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melanieph321 · 4 months

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Ruben Dias x Reader - Fake Love Part 4/8

⚠️ Warning ⚠️

18+

Reader is a kindergarten teacher. Nothing more nothing less. But following an accident whistle vacation in Dubai she somehow makes her boyfriend believe that she does somthing else for a living, something that earns her way more money than she has. Her boyfriend, Ruben, is just happy to have found someone who understands him so well, someone who doesn't want him for his money since money isn't an issue for neither reader or himself. Or so thinks. Would finding out the truth ruin their newfound relationship? Readers thinks so, and does everything to keep up the lie, although it has some bad people from the middle east looking for her.

Enjoy!

"Taxi!"

You called for one outside of the airport in London. You were tired from the journey and longed for a hot shower back at your apartment.

"Taxi!" You shouted, quite desperate for one to pull up.

"Y/N, chill." Alicia said. "Our ride will be here in a minute."

"Our ride?" You frowned.

Alicia nodded, phone still pressed to her ear. "I'm consulting the Siddiq family right now, see if they can send us a...."

Alicia's eyes widened with terror as you lunged for her phone, forcing her to hang up.

"Whatta fuck Y/N!"

"Are you crazy?" You hissed

"Am I crazy, are you crazy Y/N? Give me back my phone for fuck sakes."

You held her phone behind your back, refusing to return it. "Alicia we are not doing this. We can not continue spending somone elses money. It has to end. Right now."

"Why? They owe us don't they?"

"No Alicia, they owe us nothing, especially not you." It was not her leg that grilled in the fire. "The Siddiq family has shown us enough kindness then we deserve, this will not go on any longer, agreed?"

She didn't agree. However, she could tell how serious you were about this. "Fine." She said, stretching out a hand, demanding her phone back.

"Who are you gonna call?"

"Well, it's not Ghostbusters, is it? I'm calling a taxi."

You handed her back the phone, a sly smile on your face.

The days passed quickly there on, like your time in Portugal never happened. The burn on your leg healed but roughly, the skin not as smooth on that part of your leg. The only times it bothered you was when you got out of the shower, standing naked in front of the bathroom mirror. However, no one was gonna see you naked, at least not for some time. Yes, you felt guilty for giving Ruben a fake number, but you held your ground when it came to not live off of some rich business man in Dubai. It was the only reason Ruben was interested in you in the first place, because he thought you were rich like him. But no more lies. Meeting Ruben was a lie and even though falling for him felt real it was built on a lie and no relationship could ever flourish from somthing like that, right?"

"Miss?"

"Yes, Simon?"

You snapped out of your daydreams, peering over your desk to see one of your kindergarten students with a pen up their nose."

"It's stuck." He said.

You sighed, rising from behind your desk. "Let's go to the nurses office shall we?"

"Okay."

You had one of your colleagues come in and cover for you whilst you escorted Simon to the school nurse. Yes, your life was really back to it's glamorous self.

"Hey, Y/N? Need a lift?"

It was Byron, seen crossing the school parking lot to get to you. You were really not in the mood, still adjusting being back to work. All you wanted to do was go home and lay in your bath.

"Sure Byron, why not."

He was considered a friend, although you know he never really got over your brief hook up in university.

"The kids are glad to have you back."

"Oh, thanks Byron. That's nice of you to say."

He drove you home the long way, avoiding the highway that would only take you ten minutes to arrive.

"Not only the kids." He added. "I missed you too."

Your smile was stiff, but at least it was something.

"When Nina told me what happened to you in Dubai I got so worried that I had to take a day off just to calm myself down, not to worry the kids that their teacher wasn't coming back to work."

"That sweet of you Byron. But it wasn't a serious thrid degree burn, my skin heald pretty quickly." Your boss Nina made it seemed like you lost a limb or something. Mainly because Alicia's dramatic Tik Tok's had people assuming the worst. Even your parents called you in concern after your brothers came across one of Alicia's vlogs from the hospital in Dubai.

"Well, I'm just glad you're back."

"Thanks Byron."

He was a sweet guy, not relationship sweet, but a descent human being sweet. You appreciate how much he cared for you as a friend.

"I have no problems giving you a ride to and from work, I mean we're basically on the same schedule."

"Thanks Byron, but I don't think that will be necessary."

Alot of people had offered to help you out, even your boss suggested you'd cut back on your hours a work, however, it wasn't necessary. You needed something to take your mind off things. With things you meat, your agonizing thoughts of what could have been between you and Ruben.

Arriving home, you grabbed yourself a light snack from the fridge whilst waiting for your hot tub to fill with water. Once it did you, stripped yourself of your clothes, slipping I to the scolding water, allowing the heat to relax your muscles. You did not stay relaxed for long though, seeing as there was an incoming facetime call from your phone. "What?" You grunted, since now was not the time to hear about the latest gossip at Alicia's workplace.

"Hey, gorgeous,"

You stiffened at the sound of his voice.

"Ruben?"

You were looking into the screen of your phone, in disbelief of who was staring back at you. It was Ruben, with his hair sprouting in every direction as he looked to lay back in a bed, one arm draped behind his neck. "Um...hi." You stuttered, not really sure how any of this was possible.

Ruben smiled "I just wanted to see how you're doing and see if you're missing me as much as I'm missing you."

"Um, how...?"

"Did I get your real number?" He chuckled.

Heat rose to your face.

"Well, after calling "your number" over a hundred times, Fabio let me get in touch with your friend who told me what was going on."

"Alicia gave you this number?"

"Mhm." He nodded, tossing what looked to be a grape, into his mouth. "She told me that you thought that I wasn't that into you, that perhaps I was only out to screw you over or something."

"She did what?"

"It's ridiculous, I agree. How do you even come up with something like that? I mean you're the one who screwed me over by letting me call a fake number like an idiot."

There was a jab in your stomach as his tone was serious, laced with sincere hurt. "Ruben I'm so sorry. I didn't..."

"Let's not play the blame game." He waved. "Your friend made it clear that you haven't been dating for a while and that your game might be a bit stiff."

"Pardon?"

Ruben laughed.

"I am not stiff."

"I believe you." He said, although he had trouble talking between laughs. "I mean you look pretty relaxed in that bathtub back there."

You gasped when you realized. "Oh my god. Ruben I'm...." Embarrassed. You were terrible embaresssed, sinking deeper into the water to cover yourself. You and Ruben hadn't talked for days and the first thing he sees is you slipping him a nipple.

"It's okay, Y/N, really. The view is great from here."

"Oh shut up."

You put the phone away, letting Ruben have a good view of your bathroom ceiling. The tub needed more water, and bubbles, lots of of bubbles.

"There you are." He exclaimed, once you returned to the screen, now neck deep in in the water. "Thought I lost you for a sec."

"Ruben, maybe now is not the time." You said, tormentented by how stupid you must come across to him.

"Y/N." He said, his voice now restrained.

"What?" You muttered, trying to stare at anything but the screen.

"Look at me."

Your eyes looked up, meeting Ruben's kind gaze.

"You're good, okay. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable by calling unexpectedly. I just...." He sighed, a hand running through his already messy hair. "I can't seem to get you out of my mind."

You sunk deeper into the water, biting down on your lip. "Me too. I can't stop thinking about you either."

"Well, when can we meet?" He seemed excited that your feelings were mutual.

"Ruben, I'm not sure I'll be going back to Portugal anytime soon. I mean I have a job to do and..."

"Y/N." He said. No. Chuckled.

"What's so funny?" You frowned

"You really don't watch football do you?"

"What do you mean?"

Ruben sat up in bed, showing off the tracksuit he was wearing. "You said you've heard of Manchester United, no?"

"Yes, the English team that you told me played in the Premier League."

"Right. Well I play for their arche rivals Manchester City, meaning I live in Manchester, England."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah."

"So, you're not from Portugal?"

He chuckled. "I'm from Portugal Y/N, I was born and raise there. But just like you I was just on vacation. I got back to Manchester yesterday."

"So what you're saying is that we're both in England as we speak?"

"Yes. And my team has fixtures in London all the time, meaning I'll be able to come see you between games."

"Right."

The problem was that you had once again lied to Ruben when he asked you were in England you lived. You figured London sounded more suitable abode for a business woman, not Chells Way, Stevenage.

"Y/N, you alright?"

The downside about facetime was that your emotions were all on display. Ruben clearly caught your reaction to his offer and it was not what he had expected.

"Of course, there is no pressure for us to meet." He said, clearing his throat. "I just thought, that it was something that we both wanted."

"I want to meet." You nodded, although your voice betrayed you. "I just...my job, you know?" It was another lie. You were piling lie upon lie on this fake love of yours. Nevertheless, Ruben ate it all up, nodding understandingly. "I get it."

He was so kind. He didn't deserve this from you, from anyone.

"Ruben?" You whispered, following a moment spent in silence.

"Yes."

"I really missed you."

A muscle jerked in the corner of his lips. "I missed you too."

"Tell me." You sighed, leaning back against the tub, splashing water around yourself. "Tell me how much you've missed me."

Ruben froze for a brief moment, seeing you redirect the camera angle in a way that revealed more of your body.

"Alot." He gulped, watching you dip a hand between your legs.

"Yeah? Tell me more."

He couldn't see all of you through the murky water. But as the layers of bubbles disappeared with your slow shifts, the swell of your breast resurfacing.

"Oh, baby don't do this to me." Ruben's head fell back against his pillows as he too adjusted his camera angles. You watched him slip a hand down his sweatpants and stroke whatever he was hiding in there. "I missed you so much, wishing you were here, with me." He moaned, chest heaving up and down with his heavy breathing.

"Ruben, please. Tell me what you want to do to me." You up the pace of the movement between you legs. You we drawing small circles against your clit, the sensation sending chocks of lightning to your body's nerve endings.

"I want to fuck you, hard." He groaned.

"Yeah, and?"

"Fuck you hard and watch your tittes bounce when you ride me."

"Yes, and?" You were squinting your eyes, primitive moans leaving your mouth, echoing throughout your bathroom.

"And..." He grunted on the edge of something. His movements down his pants were faster than yours, unable to contain himself.

"And, Ruben? Please tell me."

"Baby, I can't. I'm close." Ruben's camera shook with the bouncing of his bed. You watch him please himself, please himself to the image of you.

"Me too baby, me too." You arched your back in the tub, one of your legs going over the edge, opening yourself up wider. "Look at me baby, watch me come for you."

He seemed unable to multitask, having to slow down as not to make himself come before you. He watched you please yourself to the point of screaming his name, you're fingers buried deep inside of you.

"Fuck." He groaned, staining his bedsheets with the erruption of his cock.

"That felt good." You smiled, regaining your breath, coming down from the high. "I can't believe I just did that."

"Me neither." Ruben said, no longer in his bed. He looked to be in a small bathroom, washing his hands. "Sametime tomorrow?"

You shook your head, unable to hide your smile. "Goodbye Ruben."

He smiled, a cheeky smile. "Goodbye Y/N."

#fanfiction #football imagine #ruben dias #man city #manchester city #ruben dias x reader #ruben dias imagine #footballer imagine #footballer x reader #football angst

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warsinmyhead · 4 months

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😘 (for Abaddon and Briggs if you'd like^^)

x | meme status: not accepting!

"It's not necessary!"

The young woman tilted her head and slightly pouted as she looked across the table at the brunette who was insisting on buying her dinner after the former got tangled up in Briggs's work.

Briggs sighed as she undid her messy bun and shook it out. Dinner was not nearly enough to make it up to Abby after this whole mess. Kingsman was a lifestyle choice and often the personnel were signing up with the knowledge that they could very well come home in a casket. While Abby had handled her captors without much issue (how was a mystery as her colleague Malcom X was still grilling the wimps at 5th Avenue), Briggs felt terrible that someone she knew – scratch that – a friend of hers, had been pulled into this shit. Merlin wanted her to erase Abby's memory of the incident, but Briggs managed to talk him out of it. Now, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle this mess if Abby wanted to cut ties entirely, but she would get to that point later.

"Can I get you ladies some drinks? Maybe an appetizer while you're looking over the menu?" the waiter asked as he approached their table.

Abbadon scanned the menu and pointed to a cocktail that was made with fresh strawberries that sounded interesting. Briggs asked for water.

"We would like more time to look at the menu please," Abbadon added with a smile.

The waiter nodded and excused himself to get their drinks.

Briggs put her menu down and sighed. "Order whatever you want – it's not enough to apologize for earlier. I'll be right back, need to use the restroom." She pushed her chair back and excused herself.

Abbadon watched as the young woman slipped into the ladies room and she saw the waiter return with their drinks.

"Excuse me for saying this Miss, but you two really don't look like you'd be a couple," the waiter remarked.

The comment made Abbadon raise a brow slightly and she asked the waiter to elaborate.

The waiter sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest and shared that the brunette seemed the opposite of her. "She's giving me kinda goth but not full-blown goth vibes with the dark clothes and mopey face, but I'm guessing she's a workaholic and thinks expensive dinners will keep you happy."

"I'm sorry?" Abbadon replied with a fake smile. "That's not very nice to say. She's had a very rough day at work, which I'm sure you understand how that feels." She put her menu down and stood up from her seat. "Also, if you think I'm making her pay for dinner, you're wrong. I told her I didn't want her to pay for the meal."

She collected her purse and pushed back her chair, not before producing some money for the drink she didn't touch. She placed it in the waiter's hand before telling him that they were going to dine somewhere else tonight.

Briggs had returned from the bathroom and she looked confused as Abbadon walked up to her as their waiter stared in confusion at them.

"What's wrong?" Briggs asked.

Abbadon leaned in and planted a quick kiss on the other's lips. "Let's go – I know a better restaurant that doesn't judge its customers."

#r3dblccd #[ ASK: What an answer? Here's one ]#[ MEME: Let's play a game ]#[tw: judging couples]#[tw: spy behaviors]#[tw: mention of kidnapping]#[tw: mention of interrogation]#warsinmyhead

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medicinemane · 1 year

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I'm pissed enough that I typed "Fucking hell" into the search bar instead of tumblr, so you know how this post begins

Fucking hell I'm frustrated this morning, things are even worse with mom than they were last night

She's apparently been doing stuff like contacting habitat for humanity to see if they do home repairs because she's so worked up into a huge dither over this and how one guy saw a picture (of a fucked up floor, a floor fucked to begin with) and said that he thought the floor needed repair too

He probably thinks that it needs tiles cut for it, when that floor isn't tiled, it's fucking stickers over particle board basically... remember, last guy in here was a butt fuck moron

But can I get my mom to understand this? Can I get her to understand that we're not looking at $1000 quote to catastrophe range, that we're looking at $1000 quote vs less money cause we buy a toilet ourselves range?

100% I can not

I had a miserable sleep cause, you know... I actually have really bad social anxiety. If we're honest I think I straight up have some agoraphobia cause I hate going out unless it's dark cause I don't want anyone to see me

So guess what I don't want to do, basically politely grill a plumber over pricing

I fucking hate the thought of this so much. I'll be able to snap into faking it mode and make it work I'm sure, but I almost would rather way over spend than have to ask questions. This is why I wish I could just do everything myself, avoid having to talk to most people

So I'm already miserable, I feel like shit, I slept like shit... but then I have to deal with my mom catastrophic but in overdrive mode

I mean fuck, there is literally a decent tile floor underneath this shitty one. Dipshit literally covered up a lot of better floor with really bad floor, I can see it next to the doorjamb (there's a "b" at the end of this word!?)

Just like... am I making sense?

There's no way my mom's going to apologize when this is all over and works out fine. She's... she's really fucking... like not hurt my feelings, but like injured and caused me harm by way of stress, and she's not going to say sorry, and she'll do this again in a bit because she refuses to fucking grow up and learn to just sit with discomfort

Sometimes you say "well we'll know tomorrow" instead of fucking refusing to listen to your kid who has pulled miracles out of their ass over and over for you, and who has evidence to back stuff up, and trying to figure out how to tap your 401k and lose disability to avoid disappointing your asshole of a mother

Like I'm sure I sound mean but like... is it at least understandable why?

She always pulls this shit, always, and I've been having to emotionally regulate her like this since I was literally like 2 according to my dad (he told a very different story about the one time I threw a tantrum, where I was upset cause I wanted one stuffed animal, and my mom wanted another, and it beat my 2 year old ass up trying to pick between making myself or my mom happy since we could only afford one, and he was saying that my mom was kind of throwing a tantrum almost as much as I ended up doing it... then he came back and bought both later)

I don't know... just kill me

#mm tag so i can find things later

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sunfish-studies · 3 years

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Celebration

✄・・・ Feathery Ink [Karasuno Manager Series]

➜ Pairing: Karasuno x Manager! Reader

➜ Warning: none

➜ Notes: This is a separate series from Crisp Leaves. Similar to Crisp Leaves, manager in this story will be portrayed as a girl. She will be tall. This is just my appreciation towards tall girls, you guys are amazing.

Previous: ‹ Cogs › | Next: ‹ Let The Games Begin! ›

↷ SUMMARY ↶

Last day of training calls for celebration for everyone’s hard work, so it’s barbeque time!

“All right, meat!”

“I’m starving!”

While the boys freshened up after practice matches, the managers were already on the move to prepare for the barbeque. Since there were quite a lot of people, the coaches decided to held it on the backyard of the gym, where the sharp hill stood just beside it. The coaches helped setting up the grills while the managers divided to cater different things.

Yachi decided she would get the utensils they needed; paper plates, chopsticks, paper cups, trays for rice balls, and other things. Shimizu would cover for the rice ball making, Yukie and Eri were in charge on cutting the vegetables in bite-size, Kaori and Mako would clean the vegetables before it was cut.

Meanwhile, you’re in charge of preparing the condiments and sauces, unwrapping the meat cuts, and arranged them on a bigger plate. Aside from that you had to make sure the meats searing on the grills weren’t charred.

“[Name]-chan, please replace me for cutting the onions,” Eri sobbed, reaching out to you with grabby hands.

“Alright, senpai,” you giggled in reply because Eri was clearly needing a break and watching the meats seared was a great break for her. Quickly, you stood on her place and started slicing the tear-induced-menaces after washing your hands.

It didn’t take long for you to suffer the same fate as the Ubugawa’s manager–the first seven slices went through without a hitch, but when you reached the tenth your eyes started to sting and blurry from the pain. Then tears began trailing down your cheeks, and you wiped it you’re your shirt sleeve.

“D-Don’t cry, [Name]-san!!” you looked up, seeing Hinata with his place face quivering on his feet. “W-what should I do!?”

“It’s fine, Shoyo-kun, it’s just the onions,” you sniffled pointed towards the bowl full of it. “It hurts my eyes.”

“I can take your place, Otohaku-chan!” Lev popped up beside Hinata.

“Instead of cutting the onions, you’ll chop your fingers off,” Yaku deadpanned before offering. “Here, let me do it.”

“No, it’s alright, Yaku-san,” you shook your head. “It’s time for you to have a break, not working.”

Being persistent sometimes has it’s perks, it took numbers of rejection to finally have Yaku gave up. You knew he was just trying to help, but you didn’t want to rob his time relaxing. When all the preparations were done, the boys were already surrounding the grills with hungry faces. Coach Nekomata gave them a light speech along with praises for their hard work over the week, and they dived to grab on the meat straight from the grill.

“THANKS FOR THE FOOD!”

Just like Kaori, you brought a plate of rice balls to offer and managed to witnessed Yukie’s enormous appetite. She practically inhaled four rice balls in one go and you’re not the only who was dumbfounded from it.

Konoha and Komi almost had their souls went to heaven from the frightening circle Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Taketora made. Well, they did elbow each other to encourage one another getting close or at least having a talk with Shimizu. The girl walked pass them holding a paper plate with food–looking extremely gorgeous and she didn’t even try.

“That was scary,” Konoha muttered underneath his breath. The three finally stopped because of Karasuno and Nekoma’s captain scolded them–the three immediately shrunk.

“They really had their guard up, huh,” Komi added, feeling his energy drained from such a scary encounter.

“Uhm, excuse me,” the two turned to look over their shoulder and that’s when they noticed–Karasuno’s other first year manager who’s Bokuto constantly talking about. The owl captain wouldn’t shut up about her much to their annoyance and now they knew why.

“Would you like some rice ball?”

“Sure,” Konoha replied dumbly.

“I’ll take two,” Komi followed with a daze. You placed one on Konoha’s empty paper plate and two for Komi upon his request. Smiling at them, you proceeded to excuse yourself so you could offer to someone else.

Following your figure dazedly, they noticed how the light shone even brighter and basked you in a beautiful glow. That’s when they thought of a conclusion.

A goddess just graces us mere mortals! They screamed in their head.

You tried to calm Yachi down from her traumatizing experience being surrounded by absurdly tall boys (“Titans, [Name]-chan! Titans!”). Thankfully, all of them were nice enough to made room so your friend could reach for some meat. Yachi almost cried in happiness from the real taste of meat.

From the sidelines, Shimizu and the other managers were watching the two of you while talking about the boys sometimes.

“How much are you going to eat?” Kaori questioned because Yukie was having a ridiculous amount of food towering on her plate and she just kept munching away without care.

