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totowlff · 9 months

Text

le temps fera les choses

➝ request: you could write a story where toto and reader are divorced [...] drunk toto calls reader and just rambles about life and how he misses her and everything, or if you wanna go further

➝ word count: 8,5k

➝ warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, angst, smut, an overprotective reader and a lot of real life references

➝ author’s note: well, working with the idea of divorced!toto turned some gears in my head and this one shot was born. it was inspired, in a way, by the song le temps fera les choses, by angèle, and the text even has some references to the lyrics, so don't be surprised. toto's aunt is actually called elisabeth, and given my commitment to reality, i kept it that way (a happy coincidence, i won't deny it). hope you enjoy!

Looking at the man on the seat in front of you, part of yourself refused to believe you were doing this. “This is insanity”, you could hear your mother's trademark accusatory tone of voice telling you. You know she was right, even as a voice inside your head, but there you were, sitting across from your ex-husband, watching him completely absorbed in that day’s edition of the Financial Times, as you sat on his private jet, en route to Sardinia.

Your story with Toto began in the fall of the year 2000, at the gala opening of an exhibition at an art gallery in the center of Vienna. You had earned your Masters in Art History, and had always been enchanted by antiquities, and had done extensive research on the history of antiquarians in Vienna. Your research led to an invitation given personally by Elisabeth Sturm, daughter of Czesław Bednarczyk, one of the most prominent antique dealers in Vienna, and the subject of a paper you were writing for your PhD.

You just had no idea that what she invited you to discuss wasn’t your paper, or the pieces on exhibit.

— You know, Y/N, my son also recently graduated in contemporary art and has a great interest in post-war pieces, just like you — she said, as she led you through the multitude of guests with a wide smile on her face.

After passing by a couple she seemed acquainted with, and greeting a friend of many years, Elisabeth finally found who she was looking for. Nodding toward two men holding champagne flutes, you walked over to them with her. The words of the specialist in eighteenth century pieces became distant murmurs in your head as your eyes were fixed on one of them, who seemed to be looking at you with curiosity.

— Alex, honey, I want to introduce you to Y/N Y/L/N. She's doing a doctorate in Art and Economics at Die Angewandte, so she’s doing some research on the city's antique shops — Elisabeth said, smiling — Y/N, this is my son, Alexander. He is working on his masters’ at the University of Vienna in contemporary art, but I am sure that you will find a lot to talk about.

You forced a smile, offering your hand for a handshake. He was the same height as his mother, with carefully combed-back brown hair and stern dark eyes.

— It's a pleasure — you said.

— The pleasure is all mine — he said.

Then, your gaze returned to the man who had caught your attention. He was much taller than Alexander, but had dark hair and dark eyes that were similar to Alexander’s. The two of them definitely looked related, but there was something tender about the way he was looking at you.

— And this is Torger, my sister’s son, who just arrived back in Vienna from the United States. California, right?

— That's right — he replied, his deep voice flowing through you in a warm wave — San Francisco.

— Remind me, what you were doing there again, Torger?

— Learning about the business side of the technology industry — he said, smiling — By the way, you can call me Toto. Nobody calls me Torger.

— Your dziadek calls you Torger — Elisabeth muttered, something bitter in her voice.

— Good to know that dada still remembers me — Toto muttered, before taking a sip of champagne — Even though it's probably just to call me ungrateful because of the fucking tuition he paid when I was 12...

— Well, is he wrong? — Elisabeth growled, before looking at her son, who seemed to be silently begging her to control herself — And it's no use looking at me like that, Alex, you know it's true.

— We don't need to discuss this here, mom.

— No, no, your mother should speak her mind, Alex — Toto said, giving his aunt a challenging smile — I don’t mind at all.

— You should be much more grateful to your dziadek, Torger. If it weren't for him, you would never have finished school, much less...

— Gotten that internship at the bank, I’ve heard all of this before, auntie — he replied — But that doesn't change the fact that he was an asshole who disowned my mother for marrying my father.

Elisabeth took a step forward, one finger raised.

— Be more careful with your words, Torger — she said through clenched teeth.

— Mom, please — Alex said, placing himself between Elisabeth and his nephew — Let's get you something to drink.

After some protest on her part, the woman finally agreed to accompany her son, who apologized before taking Elisabeth away from them. Alone beside Toto, the silence between the two of you stretched for a few seconds before your gaze met.

— Are your family gatherings always like this? — you asked, making him smile.

— They're usually worse — Toto replied, making you laugh.

It was the first of many times that night that he would make you laugh.

You didn't see any more of Elisabeth or Alexander that night, and you didn't want to. You only had eyes and ears for Toto, listening to him talk about his trip to San Francisco and the investment he had made in SMS.AT, the country's most-visited website, as well as asking you about your background and life in general.

— Do you have a boyfriend? — he asked you.

You both stopped in front of a sculpture of a woman on her knees with bitter tears in her eyes, you suddenly felt nervous.

— What do you think?

— I can’t imagine someone as intelligent and beautiful as you being single.

You chuckled weakly, feeling your cheeks heat up.

— I'm sorry to say that I am. Not everyone is willing to spend hours listening to me talk about old things sold by old people.

— Well, I am — he said immediately, in an almost boyish rush to demonstrate that he was, in fact, interested in what you had to say. And it was at that moment that you were sure that what you were feeling was not simple anxiety or infatuation.

You were falling in love with that man.

— Find something interesting? — someone said, bringing you back to the present, your gaze meeting the same pair of mischievous brown eyes from that night at the exhibition.

— There’s an article about an exhibition of Yayoi period artifacts from Japan — you replied, making Toto turn the cover of the newspaper to find the article you were glancing at.

— Asian art? I thought your interests were more in Europe — he said, the corners of his lips curling up mischievously.

— Nothing wrong with learning all I can, Toto — you replied, turning your face away when you heard the sound of someone shifting in one of the other seats. Sleeping with her head against the window was the most important person in your life.

Magdalena. Your daughter with Toto.

Born just over four years after that night at the exhibition, she was the tangible symbol of the love you felt for each other at one time. She had your nose and her father's charming smile. Lena, as you called her, was a girl with a strong personality. She was incredibly intelligent and particularly observant. Nothing went unnoticed by her brown eyes, not even your indecision in participating in that trip.

You took off your seat belt and walked over to your daughter to check on her. After putting a blanket over her and taking the book she was reading before falling asleep from her hands, taking care to mark the page she had stopped on, you took a few seconds to watch her.

There had been many times when you had felt that you didn't have the strength to continue wearing the many hats you did: university professor, gallery curator, private consultant for antique dealers and private collectors. However, Lena was your motivation to keep going. She was the reason that you got up early and went to bed late, after correcting piles of academic papers. She was the reason you signed on the bottom line of a legal document to put an end to yours and Toto’s marriage on a gray winter day so many years ago.

— You don't have to watch her like you did when she was a baby — Toto murmured behind you. When you turned around, you saw that he had folded up his newspaper and that it was sitting in his lap.

— I'm just making sure she's okay — you replied, running a hand through her hair before returning to your seat — After all, we're here because of her.

Toto smiled.

— Indeed. Always for her.

That trip wasn’t planned very far in advance, but it was the result of Lena's excitement at having achieved excellent grades in the Reifeprüfung, the end-of-school exams that students in Austria took to graduate.

Sardinia was her favorite place in the world and she wanted nothing more than to go and enjoy the sun and the sea with the two people she loved most in the world. You hesitated, after all, it had been years since you had gone there with her and Toto.

You were capable of giving up anything for Lena, even your own promise of never flying anywhere with your ex-husband again. There was nothing you wouldn't do for your daughter's happiness.

The rest of the flight was quiet, with Lena waking up near the end of it. Her messy hair earned her a good-natured jab from Toto, which his daughter returned to him in kind. The interaction made you smile, after all, it was just another proof of how similar your daughter was to her father, even though she hadn't had his constant presence since she was five.

“Genetics are impressive”, you thought to yourself as the captain of the jet asked over the intercom for everyone to fasten their seatbelts in preparation for landing in Olbia, in the north of the Italian island. However, contrary to what you thought, Toto had not chosen to book suites in a nearby hotel, but in a more distant location. It was all to preserve the privacy he had lost when he decided to dive headlong into the world of Formula 1.

His passion for motorsport wasn’t ever a surprise for you, after all, since the first night you’d met him, Toto had been talking about how he competed in junior formula racing, just for fun. However, nobody could have predicted that buying some shares in a Formula 1 team that seemed to be on the brink of bankruptcy would lead to him being the team principal and part-owner of one of the largest, most prestigious teams in the sport, almost a celebrity in his own right.

However, the attention brought him unwanted problems, especially with the paparazzi, who insisted on photographing him in private moments during his rest days, even more so when he was with Lena. In the end, the further away from the hustle and bustle of the island's busiest cities, the better.

He and Lena had chosen a resort in Valle dell'Erica, which had a small network of luxury villas connected to the main building by stone paths traveled by golf carts. After settling into a golf cart with your daughter, Toto sat in the driver's seat, asking the concierge to ride the front cart with the bags.

— Are you taking us camping? — Lena asked, after a few minutes of meandering through the compound's tree-lined paths.

— No, I'm not, though I think a few days away from your cell phone wouldn't hurt you, would they? — he replied, laughing — We're going to one of the villas that’s the furthest out, to make sure we don’t get a repeat of last time.

— You mean when my classmates saw your pictures on the yacht and started asking if you were still single? — she murmured, forcing you to try and hold in a laugh. You would never forget the way Lena recounted, indignant, the way her schoolmates were talking about her father.

It was useless to deny that Toto was a handsome man. With his piercing eyes, broad shoulders, and imposing height, you'd been drawn to him since the first time you'd seen him in the gallery. And as much as you wanted to deny it, the power he wielded over you hadn't diminished with the divorce.

If you were honest with yourself, it had only grown.

— I'm not to blame for anything, mon bébé...

— Just don't walk around… Dressed like that — she replied.

— Like that?

— With only a pair of shorts on, especially those shorts — Lena said, making her father laugh.

— Bébé, it's just a pair of shorts...

— They were pink! They’re way too flashy for someone your age!

— You’re talking as if I’m just some decrepit old man, Lena.

— Maybe not decrepit, but definitely an old man who shouldn’t be wearing pink shorts.

He brought the cart to a stop as the concierge, in front of them, opened a red gate.

— I bet your mom likes my flashy shorts — Toto murmured, glancing at you and you just rolled your eyes.

— I don't care about your shorts, Torger.

— You used to — he replied, revving the cart again.

— But I don't anymore. And honestly, you shouldn't care either, Lena. Your father is probably just going through a midlife crisis like every man has at some point. Don't be surprised if he shows up one day with your name tattooed on his arm, or riding a Harley-Davidson.

The statement made your daughter burst out laughing, while Toto shook his head, as if disapproving of your idea of him during a midlife crisis.

Well, a second midlife crisis.

Toto stopped the golf cart just behind the concierge, who was unloading your bags with the help of another employee. After you disembarked, the man invited the three of you to join him as he showed you your villa. With a living room richly decorated with colorful paintings and vases made by local artisans, three suites and spacious balconies overlooking the private pool, as well as the sea in the distance, the place felt like something out of a dream.

— Anything you need, we're here for you.

— Thanks — you replied, smiling.

Finally alone in the living room, the three of you looked at each other silently, as if waiting for someone to say something. Then, after looking at his watch and running a hand through his dark hair, Toto cleared his throat.

— So, what do you ladies want to do first? — he asked.

Looking at the orange tones that took over the sky, you smiled.

— I think we can start by figuring out where everyone will sleep.

— Dad can have the exterior room, right? — your daughter said.

— Why do I have to stay in that room? — Toto asked, his voice full of faux-outrage.

— Because mom and I are girls — Lena replied, linking her arm with yours — And girls always stay together on trips.

Your ex-husband couldn't hold his feigned disappointment for long.

— Okay, you can stay together. Just don't bring any boys here — he said, as he grabbed the handle of his bags and turned toward the door.

— What about men? — you asked, defiant. As he looked over his shoulder, something inscrutable flashed in his eyes.

— No men either, Y/N — he said as he left the villa’s main hall.

Giggling with laughter, you planted a kiss on Lena's forehead before telling her to go and put her bags in her room. After seeing her going through her bedroom’s door, it was your turn to make your way to your quarters, dragging your well-used suitcases noisily behind you. After setting them down in front of the small wooden cupboard, you allowed yourself to slump onto the soft mattress, closing your eyes.

The fact that you were on this trip was crazy.

The days dragged on at an excruciating pace, even though you were on vacation. As much as seeing Lena happy to be together with her father and mother on a trip after years was satisfying, but something was making you feel set on edge.

You couldn't say what it was, but you were sure it was related to how Toto was treating you. Unlike the interactions the two of you usually had, filled with sarcasm and acidity, the way your ex-husband was speaking to you was almost… sweet, delicate. He had even asked you to dance during a dinner in Porto Cervo, when the musicians started to play the music that had played during your first dance as husband and wife.

— I remember that night like it was yesterday — he murmured.

— Do you? — you asked quietly, as you felt his hand firmly hold yours — I thought you had too much on your mind to remember that.

He smiled.

— I could never forget the day my life changed, Y/N.

You should have guessed that this was just a strategy, a way to get you to drop your guard to deliver the final blow the next night, over dinner at one of the resort's restaurants. Silently, Toto, who was wearing one of his white monogrammed shirts and comfortable linen shorts, placed his silverware on the plate of ricotta ravioli and looked at Lena.

— Mon bébé, I know we're here to celebrate but I can't help but ask you about your plans — he said, with a serious expression — Have you chosen what you're going to study yet?

Your daughter wiped her mouth with her napkin, as she finished chewing.

— Well, I was talking to mom these days about it and I would really like to work on something related to international studies. You know, diplomacy.

— Diplomacy?

— You know, I learned how to be a mediator at home — Lena murmured, giving you a mischievous little smile. In a way, she wasn't wrong, after all, Lena had always been the person that balanced you and Toto, putting out the fires you started, especially because of her upbringing.

— And have you researched universities, bébé? — Toto asked, before taking a sip of wine.

— Mom gave me the contact information of some professors in the Political Science and Philosophy departments at the University of Vienna to schedule a visit and learn about them — she replied — Why?

— Well, I was thinking that maybe, if you wanted to, you could apply to a university outside of Austria.

You swallowed hard, the hands that held the cutlery going cold.

— Do you mean — your daughter babbled.

— Well, you know that I live in Oxford and there is a university of international prestige there, which has formed dozens of important figures in world history. American presidents, British prime ministers, kings, Nobel Prize winners. Perhaps you could…

— Study there? — Lena completed, looking impressed by the offer. Toto smiled.

— Exactly.

— But, I would need a place to stay…

— Magdalena, don't be ridiculous, you know you can live with me there. In fact, I would be very happy if you would move in with me while you're in Oxford. What do you think?

Your heart was racing in your chest, the cutlery clenched in your fists. You felt like you were going to explode with rage at any moment, jaw clenched. You couldn't believe your ex-husband had been capable of such a dirty move. But, you weren't going to let him win, not that night.

— Bullshit — you said, before Lena could process the question — That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard, Torger.

— I was talking to Lena.

— She doesn't need to bother answering — you said, gruffly — She's not going to England.

— Mom — your daughter said, in a warning tone.

— What? Do you really think this is a good idea?

— Of course it's a good idea, Y/N, Oxford is a great — Toto began to argue.

— I don't care if Oxford is a good university, Lena won't go to England — you interrupted him, in a cold tone — And that's not open to discussion.

— But, mom...

— No buts, you're not going, Magdalena.

— Why not? — asked Toto.

— Because I will not let my daughter go to a foreign country alone, without any help or support…

Toto snorted.

— Y/N, did you really think Lena would be alone? Did you forget that I live there?

It was your turn to laugh.

— You live — you said, making air quotes with your fingers — Let's not be naive, you spend more time traveling than in that slum of yours in Oxford.

— Mom!

— For your information, my house is in one of the best areas of Oxford and has more than enough space for me and Lena — Toto spat.

— It’s not about space, Torger, I won't let her be alone there while you’re gallivanting around the world, playing with your cars!

— Would you rather she be left alone in Vienna while you play with your ancient junk collection? — he returned, venom dripping from his voice.

That sent a hot wave of anger up the back of your neck, your jaw clenched. Everything you had done had been for Lena. All the hours of work, all of the writing, research, assistant teaching, grading, earning your PhD, and working your way up in the university to be a respected, tenured professor, it had all been to provide for the life you two led in Vienna, as had been agreed upon during the divorce proceedings. Of course, the workload eventually took you and Lena apart physically, but that didn't lessen the love you felt for your daughter.

In fact, it only made it grow. And it was that love that made you get up, dropping your cloth napkin on the floor, jabbing your finger at your ex-husband.

— You watch your mouth talking about my work, you son of a bitch! — you snarled, causing several pairs of eyes to turn towards your table.

— Mom, for God's sake! — Lena exclaimed, trying to lower her hand — Everyone's looking at us!

— Let them look, Magdalena! — you spat — Let them know I'm not going to let this idiot say whatever he wants about my job!

— I just was repeating what you said, Y/N — Toto replied in an ironic tone.

— Dad! — your daughter growled, before looking back at you — Please, mom, calm down. Sit, please.

Annoyed, you settled back into your chair, your jaw set in anger. Your ex-husband looked at you with a certain cynicism in his eyes, as if he knew he had touched your most sensitive point. Beside you, Lena let out a sigh, as if trying to collect her thoughts.

— Is it really that hard for you not to fight like two kids? — she asked seriously.

— Lena — you stammered.

— No, mom — she said coldly — You promised that you wouldn't fight with dad on this trip, that you'd be nice. You promised me, mom.

— Bébé, please — Toto tried to interfere.

— Don’t bébé me, dad! — Lena exclaimed — You also have your share of blame. I asked you to be polite to my mother, not to make comments like that, to be understanding…

— I am being understanding, Lena!

— Being understanding is calling her work a joke? That’s your idea of being polite? — she asked, before turning to you, as if anticipating you were going to say something — And that goes for you too, mom. You two are acting like fucking children!

You thought of scolding her for her language, but you weren't able to, especially when you noticed that her eyes were wet.

— I just wanted that we could be a family, without these stupid fights over stupid things. You think about me so much that you forget that I think too, that I also have wishes and desires — Lena continued — It never crossed your minds that I don't want the same thing as you? That I don't want to stay in Vienna or go to England?

Your eyes met Toto's, guilt filling your chest. You always wanted Lena to have the freedom to do whatever she wanted, to fly even higher than you and your ex-husband. However, in your eagerness to provide a life full of experiences, you had forgotten the main thing, which was Lena herself.

— Lena — you said, watching her wipe away a tear that had trickled down her face.

— I just wanted you to stop thinking about yourselves and think about me — she spoke in a choked voice — That you would consider my opinion before deciding things for me.

— But we'll always consider your opinion — Toto said, reaching out a hand toward your daughter, who shrank away.

— Then why did you say you were going to take me to England?

— I — he hesitated, looking at you and then at Lena — I wanted to offer you a different experience, in a different country, in a different culture. I didn't think your mom would be so dramatic about it…

— I’m not being dramatic, Torger — you snapped.

Suddenly, Lena stood up, throwing her cloth napkin over the dish of spaghetti and shrimp she'd ordered, letting out a frustrated grunt.

— I give up on you two — she said, while picking up the bag that was hanging on the back of the chair — I give up!

You tried to protest, but didn't have time before you saw your daughter marching out of the restaurant, not looking back. A few seconds of hesitation later, you followed after her, not minding leaving the plate of pasta, that was already cold by that point.

— Lena! — you shouted, as you saw her walk towards one of the carts, sitting behind the wheel and throwing her purse on the seat next to it — Wait! My dear, please!

Your pleadings were of no avail as she stomped off the cart's accelerator, disappearing into the dark of the night and leaving you standing halfway on the dirt road with tears in your eyes.

Arriving back at the villa, after generous help from one of the staff who knew how to drive the cart, you went to Lena's bedroom door, placing a hand on the handle. However, when you turned it over, you found that it was locked.

— Lena, my love — you said, knocking lightly on the door.

— Go away! — she replied, the words hitting you like a knife.

— Lena, please, my daughter, open the door, let's talk...

— I don't want to talk to anyone! — she yelled — Go away!

You sighed in defeat, letting go of the handle and backing away from the door. Hearing Lena sobbing softly broke his heart into a thousand pieces. This was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, not sadness and tears.

— Is Lena in the room? — you heard Toto ask. Looking towards the entrance, he was standing with his hands in the pockets of his shorts, a worried expression on his face.

— Yeah.

— Were you able to speak to her?

— No — you replied, realizing he was walking towards the door — And I doubt she'll talk to you.

Toto stopped suddenly, turning towards you slowly.

— You think you know everything about Lena, don't you?

— I'm her mother, Torger — you said, crossing your arms.

— And I'm her father, Y/N.

— And that changes the fact that you know anything about her?

— She is my only daughter — he began to say.

— Which is a miracle — you muttered, being solemnly ignored by him.

— So, I’d like to think I know her pretty well.

You laughed mockingly.

— So tell me, Torger, what's her favorite color? Who is her favorite singer? What is her favorite dish? If you know your daughter, you should know this.

Toto let out a sigh.

— This is pathetic, Y/N.

—The only thing that’s pathetic is you playing dirty — you snapped — Pathetic for you to want to take my daughter away from me! My only daughter!

You expected an equally aggressive response to yours coming from Toto. He had always been hot-headed, which, along with your short temper, was a recipe for disaster. However, your ex-husband just shook his head, heading towards the bar in the corner of the large living room.

— Whiskey? — he asked, as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

You blinked, shocked.

— You can't be thinking about drinking in this situation...

