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mggpleasedontlookhere · 4 years

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helping heart

request: hi so i have chronic migraines, which means at least once a month (sometimes more) i get a migraine that is so bad that my vision is blurred and sometimes i even puke. and so i just got over one and i was wondering if you could write a mgg fic where he helps the reader through one? cause that would be great :) thank you!!

word count: 1,607 reading time aprox: 6 mins

masterlist

My brain pulsated at an inhuman rate, thumping against the walls of my skull. Waves of agony spasmed throughout my head, reverberating through the soft muscle that resided in it. I forcibly shut my eyes, shielding them from any source of light, despite me already cornered in a dark room.

I sat in Matthew’s trailer waiting for him to finish a few of his scenes. But what I didn’t know was that I would have to push through an oncoming migraine alone. I shuddered in the white fluffy blanket that was wrapped around me, it smelled of pumpkin spice and Matthew’s worn out cologne. A buzz coming from the fridge invaded my sensitive ears, making the entire experience more intolerable.

I feebly pulled the covers over my head, drowning myself in my own darkness. An inaudible whimper escaped my lips, a reflex from the oscillating intensity of my migraine. I curled up in the fetal position, feeling my stomach begin to cramp up. I felt the bile begin to build up like plaque in the back of my esophagus, threatening to spill over any moment.

Suddenly the door opened, letting light protrude from the outside. Matthew’s soothing voice met my ears, amused at the high pitched voice cracks in between his words. Despite my relief at his presence, my body continued to throb at an agonizing rhythm.

“Okay thanks again BJ- no, yeah I’ll- I’ll see you in a few, bye” He laughed, sending chills down my spine from the volume at which he spoke. Usually I would have no problem with the gregarious ferocity of his voice, but my circumstances limited me to a shrill feeling in my eardrums. “Huh...why is this-” He flipped on the light switch, eliciting a groan from me.

“Matthew can you turn that back off please?” I meekly requested, shutting my eyes tighter than they already were. I flipped around on my stomach, stuffing my face into the pillow under me.

“Hey baby- migraines again?” He asked, shuffling closer to where I was after he had dimmed the lights. “Do you need anything?” He asked, kneeling down beside me; his voice came out like a whisper: soft and pacified.

A muffled ‘no’ slipped passed my lips while the cushions I laid on sunk, indicating that Matthew had sat himself at my feet. He ran his fingers up and down the side of my ankle in a tender manner, humming a calming melody in the process.

“How was filming?” I croaked, feeling the muscles in my throat tense up at the utterance of my words while I turned around to face him.. My voice was raspy with phlegm from not speaking all day, earning a concerned look from Matthew.

“It was pretty okay. I have a few more scenes to shoot and I’m done for the day” He declared, reaching his arms out to invite me into his embrace. I gracefully accepted his offer, fitting perfectly into the vast space of his arms. I breathed in his scent, basking in the instant gratification I received from the warmth that embodied him.

“What else did you do today?” I wrapped my arms around his waist, looking up at him from below his shoulder. My head rested perfectly against his chest as I inquired about his daily adventures.

“I got brunch with AJ, bothered Aubrey [Plaza] a little bit, and antagonized a toddler. You know all the normal things” He confessed, earning a stifled laugh from me.

“Sounds like your day was eventful” I replied, nuzzling my head into his blazer. I felt the cotton fibers brush against my cheeks, sending a tickling sensation down my nose. He placed a longing kiss to the top of my head, using his hand to brush away the tangled hair that had accumulated when I was resting.

“Yeah it was…” He whispered, muffling his voice in my hair. “But it would’ve been better with you” He sweetly confessed, placing a finger under my chin to pull me into a chaste kiss. “See...already much better” He joked after he pulled away.

A faint blush made its way to the apples of my cheeks, shaking my head in wonder at how this man still made me feel nervous after two years of putting up with him. My fingertips hovered over the crevice of his neck, feeling the individual spikes of stubble graze my skin.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” He asked once again, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

Before I could nod and reassure him, a wave of nausea washed over me causing the contents in my stomach to be regurgitated. I pushed myself off of Matthew forcefully, sprinting to the small bathroom in his trailer. I struggled to pull my hair out of my face as my stomach acid burned the layering skin of my throat. I choked and wheezed, feeling my body weaken at the sudden expulsion of liquid. I hadn’t even realized that Matthew stood behind me propping my hair up into a ponytail until he had laid a consoling hand on the small of my back.

I groaned in pain, tears trailing down my cheeks as I shut down entirely. I prayed for the ache to stop, hoping that my migraine would end up in the toilet just as my lunch did. Saliva dripped down my chin, making the scene an unattractive mess. Matthew handed me a paper towel afterwards, letting me clean myself off while he waited by the door.

Once I finished, I opened the door with an embarrassed grimace. My eyes were still sunken and grim because of all the crying that I did, my cheeks flushed alongside it. I whimpered, falling into Matthew’s arms while he whispered positive affirmations.

“Let me take care of you bubs” He declared, swooping me up bridal style and carrying me to the bed in the back of his trailer. He set me down, bringing a few fluffy blankets to adjust my comfort. He kissed my forehead before leaving the small room to fetch something.

I trailed my hands along the soft sheets of his bed, letting each fiber in my body focus on the warmth that the covers provided me rather than the discomfort that flooded my body. I was still dizzy from my trip to the bathroom, my vision a bit too wonky and disoriented for my liking.

With the sound of shuffling feet, Matthew made his way back to the bedroom with a hot cup of tea and a heated eye mask. “I thought this would help alleviate the pain a little bit” He smiled sheepishly, causing my heart to inflate at the small sentiment.

I kissed his cheek as a sign of gratitude, immediately grabbing the heated eye mask out of his hands. He laughed at my haste, sitting down next to me at the edge of the bed.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“I have all that I need here” I professed, leaning my head against his hip. “Come cuddle” I demanded, making grabby hands at him. He playfully groaned in response, curling up next to me as he pulled me to his chest. He peppered kisses on the top of my head, exhaling in reprieve as he finally was able to share a moment with the woman he loved.

“You know what Y/N?”

“What is it?” I beckoned, my mouth muffled in his shirt.

“At least you weren’t throwing up because you’re pregnant” He teased, pushing a few stray hairs off my forehead.

“Is that something you’re interested in? Getting pregnant?” I implied, nudging him jokingly. His throat vibrated against my head while he laughed, a few straggled coughs escaping his lips at my suggestion.

Silence engulfed the room, leaving the both of us in each other's arms. The feeling of security I felt in Matthew’s arms was inexplicable, reveling in the fact that I was able to be beside this man. Love radiated from the both of us as we were grateful for each other's company.

“I wouldn’t mind” He spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence. I hummed against his chest in confusion, looking up at him to proceed. “I wouldn’t mind if we had a little kid to have around” He confessed, pressing his lips on my forehead.

“Weren’t you just yelling at a toddler before you got in here” I quipped.

“To be completely fair, I think the guy was sent in to replace me on the show” He laughed.

“Well if that was ever the case, then you’d have more time to spend if we ever had a little one to take care of” I replied, diverting the conversation back to the subject we were tip-toeing around earlier.

“That would be really nice” He cherished the idea while I pictured a world where Matthew was a dad and where I was lucky enough to start a life with him.

“I’m so lucky to have you Y/N”

“Well I’m even luckier to have someone take care of me even if I almost got puke all over their wardrobe” I teased, nuzzling into him further. “But I love you so much goobs”

“Did you just call me goob-”

“Shut up, I literally professed my love to you and all you do is complain?”

He chuckled, pulling me in closer to him, wrapping the covers around the both of us, creating a perfect environment for slumber. Both of our breathing steadied, letting the heaviness of our eyes take control. With the last few conscious huffs of air, Matthew whispered a few words that explained all that he felt.

“I love you even more”

taglist: @rexorangecouny @howdycharlie @linthebinbag @honeymilk-4

cute lil fluffy one since i’ve been so angsty

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hillibillibob · 3 years

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Welcome to the AU where I make Trucy suffer. Basic story info below the cut, but TW: Abuse. Though I don’t go into much detail. I also talk about how and why I’ve changed up her design for this AU under the story info :)

Basically I’ve dubbed this the Trucy Gavin AU. Zak ends up trusting Kristoph and letting him take the case which results in Trucy being adopted by him. I do not think Kristoph would be very kind do her considering his character in AJ. They do not form any sort of familial bond, Trucy tries, but Kris shits that down quickly, telling her to call him “Mr. Gavin”. He’s generally verbally abusive and constantly belittles her interests and gaslights her. He becomes physically abusive when he is agitated, either when a case doesn’t go his way and/or when he deems Trucy is in the way.

Trucy does end up bonding with Klavier though and finds his home to be her safe haven in all of this. He babysits her a lot and Trucy warms up to him fairly quickly. She also forms a pretty strong bond with Apollo, who is working as an apprentice of Kristoph’s at the time and eventually starts dating Klav. Apollo is the first to pick up on her abuse and prompts Klavier to pay more attention.

How her design has changed and why

Okay so I’m not a character designer, I don’t know much about character design, but I wanted to change her design up for the AU. I’ve adjusted her hairstyle only slightly, pulling her hair onto her shoulder and giving it a similar shape to Kristoph and Klavier because I thought Kris might make her wear it that way to make her look “presentable”, though I left it a bit of a looser curl as I imaging Trucy has thicker hair. I hc that her hair is naturally a bit wavy and was curlier when she was younger so they had a harder time styling it when she was little. Kristoph also does away with her magicians outfit, deeming it “embarrassing” and “inappropriate” (He also bans magic in the house and does not let vallent anywhere near her as a way of controlling and manipulating her, so an outfit change is natural.” Her wardrobe here is more reserved, but takes cues from her original outfit such as the diamond buttons on her dress. I also directly pulled colors from her og design, but rearraigned them a bit because I wanted her color scheme to be duller and darker. For example her dress used to be a very deep purpleish color, which I repurpoused in her shoes as well as her skirt in her older design, but I really wanted her main design for this AU to stay in the cool blue tones so I used her eye color for the dress. Her shirt and tights I pulled from the shading on the white parts of her og outfit and I repurposed her red scarf into a red accent ribbon. Her little diamond buttons stayed the same in position and color though because I thought they worked well on a classy business-ish outfit and because I wanted this design to call back to her og design. Other than that I just tried to make her look a bit sickly and sad. She often has bruises and her face is usually a bit red from crying.

I forgot to add the colors I used to paint in the bruises to the color references, but for context I used a fairly saturated purple, a yellow-green, and a pinkish red, then blended them with her natural skin tone. I used the oil paint brush in Clip Studio Paint for all of the coloring and the mechanical pencil brush for the “line art” (it’s a sketch layer, I’m just lazy. I was tracing over my traditional sketches so it wasn’t too bad.)

Anyway, if you’re interested in more story details let me know and I’d be glad to share more. If you wanna draw or write something for this AU I just ask that you tag it with #trucygavinau so that I can see it :) but I’m sure no one will care about this just like no one cared about my steven universe k12 au a while back. That’s fine. I’ll hoard all this angst to myself :))))))

#ace attorney #ace attorney apollo justice #trucygavinau #trucy gavin au #trucy enigmar #trucy wright #apollo justice #klavier gavin #kristoph gavin #klapollo #Character Design #character redesign #ace attorney au #art

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marlahey · 3 years

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under the same roof part three: all the time you need

a harry styles rpf part three of six written by annie and aj (marlahey and formerly harryonstage) ratings/warnings: disaster gays, endangered ovaries from dad!harry, women aggressively supporting women notes: enter the rest of harry’s family unit! in case anyone’s curious, annie tells sylvia to give her dad a kiss in vietnamese, to which he responds, good girl. before anyone comes for me, there will be plenty more opportunities for bed-sharing to come. side note: aj always pictured olivia coleman as officer warren. masterlist | part one | part two | part four (21.12.20)

............................................... • saturday, 5th january 9:18 am • The second time you’re roused from sleep, sunlight illuminates Harry’s room. You lift your head, squinting, but more quickly you recognize where you are.

