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just-my-type-x · 2 years

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From enemies to lovers- Dylan O'brien

In which y/n doesn't really get along with her co-star, Dylan

Disclaimer - very long, I'm sorry, smut (it was my first time writing it, please be gentle, I'm sensitive to criticism), curse words

Italics - acting

Gif not mine

It was amazing working on Teen Wolf with all the people involved. I made great friends here and a new family was formed. Even tho i came in this show at once with Cody, who plays Theo, because i play his love interest, i feel like I've been playing this show since the beginning, since they all greeted us with such warmth. At first, obviously, i was pretty close to Cody since we were both the "new ones". We weren't actually new, because we've all seen movies of one another, it was just weird to get in the middle of a on going show and act like everyone is already your friend. After a few days, we all grew close to each other. Maybe all except for one.

Dylan and i don't get along at all. It's not like something had happened. I think it was just a mutual thing. When we first saw each other, it felt like a heavy rock above my head and ever since then i feel like he is the most arrogant person I've ever met. Holland was the first one to notice something was off with us and yet, when she asked us why, neither of us could give her an answer.

"Hey, watch out!", i yell towards Dylan as my football ball flies too high and almost reaches his head

"If you don't know how to play, leave it", he yelled back and left the ball to fall a bit further from where he was standing, leaving the trailer parking lot to the set

"Asshole", i say under my breath and make Tyler Posey and Hoechlin laugh. I smirk as well and wait for Posey to pick up the ball so we could continue playing

"Don't bother, nothing's gonna change between you two." he says as he throws the ball to Tyler

"Yeah i can see that. I mean, i saved his life and he's still an asshole", i catch the ball and keep it in my arms. "I tried to be nice the whole week.",i throw the ball to Posey, who catches it immediately and copies my hold of the ball

"You mean you were nice when you yelled at him at lunch that the last piece of banana bread was yours and when he ate you, you drank his whole vitamin water that he actually needed?"

"Or when he was on set and he had a really serious scene and you came up with the idea to go amd scare him along with Shelley? By the way, i liked those masks", H laughed and I tried to process the fact that i may have not been that nice after all.

"Ok, yeah, maybe you're right. I'll think of something. We're already on our 5 last episodes, i don't want to end this season with us still fighting over God knows what", i nervously bite my lip and put the ball next to a trailer after Samantha, Jeff's assistant tells us to head on set for filming.

"So, i have a slight change in this episode. It is last minute, i know, but i also know this 4 of you who are involved in the change can memorise new lines in half an hour. So, three of the actors who should've played this scene cannot make it here for this episode, i also changed some lines for tomorrow, since we're greeting them later that day. Now, i need Dylan O'brien, Susan, Cody and y/n to step forward. These are the new lines. Long story short, y/n, you and Stiles have to get something from Natalie Martin's office, but you can't get caught by her. As a distraction, since you're teenagers, you will act like the both of you didn't find another room to-"

"You want us to have sex in the office?", Dylan asks, frowned, holding the page of the new scenario

"No, not really. The idea is: y/n is on the desk, you're between her legs and you're kissing, but when you hear the door opening, you're going to put your hand under her skirt so it would look like an ongoing thing", Jeff says and i laugh, looking towards Dylan. He looks back and i shrug my shoulders, and his frown disappears. Dylan nods and tells Jeff that he understood the new assignment. We all took a 30 minute reading session, trying to memorise the new lines. Not gonna lie, the scene lools hilarious and it's much better than the drama that was supposed to happen.

After those 30 minutes expired, i went to the dressing room with Shelley, as she wanted to pick me an outfit, which made Krista, our "designer" a little mad. She chose a black short and loose skirt, which easily highlighted my round bum and defined my waist. As a top, Shelley chose a white, short and tight V-neck t-shirt, that stops right above my belly button. I took a pair of white AF1 and headed back on set, where the guys and Susan were already ready for shooting. Cody smirked when he saw me and i blushed, but i cheekily waved a hand through my hair, like a little diva. I always liked his flirty side and i always answered to it the same way. I guess this is how we got so close. Susan came next to me and put her hand on my back, saying that i look really beautiful and that she would kill to have my age to wear an outfit like this.

I looked at Dylan who was checking me out, head to toe and toe to head. He rested his chin on his hand and sticked his tongue out to water his lips. I blushed and moved my head in another direction, so he wouldn't see that i noticed what he was doing.

"Please go back to your seats", Jeff yells from his chair and Dylan and I go to the beginning of the hallway.

"Try to survive next to me, will ya?", i make fun of him but his answer is cut off by Jeff yelling "action"

"Where do you think it is?", i turn my head to Stiles and dodge a freshman on the hallway

"You mean where is the list that contains the seven deadly werewolves known in Beacon Hills?", Stiles asks sarcastically as ever and i roll my eyes before i stop in the middle of the hallway, other teenagers passing by

"No, the list with the seven deadly sins. Of course that one, dumbass", i sarcastically answer and add a little extra with the dumbass, which Dylan answers to by giving me an annoyed look. I hold back a smile and continue walking with him, until we reach Natalie's office door.

"Didn't Lydia mention something about her mom doing a lot of research lately? You know, like the most known witches, or if vampires are real, type of stuff?", i ask and i come a little closer to Stiles, so i could talk to him without being heard by other people." I know it's illegal, but"

"Oh, my God no!", Stiles stops me before i finish my idea. "we're not breaking in. I saw my dad way too many times this week. Only at school", he throws his hands everywhere and i dodge one of his hands that almost hit me, which I'm not sure was on purpose or not.

"No, silly. We're not breaking in. Because... I have a copy of that key"

"You have what?", he asks in disbelief and even tho it's just acting, i find him really cute

"Yeah well, you know how Malia was failing her exams last semester?", i waited for him to nod so i could continue, "i made a copy of that key so i could go inside and change some of her grades on Natalie's computer.", i bite my lip, as scripted and Dylan stares at my lips, stuttering for a moment. I try not to smirk so i fake scratching my cheek, so i could hide my reaction.

"Wow, you're such a devoted friend. You know, in return, she would want to eat you"

"It would be my pleasure", i snap back and give Stiles the books i had in my arms so i could find the key to the office. Once i find it, i quickly unlock the door and enter when nobody seems to be paying attention.

"Oh wow we really did that. Lydia's going to kill us. Or maybe just you, she likes me", Stiles says as he's already searching for the piece of paper.

"Keep saying that to yourself Stilinski", i laugh and help him with the stack of papers from her desk.

We quickly go through hundreds of papers, until i finally reach for the one.

"I got it!", i happily raise it in the air and we both freak out when we see through the window from the door that Natalie is approaching fast.

"That's not good. Here, i know", Stiles says and starts to throw on the floor some papers, ignoring my desperate voice. "Sit here", he demands and i jump on the desk and he comes in between my legs. I shiver when his hands get on my lower back, but they're so back that he actually touches my ass. I blush at the sudden close space between us and I'm taken aback by his lips, that crush hungrily on mine. As i remember, this desire of kissing me wasn't in the script. I take a moment to realise how soft his lips are and what a great kisser he is. Stiles moves his hands on my thighs, dragging me on the desk so i could be closer to him. I moan softly when i reach him, my inner thighs touching his waist. The moment is perfect for him to stick hia tongue in my mouth and i take it happily. Stiles let's out a breath when my tongue is fighting for dominance with his. He pulls away, making me ache at the sudden stop. We make eye contact and i know it's his way of asking if it's ok for him to put his hand in between my thighs. I blink once and he gets the message, and he starts sliding his fingers under my skirt, very close to my area, and starts kissing my neck in the same time. Stiles places a few wet kisses on all my sweet spots, which causes goosebumps all over my body. He slightly touches my inner thigh with his index finger, looking deep into my eyes, before crashing his lips against mine again, more passionately than before. He wastes no time in using his tongue now, thing that makes me go crazy and i involuntarily drag him by the collar of his shirt and make him lean over the desk. The door shuts open and Natalie is there, shocked, looking how we're making out on her desk. We both stop and try to act surprised and shocked.

"What are you two doing here? For the love of God, Maya, get down", Natalie asks and crosses her arms at her chest

"We're sorry, we were just trying to find a spot", Stiles scratches the back of his neck and i look from him to her and from her to him

"How did you even get in here?"

"Oh, it was unlocked. That's why we used it", i say eagerly and motion to the door so Stiles could get the idea of leaving. We're sorry, again "

"Weren't you dating that guy? The new guy? Raeken?", she asks and i palm my forehead, oh yeah, one little forgotten detail

"Please don't tell him", i say with a high pitched voice, which makes her roll her eyes. She closes the door and we hear her wondering how long will it take her to get all the papers on the desk.

As we get further from the office, Stiles takes the list out and we start checking it out. Before we take a right on the hallway, Theo appears and grabs Stiles by the collar.

"Why were you kissing my girlfriend?", he asks angrily and i try to make him to let go of stiles

"Did your chimera senses tell you that? Or the toxic relationship you two have?"

"I can kill you right now and i don't have to be a chimera to do it", Theo says and slams Stiles on the lockers, freeing him

"Babe, that's enough, we got the list", i say and Jeff yells "cut". We immediately relax amd Cody apologises to Dylan for hitting him.

"Hey", Dylan approaches me at my trailer, as i was inhaling the midnight fresh air, trying to clear my thoughts

"What are you doing here?", i ask surprised

"I live 2 trailers aways, is that really a question?", we both laugh slightly and look at each other for a few moments. "It was nice today"

I tense when i hear him say that and i feel a sudden change of temperature.

"Yeah, it was. I appreciated your little 'ask', before you went in between my legs", i laugh and i immediately blush. And i think he did too

"Don't make it sound so outrageous", Dylan laughs and looks at me, checking for a certain reaction. "I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm just.. I don't know. You came along and I'm in this weird place, relationship wise, and i knew i would fall in love with you. I tried to be as far away from you as possible.. I just got out of a long-term relationship and having you around made things complicated. Oh my Gosh it's so hard explaining ", he rambles a lot and arranges his hair nervously.

"Breath, and then continue. Take it slowly", i assure him and i put my hand on his knee

"I've seen you in every movie you ever starred in. You've been my celebrity crush for a while now and seeing you here makes me fall in love with you. And i don't think I'm ready for that. I know you're going to say that maybe we wouldn't even have gotten to that point, but i know i would've had. I know that at some point i would've taken you out on a date, i would develope feelings, maybe you too for me, but i would've ended everything because I didn't feel prepared. ", he inhales deeply and all i do is grab his face and kiss him hard.

Dylan is taken by surprise, but kisses me back instantly and slides his tongue in my mouth. I moan at the soft feeling and i deepen the kiss as well. I motion him to stand up amd he does so. I follow him and we get inside my trailer, where he quickly finds the bed and sits on it. He grabs my waist and pulls me on his lap. I obey immediately and as i sit down on him, i take off my t-shirt. He gasps when he sees my pastel pink lace bra, and immediately starts kissing my breasts. I moan loudly when he starts kissing on my collar bone and neck. Itake off his t-shirt and i push him on the bed, as i start kissing and biting on his soft neck skin.

"So you're fine with everything?", he asks breathing heavily

"More that fine", i say as i leave a trail kf kisses on his abs. I get to his pants and start undoing them, but as I'm about to pull the down, his hand reaches my chin and he motions it up so i could see him

"No, don't do that. I want you now, y/n."

I gasp when i hear his words and he starts kissing me again. His lips feel so amazing on mine, the years of experience on the screen showing their perks. He bites my lip softly and i get on top of him, rocking my hips on his hard member. He moves his hands on my ass and i smile into the kiss when he squeezes them.

"Just like that babe", i moan loudly at his words and melt in his embrace. Dylan grabs me and switches positions. He's on top of me, quickly taking off my skirt and he also takes care of his jeans. "Fuck, you look amazing"

"Am i good enough to get fucked good enough?", i ask innocently and Dylan's pupils dilated

"You're not gonna be able to walk tomorrow. This is how good you are and look", he quickly takes of my panties and i take off my bra. He gasps at the sight of my naked body and i bite my lip.

"Your turn", i smile and i look down at his boxers, his length being well shaped by the tight boxers. He was right when he said I won't walk the next day.

Dylan takes his boxers off painfully slow, but i have time to adjust my sight to the sight of his dick. He chuckles, realising how surprised i am.

"Do you mind of you go slowly? It's been a while", i plead, making eye contact with him. The lust in his eyes was undeniable and i was melting under him. I needed him. He kissed me shorty

"Of course. Tell me what you want or need. I'm gonna give you that", Dylan kisses my neck while he positions himself at my entering. He runs a finger between my folds, making me squirm under his touch at the sudden action. "Babe, you're so ready to take me". My eyes widen at his words, and i get turned on even more.

"Dylan, please", i plead again and a smile appears on his face

"Say my name again, babe"

"Dylan..", that's all it takes for him to put it in. The feeling of the bare skin makes us both moan loudly into each other's mouths and Dylan is eager to enter me all at once.

I gasp when he's half way in and he stops moving until i adjust to his width.

"Move", i say and he immediately resumes his entering. When he is fully in, he starts moving slowly, making both of us go crazy. As if he heard my thoughts, he takes it all out and puts is back in all at once, pounding in me. He grabs my hips and pins me onto the bed with his hands, as he is also holding himself up. "Fuck, right there", i say as he reaches the best angle to hit my g-spot.

"y/n, Gosh, you make me go so fucking crazy", Dylan moans in my ear. He stops and slips it out of me and he gives me a sign to turn around, on my all four. I position myself and he grabs my hips to get me closer to him. "You ready?", he assures and i nod. I grab the frame of the bed when he enters me nonchalantly. I hold onto it while the sound of our skin touching each other gets me closer and closer to the edge. "You're so wet for me", he moans and slaps one of my cheeks. As he said that, i really feel my juices coming down my inner thighs.

"Dylan, you're going to make me cum", i cry out as his length keeps finding its way deeper and deeper inside me. "Don't stop"

Dylan's grip on my hips tightens and i know I'll have bruises in the morning. His thrusts become sloppier and messy and i feel him harden inside me, signaling he's close too.

"I need you to fill me up", i moan as one hand chockes me, pulling my body closer to his chest. I start riding him from that position as well, our actions meeting in the middle, creating a much greater sensation

"I want you to drown me as you come for me babe", Dylan's voice is raspy, demanding. He moves one of my legs so they're creating a tighter spot for his dick. "Fuck, just like that. Oh yeah"

I rock my ass on his shaft as one of his hands is still around my neck and one is holding my breast. I lose it when his hand travels down my body and starts playing with my clit.

"Say my name, I'm so close babe"

As i hear his words, i feel myself getting to the edge.

"Dylan, baby.. Fuck, I'm cuming", my body starts shaking, making it impossible for my legs to still keep steady. "Dylan, please, i need you", i say as i drop back on tje bed and Dylan holds my ass up as he thrusts harder and harder in me. With a loud groan, i feel him cuming, his hot load driving me crazy. He collapses next to me, breathless and sweaty.

"i would've done the same on that desk", he says and we both laugh

"i think we should try it next time"

#dylan o'brien #dylan o'brien smut #dylan o'brien imagine #stiles stilinski imagine #stiles stilinski smut #teen wolf #teen wolf imagine #dylan o'brien love and monsters #dylan o'brien american assassin #mitch rapp #mitch rapp imagine #mitch rapp smut #dylan o'brian gifs #dylan o'brien deepwater horizon #dylan o'brien the outfit #dylan o'brien all too well

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teenwolffan-with-nolife · 3 years

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Worthless

Word Count: 2,026

Characters: Derek Hale, Cora Hale, Isaac Lahey (mentioned), Scott McCall (mentioned), Stiles Stilinski (mentioned), Talia Hale (mentioned), Laura Hale (mentioned), Hale!Reader

Pairings: Derek Hale x SIster!Reader; Cora Hale x Sister!Reader

Warnings: small fluff, angst, death, TW: disease and heart problems

A/N: okay so yes this is very different from many things i’ve wrote but here we are i just had inspo and went for it

A/N 2: I have no shame in finishing Superman and Lois in like three days and I can’t wait till the next episode i love it so much

Masterlist

You remembered the events of that day like it was yesterday. You felt off, you felt sick and Talia insisted you stay home. She was always worried about you, mainly because you were the only human one. Both of your sisters and your brother inherited the werewolf trait, but somehow you didn't.

Talia spent a great amount of time focused on you. She kept you by her side for most of the time and grew paranoid quickly. You remember smelling something on fire, and you remember everything around you burning. You were trapped, screaming and crying out for anyone, you could hear the cries of your family.

Laura dragged you out, holding you tightly before holding Derek. The two of them had just come back from school for the day. You had burn marks on your legs and your body.

They never disappeared or faded, instead, they remained a scar. You remember all the times Laura had to rush back to Beacon Hills or rush anywhere in the world. Being the alpha always came with a price. Derek was left to raise you, not that he ever minded. Talia always raised all of you to believe that family was the most important thing in the world, and no bond could ever replace that of a family.

You found yourself standing outside the Hale house, a place where you only saw last when you were barely eight. You were now 14, starting high school. Laura’s body was buried, while you stood in front of it, looking down. There were tears in your eyes as you tried to keep yourself together.

You always tried to hide any of your feelings, you didn't want your siblings or anyone to think you were weak because you were human, but that only made things worse. You taught yourself how to lie to a werewolf and how to hide your emotions.

“What are you doing out here?” you felt Derek’s hand on your shoulder as you jumped, wiping your face.

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you,” he said.

You shook your head, before wrapping your arms around yourself.

“Have you found any lead on this?” you asked.

“Nothing in specific. But you don't need to worry about this,” Derek always tried to give you a normal life.

“I want to help,” you said.

“And I said no. Go to school.” you sighed, before nodding your head.

You sat in the car, putting your headphones on before he started driving.

---

“You can’t just go turning my friends into werewolves!” you tried to hold back your tears as you yelled at Derek.

“I know you’re upset, but-”

“I’m more than upset, Derek! Y-You always try to keep me out of all this supernatural crap, then you turn the only people that have even talked to me into werewolves!” you yelled.

“(Y/N), I told Isaac the truth about everything, and in the end, he made his decision. He was in a bad situation at home, and he wanted a change. I just helped him,” Derek kept his voice calm as you ran your fingers through your hair, frustrated.

Your heart was beating quickly, before you paused, feeling some sense of pain take over you. You felt like your heart was being ripped repeatedly from your chest as you found it hard to breathe.

“(Y/N),” Derek put his hand on your shoulder, looking at you worriedly as you tried to breathe.

“I-It hurts,” you cried shakily.

“Hold on,” he put his arms around you tightly, running to the hospital.

---

“It’s called Coronary artery disease. Our dad had it,” you looked down at the sheets of your bed, while Derek paced around your room.

“How do we heal it?” he asked.

“There’s no cure,” your eyes watered slightly before you wiped the tears away.

“Well what about medication?” he asked.

“Derek…” your voice was shaky as you looked up to him.

“Even with treatment, most people don't survive past the age of twenty. Dad was the exception,” you said.

“How come there weren't any symptoms? Things like this don't just happen,” he said.

“Sometimes there are no symptoms, and even if there were… with everything going on I would’ve been too stressed to notice,” you said.

He sighed deeply, before walking next to you, holding your hand.

“We’re going to get through this,” he said softly.

“I don't understand why you can't just give me the bite,” you sniffled.

“(Y/N),” he started.

“All of this would go away if I was a werewolf,” you pointed out.

“I don't understand what's… (Y/N) if you’re already weak, the bite can kill you,” Derek started.

You shook your head, pulling your hand away from him.

“I’m not weak,” you spat.

“I didn't mean like that,” he said.

“Just go. Don’t you have to train Isaac or something? There's a full moon tonight,” you said.

“Yeah… get some rest,” he gave you a small hug, while you kept your gaze off of him. You knew he was giving you a pitiful look before he walked out of your room.

---

Your condition only got worse over the past few months. Your body was in pain anytime you tried to do anything. You always tried your hardest to keep it from Derek, but he could smell it, and so could Scott.

“(Y/N)!” Derek put his hands on either sides of your shoulders while you jumped, looking at him fearfully.

“Derek, it’s like 6 in the morning. What do you want?!” you whisper-yelled.

“(Y/N/N) just come downstairs with me. I have a surprise for you,” he said.

You sighed, before nodding, getting out of your bed.

You followed him downstairs as he held your hand. You froze, taking the last step from the stairs as you saw a woman pacing around in front of you.

“Cora,” your voice broke as her head shot up.

“Oh my god,” she ran to you, wrapping her arms around you tightly as you let out a shaky breath, before burying your head into her arms.

“I missed you so much,” she said softly.

“I-I missed you too. Where have you been? How are you here?” you began to bombard her with questions as she laughed softly, walking with you to the couch.

“Okay, here’s everything…”

---

You would never admit to anyone that you were scared to die. Everyone in your life was a werewolf, except for your dad. But you barely remembered him. You were only a baby when he passed.

Supernatural heaven and hell were much different from human heaven and hell, and you didn't know what to expect. You would want your family with you more than anything but you knew that wasn't going to be possible.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” you exhaled shakily, while Derek continuously yelled at you.

You sat on the couch of the loft, your arms wrapped around yourself. You were freezing, your chest was aching, it felt like burning.

You kept your eyes on the floor, your tears at bay as Derek paced around.

“I cannot stress how unbelievably stupid you were,” you held in a wince, closing your eyes.

“I just wanted to help,” your voice was low, barely half of what it was.

You, Scott, and Stiles searched for the Nemeton, unable to find it. Deaton pointed out that one of the only ways it would be able to be found was for the three of you to sacrifice yourselves in place of Chris Argent, Melissa McCall, and Noah Stilinski.

It only made your condition worse. The pain intensified.

“You could have died, (Y/N),” he shouted.

“So what if I died?!” you yelled back, taking him by surprise.

“At least I would have done something when I died! I-Instead of being useless and weak I would have had a purpose!” you let your tears fall freely as you took a deep breath, rubbing your fingers through your hair frustratedly.

“You don't understand how it feels like to be the only human in a family of werewolves. You all have these powers and you all save people and help people. Everyone treats me and looks at me like I’m made of glass, like I can't do anything and I hate it. Our family died and I was trapped. I couldn't save any of them and Laura ended up dragging my ass out of the fire. She went around the country saving people and helping people. Y-You’re an alpha, Derek. You saved people, you saved Isaac. Everyone here relies on you to save them. Cora is… she always fights and she’s strong and she doesn't have all these stupid problems that makes it hard for her to even breathe,” you stopped yourself, sitting back on the couch before you wrapped your arms around your legs, putting your head on your legs as you curled up into a ball, shaking slightly.

You cried softly, while you felt Derek sit next to you, wrapping his arms around you.

“The reason I’m crazy protective over you is because you mean the world to me and Cora and we don't know what we’d do without you. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling like this?” he asked softly.

You shrugged, before resting your head on his shoulder.

“I’m tired,” your voice broke as he caressed your arm.

He kept holding you, while you laid in his lap. You closed your eyes, letting out a shaky breath as you fell asleep.

---

You began to fight, and you began to care what was happening to you. You started taking your medications, and you tried to keep as safe as you could. But it always felt like you were running the last stretch of your life, and things got much worse after they started getting better.

You were now 19, Derek decided that he wanted a break from going on missions and being a wolf. You left Beacon Hills with him, the two of you going around the country and seeing wonderful things. Occasionally he would let you help with small missions.

Everything seemed to be peaceful, everything was calm. You had an amazing time with Derek, you watched him get married to Braeden. You were more than happy to have her in your life.

“Cora sends her love,” Derek handed you an envelope from your older sister, while you frowned, opening it.

She sent you a picture of her with her new girlfriend. The two of them were in South America, and you saw a small caption.