Toto took the bottle and poured a generous dose. Then, glass in hand and leaning against the bar, he sighed.

— And is there anything else we can do considering our daughter is locked in her room and isn’t going to talk to either of us? — he asked, taking a sip of his drink and grimacing — Ugh, this needs some ice.

As your ex-husband turned back to the bar, you walked slowly over to the couch and sat down, heaving a frustrated sigh. The feeling you had was that you had completely failed, not just with Lena, who had high expectations for that trip, but with yourself, for not being able to control your own feelings towards your daughter and Toto.

— Want some? — he asked, holding the drink out to you. Staring at the amber liquid for a few seconds, you were sure this was a very bad idea. “Fuck it”, you thought, picking up the glass and taking a generous swig of whiskey.

— Ugh — you growled, as the alcohol burned in your throat. Sitting beside you, Toto smiled at your grimace.

— Bad, isn't it?

— Terrible — you replied — I thought there was only good stuff here.

— Me too — Toto said, chuckling — Even that Ottakringer we drank on the way back from the Hockenheimring that one day tasted better.

You laughed at the memory, the watery taste of the beer being a funny reminder of the years when you still looked at each other with something other than anger and resentment.

— Indeed — you muttered, taking another sip before returning the glass.

The silence stretched for long seconds, the only sound in there being the ice clinking on the crystal as Toto poured another shot. After taking a sip, he handed the cup back to you.

— Y/N?

— Hm? — you murmured, before drinking some more whiskey.

— I would never take Magdalena away from you.

Lowering your glass to rest on your thigh, your eyes met Toto's, which were filled with a sadness that was clearly not part of the drink's effect.

— You wouldn’t? — you asked softly.

— I would never be able to take her away from you, Y/N.

— So — you hesitated for a few seconds, pressing your lips together — Why do you want to take her to England?

Toto let out a long sigh.

— Because I feel like it’s the only way to try and fix some of my mistakes, Y/N — he said, his gaze locked on some middle point in the distance.

— Your mistakes?

— I always promised myself that I wouldn't be like my father, that I would do everything I could do right by my — Toto hesitated before correcting himself — By our children. And when Lena was born, I told myself I would do anything to make sure she had a happy life with us and… I screwed up.

You swallowed hard.

— I screwed up when I got in that car at the Nürburgring and insisted on making that lap record attempt. Niki was right, it was idiotic, and nobody cared about some silly GT car lap record. Honestly, I don't blame you for asking for a divorce after that, I would have done the same if it were me — he continued, running a hand through his hair — But it hurt, Y/N. It hurt to see you leaving with all that pain in your eyes. But, I accepted your decision and did exactly what my father did before he died…

— You mean, you becoming distant?

He nodded.

— I thought it would be best for you and Lena to be away from my sadness, my depression, but in the end, it wasn’t. She needed her dad, too, just like I needed mine.

You took another sip of whiskey, feeling your eyes sting with tears. Asking for a divorce had been the hardest decision you had ever made in your life, but you were convinced that you didn't belong there anymore. However, the truth is that you wanted to insist on Toto, insist on your love.

After all, your love for him was still there, sleeping inside your chest, but alive, begging you to let it out.

— So, your way of fixing your mistakes is by asking Lena to come live in England with you?

He took the glass of whiskey and drank the rest of the liquid.

— Not all of them, but some. I know I'll never be able to fix my mistakes with you.

— Have you tried, Toto? — you asked without hesitation.

— Tried what?

— Tried to fix your mistakes with me.

He set the glass down on the coffee table before looking at you.

— Do you want me to try, Y/N?

Your heart was beating heavily, pounding against the front of your chest.

— It's what I want most — you whispered.

Toto's hand slid towards your face, lightly caressing your cheek. With your eyes fixed on his, you matched the gesture by taking your hand to the back of his neck, while your mind took you to the night of your first kiss. On that occasion, the kiss had been calm, almost hesitant, the taste of wine dancing on your tongue as his scent invited you to dive deeper into him.

Facing him again, 15 years since the last time you had shared a kiss, the impression you had was that nothing had changed. The smell was the same. The man was the same. The invitation was the same.

And you accepted.

The first touch brought back memories of your other kisses. The happy kiss at the altar after being declared man and wife. The emotional kiss after you told him you were pregnant. The kiss that took place, with your daughter in your arms, after long and exhausting hours of childbirth. In all of them, the warmth that filled your chest was comforting and familiar, like approaching a campfire after a long time wandering in the cold.

It felt like coming home.

His fingers slid into your hair, tangling in the strands, while his tongue sought passage through your lips. Scratching the back of Toto's neck with your fingernails, you allowed him to savor you, the taste of him mixed with the resort's particularly bad whiskey. However, that was a minor detail at that moment.

What mattered was that you had finally found each other again.

— Y/N — Toto whispered, pulling away slightly from your face, breathing heavily — I…

Your fingers touched his lips in a silent request for him to not say anything. There was no reason to say anything more or hesitate any longer, not when you’d imagined this for so long.

This was inevitable, after so many times imagining what it would be like to try again every time you went to pick Lena up from the apartment Toto had moved into after the divorce, your gaze meeting the resignation in his expression every time you asked your daughter to say goodbye. It was inevitable to think of the sweet words he would whisper in your ear while watching his interviews on television, as well as the affectionate touch when you saw him gesticulating with his hands, while explaining something to the reporter.

As Toto leaned over your body, you allowed yourself to slide your hands under his linen shirt, feeling the firm muscles he had developed in the years after the divorce. Pulling the fabric up his torso, you quickly tried to undress him, which made him smile against your lips.

— You're still the same anxious little thing you always have been — Toto muttered, before slouching off his shirt and discarding it on the floor.

Then he dove towards your neck, nibbling ravenously at your skin, causing involuntary gasps to leave your lips, your body asking for more than just kisses and a well-positioned knee between your legs. You needed him like you were drowning and he was the surface.

However, when his fingers slid down the sides of your thighs, beneath your light summer dress, Toto pulled back, glancing back before meeting your inquiring gaze.

— What’s wrong? — you whispered.

— I thought I heard a door open — he replied softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes — And I don't know how good it would be for our daughter to see her divorced parents making out on a couch like two teenagers.

You smiled, bringing your hand to his face.

— You’re right. Besides, I think we're a bit too old for making out on the couch.

Toto laughed.

— Do you want to go to your room, then?

— Yes — you whispered.

Toto helped you to your feet and the two of you tiptoed to your suite. As Toto closed the door behind you, you busied yourself with undoing the knot of fabric at the back of your neck and sliding your dress down your body, bringing your panties with it. When Toto turned around and found you completely naked in front of him, he smiled. He walked toward you in slow steps as his eyes roamed over your skin like he was taking in all of the changes of your decade apart.

— It feels like our first time — he murmured, placing his hands on your hips.

You gave a small smile, as your mind transported you to that night in his apartment, where, after a few glasses of wine, you gave yourself to each other for the first time. It had been slow and romantic, with Toto insisting on learning every detail of your body to give you the pleasure you deserved.

However, you knew that statement was not entirely true. Since that night, your body had changed drastically, being pushed to the limit to bring your daughter into the world. You were no longer that young girl, but a mature woman, whose skin bore the marks of motherhood on your breasts, belly and hips.

— Well, the only difference is me.

He raised an eyebrow.

— You?

— I'm not the same person I was that night — you murmured, taking a hand to your belly. Then, with your finger, you traced the path of one of the faded stretch marks that seemed to glow against your skin, watching as his eyes were fixed on the movement of your hand — I've changed a lot since I had Lena…

Bringing one hand to your chin, he lifted your face so you could meet his warm, gentle gaze.

— And yet you're still beautiful. Do you know why?

— Why?

— Because those are marks of love, Y/N. Marks of our love, which gave us our beautiful daughter. And I love every single one of them — Toto said, before bringing your lips to his. The kiss was delicate, as were the steps he took towards the bed, his hands caressing your skin, as if he wanted to assure you that his words were true and that he, in fact, loved each of one of those marks, even if they made you feel old and inadequate at times.

When you felt your back land on the soft duvet, you opened your eyes again to find Toto still standing on the edge of the bed, quickly taking off his shorts. Seeing him stark naked in front of you made you allow an anxious gasp to escape your lips.

— All good? — he asked as he positioned himself between your legs, one hand busy pumping his own cock.

— Yes — you replied, your eyes fixed on the movement of his hand and the anticipation of feeling him inside you. Following his gaze, Toto seemed to remember something.

— Do you want to use a condom?

— Do you think we need it? — you asked, almost innocently. In a normal context of casual sex, you wouldn't go without some sort of protection. However, that wasn't just a casual fuck, but a reunion.

— Well, I didn’t bring any. Did you?

— No…

— Great — he murmured — I also had a vasectomy a few years ago, so I don't think we’re going to get in any trouble, or anything.

— I wouldn’t mind if we got into some trouble — you said quietly. Something about the idea of having another child with him made your skin tingle. Lena had always asked for a brother and you had always said no, stating that having one copy of Toto at home was enough for you. However, at that moment, you wished that you had a few more of him.

— I wouldn't mind either, Y/N — he whispered, as he positioned himself between your legs, his cock brushing your clit lightly — Not at all.

The pressure that accompanied the low growl that came out of Toto's throat had you rolling your eyes as a strangled groan escaped your lips. A warm wave ran over your skin, your nails digging into his skin as his dick settled inside you.

— Fuck — Toto said through clenched teeth, eyelids fluttering with pleasure.

You wanted to speak, but at the same time, no words came out of your parted lips. Raising your hands to his face, you pulled him against you, your lips against his in a slow, wanting kiss. That moment encouraged Toto to move his hips against yours, savoring the pleasure that coursed through your bodies.

The rhythm built almost instinctively, the strength of your fingers making him accelerate his thrusts against your pussy, the sound of your wetness joining your moans.

— Yes, yes, yes, Toto — you muttered under your breath, encouraging him to continue at that pace, feeling your muscles tense.

— I missed you so much, liebes — he growled, as he took his hand to one of your legs and pulled it higher, slightly changing the angle of your hips — So, so, so much…

— Me too, me too — you replied in a low voice, while pressing your heel against the base of Toto's spine. Your body begged for more, much more than just the pleasure he was giving you. You wanted his anger, his pride, his joy and his love. You wanted to become a part of him, the same way you wanted him to become a part of you.

As you felt his fingertips brush against your clit, you felt your whole body tense, your lips tightening in an attempt to stifle your moans. It was so much that your eyes filled with tears, but something inside you said that they weren't limited to that effort.

It wasn't just lust or lust anymore.

It was love. Pure, simple, and finally awake after so long.

It was with that thought and eyes finally open again, locked on Toto's, that you felt your body finally reach its climax, your lips letting out a groan before he kissed you, muffling the sound. Your legs shook as your nails dug into his shoulders as he took his last thrusts.

— Y/N, fuck — Toto growled before he came, followed by a primal growl, as if this was his way of claiming you for himself. And with the heat of his pleasure inside you, the certainty that you were his only grew. You had always been his.

Pulling his cock out of your pussy, your ex-husband collapsed next to you on the bed, breathing heavily. Staring at the ceiling in silence, something inside you wanted to feel guilt, while your muscles were still shaking with the aftershocks. However, you didn't feel any remorse or regret.

— Are you okay? — Toto asked you. Looking in his direction, you smiled.

— Yeah… You? — you whispered.

— I feel better than I have in a long time — he said, making you laugh — What?

— You sound like you haven't had sex in years.

— Well, it has been years since I've had sex with someone I loved, so…

The phrase made you turn your body towards Toto, resting your head on his shoulder. Something in the way he looked at you filled your chest with something completely different from anything you had felt until then.

Hope.

— Do you love me? — you asked softly.

— I never stopped loving you, liebes. Not even when I wanted to hate you for leaving. I can only love you. I don’t know how to do anything but love you — he replied, before kissing your forehead tenderly. And it was there, nestled in his chest, that you fell into a serene and, in a way, happy sleep.

The next morning, you woke up to the sound of knocking on your bedroom door.

— Mom? — Lena's muffled voice asked — Are you there?

Rubbing your eyes, you were about to respond when you realized you hadn't slept alone. The sound of the shower coming from the bathroom indicated that Toto had already woken up and, probably, that was what made your daughter knock.

— Yes, honey, I'm here — you replied, in an uncertain tone.

— Can I come in?

Suddenly your eyes widened, adrenaline rushing through your body as you scrambled to your feet, quickly looking for something to wear.

— No, I'm getting dressed!

— But you never…

— Wait a minute, my love — you shouted towards the entrance of the room, while picking up a robe that was hanging on one of the armchairs. Clutching the terry cloth against your body, you went to the door and opened a small crack — Hi, honey.

Lena was looking at you with a serious expression, her eyes still swollen from the tears she had shed the night before.

— Good morning, mom.

— Are you okay?

— Yeah, I am — she replied — I wanted to talk to you. Actually, I wanted to talk to you and dad, but I don’t know where he is.

You felt a shiver run down your spine. She definitely couldn't even imagine Toto was right next door, washing the remnants of sex and sweat from his skin in your bathroom.

— He must have gone to the gym or taken a walk on the beach — you tried to dismiss, feeling your heart pound in your chest.

— I don't know, mom, the living room is a mess — she said, looking at the room next door — There's a bottle of whiskey, some empty glasses, dad’s shirt is on the floor...

“Fucking hell, Torger, of all the times to not be so uptight about cleaning”, you thought.

— He must be hungover, like that time in Abu Dhabi — you said, causing Lena to smirk.

— That was terrible — she muttered.

— Indeed.

You stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

— Well, I'll let you finish your shower and then we'll see what to do. Do you want me to order breakfast?

— Yes, that would be great. Thank you — you replied, before smiling and closing the door, letting out a sigh of relief. Your daughter definitely didn't need to know that you had just slept with her dad, especially after almost 15 years since your divorce.

It was an unnecessary shock for that moment.

Opening the bathroom door, you saw Toto's silhouette through the fogged glass, his fingers buried in his dark hair as he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. You crept toward the shower, opening the door a crack to watch him, savoring the way the water ran down his body with your lower lip between your teeth.

Then, he opened his eyes.

— Good morning, liebes — Toto said, with a smile.

— Good morning.

— Was that Lena at the door?

— Yeah. She wants to talk to us, but she couldn't find you anywhere.

— I can't imagine why — he murmured, making you smile — Want to come in with me? I can wash your hair if you want.

Nodding, you took off your robe and stepped into the shower with Toto, feeling his warm, wet hands wrap around your waist. Smiling, you couldn't resist giving him a kiss, while the drops of hot water fell on your body.

— I love you, liebes — he said softly, his lips brushing yours.

— I love you too, darling.

He washed your hair practically silently, only speaking to ask you to step under the jet of hot water. While you were drying off, Toto asked you if you had any plans to get him out of your room without being seen by Lena. After a few minutes of discussion, you opted to split up, with you distracting her while he went back to his own suite to get dressed and pretend nothing had happened.

It looked perfect.

With your hair still damp, you left your room trying to ignore the tightness in your stomach. Quickly scanning the room, you found your daughter leaning against the glass railing of the balcony, her gaze lost on the horizon. Approaching slowly, you were thinking of asking about her plans for the day when she spoke up.

— I already ordered breakfast — Lena said, not looking at you.

— Oh, good — you replied — Thank you, darling.

More silence. Your heart was pounding in your chest.

— Look, my love, I...

— You're going to apologize for yesterday, aren't you?

— Yeah. I shouldn’t have acted like that, and ruined your night…

— Mom — Lena said, looking at you — It wasn't about ruining my night. The problem there was that you did exactly the opposite of what I asked you to do before we left home.

You pursed your lips.

— I know you hate each other and that you wish the other didn't exist, but you can't change the past, much less the fact that you had a daughter together.

— I know, my love…

— Then why did you make that whole scene at the restaurant?

— Because I don't want to lose you, Magdalena — you replied, in a low voice — You are my only daughter, the person I love most in the world and...

— Mom, you won't lose me.

— Are you sure? — you asked her, your voice cracking.

— Yes, I am. But, you have to understand that I grew up and that I can make my own choices, without you or dad deciding for me — Lena said, her tone of voice making her sound much older than she really was.

— And what did you decide? — a deep voice asked. Looking back, you found Toto standing at the balcony door, his hands in the pockets of his shorts.

Lena smiled.

— I've decided I'm not going to decide anything here — she said — I'll go over my options when I get home, alone, without either of you two putting pressure on me.

— You know you don't have to…

— Mom — Lena interrupted you — I need to do this alone. I know you want to help me, just like dad does, but I have to decide things for myself, no matter how difficult they are.

Looking at Lena, you finally realized that you were no longer in front of the same little girl that you had put on your lap and taken away from the apartment where you lived with Toto, back in 2009. You were in front of a woman, who, in addition to love, you also deeply admired.

— It's okay, bébé — Toto finally spoke — It's always your decision. But, know that we will always be by your side, supporting you no matter what choice you make. Isn't that right, Y/N?

You hesitated, looking at your daughter with a tight lump in your throat. “Does it have to be that hard?”, you asked yourself.

— Mom?

— You know I'll always support you, Lena — you finally managed to speak — Even though it's terrible to think about being away from you, not being able to hug you, kiss you and tell you how much I love you whenever I want. I'm always by your side, my love.

She smiled, advancing towards the two of you and enveloping you in a tight hug. Closing your eyes, you allowed yourself to savor that moment, feeling the warmth of your daughter's arms and of Toto, who had run a hand down your back to bring you both closer to him.

Feeling him kiss your hair, you smiled.

You were home. Finally home.

#toto wolff #formula 1 fic #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 x reader #toto wolff x reader #wlffog #f1 x reader #f1 one shot #toto wolff smut #toto wolff fluff #toto wolff angst #oneshotwlff

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buckys-wintersoldier · 4 months

Text

Unexpected meeting | Sebastian Stan

Pairing -> Sebastian Stan x Female!Reader

Summary -> You’re lost in New York and when you ask someone for help you didn’t realize who it is until you’re standing in front of him. Sebastian Stan, who offers you his help to get home.

Warnings -> (G) none, just fluff

Wordcount -> 1.2k

Request -> Heyyy. I had this idea for a while now and thought maybe you would like to write it! If not it's also okay! 💗 So, here is my idea: Reader is new in New York and moved there a while ago. She was walking around for a while and then gets lost and isn't sure where she is. Then she sees Sebastian from a distance and decides to ask him for help. She shouts something at him but when she gets near she notice who he is. She gets nervous but Sebby is very sweet and kind. He helps her and maybe Sebastian asks her out on a date. Thank you in advance 💗 @lives-in-midgard

A/N -> Thank you so much for the request. I absolutely love it and I hope you like what I made with it. Some cute Sebby is always wonderful, hehe.💕 My requests are open, if you have any asks don’t hesitate to ask.

Masterlist | Sebastian Stan Masterlist

It’s not long since you moved to New York; after finishing at the university, you were finally ready to move away from California.

California, the place you grew up with your family, your friends, and all the memories. But you need some fresh air and some new places to see, and when you got the offer from your chef to get a job in New York, you immediately said yes.

And there you are, little woman, in the middle of the big city. In the middle of buildings that are like giants. You love that place, the people, and the job you got. The only problem? You don’t know someone; it’s quite loud sometimes, and the worst part is that you can get lost really easily.

You moved there just a few days ago, and now you have finally had some time to go out for a walk, enjoying the sun. With your cup of coffee in your hand, you walk along the street, through the park, and along another street. The way you decide to go depends on how many people there are; when it’s quiet, you turn into the street; when it’s loud, you wait until you reach another street with fewer people.

When you reach another park, you look around. The place you're in right now is definitely not similar to the place you were before. So you didn’t walk in a circle, but where are you right now?

Suddenly, you feel like you’re lost. Turning around a few times, you look for someone who could help you find your way back home. That’s the moment when you sigh and regret the quiet places, and even more the fact that you thought it wasn't necessary to have internet when you’re outside of your apartment.

When you moved there, you looked for internet at home, but you thought you could take your time to have internet outside of your home. It’s definitely not like that, and now you’re lost in a park, not knowing the way you walked from your apartment to the place you’re standing right now.

The trees around you are green and bright because of the sun. But there is no one, not even one person, you can ask for the way. Right?

When you turn around again, you can see a man walking from the other side of the park in your direction, but before he reaches you, he takes a turn, and you roll your eyes. With big steps, you follow him, not knowing if you want to shout and let him think you’re a weirdo or just tap his shoulder and let him think you’re a bigger weirdo.

“Excuse me, Sir?” you decide to shout, and you see the brown-haired man looking to the left and right before he stops and turns around.

When he stands there and looks at you, you almost crash into him. You should have stopped running when you shouted, but you were scared he wouldn’t turn around, so you would have reached him in no time otherwise.

“I’m sorry, I got-“ you interrupt yourself when you look up and into two steel blue eyes. You know those eyes; you know them way too well for someone who has never seen them in real life before.

“Hi, can I help you?” he asks you, and when you hear his voice, you need to pay attention to not freak out in front of him or just melt into a puddle.

His one hand is sliding through his short, curly, brown hair while he fixes you with his eyes. A soft smile appears on his lips when he sees the blush on your cheeks.

“I’m so sorry,“ you breathe out, trying to calm yourself down.

You feel so stupid in front of HIM. In front of Sebastian Stan, you just shouted at a celebrity, and you didn’t recognize it earlier.

“I didn’t want to disturb you, and I didn’t want to shout at you,” you mumble and scratch the back of your neck.

Sebastian laughs softly, his nose scrunching slightly, and you can’t stop looking at it. It’s the most adorable nose you have ever seen, and the way his eyes brighten when you look into them, you feel like the sun is kissing the ocean, and it turns out to be the lightest blue you have ever imagined. His lips are slightly parted and turn into a bright smile when he sees you getting nervous in front of him.

