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gurugirl · 2 months

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Best Valentine's Day | bfd!harry

Summary: It's Valentine's Day and Harry's got something special planned.

A/N: They're back! Happy 💘Valentine's💘 Day my loves!

Word Count: 4.2k

Warning: 18+ only, smut, fluffy, the briefest tiniest bit of angst

Best Friend's Dad!Harry masterlist

Harry remembers well, that day. The day he decided to go to your apartment and finally give in to the tension that had been between you two. He didn’t know why. He wasn’t sure if he would really go through with it. He thought maybe he’d see you in your own space with your big smiling eyes and he’d snap out of it. He hoped he’d snapped out of it. He hoped he’d stop thinking about you the way he was.

But no. That’s not true. He had to face the truth. He did want something to happen. He instigated. He fantasized and he made it a point to have a reason to come see you. And yes, he did want to make sure you were okay after breaking up with your boyfriend, but it was all born of selfish things. He wanted you. Even if it was just a dirty secret, there was something about testing the waters with you that he always looked forward to.

And once he got to know you as more than just his daughter’s friend he didn’t want it to end. Once he got to have you in bed and wake up lazy in the morning to you wanting more of him and how easy it was to not get caught. Then secret texts, long conversations, quick visits to see your face in the morning over a cup of coffee before he had to be at work… then he found he wanted even more. He didn’t just want to pop in and get his dick wet and leave. He wanted to talk to you and hold you and laugh. He liked the way you looked at him and the way you said his name and how you’d pout when he had to leave.

“What are you thinking about?” You reached across the table to poke at his cheek. He seemed pensive. And lately, that was the norm. You were both stressed. The divorce was stressful for you both.

Harry had to prove that he hadn’t spent all that much money on you. His ex was going after him for cheating and had accused him of spending his money on you when it should have gone to the household or their combined savings. But the truth was he really hadn’t spent that much money on you during the course of your relationship.

It was flowers and some jewelry and groceries and small things. Not rent and car payments like she was trying to prove. Which didn’t matter in the end. Harry’s attorney told him that he’d be paying her alimony which would cover her insurance and current lifestyle, and that would be more than enough. She’d be getting the house, her car, and all of her own retirement. Harry also agreed to give her half of their savings but he was keeping his brokerage which she never contributed to. She wasn’t getting everything she wanted but she sure was trying to make it hard.

“Thinking about how we met and how I went to see you at your apartment that day. Just reminiscing. Crazy how we got here. After everything. Fell in love with you so fast.”

You smiled, “It is crazy. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real.”

Harry took your hand and kissed your palm, “Still like a dream.”

You’d been having lots of conversations about the past and future lately. Perhaps it was because his divorce was nearly finalized. Or maybe it was all the talk of getting you pregnant. But there was also the discussion of moving out of your apartment.

The lease on your apartment was coming up. Harry wanted to move you both out of your little place and find something with more space. You would go wherever he went without question but you did warn him you were still jobless. Your contribution would be minimal but he only assured you that he was going to take care of you and he didn’t want your money.

Once a week for the past few weeks you both had been looking at potential new places. Apartments and houses alike. And Wednesday after he got off work you two were on your way to look at a new one.

“Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day,” you suddenly remembered as you spoke from the passenger side of Harry’s car as he drove you to look at a place that was having an open house.

“I know,” he reached across to put his hand on your thigh, “Did you forget?”

You laughed, “I totally did. I think with everything going on it just didn’t cross my mind. But I saw that sign outside of Scasi’s restaurant about their Valentine’s Day special just now.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t plan anything romantic for us?” Harry teased.

“I did not. What would you like Mr. Styles? A night out on the town? Some flowers? Cologne maybe?” You laughed when he squeezed at your thigh.

“Why not all of it?”

You looked toward his side profile and laid your palm over his hand, “I’ll give you all of that if you want.”

Harry glanced at you with his dimpled grin, “Baby, I know you would. But I’ve already got something planned for us. Think you’ll like it.”

You adjusted yourself in your seat and angled your body toward his, “Oh yeah? What have you got planned then?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

The three-bedroom house at the edge of town was adorable. But it wasn’t a rental. Which had you a little surprised. The backyard was plenty big for landscaping (which it was in desperate need of), the master bedroom faced the big ugly backyard but the ensuite bathroom was to die for. All upgraded finishes with a soaker tub and a steam shower.

The kitchen, however, was your favorite. The stove was one of those fancy chef’s stoves with the red knobs. The refrigerator was built into shelving and at first glance looked like a tall cabinet.

“Harry this is a lot. Three bedrooms?” He had your hand in his as you both walked around the space.

“It’s a lot for us right now. But what if we have a baby one day? And that backyard? Ugly as sin right now but I love to garden and I know we could make that something really special. For us. For a family here if we wanted.”

He leaned down to kiss you, his nose knocking against yours playfully making you laugh.

“Maybe you’re right,” you rubbed your palm over his chest.

“I know I’m right.”

. . .

You were excited for whatever it was Harry had planned. You didn’t know why he didn’t just tell you but he seemed to always enjoy giving you surprises. He liked making you wait and anticipate what was to come. Sometimes even in bed.

He told you to wear something pretty so you picked out a nice dress and did all the things to pamper yourself that made you feel pretty before he got home from work.

Of course the minute you heard the key in the doorknob you rushed to the door to open it and greet him with a big hug.

He kissed your cheek as you took his coffee travel mug from his hand, “Sure is nice to have you open the door for me like this every time I get home from work. Got me spoiled.”

“Pretty sure you’re the one that’s got me spoiled,” you responded.

It was nice having Harry with you. Knowing you weren’t sharing him with anyone anymore. You knew it was bad to feel smug about such a thing but you kind of did. He picked you. Even if the circumstances were less than ideal, you were the one he chose.

“So, can you at least tell me if we’re gonna eat as part of these mysterious Valentine’s Day plans you’ve made?”

Harry began to unbutton his shirt with a grin on his face, “Why? You hungry honey?”

The way he said it was full of something devilish. Something cheeky. You rolled your eyes at him and laughed, “I kind of am.”

A mischievous smirk rose up on his lips as he lowered his hands to his belt, “I’ve got something to fill your tummy with. Little appetizer…”

You balked at him, “You’re like a teenager!”

He slid his belt from the loops on his pants and pulled your back into his chest, “Mmm… More like a man in love who knows how to feed his hungry baby.”

You laughed loudly and pushed your head back against his shoulder, “How is it you’re always thinking about sex?”

He rocked you back and forth and tucked his face into your neck, “It’s because it’s you. You’re so good to me all the time. So pretty. So smart. S’your fault I’m this way.”

You sighed as he kissed the side of your neck and then let you go, “We don’t have time for any hanky panky anyway,” he spoke as he finished undressing. “Gotta shower up and then get ready myself so I smell just as good as you. We’ll leave here in like thirty minutes.”

Harry put up with you trying to get him to tell you where he was taking you. You didn’t let up but Harry also didn’t give you any direct answers.

“Will there be dancing? Hot air balloons?”

He smiled as he continued looking at the road, “That sounds fun. We’ll see.”

You knew you weren’t going to break him down. When Harry set his mind to something he wasn’t going to budge.

So when he pulled into Club Stella and parked you finally knew what was in store for the night. Or at least you had a good idea. Club Stella was a posh place. It had a funky bar menu with a good selection of snacky bites, along with live bands or DJs, and a nice dance floor.

You had been there once before for a bachelorette party back when you and Fae were still close. It was one of those places where reservations were not super easy to get and it was paid entry.

You were led to a cozy little table not far from where the band was playing and handed special Valentine’s Day menus.

Harry scooted his chair close to yours and flipped the menu to look at the drinks, “Want to share a bottle of wine?”

You looked at the prices of the bottles and scoffed, “Harry every bottle is expensive.”

He laughed and drew his arm over the back of your chair, “Baby it’s Valentine’s Day. I’m gonna spoil you. Pick out what you want.”

When the waiter stopped at the table Harry pinched your arm the slightest when you started to say all you’d have was sparkling water.

“We’ll have a bottle of this,” he pointed at the menu and you rolled your eyes with a smile after the waiter left the table to get the wine.

The food menu was fun. You scanned the options just as the live band changed the song they were covering. The whole theme of the night was romance and the music was definitely part of that vibe.

When the server returned with the bottle of wine you were anticipating what you were going to order. But Harry pulled you to the dancefloor before you could mention what you wanted. You’d been ogling the lobster bites on the menu when he dragged you away He had his hands on your hips, holding you close and you laughed, “Harry I wanted to order! I’m hungry.”

He kissed your cheek, still moving you to the music, and then lowered his mouth to your ear, “Well I tried offering you an appetizer earlier but you turned it down.”

You slid your arms over his shoulders. Even though you were hungry, honestly having a dance with Harry to the song that was being played was certainly better.

He began to sing the lyrics as he swayed you gently, “I’d never dreamed that I’d meet somebody like you,” his warm breath falling over your neck felt so sensual. There were others dancing as well so you didn’t feel as exposed. If only they knew the kind of relationship you and Harry had. What had led to that very moment.

When you felt his lips brush over the skin at your neck you sighed as your bodies moved slowly together until the song was over.

Harry looked down at you as the song switched and took your hands in his, “We’ll come back and dance after we eat. Just wanted to start our night off with holding you and dancing with you in front of everyone.”

You understood him. It was taking some time to get used to being public. To flaunt your love. But the more you two went out in public and did things like this, the more you wanted it. The easier it became. It was exciting.

Harry was a romantic at heart. You knew this because you’d been on the receiving end of his gestures. Sometimes he could be cheesy but you loved it nonetheless. Your favorite, though, was how playful he was with you.

You and Harry enjoyed the wine and food and the atmosphere of Club Stella. The later it got, the more people began to dance.

“Come on, let’s go dance,” Harry had his hand at the back of your neck and he squeezed as he spoke, “This is a good song.” Your food was mostly eaten, the wine was just about gone and you were getting warmer and warmer the longer you sat next to Harry and listened to his deep voice in your ear, his hand closest to you on your thigh or the back of your neck nearly the whole time. The man knew what he was doing.

“Okay. Let’s go,” you grinned at him.

You found a good spot on the floor and the song was a little more swingy than the first song you danced to but still sexy. The live band was really good.

Harry’s hands were dangerously close to your ass as pulled your hips against his and looked down at you, “Best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.”

You smiled as you laid your palms over his chest and looked up at him, “Me too.”

One of his hands slid up your back to the nape of your neck as he ducked down to kiss you. And it was like just about every other time he kissed you; hot and needy. He was holding back because you two were in public but you were reminded of the time you had bathroom sex in that nice restaurant in Quebec.

You smoothed your hands along Harry’s shirt over his strong pecs and then fit a finger between the buttons to touch his skin as your mouth opened for him.

He moaned softly and then backed away from the kiss to grin down at you, “What did you do on your last Valentine’s Day?”

You thought back to the year prior, “I think… Oh yeah… Randy had to give me a raincheck. He was working. We never wound up doing anything because it was midweek.”

“Today is Thursday. I have to work tomorrow and I’m still doing something with you. Sounds like he was the biggest dud. Glad I talked you into getting rid of him.”

You laughed and moved your arms up and ran your fingers into the hair at the back of his head, “He was a big dud. But of course, no one can compare to you, can they?”

His smile widened as the hand near your bottom slowly dropped until his palm was pressing into your ass.

The next song slowed things down and he kept you pressed into his hips as you danced together.

Time seemed to slow down or speed up. Every time he kissed you and squeezed your bum you felt yourself melting a little more. But then he ran his lips up your neck and spoke into your ear, “I’m sorry honey. But I can’t keep my cock down,” and you felt him rut into you softly before he turned you to face away from him, your bottom pressed into his bulge.

You gasped with a smile as you turned your head and lifted an arm to hold onto the back of his neck as he swayed you to the beat softly, “Remember that time in Quebec?” You could hear the smile on his mouth as he spoke into your ear.

“I do. Was just thinking about that too. That was fun.”

“Mmm… Might need to find a spot to fuck you like that again.”

You laughed as Harry’s hand on your hip tightened and his other moved up your side to just under your breast. You could feel yourself beginning to grow wet in your panties as Harry’s dick plumped up and pressed into your bottom. You loved that he got so turned on by you.

Another sexy, slow song came on and Harry’s lips stayed on your neck, peppering wet kisses on your sensitive skin. No one else existed. It was just you and Harry.

“Fuck… Baby, I’m serious. I need to have you,” his deep voice whispered against your skin.

You turned in his arms and attempted to hide the hardon he was sporting under his pants, “Should we leave?”

Harry looked around the space, “Let’s go see if there’s a spot we can take care of this.”

You and Harry went back to the area near the stage and he pointed to where the bathrooms were and a short hallway as you grabbed your purse from the table.

“Harry? Harry Styles?” You heard a woman speak, from behind you.

Both you and Harry turned around to see a woman near his age looking between you with a slight frown.

Harry scratched the back of his neck, “Hi Roice.”

“Who is she?” The woman pointed at you and you looked up at Harry.

“Uh, well, this is my girlfriend, Y/n. I don’t know if you knew…”

The woman cut him off and looked at you as she stepped in closer, “You know he’s married right? With a daughter, about your age,” she ran her eyes down your frame and you felt very vulnerable under her scrutiny.

You opened your mouth to respond but Harry took your hand, “Roice, my wife and I are getting divorced. We’re done. This is my girlfriend.”

You zoned out slightly as Harry let go of your hand and put his arm over your shoulder to hold you close. The woman made a comment and gave you a look that you knew wasn’t complimentary of you before she walked off.

“You okay, Y/n?” Harry put his hands on your shoulders and ducked his face down to get in your line of sight.

Nodding you spoke, “Yeah. Just didn’t expect that.”

“Me neither. Let’s just get out of here, okay?”

The bill was already paid as you and Harry left Club Stella and got into his car.

He put his hand on your knee and drove in silence until he pulled into a small lot at a wooded park and turned off the engine.

You looked at him, puzzled, “What are we doing here?”

Harry adjusted his seat and moved it away from the steering wheel and pulled at your hand, “Come here, sweetheart. Sit in my lap.”

You climbed over the console after lifting your dress so you could spread your legs and settle over his thighs.

He put his hand on your hips, “I’m sorry that happened. Did that ruin your Valentine’s Day?”

You smiled as you shook your head, “No, of course not. It just shocked me is all.”

“Shocked me too. But you promise you’re okay?”

You pressed your hands on his shoulders and leaned yourself into his chest to kiss his mouth and began to unbutton his shirt buttons, “I’m fine, Harry.”

You could feel him swallow as his hands moved to push the fabric of your dress up before he brought his hands to the inside of your thighs. He moaned when his finger dragged over the fabric of your panties and he realized you were wet.

You laughed with a smile, “Still wet. Think you can get hard for me again, Harry?”

He laughed and licked into your mouth as he ran his thumb over the wet material at your crotch. It was funny because you both knew the answer to that question. Of course, he could get hard again.

And when you felt his cock plumping up under his pants you began to undo his belt and then his button in haste before pulling him out through the front slot of his boxer briefs, stroking his velvety cock as you kept your mouths moving together.

Harry pushed your panties to the side and lowered his seat for more space as you pushed yourself up and placed his tip at your slippery pussy. He held onto your hips to keep you steady as you placed your palms on the seat back and gently lowered over him.

“Fuck… you always hug my cock perfectly baby.”

You imagined that with his girth it would be hard not to hug his cock the way you did. He was so thick and long and he always stretched you apart when he was inside of you.

Slowly you glided up and down as you looked into his eyes, “God… It’s always so full. Makes me so wet just thinking about how big you are and how deep you get. I always need you, Harry.”

Harry moaned and pressed a hand to your low belly as you continued fucking yourself on him, “Yeah? Like how it feels when I fuck into your tummy? Stuff you full every night ‘cause you need it so bad don’t you, puppy?”

“Yes… God, I need you every day. More than anything I’ve ever needed. I love you so much.” You tilted your pelvis down and pressed your lips to his as you ground yourself over him and felt that pleasant ache when his thick crown nestled into your guts.

You could feel the fabric of his briefs over your clit as you rocked down over him. Harry’s soft moans against your lips sounded desperate and you knew that meant he was close already. You hadn’t had sex that morning like you do some days and you knew he must be aching to burst inside of you.

“Gonna give me your come?”

Harry’s mouth dropped open and he jabbed himself upward, his cock squelching through your wet pussy as he thrust into you, “Is that what you want?” Another thrust upward making you squeal quietly at the deep ache in your tummy, “Want my come, baby?”

“Yes… give it to me,” you moaned as you rolled your pelvis down again and felt how wet his underwear had gotten from your arousal.

“Need you to come with me, my love,” Harry’s words were panted as he gripped the meat of your ass and guided you up and down his cock.

You watched his face as you felt his length open you wide and glide in and out with the sound of wet gushes from your slippery pussy in the small space of the car.

Holding to the seat behind Harry’s head to keep yourself steady, you ran the fingers from your other hand over your clit as Harry kept you bouncing over him slowly.

Desperate moans and the slippery sounds of sex with the background of music on the radio were all you could hear as your legs began to shake.

The moment Harry could tell you were about to come, he began to fuck up into you harder, his hips thudding into you making your body bounce harder as you pressed your fingers and moved them over your swollen nub and cried out at his deep strokes.

“Oh my god! Fuck, Harry!”

He groaned when your pussy began to flutter around him and your cries turned to choked moans.

It was his favorite. Feeling your cunt walls squeeze and spasm around his throbbing, leaking cock. He gave you a few more harsh plunges until he pulled you down over him and grunted with his head thrown back into the seat, draining his cock inside of your guts.

Your head was spinning and your heart was pounding as you came down and heard him panting as he throbbed inside of you. You’d never get tired of watching him coming, of feeling the way his body shivered when he pumped into you.

He pulled you against his chest as he breathed hard and you could feel the way he was still twitching inside of you.

When you felt his lips at your neck and heavy breaths puffed against your skin you opened your eyes and turned to look at him with a smile.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Harry.”

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 7 months

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AITA for not defending an ex-friend when people called her a slut?

I (20 f) fell out with my best friend and roommate M (20 f) at the end of sophomore year of college. reason we fell out isn't the main subject of this post but I think it's relevant so I'll try and keep it as brief as possible.

For context I'm Black attending a VERY white school. Frenshman year I was the only black girl in my building and this was just post-covid so student groups were pretty dead. So first trimester most of my college friends were the girls from my floor including M (white) and S (20f, asian american). It was very isolating tbh, esp bc I experienced a lot of microaggressions, but the girls I befriended were pretty good at sharing my outrage and letting me confide in them.

The worst incident was when at a party, a guy (G, white) made some very racist comments towards me and in general (said the n-word a few times). I admit I escalated it by engaging w him and the whole thing got out of hand, a lot of people saw, and he got a reputation as a racist. Afterwards, he was always rude to me, blaming me for egging him on while drunk and just constantly making disrespectful comments about me and my 'attitude' where i could hear. no one ever said anything to his face but were supportive of me after the fact - S was always particularly supportive and said she could relate.

I was generally fine with avoiding G esp in sophomore year when we moved out. I lived with M and another friend (P) and it went pretty well. We were asked in like November if we would renew our lease, and though M and I wanted to the third friend didn't, so we began to think of replacements, and S was looking for a place.

Thing is, while S and I were still on good terms I felt like she was being a bit secretive w me. She'd often come over and talk privately w M and I got the gist she was seeing someone and didn't want me to know. I shook it off as us growing apart and the fact I'd gotten more involved in Black student groups and hadn't hung around with our dorm friends as much, but then in Jan, as we were planning to sign the new lease, I found out she was dating G. Tbh at this point we weren't even close friends that I felt a strong personal betrayal, but more so I was mad at them both for not telling me while making plans for us to live together. They knew I was uncomfortable around G and wouldn't want to live w his gf, esp without knowing. It felt like they were almost purposefully going behind my back.

I didn't do anything at the time, just slowly backed out of the lease renewal and made other arrangements. I stopped hanging out with S almost completely and was just cordial w her and took a big step back from M and our dorm friends.

The other relevant bit of context here is M had a boyfriend (T, 20 m) who was in our freshman dorm and very close to our year one friends (lived with them sophomore year and now junior year too). She broke up w him in Feb, which led to a lot of her friendships w our dorm friends (her only friends really) to deteriorate a bit, esp as she was no longer super comfy hanging around where he was. this especially became an issue in the spring trimester bc she got a new boyfriend over the break, a friend from her classes T hadn't liked.

So, M kept pressuring me to hang out w her and our dorm friends a lot more, which inevitably meant seeing S and now G, who they'd all decided they were cool being around when I distanced myself. I told her why i didn't want to and I didn't want to see G again but she promised he had 'changed' and wouldn't say anything to me. eventually I folded and went out w them all once and it honestly sucked. M completely abandoned me to be w her other friends, G didn't say anything but kept glaring at me the whole time, and I felt very out of place. afterwards I told M i was sorry, I know she felt awkward around her ex without me, but I wouldn't do that again.

She left it till like the end of the year then there was a big dinner she really wanted to go to that T would be at (her bf was not invited), w all our dorm friends. I kept saying I wouldn't go, but then she told me she checked w the hosts and confirmed (and promised) G wouldn't be coming. I said okay but asked we sit next to each other and made it clear how I felt around S etc, and she agreed and promised we would. Long story short G was there, I wound up next to S and across from him snickering at me the whole time, with her on the other end of the table. I texted M about it, she said it was 'fine' and I was imagining it and to try and enjoy the gathering.. yeah no. I dipped before desert, she chased me outside asking what was up and I explained why i was upset, she said i can't expect her to be there for me the whole night and she's allowed to 'have a good night without my drama,' i said racism wasn't drama and she literally dragged me along to deal with her drama, nevermind my comfort, and that she was an incredibly selfish friend for putting me in this position. I left, she wound up crying with everyone comforting her, everyone there (M included) went off at me for being an unsupportive friend/dredging up year old drama with G/overall making everything about race, I cut them all off and moved my stuff into my girlfriend's place a week after all this and didn't speak to anyone since.

which is pretty much all the backstory (longer than the main bit, sorry), that gets us to the actual AITA situation. Junior year starts, I'm at a welcome back party w some other friends and i'm vaguely aware my old dorm friends (including S and G) are also here, but it's a huge party and i'm w my very supportive friends who ik will back me if anything happens so i dont really care. eventually M arrives w her bf, gives me an awkward look but doesn't say anything to me.

Then at some point, I'm upstairs using the bathroom and I hear the girls from our dorm group speaking to M in the hallway. Apparently it came out over summer she'd hooked up w her new boyfriend before she ended things with T and they were all pissed at her (esp for her playing the victim w her ex). I tried to stay in the bathroom until the conversation ended but someone was pounding on the door and I wound up having to get out and waddle past them awkwardly to get back downstairs. When I got out one of the girls was calling M a slut and other names and while i tried to avoid it I accidentally made eye contact with M, who was super upset and crying. I kinda just shrugged and went downstairs.

Later that night i got a long ass message from her new bf about how he knows I'm upset with her but it wasn't fair for me to just leave her in that situation, and that it was petty and selfish of me (esp bc I'm usually the person calling out this shit). I spoke to my gf, and she said she understands why i did nothing but also that it's never okay for people to call someone a slut. I agree with that 100% and in any other case i might have tried to diffuse the situation (like if it was safe and I thought I could). I've told a couple friends who think I did nothing wrong and it wasn't fair to expect me to say smth when she never said/did anything to defend me and that she had it coming, but my mom told me I should've done the kind thing and not stoop to their level and it's made me feel really bad. I think I might be TA bc i could have stood up for her without anything bad happening to me beyond being in an uncomfortable convo, and also bc it kinda felt good seeing her friends turn on her? Like she threw me under the bus to be in their good books and defend them and they dropped her ass anyway, and if I acted from a vengeful place then thats asshole-y of me. but also no one in this story has apologised to me once and as my friend says its not fair to rely on black ppl to fix racist white ppls mess.

so, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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ijustreallylovethem · 9 months

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bad idea right?

this song is so iconic i knew i had to write something about it before i even got all the way through the first listen. i couldn’t even add the song link when i started this post, it was so soon after the song came out 😂😭

18+ content below

ethan edwards x reader

words: 3,725

masterlist

you cheered as your roommate, claire, took yet another shot. she was finally twenty-one so she had invited you and a few other friends out to the bar to celebrate finally legally being able to get in. you watched as a guy made his way up to her and spoke something to her, then she nodded and he turned to the bar while she turned to you with a giddy smile. yet another guy offering to buy her a drink after seeing the sash she had insisted on wearing for this very reason. it was a good idea, you had to hand it to her. she had been getting free drinks from people, mostly guys, all night after they caught sight of the glittery sash she donned.