I said yes

You let out a small laugh, smiling in joy at the card.

“When’s the wedding? Did she send a postcard instead of an actual letter?” you laughed.

“Yeah, you know how she is. The wedding is in January,” your smile fell slightly, while you nodded your head.

“Hey, you’re going to make it to that wedding,” he said, putting his hand on your shoulder.

“Yeah, I know. Come on, Braeden said that you guys have a date night,” you pulled on his arm as he sighed.

“If you need anything, call me, okay?” Derek said.

You nodded softly, a small smile on your face before you sat on your bed, turning on the TV.

---

“Why aren't you fighting anymore?” you heard Derek’s voice break as he held your hand tightly.

Cora stood on the other side of you, stroking your cheek.

“I’ve been fighting for years. It’s okay, Derek,” you said softly.

“No, it's not,” you heard Cora say.

“I’ve done everything I wanted to do,” you said.

And it was true. You watched both of your siblings get married, you watched them both start families. You saved people, and you knew you weren't alone. Not now and definitely not when you die. Everything would be okay.

“I don't want to lose you,” Derek said softly.

You stroked his cheek softly, feeling a tear slip down your face.

“If I’m ready to move on then you should be too,” you said.

“I love you guys,” you cried softly.

The two of them held your hands tightly, while you closed your eyes.

You let out a small exhale, letting go.

“We love you too, (Y/N),” Derek said softly.

Your body went limp, the tears falling down both of their faces as they looked down at your lifeless body.

“We love you.”

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inawickedlittletown · 3 years

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Survivors - Buddie meta

Words: 3,112

I thought a lot about 4x14 since watching it on Monday and mostly buddie, and on my re-watch I had a lot of thoughts and since I can’t seem to help myself here we are again. And fair warning, this is very long.

I think it’s fair to say that Buck is someone that cares a lot. I think it’s fair to say that his reaction to Eddie being shot would be the same if anyone else in the 118 was shot. That said, yes, the way that Buck freezes and the shock that sets in with him is jarring for a character that is always about the action and always about doing something. But then, he does finally get his bearings after being knocked down to safety and after holding eye contact with Eddie as Eddie is bleeding out on the ground, and Buck is the only one present on the scene to get to Eddie. Buck is the only one trying to get to the injured person despite the fact that there are plenty of other first responders around.

This moment is a lot, and I think it does so much to reiterate and highlight the importance of Eddie in Buck’s life and the love that is felt between them. Up to this point, we cannot call that romantic love — or at least, acknowledged romantic love — but Buck does love Eddie. And vice versa.

We see Eddie’s love shine through in the moments while they’re heading to the hospital and Eddie comes to and his concern isn’t for himself, but Buck. Eddie has been shot, and he’s well aware of that, and yet it is Buck who he worries about. He has to be sure that Buck is alright. And, well, Buck isn’t. He might be physically alright, but when he’s asked if he’s okay as Eddie is being taken into the hospital, he just says “no” and that is very clear to the audience in that moment and for the rest of the episode.

The next time that we see Buck, he is still a mess and he’s stepping out of the hospital. He is literally shaking and he is so out of it and in a state of shock that he’s ignored phone calls not just from Taylor, but from Maddie, and likely anyone else that tried to contact him. I don’t want to spend too much time on Taylor here, but I do want to point out that Buck is at first suspicious of why she is present and barely acknowledges that she was worried about him and he also just doesn’t want to allow her to help him.

Buck’s entire mind is on Eddie and on Chris and we’re aware from Chim’s call with Maddie that the rest of the team are at the hospital as well, and that enough time has passed that it’s likely Eddie’s grandmother and aunt would have heard about what happened, that Carla would have heard, and yet Buck feels like he’s the one of that needs to talk to Chris and no one refutes that. When Albert asks where Buck is later, Chim even says: “he’s got a harder job tonight” because they all know that it is absolutely Buck’s place to be the one to speak to Christopher.

From the moment that Buck was aware of Christopher’s existence, he’s been involved. Christopher bonded Buck and Eddie in a way perhaps because of how much Buck loves kids, but certainly because Buck admired Eddie as a parent and Eddie’s devotion to being a dad. I think Buck similarly endeared himself to Eddie by making it possible for Eddie to get the help that he needed — namely Carla. But over the past few seasons we’ve seen the Buck and Chris relationship grow. Buck has been acting like another parent for a while and I think this season really took it over the top ever since Chris ran away from home and went straight to Buck. Making Buck his safe space over anyone else.

Out of the entire episode, the hardest scene to watch for emotional reasons is Buck explaining to Chris that his father is hurt. Between the way that Chris asks questions to understand what happened, to the way that Buck just can’t keep it together. And then Bobby’s text comes in and Buck really cannot hold it in, to know that actually Eddie will be okay. The rollercoaster of emotions is so well acted, so well written, and there is no way to not feel that pain while watching it.

This whole scene reads like a parent talking to their child about something difficult. It reads like a parent being aware of their own pain and still facing their kid because that’s important and necessary and as a parent it isn’t something that can be ignored. We can go further and parallel the scene to almost any important and emotional conversation between Eddie and Christopher, but especially what we got when Shannon died.It also frames Buck as family and as important in the lives of both Christopher and Eddie. It is difficult then to think about Buck’s place in all of this as only a best friend. As only a work partner. This is glaringly so when we think about Ana. (Also, we have to remember that Buck during all of this knows nothing about Eddie changing his will).

The episode makes it clear where Ana is this entire time because the few times we see her, she’s at the hospital with Eddie. As his girlfriend it makes sense for her to be there for him and yet that is all we are given when instead it would only make sense to use Eddie’s injury as a way to further and strengthen Ana and Eddie’s relationship. And from the last we saw of Ana, she clearly gets on with Christopher, enough that it would have made sense for Ana to step up and offer to care for Chris. It isn’t something that happens. But I think that their relationship would have shown as stronger and as more meaningful in the eyes of the viewer if we’d seen more of them together and certainly if we had seen Ana even just offer to look after Chris.

Instead, it is Buck that sleeps on Eddie’s couch so he can be there for Christopher even though there are other options such as Carla. It is Buck that picks up the slack of looking after Christopher as worried as Buck is about Eddie and as worried as Buck is about everyone else in light of the firefighters being targets. The way that Buck puts Christopher first is so parental. It is something that Eddie has noticed long before this all the way back in S3 and clearly Buck doesn’t disappoint. And Buck doesn’t do it all alone, because obviously he has work and Carla is around, but he is going out of his way to be there for Christopher.

The scenes are bittersweet in that there is a slight domestic/parental element to them, but then also the thrumming knowing that this is only happening because Eddie isn’t around. And yet Christopher is adaptable. It gets to the point where he is even joking around and teasing Buck in a very similar way that he does with Eddie.

I find Buck’s journey through the episode interesting. One of the things about Buck is that he believes he is alone. He knows he has people, but he also realizes that he is alone, and that as much he means something to his team, to his sister, even to his parents, Buck also knows that everyone else has other people. During the sequence in which Bobby explains how things are going to change for them, we see flashes of scenes of the 118 getting ready to go into work with their new bulletproof vests and we see Hen with Karen, we see Chim with Maddie, and we see Bobby with Athena. Buck is on his own.

Is it because Buck’s partner would naturally be Eddie? Or because Taylor and Buck just aren’t on that level (I mean at this point we’re pre-kiss). Either way, we get Buck on his own all while Bobby voice-overs how difficult this time will be on their family/loved ones who already see the job as risky and now it suddenly comes with possible sniper shots too. So is it a wonder that Buck, who already thinks much less of himself, would want to place more risk on himself than anyone else? Not to mention that there is definitely an element of survivor’s guilt at play. Buck was standing right there on that street with Eddie. Easily, it could have been him that was shot except that dressed as a civilian made him less of a target.

Bobby tells him that he made himself a target deliberately and Buck has an answer. He can’t handle anyone else being hurt and that shows us the impact that Eddie being hurt has on Buck, the way that emotionally, Buck could not handle much more turmoil.

About Eddie, Buck says, “I was just the guy standing there when it happened who couldn’t do anything to protect him.” And it is simply amazing how much that statement says about Buck’s state of mind. Add in Oliver Stark’s acting and we get to see so much of Buck’s love for the whole team, for Eddie. This moment comes after Buck’s scene with Carla presumably before he went to work, and in that scene Carla expresses her concern for Buck’s well being, but Buck brushes that off and I think it’s yet another example of Buck’s state of mind in that he doesn’t want to see himself as important, as necessary, as someone that would be missed if they were gone.

We see Taylor again and I do want to say that I appreciate the role Taylor has played in this episode. Her first appearance has her worried about Buck and caring about that more than possibly getting a scoop for work — yet another instance of showing how much Taylor has changed from S2. Her worry then, and the way that she offers to help Buck continues to translate into her second scene in the episode where she’s also upset at Buck for the crane incident and the danger he placed himself in. I’ve loved the development of Buck and Taylor’s friendship as well as the many moments that we’ve gotten that show Taylor as a different person. The last few episodes have slowly hinted at them as a couple and I cannot be mad at how this was developed or how Taylor is very clearly unsure about how things might go. She is caught up in the moment and after she kisses him she even apologizes.

Buck says they should talk about it, but Taylor decides to leave. Buck actually goes to say “wait” or to stop her and Taylor, as we learn later, expected or hoped for Buck to chase after her, but Eddie has excellent timing and has woken up. And Ana calls Buck at once.

I’m curious about when Buck got Ana’s number and saved it on his phone. I’m curious about how Ana got Buck’s number. Before this, we haven’t seen them interact at all and unless Eddie being hurt was the first time they even met, who called Ana to tell her about Eddie?

Either way, Ana calls him and Buck goes to Eddie. It’s a choice that Buck makes and I don’t think Buck even sees it as a choice. And from the way that Taylor mentions Buck not going after her, I just have to wonder about how Buck made it out of his apartment without running into Taylor on the way to his car to get to the hospital. From the way he was running, we know he didn’t wait to get over there. I also do have to wonder about Ana calling Buck and why she felt that he would need to be informed about Eddie being awake at once. Obviously there’s Christopher to consider, but Ana could have also called Carla. This feels like Ana knowing who she needed to defer to.

Buck arrives and Ana is all smiles, but she steps aside so Buck and Eddie can see each other. (Me with my shipper goggles on: foreshadowing?) And then, the next thing we see if Eddie having a facetime with Christopher through Buck’s phone and Ana isn’t there? Did she step out to give them some time with the kid? Ana’s place in all of this just dwindles and dwindles and I’ll admit I never liked Ana...but that’s mostly because I was never given a reason to like her. Maybe I just feel ambivalent.

Eddie asks Buck about how Chris is doing and Buck admits that actually between him and Christopher, it is Buck that is having a harder time. He admits that he lost it when he was telling Christopher and Buck is ashamed of it, of not being able to put away his emotions to focus on Chris. Eddie reassures him: “You were there for him when I couldn’t be. That’s what matters.”

Buck responds with: “Still, it might have been better for him if I was the one that got shot.” And that has been Buck’s state of mind this entire episode. That is what he’s been feeling. But no matter how many times Buck has been asked how he’s doing or been shown that others are worried about him, has he brought that up. It is only to Eddie that he can admit it.

The scene ends and Eddie is left thinking. He’s left considering what Buck’s said, but he’s also considering how he views Buck and how to best make Buck believe that actually he’s not expendable. Not to him or to Christopher or even to the rest of the 118.

We get to the third Buck and Taylor scene and the first thing that is apparent is that Buck has not reached out to Taylor since the kiss. He hasn’t chased her. In fact, he didn’t expect to see her at his door. And it has been days since. This shows us that Buck while interested in Taylor, isn’t that invested. Taylor on the other hand is. Buck explains himself by saying that he’s done feeling like he isn’t enough and I like that self-confidence and the way that Buck makes it clear that he can’t be the one chasing anyone.

To bring this back to Buddie, I do wonder if Buck saying this to Taylor isn’t also a statement about where Buck stands in general and how Buck is not going to be the one that pines or that waits for anyone. Not just Taylor, but Eddie. This could be subtle foreshadowing, aided of course by the next Buck and Eddie scene.

Eddie isn’t someone that talks about how he feels. He isn’t someone that needs to express himself that way and we know this about him which makes this scene all the more poignant. And you can feel how Eddie isn’t too sure of himself when he asks Buck to talk. Not to mention that admitting to going through the trouble of changing his will so that Buck could be Chris’ guardian clearly isn’t something Eddie ever wanted to bring up or mention to Buck seeing as it’s been in his will for about a year.

Eddie is just displaying such a level of awareness for his understanding of who would be best for Christopher, for the realization that no one else in his life cares for Christopher’s well being like Buck does. And they talk about Eddie’s other family and Eddie says my favorite line of the episode, “No one will ever fight for my son as hard as you. That is what I want for him.” Other than “You act like you’re expendable...but you’re wrong.”

Eddie changed his will, not for Buck, but for Christopher. It is placing all his trust in Buck and making him in many ways the most important person in his life other than his son. But telling Buck is something that Eddie does for Buck. He does it so that Buck knows how highly Eddie views/values him and so that perhaps Buck begins to see himself that way too and so he can value his life if not for himself, but then also because it actually could affect Christopher and Eddie as well. It does make me wonder if during Eddie’s time at the hospital, he heard about Buck and the crane.

There’s a welcome home party waiting for Eddie at home and Buck is the one to take him to it. The ending sequence is interesting in that everyone is split up by family. Unlike last season where we had everyone together at the end, this time everyone is with their family. In another moment that could have been used to cement Ana and Eddie, it is Buck that picks Eddie up from the hospital and Buck that takes him to the party. For some reason Taylor is there and I feel like that’s more about being able to put her somewhere, but we could have done without her. I wonder if Eddie already knows that Buck and Taylor are a thing by that point. And I wonder what Chris thinks of her.

All in all, this was a fantastic episode. One of the best of the season and such a strong finale. And I don’t think it gives us any concrete information on if the show is going to actually do Buddie, but it leaves some sprinkling of things that make it a possibility. Most of that is to do with how little development we get out of Ana in any way or form as well as the display of importance that Eddie places on Buck as well as Buck’s emotions when it comes to Eddie being injured. I think we leave the episode on a high note and with a lot of hope that actually maybe something could happen.

I don’t think I will ever be one of those people that are more than 50% sure it might happen, but this episode does make me question if that percentage shouldn’t be higher. It also cements my other thoughts on Buddie and I will reiterate it again because it’s so important, as it stands we are not in any place to call Buddie queerbaiting. We are, however, possibly in the midst of a slow burn.

Tagging: @vivalabandoms @sevensoulmates @greenasher @whenyougoquiet-ihatemyself @seylaaurora @scifitheatre1995 @yramesoruniverse @laura2594-me @selfiethechaosfan @lilyemrys

#911 fox #911 meta #buddie #buddie meta #911 on fox #meta #spoilers #911 spoilers #tagged anyone that liked my post last night hope I didn't miss any of you #long post #over 3k long #clearly I can't ever keep anything short #and this wasn't even focused on the whole episode #can you tell I have an english degree?

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atlafan · 4 years

Text

Office Neighbors - Part Six

a/n: here we are, and it certainly won’t be over after this! didn’t have time to proof read sorry, hope you enjoy! (reblogs and feedback are super helpful!)

warnings: fluff, smut, minor character death

words: 15K

masterpost

The semester was in full swing, and you were counting down the days until Thanksgiving break. It was time you could dedicate to grading, and your brother always cooked this gourmet meal for your family, so all in all, you were just ready to for the little time away. You just needed to get through another two weeks.

It was also time off for Harry. Andy always spent his Thanksgiving break with Paige since Harry got him for Christmas in London. Typically, you ate at Harry’s house for dinner twice a week, and then when Andy was at Paige’s for a weekend, Harry would either sleep at your place, or you would sleep at his. Sometimes you would go to the library together to work. He really helped you find a work-life balance. Now, Harry usually went to Lisa’s for Thanksgiving, but he wasn’t sure if those plans were set to change. He was sort of hoping to go to Boston with you, but he didn’t want to invite himself.

“I think you should just ask her.” Andy says as he helps Harry set the table.

“I don’t want to impose, it’s rude.”

“But you’re her boyfriend, she should want you to spend Thanksgiving with her.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“You say that all the time.” He rolls his eyes.

“It is! It’s not just her and I having dinner, I’d be meeting her whole family, that’s a big deal.”

“Why?”

“Because…well…it’s one thing for her to like me, but I’d want her family to like me too.”

“Dad, literally who has ever met you ever likes you. Even Noah’s parents like you.”

“Thanks.” Harry chuckles. The doorbell rings and he smiles. “Go open that for her, will you?”

Andy races over to the door, and opens it for you.

“Hi, Y/N.” He smiles.

“Hi, Andy, how was school?” You smile as you come in and kick your boots off. “Getting cold out there.” You shiver as you take your jacket off.

“School was good.” He shrugs. “My health class just started and it’s really awkward.”

“Oh, I bet.” You walk in with him and the dessert your brought. “I brought cookies, couldn’t help myself.” You say to Harry, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you.” He smiles and takes it to put on the counter. “We’re having chili tonight, thought it would be nice for a cold evening.”

“Definitely, it smells amazing.”

Everyone makes a bowl, and adds what they want. After chatting about something funny one of Harry’s students says, Andy jumps into the conversation.

“Man, I cannot wait for Thanksgiving break. I know it’s only a few days, but I can’t wait.”

Harry slowly turns his head to look at his son, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“Yeah? You go to your mom’s right?” You say.

“Mhm, my grandparents and aunt come, and so does Noah’s family. It’s actually pretty fun. My mum and aunt cook everything together. What do you usually do for Thanksgiving, Y/N?”

“Well, when I was growing up we always hosted at my parent’s house, but my brother tends to host now since he’s the one that does that cooking.”

“He’s a chef, right?”

“A sous chef, but yeah.” You smile. “Although, he doesn’t cook everything. I tend to make the more Jewish dishes, and then he makes the more traditional Thanksgiving things.”

“Noah’s mum makes a brisket, do you guys have that too?”

“Mhm! My brother makes it, although I don’t eat it anymore.” You shrug and take another bite of the chili.

“Dad goes to Auntie Lisa’s.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yeah…”

“That must be so much fun! Her husband is such a good cook. At the last game night there he made this spinach puff things, and I think I ate the whole tray.” You laugh.

“It’s usually a good time, yeah.”

“I’m surprised you don’t do Thanksgiving at Paige’s.”

“Nah, we tend to keep holidays separate. Her family doesn’t really understand the co-parenting.”

“Gram and Gramp are kind of snooty.” Andy says. “I love them, but I usually cap the convo at five minutes, and then I find an excuse to walk away.”

You burst out laughing and so does Harry, and Andy ends up laughing too. After dinner, and the cookies, Andy goes off to start his homework, which leaves you and Harry to clean up in the kitchen.

“He’s a lot like you, you know? He’s very smooth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bringing up what we all do for Thanksgiving, almost seemed like he was hinting at something.” You smirk. “It’s cute you talk to him about me, honestly.”

“What…I wasn’t-“

“Did you really think I wasn’t going to invite you?”

“I…well, it’s a couple of weeks away and you haven’t mentioned it, so I just figured you weren’t ready for me to meet your family.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“I was going to run it by you tomorrow…I took me a minute to work up the courage to tell my family I was going to invite you, I’m sorry.”

“No! It’s okay, so, you want me to come?”

“I do, would you?”

“Yes.” He puts his hands on your hips and kisses you. “I’d love to.”

“Great!” You wrap your arms around his neck. “I was thinking we could drive down Thursday, and then spend the night at a hotel in the city, and then Friday we could, like, do a ton of touristy Boston things before driving back up.”

“That sounds amazing. Um, let me pay for the hotel though.”

“Oh, please.” You scoff.

“Come on, it’s gonna be really expensive because of the holiday.”

“Julian, Phil’s partner, manages a hotel in the city, he said he could cut me a deal. It’s really no problem.”

“Oh…well, alright then.” He smiles. “I’m excited.”

“Me too.”

“Do you think they’ll like me?”

“I think so, yeah, but I have to warn you…when I first told you about them they had a lot of concern that I was getting involved with someone who has a kid, so they may ask a lot of personal questions. I told them not to, but they tend not to listen to me.”

“Guess it sort of comes with the territory. Nothing I can’t handle.”

You kiss goodbye before you leave, and Harry nearly squeals. He goes down to Andy’s room.

“Guess who got invited to Thanksgiving?”

“Are you serious?!” Andy stands up and gives Harry a high five. “That’s great! You should bake a pumpkin pie, you make the best pumpkin pie.”

“I do, don’t I?” He smirks. “I’ll ask her what I can bring. We’re gonna be going over night together, wow.”

“Is it that big of a deal? You have sleepovers all the time.”

“Andy…”

“I’m not stupid, Dad, she leaves…girly things here.”

“Okay, so we have sleepovers a lot, but going away with someone overnight is, like, next level.”

“You went camping together before you were even together, and then you went to that conference.”

“We didn’t share a room at the conference. It’s…it’s just different, okay? A good different. It’s gonna be great.”

“How come she doesn’t stay over when I’m here?”

“We haven’t really been together long enough for that. I don’t think she really feels comfortable just yet.”

“Why? You’re just sleeping.”

“Right…”

Andy gives Harry a weird look, and then his eyes widen.

“Oh, Jesus, Dad, don’t be gross!”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You’re so annoying, get out!”

Harry puts his hands up in defense and walks away. He really didn’t mean anything by his response, but Andy was smart, and sex was still an awkward topic. He wouldn’t even watch a movie with Harry now if there was a kissing scene in it. Things were okay with Brandon, and that was all Harry cared about. He was sort of hoping health class would help.

Andy had a half day at school on Wednesday, so Harry had to pick him up and bring him back to the university. When he was picking him up he noticed him saying goodbye to Brandon. They were hugging…for a while.

“See you Monday, have fun at your mom’s.” Brandon smiles as he lets go of Andy.

“Thanks, have a good time in Connecticut.”

“Text me if you need me…I know it’s a lot for you over there for so long.”

“I will, I’ll probably need to call you Thursday night.”

“Works for me, it’ll give me an excuse to get away from cousins. I really don’t feel like staying up to play Barbie’s with them.” He rolls his eyes.

“You’re the best.” He looks over and sees Harry’s car. “My dad’s here…bye.”

“Bye.”

They hug one more time and then Andy walks over to Harry’s car, getting in the back seat.

“Hey, how was the half day.”

“Good.” Andy shrugs. “We just ate food and watched a movie.”

“Are you still hungry? I brought some extra snacks to my office this morning.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry. Did you bring anything good?”

“Cheese sticks and grapes.”

“Guess that’s fine.”

“You’re gonna eat a lot of junk this weekend, couldn’t letcha eat a bad snack with me before Mum comes to get you.”

When Harry gets back to his office with Andy, he sees you laughing with Andre. Now, Harry knew he had nothing to worry about with Andre, but he was definitely curious to see what was so funny.

“Hi, Y/N!” Andy says, hugging you.

“Oh! Hi, Andy.” You smile and hug him back.

“What’s so funny?” Harry asks coolly.

“Oh, Y/N was just pointing out how students just skip class all week to beat the traffic, but we don’t have that luxury.”

“I mean, I know all classes after three are cancelled, so we can sort of leave early, but come on. At least let me know you’re not gonna be there.” You say. “Whatever, just need to teach one more class.”

“Can I go?” Andy asks.

“Andy…Y/N’s teaching a class about rhetoric, it’s a little high level for you.”

“I don’t have any homework or anything to do, and I don’t feel like just sitting around.”

“He can come if he wants.” You shrug. “Gotta go now though.”

“Okay!” Andy runs into Harry’s office to grab his snack and then joins you.

“He really likes her, huh?” Andre says to Harry.