“It’s ok; there's no reason to be nervous,” he says, his voice calming you down. “Can I help you with something? I don’t think you wouldn’t shout at me and run after me when I couldn’t do anything for you. Or do you want me to sign your body? Then I would prefer to do it somewhere more private. Just you and me,” he jokes around, and your cheeks heat up.

“I’m lost; I moved here a few days ago, and now I can’t find the way back home,” you mumble, embarrassed.

Against your worries that he could laugh and tell you how stupid you are or just say he has no time, he smiles at you and reaches his hand out to place it on your shoulder.

“That’s oke, I had that a few times when I was on set. There is no reason to be ashamed; can you tell me your address?” Sebastian asks softly, and you nod, telling him the street and number of your apartment.

He nods and turns you around, pointing to the street you have to go to. Then he pushes you slightly to make you walk there, and he walks next to you, his hand still resting on your back, and you feel the warmth of his skin through the fabric of your clothes.

“You don’t have to bring me home,” you say with a shy smile on your lips.

“I know, but I want to. So I can make sure that you’re not getting lost again,” he explains, and you laugh softly.

On the way home, the two of you talk about a lot; you know more about him, about the time behind the scenes, and he asks you a few questions as well, letting you talk about everything you want to talk about.

It feels like ten minutes until you’re home again. While you look for your keys, he tells you more about his recent movie.

“It’s just a few blocks away from here. What about if I take you with me on set tomorrow and after we go out on a date?” Sebastian asks, his cheeks blushing slightly.

“I’m free tomorrow, of course. I’m already excited,” you mumble shyly.

He gives you his phone, so you can add your number. When you reach for it, your hands touch lightly, and even when he has his hand on your back, it still lets you shiver when you touch his bare skin. His hand is so soft, and you would like to take his hand in yours.

“I will write you,” he says, opening his arms to wrap them around your body.

You place your head against his shoulder and your arms around his waist while you inhale his scent. When you went for a walk earlier, you didn’t know you would meet Sebastian Stan, and especially not that you would fall head over heels in love with him. But you do, and feeling the warmth of his body around you and his touches makes you feel at home with him.

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equallyshaw · 7 months

Text

its always been you | jack hughes.

•

blurb + social media edit.

•

jack hughes x mid size oc.

•

Warnings: self esteem issues, low confidence, guys being assholes, some sexual themes. alluding to sex.

Word count: 4.06K

——

'it's always been you'

jack was a lot of things you could say, but he was most importantly blairs best friend since he moved to canton years ago. she grew up across the street from the ever chaotic hughes boys, who somehow always pulled her and her brother out of the house.

or at least he was her best friend, once he left for the show; messages and facetimes stopped. her family moved away shortly to san diego after she began her freshman year at university of southern california, double majoring in pre law and political science. she slowly but surely over the course of the years had begun to faze him out of her life, knowing full well he got rid of her too. blair recently graduated from USC with manga cum laude and decided to consider the possibility of moving to new york to start her life. her older brother joey had been out there for 6 years already, with college and now his professional career. and so here she was, two suitcases packed for two full weeks of sightseeing and potential job hunting in the city.

she strolled out of jfk, looking for her brother who stood waiting beside his car and once the two found one another they quickly jogged over to one another. "hey sis, glad you made it in safety!" he said taking the two suitcases from the girl, to put in the trunk. she hopped in the driver side, quickly connecting her phone to the Bluetooth. "couldn't wait 2 secs could you?" he joked, as he hopped in hearing olivia rodrigo blaring. "nah." she grinned, letting her parents know she was with her brother. "coffee?" he mused, and she nodded excitedly. "ya know it." she smiled.

•

she had been here 2 days already and had done some sightseeing with her brother on the first day, and then yesterday explored lower manhattan and had stopped in to see where her brother worked, in the financial district. tonight though, they were going to be going out with some of his friend group and she was nervous. she hated being in a room of people in public no less without meeting them first one on one, but he promised her they were cool and very chill. besides, they were excited to meet the young girl who kept him on his toes. and the one who always had a joke to say. she sat down at the vanity an hour before they had to leave and quickly did some natural makeup and loose waves, before picking out a black crop long sleeve, short black faux leather skirt, black ankle boots and a small green purse. she walked out to the living room greeting her brother's girlfriend who smiled widely. "ouuu yes! i love the outfit blair!" she said genuinely and blair blushed. "you look great, i love it! you are gonna rock it." mogan spoke softer so just she could hear it and blair nodded, and thanked her for the support. she had changed over the course of four years and her body changed drastically. her 5'2 figure took a hit and that in turn lowered her self esteem and confidence within herself. she had been invited over the years to visit two friends at university of michigan but felt so poorly of herself, she never went. she didn't want anybody to see how much she'd change, even went as far to make a new instagram. besides, she had a whole new life out in california and that made it easier for her to never look back. and lets be honest, she didn't want jack or his brothers to see how she looked. she had adored the middle child the three years she knew him and once things started to change, she knew she could never be enough for him.

morgan grabbed ahold of the girl's hand as they walked towards the restaurant in greenwhich village. "have you guys been here before?" blair questioned as they quickly went to their usual seats. morgan nodded, "yeah all the time!" she beamed. the three walked towards the back, their friends all jumping up to greet the sister. "hi I'm jackson, nice to meet the girl who keeps him on his toes!" the dark haired man said causing her to laugh, "ofcourse! blair nice to meet you jackson!" she said hugging him back quickly. "I'm jackie! i work with morgan, nice to finally meet you! heard so much about ya. by the way, i love the outfit!!!" jackie said hugging the girl, and blair smiled thanking her. she moved on to three other people, two girls and a guy and then she sat down next to her brother. "has he convinced you yet to move here full time?" aaron questioned and she shook her head at the tall redhead. "nah not yet, though I'm sure its coming." she giggled, and the rest laughed. the waiter came over to collect drink orders, and she ordered a cranberry vodka and water. "where do you wanna work again?" her brother asked and blair smiled, "either go to law school to become yknow a lawyer or in a government agency. not too sure yet." she said shrugging and the others nodded. "well I'm sure jackson could hook you up, he works for town hall." and jackson shrugged nodding. "yeah, its a nice gig." he said. the group fell into a comfortable conversation, and trying to get to know the girl a bit more.

two hours later, they decided to head up to upper east side to go to a club, and so they made the almost hour treck up from Greenwich village. they ended up at one that the group frequented and once they got inside, joey took blair up to the bar to get drinks. the two stood there conversing as they waited for the drinks. that's when she saw him. no, not jack but the knock off kurt russell who played in california. somehow, she'd avoided him despite her parents living in the same area as him. trevor did a double take to the siblings before clapping his hand on joey's shoulder, causing blair to look up and catch trevors eye. "hey man, whats up?" joey said turning around and bro hugging with him. "good good, playing in the best league is more than i could ask!" trevor said cheekily and joey nodded, turning back to blair. trevor looked at blair as if she was somebody he'd never met before, "is this your girl?" trevor asked somewhat crass. blair shook her head, "no this is blair!" joey said looking at trevor like he was an idiot. "oh my god blair! how are you?! i didn't even recognize you." trevor said now realizing his mistake and blair took that to heart. she swallowed hardly, trying to not cry. she cursed her damn sensitivity. "i-im alright." she said smiling weakly, before looking over and seeing the tray of drinks. "good seeing you man." joey said somewhat crass, annoyed with the hockey player. "yeah, you too! is it true your parents are in newport?" he asked and joey nodded before walking off with blair. trevor stood their for a brief few seconds before taking drink and rushing back to the group.

blair chugged her cranberry vodka, surprisingly fast. joey watched as she did so, and then went to take a shot of tequila. she coughed as it finished going down, and he clapped her back a few times. "I'm gonna get another one." she said and joey wrapped an arm around her, not allowing her too. "no you're not getting drunk..at least not yet." he winked and she rolled her eyes. "come on lets go dance, girly!" morgan said pulling the girl out to the dance floor. ofcourse dancing queen had to be on, and the girl jumped in a circle along with jackie and annabelle the other girl that was jackson's girlfriend.

as soon as trevor reached the group that consisted of quinn, luke, jack, alex, cole, pk and a few other players in their group. "yo guys you wont believe i just saw at the bar!" he said freaking out, and some of the guys laughed. "who?" alex questioned throwing an arm over his shoulder. "joey and blair anderson!" he said breathlessly. "woah calm down their bud." alex joked laughing, as the three hughes searched the crowd for the siblings. once blair left right after the draft to move with her parents to california, joey fell off the face of the planet as well. quinn and joey had been the closest due to age and playing for usndtp together, and so that had hurt him as well. "where is she? i see joey but not her." jack said looking at trevor and trevor searched the crowd too. "she looks completely different, i thought she was his girlfriend." and then he found her. trevor pointed towards the quartet of girls, and jack needed no confirmation of which one was which. the same dark hair that sometimes crept up in his dreams was the same as when they were in highschool. he took in how much she had changed physically and absolutely adored the softness of her hips that peeked out from her cropped sweater. the subtle roundness of her cheeks, with her dimples ever present.

"damn shes changed." cole said and jack could feel the judgeness of his voice, as he finished that statement. "so?" jack said feeling himself getting angry and then cole recognized his mood changing. "like it fucking matters." quinn said hitting cole in the chest, understanding what cole was trying to say. "I'm getting another drink." jack said standing up and walking towards the bar. back on the dance floor, blair craved another cranberry vodka and pulled morgan over with her. "hi, can i please have a cranberry vodka!" blair asked and they nodded, putting it on joeys tab. blair and morgan talked at the bar, not realizing that jack was on the other end of it downing two shots. "thankyou!" blair said taking the drink and shot that was put down in front of the two. the two clinked the glasses together and once on the bar before throwing them back. blair coughed again and laughed as morgan's face grimaced. as soon as jack heard the coughing, he looked down and realized that blair was inches from him. now or never he thought, as she was about to walk off. "blair!" he said but she didn't hear him, he took two big steps and called her once again and she froze, before turning around. who could possibly know me here, she asked herself. she turned around jack and her eyes went wide. "blai-" he said once more, reaching out a hand before she speed off with morgan back to the table. jack caught joey's eye and his eyes went wide as well before turning his attention back to blair. jack stood there seeing if joey would walk over, but he didn't. instead the two of them plus morgan calling it a night.

•

it was the next morning and blair was staring at the ceiling of the guest bedroom. she groaned rolling over, and pushing her face into the pillow. she hadn't been able to get jacks shocked face out of her head the whole night. she had had a nightmare about the summer she left for california with her parents, and he had forgotten her birthday. she didn't realize she was crying until she heard a sob tumble out of her, as her mind with self doubts. she sat up, crying into her hands and thanked the universe her brother and his girlfriend had left for brunch awhile ago. she declined their invitation and said she just wanted to sleep. she wiped her tears, and got out of bed throwing on a sweater and a pair of black leggings and her birkenstocks on. she decided she needed some coffee and a breakfast sandwich to lift her mood just a bit. she walked out of her brothers apartment and headed down to starbucks on the corner. she took in the sights, smells and sound of saturday early afternoon. she thanked the person that opened the door for her, and headed to the line quickly. she got her usual cold brew and sausage sandwich, and sat down at the table by the window. she scrolled through tiktok, trying her very hardest to laugh like a maniac in public.

about 30 minutes into her stay, she felt somebody staring but she pushed it away. not wanting to give anybody her undivided attention. she stood up a few minutes later, and headed towards the trash to throw away her garbage. as she was about to open the door, somebody did it for her. she looked up at the blue eyes she had once adored. she sighed seeing trevor and cole accompanying the player. she walked out quickly, heading back to her brothers apartment. she was close to the door once she heard her name. she rolled her eyes knowing it was jack, and so she slowed down a bit and waited for him to catch up. "blair!" he said finally reaching her and stepped in front of her. her eyebrows creased, looking up at him. all 5'11 of him. "yes?" she questioned, crossing her arms across her chest. he knew that nervous tick she had done from the very first time they met. "uh- how are you doing?" he asked, pushing some hair out of his face. she rolled her eyes, and continued her trek towards the front door of the apartment building. "wait blair!" he said pulling her arm, and she yanked it back. "hi how are you doing? after four years jack, seriously? fuck off." she breathed, turning back. "hey you didn't reach out either, ok?" he said and she stopped looking back at him. "i congratulated you, you ass. i texted you the night you got drafted and never got a response, jack. so that's on you, not me." she seethed, and he realized that he'd been in the wrong. "i cried every night that summer, in a scary and strange new place and you- you didn't even reach out once my parents dropped the move on your parents." she said feeling tears pool her eyes. "all i wanted was my best friend and you didn't care enough about me it seems, which is on me." she said before turning back to the door. "blair please." he pleaded. she opened it and looked back at jack who stood there processing everything. "come on jack." she said holding the door for him, and he quickly took the chance.

•

she set her coffee down on the kitchen counter and placed her hands on her hips, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. "i'm sorry i didn't respond, I'm sorry i never reached out to you or said happy birthday. i know that's on me, there's no excuse for it. i didn't find out you moved until august when we came back to for a michigan game, and my parents told us. they'd kept it from us because they didn't want to tell us over text, but in person. i realized that i had tested fate, thinking you'd be home waiting for me. and - and i guess i was heartbroken that you didn't tell me yourself. i was losing my best friend and somebody i - i had fallen for.. in one moment." he sighed as he paused, biting his lip. blair turned around at his confession, did he really just say that? he met her eye, as she processed it. "it doesn't matter anymore jack, im not that same girl. hell, i haven't been that same girl since i left. things changed pretty quickly for me freshman year, and i-i- im not meant to be in your life clearly." she said pinching her nose. "whats that supposed to mean? why arent you supposed to be in my life?" he asked, stepping towards her and invading her space. he grabbed ahold of her hands, and she pulled them back. she shook her head, looking at the floor. "im not the kind of girl you're supposed to be seen with." she said sadly, "look at me jack. i changed in more than one way when i moved...and have fought so many battles just to be standing here today. one's you can't fathom." she said shutting her eyes, "haven't you realized its always been you?" he whispered and she reopened her eyes to look up at him. "what?" she said barely coming out as a whisper. he smiled softly chuckling a bit, "you are your hardheadedness could never see how hard i was trying to get you to realize i liked you more than as a friend. i was trying so hard, the guys couldn't help but laugh at every attempt. calling me a fool knowing you'd never realize until i said something." he said shaking his head as if he couldn't believe the years he spent pining over her. "wait what?" she said looking into his eyes. "you thought i was just being nice? oh no..I'm not that nice to just anybody" he said laughing and she shook her head blushing. "you fool! you idiot!" she said slapping his chest, somewhat angry and somewhat sad. he grabbed ahold of her hands again and pulled them into his chest, "its always been you bean, i have never once stopped thinking about you, even if you did change your Instagram and slip off the face of the earth. i still never stopped, you can ask my brothers." he said inching closer to her face. she blinked twice before biting the inside of her cheek, "but I'm not right for you." she said frustratedly. he shook his head, "i like this version of you blair, don't sell yourself too short. i know i will absolutely adore you, bean. i promise you that." he said before placing his lips on hers. their lips felt as if they had kissed a million times before. she moved her hands up to his neck, desperate to be as close as possible. he wrapped his arms around her hips before moving to her lower back. they pulled apart, resting their foreheads against one another's, catching their breaths.

tears pooled both of their eyes as they looked at one another, "I've thought about doing that for years." he said cheekily and she grinned, "I've been waiting for that for years too." she hummed before reconnecting them.

•

one last hurrah was planned to michigan before the season started and jack invited her to his and his brother's lake house near where they grew up. she had met up with the three of them the day before they planned to leave for brunch. "i-i don't know." she said leaning back in her chair. "go have fun, ill still be here when you wanna come back." joey said from beside her, "there its been decided." quinn smiled lightly clapping his hands together.

•

jack took ahold of blair's hand as they walked through detroit airport, walking towards baggage claim. "I'm nervous." she whispered to him as they waited. he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and looked at her in the eyes, "you have no idea how much they've missed you hun. everything will be great." he said kissing her temple. she nodded, resting her head against his chest. they made it out 15 minutes later and searched for ellen and jimmy's car. once they heard that blair was coming into town, they quickly volunteered to pick them up. once ellen found luke in the crowd, she saw quinn then jack and then on the girl she had always considered her daughter. jimmy found them as well and smiled at ellen once he saw that her and jack were holding hands. "blair!" ellen smiled widely, wrapping her arms around the girl. blair was transported back to one of the first hugs she had received from the queen herself and melted. "i've missed you so much babygirl!" she whispered before pulling back to inspect the 5'2 girl. "don't hound her." jimmy joked, and blair smiled before hugging him. jimmy had also considered the young girl their daughter, a testament to the amount of time she spent over at the house. blair stepped back, right to jacks side as they all put the luggage in the back. luke hopped in first, with quinn in the back and then jack and her sat in the middle seats. they drove towards the lakehouse.

•

jack gave a tour to blair, and she could only imagine how much fun the three had here during the offseason. it was definitely a bachelors pad, with the amount of boyish and frat items they possessed. "this is your room." jack said opening the guest room door and she saw her luggage. she nodded softly before thanking him. "its late i should start getting ready for bed." she said and he nodded before walking out. she sat on the bed placing her head in her hands. she took in the very clean and crisp guestroom, knowing full well ellen had her hand in here at some point. blair quickly got ready for bed, and then tossed and turned for two hours not being able to fall asleep. especially knowing jack was down the hall, mere feet away from her. the summer after they moved to canton, her and his family went out to new hampshire and spent a month out there living with them. and there were many nights the two fell asleep in each others arms, one or the other not wanting to go back to their bed after talking for hours. jack down the hall was tossing and turning as well, thinking about the same thing. he was about to get up when he heard a soft knock at his door, before it opened. he heard the familiar soft feet of blairs. she had an oversized trojan t-shirt draping over her small frame, as she finally came into view. the moonlight cascading into the bedroom windows, allowing him to see all of her. "i couldn't sleep." she said and he got up, "me neither." he now stood in front of her, and she could feel the familiar warmth of him as he did so. the familiar chest of the hockey player, directly in her eyesight. "i had a feeling you'd be up, bean." he hummed smirking and she rolled her eyes. "what can i say, i missed my twin." she mused looking up at him. "its a good thing i missed you too." he said pulling her in by the cheeks and kissing her. they moved in sync towards the bed, molten with newfound freedom and feelings.

she sat back on the edge of the bed, jack coming in between her legs and then moving her further into the bed. they parted for a brief second, "are you sure?" he questioned and she nodded before she reconnected the two's lips. jack wasted no time in taking her shirt off and then her shorts, but slowly took her all in as if they'd never be in this situation again. "you are a fuckin goddess." he spoke into her neck, planting a few kisses down it. her back arched softly, wanting more of him. she pressed a kiss into his lips as things progressed into more.

•

the two laid in each other's arms, the sun now rising. jack had spent time whispering sweet nothings and sweet words that made her heart swell, for the past two hours. they also spent time talking about what they had missed in the past few years, and talked about their future and what they wanted to do. together and separately. she now had her head on his chest, and was looking up at him. "i want you to come to jersey, i don't care if its fast or careless but i cant go anymore without you. i don't think my heart could handle it." he said softly and she smiled. "thankfully i planned on heading out there." she grinned now, as he smiled. he placed a kiss on her lips once more, entangling once again.

•

@jackhughes: look who showed up just in time for the season.

tag: blairanderson

104k likes, 23.7k comments.

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@_quinnhughes: just like old times 🫣🥹

@lhughes_06: mom can u come pick me up pls

@jackhughes: sorry not sorry

@joeyanderson: I guess all is right in the world

@elhughes: it’s is Joey!

@blairanderson: jackyyyy

@jackhughes: blairrrr

@alexturcotte: missed you blair bear !

@blairanderson: missed u too turcs 🫶🏻

@mattboldy: holy crap it actually happened

@blairanderson: it did !!

@fanone: it’s so dry in here

@fantwo: awe she looks so sweet

@colecaufield: happy for you guys!

@jackhughes has liked comment.

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@blairanderson: i could get used to this

Tag: jackhughes

233 likes, 66 comments. (Private account)

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@joeyanderson: gross

@morgansmith: omg i love this !!!!

@joeyanderson: babe no

@blairanderson: I love u morgs!

@camyork: bean!!!!! Oh my god

@blairandersond hi cam cam!

@alexturcotte: I still bet u could still beat him at cards

@blairanderson: I reckon I could 🤝🏻

@jackhughes: it’s on babe!

@elblue: so glad to have you back in the family sweetie!

@blairanderson: me too!!

@jackhughes: I think we should hang one of these up in the condo

@lhughes_06: pls no

@blairanderson: I have so many ideas !!!

@alexvlasic: blair bear omg you posting again?!

@blairanderson: vlassy yes! Ended my hiatus (:

@brendan.brisson: awe my favs

@blairanderson: 🫶🏻

@trevorzegras: happy for you two!!

@blairanderson has liked comment

—

Hope you all enjoyed— please like and reblog if you did!!

Random tags: @huggybug @slafgoalskybaby @cuttergauthier @skatesnstuff @boldysswld @makarhughes @itsnotgray

#Jack hughes #Jack hughes x oc #jack hughes blurb #Jack hughes imagine #jack hughes fic #hockey #nhl #nhl fic #hockey bkurb #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl blurb #Quinn hughes

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nansheonearth · 8 months

Text

A Boston shelter tried a new approach to finding women stable housing. Three years later, its success is clear.

Since launching its stabilization program in July 2020, Women’s Lunch Place says that 97 percent of women who found housing are still living in their homes.