"i need to pee," your friend lexi said from behind you and you nodded. you grabbed her hand to make sure you wouldn't get separated, leading her through the crowd of people. it was the first week back on campus after the long summer and most of the student body was happy to be back. the other part was comprised of those who stayed over summer or were local and freshmen who were new to campus. the latter usually stuck to frat or team parties though, not straying to the bars until later in the semester. the line to the bathroom wasn't too long, luckily, and you only waited a few moments to get in and go. the handicap stall opened as you got to the front so you and lexi both went in, giggling as you told you about a guy's attempt of hitting on her earlier. you stood and pulled your jeans back up, leaning against the wall as you buttoned them.

"woah." lexi giggled, handing you back your drink. your head was spinning but you smiled as you took it back from her. "i am so fucked right now," you giggled and lexi joined in as you made your way to the sinks. you both managed to find your way through the crowd again and back to your other friends, claire still talking to the man she was with when you left. they were standing close, and she was giggling, and you had an idea of where she would be ending up tonight. you felt your phone buzz in your pocket, and you took a sip of your drink as you pulled it out. you nearly spat it out at the name on the screen, your drunk mind running a million miles a second. eventually, the call rang out. you stayed staring at the screen, the notification of the missed call popping up, but then being covered by a text.

eth

come over

oh, ethan. ethan edwards: junior at university of michigan, majoring in sports management, number seventy-three on the hockey team, and your ex-boyfriend. you and ethan had started dating had started dating mid-february. you had a good relationship, but a terribly timed fight brought it to an end. it was the end of the semester and you were both leaving for the summer. you had to go back home for the summer, your apartment lease only being for the school year and you wanted some extended time with your family. ethan had a summer full of vacations and hockey planned, and he wasn't sure yet if he would be coming back in the fall, possibly moving on in his hockey career. at the end of the fight, you were wanting to take a break, but ethan knew with you both leaving in just a week that it was much better and easier to just break up. you agreed, and left the relationship on good terms. if anyone asked you now, you would tell them that you guys were friends.

the truth is though, you'd call him your friend and he'd say the same about you, but neither of you had kept in touch. that's why you were so shocked to see his name on your phone. you hadn't spoken to him since you left their house that night after the fight. you glanced up at your friends, realizing none of them had noticed your slight turmoil. going would be a bad idea, right? you made a split-second decision and took a few steps toward claire.

"hey! i think i'm gonna head out, i'm super tired." she pouted, but pulled you in for a hug.

"you're good to get home by yourself?" you nodded.

"i'm getting an uber now."

"text me when you get there."

"of course!" you leaned in close to her. "let me know if you're coming home later or not." you pulled away with a smirk and she returned it, giving you a wink. with that you were turning around, hugging your other friends goodbye, and making your way outside. it was much quieter out there, peaceful almost if it wasn't for the group of drunk girls down the street singing as they walked home. your finger hovered over the missed call for a moment before you tapped it, and then your phone was dialing. you lifted it to your ear, kicking your feet against the sidewalk nervously.

"hey." his voice sent a shockwave through your body, and you instantly knew you were in deep shit.

"hey. sorry i missed your call. i was out for claire's birthday."

"are you still out?"

"i'm out...side of the bar." he chuckled lowly.

"and are you planning to go back in or are you gonna listen to my text?" he asked you smiled.

"well, i guess that depends."

"on?"

"i know what happens if i go back inside, but what happens if i come over?" he laughs at that.

"i just wanna catch up."

"mmhmm. i see."

"y/n, come on. we both know you wouldn't have even walked out of the bar if you weren't thinking about it, let alone call me back." you pursed your lips, knowing he was right. it was silent for only a second before your phone dinged, and you pulled it away and put it on speaker to look at the new message. "sent you my new address." you remembered ethan telling you that they were going to move since luke and mackie left for the nhl. they wanted to downsize to a four-bedroom so dylan's brother, tyler, could move in with them since he had transferred.

"you drive a hard bargain," you smiled.

"would i convince you if i told you i'm the only one home?" you laughed.

"would you be surprised if i told you i've been convinced since i read your text?" now it was his turn to laugh.

"not at all."

"i'll be there in a few, e."

"can't wait. be safe." you pulled the phone away and hung up, then copied the address and pasted it into the uber app. it was only a few minutes away but you didn't want to risk walking there by yourself. only a few minutes after confirming, a black toyota corolla pulled up and you climbed in after confirming it was for you. the woman driving made small talk, asking about your night and such, and you did the same to her. she pulled up in front of the house after only four minutes, and you thanked her for the ride as you got out. before you could even make it halfway up the drive, the front door is open and ethan is leaning against the frame smiling. he's only wearing a pair of sweatpants and you can't help but look him over as you make your way to him. he looked good, way too good. you always told people he was the hottest guy you had ever seen, and your opinion hadn't changed much over the summer you spent apart.

"you look good," he spoke, stepping aside to let you in.

"thanks, so do you." he let out a chuckle, leading you into the house. "need some water or anything?" you shook your head.

"where are the guys? and why are you home on a friday night?" you ask as he leads you up the stairs.

"they're out. i was too until i started thinking about you." you followed him into his room, letting your eyes rake over the space as you entered. it was pretty similar to his room in the last house, with the same furniture and decorations, just rearranged. you suddenly remembered that you told claire you'd text her, so you quickly pulled out your phone to do so. ethan sat down in his desk chair, watching you. you slid your phone back in your pocket and sat on his bed, looking over at him and noticing he was already looking at you.

"what?"

"you don't have a new boyfriend do you?" he asked teasingly. he didn't think you'd be one to cheat but he wanted to be sure. you shook your head and smiled.

"just claire. told her i'd let her know when i got home." he nodded.

"so she doesn't know you're here?" your cheeks flushed at his words and you shook your head. "so what happens when she gets home and you're not there? or are you planning on staying for five minutes and dipping?"

"i don't think she was ending up back at our place tonight," you smiled, and ethan returned it.

"so you're free for the rest of the night?" you couldn't help but like the way he sounded hopeful when he asked.

"i am."

"good." he didn't say anything after that, just turned to his desk and picked up his tv remote. he spun his chair to face the tv resting on top of his dresser, navigating around until he turned on an old movie. when he begun looking for something to watch, you pulled out your phone and read the reply claire had sent you, letting you know that she for sure would not be home until the morning, you wished her luck and told her to stay safe, looking back up as the movie started. you recognized it instantly and couldn't help but roll your eyes slightly. it was the movie you had always turned on when you and ethan were about to have sex, not wanting any of his roommates to hear anything.

"so you really only wanted me to come over to fuck?" you asked. if he had, you weren't angry, but there was a small part of you hoping that there was more to the story.

"not necessarily." you didn't respond, just glancing to the tv screen and then back to him. he sighed. "honestly, i just can't read you right now so i don't know if i should come over there and kiss you or tell you how much i miss you." his words caused your body to flood with warmth.

"you miss me?"

"so much. why did we think breaking up was a good idea?" you laughed lightly, shook your head and shrugged.

"we were young and dumb."

"three months ago?" ethan laughed and you nodded. "i wanted to call you all summer, tell you about everything i was doing and hear about your days too. but i didn't know if you wanted to hear from me so i never reached out."

"i felt pretty much the same," you admitted quietly.

"yeah?" you nodded. "guess we're both still pretty young and dumb, huh?"

"yeah."

"can i do something smart?" ethan asked.

"please tell me you're gonna come over here and kiss me." ethan smiled, getting up from the chair. he sat next to you, cupping your cheek and pulling your lips to his. you couldn't help but melt into him, missing the way his lips felt against yours and loving the fact that you got to feel them again. his free hand reached out to grip your thigh and you moaned at the feeling. ethan pulled his lips from yours and you tried to catch your breath as he nipped and sucked at the skin on your neck. he was too good at finding that sweet spot just under your jaw, and you gasped when he did. your fingers tangled in the short strands of his hair on the back of his neck, a breathy moan leaving your throat.

his hand that had previously been cupping your cheek had slid down to your hip and was now sliding slowly up your side, his fingers dipping under the bottom of your shirt. you reached behind you, pulling at the bow that tied it together in the back. ethan had noticed what you'd done, and pulled away from your neck so you could pull the fabric over your head.

"pretty as ever," you heard him whisper as you leaned back, letting your back rest against his comforter. his lips trailed over your collarbones and then your chest, one hand holding his weight and the other cupping your boob.

"ethan, please," you whined. closing your eyes. you already knew you would be covered in marks tomorrow and you were ready for more from him. his hand trailed down your stomach to the button of your jeans, popping it open and sliding the zipper down. his hand slid under the fabric, his fingers teasing you lightly over your panties. your back arched slightly, trying to press yourself further into his hand. your eyes opened and you found him smiling down at you. only a second later he was leaning down, catching your lips with his again.

"missed you so much," he whispered when he pulled away, then gave you another quick peck.

"missed you too," you whispered back, then let out a whimper as he pulled his hand from your jeans. he was sitting up then, kneeling on the bed to rid you of the denim. you were glad now that you had decided to wear a nice pair of underwear when getting ready earlier. those were next to go, leaving you bare in front of him. you watched as he backed up a bit, then laid down on his stomach between your legs.

"this okay?" he asked. you nodded, giving him a small smile as you reached down to card your fingers through his hair. he pressed a few kisses to the inside of your thighs, causing you to shiver at the feeling. his tongue ran lightly over your folds before he flattened it and made the same motion. you sighed, relishing the feeling. you hadn't had any hookups over the summer, any guys that showed interest in you just made you think about how he wasn't ethan. so you had missed this, you missed him. you missed the way he would run his tongue in circles around your clit before sucking it in between his lips. you missed the way he would slowly slide his fingers inside of you, curling them perfectly to make your toes curl and your back arch. you missed the way he would moan against you when you told him how good it felt or whined his name. you missed the way he would hold your hips down as you got close to the edge, and let your thighs tighten around his head as you found your release, gently working you through it every time.

he pulled away from you, wiping his chin on the back of his hand. you weren't sure how something so vulgar could also be so hot, but you could practically feel yourself gush at the movement. he reached over to his nightstand, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out a condom, which caused you to pout.

"what's wrong, baby?"

"wanna suck you off first," you whined. he smiled, ripping the small package open and putting the condom on as he spoke.

"as much as i would love that, i'm not gonna last long enough, pretty girl." you giggled at that, but he cut you off by leaning down and kissing you. it was much slower than the one shared before and you smiled when he pulled away. "you ready?"

"yes, been ready." ethan straightened up, lining himself up with your entrance. before he could slide in, you reached a hand out to him, and he laced your fingers together, letting your hands rest on your stomach. he slid in slowly then, both of you letting out moans at the feeling.

"fuck, baby, missed being inside of you," he whispered once his hips met yours.

"missed you so much, e," you whined. "need you to move." he did as you said, setting a slow pace. he squeezed your hand, leaning down to press kisses against your cheek and temple.

"so fucking good," he whispered, causing you to moan.

"ethan, wanna ride you, please." he dropped his forehead to your shoulder, groaning at the thought and then nodding. he pulled away, flipping over so he was now laying on his back. you sat up quickly, throwing a leg over his lap. his hands were quick to hold onto your hips you took a moment to tease him, gliding your folds along his dick until he gave you a warning look.

"don't tease me, y/n. i told you i wasn't gonna last long." you smiled, lifting your hips and guiding him into you. you moaned when he was all the way in, the tip hitting just the right spot. you lifted yourself up, letting ethan's hands guide you as you rode him. you could've cried when he repositioned himself, holding your hips in place above him and thrusting up into you. your head fell back and you couldn't even try to contain your moans, the amount of pleasure coursing through you almost too much to handle.

"e, i'm close."

"cum for me baby, i'm right behind you," he grunted. you let your fingers ghost over your clit, and within seconds you were cumming for the second time that night. your hips bucked against ethan's, even after his had stopped moving against you when he hit his own high. you stilled for a moment, the only sounds in the room coming from the movie on the tv and your panting breaths. you opened your eyes, letting them drift down to ethan who was still trying to catch his breath. you took the moment to admire him, and let the hand resting on his stomach trace random shapes into the skin. you traced around his belly button, through some of the hair in his happy trail, and down to where your leg rested on top of him. his eyes didn't open but he smiled at your touch.

"you alive?" you teased, causing him to finally look at you.

"feels nice." his thumb rubbed back and forth on your hip and you hummed. "why don't we just stay here for a while?"

"i'll sit here until my hip starts cramping," you tell him, causing him to laugh. you both sit in comfortable silence for a moment, until ethan's hands slid from your hips to your knees.

"just because i feel like i'm less likely to be rejected while i'm still inside of you," you laughed at the way he started his question, causing his small smile to grow a bit bigger, "i want you to be mine again." you nodded, leaning down to kiss him.

"i would love to be yours." it was mid-kiss that your hip started to hurt, and you pulled away with a wince of pain. "okay, time to move." you slowly lifted your hips from his, nearly whimpering at the empty feeling. you stood from the bed, making your way to his dresser and pulling out a shirt to slip on. after a quick trip to the bathroom, you slid back into his bed, this time under the blankets, and cuddled up to ethan's side.

"you should probably set an alarm if you still don't want claire to know you were here." you debated for a moment, but then stood up to find your phone. it was still in the back pocket of your jeans.

"i'll probably tell her tomorrow but i doubt she'll want to listen while being severely hungover." ethan smiled, pulling you back into him when you set your phone on the nightstand. "nine should be good enough right? i doubt she wakes up before that and makes her way home." ethan presses a kiss to your temple, both of your gazes falling to the tv screen. the movie was almost over, and you wondered for a moment if you had ever actually watched all of it in one sitting. neither of you made it to the end though, both of you happy enough in each other's arms to fall asleep almost instantly.

when you woke up to your alarm a few hours later, you yawned as you pulled your jeans back on. you carried your shirt and your phone, following ethan out to his car after he got dressed. it was a short drive to your apartment complex, and he leaned over to kiss you when he pulled into the parking lot.

"i'll call you later, okay?" you nodded, a smile on your face.

"okay." you gave him another quick kiss before getting out and making your way inside, noticing the way ethan didn't pull away until you were safely inside the building. you dragged yourself up the stairs to the second floor and sighed as you opened the door to your apartment, wishing somehow you had known what time claire was coming back so you didn't have to sneak in so early to beat her. maybe you would have had a few more hours of sleep or time to spend with ethan before you had to come back. the door closed behind you and you nearly screamed when claire sat up from the couch in front of you at the sound. you had been caught.

"how was your night?" you asked, hoping she wouldn't ask where you had been.

"how was yours?" she asked sarcastically, one brow raised. you knew you couldn't lie, and why would you? she would find out sooner rather than later anyway, especially since you couldn't help the smile that grew on your face.

"me and ethan are back together," you told her and her jaw dropped.

"you bitch!" she screeched, despite both of you having raging hangovers. "get over here and tell me everything!"

#ethan edwards #ethan edwards x reader #ethan edwards fic #ethan edwards imagine #umich hockey #Spotify

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wooahaes · 4 months

Text

impulse

pairing: non-idol!hoshi x gn!reader

genre: acquaintances to lovers.

word count: ~1.0k

warnings: soonyoung learns he was cheated on. reader recounts being cheated on. some mutual pining between soonyoung and reader. alcohol mentions.

daisy's notes: manifesting 2024 being A Year. not even a good or a bad one. just let it be a year.

Soonyoung was starting to really regret coming to this party. Not only was he single on New Years Eve, but his ex was there—and she had a new boyfriend. Jihoon had already pulled him aside twice now, saying that if Soonyoung was bothered by it, he'd say the word to Seungcheol. Seungcheol had been friends with her, after all, but he would ask her to leave if he needed to. Both times, Soonyoung turned down the offer. But now he was standing outside, wishing he hadn’t.

She broke up with him a year ago. And, when approached by Minghao while he was alone, the new boyfriend said they’d been together for a little over a year now.

It wasn’t hard to do the math, and it was too close to midnight for Soonyoung to say something. He’d tell Seungcheol later, though, and buy Minghao whatever meal or drink or art supplies he wanted for immediately telling Soonyoung. Sure, it stung for Minghao to break the news to him after he pulled him onto the balcony, but it still meant a lot. He didn’t have to tell him at all, or even tonight, and yet he did (and he’d stayed long enough to ask if Soonyoung wanted to talk or leave, that he’d go with him if he did). Soonyoung let out a sigh, the rest of his beer having been dumped into the sink. Sure, getting drunk would probably numb the pain, but his good mood had fully been soured and he didn’t want to drink the feelings away.

“Soonyoung?”

He looked up to where you had stood in the glass doorway, stepping out after a moment, and immediately felt his heart leap into his throat. Oh no. Not you. Seungcheol knew how Soonyoung felt about you ever since he introduced you two a few months ago. Except you had a boyfriend you dumped a week later (Seungcheol had canceled plans with Soonyoung to go comfort you), and Soonyoung never found the right time to try and ask you out. Hell, what if you were still hurting? He shoved that away. You were being nice now, weren’t you? You probably saw him sulking and decided to come check on him…

So he finally spoke up. “Hi.” His voice felt smaller than usual, but that was whatever. “Sorry—I’m not in the mood for a party, and Jihoon’s my ride.”

You slowed to a stop next to him, leaning against the railing. “That’s okay. I just wanted to come check on you.”

Soonyoung looked at you, brows drawing together. “Did Minghao…?”

“I, uh, overheard.” You drummed your fingers against the railing’s edge. “I mean—I didn’t know. But I asked Seungcheol, and he pointed out your ex, and I kinda put two and two together…”

Soonyoung looked away, staring out at the city lights. “Yeah, I… I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.”

“The countdown’s starting soon,” you said. The door had been left cracked open a little, and the two of you could hear people laughing at something inside. “Just thought I’d let you know.”

He just nodded, arms curling around himself. It was cold, but Soonyoung hadn’t let it bother him too much. He’d grab his jacket and leave with Jihoon after midnight. That had been the plan, after all.

“It really sucks to get cheated on,” you sighed. “But I kinda wish you found out a different way. It’s a lot easier to hate someone when they tell you face to face, I guess.”

Soonyoung looked over. “You…?”

With a sigh, you shoved your hands into your jacket’s pockets. “You don’t know him since we met, like, right before I dumped him. But I was dating this guy for a while and everything was going great… and then he told me he’d slept with a few people.”

“A few?!”

A bitter laugh bubbled past your lips. “I dumped him on the spot. Seungcheol ended up coming over while he gathered his shit. He wasn’t on the lease or anything, so he was just getting his stuff to go back to his apartment, but I didn’t really wanna be alone with him, y’know?” With a sigh, you looked at Soonyoung. “I mean… I don’t wish that you found out like that. But I wish you didn’t find out through someone else, y’know? She’s the one who fucked up,” you poked him in the middle of his chest, “not you. The least she could do is fucking own up to it.”

Soonyoung nodded slowly. “Right… Sorry, by the way. That’s awful.”

You shrugged. “It is what it is. It hurt a lot, but… I think I became okay with it after a while. I’m never gonna forgive him, sure, but I realized that I couldn’t blame myself for it anymore. It’s not my fault he did that.”

“Right,” Soonyoung nodded. “Hey, um… I know it’s not the right time, but—”

“It’s starting!” Seungcheol yelled out, and when Soonyoung looked back, he’d made eye contact with him. A nod. Just so you know.

People started to countdown inside. Ten…. Nine…

“Soonyoung?”

Eight… Seven…

“Can I kiss you?” He spoke quickly, words blending together.

Six… Five…

You blinked in surprise. “What?”

Four… Three…

“Can I kiss you—”

Two…

Immediately, you nodded. “Yes.”

At the turn of the year, Soonyoung’s lips smashed down onto yours a little too forcefully. Yet you kissed him back, a hand curling around the back of his head, almost guiding him a bit. Soonyoung could hear the cheers inside of people celebrating the new year, and yet all he could think about was the fact he was kissing you now. You drew back, gazing at him with this longing look in your eyes as you smiled.

“I think… I’m free on Friday.”

He stared at you, almost about to question it before he understood. “Oh!”

“Can you wait that long for me?” You teased a little. Your hands rested on his hips now, and Soonyoung could feel his heart racing. “I’ll buy dinner.”

He smiled at you, hands still on your cheeks. “I’d like that,” he said softly. “Happy New Year, by the way.”

With a giggle, you pecked his lips. “Happy New Yeah. Let’s make it a good one.”

taglist: @twancingyunhao @wonuziex @synthetickitsune @staranghae @porridgesblog @weird-bookworm @bangchansbae @laylasbunbunny

#wooahaes.fall23 #wooahaes.fic #seventeen imagine #seventeen x reader #seventeen x you #svt x reader #svt imagine #svt x you #kwon soonyoung x reader #kwon soonyoung x you #hoshi x reader #hoshi x you

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kmfisk · 2 years

Text

so like, im not a shipping kind of guy, but i do like the idea of kaitlyn and jacob. not as a couple, as friends. like some goofy sitcom shit.

kaitlyn and jacob get too fucked up by the hackett’s quarry massacre, and focus more on confronting their trauma than getting laid and dating. cool. whatever.

so, like in fifth grade or something, they joked at a birthday party they would just move in together if neither of them was married by 25. idk they saw it in a movie or a disney channel show or something. by this time, they just want to do it for the taxes. that downstate rent won’t pay itself, you know.

jacob tried going to boot camp, but flunked out of free dodge charger academy because he couldn’t look a military dog in the eyes, kaitlyn teaches firearms safety which scares away men, so it’s a good plan on paper.

except jacob is a mess and kaitlyn ends up carrying him. he’s too nervous to work, that’s fine, she makes enough money, so she just tells him to handle stuff around the house.

hilarity ensues.

jacob grew up in a macho household where he never learned to do chores. he does not know how to do laundry or mow a lawn or fold bedsheets or cook.

kaitlyn regularly has to come home from her job, rainchecking a lesson doing god’s work teaching some battered ex-housewife trigger discipline, because jacob loaded the dishwasher up with regular soap.

has to teach him that an oil change does NOT go in the gas tank. he cannot use the wire grill brush to clean the granite countertops. she nearly kicks him out when he uses soap on her cast iron pans.

i would pay to watch this.

bonus: kaitlyn and dylan recreate will and grace, ft. jacob living illegally in their closet, off of the lease books because kaitlyn feels bad for him.

#the quarry #supermassive games #kaitlyn ka #dylan lenivy #jacob custos #i have a terrible sense of humor

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dasenergi-diary · 1 year

Text

Over the weekend I said I'll tell the story of "the straw that broke my back." Here it is:

I will attempt to keep all emotion out of it and only state the facts.

The ex-bf lives near me in Ontario, California. In February he started his new job in Palm Springs. That's an 80ish minute drive (70+ miles).

Every day he tells me about all of the accidents he sees on his commute. He said it's worse than his drive into LA (Los Angeles). Every day he describes to me horrible accident scenes. People drive too fast and swerve through traffic.

When he got the job, the plan always was, when his current lease is up at the end of April (beginning of May), he will get an apartment in Palm Springs.

He HATES his current apartment complex. He's been talking about moving out ever since he moved in. He complains about everything about that apartment complex.

Plus we were already aware they were increasing his rent with this renewal. So much so, that in his words, "I'm going to have to take out a loan to pay my rent. Or I could get a second job."

He wasn't exaggerating. He was serious. They're raising it several hundred.

Moving to Palm Springs would be a great new start!

Since I "work from home" most days, I could work from his Palm Springs apartment on weekdays and come home to my house on the weekends with the kids. That way we can have quality time together without someone commuting. He could also stay with me on the weekends too, or explore Palm Springs and make new friends.

He has never belonged to a gay community, he does not have any local gay friends, and I thought Palm Springs would be a great place for him to build both of those.

