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kingvettel · 2 years

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Amazing — Carlos Sainz Jr (part 2)

PART ONE

summary : in which carlos always gets shy around you and it kills you on the inside.

A/N : thank you so so much for all the love on the first part, i didn’t think you all would like it this much! i’m soooo sorry it took so long to update, i just got caught up with work :( a third part is on the way so, again, hit those comments if you wanna be tagged in the next part!

You dropped all the grocery bags on the large kitchen table and sighed in frustration, “I can’t believe that this is the start of my summer break...”

Your mother discreetly chuckled, “Por favor, could you go get the—”

“Nope!” you interrupted, “I ran errands for two days straight, I actually have somewhere to be,” you checked your phone and gasped at the clock, “And if I don’t leave now, I’m going to be late!”

You grabbed your bag and rolled your eyes at your mother and sisters snickering at your frantic behavior as the youngest one wiggled her eyebrows, “You’re meeting the guy you’ve been texting 24/7?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” you deadpanned before walking out and slamming the door.

You took a quick look at yourself in the mirror near the house’s front door and shrugged at your flushed cheeks and simple outfit before leaving the family house. You were supposed to meet Carlos for coffee downtown and, at this point, you didn’t really care if your outfit wasn’t the most impressive. After all, you were never one to show up with the fanciest outfits or crazy makeup looks, and you were meeting up for coffee, not at a fancy restaurant.

The sun was burning your skin and each step bringing you closer to the location where you would meet the Ferrari driver made your heart beat a little faster in your chest. You had been texting Carlos almost everyday ever since you both finally engaged in a conversation at dinner in Monaco.

Sometimes you would just send him Formula One memes —preferably in Spanish, but you two would mainly talk about anything and everything. You had also obviously been very keen to show your support before the race in Azerbaijan and to congratulate him after, even though you knew he wasn’t really satisfied by his result. In all honesty, this race probably had to be your favorite of the season so far, mainly because your best friend Pierre had finished on the podium and that the battle between him and Charles by the very end of the race had brought you back to childhood when you would be in the stands and watch them battle it out in karting competitions.

You recognized him for afar, noticing how his white t-shirt emphasized his naturally tan skin. You blinked a few times and took a deep breath before walking towards him, trying to look confident even though you felt weak in the knees simply by looking at him from a distance.

His eyes lit up when he saw you and he rose to his feet, being quick to open his arms and give you a warm hug, “Hi (Y/N)!”

He pulled out the chair for you and you gave him a bright smile as you sat down in front of him, “Hey! You had a nice trip back?”

Carlos vividly nodded, “I slept all the way through, I was so exhausted.”

“Yeah, I bet! I honestly don’t know how you guys do it all the time.”

He shrugged, “Habits, I guess. What about you though?”

You cocked your head to the side, “What about me?”

“How was work and everything?”

And that was something you had learned to appreciate from him. Ever since you both started talking regularly, you had found out that he didn’t want the conversations to be mainly about him. He actually wanted to know how your day was going, what you had to do at work, what your hobbies were and he would gladly listen to you for hours on end even after a long day of training.

If you weren’t deeply infatuated with him before that, this part of him had you now in the palm of his hands.

“Quite uneventful actually,” you confessed, “I could’ve easily worked from home on that one. So... I don’t really know why they flew me to Italy but, yeah, it was alright.”

“So, you’re saying you could’ve come to the race?”

You chuckled, “I mean, yeah... but I can’t afford to travel that much, my bank account isn’t endless.”

“You know, that can be fixed by adding your name to a list.”

“You don’t think Charles and Pierre didn’t try that one trick before?” You asked, “I’m not really into the trophy wife type of thing. I mean, not that it’s a bad thing or whatever... Plus, I’m not dating any of them but, like—”

“Yeah, no, I understand,” Carlos interrupted, now feeling stupid for offering so bluntly something like this.

Just like at the restaurant where you had actually started talking for the very first time, a waitress made her way to your table and you could tell she had recognized the Formula One driver. She had a light twinkle of admiration in her eyes and a shy smile at the corner of her lips. You could so relate to the feeling, recalling the very first time you had met Sebastian Vettel as you had been obsessed with him for years when you were younger. Of course, Charles had exposed you and it had led you to wanting to dig a hole and disappear under the surface of Earth but, now, crossing path with Sebastian was just as normal as ever. You still felt immense admiration for the man but you two were very friendly and he was always looking forward to your little chats on the paddock.

“Are you two ready to order?” the waitress asked.

Carlos looked in your direction and you nodded at the girl, “Yeah, I’ll just have a latte with oat milk, if you have that.”

“Yeah, we do!”

Carlos shot you a surprised look, “Oat milk?”

You chuckled, “Yeah, you should try it, I promise you it’s good.”

Carlos squinted his eyes as if he was trying to see you flinch but you simply raised an eyebrow and smirked as the longing eye contact made your heart skip a beat. It wasn’t like you didn’t know what you were doing, in fact, you were pretty self aware that hanging out with him and texting him every day would only cause your crush to grow bigger and stronger. You just never thought it would go that fast. It was like you were seventeen again and that your brain would make up new scenarios every second —with crystal clear details, involving the man sitting in front of you.

Right now, your brain was offering you this beautiful movie scene where you and Carlos would be exactly there, waiting for your coffees, except you could feel his knee gently rubbing against yours and his hand would casually grab yours, entertwining your fingers before bringing it to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss on your knuckles. It was simple but it was sweet and it made your heart flip in your chest.

“Okay, I’ll take the same thing.”

The waitress nodded and was ready to walk away but she spun on her heels and scratched the back of her head, “Hm… I’m, I’m a big fan. Could we… take a picture?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, sure!” Carlos replied with a smile.

The waitress pulled out her phone with a shaky hand and you were quick to extend your hand, “Here, I’ll take it.”

You leaned back on your chair and made sure to snap as many pictures as you could, trying to find the best angle and praying the girl would be pleased with the result. Secretly, you were glad that this girl had asked for a picture with Carlos because your cheeks were flushed from that imaginary scenario and that phone in front of your face was surely covering it.

You handed her the phone, “Here!”

She was blushing like crazy and, again, you could relate, “Thank you…”

And, as you had predicted, Carlos loved the drink and you made a mental note to make him try absolutely every single thing you would order if you were both finding yourselves in a similar situation in the future. You spent most of the day together, just walking around the city and enjoying the sunny day together. As expected, Carlos was approached by many fans and, even though he appreciated all the support, he kept apologizing because you were being interrupted but you were quick to reassure him every single time that you didn’t care and that you had gotten used to it since being best friends with Charles and Pierre had put you in this situation many times before.

By the end of the afternoon, Carlos had offered to walk you home. You were about to reach your house that you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket. You frowned at the whatsapp notification :

chaaaaaaarles added you to the group “monaco break baby!¡!”

- (y/n) i hope you’re ready to be on team loser for golf because i’ll never forgive you for last year

You didn’t contain the chuckle that escaped your lips as you couldn’t believe Charles was bringing up this golf “tournament” he had set up during the previous summer break. To your defense, you couldn’t golf and Charles had proven to be the worst teacher on the planet. Probably because he wasn’t a good player himself but that was something he would never confess.

“Wait, you’re going to Monaco too?”

You looked away from your phone to see Carlos had his own in his hands as notifications kept popping up on his screen. Glancing back at your screen, you realized that everyone in the group chat was currently texting, making your phone buzz incessantly, “So, you’re going, uh?”

“Yeah, Charles invited me.”

You internally cursed, knowing all too well that even if the two Ferrari drivers were good friends which could explain the invitation, Charles was probably thrilled to know you two would be spending an entire week together in Monaco.

You looked at your feet for a second, praying Carlos couldn’t sense your body tensing, “Well, I guess I’ll see you in Monaco then?”

Carlos nodded and the two of you stood in front of your house, uncertain as to how to say goodbye. It wasn’t like you two had been hanging out for the longest time but it would be a lie on your part to say you wouldn’t want a hug from him.

The awkwardness slowly faded to become something a little electric. As if something invisible was happening between your bodies as neither of you knew exactly what it was or what to do with it. For a split second, you swore you saw Carlos was ready to step forward, as if he was seeking a way to get closer to you but you saw him glance behind you and his body froze.

As if something had disrupted your privacy.

Carlos scratched his throat, returning his shy self, "Hm, it was really nice... Today."

Your heart sank in your chest in disappointment, "Yeah, it was."

"So... see you in Monaco?" Carlos said, "You can be on my golf team if you want."

The grimace that contorted your face made him laugh, "Yeah, I’m not sure you want me on your team, I’m awful at golfing. Like... really awful."

"I’ll teach you."

You bit your lip as your mind was quick to create a scenario in which Carlos was being your private golf instructor. You mentally cursed yourself and blinked a few times to stop your brain from taking things a little too far, "Deal."

Once you step foot into your house, you released a heavy breath you had been unconsciously holding in for way too long. You rubbed your sweaty palms over your legs and let out a small shriek at the sight of your sisters smirking at you.

"So... Carlos Sainz, uh?"

"You stupid bitches watched the whole thing through the window, right?" you accused, now understanding why Carlos had decided not stepping closer earlier.

Your younger sister raised her hands defensively, "Don’t know what you’re talking about," as your other one grimaced, "Guilty..."

… … …

You walked out of the bathroom all dressed up for the night awaiting you and all the people who had been invited to spend the week in Monaco.

Charles had rented a massive mansion that gave a wonderful view of the city and you remembered how your jaw dropped when you discovered the place. The previous years, Charles’ house was big enough to fit in all the guests. This time though, Charles had to invest a little more in this vacation since most of his friends were now in serious relationships, meaning some girlfriends would join and that the couples would want some privacy.

You had been graced with a wonderful bedroom with your own bathroom and you had felt obligated to offer some financial compensation which had led Charles and Pierre to laugh at your face, clearly turning down your proposition.

"Uh, I’m sorry but I could pay, you know?" you retorted as you dramatically dropped your bag on the floor.

"Oh, I know," Charles said, "I just don’t want you to."

"Yeah, I’ll just transfer you money," you said before locking yourself in your room.

Next thing you knew, Charles was banging on your door, "No, you’re not!"

When you finally walked downstairs, the living room was loud and filled with people.

Charles, Pierre, Daniel, Max, their respective girlfriends and some of your childhood friends were there, all chatting before heading out to the restaurant.

You were wearing a red and white tweed suit with the first few buttons opened, revealing just a bit of cleavage without overdoing it. Sensual but chic at the same time.

Daniel shot his eyes wide open and let out a loud whistle, "Alright, you’re snapping heads tonight, damn."

You chuckled, praying that the compliment didn’t show off on your skin, "Stop it, Dan."

Soon enough, you were all making your way to the restaurant where all the other guests were already waiting for your group.

Charles was walking beside you, a smirk growing on his lips as he noticed someone already staring at you from the other side of the room. He leaned into you, "Yeah, you got him in the palm of your hand."

You frowned, "What?"

But Charles being Charles, he decided to just walk away, wiggling his eyebrows at you before sharing a warm embrace with Lando.

And you finally made eye contact with Carlos. When you spotted him, he was already looking at you and he carefully walked in your direction as you did the same thing.

He was wearing a casual outfit and you couldn’t help but tell yourself that white really suited him. You also noticed jewelry dangling around his neck and you had to look away from his hands, too caught up by the rings he was wearing and the effect it had on you.

He hadn’t even said a word and you were already a mess.

Awkwardly, the two of you stopped in front of each other, simultaneously saying "Hi!" and you looked around you, feeling flustered by the moment.

Carlos had his mouth slightly opened, very rapidly eyeing you up and down, as if he wanted to say something but before you could say anything, you were all called in to sit at the large table.

This time though, you were sat next to Charlotte and Katerina as Carlos was on the other end of the table, way too far for you to engage in any sort of conversation.

During dinner though, you could feel him glancing at you occasionally and you didn’t mind the way your heart would beat faster every time it happened.

Ever since that time you two met in Madrid, the texting hadn’t stopped. It had become a habit for the both of you and it was like you always had something to talk about. It was thrilling and it felt like the beginning of something beautiful.

You still couldn’t figure out if Carlos was flirting with you sometimes but it definitely had something to do with your own self confidence. Not that you didn’t like yourself, you appreciated the person you were but you hadn’t dated anyone in awhile and your last relationship had wrecked you more than you would ever admit.

And to top it off, pictures of you and Carlos had invaded the internet and now people assumed you two were dating.

You were trying to keep your composure but your thoughts were flowing in your mind at an incredible pace, the whole situation making you nervous when a notification popped on your screen.

carlos

you’re okay?

The text brought a smile on your face and you looked at him, nodding gently. He stared at you, trying to see if your smile was genuine. His gaze was strong and intense and you had to blink a few times in ordee to control your increasing heartbeats.

y/n

yeah, i just spaced out ✨

A few minutes later, you excused yourself and made your way to the bathroom, enjoying this alone time to relax. You had been hanging out with Formula One drivers for years and you had grown somehow popular in the community, even though it had never been part of your plan. You only ever wanted to be there for your best friends but quickly realized being low key wouldn’t be an option in this environment.

You heard the bathroom door opening and remained quiet, not really caring for a bathroom chat with a girl who would want access to the table filled with famous drivers. You didn’t mean to judge every woman by that thought, you just knew how Monaco could be sometimes.

And you were right this time.

"You’ve seen all the photos going around recently?" a girl asked.

"What photos?"

The first girl gasped, "Of Carlos and Y/N, wait let me show you."

Your heart could not beat louder in your chest and you suddenly felt nauseous, feeling like you were back in middle school, walking fearfully down the halls for a bully to pop out of nowhere and throw you against a locker.

And the laughter began. Snarky and mocking and for a second you wondered if you hadn’t made an unwanted trip to the past where these sounds felt demonic and seemed to follow you everywhere.

"Wait, are they dating?" the second girl asked.

"I really hope not," her friend spat in disgust, "I don’t get why she’s even friends with them, seriously."

Your head started spinning and you knew, deep down, that these two girls were just jealous. Jealous because you hung out with famous, attractive and rich men on the daily. Maybe also jealous because you didn’t perfectly fit the standards and that you were never once pressured to change the way you dressed or presented yourself to stay near them. Probably jealous because you could be seen on Pierre and Charles’ social medias all the time and that you could call most of the drivers real friends.

But once they left and that you finally walked out of the stall, you were facing your reflection on a mirror that could deserve some cleaning and you hated what you saw.

In a matter of seconds, you had been torn to pieces by two women you had never seen in your life and you hated that strangers could have that effect on you.

You tried to compose yourself and finally made your way back to the table, completely oblivious to the words Charles and Pierre exchanged when they glanced at you.

Because, no matter what, you would never be able to hide anything from your best friends.

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kanmom51 · 1 year

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JK's Weverse live 2 Feb 2023

OMG OMG OMG.

JK man, what did you do to us?

4 hours of JK. 4 friggin' hours.

Before I dive into the abyss I will say that this post is based on multiple trustworthy translation accounts, seeing there is no official translation nor will there be for quite some time now (4 hr. live, lol). I will update if any changes need to be made (after the official translation comes out).

Also, This is a long ass post, so breach yourselves, get yourselves your favourite snacks sit down and enjoy the ride. So so much to come.

Starting with his:

Knock knock, cheeky JK.

Let's sum up the 4 hours of the live shall we:

JK did the live in Brunnan.

JK's hair is long.

JK loves Bammi.

JK talked about his tattoos.

JK drank more beer than I could ever in one seating. Or maybe even 2 or 3 or 4...(I am a lightweight though).

JK was tired and still continued the live.

JK isn't working on his album at the moment, he's at home not doing much, well not working in any case.

RM commented a lot.

Tae commented a lot and got JK to do a live on IG that turned out to be pretty short, just surpassing his 7 min. live a few days back.

JK sang. A LOT.

JK sang Vibe. Twice. After calling JM cool, then adding Taeyang is cool too. He also gave us a little dance move.

Ooh, and we got JK singing Sam Smith's Unholy.

That's 4 hours in a nut shell I guess.

End of post.

Nah, gotcha.

We have tons to cover, so let's get it:

JK starts the live telling us he's not really supposed to be doing a live, I told you, cheeky boy.

Lol.

JK moves on to tell us he's not working on his album at the moment, and actually not doing much of anything at the moment.

I'm all for it. After 10 years of working practically non stop, throughout his youth, he deserves this time off.

JK does say he's spending time alone, at times hasn't left the house for 6 days in a row.

And as the introvert that he is, and as the introvert that I am, I get him. Totally. I could stay at home for days and feel totally content.

Doesn't mean he's not doing anything though. He's doing what he wants to do as opposed as living by a schedule. Taking the time to watch shows, videos, clips he wants to watch is one of those things he told us he does. I just do hope he's in a good mind space. The past couple of years were not easy. The not knowing not easy. Knowing MS is around the corner not easy. Jikook having to adjust to the new reality not easy. He needs this rest and I'm happy he's getting it.

Makes me think though about those stories told of him going out on the town like going skiing or snowboarding or spending time with Tae all the time (I literally have an ask in my inbox telling me just that). Dunno, perhaps it's time for many to finally start questioning these unsubstantiated stories?

Now don't come at me. Not saying JK and Tae aren't close friends. They might be both meeting up occasionally and/or playing online games together all day everyday. What I'm saying is that I'm sick of unsubstantiated stories someone sprouts on Twitter turned into facts without any actual proof.

And it's always the TKK side of things - believing until proven wrong. Because when the shoe is on the other foot, aka JKK, the knee jerk reaction is to not believe until proven true.

Just a thought...

After JK talks about how long his hair has grown, and damn, it has grown so long, Bam makes an appearance. Bammi. How we missed him so.

I truly think Bam deserves a whole post of his own, and I will give you one. I promise. Cause so many cute Bamkook moments, including a lethal Bam kiss.

JK's asked about Jin and says he thinks he's doing well and that he's in touch with them occasionally in their group chat. That same group chat many fans forget they actually have to communicate amongst themselves and not via their public IG accounts. That is when they don't communicate personally with each other privately.

JK brings up not seeing "Yoongi marry me".

Vibe.

Next JK started with the karaoke. We got to enjoy JK's flawless voice throughout his live. But he started us off with Vibe.

JK singing and dancing vibe on his live - all I've been living for the past couple of weeks, lol - singing it TWICE.

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This too deserves a whole separate post, and it probably will get one.

Saying that, JK with singing Vibe (do I have to remind he did it twice?) has now performed 7 of JM's songs while live or recording content.

JK continues to sing several songs by TXT, New Jeans, Seventeen, RM, etc. Like I said, karaoke night full blow (filling up the 4 hour live).

A list of his songs throughout the live can be found here:

JK was asked if he has a tattoo on his back, to which he said he doesn't, only on his right arm.

We had a little JK-Army flirtation going on, as per usual, lol.

Mr. Jeon Jungkook also thinks maybe he's the next to get appendicitis. I sure hope he's wrong.

And that at 25 yo he's getting old.- everything hurts. Why am I not surprised (man cannot do anything half way).

RM popped in to visit JK's live, a little drunk perhaps, lol.

And JK...

Next comes the thing everyone has been literally waiting for...

The tattoos.

I know this will be twisted and turned and I feel sorry for the accounts with their anons open, cause this, not surprisingly, is turning into to a shit storm...

There are a few translations out there, most not full ones, and others pretty unreliable.

So, I'm still on the lookout for a reliable full translation for these. I've found a couple that feel like they have an agenda.

I did find this one, a full translation that seems to be more or less on the up and up - lines up with all the bits and pieces I've found in the accounts I do trust.

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One specific tattoo JK neglects to talk about is the eclipse tattoo. Unintentional you think? I think not.

So, let's get down to what we really came for, eh? His hand tattoo. The talk of the town.

I know JK said the J is for JK. JK and Army.

Loud and clear, right?

But is it?

Is JK sharing the whole story with us?

Why then on the ring finger?

Why over the M?

Why not allow anything come between the two?

Also funny, as @jaksal pointed out, how for JM's birthday in 2021 for some reason the J and M were kept apart, distanced, quite like the J and M on JK's finger. Apart but not parted (mostly).

Another question I can't help but ask is since when does J stand for JK? Really. Please tell me when was the first or last time JK ever referred to himself as J.

Jungkook calls himself JK. He is referred to by others as JK. When he writes his name in Roman letters he writes JK. Never J.

On top of that, why not put the J over the A? Would make more sense, J + Army from the start...

And if he decided to put the crown over the A, which he did, then why not put the J over any other finger other than the actual ring finger that happened to make a lovely clear and constantly touched up and darkened JM?

Could JK share the whole story with us even if he really wanted to?

JK in essence debunked the story that Army were living for since 2019 - that Army with the J stood for all the 7 members of BTS. The A inverted standing for V.

Yes, he said the J is for JK, but could he say he added the J on his ring finger over the M to make JM? The only one out of all of the members he decided to tattoo onto his skin, have on his hand for all to see?

Telling us J over the M on his ring finger stood for JM would be literally outing the two as a queer couple. No ifs ands or buts.

And you can't say the same about him telling us army is army. Because admitting army was for all the members wouldn't put him in a queer relationship with one of the members, all while having JM on his ring finger would seal the deal on that.

So what did JK do talking about his tattoos? He omitted the JM, and the eclipse - the two specific known tattoos that can link him directly to JM (and if the eclipse had nothing to do with JM why not talk about it too?).

Oh, and I know what comes next -

Being asked "are you calling him a liar?"

Heck no.

But telling a necessary untruth, or embellishing the truth, or omitting some facts, or perhaps the right way of seeing it is giving us the acceptable excuse.

Nope. Not lying. But all the above... yeah, that.

Seriously, take a second to think clearly. What was he supposed to do? Really? Admit that the J and M are connected and mean JM?

I've been seeing people talking about how JK didn't realise what he was doing. That he didn't see the placement came out like JM. Please give me a break. Do they really have such low regard for JK?

The man that came up with this:

Wouldn't realise the J placed over the M makes JM - Jimin. Ha-ha-ha.

With or without the next paragraph, JK knew what he was doing.

But if we do trust this specific translation, JK points out that he placed the crown over the A. Thoughtfully. Intentionally. Do we really think he wouldn't have had the same thought process with the J?

