zombies ever appear again. (There are other times when Mr. Zombie Girl is mentioned, in a way that makes it look like maybe he might know her.)
The most significant thing happening in Part Three is that the narrator gets killed by zombies. Which is of course the sort of thing one would expect to happen at some point in a narrative written by someone who's schizophrenic. (The narrator describes another character's death in a similar way.) The zombies are really really scary by the end of Part Three, but we don't see much of them in action -- just one brief chapter, and then a lot of dialog from some zombies, whose appearances and dialog (for the most part) are so brief and sketchy we can only infer their purpose from context.
Finally, in Part Four, we reach the climax. (It feels oddly in proportion to the book -- somehow, it feels like the whole book was about building robots, but then the climax was the narrator's death by zombies that was itself not particularly exciting.) The zombies are scary -- again, at least one character gets killed by zombies at the end -- but we don't see much of them. The narrator's death by zombies, which occurs toward the end of the novel, also feels anticlimactic, and for all of its intensity at times (especially in Part Three) seems to be an outlier.
Part Five consists of the narrator's "repercussion" upon his death, which seems to have been written after the fact.
Part Six is in the narrator's reaper form, which we see only briefly. It is here that Mr. Zombie Girl becomes more overtly sexual.
I think I'm going to stop here. I will say, though, that even when the zombies are around, there is enough in the book that's outside of the Zombies-world to make them seem unreal -- the setting, for instance, is not even clearly explained, though I guess you can make a very loose approximation of it yourself. (I'm thinking that in Part One, the narrator said that they were in a "zone," which seems to refer to the "Zone of the Robots" -- which is apparently some sort of robot town, with a lot of robots and zombies and people in it, and the narrator said that they weren't really sure what was going on, but it wasn't too dangerous. But it's hard to get any sort of clear idea of the whole plot or setting, because we never see the zombies in action
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folkloreguk · 3 years
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an angel for a demon (3)
A/N: Here's the last part of this small series! You don't necessarily need to read all of them to understand this one, but it does probably make more sense if you do. As always, feedback is deeply appreciated! Have a good day x
genre: smut, optional bias (m) x reader (f), demon!bias, angel!reader, unprotected sex, oral (m receiving), reader gives her first bj
words: ~ 6.7 k
PART1 (M)
PART2 (M)
“I’m going out to pick up some food and stuff, do you want to come along?” you heard him ask. You had your legs up against the wall, your back on the bed, and a magazine in your hands. The women on the pages had you gushing, on the verge of hypnotization. You swore if you looked at those infatuating pictures one minute longer, you’d be swallowed whole by them.
When you had worked your way through some science books and were still hungry for more to read, H/N had brought you some magazines, mostly about fashion but also gossip and lifestyle tips. Turns out letting a clueless angel read about what’s supposed to be good for women was not a smart idea. Up in the clouds, from where you used to watch earth’s women, they had all looked equal to you – beautiful, intelligent, and capable. Now, down in the reality of it all, things appeared much more complicated. Which angel could have known it took diets, workout routines, anti-aging creams and the perfect outfit for your body type to be viewed the same way you had always looked at women from above? And most importantly, how did any woman manage to uphold all these expectations the magazines named? It was all too much and seemingly impossible. Abruptly, you were pulled out of your train of thoughts.
“Y/N? Did you hear me?” he asked, peaking his head through the door. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” you said, putting down the magazine on your chest. “No, I’d like to stay here.”
“Alright,” he said, “Would you like me to bring you anything from the store?”
He walked over to you and sat on the bed. His hands softly brushed over your hair, down your cheek and neck, barely touching your collarbones. He was in his black, intimidating clothes, per usual, but his eyes held nothing but fondness for you.
“Actually, maybe there is something,” you said. “Look.”
You picked up the magazine and pointed at the page.
“Can you buy me a dress like this one? They say it would fit me best. And could you get some makeup for me? I don’t know much about it, but maybe you-“ you said. Usually, he was one to listen carefully to every of your words, as if you were the most interesting person he had ever met. This time, he interrupted you.
“Stop. Where is this coming from?” he asked. “I want you to forget all those things you’ve read in those magazines, okay?”
You were confused, thinking you were learning by reading those articles. Gently, he caressed your face. “You know I’ll buy you anything in the world, right? But only if that’s what youwant. Everything they tell you to do, everything they tell you to buy, it’s brainwashing. You will wear whatever dress you find pretty, and if you want to wear makeup, that’s fine. But you will only do those things if you want to do them, okay? There’s nothing you need to change about yourself.”
“But they say you need to start early to get a nice body, and to prevent aging,” you said. “They say men will admire me.”
“We’re immortal, my angel,” he said. “And even if we weren’t, what’s wrong with growing old? Wouldn’t you want the traces of your experiences to be visible on your skin? Those companies, they all just want your money and so they try to scare you into believing you’re not good enough. But truth is, you always are. All those times people tug on their skin in front of a mirror, or whenever they break a sweat trying to lose weight, or when they compare themselves to those who look different from them – they’re already good enough. They’re perfect. This worlds wants you to never be at peace with who you are. But you need to promise me you won’t succumb to those nonsensical tactics to make you hate yourself. And don’t you ever wait for a man to give you approval. That’s your job and your job only.”
You listened, wide-eyed and intrigued. No magazine could ever speak so honestly, and you believed every word he said. After all, you trusted him much more than some random author of an article that was trying to sell you the latest weight loss-magic-powder.
“Okay, I promise.” You sat up and leaned your head against his shoulder. “I’ve never even really thought about it, but I think I’m pretty.”
“Not thinking about it might just be the best way to go about it in this world,” he said, and placed a kiss on your forehead. The feeling of warmth lingered on your skin seconds after he had already pulled away.
“I change my mind, then,” you said, “Do you think you can get me a dress like this?”
You showed him a different picture this time. It showed a lot more skin than the one you had pointed out before. You only realized this when he was already smirking at your choice.
“I’ll see what I can find,” he said. “That’s an interesting option, angel.”
“Hey! I just like the color, alright?” you defended yourself, making him chuckle. Over the course of four weeks, you had come to know his insinuations and his little jokes better. But at the same time, you couldn’t deny the incredible sensation his eyes on you gave you. When he goggled at you because you had decided to wear his shirt for a day, or the way he watched you welcome him with open arms when he came home.
You now understood that certain words or actions, or even just an article of clothing – or lack thereof – could conjure an insatiable hunger in his eyes. At first, it was a little scary, having a demon stare you down as if he wanted to eat you up. But now that you knew what his hands felt like on your skin, and that his lips were made for much gentler actions than to hurt you, you wanted nothing more than to coax the starving demon into playing with you, any chance you got. And perhaps that dress in the catalogue would do just that, and not only bring you joy. It was a win-win, really.
“I’ll be back in the afternoon,” he said. “Don’t miss me too much.”
“You know I always do,” you said.
“I’ll give you all the missed attention when I get home, alright?” he said, bending down to your ear. “You can have whatever you want, then.”
To be honest, half of the time you didn’t know what you wanted him to do. But with every time his hands explored your body you learned more. There were so many things humans did to make each other feel good, you doubted you’d ever be able to try everything. His promise made you wish he was already back home when he had barely stepped out of the door. One last grin and nod and he left you alone.
What did angels do on a Saturday noon? Usually, you’d be patrolling your village, entertaining yourself by watching children play tag, admiring lovers walking hand in hand or discovering a family that had just adopted a small animal. Their human eyes shined when they felt happiness, and it was infectious to you. You wanted to send your blessing to all of them, make sure they never felt anything but delight, but you knew that wasn’t how business worked down there. Some things were even out of your control. Now, on earth, you were ready to take whichever hardships were to come if it meant you could have been with your demon lover.
You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. You had only gotten up an hour ago. Last night, you had been kept awake for long. He was untiring when he was between your legs. You had learned that he didn’t need nearly as much sleep as you did, and when he set his mind to making you come by his administrations, he didn’t waver to do so. But losing sleep in exchange for pleasure was okay with you. Time became meaningless, either way, when you had your face buried in a pillow, tears threatening to spill over from how good he made you feel. Sometimes he made you come while sitting in his lap, then you’d cling to him like a baby and muffle your whimpers by pressing your lips against the skin of his shoulder. He loved telling you ‘Look at me’ right when you were falling. It was hard to keep your eyes from rolling to the back of your head or not to collapse in his arms, but for him you would try your best. Often you found your thoughts lingering on the memory of his gaze when you came apart under his touch. It had something of fascination and protectiveness, and you’d never get enough of it.
Great, now you wanted him again. And he wasn’t here. How had you gotten this way? On occasion you wondered if one of the other angels had already spotted you and the sins you were committing. You wouldn’t call them sins now, or ever again. It wasn’t like you wanted to adapt to a demon lifestyle. But you felt at home for the first time, here on earth. It was the perfect grey zone between heaven and hell.
As an attempt to appease your needy mind, you picked up your magazine again. Just because you shouldn’t believe everything they said didn’t mean you shouldn’t have read it at all, right? You flipped through articles on fitness and the newest fashion, but after skimming the pages for only a few seconds, you were done with those tips. He wanted you because of who you were – an angel – and you doubted than any beauty routine could make him more obsessed with you than he already was. But then you read something most curious to your angel eyes. ‘How to make him feel best – tips from a porn star’ the title said. Whatever in the heaven a porn star was, they seemed to be some sort of expert on pleasuring men, and you, always eager to learn something new, were intrigued from the very first word.
But soon you had to admit, you weren’t at all sure what they were referring to with those words and actions. When you and your demon boyfriend had sex, he usually did most of the work, while you took whatever teasing or pleasure he inflicted on you. He had said he liked it this way, but now you weren’t so sure. Or was this ‘10 things to do become a blowjob-pro’ – list just another attempt of society to brainwash women? You weren’t one to initiate talk about sexual stuff, but maybe you’d try to question him on the meaning of what you had read.
You flipped another page and finally you had arrived at a page you could work with. It was a bunch of comfort food recipes. Right away you fell in love with the picture of the freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the top right corner. H/N had promised you to teach you how to cook, but so far you hadn’t made much progress. The difficulty level read beginner, and five minutes later you stood in the kitchen. With some music in the background your enthusiasm only sparked more. Baking was new and came with slight overwhelmingness and the stress of making sure you weren’t forgetting to add any ingredient. But the Christmassy scent of cinnamon and the feeling of making something from scratch made you happy, and with rapt attention you finished your first completed recipe ever.
You wiped some flour off your forehead. Hopefully H/N would like the cinnamon rolls too, because as tasty you found your creation, there was no way you were able to devour them all by yourself. As if on cue, you suddenly heard the key slide into the lock of the front door. Probably prompted by the heavenly scent, he called your name.
“Here,” you answered, mouth full of a bite of cinnamon roll. When he walked in, he already had his famous smirk on his face. It was your favorite. You knew it was reserved only for you.
“What did you make?” he asked. But he had his answer when he saw the baked goods in front of you. He set down the bags and put his arms on your waist from behind. With a hum, you lifted the cinnamon roll to his lips, and he took a bite. He almost moaned at the taste and you grinned.
“Do you like them?” you asked, already knowing the answer but still awaiting more praise. You squealed a little at how quickly he spun you around. His nose touched yours and your heartbeat raced.
“It’s like they came with you straight from heaven,” he said. “Hmm…I missed my angel.”
His lips when he kissed you tasted like sugar and spice and you melted straight into his touch. You only noticed he had run his finger over the gooey leftover icing when it was already too late. He was a demon after all. And if demons were good at one thing, it was causing mischief.
“Hey,” you protested at his hands on your neck. Then your reaction quickly altered as his finger slid lower, down to your collar bones and to where your low-cut shirt started. “Great, now I’m all sticky.”
You didn’t understand at first that messing with you wasn’t his full intention. But he tilted his head to the side and ran his hot tongue over the icing on your skin, and you gasped suddenly. This wasn’t just a joke. He wanted you. He made a humming noise, as if the sweetness combined with your own taste were only complimenting each other. When he pulled down the neckline of your shirt a little, so he could have every last drop of the sugary substance on your skin, you couldn’t help but whimper. You wanted so desperately for him to do it again, that you thought about sticking your own fingers into the bowl of icing and smearing it on your chest. His eyes were playful when he looked up at your reaction.
“Oh no. If you’re all sticky I guess you’ll need a shower, will you?” he said, “What a coincidence. I was thinking of taking one, just now.”
You had never taken a shower with him, or anyone, for that matter. But you had a feeling that the both of you wouldn’t be keeping to yourself, standing naked in front of each other. You didn’t mind. And you guessed your approval was written on your face, because he pulled you in and kissed you hard. Again, you remembered the article you had read. Was now a good time to ask him about it?
While you were contemplating, his tongue slid over your bottom lip and met yours. You had been too shy to ask before, but now you were speechless. Gently, he grabbed your hand and led you out of the kitchen and into the hallway. You were a mess of lips and tongues and hands and feet stumbling over each other. Every few meters you stopped to push yourself close against him. It was like a game of who could go without kissing each other for longer. And you were both lousy at it.
He loved pushing you up against the wall, trapping you between his arms on each side of your head. This way, he could brush up against your shaking body and you had nowhere left to go. Needless to say, you had no intentions of getting away, no matter what. He knocked the breath out of your lungs, and you kissed him back like you could breathe him in instead. As if he had become your new source of oxygen, or whatever it was you really needed to survive. It these moments, air seemed like a subsidiary matter. So long as you had his hot tongue licking down your neck and his busy hands on your ass under your dress, nothing else truly mattered.
Your kisses were open-mouthed and far more confident than they had been only weeks ago. You now knew how much he liked when you grabbed his hair tightly, or when you whispered his name against his devouring lips, as if it was the only word you had ever been taught. Like it was the only word you ever wanted to know. Before you had even made it to the bathroom, half of your clothes were scattered somewhere along the way.
“I can’t believe I just had you yesterday and here I am already missing you this much again,” he mumbled against your earlobe, teeth playing with your soft skin. “You really are otherworldly. There’s no other explanation.”
His words made you feel proud. The pleasure was one thing you had come to love quickly, but then you noticed the power you could have over him, by merely existing. It was almost unbelievable, but there he was, hard and needing you, day by day. Again, your mind wandered off to the magazine article.
“Can I ask you something?” Your voice must had been different from your usual timid tone when you were in the middle of something unholy.
“Anything, angel,” he said. He let his lips linger on your cheek, half an inch from your mouth, and your stomach twisted in how badly you wanted him to sip on your lips like he was starving.
“Do you like always doing everything when we- ,“ you said. He gave you a puzzled expression, so you tried to explain yourself better. “I mean, if you ever want me to do more, you can ask me to. I don’t know everything yet, but I can learn.”
You weren’t even sure if you understood what the heaven you had just stammered. His look reminded you of the one he had when you asked him to buy him the dress and the makeup that morning.
“I love what we have, little angel,” he said, “What’s making you think you need to do anything differently?”
How were you supposed to explain what you had read when you hadn’t even properly grasped it yourself? You opted for taking his hand and walking him to the bedroom. There the magazine still lay, like an ancient cursed book you weren’t sure you wanted to know front to back. You picked it up and quickly handed him the article. Feeling your cheeks heat up, you opted to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
His lips curled into a devilish grin upon eyeing the page, and you thought the ground might swallow you whole. Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything at all and spared yourself the embarrassment. But at the same time, you were eager to know.
“I thought I told you, magazines are just trying to make you doubt yourself,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“I know, but if there’s anything I can do to make you feel as good as you make me feel, I want to do it,” you confessed. He bent down, cupping your face.
“No one’s ever felt as good to me as you have, angel,” he said, “You’re heaven to me. Do you understand that?”
With your mouth squished together slightly, you nodded your head that was in his hands.
“By the devil, you’re so adorable,” he said. “If you really want to know, though, I’ll show you.”
Even more eagerly, you nodded again. He chuckled. You couldn’t handle how handsome he was – all messy hair, bare chest and black eyes that made you dream of the most unholy things possible.
“You remember how I kiss you…down there?” he asked. You hummed, cheeks on fire. “And how I’ve asked you to put your hands on my cock before?”
You did. But it had been brief, only a few pumps and small touches, until he had become too needy. You had been whining so deliciously for him to fuck you and so he had to have you on the spot.
“In the way you touched me then…you could use your mouth on me. Make me come with your perfect lips and sweet hands,” he said. “If that’s what you want, too.”
“I do!” you said with enthusiasm that only an angel at the feasibility of making someone’s day could bring on. “Let’s postpone that shower.”
The pride in his eyes lasted for approximately two seconds before the raw hunger replaced it. He climbed onto the bed and pat his thighs. On command, you settled on his lap. The simple feeling of his bulge under your center, even if interrupted by some fabric, made your head dizzy and your stomach drop. You kneaded your hands, not sure where to touch him first. But just as he always did to you, you had the impulse to start by his head and go lower from there. Although you were on top of him, he looked amused at your shy eyes.
“Can I kiss your neck, like you always kiss mine?” you asked.
“Be my guest,” he said, grinning like he had just won the lottery. Your lips met his skin and you used your tongue the way you had felt him do it. His scent was intoxicating. It made the empty bedsheets you breathed in sometimes, when he left in the middle of the night for his demon antics, seem like nothing. You used your hands to stabilize yourself as you moved lower. The hiss he let out when you felt up on his abs and waistline almost scared you. Then you realized it was a good sign. Only for the blink of an eye you dared to graze your teeth on his skin. His reaction was immediate.
“Shit,” he cussed, “That’s my angel.”
So, he liked that. You couldn’t wait to tease him by biting him in the future. Provoking a demon would have sounded like something close to a death wish to you, had you thought about it months ago. Now, with a demon as tame as they come beneath you, the thought only excited you. As he liked to do, you touched him through his boxers while you continued your journey down his chest and stomach. The guttural moan he released made your head spin and you never wanted him to be quiet. Usually, you weren’t in a mind state to notice his groans, or your own noises were covering his.
“You’re doing so good, little angel,” he said, short of breath. Once again, your effect on him surprised you. Where was the intimidating, big bad demon you had been taunted by?
“I’m gonna fuck you so well for this,” he said, “Even the angels in heaven will hear you scream. Wouldn’t you like that?”
There he was. You pressed your legs together at the simple mention of him inside of you, but if he thought you were going to answer, he’d be waiting endlessly. You still had enough respect for your angels not to think of them in this moment. Nonetheless you hummed weakly. When you got to his hipbone, you hesitated. You drowned out your doubts by kissing him there, while you contemplated what to do next. Your hand was still wrapped around his clothed cock. It was rock hard, and a wet spot had formed on the fabric from how much he needed you. When your touch became softer, and you pulled your hands away slowly, he lifted his hips, not wanting you to stop. You supposed this was the part where you took off his boxers. At least he didn’t complain when you pulled them off his legs, so you assumed you were still on the right track.
Watching his face for signs of approval, your hand wrapped around his length. He almost seemed electrified at your touch. His jaw dropped slightly, and his hooded eyes somehow appeared even darker than usual.
“Just like that,” he said, “And now move your hand up and down.”
So you did. As you regarded your hand around his shaft, all you could think about was how it used to be. How did your hands, that were usually folded neatly in your lap while you looked down on earth, end up doing such ungodly things? And how come you didn’t even for a second feel guilty?
“Angel, you’re so good to me,” he moaned. Angel. That’s what he loved to emphasize. But was that what you were, still? Maybe you would simply stop putting yourself in a box. Perhaps you were just you, doing what you felt was right and would make you happy. And right now, having a demon clench his fists in your hair and saying your name in that tone, you couldn’t think of a lot of incidents that had made you happier. Was this the part where you should use your mouth? You weren’t sure, but your eyes jumped from his cock to his face and it caught his eyes.
“You can take me in your mouth if you want. If you ever feel like stopping, just do so,” he encouraged you, “But remember, no teeth there, okay?”
You grinned and nodded. You parted your lips and your tongue placed kitten licks on the underside of his member. When you reached the top, you took him between your lips, mirroring the motion of your hands around him. You were surprised at how comfortable you were, when ten minutes ago you were ready to personally descend to hell from embarrassment. There was something enticing about the power you possessed in that moment. You understood humans just a little better, once again. Knowing that the way he bucked his hips and his groans were caused by you and only you had you smiling inwardly. It was a way you had never caught yourself smile before. You felt brave, and like you could do anything, with a demon so at your pity.
It didn’t take long for you to figure out where he was most sensitive. Whenever you pressed your tongue against the tip of his cock, he let out a sigh. It was almost like relief, as if he had been waiting for you all his life. And now here you were, granting him all his wishes. You bobbed your head, but kept your attention on his sweet spot, his moans just too delightful not to evoke them on purpose.
“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he said. Often, you looked up at him. His lids fluttered from the pleasure, but he seemed to like it when you made eye contact. For a moment, you lifted your head, needing some air. Gently, he caressed your face, like you were made of precious porcelain.
“Which one of my dreams did you escape from, little angel?” he asked. You smiled sheepishly, lowering your head. Again, you wrapped your lips around his length. You wondered what he was thinking about. Was his mind as free from any worries as yours whenever he fucked you? Was he able to form any coherent thoughts or was his brain going into the same mental blackout you always experienced?
You continued the way you had, sucking the tip of his cock while your hand pumped him. From time to time, you took a breather and pulled away. Little did you know what you were doing to him. With the short intervals of your lips on him and the pauses in between, you unknowingly made everything more intense for him. It was a dangerous game of edging him you were playing, and you were outright unaware of it.
But why would he have complained? In that moment, you were his personal guardian angel, making sure all his needs were fulfilled. When he saw your lips, all red and puffy, he asked himself where you had been hiding all this time. You peeked up at him through your angel eyes and he felt his entire world become whole in front of him. He was completely and absolutely at your mercy, inebriated by your entire being. Never in his long time on earth had he seen someone so ravishingly beautiful, yet so unaware of their might. He swore to himself in that moment, he’d do anything to make you love him forever.
As divinely as you were treating him, he suddenly wanted you in a different way. And if you continued your sweet actions, he wasn’t sure if that would still be possible. He gently cupped your head, making you look up. You hummed in question.
“You’re doing so well,” he said, “Let me give back to you, won’t you? Does my angel want some attention, too?”
You would have been lying if you said you weren’t practically touch-starved at this moment. And having been taught to always be truthful, you nodded before you even knew it.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, “Why don’t you take off the rest of your clothes?”
When you got up to slip out of your dress, your legs were weak. You hadn’t even done anything, and yet your body felt heavy. All you wanted was to go back to him and have him so close, it felt like he could have been a part of you. As much as you had felt on top of the world minutes ago, his hungry eyes made you shrink inwardly. But it wasn’t out of fear. It was almost admiration, or rather anticipation. You knew he knew your body inside out, and you couldn’t wait for him to prove it to you.
“Come here, angel,” he said. You climbed back onto the bed. “Turn around for me, okay?”
You were on your knees, sitting up right, facing the headboard. His breath on your shoulder sent a shiver down your spine. Then his hands snaked around your body from behind you. A small whimper left your lips when he ran them down your chest, fingers drawing small shapes on your breasts. They continued their way down your stomach and to your parted thighs. The cold air was hitting your dripping core, and had you not had enough self-control, you would have moaned at the mere sensation of his fingertips on the inside of your thigh. But maybe that was just what he was waiting for. After all, he was still taking his time with you. But in this instance, you knew what you wanted, and more importantly when you wanted it.
“Please,” you said. You weren’t sure what to say but starting with a ‘please’ was never a mistake.
“Please what?” he asked. You couldn’t see his face, yet you knew his devilish grin that must’ve been plastered on his face. He never missed a chance to make you shy. “Is this what you want?”
He slid two of his fingers down your slit slowly. It would forever be a mystery to you, how such a simple touch could put you in such a mental state of disarray. You whined at how needy you were, fighting the urge to press your legs together. In a second, his fingers were coated in your juices. When he pressed them against your opening, but didn’t push any further, your head spun with frustration. An impulse yelled at you to grab his hand and show him how you wanted him, but you sensed there was a specific aim in his teasing. Above that, you weren’t close to that brave. Purposely lightly, he rubbed circles onto your clit. Your head fell back onto his shoulder and your breaths came out in little, desperate noises.
Before meeting him, you never knew this sort of inability to control your body. Having power over your motions was an obviousness to you. But as with so many things in life, you had been wrong. Or rather, you had not known better. Now, with his lips brushing over the side of your exposed neck, you were willing to let him do whatever he wanted to do to you. If there was a noise or reaction he wanted to coax out of you, he could do so. And if evoking your little melodic whimper was his aim, he was on the right path, fingers teasing your pussy and flicking over your clit. You knew he wouldn’t hurt you. In fact, he had a head so full of ideas of things you could do together, you doubted you’d ever start to get bored here.
“I want you…inside of me,” you said, surprising yourself. This was your desperate body taking control of your motor speech center, that little region in your brain that allowed you to let out what you wanted to say. Your cheeks were hot for only a moment, then you realized if it got you what you wanted so badly, speaking your mind was probably a fantastic idea. You should really do it more in the future, you thought.
“What my angel wants, my angel gets,” he said. Just for a few seconds, he moved his fingers much faster. You yelped at the sudden pleasure, your hand wrapping around his wrist. His other hand reached for your hand, softly taking it away as you became a whimpering puddle in his arms. You were ready to fall, give in to the pleasure and let go. It was what you so desperately wanted. But as quickly as it had begun, he removed his hands. His attention was gone, and you were left yearning for more.
“Lift your hips,” he said, softly touching your sides. A part of you wanted to cry out, hold him responsible for denying you your sweet release. But you knew it would be no use, and he would tell you to wait either way. You were still on your knees, but straightened up, arms hanging by your sides, waiting for his touch. He was right behind you, his upper body against yours. When you felt his cock run over your slick folds, you sighed at the awaited sensation. The stretch when he filled you up felt so perfect, so out of this world, you reached for his hand to hold on to.
“Why didn’t you ask me earlier if you wanted me so bad?” he asked. He squeezed your hand as his other pulled you flush against his back while he pushed himself further into you. He’d thrust against you for a while, only to pull out completely, and repeat the whole process. It was sending you into complete overdrive.
“Because I wanted to make you feel good,” you said. “Only you, for once.”
You moaned when he snapped his hips against your ass, picking up the pace. In an attempt to support your jittery legs, you grabbed the headboard in front of you. Your breathing came out in short huffs, uneven and a little shaky.
“You’re so sweet and selfless…my patient angel,” he said, his fingers coming in contact with your clit again. His touch was an allure to you, and you wished you could have stayed this way forever. No thoughts, just his body and his dark voice to sedate your mind. “I’ll give you anything you want. You know that, right?”
You hummed and nodded. “Yes. And I’ll do the same for you.” Your words were interrupted by your small whimpers. There had been a time you didn’t know what it felt like, when you didn’t even know there was a such thing of having someone inside of you. Now you couldn’t get enough of him. You were already so sensitive that every time he quickened his thrusts and moved his fingers on you slightly faster, he had you hanging right over the edge. And he could tell by the way you held your breath when you were close. He didn’t want you going there just yet.
“As much as I love your mouth around my dick, this is my favorite way of having you,” he said. He used both of his hands to dig into your sides, pulling your hips closer to him every time he dragged his cock through your walls. You agreed. Should any of your angels ever catch wind of this, they would ban you to earth – or worse, send you to hell. So be it, you thought. You’d be like your lover. One of the creatures of the darkness, thought to be the personification of sin. Even if they ripped your angel title from you, they could never steal away what you had now.
Yes, you were meddling with a demon, but also having the time of your life. It was vastly better than spending your days judging humans for being themselves and for humans living the true way they want to live, instead of abstaining from the simple pleasures of life. Their true colors shown, they weren’t harming anybody, but rather making the world a more acceptable and open-minded place. You aspired to be like them.
“This is my kind of heaven,” he said. It’s what he always called you. Heaven. He groaned when you clenched your walls around him, your inevitable high drawing closer.
“This is my new heaven…you are,” you replied. He chuckled darkly, probably relishing in your confession. The thought that he could make an angel reject the very place they should have belonged filled him with a sense of superiority.
“Look how well you’re taking me,” he said. His hand wrapped around your body, pulling you tighter. He slipped his hand between your legs again, and you almost felt like collapsing, had he not held on to you. On instinct, you closed your eyes and let the feeling crash over you.
“Let me see you come, little angel,” he spoke in your ear, just for you to hear. You would do anything for him. You quivered and buckled at the severity of the feeling, but he had you. Your moans were high and dragged out, as his digits pressed harder onto the sensitive nub on your center.
“Take just a little more for me, can you?” he asked. You obliged willingly, nodding your head while it was still full of nothingness. Even as he kept fucking you, it was pure bliss for another while. It made your legs shake a little, but you felt so safe there, in his embrace, the sensitivity was alright to handle. You could tell by how sloppy his thrusts were becoming that he was almost there, too. He was pressing you against his chest as if you were all he ever wanted. His moans sounded like home to you as he came. He said your name and bent forward, reaching for the headboard, but you both tumbled into the bedsheets together instead. You giggled at your shared clumsiness and you could feel his chest move from laughing as he was lying on top of your back.
“Fuck, that was amazing,” he said, “You’re amazing.”
You turned your head and his lips brushed along your temple, kissing you softly. He brushed a strand of hair out of your eyes so you could look at him. Seeing his beautiful face had you falling into an even deeper state of serenity.
“I want to cuddle,” he said, and it was probably the sweetest thing you had ever heard a demon say. As he rolled off you, you followed his movements and settled in his embrace. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on your skin, but neither of you cared enough to get up just yet.
“I love what you’ve done to me,” you said.
“What is it I have I done to you?” he asked, fingers drawing nonsensical patterns on the side of your bare hips.
“You changed me. But not in a bad way. You let me be who I want to be and showed me that that’s okay,” you said, “You made me understand. Some sins aren’t that sinful at all.”
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buck-nialled · 3 years
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3:1 - B. Barnes Imagine
NOTE: this is my first time writing for bucky or sebastian stan in general so feedback is appreciated! please let me know if you like this and if you'd like to see more. THIS DOES CONTAIN SMUTTY UNDERTONES TOWARDS THE END, MINORS DNI
TAGLIST: I just added sebastian stan/characters to my taglist form so if you already filled it out before just message me and I'll add you to this one.
three times bucky was clueless with technology and the one time he used it right
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Despite spending most of his less-than-average life inside of a giant freezer and aging up to triple digits—if we’re speaking technically, your boyfriend still gained many physical benefits compared to most men his age. For one thing, he is still alive and breathing—a huge accomplishment, if anything, maybe even a record. The physical appearance and athletic ability he still maintained were not a downside either. As far as anybody is concerned, James Buchanan Barnes appears like any other millennial/super-soldier/metal arm-bearing person.
With exception to the fact that the man himself can’t even call you on your phone without needing assistance. That sentence is way less sad when taking into account that he was not alive for the upbringing of touch screens and AI’s, which happened to be waiting everywhere around the complex to aid him and his various, enigmatic asks, such as:
“My phone died. How do I revive it?”
“What did I win a free iPad for?”
“Friday, what does the word ‘bih’ mean?”
Once speaking the last one, he is left unanswered, and Friday is alerting you in the living area moments later.
“Y/N, Mr. Barnes is needing your assistance with a text you sent. He would like a definition of the word ‘bih’ but I cannot find it in my dictionary.” The AI asking for your help in babysitting Bucky on his phone earns a snort from you.
“Thanks, Friday. I’ll go help him.” You heave yourself up from the couch cushion and march towards his bedroom--technically, it is both of yours now. After reaching the entrance, a smile crawls onto your lips at the sight before you. The hefty Miriam-Webster English dictionary splayed open on your lover’s lap as he flips through pages, reciting miscellaneous words his eyes land on in search of the one from your message.
“Big, bin, bio…” Seconds later, he is slamming the book shut and tossing it aside. A loud thud resounds across the room as you watch it land on the hardwood floor. When you glance back up to announce your presence to Bucky, you see his gaze already transfixed on you. A quiet huff comes from him, and his eyes avert from your figure in the doorway, his cheeks becoming tinged with an opaque red. It was no puzzle that the sergeant despised calling for help, even on the minuscule tasks, like how to turn the flash of his camera off or define a slang term unbeknownst to him until your message was delivered to his phone.
“A little birdy told me you needed help.” You cross your arms over your chest, leaning against the doorframe with a satisfied smirk. You were one of the few and trusted Bucky had learned to open up to in the time that you have come to know him. No matter the issue, or how long it took for you to wear down the stubbornness on his tongue, the plea would sound eventually.
“I just don’t know what this word means.” He grunts. “Is it a typo?”
A line of giggles fall from you at his hopelessly confused expression--eyebrows furrowed, pupils appearing lost in thought at this simple “code word” he couldn’t crack. It made you want to swaddle him in the softest blanket and cuddle him until eternity.
“That’s because it’s not a real word,” you begin through laughs. The scrunch on his face only deepens in its perplexity. “‘Bih’ is short for...it’s short for bitch.” You shrug. His mouth parts in revelation.
“So you...you think I’m a…” he turns his eyes down to the pixelated string of messages…”thick female dog?” You snicker.
“‘Thick bih’ is a compliment, Buck. It just means I like your body a lot.”
“Oh...thank you?” He casts his eyes up at you once more, quirking a brow.
“You’re welcome.”
“Anyways...now that you’re here. I emailed you a photo.” He shoots a wink in your direction. Almost as though you two had traded faces, the confused look transferred over to your wrinkled forehead and tilted head.
“Oh...okay. I’ll check it later.”
You thought nothing of it, and let his statement slip your mind. It was not until later that you decided to scan through your emails with Wanda, who mentioned something mission-related in your inbox that she demanded the two of you look at and study. As you skimmed through to find it, you deleted several junk emails and starred some important ones. When you landed on the electronic mail your boyfriend mentioned earlier and clicked on it, your breath left you at the large photo of his considerably-sized girth.
“Woah! Woah!” Wanda squeals, reaching her hand up to shield her eyes now tainted with the sight of your man’s junk. The early afternoon comes back into your mind, with you against the doorframe, Bucky throwing the dictionary and demanding a translation of your text, and the wink he threw at you.
Of course, the wink. It should have been obvious what the intentions behind his email were at that point, but then again it really shouldn’t have. Because who sends nude photos over email?
“Oh my god,” you breathe out, now wearing red cheeks. You turn to face Wanda who is already out of her seat and facing away from the computer screen, calling back to you in a desperate scurry to her room, “We’ll just talk later!”
“Bucky,” you enter the bedroom with a growl minutes later, a rather great contrast to what you were feeling earlier in the day.
“Hey, doll. Did you ever open my email?” He was seated on the edge of the bed, eyeing something on his phone. He quickly pockets it, allowing you his undivided attention.
“Yeah, and Wanda had something to say about it too.” The comment came out through gritted teeth, but he deciphered every word. His blue eyes enlarged, petrified.
“She was with you? Wh-why’d you let her see it?” He almost squeals in his fit of mortification. Serves him right, you think to yourself. He won’t have to face Wanda and apologize to her later.
“I didn’t know when you said “picture” earlier you meant a nude! Who sends a dick pic over email, Bucky?” Silence follows your outcry until his deep voice pipes up moments later.
“Is that not normal?” He is fiddling with his fingers, clenching his teeth in anticipation of your answer. Which is an expected:
“No.” The man in front of you turns feeble, wearing a humiliated face that turns your insides to mush. The twenty-plus minutes of lashing you were practicing in your head on your walk to the room disappeared as he turns his face down.