“Yeah, he does.”

What you were talking about in class was way over Andy’s head, but what he did understand was when you put an episode of The Office. You wanted to show different persuasion tactics used while making a sale, and you thought it would be relatable for the students. Andy thought you were the coolest person in the world for showing it.

“Alright, I hope you all have a great few days off, I’ll see you Monday.” You say at the end of class. Andy gets up from the back of the class and comes towards you. “So, what did you think?”

“I liked the part where you put on The Office.” He giggles.

“I thought so.”

“I didn’t understand a word you said, but I sort of got some of it when you put the show on. It’s sort of cool how, like, a sow you could watch just for fun could have a deeper meaning.”

“It’s very cool.” You smile and walk with him back down to Harry’s office.

You stop short when you see Paige sitting on the edge of his desk.

“Mum?”

“Hi, honey! I came to surprise you. I had a half day today too.” She smiles and hugs him. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, how are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. Dad already helped me put your things in my car, so we’re good to go.”

“Oh…alright.” Andy gives Harry a hug goodbye. “Have in Boston.”

“Thanks, buddy.” Harry stands up and puts his hands in his pockets.

“Boston?” Paige raises an eyebrow with a smile.

“He’s coming home with me.” You say.

“That’s great! Well, safe travels.”

“Bye, Y/N.” Andy hugs you and out the door they go.

“Did you know she was coming here to get him?”

“No, she texted me, like, two seconds after you went to class, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting to see her.”

“You know, she mentioned a while back that she’d like to get together with you sometime…I think it might be a good idea for you to get to know her better.”

“Harry, no offense, but I don’t need to be best friends with your ex.”

“I’m not asking you to be, but you’re in Andy’s life, she wants to get to know you better.”

“Just a one on one thing?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll think about it.” You say and leave his office. He follows you into yours and you sigh.

“Do you have a problem with Paige?”

“No, of course not. I just don’t feel super comfortable getting together with her so she can grill me.”

“That’s not why she wants to meet up with you.”

“So, it wouldn’t be a couple of hours of her asking me a bunch of questions?”

“Well, you’d ask her questions too. I did the same with Noah, and I get along great with him.”

“I get along just fine with her.”

“You’ve been around her, like, four times.”

“And it’s been great every time, why rock the boat?” You shrug.

“Y/N…she’s the mother of my kid, she’s not going anywhere, and it would mean a lot to me if you got to know her better, alright?”

“Alright…maybe once the semester is over she and I could get together for lunch or something.”

He smiles at you and kisses your cheek.

“You’re the best.”

“Someone has to be.” You sigh and it makes him laugh. “Did you want to just stay at my place tonight so we can leave from there tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sounds good. What time do you want me over?”

“Seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

Harry: what should I pack for clothes, how fancy is dinner?

You: I’ll just be in jeans a blouse, wear what makes you comfortable

You thought it was sweet that Harry was a little nervous to meet your family. They weren’t scary people, but you were the baby, and you knew that came with a lot of questions. Harry comes over a little after seven in some joggers and a long sleeve shirt, and a couple of bags.

“Mm, smells good in here.” He says, kissing your cheek.

“I just finished baking what I need to bring.”

“I made a pumpkin pie to bring, could I stick it in the fridge?”

“That’s so sweet! Of course, go right ahead.”

You take his bags and bring them into your disaster of a room. You hadn’t been very good at putting your laundry away once it was folded, nor were you good about getting your dirty laundry in the hamper. You sigh and start running around to tidy it up.

“I thought you did chores once a week?” Harry chuckles as he stands in the doorway.

“I…haven’t been making much time for it with all the work I need to do. And then I come in here and it’s just too overwhelming. Everywhere else is fine though.”

“You know, having a messy room can cause just as much anxiety before you go to bed because you get reminded of the stress-“

“Har?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t need a lecture from you on my messy bedroom, okay?”

“Wasn’t giving you one.” He raises his hands in defense. “Don’t feel like you need to clean it just because I’m here either.”

“No, I don’t wanna come back to a mess, just…go watch TV until I’m done in here, it’s mostly just laundry.”

“I can help if you want.” You make a face at him. “What? I could throw a load in for you, or help you put things away.”

“You can help by just giving me a minute. I’ve been trying to reconfigure things, I may buy a larger dresser soon.”

“Why? You could just go through get rid of what you don’t need. Perfect time of year to do it.”

“I did that already…” You bite your bottom lip. “I was thinking…well…you come over a lot, and I’ve been trying to clean out a couple of drawers for you so you could just leave some weekend clothes here if you wanted.”

“R-really?” He looks at you like a wide eyed puppy.

“Yeah, we’ve been together five months, I think it makes sense to give you a drawer, I even made room in my bathroom for you, come look.” You tug him into the bathroom “I put up this rack so you could leave some shaving stuff or whatever you usually bring. If you’re comfortable with it.”

“You won’t mind my stuff crowding you?”

“No, if anything it’ll be like you’re here when you’re not here.” You say quietly and look at him. “I leave things at your place, I want you to leave things here.”

Harry tilts your chin up to look at him and he kisses you. He never had a relationship like this before. Well, he sort of did this with Paige, but it was different. He thought it was so sweet that you wanted these pieces of him around, and he knows he should do the same for you.

“Next time you’re at my place, there will be a drawer and some closet space for you.” He smiles. “I’ll go watch some TV while you do your thing.”

“Thanks.”

Around forty-five minutes later you plop down onto the couch next to Harry, and sigh. He throws an arm around you and kisses your temple.

“What are you watching?”

“SNL’s Thanksgiving clip show.”

“Oh fun!”

“What time do we need to be on the road tomorrow?”

“Not terribly early. Today’s the big travel day, I didn’t hit any traffic last year. We can leave around eleven.”

“Amazing. I don’t mind getting up early, but it’s nice to not have to sleep in on our days off.”

“I agree.”

You both shift so you can lay on top of him. He rubs your back, and you both giggle over the funny sketches. You pull a blanket over the two of you, and just get really cozy.

“I’m excited to be going overnight with you in the city. Where are we going Friday?”

“I thought we could take the T to Faneuil Hall and do some shopping, and then we could go to the North End for food.”

“Sounds good to me. Is there anything specific I need to know about your family before I meet them?”

“Not really…my parents can be sort of abrasive, but they mean well. Phil and Julian are pretty chill.”

“How long have they been together for?”

“God, like…six years I think.”

“That’s nice.”

“They’re a great couple. I think everyone will like you, Harry, nothing to worry about.” You lean up and kiss his forehead.

He cups your cheeks and pulls you closer to kiss your lips. You skootch up his body, and his hands slide down to your ass. You bite down on his bottom lip briefly before pulling away.

“Can we be lame and just go get really cozy in bed?” You say.

“Not lame at all, I’m pretty tired from all the grading I did this afternoon.”

You get off him and you both do your nightly routines before getting into bed.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is your bed so warm already?”

“Oh! I turned my heated blanket on before I came out to watch TV with you. Nice and toasty, right?”

“Very.” He chuckles. “Now turn over so I can have that booty.”

“Harry.” You laugh, but do as he says, and adjust right into him. His leg goes right over your hip like always, and he holds you nice and close.

“I’m so glad you like sleeping like this, I don’t know what I’d do.” He chuckles into the back of your head.

“I know, could you imagine if I wasn’t to feel crushed while I’m sleeping?”

“Y/N.” He laughs.

“For real, I sleep so well with you.”

“Me too.” He nuzzles in closer. “Maybe when I get back from London you could try sleeping over on school nights.” You turn over to face him immediately.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah…wouldn’t be so weird, would it?”

“How would Andy feel about it?”

“He asks all the time why you don’t just spend the night when you have dinner with us. We could try it out and see how it goes.”

“With you in London for a few weeks, what does he do for school?”

“Oh, Paige just drives him back and forth.”

“That’s not annoying?”

“She really doesn’t mind it, it’s just extra time to spend together. It’s only two weeks for him to deal with it.”

“I could…help with rides if need be…or if he misses the house at all I could always stay over there with him.”

“Oh, so you’ll have sleepover with him without me?”

“I’m just saying, I can be helpful.”

“I appreciate that.” He kisses you. “So, will you try sleeping over some night when I get back?”

“Yeah, as long as he’s okay with it, we can give it a try. I wouldn’t mind carpooling.”

You kiss again, and you turn back over so he can spoon you. Five months together, and things were going so well.

The next morning your alarm goes off at 8:30. You turn it off quickly, and when you try to get up Harry clings to you tighter.

“Harry.” You giggle. “I need to shower.”

“But you’re so cozy.” He groans.

“You know how long it takes me to blow dry and curl my hair, please let me get up.”

“Alright.” He sighs. “But I’m going in there with you.”

“Oh, you are?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Mhm, gonna fuck you in there.” He grins at you. “If you want.”

“Hmmm.” You pretend to mull it over, but you grin back at him and nod.

Now, typically, you wouldn’t just let a guy stick it in, and trust his pullout game, but condoms in the shower never felt good, so you and Harry may have agreed that shower sex was the one time he didn’t need a condom. The first time you did it like this, not too long ago, you nearly cried from how good it felt it really feel him inside you.

“Oh, fuck, right there, Harry!” You moan out as he thrusts into you from behind, his skin slapping against yours. You reach back to squeeze at his arm as you come undone, and he pulls out shortly after to come on your ass. You both sigh with relief.

“Feel like horny teenager with you sometimes.” He chuckles as he starts to lather up his body.

“Me too.” You start washing your hair.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I know you said you got off the pill because it didn’t make you feel good, but…are there other birth controls out there that don’t fuck with you?”

“Yeah, they’re called condoms.” You say as you put some conditioner in.

“Y/N.” He rolls his eyes and steps into the water once you’re done rinsing your hair.

“I mean…I know there’s an IUD that doesn’t mess with your hormones, but the procedure is a tad invasive, and it probably wouldn’t even be in there that long.”

“Why’s that?” He scrubs his own head so he doesn’t see your face flush.

“I just mean, like, I don’t know, what’s wrong with what we’re doing?”

“Nothing…I guess selfishly it would be nice to do it like this all the time, and not have to worry.” He looks at you. “You done?” He asks as he reaches to turn the water off.

“Yeah.” You pull the curtain and get toweled up, and hand him his. “I get where you’re coming from with that…I just…selfishly I don’t wanna compromise on it. If you’re worried about pulling out, then we don’t need to fuck in the shower like this. We can just go back to what we were before.”

“But I like fucking you in the shower like this.” He pouts and puts his hands on your hips. “You won’t even think about going on something?”

“I’m sorry, Harry…I don’t want to.”

“Alright.” He sighs. “I get it, I suppose. Condoms it is.” He kisses your forehead and leaves you to do your hair.

When you finish with your hair, you don’t see Harry in your bedroom. You go into the kitchen and see him fully dressed, getting some peanut butter on toast.

“Here, a light breakfast.” He smiles.

“Thank you.” You kiss his cheek, and take a bite of the toast. “You look handsome.” You smile at him and he smiles back.

“I’m gonna go call Andy while you’re finishing up. Do you mind if I use your office?”

“Not at all! Go right ahead.”

You finish up the toast and then go back into your room to finish getting ready. You put on a pair of black jeans, and a blue long sleeve blouse, and then go into the bathroom to put a little makeup on.

“Y/N?” Harry pops his head into the bathroom.

“Yeah?” You giggle.

“Andy wants to wish you a happy Thanksgiving.”

“Oh!” You reach out for the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, Y/N!”

“Hi, Andy, happy turkey day.” You smile.

“You too! You and Dad are going to Boston for a couple of days, huh?”

“That’s right! Want us to bring you back anything special?”

“That depends…where are you going?”

“We’re going to be where a ton of Italian restaurants are, which means Italian bakeries. Would you like a fresh cannoli brought back to you?”

“I think I’d like you forever if you did that.” He laughs and so do you.

“Then I think that can be arranged.”

“Okay! Sorry, Mum wants to talk to Dad…”

“Oh! That’s fine, it was nice talking to you.” You hand the phone back to Harry. He was smiling ear to ear.

“Hey, yeah, he is polite isn’t he?” Harry chuckles and steps out of the bathroom. When you come out to the living room he’s sitting on the couch reading.

“All set?”

“Yeah, was just waiting for you. You’re good to go?”

“Mhm, would you carry the food down to the car for me?” You say, putting your jacket on.

“Yup, I’ll grab our bags too.”

“Thank you.” You give him a quick kiss and out the door you go.

You didn’t have an automatic start on your car and you wanted to warm it up a bit. Harry brings everything down to the car, and off you go towards the highway. He keeps a hand on your thigh as his other hand’s fingers drum along to whatever music you’ve put on. You liked that even when you were the one driving he still had a hand on you.

“I can drive us back tomorrow if you’d like.” He speaks up.

“That’s okay, it’s really not that long of a drive. Hour and twenty, max.”

“Takes me two hours to get to Boston…”

“You, my darling, drive like a grandma, that’s why.” You smirk.

“I do not!” He laughs. “I’m careful.”

“You don’t go over seventy…”

“That’s the speed limit! And you know as well as I do the state police up here pull everyone over.”

“You know what’s funny? I got pulled over before I got my NH plates, now I never get pulled over. I do eighty on the highway up here, and that’s perfect.”

“It’s too fast.”

“No, going ninety would be too fast. Just wait until we’re really driving in the city, you’ll be amazed at my swiftness.”

“You mean at your aggressiveness.”

“It’s called being a defensive driver. Maybe when Andy gets older I should be the one to teach him how to drive, or else we’ll have two grannies on our hands.” You throw him a cheeky grin and he just rolls his eyes at you.

“He’s never going driving with you unless I’m there too.”

Harry would never admit it, but he really liked it when you’d drop little hints that you were in this for the long haul. It would be years until Andy would be able to get his permit, and yet, here you are, thinking ahead about it. It was something you did once in a while, even this morning, Harry picked up on it when you mentioned how pointless an IUD would be. It was too soon to talk about kids and stuff, but he knew that was where your head was at, and it made him feel really good.

“You teach him how to park a car, you’re way better at that. I’m such a nervous parker.” You laugh. “One time I had to drive my boss to a conference we were both going to, and I had to park in a garage, and you know how narrow those spots can be. I told him I was nervous at parking, and he covered his eyes so I could park the car. He was such a sweet man, had kids my age at the time.”

“Would you like for me to do that from now on? Cover my eyes so you can park your car?” He chuckles.

“I wouldn’t hate it.”

“Why do you get so nervous?”

“I have my dad to thank for that. He’d watch me back out of the driveway just to make sure I didn’t run over the grass, it was so annoying.”

“Ah, a very dad thing to do. Grass is really important to us, you know? If you’ve got a shitty lawn it reflects poorly on you.” He smirks.

“Oh, shut up.” You roll your eyes. “You both can bond about going to Lowe’s on the weekends and looking at planks of wood.”

Harry bursts out laughing because that is definitely something he’s done before.

“I don’t just look at planks of wood, I also often go and look at the different types of mulch.”

“Do you ever bring a tape measure with you?”

“Keep one in my trunk, actually. Never know when you’ll need to take measurements for something.”

“Jesus.” You laugh and shake your head. “When you become a dad is there like an initiation ceremony where you get a bunch of that stuff?”

“Oh, sure, but it’s top secret. I’ve said too much already.”

You giggle at him. You were happy long car rides were never awkward with Harry. You could joke around, and then also sit in a comfortable silence. Today was going to be a good day.

Phil lived in a really nice condominium in the newly renovated areas of Southie. Harry was impressed that a sous chef could afford such a nice neighborhood.

“It’s kind of sad because this used to be where more of the affordable housing was, and then it got really gentrified. In their spare time, Phil and Julian try to help out and volunteer their time to help the people that got pushed out.”

“Wow, good for them.”

Harry helps carry the food as you key into the building, and lead him towards the elevator. You knock on the door before going in.

“Hello!” You say brightly as you both walk in.

“Hey!” Julian says, giving you a hug and kiss. “Come on in, Phil’s just basting the turkey. Hello.” He smiles at Harry.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” They shake hands, and Julian takes the food from him.

“Oh! A pumpkin pie, just what we needed, thank you.”

“No problem.” Harry smiles. You hook your arm around his waist as you walk further into the home.

“Hey!” Phil says coming over to the two of you. He gives you a hug and shakes Harry’s hand.

“This is Harry.” You say.

“Nice to meet you, man. Heard a lot of good things.” Phil smiles.

“Nice to meet you too. This is a great place.”

“Thanks! Been here for, like, what…three years?” He asks Julian.

“Yup! Almost three and a half. Got for a steal at the time.”

“Are Mum and Dad here?” You ask.

“Yeah, in the living room. Go and get comfortable, everything’s still cooking. They’re watching the parade.”

You nod and lead Harry into the living room.

“Mum, Dad, we’re here.” You say and they both get up to say hello. “Harry, this is my mum, Rebecca, and my dad, Richard.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you both.” He shakes both of their hands.

“Finally!” Your mom nearly squeals and throws her arms around Harry, and gives him a nice, wet kiss on the cheek. “It’s so good to meet you, Harry. We were starting to think you were made up!”

“Mum…I’ve shown you pictures.”

“You’re awfully good at that photoshop nonsense, could have just been edited.” She scoffs. “You’re very handsome.”

“Um…thank you.” His cheeks were incredibly red.

“Where’s your son today?” Your dad asks and you want to smack him for diving right in.

“Oh, he’s with his mum and her family today. She’s not from the U.K. like I am, so she actually celebrates Thanksgiving, I just observe.” He jokes, but it doesn’t land, so he clears his throat. “It’s just part of our custody agreement, I get him for Christmas.”

Your parents share a look, and then both smile at Harry.

“Your brother put out some munchies until dinner’s ready.” Your mom says. “Come, sit, I know the drive was long.”

“It wasn’t too bad, not much traffic to complain about.” You say as you stick a carrot into some dip. “Can I get you a drink, Har? Phil’s got beer and wine.”

“Just a beer would be great, thank you.”

You smile and go into the kitchen. He almost wishes he followed you because your parents stay looking at him. He was wearing a nice button up, so his tattoos weren’t overly exposed, so it couldn’t be that.

“So, how old is your son?” Your mom asks.

“Eleven, he’ll be twelve in May. His name is Andy.”

“Is it short for Andrew, or is it just Andy?” Your dad asks.

“It’s short for Andrew.” Harry smiled. “Andrew Jacob Styles.”

“What a lovely name.” You mom smiles. “Is he named after anyone?”

“Um, Jacob is a family name on his mum’s side, and Andrew was just a name with both really liked.” He shrugs. “Nothing more to it than that.”

“You’re still close with her, his mum…” Your dad notes.

“Sort of. We do the co-parenting to the best of our ability. Living close by helps with that.”

“I think it’s nice you can get along so well. We have some friends who have divorced, and they can’t stand each other. I feel terrible for the kids, they get caught in the middle, unfortunately.”

“Well, my ex and I were never ma-“

“Here were are.” You say, handing Harry a beer, a glass of red in your other hand. “How’s the parade?” You ask sitting down next to Harry.

“Y/N, you interrupted our conversation.” Your dad says. “Harry was just explaining to us how his co-parenting works.”

“Dad…I don’t think Harry really wants to talk about that right now, okay?”

“It’s alright.” Harry says. “I know it must be a tad odd for your daughter to be dating someone with so much baggage, I get it.” He takes a sip of his beer. “I was young, accidents happen, but I wouldn’t change a thing.” He puts his arm around you and sits a little more comfortably.

“Well, we hope to meet little Andy at some point.” Your mom says. “Maybe this summer we can come up for a little visit, Y/N.”

“Yeah, maybe.” You smile and lean into Harry. “He’s so sweet, and funny. He’s a really talented painter too. He’s decorated some things in my office for me.”

“Wow, that’s a big deal. You wouldn’t even let me help decorate.” Your mom chuckles.

“Because your taste is terrible, Mum, no offense.” You grimace.

“She’s right, Becky.” Your dad laughs.

“Oh, what do you two know?” She stands up. “I’m going to see if Phil needs help.”

You and your dad laugh a little.

“Good, now I can switch it to football. I actually don’t give a fuck about the parade.” Richard says. “Pardon my French.”

“No worries.” Harry says. “I don’t give a fuck either.” He grins and it makes your dad laugh.

Okay, despite the bit of awkwardness at the beginning, this was actually going pretty well. You knew your parents had their reservations with Harry, but they didn’t seem too put off. After an hour or so of watching football, everyone is called to the dining area for dinner. The spread looked incredible, your brother outdid himself. He and Julian sit at the heads of the table, and then you and Harry sit across from your parents.

“Before we dig in, I just want to say how thankful I am that we could all be together today.” Phil says. “This is the first year I didn’t have to work, so we were able to do this at a normal hour like other families. It’s nice having to wait until nearly eight o’clock.” He smiles. “Two is much better. Enjoy!”

Everyone hums in agreement, and take what they want. Phil made plenty of veggies and other meatless options for you and Harry.

“Harry, how long have you been a professor for?” Julian asks once everyone has what they want.

“Um, like, ten years I’d say. I taught while I was getting my master’s, so I count that. Got my PhD a little over four years ago, though.”

“Very cool, and did you know you always wanted to be a teacher or…?”

“Honestly, no.” He chuckles. “But I really liked what I was studying and researching, and I knew I wanted to keep doing that, and so when I was getting my master’s and became a TA, I fell in love with teaching. I don’t think I could do it at a K-12 level, but I really like teaching at a collegiate level.”

“That’s exactly what Y/N always says.” Phil says.

“It’s true! I don’t think I could teach young kids, but I really like the college kids. Especially the upperclassmen, they’re a tad more mature.”

“Harry, how did you end up over here in the states?” Your mom asks.

“Ah, well, I was looking to study abroad. I went to a school in London my freshman year, and I liked it, but I really wanted to branch out, so I ended up in New York for school. I loved it.”

“And…now you live in New Hampshire?” Your dad asks.

“Yeah, so, when I was looking for master’s programs I was looking for schools in that area because, um, my ex’s grandparents lived in the lakes region, and we needed a bit of help. Her parents live in Connecticut, and there weren’t any schools I wanted to go to out there, so I ended up at UNH for that. The drive to Manchester every day wasn’t fun, but it made things easier to have her family closer by. It was a decent compromise. I almost moved to that area full time, but her grandparents passed away, and she had to take their home over, so I ended up at our university for my doctoral program so I could stay close to my son.” He takes a sip of his drink. “I fell in love with area. I got into hiking and some of the other outdoorsy stuff there is to do. It’s home now.”

“And your family, they’re in the U.K.?” Phil asks.

“Yeah, my mum and sister both live in London. Mum’s retired and lives with my sister. She’s married with a couple of kids, so she may as well be a live in nanny.” He chuckles. “I bring Andy home to see them for Christmas, and sometimes they come to visit in the summer.”

“So, do you have dual citizenship or just a work visa?” Julian asks.

“He wouldn’t need that since he married a U.S. citizen.” Your dad says.

“See, I was trying to explain earlier, we never got married.” Harry explains. “Um…so, yeah, I have dual citizenship. I was here on a school visa for a bit, and then I got the work visa, but I knew I was stayed so I went through the citizenship process. It was a real bitch, I have to say.”

The table laughs and agrees. The conversation turns to politics, only briefly, and then goes back to light chatter. Once dessert is out and eaten, everyone is stuffed. You and Harry help clean up, and then your parents leave shortly after. Everyone feels like they can take a deep breath now.

“So you two are staying at Julian’s hotel, yeah?” Phil asks.

“Yup, why?” You raise an eyebrow.

“How about we meet you guys in the city, and we go to that bar we all like?”

“That sounds great! Meet us there around eight?”

“Works for me.”

“That work for you?” You ask Harry.

“Yeah, sounds like fun.” He smiles.