After he started working and commuting to Palm Springs every day I kept nagging him, "Have you looked for an apartment?"

He hadn't. So I did an online search and sent him several that met his needs.

"Have you called them? Are there any openings? Scheduled a walk-thru?" He hadn't. He kept procrastinating.

Daily on his lunchbreak I would remind him, "Call the apartment lady." (He had a good lead on an apartment from a co-worker.)

Two months went by. Finally last week he scheduled a walk-thru of an apartment. His comments, "It doesn't have an indoor washer/dryer. I'm not using a laundry room."

Here I should mention, his credit score is only 600. Remember, my mentioning he can't "adult"? Managing his finances is one way he can't "adult."

True story: He hired someone to help get his finances in order. He did NOT do what the financial advisor told him to do, and then he fired the financial advisor because he felt guilty about not doing what the financial advisor told him to do - the exact reason why he hired the financial advisor.

He has ruined his credit rating. We both knew most apartments in Palm Springs probably won't take him. We had to set expectations.

This place with the laundry room will accept him AND this place is $700 less than what he is paying now. AND it's super close to work. He'll be saving money to pay off his debts!

Did he look at any other apartments? Nope!

Then last Wednesday he shared with me that he signed the renewal at his current location... the place 70+ miles from work that he can't afford.

The place in Palm Springs was $700 less a month AND no more 70+ mile commute!

Why would he sign that lease???!!!!!

He sent me a video of that Palm Springs apartment, it was perfectly fine. I could totally see him living there. It had just been refurbished with a new bathroom, kitchen, etc. It was cute!

Even if he didn't like that one apartment he saw, he didn't even look at any others.

He has until the end of April to be out of his current apartment. That's still plenty of time (a whole month!) to find a new apartment, or stay with me, or stay with his parents, or stay in a airbnb, until he finds one.

Why did he sign that lease?

I told him to go back to his Leasing Office and say he made a mistake. That he can't afford it. Did he? I don't know. He kept saying, "I can't."

And that's what made me so furious with him. That was the straw that broke my back.

That he signed a lease for an apartment that he hates, that he can't afford and will need to take out a loan to pay rent, and he drives a dangerous 70+ mile commute to work every day, and the bright future of living in Palm Springs is gone.

And I snapped. I couldn't do it anymore. Those were my exact words to him, "I can't do this anymore."

I was done.

The straw that broke my back.

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necessaryvent · 2 years

Text

I miss my house.

I'm sitting in it right now (long story about having to be here for something while my kind of ex is at work).

It lacks soul when I'm not here. I wonder how much the kids feel it. It feels empty (there's not a lack of furnishings or anything - it just doesn't feel like there's life in it often). All those little touches I worked so hard on adding to make it feel home-y. The things I pride myself on - having a good eye and looking at cute homewares at the shops.

It smells different.

It's still a beautiful home. Maybe when I left a part of me hoped I might hate it and that would make me able to say goodbye to it and move on. But it still makes me happy. See, my marriage was fucked at the end, but the house itself made me feel comfort and joy and I basically had full rein anyway because he was never here. It probably was the one thing that made me happy. That's probably why I grieved it so much (besides having to grieve the dream of it being our forever home - our intentions when we bought it). I didn't even get to enjoy a full 4 seasons in it before I had to move out.

We have been working on ourselves and we do hope to reconcile. We needed a big circuit breaker. I don't think we've come far enough yet but I do hope we're on our way.

I do want to live here again. And I do still love the house and what it's supposed to represent (the original dream). I do think we'll move in again one day - hopefully not too far away.

I just hope my kind of ex can handle me taking over again. I plan on using my extra income (now that I have to work) to upgrade so many things and to give the house a new lease on life. A symbolic fresh start.

I had a bad dream last night that his parents were trying to offload yet another piece of crap from their house (a TV) and I absolutely did not want it in my home but I knew he wanted it. I didn't want to deal with the stress. I think I'm going to have to talk to him about getting rid of the TV he did get from them when I was moving out. It's outdated and it's not in the spirit of moving forward. Having their old crap in the house is not OK with me and I just don't think I could accept it. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but it is to me. I don't think I can get past it. If you knew all the history you would understand.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't have a say yet but we're living in limbo a bit and so we do have to be a bit respectful of each others' boundaries until a permanent decision is made about our future.

There are only a few months left and I know they'll fly by so fast.

I live with my parents and I will never take for granted the freedom of owning my own home again. I might change my mind again one day but I feel like I just want to do my own laundry and hang it out on my own line. I want to clean the house whenever and however I want. I want to relax and use my space however I want whenever I want. I want to cook whatever and whenever I want. I want to feel like a grown up in charge of her own home and life. I want to go into shops and eye off homewares and be excited about them (having to walk past that stuff because it's currently of no use to me is really hard). I want to nest. I want to make special memories of my own with the kids that don't always somehow involve my parents. I want to feel house proud. I want to invite friends over. I want to finish a summer with joy here like I never got to do last summer (the first summer in the house.

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writer-in-theory · 2 years

Text

best night, worst fight — spencer reid

summary: when spencer and reader broke up, they were sure staying roommates was a good idea. that is, until reader starts bringing partners home. request?: no pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader category: angst with happy ending content warnings: 17+ for frequent mention of flings/fwbs, breakups, language word count: 2.9k a/n: i'm super excited about this one, so i hope y'all enjoy. this is for the march/april roommate challenge put on by @imagining-in-the-margins

masterlist

Being your ex-boyfriend’s roommate seemed like a good idea, it truly had.

Looking back on it, the breakup should have been obvious. While the two of you had been fantastic friends, little problems in your romantic relationship kept compounding until eventually neither of you could stand to be in the same room without screaming or crying—or on the rare occasion, both. When it came time to decide who would keep the apartment you’d leased together, the answer was similarly clear: both of you would. You were roommates before you’d been dating, surely you could continue to be friendly roommates after?

It went well for the first few weeks, honestly. Though there was the occasional awkward moment of you blasting Adele and crying over the breakup just across the hall from the man who had broken your heart, you’d say that you and Spencer still made good roommates.

It got tricky when one of your coworkers and best friends suggested you find a rebound. “How can you possibly get over the guy when you see him every day? A good rebound fuck is the only way, I’m telling you.”

You found your rebound in the gorgeous woman who came into the same coffee shop as you every morning. She told you she wasn’t looking for a relationship and you’d responded by saying all you needed was a consistent partner in bed. It was a perfect arrangement until one morning she was awoken no less than 7 times by Spencer’s loud music. She’d hurried out of the apartment that day, thanking you for a brilliant partnership but admitting it wasn’t going to work out.

You spent the night wondering when Spencer started listening to rock music.

The next partner came in the form of a man named Tyler who you’d met at a bar. Spencer complained for weeks that no relationship that began in a bar could go anywhere but you’d insisted. Tyler was nice, after all—a culinary school student who wanted to travel to France for his future studies. Strangely, the morning after he’d suggested you come with him the salt in the shaker turned into malic acid, making his breakfast the sourest food he’d ever experienced.

Five partners later, you knew something was wrong. It got more and more ridiculous as time went on until eventually, you were wondering when Spencer would say anything about it all. Instead, he continued to treat you exactly as he had before—smiling and agreeing every time you asked if it was okay for you to have someone over before no doubt rushing to his room to pick out his next plan.

“Avery’s coming over tonight, don’t forget,” you called out to Spencer as he grabbed his bag for work. The man startled, shoulders jumping and hand clenching around the strap of his bag. “Did you forget?”

“No, I didn’t forget,” Spencer denied quickly, “Are you sure you want Avery over?”

“Why, is there something wrong?” The man always found something in each of your partners. Whether they be friends with benefits or romantic partners, there was always a complaint to be had. With Tyler, it had been that he was too arrogant. With Carter, it had been the way their shoes were tied (Y/N, who sticks loose laces into the top of their shoe? That’s not a good sign for the future”).

“I think he’s not right for you.”

“Of course you don’t,” you laughed, no longer taking stock in his opinion. Spencer was a wonderful friend but his taste in partners wasn’t exactly great. The moment he’d brought Max around to the apartment you truly thought he’d picked her to get a rise out of you. As much as you wanted him to be happy, you were secretly thrilled when they broke up. It wasn’t that there was anything particularly wrong with Max—there had just been a feeling that she wasn’t right for him.

“I’m trying to look out for you, Y/N. I don’t think he’s a good guy,” Spencer tried, busying himself with making a to-go cup of coffee you knew would likely be gone before he fully exited the apartment building.

That pulled a complete laugh out of you then. “Spencer, I love you but Avery volunteers every weekend I think he’s a pretty okay guy. Just because I’m not a profiler doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself.”

“I know you can handle yourself,” Spencer laughed in return, “Remember the guy at the bar?”

“You mean the creep who wouldn’t leave you alone? Of course, I do,” you returned, smiling brightly at the memory of one of your proudest moments. Protecting an FBI agent on a day he just couldn’t find the strength to do it himself? “But Avery isn’t like that guy, so he’ll be here tonight. And I really like him, so try to be nice, okay? Have a good day.”

“You too,” Spencer returned before slipping out of the apartment, leaving you all the space in the world to get ready for your own workday.

Waking up beside someone was something you’d never get over. From the moment the world returned to clarity around you, a feeling of warmth and safety rushed over you as you realized there was someone curled against you.

“G’morning, Y/N,” Avery greeted with his morning rasp, pressing a kiss to your lips in greeting.

“Good morning,” you said back, knowing you couldn’t live forever under these sheets but wishing you could anyway. It wasn’t even fully about Avery—he was nice but you couldn’t say you were anywhere near loving him. But you could, eventually, because he was kind and funny, and he hardly ever argued with you. Life with him was as easy as laying in bed this morning was.

“I can make us some breakfast while you shower?” Avery offered while you stood and grabbed your bath towel. He was sweet like that, always offering to do little things like that to show he cared.

The shower was quick, leaving you refreshed and a little more awake than you had been just moments before. You knew Spencer would likely be awake too at this point and would likely be sitting at the table with Avery, however, you weren’t expecting a third person—or rather, cat—to be sitting on the table just in front of Avery.

Avery, who was now sneezing and coughing up a storm in your kitchen area because of the cat sitting calmly in front of him. The cat which you decidedly did not own.

“Spencer, what’s Sergio doing in the apartment?” you asked, taking in the way Spencer seemed to be completely focused on his bowl of cereal rather than the scene playing out in front of him.

“What do you mean?” he asked, glancing up at you but quickly looking away when he likely noticed your face. Because, what the fuck was this? He’d promised he’d be nice and yet here he was bringing in Penelope’s cat for some unknown reason.

“You know what the fuck I mean,” you snapped, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Y/N,” Avery began, practically sneezing between every word as he stood, “can I call you later? I need to go.”

“Of course, I’m so sorry about the cat, I know you’re allergic,” you told him, hoping he understood that this wasn’t a normal occurrence. Still, with the look in his eyes and the way he shifted his body slightly away from yours, you knew it was highly unlikely you’d be hearing from Avery again.

As you led him to the front door, your fears were only confirmed.

“You know, I’ve heard of a lot of strange living situations but never an ex,” Avery pointed out, gaze pointed over your shoulder at the man eating cereal at the table, unbothered by the scene in front of him. “I can’t handle him trying to break us up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be talking to him I promise.”

“Y/N, I think you two have some stuff to figure out,” Avery told you, “I hope you figure it out soon.” And with as much of a goodbye as you were going to get, he was out of the apartment.

Meaning, there was absolutely nothing standing between you and Spencer fucking Reid.

“Who do you think you are?” you snapped once the front door was shut and latched. “You think it’s cute to sabotage all of my dates?”

“I’d hardly call them dates,” Spencer huffed, setting his spoon down but not looking up from the bowl.

“What would you call them, then? You have something to say to me, you say it you don’t bring your friend’s cat to the apartment!”

“How do you know it’s Sergio? A stray cat could’ve just gotten inside,” Spencer pointed out as if that were an easy thing to convince you of.

“Spencer, he’s wearing a fucking sweater,” you returned, a hand reached out to gesture toward the cat still curled up happily on the table. That light pink sweater could have only been the work of one Penelope Garcia, who doted on that cat more than you’d ever seen anyone else do. “You brought Sergio over because you knew Avery was allergic to pets. I want to know why you think it’s okay to keep me from being happy.”

“I’m not trying to keep you from being happy,” Spencer told you then, finally standing up and beginning to close the distance between you.

“Then what are you doing?!”

“I don’t know!” Spencer admitted with a loud shout, looking as surprised as you were at the words. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know I can’t stand seeing you with these people.”

“And why not? Just because you don’t want me doesn’t mean I’m not worth loving,” you returned, watching as his expression twisted up as he figured out all of his emotions.

“I never said that, Y/N. You’re jumping to conclusions.”

“I’m not, Spencer! That’s what it feels like! Why can’t you just let me be happy?”

“Because I want you to be happy with me!”

Silence. It was like the words were a dart straight through your throat rendering you unable to respond. Your lips parted but no words came, how could there be anything left to say? What could be said to something like that? This was Spencer, the man who you’d thought you could love forever, the man who you couldn’t make it work with no matter how hard you tried, the man you thought you could be friends with.

Who you thought you could be roommates with.

“I have to go,” you whispered, making a move for the door but Spencer’s gentle hand around your wrist stopping you. His grip with light enough that you could have easily walked out of it—even now he was giving you the choice of walking away from him and everything you’d built together.

But hadn’t he walked away from it first? Hadn’t it been Spencer who drew the first blade by breaking up with you? Hadn’t it been him who worsened the wound by preventing you from finding other partners?

“Please, Y/N, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Spencer pleaded. You were still facing away from him but even now you could practically see his expression—eyebrows pinned together and hazel eyes swimming with unshed tears because his dad had told him boys didn’t cry once when he was still around, free hand gripping the side of his pants tightly so it didn’t shake.

“You always say that,” you sighed, “but do you ever really mean it?”

Spencer let you go that time. He let you walk out the door and when you came back the next weekend to grab your things, he let you. For months he let you leave, let you stay gone.

He let you grieve for everything you thought you could keep together. You’d tried to stay with him in any way you could, tying the broken pieces of your relationship together with loosely knotted twine but never stopping to make sure the pieces fit back together the way they had before.

“This is my first date in a while,” you admitted to the man sitting across from you at dinner six months later. The outfit you wore felt stiff despite having been your favorite date night choice just months before. You couldn’t help but squirm in your seat, and though your heart wished the man in front of you wore a different face your brain told you this was the best option.

The man in front of you was a veterinarian, a man who kept out of trouble and didn’t have any intentions of hurting you. He was gentle and kind, and though he didn’t make you want to soar he could be enough.

You repeated this like a mantra all through dinner. Even as he asked you what wine you preferred and he didn’t judge you for the food you ordered. As he asked about your life and laughed at your jokes, you told yourself that he could be enough. He didn’t have that curly hair you loved to run your fingers through, and he didn’t hold you close to whisper gentle translations of movies in languages you didn’t know. And when you had a bad day, he brought you flowers instead of reading a story you both loved aloud.

But that was okay, because he could be enough.

This contentment could be enough.

Until, on your walk home you passed the apartment you used to love. The apartment with the light still on despite the late hour.

And suddenly you were rushing inside, waving at the woman at the front desk who still knew you. Your hands were fumbling against the elevator buttons until you found the right one, and your legs shook as you made your way to the door you knew by heart.

It took Spencer a few minutes to answer. Though there was a door between you, you’d spent enough time living with him to know that this was because he was scared of unsubs coming after him. He would be gathering a weapon, would find where the nearest phone was sitting, would have an escape route mapped before he ever unlatched the front door.

And when he did, the baseball bat you’d bought him for Christmas dropped from his hand with a loud clunk. His eyes widened impossibly wide and his lips parted in shock. You used to know exactly what he was thinking based on one look but now all you saw was this expression. And maybe that had been why it had all fallen apart before. Maybe you two had grown so close as friends and couldn’t see past the expectations and images you had of each other.

Maybe you needed these six months, these cloudy and grey six months without him.

“I hate my exes,” you blurted out, not expecting that to be how you started but quickly scrambling to explain. “When I break up with someone, I make it a point to cut them out of my life. I don’t want to see them because I stop caring entirely. I can’t stop caring about you, Spencer.”

“What does that mean?” Spencer asked, and you supposed after everything he had every right to be hesitant. He’d admitted he still cared about you and you’d walked out the door, you’d told him that what he’d done was too much to get over.

“I want you, Spencer Reid,” you admitted, voice shaking a little with the nerves taking over your body. “I want us to start over. And if it’s too late, then that’s okay too, I understand. I just want you to be happy, too.”

Spencer didn’t say anything for a long time. The seconds felt more like minutes as you waited for him to process and consider your words. Just when it was beginning to feel like it was a mistake to come here after your failed date, Spencer rushed forward to kiss you, hands holding on to either side of your face. It was the intensity of someone who thought they’d lost the one you loved, who believed that the second they let go they could lose everything.

“I want you too,” Spencer told you when your lips parted, pulling a gentle laugh from you.

“I hope so after that kiss,” you teased, smiling softly at the gentle blush that spread across his cheeks. “I guess Penny was right that being roommates was a bad idea.”

“It worked out in the end,” Spencer reassured you before gently guiding you back through the door of the apartment you’d always sought comfort in.

And that it had.

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jadedvibes · 2 years

Text

Nightmare Barns

Summary: You take up your neighbor’s offer to do laundry at his place and end up with a great friend to go to a haunted pumpkin patch with. Tons of adrenaline, a crappy run in with an ex, and pumpkins lead to confessed feelings and fluffy times. [modern au]

Pairing: neighbor!steve x reader

Warnings: FLUFF, literally fluff city, swearing, mentions of pumpkins, Steve baking, semi spoilers for the Invisible Man movie, mild panic attack upon seeing a shitty ex, mentions of controlling ex, protective Steve, Steve pretends to be your boyfriend, and mentions of gory horror attractions at a spooky halloween themed farm.

Word Count: 5.1k

A/N: Inspired by my curiosity for what it’d be like to take up Steve on his offer to do laundry at his place from catws. Happy reading and Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🖤

After a long week at work, you finally trudged up the steps to your apartment. You recently moved to take a job working for a nonprofit in Washington D.C. and you loved everything about your new home. The history, the convenience of walking wherever you needed to go, and always having something to do nearby — it was truly a wonderful place to be.

The only big inconvenience you often battled was doing your laundry. The property manager told you when you signed your lease that there were no washer and dryer hookups in the apartment but fortunately there was a laundry room in the building’s basement. You had never lived in an apartment with that set up, but you figured you could deal with it considering the perfect location. But boy were you wrong.

There was a constant battle to get a machine. Whenever you would get one, the timing of it all was stressful and sometimes you’d find your clothes dumped off to the side because you weren’t there at the exact right second to move it. It was frustrating. After waiting to get a machine for some time, and finding none available you decided to give up and take your laundry back home. You were so tired of the frequent laundry debacles but you knew it was a small price to pay for how much you loved everything else. Nevertheless, you walked up the staircase to your apartment and placed your tall laundry bin down in front of the door with a huff.

Just as you got the key in the door you heard a warm and deep voice in the stairwell telling someone they’d see them another time. Before you could turn the key you saw a tall man in your periphery reach the top of the stairs. You had yet to meet any of your neighbors so you decided to greet him. As you abandoned your key you turned around only to be met with one of the most attractive blue-eyed men you had ever seen. By the looks of it he was at least 6’2, broad and handsome as hell.

You took a quick breath to prevent yourself from sounding flustered, “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met before, I’m Y/N Y/L/N,” you said cordially to the beautiful man.

He smiled at you politely and briefly looked at you and your laundry bin. “Hi, I’m Steve Rogers,” he said kindly as he extended his hand to yours. You reached out and grabbed his large hand and felt his unsurprisingly firm grip, “I take it you’re my new neighbor?”

“Yes, I moved to the district recently for work, loving the area so far.”

“That’s great, I picked the apartment for the location myself. The only big drawback is the laundry situation,” he said as he tilted his head towards your basket.

“Yes! Oh my goodness, it’s so annoying. Do you have any tips or suggestions for places to go to nearby?”

“You’re welcome to use my machine if you want to, I couldn’t deal with the craziness after a week so I had to buy myself a washer-dryer. Do you want to do a couple loads right now? My friend just canceled our plans at the last minute, so I was thinking of doing a little baking and maybe watching a movie at home anyways.”

Wow, could this kind man be the answer to your biggest problem? He seemed nice enough and it wasn't a bad idea to make friends with your neighbors — especially when they look like that.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? Because honestly that sounds great,” you said bashfully.

“Not at all, and I’d love for you to stay for a movie too if you’re free, unless that would upset your boyfriend of course, uh, he can come too if you’d like,” he mumbled as a blush ran up his cheeks.

Smooth. Very smooth. “No, that works, and no boyfriend to upset so let’s do it, neighbor. Just give me a minute to grab some other clothes to wash. Do you need anything for baking?”

Steve looked satisfied at your response and smiled, “I don’t think so, but sure head over whenever you’re ready.”

┈┈┈┈┈・・

You stepped into your apartment and closed the door behind you, taking a moment to process the meeting with your gorgeous neighbor. Talk about being at the right place at the right time. Not to mention, he was totally flirting with you.

You grabbed your extra clothes and made some Earl Grey tea with a touch of honey to take over in your thermal carafe. Before you walked over you took a second to freshen up and ensure you looked more composed than you felt. Once you were content you locked up and headed out with your hamper in one hand and tea carafe in the other.

“Hey, Y/N come on in. Did you make us something to drink?” he asked sweetly.

You handed him the container with a grin, “Yeah I'm a big tea drinker. Hope you like Earl Grey.” You took in his apartment, breathing in the delicious scent of pumpkin spice in the air, and noticed that he was very tidy and organized. He had a record player in the corner on a brown credenza and tons of books in his book shelves along the wall.

“I love it, this will pair nicely with the pumpkin muffins I've got in the oven. The laundry closet is right around the corner by the way, help yourself to whatever you need.”

“Thanks Steve, be right back.”

You put in your load of laundry and walked back to his kitchen to see him scooping what looked like chocolate chip cookie dough onto a baking sheet.

“Boy you sure are a baker, can I help with anything?” you asked as you ambled over to his kitchen counter.

Steve turned to face you, giving you a smirk, “I’m almost done, and to be honest I’m stress baking. This should all be ready in less than 15 minutes,” he said kindly.

“You wanna talk about it?” you inquired, taking a seat on one of his bar stools.

“It’s kind of silly,” he breathed out. “My friends canceled our boys night at the last minute because they wanted to go on a double date instead. They have been giving me hell over not having a girlfriend, especially with the holiday’s coming up and all of the events and weddings we have to attend.”

You nodded, “I get it, the older I get the more it seems like I need to have a boyfriend just to do simple activities with my friends — like it’s my fault I haven’t met the right guy yet,” you said. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with that though, the plus-one search is a particularly rough one.”

He looked at you with a soft smile, “Exactly — I’m actually really glad I ran into you. It’s nice to have some company after my friends ditched me,” he grinned as he popped the tray with cookie dough in the oven.

“I’m glad I met you too, Steve. I really hate lugging my laundry around the building,” you teased.

He chuckled as he pulled out the muffins, “Wanna pick out the movie for us?”

“Yeah, let’s do the opposite of romantic. Wanna watch The Invisible Man? I haven’t seen it yet.”

“I haven’t either, that sounds good. Let me grab us some mugs for the tea and we can take the muffins to the living room.”

┈┈┈┈┈・・

Steve baked like a damn pro. He made the most amazing pumpkin cream cheese muffins and the thickest gooiest chocolate chip cookies you had ever tasted. You thought you might be in love with him based on his baking skills alone.

When you got up to move your laundry to the dryer you missed the way Steve checked you out then immediately blushed at his action. He couldn’t help but find you absolutely adorable. When he saw you looking frustrated with your laundry he saw an opportunity to help; but the hopeless romantic in him wanted to do whatever he could to spend some time with the pretty girl next door.

Throughout the movie the two of you spoke about your work and interests. It turns out Steve was an artist and the upcoming wedding he was attending was for an old friend and curator that he worked with.

“We met Clint in college, and he will be the first out of our friend group to get married. I don’t think my best friend Bucky will be too far behind though, he’s already got a ring for his girlfriend Nat,” he said with a small grin.