Harry is nowhere in sight, but a fresh glass of water is within reach on the nightstand, and a cardigan knitted with primary-colored patches lies folded at the foot of the bed. After slipping your arms through the loose sleeves, you take a few gulps of water and make sure to shut his bedroom door quietly on your way out. You hadn’t spent much time in the living room as per Officer Warren’s instructions to avoid the windows, but you can see into it from the hall. And since there’s still no sign of Harry, you take a minute to discreetly look around at the place he and his daughter call home. His flat is obviously larger than yours—he has two bedrooms versus one—but the morning light seems to stretch the space even further, like an open armed welcome. The atmosphere bustles with a little dose of chaos. Two brimming bookshelves span one wall of the living room, and plants line the windowsills. A half-sized Christmas tree stands off in the corner, wrapped in twinkly lights and strings of popcorn. A white fender guitar decorated with various stickers stands with a speaker beside the couch, and records tile the wall behind it: Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, The Stones, The Cars, Hello I’m Dolly. There is ample evidence that a child lives here, too. The walls are dotted with drawings in watercolor, crayon, and sparkles. You can see pieces of Lego strewn out on the carpet; they must be from that towering box Harry had towed into the lift a week before Christmas. A small smile tugs at your lips as you follow the smell of espresso into the kitchen. You find Harry leaning against the counter looking contemplative, holding aloft a cup of coffee that he seems to have forgotten about. He’s wearing the same shirt he’d slept in, but thrown on a pair of joggers. You bid a quiet, “Good morning.” He inhales sharply as his head whips toward you, his drink sloshing over the edge of his mug slightly. “Jesus, sorry,” he laughs softly, shaking his head at himself. You watch as he wets a dishrag and cleans the small mess. “Not really used to company my age.” “Oh… Sorry.” “S’alright.” His voice is covered in sleep; it almost sounds like he has a cold. “Coffee?” You hum appreciatively. “Love some.” “Were you able to get some sleep?” he asks, pulling a mug from the cabinet. “Enough, yeah.” All you can think about is waking up locked in his embrace, on the still-dark cusp of sunrise. “Thank you for letting me, um…” “Course. Cream?” “That’s great, thanks.” Harry nods over his shoulder towards the bedroom. “It help at all?” How are you supposed to answer that? “The real bed?” he clarifies, like it is at all necessary. You listen to the spoon clink rhythmically against the ceramic, and settle on “I think so,” as noncommittally as possible. “How did you sleep?” “Very well.” In passing you your mug, Harry catches your eyes for the first time today in a way that feels like not an accident. “More importantly, how are you feeling about everything else?” You shrug, eyes glued to the cream swirling in your coffee. “Better, a little.” “That’s good.” “What about you?” you ask. “You’ve kinda been through the wringer, yourself.” “I’m good, yeah.” Harry pushes up his glasses. “I was thinking—if you don’t mind—I’d like to come with you to the police department this morning.” “No, no, Harry.” You wave away the offer. “Don’t worry about that.” “No, really. It might make more sense. I saw him in the hall last night, and I was with you in the lift. They might need to ask some questions of both of us.” You consider this a moment. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to.” “I don’t have to,” Harry counters. “I want to. I want you to, y’know… ” he trails off. “I want them to get this guy.” You blink at him. There’s a strange feeling in knowing that Harry has clearly thought about your wellbeing beyond the night that you’ve effectively been trapped in his flat. Regardless, it’s too early for a battle of wills, and he has a point. You slouch against the fridge. “Alright. Well… I still have India’s car so I can drive us,” you concede. A smile lights Harry’s face. Suddenly your stomach rumbles so powerfully and for so long that it interrupts the conversation. You cover a small, mortified laugh with both hands as Harry’s eyebrows raise. “Well,” he begins, exaggerated. “Let’s take care of that… You take the first turn in the bathroom, I’ll fix us some breakfast.” “You sure?” “Go ahead.” He grabs a skillet from the drying rack, turning on one of the burners. “Thank you, Harry.” “It’s no problem.” You wash your face with something you find above the sink and brush your teeth on auto-pilot before considering your bundle of clothes from the night before. Your cardigan lays at the top of the stack. Four of your fingers fit through the gaping hole in its collar, and dirt covers one of the sleeves. You hadn’t forgotten about the shape it was in last night, but you didn’t consider it a problem until now, as you hold it up in front of you by the shoulders, frowning. You try to tame your hair with a purple, sparkly brush to no avail, so you take a quick look around to see if Sylvia has any spare barrettes or pins. Thankfully there’s a single hair tie floating in the bottom of your purse. You shrug back into Harry’s patchwork sweater—oddly comforting in how fully it swallows your shoulders and hands—and slip back out to the kitchen, where Harry plates grilled tomatoes and bacon. “We’re about ready to eat.” Harry turns the stovetop down to a simmer as the toaster pops. “How do you take your eggs?” “Sunny side up, please.” He salutes you with his spatula, attention already returned to the pan. “Can I help with anything?” Harry nods to a drawer. “Yeah can you pass us a couple napkins from just there? I’ll be right back,” he rushes, already halfway out of the kitchen. You pull a few paper napkins from their packet as he returns with two chairs that you recognize from his small wicker table. “Blinds are open in the other room, thought it might be best if we just eat in here.” He sets the chairs apart, facing one another. “Now this is living,” you deadpan. Harry laughs lightly as he gestures for you to sit. The two of you get adjusted with your plates on your lap, and your knees almost bump in the small space. “This is great, Harry. Thank you.” “I’d make you bubble and squeak, too, but we’re fresh out and Sylvia hates beans so we don’t keep them on hand. So technically...” Harry lowers his voice to a whisper. “S’not a full English fry up.” You can only smile around your mouthful, unexpectedly endeared. The rest of breakfast passes in silence. You shouldn’t have slept on an empty stomach; you’re ravenous from skipping a meal last night. He looks up at you eventually, a touch more serious than before. “Shall we think about heading to the police station soon?” You dab your mouth with your napkin and nod. Harry stands from his chair and reaches an open hand down to you for your plate. “No, no,” you nudge him away with your elbow. “You cooked, I’ll clean.” “Let me deal with these. You’re a guest.” “I’m a captive.” “No you’re not! You’re—” He breaks off, hesitating a moment before plunging on with an amused slant to his lips. “You’re my sort-of friend.” Your assumption he hadn’t overheard that comment to your mother last night on the phone was clearly in vain. You press your lips together against any inadvertent reaction. Your head swivels toward him, eyes full of lighthearted reproach. “Look, just let me do the dishes to give myself the illusion that I’m not just a freeloader here. Besides, I’m already ready to go.” "Fine,” he caves disapprovingly. “I’ll get myself sorted and be out in a minute.” “Take your time.” While Harry is preoccupied, you finish slotting the clean plates from breakfast carefully into the drying rack and pull out your phone to message India. Hey, I have a lot to update you on but it’ll be much easier to explain in person. I still have your car and I need it for one thing this morning but I promise I’ll fill the tank ASAP. It’s about the guy that’s been following me. Just know that I’m safe and everything’s okay. I’ll call you when I can. Love you. Send. That’ll have to do for now. Harry returns in jeans and a sweater. It’s still strange to see him so dressed down. “Ready?” he asks. “Yeah. You mind if I wear this to the police station?” you ask, pinching the fabric of his cardigan. You feel the urge to explain yourself—the hole in your sweater, the grime—but Harry’s already shaking his head. “Not at all. Do you maybe want something a little less… loud? I don’t even wear that one out, myself, really.” You consider the bright cacophony of color like it’s brand new to your eyes. Loud is right. “Yeah, that’s not a terrible idea.” Harry’s lips twitch. “C’mon then. You’re welcome to pick anything you’d like.” Pick? You nod because you’re worried the surprise is painted on your face. “Okay.” Harry leads you to his bedroom again, and over to the large wooden wardrobe. He pulls the double doors open and you cannot help yourself from gawking a little. You’re taken by all the exquisite patterns and intricate textures of the suits, but it’s oddly wistful to run your fingertips along all of them hung in a row. You smile privately, a bit removed. “What?” Harry laughs from behind you. “Nothing!” you reply, glancing over your shoulder before saying more softly, “I just recognize some of these.” “Oh, thought you were sizing them up. My mates all take the piss… They say my suits are eccentric.” He rolls his eyes, reciting the insult like he’s quoting their words verbatim. You turn back around to his closet. “I think they look nice—I think you look nice in them.” You take a step back and crane your neck to the shelf of folded sweaters above the hanging rod. The extensive array of muted wool and cotton is a bit overwhelming. You spot the planet sweater he’d worn the first time you saw Sylvia, the oversized yellow one that reminded you of Charlie Brown, the black one with half a red heart and the letters, NY in bold white text… It takes a minute of jogging your memory before you can recall him wearing something more plain. Harry doesn’t own a lot of plain. You still can’t quite reach the shelf up on your tiptoes, but Harry is at your side immediately. “The brown?” He tugs it from the stacks and passes it down. “Yeah, thanks.” You examine the camel colored fabric with tiny flecks of black thread, and run your hand along the smooth purl. “This should do.” You tug the sweater over your head; it’s boxy, your arms aren’t long enough to fit, and it isn’t doing any favors for your shoulders. You have to roll the sleeves up past your wrists before the outfit can half pass as something you purposely wore out of the house. You spin around to face him. “Does it look normal?” Harry’s jaw flexes as he gives you the up-down. You fiddle with one of the sleeves. “Yeah,” Harry says stiffly. “Looks normal.” It’s bizarre walking through the level six hallway; it’s identical to your own, but the last time you’d been here, everything down to the carpet and light fixtures had been tainted by your deafening fear. What’s more is that riding down in the lift with Harry feels entirely different now. You see it all from his perspective, and try to visualize what you look like to him most mornings, standing in the corner with your school bag and a book tucked beneath your arm. The lift picks up a few people on its way down, but by the time it reaches the garage, you and Harry are alone. You catch his eyes in the reflection of the doors a second before they open. He clears his throat. “I know it’s probably… we’ll be fine, but stay close, yeah?” You look up at him and nod. It’s easy to keep to your word. Harry guides you to walk in front of him the entire way as your eyes scan the shadows in between the rows of cars. You’re sure you will never be able to see this garage quite the same way. “It’s the old Volkswagen.” “I see it.” You’re so out of it that you almost try to get in on the passenger side. It’s the kind of slip up that Harry might have teased you about, but he’s quiet and looking around, too. You pull the jacket you’d left on the seat last night into your lap, the two of you strap in, and you cannot pull out into the street fast enough. The mustard yellow envelope in the back seat is an unwelcome passenger, visible in your rearview mirror. Who else knew about these photos? How many are there that weren’t in your envelope? Are they online somewhere? Would they follow you to law school? Your grip tightens on the steering wheel as you grind your teeth. “Alright?” Harry asks. His voice brings you back down to earth. He’d asked you that question when you pricked your finger on the poppy in your jacket pocket. He’d asked you in his bed on the most terrifying night of your life. And he’s asking you now. You nod. “I will be.” • saturday, 5th january 10:42 am • In the parking lot behind Lavender Hill Police Station, you’ve killed the engine but remain in your seat. Part of you is still reluctant to have Harry come along; keeping your composure in front of the police feels hard enough without the prospect of him being there, too, but maybe that’s the one thing that will get you through this. “Sorry.” You shake your head, suddenly aware of how long you’ve been sitting motionless at the wheel. Harry’s gaze is unperturbed. He watches you push anxiously at the sleeves of his sweater. “Take all the time you need.” It’s the same phrase the initial officer who’d taken your statement all those weeks ago had used. It’s what Officer Warren had said to you on the phone last night, and you’re so tired of hearing it. You don’t want to have as much time as you need to feel calm or steady or normal again. You want your time back. You want to reclaim all those extra seconds spent checking over your shoulder, the minutes lost to changing your routes, and the hours spent staring up at the ceiling when you should have been asleep. Rationally, you know that there will be time to relearn how to walk down the street and feel at ease, and plan that trip to Brighton you and India have been talking about for months. There will be time with Harry that isn’t this… stuck in a cramped space, crushed by the weight of your own fear. You hate the way you felt with him in the lift this morning; you want that back most of all. “Faster we get in there,” you say—half to Harry, half to yourself, “the faster we’ll get to leave.” Harry nods. “C’mon then.” The heather grey of the building is no less intimidating than it was in October, but at least this time you don’t have to pull the heavy glass doors open on your own. Inside, you speak with the woman at reception, who gestures for you to sit in a small waiting area just beyond the desk. People in uniform bustle back and forth. Harry’s leg brushes against yours as you sit. He doesn’t move. Neither do you. You have no sense of how long you sit waiting—this doesn’t feel like a place where it’s appropriate to play Solitaire on your phone. You can feel Harry looking at you periodically, but you don’t glance back until a woman with a familiar voice appears before you. She ushers you to follow with a quick, professional smile. Harry doesn’t quite offer the same, but you’re reassured anyway. “I’m Officer Warren.” She stops at a desk with an empty chair beside it. You take care to shake her hand firmly, introducing yourself with all the confidence you can scrap together. “Are you comfortable sitting here?” “Yes, this is fine.” If either Harry or Officer Warren notice your voice is an octave higher, neither of them make any sign. “Good.” She reaches past you to shake Harry’s hand too. “Harry.” “Nice to meet you both. We can also find a conference room, if you’d like somewhere more private, or if you’d both like to sit.” Harry speaks up when you don’t right away. “I’m fine standing.” He looks exactly as he had in the car—calm and willing to take your lead, so you sit before you can change your mind. Officer Warren smiles again, clearly trying to put you at ease. You wish it was more effective. “Right, well I won’t take up too much of your time. Since I took your statement last night, I’ve already got a copy of the transcript from our conversation over the phone, and you won’t need to go over all of that again.” Your shoulders cave a little in relief. Harry’s fingers hook gently over the top of your chair. “Okay.” “But,” she continues, “there is the matter of how to proceed. What we talked about regarding your flat still stands… it really isn’t safe for you to remain there, especially since the suspect seems to know which one is yours, and we still don’t have a clear idea of where he is now, or how he was able to access the car park in your building in the first place.” “So…” You shake your head, in either confusion or denial. “I can’t even go home?” “I’m afraid not, for the time being.” Her eyes are soft, regretful. “Not if he knows where you live. Not if there’s a chance he could get more photographs, or try to break in again.” Your stomach twists. “Were you able to figure out who he is?” You’re not even sure you want to know. Officer Warren’s mouth pinches apologetically. “Not yet. We have a couple technicians working on the security footage and the photos you’ve turned in, so hopefully we’ll be able to get something from them. The car he was driving had no plates. You haven’t seen any sign of him since we spoke last?” You shake your head, and she glances up at Harry as if to confirm. “Alright, that’s a good sign at least. He knows we’re watching, now. On the other hand, there’s a chance he’ll carry on, but be stealthier about it. Is it possible for you to physically stay inside, completely out of sight for let’s say, a week?” “I mean… where?” “Do you have somewhere else you can stay for the time being? With a friend?” You open your mouth, but the “Yes,” is not your own. You force yourself not to turn back to look at him; Harry’s fingers touch your shoulder again. “Yes, she does. She can stay with me. We live in the same building after all, so it’ll hardly be disruptive.” Officer Warren gives him a long look. You can’t tell if she approves or is displeased with him for speaking for you, but now that the initial shock has worn off, gratitude washes over you. Asking India to stay with her indefinitely would have been out of the question; there’s no way you’re endangering your best friend any more than you already have. You’d be putting her in a position where she couldn’t say no. She has four roommates. She doesn’t even know about the photos yet. “That works,” you hear yourself say. This will only be for a few days, you reason—it’ll buy you just enough time to find your feet. By then, you can sort out a longer-term place to stay if the police still haven’t found the man. Officer Warren is speaking again, and it takes effort to actively refocus on the conversation. “The objective here is to make it seem as though you’re gone. On holiday. He’ll be keeping an eye on the building, no doubt, so he’ll notice if the car is gone, or your flat is empty. Is there any way you can take your classes remotely?” You find you can barely speak, so you just nod instead. She leans in a little, her eyes finding yours more carefully. “I know it’s frightening, but you’ve been incredibly strong. This won’t be forever. In the meantime, we can send an officer back with you this afternoon so you can gather a few of your things.” You nod again. “Do you have any questions for me?” You force yourself to say, “No, thank you,” which Harry echoes. Officer Warren nods, almost perfunctorily, and stands. “If you wait here just a minute, I’ll introduce you to the officer who’ll take you back to your flat. You’ll be in an unmarked car, and we can arrange for yours to be retrieved.” “Thank you. I’ll call my friend now,” you say. “Maybe she can… I'll have to ask her to look after my cat. And it’s her car, anyway.” Officer Warren nods, apparently satisfied. You shake her hand again, though your mind is stuck on this won’t be forever. As you rise from the chair, you feel the gentle pressure of Harry’s hand on the small of your back. When Officer Warren returns with another uniformed policeman, you don’t want to move, but your legs carry you anyway. Harry’s gaze finds the side of your face periodically like a lighthouse beam while you call India from the backseat of the police car. After reassuring her again that you’re fine, you gloss over the details of staying in Harry’s flat. You can tell even in her silence that she’s not going to let you off the hook that easily, so you start rambling about what to do with Chowder before she gets the chance to say something embarrassing while Harry is sitting right there. “Of course I’m taking Chowder,” she says before you get the chance to phrase the question. “Don’t even worry about it. I’ll get in a cab right now. Do you need help packing up?” “Yeah sure, thank you. But what about your car?” “I’ll take the keys from you and get it after. Honestly, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s gonna get stolen from the bloody police station.” It’s a stupid joke but you’re comforted a little anyway. “Okay.” “Be there soon. I love you.” “Love you too.” Harry glances over at you. “Everything okay?” “Yeah.” You smile a little and for the first time in ages, it doesn’t feel forced. “She’s gonna meet us at home and take Chowder for me.” “That’s great.” “I know,” you reply, a little distant. “Harry, thank you for coming with me… It was nice not to have to, y’know, do that alone.” “That’s alright.” His voice is equally gentle. “We’re gonna… They’re gonna find him. And they’re gonna fix this, and then everything’s gonna go back to normal.” You aren’t sure which of you he’s trying to reassure, but Harry meets your eyes and you nod. Back at your building, you meet up with India. “Think I might just pop home, if that’s alright,” Harry says, going in for the sixth-floor button on the keypad. “I told Annie a bit about what’s going on, but I owe her an update.” “Of course.” You look up at him in the reflection of the doors. “We’ll see you down there.” It’s your first time seeing the dent and scratches on the door to your flat in person. You shiver, turn the key, and push the door open. “Chowder!” you shout as a flash of orange darts through your legs, meowing down the hall. The officer’s hand lands reflexively on his baton as your cat scares all three of you half to death. Once you manage to corral your cat back to your corner of the hallway, you struggle to keep him still in your arms. “Indy, his crate is under my bed—” “Hold off a minute, I’m going to do a quick walkthrough. I’m sure everything’s fine, but wait out here.” The officer leaves the door cracked open behind him. India offers a small, encouraging smile when you flinch at the sound of him announcing himself in your apartment. You stroke between Chowder’s ears; he is heavy and warm in your arms, and his fur sticks uncomfortably to the sweat on your palms. “All clear.” The officer reappears. “Let’s try to be quick about this.” India immediately ducks through the door following him, but you have to take a deep breath before stepping through the threshold. The place looks completely untouched. Had you been expecting company, perhaps you would have thought to clear the dishes from the sink or remove your laundry from the drying rack. After coercing an unusually talkative Chowder into his travel crate, you and India work as a team to stuff as much into your duffel bag as will fit. Shirts, bras, and pants hurtle past your head. “Indy, I’m staying at a neighbor’s for a few days—what on earth am I going to need this for?” You hold up the silk, strappy dress that just landed on your neatly-folded stacks, shooting her a disapproving look. “I’m just grabbing and throwing!” “Well just, y’know… let’s make sure we’re not speeding through this at the expense of packing with a little common sense.” “I’ve got this,” India says, waving down at the open duffel. “Go sort whatever toiletries you need, yeah?” Thankfully you’ve stayed overnight at her place enough times to warrant a travel case of essentials that lives under your bathroom sink. There’s makeup cluttered all over the counter. You stare at it a moment before rolling your eyes at yourself. “We should probably get going.” The officer’s voice from the other room startles you both as India zips up your duffel. “Are you two about ready?” As you stick your head out of your bedroom, the officer is peeking through the blinds across the street. “Yes,” you reply. “We are.” Overnight bag and Chowder in tow, you clamber back onto the lift. “Did you get your toothbrush?” “Yes.” “Face wash?” “Yes.” “Pillow?” “Indy, you saw me putting it in—” “Towel?” “Yes.” “Phone charger?” “… Shit.” Ding. The officer steps out with you on the sixth floor as you thank him, and bid a quick goodbye once he reassures you to call if you need anything or, of course, if anything happens. India turns to face you next. “He’s this way.” You nod down the hall, and she leads. “It’s right at the end. The one with the wreath.” The doors of the lift close. You don’t want to think about the last time you’d been walking down this corridor and heard that sound from behind you. India moves aside holding Chowder’s crate by the handle, and the shopping bag full of his supplies as you step up to the welcome mat with your things. Harry swings open the door to his apartment after the second knock, immediately taking the duffel bag from off of your shoulder. “Oh, Harry, you don’t have to—” “I got it.” India elbows you in the ribs. Harry turns to carry your bag to Sylvia's room, and when you look behind at her, her eyebrows are raised above an animated smirk. “Don’t,” you whisper through gritted teeth. She raises a hand in defense as Harry returns before reaching out to accept his offered hand. “Hello, I’m India.” “Harry.” “Pleasure.” He flashes her a warm smile. She nods appreciatively as they shake hands—at you, however, instead of Harry and your cheeks ignite. “Okay great. That’s settled then. Shall we—um… Indy?” You cut in, then turn to her, nodding to the door with I’m going to kill you in your eyes. “Lovely to meet you, Harry!” “Cheers, dear. You as well.” Harry’s attention returns to you for a moment. “I’ll just be…” He gestures vaguely to the kitchen. You step out into the hall with India. Chowder meows from the crate in her arms and she almost drops him. “What,” you hiss, “was that?” She ignores your tone, then says your name like it’s a plea. “Call me if you need absolutely anything, or text me—no matter what time it is. I’ll drop everything and come straight to you.” “I’m sleeping two floors below where I usually do, Indy, I’m not dying.” “I know, I know… How’s a Skype dinner tomorrow night? I’ll order us a take away.” “Definitely.” You wish you could squeeze her in another tight hug, but Chowder’s crate impedes you. “Thank you.” “Love you, babe.” “Love you too.” She looks unsatisfied. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. Text me when we’re eating, okay?” You begin to walk backward into Harry’s apartment and blow her a kiss. “I will… Bye!” “Please don’t kill my cat!” You lean on the door frame, watching India’s silhouette shrink as she heads back down the hall to the lift with Chowder. You sigh and close the door, but as you turn around, your hand rushes to your chest in a gasp; Harry is standing just behind you, rubbing his face. “So I’ve just rung Annie while you were upstairs… ” He steps aside to give you a clear path through the hallway. “Oh?” “I’m sorry—they’re just coming,” he rushes, sounding a little panicked as you step into Sylvia's room. You set your phone and laptop down with the rest of your things. “They insisted ‘cause they’ve got a spare mattress, and I told them you needed a place to crash for a bit and also that you stayed here last night so… yeah. You don’t have to be here for that. When they come—oh, and they probably have Sylvia, too, if that’s… ” Harry trails off.” “Wait, I’m sorry.” You close your eyes and shake your head. “Annie? You mean—” “Sylvia’s mum, yeah, and um… her fiancé, AJ.” Harry tilts his head down, as if to gauge your reaction. “And they want to give… they have a spare mattress? But you already have a mattress.” “That’s what I said!” Harry gestures wildly. It must have been a lively phone call. “Oh, well that’s… awfully kind of them,” you begin, trying to keep up. “Would it be easier if I wasn’t—” “No.” He’s clearly surprised at his own volume as he cuts you off. Harry literally leans back, hesitating. “I mean… stay. They’d love to meet you. They’re my family and you’re…” His eyes flit back to yours and hang on. “You’re obviously gonna to be staying here a bit, and they drop by all the time so I jus’ don’t wanna overwhelm you, is all.” Suddenly, it’s your turn struggling to look at him. “Well, I—” “H, open the door! This is heavy!” a voice bellows from beyond the front door. Harry’s eyes shut momentarily. “Coming!” he calls. You stand there, in the doorway to Sylvia’s room, stunned at the pace with which this is all unfolding. Harry jogs to the door. You poke your head out as an explosion of noise disrupts what had before been so peaceful. A child’s high-pitched shriek rips through the flat, followed by a long, labored groan from Harry as Sylvia barrels into his arms and he crouches down to lift her. “How’s Daddy’s girl?” he greets. Sylvia simply continues screaming and tries to bend over backward out of his arms. “Hi, Harry.” A striking woman with jet-black hair waltzes in, carrying a large dish of food wrapped in tin foil, seemingly unphased. Harry shifts Sylvia to one arm, bending over to greet her in a side hug and quick kiss to the cheek. “Hi, love.” What appears to be a twin sized mattress with twig legs follows in suit, grunting softly. “Still heavy.” “Right, sorry.” Harry hands Sylvia off to who you assume is Annie as he hurries to take the mattress, revealing a second, much taller woman with sunglasses atop her blonde head of hair. She’s wearing red lipstick and bright suede pumps. “There we go,” she sighs. “I need a fag.” Harry almost takes out a light fixture as he hauls the bed. You press yourself up against the wall as he offers a quick, “S’cuse me,” and passes you to Sylvia's room. The two women look at you as simultaneous smiles light their faces. “Hi!” “Hello!” Sylvia waves at you, too. “Guess this one doesn’t need an introduction,” the dark-haired woman laughs, approaching with a hand extended. You notice that she’s the one wearing the ring. “I’m Annie.” “It’s great to meet you, Harry has spoken so highly of both of you.” You turn to the other woman after introducing yourself. “AJ.” One corner of her mouth quirks up. “It’s a pleasure.” “Thank you so much for the mattress, ” you begin, wringing your hands. “It seems like everyone’s done so much to help me in the past few days… It’s really meant a lot.” AJ tilts her head to look at you with a more meaningful gaze, and Annie steps forward to rest a hand on your forearm. “Harry hasn’t gone into a terrible amount of detail but… we’re so, awfully sorry for what’s happened to you.” She squeezes gently, her fingers in the crook of your elbow. The strange familiarity of the gesture disarms you. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through, and with your family so far away—I just… we heard about what was going on, and that was it. We had to help.” You nod and suddenly have trouble swallowing. There’s just something different about discussing this with women. “Harry’s air mattress,” AJ chips in, sardonic, “belongs in an incinerator.” “Hey!” His voice comes muted from the open door of Sylvia’s bedroom. Now that you’ve seen the both of them together up close, you realize how wrong you were in thinking that Sylvia only took after her father. Annie’s features are evident in her daughter’s deep, brown eyes, her nose, and the high angles of her cheeks. “Well,” Annie starts, raising her eyebrows at everyone, “we’re obviously feeding you.” You laugh in disbelief. “No you’re not!” “We are!” She smiles as she sets Sylvia down, who weaves through everyone’s legs to her bedroom. “And relax, it’s already cooked so there’s no use in turning it down.” AJ pulls you in for a side hug, which you were grossly unprepared for. “Thank… you.” In your bewilderment, it’s all you can manage to say as Annie removes the tin foil from a full pan’s helping of chicken and vegetables. “Isn’t this supposed to be tomorrow’s roast? The Sunday roast?” Harry appears in the kitchen with Sylvia on his hip. He frowns, poking his head over Annie’s shoulder as she preheats the oven. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replies. They lock eyes. Something tender passes between them; part of you feels like you should look away. “Annie… ” Harry says, softer now. “You didn’t have to do all this.” She ignores him, setting the timer on the oven as AJ slides a small mountain of tupperware into the fridge. The kettle starts to scream. You hadn’t realized someone started tea. You’re not sure what to do besides stand by the sink and stare. AJ rushes over to fill four steaming mugs, portioning different amounts of cream and honey into each. She turns to the few stray dishes in the sink, beginning to wash. “AJ, stop tha—” “Harry, relax would you?” She whips his leg with a dish towel and he relents. “Why is she staying in my room?” Sylvia pipes up from Harry’s arms. He looks across the kitchen at you, and then down to her. “Well see, bug, Daddy’s got a friend who’s gonna stay here for a little while.” Harry points at you and twists so she has a better view. You wave your fingers at her, and Harry asks Sylvia if she can say your name, but she simply buries her face into his sweater. “Like a slumber party?” “Um—” Harry falters. “Sort of, but not quite.” “It’s a grown-up slumber party?” AJ chokes on her tea. The tips of Harry’s ears go crimson. “Honey, it’s like when Auntie Kristen comes over to Mummy and Mum’s to stay on holiday,” Annie salvages. Harry’s shoulders visibly relax. Sylvia tugs at the collar of Harry’s sweater. “How long?” she begs. Your heart falls. “‘M not sure, Vi.” Harry moves some hair from her face as she pouts, then kisses her forehead. “Not forever.” “This’ll be good for you, Harry. You need more friends.” Annie pinches Harry’s side before turning to you with a smirk. “Maybe you can finally start hanging out with people your own age.” You shrug to play along, pursing your lips against a smile. “I mean… ” “Harry doesn’t go out much.” Annie’s comedic whisper fills the room as she carries your tea over to you. “Neither do you!” Harry retorts, frowning playfully over his shoulder, attempting to smack her; she narrowly dodges. “Yeah, just the one time,” AJ deadpans, pointing between them and then nodding to Sylvia. “Jesus Christ,” Harry breathes before they break into laughter. You can’t help but join in. Sylvia’s head swings from parent to parent, smiling in oblivious delight. “Alright, alright,” Annie wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “Just leave the roast in there until you’re ready to eat. We should get going soon.” “Have you got sheets that fit the bed?” Harry asks, bouncing Sylvia on his hip. “Right!” Annie’s eyes go wide. She turns to AJ, “Darling, you mind popping down to the car to get those?” “Since I already hauled up the mattress, am I allowed to play the gender card?” AJ throws eyes at Harry. “Hands are full,” he replies cheerfully. He holds one of Sylvia’s arms up to wave. “Fine,” she relents, plucking the keys from Annie’s back pocket. “Thank you!” Annie calls after her. AJ simply waves a hand behind her head. “Promise I’ll make it worth your while later!” AJ begins to walk faster. Harry shoots Annie a jokingly scandalized look with a hand covering his gaping mouth. She squints at him and rolls her eyes. He puts Sylvia down, whispering in her ear as he points to the miniature arts and crafts table in the living room. Sylvia takes a seat on the colorful stool, her tiny features already pinched in concentration as she finds a crayon and begins to draw. Harry crouches at her side, watching her for a moment before kissing the top of her head. He breezes past you before you hear the bathroom door lock shut and now it’s just you and Annie alone together. “I love Harry, but he’s a man and he doesn’t know anything.” You shouldn’t laugh, but you do. “We live ten minutes away. If you need anything at all—anything, I mean it, please call us. Mine and AJ’s mobile numbers are both on the fridge.” “Thank you, Annie.” She hesitates, playing absently with the tag of her tea bag before nodding to the living room. “Let’s sit.” You have a seat on the couch; Annie takes the small leather armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Her eyes are warm. You see a flash of that expression that had passed between her and Harry. “He is a good man.” Annie’s voice is so low, it’s almost a whisper. “One of the best I’ve ever met… You’re in good hands, I promise.” There isn’t a chance for you to respond as the sound of the faucet running in the bathroom interrupts. Harry re-enters the living room, his eyes flitting between yours and Annie’s with a curious look on his face. “Am I interrupting something?” “Course not, lovely. We’re just waiting for AJ with the sheets,” Annie replies. She must be killer at poker. AJ slips through the door with a folded bundle of checkered sheets nearly covering her face. “Miss me?” She perches on the armrest of Annie’s chair upon returning from Syvia’s room, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. You are acutely aware of the warmth of Harry’s leg against yours, suddenly too nervous to shift and potentially draw attention to it. Though you try hard not to, you can practically see the silent conversation happening between the three other adults in the room; if you had to guess, it’s probably about you. You categorically refuse to look at Harry, so you’re left with AJ’s nearly imperceptible eyebrow-raising, and a curl of Annie’s lip that seems to be a question and a confirmation all at once. The three of them are a little… too quiet. “Well we should be off then,” she says, drawing her hands together in a clap. “Someone needs a bath tonight.” Sylvia hurries over and locks her arms around Harry’s legs. He scoops her up like she weighs absolutely nothing. “C’mon now, angel,” he murmurs, glancing over his daughter’s head to look at you with a vaguely resigned expression. “Gonna see you tomorrow, aren’t I? Gotta be good for your mums.” Harry fixes Sylvia’s wobbling lower lip with a stern look. “Hey, now. What’s this about? S’not any different from Mummy’s normal turn with you, right? You know you’ve got too much love pumpkin, we gotta share ya.” Sylvia mumbles something too soft to make out; Harry ducks his head close. “Tell me?” You don’t catch all the words, except, “stars.” His face crumples a bit. “Oh honey, of course you’ll still have your bedtime stars. They’re not going anywhere. Nobody’s gonna take your stars.” “And that sounds like the beginning of a meltdown,” Annie says, standing quickly and pulling Sylvia from Harry’s arms. “Best be on our way before she tests all our eardrums.” Sylvia momentarily seems like she might reach back for him, but then she looks at you as though by accident, and shrinks back into her mother’s arms. Shame knots in your stomach as the two women head for the door. Sylvia peeks over Annie’s shoulder as AJ slings her purse over her arm with the car keys in hand. You busy yourself clearing the empty mugs of tea in some small attempt to give them privacy. “Come ‘round about six, yeah?” Annie says as AJ waves at you and disappears first out the door. Harry is sliding Sylvia’s arm through the second sleeve of her coat. His and Annie’s teamwork seems fluid and practiced. “Sounds good.” He tugs her tiny knit hat more securely over her curls. “Love you, bug.” “Hôn ba đi, Vi.” You have no idea what Annie’s just said to Sylvia but Harry leans forward to receive his daughter’s kiss, placing an audible one on her forehead in return. He says something else to Sylvia that’s not English. That deeply tender look in Annie’s face returns. Harry’s hand falls to her waist and she touches his jaw to place a quick peck at the corner of his mouth. “Call us if you need anything.” She turns back to you. “You too. Our numbers are—” “On the fridge,” you finish with a smile, waving. “Thank you, Annie.” Harry shuts the door behind them and the flat falls silent for the first time in what feels like ages. You hear him laugh once before he turns to you. “Sorry about that.” “No. Harry, I should be the one apologizing. Sylvia’s so upset, I feel awful.” Harry looks from you to the door and back again, shaking his head as he moves towards the kitchen. “Oh no, don’t worry about that. She was mostly tired, is all. Happens all the time.” He pauses before joking, “Sorry you had to hear my really terrible Vietnamese.” You watch as he begins to rifle through the cabinets. “What are you doing?” “I’m sure I left it in here somewhere—aha!” He holds an empty mason jar aloft before grabbing a sharpie and the magnetic pad of Hello Kitty sticky notes from the fridge door. Harry scrawls quickly, the cap of the pen between his teeth, before sticking a note on the glass and holding it up for you to read the big, block letters. APOLOGIES.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfiction #utsr redux

