#finishes uni work earlier > brings the night back > back to bed to repeat tomorrow

[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars • 16

Pairings: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, [F]Reader Content: Language, possible errors Author’s notes: Thanks for the support! xx (also kinda personal but I just got accpected into uni?! Crazy!) 

Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 16: Everything Goes According to Plan

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January 30th, 1976

“Where’s my camera?”

“Be careful — Oi! Don’t step on me!”

“Ouch!”

“Shush!”

The squeaking of floorboards creaked throughout the small room as everyone kept on stumbling into each other, all fidgeting from excitement. That morning, they’d all woken up earlier than usual, decorating the room with streamers, leftover Christmas decor and a large banner that hung above the entrance of the doorway that read, Happy Birthday, Petals! (which was Y/N’s idea — she was very proud of the nickname). Even Mary snuck into their dorm, making everyone wear small pointy party hats as they huddled around Lily’s bed, circling her like vultures and raised their hands high. With a quiet count of three from Marlene, their hands lowered, hovering over Lily’s arms and legs, then shook.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” They bellowed.

Lily woke with a jolt; her eyes flew open as she let out a scream. Her back slammed against the bed frame while Toulouse swiped at them, specifically at Marlene and hissed.

Lily’s heart hammered against her chest and she felt the small prickles of needles subside all over her body. Her hand clutched her nightgown, attempting to even out her breathing. “You could’ve given me a heart attack!”

“Happy birthday, Lils!” Mary repeated before climbing into her bed, hugging her.

She grunted at the impact as a smile replaced her features. Her eyes hopped from person to person before landing on Y/N who gave a sweet smile which had Lily blushing as she averted her eyes back to Mary.

When the group realized that Lily’s birthday fell on a weekend, it left them giddy and beyond excited for the endless opportunities that lay ahead of them. Not only did it leave the entire group to have a small break from their ruthless studying, but they could thoroughly celebrate the day and have enough time to spare for any last-minute plans for the surprise birthday party that night.

“Get your arse up and get ready to start the day!” Marlene declared, already trying to tug her crimson blanket away.

Lily yawned, rubbing her eyes, “Do we have to? I’m tired…”

“Come on! Life is short! It’s time we make memories,” she cried, “You never know when you’re going to die! Would you rather celebrate your birthday as a ghost or six feet under?! I, for one, will not visit your grave.”

Lily rolled her eyes, getting up with a stretch. Dorcas moved to turn on Marlene’s record player, settling a record by Nancy Sinatra as everyone continued with their usual morning routines. Lily got dressed in her favourite long sleeve lilac dress, pulling on tights to prevent herself from freezing. Mary wore her usual gold eyeshadow and wore a red jumpsuit while Marlene dressed coolly in all black. Although, Dorcas decided to stay in bed, still recovering from her nasty flu.

“You look very pretty today,” Y/N told Lily while detangling her hair from the loose braid she had it in. She took a brush and hair styler, primping her hair to Lily’s usual style and placed a headband in her hair.

“I — I, er — thanks!” She replied somewhat flustered.

“No… problem — there! Finished!” She handed Lily a handheld mirror, letting her go over her appearance. Pleased, she turned around to the group.

“So, first order of business, what did you want to do today?” Dorcas asked before going into a fit of coughs. Marlene rushed up to her side and popped off a cork from a nearby potion for her to drink.

Everyone had been slightly worried. It had been four days now and Dorcas still wasn’t recovering from the flu despite the ad of magic and potions. Thankfully today she seemed to perk up, even just a little, but they worried she was pushing herself.

“How about we just stay here, with you? We can all up a Healer and —”

“No,” Dorcas coughed again, she waved her hands in front of her, “I’ll be fine. Don't worry about me. What do you want to do?”

Lily remained quiet for a moment and Y/N assumed she was going to suggest staying in their dorm with Dorcas again, but her eyes gleamed with unusual mischief. Her eyes hopped from person to person before landing on Y/N. “I want to do a prank and I think you’ll love it.”

Everyone’s brows rose. Lily, the goodie-two-shoes prefect, Evans and pranks?! Those two do not belong in the same sentences.

“Okay…” said Mary, nodding her head despite being confused, “We’re listening.”

Lily sat down on her bed, crossing one leg over the other as she motioned everyone to sit. “Do you think it’s possible if we can dye someone’s hair? Obviously, safely,” she used her prefect voice, “But do you think we can?”

A beat went by — that was strangely out of character. What happened to the Lily they knew?

“Yeah,” Marlene begins, “What colour are you thinking?”

“Orange — bright orange with a bit of green.”

Then, Lily turned over to look at her again, a ghost of a smile appearing that told Y/N that whatever she was planning was going to be worth it — especially if Lily out of all people, was going to pull it off.

“Someone's going to be sorry for calling me Carrots.”

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At breakfast, they arrived later than usual after they all planned out their prank. Marlene, who had been a part of too many pranks with Sirius and James, helped the most, while Y/N and Lily created a hair-changing potion using one of Dorcas’ old cauldrons — but unlike James, they stuck to a potions textbook with a reversal potion. Since it was Lily’s idea, she would be the one to slip the potion into Sirius’ drink. So, she tucked the vital into the sleeve of her dress, hidden from prying eyes.

They all huddled around her as they entered the Great Hall; their hands were pushed forward protectively, guarding Lily as if she were a celebrity being swarmed by adoring fans and they were her bodyguards. They paved her way from students while shouting:

“She’s declining photos at the moment!”

“Birthday girl coming through!”

“She’s a very busy lady! Out of the way!”

Lily kept on protesting for them to stop, hiding her face in her hands. As they reached their table, they sat beside the marauders while Lily made sure to take a seat next to Sirius. But, that wasn’t the end of Lily’s humiliation. Mary stood up, clapping to gain everyone’s attention. Once she realized what was about to happen she quickly got up, but Y/N and Sirius clapped a hand on Lily’s shoulder, shoving her back down on the bench.

They opened their mouths, singing,

“Haaaaapppppy birthday to you!” The six of them hollered before the rest of the hall caught on and started singing. “Haaaaapppppy birthday to you! Haaaaapppppy birthday dear Lily —” “CARROTS!” Shouted Sirius at the top of his lungs.

Lily kept shaking her head, blushing incredibly hard — even the tips of her ears started to turn pink. She covered her ears, attempting to muffle out the singing.

Y/N snapped a few photos of her, shoving them into her pockets.

“Haaaaapppppy birthhhhdaaaay tooooo youuuuuuuu!”

The Gryffindors and any Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs that knew Lily cheered loudly. A few teachers, like Slughorn or McGonagall, made their way over to her, congratulating her along with a few other of her friends from different houses. Well wishes could be heard, along with a few people even handing her cards too.

Even an owl came swooping by when she had her back turned, dropping off a small package addressed from her parents and her sister, Petunia.

Swarmed and distracted, this left the group to huddle together as they leant over the table, forming a small circle of sorts. James was excluded as he sat back and drank a cup of tea flicking through the Daily Prophet.

“Operation: Lily’s birthday party,” said Marlene, “Let’s go over what our positions are for tonight.”

Mary was assigned with Dorcas to decorate the common room while Remus distracted Lily tonight during their rounds. Marlene and Sirius were in charge of drinks and snacks, leaving Peter and Y/N to bake a cake and bring any additional food.

They all quickly pulled apart once the crowd around Lily subsided. She settled back down, nodding and faking a cough. This signalled to the girls as Marlene quickly roped Sirius into a conversation about a New-Maj band he liked; Y/N talked to James about the upcoming Ravenclaw and Slytherin Quidditch match which left Mary to distract both Peter and Remus.

When none of the marauders were looking, Lily popped the corkscrew from the vital and grabbed a bowl of muffins on Sirius’ left. While she lent over, the potion poured directly into Sirius’ cup and she sat back down, smirking to herself. Y/N gave a discreet small high-five to her as they waited.

After a few minutes, parched from his talk with Marlene, Sirius picked up his goblet and tipped back the drink. He took a large gulp, wincing at the taste as he pulled it away from his face, but returned to his conversation like normal.

For several minutes, nothing happened. The girls kept quickly glancing upwards to check out his hair, but nothing: still bleached blond. They sighed, dejected that their plan hadn’t worked and Y/N nudged Lily underneath the table and gave a small smile, trying to cheer her up.

Another ten minutes went by and only then did the root of Sirius’ hair begin to tint into a bright orange colour rather than his dyed hair. This caught the girl's attention, however, the rest of the marauders who were still engaged in their conversations, did not notice as their heads were turned away from him.

His hair rapidly turned into orange as the tips were tinted green. Sirius didn’t seem to notice until James laughed, quickly turning to him to tell him a joke until his eyes widened at his hair.

“Ugh — Padfoot?!”

Sirius looked at him bewildered at his worried tone and expression before catching his reflection in James’ glasses. By now, Peter and Remus looked at him, their eyes widened, leaving the girls to force down their laughter, showing false concern.

“What the fuck?!” Sirius exclaimed, running a hand through it. She’d never seen Sirius this panicked before. More than anything, he looked shocked and even a bit… happy? No — definitely not happy. He continued to chuckle nervously before fretting over his appearance. For once, his laughter did not bother her.

Students began to take notice, pointing over at the Gryffindor table while some even began gossiping with others about the prank. As soon as the bell rang, everyone got up from their seats while the marauders surrounded Sirius, trying to help him out. The girls, on the other hand, got up and ran out of the Great Hall, practically howling.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I just did that! I did that! We did that!” Lily exclaimed in disbelief before taking a seat down at their usual hangout near the library. “Did you see his reaction?! Jeez! I see why they pull so many pranks now!”

Y/N was about to burst into tears. That was by far the funniest shit she’d ever seen before. Marlene was in a similar boat as she clutched her side. Her stomach hurt from how hard she laughed.

“Lily! You little minx!” Mary cried as flopped beside Lily, her head dropping into her lap.

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Their day was jammed packed. They went skating on the black lake, hit up the library, walked around school grounds which ended up in a huge snowball fight. After a bit, they decided to take a moment to separate themselves to give each other a bit of space while Lily went to find Snape.

This left the rest of the group two hours tops to themselves.

Y/N walked over to Honeydukes, buying a bunch of Jelly Slugs and a couple of other things before dashing back to the castle; she needed to wrap all of her presents and she promised to help Dorcas wrap hers too.

Before she entered Hogwarts again, Y/N took a moment to herself and enjoyed the small moment of peace around her. The soft crunching of snow, the cold breeze and the stillness — how quiet it was — there was hardly a moment since the break that Y/N had felt the comfortable peace Hogwarts had to offer.

Stepping inside the corridors, the atmosphere suddenly changed with the torches ablaze and a constant bubbling ambience that never seemed to settle.

In the distance, to her right, she could hear distant shouting and a rush of footsteps nearing. Out of nowhere, James seemed to come barreling towards her.

“Whiskers!” He yelled, sending her a fast wink as he continued to run down the corridor, making a sharp turn. Then, Marlee popped out, dashing after James.

“Marls?! What’s happening?”

“Running from Filch — get him off my trail!”

“What did you do?!”

“Told me to cover up, so I hexed him — Potter called him a rent boy!”

“Are you going to miss the party?” She yelled as Marlene’s body kept getting smaller and smaller as she ran. Y/N began to panic, without Marlene, surely things would take a lot longer than planned.

“Like hell I am! I won’t be late!”

Marlene disappeared, shortly being replaced by Filch who ran in a strange mixture of running and hopping.

“Where did they go?” He breathed, bending down and clutching his knees. “I heard them over here, where are they?”

And so Y/N decided to have some fun. “Who?”

“You know!”

“Um — you mean the one with blond hair?” “And the boy with black hair!”

“Oh! Yes, I know who… What’re their names again? Severus Snape and —” she paused, trying to think of another blond person, “Ugh — Sirius Black?”

Well, he used to be blond.

“No! The Potter boy and McKinnon! Where are they?!”

“Hmm… Oh! Oh! I think they went,” she pointed outside to the thick, cold snowy path, “That way!”

Filch didn’t even question her and ran off. Laughing, Y/N ran away from Filch; the last thing she wanted to do was face his wrath once he knew she lied.

Opening the door to her dorm, Dorcas was asleep. She walked up to grab a nearby folded blanket and placed it over her body to keep her warm before starting working.

She cleared off a table, unfolding her wrapping paper and wrapped the sides before creasing them, taping everything down with a pretty bow.

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Nobody had seen Marlene or James for the past couple of hours — they’d even skipped dinner which caused everyone to go into a state of panic. Without Marlene, Sirius would be in a lot of trouble completing his task alone.

The common room was filled with fighting in hushed whispers as Lily and Remus were set to leave for their rounds in a couple of minutes.

“I’m going to kill her,” Mary fumed, “The one day they’re not supposed to go mucking around, they pull this!”

“How about we find them —” “And lose the little time we have now?”

Sirius, in particular, was on edge, aggravated, as he turned towards Y/N, “Why didn’t you think of saying anything sooner?”

“Because I didn’t think Marlene and James would be stupid enough to get caught! Not today!”

He closed his mouth, his lips pressed into a tight line. Even he hadn’t expected them to be that stupid either — not today.

“Everyone, shut up. All of you! Why don’t we take a moment to breathe?” Remus said calmly, effectively shutting the entire group up. In moments like these, Y/N understood why he was a prefect. He breathed in and looked to Sirius, “You can do this by yourself, can you?”

“Course not, Moony. Have a little faith in me!” Sirius gave a tenacious laugh, although forced.

Remus’ eyes then flicker to Y/N and Peter, “This shouldn’t affect you, will it?”

They shook their heads.

“Okay then, we’ll continue as planned. I’ll buy you as much time as —” He quickly cut himself off as everyone’s ears perked up. They all heard it, Lily’s footsteps. With that, Y/N, Sirius and Peter weaved their way out of the common room, walking quickly to avoid Lily and Remus from catching up to them. Unfortunately, Sirius took the invisibility cloak before she or Peter had the time to ask for it.

They sneakily made their way down a flight of moving stairs, passing several empty corridors and made their way down to the kitchens.

Once they began working on Lily’s cake, Y/N instantly knew why Peter was assigned to the kitchens.

He instructed her most of the time, telling her which ingredients or utensils to find. Currently, she grabbed a metal ladle and watched as Peter churn the ingredients, watching as they blend into a seamless, smooth mixture. She sat back most of the time, baking and cooking was never something she was great at. 

Y/N rifled through the cabinets, searching for a cake tin. “Ah-hah! Found some!”

They were heart-shaped, rather than the usual circular ones. She placed them onto the counter before turning her attention to grease the pans and focus on making a couple of sandwiches.

“So,” she started, trying to make small talk, “Where’d you learn to bake so well?”

Peter went pink as he wordlessly flicked his wand; the cake tin and floated it into one of the pre-heated ovens and turned to make the frosting. “Erm — it was James’ mum, Euphemia, who taught me. She’s a great baker — honestly she’s good at everything.

“James and I grew up close to each other; we’re childhood friends. He never did fancy baking — liked cooking more and I felt bad he never wanted to help out Euphemia. So one day I offered to help and now whenever I’m at their house, I help around — like a tradition — and I do it in my spare time now. Helps clear my head.”

Just then, two house-elves popped in, each holding a cup of tea for each student. Y/N gave her thanks while Peter turned to talk to them, making them laugh and asking questions that seemingly were a follow-up from a previous conversation. A light dust of flour scattered the side of his cheek while he smiled with them. The more he spoke with the elves, the more Y/N grew fascinated.

Out of all the marauders, even beating out Sirius and James who were amongst the most popular students at Hogwarts, Peter was the most liked out of all of them, especially amongst her friend group.

He wasn’t James who at times was a bit too much and talked an awful lot. He wasn’t Sirius who was dramatic, nor was he Remus who was quiet and intimidating. Peter was just Peter — who was a bit skittish, insanely good at Wizard’s chess, bold enough to sneak into the Slytherin's common room all by himself and loved to bake, clearly was in the kitchens often enough to have full-blown conversations with the elves when most people would so much as spit on before walking away.

It spoke volumes of his character, especially since he was from a Pureblood family; bound to grow up entitled and look down to his inferiors.

She noticed Peter had quite a lot of friends, mostly women, always seeming willing to help someone in dire need whether it be listening, giving advice or comforting another person. It only made her recollect the time Peter had engaged in small conversations with her, seeking to make her feel more included. Like that one time he’d mentioned the Holy Harpies. Small, ostensibly insignificant, but contemplating it now; he'd been trying to make her comfortable — settled — welcoming her with open arms into his group; into the marauders and the girls.

Within moments, there was a newfound appreciation towards the boy.

The sandwiches they made, along with pork pies stolen, were stuffed into a bag, ready to be transported. Y/N boredly spun her wand between the length of her finger while Peter whirled around in his seat until the ring of the timer went off. The elves were already gone, zipped away into thin air as they grew tired with sleep.

Placing a cooling spell onto the cake to avoid the icing from melting off, Peter began layering on a thin layer of icing.

“What’s Lily’s favourite colour? Is it still purple?” He asked. Y/N gave a curt nod.

“Never been a fan of purple. One time I walked into my Grandmum’s room, she only wore purple knickers for my Grandad. Makes me shiver all the time — honestly, the woman traumatized me. S’pose it might be my Boggart.”

Peter also had a sense of humour.

While diligently working, she marvelled at his creation. A two-layer heart-shaped cake, decorated all in light purple icing covered the surface before Peter piped small designs and swirls onto it.

“Wow. I feel like I can barely hold my wand at times yet you —”

“My, my — what do we have here? Students out of bed?” A voice came from behind them. “Tut, tut, tut.”

The two craned their heads backwards where Peeves smiled and let out a squeal of delight.

“Peeves,” Peter began politely. He slowly set down his piping bag and put his hands up in a submissive, yet defensive manner, as if he’d encountered a feral animal. “Please — please, we’re doing something for a dear friend. Don’t get us thrown out.”

“What would happen if I told Filch about you,” the ghost responded in a saintly voice, but his eyes glimmered wickedly. He brought a finger to the side of his face, tapping his index finger to his cheek, thinking.

“What to do, what to do…”

“Psst, Pete, what’s happening?”

Nobody answered her. With Sirius gone with the cloak, it left her and Peter completely out in the open wishlist a ghost threatening them — not to mention the lie she told Filch earlier, there was no way she nor Peter were going to get out of this unscathed.

“Please,” he pleaded.

She looked at him, wide-eyed and started panicking. She repeated louder, “What’s happening? What do we do?”

Peeves then grinned largely and started doing large loops into the air. His cackling rang through the empty corridors, becoming progressively louder.

“Shit. Run.”

“STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE HALLWAY! I REPEAT, THERE ARE STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE HALLWAY BY THE KITCHENS!”

Peter grabbed the cake while Y/N swiped the bag filled with the rest of the food, piping bags and a small jar of edible decor. They ducked under Peeves, dashing out of the kitchens leaving a huge mess for the unfortunate elves to clean up the next morning.  

Peeves floated behind them slowly as he watched them run. Peter ran slower, trying to make sure he didn’t face plant into the cake while Y/N urged him to run faster.

“He usually helps us,” Peter grits out, “But he’s a two-faced git! Never trust him unless you’re doing a prank! Never!”

Just then, Peter lost his footing and tripped over his feet, letting out a half-shriek, mixing in with Peeves’ evil laughter. They sucked in a sharp breath, watching as the cake flew through the air but Y/N, quick on her feet, grabbed her wand, casting a quick non-verbal charm and watched as the cake and plate froze mid-air before the plate clanked down first, the cake following and settling ontop. She ran up to it, cradling and wrapping a protective arm around it to prevent the cake from dropping again. She called out for Peter to get up before he took the cake again, this time with a shout from Y/N to not drop it, before leading her into a secret passway down the corridor.

Peeves could be heard laughing maniacally down the hall before they both could hear Filch’s footsteps running towards his shouts.

Peter maneuvered through the passage while Filch’s voice became more and more distant as they continued to hurriedly walk. Lily and Remus’ shift was going to end soon and it would be a lost cause if they didn’t make it up to the common room.

They both turned sharply, about to exit before Y/N crashed into a shadowy figure, tripping but being caught swiftly by the figure. They cradled her head to keep her from falling, but the sudden scare caused both students to open their mouths to scream, loudly.

