#i genuinely genuinely think that louis has the best possible team /for him/ around him rn | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nugnthopkns · 3 years

Text

if everything could ever feel this real forever

word count: 4.3k

warnings: explicit!fem reader, cursing, alcohol consumption, allusion to sexual content (nothing explicit but minors please be aware!)

recommended listening: everlong | foo fighters

a/n: broke down and wrote for ratty matty. alternalty titled four times matthew thinks you’re the one and one time he knows (4+1′s are fun to write, pls don’t fight me). also pls ignore the fact i don’t know how airports work, i’ve only ever flown domestically lmao

Matthew feels different when you’re around.

You don’t turn him into a completely different person. He’s still himself – an absolute pest at times – but more genuine. With you he can feel everything deeply, say whatever’s on his mind without the fear of being judged. It’s the best kind of different, and he wouldn’t change it for the world. His teammates constantly ask him when he’s going to lock you down; put a ring on your finger and change your last name, but he needs to be sure before he makes such a big commitment.

one

It’s the beginning of July, and you’re sweating buckets in the back of an Uber. The driver has the air cranked, but nothing seems to alleviate the heat. You know it will be worse in St. Louis so you do your best not to complain, but it’s hard. Taking two weeks off to visit your boyfriend in his hometown sounded like a great idea, but reading the weather forecast has you re-evaluating the trip.

Your phone lights up in your lap, and you eagerly unlock it. It’s a text from Matthew. Have a safe flight. Text me when you land. Tayrn will be there to pick you up – Brady and I’s on-ice got extended. I’ll see you when I get home. Love you.

Though you wish he could be the first person you see when you touch down, you understand that his job comes first. Besides, your re-unification will be more private this way. I get to see the best Tkachuk first, fuck yeah you reply, before following it up with Love you too Matty. See you soon.

Soon after sending the text you arrive at the entrance of Calgary International Airport. With a polite thank you to your driver, you grab your suitcase and head inside. The working air conditioning answers your silent prayers and you feel your body slowly return to a normal temperature. Check in is fast, and before you know it you’re breezing through security. A slightly nervous traveller, you’re at the gate earlier than you need to be. The plane doesn’t take off for another two hours. You don’t mind the wait, listening to a couple of podcast episodes and grabbing a snack at the lounge before boarding.

The five hour flight passes in the blink of an eye. St. Louis is busier than Calgary, and it takes you longer than you thought it would to get through customs. Once passed immigration and at the baggage carousel you let Matthew know you’re safely inside the city limits. You grab your obnoxious suitcase – a bright red thing with a giant Flames logo that Matthew thought would be funny to give you – and set out to find Tayrn. She’s easy to spot, waving a giant poster with your name on it. Abandoning nearly all airport etiquette, you rush through the crowd to see her. Over the years she’s become a little sister and close friend, and you really wish you could see her more frequently.

“Y/N!” Taryn squeals as you wrap your arms around her. The pair of you embrace for another moment or two before making your way to her car. Neither of you can stop talking, so excited to be in each other’s presence.

“It’s so nice to be back,” you sigh. “I really do like St. Louis.”

Tayrn giggles. “You’re just excited to see Matthew.”

Though she isn’t wrong, you swat her bicep in faux annoyance. “What? Can a girl not enjoy a nice Midwestern city?” You push your sunglasses up onto the bridge of your nose before continuing. “Besides, I only came here to see you. I see enough of Matt at home.”

She rolls her eyes but extends her arm so you can fist bump her. With a quick look to make sure the way is clear, Taryn exits the parking spot and heads in the direction of your temporary home. The open sunroof allows the wind to whip through your hair and you struggle to tame it enough to put it in a ponytail. One Direction blasts from the stereo, and you join Taryn in screaming the lyrics until your lungs hurt. Being on vacation, even if it’s only to St. Louis, is so freeing. You don’t have to deal with work deadlines or friendship drama. All that matters is spending time with Matthew.

When you pull into the Tkachuk’s driveway it’s empty. It’s Thursday afternoon; Chantal’s at work, Keith is golfing with friends, and the boys are at the rink. You take a few minutes to unpack, filling Matthew’s drawers with your clothes, before joining Taryn by the pool. St. Louis is just as hot as the city you left, and the travel has left you feeling below average. A quick swim is sure to be the perfect remedy.

The water is the right kind of cool, and alleviates any stress you were possibly feeling. You’re properly in vacation mode now, lounging on pool floaties and gossiping with Taryn. An hour later when Matthew returns home you’re in basically the same position. Stepping out into the yard he sees you urging Taryn to turn around so you can place sunscreen onto the one spot she missed, laughing all the while at some ridiculous celebrity rumor she’s telling you. Seeing you get along so easy with his sister, and the rest of his family, makes his heart swell.

In the couple of months you’ve been separated, Matthew’s thought a lot about his future. Specifically about his future with you. When he closes his eyes he can see it clearly: the two of you married with children and a dog, living in a house in the mountains and loving life. It’s idyllic, and even though he knows you’d say yes if he asked you, Matthew still can’t bring himself to do it. There’s something in the back of his brain telling him to wait until he knows with absolute certainty that you’re it for him.

Not wanting to be separated from you for a minute more, he snaps out of his daze and scurries over. Wrapping his arms tightly around your waist and pressing a kiss to the base of neck, he relishes in how you mould to him immediately, not even questioning who it was.

“Welcome back baby,” Matthew mumbles into your skin.

With a chuckle you wriggle slightly in his grasp, allowing yourself to face him. You press a kiss to his lips and it feels like heaven. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, you suppose, because you could stand here kissing Matthew your the rest of your life and be happy.

“Hi Matty,” you giggle against his lips, parting from him only to rest your forehead on his and twist a curl around your finger.

From somewhere inside the house you hear Brady yell, “Jesus Christ, you two, get a room.”

Without taking his eyes off you, Matthew replies, “Fuck off Brady!”

two

The energy inside the Saddledome is electric. It’s the Flames’ first home game in nearly a week, doing an east coast road trip and sweeping every team they faced. Six games later the team is on a nine game winning streaking and are hoping to keep it going. You know how much it matters in this moment – the playoffs are fast approaching and all points they can tally up are needed.

You had decided months ago to buy rinkside tickets for this game, planning to surprise Matthew. He loves when you sit in the regular crowd, cheering and spilling your beer like any old fan. It’s humbling for the both of you, and honestly you enjoy it. Though you love those in the Better Halves box, you were a hockey fan before dating Matthew and sometimes like to enjoy games by yourself. Plus, your friend was supposed to be in town and join you at the game, and you figured she’d like to experience how insane the area is firsthand.

So you do your best to quickly shimmy around those blocking your seat, beverage in hand. It was all you could do to get to the rink on time, sitting in the dense downtown traffic for nearly three quarters of an hour after rushing out of work. You wanted to make it before warmups started to make sure Matt knows you’re there supporting him. No one really bats an eye at you, which you’re thankful for. In no way are you notorious, but it wouldn’t take a die-hard fan long to recognize you. Sitting down and letting a soft sigh escape your lips, you carefully place your jacket over the seat beside you. At the last minute your friend had to cancel her trip to Calgary, leaving you solo. With a quick look at the clock you see that warm up will start in just under a minute. The players begin to step onto the ice as you sip your beer. Matthew is yet to notice you but you don’t take offence. He’s in the zone and most likely won’t realize you’re sitting right in front of him until halfway through the third period.

“Look daddy, it’s Matthew Tkachuk!” you hear a young boy shriek in excitement. “He’s so fast, I want to play just like him.”

You turn to look and see two rows above you there’s a father and son, who looks around eight. He’s wearing a jersey identical to yours, and from the sounds of his excited chattering it’s his first game. Seeing the young boy so happy to be here, to see your boyfriend, has your heart swelling. You want to make this a game he’ll never forget.

“Hi,” you smile at the father. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I know Matthew quite well. Would you like me to get his attention so your son could meet him?”

A shocked expression makes its way onto the dad’s face, but he doesn’t react negatively. “You’d do that?” he asks. “Riley loves Matthew. Wants to be just like him.” When you nod, he lets you approach the boy.

“Hey there Riley, I’m Y/N,” you say, smiling and extending a hand to him. “I’m a special friend of Matthew’s. Would you like to meet him?”

The boy looks at his father tentatively, and only once he nods encouragingly does Riley respond to your question. “Yes please.”

“Why don’t you come down here with me and we’ll get his attention?”

With a little help from you, Riley climbs over the seats and plops unceremoniously beside you. You help him straighten out his jersey before beginning a conversation. He tells you he plays in a local youth league and wants to make it to the NHL one day. When prompted, you explain to him that you work a boring office job that you love even though it makes you angry sometimes. It’s all very formal, but after cracking a few jokes you get him to loosen up.

Matthew, still not having noticed you, begins to skate along the boards in your direction. “Watch this,” you whisper-yell to your newfound friend, “I bet he’ll jump super high.”

As soon as Matthew passes your spot you bang on the glass and scream his name. Sure enough, his skates lift a good three inches of the ice and he shrieks. Teammates around him laugh and the look on his face is priceless when he discovers you’re the culprit.

“Babe!”

You smile. “Matty, this is my new friend Riley. He wears number nineteen just like you!” A glance at the boy lets you know he’s starstruck, and your eyes lock with Matthew’s.

He leans down and rests his hands on his knees, at eye level with the child. “Hi Riley,” he begins. “I’m Matt. I like your jersey.”

After that, Riley’s a tap that won’t turn off. He details every bit of his day to Matt, and even though their voices are muffled a bit from the glass they get on like two peas in a pod. Matthew is great with children and doesn’t shy away from having legitimate conversations with them. He talks to them like they’re people, which is something you admire about him. The warmup time runs out, but before he heads back to the dressing room Matthew hoists his stick over the glass, giving it to Riley. The younger boy beams and waves goodbye. You blow Matthew a kiss, which he gladly returns, and turn your attention away from him as his figure retreats.

“Is he your boyfriend?”The question makes you laugh.

“Is it that obvious?” you ask, to which Riley just shrugs.

“He called you ‘babe’, and my mommy calls my dad that. That means you’re in love,” he says as though it’s the most obvious thing in the entire world.

Matthew cannot pay attention in the locker room for the life of him. He’s trying really hard to listen to everyone’s hype speeches, but his mind keeps wandering back to the interaction you shared during warm up. You looked so happy watching him interact with the boy you found god knows where within the arena. It’s then he realizes he wants to watch you act like that for the rest of his life. He wants to see you bring excited children to meet him because you have the power to make their nights. His suspicion is confirmed when he steps onto the ice and looks in your direction, finding you and Riley pressed up against the glass cheering loudly.

three

The Giordano’s are hosting an end-of-season barbeque before everyone scatters into the wind, and you’re going to be late. No matter how much you reminded Matthew of what time you had to leave he still started getting ready as you were finishing up. This typically wouldn’t be a big deal, but he has recently started taking care of his curls, and the routine eats up a lot more time than he anticipates.

“Matty, are you almost ready? There’s going to be no parking!”

His footsteps echo off the hardwood floor as he comes towards you. “That’s what you’re worrying about, baby? Parking?” Matthew laughs, pulling you into his side and kissing the crown of your head.

“Yeah Matt, I am. You know I have parking anxiety.”

“I’ll drive then,” he says sweetly. “Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve driven us. Have some fun tonight.”

The short drive across town is full of laughter. Neither of you are great singers, but it doesn’t stop you from belting out lyrics at the top of your lungs. At some point Matthew breaks out a rather terrible impression of Axl Rose and you just have to post it to your instagram story. Captioning with a simple microphone emoji, you slip your phone back into your sweater pocket. Though most certainly warm enough to spend the entire evening outside, Calgary currently has a bit of a proclivity for wind, and you’d rather be prepared. Outside of Mark and Lauren’s house Matthew finds a spot and parallel parks with ease.

“Shut up,” you mumble, poking your tongue out at him.

Matthew ruffles your hair in retaliation before jumping out of the vehicle, booking it around to the other side so he can open your door. He isn’t slick about hiding his intentions, grabbing a handful off your ass before leaning down to kiss you. Though you’d much rather stand in the cul-de-sac and make out with your boyfriend, you both have appearances to keep up. You get him to stop being a pest kong enough that you can enter the party and pass him off to his teammates.

You congregate with some of the other girls in the corner of the yard, and enjoy a drink while the sun sets. It’s fun to gossip with them, to catch up one final time before most of them leave. You’ll be staying in Calgary, job tying you down for the foreseeable future. The only thing that’s better than spending time with your friends is glancing at Matthew from across the space.

He’s enjoying himself, glass of water in hand. When he offered to be the designated driver he was serious, and he took the shit the boys were giving him in stride. Though you’ve only had one gin and tonic and can’t feel the effects of the alcohol, you’re glad he’s staying true to his word. The heightened water intake makes his skin glow, and you’re having a hard time staying focussed on the story Lauren is telling. He catches you staring and shoots you a dazzling smile. Tired of keeping your distance, you excuse yourself from the conversation and saunter over to your boyfriend.

“Hey Y/N,” Noah says breezily, raising his glass to you in mock salute. You wrap your arms tightly around Matthew’s waist.

“Hanifin,” you smile. “I’m really sorry to do this, but I need to pull Matt away for a quick second.”

No one in the group is the least bit surprised. The two of you have a reputation for being young and in love, sneaking off often and doing everything that entails. Once the two of you are alone you rest a hand on his chest, dangerously close to the button of his shirt. You then move kissing along the underside of his jaw, pressing your body closer to his to ensure he gets the point.

“Needy baby?” Matthew tries to smirk, but his voice wavers when you reach the junction of his jawbone and earlobe.

Declining to speak, you continue your actions until he’s just as desperate to get home as you. Though you try to be sneaky as you exit through the back gate, you won’t be surprised if you wake up to a few crude text messages. You’re too far gone to care, solely focussed on showing your boyfriend how much you love him.

The entire ride home Matthew can barely focus on the road. Not because you’re doing anything particularly risqué, a few too many close calls have put you both off of initiating things in the car, but because he doesn’t ever want to stop sneaking away from events with you. It’s exhilarating in more ways than one, and he hopes the feeling never goes away. Being with you, his best friend, is something he wouldn’t trade for the entire world. So what if he gets chirped by the boys for having precariously placed marks on his back.

four

September brings a chill to Calgary, but you couldn’t feel warmer. Matthew is due home this afternoon after nearly four months of being away. Of course you visited him in St. Louis, and he even flew back to the city once, but the two of you were mostly separated. Your shared apartment felt cold and lonely without him to annoy you, so you had spent as much time away from it as possible. No longer do you have to fall asleep with Matt’s side of the bed stone cold.

Though you know he likely won’t care, you’re nervous about the new decor. In an effort to make yourself feel better in Matthew’s absence, you completed some home renovations. Most are superficial, like a new sectional and an ungraded home speaker system, but you had redone the entire kitchen after scrolling through pinterest. The cabinets are a bright yellow, and the walls are a warm cream. Subway tile has also replaced the previous backsplash. You’re quite proud of the way it looks – doing pretty much all of it yourself and only calling your dad when you really needed help.

You spend much of the morning not doing anything productive, pacing the hallway back and forth. It’s nerve wracking and exciting to have Matthew home. Things will go much smoother with his presence even if he can sometimes be the most annoying person on the planet. You force yourself to eat a small meal before continuing to wear holes into your floor. He’ll arrive in a matter of minutes, and you’re practically vibrating with how much your legs are shaking.

A key twists in the lock, as though it’s a Pavlovian response, you bound towards the front door. Not even letting him step over the threshold you wrap yourself around him as tightly as possible. Matthew giggles sweetly, and you swear it’s the best sound you’ve ever heard. Tears flow freely down your cheeks and soak through his shirt. In a very ungraceful waddle Matthew carries the both of you inside your home and shuts the door lightly.

“What’s the matter, Y/N?” Matt asks, obviously concerned because this is more emotional than any homecoming you’ve ever had.

Through hiccupping sobs, you stutter out, “I painted the kitchen cabinets yellow and you’re going to hate them. And then you’ll want to break up with me but I won’t be able to take them with me.”

“Woah woah woah, slow down baby,” he soothes, rubbing circles on your back. “Why am I going to hate it?”

When you can’t come up with a justifiable answer, he knows your anxiety just got the better of you. Repositioning you slightly so you’re tucked into his side, Matthew walks through the apartment to see the kitchen for himself. He’s blown away by its beauty, and he can see just how much work you put into it. The room is so much brighter and inviting – he can’t imagine having any other kitchen now.

Once you ramble off an apology for being so dramatic that he won’t accept, the two of you settle into the couch and start a reality television marathon. It’s a tradition that both of you take very seriously, and though he’d never admit it to anyone but you, Matthew looks forward to watching the outlandish dramas. The night is quiet, with you getting through quite a few seasons of Desperate Housewives, and at some point you fall asleep on Matthew’s chest. He knows he should gently move you off of him, start to unpack his bags, but he can’t tear himself away.

He can’t help but stare as you snore softly. There’s nothing Matthew would like more than to spend the rest of his life relaxing after coming home to you. If he’s being completely honest, St. Louis doesn’t feel like home as much anymore, and he finds himself counting down the days until he can return to Calgary. Matt supposes you’re the defining factor, and even Antarctica would feel like home to him if you were there. He never wants to lose that feeling.

+ one

There’s ten seconds left on the clock. Ten seconds until the Calgary Flames will become Stanley Cup champions. You’re holding your breath – you know a lot could happen in such a short amount of time. The lead isn’t as wide as you’d like it to be, only one, and you squeeze Taryn’s hand tightly. Everyone in the friends and family box is just as amped up as you. If the choice had been yours, you’d be sitting in the stands of the Saddledome, but in event the Flames win you need to be with everyone else if you want to join the team on the ice.

Matthew carries the puck up the ice, and you audibly gasp. At the last second, a Bruins defenseman is blocking his view of the net. Not letting the scoring opportunity go for his team, he snaps a pass backwards to Elias Lindholm. A nano-second later the puck is in the back of the net. You possibly scream the loudest of anyone in the box, jumping into Brady’s arms excitedly.

“Holy shit, they’re going to do it,” you whisper, and Brady nods enthusiastically. The clock now only has two seconds, and there is virtually no way the Bruins can make a comeback.

You untangle yourself from your boyfriend’s brother and approach his parents. “How exciting is this!” Chantal gushes.

“So fucking exciting,” you say honestly. “Listen, I want to talk to you about something.”

The Bruins’ head coach is halfway through his timeout, so you have to talk fast. You explain that you want to hang back while the family celebrates with their son and brother. Keith and Chantal try to argue, but you insist. You want them to be the first people to greet him as a Stanley Cup champion.

A horn signals the return to play, and you return your attention to the ice pad below you. Everything seems to move in slow motion; all you remember is the final whistle being blown and getting crushed in a group hug by everyone else in the room. Your voice goes hoarse from screaming, and tears stream freely down your face.

The party continues for a short time in the box, but then you’re being led through the arena and out onto the ice. Nodding in the direction of Matthew, you urge the Tkachuks to greet him. You congratulate other members of the team, snapping candid pictures of everyone to share in the group chat later. So many families will treasure the photos that you can’t bring yourself to stop, trying your hardest to grab everyone.

Once enough time has passed for Matthew to properly be congratulated by his family, you make your way towards him. Wasting no time, he skates over and lifts you off your feet. Your lips meet his in a passionate kiss, and if you weren’t so proud you’d have reservations about sticking your tongue down Matthew’s throat in a packed arena.

“I’m so proud of you,” you whisper against his lips. “My champion.”

Matthew blushes profusely at your words, and you can tell he likes them. “Couldn’t have done it without you supporting me,” he responds, leaning into your touch as you rake your fingers through his hair.