Please don't insult JK's intelligence.

And if you wonder what K-JKKs are thinking:

And being harassed and bullied and bad mouthed for speaking their minds. How familiar...

Oh, and just in case we forgot, during the live JK made sure we'll remember how he refers to Jimin... starting to actually say the actual name and then intentionally changing it up to JM. See for yourselves.

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And if you are even interested to know what my 21 yo army non Jikooker daughter's reaction was to the whole Army and J tattoo explanation (you're getting either way)...same daughter that told me the army stood for all members and we argued about it many a times.

You know what she said to me?

"Well, what do you expect him to say? That it's JM? Of course he can't say that".

EXACTLY!!

He can't say it.

So, if I haven't made myself clear by now I'll say it once more with feeling:

The combination of the J and the M on JK's ring finger stands for JM.

Again, I don't think JK is lying. But he's omitting.

The J could definitley be there to not only mean JM but him as well, which would make it even more romantic, if you will. The J and the M, JK and JM marked on his ring finger. If that's not commitment idk what is.

Then Tae joined the fun.

So, JK started the live.

Full untranslated live here (couldn't find a reliable translated one on YT just yet):

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JK getting up mid live, to get something?

comes back and still talk for a few minutes, to each other (?) and that's it.

Not much was going on there.

Not gonna say the D (disconnected) word, cause y'all gonna come down my throat.

What was kind of obvious is that no, they no bumping knees. Two mates talking. To each other, next to each other, sometimes the first, sometimes the other.

When you are asking to have a live but then reduced to play with the filters cause the convo, it just ain't flowing, all to end the live after around 10 minutes (I think only around half of that was them talking to each other)...

I'd say reach your own conclusions.

The apartment

Before moving on let's talk a little about the apartment shall we?

We know who is on the lease of Brunnan.

We know it's furnished with some of the dorm's furniture (I'm not 100% sure, but that lounge sure looked like the dorm lounge).

Walls bare.

Clothes rack empty.

What looked like his coat maybe lying on the lounge next to him.

This time he was prepared with a chilled beer glass (after the tea cup wine drinking debacle, lol).

Let's get real here.

Could he be living there? Sure he could. Spending days on end in a bare, cold, lifeless apartment with zero character.

Could he be living elsewhere, let's say somewhere where we aren't even shown anything other than the tv screen? Sure he could. But not on paper. Not officially.

Could two grown men that literally aren't allowed to be in a queer relationship starting the second they enlist need to have official/public known separate addresses, and perhaps there is another place, kept secret, where they can spend most of their time together their privacy guaranteed? Knowing there are still queer couples in SK that live that way, my answer to that will be yes.

Do we know for sure? Heck no. And that, my friends, is the whole idea. We're not supposed to know, as much as our curiosity kills us.

Just a couple of more things and we're done. Phew...

We had this:

JK likes cute

Just in case we weren't aware of it, once again JK confirms that his type is cute. Since forever.

Cute has JK giggling.

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Cute has JK drooling.

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Another one that deserves it's very own post. So much to do...

Note to self: you asked for Jikook content, don't complain now that you got some.

Sam Smith's Unholy

I'm going to end this long ass post with some JK singing and dancing to Sam Smith's Unholy.

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Because how better to end this with a diva JK?

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Of course he'll know the choreo.

#Jungkook #JK #Jungkook Wlive #JK Wlive #JK live #Jikook #Kookmin #Minkook #Jimin #JM #Youtube

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arteastica · 6 months

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early in the morning, especially when it rains, and a little before noon. (14)

erwin x fem!reader

chapters: (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | (10) | (11) | (12) | (13) | (15) | (16) | (17) | (18) | (19) | (20) | (21) | (22) | (23) | (24) | (25) | (26)

summary: I basically took Isayama’s work, forced it into a romance story, and made Erwin the love interest. Commander meets cadet and they fall in love (not instantly though)

notes: very berry canonverse (but some events were modified to fit my narrative), wasn’t intended to be this long, but it all is in the details right?

content warnings: smut where it fits (or where I make it fit. Also, reader is NOT underage, so likewise, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, please.) slow burn (I really mean it. I’m not olympic diving into any form of smut for the first chapters.) no angst. I dislike angst. I would never. I could never. (Although angst can be somewhat subjective so take it with a grain of salt?)

wc: 3.6k

“He absolutely despises me.” Hitch took a sip from the generously sized mug you had brought for her when she had appeared at your front door earlier that afternoon. She then pulled your favorite childhood blanket over her knees before proceeding to wear an amused expression that, much to your confusion, completely contradicted the story she was telling. “I would love to say such hate is unfounded but…”

“What did you do?” You eyed her suspiciously, the corners of your mouth already curving up in preparation for the inevitable burst of laughter that always followed your friend’s stories.

“Well, you need some context first. This man. He is a creep. And by creep, I mean his soldier is always standing. Even when it doesn’t have a reason to.”

“Quite alarming indeed. Especially if he’s your superior.” Your nose crinkled in disgust. You couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be to work under someone like that.

“Right? And also for the sake of context, I feel you should know that he has a god complex. He even told some of the girls that he has royal blood and that, get this, was supposed to be a prince! Ha! As if!” She rolled her eyes in disbelief before continuing with her story. “Anyway, he’s always following the girls around like a dog, not me though, because in case I haven’t made it clear by now, he doesn’t like me. Luckily.” She raised a finger to emphasize. “And if you are a boy, or me for that matter, you can be damn sure that he will find the most unpleasant and annoying activity and immediately task you with it.” She smirked and her face reminded you of a high schooler who was about to brag about their grades. “He already disliked me before the night of the ball, but after it, oh I made it to the top of his list!”

You nodded, leaning forward, eager to listen to what was coming next. You knew you were about to get to the part of the story where the Hitch in her name was going to show.

“So, everybody who had been working that night was on the verge of a mental collapse and couldn’t wait to go home and have it in private. We were waiting for the last guests to leave and when they finally did I went to him, my superior, who was talking with a wealthy looking grandpa and, what I hope was his daughter, to inform him that all the guests had left.” Hitch decided to take a sip of her chocolate, and you couldn’t help but feel that it had been solely with the intent of creating anticipation, and not exactly because she was thirsty, but you had to admit it was working. “He saw I was exhausted, so naturally, like any good boss would, he told me I could go home…” She brought the mug to her lips again, but you widened your eyes at her, so she decided to complete her idea instead. “After I made sure the toilets were spotless.” You looked back at her with a pained expression that completely contrasted the proud grin that, for some reason, was crossing your friend’s face. “The stupid smirk he had on his stupid face told me he was expecting me to complain, but let me tell you, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Because instead, I accepted my fate with grace and walked away after leaving some equally graceful words behind: Yes, your hardness.”

You opened your mouth wide, stomach already tensing up in anticipation of the good laugh you were about to get, but before that, you needed to ask one more question. And, as if guessing what it would be, Hitch nodded. “Yes, the shape was clearly visible through his pants. You had to see his face. It was an unforgettable evening, indeed.”

A pleasant warmth filled your chest the same way your laughter filled the room. You looked at Hitch through teary eyes and realized how much you had missed your friend. You couldn’t complain about life back at the base, but you really craved moments like this, with her, moments that had been part of your night routine during the three full years you had spent as roommates.

After the laughter died down and you were able to speak again, you asked: “But like, how come you are still alive after that?”

“Well, as you may imagine, things would most definitely get terrible after such an incident. But I can’t confirm that, because I didn’t stay to find out. The next morning, I went to Commander Nile and begged him to transfer me to another unit.”

“And? Did he?”

“Yes, but I had to write like ten formal requests and practically get down on my knees before he even started to consider it. Because the thing about Commander Nile is that he is also insufferable, only that he does it in a different way.” As you listened to Hitch complain about her superiors, your heart started to take distracting leaps inside your chest, and you did your best to fight back the smile that threatened to spread across your face at the thought of your own boss and how good he was to you. He was good. So good.

“He’s moody and annoying, but at least he’s respectful, professional, and most importantly, isn’t trying to sleep with everyone. Oh my goodness. Not me complimenting Commander Nile.” She crinkled her nose in disgust. “Anyway, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s moody all the time, and permanently has the face of someone who hasn’t been able to poop in years. At first, I thought it was because he wasn’t getting any, but then!” She raised her voice, suddenly and unnecessarily, and in an equally dramatic fashion, raised both index fingers as if asking you to pay close attention. “The other day his wife walked into the headquarters, and imagine the way my jaw dropped to the literal pits of hell when I saw her.” You shuffled in your end of the couch, making yourself more comfortable. Other people’s business was your favorite literary genre. “Not only because Commander Nile pulled a one-eighty, completely transforming himself from insufferable boss to soft-eyed husband in a matter of seconds, but also because his wife is the complete opposite of him.” Her eyes widened, and even though you weren’t too fond of the annoying cliffhangers she deliberately sprinkled here and there in between sentences, you loved how expressive she was. It was all part of her incredible storyteller skills.

“What does she look like?” You sipped from your mug. The chocolate, nice and warm, and just as sweet as you liked it.

“A goddess. Gorgeous doesn’t even begin to describe her. Beautiful falls short. Stunning doesn’t do her justice.” She explained, very dramatically. “Okay maybe I’m exaggerating but she does look good. Lush strands of gold falling to her hips, swaying synchronously with them as she gracefully makes her way to wherever she has decided to charm with her presence next. It’s important for you to know that she doesn’t just walk, she makes her way gracefully.” You knew what she meant, you had come across that type of people before. The holders of the type of grace that couldn’t be learned, borrowed, or created from experience. And you suddenly remembered the title of a book the commander kept in his office: ‘Walking artwork. Talking poetry.’ The name had stuck with you for some reason, maybe you would borrow it from him one of these days. “Eyes bluer than the summer sky, porcelain skin that reminded me of that expensive doll I spent half my childhood begging my mom to buy for me.”

“Are you sure you aren’t in love with your boss’ wife?” You joked, as a part of you wondered what it would feel like to be so attractive and unforgettable that people would spend so many words attempting to describe your beauty.

“Actually, I’m not sure. Because on top of elegance and good looks, she also has manners and good personality. She smiled and greeted everyone she passed by. And it wasn’t one of those fake smiles you put on just to show your perfect teeth, you know. She’s genuinely charming, and most importantly, smells good.”

“You’re right. Smelling good is what it all comes down to in the end.” You agreed, smiling to yourself at the thought of a very distinctive, musky scent you had grown quite addicted to.

“I don’t understand how someone like her ended up marrying my boss. She could have married anyone she wanted. In fact…” She smirked in a way that successfully reminded you of good old classroom gossip. “Did you know she was this close to marrying your boss?”

You held the mug against your lips, fingers completely freezing around the warm ceramic, unresponsive hands forcing you to taste the liquid that had strangely turned bitter all of a sudden. Sour, even.

“Oh yeah, I heard it from my senior.” Hitch explained, completely misreading your reaction, wearing an amused expression, as she continued to provide gossip that, at any other point in your life, you would have found juicy. She had no way of knowing the silent commotion that piece of information was actually stirring inside you. “Apparently, they used to be close friends back in the day, all three of them. Both, your boss and mine, were completely smitten with her.” You realized your chocolate had gotten unpleasantly tepid as well. “But she ended up choosing mine instead. I wonder if she regrets her decision. Because I would sure as hell do. I mean look at your boss. He’s aging like fine wine, and then look at mine.” She made a face that, under any other circumstances, you would have found funny, maybe next time, when your heart stopped acting like a lemon, a very bitter one, being squeezed for lemonade, and your chocolate, like you hadn’t sweetened it yourself. “But maybe I’m biased, since it’s mandatory for everyone to hate their boss. You know, rule of thumb, law of nature, common sense. Which reminds me, how’s life working under the infamous Erwin Smith? Is he as insufferable as your average boss or worse?” She asked, bringing the mug to her lips.

“We slept together.”

“Sorry?” You didn’t know if she was double-checking because she didn’t believe her ears, or because she didn’t actually hear you, as you had purposely lowered your voice in fear your mother would catch this part of the conversation.

“I slept with the commander.”

“You fucked Erwin Smith?!” She shouted, effectively choking on the sip she had just taken.

“Yes, but please don’t announce it to everyone. I don’t want Mother to think that’s the only thing I’m doing there. Even though I wish it was.” You added, unable to stop your teeth from biting your bottom lip, as the rest of your body reminisced about that night.

“Okay but, I knew it!” She then said, now whispering.

“What do you mean you knew it?”

“I saw the way you look at him. At the ball. I instantly knew those eyes were looking for, you know, a little bedroom activity.” She glanced at the ceiling as if it was a cabinet filled with her memories, and the wood beams, files she was passing a finger over. “And then I saw you guys leaving together, and I thought to myself: there is no way he isn’t going to rip that dress off her later.”

“I really wanted him to. But nothing happened that night.”

“But then when did it happen? And how? And wait, how old is he anyway? Isn’t he like 15 years older than you?”

“Not that much. I mean, I don’t really know, but-”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter. I’m just asking because, you know the difference in experience brings some very interesting topics to the table… like… tell me, was he any good? Goodness, that face says it all.” She leaned in closer, incredulity making her jaw hang slightly open, and curiosity, her eyes squint tightly.

“The commander’s performance was more than satisfying.” You said in a rather pretentious tone that matched the cheeky smile you were now wearing.

“thE cOmmAndEr’s pErFoRmAnCe wAs mOre thAn saTyiSfying.” Hitch threatened to throw your own pillow at you. “What the fuck does that even mean? I’ll need you to elaborate further, miss. I’m not going back home until you answer all my questions, and I have lots.”

“It means it was fucking perfect. He’s- He’s so-”

“Big?”

You nodded, teeth sinking into your bottom lip.

“It wouldn’t make sense any other way, would it? After all, it takes massive balls to lead a suicide squad. And it takes a rough, unforgiving, sturdy, aggressive, and unbelievably tough man to carry them.” She concluded, lips curving up in a complicit smirk.

“But he’s, you know, so gentle. And warm. And I- I just-” You realized you didn’t know how the sentence was supposed to end. It was all so hazy and misty inside your head, but in a dazzling way. The haze was silky, hypnotizing even, and the mist smelled good. So good. It smelled like-

“Shit…”

“No! Wait, what?” Hitch’s sudden, and rather random, intervention cut through the haze, dissipating it.

“Do you love him?” She asked, now leaning backwards as if trying to gain a new perspective, fingers stroking her chin as if trying to come to a conclusion. She reminded you of a critic trying to decide what to think about a painting.

“What? I-” You realized the dazzling haze was now turning into a confusing fog.

“You love him.” Hitch’s words lacked the intonation of a question and the vacillation of a suggestion. They sounded like a conclusion. A confident one.

“Wait wait wait wait- That’s a big word. Isn’t it… isn’t it a little too early to be throwing it out there?” When the question left your mouth, you realized it had been directed more at you than at Hitch.

“I don’t know, you tell me. I don’t have much to work with, woman. You have barely provided me with any information. I literally have no context at all, other than he has a massive dick, and, apparently, knows how to use it.” You snorted, mostly out of courtesy to your friend. It was the type of laugh brains automatically play for the sake of avoiding awkwardness, when they are busy processing something else. “I can only tell you what I think based on what I see now, in front of me, sparkling in your eyes, seeping through that huge ass smile you’re wearing.” She gestured with her hand and tried to mirror your expression, as if to make you understand what she was seeing. “What I see escaping through the gaps left by the words you are purposely omitting from your sentences. The parts that, for whatever reason, you are not telling me.” You made a pained expression, starting to feel slightly under fire. “And based on all the aforementioned, I think it’s safe to say my friend is deep into her boss’ shit. Just as deep as he has been burying himself into her all these nights.”

You rolled your eyes. “It has only happened once.”

“All the more telling! It means it only took one taste of his dick to fall in love with him.”

“I didn’t even do that. It was not like… that, you know. I told you he was very sweet.” One thing was to think about it, but to reminisce out loud about him and all the things he had made you feel that night, came with a whole different set of sensations. You were sure your stomach would burst anytime now, simultaneously freeing all the butterflies along with all your secrets. The ones you seemed to be keeping, even from yourself.

Hitch sighed and glanced at the ceiling for the hundredth time that afternoon. It looked as if the more you spoke, the more you proved her point. “Sweet, gentle, warm… Woman, in my experience, when you start talking about a man and his dick like that, you’re already far gone.”

“Am I?” You tried to read yourself, but in doing so, discovered that there was a reason our eyes could see virtually anything but our own face. Before this conversation, it was attraction. You had never questioned the label you had attached to the feelings you had for the commander. But now, now the question was poking at you, and there was something that made you feel uncomfortable and uneasy about changing such label. It was the kind of anxiety you imagined would be felt when walking close to the edge of something, so close to falling, not knowing how high the fall would be, or how long it would last.

You heard a sigh coming out of your mouth. “Hitch. I honestly don’t know. What am I even expecting? Doing? What’s going to happen now?”

“Hey, hey, hey.” She lowered her head so she could be eye level with you, because yours was now staring down at your own lap, admitting some sort of defeat. “It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re feeling. Heck, it’s okay if you love him, as well, there’s no fault in that. He’s not married. Loving him is not punishable by law. And it’s not a mistake either.” She placed a reassuring hand on your knee. “You can’t control any of that shit anyway. It all just happens. Inside, you know. And, as for what’s going to happen? You just keep riding him like a stallion, and sucking him like a good old popsicle.”

You snorted, either your friend’s words or her warm, supportive hand lightening some of the tightness trapped inside your chest. “I haven’t done any of that yet.”

“Oh, I bet you must be counting down the days to go back to work then, unlike the rest of us who are not having heated, toe-curling desk sex with our boss.”

That’s what you thought you would spend the winter holidays doing: happily reminiscing about such heated toe-curling sex until you were able to have it again. But you should have known better than expecting that from your busy, overthinking mind. As you lied in your childhood bed that night, hours after Hitch had left, you tried to think about the commander, and whether he had enjoyed the little present you had prepared for him.

“I left something for you downstairs. It’s sweet and tangy. Can you guess what it is? Make sure to eat it while it’s still fresh. Happy holidays, Commander.” You remember smiling as you placed the small piece of paper beside the game of chess that have been left unfinished the previous night. You remember smiling as you tiptoed out of his room, stealing one last glance at his sleeping figure, before picking up your clothes and closing the door behind you.

But those warm memories must have frozen under the snowy winter night you were staring into, because instead, you found yourself reminiscing about the conversation from earlier. Did you love him? You decided you didn’t want to answer that now. You didn’t want to think about that now. Instead, you wanted to think about him. So you tried again.

What was he doing now? Probably sitting at his desk, working under the candle light. Had he eaten dinner? Probably not. It was so in character for him to skip it, to completely forget about it. If it wasn’t for you bringing it to his office, he would starve. Hitch would say you were acting like his wife. And for a moment you smiled at the thought. For a moment, until you felt a sudden sting in your chest.

So the Commander had been in love before. In love with Commander Nile’s wife. Even though it had probably been years since then, and you had no right to feel uncomfortable about his ex-lovers, you couldn’t help whatever emotions were trapped inside you from uncomfortably poking at your chest, demanding to be let out.

You couldn’t help your chest from stinging at the thought of him letting his hand get held by someone else’s, and his mind get filled with someone else’s smile, and his bed infused with someone else’s scent, and his heart cherished by someone else’s… love. You turned to the other side, and buried your face in your pillow, as if the cotton fibers could provide the oxygen your lungs needed. Did he get close to love with her? If so, how close? Did he miss her? How close had they been? How intimate had they gotten? Did he recall moments he spent with her? Did he sometimes write about them in those journals? In the journals, were there entries dedicated to her, to his feelings for her? Did he sometimes wonder what could’ve been? How badly had he hurt when she chose his friend instead? Was he still hurting?

You hated to be this type of person. But you couldn’t help it. It was all you knew. You pulled the covers all the way up to your chin, feeling colder than the back side of the pillow your face was still buried into. You wanted to fall asleep, either that or to go back to a point in time where this information was unknown to you. But there was something in the air. Something bitter and sour. And it was finding its way inside your lungs. Filling every inch of your body.

Why did you feel as if you had lost a race? As if you had come in second in a competition, a very important one. You didn’t want to know about all the women who had passed through his life, you didn’t want to because thinking about them made you ask a certain question you wanted to avoid answering: Were you also just passing through?

next chapter

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yunjardi · 2 years

Text

just a friend (jake x fem reader)

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warnings::: smut (!! mdni !!), angst???, swearing, dom/cocky jake, female-bodied reader, hints of a toxic relationship w/ current bf (sunghoon), mentions of weed, alcohol, oral, unprotected sex, usage of the pet name slut, reader calls jake daddy like once, choking, mirror sex, bulge kink, fingering, dirty talk, cheating (idk if i missed anything :,) pls lmk if i did)

w.c. ~3k

•intentional lowercase

sorry for any errors, i didn’t really take time to read this over to make sure that it made sense LOL

read part 2 here

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"seriously, sunghoon?!" you exclaimed, your voice breaking up due to the yelling that's been taking place in your shared home with your boyfriend, "it's getting harder and harder for me to deal with your shit! how did you think i was supposed to react to you grinding on another girls ass at a club? did you expect me to be fine with it or something?! i'm sick of this shit!" it was getting more and more difficult to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall from your eyes as you stood in front of sunghoon who reeked of weed and hard liquor.

nam-ji, a friend of yours, had spotted him at a nightclub at around 7:40-ish (it was now a quarter til 9) after he told you that he was gonna be late because of working overtime, and she managed to take a few shots and videos of him fooling around to send to you.

