#she's a lawyer so maybe shes just that used to picking apart contracts

[punchdrunkdoc]

Part 3, Chapter 5

Summary: After the events of S3, Matt Murdock is trying to once again balance life as a lawyer and a vigilante. But he’s been scarred by loss and betrayal - will a mysterious new neighbour help him heal? Or will her secrets drag him back into the darkness?

Notes: This is a slow burn romance with an original female character, told in 3 (maybe 4??) parts. There is mystery, intrigue, action/violence and angst - all the good stuff!

Also available on AO3 and Wattpad

Masterlist

Reference pics

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PART 3

Chapter 5

Calina's next opportunity to see Matt came a few days later.

She was in Manhattan picking up a few extra firearms with Katya. The other Widow had a contact that had sourced the unregistered weapons from the black market. He charged a fortune, but it was worth the additional cost to keep their purchases under the radar.

After stashing the bag of guns in the trunk of their car, Calina handed Katya the keys. “You go on ahead. I have an errand to run.”

Katya rolled her eyes. “I wonder what ‘errand’ you could possibly need to run in this part of the city?”

Calina shrugged and smiled. “I have a delivery to make.”

It was the truth. One of Matt’s favourite Chinese restaurants was around the corner, so she planned to grab him lunch and deliver it to his office.

She was taking a gamble that he would a) be in his office, and b) not be with a client, but she couldn’t pass up the chance to see him again.

Twenty minutes later, arms laden with enough kung pao chicken and Szechuan Beef to feed an army, she skipped up the stairs leading to Nelson, Murdock & Page.

----------

Matt leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out in front of him. He laced his fingers together, twisted his forearms and felt the satisfying crack of his knuckles. The tenant dispute case that Foggy had ‘assigned’ to him had turned into a class action lawsuit against one of the most despicable slumlords in the city, and he’d spent the last three hours reading through pages and pages of evidence.

‘Nightmare’ didn’t even cover it.

The three of them were now spending all their time and efforts trying to win the suit. Time and effort that could have been used to follow up on Calina’s lead and track down the mysterious pheromone manufacturer…

But this cause was just as worthy. Dozens of families had been taken advantage of, and were now trapped in tenancy contracts for mould-invested apartments. They were losing money, and their kids were getting sick. It was exactly the kind of case Nelson, Murdock & Page was created for - getting justice for the most deprived and powerless in the city.

And if they failed the legal way, Matt had a backup plan. Daredevil had been out at night gathering dirt on the landlord and his company, and he wouldn’t hesitate to hand it over to the cops and get the guy put away for decades. But for the families to see some compensation, they needed to win in the courts first. So Matt shook out his tired hands and went back to reading.

But just ten minutes later, his concentration started to wane. He’d been successfully ignoring his hunger pangs all morning - it was his own fault for skipping breakfast and only having a light meal before patrolling last night - but the faint scent of Chinese food filtering in from the street outside was making that task almost impossible.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious aroma of chilli, garlic and ginger, and his stomach let out a loud rumble in response.

He breathed again, and the smell became stronger - it was in the building now, no longer on the street. Matt lifted his head, tracking the scent as it travelled up the stairs, figuring one of the other offices must have ordered takeout.

Which was a very good idea.

Matt took out his phone and started punching in the number to his favourite restaurant, having memorised the contact information years ago. He could blame that on being blind - it was easier to memorise numbers than to search for them - but, really, he just ordered too much takeout.

He’d lived off the stuff for years. Sure, he could cook, and he liked being able to cook for others. But when it was just him, it was easier to order in. He’d only really had consistent home-cooked meals when Calina had lived with him. She used to enjoy finding recipes and trying them out - with him as her willing taste-tester.

“I don’t know why I was so wary of cooking for myself when I came to New York,” she’d told him one night as she diced a carrot and added it to the stew she was preparing. “Its just a lot of knife skills, and the application of physics and chemistry. And I know about all of those things.”

Matt grabbed a left over slice of carrot from the chopping board and popped it in his mouth. “I think a lot of chefs would disagree with you there. They regard it as more of an art than a science.”

“I don’t see the distinction,” she’d argued. “Art and science are too entwined to be separated like that. They’re just two sides to the same coin.”

“How so?” Matt asked, leaning back against the counter top, settling in to enjoy the conversation. He loved to hear Calina’s thoughts on the world, and the surprising way she often viewed it. He wondered whether it was because she’d been so alienated from it for so long, or whether it was just her. Her unique and fascinating brain that gave her these insights.

“People tend to separate art into the creative realm, and science is relegated to the rational,” she explained. “But an artist needs an element of rationality. They can really only succeed if they know the science underpinning their creations - how colours mix together, how perspective informs composition, how language can convey an idea. And scientists use imagination and creativity to explore nature. The greatest discoveries in physics came from someone imagining the world beyond what they could see and feel.”