“The third-years in Karasuno all seems pretty mature,” Mako commented.

“Our ace is weak-willed, though,” Shimizu smiled sheepishly.

“What? Really?” Eri replied in surprise. “Even though he looks that scary?”

“Though, I think that’s still better than our simpleton ace,” Kaori commented. “Still,”

Their eyes were directed towards where the said simpleton ace was standing and placing meat until it towered on your empty plate.

“Eat more, [Name]-chan! Or you won’t get even taller!” he stated.

“And eat more vegetables!” Kuroo added, placing cabbages and carrots to your plate, adding even more food.

“Have some rice balls, too.” Somehow, even Akaashi participated in this whole fiasco and put a rice ball onto your plate. Now, there’s a ridiculous amount of food on your plate.

“…I can’t eat this much,” you commented, staring at the food filling your plate.

“Nonsense, I don’t see you eat anything even when the others are,” Akaashi stated. “You’re too busy handling other things nonstop.”

“Have a break will you,” Kuroo patted your back. “Everyone’s having fun and you should too.”

“Have more meat, [Name]-san!” Hinata said.

“You can have my share, Otohaku-chan!” Lev followed and you immediately shook your head.

“At least he and Akaashi took care of our baby manager well,” Kaori sighed in relief.

“[Name]-chan is close with Fukurodani’s captain and setter, huh? Even Nekoma’s captain,” Mako giggled. “She’s drawing everyone in.”

“Well, it’s rare for a first-year to be as tall as her,” Eri grinned. “The boys are especially poles so it’s probably great not to strain their neck once in a while from looking down.”

“Karasuno’s pretty lucky to have her, huh?” Yukie said after swallowing her food.

“Yeah, we are,” Shimizu smiled.

“Did you have fun?” Sawamura asked you when you’re helping other managers to clean up the remaining plates left behind on the table along with other scraps littering around. He picked up a few paper cups and placed it into the trash bin.

“Definitely,” you answered without hesitation. “Everyone’s so nice, it’s probably the most fun I’ve had.”

“Thank goodness, then,” he gave you a smile.

“I’m really glad I joined the volleyball club,” you commented, grinning.

“And we glad to have you here,” the captain chuckled and replied.

Everything was over by the time the sun started to sink into the horizon–time truly flew by when you enjoyed it. Since Miyagi was quite a distance from Saitama, they needed to depart first or they would be back extremely late at night. Yukie and Eri were fake-crying and joking about refusing to let you go–in the end, you’re all exchanging numbers so you could keep in touch.

“Did you have fun, Otohaku-san?”

“Coincidentally, you asked the same question as my captain, Akaashi-san.” The Fukurodani setter, like before, helping you on carrying the extra luggage in hand although you did tell him it’s only until you reached the stairs. “And to answer, I am. These one week of training camp is fun. Somehow, I don’t want this to be over.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll meet again,” Akaashi replied. “At the Spring Interhigh.”

“I’m sure we will, Akaashi-san.” you smiled. “And thank you for helping me with luggage.”

“[Name]-chan!!” Bokuto bounded over with a grin plastered on his face. “We’ll be waiting at the nationals!”

“Karasuno, Bokuto-san. Otohaku-san doesn’t play volleyball.” Akaashi deadpanned.

“Just agree with me once, Akaashi!”

“Well, whatever he said,” Kuroo piped up, approaching the three of you. “Made sure your team go to the nationals so we could meet again and make the battle came true.”

“I’ll do my best, Kuroo-san.” Then Kuroo reached out to ruffle your hair, it’s been a while since he did that and you weren’t even going to lie about enjoying it. The cat captain was similar to an older brother now.

“Off you go then, [Name],” he removed his hand from your head. “And don’t miss me.”

“How could I when I have your phone number, Kuroo-san?” you snickered. “You’re probably going to bombard me with chemistry puns at 10pm.”

“Then, I’m gonna call you every day so you won’t have to deal with Kuroo!” Bokuto declared before laughing victoriously.

“Please block his number immediately, Otohaku-san,” Akaashi stated. “Or you won’t be getting any sleep. His talking is endless.”

“Why, Akaashi!?” the said boy whined.

“Aside from that, be careful on your way home,” Akaashi decided to ignore the captain and gave you a small smile.

You returned his smile. “Will do, Akaashi-san.”

With that, the whole week of summer training camps has come to an end. The whole team watched you guys drove away into the other way back to Miyagi.

“You have a match tomorrow, don’t you?” former Coach Ukai questioned, brows creased from the insistence of your combi. “That’s probably enough, then!”

“One more! Just one more!” Hinata pleaded.

“We’ll finish after this one!” Kageyama added.

Two days of practicing to prepare for the preliminaries, just a day before the match Sawamura dismissed them early to get some rest. Since it would be impossible to use the gym unless getting an earful from him, Kageyama and Hinata needed to look for another place. Former Coach Ukai lent them the court only for a bit, just until the others who wants to practice comes.

And you were there to hold a leash if they’re being stubborn or something.

“This is the last, alright?” you scolded the two. “We shouldn’t bother the others who wants to practice here. And you should rest before the match.”

Thankfully the older man letting them had the court just one more time and you couldn’t help but feeling grateful of it. You sighed before turning to face former Coach Ukai and bowed down. “On their behalf, I apologize.”

“It’s fine.” Former Coach Ukai dismissed it. “Their eagerness is a great thing, but even eagerness isn’t going to magically give them energy. It would be bad if they burnt out even before the game started.”

“[Name]-san! Can you throw us the ball?” Hinata called out.

In the end, the two managed to successfully killed the quick–and sure enough, it also impressed former Coach Ukai which added more reassurance that your team would be more than okay to face the entire preliminaries and became champions.

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kookicat · 3 years

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A Gift of Telling & Trust

Nate's words fade away and for a moment, they're all quiet, absorbing the story. There's a sheen in Sophie's eyes that looks suspiciously like tears, and Parker has curled into Hardison's side, resting her head on his shoulder. He's got one arm around her, thumb rubbing absent circles on her side.

Eliot clears his throat, feeling just a little self conscious, and downs the last of his long neck before he speaks. "Before… Before my Mom died," he starts, voice soft, reflective, because it's been a while since he dug up the memories, and he's not sure how they're going to make him feel. "I was twelve, Erin was ten. Mom had been wanting a puppy for a couple of years, and one of my friend's farm dogs was having a litter." He smiles at the memory and glances up, seeing everyone's eyes on him. He's not sure why, but it feels comfortable, and he feels the smile get a bit bigger. "They were seven weeks old on Christmas eve, all bitty black and white things. Only one girl, and we picked her and snuck her in the house. We'd saved up our allowance to buy food and such. She slept on my bed, and we put a bow on her and took her downstairs at the crack of dawn." He pauses, accepting a fresh bottle from Hardison, giving the label a quick check to make sure the other man isn't slipping him one of his weird brews. He's not sure he'll ever cleanse his senses of the last one- pumpkin spice and mint, for christsakes, but the bottle is one of his favourites and he twists the top off.

"What happened?" Parker asks, because she's an instant gratification sorta girl, but they're all still watching him, waiting for the end of the story.

"Well Mom fell instantly in love," he says, lip quirking into a smile, "Dad took some convincing, threatened to take the belt to me but I'm pretty sure he was smitten too."

The end of the story isn't so happy, and he's not sure he wants to tell it and break the spell. "They were inseparable. Mom named her Dodie."

"101 Dalmatians? I loved that book." Sophie asks, and he glances at her, nodding.

"What happened to her?" Parker leans forward to poke him and he bats her hand away, gently.

Part of him wants to lie and tell them a happy ending, but life doesn't work that way. "She was in the truck with my Mom when a drunk driver ran them off the road. They hit a tree. Both killed instantly," he says, and his voice only cracks a little.

It's a hard memory, but he's mostly made his peace with it. It's nice, too, to be able to remember his family and share that with his new one.

Sophie presses her hand against his arm. "I'm sorry, Eliot. I had no idea."

He covers her hand with his own, for a beat. "It's okay. Thank you."

Another memory sneaks in, one he'd all but forgotten about and he laughs, earning startled looks from the others that only make him laugh harder. It takes him a second to get control and he's pretty sure they think it's the start of a hysterical breakdown.

"I'm fine," he says, and waves his hand. "Just remembered something. My fourteenth birthday, Dad decided I was finally old enough to learn how to use the grill. Bought a big rack of ribs. Damn dog stole them from the counter. We spent half an hour chasing her around the yard but every time we got close, she'd manage to escape. I'd never seen my Dad so mad." He laughs again, then takes a swig of his beer, content to settle back into silence and just enjoy the memory.

They spend an agreeable hour, just trading bullshit stories about past jobs before they decide to call it a night.

He wakes up the next morning, more hungover than he'd ever admit, to find a black and white puppy staring at him from the other side of his bed. "What the hell?" he says and blinks, rubbing his eyes, convinced he's seeing things until a wet nose unerringly finds this side of his neck. He rolls out of bed, scooping the puppy up and heading to his living room, trying to ignore the soft brown eyes staring at him.

Just as he suspected, Parker is sleeping on his couch. The bigger surprise is that Hardison is curled up in the recliner in the corner, one arm draped over his face to block out the mid morning light. He's pretty sure it was Hardison's idea to break out the tequila. He's also pretty sure that they killed the bottle between them.

"Parker," Eliot says, trying to sound serious. It's a lot harder to do with a puppy trying to lick his face. "Parker!"

She jerks awake, and he blinks, feeling a little bad about that. "What?" she mutters, shoving her hair out of her face and stretching like a cat, all liquid grace.

"What's this?" Eliot asks, with what he feels is commendable patience, especially considering the marching band that's doing laps of his brain.

"That's a puppy," Parker says, like he's being slow.

"Yes, I know that," Eliot says through his teeth. "Why was she in my bed?" The puppy lays her head on his chest and sighs and he knows that if this gets out, he's going to have to blow up an orphanage or something to maintain his reputation.

"Because she wouldn't stay on the couch," Parker says and throws a cushion at Hardison.

The hacker jerks awake, flailing and the puppy barks. "I don't think she liked that," Hardison mutters.

"Why do I have a puppy?" Eliot asks, absently stroking the dog's head, surprised by how soft and fine her fur is. It's like silk against his skin and it feels nice. He's always liked dogs, but with the life he's lived, he's never had the chance to own one.

"Because they were going to kill her at the pound because no one had adopted her!" Parker says, just as Hardison blurts "Parker made me do it!"

Eliot rubs his face with his free hand. He's pretty sure he doesn't want to know the full story. He's also pretty sure he can't keep the puppy, no matter how darn cute she is. "Please tell me you didn't steal the puppy," he mutters and turns towards the kitchen, needing coffee and food.

He sets the puppy down, watching her as she sniffs her way around his kitchen, clearly looking for something. "You hungry, pup?" he says, and opens the fridge, pulling out a bit of roast chicken and almost losing his fingers to sharp puppy teeth. "Guess that's a yes."

He takes out the rest of the chicken, chopping it into smaller chunks before dumping it into a dish- though not one of his good ones, thank you very much-- and putting it on the floor with a bowl of water.

"We're sorry," Parker says, leaning on the door frame. "A puppy is a huge commitment and we should have checked first."

Eliot pulls the eggs from the fridge. "Have you been talking to Sophie?" he asks and sets a frying pan on to heat.

"Yes." Parker stoops, picking the puppy up and stroking her. "She did say a dog would be good for you."

Hardison joins Parker, reaching over to fuss the puppy. "I found a rescue that'll take her and make sure she gets a good home. We can drop her off later today."

The thought of handing the puppy over to someone else sends an unexpected pang through him. "You checked them properly?" Eliot asks, adding pre chopped peppers to the eggs.

"Have you met me?" Hardison says, voice full of only mostly faked offence. "Excuse you. Of course I checked them properly."

"Make some damn coffee," Eliot grouses at the other man. He's pretty sure they all know the damn puppy isn't going to any rescue. He has to admit, some nights it would be nice to come home to some non judgemental company.

"She's so cute," Parker says, sneaking a look at Eliot under her lashes. "Maybe I'll keep her."

Parker is proficient at many things, including keeping Parker alive but he's seen what she does to house plants and the thought of her being responsible for a living creature sends a stab of alarm through Eliot. Hardison is sharing the same thought, if the look in his face is any indication.

"Fine," Eliot snaps and portions the eggs with more force than strictly necessary. "She can stay here!"

He knows he's been caught neatly in a trap when Parker turns to Hardison, grinning. "Told you," she says and ducks when Eliot throws a dish towel at her head.

#leverage #eliot spencer #fanfic #parker #fanfiction #alec hardison #eliot gets a puppy

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bwbatta · 3 years

Text

two - persuasion

Abstract: Draco and you are just friends so doing him a favour and pretending to be his girlfriend wouldn’t effect your friendship, right?

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader

Warnings: some swears but that’s all!

Word count: 2623

A/N: let’s go for part 2 then?! Thank you so much for all your lovely comments! Everyone who has asked to be on the taglist has been added and if you would like to be on the list, just send me a message! Dividers are by the super talented @firefly-graphics 🤩

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 3

The plan was set.

Draco and you had talked some more about what being ‘in a relationship’ entailed, whilst at the same time avidly avoiding Pansy in your free time. In fact, you were surprised with how little you’d have to change the dynamic between the two of you.

The first point was friendship, which was easy enough you thought. There’s no point in starting a fake relationship if you don’t get on well in the first place.

Second, communication. You agreed to be open and honest with each other, this whole plan wouldn’t work if you weren’t telling each other everything.

And finally third, intimacy.

This one was obvious enough and it was more than just hand holding or sharing the odd kiss or two, you knew that. It was about selling your relationship to be believable to everyone else around you, including your closest friends.

One of which was Hermione.

The plan on paper was simple, you both said you’d start off small and work your way into being a couple, so why did you feel this pit of anxiety in your stomach?

Nerves? Sure, you chalked it down to that.

So when you entered the Great Hall the next morning, late and in desperate need of caffeine, you somehow didn’t expect your ‘boyfriend’ to approach you with a steaming mug of coffee.

You completely missed the blonde boy too as you took your normal seat with a frantic expression on your face. Your roommates didn’t wake you up like they usually did so when you woke and found no one there, you almost screamed when you checked the time.

“Coffee coffee coffee” the mantra on your tongue “where the hell is the coffee?!”

Hermione looked amused as she packed up the book she was previously reading into her bag.

“Ron finished it moments ago, there’s no more”

“What?!” You blanched “there’s none?”

Hermione shook her head, the answer a definite no.

With energy lacking and spirit deflated, you grabbed a couple slices of toast and buttered them quickly, at least trying to put some food in your stomach even if it wasn’t your usual caffeine shot.

However when Hermione froze slightly, eyes narrowly following something behind you with a glare, you frowned at her confused. That was until Draco perched on the seat next to you, holding a mug of coffee between his hands.

“Granger” he greeted in a civil manner causing the witch to freeze in shock, half expecting an offhand snide comment about her blood status. He then turned to you and offered the coffee, “thought you might need this”

“But I thought there was none left!”

“I saved you it”

“You saved me a coffee?”

“Kept it warm too”

You could’ve cried when you took the mug from him and immediately the drink warmed your hands. Eagerly taking a sip, you found the coffee itself was exactly to your liking.

You went to point it out but before a word could leave your lips, Draco rolled his eyes at you with a smile.

“What? You thought I didn’t know how you took your coffee?”

The question was rhetorical, not that you cared. Exhaustion was the only thing you felt that morning up until then, quickly being replaced with utter fondness for the Malfoy boy next to you.

“Thank you” you told him as he grinned back at you

“Don’t mention it”

Draco raised his hand and swiped away a lock of hair which had fallen out of your two second attempt to pin it back this morning in your rush.

Your breath hitched slightly as his eyes found yours and he leaned in towards your ear.

“How am I doing?”

Your brain stalled.

Right.

Of course.

He was acting like he cared about you in front of Hermione.

To convince Hermione.

Who of course, confirmed with a quick glance, was looking between the two of you with suspicion in her eyes.

Quickly painting a smile across your face like he’d said something sweet, you pulled back and shot him a dazzling smile.

“Alright, I guess” you said, vague enough so Hermione wouldn’t clock onto what he really said.

“Good” he grinned back at you before standing from the seat. “I’ll see you after class later, yeah?”

You nodded at him, and with a fond smile at you and a courteous nod to Hermione, he left the two of you be, heading to his first class.

With the thought in the back of your mind that you should probably also get to class, you were stopped by a substantially confused Hermione who looked at you like you’d grown another head.

“Was I just in some parallel universe?”

“What?”

“‘What?’ Seriously, that’s how you’re going to answer that question?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” you shrugged your shoulders before standing and picking up your bag and the mug of coffee from Draco.

“What aren’t you telling me?” The Granger girl continued to interrogate you as she too stood, though with a lot more vigor.

“There’s a lot of things I’m not telling you Hermione, but if it’s anything to do with Draco, I don’t know what you mean”

Striding out the Great Hall, she quickly followed you, pestering for more information which you avoided expertly until you got to your first class you shared.

“Why did Malfoy get you coffee?”

“Because it was a nice thing to do”

“Why was he civil with me?”

“Maybe he’s seen the light”

“(Y/N)! Tell me! I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight otherwise and you know it!”

With a sigh you turned to face her.

Putting on a performance like it was tough for you to keep a secret, you ‘umm’d and ‘ahh’d under her questioning until you really had had enough of the interrogation.

“Okay, fine, we may or may not be dating” you said like it wasn’t a big deal

“What?!”

“Miss Granger!” Professor McGonagall’s voice snapped “if you’re so done with your conversation, perhaps you could start writing your essay?”

“Yes, Professor. Sorry, Professor”

With a glare shot your way, meaning she’d grill you later for information, the bookworm turned back to her work and started writing furiously.

It was later that day that you found out that Lavender Brown had overheard your conversation with Hermione and so naturally, the gossip that you and Draco were dating was spread across the entire school.

Some believed the rumour, others didn’t so much. This of course included Blaise, the Weasley twins, and of course, the ever stubborn Pansy.

When the boys finally cornered each respective friend, they of course had some questions that needed to be addressed.

Blaise cornered Draco first at Lunch.

The Malfoy boy had just started to tuck into his food when a book slammed down on the table next to him, startling the boy.

Blaise pinned him with a hard look.

“Is it true you’re dating (Y/N)?”

“How’d you hear that?!”

“Word gets around fast... so, is it true?”

“Yes it’s true” Draco rolled his eyes at his friend

He was honestly shocked at how quickly the rumour had gone round the castle, though he suspected some of the Gryffindor girls were behind it. They always seemed like they pounced on any gossip going.

This also meant, Pansy had probably heard it by now.

Draco’s interest peaked.

“Who’d you hear it from?” The blonde asked his friend

“Bulstrode of all people” Blaise rolled his eyes “thought I might’ve found out from my friend himself but apparently not”

“Sorry man, it only really happened yesterday”

Blaise waved his apology off

“So tell me, is this for real? It’s not a prank or anything, she knows you think you’re going out with her right?”

“Yes, (Y/N) knows we’re going out” Draco rolled his eyes in exasperation “she’s also not being forced or blackmailed into going out with me if that puts your mind at rest”

This wasn’t technically true and Draco fought the urge to cringe slightly as he remembered the deal he had made with you.

Despite the other copious Christmas presents he had to get you, being civil to Granger wasn’t so bad he remarked. They only shared a few classes, all of which were with you present, so all he really had to do was ignore the fact the muggleborn witch existed and he’d keep his side of the deal up.

“Good” Blaise huffed, finally sitting down next to him “can I ask you something though?”

“You just did”

“Smart arse” Blaise rolled his eyes but continued on “what made you ask her out?”

Draco paused.

You hadn’t actually discussed this so there wasn’t a definite plan on what response to give. The boy trusted himself to come up with a decent answer though so instead of panicking, he said the first thing that popped into his head.

“I’ve been in love with her for years”

Well... he didn’t expect that to be his response.

“You have?” Blaise asked also taken aback

“Umm, yeah, sure, she’s the one for me you know?”

Draco kicked himself once again

Why couldn’t he think straight?!

“She’s just... she’s so funny, you know? One of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Her laugh, man, is enough to make me laugh even harder because have you heard it?! It’s hilarious!”

Unconsciously, Draco began to smile at the thought of you.

“Also, she’s super talented at anything she does, which would be wildly annoying if she wasn’t so modest about it. She’s also the most sarcastic person I’ve ever met, yet also the kindest. She’s got so many good qualities it’s hard to even think about anything bad about her.”

Draco stopped, breaking out of his train of thought.

Now that... that, he really hasn’t expect to be his response.

“I’m glad you’re happy then, Draco” the Zabini boy smiled at him “seems like you really like her”

“Yeah... I do”

You were pounced upon by both the Weasley twins not much later on, both demanding answers.

“You’re dating Malfoy?!”

“As in Draco Malfoy? The ferret?”

“He’s not a ferret!” You rolled your eyes at the pair. “And yes I am. Why? Do you not believe the castle gossip?”

“We heard it-“ Fred began

“Still working on believing it” George finished

You rolled your eyes and continued on to the library, your original destination before you got jumped by the identical redheads.