Once you’re checking into the hotel, you head to the elevator, and go up to your room. Harry notes how nice the hotel is, and you agree. Julian was a really good manager, and did well to make sure that the place ran smoothly. You key into the room, and you both plop down on the bed with a big sigh.

“I’m stuffed.” Harry says with a slight chuckle.

“Same here.” You look over to your bag and tug it towards you, rummaging through it and pulling out a small purple bottle. “Um…so…usually we each have two different bathrooms to use when we have sleepovers, or maybe…we don’t tend to use the bathroom in a certain way, but that’ll be different tonight so I brought this.” You show him the small bottle. “So…we can just use the bathroom and not feel embarrassed.”

Harry smirks and takes the small bottle to read it.

“Poo-perize…” He looks at you.

“You just spray it before you go, and it’s like you never went at all.”

“Ah, well, good thinking. I wouldn’t want you knowing that I took a shit.”

“Harry.” You groan and snatch the bottle from him.

“Are you telling me you’ve never shit at my house in the five months we’ve been together?”

“I…have…just not a lot. I don’t know, I’m not good with other people’s bathrooms. I’m just gonna go stick this in there.”

You get up while he shakes his head and laughs at you. You come back out and lay down next to him on the bed.

“I’m gonna tell you something I told Andy when he was about two years old.” He says to you.

“What’s that?”

“Everybody poops.”

“Gah!” You exasperate. “I know that, obviously, I just don’t want you thinking about me doing it…”

“It’s not like my ear’s gonna be pressed up against the door!” He laughs. “Lighten up.” He pulls you to rest your head on his chest and he kisses you on the top of your head.

“Did you have fun earlier? I hope my parents weren’t too invasive.”

“They were fine, I totally understood why they were asking what they were asking. I know it’s odd for someone my age to have a kid in middle school.”

“I just don’t want you to think they were judging. I actually think they really liked you.”

“I’m glad to hear it. It’ll be nice for them to come visit in the summer. Maybe we could all go to the cabin.”

“God, they would love that, babe.” You snuggle further into him.

After resting for a while, and using the bathroom, you both head down to meet Phil and Julian at a bar down the street. You all grab a booth and start a tab for drinks.

“So, this is where you all go when you visit?” Harry asks you once the drinks are on the table.

“Sort of, this is where I come with them.”

“Y/N has probably been to every bar in this city.” Phil laughs.

“You’re gonna make me sound like an alcoholic!” You laugh. “When you go to school in the city, you gotta find the good places to go. All trial and error.”

“You also had a really good fake ID.” Julian smirks. “Remember when we took her out for her twenty-first, and the bartender practically scolded her?” He laughs.

“Oh my god, he was so mad at me.” You take a sip of your drink. “There was this one place I had been sneaking into for years, and I wanted my twenty-first birthday party to be there, and I had been pretty friendly with the bartender, right? So I had him my new ID, and he, oh my god, I thought he was gonna flip his shit.”

“He gave you free shots though, so he couldn’t have been too mad.” Phil winks at you and you just shake your head.

“Yeah.” You roll your eyes.

The reason the bartender had not flipped out, thrown you out was because you promised a very a good blow job in the bathroom on his break. You had delivered, and then he gave you free shots all night, and you ended up going home with him to further explore after said blow job, but you weren’t about to expose yourself to Harry like that. You didn’t want him to think you were immature, even if it was something that happened years ago.

“Must be nice to have grown up in a place where the legal drinking age is eighteen.” Julian says to Harry.

“Yeah, it was pretty sweet that last year before going to uni. My friends and I would go to the clubs, get in a bit of trouble.” He chuckles after taking a sip of his drink. “I’m kind of glad I came to America for the rest of school, I think it helped me settle down a bit.”

“I studied abroad for culinary school,” Phil starts, “mostly in France, but when I would go out with my friends it would definitely get wild. It was a culture shock to start the evenings so late! We wouldn’t leave until midnight sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly how it is, and we’d stay out until after four in the morning most times.”

“That was the first time I saw hard drugs being used so casually. People just doing lines in the bathroom and stuff. It happens here too, but it was way less taboo over there.”

“Phil, did you ever…?” You ask him.

“God no, I mean, I smoked share of weed, but I never did anything more than that. I was too afraid of being fucked up while chopping something in the kitchen.”

“Did you?” You ask Harry. You were more curious than anything.

“Yeah.” He says casually with a shrug. “Like I said, I’m glad I came here to finish school.”

“Holy shit, what did it feel like?” You gaze up at him. “I’ve never done anything like that, I’ve never even gotten high…”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He gives your hand a squeeze. “It was so long ago, I don’t really remember, honestly. You just sort of feel happy and out of it.”

“Y/N, you never smoked or did an edible or anything?” Phil asks, almost shocked.

“I mean, I’ve been hot boxed before, but that’s it. I just stuck to drinking.” You laugh. “I was too scared, I didn’t know if I would be one of those people that would freak out or have a bad trip or something.” You finish your drink and so does everyone else.

“Does everyone want the same thing? I can go up and get the next round.” Harry offers.

“That’d be great.” Julian says, and you and Phil nod. Harry gives you a quick kiss before getting up to go to the bar. “He’s dreamy, Y/N, I don’t know how you get any work done.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what type of guy I was expecting, but I’d let him leave marks on me too.”

“Phil!” You giggle. “I’m glad you both like him so far. He’s amazing.”

“And things are still good between you and his kid?”

“Yeah! Andy really likes me. I think it helps that he had time to get used to me a little when Harry and I were just friends. Something tells me Harry had mentioned he had a little crush on me to him though because there was this one time Andy texted me from Harry’s phone to ask me to come get ice cream with them.” You giggle again. “It was so cute.”

“Little wing man, that’s sweet.” Phil nods.

“Sometimes I feel bad because you can tell he prefers to be with me and Harry, as opposed to his mum and soon to be step-dad…I don’t really get it.”

“He’s eleven, right?” Julian asks and you nod. “I get it. I was a total momma’s boy, and then when I started middle school, I wanted nothing to do with my mom, and it killed her. We fought all the time, and I found myself wanting to be with my dad more. Not even to talk, just being in his presence, you know? I think it’s puberty. I have a great relationship with my mom now. It’s just a phase.”

“Yeah, plus, it must be weird to have two father figures in your life. One’s telling you what to do, but you also wanna respect your actual father. Must be confusing.”

“Alright.” Harry says as he sits down with the four drinks. “What I miss?”

“Nothing, babe.” You smile and kiss his cheek. “These two were just swooning over you, that’s all.” You grin at your brother and his partner.

“Really? Well, I’m flattered.” Harry jokes.

“I have to know, do students, like, throw themselves at you?” Phil asks.

“Um, not so much anymore, when I was younger they did. A lot of them also know I’m spoken for now, so that helps.”

“It’s so awkward! Some of the senior boys I advise have tried flirting with me in our meetings, and I’m like…you’re kidding right? Keep your shrimp dick to yourself.” You take a large sip of your drink and sway your head to the music in the bar.

“I’d love to know what some kid could possibly even say to you in that setting.” Phil chuckles.

“They think they’re so adult, you know? It’s all in the body language. They adjust themselves, trying to get me to look down, and they’ll bite their bottom lips to be sexy, it’s repulsive really. But my problem is I bite my lip when I feel nervous so then they think it’s working, and then they’re shocked when I’m like actually you deserved a D on this.”

Phil and Julian laugh, but Harry doesn’t really like the sound of anyone flirting with you.

“You know, you can report that if it gets aggressive.” He says.

“Oh, it’s fine. They realize when I don’t give in that it doesn’t work, and they should just put the work in.” You see the concern on his face. “Don’t worry, if it was that aggressive I’d call H.R. right away.” You put your hand on his thigh and give it a squeeze.

“You know what I think we should after this? Go to an actual club. I feel like dancing and working off all that food.” Julian says.

“Ugh, I knew you were going to say that.” Phil groans. “I’m exhausted.”

“Can’t help it.” He shrugs and looks at you. “Y/N?”

“Fuck yeah.” You look up at Harry. “What do you say? You’ve never really seen me dance before.”

“That’s true, I could be up for that, although, I probably won’t do much dancing.”

“Good, I’ll have someone to hang back with while these two pop their asses.” Phil says and it makes everyone laugh.

Phil and Julian order an uber to take you and Harry to one of the lgbtq+ friendly clubs they knew of in a different part of the city. You had been there with them before so you were excited. You were also excited that Harry was being such a good sport.

You get into the club easily since the bouncer knew Phil and Julian well, and you all go up to the bar to get drinks. You decide on something fun and fruity while Harry opts for a gin and tonic. Wannabe by the Spice Girls comes on and Julian yanks you onto the dance floor.

“It’ll be hours before we see them again.” Phil chuckles and takes a sip of drink.

“You never dance?”

“Sometimes I do, but it’s not my favorite. I’m not very coordinated.”

“Neither am I! I look like an idiot whenever I dance.” Harry laughs. “But I suppose that’s half the fun.”

Harry peers into the crowd and smiles when he sees you and Julian shouting the words to the song to each other, and giggling. He watches as the two of you dance together and it makes him smile more.

“You two have been together a long time then?” Harry asks. “If you both took her out for her twenty-first?”

“Yeah! That was around the time we made things official. We met right before I went to Italy to do some more studying, and then when I came back we decided to really be together. He’s amazing, an incredible partner. He’s brilliant, honestly.”

“Are you two married, or…?”

“We’re in a civil union.” Phil shrugs. “We’ve talked openly about it, and neither of us really feel the need to get married, you know? We know we wanna be together, we don’t need a court or a piece of paper to lock it in. We each wear these rings.” Phil holds up his left hand. “See the one on my middle finger? That’s a promise ring he gave to me, and I gave one to him. That’s enough.”

“That’s really sweet.” Harry smiles.

“You have a lot of cool rings.” Phil takes one of Harry’s hands to look them over.

“Thanks! Started collecting them basically when I was nineteen. I’ve always really liked rings and bracelets.”

“And perfectly manicured nails?” Phil raises an eyebrow at him.

“Started doing that in uni. The crowd I hung out with was into black nail polish, I got into it too. It’s actually what helped me snag my ex.” He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Really?”

“Yeah, we were friends for a bit, and one night she got really drunk and she started crying because her nail ripped and she just wanted to take all the polish off and start over, and I told her I had stuff back at my room to do that, so I took her back with me and basically did her nails. I let her sleep in my bed and I slept on the floor, and then the next morning before I could even say anything she kissed me.”

“Oh my god, that’s like out of a movie.” Phil swoons, letting go of Harry’s hand. “But I think I like the story of the camping trip with my sister better.” He takes a sip of his drink. “Actually, I think I like that you casually brought her to a family party, and then brought her back to your place to watch the sunset.”

“Told her I liked her that night too, but I back peddled.” Harry chuckles.

“She picked up on that, but I think she chose to ignore it at the time. I’m glad she came to her senses.”

“Me too.” Harry smiles.

After a few songs, you come back to Harry, throwing your arms around his neck. Your fruity drink hitting you much faster than your others.

“Maybe just one more.” You slur.

“Or, and here me out, you could start drinking some water.” He tucks some hair behind your hair to keep it from your sweaty forehead.

“But-“

He dips his mouth to your ear to whisper.

“I’d like to have a little fun when we get back, and we can’t do that if you’re sloshed, babe.” He moves back to look at you with raises eyebrows and you nod. “Great, I’ll go get you some ice water.”

He returns shortly and you guzzle it down. Once you’re all set you make your way back to Julian. Harry taps his foot along with the beat of the song.

“Hey, handsome, can I buy you a drink?” A guy slightly shorter than Harry says to him brightly.

“Um, I’m so sorry, I’m here with someone.” He points over to you.

“Why aren’t you dancing with her then?!”

“He’s got a point, Harry.” Phil teases him.

“You’re not dancing with Julian!”

“Fair enough.” Phil finishes the rest of his drink and strolls over to join you and Julian. You both hoot and holler with excitement.

“Go on, pretty boy, go show your girl a good time.” The man winks and then walks away.

Harry sighs and makes his way over to you. Your eyes light up and your smile says it all. You’re absolutely delighted that he’s come over to you. You wrap your arms around his torso and press your cheek to his chest, swaying back and forth with him. His arms go around you and he rests his chin on the top of your head. It didn’t matter that the song was fast paced, you were happy to just be pressed up against him the way you were. You look up at him, smiling.

“What?” He smiles down at you.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

It was a wonderful night out with Phil and Julian, but it had to end sometime, so you and Harry uber back to the hotel around one in the morning. You didn’t want to be too tired for whatever fun he wanted have with you.

“That was fun.” He says to you in the back of the car. “I like them, they were really welcoming.”

“I’m so glad! I figured you’d get along well since you’re around the same age.” You shrug.

“That club was fun too, got hit on by a guy.”

“You did?!”

“Yup.” He says proudly. “Called me handsome and asked me if I wanted a drink, but don’t worry, I told him I was there with someone.”

“Well, thank god, otherwise you’d be in an uber with someone else right now.” You say facetiously and he laughs.

“Should I be offended that you think I could so easily be swayed to leave with someone else?” He nudges you playfully.

“Nah, I’m just teasing. I know you wouldn’t do that.”

“Besides,” he leans in closer to your ear so the driver won’t hear, “the only tight, little hole I wanna fuck is yours.”

Your eyes grow wide and you feel a shiver go down your spine. You know that he’s referring to your other hole. His mouth had been on it enough times now for you to know he definitely wanted to have anal with you, but you weren’t sure of how you felt about it exactly. You could see him maybe using a finger or something, but his entire prick? Your thoughts are broken when you feel his lips on your temple.

You get to the hotel and head up to your room, hand in hand.

“Oh!” You say as you get inside the room. “I brought something to wear to bed, and I really wanna put it on for you.”

“You never wear anything to bed, though.” He chuckles.

“I know! I brought it special for the trip. I didn’t think we’d be out as late as we were. Please? It’s really cute.” You pout.

“It’s just gonna come off a minute after you put it on, but sure.” He smiles and sits on the edge of the bed. “I’ll humor you.”

You grab your bag and bring it into the bathroom with you. This also gives you a chance to just freshen up since you were sweating on the dance floor. You touch up your makeup, apply some fresh deodorant, and spritz a little bit of perfume onto your wrists, and dab a bit behind your neck. Next you take out the garments you wanted to wear for him. It wasn’t incredibly special, but cute nonetheless. It was a pastel purple set of silk pajamas. The top was tank top style with a little bit of lace where you cleavage would sit, and the bottoms were shorts that just show your under-bum. Class, but sexy. You brush your hair out so it looks less frizzy, and then peak your head out of the bathroom door.

“Ready for me?”

“Ready, babe.”

“Close your eyes.”

Harry sighs and closes his eyes. He had already taken his glasses off and put them away. His palms are pressed behind him on the mattress. You tip toe out of the bathroom and come to stand in front of him.

“Okay, open.”

His eyes flutter closed and then they widen when he looks you up and down. You twirl around for him and giggle.

“What do you think?”

“You look…lovely, Y/N.” His hands come up to rest on your hips. “When did you get these?”

“Not too long ago. I’ve been saving it for a night away where I’d maybe have excuse to change into something else.”

“S’very pretty. I love the color on you.”

You smile down at him and get yourself situated so that you’re straddling him. His hands slide down to your ass and he squeezes you. His hands then move up under the back of the top and then he drags his nails down your soft skin and your head rolls back. He takes the opportunity to sponge wet kisses up your jugular, and around to the crook of your neck. He licks up to just under your earlobe, and sinks his teeth into your skin. You gasp from the sensation, loving the way it feels. Your hands move to clutch at his shoulders as he creates a nice, purple mark on your neck.

“Fuck, Harry.” You breathe after he detaches himself from you.

“To match your pj’s.” He smirks.

A slight whimper leaves your lips, and then you start unbuttoning his shirt furiously. He helps you get it off him, and then you run your hands up and down his torso, making scratch marks of your own. You loved the way his stomach would tighten from the feeling of your nails. Your fingers work next to undo his belt and button on his jeans.

“Need you naked.” You kiss him. “Now.”

He nods quickly and you stand up to help him get his pants off. He kicks them to the floor as he works to get his boxers off as well. Once they’re throw somewhere you kiss him again, and work your way down his body. He opens his legs up more you and you plant kisses up and down his hard dick. You move to tease him a little, nipping at his inner thigh the way he would do to you. He cards his fingers through your hair, and makes a makeshift ponytail for you with his fist. You lick up his shaft with the flat of your tongue and the moan his lets out just eggs you on further. You kiss his tip before taking it into your mouth and you sink down on him, taking him as deep as you can before popping back off him.

Not that he ever thought of her while he was with you, but times like this Harry couldn’t help but compare you to Paige. She never did things like this for him. He always had to ask her to do it, and she’d only do it for a couple of minutes. She’d give him a hand job no problem, but she rarely would put her mouth on him, which made him sad because he had no problem doing it for her. You, on the other hand, would often initiate with him, and he loved that about you. Sometimes you’d be lounging on the couch or even just reading in bed together, and you’d look at him. He knew the look very well now, and he would just nod, and all of a sudden your mouth would be on him. Times like this it was just more confirmation that he was with the right person.

Blow jobs were things you didn’t particularly enjoy unless you really liked a guy, which is exactly what you told him when you first gave him one. If you were going to make a guy feel good, you wanted to make sure that guy was going to make you feel just as good, and Harry passed that test. Now, you loved pleasuring him like this no problem. Even when you were on your period, you didn’t care that you couldn’t have much in return unless you got in the shower.

You lick over his slit and moan from the taste, which you didn’t particularly love, but just the fact that he was already leaking for you was enough for you to make the noise. You smear your bottom lip along his tip because you know he likes it sloppy, and you know his precome his bound to dribble down your chin. You look up at him and see he’s already watching you, chest heaving. You bring your face away, a string of spit keeping you attached to him before you lick over your lip and smirk.

“What?”

“Well…it’s just…I’m a little tired.” You look away and then back up to him, your grin growing. “So, what if I just put my mouth over you and you do the work?”

“Are you asking me to fuck your mouth?” He was being very serious.

“Yes, Harry.”

“Are you comfortable on the floor or do you want to get on the bed?”

“Maybe just hand me a pillow for my knees?”

He nods and quickly grabs a pillow from the head of for you. You get it situated to get yourself more comfortable, and you nod. He tightens his grip on your hair as you lower your mouth back around him. He starts by just easing you on and off, up and down. Your eyes flutter closed so you can focus on breathing through your nose. He bucks his hips up carefully to get a little further down your throat, and to help you adjust. You widen your throat as much as you can. You keep one hand on his thigh, and the other you keep in a fist, squeezing your thumb. An old trick you learned in college to help suppress your gag reflex. A placebo at best, but it worked.

“Oh my god, baby.” He groans as he really gets a rhythm going, bobbing your head up and down for you as he moves his hips. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

Your eyes flutter open and you do your best to look at him through your lashes, but all you can see are the ferns on his hips and love handles. You had drool and precome dripping down your chin, and you knew he had to be loving it. He was panting as he looks down at you, biting furiously into his bottom lip as to not disturb whatever neighbors were on either sides of the walls.

He was being extremely careful of you, which just turned you on more. It showed how much self-control he truly had to not just be ramming and thrusting his dick down your throat. Your nails are digging into his thigh, and you do choke on him at one point, but you’re okay. Eventually he has you come fully off of him.

“Don’t wanna come in my mouth?” You ask as you catch your breath and wipe your chin with the back of your hand.

“Not if you want me to fuck your cunt later.”

“Oh.” You blush. “Yeah, I want that.”

“Alright then.” He chuckles and helps you up. “Felt so good, baby.” He kisses your now swollen lips.

He lays you down on the bed, your head comfy on the pillows. He reaches between your legs and groans when he feels how wet you are through the silk shorts.

“Christ.” He breathes. “Taking this all off now.”

You nod and lift your arms up. He gets you fully naked and spreads your legs open. Just as you did with him, he kisses down your body, nipping where he pleases, and starts leaving more love bites on your inner thighs, causing you to squirm.

“Stay still for me, baby.”

“M’trying, sorry.”

You give him a soft smile and he gives you one back before he licks around your folds. You feel yourself almost go cross-eyed from the sensation. His teeth nip at your clit before he sucks on it, and he has to use one of his arms to hold you down because you’re just extremely sensitive tonight for whatever reason. His thumb replaces his mouth on your clit so he lick into you.

“Oh, god.” You moan. Your hands fly to his hair to tug on. “Harry.” You whimper and it’s music to his ears. It just makes him fuck you harder with his tongue. His thumb rubs perfect circles into where you need it most, and you feel your legs shaking around him. “Fucking, Christ!” You cry out as you start panting. You could feel your orgasm already approaching. He just knew exactly what to do, and it was incredible.

He pops up briefly to get some air, and then he looks at you, furrowing your brows.

“Wh-what is it?” You ask innocently.

“Would you…” He holds up his index and middle finger.

“Oh! Mhm.” You smile and open your mouth for him. He smiles back at you and brings his fingers to your mouth to suck on. You make eye contact as you lap and suck around him.

“Thank you, darling.”

Your heart flutters as he works his way back down between your legs. His fingers slide inside you while his mouth finds your clit again. His fingers curl up inside you, and you grip at the comforter on the bed. They pump and twist and pet you, and it’s all too much along with his tongue flicking at your clit.

“Ah! Fuck, Harry!” Your back arches off the bed, and your eyes roll into the back of your head. When he retracts his finger from you, you look at him, your eyes growing dark with lust. “Get the condoms.”

He nods and rummages through his bag for them, tearing one of them open, and sliding it onto his hard, throbbing dick. You put your hands onto his shoulders to brace yourself as he thrusts inside you. He buries his face into the crook of your neck as he rocks in and out. You get a fist full of his hair and rock your hips along with his.

“Fuck, Y/N.” He groans and looks at you, peaking his tongue out. You take the signal and let your mouth fall open so he can kiss you. It’s a searing kiss, needy, like he hadn’t kissed you in weeks. That was the thing with Harry, he always kissed you like he hadn’t seen you in ages, like he hadn’t touched you in ages. It was fucking fantastic.

“Harry, I’m gonna come again.” You whine. It was from the way you were grinding against him, otherwise you don’t think you would have had one again so quickly, not that you were complaining. He keeps everything the same so you can get there, and boy do you get there. He puts his hand over your mouth so you can cry out how you need to. You catch your breath and then you look up at him. “Let me ride you.”

He nods and pulls out, flipping on his back. You grip him to line yourself up once you’ve swung your leg over his lap. You sigh with relief once he’s inside you again. His hands work their way up your body to knead your breasts as move around on him in large circles. He looks up at you and starts chuckling.

“What could possibly be funny?” You ask, giggling.

“Nothing, I just like you a lot.” You pout at that. Since you said your I love yous, neither of you had made your like you a lot statement, and it filled your heart.

“I like you a lot too, Harry.” You lean down to kiss him, sucking on his bottom lip before returning up right.

“Gonna fuck me, baby?”

“Mhm, gonna fuck you so good.”

You start to raise and lower on him, his hands coming down to squeeze at your hips. Usually he would even up taking over, but he wanted to let you do it. He knew you wanted to do it, and you were so kind as to let him fuck your mouth earlier the least he could do was let you control the pace just this once. It also inflated his ego immensely to look up and watch your face like this. The joy you were getting from riding him was so delicious to him.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous like this, Y/N.” he squeezes harder at your hips, sure to leave bruises later, but you don’t care.

Your hands plant onto his thighs behind you as you continue to bounce up and down on him.

“Rub my clit, Harry, please.” You nearly whine.

He does so without question and you let out a loud moan. He could feel you squeezing around him and it was bringing him nearly over the edge. He could feel the ecstasy bubbling at the base of his spine.