“I’m sorry, doll. You know...you know I’m not good with this stuff.” A sigh exits your lips as Bucky is approached by your consoling figure. You take a seat beside him on the bed and a comforting hand takes place on his metal shoulder, with you leaning your head down on the flesh one, closest to you.
“I know, Buck. Just warn a girl next time...with more than a wink.”
“In 1943 that was considered a warning.” The two of you chuckle.
“You know what, better yet...” your hands are flying to his pocket before he can stop them. He barely utters the question before you’re fingertips are tapping across the screen.
“Hey, what’re you--”
“You should really put a lock on this thing.” You chuckle. “A thumbprint, passcode...something.”
“You can do that?” His ludicrous question has you fighting a roll of your eyes. Shaking your head, you wait a few moments for the application to install on the device, and smile triumphantly when the neon yellow square pops up on his home screen. The white ghost in the middle of the icon stares back at him when you place the phone back in his hands.
“There you go.”
“What is this?” He clicks the app to find out for himself, only to be met with the options of logging in or creating an account.
“An app that’s appropriate for sending nudes.” Shivers trail down his spine from your whisper against the shell of his ear. He hums, admiring the screen for a few seconds and taking no further action to make an account.
“You need help, don’t you?”
“It’d be appreciated.”
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Since that encounter, your significant other has learned the basics of social platforms and how to properly exploit each one for his needs. Ignoring the one week where he discovered Snapchat filters and send photos of himself in every single one nonstop, the most common one you two have grown to use is the messaging application. It was efficient and easy for him to understand.
Until he, much like when he used Snapchat, discovered something new. And that something new was emojis. After receiving a Snapchat notification from him, which could no doubt be holding either a photo of him with the dancing weiner or his actual one, he shot you a text message from across the compound.
did you see my chatsnap? 🌚
You chose to disregard the blatant, incorrect name and reply:
yes, buck. I get notifications
and WHY THE HELL DID YOU SEND THAT EMOJI??? 😫
what? it’s just a moon 🌚🌚🌚 see?
I can see it’s a moon Bucky. Why did you choose that one?
It’s nighttime. and I’m smiling. It fits.
It’s creepy is what it is
It’s just a moon! 🌚
STOP SENDING IT! 😖😖
fine.
🌝
🤦‍♀️ that’s not what I meant
it’s not my fault you’re scared of the moon, y/n 💅
You chose to change the subject then, no longer holding the desire to stare at the infamous “molester moon” or bucky’s new use of emojis in a sassy manner
please tell me the snap you sent isn’t of the dancing hot dog again
I could tell you that
but I’d be lying if I did.
🙄
🌝 I think this one's my favorite
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The third time Bucky struggled with the new-age doodads surrounding him, his rage was at an all-time high. But his reaction is justifiable after discovering it was purely out of fear.
“Do you know what the weather’s gonna be like tomorrow?” He mumbles as the two of you were longing on the bed, his head resting comfortably in the crook of your neck and shoulder.
“Not sure, why?”
“Was thinkin’ we could go to that café. The one with the jukebox.” His head bounces with your body as you let out a few light laughs.
“Because it’s the one piece of technology you can actually use?” He pulls away from you defensively, a frown smeared on his face.
He whines out. “I am not that bad with technology?” You roll your eyes and reach for your phone on the bedside table, clicking the button on the side.
“Hey Siri, what’s the weather look like tomorrow?” You ask aloud, cueing Bucky to furrow his eyebrows.
“Let’s see...the weather tomorrow—“ you were unable to hear the rest of the AI’s sentence due to the sight of Bucky springing out of bed and tugging the set of sharpened knives from his pants.
“Whose there? Who the hell said that?”
“Bucky—“
“I think the complex may have been hacked. Come on, let’s go get Bruce o-or somebody.” He stutters out in a panic, tugging your body behind him in a protective manner. Siri was still activated on your phone, which was now lying on the bed.
“I’m not quite sure I understand—“
“Who the hell are you?!” He demands in a loud voice.
“Bucky, Bucky…” you rest your hands on both his shoulders, urging him to calm down. “It’s just my phone.” After the quick reassurance, he feels his shoulders slump.
“Oh...oh…I knew that.” He puts his knives away, following you as you crawled back into bed. Before fully getting beneath the covers, he sheathes himself of his trousers and top, leaving him only in a pair of boxers.
“Sure you did.” You reply.
“I did.” He insists, before covering both of you with your comforter. Before succumbing to a much-needed rest though, he reaches over and grabs a knife left on the floor, tucking it beneath his pillow.
Just in case.
The following morning, Bucky is no longer paranoid that the complex was hijacked and broken into. Rather, his mind was on a package he ordered online (AND ALL BY HIMSELF, a large victory if you ask him) that, according to the tracker, is one stop away. When you peeked your eyes open to admire him beneath the covers basking in the morning glow, his mischievous smile lit something warm inside you.
“What’s got you so smiley?” You yawn through languid blinks. He only responds with a shrug, aiming to keep the box a secret.
“Big day ahead, why don’t you go start us a shower. I’ll meet you there.” He smirks, blue eyes flashing with something cunning. At this point, you were even more curious.
“Big day? I thought we were just going for coffee?”
“When I’m with you, it’s always a big day.” His raspy voice is sly, metal hand even slyer as it glides up and down your hip.
“Alright Barnes, you win. See you in a minute.” You press your lips to his for a short few seconds and heave your body up from the bed to venture to the connected bathroom. As soon as you crack the door behind you, Bucky leaps from his spot in the sheets and nearly stumbles to the ground, his foot getting tangled in part of the bedding. He wastes no time scurrying to the front door, nearly nude and praying to God nobody would cross paths with him. Seeing the package laying on the doormat in all its glory--Bucky swore he heard angels singing hymns from above. Taking it into his grip and hustling back to his room took little-to-no time. When he slipped inside of the bathroom, he found you removing your hair from the messy knot you threw it up in the night prior, the rest of you bare.
He dropped his boxers and followed you inside the transparent cube, soon to become fogged with the warm steam and your panting breaths if he is lucky enough to pull another round from you.
Spoiler alert, he got lucky. Twice.
Whilst getting dressed, he halts your attempt at wiggling on a pair of leggings.
"I have a surprise for you." He says, waltzing over to the package he haphazardly threw on the bed in his eagerness to join you in the shower. The package lies in your hands seconds later, Bucky delivering you a nod as permission to tear it open. Once you do, your jaw unhinges at the packaging.
The small, pink sex toy stared back at you in all its glory. You could only muster a few blinks at it, wondering how your boyfriend managed to deliver this to himself all on his own yet still strains himself in trying to change his profile picture.
"Wha--how..." you are at a loss of words, to say the least. His piercing blue eyes grow dark at the sight of you holding his surprise.
"It's a big day today, because..." he snatches the packaged toy from you, beginning to open it, "you're gonna wear this out for me today. And I'm gonna control it." Your eyes grow big at his explanation before they dart to the now unpackaged vibrator.
"There's no remote." You point out, and gasp as Bucky holds up his phone for your eyes to see. The application which connects the controls of the vibrator to his phone stares back at you dauntingly.
"Figured I'd give this wifi-powered one a try. But, you know how I am with technology so...it may take awhile for me to get the hang of it," his tone is sultry as he mumbles, and it sends chills through you that directly target your privates. His eyes bore into yours, still holding that look of playfulness from earlier.
"Finish getting ready, doll. I'm ready to take this thing for a test drive."
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Fix You - Caius Volturi x FemOC Three Shot: Part 1
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Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading. Hope you like the one shot. I do take requests! Please have a look at my list of characters, and the rules. Feel free to reach out.
Notes about the One Shot:
Summary: As Caius walked around the streets of Volterra, he came across a girl being assaulted and badly injured. He couldn't explain the pull he had towards her, but all he knew was that he needed to save her. Caius Volturi x Fem!OC. Mentions of blood, injury and death. Nothing too gruesome though. Also posted on my Fanfiction page.
Word count: 2679
Firstly, I don’t own Twilight, the Volturi, or the image used.
I sincerely apologize for my Italian and Greek phrases; I don’t speak a word of the languages and was at the mercy of Google Translate. 
Caius’ wife Athenodora does not exist. 
Also, imagine him how you want but I much preferred his appearance in New Moon, so that’s how I described him.
~ Enjoy :)
Cloud cover in Volterra was a rare sight. Most days the sun shone brightly, making the town not particularly an ideal place for vampires. Yet here they were, the powerful three, the ancient kings who were tasked with up-keeping and enforcing secrecy of the vampire world, in a town where they remained inside the walls of the Volturi Castle. Caius often wondered why the coven chose to remain there, and not move to a less sunny place. A lack of opportunities for outings meant that he was falling intellectually behind. One need not look further than his clothes, not to mention his mentality to see he was not one for modernity. Not that he cared. Humans and their achievements were so minuscule in his eyes. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the opportunity to venture out into the town, feel the cool breeze on cloudy days like today and observe the lesser kind. It was remarkable for him how the world changed since his childhood in Ancient Greece, yet the scape of Volterra harked back to it with its old buildings.
Caius was lonely. He was angry and cruel; many would even say sadistic. But no, the last part was not true. After over 3000 years of living alone, never aging, never moving forward, being forced to hide himself, and never seizing to hunger, it’s no surprise that one would become angry. But he was not a sadist. He did not enjoy the pain of others. He fed only when he could no longer contain his thirst, not over-indulging himself. But he understood the need for justice, and was not tolerant when punishment was due. This was often mistaken for sadism.
Volterra was extra busy lately due to an overwhelming influx in tourism. One could no longer walk in peace. The pushing and shoving of the crowded streets became too much for Caius. He looked around him, and noticed a less busy street to his right. The more he followed, the less people were there. He kept going until he was left alone, in peace, and stopped, and leaned his back against the wall, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, exhaling through his mouth. He took a moment to collect his thoughts. And that is when he heard it. 
From his right, came a feminine scream. It snapped Caius out of his thoughts. It sounded desperate, and then quieted down before he heard the female’s voice again, yelling in English with an American accent, “PLEASE! Somebody help me!” In one swift motion, Caius pushed himself from the wall and walked towards the pleas. He rounded a corner and between two buildings, there was a thin, dark alleyway. It was there that he found the source of the commotion.
A tall, heavy-built balding man had a significantly smaller female pinned up against the wall with his body. His left hand grasped her around the neck, while the other clutched a gun to her head. Caius spoke Italian - one of the many languages he’s mastered - so he understood plainly the filth coming out of the lowlife’s mouth as he barked at the poor girl. She, however, was clueless and sobbing, begging him to leave her. 
In the split moment that he observed the scene, Caius’ eyes landed on the female. She was small, about 5”2, looked to be in her early twenties and very slim. Her hair was golden blonde, long and fell in thick, luscious curls down her back. She did not appear to be wearing much makeup, yet her eyebrows were naturally prominent and neat, and her lips were full, petal pink in colour. But it was her eyes which Caius noticed immediately. They were large and the most captivating colour: a mix of emerald and sapphire. It was as if staring into the waters of a deep, stormy ocean. However, when they met his eyes, they were full of terror. She quieted her struggle and looked at him, as if calmed by his presence, mentally begging him to save her.
Typically, Caius did not give two thoughts about humans. Yet this time was different. The girl before him stirred something inside of his frozen ancient heart. His eyes shifted from the girl and landed on the lowlife.
“Togli le mani da lei, feccia.” (Get your hands off her, Scum.) he snarled.
The man jumped in surprise and turned towards Caius. When he saw him, the lowlife sneered. Compared to him, Caius did not look all that threatening. He was tall and well-built, but thinner than the scum. His fashion choices didn’t help either. His near-white blonde hair combed to perfection and pushed behind his ears. He wore a blood-red dress shirt, paired with a black blazer and black dress pants, topped off with a silky red scarf. He looked like an escaped runway model, not a man that could do damage.
The man Caius addressed continued sneering and chuckling. 
“Cosa hai intenzione di fare al riguardo, bel ragazzo?” (What are you going to do about it, pretty boy?)
Caius took a large step forward and retorted, “Strapparti la testa e bere il tuo sangue è divertente?” (Does ripping your head off and drinking your blood sound like fun?)
The man raised his eyebrows in surprise at the viciousness, but still obviously not taking the situation seriously. He laughed and turned back to the girl.
“Vedi, bella ragazza? Sta cercando di mettersi in mostra per te. Ma è solo un ragazzo. Lascia che ti mostri cosa fanno gli uomini.” (You see, pretty girl? He's trying to show off for you. But he's just a boy. Let me show you what men do.)
Before Caius had a chance to comprehend or react, within a fraction of a second, the gun pressed against the girl’s temple was lowered. The scum aimed it at her stomach and shot twice. She screamed in pain, and dropped to the ground, gasping.
Caius took a second longer than normal to realize what had just unfolded. The man had the gun pointed at him now. He aimed at his chest and fired. When Caius was hit, he did nothing but stand there. Then came the second shot and to the scum’s surprise, he did not drop. A smirk began to form on the vampire’s face, before he simply said, “Avresti dovuto scappare quando ne avevi la possibilità.” (You should have ran when you had the chance.)
As the man continued pointlessly shooting at Caius, the vampire closed the distance between them in less than a second. He grasped the man’s neck with his right hand and pressed him up against the wall, lifting him up with one arm. The man squirmed and groaned, futilely attempting to free himself. Caius didn’t enjoy hurting people. But this time was different. He snapped the man’s neck and threw him down, like discarded trash. He took a breath and turned to the girl on the ground.
She was no longer making sounds nor moving, but lay there motionless, face down on the ground. Caius could see a large red spot in her stomach area, with blood seeping through the thin fabric of her white summer dress, her blonde curls hanging like closed curtains over her face. Caius leaned down, extending a hand to gently move them aside. He pushed the curls behind her ear, running his knuckles down her soft cheek. Those beautiful storm eyes were closed.
“Can you hear me?” He whispered to her, but she did not stir. 
Caius felt a deep pain in the pit of his stomach, and a pressure rising up to his throat. He felt anger, rage, but most prominently sorrow. He had this feeling like he never wanted anything more in his life than for her to look at him and say she was alright. The situation was not made easier by the fact that her deliciously smelling blood was pooling more and more. 
Quickly, he reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out his iPhone. Alec had gifted it to him the year before, and this was the first time he’d use it. He couldn’t figure out the damned thing; books and scripts were more useful anyway. With some effort, he found the number he was looking for in his contacts and dialled it. The ringing seemed to go on for ages, until finally…
“Dr. Carlisle Cullen speaking.”
“Cullen. You are speaking to Caius.” He barked into the phone. A silence followed before Carlisle hesitantly responded, a hint of fear in his voice at what the Volturi king might want.
“Lord Caius. I was not expecting you. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I am with a human. She was shot with a gun in her stomach twice. There is a significant amount of blood. She is not responding to me. Her eyes are closed and she is not moving. What shall I do?” He spoke in a hard, fact-based tone.
“Well Caius, it sounds like she might be dead…” before Carlisle could finish his thought, Caius cut him off.
“You are foolish to think that I would waste my precious time calling you to hear something so unacceptable. Tell me how to fix her!”
“Okay, I��m not sure if she can be. But let’s try. I need you to put the phone on speaker.”
“What is that?! Talk quickly Cullen, her bleeding has not seized!”
“Okay, Caius, you see the small picture of a loudspeaker on your phone? Push it.”
Caius did as he was told. “Now what?”
“Put the phone down on the ground. I need you to turn her on her back. GENTLY! Don’t forget you’re a lot stronger than her.”
Caius gently pushed the girl’s shoulders and was able to turn her on her back, grabbing her head so it did not hit the concrete. It was then that the significance of the wound became apparent, as did the scent of her blood. It became nearly too much for the vampire. He was close to damning it all and indulging in her sweet taste. But then he looked at her perfect face. How he longed to see those beautiful eyes again.
In a struggling voice, he spoke, “Alright, it is done.”
“Now, take your index and middle finger and push both to her neck, under her chin, on the side of her throat. You should feel her heartbeat if she’s alive.”
Caius did as he was told, but initially could feel nothing. After a few failed attempts, he hung his head. Just as he was about to remove his fingers, he felt it. So faint and tiny, but it was there.
“I feel it! It is very faint! But I feel it.”
Carlisle waited a moment before speaking. “Can you describe the wounds to me? Where are they specifically?”
“They are both in the same place. One is at the base of her ribs to the left, and the second is just under it.”
Carlisle sighed and softly spoke, “Caius. She’s not going to make it. She’s on her last few breaths now, and we can prolong her suffering, but we can’t-“.
“No!” Caius cut him off, “She will not die. There must be something to be done!”
“Well… you could always change her.”
Caius let out a breath. He would not wish his own endless existence on anyone. Not to mention the unbelievably excruciating pain of the process. After 3000 years, there was one thing he remembered with vivid accuracy: his own change. But at the same time, he was in a panic. He was not sure what it was, but the thought of her dying was destroying him inside.
He swallowed and spoke in a gentler voice to Carlisle, “Is there any way to manage her pain during the change?”
“Morphine. It needs to be injected before the venom. Give it 5 minutes to take effect and then change her.”
“Thank you,” Caius whispered before hanging up.
He immediately gathered the woman into his arms, lifting her up with ease, and began running back to the castle. He made it in a matter of minutes, storming through the doors of the great gathering hall, where Aro and Marcus were speaking to Jane. Immediately, all eyes were on Caius and the little bundle in his arms.
“Brother,” greeted Aro with his child-like smile, “you came home with takeout, I see,” he cackled. 
“No! Do not approach me now brother. I wish to change her, and so it will be. No one comes near her!” Caius exclaimed. His two fellow kings looked at each other, befuddled. “Jane,” Caius turned to her, “find me a shot of morphine immediately and bring it to my chambers.” With this, he stormed out of the hall. 
Aro, with a confused look on his face, took a step to follow, only to be held back by Marcus. “He cannot just bring some random off the street and claim her as his own!” He exclaimed, but Marcus shook his head and smiled.
“I felt their bond. He has bound himself to her. Neither might realize this yet, but they are mated. She is his now.”
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Caius rushed her to his room. He gently placed her on his bed, which he hadn’t used in years for obvious reasons. As he laid her down, the girl began to gain consciousness. She began feeling the pain of her injuries. Tears started fall down her cheeks and she softly, weakly moaned in pain.
Caius sat down next to her, brushing her tears away with his thumb, gently pushing her hair back away from her face.
“Shh, it’s alright. Breathe.” She seemed to respond to this by attempting to open her eyes, yet not having enough energy to do so. Caius was dying inside, seeing her suffer. He couldn’t explain why. This was the first time in 3000 that he cared so deeply about the well-being of anyone, let alone a weak human.
“Breathe for me. That’s it. You’re alright.” He whispered. She tried, but couldn’t. She attempted to say something along the lines of “I don’t want to die,” but was only emitting squeaks.
“Shhh, don’t talk. He’s gone, I’ve got you. There is not a place in the world safer than here with me.”
Just then, Jane burst through Caius’ doors with a large syringe filled with clear liquid. She quickly handed it to Caius and stepped back, lingering. Caius turned to her and harshly barked, “Leave!” She bowed and turned on her heels, heading out the door.
The girl had opened her eyes briefly and saw the large syringe. This frightened her, and she attempted to cower away. Caius returned his attention to her.
“Shhhh. Don’t be afraid. This will help you stop hurting. I will fix this. I will fix you,” As he spoke those words, a tear formed in his own eyes and rolled down his cheek. He was about to change her. Was it really fixing her, or was he selfishly wishing she would fix him? Give him companionship he so longed for? He didn’t care. He took the syringe and injected the morphine into her quickly, being as gentle as he could. Then, he waited. He needed her to stop crying. This would indicate the pain was gone and the morphine had taken effect. He held her hand, whispering sweet nothings to her. When she began quieting, he gently asked her.
“What is your name, omorfiá mou?” (My beauty), the last part in his native Greek.
She gasped and whispered, “Andromeda.”
Caius smiled and thought about how fitting the name was. The pain was gone now. He turned to her and brushed her hair out of her face. 
“Close your eyes, my beauty.” He gently brushed her hair back away from her neck. Leaning down, he brushed his lips on her ear, whispering “do not be afraid. You will live forever. You are mine now, and I will never let anything hurt you again.” 
With that, he sunk his teeth into her soft skin, and the journey to her transformation began.
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justfangirlthingies · 3 years
Text
Friend of a Friend (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler)
This is my first ever request! Thank you very much for sending this in @laurentrvn I hope you like it🥰
Request: would you do Laszlo x fem!reader
Reader was working on Howard Detective Agency. John Moore would like to invite you for dinner, want to expect to see his friends too. later reader was getting ready for dinner, John would like Reader to meet Doctor Kreizler, they get to know each other. they quite bit closed to each other. (fluff)
I usually try (I don't always succeed, but I always try my best) to keep the reader as neutral as possible so that really everyone can read my fics and feel included, but this time there will be mentions of reader's gender and reader wearing a dress.
I also tried to do this as best as I possibly could, I just didn't really know how to make fluff happen after the first meeting, so I added a few things 😅😊
Writing my requests takes me a while since I'm not exactly a very fast writer, I hope you understand :)
Warnings: none, if there is anything you think deserves a warning please lmk so I can add it here
Word count: 3094 words
The day started off pretty normal for you. There was some paperwork for you to do, a few reports to fill out and Miss Howard had asked you to go fetch a piece of evidence or rather a drawing from one of her friends. From John Moore to be exact. You had met him now and then and even exchanged a few words with him, seeing as he often assisted Sara in her cases, his reports in the papers have brought in new clients to the company on more than one occasion. It was a win win for both sides. People read his stories about the cases he assisted on because they were exciting and in exchange the Howard Detective Agency gained popularity and another pair of helpful hands for their cases.
It was early afternoon when you made your way to the meetup point, said meetup point being a simple, small, wooden bench in a park. You looked around, but John was not in sight just yet. You were probably just early, that must be it. With your thoughts drifting around your head and focusing on the current case you sat down on the bench to wait for the man. It was mere minutes later that you saw a flash of brown from the corner of your eyes, so you turned your head in the direction. It was John. He sat down next to you as you flashed him a smile "Good day, Mr. Moore." He smiled back at you "Good day to you too, but you can just call me John." "Well, I suppose you may just call me (Y/n) then." John gave you a small nod before his eyes switched back to the notebook in his hands, holding it between the two of you he opened it up. You stared in amazement at the drawings as the gentleman next to you skimmed through the pages until he finally reached the illustrations he was searching for. When he found them he was quick to tear them out and hand them to you "You're very talented." you muttered under your breath as you examined the pictures, but it still reached the man's ears "thank you, though I have to say, I prefer drawing other things..." he paused for a moment "scenes that are less brutal and capture the beauty of the world and its people." The answer you received made a small grin grace your lips "It's good to see that there are still optimistic people like you out in this world. Maybe next time we meet you could show me some more of your work." You nodded your head slightly in thanks for the pictures and as a way to bid him goodbye, as you rose from your seat on the bench "Good day, Mr. Mo- John." you quickly corrected yourself before turning around to make your way back to the office. However, John's voice caused you to stop and turn on your heels "(Y/n)! I could show you more of the drawings. How about dinner this Friday at Delmonico's?"
The question had caught you completely off guard, you had not expected to be met with...well, what even was this proposal of his? A flirt attempt maybe? Heat crept up your neck and wandered further to your cheeks "I- umm...all due respect Mr.- John, I don't think that is such a good idea. I'm afraid you aren't quite-" Your rambling was promptly cut off by John "Oh dear god. That is not what I meant" he chuckled, was he trying to talk himself out of a rejection with humor or was it really a misunderstanding? "Oh my, if it was a misunderstanding it would be so embarrassing." you thought "What I actually meant, was to invite you to join and meet a few of Sara and I's mutual friends. Besides I'll be a married man and a father to be soon" The tension in the air dissolved slightly, leaving you with a feeling of embarrassment and a slight stutter in your speech "Oh- I-I'm sorry. I completely misunderstood the meaning of what you proposed." "It's alright, now do you have time on Friday, my friend?" he chuckled, slightly easing your embarrassment a little. In response you just nodded your head again and gave him a smile "I'd like that, thank you. Goodbye again, John" You heard Mr. Moore wishing you a good day in return as you began walking away, trying to clear your head from the awkward encounter and clasping the sheets of paper in your hand, you made your way back to the agency.
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The days leading up to Friday passed more quickly than you would have liked, but there was nothing you could do about it really.
Soon, you found yourself in front of your mirror as you touched up your hair a bit. Just when you were done getting ready you heard a knock on your front door, it was probably John, seeing as it was already getting close to 7 pm. You had received a letter from him the day after he invited you to dinner, informing you that he would pick you up at your home at 7 pm to accompany you on the way to the restaurant you were going to.
Finding your reflection once more, you brushed your hands over the elegant fabric of the dress you were clad in, in order to straighten it out a bit before examining yourself again. With a nervous exhale you cast your gaze away from the mirror and towards the door, your feet quickly following your eyes as your hand reached for the keys in the lock. With a quiet clinking noise, that could be heard on the other side of it, you unlocked the door and took a deep breath, hoping the awkwardness from your last meeting had subsided by now. As you opened it you were met with the face of John Moore, flashing him a polite smile as you exchanged greetings. "I hope it won't come as a problem to you if you meet one of my good friends even before we reach the restaurant" You raised a questioning eyebrow at the man before you "He has offered to take us to the restaurant in his carriage instead of having us walk by foot or paying for one" John explained. His explanation made your eyes widen in surprise. His carriage?! That person you were going to meet had his own carriage?! You gave a nod to John, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about your dress. Was it elegant enough for this occasion? You hoped so. "That is very kind of your friend" you said as you stepped out of the comfort of your cozy home and onto the streets of New York. You made sure you carried everything you would need with you before you locked the door to the house. "I need to warn you though, Laszlo can often times be a little..." John paused, thinking about how to describe the alienist as you turned around to look at him "...eccentric" Once again, you cocked your eyebrow and just as you were about to speak up again, you found your eyes wandering to a carriage that promptly came to a halt right in front of you. In anticipation of meeting John's friend, you watched as the door to the carriage opened and mere seconds later a cane emerged, followed by the well dressed man it belonged to. He smiled as he approached the two of you so he could greet you both, but ended up getting pulled into a hug by John in the process. When he finally got to you he shook your hand, you couldn't help but notice how gentle and light his grip was compared to those of other men, you made eye contact with the stranger as he introduced himself "I'm doctor Kreizler, but seeing as you're a friend of John you may call me Laszlo" His hazel eyes were captivating and his voice smooth, you noticed a bit of an accent "And you are, miss?" Laszlo asked, pulling you back from your trance an amused smirk on his lips. Oh god. Had you been staring? "(L/n). (Y/n) (L/n)" you rushed out. "It's nice to meet you Miss (L/n)." You smiled softly at him "Likewise...oh and (Y/n) is fine, no need for the formalities." The doctor returned your smile and for a moment you just looked at one another, none of you able to break the eye contact, it was as if you were enchanted, enthralled by those dark eyes of his and for Laszlo the feeling was mutual.
Well, until John broke the trance that is "Well then, shall we get on with our trip to dinner?" Your face grew warm as you finally snapped out of it and realized what you had been doing. A sheepish smile still graced your lips when you entered the carriage and it stayed until you arrived at the restaurant. You watched Laszlo and John make conversation in the carriage, they truly seemed to be good friends. "Laszlo, how was Europe? You only came back home a couple of days ago, right?" Now, that conversation topic peaked your interest, your eyes switched between the two men as you listened intently. "Yes, I only returned the day before yesterday. Vienna was beautiful, I could tell you many things about Freud, the people I met and the new studies I came across, but I doubt you are interested in all the information about psychology, John." John chuckled "Right you are" before he could say anything else the carriage came to a stop and the three of you got out in front of the restaurant.
It turned out that you were actually the first to arrive, the rest pooling in a couple of minutes later. The dinner was fun and interesting, you learned new things about everyone who was there and to your surprise, there came a point where you were flooded with compliments for the exceptional detective work you did. Needless to say, these compliments had you flustered. Laszlo seemed to notice your slight discomfort with all the attention on you, so he started talking in order to relieve you from that embarrassing feeling. You flashed him a grateful smile and mouthed "thanks", to which he just smiled and gave you a nod in reply.
The rest of the dinner went smooth and you learned many new things about the doctor and of course about his most recent research and travels. One could say you got along with one another quite well, he was a bit different from other men, more straightforward and very curious about everything, but you wouldn't say one needs a warning before meeting him, like the one John gave you. The evening went by rather quickly and before you knew it you were back in the carriage, sitting opposite of Dr. Kreizler. John however, wasn't there with you now, it seemed he had a bit of a misunderstanding with the alienist and favoured walking home on foot. He was an adult who could make his own decisions and if he preferred walking home then so be it.
The ride in the carriage was nice, you never ran out of conversation topics and at some point you came to the realizisation that you quite enjoyed Laszlo's company.
In the days pursuing the dinner, you often caught yourself thinking about him, wondering if and when you'd meet the doctor again, and every time you did, a smile made it's way onto your lips.
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The following weeks seemed quite boring, until a new case rolled in that is. You had looked over the paperwork and the crime scenes of the case and did your best to put yourself into the criminal's shoes. In order to find them you needed to find a motive as to why someone would commit such horrid deeds. After days on end of trying to solve this mystery you finally found something. A break in the case maybe. As soon as you realized what you had just discovered, you jumped up from your chair and practically sprinted to Sara's office, in your excitement it seemed that you completely forgot all your manners. You knocked on the door, but before you even got a reply from the other side, you had opened it "Sara! I just found something! We got a break in the-" and that was when you saw him again. Laszlo Kreizler.
Sara's and his eyes were both trained on you, causing your excitement about the progress in the case to subside as you flashed them a sheepish smile "Apologies. I-I should have waited I'm terribly sorry." Laszlo smiled at you "Good day to you too (Y/n)" His greeting caused heat to rise to your cheeks. You even forgot to greet him.
After a few moments of silence the doctor spoke up once more "Please do continue, Miss Howard was just filling me in on the case anyways and it seems like you just made progress in solving it. I would like to know everything you found out as of right now"
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The case had brought the two of you closer together. A lot closer actually.
You found yourself in front of your mirror once again, this time wearing the prettiest dress in your posession. You smiled at your reflection when you heard a knock at the door, only this time it wasn't your friend John who had knocked to bring you to dinner with friends. No. This time it was Laszlo Kreizler who stood on the other side of the door and instead of just dinner he would take you to the opera and to dinner later, then he'd bring you back home, well at least that was the plan.
When you opened the door to your home you were met with the man you had been thinking about nonstop. You smiled at him as your (e/c) eyes met his hazel ones and once again the man had you starstruck. The eye contact was intense and it reminded you of the time you first met him. "Good evening (Y/n)." hearing your name fall from his lips made you feel all giddy and happy "Good evening to you too Laszlo."
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You struggled to focus on what you were supposed to be doing the whole evening.
You did enjoy visiting the opera, but with Laszlo being there it felt like the spotlight was shining solely on him. Instead of watching what was happening you put your focus on him, watching his eyes light up and the excitement clearly visible on his face was much more interesting than the opera, well at least in your opinion. Whenever Laszlo would glance at you he had this smirk adorning his lips, he probably knew you were staring, seeing as you most likely weren't as subtle about it as you wanted to be. You smiled softly at him before shifting your focus back to the opera, in these moments you felt his eyes on you too.
During dinner you spent more time looking at him than at the menu, so when the waiter asked for your orders you just went with what he had chosen. That earned you an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow. Oh he was definitely aware of how smitten you were with him, he had to be. The whole evening you felt nervous and full of joy. What you didn't know was that Laszlo was just as nervous as you were, the difference was that he just knew how to hide it better than you did.
Only when dessert arrived did you notice him getting more nervous, a slight blush was visible on his cheeks. It certainly was a sight to see the normally so composed doctor become flustered, an adorable sight that only had you falling harder for the man. As soon as he spoke up though, it was your turn to get flustered. "(Y/n). We have known each other for quite a while now and..." he stumbled upon his words a bit and that just had the anticipation you felt, about what he was going to say, growing with every second "I sincerely apologize if I misinterpreted anything, but I noticed that... well, I know that I have taken a strong liking towards you and from what I picked up on, this liking seems to be mutual" his confession caused you to choke on your food and you tried to hold back a coughing fit, instead of giving in to the cough you took a sip of your drink as to soothe your throat and tried to calm your breathing. You also tried to calm your now very rapid heartbeat, but failed miserable at that. Laszlo's eyes widened slightly and a hint of sadness and regret seeped into his features "I'm terribly sorry, it seems I misinterpreted your feelings. It would have been a miracle if someone like you had reciprocated my feelings like that" He was about to stand up and grab his walking stick, but you immediately shook your head and gripped the cane first, in order to keep him from leaving "Laszlo, you didn't misinterpret anything" you felt the heat travelling through your body as your nerves and hartbeat were as strong as ever. The alienist was shocked to hear your response. He looked at you expectantly, waiting patiently for you to continue as he felt his own heart beating in his throat. You swallowed taking all your courage together to speak up again. "I was simply surprised to-to hear you say these things, I'm not surprised you picked up on my feelings for you" you chuckled awkwardly "I just didn't expect you to feel the same way and to adress it like that." Laszlo let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and brought the hand that had been reaching out for the cane back to the table. You copied that last movement also letting go of his cane. However, as soon as your hand was back at the table he reached his good hand out to hold yours, a grin on his lips "May I propose a courtship then?" Your eyes went wide as you beamed back at him "Yes!- I mean...yes, I'd like that very much" Your answer earned you a chuckle from the good doctor.
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"I'll have to thank John for introducing us"
Taglist: @natashas-favourite-knives (you asked to be added to this even though you don't even like or know him, I'm just reminding you it's not my fault that you're tagged here), @stanknotstark @ateez-star @littlemissnoname13 @gwlvr @handmaiden-of-mischief
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someonestolemyshoes · 3 years
Text
Off the Record
Hello!! I am super excited to finally post my entry for @levihan-drabbles competition :D The prompt was super interesting and I had a tonne of fun writing this one! 
The prompt I received was: Hange posts a picture of Levi somewhere and it becomes a meme.
(For those curious, this is the meme I used for inspiration) 
Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Levi's lip curled.
"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.
"Enlighten me."
Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.
"That bullshit article."
"Ah. Was there a problem?"
Hange met Moblit in a small cafe a little way down the road from the newsroom. She was in good spirits—her morning had been productive; she'd made steady headway with research for her next interview, finished the final edits for a few smaller tabloid pieces she'd been meaning to brush up, attended three short, perfunctory meetings on tedious company policy, and laid the groundwork for another exciting interview opportunity.  
She felt good. And now she had the pleasurable prospect of a hearty lunch, a passable cup of coffee, and perhaps best of all, Moblit's company. His company, and his camera.
Hange threw herself into the seat opposite Moblit the moment she spotted him, hunched over his laptop in a corner of the cafe. He lifted his coffee cup just in time for Hange to clatter against the table, the thin metal frame rattling precariously. She offered him a sheepish grin.
"Sorry," she said, and then, "got anything exciting?"
"I don't know about exciting. Interesting, maybe, but no breaking news."
Hange flagged down a passing waitress with one hand, and waved Moblit off with the other. "Doesn't matter, doesn't matter," she said, then paused to order a drink and her favourite sandwich. "Tell me anyway."