“Believe what you want” you shrugged trying to play it off.

“See (Y/N), here’s the thing, I don’t know if I believe you’re actually going out with him” Fred stated causing you to frown.

“What do you mean?”

“Freddie here believes you guys are faking it for some reason” George chucked an arm round your shoulders as they continued to walk with you.

“Why would we be faking it?!” You laughed like the idea was ridiculous.

“I just know you wouldn’t go for him” Fred shrugged “your standards are too high.”

“My standards are too high?!”

You were mildly offended at the suggestion, no matter how correct Fred was about the two of you faking your relationship.

Reaching the library quickly, you turned to the boys who had halted at the sight of the only room in the castle they adamantly wouldn’t enter.

“Well, unless your plan is to follow me into the forbidden room of books, I’ll see you guys later?”

Not waiting for an answer you swung open the door, mind now focused on studying for that test you had coming up in Herbology later that week.

“I still don’t believe you!” Fred shouted after you before the door closed shut behind you

All you could do was roll your eyes.

It was dinner later that evening when you saw your ‘boyfriend’ again since breakfast when he’d given you the coffee.

By now, you two were the talk of the castle which is why you weren’t surprised to see a fuming brunette strut up to you. The Slytherin girl looked as if she should have smoke coming out her ears you thought, not that you’d tell her that and anger her even more.

“(Y/N)” Pansy sniffed almost impatiently as she reached you.

“Pansy” you replied innocently which seen fo infuriate her more.

“I heard you’re supposedly dating my boyfriend?”

“Your boyfriend?”

You couldn’t help but phrase the question like you really didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Draco!”

“...Draco?”

“Draco Malfoy!” She practically growled at you

“Ohh, Draco as in my boyfriend?”

“Yes! Wait no-“

You snorted at her slip up and ignored her as you sidestepped and entered the Great Hall spying the familiar mop of platinum blonde hair, sending him a smile,

Before you could make your way over to him though, a hand grabbed your arm with nails roughly digging into your skin.

“Hey, I wasn’t done talking to you” Pansy seethed

“Well I was done talking to you” you shrugged truely bored with the girl “I’d appreciate it now though if you let go of my arm.”

“No, I’m not finishe-“

“Yes you are” Draco cut her off this time

Pansy’s expression looked like her brain had short circuited for a moment before she gathered herself and smiled flirtily at the boy.

“Hey Drakey baby”

“Firstly, for the millionth time, don’t call me that” Draco narrowed his eyes at her into a glare. “Secondly, (Y/N) also asked you to let go of her arm so I suggest you do so.”

At once, like your arm was on fire, Pansy dropped her grip which she had forgotten about as soon as the Malfoy had entered the conversation.

You rubbed your arm as you pulled it to your chest. Pansy’s nails had dug deep and actually split the skin on your arm slightly by the force she had held you by.

“And finally, I’d appreciate it if you’d fuck off and didn’t harass my girlfriend, especially about lies that we’re somehow involved.”

With that being said, Draco wrapped his arm around your waist and escorted you over to the spot he was originally sitting at, letting you take his seat while he forced Crabbe to move down a space so he could sit next to you.

“Thanks for that” you sent him a smile “though I can handle Pansy”

“I know” he replied with a grin of his own “I just needed to get that off my chest. Let me see your arm.”

“It’s nothing-“

“(Y/N)”

With a sigh you reluctantly held out your arm so he could see the damage Pansy had done. Spotting the crescent shaped breaks in your skin, his jaw clenched in anger.

“Psychotic bitch” he mumbled under his breath barely loud enough for you to hear, “episkey”.

The wounds sewed themselves back together in no time and you send him a grateful smile.

“Heard you got cornered by Blaise earlier”.

“Heard the same about you with the Weasley twins”.

“Mmm” you shrugged “there was bound to be a few that didn’t just automatically believe we’re dating. Some might need a little more persuasion, especially Pansy. Also it is still only the first day since the gossip broke though, it might just be that we wait for the news to settle.”

“I guess” he rolled his eyes playing with the pasta on his plate with his fork, before pausing slightly, setting it down and turning to you.

His eyes glanced round the hall quickly before snapping back to you with a grin. Leaning towards you, he wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you slightly closer to him as his lips became level with your ear.

You fought the urge to shiver.

“Or... it just means we’ll have to make it all the more believable, Sweetheart.”

Series Taglist:

(If you’re in bold, tumblr wouldn’t let me tag you ☹️, otherwise if you want to be added, let me know! 🤩):

@weasleytwinswheezes @azkabanlexi @streetfighterrichie @queen-of-the-coven @gdee703 @thatguppienamedbae @crumpets-are-better-with-jam @savcks @remmyswritings @thescarletknight2014 @w0nderr @heyiheardyouwereawildone36 @moonlightorbit @ceeellewrites @nicole-prz @depressedchilipepper @swiftlymoniquesblog

#draco malfoy series #dating draco malfoy #draco x reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy headcanon #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy imagine #draco x you #draco malfoy #harry potter x reader #harry potter imagine #harry potter headcanon #harry potter #harry potter series #draco x y/n #draco imagine

669 notes · View notes

heyitssmiller · 3 years

Text

Clandestine: Chapter Fourteen

We’re here. The final chapter. Y’all. I’m gonna cry.

@lumosinlove thanks for these characters!!

@donttouchmycarrots thanks for being my partner in crime during this whole mess of a story <3

And thank you, lovely readers!! For sticking with me for this crazy rollercoaster of a story, for encouraging me when I felt like quitting, and for always being so, so wonderful. I appreciate y’all more than I can say.

CW: prison, food, anxiety

Clandestine Masterlist

The drive back was silent, punctuated sharply by the two empty seats in the van. It was something they should’ve seen coming, but yet were completely blindsided by. Sirius had been on their side for so long now, it seemed odd to picture him anywhere else. It was like he’d been there for years already, fitting in seamlessly and making friends fast, filling a gap that hadn’t been obvious before but felt like a chasm now. He belonged in Gryffindor with them. And Regulus, while more reserved and distant than his brother, didn’t seem to deserve the fate he’d found. The main motive that kickstarted this whole mission had been him – all for him – and he still couldn’t avoid being dragged down with the Snakes.

Remus was on the phone with a contact from the FBI – he had been since they’d taken Sirius away – trying his hardest to find any loopholes he could. He was… actually strangely calm. Methodically tackling one idea after the next, his analytic brain working overtime. Logan could understand, though. Being productive was helpful. It was when things settled down and got quiet, when all you could do was sit there and wait…

That was when things got tough.

His leg bounced up and down in anticipation the closer they got to the cabin, his one-track mind stuck on one thing and one thing only – getting a blond safe-cracker into his arms again. Not having Leo with them had been like missing a limb, making everything feel out of balance. And even thought he was safe, he was still too far away. Logan couldn’t stand it.

Finn reached over and placed a hand on Logan’s with a knowing smile. He was ready to be home, too.

Gravel crunching under their tires only fueled the eagerness. There were lights still on in the cabin, a warm, inviting pull. The front door was open before the cars had pulled to a complete stop, revealing Leo and Hope and Lyall. Julian was presumably asleep, given the hour. Logan’s seatbelt was thrown off and the door closest to him was yanked open, Finn hot on his heels.

Leo bounded down the steps of the porch and flung himself at the two of them, finding every inch of space between them and filling it, a soft sound escaping from his lips as he held on tight in a one-armed grip. Logan and Finn both stumbled back a few steps at the impact but quickly returned the embrace, Logan’s face buried in the junction between neck and shoulder and Finn’s forehead pressed against the blond’s. They seemed to take their next breaths in tandem, slow and steady, as they leaned into each other. Time slowed, everything in the periphery faded, and the world, previously off-kilter, evened out in equilibrium.

Finn suddenly realized he felt the coarse, scratchy texture of Leo’s sling pressed up against him and pulled back a little. “Careful, baby.”

That made Leo pull back. “Why?” He glanced over them nervously. “Are you hurt?”

Logan sighed long-sufferingly and cupped Leo’s face in his hands, looking him in the eyes with a fond expression that belied his exasperation. “No, but you are,” he moved his hands to smush Leo’s cheeks, causing Finn to laugh, “so take it easy.”

Leo smiled – a real one this time, not one of the fake ones he’d given them before they left – and relaxed. After a quick kiss from Logan he asked, “So it went well? Mission’s done?”

Logan and Finn both froze at that. Finn looked over to Remus, who was still on the phone (like he had been for the past hour at least) and frowned.

“Not quite.”

“We can talk inside,” Leo said, looking worried again. “there’s lots of food for y’all.”

He wasn’t wrong. Food covered pretty much every open surface of the countertops, ranging from pancakes to grilled cheese to the cinnamon swirl muffins Leo brought to their first briefing all those months ago. Finn smiled at the memories and instantly snagged one on their way to the kitchen table. His eyes landed on Talker, who was explaining something to Hope as she took a look at his leg. Nat, Kasey, and Alex were piled onto one couch, looking tired and each with a grilled cheese sandwich in hand. He could see Remus on the porch every once in a while when he passed by a window as he paced, phone pressed to his ear.

It didn’t bode well.

Logan sat down with a plate of pancakes drenched in syrup and started telling the story, voice a quiet murmur and only interrupted when he shoveled food into his mouth. Finn wondered how none of them had really seen this coming. In hindsight, it made sense that there would need to be a trial – after all, Sirius and his brother weren’t innocent. Finn wasn’t sure what happened next, though. Criminal trials and sentencing weren’t part of the job for them. He hoped they could get the brothers out of this mess, though. If anyone could find a way to do it, it would be Remus.

At least the Snakes were done for. The information on the flash drives was enough to lock them away for a very, very long time.

He took a bite of his muffin, no longer really hungry, and listened to Logan talk.

***

Remus sat down on the porch swing, tired and stressed and not at all ready to quit. He listened to Alice, his only contact in the FBI, rattle off some statistics that he couldn’t even begin to understand. And he wasn’t trying to be rude – that really wasn’t his intent – but he needed to act quickly about this. So he grimaced and cut her off. “Can we get them placed in another prison? Or even in solitary until we can figure something out? If the Snakes can get to them…”

Well. Remus didn’t think they’d show much mercy to the two people mainly responsible for putting them in jail.

Alice sighed, the sound of her rummaging around in her desk filtering through the phone. “We can try. Since they did help you guys, we should be able to swing it. If something jeopardizes their lives, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Remus’ heart twisted – a deep, chronic ache under his ribcage that refused to let up. “Do it fast. I’m going to start reaching out to lawyers.”

“Lupin, it’s four in the morning.”

“I know.” He ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated huff. “Thanks for all the help, Alice.”

He hung up, then braced his forearms on his knees, hands gripping his hair, and breathed.

If there was one thing Remus Lupin was good at, it was planning. It was his job, and a big part of the reason he’d switched from field work in the first place. He relied on structure to get through his days, needed the stability in order to function.

There was none of that.

This was being adrift at sea, constantly assaulted by the waves and the current without rescue in sight.

And Remus had no idea what to do.

His phone pinged, catching his attention. A text from Alice flashed across the screen.

I’ve got a friend who’s a lawyer, and she’s a damn good one. I know you’ll want to do your research on her yourself, but I can vouch for her too. Here’s her contact if you want to reach out.

The contact number and email were listed under the name Dorcas Meadowes.

***

Dorcas Meadowes was, to put it simply, awe-inspiring.

Black curls, a dark complexion, and a serious, no-funny-business expression on her face. Her office was neat and organized, a few pictures around the place of her and a blonde girl with a wide grin and freckles. There was a small pride flag on her desk. Without a word, she motioned for Remus to sit, cool and composed and ready to get to work.

That was all it took for Remus to instantly respect her.

“So I’ve heard some of the story from Alice, but I’ll need you to start at the very beginning. Don’t leave out any details, tell me everything.”

Remus did, settling into the chair and getting comfy. It was a long story, after all. When he was done he looked back up at Dorcas, whose face was expressionless except for a single, raised eyebrow.

“That’s…” she trailed off with a low whistle.

“Yeah.”

“Well, the good news is that, if we’ve got enough evidence to back your story up, we can reduce his sentence by a lot, maybe even get him released.”

Remus sagged back into the chair, relief taking over and wiping out the tension radiating through his muscles. “Great.”

He’d known, logically, that they’d be able to reduce his sentence. With all the work he put into taking the Snakes down, there was no way they’d give him a full sentence. But getting him out of there for good…

Remus had never wanted anything so much in his life.

Dorcas leaned forward, powering her laptop on. “We’ll go visit him in the next few days and tell him what’s going on, but first we need a plan. Here’s what I’m thinking…”

***

Sirius hated this.

He was bored, he was tired, and – more than anything – he was lonely.

In Gryffindor, he’d become so accustomed to always having at least someone with him at all times. It was usually Remus, but he’d also grown close to most of the team. And it was nice at the time – god, did he miss it. But it was painful now. He’d witnessed what his life could be like, happy and surrounded by friends and possibly in love, and now he was back to the way his life used to be. Alone and on the wrong side of the law.

He hadn’t seen Reg since they’d been escorted into isolation for their own safety. Which don’t get him wrong – he was grateful for it. Knowing Riddle, they wouldn’t have survived the night if they were all being held together. But it was too quiet now.

The door to his cell rattled and Sirius looked up sharply. A guard was standing there, unlocking his door and opening it.

“Come with me,” the guard said, sounding bored as he opened the door further and held out a pair of handcuffs. Sirius looked at him hesitantly, not moving an inch. The guard rolled his eyes. “You have visitors.”

Sirius perked up at that, the only thought running through his head being Remus. He knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t going to take this sitting down. He’d be fighting to get Sirius free, no doubt about it. He wasn’t sure who else would be visiting him, anyways – if someone was here, it was sure to be Remus.

So Sirius got up and held his wrists out to be cuffed, then watched as the officer pointed down the hall.

“This way.”

It took all the self-control Sirius had to not run, to slowly put one foot in front of the other until he finally reached his destination. The guard moved around him to open the door and then Sirius was moving again.

He spotted caramel curls as soon as the door opened to the visitation room and felt his shoulders sag with relief. “Remus.”

Worried brown eyes followed him as he crossed the room quickly to sit in front of him, separated by a thick wall of glass. The movies weren’t lying, apparently. But it was so good to see him that Sirius didn’t care.

Remus looked tired. Unfortunately, that didn’t surprise Sirius at all. He knew the tendency to overwork all too well at this point. More than anything, it made Sirius want to get out of there, to wrap him up in his arms and let him take a nap there, to make sure he was taking care of himself. He settled for giving him a stern look instead.

“You need to get some sleep.”

Sirius expected a sharp, witty retort. Some sass, a comeback of some kind. Instead, Remus did the unthinkable and just smiled. “I missed you.”

Sirius sighed, softening at the gentle admission. He’d missed Remus too, of course. More than he could really put into words, and it had barely been a day. The smell of his shampoo, the quiet, reassuring presence of him by Sirius’ side, those eyes that just seemed to see right through him and know even the things Sirius tried to keep hidden. He found he didn’t mind it too much - not when it was Remus.

“I missed you,” he echoed in agreement, refusing to look away until someone cleared their throat loudly. Sirius looked over to a woman sitting next to Remus, looking unimpressed. Sirius hadn’t even known she was there, as wrapped up in Remus as he was.

Remus, to Sirius’ endless delight, blushed. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Remus blush before. It was cuter than it had any right to be. “Um, Sirius this is Dorcas. She’ll be representing you in court.”

Right.

He had to go on trial.

Dorcas took over from there. “We think, with the evidence we have, that we can get the charges reduced, maybe dropped if we’re lucky. If you can think of any evidence we don’t know about, we can use that to strengthen your case, too.”

Sirius nodded, relieved. That sounded better than he thought he’d get, to be honest. “What about Reg?” he asked, looking between the two.

Dorcas was very hard to read, Sirius realized. And Remus looked confident… until he looked over at the lawyer. Then his expression flickered.

And Sirius’ heart sank.

“That’s a bit trickier,” Dorcas stated slowly, treading carefully. “The thing is, he never tried to get out. He stayed with the Snakes. And I know it’s not easy to get out of situations like that,” she rushed to continue when she saw the look on Sirius’ face, “but the fact still stands. And he didn’t do as much to help take the Snakes down, not like you did. We can probably reduce his sentence, but he’ll be in prison longer than you. I don’t think we can fix that.”

Sirius felt himself being torn in two different directions. He wanted to be free, to be able to live his life again. Maybe make a home in Gryffindor (or maybe move in permanently with a certain spy), get a job as a consultant. He’d make sure the poor houseplant in Remus’ apartment survived, the poor thing, and he’d keep Remus’ favorite tea stocked in the cupboard. He’d be able to relax for – well, the first time in a very long time.

But his brother.

He was the main reason Sirius got out in the first place. The reason he ended up in Gryffindor, this entire mission was for him. To get him out, to make sure he was safe.

What was the point, if he was stuck in jail while Sirius got to walk free?

He could practically hear his brother telling him how stupid he was being in that dry voice of his, but he pushed the thought away. He’d made up his mind, and it was practically impossible to sway him when that happened.

Sweet, caramel eyes might test him, though.

Sirius looked up at Remus guiltily, dreading the response he was going to get. But yet again, Remus took him by surprise and smiled sadly.

“I understand.”

Those words hit Sirius like a freight train. He sucked in a deep breath, eyes stinging and throat getting tight. “I’m sorry.”

Remus just shook his head. “Don’t be.”

Sirius loved him.

Remus glanced over at a confused Dorcas. “He can’t leave his brother. Whatever sentence Reg gets, Sirius wants to do the same.”

She was silent for a long time, looking back and forth between the two of them. Then she sighed, seeming resolute. “Well then we’d better get those charges as low as we can.”

***

Four Weeks Later

Leo found Remus in the courthouse hallway during the trial recess before they were supposed to reconvene for the sentencing, looking seconds away from pacing from one side of the building to the other. The past few weeks had been hard on all of them. Between coming to terms with everything that had happened in the recent months, to trying to figure out the evidence they needed to bring forward to try and get the charges dropped against both Sirius and Regulus, to the strange feeling in the Agency brought forth by Sirius’ absence, it had been weird for all of them. Remus had been hit the hardest by all of it, though – and understandably so. That didn’t make it any easier to watch, though.

He’d been running himself to the bone the past four weeks, going above and beyond to make sure everything was in order for the trial. He looked ready to drop, if Leo was being honest.

But he understood. If it were Logan or Finn in Sirius’ place… well. He’d already figured out just how far he’d go for them.

He put a hand on Remus’ arm, trying to be as calming as possible. “You’re going to be ok,” he said carefully, choosing his words meticulously. He didn’t want to be cold, but he didn’t want to get Remus’ hopes up only for them to be dashed.

Carmel eyes met his own, and Leo sighed at the stress he saw there. He looked tired – so tired.

“What do you need?” Leo asked quietly, hoping for some sort of guidance on how to help him, how to get that look off of his face.

Remus just laughed under his breath, a sad sound. “There’s a lot of things I need.” He shuffled on his feet, gathering his sleeves in his hands. “But a hug would be a good start.”

Not hesitating, Leo gathered him into a hug, the stretch pulling at the scar tissue in his shoulder that was finally free of a sling. Remus was tense and still for a while, then relaxed into it. Leo wished he could do more, wished he could make any sort of difference in this situation. But everything was so far out of their control now; the only thing left to do was wait.

“Whatever happens, we’re here for both of you. You’re not alone in this.”

Remus stepped away with a fake attempt at a smile. “Yeah.”

There was a visual cue that neither of them seemed to catch and people started filtering back into the courtroom, making Remus’ face grow paler and more pinched. Leo stuck by his side as they walked back inside, trying to ignore the soft sound Remus made when he saw Sirius again – all the way in the front, in a jumpsuit that looked too big for him, hair longer and eyes a little duller than they remembered, fidgeting with something in his cuffed hands. Regulus was next to him, head down and avoiding everyone’s eyes. Leo just stuck to Remus’ side as they squeezed into the row of chairs with the rest of the Agency, making sure Remus was right in the middle, surrounded by so many of the people who cared about him most. Finn and Logan sat down next to him with grim smiles.

Leo reached over to tangle his fingers with Finn’s, feeling him squeeze back gently. The bruises were completely gone from his face, and he was walking limp-free now. He dropped his head onto Logan’s shoulder, having to angle his shoulders down to rest somewhat comfortably against the shorter man.

Leo would never get over the height difference.

“I’m taking a nap when we get home. This is so stressful, oh my god.” Finn sighed, making Leo smile.

Home.

That was still somewhat new for the three of them. After a few days back in their separate apartments in Gryffindor, they’d realized how incredibly codependent they’d become during their mission. Leo would find himself staring up at the ceiling most nights, worrying about the other two, until he’d get a phone call from one of them and they’d end up driving to each other and collapsing in bed together, squished together just like those hotel rooms they’d shared. And it had gotten to the point where there wasn’t any point living in different apartments when they ended up together most nights anyways, so Leo and Logan had packed up their things and moved in with Finn. He had the largest bed, anyways.

So yeah. They lived together now. And Leo was ridiculously pleased about it.