“Baby, I’m not gonna last much longer.” He groans.

“Good, want you to come, let go, Harry.”

You feel his warm come fill up the condom, and the sensation along with his fingers rubbing on you guide you to your third release, causing you to collapse onto his heaving chest. He tilts your chin up and he smears his lips over yours.

After the long day and night you both had, neither of you were upset to have woke up at 10:15. You shower together, without any funny business, and get ready for the day. Harry furrows his brows at the booties you put on.

“What?” You ask him. “Don’t like ‘em?”

“No, they’re cute, it’s just…won’t your feet hurt walking around in them all day? I know you lived here and everything, but-“

“I promise, Daddy, if my feet hurt I won’t complain and if I do, you can say I told you so.”

“Y/N.” He sighs. “I hate it when you call me that so condescendingly, my express of concern isn’t me being fatherly, it’s me being your boyfriend who would feel terrible if your feet got all blistered.”

Your features soften, you didn’t realize how much your little joked bothered him.

“Oh…I’m sorry, um, these are actually pretty good for walking in. I wouldn’t wear them if I knew they’d hurt, but I appreciate you looking out for me.”

You give him a kiss on the cheek, and he grabs the bags. You check out, and grab a coffee from the complimentary section of the breakfast area, and put everything in the car.

“Julian said we could park here for the day no problem. We just need to talk to the green line stop, and we’ll be good to go.” You explain after locking the car back up.

You make your way to the green line station, and you just use your Charlie Card to get the both of you through, and onto the train that would get you Government Center. You were happy to be traveling with Harry. Sometimes when you were in town with people who didn’t understand the hustle and bustle of the T it could be frustrating, but Harry had the tube back in London, so this was second nature to him.

You almost feel giddy after coming off the train, and see The Quincy Market sign come into view. You tug at Harry’s hand to get him to walk faster towards the shops.

“There’s a Ray-Bans store here I wanna go to. They’re bound to have a sale right now. Oh! And there’s this store that sells really hot sauces I think you’ll like. Does Andy like graphic T’s? There’s a Newbury Comics here and I’d like to get him a gift from there.”

“For what? Thought you only promised a cannoli?”

“I did, but it would be for Christmas. Is that alright if I wanna-mph!” His lips were on yours, his hands cupping your cheeks. He was just overwhelmed with how much you cared about his son.

“Yeah, he likes graphic T’s.” He says it like he didn’t just shove his tongue down your throat, gently intertwining your fingers as you continue to walk.

You clear your throat and nod, giving his hand a squeeze. You go in and out of the shops. You note the sunglasses that Harry pays special attention to so you know which ones to get him for the holidays. You go into Sephora for a bit to look at the expensive makeup on one end of the store, and he looks at the foundation and concealer he would typically use. So much was on sale, you end up buying a ton of new brushes and sponges, and he gets the remover wipes he likes using. You go into spicy sauce store, and pick out a couple of bottles of things you’d each like to try, and then off to Newbury Comics.

“Do you shop at any of these clothing stores?” He asks subtly.

“Not really, I do StitchFix, why?”

“No reason.” He shrugs. Damn. He literally had no idea what to get you for the holidays. You bought yourself a new pair of sunglasses, and pretty much whatever else you needed. He was at a loss.

“So, what shows does he watch? I’d like to get him a shirt that’s relevant.” You say as you both make your way to the clothing section of the store.

“He’s really into Spongebob reruns at the moment, it’s been driving me nuts.”

“Seriously? That show is over twenty years old…”

“I know! He discovered it a few months ago, and he thinks it’s hilarious.” Harry sighs. “He also likes The Simpons, The Office, oh! He’s really into Malcom in the Middle right now.”

“How does even know about that show?”

“He found it on Hulu one night and he asked if he could watch it and I said okay. He loves it.”

“Hmm.” You tap your chin for a second. “I may need to go on Etsy then. I think I know of a shirt he would like, but I doubt they have it here.”

“You don’t have to go to so much trouble, Y/N. He’ll like whatever you give him.”

“That’s just it, I don’t want him to like it, I want him to love it.”

Harry thought his heart was going to burst as you looked around. You come to the section of the store with all of the different card games.

“Is he too young for Cards Against Humanity? Could be fun for him and Brandon.”

“Wee bit.”

“Alright…oh, what about What Do You Meme? That’s age appropriate, no?”

“Oh, he’s actually been asking for something like that. It’s a good stocking stuffer.”

“Perfect!” You snatch a pack. “This will also be from me.” You wink at him and keep looking around.

“What do you usually do for the holidays, anyways?”

“Well, whenever Hanukkah falls, I usually do something with my family, and then I lay low on Christmas.”

“Maybe during one of the nights of Hanukkah you could come over and the three of us could do something traditional with you.”

“I’d love that, Har.” You smile at him. “I could show you how to make homemade potato pancakes.”

“That would be a lot of fun.” He kisses your cheek.

Eventually you both walk over to the North End to get some Italian food for a late lunch/early dinner. You each enjoy raviolis and lots of bread. You make sure to stop off at one of the bakeries to grab some cannolis.

“You can just put these in your freezer, they should still be good when he gets home.”

“Sounds good, he’s gonna be so excited.”

You make your way back to the hotel garage and get into the car.

“Babe, let me drive, you’re tired.”

“No, I can do it.”

“Y/N.”

“Let me just get us through the city, and then I’ll pull over at the rest stop in Londonderry.”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes.

You end up doing just that. You zip through the city, staying in the left lane the whole time, and then you pull over at the rest area. You let Harry drive the rest of the way, and he drives back to your place.

“Did you wanna stay over tonight? I could come to yours tomorrow, or if you’re sick of me we can-“

“Why do you always say that?” He chuckles. “I could never be sick of you.”

You beam at him, and you both get up inside your apartment. After you unpack your things, you both get into bed, and fall asleep quickly. It was the perfect Thanksgiving.

“Dad, these are so good.” Andy says, mouth full of cannoli Sunday night. “Y/N is the best.”

“I’ll pass the message on to her.” Harry smiles. “Listen, uh, how would you feel if she started staying over sometimes when you’re here?”

“I’d be okay with that, I don’t really care.”

“I just wanna make sure you feel comfortable with it. It’s okay if you don’t.”

“Dad, I really don’t care. I’d like it if she stayed here. I feel bad that she thinks she can’t. Then we could all have breakfast together in the mornings, that would be fun.”

“Yeah, it would. I’ll let her know you’re cool with it, thanks.”

“Thanks for asking first.”

“It’s your house too, not gonna make any big changes without consulting you.”

Later that night, as he’s crawling into bed, Harry texts you.

Harry: got the okay from the head of the house, you’re good to spend the night any time you feel comfortable doing so…he loved the cannolis btw

You: oh well, glad I was able to butter him up with those, lol why don’t we give it a try tomorrow?

Harry: are you just saying that because you know Mondays are baked ziti night????

You: what?! I’m offended! I want to come spend the night with you, it in no way has anything to do with your delicious, amazing, incredible, mouth watering baked ziti

Harry: god, you know what complimenting my food does to me 😈 😈 😈

You: goodnight, Harry

Harry: no!

You: yes

Harry: don’t do this

You: I’m so tired! You barely let me leave your bed this morning…need to catch up on sleep

Harry: everything we did today you wanted. I know because I asked and you said yes

You: very true! And now I’m telling you I’m going to sleep, I love you, I’ll see you tomorrow

Harry: alright, I love you too, sweet dreams, baby

The next morning, Harry gets up at 5AM to do his yoga in his bedroom, and then goes into the kitchen to get zome ziti boiled. It wasn’t a difficult dish to make, especially since there wasn’t meat in it, but Harry did use three types of shredded cheese, and he had a homemade marinara sauce. Once the ziti is cooked, he layers it all in a glass dish and sticks it in the fridge. It’ll go in the over to bake when he gets home later.

His next task is to shower, and get dressed before waking Andy up.

“Buddy, time to get up.” Harry comes in and sits on the edge of Andy’s bed. “Come on, sun’s up and everything.”

Andy groans like he does most mornings.

“Don’t gimme that. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Scrambled eggs, please.” He mumbles.

“Can do, now get up.” He takes the top blanket away and Andy groans louder, but it wakes him up enough to get out of bed.

Harry whips up some eggs for Andy and some peanut butter toast for himself, and sets it on the table. Andy comes out in jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt.

“Basketball’s gonna be starting in a bit, you must be excited.”

“Yup.” Andy smiles. “And winter program starts this Friday, I’m really excited for that. Do you think you’ll chaperone?”

“Probably. I’ll find a Friday to come out and help.”

“Y/N should come too.”

“I don’t know if she skiis…”

“How could she not in this area?”

“It’s not for everyone.” He shrugs. “I’ll ask her if she wants to come up to the cabin some weekend or something before having her help out with a bunch of kids.”

“Okay, fair point. Oh! You could teach her to ski, you’re a good teacher.”

“I’d have her take a professional lesson, Andy. It’s not as easy for adults to learn this kind of stuff as it is for kids.”

“You could still show her the basics.”

“Eat your eggs.” Harry rolls his eyes. “By the way, she’s coming for dinner tonight.”

“Of course she is.” Andy giggles. “It’s baked ziti night.”

“That’s what I said! Anyways, she’s gonna try staying over with us. Want you on your best behavior.”

“When am I not?” Andy scoffs.

“Hmm, let’s see…” Harry holds his hand up to start counting on his fingers.

“Okay, okay, I promise I’ll be good.”

“Thank you.”

It was a busy work day since it was the Monday after a short holiday break. You barely saw Harry, but you decide to leave him a little love note on his desk while he was teaching. You notice he left his phone on his desk. Something he rarely does, but it happens once in a while. You see it light up with a news notification, and you do a double take. His lock screen was a picture of the two of you. You pick it up and hold it closer.

“When did he…?” You trail off as you smile. It was a picture of you from one of your hikes. You’re looking up at him, smiling and sweaty, but smiling nonetheless.

“Y/N?” Harry says coming into his office. “What are you doing with my phone?”

“I…I was just leaving you a note, and it lit up…and…I didn’t realize I was your lock screen…” You hand him his phone.

“Of course you’re my lock screen, you have been for a while…”

“I guess I never noticed.” You look away. “I have a picture of the two of us as mine, see.” You show him your phone. “It’s from when we made that mess making waffles from scratch. Makes me smile every time I look at it.”

“Can’t believe I never noticed either…” He looks at the screen and then to you. He steps towards you. “You were leaving me a note?”

“Yeah, I…we barely saw each other today, and I know you need to get home soon, so I was just leaving you a little love note.”

“Oh.” He sets his things down on his desk and comes even closer to you. He tucks some hair behind your ear, his tell for wanting a kiss.

You lean up and he leans down and your lips press against each other. It doesn’t last long, you’re at work after all.

“Okay, well, I have some work to do.” You blush. “Um, I’ll be over by 6:30, does that work?”

“Works great.”

He watches you leave and he sighs dreamily as he gathers his things. He zips home and helps Andy with his homework before getting the ziti in the oven. You get over there around 6:30, with your overnight bag slung over your shoulder.

“Hi, boys.” You say as come inside after Andy answers the door.

“Y/N, those cannolis you got were so good. Thanks again.”

“Oh! I’m so glad you liked them, Andy.” You ruffle the hair on the top of his head and go to put your things down in Harry’s room before coming into the kitchen to give him a kiss. “It smells so good in here.”

“Just took it out of the oven, sit.” He smiles.

After dinner you’re itching to change into come comfier clothes, so you do. You put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, one Harry gave to you, and you come out with your laptop to the living room.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“Nope, Andy?”

“Do your thing.” He shrugs as he flips the TV to Hulu to put Malcom in the Middle.

“Remember, two episodes and then you can go read before bed.” Harry reminds him.

“I’m fully aware, thanks.” He rolls his eyes.

“When I was your age, my bed time was 9:30, but CSI, the Las Vegas one, was on at nine, and I used to watch TV with my mom in bed every night, and CSI was on Thursdays, and so every Thursday we’d have the same fight because I had to see how the episode ended, you know? And then my mom would get so tired that she’d just let me stay up and finish it.”

The boys both look at you with wide eyes. You had a tendency to talk really fast when you had a story to tell.

“Dad says I can’t watch TV right before bed because then I won’t sleep well.”

“He’s right about that! I could never sleep after watching TV with my mom. She’d watch Date Line and scary shows like that.”

“If you were scared, then why would watch with her?” Andy asks.

“Well, my mom worked until eight most nights and I just wanted to spend time with her, so getting into bed and watching TV with her was my way of doing that.”

“That’s sweet.” Harry says, putting his arm around you.

After Andy goes to bed around nine, making sure to give you and Harry a hug, you both decide to get ready for bed as well. You do your routine, and chew on your bottom lip.

“What is it?” He asks he slides into bed with his book.

“Can I still sleep naked? Does he ever come in here?”

“Hmm, how about just a t-shirt? Grab any one of mine from my dresser.”

“Okay, fair enough compromise.”

You change quickly, and get into bed with a book of your own.

“This is nice.” He says, smiling at you. “Having you here on a Monday night.”

“Yeah, feels right.” You kiss his cheek and open your book to the page you dog-eared.

Even though Harry just wanted to ravage you, he knew that would probably have to wait until you showered in the morning. You did look awfully cute when you passed out with your book still in your hand. Harry takes it, saved your place, and sets it on the night table closest to you. He takes his glasses off and turns off the lights, then kisses your forehead before wrapping himself around you. You adjust into him and drift off fully.

You’re woken up abruptly around midnight by Harry’s phone buzzing. It goes off a few times so he finally turns over and grabs it.

“Oh, shit.” He says.

“What?” You mumble.

“Paige called three times, hold on.” He swipes his phone to call her back.

“Harry?!”

“Hey, what’s going on, is everything alright?”

“No…everything’s not alright.” She sobs.

“What happened?” Harry sits up fully. “What’s wrong, darling?” When he says that it makes you sit up. He was clearly trying to calm her down, but you didn’t like him using the term of endearment.

“My…my father died.”

#harry styles #office neighbors #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles series #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles y/n #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #singledad!harry #professor!harry

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bored-storyteller · 3 years

Text

Oh my, thank you! Thanks for bringing this to me, I love Sally Face! It's one of my favorite indie games ever! I really hope it meets your expectations.

NOTES: I imagined the more adult Sal, but beyond that there are no other references to the timeline of the original story, except some canonical episodes mentioned.

34- Sally Face - Sal Fisher x Reader

"You can see me"

With a last glance at the clock, you quickly close the water bottle, at the same time grabbing the full glass in the same hand that you also hold the medicine box.

You're pretty sure you find Sal in his room, probably bent over his guitar. Surely it is for that reason that he has not paid attention to his therapy.

It doesn't happen often, in fact, it rarely happens that you have to rush to his rescue, nor do you really like doing it. You don't know how he really feels about it.

Knowing where he keeps his medicines and knowing when he has to take them doesn't make you two a couple. Not even living under the same roof makes you a couple - especially if you are not alone - nor does sharing the same room often and willingly.

In fact, even though someone often mistakes you for two young lovers, you don't really know what Sal thinks of you. As close as you feel him, you are not sure that he feels as close to you; on the other hand, he doesn't seem to share the same kind of intimacy with you that he shares with Larry or Ashley, or at least that's what you think.

Besides, you've never seen his face.

Yours is a purely selfish thought, and you are ashamed of it, but you cannot command feelings.

You know that the first time Larry saw his best friend's face was an accident, with Ash instead, she was the one who took the initiative. In neither case was Sal's will to make him show himself. Yet, despite this deep down, inside you, something stung excruciatingly.

When your friend had lifted his mask, Sal that time was not angry at the intrusiveness - as perhaps you would have done -, nor had he tried to escape later. It is logically normal that he now has less trouble showing himself around them. Sweet Sal, always so loving, so perfect.

You shouldn't feel offended. You know well that for Sal the prosthesis he wears is in effect his face, so it's not that he wants to hide from you, you are simply already seeing him.

Yet you know that under that face another is hidden, however much it may be disfigured. You can't pretend it isn't.

That slight annoyance you have repeatedly tried to ignore has slowly grown, but only now have you dared to call it by name. Because you like Sal. You really like him. And when you have understood this, when you have found the strength to admit it to yourself, everything is put in the right place; the joys, the jealousies you felt and feel… and also that desire to see him, to see beyond, to really see him.

But you'll never force on him for it. As simple as it would be to lift that mask to him with an excuse, you will never force him to show himself to you, even if you die with the regret of never having seen him. It's not the same, it's not the face you want to see, it's the trust you want him to give you. But you can't expect it, and you know it.

You could live with this obsession that has become so present in recent weeks that you can hardly forget it. Maybe it's just your mind that doesn't want to focus on your duties, and then it always wanders to him, aimlessly.

"What is Sal's face like?"

You asked Larry one day without realizing it. You didn't really know what you were doing with him, you just know that for a moment your brain was shut down, and when you woke up you whispered that question.

The astonished look of your friend had poured into you a flood of emotions so sudden that they almost made you cry for no reason: you felt guilty, selfish, reckless, stupid, meddlesome and terribly fragile.

You immediately lowered your gaze to protect yourself, muttering an "sorry, forget it" but never would have canceled that damn question. You thought Larry might misjudge you for that, but instead his big hand pulled you to him, ruffling your hair affectionately, saying nothing.

He seemed to have understood more than you hoped for, yet ...

You shake your head and your hand tightens on the glass of water. You knock on the door and softly call Sal's name.

"Yes?"

His answer comes a few seconds later and you feel safe in opening the door slowly.

It's not exactly what you imagined; he is sitting on the bed, his legs stretched out on the mattress and his back resting against the headboard. The guitar is stored in the case, but in his hands he holds a book with a dark cover.

His kind gaze meets you beyond that face that is always the same. It's amazing how expressive that guy can be under that stiff mask. That damn mask. That lovely mask.

"You didn't take them, did you?"

You ask softly as you lift the medicines to show them. Your voice is cracked against your will, and you're praying he didn't notice.

"Oh ..." his eyes snap to the clock hanging on the wall "thanks, I was completely forgetting about it."

His voice is soft, almost cheerful. He is not bothered by your gesture, or he is very good at hiding it.

You watch him get up to go to the bedside table where you put what he needed. You don't pay much attention to it, you just sit on the bed, picking up the book he was reading, making sure you keep your thumb between the pages, so as not to lose the mark he left.

You read the title and a few lines of the presentation absently. You're just trying to buy time with him, and you know it.

You hear it as he handles the pill box and plastic, and hear the rattle of the straps as they unfasten to release his mouth.

You don't watch it, you're used to the process and now, despite you insisting on staying there, you don't really want to watch it.

You don't understand much about the book, you just know it's about music.

"Do you like it?"

You ask, trying to give a semblance of normality.

"Enough ... actually I'm just at the beginning."

You just nod, not really being able to continue the conversation. Your head feels too full confused, but extremely empty at the same time, and you don't know why.

"Hey ... is everything okay?"

His voice makes you jump, as if he has stung you with a needle. Such a simple question, but you suddenly feel discovered, as if he has just proved he can read your mind. As if you were obliged to tell him the truth.

"Yup!"

You exclaim immediately, and without realizing your head jerks towards him, as if you wanted to assure him of the truthfulness of your words.

You don't notice it right away. You see only his blue eyes for a moment, he is looking at you with concern, more than he should.

At first you wonder if your attitude really is that troubling, but then you start to focus.

His hand trembles slightly around the glass of water, and out of the corner of your eye you can see his mask lying on his pillow.

He swallows the medicine by throwing his head back slightly, perhaps to take a break from your gaze, or to escape a little from the agitation, the fear he is having.

Sal, Sal's face. You are seeing him, free from his hiding place, while he drinks.

Surely he is disfigured, excruciatingly deformed. It's not just a few scratches, it's more, it's a real pain, yet you don't notice it.

Again, this is Sal. You're really seeing Sal's face, the face you've always loved, beyond the mask, like his mask.

He sits next to you, he's trying to act naturally, you see him, but you still see his fingers shaking against the cardboard as he puts the tablet away in the box. He did it for you.

Emotions explode in your chest and you don't bother holding them back. There is no time for any misunderstandings. You are free with him, you always have been, you don't know how you forgot this.

"Sal ..."

You call him softly, and he turns to you despite the hesitation. A light "tell me" sweet and helpful pronounced by the spoiled and shy lips.

Silently, you curl up against him, your arms glide smoothly around his chest, expressing your need to feel him close.

He welcomes you - he always does.

"Hey ..." is a faint call of him, as you hide against his neck to prevent your happiness from going out too violently.

"Thanks..." This is all you can say in your voice damp with emotion. Long last. You are like a child in front of the much desired Christmas present. You are so happy that you could carry the whole world on your shoulders.

"Thank you!" You repeat him with more conviction, and finally your eyes return to his sky-colored gaze. So beautiful, always so loving even in his placid surprise.

He looks at your wet eyes, so wet with affection for him. Your smile is so warm and true, and his lungs slowly empty of all the accumulated tension.

He didn't think anyone could look at him that way, not without his mask. He did not think that a look could be so full of love in front of his disfigured face, yet it seems that you are seeing an angel.

You look at him with your eyes shining with all the admiration you feel, and not because you can lie by saying that you are seeing a beautiful face, but because Sal is the most beautiful person you know.

"I-" His voice tries to say something, but it is cut off; this time it's up to him to be overwhelmed by emotion.

You approach slowly, and the tip of your nose touches his, practically non-existent, but you don't care. You cannot resist the desire to cuddle him, to touch him, to perceive him in every possible aspect of that intimacy that he has decided to give you.

At first he has a little jerk back, of surprise rather than fear, and soon after he is there again, looking for that touch. He is extremely uncertain, but he still responds to your unspoken requests, slowly letting his forehead rest on yours.

He exhales, as if he is releasing a great weight, but he immediately stiffens when you, without realizing it, are approaching his lips.

You wake up immediately from your numbness, before making a probable mistake, and try to get away, at least as long as his arms allow you.

"Please…"

That prayer from him is so feeble yet so meaningful. His gaze asks you to do it, to continue, because he wants it but he is still afraid of taking the initiative. He is putting the responsibility on you, and rightly so.

He is tense, you see it from his swallow and feel it from his tense muscles around you, but it's okay.

You approach again, slowly, gradually lowering your eyelids, a little by instinct and a little in the hope of putting him more at ease.

Kissing him is a special experience, and you like it - you wanted it so much -.

You are not intrusive, it is just a delicate touch, but it persists, leaving him time for him.

When he reciprocates, he does it slowly, unsure of how to proceed, probably troubled by the feelings he can give you or maybe just agitated by the situation. Yet, slowly, you feel it melt against you.

Slightly open your eyes to see that he too has closed them, and then you allow yourself to return to enjoy that moment, more peaceful and serene.

You huddle more, between yourselves, and let the desire flow through you, without going too far, simply enjoying the presence of each other, in your breaths that merge.

When you separate you do it only with your lips, but your gaze remains affectionate and aware.

In the end, that is nothing more than the confirmation of everything: of your knowing what time he should take his medicines and of his letting you know, of his knowing your favorite drink and which shower gel you always use, of cooking one by one. other, of looking so much like a couple for a long time already - and some of it is also the result of Larry's long tongue letting out a few too many words with his best friend.

You watch him as he puts his mask back on, and now you don't care anymore, because you know what's under it, and if that's his face then you've seen his soul.

Suddenly all your happiness is back. You are so happy that not even the bickering between Larry and Todd coming from the kitchen can upset you.

It must be something about the finished milk.

"I'm going to get it!"

You hum loud enough for the two to hear it, as you jump three steps at the same time, happily landing down the stairs.

Sal's laughter reaches you, and you turn to look at him. You like to see him happy, whatever the nature of that happiness.