By Alysa Guffey Globe Correspondent,Updated August 30, 2023, 5:51 a.m.

Nancy Edwards in her apartment.SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

Two years ago, Nancy Edwards fell into homelessness after being priced out of rent in Southern California. With her two dogs, Roo and Tink, in tow, she decided to drive across the country with all her belongings packed in her small sedan. Her final destination would be Boston, the home of her only child and the last place she says she received adequate mental health care.

She arrived in Boston in September 2021, and later that month met Lianne O’Reilly, a behavioral health and stabilization clinician at Women’s Lunch Place, a daytime shelter and advocacy center serving people who identify as female.

With help from O’Reilly and Women’s Lunch Place, Edwards, 65, was able to receive the mental health care she needed and took the first steps in applying for housing in the city.

“I was able to make heads or tails out of life and rescue myself from being homeless,” Edwards said.

Edwards is one of 173 clients who Women’s Lunch Place has helped to secure housing since the organization launched its housing stabilization program in July 2020. Three years later, the organizaton reports that 97 percent, or 167, of the women are still living in their new homes.

At Pine Street Inn shelter, a mother and daughter persevere and find communityNew housing strategy behind Mass. and Cass cleanup offers ‘hope, dignity’ — and may be a solution to homelessness, officials say‘Permanent supportive housing’ may be controversial to would-be neighbors, but it’s been beneficial to those who live in it

Located on Newbury Street in Back Bay, the stabilization program is designed to provide clients at Women’s Lunch Place with wraparound services before and after they receive keys for an apartment, said Doris Romero, the center’s housing and stabilization manager. Often times, women who walk through the doors have a steep learning curve when living on their own and can be evicted if they do not have continuous support.

“The last thing that I want is after getting someone into housing is for them to lose their housing,” Romero said.

Romero facilitates conversations with landlords, property managers, leasing officers, and even other tenants to ease the burden on clients. Each woman seeking housing is paired with a full-time advocate from the organization, and the team has doubled in size since its inception, she added.

For some, the housing search can take years, with some guests only moving into homes now after originally starting a housing application five years ago, said Romero. Other times, partnerships and applications with the city can speed up the process for those who really need housing. For instance, Edwards submitted an application to the Elders Living At Home Program through Boston Medical Center.

“In the application you have to explain why this person needs housing, and as soon as I met [Edwards,] I knew that housing was really key to her stability and moving forward,” O’Reilly said.

As a result, Edwards moved in to her new home about seven months after connecting with Women’s Lunch Place.

“It’s nice and quiet and I feel secure,” Edwards said on a recent Friday in her one-bedroom apartment in the South End.

Nancy Edwards in her apartment.SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

While stabilization programs are not necessarily a new invention, Women’s Lunch Place’s method of keeping tabs on and tracking women it helps find housing is encouraging, because it shows “obvious and dramatic evidence that it works,” said Susan Sered, professor of sociology at Suffolk University.

For the past 15 years, Sered has been following a group of about 50 women in Boston who fall in and out of homelessness. In her research, she has seen women lose housing because of substandard living conditions or abusive men in their life who visit homes and cause trouble — issues that can often be prevented with robust stabilization services.

“A lot of these problems are dealt with before they get out of control,” she said of the system in place at Women’s Lunch Place. “They can provide this kind of really intensive support that can help people get through that difficult period or a difficult incident and hold on to their housing.”

Romero said she poses as many questions as possible to find a strong fit for each individual client.

“Do they want to stay in Boston? Do they want roommates or their own space?”

However, even though the program is run through the shelter, women who seek the stabilization services have their own agency throughout the process, choosing where, when, and what they apply to.

“We can provide them options of different opportunities, but they get to choose where they want to apply to,” Romero said.

Most of the clients would prefer to stay in Boston, Romero said, but that doesn’t always work out. Sometimes, after looking at options in Boston, she encourages clients to look elsewhere, such as the North or South Shore, to set realistic expectations. Romero added that the center has had luck stabilizing people in Medford and Watertown homes.

The stabilization program is unique since it doesn’t end once women get the keys to their new place.

“People really assume like everything’s like sunshine and flowers once you get housed,” O’Reilly said. “And it can be, but for a lot of people it can be traumatic in many ways.”

The length of stabilization looks different for each client, Romero said. Advocates visit the homes of their clients as much as they need to help with everything from setting up cable to finding a church community nearby.

Women’s Lunch Place also assists clients facing possible eviction — a vital component of stabilization services, staff members say.

Estella Green, 55, credits the program for her finding stable housing and avoiding eviction after she had been sleeping on the streets or couch surfing for almost three years.

“I was in a place where I was about to go downhill, but I came here and I asked for help and they helped me,” Green said.

With help from her advocate, Christina Labossiere, Green has lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Brighton for more than two years. Since March, the organization has assisted Green in applying to the city’s Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program, which helps keep households in stable housing situations when facing eviction, loss of utilities, and other housing emergencies.

Green said she loves the apartment, especially the bed to sleep in, but still comes to Women’s Lunch Place almost daily because that — not Brighton — is her community.

“You can relax, be comfortable, and you can always find someone to talk to,” Green said.

Alysa Guffey can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @AlysaGuffeyNews.

Edit:

Here's a link to donate to Women's Lunch Place

Follow them on ig

If you reblogged the previous version, reblog with the donate link.

#radfem #alysa guffey #women's lunch place #boston #massachusetts #new england #housing #sisterhood #solidarity #resources #welfare #ideas #to do #o #boston globe

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joelswritingmistress · 1 month

Text

You Scare Me Professor (Chapter 57 - The Final Chapter)

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible.

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader

Healing. There would be an infinite amount of healing to do; though over the next six months there were little victories that aided in the process. Will plead guilty. It was an act that everyone was shocked about and ultimately it spared Carol a lot of extra heartache that she didn’t deserve. The evidence was already stacked against him, but now that Will admitted guilt, Carol would not have to sit on a stand as a defense lawyer grilled her and tried to twist her trauma around. For that, everyone was thankful.

Upon a leave of absence for the remainder of the school year, Carol returned to her job in September. In turn, she received a standing ovation from the student body and gained the full support of the staff there. Again, another part of the healing process. I knew Carol was hurting, but she persevered and thrived in her profession. She was going to make it because that’s what women like Carol did. They rose above. They made it.

“She even started coaching volleyball,” Joel informed me. “She was all-state in her younger days.”

Joel. My Joel. I had no issue calling him that all the time now. I tried to prove him wrong every day, and after a little bit of time and a lot of convincing I think it’s clear to him now that I will forever keep his secrets.

He went into a temporary retirement, and I changed my mind and pursued the rest of my Master’s Degree online. Without having to twist my arm too much, Joel convinced me to travel a bit to get away from New York State for a short while. It was therapeutic, to say the least.

I allowed him to take me to Nashville near the end of the summer, and then over to the Grand Canyon. We spent two weeks exploring California, extending our stays from a little ranch near the Joshua Tree, up to San Diego where I unsuccessfully tried surfing and concluding in wine country as autumn really set in. We hiked Washington State, made our way to Yellowstone Park, spent a few romantic nights on Lake Michigan before making it back to the East Coast in time for Halloween, where we crashed the small city of Salem, Massachusetts. It was the perfect ending, really.

Joel found us some cheap masks, and we blended in with the crowds that literally paraded every downtown street in the area. It was welcomed chaos and we spent the day taking pictures with spooky characters, sharing laughs, having some drinks and waiting in lines to slink into shops littered with folklore and magic.

When a light rain began near nightfall, Joel towed me away to a rooftop bar at the top of our hotel where he’d made a reservation earlier in the day. A gentle pitter-patter on the roof of the outdoor patio where we sat was relaxing. It was soothing music to our ears after a day of crowds.

From where we towered above the world, we could see two lighthouses in the distance over the blackened water. Below, people still gathered by the masses for whatever attraction, bar or restaurant they were seeking - if anyone.

“Here are your drinks.” A waitress came back to our two-person, high-top table with a pair of martinis and I sighed as she walked away.

“Ready to go home?” Joel asked, smirked as he placed a hand gently on top of mine.

My fingers squeezed around his and I nodded. “This has been a wild ride.”

“Happy Halloween.”

I grinned again and raised my glass. “Happy Halloween.” Our glasses tapped together and Joel leaned two-thirds of the way across to peck my lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed me another time and then settled back in his chair. At the same time, we took sips from our drinks and I felt my body relax.

“This has been great,” I told him, unable to think of another adjective. “It really revived me.” I gave a nod and looked him in the eye. “How do you feel?”

“A lot better.” He grinned and added, “Thank you for sticking by me. You had every right to run in the opposite direction. You still do.”

“Dr. Miller,” I said sternly, making him chuckle. “I’m going to need you to stop trying to convince me to leave you. Unless you’re secretly trying to get rid of me.” I sipped on my cocktail and kept my eyes on his.

Joel leaned forward, never breaking eye contact. “I would never want that.”

“Then stop saying things like that,” I ordered lightheartedly, leaning back toward him just a little bit.

“Okay,” he agreed, “I’ll work on it.”

“Thank you.” When he lingered, I leaned forward and left a long, closed-mouth kiss on his lips. When I pulled back he was grinning and I chuckled.

“I’m thinking the exact opposite of that, actually.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I want you to be with me forever.”

I felt a blush form on my cheeks and I couldn’t help but smile wider. When Joel leaned back, reaching a hand into the pocket of his khaki pants, I felt like my body went numb. And then he pulled out a small, black box and pushed it across the table. I was frozen. My eyes were glued to the box and if it was anything other than what I thought it was, I knew it would be like a kid opening an empty box on Christmas.

“What’s this?” My words barely made it out past my lips.

Joel’s eyes remained on mine as he opened the box. My eyes dropped, staring at the silver ring in the center of it. A Diamond sparkled even in the dim lighting.

“Marry me,” he said quietly, linking his hands to mine on either side of the ring.

“Marry me.” I repeated the words to myself to make sure I heard them right. “Marry me.”

“Marry me,” Joel said again.

My gaze found his again and finally the tears that welded up in my eyes were tears of joy. “Okay.” I laughed and cried at the same time, “I’ll marry you.”

“Yeah?” He kept his voice quiet as mine grew louder, drawing a few glances from other patrons in our direction.

“Yeah.” I giggled and put my face in my hands as I continued to cry at the same time. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Joel!” I popped my face up. “Yes! Yes!” People were staring at us now and Joel looked around the immediate area, giving a wave and a smile before returning his attention to me. He reached for the ring in the small, black box and slid the ring on my finger.

I jumped up from my seat and I couldn’t help it. I rushed around the table and threw my arms around him, pulling him in to kiss him hard.

“I thought Halloween was a fitting night for us to get engaged,” Joel admitted, holding me close as he spoke in my ear. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“It’s perfect.” I whispered back, holding him close as my fingers gripped the hair on the back of his head. “I love you.”

“Did you two just get engaged?” A female voice shouted from a few tables away.

We both pulled back, still holding onto one another and I responded by showing off my ring. “Yes.”

The costume-clad crowd in the immediate area all began to clap and I couldn’t contain my wide, beaming smile and the tears that continued to fall. When a waitress got wind of it, she brought us over a bottle of complimentary champagne.

“I know it hasn’t even been a year since we’ve known each other,” Joel said, “But life is too short to wait. You changed my life, (Y/N). I’ve never loved or trusted someone more than you. I don’t want to ever risk letting that go.”

“I know how you feel.” We shared another kiss and then took our glasses toward the edge of the balcony that overlooked Salem. I couldn’t help but smile to myself.

A breeze passed through and made me shudder, causing Joel to pull me close.

“Any regrets?” He asked.

I smiled up at him. “None, whatsoever.”

**Thank you everyone for following this story. I appreciate everyone reading, reviewing and following. It made it fun to write. This is the longest story I've ever written and it's been fun because people were interacting and guessing whole the killer was and I loved it. It made it great for me, as a writer. So THANK YOU!

@untamedheart81 @suttonspuds @cesspitoflove @michilandcof @grogusmum @morallyinept @akah565 @brittmb115 @magpiepills @poodlebae @gobaaby-blog-blog @mermaidgirl30 @mandojojo @shotgun-shelby @itscatrodriguez-thepearl @macaroni676 @smolbeanzzz @bandluvr97

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katyswrites · 1 year

Text

don't call me 'baby'

PART 3 | SERIES

Pairing: Steve Harrington/fem!reader

Warnings: Sugardaddy!Steve, swearing, alcohol use, smoking, age gap, allusions to sex

Wordcount: 6.1k

A sugar daddy modern AU, a whirlwind summer romance in Italy, and two people from completely different walks of life, somehow finding each other in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But, what will happen when summer ends?

PART 3 | this path is reckless (and I like it)

Six o’clock finally came torturously slowly, the minutes on the clock passing like molasses. At five minutes-to, the bell above the door rang, and Steve strolled in. He caught your eye to where you stood behind the counter, and nodded. You shot him a small smile, but felt your stomach turn - whether it was excitement or anxiety, you couldn’t quite tell. But, you couldn’t deny that you were happy to see him. You felt stupid, considering that he had explicitly said he wasn’t planning on asking you out - but, what else could it be?

As soon as Steve saw you making your way over, he smiled briefly, before nodding to the chair across from him. He already had ordered two coffees - one for himself, which he was halfway through, and a cappuccino, right at your seat.

“Hey there,” you said, feigning a casual and friendly air as you sat down. “Oh, um, thanks - you really didn’t need to order me anything.”

He shrugged. “I figured you might be tired - I took a wild guess about what you liked, though. Don’t feel like you have to drink it if you don’t want -”

“No, it’s great,” you assured. “I could probably do with a pick-me-up, anyways. Long day.”

“Okay, good,” he said. It was silent again for a moment, both of you just pretending to be incredibly interested in your drinks instead of each other, waiting for the other to say something. You already knew that this wasn’t a date. But, even worse, it didn’t feel like one at all - it felt more like a business meeting, between two strangers. Then again, isn’t that what you were?

You could only stand the anticipation for so long - you were many things, but patient wasn’t one of them.

“So… what did you want to talk to me about?” you asked. “Is this about last night? Because, i was pretty drunk, so - if you didn’t want me to kiss you, I’m sorry, that was my fault… I might’ve misread things, but if you aren’t interested, that’s fine - you’ve been more than nice, and I didn’t want you to think that I -”

“Why are you living in Italy?” he asked.

Not what you expected. Still, it was fair enough - beyond tourists, you were probably the first American he had encountered here.

“Oh - well… that’s kind of a long story.”

He shrugged again. “I’d love to hear it, if you want to tell me, that is.”

You thought for a moment, placing your mug on the table as you decided exactly which details to disclose to him.

“Well… my home life… let’s just say, it wasn’t great. I grew up in a tiny town in upstate New York, and… I mean, I knew I always wanted to get out of there. So, I applied to colleges as far as possible - mostly big cities, like New York, Boston, Chicago, even out in California. I didn’t plan on leaving the States, necessarily - but I applied to the American University of Rome, just for kicks, since I knew they offered a U.S.-accredited degree. I didn’t think I’d get in, let alone actually go. But, they made a great offer - basically a full ride. And, it got me as far from home as possible. So I left, and never really looked back. And now, I only have one semester left, which is pretty crazy, but… I’m glad I did it.”

It felt nice, to actually get that off of your chest - Robin was one of the only people you really ever talked about this stuff with. There was a lot still left unmentioned, but it still made the man across from you seem less like a stranger, like someone you could maybe trust.

“Was it hard? Moving to a whole other country, I mean?”

He was asking sincerely, but you were still wary as you answered.

“Yes, and no,” you admitted. “There was definitely a culture shock - I had to learn a lot about the city, the people, and a whole new language. But, it really is great here. And, I’m glad I found Robin - someone from home, kind of. But, it’s been… a lot of work.”

He raised an eyebrow. “In what way?”

You sighed, measuring your words carefully.

“I’ve done pretty well in school, but I didn’t know that Rome was one of the most expensive cities in the world until after I moved here. I mean, I scraped together most of the money I had just to buy my plane ticket. And, campus housing was expensive, so I bounced between hostels and friends’ couches my first couple of years, until I was able to save up a little. That took a bit, too - turns out Italy doesn’t have a set minimum wage, either. Who knew right?”

You chuckled dryly at that last part, and winced inwardly - that was far too much information, and he didn’t need to know any of that. You thought again about the money he had sent, how he casually had a personal driver on hand, the clothes he wore - he probably pitied you, couldn’t even be bothered to consider you as a -

“Is that why you have two jobs?” he inquired. There’s only sincerity behind his question, like he was truly trying to understand.

You nodded slowly, meeting his eyes. It occurred to you then that this felt like some strange job interview - well, a job interview with a man you drunkenly kissed on the sidewalk the night before. You shivered at the memory.

“How old are you again?” he asked.

“Twenty,” you replied, recalling his age from his I.D. - he had just turned thirty, if your math was right.

“Jesus,” he whispered, mostly to himself. He leaned back in his chair, brow furrowed. You noted how he was fidgeting a bit with his fingers, shifting in his seat - was he nervous? Why?

“Okay, I guess I’ll just get to it,” Steve conceded, leaning forward again. He folded his forearms on the table and leaned it, his gaze focused on yours. He was ramping up to something, but nothing could have prepared you for what.

“What if you didn’t have to worry about money anymore?” he posed, his voice low and steady.

You furrowed your brow, confused. You felt your stomach flip again, you mind racing to a million and one implications.

“I - what?”

He sighed, running one hand through his hair as he gathered himself.

“I - Jesus, okay, this is harder than I thought. I’ve never really done this before, so just, bear with me, yeah?”

You frowned, but nodded, giving him a moment to continue.

“First of all, don’t apologize for kissing me. I mean, I was really hoping you would,” he admitted.

You felt something flutter in your chest, and fought with everything you had to keep your face neutral.

“You - you were?”

He nodded.

“Yeah - I mean, not that I was expecting it, but - I wanted to. But - earlier, you said something about me not being interested in you… that’s not true.”

You wanted to jump up and down with glee, but you couldn’t help and feel that there was a big but coming.

“- but, I’m not exactly looking for anything right now. Well, anything serious. I just… a relationship can’t happen for me, not right now. And, I don’t know if that’s going to change anytime soon. I’m only in Italy until the end of the summer anyway.”

You felt your heart sink in your chest, like a balloon deflating. There it was - it explained a lot.

“Oh,” you said softly, doing your best to not let the disappointment bleed through. “That’s fine - I get it, really. Thanks for letting me know -”

“Wait, it’s not just that,” he explained. “I - fuck, okay, give me a second here. I was thinking of having an… arrangement, with you.”

You cocked an eyebrow, sitting up a bit straighter in your chair.

“An arrangement?” you echoed.

“Yeah,” he said. “I - I want to keep seeing you. But, with an understanding - that there wouldn’t be personal feelings involved, it’d just be something fun, for you and me. And, maybe you could occasionally be my date to work events, galas, that sort of thing.”

You kept your face as stoic as possible, taking in what he was asking. But before you could formulate a thought, he continued:

“And, in exchange… I could help you out. I can give you a monthly allowance, conver all your major bills, student loans, if you have any… and, if there’s anything you want to buy yourself, like, new shoes or something?”

“What makes you think I want shoes?” you bristled, suddenly becoming defensive as you truly started to comprehend what he was proposing.

“Nothing!” he exclaimed, backtracking. “I’m just saying that… if there’s anything you want, I can take care of it. To thank you, for your… discretion.”

You felt your face heat, the blood rushing into your cheeks and roaring in your ears. Here he was, a man you were only just getting to know, asking if you wanted to be his… his -

“You wouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, of course,” he added quickly, his own cheeks starting to twinge pink. “I mean, I’d never pressure you into anything - I wouldn’t do this if you didn’t consent, I mean.”

“And if I don’t consent?” you asked, your words coming out as more of a snap than you intended.

“Then I’d leave here, right now, and you’d never have to see me again,” he assured. “And, I’d send you another sum of money to at least cover your rent for the rest of the year, for even insulting you with the offer. But… I do think this could help both of us.”

You bit your lip, grabbing a paper napkin from the table and twisting it in your hand.

“Can it? I just… I feel like you’re not the kind of guy that needs to pay for sex. I mean, what’s in it for you?”

He hesitated for a second, and it occurred to you that he’s nervous, perhaps more than you.

“It’s not just sex,” he admitted. “I mean - it’d be nice, to have someone kind of consistent, and to know she wouldn’t expect anything. That’s the point of the agreement, I guess. But also… you saw who I work with. They’re always on me, about being ‘married to my work,’ all of that. So -”

“You want me to be your arm candy?” you finished bluntly. He turned just a bit more red at that.

“I wouldn’t put it like that, but - yeah, basically. After that stunt at the restaurant… I think they’d respect me a lot more, to be honest.”

“And you think I’m pretty enough for that?” you asked dryly, mostly to yourself as you laughed inwardly at the idea.

“Yeah, I do,” he whispered.

You froze for a moment, caught off-guard by his response - and, you hated how it made something warm bubble inside your chest, especially in the given situation. You just nodded, tearing at the napkin in your hand.

“Can I just ask you one thing?” you posed.

“Sure, anything.”

“Why don’t you want a relationship?”

His eyes widened, like that was the last thing he ever expected. Something unreadable passed his features, and he thought for a moment before replying.

“Honestly? I’m really busy. HNL is working on expanding through Europe - or, in Brenner’s words, dominate. And, I’m trying to work my way up to CEO - I think I have a good shot, once he retires. Having someone… it’d distract me. And, I don’t think it’d be fair to her, either - I can’t fully commit the time, not right now.”