They were taking that vacation in a few weeks, too – the one Finn had first brought up in the back of a getaway car, tears in his eyes and blood on his hands. Somewhere warm, just like he’d promised. He’d get to watch Logan tan and Finn turn red like a lobster, only to go straight back to pale. They’d get some time to relax and not stress about work – just themselves and the vast expanse of beach and water in front of them.

Leo couldn’t wait.

“We’ll take that nap together.” Logan answered Finn quietly, turning his head to meet Leo’s eyes as he pressed an affectionate kiss to Finn’s head. Leo smiled at him, the sense of one chapter ending and the next beginning washing over him.

Whatever came their way, they’d be ok. They’d proven that already.

The crowd hushed as the judge sat back down, face impassive.

“We have reviewed the evidence and testaments brought forward in defense of Sirius and Regulus Black.” He started, looking down at the two in question critically as everyone in the courtroom seemed to hold their breath.

“It still doesn’t change the fact that they committed crimes while with the organization,” the judge stated firmly, then continued, “Regulus and Sirius Black are hereby sentenced to one year in prison.”

The gavel slammed.

Remus sat there in quiet disbelief.

They’d done… everything. They’d worked so hard for the past month in attempts to let Sirius and Regulus’ sentences reduced – and that was technically a reduced sentence – but it was still more than any of them had been expecting.

A year.

They hadn’t done enough.

Remus almost missed all the movement around him, too busy staring at the back of the seat directly in his line of vision, but his gaze snapped up when an achingly familiar voice called his name.

Sirius slowed to a stop as he passed Remus on his way out, eyes wide and frantic. Desperate. It broke Remus’ heart, more than it already was. “Wait for me?” He asked intently, like his sole focus was on Remus and his answer. He shoved his open palms out, revealing what he’d been fidgeting with during the entire trial. Remus looked down to find an origami flower, conveying all of Sirius’ hopes for the future within the delicate folds.

Remus wished more than anything that he could reach for him; to pull him in tight, hold him close, and refuse to let the guards take him away. He also had the half-formed plans of a jail break already in mind, even though he knew Sirius would never agree to it. It was then that his eyes locked with the gray ones he’d come to know better than his own and he knew – he knew that he’d wait, however long it took.

Remus loved him.

It wasn’t a grand revelation, it wasn’t sudden. In all honesty Remus had probably felt that way for a long time now, the truth prodding at the back of his head, nagging at his subconscious. He loved Sirius, plain and simple. Simple except for the fact that one of them was going to jail for a year. And yet, no matter how complicated it got, no matter how much time went by, it was the easiest decision Remus had ever made.

Well. If love made people crazy, Remus was certifiably insane.

He smiled a little tearfully at Sirius and nodded fiercely, picking up the paper flower delicately.

“You know I will.”

#lumosinlove #sweater weather #coast to coast #coops #sirius black #remus lupin #o'knutzy #finn o'hara #logan tremblay #leo knut #clandestine #cw: food #cw: prison #cw: anxiety

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arvinsescape · 3 years

Note

Part of me wants to request sweet angsty Arvin meeting reader’s family but the other part wants to ask for reader getting railed in his truck so I’m tossing both your way in the hopes one of those sounds appealing

A/N: Hi! Thank you so much for sending this in! Thank you for your patience and i’m sorry it took a while to get back to you but i hope you enjoy, i went with meeting the family because i have recently written some Arvin railing smut which you can read here if you want to! So i hope you enjoy! Both ideas were definitely appealing by the way!💖

Warnings: Mentions of loss of virginity (Arvin and reader are both eighteen in this fic), mentions of a bad relationship with parents i suppose (?) and i think that’s it.

Arvin was so nervous to meet your parents and you could understand why. Your parents could be a little, well a lot on the judgy side and he had a bit of a reputation. You hated that your parents were like that, you remember when you told them that you were dating Arvin and your father hadn’t been happy at first.

“But Y/N, he has a violent reputation.” Your father said and you sighed.

“Dad, he’s never laid a finger on me and he never will.” You said confidently, it was true, sure he’d once beaten a guy up for making a comment about you but he would never touch you in a way you didn’t want to be touched. He was so soft and gentle with you.

“How do you know that?” You father snapped.

“Because I know him, you don’t. You have no right to judge.” You slightly raised your voice as your fathers nostrils flared in anger.

“Don’t speak to me like that young lady. I am not happy about this at all.”

You’d been with him for just over six months and he was still to meet them, you were just sceptical because you didn’t want them to say anything to him, your dad had suddenly decided he wanted to meet him and you were nervous as well as Arvin because you knew it wouldn’t be for a good reason. You tried to stop it happening but your dad was persistent.

“I want to meet him.” You dad said as you ate dinner.

“He’s busy.” You lied.

“Too busy to meet his girlfriends parents? Sounds like a real charmer.” Your dad sneered and you fought back the urge to roll your eyes.

“Y/N, we want to meet him. He should come for dinner on Friday, make it work.” Your mother snapped and you huffed.

“Your attitude has become appalling and I can only put it down to that Russell boy.” You dad snapped as he overheard your huff.

“I’ll make it work.” You mumbled.

So it was Friday and you were anxiously waiting outside for Arvin to arrive. You watched as his truck pulled into the driveway and he got out of it, walking up to you and embracing you with a kiss to the forehead.

“You don’t have to do this Arv.” You reminded him.

“I’m gonna have to meet them at some point love.” He said as he plastered on a small smile, he was trying to calm your nerves so you could help his but the truth was you were both as nervous as each other.

You made your way into the house as your dad plastered on a fake smile and you fought back the urge to groan. Your dad stretched out his hand and Arvin took it carefully as he shook it and you could see the tight grip your dad had on his hand and wanted to rip it off.

“(Y/M/N) is in the kitchen, please come through.” Your dad spoke and you eyed him suspiciously, he was being too polite.

You made your way into the kitchen and sat down at the table as your mother served the food and you sat and ate in somewhat of an awkward silence until your dad cleared his throat and spoke up.

“So Arvin, I hear you’ve gotten into a few fights recently.” Your dad started and you gulped as Arvin shifted nervously in his seat.

“I’ve had a couple.” Arvin muttered, not seeing the point in lying, it was a small town word got around and your dad scoffed.

“I’ve heard a great number of things actually.” Your father spoke slowly, eyeing the two of you and you panicked, you’d given yourself completely to Arvin a couple of weeks ago, right around the time your dad started showing an interest in meeting him. Why hadn’t you realised before? “In fact I heard a nasty little rumour that my daughter here gave you her innocence, that wouldn’t be correct would it? You’re not married.” Your dad sneered in the most judgemental way you’d ever heard.

Arvin didn’t know where to put himself, he didn’t want to upset you and he didn’t want to make things worse. You grabbed his hand under the table to calm his nerves, it was strange to see him like this, had anyone else made a comment like that they’d have found themselves on the receiving end of his fist. Your anger boiled at the grilling your father was trying to give him, so what if you’d given your virginity to Arvin? You loved him and he loved you. So what if he got into fights? Your dad didn’t know the reason behind them. So what if you weren’t married? You knew for a fact your dad was being a hypocrite, you’d heard enough rumours of your own.

You stood from your seat as your anger bubbled over thinking about it.

“How dare you.” You snapped and your father looked at you with wide eyes and his brows where almost in his hairline. Maybe it was the anger or maybe it was the fact that Arvin was here and he would protect you from anyone, regardless of who it was, that made you not have a care in the world for speaking to your dad like this.

“Pardon me young lady?” Your dad sneered as your mum looked at you with wide eyes.

“How dare you speak to him like that. You have no right. Yes, Arvin has gotten into a few fights since we’ve been together but have you ever asked why? No. So I’ll tell you, he was defending me and the things people said about me. The inappropriate things they said. Not that it’s any of your business but yeah I have slept with Arvin and no I don’t feel like I made the wrong decision, I love him and he loves me so what does it matter?” You breathed in a deep breath before you continued completely blinded by your rage.

“It doesn’t matter that we aren’t married, you weren’t. Enough people have told me what sort of a man you were when you were younger, I know for a fact you only married mum because you got her pregnant. I know why you hate Arvin so much. You hate him because he is the opposite of who you were at his age. He’s respectful of women, he actually loves me unlike you who strutted around breaking whoever’s heart you saw fit.” Your dad was red in the face and your mum had hung her head as you continued.

“If Arvin wants to marry me he’ll ask me because he loves me not because he carelessly knocked me up and got stuck with a problem. You hate the fact that he defends my honour because you know that if this was twenty years ago you’d have been on the receiving end of his fist. You have no right to judge Arvin dad because you were an awful person growing up, enough people have told me. Just because you two are in a loveless relationship does not mean I’m going down the same path.” You finished your rant and caught your breath.

It felt good to get it off your chest. All the years you’ve watched them judge others who are happy simply because they aren’t. They had no right to judge a single soul in this town.

“Y/N…” Your dad started, shame lacing his tone.

“I really don’t want to hear it and neither does he so I’m going out for a while and I’ll be back whenever.” You snapped as you grabbed Arvin’s hand and led him out of the house and into his truck.

“That was, you didn’t have to do that.” Arvin spoke.

“I did. I’m so sick of them judging people. They have no right to judge you and I’m sorry.” You said and Arvin smiled as he pulled you into a kiss.

“I will ask one day you know.” He said and you furrowed your brows in confusion. “Ask you to marry me.” He clarified and your cheeks heated up.

“I’m sorry, I said that in the heat of the moment. I don’t expect you to ask me anytime soon, it wasn’t a hint, I know we haven’t been together all that long.” You blushed and he tilted your head to look at him.

“I’ve pined after you for years darling. I’ve been in love with you for a long time and now I have you I sure as hell aren’t letting you slip through my fingers.” He said and you smiled.

Things surprisingly got better after that, your dad was much kinder, actually apologised to him and they got on quite well. You and Arvin continued going strong and a year and half later he was nervously approaching your dad again asking for permission to marry you.

#Arvin Russell #arvin x reader #arvin russell imagine #arvin russell x reader #arvin russell x y/n #arvin russel fluff #arvin russell angst

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kaimelia · 3 years

Text

carry you

a/n: a huge huge happy birthday to @somegreysfics !! wren, I love you SO MUCH and i’m so incredibly proud of you for everything! you’re such a wonderful human being and i’m so so so glad we’re friends! this fic is for you and I hope you enjoy it!

"You know, I'm incredibly proud of you, right?"

"Why?" Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke, and Link wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and never let go.

"Because you're incredibly strong." Amelia sniffled and leaned her head against his shoulder, shutting her eyes as she exhaled.

"You say that after I've been crying for the past hour," she whispered, and Link squeezed her shoulder lightly.

"But, you're here. You told me what was going on and what you needed, and I'm very proud of you for that. Not everyone can do it. I can't; I just shut down whenever I feel something sad. We both know I just fall asleep whenever I'm stressed."

That got her to laugh, just slightly for a moment before her mouth fell back into the frown he hated seeing on her face.

"You have to leave for work soon," she muttered, and she pressed her face into his shoulder.

"I don't. I can call in sick, and we can stay here all day and just watch TV and eat ice cream until you feel a bit better," he suggested, grabbing his phone from the nightstand. "Or, we can take a bath and order some pizza, or we can just sleep all day. It's your pick."

"Stay here, and just never get out of bed because it's safe here."

"Well, we'll have to eventually, but it sounds like a plan. I'm gonna go make a call to Bailey and try and cough convincingly enough; you want some tea while I'm up?" She nodded slowly, and Link carefully maneuvered himself out from under her, grinning as she groaned and dropped her body onto the pillows below her. "I'll be back, I promise." He walked around the bed, squeezing her foot through the blanket as he passed her and walked into the kitchen, balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder and pulling out two mugs.

"Hey, Bailey," he coughed, hoping that it didn't sound as fake through the phone as it did to Amelia, who was giggling from the other room. "Yeah, I'm down with something; I'm gonna have to take the day off. Alright. Yeah, I'll plan on being in tomorrow as long as I feel better." He hung up the phone, quickly walking towards the bedroom and staring daggers at Amelia. "It's not very convincing when my girlfriend is in the background laughing at everything I say."

"You are not a very convincing actor," she muttered, placing a pillow over her head. Link rolled his eyes and left again, returning to the kettle he'd filled and pouring water into each of the mugs. He handed one to her as he came back into the room, quietly murmuring to be careful of the heat. She blew some of the steam off and paused as he began to sit down.

"What is it?"

"Will you go get Scout and bring him to cuddle?" Link smiled and set down his mug. "I need sleepy baby cuddles."

"Of course." He left quickly, walking into the make-shift nursery to see their son happily passed out in his crib, not having stirred for hours, to both of their surprise. "Hey, buddy," he whispered, gently picking Scout up and holding him, grinning as his tiny eyes opened. He strolled back to the bedroom, rocking his arms back and forth as he did so, attempting to ease the baby back to sleep. "Did you get him, and I didn't notice, or did he sleep through the night?"

"I think he slept through," Amelia smiled, holding her arms out and taking Scout from him. She laid the baby down on her chest, placing her hand on his back and rubbing soothing patterns as he fell back asleep. "He's still got more sleep in him. He definitely gets that from you," she whispered. Link grinned as he looked down at them, leaning down and kissing Amelia's forehead before heading back to where he was lying before and pulling the comforter up. He propped himself up on his elbow, facing her and watching as she ran her fingers over Scout's tiny head.

"You're a little creepy just laying there and watching us, you know that?" He shrugged, scooching closer and leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

"We said we'd stay in bed all day, and I can't think of anything else to do." Amelia smiled gently for a moment until her face settled, and she sighed. "Do you wanna talk about what's going on?"

"Everything just feels a little impossible right now," she muttered, lolling her head to the side to look at him. "I feel like I'm losing myself to all of the stress, and I know that becoming a new person isn't bad, but the change is so much more than I expected." He hummed softly, watching as she turned her gaze back to the ceiling. "I'm not sure if that makes any sense."

"It does. We've been through a lot these past few months, you know? I mean, the entire world has, but we've also been trying to figure out life with this little man, and I know it might not feel like it, but you're doing an incredible job at being his mother."

"I'm not convinced I won't screw him up," she half-laughed, and Link noticed her chin quiver. "I don't know."

"You don't have to know. We're figuring this out together, okay? And if anything, I'm probably more likely to screw him up than you because it took me way too long to learn how to not get peed on while changing him, so I'm a month behind you on everything."

"Yeah, but you're the picture-perfect Dad," she reached her hand out, resting the back of her hand against his cheek, "you're always peppy and making terrible jokes, and I'm pretty sure as soon as we get a house, you're gonna buy a grill and fill every stereotype of the perfect Dad."

"You better believe I'm getting a 'Kiss the Cook' apron," he chuckled, placing his hand on hers and intertwining their fingers. "But, that may not be perfect for our son. He might hate grilled food."

"Okay, be serious."

"I am," Link whispered, squeezing her hand. "Just because the world says it's perfect doesn't mean it will be for our son. Every kid is different, and maybe what he needs to grow up to be incredible is you. And I hope he grows up to be even a fraction as strong as you are, Amelia." He squeezed her hand again gently before bringing it to his mouth and kissing her skin. "It's tough, I know. And, it feels impossible, but you'll get through it because that's how life works. Whatever happens, you survive, and you learn, and you come out stronger and smarter than ever before, no matter how terrible it felt to get through it."

He paused as Amelia sniffled softly, glancing down at their son, who was contented asleep on her chest.

"And, I will be here through everything. So, when it feels impossible, you can put some of that weight on me, just to feel a little better, and I will do whatever I can, okay?"

She didn't respond verbally but nodded slightly as her eyes closed, and a tear slipped onto her cheek.

"I love you, Amelia, and I'm so proud of you for everything you do and manage while feeling like this. You're not alone, and you never will be alone because I'll always be here, and Scout will always want snuggles, and I can work on my acting skills to get more sick days in the future," he smiled, moving closer to her, and Amelia lifted her head, resting it on his arm as she laid against him.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, "thank you for being here."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

#amelink #amelia shepherd #atticus lincoln #amelink fanfiction #amelink fanfic #amelia x link #greys fanfic #greys anatomy #greys abc #grey’s anatomy #scout shepherd lincoln #wren tag #my fics

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petals42 · 4 years

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been so long and now...

Alright, not writing the fic but this is the fic I want to read for julie and the phantoms (okay updated note: I wrote it basically). Going to try to keep this quick (LOL it’s 7k). We’re starting after season 1 here.

[7k, Reggie-centric, Julie POV, child abuse mention, Ray is a good dad.]

Alright, the boys can now touch Julie (sometimes) and can still be seen when playing music, but other than that, it’s not super clear how much actually changes. And after that day in the garage, life seems to even out a bit. Which means Alex is off looking for Willie and Luke and Julie are spending a lot more time writing music together (and okay, maybe that’s new but if both of them ignore it, it's fine) and Reggie is back to hanging out with Ray.

Ray can’t hear him or see him and the conversations are by necessity very one sided. Either Reggie filling Ray in on his day slash his ideas on ghosthood or Ray talking to himself/the computer but somehow it becomes fairly commonplace for Julie to walk downstairs and find her dad talking to (around?) her dead teenage bandmate. And there are times, sure, where she is like is this weird?? Should i say something about this??? But Reggie is kind of being left on his own a lot and she never really wanted to listen to her dad mutter about cameras and if that’s how Reggie wants to fill his days then… well that’s not her business. Neither party seems to mind. Probably because her dad doesn’t actually know.

Of course, the Julie-magic power does eventually start working more and more and then Carlos knows they are ghosts and then her dad hears them talking in Julie’s room when Luke accidentally starts humming and then catches a glimpse of them in garage when there’s no lights on so he doesn’t see how the hologram is working and--

“It’s time to tell him, I think,” Julie says to the boys and Luke nods and looks excited and Alex twists his hands around his drumsticks the way he does when he is a little anxious (but mostly okay) and when Julie glances over at Reggie, she expects that large megawatt smile that he directs at Flynn or Carlos but instead, he looks even more uncertain than Alex.

“I dunno,” he says, one shoulder raised. “I feel like we have an okay system?”

His concerns get drowned out by Luke and Alex and Julie herself pointing out that her dad is in photography, at some point he is going to realize that this hologram technology does not obey the laws of physics and/or light, plus he keeps almost seeing them just around his house and…

They play a song to tell her dad and lately, the boys have been able to be seen longer and longer, especially when they are just in the studio and don’t officially bow so once her dad gets over the initial shock (which, admittedly, takes him a little longer than Flynn or Carlos), there are introductions and--

Julie finds herself glancing at Reggie the whole time. Waiting for him to bound forward and say that actually he knows all about Ray and actually they’ve hung out quite a bit and actually, it was him that’s been slowly doing the puzzle with Ray in the corner room and maybe the other boys do too because there are a lot more awkward pauses that she thought there would be but Luke seems to realize it halfway through so suddenly he is taking the lead (and maybe trying to impress her father like omg what???) and so it kind of gets forgotten. (especially afterwards, in her room, when her dad lowkey tries to grill her about her relationship with these boys and she doesn’t have good answers and ugggggh maybe they should’ve stayed holograms).

Anyway, things are still mostly normal after that. The boys are not often seen or visible (except more and more to Flynn and sometimes Carlos) and so Reggie is often back to hanging around her dad and one time Julie does ask him “Do you let him know that you’re here?” and “Oh no,” Reggie says. “I wouldn’t want to bother him.” And Julie guesses that’s true, Reggie is normally chilling with her dad when he is editing photos so, alright. Again, she has lots of other things going on. There isn’t much point in digging into this.

Except then-- then the boys start being seen more and more around the whole house. It starts in the studio and then sort of spreads and it’s a weird new normal for sure, them still walking through walls whenever they want so you can’t forget they’re ghosts, but you sure can see them around a lot. And if Julie is around and can make them solid, they can eat and so it become a not rare occurrence to have the boys come eat dinner 2ish times a week or at least try to (Julie’s “powers” only work about a fourth of the time, to be honest, but they can be seen so they usually hang around.)

And right around when that becomes common place, suddenly Reggie stops hanging out with Ray.

I mean, it’s not something that Julie notices right away but suddenly Reggie is around the studio a lot more and sometimes she assumes he is in the house only to find out he has been hanging by the beach or with Alex and Willie and there’s no real reason for worry but it sort of… lurks in the back of Julie’s mind. A weird sense that something isn’t quite right there, that Reggie used to love hanging around her dad and giving her dad full reports of their days and, okay, maybe it was weird but still… it bothered her. Now that it was gone.

And then, her dad asks her about it.

Not directly, but he comes sort of frowning into her room, asking if the boys are okay, and “yeah, why?” Julie says and..

“Oh, I dunno,” her dad answers, looking over his shoulder and drumming his fingers against his thigh. “It just feels… I don’t know, the house feels empty? Like… sometimes I think there should be someone and-- you know what, nevermind. It’s probably in my head.”

“No, no,” Julie says because she’s lied to her dad enough. “You’re right. I mean, Reggie used to hang out in the house all the time.”

“Reggie,” her dad says. “The bassist. He did?”