"babe, i was drunk and smoking! i didn't know what the fuck i was doing! i didn't even know who that bitch was anyway, so why does it matter?" sunghoon said in frustration (as if he had the right to be), banging his fist against the counter. "see? here you go with your excuses again; excuse after excuse after excuse. when will you ever own up to the shit you do?!" you refuted as you began to walk away, not wanting him to see the fact that you were beginning to cry. "where are you going? stop being so dramatic," he complained (again) as if he had the right to do so.

he tried to grab onto your wrist, but you quickly swatted at his hand as soon as you felt his touch. "get away from me, i don't even wanna look at you right now," you said with an even weaker voice than before. "fine," sunghoon sighed out before walking away and plopping down on the couch without a care in the world. you slammed the bedroom door, locking it so that he wouldn't try to come in.

a quiet sigh left your lips as you sat defeatedly on the edge of the soft bed that you and sunghoon had been sharing for over a year now. aggressively wiping the tears off of your face, you pick up your phone and shoot nam-ji a text message.

are you still at the club?

you waited for no longer than 5 minutes before she texted you back.

of course i am lol, what's up?

a mischievous smile crept onto on your face with this new found information as you swiftly replied to her message.

i'm on my way

you hopped off the bed and made your way into the bathroom, looking at your tear-stained face in the mirror. it's my turn.

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with one final look in the full-length mirror, you opened the bedroom door for the first time since the verbal altercation with sunghoon to see him fast asleep on the couch, a movie playing in the background. you couldn't help but sigh at the sight of it. yeah, sunghoon may be a shitty guy at times, but you can't seem to forget the good times that you two had when you first got together. you quickly shook off those soft thoughts as you began to remember why you guys argued in the first place, continuing to storm out of the house, making sure to slam the door on your way out to make it known that you were leaving.

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your uber driver pulled into the parking lot of the nightclub, unlocking the door for you to step out. nam-ji and a few of her other friends came to meet you by the door of the club, ready with cocktails to give you immediately to get the party started as soon as possible. "what's up, y/n!" nam-ji said as she threw her arm over my shoulder, "came to escape sunghoon?" you rolled your eyes as you took the cocktail that she offered me, "don't even say his fucking name right now." you gulped down the cocktail as nam-ji dragged you over to the dance floor, spinning you around all crazy to try and cheer you up. "get us another round of drinks, y/n!" nam-ji said loudly so that you could hear her over the thumping bass of the music. you nodded and disappeared into the crowd, making your way to the bar.

to your surprise, the bar was fairly empty considering how full the club was. sitting at the bar were a small group of friends and a handsome guy with beautiful dyed blond hair, wearing a long-sleeve black satin button-up polo shirt with the sleeves rolled up perfectly to where you could see his muscular forearms. your black satin mini-dress perfectly matched his shirt as if it was destiny that you two were supposed to meet tonight. ‘his arm would look perfect hooked around my waist,' you smirked to yourself as you approached the part of the table he was sitting at. you sat yourself down on the chair next to his, as you made eye-contact with the bartender. "a round of vodka shots, please," you said in a sweet, yet seductive tone (hoping to get the handsome guys's attention) as you began to pull cash out of your wallet to pay for the drinks. just then, you were confronted by a veiny hand that gently pushed yours away, handing the bartender a shiny credit card.

“it’s on me, sir,” he said to the bartender, his thick accent making you melt. you quickly looked to the side to see a smirk plastered face, blushing at how sexy he was. “you really don’t have to,” you sputtered out in shock, still taken back by the gesture. “i wanted to,” he chuckled, “pretty girls like you should be spoiled by a handsome guy like me.” oh, he’s hot and he is well aware of it; his confidence somehow began to consume your being, a hot pit growing in your stomach of lust and desire. “is that so?” you responded, inching slightly closer to him, making him visibly flustered which boosted your confidence, “who are you to be so bold, hm?”

“jake sim,” he replied with an amount of confidence that you didn’t even know someone could exude, “and you?” “y/n,” you said, hoping that the club was dark enough for him to not see how red your face had turned. for a second, your mind drifted back to sunghoon, but your thoughts were immediately swayed back to jake’s alluring energy. “what’s on your mind, beautiful?” jake asked, noticing that you seemed lost in thought. “do you really wanna know?” you asked and he nodded as you looked into his deep brown eyes.

“you.”

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everything went so quickly that you don’t even remember how you ended up pressed against his bedroom door, lips locked onto his in attempt to mute the lewd sounds that left your lips, sunghoon nowhere in your mind; your mind was filled with jake and only jake.

not breaking the kiss, you and jake stumbled over to his bed, craving more of each other. jake began to slowly unbutton his silky shirt, revealing his toned chest and abs, you followed his lead and began to undress yourself alongside him. you sat on your knees on the bed, him standing in front of you as you unbuckled his leather belt, the clinking of the metal riling you up. “such a slut,” he chuckled sexily as he ran his slender fingers through your hair, “so eager to get in my pants, hm?” you bit down on your lip as you slowly slid his trousers down his legs. “can you blame me?” you teased as he threw his pants to the side, moving onto the bed next to you, rolling you over to face the huge mirror he had hung on his wall as he landed a spank on your ass that was still clad in pretty, lacy panties.

jake pulled you up by your thighs, wrapped his hand around the nape of your neck, and pushed your upper body down onto the bed in a dominant manner, making sure your back was arched just the way he liked it. “yeah, that’s right. you look so pretty with your ass up for me and only me, but you’re gonna look even prettier with my cock stuffed inside your pussy. gonna make you forget all about that son of a bitch boyfriend of yours, right, princess?” his words and actions caused your panties to cling to your soaked entrance as you let out a hum in approval. suddenly, jake ripped your panties down your thighs, roughly lifting up your calves to discard them onto the floor.

“i’ve barely even laid a finger on you and you’re already soaking wet. how cute,” Jake cooed teasingly against your trembling thighs, desperate for him to touch you in all the right places. just then, you felt his lips kissing up and down your thighs, only prolonging your desperation for him. “please touch me, jake,” you begged as you gripped the blanket that was spread across the bed. “i have no choice since you asked so nicely,” jake smirked against your skin, his lips getting closer and closer to your warmth with every kiss. he proceeded to lick a stripe down your aching entrance, causing you to whine at the sudden contact. he moaned against your pussy as he continued to work his tongue against your now desperately aching warmth, inserting one of his long fingers inside you. he used his free hand to massage your soft ass, spanking you occasionally when you’d start to moan louder. “i want you so b-bad,” you whined out, your legs already shaking in anticipation. “use your manners, slut,” he growled as his hand landed harshly on your ass. “please, daddy,” you whined again as your legs began to close, craving friction. “that’s my girl,” he said softly against your back as he lined himself up with your entrance, pushing his length in.

his size caused you to let out a gasp as he bottomed out. as soon as he started to move, you bit down on the blanket in attempt to silence your moans only for jake to softly tug on your hair to pull your head up. "eyes on me or i'll stop, got it?" he demanded, pointing at the mirror that was across the room on the opposite wall.

"y-yes," you moaned out, desperate for him to begin moving again. "good girl," he breathed out seductively as he began to thrust in and out of you again.

you made sure to keep looking at him in the mirror, not wanting him to stop even for a split second. you watched the way he'd bite his lip whenever you'd clench around him. "jake, please don't stop," you begged as he looked up, making eye contact with you in the mirror, making you blush. "oh princess," he chuckled cockily, "i don't plan on stopping any time soon."

just then, he pulled his soaked cock out of you to switch positions, slamming you back down onto the bed and spreading your legs. he brushed his tip teasingly against your entrance, causing you to squirm and helplessly beg with your eyes for him to slam back into you. "please, please, please," you whined quietly as he lowered his head to trail kisses from your neck down to your lacy, see-through bra, still barely putting his tip inside. "what a needy slut, begging for me to shove my big cock inside her," he scoffed, immediately shoving the entirety of his length inside you, your walls clenching around him almost violently as you hooked your legs around his waist in hopes to feel him even deeper than he already was.

jake wrapped his veiny hand around your throat as he pounded you until you were getting sore. the moans you let out were almost pornographic, which drove him insane. "fuckkkk," he groaned out against your neck, "get up and ride me." you immediately follow his command as you two switched positions.

you hovered over him enough so that you could sink down onto his still stiff cock, moaning as you sank further and further down until he was entirely inside you. "it's so big," you whined quietly as you shifted your hips around to adjust to the new angle that you were taking him in. "poor little slut, trying so hard to take me," he cooed almost mockingly, "oh, look at that." he put his hand just below your bellybutton where his cockhead made a small part of your stomach bulge out. he took hold of your hips to start rocking them back and forth on his length, watching the bump move with the movements of your hips. "f-feels so good," you moaned out as you began to take the lead, putting your hands down on his toned abs to speed up the pace. "fuck, just like that," he threw his head back and groaned out as his hands firmly gripped your thighs, "who knew such a cute girl would be such a whore?" his sweet, sexy smile completely contradicted his words and actions.

you felt yourself getting weaker and more and more overstimulated as jake brought his hand down to your clit, rubbing it in gentle circles as you continued to grind your hips against his. before you knew it, you creamed all over his veiny member while moaning out his name and leaving nail marks on his abdomen and upper thighs. you could feel his cock twitching inside you as you still gently rolled your hips against his. not wanting to risk the effects of him cumming inside you, you got off of him and began to stroke his aching cock with your hands before placing kisses up and down his shaft, making him roll his eyes back. "shit," he breathed out as he finally released the orgasm that he'd been holding back since the beginning. you licked his shaft clean as he ran his fingers through your hair. "such a good girl."

after getting cleaned up, jake came back into his bedroom with a cold glass of water and a snack for you. you blushed at his gesture as you gladly took the snack from him, starting to eat as he scooted into bed next to you. after finishing your snack and water, jake held you close to him as you both drifted off to sleep, completely forgetting that sunghoon was home alone doing god knows what. in fact, you didn't care.

════════════════════════════════════

you and jake don't even fully remember waking up. all you personally remember is panicking when you realized you were still in bed with him, the remnants of last night's makeup being on your hands after rubbing your eyelids and slipping on last night's dress because you had no other clothes.

"hey, jake?" you asked, him looking at you quickly with his cute puppy face that was completely different from the sexy dominant expressions of last night, "d-do you mind taking me home?" you were kinda nervous about his answer but immediately stopped worrying when he smiled and grabbed his keys from the counter. "on one condition," he started, you nodded then cocked your head to the side slightly, wondering what his 'one condition' was, "you have to give me your number." you blushed hard as you handed jake your almost dead phone, and he smirked as he entered his number into it. "okay, now we can go," he chuckled as he opened the front door, letting you out first.

════════════════════════════════════

"is this the one?" jake asked, pulling up into the driveway and pointing at the little house that you shared with sunghoon. "yup, this is it," you sighed as you looked back at him, "text me, okay?" he smiled and looked down shyly, "you don't have to tell me twice." you both shared a few more smiles before waving goodbye to each other. jake made sure to stay in the driveway until you safely got inside the house, leaving once you closed the front door.

you were greeted by a seemingly fuming sunghoon right as you opened the door, but for whatever reason, you weren't as phased as you thought you'd be. "where the hell were you? and who the fuck was that?" he interrogated in an aggressive manner, one of his hands beginning to clench into a fist. you shrugged as you walked past him.

"just a friend."

════════════════════════════════════

a/n: sorry if this is super fucking cliché, i just wanted to start posting some fics since it’s been years since i've done this. but anyway, i hope that you enjoyed reading it, and feel free to let me know if you want a part 2 of this fic :”””)

-jake whore jardi

©yunjardi on tumblr

#jake smut #enhypen smut #jake sim smut #enhypen jake smut #Enhypen Jake x reader #enhypen hard thoughts

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unabashednightmarepizza · 1 year

Text

𝐿𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑐𝑦

A/N: Hi, hello there! Here is me and my newest obsession! I hope you will like this story and keep waiting for new chapters to come! I couldn't stop myself from writing for Hogwarts Legacy so... Please enjoy!

Series Masterlist

“Oh, I didn't know we were expecting... guests?”

When a melodic and soft voice came behind them, Harry and pretty much everyone was only able to flinch at the sudden closeness and well, not expecting to see someone living in here. Even when Dumbledore told them that Harry's answers and also questions laid in here, none of them thought much about it. They thought they would be finding another object or some kind of relict...

Not an overly good-looking young woman.

“Uhm, hi... Do you live in here?”

“Well, I'm standing in the garden of the house don’t I?” Harry suddenly felt shy and blushed under the soft teasing of the woman, and she could only laugh gleefully as she looked at everyone briefly and frowned.

“All of you look so skinny... Come, I’ll prepare more food!” suddenly she was behind the group and an invisible force, alongside the strength of the woman, had pushed all of them inside the soft looking and warm, enormous house. As soon as they entered, they were shocked to see many magical creatures and trinkets around, with many pictures of people they didn’t really recognize. They stood there, not knowing what they were supposed to do when the woman appeared again behind Remus, startling him.

“Why are you all standing like that? Go on, feel at your home!”

“Are we sure that this is the strongest witch of centuries? She is too...

“kind and warm hearted...” The twins were indeed right, and Harry couldn’t exactly blame them after... seeing the other pure-blood families. With all that luxury and power, came arrogancy and they always had to expect the worst. When Dumbledore said that the woman who lived in that house was the strongest of all and had the purest of bloods ever known, that was enough reason for them to fear her even before meeting. They were ready to have a full-blowm fight...

But all they were met with was cakes and a hell alot of food...

As if she was waiting for them to come.

“Hehe, sorry for the way I look! I just came back from a run and had to clean the pottery at the back of the house!” the woman said cheerfully as she sat down and urged everyone to eat with a soft smile, energetic even after being left breathless, which eased the tension and even Sirius, the ever questioning man, started to eat. The house and overall ambiance of it screamed wealth and power, and though it would usually irritate him, Sirius looked around to see many drawing and pictures some left-over food and slight drawings on the walls, drawing that mist have once belongt to a kid...

All the signs that there was people living in this house, happy and alive, full of hope and happiness. Perhaps children that was adored by the parents, played with the child and let them explore everything... So different than any other family he had seen, just what a kid trully deserved.

But there were two things that bugged him, made him feel... strange. What was the reason of you being so different? And why did you look so much like his friend James?

“Miss Y/N... If that’s okay, I was meaning to ask a question...” he started after gulping his meat down and bowed his head in respect while wiping his mouth. You raised your head in confusion and gave him a nod.

“Oh, It’s been a long time since I heard that name... Surely, Albus is the one who told you?” you smirked teasingly and Sirirus did the same back, as he wasn’t used to hearing people use his first name. Daring, he thought while leaning back on his chair. The power that pours out of her is unique... Just what’s your secret?

“Yes, indeed he did... I didn’t know you two were close?”

Just like his ancestors, sneaky...

“Well, if you consider me teaching him for 7 years close... Then yes, we are close.” You weren’t stupid at the ways of Black family, how they sneakily tried to get what they wanted. Though you were aware how Sirius detested his own family, much like the man you once fell in love with, you had to be prepared.

After all, those closest to you were the ones who betrayed you once.

“WAIT YOU THOUGHT IN HOGWARTS?!”

“HOW COME WE DIDN’T KNOW THAT?!”

Flinching at the sudden excited yell of the two red-heads, twins as you expected, you were able to trully look at them for the first time since they came... And the shriek you let out was even louder than a screech of a Hippogriff.

“Red-heads?! Oh Merlin, what did I do wrong to deal with Weasleys again!” you fake-fainted at the sudden revelation, while the red-heads, all of them, looked at you confused. Just why the hell were you so scared of them? They weren’t like He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named after all... Right?

“Woah- Why the hell is she-“

“It’s probably because she is having war flashbacks from your ancestor...” A woman, who had fair blonde hair and many beauty marks across her face came down gracefully, with voice resembling the harps of heaven by how soft and calmly she spoke. She looked around for a few seconds and then went to the woman sitting at the head of the table, not without stopping to look at Harry who blushed under her intense gaze, yet smiled warmly at him with tears sitting at the back of her eyes at the resemblance he had, except the green eyes.

“Mum, it can’t be that bad...” she tried to comfort you, but since she didn’t know the amount of times you had been a victim to Garreth Weasley’s pranks, it was easy to say that.

“No, my sweet Anne, you are right... IT’S THE WORST! THE AMOUNTS OF TIMES I HAD TO COVER HIM UP, AND THE AMOUNT OF TIMES HE PRANKED ME MAKES ME KIND OF LOATHE GARRETH AND HIS LINE!”

Anne shook her head playfully and brought you your tea, the one that would always calm you down, just like how you liked it from what she saw her father doing. And as you slowly calmed down from the sudden panic attack, you grumbled cutely into the cup when Harry’s voice cut you in the middle of telling one of the many pranks Garreth did...

A question falling from his lips, one that you always dreaded to answer., and one that he was curious about after something inside of him itching to make him ask it.

“Miss Y/N... Who was your husband? We didn’t hear much of him and... You didn’t tell us his name either.”

“Yeah, were you two also in Hogwarts together?” You gulped the last bit of the hot liquid as you thanked your daughter, watching as she put them in the kitchen while her eyes didn’t leave a certain tall, red-head and you inyernally gagged and groaned under your breath. All of our immortal lives, she didn’t care about anyone and now is interested in... Garreth’s descendant? Really?

“We... Well, me and my husband met and started dating in fifth year and when the school ended he decided that he would never return back to his family and their dark ways, the pure-blood family and all that shit you know? He asked me if I wanted to go in hiding, after everything we went through, accepted to hide and change our names... And I did, gladly even. Though he was put in Slytherin, he always said that it was because of his heritage and that he always expected it. To be honest, if I hadn’t seen the green robes... I’d have thought he was a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.” You said softly, thinking about all the adventures and pain you went through with Ominis. It was no easy route, the one you chose to take. But it was worth it, because in the end, both of you were able to move past what was given to you and rather you both chose to be who you were.

Though, it came with a greater cost... A cost that forever wounded you.

Harry watched as you lost yourself in your mind, a longing look settled in your eyes as your finger slowly played with your wedding ring.

The ring you once shared with your husband.

And unknown to you, the sight broke Harry’s heart more than anyone’s.

He never really understood why he suddenly felt at home, as if this... You and this house was all he could ever ask for. There was a strange beating of his heart, as if something was squeezing it, pushing him further to know something... to realise something.

A picture of two people... Two people he didn’t remember much except some blurred images behind his eyelids. A red-head and a man with glasses... Right next to that frame, another man he always saw frequently in his dreams. A man who had milky eyes and blonde hairs...

And in both pictures... you were hugging them close to your chest with a happiness he never saw someone ever having.

“Harry? Are you-“ you noticed his eyes being stuck at something inside the living room and as you turned around to look at what it was, you widened your eyes at the pictures of your family. Pictures where your husband, children and grandchildren were all laughing... Alongside with two people Harry probably knew the best.

A shaky sigh left your lips, tears coming at full speed at the realization of you finally having to explain everything to the boy you failed...

Just like your children who you failed to protect as well.

“Miss Y/N... What is your true name? Your husband’s name?” he gripped the table thightly as Sirius and Remus’ hands found his back under the worried eyes of his friends and he turned to look at the matriarch, you,straight in the eye while Anne rubbed your shoulders, hanging her head low at what was coming and how hard it must be for you.

But you didn’t care anymore. You already failed, what was to come from this anyways?

The least that would happen was that he would try to fight you... which you wouldn’t mind, if it meant you wouldn’t see the pain that was caused because of you.

You have the same fierceness of my husband, dear boy... So much like him, so much like your father...

“Do you wish to know the ones that was forced upon us? The ones that no longer define us, or the new path, new life we chose to have?” you gave a sad, understanding smile at the boy as he slowly had come to realize everything slowly, putting all the puzzle pieces together.

All the pictures of his once family in your home, all the pottery and the little workshop behind the house, they way you knew a lot... About everything. Maybe he didn’t want to accept, or he did since he was finally having a family slowly, but though he might come to regret his decision... He needed you to say it to his face.

“Mum... We can’t hide it from him or anyone else anymore... He deserves to know.”

“I know dear... I know...” you smiled at your sweet daughter as she looked at you worriedly, consoling you in her mind as she talked to you softly while her own set of milky eyes stared at the young boy... The boy who also heard everything through the gift that was passed in your family.

“Both... I want to know both, everything you had been keeping to yourself.” With a nod, you brought some water to him as he gulped it down fast and gave the first part of his request as everyone’s eyes widened at the revelation.

“My husband’s name was Ominis Graunt, direct decendant of Salazar Slytherin and I am the direct decendant of Merlin...”

“No way...” everyone let out at the same time, knowing very well the name that haunted almost all the wizarding world... Even more than the Blacks or Malfoys.

The Noble House of Gaunt... Direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. The people who lived to torture muggles.

How could their friend be rwlated to those... monsters?

Everyone slowly stood up, a hand on their wands before they were seated back by an invisible force and when they looked around, they saw the green shining eyes of Anne, as she used magic without any wand or hands. “Easy, boys and girls... Listen to the rest of the story.”

As she protected Harry and you, from the judging stares of people, she stood behind you two protectively as you summoned one of the many pictures you had taken of Ominis while he was busy doing what you forced him to do but in the end enjoyed doing it, “pottery”, and one with James as he attended Hogwarts for the first time.

And Harry wasn’t stupid to not realize his baby pictures too, even if he didn’t know much about the rest.

“And...?” He came closer to you with shaky hands, barely holding onto the frame and trying to keep himself from hugging you. You gave a smile to him as you showed the Potter family insignia you and Ominis once created as a joke and showed it to everyone in the room. A chorus of no way’s and shocked gasps found your ears but as you held the last person that was left of your family...

None of them mattered.

“I think you already know the answer, sweet boy.” You caressed his cheeks, and one beauty mark that resembled Ominis’ softly as he closed his eyes and leaned towards your warmth.

“Just please....I need to hear it...” Harry begged but couldn’t stop himself from hugging you when you uttered the last part with tears.

Tears of both pain and joy, caused by your single decision.

A decision you would always curse yourself for doing.

“We are Gaunts by the eyes of many, sweet Harry, but we chose to be Ominis and Y/N...Potter.”

And if it was worth anything, you looked at all the people on the table who had wide eyes just like the plates in front of them, and as you stared at your James’ once best friends with an apologizing frown... You knew that a simple hug and reunion wouldn’t fix everything.

You were cursed for a reason, for making a dumb decision and naively believing that you, Ominis and Sebastian were safe from... everyone.

And because of that, everyone had to pay the price with their lives... As The Potters' Legacy slowly died down...