Matt smiled remembering that conversation. They’d spent all of dinner debating the topic and all the tangential topics that had branched from it. And they’d spent night after night like that, learning about each other over dinner, finding out about their differing opinions and the similar ways they thought, until he became just as infatuated with her mind as he was with her smell and the softness of her skin.

God, he missed talking to her.

The two brief encounters they’d had since Christmas has been just that - brief. Too quick to do more than say hello and goodbye, and assure themselves that the other was whole and unharmed. Too quick to really say anything of substance. 

Matt shook off those thoughts. If he went down that path - of wondering what she was doing, of remembering that kiss on the rooftop last weekend, of imagining a future where they were free to be together and talk for hours on end - he would never get any work done. He’d learned over the past few months that to be effective at anything in his life - being a lawyer, or a vigilante, or even a decent friend - he needed to stash thoughts of Calina to the back of his mind.

He resumed typing in the number for the Chinese restaurant, then called out to Foggy and Karen before pressing the dial button. “Do you guys want Chinese for lunch? I’m gonna order something.”

“Um, I thought you already had,” Foggy responded, sounding confused.

Matt listened to what was happening beyond his desk and realised that while he’d been distracted thinking of Calina, someone had come to the office door - with the Chinese food he’d been smelling.

He got to his feet and ambled out to the main reception area. Foggy was rummaging in his wallet for cash, while Karen was taking bags of food off the delivery person. “Are you sure its for this address?” Foggy asked.

“Yep. Nelson, Murdock and Page. The most prestigious law firm on West 49th street.”

Foggy paused, and Matt could sense his friend frowning. “Right,” he said slowly.

But Matt just smiled and strode forward. Because he recognised that voice. Despite the drop in pitch and the strange accent she was putting on, he recognised Calina’s beautiful voice.

He would know it anywhere.   

He slipped between Karen and Foggy, took Calina’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Calina?” Foggy spluttered.

“Hi, Foggy. Nice to see you again.”

“I- I didn’t recognise you. Sorry. Hi.”

“That’s kind of the point of a disguise.” She smiled up at Matt. “Although I knew I’d never fool this guy.”

“Disguise?” Matt asked. He’d noticed straightaway the ball-cap pulled low over her face, but there must be more to her get-up if Foggy hadn’t recognised her. He plucked the hat from her head and ran his hand through the loose waves of her hair. It felt shorter. And styled differently. “New haircut?” he guessed.

“Yes…”

He rubbed a strand between his fingers, feeling the strange new texture. “And dyed?”

“Very good, Counsellor. Now that I’m spending time in the city again, I thought I should try to be more incognito.

“What colo-” He caught himself before he could finish, remembering the conversation they’d had months ago. The one in which she spoke of her looks and how she liked the fact that he didn’t know anything about the superficial aspects of her beauty.

So as much as he was curious about her new hair colour, he dropped the question. “Nevermind.”

He sensed her smile widening, and she squeezed his hand in gratitude - as if she knew what he wanted to ask, and why he changed his mind.

She probably did. It was proof of the connection they shared - this ability to silently communicate, to be on the same page, thinking the same thoughts…it was proof of how right they were together.

Matt kissed the back of her hand again then stepped back, allowing the real world to intrude on their little bubble.

“Sorry, Foggy, what did you say?” he asked, knowing his friend had asked something while he’d been concentrating on Calina.

“I asked if you guys wanted to be alone. Karen and I can head out for lunch and give you some privacy.”

Calina shook her head before Matt could answer. “No, I brought enough for everyone.”

She took the bags back from Karen and headed for the conference table, where she started unpacking the cartons.

“Any occasion in particular?” Foggy asked, helping her spread out the food. “You got another thumb drive full of revelations to drop off?”

Calina smiled. “Not this time. I just wanted to hang out with you guys for a while. The last time we tried…it didn’t really go to plan.”

Matt winced at the reminder of that night - the night Calina had tried to kiss him, and his stupid fears had ruined it. In a way, it had been the catalyst for everything that had changed between them. But he still hated the way he’d behaved that night.

Matt squeezed Calina’s knee as she sat beside him, a silent apology.

She bumped her shoulder against his, telling him they were all good.

More silent communication.

More connection.

Matt smiled as he reached for the carton of wontons, then paused as he realised his friends were watching him - with matching big, goofy smiles on their faces. “What?”

Karen shrugged. “You two are cute together.”

“All we’ve gotten for months is angst and drama,” Foggy explained. “‘Oh no, she left and won’t pick up her phone’ and ‘Oh no, we have to be apart, how can I possibly survive?’. It’s just refreshing to see the lighter side of the Matt and Calina story.”

Matt rolled his eyes and chucked a spare pair of chopsticks at his friend. “Very funny.”

“Ignore him,” Karen advised Calina. “Tell us what’s been going on with you? Matt said you’re close to bringing down this Volkov guy.”

Calina nodded. “Close, but we’re not there yet. We’re kind of in a holding pattern, just waiting for our moment. So we’ve been spending our time prepping and training.”

Matt brushed his thumb gently over a bruise he could sense across Calina’s upper arm. “Is that how you got this?”