“Yeah, he was probably… what you were sensing.” and Julie has an awful moment of wondering if her dad thought that presence around him was her mom and if Reggie being more busy with other things was like losing someone all over again and--

“That’s what that was!” her dad sounds happy. And relieved. “Sorry. Who. Who that was. I thought I was going crazy.”

“No,” Julie shakes her head. “He’s real. And he was around a lot.”

“Hm,” Ray says and turns to leave. Then turns. “You know… he’s still welcome, you know? Unless you guys are practicing more…”

“I’ll tell him,” Julie laughs. And then shoos her dad out because she has got to work on this chemistry homework and sometimes it sucks -- having three ghost bandmates who should be in high school but who never have to do anything and don’t even try to help her and--

*^*^*^

“Hey,” Julie says, plopping down next to Reggie on the couch. It’s a few days later but this is the first time they’ve been alone-- Luke and Alex, realizing they were solid enough to go eat and running for the kitchen, Reggie opting to stay behind.

“Hi, Jules!” Reggie says and he doesn’t seem any different. With her and the band, he talks just as much as always, big bright smile, whining about the need for a country song, laughing at all their mishaps.

“I have a question.”

“What’s up?” He twists to face her, giving her all his attention. He does that, she realizes. Focuses on her. All the boys do, to some extent, but with different energies. Reggie’s is the biggest, she thinks. Honest and open.

“So… I’ve sorta noticed that you haven’t been hanging out with my dad as much anymore?” Julie tries to keep her tone casual. She’s not accusing him. She’s just… curious.

“Oh,” Reggie says and his head tilts as if confused by her confusion. “Well, yeah.”

There’s a beat. Julie thinks Reggie is going to keep talking. Reggie does not. Reggie turns back to where he was tuning his bass. “Uh, why?” she finally asks.

Reggie frowns at her. “Well, he can see and hear us now,” he says, as if this is very obvious.

“So?”

“So like… I don’t want to bother him,” Reggie says. “He does a lot of work during the day. It was one thing when he couldn’t hear or see me but now you know… I’m annoying.”

It’s Julie’s turn to frown, even though Reggie is already looking down again. There’s something about the way he says it, I’m annoying that bothers her. He says it as if it is an obvious fact. As if everybody knows it. As if it’s true.

“You’re not annoying,” she says. “I don’t think you’re annoying.”

He blinks at her. “Well, no, you don’t,” he allows. “And Luke and Alex don’t. Most of the time.”

“And Flynn and Carlos,” she adds.

“Most of the time. But still, see, all kids. Teens,” Reggie says. “But old people… parents are different. You have to--”

He cuts himself off and for a moment, his hand grips the neck of his bass tightly and there is a tension in his shoulders and suddenly Julie thinks she maybe is in a little too deep here. She doesn’t want to upset him.

“You’re dad is really nice but he still… It’s different,” he says and he shoots another smile at her, but it’s tight and fake and he jumps up the moment Alex and Luke burst back into the studio.

“So close,” Alex mutters as they come back in. “I had the sandwich IN MY HANDS.”

“Dumb choice,” Luke says, mouth still clearly full of something. “You gotta just hit the snacks, my friend. Focus on what’s quick and easy.”

The boys all head for their instruments and the moment is passing, Julie knows, and she also knows she now has clues that maybe she should put together but she doesn’t have time and why couldn’t her powers last just a little longer this one time? But-

“You should still go hang out with him again,” she tells Reggie as Luke starts tuning up and Alex gets settled behind his drums. “He misses you.”

There’s no time for Reggie to ask any questions but his frown of confusion as she turns away says it all.

*^*^*^

It grows, this curiosity and she realizes she doesn’t know much about Reggie’s parents. Luke’s, she obviously knows very well and she knows the story very well and she has heard enough about Alex’s to know that they are not worth seeking out but Reggie’s…

She’s never even heard him mention them. Not even in all their conversations about Luke’s. And this is a sensitive topic for all the boys and she doesn’t know how much to push or even whether to push so--

“What were Reggie’s parents like?” she blurts one day. Luke startles and looks up at her and that’s fair as they had been in the middle of writing a song and there was no reason for her to ask.

“What?” Luke says and she gets to watch as he tries to switch his brain over from music-mode to conversation-mode.

“Reggie’s parents,” she repeats. “What were they like?”

And she knows she’s hit on something when Luke’s head goes down and his shoulders come up and “I dunno,” he says. “It’s… we didn’t hang out there that much.”

“But you must know something?” Julie presses. “Like… did they ever come to see you guys play?”

“No,” Luke says and he’s leaning further away, eyes cutting to the door. “Look, I--”

“Were they against him playing music?”

“Uh- I don’t… Why are you asking?”

The question forces Julie to pause. And she chews her bottom lips as she tries to figure out the answer. Why is she asking? What does she think? What does she actually need to know?

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I just… he’s never even mentioned them.”

“Well, then… we probably shouldn’t talk about it,” Luke says and that’s fair, she knows it is, but she can’t help if she doesn’t have some information. And going to Luke was at least better than just googling.

“So there is something to talk about,” she says softly.

“No, I don’t… look,” Luke says and takes a breath. “Reggie never…. He never said anything about them, really. Not even when we were alive. He just… I don’t know. I told you, we never hung out at his house.”

“So you think they were…?” Julie lets the sentence dangle. Luke glares at her a little. Then takes another breath. Fiddles with something on his pants. Doesn’t speak. “You know I’m just trying to help, right?” Julie asks. “I just--”

“Reggie was really quiet,” Luke interrupts. “When we met him, I mean. He was… he was really shy.”

“Reggie?” Julie asks and she can’t help the disbelieving tone. That doesn’t make any sense.

“Yeah,” Luke says. “He was a great bass player, obviously, and nice enough but… really quiet. He… didn’t even laugh really. He just hung back a lot and… it’s weird to think about. Now that I know him.”

“You think he was that way because of his parents?”

“I mean… I dunno. Maybe?” Luke shrugs. “The few times he met my parents, he was… really weird.”

“Weird?”

“Just… weird.”

Julie opens her mouth to ask more questions, to say that that answer wasn’t specific enough, but Luke finally meets her eyes and suddenly she knows that this conversation is going to end.

“Look, if you want to know more, you can probably ask him,” Luke says. “Or like… don’t. It’s not like it matters anymore now, right?”

And there’s a trace of bitterness in that and a trace of please stop and more than a trace of I am uncomfortable with this conversation and so Julie lets it go.

“Yeah,” she says, worried she pushed too hard. “Yeah, you’re right.”

*^*^*^

The clues are all there and Julie isn’t sure what they point to, so she tries to listen to Luke’s advice and remember that it doesn’t really matter. Reggie doesn’t have to see his parents again and it doesn’t matter and he continues to seem absolutely fine with the band. Fine and happy and--

“Helloooo?” she hears him call from the front door, just as she’s hitting the top of the stairs. She turns, a bit confused because the boys never bother announcing themselves but she opens her mouth to tell him she has to finish homework before rehearsal today and then closes it when she says that he is not looking at her at all, but towards the kitchen.

She walks down a few steps. Bends over so she can peer down and see what he’s looking at.

Her dad is sitting at the counter.

“Hello!” Reggie is louder this time, and then waves his arms a little bit for good measure and her dad doesn’t see him, she realizes, doesn’t even flinch at all the noise and the arm flailing and she is about to tell Ray that Reggie is there when suddenly, Reggie’s face bursts into a grin and, seemingly satisfied that he is undetectable, the teenager plops himself down in the stool next to Ray.

Julie watches as her dad continues muttering to himself for a minute and then he pauses, and shifts, and glances, and she doesn’t know if he caught a glimpse of Reggie or if he can just sense it but his mouth quirks into a slight smile and he talks more now, at maybe a higher volume, but still to himself and Reggie doesn’t seem to notice the change, so she leaves them to it.

Reggie is still there when she finally finishes her homework two hours later.

*^*^*^

It doesn’t really get that much better. Reggie still avoids the house when he is visible and, when she catches him with her dad, she somehow knows that he had made sure he was undetectable before risking it and he doesn’t talk as much now, not when he’s learning from conversations with Flynn and Carlos that sometimes it’s part way through a conversation that they are suddenly audible, but she hopes it’s a little bit nice, at least, that Reggie is there at least part of the time.

*^*^*^

They play a particularly good show and the boys stay visible for 5 straight days. Reggie avoids the house the whole time.

*^*^*^

It’s a Friday night when Julie finally gets her biggest clue. It’s a rare quiet Friday. They don’t have a gig all weekend so there’s no rehearsals and Carlos is home and the boys aren’t visible or audible to anyone but Julie so most of her time is spent laughing at what they say and then having to explain to her dad and brother and she thinks they are going to try to play a game, maybe like Clue? Something all the boys can play, though Luke is pushing for twister even though the boys can literally go through people so that doesn’t seem fair at all and--

Something (a ball) whizzes past her head as she and her dad are bent over trying to remember the Clue rules and then she jumps as there’s the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.

There’s a moment of stillness and then it makes sense. There’s a vase broken on the ground and a baseball rolling under the kitchen table and she turns to see Carlos, looking shocked, mouth already open to apologize.

“Carlos!” her dad says, standing and moving, doubtlessly to go get the broom. But there is glass everywhere and his voice comes out angry because this is not the first kitchen object Carlos has broken by a longshot. “How many times have I told you not to play--”

Things move very fast then.

Her dad is moving towards Carlos because that’s where the broom is and Carlos is standing still and looking down because he already knows he’s going to get in trouble and then just as suddenly, Carlos is sort of stumbling back because he’s been pulled back and Reggie is standing where Carlos just was.

Squarely between her dad and her brother.

“It was me,” Reggie says. And he sounds sort of breathless but also certain and he’s not moving from where he stands.

Carlos is still sort of gaping that he was just pulled back by a ghost and Julie can see the other two boys processing that fact, the fact that Reggie just managed to touch another person and Ray jerks to a stop because a full teenage boy has just popped into existence in front of him. So no one says anything.

“I threw the ball,” Reggie repeats. More firmly this time. A lie, Julie knows, because Reggie had been on the couch with Alex. Nowhere near where the ball had come from. “It was my fault.”

His voice is still firm and his eyes stay on Ray’s for a second before looking down and his hands tighten into firsts before going slack and he swallows and--

He’s scared, Julie realizes. Scared, but still.

“It was my fault. So--”

“Reggie!” Her dad exclaims and he’s beaming, she can already see it, and then without a thought to whether Reggie is still solid or not, her dad is throwing her arms around Reggie as if he is a long lost friend

(Which in a way, maybe he is)

Reggie stays solid and his arms are pinned to his side and Julie sees him stiffen, sees his face frown in confusion.

“You’re here!” Ray says, still grinning. He leans back and slaps Reggie on the arm. “And solid, I see. Thank goodness. Come, come help me on this puzzle. You’ve been slacking and I swear this dark spot near the left corner is driving me crazy and-- Oh, Carlos, go get the broom and clean this up. No throwing balls in the house! Honestly, you’d think after the last time-- Reggie, wait, whatever happened with that telenovella you guys were watching, you haven’t updated me in forever.”

And then her dad is dragging Reggie away, who still looks shell-shocked, still looks like he was expecting something different, and Julie hangs back, partly to help Carlos clean up, partly to enjoy hearing Reggie slowly start to stammer out answers to her dad’s many, many questions.

*^*^*^

“Oh shoot,” her dad says an hour later, when family puzzle night is brought to an end because the three boys have abruptly vanished from existence. He looks at where Reggie had been sitting (roughly). “Well, we’ll finish next time.”

*^*^*^

What happens next, Julie calls in her head, the Period of Cautious Testing.

She sees it play out.

Reggie comes into the house, waves hi to her, but doesn’t say anything and then he goes and sort of… lurks near her dad, watching carefully and if her dad seems to be in a good mood (which he is often, to be honest), Reggie will either say hello or obviously pull out a stool to make it clear he is there and--

“Are you free?” Reggie asks. Or “Do you mind?” or “Hey, can I--?”

He says it when Ray can hear him and writes it if there is pen and paper nearby and even when there’s not, he stays tense and ready to fly if he’s not wanted, but--

“Of course!” her dad says. “Sit down.” “Come look.” “Oh, Reggie, check this out--”

And Reggie stares and listens and there’s this smile he has, not his usual huge grin, but a smaller softer sort of wonderful-filled smile and he pays attention to her dad as if he might be quizzed on the information later, still starts out not talking as much but--

“Okay, well tell me about,” her dad says. “Oh, do you think--?” And “Wait, I want to hear what it was like to--”

*^*^*^

“Your dad is really nice,” Reggie tells her one day. He says it right as they are starting rehearsal and doesn’t really look at her when he says it, looks more somewhere over her left shoulder and he is basically running away towards his mic stand but still…

It makes her smile.

*^*^*^

“Come play with me,” Carlos asks her, throwing his ball in the air.

“Where’s dad?” Julie responds. This is usually her dad’s territory. Whatever talents she had in singing and music and sort of dancing do not translate into sports.

“With Reggie,” Carlos says, throwing the ball up, tilting his head up to watch as it comes down and catches it. “They are talking about… I don’t know. Something. He said he’d be out but you know how they get.”

Julie does. And it doesn’t bother her but..

“Are you mad?” She asks, just to be certain. Carlos had been the only son. Still is. But also… “That they are hanging out so much?” Her brother is still young. Her brother maybe doesn’t--

“No,” Carlos says. “Not like I want to learn about cameras at all.”

Julie laughs.That’s true. And her dad sure can ramble.

“Also,” Carlos starts…. And then he is glancing at her and he is young and stupid and her ilttle brother, but when he looks up at her, he looks older and serious.

“Also, I think It’s nice. Reggie hanging out with Dad. I think he…”

He fiddles with his ball, but doesn’t throw it. “I think he probably needs that, you know?”

Julie did know, she just didn’t know that Carlos knew. And understood. And was willing to share Dad like that because he knew. She feels her face start heating up with pride.

“How did you--” she starts. Then stops. She knows how she figured it out and she had mostly relied on being able to see when Reggie was around and how he tried to stay away for so long and her conversation with Luke.

“Oh. Uh. Well, he started a stash of food in my room,” Carlos says. Julie blinks at him. “I went up there one day and he was shoving granola bars in a box in the back of my closet. That was already filled with other stuff.

“He was acting really weird. I mean, nervous and I dunno. I asked him why and he said it was always a good backup in case you couldn’t go downstairs and then I asked why I wouldn’t be able to go downstairs and I think he was embarrassed but still insisted it was safer and--”

Carlos shrugs. Flushes because he realizes he had been talking a hair too fast.

“I don’t know. It made him feel better so I kept it. And it honestly is sometimes easier than going all the way downstairs.”

“Carlos!”

“He has one in your room too!’ Carlos says, laughing. “Basket tucked under your bed, I think. I’m telling you, once you get used to access to rice krispy treats in the middle of the night…”

“Oh my god,” Julie says and they are laughing about this, because what else is there to do but…

“So it’s really okay,” Carlos says. “Plus I figure now you and me can play catch?” He turns on those big brown eyes for that last part and he is so good that Julie can barely stand it.

“Oh alright,” she makes sure to roll her eyes so he knows that she is not falling for him for a second. “Let me put my bag down.”

*^*^*^

The boys are not supposed to be on her computer (there has actually been talk of getting them their own computer to uphold this rule, but none of them really seem to have much interest in technology (besides TV) given that they can always just poof to whoever they need to talk to and force Julie to do the research for them) so it’s a surprise when Julie walks into her room and finds Reggie, glaring at the screen.

“Reggie!” she says, fully intending to yell at him. She has private things on there!

And then he looks up at her. He looks dark and serious and--

“Will you help me?” he asks. “I don’t know how-- this thing is so complicated.” And Reggie isn’t the one who will get frustrated-- that’s Alex when his anxiety gets to be too much or Luke when a song isn’t going well or even herself when having three rambunctious boys who can pop in on her literally any time gets to be a little much-- but he’s frustrated now.

“Okay,” she says, her earlier rant about privacy flying out of her head. “Okay, yes, let me help. What do you need to do?”

With the boys, it could be anything. Alex wants to watch videos of skateboarding so he can pretend he knows something about what Willie talks about, or there was the week he discovered Sense8 and then Luke really just wants to google guitars or also there was that week Julie tried to get him on music producing software and then he just wanted to read articles about how digital music was destroying the industry (like some old grandpa).

“I’m--” Reggie stops and stands. Takes a breath and blows it out. Julie waits. He looks somewhere toward the ceiling. “I’m trying to find my parents.”

Julie stills.

That is not what she was expecting.

“Oh,” she says and it’s a struggle but she keeps her voice carefully neutral. She also takes the moment to look down and see that Reggie has type “goo-gull” into the windows search bar.

He doesn’t add anything and so she sets herself to opening the real google and seeing what she can do. Contrary to popular belief, it can be a little hard to find people if they aren’t famous and have fairly common names.

“What are their names?” she asks and instead of answering, Reggie just passes her a piece of paper. It has their names on it. And what she assumes to be his old address. She senses the mood and doesn’t say anything else. At least he comes and sits next to her to see the search results pop up.

There are a lot of them.

“Don’t worry,” she says when she sees his eyes widen. “Even if I can’t do it today, I can put Flynn or-or my dad on it and I’m sure one of them can--”

“No,” Reggie says. “I don’t want-- not them.”

Julie nods and keeps scrolling. She doesn’t know what Reggie’s parents did for a living so she doesn’t know if some of these websites apply but she scrolls slowly and hopes he’ll tell her if he sees something.

After two pages, “Let’s switch to images,” she suggests. “Maybe you’ll see them.”

Reggie hesitates but then nods.

After some more silent scrolling, the silence gets to be too much -- “Why do you--?”

“There.”

Julie stops scrolling and, yes, there-- there’s something slightly familiar about that woman’s nose and the darkness of that man’s hair. She clicks to enlarge it, but it’s still a blurry picture, pulled onto google search from Facebook, if she had to guess and--

And she knows that you can’t really judge someone off of a photograph, especially not one that’s older and blurry but she…

They don’t look nice, she decides. Even though both of them are smiling. The smiles look tense and forced and they are standing a hair too far away from each other to be called close.

“That’s them,” Reggie tells her needlessly.

“Oh,” Julie says again. He doesn’t sound excited. He sounds… she doesn’t know what he sounds.

She waits, risks glancing at him to find he is still just staring. And the silence drags and then right- right as she knows she’s got to say something, anything--

“I thought it was normal,” Reggie finally says softly. “They. I thought they were normal. I mean… I thought everyone’s parents were that way.”

He’s still not looking at her. Still just staring at the screen.

“I mean… Luke fought all the time with his parents and Alex’s were just… always too religious and a bit off even before they knew and so I just assumed that everyone… you know.”

Julie did not know. Not really. Not at all.

“I knew they hated me,” he says and he finally glances over at her. He’s not crying, but his voice is tight and the nod he gives her is jerky. He looks away quickly. “For forcing them to get married. And for forcing them to stay together too, I guess, though… it wasn’t just…”

His leg is bouncing now. Jumping up and down even as his fist clenches and presses on top of it.

“It’s not even just that though,” and his voice rises now, almost desperate. “They hated me. They said I was loud and annoying and stupid and I… I thought that was normal. I thought they were right.”

He shoots up now, solid enough that her little table gets pushed back when his shin hits against it, but he doesn’t seem to notice and he swipes at his eyes, but he’s not crying. Just red and Julie’s almost crying, she realizes, but she’s also tense and her stomach hurts and she doesn’t know what to do.

“They were my parents and they hated me and I thought-- I thought that was normal. That everyone would always hate--” He cuts off and Julie opens her mouth again but she doesn’t know what to say. The boys… the boys are young and happy and they are all an open book, even when they try not to be, but now… Now Reggie clenches his jaw and stops himself. The boys never stop themselves.

“It wasn’t right though,” Reggie says and he’s angry now. More angry than Julie’s seen anyone. “It wasn’t fair. What they did. Making me feel… yelling at me all the time and-and sending me to bed without dinner so often that I- I fucking thought everyone snuck snacks into their room and shoving me around and even when they were happy, I just knew it could turn so quickly, that even one mistake could just ruin everything and I- I-”

He cuts off, breathing hard.

“Reggie--” Julie starts. She stands but he takes a step away from her so she stills.

“It wasn’t fair,” he says and he’s quieter now but it doesn’t feel calmer. He meets her eyes and his are wet. “I just don’t get how they could-- why they--”

“It wasn’t fair,” Julie agrees and this time when she comes closer, he doesn’t move. So she gets to put a hand on his shoulder and breaths a small sigh of relief that he is solid right now.

“I had to die, Jules,” he says, looking at her again finally. And this is… being dead is something the boys rarely acknowledge in a real way. It’s usually a joke or an offhand comment or their comeback for why they shouldn’t have to help her with calculus. It’s not this. Soft and serious and then followed by a dark chuckle. “I literally had to fucking die to figure out that they were bad parents. And I bet-- I bet they were glad.”

Julie opens her mouth to say that of course they weren’t, that any parent would be heartbroken, that he can’t know that but--

But she doesn’t know them. She doesn’t know if that is true.

“Well,” she starts but Reggie backs away and cuts her off.