“It’s crazy how many people are getting married, but good for them. Love is a beautiful thing, and I hope I'm lucky enough to find that someday,” you said softly.

Earlier in the evening you said you hadn’t met the right guy yet, and the more Steve got to know you, the more he hoped that you were wrong. You had already met him, and he could be just the guy you needed. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Rogers. You’ve only known her for a couple of hours. Steve’s thoughts were disrupted by the sound of the dryer’s buzzer going off. Crap, is she going to leave?

Fortunately for Steve, you asked him if it was okay if you got the clothes after the movie — he couldn’t say yes quickly enough.

“I know love isn’t always sunshine and rainbows though, I mean look at this guy,” you said, gesturing to the film's antagonist. “He’s a violent and controlling stalker. His idea of love is so convoluted and ridiculous.”

“You’re not wrong, but good guys exist too. Not all men will fake a suicide and use an invisibility suit he created to terrorize your life,” Steve said with a smirk.

You laughed at that, “Good point, hard to argue with you there. The season just makes me a little bitter I suppose. I’m a whole and happy person — I'm not looking for someone to complete me, but I do want company sometimes. Like I want to go to a pumpkin patch and go on a hayride with my friends but they would rather go with their boyfriends so that they can take cute couple photos. Is it me or does the season feel romantic?” you asked rhetorically.

Steve didn’t care, he had an answer. “It’s the cold, there’s a reason Cuffing season exists and it’s purely weather based. People are colder, and the nights are darker. Also, the aesthetics of Fall are quite beautiful. I suppose that makes people want to share it with someone they love,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I hate how much your answer makes sense,” you shook your head.

You looked over when he wasn’t looking — he was so gorgeous it didn’t make sense. What I wouldn’t give to be cuffed to you this season. His eyes met yours and you felt warmer under his gaze.

“Do you want to go to a pumpkin patch with me tomorrow?” Steve blurted out. He started to rub his neck, “As friends of course, we don’t have to be a couple to have fun,” he added shyly.

You were a little disappointed he mentioned only as friends, but you knew you had just met him and that was wise. “That sounds like a blast, do you think we can go to Nightmare Barns? They have all the cutesy stuff plus haunted corn mazes and barns,” you asked hopefully.

“You took a simple idea, and you made it better. Let’s do that,” he beamed with excitement.

“Awesome, I can’t wait!”

┈┈┈┈┈・・

The following day you were more than ready to spend the evening with Steve again. You took your time getting ready and opted to wear a dark denim jacket with a white shirt, black high-waisted jeans, and combat boots — very cute and practical.

You were delighted that you met Steve because you felt a pleasant connection with him last night — he was so kind, respectful, and such a gentleman. You knew you lucked out in the neighbor department. However, you were also aware that your romantic heart liked to jump to conclusions. Just because he’s nice and good-looking doesn’t mean he’s into you. He asked to go as friends. After a little internal dialogue you decided you wouldn’t be rash; if friends were all he wanted to be, then that was what you’d be.

Before you could overthink anything further you heard a knock at your door. You opened it to find Steve wearing a navy blue flannel and dark jeans smiling softly. “Hey, Y/N, ready to head out?

Don’t tell him how good he looks, friends don’t do that. “Yeah, I’m ready,” you couldn’t help but smile. It was so easy to be friends with guys you didn’t find attractive, but Steve was literally your dream guy. Calm down, Y/N. You don’t want to scare the nice man.

“Great, is it okay if I drive us there?”

“That’d be perfect,” you breathed out, grabbing your keys and belongings from the counter.

“Wonderful, you look beautiful by the way,” he beamed as you headed out.

Oh great, he’s going to make this difficult for me. Friends compliment each other, it’s perfectly normal.

“Thanks Steve, that flannel is really working for you.” What the hell does that even mean, Y/N? Steve just grinned sweetly without saying another word.

He turned on the radio once you got in the car and the voice of Marvin Gaye melodiously played through. As he drove you thought about how comfortable you felt with him. You had known him for barely 24 hours, and still you felt a pleasant peacefulness when you were in his company.

You hadn’t been to a pumpkin patch since you were a kid. The last time you went was on a field trip in elementary school. You remembered having a blast with your friends, and you wondered why you hadn’t made the time to go back in so many years. You were grateful you had someone to go with now at least.

Steve interrupted your reminiscing, “So do you know about the attractions at the farm?”

“Yeah, I looked them up online. Looks like we’ll have a lot of options. Apparently they have different attractions based on your level of comfort with gore and horror. Do you spook easily?” you asked teasingly.

He laughed at that, “I wouldn’t have agreed to go if I did. Now you wouldn't happen to be a scaredy cat would you?” he goaded with a smile on his face.

You let out a laugh “I can hold my own, man. Don’t you worry about me,” you said confidently even though you felt a little apprehensive. It seemed like some of the attractions really were not for the faint of heart and apparently someone had a heart attack last year in one of the mazes inside a barn.

“Well if you do get scared, you have nothing to worry about — I’ll keep you safe,” he said frankly. “And if I get scared I hope you’ll do the same,” he joked.

Steve had a way of making you feel secure even when he was being silly. “You can use me as your human shield, I’ll protect you,” you said playfully.

“Aw, my fierce heroine,” he looked over and smiled at you.

“Anything for my sweet damsel in distress,” you assured. Are we flirting? This feels like flirting.

He let out a laugh, “We’re here, wow how cool is this?”

You looked out your window and were pleased to see a cute pumpkin patch that had a touch of spookiness to it. Nightmare Barns was a classic pumpkin patch on a farm that was overrun by creepy actors throughout the property. The actors were dressed as zombies, killer clowns, creepy scarecrows, and other miscellaneous horror characters. There was a divide that kept those wanting to only experience the pumpkin patch away from the scarier side. The pumpkin patch was warm and inviting despite the craziness around it, and there were stacks of hay around multiple bonfires for patrons to sit and relax by. The other side had run down trucks and tractors with overgrown plants covering them along with ominous trees and decorations near the barns. There was a giant corn maze behind everything that you could take a haunted hayride through too. The sun was about to set, and you were looking forward to seeing the place when it was finally dark because even in the light it was weirdly sinister.

As you walked towards the property you heard the sound of a chainsaw coming from inside a barn with a line outside of it. You looked up at Steve who looked calm and happy as he looked down at you. “I bought the tickets at home, and I might’ve gotten us the package that lets us go to as many attractions as we want,” he said sheepishly.

“You didn’t have to do that!” you nudged his arm. “But thank you, that was nice of you,” you said genuinely.

“My pleasure, did you want to take a few pictures at the pumpkin patch before we get into the attractions?”

“Brilliant, let’s do that.”

Steve snapped a couple pictures of you sitting on a hay stack with countless pumpkins surrounding you. You got him to take a couple of himself too which he shyly did. Before you could go, an older lady wearing a jack o 'lantern sweater stopped you and asked if she could take some pictures of the both of you. You couldn’t think of a reason to say no, so you handed her your phone. You didn’t know what to do so you stood closer to Steve and looked up with a bright smile on your face, he looked down into your eyes and matched your smile. After a beat, you couldn’t take the intensity of his gaze so you looked back at the woman who was gleefully smiling at the two of you, already done with taking the picture.

“What a gorgeous couple, here you go darling,” she commented, her smile reaching her eyes as she handed your phone back. You didn’t have the heart to correct her and neither did Steve.

“Thank you so much, ma’am. That was awfully kind of you,” Steve said so sweetly the woman couldn’t help but blush.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. You and your little lady have a spooktacular evening,” she beamed.

You took a moment to look at the photo and your heart raced when you saw how captivating it was. The woman caught the sun setting directly in between you two and your matching smiles were adorable as hell.

Steve looked down at you and the photo, you felt heat rise to your cheeks. “Pumpkins really bring out the inner romantic in us all, huh?” he jokingly asked to break the tension. The sun was nearly gone, and the thousands of string lights strung throughout the property were slowly turning on.

You giggled, “You said it, Steve. Now let’s go look at some gore to balance us out.”

“Yes, do you want to start with the hayride first, work our way up to the scarier stuff?”

“Sounds like the perfect plan.”

┈┈┈┈┈・・

The hayride was not as easy going as you thought it would be. Actors were hidden throughout the dark corn maze and they jumped out at you with various weapons from knives, machetes, to even fully working chainsaws. At one point, a few of the actors actually jumped onto the wagon and swiped their weapons right at you; you couldn’t help but scream and lean into Steve at that. He reassuringly wrapped his arm tightly around you and kept it there for the duration of the ride. He didn’t say anything about it afterwards either.

The next attraction seemed to be inspired by a few classic films. Inside the decrepit barn there were multiple chainsaw wielding men following you and jumping out at you as you maneuvered through a maze of fake dangling body parts and grisly bloody kitchens with fake cannibals eating what was supposed to be human remains. You screamed and shouted your way through the convoluted maze hand in hand. The two of you laughed profusely afterwards critiquing how much scarier it was than the first attraction. You took a break for some hot cider then went back to the hayride again afterwards to have a more passive experience for a bit.

Later on, as you waited in line to go through the killer clown barn you felt your blood run cold when you locked eyes with your ex from college. You quickly looked up at Steve who sensed your panic and put his hand on your shoulder.

“Hey, hey what’s going on?” he asked as he looked into your eyes.

“I.. I just saw my ex, and he wasn’t a very good guy when we were together. I’m afraid he’s going to come over here and try to talk to me,” you stuttered out.

Steve pulled you into a bear hug to try to calm you, “What’s he look like?”

“Dark hair, cold brown eyes.”

“Okay, he’s heading towards us, but don’t worry, I’m here. Can you take a deep breath for me?”

You did as he asked and you felt yourself calm if only a little in the warmth of his embrace.

“Y/N, do you want me to ask him to leave?”

You took another deep breath, you looked up into his stormy blue eyes and felt yourself anchoring back to the present moment. “No, can you… just for a minute, can you pretend to be my boyfriend? I don’t want him thinking there’s a chance, or —”

“Say no more, sweetheart,” he slowly released you and reached down to hold your hand.

“Well if it isn’t Y/N Y/L/N, how long has it been, sugar?” a gruff familiar voice asked you. You turned to look at Brock Rumlow and Steve gently squeezed your hand, letting you know that he was there.

“Hi Brock, not long enough,” you said with as much courage as you could muster.

“Hey don’t be like that, we had a great time. Why are you acting like we didn’t?” he yelled angrily. “I don’t know who this asshole is and I don’t know why the hell you thought you could run away from me but —” before he could finish Steve interjected.

“My girl and I were having a wonderful night before you showed up, so if you could kindly piss off that’d be greatly appreciated,” Steve snarked at the shorter man.

“Oh what, you gonna do something about it, dickhead?” Brock sneered at Steve.

You looked up at Steve and saw the way he squared his shoulders and glared at Brock. You felt Steve’s grip on your hand loosen as he was about to step closer to Brock but before he could two security guards showed up asking if there was a problem. Someone in line saw the scene and alerted security so that they could intervene before a fight broke out.

“This man is bothering us and he’s trying to instigate a fight with my boyfriend, could you please get him away from us?” you asked. Someone behind you jumped in and told the other security guard what had happened so they collectively decided to remove Brock from the premises. You thanked them as they left and didn’t bother looking as they escorted your ex away.

“Y/N, do you want to go sit by a bonfire in the pumpkin patch?” Steve asked gently.

“Um, yeah that’s a good idea.” Despite nearing the front of the line at that point, the two of you headed towards the other side of the farm.

Steve wrapped his arm around you and guided you towards a haystack next to a secluded bonfire. “I’m so so sorry, Steve, I hate that you had to deal with all of that.”

“Don’t be, Y/N, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I just thought we could use a break from the scares and take it easy for a bit.”

“Steve, I don’t know what to say. But I think I owe you an explanation.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Well, I feel like I do. I think from the looks of it you can gather that he was a piece of shit,” you paused. “He was extremely temperamental and controlling, and I… I basically ran away from him the summer after graduation. I left him a note saying I couldn’t do it anymore and moved away to another city for work. He didn’t take it well and he harassed my friends for information until he finally gave up when he realized he had no way to contact me. It’s been years, but as you can see he’s still a dick.”

“Shit, I’m sorry Y/N. I’m sorry you had to put up with that. You didn’t deserve that. Some men can be real pricks and it isn’t right.”

You breathed a sigh of relief after telling him, “Well I guess not all men,” you said as you briefly leaned into him. “It was a chapter of my life I don’t ever reopen or try to think about, but regardless, I’m really glad you were here tonight.” You hadn’t spoken about Brock in years, but it felt incredibly cathartic to do so now — you felt free.

Steve wrapped his arm around you again and pulled you into him, you felt him kiss the top of your head, and you melted into him, wrapping your arms around his waist. The two of you sat together comfortably looking at the fire and relishing the cozy warmth around you.

After a good while you peered up at Steve; he looked calm and you felt the same inside too. “Do you…” Steve met your gaze, “want to go get chased by killer clowns?” your eyes twinkled with mischief.

“I hate clowns so much, but only if you do,” he smiled softly at you.

You both headed back to the barn and the line attendant saw you coming. He saw what had happened and told you that you could skip the line since you already had to wait earlier. You were grateful and you and Steve rushed through it the best you could. Killer clowns dressed in bloodied masks with knives came at you from all different angles, this time Steve tucked you under his arm so that you could cover your eyes in his chest if you needed. The maniacal laughter and disgusting smiles were a lot to take in around every turn. One clown even sprayed you with water from his disheveled flower as you made your way through the final labyrinth. You had never screamed so much in your life, but it was actually a lot of fun. With Steve by your side you knew nothing was going to hurt you.

Once you finally made it out you took a giant breath and broke out in a fit of giggles. Steve joined you in laughter as the two of you made your way back towards the bonfires.

“It felt good to overcome something so scary,” you said once you sat down.

“That was so ridiculously scary, my hatred for clowns has only increased, but it was fun,” Steve chuckled.

“Minus the hiccup, tonight was the best, Steve. Thank you for asking me to come with you, even as friends you make a killer boyfriend,” you said softly.

Steve smiled at you joyfully, “I loved playing the role, although, I don’t know if it’s all the pumpkins or the colder weather talking, but I think I’d play the role in real life pretty well too,” he said, blushing inadvertently.

“You don’t mean that, c’mon Steve, we barely know each other,” you said even though you knew that didn’t really matter, not when you felt this good by his side.

“No you’re right, why don’t we go for coffee tomorrow morning and maybe a walk. Get to know each other better?”

“You askin’ me out on a date after knowing me for a day?

“Oh I’m not, just being neighborly,” he grinned, “It’s good to know who lives around you,” he teasingly bumped your shoulder.

“Yeah, I'd like that a lot,” you smiled.

“Perfect, and maybe next month you can be my date to a wedding?” he asked nonchalantly.

You furrowed your brow, “You think you’ll still want to hang out with me next month?”

“Y/N, I only spent a couple hours with you yesterday and I immediately wanted more time with you before you even left. Being with you, it feels right. And I know what you’re thinking — I am happy and good on my own, but you amplify my joy. You’re warm, silly and so beautiful. Tell me you don’t feel something too,” he asked timidly.

The bonfire cast a golden caramel light on his dilated pupils as he looked at you. “Oh my goodness, what have the pumpkins done to us?!” you let out a fake dramatic sigh. “Okay, Steve. Keep playing your cards right, and maybe you’ll find yourself cuffed for the event season,” you smiled as you leaned over to place a kiss to his cheek, causing him to blush at your sudden action.

He smiled brightly, his eyes never straying from yours. “If things go my way, I’ll be cuffed to you for a lot longer than that,” he whispered as he leaned over to kiss you on the forehead.

Part 2

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arrowflier · 3 years

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can you write a fic where they talk about having kids? maybe after the finale and mickey kinda starts the conversation 👀

It started slowly, and it started with Franny.

She had been staying over more often lately, Debbie taking night jobs again to make ends meet--though at least she was tending bar at a friend's place and not at risk of losing the rest of her toes this time. Debbie would bring Franny over after school and drop her at their door with a backpack full of clothes and crayons, staying just long enough to give her daughter a kiss and threaten Ian and Mickey with the same.

Sometimes Mickey pretended it annoyed him.

"What if we had plans, man?" he'd grumble as he helped Franny off with her coat and tucked her bag into the corner by the door.

"It's Wednesday, Mick," Ian would reply patiently. "We never go out on Wednesdays. Besides," he'd add as he ruffled Franny's hair and sent her ahead into the living room, "Debs asked us like two days ago."

"Didn't say goin' out kinds of plans," Mickey would mumble so Franny couldn't hear. "And she didn't ask, she fuckin' told."

Ian would just snort a laugh at his antics. "Please," he'd drawl, "you'll fall asleep with Fran on the couch by 10, you always do."

There would be no answer to that. Mickey would pout and grumble all day about it if he could, but as soon as their niece stepped through their doorway, it was all smiles and playful teasing and chasing each other through the apartment and down the hallways (much to the displeasure of their stuffier neighbors).

Ian loved watching them. For all of Mickey's insistence that he wasn't ready, or that he'd make a terrible father, he certainly did right by the children already in his life. And when you spent all day playing with a child, feeding them, bathing and dressing them and reading them to sleep, well. It wasn't that different from having one of your own. Not that he would ever say that to Mickey, though. He knew better now than to push.

So it was a surprise when, a few weeks into this new arrangement, Mickey brought it up on his own, albeit in his own, Mickey way.

"We gotta get a bigger place," he mused one morning as they brushed against each other in the narrow kitchen.

Why?” Ian asked, curious. “It’s just us, and we've been doing fine so far. Unless…,” he paused, turning from the open refrigerator to eye Mickey cautiously. “Unless you need some space...?”

Mickey rolled his eyes, and brushed past again roughly enough to knock into Ian's shoulder with his own.

“No, Ian, I don’t need fuckin’ space, jesus,” he answered. “But we need another bedroom." To Ian's confused look, he expanded on the thought. "Franny sleeps here all the time, man, think it’s time she gets an upgrade from the sofa, that’s all."

Oh. That made sense. Ian hid a smile as he ducked his head back into the fridge, pretending to search for the eggs that were right there on the shelf.

"Sure Mick," he agreed. "The lease is up soon, we can start looking for a two bedroom."

It's quiet behind him, and he pulls back just in time to catch Mickey biting his lip nervously, though the other man doesn't see.

“And maybe we can fit a couple beds in there," Mickey said casually, betrayed only by a slight hitch in his breath and the way his eyes darted everywhere but Ian's face. "Just in case.”

Just in case. Ian's heart soared.

"Good idea," he forced himself to say in a normal voice. He didn't want to scare this idea away. He knew by the way Mickey looked at him that he hadn't quite managed the nonchalant tone he was going for, but that was okay. They could both pretend it was no big deal.

They didn't talk about it for a while after that. Not until Lip started bringing Fred around.

"You sure your girl is okay with this?" Mickey asked the first time, holding the kid away from him like he was a ticking bomb.

Lip just chuckled. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "This was her idea, Milkovich, you can't get out of uncle duties that easy."

Mickey looked offended at that, automatically bringing Fred closer to his chest and putting a protective hand on his back.

Ian stepped in before he could say anything too brash.

"We're just surprised, that's all," he told his brother. "Tami doesn't usually let Fred out of her sight."

Lip shrugged, then clapped Ian on the back, squeezing the back of this neck once before letting go. "She sees how good you guys are with Franny, and we need a break, man," he admitted. "Besides, she thinks Mickey here is some sort of kindred spirit."

They both raise their eyebrows at him until he explains.

"You know, willingly joining the Gallagher crazy and all," he said, only half joking. "If only she knew what an upgrade it was for this one," he added with a nod to Mickey, darting out the door before they can do anything about it.

"Diapers are in the bag," he shouted back to them, "try not to kill my kid!"

Ian and Mickey stared at each other after closing the door behind him, the stared at Fred, who had settled his head against Mickey's shoulder and was staring up at him with soft, sleepy eyes.

"Well," Mickey said slowly. "What the fuck do we do now?"

As it turned out, Mickey was great with babies, too. Of course he was.

They had Freddie in the bath after he had ruined his last diaper, Mickey keeping him safely propped up while Ian scrubbed him down. Neither of them mentioned the last time they had done this, but they both remembered the drill.

"Kids are fuckin' nasty," Mickey said, wrinkling his nose as Ian washed away the last of the mess.

"You're fucking nasty," Ian retorted, and then they were splashing each other with the dirty bathwater until a wave of it got Mickey in the face.

He sputtered, trying to grab for something to wipe it off without letting go of Fred, who was watching them and giggling.

"You asshole," Mickey growled, "you know where that's been, jesus Ian!"

Ian laughed at him, but stood and fetched a clean washcloth. He threw it at Mickey, then grabbed Fred out of the water and bundled him into their fluffiest towel, leaving Mickey muttering curses behind them as they move out to the bedroom.

Later that night, with Fred sleeping quietly next to them in his worn pack'n play, Mickey brought it up again.

"Don't they make, like, little kid bath things?" he questioned in the darkness. "We should get one of those, make things easier."

Ian rolled over to face him. "Yeah," he said slowly, "but Fred will be too big for that soon anyway."

He could feel the sheets shift when Mickey shrugged. "Should get one anyway," he said. "Might come in handy."

Ian didn't answer for a long moment, then answered with a simple, "okay."

He fell asleep smiling that night.

Things finally came to a head a few months later, when Ian got home to find a brochure on the table.

A brochure for an adoption agency.

He stared at it. Grabbed a beer out of the fridge, took a long sip. Stared at it some more.

He was still standing there when Mickey came in from the bedroom, and stopped still for just a second before continuing toward the fridge.

"Hey," Mickey said as he grabbed his own beer. "What are you thinkin'?"

Ian just looked at him.

"About that," Mickey clarified, motioning toward the pamphlet with the bottom of his bottle. "The adoption thing."

Ian swallowed hard, and took another drink before answering.

"Not thinking much yet," he admitted. "But I'm wondering where it came from."

Mickey rubbed at his eyebrow with the thumb of his free hand, not looking at Ian as he answered.

"Got it from some lady a few doors down," he revealed. "Said they're lookin' for more couples to step up."

"We wouldn't qualify," Ian managed to say past the lump in his throat. "Two ex-cons, gay, self-employed?" He forced an awkward laugh. "We're like a nightmare for those places."

He wasn't sure what he expected from that, but it wasn't for Mickey to come closer, setting down his beer to wrap and arm around Ian's back.

"Hey," he said softly, shaking Ian a little. "It don't gotta be adoption, man, just..." he hesitated, but pushed on, "been thinkin' about it, you know?"

That made Ian smile. "Yeah, I know," he admitted. "You're not as subtle as you think."

He turned in Mickey's half-embrace, leaning a hip against the table and bringing his own arm up so he could tease the hair at the back of Mickey's neck.

"You sure you're ready for this, Milkovich?" he whispered, hand moving to cup Mickey's face, thumb stroking at his cheek.

Mickey smiled back, leaning closer. "Damn straight, Gallagher," he murmured just before their lips brushed. "Damn straight."

#daily speedwrite #fic request #fanfic #gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #franny gallagher #lip gallagher #fred gallagher #ian and mickey talk kids #but in an ian and mickey way #early morning writing

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babybluereads · 3 years

Text

b.b. series/multi-parts

🌼 - fluff

🍃 - angsty

🌷 - sexual themes

🌹 - smut

🌻 - personal favourite

📝 - yet to be completed

📝🌻🌼🌷Best Friends Brother by @buckysbabygorl - Summary: Reader goes up to her friend’s ‘summer house’ for spring break to forget about the daily stress of being a student. She’s ready to let loose and have fun, but she wasn’t prepared to meet her friend’s attractive older brother…

📝🌼🍃🌷🌹Rumours by @buckysbabygorl - Summary: Reader and Bucky are all anyone has been talking about. They’re both sick of the ridiculous rumours, but is there some truth to it?

📝🌼They're Playing Our Song by @buckysbabygorl - Summary: Reader has no idea how to dance, and Bucky insists on teaching her

📝🌻🍃🌼A Stitch in Time by @buckysbabygorl - Summary: When family heirlooms turn up, Bucky Barnes is brought back into a painful nostalgia. Beautiful memories of his youth with his best friend Steve Rogers, and lost love the reader. All of the things he had hoped for in his life had completely passed him by. Or so he thinks.