While you celebrate with the rest of the team, holding babies and snapping pictures, Matthew realizes he can’t live without you. No one else will fit into his life as perfectly as you. There’s no one he wants besides you. Matthew makes a mental note to go through your jewelry box in the morning to get your ring size. His mom always said he’d know when someone was ‘the one’, and now he understands what she meant.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

taglist: @jamiedrysdales @kiedhara @tortito @brokeninsidebutnobodyknows if you want to be added shoot me an ask :)

#the sections got shorter and short lmao #oh well #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk x reader #matthew tkachuk fic #calgary flames imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #cwrites

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parvuls · 3 years

Text

fic: need seek no further

Jack shrugs. “Eh. Bittle likes Cabot butter best.”

a disgustingly fluffy, plotless ficlet about how well jack knows bitty and how he perfected the skill of nonverbal communication through the force of sheer will. also, the frogs.

read on ao3

Dex called Bitty one evening in early May, let Bitty shower him with hellos, and then stated, “We won the NCAA championship.” He said it matter-of-factly, like maybe Jack and Bitty hadn’t been there when it happened, like Jack hadn’t watched him cling to Bitty for a full minute after the stands had spilled onto the ice.

“You did,” Bitty replied, raising his eyes to meet Jack’s with confusion wrinkling between his brows. His phone was set on the kitchen island between them, Dex’s voice filling their kitchen through speaker phone while Bitty’s floured hands were busy kneading dough. Jack was keeping him company on another last-minute testing session for his rhubarb pie recipe, even though the last proof of his book had been approved by his editors over two weeks before. Jack was running out of team members to send leftovers to.

“And Whiskey got voted captain,” Dex continued.

Jack watched as Bitty squinted down at his phone. Bitty had spent half an hour on the phone with Whiskey the night of the banquet; he hadn’t disclosed the details of their conversation to Jack, but his face when he’d returned to their room, had sat down next to Jack on the bed and had leaned his forehead on Jack’s bicep for a long while -- Jack had seen that face before. Had known that expression meant pride.

“So we were talking about it just now,” there was the sound of more people whispering furiously in the background, and Jack thought he could maybe hear Chowder’s unsteady voice calling out, hey Bitty!, and only then he began contemplating the solid possibility that Dex may have been a little drunk. “And -- so we won last year, with you, and now we won again, and we wanna keep winning, right? So we gotta make sure to keep doing everything that’s working.”

“Sure, sweetheart,” Bitty said agreeably, faintly amused. It was obvious to Jack from his tone that Bitty, at least, had already realized Dex was a little drunk, but was only too happy to play along.

“‘Swawesome,” Dex said fervently, like Bitty had agreed to something very important. “So you see why Whiskey’s gotta learn to make a pie.”

That stopped Bitty in his tracks. Jack blinked, watched Bitty’s long fingers halt their motions in the dough, the pressure of his fingerprints leaving crescent grooves behind. “William Joseph, that doesn’t make a lick of sense,” he said, and narrowed his eyes at the screen of his phone like Dex could feel their weight on him through the line. But then he seemed to think it over again, and the pitch of his voice rose as he demanded, “Wait, are you sayin’ Whiskey’s willing to learn how to bake?”

“He says he’ll do it for the win,” Dex said, and Bitty gaped at the phone, then gaped at Jack, and with his cheeks pink and his eyes wide he exclaimed, “Of course I’ll do it!”, like there’d ever been any other option to consider.

Jack kept it to himself, but he had no doubt in his mind that there hadn’t been.

Dex, Chowder and Nursey wait for them at the doorway of the Haus, broad shoulders wedged together in the narrow doorframe.

Bitty had said before they left home, “You don’t have to come, sweetpea,” and Jack had said, simply, “I want to,” and had meant it. It was only in the summer months that Jack had the privilege to see his friends whenever he wished to, and now that the Falconers were out of the playoffs -- well, Jack was feeling a little more withdrawn lately, even quieter than usual, but this felt like something he genuinely wanted to do with the time on his hands. There was also the fact that soon the frogs would graduate, and with them gone Jack would be too far removed to visit the Haus comfortably, even if Bitty still could.

Right now Jack could, and he wanted to, so Bitty and he got in Bitty’s car and drove the forty-five minutes down to Samwell, Bitty’s phone hooked through the aux and his hands tapping on the wheel to the beat. He was nervous, although Jack wasn’t sure exactly why -- only knew it was obvious in Bitty’s restless hands and the frequency he switched songs midway through. Jack reached out and placed his hand on Bitty’s thigh, squeezed, and let Bitty burn his nervous energy whatever way he deemed best.

“We did all the shopping!” Chowder announces as Jack and Bitty walk up the porch steps, and then immediately bounces forward and wraps Bitty in a hug. His long limbs envelope Bitty within them, and soon Jack’s dragged into their circle, too, feels Nursey’s arms fold around his shoulders and Dex’s tentative hand patting him on the back. It doesn’t overwhelm him like it could’ve, maybe, a year or two ago -- it just feels nice, familiar, welcoming. A display of affection he readily returns.

When the huddle breaks, the five of them shuffle through the door and head straight into the kitchen. It looks about the same as it has since Bitty took over it five years ago -- no longer just a room with a fridge full of beers and a broken down table, but a real kitchen, with Suzanne’s hand-sewn curtains and clear countertops and the oven that Jack is still irrationally fond of. Although it seems like it’s been revamped in the months since Jack has last seen it; the cupboards’ hinges are no longer busted, and there are actual shelves stacked along the walls. Jack assumes the likely suspect is Samwell Men’s Hockey current captain, and has to curb a revealing smile that would surely draw questions. It’s another unspoken team tradition, Jack thinks, recalling freshman Will Poindexter: no one leaves it entirely unchanged.

“Y’all are joining us for some baking lessons?” Bitty asks Nursey and Chowder, hand almost unconsciously drifting over the edge of the counters. He looks good there, really, looks right. He’s not the same as he was when he graduated and certainly not the same as when he first claimed this kitchen, but to Jack, Bitty would always look right in the sun streaming through the Haus’ dusty windows, puttering between pots and pans.

“Nah, C and I will get out of your hair for that, but Whiskey isn’t back yet so we’ve got some time. And anyway --” Nursey glances sideways at Dex and Chowder, fails at stifling a smile, “uh, the waffles heard you were coming today, Bits.”

“Going by their reaction, they’ve definitely missed you,” Dex says, arms crossed over his chest, his face serious but a single upwards quirk to the corner of his mouth. It could be a chirp at the waffles, maybe, but Jack is almost certain that it’s sincere nonetheless.

Bitty turns to the shopping bags spread across the counter and starts picking them apart, taking out the ingredients for inspection before setting them down with that same nervous energy, the one that rarely ever follows Bitty into his domain in the kitchen. Jack watches him smile at Dex, honest but jittery, and realizes what he should’ve already known -- how very important it is to Bitty that this goes perfectly.

“Oh, bless them, I’ve missed them too! I’ll tell them hello so we can get started right after,” Bitty says, setting down a bag of brown sugar and taking out a packet of butter from the bag. He looks -- momentarily disappointed, and Jack frowns, searches Bitty’s face. It’s probably only visible to Jack, who recognizes the subtle shift in Bitty’s jaw and the fleeting movement of his eyebrows, but still. He follows Bitty’s eyes down to his hands and to the butter in them, and surveys it for a moment, deep in thought.

“You’ve got two seconds to prepare yourself, bro,” Nursey warns, and then Bully, Hops and Louis descend loudly into the kitchen, flock around Bitty like ducklings. Bitty’s always had that effect on hockey players, on people, even before he got the C. It’s with intense fondness that Jack thinks it, knows the feeling intimately as someone who’s lucky enough to experience that affect every day. He can’t blame them for the way they beam down at Bitty, fight for his attention, laugh when he laughs at the rising volume of their clashing, simultaneous stories.

It’s a good opportunity if nothing else, though, so Jack shoulders his way between Bully and Louis, brushes two fingers over Bitty’s elbow to get his attention. When Bitty turns his head, Jack takes advantage of his height to lean in and say into Bitty’s ear, “Hey, bud, I’m stepping out for a moment.”

Bitty smiles at him, reaches up to stroke a hand down Jack’s cheek just warmly enough to be soothing, just quickly enough to be appropriate. “Yeah, of course. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Jack says, and thinks, it will be. He pauses, looks down threateningly at the waffles, and leans in to kiss Bitty's temple swiftly, before someone he can’t intimidate as easily as these sophomores could try fining him for it. The space he leaves between Bully and Louis closes as soon as he leaves their side, Bitty disappearing from sight behind their tall forms, but the sound of his cheerful laughter rings after Jack as he walks out of the kitchen and exits through the front door.

When Jack comes back he has to open the door one-handed, the other one busy clutching the handles of a grocery bag. His cap is pulled down low, a protective measure from the crowd that swarmed the Stop and Shop on Pemberton, so it takes a few steps into the Haus’ hallway for him to notice Whiskey hovering in the kitchen doorway, apparently stopped right on his way out of it.

“Jack,” Whiskey looks surprised -- or maybe still mildly star-struck, Jack has always had trouble telling with his face. “You’re here. I haven’t seen you.”

“Got some stuff from the shop,” Jack raises the bag by way of explanation, adjusts his hat, and after a brief moment of stillness hunches his shoulders to bypass Whiskey into the kitchen.

Whiskey bends his neck to peer down into the bag as Jack passes. He looks somewhat horrified at what he finds, as much as Whiskey ever betrays his emotions -- a slight frown, a barely noticeable widening of his eyes. “We need more groceries for this thing?”

Jack shrugs, noncommittal. They don’t, really, but. “Eh. Bittle likes Cabot butter best.”

The frogs and waffles have moved to the den while Jack was out -- he can hear them now, Bully’s low voice and Chowder’s quick speech and Hops’ rolling laughter -- but Bitty must’ve heard Jack come in, because he appears next to Whiskey in the kitchen doorway. His gaze darts between the two of them before it lands on the bag hanging from Jack’s fingers, and Jack reaches in to pull out one stick of butter, holding it out so Bitty can see the brand. Bitty’s eyes light up when he realizes, go round and bright, and he declares, “Sweetpea, you shouldn’t have!”, in the tone that means he’s beyond pleased that Jack did.

“That's more butter,” Whiskey says, staring at Bitty and then at the butter already stacked on the counter from the frogs’ shopping trip, clearly bewildered.

Jack twists his body, turns his back to them to find an empty spot somewhere on the counter. “Cabot has a half percent more fat, and Bittle likes his crust flaky,” he explains absently while emptying the contents of the bag onto the spot he chose. It’s important to Bitty that this goes perfectly, and while Jack can’t control Whiskey's abilities in the kitchen, wouldn’t be able to fix baking mishaps if those occur, this is something he can do. Make sure Bitty has the best conditions to work in, grant him a little peace of mind.

When he turns back around Whiskey is gone, and it’s only Bitty standing behind him, his eyes twinkling and his lips parted slightly.

“What?” Jack asks, confused.

There’s a long stretch of silence while Bitty just looks at him. Jack’s rarely comfortable with intense scrutiny from others, but Bitty -- Bitty’s gaze is soft, and he looks at Jack like he’s something good, something to admire. It’s a look he gives Jack often, usually accompanied by the gentlest of kisses, the warmest of hugs, the kindest of words. Sometimes Jack’s mind is slow to catch up, too stubborn to be convinced of his own worthiness, but this is the look Bitty gets when his emotions are broadcasted so loudly that even Jack’s mind has to pipe down and listen.

Bitty takes a few steps closer, grabs Jack’s palm between both his hands. “Marry me?” he asks breathily, with a smile curling at his lips.

Warmth flutters in Jack’s stomach at the words, and an answering smile grows on his own lips. The ring glints on Bitty’s finger whenever he moves his hands, is glinting now, where his fingers are curled around Jack’s in the sunny kitchen. It’s been a distraction many times in the past year, but each time Jack sees it he’s reminded of what Bitty and he have promised to each other. The future that is still to come.

There’s no one in the kitchen but them, and the Haus residents sound busy enough in the other room that no one would notice if Jack stole a lone moment. “Sorry, I can’t,” Jack deadpans, grabs Bitty by his hips and gathers him into his arms. His fingers slide over the soft fabric of Bitty’s clothes and find the gap between his top and his shorts, dipping inside to rub against Bitty’s warm skin. “It’s a tempting offer, but I’m already engaged.”

“Leave him, then,” Bitty says without missing a beat. He tilts his head up to nudge Jack’s cheek with his nose, wraps his strong arms around Jack’s neck. His face is so close to Jack’s that Jack can count his pale eyelashes, can see the splotches of fading pink on his skin. He’s been spending a lot of time editing his cookbook on their balcony since springtime has arrived, and his body tans nicely but the bridge of his nose has been reddened and peeling for a while. “Run away with me.”

Jack can’t help the temptation, kisses Bitty’s right cheek and then his left one. “Sorry, bud.”

“Why ever not,” Bitty sighs, most dramatically, and uses his grip on Jack’s neck to lean his upper body backwards. “A man who knows his butters? You better believe I’m willing to fight for you, mister.”

It’s the sincerity in his voice that has heat prickling across Jack’s skin, raw pleasure squirming in his chest. It’s a futile battle, though, a battle Jack realized was lost when he dropped Bitty off at this very Haus after their very first summer together, longingly watched him skip up the stairs and thought, oh, I wanna marry him. “I can’t,” he tells Bitty quietly, pulls him closer so the words stay trapped between them, rough and intimate like a secret. “I love my fiancé too much.”

“Oh,” and Bitty flushes at this, red blossoming on the apples of his cheeks like he’s flattered -- like the ring around his finger hasn’t been there for a year, like Jack hasn’t taken to kissing it before kissing Bitty goodbye on nights he leaves for games; like Jack loving him too much to ever consider anyone else is still a novelty, a compliment, after all this time. “Well. Lucky him.”

Lucky me, Jack thinks, and bows his head to fit his mouth to Bitty’s in for a lingering sweet kiss.

#omgcp #omgcheckplease #zimbits #zimbits fic #you'd think one would want to capitalize one's frogs and waffles. but bitty's lack of capitalization on twitter claims otherwise #and who am i to argue #pavfics

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typical-simplelove · 3 years

Text

Letters From Home - 40s Series (M. Tkachuk)

Summary: Matthew Tkachuk comes home from fighting in World War Two. What happens when his childhood best friend Ruth Blossom is there to welcome him?

Series Masterlist

A/n: Here's the second part! I'm an absolute history nerd, so this is the result. I hope you enjoy!! This part exists in the same universe as the Jacob Markstrom fic that came first.

Warnings: Mentions of war and death

Word Count: 2.2k

It was December 10th, 1945, and Ruth Blossom was at the train station. Well, she wasn’t the only one. It’s been a few months, almost, since the War ended, and Ruth was waiting for her best friend Matthew Tkachuk to come home from the war.

Matthew Tkachuk went off and enlisted the minute war was declared. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Enlisting? Not a question. That was his personality. Always the first to jump up and help.

The train rolled into the station with a stentorian horn and Ruth gripped her purse tighter. Taryn begins fidgeting next to Ruth and she puts an arm on Taryn. Matthew’s arrival was any minute now. There would be no more longing and wishing he were home.

“Hey, he’s coming home. That’s more than some people can say, right?” Ruth tries to cheer up.

Taryn nods. “Brady came home, too, which is good.”

“Yeah, he’ll be okay. It’s going to be back to normal soon.”

Soldiers begin walking off the train and Taryn and Ruth angle their heads to try to find that familiar face. The boyish grin with striking blue eyes. The tall frame made him stand out in any crowd. The Tkachuk family and Ruth knew Matthew had to cut his mop of curls as a part of military regulation. Would they be able to recognize him?”

“Ruth,” someone calls from behind. Ruth turns around and sees his face. She breaks out into a large smile. “Hey, sunshine.”

“Matthew!” Ruth exclaims and runs into his arms. Matthew removes his army cap and wraps his arms around Ruth. He breathes in her calming scent that he remembers from all that time ago. Matthew’s family turns to see the commotion. They knew that Matthew was going to go to Ruth first. She was what kept him alive. “How did you get behind us?”

“I’m not telling; I saw an opportunity and had to go for it.”

“Of course. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m really glad you’re home. Now, go and greet your family.”

“Do I have to, sunshine?”

Ruth laughs. “Yes.”

Matthew sighs and walks over to his family. He would never stop wanting to come home to Ruth. After greeting his family, Matthew and his family walk over to the Tkachuk house. They were a short ten-minute walk from the train station.

Matthew takes Ruth’s hand and they walk behind Taryn, Chantal, Keith, and Brady.

“So, tell me, did you fall in love with any airmen while I was gone?” Matthew jokes. He was joking but he also wanted to know. Those airmen can be scoundrels. It definitely also isn’t because Matthew wants to know if Ruth is seeing anyone.

“Of course not. I heeded your warnings. If I’m going to fall in love with a military man, then it'll be an army man like yourself.” Or you.

“Well, be careful, army men can still be heartbreakers.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Ruth says with a wink that makes Matthew’s face turn red.

“I wanted to say thank you,” Matthew begins. “For always writing me. It really helped me out.”

“Oh Matthew, don’t be silly. I would have written you daily if it weren’t for the taxes and working towards making munitions.”

“Doesn’t matter, it helped me.” Ruth can’t help but smile.

Ruth and Matthew continue walking along and make small talk. They talk about the local gossip, the weather, and what Matthew was excited to do now that he’s home. The group finally reached the white picket fence of the Tkachuk house. Matthew is about to lead Ruth in but she lets go of his hand.

“Sunshine, come on.”

“No, no. Matthew, you catch up with your family. Stop by my family’s house later on and I’ll make you some lemonade and we can catch up.”

“Ruth, come on, just come in.”

“Matthew, just go be with your family. Stop by later, okay?” Ruth flashes Matthew an easy grin and he won’t argue anymore.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll stop by later this evening for your famous lemonade, okay?”

“I’ll be counting on it,” Ruth says with a wink. “Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Tkachuk!” They back but are puzzled as to why she's already leaving.

“When are you going to tell her how much you love her?” Taryn asks when they all walk in and Ruth is out of earshot. “She never danced with anyone, ever, while you were gone. She said it wouldn’t be fair to you as you were always her dance partner.”

“I didn’t dance with any of the girls in England, either. She’s my lifetime dancer partner.”

“Matthew, sweetheart, we’re glad you’re home but if you want to go be with Ruth, go with her,” Chantal says.

“No, no, she’d probably scold me. Ruth told me to stay and be with you. I’m going by tonight for her famous lemonade.”

“Make sure you tell her,” Chantal insists.

“I will,” Matthew says with a forlorn sigh.

. . .

Dearest Matthew,

Let me start this letter as I always do. Despite the circumstances, how are you? I hope you’re eating your fair ration of the army-regulated food. I hope the weather isn’t too dreadful and you’re able to have as much sleep as allowed. How are your friends? Johnny? Elias? He’s getting married, right? Sam? Jacob? I hope they are all doing well. Send them my happiest wishes.

Brady wrote home the other day. Taryn asked me to pass on the message to you. He’s doing well. Nothing new to report. That’s good, right?

Let me tell you some good news! I’ve gotten a job to work and make munitions for the army. It’s possible that the bullets I make might be sent to you! I’m not sure where they go but imagine, wouldn’t that be beautiful for you to use a St. Louis made bullet? That’s probably more romantic when the bullets aren’t being fired at me. Ignore that.

Oh! My victory garden is growing so beautifully! My tomatoes have come in nicely and they taste amazing! I’ve been helping Taryn with her victory garden and I think she has me beat. Only though, because I’ve been helping her! Don’t tell her I said that. What should I plant next? I have a few ideas. What about an orange tree? We may not be in Florida but wouldn’t that be exciting? What about peas? Or carrots? Oh, broccoli? What do you think? Whatever you say, I’ll try to find the seeds and grow the plants. I’ll even name them after you. Matthew the Broccoli Stalk. Matthew the Orange. Matthew the Carrot. Matthew the Stalk of Kale. I like to think I’m funny. I’m not. I genuinely don’t know why you put up with me sometimes. I guess what they say is true, friends since childhood? Friends forever.