“I have to go,” he announces. And then he glances at her and realizes she’s crying and maybe realizes what just happened because he runs his hand through his hair and guilt enters his eyes but “Sorry,” he says. “Sorry about-- You weren’t supposed to-- I gotta go.”

“Wait!” Julie tries, but he’s already gone.

*^*^*^

Her first instinct is to run and get Luke and Alex, to tell them to poof to all the most likely spots for Reggie to be, to tell them everything that had happened and then maybe run and tell her dad too for good measure and to probably cry a little more but she--

She doesn’t.

She doesn’t know what stops her or why instead of yelling and rushing down the stairs, she takes a breath and falls back onto her couch, but… that’s what she does.

She falls back and stares at the picture she’d found a little longer and--

I hate you, she thinks. You didn’t deserve him.

And then she closes the tab without saving it.

And she doesn’t tell anybody.

*^*^*^

Reggie is a little late to rehearsal that day, but not enough to attract much notice.

He comes in cautious though. Julie sees it, since she knows to look for it.

He poofs up outside the garage and then slowly walks in and he’s waiting, she sees, for someone to say something or act weird or for them to all stop talking at once in an obvious display of “we were just talking about your breakdown earlier.” He’s tense and cautious and--

“Dude, awesome,” Luke says in greeting, waving a hand at him. “You’re here. We can get started. I think I have a killer idea for a harmony echo thing in the chorus of--”

Reggie looks suspicious for a beat longer, eyes flicking between Julie and Luke and then Alex, but Alex is too busy trying out a new spin move with his drumsticks to really be paying much attention and Luke is still droning on about his latest idea and Julie just gives him a smile. And a nod. And hopes that her eyes convey she didn’t actually say anything.

She knows it was the right call when the tension leaves Reggie’s shoulders.

Reggie gives her a smile and a nod and then they all do what they do best.

They play.

*^*^*^

That night, Julie spots her dad alone (actually alone) on the couch, fiddling with something on his laptop, and when they were playing music together, she didn’t think about it but now it all comes rushing back.

The hurt and the anger in his voice and the fact that she didn’t know what to say or do and it was the right call, not to tell anyone Reggie’s private business, she thinks, but she suddenly feels very sad again and the only thing for it is to plop down next to her dad and curl into his side.

He hums in greeting and keeps his eyes on his screen and she just enjoys it. His warmth and smell and marvels in the fact that he is always there. That she can always do this. That she has a dad who will always let her sit with him and who has to be coached into being angry and just loves her so damn much.

“Honey?” he says and he’s closing the laptop to twist and look at her. There is concern in his eyes. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says, shaking her head and trying to ignore the heat behind her eyes that tells her she might cry. “Nothing’s wrong. I just-- It’s been a long day.”

“Too much practice?” he says.

“No, not that. Just… you know. One of those days.”

“Oh okay,” he says and then he’s lifting his arm so he can wrap it around her and squeeze her more firmly into his side. “Okay.”

They sit for a long moment, just breathing and Reggie should do this, she thinks, just sit and be calm and be held and she hopes one day, he does. That he is solid enough and comfortable enough and maybe he can’t tuck all that way into her dad’s side like she can but he should still… he should still try. One day.

She knows her dad would let him.

“Thank you,” she says. “For being such a good dad.”

Her dad’s soft laugh answers her. “Well, you know that’s my job.”

“Yeah, but… also for everything else too. With the band and the music program and for-for being so good to Re-- the boys. All the boys.”

She doesn’t know if he hears the name she almost said, but he tilts his head as if he knows. He probably does somehow.

“They’re great kids,” is what he says instead.

“Still,” she insists. “I know it’s a lot. But they- he- just thank you.”

He looks at her for a long moment and finally nods.

“Anytime.”

*^*^*^

“Thanks,” Reggie says, the next day, drifting over to where she is resting on the couch while Alex and Luke get into a semi-argument, semi-productive debate on a certain rhythm. “For not saying anything to the guys.”

“No problem,” she says. “But if you want to talk more or--”

“No, no,” he says, waving a hand as if that is going to make her forget the entire thing. “It’s not a big deal. It’s--”

“Reggie.” She says it firmly. She says it and then waits until he actually looks at her. “It is a big deal. Your parents were-- They were wrong and mean and fucking horrible and if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s your right and I won’t say anything. But it is a big deal. Your feelings are a big deal. You are a big deal. So talk to me or to my dad or to no one but don’t tell me it’s not a big deal.”

Reggie blinks at her and Julie flushes. But doesn’t back down. Keeps glaring at him.

“Uh. Okay,” Reggie says. “I- I will. Or I won’t. Tell you that.”

“Good,” Julie says, nodding once. And then Alex and Luke turn back to them and it seems they have compromised (Or maybe Alex won and Luke is just saying they compromised) and they’re back to it.

*^*^*^

As far as Julie knows, he doesn’t talk about it. At least, not with her.

But, gradually, he stops hesitating before announcing himself to her dad and he starts buzzing with the same kind of energy that he does in the garage in the house and, then later, she goes downstairs for a late night snack and Carlos is there too, half-heartedly complaining that his stash has run out and he had grown accustomed to a certain style of living and--

“Ray, Ray, Ray, Ray Ray RayRay,” Reggie says, running into the house, tripping over his own feet somehow and skidding into the counter, knocking over the fruit bowl in the process. Her dad idly straightens it with one hand, the other reaching out to collect the apples and oranges that had rolled everywhere but Reggie grabs it and pulls. “You gotta see this, there’s a bird and the light-- bring your camera!”

“A bird?” her dad says, and he sounds a bit doubtful but he is already grabbing his camera.

“Huge bird,” Reggie says, waving his hands as if to indicate. “Biggest bird ever. I think it’s a condor!”

“A condor! A California condor??” her dad’s eyes go huge and then he’s throwing one camera at Reggie and grabbing another out of a drawer and there are apples and oranges everywhere and her dad almost brains himself stepping on one and flying forward but Reggie catches him and suddenly, Julie is in the kitchen by herself, surrounded by fruit, staring at a pancake her dad was supposed to flip.

She rolls her eyes and smiles to herself and grabs the spatula.

She doesn’t think they’re coming back any time soon.

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp fanfiction #my fic #reggie #ray molina #julie molina #fanfiction #bullet point fic #but it is 7k #also yes i just pulled the title from finally free #it seemed to fit

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hookingminor · 4 years

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close quarters (final) - andre burakovsky

a/n: here’s the final part! thank you all so much for your support and love for this series, and I’m so glad to finally mark it as finished! I love y’all and thanks, as usual this isn’t proofread

word count: 3,339

one / two / three / four

“Andre, stop, we have to get going,” you giggled out, but he didn’t stop his ministrations. In fact, he only tightened his grip around your middle to pull you closer into his chest.

“We can be a little late, they'll understand,” Andre mumbled into your neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses along your skin. You were in the middle of applying finishing touches to your makeup, but it was becoming a little hard to ignore your leech of a boyfriend who wouldn’t let you go.

He tugged you by the belt loops of your jeans, causing you to bend slightly as your ass dug into his crotch. You rolled your eyes at his needy actions, pulling the mascara brush away from your face before Andre made you smear it. He had been trying to seduce you into a quickie since getting to your apartment to pick you up, but you’d be damned if you missed your first team barbecue because Andre wanted to bend you over this sink.

“I don’t want to make a bad first impression by showing up too late,” you replied, swatting his hands away, though his grip would not be broken.

“You’ve already met, like, the whole team. What’s the big deal?” He asked, turning your body around by your belt loops so you could face him. His hands bracketed you between his body and the counter.

“And last time I saw them they all thought I was Tyson’s date,” you explained, raising your arms to rest on his shoulders, “They’re going to think I’m some kind of team whore or something.”

“No one thinks that,” Andre said, nudging your face to the side with his nose, “In fact, they all think it’s hilarious that Tyson had to parent trap us.” He punctuated the last sentence with a kiss on your cheek, but you gave him an unconvinced look.

The few months since the charity event passed in a blur. After you and Andre eventually got together, it didn’t take long for him to put an exclusivity clause on your relationship, which you had absolutely no problem with.

Andre made sure to more than make up for all the lost time he missed due to his stupidity, and he spent that whole week after your first date at your apartment, not that you minded. He took you on more dates: walks through downtown, dinners at fancy restaurants, hitting up the new art exhibits, taking you to Nuggets games, the whole nine yards. He also tried to play it off by saying that he never got the chance to show you around the city, and you didn’t argue with him.

However, your time together was cut in half due to the constant road trips he was going on, but you didn’t mind this either. Andre called you at least once when he was on the road just to check in on how your day was going and to hear your voice, though he never admitted that last fact to you.

It didn’t surprise you how fast you fell for him. Honestly, you were probably already half in love with him when you first started dating.

And Tyson took all the credit, to absolutely no one’s surprise. He called you instantly after Andre showed up to practice the following week, bouncing off the walls and riding a high that could only be attributed to you. Tyson was annoying about it, as expected, but you thanked him anyway for giving Andre the final push to ask you out.

“I call being the godfather of your first child, you can’t say no because I’ll be the reason the child will even exist,” Tyson said after you told him the details of your date, to which you rolled your eyes in response.

“I’m not agreeing to that, and you’re projecting really hard right now with these assumptions,” you replied, but he scoffed and said that when it did happen, he was definitely bringing it up again.

Now, you were finally attending your first team get together as Andre’s official girlfriend. He’d begged you to at least attend some home games, which you did, but you’d watched from the stands like a regular fan rather than sitting with the other wives and girlfriends.

“I talk about you constantly, they basically already know everything about you,” Andre said as he pressed a kiss against your frown lines.

“Oh, do you now?” You asked with a smirk, and Andre gave you a small smile.

“Of course I do,” he said, “They all ask me about you anyway.”

“Then I really don’t want to make a bad impression by missing the party,” you insisted, manually tearing his hands from your body, though you were met with much resistance on his part.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you?” He begged, giving you those big puppy dog eyes as he tried one last time. You were almost tempted to give in and throw him on your bed, but your desire to get to the barbecue was slightly more than your desire to jump his bones.

“Let’s get you out of here before you explode or something,” you chuckled as you left Andre standing by the sink while you stalked back to the bedroom. He shifted on his feet, slightly adjusting his pants before crossing his arms.

“Maybe if you didn’t parade around in those tight jeans,” he grumbled, unamused. You, maybe, had definitely put them on with the intention of catching his eye, but they also made your ass and legs look amazing.

“Alright, bud, let’s get going then,” you said, beckoning him forward like he was an unruly child. You didn’t miss the groan of defeat that escaped his throat, obviously conveying his discontent, as he crossed the small space to follow you out of the bedroom and out of the apartment.

Hoots and hollers were heard all around you as you entered Gabe’s house on Andre’s arm. Low whistles mixed with warm greetings, both from the guys and the girls respectively. Andre had given them all a heads-up beforehand with warnings to not make asses of themselves, but it seemed they were ignoring his requests, as always.

“Burky, who’s the babe with you?” Tyson called out from the kitchen, which resulted in a whop on the head from Mel, who told him to behave. You instinctively stepped closer to Andre, tucking your head into his shoulder to let out a small chuckle of embarrassment.

“I’m sorry,” Andre whispered into your ear before pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Please, it’s just Tyson, I can handle him,” you snorted as you followed Andre into the home. A majority of them were gathered out on the patio, the sliding door open because of all the foot traffic in and out of the house.

A bunch of the guys said their hellos as you gradually joined the crowd, and you were soon being pulled into a side hug as Tyson inserted himself between you and Andre.

“Could you be any more annoying?” You questioned him as you felt your body being torn from Andre’s due to Tyson’s wiggling. He draped his arms around both of your shoulders.

“Easily,” he said, rotating his face to give both you and Andre matching grins.

Andre rolled his eyes at Tyson’s antics, gently shoving him away until he could pull you back into his arms.

“Everyone, this is Y/N,” Andre introduced you with his hand around your waist, and you gave the group a small wave. You already knew most of the people there, so they didn’t bother introducing themselves.

“It’s about time he brought you around,” Nate piped up, “He only talks about you twenty-four, seven.” A chorus of ‘yeah’s sounded around the circle, but you just chuckled. Andre didn’t try to deny it either, they all knew how he felt about you.

“Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of you?” Calvert’s wife asked hopefully. You remembered her from the charity event, one of the girls who had welcomed you into their circle for the night, instantly taking you under her wing like the mother she was.

“I plan on keeping her around, so I’d say yes,” Andre spoke for you, and you swore you could hear Mikko fake gagging behind Andre’s back at the sweetness, though he shot you a quick wink when you caught him.

“I hate to tear this happy couple apart,” Gabe spoke up, suddenly joining the group, “but can I pull Burky aside for a few minutes? You wanted to see the new grill, right?” Andre nodded before looking at you to make sure you were okay with it, and you nudged for him to go with Gabe, a look in your eyes that said you’d be just fine alone.

It didn’t take long for the other girls to sweep you up with them as most of the guys had dispersed to check out the new grill, or whatever. You honestly couldn’t have cared less about what they were talking about as you were sure it was mundane and something only guys could like, so you were glad for the girls dragging you away to get some drinks.

Someone had slid a spiked iced tea into your hands before you knew it, and then they were immediately asking you questions.

“Where have you been? We’ve only been hounding Andre for weeks now to bring you around,” Nate’s girlfriend asked.

“Been a little busy lately,” you replied, taking a sip of the iced tea that was probably way too strong for a casual barbecue, “I didn’t want to intrude on anything.”

“Please, you could never intrude,” Mel commented, “It’s about time he began settling down anyway.” The other girls hummed their agreement.

“How’s it been going so far?” Belley’s wife asked.

“Good so far. I really like him,” you confessed, feeling your cheeks warm in embarrassment. All the girls gave you a knowing look.

“Well, he really likes you too,” Mel added, and you could tell there was a story there but you didn’t press her for details.

“He’s barely paying attention to anything Gabe’s saying,” Belley’s wife noted, gesturing towards the direction of the guys. You turned your body glance at him and sure enough, Andre was already looking at you. Your lips quirked up in a smile as you waved at him, to which he returned it with one of his own.

Someone called Andre’s attention back to whatever they were talking about, and you could practically hear the ribbing he was getting for being so smitten. A few girls ‘aw’d at the gesture while the rest began picking at you for the same exact thing.

“God, I love love,” someone gushed, but you weren’t quite sure who.

Soon, one iced tea turned into three and the few minutes you thought you were spending with the girls turned into an hour before Andre had found his way back to you.

“How are you doing?” He asked, stepping up behind you and wrapping a hand around your waist. Instinctively, you leaned your body into his, taking comfort in his presence. “Seems like someone’s had a few drinks.” Andre chuckles at your flushed face, your inhibitions lowered after the strong drinks.

“These iced teas are good,” was all you said in response, turning your face upwards to give him a wide grin.

“Yeah, Mel makes them strong,” he said, lifting his eyes from you to glance at Mel, who seemed quite pleased with herself for getting you drunk. “Come sit with me for a little bit.” Andre didn’t have to ask you twice, you were happy to follow his guidance from the kitchen to the outdoor seating.

The seats around the fire pit were nearly all full, but Andre didn’t hesitate to take the last vacant spot and tug you onto his lap. His hands immediately came to rest on your hip and thighs, and you didn’t miss the way everyone’s eyes fell on you both.

“How are you liking Denver?” JT asked when you joined the group. Normally you would’ve been self-conscious about the public displays of affection you were showing, but it must’ve been the alcohol in your system because you didn’t mind.

“I love it here,” you answered as Andre began rubbing small circles into your legs with his thumbs, “It’s different from D.C., but I’m enjoying it.”

They asked you a few more questions about work and when you were going to finally show up to a game, and you replied with ease, even jumping into conversations when the topics finally transitioned to other people.

A couple more hours passed in pleasant chat, new people coming and going every once in a while. Occasionally Andre would pull you into your own side conversation, easily getting distracted as you forgot that you were with others when he was whispering in your ear.

“Are you having a good time?” He asked, chin resting on your shoulder as you divert your attention from the current story being told to your boyfriend. Andre seemed happy enough, his cheeks were warm from the fire burning in front of you, and he was smiling as he asked the question.

“I’m having a great time, are you?” You replied, carding your fingers through his curls.

“Of course,” he said, “I’ve got my girl and my friends. What more could I want?”

“Say that any louder and they’re going to start making whip-cracking sounds,” you laughed lightly.

Andre didn’t respond. Instead, he only nuzzled his nose against your cheek, too blissed out to care about the stares you were receiving. Cupping his face, you quickly leaned down to press a kiss against his lips. When you pulled away, you were met with Andre’s dazed grin, his eyes light and full of mirth.

In Andre’s mind, this moment couldn’t get any more perfect. He’d been wanting for weeks now to introduce you to everyone, and seeing you interact and get along with them in person made all the waiting worth it. He watches you intently as you chime in with a comment and get dragged into giving them your opinions on the subject. If Andre was being honest, he wasn’t paying attention to what they were talking about, only paying attention to you and the way your eyes lit up when you laughed.

He had no doubt he probably looked like a lovesick puppy right now, but he was happy: happy with you, happy with how the team was playing, happy that for the first time in his life everything felt right.

You glanced back at him for a split second just to check in on him when it hit Andre with full force. He was in love with you.

bonus: epilogue

“Long time, no see, squirt,” Tom greeted you as he engulfed you in a hug.

“I hate it when you call me that,” you grumbled, but you knew he ignored it.

“And that’s why I continue to say it,” he chuckled, ruffling your hair before turning his attention to Andre, “Burky, how’s it going?” You watched as they did that signature bro handshake and back pat thing that all guys seemed to do no matter what the situation was.

“I feel like I’m intruding on something personal. Should I leave you guys alone?” You teased with a laugh, and they both turned to glare at you.

“Taylor says hello, by the way,” Tom said with an eye roll.

The Capitals were in Denver for a game, and Andre took it upon himself to invite them all over for dinner. Tom showed up an hour early to see you before the rest of the team got there, though you were starting to wish he would’ve just waited.

“You should’ve brought her,” you remarked. It’d been a year since moving to Denver, and you had yet to see your friend.

“Well maybe you should just come back to D.C. next time Colorado comes to get their ass kicked,” he threw back.

“Hey,” Andre called back from the kitchen, “Try saying that again after tomorrow.”

“Gladly,” Tom said, and you chuckled. Despite your boyfriend playing for Colorado, D.C. was your home and the Capitals would always be your team.

Andre dipped back into the kitchen, working on finishing up the burgers before he had to get them on the grill.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Tom said when Andre was out of sight, leaving the two of you alone on the couch.

Your lease had expired a month ago, and Andre hadn’t seen the point in you renewing it when you spent a majority of the time at his place and you agreed. A whole drawer in his dresser was already dedicated to you, and he kept your favorite shampoo and a toothbrush for you, and you’d begun helping him decorate the interior of his apartment with personalized touches to make it seem less like a hospital ward and more homey.

“He has no sense of style, so of course I had to do it all,” you joked. The apartment was coming together nicely, though. You finally brought some color into the monochrome, and you knew he loved your array of blankets even though he complained about how many you kept around the place.

“It looks a lot better than when I was here last time,” Tom said, taking one of your knitted blankets and draping it across his lap, “I’m glad you two are together. I’ve never seen him this happy.”

“Yeah, well, no thanks to you and your hands off rule,” you snorted.

“Take that up with Taylor. I wanted to introduce you back in Washington when she first brought you around, but she shot that down immediately,” Tom said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Alright you lazy ass,” Andre shouted out, “Help me with the grill.” Andre made sure to smack Tom on the side of the head as he passed the couch before he stopped next to you to place a kiss on the top of your head.

Tom cursed his discontent, throwing off the blanket before following Andre out to the balcony, but he made sure to ruffle your hair in the process. You watched the two of them out by the grill, the smiles clear on their faces though you couldn’t hear them through the closed door.

“So, planning to lock that down any time soon?” Tom asked Andre once they were secluded outside. Andre’s eyes flickered back to your figure on the couch, but you were focused on something on your phone.

“Maybe,” Andre answered vaguely, though a smirk slowly spread across his face. Truth was, he was thinking about it. It had only been a year, and he didn’t plan on proposing any time soon, but he had thought about it. “Not now, but maybe in a year or so. I started looking at rings.”

Tom raised his eyebrows in surprise. Andre obviously talked about you a lot. You were the topic of most of their conversations because he couldn’t stop gushing about you, but this was the first time Andre mentioned anything serious.

“She’s good for you,” Tom noted, and he truly felt happy for his friend. The only downside to this was Taylor was definitely going to give him hell if Andre proposed to you before Tom did to her. “Don’t fuck it up.”

Andre chuckled as he nodded his head in agreement. The conversation moved on to other topics as they awaited the arrival of the rest of the team, not wanting to spend all their time discussing you; Tom got enough of that on their occasional facetime dates.