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oikawaplssteponme · 3 years

Text

The Apartment: part 6

▪️for parts 1-5, click here

pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x fem! reader

rating/warnings: swearing, like 2 seconds of angst (?), implying ✨spicy✨ things (but nothing happens/happened)

synopsis: You knew that living with your three best friends, Kuroo, Oikawa, and Bokuto, would be a wild ride. It’s never a dull moment with those three. Let’s just hope you can keep your huge crush on Kuroo a secret when he is only a room away.

a/n: HI HI💕! omg i loved seeing everyone’s reactions to part 5 (i didn’t plan for it to be as angsty as it was oops) so i wanted to get part 6 out asap! thanks again for all the love in this, it means a lot :)) as always, my inbox is open for anything and everything so don’t be shy to come say hi or request something💛 and lmk if you’d like to be added to the taglist :)) okay enjoy xx

•

Six: little black dress

No surprise that you got zero sleep that night. Your brain wouldn’t shut off. The idea that Calie could be doing something with Kuroo made your stomach ache. She could be in his room right now, doing god only know what. It was awful.

The morning sunlight came peaking through the window of your bedroom. You laid in your bed, bundled up with the endless amounts of blankets you had. You knew you should probably get up. You had a class at 1pm. You checked your phone and saw that it was close to 12pm. You sighed and got up from your bed, heading straight to the bathroom.

You brushed your teeth and splashed some cold water on your face. Your eyes were still a little puffy from the tears you shed the night before. You left the bathroom and saw that Kuroo was already up.

“Good morning,” he smiled. Kuroo was already making breakfast. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts.

“Hi,” you muttered. You sat down at the counter.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked. Really?

“Like hell,” you said. Kuroo frowned.

“Oh I’m sorry. Here, I made you some coffee.” He handed you a warm mug.

“Thanks. How did you sleep?” You asked, unsure if you really wanted the answer. Kuroo placed a plate of food in front of you.

“Really well actually. I was super tired,” he explained. Hmm wonder why?

“Oh, that’s good at least,” you whispered. You weren’t hungry, you kinda picked at your food.

“Is Calie still here?” You blurted out. Kuroo gave you a confused look.

“No, of course not. She only stayed until her apartment cleared up,” he explained.

“So nothing happened between you two?” you asked, still unsatisfied with his first answer.

“What do you mean?” He questioned. You sighed.

“For being one of the smartest people I know, you can be really stupid sometimes,” you huffed. Kuroo rolled his eyes.

“Well if you’re asking what I think you’re asking, the answer is no,” he said. You groaned.

“Sure…”

“I’m serious.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna go,” you said, getting up from your seat. You walked over to your room and grabbed your jacket and shoes. Kuroo followed.

“I’m sorry, are you mad at me?”

“No no, Kuroo, why on earth would I be mad at you?” You said sarcastically.

“Okay well if you’re leaving then I’m coming with you.”

“No, I wanna be alone.”

“Do you wanna be alone or do you just not want to be with me?”

“Isn’t that the same fucking thing?” You grabbed your backpack.

“Y/N, what's going on? Talk to me,” Kuroo reached for your hand but you swatted him away.

“I don’t want to Kuroo,” you grabbed the front door knob, “if you want someone to talk to, go talk to Calie.” You slammed the door behind you and left.

You hated fighting with Kuroo. You rarely did, so it especially hurt when you two argued. You sat outside of your campus library on a bench. Kuroo left you a couple phone calls but you didn’t answer. You tried calling Oikawa but it went straight to voicemail. You then decided to call Bokuto.

“Y/N-CHAN HEY HEY HEY!”

“Hi Bo..”

“Woah there, why the sad tone?”

You sniffled into the phone.

“I kinda lashed out on Kuroo for last night…”

“Oh no...Oikawa told me what happened with that girl...I’m really sorry. What did you tell Kuroo?”

“I just got pissed off at him for bringing that bitch over and I just have that horrible gut feeling that he likes her and I know I shouldn’t have yelled at him but I’m just so upset. Like why do I have to like him if he’s just never gonna pick me?”