“It’s me! It’s me!” Sirius’ familiar voice runs out, waving a hand to shush Peter while the other was still on her back. Y/N felt herself relax and erratic heartbeat to calm. She’d never been so happy to see Sirius before. Until she realized that they were still touching and they both ripped away.

Her heart spiked, and she felt oddly light headed. Soon enough, her eyes then immediately went to his hair and held back from chuckling — perhaps right now was not the time.

“I came once I heard people shouting and I figured it was you two. You okay?” His eyes darted to her at the last part.

Perhaps her eyes tricked her, that she was too tired or bumping into Sirius too hard, but it felt like he’d been making sure if she was alright. Since when did Sirius care? Although, Peter didn’t seem to notice or he’d ignored the interaction entirely.

“F-fine,” he wheezed out, “Peeves… Peeves caught us while we were decorating the cake. We’re not done yet.”

“What time is it?” She asked.

Sirius placed his wand in his mouth while pulling out a silver pocket watch from his trousers. “Ten to ten.”

“We have time then.” 

Peter placed the cake down gently on a nearby ledge in the passage, causing Sirius to cast Lumos. Sirius kept a watch out, his head moving from side to side every so often as he listened for anyone or anything walking past them.

Pulling out the icing bags and sprinkles, Peter began to finish his work. He continued to create flowers as Y/N wrote on the cake (although with help from her wand), ‘Happy 16th Birthday, Lily!’ and then placed a couple of candles around.

As Peter continued to add his small touches, Y/N’s eyes drifted around, not landing on anything in particular but zoned in on the shining of Sirius’ rings. Her eyes slowly drifted upwards, studying him. The remainder of the full moon that recently passed spilled a muted milky light onto the stone floor and touched Sirius’ face. He wasn’t wearing his normal school robes but dressed in Muggle clothing. Black jeans, a nice sweater, notable messy hair and his body language was relaxed. This Sirius was tolerable, likeable even. She liked this Sirius — but perhaps it was because he finally wasn’t talking. This Sirius gave her an insight into what he was like aside from his annoying, bitchy self. Loose, wild, messy in an elegant way, confident — in his prime — looking for a thrill, sneaking around; mischief.

Suddenly, Sirius’ wand went out as he ducked down, huddling beside her and Peter.

“What —”

They met each other’s eyes, locking, as he brought a finger up to his lips which made her flicker down to look at them, quickly.

Their eye contact was brief, so brief, nonetheless, it contained a flurry of emotions too complicated for Y/N to process.

But being up close for those brief seconds, she was able to examine him — truly, for the first time. Her eyes traced over the singular scar on his face, hidden by his hair that made her wonder where he’d gotten it from. Soon the questions enclosed her mind like an overflowing river.

His small, unexpected gesture had been one of many which had been nicer and oddly thoughtful recently.

Sirius’ brain was written in cryptic code — so advanced and intertwined — too complicated for her to understand. She wanted to understand his actions.

Even if she didn’t like to admit it, Sirius had a depth that greatly attracted her. She had so many unanswered questions.

And since her brain ran a mile a minute, her emotions weren’t filled with that annoyance of ranger — no, for once she didn’t feel any kind of resentment towards him.

Maybe it was because they both had one goal in mind: Lily’s party and that working against each other during something as high stakes like this would fail a good friend of theirs. Or maybe it was that instead of her or him starting something — or maybe — maybe it was because the boy was so close to her, closer than they ever had been before. Or maybe it was the adrenaline that set every fibre of her being on fire — making her feel like honey-dipped in tea — or the odd thunderous throbbing of her heat spiking suddenly; Y/N grew warm all over.

It didn’t help that Sirius didn’t look angry either, but rather a sudden cognizance filled his gaze, looking both shocked and calm.

But quickly, she just chalked up her flurry of emotions to adrenaline or wanting to hex him — either worked.

For Sirius, he felt utter disdain as his gaze fixated on her. He was tempted to flicker down to her lips but her eyes, bright and filled with glittery stars, were enchanting. It scorned him — made his heart beat in an iambic pentameter, creating its own sonnet that would make even the most accomplished poets jealous.

He wanted to refuse her presence. Wanted to focus on anything but her.

But Sirius was a weak man. He failed. He always did.

Their eyes ripped away and they heard the familiar sound of footsteps and voices neared them as they spotted the familiar red hair and tall figure.

Their voices were slightly muffled.  

“— times have changed! You aren’t a second year anymore.” Lily chimed while they walked.

Remus shook his head, instead of flicking his wand as a dozen torches lit up in mere seconds. “Whatever you say, Red.”

She swatted at his shoulder while Remus ruffled her hair, his smiling becoming genuine.

“Seriously, I support it.

“Merlin, Evans — it’s not going to happen. Look at me!”

“Not with that attitude and you look more than fine!”

Peter shifted his eight onto his other foot which made an audible scuffle. However, it was so quiet that neither she nor Sirius caught on but Remus, whose head swirled in their direction, did. He took a deep inhale, a look in his eyes, confusion melting into realization — there and gone — as if he knew they were there despite being hidden by the shadows of the night. He turned his head once more and started walking faster while Lily skipped down, trying to catch up to him.

Remus Lupin was an odd one alright.

Nobody moved until they were positive they were gone.

The entire night had been a shitshow.

“Okay,” Sirius exhaled, he felt his entire body tense up, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Do you think the cake is okay?” Y/N asked Peter as Sirius tossed the invisibility cloak over their bodies, hiding them from onlookers.

“Bloody well hope so,” he grunted, “We didn’t get caught almost three times, freeze our arse, almost get a month's detention, and probably destroyed the kitchen for it not to be great.”

Without another word, they made their way back to the common room where everyone made a fuss about how late they were. Quickly, Peter placed any last-minute designs, Mary handed everyone small party horns, Dorcas put up last-minute balloons while Y/N and Sirius helped each other layout all the snacks and drinks — this time, civilly.

“God… How’d you even get this much? Me and Peter were in the kitchens and we couldn’t even get half of what you got.”

At this, Sirius smirked before collapsing into the plush velvet couch behind him, an exhausted sigh as he sank further in. But as soon as the smirk was there, it was gone as everyone heard the clicking of the portrait open.

“Hide — HIDE!”

All the lights were blown out as they all hid behind the couches — they heard quiet footsteps — someone shuffling towards the middle — footsteps getting louder — louder — and —

Sirius lit the entire room as they all sprung up and Y/N quickly held her camera to her face and snapped a photo as everyone shouted,

“SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHD —” “Godric fucking Gryffindor!”

“... I’m going to KILL YOU MCKINNON! POTTER!”

Everyone groaned in disappointment at James and Marlene’s arrival before they heard the faint sounds of footsteps outside of the portrait again. Mary yanked Marlene down, shoving her behind the couch along with forcing a party hat on her head and confetti in her hands. Sirius grabbed James by his red sweater and rushed him up the stairs before getting back into place.

“Told you,” Marlene whispered into her ear, “Wasn’t going to be late.”

The real Lily could be heard as she spoke excitedly with Remus. The portrait swung open — everyone waited before she stepped inside — they put most of their weight onto their toes, waiting to jump — Sirius’ wand was about to light up the room — Y/N held her camera — Dorcas and Marlene were going to throw up the confetti —

“Why is it so dark —”

“SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILY!”

Light rushed back into the room and Lily’s face lit up brighter than the sun. Mountains of sweets were piled into bowls while a small table was lined with drinks. Sirius outdid himself, seemingly raiding Honeydukes; there was taffy, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, sherbet lemon, caldron cakes — plus the food Y/N and Peter had hauled from the kitchen; sandwiches, fruit, crisp (she made the mistake of saying chips in front of James and Marlene only to then be hassled by them for it) and pork pies.

ABBA played in the background, much to Remus’ demise as her purple cake sat in the middle on a table, all the candles lit. They all ushered Lily to blow out the candles while they all held wrapped gifts, cards and small gift bags.

“You didn’t need to do this!” Lily said, although there was a thankful look in her eyes, “This is too much! Thank you!”

“Anything for you, Evans!”

“You’re lucky we didn’t bring fireworks!” Marlene and Sirius grinned.

“You would have all gotten detention —” “Stop being a goody goody, not today, Lils!” Sirius slung his arm around the redhead.

Gifts went around; Lily had gotten so many cards from other teachers and students, handmade jewellery from Dorcas, Remus knit her a sweater with hearts, Mary and Marlene gave a joint gift, Peter bought her a small yet overly fancy tea set Lily had mentioned offhandedly before, Sirius gave her a first edition books she loved while Y/N gave her the gifts she bought from that old book store. Alice had even dropped by and given her a small package before heading back up for the night.

They all smiled widely at her and were thrilled to see her so happy. Y/N lifted her camera and took an abundance of photos throughout the entire night, before shoving them into the back pocket of her pants.

By the time everyone reluctantly returned to their dormitories, it was three o’clock in the morning and everyone was beyond tired, deciding it was time for bed.

“Night,” Dorcas called out. Marlene yawned loudly before falling into her bed, muttering out another round of happy birthdays to Lily. They were out the fastest — soft snores filling the room.

White specks seemed to blur through her vision as Y/N rubbed her tired eyes. She was about to call over to Lily, say goodnight, roll over and sleep before the creaking of her bed altered her to Lily padding her way to the bed. Y/N looked up at her, confused before scouting over for Lily to slip in, under her blankets.

“Are you okay, Petals?”

“Beyond perfect,” she replied with a wistful voice, “I’m so thankful. Thank you.”

Y/N chuckled, although she was a tad perplexed, “Y’know, it wasn’t just me who helped.”

“I know, but still. This birthday feels different from all the other ones I’ve had and I can’t help but think it’s also because of you.”

Lily Evans never ceased to amaze her. “Well, I hope you mean that in a good way,” she teased.

“Obviously!”

Silence fell around them before Toulouse hopped onto Y/N’s bed and settled himself between the two friends.

Y/N’s eyes wondered to the banner: petals... “What’s your favourite flower? Surely it’s not lilies, are they?”

Lily gave a small huff of amusement and shook her head, “No. Peonies or irises. What about yours?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll just say lilies for now.” She said absentmindedly before her eyes shot open. “Shit! I forgot —” Y/N reached over Lily and opened her drawer with the pouch of Jelly slugs before placing them into Lily’s hands. “Forgot to give you these.”

There was a soft look in Lily’s eyes and something Y/N couldn’t quite place. Her friend was acting quite strange.

“It feels like I’ve known you forever,” Lily says softly, her face flushed a rosy colour.

She stayed silent for a while, at a complete loss for words. Even a slight look of confusion crossed Lily’s face. 

“Yeah, you too.”

#sbtmas #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #the marauders #marauders era #harry potter marauders #young marauders #marauders fanfiction #reader #Remus Lupin #remus lupin x reader #reader insert #Sirius Black #sirius black x reader #young!sirius black #young!sirius black x reader #young!Remus Lupin x reader #Lily Evans #sirius black angst #harry potter slowburn #hp #HP series #enemies to allies #enemies to lovers #friends to lovers #James Potter #James Potter x lily evans #remus lupin imagine #Remus Lupin x y/n #Sirius Black x y/n

[neutron-stars-collision]

The Art of Inversion

Neil x Reader

Chapter 27 - Keeping Your Head Up

Masterlist; Chapter 26

Summary: Sleepless nights and plotting the way forward. You and Neil finally talk about the approaching battle. The conversation provides the spark for action.

Warnings: 18+ (not so implied content, if ya know what I mean); swearing.

Author's Notes: Here we go, earlier than I expected because who said that uni should be more important than fanfiction. This one goes through the whole spectrum of human emotions and I'm not even sure what's going on... but here it is. And I'll hope you'll enjoy! Let me know what you think?

P.S. Yes, Stalsk is soon. Yes, I'm terrified. How about you? :)))

Once the last arcs of light disappeared from the night sky and the troops started to disperse, one look exchanged with Neil was enough to help you decide. You led him through the ship’s quarters, hands holding tightly in the unspoken promise. Whatever happened during the aurora only confirmed what you knew from the previous night. There was no question of giving him up. One does not give up on the love of their life. Simple.

As the door to your cabin closed, both of you knew what had to happen. Neil wound his arm around your waist, pushing you against the wall. No space left between your bodies as your gazes met:

“I love you,” a whisper leaving his mouth reverence and certainty.

With the pulse pounding in your ears, you took the words off his mouth with a kiss. Hunger and need betrayed by your eager hands, grabbing hold of his sweater and pulling him down. In response, Neil kissed you harder, lips bruising, teeth tearing the skin to make you understand. Soon it became a duel of passion, each desperate to push the other off the edge. To stake the claim. Mindless of time and caution, you tugged at the clothes and stole the breath from each other’s lungs. Minutes passed, but it was never quite enough. Never satisfied. Only once the lightheadedness made you feel close to passing out from the lack of oxygen, you broke the kiss with a gasp. Your eyes opened to see Neil gazing back at you with a grin on his face. He glanced at your mouth as you licked off the saliva, chasing the taste for that second longer. Then, lost in the daze, you leaned forward, resting your forehead against his chest.

“What?” he gently cradled your head, pulling you closer into the strange hug.

With words missing, you took the additional moment to catch your breath and piece together a response:

“It’s... this is good. I don’t want it to end” a shy smile which he could not even see.

Still, the truth. Your idle hands ventured underneath the clothes, settling on the belt loops with the thumbs grazing over his sides. The warmth of the skin, a vivid reminder about the previous night. Something within your reach.

“It won’t. I’m never letting you go again,” confirming the words he tightened the hold, “Do you want to pick up the conversation or...” Neil trailed off, something in his voice arousing curiosity.

You raised your head, noticing the hint of a smirk on his lips. And the sparks in his eyes.

“Or?” courageous fingers ghosting over his stomach, bringing out sharp inhales.

You were never someone who paid too much attention to men’s musculature. It was never on the list of ‘requirements’ or expectations. And yet, as you carefully brushed your fingertips over his firm abdomen, that spark of satisfaction was there. And attraction, never waning since you first laid your eyes on him.

“We could continue with this...” ignorant of your thoughts, Neil searched your face with hints of hesitation in his eyes, “But only if you want to. I wouldn’t want you to think that all I’m here for is…” the deepening frown made you snap out of the reverie and shut him up with a finger against the mouth.

“Neil,” firmly, yet with a playful smile upon your lips, “You’re telling that to someone who just considered fainting if it meant extending that kiss,” your grin widening upon the shock on his face.

And then he grinned, cupping your cheek and brushing the pad of thumb over your lower lip. Drawing out a sigh with ease that not that long ago would have embarrassed you. Now there was no reason to hide it.

“Fair point” Neil smiled lightly, gaze distant showing you that he still had some things to say, “It’s just that…”

His eyes met yours a helpless plea. To understand, to chase away the worries and doubts. He did not need to ask for that.

“Yes?” you picked up the conversation, fingers running through his hair.

The gesture both a comfort and a way of reminding him of where you were. Of what you could give him if he only agreed. Judging by the way he leaned into your touch, it did work. After a beat, he met your gaze again, words pouring out with desperation and self-directed bitterness:

“We’ve lost so much time because of my stupidity. And I feel like it’s running out. If there’s not much left, then I want to give you all I’ve got” the earnest look stealing away the remains of breath from your lungs “And words can only go as far. Some of what I feel can’t be expressed like that, it’s...” trailing off, he faltered as though uncertain.

Oh god. It felt almost surreal to understand. That he would be questioning your desire to have sex again after all the confessions and admitted truths. That he would worry about going too far. As if that was not exactly what you wanted. All because he cared too much about your issues with being this close. Idiot. Ignoring the need to stop his silly doubts with a kiss, you tilted his chin and made sure he could see the longing in your eyes:

“I don’t need much convincing to agree for a repeat of last night. Only an idiot would’ve said no to all that… pleasure” simply, just as letting your free hand bravely brush over his crotch.

The answering gasp was more than promising. You could see the resolve breaking as he tried to level the breathing. Fingers taking hold of your shirt, toying with the material. Knuckles brushing over the skin on your stomach. The internal conflict close to a resolution. A favourable one. Only…

“You’re not tired?” the blue eyes full of concern and unmeasurable yearning.

Too good. With heart close to bursting from the amount of love, you took that as the cue to be brave. To be honest and show him the extent of need ravaging through your blood:

“I am. But I want you” purposefully meeting his gaze with an unguarded look, “I want to feel your hands on my body. To make love with you, knowing that you’re mine,” you observed as he swallowed hard, hands grasping onto your waist underneath the shirt “To feel you inside me” the conclusion whispered as your courage wavered.

Because that was a first. Explicitly stating wants and desires were never a forte, with the insecurities and anxiety making you forgo every attempt. Until now, with Neil, who was stunned into silence. His eyes darkened almost imperceptibly as the words sunk in. He understood.

You barely had the time to register when his lips crashed against yours in the kiss to put every single one before it to shame. This time there was no moderation, no slowness in any of your actions. Hands barely had the time to catch up with the needs as you both fumbled around with the clothes. A casualty – the cup of tea abandoned by the bed sent tumbling onto the floor. But you have not even noticed, too occupied by Neil, his skilful hands and breathtaking moves.

Logic of your closeness startling in its simplicity. Without needing to ask, he made sure you were ready, consent chased at every stage with something as straightforward as eyes searching yours, looking for that nod. For the spark, that told him what you wanted. And then, as he allowed you to have everything once again, gazes locked and held. Love passed with each sigh, shudder and moan. Faster and harder, seeking that familiar rush. Confirming what you both knew already. Never enough. Hands worshipping every inch of your body as you drove him to the edge and over, following suit. This time you did not bite back on words that settled on the tip of your tongue. With every single instance, the three words rolled off with more ease. That moment not any different, the I love you whispered as he offered you the necessary release, sealed with a kiss and explosion of pleasure. Nothing came close. Nothing ever would.

***

The quietness of the moment right after was astonishing in its tranquility. Neil pulled you back down to lie next to him on the bed with your head propped on his chest, the heartbeat a constant white noise bringing peace. With those careful hands caressing your skin, there was no place for insecurities. Only the overwhelming feeling of completeness, as if now when you knew that your heart was safely his, everything else has sunk into the background. That, of course, was an illusion, one that had to be shattered pretty quickly with the reminder about the topic you were yet to discuss. But it could wait. Just a little longer.

“Not a bad way to finish off the evening,” the low murmur tinted with a playful edge.

Of course. Despite the warmth spreading through your body, you grinned, arms embracing him tightly, even if only to show agreement. It really was. And yet…

“Was it still that good? Like you said, in the morning-” the eternal need for validation speaking up before you could properly gather the thoughts.

Thankfully, Neil sensed what was coming before you did. He sat up, dragging you with him.

“Christ, you-” the exasperation betrayed by the heavy sigh, “If I need to tell you how amazing it was every time we have sex, then I will. Keep that in mind” he observed you closely, taking in the spreading blush and deepening shock “My love” an addition followed by a bop on the nose.

Just like that. Without giving you time to react, he laid down again. This time you seemingly had a choice, no arms holding you close as if to show that you were free to suffer the doubts alone. As if. With a quiet huff, you settled back on the bed facing him. The lack of touch felt strange.

“I’ll take that as a warning” stubbornly, you met his gaze, awaiting nothing but satisfaction.

Rightfully so. The infamous smirk graced his lips as he stared at you fondly. Maybe it was time to abandon the uncertainty. Maybe you really got that lucky.

“You should,” as though he too was missing the contact, he reached out to stroke your cheek slowly, “And yes, it was still very much mind-blowingly good. Splendid. Terrific” with each word, the blush was darkening.

Neil’s smugness growing exponentially. Too much.

“Okay, stop,” ignoring the sudden desire to punch him, you chose the puppy-eyed look instead, “Please,” placing your hands on his shoulders if only to assert the dominance.

The sudden flash of darkness within the blue eyes was unexpected. And fascinating.

“Make me,” a whisper accompanied by his touch trailing down your stomach.

That was a challenge you gladly accepted. Using the moment of stagnation, you rolled over to trap him beneath you. His eyes swept over your chest, hands settling on your waist, making everything easier as always. It was not difficult to lean in and shut him up with another breathtaking kiss, with teeth catching that frustrating lower lip showing him why it was unwise to test you. The answering groan and tightening grip were good enough confirmation. And also, a perfect moment to let go and let him suffer alone.