Periodically, Andre found himself glancing back through the door to check on you, even though you didn’t move from your spot the whole half hour they were outside. It didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing, he was always looking for you. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

#nhl imagine #hockey imagines #andre burakovsky #andre burakovsky imagine #my writing #avs95 #nhl fic

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joonni · 3 years

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Christmas lights | Jimin x reader

Characters: Jimin x reader, ft. Taehyung, a bunch of 95 liners and Jungkook

Tags: friends to lovers, high school reunion

Genre: fluffy fluff🌼

Word count: 8,9k

Warnings: alcohol consumption

Summary: A reunion with your high school classmates, a lit-up Myeongdong, bustling streets full of people shopping for Christmas presents, your dear friends that you haven’t seen in so long. It already sounds like a fun evening. What you don’t expect to find out though, is the reason why Nayeon always has and still apparently hates you. And that it has to do with Jimin.

- a part of the Christmas collab by @kooala

a/n in the tags! hope you enjoy!💕

Song recs: christmas lights, from: me, love you on christmas

It looks like it’s going to snow. The air is crisp, and the thick clouds are covering Seoul like a heavy blanket. You stuff your hands into your pockets as you scold yourself for forgetting the handwarmer you bought earlier. It would come in handy now. The subway ride had warmed you up, but all of the warmth escaped your body once you climbed up the stairs and took a lungful of the cold outside air.

You’re now standing in front of the sixth exit of Myeongdong station, waiting for Wheein and Hyejin who organized this whole thing of a reunion. A sign on a nearby bus stop says it’s just one degree above zero and this new acquired piece of knowledge only makes you shiver more.

Seeing a group of high schoolers in their uniforms pass by made you reminisce those times, when life was probably a bit easier than now, even if it didn’t seem like it back then. You used to be an inseparable trio in high school, always hanging out together, spending your free time either in one of the many coin noraebangs or pc bangs around your school. It made you miss the idle afternoons spent singing your heart out into the microphones with those thin fabric covers and becoming so hungry that you each ate a whole serving of tteokbokki and then get scolded at home for being too full to eat dinner.

When you found out that you got into a different university than your two friends, you all promised to keep in touch and to meet often. Which you did, if you’d define often as once every few months.

Today was finally one of those days. You were excited to meet them both, but they could hurry up a bit. You pace around the entrance to the shopping district in an attempt to warm yourself up, the tower on top of Namsan peeking through the clouds signaling the air pollution is fairly bad by its yellowish color.

Your toes are starting to get cold and your ears are not much warmer but then you feel a weight landing around your shoulders. You jump up because of the sudden intrusion into your personal space but calm down as soon as you see two familiar faces.

“Y/n! Sorry for being late!” Wheein sheepishly grins at you, her head poking out of a giant fluffy scarf.

You know her far too well, when was she ever on time. You still haven’t lost hope with her though and always come on time.

Hyejin then adds as she sneaks her arm around yours, “I tried to make her hurry, but you know how she is.”

Wheein furrows her brows at you both as you start walking but soon joins in and locks her arm with your other one. It only makes you laugh, and you stumble, arm in arm, through the crammed streets of Myeongdong.

“Your hair is so long now, Y/n.” Hyejin comments. “I may be swayed by the bob trend, but I like short hair better. And I realized only after cutting it that long hair is such a pain.”

You chuckle at that. “My mom cut my hair short my whole childhood. Don’t you think I deserve long hair at least now?”

“Suit yourself but you’re gonna understand sooner or later that short hair is superior.”

“Yeah, sure, sure.” You brush off her words jokingly.

“Not to interrupt the hair debate but, Y/n, are you sure you’re gonna be alright if Jimin comes?”

You look at Wheein with incredulous eyes while holding on to both of your friends so that you don’t lose each other in the crowd. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m long over him. You’re both insufferable, you know that?” You say laughing and poke Wheein with your elbow.

So far, this evening looks like it’s going to be great. Having these two by your side makes you feel invincible, the same as in high school. The swarm of people blocking your way seems like a piece of cake to get through with them next to you.

The only thing that bothers you is that Hyejin with Wheein invited every single one of your classmates. It was up to them if they decided to come or not after all. They assured you that people change and grow up, that it’s been three years since you last saw everyone.

You wanted to believe your friends, but your gut feeling was telling you some people are never going to change.

The pub Wheein booked is located in one of the smaller streets that connect the main streets, and one would most likely miss it if not looking for it specifically. Your fingers slowly start to melt as you go up one flight of stairs and enter the already bustling pub, your two friends following right behind you.

As luck would have it, your eyes fall on the one person you hoped not to see. Nayeon spots you and your friends as soon as the glass door closes behind you, sending you a crooked smile. You can’t help but sigh at the sight of your high school nemesis. Right next to her sits Jisoo, a girl that never really did anything bad to you but being a bystander to Nayeon’s shenanigans was as bad in your eyes.

Why the girl didn’t like you, she never said, but she did make it obvious enough. Even now, as she stared you up and down with an irritating look.

Some people are never going to change, you thought. What a lovely start to the party.

Hyejin obviously notices the shift in your mood and pulls you by your hand to the other side of the tables booked for your class.

“Y/n, don’t let that girl ruin your mood so easily!” She sounds worried but her voice is firm. “Three years went by since you last saw everyone, are you going to let her ruin this for you? For everyone? Don’t even look her way if she’s going to act like a brat.”

You can see the sincerity of Hyejin’s words in her eyes and try to look as unbothered by Nayeon’s stare as possible.

“I know, thanks.” You give her a small smile.

It’s not easy to fool your friend, but she must have seen your will to at least try because she’s sitting you down at the table next to your friends which you haven’t seen since graduation and joining Wheein at the counter, probably because of some more organization with the pub staff.

Once the two finally join in on the fun, much more people have come and you are actually having a nice conversation with Woosik, Taehyung and a boy you weren’t sure you remembered the name of. You were talking about everything and anything that happened during the time you haven’t seen each other. Which universties the others are attending, how your homeroom teacher had quit and started her own business and that one of your classmates is already married with a child on the way.

Nayeon is still slightly getting on your nerves because you can hear her obnoxious fake laugh from the other side of the room but it’s bearable with the others distracting you. A lot has changed since high school, but of course her demeanor stayed the same.

“So, guys, the food is unlimited for that set price I sent you earlier so just remember how much you drank, got it?” You hear Wheein shout and clank a chopstick against a bottle of soju in the middle of the pub.

“I’m really happy so many of us gathered today so let’s have some fun!” She continues even louder and everyone including you shouts in celebration, some people even clapping and clinking glasses.

“Cheers!” Taehyung raises his glass over the center of your table, which happens to be a grill with sizzling meat, but people seated around you immediately join the toast. “Cheers to Jimin hopefully arriving before we get too drunk.” He then adds.

You see Woosik raising his brows in surprise. “I assumed he’s not coming since he’s not here already. What happened to our always on time class president?”

Everyone laughs at that, remembering that Jimin was always the first one in class in the morning.

Taehyung then proceeds to defend his friend after downing the shot of soju in his hand. “He’s really punctual even now. He just had something important at school he couldn’t afford to miss. But he’ll be here any minute now, I think.”

You hear Hyejin scoff. “It’s a Friday evening for God’s sake! Let us live, professors!”

A few people start complaining about the stuff their teachers make them do but before you can share your complaints about all the assignments you had to complete by the end of the semester, you hear excited welcomes from the other part of the pub. Nayeon’s squealing is especially hard to miss.

It makes everyone from your table lift their eyes to the entrance, where stands no one else than your class president.

“Speak of the devil.” Woosik says and Hyejin sends you a wicked grin and wiggles her eyebrows.

No matter how many times you told her that you really are over your high school crush, she wouldn’t believe you.

“You don’t have any closure though.” Was what both her and Wheein would tell you every time. Did you really need closure for a crush that never developed into anything more than that though?

Your high school self thought that a one-sided love was pretty great. You could like a person as much as you wanted and then stop whenever you felt like it. And you convinced your heart you felt like stopping once you graduated.

Your friends then tried setting you up with some guys, you went on dates with some of them, but the spark was never there.

At some point you managed to persuade your girls to stop trying so hard, which only reinforced their belief that Jimin was still occupying a part of your heart.

“Jimin!” Taehyung jumps up from his seat, soju bottles on the table shaking and the chair he was sitting on almost falling over.

You see Jimin’s features soften as his excited and a bit tipsy friend tightly hugs him like a koala.

He looks so different from the boy you used to have a crush on. His hair is now longer and a silverish color, both of his ears pierced by two small golden hoops, he’s wearing a bright red cardigan under a long black coat and black boots that make him look taller than what you remember.

The one thing that hasn’t visibly changed is the way his eyes turn into half-moons when he smiles.

Your heart does a flip when his eyes stop on yours for a while, that smile still plastered on his face.

Maybe you do need closure after all.

When you wake up from your daze, Taehyung is already dragging a free chair to your table, making Woosik and the other boy scoot over so that they can all fit.

Like that, you find yourself seated right across from Jimin, stealing glances at him while trying to keep track of the conversation as well as your composure. It could be just your imagination, but you feel his eyes on you too. You’re just not brave enough to face him, not trusting yourself judging from the glitch in your brain his mere presence caused.

The waitress brings a new glass and a plate for Jimin and as soon as she turns around, everyone’s attention is on the latecomer. Hyejin compliments his hair color but Taehyung immediately gushes that the pink he had on before was so much better.

“I got tired of it, Tae. Why don’t you dye your own hair, huh?” Jimin rustles his friend’s overgrown curly hair as he defends his hair color choice.

“I treasure my hair more than to bleach it.”

“You sure do. That’s why you‘ve gotten it permed.”

“Yah, Jimin! You don’t have to call me out like that.” You all crack up at that, Taehyung’s face turning into a sulking grimace.

Even though Jimin looks so different, he still seems to be the same boy inside, cracking jokes with Taehyung yet appearing to be the calmer one of the boys.

Some shots of soju and classmates’ stories later, Hyejin starts grumbling about the other table. “I thought Nayeon would calm down, but she’s still the same, huh?”

“I seriously don’t understand how Jisoo tolerates that girl’s temper.” You add. “I don’t even know what I did for her to hate me so much.” A pout forms on your lips.

“Right!” Hyejin is leaning in your direction to hold your hand with both of hers. “She’s never had a real reason to be so mean to our Y/n.”

“Wait, you seriously don’t know why she didn’t like Y/n?” Woosik then asks.

You look at him with a puzzled expression, your eyes then falling on Jimin who is seemingly… blushing?

“How would you of all people know that, Woosik?” Hyejin squints her eyes at your classmate who only chuckles and pats the blushing boy’s shoulder before continuing.

“She had the biggest crush on Jimin!”

“And…?” You pause, taking in Jimin’s embarrassed face. “What’s that to do with me?” You were confused to say the least.

Hyejin was more bored than anything by his statement. “Everyone knows that, Woosik. She walked around having it practically written on her forehead all throughout high school.”

You notice Jimin is pouring himself a shot and downing it right away, as if trying to catch up with the rest of you. You feel like everyone except for Hyejin and yourself knows some amazing secret that they were never kind enough to share.

“Ouch!” Woosik then cries out. “What was that for?” The table trembles a little.

Taehyung shakes his head at him. “Woosik, you sure talk too much when you’ve had something to drink.” He forces a smile that looks more intimidating than friendly. Jimin sitting between them is just looking down at the table, as if the plate in front of him was the most interesting thing in the world right now.

“You’re so secretive guys!” Hyejin whines, leaning on her hands against the table. “Tell me, tell me.” She seems already drunk by the way she can’t sit straight and also by the fact she can’t read the atmosphere.

“I’m gonna use the restroom for a bit.” You quickly make your escape from the tense air that surrounded your table. As you take a peek over your shoulder at where you were sitting a few seconds ago, Hyejin is still whining about them not letting her in on the secret and Wheein is just moving to yet another spot, probably trying to talk to every single person present tonight.

When you wash your hands and look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, your clouded mind wanders to the previous conversation again. If you think about how Woosik put it, it almost sounds like… like Nayeon didn’t like you because you were in her way, blocking her from snatching Jimin.

You’re pretty sure you never told no one about your crush, apart from your two friends whom you trusted to not spill anything. Also, she wouldn’t hate you just because of that, right? Other girls, God knows maybe even guys, must have been crushing on Jimin, so why would she hate you of all people?

Lost in thought and wiping the water from your hands in your trousers on your way back, you’re suddenly stopped by a wall. Wait, a wall? You lift your head to inspect the soft obstacle that has made you stop and the sight you’re met with is enough to make your heart skip a beat.

Jimin is standing mere inches away from you, looking as confused and dumbfounded as you.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. You okay?” he asks, his voice laced with concern, both arms gently holding your shoulders.

You take a quick step back from him. “I’m alright. Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Can it be more awkward than this, you cry out in your mind and you pace out of the dim corridor. Jimin’s appearance managed to agitate you once again tonight.

“Y/n…!” Jimin’s voice stops you in your tracks. “I’m… I’m sorry for that earlier. The air became so heavy, I’m not even surprised you ran off from that table. You’re not upset, right?” He hesitates a little on that last sentence and you see a shy smile spreading on his features when you face him again.

As expected of the attentive and kind class president, always caring for others before thinking about himself.

Shaking your head, you reply. “I have no reason to be. If anyone should be upset, it’s you.” You shoot him a sheepish smile. “You looked pretty uncomfortable when the topic was brought up.”

“Ah.” Is what falls out of Jimin’s mouth and he reaches for the back of his neck, rubbing the spot hesitantly. “I know I’m supposed to treat everyone objectively as the former class president but… Nayeon is a bit too much to handle, you know?”

“Yeah, she was always a force to be reckoned with. Especially when it comes to you.”

“Right…” He sighs. “Sorry again for bumping into you like that.”

“It’s really nothing, Jimin. Don’t worry.” At that, he only smiles and passes you in the way to the bathroom.

You return to the table only to find Hyejin almost laying on the table face-front, mumbling something about Taehyung being a meanie. A long exhale escapes your lips at the thought of helping Wheein carry Hyejin to their apartment.

“Who’s down for round two?” Taehyung asks, hands busy playing with the strap of a cap from some soju bottle. “This place is dying down!”

“Let’s git it!” Hyejin mumbles and slaps one of her palms against the table surface. Both Woosik and Taehyung look at her with disbelief but start laughing after a while.

“Hyejin, you’re going home.” You scold her as if she were a kid. “No more drinks for you tonight, girl.”

“Y/n, I can take her home just fine, you go have your fun.” All of a sudden Wheein appears next to you and flashes you a brief wicked grin right after finishing her sentence.

“Whee, are you sure?” You send her a concerned look, baffled by the timing of her appearance. “I know how she gets when she’s had too much soju.”

She just waves her hand at you dismissively. “Don’t worry about her so much. We’re gonna get home just fine. It’s the opposite direction from your place anyways.”

“Okaaay, so Y/n is coming with us!” Taehyung then announces right as Jimin comes back. “Woosik? You down?”

“Sure, let’s burn this Friday down!”

Taehyung then continues, turning to the silver haired boy. “Jimin, you have no right to object. You came late so you need to make up for it.”

You were about to reject the invitation but Jimin was faster at replying. “Guess I have no choice.” He then lifted his gaze at you. “Let’s try to stay the more sober ones, Y/n. These two are already doomed to have a bad hangover anyways.” He gestures to Taehyung and Woosik. “Sounds like a plan?”

The idea of leaving drunk Hyejin with tipsy Wheein and staying out with the guys suddenly didn’t seem that bad. The things you do because of him.

“Sounds like a plan.” You repeat, the meaning of the words only sinking in once the guys are getting up and heading to the counter, searching their respective pockets for wallets to pay the dinner with.

“Go have fun, Y/n!” Wheein encourages you. She knows you don’t go out to party that often but there’s probably another reason why she’s so fervent about it. That reason being the boy that’s now heartily laughing at something Taehyung has said.

“I guess I owe you one, Wheeinie.” You say as you hug your girl friend tightly. “Get home safe and text me if Hyejin survived.”

“Don’t mention it. But I want updates about you and your prince charming!” the mischievous look coming back to her face.

Before you can retort to her request, the three boys are gesturing for you to hurry up. “Y/n, let’s go!” Taehyung shouts across the pub.

His loud voice makes a few people lift their heads, most of them just waving their goodbyes to you four.

Right as you smile and thank the waitress after getting back your card from her, you hear that high-pitched voice again.

“Jimin! Are you leaving?” Of course it’s Nayeon.

At that, Taehyung turns his back towards the pub and starts pushing Jimin out through the glass door, as if in panic. Woosik tags along and seen you don’t want to spare that girl a single look more, you bow to the waitress one last time and follow the three of them onto the stairs and down. The chilly air hits you right when you step out of the door and you hurriedly put on your scarf, a shiver running down your spine nevertheless. The things you would do to have Wheein’s chunky scarf right now.

The narrow street was completely empty except for the four of you and one older guy leaning against a building a few meters away, cigarette smoke leaving his mouth as he spares your group one look before minding his own business again.

You were never scared of the night but having three friends next to you made you feel very safe. Myeongdong may be a relatively small and safe district, but these alleyways are scary anywhere.

“Do you guys know any good spots around here?” You remember that no one mentioned where you were headed for the second round of drinks.

“Don’t worry, miss, I know of a lovely place around Jongno.” Taehyung says in a lively tone. “It’s called XX. A brilliant name for a bar, don’t you think?” He then stumbles a few steps forward, apparently more drunk than you thought.

“He’s just saying that because he has the fattest crush on the bartender there.” Woosik scoffs with a laugh. “It’s a nice place though. Not too loud and it has a nice ambience.”

Jimin then speaks up, way more sober than the two boys who are leading the way. “I’m gonna have to trust you on that too. You’re finally showing me the place, Tae.”

You then watch a scene of the two of them bickering about Jimin not making enough time for Taehyung so that he could show him the bar and the bartender lady he likes so much unfold in front of your eyes. It feels like you traveled three years in time, back to your teenage years, except you’re tipsy and out after midnight in the city center. Woosik is laughing at the two friends’ antics and you join in.

Joking around with them like this makes you relax even when you’re still trembling from the cold when the wind gets under your jacket. The nervousness you felt during the evening when you were around Jimin long forgotten.

The streets of Myeongdong are now almost empty compared to the amount of people you saw earlier that night. You exit the district, cross Euljiro where at this time of the day are only taxis waiting for their drunk customers and lastly you cross a bridge over Cheonggyecheon where you stop your steps, even though the wind is stronger here.

The way the trough of the stream is decorated with Christmas themed lanterns and various lights is mesmerizing to say the least. You marvel at the delicate snowflake-shaped lanterns that hang above the water surface as if they were falling.

Only when Taehyung calls out your name, you realize that the three boys kept walking while you stayed behind, bewitched by the beauty of your surroundings.

“It’s so pretty!” You shout back at them, your voice louder than usual thanks to all the soju in your system. Stretching out your arms, you point at the lanterns and wave at the three of them to come and take a look at the decorated stream too.

Taehyung wobblingly rushes back first, almost bumping into you as he leans against the bridge right next to you. Jimin follows right behind, circling around you and leaning against the railing from your other side.

“Waah, it looks like we’re in a fairytale!” The curly boy marvels at the sight of the illuminated water stream. “We should take a picture! Let’s take a picture!”

Woosik then joins you in slow strides. “You’re impossible. First you rush to see the bartender and now we’re taking pictures. Fine.” A sigh escapes his mouth, but he still stretches out his arm as a sign for Taehyung to give him his phone.

Before you or Jimin have a chance to protest against the idea, Woosik is taking a few steps back with Taehyung’s phone pointed in your direction.

“One, two… Jimin, what’s with that stiff smile. At least stick a bit closer to each other, it looks like a very bad family picture right now.” Woosik comments while switching his attention from the screen to you three.

Taehyung does as he’s told, squishes closer against your body but retorts to Woosik’s comment feigning annoyance. “Since when were you so passionate about photography?”

Jimin leans closer against you too. The one with a stiff smile is now probably yourself. When was the last time someone’s bare proximity made you this flustered? The speed of your racing heart only amplifies when Jimin’s arm slips around your waist. He’s suddenly so close that you catch a whiff of his perfume, only making you dizzier.

“Okay, whatever. My fingers are gonna freeze off.” Woosik’s voice brings you back to reality. “One, two, three, kimchi!”

It took you a few seconds to register, but you burst out laughing at his cheesy way of telling you to smile. “Who even says that anymore?”

You feel Jimin’s hold on you tighten as he can’t hold his laughter either. You remembered it was a habit of his to fall onto the thing closest to him when he was laughing, but actually being the object in question is very endearing.

“You’re so cute when you’re drunk, Woosik.” Jimin manages to get out as his body shakes with laughter.

“Hmph.” Woosik huffs. “Let’s go Tae.”

Your heart does a flip when the boy holding you looks you in the eyes, his own still resembling two crescent moons. “Let’s hurry, you must be cold.” He says, head motioning to Woosik and Taehyung who took off already and his arm letting go of your waist.

The reply you manage to give him is a simple nod, afraid your voice would give away the state he put you in.

“Here.” Jimin offers. You look down to his extended arm, only to spot a pair of gloves in his hand. “They’re really warm, put them on.”

What is he so kind for, you internally scream. “Ah, thank you.” You say as you accept the garment from him with a smile. “Won’t you be cold though?”