📝🌻🌼🍃A Favour by @buckysbabygorl - Summary: After breaking up with her boyfriend; Reader drunkenly admits to the team that she’s never had sex. Not only is she single, but she’s looking. Everyone knows about the crush Barnes harbours for Reader, but all is fair in love and war… will Barnes admit how he feels before she’s swept up? Or will reader find someone else to satisfy her needs?

🌻🌼🍃🌹Bucky Mine by @tuiccim - Based on the ask: Bucky has a nightmare and reader sings to him. 🌻🌼🍃Come Over by @moonstruckbucky - Summary : You’re new to New York City. Fresh out of post-grad and wanting a change of pace, and this change comes in more ways than one.

🌻🍃🌼🌹Under Oath by @ugh-supersoldiers - Summary : The people called for justice, the state answered. The trial of State v. Barnes is set to begin, and the odds are most certainly not in favour of the not so beloved ex Winter Soldier. That’s where you come in, the quick, smart, and all too brave lawyer set on defending and saving one Bucky Barnes from legal prosecution. The only problem? He’s not so sure he’s worth saving at all.

🌻🌼🍃Heart to a Gunfight by @lailannajacobs - Summary : You didn’t want to help Bucky Barnes make it through the party by pretending to be his fake girlfriend, after all, you had just met him. You also didn’t plan on the charade lasting as long as it did.

🌻🌼The Five Times Bucky Saved You, and The One Time You Saved Him by @buckysknifecollection - Summary : You have a special bond with Bucky. He’s more than your best friend, your partner in missions, the person you care most about. He often saved you from uncomfortable situations, always ready to protect you, but sometimes, you are the one who did the saving. A series of drabbles.

🌻🍃🌼Catch Me by @buckywithegoodhair - Summary: In which a bet leads Bucky to have to catch you every day for a week, no matter what.

🌻🌼🌹 Pool Balls and Underpants & Another Kinky Wager by @bitsandbobsandstuff - Summary: Bucky offers to teach you how to play pool, but he ends up in a slightly awkward predicament.

🌻🌼🍃Uninvited by @mymoonagedaydream - Summary: When your best friend Sam finally moved into his own place, you thought it would give you both the new lease of life you’d been craving. Then he introduced you to his roommate…

🌼🍃🌷 Witness Protection by @mymoonagedaydream - Summary: You’d only been living in New York for a few weeks when Natasha introduced you to James Barnes, the man who’d change your life forever.

🌻🍃🌼🌷 For the Love of the Game by @pellucid-constellations - Summary: Bucky Barnes was a menace. NYU’s top baseball player, he was used to girls falling at his feet and could smooth talk his way out of just about anything. You hated him. He couldn’t figure out why. So when the novelty of weekend parties and quick hookups finally wore off—and his feelings for you began to grow—he made it his mission to fix it.

🌻🌼🍃🌹 Sunrise by @wkemeup - Summary: After an explosion takes his arm and his only sense of belonging, Bucky is discharged from active duty and sent back to civilian life. Left with a storm of unchecked guilt, Bucky is content to live out the rest of his days in the hollow comfort of the dark. This is, until Sam drags him down to the local VA and he meets you. (Modern AU)

🌻🌼🍃🌹 3B by @softlybarnes - Summary: Bucky is used to being alone, so is the girl living in apartment 3B. He keeps to his routine, to crossing off amends. But mutual loneliness forges an unlikely friendship. Alone and reclusive, sweet and incredibly strange, with deep secrets and regrets, 3B has more to reveal than meets the eye.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #marvel #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky #Bucky Barnes angst #Bucky Barnes fluff #bucky barnes series #babybluereads #ficrec #sebastian stan characters #sebastian stan

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likeastarstar · 2 years

Text

The Lease Chapter One: The Meeting

(A/N: Super excited to put this out! The first chapter is mainly just a set up of what's to come but I hope you guys like it!! I'm so excited to see what you guys think!)

Read Preview Here.

masterlist.

It was one of those rare days of utter perfection.

Crisp, wintery air holding you suspended in the world with the promise of spring warming the earth beneath you. The sun was out for the first time all week, shining brightly in the sky without a cloud in sight. It was the kind of day you'd ideally spend alone, in a park or hiking or journalling by the river. Things were better when you got to spend time outside, it lifted a weight off your shoulders and reminded you that the world was much bigger than whatever problems you had.

Everyone had gotten used to it at this point, knowing that on a day like today- a bright and shiny one, that there was no use making plans because you'd be busy spending time in the world alone. It was the kind of thing you did all the time, turning your phone off for the day and just secluding yourself to reconnect with nature.

It was exactly what you were doing now, taking a walk in one of the few parks you hadn't visited yet. You didn't normally think too deeply on these days, but this time was different. You couldn't stop thinking about something that seemed to be an open wound in your brain, bleeding into other areas of your life.

See, you had a theory.

The ability to love genetic- it had to be. There was no other explanation for every relationship in your life to fail the same way every relationship in your family failed.

If couples in your family weren't divorced then they should've been. It had to be some sort of a curse or a genetic mutation in your DNA dictating that you weren't meant to stay in love with anyone for longer than a couple of years or so.

You longest relationship had made it to a year and a half, ending when your ex proposed. He thought he loved you- you believed that he thought that, but all you could see was yourself in five years, stuck in a loveless marriage just like your parents had found themselves in. You were too young for that level of commitment, too young but you could see the end so clearly.

No way- that wouldn't be you.

You didn't think about your ex often, like you just mentioned- you hadn't really been in love if you could already tell it would all go to shit. You didn't think about your ex often, but you thought about him now, staring at a couple in the park making out unabashedly.

You tilted your head, very openly staring at the obnoxious shiny watch on the man's wrist. Your ex liked that brand too, said it made him feel expensive. You got him a platinum one for his 23rd birthday, two days before he proposed. It really was expensive. When you turned him down he threw it at you, ripping your favorite sweater.

Looking down at your sleeve, you eyed the sewn up tear near your elbow. The tear was invisible to everyone else but you could see it, plain as day. You remember the time it took to sew it up and the number of times you pricked your finger. You could see the threads you had painstakingly mended the tear with, a slightly more matted finish then the rest of the beige colored material. No one else could see the tear, but you could.

Yeah, you definitely made the right decision in ending things.

Besides, things were different now. You had a whole new life, a new apartment with a view of the city, a new job at your best friends' coffee shop. You were selfish with your time but it was yours and yours alone. You liked it this way, for the first time you owned every part of your life in its entirety.

Whatever- this was supposed to be a leisurely walk in nature, secluded and detached. Secluded and detached, secluded and detached.

You turned on your heels, taking two steps before swiveling around and walking the other direction on instinct. Leisurely walks require little to no navigation, you have to go where your feet take you and right now, they wanted to go towards the pond you spotted out of the corner of your eye instead of away from it.

There were park benches all along the pond begging to be sat on, three choices laid out in front of you. One was covered in bird shit, instantly eliminating itself as an option. That left two- one with a woman who was talking too loudly, which annoyed you just enough to detour you from sitting there. The last bench was under a tree but miraculously clear of any bird poop with a man quietly sitting on one end of it, scribbling furiously into a notebook.

Furious scribbler it is.

You stared at the pond in front of you, watching as a random swan swam across your viewpoint gracefully, another following it closely. How the fuck did two swans even end up in the middle of a city park anyway- what kind of traumatic experience brought them here? They probably didn't even like each other, probably just decided to stick together like humans often did. It was trauma bonding- nothing else.

"You know people think swans mate for life, but they don't. Even swans get divorces- if they can't mate successfully or if one of them dies or whatever. Scientists actually did a study and one in six swans are actually illegitimate."

You turned your head slowly, looking anxiously at the man who you had chosen to sit next to. You figured he looked normal enough when you had approached the bench. You would've gone even farther to say that he was attractive- flawless skin, sharp eyes that softened slightly when you asked if you could sit beside him, but clearly he was a freak and you should've sat with Chatty Cathy.

Or had you just ranted about trauma bonding aloud? You frowned, feeling deeply confused and slightly dazed.

The man seemed completely unaware of how bizarre his rant had been regardless of your own internal conflict, eloquently explaining the sex life of a bird stared as he straight ahead with a disapproving look on his face. The swans flocked together, entangling their necks to make a cheesy little heart shape.

"What a letdown," You said flatly, looking back at the swans.

The man next to you clicked his tongue and a silence fell over the two of you. See, you thought, not even birds could stay together. Yet another piece of evidence that long term monogamy was a farce.

You thought about the swans far too often until saw the same man a week later, a rice ball in his hand and a frown on his face.

All in all, you were having a shit ass day. A customer yelled at you, you had dried up whole milk on your shoes, and you were pretty sure your dinner plans fell through for later that night.

"Hey, snap out of it."

You blinked, snapping your head towards the sound.

Suddenly, the world around you was engulfed in noise. The sound of milk frothing, the low hum of espresso shots being pulled. You could hear people laughing, coworkers chattering to each other. Working at a coffee shop was a hectic environment, zoning out in the middle of your shift should've won you a medal for maladaptive daydreaming. Instead, your best friend and boss was glaring at you with mock annoyance.

"I'm gonna fire you if you keep dissociating," She warned, gesturing towards the multiple people in line waiting to be attended to.

"I'm the only one here who knows how to run a business, you'd go to shit in an hour." You pointed out, rolling your eyes. "You didn't even know what a wholesaler was before you hired me."

"Well, I do now!" Binna snapped back, stomping her foot down petulantly.

You smiled at the next customer, a short man with a nervous look on his face, and took his order- medium cold brew with sugar free hazelnut syrup and a splash of 2%. You passed the order on before spinning on your heels to face Binna, "Oh yeah? What's the name of the guy who we get our coffee beans from?"

Binna stared at you blankly, tilting her head before laughing awkwardly, "Okay- fine. Maybe I'm not the best at stuff like that, that's why I need you to pay attention so I don't go bankrupt!"

You grumbled but focused on clearing the line, helping the baristas by picking up half of the orders and making them yourself while Binna called out completed orders. Things slowed a little after, giving you time to make yourself a chai latte.

"But seriously, why are you so spacey today?" Binna asked, knocking her hip against yours.

You shrugged, pouring oatmilk into your cup, "Just one of those days- Did you know swans don't actually mate for life?"

Binna rolled her eyes, leaning against the countertop, "Please don't tell me you're about to compare humans to swans right now."

"It's true!" You cried, throwing your hands up, "If swans don't do it, why should humans!"

She threw you a pointed look, shaking her head, "You need to get a boyfriend."

You willfully ignored her, going back to making yourself a drink. Managing the shop was somewhat of a random career switch for you from your old corporate job but when Binna called you, sobbing about how in over her head she was, you were happy to help. Sure, your mom didn't understand it and it was a lot more responsibility, but working with your best friend was fun and the endless supply of coffee wasn't so bad either.

Except for days like today.

It was like you had a storm cloud hanging over your head, striking you with a lightening bolt of disdain every now and then. It hadn't been until your shift ended that you realized it was another perfect day outside. Less perfect than last week, you spotted a cloud on the way over here. But still, too good of a day to be wasted on your bad mood.

Suddenly, none of it mattered- two steps into the park and suddenly the day was turning itself around.

"Still looking at that pond, huh?" You asked jokingly, approaching the man slowly.

"Wha- Oh," He said, a look of recognition crossing over his face, "Sorry, is this your usual bench or something? I can move."

"It's fine," You said quickly before he could move to get up. "It's a public park, we can share ownership of the bench."

He stretched his lips into a tight smile and nodded, going back to eating. Sweet smile, cute dimples. You snuck glances of him every now and then, taking note of his large stature that took up more than half of the bench. His skin was tanned and his hair cropped short, although you could barely see it with the way he had a beanie pulled over his head.

"You got any more bird facts?" You mused, pulling your knees up to your chest and hugging them tightly.

You had no idea why you were making conversation with him, but after the day you had had, a little conversation wouldn't hurt. You liked the tone of his voice, mellow and low almost to the point of intelligibility, forcing you to put your undivided attention on him.

"No, just that they're pretty territorial. They've been known to attack people for getting too close," He smiled awkwardly.

"A slutty bird with trust issues," You said slowly, "Sounds like me."

The man laughed at that and you felt pride blooming in your chest. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but you started looking for him everywhere after that. Strange, how foreign a face could be one moment and then the next you were double taking every tall man on the west side of town in hopes that it was Bird Man.

Thankfully, you knew you'd see him at least once a week. It was the beginning of an unspoken tradition: every week, you'd share custody of the bench between the two largest oak trees at the park near your house facing the pond. You'd watch the birds and talk about stupid shit.

Sometimes you'd bring him coffee from work- an iced americano or an iced oatmilk latte with an added shot of espresso. Sometimes he'd bring you a rice ball, always tuna mayo and never salmon for some reason.

There were a lot of variables between the two of you, you were more different than alike, but one thing you agreed on wound up being the most important thing-

"So, you come here a lot." He said one day, handing you a rice ball wordlessly.

You snorted and nodded, taking it from him gratefully and willfully ignoring the way your fingertips grazed against his, "So do you."

"I come here to write- I'm a writer." He explained, a far too humble look on his face.

You raised your eyebrows and eyed his notebook and then his shoes. His notebook was old and the leather was cracking, held together by two jumbo sized rubber bands with a cheesy little pen with a tiny cactus on the end of it stuffed between the pages. His shoes were nice and looked too expensive for you to afford yourself.

Writers were usually broke if they were no good- but from the looks of his shoes and the worn down edges of his notebook made you curious- could you find his prose in a bookstore? What name would you look for him under? You really should ask for his name.

"Why are you always here?" He asked, cutting your train of thought off. You blinked blankly once before processing what he had said, smiling awkwardly.

"For the swans?" You joked, "I guess I just like nature, I dunno- I've just always been like this. I prefer being outside. It makes me feel...better, somehow."

"Less insane," He nodded, a look on his face saying he felt exactly the same way as you did.

You stared at him, astounded that someone could feel the exact same way as you. You tilted your head, wide eyes scanning the shy smile on his face. It was like someone lifted a veil over your eyes and suddenly there he was, the handsome stranger you had randomly befriended. You weren't sure if it was because you were finally taking the time to look at him, like really look at him- or if it was his mindset that suddenly made you all the more intrigued by him.

Ah, shit- you've got a crush.

"What did you say your name was again?" You asked, raising your eyebrows at him.

He grinned, leaning back against the bench with a satisfied smile, as if he knew exactly where you were going with this and why you were asking his name, "Namjoon. My name is Namjoon."

You smiled, a blush blooming on your cheeks. Namjoon. It paired nicely with your name, not that that mattered, "I'm glad we met, Namjoon."

taglist: @vanilla-sky01

#bts fic #namjoon x you #kim namjoon fanfiction #namjoon fanfic #bts fanfction #namjoon fluff #namjoon x reader #namjoon x oc #namjoon strangers to lovers #bts strangers to lovers #bts s2l #s2l #bts fic rec

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atlafan · 3 years

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a/n: A couple of weeks ago I saw a post about ex’s to lovers, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So basically it’s a story about two people who ended things on a semi-good note, like nothing inherently bad happened between them, but they decided to break up. Sometimes people find their way back to each other, though. That’s what we have here. Harry is a tax attorney, a few years older than our MC, Blair Smith, who teaches jazzercise. (not proofread) PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU READ THIS AND LIKE IT, YALL WANTED ME TO KEEP POSTING FICS ON HERE, SO HERE YOU GO! PLEASE, IT TAKES TWO SECONDS! Check out my patreon for other excursive content.

Warnings: angst, fluff, smut (sub!Harry????), mentions of death, a funeral

Words: 17.8K

Pairing: Harry x OC (Blair Smith)

When Blair Smith became a Physical Education major in college, she never thought that would lead her to leasing a dance studio, and teaching jazzercise. It took her until she was twenty-five to really get it all together. She wasn’t mad about it, she actually enjoyed it more than she thought. She double minored in Dance and in Business Administration, she had never been so thankful to have overloaded herself in her life. She thought she would be teaching gym at the high school level, along with some health and nutrition classes, but when she did her practicum semester at a local high school near her college, she realized that working with younger students was not for her. None of them listened, none of them really wanted to be there, aside from the gym-class-heroes, and she couldn’t stand that the majority wouldn’t even change their clothes for class.

Blair wanted to make her own rules. Luckily, after presenting a well-thought-out business plan to her parents, she was able to get them to co-sign for a loan from the bank to lease a dance studio. She named her studio Just Dance because she offered different types and levels of jazzercise. Some involved use of weights, some involved a little more high intensity, and some involved a little yoga. She was grateful for the couple of marketing classes she took because she was able to really build her brand. She had an Instagram, Facebook Page, and a website. She had an online way to sign up for memberships, and she had daily drop-in prices.

It was easier than she thought to build her clientele. She had a great spot in the city, and there was a small parking lot out back behind the building. Most of her friends from school signed up, and helped her advertise. It was open to men and women, as opposed to a lot of jazzercise places that only offered classes to women. Even though Blair couldn’t afford to hire a second instructor, she was managing things just fine. She offered two early morning sessions, one lunch hour session, and three evening sessions. So, she had plenty of time to relax, stretch, and not over work her muscles. She was strategic about class offerings as well. She gave herself Sundays and Fridays off, since those seemed to be the days with the least amount of people signed up. Monday through Thursday, and Saturday, she made sure to stagger her lessons. For example, Mondays and Wednesdays were weights and yoga infused classes, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were the high intensity days. Going into her fourth year doing this, she had it down to a science to say the least.

Business was always really good in January and February, when people were making their New Year’s resolutions, and during the summer months when people were trying to feel better about being in their bathing suits. Blair always preached positivity and inner health as the most important things. It was an inclusive space, which is exactly what she wanted it to be.

She liked working for herself. If she needed to run errands between classes, she could. If she wanted to take a nap in the middle of the day, she could. She didn’t have to answer to a single person. Her parents would sometimes ask questions, but mostly just to make sure Blair was making her loan payments on time. She had automatic withdrawals set up with the bank, so she didn’t even need to think about it. Yup, Blair had just about everything figured out, and she knew she was very lucky for that.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Sullivan, we’ll get everything figured out for your son. Yes, he’s in very good hands with me. Alright, have a nice evening.” Harry hangs up his phone and sighs, rubbing at his temples to soothe the oncoming headache he could feel. It was another complicated trust fund case, but that was the job.

The Law Office of Styles and Associates was a tax attorney office. Harry specialized in cases that dealt with trusts, gifts, and various tax planning structures to reduce the burdens of income taxes and estate taxes, and he assisted in devising investment strategies. His undergraduate degree was in accounting, and he minored in pre-law. After that, he went to law school for three years and passed the bar. His father had been a tax attorney as well. Harry liked living the comfortable life he was able to live growing up thanks to his father, and he wanted the same for himself. Plus, he just enjoyed crunching numbers for people, so it was a win-win. Making nearly $150K a year wasn’t too shabby either.

“Hey, H, you ready to go?” John comes into Harry’s office.

“Yeah, just finished up for the day.” Harry stands up, puts his suit jacket back on, grabs his brief case, and heads out. “Kate, feel free to head home, I’m done for the day.” He tells his secretary on his way out.

“Thank you, Mr. Styles, have a nice weekend.” She smiles at him.

“Same to you.” He nods and keeps walking with John. “I feel terrible, she’s pregnant, you know? Her feet are the size of melons by the end of the day.”

“When’s her maternity leave start?” John asks as they enter the elevator.

“Not for a while, she’s only seven months along. She’s been trying to train some college intern to take her place while she’s gone, but no one’s as good as Kate.” Harry rolls her eyes. “Oh well, I’m happy for her. Her and husband have been trying to get pregnant for a while.”

Harry and John make their way to a bar downtown, one of their usual Friday evening spots. They usually met up with some of their other law-school buddies. It was also a great way to blow off steam from the week. Sometimes Harry would end up pulling a 60-hour week, so he thought he deserved to cut loose, and have a little fun with his friends. Maybe meet a pretty girl he could take back to her place and have a whole different kind of fun with her. Harry was a phenomenal attorney, but when it came to his personal life, well, if you looked up the definition of a playboy, his picture would be there. He fucked around, a lot, without a second thought. Actually, his only thought was to make sure he always had a condom. Harry never went bare back. The last thing he needed was someone claiming he was the father of their child, and suing him for child support. The only time he didn’t use a condom was when he was in a legitimate relationship a couple of years back.

He thought about her from time to time. He never met another girl like her, and there were times he really did miss her. The breakup wasn’t anything dramatic, the pair had just grown apart. Harry was in the process of taking over the practice for his father, and she…wasn’t quite ready to settle down. She wanted to work on her own career and make a name for herself. It hurt that she didn’t see him in her vision for the future, but he understood where she was coming from. She was a few years younger than him, and he didn’t want her to resent him for taking away her time to be young and have fun. So they ended it. Since her, he decided to have some fun himself with his friends.

Blair got the call right before her second morning class on Wednesday morning. She nearly collapsed on the floor in tears. Everyone rushed over to her. She had to cancel everything for the rest of the week, and her clients were more than understanding.

“How did it happen?” She asks her mother, Pam.

“He had a stroke, and…god, he just didn’t bounce back.” Pam uses a hankie to wipe her tears. “Most of everything should be all set, he was very specific, but…we’re going to need an attorney. Your father’s biggest fear is that his first wife would claim that she has a right to his pension, that she was promised money or something.”

“God, I hate her.” Blair grimaces. “All she’s ever cared about is making him miserable. She just wants money for her son. He’s not even Dad’s!”

“That’s why they got divorced! She cheated on him with his best friend and got knocked up. You can see how sticky this is going to get. I hate to ask, but…”

“I’ll go see him.” Blair sighs.

“I just think he might sympathize, maybe work the case pro bono. I’m not sure we could afford him otherwise.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mum, I’ll talk to him and figure it out. I’m not going to let Lora fuck everything up for you.”

Kate nearly choked on her water when she saw Blair walking towards her. She knew Harry had a meeting with a B. Smith. She should have known better.

“B-Blair, hi.” Kate says.

“Kate! Oh my goodness, you look incredible! You and Roger finally-“

“Yeah! I’m due in a couple more months.”

“That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you.” Blair smiles. “Um, I think I set up a meeting through an intern?”

“Yes.” Kate sighs. “I’m training her for when I go on maternity leave. Um, may I ask why you’re here to see Harry?”

“It’s strictly business. My…my father recently passed, and-“

“I’m so sorry.” Kate frowns. “He was always so nice.”

“Yeah, he was a good guy. Anyways, there’s a lot going on with his will and a trust he set up for my mom. Harry’s the only person I could think of when my mom said we’d need an attorney.”

“Of course.” Kate nods. “I’ll let him know you’re here.” Kate knocks on Harry’s door and opens it. “Mr. Styles?”

“Yes?”

“Your 2PM is here.”

“Ah, great.” Harry squints at his screen to check his calendar. “B. Smith? Why does that sound familiar?” He puckers his lips in thought.

“Um…it’s Blair.”

“Blair!” Harry stands up and bangs his knee in the process. “Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?!”

“I didn’t know! Maura answered when she called to set up the appointment.”

“Fuck.” Harry runs a hand through his hair. “How do I look? Is there anything in my teeth?”

“No, you’re fine. Just relax, I’m going to send her in.” Kate leaves his office and smiles at Blair. “He’s ready for you.”

“Thank you, Kate. We should catch up before the baby comes.”

“I’d like that. I miss going to your classes.”

Blair nods and goes into Harry’s office, closing the door behind her.

“Hi, Harry.”

“Hi.” He walks over to her, leaving about a foot of space between them. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you?” Her bottom lip trembles, and his smile fades. “What’s wrong?” He asks softly.

“M…my Dad died.” She says, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Oh, sweetheart.” He pulls her in for a hug so he can comfort her. “When’s the funeral? You know you could have just called me, you didn’t have to be so formal.”

“Actually, I did.” She sniffles and steps back from him. “I need an attorney, my mom and I do…only…we can’t really afford a good one.”

“Oh.” Harry nods. “Have a seat.” He gestures, and rounds his desk to sit back down in his own seat. “Is this about his ex-wife?”