I have some gossip to share. Do you remember Cathy from middle school? She is engaged to be married to Roger. Yes, you’re thinking the right, Roger. Roger, star batter at the high school baseball team. Cathy the loud, mean girl who constantly made fun of Roger. Apparently, Cathy has had a change of heart and apologized for her actions. This led to them falling in love and now they are engaged! I heard Roger was in the Navy and sailing on a ship around Great Britain. Do you think Cathy is going to go on a full apology tour and apologize to you and me? I would love to get an apology from her. My goodness, the number of things she did to me growing up? Matthew, I’m still bitter about it. I absolutely still can’t stand the thought of her. It’s probably better if she doesn’t even come near me. I’d probably want to run away crying. Do you think she’ll invite us to the wedding? I hope not. If she does, will you be my date? The pact we made at ten still stands right? We will forever be each other’s dates to weddings, right? What about the pact at twelve? We will forever be each other’s dance partners? Obviously, I’m not going to hold you accountable for that one. If you want to dance with some other girl, do so! You deserve to relax and unwind. Just know, I’m only dancing with you forever and ever.

I’m sending you all the love in the world.

Love, your sunshine,

Ruth

Matthew never danced with anyone whilst in Europe. Only Ruth. he only would ever dance with Ruth. She was it for Matthew. He was going to tell her. Matthew Tkachuk was going to tell Ruth Blossom that he loved her. Matthew puts on his army cap and heads out the door to Ruth’s house.

He knocks on the door and is met with Ruth’s father.

“Matthew, son, welcome home,” he says.

“Mr. Blossom, thank you. It feels good to be back.” Matthew says. Was Mr. Blossom going to welcome Matthew into the house?

“Before you go in, I want to talk to you about Ruth.”

“Yes, sir, I’d love to talk to you about Ruth,” Matthew says and immediately cringes. That was the wrong thing to say.

“I want to know what your intentions are with her,” Mr. Blossom says, and Matthew pales.

“Well, if your daughter will have me, then I’d like to marry her. I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember and her letters are what kept me going. Sir, I love Ruth and I would love to spend the rest of my days with her.”

Mr. Blossom nods. He seemed to be content with this answer. “Well then,” Mr. Blossom puts his hand out and shakes Matthew’s hand. “Ruth’s outback. She’s waiting for you.”

Matthew smiles and walks around the house. He sees Ruth sitting on the back porch and smiles. This was the homecoming that Matthew dreamt of every night whilst overseas.

“Ruth,” Matthew says softly. “Sunshine.”

Ruth breaks out into a large smile. “Matthew.”

“Good evening, as promised, I’m here.”

“As I promised, I have my famous lemonade. The lemons I used are from my victory garden I was telling you about!”

Matthew smiles at the memory of opening all of Ruth’s letters and it smells like home. He loved receiving those letters. Mostly, he just loved Ruth.

“Come, come, let’s sit and drink the lemonade. I also made a key lime pie. It’s citrus night, I guess. My parents already took their pieces so there’s already some taken out of it.” Ruth says brightly. This was exactly what she wanted. To be home with Matthew and in a domestic setting. She loved Matthew so much it hurt.

The pair sat down and Matthew sat down and began sipping the lemonade. He sighs in content. “This is the homecoming that I was waiting for.”

“Oh yeah, you dreamt of the lemonade?” Ruth teases.

“Oh Ruth, that’s not what I meant,” Matthew says. He was referring to being here with Ruth; Matthew dreamt of the days that he’d be able to sit on a back porch with Ruth and just be in her presence.

“Being with your family, then? I can imagine that homecoming was worth dreaming about.”

“They count but why do I need them when I have everything I love right in front of me?” Matthew says with a serious tone.

Ruth’s smile fades. “What?”

“I love you, Ruth, and not just in a friend way. I love you in the sense that I want to marry you and have a family with you. Ruth, you were my homecoming. The rest of the world faded away when I saw you on the platform. Ruth, I love you and I want to marry you one day.”

Ruth’s smile grows wide. “I love you, too. I want all that with you, too, Matthew.”

“Yeah, sunshine? You and me forever?” Matthew says as he walks closer to Ruth.

“Yes, my dear. You and me forever,” Ruth says.

“My dear? I could get used to that, my love.”

“Well, I like my love.”

“In that case, my love, sunshine, may I kiss you?”

“Yes, my dear. You may kiss me.” Matthew leans down and places a soft kiss on Ruth. He was mindful to keep the kiss proper as Mr. and Mrs. Blossom were still in the house.

Matthew wanted to pull the ring out from his pocket and propose right then and there. However, there was a time and place for everything. Tonight? The homecoming. One day, Matthew will tell Ruth how much her letters from home kept him going. One day, Matthew will get his forever with the woman he loves. One day, the letters from home will be the story Matthew and Ruth tell their children. For now, though, Matthew and Ruth are going to soak in the homecoming and the newfound love.

Taglist: @goalision @coffee-ontherocks @glassdanse @barzal-burakovsky @petey-patty @beauvibaby @boqvistsbabe @rmaye @heatherawoowoo @heaveniish @stars-canucks @tkapuckit @mellany1997 @nhlboyshavemyhart88 @heybarzy @2manytabsopen @habsfan @besthockeyfics @plds2000 (Join my taglist here!)

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk x reader #matthew tkachuk fic #nhl fic #nhl writing #nhl imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine #calgary flames x reader #calgary flames imagine #claudia writes

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dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram · 3 years

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Hey you've probably touched on this in the past but I'm new here, so if it's okay and you feel like it would you mind explaining how do you think it could be possible for Louis to be forced to pretend he is a father of a child (that we actually know and can recognise, not just as a rumor or something like that) as a pr strategy? I'm not trying to say it's impossible, I genuinely have no idea how the pr world works and this just sounds pretty extreme and weird, especially involving a minor and all.

I've personally always thought Louis was probably high/drunk (or maybe not, just seems more plausible to me idk and we know he wasn't in the best place at the time) and had a one night stand with this girl he was meant to be seen with for publicity, she got pregnant but he didn't want to do anything about it or like be involved but once word "got out" to the management (umbrella term i use to mean whoever it is that's handling this sorts of things, maybe pr team? idk) they decided to exploit it and make use of it as a strategy to cover up something else or put him in his place (assuming he had said/done something to irritate them or smth) or even just to bring attention to him/the band no matter what kind of attention they would be getting (although i have to say for a boy band targeted mostly towards teen or even pre-teens the image of the party boy getting high and getting random girls pregnant doesn't sound like something they would want to purposefully go after, but once again, I'm not from expert)

and at that point Briana wanted her slice of the cake and the money and the attention, so he got stuck with all this, but since the kid was born he has tried to be part of his life, if intermittently (also, we don't Really know how frequently he actually goes to LA, and we don't have any idea about any phone/video calls, so like they could be in contact every day or once a year yk)

I do realise this sound a bit headcanony but tbh so have all the other theories I've seen going around... I also realise it's pointless to lose much brain power over this kinda questions we probably won't ever have answers for lol but I still like to share opinions and im curious to see what others think!

You in particular, just cause i always find your takes super interesting and I tend to agree to what you have to say on most stuff, so yeah I'd be curious to know what you think!

Have a nice day x (and sorry for the super long message, I totally get it if you don't have time to go through this or to answer)

Don't apologise anon - I love long messages. I'm going to take this in two parts.

First of all there's nothing wrong with believing that Louis is the father and if that makes most sense to you go forth with it. I agree with your point that there's lots we don't know about the current situation and it could work for everyone involved. But I'll explain why the specific story you're telling doesn't explain anything to me.

You say we know that Louis wasn't in a particularly good place at the time - I'm not sure we do. I mean he'd been doing very intense work for a very long time and I'm sure there were costs, but I don't think there's any particular reason to think that April/May 2015 were bad for Louis.

As I've emphasised before there is hardly any time for any of what you describe to have happened. It might be an explanation if the pregnancy had been announced months later. But Louis wouldn't know how he felt about getting someone pregnant less than two weeks after he'd had it confirmed that he was the father. To suggest that he could possibly have settled in 'don't want anything to do with it' misses that dealing with an unplanned pregnancy is a process that you expect to take time.

I think you're explanation also seems to put causation in the wrong place. If Louis' the father he's in this situation because he's the father. Not because of anything Briana or his team did. If Louis' a father, the core of that hasn't been changed by anything we've seen.

But also I don't think this answers any questions. It's basically the classic undermotivated villain problem. 1DHQ went public in a very short time frame because reasons. It won't help them make money, it won't make their work easier, but they're not just doing it, but turning on a dime to do it. It's not impossible, but there has to be a much more deeply weird explanation than Louis irritated someone.

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

At the beginning you asked this: How do you think it could be possible for Louis to be forced to pretend he is a father of a child (that we actually know and can recognise, not just as a rumor or something like that) as a pr strategy?

And I'll try to answer it, but that's not really what I believe.

I believe that the most insightful comment about the situation came from Karl Marx when he said: "Louis Tomlinson makes his own history, but he doesn't make in circumstances of his own choosing".

If I think of the worst situations people I know have got into with work and imagine some outsider said 'well were they forced to do [thing that was really damaging/they really hated]' - the answer would be 'it's more complicated than that'. Work is iterative - and situations develop over time and there are lots of forces operating on people.

There are still huge questions, but I find it useful to think about things as a series of decisions, not something that was fully formed. Working backwards, it seems reasonably clear to me that from April 2016 absolutely no force from anyone would be needed to maintain the situation. It would be very difficult to change it without outting Louis and he also had a strong need for family privacy.

Likewise I think from August-December 2015 'force' isn't a very good way of understanding what would have happened. People often do things that aren't ideal, because they're better than any other option.

To me there are really only two areas of question - the first is the announcement, and the second is the aftermath of the birth. And I wouldn't suggest I had an explanation in either case, but I do have areas of explanation.

1D was in crisis for all of 2015 and I suspect those crises overlapped in curious and unexplained ways. But one thread of crisis was that Harry and Louis' closet was not holding. There were respectful and curious podcasts, people with profile were discussing the possibility openly. Louis talking about his birthday near led to outting him. At the same time Eleanor left (I assume because she wanted to, but maybe it was unsustainable for other reason). Louis hadn't suddenly become more convincing at heterosexuality. Then the new beard became pregnant. I don't think this is sufficient explanation, but I think combined with probably six different things I don't know. I can see how 'have a story that it's Louis, we can always deny it', was an option that gained concensus. (It's important to understand how the situation snowballed over time, and that people only ever agreed to it one step at a time).

I think the situation with the birth is much more mystifying, but I've made peace with not knowing, because we have no idea what Louis was hoping 2016 was going to look like. We don't know what his plans or intentions were. We only know that his 2016 ended up looking catastrophically, entirely different from what he'd hoped.

That's where I come from. There are lots of holes, and it's perfectly reasonable that other people think differently. People have different experiences and weight things in a range of ways.

#One more thing #as I've said this #I might as well be clear about what's important to me #The timing of flights #makes it very clear #that Briana and Freddie did not come to see Jay #but to be seen and allay questions

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ialwaysknewyouwerepunk · 3 years

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accidentally decided to read a few comments and then couldn't believe what i was seeing. some of these people could do with your she analysis. people misinterpret or reveal how transphobic they are while discussing she and it's further demonstrating why harry and people with similar careers have to be watered down and filtered into what is deemed most marketable. on the one hand, there are lgbtq+phobic "fans" and on the other hand, people who think harry is free to do anything, that hs™ is all there is to him. so to say shady controlling industry tactics are a thing of the past or too farfetched to be real. can you tell i'm not just bummed about one song? the cycle persists because people would rather keep the wool over their eyes/be phobic. everyone has personal meanings they attach to songs, which is 100% valid. what is not, many people genuinely cannot extend the same smidge of respect to the song's writer. calling themselves a fan and dismissing harry with one-dimensional reflection and lets no beat around the bush, cishet norms usually provoke it. i'm not saying the song can't be about sex or other things and people besides harry and gender but gender is loud and clear. it's just naive and ridiculous at this point. it's no wonder harry pushes the treat people with kindness part of his brand the most as it encapsulates so much without need to be specific. just wish people who considered themselves fans didn't see het harry as this super serious thing but tpwk as a lighthearted thing to use for personal convenience. sorry, this wasn't supposed to be long and gloomy. i hope this doesnt ruin your mood.

this has been in my inbox for a while now, bc i wanted to find a good time to reply to it without, as you said, ruining the mood, but... yeah, i won't find that moment.

you said it, kind anon, and this was before harry got on stage in a minidress, a bow in his hair and blush on his cheeks. people always seem to have something to say about shit they know nothing about, and ppl love thinking they know a person when in reality they're as much a stranger to them as the person next to them on the bus. it is depressing sometimes to think too much about harry and his image, which obviously is pushed by his team, but also perpetuated by media, gossip and (comp)het fans.

to be honest, i'm super out of touch with that side of the fandom, and media in general, so i barely see a word of the shitstorm that comes from that direction when harry does something remotely "controversial". i read snippets of the billy porter stuff and i almost disintegrated into a puddle of tears. i don't interact with antis, i am sure as hell not on twitter, and i've been lucky enough so far to be surrounded by lovely blogs that seem to share the same mindset as me about this. no stunts, no media, no opinions of the gp. or at least as little as possible. i highly recommend it, with all of my heart, bc it ensures you have the best fucking time in this fandom, bc shit is sad and fucked up and infuriating without seeing cishet bullshittery in real time, okay. there is no denying, there is no running away from the reality that is harry (and louis)'s closeting, but you have to spare yourself from time to time. one eye open, one eye closed. for your own sanity

#kind anon #this is how i see it at least #feel free to ignore this advice but........... life is good over here #i don't see it #i don't see the bullshit #it's amazing #and necessary #bc with all the simple facts that i already know about h and l's lives and careers bts #it's heartbreaking enough #we don't need to go and include slander from people who don't even fucking get it #right okay.#12 am on the day of harry's happiest show is when i decided to answer this anon #sorry dash #billy porter #discourse

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hlcreators · 4 years

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AUTHOR REC: jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom

Be sure to show some love by leaving kudos and comments!

Seven Simple Words (15k)

It’s not like he and Louis were a couple. No, they might have been a lot of things—best mates and colleagues with a seemingly convenient friends-with-benefits arrangement—but never a couple. It wasn’t Louis’ fault he didn’t feel the same way and couldn’t reciprocate Harry’s feelings in the way he’d wanted, the way he’d needed. Harry had allowed himself to get in too deep, his entire being aching to be loved back by the object of his affections. But in love, as in life, you don’t always get what you want.

OR the one where you don’t always get what you want the first time around, but sometimes the universe decides to give you a second chance at getting it right.

Feels So Right (8.8k)

The emcee leans in between them, handing over his mic to the blue-eyed vision. “You know what? Someday… Someday you guys might thank me for this...”

OR the one where Louis is Troy, Harry is Gabriella, and we find out what really happened after karaoke at that ski resort...

Wonderland (4.3k)

Louis has always loved lazy mornings in bed with his mate, but now that his Omega is carrying their pup, they’ve reached a whole new level of wonderment.

OR the one where Louis loves to worship his Omega’s body and Harry loves to let him.

The Baby Whisperer (18k)

Harry’s newborn baby is having trouble sleeping and nothing he does seems to work. Tired and alone and at his wits end, Harry is at a loss until a new neighbour arrives to turn his world upside down.

OR the one where being neighbourly takes on a whole new meaning.

Fuck U Betta (11k)

There’s something about having Louis like this, exposed and desperate, that makes a primal urge bubble up from deep inside Harry’s chest. Desire mixed with something else, something unquantifiable. It’s the thing that makes them want this, need this. Nothing else will satisfy them or quench their thirst.

OR the one where Harry likes the thrill of the chase, Louis likes to be chased, and everyone gets what they need… in the end.

Caves End (39k)

When a recurring injury cuts short Harry’s time as the Captain of the English Football Team, he needs to rethink his career and his future. His best mate and manager, Niall, decides that what Harry really needs is a change of scenery, time to relax, and to get some perspective on his life. What Harry doesn’t expect is for them to end up in Australia, on a farm, with the most gorgeous man he’s ever laid eyes on.

OR the one where Harry has lost his future, Louis has lost his past, but maybe together, they can find a way through the dark.

When Tomorrow Comes (11k)

When Louis and Niall are partnered up to complete a project on Omega scents and how they effect the nesting behaviours of Alphas, little does Louis know that the course of his life is about to be forever altered.

OR the one where Louis is an Omega who has been keeping himself pure for his Alpha, Harry is a traditional Alpha focusing on his studies while he waits to find his bondmate, and Niall is a sneaky bastard who keeps borrowing Louis’ clothes and never returning them.

You Drive Me WIld (5k)

Most people would think that keeping a tube of lube hidden behind the driver’s side visor of their car is foolish and completely unnecessary, but then most people don’t have to chauffeur Louis Tomlinson around for a living.

OR the one where Harry has a brilliant idea to while away the time as he waits around for his boss but fate decides to rain on his parade... or maybe it’s the universe answering his prayers.

No Going Back (56k)

Sales reps Harry and Louis are bored with their jobs and their lives. After meeting at a conference in Cardiff they hook up, have a few too many drinks, and jokingly apply to become remote lighthouse keepers. Six months, just the two of them, looking after the southernmost lighthouse off the bottom of Australia. It’s not like their applications will be accepted. Right?

This is the story of how one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

Strong Enough (20k)

“So…” Liam starts, and Louis instantly knows where this is going. He’s actually glad it’s Liam that's dragging the subject out from the shadows and into the light. Louis turns to face him, mirroring his position on the couch and nods, ready for him to continue. Liam takes a deep breath. “Have you spoken to Harry recently?”

Five years after Vertigo goes on hiatus, the band comes back together for a benefit concert. Can Louis and Harry work through their complicated past, or are some wounds too deep to be healed?

Shine (13k)

“How does it feel?” Harry asks, genuine curiosity evident in his voice.

Louis lets his eyes drift closed and focuses on the sensations. “It’s like… like I’ve got hands all over me, touching me, inside and out, and…” Louis tries to zone in but it’s so hard to describe. “It’s like I’m being stimulated everywhere all at once.” As if on cue, his nipples and earlobes start tingling and he arches his back. “Oh fuck, yeah.”

OR the one where Louis has a thing for the sun and Harry is more than happy to indulge his sunshine boy.

If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow) (55k)

Harry looks so intensely into Louis’ eyes it’s as though he’s reaching in and touching his very soul. “I never thought… I never… I’ve been searching for so long, Louis, but I never gave up. I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop trying,” Harry says, bottom lip trembling as he strokes the backs of Louis’ knuckles. “I just knew that if you were out there, I’d find you somehow.”

OR the story of how one man’s love changed the world.

Everything I Do (16k)

Harry’s ready, has been for a while now, and he’s fairly certain Louis is too, it just hasn’t been on the top of their priority list. There have been offhand mentions, a comment here and there, more in jest than anything, no serious discussion or consideration. Harry stands up straighter, a stomach-churning thought forming in his mind. Has Louis been waiting for him to ask?

OR the one where Harry finds a book of Elizabethan courtship rituals which sets in motion a series of events that can lead to only one conclusion.

Playing To Win (36k)

Big Brother UK alumni Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are selected for the UK vs Australia All Stars series with a massive one million dollar prize in the offing. They’re both fit and smart and would make a great alliance... if only they can stop their feelings from getting in the way.

OR the one where Louis really doesn’t want to like Harry, Harry is struggling to quell his growing fondness for Louis, but sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t fight fate.

Exposed (666)

Louis should really stop agreeing to do favours for his friends while drunk, especially when they result in him becoming a live-art model…

Forever And Always (25k)

“Right,” Harry says and slaps his hands down on the kitchen benchtop. Now he just has to get home, find this poor Niall guy who is currently camped out in his body, and have them swapped back. What could possibly go wrong?

OR the one where Harry’s neighbour is a crotchety old witch who hates vampires, Niall is the unsuspecting human who ends up inhabiting Harry’s body, and Louis is the caseworker who is assigned to swap them back. How it ends up a love story is anyone’s guess.