But if Voldemort wanted it to happen, to erase every track of your blood and what you and your lover wanted to achieve...

This time, he would have to pass through your dead body before he touched even a single hair on Harry’s head.

You didn’t have anything to loose after all, and you would do anything to keep the legacy... safe.

#hogwarts legacy imagine #hogwarts legacy fic #hogwarts legacy x mc #hogwarts legacy x reader #hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt fanfiction #ominis gaunt x you #ominis gaunt #ominis x reader #ominis gaunt x y/n #ominis x y/n #ominis x you #ominis gaunt x reader #ominis gaunt x mc #ominis gaunt x sebastian sallow x mc #ominis x sebastian x mc

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missvelvetsstuff · 9 months

Text

The Wrong One

Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Reader meets Steve while he's on the run and sticks by him. Until he sees Peggy Carter again.

7. The Calm

Warnings: swearing, angst, dirty thoughts

"I want her contact information yesterday"

Steve's attempt to yell gave him a coughing fit, Sam gave him some water and rubbed his back until the coughing calmed.

Once he was sure Steve was alright, Sam shook his head "No Steve, I can't give you her info. She doesn't want to talk to you."

Steve looked at him sadly "But it's my kid, Sam. Even after what happened I still deserve-"

"By what happened you mean how you left her for Peggy? What about what Y/N deserves? Did she deserve to be left like that? Without even a warning? You know I'm not good with what you did."

Sam got up to leave "I shouldn't have told you. You already had your happily ever after, at her expense. Just forget about her and enjoy your retirement."

"Fine Sam, just go. I'll get it out of Bucky." Steve called out weakly.

Sam swore and called Bucky as soon as he got in his car but got his voicemail and left a brief message.

Y/N was trying to build the crib she had bought, and wasn't doing great at it, when she heard a knock at her door. Her stomach dropped, like it did every time she heard someone at the door since she saw Bucky.

She wasn't thrilled to see Bucky now but was relieved it wasn't Steve. "What do you want Bucky? I'm busy."

"Hi Doll. I wanted to see how you were doing."

She scoffed "Obviously I'm fine so you can leave now."

Bucky shook his head "I'm so sorry. I had to come warn you. I didn't mean to but I messed up and told Sam that I saw you. I told him to keep Steve out of it but you know how he is."

Her eyes grew wide "You did what?!" She screeched and slapped him "What the Hell is wrong with you? I can't deal with him."

Her chest tightened and felt like she couldn't get enough air and she started hyperventilating "P p please Bucky. She's mine!"

Bucky caught her as her knees buckled, smoothly sitting on the couch and pulling her into his lap "Hey, hey it's ok doll. I've got you. I'll help, however you need me. I'm here. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" he whispered into her hair and rubbed her back gently until her breathing calmed.

Y/N tried to get up but between Bucky's hug and her own growing body, could barely move. She tugged on his jacket "You can let go, I'm alright."

Bucky reluctantly eased his grip "Please just let me know what I can do. I'll help you move away or whatever you need."

She shook her head "I can't leave, I'm carrying a super soldier baby and need a doctor with experience with enhanceds. Besides, the only friend I have left is Pepper."

She glared at him "I wish I could say I can't believe you told Sam or that Sam would tell Steve but I can't. I'm pretty sure the three of you share a brain."

She thought for a moment and sighed "Are you any good at putting things together? I've been fighting with that damn crib since yesterday."

Bucky grinned "I'm pretty handy, lead the way."

"Don't get cocky, I'm still pissed at you and if Steve does show up you get to fight him off for me."

Bucky smirked "I guess that means I'm staying here for now."

She stopped and he almost bumped into her "I don't think so, Barnes. I don't need you lurking around my home. Pepper and Happy made sure I have the best security money can buy, I'd be pretty impressed if Steve or even you, could get past it."

"How am I supposed to keep Steve away from you if I'm not with you? You know I-" he stopped when her phone rang.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen 'Sammy'. She shook her head "Oh look, it's Curly. $20 says he told Moe."

She took a deep breath and answered "Hey Sammy, what's up?"

"Hey Y/N, is the cyborg there? He's not answering his phone."

She snickered "Of course Larry is here, Curly. I take it you told Moe? You three are worse than teenagers.

What do you need, Sam?"

Sam sighed "I screwed up, I'm sorry. I think Steve deserved to know but I refuse to give him your contact info."

Y/N scoffed "Yeah, how did you get my contact info? You guys really suck at respecting boundaries, you know? And I'm full up on whatever the great Steve Rogers deserves. I appreciate you not giving him my info but you aren't the only spy he knows. He will find a way."

"I know, I was trying to do the right thing. Still am."

"Right by who, Sam? You know, it doesn't matter. It's done now. I just need to figure things out."

She hung up the phone while Sam was still talking and went to check on Bucky and the crib. She scoffed when she saw he was almost done and it actually looked like the picture.

Bucky looked up at her and grinned before tightening the last screws "How's it look?"

She sighed "Like the picture, asshole. Don't forget to clean up your mess here."

He laughed "That mess was already here when I got here but I'll take care of it anyways."

Y/N left the room grumbling under her breath. "Mister fuckin smart ass super soldier fixes shit I spent all morning on Telling his asshole friends my business and thinks we're all good now."

"To be fair I'm not the one who told Steve and I-"

"Are you sure that's the hill you want to die on? Your actions led to him finding out and that's more stress on this already very high risk pregnancy, so don't fucking nit pick on me."

Bucky put his hands up in surrender "Ok, ok, ok. You're right. I'm sorry, I fucked up. What else can I help you with?"

She lowered herself into a cushioned rocking chair and stretched her legs out. "Well" she thought for a moment, making Bucky nervous "Why don't you bring my foot stool over so I can put my feet up. I'll order lunch. Pepperoni pizza ok? Good."

Bucky found her foot rest, brought it over and gently set her feet up on it, noticing that they were pretty swollen. He sat on her coffee table, gently picked up one foot and started massaging it.

It tickled at first and she tried not to giggle but then he hit the aching arch of her foot and she couldn't hold back a moan, jerking her foot back when she realized.

Bucky smirked and gently pulled the foot back into his lap "It's ok doll, I won't judge. You have any lotion?"

She pointed at the coffee table behind him, he grabbed the lotion, put some on his hand, warmed it up and got back to work.

He didn't mention how touching her skin, feeling her warmth and hearing that moan made him twitch, figuring she wouldn't appreciate it.

After a few minutes, he took her other foot and she looked at him curiously "I'll probably regret asking but where did you learn foot massage? Some kind of Hydra torture method?"

Bucky laughed out loud, throwing his head back and her core clenched at the sound. She noticed how he scrunched up his nose and wanted to touch his face. Or his-. She stopped that train of thought, convincing herself it was just pregnancy hormone induced desire, any man could cause it.

When his laugh calmed she looked away and he cleared his throat "When I was a kid around 10, and my mom was pregnant with my sister Rebecca, she had to work at a drug store after my dad died. Being on her feet all day while pregnant was rough, especially in the later months. I would have dinner ready when she came home and after we ate she would read to me while I rubbed her feet." He choked up a little "She said that our evenings together and those footrubs helped her keep going when things got bad. After Becca was born we kept the routine. She loved reading."

Y/N looked at him sadly and tried to lean forward to wipe a tear off of his face but couldn't reach past her belly and started laughing at herself. A little hysterical. Laughing at him, herself, Sam. She tried to breathe and calm down but it only got worse.

Bucky was beaming, her laugh was beautiful and he promised himself he would do everything he could to make her laugh every day.

He couldn't help but laugh too until he saw her glaring at him again and stopped. "What?"

"What the Hell Barnes? You laughing because the fat pregnant lady can't reach you? That's fucked up."

Buckys face paled and he panicked, they were doing so well. His heart raced "Nn no nonono, doll I wasn't laughing at you, I was- I mean I'm sor-" he looked down.

She poked his leg with her toe and when he looked up her smile was blinding "Gotcha!" and laughed out loud.

Bucky grinned "That's not playing fair, honey. I can't get back at a pregnant woman."

Y/N shook her head "Nope. Don't you even pull that 'fair' crap on me. You owe me big time Barnes and I'll joke on you whenever the mood strikes."

He nodded "Fair enough. I'll be your metaphorical punching bag for now."

She laughed and gently punched his right arm "Who said it would be metaphorical?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next few weeks Bucky spent more time at Y/N's brownstone in Queens than his own apartment. He had put together all the baby furniture, painted and helped her organize the babys room, ran all her errands except doctors appointments that he took her to, cleaned and cooked plus rubbing her feet and lower back every night.

Sam came over a couple of times and brought offerings for the baby plus flowers and chocolate for Y/N.

It was a fragile sort of peace that all three of them knew couldn't last. Something was bubbling up and when it boiled over things were going to get messy.

Bucky still hadn't spoken to Steve and didn't really want to. Steve called him a couple of times but Bucky never picked it up or responded to any messages.

Steve started off refusing Sam's calls, then blocked him and when Sam stopped by, Steve's live in nurse always insisted he wasn't feeling well.

Y/N tried not to think about it too much, the pregnancy itself was stressful enough. She had to get check ups every week to be sure and catch any problems early. Judging by her size, weight gain and ultrasound pics Helen Cho figured the baby was over 7lbs already, lungs fully developed, and Y/N was only technically 6 months along. If the baby went over 9lbs they would deliver her by c-section.

She also tried not to think about how handsome Bucky was or how helpful and 'fatherly' he was being. Or how long it had been since she had sex. Or wondering if the serum had enhanced him like it had Steve. If she let herself think about it she would daydream about begging him to ruin her, about going for hours until she begged him to let her rest. She failed to not think about him fucking her into her bed and had too many dreams where he did just that but she always woke up before she finished.

They went for walks through the park to make sure she got her exercise, holding hands and receiving all the compliments on her glow, congrats on the baby, etc.

She was fine until someone commented on what a handsome couple they made and she felt the butterflies moving again, shaking her head.

Bucky just squeezed her hand and thanked them for the compliment.

They were so caught up in each other, without realizing it, that they didn't notice the person following them, taking pictures.

They definitely didn't notice the scowl on that persons face or the growl when he saw they were holding hands and how they looked at each other.

They didn't hear much over the sounds of kids playing outside. Like a bottle hitting a wall and breaking across the street as they went back into her home.

Chapter 8

#steve x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #angst with a happy ending #the wrong one

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dotster001 · 1 year

Note

May I ask for Octavinelle with a gn!reader who is very scared of the ocean like to the point where they cover their face and cry or cling to nearby things. Not swimming pool or streams but the actual ocean. May I ask for boys to help them overcome the fear. As like a comfort fic.

Comfort from the Depths

Summary:Gn!Reader

A/N: this fic came out longer than I initially expected...but I really enjoyed it in the end! I hope you like it too! Tag list still packed so good luck 😂

"We want you to come home with us for spring break!" Floyd shouted excitedly, causing Azul to sigh, and Jade to smirk.

"What happened to our plan, Floyd?"

"I got excited!"

The three looked expectantly at you, but all you were doing was gritting your teeth, and trying not to cry.

"That's…. that's so great, guys, but I don't think I can. I made other plans."

"No you didn't. Jade checked," Floyd said with a grin, not seeming to catch onto the hidden signs you were giving off.

"Oh, did you?" You glared at Jade. "Well, uh, I only recently made plans, I'm sorry."

"Then cancel them," Floyd said matter of factly, his scowl making you miss Jade and Azul sneakily sharing a look.

"Such a shame," Azul sighed, "of course we understand, I'll just have to tell my poor mother that our human friend will not be staying with us. And she was so very excited to meet you too…"

"I'm sure we can return the extra ticket to the concert, and the extra ticket to the museum, and the one for the sea princess symposium..."

"Yeah, and Mama Ashengrotto can return all the ingredients she bought to make your favorite meals, so that you'd feel more at home on your first night," Floyd said sadly.

The three of them released a synchronized sigh of disappointment.

"No, no, I know what you three are doing. You're trying to make me feel bad and change my mind."

Sigh.

"Seriously, I mean it!"

Sigh.

"Sevens! Fine! I'll cancel my plans!"

The three smiled knowingly.

"Excellent, we leave at 7 am tomorrow," Azul said.

"Tomorrow?" You squeaked out.

"Unless there is some sort of issue?" Jade asked.

"Nope. No. No issue," you said, voice cracking.

….

"Grim, how hard would it be to flee the country?" You asked, laying flat on your back, staring at the ceiling.

"I dunno, why are you asking me?"

"You're the one from here!"

"Why do you want to flee anyway? Aren't you supposed to join the scary fish trio on a trip over spring break?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm running from," you flipped onto your stomach, burying your face in your pillow.

"Why?"

"Mmmph."

"Wait, you're scared of the ocean? But you swim in the pool all the time?"

"Mmmph."

"The ocean isn't that different from a pool. I mean it's deeper, and has more fish poop, but-"

"Mmmph!"

"Fish poop should be the first thing you think about! What are you even talking about? Calling me crazy," he trailed off with a pout.

You flipped back over onto your back.

"Look, Grim, I know deep down it's "illogical" or whatever, I just don't know why I'm scared of the ocean. But whenever I'm near it, I cry, and scream, and claw scratch marks into whatever poor soul happens to be near me."

Grim thought for a moment.

"What if we ask Deuce to give us a ride to the beach on his blastcycle? Then we can try and fix you before you leave for your trip, in the morning."

"I don't know, Grim…"

"Henchhuman, I know what I'm talking about. Besides,"he crawled up to your face, and rubbed his cheek against yours affectionately, "you're really close to those guys. I think you'll have fun if you are able to go."

"Thanks Grimmy, you're the sweetest."

"Yeah...but also Idia says if he gets to babysit me, I can play as many video games as I want!"

Sigh.

"Okay, I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Let's go!"

….

One call to Deuce, and a trip on the blastcycle later, you were at the beach. You assured Deuce you'd call him to pick you up when you were done, then changed into a swimsuit, and stood at the edge of the beach with Grim.

"Nope," you said, trying to remain cool, but already feeling the tears come to your eyes, and your body shut down.

"You're so close, Y/N! You just have to take one more step and you're-"

"Nope."

You turned to run, and bumped straight into something solid.

"If these are the plans you have to cancel to hang with us, then I must say, I'm offended you hesitated to agree to our plans."

"Jade," you stuttered.

"Shrimpy, the ocean isn't that scary, look!" Floyd laughed loudly, picking you up around the middle and running towards the sea.

"No no no!" You screamed and shut your eyes, loud enough to deter most people.

Floyd would never be most people.

"Floyd!" Azul yelled in a panic.

"You know Floyd is into immersion therapy, why would you invite him," Jade laughed, not seeming upset at all.

Meanwhile, you were clinging to Floyd, sobbing.

"Open your eyes, Shrimpy," he whispered.

You shook your head.

"I've got you, I promise. Open your eyes."

Maybe it was how kindly he said it, but you found yourself slowly opening your eyes.

You noticed he had only gotten far enough into the sea the have his feet covered.

"I'm gonna take another step, Kay?" He whispered in your ear.

You shook your head again.

He tightened his grip, and said," I will not drop you. Plus Jade and Azul are going to change and swim ahead so they can be there if something goes wrong."

"Azul would never," you said through your tears.

"Do you truly think so little of me?" Azul said with a sigh as he stared at the potion he and Jade were about to take. "Besides, if you have to face your fears, it's only fair I face mine."

Then he walked into the water, drank his potion, and dropped himself backwards into the ocean.

"Well, that's a tough act to follow,"Jade smirked, drinking his own potion and diving into the sea.

You and Floyd watched the ocean for a moment, and waited. Bubbles slowly rose to the surface, and out emerged Azul and Jade.

"Azul…" you trailed off.

"I know. Hideous," he groaned.

"No, no! You're beautiful."

Azul silently slipped back below the water, causing both the twins to laugh.

"Aw! I believe you embarrassed him."

"Come out, I wanna see you blushing!"

A single tentacle flicked water at Jade.

"Alright Shrimpy, can I take another step?" Floyd asked.

You nodded, clinging tighter to him.

He continued taking slow steps into the water, making sure to ask if you were ready before each one. You had slowly been inching your way up his torso, but now there was nowhere left to go, and the next step would mean you actually had to touch the water yourself.

"Can I-"

"No!" You shouted, squeezing Floyd tight enough to give him a run for his money.

"You've been doing a great job, we can take a break for a moment," Azul said.

"But we're so close!" Floyd whined.

"Floyd," Jade said, clearly a warning of something you weren't fully aware of.

Floyd pouted, but stood still as stone, while you dug your nails into his scalp. You heard someone swim closer, and felt them rub your back soothingly.

You took a deep breath, and exhaled an "Okay, I'm ready."

The water was cold on your feet, but Floyd was warm. Warm and safe. Even though he definitely wanted to be fully in the water.

Which the other two seemed aware of.

"Okay, we're going to trade off," Azul said, reaching for you.

"I'm not ready for another step!" You shouted in poor Floyd's ear, gripping him even tighter.

"We won't take another one. I'm just going to shift you over to me."

You nodded and shifted into Azul's arms. He was already wet, making you wonder if it would be easier moving forward with him.

Now free of your viselike grip, Floyd shouted, "Wahoo!" And dove headfirst into the water.

You and Azul giggled as he reemerged in mer form, and shook his head like a wet dog.

"Okay, Let's go," you said, softly smiling now that the tension had eased some.

Azul swam forward, and you continued your progress. Slowly. Slowly. But progress anyway.

"I think you're ready for your last test," Azul whispered, rubbing your back.

"Are you ready to go under?"

You stiffened, and he added, "Only for a second! Jade and Floyd will be right here too. You will be safe."

You felt the twins join your impromptu huddle, now appearing more like an intimate group hug. Stealing your nerves, you took a deep breath, and held it, as the four of you went under the water.

You looked around you and noticed the three of them glowing. They had told you about their bioluminescence, but up to this point you'd never experienced it. You reached out to touch Azul's cheek, and suddenly you were back above the water, hearing the twins loudly guffawing.

"Well," Azul coughed, refusing to make eye contact. "um, so yeah. We think you're ready to come with us. How do you feel about it, though?"

The three stared at you expectantly.

….

"Don't forget to write!" Grim said as he hugged you in front of the mirror.

"I'll only be gone a week!"

"And bring me back souvenirs. Lots of them."

"Okay, Grim. Be good for Idia."

"Yeah, Yeah…"

Jade put a hand on your shoulder.

"Are you ready?"

You looked at your three friends, nodded, downed your underwater potion, and took a step towards a new adventure.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland azul #twst azul #azul ashengrotto #twst floyd #floyd leech #jade leech #twst jade

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sherifftillman · 1 year

Text

busy streets and busy lives • ralph penbury x reader

A strange day at work gets even stranger when you meet a man who claims he's from 1926. With no certainty as to when he can get back, you decide to take him in until that time arrives.

masterlist | prev. | next

Tags: Timewasters (series), modern!au, slow burn, mutual pining, idiots in love™, fluff, some angst, swearing and mentions of adult themes throughout, eventual adult content, alcohol content, drug content, penbury is a fanon surname

Word count: 14.2k

A/N: Jesus. H. Christ. Thank you for your patience. This chapter broke me. Goodnight.

(Also please note there is a new content warning in the tags! There is slight drug use in this chapter.)

PS i know, it's a lot of angst, and you guys are here for the cute fluffy timey-wimey boy. i promise next chapter is far nicer, i just didn't want it to get boring, is all. <3

It had been so long. He’d been doing so well. You thought you could just happily leave Ralph at home and he could stay out of trouble. But several missed calls from your friends alerts you to the incident that the group chat were talking about:

With a heavy sigh, you text your co-manager, asking them to cover for you so you could leave for what you call a “family emergency”. Thankfully, you’ve had to do it often enough in the past that they just assume you’ve got a really chaotic younger sibling or something, but it still gets a little frustrating that it’s his third month of living with you and you’re still having to be on call 24/7 for him. Surely by now, he could have googled whether it was safe to microwave a whole egg. And how on earth do you accidentally go live?! There are steps to it, it’s not as though it’s a button he can accidentally press. Only Ralph, honestly.

Still, you can’t stay mad at him. Not when he’s sat on the kitchen floor, muttering to himself in exponential anguish as he reads every cleaning product label to try and determine which one is best for the task at hand.

You spot his phone still resting on the counter and look at the screen in confusion. “How are there still three and a half thousand of you watching my wall?!” You ask into the camera.

Ralph sits up on his knees to look at his phone, too, and you hold back laughter at the camera’s shot of just his hair and eyes above your kitchen counter. “What do you mean, watching?”

“You’ve been broadcasting for hours, mate. Say goodbye to your followers!” You chirp as you hover over the button to end the feed.

Ralph sinks back to the floor with a defeated, “Oh, fiddlesticks,” and you stop the livestream.

You look at the bottles he has surrounding him and hold your hand out, “Here, gimme the green one.”

He hands it over to you, and gets up quickly, moving over to sit on the sofa in silence. You sigh in resignation, looking over at him as he hugs a cushion to his chest. Quickly wiping down the inside of your microwave, you tidy up the rest of the kitchen after him and sit on the other end of the couch, cross-legged. “Hey.” You crane your neck to try and catch his gaze, but he refuses to. “Hey. You know I’m not mad at you, right? It’s just all the stuff I’ve had going on today all balled up into one big outburst. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

“I suppose you shall be on your way back to work now,” he mutters into the cushion.

You shake your head, “Nah, already forfeited the rest of the day as unpaid because the other manager’s covering. Usually I’d swap it for another shift, but we’re going away next week, so…” You shrug. “No chance there.”

Ralph looks up, the pillow obscuring everything but his sad puppy-dog eyes. “G-going away? Wher- who wi- how lo-”

“Where, Brighton,” you tap one finger. “Ever been?” He shakes his head. “Ah, you’ll love it.” You tap another finger, “Who with, please, like I have any other friends,” you scoff, “so don’t worry, you won’t be meeting anybody new -”

Ralph’s eyes widen in a double take. “Wh- I’m going, too?”