"I come with you."

He tells you coming to you, reaching out his hand so that you can take it.

You're pretty sure you won't be able to stop smiling all night long.

*The image above is an old drawing of mine

#sally face #sally face x reader #sal fisher #sal fisher x reader #oneshot #request #larry johnson #sally face sal #gaming #video games

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justthehiddleswrites · 3 years

Text

Tables Turned | Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Summary: You are nervous for Tom’s interview with Graham Norton. But when Graham decides to have Tom read some fan fiction, you know the tables have turned.

Warnings: none

You had been fidgeting since Tom had left the green room to take the stage for his interview. This interview was different. Graham Norton had put Tom in uncomfortable situations more than once and even though Tom was a consummate professional. It didn’t make you any less protective of him.

“So… welcome back, Tom,” Graham greeted in his usual tone.

“It’s good to be back,” Tom responded, smiling.

“You’ve been busy since the last time. More movies, a great run in Jamie Lloyd’s Betrayal, and now Round 2 of The Night Manager.”

Tom blushed and laughed.

“It has been a busy several years. I have been very lucky to work in projects I love.”

Graham’s eye sparkled. Tom realized he had walked into something he did not expect.

“Speaking of love…”

Tom looked down and shuffled his feet as he unbuttoned his jacket, preparing himself for the inevitable question.

“… you have been dating for someone for quite a while.”

“Three years in April, Graham. I couldn’t be happier.”

“And how does she feel about your… how would say… enthusiastic fanbase?”

You were in the back, cringing. You jumped off the couch and paced again, spinning your ring, a habit you never broke. Tom prepared for this question and the two of you had discussed the answer. It didn’t make you any less nervous.

Tom cleared his throat before answering.

“She is a fan herself. She is completely supportive.”

Tom smiled and you could hear the “awws” and screams rippling through the audience. Graham would let it go, so he went in for the kill.

“Even the fan fiction?” Graham raised an eye.

Tom blushed.

“I’m not sure I understand what you are getting,” Tom lied, knowing what Graham was insinuating.

“There are some interesting stories out there. Particularly these stories where you are in a relationship with the reader? How about we read some of this summaries out loud?”

And there it was. Graham handed Tom some cards. Tom was laughing.

“This one is by lokisgirl1798. You are visiting London for the first time when your purse is stolen with all your money and credit cards. Now wandering in a foreign city with no money, you bump into a handsome stranger. It turns out to be actor Tom Hiddleston. In an act of chivalry, Tom takes you to his place to call the police and collect your wits. But what will happen behind closed doors?” Tom read the description out loud.

As you stared through your fingers during Tom’s recitation, you grinned. Tom had this.

“So what do you think, Tom?” Graham looked at Tom.

“Actually, Graham, I read this one the other day. The writing was superb and considering the writer’s first language is not English, they did an amazing job Brit-picking. I mean they used the words ‘mobile’ and ‘telly’ and ‘loo,’ so it impressed me.”

Graham’s mouth fell open.

“Shall I continue?” Tom asked, blinking at the host.

Graham motioned to carry on.

“This one is from hiddlesforprez. Oh this one was sounds fun. You meet up with your old childhood friend, Tom Hiddleston, as he is filming the latest Avengers movie. You harbored a secret crush on Tom and unbeknownst to you, so has Tom. When Tom arrives to his trailer in full Loki costume, you cannot keep your feelings or hands to yourself.”

You giggled out loud backstage. This could not be going any better.

“Would you like my thoughts, Graham?” Tom deadpanned.

“Of course.” Graham sputtered out, not sure what’s happening.

“This one I have read as well. I love the interplay between RPF, that is real person fiction, and the MCU fandom in this one, but that is just my taste. The metaphors are on point. And while it takes getting used to, I found the smut portion to be well researched and the language… well… eloquent.”

Now you were blushing as much as Tom.

“That is an excellent point… why don’t we…” Graham stuttered, reaching for the card. Tom snatches it away.

“Ooooh, there is one more.” Tom read the card and his face lit up. He looks up at the camera and winks. “I know of someone in particular who will love this one!”

“This one is written by Y/user name and it is an angst fic. Tom and the reader have been dating for a few months and they have their first big fight. They exchange angry words and slammed doors. After several weeks with no apologies or phone calls, you go out with a friend to drown your sorrows. Who should you run into but Tom, and it appears he is on a date? Can this relationship be repaired or is too far gone?”

Tom laughed at the end of reading this, just like he always does when he reads the summaries.

“So may I critique?” Tom asked Graham.

“By all means.” Graham has been sinking lower into his chair.

“Well, this fic is interesting because my fiancé wrote it.” The audience gasps and so do you. That was not part of the plan. “She always has me beta read for her. And while she wrote this not long after our first fight, she changed the facts to protect the guilty.”

Graham about fell off his chair at Tom’s response. Tom and you had only gotten engaged a month ago. Both of you agreed to make not an official announcement until after the press junket.

“Well, that’s all the time we have today. Thanks, Tom.”

Once the cameras turned off, Tom headed to the green room. He swept you up into an embrace and kissed you.

“You were wonderful, honey,” you told Tom when the two of you broke from the embrace.

“Thank you. You are aware none of it will ever make it to air.”

“I know, but maybe he will think twice before using fan fiction as the punch line to a joke.”

“I hope so too. Now why don’t I take you home and you can write about what happened today.”

You gave Tom a playful punch to the chest, and he laughed as he pulled you in close to his side, arm around your waist. Just as the two of you reached the door, it opened and Graham walked in.

“Tom.”

“Graham, have you met my fiancé?”

You smiled and offered your hand. Graham gave a firm handshake, but you noted he avoided eye contact.

“Great writing.”

“Thanks,” you responded with a smirk, “but it is average. You should read things on Tumblr. That is where the great stuff is.”

“I agree, darling,” Tom piped up, placing a kiss on your temple, “next time you want to read fics on the air, Graham, call us and we can give you some recommendations.”

Graham mumbled something unintelligible, but you were certain it was not an apology. Tom and you left the room and headed to the car to take you home. When the episode aired, they cut the entire fan fiction segment. You were disappointed but knew it was likely to happen. But Tom was amazing just the same. You also noticed since Tom’s appearance, fan art and fan fiction and other fan interactions almost never came up again.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston imagine

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franniebanana · 3 years

Text

CQL Rewatch - Ep 28

Note: I will be critical of Jiang Cheng in these posts. If you can’t handle that, please feel free to scroll on.

Sorry this write-up is so late. I had a migraine that lasted for a few days, and I didn't want to do anything.

So, we're finally here. The big showdown between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian--they're finally talking, and Jiang Cheng is letting it all out. He starts off strong, leading with this: "you've pushed me to my limits." So, first of all, it's Wei Wuxian's fault that the other clans are pestering Jiang Cheng, as if this is an intentional act on Wei Wuxian's part to cause Jiang Cheng trouble. Obviously absurd--Wei Wuxian doesn't want to cause the Jiang Clan any more harm than they've already been through. That is the very reason why he took the surviving Wens away to a secluded area that no one else would try and enter.

Next Jiang Cheng pleads with Wei Wuxian to come back to Lotus Pier and turn in all the Wens. Yes, turning them in means they'll all be executed, but at least Wei Wuxian can come back into the fold and, most importantly, Jiang Cheng won't have to deal with him being a black sheep anymore. And what they don't really understand at this point is that if it's not the Wens, it's someone else. Someone always has to take the blame for whatever evil is occurring in the world. If Wei Wuxian were to turn the Wens in, they would undoubtedly be executed, but I don't think for one second that they wouldn't hold Wei Wuxian accountable as well, even if he were the one to turn them in himself. For one thing, they are still convinced he took piece of Yin Iron that Xue Yang had, and they don't trust him when he says (repeatedly) that he did not get it from there. Bottom line, there's always going to be a scapegoat, and we know that--we see it happen again and again in this story.

Last thing about this little scene so far: Defenders of the Wen Clan are going against the mainstream. No one will speak up for them. No one will speak up for Wei Wuxian, in particular. Jiang Cheng is pretty much giving Wei Wuxian an ultimatum: if you don't turn them in, it's over--you're out of the Jiang Clan. No one will take him in at this point, not even the Yunmeng Jiangs. Yes, Jiang Cheng is torn up about this. He wants Wei Wuxian on his side--at his side. He doesn't like the idea that Wei Wuxian's loyalty has switched from himself to these Wen remnants who are as good as dead. But here's the thing: there are still people who will speak up for him. Lan Wangji will. To a certain extent, Jiang Yanli will as well, but no one will really put much stock in what she says. When she and Jiang Cheng visit so that she can show her wedding attire to Wei Wuxian, they keep hidden--they don't want anyone to see them there. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, makes no effort to hide himself. He even calls attention to himself at the tea house when he gets pissed off at all the people gossiping about Wei Wuxian. He's really the only one who is truly on Wei Wuxian's side right now.

Heartbreakingly, Wei Wuxian tells Jiang Cheng to leave. He's the one who supplies the idea that he defected, and proposes that they stage a fight to make it believable. And I can't sit here and fault Jiang Cheng for giving this ultimatum. He's a clan leader--his priority is whatever will better his clan, and right now, Wei Wuxian is a detriment. He tries to convince Wei Wuxian, over and over, to abandon the Wens, but Wei Wuxian can't--he won't. He can't abandon them when they've done so much for him, and he can't abandon them when they've been so wronged. The people he is protecting have done nothing wrong, other than have the wrong surname. Jiang Cheng never really tries to understand that or fight for that. He knows that these people are not dangerous, yet he just goes along with the other clans.

In the end, Jiang Cheng kind of makes it about himself and his inferiority complex with Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian wants to be a hero, wants to be the best, he knows the Jiang discipline better than even Jiang Cheng. It's sad that it always comes back to this, despite how many times Wei Wuxian argues with it. Jiang Cheng just cannot get over not being better than Wei Wuxian, and what I find most frustrating is that that issue isn't Wei Wuxian's. It's not Wei Wuxian's problem at all. It is wholly Jiang Cheng's problem, but he behaves as if Wei Wuxian owes him something--as if he ought to do something about it. But there's nothing for him to do. Jiang Cheng just needs to get over his issues and himself.

Can you imagine how shitty Wei Wuxian must feel right now? The person he was raised like a brother to just told him he wouldn't be able to defend him anymore and essentially forced him to defect. He's leading and trying to protect a group of individuals whom the rest of the dominating clans want dead and, by extension, they probably want him dead as well. But despite this, he's doing his best to make everyone else feel better. He puts on a smile, a chipper attitude, and tries to comfort them all. He gives extra fruit to A-Yuan, then he goes to try and cheer Wen Qing up. This is the kind of person he is. And it takes a lot to break him. Think of what he's gone through! Gah!! He's so amazing, I love him!!!! Lan Wangji is my absolute fave, but it did take me a while to warm up to him. I was immediately enchanted with Wei Wuxian, and the more you know about him, the more you love him, I feel.

That fucking comb! Seriously! When will it end! I don't want to see that thing ever again!!! I'm a little irrational about the comb, but it's just really annoying to me, okay? I mean, I feel bad for the guy. He keeps trying and hoping to get a girlfriend, but it's just not happening. Wen Qing probably should have made it clear a long time ago that she had no intention of being his wife, though, and then maybe we could have ditched this subplot a long time ago as well. But the other thing is, if Jiang Cheng cares about Wen Qing so much, why is he so willing to let her be executed? It just...doesn't really make much sense that he can't even admit what his feelings are to even Wei Wuxian.

I love how Wen Qing hasn't said a word in this scene yet. Wei Wuxian is just talking and talking and talking, sort of having a dialogue with her, anticipating what she's thinking. I don't remember being this amused the first time I watched it, but it's quite funny now. Charming, as well. When I get annoyed at what the showrunners tried to do, having Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian be in a romantic relationship, I'm going to think of this scene, and the other moments where I really appreciate their platonic relationship.

Adorable! So adorable, I almost can't stand it! This part is so cute, and I swear, Jin Zixuan has never looked better. There's something about him being disheveled and maybe not having as much makeup on his face, plus the addition of the dirt and mud, that makes him really attractive and cute haha.

"I know this is not Lotus Pier, but I'm willing to build another Lotus Pier for you." Ugly sobbing ensues.

I just love them!!! <3 <3 <3

Just Lan Wangji quietly seething with rage over here. Seriously, these gossips! The funny thing is, they're all terrified of what Wei Wuxian will do, yet they sit in here and gossip about him, as if they'd ever be brave enough to stand up to him.

Favorite wangxian scene alert! I love this scene. So much. So so much. Everything from Lan Wangji's panicked expression to the way Wei Wuxian stifles his laughter, to the look on Lan Wangji's face when he hears his name being called (and recognizes whose voice it is) to Wei Wuxian's genuine smile when he and Lan Wangji make eye contact. It's genuine happiness that Wei Wuxian feels--not the forced cheerfulness that he puts on around Wen Qing. He's so glad that someone has come to see him that isn't Jiang Cheng or someone else who wants him dead. It's a friend--finally a friend.

Oh, my gosh--look at him! He's delighted! He's so happy!! When is the last time we've seen our boy actually happy? It feels like it's been forever! And my little wangxian heart soars, knowing that it's Lan Wangji that makes him feel this way. But really, it couldn't be anyone else, could it?

Indulge me. Just look at them.

Look. Look! Love! It's love!

I have so many feelings about this part, but I can't even talk about it. I just love these scenes of Lan Wangji's visit to Yiling so much. Beginning to end, it's one of my favorite parts of the series. There's such a range of emotions from joy to sadness to bitterness to love--it has everything. And seeing the beginning of their little family warms my heart: A-Yuan warming up to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian being indignant about it. It's such an emotional time for the both of them, seeing each other for the first time in months, especially after all that has happened between them. If Lan Wangji hadn't come here, maybe they never would have seen each other again. Wei Wuxian certainly can't go to the Cloud Recesses to see him. Ugh, I have a lot of feelings, but that's to be continued, because of a strange episode break (as per usual).

Another kind of shorter post! This episode was just a lot of Jiang Cheng being dramatic about evicting Wei Wuxian, which is entertaining and all, but there’s not a whole lot to say. And then Wen Qing kind of has the exact same conversation with Wei Wuxian, which, again, not a lot to say there either. This episode was just me waiting impatiently for the wangxian part at the end to be quite honest.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

#wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #cql #the untamed #wen qing #jin zixuan #jiang yanli #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #ep 28 #cql rewatch

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i-prefer-the-term-antihero · 3 years

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Additionally, your thoughts on Dracula and Adrian from the Netflix adaptation of Castlevania? I find Dracula really tragic, and the ending scene of Season 2 crushed me because I was not expecting Adrian to cry. He’s usually so stoic and calm that I didn’t think he would weep, I expected him to just shrug it off like heroes usually do, but no, when given time to process everything, the first thing he does is break down into tears. Sypha was right in calling him a brooding teen in an adult body.

Ohh man. If you just take a look at my writing blog (or anywhere I post my fanfiction) it’ll become pretty clear pretty quickly how I feel about them XD So far all my Castlevania fics have been about the Tepes Family. Adrian and Drac are my favorite characters in the series!! (Though I do love pretty much all the characters in it.)

YES YES YES!!

They did an incredible job making Drac sympathetic and tragic. I don’t know if you know anything about the games, and granted, they couldn’t put a lot of story stuff in the games, but (at least as far as I’m aware) in most of them it’s like “ya, he was an evil dude who did evil things because he was evil.” So it actually would have been pretty accurate to the source to make him just an unsympathetic, irredeemable villain, but they didn’t and I LOVE them for it. Playing Symphony of the Night (Alucards game) after watching the series l was almost longing for that Drac I know and love from the series, (though it’s fun to see evil Drac too).

As I’ve said, I adore redeemable villains, and they did an amazing job with him, to the point where pretty much everyone in the fandom adores him, which is extremely tough to accomplish—even if you write a redeemable villain well, often large parts of the fandom don’t see it and hate the character. I knew that the point was that they were going to defeat Drac but I have to say, especially since I originally knew nothing of the games, I was hoping they’d save him by the end.

I think the fact that he liked and was kind to Hector and Isaac was evidence that he wasn’t too far gone. I mean, the only two people he genuinely trusted and liked in his court were human…that’s so interesting, I wish it was at least talked about, either in the show or in the fandom. I think he actually liked humans, partially or especially because of Lisa, he just...was so angry, and needed someone to blame. He probably ultimately blamed himself for not being there to save her, and it was just easier to blame the humans he once hated/didn’t understand, even if in reality he didn’t hate them as much as he thought he did...

Doing more thinking and research into the show for my “If These Walls Could Talk” fic I recognize now that symbolically it made sense even within the show that he died when Lisa died (which I can explain more about if you want but id probably end up going off on a long tangent so I’ll save it)...but I still thought practically, in the show, he could have still been redeemed.

Omg I LOVED that. The longer I take to sit with it, the more I realize just how much I loved that they put him crying instead of shaking it off.

It’s very interesting that Drac and Alucard are more openly emotional characters. I might be totally wrong, but as far as I remember, they (...and Lisa when she dies, and probably Isaac in a flashback), are the only main characters we see openly cry. It’s a pretty bold move to make any of your characters emotional like that, but especially your villain, and your bold handsome hero. It’s sooo easy to get emotional characters and emotions wrong…or just offputting to some people...but more on that later.

I think Adrian and Drac are both rather sentimental, in an odd way. Much of Drac’s motivations in the show and even in the games (the times his motivations are explained) had to do with his wives (yes he was married before Lisa in the games...unless Lament of Innocence was retconned...) which is interesting. So many of his decisions are based on emotion. He lets Lisa in just because he likes her, he goes to war with the world because of Lisa, he sits in his study mourning her loss, he let’s Alucard kill him… I also notice very often he digs his nails into his palms until they bleed, presumably because if he didn’t he’d hurt someone else (in the scene where he hurts Alucard, he does this). His sentimentality doesn’t diminish is power as a villain, which is SO difficult to accomplish.

I am emotional myself so I absolutely love to see emotional characters, but for most people, seeing even a normal character be emotional diminishes them in their eyes, or makes them whiny, so making your villain even a little emotional, and having that not take away from the audiences perception of their power as a villain is sooooooo hard to do, and I applaud them for making a so well-beloved, and still villainous and intimidating, but also emotional (at times) villain.

For Alucard. I don’t see any problem with him being emotional, but it makes even more sense if he’s a teen in an adult’s body—which was indeed portrayed quite well.

Yes that was interesting when he cried when drawing his parents!! I wasn’t expecting that when I saw him drawing them. I was enjoying and intrigued by his story so much, then when he started crying I was caught off guard—but in a good way. It really made me feel for him, and understand that he was still grieving his mother, and that knew the gravity of what he was currently doing.

I think it’s kind of important to show that kind of thing in a situation like this. It’s easy to think Alucard hates his dad, and they need to show the emotion of the situation to make it clear “no he doesn’t hate his dad, this actually breaks his heart, he just knows he has to do this.”

I loved when he was telling Trevor and Sypha about how much the world would lose by killing Dracula. It’s really interesting that he hides his emotion with them, and that Trevor and Sypha are so stoic. The son of Dracula isn’t the guy you expect to be the only hero who cries.

In “For Love” when Trevor’s like “Don’t get weepy about it” I was sitting there, sobbing, like “No, please get weepy about it! Let the boy cry for goodness sake!! Give me some emotion!!” But I too was not expecting him to cry like he did, and in grieving the death of his parents...

I knew the crying scene was coming because I’d seen pictures of it on here and pinterest, but I had no context for it. In the end it wasn’t just the weeping itself that made the scene so impactful, it was everything surrounding it. I didn’t know it would happen when he was completely alone (and would be for the foreseeable future), and in grieving his parents, or about the ghosts/flashbacks before it (cementing his grief), or that it was literally the last scene of the season, or that there would be no music for both the scene and the credits thereafter.

And that was what really got me.

Because, firstly, we never got to see any flashbacks to his childhood, and that was what I was begging for the entire series (and hence why its what I write about). To finally get it, and it not to just be something the audience gets to see, but something Alucard himself is seeing... a happy memory he’s seeing when he knows that is completely gone, he cannot hope to have it again, and for him to now be in his father’s place…that’s heartbreaking. Like just having your character cry—let alone those kinds of full-on sobs—is painful enough, showing a son grieving his parents is a particularly heart wrenching kind of sadness, but showing that he is haunted by memories of those parents he lost—not only lost but one of which he killed, and, if SOTN is canon for the show, the other of which he could have saved—of a happy childhood, and he is alone with these memories for the foreseeable future...that is truly heart wrenching.

Also the scene with Trevor and Sypha in the wagon earlier in the episode was super sweet, they could have easily put the Adrian crying scene earlier, and had the Trevor and Sypha scene be the last scene of the season (and Trevor’s game actually does end with them looking into the sunset, so ending with the last scene of “For Love” would be accurate as well), and left it on a positive note, and the audience would have been left with a completeness. But they made a conscious choice put his crying scene last, and it was so powerful, because it made you remember that at the end of the day, he isn’t just our bold handsome hero, he was a son who lost both his parents, and that, to him, this isn’t really a triumph, but a loss. It also kinda confirmed that Drac wasn’t an "evil guy, end of story". That there was reason to grieve him, and to show his son grieving, and to leave it there because of it. It was a personal gravity too

In the end, it was the lack of music in the scene, and even more so during the credits, so theres only his tears, and all you are left with in the end is this amplified emptiness that really did me in. I think I literally sat there, tear tracks on my face, my mouth open when I hit the credits.

Playing Symphony of the Night after watching the show is really interesting in exploring his character. I knew there was very little story, so I wasn’t expecting much from the story, but I actually found that I was beyond excited whenever there actually was some story, and the few lines they did say are stuck with me.

Maria comments early on that Alucard’s not very good at talking. At first I just chalked it up to...weird translations or whatever. But the more I played the game and the more I thought about him in the show...I think she’s right. He’s not very good at talking, yet if and when he does talk he’s quite eloquent, and precise with his words. (This actually makes him a somewhat difficult character to write). I wonder if perhaps this has some connection to his emotionalness. He’s very careful with what he says, and this may spread to what he does—such as being careful when he shows emotion. I’m curious why he’s like this. It could just be his nature, but I wonder if as a kid he was ever hated because he was a vampire—maybe people made fun of him, and he cried, and they made more fun of him because of it—and he learned both to hide his emotions, and that he had to be very deliberate and show people he didn’t mean any ill will with his words. (And he looks older than he is so people might call him immature for acting his mental age). All very speculative, of course. But it’d be fun to write about!

Also, another thing from SOTN that is related to this topic, there was a fight that really struck me (enough I actually wrote a fic about it (inverted recurrence)). SOTN takes plays 300 years after the events of The Netflix Series (aka Dracula’s Curse). Most of the bosses don’t seem to have a lot of meaning story-wise, they’re just there for you to fight. The other day I (Alucard) walked into a boss room...and there were Trevor, Sypha, and Grant (who was omitted from the Netflix series). They were fake versions of them, of course. And there’s no dialogue in the fight so maybe I’m just speculating, but what struck me was that the fact that Dracula could use them against him probably means he still cares about them, even after 300 years. It probably also means that they’re some of the only friends he’s ever had. Granted, he was asleep for a good chunk of those 300 years, still. It goes back to that sentimental-ness I was talking about earlier.

I few years ago I watched the Gravity Falls commentaries, and from them I got a lot of the writing advice I still think about and use today. Alex Hirsch said something on this subject which I really liked which is “Hold your tears.” When a character cries they’ve broken, that’s as far as they can go. So if you make a character cry when the audience themselves doesn’t feel the weight of the scene, or it doesn’t feel like the character has broken yet, it can feel like too...much/cheesy, and distance the audience. especially with cartoons where the way it’s drawn can actually affect your sympathy for the character (it can look weird or accentuated).