It was an honest answer, at least from what you could tell. Still, what he was proposing… It seemed crazy. Too good to be true. If he had taken you home last night, and just made it clear it was a one-time thing… you would have let it happen. You knew that with near-certainty. If Steve had just become a fun story to tell one day, that would’ve been fine by you. But this…

“Can I think about it?” you asked. He nodded vigorously.

“Yeah - yeah! Of course. Here -”

He handed you his phone, pulling up the blank contact form on the screen.

“- put your number in here. So you can get in touch, if you make a decision, or for… whatever.”

You took it from him, typing out your full name and phone number with shaky hands. Your palms were sweaty, the weight of what he wanted from you.

When you handed it back to him, he glanced down, and stuck the phone back in his pocket.

“Great - well, um, I’ve kept you long enough after work -”

“Oh, yeah - I should probably get home, anyways. I’m on dinner tonight, for me and Robs.”

He stood when you did, chairs scraping on the floor as you stepped away from the table, leaving two empty coffee mugs and a napkin torn to bits.

“Let me call my car, to drive you home -”

“No,” you said firmly. “I - I want to walk for a bit, actually. To clear my head, if that’s alright.”

He just nodded curtly, and you both just stared at each other for a moment. It was awkward now, like you were now leaving the job interview not knowing if you felt good about getting the job. Do you hug? Should you just leave?

You opted to shake his hand, extending your hand towards his until he took it. It felt strange to do that, but before you could dwell on it, you were mumbling a rushed talk to you soon, and running out the door.

As soon as you were out of sight of the coffee shop, you let out a deep exhale - this could not be your life. But somehow, it was.

As you walked down the cobblestone streets, you became convinced that the whole interaction was in your imagination - perhaps you were still dreaming, and your alarm clock would wake you up at any moment. That was, until, you heard your phone ding:

Maybe: Steve

Hey - this is Steve. Steve Harrington, in case you forgot - I realized you probably also need my number, right? Have a good night.

Jesus, he writes texts like a dad. A grandpa, even. You stared at the message for a moment, reading it a few times - yes, this was real. You took a moment to add the number to your contacts, typing out Steve Harrington slowly. Then, you stuck it in your bag, and continued on your walk, doing everything you could to not check it for the rest of the way.

Your walk home was nearly an hour - reasonably, you should’ve taken Steve’s offer, or at least the bus. But you charged ahead, breathing in the air as dusk started to overtake the day, the sky darkening to the telltale hues of pink and orange. Summer was beginning to show its face, the days stretching just a bit longer, the warmth just a bit more persistent, creeping in as spring met its final days.

It was your favorite time of year - just before the true heat of summer set in, the promise of bright days ahead and winter long-dead in its grave. And thankfully, it meant darkness was only truly settling in when you reached your apartment - you had arrived there on auto-pilot, spending your whole walk home thinking of Steve’s offer.

You were bouncing back and forth, between telling him to fuck himself, and jumping at the opportunity to take everything he had to offer you.

When you walked up to the third floor and jostled the door open with your keys, the apartment was dark - indicating that Robin had hardly left her room all day. But, you needed to talk to her. You needed someone else to tell you that this was insane, outlandish, unbelievable -

When you knocked on her door, you were met with a muffled hmmm, what?

You opened her bedroom door slowly, only to see Robin under her covers, her room still dark. She was only illuminated by the light of her phone’s screen, where she was no doubt doom scrolling for the last few hours, if not all day.

“Hey, you,” you whispered. “How’re you feeling?”

She groaned, sitting up in bed.

“Only marginally better. But, I think I’ve taken the legal limit of ibuprofen, so I have to wait the rest out.”

You chuckled, shaking your head.

“I would say I feel bad for you, but I’m not sure I do.”

She chucked a pillow in your direction, narrowly missing your head.

“Asshole,” she grumbled.

“Love you too,” you replied, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Robin rubbed her eyes, yawning.

“So, how was work?”

Jesus - how were you supposed to answer that question?

“Oh, uh - good, I guess. Well - okay, if I tell you something, will you promise not to freak out? Because like, I really need your advice here.”

“Uh, yeah, okay - that’s totally not ominous.”

“Well, you know Steve?”

“Our savior, you mean? Yeah. I mean, he did bring us back last night, right? I didn’t make that up?”

“No,” you confirmed. “You didn’t. But, before you found us last night… we kind of made out.”

That got Robin to sit up straight, looking more alive than she had all day.

“Oh? You made out with moneybags??? And didn’t tell me?”

“To be fair, you were incapacitated.”

Robin rolled her eyes playfully, then held up her hands defensively.

“Yeah, okay, whatever - well, did you get his number or something?”

You sighed, gathering yourself as you figured out how to answer that question.

“Well, kind of - not last night. But, he came to visit me at work today… I kind of told him where I worked last night while we were talking.”

Robin’s eyes widened, and she grinned.

“Wait, he showed up at work? Oh my God, he’s into you -”

“Not so fast,” you said. “I - he asked to meet with me after my shift. So, I did, and… well, he -”

“He what?” Robin asked, clearly impatient. “Did he ask you out? C’mon, you’re killing me here -”

“He offered to be my sugar daddy,” you said quickly, the words tumbling out. It was the first time you had said it out loud, and it felt ridiculous to even put it that way. But, that’s what it was, no matter how you sliced it.

For maybe the first time in her life, Robin had no words. Her mouth hung open, and you could’ve sworn you saw her brain reboot as she comprehended exactly what you just said.

“I - I’m sorry, what?”

“Well, that’s basically what he offered. Maybe there’s maybe a better term for it, but -”

“No, no, you need to tell me exactly what he said,” Robin demanded, crossing her legs on the bed.

So you did. You explained every detail of Steve’s offer, as best as you could remember, watching how every version of disbelief and awe passed Robin’s face. It was only after you were done that she spoke:

“So, you’re doing it, right?”

You stared at her, eyes wide.

“What? I - I thought you’d tell me it’s a terrible idea -”

“Girl, no - I mean, think about it. He’s offering to pay you, enough that you don;t have to wear yourself down with work anymore, and you’ll get laid? It’s a win-win. Besides, I don’t even like men, and I can acknowledge that the guy is pretty easy on the eyes. I mean, we’ve established he’s not a murderer, right?”

You shrugged.

“I think so - he told me his full name, knows that I told you everything - if he’s a murderer, he’s one who's looking to get caught. But… this is crazy, right?”

Robin just shrugged, a mischievous look in her eye.

“Maybe. But, who ever said crazy was bad? I mean, if you really don’t want to do it, then don’t. But, do you have any reason not to?”

It was those words that rang through your head, all through your dinner (which ended up being a modge-podge of leftovers, after realizing that neither of you had done a proper grocery shop in a while), all while you and Robin watched a movie, and long after she went to bed.

It was nearly midnight when you pulled out your phone, staring once again at Steve’s text. You knew you should probably respond via text - there was a good chance he was already asleep. But, something else compelled you to tap on his contact and press call.

One ring. Two. On the third, a muffled click, and his voice, groggy and low.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” you whispered. “It’s me.”

“Oh! Hello,” he replied, sounding considerably more awake.

“I’m sorry - were you asleep?”

“Hm? No, no - don’t worry about that. Are you okay?”

You nodded, before remembering that he couldn’t see you.

“Yeah - yes. It’s just… I’ve thought a lot about your offer.”

Silence. Then, “...okay? And?”

He sounded cautious, and maybe even hopeful. You took a deep, shuddering breath before answering:

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

*******

You didn’t actually see Steve for a few days after that. You did receive a text the following morning from Steve, which only read:

Let me know what days and times you’re free. We can meet to set up the arrangements.

And that was what the next few days entailed. First, you had a Zoom meeting with Steve, which felt ridiculously formal. He explained that it was because he was at work, and it was easier this way - by the end of it, he had set you up with a personal separate checking account and a platinum credit card. You had insisted that it wasn’t necessary, afraid he’d get in trouble, but he had only waved off your concerns - don’t worry - you’d be surprised what some of my colleagues get up to. Besides, as far as my accountant is concerned, you’re a client.

A few days later, a car pulled up to your apartment - Steve’s car. Only, he wasn’t in it - his driver informed you that he was there to pick you up for your appointment. The appointment, it turned out, was with a seamstress named Valentina, a bombastic and impassioned woman who had once worked for Versace before leaving to open her own independent brand as a designer. As you stood on a raised block and she measured every inch of you, all she wanted to do was talk. She prattled on about her job, her wife, her annoying neighbor, the fact that she’s a week behind on tailoring a wedding gown for some politician’s daughter. You managed to ask how she knew Steve, and she explained how she’s tailored all of his work attire in the time he’s been in Europe - he’d even had his suit shipped to her during his winter in London. Her rambling was occasionally interjected with what lovely arms you have, or you’d look gorgeous in this color, don’t you think?

Eventually, you worked up the courage to ask, “So, uh, what exactly are you going to make for me? Like, a dress?”

Valentina stopped mid-measuring, glancing up from where she was kneeling in front of you.

“You don’t know?” she asked.

You just shook your head in response, and she laughed.

“Well, Signore Harrington was quite clear - I am to make you everything.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean, everything?”

“He said that everything you want to wear is to be made by me. Or, if you buy something else you like, I’m meant to tailor it, too. That’s why I’m keeping your measurements on file - to make sure everything fits you just right.”

“Oh.”

That was all you could muster. You had seen all of the fine, beautiful piece at the front of Valentia’s shop when you arrived - you had assumed maybe she was making one dress for you, for a special occasion. Or, you’d be picking something from the shop, and that was it. But this… how much money did Steve have?

“Nothing but the best, for Signore Harrington,” Valentina continued, resuming her work. “Which means nothing but the best for his ragazza.”

Girlfriend. You didn’t know whether that was a cover story Steve told her, or just an assumption she’d drawn, but you just chose to not respond, even as the word and all of the falsehoods behind it swirled in your mind.

It wasn’t until nearly a week later that you actually heard from Steve again. It’s another text, and you don’t see it until your lunch break during a coffee shop shift. It reads:

Are you busy tonight?

You stared at the text for a few moments, pondering everything it implied. Was this it? The beginning of… whatever this was? You took a moment to think, then replied:

No, why? I work until 4 and then I’m free

You saw the three dots appear for a second, then disappear. Then, his reply:

You’re working?

Yea I always work 8-4 on Thursdays

You don’t need to do that, you know.

Are you saying I’m not allowed to?

Of course you are, but just know that you don’t need to. I’ll take care of you.

You read that last sentence a few more times than was probably necessary. Then, he texted again:

So, you are free tonight, yes?

You pause for a moment before sending yes.

Great - I’ll come pick you up at 7? Let’s do dinner.

Then, the bell above the door was ringing, and your manager was calling for you as the line of customers grew, your 15-minute break somehow already over.

Sounds good see you then

That was how you found yourself practically sprinting out the door when your shift ended, just barely catching the bus, internally wishing it would skip every other stop by some miracle and get you home as quickly as possible. That, of course, doesn’t happen, and you briefly wondered if you should’ve just used your credit card and called a taxi. The thought suddenly feels ridiculous - you hadn’t actually used any of Steve’s money yet. You knew he said you should, but it felt strange to just frivolously spend someone else’s money like that. So instead, you leaned your head against the bus window, and willed it to move faster.

When you finally arrived home, you were only in the door for a few seconds before Robin was running up to you, eyes wide with glee.

“There you are! Look at this shit - did you know this was coming?”

“Did I - what?” you asked, confused and still a bit out of breath from how briskly you trekked two blocks and up the stairs.

“Okay, clearly you didn’t - c’mere, some lady came and dropped this off earlier today -”

You followed her as she spoke, stopping in your tracks at your bedroom door.

“What the -”

Hanging in your doorway was a thick garment bag on a gold hanger, the door propped open with a dark, leather-bound trunk.

Before you could ask anything else, you were unzipping the bag with shaky hands, gasping as you saw the contents - inside were four dresses, probably nicer than anything you’d worn in your life, all adorned with Valentina’s sigil on the inside.

“Whoa,” Robin said from behind you. “Are those from -”

“Yeah,” you said, cutting her off. “I - I think they’re all custom-made.”

It was then that you noticed a small envelope tucked inside, with a now-familiar wax seal. You practically tore it open, and it read:

I had Valentina send over these first few garments - there’ll be more to come. I think the white one would look great on you for tonight, with the gold shoes. I’ll see you at 7.

S.H.

“Holy shit,” Robin whispered, followed by a low whistle. “He’s really taking this whole thing seriously, isn’t he?”

You nodded, running your thumb over Steve’s handwriting a few times.

“Okay, you’ve got to tell me - is he just like, really bad in bed or something? Like, is that why he’s doing all this -”

“I wouldn’t know,” you admitted. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Wait - you haven’t slept with him yet?”

You shook your head, pinching the fabric of the white dress hanging in front, feeling the soft satin between your fingers.

“No,” you said. “I’m seeing him tonight, though.”

“Holy shit,” Robin said. “How is this your life now?”

You shook your head in disbelief.

“I have no clue.”

*******

Two hours later, after a long, contemplative shower, and fussing maybe a bit too much with your hair and makeup, you found yourself wearing the dress and heels from the trunk, as instructed. Well, it was more of a suggestion than instruction, but who were you to object?

The dress had slipped on with ease, and it was maybe the lightest, softest thing you had ever worn - it fit like a glove, enough that you didn’t think a single other person in the world could put this on if they tried. You understood now why Steve used Valentina - she was damn good at her job.

You stared at yourself in the mirror, not exactly recognizing yourself. It felt like you were going to some costume party, if the costume in question was a dress finer than anything you’d ever worn and shoes that probably cost more than you were willing to find out. The dress was light and flowy, hitting right above your knees. You did a quick 360, and took a deep breath - this was fine. It was great, actually - it was just dinner, that was all. Maybe. Probably.

When you emerged from the bedroom, Robin nearly fell off of the couch, jaw slack.

“Who are you, and what’ve you done with my roommate?”

You rolled your eyes, giving Robin a spin for the full effect. She just laughed, shaking her head incredulously.

“Seriously, though - you look great. Like, sophisticated, but in a hot way, I promise.”

“I don’t know if that’s a thing,” you said.

“‘Course it is, I’m looking at it!”

Before you could say anything else, you heard your buzzer ring - someone was downstairs.

You shared a look with Robin, and she bounced excitedly on the couch, urging you to answer. You went to the intercom, pressing the talk button and leaning in closely, remembering how notoriously bad the sound quality on this thing was.

“Um, hello?”

“Hey - it’s me,” Steve’s voice said, distorted a bit through the crackly speaker. “Are you ready to go?”

Oh, God. He actually came to the door.

“Yep! I’ll be down in a minute!”

“Are you sure? I can come up, if you want -”

“No!” you replied quickly - you glanced back at your tiny, and currently messy, apartment, and imagined he’d die if he ever saw it.

“It’s okay - it’s a third floor walkup… I’ll come down.”

“Yeah, okay,” he conceded.

You shot a glance back at Robin, who was giving you two thumbs-up.

“Wish me luck,” you said, suddenly feeling waves of anxiety rolling through you - this was suddenly so real, what the Hell are you even doing -

“Don’t do that,” Robin said firmly.

“Do what?”

“Freak out.”

“I’m not freaking out -”

“Yeah, you are,” she interjected. “It’s fine - in fact, it’s less pressure than a real date. And I’ve got your location, so if you go missing -”

“Ha, ha,” you replied, voice laced with sarcasm. “Goodnight, Robin.”

Before she could tease you or ask any more questions, you were out the door and heading down the stairs, heart fluttering as you descended each flight, knowing it’d bring you closer to him.

And, when you opened the door, there he was - much more formal than the last time you had seen him, wearing a slim-fitting suit and a friendly smile. When he saw you, he stepped back for a moment, eyes widening.

“I - wow. Look at you.”

You felt your heart flip, your face flushing.

“Well, I have you to thank for that. Or, Valentina, I guess.”

“Oh, yeah,” he agreed. “Mostly Valentina - I don’t really know anything about women’s fashion, so I told her to do what she thought was best for you.”

“And did she?” you asked.

He looked you up and down again, nodding.

“I’ll say - you really do look beautiful, you know,” he said, voice a little softer now.

You felt your face heat even more, and decided not to respond. After a moment, Steve stepped back and waved you ahead, following you down the steps towards the car parked on the curb. He opened the door for you, allowing you to slide in across the backseat before following.

As the car peeled away and onto the road, Steve cleared his throat.

“So - I got you a little something.”

Before you could ask or protest, he was handing you a small white box. You opened it slowly, gasping as you got a look inside - it was a necklace. A gold necklace, with a diamond pendant that glistened more than anything you’d ever seen. The whole thing must’ve been real - you were no expert, but it had to be. It was simple, but so clearly nicer that any of the plated stuff you had sitting on your dresser at home.

You just held the box in your hand, staring at it for a moment as you examined the contents. You slowly traced the chain with your finger, your thoughts only interrupted by Steve.

“If you don’t like it, we can return it, and you can pick out something you like better - I have the receipt, I just didn’t really know what you liked -”

“It’s beautiful,” you whispered. You realized he had taken your silence for rejection, and the idea was enough to make you sick.

“But - I can’t accept this. It must’ve been so expensive -”

“Don’t worry about that,” Steve interrupted. “I wanted to get you something nice, and I thought it’d look nice on you.”

You glanced to the front of the car to gauge how much the driver was paying attention, and leaned in closer to Steve with a whisper.

“You already wired me my rent, tuition, and my allowance - which was a crazy amount, by the way - and, the clothes, all of it… not that I’m not grateful. I am, I just… you’ve already spent so much, you’re going to end up spoiling me -”

“Maybe I want to spoil you,” he murmured.

Whatever you were planning on saying next vanished, the words dying in your throat. So you just went quiet, looking down at the necklace in your lap again.

“Can I?” he asked.

Knowing what he was asking, you nodded, gathering your hair to the side as he extracted the necklace from its box. He unlatched it and pulled it up around the exposed slope of your neck, his fingers brushing your skin as he closed it again. You felt your breath hitched, the feeling of his fingers ever-so-lightly touching you lighting your skin on fire.

“I do have a question,” you asked, fixing your hair as you gazed down as where the pendant rested on your sternum.

“Mm hm?”

“If - if I suddenly changed my mind about this - this whole arrangement… do I need to pay you back?”

He shook his head fervently.

“No - definitely not. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do - if you ever want to stop, let me know, and you can keep whatever I’ve given you. No need to pay me back, I promise. You’re allowed to change your mind, I - I don’t own you.”

“Right,” you said, biting your lip. Then you managed to finally meet his gaze, and he was looking at you so sincerely it made you want to cry. And his face was close - so, so close.

Then, you were leaning across the seat and bringing your hand to cup his jaw, pressing your lips to his. He tensed for a second, then leaned into the kiss. You pulled back after a moment, and he just stared at you, bewildered.

“What was that for?” he asked softly.

“To say thank you,” you replied, hand still brushing his face.

“And,” you added, “I’ve actually changed my mind about one thing.”

His brow furrowed, and you realized that you accidentally sent him into panic mode.

“About what?”

“Let’s skip dinner,” you whispered. “I want to go to your place instead.”

Author's note: thanks everyone for all the enthusiasm for the story so far! Just a warning, there's a lot of smut ahead, so get ready for that! As always, shoutout to Em, who's basically my co-author. Your replies, comments, likes, and reblogs are always appreciated!

Reply if you'd like to be added to the series' taglist

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#steve harrington #steve harrington/reader #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington/fem!reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fic #don't call me baby #dcmb #dcmb fic #sugardaddy!steve harrington #modern steve harrington #stranger things fanfic

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captainsophiestark · 4 months

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Parents Weekend

Platonic!Percy Jackson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Summary: Percy's clear-sighted mortal cousin on his mom's side flies out to California to visit Percy for his first parents weekend away from home, at New Rome University.

Word Count: 2,166

Category: Fluff

A/N: This is full of spoilers for every book that features Percy Jackson, so if you're a new fan brought in by the show, welcome! But this fic might not be for you, unless you really don't mind spoilers. Also, it is loosely related to this other platonic Percy fic I wrote, but you don't need to read one to understand the other

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"HALT! Not another step without approval!"

I jumped backwards as a talking statue appeared in front of me out of nowhere, stopping me right on the threshold of the city of New Rome. Of all the things I'd seen as a clear-sighted mortal, this ranked among the weirdest for sure.

"Who are you, and on what authority are you here?"

"Uh... I'm Percy Jackson's cousin, and I'm here to visit him at college?"

The statue narrowed his eyes at me.

"Percy Jackson's cousin, hm? I know him well. He spent quite a lot of time when he first got here disobeying and disrespecting my rules. But we killed a giant together, and he defended Rome honorably. So as long as you are not armed...?"

The statue raised an eyebrow at me, and I quickly held out my hands and shook my head to show him I didn't have anything on me. He narrowed his eyes, then nodded curtly.

"Then you may enter. Tell him hello, and to get a haircut."

"Yes sir."

The statue nodded, clearly pleased, as I walked past him and into the city of New Rome. Percy had told me all about his adventures whenever we caught up with each other, and I felt fairly confident that I'd just met Terminus, the Roman boundary god. He was even more uptight than Percy had said.

It was a beautiful fall day in California, the sun lighting up the Oakland hills and creating just the right amount of warmth. I stared around in awe at the city before me, which practically sparkled in the sun.

Percy had told me all about it, and I'd even seen a few pictures. But nothing quite compared to seeing it in person.

I joined the crowds moving through the city, laughing and talking with one another. Luckily for me, a very easy to find street sign pointed me in the direction of New Rome U, and I started heading in that direction.

Percy had just started college this fall, moving all the way across the country just when I'd finally settled for the long haul in New York. I gave him a bit of teasing for that, but I knew how happy he was to be going here (especially with Annabeth) and how hard he'd worked to get in, so I really was happy for him. I'd just made him promise to visit New York often, which I knew he would do for more family members than just me.