The offended look on his face - absolutely delightful. You waited patiently as he got over the initial shock and wound his arm around your waist once again. From the wistfulness on Neil’s face, you could tell that he was not done:

“Now I know why I’ve always been so drawn to you. You’ve got quite the skillset” the meaningful look giving more confidence than anything ever “And, mind you, I might be catastrophically in love with you but that… no wonder we couldn’t keep our hands off each other” accentuating the meaning, he cupped your face once again “You’re unforgettable. Wonderful. Extraordinary. And mine” the litany closed off with happiness in his eyes “Which is why I’ll start counting my blessings” a kiss on your forehead finishing the speech.

You met his gaze with a gaping mouth. What on earth… That amount of affection expressed just like that was overwhelming. The only thing that could be done was to hug him tightly and hide from the fond look by burying your head in the crook of his neck. The warmth of your bodies slowly lulling you back into the peaceful illusion of safety. Into believing that the drama was truly beyond you. Only one last issue circulating your brain, nagging at the thoughts and creating ‘what ifs’ that needed answering. Maybe…

“I’ve got one more silly question before I’ll be quiet for eternity” your whisper broke the silence with the husky timbre.

You felt Neil’s low chuckle before you heard it. His hand stroking your back without a stutter. As if that was second nature. As if he always knew how to touch you but held back. Until now.

“Go on then,” you raised your head in time to see a happy grin, “Miss silly questions,” fingertips skirting over your profile, stopping at your mouth.

The ghost-like touch, parting your lips just because it was possible. Because casual intimacy was no longer out of bounds. Ignoring the sudden onrush of feelings, you chose to use the rare courage to your advantage:

“Are you my boyfriend now? Is that what I should call you?” blurting out the questions with deepening blush and increasing embarrassment.

Too clingy. What if he wanted to keep this casual, without labels? And you just messed it up? Like everything in your life. Before the sabotage could take over, a familiar hand tilted your chin up. The blue eyes, searching yours, looking for clues towards the extent of self-inflicted damage. Whatever he found was enough to call for a soft kiss, followed by a cheeky smile:

“Boyfriend, partner... husband, whatever you want darling,” the wink almost making you brush over the words.

Almost. Your brain froze as you remembered the meaning of the terms used. The ridiculousness of it all taking away the last bits of reason.

“... We’re not married,” staring at him as though he has officially lost it, you stated the obvious.

Only the answering grin was not that obvious. Or the way he took hold of your hand and kissed your knuckles, all the while maintaining eye contact.

“Are you sure about that?” the arched eyebrow adding the final blow.

There was no end to the shock as the absurd of everything caught up. The laugh could not be contained anymore, giggles interrupting whatever you could want to tell him. The happy look in his eyes, making everything even worse. Only once you could catch your breath again, an expression of exasperation the only thing passing through your throat:

“Jesus Christ… Neil” a hint of warning.

Mostly to stop being so bloody charming. Even with spite, it was difficult to find flaws in that beautiful face. Or to stop the constant flood of affection whenever your gazes locked. He looked completely unbothered, amused by your reaction.

“You knew what you’re signing up for,” a shrug showing no remorse whatsoever.

He did have a point. Still.

“Yes, but… I hate you sometimes,” the words triggered by the eternal frustration, “You with your perfect eyes and jaw that cut through my defences. And let’s not even mention all that smooth talk” ever so casually, you traced the outline of his jawline.

Catching the hints of something darker in his expression, you felt the need from before return. Making you cling closer to him, find a temporary fix for the addiction in the way you fit together. Legs entwined; comfort brought by something as simple as the possibility to share the pillow with him. Or the option to get lost in his gaze, let his hands explore all the curves and edges. Everything that you could offer.

“And yet,” the simplicity of his answer was enough to make you grin.

Distractedly, you let your fingers skim down his chest, watching with fascination at how easy it was to treat him as yours. The naturality of the conversation and the variety of responses to keep up the banter. Effortless. Before you found the right words, Neil traced the path down your thigh, creating the tiniest sparks of electricity.

“My most humiliating defeat,” you admitted with a feigned disappointment painted on your face.

That seemed to be the bait he needed. You observed with satisfaction the way his eyes lit up. The cheeky smile back on his lips. There we go.

“You didn’t seem humiliated. Just now,” hand getting dangerously close to the space between your thighs “More like… satisfied” Neil shifted forward, closing the gap between your faces “By me” a low whisper before he captured your lips in a kiss.

A hard one that deepened the bruises and showed you why you had no choice but to give in. Why resting within his embrace was where you were meant to be. You let the feelings consume you whole, clinging even closer to him, arms holding him tightly, letting the breathlessness roam free. The only cue to end the kiss came from Neil, who has run out of oxygen and ended the contact with a sharp gasp. He did not let go, however, extending the hug for at least five minutes, during which you both savoured the moment. The quiet only disturbed with the sounds of your breathing and the synchronised heartbeats, marking the passage of time. It would be easy to fall asleep like that, feeling safe and loved. Finally important to someone. Finally his. But you knew that the things needing talking over would catch up eventually. And so, with the heart getting heavier and the body aching for more, you let go and disentangled enough to meet his eyes again. Nothing but affection there. It was that overwhelming love that prodded the next reflection:

“Sometimes I can’t quite believe you’re real” you let yourself stare a little longer, taking in his infatuated gaze and ruffled hair.

His beauty always startling in its harshness. The angles and sharp edges capable of shattering a heart. You knew that best of all. And yet, with the blue eyes that always showed a myriad of feelings, he was not intimidating, only absolutely fascinating. Someone you could admire for hours and would never have enough. Now, with your curious glance reflected and gentle touch caressing your temple, the luck felt almost immeasurable. Because how could you get this fortunate?

“I am, all yours to touch... and do whatever else you want,” the response bringing the confirmation.

It was that simple. The darker glimmer in his eyes told you as much. You hoped the smile was a good enough answer, for there were no words. Neil acknowledged your speechlessness with a timid smile, as though he too needed time to get used to the new dynamic. To the honesty and unrestrained confessions passed between you to make up for the lost time. The longing in his gaze was enough to let you know that it was time. That you could not stall anymore.

“Tempting…but…” you let out a long exhale and forced out the serious tone, “We should talk,”

One look in his direction told you he understood. The smile wiped off his face in an instant, the frown replacing the previous shyness. With the sudden need to make your circumstances a little bit more bearable, you got up and took hold of his t-shirt abandoned on the floor. Without thinking too much, you slipped it on and turned back to face Neil. An answering grin was a needed reassurance. You observed as he put on the boxers and settled back next to you, instantly drawing you into a half embrace with an arm placed over your shoulders and a hand resting on your thigh. It was all the comforts you could hope for beginning the difficult topic. Nothing to hold you back now. One look at him was enough to permit you to start. Alas…

“Every second I’m falling harder in love with you, and there’s no end to it,” the opening sentence getting out without a stutter as you stared at his fingers idly tracing patterns on your bare skin “I might not understand much-” watching with horror as he opened his mouth to protest you closed it with hand placed over his lips “No, Neil, let me say it” firmly, gaze held to show the determination; after a beat, he nodded and you resumed “I don’t understand much. Probably a quarter of what you know since you’re the smart one here, but... I refuse to give up before we try to make it work together. Let me help you” you could see the conflict brewing in his eyes, thousands of worries passing through his face; one last thing to say “I like to think that there’s a reason why I’ve been brought into this. That I’ve got a bigger role to play than being your lover” you whispered the word shyly, as if almost unsure if it was the right one.

It seemed correct, but… With growing uncertainty, you watched as Neil’s frown deepened. Then he seemed to consider something with eyes closed as though needing to block you out of the picture. That did not help the anxiety. Before your heartbeat could kick in with the elevated speed, he faced you again with new emotions painted all over the features. Most obvious of all – hesitancy. And then…

“You’re much more than that,” a long inhale as though that could give him courage, “You’re… You could be my- We could-” he faltered, the blue eyes looking anywhere but at you.

With your mind starting up the sirens for the world-ending kind of emergency, you could only blurt out the straightforward questions:

“What? What are you trying to say?” your voice wavered, betraying the chaos within.

It was that one false note vibrating through your vocal cords that made Neil calm down a fraction. Finally, he met your widened gaze, and after an extended second of soul-searching, he responded:

“I want to marry you… even today,” oh “If you’d want that, of course,” a hurried addition, with eyebrows knitting together and teeth nibbling on the lower lip restlessly.

Oh. Christ. Now nothing was stopping your pulse from picking up the tempo. The blood rushed into your cheeks as the words sunk in. That was far from anything you expected to hear. Now or ever. From him or anybody else. The sight he presented at the moment told you that there was no point in doubting the authenticity of the proposal. No one would look this terrified because of a lie. With words missing, you could only let out a half-hearted laugh:

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the forced lightness bouncing off his rigid resolve with the speed of light.

He took your hand in his, thumb brushing over the knuckles. Additional regard given to your ring finger almost thoughtlessly. It was hard to remember about something as basic as breathing as you stared at him, pondering his very next sentence. An explanation, hopefully.

“I’m serious. I need you to understand how much I love you. More than I can express and enough to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you” the earnest look stunning you into silence with his beauty.

The confession needing at least two business days to be processed and understood. But there was no time for that. The part of your heart that has fallen in love with him circa New York ready to abandon logic and say yes. No matter the approaching battle, the lack of reason or sense in any of this. But that voice had to be silenced. For now.

“Neil… You can’t- It’s been less than a day since we-” you stumbled over the protest, failing to piece together a coherent argument.

Because it was both a yes, and a no. Yes, I want to marry you. Not now. Not yet. Not with the world on fire and uncertain chances of survival. But how do you say that?

“I know, but I’ve been feeling like this for months. And everything that happened showed me that I’m right. I need you” your internal monologue got cut short by Neil’s response, “But if… if you don’t want me like that, it’s alright. I-” it was the sudden insecurity betrayed by the stutter that alerted you.

You could not allow him to doubt your feelings like this. Never again. Following the instincts, you clamped your hand over his mouth again, cutting off the horrifying ramblings.

“Shut up,” you met his gaze and replaced the hand with your mouth, kissing him slowly, “I want you, exactly like that. But I want to have a future with you, filled with so much love and understanding that it will make my heart ache” the meaningful look focused only on the man inches away from you “That’s why we need to work together. So, one day if you’ll still feel the same… you’ll ask me properly, and I’ll say yes” the breathless addition costing you blush on the cheeks and a flash of anxiety.

The best answer you could offer hanging in the tense silence. Hesitantly, you looked at him again, searching for a response. The knowledge that he understood your plea and was willing to accept it. As your eyes locked, Neil smiled, the expression brightening up the mood in an instant. Maybe it would be alright.

“That might have been the most poetic rejection I’ve ever heard,” he murmured, and before you could comment on that, captured your lips in a kiss.

Gently showing you that he understood. Deepening the contact, making the reality catch up. It was real. He wanted you, and not just now. Loved you enough to marry you if the universe allowed. That was a prospect good enough to fight for. An idea to fight off the doubts and worries. Because no matter what your brain had to offer in exchange, it could not compare. Ending the kiss, on a contented sigh, you rested your forehead against his. Taking an additional moment to level the breathing and stare into the eyes that have seen the inside of your soul and accepted it.

“You took me by surprise,” the nervous grin appearing on your face on its own accord.

Neil mirrored it, fingers cupping your face and stroking your cheek tenderly.

“Sorry…” a kiss on the forehead “Since I woke up today and looked at you… it’s been on my mind. The idea that you’re the one, and I need to let you know somehow. An obvious way would be to make you my wife” an overwhelming wave of fondness passing through the system at his words.

Neil’s wife. That sounded good. Hopeful. A label you would be proud to have one day. Final confirmation of your love. That was the needed spark to steer the conversation back on the right track. You leaned in once again and laid a small kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Will you let me help you?” the simple question as you forced the seriousness once again.

This time he looked less nervous. Instead, you could see the battle playing out within his gaze. Fear and worry most prominent, close to tipping the scales and engulfing his mind within their shadow:

“I understand your logic… and why you want to go with me,” the diplomatic tone making you frown, “But… I don’t think I’ll be able to survive losing you. If something went wrong and you’d- I can’t let that happen” steel-cold resolve you knew from those disastrous meetings where this topic was the ultimate hot spot.

Now, technically, the issue of holding back was out of the way. Now neither of you had to pretend that you cared less; that there was anything else at stake but your feelings towards each other. Still, the fear of another argument was settling in the pit of your stomach as you aimed to answer with necessary determination:

“That goes both ways, Neil,” your comment causing him to look up with a surprise, “You need to understand that we’re both stubborn idiots who won’t let go. The best we can do is compromise” the softer tone needed to persuade him somehow.

You observed as he swallowed hard, your hand still within his grasp, now clutched tightly. As if he was afraid you would disappear if he relaxed the grip. Finally, he raised his head once again and met your searching gaze. Panic. Denial.

“But what if-” the words coming out strained, broken.

You did not like where it was going, and so you interrupted the supposition:

“What if what? There’s a reason why TP sent me those materials. Why he thought it’s crucial we know about the lock, and we prepare for it” the urgency crept into your voice, disrupting the illusion that you were the calmer one.

But how can one discuss something this important emotionlessly?

“Maybe they’re meant for me. So that I can go in there, open the gate, and leave” Neil’s answer made you snap up with sparks of passion burning in your eyes.

What you found on his face made it worse. It was that same resignation from before. As if he had no other choice but sacrifice himself. As if that was the only option, and he did not even want to consider alternatives. Why? Ignoring the desire to slap sense into him, you urged the reason to fight alongside you and put on the most definitive of voices:

“But what if something or someone stops you?” the question tearing through the fragile reality as you faced his conflicted look, “You’ve got reasons to come back now. Don’t you dare give me that same self-sacrificial crap” mindless of your need to stay strong, a single tear trailed down your cheek.

It fell perfectly onto your joined hands, making Neil look up sharply. His forehead creased with a new dose of angst as he reached out to wipe the wetness from your cheek. Taking a moment to stroke your neck then, gently caressing the skin as if it was necessary. As if the time was running out.

“Maybe this… maybe it’s all we’re meant to have. Those few days and-” the heartbroken look he gave you was enough to call for drastic measures.

Impatiently, you took hold of his free hand and grasped his chin to force him to meet your gaze:

“No” certain, no place for bargains, “I won’t give up on you without trying. You’ve made yourself essential to me, you’ve given me something else to… to be” you faltered, more tears streaking down your face; words needed but missing “I can’t let you take it away like that” a sudden stroke of anger adding inspiration for the very next argument “And why? Because ‘what’s happened happened’? That’s just another way of excusing inaction” with fascination you saw him flinch.

You have hit the right spot. Now it was the question of persisting. Of making him understand how ridiculously he was acting. How selfish it was to get himself killed in the name of philosophy. The wrong one, at that.

“It’s not. It’s an expression of fate in the mechanics of the world, not an excuse to-” he recited the words as though he knew them by heart.

As though it was his credo. Bullshit.

“Do nothing?” you completed the sentence with an arched brow, “And what is it that you’re planning to do?” biting edge unplanned but helpful.

If only to see him hesitate. No scripted cue for this question.

“Save the world. For you,” the candid answer taking you by surprise, “Because this the only way I can assure your survival” Neil stared at you with startling emptiness.

It was not exactly unexpected, but still. The fact that you mattered that much, the lengths he was willing to go to for your sake. Fuck. Overwhelmed with love and fear, your heart begged to be released. It thrashed within its cage, pulse pounding in your ears as you forced the brain to work. To tell him how wrong he was to think you wanted a life that did not guarantee his presence.

“The trouble is I don’t want to live in the world without you in it” that straightforward; making sure he held your gaze before continuing, “Listen to me. We will devise a plan, the best we can come up with, and then we’ll go in there together. I’ll cover you and help you escape after the job is done” you outlined the most reasonable of options and added upon his silence “It’s that simple,”

The conversation slowly draining the remains of energy in your body. You wanted nothing but to curl up in his embrace and sleep, forget about this whole mess, even if for a few hours. But you could not have that yet. Not with Neil offering yet another counterstrike:

“It’s everything but simple,” more worry in the stormy eyes, “I don’t know if I can do it… if I can let you…” he trailed off, the unspoken concerns making him interlace your fingers securely.

That called for the final defensive.

“Do you trust me?” you dropped the question with a neutral tone.

The answer hoped for but never taken for granted.

“Yes,” he did not stumble, the word rolling off his tongue with ease.

A rare surge of hope blooming in your chest.

“Then trust me on this too,” raising your joined hands to your lips and kissing his knuckles, “Together we can come up with something brilliant, I’m sure of it” a tentative smile to sign off the sentiment.

You did not know it was the gesture or your words that did it. You saw him waver, teeth nibbling on the bottom lip showing you the depth of the internal struggle. And then his eyes softened.

“You’ll need to be careful. I can’t risk losing you,” refusing to look at you, attention focused on your hands resting in the space between your folded legs.

It felt strange to know that you were this important. But it also explained everything, helping you find the solution to his worries and a way out of the stalemate.

“I know. I love you, and I’ve no plans of dying until we’re both ready to go. Together” you could only grin at his shocked expression, “So?”

You knew you had won the moment he cracked a tiny smile:

“…Okay… but only if you promise me that if things get nasty, you’ll leave. Without putting up a fight,” waiting for your response, he gazed into your soul, careful touch running up your thigh.

That seemed like an acceptable condition. One that offered space for maneuvers. One that could be argued with later.

“I promise,” the whisper opening up a space to lean in and kiss him.

Sealing your fates, confirming the beliefs. A final opportunity to show him why you were willing to do anything to save him. And vice versa.

As the kisses evolved into cuddles and the simple need to find comfort in each other, the tiredness caught up with you both. Another yawn interrupted the comfortable silence. Your hands were idly resting over Neil’s heart, the steady rhythm helping you calm down after the eventful day. He kept on stroking your hair, fingers tangling in the strands and smoothing them down. The repetitive movement easing you in, bringing a needed break from the stress and anxiety of the past weeks. As your eyelids felt heavier with every passing breath, a final question had to be asked:

“Can you stay with me?” the sudden timidness not fitting in with the intimacy of the situation.

And yet. Any voices of uncertainty got extinguished the moment you looked up at Neil and met his bright gaze:

“As if you think I’d leave. Don’t be silly,” the sheer audacity of your question causing his grin to widen, “I need to make up for all those lonely nights somehow” voice lowered to a whisper, gentle touch trailing up your arm, soothing and promising.

Good enough to succumb to and let go already. However, that need for water was stronger, causing you to smile apologetically before untangling from the complex web of limbs and standing up. His eyes followed your movement like a hawk, smirk forming on his face as he took in your dishevelment. As you stretched, the hem of the borrowed shirt rode up, exposing the glaring lack of underwear. The rare rush of confidence was strengthened by the look in his eyes. Suddenly being seen did not hurt that much.

“That you do” taking a sip of the water, you asked, “Can I keep the t-shirt?”

It was just a simple black shirt, good enough to sleep in, engulfing you in the additional dose of that ‘Neil smell’.

“Of course,” an appreciative nod, distracting you to glance at the abandoned phone, “You seem to like me shirtless… which I’m not complaining about,”

The comment was enough to make you turn back, however. Obviously. Taking in his satisfied grin, the urge to slap him was back. That, though, could turn your peaceful evening into something else. Something that perhaps was best left for the future.

“I just generally rather like you, Neil” the retort dropped with perfect disinterest.

No one messaged you, which was bound to be counted as a win. You got a far as making sure the phone was on mute, and you were ready to join him back in the bed when Neil’s question made you turn with widened eyes:

“Can you check my phone, please?” there was nothing suspicious in the way he asked.

As if it was nothing. But it was not exactly nothing. With trembling hands, you went through his notifications. Nothing remarkable or worth mentioning. It was when you faced Neil again after a minute that you noticed his taxing gaze, analysing your every move. He acknowledged your startled look with a serious smile:

“I can see that shocked face, and I’ve got one thing to say to your mean brain - I’ve nothing to hide from you” the emphasis placed on the right words “You can go through my texts if you want to test that” a passing glance at the device you still held in your hand.

Now that was too much. The idea itself triggering the reservoirs of worries. That you were too possessive. That the insecurities were getting ahead of you. As though burned, you put the phone down:

“Christ, no, sorry,” covering your face with your hands for a beat, “I don’t know why…”

Why what? Fuck knows. Looking for comfort, you glanced at him helplessly. Maybe with time, it would get easier. Maybe.