“Unfortunately.” Blair rolls her eyes, and grabs a tissue off his desk. “My mom is scared she’s going to pull some fake paternity crap with her son, even though everyone knows he’s not my Dad’s. I think my mom just wants to be prepared for the inevitable shit storm Lora’s going to bring.”

“I don’t blame her.” Harry sighs and leans back in his chair. “I…haven’t taken a pro bono case yet this year. I could help that way.”

“Only if you really want to. I’m not asking for a handout, but I don’t trust anyone else to take care of me.” Blair blinks when she realizes what she’s said. “Us, I don’t trust anyone else to take care of us.”

“Right.” He leans forward. “I’d be happy to do it. Um, does your mom want to meet with me, or-“

“I think she’s sort of hoping I’ll take care of all the legal stuff. She’s grieving, you know?”

“So are you.” He frowns.

“You know me, I like to keep busy during these sorts of things. I can get a copy of the will, and the trust information over to you via email if that works, and then we can go from there?”

“Sure, yeah. My email’s still the same, um, and so is my phone number…”

“I still have your phone number.” She rolls her eyes.

“Then why didn’t you call me about this first? Why call and make an appointment?”

“I…I thought if I called…you’d think I was calling for something else.” She blushes. “I wanted you to know it was strictly business.”

“Blair, all you had to say was that your dad died. I could have been there for you. You live alone, all you do is work…your best friend is my cousin…do you and Riley even still talk?”

“Of course we do! Just because we broke up doesn’t mean that she and I did. I met you because of her, I was her friend first. It would be really shitty to stop talking to her because it didn’t work out with you.”

“Okay, Christ, calm down.” He shakes his head. “You’re as hot headed as ever, you know that?”

“I’m sorry, my father just died and I’m trying to keep it together!” Her eyes rim with tears again. “He’s never going to be able to walk down the aisle when I get married, he’s never going to meet his grandchildren, there are so many things…he was too young.” She sniffles.

“How did it happen?”

“He had a stroke, and didn’t recover.” She looks away.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I appreciate that, but that’s not going to being him back, so don’t be sorry. Just…help me with this.”

“I will, there’s no question about it.”

“Thank you, Harry.” She stands up. “I’ll email you.”

“Blair.” Harry stands up. “Look, if you need anything else, don’t be afraid to ask. If you need a friend…I’m here for you.”

“I have plenty of friends.” She sighs. “And no offense, but my friends don’t fuck a ton of women weekend after weekend and treat them like shit.” She smirks.

“I don’t do that.” His face flushes. “I just haven’t met someone I’ve really wanted to continue seeing, that’s all.”

“Harry.” Blair shakes her head as she chuckles. “Not that I ask, but Riley’s told me a few things. You two are close, and when she gets drunk she loves regaling me of your many escapades.”

“I’ll have to send her a very strongly worded text after you leave.” He rolls his eyes.

“Don’t get mad at her, it’s fine. I don’t really care.”

“You don’t?”

“No, why would I? It’s not me you’re fucking, so it doesn’t concern me.” She shrugs. “That’s the beauty of breaking up, Har, I don’t give a shit where you stick your dick at night.”

“Well, obviously you do if you won’t even let me be a friend to you, Blair.”

“I just…I don’t want us getting close again, alright? It’ll hurt when we end up parting way, and I don’t wanna go through that while also grieving my Dad. Can you understand that?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Don’t worry, we’ll get this all sorted out.” He smiles at her.

“Thank you. I need to go. I told my mom I’d be over to help her pack some things up. She sort of just wants to rip the band aid and put his clothes away.”

“If you need any help at all with any heavy lifting, call me.”

“Harry.” Blair sighs.

“I’ve got that nice SUV, I can help move stuff, that’s all I’m saying.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll talk to you soon.” She says, and out the door she goes. Kate waits a moment before coming into Harry’s office.

“Scotch?” Kate asks.

“Scotch.” Harry nods, and Kate goes over to his credenza to take out his good crystal and liquor to pour him a small glass.

“You’ll get through this.” She lifts her water bottle to cheers with him, and he downs the brown liquid.

Blair was back at work the following week. She needed the distraction. Lora had been eerily quiet. Maybe she didn’t know that Blair’s father passed, but as soon as the obituary hit the papers, she was sure that witch would be out and about to cause some trouble. At the end of Blair’s last Thursday class, she heard the sound of dress shoes on the hard wood. She turns to see Harry.

“You know there’s not supposed to be outside shoes in here. I just mopped.” She puts her hands on her hips and huffs at him.

“Yeah, I’m well aware of the rules. I used to be your best customer, remember?” He smirks. “Anyways, I looked over all the documents, I thought you might like to go over everything with me before the funeral, in case she shows up to cause trouble, you’ll have all the facts.”

“I need to, like, go home and shower…today was an intensive day, I’m soaked.”

“Perfect, I’ve got dinner in the car. We can go there, eat, and go over the documents.” He smiles.

“You’re such a weasel.” She chuckles. “But I’m too tired to argue with you. What did you pick up to eat?” She raises an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing special.” He shrugs. “Just some dumpling curry from that Thai place we both like.”

“I take it back you’re not a weasel, you’re the devil.”

Harry drives over to Blair’s apartment. He didn’t have a key anymore so he had to wait for her. He follows her up to her apartment, and makes himself at home while she goes to take a shower. She hadn’t changed much, but he definitely noticed some different pictures on her bookshelves. They used to be littered with framed photos of them, and she had a ton of scrapbooks for the two of them, but those seemed to be missing now as well. He sighs while he plates up the food for the both of them, and opens up a bottle of wine while he waits. Blair comes out about ten minutes later with her hair wrapped up in a towel, and her long, plush, pink robe around her body. She sits down next to him at the island.

“Wine?” She questions, but picks up the glass to take a sip.

“It’s been a long day, to be honest with you. I’m gonna work from home to catch up on some sleep tomorrow since I don’t have any meetings.”

“You know I have Fridays off, we could have done this tomorrow.” She frowns.

“It’s okay, I figured you’d want everything now. The funeral’s Saturday, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Eat up, and then we can look at everything.”

“We can do both at the same time.”

“Does your nose still run like a leaky faucet when you eat spicy food?” He smirks, and she rolls her eyes. “That’s what I thought.”

“Thank you for picking this up.” She says as she takes a bite. “I haven’t had this in forever.”

“Me neither…I stopped going because I didn’t want to run into you there.”

“That’s why I stopped going. We should have divided up restaurants when we broke up.” She laughs, and takes another sip of wine. “Do you mind if I dry my hair when we’re done eating? I’ll get a-“

“You’ll get a headache if you don’t, I know the drill.” He takes a sip of his own wine, and eats a spoonful of rice.

“Stop remembering things about me.” She swats a hand at him.

“We were together for long enough, Blair, I can’t help it.”

“Yeah, well, quit throwing it in my face, okay? We’re not doing this to go for a stroll down memory lane.”

Harry knew he’d be waiting at least twenty minutes while Blair dried her hair. He walks around her living room, stretching his legs a bit. He was curious to see what she had filled her bookshelves with. There was a picture of her and Riley from their freshman year of college. Harry picks it up and smiles. Harry was in his first year of law-school when Riley and Blair were college freshmen. He didn’t meet Blair formally until their senior year, and he was in his first year working at his father’s firm. He was helping Riley move in after winter break, and Blair had already been there.

“Blair!” Riley exclaimed. “I missed you so much.” She threw her arms around her.

“I missed you too! I’m glad we both agreed to come back a week early.”

“Same here. This is my cousin, Harry. Harry, this is Blair.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Harry shook Blair’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Her mouth had run dry. They held eye contact for a beat too long. “You’re in law school, right?”

“I finished last year, I’m actually working now. I’m a tax attorney.” He explains. “It’s my dad’s business.”

“And it’s super boring.” Riley rolled her eyes. “Har, could you bring everything in for me? I have a meeting with my advisor that I need to get to. We’re going over my practicum stuff.”

“Sure thing. We’re still getting dinner later, right?”

“Mhm, I shouldn’t be too long. Blair, you don’t mind if Harry hangs here for a bit, do you? You’re also welcome to come to dinner with us.”

“Sure, I don’t have a problem with it.” She shrugged.

“You’re the best. See you in a little while!”

“Is there a lot of stuff? I can help.” Blair said to Harry.

“Not a lot, no. But…I’ve never been here before, so if you could just show me upstairs, that would be great.”

“Yeah.” She nodded.

Harry brought Riley’s suitcase in, and Blair led him upstairs. She showed him Riley’s room.

“Is yours similar?” He asked.

“My room? Um, no…it’s a little different.” She swallowed. “Do you wanna see?”

“I’d love to.” He grinned, and followed her down the hall to her room. “Riley’s told me a lot about you over the years, but she failed to mention how insanely gorgeous you are.” He leaned against her wall after she closed her door.

“Well, she failed to mention how hot her cousin is, but I suppose that would be a weird thing to say about a family member.” She smirked. “How old are you, exactly?’

“I’m about to turn twenty-six, what about you?”

“I’m almost twenty-two…in May.”

“Not a huge age difference.” He walked towards her.

“Not at all.” She looked up at him with big eyes.

“Want me to kiss you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, all done.” Blair says, coming out with her all dry and pretty. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing, just saw this old picture of you and Riley.”

“God, we were babies then.” Blair smiles at the photo. “We took that on the day we met at orientation.” She looks at him. “Wanna sit on the couch?”

“Sure.” Harry grabs his briefcase and takes out all of the documents he needed to go over with Blair. “So, as you can see, your father set up a trust for you that you’ll get access to a year after his passing. That’s pretty standard. Your mother has a different sum of money that she’ll be able to access much sooner. There’s absolutely nothing in his will about Lora or her son. Even if she tries to contest it, there’s nothing in here that would indicate he was hiding anything. I looked over their divorce settlement as well, she stopped getting alimony when she remarried. She literally has no case. You and your mum can take a breather.”

“Oh, what a relief! Thank you, Harry. She’ll be able to let herself relax for the first time in a while.”

“Are you going to take any more time off from work?”

“Well, I’m closed Saturday, and I’m off Sunday, and I’m closed Monday as well. Then I’ll be back to it Tuesday.”

“You’re only giving yourself a long weekend?” He frowns.

“Harry, I can’t afford to keep closing. I make enough with the memberships, but I won’t be making the extra I do from the walk-ins.”

“Look, if you need some money-“

“Don’t you dare.” She stands up. “I don’t want your money, Harry, I never have, and I never will. I’m not your goddamn sugar baby!”

“I never said you were!” He says, standing up.

“But you used to make me feel like that all the time! You were always paying for every little thing. You never let me pay for a single thing. It was like you had zero confidence in me, even though I was running a successful business!”

“You were just starting out! All I wanted to do was help you, make it a little easier for you. You’re the one that went to their parents for loan help when I would have done it in a heartbeat! You crushed me.”

“We weren’t even living together, and you were ready to drop that amount of money on me?! That would have been so weird!”

“We were both working odd hours, and we had only been together a few months at that point, moving in would have been weird! A loan is totally different, I would have been investing in something great.”

“Well, I didn’t need your investment! We were together for nearly three years, Harry, what’s your excuse for not living together after all that time, hm?”

“I would have felt guilty. I was never home, I didn’t want you waiting up for me. It was easier when I could just come here and crawl into bed with you after a long day. And you always had to get up so much earlier than me. I thought…I thought it was better that we weren’t living together. You had never lived alone before, I wanted you to enjoy the freedom.”

“Was that it, or did you just want to keep your own?” She huffs, crossing her arms. “You know what, this fight is useless, it doesn’t matter because it’s not going to solve a single fucking thing. Thank you for your help, I really do appreciate it, but now that I know everything’s fine, you can go. If I need anything else from you down the line, I’ll reach out. I’m sure Lora will make a stink, and therefore I’ll need an attorney. But it’s all professional, Harry.”

“You’ve made that plenty clear already, thanks.” Harry packs up his things, and Blair walks him to the door. They look at each other. He just sighs and heads out the door.

Blair would be lying if she said that she didn’t miss Harry. They had a really special bond that was hard to find with just any one. All they did that first day they met was kiss, have a passionate make out, but that was it. Blair didn’t want to go too far with him in case Riley wasn’t comfortable with it. But Riley was overjoyed when Harry asked if she would mind if he asked Blair out on a date. It was a whirlwind from there.

He took her on some of the nicest dates she had ever been on. Most guys would take her out for coffee, maybe a movie if they could scrape the money together, but Harry took Blair out to nice restaurants, and to the movies that had lux levels. Not to mention his condo, god, she loved his condo. He liked that she kept things simple. Crockpot dinners at her place, watching TV curled up in her little full-sized bed, and clipping coupons together on Sunday mornings. That was where they had sex for the first time, in her little bed after their fifth date. He told her he loved her for the first time on the top of a Farris Wheel during the spring carnival her campus held, and she wasted no time saying it back. After that, a deeper trust formed between the two of them. One that not a lot of people would understand. Harry didn’t quite understand it himself since he was usually the one who was a little more dominant in bed, but with Blair…well, needless to say after a long week of working cases, his favorite thing was to come home, find her in his bedroom with some lingerie on, and letting her tie him to the bed posts for a little while. It was a release he didn’t even really know he needed. And with her, having been a college student about ready to graduate and enter the real world, it felt like so many things were out of control. Harry gave her that control back.

Harry wonders if that’s why they breakup seemed so much harder on him than her. It seemed like Blair was able to let go so easily. Yes, he started fucking around afterwards, but he just couldn’t get that same high from anyone else, nor did he trust some random girl at a bar to do the things for him that Blair once did. Blair was just better at hiding her emotions. She missed Harry, she’s missed him for a long time now. She cried for weeks, feeling this undeniable ache in her heart without him around. But, she had her studio to throw herself into, a brand to keep building. It was the perfect distraction, and even though she missed Harry, she didn’t hate being single for the first time in a while. For three years, Harry had been like her security blanket. The way she looked at it, every kid eventually stops sleeping with their security blanket at some point. It was time to be independent.

The funeral was a graveside service. It was cloudy, but there wasn’t rain, which was probably the only upside Blair could think of. She was there, sitting next to her mother, other family members in the row behind them. Her mother was holding Blair’s hand, but this is one the few times Blair wished someone was there for her. Just as the service was about to get started, someone sat down next to her. She looks to her right and sees Harry, dressed in black from head to toe. He doesn’t say anything, he just puts his arm around her, and rubs his shoulder. He gives Blair’s mom a soft smile before sitting back in his seat.

“Harry…you weren’t supposed to come until afterwards…” Blair says.

“I know.” He looks at her. “I just wanted to be here for you.”

Harry gave Blair his extra tissues while she cried during the service. He held her the entire time, and stayed back once it was over. Then, he offered to drive Blair and Pam back to Pam’s home. Neither of them were in any condition to drive. There were a lot of people that came back to the house afterwards. Blair was able to calm down a bit, but her mother was really taking it hard.

“We don’t have to do this today.” Harry says to Blair.

“No, we should just rip the band aid. Then she can just…” Blair’s eyes widen when she sees Lora walk through the door. “Oh, you miserable cunt.” She says.

“What?” Harry asks, confused.

“Not you, Lora’s here.” Blair storms over to her. “What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too.” Lora smiles. “I’m here to grieve the loss of my first husband.”

“You weren’t at the funeral.”

“I didn’t want to upset anyone.” Lora shrugs. “So…have you read the will yet? I think I should be in on that.”

“Lora.” Pam says when she walks over. “Alright, let’s get this over with.” Pam sighs, and has everyone follow her down the hall to the guest bedroom. Harry takes out the paperwork.

“There’s been-“ He starts, but he’s cut off.

“I’m sorry, but how is it legal if her boyfriend is reading the will?” Lora asks.

“We’re not together anymore. We haven’t been for a while. He’s here as our attorney, that’s it.” Blair says.

“Anyways, been a trust set up for Blair a little down the road. Everything else, including the house, has been left to Pamela Smith. There is no mention of anyone else’s name.”

“That can’t be right.” Lora scoffs. “I was promised-“

“He would have never left you anything.” Pam says. “And I’m sick of dealing with you. He’s gone, he’s left you nothing, you have no ties to us now. It’s clear as day that Derek is not his. He owed you absolutely nothing, you gold digging bitch.” Pam steps closer to Lora. “Now, get out of my house before I have you removed. I buried my husband today, I am in no mood to be fucked with.”

“Fine.” Lora says, turns on her heel and leaves.

“Way to go, Mum.” Blair gives her a high five. “I thought she’d put up more of a fight than that.”

“With your father maybe, but not with me. I’ve ripped her cheap extensions out more than once, and she knows I’ll do it again.” She takes take a deep breath. “I think I’m about ready to be done for the day. I need to lay down.”

“Do you want me to stay tonight?” Blair asks her.

“No, honey, thank you. Auntie Fay is staying, I’ll be alright.” She looks at Harry. “Harry, I can’t thank you enough for helping with all of this.”

“Don’t mention it. If there’s anything else I can do, anything at all, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Drive Blair home.”

“Mum.”

Pam raises her hands in defense and leaves the room.

“I can drive you back if you want. I took an uber out here as it was.” Harry says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You’ve done enough for me today, it’s alright…I can make it back on my own. Riley’s flying back in from Chicago tomorrow and we’re gonna have a girl’s day, so-“

“Blair, I still have your keys in my pocket, I’m driving you.”

“I don’t need you to swoop in here and act like superman, Harry.” Her bottom lip trembles. “I know my dad’s not around to do it anymore, but-“

“Hey.” He takes her in his arms. “I wish I could take it all away, I really do. I wish you weren’t going through all of this, baby.”

“Harry.” She sighs heavily into his chest.

“Sorry.” He rests his chin on the top of her head. “Some habits are hard to break I guess.”

“Have you called anyone else baby in the last year?” She nuzzles in close to him.

“No.” He tilts her chin up to look at him. “I never could.”

“Okay, you can drive me home.” She sighs. “I’m about ready to pass out as it is.”

Blair takes a few minutes to say goodbye to the people still at the house before her and Harry get into her car. He keeps the music volume low, and her eyes start to droop. Harry can’t help but feel soft and warm knowing she was so easily able to fall asleep with him there still. She’d always fall asleep on long car rides.

“Blair.” Harry says, trying to wake her up. “We’re at your place, love.” She groans at him, and he sighs. “Are you really going to make me carry you up?” She groans again and he rolls his eyes. Blair would always pretend to be asleep so Harry would carry her inside. He unbuckles her, gets out, and opens her door to lift her out. “You’re killing me.” He grunts as he carries her to the front door. He keys in, and carries her up the stairs to her door. “I know you’re awake.” He says as he brings her to her bedroom.

“Mm, but you’re so strong and warm.” She mumbles.

“Okay.” He chuckles and lays her on her bed. “Are your pj’s still in the third drawer of your dresser.”

“Harry.” She sits up. “You don’t have to do all that…”

“I was just gonna grab you a shirt and get out of your hair.” He says innocently.

“God, I’m so confused.” She pinches the bridge of her nose.

“About what?” He grabs a bed shirt for her, and sits on the edge of her bed.

“I think I’m just feeling vulnerable, I don’t know.” She looks away from him. “I don’t want you to go.” She mutters, and then looks at him. “But I also don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“If you need me to stay as a friend, I can do that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’d never leave you like this.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I was just gonna pretend to leave, and then crash on your couch.”

“Well, you don’t have to do that. Got a queen sized bed now, plenty of room.”

“I can see that.” He smiles. “There was nothing wrong with your old bed. It was kinda fun when we were practically sleeping on top of each other.”

“Yeah, but your bed was better for…well…never mind.” She clears her throat. “Um, I still have some of your old pajama pants in my drawer, you can wear those if you want.”

“I’m good with just boxers if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, um sure.” She gets off the bed to stand up. “I’m just gonna go wash up and change.”

Harry nods and gets undressed. He goes over to her bathroom door to wait his turn. Blair’s eyes widen when she sees him standing there in his underwear.

“You don’t have a spare toothbrush, do you?”

“Um, you can use one of the extra heads I have for my electric brush.”

“Thanks.” He steps into the bathroom as she leaves to go back to her bedroom.

“Oh my god.” She says to herself. He had beefed up a bit. Harry was already sort of beefy, but he used to be leaner. Had he been getting a lot of protein? She shakes her head as she crawls into bed. Harry comes in shortly after and gets in on the other side. She turns her head to look at him. “Thank you, Harry.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” He looks at her. “I’d be a pretty shitty person to leave you in a time like this.”

“Yeah, but you could be catching tail at some bar with your friends.” She smirks at him.

“You make me sound like I’m promiscuous or something.” He chuckles and turns fully on his side towards her. She does the same. “It’s a stress reliever, and I always wrap it up. M’not doing anything wrong.”

“Do you, um, do what we used to do with any of these hookups?”

“No.” He smirks. “No, I don’t think I could ever trust someone in that way again even if I tried.” He chews his bottom lip. “What about you?”

“Harry, to be honest with you…I haven’t slept with anyone since we broke up.”

“Blair, that was a year ago.”

“I’m well aware.” She rolls her eyes.

“That’s a long fucking dry spell.”

“It’s not a dry spell, it’s a personal choice. I threw myself into the studio, I worked on choreographing a ton of new dances. I was building my brand, bringing in more clientele. Plus…anytime I’d use a dating app or go out with Riley to a bar…no one was ever you.”

“I know things seemed mutual and we didn’t end in some big blow up…but I was so hurt that we couldn’t make things work.” He reaches to tuck some hair behind her ear. “I thought we were going to be together forever.”

“So did I…but I don’t know if I was ready for something so long-term yet, which I know sounds stupid because three years is a long time to be with someone.”

“It’s not stupid. I would have felt the same at that age. It was sort of selfish of me to try to lock you down the way I was.”

“You weren’t being selfish for wanting to be with me, Harry.”

“You know, the last thing I expected when I helped Riley move in that semester was falling in love with her roommate. You just looked so cute that day.”

“You remember how I looked when we first met?”

“How could I forget? You were wearing these sweater leggings that had snow flakes on them, and you were wearing this oversized sweater that was hanging off your shoulder, and you kept trying to tug it back on. You seemed so flustered around me.”

“I was.” She laughs. “I thought for sure you just wanted to fuck me and then leave with the way you pushed me up against the wall when you kissed me.”

“Yeah, you nearly shit yourself at dinner afterwards. Poor Riley had no idea I frenched you for a solid thirty minutes.”

“My lips were so swollen, she had to have known. I was more in shock when you came by a week later to ask me out. God, you were so cute, you were waiting outside my apartment with hot apple cider, and I had such a shit day at my practicum. I was in dingy sweats too, and you still told me I looked beautiful.”

“And I meant it.”

“Then you said I looked tired, and right before I went off on you, you pulled me inside and said that you were going to make me dinner so I could go upstairs and take a long hot shower.”

“Mhm, made you spaghetti and meatballs.”

“And that really yummy homemade garlic bread.” She smiles.

“Then we cuddled up and watched Ratatouille.” He chuckles.

“I was so mad that you had never seen it! And then you ended up loving it.”

“It’s a great movie, honestly.” He says, smiling at her. “Best first date ever.”

“Yeah, it was. When I went to sleep that night I couldn’t believe that a real man wanted to be with me. I don’t think any of the guys I dated in college knew how to cook.”

“Pretty sure I did a good job making you forget about any other guy you had ever been with.” He smirks, and she nudges his shoulder.

“Maybe…maybe when I’m in a better mindset…we could talk about…I mean…I’ve been thinking about you a lot ever since we started talking again, sorry, I’m rambling.” She sighs. “I don’t want you to think that I wanna give things another shot because you’ve been helping me and my mom, but it’s been hard not to think about it…especially after today.” She blinks away a few tears. “I wasn’t expecting you to come to the service. Riley felt awful that she couldn’t be there, and I felt so alone, even being with my mom. You’re so selfless.” She pouts at him.

“I would love to talk about potentially getting back together. I…I don’t think I realized how much I missed you until you walked into my office. I thought I was out having the time of my life, but I wasn’t. Nobody could ever compare to you.”

“I think I just need some time to make sure I’m not…I’m not just feeling this way because you’re being so sweet to me when no one else is.”