“Well, I clearly can’t leave you here with me, can I?” You ask pointedly, jerking your head behind you towards the now clean microwave. “At least the sofa in the Brighton house pulls out into a proper bed size. How long,” you tap a third finger, “we leave here tomorrow afternoon, leave Brighton next Saturday morning.”

Ralph suddenly finds all his energy, “And just when were you planning on letting me know to start packing?!”

“Well, tomorrow morning, I thought, it’s just a case of shoving some clothes in a bag for a week. It’s not like we’re going to the Ritz or anything,” you shrug. “But we’ve got time to get a head start now if you really need it.”

“If I need -” Ralph scoffs at you as he leaps off the sofa and into the bedroom. All you can do is sigh as you watch him sprint across the room.

~~~

You probably should have figured out, with six of you taking three cars, that it wasn’t going to just be six of you. Grace’s new boyfriend - who you barely recognise yourself until Ralph, of all people, informs you that they’d met on his first night out with you all - and Scott’s partner, who Ralph is thrilled to be reunited with.

It does raise some questions to you about everyone’s sleeping arrangements, since usually Grace and Anna share the biggest room, leaving the three other bedrooms in the house for the rest of you. You’re about to suggest that you sleep on the sofa here, too, to give Ralph the bedroom, when instead you watch Connor throw his bag down on it.

You frown, “Oh, I was gonna stay down here to give Ralph a-”

“No, no, absolutely not,” Anna interjects, shaking her head. “I already worked out, it’s better if you two take the biggest bedroom, the two couples share a bedroom each, and then I tried to fight my case for the sofa, but Connor insisted on it.”

“What a gent,” you comment jokingly. You wonder if Ralph saw it that way, but daren’t look in his direction, in case he takes that the wrong way and assumes you want him to react.

“So - so this bedroom that we’re staying in, is - is there -?” Ralph stammers, his eyes squeezing shut and opening at a rapid pace. You’ve been able to recognise that as a nervous reaction of his.

“Pretty sure there’s one bed, yeah. But if that’s too scandalous for you, I’m sure I can get a fold-out or something,” you explain, but Ralph’s eyes quickly look around the room before he shakes his head. He can’t quite make eye contact with you.

“No, no, it’s quite… Nothing wrong with being bedfellows, right?”

You shake your head, “Sure, whatever you say. Let me take our bags up - Connor, since yours are there, why don’t you show the newbies around the house and the rest of us can get our rooms set up?”

Connor agrees and you sling the strap of your duffel bag over your shoulder and pick up the suitcase Ralph’s using to take them both up the two flights of stairs to the biggest bedroom in the house.

You really should make work on unpacking yours and Ralph’s clothes for the week, or at least getting your toiletries out, but the bed calls to you like a siren from the deep seas. Throwing the bags on the floor, you launch yourself onto the bed. Oh, sweet spongy mattress! An actual duvet that covers all of you and then some! Pillows without an armrest digging into the back of your head!

The drive down was tiring enough that you can feel your eyes getting heavy. You try to get up again, to fight the urge to sleep too early and miss out on your first night traditions.

You’re awoken by a gentle pressure shoving your wrist down into the bed. And then your elbow. And then your shoulder. You eventually figure out that the sound that accompanies it is Ralph calling your name. “Ah, you’ve awoken! Welcome back.”

You sit up suddenly, “Oh Christ, I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to do that, oh god, what time is it?!”

“Not to worry! Everybody is waiting to go to dinner, they said this is the time you all go anyway,” Ralph assures you. You notice that he’s stood bolt upright, but with his head turned almost upside down to look at you. You let out a sleepy chuckle as you start moving out of the bed, and Ralph quickly darts out of the room. You try not to read into that too much.

You’re greeted with a chorus of, “Alright, sleepyhead?” “It lives!” “What time d’you call this?!” You flip your friends off and fake going back up the stairs before running ahead to the front door.

Once you’ve all got your food, you sit where you always do - a bench that overlooks the pier, all its illuminations making it obvious against the dark sea beneath it. Knowing you’re finally on holiday, surrounded by the people you love most in the world, in your most favourite place, enjoying one of your favourite traditions as your lap cradles the bundle of warmth that is your portion of fish and chips as you hear the gentle crashing of waves. Knowing that all your troubles are currently almost a hundred miles away. You feel a sense of contentment, a rare zen moment. You can’t remember the last time you felt this calm.

And then, ironically, a voice laced with disgruntlement interrupts your train of thought. “Is this really any way to spend a night? You can barely see anything, this is by far the least dignified way to eat, and I fear I may come down with pneumonia before the night is through,” Ralph complains.

“Eat quicker, you’ll warm up quicker,” you prompt him. “This is why I wanted to get you a hat, but you didn’t ‘trust me’,” you mock with a smirk.

“That’s ’cause I’m your favourite to shop with, innit, Ralphie?” Connor calls from further down the bench.

“The guy who bought him clothes that feature an Angry Birds and Star Wars crossover does not deserve bragging rights,” you scoff, to laughter from most of the others.

“Ignore that lot, mate, here, have mine for now!” Connor takes his hat off and puts it on Ralph’s head. There’s something rather endearing about Ralph wearing a hat with ear flaps, but even more so when they’ve folded back on each other enough that they stick out to the sides.

“Are you quite sure?” Ralph asks, eyes wide and pleading.

“Yeah, shoved my hand in my pocket earlier and realised I had a beanie in here, too,” Connor grins as he puts another hat on his head.

“You’re such a twat,” Grace laughs, and Connor acts offended.

“Excuse you! I was merely looking out for my best mate here!” Ralph’s face lights up at those words.

Trying not to focus on how cute that is, you grin, “Did you wanna share the bed with Ralph, then?”

Connor’s mood shifts at that. He suddenly shakes his head and goes quiet as the others hurriedly change the subject. They tell Ralph about how you’ve all hired out the same house from Airbnb for years now, how the tradition of visiting every year came to be, asking Ralph if he’d ever been to a beach before. He vaguely recalls going to “a sandy beach” when he and his sister were very young, for a few years. You’ve had a few heart-to-hearts with Ralph about his father’s death and his mother’s admission to rehabilitation, but he doesn’t bring it up to the group. You still give his hand a gentle squeeze, to let him know that you understand if he’s getting upset. He wriggles his hand against yours until your fingers interlock, and he squeezes back, using his free hand to pull the ear flaps of his new hat down to cover his.

You keep hold of Ralph’s hand as you walk back to the house, just to let him know that you’re still there for him - though you’d be lying if you weren’t also letting yourself indulge in the idea of you both taking a romantic late-evening stroll along the beachfront, just a little. Of course, usually when you allow yourself these small delusions, it ends up warping the little grievances the two of you have into something far more infuriating than they probably actually are - something’s got to bring you back to reality, after all. But you can’t see any reason why you’d possibly get far enough to snap while you’re on holiday.

Once you’re back to the house, and you and Ralph are making your way upstairs, you tell him to get himself changed in the bedroom while you do so in the bathroom. You grab some pyjamas from your bag, as well as your washbag, and head in to get yourself ready for the night. A quick silent pep talk with your own reflection to remind yourself that your walk back with Ralph was strictly platonic, and you’re ready to go back out to the living room for some games with your friends before bed.

As you step out of the bathroom, you hear a short, shrill shriek. Your eyes dart immediately to Ralph sat on the side of the bed who, despite the fact that he is wearing an undershirt, still censors his chest from view with his pyjama shirt, staring at you with wide eyes.The shade of his ears is unusually deep compared to when he’s usually surprised. Assuming you’re paying far too close attention to such a minor detail for no reason, you snort out a laugh, tell him to meet you downstairs and go to meet the others.

Though Ralph doesn’t understand a lot of the games you all play that rely heavily on pop culture knowledge, he’s a big fan of those that rely on skill and/or general hilarity, since his cluelessness usually helps him there. You advise that he take a backseat upon the suggestion of Jackbox, much to the others’ chagrin - you just feel as though he isn’t quite ready for that, yet. You’re proven right when he constantly asks you for clarification on just what makes a particular answer funny, or when his ears burn up at a particularly racy answer. Connor had expressed interest in showing Ralph the ropes when it came to some games, and you tried to encourage him to go over there, but Ralph insisted on you being his teacher. You assume it’s because you know better than anyone how to explain things to him, but internally your imagination is playing a very dangerous game.

When you awaken in the bed the next morning, Ralph is still sleeping soundly next to you. He’s almost at the edge of his side of the bed, back turned to you. You slowly make your way out of your side and sneak past him, out of the room and down to the kitchen.

“No Ralph?” Scott asks as you walk in.

“Hello to you, too,” you jokingly flip your friend off and he smiles sweetly in return. “Nah, he’s still sparko. Dunno why.”

“Didn’t he sleep well?” Anna frowns.

You shrug. “Couldn’t tell you, I slept like a log!”

Ralph stirs from all the way upstairs, assuming from the open door that you’d already left the room but still staying still just in case. He slowly starts to roll around to look, allowing himself a sigh of relief as he sprawls out on the bed. He’d only slept once he’d finally exhausted himself from trying to stay as deliberately far away from you as possible.

His mind would wander, of course. How peaceful you must look when you sleep. How wonderful it would be to awaken with his face a mere touching distance from yours. On occasion, he’d hear you take an extra deep breath and he’d get giddy at the realisation that he was breathing the same air as you!

That’s when he’d rein it in. Stupid Ralph. That’s exactly what scared Lauren off. It’s been months since that week, and still he hasn’t learned. In the present moment, Ralph pushes the heels of his hands into his eyes and bares his teeth in frustration at himself. Desperate to think of anything other than the thought of waking up next to you just as the sun shone against you in the most perfect of ways, making you appear even more radiant than usual. Of your eyes slowly opening as you wake. Ralph finally gives into temptation and indulges himself in the idea of your sleepy smile, in this dream universe where you’d be happy to wake up to see him. And what a perfect sight that would be.

He takes himself to the bathroom, picking up his razor and twirling the handle around between his fingers and thumb, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. He’s already shaved his facial hair clean off on several occasions. It keeps him remembering who the real Ralph Penbury is. You and your friends always complain when he does it, though. They tell him that he’s not Our Ralph when he looks like that. He’d love nothing more than to be Their Ralph. Especially to you. What was the point of being the other Ralph? Going back to a penniless, friendless, loveless, overall fruitless life?

But you’re always reminding him, this isn’t his era. This isn’t permanent. You’re always preparing him to go back to his own time at any point. A part of Ralph - the stupidly optimistic, nay, deluded part - hopes that it’s simply a fear of the unknown, that messing with time in such a way could cause devastating effect. Though what a stupid thing to think, in what universe would Ralph have such a massive impact?!

With a heaving sigh, he tidies his facial hair up to a minimum while keeping it intact. A part of him still hesitates, still debates going further. It's what you'd want. Except also it isn't, because you always tell him he looks better with it. Ye gods, you're a confusing one.

Ralph gets himself dressed and makes it downstairs in just enough time to catch breakfast being dished up. You whisper something to Scott as soon as Ralph approaches, and Scott hands him a plate with a warm smile alongside everyone else eating, before setting everything up to make another portion for you. Ralph wants to frown, but he doesn't want to draw attention to himself, either. Why would you immediately sacrifice your breakfast for him, when he's the one who came downstairs later? Why would you see him being fed first as more important? Why not let him make that decision? He would have been happy to wait.

You feel Ralph's eyes boring into you as he scarfs his eggs down, but the one time you try and look back at him he acts as though he's trying not to get caught. You wonder what he could possibly be thinking, until Anna starts talking about the day's itinerary. This is good, this is distracting from the awkwardness, this is what the holiday is all about.

All wrapped up for a brisk November morning, you all head out to the pier, as per tradition. As Ralph gets face to face with the rides, he looks up at them, horrified, and you frown. "Are you scared of rides, or something?" He looks back down at the pier floor, watching the waves crash beneath a gap in the planks, with more fear in his eyes. "Hey, hey," you soothe, "eyes up." Ralph eventually tears his gaze away to look at you. "I promise it's all safe. It's not like those travelling funfairs where everything gets wheeled in and out, everything's built to stay here. Alright?" He still seems distracted, and before you can stop yourself, you blurt out, "Wanna hold my hand again?"

Stupid. What happened to not feeding the delusion? What happened to distancing yourself? What happened to being realistic? You know exactly what happened. Those damn baby-cow eyes. Hopefully Ralph'll say no. It'll be too scandalous for him to hold hands in public with people all around, surely.

But no. His fingers very carefully slide between yours yet again as he squeezes your hand gratefully. You keep both of your hands relatively tucked away from the others' view - they've already got you two sharing a bed, the last thing you need is having to constantly try to convince them all that you and Ralph aren't an item. Despite the fact that it would certainly be a good thing for you, a constant reminder to you that it can never happen, you know your friends well enough by now to know that they’d only take it as denial. That they’d keep pressing to ‘uncover’ whatever they believe you’re hiding. And you’ve gone this long keeping your one big secret from them, what if they keep digging until they find that out?!

Your train of thought is interrupted by a loud giggle from Ralph. He sees the photo op cutout of a cop and robber chase scene and he’s delighted by it. “Wanna pose?” You let go of Ralph’s hand to take your phone out and hand it to one of your friends as you both run behind the photo stand. Ralph finds the resulting picture absolutely hilarious.

“I always wanted to do one of those,” he muses as the pair of you hang back for him to once again hold your hand, to your own chagrin. Why couldn’t you have offered to link arms? That’s friendly enough. Can’t really be misconstrued. His smile, small but contented, melts your frustrations away, if only to add to them later on as you’re walking with him.

“Did they not have people taking your photo for you, even, in those days, then?” you ask quietly, so as not to be overheard.

Ralph half-shrugs, “There were cameras, you know. Far bigger than those little pocket ones everyone has now!”

“Yeah, I think I know of them. Big box things, someone would have to stand under a curtain and hold out a thing to press to take it, right?” you ask.

Ralph holds back his laughter as he replies with amusement, “By a thing to press, do you mean a button, by any chance?”

You pull a sarcastic face at him. “I’m leaving you stranded here,” you joke, tugging him in a particular direction to show him you’re not serious. “You’re spending too much time around me, I think. Starting to sound like me and everything,” you shake your head.

“Is that such a bad thing?” Ralph asks in a small voice.

Trying not to overthink what else that could mean, you shrug, “Well, I s’pose if I’ve a part to play in you being able to tell your sister to shove it, then not really. But using my own brand of sarcasm against me?” You tut, again shaking your head. “I’ve created a monster.” Ralph laughs gently at you as everyone stops at their first ride: the Turbo roller coaster.

Everyone laughs at the shade of green Ralph turns. “I promise you, mate, it’s far scarier down here than it is up there,” Connor tries to reassure him, but Ralph is fixated on the loop in the track.

“Honestly, Ralphie babe, that is the tiniest loop you’ll ever go on. It’ll be over before you even know it, and by the time it is over, you’ll love it, promise!” Grace holds her little finger out to Ralph, who stares at it with fearful eyes for a few beats before linking his own, to everyone’s cheers.

You allow your hands to be a little less obscured, under the guise that Ralph is only scared of the ride and so you are providing a temporary comfort. Anna also rests her head against Ralph’s arm, and Scott places a comforting hand on his shoulder, at your invitation. “The more of us that comfort him, the better, right?” you explain. “Plus, if there’s any… Prying eyes…” You look around anxiously. “At least they can’t assume that Ralph and I are dating just ’cause we’re stood together,” you roll your eyes exaggeratedly. “I don’t need that sort of attention, it’s bad enough on socials.”

You don’t see Ralph’s change in demeanour. What was a quiet excitement mellowed amongst the fear of the ride, turns to full-blown dejection. Of course you’d be embarrassed to be associated with him. Who wouldn’t be? No matter what era he’s in, he’s still Ralph.

Anna interrupts his train of thought by rubbing his arm, “You alright, Ralph?” He nods, pushing a smile up his cheeks. “Nervous?” She asks, and he nods silently. She hugs his arm tight. “Honestly, there’s nothing to it.”

“Yeah, you’ll be a thrill-seeker like the rest of us in no time!” Scott grins before nudging you and Ralph each. “You two should get a photo on the Crazy Mouse for the flat!”

You shake your head, “Come off it, like either of us would want a photo of us being flung around like that! Right, Ralph?” Again, he nods without saying a word. Your brow furrows, “Are you okay? Did you want to sit this one out?” He shakes his head. “Sure? We can just go get food if you would rather watch this lot go round first and then we can go later,” you offer, but he shakes his head again.

“Besides, it’s not like it’d be the worst photo of him out there,” a completely strange voice from the other side of the queue barrier makes you jump.

“Excuse me?!” Scott exclaims.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you all! We just saw Ralph, and then you, and really wanted to get a photo, if that’s okay?” They ask you. They seem innocent enough, just asking for a picture, but you still can’t help but stand there awkwardly.

“Oh, I’m not really into that side of things, I only got my socials to make sure people are being normal about him,” you shrug them off before adding, “and to reward you all with some extra content if you’re all behaving!” They laugh, and you turn to Ralph. “What do you say, do you wanna take a photo with some of your fans?”

Ralph approaches the barrier and leans over it to pose for the photo, pressing his lips together into a smile as he holds an arm around his first in-person fan. “My friends and I just think you’re absolutely hilarious!” They smile up at him.

“Oh, please,” he laughs, flustered. Though he has his new hat on, you can guess what’s happening beneath it. “My lack of knowledge of technology doesn’t necessarily make me hilarious, anyone could do that.”

“Nah, there’s a sort of… Natural charm about you. Plus, I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but you’re really cute. Even in that photo that’s going around.”

Ralph sputters nervously as the rest of you exchange glances. You manage to hide your seething rage from your friends, though you feel it boring through your eyes as they fixate on this person. “Ah, don’t be so silly! You’re far too kind. Um, is that your friend over there waving you away?” He asks as someone approaches, thankfully dragging their friend away while talking about spotting a Twitch streamer as they head in the direction of some poor sod wearing a black and white face covering. You wonder whether that’s their ‘thing’ or if they’re doing it to avoid detection. You wonder if you’ll have to do that with Ralph at some point. His internet fame is becoming less and less of the laugh it first seemed to be with every day.

“You alright?” Anna again checks in with Ralph, who looks slightly bewildered still.

“Should I have responded differently there?” He asks.

You’re quick to answer, “No! No, I think you did the right thing, there.” You then hurriedly follow it up with a, “I mean, dating fans is never a good idea, right?”

“Yeah, not gonna lie, that made me uncomfortable,” Connor cringes. “You handled it way better than me, mate.” Ralph feels a sense of pride at his words. The line starts to move and soon enough, you’re all getting into carriages yourself.

You make sure you and Ralph are in one near the middle, so he feels safer. Once you’re all strapped in, and the attendant is sure Ralph is, too, you see him already squeezing his eyes half-shut in anticipation. You poke him gently and hold your hand out again. “It’ll be here if you need it, okay?”

“Oh, it’s quite alright, I wouldn’t want to be a -” Ralph starts, but as the coaster jolts into motion he quickly grasps your hand tightly.

Ralph’s half-laugh/half-scream serenades you throughout the whole ride, especially at the loop. Once the ride brings you back upright again, you look over at him. “Was that so bad?”

“Boy, that was exhilarating, wasn’t it?!” He beams, and everyone else cheers for him from their own seats.

“You did it, Ralphie!” “We’re so proud of you, babe!” “Reckon we’ve awoken the thrillseeker in you?” Ralph’s too giddy to answer any of those.

You can barely get him to stand upright without his legs turning to jelly, unless you get him to hold your arms while you hold his. He falls into your arms with a giddy laugh, and you gently shove him onto his own gait. “Easy, tiger!” You giggle. “God knows what you’re gonna be like on the other rides.”

Once he sees the Crazy Mouse coaster in action, that green hue in his skin returns, so you decide to build his courage up a little more. His face simply turns white when he sees the ghost train. Scott notices and rolls his eyes, “Oh my god, Ralph, don’t even worry about it, this is literally the least scary ride on here.”

His partner pipes up, “Yeah, there’s scarier creatures on the merry-go-round than there are in there!”

“I wonder if they’ve put the face back on that animatronic from last year or not?” You ask, before looking over to Ralph, who looks horrified. “It’s unintentionally the scariest thing there, and it’s not even that bad. Trust me. Remember?” You hold your hand out, wiggling your fingers. “If you need it.”

“What if… People assume?” Ralph asks, trying not to spit the word out with the venom that wants to follow it.

You shrug, “I think your face justifies your need to have someone hold your hand. If you’d rather, you can sit with Connor or Anna, I was just suggesting -” He takes your hand again in silence, and you walk him over to queue up at the ghost train.

The moment the ride takes you into a dark hallway, Ralph buries his face in your shoulder, and you pat his cheek comfortingly. However, as he starts to see the quality of the animatronics (“Was that one being held up by -” “Duct tape, yes.”) and experience how poorly timed the “jump scares” are, he relaxes far more.

You take him on the twister next, which only ends up throwing your body into his at every convenience, a consequence you’d forgotten in the year since you’d last been on it. Still, he seemed too invested in the adrenaline rush that came with being thrown around in circles to notice your proximity.

After a quick pit stop to eat, and reassurance to Ralph that you weren’t going straight back onto any rides, you go into the arcade. Ralph’s face lights up along with all the games as you explain what ones are. He excitedly tells you that he recognised the fortune teller machine and a strength tester game from his own youth.

You let the others go on ahead as you and Ralph pay for a go on the fortune teller. It tells you, “A smile is worth a hundred frowns in any market!” You look at Ralph with the biggest smile you can muster, and he returns with one of your favourite expressions of his, the big fake animatronic-style smile that could rival the fortune teller. “And lucky for you, the great Zoltar sees much happiness ahead for you!” You bite your lip at the irony. Does that mean Ralph's happiness, that he’ll be returning home soon? Your happiness, that he’ll be staying? Or is it just a randomly generating machine?

It prints off a fortune and you read it together: You may be riding the winds of change. Things may at times seem to be out of touch. Soon they will come to a better order. As the blessings of health and fortune have a beginning, so they must also find an end. Everything rises but to fall. To make sense of all this, you will find the answer is to be found in how well you relate to people. Looking at the big picture will help shape your long range plans. If things are not always smooth remember that he who could foresee affairs but three days in advance would be rich for thousands of years.

You blow out a long breath of disbelief at how weirdly on the nose that seems to be for you both and quickly pocket it to find the others. Grace is trying to get her new boyfriend to win her a stuffed toy on the cranes. Scott is trying to finesse a coin-pusher game while his partner and Connor play a dance mat game behind him, and Ralph leaves you to watch in awe as Anna plays a pinball machine. She tries to explain the mechanics of it all to him, but it seems to be going entirely over his head.

You play your favourite game for a while, trying to win as many tickets as possible, when Ralph soon joins you as well. “Any luck with pinball?” You ask, and Ralph shakes his head.

“I wasn’t sure how to play it, I didn’t really seem to be doing anything, rather just pushing an awful lot of buttons for the sake of it,” he answers.

“Sounds like you were playing it right to me!” You laugh. “What do you wanna do now?”

“Well,” he says, excitement obvious in his voice. “I saw one of those photo booths around there…”

You gasp, “Yes! Let’s do it!” before looking around with disappointment. “Ugh, how are we gonna fit everyone in, though?”

“Perhaps we can get individual ones with people across the week?” Ralph suggests.

“Alright,” you nod. “Wanna get some practice in, just us?” Ralph nods back at you, and you both head into the booth.

Once you’ve paid for it, Ralph asks, “Now how does it all work, again?”

“Right, it’ll tell you when - oh, for fuck’s sake,” you groan as it takes a photo of you mid-sentence, and Ralph stifles a laugh. “Okay, quick, when’s it taking anoth- ahh!” Another snap takes you by surprise, and Ralph doesn’t attempt to hide his amusement this time. You throw your hands up in disbelief, “Well, this is a waste now, isn’t it,” before collapsing into laughter yourself.

“I am sorry,” Ralph frowns at you once all four are taken, and you wave him off.

“Don’t be! I should have set us a game plan from the beginning.” You decide on your poses: a normal, smiley one; a goofy-grinning one; one with both your tongues sticking out; and one where you kiss his cheek. You promise him that it’s not at all scandalous to pose in this way, and that between Grace and Scott, at least one of them would want a photo with him like it anyway so you’re simply getting him geared up for that. You’re promising yourself that more than him, if you’re being honest with yourself.

You end up posing for the first one with your heads touching as you smile gently into the camera. He’s not giving his usual uncomfortable smile, or his disappearing-lip act. It’s just a nice, natural smile. Which is immediately replaced with a fake smile so big, he has to hold himself up on the bench with both of his hands to hold himself at an angle worthy of the grin on his face, which you mirror. When you tell him, “Tongues out!” yours pokes straight out towards the camera, but he lets his loll out to show off the flat of his tongue to the camera instead. You remind him to look ahead for the last one by pointing at the screen, and then holding the cheek furthest from you to push it closer to you, feeling his freshly trimmed down stubble scratch at your lips as you feel them press against the warm flesh of his cheek beneath.

Once all four are done, you quickly get out to make sure both strips are still there to collect. Thankfully, nobody else has seen them, and you pick them both up to study them. You try not to focus on the bottom photo of the second strip, instead looking at the total disaster that is the first strip. Most of them are blurry and far from flattering, but the final one. What is it with the last photo with you two?! You’re laughing, as is Ralph, but the way Ralph is angled, you could just as easily fool yourself into believing that he’s looking at you as though he’s madly in love with you.

As he emerges, he asks, “So, were those first ones completely unusable?”

Quickly tearing off the bottom photo to pocket it, you crumpled up the remaining three and throw them in the bin. “Yeah, pretty much! Here, hold onto these ones, though, and we can put them on the fridge when we get back home.”

Home. Do you mean that to mean your home is Ralph’s, too, or are you speaking on your own terms? Neither of you know, to be honest.

Your friends reconvene around you, and you tell them of yours and Ralph’s plan for each of them to get a mini photoshoot with him, what with it being his first time on this holiday with you all. Everyone happily accepts getting their own photo ops in with Ralph, and you love watching how everyone poses with him. Your personal favourites are Anna teaching him how to throw up deuces as they pull funny faces, Connor teaching him how to make hand horns as they stick their tongues out, Scott and his partner both kissing each of Ralph’s cheeks, and Ralph’s feigned disgust as Grace drapes herself over her boyfriend.

After all that excitement, you decide you’ll return to the rides another day. Instead, you find a nice little Italian place to eat that’s taken over an old cafe you had used to love coming to, but this new restaurant has an even better vibe than its predecessor. That, and Ralph learning how to eat spaghetti through trial and error is hilarious, especially when he decides that the best way is to simply find the ends of as many strands as possible and slurp them all up. The rest of you make a game of picking a strand each and seeing which one lasts the longest.

On the way back, Ralph gets recognised again. Thankfully, this person knows better than to flirt with a total stranger, though Ralph still seems astounded at the whole experience. This fan says something about being able to replace their icon from “the explosion photo”, and so, remembering the one from earlier mentioning an unflattering picture, once you’re all back at the house you look through Ralph’s follower list and burst into laughter.

It seems as though his fans have taken a screenshot of his disdain after microwaving the egg and made it their profile pictures. Some have left it as is, with your kitchen in the background. Some have added further explosions and other phenomena in the background. Ralph is the only one who doesn’t see the funny side, the disappointment returning to his expression.

With a sigh, you promise him, yet again, that there is no need to be upset. You’re not upset with him, the flat was easily cleaned, the microwave remains functional. You understand that this comes from years of being raised poorly, but having to constantly remind Ralph that you aren’t mad at him, is ironically the thing that frustrates you the most about him.

The next day, after again waking up to Ralph practically on the edge of his side of the bed, you decide to go to the Lanes to explore some of the vintage shops. Mostly, for your own amusement, you want to watch Ralph react to what is considered “vintage”, but you know you’re going to have to rein it in around everyone else. The day flies by in a montage of trying on ridiculously old clothes, ones that even Ralph turns his nose up at, trying to find the most cursed old toys in every shop, and Ralph trying desperately to stifle his excitement every time he recognises something from his own time period. Ralph gets recognised again by a young, tall blonde boy and his shorter brunette friend, though those two soon get accosted themselves, which allows you to get Ralph away to the safety of a quieter shop.

After your shopping excursion, you return to the pier to play some more games, this time from the attractions around the pier. Thankfully, Ralph seems far more confident walking on it, so there’s no need for you to offer any hand-holding services - although it does already feel strange walking around with both hands empty. You manage to win a stuffed animal on a throwing game, and Ralph decides his skill set is best utilised playing hook-a-duck - though he throws the person running the game off of their rhythm when the prize he asks for is to keep the duck itself, as Ralph personally has no use for stuffed animals. The person running the game, totally baffled, ends up letting Ralph keep the rubber duck, which he seems thrilled about, placing the hook over his finger and letting the duck swing from it with great delight.

“I think I get why cats like him so much,” Connor comments from where he’s stood just behind you as you watch Ralph. “You know how you can buy them all the expensive toys they want but they just wanna play in the box?” You snort with laughter in agreement. “He’s just one of them.”

While Ralph insists on everyone referring to the duck by its name, Clarence, he apparently draws the line at your joke of offering to pay for him to shoot a photo booth reel with his new friend. He looks at you with disapproval at that one.

You still utilise Clarence in his own way, though. Everywhere you go from that point onwards, you take a photo of the duck in that area, and then post it to Ralph’s Instagram story for him, though you only do so once you’re no longer in that place, for obvious reasons.

That evening, at the house, Connor tells Ralph he’s got a surprise for him, and to close his eyes and hold his hands out. Your heart swells when you see that Connor, who had excitedly spent the best portion of an hour in a music shop, has bought Ralph his own ukulele. Ralph looks close to tears at the gift. “Oh, Connor, I couldn’t possibly -”

“None of that, you can and you will,” Connor states simply while pointing at him, and Ralph shrinks down in defeat, opting instead to look at the ukulele with marvel. You all spend the night listening to Ralph play his chords, everyone occasionally offering lyrics to the tunes he was playing. God, he fits in so well with you all. It’s going to be so heartbreaking to tell them all when it’s his time to leave.

You wonder if the window of opportunity will only be open while you’re away. It’s a risk you’ve had to take to make sure he stays safe, since he literally only proved days ago that he still can’t be trusted unsupervised. What if you miss it? Would he resent you? Would it cause some insane rip in the time-space continuum? There’s really not a lot of solid research into this whole time travel business.

The next morning, you’re shocked to awaken to Ralph’s face dangerously close to yours as it rests on the inner half of his pillow. You could count his eyelashes, they were that close. You could connect his freckles, they were that close. His lips twitch ever so slightly in his sleep as you’re studying his face. His face that’s so close to yours. His lips that are -

You quickly take yourself out of that trance and practically throw yourself down the stairs, you’re that quick to leave the room, and those thoughts.

Ralph awakens, sadly, from a dream where you’re happy to have him in your arms to find himself near enough in the middle of the bed. He wonders exactly how he got there. You’re already awake, because of course, you always are. You don’t lie awake for almost an hour every night trying desperately to stay as rigidly far away from the centre of the bed as possible.

When Ralph arrives for breakfast, the group have already decided that today is more of a lazy day. They’ll go out later, of course, but there’s no rush. Just a day spent at the house, playing more board games and listening to both Connor and Ralph playing the ukulele as Connor teaches him how to teach himself actual songs. You even post Ralph’s first photo dump to his Instagram account:

As fun as it is to get out and experience another city, especially getting to do so with Ralph for the first time, you make just as many memories on this rest day. Memories like Ralph not only playing Jackbox for the first time, but somehow winning several games. Memories like watching Grace and her boyfriend playing board games as if they’d been married for years, even though she wrongfully accuses you and Ralph of playing the same way.

In the last hour of sunlight, you realise something. “I haven’t found my rock for this year, yet!”

Ralph looks at you strangely. “Your what?” Before answering his own question. “Do you mean that shelf full of stones in the bedroom has a purpose?”

“Yes! Every year, I find myself a cool-looking rock to take back. It’s tradition,” you explain with a gesture. “Plus, it gets us all out of the house at least once.”

“W’re all goin’ out la’er,” Connor groans from where he lays across the sofa he’s been sleeping on, beneath a mountain of crisps he’s been making his way through.

“At least twice then, lazybones,” you comment, but almost everyone else is happy to stay home.

Everyone except Ralph, who hurriedly gets his shoes on. Of course, it’s just you and Ralph. Alone. Far away from home. Nothing could possibly go wrong, here.

Thankfully, you’re on a mission, here. You can distract yourself with the task of finding the best looking rock on the beach. It can’t just be the first cool rock you see, oh no. It has to be the best one. That’s always been your rule.

Ralph tries to help, but honestly, a puppy would be less excitable. He keeps grabbing the first rock he can, running up to you to ask, “Is this useful?” to which the answer is almost always “no”, and so he simply throws it back to the ground and looks again. There are three separate occasions where he shows you ones he’s already asked you about. But he’s having fun, and he looks adorable, and maybe tonight you’ll be able to delude yourself into a happy little dream where Ralph’d be happy to do anything for you. Though perhaps not quite anything, that sort of dream would have to be reserved for a time when you’re not sharing a bed with him.

You thump the side of your head with the heel of your hand, as though you’re trying to knock the idea out of your brain. There is absolutely no time and place for those kind of thoughts.

At one point, Ralph sees a young child throwing rocks one at a time into the sea, with great delight. Ralph also seems highly entertained by it, and when the kid looks over at him, he decides to join in by grabbing a whole handful of rocks and throwing them all into the water at once. The kid thinks this is the most hilarious thing they’ve ever seen before. Ralph seems happy enough to keep doing it until the kid’s parents take them away. You’re happy to just sit back on the ground and watch Ralph, taking photos and videos of this moment.

Ralph soon joins you where you sit, laughing breathlessly. “Oh, what a joy that was!”

“You certainly looked as though you were having a blast,” you simper. “Though if you threw away the ultimate rock amongst all of that, I may never forgive you,” you add in a sarcastic deadpan.

“I would completely understand,” Ralph nods back, unable to keep up any monotony for any amount of time before snorting with laughter. He looks out at the horizon, pointing out how the sky looks now that the sun is starting to set. “Don’t see that very often in London,” he frowns.

You shake your head, “Nah, it’s usually too cloudy. Not that different here, we’ve just caught a good moment. Looks nice, doesn’t it, all reflecting on the water and that?” You cock your head to the side and sigh happily. “Could sit here for hours watching it.”

Ralph tenses up, trying desperately not to think of how your head just rests against his arm, the weight of it still pressing down on the padded sleeve of his coat enough for him to feel it. He swallows hard, “Yes, it’s too bad that the sunset doesn’t last long at all, isn’t it?”

“You’re telling me,” you add with a soft smile before sitting up. “That’s why I wanted to try and get to the beach now, to get to see it at least once. ’m glad you came with me,” you muse before suddenly realising you’re treading into dangerous territory here. To save yourself, you quickly add, “Y’know, so that you get to see it too, while you’re still here. Since you were saying you haven’t been on a holiday like this since you were a kid. Maybe you can go on more of them once you’re back.”

“Maybe,” Ralph replies emotionlessly.

You sit in relative silence as you watch the sky together. You get a “golden hour” selfie with Ralph, mostly to teach him about it, though he says that he doesn’t see much difference between that photo and most of the others you’ve taken in the past. After realising that he’s brought it with him in his pocket, too, you spend a good few minutes laughing along with Ralph as you try to find the most photogenic angle of Clarence the duck to add to his photo collection.

Once the view stops being quite so aesthetically pleasing, you stop off at the pier again to buy some sugared doughnuts to share with Ralph as you make your way over to the pub that you plan to meet your friends at. You love this pub as another of your holiday traditions, because Wednesday nights are karaoke nights. You wonder whether Ralph’ll feel confident enough to sing along to any modern songs. The mental image of Ralph taking to the mic to sing along to Taylor Swift with his entire chest is enough to make you laugh out loud, which confuses Ralph, but you opt to not tell him, merely shaking your head and covering your mouth instead.

To your disappointment when you get there, the pub no longer does karaoke, but Wednesdays are now pub quiz nights. You still stick around for dinner, and after a couple of drinks, you end up signing up for the quiz, for a laugh. None of you expect to get very far, but Grace’s boyfriend really pulls through with sports questions, and even Ralph ends up answering the question that ultimately wins the whole quiz for you, one about a specific style of shoes that had rendered the rest of you clueless.

Everyone ends up watching your group celebrating Ralph. The leaders of the second-place team, an older blonde man and a dark-haired woman he refers to as his wife, even join in with their own congratulations.

A pair of young women offer to buy Ralph a drink, to which Connor starts encouraging Ralph to go with them. You very quickly make conversation about the rest of the week’s plans with Anna and Grace to distract yourself, but Ralph doesn’t seem interested, much to your confusion. You look around at your friends, who all seem to be exchanging their own looks to each other, but none of them seem to want to look at you. You shake your head and make your way to the bathroom, scoffing indignantly at the two men who barge past you to get to the door next to you.

After a few minutes of silent pep talk to remind yourself that you have no right to feel bad if Ralph expresses interest in someone else, Anna comes in specifically to find her. After promising her a full eight times that you’re absolutely fine, you both head back out to the group, where Scott had brought along a game from the house that you can all play together. You notice Ralph isn’t there, but you don’t bring it up. You’re not his keeper, after all.