Going My Way (20k)

"Hey Harry. Really sorry to do this to you but an emergency has come up with Vera’s mum and we’ve had to jump a flight home. My mate Louis is going to take over my LYFT clients while I’m away. He’s got my car and my phone and everything else. Hope that’s okay. He’s a good guy and I think you two are going to get along brilliantly. Catch you soon, Benny."

OR the one where Harry gets a replacement LYFT driver, Louis is just trying to earn some extra cash before the baby arrives, and they both end up with way more than they bargained for.

Up For It (18k)

Each year, the five friends take a lads holiday; it’s tradition, and this year is shaping up to be a jam-packed, fun-filled trip with their best mates just like all the rest... or is it?

OR the one where Liam is Mr Organised, Zayn is too perceptive for his own good, Niall is a compulsive matchmaker, and Harry and Louis might just have the surprise to shock them all.

With Words Unspoken (18k)

At forty-nine, Louis hadn’t envisioned being at a crossroads in his life; kids, grandkids, an ex-wife, and completely at a loss as to what direction his future will take. When he finds himself drawn back to a cabin in the Californian wilderness that’d he’d visited fifteen years earlier, an acquaintance from his past triggers an awakening deep inside and reveals a new path that he could never have imagined.

OR The one where Louis is lost, Harry is an excellent tour guide, and age is no barrier to finding the love of your life.

Henry and Lewis (4.3k)

PART 1 SUMMARY: Louis hangs out in his local coffee shop to work on his weekly WordPlay Prompt, speaks to his beloved muse aka Harry the gorgeous barista, embarrasses himself in front of said muse, and receives a comment on AO3 from his favourite reader.

SERIES SUMMARY: Every Tuesday, Louis spends his day off holed up in his favorite coffee-come-bookshop, writing his little stories as part of the WordPlay challenge while daydreaming about the resident barista, Harry. Each week a new word prompt is revealed and Louis adds to his series of short stories about Henry, the owner of a B&B in the Cotswolds who has curly hair and dimples, Lewis, his long term guest who just happens to be a writer, and Tigger, Henry’s cat.

As Louis and Harry’s friendship develops, could his fantasy world spill out into real life? And how does that reader who leaves the lovely comments with the teacup emoji seem to be able to read Louis’ mind?

Smuturdary (4.1k)

Louis struggles with this week's WordPlay prompt before finding inspiration, and a date, in an unexpected place, and could there be more going on with his favourite reader than he originally thought.

Tea For Two (4k)

Louis grapples with what to do about his new found suspicions over his favourite readers real-life identity.

Life Imitating Art (6.8k)

Louis is taken on a very real journey through his fic back catalogue - life has never imitated art so salaciously.

Entertain Me (5.3k)

All good things must come to an end, including the WordPlay challenge. But while Louis has mixed emotions about its end, and struggling to make sense of the final prompt, he is relishing every aspect of his newly revitalised personal life.

Play Me A Memory (26k)

Louis lives with his nine-year-old son Jake in a peaceful beachside community on the east coast of Australia, working as an entertainment coordinator at the local five-star resort. Harry is a recluse who lives on millionaires row and writes musical scores for blockbuster movies. When the roots of a wayward willow tree create havoc at his home, Harry is forced to stay at the resort while repairs are carried out.

Cue matchmaking storms, muffin preferences, laughter, love, and a whole lotta music.

The Cyber Sphere (17k)

As the author of The Cyber Sphere, a series of best-selling books which have spawned seemingly limitless spin-offs, Louis Tomlinson hides away from the world in his fortress-like London penthouse. But when he decides to interact with the host of The Cyber Times radio program, Dermot O’Leary, on Twitter, it causes a fandom meltdown and offers him hope for a future he’d never imagined.

OR the one where Liam likes to think he’s Batman, Dermot has terrible taste in sporting teams, and Louis should really get a cat.

Surprise Me, Space Boy (7.1k)

Louis is a solo officer on Space Station Zeta and the isolation can present many challenges, not least of which is that it’s really bloody hard to date. He’s pinning his hopes on that changing with a fellow solo officer, Harry, from a neigbouring station who gives great banter and has a gorgeous smile. Maybe online dating has its benefits after all?

OR The Space Wank Fic.

Harry Poppins (32k)

When Louis’ best friends pass away he finds himself with an instant family. Maddie and Thomas are wonderful children but take an immediate dislike to every nanny that sets foot inside their house. After nanny number six is summarily dismissed Louis is at his wit’s end, that is until an unusual man arrives on their doorstep. Harry Styles is like nothing any of them have ever encountered before, and perhaps, exactly what they’ve been looking for all along.

My One And Only (Desire) (500)

Harry is his, only his, and Louis belongs to Harry just as completely. They consume each other, in life, in love, in every way two people can.

Take Me Down Slow (Don’t Let Me Go) (26k)

Louis has always felt different. Not necessarily on the outer realm of societal norms, but pretty damn close to the edge. As an Omega, he’s supposed to want certain things; to want to raise a family, to want to build a life with a partner, and to want that partner to be an Alpha.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

OR the one where Louis wants to find the right kind of partner to love, Niall hates snowboarding, Liam wants to settle down, Harry is really good with his hands, and mother nature could be the thing that changes everything.

Soup Of The Day (19k)

It had been the single minded goal for them since college and seemed simple enough. 1. Study hard. 2. Open their dream restaurant. 3. Take the culinary world by storm.

What could possibly go wrong?

Or the Restaurant AU where Louis and Niall are chefs, Chicago is windy, and cracking the big time is harder than they ever imagined. But when a mysterious man starts grading Louis' soups by leaving little piles of rocks, could it be just the thing they need to get them on the road to success?

The Clock Strikes New Year (9.6k)

Louis senses people moving around behind him and cranes his neck left to right. The store is quiet, just staff and Louis and Harry, but all of the other salespeople appear to have gravitated to where they are to watch the little runway show Harry is putting on. He can’t blame them really, Harry is a sight to behold, but it makes him chuckle anyway.

“Okay, Lou, you ready for me?” Harry calls from the change room.

“As I’ll ever be, baby. Get out here!”

Harry comes into view and Louis’ breath catches in his throat.

OR Harry was homeless, but now he has Louis. Louis was lonely, but now he has Harry. And there’s more than one way to see fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

The Bet (2.4k)

Louis Tomlinson never reneges on a bet. Ever.

He may be many things - a joker, a sometimes-wayward student, a loyal friend, a Tony Award winner in the making, and a card-carrying member of the Chad Michael Murray fan club - but never, ever, a welcher. Louis makes good on his promises and does it with flare.

OR The one where Louis misjudges Harry's ability to do TLC's Waterfall rap and finds himself having to put on a one-man show for his viewing pleasure. If Louis decides to go all-in and dress the part, then that's just a bonus for his (very appreciative) one-man audience.

Heat (2.4k)

Louis was smitten from the moment Harry had arrived a month ago. Long, curly hair which he mostly keeps up in a bun, and a sinfully deep voice. Cheeky too. Louis likes that the best. He gives good banter and laughs at Louis’ dumb jokes, adding his own woeful puns. When Louis had asked him why he was in this godforsaken dust bowl, he’d said something about a ground crew traineeship and fulfilling his visa requirements while experiencing the real Australia. Louis had been momentarily distracted by Harry’s plush, red-bitten lips so the salient details may have washed over him.

OR Drinking beer in a blow-up pool, in a backyard, in stupidly hot temperatures, in outback Australia should be ridiculous, and it would be, if Louis didn't have a curly-haired workmate to keep him company.

Whisper The Wind (36k)

Louis’ father has political ambitions and decides it’s time for Louis to step up as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Louis thinks this is a monumentally stupid idea. After storming off in a rage he has a chance meeting with a tall, dark, curly haired stranger. A technical glitch with their shared elevator finds Louis spending twenty minutes with the most intriguing man he’s ever met. Unfortunately the man is leaving London the very next day and moving to Australia to work at his mates surf school. Timing, as they say, can fuck right off.

Fast forward three years and Louis is miserable, a shadow of the man he once was, working in his father’s company, and hating every moment. At his thirtieth birthday party, surrounded by people he doesn’t know or doesn’t like, he decides to throw it all in and follow the impossible dream. Happiness, a fulfilling life, and someone to love. The question is, will that dream be found ten thousand miles away on a sandy beach, with a curly headed surfer dude?

Or the one where Louis rides an elevator that may change his life forever, Harry loves the ocean but is a terrible surfer, Liam proves not all heroes wear capes, and Niall might actually have all the answers.

The Clock Strikes Christmas (10k)

The clock ticks over to midnight and Niall strikes the match, lighting the candle and looking expectantly at Louis. “Time to make all your dreams come true. What’s your birthday wish Tommo?”

Louis stares into the flame and wonders. Closing his eyes, he thinks of cold winter nights curled up by the fire, driving along country roads holding hands across the console, laughter and warmth and a sense of belonging. An image creeps into his mind, blurry and shimmering. Curls, green eyes, milky white skin. Louis sucks in a deep breath, opens his eyes and blows.

The lights in the pub go out and the music stops, time seems to be teetering on the edge of something, like the crest of a roller coaster before the fall.

Then the pub surges back to life. “Sorry about that folks! Damn storm must be coming.” The bartender shouts out.

Niall is staring at him, mouth agape, before regaining his composure. “Must’ve been a helluva wish Tommo.”

Louis is a little stunned himself, but blinks out of it and laughs. “Yeah, must’ve been.”

OR the one where Louis needs someone to love, Harry needs a miracle, and sometimes, wishes really do come true

The Prince Of Light (35k)

Louis was found abandoned at a hospital at six months old and adopted by an older couple who raised him. Now twenty, he studies by night and by day works as a live-in au pair for a family with three little girls. One of the girls, Holly, swears there is a Garden Fairy coming and eating treats she leaves out in the cubby house each night.

When the family goes away for a two week holiday, Louis is secretly tasked with feeding the Fairy. While laying out the food one night he falls from the cubby house and is found by Harry. Harry is different and Louis is fascinated. But as Louis learns how different Harry really is, he discovers his own true home and a very surprising past he never knew.

Cue badgers, bananas and cookies, soulmates, a whole other world, and a future he’d never imagined.

Clouds On Curtis (9.6k)

A wave of comfort sweeps over Louis like a blanket as he allows himself a moment to imagine the possibilities. His past failures and disappointments feel like they are ebbing away, like shackles falling from his limbs. The burdens he's been bearing and the guilt he’s been carrying slipping away into the ground with each step he takes.

Harry reaches for the door and pauses, holding the handle he turns to face Louis.

“Are you ready for the adventure to begin?” Harry looks at him with hope in his eyes, dimple cratering in his left cheek.

“Absolutely, I’m all yours.” Louis says, wide smile breaking across his face, feeling the crinkles appear at the corners of his eyes.

In that moment he is sure of it. Surer than he's been about anything for years. This is exactly where he’s supposed to be. This is his second chance.

Or the one where Louis is a chef who is looking for a chance to start over, Harry’s restaurant needs the right chef to make his dream come to life, Niall is a cook who desperately wants to be a chef, and Liam just wants to be happy. Together, can they turn their dreams into reality?

#writer appreciation week #1dsource #hljournal #fics #author rec

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snarktheater · 3 years

Note

Hey, d'you have any French book recs? I'm trying to work on my French, and rn I have downloaded one of my favourite book series' French translations, but I figured maybe books already written in French might work better? Also have you read the Ranger's Apprentice series? 1/2

RA's def flawed - the books' narration does like to point bright arrows at the protagonists' intelligence, and the last few books def have the tone of 'old white man trying to write feminism', although at least he's trying? - and it's aimed more to the younger side of YA, but it is still a very fun series, and I can ignore the flaws fairly easily, at least partly due to nostalgia? This rather long lol but I'm wordy.

I'll start with the second question: no, although every time the series is brought up I have to check the French title and go "oh, right, I've seen these books in stores". But I've never purchased or read them. It sounds like something I probably would have enjoyed as a teen but I just missed the mark, and these days I'm trying to drown myself in queer books, so that probably isn't happening.

As for your first question, geez, I haven’t read a French book in years, so this is gonna skew middle grade/YA, though that may not be so bad if the point is to learn the language. I will also say that as a result, these may read a little outdated.

I'll put it under a cut, even if Tumblr has become really bad with correctly displaying read mores. Sorry, mobile crowd.

It's also likely that old readers of the blog will have seen me talk about most of these. I don't feel like going through old posts.

One last thing: while I was curating this list I took the time to make a Goodreads shelf to keep track of those.

The Ewilan books by Pierre Bottero

(It's a testament to how long ago I read these books that these are not the covers of the edition I own, and I can't even find those on Google. I'm settling for a more recent cover anyway since it'll make it easier to find them, presumably)

There are at least three trilogies (that I know of) set in the same world.

The first trilogy is essentially an isekai (so, French girl lands in parallel fantasy world by accident) with elements of chosen one trope, though I find the execution makes it worth the while anyway.

The second trilogy is a direct sequel, so same protagonist but new threat, and the world gets expanded.

The third one is centered around a supporting characters from the previous books, and the first couple of books in it are more her backstory than a continuation, though the third one concludes both that trilogy and advances the story of the other books as well.

Notably these books have a really fun magic system where the characters "draw" things into existence. It's just stuck with me for some reason.

A bunch of stuff by Erik L'Homme

I have read a lot of this man's books, starting with Le Livre des Etoiles.

They also skew towards the young end of YA, arguably middle grade, I never bothered to figure out where to draw the line. They're coincidentally also using the premise of a parallel world to our own (and yes, connected to France again, the French are just as susceptible of writing about their homeland), but interestingly are set from the point of view of characters native to the parallel world.

It also has a very unique magic system, this one based on a mix of a runic alphabet and sort-of poetry. I'll also say specifically for these books that the characters stuck with me way more than others on this list, which is worth mentioning.

This trilogy is my favorite by Erik L'Homme, but I'll also mention Les Maîtres des brisants, which is a fantasy space opera with a pirate steampunk(?) vibe. I think it's steampunk. I could be mistaken. But it's in that vein. It's also middle grade, in my opinion not as good, but it could just be that it came out when I was older.

Another one is Phaenomen, which was a deliberate attempt at skewing older (though still YA). This one is set in our (then-)modern world and centers a group of teens who happen to have supernatural powers. I guess the best way to describe it is a superhero thriller? If you take "superhero" in the sense of "people with individualized powers", since they don't really do a lot of heroing.

...I really need to brush up on genre terminology, don't I.

The Ji series by Pierre Grimbert

This one is actually adult fantasy, though it definitely falls under "probably outdated". It is very straight, for starters, and I'd have to give it another read to give a more critical reading of how it handles race (it attempts to do it, and is well meaning, but I'm not sure it survives the test of time & scrutiny, basically).

If I haven't lost you already, the premise is this: a few generations ago, a weird man named Nol gathered emissaries from each nation of the world and took them to a trip to the titular Ji island. Nobody knows what went down here, but now in the present day, someone is trying to kill off all descendants from those emissaries, who are as a result forced to team up and figure out what's going on.

I'm not going to spoil past that, though I will say it has (surprise) a really unique magic system! I guess you can start to piece together what my younger self was interested in. Which, admittedly, I still am.

Once again, this one also has a strong cast of characters, helped by rich world building and the premise forcing the characters to come from many different cultures (though, again, I can't vouch for the handling of race because it's been too long).

The first series is complete by itself, though it has two sequel series as well, each focusing on the next generation in these families. Because yes, of course they all pair up and have kids. Like I said: very straight.

A whole lot of books by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

OFetjaine is a historian, and I guess he's really interested in Arthurian mythos especially, because he loves it so much he's written two separate high fantasy retellings of them! I'm not criticizing, mind you, we all need a hobby.

The former, the Elves trilogy (pictures above) is very traditional high fantasy. Elves, dwarves, orcs, a world which is definitely fictionalized with a pan-Celtic vibe to it. The holy grail and excalibur are around, but they're relics possessed by the elves and dwarves with very different powers than usual. Et cetera.

Fetjaine also really loves his elves (as the titles might imply), and while they're not exactly Tolkien elves, there's a similar vibe to them. If you like Tolkien and his elf boner, you'll probably like this too. And conversely, if that turns you off, these books probably also won't work for you.

This series also has a prequel trilogy, centered around the backstory of one of the main characters. I...honestly don't remember too much about it, but I liked it, so, there you go, I guess.

I said Fetjaine did it twice. The other series is the Merlin duology, which, as the title implies, is a retelling of Merlin's story. Note that Merlin is also in the other trilogy, but it's a different Merlin; like I said, completely different continuities and stories.

This one is historical fantasy, so it's set in actual Great Britain, and Fetjaine attempts to connect Arthur to a "real" historical figure...but, you know, Merlin is also half-elf and elves totally exist in Brocéliande, so, you know. History.

Okay, that's probably enough fantasy, let me give some classics too.

L'Arbre des possibles et autres histoires - Bernard Werber

Bernard Werber is a pretty seminal author of French sci-fi and I should probably be embarrassed that the only book of his that I read was for school, but, it is a really good one, so I'll include it anyway.

It's a novella collection, and when I say "sci-fi" I want to make it clear that it's very old school science fiction. It's more Frankenstein or Black Mirror than Star Trek, what we in French call the anticipation genre of science fiction: you take one piece of technology or cultural norm and project it into the future.

It has a pretty wide range of topics and tones, so it's bound to have some better than others. My personal faves were Du pain et des jeux, where football (non-American) has evolved into basically a wargame, and Tel maître, tel lion, where any animal is considered acceptable as a pet, no matter how absurd it is to keep as a pet. They're both on a comedic end, but there's more heartfelt stuff too.

L'Ecume des Jours - Boris Vian

(no cover because I can't find the one I have, and the ones I find are ugly)

This book is surrealist. Like, literally a part of the surrealist movement. It features things such as a lilypad growing inside a woman's lungs (and, as you well know, lilypads double in size every day, wink wink), the protagonist's apartment becoming larger and smaller to go with his mood and current financial situation, and more that I can't even recall at the moment because remembering this book is like trying to remember having an aneurysm.

It is also really, really fun and touching. Oh, and it has a pretty solid movie adaptation, starring Audrey Tautou, who I think an international audience would probably recognize from Amelie or the Da Vinci Code movie.

I don't really know what else to say. It's a really cool read!

Le Roi se meurt - Eugène Ionesco

Ionesco is somewhat famous worldwide so I wasn't even sure to include him here. He's a playwright who wrote in the "Theater of the Absurd" movement, and this play is part of that.

The premise of this play is that the King (of an unnamed land) is dying, and the land is dying with him. I don't really know what else to say. It's theater of the absurd. It kind of has to be experienced (the published version works fine, btw, no need to track down an actual performance, in my humble opinion).

The Plague - Albert Camus

You've probably heard of this one, and if you haven't, let me tell you about a guy called Carlos Maza

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I'm honestly more including this book out of a sense of duty. The other three are books I genuinely liked and happen to be classics. This book was an awful read. But, um. It's kind of relevant now in a way it wasn't (or didn't feel, anyway) back in 2008 or 2009, when I read it. And I don't just mean because of our own plague, since Camus's plague is pretty famously an allegory for fascism, which my teenage self sneered at, and my adult self really regrets every feeling that way.

Okay, finally, some more lighthearted stuff, we gotta talk about the Belgian and French art of bande dessinée. How is it different from comic books or manga? Functionally, it isn't. It really comes down more to what gets published in the Belgian-French industry compared to the American comics industry, which is dominated by superheroes, or the Japanese manga industry, which, while I'm less familiar with it, I know has some big genre trends as well that are completely separate.

The Lanfeust series - Arleston and Tarquin

This is a YA mega-series, and I can't recommend all of it because I've lost track of the franchise's growth. Also note that I say "YA", but in this case it means something very different from an American understanding of YA. These books are pretty full of sex.