“Take all the time you need.” He strokes her cheek. “M’gonna turn over now. If you just so happen to feel like spooning me, I promise not to question it.”

“Please, snuggling sounds like the perfect medicine after today. Assume the position, Styles.”

He chuckles and rolls onto his other side. Blair slots a leg between his, and wraps her arm around his stomach. They both sigh, and wiggle closer to one another. Blair hadn’t felt peace like this in quite some time, and neither had Harry.

Blair woke up in a fog the next morning. Her eyes still felt puffy and swollen from crying, and even though the clock read 10AM, she felt like she could stay in bed for at least two more hours. She remembers Harry staying and falling asleep with her, but he wasn’t there next to her now. Where he laid was still warm, so he couldn’t have left too long ago. When she smells coffee, she wakes up a bit more. There was a coffee cup from Dunkin’ on her side table, along with a small bag that she knew had to be a coffee cake muffin. She sits up and sees a note next to the casual breakfast.

Had to rush off to the office this morning. Got a call that one of my major clients passed, and his family is already fighting over the money. Had to time to run out and get you brekkie though! I’ll call you later. – H

Blair pouts at the note, and takes a sip of her coffee, which had cooled down just enough for her to sip it without burning her tongue. She texts Harry a quick “thank you” before diving into her muffin. This was his signature “sorry for not being there when you wake up” breakfast treat. There had been many mornings Blair had woken up alone after spending the night with him. It wasn’t because Harry liked scooting out, he just usually got pulled away due to something work related, and he knew that Blair liked being able to sleep in when she could on the weekends, especially when she was still in school. She never minded because she knew he was busy. She used to just lounge around for an hour or so in his large bed before getting up and making it. Then she’d take an indulgent bath in his Jacuzzi-tub. He’d usually get back to her sometime in the afternoon, and they would snuggle up to watch a movie before he brought her back to her apartment. It worked for them.

There were plenty of times Blair had to scoot early as well. When she was doing her practicum, she needed to be at the high school no later than 7AM, which sucked because at the time she was a major night owl. It’s taken her years of discipline to get herself to fall asleep at a reasonable time so she wouldn’t be so groggy and grumpy in the morning. That was something that Harry helped with as well. He told her about this sleepy time playlist on Spotify that he would listen to on the nights he needed to go to bed early. Blair had told him she couldn’t afford the premium membership and she didn’t want to be jolted awake by ads. So what did Harry do? He bought the subscription plan that allowed for two people to be on it, helped her shift her account, and even though she protested, he insisted. The music sounded like something a masseuse would put on, and it always put her right to sleep. Harry was a genius, at least Blair thought so.

“How do you always have an answer for everything?” She had cried to him on a particularly stressful evening. It was after she graduated, and she had just gotten her business up and running. She felt overwhelmed and scared. “You always stay so calm, it’s like you don’t even care!”

“I just know that this’ll pass, baby. You just graduated from college, you’re going through a major life change. You’ve had the same routine all your life, and now it’s completely different. In a few months things won’t feel as scary.” He smiled at her, and wrapped his arms around her mid-section. “Went through the same thing myself not too long ago. I promise, it gets a lot better. Your early twenties fucking suck.”

“Yeah? How are things looking in the world of mid to late twenties?” She pouted up at him.

“Well,” he moved some hair away from her face, “I’ve got an incredible girlfriend who loves me, and I just so happen to love her, and I’m feeling settled in mt job, and I have a great place to live, and oh! Finally stopped having stress dreams about missing a big exam. Can’t complain too much.”

“I…I’m gonna be really busy at the studio. I have to choreograph all these dances, and start advertising, and-“

“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” He tugged her along down the hall to his home office.

“Harry, I’m not in the mood to fuck in your office…” She said, and Harry chuckled.

“As much as I love it when you let me bend you over my desk, that’s not what this is about.” He took her inside and took out a few sheets of blank paper and some pens. He sat down and pulled her into her lap. “Alright, this used to help me all the time when I was super stressed, still does, actually.” She watched as he drew three large circles, and wrote CHOREOGRAPHY in one, SOCIAL MEDIA, in another, and BUDGET

in the last. “Alright, so these are some rather large cookies, wouldn’t you say?” He looked up at her, and she looked down at him and nodded. “Okay, so what are some ways we can take little bites out of these?”

“Like a checklist for each?”

“Sort of, yeah.” He drew a few stems from each circle. “Almost like a backwards flow chart.”

“Is this what you do with your clients when they ask for financial advice?”

“Sometimes.” He nodded. “But more importantly, I want to help my girlfriend who is insanely frazzled. I hate when people try to be problem solvers…so hope you don’t think that’s what I’m trying to do…”

“No.” She shook her head. “This is great. I think if I have it all laid out in front of me…and can check certain things off…take smaller bites, like you said, I can handle things better.” She grabbed a pen and started writing, and making more stems, color coding a few of them. “My parents are gonna help cover the loan payments for the first year so I can save up, and start paying off my student loans.” She chewed her bottom lip. “And I can set aside some time in the mornings to do the social media stuff, and use the afternoons for choreography…evenings I can work on my website.”

“Just think of how sweet it’ll all taste by the time you finish.” He smiled up at her, and she leaned in to peck his lips.

“I love you, Harry, thank you.”

“I love you too, baby.” He kissed her again, ever so tenderly and soft. “Don’t let this stuff build up, you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I just feel like my problems are so trivial, like, there are people that are starving, and I’m crying about being overwhelmed.”

“Your feelings are valid, don’t compare it to what someone else might be going through.”

“Do you think, um, could you just hold me for a bit?” It was so rare for Blair to be this vulnerable. Usually she was the one to hold Harry, but once in a while she just really needed him.

“Of course.” He shifted in his seat to cradle her to his chest. He was so warm and inviting, he always made Blair feel safe.

Blair sighs, and shakes herself from the memory. She couldn’t bask in the good times and act as if there weren’t also bad times. Although…there really weren’t that many bad times. She finishes up her muffin and gets out of bed. She grimaced when she saw herself in her bathroom mirror, and decided a long, hot shower would do her some good. She didn’t have the energy to wash her hair, so she grabs a scrunchie to put it up in a bun on the top of her head. As the warm water cascades over her body, she can’t help but continue to let her mind wander to other old memories.

“Harry! I told you I’d be five minutes.” Blair whispered to Harry as he entered the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and smirked. “Riley’s home! Just down the hall sleeping.” Harry pulled back the shower door, and walked into it with her. All he did was put a finger up to his lips.

“Then we’ll need to be quiet.” He whispered to her, ghosting his lips over hers.

“I…I’ve never had sex in the shower before. I always heard it wasn’t as cracked up as it looks in the movies.”

“That’s because people try too hard to do it full on.” He stepped into the water, getting his hair wet, and then moves her so she’s pressed up against the wall. He knelt in front of her, and looked up at her wet body. “Can I make you feel good, baby?”

“Y-yes.”

He grinned, and lifted one of her legs over his shoulder.

“Now, you need to stay quiet.” He pressed his lips to one of her hip bones, and kissed across her pelvis. “So, if it gets to be too much, just suck on your fingers or something, pull my hair, whatever you need to do.” She watched as his eyes darkened when he licked over her clit. His tongue moved to her slit and licked up. He moaned, letting his eyes flutter closed before looking back up at her. “You have no idea how fucking good you taste.”

“Blair!” Riley exclaims as she comes into the apartment. Blair’s taken from her thoughts just as she was whimpering out Harry’s name.

“I’m in the shower!” Blair yells back, and finishes cleaning herself up. She meets Riley out in the living room once she’s thrown some sweats on. “Hi.”

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there.” Riley wraps her arms around her friend.

“You couldn’t have known.” Blair hugs her back. “A month in Chicago, I can’t wait to hear all about it.” They let go of each other.

“Are you sure you wanna talk about all that?”

“Yeah, I need the distraction.”

“Alright. I brought coffee and doughnuts.” Riley smiles.

“Thank you, but I might save that for later. I had coffee and a muffin earlier…um, Harry spent the night last night.” Blair blushes as they both move to sit on the couch.

“Holy shit! Pleas don’t tell me you called him for a booty call.” Riley frowns.

“No, it was nothing like that. I told you he was helping with all of the legal stuff…he ended up coming to the funeral unannounced. He was there for me…he drove me home and I asked him to stay. We just slept, and he was gone before I woke up because of a work thing.”

“Ah, and he brought you the old comfort breakfast to make up for it.” Riley shakes her head. “Well, I’m glad he was there for you. I always hoped you would become friends at some point after you broke up.”

“I don’t think I realized how much I missed him. I’ve been so independent for the last year, it felt kind of nice to lean on him for a change.”

“Do you think you wanna get back together?”

“I don’t know…I was definitely feeling something yesterday, even this morning, but I don’t know if it’s because I’m just sad and vulnerable, or if it’s because I really wanna give it a second go. I don’t really know what would be different this time. He still works crazy hours, and-“

“He’s dialed back a lot.” Riley cuts him off. “Ever since he’s taken over, and once he really got settled into it, he hasn’t been working himself to the bone like he was. Are there still some sixty-hour weeks? Sometimes, but not like he was, I swear.”

“He didn’t seem to think we still spoke…so that made me think you weren’t as close with him…”

“I don’t hang out with him as much…I speak with his friend John quite a bit, though.” Riley blushes.

“Speak to or fuck?” Blair smirks.

“Don’t. If Harry knew I was messing around with one of his boys, god, I don’t even wanna think about it.”

“Oh, so he can go out with your friend, but you can’t go out with his?”

“John and I aren’t going out. We just…meet up to fuck sometimes, but we both still hookup with other people. I mean, I’m sure he slept with his share of people while I was away.”

“Did you?”

“There were a couple of people I let take me back to my hotel, yeah.” Riley nods. “Don’t say anything to Harry, okay?”

“Christ, I’m not his best friend all of a sudden. I think I was just emotional last night. I doubt we’ll even-“

There’s a jingle of keys, and then Harry’s entering the apartment. He freezes when he sees Riley.

“Hey! You’re back.” He smiles at his cousin. “How was Chicago?”

“Windy.” Riley says. “But fun, I made a ton of sales.”

“That’s great.” Harry sets the keys on the kitchen counter and then comes further into the living area. “How are you this morning?” He asks Blair.

“I’m okay, um, thanks for breakfast.”

“Yeah, of course, sorry I had to skip out. Uh, I just came back to see how you were, but I can see your girl’s day has started, so I’ll head out.”

“You can stay, Har, we were just gonna paint our nails, nothing you haven’t done with us before.” Riley says. “You don’t mind, right, Blair?”

“S-sure, you can stay, Harry…if you want to.”

“I’d love to stay.” He comes over and sits down on Blair’s other side. “Nothing like giving you a Styles sandwich to make you feel better.” He smirks. “Alright, Riles, what colors did you bring?”

The three ended up having a great day together. It felt like old times. They painted their nails, ordered Chinese, and watched Mystic Pizza. Riley was starting to get tired, so she left around six. The jet lag was catching up with her. So it was just Harry and Blair sitting on the couch watching Wall-E.

“Do you remember the first time we watched this?” Harry asks her a few minutes in.

“Mhm.” Blair smiles without looking at him. “It was that weekend we went away Hampton Beach, and it rained in the evening, so instead of being annoyed, we got all cozy and watched this.”

“After…” He looks at her, a smirk growing on his face.

“Harry.” She rolls her eyes.

“Come on, what did we do just before settling in to watch this adorable film?”

Blair sighs, but gives in, “We made hot fudge sundaes, and, um, I let you lay me on the counter and lick chocolate sauce and whipped cream off my body.” She swallows. “Then I did the same to you. We made a mess of the Air BnB.”

“We cleaned it up. Then we got into that big, comfy bed and just vegged out. Think this is one of my favorite Pixar films that you showed me.”

“You really liked Cars too.” Blair chuckles.

“Yeah, I did. That was a good one.” Harry leans back on the couch, crossing his arms behind his head.

“You don’t need to do this, you know?”

“Do what, love?” He says without looking at her, eyes focused on the screen.

“Babysit me.” She mutters.

“S’not what I’m doing.” He scoffs. “I’m enjoying spending time with you, Blair.” He looks at her. “And I’m worried about you, but I’m not babysitting you.” He puts his hand on her knee and gives it a squeeze before taking it away. “Just relax, yeah?”

“Thanks.” She pauses for a moment. “Harry…would you be taking care of me like this if you had a new girlfriend?” Her eyes start to well up with tears. “Because-“

“Why are you asking a what if like that?” He reaches to wipe her tears with his thumbs. “At the risk of sounding totally lame…I was sort of just waiting on you. Sort of hoping you’d wanna get back together at some point. I tried dating, but it’s like I told you…no one was ever you.”

“So you just kept fucking strangers?” She was so confused.

“It was all meaningless. I figured if you were out there living your life, then I should do the same.” He shrugs.

“Harry, I know you think we broke up because you thought I needed time to be young or whatever, but I wasn’t out there fucking a ton of different people. I just…I don’t know, I wanted to be on my own.”

“And I understood that, as much as it upset me. What was I going to do, beg you to stay my girlfriend?” He moves a bit closer to her. “If we were to get back together, what would you want to be different? Obviously things stopped working…”

“It’s not that they stopped working, I just…I think I just grew up a little bit. You gave me plenty of room for it, but I just sort of realized that there were other things I wanted to do and I didn’t wanna be totally tied down. If we were to get back together, I wouldn’t want you paying for things all the time, or thinking you need to fix all of my problems. Sometimes I just want someone to listen without making suggestions, you know?”

“I didn’t even realize I was doing that.” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I know you always meant well, and you were just trying to help in your own way.” She gives him a reassuring smile. “It didn’t always bother me, but sometimes it did. I wasn’t perfect either, I know how closed off I could get.” She furrows her brows. “I’ve been trying to work on that. I added the yoga into my routines…so that’s been helping. You sort of inspired that.”

“I should start my membership back up.”

“Yeah…it would be nice to see you in class again.”

“Remember when I started coming on Tuesday evenings, and then we’d go to the Thai place for dinner afterwards?”

“Mhm, and then you’d take us back to your place, and set up a bath for us.” She sighs dreamily. “And then you’d massage my calves for me, ugh, I always loved that.”

“Couldn’t have my baby being sore the next morning, could I?” He pouts playfully at her, and she giggles.

“You were always so good to me.” Her face was only a few inches from his now.

“Fucking worshiped you.” His lips ghost over hers, and she whimpers.

“Kiss me, Harry.”

His lips slot over hers immediately, and cups her cheeks to pull her even closer. He sucks on her bottom lip, and she whimpers again. Blair tugs on Harry’s shirt, and then pushes his back to the couch. She moves to straddle him, and he wraps his arms around her body. They’re both grabbing at different parts of one another, and she shifts so she’s only straddling one of his thighs, rolling her hips down onto it. Harry groans, and starts kissing on her neck. She gets a fist full of his hair, and yanks his head back.

“Harry, I don’t think this is a good idea.” She admits. “I mean…we haven’t agreed to anything. I think we should take this slow, don’t you?”

“You just told me to kiss you, and then you climbed into my lap.” He smirks, and she starts laughing.

“Yeah.” She grips his chin with her other hand. “You’re always good at doing exactly what I say.”

“Always.” He agrees. “If you’re not planning on having your way with me then you should get off. You’re only gonna rile me up, and I’ve not done anything to deserve that.”

“No, I suppose you deserve a reward instead of a punishment.” She presses her forehead to his and lets her hands fall to his shoulders. She sighs heavily and then looks at him again. “I need a little more time. I wanna make sure that this really makes sense. The last thing I wanna do is hurt you again.”

“I don’t want you to feel hurt either.” He squeezes her hips. “I wanna give you the time, Blair, but you’ve also had a year to sort your feelings. You either wanna do this or you don’t.”

“I really hate it when you’re right.” She huffs. “But I know what you’re saying.”

“How about this…why don’t we go out Saturday night? We could go on a date, and see how it feels.”

“Why not Friday?”

“Because you work early on Saturday mornings, darling, and you’re just going to be getting back to it again.” He tucks some hair behind her hear. “Can’t have you being sleepy.”

“You’re so sweet.” She smiles. “Okay, yeah, I’d like that. Um, did you want to just go out for dinner?”

“If that’s what you wanna do, baby. I’m down for whatever.”

“I haven’t been to that grill we used to go to all the time in forever. Feel like I could go for a really good burger.”

“Alright, we’ll go to Benson’s. I’ll pick you up around six, how’s that sound?”

“I think it sounds like a date.”

On Wednesday evening, much to Blair’s surprise, Harry walked into one of her evening classes with Riley. Riley had a cheeky smile on her face, and Blair just shook her head at the two of them. It had been ages since Harry had been to one of her classes, and he had picked a yoga day.

“Good evening, everyone!” Blair says once everyone gets there. “We’re gonna start off with our warm up, and then get in to it. We’ll work a little with the weights, and then we’ll cool down with the yoga like always. Does everyone have their weights?” She hears a collective yes. “Alright!” She hops up onto the small stage and gets the music playing.

When the class is over, a few people hang back to talk to Blair. Riley would usually grab a quick bite with her after class. A guy was talking to her now.

“Hey, who is that?” Harry asks Riley as they clean up their stations.

“Hm? Oh, that’s Rich, he has a thing for Blair.” Riley rolls her eyes. “He refuses to take a hint. The second he found out she was single he was all over her. She’s nice to him, but she doesn’t like him back.”

Harry narrows his eyes, and reads Blair’s body language like a book. Her arms were crossed, and she was casually trying to step away from Rich.

“I’ll get him to leave her alone.” Harry says.

“Harry, don’t.” Riley grabs his wrist. “She can handle herself.”

“I know she can, but she looks so uncomfortable. What if they were left alone here, and he tried something. He needs to know she has some backup.” Harry walks over to the two, and Blair can’t help but smirk because she knows exactly why Harry’s walking over. “Hey, sorry to interrupt, but we should get going if we want to make trivia night.”

“Right! Yeah, sorry, Rich, I need to get the studio cleaned up so I can head out.” Blair was thankful. Harry was always good at coming up with excuses for them to leave places early. Usually it was because he needed to get her home so she could fuck him, obviously now that wasn’t the case.

“Oh…alright, well, I’ll see you next week. Have a good night.” Rich looks Harry up and down before leaving.

“Thank you.” Blair sighs. “He’s a nice guy, but I’m not interested.”

“Obviously.” Harry scoffs. “Have fun with Riley.”

“You don’t wanna come with?”

“Nah, I need to get home. I have some stuff I need to do before tomorrow. Still on for Saturday?”

“Mhm.” She nods with a smile.

“Good.” He kisses her cheek. “I’ll call you Friday.”

Harry leaves and Riley helps Blair cleanup before they head out to a Panera for dinner.

“So, you two are going out on Saturday?” Riley asks her when they sit down with their food.

“Yeah, it’s sort of like a first date. I wanna make sure things feel really right with us. I have a feeling we’ll get back together officially, though.”

“Yeah? What makes you think that?” Riley smirks.

“Well…we kissed on Sunday night when he was still over. It was a really good kiss too, it was familiar, but there was still that, like, passion, you know?”

“I would love it if you got back together. I never really liked the other people he dated, and I was so excited when you both got together. He’s like the brother I never had, and I want him with someone that really cares about him. I never doubted that with you. You guys got together at a weird time in your life where you were sort of at different places. Now…well, now you might mesh better. You grew up a lot during the time you were together, I know that was tough on you both.”

“Yeah, it was.” Blair sighs, and bites into her piece of bread. “I feel like I could handle things better now. He’s been there for me during so many tough times, he’s seen me…at my absolute worst, and still loved me through all of it. I can’t wrap my head around him turning into such a playboy.”

“I couldn’t believe it myself, but I honestly don’t think he really knew how to deal with not having you around, and then…I don’t know.” Riley shakes her head. “He always wrapped it up, that’s what John told me, anyways.”

“He mentioned that to me too.” Blair rolls her eyes. “I’m not going to hold anything against him, we weren’t together. I don’t have the right to judge him about it.”

“He only wanted you, B.” Riley smiles.

“I really have missed him.” Blair smiles. “I’m really looking forward to going out with him Saturday night.” She bites her bottom lip. “Wanna come with me to Victoria’s Secret during the day? I think I should pick out something new…”

“Yeah! I’ve got a coupon to go there, actually. I need some new undies.”

“Oh, yay! We haven’t been shopping in forever.”

“I know! I hope I’m not on the road for an entire month like that again. It got old real quick.”

On Friday, Harry was in his office wrapping some things up, going over some paperwork. Then he looked over his calendar for Monday, just to see what meetings he had, and if he needed to do anything over the weekend.

“Mr. Styles?” Kiley, the intern training with Kate comes into his office.

“Miss Stewart, what can I do you for?” He asks, giving her his full attention. She pouts slightly at him.

“You can just call me Kiley…you call Kate by her first name.”

“I’ve known Kate for quite some time, Miss Stewart.”

“Well, we’ll get to know each other pretty well once she’s on maternity…right?”

“Most likely.” He nods. “Did you need something?”

“Yes, sorry.” She pulls a paper out of her bag. “Um, I just need you to sign off on the hours I worked this week since Kate left early. I forgot to ask her before she stepped out for her doctor’s appointment.”

“Oh, sure.” He gestures for the paper. “They’re really on you guys about the hours, huh?”

“Yeah.” She sighs. “I don’t mind, though, because I have to write a paper explaining what I did, so having an account of that will be helpful.” She shrugs. Harry hums his response as he signs the paper and hands it back to her. “Thank you…any fun plans for the weekend?”

“Just laying low tonight. I’ve got a date tomorrow, though.” He smiles.

“Oh! That’s nice.” She smiles. “Did you just meet someone?”

“No.” He shakes his head with a chuckle. “Might be starting over with my ex, which I’m pretty excited about since I’m still hopelessly in love with her.”

“Well in that case, I hope it goes super well.” She beams at him.

“Thank you, Kiley.” Her smile widens at him even more. “Feel free to head out, enjoy your weekend.”

“Thank you, Mr. Styles. I expect a full report of your date on Monday morning.”

Harry chuckles and nods as she leaves. Just when he thought his door was going to close, John enters.

“Wrap it buddy boy, we gotta meet the guys soon.”

“About that…I’m going to skip out on tonight.”

“Seriously? Why?” John frowns.

“I…I have a date tomorrow night with Blair, and-“

“You can’t be serious.” John rolls his eyes and sits down. “Why would you even entertain the idea of getting back together with her?”

“Because she seems ready for a relationship again. I still love her, and I think she still loves me. There’s still a chemistry between us, physically, so we’re going to Benson’s for a burger tomorrow to see if everything else is still there.”

“So that means you can’t come out for guy’s night?”

“You know as well as I do that guy’s night never stays guy’s night. I don’t want to be tempted by anything that could fuck me over. Besides, it wouldn’t kill me to stay in for a change. There’s a book I’ve been meaning to get back to. I wouldn’t mind just taking it easy, you guys have a good time without me.” Harry smiles at his friend. “It’s nothing personal…”

“I know.” John sighs. “You’re just fun, that’s all…” John looks down at his phone and smirks.

“Maybe you’ll meet up with that girl you see on the regular. Seems like she just texted you.”

“Maybe she did.” John nods.

“How come you don’t just date her? I’ve watched you turn down other girls to go meet up with her a dozen times.”

“It’s a little complicated. She travels a lot for work, we’re both just looking for someone familiar to hookup with right now.”

“Guess that makes sense.” Harry shrugs. “You’re pretty busy yourself”

“Exactly, so when’s around I see her more, and when she’s gone, I see other people. She does the same. We’re pretty open about it.”

“Good.” Harry smiles. “Have a beer for me tonight, yeah?”

“Alright.” John sighs and stands up. “Have fun with Blair, I guess.”

“You could sound a little more enthused.”

“I’ll be enthused if she doesn’t string you along.”

“She never strung me along.” Harry shakes his head. “We were a great team.”

“Seems like you were always doing everything for her.”

“No, she did plenty for me.”

“Babe?! I picked up a pizza!” Blair shouted as she entered Harry’s place, putting her key in the bowl by the door. “Baby?!” He wasn’t in the kitchen like she thought he’d be. She set the pizza down on the counter and walked down the hall to his home office. Her jaw dropped when she saw him knuckling at his eyes. “Harry, are you crying?” She asked softly.