"I got a tip-off from a waiter at Sina's."
Hange's eyes sparkled behind her glasses. She sat forward in her chair, folding her arms on the table top as she leaned closer. "Who?"
"Take a guess."
Hange grinned at him. Moblit was not one to play coy; he did his job and did it well, and reported his findings efficiently. To leave her to question it meant one of two things; he had photographed someone very high profile indeed, or it was somebody Hange was, for better or for worse, well acquainted with.
Or perhaps, if she were lucky, it was both.
"Let me see him, then."
**
Hange had taken far too much time in the cafe with Moblit. He had given her a rundown of all the details he'd gathered during his field work that morning, and shown her through his extensive photo gallery. It was impressive, the kind of archive Moblit could cultivate with only a 45 minute breakfast window.
Hange had been delighted. Moblit was right; it wasn't breaking news, nothing particularly thrilling, but there was a corner of the Internet, Hange knew, that would delight in a trashy little article just like this. Something quick and simple to bulk up the social media feed for the afternoon.
Plus, there was a series of pictures Moblit had snapped, a cluster he'd thought to be of no real merit, that Hange simply could not pass up.
She could lay down no facts with a story like this one. There was no hard-hitting investigative journalism to be had, but she could at least offer some speculation based on her knowledge of the subjects involved, and spin a tale juicy enough to get people talking.
It took little time at all to put the article together. Hange scribbled up an outline for the contents—the location; Sina's in downtown Hizuru, a luxurious restaurant serving five star meals at every hour of the day. High in quality, sickeningly steep in price. The time of day; 9am. To the best of Hange's knowledge, this was rather out of character for the subject. He was an early riser, but according to their interview last March pending the premiere of his newest movie, he wasn't the type to eat much at all before lunch time.
And then, the company. Eren Yeager was a relatively well-known actor, barely an adult at nineteen. He starred in his first role a decade earlier, and had seen commercial success in multiple movies and TV shows ever since. He had been something of a prodigy in his younger years, bold and precocious, possessing a natural talent many actors years his senior couldn't even hope for. As Hange understood it, he had recently hit a rather troublesome phase. An interesting line of inquiry, but despite his talent and his fame, Eren's presence was simply a cameo, compared to the subject of the article Hange was drawing up.
Levi Ackerman.
Levi is a fan favourite and a media delight. He's attractive no doubt, and his performance in any and every role is almost always met with critical acclaim. Outside of his career, however, he's an elusive thing, silent in any matters pertaining to his private life. He avoids any public event like the plague, and rarely shows his face at premieres or award ceremonies if he can possibly avoid it. He gives interviews only when required by some contractual obligation or other, or else when the journalist in question is so painfully persistent that it is simply easier to give in than to keep fighting.
Little of his personal life is known, but it is impossible for someone in Levi's position to avoid interacting with anybody at all, and even the great Levi Ackerman is not above scrutiny.
There are rumours. Several of them, accounts from fellow cast members, from staff, from directors, and even Erwin, his manager, has alluded more than once to Levi's sour disposition. He is prone, Hange has heard, to fits of anger, and is easily disgruntled by minor inconveniences. His dislike of anything unclean or untidy is the stuff of legends—Hange has seen this first hand, at their very first interview. He had entered the room, scowled at the chair before sitting in it, and given Hange a thorough once over before announcing, with no hint of humour, "your glasses are filthy."
Hange had found him both fascinating and quite delightful, in his own strange way. When he acts, Levi sounds eloquent; he is a master of emotive performance, wringing the last drops of anger, despair, or grief out of each and every word, or else injecting the perfect giddy jitter, or a tremor of humour when the scene called for it. As soon as the cameras stop rolling, though, Levi's tone becomes flat, and without a script, his words are clumsy and crass. He communicates poorly, quick to throw insults and crude remarks. Hange has interviewed him a number of times—she counts herself very lucky that Levi will consent to her requests without too much fuss, these days—and each time she finds herself spending half of their time together translating his answers into something a) family friendly, and b) understandable to the everyday reader.
There is nothing for Hange to translate this time. Moblit managed to speak to the waiter after Levi and Eren had vacated in hopes of gleaning any small tidbit of knowledge regarding their conversation, but the venture had been hopeless. The pair had grown silent upon the approach of any staff member, and spoke in tones too hushed for anyone nearby to hear. They learned nothing they couldn't extrapolate for themselves from Moblit's pictures; Eren looked sheepish, avoiding Levi's gaze in favour of staring into his drink, while Levi—
Levi looked furious.
Every picture featured his signature frown, which, in and of itself wasn't enough to assume Levi to be in any mood besides neutral, but some of the photos show a hint of bared teeth or pursed lips, with his brows pulled lower than normal, the space between them deeply creased. Hange found herself curious as both a journalist and as an acquaintance. They may not be friends, but Hange liked to think she knew Levi a little better than most people, at least. She could find nothing in their past interactions to suggest any relationship with Eren beyond the strictly professional. They had over a decade between them, and though they had worked together on more than one set, neither party had ever said anything to insinuate so much as a friendly attitude between them.
There was no resolution to her queries to be easily found. And luckily for Hange, this particular piece didn't require any. It was a gossip article, something spicy, jam-packed with buzzwords, what-if's and more questions than answers, designed to make people wonder. Levi's name in the title would be enough to draw people in; Eren's name was an added bonus. But the star of the show was Moblit's photography. Hange arranged the images she had chosen in a grid. In context, the pictures were intriguing, depicting a particularly ferocious part of Levi and Eren's exchange. Out of context, they looked a little ridiculous. Both would bring readers onto their home page.
Satisfied with her work, Hange queued the finished article for review, and turned her attention back to her schedule.
**
The article launched mid-afternoon. Hange watched, somewhat satisfied, as it was received much as she had expected it to be. The activity on their Twitter account skyrocketed, the tweet in question garnering more likes, retweets and replies in the hour after it's post than any other they’d dropped in the last month.
Hange had allowed it to slip from her mind after the first hour or so. She received praise from her bosses, and a text from Moblit, jokingly demanding she pay him even more handsomely for his work than she already had, and her cousin had called her in the evening on a quest for insider gossip she could share with her friends, but that had been the end of it. Hange thought of it no more until early the following morning, when she had stopped by the quiet little cafe beneath her flat for breakfast and her favourite coffee.
She had been polishing off her pancakes when the bell above the door chimed. She had paid little attention to the newcomer, until a shadow passed over her table, and a familiar voice said, "Oi, shitty glasses."
Hange looked up to see Levi Ackerman himself standing over her, his face twisted in a scowl.
There are perks of being reasonably acquainted with Levi. Hange always gets to conduct his interviews, and Levi only ever turns her down if her request is unreasonable. Like that time she demanded he meet her at this very coffee shop for "just a quick piece, about the cameo you did for the new season of Titans", only to show him she'd bought a new pair of glasses—"look, all clean!"—and, when pressed, admitted there was no interview at all. He had been far more hesitant to indulge her in smaller affairs after that, but Hange was still lucky enough to be his only regular interviewer after big releases.
More interviews means more commission for Hange, and more high profile work with other celebrities. Yes, being acquainted with Levi has its bonuses.
But it also has its downsides. Namely, that Levi will not hesitate to turn up at her regular coffee shop to berate her after she has posted some complete and utter wank at his expense.
Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Levi's lip curled.
"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.
"Enlighten me."
Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.
"That bullshit article."
"Ah. Was there a problem?"
"You're a piece of shit, you know that?"
Hange sat back in her chair and sipped at her coffee. Levi's face was full colour now, a pale pink flush from his neck right up to his hairline. Hange gave him a measured look, then kicked out the chair opposite her.
"Sit," she said. "If you have issues, I'd be happy to discuss."
Levi looked for a moment like he'd like nothing more than to strangle her. Then he pulled out the chair the rest of the way, and dropped himself into it.
"I don't give a fuck about the article," he said. "It's shitty gossip anyway."
Hange raised a brow at him. She opened her mouth to continue when, without prompt, a young waitress approached their table, practically bouncing on the spot as she stopped and gave Levi a dazzling smile. Her cheeks were flushed prettily, and Hange would have thought she were simply starstruck, if it weren't for the light of mirth in her eyes.
"Good morning, sir. Can I get you anything?" She gave Levi no chance to respond, before plowing on. "Water? Or tea, perhaps? Forgive me, but you seem a little upset. Might a nice tea calm you down?"
Levi grit his teeth. "No, thank you."
Hange almost apologised to the poor waitress on his behalf, but she didn't look bothered at all by his rudeness. In fact, she had barely turned from the table before she snorted in laughter, and caught her giggles in her hands as she scurried back behind the counter. A second passed, before all three waitresses snickered.
"That," Levi hissed, "is your fault."
Now Hange truly was confused. She furrowed her brow at him. "How does that have anything to do with me?"
"You and your stupid article," he said. Hange looked back to the waitress, who looked to their table again before falling into a fresh fit of giggles. Hange turned back to Levi, a little sympathetic.
"I think she just fancies you."
"You're trying to tell me you really don't know the mess you've caused?"
Hange shook her head slowly. Levi watched her closely, searching for proof of the lie, but Hange's earnestness must have shown through, for Levi's anger abated a little, and he slumped back on his chair.  
In lieu of a verbal explanation, Levi pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, typed something out, and scrolled a little way, before placing the phone on the table and sliding it towards her. Hange pulled it closer with a frown.
The screen displayed Twitter, and showed the feed beneath the search for Levi's name. Hange scrolled a few posts, eyes widening little by little as she went.
Levi was right. The contents of the article were of little significance at all. The photo grid, however, had gone viral overnight.
It showed four pictures of Levi and Eren, taken in succession. Each one showed only a portion of the back of Eren's head, but Levi's expression in every frame was more animated than Hange had ever seen him outside of his movie scenes, and each was more distraught than the last. Face tight, jaw clenched, teeth bared, with his finger pointed condescendingly in Eren's face. The second last picture shows his brows arched and his lips pressed into a thin line, and the final one—
Hange had laughed at it in isolation when Moblit had shown her. She had fully expected it to garner a few laughs, but she hadn't expected a photograph of Levi furiously slurping his tea to become a meme in less than 24 hours.  
"I see," Hange said, as she calmly slid the phone back to him. "In my defense, you don't help yourself. It wouldn't be half as funny if you didn't hold your tea cup so weird."
"In my defense," Levi snapped, "If you didn't post it online nobody would have anything to laugh at."
Hange crossed her arms on the table and leaned towards him, smiling pleasantly. "In your defense, you wouldn't have been so angry in public if it weren't for whatever Eren had to say. What was that about, by the way? I'm terribly curious."
Hange expected a very Levi response to her prying; a scowl, perhaps a quick kick under the table, an 'It's none of your damn business, four-eyes', if she were lucky.
What she got instead was a haughty sniff, and a gruff, "He's fucking my cousin."
For a moment, they were silent. Either Levi's anger at his new meme status had temporarily disabled the part of his brain that blocked any mention of his private life from slipping past his lips in the wrong company, or something about Eren's indiscretion had rattled him so much, he couldn't keep silent about it. Either way, he looked increasingly surprised—and horrified—at himself for saying it out loud. Hange's eyes were wide, and Levi's were growing wider by the second. Of all the people to slip up to, he had slipped up to her. An entertainment journalist, the one person in his life who thrived on this kind of insider knowledge.
Hange swallowed. Levi was still staring at her like a deer in headlights, no doubt painfully aware that there was no taking back what he had said now.
Hange doesn't take a great deal of pride in what she does. She feels satisfied when her stories receive the reception she'd predicted, validated in her ability to analyse their consumer base and make accurate assumptions about what will hit and what won't, but the work itself feels dirty, at times. An opportunistic scavenger feeding on whatever carrion they can find, no matter how rotten it may be.
This is a perfect opportunity. Salacious details of Levi's interpersonal relationships, right from the horse's mouth. If it were anyone else, Hange would be scribbling every word verbatim in her notebook.
But this is Levi. Levi, who seems jarred by her last article (though Hange will maintain this, at least, is no real fault of her journalism, and also, absolutely hilarious) and was clearly, for whatever reason, incensed by Eren's actions.
Hange brushed her palms over her thighs, and picked a speck of lint from her trousers.
"This is nice, isn't it?" She said, "having breakfast together. We should do it more often. It feels good to just talk, sometimes. Off the record."  
Levi blinked rapidly at her. He opened his mouth, but, still too shocked by his own loose tongue to speak, he said nothing. Hange pulled her phone from her bag and fiddled around with it some, tapping here and there, until she found what she was looking for. She turned it to Levi, and said, "I think this is my favourite edit so far."
Levi finally pulled his gaze from her, and looked down at the screen. It was truly something, the way the picture snapped him out of his stunned silence. Hange had never seen someone's face pinch up so rapidly.
"Come on, it's kinda funny. And look! That's Tony Stark, right? People are so creative. And maybe, if we're really lucky, Buzzfeed will do a compilation article of all the best ways people have used your new meme."  
Levi rolled his eyes at her. It looked strange, with his face so tightly twisted. Hange chuckled at him.
She nudged his ankle beneath the table with the toe of her shoe. "Lighten up, you look constipated."
"Oi, out of the two of us I'm not the one who's full of—"
"—Full of shit, I know, I know. That honour is all mine."
They lapsed into another silence, this one marginally more comfortable than the last. Hange finished the last of her coffee and checked her emails, while Levi tortured himself some more by scrolling through his Twitter feed. After a short while, he spoke again.
"That...doesn't sound bad," he said.
"Hm?"
"What you said about talking more. Off the record. It doesn't sound bad."
It was Hange's turn to flush. Heat rose in her cheeks, and she occupied herself by rifling through her bag in search of nothing.
"Yeah?" Her voice, an octave higher than usual, cracked around the vowels. She cleared her throat, "will you have more gossip for me? It's almost painful that I can't share it, you know."
"Good. I'll share as many secrets as I've got, if it'll bother you that much."
"Sounds terrible," Hange said. She tore a clean corner off her napkin and scribbled her personal number onto it. She slid it over the table to him. "Text me."
Levi pulled a face at the piece of napkin. "Is that used? Gross, shitty four-eyes." He pocketed it anyway.
Hange didn't know what else to say. Levi didn't seem to either, and so he stood, and tucked his chair back in. Hange turned her eyes down to her empty plate. Her stomach and chest felt strange, almost sickly, but in an oddly pleasant way.
Levi rapped his knuckles on the table. Hange jumped, startled, and looked up at the sound.
"This part is on the record," he said. The corner of Levi's mouth quirked into a small, barely there grin. "I heard from a reliable source that Eren was so scared on the set of Last War that he pissed his pants. Twice."
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atlafan · 4 years
Text
The Tutor - Part Three
a/n: alright, I think I have these two out of my system now. hope you enjoy! feedback is always appreciated, as well as reblogs! 
Part One Part Two
Warnings: fluff, SMUT, slight angst, slight spitting, partying, alcohol consumption.
Words: 18.6K
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After spending like what felt a week in bed together, the spring semester officially began. Y/N was in a stage of just feeling giddy from how good Harry made her feel. Now that they had been together for a few months, she felt totally comfortable with him. She would often sleep naked, or lounge around in just her underwear she knew they would be alone for a while. Harry didn’t mind one bit. He liked how cute and sweet Y/N was, and he loved being loved on by her.
When she walks into their Art of Film class she scoffs when she sees him sitting in the second row. She walks right up to him and rolls her eyes.
“We are not sitting this close up.” She shakes her head.
“I like sitting closer, Y/N.”
“But if we’re going to be watching movies, then we should sit in the back.”
“This isn’t even a stadium style classroom, so that doesn’t make any sense. If you wanna sit in the back then be my guest, but this is where I like to sit.”
Y/N sighs heavily and sits down next to him. She didn’t like sitting up front in class, it just meant she would be called on more and she didn’t much feel like participating to the extreme in just a gen ed. She liked to save her energy for her major courses.
“You’re a little too studious sometimes, you know that?”
“Y/N.” He hums warningly and side eyes her. “Are you going to be able to handle sitting next to me? Or is this going to be an issue?”
“Golly gee, professor, I don’t know, maybe I should come to your office hours later to discuss it.” She smirks at him and he rolls his eyes.
“Don’t be mean.” He pouts. “I have a tough time concentrating in the back sometimes, so sitting up front is better for me. We’re in the second row at least.”
“I suppose that’s true.” She sighs.
Other students fill in. Billy from senate is in the class as well, and sits behind Harry. Y/N gives him a smile as well. The professor walks in, and sets his bag down on the desk. He gets his computer hooked up to the tech station so he can use the projector.
“God, please don’t tell me we’re going to watch Fight Club and Pulp Fiction.” Y/N groans.
“I didn’t see those on the syllabus.” Harry says, taking a few papers out. “Actually, a lot of the films we’re going to watch were directed by women, or have strong female casts.”
“You…already printed the syllabus?”
“Yeah, it’s what I did after I sent you home last night. I did it for all of my classes.”
“Good morning everyone, I’m Professor Robinson, feel free to call me Eric.” He smiles. “I’m really excited about this course, it’s one of my favorites to teach. We’re going to watch some great films, and learn about what goes into making them. I hope you all will get the book needed for class. It’s a little dense, but I promise I’ll be able to explain it in ways for you to understand.” He starts to go over the syllabus a bit. “One of the first films we’re going to be watching is Baby Face, it came out in 1933, and is considered a drama and a noir. This came out right at the beginning of when the Hays Code was being introduced, so we’ll be comparing this to Double Indemnity, which came out in 1944, another Barbara Stanwyck film. You’ll be able to see how differently the films were made, and even the difference in how female characters were treated. We’ll go over the Hays Code as well, but these two films will be great starting points. Now, you may have noticed that Wednesday evenings were put on your schedules from 7-9PM. These are optional meeting times. I will be showing the films here during this time, or you can watch them on your own. Whatever’s easier.” He smiles and continues on.
Y/N was captivated. She wasn’t sure what to expect from the course, and even though they would be watching a few black and white films in the beginning, the subject matter actually interested her.
“Alright, now, I hate doing the normal ice breakers where we all state our names, our majors, and a fun fact, and I know you all have made claim to your seats, so, turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself and talk about what you look for in a film when you go to the theater.”
Harry and Y/N look at each other and smile. Harry extends his hand out to her and she giggles as he shakes it.
“You’re so silly! Okay, when I go to the movies, like, if I’m going to pay to see a movie, I want to know that I’m going to laugh and not be bored. Like, I know it’s a good movie if I don’t check my phone the entire time. I like when the beginning is easy to follow along so I’m not confused.”
“Same here. I sort of like being sucked into another world, like, escape for a little bit. I feel like when I go to the movies, it’s one of the few times I don’t need to think too much about anything. It’s when I feel my least anxious.”
“Okay!” Eric says. “Glad you all could get to know each other a bit. I think we can end class a little early. Please make sure to check out the moodle page, there is a forum post do before Wednesday, and make sure you have Baby Face watched by next Monday. Thanks everyone!”
“This is going to be a fun class.” Y/N says to Harry as they walk out together.
“I think so too.” He kisses her cheek. “Where are you headed next? I have stats.”
“I’m heading to my Macroeconomics class, and then I have Organizational Communication, then I’m done for the day.”
“Alright, and then I’ll assume you have lifting?”
“Mhm.” She grins at him and pulls him aside.
“What?”
“Your birthday is this Friday.”
“Is it?” He pretends. “Had no idea.”
“Well, I hope you know I have a lot planned.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup, you’re going to be spoiled rotten, babe.” She gets on her tip toes to kiss him. “I gotta go, I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.” He chuckles as he heads upstairs to his stats class.
//
Y/N and Harry decide to be good sports Wednesday night and go to the formal viewing of Baby Face for their class. Most of the class actually showed up, so it made it more fun to watch. There was a scene where a man put his hand on Barbara’s knee, and she poured hot coffee on him without skipping a beat. Y/N loved her. She climbed her way up to the top by manipulating men, just as the men her life when she was younger had tried to manipulate her.
“I loved that movie!” Y/N exclaims as they leave the academic building. “She was so badass, taking no one’s shit.”
“Yeah, I really liked it too.” He yawns. “Christ, I’m tired.” He leads her in the direction of her apartment.
“Did I tell you me, Gina, Amanda, and Becca all signed a lease for an off campus place next year? We’re really excited.”
“That’s great! We’re all staying in the same apartment, which I’m happy about. It’s the perfect spot.” Harry walks Y/N up to her door and she looks confused when he stays outside. “M’gonna go back to my place, it’s late and I have an 8AM tomorrow…”
“Oh…alright.” She wraps her arms around his neck, and his go around her waist. “Thanks for walking me home.”
“Anytime, baby.”
They stand outside kissing for a while before he detaches himself from her. They both giggle and say goodnight before she goes inside. Louis and Niall were in the living room when Harry gets back, and he flops down onto the couch with them.
“Hey, mate, how was the movie?” Louis asks.
“Not too bad, actually. We both enjoyed it. I don’t think I’ll have the energy to go every Wednesday night, though. I’m pooped.”
“Did you go to the gym this morning?” Niall asks.
“Yeah, went for my usual run. Forgot how tiring going to classes all day were. Sort of miss just working in the law office.”
“I’m surprised Y/N isn’t with you.” Louis says.
“Nah, I walked her home and told her I wanted to come back here. I can’t get into the habit of having a lot of sleepovers during the week.” He hoists himself to his feet. “Well, I’m off to bed, goodnight.”
“Night, mate.” Niall and Louis say.
Harry gets cozy in bed, and then groans to himself when his boxers become uncomfortably tight. He rolls his eyes at himself. Did he have to press up against Y/N while they were making out earlier? Of course he was fucking did, and now he was too riled up to fall asleep. He wondered if the same thing ever happened to her.
Harry: can’t sleep
Y/N: thought you were exhausted
Harry: I was, but now I can’t stop thinking about you
Y/N: me or my parts, lmao
Harry: YOU
Y/N: not much I can do to help you from all the way over here…
Harry: picture???
Y/N: Harry!
Harry: you sent a ton over break!
Y/N: that was different
Harry: please??
Y/N: fine, I’ll send you a snap, gimme a minute
Y/N rips her blankets off her body, unsure of what sort of picture he was hoping for. She gets up and strips herself of her bed-shirt, and takes a mirror selfie, careful to hide most of her face, just in case, and sends it to him on snapchat. Harry was already stroking himself in anticipation. He grins ear to ear when he sees the notification pop up on his phone, and opens it immediately.
“Oh, fuck me.” He groans when he sees her naked body on display for him. She had squeezed one of her breasts, and he could just make out her biting her bottom lip. He knew she didn’t really like receiving nudes, even if it was from him, so he sends her back a pouty selfie telling her how fucking beautiful she was.
Y/N: you did this to yourself, you could have come up
Harry: I was trying to be good
Y/N: look at you now, giving yourself a hand job
Harry: don’t be mean…would you send another?
Y/N: yeah, hold on
She sends him a snap of her breasts pushed together, and that does it for him. He bites down on his knuckle while come gets on his other fist and lower belly. He gives himself a minute before cleaning himself up and laying back in bed.
Harry: thank you baby
Y/N: you realize you owe me
Harry: I’ll give you anything you want, you know that
Y/N: love you, goodnight
Harry: love you too, sweet dreams
He sighs happily as his eyes flutter closed. Y/N rolls her eyes and smirks to herself. Sometimes these moments were gentle reminders that even though Harry was a little more “woke” than most guys, he was still your average college guy. He wanted nudes from his girlfriend, and he wanted to sext even though he easily could have just come inside. She wasn’t annoyed her anything, and she didn’t want to be with his birthday so close. However, now she was left there, aroused at the idea of him simply getting off to a couple of pictures of her. She figures if he could do that, then she could do the same. She told him about most of her winter break, but what she hadn’t told him was about her new little friend. The girls had all gone to a sex shop, and she bought a little bullet vibrator. Y/N gets up and goes into her closet to use it. If he didn’t want to come in to satisfy her, she had other ways of getting around it.
//
Thursdays were days Y/N could meet up with Harry for lunch, so she happily goes to see him at the dining hall. She smiles and sits down with her food. He had his laptop out, typing away at something.
“How could you possibly already have something so important to do?” She sighs.
“Student senate stuff.” He says and then closes his laptop. “Thanks for your help last night.” He smirks and then kisses her cheek.
“You’re welcome.” She sips on his drink.
“Are you excited for your game tonight?”
“Mhm.”
“Are you upset with me?”
“No, why would I be?”
“You seem a little annoyed with me…”
“Not at all, Har.” She shrugs. “I just think that if you wanted to fuck me, you could have come inside.”
“I didn’t feel like spending the night.”
“I’ve told you before that you don’t need to.”
“You say that, but then you give me this look, and then I feel guilty…so I just don’t come in at all. It’s easier.”
“Mm, and then you get to conveniently rub one out.”
“Are you upset that I asked you to send me pictures?”
“No, I suppose it’s flattering. I just think I make things a little too easy for you sometimes. It’s not exactly easy for me to get off on my own, you know?”
“Aw, did I leave you hanging?” He genuinely felt bad.
“Nope, took care of it myself. Don’t exactly need you, do I?” She grins. “Made my back arch off the bed all by myself, no help from you whatsoever.” She bites into her sandwich, and looks innocently as his grimacing face. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re being mean. What are you saying, I don’t make you feel good anymore?”
“No, you make me feel plenty good. But I know a thing or two now, so don’t you worry about not wanting to come up and fuck me because I can handle it all on my own. In fact, let’s be like an old married couple who have sex nights and just do it once a week. That could be fun.”
“You are annoyed with me.”
“I’m not.” She leans closer to him so no one around can hear. “I just don’t want to be your personal porn star when you can’t fall asleep at night.”
“That’s not what I…” He sucks his teeth. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, you’re right. It was a little selfish, I’m sorry.” He pouts at her and hides his face in her neck. “Love you so much.” He kisses on her neck slowly, and she sighs.
“It’s okay.” She rubs his back. She really couldn’t stay upset with him when he was like this. He was just too cute. “I love you too.”
He sits up straight and pecks her lips before eating more of his food.
“I can hang out tonight if you want, no Friday classes this semester.”
“Me neither! Although, I’ll still have practice tomorrow morning. I’ll think about it. Maybe you could come to dinner after the game?”
“I’d love to.”
The girls ended up losing, so there was no community dinner down town, and Y/N was in too sour of a mood to have alone time with Harry, which he understood. Tomorrow was his birthday, so she’d rather start fresh with him when she was in a better mood.
//
“Shh.”
Harry’s eyes flutter open around nine. He usually never sleeps this “late”, but his alarm didn’t go off for some reason. His eyes snap open when he sees, Y/N, Niall, and Louis all creeping into his room. They were holding balloons and streamers and confetti.
“Happy birthday!” They all scream and dog pile on Harry. He laughs hysterically.
“Okay, okay!” He yelps. “Can’t breathe!”
The boys both get off the bed, but Y/N stays straddling him.
“Right, well, we’ll be whipping up some brekkie downstairs.” Louis says with a wink as he and Niall leave the room.
Y/N gets up quickly to lock the door and then she gets right back on top of Harry. His hands grip her hips tightly.
“What a nice surprise.” He smiles up at her. “Do you mind if I go brush my teeth and all that? Just woke up, you know.”
“You know what’s funny? With all of the excitement this morning, I forgot to take a shower.” Harry’s eyes grow wide at her. “What do you say, Har?” She says lowly.
“They’re home…”
“They’ll be busy making what I asked them to, and they’ve been told not to come upstairs. They just want you to have a good birthday, and so do I.”
“Do you even have anything with you?”
“Yeah, my bag’s right over there.” She points to it. “So…”
“Alright, yeah, let’s go take a shower.” He says excitedly.
Harry brushes his teeth while Y/N gets her hair up in a bun so it won’t get wet.
“Did you shower after practice?”
“I rinsed very quickly, not the same thing.” She takes her clothes off and presses her body against Harry’s. “This is much better.”
“I agree.”
He pulls the curtain back and helps her in. They both giggle as the water hits his back, and she wraps her arms around his neck. His hands slide down to her ass and he squeezes her. He licks into her mouth, and she happily glides her tongue along his. She bites his bottom lip and steps back, grabbing at his body wash.
“Which scrubbie is yours?”
“Oh, I just use these.” He holds up two gloves that are made from exfoliating rags. “They work much better and they’re more sanitary.”
“Learn something new about you every day, Har.” She grabs the gloves and puts them on, and squeezes the body wash onto them. “Turn around, gonna getcha all clean.”
“Wow, I’m really being spoiled today.”
He turns around and nearly purrs at the feeling of her scrubbing his back. She turns him around so she can do the same to his front and arms. She peels the gloves off and rinses them out.
“Thanks, baby.” He smiles as the soap rinses off him.
“Want me to wash your hair too?” She asks shyly. “Grew my nails out for you.” She holds them up to show him and he his mouth forms in an “O”.
“Yes, please.”
She giggles and get his shampoo lathered into her hands, and he bends down a bit so she can properly scrub at his head. He moans softly as her nails scratch at his head. She massages his scalp a bit as well before helping him rinse it out. Once he’s all clean, she gets on her knees in front of him, and starts stroking him up and down.
“Is this what you wanted the other night?”
“Yes.” He grunts. “Are you sure you feel like doing this right now?”
“Mhm.” She hums before swirling her tongue around his tip.
Harry mindlessly grips at the tile on the wall while she bobs her head up and down on him. She swallows around him and plays with his balls, doing everything she knows he really likes.
“Baby, please, let me touch you.”
She looks up at him and he nearly loses it. He helps her stand up and he pushes her up against the wall, and she gasps with surprise at his abrupt forcefulness. His lips sponge at her neck and across her chest. One of his hands slides between her legs and her head rolls back against the tile.
“We’re wasting water.” She groans. “Let’s get out, and then we can play a little more.”
“You’re not just teasing?”
“No, babe.”
“Okay.”
They both get out, and get wrapped in towels. Harry smells the food from downstairs, and his stomach growls, but he soon forgets he’s hungry when he sees Y/N drop her towel and shake out her hair.
“Come and get me, birthday boy.”
He drops his towel and nearly tackles her onto his bed. He nips at her lips and works his way down her body, biting and sucking where he pleases. He just wanted his head between her legs. He spreads her apart, and licks a flat stripe up her center.
“Jesus.” She shivers from that alone, and slots her fingers through his hair.
He sucks harshly on her clit, and swirls his tongue around it, nibbling a little before sucking on it again. She moans out a little too loudly and she covers her mouth with her hand. She didn’t exactly want to put on a show for the boys downstairs. That all goes to hell when he licks into her. She props herself up on her elbows to watch him. He looks up at her while he fucks her with his tongue, and the eye contact is too much for the both of them, but they continue through any embarrassment they may feel.
“Oh my god.” She pants as her head rolls back. His mouth moves back to her clit, and two of his fingers slide inside her, twisting around as he pumps them in and out. “Harry, fuck, oh my god.”
He curls his fingers up as he gets in knuckle deep, and rubs them against her g-spot, as he continues to suck on her clit. He groans against her when he feels her tighten around him.
“Gonna come?”
“Yes, oh my fucking god, shit!” She cries out as she pulses and vibrates around him. He takes his fingers out and laps away at her as she comes down from her high.
“Ready for my cock?”
“Please.” She breathes and nods.
He gets up and grabs a condom to roll on. He gets back on the bed, but she pins him down, pinning his hands on either side of his head.
“Let me take care of it, baby, just want you to feel good and relax.”
She lines herself up and sinks down on him. He moans out at the tight feeling. She brings her hands back down to his and intertwines their fingers as she keeps them pinned on his pillow. She rocks back and forth on him slowly, just getting adjusted, and then she starts to get a good pace going, moving up and down on him.
“Fuck, Y/N.” He grits his teeth and squeezes her hands. “You feel so good.” He was panting, watching her above him like this was really doing something to him, and he sort of speaks before he thinks. “Would you spit in my mouth?”
Y/N kept moving on him, but she looked down at him deeply concerned.
“You want me to what?!”
“Never mind!”
“No, I’ll do it!”
“Forget I said anything! I don’t even know why I-“
“Harry, you want me to spit? I’ll spit!”
“It’s weird, it’s too weird, I went too far!”
“Open your mouth!”
Harry’s mouth falls open, his tongue peeking out. Y/N wells up some spit in her mouth and leans down so her mouth was close to Harry’s. She didn’t want to spit harshly. She sort of just wanted her saliva to drip from her tongue to his. Maybe that could be sensual? So she does just that. She opens her mouth and lets the spit in her mouth roll from her tongue to his. She was moving on him in slow circles as she did this. He swallows it and looks up at her. He uses the power from his legs to thrust up into her since his hands were busy squeezing hers.
“Do it again.” He breathes.
She happily obliges and does it again for him. It was his birthday, she’d do anything he wanted…within reason of course. She supposed it wasn’t the weirdest thing he could have asked for. His tongue had been so far up her cunt, swapping spit was probably the least odd bodily fluid they could have shared.
She stays close to him, sucking on his tongue while they move in sync with each other. She starts squeezing and tightening around him. She was rubbing up against him in the perfect way, and he was about ready to lose it himself.
“M’gonna come, Y/N.” He groans.
“Me too, fuck, me too.”
She sits up straight and her back arches as she comes, and his release wasn’t too far behind. He feels like he explodes inside of the condom. She lets go of his hands slowly and he helps her off of him. He runs a hand through his hair as he watches her wobble around to get some pants and a t-shirt on.
“Just gonna go pee.” She kisses his cheek and slips out of his room.
He disposes of the condom, and puts his boxers and sweatpants on, not much feeling like a shirt at the moment. He was sitting on his bed, twiddling his thumbs, when she came back into the room. She sits down next to him and smiles.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah…I just, um, was that weird?”
“What?”
“When I asked you to spit in my mouth?”
“Um…” She blushes. “It took me a little off guard, but it’s really not that weird.”
“I don’t even know why I wanted you to do that, it just sort of slipped out.”
“It’s really not that different from kissing, I mean, we technically spit on each other all the time.”
“Guess that’s true.” He smirks and grabs his glasses. “It’s been quite the morning.”
“It’s not over yet.” She stands up and reached for his hand. “Come on.”
They both come downstairs, and Harry gasps.
“Yorkshire pudding?!”
“Got the recipe of Delia Smith’s website.” Louis laughs. “Hope it tasted good. We made eggs, beans, and bacon too.”
“Thanks guys.”
It was a nice breakfast for the four of them. Y/N hangs out with Harry all day. They paint each other’s nails, watch a movie, cuddle, and just enjoy each other’s company. He had gotten a little sleepy, so he was peacefully napping with his head resting in her chest. Y/N noticed that Harry was a stomach sleeper, but he liked having something to hold on to. It was really cute. She was playing with his hair while reading on her phone. It was a really nice lazy day, and a perfect way to make sure everything was getting set up for his surprise party at Ashley’s. She hears his phone start to buzz and sees it a FaceTime request from Gemma.
“Babe, it’s your sister.”
“Okay.” He mumbles and sits up. “Hello!”
“Happy birthday!” Gemma and Anne say together.
“Harry, are you still in bed?” Anne asks.
“Was taking a nap, Mum. It’s my birthday, I’m allowed to catch up on some sleep.”
“Are you doing anything fun?”
“Y/N and the guys made me breakfast, and then we watched a movie, and I think we’re going out tonight.”