“Listen Y/N, Kuroo and that girl could just be friends. Kuroo could like you, but is just really bad at showing it. He’s an idiot.”

You sighed.

“Yeah I know. I just...god, why didn’t I just tell him when I had the chance?”

“You’ll get your chance, I just know it! Keep your head up. And when Oikawa and I get back, we can deal with Kuroo.”

You chucked.

“Thanks Bokuto. Well, sorry for bothering you,”

“You never bother me. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay I will, love you.”

“Love you too.”

You ended your call with Bokuto, feeling a bit better. You sniffled, wiping away the few tears still on your cheeks. You soon realized that you were still in your pajamas and people were staring. Great.

“H-hey…” a voice said. You turned around to see Kuroo, holding out a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants for you.

“You left with your pajamas on. And it’s too cold to be wearing shorts,” he smiled, handing you the clothes. Your cheeks went warm. You got up from the bench and grabbed Kuroo, pulling him into a hug. He let out a sigh of relief, holding you tightly. You could never stay mad at him, after all, you loved him.

“I’m sorry for getting mad at you,” you muffled out, as your face was pressed against his chest.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for ditching you last night, it was stupid and I shouldn’t have,” he said. You looked up at him.

“Yeah it was stupid,” you joked, playfully hitting his arm.

“Can I make it up to you?” He asked.

“How so?”

“Well, for starters, ditch class?” he proposed. You gasped.

“Kuroo Tetsurou wants to ditch class? Who are you and where is my nerdy best friend?” Kuroo laughed.

“I know I know but you’re worth ditching class for,” he smiled. You felt butterflies in your stomach.

“Fine, you can make it up to me,” you said. Kuroo smiled.

“Can you answer this for me though?” You asked. He nodded.

“Um- is there actually nothing going on between you and Calie?”

Kuroo sighed.

Could you be any more obvious that you liked him?

“No Y/N, absolutely nothing. I think Calie’s girlfriend would be shocked if there was,” he said. Your jaw dropped.

“SHE HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!”

“Yeah, her name is AJ, she’s super nice.” You felt so embarrassed.

“Oh my fucking god…” you burried your face in your hands. Kuroo laughed.

“Yup, Calie and I are just friends,” he said, “anyway, kinda got my eyes on someone else.” Your eyes grew.

“Wait what?”

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“Kuroo what did you just-“

“Come on Y/N, I have a plan for us today!” Kuroo grabbed your hand and led you back to the apartment.

You and Kuroo spent your afternoon watching old movies and munching on whatever snacks you had around the apartment. Back in high school, you and Kuroo would often have movie nights together. Whenever one of you wasn’t doing their best, the other would be at the door with a movie to help. You loved that tradition with Kuroo.

You sat on the couch next to Kuroo as the credits of ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ played. You probably watched a total of 4 movies, bringing the time of day close to 7pm.

“I think that’s enough for watching movies,” you said, stretching your back from sitting for so long.

“Good thing I’ve got another idea,” smirked Kuroo. You raised a brow.

“And what might that be?”

“We are going out!”

“Out?”

“Yes, out! So Y/N-Chan, go get yourself prettied up and get ready for a night on the town!” cheered Kuroo. You laughed.

“Kuroo it’s a Tuesday. I’m not sure how much fun we’ll be having.”

“Don’t doubt me. I know where to go for a night like this. Now go get ready!” Kuroo pulled you up from the couch and led you to your room.

“Oh and wear a dress,” he smirked. Kuroo left you to go get himself ready.

Is this this horrible way of asking me out? No, can’t be.

*BUZZ*

You reached for your phone, seeing it was a call from Oikawa.

“Hi shitty-”

“PUT KUROO ON THE PHONE NOW SO I CAN VERBALLY BEAT HIS ASS-”

“Oikawa calm down-”

“AND DONT EVEN GET MY STARTED ON THAT BITCH CALZONE OR WHATEVER HER NAME IS-”

“Toru please-”

“DONT WORRY Y/N, I MANIFESTED THAT SHE WILL BITE INTO A TORTILLA CHIP AND THAT IT STABS HER CHEEK! THE WORST TYPE OF PAIN!”

“Oikawa?” You groaned.

“Okay I’m finished. Yes?”

“She’s gay.”

“SHE’S GAY?”

“Yes she’s gay. She has a girlfriend. I overreacted, her and Kuroo are just friends,” you explained finally. Oikawa went silent on the other line.

“Well that’s awkward... I had a brilliant revenge plan.”

“You’ll have to save it then.”

“BUT HEY that’s good!!”

“Yeah, he’s actually gonna take me out right now.”

“LIKE ON A DATE?”

“Uh I’m honestly not sure...I don’t think so at least.”

“Well regardless, do your best to seduce him.”

“Toru please-”

“Okay okay I’ll stop. Keep me posted!”

“I will.”

“BYE Y/N!”

“Bye shittykawa.”

“You really have to be nicer to me-”

You hung up on Oikawa before he could finish. You saw a text from him.

you suck -sent 7:24pm

You laughed and set your phone down to get ready.

You scrambled through your closet for a dress. You didn’t want to wear the same one you wore to the party those weeks ago. You scanned through your clothes before finding a little black dress in the back of your closet. It still had the tags on it. Oikawa had bought it for you for your birthday last year, saying everyone needs a little black dress in their wardrobe. You never got around to wearing it.

You set the dress on your bed and went to take a quick bath. After you dried off, you began to put on some makeup and slipped the dress on. You looked at yourself in the mirror. The dress fit you beautifully. You felt beautiful. You slipped on some heels, no matter how unstable you walked in them.

“Ready to go…” Kuroo stood in your doorway, nicely dressed. His voice trailed off as he looked at you.

“Do I look okay,” you asked. Kuroo licked his lips subtly.

“Uh yeah you look more than okay…” he said, still staring. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks.

“Well, where are we going?” Kuroo smiled and reached out his hand.

“What’s a good time without a little dancing?”

•

[taglist OPEN: @vangoghpoets @vangoghmusings @lilnuances @tetsoleil @cloudswritings @foxyyychan @tamaguchi @jessie9008 @bitandbytes @yeehawnana @166cm @bigchaosenergy @tumbledor3 @captain-janeway @answer-the-sirens @simpletype @ysatrap @stinkybitch1919 @starry-magicshop @graykageyama @keomoon @freyafolkvangr @bokutory ]

#willow.🌸#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x y/n #hq #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsurou #kuroo x y/n #kuroo tetsuro x you #hq kuroo #kuroo x you #kuroo tetsurō #haikyuu kuroo #bokuto #oikawa tōru #the apartment.🌸

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jalebi-weds-bluetooth · 3 years

Note

Hello AJ. Shy anon here. I recently started watching MJHT and I recall you've watched the show too. I haven't gone too far ahead but I just noticed that Nupur has a lot of similarities with Khushi. (Which is funny because Sanaya is in it as Gunjan who's like such a contrast to Khushi and Nupur). The very first similarity I actually noticed was the clothing, specifically the bangles. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show. Just any thoughts. I really enjoy when you deep dive and dissect shows and storylines. I hope you're doing well. Bye 🥰

Hello Shy Anon!!!!

Oh I love that show and its cheesiness to every bit! It had the perfect everything - romance, comedy, drama and an excellent way to show a parallel lead that rarely happens now cause the whole focus goes to literally one character...

DAMN THOSE DAYS!!!

Oh Nupur? Haye!

(long exploration of Khushi, Nupur, Mayank, Samrat under cut)

Yes, Nupur and Khushi have a LOT of similarities because:

1) They represent the classic Indian television female lead; manic pixie, colorful, quirky, witty, middle class, wears tons of jewelry such as bangles and earrings and a Bollywood loving dream girl. This is ITV’s basic template for every heroine. Nupur and Khushi are just the far better and memorable ones.

2) They’re also written by the same writer!

However in my opinion Nupur is a slightly more fleshed out and stronger character because:

- She never compromises with her self respect.

- Balances tradition and progressive thinking very well.

- Keeps grudges and demands apologies when she’s been hurt.

- Knows how to communicate.

- Allows people to depend on her as much as she depends on them.

- Is always a sister first, lover second.

- Has ambitions, career, education but ALSO loves romance, marriage, etc.

- GROWS as a character. She starts from being too eager to fit in, naive, unaware, to mature, proud of her roots, intimidating :)

- Knows when to apologize, works on her ego.

- Is fiercely independent post marriage and loves being ‘Nupur Bhushan’ as much as ‘Mrs. Mayank Sharma’.

Nupur would never work with ASR. She’d kill him. No doubt. And sue his dead body.

Also I think given she was a Star One heroine, the writer/s had more room to develop her as an independent woman as opposed to the perfect ‘bahu’ which is what star plus literally demands from all of its heroines.

Nupur never had to fit in Mayank’s household nor meet the ‘Sharma’s’ expectations unlike Khushi who is inborn with what they expect from a Raizada bahu. There’s no standard at the Sharma household. Their ‘ideal’ bahu is one who’s independent and has her own persona. Like Mayank’s mum and Nupur.

I feel Khushi would’ve been more like Nupur if IPK was made as a Star One show. She’d be a slightly calmer, more orthodox and more childlike than Nupur but yeah, actually be treated as an independent character.

Lol, I realised what a brilliant actor Sanaya was when I saw her interviews!

Also, let’s just say that Gunjan was path breaking as an ITV lead.

She’s everything you’d expect in a ‘male lead’ and so different from what they catered.

- She’s extremely intelligent, anti social, a scholar, fiercely loyal to her family, mature, pragmatic, practical and is acutely aware of her surroundings. She’s proud of who she is - even though she is intimidated of new spaces and people. A classic introvert who’s very new to Mumbai. You’ll notice later in the show that she’s a no bullshit woman and her hurt, grief lasts for years.

Unlike other female characters who go over their emotions in a flip and their hurt is never addressed, Gunjan has difficulty moving on from her pain and takes a lot of time to come to terms with her emotions. Also, she’s incredibly sorted and slightly naive about the matters of heart.

She’s so guarded that she ends up hurting the person she loves.

Now I feel ASR and Gunjan would be excellent friends if they met in college. Their personalities and pride on education and intelligence is at par - they’re equals if you ask me.

AND COMING TO MY FAVORITE BOIS - MAYANK AND SAMRAT.

SAMRAT IS MY ETERNAL LOVE. THEIR BROMANCE IS EVERYTHING AND SAMRAT IS THE SWEETEST PUP WITH THE MOST EPIC CHARACTER GROWTH. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY. HE IS THE BEST MALE HERO ON TELEVISION. BOY IS JUST... SO FREAKING NICE. BEING HOT DOES NOT MEAN YOU’RE A DICK. HE’S HOT AND SWEET AND EVERYTHING!!!!

Mayank, I love him. Again, I feel he’s a very mellowed version of ASR. Quick to judge, “once good opinion lost, then lost forever” types (*cough* Darcy), attached to his mum, does not take being lied to very well, is very single focused, slightly self absorbed, refuses feelings for like a billion years, likes being ‘self made’ and is proud of who he is. Also, secretly loves challenges *lol*

In my eyes MJHT, despite being kitschy, cheesy, very 2000s with a barely passable wardrobe, remains as a much superior show than IPK just in terms of writing and characters. Yeah, they do have shit plots in between and you go WTF but in general they never really compromise on the female nor male leads. I mean I wish they went a hundred episodes less but still...

They really focus on fostering a healthy relationship between all the important characters and not just love, but also - most importantly - friendship. In that way, it was incredibly mature writing. I will defend this show with my last breath! AND CAN I SAY THIS SHOW HAD AN ENDING? LIKE A PROPER ENDING?

THEIR ENDING WAS THE EXACT REVERSE OF THE FIRST PROMO MJHT EVER RELEASED AND I CRIED. *spoiler no spoiler but if you can ever search for the “love bole toh...” promo then you’ll know what I mean when you’re done with the show*

I’ll tell you where IPK surpasses MJHT - production value, subtlety, background scoring, direction and chemistry. Like Samrat/Gunjan, Mayank/Nupur will give you all the feelz for sure (and I was so damn excited when I learned that Mohit and Sanaya are a real life couple) but there’s something different with Arnav and Khushi. You can’t tear your eyes away from them and I think it’s because Sanaya and Barun are... brilliant actors.

Barun, especially, is a rare gem.

But apart from that, enjoy MJHT and keep me posted! Also you should write to @leila1 - she’s another MJHT lover like us!!!

THANK YOU FOR THROWING ME BACK INTO MY BACHPAN FEELZ

#ask #shy anon #mjht #jalebi's fav show #MY FEELZ DURING MJHT #MY FAV 2000s SHOW #the perfect cheesiness

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dani-the-mark · 3 years

Text

Raw July 26, 2021 Review

Opening Segment

Nikki A.S.H opens the show, who I wish would just adopt “Ash”. I feel like the letters are too jarring and don’t feel like a name. I love her gimmick and the crowd did as well, chanting for her throughout the entire segment.

I feel as though they need to give Rhea more reason to be here. She was the champion just weeks ago, but she doesn’t seem to care about Nikki. Maybe she’s not threatened and therefore letting Charlotte take the brunt, but it is very unclear.

Damian Priest vs. Sheamus

This was just a Damian Priest showcase for 90% of the match. The pop when Shamus lost his mask was comforting, as was his reaction, to see that his time away has not rusted his talent. Overall there were some solid spots, and Shamus is an A+ worker and actor, but this felt like it’s either the beginning of something or we’ll never see them in the ring again.

AJ Styles and Omos vs The Viking Raiders

Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it, AJ and Omos are too thrown together for my liking. I’m a much bigger fan of tag teams that have a cohesive look and they just…..don’t. That being said, the talent was ON POINT. AJ can do no wrong in the ring. He’s the only person who has made me excited about a John Cena match (Royal Rumble 2017) and Omos is genuinely terrifying both in and out of the ring.

The Viking Raiders have almost the opposite problem. The cohesion, the teamwork, the gimmick, everything is visually on point, and they stand up well next to Omos and AJ. They're entertaining but they aren't on the same talent level. They could be there and they show promise, but it’s not polished just yet. I’m excited to see them get those championships, and I feel as though it’s going to be sooner than later

Drew McIntyre vs Veer

Jinder Mahal's music slaps, nothing new there. What is new is him bringing a lawyer to the match, but so beautifully on brand. Overall, I didn't hate this match. Not as one-sided as it could have been, especially with another certain match on the card).

Bobby Lashley vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin

I don’t like Bobby Lashley right now. It feels like they gave him a Brock Jesnar Jr. gimmick that Brock couldn't be bothered with. Yes, he’s big and can rip through a clothesline like it’s a spider web. At least he shows weakness sometimes, unlike Brock. I’m sure his Goldberg match will be great, but right now just feels like more and more of the same. Lashley destroys someone again. He does it well, but I’m tired of brick walls.

John Morrison vs. Riddle

This was just an overall fun one. Miz is another character who in my eyes has never done anything bad. The in-ring action was a solid back and forth, and I’m invested. I want to see this match again at Summerslam, or at least what these three are going to put together for August. Someone is getting a hold of that ball. Omos breaking Riddle’s scooter was also pure gold. I’m a sucker for middle school bully tactics, especially in a match already so light-hearted. Long Live Johnny Drip Drip.

Charlotte Flair def. Nikki A.S.H.

Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte. Where have your mic skills gone? It’s not like she doesn’t have everything else. I think it says something that my boyfriend, who knows nothing about wrestling, walked by, pointed at her and said “She’s evil”. You have to have something to make that come across so clearly.

The wardrobe helps, her fighting style helps, but unless the writers are going for “whiny brat” (which they might be, they might not be, quite frankly I’m confused), her promos just don’t match. She’s big, scary, and mean. This match showed that perfectly. She truly believes no one is on her level, but while acting like a high schooler. I have a feeling she’s going to win again next week unless Rhea steps in, which I would love to see.

The Hulu version cut out Natalya and Tamina vs. Eva Marie and Doudrop, Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee, Reginald vs R-Truth, and Mustafa Ali and Mansoor vs. Mace and T-Bar, which is disappointing. I’m a Keith Lee fan specifically, and I always worry about him getting screen time. The man is too talented to be pushed back.

Overall

This was a fine Raw, better in the first half than the second, and meant mostly for build-up. Which is accomplished, even if I feel that it’s happening a bit too early. I’m sad at what I missed out on, and hopefully, I’ll be able to find those matches somewhere else. Also, no Becky, which even though I know she’s almost certainly going to be on Smackdown, I still hope every week she just shows up anywhere

#wwe #wwe raw #wwe monday night raw

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haberdashing · 4 years

Text

Hidden Away

Statement of Riley Parker regarding a hide-and-seek game played on their college’s campus.

on AO3

Statement of Riley Parker regarding a hide-and-seek game played on their college’s campus. Original statement given April 13th, 2019. Recording by Artemis Lee, archival assistant for the Usher Foundation.

Statement begins.

I think it’s important to start off by saying that this was a Saturday night, midterms had just ended, and most of us were drunk. I think that explains a lot of what we were thinking here. I know hide-and-seek is seen as a kid’s game, but when you’re hanging on campus with your friends, you’re bored, and you just want to let off some steam after a week of grueling exams... sometimes you get creative.