“It’s alright. Come here” Neil had no doubts as he extended his hand towards you in the simple invitation.

He need not say it twice. You switched off the remaining lights and took his hand, letting him pull you into a hug. The whispered reassurances and affirmations followed as you settled for the night. Carefully, you placed your hands over his heart and the scar on the side, mirroring night from another place and another time. As you closed off the day with a final breathless kiss, it was astonishingly effortless to realise that it was where you were meant to be. His lips glided over yours with tenderness reflected in the way he pulled you closer. Finally, you exchanged another confession and closed your eyes. Joined hands resting in the space between your heads like a beacon of hope. Someone to hold on to.

***

The initial sleepiness lasted for about three hours. After that, your brain switched back on, no longer satisfied by the presence of Neil’s steady breaths or the anchoring touch reminding you of the new circumstances. With every minute, it was harder to focus on falling back asleep. Instead, you were forced to go over the various what-ifs and worries centred around the battle. Thoughts of locks, guns, and bullets elevating your pulse and warming up your body in the familiar signs of an upcoming anxiety attack. Overwhelmed with the flood of ideas, you opened your eyes. No salvation in the darkness. Only the warmth of the embrace acting as a reminder to breathe. With a spark of fondness, you realised that Neil pulled you even closer throughout the night. His hands have slipped underneath the shirt. The touch comforting yet also warm enough to be bothering the heightened emotions. You had to get up and cool down. Only that was easier said than done. With his tight hold, it was difficult to untangle, and the first attempt got stopped with half-asleep Neil clutching you with stubbornness, refusing to let go. Despite your heart desperately clinging to the comforts of the position, you decided to take it slow. You raised your head and watched him for a short moment, involuntarily smiling at the peacefulness painted across his features. The relaxed forehead, long eyelashes falling on the cheeks, and strands of hair splayed on the pillow like a crown of gold. Beautiful. Leaning in, you placed a fleeting kiss on his temple, then another one on the cheek, lips brushing over the corner of his lips in a ghost of a touch. Message simple – sleep, it’s alright.

It worked, for he relaxed his hold enough for you to get up from the bed and trod over to the window. The coldness of the room waking up the senses, moonlight spilling over as you glanced at the horizon. Nothing but the ocean and the starry skies. No salvation to be found there. Unable to let go of the worries, you sighed heavily and pressed your forehead against the glass. There was hardly any point in trying to go back to sleep. That train has left the station. Your hands trembled lightly, betraying the anxious energy stored in every single cell of your body. Needing to get out somehow. Briefly, you considered putting on clothes and slipping out to let the cold air calm you down. But that could only help for a brief moment. You needed a better solution. A way to shut down the qualms. How was an entirely different question.

Your nervous internal ramblings got cut short with the unmistakable rustling coming from the bed behind, followed by:

“Why did you leave?” Neil’s husky voice enriched with the sleepy drawl causing a smile to spread on your face.

With the permanent warmth seeping through your chest with the reminder that it was finally your reality, you turned back to face him.

“I can’t sleep,” sheepish admission completed with a small shrug, “It’s fine though, I can-” as you sat down on the mattress, Neil silenced you with a hand taking yours and lacing the fingers.

“What’s wrong?” he seemed more awake now, the familiar focus back in his eyes, “And don’t tell me it’s nothing because I’m not buying that,” the disclaimer placed with a firmness that still startled you.

Supposedly it was time to get used to being seen like this. Right through, no bullshit allowed. Terrifying and endearing. Because for once you were understood. Accepted.

Taking an additional moment to collect the thoughts, you brushed the hair away from his forehead. Careful touch making Neil shut his eyes and lean into your palm as you traced the sharp edge of his cheekbone.

“I can’t stop thinking about the lock… All of the what-ifs and plans are starting to drive me insane,” you admitted quietly, not stopping the tender caress, “It’s like whenever I try to go back to sleep, the thoughts just keep rushing in, and there’s no end to them” the dejected note causing Neil to open his eyes and meet your tired gaze.

His brow furrowed, hold over your hand tightened as though he wanted to reassert his presence. A reminder that you did not have to deal with it alone anymore. In response, you squeezed his palm and rested your head on his shoulder.

“I know the feeling well,” a kiss on the top of your head, “Maybe we should make use of it,” the hopeful edge kindling curiosity.

“How?” somehow, it already felt a little bit better.

As though being able to share the troubles could make your heart less heavy. Because he was there and willing to fight the demons away with you. That was enough to assure you that he was the one. He had to be.

“Let’s go to the bridge and start planning. You won’t sleep and, frankly, knowing you’re feeling like this, I won’t either, so what have we got to lose?” the explanation simple in its directness.

For a moment, you wanted to argue, to tell him to go back to bed and let you deal with this one your own. Because it was selfish to drag him along at 3 am to brainstorm over the filter coffee and A0 format blueprints. Yet the moment your eyes met his, the protests died on your lips. Everything you saw in his gaze told you that there would be no bargaining over it. That he was bound to follow you into the bridge and start the planning right now if it meant you would be able to sleep and calm down. You could only show how that realisation felt through a kiss that strengthened every single feeling twice fold.

***

That is how you have found yourself slouched over the terrain maps and Sator’s compound blueprints with the old-school ticking away the early morning hours on the opposite wall. This early (or late?), the bridge was bathed in the glow of the dawn spreading throughout the eastern horizon. It was incredibly cold, the biting chill causing you both to huddle at the corner of the large table with pullovers zipped up and mugs clutched in your hands. The adorable pinkish tint on Neil’s cheeks and tips of his ears were almost good enough to suffer.

Quickly you established the main points needing covering: the area separating the drop-off zone from the epicentre and tunnel leading inwards, the ten minutes you would have for the whole job, and the potential fuck-ups. With your directions, Neil drew the simplified plan of the terrain on the blackboard, and you attempted to figure out the optimal time needed to cross the distance while inverted. That turned out to be a rather inspiring conversation…

“How fast can you run?” standing at the head of the table, Neil threw a glance at you in passing.

With a grin, you noticed that he managed to get a blue marker stain on his chin. The desire to get up and deal with that distracting you from answering the question. Long enough for him to glare at you offendedly. Riiight…

“Not as fast as you… with all those legs, but I’ll manage” you eyed his slender form with a glimmer in your eye, noting down the exact route to cover.

Tough, but manageable. You were definitely not going to back out now. Not a chance.

“All those legs?” Neil’s clueless tone made you look up with a wide smile.

Cute. One would think someone this gorgeous would be vain. Not this one, however. You stared at him, fascinated by the confusion visible in his face. There was only one way to show him. You got up and crossed the space in two strides, stopping half a meter away, a wicked grin on your lips.

“Legs for miles, sunshine,” one more taxing look directed at him, slowly slipping over every single inch of his body.

Ending the scrutiny on his face again, you closed the space and cupped his cheek. Taking in the widened pupils and parted lips.

“Blimey,” a longer exhale, timidity highlighted by the deepening blush and disbelief in his voice, “Is there a part of me you’re not crazy about?”

As if. Perhaps it was the mix of anxiety, sleep deprivation, and unbelievable luck that made you braver. You placed your hand around his neck to get proper leverage and make him bow down slightly.

“…nope,” the poker face easily achieved before you kissed him on the marker smudge, “Do with that what you will,” a wink as you made sure to press your body against his in a clear message.

And then you strolled back to your chair. As though nothing happened. After all, it was time for work… and a little bit of fun.

Your punishment for the provocation came not long after when Neil came back to the table to help you figure out the best way into the epicentre. Busy with the blueprints, you only noticed his presence once you felt a teasing touch run up your spine, followed by lips trailing kisses down the nape of your neck. However far the collar of your pullover allowed. Involuntarily you shuddered, the reaction instantaneous as you grasped the edge of the cold table to keep focused.

“Neil-” a half-whine exposing the frustration.

Mistake. He must have knelt on the floor behind your chair, for the next thing you felt was the warm breath causing goosebumps all along your neck and throat. He pressed another kiss to the spot right under your ear. The specially chosen one always resulted in thighs clenched tightly and warmth spreading down your veins.

“Don’t tell me you thought I’ll let that pass” the whisper confirmed your suspicions.

One glance at Neil told you he was rather proud of himself as he mirrored your wink from before with a satisfied smirk.

“Rude,” you rolled your eyes, huff added to the drama.

Perhaps mission planning could be interesting like that. Perhaps. As though following your line of thinking, Neil leaned in once again and pressed a kiss to your throat. His hands sneaked around your waist and between the thighs for a split second. Enough to make you groan.

“Is it now?” he chuckled and got up before you could utter a sound, “So… which entry do you propose, miss?” leaning over your head, tone strictly business.

Just like that. Bloody bastard. There was nothing else to do but sigh heavily and begin to plot revenge in the quiet of your mind. That could be rather pleasant.

You decided on an entry point, separate from the tunnel used by the splinter unit just in case. Whatever that case might be. Around five o’clock, when the whole of the room was bathed in the mellow sunlight and the few fucked up seagulls were desperately trying to fight over a fish on the line of your eyesight, you yawned for what felt like the hundredth time and glanced at the sofa longingly. It seemed like now, after over two hours spent planning and talking about nothing but the bloody lock (and the possibilities of your relationship), anxiety has started to die down, leaving nothing but the worst of energy slumps. Neil must have caught your worsening state, for, suddenly you felt a careful touch on your shoulder. He drew you into a half hug, lips pressed against your temple in the soft kiss. You relaxed in his hold instantaneously, the sense of peace finally palpable and within your reach.

“You can go lie down,” he murmured, gently steering you towards the settee, “We’ll go over the obstacles we need to prep for now, but I don’t need you at the table for that” with a small smile, Neil pushed you down to sit.

“Thanks,” you grinned at him, the expression carrying over the rest of what you could not say just yet.

It was too easy to prop your head on the armrest and listen to him ponder on the various ways your mission could be hindered. So easy that you did not even realise when sleep has won over everything else, and you have given in to dreams with Neil’s steady voice fading into the background.

***

When your consciousness has once again reached the surface, you have noticed two things at once. A presence of a duvet you have been covered with that was not there previously, and a blinding light shining right at your face. Slowly, you opened your eyes, squinting at the brightness, and took in the surroundings. The bridge. Early morning. The steady sound of the keyboard typing. Neil. An unauthorised smile welcomed itself onto your face as you stretched out the stiffness from the nap on the sofa. One look at the clock was enough to let you know how badly you have fucked it. 7:30. No more, no less. One question needing answering… why hasn’t he woken you?

You sat up, quietly folded the duvet, and glanced at Neil still slumped over the plans. He had his head propped on the hand, hair falling over his eyes, and fingers restlessly typing out the document. Next to him, there was an unfinished coffee and a half-eaten protein bar. With a flash of gratefulness, you noticed that apart from fetching the blanket for you, he also remembered to eat.

It was that affection and fondness that prompted you to sneak up on him and use up some of the many vengeance scenarios you have thought of. In a smooth move, you have covered the distance and threw your arms around his neck. A startled yelp he let out, only giving more conviction that this was the right maneuver.

“What-” the beginning of the question cut short when you kissed him on the neck.

Slowly savouring the taste of his skin, you placed your hands on his thighs, relishing in the feeling of the muscles tensing underneath the clothes. It was easy to become addicted to this kind of power. The rush of courage prodding you to graze your teeth over his skin. The answering groan and slight head tilt giving your more space for exploration, nothing but approval.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” giving him a breather, you asked the question.

There was no reason to acknowledge it in any way. He would understand you were sure of that. Before he could answer, you picked up the activity, trailing kisses down his neck, giving additional attention to the pulse points and spots that made him fidget in the chair.

“Could never,” the hoarse whisper complemented with his hands covering yours, “What are you doing?” the hint of uncertainty causing a wicked smirk to spread across your lips.

A teasing answer on the tip of your tongue when the unmistakable sound coming from the airlock shattered the moment.

“Well, well, well… good morning, lovebirds,” the familiar Cockney accent broke the silence with an impish edge tinting every syllable.

There was no point in fooling yourself that they have not caught what you have been doing. Still, with cheeks burning red, you took a definitive step back, away from Neil and faced the rest of the team with an awkward smile:

“Hi,” the word came out quiet, raspy voice bringing out even more embarrassment, “We’ve um…” you trailed off, gaze helplessly slipping over Wheeler and TP.

No help apart from a knowing grin on her face and an inquisitive look in his dark eyes. The pronoun you have used ringing out in the space. We. Correct, and yet strange. Because you knew that after a show like this, there would be no more pretending. Everything out and clear. But maybe that was better… Your increasingly more hectic thoughts got interrupted by the sound of the chair scraping the floor.

“Couldn’t sleep. So, we decided to start the planning. For the lock,” Neil finished your sentence and added an explanation on a long exhale.

Unable to deny yourself the pleasure, you glanced at him briefly. He took a step closer, throwing you a reassuring smile. His cheeks were still flushed after your earlier ministrations, hair ruffled and begging to be arranged. Maybe later.

“You’re one entity now?” the shameless staring got interrupted by another cheeky question by the squad leader.

Oh christ. Resisting the urge to facepalm, you fought hard to find an answer.

“No, but… I’m going in with Neil. To help and cover” the truth had to do.

After all, it was what Ives wanted from you. The final decision on the state of things. A way out of the impasse. A sleepless night seemed worth it. One look at the soldier told you the decision has surprised him. He turned to look at Neil, directing the next question at him:

“Alright… and you’re all prepared for that? No more drama?” the emphasis given to the last three words brought back all the traumatic meetings from mere days prior.

No more drama. At last, there was no reason to feel the fear rise at the mention of the war council. Maybe the worst was truly beyond you?

“Yes, we’ve talked it over” Neil confirmed your thoughts with resolution.

On its own accord, his hand brushed against yours, the gesture not escaping the attentive gaze fixed on both of you.

“Doubt that’s the only thing you did,” the comment whispered low enough to be caught by the three of you stood close.

Your face reddened as you understood the connotations. On the one hand, it was nothing to be ashamed of. On the other, the part of you that always hated being seen like that was close to lashing out. However, your boyfriend had your back.

“Ives,” Neil uttered the warning, shooting you a worried look.

That was enough this time, luckily. Without a shadow of remorse, Ives grinned and strolled over to sit at the head of the table. Nonchalance personified.

“Mind sharing what it is that you came up with?” he arched his eyebrow in an open invitation.

Alrighty. You glanced at Neil, a silent question on your lips instantly understood, and answered with a nod of the head in the direction of the whiteboard and your abandoned plans.

As TP and Wheeler took their seats around the table, you both took hold of the papers and arranged them to prepare the presentation. Then a short eye contact was enough to kick it off:

“We’ll go in” Neil uncapped the blue marker and drew two dots on the board.

“Inverted,” you added, gaze sweeping over the audience.

So far, comprehension has seemed to be maintained.

“Yes. We’ve figured out that 4 minutes might be enough to cover the distance from the drop-off zone” drawing the line indicating your route, he motioned for you to pick up the compound blueprint.

“And get into the hypocenter. Via this tunnel,” exchanging a small smile, you took hold of the paper and pointed at the alternate entrance.

“Different to the one you’ll be using in case something went wrong,” he explained, “Then I’ll pick the lock and open the gate” quiet confidence you have missed hearing tinting the sentence.

Maybe it could work out just right.

“While I make sure he’s safe and sound,” complementing his sentence, you took that one step closer to Neil.

Emboldened by the dynamic you have easily fallen into, you shot him a confident grin and placed your hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly being watched did not feel half that bad. As though he was following your logic, Neil winked at you and finished the presentation with a telling shrug:

“And we exit,” you enjoyed the way his eyes glimmered with conviction.

For once, it felt like it was not just you who wanted it to work. Perhaps the conversation made an impact on how he saw things. And now he was willing to fight for your future. Together. The sudden need to take his hand got interrupted with a neutral question coming from Wheeler:

“What if someone stops you?” the poker face masking the hints of concern you knew well.

“We can discuss that now” Neil grabbed the list he composed during your nap and opened his mouth to speak.

Not for long.

“Have you been rehearsing that?” Ives’s question made all of you snap back to him in an instant.

The witty smirk gracing his features was a cause for concern. Because you knew well what he meant. Feeling the wave of embarrassment wash out the bravado, you struggled for an answer:

“No… that’s just-” biting on your lip in search of words, you barely registered what happened.

“Chemistry” Neil smiled assuredly and took your hand in his without missing a beat.

As you faced him with wide eyes, he raised your palm to his lips and kissed the knuckles in a gentlemanly fashion.

That was certainly a memorable way of announcing your relationship. Probably better than a Facebook status. Then you did not have Neil befriended on that. Did he even have an account? For whatever reason, your tired brain decided to treat those types of issues as most important of all, fixating on bloody Facebook of all things.

“You alright?” the tightening hold on your hand combined with the worried undertone in the question made you drop the pointless thoughts in a second.

As you met Neil’s gaze, you mustered another smile and squeezed back his hand. The company did not matter he was everything you could see anyway.

“Yep, sorry. Just knackered,” you whispered the assertion, refusing to acknowledge the ridiculous questions.

However, judging by the scepticism in his face, you knew it was not getting brushed off eternally. The sound of a throat being cleared pointedly made you both turn back to the audience with apologetic smiles.

“Hate to interrupt your little conversation, but I think we should use your head-start and try to complete the plans” Ives stood up from the chair and strolled over to the blackboard.

Marker in hand. Things still needed looking into if you were to make this mission successful on all fronts. Sleep and tiredness would have to wait.

“Sure thing” you passed the soldier a weary nod and sat down on your chair with a quiet groan.

Sofas were not the ideal places to nap. Note to the future self. Before you could do as much as glance at the documents again, a passing remark made you look up with eyebrows knitted:

“Congrats, by the way,” Ives threw the words with a telling wink directed at you and Neil.

Does the torture ever end?

“… Thanks?” the frustration seeping through your tone as you added, “It’s not like we’re getting married or anything, though”

“Yet,” the husky voice on your right chimed in with just the right amount of cheekiness.

Naturally. You glared at Neil sharply, any intent or purpose forgotten once he met your gaze with that familiar affectionate look in his eyes. Might as well…

The next few hours were spent on making sure every part of the plan and the tactics made sense and fit with the rest. It meant more filter coffee (fifth cup? More likely than you think) and more marker smudges all over your hands and arms. On the chin, too, if you ever got too lost in staring at the blonde bastard to your right. Which did happen. Often.

The cause of your death was the assigned job of drawing out the tactics on the large block of paper spread across the table. It was well past noon when you had finished half of it, and the pounding headache only seemed to increase with each second spent on staring at the red and blue lines and dots covering the piece. Stuck with the especially tricky part of indicating your two special task units on the plan, you let the frustration boil over with one simple curse, breaking through the dam:

“...fuck me-” the rest of the sentence, saturated with even more annoyance, was never meant to be heard.

“I am,” the two words invited themselves into your intended message.

Your eyes widened as the culprit confidently approached your workstation and gave you a little pat on the head. What the fuck? From every available expletive, you knew in a few different languages nothing seemed to come to mind in the outrageous moment.

“Neil, I swear-” that had to do as you made sure to show him the extent of fury through the look in your eyes.

You did not even dare glance at the others, knowing that this was quite the scene. Hilarious.

“What? Everyone knows anyways” the feigned innocence in how he batted his eyelashes at you only increasing the frustration.

He did have a point they knew. Especially after something like this. Still.

“That’s not an excuse,” the steel-cold voice doing nothing against the playful sparks in the blue eyes.

It was in the way Neil pushed himself closer to you that you knew what was coming. The ultimate finale to your early morning banter. Showdown. He caught the bottom lip between the teeth and glanced up at you through the dark eyelashes. Nothing but allure personified.

“Am I gonna be punished for the disobedience?” he overenounciated the words with a challenging tilt to the tone.

All of the annoyance was gone, the prospects opening up with his question. Mirroring him, you nibbled on the lower lip, letting the permanent desire back into your gaze. It was easy when faced with someone like Neil.

“... perhaps,” the word whispered with the promising wink.

And a pat on the blonde head, for good measure.

You need not turn to look at the company to know who facepalmed at that.