No, when I say YA I mean it has that level of maturity, for better or worse. The original series (Lanfeust de Troy) is high fantasy in a world where everyone has an individual magical ability but two characters find out they're gifted with an absolute power to make anything happen, and while it gets dark at times, it's still very lighthearted throughout, and the humor is...well, I think it's best described as teen boy humor. And it has a tendency to objectify its female characters, as you'll quickly parse out from the one cover I used here or if you browse more covers.

But still, it holds a special place in my heart, I guess. And on my shelves.

The sequel series, Lanfeust des Etoiles, turns it into a space opera, and goes a little overboard with the pop culture reference at times, though overall still maintains that balance of serious/at times dark story and lighthearted comedy.

After that the franchise is utter chaos to me, and I've lost track. I know there was another sequel series, which I dropped partway through, and a spinoff that retold part of the original series from the PoV of the main love interest (in the period of time she spent away from the main group). There was a comedy spin-off about the troll species unique to this world, a prequel series, probably more I don't even know exist.

Les Démons d'Alexia

Something I can probably be a little less ashamed of including here.

Some backstory here. The Editions Dupuis are a giant of the Belgian bande dessinée industry, and for many, many years I was subscribed to their weekly magazine. That magazine was (mostly) made up of excerpts from the various books that the éditions were publishing at the time; those that were made of comic strips would usually get a couple pages of individual scripts, while the ongoing narratives got cut into episodes that were a few pages long (out of a typical 48 page count for a single BD album). Among those were this series.

For the first few volumes, I wasn't super into this series, probably because I was a little too young and smack dab in the middle of my "trying to be one of the boys" phase. But around book 3 I got really invested, to the point where I own the second half of the series because I had canceled by subscription by then but still wanted to know more.

Alexia is an exorcist with unusual talents, but little control, who's introduced to a group that specializes in researching paranormal phenomena, solving cases that involve the paranormal, that kinda stuff.

As a result of the premise, the series has a pretty slow start since it has to build up mystery around the source of Alexia's powers, but once it gets going and we get to what is essentially the series' main conflict, it gets really interesting.

Plus, witches. I'm a simple gay who likes strong protagonists and witches.

Murena

There was a point where my mtyhology nerdery led me to look for more stuff about the historical cultures that created them, and so I'd be super into stuff set in ancient Rome (I'd say "or Greece or Egypt" but let's face it, it was almost always Rome).

Murena is a series set just before the start of Emperor Nero's rule. You know, the one who was emperor when Rome burned, and according to urban legend either caused the fire or played the fiddle while it did (note: "fiddle" is a very English saying, it's usually the lyre in other languages). He probably didn't, it probably was propaganda, but he was a) a Roman Emperor, none of whom were particularly stellar guys and b) mean to Christians, who eventually got to rewrite history. So he's got a bad rep.

The series goes for a very historical take on events, albeit fictionalized (the protagonist and main PoV, the titular Lucius Murena, is himself fictional) and attempts to humanize the people involved in those events. Each book also includes some of the sources used to justify how events and characters are depicted, which is a nice touch.

It's also divided in subseries called "cycles" (books 1-4, 5-8 and the ongoing one starts at 9). I stopped after 9, though I think it's mostly a case of not going to bookstores often anymore. Plus it took four years between 9 and 10, and again between 10 and 11. But the first eight books made for a pretty solid story that honestly felt somewhat concluded as is, so it's a good place to start.

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gyll-yee-haw · 4 years

Note

Would you be up for some Lou Bloom/reader smut? Reader as a new intern for his company and he overhears she has a crush on him, so he starts fixating on her and eventually invites her to his place. She’s more on the innocent side, but Lou hopes she’s a fast learner.

HI BABY OMG I’M SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK A MILLION YEARS (but I made it extra long so you forgive me, hope you’re still around!)

Alright, I should give you a few warnings, cause this got a bit out of control, and you know Louis, this just can’t be cute, so here we go: this is a bit dark and dubcon on the start? A little bit of innocence and breeding kink (hope I didn’t go too far from what you wanted lol)

So, anyways, if you’re not into this stuff, please don’t read, I didn’t waste time writing those warnings for nothing...

---

Imagine that one day, on a break, you were sitting with a group of co-workers, and they started talking about your boss

"I'm kinda scared of him, tbh" one of them said, and almost everyone agreed

Not you, though… cause you had this ability of seeing good in everyone

"I don't think he's scary." You said. "He's absolutely the best on what he does. And I'm honored to work for him."

Your co-workers didn't care much, they knew you

Louis, who was listening to all of that conversation through the door, on the other hand…

He started paying a little more attention to you

Watching your every move while you worked, and giving you tips he didn't give to the others

Everyone noticed how he was growing closer to you

Everyone noticed how he got unnecessarily close to you as he helped you with the camera, or how he looked at your entire body and didn't even try to hide it

And one of your friends tried to warn you. She told you to quit the job immediately, before he did something to you

But you told her: "No. I like the special attention Mr. Bloom gives me."

One more time, he heard everything. And a shiver ran down his spine when those words left your mouth

He didn't waste his time, and on the exact same day he invited you to his apartment, so he could teach you about editing the videos and stuff

You were BEYOND excited

Hours later, you knocked on his door wearing a cute little dress

Cause he specifically asked you to look pretty for him

He told you to come in and sit on the couch

He sat beside you and placed his computer in front of you

Images from a car crash your team filmed a few days before were playing

You were paying attention, but he didn't look at the screen for a second, his eyes were glued to your face

But when you dared to look back at him, he said: "Keep your eyes on the screen. How will you learn like that?"

"Sorry, Sir." You said before doing exactly what he said.

You could see on the corner of your eyes that his hand was approaching your face, but you wouldn't dare to look

Soon, you felt his long fingers caressing your cheek, and you couldn't help but smile (eyes on the screen the entire time, of course)

"Why are you smiling?" He asked. "Do you like it when I touch you?"

"I do." You told him.

"Take your clothes off." He said emotionless.

"What? Why?" You frowned, eyes glued to the scene that showed the police arriving.

“Why do you think I invited you?” He asked. “If it was anything work related, why would it be at my apartment?”

I mean... you were innocent, but you weren’t stupid. You noticed how he had been looking at you lately

You just didn’t expect him to go straight to the point like that

He didn’t give you much time to think, and closed the laptop in front of you, saying: “Look at me now.”

You turned to him with wide eyes, looking a little bit nervous

He’s a lonely guy, but a good observant. He knew he would have to relax you a bit before he could get you to completely submit to him

“I’ll tell you why I invited you.” He started caressing your cheek again. “You seem like a very good girl. Very efficient at work. Doesn’t talk shit about me behind my back like the others do, am I right?”

“No, Sir... I would never...”

“I know.” He cut you. “Bold of them to assume there’s anything happening in that company that I don’t know. I heard you saying that you liked my special attention.”

You blushed furiously and looked down

“That’s nothing to be shy about. That pleases me, in fact.” He told you, lifting your chin so you would look at him again. “Now, little girl. If you take your clothes off, I’m gonna give you some kind of attention you’ve never received before. Wouldn’t you like that?”

You thought for a second. It was incredible how much he was turning you on with that little game

So you nodded

He sat back on the couch and just waited

You stood up in front of him and removed your dress, still a little hesitant

He didn’t move or say a word of encouragement

So you left your bra fall on the floor between you and him

He leaned forward and you froze

He placed one of his warm, big hands on each of your breasts and started to play with them

It felt really good and it didn’t take long for you to want more. You wanted to kiss him. You wanted those hands all over your body

You were so into it, but suddenly you felt him pinching one of your nipples and you gasped, taking a step back

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” He whispered. “Come back here.”

You got back to your previous position and he placed a small kiss on the nipple that hurted

His mouth at such a sensitive spot turned you on more than you could describe

“I was just testing your limits.” He told you. “I know you’re not ready for all I want to do with you, but you will learn to enjoy the pain with time. I hope you learn it as fast as you learn at work. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I want to learn everything from you, Sir.” You pressed your thighs together and he noticed that you needed him just as bad as he needed you.

“Very good girl, as I suspected.” He chuckled. That was probably the first time in your life you saw him genuinely smiling. “Take your panties off, honey, you must learn your first lesson as quick as possible.”

You didn’t waste a second, and followed every word he said

While you did that, he took his shirt off and unzipped his pants, starting to stroke his length over his underwear

You almost drooled at how beautiful that scene was

He could see you growing eager, and added ‘patience’ to the list of things he still had to teach you. Not that night, though, he was too horny for that

He freed his cock and stroked it in front of you

God, it was so big

So fucking beautiful

“Come here, little girl.” He told you, patting his lap.

You sat on his lap, facing him, his cock inches away from you, and that kind of intimacy from someone you used to only admire from far was so exciting

“First thing you have to learn is to take my cock like a big girl. Take everything I give you and don’t you dare complaining.” He said, and at your state, you would agree with absolutely any condition. “You can cum as many times as you want, but so do I, and I get to choose where. Whatever the consequences may be, do you understand what I’m talking about?”

You nodded, and whispered: “Babies.”

“That’s right, fuck.” His cock throbbed on his hand when you said that in such an innocent voice. “If you stick around long enough, learn your lessons and I don’t get bored of you... it may happen. And you will look so pretty when it does.”

“I will be good to you.” You promised.

“I know, baby.” He pulled you closer, placing his cock on your entrance. “You accepted my conditions, so you are mine now.”

“Yes, Sir.” Was the last thing you could say before he entered you.

That man absolutely wrecked you after that. Fucked you until you were dumb

And you obviously took all of it, you wouldn’t give up, you were only getting started

I mean... who knows how many lessons there were, but you were eager to learn

Maybe it was because of the intensity of that moment, but suddenly, you didn’t simply admire him, you were in love with him, and that was terrifying

But as long as you were good to him, he would keep you around.

#louis bloom #louis bloom smut #louis bloom x reader #Lou Bloom #jake gyllenhaal #jake gyllenhaal smut #lou bloom smut #lou bloom x reader

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calm-and-wine · 4 years

Text

(I’ll give you) the best years

part V (masterlist, taglist)

hello, hope everyone is well and taking care of themselves! here is part 5 of best years, in case anyone needs a little escape. there will be one more part (more like an epilogue probably), but i’m not sure when it’ll be posted yet, because i do need to (and want to) write my one shot for the quarantine challenge. it will definitely happen though. anyway, hope you enjoy this one and i’d love to hear your thoughts!

PART V

November 2025

Life without tennis was weird, that was the conclusion Lucy arrived to after two months since her retirement. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just very different. She didn’t regret her decision, not at all, but it’ll take some to get used to that new situation. She spent a bit over a week in LA while the band was doing promo, then went away for a week, just her and Niall, back in Maui, celebrating their wedding anniversary and whatever the future had in store for them. That was good, quite normal, but coming back and not going back to training was not normal. Not having to wake up early was not normal. Not having to pay attention to her food or being able to drink alcohol as freely as she wanted was not normal. Well, it was her new normal and she should probably start getting used to it.

It wasn’t like she didn’t have anything else to do. She went to see her parents and stayed with them for a week. She had been making moves on starting the management to help young tennis players, attending meeting after meeting, trying to be as involved as her knowledge allowed her to, all the pieces slowly but steadily falling into place.

Her life hadn’t necessarily slowed down, it just took a different course. And in the middle of it all, her and Niall also started looking at houses. Their friends said it was crazy, them running around, from meetings and Niall’s rehearsals with the band, hurrying to not be late to meet with their estate agent. Lucy was actually more tired than she was while playing. But she wasn’t complaining. Because no matter how chaotic the days were, in the end, it was always her and Niall, under the same roof, in the same bed, together.

Even though they were both busy, they were about to be even busier. Well, Niall mostly. With the band’s first album after reunion being released in just over a week and a world tour starting in January, he definitely won’t be complaining about too much free time on his hands.

They just got home from looking at yet another house (fourth this week), going straight to the kitchen, with Lucy starting to heat up dinner she prepped earlier, while Niall put a kettle on for some tea. Even though they hadn’t spent a ton of time together at home, especially considering how long they had been in a relationship, they had no problem falling into step with each other.

“So, what did you think?” he asked, stepping behind her and putting a hand on the small of her back while reaching up beside her head to pull out two mugs from the cupboard. Because they drove separate cars, coming from different locations, they hadn’t even had a chance to talk properly.

“Um… It was alright, I liked the exterior, it’s very well-kept. Big garden, which is nice,” Lucy said, turning slightly to follow Niall’s moves.

“What about the inside?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’d need some renovation.”

He sighed, passing her a steaming cup, knowing she liked her tea almost scolding hot. She took it with a smile, also noticing he chose her favourite mug. “How come there are no good houses in London?”

“I know, right? I did not expect it to be that hard to find a nice home.” Because Niall was close enough, she took half a step and rested her forehead on his shoulder, him instantly putting an arm around her to rub her back.

“Could you see us in any that we’ve seen?” he asked after planting a sweet kiss on her hairline.

“I like the one we saw yesterday,” she said, raising her head, but staying pressed to his body. “It needs a lot of work, but it has good structure. It was finished terribly, we would have to change the floors probably, maybe take down a wall or two…”

“That’s probably doable though, right?”

“Did you like it?” she asked. It obviously needed to be a mutual decision, even if they may not stay in that house forever.

“Yeah, I did,” he assured. “It has everything we wanted, just needs some work, but at least we wouldn’t have to rebuild it. And I liked the location a lot.”

“Me too.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, her mouth going into the kiss. “Should we arrange for a contractor to take a look? See if it’d all be possible to do?”

“Mmm, yeah,” he agreed, planting another kiss on her lips. “I know it’s not perfect, but I’d say we try, I think we’ll feel different once we’re done with it.”

“I was never a big fan of perfect anyway,” she shrugged.

“In everything except your husband, obviously,” Niall pointed out.

Lucy laughed. “Oh, that especially, I settled.”

He looked at her offended, pinching her waist, which earned a yelp from her, instantly squirming in his hold. But he held her tightly, finding her lips for yet another kiss, both their faces lighting up with grins. They truly did not need a perfect house, because they already found the perfect home in each other.

The album was out. One Direction was officially back and everyone was loving it. The guys were special guests at the morning radio show, then did a few more interviews before arriving at the venue for their special show. It was their first proper show, only performing the singles on tv or radio before. But tonight was a ‘one night only’, when they would play the new album in its entirety, as well as their biggest hits, obviously.

Lucy, Maya and Ines met up at the venue, waiting for their guys to arrive. Eleanor was coming later with Freddie, everyone’s families and friends were going to be there as well. It was a big day and the buzz was evident in the air. When the band finally arrived, everyone could tell they were scared about the upcoming show. But there were also huge smiles on their faces and excitement coursing through their veins. They just hadn’t done it all in a while.

They all sat down to have dinner together, talking about their day, the amazing reaction the album got and everything in between. It was truly heartwarming to see them back together and happy like that.

Soon after, the guys had to go to soundcheck, the girls standing up, ready to join them, all except Lucy.

“Are you not coming?” Maya asked, looking at her surprised.

“Nope, this one is banned,” Niall replied before Lucy could utter a word, throwing an arm around her and squeezing her shoulder with a wicked smile on his face.

“Why?” Harry asked, looking at the couple with intrigue.

“Well, I’ve actually never seen your show, so he wants me to watch it properly,” she explained.

“No spoilers,” Niall smiled, proud of himself.

“You’ve seriously never been to our show?” Liam asked incredulously, to which Lucy shook her head. “Have you been living under a rock?” he snickered, genuinely surprised. Judging from the amount of people who used to come to their shows, they kind of thought most people have seen them perform at some point.

“Nope, just travelling the world, being one of the top tennis players, you know, the usual,” she replied with a laugh.

“Well, it might be for the better that you haven’t seen us in our golden years,” started Louis, “at least you’ll be less disappointed tonight.”

“Oh come off it, you’re gonna be amazing,” Ines chastened him, hitting his arm playfully.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Okay, lads, we need to go,” said Harry, trying to rush the boys, knowing their team was waiting.

“I’m actually gonna stay too,” Ines said, when he reached for her hand.

“Me too,” joined Maya. “It’ll be fun watching the show with a fresh mind.”

“Well okay then, we’ll be extra sexy during soundcheck, so you’ll be missing a lot,” Harry said playfully, which earned him a few laughs.

Each couple shared a kiss and hugs, with Louis making whiny noises behind them, because Eleanor wasn’t there yet, before the guys finally left.

Lucy loved hanging out with the girls. They were all very different, but still got along well, having this amazing thing connecting them. It was the same with the boys, all four of them with very different personalities, but forming a bond as strong as true brotherhood. It was the type of relationship you wouldn’t understand if you weren’t a part of.

She had fun hanging backstage, she always enjoyed those moments, everyone buzzing with excitement, talking, relaxing before going out there, and sharing it with the band, the atmosphere was even better. It was like a family.

After sending Niall off with one last kiss and an unneeded ‘good luck’, Lucy went out into the crowd. All the women decided to watch the show from the stands, only choosing side stage for the last few songs, so they could hug their men right after.

Watching Niall on stage has always been an incredible experience, making Lucy not only smile, but her heart fill with warmth, love and admiration. But seeing Niall on stage with his three brothers was another level. It was so easy to see just how much love those four guys had for each other, for what they were doing together. And the crowd… She had been to many of Niall’s shows, but she’s never seen or heard a crowd like that. That loud, that passionate. It was breathtaking. And knowing not only how hard the guys worked for it, but especially how much it all meant to them, made it even more awestracking. If she felt like that standing on the sidelines, she couldn’t even imagine how it must feel for the four men on stage.

Lucy knew Niall loved watching her play. And she felt like she truly understood why. How proud he always felt. Because seeing him up there on stage, she felt exactly the same way. There was nothing better than watching the person you loved doing the thing they loved.

April 2026

Niall was finally home. Sure, it’s only been 11 days since Lucy left the band’s tour and flew back home to take care of some businesses, meet with the few players her management was considering signing and oversee the renovation of their house. She spent over two months by Niall’s side, travelling through America and watching him perform night after night. And even after that time, she hadn’t gotten bored with seeing him on stage. She probably never would, just like he’d never get tired of performing.

Having just over two weeks together at home came at the perfect time. Not only because there were a few things that needed to be done in London, but mostly considering the conversation she had to have with her husband. A conversation that required a certain level of privacy, which was quite hard to find while almost constantly being surrounded by people on tour.

She occupied her time waiting with cooking dinner, his favourite of course, but her mind and stomach were turning, both with uncertainty of the upcoming conversation and excitement of seeing Niall again. But the sound of their gate opening brought her back to earth, making her instantly turn off the stove and leave the kitchen to properly welcome her husband.

She got outside just as Niall was grabbing his suitcase, so she ran up to him and threw her arms around his body, which was as familiar to her as her own, if not more. He saw her coming, having managed to close the boot of the car and open his arms just in time to catch her. At that moment she was so carefree, running wild just because she missed him, not caring about what the driver might think or how it might look, just happy to have her love home.

“Hi,” he said joyfully, moving his hand from her waist to cup her cheek and leaning down for a kiss.

“Welcome home,” she said before going in for a second kiss. They were both aware that they were stood in their driveway and not exactly alone, so they refrained from making out like teenagers.

“Thanks, John, see you soon!” Niall said over his shoulder to his driver, grabbing his suitcase in one hand, the other wrapping around Lucy and leading them into the house.

As soon as they were inside and the door was closed, his mouth was back on her.

“Niall,” she laughed, when after a minute he moved to her neck, “I made dinner.”

“Not hungry,” he said hurriedly, like he wanted to spend as little time without the contact of her skin as possible.

“But,” Lucy started, which made Niall pull away slightly, putting his hand on the back of her neck making their eyes meet. It was like that look made her grounded again, all the worries, stress, all the different scenarios she made up in her head, none of that mattered. He always had this amazing gift of making everything else disappear. Like it was just them two, at that very moment, their feelings the only thing that mattered. “I guess the dinner can wait,” she agreed, marking her words with a playful tag at his hair.

“Missed you, love,” he said with a wicked smile, before raising her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist to hold tight, and carrying her upstairs to show her just how much he really missed her.