“I’ll be fine. Or you can always hold my hand and share some of the warmth.”

It takes you a while to process what he just said but when you do, your eyes widen and you feel heat rising to your cheeks.

“Come on, let’s go or we’re gonna lose them.” Jimin grins and begins walking in the same direction as your two other friends.

Was he always this flirty or is that the soju he downed speaking? Anyhow, it made you feel all giddy because you’ve never before witnessed him acting like this. Not that you ever had a chance to see him tipsy since you weren’t allowed to drink yet back then.

As you catch up with the two that are leading your way, you’re tempted to really hold Jimin’s hand like he told you to, but the liquid courage doesn’t come that easy to you. Jimin never said he was joking, yet you can’t seem to shake the thought that he’s just very kind and would give up his gloves for any of his friends.

With Jimin occasionally sending a smile your way, the four of you made your way to the bar. A small neon sign above the entrance spells “XX”, purple light from it and from the lights along the stairs that lead you below the ground level illuminating your steps.

If it wasn’t for Taehyung leading the way, you’d think it’s some sketchy club. Your opinion immediately changes once you set foot on a soft red carpet that covers the dark wooden floor. A few guests are sitting in leather armchairs that are placed around delicate looking tables, soft warm light coming from little lamps illuminates the space and Christmassy jazz music plays in the background. Though the whole room is a sight to behold, the wall of liquor bottles behind the long bar counter steals the spotlight.

Behind the counter you see a woman, maybe in her late twenties, hair tied neatly in a low bun, her bangs making her look elegant but youthful at the same time. By the frozen reaction of Taehyung, it’s most likely the bartender Woosik mentioned earlier on.

She’s very attractive, wearing a black shirt tucked neatly into her trousers but slightly unbuttoned at the neck and a golden name tag pinned on her chest. If it wasn’t for your crush on Jimin occupying most of your mind, you’d probably girl crush on her big time.

You follow Taehyung who takes a seat on one of the bar stools, closer to the bartender than at a table but still far from where she’s standing. The stools are more comfortable than they look, and you feel more tense about Jimin’s proximity than about your feet barely reaching the footrest.

“Good evening, what can I get for you?” the bartender asks, looking at you.

“Uhm…” it was your first time in a western-style bar like this and all of the bottles on display right in front of your eyes made it look intimidating. “Would you recommend me something?”

Dreading her reaction, you were pleasantly surprised to see a warm smile spreading on her lips. “Would you prefer something sweeter or something that’s more on the bitter side?”

After a moment of hesitation, you answered. “Sweet, please.”

“I’ll think of something for you, then.” She reassures you and you notice the shiny name tag on her shirt spells Hani. “And for you, gentlemen?”

As she turns to them, you see Taehyung rub his hands on his legs, probably sweaty because of the nervous state he’s in.

“I’ll have an Old Fashioned.” Jimin orders with assurance and Woosik follows by ordering a simple Cuba Libre. When it’s Taehyung’s turn to choose a drink, a silence spreads across the counter.

“Should I bring you the usual?” Hani proposes after a while.

At that, the curly boy nods and answers with a quiet “Yes, please.”

The bartender nods as well and proceeds to prepare the drinks. No sooner than she turns around, Woosik starts teasing the other boy about their brief but awkward interaction. You too were surprised that the always loud and outgoing boy became so timid in front of the bartender, but your thoughts are dispersed soon.

“Noona!” You hear a voice that seems somehow very familiar but Jimin’s expression shifts into a dubious one at the sound of it. Once you peer in the direction it came from, you’re met with a beaming face of your hoobae from your English class.

“Ah! What a coincidence.” The boy leans on the empty bar stool where you set your purse and Jimin’s gloves. “You’re not here with anyone?” It was out of his character to be out at a bar like this. Or at least out of the character he presented himself with at school.

Jimin’s attention is now on you, and it could be just your dizzy consciousness messing with you, but you swear you feel him move closer to you, his scent stronger than a while ago.

“Here’s the Old Fashioned, and a Soul Kiss for you.” Hani slides the drinks in front of you in a graceful manner. “I hope the drink suits your taste.”

You nod and thank the bartender.

“I’m here with Lisa, noona.” He says in a hushed voice as soon as Hani moves closer to the other two boys..

Your eyes widen at his words. “You finally asked her out!”

The younger boy’s cheeks turn to a pale peachy color, unable to hide his shyness at your statement. “Sort of… I’m working on it.” He then replies, fidgeting with the hem of his sky-blue shirt that fits him like a glove. The tension that momentarily formed between Jimin and the younger boy disappearing at once.

“I told you she has a thing for you.” You playfully poke at his shoulder. “Ah, right! I haven’t introduced you two. Jimin, this is Jungkook, my hoobae.” When you turn your head in Jimin’s direction, he’s closer than expected but you try to keep your cool. You don’t bother introducing him to the other two, because there seems to be no end to their bickers.

“Nice to meet you, Jimin-ssi.” A smile blooms on Jungkook’s face, showing his bunny teeth. “Are you noona’s boyfriend?”

The younger one’s bluntness almost makes you choke on the sip of alcohol you just took, blocking any words from coming out of your mouth to reply to his curious eyes. Jimin does the job for you though, all while leaning even closer to you so that Jungkook hears him better.

“Unfortunately, I’m not. We went to high school together.”

His statement makes your heart sprint. Did he really just say that?

Jungkook’s eyes grow in size, a mischievous grin making its way on his delicate features. “It’s great keeping in touch with old friends, right?”

“It would be a shame to lose precious friends just because you don’t go to school with them anymore.” Jimin adds.

“Of course!” The standing boy nods but stills shortly after. “Ah! Lisa’s back, can’t leave her waiting.” His playful attitude now slightly stiffer. “It was nice meeting you, Jimin-ssi. See you in class, noona.” The suggestive eyebrow wiggle he manages to send without Jimin noticing makes you clench your fist.

“Yah!” You chide not so subtly.

Jimin truly didn’t notice Jungkook’s grimace because he’s looking at you with confusion written all over his face. “Why scold him, he seems like a nice kid.”

“He’s nice, but…” You honestly didn’t have anything to defend yourself with.

“But?”

“He likes to tease everyone. Including those older than him.” You reply after giving it a bit more thought. “Except for Lisa, the girl sitting opposite to him. He becomes putty in her hands.” You motion to the pair with your head.

“Seems like someone we both know.” Jimin adds as he looks over to Taehyung.

You can’t help but giggle. Taehyung was like a different person in the presence of Hani. But who are you fooling, Jimin has a similar effect on you too.

“I guess you don’t go to bars that often.” Jimin asks and sips on his drink, a pleased smirk forming on his face after placing the glass back down.

“I don’t even go out that often to begin with…” Your words drift off.

“Really? You don’t seem that fazed by the amount of soju we had at the pub earlier.”

“I’ve always had a pretty good tolerance.” You take a sip of the orangey liquid in your glass. Your higher tolerance of alcohol was something you weren’t too fond of though. It made it harder to lose some inhibitions like other people. The liquid courage was never something you could achieve with an acceptable number of shots and getting wasted to the point of not remembering what you were doing was never your thing. “I hope it’s not limited only to Korean drinks though.”

“I guess we’ll see.” Jimin chuckles at your statement.

“How’s the kiss?”

“What?” Your eyes shoot up in his direction.

“The drink.”

“Ah.” An obvious blush spreads across your cheeks. “Yeah… It’s- It’s sweet. I like it.”

“Do you wanna try mine? It’s a little bitter though.” He offers.

“Sure.” You don’t think you’re going to exactly enjoy his drink of choice but you’re too curious as to what Jimin’s taste is to not have a sip.

He slides the low glass closer to your hand and you pick it up, briefly examining the contents’ color. Your face scrunches into a grimace as the liquid hits your taste buds.

“So bitter!” You let out after putting the glass back down on the counter.

Even though the sip you just took wasn’t a pleasant experience, Jimin’s reaction definitely is. Supporting himself by his hands on the counter, he’s falling over with laughter.

“You’re really cute, you know that?”

Jimin, you’re really blunt when you’ve had something to drink, you know that? You answered in your mind with a question.

“You expressed the taste so well with your face.” He’s still laughing.

“Why do you drink it, then?” You ask with a pout, stealing glances at his laughing form.

“I like this kind of taste.”

The silver haired boy proceeds to swipe his hair back, only for it to fall into its former place. You also don’t fail to notice the short swipe of his tongue over his lips. It suddenly makes you wonder what kissing him would taste like. Like the bitter drink he sips on? Or would the sweetness of your cocktail overpower it? You try to imagine the taste but there’s not one good comparison you can think of.

“Y/n,” Jimin starts after a short silence due to your mind wandering off. “Do you want to know the reason why the girl we barely avoided earlier disliked you? But if you don’t feel like talking about it, we don’t ha-”

That definitely woke you up from your thoughts, not even giving you the opportunity to blush. “I don’t really mind… But you seemed quite bothered by it in the pub. Why bring it up?”

“Well… It has to do with you after all.”

“I don’t-“

“Back in eleventh grade, Nayeon overheard one conversation she wasn’t supposed to hear, hell, nobody was supposed to hear.” Jimin visibly shifts in his seat, gripping the glass in front of him a bit tighter. “I told Taehyung something that I’m a little scared to say to you even now.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Your worried look easing his unnerved figure slightly, shaking his head.

“No, no. It’s not you. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Jimin lets out a huff. “It’s me. I was being careless.” He pauses for a moment, eyes lingering on yours until you evade his gaze. “I told Taehyung that I like you. And she overheard it. So… It’s my fault she was so hostile towards you. I’m sorry.”

The words ‘I like you’ ring in your head, almost muting what he said afterwards. You stay frozen, your heart about to give out from the speed it’s beating at.

“Jimin… I-”

“I’m really sorry, I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t listen to anything I was saying.”

“Do you mean that?” you take a quick sip from your glass, praying the liquid would give you the courage you need.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry.” Jimin’s eyes drop down.

“No, wait, why weren’t those words in the past tense?”

“What do you mean?”

“Jimin, do you… do you like me?” You gather your courage.

“I- I…” He stutters before nodding. “Yeah, I like you.”

“Jimin…” you place your hand over his that is clutching his drink with too much force. He tenses at the contact but eases his grip soon enough. “Why did you never tell me?”

After a silence that followed your question, you can’t help but continue, the alcohol taking control of your voice. “I guess for the same reason I never told you…”

“Huh?” A confused murmur escapes his mouth.

“I had a huge crush on you during high school.” You sheepishly admit, your hands letting go of his and retreating closer to your body. “But I was never bold enough to tell you and you were out of my league. Being friends with you was more than enough for me.”

Jimin sips on the drink he was clutching so hard just a while ago and hums. “That means you don’t feel the same way anymore. It’s understandable, I’m the foolish one here when it’s been three years since we last spoke.”

There’s a sadness that spreads on his features even though the corners of his lips curl slightly up.

“I was convinced about it until a few hours ago.” You confess. “But now I feel like I’m seventeen again.”

“Jimin,” a voice interrupts you before Jimin manages to reply. It’s Woosik. He’s on his feet already, supporting wobbly Taehyung as the gets up from the bar stool. “We’re gonna get going. Tae’s had enough. Are you coming with us?”

He pauses after examining the situation he intervened in some more because of the silence that spreads around you. Both you and Jimin are looking elsewhere, his hands fiddling with his drink and yours clenched tightly in your lap. “Did I interrupt something here?”

The boy sitting next to you replies. “I’ll stay some more. We still have a lot to talk about with Y/n, isn’t that right?”

You nod and shift your focus on the two standing boys. They don’t seem to be too concerned about you and Jimin, focusing on standing straight and not forgetting any of their belongings.

“Get home safe, you guys.”

“You always end up so drunk, Taehyung. You’re unbelievable.” Jimin says but pats his friend on the shoulder.

Woosik only snorts. “Why is it always me taking him home?”

“Maybe because he’s always willing to pay for the cab and you live in the building next to his place?” Jimin retorts playfully.

“I hate you.” Is the only thing Woosik says goodbye with before heading to the staircase leading out.

“Love you too.”

Woosik butting in ended up lifting up the awkward tension between you two because you let out an unrestrained laugh, Jimin soon joining in.

“You guys really haven’t changed one bit.”

“You neither.” Jimin leans his chin against his hand, all while studying you with his eyes. “Only your hair got longer, and you’re not wearing a school uniform.”

“Oh? That’s all?” You pout.

“And you got even prettier.” He grins.

The instinct to hide your face behind your palms kicks in at once but Jimin is faster to get a hold of your hand, lightly holding it and kneading circles into it with his thumb. The soft gesture causes you to almost melt under his touch, biting on your lip.

“We may as well be the biggest fools on Earth, Jimin.” Your hand in his hold shifts so that you can intertwine your fingers with his.

“I know… Now I feel really bad, I’m sorry.” Jimin apologizes again but tightens his grip on your hand.

“Okay, no more saying sorry tonight. We can’t do anything about the past anyways.”

“Does that mean that you want to do something about the present?” A flirty smile returns to his face.

“I mean… Only if you want to.” Where did your confidence from a while ago disappear to, you’ll never know.

“I sure do.”

You look at each other for a while without saying a word but start giggling when the silence becomes too much.

“I can’t believe this.” You glance at your intertwined fingers, then at the boy’s brown eyes, taking in the tender look he’s giving you. “Doesn’t stuff like this happen only in movies?”

“Hmm, I’d say we’re living proof it happens in reality too.”

“Was the drink to your liking?” Hani inquires when she notices your glass is empty.

“Oh, yes, it was delicious. Thank you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” After collecting the emptied glass, the bartender turns to Jimin with a softer look occupying her face. “Is the man that walked out leaning on his friend’s shoulder okay? He seemed very drunk…” Her words drift off.

“Ah, you mean Taehyung? He’s going to survive. You don’t have to worry about him too much.” Jimin answers a little startled.

“Taehyung…” Hani repeats after him, collecting the glass in front of him as well.

“Should I pass him your number?”

The bartender’s eyes shoot open at his suggestion. “I shouldn’t be doing this during my work hours…” After hesitating for a short while though, she swiftly takes out a business card out of her shirt pocket and slips it close to Jimin. He only winks at her and hides the paper in his back pocket. Hani then dashes off to busy herself with work, cheeks slightly flushed.

“Wow, are we really not in a movie? Do you think she likes Tae?” You say, after letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“I’d say it’s clear as day.”

“Cupid must be busy tonight.” You let a sigh escape when you spot your hoobae in the back of the bar and motion his way by lifting your chin.

Lisa is leaning against him, sitting side by side in a small sofa looking extremely comfortable. Jungkook’s arm is holding her shoulder, pressing her body tighter to his, a humongous grin plastered on both of their faces.

“One would think you’re jealous, Y/n!” Jimin teases.

You can’t help but pout at his accusation. “I’m just surprised by this outburst of luck and love from the universe.”

“Well, it’s Christmas soon.”

“Do you believe in Christmas miracles?” you ask Jimin.

“I think I might from now on.”

“Cheesy!” You punch his arm lightly.

“Yes, yes.” Jimin’s resigned reply makes you both giggle. “Should we get going too? Leave those two a little privacy.”

You snort at his words. “I’ll probably hear about it all from Jungkook the next time I see him anyways. But I feel like my wallet can’t take many more of these drinks. Let’s go.”

The night air is crisp but there’s some humidity that makes it feel colder than it actually is. A pout is slowly dissolving below your scarf as Jimin intently insisted that he was going to pay for your drink as well. Because he made you stay out longer and dragged you along to Taehyung’s bar of choice. You squeeze the pair of gloves he lent you earlier and burry your chin even more into the scarf that Jimin helped wrapping around your neck.

“You must be cold.” Jimin’s neck is pretty much exposed to the freezing air but he still shakes his head in denial.

“I’m good.” He then reaches out for your hand and your palms mold into each other as if it was the most natural thing. “Do you want to see the lanterns some more? You looked bewitched by it on the way here.”

“It was so pretty! Can’t blame me.” You hope the scarf around your shoulders and the darkness make the blush on your cheeks less visible but then you stop, making him turn around and face you. “Wait, Jimin, is that it? Are you trying to find excuses not to go home yet?”

“Is it that obvious?” Jimin fakes a laugh.

“Well, I want to spend more time with you too.” His eyes widen for a little bit as a current of wind ruffles his hair but then he smiles again. “Let’s go, before you freeze to death.”

“I’m not cold, Y/n!”

“Yes, yes.”

It was how comfortable he made you feel, joke around with you, yet still making your heart flutter. Just that. No other guy was able to evoke that kind of feeling in you. Just by walking next to you, holding your hand, softly bumping into each other’s shoulders on your tipsy feet.

The wind is playing with his silver hair, sometimes revealing a little more of his forehead and you almost forget to look where you’re walking as your eyes are engrossed in studying his features. The lanterns hung above the stream are of no big interest to you, mind occupied by the man next to you.

“Isn’t it too cold here?” Jimin asks, concerned.

You walked down to the path that is directly next to the icy water to see the scenery from a different perspective but failed to consider that. Water really made the air colder.

“We can just walk closer to each other.”

Jimin then guides your hand that he’s holding into the pocket of his coat but doesn’t let go. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“Do what? Walk next to Cheonggyecheon at two in the morning in freezing weather?” You tease.

“This.” He says as he gives your hand a gentle squeeze. “Give me your other hand.” Jimin requests and halts his steps. You comply right away, stuffing his gloves you’ve been holding into his still empty pocket along with both of your intertwined hands, leaving you standing face to face.

“It’s so warm.” You purr as his body heat reaches your skin. “But your neck still looks very cold.”

“It’s not like I will freeze when my pockets are this warm.” He defends himself with a smug smile.

Obviously not enough to convince you, before thinking twice, you close the distance between your bodies and lay your chin on his shoulder. You catch a whiff of his scent and the intimacy of standing so close to Jimin makes you melt against him.

Just then something cold lands on your nose.

“Y/n! It’s snowing!” Jimin lets out, excitement in his voice.

White fluffy snowflakes slowly fall all around you and fill the night sky. Everything seems quiet, as if the time has stopped, but the snow continues to fall, disappearing once hitting the ground.

“You know what they say about the first snow.” Jimin speaks up again. “If you’re together with someone during the first snowfall...”

He pulls away slightly, leaving your hands in his pockets and cups your face with his warm hands. You notice a few snowflakes get stuck in his hair, but they melt too soon for you to brush them away.

“You will stay together for a long time.”

“Hmm, I want to believe that.” You say, hands tightening in fists in Jimin’s pockets when you feel him pull you closer.

“Me too.” He almost whispers before his lips find yours, hasty at first, only slowing down when your arms encircle his waist.

You were right. No drink a bartender can mix can possibly come close to this. The keen movement of his lips still manages to be soft, sending shivers down your spine as he tucks a strand of loose hair behind your ear. Why drink alcohol when there’s something as addictive as this.

It seems you’re not the only one thinking that. No sooner than you pull away to catch your ragged breath, Jimin’s lips crash onto yours once more, this time in a more fervent manner, as if you’d disappear if he stopped.

You have an urge to pinch yourself just to make sure this is not a dream but the cold reassures you it’s not. Snow is still falling onto you both, lanterns swaying above your heads, but the only thing you can focus on is the man kissing your lips and his arms wrapped around you.

“Jimin-” You let out when he breaks the kiss, only to stare deep into your orbs and hum as a sign for you to continue. “I like you a lot.”

Jimin can’t contain the smile that overtakes his face, leaning his forehead against yours.

“You don’t even know how happy that makes me… Because I like you a lot too.”

“I know.” You plant a peck on his freezing nose and barely escape his counterattack.

You must look like a pair of fools, giggling and chasing each other in the middle of such a cold night, trying to steal kisses from one other, but you couldn’t care less.

As long as you’re with Jimin.

Epilogue:

Beagles 00:24 am

Whee: You should have seen Nayeon after you guys left hahaha

Whee: She made a ruckus that she couldn’t even talk to Jimin when she was ogling Dowoon the whole time

Hyejinie: Gets on my nervres so mu

Beagles 00:26 am

Whee: Hyejin dropped her phone lol

Whee: Hope you’re doing better than this wasted missy, Y/n

Beagles 01:03 am

Whee: Just got home

Whee: You should see Hyejin hahahahh

Whee: …

Whee: I really hope that you not replying is a good sign and you’re not passed out somewhere

Whee: I trust you Y/n!

Beagles 11:01 am

You: Should I start believing in Christmas miracles too?

#jimin fanfic #bts fanfic #jimin fluff #bts fluff #jimin x reader #jimin oneshot #jimin x yn #bts christmas fic #mine #writing #내 꺼 #OKAY SO I.. this is my first //finished// attempt at a fic #please don't be mean🥺 but then constructive criticism is welcome😊#silver haired jimin is one of my weaknesses and if he's not yours yet then brace yourself #in other words this is just sappy christmas fluff with me missing seoul a whole lot #can't believe it's been exactly 2 years since I came back home ;;#there's also a reference to XX - a web drama #and before you kill me I know woosik isn't even close to being a 95 liner but he just fit there okay #I hope you enjoy and get some fluffy christmas vibes from this🥰💕

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