#tenet #tenet fanfic #neil tenet #neil tenet fanfic #neil tenet imagine #neil tenet x reader #neil x reader #robert pattinson #the art of inversion

[bangtan-pugh-bug]

Scott Lang x reader

Chapter 4 of this slow burn (which is fitting because I post the chapters slowly) story

Finally! The next chapter will follow on from this because it’s going to end up too long if I don’t post this chapter now. I hope you enjoy it! :)

You’d been stressed the last week and everyone could tell. A twenty thousand word uni essay you thought was in for the end of term turned out to have been due two weeks earlier. It only took one text from a fellow class member, who you never really spoke to or considered, asking you what your grade was to send you into a frantic meltdown. Luckily the Avengers were busy so you had Stark Tower to yourself for a few hours and took full advantage. By crying. A lot. Begging your professor to give you more time to hand it in (because you were sick cough cough) and planning the stupid thing to get it over with. Did you get it done eventually? Yes. Would a drunken chicken be impressed by your words? Doubtful.

Normally you gave Bruce your essays to look over but you couldn’t bring yourself to show him your so called ‘work’ so into the submissions it went. It was too embarrassing but your motivation levels had plummeted since meeting the Avengers and calling them your friends - you couldn’t care too much. In the scheme of things essays just didn’t seem important anymore.

On Sunday you submitted it and sat in silence for a moment. Everyone had gotten used to giving you space, for a change, so you were comfortable with quiet. However you were not going to quietly tell them you’d finally finished. No.

‘FINALLY!’ You yelled, purposefully leaning towards your door for maximum effect. Let them come to you, you thought. As the door opened and your friends pretty faces appeared you felt nothing but relief. It was silly to feel ‘free’ because it was just an essay but fucking hell did you despise avoiding everyone to write it for so long.

Scott came to you first with Tony, Thor and Vision behind. You tried not to revel in him being closest to you too much. He looked especially cute that afternoon, you could tell he’d had a lie in because of his slight bed hair, and you beamed at him. ‘So it’s finished?’ Making space for him so he could sit on your desk beside you, you nodded. ‘Yes!’

While Thor gave you a long speech about how pointless Earth school was in his charming way, Tony congratulated you like you’d had a baby.

‘Good. Knew that was hard for you.’

Scott was glued to your desk and you tried to make eye contact with everyone else in the room but him. Him and his pretty distracting face.

‘I have a brilliant idea!’ Tony then announced, commanding the room in his diva like way. Scott raised his eyebrows at you in anticipation before you all turned to look at the billionaire. ‘I think we’ve all disappointed ourselves this week. Do you know why? Work. We’ve been working too hard.’ Scott laughed and smiled down at you, which you returned. Poor Vision just stood in the doorframe glazed with visible confusion. It was like being in a Ted talk audience.

‘Y/N’s essay,’ Tony gestured to you. ‘My impeccable new suit. I’m sure Vision has been doing.. somethi- the point is, we need to party. My humble suggestion, which you’re free to disapprove of if you’re boring, is that we all get-‘

‘Smashed!’

The exclaim just left you. You had been fucking itching to be drunk all week and celebrate - even if it was a small achievement in the grand scheme of things. You wanted to do shots. Lie on the floor. Dance. Dance and finally eat! Somehow you hadn’t eaten anything all day and it was 4pm. Your stomach was growling at you.

Scott rubbed your shoulder playfully and smirked ‘I like that plan.’

‘Excuse me. My plan.’

You and Scott chose to ignore the diva in the room which of course Vision and his big computer brain had to comment on. ‘Erm...’ he hesitated as he walked towards the two of you in classic Vision fashion. ‘You two are-‘

‘About to find all the liquor!’ Before he could finish whatever awkward question he could ask you jumped out of your seat taking Scott with you. The cabinets where most of the alcohol got stored were all in the smaller of Tony’s kitchens. Scott’s hand in yours felt familiar and unfamiliar at the same time as you giddily dragged him down the hall. You could not stop smiling and he could sense your mood change.

‘Someone’s happy today.’

Of course you somehow took that as a hint to let his hand go, which you did but sadly. Your hand felt a bit lost as you walked and you couldn’t remember if you normally swung your arms or kept them still like Vision.

‘I’m warning you now,’ you opened the cupboards with no specific alcohol in mind ‘I plan on getting very drunk tonight.’ Fuck. There wasn’t any kopperberg left. Oh well you’d settle for gasoline- it was one of those days.

‘You don’t have to tell me,’ Scott chuckled at you. ‘When I was your age I got black out drunk almost daily.’ Once you were carrying a dangerous amount of bottles and cans you looked up at the man and he looked a bit smug. ‘Am I right in thinking you’re proud of yourself?’ He didn’t have to reply, you could tell he was.

The two of you laid out the cans and wine, vodka, mixer and beer bottles out on the counter carefully. It looked like a beautiful recipe for disaster but it wasn’t anything you hadn’t all done only weeks before. The amusing sounds of Tony bossing everyone around to get off their asses and party met your ears. Your main goal was to start drinking as soon as possible. Red wine, you found in your ‘scientific studies’, got you the drunkest the quickest so it was the obvious choice.

As you swug it, Scott hesitated about starting his beer. He watched you but for once you didn’t have the energy to wonder what he was thinking. ‘Oh no,’ you laughed and carried on drinking. ‘I’m gonna have to peel you off this floor later aren’t I?’ His words were worrying but there was a gleam in his eyes and an energy radiating off the two of you that didn’t care what happened.

You laughed and told him that yes he definitely would have to. He seemed to think it was his mission and his alone to look after you. How sweet and incorrect. ‘Scott,’ saying his name never got old ‘Don’t you dare stay sober for me. I’ve never seen you drunk.’ Somehow you hadn’t. Unless you had and couldn’t remember which was also likely. The idea of the two of you dancing together and Scott twirling you under his arm made your cheeks warm and your chest flutter.

The urge to be overly sarcastic was building, why you got like this around attractive people when you were bored you didn’t know. It wasn’t your best trait - funny sometimes but not exactly mature of you. It was almost addictive and spending time with Tony’s sarcy ass did nothing to help you think before you spoke.

You leant on the counter drinking but your mind was trying to decide which playlist you were going to force everyone to dance to. ‘Plughole.’ Scott stated.

‘Wow...’

‘It’s too quiet in here. Did I miss anything?’ Tony strutted in with his classic arrogance. You gestured to yourself and repeated Scott’s remark while chugging more wine. If you didn’t feel tipsy soon you’d start taking shots.

‘Shots!’ Clint yelled, entering the kitchen behind Thor, Peter, Nat, Bruce and Vision. Maybe the archer could mind read after all? He was holding an oven tray filled with shot glasses. Just- a beautiful sight. Scott looked apprehensive on your behalf but that didn’t matter. If he didn’t want you to get plastered he didn’t have to stay with you all night. Nat would.

‘Finally, yes please yes.’

It was pure chaos before long, which was exactly what you craved after such a boring week. ‘I want it all’ by the Arctic Monkeys was playing, despite Thor’s drunken Asgardian chant suggestions, and you had somehow taken 5 shots already. Scott was on 4, Vision going strong with 0 (of course), Thor had beaten you with 7 and yet Tony was winning with 8. You lost count quickly after that.

There were so many people in one room you felt like leaving would be impossible. You’d have to crowd surf to get to the shitting toilet. ‘Scott!’ He’d stayed near you until Steve arrived, looking sophisticated in a suit. That was when drunk you decided Scott could only leave you for Steve. One exception.

‘Scott!’

He heard you the second time, just barely over the music Sam had turned up. You felt needy and raw. Almost all of your ‘holding back reserves’ had been chained up by copious amounts of vodka. ‘Are you okay?’ Slurring his words slightly, Scott put his hand on your shoulder looking genuinely concerned. Your heart swelled. ‘Aw fuck.’ He didn’t respond at your accidental ‘sentence’ that had meant to stay in your brain.

‘I need to throw up.’

You didn’t even know if you felt sick but you felt something. It was just words and a half arsed explanation for leaving the lively room. The two of you were stood in the centre of the dance circle so leaving was a struggle. Avoiding Tony’s flaying arms and Sam’s impressive dancing to find the empty corridor felt like an obstacle course.

As soon as you and Scott reached the bathroom your stomach grumbled. ‘Oh.’ You held it and looked up at Scott’s confused face with realisation. ‘I think I’m just h-hungry! And you burst out laughing in his drunken haze Scott joined in.

‘Pretty sure there’s cake over here.’ He laughed, partially at your excitement but also at his own. Neither one of you ate well without encouragement and all you wanted was to devour sugar or his face if you got any drunker.

Taglist: @supraveng

#marvel #marvel fandom #scott lang x reader #slow burn #scott lang fluff #scott lang

[vexedtonightmares]

Are you working on any other Elu fanfic? I also have a prompt for you could you do one where Eliott is about to start Uni and he’s very nervous because Lucas won’t be there but Lucas calms him down before heading to school himself 🤷🏻‍♀️

Not Afraid

Lucas was worried. Eliott hadn’t said much to him recently about how he was feeling, which normally meant that he was feeling good, but the bags around his eyes had deepened and Lucas had awoken more than once to find Eliott sitting awake beside him as if in a daze. He knew that not everything meant Eliott was going to have an episode, but he always worried that what if, this time, it did and he wasn’t prepared.

The summer had gone by in a wistful, beautiful haze, and Lucas wouldn’t take back a single moment, even the small petty fights and the days so hot neither Lucas nor Eliott could do much more than lie beneath a fan, complaining about the heat every ten seconds as if that might help it disappear.

Everything had been absolutely perfect, which was why everything now seemed so tense. There was only about a week left before Eliott started university, and Lucas didn’t want to waste a moment of it. He sat alone in Eliott’s apartment, waiting for his boyfriend to come back from the store. He’d promised Lucas dinner, though, even after months of dating, Lucas was still wary of Eliott’s cooking.

As if his thoughts had summoned him, Eliott walked into the apartment, bags dangling from his hands as he struggled to remove his keys from the door. Lucas laughed and went over to help him, relieving him of some of the groceries.

“What on Earth are you planning on making?” Lucas asked warily.

Eliott leaned down to kiss Lucas on the forehead before he took his shoes off and moved towards the kitchen. “It’s a surprise.”

Lucas put the bags on the counter and studied Eliott as he started gathering ingredients and laying them out. His hair was all over the place, but that was normal. In fact, it looked so good that Lucas wanted to tell him to forget dinner and spend the rest of the night in the bedroom. But alas, he wouldn’t do that, because Eliott was smiling, and when Eliott smiled the entire world smiled with him.

“How was the store?” Lucas asked, hopping up onto the counter. He didn’t ask what he wanted to, which was how are you doing? Is everything ok, or do you feel different than you usually do? Is there anything I can do for you? He still didn’t know the right questions to ask, so he generally settled for simpler ones.

“Good,” Eliott answered simply, still smiling idly. He began chopping some vegetables and Lucas peered around him to try to glean what that night’s meal would be. Eliott looked over his shoulder and met Lucas’ guilty stare with raised eyebrows. “Looking for something?”

“Please just tell me what you’re making,” Lucas whined, pouting his bottom lip, “I need to know how to prepare my stomach.”

Eliott ducked his head into a grin and turned back to the food. “Ha, ha.”

Lucas hopped off the counter and sighed dramatically. “I’m going to shower, then.”

“Without me?” Eliott called after him and Lucas couldn’t help but smile. If he hadn’t really needed a shower, he might have waited a bit to make good on Eliott’s offer. There was always tomorrow, he supposed.

By the time he finished and changed into a pair of Eliott’s sweatpants and one of his hoodies as well, just for good measure, he emerged back into the kitchen, startling at the sight of what looked like completely edible food. Lucas wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but it smelled good, which was promising.

Eliott noticed him in the doorway and smiled, handing him a plate. It was a tradition of theirs that, when one of them made dinner in a manner that would usually require some air of formality, they ate in casual, unconventional places, and when they made instant noodles or sandwiches, they set the table all nice and ate as if it was the finest cuisine in the world. That night, they decided to eat on the floor in Eliott’s room, backs up against his bed.

“This isn’t terrible,” Lucas said in shock, taking a bite of Eliott’s masterpiece. Eliott nudged him with an elbow, looking offended.

“Thanks?”

“No,” Lucas giggled, backtracking, “I mean it’s better than I thought it would be. Pardon me for not having the highest expectations for your cooking, Mr. Poni.”

Eliott groaned. “Are we really never letting that one go?”

“Nope.”

“I still think you overreacted.”

“Impossible.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm.” Lucas giggled again, looking into Eliott’s eyes and wiggling his eyebrows. They ate in companionable silence a moment before Eliott spoke again, looking down to his plate.

“I think I might withdraw from university,” he said conversationally. Lucas stopped with his fork inches from his mouth. Maybe he had misheard.

“What?” he asked.

Eliott looked back up at him and repeated, “I think I’m going to withdraw from university.”

“But… you haven’t gone yet,” Lucas said, not understanding where this was coming from. Was this the reason Eliott had been distant lately?

“I know,” Eliott said quietly, “I just… I don’t think I can do it.”

Lucas set his plate down and turned so he was facing Eliott, furrowing his brows in confusion. “Why not?”

“I failed high school, Lucas, what about that makes me capable of attending and succeeding at university?”

Lucas knew that Eliott had insecurities that ran deep, sometimes deeper than Lucas’ own, but Lucas hadn’t known that this was one of Eliott’s concerns. “You didn’t fail, there were extenuating circumstances.”

“And there aren’t going to be while I’m at university? There aren’t going to be for the rest of my life? I can’t do it, Lucas, not on my own.” Eliott’s voice sounded broken, resigned. It was so far off from the soft and melodic rhythm it had carried only an hour before.

“Hey.” Lucas clasped Eliott’s hands in his, bringing them up to his chest. “You have me. I’ll be here to make sure everything will be ok even when it feels like it never will be again. The good, the bad, the ugly, I’ll be here for it all. I told you that you aren’t alone and I meant it. You are not alone in anything, ever.”

Eliott withdrew his hands, drawing his knees up to his chest and clenching his hands into fists. “I know that, but I can’t always depend on you for everything. I know you’re here, but you won’t be there with me. You won’t be there in the classes that I won’t be good enough or smart enough for, you won’t be there when the pressure gets to me and I snap. You might miss some warning signs, signs that I’ll either feel too good or too bad to care about, and I’ll end up fucking everything up all over again.”

Lucas opened his mouth to speak but Eliott cut him off. “I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t want you to. It’s not your job to anticipate when I might have an episode, or to watch over me like a child, and I don’t want it to be. I’m saying that you’ll miss these things because it’s human. They’re easy to miss, especially when we still haven’t even known each other for a year. Everything you do will be thoughtful and genuine and perfect, but sometimes it won’t be enough, and that’s not your fault. I don’t ever want you thinking you’re doing anything wrong because you’re not. I promise I’ll tell you if you ever are, but I don’t see that happening.”

Eliott smiled a little, releasing his fists and wiggling his fingers a bit. “There are things I have to do on my own, and university is one of them, but I don’t think I can. I don’t think I’m strong enough.”

“Oh no,” Lucas said with a gasp, causing Eliott’s head to shoot up in surprise. Lucas put his face into his hands and shook his head. “I can’t believe it. I’ve found the man of my dreams, but it turns out he’s a complete idiot.”

He peeked his head up and met Eliott’s eyes, noting the way his boyfriend was biting his lip to keep from smiling. Bolstered by this, he continued, “Because only an absolute idiot would be blind to the fact that Eliott Demaury is one of the strongest people I know.”

“I thought that was Imane,” Eliott interjected, but Lucas wouldn’t let himself be derailed.

“I said one of. Obviously Imane is number one, but you’re a close second.” Eliott huffed out a small laugh and Lucas took this as a go ahead to continue. “We said minute by minute, right? That doesn’t just apply to us, it applies to everything in our lives. I followed this principle very carefully earlier in the year when Manon was blaming me for bringing Charles back and I thought Idriss was homophobic and the bac was stressing me out to the max. You can do the same with your life at university, all the times I’m not there to remind you of how great you are.”

“I don’t know…”

“Hey.” Lucas shoved his plate aside, moving closer to cup Eliott’s face with his hands. “Hey. When have either of us ever known anything? Just because you don’t know, doesn’t mean what you don’t know will be bad. I had no idea what would happen if I acted on my feelings for you, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made in my entire life.”

Eliott blinked and laughed softly. “That’s a bold statement.”

Lucas could tell his statement made Eliott feel insecure because this was something Eliott always did when he was insecure. He made light of the compliments Lucas gave him or made a joke when Lucas was being completely serious.

“It’s a true statement,” Lucas said as genuinely as he possibly could. Eliott leaned into his touch a bit, softening to Lucas’ words.

“I know,” Eliott said after a moment, “That’s what scares me.”

Lucas brushed his cheekbone, pressing their foreheads together. Eliott continued, “What if it stops being the best decision you ever made? I know you’re just going to say ‘minute by minute’, but even you have limits. I’m afraid of what might happen to us, what I might do or say.”

“I’m not afraid,” Lucas murmured, closing his eyes as Eliott took his hands from his face and clasped them in his own.

“Not afraid?” Eliott’s voice was hesitant, so unlike the first time he’d asked Lucas the same question.

“Not afraid.” Lucas’ voice was confident, lacking all of the anxiety he’d felt when he first answered Eliott’s question. He opened his eyes to find Eliott staring at him, expressions of unease and adoration mingling across his features.

“Then I’m not afraid either. Or, at least, I’ll try not to be.” Eliott swallowed, and Lucas watched his throat bob as he did so, feeling the slight tension Eliott was still carrying. “And what about university?”

“What about it?”

“Do you really think I can…” Eliott trailed off, pulling his head away. He almost looked ashamed of what he’d been trying to say. Do you really think I can do it? Of course Lucas did, and he knew Eliott knew he thought so, but that he just couldn’t help himself from asking.

Lucas knew he didn’t have to answer, but he did anyway. “I really think you can. Would I say that if I thought I was wrong? Trust me, there is nothing I like more than being right, so I would never lie to you about that, or anything.”

“Nothing you like more than being right?” The light was back in Eliott’s eyes as he moved back in closer to Lucas. “No one?”

Lucas looped his arms around Eliott’s neck and tilted his head thoughtfully. “Ok, maybe there is one person I like more than being right?”

Their noses brushed together, and Eliott was smiling sincerely. “Mm? Is that so? Anyone I know?”

Lucas answered by closing the distance between them, lips brushing softly at first before pulling away, coming back together with a desperate sort of hunger. Eliott’s hands were on Lucas’ face now, right where they belonged, and their teeth kept clashing from where they were both too busy smiling to kiss properly. Their food laid forgotten on the floor as they moved onto the bed, still kissing stupidly, gently, and madly in love.

Later, when Lucas was curled into Eliott’s arms, face pressing gently into his chest, Eliott spoke softly. “So I’m the man of your dreams, huh?”

Lucas froze in alarm, tipping his head up cautiously, trying to gauge Eliott’s expression. Humor lit his eyes from the inside out, and the hand he was trailing idly through Lucas’ hari continued to do so as if he hadn’t said a word at all. When their eyes met Eliott’s lips ticked up into a small smile, the only motivation Lucas needed to throw his arms back around Eliott and pull him closer.

Lucas grinned at the man of his dreams. “Oh, shut up.”

#skam france #elu fic #elu #fic tag #here's some soft to fill the void ;)

[melonkooky]

exo reaction - little sister is upset because of college/uni

requested

genre: fluff, lil angst

author’s note: you/”y/n” is the reader i assume

please do not copy my work. but please like and reblog it. thank you!!!!

masterlist

kim minseok

xiumin was in the middle of practice when his phone began to ring. he ignored it at first, thinking it couldn’t be important. the song had ended just as his phone rang again. he sighed and walked over to it, looking at all the missed from you, his little sister. he was tired but it must of been urgent for you to call him this late and call him this many times. he slid his finger across the screen, calling you. you answered after the first ring. you were crying and xiumin was instantly worried. “y/n, what’s wrong? what happened?” his urgent questions caused some members to turn their heads.

“minseok,” you whispered. “i don’t think i can do this whole college thing anymore...”

minseok’s eyes widened. “why not? mom, dad, and myself poured in our money to get you into that college. you only just started.”