~~~

“Ah, ladies, this is quite an honour, obviously, but I am out with friends and it would be rather impolite to just leave them!” Ralph explains hurriedly to the two women who have approached him to congratulate him on his efforts.

“I dunno, your mate there seems pretty keen for you to come over,” one smirks in Connor’s direction.

“I must insist, I could never live with myself for taking advantage of such generous women as yourselves, though I am deeply grateful that you should wish to spend your night in my company! I’m afraid I’m very much not from around here, and so I would get frightfully lost without my friends to guide me home,” Ralph blabbers, getting more and more flustered.

“Maybe you can come back to mine, then?” The other asks, looking suggestively at him as she touches his arm. It’s a gentle contact, but it electrifies Ralph at high voltage as he yelps, pulling it away.

“Truly flattered, but I am a gentleman first and foremost and so I simply must decline such an offer, and I shan’t be staying long enough to court you appropriately, but I wish you both very well in your endeavours!” Ralph practically shouts as he turns on his heel and quickly makes his way to the toilets.

Ralph walks in on quite a sight. Two men, reasonably bigger than himself, bent double over the sinks. “Pardon me,” Ralph calls out, with the intention on simply throwing some water on his face as a wake-up call of sorts, but the men jump up in surprise at the sound of his voice.

“Ain’t nothing to see here, mate, jog on,” one says, trying to square up against Ralph.

“Sorry, gents, just wanted a quick go at the sink, and then I’ll be out of your hair, I promise!” He smiles brightly, completely oblivious. He catches sight of a line of white powder along the counter and chuckles to himself as he recognises it as cocaine, thinking back to previous parties he’d held at Penbury House.

The first man growls, “Find something funny?”

“Oh, just reminiscing. It’s been a while since I’ve seen… You know,” his eyes flash over to the substance on the counter. “Just fondly remembering old times.”

“Oi, ain’t no way this toff’s a user,” the second man shakes his head.

The first one snarls with a smile, "You a copper?"

"Heavens, no!" Ralph laughs. "Not to worry, gentleman, I'm no telltale, your secret is safe with me!"

"I'm not buying it," the second one looks at Ralph with an upturned nose. "I reckon he's a snitch."

"Well, only one way to prove it, innit," the first one grins uncomfortably at Ralph as he gestures towards the counter. "Care to join us?" he asks in a voice that mocks Ralph's.

“Well, if you insist, I - straight from the counter?” Ralph asks in disgust, but the chorusing snarl answers him quite adequately. “I suppose beggars can’t be choosers!”

Just as he finishes the first line, he’s interrupted by a loud, “RALPH! Fucking hell, get your head out of there! What the fuck is wrong with you two dickheads?!” Connor grabs Ralph by the back of his jumper and throws him back. “You alright? How much have you had?”

“Oh please, it was barely even a full line, it’s nothing,” Ralph insists, to both Connor and Scott’s baffled expressions.

“We don’t have time to unpack that right now,” Connor throws Ralph in Scott’s direction at the emphasis, causing Ralph to trip over his own feet through both of the steps it takes to get there, and Scott catches him, trying to get a good look at his eyes. Connor turns to the two men. “Alright, look.”

“Don’t know that I feel up to much talking,” one snarls.

Connor pulls a sarcastic expression. “Oh yeah, beat a guy up in the same room your coke’s still out for the world to see, good one(!) Shut the fuck up, yeah? We didn’t see anything, neither did you. Just - I mean, what the fuck were you thinking, giving your shit away for free, to him?!”

The man shrugs, “Had to call his bluff, innit? Thought he was a narc.”