I wasn’t drunk, though. I don’t drink, never have. Alcoholism runs in my family, and I figured the best way to avoid it is to just not drink in the first place. Not that it’s really anyone’s business why I don’t drink, but when people get snotty about it, explaining that usually makes them back off a bit.

Crystal, though--Crystal Wheeler is her full name--she’s the one who suggested it, and she was drunk as a skunk at the time. Luis Vasquez was the one who suggested Old Bailey as the playing ground--he was drunk too--and it wasn’t long before we all went over there and started figuring out the rules.

There were eight of us playing--myself, Crystal, Luis, AJ, Bowie, Ben, Nessie, and Red; I could give you last names for everybody, but I really doubt they’d be of much help. The rules were simple: find a spot in Old Bailey and hide in it, wait for the seeker to find you, first one found is the seeker next if there’s time to play again, last one found gets bragging rights, leaving Old Bailey means you’re kicked from the game for good.

Old Bailey isn’t called that because there’s another Bailey to confuse it with, but because it’s really old--like, early 1800s old, oldest building on campus by far. It gets whatever classes or activities can’t fit somewhere else, pretty much, but for such a big building in the middle of campus, it’s really not used that often. And most importantly for our game, it’s got a lot of little nooks and crannies hidden away in it.

Ben volunteered to be the first seeker, and he gave us a full minute to go find our hiding spots since we needed time to be able to get there, and maybe even to figure out where it was we wanted to hide.

I knew where I was going the instant I started running, though. There’s a little room on the far end of the building from where Ben was counting that the choir uses for practice sometimes--I’m not in choir myself, but I found out about it when I helped them carry equipment in one time. The door to it’s kind of hidden away off to the side of a lecture hall, so unless you know it’s there, you’d probably pass by it and not even notice.

Once I got in the room, I noticed a wardrobe in the corner of the room, and when I opened it it turned out to be empty, so I had no doubt I’d be able to fit in it easily, if not comfortably. I climbed inside, got as comfortable as I could, and looked down at my glow-in-the-dark watch, which was already ticking away.

Tick. Tick. Tick. 12:01 AM. One minute passed. The seeker could stop counting and start looking.

I wasn’t worried about being the first one found. Even if Ben knew about this spot, it was on the wrong end of the building for that. I figured I had several minutes at least to hang in there, watch the clock, peer out through the slits in the doors to see if anyone was coming.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Thirty minutes passed.

Ben’d probably be getting close now, I figured--though I didn’t hear him, so maybe not, maybe I had a bit longer to wait. We’d never done this before, so it’s not like I had any real idea of how long it’d take. And like I said, it was a big building.

I started to wish I’d brought my phone with, but then, knowing my luck, it’d probably make some noise and give my spot away at exactly the wrong time. As it was, my watch seemed loud enough, though maybe that was just because there wasn’t anything else to make noise in there.

Tick. Tick. Tick. One hour passed.

I was getting a little achy--the wardrobe had enough room for me but not much to spare, so I was just standing inside it in kind of an awkward position, without much room to fidget around in there.

I had to be one of the last ones left, right? Maybe I’d even be the winner.

I could put up with a few aches and pains for a bit longer if it meant getting to lord it over my friends for ages to come.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Hour and a half passed.

This was getting ridiculous. My nose itched, and I had to pee, and I was bored as hell, and I hadn’t heard one single person come by this entire time.

Had they forgotten about me?

No, of course not. We were friends. They probably just overlooked the door to the room altogether. It was easy enough to do, after all.

...when I won the game, I was making them buy me food afterwards.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Two hours passed.

I kept coming back to the thought that my friends had forgotten about me, forgotten about the game entirely, forgotten that I was still hidden away in my little nook in Old Bailey. I didn’t want to believe it, but what else was there? Could two hours of searching really not be enough to find this room? I still hadn’t heard so much as a single footstep.

Then I started to wonder what would happen if that was the case. How long would it take for people to notice I was missing? Would somebody come use the room before then?

It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t checked whether I could get out of the wardrobe before stepping inside. What if I was trapped in there? What if it was locked? I could still see the room outside through those slits in the door, but I think I started hyperventilating a bit, because the air didn’t feel right in my lungs, and I wondered if the slits weren’t big enough, if I was going to suffocate to death in there and nobody would ever know-

It was exactly 2:36:13 according to my watch when I opened the wardrobe from the inside, taking a deep breath as I stepped out into the room beyond; the air wasn’t exactly fresh in there, but it was damn well better than inside the wardrobe, anyway.

I still didn’t hear a sound beyond the tick of my watch and my own breathing and heartbeat, but just getting out was enough to calm me down a little, convince me that I wasn’t going to die forgotten in an old choir wardrobe. Still, it took a few minutes before I got my bearings enough to start wandering around.

The part of me that just figured I was really good at hide-and-seek finally shut up for good when I opened the door to the choir room and entered the giant lecture hall it was connected to and still heard nothing. There was no way that seven mostly-drunk college kids searching for someone in an echo-y old building wouldn’t be making some kind of noise, but I couldn’t hear a thing. Not from people, anyway; I focused enough that I heard the hum of the electric lights, noticed a few gurgles from the plumbing system when I got a drink of water and stopped in the bathroom, but nothing that came from other people. I even looked down at the carpet to see if I could make out any footprints, but no such luck.

I walked... well, really it was more of a jog, to the other side of the building, where we’d all left our bags and phones and stuff just before the game started, but the only stuff there was mine. My phone wouldn’t turn on, even though I thought it’d still had 70% battery when we started, but at that point I wasn’t even surprised. I did, however, have a couple hard candies still buried in my bag--I tend to keep some kind of candy around just in case, especially since Nessie lives two doors down and she’s diabetic--and I ate one, thanking my past self for being so considerate.

The tiredness set in all at once, it seemed like. I’d chugged an energy drink while most of my friends were chugging alcoholic drinks, so it might’ve just been that wearing off, but suddenly I didn’t want to bother dragging myself back to my dorm and plugging in my phone and doing everything else I’d need to do before going to bed, I just wanted sleep, now. I saw some sort of a teacher’s lounge with a couch in it, and fuck, it wasn’t even an especially nice couch, just a beat-up old yellow thing that was lumpy as hell, but at that point it might as well have been sent by the gods as far as I was concerned.

I don’t remember the exact time, but I know it was a little after 3 according to my watch before I managed to get some sleep in.

When I checked my watch upon waking up, it was 9:47, the sun was shining, and I still didn’t hear a peep. Which didn’t surprise me that much, really--obviously my friends had ditched me, and I’d give them hell for it later.

But then I passed by a window. It was a beautiful day out, the sun was shining, the trees were swaying gently in the wind... and there was nobody outside.

Nobody rushing to or from the cafeteria. Nobody heading to or from their car. Nobody walking their dog, or feeding the feral cats on campus, or playing ultimate frisbee, or any of the usual things people would do on a nice Sunday morning. I didn’t even see any squirrels scampering about, and those things are usually all over campus.

My mind went to... some weird places there. Wondering if I’d missed the apocalypse or something. Maybe the Rapture. Not that I’m religious, but hell, what else was there?

I had the rest of my hard candies at that point, though that wasn’t quite enough to fill my stomach on its own. Just needed something to get my mind off things, I think, some kind of distraction.

I looked back at the lounge where I’d slept, figuring I’d make a note of it for later, maybe even thank the professor who took care of the spot for putting the couch there... I remember it was room 165, but there was no name on the door. Not a plaque, not a carving, not even a piece of paper saying the professor’s name.

There was a desk next to the couch, and I looked at the papers on it, not because it really mattered who this professor was in the greater scheme of things but because I just wanted to know, but all the papers were blank. Just ordinary white printer paper, stacked haphazardly on a desk to look like a normal professor’s workspace if you didn’t look too closely.

Not going to lie... I think I had a bit of a panic attack when I saw that. It just didn’t make sense, even with my half-formed theories about the apocalypse or the Rapture or whatnot. It wasn’t that everybody had vanished--it was more like nobody had ever been there to begin with, or that every sign of their existence had vanished with them except the building of Old Bailey itself. There was just me and my bag and that was it. Me against the world.

I really wish I’d brought my charger with me that night.

Then I figured, well, lights had worked fine the night before--and I flipped one on now, confirmed they were still working--so I might as well make my way back to my dorm room, charge my phone, get out my laptop, figure out what the hell it was I’d clearly missed. Leaving Old Bailey was still technically losing the game of hide-and-seek that I’d rightfully won, I guess, but that had long since stopped mattering to me. If I couldn’t have my friends with me, I at least wanted to know what happened to them.

According to my watch, it was 10:18 when I finally stepped outside Old Bailey.

The instant I stepped outside I heard a loud noise and I flinched, panicked a bit, covered my ears. It took me a minute to realize what the noise was.

It was my friends, all seven of them, standing outside the main door to Old Bailey, shouting my name. There was a police officer there, too; apparently they’d called him when I vanished, thought I might have gotten stuck somewhere. Guess they weren’t entirely wrong.

It was dark out, though. And according to all of their phones and watches and whatnot, it was only 2:36 in the morning, though my watch still showed that it was well after 10 AM.

The next time I went back in that building--with Red in tow, because I was not going back alone--I checked on what I remembered from my time in there. Not only could I not find the couch, I couldn’t find room 165; the numbers only go up to 149 before skipping to the 200s, apparently. The wardrobe was gone, too, and when I asked some choir kids about it, none of them remembered it being there.

There’s no big moral to this story, I don’t think, no way to tie it all up in a knot. I’ve always had a bit of an issue with anxiety, and that’s even worse now, as you might imagine. If I’ve learned anything, it’s just that the world is even weirder and scarier than I had imagined, and I could do without that knowledge, thanks. All I know is I’m never going back to Old Bailey alone, and I’m never playing another game of hide-and-seek in my life.

Statement ends.

#tma #tma fic #tma fanfic #the magnus archives #the magnus archives fic #the magnus archives fanfic #statement fic #personal #my writing

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amberjade-rhodes · 3 years

Text

Rhodez | | Bowling

WHEN: 18 April 2021

LOCATION: Bowling alley

NB: Now that AJ and Bryce have talked about their recent argument and essentially made up, Bryce decides to take AJ out on a date so that they can get over any lingering awkwardness between them. NB: this chatzy is a work in progress so will be updated as we go!

After the two had made up, AJ had essentially left the ball in Bryce's court. She had felt a little embarrassed after her grand gesture and although it had essentially allowed the two to talk through their argument and get back on track, she still felt a little raw and vulnerable. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long until Bryce reached out to her and the two made plans to hang out on Sunday night. Not fully sure about what they were doing, AJ dressed in a pair of jeans that Bryce had always liked on her and a simple blue shirt that she had stolen from Violet's wardrobe before meeting Bryce outside of the beach house. "Hey you", AJ said with a small smile when he arrived, quickly getting into his truck.

Bryce could sense the awkwardness that laid between him and his girlfriend, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it exactly. He wasn’t used to this, being in a committed relationship in which it wasn’t so easy for him to just run off and forget that anything happened. The man knew he had to buckle down and deal with this head first, which is why he finally reached out to Amber-Jade to make plans. Bryce decided that the best option for them right now would be to go out in public, where the chance of either one making a fool of themself was almost limited to none. That, and something that was comfortable and required little to no effort was probably what was best for them as a couple. He scrolled through his phone and answered a few texts as he waited for her to come outside, his head snapping up when he heard the passenger side door open. “Hey.” He greeted, his small smile matching her own. Leaning over, he placed his lips against hers, giving her a soft and quick hello kiss. “Ready to go?”

This was her first romantic relationship and she didn't know /how/ to fix the awkwardness between them and revert things back to their normal state -- all she knew is that she really wanted to try. Bryce meant a hell of a lot to her and she didn't want their relationship to end, especially not when he was in a place where he needed people around him more than ever, even if he wasn't able to admit that just yet. Her smile became a little more genuine when he leaned over and kissed her quickly, the woman having been a little touch starved as their physical relationship had essentially dried up overnight. "Ready! Do I get to know where we're going?" she asked curiously as she bucked up her seatbelt.

Bryce had been dealing with his own demons, and unfortunately the people he was closest to the most had felt the wrath that was Bryce Cortez spiraling. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to be caught in the middle; if he was being quite frank, he didn't expect anyone to find out at all. But due to recent events, the man found it was best to just put aside his own mental health; out of sight, out of mind. "Uh, yeah - we're going bowling." He said with a small smile as he backed out of the driveway. "Ryan and I went for her birthday, and I had forgotten how much I missed doing normal things like that." He added, his eyes remaining fixated on the road as he began driving. "Besides, I think being out in public will be good for us...for obvious reasons."

"Really? I've never been bowling before!" AJ said excitedly. "I got invited to a birthday party at a bowling alley when I was a kid but my parents said that I couldn't go at the last minute. I'm fairly sure that we didn't have the money for a present and apparently it was selfish to show up empty handed", she explained. "No judging me if I'm completely terrible, okay? I don't know if I'll be anywhere near as good as you and Ryan when it comes to bowling", she laughed. The sound quickly faded when he said that he had picked a public location for "obvious reasons", suddenly realising that her boyfriend didn't want to be alone with her. "Right, of course. It should be fun though", she said, trying to continue her same level of enthusiasm despite that realisation. She leaned forward and turned on the radio, quietly singing along with whatever song came on; once again deflecting rather than owning how she was feeling.

"Wait, really?" Bryce asked, his voice showing his shock as he listened to her explain the reasoning immediately after. "I used to go all the time with my siblings when we were in our pre-teens and early teenage years. My parents were always busy traveling back and forth between Connecticut and New York so that was kind of how we entertained ourselves. Before Allison got crazy with school and I got crazy with the partying and substance abuse." He babbled, reminiscing on the distant memory with his siblings. A fond smile appeared on his face at the mention of the memory though, and he made a mental note to give Allison and his brothers a call soon. "No judgment here, we all have to start somewhere. I'll make sure the bumpers are up for you though." The man said with a warm smile, looking over at his girlfriend and giving her a playful wink before focusing his attention back on the road. Bryce silently cursed at himself when he realized what he had just said, and how it sounded much worse than he had intended it to. "That's not what I meant." He quickly spoke out, thinking that would serve him better than just dropping the subject entirely. Leaning forward, he turned the radio back off so the two wouldn't get distracted. "It's just - things are awkward between us right now. It's like we're strangers right now. And it's not that I don't want to be alone with you, I just - you just make me nervous right now." He didn't want the two to just simply push things off by having sex, or better yet the two getting into yet another argument where he allows the drugs to speak for him.

"Yes, really! I never went to laser tag either, or any of those parties at McDonalds", AJ admitted. "That's actually really sweet. It's nice that you have a memory like that with your siblings. From the stories that you and Ollie have both told me, I always picture your teenage years as complete chaos so it's kind of adorable that you used to go bowling all the time", she teased, grinning at him. "Apparently kids can also get a ramp when they're learning how to bowl to help guide their ball. Think I'm too old for one of those?" she jokingly questioned. She looked at him in surprise when he quickly clarified that he hadn't meant it like that and turned off the radio so that they could talk about it. "I'm sorry, I think a lot of that awkwardness is coming from me", she admitted, nervously rubbing at the back of her neck. "I just don't know how to navigate this, you know? This is my first relationship and it means a hell of a lot to me because I love you, which means that I'm pretty fucking terrified about it all imploding. That argument was intense and so was the conversation in your room, although in different ways; and I guess I'm still feeling a little embarrassed about how vulnerable I was around you. I... I also spent several days fairly sure that we were over and that was /horrible/ so I think it's safe to say that you make me nervous too. I really want us to be... well, /us/ again but I don't really know how to get there and I'm a little terrified that you may have finally realised that you can do better".

"God, I love laser tag. It gives you an adrenaline rush like no other. I hated the McDonalds parties, though. There was something about sweaty kids running around in a hot ass room that smelled like cheese that just really didn't sit well with six year old Bryce." He scrunched his nose in disgust after saying the last part of his statement. "Well, it was complete chaos, especially after I met Jessica freshman year of high school. Still though - I don't talk much about them, but my siblings really are the people that got me through. Kind of like you and Oliver." He admitted sheepishly. "Oh, you are so getting the dinosaur ramp. I don't need you hurting yourself out there." He laughed. The laughter quickly ceased as Bryce listened to Amber-Jade speak. He allowed her the time that she needed to express her feelings about the situation, saving his sigh for after she was done. "If there's anyone who can do better here, it's you." He spoke in a quiet, gentle tone. "I know you might think that you're the fucked up one out of us two because I might come off as this wholesome guy, but that's because you actually talked about your shit with me. I haven't really told you much because I don't talk, at all. In fact, I /hate/ talking. I've always been the one that avoids talking about serious shit by having sex, or doing drugs, or just simply turning the tables on someone." He began, quickly sighing as he suddenly heard his fathers voice in his head. "'No hables de lo que pasa en esta casa' that means do not talk about what happens in this house, and it's what my father used to tell us every single day. So, I've become accustomed to the lifestyle of keeping my skeletons well hidden. I don't talk about my dad. I don't talk about Jessica or the accident. I don't talk about the drug usage in high school or even now. I don't talk about the military sexual trauma, or the hazing, or the bombing. I simply just don't talk. Trust me when I say that if there's anyone that can do better right now, it's you. I'm not in an okay place right now, but I'm never in an okay place. That's just me, and I'm sorry you got caught in the crossfire."