“Blair.” He said, almost surprised. “Hi, I lost track of time, I’m sorry. Let’s eat.” He stood up, but she went over to him and urged him to sit.

“What happened, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, baby.”

“It’s not nothing if you’re crying. Talk to me.”

“I’m just really stressed.” His voice cracked. “I was looking forward to taking over for my dad, but there’s so much other shit that’s been added to my plate that he didn’t really prepare me for. Now he’s down in Florida living it up with my mum, and I can’t even talk to him about it because I don’t want him to be disappointed in me. He’s trusting me with everything.”

“That’s a lot.” She wipes=d his tears away. “I’m so sorry you’re feeling like this.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Is…is there anything I can do to help? Anything I can do to help take your mind off things for a bit? I brought pizza…”

“Um…yeah, I think there is something you could do for me, but it doesn’t involve food.” He stood and took her hand, leading her out to the living room. They both sat down. “Sometimes when we’re having sex…I let you take the lead, have you noticed that?”

“A little.” She shrugged. “I mean, I like that you’re not super dominating, it makes me feel safe.”

“Right, but before you I wasn’t really like that. I was always in control, but with you…I feel really safe too. So safe…that I’m able to just let everything else slip away when we’re doing what we do.”

“What are you saying exactly?”

“I…I sometimes I think I want you to really be in control. I’m not saying all the time, but I have to be in control of so many things, and I think it would be nice to not.”

“Okay, so I could ride you more if you want.”

“Well, that would be nice.” He smirked. “But I’m talking more like…like maybe you could blindfold me once in a while, or you could cuff me to the bed?” His was flushed with embarrassment. Her eyes widened as she finally started to understand what he was trying to say. “I’ve totally freaked you out, haven’t I? I know that stuff isn’t for everyone. I was just thinking we’ve been together a while now-“

“Harry, calm down.” She smiled, squeezing his hand. “I think it’s kind of hot that you wanna explore some different things.”

“You do?”

“Mhm.” She nodded. “I…just don’t ask me to, like, whip you or anything. I don’t think I could hurt you.”

“No, I’m not looking for pain.” He chuckled. “I just…wanna clear my head sometimes, that’s all.”

“Okay, I think I could be into that. You know how much I love all your ties, I’d love to tie you up with them.” She grinned, and he groaned softly.

“What do you say we leave the pizza for later, and we head into the bedroom to explore a little bit?”

“I say we’re in for a fantastic weekend.”

“Whatever you say man.” John says. “See you Monday.” John leaves Harry’s office, and Harry sighs. He never told anyone about what he and Blair did, it was no one’s business. He certainly wasn’t going to let it slip now.

At around 10AM Saturday morning, Blair picked up Riley so they could go shopping. Riley had bags under her eyes, and a fresh hickey on her neck. Blair’s mouth fell open the second Riley got in the car.

“Don’t.” Riley mumbles.

“I didn’t say anything.” Blair chuckles.

“But I know what you’re thinking.”

“Did you meet up with John last night?”

“Yeah, I guess Harry didn’t feel like going out last night, so I met up with him at some bar, and then he came back with me to my place.”

“Oh shit, is still there?”

“No, he left at, like, seven.” Riley rolls her eyes. “But not before he fucked me again.” She shakes her head. “We’ve fucked so many times, I don’t know how he’s not sick of me yet, or how I’m not sick of him.”

“Maybe it’s a sign you two should be more.” Blair smirks.

“I mean, we’re basically just in an open relationship, that’s the way I look at it anyways.” She shrugs. “We were up most of the night.” She yawns loudly.

“You could have stayed home.” Blair frowns as she keeps her eyes on the road.

“No, it’s okay, I wanted to go shopping with you.”

The girls make their way to a Victoria’s Secret, and start shopping around. Just as Riley hoped, there was an underwear sale. Blair indulged in it as well. Nothing wrong with getting some new undies to replace some old ones.

“Oh, these are cute!” Blair says, holding up a cheeky pair of panties.

“Yeah! I’ve been way more into the lace cheeky bottoms instead of thongs lately.”

“Me too! It’s way more comfortable. To be honest, I wear boxers a lot around my apartment. They’re more breathable than athletic shorts, and they don’t ride up.”

“Of course men have more comfortable underwear than us.” Riley sighs heavily. “Oh! Look at these white ones! Can never have too many white pairs.”

“Snag me a pair, please.”

Once the girls are done picking out their underwear, and a couple of bras that were two $50 (yes, way overpriced, but necessary), they head to the part of the store where the lingerie was.

“What are you looking for exactly?” Riley asks as she looks over some babydoll nighties.

“I don’t know, nothing crazy, but if things go well tonight, which I think they will, I wanna surprise him with something fun.”

“You’d really jump into bed with him right away?” There was no judgement in Riley’s voice, more so surprise.

“I mean…I know he’s your cousin and all, but he’s pretty hard to resist, Riles. He had me wrapped around his finger from the second we met.”

“Fair enough.” Riley shrugs. “I might try one of these on…surprise John one of these nights.”

The girls giggle as they pick out different things. Blair ends up finding a black lace bralette and matching panties that she thinks will work well under an outfit. The only thing was the bralette didn’t have any support, like, at all, but she was able to adjust the straps on it a bit to give her a slight lift.

“God, I wish I danced as a kid.” Blair huffs as she leaves the dressing room to meet Riley out at the register line.

“Why?”

“Because then maybe I wouldn’t have these fucking honkers on my chest. I’d love to be able to wear a bralette without worrying. My boobs are so saggy, I look like a granny when I don’t have the proper support.”

“You’re being dramatic.” Riley chuckles.

“Easy for you to say, Miss B Cup.”

“Hey, I’d kill to have boobs like yours. I always feel like mine are too small. I have to wear pushups all the time. Besides, your boobs are not saggy, they just sit a little lower on your chest.”

“When I really started dancing I thought they’d get smaller since I was working out all the time, but nope. The worst part is, it’s all right here.” She lifts her arm slightly and rubs just under her armpit. “I’m only a C, but I feel like a double D sometimes when I put a bra on, it takes all the side boob to the front.” Blair puts her things up on the counter, and Riley goes to the next register.

“Find everything okay?” The girl behind the register asks.

“Mhm.” Blair smiles. “I have some coupons too.” She takes her phone out so the girl can scan the barcodes on Blair’s screen.

“Oh, that’s a good one! Took off 25% of your total.” The girl puts everything into a bag for Blair, and she heads out with Riley.

“So, when will John get to see that babydoll?” Blair smirks at Riley.

“When I feel like he deserves it.” Riley grins. “If he invites me over tonight, I might bring it with me.”

“Do you usually see him two nights in a row?”

“Sometimes, but not often. I think he missed me a little since I was gone for so long. Kinda missed him too. He told me he’d call me later today.” She shrugs.

The girls grab a quick lunch before heading home. Blair didn’t want to eat anything too heavy since she was going to be eating out for dinner, so she just had a salad. She spent some time doing some social media work for her business, and then spent some time putting a new dance together. Her customers had been asking for some more throwbacks, so she was crafting some choreography to a couple of Ricky Martin songs. They could be used for the high intensity days. She always recorded herself so she could go back later to review the steps.

When she was done she was drenched in sweat, so she hops into the shower to freshen up. She sort of ends up pampering herself a bit. She shaved her legs, so she massaged some lotion into them, and used some cocoa butter on her thighs because she liked the way it smelled. After that, she grabbed her electric razor to trip her bikini line, having exfoliated first in the shower, so she was plenty smooth where she wanted to be. She spritzes some perfume into the air and walks through it, then she gets to work on her hair. She had been sporting a shoulder length look lately. Her hair used to be really long in college, but in recent years she had been keeping it a tad shorter. It was up in a braid or bun most days, but she decides to wear it down tonight. She puts on some makeup, and then goes through her closet to find something to wear over her new lingerie. She decides on a pair of black jeans that could easily be word with some booties. She pulls on a blush pink tank top and a tan cardigan to complete the look. You could just see the lace top of the bralette, and she sort of liked that look. Her phone goes off just as she’s putting some lipstick on.

“Hello?” She answers brightly.

“Hey, baby, I’m downstairs.”

“Okay, be down in a sec!” She throws some makeup remover wipes into her bag, and a spare toothbrush, then she heads out. Again, she didn’t quite know what would happen tonight, but she wanted to be prepared. Harry was standing outside his car. He smiles when he sees her.

“Hi.” He says, and opens the car door for her.

“Hi, thanks.” She smiles back and gets inside. They head towards Benson’s, being silent in the car at first. “How was your week?” She asks him.

“Good, had a pretty good workout Wednesday.” He grins, looking at her for a moment before looking back at the road. It makes Blair giggle. “Work wasn’t too stressful for a change, although I’m getting anxious about Kate going on maternity leave.”

“Is the intern no good?”

“No, she just doesn’t have a lot of experience. She’ll get the hang of it.” He shrugs. “How was your week, how are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. I spoke with my mom last night, she’s doing alright. My aunt’s been staying with her, so that’s good.”

“Do you think she’ll sell the house?”

“Nah, she likes where she lives, but I think she’s going to paint and change a few things so it doesn’t feel like such a ghost town, you know?”

“Makes sense.” Harry nods. “I know I’ve offered a ton, but if she needs any help with anything, don’t be afraid to ask. I can hold my own with a paintbrush.”

“Thank you, Harry, that’s very sweet.” She gives his shoulder a squeeze. “It was really nice having you in class Wednesday.” She says shyly.

“Yeah? Would you be opposed if I started coming regularly again?”

“Not at all, I’d really like it, actually.” She smiles. “It…it made it easier to wait to see you tonight.” She blushes, and he reaches for one of her hands. He brings it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

“You’re cute.” He tells her, resting their hands on the console, not letting go at all.

They get to Benson’s, and get seated in a booth. Harry hesitates for a moment, desperately wanting to sit next to her, but he thinks that might be too much too soon, so he sits across from her. She gives him a funny look.

“What?” He asks.

“Nothing…you’re just far away. You usually sit next to me.”

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to.”

“I want you to.” Harry smiles, stands back up, and slides in next to her. She hooks her arms around his and rests her cheek on his shoulder. “Much better.” She sighs. He kisses the top of her head, and a waitress comes over.

“Evening, folks, are you expecting anyone else?” She asks.

“No, love, it’s just us.” Harry says to her, squinting at her nametag. “Becky, is it?”

“Y-yes.” She clears her throat. “Can I get you started with any drinks or appetizers?”

“Definitely two waters.” Blair begins. “And I’ll have a vodka-tonic, please.”

“I’ll have the same.” Harry says. “Do you want an app?” He asks Blair.

“No, I think just the burger will be good.”

“Right, think we’re ready to order dinner.” Harry says to Becky.

“Great! What can I get you?”

“I’ll have the turkey burger with cheddar cheese and sautéed mushrooms.” Blair says.

“And I’ll have veggie burger with avocado.” Harry says.

“Sounds good, I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Becky says, taking their menus before walking away.

“Just a veggie burger?” Blair asks Harry.

“Yeah, I’ve been craving a good one lately, and they make the best here.”

“Very true.” She nods. Becky comes back over with the drinks, and sets them on the table. “So…do anything fun last night?”

“I stayed in.” Harry says, before taking a sip of his drink. “Got caught up on a book I’ve been reading, watched a little TV, nothing special.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t go out with your friends. Isn’t Friday usually your guy’s night?”

“Yeah, I just felt like skipping last night.” He shrugs. “What about you, what did you do?”

“I ran errands all day, and then went to bed early so I could get up for my early classes this morning. Then Riley and I went shopping, and then I did some work at my place. Got ready to go out with you.” She shrugs.

“What does Riley have to say about all this?”

“She’s happy that we’re entertaining the idea of getting back together.” Blair chuckles and sips her drink. “Did you tell anyone we were going out tonight?”

“Mentioned it to my intern…and to John. He wasn’t so enthused.” Harry rolls his eyes.

“He’s never liked me, and I literally have no idea why.”

“Think he was just jealous that I snagged someone as gorgeous and bright as you.” Harry grins. “You know, when we first got together a ton of people gave me shit because you were still in school.”

“I was in my last semester, and I was twenty-one, it wasn’t like I was a child.” Blair scoffs.

“That’s what I said! It wasn’t like I was looking for someone younger than me, it just happened.”

“We just clicked right away, nothing wrong with that.” She inches a little closer to him, her ankle hooking around his under the table.

“Not at all.” His lips graze over hers, but their food is brought over to the table before they can really kiss.

They both giggle and dig into their food, each moaning out at the taste. They continue to talk about things, catching each other on the last year that they weren’t in one another’s lives. It felt easy and natural.

“I don’t wanna be too forward, but would you like to come back to mine when we’re done?” Harry asks.

“I’d like that.” She nods. “Got any sweets at home?”

“Mhm, I’ve got those chewy chocolate chip cookies you like so much.”

“This night just keeps getting better and better.” She smiles. When the check comes, they both reach for it.

“Blair, let go of the check.”

“No, I wanna pay for dinner.”

“I insist, let me pay.”

“Harry, I don’t want you always paying for everything, come on.”

“Fine, can we at least split it?”

“Ugh, fine.” She slaps her card down and so does he.

“So fucking irritating when you do that.” He huffs.

“No, what’s irritating is that you think I can’t pay for stuff.”

“That’s not what this is! I just like paying for our dates, it’s gentlemanly.”

“Yeah, well, it makes me feel like shit.” Becky comes to grabs the cards, and tells them she’ll be right back. “I’m doing well for myself now, I want things to be more equal. I’m not with you for your money.”

“I know you’re not, baby…I just…I can’t help that I wanna spoil you rotten.” He presses his forehead to hers, and she sighs before pecking his lips quickly.

“There are plenty of other ways you can do that, Harry.”

“Am I gonna have the chance?” Becky comes back with their cards, and they both sign their slips before sliding out of the booth. She takes his hand in hers as they walk out.

“Yes.” She says as they both get into the car. “I…I think wanna see where this goes with you, babe. I feel like I’m really ready for you now…”

“That means the world to me, Blair.” Her bottom lip starts to quiver, and he frowns. “Hey, why are you crying?” He reaches to caress her cheek.

“I just can’t believe you basically were waiting for me all this time.” She sniffles. “I feel so shitty. And I feel even shittier because I’m jealous of all the other people you slept with that we weren’t together.”

“Baby.” Harry sighs. “I was so in love with you, still am, none of them meant anything. I’m sorry you feel hurt by it. You don’t need to worry about it now, though, I’m all yours.” Her hand grips the collar of his shirt and she tugs him close to her, only a few centimeters apart.

“Mine.” She says, eyes darkening before her lips crash against his. She nips and sucks at his bottom lip as his hands cup her cheeks, trying to get even closer.

“Fuck.” He breathes, putting his keys in the ignition. “Need to get you home.” He pulls onto the street, and zips them home. His hand grips her thigh the entire time, squeezing it occasionally.

“Thought of you last weekend in the shower.” She says, shifting on her side a little. “Thought of the first time we had sex in the shower.” Her breath is on his ear now, and she nibbles on his lobe.

“Blair.” He warns, but she keeps going, kissing on his neck.

“Made me feel so good, always make me feel good.”

“Blair, I’m going to crash the car, just sit patiently, please.” She sits back normally in her seat. “Thank you.” He sighs. “So, you really thought of me?”

“It was hard not to with you leaving me breakfast.” She pouts at him. “So sweet of you, and I haven’t had a chance to even reward you for being so good to me.”

“You’re still into all that?” He asks cautiously.

“Only for you…do you still like it?”

“Only if it’s you. I told you I didn’t do that with anyone else.”

“You still trust me enough?”

“Course I do, baby.” He reaches for her hand to intertwine their fingers. He drives a little faster to his place, and they finally reach it. “Gonna take care of you first, and then you can do me, alright?”

“Whatever you want, babe.”

They get up to his place, somehow keeping their hands to themselves in the elevator. Before she knows it, Harry’s slamming Blair against the wall of his front hallway, attacking her neck with his lips.

“Gonna mark you up.” He says as he sucks on her skin. “Then everyone will know you’re taken again.”

She whimpers as her response, and pushes his head further into her neck. She wiggles out of her cardigan, and wraps her arms around his neck.

“Jump.” He grunts into her ear, and she does so, wrapping her legs around his waist so he can carry her to his bedroom. He sets her down on the bed, letting her get her shoes off. He does the same before kneeing onto the bed. She takes her tank top off, and his mouth waters at the sight of the bralette. “Christ.” He breathes as he gropes her supple breasts. “Missed these.” He sucks on her nipple through the lace, and her head rolls back. He does the same to the other one, getting it nice and pebbled. One of his hands slides down between her legs and he whimpers. “Need to get these off you, that okay?”

“Mhm, yeah, please.”

He undoes her button and zipper, yanking the jeans off of her. His eyes widen when he sees the matching panties.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Blair. Are these new?”

“Yeah, bought them today, just for you.” She props herself up on her elbows. “Wouldn’t mind you taking them off, though.”

Harry nearly growls as he tugs them down her legs. His hands slide up and down her smooth skin, having missed the feeling of her skin on his. He spreads her legs apart, and starts leaving open mouthed kisses on her inner thighs, sucking some nasty bruises into them. Blair clutches at his blankets and grits her teeth while he has his fun marking her up.

“Can I?” He asks, looking up at her. “Can I taste you?”

“Yes, of course you can.” She reaches forward to push his hair back, and he smiles at her before licking up her slit.

He licks and sucks all around her folds before working his tongue around her clit, sucking on it briefly before bringing his thumb to it. He licks into her center, making her mewl as he essentially just makes out sloppily with the area.

“Yes, fuck.” Her hands rake through his hair. “Feels so good, Harry.” She grinds against his face, and he moans against her. “Harry, fingers, please, use your fingers.” She whines.

He lifts his head from her, and reaches his hand up to her so she can suck on his fingers. She does so happily, and then he slips two fingers inside her. She gasps and lets her body go slack against the bed.

“Baby, shit, you’re so fucking tight, does it hurt?”

“No, feels so god, m’so wet.”

“I know, you’re dripping.” He pulls his fingers out and sucks on them, moaning again before slipping them back inside to the knuckle.

“R-right there.” She whimpers. Her mouth was open, body writhing under his, having not been touched by another man in almost a year, her body was reacting on overdrive. Her back was arching, and she was pushing her head further into the mattress. “Harry, Harry!” She screams as she comes around his fingers, and he fucks her through it, sucking on her clit to prolong it. As she starts to come down he sits up, and starts taking his shirt off. “Fuck, I’m gonna give it to you so good.” She sits up and watches he takes his clothes off. She takes her bralette off, and tosses it on the floor.

“How do you want me?”

“That depends…um…what would you like me to do? Like, how…how hard do you wanna go tonight?”

“I wanna be able to touch you since it’s been so long, and I wanna be able to look at you.”

“Alright, so we can just keep it sweet and easy, save the rest for another time.”

“Yeah…work back up to it.”

“Get on your back, m’gonna ride you.”

Harry gets himself situated, sitting up against the headboard. Blair raises an eyebrow at him.

“Just wanna be as close as possible tonight, baby.”

“Okay.” She smiles, and gets herself on his lap.

“Are you still on the pill?”

“Mhm, are you okay to not use a condom?”

“Definitely don’t want to. Need feel you.”

“Need to feel you too.”

She grips his hard cock, giving it a few pumps before she guides it inside herself. Her mouth falls open as she feels him stretch her out. Harry looks down and watches as she swallows him whole. They both moan out once he’s full inside her. Her fingernails dig into his shoulders as she gets adjusted to him. His hands squeeze at her hips and ass.

“Shit, Harry.” She presses her forehead to his. “Missed you so much.”

“Missed you too.” He cups her cheeks and kisses her as she starts to slowly rock on and off him. His tongue slips into her mouth, and she grips at his back as she kisses him back. “You feel so fucking good.” He says before biting her bottom lip, sucking on it.

She whimpers and moves herself a little faster on him. She grinds herself against him, feeling the friction on her clit start to form. His arms wrap around her back, his fingers digging into her skin.

“Move with me.” She says into his ear before nibbling on it.

He groans as he starts to thrust up into her. She starts to bounce up and down him, moving his hands to her hips. He watches as her breasts bounce in front of his face, and he leans in to kiss and suck on them. Her head rolls back with pleasure. She wanted to feel his tongue all over her. She brings two fingers to his mouth, and he takes them in quickly. He looks up at her as he sucks on them, swirling his tongue around them, and nipping at the pads of them. She takes them away to rub at her clit.

He growls, and moves to pin her on her back, surprising her completely. He was never like this in bed with her. She looks up at him with wide eyes as he throws one of her legs over his shoulder, and replaces her fingers with his own. She groans at his touch. He was driving himself in so much deeper and she could barely handle it.

“Okay?” He asks her, panting slightly.

“Mhm, it’s good, so good.” One of her hands goes to the back of his neck, pulling him down for a sloppy kiss. They breathe each other in and out once they both start panting. “Harry, fuck, I’m so close.” She squeezes around him and he bites down on her shoulder.

“Blair.” He moans into her ear. “Can I come inside you?”

“Yes! Fuck, yes, please!” She screams as she’s coming again, feeling even more turned on when she feels Harry’s hot come start to fill her up. She grinds her hips towards his trying to make her orgasm last as long as possible. “Love it when you fill me up, feels so good.” She says as she continues to squeeze around him.

He slots his mouth over hers as they both start to come down. Their tongues mold together as they kiss lazily. He’s slow to pull out, but he was too sensitive to stay inside her any longer. She squeezes her legs closed to try to not make a mess. Harry scoops Blair up quickly bridal style to carry her to the bathroom, setting her down gently on the toilet, and leaving her to do her business. When she walks out of the bathroom, he’s laying on his bed in a fresh pair of boxers with a dreamy smile on his face. She climbs onto the bed and lays in between his legs, resting her head on his tummy. She buries her face into his soft skin while he starts to card through her mussed up hair.

“So…we’re really back together?” He asks after a few moment of peaceful silence. She looks up at him with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, I really wanna be your girlfriend again.”

“You have no idea how happy I feel right now.” He continues to play with her hair as she sets her head back down.

“You’ve never really taken control like that before…I kinda liked it.” She peers up at him again, grinning. “Maybe I should see what being the sub feels like sometime.”

“Oh, baby, I don’t know if I could switch like that. Don’t think I’d get much pleasure in making you wait for things. Think I’d give in the second you asked for something.” He chuckles.

“You’re so cute, Harry, but I understand what you’re saying. I don’t mind being the one to do that stuff when you really need it, babe.” She moves further up his body so she can be closer to his face. “Do you think in a bit when you’re ready to go again we could…bring out some of your ties?”

“Feel like I’m already bloating back up, fuck.” He groans, and kisses her.

“You know what I’ve really missed doing with you?” She says, moving her lips to the shell of his ear.

“What, baby?”

“Fucking that tight hole of yours.” She says lowly, and he whimpers.

“Yes.” He breathes, and she looks at him. “Still have everything, it just hasn’t been used in a while.”

“Would you really wanna get into all of that tonight? I mean, I’m game if you are…you seemed hesitant before.”

“I just wanted to feel really close with you before, but now that we’ve got that out of our system I’m definitely up for it.” He pecks her lips. “We’ve got the rest of the weekend to do all we want.”

“Mmm, and the weekend after that, and the weekend after that, and maybe sometimes during the middle of the week. Oh! Remember when I used to come to your office at work, and I’d let you bend me over your desk, god, that was always so hot.”

“Or that time we screwed in that bathroom at your studio?” His smile was incredibly mischievous.

“Or the times you sit me up on the counter in your kitchen and fuck me?”

“Or the time you bent me over my own desk her here?”

“I think it’s time we make some new memories.” She says, getting off of him, and extending her hand out to him for him to follow.

“Couldn’t agree with you more.”

Blair leads them inside Harry’s walk in closet where he kept his box of toys. It was still in the same spot as always. She pops the lid off and they both smile at each other.

“How long do you think I could edge you for?” She asks him.

“Um, I should be okay to go for a while since I already came.”

“Excellent.” She picks up a cock ring, the kind that vibrates. “We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

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