They were enjoying the peace and quiet after dinner, cuddled on the couch, an old rerun of the show they’ve seen already humming in the background while they chatted a bit, sharing the things that happened the last couple of days, even though they already knew the majority through their phone calls. The company of their spouse always brought a level of comfort, no matter where they were, but when they were together at home, there truly was nothing better.

Lucy turned her head slightly to check if Niall hadn’t drifted off to sleep during the lull in their talks and when he looked back at her with the softest smile, the one reserved only for her, she said what’s been on her mind for the past three days.

“I might be pregnant.”

Her statement made Niall sit up, turning his body to face her properly, his hands grabbing hers to make sure her attention is all focused on him.

“How sure are you?” he asked softly, his voice level, oozing nothing but calmness.

“Um… Not really, I’m late, but I haven’t taken any tests.”

He let go of one of her hands to rake a hand through his hair. “Shit, okay, should we go get some now?”

She bit her lip nervously. “There are three waiting in the bathroom upstairs.”

He looked at her carefully, trying to decipher how she felt about it all, but he could only see the slightly shake to her hands and a soft smile gracing her lips, which was a bit contradictory, but in a way he felt like he understood her mood perfectly, a balance between very nervous and excited.

“Shall we go now, then?” he asked carefully.

“Yeah,” she said getting up, Niall halting her for a second before she could walk away, their lips meeting in a very reassuring kiss, before leading her upstairs with a hand on the small of her back.

Lucy had three different tests she bought the day before tucked away in a medicine cabinet, waiting for Niall to get home, because it didn’t feel right to check on her own. She went into the bathroom, her husband walking circles around their bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. She picked all three tests up, read the instructions carefully before peeing on the sticks, laying them all on the sink and rejoining Niall in the room to not wait alone.

“Hey, you’re alright, yeah?” he asked, coming right up to her and grabbing her shoulders, massaging them slightly.

“Yes,” she said, stepping closer to hug him, needing the safety of his arms. “I didn’t expect it, but whatever happens, it’s okay. I mean we want kids anyway and maybe it isn’t the best time and we didn’t really plan it, but we’re ready, right?”

He smiled at her, reaching up to tuck a stray of hair behind her ear. “I think so, yes.”

They took a minute embracing each other, both holding the other tightly, both having this epiphany that their lives might be changed in a matter of minutes. There were some soft kisses shared, loving words of reassurance whispered, before Lucy’s alarm ringed out, Niall squeezing her one more time before wrapping an arm around her waist, their bodies colliding as he led them into the bathroom to see the results.

“You look,” she said, burying her head into his shoulder, trying to take deep breaths and stay calm. She wasn’t afraid of being pregnant. Sure it would change a lot, a kid would probably turn their lives upside down. But it wasn’t like they never talked about it, they both wanted kids, they wanted kids together. She loved Niall, he was her forever, there was no trace of doubt about that in her mind. But it was still scary.

“Hey, look at me,” Niall said after a minute, his calloused fingers cupping both her cheeks. When she looked into his eyes, she could see them begin to glisten. “They’re all positive.”

Before she could say anything, a huge smile broke into her face, Niall’s face instantly mirroring hers. “We’re gonna be parents,” she whispered, as it was some kind of secret only they knew, like she didn’t want to share it with anyone else, it was only for Lucy and Niall.

“We’re gonna be parents,” he whispered back, resting his forehead against hers, before pulling her impossibly close, his lips finding hers, the kiss soft and urgent at the same time.

When he pulled away after quite a few more kisses, he grabbed her by the waist, lifting her and swung her around the bathroom, the biggest smile on his face, a laugh escaping his lips, she was also pretty sure she caught a tear running down his cheek. She had her doubts, she had to admit that, but she was also incredibly happy. Niall felt like her home for the longest time, but now they’d be a proper family. They were growing, they were making even more plans together, it was all evolving, growing, especially the love. She didn’t think it was possible, but it truly felt like the love they shared only grew and grew and all she could hope for was that it would never stop.

As Lucy slowly came into consciousness, the sun trying to seep into the room through the curtains, as soon as her eyes cracked open, she saw Niall. It was the best feeling to wake up and feel his body connected with hers, even if it was just their feet tangled together. But it was a rare sight to wake up and see her husband already awake. But this morning he was just that, lying on his side, an arm curled under his head, watching her.

“What time is it?” Lucy asked, rubbing her eyes, voice groggy from sleep.

“Don’t know,” Niall replied shrugging, his eyes not leaving her face.

“How long have you been awake?” She turned on her side to face him properly, her hand setting on his bare torso.

“Don’t know.” He reached his hand to push back the hair falling onto her face, before lifting his head to plant a good morning peck on her lips.

She looked at him with furrowed brows, his behaviour a bit unusual. “Do you know anything? Have you not looked at the clock?” It wasn’t like him to wake up before her but it was even more unlike him to not check his phone right after.

“Nope.” His face was lit up by a content smile, his hand travelling from her cheek to her waist to pull her closer.

“Why not?” she asked, eager to get some answers, see what was going on inside his head.

“Why would I?” He threw the question back at her. “It doesn’t matter, we don’t have anywhere to be today. Why would I waste time looking at the time when I have such a beautiful angel to admire beside me?”

Even though the room wasn’t entirely bright, the curtains keeping the sun out for the most part, she could easily see the love in his eyes.

“What got you all soppy this morning?” she laughed, feeling her cheeks warming up at his words.

“You get me soppy all the time, it’s your magic ability.” He moved even closer, wrapping his entire body around her, burying his head in the crook of her neck.

“I missed this,” she admitted, pushing her fingers through his hair. “There’s nothing better than waking up together.”

He hummed, his hands gently roaming over her body before setting underneath her t-shirt (or rather, his), right on her belly. Her heart skipped a beat. Niall planted a kiss on her neck, before pulling away to press their foreheads together, looking not only into her eyes, but straight into her soul. Lucy could feel her eyes starting to glisten, and who knows, maybe it was the hormones, there were definitely many emotions filling her, the strongest of them all being love.

“We’re really gonna have a baby soon,” Niall whispered, cupping her cheek, ready to catch any tear that might escape.

“Yeah,” she managed to say, before he leaped in to kiss her, wanting to show her just how happy he was, how in awe and in love he was, how grateful he was for her.

“You’re okay with that, right? Having a kid now?” he asked after a minute, his voice laced with the slightest hint of insecurity. They talked about it last night, but he wanted to check in again, after some of the emotions died down.

Just looking at him, concerned about her and her feelings, made her heart soar and a smile graced her lips. “Of course I am. It’s unexpected, sure, but I’d say we’re in a pretty good place, maybe it’s not ideal timing, but it’s not terrible either.” She propped her head on her shoulder to get a better look at Niall, making sure he not only heard her, but also knew she meant every word. “I’m happy. We’ve known for a while we wanted children, so we might as well start now, right? We’re having a baby, of course I’m happy. Pretty scared, but happy.”

“I feel like the happiest man, honestly. You always make me the happiest.” He grinned so much this morning, his cheeks would probably start aching before the clock even hit noon.

“Do you think we’ll be alright as parents?” she asked, grabbing his hand to play with his fingers.

“Well, I have no doubt you’re gonna be the best mum. And I’d like to think I’m gonna be an alright dad.”

“You’ve always been amazing with kids.”

“Yeah, but it’s a bit different with your own, right?” He shrugged before moving onto his back and looking at the ceiling, like it could hold some answers. “I think you might have to be the strict parent most of the time. I’m too soft for those kinds of things.”

Lucy chuckled, leaning up and over him. “We’ll figure it out,” she assured. “I need to call my doctor and actually get an appointment first.”

“You’re still coming with us to Europe, right?” He asked, looking up at her hopefully.

“Yeah, it should be okay, right? We’ll ask the doctor, but I think so. We need to get the house done though. Especially now.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll make it. Everything will be alright and if not, we’ll figure it out.”

She went in for another kiss, before settling down onto his chest. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” He moved his hand around to her belly and looked down. “And you little bean.”

July 2026

“You can see my belly, can’t you?” Lucy asked, turning every which way in front of the mirror.

Niall glanced at her from his place on the bed, looking away from the emails he’s been responding to and taking in his wife. She had a pretty summer dress on, the mixture of elegant and cute, looking as beautiful as ever. But he felt like he was on thin ice, because yes, he could easily make out a small baby bump beneath the material, but he was more than familiar with her body and was pretty sure this was not the response Lucy wanted to hear.

“Well… Yeah, but that’s just because I know it’s there,” he said, gesticulating to her stomach.

She huffed irritatedly, clearly not happy with his answer. “I don’t have anything to wear, then.”

Niall sighed (but not loudly enough for her to hear), closing his laptop and going to stand behind his wife, grabbing her hand to pull her close. “You look beautiful, love. And if someone can spot your bump, so what?” He knew Lucy wasn’t feeling great lately. Her belly started growing and as much as he thought that made her even more sexy, she didn’t feel perfectly comfortable with it yet, so used to the way her body had been pretty much the same for years. The fact that she had been feeling like shit, growing tired way too soon and morning sickness lasting almost all day, did not help.

“It’ll probably make tens of articles pop up speculating,” she reasoned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He shrugged, clearly unbothered. “I say, let them. Fuck it, you know? It’s ours, yeah, but we can’t keep it on the downlow forever, so we should just do whatever we want to. And not care. You are pregnant, so why hide it?”

She bit her lip, taking a moment to think through his words. “Are you sure I look alright?” she asked again. “There will be a lot of people. And pictures.”

“You look stunning, Lulu,” he assured, marking his words with a kiss. “Like always, but even more. You’re glowing and I’m loving it.”

“I do not feel glowing,” she huffed.

He looked at her with concern. The doctor said it was all normal, some women feeling better, some worse, so technically there was no cause for concern, but he still worried, especially knowing that she was happy with the pregnancy, but couldn’t actually enjoy it, because it was not being easy on her. Having her on tour with him was good and bad at the same time, he was glad he could keep an eye on her, but it was hard seeing her struggle, especially all the travelling taking its toll on her. She assured him she was fine, time and time again, being an absolute champ about it all, which of course she was. But he was a husband, it was his job to worry.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay today? How’s the sickness?” he asked, holding her steady by the waist and taking a step back to look at her properly, almost like he was trying to assess her state, even though there were no clear symptoms.

“Not awful, but not the best either,” Lucy admitted, having trouble to even remember when was the last time she actually felt good. She took his hands and wrapped them tight around her waist, stepping closer to him once again. “You’ll be by my side, so I’ll be alright.”

He sighed, knowing there was no point in discussing it further. He did plan to make her ginger tea in a travel mug, so she could drink it on their way, hopefully calming some of her nausea, because that was pretty much all he could do to help her. “Are you excited?” he asked, changing the subject. They were going to watch the women's final at Wimbledon, with Lucy not only being invited, but also asked to take part in the trophy ceremony. It was a great honour, he understood that, of course he did, but just a little part of him wished she would take it easy. Stay home if she didn’t feel great. Especially because he knew she was stressed out about it. Not only about how she looked, despite all the questions she just asked, that was probably the least of her concern. She didn’t like being in public like that. Maybe she wouldn’t be the centre of attention, but she’d still be under the spotlight. She worried about making a mistake, having thousands of eyes on her, all the comments that might come after. She knew how to play on a tennis court, not hand trophies.

“Yeah. Really excited,” Lucy said, a smile taking over her face. “A little stressed, especially since I could technically feel the urge to throw up at any minute.” Niall was about to say something, probably along the lines of her canceling, so she pressed her palm against his mouth to shut him up. “But it should be fine. I’m really hoping Naomi will win, she deserves it so much.”

She didn’t just say it because she had beaten Naomi last year, but as a friend and a fellow player. They already made plans to meet up for lunch on Monday for a little catch up.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, they asked us to come in on Wednesday to see the house, they need some decisions regarding the living room, I think.” Lucy said, after Niall finally went into their wardrobe to change. She was just about to hurry him, not wanting to be late and knowing the traffic will probably be awful.

“Do you have any other plans on Wednesday?” he asked, coming back into the room, dress pants on and starting to button a light blue shirt.

“There might be a meeting regarding the sporting centre, I’m not sure yet. But if I’m busy you’ll handle it, right?” Lucy asked, not even trying to hide the fact that she was ogling her husband’s naked chest. Damn, she loved his body. And his heart and soul, but his body… It made her crazy, especially now when her hormones were all over the place.

“Yeah, of course,” he said right away, knowing Lucy was actually the one making sure everything was on track with their house, so he could take some of that load now that he was home for three weeks.

“And I might not be coming out for that last leg of your tour.” She said, finally turning around and going to put finishing touches on her makeup.

“Wait, what? Why?” Niall asked, stopping his movements to look at her.

“Just…. The house is gonna be a shit show next month, with most of the general work being finished, the furniture and equipment starting to arrive, the other crew coming in… We can’t ask Mia and Nat to keep an eye on it all the time.” She didn’t turn around, didn’t even raise her eyes to look at him through the mirror, because she didn’t want to see his expression. Seeing the disappointment on his face might just make her cry. And she spent way too much time trying to make her eyes look decent with makeup to destroy it now. “Plus there’s been talk of some more meetings, getting the ball really rolling for the centre… And it might be good for me to slow down for a bit. Especially all the travelling. I haven’t decided yet, maybe I’ll come down for Australia.”

“Oh okay. I mean…” he sighed, his hand going up to his hair and stopping at the very last second when he remembered it was already styled. “Yeah, it might be good for you to chill for a minute. But I’ll hate not seeing you for weeks again. And I don’t like the prospect of leaving you alone with it all.”

Lucy finished applying her lipstick before finally turning around, his eyes already trained on her, a weak smile on his face. Niall didn’t mean to make her feel bad or guilty, that was never the case, but he also wanted to be honest. And she knew he was coming from a good place, always.

“I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine,” she said, coming up to him and cupping his cheeks, making a move to plant a kiss on his lips, but pulling away a second before their lips met, not wanting to put lipstick on him, which made him whine and her let out a little laugh. “It’s just a few weeks. And then you’ll be home. And I’ll be here. And we’ll be moving while also preparing for the baby, so that will probably be a shitshow, but hey, at least we’re in this together.”

He smiled, kissing her cheek. Then the other. And then her neck, making her giggle. “‘Course we are. Always.”

October 2026

Putting finishing touches and getting ready to move houses while being seven months pregnant was not ideal. Thankfully they were both home now, after Lucy flew to Australia for the last shows of One Direction’s first tour back, they came back two weeks ago, after spending a few days longer, just relaxing, on the other side of the world.

All of this made Lucy stressed, her pregnancy made her uncomfortable most of the time and the impending arrival of the baby made her feel unprepared, no matter how many books and blog posts she had read. Because of that, it was no surprise to Niall that she wanted a quiet birthday. Lucy was never a fan of huge parties, especially the ones thrown in her honour. He proposed going away to their getaway house in Ireland, but she had insisted there were too many things to be done and overseen here, so he didn’t push, not wanting to make her even more stressed or upset. He did however make sure she hadn’t done anything unnecessary that day. Bringing her waffles and tea to bed in the morning, staying wrapped up in each other until midday, spending the next few hours cocooned on the couch, talking and watching tv, catching up on the lost time while they were apart.

However, when it was nearing the evening, he did ask her to get ready, saying he had something special planned.

“If you threw me a party, I’ll kill you,” she said while walking down the stairs, ready to go out. She knew it wasn’t dinner, because they had eaten not too long ago, Niall cooking her favourite of his while she admired him at work from the kitchen counter. He just chuckled, refusing to give her any hints.

But he did throw her a surprise party. Well, maybe not necessarily a party, more like a gathering. He got all of 1D with their better halves, their friends, her parents, Mia and Natalia, his own parents, even few of the people she’s been working closely with at the tennis management. The place wasn’t too crowded, filled with people she knew and appreciated. The music wasn’t too loud, you could easily have a conversation without screaming at each other. There was a bar, but not a proper dancefloor, just a little free space in case anyone wanted to bust a move, which eventually they did.

It was special, a perfect night to finish off the perfect day, the gesture making her cry more than once (which was fine, because at least she could blame it on the hormones). She trusted Niall completely and moments like those just proved how he truly knew her, giving her the perfect balance of what she wanted and what he knew she’d enjoy.

But now it was nearing 5am and she was lying awake, over half an hour since she woke up. She was uncomfortable. Huffing and throwing away the comforter because she was too hot, then growing cold mere minutes later. Not even her pregnancy pillow brought her any comfort tonight. She was just about to try getting up, when Niall stirred besides her, his eyes cracking open and his hand going to rub at her back as soon as he noticed she wasn’t asleep.

“Everything alright?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, I couldn’t settle comfortably and now I’m wide awake,” she explained.

Niall hummed, looking at her in the darkness, her eyes tired, brows furrowed. He could see she was stressed or anxious, like she had been most of the time lately. It made him worried. He tried his best to take as much burden off her as he could, especially now he was home.

“I’ll go make some tea and then give you a message, hmm, how’s that sound?” he asked, bumping her nose cutely.

“I’ll go with you,” she said, throwing the comforter off her body already.

“No, you relax, you’ve been on your feet half the night, you should rest.”

“I need to stretch, I’m too uncomfortable now,” she reasoned, which made him give up easily, ready to help her up right away.

They went downstairs holding hands, because that’s just how they usually walked, him not really letting her do anything beside walking around the kitchen to stretch her limbs, before going back to bed, Niall refusing to even let her carry a cup.

“I know you’re tired because of the house and the pregnancy hasn’t exactly been easy on you, but there’s something else also troubling you, I can tell,” he said, as soon as they were settled into bed, Lucy propped against the headboard, while he sat cross legged in the middle, facing her.

When he woke up, she didn’t expect him to stay up with her. They went to sleep just a few hours before. Sure, he only had two beers last night, saying he was gonna keep her company in the sober club, even though she insisted she was fine with him having some drinks. So he wasn’t even buzzed anymore, but it was 5 am, he must have been tired. And yet, he was ready to stay up with her, have tea and an actual conversation, just because she couldn’t sleep. That was love, gestures like those only made her appreciate him more and more.

“It’s just a lot, I don’t know,” she shrugged, not really sure how to even explain her feelings. “I’m anxious about the baby, I wish we were done with the house already and… I just… I don’t know what to do with the training centre.”

“Well, the house is almost ready and I’m back now, I can handle most of it. Especially the packing, you’ll just sit and give me orders and I’ll get it all done, don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. It’s not good for you nor our little bub,” he marked his words with a gentle hand rubbing her swollen stomach. “And what’s up with the centre? You’ve been having quite a few meetings about it lately, yeah?”

“Yes and if I was going to pull out, I’d need to do it now.”

He sat up a bit straighter, looking at her confused. “Wait, why the hell would you pull out? I thought you were excited about it.”

“I was, yeah, but…” Lucy huffed, playing with a loose thread in the comforter. “Just how will it work? I was hoping to get it done at the end of this year or the start of the new at the latest, but with a kid.. I don't know, I can't do it all.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” he scooted closer, noticing she was starting to get upset and placing a calming hand on her knee. “You’re not alone in it, love. I’m here,” he assured with a small smile. “And I know I’ve been busy, touring and all, but I’m home now. I’m here for you, we’re in this together, yeah? You’re never alone with anything.”

“Maybe i should just postpone it. Wait a year or something.” She shrugged again, looking down, her eyes unfocused.

He licked his lips, thinking of the best response. “You can if you want to. But if not, we can make it work now.”

Lucy finally raised her head, meeting Niall’s eyes, the look he was giving her nothing but gentle. “I’m just scared that if i put it off now, it’ll never happen,” she admitted. “Because then it’ll probably be another kid, I really doubt we’re gonna be done with one, and just… it’ll fade away.”

“No, I won't let it, love,” he was quick to assure her, grabbing her hands in his and squeezing. “I know you want it. And if you want it now, we’ll make it happen. Or if you want to wait half a year, or less or more, you’ll do it then. But I’ll make sure it’ll happen for you.”

Lucy’s lip started wobbling and tears began streaming down her cheeks. Niall reached to wipe them right away, letting go of one of her hands, but still holding the other.