“Well, you thought wrong, didn’t you,” Connor sneers, remaining sarcastic as ever. “Just… Clean up and get the fuck out of here, yeah? C’mon,” he gestures for Scott and Ralph, who’s already starting to bounce on the balls of his feet, to get out.

~~~

Once you finally see all three boys re-emerge from the bathroom, as you’d asked the other two to check on Ralph, you notice something off amongst them. Ralph seems in far higher spirits than the others. You get up to meet them halfway and notice something white and powder-y on the edge of Ralph’s nostril. “The fuck is that?!” You ask incredulously.

Scott looks over and quickly pulls his shirt sleeve down to wipe at Ralph’s nose with it. “Nothing!” He lilts, though his expression as he flashes his eyes at you confirms your worst fears about it. Scott mutters, “We need to get him to a hospital.”

“No!” You and Ralph chorus loudly. You shush the man and hurriedly lie, “No, you’ve not seem him in a hospital, he’s fucking useless, faints the second he gets in, he hates it all, honestly. Give him here, just - I’ll take him back to the house, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“I promise you all, I am fine, I’ve done far more than that in my years!” Ralph states. “Can we please just return to our night?”

“Respectfully, mate, you don’t know what this shit’s been laced with,” Connor warns. “I’m with Scott, I think hospital’s the best place.”

“And I’m telling you, it really fucking isn’t,” you hiss back at them. “He just needs to get back home so he can’t make any more bad decisions.” Ralph frowns at your words, but you ignore him.

“Alright, we’ll pack up,” Scott starts, but you stop him.

“No, no.” You sigh, “Look, it’s still your holiday, too. I’ll take him back, I’ll keep you guys updated, but you lot just enjoy the night without us, okay?”

“We really don’t mind,” Connor shakes his head, but you persist.

“Honestly. Just…Hang on a second.” You return to the table, spinning a tale of how Ralph’s got a migraine and so you’re going to take him home as you put your outdoor clothes on. Everyone still at the table calls out well-wishes for Ralph as you make your way back to him, informing the boys of what you’ve said, and you lead Ralph out of the door into the brisk evening air.

You walk in silence, not knowing what to say. You’re concerned about Ralph, obviously, but you’re also just so mad at him for doing something so stupid. Who accepts some rando’s offer of coke off a random pub sink?! What the fuck was he thinking?! And now, everyone else is enjoying their holiday while you spend it the way you spend every single day - babysitting a 25 year old man who acts without consequence because he doesn’t bear them, you do. You may as well be at home with him.

“You know,” Ralph finally breaks the silence as you walk up the street that the house is on, “I’m not a child. I knew what I was doing.”

You sigh, “Free drugs is a massive red flag, Ralph. You could have gotten into some serious shit.”

“Well clearly not if we’re just going straight back to the house,” he points out.

“Okay, Ralph, what do you want me to say when we get to the hospital? ‘Hi, I’ve got a man here who needs drugs pumped out of his system. Name? Ralph Penbury. Date of birth? February 1st 1901. Oh, what’s that? You’ve got him marked as being dead for the last 96 years? Then what’s he doing stood here?!’” Ralph goes quiet up until you get to the front door, where you press your hands into your face and groan. “Ugh, I’m sorry, Ralph. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, that wasn’t fair. I know you can’t help… That bit. But you can say no to drugs, surely?!” More silence. With a sad sigh, you unlock the door and let Ralph go ahead. “Want me to make you a cup of tea?” You ask, and he nods before running up the stairs.

You kick yourself internally for upsetting Ralph before then arguing with yourself. Why should you be apologising? You were right. It’s your holiday, too, and he should have thought more carefully. You have every right to be upset, yourself. But you’ll forgive Ralph for that, the way you always do, because you already know you’re going to lose him at some point, and that’s going to be painful enough, and if you can put it off for as long as possible, you’re going to.

He pads back into the kitchen in his pyjamas, looking at you with his big doe eyes as you hand him a hot mug full of tea. “It seems to be the ordinary stuff,” he states, “because it’s only just about affecting me. Same way it always does.”

“Did you… Do it often?” You ask slowly. “To cope with stuff?”

“Heavens, no, it’s no coping mechanism!” He shakes his head. “Cocaine’s always been a staple at Penbury socials. It’s… Acquiring and using it was always the thing people liked having me around for,” he explains quietly as he takes a big sip from his mug. “It barely affects me these days, just makes me… More likeable, I suppose.”

Of course there’s a dreadfully sad story to go along with this. Just more fuel for you to feel bad about snapping at him. You walk over to him and wrap your arms around his shoulders as he continues drinking. “You know how much we all like having you around the way you are, Ralph. I mean, we might be able to make a citizen out of you yet if we just claim you as Scott and his partner’s adopted child!” You joke, and Ralph lets out a small, breathy laugh.

“It’s… Hard to believe, still. Sometimes. Sorry,” he mutters, leaning down to rest his head against yours.

“You have to trust us, Ralphie,” you squeeze him gently, “that’s part of having friends. You like having us around, right?” He nods violently. “Right! So part of making sure we stay around is knowing we want to. If you don’t trust that people wanna be your friend, they’re gonna assume you don’t want them to be.”

“Is that what Scott and Connor will think of me, now?” he asks sadly.

“Well no, because they don’t know… That, what you’ve just told me.”

Even more quietly, he asks, “…Do you -?”

“Are you really asking me if I want you around?” You ask, raising your eyebrows at him. “Have I not done enough to prove my case there?!”

“More than,” he admits, still quiet. He takes another long sip and asks, “Does the TV here have all the films that we would have back at home?”

“Wanna watch Little Shop of Horrors while you come down?” You ask, amused, as Ralph nods in response. You let him curl up to lay his head on your lap as you both watch the film from the sofa Connor’s been sleeping on, Ralph’s foot tapping against the arm of it along with each song.

The rest of the gang return just before the movie ends, and they’re all happy to see that Ralph looks in relatively good condition. The pair of you retire to the bed soon after. Too tired to change out of your day clothes, you simply crawl into your side and sleep, forgetting to wish Ralph goodnight in your exhaustion.

You all decide that Thursday shall be another day on the pier, with Friday being a packing-up day due to the night out you have planned, so that you don’t have to worry about packing with a hangover and can head back as soon as you’re feeling well enough to on Saturday.

You start the day out in the arcade again, firstly making sure that you, Anna, Grace, Scott and Connor get your annual photos in the booth as per every year for as long as you can remember. You show Ralph and the others photos you have on your phone of reels from years past, to which they take great delight in seeing you all in younger years. “It’s nice to have friends that last,” Ralph smiles, and it makes your heart sink. Comments like that help your brain to justify keeping Ralph around regardless. He needs to be here, with his friends, with the people he loves and who love him. There’s been no major consequence so far. You start to wonder if there ever would be.

You quickly pull yourself from that train of thought, instead opting for the certainty of being out with your friends. Grace pulls Ralph towards the dance mats, itching to teach him, and you allow yourself to stand back with Grace’s boyfriend to watch them. Ralph may stomp on each arrow with such force that the ground shakes beneath you, but there’s no way you can comment on that when his face is lit up that much.

You lose track of him when Connor pulls him away to show him a shooting game, instead opting to go for one of the coin-pushers yourself. It seems as though Ralph also didn’t last long with that particular game, nor does he have the patience to wait for your tactical plays as he starts grabbing coins from your pot and placing them in the slots from behind you excitedly. You giggle uncontrollably as he keeps putting coins in and smugly adding the occasional, “See?” when a whole pile drops.

It’s only when you feel your back collide against his chest that you’re brought back to your senses, and you tug at his arm until you’re standing beside him instead, trying to keep your tone playful with an, “Alright, then, if you wanna play that way, don’t let me stop you!” as you find another game that’s easy ticket fodder.

Eventually, you tell Ralph that it’s time for him to face his ultimate fear, that you’re all going to ride the Crazy Mouse roller coaster. He nods, still agreeing to go on it with you all, though he remains quiet. Once you’re in the line for it, you try and brush your hand against his again to let him know you’re there for him, but he makes no attempt to hold it. You hope it’s because he’s getting braver, but his stoic expression doesn’t exactly give you that impression.

Since today is warmer than the others, none of you had really decided to wear hats today, which makes the state you all end up in after being spun and thrown around the roller coaster track all the more hilarious. Ralph’s curls especially are in full force, sticking up in all directions, which the fans who recognise him today point out a lot. You notice there are more today than ever before and check his name on Twitter to see your suspicions confirmed - people are starting to publicly announce sightings of Ralph in the wild, which is leading to people congregating with the sheer hopes of seeing him out in the wild. You’re not sure how many more of these appearances you can take.

You return to the hook-a-duck stall so that Ralph can proudly show off Clarence to the man running the stall. A young man with a mullet pouts about how he was told that he wasn’t “allowed” to keep a duck, even though it matched the red beanie his friend is wearing even today. The man behind the stall simply explains that Ralph was more charming, to the hat-wearer’s amusement.

You go back to playing more games until the people working the arcade inform you that it’s nearly closing time. All of you band your tickets together and divide them fairly to redeem a prize each, though Ralph insists that he doesn’t get a share. He is more than happy with Clarence alone. If only you’d known sooner that the best way to placate Ralph would be to stick a hook in a rubber duck’s head.

Connor picks a box that contains fuzzy car dice, “for a laugh”. It certainly does raise a lot of laughs when he opens the box to find that the ones he’s ended up with are pink, but he shrugs it off. Scott and his partner pick out as many Pokémon cards as their tickets will allow them to, Grace gets a toy monkey with magnets in its hands and feet while her boyfriend picks out an inflatable guitar. Despite having already won a rather large teddy at the can game the other day, you take pity on another soft toy that clearly looks like it got into a fight with the manufacturer and came out losing, opting to take it home with you. Ralph looks at it fearfully, and you shake it at him jokingly.

Friday holds the weight of being the last full day away. Everything feels as though it's happening in slow motion, that it isn't in real time. It doesn’t entirely help that the day is filled with the mundane act of packing until the real thing to look forward to later tonight, which now feels eons away.

When it finally reaches lunchtime, you talk the others into getting delivery. “Whatever happened to the ‘we should get out of the house, lazybones’ mentality, eh?” Connor teases.

“Do you feel up to being there while Ralph gets accosted by fans again?” you ask bluntly. “Besides, you should see Twitter today, it’s obsessive,” you pull a face of disgust as you scroll through posts to show your friends.

“These people need Jesus,” pipes up Grace’s boyfriend.

“You said it, babe,” Grace herself adds. “Surprised they haven’t realised he’s staying here and started camping out.” Scott tentatively looks out of the window, but nods in relief to confirm that nobody’s waiting out there.

You decide to make it the feast to end all feasts, each of you ordering food from different places and all sitting amongst your plethora of food to talk about your highlights of the whole trip, compare photos and overall just enjoy each others’ company. Even Ralph seems to perk up, which you’re glad about. He’d been pretty reserved all morning, which makes sense given how dull the day’s events have been, but you’re glad to see that there isn’t something else keeping him quiet.

Finally, the night is upon you. Everyone’s promised that they’ll all be on watch in case anyone tries to approach Ralph, either weird fanatic or potential danger, so that you can just switch off and enjoy your last night before returning to London.

You feel as though you may get to really enjoy it when you catch the attention of a man who’s far from unattractive. He keeps making eye contact with you from where he’s stood at the bar and flashing his eyes in invitation. After a few pep talks with the girls, who seem a little hesitant at first but soon warm to the idea of you having a night where you finally get to flirt and be flirted with, and just get to feel special for a night. And who knows, maybe that’ll be all it is. Maybe you won’t even spend your last night back at the house. After all, what’s a holiday for if not to live totally differently to how you would at home?

When you finally approach the bar, he smirks, “Look who finally made a decision!”

“Look who’s already blowing their shot!” you reply in the same lilted tone, making him laugh. You exchange names and he offers to buy you a drink. This is everything you’ve been needing to fill your confidence gauge - mostly banter, with the occasional ice-breaker question and the more than occasional compliment thrown your way. And honestly, the way he already matches your wit without you constantly needing to explain yourself, or reassure that you’re joking, just makes him even more attractive in the moment.

Ralph watches on from a distance, absolutely seething. Of course, you deserve to be happy. He knows that. He knows that you clearly wouldn’t be happy with him, and that’s why you’ve been keeping him at arm’s length, constantly putting the time travelling situation between you and him. But Ralph absolutely cannot stand to see it happening in front of his eyes. And so, with nothing stopping him, he marches over to you and taps your arm. “Hello!”

Not expecting any interruptions, you jolt, “Jesus, Ralph, you scared the shit out of me! Uh, yeah, this is Ralph, my - flatmate,” you explain.

“That’s right, we live together back at home as well as here!” Ralph beams falsely at the other man. “So, what are we talking about?”

The man laughs awkwardly under his breath as he shuffles in place and you say through gritted teeth, “Uh, Ralph, do you think maybe Connor wants to talk to you?”

“Oh, heavens, no, he’s got a pair of young women on the go himself, the dog!” Ralph scoffs.

“Seems as though two is an awful lot of people for just one of him to manage. Think you could take one off his hands?” you ask, again trying to make it very obvious that you want him to leave.

He doesn’t seem to be taking the hint, though. “Oh, I’d only interrupt them!”

“How terrible that would be.” You deadpan, before addressing the man you’d been talking to. “I’m so sorry, I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here,” he tips his glass to you. “Don’t forget, it’s your turn to buy the next round!”

You shoot him a flirtatious smile and grab Ralph’s wrist to tug him away. “Listen, Ralph, mate, I think maybe… You should spend tonight more around one of the others, than with me. Yeah?”

“But what if I slip up and mention something about… The situation at hand?” he asks, gesturing at himself.

You tut exasperatedly, “I dunno, then maybe… Just really try not to bring it up? It’s not that hard, you haven’t done it yet. I just… I really needed this, Ralph. Please?”

“Are you going to leave me in the bed alone tonight?” he asks quietly. Sadly.

You sigh. “I dunno. Maybe? We’re all adults here, Ralph, you’ve spent long enough being able to sleep in my bed by yourself, I’m sure someone else’s won’t be too different.” You find Grace, who’s with her boyfriend and Anna, and park Ralph with all of them before returning to your date for the evening.

Ralph’s only half-listening to whatever everyone else is talking about. His attention is laser-focused on that man. His hair is the same colour as Ralph’s, and it’s curly just like his, but there’s more of it. His eyes are the same colour as Ralph’s, but they’re obscured with glasses. He’s taller than Ralph, and he makes you laugh more than Ralph does, and if the cup he’s holding was made of anything other than glass, Ralph would have certainly squeezed it out of shape by now, if not broken it entirely.

While the girls take a momentary bathroom break, Grace’s boyfriend nudges Ralph. “You alright, mate? You look like the nerves are taking over. Wanna do a couple shots with me? It’ll take the edge off.”

Ralph agrees, hoping that perhaps the blanket of numbness over his brain that only alcohol causes will keep it quiet. Grace’s boyfriend has already paid for the shots when Ralph looks at them in horror. The last time he saw a shot glass filled with clear liquid, it resulted in all kinds of emotions. Still, perhaps it’s another clear spirit. Perhaps it won’t make Ralph feel the way he did that night.

Or maybe this is also vodka, and once both the shots that Ralph takes hit, perhaps he’s on his way back over to you. “Hello, again!”

You look at your date with resignation. He looks back at you with sympathy. It’s him who regards the new third wheel in the conversation, “Alright, mate? Ralph, isn’t it? How you doing?”

Ralph pays him no attention at all. “I fear I have once again gotten myself into a predicament,” he tells you.

“You’re a big boy, I’m sure you can get yourself out of it,” you flash warning eyes at Ralph to get back to literally anyone else.

He shakes his head, “No, no, it’s, um. It’s something you had explained to me. What are the different drinks that make me feel different things, again?”

You hold your hand to your head. “Ralph, mate… Do you feel as if something’s been put in your drink, or…?”

“I’m not sure what that would feel like,” he frowns, “but you know these things better than I do!”

“Here, look,” the man you’d been talking to stands up straight. So tall. “This has been great. Really great. But I think your flatmate needs you tonight, so… I’ll see you around, yeah?”

You shake your head dejectedly. “We literally go back to London first thing in the morning.”

He frowns at you sympathetically. “You’ve got a phone though, right?” You take it out to find that it’s out of battery.

You curse internally, “Knew there was something I forgot to do tonight. I’m so sorry.”

“Well. Perhaps in another time. It was lovely meeting you.” He looks Ralph up and down with a slight look of jealous defeat. “You too, mate,” he adds to Ralph through gritted teeth before stroking your arm once more, letting it linger for as long as possible until he walks away.

Something in you finally snaps. Every part of you is just… So done with Ralph right now. And he has the audacity to perk up again once it’s just the two of you?! “What the fuck was that about, Ralph?!”

“Well, I was just going to say that Grace’s… Gentleman friend had bought me some of those shots and I think they’re the sort that have the effect on me that you remember better than I,” Ralph explains with a slight shrug.

You shake your head. “Nah, nah, there’s more to it than that. I made it very clear that I was hitting it off with him, and I just wanted a night where I could -” You cut yourself off, but Ralph feels the tension, soaking it in himself.

“Oh, go on and get it over with, won’t you?” Ralph asks, once again playing the sad card. “It’s obvious there’s things you want to say to me, just say them to my face, please.”

“Okay, you know that’s not fair when you pull that shit, because then it makes me feel bad when I am allowed to be pissed off at you!” you snap. “You want me to say it to your face?! Alright, how’s about this, then. Having you at my ankles 24/7 is fucking exhausting, Ralph. I can’t even go on one night out and talk to one person that isn’t you, I - I didn’t sign up to be some random guy’s mother -”

“I do not see you like I would Mother!” Ralph defends, offence very obvious in his expression.

“Then why am I the one always cooking for you, always cleaning for you, always fucking working overtime because I’m paying for your bills and your food and your clothes -”

“Because, as you keep telling me, I’m not a real person here!” Ralph hisses through his teeth.

“It’s not just that, though, it’s the attitude that comes with it. You are so used to your little rich boy life that you don’t see how much I’m going through. My back is in constant fucking agony from months on that godawful sofa. I don’t get a single day off to myself anymore. I mean, fuck, you’ve had more dates than I have since you got here! I supported you putting yourself out there, even though it was one of the stupidest risks you could have taken -”

“Well, it’s a good job that didn’t work out then, isn’t it? Because once again, nobody wants anything to do with Ral-”

“Here it is again. I can’t just feel something, you have to also be feeling it twice as hard so that you’re the focus here, I - I can’t have anything for myself anymore!” you shout exasperatedly. “Not even one night where for once, I get to feel wanted. I - y’know, everyone fucking falls at their feet for you, you’ve even had people ask you out while we’re here! And nothing was stopping you if you wanted to! But the moment I want to indulge in the idea that maybe someone out there would show an interest in me -”

Ralph scoffs, “That man was only interested in one thing to do with you, and it’s much too vulgar. You deserve to be courted in the appropriate -”

“We’re not in the 1920s anymore, Ralph!” You press your fingers to your temples. “It’s not a bad thing for someone to just… Want you like that. And even then, let’s hash this out. Let’s say I could have been courted by him. You think someone like that is gonna think I’m worth sticking around for when I’ve got another man constantly in my shadow, fighting for my attention? I mean, fuck, what are you gonna do without me when you go back, eh?”

“Ah, again with the going home!” Ralph’s voice is audibly slurring by now. “It’s all you ever want to talk about with me, just tell me the truth already, it’ll hurt less. Tell me you can’t wait to be rid of me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Ralph, I don’t want you gone! Far fucking from it! But I’m not gonna mess with shit we know nothing about, and putting everything back where it was is logically the best thing to do.”

Ralph looks on the verge of crying. “So, that’s it, then. I’m not even worth a -one, I’m just a -thing now.”

“No, that’s not -” You take a deep breath. “Look. We’re going off on tangents that don’t even make fucking sense now. I’m going back to the house. To the bed, don’t worry your fragile little head, I’m not gonna go stand on a street corner like the harlot I am,” you pull a face, blinking back your own tears. “Thank you for ruining the one week a year I actually look forward to.”

You storm away from Ralph, though you find most of the group congregated together at the bar. You stop by them to explain that you and Ralph got into a fight, that you don’t want to talk about it but could they please just make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. They promise that they will, and so you head out of the bar, straight into one of the parked taxis and finally let yourself cry as it drives you back to the house.

next chapter

#ralph timewasters #ralph timewasters x reader #ralph timewasters x you #ralph timewasters fanfic #ralph timewasters imagine #ralph penbury #ralph penbury x reader #ralph penbury x you #ralph penbury fanfic #ralph penbury imagine #ralph timewasters fluff #ralph penbury fluff #bsbl #fic: bsbl #*myfics

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excelsi-or · 5 months

Text

summoned (epilogue: pt. 16)

pairing: woozi x fem!reader/fem!OC

w.c. 1.8k (just a little fluff to end of this series)

EPILOGUE

The evening of the end of the world, the angels and demons drop the humans off at Hansol’s apartment.

As soon as Seungkwan sees them, he says, “That’s it. We’re having a dinner party.”

She doesn’t have the energy to argue. She even takes the beer that Hansol offers.

That sets Seungkwan off even more, and the storm turns into a whirlwind.

“Seokmin and Jihoon can’t come.”

“They can’t? Why not? You and Jihoon have been tied at the hip since we met him.”

“Uh…” She meets Hansol’s eye as he returns from his bedroom with a change of clothes. “How much do we share?”

Seungkwan cuts Hansol off before he can even open his mouth. “You smell like smoke, your dress is burnt, Hansol is ravenous and not eating leftovers. Something’s happened. Do I need to add that the sky was bright red? I was about to try to get home to my family because I thought that the world was ending. But now, all of a sudden, it’s fine.”

Hansol takes her by the shoulders and guides her towards the bathroom. “You go shower. I’ll deal with Seungkwan until everyone comes over. Gives you time to decide if you want to share.”

“You’re honestly the best. The best best friend ever.”

Hansol clucks his tongue. “You’re welcome, Antichrist. Go shower.”

As she’s about to close the door, she tells him she isn’t the Antichrist anymore.

“How can you suddenly just not be it anymore?”

She shrugs. “My mom explained it, like, since the world didn’t end with me as it was supposed to, there’ll be another Antichrist.”

“So, now you’re just… you’re just human?”

She nods.

“And your parents?”

“Well, for foiling the Great Plan or whatever they call it, no go. Dad doesn’t get his soul back. Mom didn’t really have hope anyway.” There’s a quiver in her voice that Hansol hasn’t heard in a while.

“Oh.” Hansol pushes his way into the bathroom to wrap his arms around her. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” He pretends as if he can’t feel the tears against his neck. He isn’t quite sure what it means that they don’t get their souls back. He’s still baffled that his best friend was, but is no longer, the Antichrist.

When she pulls away, he can’t tell that she’d been crying. “They have human lives to live, and I get to keep my soul. Apparently, that’s worth it to them.”

“Have you told them about your demon boyfriend?”

“Jihoon said he’s going home,” she says. “Nothing here to entertain him anymore.”

“Hansol-ah! I need you to peel the vegetables!” Seungkwan calls.

A few days after the end of the world, with Jeonghan and Seungcheol’s wedding to now plan for (they heard it could’ve been the end of the world and decided they were getting married ASAP), she isn’t expecting to walk up to her apartment door and not have a door to open.

Annoyed, she pats the wall in the general area where her doorknob should be.

“If this demon also fucking locked my door, he’s being kicked out,” she mutters as her hand finds the knob.

Luckily for the demon, it’s unlocked.

From her doorway, she can see him stretched out on her couch in sweatpants and his favourite red hoodie, a book hovering over his head.

“You said you were going home.”

The book lowers slightly so he can see her, unfazed by her lack of greeting. “I did.”