"Something tells me that you'd be /very/ competitive when it comes to laser tag, like you'd probably shoot me repeatedly to get your score up even if we were on the same team", AJ laughed. "It sounds like I didn't miss out on the McDonalds parties, though". When they were in the same group home, Ollie had often saved whatever coins he could get his hands on so that the two of them could split a Happy Meal between them, which definitely seemed like a sweeter memory than what Bryce had just described. "My high school years were chaos too so no judgement. I didn't even finish high school the first time around, I only got my GED a couple of years ago. Still, I'm glad that you had your siblings to get you through". There was a small but genuine smile on her face when he mentioned that she and Ollie were now instrumental in getting him through. "It's dinosaur themed?! That's literally the cutest! I don't even care that I'm a grown adult using the kiddie ramp now", she laughed. Just like Bryce gave her the space to talk it out, she gave him the same courtesy. "I know that you hate talking and as someone who has been through a lot of trauma, I would never push you to talk about something before you were ready. The things that I told you... I haven't exactly shared those things with many people in my life and it wasn't easy to open up to you so please don't think that I'm angry or upset that you can't talk about things easily. I get that better than most. I guess I just wanted to say that even though you don't like discussing your feelings, you /have/ told me about most of those things. You've shared with me whatever you can and I just wanted you to know that I do appreciate that", she said softly. "I know that you aren't in an okay place right now but if you let me, I'd like to be here for you. I... I understand if it's not the right time for that, though. I mean, it will definitely hurt but if you need a friend instead of a girlfriend right now... I can do that".

"I will say that I hold the title of being undefeated very proudly, thank you." Bryce stated, laughing along with the other immediately after. "Hey, at least you got it done. There are some people that leave and just never look back." He praised. He had come very close to dropping out of school after the car accident and him almost failing every single class, so he understood just how hard it was. "I didn't know I was suddenly dating a five year old. I feel so dirty now." He joked lightly, gagging dramatically after. The laughter ceased once more as the two began to heavily discuss the topic. This had been different than when she randomly appeared at the apartment. The two were now both coherent and actually talking about things like adults, and not just speaking out of emotion of two intoxicated beings. "That's the problem though, Amber-Jade. I know you're not going to pressure me, and I appreciate that, but that's what lead us here. Not you, me I mean. I let things build up and I lost control, and in the process I could lose everything because of it. And what's fucked up is that I would be lying to both of us if I said I wasn't thinking about getting high this very moment. All because I'm conditioned to not talk. So don't ever think that it's you, because it's not. This is all me." He spoke quietly. Bryce found himself hesitating for a few moments as he contemplated his next words. Besides talking, her hated showing vulnerability. He had learned to be anything but vulnerable from both his father and the military, so all of this was fairly new to him. Sighing, he finally spoke, "I know...and you have been there for me. Being in your arms the other week was the safest I ever felt in my entire life. You are one of the only things right now that makes this life have just an ounce of being worthy of living." He admitted, the tone of his voice tinted with sadness and defeat. His grip on the steering wheel grew tighter as he began growing more and more anxious. "...Do you want to break up?" He asked cautiously.

"Proudly enough that you'd repeatedly shoot your girlfriend when she first tries the game just so that you can keep your title", AJ laughed. "Thank you, I appreciate the fact that you see it that way. I was embarrassed about dropping out of high school for a long time, I've always hated the fact that I've been a cliché or stereotype in so many areas of my life", she admitted. "Why did you have to go there?!" she jokingly complained, playfully swatting at his arm as he jokingly gagged. "I get your point. I never want to push because I know that I've always hated it when other people do that to me but I can see that not talking about things does cause everything to spiral out of control. Do you think there's a way for us to find a balance here or way for us to communicate better?" she asked, curious to see if he had any solutions here. "I'm worried about you but as someone who has only been completely sober on a handful of occasions since I was 15 or 16, I understand that feeling. I don't have any magical solutions here, I just want to be there for you the way that you've been there for me". When he made it clear that he didn't want to break up, she could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten and she could tell that he was getting more and more anxious. "Pull over", she said softly, not wanting him to drive whilst worked up. As soon as he had safely pulled over to the side of the road, she unbuckled her seatbelt and with some manoeuvring, she climbed onto his lap; not in a sexual way but so that she could hold him tightly so that he felt safe again. "I definitely don't want to break up. I'm head over heels in love with you, Bryce. I'm in, I'm fully committed, for as long as you'll have me".

“Nobody’s safe when it comes to that, not even you.” Bryce replied back with another laugh. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Shit happens. I nearly got held back my senior year because of everything going on. I’m pretty sure the military is the only reason I didn’t decide to just drop out and take the GED exam. You got it done, that’s what matters at the end of the day.” He said in encouragement. The man nearly bursted out into laughter as the other swatted at his arm, finding their small moment to be quite amusing. “Hey, I’m driving here!” He dramatically exclaimed. “I don’t know...the only thing I will say though is that if you have questions or concerns about anything, just come to me. I’d like to think we’re close enough that you wouldn’t really feel as scared to speak to me about certain things.” He suggested. Mainly his statement came from a good place; Bryce knew that Amber-Jade got in her head a lot of the time, and he just wanted to remind her that although things were messy, he was her friend and confidant above everything else. In that moment, Bryce could feel the frog in his throat as it quickly became hard to speak more about the matter. He really could only hope and pray to a god that he may or may not have believed in that the two would make it; that he wouldn’t destroy her, and vice versa. His brows furrowed at her request for him to pull over, but he quickly obliged. It felt like his heart dropped down to his stomach as he put the vehicle in park, and he mentally began preparing himself for the girl to tell him that this really was the end, that they were done. “Amber, I—“ Were the only words that he could mutter out before she climbed onto his lap and immediately held onto him. Bryce could feel the muscles in his jaw, neck, and back relax almost immediately after she spoke. He just nodded, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist and held onto her tightly. His breathing slowed down along with his heart rate as he continued to lose himself further and further into her gentle touch. “I love you...you know that, right?” He finally questioned, his voice barely audible as he whispered the words.

"I thought that sleeping with the laser tag champion would give me some perks but clearly I'm wrong", AJ laughed. "I didn't know that about you", she admitted, surprised that the two shared yet another similarity. "I think most of my embarrassment stems from the fact that I'm at such a prestigious university and it feels like another reason why I don't quite fit", she explained, knowing that Bryce would understand what she was trying to say. "You should have thought about that before making the joke!" she retorted. She nodded her head, agreeing to his suggestion. "I can do that. I've never been scared to talk to you about anything, I've just been worried about potentially upsetting you further". Talking about past trauma was a delicate thing because you always ran the risk of retraumatising the other person; which is why she sometimes hesitated before asking Bryce about things. She knew that pulling over the car just so that she could hold him wasn't exactly a common thing that people did in relationships but honestly, she didn't care about convention. She just cared about him and what worked for the two of them. AJ knew that she had made the right decision as she could slowly feel him relax as she embraced him, her boyfriend quickly wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her back just as tightly. "I do and I fully believe it too", she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss against the side of his head. She was basically saying that there was no doubt in her mind that Bryce loved her, despite the recent issues within their relationship.

“You might just have to settle for the orgasms and food.” Bryce laughed once more. “It’s not really something I mention in casual conversation. That was a dark year in my life...and I was never really good at school.” The last part of his statement came out as a subtle joke, turning towards her and giving her a small smile. “I get it. But you’re here because you deserve to be here. Having a GED and not having much money doesn’t make you inferior to anyone here. Because at the end of the day it’s going to be your drive, ambition, and passion that really sets you ahead. All of us rich brats can fall at any time and we wouldn’t really know how to get back up because we’ve always been protected one way or another. You know how to hustle to get what you want and need, and that’s not a talent many of us have. So yeah, you don’t fit, but in the best way possible. In my eyes that gives you the one up compared to everyone else.” Bryce spoke in an encouraging tone. He knew where she had been coming from, but he actually admired her for how hard she worked to get herself to the place she was at now. Honestly, it was one of the many things that made him fall for her. “Don’t worry about that. Trust me, I’m honest enough to admit when I don’t want to talk about something. I just don’t want you to get in your head is all...by the way, I don’t care about your drug use.” He mentioned, giving her a sheepish smile at the end of his statement. He had spent a good amount of time with Ollie for the other man to tell him about the anonymous messages. “I mean obviously I care, but I’m no saint so I can’t judge. Just be careful.” He added quickly. Bryce simply nodded as she assured that she knew the extent of his feelings for her, the sound of those words putting him even more at ease. Still holding onto her for a few more moments, he gently rubbed her back as he pulled away. He brought a hand up to her face, gently caressing her face as he pressed a small kiss onto her lips.

"I might need more food and orgasms to make up for the betrayal", AJ quickly retorted. "I'm really glad that you managed to finish high school, otherwise I wouldn't be lucky enough to know you now", she said sweetly, genuinely meaning it. Despite recent events, she really couldn't imagine her life without Bryce now. "That really means a lot to me. You... well, you're the first person that I've allowed to see the real me in a long, long time. The good things and the bad. The fact that you still see me like that... I can't even describe how much that means to me". She had spent so much time thinking that she was unlovable, yet the person who knew her the best saw so much good in her and thought she was worthy of his love, time and attention. It made her wonder if she did see herself inaccurately. "If I do ask and you don't want to talk about it, please know that you can say that and I won't push any further. I never want it to trigger an argument". She looked at him with wide eyes when he commented about her drug use, automatically assuming that Ollie had decided to talk to her boyfriend about it. "I can't believe that he told you. I... I said that I wasn't ready to have that conversation. I obviously know that you were aware that I use but I think you assumed that it was only a sometimes thing and it was wrong of me not to correct that assumption. I, uh... it's rare that I get through a whole day without using /something/ because it's the only thing that keeps some of the shitty memories and feelings at bay. I want you to know that I'll never use around you, though, and I'll do whatever I can to support you in terms of your own use", she rambled, more than a little nervous once again. "You be careful too, please. I'm not kidding, Bryce. You can't be the next person that I lose, okay? I don't think I'd come back from that", she said softly, sighing as he rubbed her back before pulling away, pressing a gentle kiss against her lips as he did so. "Sorry, I didn't mean to derail your bowling plans. I should probably get off your lap now".

“Are the orgasms I’ve given you not enough?” Bryce asked in a joking like manner. “And I can say the same. Looks like everything really does happen for a reason.” His lips turned into a small smile at her comment, finding it sweet that she actually felt lucky enough to know him. Reaching over, he took her hand into his and brought it up to his lips, pressing a light kiss onto her soft skin. “I’ve never seen you any other way. You don’t give yourself nearly as much credit as you deserve.” He responded in a soft, gentle tone. Bryce simply nodded at her request. It wasn’t a hard request to follow, after all. “Ollie’s just worried, is all. And he has every right to be. It’s very easy to go down a really bad path with drugs, even when you think you might have everything under control. I will admit it doesn’t really sit well with me that you’re dependent on them, but I’m really in no shape to judge right now. At the end of the day it’s your life, and you’re going to do whatever it is you feel is right.” He said with a shrug of the shoulders. “I’m not kidding either, Amber-Jade. You scared the shit out of me after the whole being drugged situation. I’ll be fine, I know that. If I’m being honest, I’m more terrified of the possibility of us dragging each other down.” He admitted. The man was already in a vulnerable state, so it didn’t hurt to just mention one more thing. Nodding as she apologized, he easily allowed the girl to maneuver her way off his lap and back into the passengers seat. “No need to apologize. The bowling alley will still be there no matter what time we get there.”

"Hmm... it's been a while so I'm not sure", AJ responded, the grin on her face making it clear that she was just joking around. "You're a pretty damn good reason, Bryce Cortez", she said softly as he lifted her hand and gently kissed it. "I know, it's something that I really need to work on. I definitely don't see myself in the same way that you or Ollie see me", she easily admitted. She sighed softly as he spoke, a little frustrated that Ollie had spoken to Bryce when she said that she didn't want to have that conversation yet but understanding why her best friend would have done that. She was quiet for a few moments after he had finished talking, wordlessly considering what he had said and collecting her own thoughts before speaking again. "It started in NYC because everything was just too much. I hated the nightmares and the intrusive thoughts about my parents. I hated the fact that there was a whole section of the city that I had to avoid because of all the memories that it stirred up. I was always so hypervigilant, so angry, so on edge. My sleep was terrible and I felt guilty all the time, for not doing enough to save her; for being angry at her; for being the one that survived. I think all of those things started right after she died but for a while, I was able to mask it when I was in the group home. It's kind of like Ollie was the band aid slapped over the bullet wound, you know? I know that it wasn't healthy but he was literally the only person that I had left so when the state moved him away, I was all alone. Everything just spiralled from there, really. My life in NYC was awful and lonely. I was doing things that I didn't want to do just so that I could survive. The only "friends" I had were women from the homeless shelters but those weren't really genuine friendships. I started using just to numb everything and so that I seemed normal because I wouldn't have made any money as a sex worker if I had been my actual self. It just kept going from there and here I am, all these years later, still reliant", she murmured, explaining the story to Bryce as best she could. "Here though... well, I have people that I love and love me. People that make things feel a little easier, a little better. People that are worried about me. People that I don't want to lose. I meant what I said the other night in your apartment, Bryce. You don't need to give me an answer now but if you ever want to get sober, I would do it with you. Not /for/ you or because I feel like it's something I have to do to "save" you but because the life I have here... it makes me think that maybe it's okay to not be numb forever". It would be hard, she knew that; but she certainly didn't want to risk losing the people that made her life bearable because of her self-destructive tendencies. After she had finished talking, she climbed back into the passengers seat, making sure to press a parting kiss against the corner of Bryce's mouth before she moved. "Right, bowling! Bring on the dinosaur ramp".

Bryce simply just chuckled at her first few comments, not really sure how to reply to that as he knew it had been a while since the two were intimate. “It’s easy not to. We’re our own biggest critics.” He said simply with a shrug of the shoulders. Bryce stared straight ahead as she spoke, not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable by maintaining eye contact. A part of him felt guilty for even bringing up the subject. Despite him not liking her drug use much, he understood why she did it, and yet he found her story a bit too hard to hear. He couldn’t bear the fact to hear someone he loves struggle so much, and yet she went through years of it. More importantly, he understood what it felt like to be lonely considering he had been lonely for years, and still was. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. Trust me, I get it and even though I haven’t been through exactly everything you have, I also have my own trauma that I have to deal with on a daily basis. I am sorry that happened to you, though. I really am. Like I said, I’m in no position to judge right now since I’m on hard shit right now.” He replied back in a mere whisper, unsure of what else to say. He wasn’t in any position to offer advice, considering he was currently still going through his own inner crisis. Bryce simply nodded once more as she continued, restating the offer she had proposed to him only a week ago. Her words made him the slightest bit emotional, but also brought up those feelings of sadness and loneliness that he was facing. He didn’t really have much here now that his sister was gone; most of the people he would go to during times like this were had moved away from Monarch, and now he felt like he had little to no one. “It makes me really happy that you have those people in your life, but I can’t really say the same for me right now. You have the reason to get sober, I don’t. Some days I don’t even know why I’m still here.” He admitted honestly. “I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but don’t let me stop you from getting sober. I’ll keep that part of my life away from you, but don’t wait for me because you will be waiting a long time.” He stated simply, not wanting to discourage her, but also not wanting her to get her hopes up. He needed his support system, people like his siblings, in order to even fathom the thought of getting sober. Bryce gave her a shy smile as she pressed a small kiss onto the corner of his lips, nodding at her statement before turning the car back on. Putting the vehicle in drive, he made his way back onto the road and proceeded to head towards their destination.

"We really are", AJ easily agreed. "I wasn't explaining myself so that you felt sorry for me or anything like that. I just... so many people have been commenting on my drug use without really understanding where any of it stems from. I don't owe them explanations about anything but I do want you to understand. You deserve that much", she said softly, explaining why she had chosen to share the full story with Bryce. She hadn't expected Bryce to say anything about her offer, knowing that he would need time to think about it, yet she certainly wasn't prepared for his next words. AJ understood that he was trying to be honest with her but it was hard to hear that her boyfriend felt like he didn't have those people in his life; and that he didn't even know why he was still on campus. For AJ, Bryce was one of those people. If anything, he was the main person in her life; the main person that made her believe that she able to have a fresh chance at life. It did hurt to hear that he didn't necessarily feel the same way and it definitely triggered her attachment and rejection issues to hear that he wasn't even sure why he was still on campus. "Right, well... we'll just keep things separate. That seems to be the only way forward", she said quietly; turning to look out the window. She just really didn't understand Bryce sometimes. He knew her better than anyone else in the world and they had finally talked things through, yet he had just as quickly caused further damage. It was like he didn't even think before talking sometimes, didn't give any regard to how his words would affect her. "Just know that even if we are keeping it all separate, I'm still your person, okay? You can call me if things ever get too much and I'll come to you, no questions asked".