What I hadn't told him was that I also intended to visit him. This weekend was officially "parents' weekend" at NRU. Sally and Paul couldn't come, since Estelle was still a baby, but I had no such limitations. I'd booked a flight the second Sally had told me the date, and now, I was finally here.

Percy had no idea. As far as he knew, he had nothing special happening this weekend. I couldn't wait to see his face when I surprised him.

My head was on a swivel the minute I set foot on campus, looking for my favorite cousin. He wasn't short, so I hoped he'd be easily visible over the heads of people in the crowd, but I wandered between buildings and students with no luck. I needed a better plan.

It didn't take me long to come up with one, thankfully. A big, beautiful fountain sat in the middle of a cluster of university buildings, so I headed right for it and hopped up on the ledge, standing tall and scouting the crowds from my new vantage point. After a minute, I heard a surprised voice from behind me.

"Y/N?"

I whipped around to find Percy standing at the top of some stairs, apparently just coming from class in the building. He was hand in hand with his girlfriend Annabeth, which always made me happy to see. I beamed at him and waved like a maniac before hopping down and heading his direction.

"What are you doing here?" he called, momentarily dropping Annabeth's hand to race towards me, meeting me halfway across the square. I laughed as he picked me up in a tight hug and spun me around.

"It's parents' weekend for New Rome University, isn't it?" I asked, once my feet were back on the ground. "I might not be your parent, but I'm pretty sure the event has changed to mean 'family weekend' by this point."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming!" he cried, laughing a little as he apparently didn't quite believe I was really here. Annabeth joined us, a smile on her face to match mine and Percy's.

"Because I wanted to surprise you, duh!" I laughed and pulled Annabeth into a tight hug, which she returned. "It's so good to see you both! Oh, and Percy, Terminus said you need to get a haircut."

Percy groaned and shook his head while Annabeth laughed.

"You met Terminus? How did you even get in here?"

"I name-dropped you for street cred with Terminus, obviously," I teased. Percy rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. "And I might have found a way to reach out to a friend you mentioned had some power here. Frank Zhang was very nice when a total stranger appeared through a very shaky Iris message asking him to let me into his camp."

Percy and Annabeth both laughed at that, sharing a smile.

"I'll have to remember to thank Frank for the assist," said Percy.

"I actually have some of your mom's cookies with me for that exact purpose."

Percy's mouth dropped open in outrage. "And you didn't bring any for me?"

"Did I say that?"

I turned and reached into my bag, then pulled out a tupperware container of Sally's famous blue chocolate chip cookies.

"These are for you. I ate mine on the plane, and I have a batch of purple ones for Frank, since that's Camp Jupiter's colors."

"My mom is amazing," Percy breathed, the box of cookies already opened with one in his hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, she is. Now come on, I flew all the way out here from New York to hang out with you. I want to see your new school and hear about all your classes and everything else. Just tell me where we're going first."

Percy grinned. "I know the perfect spot."

My cousin didn't disappoint. Annabeth had to do a bit of work to prepare for the coming week, so after getting a promise from her to meet us later, Percy and I hiked to the top of a beautiful hill overlooking the entirety of Camp Jupiter, apparently called the Garden of Bacchus. With the sun shining and a slight breeze blowing, I quite literally couldn't have imagined anything more perfect.

"You know, I love New York. But I could stand living somewhere with more weather like this," I mused. Percy laughed.

"Yeah, it's a perk. I do miss the city sometimes though."

"Of course. But you'll be home for the break, right?"

"Yup. Annabeth's coming with me. I can't wait to see my mom, and Paul and Estelle. And we'll probably visit camp, which will be nice."

"I'm sure everyone will be excited to see you. Just don't forget to come visit your favorite cousin in fun places I can actually get to," I said, nudging him in the shoulder a little as I teased him. He grinned right back at me.

"Never."

"Good. Because otherwise I'll have to come track you down, and based on what you've told me about Camp Half-Blood, I'd have a hell of a time getting into that place."

"If any mortal could pull it off, I bet it'd be you."

I grinned, and Percy smiled. We paused for a minute, taking in the gentle breeze and bustling city below us, then I spoke up again.

"Alright, so catch me up. How's everything? Classes? Annabeth? Being on the West Coast? Any more of the Olympians trying to give you trouble?"

Percy frowned at the mention of the Olympians, which seemed incredibly fair to me.

"Thankfully no, at least for now. Otherwise, things have been good. It's still a little weird to be here, and I miss a lot of people back home, but I have a lot of friends here too. Mostly I'm just happy to finally have some normal life time with Annabeth."

"I can't think of two people who deserve it more." Percy huffed in agreement as I continued. "And one of the hardest parts of college is leaving behind people you love to go do what you need to do out in the world. But like you said, there's a lot of people you love and who love you here, too. And you know me and Sally and everyone else in New York will always leave our doors open for whenever you want to come back."

Percy gave me a small smile.

"I know. And I'll always be happy to see you visiting me here, or wherever else I might go. Especially if you keep bringing my mom's cookies with you."

I laughed. "Yeah, that makes sense. I think her cookies could open most doors for me, honestly."

"For sure."

We took a moment, smiling and laughing and breathing in the fresh air. Then finally, I sighed and stood, facing Percy with my hands on my hips.

"Alright, I've gotten the bird's eye view and I'm finally warm again after New York got that early cold snap. Now let's see what else this Roman camp has to offer."

The more we walked around, the more my jaw dropped. It looked just like the pictures I'd seen of Rome and Italy as a whole, places I'd always dreamed about visiting. Only bright, shiny, new, and right here in front of me, where I could reach out and touch it.

As we walked around and Percy gave me the full campus tour, we found more and more people who knew him, smiling and calling out hellos as we passed each other. I beamed every time, happy to see my little cousin doing so well. He'd been through hell, but he seemed at peace here. Settled, in a way I hadn't really seen him before.

"The camp itself has pegasi stables and stuff, but we'd need to get special permission to visit them," Percy explained as we walked into the plaza where I'd first found him, headed for 'the best coffee shop this side of the Mississippi'. The basic tour was completed, so we were on our way to meet Annabeth. "I can ask Frank about that, maybe. How long are you here?"

"I'm staying for the whole parents' weekend, so hopefully that means I get to see the pegasi! The day I met Blackjack might still be my best day ever."

Percy laughed as we walked through the door, a bell jingling happily over our heads. Annabeth waved to us from a table near the window, and we headed her direction.

"I think Blackjack enjoyed that day, too. He always likes to be appreciated."

"He's a flying horse. Who the hell isn't appreciating him?"

Percy just shrugged as we joined Annabeth at her table. She grinned and slid two drinks our way, one for each of us.

"Percy told me your order. Hopefully they got it right."

"I'm sure they did," I said, taking a careful sip. My jaw would've dropped, if I weren't incredibly determined not to let a single drop go to waste. "That is... actually maybe the best thing I've ever had."

"Right?" Percy grinned as he sipped his own drink.

"So, what did the two of you get up to?" asked Annabeth.

"Percy gave me the whole campus tour," I said, smiling as I leaned back in my seat, leisurely sipping my drink. The sun coming through the windows gently warmed my face, and I could've stayed right there for the rest of the day and been perfectly happy. "We hiked up to the Garden of Bacchus too, and I got a bird's eye of this whole place. I know I'll probably never get to see Camp Half-Blood to compare, but... this place is stunning."

"It really is."

Annabeth and Percy shared a smile, and he took her hand across the table. I beamed. I loved Annabeth, and I loved the two of them together. I'd never met somebody other than Annabeth who got such an immediate, unanimous family seal of approval.

"So, I got the tour of campus. I heard there are pegasi stables, which I will not be leaving without seeing. But what else is a can't-miss?"

"Don't worry," said Annabeth with a grin. "I had enough time after homework to make the perfect plan."

"Athena always has a plan," said Percy. He and Annabeth shared another smile, and I couldn't help smiling with them.

"Well good. Because I'm here all weekend, and this seems like a city I don't want to miss."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

Percy Jackson Taglist: @valkyriepirate

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penvisions · 3 months

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garnish {chapter 10}

Pairing: Chef! Joel Miller x Bartender! Reader

Summary: Time doesn't heal all wounds, but it does make the heart grow fonder. You find yourself missing Joel, too stubborn to reach out but Ellie is tired of seeing you both pinning as she navigates classes with you and her homelife with Joel now that she's back in the city.

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: canon typical language, reader is a dumb dumb, reader is stubborn and heartbroken, mentions of reader's past, trauma, complicated family dynamics, stressful family dynamics, reader mourns her past relationship with father, verbal abuse (past tense), ellie being a scheming lil shit, language, sexual content, references to sexual relations (past tense), smoking, cigarettes, nicotine, drinking, consumption of alcohol, melancholia, manic depressive internal monologue

A/N: WE DID IT, we made it to the end!! i've never finished a fic before so this is all so exciting and a little terrifying, to be honest. i hope hope hope that i've done this lil au justice, with it growing a mind and story line of its own i never even planned for somewhere around chapter five. but we did it and i am proud of this lil one and maybe self-indulged a lot with my own birthday on the 17th! please tell me your thoughts!! a HUGE thank you to everyone that interacted with this. y'all made this possible by engaging with me and inspiring me to continue on even when my own brain was working against me ♡

i would love to take prompts for these two dummies to expand their universe and story in the future if anyone is interested? but i'm still getting used to having what little attention my fics are getting and i dunno if that would be something people are interested in ♡

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || ko-fi

“Well, you certainly have the enthusiasm, Ellie.” A smile passed over the desk, fingers curled over her application and subsequent documentation. She had already graduated from her Boston school at the end of the previous spring semester, already set up to TA for a favorite professor of hers in the new year after a successful first year of doing so for another. But she had a pending application for a secondary degree. One here in Austin.

Her life laid out in front of you once she had begun school, having applied and gotten into an art program in England right out of high school, something she had gushed about excitedly for a few moments when you asked her about it. Sure, you had talked about it in passing over shared meals both in the comforting environment of father’s home and while out getting coffee that had developed as a regular occurrence any time she was in town.

She was only four years younger than you, both her and Sarah. So driven and excited about this time in their lives. Sarah having relocated to work for a company that fought for her attention and hire after a phenomenal performance in communications and social work out in California. Both supported and shown love in a way that used to make anger and jealousy flair up in you, but that you now saw as a blessing for those who had that kind of nurturing environment to flourish in.

“I just…the perspective of art and language of art you’re trying to explore is really fuckin’ interesting. I know it doesn’t necessarily fall in line with my focus of studies, but-“

“Classes that interest you are just as important as those that help along your degree.”

“And dad said that I could go for it, said if it’s what I want, he’ll help me in any way he can.”

“Ellie, it would be a pleasure to have you take part in the program. There is a two semester commitment, I will remind you. And the application you submitted for Austin is still pending. But if you’re on board, I can sign my approval and walk it over to the admissions office when we’re done here.”

“I was…actually going to see if you could give me a ride back to the house…dad was in a hurry when my car wouldn’t start, and I left my keys with him so he could take a look at it.”

“Oh,” Your bottom lip was between your teeth, nervousness taking ahold of you. “Um, well-“

“I totally understand not wanting to, but I would feel better going with you than taking a bus or somethin’.”

“It’s okay, I can. But let’s walk this over to admissions and see what we can get in the way of aid first, yeah?”

“Fuck yeah, thank you so much!”

Your class sessions were at nine and lasted for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Not wanting to over log the students with a long block of class time on top of all the reading you did end up requiring of them in order to participate in the discussions. Only two days a week to allow for some leeway with the readings on top of the other responsibilities you were all to familiar with. You had explained to Ellie once her application had been switched over from pending to accepted.

You did miss the social aspect of working at the restaurant, the different foods and drinks you could try on a whim, the ability to get as much or as little human interaction as you wanted. But…you had made a choice to leave it behind. For good. Focusing finally on the things that you wanted to do for the rest of your life and a plethora of memories and stories of a time now past.

And Joel….you missed Joel.

But you were stubborn, sure that the man wanted to wash his hands of you after never getting a response.

Ellie was banging her head along to the tape that had been stuck in the trucks deck for years now. An old one from your childhood, one of the only things you father had intentionally gifted you. His love of music something you shared despite the rift and space created between you both. Your birthday up until you moved resulting in a gift card to the local record shop and a few tapes or CDs he wanted to share with you.

The younger girl belted out the lyrics, the loose strands of her hair whipping around from the cracked windows. You sang along with her, though not as loud, indulging her despite the ache that had settled in your bones. Having overthought yourself into a weird mood before class.

Suddenly the music faltered before the warbling completely as the ribbon inside began to loosen from the spool and hang out from the deck.

“Shit, that’s not good.” Ellie lamented as she reached forward to push the play button in to pause the music. She hit the ejection button and carefully pulled the tape from the mouth of the player. Her charcoal stained fingers spinning the spools one at a time to wind the ribbon back where it should be. A few moments later and she was reloading it and pushing play but the speakers only crackled before the tape ejected itself.

“Damn, it died.”

You didn’t say anything, thoughts a whirlwind as you panicked over loosing the last tangible connection you had with your estranged father. If she picked up on your tense silence, Ellie didn’t comment on it, leaving the tape hang half out the deck and moving to use the radio for the remainder of the ride.

The house looked the same, Joel’s house, nestled to the side of a small cul-de-sac. The neighborhood calm and quiet in the early afternoon.

The graying curls you would recognize anywhere peaked from where Ellie’s care was being inspected by Joel laid out on a roller underneath the carriage. The hood was propped open and a giant tool storage cabinet had been wheeled closer to the opening of the garage. She bounded up to him, talking too fast for you to make anything out from the curb.

But Joel must’ve been able to decipher at least some of it because his gaze turned to you, oil staining one of his cheeks and his chest puffing up with a deep breath.

You felt your own breath catch low in your throat, a lump of air making it hard to breathe.

You drove off with your heart hammering in your chest.

It was now February, the dreaded holiday of the month approaching and your birthday right along with it. A shame, that such a day overshadowed any plans you had once made. The holiday taking precedent with prefix menus that brought in generous tips from happy couples and friends. But this year, this year you could do whatever you wanted.

Stay in, go out, order takeaway, drown yourself in fancy truffles. Whatever you wanted. But the weight in your heart didn’t have you all too keen for the day to arrive. Wondering what Joel had decided for his special menu, the drinks Millie worked with Mary on to pair alongside it. Maybe….maybe you could snag a seat at the bar and indulge?

You let the thoughts trail off and focused on grading the papers in front of you. Needing to get them done before your attention was pulled by a movie night with your friends.

You were up at exactly one minute before the clock stuck midnight. Bleary eyes watching the progression of the last sixty seconds before it was officially your birthday. Your phone buzzed with two texts immediately, all camps too much to handle in the early hour. Turning it to silent mode, you turned over and listened to the faint sounds of Sweet Pea playing with a bell down in the living room, hoping sleep would come back to you.

Waking up for a second time was a whirlwind, snooze allowing for you to sleep in until the absolute last minute before you had to get up. Shoving the tube of fabric that was a simple, off the shoulder dress over your head and fluffing up your hair with dry shampoo and you were out the door and headed to the campus.

“Alright, everyone, since I’m feelin’ a little generous today!” You clapped your hands once, noticing Ellie slink in at the last minute before you typically announced the beginning of class. “I’m gonna play a documentary for today- but!”

You interrupted the happy chuckles from the group of about thirty or so individuals you had interviewed and approved for your program. “I will need a paper on the methods used to help identify the remains and artifacts, with your general interpretation of the cultural basis hypothesized from them due next class!”

“Professor, c’mon. It’s my birthday, it’s your birthday: let’s all just take it easy.”

A chorus of, “Is it really your birthday?! Why didn’t you tell us!” rang out across the room. Certain individuals looking genuinely upset that they had missed out on a chance to let you know how much they appreciated you and liked you. It made the ache in your heart lighten just a bit, weird mood about the day waning slightly in their unabashed openness. Ellie was oddly silent, normally one to engage loudly and enthusiastically, her phone in her hand, fingers a blur as she fiddled with it.

“If you really want to do something for me, please, concentrate on the documentary!” You turned your back to the class, booting up the video on your laptop and tugging down the projector screen that was closed and stored up above the whiteboard. Turning the lights off, save for one in the back for them to take notes with, you pressed play and offered one last tidbit before the opening credits rolled, “But it doesn’t hurt to bring a gift card for any local coffee shops.”

“Need a ride today, Ellie?” You asked the lingering girl, slow to pack her bag up once the class had ended and hesitant to disembark from the campus altogether. Her car was in the shop, something needing repair that was beyond Joel’s skill set. As well as a new set of tires they were waiting on to get delivered before installing them. The ones she had for the more intense weather seasons of Boston worn down over the years and needed replacing. You didn’t mind totting the younger girl around, offering her help with proof reading papers and going over terms that didn’t easily stick. Talking about nothing in particular, though Joel had been diligently inside the house or away each time you dropped her off at home, no more awkward glances since your little display of speeding off the first time.

“Was gonna offer to get you a coffee,” She wouldn’t look directly at you, setting you on edge. You were about to ask her if everything was okay when she suddenly swung her bag on her shoulder and faced you. “I’m helping at the restaurant today, assumed you wouldn’t be cool with dropping me off there.”

An hour later, you were both loaded in the car with too expensive coffee drinks and pulling up to the front of the restaurant. You didn’t want to test if you had clearance to park in the employee lot, not sure what would hurt more. The denial of your code beeping or the approval of your code chirping and opening the gate. Sighing, you put shifted into park and let the engine idle.

Ellie seamed to be taking her sweet time once again. Moving slow to collect her things, having hesitantly showed you the project she was working on for one of her art courses. The bell above the front entrance sounded as the door opened and your head snapped up to see Joel walk through it. He paused, holding the door open beside him as he gave a small wave to Ellie and a somber nod to you.

Yous lips lifted at the corners as you noticed the stain of what had to be beets on his otherwise pristine apron, the white of it displaying the dark red in a disturbing way. His other hand was behind his back, shrouded in the shadows of the interior. He shared a hushed work with Ellie as she finally exited the truck and slinked past him with a last wave toward you.

But Joel didn’t follow her inside.

He stepped outside completely. The door closing behind him with a soft thump.

He was walking toward the truck, the passenger window down all the way as Ellie relished in the fresh air before knowing she wouldn’t leave until well past midnight after the rush of the holiday.

Your fingers dug into the skin of your thighs, dress having ridden up during the drive to expose the tops of them. The sun warm on them as your nails made crescent shapes in their softness, making your anxiety for the world to see. You were otherwise frozen, unsure of what to say, how to talk. He looked so good. Longer hair slicked back, sliver glinting in the sunlight at his temples and in the scruff of his face. A vaguely heart shaped patch where it didn’t grow in too tempting of a sight as you recalled the way it felt to pepper kisses there.

Joel’s eyes flickered down to your mouth as your tongue swiped out to wet your suddenly dry bottom one, his hidden hand finally shifting from behind his back.

You couldn’t help the little gasp that pushed from your chest as a boquet of flowers was revealed to be in his grip.

The colors of it shades of orange, gold, and yellow. A mix of chrysanthemums, sunflowers, and peonies all wrapped in a delicate tissue paper with a white ribbon holding it all together. In the middle of the front of it, there was something shiny.

“Thought it was an emergency, when she started blowing up my phone a few hours ago.” He finally spoke, stepping off the curb and up to the passenger side of the car. He extended the bouquet to you, hiding his face from you for a moment. You were able to make out the shiny thing in the middle.

It was a copy of the tape that had died the first time you had given Ellie a ride home. The one you couldn’t find anywhere online. The one you had almost just ordered a CD or digital version of. The one you had almost reached out to your father to ask about. It was impossible to find, to replace. But it was there, in the middle of a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

A sob suddenly wracked through your body, hands coming up to cup your chin and hold any others in as fat tears fell hot from your eyes.

“Oh no, no – this – this was supposed t’make you smile, darlin’, not burst into tears.” Joel quickly lowered it, moving it out of view of the windows frame and pulling it back behind him. “I’m so sorry, I – I was just trying to do somethin’ nice for ya on your special day.”

You hiccupped as you reached out a hand in a weak wave, wiping at your cheeks with the other.

“No, Joel, it’s…it’s really sweet of you to do this. I just…I don’t deserve it.”

“Of course you do, you deserve everythin’, darlin’.” He reached through the open window and gently placed the bouquet down on the passenger seat. Molasses eyes catching yours as he offered you a weak smile and a nervous display of his fingers slinking his hair back. “Just wanted to do somethin’ for you today. I didn’t know last year and well, this year I do.”

“Joel…”

“Don’t need anything from you, really. They’re for you and that’s that.” He shuffled on his feet, watching as the breeze ruffled your loose hair and the fabric of your dress, sleeves flowing in the wind, the shine of your necklace in the sunshine.

“Thank you, really. I- I appreciate it.” You reached over to tug the cassette from its secure spot. Turning it over in your hands, taking in the scratches on the plastic of the case. The memory of looking over the massive collection he had displayed in one of the guest rooms, the small shelving unit he had made himself to store all the tapes he had previously kept in boxes in the garage. “Joel, this is from your collection, I can’t-“

“You can ‘n I wanted to. Ellie told me yours got ate and I don’t listen to the tapes much these days, just the vinyl.”

Voice gone and heart beating fast, you nodded. Feeling the urge to lean over and pull him into the truck to drive around for hours and listen to the reverent offering in your hands. But he had a holiday menu to get back to and you had a new recipe to try out. Each on their own and in different worlds.

He patted the window sill twice with a wide palm before he was turning away and disappearing back inside. You watched him go, heart urging you to call out to him while your mind told you it wouldn’t ever be that simple again.