They did such an awesome job with this by literally holding his tears until the very end. I don’t know how other, non-emotional people felt about it, but Ive don’t know if I’ve ever seen tears used so well in a show, pack such a punch. To have it not just be a part of the scene but literally the focus, and at the end...it was powerful.

Sorry for the long response, and more importantly, I’m beyond sorry for taking so so SOOO long to respond. I hope you enjoy my response, if you see it <3

P.S. For anyone else who made it all the way to the end, I actually have a Castlevania sideblog now: @symphonyofthewrite !! I’d be beyond happy to recieve asks like this over there, if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts!!

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cavalierious-whim · 3 years

Text

Love, Misunderstood (FE3H)

Sylvix | Modern AU | Fake Dating | Teen So, here’s the thing: Felix doesn’t date anyone that isn’t his sabre.

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A/N: I wrote this for the Sylvix Server's Secret Santa Event last year. Read here on AO3 for better quality! And follow me on Twitter here! @Satodee1 on Twitter drew an AMAZING fanart for this fic as well! I cannot believe I've been blessed so. Please take a look here and give them a follow!

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Let go the fear of falling in love.

So, here’s the thing: Felix doesn’t date anyone that isn’t his sabre.

One, there isn’t time. By day he’s almost a professional athlete with dozens of fencing titles to his name, and by night he’s a business student double majoring in Marketing and Finance. His days are full of workouts and conditioning, a carefully maintained diet, and when the sport isn’t on his mind, his academics are.

Two, there’s no interest. None. Whatsoever. Felix has never once looked at another person and thought, Yes, I would like that one.

Which brings him to his current problem: there’s an annoyance in his face that some might think is pretty if they liked overly bleached hair and heavily lacquered nails. Gum pops in her mouth. She twirls a long tendril of hair around a finger like the love interest from a nineties sitcom.

Felix doesn’t just hate; he loathes and despises. Less so the girl and more so at being perceived as a romantic option. He feels as though he does a pretty good job selling the fact that he’s entirely off of the market, even going as far as snarling at hopefuls. Apparently, some people are just infuriatingly stubborn.

Or maybe just oblivious. Felix is starting to lean towards the latter, watching carefully as the girl stares back at him, dreamily.

“So, like,” she says, punctuating the words with a giggle, “I’m a big fan. Of you and you know, your fencing.”

Felix is a hundred percent sure that she has no idea what she’s talking about. What he says instead is, “I’m studying.” Neat and simple, and not even mean. Hopefully enough to fend her off. He’s almost proud of himself.

She blinks at him like she’s trying and failing to process what he’s just said. “So, that bout last weekend,” says the girl, relentless in her pursuit. “You really honed in the touches, winning before the time limit.”

This surprises him; maybe his earlier assessment is incorrect and she’s honestly a fencing fan. Felix meets her gaze and she stares back, smacking her gum, hair still wrapped around her finger, and eyes glinting.

Right, no, she’d just done her research.

“Thank you,” says Felix because he’s not entirely an asshole. “But as I said, I’m studying, so if you would--”

“It was truly riveting,” continues the girl, clasping her hands before her. “Your form is just exquisite.” She says the word like he’s a prized pig.

Felix is losing his patience, his fingers tightening around his pencil and squeezing tighter and tighter. It might snap under his grip. It’s happened before.

“Look,” says Felix, his tone hardening just a modicum, “I appreciate--”

“So, how about grabbing a bite to eat together?” asks the girl, batting her eyes at him in an exaggerated flourish.

Felix opens his mouth to say something rather nasty, but he’s interrupted by someone dropping into the chair next to him. “Darling.” An arm finds its way slung around his shoulder and Felix goes rigid. “I’m sorry that I’m late; got stuck in traffic. You know what rush hour is like.”

It takes everything for Felix to not grab the man’s arm and break his wrist.

Before he can do so though, the man looks to the girl and says, “A bite to eat? All of us? Group dates are always fun.”

The girl, to her credit, looks about as flabbergasted as Felix feels. “Um--”

“Unless you meant alone with my boyfriend?”

Felix immediately starts, turning to look at him incredulously. “Boyfriend--”

“My mistake,” the girl apologizes immediately. “I didn’t, um, realize that you… Anyway, thank you for the chat!” And with a wave, the bleached-blonde bimbo takes her leave.

Felix whirls onto the man next to him, immediately shrugging out of his grasp. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The man is lightly tanned, cheeks dusted with a spattering of warm freckles. His hair is auburn and unruly, curling wildly around his forehead and ears. His smile is crooked, a dimple forming at the left corner of his mouth. Handsome, if Felix likes people. He doesn’t, he reminds himself.

“Saving you,” the man says. “Really, she just wouldn’t let you go. It’s astonishing really, I could feel the leave me the fuck alone vibes radiating off of you from across the shop.”

Felix blinks at that. “I didn’t need help.”

“I think that you did.”

“I didn’t,” repeats Felix, unable to let go of his stubborn need to get the last word in. Glenn used to say that it was the best and worst part of him.

“You could have just told her no.” The man pauses, thumbing at his chin as though he’s amused. “You don’t seem the type to be nice and gently let someone down.”

Felix isn’t; he’s the type to throw books at people instead, and be brutally blunt about what he does and doesn’t want. “I was distracted,” he finally says, “I’m studying for an exam and she just caught me off guard. I promise you, had I been on my game I would have done far worse.”

The other man cocks his head to the side, watching him, and Felix already hates the calculating gaze. “You really go all in, don’t you?” he asks. “Just no fucks given as to what people think about you?”

“I’m not here to date, I’m here to go to school.”

“How boring,” says the man.

“I like boring,” says Felix.

There’s a beat and then, “I’m Sylvain.” Sylvain holds his hand out for a shake. Felix stares at it as though it might bite him, but Sylvain waits patiently. “You owe me at least yours.”

There isn’t a chance in hell that this man doesn’t know who Felix is; his face is plastered across every Garreg Mach University billboard this side of Fodlan. Still, Felix has been raised with manners and he can hear Glenn rolling over in his grave.

Felix hates manners but sucks it up.

“Felix,” he says finally, still ignoring Sylvain’s hand. “Thank you for the help, but I don’t need it. Now leave me alone. I don’t have time to entertain jockstraps like yourself.”

Sylvain eventually puts his hand down and watches Felix for a long moment. Felix doesn’t like the slightly amused grin that seems permanently attached to his face. “Got it,” says Sylvain eventually. He stands and throws his bag back over his shoulder. “Then this jockstrap will take his leave.”

Felix almost feels bad, prompting him to say, “My appreciation is honest. If you hadn’t stepped in I might’ve snapped the girl’s neck instead.” He expects him to run off at such vivid imagery, like so many do.

But instead, Sylvain just throws his head back and laughs, before leaving him be.

“Do you like Adrestian Barbecue?”

This one cuter than the last, pert little nose and wavy locks of brown framing her face nicely. Felix still isn’t remotely interested. “I’m studying,” he says, trying his best to sound at least polite. He’s not very good at it, but the woman pays it no mind.

“This’ll only take a moment,” she says. “I’m wondering if you’d like to go get lunch or something? There’s a great new place that’s just opened up off of Twenty-Fourth Street, and--”

“Babe,” someone cuts in, leaning over Felix’s shoulder, their cheeks barely inches from each other. Sylvain, Felix’s mind supplies before being annoyed that he’d remembered. Felix hadn’t seen him in the shop for a few weeks. Sylvain to his credit doesn’t sling his arm around and immediately drop into the chair without permission, he just hovers next to him. Waiting.

A slight improvement.

“Sylvain,” says Felix. Then pauses, unsure how to continue. He swallows and then, “You’re late.”

Sylvain chuckles. “Traffic.”

Felix huffs, a little emboldened. “That’s the excuse you used last time.”

“And it’s still true,” says Sylvain.

“Um,” says the woman who’s been interrupted. “I was trying to ask--”

“My boyfriend to lunch,” cuts in Sylvain. “Yes, I saw that. I can barely get him to go out with me, what makes you think that he’d have a go with you?”

Felix’s eyes nearly bulge at the aggressive raking. Sylvain seemed like a nice man the last they met, but perhaps Felix has underestimated him. It sounds like a jab straight from Felix’s book.

The woman’s mouth falls open and she gawks but quickly recovers. “Right,” she says. “My apologies, I’d thought-- Never mind that. Have a wonderful day Mr. Fraldarius.”

Felix cringes as she turns and walks away.

“Mr. Fraldarius,” drawls Sylvain, falling into the chair next to him. “I really do have a habit of coming to rescue you.”

“I didn’t need to be rescued,” says Felix, acerbically. “It isn’t my fault that you insist on butting in where you aren’t wanted.”

“So, you wanted to go grab lunch with her?”

Felix closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, and lets out a frustrated grunt. “Absolutely not.” Sylvain doesn’t say anything, just watches him with unwavering patience. Eventually, Felix says, “Look, I appreciate your willingness to help, but--”

“You know, I could just pretend to be your boyfriend and they’d leave you alone for good.”

Felix blinks and then he scowls. “What?”

Sylvain shrugs, noncommittal. “You study here nearly every day. I study here too. I finally stepped in because you seem to get attention all of the time and it does nothing but annoy you. Seriously, people have no boundaries.”

Felix wants to tell Sylvain that he has no boundaries either, but decides not to fuel the fire. Instead, he says, “There’s no reason for you to help me, you would gain nothing from it.”

“Some peace and quiet. Do you know how hard it is to focus on schoolwork here when women and men are trying to approach you? I come here for the quiet, not to watch the latest episode of Blind Date.”

Sylvain has a point; the people who approach him tend to be rather loud about it. Felix thinks about the proposition for a moment. “No,” he finally says. “You don’t have to study here. Go elsewhere.”

“It’s preferable to my dorm,” says Sylvain, not bothering to elaborate. “And, I think that’s why you study here as well. You hate people and would do anything to avoid them entirely. Even if it means studying in public.”

Felix cringes because Sylvain’s nailed it on the head; the general public is less invasive than Ashe is. His roommate is nice but needlessly curious. “I don’t need your help.”

Sylvain opens his mouth to answer but stops when the barista comes by their table. “Felix,” he says, smiling kindly. “I’ve brought you a refill, yeah?” He drops a take-out cup to the table. “Just let me know if you want more.”

Felix nods, his lips quirking the slightest bit. The boy has always been nice to him and unfussy. “Thank you,” says Felix, genuinely.

The barista leaves and as Felix reaches for the cup, Sylvain raises his eyebrows. Felix’s mood immediately sours. “What?” snaps Felix acerbically.

Sylvain points to the cardboard sleeve around the cup. Felix turns it around to find the barista’s name and number written in curling script. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” says Felix. But, at least the barista has the decency not to accost him publicly. Felix rubs at his forehead.

“Say that I take you up on your offer,” starts Felix, already wanting to pull them back, “what are you expecting in return?”

“Nothing,” says Sylvain. Felix meets his eyes, narrowing his gaze as he watches him carefully. “Honestly,” continues Sylvain under the scrutiny. “I also like to study in peace, but I don’t like to sit at tables alone. I work better when there’s someone else there, even if it’s not to talk.”

“That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” says Felix.

“So is every person on this campus thirsting after your mangy ass. It’s a mystery to me.” Sylvain bites back just as hard as Felix, it seems. Felix respects that, if only slightly.

“Fine,” says Felix. “But only because I’ve got tests coming up and I’m tired of being bothered.”

“It’s a deal then,” says Sylvain. “We study and pretend to be dating, reaping the benefits of a quiet and quaint coffee shop.”

“You’ll have to be convincing,” says Felix.

“So far, it’s worked.”

Sylvain holds his hand out to shake on the deal and Felix looks at it warily. Then, with a resigned sigh, he takes it. Sylvain’s hand is wide and warm, and it makes Felix want to pull away. He hates closeness and doesn’t do well with physical contact. When they part, Sylvain smiles and then finally drops his book bag from his shoulders, settling in.

Felix hopes to the Goddess above that he’s not making a mistake.

Felix wants to hate Sylvain on mere principle, but they fall into an easy companionship. Felix hates it, hates that he doesn’t dislike Sylvain. But, Felix doesn’t quite like him either, and it’s the last thread of hope that he hangs on to.

A week into the charade, Felix is still stunned by the fact that Sylvain actually studies. He expects Sylvain to joke or flirt incessantly. He hasn’t; Sylvain’s quiet when they sit at their table in the corner of the coffee shop, nose-deep in a math text.

Felix’s gaze narrows slightly when he reads the title. “You’re taking Calculus III?”

“No,” says Sylvain, eyes not leaving his book. He flips a page, looking bored. “It’s a prerequisite, so I’ve already taken it, but sometimes I have to revisit.”

“Already taken it?” Sylvain taps another textbook to the side and Felix’s eyes widened. “Ordinary and Partial Differential Mathematics?” Felix can not for the life of him, think of a degree that would require a course like this.

Sylvain hums. “Yeah, it’s my required math for this semester.”

“For a jockstrap like yourself?” The nickname has stuck and so far, Sylvain hasn’t stopped Felix from using it.

Finally, Sylvain looks up, eyes crinkling in amusement. “I like math,” he says simply, “and I’m good at it. It’s an easy course for me.”

Felix isn’t sure what’s easy about math that he doesn’t even grasp the purpose of, but Sylvain’s only proven himself to be a weird man at his core. Sylvain looks at Felix’s book in return.

“Statistics,” says Sylvain. Felix has a distinct impression that he’s not remotely impressed.

“A requirement,” says Felix. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t take math at all. But it’s part of a Business degree.”

“Business.” Sylvain snorts. “What a boring degree. Aren’t you here for fencing?”

“On a fencing scholarship, yes. There’s no future in a sport, though.” Felix narrows his eyes at him. “Something that you should probably learn.”

Sylvain’s got the build of a footballer, though, so Felix knows that he’s likely on that track. But, Sylvain doesn’t really talk about himself much, let alone his schooling. He has a tendency to watch people carefully with a gaze that’s far too knowing.

Felix never likes that look, like Sylvain’s mind is far away and thinking. A thinking Sylvain is likely a dangerous Sylvain. It’s always the ones you least suspect. Glenn would have been best friends with this dolt.

“What?” says Felix, annoyed.

“Nothing,” says Sylvain, turning back to his textbook.

Felix frowns but doesn’t push to ask more.

As the weeks pass, things shift from a tentative, peaceful study, into an actual friendship. Felix wants to hate it; a large part of him wants to loathe it because he doesn’t like people, nor does he like it when people admire him in return.

But, Felix has learned in their brief time together that it’s not all bad. Not every person who is friendly with you wants something in return. Being a Fraldarius has severely skewed the way that he views the general public, but Sylvain seems to have no idea what his roots are, thank the Goddess.

It’s led to a low-key relationship, full of quiet jokes and genuine care. Felix grudgingly accepts it.

Like always, Felix finds Sylvain holding their table in the corner, a cup of coffee already ordered and waiting for him. Bernadetta’s handmade mugs might be odd and a little bizarre, but they serve drinks all the same, even if it loses its heat more quickly.

Sylvain once berated him for his wasteful use of to-go cups and Felix relented without much of a fight. Much to his irritation.

“One large red-eye, black as your soul,” says Sylvain, pushing the cup towards Felix. “I think he threw in an extra shot this time.”

Felix grunts, noncommittally, drops his bag to the ground and slumps into his chair. The mug is hot to the touch, so it must be fresh, and Felix leans over to inhale deeply. Sylvain makes a gagging sound which causes Felix to glare at him.

“No judgment,” says Sylvain. Then he pauses. “Actually, a lot of judgment because only stone-cold dicks can drink that dredge--”

“Go back to the field,” snaps Felix, before taking a sip. It’s dark and bitter as it burns through his veins. Perfection, really. Sylvain just has bad taste.

“Always with the jock references,” says Sylvain. “At least you haven’t called me jockstrap yet.”

“Apt name for someone like yourself.”

Sylvian blinks. “What does that even mean?”

Felix huffs. “An athlete, you dolt.” He takes another sip. “You make fun of my sport enough that it's only appropriate that I do the same.”

Sylvain is quiet for a long moment and then he bursts out laughing. “Wait, wait,” he starts. “You think I’m an athlete? Why?”

“You're built like a footballer,” says Felix. “Infuriatingly tall and broad.”

“Not to say that jocks are dumb, or anything, but with my courseload what makes you think that I even have time to think about playing a sport?”

Felix thinks for a long moment, coming to realize that even with their burgeoning friendship, he knows next to nothing about Sylvain. He’s easy to get along with, they’ve fallen into an easy routine and Felix even finds that studying flies by with little to no thought by his side. Something about Sylvain’s quiet presence in the coffee shop makes it easier to focus.

Still.

“Wait, you don’t?” asks Felix. “Why didn’t you ever say--”

“I thought that you were just insulting me, I didn’t think that you actually thought that I--” Sylvain stops, laughing again. “I’m sorry, this is hilarious. It shows just how bad you are with people. Pure comedic gold.”

“You said you were on scholarship!”

At that, Sylvain raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, an academic one. Astronomy and Astrophysics.”

“Astrophysics?” blurts Felix incredulously.

In retrospect, it’s painfully obvious, he thinks. Suddenly, the textbooks of differential calculus and other various maths and sciences he can’t pronounce make a hell of a lot more sense. He reaches out, lifting the book that Sylvain’s currently working from, eyeballing the title.

“Steller, Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy,” Felix reads. Then he moves to the next. “Statistical Quantum Mechanics.” Felix meets Sylvain’s sheepish gaze. “You aren’t joking, are you?”

“I’ve wanted to understand the planets ever since I saw Star Trek as a kid--”

“Are you really basing your degree on a television show that you watched growing up? One that isn’t even that good?”

Sylvain’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, you did not just disrespect the best television show to ever have been created.”

“I’m not having this conversation,” says Felix. “I have an essay for Business Statistics, and it’s going to be hard enough to focus knowing that you’re doing experimental math over there.”

“Theoretical math,” says Sylvain, coyly correcting him.

“Whatever,” hisses Felix. “Honestly, being a footballer would be less annoying.”

Sylvain frowns slightly. “Than being smart?”

“What?” Felix scowls. “No, that isn’t what I meant. I don’t give a rat’s ass how smart you are, but really, Sylvain-- Star Trek?”

Sylvain lets out a long breath and Felix realizes that he must be used to being judged. Sylvain doesn’t have the typical look of a scientist when you think about it. He’s handsome and well built, looking like he spends more time on a beach than a mechanics lab.

Felix has the decency to be at least a little bit embarrassed for assuming, not that he’d publicly admit to it.

“Look, just go back to your book,” says Felix. “I’ll go back to mine. And if I have any math questions, I’m going to expect your help.”

At that, Sylvain lets out a little chuckle, different from his usual boisterous laugh. It takes Felix a moment to realize that it’s a genuine moment from Sylvain, one where he’s let down all those walls he’s carefully put up.

It seems that he’s even more guarded than Felix is, something of mild interest. If Felix took an interest in things. He doesn’t, he thinks, but it’s more like he’s trying to convince himself.

“Alright,” says Sylvain. “But I don’t know how much help I’ll be. Simple math confuses me more than this does.”

What a ridiculous thing to say, but it’s not as annoying as the way that Felix’s mouth twitches into a near smile.

In the aftermath of Felix’s assumed snafu, Sylvain makes irritating strides to get to know Felix better. Irritating, because Felix has come to learn that he likes spending time with the genius of a chump, be it lunches between classes, or dinner after their study session. A variety of low-commitment activities that are usually full of small talk that Felix is angered he doesn’t hate.

“Just to be more convincing,” said Sylvain, doing most of the talking like always. Felix was inclined to agree, considering that Annette told him that Sylvain wasn’t his type and the idea of the two of them together seemed frankly, odd.

“I don’t get what the issue is,” says Annette, one day that seems like eons after Felix struck his deal with Sylvain. It’s past winter holiday and creeping into the spring, warm enough to catch a snack at the crepe stand after Annette’s yoga class. “Are you bothered that you like to spend time with him?”

“No, that’s not--” Felix pauses. “I’m not good at making friends.”

“We’re friends,” says Annette, shoving a mouthful of crepe into her mouth.

Felix wants to remind her that they met after she asked him to dinner, and it was the one time he’d said yes. It lasted about thirty minutes before they both decided dinner was a bust and went bowling instead. Annette kicked his ass, looked pretty while doing it and he’d felt nothing in return.

Instead, he says, “You're persistent.” It’s half-hearted and he doesn’t really mean it, but Annette’s cheeks puff up anyway.

“Oh, Felix! You’re evil,” huffs Annette, but she never stays mad at him for long, turning her attention back to her food.

“Sylvain is… different,” says Felix, as they sit down on a bench.

Annette nods sagely. “I mean, yeah, isn’t that why you like him?”

“He’s sufferable.”

“I mean, I’ll admit, he’s an odd choice and definitely not your type but--”

“Wait, Annette,” says Felix. “Do you think that I actually like him? As in romantically?”

She blinks at him, confused. “I mean, don’t you?” asks Annette around a mouthful of food. She’s never been very ladylike, but it’s a breath of fresh air at the end of all things. Normally it would endear Felix. But.

“ What?” snaps Felix, eyes immediately narrowing. “Of course I don’t, this entire thing has been a ruse to get people to leave me alone.”

Annette chews at her food thoughtfully for a second and then says, “But you enjoy spending time with him.”

“I’ve made that apparent,” says Felix. “It vexes me.”

“You’ve admired how smart he is.”

“Infuriatingly so, but it’s useful when we study.” Felix pauses. “Don’t tell him that I said that.”

“You spend your free time with him,” says Annette, gesturing at Felix with her crepe. “This is the first time I’ve seen you face-to-face in like a month, but you go out of your way to see him every day.”

At that, Felix starts, mouth snapping shut as he thinks. Annette’s right, he does go out of his way to spend time with Sylvain. And if they can’t meet properly, it’s texting. Sylvain’s usually the one to greet him in the morning with a corny horoscope that neither of them believes, but still laugh about. And Felix is usually the one to say goodnight, even if it isn’t warranted.

It feels wrong if they don’t share words at least once a day.

“Annette,” says Felix.

“Hm?” hums Annette, cheeks bulging around the last bite of her crepe.

“Am I in love with him?” It’s rhetorical, of course, and dreadful in tone, but Annette answers anyway.

“Would that be a bad thing?”

“No,” says Felix, mouth parted in awe as though the heavens had just been explained to him. Or, Sylvain explained theoretical warp theory and Felix finally understood it. That’ll never happen, but--

“I love him.” The words come easier than he expects and they fill him with unexpected warmth. He wants more of it. He’s also afraid of it, but if there’s anything that Felix is good at, it’s striking something head-on with force.

He hasn’t lost a fencing match in nearly three years.

Annette, blessedly, is quiet for once, just watching him process his feelings. And when he’s done, when Felix comes to his conclusion, she asks, “Do you feel better?”

“Yes,” says Felix, and it’s honest and true, and strangely welcome. He hasn’t felt this good in years. Certainly not since Glenn passed.

“Good,” says Annette, “Now go kiss him.”

Felix’s answer is dumping the rest of his crepe directly into her lap, the loss of his snack well justified.

Because Felix’s life is apparently a romantic comedy, he expects things between him and Sylvain to become awkward.

It doesn't. In fact, everything is disgustingly normal. They keep their study dates, emphasis on the study part. Sylvain still greets him with his coffee order, and on the few occasions that Felix beats him to the shop, he greets Sylvain with his ridiculous white mocha, extra whip.

There are a few differences, Felix supposes.

When Sylvain leans over to help with a math problem, Felix turns to him. They meet eyes more often than not. Felix willingly covers Sylvain’s dinner, which raises an eyebrow because he’s notoriously stingy.