“Is she with you now?” Gemma asks.
“Yeah.” He flips the camera.
“Hi, Y/N!” Gemma says.
“Hello.” She says shyly and waves. Harry flips the camera back to himself.
“I love you both, but m’all groggy.”
“Alright, honey, I sent you a nice package so hopefully you’ll get it soon. We love you!”
“Thanks!” He tosses his phone elsewhere, and pushes Y/N back down so he can put his head back on her chest. “So comfy.”
“We should probably get up soon…”
“Why? What else you got planned?”
“Just dinner with friends. We should be there around seven.”
“S’only four now, plenty of time to keep chilling out. I never get to do this, it’s nice.”
“Okay, babe.” She goes back to playing with his hair and reading on her phone.
//
When it was time to get ready, Y/N put on some black tights that had a pattern on them, her black mini pencil skirt, and a long sleeve red crop top. Harry had a long sleeve blue button up on paired with his black jeans. He was putting his boots one when he watched Y/N zip up her own boots.
“You look so fucking sexy.” He says as he gets up and wraps his arms around her. “Are you sure we have somewhere to be, and I can’t just take this all off you?”
“Sorry.” Y/N giggles. “But dinner’s waiting.”
“But I’m only hungry for one thing.” He pecks at her lips.
“Didn’t you have enough of that earlier?”
“Never enough, babe.”
“Oh, Harry.” She swats a hand at his chest. “Come on.”
They both get their coats on and head out. She loops her arm around his, and leads the way. He realizes they’re headed towards Ashley’s apartment, but he doesn’t question it. She opens the door and everyone yells surprise. Harry laughs and walks in. They put their coats away and he’s amazed at the spread of appetizers there was.
“Thank you all so much, this is great.” He smiles.
All of his friends from senate were there, Louis, Niall, some other people from the soccer team, and other friends. And of course the entire women’s hockey team, but that was a given. A cake is brought out and everyone sings happy birthday to him. After settling down from the food, all of the drinks come out. Everyone takes shots of tequila, and then Y/N makes Harry a vodka cranberry, his favorite. That’s what he stuck with all night. He didn’t want to throw up from mixing drinks.
Y/N was off talking to her friends, but when the music starts to get good, Harry finds her, and yanks her towards him. She wraps her arms around his neck as they start to slow grind.
“Can’t believe you put all of this together for me.”
“Well, it wasn’t all me, the guys helped.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He presses his forehead to hers. “Love you so much.”
“Love you too.”
Harry was really drunk, like, more drunk than Y/N had ever seen him, so she was taking it easy on her own drinks. He stayed attached to her while they danced for the rest of the night. She indulged in making out with him, but there was no way they were having sex again when they got back to his place. Louis and Niall had to help walk him back because there was no way she could carry him. They help him up the stairs in and into his room.
“I’ve got it from here, boys, thanks.”
“Night, Y/N.” Niall says as he and Louis leave.
“Okay, let’s…Harry…” She giggles as he sloppily kisses her neck. “Come on, I wanna get you into bed.”
“Mm, me too. Let’s get you into bed.”
“No, baby, for sleep. Gotta get you out of these clothes for sleep.” He bites down on her neck and squeezes her ass and she groans for a moment before pushing him off. She puts her hands on her hips and looks at him. “We can do that in the morning, you’re really drunk.”
She steps forward and unbuttons his shirt, and gets his pants off. She sits him down on the bed while she gets her own clothes off. She throws on one of his t-shirts and flips the lights off. She climbs into bed with him, and he spoons her, pressing his bulge against her ass.
“M’so hard.” He whines.
“I know, but there’s nothing I can do about that right now.”
“You gave me such a nice birthday.” He holds her closer and nestles into her hair.
“I’m glad you had a nice day, babe.” She chuckles.
“It was the best.” He yawns, and not too long after…he’s out.
Y/N was grateful he didn’t get sick. She didn’t do well with throw up. She drifts off slowly after him. She wakes up a couple of hours later to the sound of his door opening and closing. She sits up immediately, hoping he wasn’t getting up because he was sick. He comes back moment later chugging water from his water bottle.
“Oh, thank god.” She breathes.
“Need some?”
“Yeah.” She smiles and takes the bottle from him.
“Sorry I woke you. I was fucking parched.” He crawls back into bed and takes the bottle from her. “Think I’m still a little drunk.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised, I let you drink too much.” She runs a hand through his hair.
“Oh, but I had so much fun. I’ll just sleep it off.” He gives her a few pecks before settling back down. She rests her head on his chest and he holds her close. This was the life.
//
The team made it to the first round of playoffs, but nothing further, so their season ended at the end of February. It was sad for the seniors on the team, but mostly everyone was happy for their break. No more early morning practices. They just needed to keep up with lifts in the late afternoons. This also meant that Y/N could stay out later most nights. Ashley and Megan had people over almost every night to drink. They weren’t raging, but Y/N was loving not having to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn. Harry didn’t always go with her, which was fine. He had 8AM’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays, after all.
There was one Tuesday night Harry was already asleep in bed when his phone started ringing. He saw Y/N’s name, and swiped to take the call.
“Baby?” He says groggily.
“Hey sunshine!”
“Amanda?” He sits up. “Why do you have Y/N’s phone?”
“Well, her head’s in the toilet at the moment. She really wants to go home, but it would look bad if one of us carried her. UPD would question us for sure.”
“She’s sick?” He sighs, already pulling some sweats on.
“Yeah, so is Gina. It’s no Bueno.”
“What the hell happened? Where are you?”
“At Ashley’s…we did shots, and then played slap the bag. Not a great mix.”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
He rubs his eyes, grabs his glasses and heads out. He walks right into Ashley’s. Her apartment was filled with smoke and people. Harry partied like anyone else, but not so much on a Tuesday night. He walks to where he knows the bathroom is and doesn’t see anyone.
“Harry!” Amanda says. “She’s over here.” She tugs him over to the living room where Y/N was basically passed out on the couch.
“Christ, where’s Gina?”
“She’s crashing in Megan’s room. Come on, Y/N, Harry’s here.” She nudges her.
“Hm?” Her eyes open slightly and then they grow wide. “No! I don’t want him to see me like this!” She hides her face in her hands.
“It’s okay, babe, let’s get you home.” Harry says, lifting her up bridal styles. “I can’t carry her likes across campus, we’ll get stopped. Help me get her on my back, that’s less weird looking.”
Amanda nods and helps Y/N get situated so Harry could give her a piggy back ride. She was complete dead weight.
“She’s gonna kill me for calling you, but she didn’t want to stay…I’m sorry, I know you were sleeping.”
“It’s alright, Amanda. I’d rather her be safe. You guys have been going a little nuts lately, yeah?”
“We can’t help it. We’re not allowed to get crazy during the week during the season. Things will settle down soon. Spring break is coming up, you know? Last year we all went home and detoxed essentially.”
Amanda gets the apartment door open, and lets Harry take Y/N upstairs.
“Are you gonna spew again?”
“No.” She mumbles.
“Alright, well, I’m gonna put this bucket here.” He brings her barrel over. “Let’s get you out of these clothes, yeah?”
“Go home, you need to sleep.”
“I’m gonna take care of you.”
“No, you’re gonna be mad at me in the morning.”
“I won’t be.”
“Yes you will.” She pouts and her eyes start to tear up.
“Nope, none of that, come on.”
“I can take my own clothes off.”
“Okay, I’ll get your pj’s then.” He goes into her dresses and she lunges towards him, tackling him down. “Y/N! What the fuck?!”
“Don’t go in there! I have things in there you can’t see!”
“You could have just said that! You’re not on the fucking ice!” He gets them both up. “What’s in there that I can’t see?”
“Personal things.”
“Babe.” He pinches the bridge of her nose. “Get your clothes off, now, and I will get your pj’s.”
He goes back into where he knows she keeps her larger t-shirts.
“Harry!” His eyes grow wide after grabbing a shirt off the top. There were two different vibrators and a dildo. “I’ve only ever used the little one…”
“Put this on.” He hands her the t-shirt and closes the drawer.
She strips out of her clothes and he looks the other way to give her some privacy. She gets stuck when she tries to get her shirt on and he helps her.
“Fuck, I have to pee so bad.” She says, sprinting out of the room. He sits down on her bed and waits for her. She brushes her teeth while she’s in the bathroom too. “You’re still here?” She asks, shocked.
“Where the fuck am I going? I’m not leaving you like this.”
“But…you saw the things.”
“We can talk about it tomorrow, or never, I don’t really care.” She sits on his thighs, straddling his lap. “Y/N.” He sighs.
“I just…I don’t want you to think…I mean…I got them over winter break, and-“
“I don’t care, you don’t need to tell me, okay? Can we go to sleep?”
“You’re gonna stay?”
“I just said I was going to! Come on.”
“You’re angry.”
“I’m a little cranky, yeah. Your friend called me drunk to tell me your head was in a toilet while I was sleeping. At least tomorrow we don’t have class until 10:30, so I’ll have to get back and grab my shit beforehand. Now, lay down on the edge so you’re closer to the bucket.” He rids himself of his sweats, leaving himself in his boxers, and gets in with her. She turns to face him while he’s facing her. “You need to turn over.”
“But you’re so pretty.” She whispers and it makes him crack a smile as she pokes his dimple. “I’m sorry she called you.”
“I’m not, I’d come get you any time. I’ll carry you home whenever you need.” He strokes the side of her face. “You’ve done the same for me, it’s fine. Just lay on your stomach for me, okay? I’ll rub your back how you like.”
“Okay.” She smiles and does as he says. She falls asleep with him softly petting on her and it feels amazing.
His alarm goes off at 8AM and she groans.
“Up, let’s go.” He says, rummaging through her closet for her spare towels. “We’re showering quickly and then going to my place, and then we’re getting greasy breakfast sandwiches so you’re not hungover for class.”
“Eric won’t care, he likes me.” Y/N mumbles.
“A little too much if you ask me.”
“Oh stop. I could say the same about that freshman you’re tutoring.”
“How about neither of us play the jealous game?”
“Deal.” She stands and nearly vomits. “Ugh, I feel like shit.”
“You’ll feel better soon.”
“You came to my rescue last night?”
“Yup, that’s me, prince charming.” He rolls his eyes and tugs her out of her room.
She puts her hair up and they both get into the shower. Harry gets them both clean, and dressed. He makes sure she has everything for class, and then they head to his place. Once he has all of his things, and has new sweats on, they head to the coffee shop on campus for breakfast sandwiches.
“Harry…you’re wearing sweatpants to class.”
“I’m aware.”
“But you never wear sweatpants to class.”
“I’m a little fucking tired, Y/N, is that alright?”
“Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not…” He sighs and looks at her. “I just…I’m feeling anxious from things happening so abruptly. My entire routine got messed up and-“ He could feel his breathing quickening so he takes a deep breath. “It’s fine, I’m fine, we’re fine, let’s just go eat.”
They both get coffees and breakfast sandwiches and grab a table to sit. They had about thirty minutes before class, so they could take their time eating.
“Fuck, this was a good idea.” She moans as she eats.
“Yeah.” He agrees as he bites into his own. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe go a little less hard at the parties during the week?”
“You got it. I hate throwing up, I’m not dealing with that again, nor am I going to do that to you again.”
“I wouldn’t care…it’s just…it was a school night is all.”
Y/N nods her head and continues eating her breakfast sandwich. Once they’re done, they head to class and sit down. Eric was there a little earlier than usual.
“Ah, Y/N, I’m glad you’re here. I wanna talk to you about your paper on your Bond comparative essay.”
“Oh…okay.” Y/N walks up to him and he takes her paper out. Harry can’t help but watch the conversation as other students come into class. “I know I’m not a very good writer…”
“No! You’re brilliant, actually. This is one of the better papers I’ve seen. You made a lot of incredible points. You got an A, see?” He shows her and her eyes grow wide. “I was wondering if I could if I could hang onto this and scan it to save as a copy. Students are always asking me for example papers, and I think this is a great paper to use.”
“Are you serious? Yeah, that’s fine with me.”
“Great, thanks.” He smiles. “Well done.”
“Thank you…” She blinks and sits back down. She looks at Harry in shock. “He wants to keep my paper to use as an example.”
“That’s great! You worked really hard on that one, Y/N, you deserve a little praise.”
Eric passes out the rest of the papers, and gives Y/N hers so she could look at any notes he may have made. Harry also got an A, not that Y/N was surprised, but she was happy for him nonetheless.
“H, what did you get?” Billy whispers from behind him. Harry turns to look at him.
“An A, what about you?”
“B+, not too bad.”
“Alright everyone, today, as a treat, we’re going to watch Austin Powers since we’ve just finished our Bond unit. Since we’ve watched a few films, you’ll see that this movie takes a lot from Gold Finger and Golden Eye.” He says as he starts the movie and turns the lights.
“Ugh, thank god. If there was ever a day to just chill in class, it’s today.” Y/N whispers to Harry.
“Agreed.” He whispers.
Eric clears his throat to get their attention, and they both sit back in their seats. There were plenty of laughs throughout class as the movie continued. Y/N stretches as she stands once class ends, revealing a little bit of her stomach. Harry catches Eric looking briefly, and puts his arm around her shoulders.
“Have a good stats class.” She puckers lips and kisses him.
“Thanks, have a good rest of your day. I won’t be able to meet up tonight, I’m doing a group tutoring session, and then I have an 8AM tomorrow…”
“Okay, well…thanks again for last night. I really owe you.”
“No you don’t.” He smiles and gives her a lingering kiss before they part ways.
//
Spring break was definitely the detox Y/N needed from all of the drinking she had been doing with the hockey team, although, she really didn’t want to go home. Harry would be staying on campus with any other students who couldn’t go home. He had projects he needed to work on, but he also thought it would be a nice time break to spend with Y/N. She couldn’t stay on campus, though, because she needed to work at the bar. She also needed to bring up going to Italy this summer to her mom.
“Great work tonight, honey.” Angie says to her as they wipe down the tables.
“Thanks…um…can I talk to you about something?”
“Of course!” She stops what she’s doing to look at her daughter. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine, I just…well, I’ve been invited somewhere this summer, and I’d really like to go.”
“Alright, where have you been invited to?”
“Italy.” She mumbles.
“Come again?”
“Italy.” She says a little louder. “See, Harry-“
“Oh, here we go.” Angie rolls her eyes.
“Mum, please, let me just explain.”
“Okay.” She crosses her arms and sits down.
“He and his friends spend three weeks in Italy every summer, one of their dad’s has a house by the water or something. They go end of July through early August, so it’s not like I’d be missing the holiday rush…I’d like to go the whole time, but I’d be willing to compromise, and I’ll pay my own way.”
“You expect me to let you take an international flight alone? What if you get abducted?”
“Mum.”
“Three weeks alone with your boyfriend is a long time…”
“Well, we won’t be alone, his friends will be there.”
“You know what I mean.” She sighs. “I really hate this whole you being an adult thing. I can’t really say no, you’re almost twenty years old, and it will be summer so you should take advantage and travel…” She takes a moment and looks at Y/N. “Could you go for two weeks instead of three? I think that’s plenty of time to spend together.”
“Yeah! I can definitely do that.” She smiles.
“And I’ll pay for half the ticket, that’ll be your birthday present. Your passport should still be good from high school.”
“Mum!” She squeals and hugs Angie. “Thank you so much, Harry’s going to be so excited!” She kisses her cheek. “I’m excited too, of course.”
“Well, I should hope so.” She chuckles, and they continue to close down the bar.
//
Y/N convinced Angie to drive her back to campus on Friday instead of Sunday. She dropped off all her things, and walked to Harry’s. She knocks on the door, and he opens it confused, but happy to see her.
“Hey!” He wraps his arms around her. “You’re back early.”
“Wanted to surprise you, can I come in?”
“Of course! Yeah, come on in.”
“Are you busy?”
“I was just working on a paper, but I can definitely take a break.” Hey both go up to his room, and he moves his things away from the bed so they can both sit. “Got a lot done this week, I’m feeling good.”
“That’s great! Okay, so, I have really good news that I’ve been keeping to myself because I wanted to tell you in person.”
“Oh? Please, do tell.” He grins.
“My mom said I could come to Italy this summer! Only for two weeks instead of three, but still.”
“That’s great!” He cups her jaw and pulls her in for a kiss. “We’re gonna have so much fun. I can show you what website to go on for the plane ticket, there’s this site that sells them for really cheap. I use it when I go home and stuff.”
“Sounds good, thanks. I think two weeks will be plenty, don’t you?”
“I mean, sure.” He shrugs.
“I wouldn’t want us getting on each other’s nerves being together 24/7.”
“We’ll be too busy to get on each other’s nerves, trust me. I can’t wait to tell my friends you’re coming, they’re dying to meet you.”
“Aw, that’s sweet. What are their names?”
“Well, Lou and Niall will be there, they came last year and are coming again. They go right from there to here for soccer. Then there’s my friend Adam, his dad is the one who owns the house, and Mike, Ben, and Clark.”
“Are any of them seeing someone?”
“Um, Adam brought a guy with him last summer, but they’re not dating anymore, so he may be going stag.” He shrugs. “When we were in high school we used to bring a lot of girls with us because we thought we were cool.” He laughs. “But Ben might bring someone, I’m not sure exactly. Sometimes we would just meet people in Italy to hang out with.”
“Hang out with.” She rolls her eyes. “Any Italian chicks I need to worry about.”
“Not that I can think of.” He taps his chin playfully. “You know me, I’m a real sexual deviant.” He says sarcastically and she nudges him. “Come here.”
He pulls her down to lay with him, and they both sigh. He rubs her back and she lays her leg over both of his, pressing into the bulge that’s growing in his pants. He tilts her chin up to look at him and she removes his glasses. He presses his lips to hers and she moves the rest of the way on top of him. He licks at her bottom lip, and she opens up for him. He has one arm wrapped around her back, and the other one around her ass, keeping her nice and close. Her fingers slot through his soft hair and she moans softly when she rolls hips her hips slowly on his.
“Missed you.” He says against her lips, taking her bottom lip between his teeth.
“Missed you too.” She whimpers as he presses his hips harder up towards hers.
Things started to get a little more heated from there, Y/N could feel her lips getting swollen from how hard her and Harry were kissing each other, and she was about ready to lose it in her pants from the way they were grinding on each other.
“Harry.” She groans. “Please.”
“Please what?” He moves her hair away from her neck and starts sucking on her soft skin.
“Can we please fuck?”
“Yes.”
He flips them over so she’s on her back, and he yanks her leggings and panties off in one swoop. She gets her shirt and bra off while he gets naked himself. He climbs back onto the bed and he wraps her legs around his waist. She slides her hands up and down his torso and chest.
“Have I ever told you how much I love your tattoos? Because I do, they’re so cool.” Her hands trace over the ferns on his hips.
“Thanks baby.” His hands knead her breasts.
Harry slides his hard dick over her folds and against her clit, causing her hips to buck up. He dips his head down to kiss on her neck and her hand wrap around his back, nails digging in.
“Do you wanna…put it in?”
She feels him nod his head yes, and before she knows it he’s pushing inside her. Her gasp turns into a moan. She bites down on his shoulder as he rocks in and out of her. He sucks on one of her nipples as he thrusts in and out.
“Feels so fucking good.” Her head rolls back into the pillows.
He pulls out and grins at her. She raises an eyebrow at him, and then he flips her over, pulls her up to her knees. She looks back at him as he slides in again. He gets an even pace going, and then he tugs her back to him, his chest flush with her back. He’s got one arm snaked around her, and the other rubbing slow circles on her clit.
“Fuck, oh my god.” Her head rolls back to his shoulder and she looks up at him. He slots his mouth over hers, and the both moan into each other.
“This why you wanted to come back early? Just really needed my cock?” He says into her ear and it has her pushing her ass against him.
“Thought about you every night.” She groans.
“Yeah? Did you bring home your little toys to help you out?”
“H-Harry, don’t-“
“Maybe I should use one on you sometime, would you like that?”
She was dripping all around his cock, she loved when he would just say whatever he wanted into her ear.
“Only wanna feel you.” She admits. It was true, she didn’t like having to use her vibrator, as good as it felt. She really just preferred Harry’s hands on her.
She feels him smile into her neck, knowing that was exactly what he wanted to hear. He picks up the pace on the way he’s rubbing her clit and he feels her squeeze around him. She hooks an arm up around his head to tug at his hair.
“Shit, Harry!” She cries out as she comes to her release.
He gently lets go of her so she can press her front to the mattress. He keeps his hands on her hips as he drives into her hard and fast. He had her panting, and he was panting too. He pulls out and comes on her ass and back before collapsing next to her.
“Fuck.” He breathes and then looks at her. “You have the most perfect ass I’ve ever fucking seen.”
“Shut up.” She giggles.
“Let me clean you up.” He kisses her forehead and then gets up to grab a rag to wipe her clean.
“Thank you.”
He gets back onto the bed and pulls her close to him. They lay there naked for a bit, just enjoying the time skin to skin.
“Do you feel like having a little date night tonight since you’re here? We could go downtown for dinner and then come back to watch a movie in the living room.”
“I’d like that. I’d just wanna go home and change first.”
“Oh cute, then I can come pick you up.”
“Always the romantic.” She kisses his cheek and gets up to grab her clothes. “Give me, like, an hour to get ready, yeah?”
“Sounds good to me, see you soon.” He smiles and kisses her as she leaves his room.
Harry was really happy that Y/N came back a couple of days early. He was trying to play it a little more cool, but she was such a source of comfort for him. He had incorporated her into his routine, so when she wasn’t around he would get a little anxious, which he knew wasn’t healthy, but there wasn’t much he could do about it right now.
He puts on a green sweater with the black jeans he knows she likes, and puts his contacts in. He runs his hand through his hair a few times, getting his curls to sit just right. He knew he needed a haircut, but he also liked when Y/N would really tug on his hair. His logic was the longer his hair the better the grip she could get on him. He left the bit of scruff he had grown out and put on some cologne. He heads down the stairs to put his boots on and goes into the living room.
“Going on a date with my girl, mind if we have the living room when we get back? We’re gonna watch a movie. You can join if you want-“
“And watch the two of you make out?” Louis scoffs. “I’ll pass, mate.”
“Same here.” Niall chuckles. “But we can definitely clear out of here.”
“Thanks, I just get sick of watching stuff on my little laptop screen. Are you guys doing anything tonight?”
“Might go see some of the girls from the other international house. I don’t see myself staying out too late, I went a little too hard last night.” Louis says.
“Yeah, I spewed in the bushes, so I won’t be drinking tonight.” Niall says.
“Alright.” Harry chuckles. “Well, see you later.”
Harry makes the walk to Y/N’s apartment, and he knocks on the door when he gets there. His cheeks immediately blush when he sees her. She had a dark blue thing sweater dress on, showing off all her curves. She paired with some black boots and black tights, looking cuter than ever.
“You look so pretty.” He pouts at her and takes her hand.
“Thanks, thought I’d dress up a little It’s rare that we get to go on a real date.”
“I know! I’m really glad you came back a couple days early. Meant it when I said I missed you.”
“I meant it too.” She loops her arm through his so she can cling to him a little tighter.
The end up at the local bistro, even though Y/N told Harry it would be too expensive, but he assured her it was fine. She talks about her week working at the bar, and he talks about what he might do for work this summer.
“I could always go back to the bakery, but I really want to take the rest of the semester to figure out what I actually want to do. I might go see my advisor next week. I literally have zero idea what I want to do with my life.” He sighs and pops a fry into his mouth.
“Does anyone?” She laughs.
“Well, you sort of do. You’ve got a job lined up right away after graduation.”
“Yeah, working for my mom until she decides to retire really sounds great.” She rolls her eyes. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wanna take over the bar, but I wanna do it more in a way where like I could open up multiple locations, you know? I could oversee multiple businesses across the country.”
“Wow…that would be really cool.”
“It’s just an idea, I don’t know if it’ll ever happen. People like small town bars with good food, and that’s what my mom has, I think opening up multiple locations could work, it would just take a lot of marketing and PR. I may pick up a PR minor, the classes double count in my major and I think that may be what I’m a little more interested in these days.”
Harry loved listening to Y/N talk about her aspirations. She really was smart, and he didn’t think she gave herself enough credit.
“Are you not interested in the law stuff anymore?”
“I don’t know…” He sighs. “It’s just such a big commitment, you know? It’s more school, and then you basically have to study and pass the bar where you want to live, and I have no idea where I want to live. I don’t know if I wanna stay in the U.K. forever. I’ve barely been able to explore America while I’ve been here, and there are parts of Europe I’d like to go to. I don’t know, maybe I’ll become a travel blogger or something.” He jokes.
“You laugh, but you’d hit it big.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well…” She blushes. “You’re insanely hot, Harry, so you have that going for you. People would follow you on a superficial level, and then there’s the fact that you’re smart and nice. You could talk about the country or town you’re in and say what you really liked and what you discovered.”
“Not a very sustainable job though.”
“Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? You’re really good at explaining things. You never once made me feel stupid last semester.”
“I think I’m better one on one. I feel like whenever I have to give a presentation I just word vomit. I’m also not on an education track, so again, more school. I ‘d need my master’s, and you need to take whatever tests there are in the state you want to work in, and that’s if I wanna stay in America. I don’t even know what I’d want to teach…”
“You could find a job like in a tutoring office like we have here. It takes someone really important to run those types of offices and-“
“Y/N?”
“Yeah?”
“Um…do you mind if we change the subject a little?” His leg wouldn’t stop bouncing. “I know this stuff is important to talk through and figure out, but it’s making me anxious.”
“Oh!” She reaches across the table and puts her hand over his. “I’m so sorry, of course we can talk about something else, anything else.” She smiles. “What movie do you feel like watching later?”
They settled on The Devil Wears Prada. It was something they had both seen, so it didn’t matter if they paid attention or not.  His arm was around her and they were lounging comfortably.
“I really like this dress you’re wearing.”
“Yeah? Thought you preferred me in sweats.” She raises an eyebrow at him.
“You could wear a paper sack and I’d like it on you.” This makes her burst out laughing and he smiles down at her.
They both adjust so they can lay down, and he pulls her body on top of his. She sucks on his bottom lip, and his hands slide down to her ass. His tongue drags of hers and she moans into his mouth.
“You’ll stay tonight?” He whispers. “Missed having you to hold onto at night.”
“Of course I’ll stay.” She stays. “No one else I’d rather have cuddles with.” She kisses on his jaw and moves to his neck.
“Leave a good one on me babe, mark me up.”
Y/N bites down decently hard on Harry’s neck and it makes him grit his teeth and squeeze at her harder, but god did it feel good. Truth be told one of his regular tutees flirted with him a lot, and even though he had mentioned Y/N over and over, she would still flirt with him. A nice new hickey may help her get the picture. Also, Harry just really liked getting them. He liked giving them too, but they just felt so fucking good.
//
“Did you have a nice break, Harry?”
“Yeah, Bri, thanks, did you?”
“Mhm, I got caught up on some things, but I’m definitely still struggling with Intro to Gen Psych…”
“Alright, well, let’s look at your notes from class.”
She reaches into her bag, and when she gets everything out, she notices Harry taking his jacket and scarf off. Her eyes bug out when she sees the giant welt on Harry’s neck. Now, normally he would want to be more professional, but at the end of the day, he was twenty and didn’t give a fuck.
“Everything alright?”
“Um…y-yeah, everything’s fine? Did you, um, go out over the weekend?”
“I did, yeah. Went to a party with some friends Saturday night. My girlfriend came back a couple days early too, that was nice.” He smiles and grabs her notes. “See, I think if you highlighted within your notes, like we’ve talked about, you would have an easier time finding things.”
“Right, um, sorry, Harry.”
“Don’t apologize to me.” He furrows his brows at her. “I already passed this class, it’s you who still needs to finish it. Tutoring can help a lot, but if you don’t take what we do here and apply it elsewhere, you’re not going to see any improvements.”
He was close to her, showing her what she should highlight, and it made her nervous, but in the best possible way. All of a sudden they hear some giggling, and it was a giggle Harry knew all too well. They both look up and see a good chunk of the hockey team. Many of the girls still got together to study like they would during the season.
“Oh, shit, is that Harry?!” Megan says. “Ow ow! Look at him on the clock.” She teases.
“Leave him alone.” Y/N swats a hand at her, and looks over to Harry, mouthing I’m sorry. He waves at them and gives them a half smile.
“Damn, Y//N, I would have tried to fuck my tutor too if it were him.” Another girl teases her and they all start laughing.
“Hey, uh,” Harry turns around in his chair and smirks, “we’re in a library, ladies.”
“Is that so?” Y/N struts over to him and looks at Bri. “Careful with him, he’s a little too good at his job.” She kisses Harry’s cheek and then goes off with the girls to the back of the library.
“Sorry about that, Bri.” Harry chuckles.
“So…that was your girlfriend?”
“Mhm.” He smiles proudly. “Now then,” he clears his throat, “let’s talk more about your note taking, shall we?”
//
It was hard enough saying goodbye to Ashley, Megan, and some of the other seniors on the team, but it was just about move out day, and Y/N cried every time she thought about not being able to just walk down a couple of streets to see Harry.
“We’ll see each other before you know it, and when we do we’ll have two weeks of perfect weather in Italy together.” He says as he holds her close to him in bed.
“I know, I’m just really sad.” She cries into his chest and he tries his best to soothe her.
“Please don’t cry, Y/N, you’re killing me.”
“I’m sorry.” She sniffles. “I don’t mean to be like this. The time difference just sucks, Harry.”
“I know.” He sighs.
“And you won’t even get to see me for my birthday.” It was in a couple of weeks.
“But we already sort of celebrated, remember the big party we had here last weekend?”
“How could I forget? You made me margaritas all night, and then fucked my brains out.” She chuckles and so does he. “Couldn’t walk right for two days.”
“Cause I know you like it like that.” He kisses the top of her head. “Look, I’m gonna miss you too. It’s not easy being away from your favorite person, but we’ll make it work. It’ll just make things better when we see each other again. I do have one favor, though?”
“What?” She looks up at him.
“You’ll have to leave lots of marks on me, really good ones, so that they’ll just barely have faded by the time I see you. The only thing is, my mum will be pissed if she sees my neck like that, you’ll have to be creative about where you put them.”
“Challenge accepted.” She gives him a devious smile and sinks down under his covers. Thank god Harry had an a/c in his room.
“What are you…oh!” He starts laughing when he feels her suck on his inner thigh, like he would normally do to her. “Why did you tell me this tickled so much?!” He rips the blanket away to look down at her.
“It doesn’t tickle when you do it to me.” She pouts up at him. She moves to kiss on his hip and then things feel less funny.
“Yeah, I like it when you do it there.”
She kisses up his chest and sucks a nice, dark mark on one of his pecs and then smiles up at him. Her eyes start to water again and she hides her face in his neck.
“What happened?”
“We’re not going to be able to do this whenever we want soon, and it just…” She cries into him again.
“Baby.” He coos. “Let’s just enjoy right now, yeah?” He rubs her back. “Want me to make love to you? Be all sweet and slow?”
“Mhm.” She says, muffled from the way she’s pressing further into him.
“Alright.” He rolls them both over and runs his fingers over her folds. Yes, they were both already naked.
He slides his middle finger inside her slowly, working his way in and out, sucking on her nipple as he does so. This helps her to calm down just like he was hoping. He sucks his finger into his mouth when he’s done and then rubs his hard dick against her clit. She groans and then he slips inside. He hides his face in her neck so he can kiss on her while he rocks in and out. They both just wanted to be as close as possible right now.
“Harry?”
“Yeah?” He moves to look at her and she puts her hands on his shoulders.
“When you get close, will you please come inside me?” She looks so innocent right now.
“If I say yes will you promise to tell me when you get your period?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, baby, I’ll come inside you when the time comes.”
She pulls his face down to hers to kiss him. Things are slow and sloppy and just perfect. He rubs her clit to help her along and she cries out as she comes. She nearly comes again when she feels him fill her up. It was the first time he had ever come inside her without a condom, and it felt so fucking good.
“I love you so much.” He says to her as he pulls out.
“I love you too.” She clamps her legs together to try not to make a mess on his bed, and she stands up. She throws on one of his shirts before heading to the bathroom.
They snuggle all night, and most of the morning. Harry helps her pack up her apartment, and he waits with her for Angie to come pick her up. It was a really difficult goodbye, but Harry tried to stay strong for the both of them. Of course the second the car pulled away he started crying. He calmed himself down, though. They would call, text, and FaceTime. Thank god she was coming to Italy.
//
“Shit.” Y/N says to herself.
“What?” Julie asks coming into her room.
“According to my pills, I’m going to have my period when I’m in Italy.” She groans.
“So?”
“So?! I’m gonna be swimming and stuff.”
“Just use a tampon.”
“I’m going to be with mostly boys, and I have zero idea if it’s a fancy boat with a bathroom on it. I’ll only have it a few days, but still. Fuck, and I’ll probably have it right when I first see Harry.”
“Do you guys not…do it when you have your period?”
“Don’t be gross.”
“It’s a valid question!”
“We did, like, once in the shower, but it sort of hurts, so it I didn’t like it and we didn’t do it again.” She sighs. “I miss him so much, I don’t think I’ll care when I finally see him.”
“Show me the new bathing suits you got.”
“Hey.” Cooper comes into the room as well and just stands there, munching on some chips.
“What?” Y/N asks.
“M’bored.”
“Wanna look at my new bathing suits?”
“Alright, yeah.”
//
“You have WhatsApp?”
“Already downloaded.”
“And you’ll text me updates, and you will take a picture of you and Harry together so I know you’re really with him?”
“Yes, mum! Please, I need to go get through security. I love you, and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”
“I love you too, have a great time.”
Y/N gets through security, and texts Harry and her mom updates. She had the window seat so she was able to get comfortable for her long flight. She wanted to look cute and refreshed, so she gets up to change in the bathroom of the plane. She puts on a pair of high-waist jean shorts, and a black crop top. Her hair is down, but she ties a bandana he had given to her in it, and touched up her makeup. She was feeling really good, despite being in the middle of her period. At least it would end in a day or so.
The flight lands on time, and Y/N texts Harry and her mom that she’s landed. She gets her backpack on, and manages to follow the signs to baggage. Luckily there were a lot of signs in English. Harry had “tutored” her a bit in Italian this summer, so she wasn’t totally lost. As she approaches baggage she squints when she sees three guys who look very familiar.
“Oi! There she is!” Louis says and Harry turns around, beaming at Y/N.
She runs towards him and jumps into his arms, wrapping all of her limbs around him. He looked so fucking good in his little shorts and t-shirt and tanned skin. Their lips collide and they almost forget their in the airport.
“I hate to break this up, but which bags are yours, pet?” Niall asks.
“Oh! The floral ones!” She points to them as they come off the belt. Harry sets her down and he grabs her bags. She gives Niall and Louis a hug as well. “Now, if we let you two sit in the back of the car together, do you promise to hold off on the groping?” He teases them as they walk out to the parked cars.
“Think I can behave myself for a bit, yeah, Y/N?”
“I’ll do my best.” She giggles. “How far away are we form the house?”
“Bout an hour, not too far.” Harry says. “We’re having dinner on the boat tonight, you’ll love it. Fresh steamers, you like those, right?”
“Love ‘em.” She smiles.
He puts his arm around her and keeps her close as Louis drives back to the house. She switches her gaze from Harry to out the window, unsure of what she preferred to soak up in the moment. Harry had a lovely tan, his hair was a tad shorter, but not by much, and he had definitely been trying to grow out his scruff. He was handsome as ever.