“I just don’t think people want to see you go down that path. I can’t blame them.” Bryce said in a soft tone, his eyes remaining fixated on the road. “But thank you. For telling me, I mean. I’m here to support you in any way that I can.” He reminded once more. The man simply nodded at her response to his minor rant. He suddenly got the feeling that his honest suddenly brought them five steps backwards, but couldn’t fathom the thought of explaining himself further. He just couldn’t bring himself to talk about it any longer. “Yeah, uh — separate.” He repeated back with a small nod. It was probably better that way, even if it wasn’t. “Okay, thank you. The same for you...if things get to be too much.” He stated back, the voice of his voice soft, yet somewhat distant. He didn’t want to make things any more awkward than they had already become. That conversation ended just as he was pulling into the parking lot of the bowling alley, grabbing the closest parking spot to the door before shutting the vehicle off. “Well on a brighter note, we’re finally here.” He chuckled as he stated the obvious. “Do you still want to do this? If you’re not up for it now I can drive you home.”

"I know that they're saying things because they're worried about me. I know that you worry about me too. I guess I'm still getting used to the fact that I have people around me that care about me, that want the best for me. It's still new to me", AJ acknowledged. "Thank you for listening. I want you to know me, to really know me, even when it's hard to talk about", she explained. She smiled softly and just nodded when he confirmed that he was her person too. "I'm up to it", she confirmed as he parked the car; the woman quickly getting out of the car and waiting for Bryce to join her. Before he could start walking into the bowling alley, she lightly grabbed his arm to get him to stop. "Before we go in... as much as it hurts to hear it, thank you for being honest with me about the fact that you don't feel tethered to this place like I do. All I want, more than anything, is for you to be happy. If you need to leave campus to find that... it'll break my heart but I won't stand in your way, not if it's the right thing for you to do. Please just tell me so that I can say goodbye, please don't disappear on me", she said quietly. "I also just wanted to say that even though you don't feel like you have people here, that support system... I'm right here and whenever you're ready, I want to be that person for you". AJ had interpreted his speech in the car as evidence that she wasn't enough, that she was disposable, but rather than burying her head in the sand and ignoring it until it festered; she decided to be open about it and discuss how she felt. Bryce deserved that much. "Now that I've embarrassed myself by saying all of that, let's go and bowl so that I can embarrass myself more!"

#chatzy #ch: bowling #c: bryce #work in progress

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liloscreativeadventures · 4 years

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I Don’t Miss You

Summary: After 2 years of dating, AJ and OC have called it quits. AJ not wanting to be in a relationship in fear that it might end up the same way his previous relationship did. In a divorce. Decides to save OC the trouble of disappointing her.

Pairing: AJ Styles x OC (Esme De Leon); Finn Balor x OC (platonic)

Author’s Note: So sorta been rekindling my love for wrestling and AJ styles so this is what has come out of it. Song is “Yeah, No” by Elle Winter. Characters other than Esme belong to WWE.

You know everything about me But you don’t know a single thing about me Didn’t we spend enough nights That you should me inside and out? Yeah, you’d think you’d know by now

AJ Styles walked into the arena that was hosting tonight’s Raw. He wasn’t scheduled to be there at the taping today since he would now be appearing on Smackdown. He was just stopping by to visit and hang out with some friends. He was really hoping to run into Esme. Esme was his ex-girlfriend of 2 years. He was hoping to talk to her about the decision that he had made several months ago. His poor decision in wanting to break up with her.

He had met Esme when he had first made his official WWE debut back in 2016. She had been one of the few people to approach him and introduce themselves. It had taken her a lot of courage to talk to him as she had long been a fan of his work since his days with TNA. But beyond that was her crush on him. She had never told him when they first met but it had come up when they had first started dating. She had dreams of meeting him one day but always faced that reality that it may never occur. Esme was like a breath of fresh air for him. She was shy and timid when it came to meeting new people. But the second you got to know her, a different side of her came out. A vibrant and bubbly personality that was waiting to come out.

She never cared about the age difference. He was almost 10 years older than her but she didn’t care. If he loved her than she loved him too. Their relationship did not need to be defined by how much older he was or how much younger she was. She made him happy. It was the most complete he had ever felt in his life. More complete than his previous marriage. But he had fears that if Esme and he ever got married, it would end up the same way as his previous marriage. He didn’t want that. He wanted to protect Esme from that happening. So he ended the relationship to save him from his fear of commitment in another relationship and to protect her from being able to have her dreams of being a wife and mom.

But you’re oblivious, clueless, frankly kinda stupid Thinking that I’m spending m time Home alone crying, wonderin’ why-ing Wishing that you were still mine

Finn Balor and Esme stood outside of the men’s locker room just catching up and going over his match with Seth Rollins and Jeff Hardy. Esme would be accompanying him to the match. She was dressed in one of Finn’s shirts that wardrobe had cut to be a backless halter crop top with black pants and black knee high boots. Her black waist length hair had been straightened with her bangs brushed to the right side of her face. “I’m really just glad it’ll be a fairly simple match for you. I don’t know if I could do anything in these boots.” She said making a face as Finn chuckled.

“I mean you do get a piece of the action in the end of the match.” Finn said as she laughed.

“That’s true.” Esme said as Finn looked down the hallway to see AJ walking in their direction.

Esme’s brown eyes turned to follow Finn’s eyes to meet AJ’s blue eyes that were staring right at her. The butterflies in her stomach fluttering inside and she had to remind herself that it was him who had decided to call it quits. ‘Don’t fall for his trap, Emmie. He was the one who wanted out of your relationship.’ She told herself. Finn looked between the two noticing the hesitation.

“Hey AJ. What are you doing here?” Finn asked breaking the silence as he shook hands with AJ.

“Just stopped by to visit everyone. What are you two up to?” He asked looking at Finn then back at Esme.

“Oh, we were just going over my match tonight.” Finn said as Esme nodded her head, “But I was just about to head to catering to get some water before. Did you guys wanna come?”

“I think I’m okay. I was actually hoping to talk to Esme for a second. If you had some time, Esme?” AJ asked looking at her as Esme looked from Finn to him.

“Umm yeah that’s fine. I’ll meet you before the match, Finn.” She said as Finn nodded his head leaving the two alone.

Esme pulled at her top as AJ looked at her. God he had to resist the urge to just kiss her. Esme bit her lip before looking at him to ask, “So what did you want to talk about?”

AJ took a deep breath before saying, “I miss you.”

Esme blinked her ears trying to make sure she heard him correctly, “I’m - I’m sorry?”

“I said I miss you, Esme. God I miss you so much.” He said looking at her as she took a step back.

“No - No - No you don’t get to say that, AJ. You don’t get to say you miss me when you’re the one who broke up with me. You wanted this. You wanted out of this relationship because you wanted to ‘save me the trouble’ of being hurt when the idea of marriage came up. So don’t say that.” Esme argued looking at him.

“I know, Emmie.” He said as she shot him a look at the sound of her nickname and he threw his arms okay, “I’m sorry. Force of habit. Look, I know I was in the wrong, Esme. I was honestly afraid of what was going on with our relationship.”

“You were afraid that we were gonna end up like your previous marriage?” Esme asked as he nodded his head, “Look AJ, I’ve told you many times that I’m not her. I will never be her. I love - loved you with everything that I had because you made me happy. I mean sure I would have loved the idea of being married to you but if it wasn’t something you weren’t ready for I wouldn’t have forced you into wanting that.”

“And I’m sorry, Esme. I should have let you know how I was feeling. I was just afraid to hold you back for those things. I wanted you to be able to be a wife and a mom. I just I couldn’t see that for myself until I really sat down and thought about it. I’m really sorry.” AJ started to say as Esme looked away from him, “I realize that you’re not her. And if I could turn back time to fix everything, I would. Just so that I would have talked to you about this before I broke things up. I was stupid and I was afraid. But I want another chance with you. To prove that this time around things are going to be different. Esme, is there a chance that you would be willing to give us another a shot?”

Esme turned her head to look at him. Her brown eyes meeting his piercing blue eyes. Those blue eyes that she had come to love for so long.

Yeah, no, yeah, no Stop thinking I miss you Don’t, I don’t It never was an issue So let go Don’t tell me that you’re here for me ‘Cause I don’t give a **** boy, anymore Got my closure when I closed that door Bet you think my love is still yours, boy Bet you think my love is still yours, yours

Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, & Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz & Miztourage

Esme and Finn watched as Jeff and Seth headed out to the ring. Esme and Finn looked at each other smiling. They gave each other a fist bump. Something that had become a routine for them every time they headed out to the ring. Finn’s music started playing and they could hear the fans cheering. They stepped out to the top of the ramp and went in opposite directions to point to the fans before meeting each other in the middle. Walking down, Finn stopped midway to turn around to fix pop his leather jacket up while Esme blew him a kiss as her looked at her. They both made their way down towards the ring. Finn climbed the steps to rush to the middle as Esme climbed the stairs after him She met him at the middle and they posed. Her blowing a kiss to the fans as he bounced against the ring. She got in the ring as he made his way to the turnbuckle and climbed up to get into the ring. Standing next to Seth, they chatted for a bit laughing together.

AJ watched from the back. He took in the sight of her in the ring. He watched as she took Finn’s jacket and they shared a quick kiss. AJ’s stomach churned. He knew it was scripted but he was still protective of her. Esme smiled before climbing out of the ring with Seth’s help. She winked at him as he laughed at her climbing down. The ref rang the bell as the match started.

End of the Match

Seth pinned Miz to get the win as Esme jumped up and down outside of the ring. Seth got up to shake hands with Jeff but Bo Dallas went to attack them. Jeff caught him and hit the Twist of Fate as Finn climbed the turnbuckle hitting his move on Bo. They continued attacking Bo as Miz crept up behind Esme to grab her by the wrist. Esme screamed ‘Let me go!’ as the three guys looked her way and Finn got ready to jump out to help her. Esme leaned back to avoid the clothesline. Once his arm flew by her head, Esme turned her body so that she could kick Miz in the face. He fell to the ground just as Esme jumped on top of him to punch him in the face. Finn jumped out of the ring to pull her off. “That’s enough, Esme. Come on.” He whispered as she growled at Miz.

Jeff and Seth helped her into the ring as Finn climbed up beside her. Getting inside, the crowd cheered as Esme stood between Seth and Finn holding their arms up in the arm. The four of them climbed out of the ring making their way to the back.

After the match

They made their way back. They got out of gorilla and Jeff turned to look at Esme. “Did you really growl at him, Emmie?” He asked as the guys laughed.

Esme laughed punching Jeff in the shoulder, “I couldn’t help it.”

“The growl was extra emphasis on her attack.” Seth joked throwing his arm around her shoulder as they all laughed, “Come on. Onward we shall go.”

The guys dropped Esme off to the women’s locker where she grabbed her leather jacket and through it over her clothes. She wanted to go look for one of her close friend’s Natalya, who was also just visiting Raw. She found her in catering chatting with some other friends. Natalya got up and rushed to greet her. Pulling her into an embrace, “Emmie girl.”

“Hey Nattie! Good to see you.” She said as Natalya let go of her.

“How’s it been? Heard you ran into you know who.” Natalya said as they walked out of catering.

“I’ve been good. Technically I didn’t run into him. He was walking around the hallway looking for me” Esme said.

“Well what did he want?” Natalya asked as they walked down the hallway.

“Said he made a mistake and that he was sorry for breaking up with me.” Esme said giving Natalya the shorter version of the story.

But Nattie of course knew her better than that and looked at her, “And?”

“He wanted to see if there was a chance we could get back together.” Esme said as Natalya stopped walking.

Esme kept walking until she noticed Natalya wasn’t next to her. She turned to look at Natalya, “What?”

“He wanted to see if there was a chance you guys could get back together?” Natalya asked Esme nodded her head, “Please tell me you answered him yes.

Esme looked at her before saying, “Are you serious, Nattie? The guy was the one who wanted to break up with me. He was the one who wanted out because he “wanted to save me the trouble” of having my heartbroken if I ever thought of getting married with him because that wasn’t in his plans.”

“Emmie, what if he had a change of heart? I mean I know he was married before and he had fears that maybe your relationship would end up the same way his previous one did. But maybe he’s come to realize that you’re different and you’re not her?” She asked.

“That’s exactly what he said.” Esme said tugging on her leather jacket.

Yeah, no, yeah, no Yeah, no, yeah, no Yeah, no, yeah, no Yeah, no, yeah, no

But maybe just maybe she did miss him.

#aj styles x oc #aj styles x reader #aj styles image #aj styles imagines

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queerbuckleys · 3 years

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I just wanna talk about wardrobe things for a minute here-

Buck being in the light button up here means he is just a guy- who sees his best friend shot, he doesn't have the armor of the uniform, but this also literally saves his life and Mehta's tbh/imo, he would have been hit next if he had been uniform too.

here's the thing though- this outfit is slightly different then what we usually see him in. First he usually wears button ups- this is a button down (yes there is a difference, i will get to the importance of this later). Second he usually wears a jacket with light colored ones.

Okay so back to the fact that it is a button down, button downs are more of a style popular with older people and Buck does not often wear them cause they are usually cut in a way where they are not the fit that Buck seems to prefer, they are longer and looser. What I am trying to get at here is that Buck was dressed eerily similar to Bobby for this. Untucked button down with rolled up sleeves is the go to look for Bobby when he's off shift, and we have seen him in a light colored one multiple times this season (both of which coincide with him having talks with Athena and May but that's beside the point). Buck has variability, he wears short sleeves, tshirts, button ups with jackets etc. so why would they dress him like this? Why is it important?

Because Bobby is a man who has lost his partner, almost lost another partner to an unsuspecting incident (one he bore witness to over the radio), and right now is feeling as though his partner is slipping away in a different way.

So these clothes boil Buck down to a half of a team, losing a partner. They are separated by their clothes which separates them from both being hurt (physically, cause watching that happen is gonna emotionally destroy Buck). Eddie slips away from Buck at the very end there like Athena is from Bobby right now.

I hope to god someone understands this, idk if I actually got all my thoughts out correctly. Does it make sense?

anyway those are your local costume brain's thoughts and ramblings, please send questions this raises my way cause I am usually better at answering questions or just ignore this incoherent babbling :)

#911 #evan buckley #AJ knows too much about wardrobe #AJ thinks too much #AJ rambles #911 on fox #buddie #is this meta ?#who knows

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ericsonclan · 4 years

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A Lopsided Guardian

Summary: Louis, AJ and Willy work on making a scarecrow for the new outdoor garden.

Notes: For day 14 of @stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale‘s October’s Challenge: Scarecrow.

Word Count: 1637

Read on AO3:

“Ah, a perfect likeness!” Louis declared, pulling proudly on the sides of his jacket as he looked between A.J. and Willy. “You know, boys, I consider this a job well done,”

“He looks awesome!” Willy exclaimed, his gap-toothed smiled wide as he jumped around excitedly.

“Yeah, there won’t be any birds daring to come here anytime soon,” A.J. agreed. His pose mirrored Louis’, pulling on the sides of his own jacket in pride.

“What’s this about birds?” Aasim asked, stepping over to join the group. Suddenly his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Wait a minute… are those my clothes?” He looked at the life-sized wooden stick figure the boys had made as it lay against one of the picnic tables. A series of sticks had been lashed together to form the skeleton frame while an unripe gourd was used as the head.

“They’ve been given to a worthy cause,” Louis replied, unabashedly smiling at his friend. “From now on your garments will protect our little garden from all the predators of the sky,”

“No they won’t!” Aasim declared, striding forward and ripping the clothes off of the wooden frame underneath. “Use your own clothes if you’re that keen on sacrifice! Or find some spares around the school, but don’t go dragging me into this.”

“Aww, c’mon ‘Sim, don’t be a spoilsport!” Louis protested, his lower lip jutting out in a fake pout. “They were just laying around begging to be put to use! It’s not like you ever get out of that smelly old hoodie anyways,”

“Says the guy in a duct-taped trench coat 24/7!”

“What’s all the ruckus out here for?” Ruby asked, bustling out to see what was going on.

Willy leapt forward. “Ruby, we made the scarecrow for you!”

“But Aasim stole the clothes,” A.J. added.

“They’re my clothes!”

Ruby ignored the squabbling and examined the scarecrow. “Well, it’s not a bad first attempt, but you boys are going to have find some sort of sturdy pole to mount it on so it can actually stand up. Also, while the gourd you picked does look an awful lot like Aasim, that’s gonna rot and fall off in a matter of weeks so you’re gonna wanta find a more permanent option,”

“Wait,” Aasim looked back at the gourd head more closely. Some features had been etched onto the gourd with a knife including a triangle cut out below the massive frown. “You literally made an effigy of me?!”

“Aw, Aasim you say that like it’s a bad thing! You should be honored!” Louis cajoled, patting Aasim on the back.

“I’ve gotta get back to work,” Ruby said, walking back toward the greenhouse. “Keep at it, boys!”

“You would think having her as my girlfriend would mean she was on my side from time to time,” Aasim harrumphed, turning away.

“Trouble in paradise?” Louis asked, quirking an eyebrow. “I guess that proves Clem and I are the best couple after all,”

“Is that my name I hear?” Clementine asked, coming over on her crutches to see what was going on.