“i know, i know. but...” you paused, taking a deep breath, “it’s just the work, it’s just so stressful.” the pain in your voice hurt minseok. “alright, i’ll come over and i’ll help you, okay?”

you nodded, then remembered that he couldn’t see you. “thanks, big brother.”

kim junmyeon

junmyeon was busy with his schedule, his own private activities. he wanted the day to end so that he could pass out in his bed back at the dorm. luckily, it was close to 11:00...pm. he was almost finished when he got a phone call from you. “y/n, sis.” he greeted, smiling as he hadn’t talked to you in a while.

“hey.” you repeated plainly.

he frowned. “are you okay?”

“are you almost done with your schedule?” 

“yeah, i’m close. why?”

“either you come over and help me with my school work or i’m dropping out.”

junmyeon furrowed his eyebrows. “drop out? mom would be pissed.”

“but you would back me up, right? you wouldn’t snitch on your own sister.”

junmyeon shook his head. “i’ll come over and see what i can do. maybe we can take a break together away from life and get something to eat, my treat.”

“okay. i’ll get ready.”

zhang yixing

yixing had just arrived in korea. he had a nice, beautiful day ahead of him, free of schedules. he planned to visit you, maybe take you out and spoil you for the day. you were his little sister and he had to take care of you. you were in korea studying in your college dorm. you wanted to live your life to its fullest, going to college in order to make a career out of what you loved most. lay planned to surprise you, knowing that you missed your big brother. 

he arrived at your dorm, knocking lightly. he heard a hurried shuffle from the other side of the rather - thin - door. seconds later, the door opened. you saw yixing and you were surprised, but your mind was elsewhere. yixing noticed your facial expression before anything. he could tell you had been crying. “who did this to you?” he asked.

you sighed, letting him inside. “it’s more of what did this to me.”

your words confused this sheep. you knew this judging by his expression. your hand gestured to your pile of school work, a nice mess on the floor. just looking at all the work that had to be done, tears threatened to spill. yixing pulled you into a hug. “let’s get you out of here, take a break from university life.”

“that sounds like paradise...”

byun baekhyun

baekhyun was watching a movie in his dorm, his favorite in fact. the other members were out or in bed asleep, so he was alone. he was enjoying the night to himself, free from media and spotlight. he sighed contently, falling farther back into the couch he was sitting on. he giggled suddenly, some man in his movie said something funny. his phone rang once, but he was distancing himself from his electronic. no distractions. but twenty minutes later, the doorbell from the front door echoed. baekhyun hurriedly paused the movie and hurried to the door, worried that the doorbell woke up a member or two. but no one in the dorm stirred, as far as his ears could hear. he opened the door, finding his little look-a-like sister on the other side. you were crying. “y/n?”

you glared at him. “i called you, you idiot.”

“ah...” he mumbled, recalling his phone ringing earlier.

“i’m taking a break from my life, my college life specifically.” you stumbled into the dorm.

baekhyun shook his head, understanding how you felt. you were obviously stressed. “hey, this is [baekhyun’s favorite movie]?” you yelled.

baekhyun shushed you. “the members are sleeping. let’s have a movie night.”

kim jongdae

jongdae had finished practice and was heading out with the members. while in the car with them, on the way back to the dorm, his phone rang. the members’ voices quieted down so that chen would hear. “hello?”

“big brother...” your hoarse voice spoke.

chen released a heavy breath. “is it your school work again?” you were having a stressful first year at college, so you called to jongdae about how stressed you felt, these calls were becoming more frequent. jongdae felt bad, understanding how stressful things could get. “yeah.” your voice answered.

jongdae leaned forward to his manager. “can you drop me off at [your address]?”

he nodded. “i’m coming over, y/n.”

“thanks a lot, dae. you’ve been helping me a lot despite being busy preparing for the comeback and all.”

he shrugged. “i know, i could very much be napping right this minute but no, i’m on my way to help you with your homework. i’m such a good brother.” 

you sighed. “just take the fucking compliment.” 

jongdae grinned. “but you’re probably feeling better now. i’m here anyway.”

park chanyeol

chanyeol was on a lunch break with the members. they were practicing the new choreography and had been for a few weeks. he was tired and hungry. the members were debating about what food to order. chanyeol was loudest of them all, yelling out what he wanted. when jongdae tried to fight him, wanting something else, a feminine voice echoed into the practice room. chanyeol’s head whipped around, knowing that voice anywhere. “hey, sis. what a nice surprise.” he grinned widely.

the members got excited too, but chanyeol was the only one to notice the sadness in your eyes. he jumped up and pulled you out of the room, not wanting the members to annoy or scare you. “what’s wrong?” he asked.

you explained to him about all your classes and how little free time you had because of all the homework you have. it’s literally just piling up, and your stress levels were off the charts. you had let a fear tears slip as you were explaining your sudden appearance. chanyeol smiled. “don’t cry. you wanted this life remember?”

you rolled your eyes, suppressing a smile. 

chanyeol smiled at you. “well, maybe you can help us decided on what’s for lunch.”

do kyungsoo

kyungsoo was on his way over to your dorm. you had called him saying that there was an emergency. the tone of your voice made him worry so he didn’t waste any time getting dressed and jumping into his car. he drove the hour to get to your dorm. he rang the doorbell, expecting blood or a broken leg or something that was an emergency. his heart was pounding loud enough for it to deafen his hearing.

when you answered, he noticed your tear stricken face. “y/n, did something happen?” he asked urgently.

you shook your head and then pointed to the pile of school work on your counter top. kyungsoo just froze. that was your emergency? “y/n, i thought you got hurt.”

“i know, i’m sorry. but if i had told you this, you would’ve tried to get me to do it.”

he looked at you. “i’m here in person and i’m still going to tell you to do your school work.”

“can you at least help me? it’s been a very stressful first year for me.”

kyungsoo sighed. “what’s first?”

kim jongin

jongin was at his dorm. he was fast asleep, having been working his hardest the entire week. he had no intention of waking up, going for the longest he’s ever slept. but, his beauty rest was interrupted. his phone began to buzz annoyingly. he groaned and rolled over, bringing up his comforter to cover his exposed ear. but his phone kept buzzing. after a third time, the phone was silent. and jongin would have left it alone if it weren’t for the weird feeling in his gut. he sat up, still half-asleep, and narrowed his eyes in order to read his notifications. three calls from you, his little sister. he gave you a call. 

“jongin?”

jongin didn’t notice the sad tone laced in your voice. “y/n, it’s 11:00 am, i’m trying to sleep.”

you sighed. “sorry, i’ll call you later then.”

jongin’s eyes widened, “wait, wait. is something wrong?”

“yes, honestly. i didn’t want to bother you but it’s my first year of college and i’m already contemplating on dropping out.”

“y/n, i know you’re stressed, but would you rather be have some homework and live, or drop out and be killed by mom’s slippers?”

jongin grinned, hearing your laugh on the other side. “i think i’d rather live. it’s just i have a lot on my plate it’s been giving me a lot of stress.”

“i know. but you can do it, your big brother believes in you. don’t cry anymore.”

oh sehun

it was late at night at the dorm. sehun was the last of his members to get ready for bed. it had been a long week for him and he wanted nothing more than to sleep off the day. as he was about to go into his room, there was a small knock on the front door. it was late, so the maknae didn’t have any idea as to who it could be. it was late and he was tired, so he was slightly annoyed. but most of that annoyance disappeared when he opened the door to reveal his little sister. you were freezing so he hurried you inside, closing the door behind you. “why are you here so late?” he asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

you looked at him. “i needed to get away from all the school work i have piling up on my desk.”

sehun nodded, suppressing a yawn. “it’s stressful, isn’t it?”

you took a deep breath, feeling the stress on your shoulders. you held back some tears, nodding. “it is, it’s getting very hard.”

“well, stay here tonight then. take a break from it all.”

you smiled. “thanks.”

he smiled. “well, you can sleep on the couch. i’m going to bed.”

“and i thought you were being nice to your little sister for once...”

#kim minseok #xiumin #kim junmyeon #suho #zhang yixing #lay #byun baekhyun #kim jongdae #chen #park chanyeol #do kyungsoo #d.o #kim jongin #kai #oh sehun #exo reaction #exo #exo fluff #exo minor angst

[ongly]

Please.

Shawn and his guitar are (pleasant) loud neighbors with a terrible timing.

Everyone is just out of breath and stumbling in their own words in this one, sorryyyy! It’s another draft I put some work on. I think something like this was already written before but I felt like posting it. I am considering doing a part 2 but I also liked the mystery so… I’ll leave you to it. I apologize in advance for my possible bad grammar and I promise I’ll stop with the Harry Potter references. Feedback is more than welcome! Enjoy xxx

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

You lied back down and the bed looked bigger. You suddenly missed a hug you had never lived in, a perfume you had never smelled, a breath you had never heard and hands that had never touched you. You felt that desire of bringing in to your world a love that you can only imagine what it’s like to have.

You had given up on your presentation due to tomorrow morning a few minutes ago, when your thoughts and imagination traveled to the apartment next door. The calm rhythm these guitar strings formed, kept breaking through your mental reasoning. I have to finish it today. You kept reminding yourself whenever you heard this delicate voice singing along to the guitar’s melody. It was peaceful. It made you chill, actually. The way it softly left that person’s lips was absolutely distracting. Instead of imagining the way you were going to organize your presentation’s slides, you started to imagine how this guy’s lips folded to form the words to come out in such a beautiful way.

Again. You repeated to yourself, whenever he seemed to miss a chord. Your eyes were closed. You couldn’t get enough of it and it was killing your time to finish your work, but even when his voice faded or he got out of breath, you were just as amused as in the beginning of this apartment session.

Your phone buzzed right next to your head and you sat back down on the bed. You read a text of one of your friends. She was asking if you were still up and you frowned, looking back at your laptop, sitting on the duvet in front of your crossed legs, only to see it was almost 2am. You instantly panicked, ignoring your friend’s text, throwing the phone away on the bed and quickly moving the laptop closer to you to get back to work.

(Un)fortunately your neighbor wasn’t done with his own work. You read the same sentence for the 10th time but it was useless.

You had known about someone moving to the apartment next to you, but this had never happened before because, even when you saw a few people moving things in and out, it seemed to be empty all the time. You hadn’t moved in too long ago either. You were finishing your last year of collage with an internship your uni department provided. It was the first time you were living in the city and, although your friends loved to camp in your living room from time to time, you decided to be completely by yourself until you finished this important presentation. But it sure wasn’t working because it looked like your neighbor was here for good. Not that you didn’t appreciate these unplugged private next-door concerts but the timing for it was a bitch.

You got out of the bed and took your laptop with you to the living room. You were getting tired and your motivation was fading. You put down your laptop on the coffee table and took a deep breath. No way. Yes way. You had to go knock on his door. You hated to do these kind of things. First, you looked like shit. You surely didn’t look like you were preparing a presentation for your journalism class and if you had to come to the point and plead for your neighbor’s silence, he surely wouldn’t believe you with your big ass glasses. I’ll take the glasses off. It was worthless. You had been wearing them for too long and you could already feel the spot they were marking on your nose. Untie the hair. You were sounding desperate. He would notice if a lion was living next door, there was no need for him to fins out anoitecer it this way.

You looked down at yourself, glad you hadn’t changed into your pajamas yet. You were wearing a pair of jeans and one of your trillion HardRock t-shirts and a pair of adidas. You started to move to the door, unsure of what you were about to say. What if you’re about to tell John Mayer to shut the fuck up? The guitar swings sure had his vibe. OH! What if it is Ray LaMontagne? Wait, isn’t that guy dead? Either way, you felt bad. You kept thinking he wasn’t being too responsible for not keeping it down at that time of the night, but still, no one else in the building had come to complain so you guessed he took it as no was hearing the noise. An absolutely beauti.. okay enough.

You took your keys and left your apartment. You took a few steps towards the door next to yours, looking down as you adjusted your t-shirt, when the door opened and a boy stepped out of it. You looked up quickly, your eyes wide in surprise. You heart was jumping inside from the scare but you didn’t show it right away. His hand met his chest and he breathed out. He looked at you and smiled.

“You scared me!” He breathed. You let out an awkward chuckle and nodded.

You felt the same way but your words didn’t come out.

You noticed the door of the apartment still open and the guitar still playing.

“I’m sorry.” You finally said after taking a breath. “It’s just…” You started, not sure of how to explain, pointing at the apartment and your door.

“Hm, do you need anything?” He smiled, confused. He was holding a wallet and some keys.

You took in his tall figure. His arms were huge. He could knock you out just by blowing. He had reasonably long blonde hair and he kind of looked like that boy from the “Home Alone” movie, but not on crack. He was still smiling at you.

“It’s just…” You stuttered, looking inside the apartment again and then back at him. “I live next door and you guys…” You tried to explain through gestures, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” He instantly apologized.

“No, no, I’m sorry..” You tried to explain.

“No, we didn’t know..” He insisted, getting closer to the door.

“You’re clearly working..” You were both stumbling in your own words, trying to explain yourselves.

“No, please.” He nodded, holding his hands up, gesturing you to wait. “Let me just… Shawn!” He called out for his friend.

You slapped back your naïve self and snapped into reality recognizing his name. Holy moth.. The guy cut your thoughts and got away from the door.

“I’m so sorry, I have to go get some food, so..” He pointed out at the door where Shawn stood now. You smiled. You wanted to apologize a thousand times and run back into your apartment and hide.

What are you supposed to say now? It wasn’t John Mayer or the dead guy, it was Shawn Mendes. Of course you sang along at some point. You were too tired to realize it, otherwise you wouldn’t have come looking like fucking Moaning Mirtle with your stupid glasses that had these lens that looked like the bottom of a bottle. 

“Hi.” Shawn smiled, looking at his friend trying to get some answers. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry.. I was trying to explain to your friend..” You started, trying to rush this out and his friend interrupted again, trying to rush his own self.

“It’s Geoff. And I really have to go now before they close.” He smiled and started to walk out. “I’ll be right back.” He said but stopped on his tracks and looked back at you. “Should I bring you something? Do you wan..” He started.

“No, no ,no, no! Thank you!” You smiled and he nodded, turning around and rushing to the elevator.

You turn your head to find Shawn giving you that clueless puppy look. You felt nothing more than embarrassed. You felt really bad for doing this.

Somehow you new about his work and how much time he was putting into it. You were a big fan of his music but you were so busy with your work and your own little world that you didn’t even notice what, a few times somewhere in the middle of his acoustic session, you were singing along to. You tried to keep it casual.

“I’m really sorry to bother..” You started. His features changed. He looked slightly annoyed. “..as I was trying to explain, I live next door and I’m trying to finish this presentation..” He didn’t let you finish.

“Oh, I’m so sorry honey!” He nodded, one of his hands on his chest as the other moved back and forth in this hair, fingers tangling in a slow pace as he nervously tried to explain himself. “We had no idea! I’m so sorry!”

“No, it’s fine..”

“It’s not! You could have told us earlier.. we just..”

“No, it’s okay. Listen..” You started, moving your hand around trying to explain. This was both the worse and the best situation you had ever experienced so far. You smiled sweetly and you noticed his shoulders relaxing a bit. “I really hate to do this, because I was enjoying at some point..” He chuckled and then smiled as you continued to speak. “.. but I just really need five minutes of pure concentration to finish it.”

“I understand. God, I feel bad!” He chuckled nervously, covering his face with his hands and then looking back at you.

His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were red and slightly closed. He was just as beautiful as you imagined. He looked tired but the way he moved showed a contradictory amount of energy. You regretted not washing your hair for the 3rd time that day, but it simply decided for itself to be in a bad day anyway.

“I didn’t even know there was someone living next door, I’m really sorry.” His voice was calm.

“I’m a quiet neighbor.” You shyly smiled, looking down.

“Are you throwing some kind of shade at me?” He asked, laughing nervously.

“If the shoe fits, wear it.” You giggled, looking back at him and he let out a laugh.

“Oh, okay..!” He raised his hands in front of him in defense. You laughed.

He ran his fingers through his hair again, placing his other hand inside his black jeans pocket.

“No, really..” You started, your cheeks hurting from smiling. “I just need five more minutes and I promise I will never bother you again.” You excused yourself.

“It’s okay, take your time! It’s late so we should be done..” He said looking down at you as he pointed to the apartment behind him with his free hand. “I just had no idea there was someone else on our floor or else we wouldn’t do it, so I’m really sorry.” He admitted.

He did feel bad. You notice how his eyes got bigger in concern after you explained yourself. As you talked, he took in your looks. Your cheeks were flushed and he found it cute, although you looked a little tired. He felt bad and started thinking he was the one to keep you up this late, not letting you finish your work.

“I’m really sorry, hun’. I had no clue, but the studio’s power was out and we decided to come back here and improvise a little. I should have knocked on your door first.” He started.

“No it’s okay.. It really is..”

“No.” He nodded.

“It wasn’t bothering me at all and it wasn’t too loud or anything… I just started stressing out and really needed a little time.” You shrugged, innocently and he smiled. “It’s embarrassing to come he..” He cut you off.

“No! You shouldn’t feel embarrassed!” He smiled. “I’m sorry if I came out too rude, but I thought you were a fan that found out where I was and it scared me a little!” He laughed and you joined him.

“Don’t worry about that.” You smiled. “I just want to get this presentation done.. it’s getting itchy.” You giggled.

“But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone about anything you just heard!” He joined his hands, pleading.

“Oh!” You gasped. “My recorder’s still on!” You started to step back ready to walk back to your apartment.

“No, please!” He smiled, unsure of what you meant. You looked back at him and nodded, letting out a quiet laugh.

“Don’t worry.” You reassured him. “Just five minutes, please, I promise. You’re clearly working too so, I understand.” You said, looking inside the apartment once more. You found it extremely weird that so many people could fit in that living room but you only heard his voice from your apartment. You ignored it and looked back at him. “I just need to focus completely and then you can go back to your own work.” You nodded.

“Don’t worry!” He laughed. “Take your time, okay?” You nodded and walked to your door, feeling his gaze burn your back.

“Five minutes.” You gestured smiling, his cheeks were flustered as he chuckled at your insistence. “Thank you.” You politely smiled. You put the keys on the door lock and opened it.

“Wait, what’s your name?” He asked, stepping out of the door, turning himself to you.

You smiled and shrugged as you just simply forgot your own name, getting in your apartment and closing the door, leaving him biting his lip before putting on a sly smile.

part 2?

#shawn mendes blurb #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes #Shawn Mendes Imagine #shawn army #shawnmendesimagine #shawnmendesblurb #shawnmendesfanfic #Shawnmendesclean #shawnmendes #shawn #mendes army #mendes #smendesedit #magcon #illuminate tour #illuminate #sm3 #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes 3 #handwritten #shawns guitar #shawn mendes apartment

[pickalilywrites]

Hii ~ Can I request a Xmas Day PieckxPorco, maybe opening xmas gifts ? Hope you are doing fine, and enjoy your vacations. Happy holidays :D

Of course! Thank you for the request ^-^ 

My vacation is wonderful so far! I’m seeing my boyfriend this week since he’s finally hope from uni and my sister and I have been watching movies together, so that’s been nice :) 

Opening Gifts

Gallipieck. Modern AU. 

1268 words. 

He yawns, surprised that his girlfriend didn’t wake him up earlier. There were times she’d try to convince him to stay up until midnight to open their gifts, but he’d be out like a light by eleven if he tried to stay awake. Porco turns to face her, stroke the hair out of her face and ask her what happened to her enthusiasm, but her half of the bed is strangely cold and empty.

“Pieck,” he growls. He doesn’t even have to wonder what happened to hear because he already knows. He expects to see her passed out on the couch, knocked out after failing to find where he had hidden her present.

He gets up from the bed, not bothering to make the sheets because Pieck will only mess them up later. He slips his slippers on and trudges down the steps to the living room but is disturbed by how messy it looks.

Paintings that used to hang on the walls are either sitting on the ground or terribly tilted. He appears into the bathroom to find the cabinets all flung open, the contents within all laid out on the counter top. He’s sure that it’s just Pieck’s work, a little more hectic and crazed than the previous years, but it gets more alarming the closer he gets to the living room.

Every door he peers through is more of a chaotic mess than the one before.

The closet looks as though a raccoon dug through it. Papers and folders are strewn about. Pens litter the floor and office supplies threaten to stab him in the foot if he doesn’t tread carefully.  