Friends had come and gone, sharing dinner and gifts with you. Crappy movies and good liquor, laughs abundant and feelings so alive. The kind of day that reminded you that you were alive and well. The kind of day that made everything else worth it, small moments tiding you over until you could feel like full and bright again.

You stared at the flowers until the alcohol in your system blurred them, the colors running together and dimming as sleep pulled you under in the late hour. The tape playing through to the end before the machine finally shut off, blanketing you in your passed out state.

You would stare at them, as if they were pulling your attention every time you were in the kitchen or the living room. Choosing to hide away in your office or upstairs when you were home where they were out of site. When they began to wilt and dry up, you moved them to the back patio, not able to through them out but not able to reach out to the man who had gifted them to you.

Finally removing them from the vase and cleaning it out. You bagged them up and left them on the counter to deal with after class. One that went by in the blink of an eye, almost like the day was rushing toward something. Rushing you toward something. The slow thrum of…something deep in your bones as you engaged in the discussion, leading it back to the focal point if it got too off tangent.

The routine of giving Ellie a ride one that hadn’t been prevalent lately since her car had been fixed and the middle of the semester rolled around. But today it seemed to be one of the things that time was ushering you toward. Driving Ellie home with post class treat of milkshakes this time, the weather beginning to inch toward the dry heat that was prevalent most of the year.

“Thanks again! See you Thursday, professor!” Ellie hollered over her shoulder as she all but tore out your truck and ran towards the front door. By passing the scene of Joel stood in the driveway, garage open behind him once again.

“I better! You have a midterm!” You hollered after her, no real malice in your voice.

She whizzed past Joel who was stood at the front of her car, hood open and engine block exposed to his perplexed expression. His hands were on his hips, a wrench in one and a screwdriver in the other. He was looking down into the exposed parts with a look you couldn’t quite read from the curb but when he spotted Ellie he called after her.

“Babygirl, I don’t see anything wrong with it. You said it was making a rattling sound, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah! A rattling sound.”

“From…where, exactly?” He turned a furrowed brow to her but she was determined to get away from his prying gaze, scurrying off without any more words. Her bag thumping against her shoulders as she rushed toward the door.

You had been so focused on watching her nearly trip over the steps leading to the front door that you didn’t notice Joel rise from his spot tinkering with something on her car and approach the side of yours.

“Hey there,” His cautious voice greeted you too close through the open window.

“Oh jesus, fuck! Joel don’t do that!” You startled so bad the seatbelt locked up and tightened around you, preventing you from taking a deep breath to calm yourself.

“Shit, sorry. Thought you saw me comin’ over.” A sheepish rub of his hand along the back of his neck, had your eyes roaming over the picture he made in the frame of the open window. Perfectly fitted, as if he should be on the inside of the truck beside you instead of standing outside of it. Close, but not close enough.

Quiet fell over the both of you, Joel looking into the cab of the truck, grease and oil marring his beautiful skin and white t-shirt and you gazing just to the right of him, not able to directly do so now that his attention was focused. The words shared between you both, all of the good, all of the bad, and all of the confusing floating in the heavy air between two people who had lived far too much in such a short amount of time. Echoes of everything passing in the charged air between you both.

Your name being uttered had your eyes glancing at his, the sun lighting them up into a bright hue and your heart fluttered in your chest. You held his gaze for a few seconds, heat creeping up your neck from the pulse of warmth that only he could cause filling your chest.

“Alright, well…thanks for bringing Ellie home.” He reached a handout to pat the side of the truck before shoving away.

“Hey, Joel, wait…” You leaned over, hoping that the words in your throat didn’t get stuck. When he turned quickly back to you, there was a hopeful pinch to his features, lips pursed as he waited with bated breath for you to continue. Taking a deep breath, you locked eyes with him again, keeping up the connection. The hope that glinted in them helped the words to flow from you in a quick push.

“Do, um, do you want to grab a coffee sometime?”

previous chapter || end

taglist: @hiddenbabynyc @jessthebaker @clevergirl74 @anavatazes @samiamproductions @76bookworm76 @tuquoquebrute @sarap-77

dividers by the lovely @saradika-graphics

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hoodharlow · 10 months

Text

The Bae Area (fic)

AN: I got a few asks from that concept about Jack and Miriam getting caught so I brought back the fic. The ending is also something one of @killatravtramp anons sent in and V let me use the concept <3

Requested? My anons <3

Warnings: smut, Shawn Mendes being messy. Also this does not reflect how I view Shawn. He's one of my fave Candadians even after the canola oil shit show.

Word Count:

“Water break.” Jack pulled away.

“Seriously?” Miriam arched an eyebrow at him.

“Bro, I just gave you two rounds, give me a fucking second.” He sat up and reached for his Fiji water, dramatically drinking half of the bottle.

Not only was it the first time Miriam had the house to herself since she officially started to date Jack but he had a day off in between shows so she was going to take full advantage of that to get railed. Her parents went out for date night and were going to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the night then going back home after breakfast. Joseph and Katalina were in Aspen for a few more days to ski.

Jack and Miriam hadn't had sex since her last night in Louisville before she flew to Aspen to spend Christmas with her family. They were supposed to have sex on New Years, but Miriam got too tipsy and Jack took care of her when they got back from the club. After that Miriam flew to LA for an audition. Jack flew back a few days later but focused on getting some studio time for his album and preparing for his California tour.

Miriam was obviously joining him for his mini tour, except for the Pomona and SLO shows because both Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly SLO rejected. They were the only two universities that rejected her. (She got into all the Ivy Leagues, the UCs, NYU, USC and Stanford.) Miriam vowed to never set foot in those two cities after. They were lucky that Jack had a day off

He hovered over Miriam, smirking, “where were we?”

Miriam giggled and wrapped her arms around him. Jack groaned as he slid back into her. It didn’t take long for them to find a pace. Her breath hitched at how good it felt. Jack must have noticed, and continued thrusting in that spot. The familiar feeling came over her once more. Miriam was about to come, and he knew it. His thrusts got more precise, hitting where she needed him the most. She was about to come undone when her bedroom door opened.

“Miriam–oh!” Her mom shut the door abruptly.

“Que paso?” Her dad asked her mom.

“Nada.” Isabela mumbled.

“El gringo está adentro verdad?” He pounded on the door. “Miriam, what did we agree on? When el gringuito is here you leave the door open. Me vale verga if me and your mom are not home. The door remains open. Understood?”

“Yes papi.” Miriam said as she threw Jack his clothes.

“Harlow, you have five minutes to leave my house.”

Jack cleared his throat, stifling his laugh. “Yes, sir.”

Miriam put on some flannel pajamas and pulled her hair into a bun. She caught herself in her vanity mirror and saw she was missing a hoop earring.

“I saw this fall off your ear when we were fucking doggy style.” Jack said, handing her her missing up.

“Thanks.” she said shyly. She took off the other one and put them on her everyday jewelry tray in her vanity.

“I’mma go.” he said.

"I'll walk you out." She put on her ankle length Ugg boots.

She opened her bedroom door and Daisy jumped on Jack. The almost two year old puppy got on her hind legs and nuzzled her face against Jack's hand so he could pet her. He gave her a few head scratches and then followed Miriam downstairs.

They went to the living room where her parents were watching the 10pm novela on telemundo..

"Jack's leaving." Miriam said to them.

"Aw so soon?" Mateo said, pretending to be upset.

"I have an early morning at the studio before my show." Jack explained.

"Okay mi'jo. Drive safe." Isabela said.

"Thank you. Have a good night." He said following Miriam out to the driveway.

Somehow they ended up making out again. Jack had Miriam pressed against his car. One hand on her hip and the other was inside her shirt, cupping her breast. Miriam grinded herself on him and only pulled away to kiss down his jaw. Jack’s grip on her waist tightened when she got to his sweet spot. She licked and lightly nipped it.

"Fuck, Miriam," he grunted. "I really gotta go."

"Do you have to?" Miriam pouted.

"If I want to live, yes. I'll see you tomorrow?" He said climbing in the car.

“No,” she shook her head. “But I’ll see you in San Diego. Claudia and Cal are back from Mexico and are staying there for a bit.”

“I thought they were in London.”

“They spent Christmas in London then flew out to Mexico for New Years because her tio, who’s basically her cousin, got married.” she explained.

“Who else is there? So I can save some tickets for them.”

“I think just them, her dad, and her other brother and his family. Yeah Danny, Mede and baby Sebas stayed with her mom for a few more days.”

“The baby isn’t here?” he asked.

“No.”

“Good because I don’t want to get bitten again.”

“That’s on you, Jack. Why would you take goldfish from a baby?”

***

Jack spotted the familiar camera crew from when he filmed his own shoe shopping video as his Uber pulled up to the address of the sneaker store Miriam sent him. She was filming a shoe shopping video at her go-to store in Oakland. Last night, after his show in SLO, he and his crew drove up to San Francisco. They arrived around three in the morning. Jack slept for a few hours then had a team meeting to go over his schedule for the next few weeks. After he finished his shows, he was going to stay at least two weeks in San Francisco and work on his album.

He grabbed his duffle bag and thanked the driver. He rated them five stars as he made his way over to Isabela.

“Hi mijo.” she said, giving him a side hug.

“Hi,” he smiled.

He followed her to where Miriam was. She was sitting in front of a makeup chair getting her makeup done. She waved at him as he walked over to sit in one of the chairs next to Miriam's mom. He pulled out his phone and checked in with Chris and Neelam. He had a little free time before heading into a studio in San Francisco where he was recording a few songs he had written.

“Jack?” Joe, the host of the segment said.

“Oh hey, man how are you?” Jack smiled, extending his hand to shake his.

The two men caught up for a bit until a producer came over to get Joe. Jack sat back in the chair and watched Miriam and Joe. She seemed more relaxed than the night before when she was telling him that she was nervous because she’s not a sneakerhead, she just buys a lot of shoes that she thinks are cute. But she was doing good, in his biased opinion. She was articulate and explained her answers thoroughly without sounding pretentious which was something she was nervous about. She was probably also more comfortable because the store they were at is an actual store she shopped at and she knew the staff. The interview ended and it was time for her to shop.

Miriam quickly hugged the clerk and they made brief small talk since it’s been a few months since she shopped at the store. Jack snorted as he watched her struggle to reach a pair of shoes that were on the top shelf.

“I can fucking hear you laughing,” she frowned. “Make yourself useful and get those ‘fog grey’ ones.”

“Damn not even a please.” he mumbled as he sauntered over to her.

Everytime she needed a pair of shoes from the top shelf he looked at the camera like he was Jim in The Office before reaching for them. Twelve pairs of shoes later, and a lot of convincing on his part that she should get a pair of 990s because they were her favorite shade of green, they made their way to the cash register.

“Okay that will be $2,326.” the cashier said.

“Oh don’t forget the usual.” Miriam told her as she pulled out her card.

“Okay your total is now $1,340,546.87.” she said.

Miriam nodded and swiped her card without a second thought. Jack, trying to be funny, looked over her shoulder as she typed her PIN number. She noticed right away and hunched over the card reader. The cashier handed her the receipt and her bags. Miriam thanked her and took the bags. Jack took the bags and helped her carry them to her car while she finished up her video.

“Okay, I’m heading back to LA.” Isabela said when they were in the parking lot.

“Is that why you rode with Saul when I could have driven us both?” Miriam asked her, gesturing to her parents’ designated bodyguard that they used when they traveled. Beto was on vacation until late January.

“No, mi’ja, you’re a shitty driver and I don’t want to die.” her mom deadpanned.

Now it was obvious to Jack where Miriam got her sarcasm.

“I’m kidding–for the most part– I have meetings tomorrow morning with my team and then Kata is doing a shoot and she wants me there.” she explained to Miriam.

“Oh okay,” she nodded.

“Are you still going to see Tere?” Isabela asked, referring to Miriam’s grandma on her dad’s side.

“Yeah, I’m gonna hangout with her before Jack’s show tomorrow.”

“Ok, se cuidan.” She bid them goodbye and walked over to the SUV where her bodyguard was waiting for her.

Miriam waited for her mom to drive off the parking lot before unlocking her G-Wagon. Jack got in front of her and opened the door for her. Then he went around and climbed in the car for her.

“What’s the 'usual'?” Jack finally asked Miriam when she drove out of the parking lot.

“Oh, I just buy out all, like, the clothes and have them donate it to women and homeless shelters.” she shrugged. “I’ve been doing it since I was at Berkeley. I usually do it at the start of each semester.”

“That’s fucking amazing. I didn't know you were that giving." He teased her.

She scoffed. "You know damn well I'm fucking giving, or did you forget the blowjob I gave you the morning you left for San Luis Obispo."

"If I remember correctly you begged me to fuck your mouth and finish on your face." He smirked.

"Semantics." She waved him off.

Forty minutes later, Miriam pulled into a neighborhood. Jack couldn’t put his finger on it, but the neighborhood looked very familiar. He looked over to the park across from the row of colorful houses. There were small clusters of people in ponchos and cameras taking pictures of the houses.

“The rain really doesn’t stop these people.” Miriam sighed as she stopped in front of a garage. She pressed a button on the garage opener.

“What do you mean?” he asked, hoping she’d explain because he was still confused.

“These are the houses shown in Full House.” she said as she drove into the garage. “There’s usually more people in the spring and summer.”

Jack only nodded. He knew that ‘Full House’ was a show very popular in the 90s but he has no recollection of ever watching it growing up. He assumed it must have been an iconic show since people were outside in the rain taking pictures.

He followed Miriam out of the car and up the stairs that led to the kitchen. He was greeted by Daisy as Miriam put in the alarm. The two year old puppy nearly tackled him to the ground, but he caught her paws before they got to him. He gave her a few head scratches and kissed her head before he went to the sink and washed his hands then went up to Miriam.

“That fact that you kissed my dog before me is quite upsetting.” she pouted, crossing her arms.

Jack pulled her arms apart and placed them on his shoulders. He slightly bent down and picked her up by the back of her thighs, setting her down on the counter. He leaned down and claimed her lips.

“How are you this hard already?” she giggled, glancing down to the very prominent tent in his sweats.

“I’ve been hard since I saw you in your little shirt back at the store.” he murmured, sliding his hand in her crop top. He tugged on her nipples. “These were callin my name, begging me to touch them, to mark them up.”

Miriam's dog huffed dramatically and plopped in front of them.

“I can’t do this with Daisy in the room.” Miriam mumbled.

She hopped off the counter and took his hand leading down the hall to the stairs. They entered the room at the end of the hall. Miriam quickly kicked off her shoes and started taking off her clothes. Jack quickly did the same, staying in his boxers. He picked up Miriam, placing her on his shoulder, and tossed her on the bed. He climbed in bed with her and resumed the makeout session they were having in the kitchen.

Jack slid his hands up to her breasts. His thumbs delicately ran over her pert nipples as she melted into his hands. Without pulling away from their kiss, Jack helped her out of her panties and tossed them to the growing pile of clothes. One of his hands made its way back to her hips and lazily ran his finger tips around her core, sending her goosebumps all over. With the other, he balanced himself so he wouldn’t squish her.

Miriam gasped feeling his ring and middle finger inside of her. Jack pressed his thumb to her clit and sped up his fingers. She whined and arched her back. She moaned as his fingers fucked into her at a deliciously slow pace. As if her hips had a mind of their own, they followed Jack’s fingers.

“Jack–”

“I got you.” He pressed his thumb against her clit and increased his pace.

“Sh–Jack.” She climaxed.

Jack’s bright blue eyes were on her darkened brown as he slowly pulled his fingers out of her. He brought his fingers to his mouth, but Miriam circled her hand around his wrist. Without breaking eye contact, she slipped his fingers in her mouth. She sucked them, slowly bobbing her mouth. She ran her tongue along the length of them and sucked his fingertips.

"You're unreal." He said in adoration.

He pushed himself up, hovering over her. But Miriam wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down so that she got his full weight on her. They kissed once more and lazily made out. Her hands wandered down his back until they reached the waistband of his boxer-briefs.

"Please fuck me, Jack." She whispered.

He nodded and stood on his knees. He pushed down his boxer-briefs to his knees and got on top of her once more. He bent his head down and kissed her.

A faint buzzing sound came from the pile of clothes.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Jack cursed. He slipped on his boxers and rummaged through the pile of clothes, pulling out his phone. He answered gruffly, “What?” He listened to whoever was on the other side, nodding along. “Let me ask her.” he turned to Miriam. “What’s your address?”

“Just say the houses from Full House. It should show up when you type it on the search engine.” she said, getting up from the bed. She went into her closet and came out dressed in baggy light grey sweatpants with ‘UC BERKELEY’ sewn in dark blue and a matching hoodie with the same logo as her sweatpants sewn across her chest.

“Do you know when you’ll be done?” Miriam asked him as he finished getting dressed.

“Not until the evening.” Jack sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? This is your job.” she said, leading him downstairs. “I’ll have dinner ready when you get back.”

“You cook?” he asked her in a teasing tone.

“Yes, and I’ll even make a dessert.”

“I don’t need dessert when you’re here.” he said in a flirty tone.

“I can’t stand you sometimes.” she rolled her eyes at him.

“You know you love me.” Jack smirked.

“Yeah, but I’m starting to question why.” she deadpanned.

Jack’s phone buzzed. It was a text message from Neelam, wondering which house he was at. He responded that he’ll walk out in a minute.

“My ride’s here.” he said, sliding his phone in his pocket. “I’ll see you later. If anything changes, I’ll text you. Love you.”

“Love you.” she said, standing on her tippy toes to give him a peck.

Jack walked out through the front door and jogged down the steps, tugging on his hoodie. Thankfully the rain picked up, and there weren’t any tourists in sight. The passenger van flashed the headlights and Jack went towards it. His bodyguard stepped out with an umbrella and opened the backdoor for him to go inside. He thanked his bodyguard and slipped off his hoodie since it got soaked in the two minutes he was outside.

“Didn’t know you were into crop tops.” Urban nodded his head at Jack’s nearly bare torso.

Jack glanced down and saw that he was wearing Miriam’s black long sleeve instead of his. “Fuck, I must’ve taken Miriam’s shirt when I was getting dressed.” he said, also taking it off and grabbing another t-shirt and hoodie.

“I think it looks better on her. She has the–”

“Don’t finish that sentence if you’re gonna talk about Miriam’s body.” Jack warned him.

Urban lifted his hands in surrender,“I was gonna say personality.”

Jack had a pretty productive studio session even if he only managed to record one song. It was the song he planned on doing with Lil Wayne. Unfortunately, Weezy wasn’t able to travel to San Francisco because he was doing other work, but he managed to do a writing session with Jack. Together they wrote his verse and he even recorded and sent over his verse to Jack’s producer so they could mix it into what Jack had recorded. He was now in the back of the passenger van on his way back to Miriam’s house.

On his lunch break he got nosy and googled the house she lived in. He found several articles about her parents buying it because it was basically a landmark. Jack nearly choked on his turkey ciabatta sandwich when he read an article that her parents bought the house back in early 2016 for almost $8 million dollars. He knew the cost of living in San Francisco was expensive but he didn’t know it was that expensive. Hell, his mansion back in Louisville barely cost a quarter of that and it was at least three times bigger than her house.

He was playing a super intense game of Uno on his phone with Urban, Clay, Druski and some other members of PG. Jack clicked on a blue skip turn card skipping Urban.

"Are you for real?" Urban asked from across the SUV.

"Don't hate the playa." Jack smirked.

"You cheated, man." His best friend frowned.

"How the fuck do you cheat at Uno?" He frowned.

"I don't know, you tell me." Urban eyed him suspiciously.

They ended their game shortly. Jack got a notification that Miriam posted and went to check it out. She was sitting on a stool in a sage green workout set and the shoes she bought earlier in the day. Jack commented on it. He scrolled through her post because her friends sometimes made funny comments, but he stumbled on a comment made by Shawn Mendes aka her old hook up from a few years ago. He rolled his eyes and exited Instagram. It shouldn't bother him, but it did. Shawn knew he and Miriam were together so it's not like he was shooting his shot unknowingly.

"We're back at Miriam’s place." Chris told Jack.

"Thanks." Jack nodded. He nodded his head at his baby brother. "You coming?"

"Nah," Clay shook his head. "Knowing y'all, you're probably gonna go at it all night because you haven't seen each other in twenty-four hours."

"Alright, see y'all tomorrow." Jack waved.

"We're picking you up at noon." Neelam said.

"Oh, Miriam’s driving us. Her grandma lives in San Jose so she's stopping by to see her…anyways bye." He nodded.

Jack jogged up the steps and knocked on her door. Seconds later Daisy popped her head through the blinds and pawed at the window when she saw him. Miriam opened the door dressed in a grey-blue long sleeve knit maxi dress that had a slit down her left thigh.

"Hey," she greeted him with a kiss. "The pastitsio needs like twenty minutes."

"Damn, you really cooked for me." He chuckled as he followed Miriam to the kitchen.

"Yeah, but I didn't make dessert for us." She said as she set the table. Jack was about to reach for the plates to help her out, Miriam smacked his hand away. "I got it."

She finished setting the table and checked on the pastitsio. She saw that it was pretty much done so she changed settings of the oven to broil, removing the aluminum foil before closing it. She hopped on the counter and Jack wrapped his arms around her waist, laying his head on her lap.

"How was the studio?" She asked, twirling one of his curls.

"Good, we finished the song with Lil Wayne and after the shows we'll work on Clay's song?" He told her.

"He raps too?"

"No, he's producing one. A few weeks ago he showed me a beat he was working on. I liked it and we're gonna develop it." He explained.

"Oh I love that." She smiled.

"How many tickets do you need me to reserve for you?" Jack asked, sitting up against the chair.