“Clem!” Louis exclaimed, jumping forward and guiding her towards the bench. “You’re just in time to witness he magnificence that is Gourdsim!”

“Oh, is that what it is?” Clementine chuckled as she watched A.J. and Willy toss the gourd back and forth. “I’m only catching glimpses of the carving that went into it, but it looks like quite the likeness,”

“I’m surrounded by philistines,” Aasim muttered under his breath.

“Why thank you,” Louis shot his girlfriend a toothy grin. “Unfortunately Ruby said the head’s a no go, so it’s back to square one,”

“Why not sew one?” Clementine suggested. “It wouldn’t have to be made out of anything fancy. We could use some of those old potato sacks from the kitchen,”

“That’s a great idea! I don’t know anything about sewing though,” Louis waved his duct taped sleeve. “Hence all the fancy alterations to my wardrobe,”

“I could sew it,” Clementine offered. “We’d just need to find a needle. Ruby guards the ones in the medical supply religiously,”

“I know where a few are,” Aasim stated, his arms crossed. “But if I’m to help with this, we are no longer making this scarecrow some twisted version of me!”

Louis and Clementine shared a smile. They could live with that.

-----

“That’s quite the skills you’ve got there, Clem!” Louis whistled appreciatively.

“Thanks. It’s nothing much, just gets the job done,” Clementine replied as she sewed the sack stuffed with leaves and sticks closed. “To be honest, I’ve used these skills less on fabric than other materials,” She caught Louis frowning at her words. He’d spotted the scar from the dog bite on her arm a few weeks ago and she’d told him what she’d had to do to get it stitched up. The whole account had upset him terribly. “Not that I’ve had to use it for that purpose either, not for a long time,”

Louis took her wrist in his hand, placing a quick kiss upon it. “Let’s hope that trend continues,”

“Clem! Louis!” A.J.’s voice excitedly rang across the courtyard. “We found the perfect costume!” He and Willy ran up to the couple, a grey pile of clothes in tow. They raised it up proudly. “It’s a mouse costume!”

“We found it in that costume box Ruby discovered a while back!” Willy added.

It was indeed a mouse costume, likely worn for The Nutcracker production that Ericson had used to put on each Christmas. They certainly had no other use for it now so it was perfect for the scarecrow.

“Looks great, guys,” Clementine raised up the scarecrow head she had in the works. “Maybe I can reshape this a bit, make it look more like a mouse face,”

“We could make big mouse ears for it too,” Louis suggested, grinning at the thought.

“We’ll get more potato sacks!” A.J. declared. With that he and Willy were off once more like a shot. Clementine giggled as she watched them run. It was nice to see A.J. so excited. It felt like things were finally starting to reach a new normal.

“Didn’t feel like using the prosthetic?” Louis’ question pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Wasn’t up for struggling with it today. This one’s way better than the others, but…” Clementine shook her head. “There’s still a lot to get used to,”

“We’ll work on it again when you’re ready,” Louis replied, his eyes gentle. “By the way, have you seen Vi today?”

“Omar pulled her aside for some sort of task, something about the ‘secrets of cooking’,”

Louis gave a mock gasp. “Omar decided to confide in Violet instead of me? And after all the Stew with Lous we shared together,”

“He clearly knows no loyalty,” Clementine replied, a smile playing on her lips as she joined in Louis’ theatrics. “There, I think that looks pretty mouse-like, right?”

“The spitting image. Y’know, I think I know where some buttons got stashed away a while back. They’d be perfect for eyes. I’ll just be a few,” Rising to his feet, Louis placed a quick kiss on his girlfriend’s forehead before scampering off in search of the buttons.

Clementine held up the mouse head. “Guess it’s just you and me then,”

The mouse head had nothing to say on the matter.

Clementine set it aside with a chuckle. This scarecrow really was coming together nicely.

--------

“Just a little more and… there!” Louis grunted with effort as he forced the pole the scarecrow was placed on further into the ground. “That should hold him,” He and the two younger boys stepped back to admire their work. “Y’know, I think we did quite a fine job,”

“It’s the biggest mouse ever!” A.J. shouted, spreading his arms wide in glee.

“No birds are gonna mess with him!” Willy declared proudly.

Clementine smiled at the boys as she sat upon the picnic table bench. She turned when she heard a voice behind her.

“What the hell is that?” It was Violet, carrying a bowl of greens which she set upon the table.

“Louis and the boys have been working on a scarecrow all afternoon,”

“Huh. Hey Lou, it looks great!” Violet called out.

Louis face brightened only to fall as soon as he saw Violet’s smirk. “Yeah, Vi, that joke never gets old,”

“Get used to it! You’re gonna be hearing it for the rest of your life!” Violet sat down beside Clementine, looking pleased with herself.

Clementine smiled over at her friend. “Have fun with Omar?”

Violet shrugged. “It was fine,” She stared out at the garden before them. “Can’t believe it took us this long to make an outdoor garden,”

It had taken several days of grimy work to fully clear out and till the patch of land Ruby had decided on before planting all the seeds one by one. One of the picnic tables had been brought over to provide seating during breaks and still hadn’t been moved back yet so the girls had a close-up view of the garden. It looked charming now, planted with row upon row of beans, tubers, squash and more. They’d have quite the harvest if all went well.

“Excited for veggies?”

“I think Omar’s the most excited of us all. It’ll be nice to have something new on the menu though,”

Clementine nodded. No more canned beans for her. She had fresh, home-grown food now every day. A place to sleep at night, sturdy walls… sometimes she still couldn’t believe it was all real. But it was. She was home.

“Something on your mind?” Violet asked, looking inquisitive.

“Just happy is all,” Clementine chuckled as she watched Louis, A.J. and Willy do a little victory dance together. It was a good day.

#twdg #twdg louis #twdg clementine #twdg willy #twdg aj #twdg omar #twdg aasim #twdg ruby #twdg violet #clouis #rusim #fanfic #twdgoctoberchallenge

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serahsanguine · 5 years

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Vacation Series Pt. 1 - Let The Games Commence. Ch, 3

This is the first book in a two-part series. This book is a six-part story which will be upload daily for the next week. After that, it will be Book two following the same pattern. it was originally made for the Summer Fanfic Exchange.

Tumblr - pt. 1, pt. 2 All chapters can be found Here on Ao3

This Chapter Rating; PG-13

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

Chapter 3: Day Two - The Village.

Scully woke up, in a tangle of sheets. She hadn’t worn much to bed as it was too warm even at 11 o'clock at night. The sun shone brightly through the folds in the blinds. If she were to take a guess, she would say it was around 9am. She had forgotten to set her alarm the night before, but she didn’t mind losing all sense of time. She sat up, the smell of fresh coffee and something else: breakfast maybe. She stepped out of bed, her legs slightly heavy as they hadn’t been used for a few hours. She walked through to her wardrobe grabbing her black silk kimono and wrapped it around her before descending down the stairs.

She stopped halfway to find Mulder listening to the radio and singing along to it. From what she could hear it was Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley. Then she looked around the room to find the table had been set with plates, cutlery, even a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. It looked like he had cooked her a full English breakfast: bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes, beans, hash browns.

She descended the rest of the stairs, making sure nothing was in Mulder’s hands before speaking just in case she made him jump.

“I didn’t know you cooked Mulder.”

He jumped a little and then turned around to face her, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her, his smile covering his full face.

“It’s one of my many talents, it’s just no fun cooking for one.”

“So, in all those years I have known you, why haven’t you cooked for me?”

“You’ve never asked, Scully,” he was serious but not full of conviction.

“Touche.”

“Anyway, sit down. Breakfast is served, madam and if you would like a coffee, I just brewed a small pot.”

“Thank you, Mulder, but you didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Of course I do.” There was a short pause. “You deserve the world, Scully, ” he whispered.

His eyes told her he meant it.

“Tuck in, Scully, before it gets cold.”

An hour later the food was eaten, and she enjoyed every last piece of it. He was an exceptional cook. He added spice and herbs and the food had never tasted so good. She nursed her coffee waiting for it to cool down

“What is on the agenda for today, Mulder?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could wander through the village, and possibly try out their homemade ice cream.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she soon finished her coffee and went upstairs to get changed. Soon after Mulder did the same.

He shut his bedroom door, leaning against it and thinking about that morning events over and over again in his mind. But spending yesterday with her, he lost all resolve to keep his emotions in check, and guarded. She unintentionally was breaking those walls around his heart. But in doing so he felt like she was also letting him to hers.

He walked to his suitcase, he still hadn’t unpacked, and his clothes were hanging out the sides. He found the brown shorts he was looking for and also the grey tank top. He quickly showered and changed before heading downstairs to wait for Scully.

30 minutes later and some more of his book read, he was sitting on the cushioned Wicca sofa when he heard Scully stepping down the stairs. He placed a bookmark where he had stopped, and placed the book next to him on the table. He shifted in his seat and looked around to see her. She was stunning, wearing a yellow long skirt and a white tank top. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was wearing a straw kind of hat to keep the sun from burning her face, she had already slightly caught the sun yesterday as her normally pale skin was a tad on the pink side.

“You ready to go?” he asked enthusiastically.

“Yes I am, but I can’t find my sandals, have you seen them?” He watched her look under the sofa, then around the front porch, then in the kitchen.

“Scully have you tried on the back porch? ” he watched her walk out of the french doors staring at her ass. ‘One of these days she's gonna catch me staring, and when that day happens I'm done for” he smiled at the thought and watched her re-enter the room.

“Thank you, how far is it to the village?”

“About a 20 minutes walk, 5 minutes on the beachfront, straight across the bridge and 5 minutes walk to the village.”

She beamed a smile in his direction.

“You might be able to see the wild horse as we walk, a little blonde bird told me they were in the area.”

He didn’t know it was possible but her smile got even wider. He knew how much she liked horses though she had never told him herself, he remembered the story her mother told him while she was missing of how her father took her to horse riding lessons whenever he was on leave. And it’s something the two of them shared until she was well into med school.

The walk to the village was pleasant, she didn’t see the wild horses but she didn’t mind, spending time with Mulder was enough, he made light conversation, made her laugh telling her stories of the lone Gunmen and the pranks they pulled on each other.

They stopped at local shops, they were so beautiful on the outside. There were brownstone buildings, wood buildings, flowers as far as the eye could see on each side of the road: blues, yellows, whites and so much lavender. She could smell them mixing with the sea air.

When they were done browsing the local shops, they found a small restaurant on the main street looking out onto the marsh. She stood outside reading the sign AJ’s on the creek. She walked inside and instantly smelled the seafood. She followed Mulder to the table and looked around. The tables were covered in crisp white linens and topped with paper napkins and bottles of hot sauce. She pulled a menu up to her face but causally lowered it a little so she could study her partner. He had definitely caught a tan, he was a lovely golden bronze now. She could see the sweat forming on his brow trickling down his nose.

“What looks good Scully?”

“Hum…”

“Scully?”

Mulder looked at her with confusion. She looked back at him realising that she had been staring and daydreaming for the last 5 minutes about her partner. And she had been caught in the act.

She started blushing, hoping he hadn't noticed, and if he did, hoping to put it down to the sun catching her Irish skin.

“Oh the Seasonal soft-shell crab, served fried on platters, and a romaine salad is with a zesty citrus Caesar dressing, Parmesan crumbs, and crisped bread sounds delicious.”

“The way you just made it sound, makes me want that exact dish.” He raised his eyebrows, in a mock teasing way. And she instantly knew there was a double meaning behind the first part of that sentence.

Their meal arrived and it was just as incredible as it sounded on the menu, while she waited for him to finish she thought about a few things

Her feelings for her partner were becoming so clear to her now, but she didn’t want to give in to them, she was scared of losing him, the friendship, their partnership. He was slowly becoming everything to her. Like he was a part of her and no way in hell she would risk it. But damn she just wanted to kiss him, pull that bottom lip of his in her lips and bite it hard. She soon suppressed such a feeling and carried on.

“I have a small surprise for you before we go to the ice cream shop.”

“Mulder, you know I don't like surprises.”

“Well, Miss, I know, but you will love this one, I promise. ”

“Sure, fine, whatever.”

Mulder paid for the meal and started leaving her following close. Just before she stepped out, someone stopped her by gently tapping her on the shoulder.

“You have a lovely husband there, he is definitely a keeper.”

She didn’t know how to respond, she didn’t want to correct the poor woman. But she didn’t have an answer for her. So she simply nodded and left the restaurant.

30 minutes later and both of them were standing outside a quite large building looking at the sea.

“What are we doing here, Mulder?”

Before he could answer and an elderly gentleman came up the gate. He was dressed in blue levis and a black and red checkered shirt.

“Mr and Mrs Mulder?”

Again they were mistaken for a married couple, twice in one hour. She sighed, not saying anything again and Mulder didn’t correct the man either. Instead, he nodded at the old man.

“Ok, then, this way. They’re going to need to be brushed, before you go on them. But they are both beautiful.”

Mulder nodded again and looked at her utterly confused face. He just gave her a wide grin while he guided her to a stable. There were two beautiful pedigree horses: one completely black and another, white and brown.

“Oh, my God, they are beautiful Mulder; but I still don’t get it?”

“Yes they are Mrs Mulder,” the old man interrupted her. “And they are just ready to go out. Just before I leave you two alone, Mr Mulder said you didn’t need any training to ride the horses and both of you have previous experience.”

“Yes, thank you.”

With that, the man left them alone.

“How did you know I used to ride? And, more importantly, how did I not know that you do too?”

“First, your mother told me. And second, I learnt with Samantha on the vineyard. She loved horses and she didn’t want to go alone because at first, they scared her.”

Scully saw the pain in his eyes, but there were also small hints at happiness from the memories.

“Why did you never tell me?” she asked moving towards the black horse.

“I suppose it just never came up.”

Mulder saw the delight in Scully’s eyes as she trouted along the beachfront: she was truly enjoying herself. Her hair was like fire against the blue of the sea and the black of the horse.

“Mulder, I’m so glad we did this, it’s been a very long time since I rode a horse.”

“My pleasure Scully. We really should be heading back if you want to try that ice cream.”

“Ok, race you!” she suddenly yelled and took the horse into a full gallop, leaving a cloud of sand dust in her mist.

“Cheat!” he shouted, but she was gone

Mulder clicked the rains and went into a full gallop after her. When he finally caught up to her, she was stroking her horse waiting for him.

“What took you so long?” she was trying to stifle her laugh.

“You do know that cheaters never prosper,” he looked at her and she was still holding her laugh back.

“And Foxes don't win.”

“Wow, Scully, below the belt.”

He was teasing her and she knew it. He picked her up off her horse and brought her close to his body before putting her on the ground, rubbing her a little too much against his body.

She pulled him close, lent up on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear.

“I know that’s where you want me, and I want it too.”

She turned around on her heels, grabbing the horse’s reins, and walked towards the stable. She erupted with laughter, leaving him dum-stuck, unable to speak or even breathe. He finally managed to remember how to breathe and grabbed the reins on his horse finally walking to put him back in the stable while contemplating what she had said to him.

Did she really mean it? I’d be over the moon. But what if she was teasing me? Just playing my game? Those three things kept running over and over again in his mind.

He hitched the horse on the wood, closing the stable door. Scully was waiting for him just like always. The elderly gentleman thanked them and told them to enjoy the rest of their holiday. Mulder placed his hand at the small of her back and lead her towards the ice cream shop.

They arrived soon and stepped inside. It was a small but beautiful place, with light wood everywhere, something straight out of a magazine beautiful. The sun was setting, bouncing orange beams around the shop's white walls leaving a shimmering glow.

“What ice cream are you picking, Scully?”

“I’m having a double cone: one side filled with chocolate, and the other, rum and raisins.”

“Sound’s yummy.”

She ordered her ice cream and turned around to him.

“What flavour are you having?”

“I was thinking of chocolate orange.”

“Now that sounds nice, Mulder, I can’t wait to try it.”

She had confused him again, but he caught the look in her eyes. It was a wicked look full of mischief.

Their ice creams were soon devoured and Scully had got closer to him. He hadn’t realised he had some ice cream on his chin and kept wondering why Scully was staring at him. She leant in close and whispered.

“I meant what I said earlier.”

She kissed his cheek and then his nose, they were so feather-like, her lips barely touched his skin. His heart was hammering in his chest and again he was left gasping for air. He looked into her eyes, knowing if he looked he would know if she was teasing. He looked into the warm blue and was lost there. But he saw everything he had ever wanted, the whole truth. She loved him and meant it. Her lips caught him by surprise as she pressed them against his. Her tongue was seeking entrance and he opened up gladly. Their lips were gliding against each other, their tongues exploring every crevice in each other’s mouth. His eyes had shut, enjoying the feeling of their mouths touching. She let go and he sighed missing her already.

“Chocolate orange does taste nice,” she said giggling like a schoolgirl.

“And chocolate and rum and raisin taste even better.”

They left the restaurant hand in hand, both content with the moment neither wanting to push. Just enjoying the simple pleasure of each other.

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

Tagging; @skullsmuldon @today-in-fic @baronessblixen @peacenik0

#txf fanfic #TXF #msr fanfic #msrmoments #mulder and scully #MulderandScully #mulder and scully fanfic #The X-Files #the x files #the xfiles

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