When she calmed down, he asked, “Tell me how do you see it anyway? I know you want to be involved in it, not just set it up, but do you want to just generally oversee it or train someone or… I don’t know.”

“Umm… I think oversee mostly,” she said. “Pop in to see how everything’s going. Talk to people, trainers, players… everyone. Conduct training from time to time, but not really regularly. Taking on a player would be too much for me.”

“Well, couldn’t you do it now?” he asked, giving her a look of confidence. He was always the one who brought her courage when her own ran out. “Like, even soon after our little bug is born, you’d be gone for a couple of hours tops, not everyday,” he explained. “I think it’d be alright. Might even be good for you.”

“What about the band? Aren’t you planning another album? Another tour?” She asked, not exactly sold on the idea. It was something she’s been turning over in her head, trying to come up with a perfect plan, but she wasn’t sure it existed.

He shook his head. “There’s gonna be a little version of us both super soon and you expect me to leave for months upon months? No chance.” She chuckles, hitting his arm lightly to make him be serious. “There are plans, yes, we for sure want to continue, but not right away. I mean, we’ll probably pop into the studio from time to time, but no schedule, we just want to relax right now. Put our families first. We’re having a baby. It’s technically a secret, but El’s pregnant as well. Harry is getting engaged…”

Lucy squeaked in excitement at all those news. “What? El’s having a baby? That’s amazing. And Harry! Finally! Did he get a ring?”

Niall grinned, finally seeing his wife happy and excited making him feel a bit lighter. “Yeah, showed us like a month ago, fingers crossed he’ll actually man up and pop the question.”

She giggled. “That’s crazy. Maya has told me that she and Liam had talked about trying for a little one as well. Ahh can you imagine our kids being so close in age?”

His face matched her grin. “They’d be best friends.”

“Definitely.”

“But, to get back on topic, I’ll be staying put for the foreseeable future. Ready to take care of you and our bug and everything. So do your thing, don’t be scared, please. You know we’ll work it out.” He moved to his knees to get close enough to plant a gentle kiss on her lips.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, love. I’m your husband, no thank yous needed.”

“Yeah, but I still want to thank you,” she marked her words with another kiss. “For being the best husband and the best teammate ever.”

“You don’t have a lot of experience with teammates though, right?” Niall pointed out with a chuckle. “With tennis being an individual sport and all…”

“Yeah yeah, alright, here’s my trying to be nice and you ruining it. Just like always.”

He laughed, wrapping his arms around her body and bringing her flush to him. “I love our little team of three.”

Lucy went in for yet another kiss, having to agree with him.

taglist: @stylishmuser @verorax @georgiahoranxx @exoticniall @awomanindeniall @soullikestyles @bopbopstyles

#dtl #1dff #one direction fanfiction #niall horan fanfiction #one direction fan fiction #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan oneshot #one direction one shot #down the line

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everwitch-magiks · 4 years

Text

dance with somebody (ch. 16)

start from ch. 1 | back to ch. 15

When Dex steps into Chowder’s bedroom, his single knock on the open door no more than a nostalgic habit, these days, as opposed to a present requirement, he’s certainly not expecting to be faced with, well. With this.

“What’re you doing?”

Chowder looks up. He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor with a myriad of different colored post-it notes spread out around him. Dex crouches down, picking up a couple of the notes (yellow and pink, respectively) to skim through their contents. Louis, helped solve Halloween cupcake disaster, 2 points. Hops, volunteered to do dishes entire week, 6 points.

Dex raises both eyebrows towards Chowder. Chowder, meanwhile, is staring down at the colorful mess surrounding him with a decidedly troubled expression. He sighs.

“I’m figuring out my dibs.”

“With a points system?” Dex prompts. He’s not sure if he’s impressed or concerned. “Looks ambitious.”

“I just don’t want anyone to think that I’m being unfair,” Chowder explains glumly. He picks up a green post-it (Jader, gave up half his vanilla scone at breakfast, 1 point) and stares at it dejectedly. “Or that I don’t care about them. Oh no, what if I pick Jader, and then Joyo inevitably assumes that I hate him? I could never do that to Joyo."

“Dude,” Dex says. He’s trying very hard not to smile. “You don’t have to make a decision yet, you know? It’s not even Christmas.”

Chowder frowns.

“It's almost Christmas.”

“I suppose,” Dex agrees carefully. “Are you sure this isn’t just some big procrastination project? Got any big finals looming, hm?”

“Finals,” Chowder scoffs. “Are finals really more important than the precious feelings of our hardworking underclassmen?”

“Oh my God. What’s all this?”

Nursey strolls into the room without knocking. He places a kiss on top of Dex’s head and then plops himself down between Dex and Chowder, his hand lingering softly at Dex’s nape.

“Chowder is having a bit of a dibs crisis,” Dex fills him in.

“Oh, man. Hard same.” Nursey frowns. “I was dead set on giving mine to Ford. Of course Ollie and Wicks had to go and snag her, first.”

“She and Tango seem pretty happy up in the attic, though,” Dex points out. "And this way, you get to be hausmates with both of them this year."

“I suppose that's true," Nursey allows. Then he shrugs. "And I guess I’ve still got Louis. He’s let me borrow his good bluetooth speakers basically this whole semester, so. Might be an option."

“What?” Chowder exclaims. “No, wait, I might pick Louis. You two couldn't maybe give me some time to figure this out, before you stake your claims?"

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works, C,” Dex tells him gently.

“That’s definitely not how it works,” Nursey agrees, his grin playful yet his tone kind. “If there’s someone you have in mind, Chow, you should just go for it. You snooze, you lose."

Chowder whips his head around, aiming his wide, pleading eyes at Dex.

“You’re not considering Louis, too, are you?”

“Honestly? I wish I was considering anyone.” Dex sighs. “I would’ve gone with Whiskey, but obviously that’s out, and I feel like the Waffles have gotten this strange aversion to doing any of those dibs type favors for me since I became captain. I think they don’t want to act like they’re sucking up for the wrong reasons, or something.”

“Maybe give them some proper incentive?” Nursey suggests merrily. “If word got out that you’re, like, completely undecided about dibs, I’m sure both the Waffles and the Scones would be falling all over themselves to please you. Might be fun to watch.”

“Nah. I’ll figure it out eventually.” Dex shrugs. “Graduation is still really far away. I’m not gonna worry about it, yet.”

“It’s not that far away,” Chowder disagrees. He sounds serious. “Guys, it’s almost Christmas. That means we're graduating in less than six months.”

Dex very nearly flinches. Six months? How is that even possible?

“That can’t be right,” Nursey says slowly. His expression has turned uncharacteristically unchill. “Fuck. Why haven’t I applied to more grad programs, yet?”

“I need to start looking at job listings more seriously,” Chowder chimes in. He's looking down at his post-its with an expression that’s unusually difficult to read. “I guess I can't put it off forever."

“Hey,” Dex says. He’s trying his best to sound reasonable, despite his own inner turmoil. Suddenly, the feeling of Nursey’s hand that’s still resting at his nape seems more important than ever. “It’s not over yet. We’ve still got a whole semester.”

“Yeah,” Nursey says quickly. “Yeah, you’re right. And even after, it’s not like you guys are ever gonna be rid of me. Got your backs, remember?”

“That's true,” Chowder agrees quietly. He’s not smiling, Dex notes with no small amount of concern. Especially considering the fact that Chowder kind of hasn't smiled at all since the start of this conversation. His whole expression looks wrong, somehow, without that familiar spark of effortless joy. “It’s all happening so fast. I wish everything could slow down, just a bit.”

“We’re just gonna have to make every moment count,” Dex says firmly. Impulsively, he reaches for Chowder’s shoulder. “We’re here for you, man. You know that, right? We're always gonna look out for each other. Always."

“Of course. Yeah, of course.” Thankfully, that seems to do the trick – Chowders lips curl into a soft grin. "Ugh. I think I'm just gonna go through my notes for that UX design final one more time. Can't be more stressful than trying to choose a single Waffle for dibs."

"Or a Scone," Nursey reminds him brightly. "There's some good freshies, too, let's not forget."

"Says you, who's got your eye on Louis, too," Chowder points out with an amused roll of his eyes. "I may be panicking, Nurse, but I'm certainly not stupid."

"Ah, and here though myself completely subtle." Nursey grins. "Weren't you gonna study?"

"Actually, yes." Chowder gets to his feet, only to immediately pause. He narrows his eyes towards Nursey. "But if you lock down Louis while I'm stuck cramming user interface design techniques, you can expect some serious payback."

"Chill, man." Nursey's grin softens. "Look, I haven't actually decided on Louis yet, but if it would make you feel better we could have some sort of dibs treaty until the end of finals week. After that, it's anyone's game. Sounds good?"

"I suppose that’s fair." Chowder nods, and Dex is relieved to see the genuine smile he offers in return. "I think I left my books downstairs, so. See you guys later."

He pads out of his room, leaving Dex and Nursey alone in the sea of post-its.

Immediately, Nursey scoots a little closer to Dex.

"Just us, huh," he remarks, his tone a clear attempt at casual even though his smile indicates otherwise. "D'you wanna get lunch, or something?"

Dex hesitates.

"I've actually got some things I need to work on," he says carefully. "Could we maybe meet up later?"

"Sure. Of course." Nursey's response comes just a little bit too quickly. "That's chill, man. Whatever you need."

Dex studies his boyfriend's expression for a moment. It's been a concern of his, ever since he started setting aside time to work on his secret project, that Nursey might eventually start to realise there's something Dex isn't telling him. Dex has been monitoring carefully for any sign of doubt or confusion on Nursey's end, and this is the first time he thinks he's seeing exactly that in the subtle frown that's replaced Nursey's relaxed smile from a moment earlier. Obviously, it's the opposite of what Dex hopes to achieve with his secrecy.

Thankfully, the solution is very simple.

"Hey," Dex says quietly. "It's for you."

Nursey looks puzzled.

"I'm doing something for you," Dex clarifies. "That's why I've been a little busy, lately. It's going to be a surprise."

"Oh," Nursey says. He sounds surprised, already. "You're… Huh. What is it?"

Dex grins softly.

"A surprise. Duh."

Nursey raises a curious eyebrow.

"Don't I get a hint?"

"You really don't understand the concept of a surprise, do you?"

"Fine. Be that way." Nursey smiles a little excitedly, and Dex relaxes a bit. "I suppose I'll see you at dinner, then? The guys all want to go to Jerrys.”

"Actually, can we do dinner just you and me?" Dex asks quickly. "There's been so much team stuff, lately, and I've honestly kind of missed us. Tonight, I want to just... Order in. Preferably from someplace that makes a mean garlic bread. And after, we should put on Netflix and get in bed so I can cuddle you while you rant about the dubious plot changes in another one of those Austen adaptations."

Nursey blinks. For some reason, he's staring at Dex with a serious look in his eyes, one that's only vaguely familiar.

"What?" Dex asks, a little self-consciously. Was it something he said? “You like those period dramas. Don’t you?”

Nursey drops his gaze. He takes Dex's hands in his and holds them gently, almost like they're something delicate, like Dex is someone precious and worthy of protection.

"You're in love with me," he says quietly. "Aren't you?"

Oh, shit.

It's true, is the thing. And honestly, Nursey can’t have been unaware of it up until this moment. Really, he must have known. Dex might never have said it in so many words, and they’ve technically only dated for a few months, but it’s not like either of them are blind to the fact that they were dancing around this thing between them for several years, before. That goodnight kiss out on the porch at the very first kegster of the fall was never the beginning.

Dex briefly considers making some sort of joke to downplay this moment, if only to stop Nursey from being completely obnoxious about it in a minute or so. Except, the heavy look in Nursey’s eyes compels him to make a different choice.

"Yeah," Dex says, almost steadily. "I am in love with you. Quite hopelessly, actually."

Nursey’s breath hitches. He squeezes Dex hands tightly, and then he’s leaning over, capturing Dex’s lips in a fiercely desperate kiss that leaves Dex completely breathless. And if Dex didn’t feel it so completely, just then, in every achingly delicate touch of Nursey’s fingers against his cheek, his throat, all the way down his chest, he might’ve been a bit anxious about the fact that, technically, Nursey didn’t actually say it back.

As it is, Dex isn’t worried. If anything, he’s amused.

“You’re welcome,” he chirps gently after they break apart. “I guess I should be thankful you didn’t just tell me to chill, or whatever.”

“Fuck you, man,” Nursey breathes out, his voice breaking in a way Dex didn’t expect at all. “Also, just, shut up, okay? You already know that I’m writing literal fucking poetry about you, about your freckles and your eyes and your hips and your smile and your stupid fucking lips, okay. I’d like to think you’ve been able to safely assume that I’m more than casually into you.”

“I’d like to think that’s the impression I’ve given you, too,” Dex says slowly. He feels a little confused. Suddenly, he’s tempted to drag Nursey across campus to the wood workshop and just show him, right now, to expose everything that he’s dreaming and hoping and wishing. “Nursey. Hey, Nurse. Look at me.”

“No, you’re right.” Nursey takes a breath. He meets Dex’s eyes with a watery smile. “I don’t know, man. It just hits differently, when you say it out loud. Feels more real. It’s like you spoke it into existence.”

“Maybe something for your next poem,” Dex teases gently. This moment feels too fragile, somehow. He racks his brain for some way to break the tension. “Did you ever read me the one about my hips?”

“Um.” Quickly, Nursey looks away, his smile suddenly more of a bashful grin. Bingo. “Did I mention that one, just now?”

“You did.” Dex grins, too, taking in Nursey’s clearly flustered expression with interest. Oh, this is gonna be good. “Tonight, okay? Read it to me, tonight.”

“I don’t… It’s not my most coherent work, probably.” Nursey clears his throat, and Dex grins a little wider. It’s not often that he manages to make Nursey this unsettled. “I mean, I’ll see if I can find it.”

“Suppose I’ll just have to inspire a new one, if you don’t,” Dex suggests slyly.

“Actually,” Nursey breathes out, already moving to climb into Dex’s lap. “That sounds-”

“Oh my God!” Chowder exclaims from the still open door. “We’ve been over this! You both have your own rooms, okay, you’ve literally got zero excuses for getting your freak on right in the middle of-”

Dex presses his lips briefly against Nursey’s before scrambling to his feet, quickly slipping past Chow into the hallway.

“Sorry, Chowder!” he calls out over his shoulder as he takes the stairs two steps at a time. “Love you, Nurse! Bye!”

“That’s a fine, isn’t it?” Pips calls from the living room as Dex practically sprints past. “Hey, wait! Major fine! Pay the fuck up!”

Dex let’s the door to the Haus fall shut behind him. As he makes the now familiar trek across campus, he doesn’t stop smiling for a single moment.

ch. 17

#check please #omgcheckplease #omgcp #will poindexter #chris chow #derek nurse #nurseydex #dexnursey #dibs #friendship #romance #chirping as flirting #dance with somebody #evie writes #fanfiction

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alex-fa-ch · 4 years

Text

Etna

Ash - Chapter 1

“So, how come you didn’t tell us that you’re married?” Mai asked, trying to bring conversation into the silence of the night. “Or that you somehow have four kids?”

“Have you still not let this go?” Hamilton asked, rolling their lilac eyes.

The two of them were situated on the central antenna of one of the most iconic skyscrapers in all of Boston. Neither of them were nervous about the height, nor even remotely out of their element. They had done this a thousand times. They were Masada’s ‘dream team’ for a reason. Mai looked through her small telescope, scanning the midnight city for what she needed.

“Come on man, we’re your team.” Mai retorted. She didn’t take her eyes off the streets. Their target had to be around somewhere. Masada was seldom wrong about where people would be, or when. “We should get to know these things! I told you guys I’m married on day one.”

“That put me under no obligation.” Hamilton replied, fussing with their sniper rifle. “This is a job. I try to keep things professional.”

Mai snorted at this. “Ha!” She laughed. “Yeah, okay. That’s just why you flipped shit last week when Monty-”

“She’s my sister.” Hamilton cut her off, giving her a glare of pure death that they knew she couldn’t see. “Of course I was worried.”

“I thought we were all supposed to be, what is it, ‘siblings in ash’ now?” Mai shot right back, her smirk getting a bit bigger. “Aren’t I your sister now too?”

“I grew up with Monty.” Hamilton grumbled, scowling. “I’ve known her my whole life. You almost leveled St Louis last time Michael got taken.”

Mai stiffened. Though, she kept her same smile and cheerful tone. “If you bring my brother into this again,” she began, her rage barely masked under her too-sweet tone. “I will run Conteglacia right down your spine.”

Hamilton didn’t seem phased by this. They smiled at the threat. “You started it.” They said. They knew in their heart that she would never.

“And now I’m finishing it!” Mai’s voice raised in volume. She decided to change the subject. She continued scanning the mostly empty streets. “Goddamnit,” she swore. “Where is this guy?”

“How the hell should I know?” Hamilton asked. “You’re the spotter.” They paused for a moment, glancing east. “The sun will be up soon, though.” They observed. “We may want to consider calling it.”

“Mm.” Mai didn’t sound happy with that suggestion. “We’ve cut it closer than this.” She narrowed her eyes. “Ah! See? I got him.”

Hamilton turned to face the direction she was looking. They loaded their sniper, then looked through the scope. “Where?” They asked, waiting for her to get an idea of where they were looking.

“Corner of Beacon and Charles. He’s smoking.” Mai answered. She gave a quick glance at Hamilton’s rifle, before looking back at the target. “Ten degrees to your left, couple meters down.” She advised. “Lime green jacket. Red hat. For some reason.”

Hamilton adjusted their aim to her instructions. They spotted the target. That jacket was a bright neon spot against the washed out dark blues of the city at night. “Good god.” They muttered. “They could be a contract for that coat alone.”

They pulled the trigger.

Through their respective lenses, they both watched the man fall dead to the pavement. Blood seeped from his head, through his hat, and onto the ground. It seemed no one had noticed, but hardly anyone was around at this hour. There was another person walking down the street towards the body, so he would be discovered shortly.

“Nice shot.” Mai complimented, putting her scope in her pocket. She stretched a bit.

“I never miss.” Hamilton replied. They relaxed their hands, and the gun dissolved away. They knew this meant the bullet would fade as well, leaving behind no evidence. Just the way they liked it. “You ready to get back to base?” They asked, looking at Mai.

Mai nodded. “Mhm. Let’s go.”

~❁~

“Nice work!” Masada exclaimed. The two of them were in her office, turning in the contract. “One less problem in the world.” She smiled down at the file, writing something on it and putting it in one of her desk drawers. “Until Rhodes gets back from his mission, I shouldn’t have any more moon work.”

Mai smiled, a little gasp escaping her. “Does this mean...?”

Masada nodded, smiling back. “Yes, yes. You can go home for a bit.” She confirmed. She glanced to Hamilton. “You, stay. I need to talk to you.”

“Oooooh.” Mai jeered like a school child. “Are they in trouble?” She asked, a sparkle in her eyes.

“You know it!” Masada grinned back at her. “Alright, get out of here, Mai.” She said. “I’ve kept you long enough. Say hi to Heather for me!”

“Will do!” Mai turned and headed out the door. “Have fuuuuuuun.” She gave Hamilton a joking look, leaving with a smile on her face. The woman was obviously happy to go home and see her wife.

Hamilton watched her go, before turning back to Masada. “What did I do now?” They asked, sounding more confused than upset. It wasn’t unusual for them to have pissed her off somehow, but they really didn’t know what they did this time.

“Nothing, as far as I know.” Masada answered, her tone immediately shifting. She pulled a file from the top drawer of her desk. “I just don’t want Mai asking questions.” She took in a deep breath. “I have a special job for you.”

Hamilton jerked their head, narrowing their eyes and raising an eyebrow. “This already sounds off.”

Masada nodded in agreement. “It is.” She confirmed. “Came from the big boss himself.” She paused. “I’m sending you to St Louis.”

“St Louis?” Hamilton repeated back, their tone incredulous. “Let the Midwest team handle it.”