The guest bedroom looks as if a tornado hit it. The blankets and sheets are crumpled on the floor, and the pillow cases had been taken off and turned inside out. The mattress had been hauled out of the bed frame and was sitting against the wall. Each drawer was pulled out from the dresser to reveal nothing but mothballs inside. The closet door was thrown open, the storage boxes inside all opened and their contents thrown carelessly on the floor. Strangely enough, Porco notices, even the light bulb has been taken out of the light hanging on the ceiling. Now he’s beginning to doubt that even Pieck would do such a thorough job in searching for a measly gift.

It’s like the FBI came and broke into their house overnight, but he’s not sure why they would do that. The only other option would be a thief, but he’s sure they don’t have anything of valuable. Still, his footsteps quicken as he hurries to the living room fearing the worst.

Pieck is curled up on the couch. Usually a light sleeper, she doesn’t waken even as Porco hurries to her side.

Panicked because of the complete disarray of their house, Porco shakes her roughly. “Pieck! Pieck! Are you alright?”

She shakes him off, turning her face towards the back of the couch and covering her eyes with her arms. “Porco, you’re being too loud,” she moans, not at all concerned about how panicked Porco sounds. “It’s still early. Just go back to sleep.”

He doesn’t bother telling her that it’s almost noon, he just wants her to wake up. “Pieck, you need to get up,” he says, grabbing her shoulder to keep her from hiding her face. “Someone went through our house and we may have been robbed.”

It’s only then that she opens her eyes, blinking at him in confusion. “Robbed?” she repeats, looking around them sleepily. She doesn’t seem too worried about the chaotic mess that’s their house. In fact, there’s a small smile in her face as if she’s remembering something fondly. “Oh, that was just me.”

He can’t tell if he should be angry or relieved. “Did you really tear up the house trying to look for your present?”

“Yup! You did a really excellent job hiding it this year,” she says, sitting up now.

He sighs and kneels in front of the couch, resting his head in her lap. “Please don’t ever do this again.” At least he knows what happened, but he hates the thought of having to clean this all up.

Pieck runs her fingers through her boyfriend’s hair affectionately. “You know I thought maybe you hid it at Zeke’s place like you did a few years ago, but he kept insisting you didn’t even after I offered him a very generous bribe,” she says. “I only believed him once I tried blackmailing him, and he told me he really didn’t know.”

“So I guess you’re not going to promise you’ll never tear up the house again,” he mutters as his girlfriend prattles on.

“I check all the usual places the week before but couldn’t find anything,” she continues. “And then really started searching last night while you were asleep. By the way, Pokko, you’re a really heavy sleeper. I wasn’t even trying to be quiet after I finished searching upstairs. A robber could probably rob you blind and you wouldn’t notice until you woke up.”

He stands up and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Him being a heavy sleeper isn’t the problem here, but he’s far too exhausted to argue with her right now. “Look. I’ll get your present. Stay down here.”

She surprisingly lays back down, stretching out before letting out a huge yawn. “Alright, Pokko,” she says. “I’ll wait here then and just bring it down when you get it.” She’d be cute if she didn’t wreck the house hours before.

He quietly walks up to the steps to the bathroom upstairs, careful not to make a sound so that Pieck doesn’t hear a thing. If she doesn’t find out, he might be able to use this spot for the next time he has to hide something from her.

He frowns when he sees the destruction Pieck had left behind in her search. He could either clean it up now or leave it for later and decides to do the latter before his girlfriend gets impatient.

He’s only just set the mirror aside and placed it in the bathtub (because for some reason Pieck didn’t put away anything she took out during her search and now the floor hardly has any space to walk on – she’s never been very good at being organized to begin with though), when the door bangs open and Pieck appears.

“Aha!” she cries, shoving him aside and not caring that he has to stumble around to avoid the million little knickknacks she’s left on the floor during her treasure hunt this morning. She looks curiously at the little panel on the wall that had previously been covered by the mirror. “I’m very impressed, Galliard. Did you have this made while I was out?”

So much for being able to use it again. “It was while you were out with Annie sometime last month,” he grumbles.

It’s a little insulting how carelessly she throws open the hidden panel and pulls out the gift. She doesn’t even take the time to admire the wrapping he chose, just tears it off and lets the paper fall to the floor making it even messier. Not that scraps of gift wrap make much of a difference, to be honest.

“Ooh, pretty.” A necklace hangs from her fingers, a jeweled teardrop dangling from the thin golden chain. She holds it out to him so that he can fasten it around her neck, pulling her hair away from her nape so that it doesn’t get caught in the clamp. “Although I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t get me a ring.”

He leans over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ll consider it once you stop tearing up the house every time I hide a present from you.”

#gallipieck #snk #porco galliard #pieck #modern au #porco loves her but she's shortening his lifespan #other things to consider: #what could pieck possibly use to blackmail zeke #hmmm #she tried bribing him with a signed baseball from a famous player #it was his xmas present in the end #pieck gave porco a pig mug #she likes giving him pig themed things cuz it's cute #he thought it was annoying but she buys rly useful things #requests #anon #asks #anonymous #pokkopiku #pikupoko #pokkopikku

[buythebackpackdobbyfucker]

It’s in the Rules

I got @cursivelettering for @wlwpjoexchange!! Happy Holidays and have some Witches! Pipazel celebrating winter!

Hazel shoved Piper off their bed when she ignored all of her cutesy winter wake up jokes, she’d been willing to let her sleep past the alarm but now her girlfriend was just being a pest. The fake snore she made from the ground only confirmed that. Hazel popped her head over to make sure Piper’s alright just in case.

She’d be worried if she wasn’t, Piper’s a witch and really should be able to pull out a cushioning charm with ease. She said as much to her when she rolled off the bed to join her on the floor.

“Shut up,” Piper mumbled into the floor. Hazel lifted one of the braids Piper wore to sleep and poked her cheek.

“Pipes, come on pleeeeaaasseee,” she pouted. “It’s the first snowfall and I want to start decorating the shop for the solstice.”

Piper turned her head towards her at the word solstice, “Oh, when’s that again.”

“December 21st, we have four days,” Hazel informed her as she rolled away and stood up from the floor. Piper sighed and followed after her.

Piper reached out and grabbed her hand, turning her around, “You find the hats I get the sweaters?”

Hazel smiled and nodded, “Thanks Pipes.” Piper pulled her closer and kissed her nose before twirling her off and away, the break apart and giggle as they run off to find snowflakes and charm icicles into lights.

.

Piper stared into the carefully kept attic and slowly walked to the very back where everything winter is kept, Hazel loved winter but she made new things for Fall every year and procrastinated for Winter so the amount of decorations is a tad disproportionate. Piper ended up tripping over a box of spirit vials and into Winter, their sweaters were lying on top of a birdcage. She pushed herself off the box and carefully made her way to the sweaters.

Two years ago, before they’d even started up the shop, Piper and Hazel had gone on a date and they’d been shopping in a Christmas Market. Piper had found the little shop full of cheesy pick up line shirts and ugly sweaters, the best part was that some of the sweaters didn’t even have Christmas things on them. They bought eight.

Piper pulled on the sweater with penguins wearing scarves, the scarves were little strips of yarn that Hazel liked to tug on and twirl around her finger. She picked up the rest of the sweaters and tripped her way out of the attic to bring Hazel hers.

.

Hazel walked down into the shop and opened up the back door. Every year she bought new Winter Witch hats for her and Piper to wear and this years had come in last night. She pulled on hers, it was covered in cobwebs trapping snowflakes and it had a beautiful silver buckle. She pulled the brim over her eyes and hugged herself tight. Winter was always better with Witch Hats.

A loud noise came from upstairs and Hazel frowned, she slowly made her way to the stairs as several more thumping noises were made. She managed to catch Piper trip down the last set of stairs, holding the sweaters above her head like a trophy. Hazel giggled and ducked under the stack of sweaters to kiss her nose.

Piper blushed and brought the sweaters down between them, she was already wearing the Penguin scarf one so Hazel picked out the one that had a picture of cats with laser eye vision. Hazel pulled off her Witch Hat and placed it on Piper’s head.

Piper fixed the hat so it hugged her head right and tugged Hazel up the stairs and into the kitchen and sat her down at the counted, “Winter Morning Pancakes?”

Hazel nodded eagerly as she tugged the sweater over her head, “With white chocolate chips?”

Piper tossed a white chocolate chip at her and Hazel caught it in her mouth. “Hey!” she said, sliding off of her chair. “White chocolate chips aren’t allowed to be used as ammo in the household its in the rules.”

Piper raised and eyebrow, “What rules?” Hazel made her way around the table and wrapped her arms around Piper’s neck.

“Hm,” She mused. “My rules.” Piper laughed and they rocked back and forth, still a little sleepy but feeling a lot more Wintery.

.

Piper was turning the sign around to read open when she noticed the lamps that hung next to the doors were still filled with black fire, Piper quickly placed her palm against the lamps and pushed in a bit of Winter Whimsy, the lamps filled with a warm orange fire. Last year they’d chosen blue but Piper was a bigger fan of orange flames and Hazel had forgotten to switch it out.

She turned back into the shop and went to work fixing up stray tinsel that the cats got into earlier. “Orange fire? Really?”

Piper lifted her head and her heart melted at the sight of Hazel in her Winter Witch hat and ugly sweater. One of the cats was weaving through her feet as she made her way over to Piper, her arms were crossed but she was biting down on her lip. Hazel did that whenever she didn’t want to smile at something one of the troublesome kitten’s did.

“It’s in the rules,” Piper told her with a shrug. Hazel nodded, and pulled out the Witch hat she’d ordered Piper.

“Is that so?” She asked, she was holding the giant beautiful thing in front of her now.

Piper nodded, “That’s so, hate to break it to you baby.”

Hazel smiled, “You know what else is in the rules?”

“What?” She asked.

Hazel stepped closer to her and placed the hat onto Piper’s head, “Winter Witch hats and candy cane earrings.”

Piper grinned, “Sounds like a pretty good rule to me.”

“I thought so too,” Hazel said, her lips quirking up into a smile. Then she tugged the brim of Piper’s hat down over her eyes and raced off giggling.

Piper pushed the hat back into place and watched her go, her heart went all soft and smushy at the sound of her laughter ringing through the shop.

.

Hazel yawned as she cuddled against Piper. Their hats were sitting on their stands by the bedside tables and Piper was reading her Winter Fairy tales, her voice ringing through the room filled with rich magic. Piper pressed a kiss to Hazel's head and put the book to the side. The first day of Last Minute Solstice Preparations had tired them both out but neither girl wanted to sleep just yet.

"Remember when we met?" Hazel asked her, her words quiet and sleepy.

"Yes," Piper said. "It was the Solstice."

"We were at a party, it was in the dorms in University," Hazel told her, Piper nodded they'd had a party for everything back in Uni.

"You were there with Leo and Jason, I'd gone with Frank and was trying to talk him into asking Leo out and Jason," Piper turned her head to Hazel, an eyebrow raised.

Hazel giggled, "I started talking to you because you were an incredibly pretty girl and my friend had just given me an excuse to try and make a move." Piper blushed and pushed her away, Hazel laughed.

"C'mon Pipes, remember what you were wearing?"

Piper stole Hazel's pillow and held it against her face. "Nope!" She said, her voice muffled. Hazel stole back her pillow and rolled her eyes.

"You were wearing the ugliest winter holiday sweater dress I'd ever seen, it had a wreath for a belt and it and you had a jingle bell headband," Piper peeked out from under the pillow to see the fond look Hazel wore.

Piper sighed and put the pillow to the side, "You were wearing a tinsel necklace, tinsel earrings, you had tinsel in you hair and tinsel around your ankles, I thought you were an angel."

Hazel bit her lip, "Kisses?" Piper leaned forward and bumped their noses, Hazel giggled and brushed their noses again.

"I love bunny kisses," she said sleepily.

Piper nodded and pulled her close, "I love you."

.

Piper pulled the covers off of Hazel and got out of bed, Hazel would follow when her hands and feet got cold. She walked downstairs and fed the stray cats that always seemed to be around and picked out the ugly sweater for the day.

She went with the tinsel collared sweater and grabbed the Star sweater with LED lights for Hazel. Hazel was waiting in Piper’s sweats and one of her beanies with a cup of Hot Chocolate, Piper traded the sweater for the cocoa and a kiss. Hazel tugged the sweater on and they stood there smiling at each other, Piper probably had a goofy grin on her face and she couldn’t care less.

Hazel reached out and wiped at Piper’s upper lip. “Hot Chocolate stache,” She murmured. Piper leaned forward to follow her hand when she noticed what was missing from the top of their heads, “The Winter hats!”

Piper turned around and tripped her way into their room. Hazel giggled and followed after her girlfriend. Piper turned to face her, her arms serving as hat stands. Hazel took hers and pressed a thank you kiss on Piper's cheek, "Time to open up baby."

Piper pulled on her own hat and linked their hands, "Happy second day of Last Minute Solstice, Haze."

"Happy second day of Last Minute Solstice," Hazel repeated with a giggle.

.

Hazel walked out of the backroom with their brooms and skates in her hands just as Piper finished ringing up their last customer for the day, “Skating?”

Piper grinned, “Skating.”

Hazel took care of locking up the cash and the precious gems and Piper ran upstairs to get their Winter Flying Cloaks. When she came back down Hazel spelled their hats on tight they danced out the door.

They tied the skates to their brooms and pulled their hair back and pushed off.

Flying is beautiful and free and magic in warm weather. In winter as soon as you get on a broom you start to feel a snowstorm in your bones, Hazel didn't mind but Piper kept close to Hazel's side and murmured a quick warming charm.

"Hey, Pipes?" Hazel called loudly over the wind. Piper nodded.

"Yeah?"

"Sing a song?" Piper laughed, her laugh and her voice wasn't blown away by the wind and Hazel grinned, that meant she was going to sing.

Piper opened her mouth and the words that came out sent Hazel into giggles that the wind stole and gave away to anyone else in the sky that day.

“Hey now, you’re an allstar…”

.

Hazel swatted at Piper, “No more kisses till I get my skates on.” Piper pouted.

“It’s in the rules, Pipes,” Piper sighed dramatically as she stepped onto the ice and started doing laps while she waited, Hazel watched her for a moment before she remembered that she was supposed to be lacing up her skates. She stood up and when she looked to see where Piper was she almost fell over as her girlfriend had somehow managed to end up right in front of her.

Piper grabbed her hands and pulled her onto the ice, “Cold, baby?” Hazel hmmd and linked their arms.

“Not yet.” They did laps and Piper twirled her and she fell on her bum and she dragged Piper down with her. The two girls sat on the cold ice with their heads leaning against each other for support and their hats in their laps watching the sky get darker.

“Baby?”

“Yeah, Pipes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Pipes.”

.

Hazel put away the brooms and Piper unspelled their cloaks and hats and they tiptoed into bed, doing their best not to wake the stray cats downstairs. They slid into bed and held each other. Cars and brooms and early Solstice fireworks were heard but the two girls clung tight to each other and focused only on the sound of each others breath.

As Hazel slipped away into dreams, she swore she started to hear Piper's heartbeat. Piper pressed a kiss to Hazel as she fell asleep and dropped her head down next to her and drifted off to Hazel's quiet snoring.

.

The third day of Last Minute Solstice included gingerbread houses, donuts for breakfast and dealing with the last minute shoppers. Hazel was slightly less excited but Piper managed to pull her out of bed because there was no way she was going to be manning the cash again. They stumbled down the stairs, their hats hastily spelled on and the matching they'd thrown on the gingerbread ugly sweaters.

Hazel burned the toast and Piper thanked her with a kiss and they opened the shop. Piper disappeared at some point and Hazel tried not to think about throwing candy canes at her. The cats took over for most of the day, tripping up the annoying customers and directing the nice ones to the counted.

Hazel had made Piper charm her smile permanent for a few hours and it was so nice to not have to try later, she was about to reach over and jam her wand down someones throat when the love of her life walked through the door with donuts.

Piper made her way through the cats and the tripping last minute shoppers and went down on her knee in front of Hazel, "Baby, will you do me the honour of eating a Third Day of Last Minute Solstice?”

Hazel’s fake smile melted into a fond one, “Of course, Pipes.” She pulled her girlfriend up to her feet and picked out a donut and gave her half, “But only if you share it with me. Its in the rules, you know.”

Piper wrapped her arms around Hazel and spun her around, “Haze, Haze your the best” Hazel laughed and squeezed her silly girlfriend back even though they really should be working.

.

Piper turned the sign over to read closed and collapsed on the floor with a sigh, “Hey babe?”

“Yeah?” Hazel called down from upstairs.

“Gingerbread house time?”

There was a pause and a crashing noise and then, "Got it out, c'mon up!"

Piper grinned and pushed herself up, she gave one of the strays a treat and took the stairs two at a time. Hazel was waiting for her, she had the box on the table waiting to be opened. The girls put their Winter hats to the side and changed their ugly sweater for pajama tops, there was no way they were ruining the treasures.

"You ready," Hazel asked, her hand was ready with a knife at the tape. Piper nodded, doing her best to maintain a serious expression.

"Go ahead." Hazel slowly, carefully cut the tape. Then she got impatient and put the knife to the side and ripped the cardboard apart, Piper caught a packet of candy in the air and walked closer to the table. The gingerbread was all still intact and while some of the candy packets had exploded they rarely used them, the girls liked to shop for gingerbread house candy in October.

Piper transfigured a spoon into a broom because she was too lazy to run down and grab the actual brooms, Hazel just got on her knees and started gathering candies. A few minutes in they realized they could summon all the candy into a trash bag.

Hazel started giggling and Piper elbowed her, “Pipes, Pipes, you thought to turn a spoon into a broom but not just conjure the candy.” Piper threw a candy at her and Hazel pushed her onto the kitchen couch and kissed her embarrassed frown into a smile.

After a while of kissing and cuddling and candy cane fights they finished the gingerbread house. Piper carefully iced witch hats onto the gingerbread witches and Hazel made sure the house had icicles and lamps.

Piper finished up with the buckles on the hats and turned to her girlfriend, Hazel was adding orange flames to the lamps. Piper lifted up the icing bag, "Hey, baby?"

"Yeah?" Hazel asked, she was carefully placing the fire into the gingerbread.

"Icing fight?" Hazel looked up to see Piper holding a bag of pink icing.

"Pipes..." Piper grinned and squeezed down on the piping bag, icing went everywhere, Hazel got a new mustache.

Hazel's hand slowly lifted up to her pink mustache, "Piper."

Piper shrugged, "Icing fights are a mandatory when making gingerbread houses, Haze. It's in the rules." Hazel grabbed two bags of icing.

"Well, if that's so..."

.

The two girls collapsed onto the bed.  "Hey Pipes?"

"Yeah baby?" Piper replied, her eyes drooping.

"I totally won that."

Piper pushed herself up onto her elbows and raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Hazel nodded, she was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, "Really."

"Hm," Piper mused. "Well, I think I'm going to win the tickle war."

Hazel's eyes flew open, "Piper McLe-" Piper pounced and the two girls dissolved into laughter.

.

On the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year, Piper and Hazel woke up together. The magic was thick in the air, it didn't help that right below the floor was a shop full of magic absorbing the crackling feeling the Solstice brought.

Hazel tossed Piper her Winter Witch hat, it would be heavier today but today was the most important day to wear it. Piper threw the Magic ugly sweater back, it had reindeer and cauldrons and wands in that pixel font and they always wore them on the Solstice.

After they got dressed they let the cats upstairs and locked up the shop behind them. The cats would sleep all day and night.

Piper pulled Hazel along and bought them pastries for breakfast, Hazel was always sleepy to start and Piper would get sleepy near the end. They walked through the streets, Piper could see other witches walking in streams. They were all heading for the fields, they'd release the pent up magic there and dance their ways home.

Hazel didn't notice much besides how warm and nice it is to be wrapped up in your girlfriend's arms. Piper made sure she was comfy and pressed a kiss to her hand, the only part of her that wasn't covered in something warm and knitted. Hazel murmured something Piper couldn't quite make out in response and burrowed further into Piper's arms. She didn't mind.

As the day continued Hazel slowly woke up and they moved apart a bit, but the girls refused to let go of each others hands. They sung songs and watched magic fly out of witches fingertips in fireworks and ice and wind.

The Solstice was a day for magic and celebration. They drank hot chocolate one of the regulars at their shop offered them and caught up with friends from University that they always saw at the Solstice's.