“You look really cute.” He whispers in her ear and it sends a shiver up her spine. “Is that the bandana I gave you?”
“Mhm.” She smiles up at him. “I wear it all the time at work.”
“Good, it suits you.”
They pull up to the house in what feels like no time at all, and Y/N’s jaw drops as she gets out of the car. It was beautiful, and private. There was a path to a private dock where the boat was, and there were a couple of other guys outside.
“I’m just gonna show Y/N to our room, and then we’ll come down for dinner.” Harry tells Niall and Louis as they make their way to the boat.
“Our room, huh?” Y/N smirks up at Harry as he carries her bags in. He stops short and looks at her.
“Shit, uh, did…fuck, did you not want to stay with me? I think we can-“
“Harry!” She laughs. “Jesus, I was kidding, why would I come all this way and not sleep in a bed with you?”
“I…don’t do that.” He side eyes her as they both go inside. She shakes her head at.
“Wow…even more beautiful on the inside.” She looks around.
He hums his response and gestures to follow him upstairs. There were a lot of bedrooms, both on the main level and second level of the home. Harry was the only one to bring a date this summer, so his friends granted him the privilege of the bedroom with the en suite bath.
“Here we are, love.” He puts her bags down and closes the door behind them. He lets her look around for a moment. She peeps her head into the bathroom and then she smiles at him.
“This is amazing. I can’t believe I’m really here.
“Me neither.” He cups her jaw and kisses her. She wraps her arms around his waist as he licks into her mouth. “Missed you, baby.”
“Missed you too.” He bites down on her bottom lip, and his hands start to slide farther south, but she stops him. “We can’t.”
“Dinner can wait.”
“No, I mean…I need two more days.”
“What?”
“I have my period, but it should be done soon. I’m sorry…”
“It’s alright.” He sighs. “Better to have it now than later when we’re camping, right?”
“Mhm.” She smiles and kisses him again.
“Besides, we’ve got that nice big shower.” He winks at her, and then leads her out of the bedroom.
He keeps his hand on the small of her back as they walk down the dock to the boat. She could already smell the seafood.
“Shit!” She stops short. “We have to take a selfie to send to my mom, she wanted proof I wasn’t kidnapped.”
“Alright.” He chuckles. She takes her phone out to snap the quick photo, and then they continue onto the boat. “Oi! Can I get everyone’s attention, thank you.” All of the boys look at Harry and Y/N. “Clark, Adam, Ben, this is my girlfriend, Y/N.”
“Hi.” She says shyly.
“Don’t look like a hockey player to me.” Ben says, jokingly. “Nice to meet you, finally.” He extends his hand and she shakes it.
“Don’t be fooled, she can really pack a punch.” Harry says, sitting down.
“It’s great to meet you, Y/N.” Adam says, giving her a hug. “Hope you don’t mind being with a bunch of guys for the next couple of weeks.”
“It’s not a problem.” She smiles.
“Harry’s told us a lot about you.” Clark says, shaking her hand. “Nice to actually see you in person. Harry’s always sending us pictures of you.”
Y/N turns to look at Harry, giving him a face.
“All tasteful, I promise. Come here.” He pulls her to sit on his lap. “How’s dinner coming along?”
“The steamers have just about popped.” Adam says. “We’ve also got crab legs. Do you like all that, Y/N?”
“Yeah, I love seafood, thank you.”
“Alright, now that we don’t need to drive anywhere else,” Niall starts. “can we get to drinking?”
“Read my mind.” Ben says, getting up to pull the cooler of beer over. “Do you like beer, Y/N? We have other drinks if you don’t.”
“Beer’s great, thanks.” She smiles and leans forward to grab one for her and Harry. “I guess this is my first legal drink, that’s sorta cool.”
“That’s right! You don’t have to second guess a thing here.” Harry says, cracking his beer open. They all clink their cans together and take a sip.
Adam brings the pig pot of steamers up from below deck, and Clark brings out the crab legs and butter. Louis helps with the cocktail sauce and plates. Everyone takes what they want and dig in.
“Mm, these are delicious.” Y/N says. “Thanks so much for making all this.”
“We thought your arrival would be the perfect night to do this, so thank you.” Adam says.
“So, you three have known Harry since high school?”
“Well, we call it secondary school.” Ben says. “But yeah, think you and Adam have known each other the longest though.” Harry nods his head. “We became pretty good mates after a school camping trip.”
“I think we started coming here when we were sixteen?” Clark looks at Adam.
“I’d say so, yeah. My dad’s had this house a while. I think sixteen is when he trusted us enough to come here a lone. Lotta good summers here.”
“How did you two meet again? You had a class together?” Ben asks.
“Nope, she needed a tutor.” Harry says.
“Mhm, and lucky me, I got paired up with the most studious one of them all.”
“H really is a bit serious, isn’t he?” Clark teases.
“Gotta be serious to get good grades.”
“So, how did Harry get all these tattoos, I’m not seeing many on you.” She says to three of them.
“That would be me, love.” Louis says. “You didn’t get them all with me, but I feel like freshman year we were constantly driving out to the tattoo shop.”
“Once I got one I couldn’t stop.” Harry says. “I went with these guys to get a few more, the ones on my arms. My mum was pissed.”
“Didn’t you say she nearly fainted when she saw the butterfly?” Clark asks with a laugh.
“Yeah, that’s why I got so many on my stomach in the first place so she wouldn’t see, but it was inevitable.” He shrugs. “Think I’m due for a new one while we’re here, I’d say.” He looks at his right arm. “Not sure where though.” He laughs.
“You should get a mate for your mermaid.” Niall jokes.
“She’s an independent woman, she’s all set.”
Everyone laughs and continues to enjoy their food. They all help clean up and enjoy more drinks by the fire pit after the sun goes down fully. Y/N was having difficulty staying awake. She was up early, had that long flight, and she really just wanted to shower and go to bed.
“Would you care if I went in?” She says to him. “Think I’m ready to for a shower, and I wanna unpack a bit.”
“Sure! Yeah, I’ll head in with you in a minute.”
“Okay.” She stands up. “Night everyone, thanks for a great first say.” She smiles and then heads inside.
“She’s really nice, H.” Adam says. “I like her a lot already.”
“Thanks.” Harry smiles. “I like her a lot too.” He stands up and heads up to their shared bedroom.
“You could have stayed outside if you wanted, I’m just getting my things settled.”
“I know…I thought you might need help with the shower.” He rubs the back of his neck.
“I probably could have figure it out.” She smirks at him.
“Well, maybe I need a shower too. Been outside all day, after all.” He steps closer to her and she can feel her cheeks heating up.
“Harry…I…I want to, but…” She bites her bottom lip. “Last time we tried to do it on my period it really hurt, and I didn’t like it as much as I may have led on.”
“You didn’t fake it did you?”
“No! I came, but…it just wasn’t super comfortable. I really wanna be close with you, I just need a couple more days, and then you can pound me into the mattress for all I care.” Harry chuckles at her statement and he nods.
“Well, can we still shower together without the funny business? I just really missed you.”
“Yeah, just give me a minute in there alone, you know the drill.”
He nods and watches her walk into the en suite with her toiletry bag. She gets the water going, and steps in, opting to get her hair wet to give it a good wash. She calls for him once she feels secure enough, and he comes in right away. They look at each other for a moment, and then he crashes his mouth to hers, pushing her against the wall. Her hands fly to his hair and she moans into his mouth at the feeling of his hard dick pressed against her hip. His tongue glides against her as he gropes her breast with one hand and her ass with the other. He detaches his lips from hers to get some air, and immediately starts sucking on her neck.
“Th-thought you said no funny business.” She manages to get out.
“I don’t find any of this funny, do you?” He says lowly into her ear.
“No.” She breathes and he continues his attack on her neck.
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna do anything you don’t wanna do.” He pulls away from her slightly. “I just couldn’t help myself when I walked in here, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She pulls him back, pressing their fronts together. “I really missed you too.”
After some more passionate kisses, they clean themselves up and get out of the shower. Harry leaves her so she has some privacy putting her underwear on. She runs the blow dryer through her quickly so it’s not sopping wet before coming to bed. She throws on a large t-shirt, and Harry can’t help but smile as he watches his cute girlfriend crawl into the large bed with him.
“So, are you not able to swim? We were hoping to take the boat out tomorrow.”
“Does the boat have a bathroom?”
“It does! It’s small, but functional.”
“Then I can definitely go swimming.” She smiles and cozies up to him. She sighs happily. “I really missed this.”
“Me too.” He looks down at her. “I think I sleep better when you’re next to me.”
She pouts up at him and slots her mouth over his. It felt so good to just be able to kiss and touch how they pleased. FaceTiming was great and all, but always left them with a sense of wanting and yearning. The physical touch was something they both craved from the other.
//
The morning sun creeps into the bedroom, causing Y/N’s eyes to flutter open. She feels like she’s in a dream, but things become real when she feels Harry’s arms around her and his pelvis pressing into her ass. She thinks to maybe take care of him, offer up a hand job or something, but before she can he’s peppering kisses to the back of her neck and then getting out of bed.
“Ready to start the day?” He yawns. “We gotta pack up everything we wanna eat for the day. There’s a mini kitchen below deck, which is nice. I stalked up on some things I know you like from the store.”
“Thank you.” She smiles as he walks into the bathroom. Y/N gets up and stretches a bit. She scowls when she feels a cramp roll through her lower body. She grabs her pills and swallows. She was on the first week of her new pack. “One more day and you’re gone.” She says to herself.
“Are you talking to your period?” Harry chuckles as he comes out of the bathroom.
“Maybe.” She raises an eyebrow at him. “Just started my new pack of pills, should definitely be over by tomorrow.”
“No worries.” He kisses her cheek and goes into the drawer for his swim trunks and a white t-shirt.
“Should I pack other clothes to change into?”
“Nah, we’ll come back here and get cleaned up. I think we’re gonnna go to a bar tonight, should be fun.”
Y/N nods and searches for one of her new bathing suits. She snatches and goes into the bathroom. She hated using tampons, especially this late in her period because things just felt uncomfortably dry, but it wasn’t like she could wear a pad with her bottoms, so this is what she needs to do. Once that’s all situated, she puts her hair up into a messy bun, and slides her bottoms on. They were navy blue, not super high waist, but not super low cut either, mid-rise. She grabs her top, and struggles with getting the back tied. It was a really cute floral string top that matched perfectly with the bottoms.
“Har?” She calls from the bathroom.
“Yeah?” He peeps his head in carefully.
“Could you tie the back of this for me please?”
“Um…sure.” He swallows as he steps closer to her and ties the back of the top. “Is that good?”
She looks in the mirror and adjusts her breasts.
“Yeah, should be alright, thank you.”
“That’s a really nice bathing suit.”
“Thanks.” She smiles. “I just got it, I wanted to have some cute ones for the trip.” Her breasts giggle as she lets them go, and he can’t help but watch.
“Thought you might wear a one piece or something.” He says as he follows her out of the bathroom.
“I can’t really wear those, my torso is long, and they make them way too high cut, it’s not cute on me.” She puts on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top over her bathing suit and smiles at him. “You’ve got sunscreen and all that?”
“Yeah.”
Harry knew he didn’t need to worry about Louis, Niall, or Adam really looking at Y/N. It was Ben and Clark. As good of friends as they were, and they were just as respectful as Harry was, he knew they would still look and gawk at her. He had zero control over it, and that’s the part he hated.
The kitchen smells like fresh coffee, and Harry can hear Y/N giggling as Ben pours her a cup and gives her some creamer. Here we go, Harry thinks to himself.
“Here, Harry.” Louis says, handing him a cup of black coffee.
“Thanks.” He smiles and takes it from him.
“Sleep well, Y/N?” Clark asks.
“Better than I have in weeks, yeah.” She looks at Harry and he looks at her.
“Alrighty then.” Adam says. “Well, I’ve got most of the coolers packed, got all the sunscreen we could need. I figure we could grill on the boat for lunch later. Sound good with everyone?” Everyone hums in agreement. “Perfect, let’s head out.”
Y/N puts her sunglasses on and goes outside with everyone. She sits down on the boat and watches all the boys while they work to get going. It was quite a sight to see Harry maneuvering the different ropes. Adam drives the boat out, and Harry plops down next to Y/N.
“He’s gonna take us out to this sand bar where other boats anchor. It’s a lot of fun, just swimming around, doing nothing. You can lay out on the other end too, work on your tan.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing?”
“Mhm.” He smiles. “I love sitting out in the sun.”
“Me too. It’s been great working at the bar because I can go to the beach during the day with my friends and stuff, and then just go in at night.”
“How’s the gang doing?”
“Oh, they’re great. Max has a girlfriend, and she’s really nice. She came to visit for a weekend to meet all of us.”
Harry felt slightly relieved knowing that Max was seeing someone. He never brought his uneasiness about him to Y/N, and right now he was especially glad he didn’t.
“That’s nice.” He kisses her cheek.
Once the boat is anchored at the sandbar, Y/N takes her cover up off along with the boys. Having basically grown up in a locker room, Y/N wasn’t really nervous to be so exposed around friends. If they hadn’t seen a boob or a butt cheek by now then that was on them. She takes a few photos on her phone. The view was incredible, and she felt so lucky to be there. Harry comes up from behind her and gives her a squeeze.
“Would you help me with the sunscreen?” He asks.
“Of course!” She sprays it all over him and rubs it in on his back and shoulders. “Do me?”
He nods and does the same for her, making sure to get under her straps so she wouldn’t be splotchy. They hear a few splashes. Louis, Niall, and Clark all jumping in.
“The water’s so warm!” Niall shouts to everyone still aboard.
“I’m not quite ready to go in yet.” Y/N whispers to Harry.
“You don’t have to…here.” He grabs a towel from a bag. “Lay out on this, I’m just gonna go in for a quick dip and then I’ll join you.” He smiles and kisses the tip of her nose.
“M’surprised she’s not right in here with you.” Louis says as Harry swims over to them.
“She…uh…well, she’s got her period.” He whispers. “So I think she’s trying to hold off on going in for a bit.”
“Ah, say no more.” Louis says.
“That’s gotta be so annoying.” Niall says. “Did it just start?”
“No, she said it should end tomorrow, so she just needs to tough it out today.”
“We should have gone to the shops then…” Louis says.
“It’s alright, she can still swim, she just doesn’t want to have to deal with, uh, changing yet I think.”
“Changing what?” Clark asks.
“Her…you know.” Harry says, blushing. “Ugh, can we not talk about this actually?”
“Talk about what?” Ben asks as he swims towards them.
“Nothing.” Harry, Niall, and Louis all say at the same time.
They all hear Y/N laughing from the boat. Adam is sitting next to her on the deck.
“Look, Adam has someone to have girl talk with, this’ll be perfect.” Ben says.
“Oi.” Harry splashes him. “Don’t say shit like that. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s girly. We all paint our nails and wear jewelry for Christ’s sake, we’re not all exactly following gender norms here.”
“Okay, okay, fuck.” Ben laughs and splashes Harry back.
After his quick dip, Harry joins Y/N on the deck to lay out. She looked perfect to him. Laying on her stomach, he could see the cute curve of her bum. He lays down on a towel next to her, and boops her nose as she turns to look at him.
“How was the water?”
“Nice and warm, ready whenever you are.”
“Sun feels good.” She yawns.
“Good.” He smiles at her. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Me too.”
Y/N ends up falling asleep for a bit, which Harry thinks is the cutest thing in the world. He nudges her awake, though, and hands her a bottle of water. She shits up and happily takes it.
“Think I’m ready to go in now, I’m hot.”
“Okay.”
He leads her down to where the latter is, and helps her in by giving her a piggy back ride. She warned him that she wasn’t the strongest swimmer before the trip. Luckily, she could easily stand about belly button deep.
“Y/N, catch!” Niall tosses her a tennis ball, and she catches it.
Adam was hanging out on a float nearby with Ben, and Clark was talking with Louis about some soccer player. Y/N, Harry, and Niall get into a game of catch with the tennis ball. Once noon hits, someone has the brilliant idea to start drinking. Y/N goes up on deck with Harry and she pulls him aside.
“Would you come to the bathroom with me?” She whispers as she grabs her beach bag.
“Yeah.”
He leads her below deck and shows her the bathroom. She asks him to just wait outside and guard the door while she’s in there. He hears her grunt painfully before hearing the sink. She comes out with sigh.
“Alright?”
“Yeah…it just…ugh, it’s just annoying. It’s fine.” She takes a moment to look around. “It’s like a little apartment down here, it’s nice.”
“Yeah, the couch turns into a pull out, it’s pretty cool. We’ve all slept out on the boat before. One summer when there was a lot of us someone just used it as a spare room.”
“Who wants vodka?” Adam asks.
“Me!” Y/N says as her and Harry come back up. “Any soda or anything to go with it?”
“Cranberry juice.” Harry says with a grin and Y/N smiles wider.
Ben fires up the grill while everyone starts to drink. It was a delicious lunch that Y/N was grateful for. Everyone was getting a little tipsy, which resulted in Harry (and others) doing a backflip off the deck and into the water. Y/N had no idea Harry would even do that. He must really be letting loose.
Once everyone sobered up a bit, Adam drives the boat back to the house. It was the perfect day in the sun, but Y/N couldn’t wait to shower off all the sunscreen.
“Do you guys wanna, like, chill for a little while? I could use a nap, honestly.” Clark says. “We won’t be heading to the club until midnight so I’d rather sleep and then have a late dinner.”
“Agreed.” Niall says. “I’m exhausted.”
“Midnight?” Y/N says to Harry as they go up to their room.
“Yeah, things are open later here so we go out later. We’ll pregame and stuff like normal, but it’s sort of lame to be the first ones at a club.”
“Right.” She chuckles. “Well, I am in desperate need of a shower.”
“Alright, I suppose I’ll be a gentleman and let you go first.” He rolls his eyes playfully.
“You can come in with me.”
“If I do that I’m gonna need to fuck you, Y/N.”
“Oh.”
“You’ve looked so sexy all day.” He plays with the strap on the top of her bathing suit. “Don’t have much self-control left.”
“I’ll just, um, go in alone then.” She swallows.
She really wanted to have sex with Harry, but it just wasn’t time yet. She takes a quick shower, and he follows in shortly after her. She didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore, but she put a pad on anyways and a large t-shirt. She sinks into the pillows on the bed and waits for Harry.
“Think I need a nap too.” He yawns. “Swimming and day drinking really tires you out.”
“Yeah.” She laughs and opens her arms for him. He rests his head on her chest and gets comfy.
“This is the best.”
“Absolutely.” She plays with his damp hair and he feels like he’s going to melt into her.
“Oh!” He sits up abruptly and looks at her. “I had an epiphany the other night with the guys.”
“About what?”
“What I might like to do after graduation. We were sitting smoking and it just came to me.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say you were smoking?” She sits up with a surprised look on her face.
“I don’t do it during the school year because sometimes I wig out, but I was fine the other night. Anyways, do you wanna hear what I wanna do?”
“Of course, lay it on me.”
“Human Resources.”
“What about it?”
“That’s what I want to do, Y/N! I all of these ethics classes would really prepare me for that field, and I could literally work anywhere. I’d probably have to start out doing some customer service work and then slowly work my way up, but I think I could be good at it.”
“You wanna deal with sexual harassment stuff?”
“That’s not the only thing that HR reps do, there’s payroll, workplace compliance with dress code and safety. I’d be like Toby from The Office, only cool.”
Y/N smiles and giggle for a moment.
“Well, you’re clearly excited about it, so I think it’s great. Course, I think you’d be good at anything you set your mind to.”
“Thanks, babe. I know it sounds like a boring job, but I don’t think it has to be. Plus, you can make a fuck ton of money.”
“Is that the most important thing to you?”
“No, I suppose being happy is, but a decent salary would be nice too.”
“You’d probably have to wear a suit every day.” She bites her bottom lip.
“Mhm, probably.”
“Sexiest HR rep in the history of HR reps.”
He smiles as he leans in to kiss her. She pulls him on top of her, but keeps her legs closed. After a quick make out session, they decide just to cuddle and snooze for a bit. Harry wakes up to a lack of warmth. He sits up when he doesn’t feel Y/N next to him. She comes out of the bathroom and looks at him.
“What time is it?” He knuckles at his eyes.
“A little after six. What do you think we’re doing for dinner?”
“Ben said he’d make fresh pasta.” Harry yawns and stretches. “It’s his turn to cook.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek before looking for some clothes.
“What should I wear tonight? I have this cute red dress…” She pulls it out of the closet and his eyes grow wide. He puts his glasses on so he can see better.
“That’s…wow, yeah, that’ll look great on you.”
“I really like the cut out on the front. I’ll just put some shorts and a t-shirt on for now. No use in getting ready yet.”
“Right.”
Harry just throws on a pair of shorts and looks at her.
“Must be nice to just walk around shirtless all the time. Wish I could do the same.”
“Well, you could, but I wouldn’t feel terribly comfortable with all of the guys ogling you.” He smirks and she nudges him out of the room.
“Something smells good!” She says as she sees Ben over the stove. “You really made fresh pasta?”
“Yup, and meatballs. Mum’s recipe.”
Y/N was amazed at seeing so many guys just being domestic. Her freshman year of college she had made friends with a few guys on the men’s hockey team and their apartment was always gross. They never did their laundry and always ordered takeout. This was one of the things Y/N really liked about Harry. He was clean and respectful, and it was nice to see he surrounded himself with similar people.
“Oh my fucking god.” She moans as she takes a bit of the food. “That’s delicious.”
“Thanks.” Ben beams. “Hear that, mate, she likes my cooking.”
“Don’t get too cocky, she likes mine plenty, right?” Harry says to her.
“Of course, babe.”
“Babe.” Adam and Clark say together lovingly.
“Enough teasing.” Harry points his knife at them. “Get enough of it from these two at school.”
“Please, we hardly tease you.” Louis scoffs.
“You did when we first started going out, it was so annoying.” Harry rolls his eyes.
“You teased him?” Y/N looks at Louis and Niall. “Not very nice boys.” She shakes her head as she takes another bite.
“It was all in good fun.” Niall says.
After cleaning up dinner, the drinks come back out and everyone does shots of tequila. This was what Y/N had been missing. Just hanging out with people her own age without any parents around.
“Wait, so I need to ask.” Clark starts. “Why hockey?”
“I was too aggressive for soccer and lacrosse. No padding.” She takes another shot and sucks on a lime.
“Jesus.” Adam says. “Why were you so aggressive?”
“I had a lot of, um, pent up anger from my parent’s split…we had to see, um, well it was suggested to me that I try hockey. I already knew how to skate, so it wasn’t difficult for me to pick up.”
“She’s brilliant on the ice.” Harry says, putting an arm around her. “I bet you’ll be captain senior year.”
“Do you have siblings, do they play sports?” Ben asks.
“My younger sister does theater, she’s going to this school…um…AMDA in New York this fall, I’m really excited for her, she’s very talented. My little brother plays hockey too…for the same reasons. At least the boys get to hit each other.” She scoffs. “If there had been a female football league I think I would have done that, but it didn’t exist so hockey it was. Besides, I really do just love it. My mom was able to send me to hockey camp a couple times, and I got to meet some nice people that I still stay in touch with. It’s just a great sport.”
Pregaming was good, but it was getting to be time to change. Y/N takes her hair out of its bun and shakes it out. She had some nice beach waves from earlier. She touches up her makeup, and slips into her dress. It was tight, red, and had a cutout just below her breasts. It wasn’t something she wore often, but she thought a club in Italy would be a perfect occasion. She slips her white tennis shoes on, ever the practical person. Harry feels the wind get knocked out of him when she steps out of the bathroom.
He didn’t look too shabby himself. A white, silk short-sleeve shirt with the first few buttons undone, and a pair of black shorts. He looks her up and down after putting his contacts in.
“Jesus.”
“Isn’t it cute?” She spins around for him.
“Very.” He puts his hands on her hips. “Do we need to leave?”
“Harry.” She giggles. “We can get frisky when we get back.”
“Does that mean-“
“Mhm.” She winks at him.
The boys were all dressed and ready, and a few paid some compliments to Y/N. Harry keeps his arm around her as they walk to the downtown area. They’re able to get into the club with ease, and they all go up to the bar. The bartender gives Y/N’s hers on the house and she smiles.
The music was good, they all dance as a group, but Harry dances behind Y/N with his hands on her hips, which she didn’t mind one bit. His friends had seen him dance with plenty of girls, it wasn’t awkward or anything. They all drank a fuck ton as the night went on. Y/N was loving having her dance partner back. Her head was rolled back onto Harry’s chest while they grind together. He turns her around and pulls her close so he can kiss her, tongue immediately going into her mouth. She wraps her arms around his neck and tugs him as close as they could possibly be. This kiss is hot and forceful. Her fingers lace through his hair.
“Fuck.” He breathes. “Need to get you out of here.” He nearly growls. Y/N nods her head, too frazzled to speak.
Harry finds Adam and lets him know they’re leaving. They both walk quickly, hand in hand, out of the club. The walk back to the house felt like any other time they left a party to go get busy. They giggle and stop to steal kisses until they get to where they need to be. He gets her inside and lifts her over his shoulder.
“Harry!” She squeals.
“Shh, some of the boys could have brought people back.” He gives her bum a little smack as he carries her up the stairs. She laughs, but does as he says to try to stay quiet.
He gets them both on the bed, and she straddles him immediately, her hair falling into her face as she sucks on his bottom lip. He helps move it out of the way, and this his hand slide down her body to grope and squeeze at her ass. She rocks her lips against his, and at this point it just feels torturous for them both. He grabs her hips and gets her on her back.
“You’re really all good?”
“Mhm.”
He lifts the hem of her dress and bunches it up by her hips. His mouth falls open when he sees the red thong she had paired with the dress.
“You’re the devil.” He says, kissing her lips as he pets over her. “You’re good, you’re okay with this?”
“Yes, so okay with it, please.” She nearly whines.
He moves the thin material to the side, and slides two of his fingers inside her. They swallow each other’s moans. He uses his other hand to yank her breasts out of the top of her dress, something she wasn’t expecting, and then he sucks on one of her nipples while he fingers her. Her back arches when his fingers curl up against her g-spot.
“There we are.” He smirks. “Like that, baby girl?”
“Yeah, just like that, Harry.” Her head rolls back into the pillow. “Oh my god, oh my fucking god.” She moans.
“That’s it, let it all out for me.”
He was knuckle deep, and she couldn’t control any of the noises leaving her mouth. She cries out when she comes to her release. He gives her moment before pulling his fingers out. She looks up at him.
“Get your clothes off, now.” She demands.
“Yes ma’am.” He says, saluting her and getting up.
She helps him get his shirt off, attaching her lips to his stomach and sucking on his special spots. His hips buck forward. He tugs her dress off, and his pants drop to the ground at the same time. She wiggles out of her thong, and Harry rids himself of his boxers.
“Really wanna feel you, can we do that?” She pouts at him.
“Yeah.”
She pins him down and straddles him, lining herself up with him and sinking down. They both let out throaty moans at the contact.
“You’re so fucking tight.” He groans as he rocks her back and forth on him.
“Been too long without you.” She starts bouncing up and down on him slowly, and he rubs her clit. “Fuck, Harry.” She squeezes around him.
“Come as many times as you want, don’t hold back.” He says, rubbing her faster.
Her body falls on his and she cries out into his neck. He helps her move back and forth on him as she comes to. She knew she was overly sensitive from having not been touched by him in two months. He looks at her and opens his mouth. Her eyebrows raise, but then she remembers what he wants her to do. She wells up some spit and lets it drip slowly from her tongue to his. He swallows it and smiles up at her. A hand goes to the back of her head, and he yanks her face down to his so he can kiss her. Their tongue move around each other as he thrusts up into her.
“Need it from behind.” He says against her mouth.
She gets off him and gets in position for him. He gives her a gentle smack before sliding back in. His hands grip at her hips as he thrusts in and out.
“Gonna fuck you every day for the next two weeks, as many times as you want. You just say the word, and it’ll be just like this.”
“Fuck, Harry.” His words alone were going to make her lose it again.
“Don’t care where we are, if you want my cock, my mouth, my fingers, you’ve got it.”
She moans out as she comes again, and he loves the way she tightens around him, but he’s trying to hold on a little longer. He hadn’t fucked her in so long, and even though he knew they could do it again, he just wanted to enjoy the initial moment a little longer. He pulls out of her and gets her on her back, and in he goes once against. He takes her hands and pins them on either side of her head. He kisses her as he rocks in and out.
“H-Harry?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Oh, baby, I love you too.” He kisses her.
Things had turned from rushed and frantic to loving and sweet. She rocks her hips along with his, and it feels amazing. He slows down the pace to really just take her all in.
“Love you so much.” He whispers in her ear. He picks up the pace a little, and he can feel himself getting closer.
“Please, come inside me, Harry.” She whimpers. “Wanna feel all of you.”
He bites down on her neck while he comes and she moans out at the feeling of him filling her up. He kisses her cheeks and nips at her lips before slowly pulling out. She gasps at the loss of him at first. She gets up to use the bathroom quickly, and then gets into bed with him. He tugs her to lay fully on top of him. She nuzzles into his chest, leaving kisses every few moments. He rubs her back and moves some hair away from her face so she’ll look up at him. He opens his mouth to say something, but he feels good about the comfortable silence. He opts to just kiss her forehead instead. They both sigh with happiness.
As they fell asleep in each other’s arms, neither had a care in the world. They both knew this was the only time in their lives that they could be so carefree, and they weren’t going to waste it or worry. They wanted to be with each other right now, and that was good enough for the both of them.
719 notes · View notes
dabisburntsack · 4 years
Text
False Alarm
Fandom: My Hero Academia
Pairing(s): Shigaraki Tomura x GN!Reader
Genre: Fluff !
Synopsis: When your long time gaming partner brings up the topic of May Day you can’t help but romanticise the olden holiday with your ever growing crush on him.
Wordcount: 1784
This is apart of a sfw flower collab done with the bnharem discord server! I loved the prompt for this collab and can’t wait to see how everyones fics turned out!! Special thanks to @pluviophile-imagines for helping my ass through this as I had a mental breakdown٩( ᐛ )و
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
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✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
⇾  signifies texting
May Day was a traditional holiday, one you wouldn’t have really heard of had your long time online gaming partner not brought it up in discussion as you fought against him to bring down the zombies on your screen.
“Yeah you pretty much leave a basket full of flowers with different meanings to them hanging on a loved ones door”
“I would have never pegged you for the romantic type” You replied amused.
“I’m- well, I’m... I would never do it-”
“You wouldn’t?”
“Pffft no, of course not”
“Shame, I think it's really romantic!”
The line went quiet, the only audible sound being the cock of guns and explosions going off in the game. You readjusted your mic wondering if he’d cut off when his voice came again; though quieter than the usual responses you would get.
“You think?”
“Yeah! Come onnn, tell me that isn’t the cutest thing ever”
The line paused again for the briefest moment, but when he finally continued speaking the conversation switched back to gameplay as if the short discussion about May Day had never occured. You shrugged and went back to chatting aimlessly about zombies yourself, though a small part of you may have wanted to carry on with the romance talk.
You had known the player ‘Decay_God’ for going on 3 years now and were as close as online friends could be. From what you’d gathered over the years, Tenko worked at a bar and had a shit ton of roommates. Though he constantly went on about how annoying they were, you could tell he cared deeply for them. He was passionate about what he did, whether it be his job (you didn’t know what exactly it was, just that his mood in your games would be whether or not he had received good news from his end) or his game play.
In the beginning, you didn’t really like him or his attitude; both being highly ranked in the gaming community you would constantly butt heads and his childish behaviour of when you would steal a victory off him annoyed you to no end. But as it went on, his temper tantrums died down and once you got to know him, you found his quips and wit to be quite entertaining. Now two years later, you would look forward to getting home from a stressful day at work to endlessly chatter about whatever topic was of the day.
You couldn’t lie, you had garnered a bit of a crush on him.
You didn’t even know what this man looked like. He could be a catfish! An old perverted dude! Hell he could even be a criminal and you’d be none the wiser! Although, if you were being honest with yourself… you couldn’t help but make the obvious connection to a certain infamous villain. One that happened to have pale blue hair and a decaying quirk. Even in personality they seemed interchangeable, from what you had seen on the news he was also akin to throwing childish temper tantrums and scratching at his neck when frustrated (a habit you regularly scolded Tenko for when you heard the telltale sound nails scraping along side the column of his neck.)
Whenever you did think about it though you stopped yourself, come on as if you would be gaming with Shig- no, you weren’t even going to say his name. So they had a few similarities, this was a whole villain compared to your sweet gaming partner. Dumb conspiracy theories aside, you couldn’t help the small flutter of your heart when he would say your name in a teasing manner or when he praised you for a particularly hard kill.
As you logged off for the night you laid your head against the wall your bed was propped next to and stared at the blank ceiling, your mind drifting back to the May Day conversation. A blushing Tenko came to your mind, his face obscured by a large hood, nervously rubbing at the back of his head before handing you a large bouquet of flowers. Your cheeks flushed and you slapped at them to stop yourself from heating up, vanishing the mental image mid thought.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t as much of a small crush as you wanted it to be.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
After having a three day break, getting ready for work so early in the morning proved more effort than it should have been. Still trying to blink the sleep out of your eyes, you dragged your dazed body to your front door. You checked yourself for your belongings as you unlocked it, but as you took your first step out your foot landed in...ash?
You lifted your shoe to inspect the little decaying bits stuck to it, looking down you realised there was a pile of decayed dust on your doorstep.
You paled.
Instantly you were on high alert, tearing your foot from the contaminated shoe and snapping a picture of the evidence. You placed the shoe in a bag for further examination and bolted your door before texting your boss, the number four hero: Edgeshot.
Having the job of a personal assistant to such a high ranked hero meant you were used to lives being threatened. So far it had never happened to you and although this was small you could never be too sure. With the inside information you had, Edgeshot had always told you to be aware that someone may pull something sooner or later. It wasn’t completely out of the blue.
After seeing your message to your boss had been delivered, you reached out for the metal baseball bat you kept in the storage cupboard under the stairs, your quirk not really suited for defence purposes as it was made for technological aspects.
Checking every nook and cranny of your small apartment you didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and flopped back onto the sofa. Sighing, you ran a hand through your hair before going through your phone, checking the news, any odd sightings, anything you should possibly be alert for.
However crime rates seemed to be low and the only recent stories were from three days ago. Still not having received a text back from Edgeshot, you automatically switched to your messages with Tenko to type out the events of your morning.
I think I just got threatened lol
Instant response.
WHAT?!
If you don’t hear from me in 24 hours call the police :DD
Y/N
Ok okaY, damn you’re such a buzzkill
There was a pile of ash on my doorstep this morning, with my work you know I can never be too careful 
I’m fine though, I already told my boss
You waited as three dots appeared signifying he was typing but after a while they stopped. You furrowed your brows as they started up and stopped multiple times. After a full five minutes (during which time you grew bored and changed apps) a ping popped up.
With how long he had taken to type you were expecting a lengthy paragraph, what you weren’t expecting was a simple:
Oh
Oh? That’s all?
Yeah
You placed down your phone before another ping sounded out.
Are you sure they weren’t flowers
How the hell did you come to that conclusion
The typing ceased once more and you were left to your thoughts. What the hell did he mean by that? How did he come up with flowers out of all things like-
May Day?