"Three in case my abuela's partner can come. I'm pretty sure it'll be us two, but she mentioned it to Dominic."

"You think your grandma will like me?" He asked nervously.

"She will. My dad was the one you needed to get on his good side." Miriam reassured him. She stretched out her legs more, opening a bit to be more comfortable.

"I'm on his good side?" Jack arched an eyebrow at her.

"When you're not defiling his youngest child, you are."

"But you like it when I defile you." He got up from his seat and stood in between her legs. He pushed her legs open, revealing her thong soaked through. He smirked and ran his knuckles over her thong, earning a soft plea from Miriam. He met her gaze. "You're basically begging me to defile you right now."

•••

Jan. 20

@'jackharlow: Life under the scope

@'mdm: not your hand blending in with the clouds 😭

-> @'jackxmiriam: not you gagging him

@'urbanwyatt: big daddy

@'exhookup: I'm in SF too let's link up 🤤

-> @'jackfan: girl we all saw the video of you trying to get his attention at his shoe in Sacramento, it was desperate even for you lol 💀🤡

@'claybornharlow: they're not ready for this new era

@'g_eazy: 🔥

View all 22896 comments

•••

Jack via Instagram Stories (Jan. 20)

•••

Jan. 22

@'mdm: SF❣

@'shawnmendes: ❣

@'russ: so how serious are you and your man

@'saintclauds: it's always the Leos and the dudes that are less that 5'6 trying to be messy 🙄 it's never gonna be you

@'alinahunter: no bc it was getting weird and they knows she has a man

@'miriamstan: oop not Shawn and Russ commenting and deleting 👀

-> @'mdmfan: the real oop is Jack not liking Or commenting 👀 esp since she's wearing his jacket in the last pic

View all 13,468 comments

•••

It had been a few days since Jack's mini tour ended. Jack was in the studio for most days while Miriam volunteered at the theater she used to volunteer when she was in college. They were doing a production of the Crucible, one of her favorite plays from high school. Since they both have been busy, they haven’t spent any real time together. But today in the evening they found some time and went out to have dinner with Miriam’s grandma at her partner’s restaurant. It had become their Friday night thing.

“I can’t believe I was Gilmore Girls’ed.” Jack said as they waited for their valet.

“What do you mean?”Miriam asked.

“You know how Lorelai and Rory have to have dinner every Friday night with Emily and Richard. That’s kinda what we’ve been doing except at a high end restaurant.” He shrugged.

“Oh…wait, that's how I spent 80% of my Fridays when I was at Berkeley.” she said in realization.

“Miriam?” some called behind them.

She looked over and smiled. “Brian, hi. You’re a long way from Toronto.” She said, pulling him to a hug. She pulled away and gestured to Jack. “This is my boyfriend, Jack.”

“Hey,” they both greeted each other. Brian told him how he was at his show in LA and was a fan of his music.

Jack looked between them and asked. “How do you know each other?”

“He’s friends with–”

“Yo, Brian where’d you go?” Someone yelled.

It was none other than Shawn Mendes. Miriam’s old hookup buddy. As he approached them, Miriam took a step closer to Jack.

“Oh, hey.” He greeted them.

Shawn reached to shake Jack’s hand, but Jack just nodded. Jack pulled out his phone and called his mom.

“I gotta take this.” He said, motioning to his phone.

“I’ll go with–”

Jack cut her off, shaking his head. “Catch up with your friends.” He said cooly, before he walked over to Miriam’s car and took the keys from the valet. He pulled out a hundred dollar bill and tipped them.

Miriam got in the car less than five minutes later. She was annoyed and had told Shawn off for leaving comments on her posts. Especially since he knew she was dating Jack. Shawn tried defending himself by saying he was just playing but she put him in his place and said it was disrespectful and weird.

Jack was still on the phone. While Miriam drove them back to her place, he was talking over his schedule and how he was going to be in Atlanta next week to film something. Then how he was going back to LA for Superbowl weekend to promote his upcoming single. He hung up just as Miriam pulled into the garage. He got out of the car without another word. Miriam walked straight to her room and took off her coat and heels. She was removing her makeup, still in her tight black backless turtleneck dress when Jack came in. He didn’t acknowledge her or try to get all flirty with her which was Miriam’s sign that he was upset.

“You okay? You’ve been acting off since we ran into Shawn and Brian.” she said.

“Oh you expect me to be happy to see your ex fuck buddy after he’s been leaving unwarranted comments on your posts?” he asked sarcastically. “Should I have greeted him with open arms? ‘Thank you for being a fucking creep and commenting heart eyes on my girl’s posts. And thanks for starting dating rumors.’”

“Oh my god.” Miriam rolled her eyes. “You’re being so extra. Your exes do it all the time and you don’t hear me having a bitch fest about it.”

“There’s a difference. My exes aren’t famous nor do they have millions of fans looking for scraps to make some ship they’ve wanted for years.” He frowned.

Miriam sighed and counted off from ten in her head to calm down. Jack was right and she shouldn’t have invalidated his feelings like that. She tiptoed to him and wrapped her arms around him. Jack instinctively placed his hands on her hips.

“You’re right and I’m sorry for saying you’re overreacting.” she kissed his lips.

“Damn, you must be sorry if you think I’m right.” he joked.

“If it makes you feel better, when you were on the phone I pulled him aside and told him to fuck off.” Miriam mumbled against his lips. He hummed in response. “How about I make it up to you?”

“Get naked.” he groaned as she palmed him through his sweats.

Miriam cursed as she struggled with the buttons on the back of her neck. She caught Jack through the mirror. He was already in bed in only his boxer-briefs. She sighed and finally got the buttons undone. She pushed off her dress and adjusted her thong. She turned around, ready to get in bed when she saw Jack was stroking himself.

“Hey, I was supposed to make it up to you.” she pouted.

“Yeah, but I changed my mind.” He shrugged.

“So am I just supposed to watch you jack off?”

“Precisely.” He nodded.

“Are you still mad about the shawn thing?”

“A little.” He smirked.

Jack took his hand off his cock and rolled to his side to the nightstand where Miriam had all her toys. He pulled out a rabbit vibrator then put it back in the drawer. He pulled out a clear dildo with heart shaped confetti inside and closed the drawer.

“I’m not too mad, so you can have this inside of you, don’t get smart with me.”

“Me smart?” she tilted her head.

“Yes, you, smartass.”

Miriam giggled. She leaned against the footboard of her bed and opened her legs. Jack knelt in front of her legs and moved her thong to the side. They held eye contact as he slowly slid her dildo on her. Jack leaned in and kissed her. Soon their kiss got heated and Miriam got handsy.

“Hands to yourself or I won’t make you come.” Jack mumbled against her lips.

“You’re no fun.”

Jack ignored her and settled back on the bed. He fully removed his boxer-briefs and tossed them haphazardly. He took his cock back in his hand and took in Miriam. Ignoring her deep pout and her arms crossed, she still looked unreal. Her nipples were pert and erect begging him to run his tongue over them and for him to cover them with his release. He ran his thumb over his tip then squeezed it as some of his pre-cum leaked onto his hand for some sort of lube.

“I’m so close, Miriam.” he grunted, speeding up his hand.

“Good for you.” she rolled her eyes.

“Don’t act like you’re not turned on. That dildo fuckin’ slipped outta you with how wet you are.” he nodded over to the dildo now halfway out of her core.

“Who said you’re the one who made me wet?” She challenged him.

Jack reached forward and pushed the toy back in her.

“Fuck, Jack!” she whined.

“That’s what I thought.” He smirked.

He pulled the toy in and out of her at the pace he was stroking himself. She tugged on her nipples and rubbed her clit, egging him on. Within minutes, he could tell Miriam was close.

“Let me come on your tits.” Jack groaned.

“Please do.” She nodded eagerly, sitting up straight.

Jack got off the bed and was lined up with her face. It didn’t take long for him to come. He cursed out Miriam’s name as his release landed on her neck and chest. He laid next to her panting.

“You feel better?” she asked him softly, twirling his curls.

“Yeah, sorry I got all ‘you can only fuck myself’ on you.” he panted.

“I kinda liked it.” she smiled.

“Yeah?”

“But don’t get too cocky.”

He reached for the dildo. “Does this stick to your headboard?”

“Yeah, why?” she asked him, confused. It was a random question for him to ask her.

He rubbed the toy against her entrance as he sucked on her neck. “Wanna fuck you while you choke on it.”

Taglist: @heavyhitterheaux @cherry4everrr @carma-fanficaddict @youngharleezyxo @youngharleezy @babyharleezy @that-90s-girllll @alinaharlow @harlowcomehome @nattinatalia @webinurcloset @gassyandsassy1 @jackharloww @awhore4moree @noescapricho-essentimiento @a-moment-captured @neon-lights-and-glitter @purecinnamonextract @whywontyoulovemecami @camificrecs

#jack and miriam #jack harlow #jack harlow smut

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eretzyisrael · 16 days

Text

by Seth Mandel

ITEM: In Oakland, California, a Jewish woman walks into her son’s seventh-grade classroom on back-to-school night to see a poster that says, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

ITEM: In New York City, on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, angry pro-Palestinian crowds surround a Jewish man and bloody his head with a chair.

ITEM: In Philadelphia, hundreds mob a Jewish-owned restaurant, chanting, “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide; we charge you with genocide.” The restaurant is named Goldie.

ITEM: In Berkeley, California, the only Jewish teacher at an elementary school returns to find her door covered in Post-it notes that say, “Stop bombing babies!”

ITEM: In Chicago, home to the third-largest Jewish population in America, unions organize a high- school walkout in which students call for the destruction of Israel. “I’m incredibly proud of our students for exercising their constitutional rights to be able to speak out and speak up for righteousness,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

ITEM: In Washington, D.C., attendees arriving at a concert by the American-Jewish singer Matisyahu are greeted by a pro-Hamas demonstration.

At school, at work, and at play, American Jews find themselves increasingly ostracized by their peers. On college campuses, the quiet reestablishment of unofficial quotas has, over the course of a generation or two, halved the Jewish enrollment at a selection of elite universities. These days, stories of higher education’s turn against the Jews are ubiquitous. But as the above examples demonstrate, the attempt to cast Jews and Judaism out from the public square—or make Jews extremely uncomfortable inside the public square—has spread far beyond the college quad. And the statistics unambiguously say the same.

In the American Jewish Committee’s comprehensive survey of anti-Semitism in 2023, respondents were asked: “In the past 12 months, have you avoided certain places, events, or situations out of concern for your safety or comfort as a Jew out of fear of antisemitism?” Twenty-six percent—a quarter of U.S. Jews—responded in the affirmative. That is a 10-point increase over last year. In the poll, the number of those who admitted to avoiding “wearing, carrying, or displaying things that might help people identify you as a Jew,” as well as those who said they “avoided posting content online that would identify you as a Jew or reveal your views on Jewish issues,” increased as well.

All of this reflects the modern reality across the country. FBI reports show Jews are the target of more than half of all religiously motivated crimes. According to the Anti-Defamation League, over the course of the three months after October 7, there were more than 600 reported anti-Semitic incidents against Jewish institutions. And the ADL found a nearly 50 percent increase in security costs for Jewish schools in New York, New Jersey, and Florida.

#jews #removing jews #public square #remove jews from the public squares #antisemitism

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cryinginmyroomsposts · 8 months

Text

Shower of Flowers

Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Reader

tags: fluff, just pure fluff, college boyfriend Seungmin, non-idol!au

masterlist

Exhausted.

That's how you felt as you took a deep breath in the closed stall of the bathroom before stepping out. You look at your made-up face in the mirror. Eyeliner, lipstick and blush are on point. Your favourite A-line dress flaunts all that your body has to offer while still leaving a lot of room for imagination.

You have never looked better and you knew it. You had finally reached a point of confidence in your body that even staring at yourself in the mirror for more than ten minutes didn't make you want to pinpoint a tiny blemish across your hand.

You were smart and you knew it. You were starting your new job at a prestigious magazine because you deserved to be here. You had worked hard and believed in yourself and made it here. It was all there.

Yet a part of you constantly felt out of place, something always felt missing.

Your friends were waiting outside the door of the restroom. The ones who had watched you grow and come into your own during your grad school years. The same ones you had spent days and years crying, laughing and having fun with. Yet it felt out of place on certain days. The days when your anxiety got the best of you and even smiling felt draining. You didn't need a social battery with these people, there was nothing to think much about except that anxiety was a pain in the ass that existed constantly.

Shaking off the negative thoughts from your head and fixing your lipstick you head out.

"Oh yes y/n is here finally, let's go, guys!" You see Jisung shout to the rest of the group as everyone gets up from the different chairs they'd been sitting on while you were gone.

"Sorry guys, there was a queue." You smile sheepishly.

"It's okay. Now let's go to the pier next." Yeji had always been the mother of your little group and she did her job well by leading the way.

All of you step out of the small restobar and head out into the dark, cold New York evening. The long-awaited New York trip was finally happening. weeks before you'd all start your new jobs in different parts of your country. Yeji and Han were moving to California, Felix to Arizona and Seungmin and you to Chicago. This really was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for all of you. It was the last night before all of you had to fly back home and decided to check out the pier 57 rooftop and gaze at the magnificent city's skyline to end this masterpiece of a trip you'd had.

"Hey, you alright?" Seungmin's voice brings you back to reality, the one where all of you are walking toward your destination. Seungmin has fallen in step with you as the other three walk around happily a few steps in front of you. You tilt your head to look at Seungmin and see his worried gaze. A small smile forms on your face, it always does when you see Seungmin.

"I'm fine Minnie." "You sure bub?" You nod unable to verbally respond through the slight choke in your throat at the term of endearment.

Seungmin and you had never discussed what you were, but there was always something that just crossed over the thin line of friendship and proceeded to more. Since freshman year of university, the both of you have been dancing around this unknown territory. Never verbalising the emotions that you knew are present in both your hearts. Just existing in the comfort of the bubble you had created around the two of you. The rest of your friend group has tried their best to pursue the two of you into making it official but the fear of losing each other had always prevented both of you from speaking on it.

God only knew how ecstatic you were to find out that Seungmin was also going to live in the same city as you after graduation. It felt like a piece of home was always going to be with you, even if it never went any further you were content just having him next to you.

Seungmin wasn't exactly a soft, sunshine-y soul like Felix, and neither was he your biggest hype man and mood booster like Jisung. But Seungmin understood you. He saw through the layers of facades, he reached out to your heart through the thick layers of dark clouds in your head. Seungmin might make you want to pull his and your hair a lot of times when he is being playful but he is also the one who kept you company over countless sleepless nights. The one who'd understood your need for physical space but also managed to do anything and everything to cheer you up. Seungmin let you into his world, giving you the privilege of being the one to take care of him when he needed it.

Even now he walks side-by-side, close enough to touch but still far enough to respect each other’s space. Since you told him about your issues with boundaries Seungmin has not once initiated physical contact without your permission and every time it melts your heart. Eventually you realised that with Seungmin, you have no problem in holding hands, hugs or even cuddles. And when he figured that you became comfortable he let himself hold you.

You look at him again, he's looking up at the sky and staring into the distance. From the side, he looks so beautiful and ethereal that you don't want to turn away. Seungmin was not exactly the most handsome guy you’ve seen, but as your affection and feelings for him grew he became gorgeous in your eyes. You could stare at him forever, but you force yourself to look away as Felix shouts happily at the gorgeous view in front of you.

You gaze at the lights, the water and take a mental picture of the sight and soak it all in as you sit in the nearest sofa facing the scenery. On the side, Yeji and Jisung are fighting to get better pictures as Felix laughs and entertains them. You feel heat radiate from your left side as Seungmin sits next to you. There is a small smile tugging on his lips as he watches the skyline. You look at the direction he’s seeing and find yourself staring at the pretty moon.

“You’re my moon.” The words leave your mouth before you can stop yourself.

From the periphery of your vision you can see Seungmin’s smile grow wider. “And why is that?”

You turn to face him, he is looking at you with an amused expression. Maybe tonight you’ll be a little bolder, finally take the chance you’ve been waiting to take for years. Maybe tonight it won’t be a failed chance and for once you won’t just have to dream of getting to experience Seungmin’s love. For once you would be true to the feeling that has been growing exponentially in your heart since you got to know him.

“You’re my moon because you shine the brightest during my dark days. You light me up from within on days when I can’t find it in myself to like me. Ever since you came into my life you have been a constant presence, in one form or the other. Some days you’re not there physically, and on some you’re there with me for every breathe I take. Even if it is one text or a simple smile, you make sure to be there. Your presence has been significant especially during the turbulent high tides of my life. And no matter where I go, even when the day ends and the light disappears, you shine on the dark sky. And that is why you’re my moon, Kim Seungmin.”

His eyes have gone from amusement to realisation and with that his eyes have gotten glassier. His expression tells you that he knows the gravity of your words and that he feels the pull too.

Usually you’d be ashamed of being this open to him, you’d be running in embarrassment or making a lame joke to cover up your vulnerability. But today, you felt bolder, you felt the physical urge to let it all out.

So you reached out and intertwined your fingers in his. As usual, Seungmin was warm. His touch reverberated in you, made you feel alive. You squeezed his palm, like he’s done for you a million times now. You angle your body to fully face him on the bench. Not a single care about your friends or the other people there. Tonight all you knew and all you saw was Seungmin.

“I might be too late, but I wouldn’t know. Because when I’m with you, time ceases to exist. I feel like I live in an eternal cherry blossom on a chill spring day. Days merge into nights, yet all I see is you. I don’t know when you consumed me so wholly, but I can’t see myself without you. Every waking moment there is something in my life, in my day, that reminds me of you. The idea of existing in the same realm as you does satisfy me, but I am a greedy human. I want more. I need more. I need you. I need to love you, to let me take care of you. I need to fight with you, to cry with you, to laugh with you and to grow in love with you. Seungmin, I’m scared. So entirely petrified. I know I am ruining the friendship that we so carefully built. I am throwing something so solid for something that has been fragile till now… but you make me feel like loving you could be as ethereal as watching a moonflower bloom. This is risky, and for years I stayed back fearing the change. But, now I would rather fail trying to love you than being a coward who never got to try.”

The sentences flow into the other as you speak and the words tumble out of you in a sure manner. Seungmin is left speechless, he’s staring at you with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. You’ve never sounded this confident and a second after your big speech you want to bolt. You consider it, for a good minute before Jisung interrupts the two of you.

“Hey are the two of you coming or what?”

You turn to face a bouncy happy Jisung and the lack of understanding must be clear on your face. Before Jisung can repeat his question, Seungmin speaks up. “Actually the three of you proceed, we’ll meet you back at the hotel. I think we’re done with the sightseeing.”

You blink back and forth between the two boys- Seungmin and his polite smile, hand still in yours, and Jisung with his big smile that turns into a pout. The latter considers refusing Seungmin’s offer for a minute but changes his mind and leaves with a big wave. You crane your neck and watch as the thee of them skip along out of the pier.

You take a deep breath before turning to face Seungmin.

He’s looking at you with big eyes, a wide smile and slowly moves forward. His free hand comes up to your right cheek, a slight brush of fingers and then rests against your face.

“That was beautiful Y/N. before jisung interrupted anyway.”

To say that you’re a mess would be an understatement. You feel like a thousand rainstorms are pouring inside you and no words come out your mouth. You must be expressing the short-circuit of your system through your face as it causes Seungmin to break into his cute giggles.

He lets go of the other hand that you were holding and cups your face with both his palms.

“I want to try too Y/N. So desperately, like my life depends on it. You’re my everything. All that I’ve wanted since the day you showed up to class with lunch for me. For years you’re all I could think of. No matter how much casual dating I tried to do, there’s not been a single day that has gone by without me wanting to be the one you love. To hear you say all this feels like watching a dream unfold in front of my eyes. I knew you were fragile when we met, you wanted to heal and you needed to. So I waited. I waited for you to allow yourself to be loved, to be taken care of. And I was willing to wait as long as it took you. But the man in me is so shamelessly thrilled that you want me too.”

You don’t realise when the tears started to trickle down and when seungmin started rubbing circles on your cheeks. All you know is he loves you too. The two of you have been learning to love each other from apart without realising. And at this moment it feels like the universe has aligned in a perfect line for the two of you finally.

And the only logical thing you could do at that point is to throw yourself into his arms, so you do just that. Seungmin is ready to welcome you as always and this time he doesn’t hesitate to hold you close.

Whenever you’ve hugged till now, there has been slight hesitation and tension in holding each other close for a longer time. But tonight, there are no apprehensions in how strongly you cling on to him and if his grip on your waist is anything to go by, Seungmin has no intentions of letting you either.

It feels like a million lifetimes congregated to create this singular moment of joy for the two of you. Your heart feels like it is going through a Big Bang of its own resulting in the equilibrium of loving Seungmin. The million different phenomenons of the universe has led to this moment where time expands to last a lifetime and the human body is nothing but a mere vessel to express the insurmountable love you hold for each other.

The two of you stay there until you feel the initial drops of rain fall on your cheeks. You break apart to look at the sky, now cloudy and ready for a big downpour. Then you see Seungmin and he looks radiating. He definitely looks thousand times more handsome when he’s happy.

“Maybe we should head back?”

He mulls over your words as more drops fall on you both. Then he pulls apart takes your hand and walks you to the edge of the peer. Just as you can question him, he pulls you into a hug, leans close to your ear.

“Orrr I could kiss you into oblivion under the rain, with this view like I know you’ve always wanted…” You can hear the smirk in his voice. “I’ve seen the books you read Y/N, don’t be so shocked.” He adds with a chuckle.

His words leave you stunned and before you could back out you nod a hurried yes.

He leans in and the moment his lips touch yours the universe showers her gratitude by blessing you with the sweet rains like a shower of flowers.

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