Masada shook her head. “I can’t.” She said. “Besides, I owe Minerva a favor anyways.”

Hamilton crossed their arms. “So send Mai.” They suggested, getting more annoyed with the conversation. “I’m sure she wants to see her brother anyways.”

“Can’t.” Masada repeated, not explaining further. She opened the file. “You recognize this guy?” She asked.

Hamilton glanced over the file, then looked at the picture. They stared for a moment, but then shook their head. “Should I?” They asked.

Masada shrugged, still not giving any more information. “This is just a delicate matter.” She said, pointedly not answering their question.

Hamilton scowled. “Talk to Ilia.” They said. “You know how I feel about leaving for so long.”

Masada wasn’t phased by their tone. “It shouldn’t take you longer than a week.” She said.

“You’re asking a lot of me-”

“I’m not asking.” Masada interrupted them. “I’m ordering.”

Hamilton’s scowl turned into genuine anger. “Well, you’re ordering a lot of me.” They growled. “I was looking forward to seeing my husband and children again.”

Masada rolled her eyes. “Jakub will understand, he knows what you do. And your brats are old enough to live without you for a bit.”

“Watch your fucking mouth!” Hamilton snapped. “My youngest is six.”

“And your oldest is nineteen.” Masada shot back. She sighed. “Look, this is an urgent mission. I’m not asking. I don’t really care if you want to or not. I’m ordering you to go to St Louis and do your job.” Heat waves began to rise from her. “Midwest team can’t do this, nor can the Rust Belt team. I can’t send Mai. Rhodes won’t be back for another few days.”

“Goddamnit.” Hamilton swore. They seemed to understand that they really were the one that had to go.

Masada softened. “Look, I’m not happy about it either.” She said. “You’re my best. I don’t need you running around in some backwater hicktown.”

Hamilton made a face full of confusion. “I thought you said St Louis?” They asked. “One of the biggest cities in Missouri?”

“Don’t sass me.” Masada snapped. “I don’t need you away from here.” She sighed. “But, I know I can trust you.” She paused. “This is an extremely delicate situation. The others don’t know, and they can’t know. Not even Monty.”

“Monty has her own sun missions anyways.” Hamilton muttered. “What’s the big deal about this guy?” They asked. “Is he dangerous?”

Masada frowned. “I’m not sure.” She admitted, looking down at the file. “I didn’t get a lot of answers. I just know this needs to be done as soon as possible. I was asked personally to send someone. I owe Minnie a favor anyways, and we both owe America everything.” She looked up at them. “Just do your job, and come home.”

Hamilton narrowed their eyes. “What the hell are you hiding?”

Masada met their piercing gaze without fear. “All sorts of things, Ham. But none of which concern you.” She picked up the file, handing it to them. “I’ve already arranged for all the travels necessary.”

Hamilton took the folder without a word, still scowling.

“Look, I know it’s weird. Can you trust me?” Masada asked.

Hamilton sighed. “Fine. But I’m going to stop at my home for the night first. Then I’ll go in the morning.” They said. “Orders or not, I would like to see my family.”

“Fine.” Masada conceded. “Let me know when you’re ready to go. I’ll have connections at the airport for you.” She took in a deep breath. “And remember, this is strictly confidential. Don’t go running your mouth.”

“Yes, because that’s what I’m known for, being talkative.” Hamilton rolled their eyes to punctuate their sarcasm. “I’ll let you know when I’m done explaining to my husband why I can’t stay home after being gone for four days.”

“Let me know when you’re done thinking of all the different ways you want to shoot me, too.” Masada returned, already looking over some other paper. “Good luck, Hamilton.”

Hamilton took that to leave, and exited her office. They glanced from side to side, hoping Mai wasn’t still lurking. They didn’t want to have to lie to her. But fortunately, the hallway seemed to be empty. They glanced down at the file.

It was a lot more information than usual. A lot more information. But two key things were missing. The reason for the contract, and the name. Both had been scribbled out in thick black pen. The reason and last name were both too illegible, but Hamilton could just make out the first name.

Liam.

#Ash #My writing #word count: 1744 #im tired lmao

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mrs-nate-humphrey · 3 years

Note

what are the randomest hcs you have for gossip girl, but absolutely love?

ohh this is such a fun question, but at the same time, more than my own headcanons, it’s random bits of canon that are so fascinating to me.

there’s a lot of tiny details in canon that i adore (nate’s favourite movie being the sound of music, serena & dan reading nylon together, dan being fashion savvy, jenny making her first dress at age 8, dan & nate having a don draper pact, chuck having a kangaroo tattoo he got in australia when he was really drunk, blair & serena being co-captains of the lacrosse team, dan and vanessa attending morrissey concerts together...)

yeah so honestly more than headcanons i love how many hilarious things we got in canon (that bit where rufus is like ‘remember you needed your hand held on the way to school when you were in junior school, or else you’d cry, jenny?’ and jenny looks at him scathingly and she’s like ‘that was dan’ dkslhflkhg such a beautiful moment.)

so! i can’t rlly compare to this, very much. here’s a few random ones, though (some of which might show up in fics i’m writing/ i will write):

i feel like blair in junior school definitely had horse girl energy. idk if she was actually a horse girl, but i bet she was really intense.

nate is the best sports captain ever; he has all the skills needed to be a good captain. he’s good at strategizing on the field, at knowing what his players’ strengths and weaknesses are, at making everyone feel like they’re part of the team. everyone who’s ever played any sports with nate falls in love with him a little at the end of it.

in fact, i describe nate to people who haven’t watched gg as ‘the troy bolton of the gossip girl universe.’ am i wrong? (no. and nate/vanessa makes me think of troy/gabriella. i think just because of how smiley and wholesome and sweet both relationships can be? idk.)

vanessa &/or serena take dan to his first pride because he needs moral support. (if it’s vanessa and serena, and they end the parade with becoming girlfriends...nothing like it, honestly.)

dan can play the piano reasonably well.

nate doesn’t get the same childhood pop culture references his peers do, because what movies and shows he was allowed to watch were closely monitored by anne and howard. he had to sneakily watch cartoons at blair’s place, and at serena’s place. but sometimes dan & jenny will reference disney movies and he’ll be like, “huh?”

i think more than rufus, alison’s the one who really encourages dan to be a writer & supports his writing.. while he’s younger. which i think is part of why her leaving hurts dan so massively.. he’s always felt like alison understood him better than rufus. and then alison leaves and he just doesn’t understand how it was so easy for her to go, how she could just leave him like that. and it hurts.

dan and jenny just GET each other’s creativity and ambition. they support each other in every possible way. dan’s birthday gift to jenny will always contain sewing supplies, along with whatever else she’s been wanting. jenny, from a very young age, has been gifting dan novelty dictionaries and thesauruses dead seriously. it’s fine though; he loves it.

in the same vein... dan knows a lot about fashion, and everything he knows he knows from jenny, because he’s listened to her and encouraged her and paid attention to her designing stuff over the years. SIMILARLY: jenny’s fucking amazing at scrabble, and can be a walking thesaurus at times, and is really good at proof-reading people’s writing, despite not being a writer. (’what? my brother’s a writer, you have no idea what i grew up around.’)

serena and nate 100% get high together a lot of the time and it’s a lot of fun!!

nate is a dog person & dan is a cat person. (when they move in together for a bit, jenny gets them a pet bird as a compromise.)

serena is extremely good at maths & physics, relatively good at bio and chem. nobody really expects it, and she doesn’t announce it or broadcast it, and often due to the traumatic stuff happening in her life, her performance at school isn’t really the best. but she’s amazing at it. she’d also be really good at law, and psychology.

nate hates sitting in one place and reading books. he LOVES audiobooks, though. and documentaries and movies. he just finds it hard to like. flip pages and read.

something i’ve thought about a lot is that it makes a lot of sense for nate to have some sort of learning disability but very, very mild. like, super mild dyslexia. so it doesn’t get diagnosed and everyone keeps telling him to “try harder” but he genuinely is doing his best...

i’m really sad we didn’t get a debate club during the college arc, because dan & blair would be the PERFECT british parliamentary debate team. they would destroy everyone!

finally (this is so random but. what isn’t really) i don’t think dan would propose to blair. i think, given the way marriage has been for her, with the louis thing and then the chuck thing, dan would just be like. ‘i would love to be married to her but i think this is something she’s got to initiate, and im not going to push her.’ he would do a very good job at being quiet about how badly he wants to marry her... right until blair reads something he’s working on (possibly by accident, i think both of them WOULD respect the other’s privacy and not snoop) and she’s like.. ‘dan you want to marry me?” and dan’s like “well obviously??” and she’s like ‘it wasn’t obvious to me.’ and it doesn’t come up again until later, when blair gets them both engagement rings and just goes, ‘we’re engaged now, i suppose.’ and then they do something romantic to celebrate.

#anon #prompt #this was such a cute question!!!!#i would usually also link my lgbt+ headcanons post #but i am far too tired to actively comb thru my blog right now #my writing #not exactly but STILL #i want it in that tag

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feistypaants-archived · 4 years

Text

Between The Pipes [Chapter 29]

Rating: M Words: 2341 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: Something amazing happens.

So so so so so so many that it's close to infinite thank you's to @xmjcx for helping me with this chapter. Her wisdom got me over a roadblock I couldn't figure out my way around, so, yeah. I'm just forever grateful. (hopefully this butters her up enough that she's not mad at me for posting it while she's asleep whoops)

Enjoy!

Kristoff had insisted, after their long-running burger dinner, that either she should come to his, or let him come to hers. But Anna had smiled and shook her head, promising that she just had a very bad headache and wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” He stroked a nervous thumb over the back of her hand before she leapt out of his truck.

No kiss.

“I know,” she smiled again, but it still wasn’t reaching her eyes.

Anna waved and left him sitting alone, worried and upset, as he watched her shoulders sag as she made her way up the stairs. He hoped maybe some sleep would help.

But then she didn’t show up the next day. To be fair, she didn’t really have any work to do when there wasn’t a game - she just usually came to watch practice and hang out afterwards - but it was strange nonetheless.

He had texted her as soon as he got off the ice.

Want me to come over tonight? I’ll bring dinner? Chinese?

aww, you’re sweet. im just not feeling well. maybe tomorrow?

All right… let me know.

of course!

He didn’t even hear from her for another day after that.

She came in on Thursday for a game against St. Louis, and Kristoff took note of the caked makeup over her dark, puffy under eyes. “Hi, baby,” he tried, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when she immediately stepped into his outstretched arms and pressed her nose into his shoulder. “Feeling better?”

Her head shook a firm no against him, but he wasn’t going to push it. Kristoff was just thankful she was _here _and responding to him.

“I’m here,” he breathed into her hair. “Whatever you need.”

He swore he felt her sob against him.

She powered through the night, interviews were jovial and upbeat as she made jokes and teased and talked through play-by-plays with some of his teammates. You could barely even see how much makeup she was wearing on camera - Ryder had been picking flattering angles and lighting.

They had won, she had hugged him, and even kissed him once more.

But she still drove home alone afterwards.

“Man…”

Kristoff turned around in the parking lot, surprised to see Honeymaren walking out behind him. “Real shame, huh?” He felt his eyebrows furrow as she looked down into her bag. Did she know? “I know, I know, I’m not supposed to know but,” she shrugged and smiled sadly up at him. “Her sister has loose lips.”

He nodded once, hoping she would continue. Thank god she wasn’t so tight with secrets either. “Just… God their father is the worst, right? I can’t believe that he just fired her like that.”

His heart was hammering in his throat as she kept talking.

“You’d think, you know... that’s his kid, right? Give them the benefit of the doubt?” She was shaking her head now. “Apparently he called her all sorts of…” She sighed into a groan and she practically shivered. “Just… horrible.”

Kristoff gave her about thirty seconds to continue before he blurted out a quiet “why?” He ignored how her eyes widened. “Why did he fire her?”

Honey looked shocked now. “She… Anna hasn’t told you?”

He could feel his eyes fluttering slightly as he shook his head. “No…”

“Oh, um…”

Regret was radiating off of her in waves. She had said too much, he knew she thought it, but… He understood, now. No one wants to be fired - much less by their own parent - not to mention, Kristoff genuinely couldn’t think of a single thing Anna could have possibly done wrong. She was a great employee, and a great on-air personality… But he still didn’t understand why she wasn’t telling him.

Unless…

His shoulders slumped. “Was it… because of me? Because,” he stuttered for a moment, gripping the strap of his duffel. “Because she was dating me?”

“Oh, god,” Honey cringed, pressing a palm against her forehead. “I… I think you should talk to her. I… shit. I’m sorry.” He watched her cheeks darken as she turned to head back to her car. “I… god, I thought you would’ve known.”

He nodded once, curt and hardly there, as she climbed into her drivers’ side. “Me, too,” he mumbled, before she shut the door.

—

One more day passed before he heard the personalized Disney ringtone she had set on his phone - because you said I was pretty enough to be a princess, remember? - and Kristoff was almost embarrassed at how he dove for his phone. “Anna?”

“Wanna come over?” She sounded so shy, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “I’ll order pizza.”

“Of course, give me a few minutes.”

She hung up almost immediately and he definitely broke a few speed limits getting to her as quickly as he possibly could. And, as if she heard his truck, or his heavy footsteps, or even his panting for air as he sprinted up the staircase, her front door swung open just as he lifted his hand to knock.

“Hi --”

“No talking.” Anna threw her arms around his neck and led him quickly into the apartment, kissing him deeply as they stumbled over her haphazard piles of belongings. It was only a short walk before he recognized the distinct smell of her perfume that was strongest in the bedroom.

Fuck, he knew they needed to talk, he knew she needed to tell him, or that he needed to tell her, but she was so warm and giving and he had missed her so much. Then suddenly, a moment of clarity as she threw herself down on the bed, fingers tangled in his t-shirt, moving with enough force to pull them apart for just a moment as he locked his arms on either side of her. “Hang on, wait, Anna… We really should--”

Her hand clasped over his mouth. “I said no talking.”

Kristoff blinked a couple times in surprise, eyes scanning over her face. Her nose and cheeks were red, eyes dark and wet, and she had still fucking been crying. But… would this make her feel better? Could he risk turning her down and her kicking him out? She was in control of this whole situation, and if this was what she wanted…

God, no.

No, it wouldn’t help. He knew her well enough by now to know that for sure, didn’t he?

Turning his head enough to slip her hand from his lips, Kristoff twisted his hips so that he was sitting beside her now on the bed, resting one of his hands on her forearm and squeezing reassuringly. “Anna…”

Her cheeks were red, now with embarrassment, as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her skin. “Honeymaren, uh… She told me what happened.”

There was a mixture of confusion and anger and relief washing over her features as she seemed to be puzzling over which one to allow to the forefront. He blew out one breath of air, and had to close his eyes when he heard one heavy sob escape from her throat. “She… what?”

“Not…” He stroked his fingers up her arm to rest below her shoulder, doing his best to reassure her. “Not everything, I don’t think. Just…” She sat up, forcing his hand to leave her arm and settle on her leg. “That he fired you.”

His eyes dragged over the slight swell of her throat as she swallowed before darting back up to her downcast eyes. Kristoff only hesitated for a moment before he scooted a little closer, now hip to hip, and nudged her with his shoulder. “Anna…” She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, and he tried his best to give her a soft smile. “You can tell me as much -- or as little -- as you want. I’m here. Just… let me know what you need.”

She blinked away a few tears, sniffled once, and then laid her head against his shoulder.

“He…” Another sniffle. “He was never told that our… how we started…” He couldn’t see her face, but he could almost picture her lip caught between her teeth as she struggled for the words. “He didn’t know it was fake. And… I guess someone told him…”

Warren. That scumbag Warren told him. But how the hell did he even know?”

“So… now I’m a big liar.” Her hands came to grasp at his as he flipped his palm up on her thigh, and she let out a small sigh as she started playing with his fingers. “I guess it just… confirmed his suspicions about me - about…” Anna’s head shook against his shoulder and he nodded, letting it go. It was something she wasn’t ready to reveal yet, and he would respect that.

“Anyway, I guess he said… it wasn’t worth the potential scandal?” He could tell it was easier when she wasn’t looking at him. “If everything came to light… About how I got the job, about the… PR stuff… I think he said I wasn’t good enough at it to justify it… I don’t really know,” she laughed lightly, bitterly, as she squeezed at his fingers, and he tried his best not to let the rage bubbling in his stomach boil over. “I kind of blacked out a bit, I think. But… After the All-Star break, I’m… done.”

Kristoff turned his head to press his lips softly against her hair before settling his cheek against her head once more. “Your father is making a huge mistake. It’s going to be a big loss, you not gracing everyone’s screens anymore.”

Anna laughed, quietly but genuinely this time, and he brought his other arm to settle around her hips. “I’m not kidding, really.” He could feel her turn her nose in to nuzzle against his throat. “Listen, I’ve… seen a lot of interviewers and worked with a lot of interviewers, and you have this very, very natural charisma about you. You get even the most resistant guys to talk.” He vaguely lifted their joined hands to gesture at himself.

“You hardly wanted anything to do with me, if you want to remember correctly.”

“Yeah, well,” he grinned, pinching at the curve of her hip and soaking in the soft sound of her laughter. “That’s what I’m saying. You’re so good at getting people to open up and talk. That’s a skill few possess.”

He wanted so badly to look at her, but Kristoff wouldn’t risk moving if she felt safe here. “And, god, you’re so smart, Anna.”

A meek “I am?”

“Of course! Fuck, you learned the ins and outs of hockey in a matter of weeks.” He felt her tensing against him. “I swear, you asked questions that even made us impressed. You saw things sometimes that even _I _missed on the ice.”

“No I didn’t.”

He did pull back then, turning on the bed to face her as he lifted his hands up to her shoulders, pressing firm palms against her. “You did. Anna…” Her eyes rose to meet his and he couldn’t help but smile. “You’re amazing. You’re kind and funny and smart and brave -- you took a job you knew nothing about in a new city and you proved that you could do it. You stood up to people who said you couldn’t -”

“... Like you.”

“... Like me.”

There was a smile on her face and a light in her eyes that Kristoff had been so desperately missing. “You’re… you’re brilliant, and you’ll have no problems getting up from this. And…” He leaned a little closer as his hands dragged down her skin to clasp her fingers in his, holding them tightly between their chests. “I believe in you, so much. Whatever I can do to help, whatever you need. I’m your guy.”

Anna’s whole body shifted with the deep breath she took in and released, as her eyelids fluttered and she bit at her lip. He wanted to kiss her, but first he wanted to make sure she was okay.

“I have no doubt that you’ll come back from this better than ever. Whatever job you find after this.” Blue eyes rose to meet his, and he felt a warmth growing in his chest. All he wanted from this day forward was for her to be so happy, no matter how that came to be. “What can I do?”

She slid her hands out from his and reached forward to stroke soft thumbs over his cheekbones. “You’re already doing it.” Moving to kneel, Anna shifted forward on the bed to settle between his thighs. “Thank you,” she hummed, before pressing her lips against his. It was chaste and soft and slow, and Kristoff felt his lips stretching into a smile under hers.

“Anytime,” he murmured, lifting his hands to rest on her hips.

It was different this time as she kissed him. It was different as she wrapped her arms around his neck. And it was different as she looked at him, something new and exciting and raw in her eyes, before laying back and encouraging him to join her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I…” Her eyes darted across his face, and she reached one hand up to cup his jaw. “I want to.”

“Not…” He had to make sure. “Not like before, right? Not just to escape?”

Anna smiled, and shook her head. “No. I just… want to be with you right now.” Her plush bottom lip was caught between her teeth again as she stroked her thumb across his skin. “I… I think I’ve realized something.”

He nodded, bracing his weight on his elbows as he leaned down to continue.

And finally, it was so, so different, the way they moved together, softly, slowly, cherishing the moment and the comfort of one another as they found a new rhythm that no longer felt like it used to. It no longer felt like just sex, just benefits, just friends.

It no longer felt like just.

#btpfic #feistypantswrites

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