You leapt from your seat, stumbling to look at the calendar attached to your kitchen wall, scanning the dates crossed off before turning the page and realising it was indeed the first of May. It surely couldn’t be a coincidence Tenko had brought up the holiday just yesterday. So he’d brought you flowers, because you said it was romantic… and he’d… dusted them. Dusted them, with his quirk, because he was…
Tenko could not be Shigaraki Tomura.
You did not have a crush on Shigaraki fucking Tomura.
Luckily at that moment the chime of your phone's ringtone going off distracted you. Looking at the caller ID you breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was Edgeshot. You could finally get to the bottom of this instead of drawing up ridiculous conclusions.
Edgeshot’s calm voice came through the other end of the line, stern but familiar. It seemed you’d been right to take the situation seriously, or so he assured you. But even as he talked to you, asking if you’d seen anything or if there was any other evidence of someone watching you, you couldn’t shake the feeling that it hadn’t meant anything at all.
Of course, if your gut instinct was right and you’d been gaming (and falling for) Shigaraki Tomura for three whole years and he’d been trying to romance you then that was. Definitely something. You just weren’t entirely sure what that something was.
You’d been talking to Edgeshot for nearly two hours when a knock sounded on your front door. Had he come by? What was the point of ringing, then? And wouldn’t he have told you?
You made your way over to the door and opened it expecting the sight of your boss, but instead you were met with a large bouquet of flowers perched on your doorstep. You looked up just in time to see a mess of unruly blue hair tucked into a black hoodie turning rapidly round the corner.
“False alarm,” you said quickly, ending the call on pure impulse and making a dash after the stranger.
You weren’t entirely sure what the plan was. It seemed more and more likely that you were right with each new development. What were you going to do if your gamer buddy really was an S-rank villain? Would you still be interested? Would he? He’d gone through the trouble of  getting you flowers not just once but twice, and honestly… the idea that he’d been so nervous the first time was kind of endearing.
That was a cute image, him standing at your door, so worried that he didn’t even notice he’d dusted the flowers in his hand as he set them down, probably running away quickly so you wouldn’t see him.
You reached out to grab the sleeve of your fleeing visitor and as they whirled round your suspicion after all this time was proven correct. You were speaking the moment his eyes met yours, all hesitation suddenly gone.
“You can’t just leave me flowers and run off like that, what if I thought it was another threat?”
Shigaraki’s scarlet eyes widened as they met your own.
“Hey Tenko” you grinned.
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One Photo → Mark Lee [1]
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↳  Pairing: Mark Lee/Reader
↳  AU: Soulmate!AU - The first touch of two soulmates permanently scars their bodies.
↳  Word count: 4,863
↳  Chapters: Prelude | You Are Here! | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
⁙ Summary: For an end of the year photography project, you’re tasked with taking a photograph for your favourite group, NCT127, and coincidentally, discover your soulmate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MONDAY - 1
Your heart was pounding a million miles a minute as you stepped into your photoshoot studio on campus two weeks later, ready to see a bunch of other students preparing for interviews for the same position. Surprisingly, you were the only one present besides your teacher. She smiled and approached. “Hey,” she greeted you with a short handshake. “I see you’re nervous?” “A little,” you admit, returning her friendly grin. “I’m surprised nobody else is here.” She hummed. “Well, there was a lot to choose from. Come on. This one, I believe, is a little special compared to the others.” “How so?” Your voice was laced with curiosity as she led you further in, past the background sheets that separate the room into two halves. Behind it were people you had only dreamed of seeing in person.
The three of them stood as soon as they lay eyes on you. Johnny, Mark, and Jaehyun. You were completely frozen, staring at them and nearly forgetting to breathe. The thought of the members interviewing you themselves had never even entered your brain.
Your teacher placed a hand on your shoulder, startling you. Without a word, she smiled at you, nodded at them and left the room. Once the door shut with a soft click, Mark approached you. “Hi, I’m Mark Lee,” he held out his hand. “You probably knew that, considering your expression.” He laughed sweetly. You barely held out your hand with a shy nod, “I’m (Y/N).” Instead of going through with the handshake, Mark immediately moves in to engulf you in a friendly hug. “It’s nice to meet you,” you mumbled into the hug, barely processing that you were actually hugging Mark Lee and were in the same five-foot radius as three members of NCT. Johnny and Jaehyun also hugged you tightly, insisting that you join them at the table your teacher had set up for them.
“I thought I would be more prepared,” you admitted softly, digging into your backpack and pulling out your portfolio of projects and random photos you’ve taken. Mark takes it first to open and look through. “I’ve been a fan since your debut.” 
Johnny smiled. “Then you’re just the person we’re looking for,” he said. He glances over at your portfolio, then back to you. “The truth is, we aren’t looking for a professional like a lot of others in this program. We bring our own from our company.” Your knit your eyebrows together in confusion. “Then why sign up? If, um, you don’t mind me asking.” 
Jaehyun looked up from browsing your portfolio with Mark. “We were looking to take one photo.” He held up his index finger. “We wanted to have a friend that’s from around here to help us find the perfect spot, and photographers always know the best places.” Your eyes widened. A friend? Did he really just say that? “Just one photo?” You decided to ask, the whole prospect of clarifying what Jaehyun meant by ‘friend’ was a little too overwhelming.
The three of them nodded. “We want just one photo for our dorm. This stop is important to us, and we want this to stay away from social media. It’s just going to be for us. And for you, for your project, of course,” Mark explained. “We don’t want someone that is too professional and we don’t want a fansite to take it. It seemed to us that a friend would be the best choice.” He smiled gently at you. “We’ll provide you with a ticket and backstage pass, as well as paying you based on the program’s price for the photo to be touched up and framed.” 
You tripped over your words. “Well, I… I don’t think I’m in a position to turn you down, but…” Johnny cocked his head to the side. “But..?” 
You gulped and sheepishly avoided eye contact. “I can’t speak Korean,” you mumble, fiddling with your fingers. Mark smiled sweetly at you. “That’s okay. We’ll translate for you. So, what do you think? Would you like to spend a day with us before our show?” 
You smiled, deciding to be a bit more daring. They did say, friend. “You’re asking that like there’s even a shred of a chance I’d say no.” 
All three of them grin. “Thank you, I was hoping you would say yes,” Mark says. “Your portfolio is stunning.”
Your face goes red and you're barely conscious enough to stand with them as they prepare to leave. Johnny and Jaehyun hug you again, praising your work before taking their leave, but Mark doesn't join them.
“Our manager has your teacher's contact information, but I want to involve the company as little as possible… if it's not too sudden, could I please have your number?” Mark smiles sheepishly, offering his unlocked phone to you, open to a new contact page. It's as if he has no idea of the impact he has on his fans. Sometimes you forget that NCT is made up of normal humans, and the one standing in front of you is a year younger than you are. 
“Of course,” you take it gently and add your contact info, taking a quick selfie to add as your little profile picture, all while Mark watches you searchingly. “Here you are,” you hand his phone back, hesitating on saying what you were thinking, “since you want to be friends, feel free to text me.” 
Mark takes his phone back with a smile, sending you a quick smiley face to make sure the number was correct. The room is silent for a moment, your face feels as if it's on fire and Mark returns the stare you gave him when you walked in.
“Come on, Mark!” you hear Johnny’s voice from outside the classroom and you both turn toward it. You smile sheepishly.
“I shouldn't keep you, should I?” you ask, voice soft and a little embarrassed.
“No, but I wish I had more time. I'll text you, I promise,” he says, hugging you once more before leaving you alone and speechless. 
You wondered if all fan interactions were like the one you just experienced. You were aware the members of NCT were known to be humble and kind, but they were much calmer and affectionate than you expected. The idea that you just saw Mark's smile in person made your own cheesy grin spread across your face as you packed up your portfolio. 
After class, you headed back to your dorm, a skip in your step. Once you opened the door and stepped inside, you felt like you could collapse. Fatigue washed over you like a tidal wave, and you knew it was time for an afternoon nap. Rhiannon was still in her lab, so you could grab at least 20 minutes of shut-eye before she would come back and beg for you to make dinner. You set your bag down by the door with your shoes and set a course for your bed. As soon as you were able to slide underneath the covers and nearly drift to sleep, your phone vibrated.
You reach into your pocket, confused. Rhiannon was the only friend that had your number, and if she even thought about her phone in a lab, she would be kicked out. Once you unlock your phone, you finally remembered who else you gave your number to.
Mark: Hey!
You licked your lips as your chest twinged and filled with butterflies. You screamed internally for a few seconds, the moment hitting you a little harder than before. Mark Lee had your cell phone number and he was texting you first. 
You: Hello, what’s up?
Mark replied almost immediately, which startled you a little bit. You turned over in your bed to get a little more comfortable.
Mark: We were just finishing up settling into our hotel rooms. I wanted to know how you're doing, are you in class? I hope I'm not interrupting anything
You: No, I got home a little while ago. I was gonna take a nap tbh
Mark: Oh! Sorry, I don't mean to take away sleep from a college student
You smiled a little bit. He was too sweet. As if your nap wasn't going to ruin your sleep schedule.
You: Its fine, if I had a nap I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight anyway
Mark: So you're free then?
Your eyebrows furrowed as you typed your response.
You: Uh yeah, why? Did you all want that picture now?
You put your phone down, a little overwhelmed. If they wanted it now, you wouldn't see them again until the concert, which wasn't until Friday. Perhaps you should have expected they wanted to do this as fast as possible, their Canadian and Chicago stops were planned with vacations in mind considering Johnny and Mark's heritage. When your phone buzzed again, you almost jumped to grab it.
Mark: Well no not yet. I was just wondering if you wanted to get coffee or something. Or tea if you prefer that 
Your eyes widened.
You: Really?
Mark: Yeah. I dunno, I want to take the friend thing more serious than the guys. They just wanted to use that word so it was like an unspoken contract that you wouldn't post this everywhere y'know? 
Your heart sank a little bit, but you could see how important privacy was. If you were in the same position, you would have done the same.
You: I understand… I'm still kind of a stranger though, are you sure?
Mark: That's why I'm asking. I don't want you to be. So, will you meet me?
You: There's a Tim Hortons on the first floor of M building near where you met me on campus, I can be there in 40 minutes 
Mark: See you in 40 minutes then :)
As soon as you read that text, you tossed your comforter to the side and raced into the bathroom. You fix your hair and could barely decide whether to change your outfit or not. He did see you earlier today, would he think you were trying too hard if you changed? 
“Keep it together, (Y/N),” you told yourself, patting your cheeks with your hands as you eyed your complexion in the mirror. “He just wants tea and coffee, nothing major.” 
Just then, the front door opened. “Are you talking to yourself again?” Rhiannon called from the foyer.
“No,” you called back, clearly lying as you took one more scan of yourself in the mirror before leaving to greet your friend. “You’re back early. How was the lab?”
“Tiring,” she answered. “My bitch lab partner came in even earlier than usual to make sure I didn't have the chance to set up our station again.” She rolled her eyes and dropped her backpack next to yours. 
“Yikes,” you reply, watching her wander into the kitchen. “Are you gonna tell your professor that she is trying to sabotage your grade?” 
Rhiannon sighed. “I don't know if the following shitstorm would be worth it,” she says, plugging in the electric kettle. “I'm gonna make some tea, you want any?”
You shook your head, even though she probably couldn't see you from the wall separating the kitchen and foyer. “No thanks, I'm going out to Tim's in M building.” 
Rhiannon took less than a second to appear in the archway to stare at you. “Why?” She questioned, squinting at you. 
“Mark asked me to meet him for coffee.” 
“Mark,” she repeated, crossing her arms. “I thought you hated Mark Davids.” 
“Not that asshole,” you shot back. “Mark Lee.” You began to look for a pair of cuter shoes as Rhiannon’s eyes widened.
“You got the job?!” She exclaimed, her voice nearly reaching a squeal. "YOU MET MARK LEE? WITHOUT ME?!"
“Yeah,” you smile sheepishly, taken aback by her shouting. you picked out your favourite pair of shoes, red converse high tops. “He just seems like he wants to hang out right now though.”
“Oh my God,” her voice nearly lowered to a whisper. “Mark Lee just asked you out.”
You rolled your eyes. “He didn't ask me out, he just wants to talk,” you explain, pulling on your shoes to tie them. 
“I dunno, he could be it,” she says, waltzing back into the kitchen. “You never know!”
You sigh. “See you later!” 
“Tell him to get Haechan's number!”
After a 15-minute subway ride and a lot of hurried walking, you hauled open the pristine doors of M building, the newest addition to your college campus. Right before you was a little Tim Hortons with a tiny student’s lounge to accompany it. There was a little bit of a line to the micro cafe since night classes were starting up around now, but the student’s lounge was close to empty. 
You took in a deep breath, fully stepping inside and beginning your search for Mark. It doesn’t take long to spot him, he’s sporting yellow hair and a white face mask, accompanied by two red Tim Hortons cups at a table in the corner of the lounge. It takes you a moment to fathom your position - about to meet someone you’ve been crushing on for months through a computer screen for coffee in a lounge at your college. On top of that- he’s already bought you something.
“Hi,” you meekly greet him, approaching the table. Mark looks up from his phone and his eyes immediately crease into the crescents of his beautiful smile.
“Hey, (Y/N)!” He pulls his mask off, “sit down, I, uh, got you some tea. You kind of struck me as that kind of person, so I hope I got it right.” 
“Thank you, Mark. You really didn’t have to buy me anything…” You smile nervously, your face feeling hot and your heart beating a mile a minute. Mark seemed a little nervous, just like you. It was a sobering moment, taking the cup he pushed toward you and opening it to take a sip. Your eyes widened. Your tea was exactly the way you always order it, nearly to the grain of sugar.
Mark watches your expression, happy that you seemed to like your tea, “I wanted to treat you. I know how weird this must all seem for you, but for some reason, I feel like I know you.” He runs his hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact for a moment. 
You look away from him as well. There's a moment of silence between you, the bustle of students slowly diminishing as the sun sets behind you. 
“I, uh, can't really relate to you in that way,” you whisper after you worked up the courage to break the silence. “A lot of your life is on display.” 
“You're right,” Mark agreed. “There are a few things I keep to myself, though,” he smiled cheerfully. “But what I mean is hard to explain.”
Curious, you nod toward him, “try me.”
“When I was standing in line, I was trying to figure out what to get you. I wanted to treat you since I asked you to come, and I kind of expected for you to say no since your professor said you had class today and-”
“Mark, it’s fine, stay focused.” you smile faintly at him and wait for him to continue, sipping your tea again.
He blushes and nods sheepishly. “When it was my turn, I got what I wanted and the second I thought about you, I recited medium steeped orange pekoe tea with two cream and one and a half sugar like I had been getting it for you for years.” He stops for a moment, presumably watching your stunned reaction.
Your breathing was feeling a little crooked, and you couldn't quite place what you were feeling. You tried to take in a deep breath, shaking your head when Mark began to look concerned. 
“Sorry,” you apologize quickly. “I, uh, kind of know what you're talking about. This is all just a little; I don't know…”
“Overwhelming?” Mark finished, nodding his head. “I can't stop thinking about it.” 
You tried to smile. “I guess you gave the bug to me,” you joke. “Want to get some air?”
“I'd like that.” 
The two of you walked down a path that led off-campus, talking. It was as if the two of you had forgotten your positions in life; Mark a celebrity with his life on a pedestal and you just a fan that forgot how much you really knew about him.
You were rediscovering his cheerful nature, his loud and hearty laughter that was a whole-body endeavour, learning that he plays the guitar, his love of ice cream and sweet things. His favourite colour was blue, and he loved Christmas so much he already had a growing list of things to buy for his friends as gifts.
The sun was nearly hidden behind the hills of the park you wandered into, admiring the newly blossomed cherry trees. You were showing him a small bed of flowers decorated to look like a Canadian flag when Mark asked the dreaded personal question you had been hoping you would never have to answer again.
“How did your parents find out?” His tone was soft, curious. He didn't sound as invasive as others have been in the past, but the question still made you bite your lip to keep from frowning.
“A gang fight,” you answer, bitterly. “My dad punched my mom in the face so hard that day, she needed to go to the ER. It actually took three months for her to figure out why the print of my dad's fist hadn't faded from her cheek.”
Mark didn't speak for a moment. “Was that too much to ask?”
You looked up at him from the flower bed, smiling faintly. He looked good in the final evening glow. “I don't mind that much, but...”
“I'm sorry,” he said, tentatively placing a hand on the small of your back. 
“It's okay,” you start, his sympathy nearly made you melt. The two of you begin walking again, Mark absently running his fingers over cherry petals as you both passed the trees. “I got out of it all pretty quickly. They fought when they were high, and that was almost all the time. Sometimes, I feel scared just thinking about how my life might end up. If any of it is all as real as everyone says it is.”
Mark stares at you, and there is sympathy radiating off of him. He looks like he wants to say something, but he stays quiet.
You hold back a frown and decide to break the silence. “Anyway, how about your parents?” 
“A hug,” he answered, nodding, a smile returning to his face. “it's not the most common first touch in the world, but I hope I find mine the same way.” 
“That does sound nice,” you agree softly.
“I've heard it's all up to fate and magic,” Mark says, charm in his voice. “I've always wanted to believe in that.”
“I'd like to believe in that. Makes life seem a little more bearable. I’ve just always been so cynical through my childhood, so much so that all of my hope for a fairytale ending faded a long time ago. I never really thought that anything good would come out of it. If the universe really wants me to find someone, I guess I can’t really do anything about it.”
Mark smiles, although you can tell he is hiding a smidge of disappointment. “I suppose that's one way to think about it,” he replies. “I just want to know someone so well that I don't have to think twice about it. Like knowing the exact way to cheer them up when they're sad. Like the perfect cup of tea or their favourite stuffed animal. I guess that takes a little bit of magic.” 
You stop in your tracks, thinking about the perfect tea he had given you earlier.
“What's wrong?” Mark stops and turns around when he notices you're not keeping pace.
“Nothing,” you lie with a smile, watching Mark's scepticism through the darkness of night. 
“Okay,” he says softly, looking up at the sky. “I guess it's late, huh?” 
You join him in looking up. If the city wasn't always so lit up, this spot would be perfect for a shot of the starry night sky between the small canopy of cherry trees. “I guess it is.”
“How far away is your dorm? I can walk you,” he suggests, taking your hand. You're frozen, too stunned by the gesture to pull away.
“You don't have to,”
“But I want to,” Mark grins. “It's the one way I can make sure you get back safely.”
“You're too kind…” you pause for a moment. Mark is staring you down, waiting for you to say yes. “I'm not allowed to say no, am I?”
He shook his head, smiling. “Nope. Come on, let's go.” 
Scoffing lightly, you concede and begin walking again. “You can take me to my subway stop and I can tell you which train to take to go back,” you offer, assuming he would need to be back at his hotel before it got too late at night. 
“No,” he said quickly. Your eyes widened at his tone and once he noticed your reaction, he lowered his voice. “I just… have these gut feelings. I'd like to escort you right to your dorm,” he clears his throat, “um, if I'm not crossing any lines.” 
You feel sympathy for him. Just looking at Mark, you can tell he's worried about you, but you can't quite see the reason. “Okay,” you agree softly. 
It's silent for a while as you both walk through the well-lit city. It's not until you pass a food truck on the way to the subway station that either of you says something again.
“You know, you and I walked around that park for hours and we didn't even know how late it was until the last minute,” Mark comments, still holding your hand and pulling back gently to keep you from walking past him. 
“Yeah, you're right,” you blush, you had to admit to yourself that you hadn't lost yourself in conversation or such comfortable silence like that even on a date. "We forgot to eat. Are you hungry?”
“Yeah,” Mark admits with a laugh, “and these hot dogs smell good.” 
You look up at him. “I'll buy.” You wriggle your hand out of his grasp and run toward the cart before Mark can catch you, readying your wallet. 
“Two hot dogs please, one with relish and one plain, please. Also, burn the plain one a little bit, thanks.” 
“You're slippery,” Mark says, watching you pay for the food.
“You bought me tea, it's only fair,” you stick your tongue out at him. He sighs and nods at you, only breaking his gaze when the man at the cart hands down the hot dogs a few moments later. “The one with relish is yours. You hate ketchup, right?” 
Mark takes his hot dog, eyes wide. “Uh, yeah,” he pauses. “I just haven't really told anyone outside the guys and my family.” 
You're halfway through a bite of your ‘dog and you nearly choke on it. 
“Hey, hey!” Mark reaches out for your shoulder, hoping that you wouldn't pass out. “Chew and swallow! Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out.” 
You swallow and cough, shaking your head. “Don't worry, I'm fine,” you say. “This is just a weird feeling.” 
He nods. “Yeah. But I don't really mind it. Come on, let's walk some more.” 
It was totally surreal to you, walking and eating with Mark. He was right, there was this strange feeling washing over you every time you looked at him, different than watching him on a Vlive broadcast or music video. Like you knew something about him that nobody else did, and it made you feel both good and scared out of your mind. It felt invasive.
One subway stop and a little bit of a walk later, you both arrive at your dorm building. “Here we are,” you announce. “My roommate is probably going to kill me for coming back so late.”
“Should I go in with you? To protect you?” Mark is smiling, but you can tell there is a hint of seriousness. 
“If you want. She will probably ask for something from you, though.” You open the main doors and enter in your code, leading Mark in with you.
“Like what?” Mark furrows his eyebrows. “She's not weird, right?”
You nearly laugh out loud. “She's weird all right, just not the kind you're thinking of. She wanted me to get Haechan's number from you, but I got so absorbed in talking with you that I forgot to ask.” 
“Oh,” Mark is following you close behind, letting out a tiny sigh of relief. “That doesn't sound too bad, but his reaction should be interesting.” 
You shrugged. “You don't have to do it. Anyway-” You're cut off as the door to your apartment opens, Rhiannon stepping out and pressing her hands to her hips. 
“Look who's finally back,” she states, and you can immediately tell she is angry. “It's almost 1 AM!” 
“Shh! I'm sorry, okay? I lost track of time! I was with-” 
“Mark,” she says, her voice less harsh when she notices Mark is standing behind you, sheepishly smiling and waving at her. “At least you had the initiative to walk her home.” 
You squint at your best friend. It's clear she is trying not to freak out in front of him. “Are you gonna let me inside?” 
“Not yet,” she states. “Mark, I love you,” she says quickly, grabbing your arm and pulling you to her. You're smiling awkwardly at him, shrugging and mouthing ‘sorry’. 
Mark smiles awkwardly and nods at you. “Uh, thanks,”
“Thank you for bringing (Y/N) back. Has she asked you about Haechan?” 
“Yeah. I'll text you guys his number when I get back- which I probably should…”
You step forward. “Do you know how to get back?”
Mark shakes his head. “I think it's on Yorkville, I might have to use my GPS.” 
You shake your head. “It's easy to get there. Head to the station you and I were just on, take the southbound for 5 stops. Once you get above ground, you should be on that street.” 
Mark smiled at you. “Thank you.” He approached you to give you a hug, which felt warmer than the other two from earlier in the day. When he turned to leave, a pang hit your chest.
“Mark,” you called. Instantly he turned around, his expression curious. “Let me know when you get back safely.” 
He nodded, smiling warmly. “I will, I promise.” 
You watch him leave, a little shocked that spending the entire night with him didn't feel like it at all. You're only broken out of your thoughts when Rhiannon drags you inside your apartment and shuts the door.
“You scared me half to death, you bitch! At least text me when you're gonna stay out this late! I thought you were just having tea! I was this close to calling the cops!” She presses her index finger to her thumb and shoves her hand towards your face as you stand before her, a little humiliated.
“Your fingers are touching,” you say quietly, screwing your eyes shut.
“Exactly!” she exclaims. “I was one button away from speaking to 911! You're goddamn lucky I heard you and Mark coming down the hall!” You open your eyes when she gently touches your arm. “Don't scare me like that.”
“I'm sorry. I promise I'll keep in touch next time.” You smile awkwardly at her. “I was just so caught up in talking and trying to make sure it wasn't a dream.” 
Rhiannon nodded and returned your smile. “I know. You should go to bed, you have class in the morning.” 
“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.” 
Once you were in fresh pyjamas, you had some music on in the bathroom while you dry your hair with a towel. A quick shower before bed always was relaxing enough for you to fall asleep quickly. Snuggling up in bed after that long day was especially nice, gathering up your teddy bear to hug close. You're just about to drift off when your phone buzzes. 
Mark: Hey, I'm back safe. Thank you for the directions 
You: You're welcome
I had a really nice time tonight 
Mark: Me too
You have class tomorrow right 
You: Yeah, it's a short day though, just a small photoshop lab 
Mark: Do you want to hang out again when you're done? By the way, the number I promised - __________
You: I'd like that. Thanks, I'll forward it to her 
Haechan was cool with it right 
Mark: Me too :) yeah he was cool with it, he owed me a favour anyway 
Sleep well ok?
You: I will, you too? 
Mark: Yeah I promise 
Goodnight (Y/N)
You: Goodnight :)
After putting your phone down on your nightstand, you peacefully drifted off with a smile on your face.
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shortracha · 3 years
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rattled: a valentine’s day shake
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a/n: sorta surprise! hehe i had so much fun writing this!! thank you @harrysgoldenbum​ for being my lovely beta and an all around gem! @soullikestyles​ , this is for you for loving these two as much as i do <3
summary: audrey gives harry his present early, and harry absolutely loses his mind (not really) 
warnings: cursing? a single spanish word? i think that’s about it. again, this is shmoopy fluff.
word count: 1.6k
☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
If someone were to ask Audrey what her favorite item of clothing was, she would, without a doubt, tell them it’s her maternity sweats she found at TJ Maxx. They were $5, and a bit big when she bought them, but she’s never looked back. Harry’s bought her several pairs that are similar, but they don’t compare to that pair. 
This morning, she finds herself sprawled across the bed in her favorite pair of sweats. With a snack bowl in hand, she watches the baby kick at her. Harry and Audrey are sharing a quiet morning to themselves before Harry has to go attend to some major work details this afternoon. Should be back for dinner, but it’s just not the same. He leaves for a week tomorrow as well, so they’re trying to make the most of the little bit of time they have.  
The window is cracked, the birds are chirping, and the air smells wet like it just rained. To Audrey, it’s the perfect type of morning.
“Look at her, she’s so active this morning.” Not even born yet, she’s already left awestruck by her little girl who’s showing her parents that she’s here and kickin’. Quite literally. Audrey likes to think that it means her baby is already strong, she clings to that thought. But also, damn does it hurt. Not every kick, but her belly starts to feel sore in the mornings when the baby does her thing.
“Yeah, she’s beating you up pretty good today.” Harry’s response is almost instant. He looks up from his book and places a hand on Audrey’s belly, waiting to feel his baby girl kick again. When she does, he smiles and offers his babygirl a quick, “Good morning to you too, little peach.” And returns to his book. 
Audrey tosses a grape into the air and manages to catch it in her mouth on the first try. She throws her arms up in celebration, and Harry high-fives her without looking up from his book. He does chuckle to himself, but it’s unknown if he is amused from the book he is reading or the actions of his fiancée.
“But, can you do it three times in a row?” He carefully places a bookmark on his current page and closes the cover. He reaches across Audrey’s lap, attempts to grab a few grapes. She smacks his hand away and scolds him with a quick, “¡Déjalo! It’s mine!” before scooting the bowl further from him, almost to the edge of the bed. He rubs his hand and pouts.
“Um, ow!” He exclaims dramatically. 
Harry crawls over her, grabs a handful of grapes, just to bother her, and wiggles into a more upright seating position. Back to the headboard, he tosses two up and catches them both in his mouth one after the other.
Audrey rolls her eyes, “Showoff,” she mutters with disdain.  
“I’m a showoff? Do you really want to play this game?” He laughs, incredulous. 
“Whatever,” She waves him off. As weird as it may seem, it’s moments like these that Audrey enjoys the most. It's the little things for her. She tends to remember them more, compared to others. It’s not always easy, but the little moments she gets to spend feeling normal with her best friend are ones she’ll treasure forever. 
“Help me down? I gotta pee.”
Harry hops down from his side of the bed and walks around, grabbing her hands and holding her steady as she scoots her way off the bed.
She shuffles into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as she beelines it for the toilet. 
“Uh, baby, could you close the door, maybe?” Harry’s question is more rhetorical in nature. He knows she’s not going to get back up to close the door. 
Since Audrey got pregnant, she’s become a lot less...private about a lot of things. She was never one to really care too much about the things some people would feel embarrassed about, but things took on a whole different level after she found out about the baby. 
“No, it’s fine.”
“But I can..hear everything.” He laughs on the last word, in disbelief at just how comfortable she seems to be around him. It’s a good thing, to be sure. She just shows it in odd ways.
A few minutes go by, Audrey does her business and begins her exit from the bathroom. 
“Hey, babe, would you mind if I gave you your present early?” Audrey calls out from the bathroom, but she’s not really looking for an answer. She’s already grabbed the small box from the linen closet on her way out and is approaching him, doing her best to hide it behind her back. Unfortunately, she fails.
“Well, I don’t have much choice, do I?” 
Harry’s not one to say no to presents, but they had agreed to wait until he got back from his trip. However, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited for the gift exchange.
“Don’t make it sound like it’s so terrible that you’re getting a gift, H.”
“‘M not ungrateful, if that’s what you’re implying.” He pretends to be offended, clutching his chest and an exaggerated gasp leaves his mouth. 
“It is.” He rolls his eyes at her response, Audrey just giggles. 
“Well, are you gonna give me my present, or am I meant to guess what it is first?”
She sets the box on the bed, lifts herself back onto it and slides next to him. Her nerves are bubbling, making her restless. Now, Audrey knows that Harry will be happy with whatever the gift is, but it still intimidates her, when it comes to giving a gift to her loved ones. But this particular gift has her feeling vulnerable and slightly uncertain.
“Here you go, sport.” 
“Don’t ever call me that again.” Harry demands. Instead of responding, she presses a gentle kiss to his cheek and taps the box. 
“Just open it,” he smiles and shifts to sit directly in front of him, eager to watch his reaction. 
“Okay, okay..” Harry trails off, losing his train of thought while he unties the bowtie on top of  the rectangular box. Setting the lid aside, he lifts a small leather photo album out of the box and Audrey’s heart begins to pound in her chest. 
“What’s this?” He asks with such a gentle voice, it’s barely above a whisper. He doesn’t wait for an answer, though, and opens the album to the first page of 12.
Inside, is a picture of Audrey sat on her knees in a black bra and panties, baby bump on full display. He sits there, carefully examining the photo, expression completely unreadable. Audrey has absolutely no idea how he feels. It’s terrifying. 
He takes the time to examine every photo He takes in every detail from each HD shot of Audrey in sexy position or another. Audrey’s favorite is a closeup shot of her chest, arm covering her nipples and her engagement ring sparkling to the camera. As he flips through the album, he keeps the same stoic expression. Each second seems to feel longer than the last. It drives Audrey crazy not knowing what Harry thinks of his gift.
Eventually, Harry reaches the last photo and the slightest hint of a smirk lifts from his lips and Audrey breathes a little easier. It’s a miracle she’s managed to stay quiet the whole time. It’s absolutely no small feat for her. 
“So...What do you think?” She’s meek, cheeks warming up in embarrassment. “Do you hate it?” Harry snaps the book closed and looks up to make eye contact with her. 
He offers her a sly smile, while he adjusts his pants. “Of course not!” His voice cracks ever so slightly, and Audrey lets out the most ridiculous laugh he’s ever heard. More a chortle than anything else. 
She catches on. 
“Which one do you like best?” She crawls beside him and takes the album from his hands.
“When did you do this?” 
“That’s not what I asked.” She browses the album herself, curious to see if she can guess which one it is. If she had to, it would be the black and white shot of her on the floor, knees skyward and back arched slightly, baby bump on full display again. “I did this not too long after we found out about Peach being a girl.” She recalls the time she left for the afternoon under the guise of a “girl’s day”. Harry never suspected a thing. 
“And you managed to keep a boudoir shoot secret? I’m impressed, baby.” He kisses her head in praise. “You know what, I think we should blow this one up. Do you have access to the digitals?” He points to the open page, the black and white floor shot, just as Audrey suspected. 
“A few of them, yeah. What exactly do you want that for, if you have the album?” She looks up at him, curious. 
“I want this one in the living room.”
“Absolutely not!” 
“C’mon, it would look so good!” He argues with her, tapping the page for emphasis. “You look so good!”
She feels her cheeks warm up again, beyond happy that he likes his gift. “You’re very sweet, but we’re not hanging anything up in the living room.”
“Why not? I should be able to show off how sexy you look!”
“Harry, I refuse to have a picture of me, nearly naked might I add, hanging in our living room.” Audrey crosses her arms and keeps a light scowl on her face. 
With some discussion, they finally manage to compromise; Audrey lets him hang up a canvas of the floor shot on the wall by the bed when he gets back from his trip. The album finds a home in the bathroom.
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tiesandtea · 3 years
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Simon Gilbert
Simon Says
We interviewed Simon Gilbert, Suede’s drummer, whose book So Young: Suede 1991-1993 is a journal and photographic document of the band’s early years that will be published October 8th. So Young has foreword by journalist Stuart Maconie and a vibrant, lively text by Simon himself, documenting his move from Stratford-on-Avon, his hometown, to London, the audition with Suede, life in the van, the early success years and the many amusing things that come with it. It is one of those rare books that make an outsider feel like they were there, in the van. Or in absurd mansions in L.A. belonging to industry types. Or was it record producer(s)?…
The conversation extended to Coming Up, Suede’s third album that turned 25 this year and drumming. Simon’s witty, often, one-liners contrast with my more elaborate questions, proving an interesting insight into our way of writing/replying.
by Raquel Pinheiro
So Young: Suede 1991-1993
What made you want to realease So Young?
I was searching through my archives when researching for the insatiable ones movies and found lots of old negatives and my diaries. They had to be seen.
When and why did you start your Suede archives?
As you can see from the book, it stared from the very first audition day.
From the concept idea to publishing how long did it took you to put So Young together?
30 years … I’ve always wanted to make a book since I was first in a band.
What was your selection process for which items – diary entries, photos, etc.- would be part of the book?
I wanted to form a story visually with a few bits of info thrown in here and there, also most of the photos tie in with pages from the diaries.
Which methods, storage, preservation, maintenance, if at all, do you employ to keep the various materials in your archives in good shape?
Boxes in an attic … one thing about getting the book out is that I don’t have to worry about the photos getting lost forever. It’s out there in a book!
Other than medium what differences existed between selecting material for The Insatiable Ones documentary and for So Young?
Video and photos … photos don’t translate well on a TV screen.
Do you prefer still or motion pictures and why?
I prefer photos … they capture a particular moment in time … as video does, but there’s a unique atmosphere with a photo.
So Young’s cover photo has a very Caravaggio and ballet feeling to it. Its chiaroscuro also contrasts with the images inside.  Why did you choose it for the cover?
It was a striking shot and I wanted the book to be black and dark …it fitted perfectly.
How many of the photos on So Young were taken by you?
Probably about 3/4 my 3 school friends who were there with me at the beginning Iain, Kathy and Phillip took a load of us onstage, backstage, after  the gig, etc., photos I couldn’t take myself.