Soon enough, it was night. Piper and Hazel headed to the middle of the fields and shared one more kiss before stepping apart, their hands fell to their sides and the earth shook beneath Hazel's feet and everything untied or loose flew about Piper. The world sang and witches cackled around them and then everything fell calm and the girls collapsed into each other.

Piper helped push Hazel back to her feet with a grin, "How you doing, baby?"

Hazel grinned, "Dance with me?" Piper smiled and twirled her around. They danced and twirled and sang, Piper lifted Hazel up into the air and Hazel dipped Piper into a kiss and they ended up back outside of the shops door past midnight.

Piper was falling asleep on her feet even thought Hazel had never looked more awake, she was beautiful like that, Piper thought. Hazel was always beautiful though, Piper could never get enough of her. She found herself sinking to her knees and pulling out the metal band she'd been keeping in her cloak pocket for months.

"Haze?" She asked.

Hazel's eyes were watering up and she swatted at Piper's shoulder, "Pipes, you beautiful girl, I can't think of anything to say but yes." She helped her to her feet and Piper stared into her girl-fiancee's eyes and felt her heart melt.

And then Hazel pulled out a ring, "But you have to wear yours too baby. It's in the rules." Piper started laughing, laughing and crying and she slid her finger into the ring and lifted the brim of Hazel's Winter Witch hat to kiss her proper.

When they broke apart Hazel asked, "What was that for?"

Piper shrugged, a smile lighting up her face. "You have to kiss your fiancee on the Winter Solstice, it's in the rules."

Hazel laughed and pulled her close for another kiss, "Sounds like a good rule to me."

#pjo #hoo #pipazel #piper #hazel #ted tries to write #rey's writering #cursivelettering #wlwpjoexhange

[suit-lady]

Risky Confessions.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: This is a request from my love, Nat, aka @peterfuckinparker​, based off the song Lay it on Me by Vance Joy. Alternatively, Tom realizes his feelings for an old friend and lets the alcohol do the talking.

Warnings: Swears, alcohol, Tom becomes drunk in this, angst

Words: 2685

A/N: Okay, I love this song so fucking much. If you haven’t listened to it, please do. Everything about it is so good ohmygod. Also Nat I am so sorry this took so long,,, but here it is! Finally! Also, I love this?? It’s probably one of my favorites that I’ve done so I really hope you love it too! xoxo

Moscato. It was always moscato when Tom came by yours for a drink. Every time, you’d bring out your fancy glasses as if you had some sort of surprise for him, but you would bring out the same old moscato, the same tried-and-true brand you’d been drinking since uni. He’d roll his eyes, you would laugh, and then two of you would drink the night away, talking about nothing and everything until you had to walk Tom out of the building and into a taxicab.

This night, he thought, would be no different. He knocked on the door to your apartment and checked his watch. At ten minutes to eight, he was a tad early, but you’d never minded the extra time. He heard you shout something on the other side of the door, and a smile played on his lips. He imagined that you were probably half done brushing your teeth or your trousers were half on and were rushing to finish up so you wouldn’t keep him waiting.

“Take your time, love!” he called back to you.

What he hadn’t counted on, however, was being away from you for so long had made him realize he felt so much more for you. He’d realized at some point on some plane ride that he hadn’t been able to get you off his mind for nearly sixteen days. In confusion, he turned all his thoughts to you until the why? that was racing in his mind would finally settle. He finally settled on the fact that he loved you, that he has loved you, probably since that one time you hung out on his rooftop until four a.m. when you were sixteen and young and stupid. He still remembered what the smile on your face had looked like when you watched the sunrise together.

The door swung open, and—had you always sparkled like that before? “Hi Tom! Come on in!”

He stuttered some sort of hello, cursing himself for being nervous, and followed you into the flat. Since he’d last been there, you’d moved things around and changed a few decorations, but the same couch was still there, the that he’d gotten drunk on too many times to count. A contented smile spread across his features; this was gonna be just like old times. He followed you into the kitchen, where you usually started the night before relaxing on that same old sofa.

You look at him with that smile he’s seen a hundred times before. Smiling back, he tries to ignore the feelings of his cheeks heating up. Why had he never noticed how gorgeous you were before? Teasingly, you walked over to your cabinet and reached up to pull out two highballs. You set them on the table without Tom paying any attention to you. Rolling your eyes, you pulled out a bottle of Jameson and set it on the counter.

Tom’s eyes widened. “Trying to get me wasted, (Y/N)?”

“No, silly! I wanted to make a special toast,” you said as you stifled a chuckle.

As you poured the whiskey into the highballs, Tom asked, “What’s the special occasion?” You gave him a look as you handed him his glass. “What? Should I know?”

“To Spider-Man: Homecoming being a smashing success!” you said, clinking your glass to his.

After downing the shot, he gave you a sheepish grin. “Oh.”

“Oh,” you repeated, rolling your eyes.

Tom poured you both another drink, raised his glass, and toasted, “To lifelong friends!” And wishing they were more.

“To lifelong friends!” you said, flashing Tom a smile that made him melt and clinking your glass to his.

You turned around to grab glasses for wine. Rubbing his hands on his jeans, he looked around your apartment again. He’d been here a numberless amount of times before, yet he couldn’t stop his heart from beating like crazy. As he poured himself another shot—to calm his nerves, he took a deep breath. This alcohol was gonna turn him into a mess incredibly fast if his heart rate didn’t calm down.

It only took him two glasses of wine to start slurring his words. Though he could usually down almost a whole bottle of wine on his own, you chalked it up to the whiskey working faster than wine. He was talking some kind of gibberish about Infinity War, and you were just nodding along, pretending to know exactly what he was talking about and swearing you’d forget what he said every time he told you, “Shit, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” Sprawled out on one end of the couch, looking at you with those deep brown eyes, he looked incredibly attractive. You kept averting your eyes, doing your best not to stare.

Then, he surprised you. In a voice nearly stone cold sober, he asked you, “Can I be real with you, just for a minute?”

Raising an eyebrow, you replied, “Of course, Tom. What’s up?”

“Look,” he said, setting his glass down. He seemed to be struggling for words. “I don’t think I can hide this anymore.”

You set your glass down as well. Moving his legs off the couch, you sat closer to him. The scent of alcohol was strong on his breath; he was absolutely wasted. Honestly, you weren’t sure if he’d remember a word of your conversation in the morning. You looked deep into his eyes, saying nothing.

“(Y/N)…” He took your face in his hands. “Who am I kidding trying to hide it anyway? It sure as fuck isn’t me.”

He leaned in closer, your lips mere centimeters apart. Suddenly so close, your breath caught in your throat, and butterflies erupted in your stomach. You could see every shade of brown in his gorgeous irises. Though his pupils were larger than usual, you couldn’t remember a time when you’d seen his eyes like this. They were incredibly captivating, and you couldn’t bring yourself to look away, despite the deep blush rising in your cheeks.

“I love you, (Y/N).”

Before you could respond, he closed the distance between your lips. Your hands found their way into his luscious curls, and you pulled him as close to you as possible. Backed by years of pent-up feelings, the passion in the kiss was absolutely incredible. It was better than you’d dreamed it to be a thousand times over. Breathing heavily, you both backed off.

“I think I’ve loved you since we were fifteen, (Y/N). That night when you told me that my eyes were more lovely than the night sky. Back then, I couldn’t think of anything to say because I was too busy falling in love with you. I’ve only just recently come to terms with it, and I’m so sorry I didn’t see it sooner…but… I love you, (Y/N).”

You didn’t realize, but you’d started crying. “I love you too, Tom,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper.

Then, you were kissing again, grabbing at each other because you just couldn’t get close enough. He pushed you flat against the couch and leaned over you, using one hand to steady himself and the other to both support your head and to push your mouth closer to his. As the kiss deepened, you ran your fingers down his back and pulled him down against you, closer, closer. Your head was spinning; was this actually finally happening?

Then, suddenly, nothing but air. You sat up in confusion to find Tom across the room, pacing back and forth. Just quiet enough that you couldn’t make out the words, he muttered something over and over again. You went over to him, putting a hand gently on his shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have, I shouldn’t have…” He turned to look at you. There were tears in his eyes. “Oh, (Y/N), I’m so sorry.”

You looked at him, confusion painting your features. “What are you talking about?”

“The alcohol… I… I took advantage of you… I’m so sorry.”

You felt your heart drop. Nausea flooded your body. As you opened your mouth to say something, he shook his head. He brushed past you to find his shoes, sitting on the floor to put them on.

“Will you let me walk you outside?” you asked, your mouth feeling dry as cotton.

“Sure, of course.”

You fell into the usual routine even though your whole body was numb. In the fridge, you had Gatorade in his favorite flavour. You’d tell him at least four times to drink the whole thing before he went to bed even though you knew he wouldn’t. Before you went back into the other room, back to Tom, you scribbled a note and folded it up.

“Ready?” you asked as you slipped on a pair of shoes that you’d put by the door earlier.

“Yeah,” he replied, standing.

You didn’t look at each other as you walked down the stairs. If you met his eyes, you knew the tears you were holding back would bubble over. Had he really not meant it? Did he use the alcohol as a trick to see if you’d kiss him back? Your heart ached like it never had before.

You hailed a taxicab as Tom leaned against you, the alcohol hitting him in a second wave. As all the excitement winded down, the drunkenness was taking over again. You hugged him goodbye and snuck the note in his pocket without him noticing. Telling him to drink every drop, you gave him the Gatorade and watched the taxicab pull away before heading back upstairs.

You didn’t even bother taking off your civilian clothes before getting into bed. Pulling the covers over your head and clutching a pillow to your chest, you cried and cried. Tom had kissed you, after all these years, he’d kissed you, and you’d kissed back. Finally, you thought that everything was going to be as you’d dreamed it to be. But he regretted it. Tom regretted kissing you.

You fell asleep before Tom made it home for the first time since you’d become friends. When he didn’t receive a text from you after he awkwardly stumbled through the door, he figured that you were getting ready for bed. He put his phone on the charger and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, wondering if you’d say anything about the kiss. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he scowled and scrubbed at his teeth with anger at himself. How the fuck could he do that to you?

Of course he let himself get wasted. Of course he took the first fucking opportunity he had to dump all his feelings on you. You’d kissed back out of pity, or because of the wine—probably both, and something had made him realize he’d fucked up. After all this time, he’d ruined his friendship with you. He wished he could take it back, but he knew this wasn’t something that you both could just walk away from.

He removed all his clothes save his boxers, leaving them in a pile on the floor before falling into bed. On his nightstand, the Gatorade sat unopened, just like every other time. He figured that this might be the last time you ever gave him that advice. After staring at it for what felt like an hour, he sat up and downed the whole thing. He nearly gagged at the taste; he probably should have waited to brush his teeth. Shrugging, he flopped back down onto the bed, forgetting to check if you’d replied before falling asleep.

The next morning, sunlight drifted lazily through Tom’s window, gently waking him. He sat up with a quizzical air. For some reason, he woke up with barely a hint of a hangover. His eyes fell onto the empty bottle on his side table. (Y/N). For all these years, you’d only had his best interest in mind.

(Y/N)!

He checked his phone for a message, but he had no notifications. For the first time since he’d started coming over to your place, you hadn’t texted him goodnight. He’d either royally fucked up even worse than he thought he had, or something was wrong. As he tried to think of some apologetic good morning that didn’t make him off to be an asshole, he picked his clothes off the floor from the night before. He noticed a slip of paper fall out of the pocket of his jacket and bent to pick it up. Immediately, he recognized your handwriting.

This may be stupid judging by how you’re leaving my flat right now, but I’ve loved you since that night on your rooftop too, maybe even before then. I’m sorry.

Tom felt all the blood run out of his face and his knees go weak. While he was blaming your kissing back on the alcohol, you’d actually been returning his feelings. He put on the clothes he’d just picked up, caring not about the lingering scent of alcohol. Before he left, however, he did brush his teeth, painfully aware of the aftertaste the Gatorade had left in his mouth. He rushed out to his car as fast as he could, driving back to your apartment faster than he should have. When he pulled up, he didn’t bother messaging you because he figured you wouldn’t answer.

He pulled out his keys and let himself into the apartment. When you’d moved in, they’d given you and extra key that you’d given to Tom. You’d told him that he was the best when it came to emergencies. Rolling his eyes at his past self, he wondered how he hadn’t seen how perfect you were back then.

He carefully shut the door behind him and removed his shoes. As he tiptoed through the flat, he realized that you hadn’t woken up yet. He found you in your bed, still in yesterday’s clothes, still curled up and clinging to your pillow. Under his breath, Tom cursed himself. You were like this, and it was his fault.

He pulled the covers back and dropped his jacket on the floor. Gently, slowly, he got in bed with you and snuggled up to you. He draped an arm around your waist and pulled you close. As you came in contact with his body, he felt you relax. He sighed, peppering your hair with kisses. This is how last night should have ended.

He watched the sunlight filter through your curtains as you breathed softly beside him. As he lazily ran his fingers back and forth across your arm, he wondered how long you’d lied awake. He hoped you’d fallen asleep quickly. After what he’d stupidly done to you, he hoped you’d tried to forget it rather than focus on it.

Eventually, you began to stir. He felt you stiffen and relaxed his grip on you. After you took in your surroundings a little, you turned over to look at him. Your eyes widened.

“Tom?”

“Good morning, (Y/N).”

“What’re you—”

“Nope, I get to talk first. (Y/N), I’m so sorry about last night. I love you, I do, I’m in love with you. I realized it when I was travelling somewhere for press. I’ve loved you since we were teenagers; I just never admitted it to myself until recently. I just… I’m so sorry that I let the whiskey talk for me. I got so scared that I’d pressured you and that you’d kissed back because you’d been drinking too and weren’t thinking straight and… I’m so sorry, (Y/N).”

“I love you too,” you whispered. “I forgive you.”

The kisses that followed were slow and sweet, but they were so unbelievably passionate that you could feel yourself shaking. Between every kiss, Tom told you he loved you, over and over again, and you told him you loved him too as many times as he’d let you. You were tangled up in the sheets and in each other, and you couldn’t imagine anything better. Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, and he fit perfectly into you, and you perfectly into him, just like you’d always known you would.

 Fin.

Tag List: @hufflepuffholland, @peterandchurros, @peterfightmeparker, @peterfuckinparker, @hollandaised, @homecunnings, @lgbt-avengers, @1022bridgetp, @theweirdlunatic, @trackingthislamp, @tomfooleryholland, @tomsh0lland, @spideytingles, @spideygurl, @nedslaptop, @softnerdypeter, @werido-fangirl, @raindancer2004, @sachiparker, @siennarossi, @tonky-stank, @peacefulmusician, 

#FINALLY im home i can put this the FUCK up #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland #my shit #y'all i really love this

[chocolatequeennk]

What’s On Your List Today?

This is for the prompt “we’re cashiers working the late shift at a grocery store, and a hot customer comes through my line. i ask them the required, “did you find everything you were looking for?” except it comes out so suggestively, i’m blushing and you’re trying not to laugh in front of the customers, please stop” au, which @jeeno2 sent across my dash earlier this week. It is both a uni au and a store au, which makes it a prompt fill for @doctorroseprompts. And given that the whole prompt is about awkwardly offering someone help, and Jack tries to help James out, I think this fills “helping hand” from @legendslikestardust. (I like that prompt a lot, apparently.)

The title is the slogan of a local grocery chain.

AO3 | FF.NET | TSP

“I can shut up if I’m boring you.”

James blinked and looked at his best friend. Jack was leaning against his cash register with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face, and James realised he must have been telling a story.

“Sorry, Jack.” He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. “I was up late studying last night, then I had exams today and had to finish a paper, so I didn’t get a chance to sleep this afternoon.”  

Jack raised his eyebrows. “Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out with us over the weekend, but it sounds like you’ll be spending it all in bed—and not in the fun way.”

Before James could reply, their attention was diverted by the sound of the door opening. James felt his heart thud painfully in his chest when Rose Tyler walked in.

The art student had moved into his building at the start of the year, and he’d been smitten immediately. And not just because she was gorgeous, with her blonde hair and a cheeky smile that tormented him with glimpses of her tongue. Rose Tyler was kind and generous and warm and funny… and way out of his league.

James sighed when she disappeared down an aisle after giving them both a smile.

“You gotta talk to her tonight, James,” Jack muttered. “You’ve been pining over her for months now.”

“I… that’s… I have not been pining.” James felt his cheeks turn pink.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Well what would you call it then? You go to her coffee shop twice a week and sit there for an hour.”

James raked his hands through his hair. “Studying! The caffeine wakes me up, and the shop is quiet!”

“Considering you have a new story each time about how brilliant Rose is, I think I know what you’re studying.”

James groaned. “I know, I know,” he mumbled. “And I’ve tried to talk to her, but you know how I get when I’m nervous. I talk about everything except whatever I actually want to talk about.”

Jack tilted his head. “Well, you have a few minutes right now to plan it out. Think of something to say. Ask her about her art. Tell her you’d like to see her sometime other than Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at three. Just… say something.”

James pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. Chatting up girls has never been his strength. Just talking to a girl he liked was a disaster, more often than not. He rambled and stuttered and went off on the most ridiculous tangents, about pointless things like John Mark carrying the torch in the 1948 Olympics, or the brilliant invention of edible ball bearings.

But Jack was right. After four months, he needed to work up the nerve to actually talk to Rose, or just let his crush go.

He spent the next few minutes remembering the effortless way Jack talked to women. Somehow, he always managed to say exactly the right thing, and in a voice that just seemed to make women melt.

When Rose came back up to check out, Jack played the good wingman and immediately found something to make him look busy. James wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers when she came over to him and set her basket down on the end of the conveyor belt.

Rose smiled at him as he started scanning her purchases. “Is it always this quiet at night?”

He bobbed his head. “Oh yes. The only people who come in after ten are…” Behind Rose, Jack shook his head furiously, and James shut his mouth with a click before he could set off on a ramble. “I mean… most people are asleep,” he finished lamely.

She nodded and twisted a piece of hair around her finger. “That’s true.”

There were only three things left in her basket—tea, milk, and biscuits. James cast about frantically for something to say, anything at all.

Finally, a line from his cashier training returned to him. “So… did you find everything you were looking for today, or… did you need some help with that?”

James wanted to die as soon as the words left his mouth. It should have been a completely innocent question, but instead, he’d mixed up his customer service training with his earlier musings about Jack’s chat-up style, turning it into a horribly inappropriate attempt at seduction.

Really, James? “Or… did you need some help with that?” What were you expecting, that she’d flutter her eyelashes at you and say, “Well actually… I was looking for you.”

Even from ten feet away, James could hear Jack choke on his laughter. His face was burning up, and he just wanted to sink into the floor and never come out.

He hit the total button, but couldn’t bring himself to repeat the number out loud to Rose. Thankfully, she seemed willing to leave the store without talking to him again, because she put her card in the machine and typed in her pin without saying a word to him.

The wait for the machine to approve her purchase seemed interminable, but finally, the register dinged and printed her receipt out. James tore it off and handed it to Rose, along with her bag, all while avoiding eye contact.

When he realised she was still standing in front of him, even though she had all her things, James took a deep breath and looked up at her, an apology ready.

But Rose was smiling at him, the tip of her tongue peeking out. “Actually, there is something you could help me with.”

The studied nonchalance on her face made his heart beat faster. “Oh?” he said, not trusting his runaway mouth with more than a single syllable.

Her smile widened. “Yeah. There’s this bloke who comes into my coffee shop every Tuesday and Thursday. Gorgeous, really great hair, and always holds the door open for everyone coming in and out. I’ve been wanting to get to know him better… think you might be able to help with that?”

“Maybe?” James squeaked, then cleared his throat. “I mean, absolutely. I happen to know he’s been wanting to get to know you, too.”

Rose lit up, showing little gold flecks in her brown eyes. “Maybe we could get chips together tomorrow afternoon? One o’clock, at the chippy around the corner from our building?”

James’ cheeks hurt from smiling. “Rose Tyler, I promise you he will be there.”

She pulled out her receipt and scrawled something on the back of it, then handed it to him. “Excellent. Here’s my number, just in case.” With one more smile, and a wave over her shoulder at Jack, Rose walked out of the store.

#ficandchips #ten x rose #jeeno2 #doctorroseprompts #legendslikestardust #human au #uni au #coffee shop au #just piling them on... ;) #in which the Doctor is a dork at flirting and Rose is a goddess #because Truth #getting this in before midnight my time so my posting streak is still good! #fic by Nancy