But, if Felix seems off, Sylvain never mentions it or broaches the topic. It’s aggravating, how easy it is to just keep to the routine. And it’s not that Felix doesn’t want more; ever since his talk with Annette, he finds himself entertaining the idea further.

He’s done a lot of thinking. Sylvain’s handsome, there isn’t a doubt about it, but that’s not what pulls Felix to him. Sylvain’s smart as a whip and doesn’t mince his words. And yes, he puts walls up and dances about things personal, but Felix does the same.

And lately, Sylvain’s started to pull those walls down, comfortable in Felix’s presence.

No one’s ever comfortable around him and Felix is struck by how much it means. Feelings are hard and love is even worse. Felix isn’t quite sure that it’s worth it.

But, he hasn’t written the idea entirely off.

“Felix?”

Felix blinks. “I, er--”

Sylvain’s mouth tugs slightly downward at one side. Concerned. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

“Fencing,” blurts Felix. “The big tourney coming up.”

“You mean the one two weeks ago?”

Okay, so, Felix has been more distracted than he cares to admit. It’s all Sylvain’s fault. “Sylvain, it’s nothing. I’m just tired. School is draining. The usual.”

“Tired,” says Sylvain, unconvinced. He leans back in his chair, arms crossed and watching Felix carefully. Curse Sylvain’s perceptiveness and his ability to look right through people.

“Look, Sylvain--”

“Felix Fraldarius,” drawls another voice. They both turn to find a familiar face framed by bleach blonde hair and twirling a lock around her fingers. There’s the snap of gum in her mouth as she chews open-mouthed and unflattering.

Immediately, Sylvain is on the defensive. “Hey--”

“Hold it, golden boy,” says the girl, “I know you aren’t really dating. Heard it one day after you grabbed a bite to eat.”

Sylvain’s face darkens. “Have you been following us?”

The girl makes a face at the accusation. “Ugh, as if. It was a coincidence, I swear, but what a wonderful one. Means that I’ve got a chance.”

Felix immediately bites back, hackles raised. “I already had little interest, but as of right now, there’s not even a remote possibility of you having a chance.”

“Is it really so hard to just give it a go? You might even like me.” She bats her eyes in a pathetic attempt to appeal to him, but all Felix can think of his tanned skin dotted with freckles and sun-kissed auburn hair.

“Doubtful,” says Felix, dryly.

It takes only a second for her features to change dramatically, from coy and shy to contemptuous and sneering. “I wonder why I even bothered,” says the girl, before nodding to Sylvain. “Clearly your taste isn’t as good as I would have thought. Haven’t you heard the rumors about him?”

Yes, ad nauseum. From friends, the general public, even Sylvain himself. His problems with women and dating, and commitment issues. His brother and father, and the pressure of family legacy. At first, from those around them who’d heard of their dating, who’d seen them hanging out. People who felt it their duty to warn Felix.

And eventually, Sylvain himself who’s recently opened up about the heavy baggage that he carries around, shouldering it without much of a complaint. If anything, Sylvain’s the one looking out for others.

So yes, Sylvain doesn’t have a stellar reputation, but there’s a lot more to a person than what’s seen on the surface. A lesson that Felix has spent the last half-year learning quite unwillingly.

“Do you think yourself superior?” asks Felix, eyes narrowing at her. “You have no concept of personal space, nor do you seem to comprehend the words ‘no’ and ‘not interested’. Sylvain could murder someone in cold blood and still have twice the worth that you hold.”

“It’s a wonder, why you would even consider him,” scoffs the girl.

“Obviously it’s because I love him and despite the terrible things the lot of you gossip about, he makes me perfectly happy.”

The table goes quiet, both the girl and Sylvain staring at him. Likely, for different reasons. Felix didn’t mean to say it so plainly, but he’s never been good at pulling his punches, even when it comes to verbal lashings.

Besides, she brought it upon herself.

And against all odds, Felix feels wholly and utterly satisfied, not a moment of regret at his confession. He takes a sip of his coffee, fingers curled around his mug tenderly, meeting her gaze head-on.

“You should leave,” says Sylvain, before the girl can even respond. She opens her mouth to retort, but stops when Sylvain smiles at her. Only it isn’t a smile, it’s a nasty-looking smirk, more like a wolf that’s about to pounce its prey.

Wisely, she backs off, huffing in annoyance as she turns and leaves.

And then there are two, sitting at a table in silence. Felix is oddly comfortable, sipping at his drink while Sylvain’s mouth opens and closes. Thinking about what he’s going to say. Felix supposes that he’s opened the inevitable can of worms.

“So,” starts Sylvain, “correct me if I’m wrong, but when you said that you love me, it sounded pretty genuine.”

Felix scoffs, he can’t help it. “I always mean the things that I say.”

He expects Sylvain to bolt, to run away, to want nothing to do with this. Instead, Sylvain smiles, small and real, regarding Felix with a kind of warmth that immediately sets him on high alert.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” asks Felix, testily. But Sylvain only chuckles, soft at first and then louder. “Really Sylvain? You’re laughing? Right now?”

“Sorry,” says Sylvain, “It’s not actually funny-- okay, that’s a lie, it’s hilarious.”

Felix frowns, sneering defensively. “Is the idea of me loving someone, least of all you, so entertaining?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?” demands Felix, exasperated. Sylvain’s not one to beat around the bush, but he can’t seem to find his words, too busy being amused by Felix’s feelings, to his utter embarrassment.

“It’s because I love you too.”

Felix’s mouth falls open because that’s the last thing he expects Sylvain to say. He doesn’t answer, gaping openly at Sylvain, floundering for an explanation. Eventually, Sylvain finds himself, clearing his throat slightly.

Sylvain looks to Felix’s face and then his gaze drops to where his hand rests on the table. Considering. Felix really hopes that he’s not planning on taking it, but Sylvain does, fingers tugging at his palm gently.

Felix lets it happen, settling on the explanation that he’s just not like himself at the moment.

“Felix,” says Sylvain, this time quieter and more serious. He thumbs at Felix’s knuckles, the touch soft and hesitant. “I’ll admit, I’m a little bit relieved.”

“I’m annoyed,” says Felix. “I’ve been annoyed since the moment I realized it because all I’ve been able to do is think of you. It’s infuriating in the worst of ways.”

There’s a moment that passes as they watch each other, Sylvain’s hand practically burning around Felix’s. And then, Sylvain says, “Felix, can I kiss you?”

Yes, Felix thinks. It’s such a foreign feeling that he nearly pulls away but he doesn’t. He’s determined to indulge. It’s about time he’s enjoyed something in his life.

So, what he says instead is, “If you must,” the words clipped but his usual crustiness softer than normal. It makes Sylvain smile at him again, looking at Felix like he can see right through him.

Sylvain leans forward smoothly, cupping Felix’s jaw in his other hand. He’s still looking at him, like he’s some sort of treasure, paused right before Felix’s mouth. And that makes Felix impatient.

Felix is the one to close the distance, sealing their lips together like a promise. Sylvain’s mouth is soft under his, but he responds eagerly, his han moving to the back of his neck. Felix has never really put stock into the whole sparks flew and things were felt nonsense. Turns out that he’d been wrong and that kissing is kind of everything. All he can think of is Sylvain’s presence and the solid weight of him as he leans in.

Sylvain licks into the kiss, but only just barely, coaxing a tad more than just a mild response from Felix. And Felix can feel his skin burning bright red with strain, or embarrassment, or maybe just the idea that they’re doing this in public.

He doesn’t care, Felix wants more, fingers curling into Sylvain’s shirt and tugging slightly.

Eventually, they part because breathing is necessary and even Felix requires air. Regrettably. He wants to go back in, to kiss Sylvain again, just one more time before he gains his senses back and thinks better of it.

But first.

“You know, I’ll kill you if you hurt me,” says Felix, fingers tightening their grip around Sylvain’s shirt.

Sylvain laughs, leaning close to Felix's ear and pressing a soft kiss there. “I know. But that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem fanfiction #fire emblem three houses fanfiction #felix x sylvain #sylvix #sylvain/felix #sylvain jose gautier #felix hugo fraldarius

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jbuffyangel · 3 years

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The Domino Falls: Arrow 1x12 Review (Vertigo)

It’s officially 1 year today since Arrow went off the air and I thought what better way to mark the moment than by chatting about the show we all love with a review!

We have begun the slow and steady climb to more Felicity Smoak content

and “Vertigo” is a monumentally HUGE moment in Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. One little meet up at Big Belly Burger is what tips the dominoes over for Oliver Queen.

Let’s dig in...

Olicity

Let’s get right to the good stuff. Of course, there’s other stuff that happened in this episode, but do we care? Only a little. Oliver is on the hunt for The Count – the man responsible for the Vertigo epidemic and Thea’s looming drug trial. The Count is in my Top 5 of best Arrow villains. Of course his first episode coincides with an Olicity milestone. That rat bastard worked the hardest for our ship.

The judge has decided to make an example out of Ms. Queen in hopes of deterring others from trying Vertigo. Seriously, does that ever work?

So, he chucked Thea’s plea agreement right out the window. Big Bro in The Hood is hoping to serve up a bigger fish – THE FISH – to help get his sister off the hook. Oliver is generally anti innocent people dying from illicit drugs, so there are unselfish reasons at play too.

No one knows the identity of The Count, so after roughing up the streets and getting nowhere, Oliver reaches out to Alexi Leonov. We met Leonov in 1x03, but for those who need a refresher - he leads the Starling City chapter of the Bratva. This is the first time Diggle meets Leonov, discovers Oliver speaks Russian, is a captain in the Russian mob, and can fake kill someone.

It was a big day for John.

Leonov sets up the meet with The Count and Oliver attempts to buy some Vertigo off him, sans mask and arrow. The cops show up and Oliver tries to run down The Count as he escapes, but is stabbed in the chest with two syringes full of Vertigo.

Never fear, Oliver has his magic herbs from Lian Yu which apparently can cure drug overdose. (Maybe share with the rest of the world?) Vertigo makes him momentarily murderous (more than usual) and he screams a lot.

THE POINT OF ALL THIS EXPOSITION IS ALL ROADS LEAD TO FELICITY SMOAK.

Diggle and Oliver think it would be wise to have someone analyze the Vertigo… for some reason. This leads our dynamic duo to Queen Consolidated and to our favorite blonde hacker.

Felicity rambles about Oliver’s haggard appearance (re: see drug overdose) and a cat being tased (she connects those disparate dots, I assure you). He offers yet another ridiculous lie and we embark on one of the funniest scenes in Arrow’s history.

Arrow struggled to find its footing for a long time, but “Vertigo” is the beginning of the writers settling on to solid ground. If you ever have to wonder why the show focused on Oliver, Diggle and Felicity as the core characters you only need to watch this scene for the answer.

The chemistry between all the actors is amazing. Arrow is not known for its humor (especially in Season 1), but between Emily Bett Rickard’s perfect delivery of another one of Felicity’s awkward and inadvertent sexual slip ups,

Stephen Amell’s inability to stay in character as he laughs right along with us,

and David Ramsey’s stone cold straight man reaction –

this entire scene is comedy gold.

I vividly remember watching it live, laughing my ass off, and wanting more of EVERYTHING these three have to offer. And that’s exactly what we’re going get.

“I ran out of sports bottles” reigned as Arrow’s funniest scene for a solid two years (until this episode), but it also marks the worst of Oliver’s terrible lies to Felicity. It’s so bad even Diggle has to remark on it in the elevator. Oliver’s lies are horrible, everyone knows Felicity doesn’t buy a word of it, and their need for her help is increasing with every day. Something has to change.

As we discussed in 1x11, Oliver is prone to distrust and very reticent to change his mind – ever. He’s been burned so many times in the past it’s difficult for him to view anyone through a trusting lens.

And yet, Oliver told his deepest and darkest secret to a man he’d only known for a few weeks. Yes, Diggle had soldier skills Oliver would find useful as a partner. He knew John could hold his own in the field, but it’s not just about his abilities. It was also about the person Diggle is. Oliver did his homework and realized he needed John to survive. There was a wellspring of humanity in John that Oliver wasn’t able to access inside himself. He was subconsciously reaching out for help - like a moth to a flame.

It is the same with Felicity. Yes, Oliver needs her abilities – perhaps even more than what Diggle has to offer. (It’s not like Oliver Queen can’t handle himself in the field). But he is also drawn to Felicity’s warmth, kindness, humor, compassion and openness. Oliver’s heart is encased in iron and welded shut. He doesn’t know how to open it back up. It’s been dark and alone for so long. And yet, Oliver returns again and again to this brightly shining light and why? Because he craves it.

Something has to change. We need that final push, the first domino to fall, so Oliver can make that final step and tell Felicity who he really is. Diggle was easier. He’d fought a war before. Oliver also knew about Andy’s death. Remember – Oliver brought Diggle onboard when he needed help with Deadshot. Manipulative? Yes, but it worked.

Felicity is trickier. I’m sure Oliver has done his research.

Well, yes that kind of research, but also into her background. There’s no dead family member requiring retribution. No war zone she’s recently returned from. She’s an MIT graduate with a penchant for hacking working at a global conglomerate as a wildly overqualified IT tech. The girl doesn’t have so much as a parking ticket. The leap to vigilantism would be rather big.

I also think a fair amount of his hesitancy to involve her in anything related to The Hood is the danger. Diggle can handle himself. Felicity is a different story. Oliver is constantly battling the need for Felicity’s help versus the risk he’s putting her at by asking for it. The lies are to protest Oliver’s secret identity, but also to shield Felicity from it.

Whether it is Oliver’s own distrustfulness, his inability to see an angle to reel Felicity in, his desire to protect her or all three – it doesn’t matter. He continues to lie to her. Oliver isn’t ready to make that big leap either.

Source: yet-i-remain-quiet

Until… Felicity asks to meet him at Big Belly Burger. Oliver waits for her, looking out the window on a rainy night, thinking of Yao Fei.

Oliver feared Yao Fei betrayed him and was really working for Fyers, but neither was true. He convinced Fyers of his loyalty by pretending to kill Oliver. (So that’s who Oliver learned it from!) Yao Fei wakes Oliver just as he rolls his “dead” body into the waterfall. He also slips Oliver a map with a location marked with the words “Survive.”

Oliver doubted his trust in Yao Fei, but in the end was shocked to find out he had it right all along. Yao Fei was exactly who Oliver thought he was – a good man. That final and literal push cemented Oliver’s belief in his friend and to trust his gut.

There will probably always be a debate as to when the writers began the shift towards Olicity. “We DiDn’T dEcIdE uNtIL sEaSoN 2,” is the standard story, but I’m a firm believer it began in Season 1 and often include this scene in my massive pile of evidence. The last scene in the episode either tees up the next or contains a lot of emotional significance. Felicity beings to carve out a lot of final scene time as the series progresses.

The last scene in “Vertigo” is romantically lit with rain drops shimmering on the window. Oliver and Felicity are meeting outside the office and ALONE. Soft instrumental music plays in the background. It feels more intimate than any scene they’ve shared before.

Source: andjustforthismoment

I still cannot get over Oliver “The Sex God” Queen waving at Felicity Smoak like a giddy school boy and then shaking his head over how completely uncool he looked. We watched this man leave a criminal suspended in the air with an arrow through his hand in the first scene and in the last he acts like a puppy. THE RANGE.

It’s clear Felicity is a little nervous as she exhales walking in. Is she nervous to be meeting with Oliver or nervous about what she has to say? Both. She tips her hand a bit by thanking Oliver for meeting her at Big Belly Burger. She did not want to have this discussion at the Queen mansion. (THE PLOT THICKENS).

It seems Oliver and Felicity are having similar conundrums about each other. Felicity is uncertain if she can trust Oliver and has been debating for weeks whether or not to tell him the full truth. SOUND FAMILIAR? Felicity has far more evidence of Oliver’s untrustworthiness. There’s no rambling this time. She lays out the cold hard facts which is Oliver Queen is a big, fat liar and she knows it. He knows it. They both know it. Felicity Smoak is nobody’s fool.

And yet, she trusts him. Even though Oliver has given her no reason to. Even though there are clearly things he’s not telling her. Even though Oliver has yet to show her the same trust. There is something Felicity sees in him which tells her Oliver is worthy of it. It is an unsubstantiated truth. Felicity is going with her gut and her gut says Oliver Queen is a good man.

This doesn’t stop her from asking him the simple question though. Felicity needs that little bit of reassurance before she makes the final leap.

At first, Oliver plays it off in his smarmy, smart ass and flippant way. It’s the Ollie Queen façade that always works with L*urel, Tommy, Lance, Moira and Thea.

It’s an act that’s never worked on Felicity. She sees through it now just like she’s always has. Her smile fades. Felicity breaks eye contact with Oliver and doesn’t hide her disappointment. She is tired of the games and lies. Felicity wants to talk to the real Oliver Queen. That’s the only man she will share this secret with.

All it takes is five seconds of Felicity’s disappointment for Oliver to drop the façade like a hot potato.

He even apologizes and promises Felicity he is worthy of her trust. Then, Felicity lowers the boom and hands him The List.

It is difficult to surprise Oliver Queen, but this one has him reeling. She hands the book to Oliver, the same book Robert gave him, but he hesitates taking it. He has no idea where this is going, so he defaults to his standard operating procedure and lies.

Oliver is not doing a stellar job covering his “my world is upside down” reaction, so I highly doubt Felicity believes him, but she lets it slide for now.

The more information she shares with Oliver the worse it gets. Felicity begins to fill in all the missing pieces to Walter’s disappearance and the guilt is pointing directly at Moira.

This is not the first time Oliver has reason to doubt his mother, but every time he’s able to reason away her involvement in anything nefarious. If he can’t do that on his own then Moira provides very plausible explanations (LIES), which allow Oliver to continuing looking at his family with a blind eye. But this? This is impossible to easily explain away. Particularly since WALTER was beginning to suspect his own wife.

Source: green-arrows-of-karamel

If The List cost Walter his life then Felicity is risking her own by showing it to anyone, particularly a Queen. She is literally putting her life in Oliver’s hands when she handed him that book. The first domino falls, but it’s not Oliver who pushes it over. It’s Felicity. She gives Oliver the truth when he’s given nothing but lies. Felicity trusts him absolutely when he’s done nothing to show he’s deserving of it. She risks everything while Oliver continues to hide everything.

Felicity shocks Oliver no differently than Yao Fei shocked him. We’ve been waiting all this time for Oliver to make that final step and in the end it is Felicity who gives their relationship the necessary push over the waterfall. It’s a cold awakening, but he can see things clearly now. She is like a flashlight illuminating all the answers clouded by his distrustfulness and hesitancy.

Felicity reveals so much of herself in this moment. First, she is willing to take risks if the cause is worth it. Giving Oliver that book took real courage. Second, the girl can keep a secret. She never said boo about anything related to Moira or Walter during Oliver’s little visits. Not even a hint! Three, Felicity Smoak sees clearly all the things Oliver is blind to.

This serves as an important lesson for Oliver. Felicity knows so much more than he ever gave her credit for. Most importantly, his gut was right about her and he was wrong to ever question it. Two mistakes he will never make again.

And now everything will change.

Thea and Moira

I’m not gonna sugar coat this for you guys. I was one hundred percent okay with Thea going to jail. Season 1 Thea is a pain in the ass. A couple episodes with her sitting in the slammer would be a welcomed break from the teenage ‘tude.

L*urel and Lance work out a sweetheart deal for Thea after the judge basically said he would throw the book at her. Thea will serve 500 hours of community service under the watchful gaze of L*urel Lance at CRNI. And Thea flat out refuses.

Now, typically I am a fan of anyone who tells L*urel Lance to go screw herself, but even this was too much for me. Thea wants to go to jail to stick it to her mother because she’s still convinced Moira cheated on Walter.

She didn’t cheat on Walter, Thea! Your mom just kidnapped him. So it’s fine.

Oliver decides to drop the Robert “I’m not the man you think I am” Queen bomb on Thea and tells her their father was a big hoe. Thea refuses to believe him and Moira is ticked because Oliver told the truth. Queens don’t do that EVER.

Moira: He loved you. No matter his faults. He loved you.

Thea wants to know why Moira took all the punishment for Robert’s sins and her answer is very simple. She was trying to protect Thea’s memory of her father. Moira Queen is as shady as they come, but her desire to protect her children is always the driving force of any decisions she makes – good, bad and the ugly.

Moira: One day I hope you’re lucky enough to have a daughter and then you’ll know why.

This is the essence of motherhood. We will serve ourselves up on a platter and take the brunt of their hurt and anger if we believe it protect or help our children in the long run. Right or wrong - it’s just the gig.

Source: queensarrow.

L*urel and Lance

L*urel and Detective Lance are really Thea’s only hope of avoiding significant jail time and, despite their history, Oliver has no problem groveling at their feet if it means protecting his sister. Luckily for Oliver, this week L*urel likes him, so she’s willing to do Thea a favor.

But her reason for wanting to help Thea turns out have very little to do with Oliver. It’s about Sara. When L*urel looks at Thea she sees all the wild abandon of Sara with all the red flags.

L*urel: For so long you and I have blamed Oliver for Sara's death, but Sara is to blame too.

Detective Lance isn’t too keen on helping Oliver or Thea, but L*urel calls out her father on his hypocrisy. He had no qualms about bailing Sara out after she shop lifted. The youngest Lance daughter seemed to get herself in to trouble long before she ever stepped onto the Queen’s Gambit and her father always helped her avoid the consequences of her actions. Until those consequences finally caught up with her.

This is the first time L*urel lays any blame at Sara’s feet. I find it wildly disturbing whenever I agree with L*urel, but damn it she has this one right. Oliver wasn’t the only one who cheated. Oliver wasn’t the only one who lied. Oliver wasn’t the only one who was selfish. Sara was all of those things too. Just because she paid for those mistakes with her life doesn’t erase the choices she made and the pain she caused. If someone held Sara responsible without destroying her life, like L*urel is trying to do with Thea just maybe she would have never gotten on the boat. Maybe.

The game of “What if?” is a torturous one. It never gives any definitive answers. But Detective Lance refusing to help Thea to stick it to Oliver isn’t fair. L*urel is right. Sure, it may hurt Oliver, but it won’t bring Sara back.

More importantly, it doesn’t hold Sara responsible in any way. Detective Lance is treating Sara the same in death as he did in life. She wasn’t a saint anymore than Thea is – no matter how much Lance romanticizes his memory of his daughter. L*urel and her father don’t resolve the Sara issue, but Lance helping Thea is an important step towards his acknowledgement of the truth and putting some of the blame where it belongs.

Stray Thoughts

Oliver is shirtless and handcuffed in the bunker is an absolutely wasted opportunity for an Olicity sex scene. Pretty sure I read a fic that started like it though. Source: @olivergifs

Bratva Oliver is cold, calculating and stylish. I don’t know what it is about that jacket you guys. It doesn’t things to me.

I say this as a person who was very anti murder throughout the show, but sometimes it’s great to watch Oliver do a little violence.

“Whoever you fear, fear me more!” As vigilante lines go this was a damn good one.

“I’m not the one going to prison.” Give it time, Moira. Give it time.

McKenna Hall makes her first episode appearance as the rotation of female guest stars continues while show desperately searches for a love interest Stephen has chemistry because it ain’t Katie Cassidy. (Psst! You found THE ONE already!!! Call off the search!)

Just for you multifandom folks out there McKenna is also Qetsiyah on The Vampire Diaries.

Why doesn’t Oliver give a sketch to the police of The Count? That could be helpful.

“I don’t need the bow.” Yeah, but you need to walk straight!

Musings of the Kiddo

Kiddo: How many times does he do this to her?

Me: Lie? A lot. She was very patient with him.

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