So Young can be placed alongside books like Henry Rollins’ Get in The Van and Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life, that not only chronicle and show the less glamorous, more mundane side of being in a band, but also totally immerse the reader so deep in it that we are there, feeling and going through the same things. Was your selection of materials meant to convey that “band being your(our) life” sensation?
Yes, exactly that. I was fascinated by photos of bands, not on the front cover of a magazine or on TV. The other bits of being in a band are far more interesting.
In the foreword, Stuart Maconie mentions the brevity of your diary entries which, as someone who keeps diaries, I immediately noticed. Do you prefer to tell and record a story and events with images?
I haven’t kept a diary since the end of 1993 … looking back on them they can be a bit cringeful … So, yes, I prefer images.
Contrasting with the diary entries brevity your text  that accompanies So Young is lively, witty, detailed and a good description of the struggles of a coming of age, heading towards success, band. Do you think the text and images reveal too much into what it really is like being in a band, destroying the myth a bit?
I think the myth of being in a band is long gone … Reality is the new myth…
In So Young you write that when you first heard Never Mind The Bollocks by The Sex Pistols music was to be your “future dream”. How has the dream been so far?
Still dreaming … lose your dreams and you will lose your mind … like Jagger said.
Is there a reason why So Young only runs from 1991 to 1993?
Yes, I bought a video camera in 1993. It was so much easier filming everything rather than take a photo, wait 3 weeks to get it developed and find out it was blurred.
So Young has a limited deluxe numbered and signed edition already sold out. The non deluxe edition also seems to be heading the same way. How important is it for you to keep a close relationship with the fans?
So important. I love interacting with the fans and is so easy these days … I had to write replies by hand and post them out in 1993…
Playing Live Again & Coming Up
Before Suede’s concert at Qstock Festival in Oulu, Finland on 31.07.2021 you wrote on your social media “cant fucking wait dosnt come close!!!!!” and Mat [Osman, Suede’s bassist] on his “An honest-to-goodness rehearsal for an honest-to-goodness show. Finally”. How did it feel like going back to play live?
It was great. Heathrow was empty which was amazing. A bit strange to play for the first time after 2 years …., but great to get out again.
Coming Up was released 25 years ago. How does the record sound and seems to you now compared with by then?
I haven’t listened to it for a long time actually … love playing that album live … some great drumming.
Before the release of Coming Up fans and the press were wondering if Suede would be able to pull it off. What was your reaction when you first heard the new songs and realize the album was going in quite a different direction than Dog Man Star?
Far too long ago to remember.
Coming Up become a classic album. It even has its own Classical Albums documentary. Could you see the album becoming a classic by then?
I think so yes .. there was always something to me very special about that album.
Is it different to play Coming Up songs after Suede’s return? Is there a special approach to concerts in which a single album is played?
No … didn’t even need to listen to the songs before we first rehearsed … They’re lodged in my brain.
Which is your Coming Up era favourite song as a listener and which one do you prefer as a drummer?
The Chemistry Between Us.
Will the Coming Up shows consist only of the album or will B-sides be played as well?
Definitely some B-sides and some other stuff too.
Simon & Drumming
If you weren’t a drummer how would your version of “being the bloke singing at the front” be like?
Damned awful … I auditioned as a singer once, before I started drumming … It was awful!
In his book Stephen Morris says that all it takes to be a drummer is a flat surface and know how to count. Do you agree?
No.
Then, what makes a good drummer?
Being in the right band.
Topper Headon of the Clash is one of your role models. Who are the others?
He is, yes … fantastic drummer.
Charlie Watts is the other great …and Rat Scabies … superb.
She opens with drums so does Introducing the band. Your drumming gives the band a distinctive sound. How integral to Suede’s sound are the drums?
Well, what can I say … VERY!
Do you prefer songs that are driven by the drums or songs in which the drums are more in the background?
Bit of both actually … I love in your face stuff like She, Filmstar …, but ikewise, playing softer stuff is very satisfying too.
You’re not a songwriter. How much freedom and input do you have regarding drum parts?
If the songs needs it, I’ll change it.
Do you prefer blankets, towels or a pillow inside the bass drum?
Pillows.
Do you use gaffer tape when recording? If so, just on the snare drum or also on the toms? What about live?
Lots of the stuff … gaffer tape has been my friend both live and in the studio for 30 years.
What is the depth of your standard snare drum and why?
Just got a lovely 7-inch Bog wood snare from Repercussion Drums … sounds amazing. It is a 5000 year old Bog wood snare.
Standard, mallets, rods or brushes?
Standard. I hate mallets and rods are always breaking after one song. Brushes are the worst …no control.
How many drum kits have you owned? Of those, which is your favourite?
5 … my fave is my DW purple.
How long to you manage without playing? Do you play air drums?
7 years 2003 – 2010 … and never.
Can you still assemble and tune your drum kit?
Assemble, yes …tune no …have never been any good at that.
You dislike digital/electronic drum kits, but used one during the pandemic. Did you become more found of them?
Still hate them … unfortunately,  they are a necessary evil.
When you first joined Suede you replaced a drum machine. Would it be fair to say you didn’t mind taking its job?
Fuck him!
Brett [Anderson, Suede’s singer] as described the new album as “nasty, brutish and short”. How does that translates drums wise?
Very nasty brutish and short.
When researching for the interview I come across the statement below on a forum: “If you’re in a band and you’re thinking about how to go about this, get every player to come up with their own track list & have a listening party. I’ve done this, not only is it great fun, it’s also massively insightful when it comes to finding out what actually is going on inside the drummer’s head!”. What actually is going on inside the drummer’s head?
Where’s my fucking lighter!
And what is going on inside the drummer as a documentarist head? How does Simon, the drummer, differs from Simon, the keen observer of his own band, bandmates, fans, himself, etc.?
There is no difference … I’m Simon here there and everywhere…
What would the 16 years old Simon who come to London think of current Simon? What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t smoke so much you fool!
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captainsolare · 3 years
Text
Photograph
Fluffvember Day 24: Photograph - Tamaki Amajiki (gender neutral reader)
Summary: Tamaki Amajiki hates photos of himself, so you enlist Mirio to help capture your love in photographs
Word Count: 987
masterlist
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If there was anything Tamaki Amajiki hated more than crowds and public speaking, it was pictures of himself. Self love was a hard task for him, having grown up comparing himself to others, there was always someone stronger, more successful, more handsome, all the things he believed he was not. This pained you, because although you knew he loved you, you could tell that deep inside he felt that he was unworthy of you, even though he was the best boyfriend you had ever had. 
The ice in your cup shifted, making a clunky sound as you swirled it around. "I just don't know Nejire," you lamented, "what am I supposed to do here?" Your companion smiled in her easygoing way, "Well Y/N, you can't exactly force him to love himself. It doesn't work like that." You sighed, setting your cup down on the table. "Yeah I know. I just wish I had a place to start you know?" 
Nejire tapped the table thoughtfully, taking a sip of her drink. "Well, why don't you start with getting him more comfortable with pictures?" She asked. With her words, an idea came to you; you slammed your hand on the table as you stood up. "Nejire you are a genius! I'll see you later, I have to run some errands." 
You left the cafe on a mission, with the early afternoon hustle and bustle of the city around you it was hard to find your way, but eventually you made it to the local craft store. You browsed the store, looking for anything that could help you for your project. Aha! Perfect, scrapbooking materials.  You grabbed pretty paper, colors ranging from purple to yellow to blue, and ribbons and other things to decorate. As you paid for your items and left the store you hummed to yourself. Alright, I have about two months to put this together. You and Tamaki’s year anniversary would be in two months, and a scrapbook full of your memories together would be the perfect gift. 
You entered the dorm, an air of happiness about you. “Oh hey Y/N! What’s that for, you seem happier than usual?” Mirio asked from the couch. You waved him off, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” He smiled, “Ah so it’s a secret. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Tamaki.” Waving your goodbye, you stepped into the elevator, smiling to yourself as you got out on your floor. 
Once in your room, you looked around for any pictures you could use in the scrapbook. After a while you sat at your coffee table, looking at the supplies you had amassed. Only two pictures… “And one of them is a group shot.” You groaned aloud, if you were going to make this the perfect memory book you had some serious work to do. 
You spent the next few weeks amassing slyly taken photos of your boyfriend, some while he was asleep during a study session, others while you were on dates, but perhaps the one that meant the most was one that Mirio took. It was a candid shot during the holiday dance, you and Nejire were laughing at something and nearby, Tamaki stood watching you, his eyes so full of love for you, it was obvious in this photograph. A thought came to you and you shut the scrapbook, grabbing one of your metallic markers. “Our Love, Captured in Photographs.” You wrote on the front cover. You enlisted Mirio’s help in taking more pictures, paying him of course, since he could quite literally take pictures from anywhere, and several more candids were added to your book. 
The day arrived and you were as nervous as ever. “What if he doesn’t like it?” You asked Nejire, crossing your arms and leaning your face on your fist. Nejire wrapped a curl around her finger and shook her head, “No way, no way Y/N! He’ll definitely love it, especially since it’s from you.” You smiled at her comforting words and nodded, “You’re right. Well,” you straightened up, shoulders back, “I’m off.” “Go get him Y/N!” Nejire exclaimed. 
You met Tamaki downstairs and he blushed, you definitely looked amazing tonight. “You ready to go?” You asked, locking your arm with his. He nodded, refusing to meet your gaze, but you left nonetheless. The gift bag weighed heavily in your hand, although Nejire’s words had helped, the closer you got to the restaurant the more anxious you got. Feeling the waves of anxiousness roll off of you, Tamaki stopped placing a hand on your forehead. “Hmm, no fever. What’s wrong Y/N?” He asked quietly, eyes brimming with worry. You sighed, unlinking his arm from yours. 
“Honestly I’m just really worried you won’t like my gift.” A small smile formed on his face, “O-oh that’s all? Do you want me to open it now and get it over with so you don’t have to worry anymore?” You nodded sheepishly and he led you to a nearby bench. 
He gingerly took the bag from your hand and set it in his lap, he reached in, tissue paper crinkling. As he unwrapped the book from its tissue paper he couldn’t help the tears pricking in his eyes. You watched him intently as he flipped through the pages, each one containing something from your relationship; a receipt from your first date, handwritten letters, photobooth photos, and all the photos you and Mirio had taken the past two months. 
You gasped as tears fell to the page, “Tamaki are you okay? Do you not like it?” He turned to you, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. “No, I love it. Thank you for this.” You pressed your forehead to his, running your fingers through his hair. “Of course.” 
Tamaki led you to the restaurant, his heart feeling lighter than it had in a while. Maybe just maybe, if they love me, maybe I can love myself too.
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Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch6 The Entrance Ceremony
(Notw: I am aware that Piers also appears in Pokemon Masters EX and Pokemon Masters will be canon also to the story line but not until after the Sword and Shield story line.)
You perhaps should've seen it coming when Hop's excitement was reignited when he heard Leon left him a present and you gladly handed over one of the bags to which he opened up in a hurry but looked utterly confused at all the healers and camping food until you explained the reasons why Leon got them all for him. Which he understood with a nod. And after a moment more of resting you decided to walk back with him towards the road, but the two of you ran into another familiar face in the form of Gloria. Or more like she almost ran into the two of you as she ran into the train station as you got up from your seat. Your sobble still sore over how many times he already fell from your shoulder and so resorted to gripping your shoulder sleeve harder.
"Geez Glory!," Hop commented raising a brow, "What's gotten you in such a hurry? I thought that was my thing."
"Sorry," she apologized leaning over to look around you and Hop at the station, "Did Leon leave yet? You said somethin' about stopping him so we could say good bye."
He again sighed and slouched a big bag in his hands. "Yeah he's gone back to whatever he was doing. I suppose I can't catch a train after all." ...He gave a small smile though. "But I guess I can't complain! He's the Champion! So of course he's gotta be like SUPER busy! We'll come face to face again soon enough!"
Gloria smiled back and nodded in agreement. "YEAH! Besides, maybe we'll see him at the Opening Ceremony tomorrow!"
You nodded at them. Although you knew he wouldn't be there as in game if the current events kept up, but you didn't want to break their hearts or anything so soon.
"Are you two endorsed trainers?," a man's voice asked from behind the three of you turned around to the man in the small store like stand in the train station. His smile widened as he nodded to his side where a stack of books was settled. "Would any of you three be interested in joining in our charity dex events?"
"Charity dex?," you asked obviously confused.
And the man nodded again gesturing to the two different book stacks one smaller than the other. "Yes! For just five dollars you can purchase one of two dex books and enter the dex challenges to win a variety of prizes! All proceeds goes towards the power crisis fund raiser."
There was that mention again about the power crisis. You wondered how dire it was exactly. Gloria seemed to take interest in it though and walked right up to the stand staring at the books. "....What's exactly the challenges?"
"Well there's the Poke-Dex challenge and the Curry-Dex challenge?" He explained holding up one of the small books, it had a picture of a plate of some kind of food etched into it. "The challenge is too take a picture of every labeled curry, or pokemon, on the pages and when your albums are fully completed, you turn in into your local pokemon center to claim your prizes! And there's no time limit. It's all for charity and you get a neat scrap book out of it. We already sold a few to some people on their way on the train. Would you be interested in joining one of the dex challenges?"
"I dunno. Sounds like a scam to me, Glor," Hop commented glancing at the books. "I always thought photography was Victor's gig. And we're already got the gym challenges ahead of us tomorrow.......Glory?"
Dexes?? As in completing the entire pokemon dex for this game?? Was this how it was manifesting in this game? You guessed so. It WOULD be weird if Gloria just discovered her pokedex had a limit of numbers in order to 'complete' it like a game's challenge. but a curry dex?? You faintly remembered there being some kind of food challenge in game but you couldn't remember it too well.
"I can't believe you wasted twenty dollars on two scrape books and camera film." Hop gave a small frown at the rolls of film and books Gloria was carrying along with the bag of goodies provided by Leon from earlier. "You don't even have a polaroid camera for all of that."
"No, but Victor does! I'm sure he won't mind if I take his old one." She waved him off. "Besides! It'll be fun and easy! Just fill up a whole book with pictures of pokemon and curries! How hard can it be?"
Hop's face deadpanned. "That's not exactly what I meant."
The three of you had left the train station not longer after that and had taken a small detour to the grocery store you were previously in that morning so Gloria could buy herself a decent amount of film rolls. It was crazy how many rolls of film you could cheaply buy in this world for a mere ten dollars, although you were sure Hop disagreed. So you decided to change the subject by asking the two a question.
"So," they both turned to you, "We're leaving for the Entrance Ceremony tomorrow morning right?"
"YEP! Bright and early! The morning train leaves at seven thirty sharp and we have to get our Dynamax bands from Professor Magnolia tomorrow! So we're gonna have to get up real extra early if we don't want to miss it. These train conductors are always on time, whether it's a good or bad thing. But those bands will be worth it to be able to dynamax and complete our Badge Circles!"
"I see. ...What's a badge circle??" You don't remember hearing anything like that from the game even when you played it way back when. "I don't think I know how these gyms and badges work."
They both gave you a confused look and for a moment you thought you goofed up before luckily Gloria unknowingly saved face for you when a look of realization came over her. "OH RIGHT!! You're not from this region so you wouldn't possibly know how the gyms work!" You thanked whatever god was listening for this great save as Gloria happily explained. "You see there's ten gyms each with their own gym leader unique to their own type of pokemon, but in order to compete in the finals at the end of the year you only need eight badges to complete your Badge Circle. A Badge Circle is like a puzzle but instead of carboard puzzle pieces you use badges to make it, then you present it to the official board who helps host the Gym Challenge. They're also the ones who's going to be checking to make sure your endorsements are legit at the Entrance Ceremony," she explained as you listened. Never knew when this info might come in handy later. "That's where four of the gyms are optional. While usually they give you they're own unique piece for the Badge Circle..Both Rock Type and Ice Type Gyms offer the same shaped badge. So does the Fighting and Dark Type Gyms. So usually you'd pick either one of the two choices, grab it, and then move on. Lots of people don't see the point of battling both gyms for the same piece as it's not required." She smirked before pointing a confident hand forward. "BUT NOT ME!! What's the point of me joining the Gym Challenge if I don't at least try out every gym at least once! We have a full year until the finals anyhow! That should be plenty of time for me to get what I need!!......Plus...m-maybe because I'm also kinda hoping to get some pictures and a few autographs. It's not everyday you get to see such famous people. Hehe."
You rolled your eyes with a smile. Just like a teen meeting a famous person but Hop sighed again. "I just don't see why you're going through all of this trouble. Won't it make more sense to just focus on one thing?"
"Hop you need to broaden your horizons a bit! It's gonna be our first times away from home! It's not just about the Gym Challenge!" She smiled widely at him. "It's about seeing new things! Meeting new people! Getting to see all kinds of new pokemon! It's...." Her smile dropped for a bit as she looked down. "It's actually a bit scary.....but I guess that's what's also making it so exciting." She smiled again. "Plus I know you're also doing the challenge so it's not like I'll be going into it alone right? Ill have my best bud going through it with me!"
Hop stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat and nodded looking away. "Y-Yeah! You're right. "
"See? Told you! It'll be fun! And I'll have Y/n as a traveling buddy anyways! So it should be fine."
You nodded in agreement as the three of you continued to walk back towards their homes, and both children mentioning the new pokemon they had been able to catch while out on their little adventure today.
"So how many pokemon did you guys catch?," you asked curiously.
And Gloria proudly answered, "NINE! And Hop caught five!"
You did a double take at the two. "Wait. You guys caught fourteen pokemon between the two of you in the few hours I was gone!?"
"Yeah! Hop's really lucky! He's got a shiny butterfree!"
Hop gave a sheepish smile and in a similar fashion to Leon raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Well I guess I was just lucky to catch it off guard enough to catch it in the farmer's meadows."
Oh yeah. Weren't shiny pokemon a pokemon born with a rare color variety compared to most of their other kind? Wow. Well it sounded like the two of them certainly had a fun time out and about. "Wow. It sure sounds like you guys had a fun time." The three of you were coming up to the roads that split into to directions to both of the children's homes.
Gloria nodded again. "Hey! Hop! Come over to my house so I can practice my camera."
"What?," Hop's brow rose again, "Don't you mean Victor's camera?"
"Same difference! If I take pictures of all the pokemon we caught then it'll be good practice and give me a head start on the challenge! Plus who else would have a picture of a shiny butterfree?"
He sighed. "I swear you can bounce forward on anything like a ball."
You chuckled as the three of you made it to Gloria's house. Finding her mother in the kitchen cooking food and the first thing you noticed was the delicious smell coming from the kitchen stove, whatever she was cooking smelt of spices and your stomach growled. She looked up for a moment and smiled at the three of you, asking what the bags were for once she noticed, so you explained to her what had happened with you and Leon that morning as the two kids went off towards the door outside. She chuckled when you explained how Leon got lost on his way to the train in the early morning and got lost to only somehow end up back in front of his own home. Calling him 'a sweet young man for helping the kids out like that' and asking how your day went. Overall it was pretty well and you soon found yourself sitting down at the kitchen table resting yourself from all the walking around town you did. It was still fairly early in the day being only twelve something in the afternoon- You jumped when your Sobble all of a sudden chirped curiously and half climbed onto the side of your head to look towards the opposite side of the house as a flash of light came from one of the windows from outside. A minute long pause. And then another went off. A total of fourteen flashes with about a minute pause between them and while you tried to wrangle your sobble from your face without hurting it and it was enough to catch Mrs. G's attention as she stared with a brow rose.
"Gloria, what are you kids doing? I hope you're not practicing electric type moves near the house" her mother demanded. "You already almost caught your bed on fire from teaching your scorbunny Ember inside!"
"It's fine Mum!," Gloria's voice came followed by her head appearing in said window and waved what could only be described as a polaroid camera. "We're taking picture of our pokemon! Can you believe that I already have fourteen pokemon for the dex challenge!"
Her mother gave her a confused look placing a hand on her hip, "Dex challenge? What are you talking about?" She asked just as her Munchlax came toddling him yawning with another green pokemon behind him. He must've smelt the food and woken up you figured.
However Gloria's eyes lit up with a gasp! "Make that soon to be sixteen! You caught a Budew!?"
"Oh?" She glanced at the pokemon at her feet glancing up at her. "Oh yes. It was one of the two that always hangs around the flower beds. I always thought they were rather helpful for planting so I thought-" She paused as Gloria was already gon-
BANG!!
Both of you and the three pokemon jumped and turned to Gloria in the door's entrance camera in hand and scorbunny at her heels as she grinned at the Pokemon at her mother's heels before lifting the camera at them. "SAY CHEESE!!"
"Gloria! What are you-" She was cut off by two flashes that blinded you for a moment and you reached your hand up to cover your face as a white coated your vision. "GLORIA!!"
"Whoops. Sorry Mum!"
"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING!?"
"Taking pictures of pokemon. Duh."
"I can SEE that! Or I would if you hadn't blind sided me.....Wait. Isn't that Victor's camera? What on earth were you doing playing with it!? You know that's not yours!"
You groaned and rubbed your eyes as they contined to talk. You trying to rub away the white dots that came with the flash as your sobble sat there. And you suddenly felt a small hand pawing at your face, as if your sobble was mimicking the movements you made at the attempt of clearing your vision. It was cute....But it would've cuter if you could see it.
"But Mom," Gloria pleaded, "It's for a good cause I promise. There's this Dex challenge and if you fill up the entire book with pictures when you can win something! Plus it's fun!"
"Well watch where you're pointing that thing! The last thing we need is you blinding someone."
"Yes, Mom." "Sorry Ms. G."
You finally opened your eyes still lightly rubbing them as you blinked and your vision was slightly blurry, but it quickly cleared revealing the two teens and their mother standing there as they looked at you. And Mrs. G held out a hand to you.
"Oh dear. Are you alright, Y/n?"
You nodded. "Yeah. I guess. It was just real bright for a moment." You paused as the camera was held out pointed at you by Gloria.
"Hey, Y/n. Can I take a picture of your sobble?"
A picture of your- "Oh. Yeah sure! Just lemme close my eyes for a minute." She nodded as she held the camera up to her face and you slammed your eyes shut as the words left her mouth.
"Hey Sobble!" The pokemon turned to her. "Say cheese!" Another flash of white lit up everywhere and your sobble chirped in surprise as his eyes went wide and it swayed as you reopened your eyes. Gloria smiled as the camera made a whirling noise and a moment later a perfect picture of you with your sobble staring towards the camera came out through a slot in the bottem as she grabbed it. Examining it with a smile. "Yep! That makes seventeen now!"
You gently took the sobble off your shoulder and into your arms as it swayed wide eyed, before shaking it's head and scowling towards the two teenagers, letting out a very loud squeak of annoyance at her before leaning back into your arms like a cat would still glaring at the two of them. You kinda felt bad so you ended up scratching it's back making it give a pleased sound and smile after a moment. What a cute newt thing!
"Hey Glory. Shouldn't we be dropping off some of your pokemon at the center for your rotomi boxes?," Hop asked
Gloria nodded before looking at him. "Hey. Doesn't your grandpa have a purrloin?"
"Yeah he sure does."
"Think he'll let me take a picture of it?"
"I don't see why not! C'mon!"
"Wait! What about lunch?!," Gloria's mother called after the two already running out the door. She stood there for a few moments, before sighing and shaking her head. "I swear! If those two were pokemon they'd be rapidashes for how fast they head off to things."
You chuckled at her. The rest of the day went by very quickly. You had ended up helping Mrs. G clean up after she had started cooking and she gave you some curry as a thanks. You never had this kind of dish before. It was some rice with some kind of red sauce with the same spice smell from earlier, but neither of you were complaining as you ate. It was actually pretty good. Nice to have a peaceful meal considering the past couple days with how chaotic they were. Although you did have to keep your sobble from trying to grab food from your plate and to appease it you fed it a few peices of pokemon food after Mrs. G offered. Gloria didn't return until later that evening where you assumed she had dropped off some of her pokemon with Hop. The camera secured around her neck by a strap and her hands was one of the journals you noticed she had purchased. So you asked about it and her face lit up and she showed the both of you the eighteen pictures she had taken. Some of them you had recognized. Gloria's scorbunny. You and your sobble. Mrs. G's two pokemon of course, and a couple of Hop's. Including a yamper like Sonia's. What you didn't recognize was a few new ones which she gladly told you the names of them. But the most surprising one was her phone but it looked as if it was posessed by a rotom. When asked Gloria explained that it was perfectly normal for someone to have a rotom phone with their very own rotom. She probably assumed you didn't have any of that back in 'Kanto'. Time flew by and other than Mrs. G scolding Gloria for snapping a picture of the curry she had saved her for dinner, it was pretty easy for you to follow your routine before once again falling asleep on the couch and dozing off for the night. Until the very next day of course. You were just laying there peacefully snoozing away peacefully until you felt a harsh shake on your shoulder and a light was shown on you. Of course you being asleep ignored it in favor of turning over on the couch and curling into the blanket even more. Again a harsher shake made you groan in protest at whoever was trying to kidnap you from slumberland.
"Y/N!!" A young girl's voice shouted fairly close and loud next to your ear. Startling you awake with a snort, sitting right up and blinking and rubbing your eyes at the harsh light that extended on you. "Time to wake up or we'll miss the train to Motostoke!"
"Uuuuuhhh," you groaned peeking your eyes open and blinking groggily up at the form of Gloria smiling at you. You yawned a bit. "Gloria? Wha-....*yaawwn* What time is it?"
"Six o four in the morning!," she stated happily before leaning back up and it took you a moment to figure out it was still dark in the early hours of the morning and the light was coming from the light bulb above you. "You need to hurry up and get ready before we're late! I still need to pick up my Dynamax band from the Professor too!"
"M' up," you mumbled reaching a hand out to slowly toss off the blanket from your form as Gloria backed away.
She turned as you both heard her mother's tired voice call to her, asking what was up. What you needed to wake you up was a nice hot shower so that's exactly what you did. Dragging yourself out of bed, you trudged into the bathroom and took a deserving hot shower, brushing your teeth, and opting to instead of the overalls lent to you by Mrs. G wore the black shirt with the Eevee print, slacks, and the non rubber shoes you also picked up. By the time you came out, with everything else in the gray plaid bulking back pack of yours, the smell of food was already in the air and it didn't take you too long to find out why when you look over and saw Gloria holding what could've only been described as a plain waffle in one hand obviously in the middle of eating it, and going through her big brown back pack with the other as her mother looked at her.
"Uh huh. And are you sure you got plenty of clothes?," Mrs. G asked raising a brow, "Extra pokeballs? Your region map? How about the revives Leon was nice enough to get you?"
"Yes Ma!," the teen mumbled half way through eating, "I already went through this last night!"
"Well it never hurts to double check! Especially since you can't lose that endorsement letter or else they won't let you register for the challenge at all," she looked up and noticed you before smiling, "Ah! Y/n! Good morning, Dear. I hope you slept well."
You nodded shifting the backpack over your shoulders, "Yeah thanks! ......Hey. Where's that sobble?" You rose a brow while looking on the floor. Strange the little guy wasn't around.
"He was hungry so I gave him some food to tide him over for you. And speaking of which you must be hungry. I'll get you some breakfast. You aren't starting off your trip on an empty stomach."
"But Mom! That's gonna take even longer! Hop's already waiting for me! We still need to grab the dynamax bands before we go and we'll miss the train if we wait-"
"How about you guys go get the..bands and I'll *yaaawwn* meet you at the train station?," you suggested. You weren't really in the mood for any arguing in the morning, and to be honest you were hungry and the idea of starting a long trip on an empty stomach just didn't appeal to you.
You were lightly surprised when Gloria agreed to it and after a few more moments of going through her pack, left with Hop you assumed, as her mother kindly handed you over some food. More waffles but you weren't complaining. Your sobble at some point noticed you were awake and soon enough you felt that familiar feeling of the little guy crawling up your clothes only to plop itself into your shoulders. It really liked being carried around didn't it? Your muddled mind didn't know when but sometime after you finished the pancakes you were out the door bag in your hands, one hand holding it and the other digging through it to make sure all the few belongings you did own for now were secured. Sure enough you found the non perishable food Leon had given you, the few clothes, and of course your Sobble's pokeball tucked somewhere in the bottom of it all. You decided to keep your sobble out for the time being as it seemed to enjoy being out. The early morning light was starting to peek through with the light pinks and yellows of the sunrise. Already as you made your way to the train station, you saw the farmers and their wooloos out in the fields. Early to bed early to rise you guessed. You saw no sign of the teens, guessed they were still getting the dynamax bands from the professor, even as you walked right into the train station. So you did the only thing your tired self could do. You once again plopped yourself into one of the seats tiredly and waited for the two to arrive. It couldn't have been that long(or maybe it was but you didn't notice) but you perked up at a familiar voice.
"So out with it, Glor! How many did you catch again?"
"I already told you eight! You saw me take pictures of them yesterday remember?"
"Oh right! Sorry that's just the sleep talkin'. " You turned to the door as the young voices got louder. "But look at how many you caught! You're well on your way to building a fine team! I caught myself a special one not to brag."
" I KNOOOWWW!! I'm so jealous you caught a shiny before me!" Gloria walked right into the train station with Hop right behind her.
He shrugged with a proud smile. "Well what can I say? I'll make a difficult rival."
"Where are we heading again?"
"The Gym Challenge will begin Motostoke and our train's waiting so let's go-" He paused finally looking away from her and seeing you sitting there. Upon catching his eye you smiled and waved mumbling something like 'Good Morning'. And he smiled. "Hey! Y/n you're here!" You stood up to meet them with a light yawn as they approuched. "I thought you'd be on the train already.''
You chose not to mention you haven't gotten any money to pay for the ticket entrance and waved. "Nah. I said I'd wait for you guys at the station and I wanted to keep my promise." Looking to Gloria you noticed something around her neck, so you pointed and asked. "Hey. Isn't that your brother's camera?"
"Hm?" She blinked and looked to the camera around her neck. "Oh yeah! I'm gonna need it if I'm gonna finish this Dex Challenge too!"
Hop groaned and rolled his eyes. "I still think it's a waste of time but I guess it's your choice." He jabbed a thumb to the awaiting train. "It's nearly seven thirty. We should probably get on before it takes off." He suggested and the two of you agreed. Walking towards the small gate-
"Not so fast you three!," an older but familiar lady's voice cut through the air and the three of you all turned around as a result.
Hop's golden eyes widened. "Wha-? What're you doing here, Mum?" He asked turning around just as the two mothers of the children walked right in. You were confused at first two, before seeing what they were holding in their hands and you immediately understood why they had followed you here.
"I knew this day was coming since the moment you chose Grookey as a partner, Darling," the older woman smiled fondly at him, a smile you remember your own mother used to have way back when. She held up the small rolled up thing in her hands. "You took off so fast you two didn't take any sleeping bags. Did you forget you probably won't be able to afford hotels most of the time or won't be able to sleep in one every night? You can't expect a free bed around every corner."
Both looked immediatey sheepish as Mrs. G spoke. "Professor Magnolia was kind enough call and let us know that you three would be setting out now." She held up a small looking back of her own. "So here. A little last gift to see you well set on your way. All the kit you'll need for camping! And the reason why you should always double check BEFORE you take off." Gloria made a face and looked away before her mother made her take the small kit, which consisted of a small compact tent  you could carry over your shoulder and another sleeping bag, before crossing her arms with a frown. "Honestly! I swear you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to your neck sometimes."
"HEY! I only forgot this one thing," she protested and her mother hummed.
" Ah yes. Like you forgot to tell me about how the two of you snuck off into the Slumbering Weild." In an instant she froze and you could've sworn a little color drained from Gloria's face in that moment. "And yes, I heard the news from young Leon. I'm glad someone bothered to tell me!" She sighed and her other hand was held out to you. "Here we are! A bit of pocket money for your journey. Buy yourself a little something at the pokemon center. Maybe some potions or something!"
You stopped and blinked at the small twenty bill in her hand before shaking your head. "Oh no! I couldn't possibly take your money! I-"
"Happened to save my child from a dumb idea. It's not much but something tells me you could use it anyways."
Well......It wouldn't hurt to have some money on you in case of emergencies even if it wasn't much. So you reluctantly took it from her. "I....Thank you."
She nodded to you before turning to Gloria and pointing a finger at her with a serious look. "Now. Remember that Scorbunny will battle to the very end for you so don't you go pushing the poor dear too hard! Come home to rest anytime that you need. After all east or west, home is best." She smiled. "No matter what happensout there, if you and your partner are together I know you'll be fine. Take my advice to heart Sweetie. As long as you have your pokemon at your side and the energy to carry onwards, you'll naturally find that you always have a smile on your face."
Gloria stood there for a moment before nodding to her mother and you blinked when she all of a sudden hugged the older woman, seemingly startling her too for a moment before she smiled and hugged the child back tightly like any mother would....Well except maybe yours. She was always seeming to be too busy working or making sure you worked hard to get good grades or worked hard enough to help out with the bills with your after school jobs. You didn't notice the frown come over your face as Hop mimicked his friend in giving his own mother a hug who like the other mother mirrored a smile and hugged back patting his head.
"Remember. No matter what happens out there, if you and your partner are together, I know you'll be fine."
Hop smiling pulled away and gave a big grin. "Thanks Mum! And just think of how lucky you are!" He raised a determined fist. "Mother to the first ever pair of Champion Brothers! Because I'm certain to be the Champion next! You'll see!"
She nodded in agreement but her face was amused. "Of course you will, Darling. Anyway, do have fun and take care of yourselves. And don't be too worried about not winning. You're welcome back home anytime."
Home huh- A loud train horn sounded off startling the five of you into turning to the train, then you happened to glance at the clock hanging upon the wall and noticed that it was seven twenty eight in the morning. Two minutes before seven thirty and the deadline for the train's departure. So you decided to point this out, having the two kids make a worried frown before taking a few steps back.
"We'll be off now!," Gloria explained lifting her hand a moment to give a quick good bye to the two mothers and turning to the train. "C'mon guys! We're off! Don't want to miss the train!"
You nodded in agreement tailing right after her with Hop behind you. "Wish us luck! Not that we'll need it!"
As the mothers waved good bye, the three of you went towards the gate and watched as Gloria slipped a single dollar into the slot of it. It made a ping noise and you guess it unlocked because the three of you easily slipped by and towards the train. The grey and yellow train's doors slid open with a whoosh sound as the three of you entered just as another horn sounded off startling your sobble a bit making it cling to your shoulder harder. Inside was who you assumed to be a train conductor who gestured for you all to exit through another door to the right which lead to the passenger cars and other people who happened to be on the train with you three. There was about fifthteen other people with you so the three of you had to go to one of the back seats. Yellow painted metal bars were everywhere along with Blue seats with a table between the two of them. Above each pair of seats was a small area to put luggage. You three sat down just as the train was starting off. Gloria breathing a sigh of relief from all the weight she was carrying. You assumed she was carrying more than you already along with the camping equipment she was given just a few moments ago. You ended up looking out the window and watching the station and small town of Postwick move away from your view and starting on your way. Beside you Gloria sighed and slumped into the soft cushioned seat.
"Man. We just left and I'm already feeling beat."
"Well look on the bright side," Hop suggested, "We're finally heading out on our journies! And Lee told me Motostoke is a good place as any to start off an adventure."
"Oh really? How come?," you asked curiously as he explained.