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Hanging out.”

“Okay, but where’s the human who summoned you?”

“There isn’t one.” Jihoon sets the book down: The Alchemist. Definitely not hers. “I just came to see you.”

This causes her to pause. “Me.”

Jihoon shrugs. “Earth’s a little more interesting right now. Seokmin’s right. More fun when there’s less plague and more technology. The food’s a little weird, and art seems to have gone to shit, but—”

She chuckles as she drops her things by the door and sits on the couch next to him. “You can just say you missed me. How long are you staying?”

“Your whole life, actually.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” Jihoon stretches his legs out for the coffee table. “Seokmin and I may have played some tricks. And I may be the coolest demon in existence this millennium.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had a holy water bath and didn’t die. Freaked the other demons out. Satan’s not punishing me for messing with the Antichrist. I’m yours for now.”

“You’re telling me that you’re going to stay with me for the rest of my life. How am I going to get married and have a family?”

“I thought me saying I was staying for the rest of your life was essentially me asking you to marry me.”

It feels as if those words smack her right in the face. The anxious person in her starts panicking at M-A-R-R-I-A-G-E. A few minutes of reeling her brain back from panic helps her see that Jihoon’s just offering what demons think is human commitment.

“It sounds like you’re intending to be a nuisance,” she finally says.

“I also forgot to mention I’m not really a demon anymore.”

“I didn’t know that was something you could just give back.” The anxiety is fighting with excitement. Because Jihoon is saying all the right words.

So, she gets up to make tea just to keep her hands busy. And so she doesn’t have to sit so close to Jihoon.

She’s been so used to knowing everything and being one step ahead. Now, that she really is just a human, she’s realizing that the unexpected is extremely uncomfortable.

Jihoon trails after her. “So, maybe I made some deals with the Devil to be here. But nothing that you need to be concerned about.”

She squints at him. “What exactly are you proposing?”

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “That I stay here. With you. Live your life with you.”

“I want children one day.”

Jihoon shrugs. “That can be arranged.”

“With a partner.”

He motions down his body. “I’ve arranged that already.”

“By assuming that I’d agree to this.”

Jihoon tips his head, his eyes flicking from cat-like and back again. “Do you not want this?”

She rests her hip against the counter, processing her feelings. “You’re telling me that you want to be my life partner. Are willing to have children. But have you considered that I’ll get old and age? You’re not going to leave me for naught?”

“If you gave me your soul in exchange for not getting old, that could be arranged.”

“Absolutely not. I’m human. And I intend to stay that way.”

This makes Jihoon smile. “And that’s why I’m staying. Because you’re human.”

“You hate humans.”

“I like you. And maybe Hansol. Your other friends are tolerable.”

She holds her hand up in the air between them.

“What?”

She nods her head at her hand.

Frowning, he lifts his hand to mirror her.

“Oh, you stupid—” She crosses the kitchen to press her palm against his, notices that he’s warm but not burning. “I can touch you.” Her fingers settle between the spaces between his. “Why can I touch you?”

“Are you not listening to me?” he chuckles. That would normally be annoying, but he now finds her incredibly endearing. It helps that she’s definitely not the Antichrist. “I told you I made deals with the devil.” Jihoon’s eyes don’t leave hers as he kisses the back of her hand. “So, what are you thinking, human?”

“That you still haven’t answered the question about what happens when I age.” She notices his confused expression. “Jihoon.” The use of his chosen human name causes him to warm even more; she can feel it in his hand. “As good-hearted as your intentions might be, and having grown up with a demon for a mother, I can’t grow attached to you knowing you’ll disappear when you realize I’m not what you want anymore.”

“I’ve been human before,” he whispers. Her eyes widen slightly at the admission. She doesn’t personally know any demons that were once human. Her mother says they exist, but most of the ones she’s met have been fallen angels.

Her mind is whirring at what that’s meant for the life he’s lived. And makes her want to analyze every decision he’s made in her presence.

But Jihoon doesn’t give her much time to process it. They have a lifetime together for her to learn that. “I know what the stakes are by offering you this.”

“And you still want to stay? I thought we were only in agreement that we please each other well.”

“And I enjoy your company. More than anyone else—human, demon, or angel—that I’ve met.”

“Even when I can’t please you physically anymore,” she states.

Jihoon studies her face, can picture the way it’ll age, has deliberated heavily about whether he can watch her die. “I have a feeling that you’ll find other ways to be entertaining.”

She scoffs in disbelief, charmed and also scared.

“I may also be aware of the fact that Seokmin is intending to stick around for your lifetime. Your friends’ as well. I won’t be lonely.”

“He knows you’re staying.”

“He knew I was considering it. He told me that I’m the only one who can make the decision. And that you’d have to accept me anyway for it to be real.”

“Couples fight.”

“We’ve butt heads quite a lot in the time we’ve known each other.”

“I’m pretty physically intimate.”

“Good. I like that.”

She wonders what else she could say that would make Jihoon re-evaluate. “I’m really insecure.”

Jihoon’s eyes flicker. “I can deal with that.”

“You’ll be expected to come to Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s wedding then.”

The corners of his mouth downturn slightly, but he agrees to that too.

Before leaning into him, as he seems to desperately want her to do, she says, “As soon as you even think about double crossing me, or mess with my mind even slightly, you’re gone, okay?” She elaborates further. “I need to trust that you’re with me, because you like me. Not because I can be manipulated because I’m human and touch you well.”

Jihoon chuckles and nods. “Got it, human.” He doesn’t tell her that as soon as she tells him to leave, his contract is over, and he’s gone. Maybe one day, but not right now.

“Now, will you please kiss me and stop worrying about a future that’s still so far away?”

“In your lifetime, it’s nothing,” she reminds him.

Jihoon shrugs. “Sure, but for you, it’s long.”

She rolls her eyes. He’s the one who closes the distance between them, one hand slipping under her shirt to rest on the skin of her hip. It’s a pleasant warmth.

“I’m happy for you to stay,” she says as his lips brush hers. “Even if I didn’t summon you this time.”

Jihoon laughs, pecking her lips again and again. “It would actually be a more difficult existence for both of us if you had.”

There’re fluttering nerves in her stomach that some of his words have calmed but not all. And he’s unlikely able to soothe every fear she has about this, but she asks anyway. “Is it okay if we go slow?”

“What do you mean?”

His thumb rubbing back and forth on her hip is distracting. She rests a hand over his to stop him. “Slow. To get used to this. I brought you here with different intentions. I fell for you by accident. Everything that’s happened afterwards is not something I’ve had time to process.” Her gaze glances at him and then away. “Is that okay?”

Jihoon hums, not used to her bashfulness. “Hey.”

She meets his gaze.

“I get to be human for a little while because of you. Whatever you want.”

“Really?”

Jihoon nods. “I’m a reasonable demon, as you know.”

“You were a pain in my ass when I summoned you.”

“I can be a reasonable pain in the ass.”

She sighs. “Okay.” She pulls him closer. “I’m in.”

hello!!! another story down.

this story is very conflicting for me. i was so excited about it when i was writing it and editing it. and then while i was posting it, something about it wasn't speaking to me anymore.

don't get me wrong. i love how this story turned out. but i wrote the first draft of this, i think, almost two years ago now. i'm a different person, a different writer, and a different reader too.

so, i think my unattachment to it is because it doesn't fully represent me as a writer anymore.

but for everyone who's read this/will read this, i hope you enjoyed it! i hope you're around when i return, because i will be going on a proper hiatus probably until the summer next year. need to write more stories (some original projects & some fanfic). i'll pop back in and out when i feel like it, but for now, this is farewell!!

if you wanna follow my creative journey (not just my woozi fanfics), i'm an-artthief on Tumblr too. posting some updates on a few original works i'm working on and reblogging some art and things that i enjoy. :)

happy holidays everyone! and if i don't post again before the end of the year, happy 2024 too! xx

#woozi #lee jihoon #woozi imagines #woozi scenarios #woozi fic #lee jihoon scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen #svt

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stargazing15 · 2 years

Text

Always been you

Pairing: Rooster x you (aviator)

Summary: Meeting Rooster has left you falling for him hard, but he saw you just as a sister. How much more could your heart take? You need to tell him, but how? Fanboy & Phoenix to the rescue with the idea to hold a campfire.

Your callsign: Hummingbird, cause you’re a small bean who loves singing and had exceptional flight stability like the birds.

Warnings: friends to lovers, fluffy, it gets a little heated hehe. 18+

A/N: Top Gun plot as the setting, I know TOP GUN is in Fallon, Nevada, but for the sake of the fic, it’s in San Diego like the movie. I FINALLY FINISHED IT, IT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS LONG!! This was supposed to be my first fic, but got sidetracked by dear Hangman. I'm scared to post it, I really hope you like it.

Pic is mine

Being called back to San Diego made you a bit gibberish, you were super thrilled to see your former WSO Fanboy and your best friend Phoenix back. And a bit anxious, you know he belongs to the best aviators, so will he be there too?

After packing out in your little rented apartment, you headed to the Hard Deck. If you knew your friends well, they would probably be there already.

“Hummingbird! Over here at the pool table!” Yup, as you thought Phoenix, Fanboy and Payback were here already.

“Well, Hummingbird this is here is Bob, Coyote and Bagman. Guys, my meet partner in crime and probably one of the best aviators, Hummingbird. Don’t let her cute appearance fool you, she’s one hell of an aviator!” Phoenix always liked to exaggerate.

“It’s Hangman by the way, and can you even get in an aircraft without a using a crane or something?” If you just could wipe that smirk off his face. Okay, with your 5’2 you were a lot smaller than the average aviator, but that gave you another reason to become better than all of those who gave you remarks.

“I’m gonna get a beer, I need one” you said to Phoenix. “Yeah, you’re gonna need a couple to survive Bagman” she smiled.

“Penny sweetheart, a beer please.”

“Y/N I see you’ve met Hangman, give me the sign and I ring the bell when he disrespects you” she winked.

“I will.”

“Bradshaw!” you heard Phoenix in the background.

“As I live and breathe!” Hangman replied.

Oh God, please let this be a dream. Turning around you felt like you got whacked by a hammer with the sight of Rooster. Yup you were fucked.

Two years ago you were stationed in Virginia for 3 months to temporary replace a fellow aviator. There you met him, just like now, you were completely starstruck by him. The only person who could rock the pornstache and those Hawaiian shirts and oh god those soft brown eyes.

He was not like most single aviators taking a different girl home every time they went to the local bar, but when he did, you could only wish it was you. You tried to hooking up a couple of times, you had your needs too, but that wasn’t like you as you gave up on keeping boyfriends. The job didn’t really help with keeping partners, the hours away from home, the constant jealousy with your fellow aviators. Everything had changed when Rooster happened, no more dates, no more hook ups, just Rooster on your mind 24/7.

When you met Rooster in person during an exercise he was nice, no remarks, you even got an “You’re cute!” and then the inevitable “I wish I had a little sister like you” with a big smile, not that you were that much younger than him. Which resulted in a stuttering “Tha-thank you”. You just wished he hadn’t said that last sentence.

Every time you got the chance to talk to him, you took for granted. Being near him made you happy, and you made him happy, but you were the only one with butterflies. This was the first time you fell for someone this hard. And when he started to sing at the bar, you could only wish to live up to your callsign as you normally would with your own squadron, take over the bar when you started to sing. You thought about it to join him after a couple of beers, or maybe something stronger, but even after some drinks you didn’t grow the guts.

Eventually you tried hooking up with a guy, he was not even your type at all, to figure out Rooster’s reaction, you got the reaction you feared. He became like an overprotective brother, resulting in you storming out. You couldn’t stay mad at him because of the short time close you had left, so with an aching heart you continued being his sister.

Even though it was almost two year ago since you last saw him, he was still on your mind. Yes you tried dating afterwards, but they weren’t Rooster, so it always ended in hook ups. When you got back, Rooster and you called on a regular basis, but as hearing his voice started to hurt and got you craving him, you stopped being the one that called claiming flying got you too busy. Phoenix and Fanboy eventually learned about your crush on Rooster, as they also noticed you to getting gloomier, but lying to them it was the focus of your job and the aftermath of the ‘little’ crush you had.

“Humms! You’re here too, I missed you!” he said while hugging you. All you could do is close your eyes and take in the scent of his cologne. It is still the same, you could just melt in his arms.

“H-Hi Rooster, good to see you too!”

“It’s been a while I heard from you. Hey, everything okay?” he asked as he noticed you getting uneasy.

“Everything’s fine, been very busy just a bit overwhelmed by being here” you lied. Trying to get more comfortable, you walked back to Phoenix, of course you need to hit two barstools, she whispered “Little crush, my ass. You’re still head over heels for him.” you were busted. “Yeah” Seeing how uneasy you were, Phoenix and Fanboy decided not to push it, as they normally would.

***

The next couple of days went better and with the training and the team noticed your skills which resulted in a kind of apology of Hangman “Well birdie, it looks like I underestimated you, I might have competition here.” He said while throwing an arm around you.

“Come on Hangman, let her go.” Rooster said looking apologetic at you. “Don’t let him get to your head Hummingbird, he’s just trying to get you to slip up.” he snorts to Hangman.

“Oooh, is our Rooster here getting defensive over his sister?” Hangman saw you glaring at him at the word sister. Your gaze had betrayed you, shit - he knew now too. You had expected him to embarrass you, instead he used this to get to Rooster, since the two of them were each other nemesis.

“So, Birdie” Hangman started while throwing his arm once again over your shoulder “What do you think, Hangman and Birdie as team lead and wingman on this mission, I think we would make the best duo the world has ever seen. We should discuss this over drinks tonight.” As you giggled to Hangman’s suggestion, Rooster growled at this comment and your comfiness towards Hangman.

“What, afraid I might take her home, Rooster. She’s a big girl ya know?”

“Ah man, fuck off.” Rooster grunted to Hangman. “And Hummingbird, I really expected better from you.” Just like that Rooster stormed off to the tarmac for the last training of the day.

“Hangman” you whispered “Thanks, but just don’t take it too far, please.”

Hangman being Hangman, pushed it too far at the last post-training briefing, resulting in an exploding Rooster. After driving Rooster home to his apartment, you were able to calm him down and even got him to open up to you about his past with Maverick. Maybe you were a little harsh to him with Hangman earlier that day.

“Hey, Humms, just don’t go out with Hangman, he’s not good for you. You deserve better than him.”

“Why not? If not him then who?” You asked him softly, not trying to fight. “You?” You tried, hoping he would take the hint. He just shook his head, completely not understanding where you’re coming from.

“I think it’s time for me to go to bed, maybe some sleep would do good to you too”. Not realising how much his last answer hurt you, you went back to your own place, crying yourself to sleep to the idea you were never going to be his.

After Maverick’s great idea to hold the dogfight football to create a team, which helped for both Rooster and Hangman, it was pure torture for you seeing Rooster shirtless for hours. After the last game, dear Fanboy came with the great idea of holding a campfire that evening to “end the team building with a bang”.

“Hummingbird, bring your guitar” you can hear Phoenix screaming, while packing her stuff.

“And we’ll bring the beers, that will be the best team building yet!” agreed a way to happy Fanboy winking towards Phoenix. Oh yes, they were up to something. Before you even could protest Phoenix turned to Rooster.

“It must’ve been pretty fun with you two in Virginia at the bar?”

“I have honestly no idea what you’re talking about Phoenix.”

“Ow, come on, the way her voice can take over a bar, back at the academy she would even be able to get Bagman to shut up with her voice. She really did not even once sang there?” you looked at her big eyes, hoping she would shut up. “I’m gonna take a shower, see you guys later” you said while you were practically running towards your car.

“Hey Hummingbird, wait up, you're my ride. Hey, waaiiit!.”

***

“If you want me to bring my guitar, you’re gonna drive Tash, I’ll need some beers this evening.”

“Why didn’t Rooster know you could sing Y/N?” she asked while sitting next to you on your bed.

“I just couldn’t, you know. I don’t know, I - last night after calming him down he made sure he’s not interested in me in that way. So, I just want to get over him.” you said as your friend held you close.

“Hey, it’s ok, let’s show him what he’s missing and just have fun. Come on!” you nodded, what did you have to loose anyway?

Phoenix was right, it was fun. You had placed yourself strategically between Phoenix and Fanboy, where you felt safe and you could be at ease. The squad had been singing to almost every classic campfire song with so much passion, you had to admit that Fanboy sometimes had good ideas.

“Y/N, can you sing something, so we can let our voices rest a bit?” Fanboy started, with Phoenix nodding, both meaning the same thing.

“Why not, it's now or never.” you whispered to yourself. Hopefully he’ll listen.

After taking a sip of your beer, you started off with a hoarse voice.

Sometimes I feel like it's one-sided

Like some type of unrequited love

I keep it dark, I keep it quiet

But then you come around and light me up

Usually, I ain't the type to stay up all damn night

Thinkin' 'bout someone else

It's hard to be fine when your heart's on the line

And the truth is I'm goin' through hell

'Cause in my head

It's always been you

Heart in my hands

Hopeless 'cause no one can take it from you, you

I tried rewriting this hundreds of times

But if it ain't you, it's a lie

Yeah, in my head

It's always been you, you

At this point you could help yourself and started to look straight in Rooster’s eyes.

I been trippin', I been slidin'

I'm underwater like Poseidon

Takin' up space like a hyphen

You're on my mind and I can't fight it, yeah

Sick of playin' games with myself

Sick of playin' like there's someone else

'Cause in my head

It's always been you

Heart in my hands

Hopeless 'cause no one can take it from you, you

I tried rewriting this hundreds of times

But if it ain't you, it's a lie

Yeah, in my head

It's always been you, you

Usually, I ain't the type to stay up all damn night

Thinkin' 'bout someone else

It's hard to be fine when your heart's on the line

And the truth is I'm goin' through hell

You couldn’t remember when, but tears had started to form in the corner of you eyes, you were not crying though. The lyrics were the words you’ve always wanted to tell Rooster and now that you finally had, you felt a weight get lifted off your shoulders. No matter what the consequences were, finally winning him or losing him forever, they had to be said, your heart couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m, gonna take get some beers from the car.” you said softly with still a blush on your cheeks and tears in the corner of your eyes while taking Phoenix car keys.

While reaching Phoenix’s car you heard a soft “Hey Y/N, wait up.” At first you didn’t react, you were not used being called by your name by your coworkers, except for Natasha and Mikey.

“Humms” the soft voice tried again, this time you knew who it belonged to, which made your heart skip a couple of beats.

“Rooster, hi” you said while trying to put up a smile.

“The song” he paused and taking a breath before continuing “it was about me, wasn’t it?” you couldn’t answer or even look him in the eyes, too scared for a possible rejection, so you just nodded. Because you didn’t dare to look at him, you couldn’t see the way he was staring at you with a soft look, his eyes wandered quickly enough off to your lips.

“Fuck it” he whispered and started to kiss you. You tried to register what was happening, but your brain had shut off. And Rooster, while melting in the kiss, finally realising everything you ever subtle tried to hint.

“I’ve been so wrong this whole time, I don’t want a sister. I never thought further about my feelings, I wanted to play save, I’m sorry for everything, I - fuck.” he took your face in his hands and kissed you again, this time more passionate, more hungrily. You let your hands wander around in his soft curls to deepen the kiss. You’ve always wondered what kissing him would be like, you had to admit it was way better then in any of your dreams or thoughts. You got lost in kissing him as you felt his hands lower from your face to your lower back and eventually squeezing your ass resulting in a moan escaping your mouth, leaving you both panting after the intense make out session.

“Jesus, I love that sound.” Rooster confessed, you blushed at his comment. “Oh God, we were supposed to get beers.” you realised.

“Can I hold you just for one more second? I’ve been so stupid not to see you for you.”

“Come here, you big idiot.” you said, as you hugged each other, you felt why he needed a moment longer before going back to the group.

“Oh” a tent in his shorts, you smiled on the inside as you realised the effect you had on him.

“Yeah, sorry, I - Uhm”

“I understand” you couldn’t admit yet you felt the tension between your legs too. “Here, take the six pack, so you can hide your problem” you smirked at him.

“Thanks, I guess. Hey Y/N can we talk later maybe?”

“I think that’s a good idea, oh and don’t mind Tash and Mikey in a bit.” Rooster looked at you with a puzzled expression. When you got back most of the group didn’t notice the two of you getting back as they were too busy chatting with each other. And as predicted you got looks from Phoenix and Fanboy. Deciding not to get sandwiched by those two and bombarded with questions, you sat next to Rooster and opposite of your two friends, smirking at them. Lucky for you, the campfire ended an hour later, as some of the boys claimed they needed to go ‘hunting’.

“Can I take you home? Maybe we can talk for a bit, it’s our day off tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll tell Phoenix she can go to the bar with the rest.”

After you were able to brush both Phoenix and Fanboy off about what happened with Rooster, you got in his Bronco. The car ride to your place was quiet, but nice as Rooster hold you had while driving.

“Cosy” Rooster commented at your place.

“Thanks, do you want something to drink, or eat?”

“Water is fine.”

“Here you go” you said while both moving to the couch to get comfy.

“So -” You started a bit uneasy.

“How long?” He didn’t need to say more to know what he meant.

“Since we’ve met.” you confessed.

“Oh my, and i’ve been treating you like a sister. Shit, I’m so sorry” you snuggled into his chest, playing with the buttons of his Hawaiian shirt. “I really thought having you always around was enough for me, but I’ve got to admit, after kissing you, I don’t think I can get ever enough of you.” you felt him playing with the straps of your sundress after putting his glass on your coffee table. “When you got cosy with Hangman yesterday, I don’t know what went through me, I think I felt some kind of jealousy, I couldn’t place it. But now I know why I felt that way.” Rooster confessed with rosy cheeks. He looked adorable like this.

“Well, that’s how I felt back in Virginia or when you talked about some of your adventures.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorry, I still need to apologise a lot for my stupidity, how can I ever make it up to you for being an idiot?”

“You’re doing it by being here, and maybe never let me go” you smiled softly, burying your head even further in his chest if that was possible. “Can you stay tonight, just to make sure it wasn’t a dream.”

“Yeah, i’d like that. Do you want me to sleep here on the couch?”

“No” you said as you got up from his comfortable chest, “my bed is big enough and I’ve had to miss this long enough.” you took his hand as you guided him to your bedroom. You got a bit nervous as you remembered you still had to change into your pj’s. “Do you want a shirt, I wear big ones, they’re comfy.” you said as you took your sleeping shirt.

“If it’s okay for you, I normally sleep in only my boxers.” Oh, you felt a blush creep on you cheeks. As Rooster slid out his shirt and took off his wifebeater, you couldn’t help but stare.

“That’s mine now.” Oh fuck, you tried to hide in embarrassment. “That was out loud” you said while burying your head in your sleeping shirt you still hadn't put on.

“Yes, it’s all yours now.” Rooster took your head out your hands and tossed the shirt somewhere on the ground. He started to pepper you with soft kisses on your cheeks leading their way to your lips. “No, need to be embarrassed, it’s just us now. I like you all flustered, all for me.”

“Bradley” you moaned, all hot and bothered by his sweet and soft actions, but still wearing your sundress as Rooster already stood there in his boxers. He noticed it too and started to guide you from your dresser to you bed.

“Keep on saying my name like that and I don’t think I can control myself anymore.” Rooster almost moaned. Now that you could finally call him yours, why would you stop him from losing control?

“Then loose control, I’ve been waiting for you for so long” you whispered seductive in his ear.

Rooster took care of you like no one ever has, whispering sweet nothings while making love to you and screaming each other names out of the top of your lungs every time you both came and collapsing next to each other afterwards never breaking the loving and lustful gaze between the two of you.

“I’m never letting you go now.”

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