"Well besides the obvious Opening Ceremony going on there. Motostoke is surrounded by a giant piece of land called the Wild Area. It's a real sight! There's all sorts of wild Pokemon juat wondering about everywhere you look! Plus you can camp out, do a spot of fishing, and sight seeing! I don't think I could ever get tired of it!," he explained smiling widely, "But I don't think we'll be able to see it. The Entrance Ceremony's in the town not the wild. But on a lighter not! There's loads of brilliant trainers and all kinds of pokemon out there waiting for us! My excitement's running ahead of me faster than this train can go!"
"Yeah? Well it's too bad. Would've loved to take a couple more pictures." Gloria sighed leaning more against the wall of the train. " Im already starting to understand why Victor likes it so much. Like I wouldn't make it a living like he wants to but it's a nice hobby."
You nodded agreeing with her and extended your arm to allow your sobble to crawl along your arm and onto the table, watching as it curiously crawled up to the window and looked out at the world passing by. You all sat there for who knows how long chatting, the kids pulled out their phones and showed you a few pictures of what looked almost like a castle's high walls and beautiful scenery surrounding it. It was quite lovely. At one point someone said it would take at least a few hours to get to the town so all of you had plenty of time to relax but you couldn't help but let your mind wonder. What was happening back at your home? Was your mother worried about you suddenly going missing? What happened when she went to wake you up but found you completely gone? Did she call the police to file a missing person's report yet? Counting today it would've been five days that you had disappeared and that must've been worrying. And if this happened to just be a crazy dream you surely hoped you would wake up sometime soon. You were soon snapped out of any bad thoughts though. How? Simple the train suddenly slowed down out of no where it caught you off guard and you ended up hitting the table in front of you your poor Sobble chirping in shock as it was sent tumbling across said table and into Hop's extended arms as he thankfully caught the poor thing before it could splat onto the floor below. What the world was that!? Your head turned as Gloria nudged your side. you gave her a questioning look about to ask if she was alright but she pointed out the window and you looked. There was.....Nothing but nature?? Which wouldn't be strange since it was the out doors, and you WOULD have chalked it up to just being another stop on the way to Motostoke but then why did the train suddenly stop like that? Granted you never rode on a train before but you were pretty sure they weren't supposed to stop suddenly enough to ram yourself into a table. One of your hands rubbed your sore ribs where they had hit the table, surely leaving a bruise later but no real damaged luckily. So why had you all suddenly stopped in the middle of seemingly no where? Around you other people were also noticing, muttering to themselves, some getting up to peer out the windows or to take a couple steps up the alley way as to walk up to the engine car.
"Attention Passengers!," a man's voice blared from a loud speaker somewhere, "Due to some unfortunate events beyond our control we have decided to take a quick stop at Wild Station. We apologize for any inconvience and to please wait patiently while we fix the issue. We thank you for your cooperation."
"Wha- Wild Station? That's just outside the the town!," Hop exclaimed holding your sobble in one arm while staring at a map on his phone with the other. Confusion on his face. "Why didn't they just stop inside the city?"
"Let's find out!" Gathering her things into her arms Gloria was quick to jump past you.
"WHA- Hey wait!," you called out extending an arm out to her as she darted up the car past other people.
You stared after her for a few seconds before turning to Hop who shrugged and got up to after her which you followed obviously. The two of you hurried after her as Gloria trotted up to the exit and with a whoosh the doors opened with her stepping out and the two of you followed. On the other side was another train station. Only this one had slightly different colored brick walls and there was a whole bunch of leaves and twigs scattered about. Besides the three of you there was a couple looking over a map in one corner of the station looking confused and lost, a map just sitting in the waiting chairs, and someone who looked to be in some kind of uniformed green vest.
You gave a confused look around. "Where the heck are we?"
"Ill check!'' Before you could respond Hop had already turned to the man in the vest and asked, "Hey, Mr. Station Master!" The man hummed and turned to him. "Isnt this the Wild Area? What're we stopped here for?"
The man sighed crossing his arms. "Yes....This is the Wild Area Station makes no mistakes. I'm sorry to tell you that the train is halted due to a flock of wooloo."
"WHAT?!," both you and Gloria said at the same time.
A giant herd of wooloo!? Oh great! Now what were you all supposed to do?
Hop however wasn't the least bit concered. "What's there to be sorry about? This is brilliant!"
Gloria gave him a look that looked like he just did something crazy. "What is?"
He excitedly smiled widely at her. "This Wild Area is massive!" He explained the sobble in his arms giving a noise of annoyance at his sudden movements. "There are loads of pokemon to battle here! You don't get it do you, Glor? This is the best possible place to put together the greatest team!"
"I don't think we should be taking off, "Gloria pointed out and you nodded agreeing. "We have to get to the ENtrance Ceremony soon or else we'll be considered forfeiting our sponsorships entirely!"
"They take it that seriously?," you asked lightly surprised as she nodded.
"Something about a long time ago a lot of trainers tried to sneak their way into the challenge by claiming they were late to register or something like that. Since then the rules have been pretty strict. Which is why I want to register first and then come back here if I have a chance."
"When is the deadline?"
"Midnight. And as much as I'd love to explore around...Im kinda nervous about securing that spot."
You could totally agree with her on that point Buuut- You pointed behind you. "But the train's going to be backed up for a while by the looks of it. Maybe we can walk? How fair is this Motostoke?''
"Let's step out and see. The map said it shouldn't have been too far away I think."
That wasn't a bad idea and with no objections the three of you stepped out and what you saw made you pause. As soon as you stepped out you were hit with the strong rays of sunlight making you blink but once your (f/c) eyes managed to get a hold of themelves...Well....Breathtaking was a pretty good way to describe it. A giant meadow stretched as much as you could see with a giant lake, a few scattered trees, and A GIANT WALL! A giant wall was set up with a few bridge like structures to the right and you could see a few very tall buildings/structures ahead. You saw what you thought was oil rigs movie, a giant clock which reminded you of Big Ben back in your world, a few sky scrapers, and a few other things you were too far away to make out. Over all it was a very strange but pretty sight as the wind blew through the trees.
"Look at that!," Hop said in awe pointing at the buildings which must've been a decent half mile away. "That's Motostoke way off that way! And between here and there are countless new pokemon waiting to be met!"
Gloria hummed. ".......Well it would be cool to explore somewhere we won't get in trouble I guess."
"EXACTLY!!" He pointed towards the meadow. "Im itching to just see what's out there. It's not too far away and we can probably spare a couple hours. I mean we have until Midnight right? And we left pretty early in the morning."
She hummed again. "Well when you put it that way it does sound like fun!" A smile crossed her face again. "I can take a whole bunch of pictures for my scrapebook! And catch a few more pokemon of course."
You weren't sure that was a good idea- "Well well. You two running off again?"
The three of you turned- You blinked surprised. "Sonia?," you asked. True to your word the orangedhaired professor's assistant was walking right towards the three of you with a smile. "What are you doing here? I don't remember seeing you get on the train."
"Of course you didn't. I didn't enter the train through the station right side of the station," she smiled. "Besides. I figured it'd be an opportune time for me to travel for my research." Sonia gave a sigh and looked to the ground shaking her head. "My grab gave me a proper earful in her own way.  'Those two young trainers are setting out on a journey, but what are you doing with your life?' Her words not mine."
"Ouch Professor," you commented, "That sounds rough."  You didn't mean to be so blunt but you kinda understood how she felt. Your mother had asked you similar things to that while simaltaniously pushing you to study more, go to college, and get a job-
Sonia waved you off. "Ah. Never mind that. Nothing to worry yourselves over. " Her eyes lowered back to the teens next to you. "Besides I've been more curious about that pokemon you two met in the forest. I'd been thinking I should look into it so the timing works out fine! If I discover something really huge then maybe even Gran'll admit I got some talent."
Pokemon- OH RIGHT!! You nearly forgot the legendary pokemon they saw in the fog. Although you were still unsure what it was exactly. A thought suddenly struck you. In the game Sonia would uncover some amazing things important to the plot of the game. If ONLY you could remember what it was!
"Yikes." Hop made a cringe face. "Being an adult got it's own challenges eh?"
You frowned and gave a chuckle and shake of your head which made him look at you. "Oh you have NO idea."
"I said you needn't worry about it," Sonia stated a little more firmly. "I'm glad to be on the road really! It's been ages. It'll be great fun to fish and camp and rough it outside again."
"Uh huh. Well you have fun with that! Meanwhile.." He turned with a smile. "I heard there's natural dynamaxing pokemon in the Wild Area! I'm off to go stick my head in as many of those red dens as I can find!"
"Not. So. FAST! Mr. Impatient!" He yelped when gloria grabbed him by the hoodie and with the same frown as her mother stared at him when she yanked him back. "We only got here and you want to run off again into the wild??"
"Oh c'mon Glory. I promise Ill meet you up back at the Entrance Ceremony."
The young girl hummed. ".....What time is it by the way?"
"Oh." You glanced to sonia as she rolled up her sleeve and glanced at her watch. "According to this it just turned Eleven thirty in the morning."
She hummed and slowly released her friend. "Fine. But let's agree to meet at the Entrance Ceremony at six or seven in the after noon. That should be enough time for the both of us to explore and get to the town before it gets dark." She gave a concerned frown. "I really don't want you hurt or lost."
Hop paused for a moment before looking away coughing his cheeks having a light pink hue. "Um....YEAH! I can totally do that!"
Her smile returned. "Then it's settled! Can't lose my rival before I even join the challenge."
"GREAT!!" He turned again. "I'm going to battle the snot out of a bunch of dynamax pokemon and fill in the tale of my legend!" And he ran off.
"DONT YOU DARE FORGET HOP!!," Gloria hollered after him.
Both you and Sonia shared a chuckle at their childish behavior before she looked at you. What cheek. Dynamax pokemon are really on another level you know." She glanced to Gloria. "You'd better dynamax your partner pokemon too if you want to take on opponents that strong." She directed Gloria to the wild. "He's right about red dens. You'll find spots here and there in the Wild Area that emit a red beam of light. If you think you're up to it, check it out. They're usually cave openings with dynamax pokemon inside. But PLEASE be careful. It can be dangerous at times. I wish Hop would've waited for me to warn him before he ran off like that."
Gloria nodded in understanding as you looked down to your sobble climbing up your leg. Hop must've put him down when you weren't looking. "I understand Sonia! You don't have to worry about me!"
Sonia nodded to the two of you. "So with that Ill leave you two off here. The Wild Area is waiting for you. This is the start of your real adventure. Take care now."
You watched as she turned to walk away and....you weren't sure what really compelled you to say it in that moment but you reached your arm out after her. "Ms. Sonia!" She stopped and turned to you with a hum. You paused uncertainly if you should say anything. Would it affect the progress of the game's route? "I just....wanted to let you know that....You really are a great scientist already. And you're going to find a lot of things."
She blinked at you in surprise for a moment not sure what to make of your words, but settled on a smile and nodded. "Thanks. Your kind words mean a lot but we'll have to see what I actually accomplish. I wish you the best sights and experiences of Galar a tourist like you can have!" Before she turned and walked her way towards you assumed Motostoke.
"Wow." You jumped and looked to Gloria who smiled. "That was really nice of you. Even if it was a little out of no where."
You shrugged. "I guess I know how she feels a little bit. Sometimes a few kind words is what someone needs."
"Lee always says something similar, but I think he calls it 'champion encouragment'." She suddenly snapped her head forward and pointed. "Well you heard Sonia! I want to try out my first dynamaxing battle before I take on any gyms! We got about seven to eight hours to get some battling and sight seeing in so I say we give this day all we got!"
-time skip five hours forward-
You lost track of how many times Gloria pulled you along this way and that....but it was an eventful few hours.
You lost count of how many pokemon Gloria tried to battle. Key word being 'tired'. The first pokemon she tried to battle was one you remembered. An Onix. A. GIANT. MASSIVE!! AND CRANKY!! ONIX!! Probably didn't help Gloria snapped a picture of it before trying to battle it. You had to literally grab her and drag her behind you as you ran. Terrified scorbunny at your heels as it charged towards the two of you. Not the greatest start to be honest. But it wasn't as worst as her first dynamax battle. She had found an opening in the cliffside of a cave with red aura around in, one of the dynamax dens and she ran into it without a second thought with you chasing after her. Inside the dark was lit up by a GIGANTIC DIGLETT with the red-black cloud hovering over it's dynamax form. You nearly fainted then and there but when the thing ROARED you felt like you were about to have  a heart attack!!! Your sobble poor thing made a small squeal of fright before forcing itself into your backpack to hide immediately. Things just went downhill from there when in the middle of the battle Gloria decided to dynamax scorbunny and all of a sudden you both were having a very hard time standing up from the shaking ground and the debry the attacks caused to the point you literally yelled that you both had to leave then and there but she couldn't hear you past all the noise and therefore barked orders to her gigantic scorbunny from her holding onto the ground. With you clinging onto the cave's wall for dear life hoping it would be over soon. Thankfully it did. It was all a blur really. You vaugly remembered Gloria somehow capturing the diglett and returning scorbunny to it's rightful size. And you two carefully climbed around disheveled cave floor until managing to get out of the cave....where the both of you collasped onto the ground.
"HOW THE HECK CAN STADIUMS HANDLE THOSE THINGS!?,'' you yelled out dizzily into the soft grass. In the game you didn't have to worry about debry being flung at you or the ground giving away suddenly. BECAUSE IT WAS A GAME!! REAL LIFE POKEMON DYNAMAX BATTLES WERE NOTHING LIKE THE GAME!!
Gloria raised a weak hand. "T-They were made a long time ago with top professors, contractors, and researchers to build them strong enough even a dynamaxed monchomp with the strength of a thousand earthquakes couldn't shake it. Dunno how but man I'm glad they did."
You could 100% agree with that! It took a minute for the both of you to recover before the two of you got up, dusted yourselves off, and went off again. Gloria managed to resume battling and taking photos of a few pokemon. Although some of the pictures were so blurry from the pokemon moving they would be no use at all and she didn't catch a lot of the pokemon she tried to battle. But she did win a few and even had two other dynamax battles within the dens you guessed Hop didn't come across. Catching one of them but not the other as you struggled to not lose your lunch or have a heart attack both times. You were not a fan of wild dynamax battles after that. At one point you even came across what Gloria explained was a wild berry tree and demonstrated how to get the fruits off them by forcibly shaking it until a couple berries fell off it. They all had a somewhat bittertaste you didn't like when you tried them tho, but your sobble seemed to enjoy up as you handed them right over when they extended their....hands?? Paws??...towards it. You couldn't remember how much time had passed before the two of you finally had a chance to sit down under the shade of a tree and have a break. Gloria took the time to go through all the pictures she took, must've been about thirty, but only twenty one were salvagable. Curious you took a peak at the pictures she showed you. The pokemon she got pictures of were a onix(of course angering it-), roselia, vespiquen, nuzleaf, vulpix, snover, bunnelby, pidove, miccino, baltou, combee, tryogue, stuffel, diglett(how did she have time to get a picture of that dynamax thing?), metapod, diggersby, hoothoot, bounsweet, noibat, and a pancham. Not a lot but certainly a decent haul for her. It was you who eventually asked the question-
"Hey. What time is it?"
Gloria responded by quickly pulling out her phone and checking the time on it. And she blinked. "It's four twenty seven! It's already been about five and a half hours!"
"Wha-" You looked up to the sky. Didn't look like sunset yet, but it was definately about late after noon. You two hadn't even noticed the time fly by. "We've been out here nearly all day!"
With a hum gloria quickly scrambled to pick up her things. "I think we better head to Motostoke now. I don't really know how long it'll take to walk there and I did promise Hop we'd meet him there."
You nodded scooping the confused sobble into your arms. The walk there was pretty uneventful as you two walked what must've been half a mile, your eyes widening the closer you got, until you finally got there......AND. IT. WAS. NOTHING. LIKE IN GAME!! The entrance to Motostoke was all bricked with a mideival ages meets industrial period kind of look. All the buildings you could see were brick other than the familiar pink pokemon center and there was A LOT MORE people and buildings than in game you remember....makes sense you supposed. This was a real world and so of course there would be a lot more people and buildings. It was so crowded you were certain if Gloria wasn't walking beside you, you were sure you would've easily watched her. The first place you two stopped was the pokemon center where Gloria went inside to heal her pokemon from todays battle and put away any new ones she caught into those Rotomi box things. You were busy marveling at the busy streets and environment around you. You had never been in a city before let alone a town like this so it was quite a shock for you to see. This place even had GIANT WORKING GEARS BUILT INTO IT'S VERY WALLS!! It was like a real steampunk town. But once she came out she.....stopped and stared around her.
"So which way to the ceremony?," you asked her gazing at a few stores lined across the street.
She looked really unsure now fidgiting with the straps of her bag and looking around her. "U-Um...I don't know."
You snapped your head to her. "You don't what?!"
"Im sorry!" She apologized looking around. "I know it's here! I just.....don't know exactly where in town."
You wanted to facepalm but decided not too to avoid hurting her feelings and looked around as well as people and their pokemon passed you two. No signs of Hop or any indication of a ceremony anywhere in sight. No other trainers, no signs, certainly no ceremony!
Gloria suddenly held up her phone. "Maybe I should call him? He might already be there waiting for us-"
"HEY YOU TWO!!" A familiar voice called out and to both of your relief you turned and walking towards you with a shopping bag in one hand, yamper at her feet was your saving grace Sonia waving at you. "Over here!"
"SONIA!" Gloria smiled. "Boy are we glad to see you! We ran into a 'Leon situation' here."
That made her laughed. "Oh really? Real ace of you to make it through the Wild Area. And a Leon situation huh?"
Gloria nodded sighing. "We're kinda lost. Do you know where the ceremony is?"
"You're first time in a city and already lost? But Motostoke is big right?" Gloria nodded and Sonia smiled. "Not to worry. Sonia is here to show you around a bit."
"Thanks, Ms. Sonia." Gloria poltely smiled at the older woman. "Could you point out where we gotta go?"
Sonia hummed. "The Entrance ceremony huh? I get a bit worked up when I think how exciting and moving it was to actually stand on a stadium's pitch for the first time." Sonia smiled off thinking of an old memory most likely. She shook her head. "Anyways. Brilliant young trainer who braved the Wild Area! Do you remember what your goal in Motostoke is?"
"I'm here for the Gym Challenge!,"Gloria shouted determined smile on her face and Sonia nodded.
She nodded. "Yep! The Gym Challenge Opening Ceremony!" She pointed behind her at the busy street. You Guess since she once too here attending the Gym challenge with leon as kids she would know where it would be. "Use that lift over there to get to it K? OH! By the way the ceremony tomorrow is being held at the Motostoke Stadium ok?"
......You looked at Gloria. "There's a stadium here AND a second ceremony tomorrow??" Gloria shrugged at you.
"Well, laters!" She waved a hand at you two. "I'm going to swing by the shops while I'm here but don't forget to register at the Stadium,k?" Gloria nodded and Sonia went to tur- She stopped. "OH! I forgot. I got you a little something." Reaching into her coat pocket and fishing around, she pulled out what looked like at first glance some kind of training card before holding it out to Gloria who curiously accepted it...And her eyes WIDENED at it.
"NO!! WAY!!" She stared wide eyed between the card and Sonia. "Is this what I think it is!?"
She giggled. "Yep. I know Leon already sent myself and Hop a couple so I figured it would be the perfect start off to your own collection."
Gloria gave off a girly teen squeal and practically shoved it into your face making you blink. "OH MY MAGIKARP!! LOOK!! I GOT A LEAGUE CARD!!" You blinked and true to her word it was a card. And on it was a picture of Leon sitting down looking off somewhere. She smiled widely pulling it from your face. "Thanks so much So-...." She blinked. "Hey where'd she go?"
You shrugged. "I guess she left. Come on. We better get going."
She nodded ad the two of you made off for this lift at the end of the street. Along the way you guys passed a few stores. A flower shop, a cafe, a book store, a record shop, a barber shop, and another clothes shop. Once you two were at and on the lift....you became unsure again.
"Um. Now what?"
"I dunno..." Something caught her eye as she looked over and pointed. "hey what's that?"
"What's what?"
"This panel has a button." She pressed it.
"AH!!" You instantly fell to your bottom and Gloria grabbed onto the small pedestol as the lift suddenly lifted the two of you up and around, until it suddenly stopped again and you groaned. Pushing yourself up...and hearing a snicker. You shot a look to the teenager who was snickering behind her hand. "Nice to see you're still standing." You muttered pushing yourself up to your feet again and looking over, in front of the both of you was a giant building with glass doors, in front of the doors was two men in some kind of uniform and sunglasses like some bodyguard and some man with.....A Pokeball head?? Was waving to a few people passing by. A mascot maybe??.....You pointed at the building. "You think that's it or what?"
She went to answer but someone already beat here to it. "Gloria! Ms. Y/n!" Both of you looked over and Hop was making his way towards the two of you. "You made it too? "
You rubbed your aching back. "Yeah. Where are we?"
"Motostoke Stadium! This is where the Opening Ceremony will be held!" He exclaimed excitedly pointing to the large building behind him. "Everyone'll be watching the Opening Ceremony for the Gym Challenge! My mom, your mom, the whole world!! It's getting me a bit nervous really." He shook his head. "Naw. This isn't nerves. I'm only trembling because I'm so excited!"
"Well I say we go it and get registered before it gets too dark," Gloria suggested.
"You're right!" He turned back to the stadium still pointing. "Come on, Glory! It's time the world knows our names!"
As the three of you rolled up to the doors one of the two men standing in front of the door held one of their hands out in a clear stop motion in front of you trio.
"Can I see your sponsorship letters please?," He asked holding out his hand and Hop didn't hesitate to pull his out of his pocket and have the letter over to the man in the meantime Gloria had slung her backpack off her shoulders and went digging through it. You hoped she didn't forget it all the way back in Postwick. The security guard carefully examined the peice of paper in his hands. Running a hand across the red unbroken seal, holding it up to the light, and then taking a small device out of his pocket. A small green light came out and scanned it for a few seconds until there was a small ding from the machine and the man nodded before handing it back to him. "Head on inside and sign in Trainer. Next!" Saying a quick thanks Hop quickly snatched the letter back just as Gloria pulled out her own (thank goodness she still had it) and handed it to the man who repeated the same process from before before he too handed Gloria back hers and allowed her to go. But when you made a move to follow them he held another hand up. "Sorry, Ma'am. Only registered trainers, staff, and authorized personal are allowed inside. You'll have to wait out here. It's the rules."
You paused for a moment before looking at Gloria uncertain who smiled. "It's alright Y,n. Just wait for us out here ok? It shouldn't take too long. I mean we're just signing in!"
"Well...Alright if you say so." You gestured to a nearby bench. "I'll just wait for you two over there ok?"
They agreed and left you standing outside the stadium as they went inside. Not that you minded waiting of course. Your feet ached and your shoulders from carrying around your backpack all day, so plopping on the bench you gave your sore body a rest before slinging your pack off your shoulders. Your sobble had decided now would be a good time to fully crawl out of your pack from where its been hiding out this whole time and you let it climb on you when you placed your bag down with a sigh and leaned into the bench. FINALLY allowing yourself to rest for a while. You waited for a little while as people passed you, going up and down the lift and and streets as the body guards still stood there making sure no one entered without permission. A few teens Hop's age excited uncluding one boy with bright white fluffy hair and a long pink coat and you thought he looked rather grumpy. At one point you thought you heard a happy yell from somewhere but ignored it as it was probably a child playing somewhere. The sky slowly turning to a light pink as it got later in the day. Eventually the two did come back out but with what looked like white work out bands on their wrist that didn't have the dynamax bands on them. You waved at them as they walked right on over to you.....and with a second boy??
"Hey you two. Who do you got there?,' you asked gesturing to the boy on the other side of Gloria.
To which she smiled brightly and hugged him making you raise a brow. "Don't you recognize twins when you see them! IT'S VICTOR!!"
You stared at the young boy smiling at you. ........THIS WAS VICTOR!! The name of the male avator that you could pick in the game if you didn't chose Gloria to play instead. Looking at the young boy he still looked the same age as Gloria and Hop next to him even if he was a little taller than his twin. How did you not recognize it sooner? He had the same dark brown hair and light brown eyes as his sister and if they had the same haircut they would've looked the exact same (other than Victor's slightly taller hieght). He wore a grey beanie like hat, a red shirt with some logo on it, jeans, brown shoes, and carried what might as well been a giant suit case on his back. And a poloroid camera was slung in a similar fashion around his neck as he smiled at you. Gloria seemed very happy to see him as she excitedly gestured to him.
"Can you believe it!? After a whole year the mysterious photographer finally appeared after disappearing without a trace," she teased making her twin roll his eyes.
"It's nice to know you haven't changed. I wanted to surprise you after the text you sent me telling me Lee sponsored you but I didn't expect you to show up with more people." He turned back to you with a smile. "Greetings! You must be the new friend Gloria told me about. Thanks for saving her sorry butt from the Slumbering Weild. I always knew she'd get into trouble sooner or later without me."
"HEY!" A frown came over her face as she pouted. "I don't get into THAT much trouble! Besides I got here without a problem didn't I?"
He chose to ignore that and you took the chance to talk. "Nice to meet you too. Are you here for the Gym Challenge?"
He shrugged. "Yes and no. I'm here to take pictures of the events as they happen. It's been years since the last Gym Challenge and certainly going to be a long time until the next one after this year is over. But I'm not competing. Never had much interest in battles."
You could understand that. You never had much interest doing a couple things too.
"Y'know Lee had a sponsorship and starter pokemon all ready for you too." Gloria almost looked sad. ''You could've competed alongside us even if you didn't want to battle it would've been fun to have you around."
"Glory, then a Champion's sponsorship would've been wasted. It wouldn't be put to it's full potential. Although I am a bit upset I didn't have the chance to tell Leon myself, but I'm sure I'll be able to thank him later considering you'll be seeing more of me around here soon."
She gave her brother a confused look. "Whatcha mean?"
"I've decided to join Hop on this little adventure If he doesn't mind."
"Really!? That's awesome! Of course!" Hop was quick to agree with a friendly punch to Victor's shoulder. "Why wouldn't I want one of my greatest pals joining me while I write my legend? It'll be grand to have a traveling buddy of my own!"
"NO WAY!!" Gloria's large smile returned! "Oh this is great! We'll be able to see each other for a while more. I haven't been able to see you since you went on a journey last year so this is totally a win win for me in everyway!"
You nodded. "Oh. How'd the registry go?"
She waved a hand. "Oh y'know. We got our Challenger Bands we're apparently supposed to wear all the time so everyone knows we're a part of the registered trainers group. Our own League cards for the challenge. And we got to meet some of the rival trainers in there too! I liked the Sherry girl. She seemed really shy."
"I heard she was sponsored by the Gym Leader Milo but I can't be too sure," Victor replied before looking up at the sky. ".....But in any case I believe we should all head to Budew Drop Inn before the actual ceremony tomorrow." He turned to Gloria. "That way I can show you all the new pictures of pokemon I've gotten. You can use them for that dex challenge thing you told me about."
They turned and you nodded in agreement standing up and grabbing your bag, your sobble grabbing onto your bag as your hoisted it back over your shoulders and followed them guessing they must've known the way.
"By the way how many pictures of pokemon did you add to your collection?," Gloria asked glancing at her twin.
"Um." He made a thoughtful face. "Well let's see. Nessa's Aquarium has at least one of every water type pokemon...and with how many nature preserves I've stayed...and with the hundreds of tourists with different regions pokemon....and trading pictures with fellow photographers from different regions at the International Photographers Expo..........Six hundred thirty four different pokemon!"
There was silence for a moment.
"........WHAT?!"
The four of you made it down the street and over to the six story building that certainly looked like a fancy hotel. Along the way the children explained that the Chairman had not only endorsed as well but apparently paid the hotel in advance to allow all the trainers to stay the night before the actual ceremony took place the next day and the challengers were officially given the go ahead to start their journey. But a small surprise awaited the four of you yet in the hotel when you walked in and you looked around. There was a couple potted plants, two pairs of stairs leading up to another level with furniture, a sign in desk, and an elevator like a regular hotel but the thing your eyes were drawn to was the golden statue. It reminded you of those knights in ancient fairy tales. The golden man stood with his sword held up to the sky, a gleamering shield on his other arm in defense, and his face one of determination to not fail. Quite the craftsman ship. And standing right in front of it with a small yamper at her feet was-
"SONIA!" Gloria loudly greeted startling the poor lady and making her turn around.
Upon seeing who it was she sighed and smiled. "Oh it's just you guys. You gave me quite the jump scare there. But it looks like you both got yourselves registered." She nodded to the arm bands before her gaze drifted to Victor as she blinked. "....Oh. Hiya!  I don't think we've met."
"This is my brother, Victor. He's gonna be with Hop for a while. But what are you doing here? I thought you were going out to study."
"Yeah." Hop chimed in. "What are you doing at our hotel?"
"Oh!" She shifted the many shopping bags in her arms. Guess she did go shopping while here after all. "I'm researching the mysterious pokemon that are said to be in the Slumbering Weild. I reckon if I look into some of Galar's lengends I might figure something out. Care to join me?" She gestured to the statue. "You're here already anyways."
"SURE! It'd be fun!" She turned to you."Hey. Y/n new to Galar. I don't think she even knows the legends."
"That's perfect then! While you're doing that, Im gonna go stand in that long like up there and secure a spot for us ok?"
"But I-" You raised a hand as theVictor turned and walked away leaving you with sonia and the other two...and you sighed. "I don't think I was that way when I was fourteen."
Sonia chuckled. "We were all like that at one point or another. But would you like to hear one of the legends? A newbie to Galar like you might enjoy some foriegn tales."
"I'd like to hear too!"
You stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "Why not? I was just cast out from the little tribe."
She chuckled even more before she turned towards the statue. "Alright then. I'm sure you've seen the statue then.''
"Yeah." You rose a brow looking back up to the handsome man's golden face. "Who is he anyways?"
"It's a statue of the hero who once saved the Galar Region. I can run through the legend right quite if you fancy?" You nodded and that was all she needed to continue. "Long ago a great black storm covered the Galar Region." She gazed back to the statue. "People called it 'The Darkest Day'. The land was assaulted by gigantic pokemon but they were defeated by a single young hero bearing a sword and shield. This statue here is meant to depict the young hero of that legend. We still don't understand what kind of sword and shield the hero actually had. And what this 'black storm' is supposed to be is just another mystery. Whatever it was, it blotted all the skies across Galar. I suppse that tracks with it being 'the Darkest Day' but still..."
Hop blinked blinking at the golden statue's face and scratching his head. "Huh...I suppose that hero must've been about as strong as Lee then. Looks like you're going to have your hands full with plenty research though, Sonia. Black storms and swords and shields and all..."
"You'll be alright Sonia!"
She chuckled. "Heh. Thanks. I'll muddle through somehow. Don't you worry." She shook her head. "But legends aside. You three are staying at the hotel tonight though, right? Shouldn't you check in?"
"Probably so. Victor's holding our place in line." With a smiled similar to Leon he smiled widely at her. "And we'll look out for you too, Sonia! If we hear anything about any hero or whatnot we'll tell you!" Gloria nodded with a hum.
Sonia bowed her head in thanks to the two. "Thanks so much. Even if you don't find anything the thought's appreciated." As the kids said good byes and walked around her to a stair case you paused as she lifted her head and gazed at you. "I hope you enjoyed my little tale."
You smiled and nodded. "Yes. It was really entertaining. Thanks for telling me."
She nodded. "And thanks for taggin' along with the kids this far. I know we're practically strangers but there's just....I don't know....really good aura about you." You chuckled. You? Really good aura? That certainly was a first. "I'm sure Lee appreciates it too. He's always so worried about Hop. He practically raised him after all-" All of a sudden it was like a switch flipped off in her mind and her happy smile went to a sudden shocked face. "Oh no. I didn't mean to mention that. Please forget I even said that."
Your brow rose confus- "Y/N! C'MON! We got our room key already!"
You looked up to Gloria's call before back to Sonia before waving good bye and leaving. Wondering what the heck that was all about. Oh well. You had bigger things to worry about- Like the the fact that the three kids had gotten into a fight with four punk rockers!! You had just walked up the stairs and instantly was face to face with the three teenagers up in the faces of four people who dressed in black and red from their face paint to their outfits shouting something about they're going to cheer someone on and no one could stop them. You couldn't tell between the seven people shouting at one another and the front desk clerk trying to calm them down. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE YOUNG GIRL WHO STOPPED IT ALL!! She walked up the stairs and stopped next to your shocked state. A look of shock coming over her own face for a moment before she sighed and that snapped you out of your trance long enough for you to look at her. She was a teenager same around the same age as the other children with black hair tied back in two ponytails by red ribbon, a pink dress, with a black leather jacket and boots.
"What are you lot doin' here?" She had asked in what sounded what a brittish accent but you were sure Britain wasn't a thing in this world. Instantly the fighting stopped from the punk rockers as the they looked to her shocked like a couple toddlers caught taking candy. One shouted what you assumed was her name. Marnie you thought? As they stuttered out excuses. "I know you all are terribly curious 'bout the other gym challengers, but you gotta show a bit of restraint." Well it was nice of her to settle them down before she apologized. "Sorry 'bout them. They're just a bunch of my fans. Call themselves Team Yell and follow me around. cheerin' for me. I think they've let it all go to their heads a bit.....Come on you lot. Back home with you now!" She sighed as they guiltily slunk away past you down the stairs. "They're just so caught up with wantin' to support me and all that they tend to get a bit shirty with other Gym Challengers. Sorry if they caused you any trouble."
With that she simply walked past the lot of you, got her room key, and just walked away like it never even happened. You were still in a bit of shock but shook it off in favor of getting to the room you'd be bunking in with Gloria and have a small break from today. The inner workings weren't too different from the hotels you've been to before and was more than eager to plop yourself down and have a rest. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. At one point all three kids were sitting around the bed helping sort through Victor's collection of photos and helping Gloria glue in quite a lot of them into that small book of theirs. Hop mentioned about calling room service and Gloria suggested the four of you order each a different curry to help her fill in a bit of her curry challenge book as well. Which you had no problem against. It was free room service and you were interested in trying some of this world's curry since it was supposed to be world famous as Sonia told you. You ended up randomly chosing Sweet Curry as someone phoned it to the front desk and waited for it too arrive. It was pretty good. But it wasn't too different from Mrs. G's curry you had tasted other than the sauce on the rice tasted a mildy hot enough to be sweet. Of course that didn't stop Gloria was taking your curry's picture along with Hop's that had a massive egg in what was call a bitter boiled egg curry, Gloria's was a dry smoked tail curry(you hoped that wasn't an actual tail, and you think Victor's was leek curry with some kind of veggies decorating the plate. You ended up letting your sobble finish what food was leftover after you ate and soon you two found yourselves bidding the two boys good night and went to finally rest for the night. After getting a quick shower you decided it was best to go to bed since the actual Ceremony was tomorrow. Gloria had gotten the bed and you borrowed the sleeping bag Mrs. G had given Gloria. As the darkness slowly consumed your vision as your eyelids drooped you vauguly regstered your sobble climbing on one of the shelves.
.........
CRASH!!
Both of you were startled away in the dark from a giant crash and a couple panicked chirps before you were tackled by an invisible spooked sobble burrowing under your arm as Gloria turned on the lamp to reveal the pokemon's mess.
"Y/n! Your sobble knocked over the shelf!"
"Uuuuuuhhhhh!!!"
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