She rolled her shoulder, as if it was stiff. “Yeah. You remember Inessa?”

Matt nodded and held a hand out at shoulder level. “The petite one.”

“She may be petite, but she kicks like a mule.”

Matt laughed. “I learned pretty quickly not to underestimate her.”

Calina laughed. “That’s right - she took you down.”

“Wait, what?” Foggy chimed in. “When did this happen?”

“It was when Yelena kidnapped me to take me to the cabin Calina was staying at. And in my defence, it was Inessa and Katya together, and they had a tranquilliser gun.”

“Excuses, excuses,” Foggy teased.

“Speaking of excuses,” Calina said, resting her fingers against the black eye only partially hidden by his glasses. “What’s yours for this?”

“Just an over-enthusiastic car-jacker who got lucky.”

“Nothing to do with the pheromone case?” she asked. “How’s that going, by the way?”

A collective groan sounded out in the room.

“That good, huh?” 

Karen wiped off her fingers and got to her feet. Then she spun the whiteboard in the corner of the room around to show a complicated collage of documents, photographs and notes. “We’ve been looking into the buyers of Arsonium bromide - who they are, how much they’re purchasing and their stated reasons. Unfortunately, there are a lot of buyers.”

“Its been slow-going and tedious,” Matt growled.

Foggy sighed, used to hearing Matt’s complaints about their chosen methodology. “It’s slow-going and thorough. And for good reason. We’ve had experience investigating rich, powerful and well-connected people before. We need to do this carefully.”

Matt nodded, reluctantly. He understood the reasons for caution - their firm didn’t need to be on the radar of another Wilson Fisk-type character - but it had been months since the explosion in the lab, and weeks since Calina had gifted them with this lead and they were still nowhere.

Calina stroked her thumb against his cheek. “You’re getting frustrated.”

He nodded, cupping her hand against his skin. “Understatement.”

“You’ll figure it out. I know you will.”

“Thanks.” He turned his head to press a kiss to her palm. “And thanks for lunch.”

He sensed her frown. “I’ll have to do it more often. You look a little thin.”

He shrugged. “It’s just been busy around here.”

“But you’re taking care of yourself?”

He nodded, warming at the concern and caring in her voice. “I miss your cooking though. I miss our evenings together.”

“Me too.”

“And our nights. And the mornings.”

She laughed softly, and tipped forward to rest her forehead against his. “Me too.”

A text alert from her phone broke the quiet intimacy of the moment. Calina sighed as she read the message.

“Time to go?” he guessed.

“Yeah.” She lifted her head to look around the room, and seemed to notice for the first time that they were alone.

“They slipped out to give us some privacy,” Matt explained.

She smiled. “You have good friends.”

“They’re your friends too.”

“I hope so.”

She gathered her stuff then leaned over to kiss him. He held her against him, his hand locked on the back of her head as he tried to prolong the moment.

Then she left.

Again.

He toyed with the fortune cookie in front of him as he listened to her say goodbye to Foggy and Karen. As he heard her jog down the stairs. As she stepped onto the street and started walking away. He crumbled the wafer, crushing the pieces into dust between his fingers as her footsteps receded into the distance, taking her further and further away from him.

“You okay, man?” Foggy asked.

Matt shrugged, getting used to the bittersweet nature of Calina’s brief visits. “I’ll be fine.”

Foggy patted him on the shoulder, then leaned over to pluck the slip of paper out of the destroyed cookie. He read the ‘fortune’ then huffed out a laugh.

“What does it say?” Matt asked.

Foggy didn’t answer, just handed the note to Karen.

She laughed as well.

“Guys?”

“Sorry, Matt. It’s just too on the nose. ‘The love of your life will appear in front of you unexpectedly.’”

Matt joined in the laughter.

------------

The love of his life appeared unexpectedly several more times over the next couple of weeks.

She was in a darkened corner at the back of Josie’s one night. Alerted by her scent, he tracked her through the Happy Hour crowd, then pulled her further into the shadows where they spent several hot, sweaty minutes pressed against each other. She slipped out the back door and he returned to Foggy and Karen with his hair rumpled and his smiling lips stained with her lipstick.

A few days later, she was in the public gallery of the courtroom, watching as he entered a plea for one of his clients. Her gaze was a warm caress on his back as he stood before the judge, and her calm, soothing heartbeat filled his senses. But when he turned to leave at the end of the session she was gone.

There was another sky-high kiss after she summoned him to the roof of a dimly lit multi-storey car lot.  He raced across the city, following the sound of the clanging dashes and dots of his now-familiar code, lured like a sailor by a siren.

And just as he was starting to grow frustrated by those brief encounters - those stolen moments in which they could do little more than kiss - she crept into his bedroom one early morning and they made love for hours. He arrived to work that day bleary-eyed, but languidly sated.

Her unpredictable appearances turned their separation into a game. A secret pastime, where she tried to surprise him, and where he tracked her through crowds and down winding alleyways. Where there were no losers, only winners, and their shared victory was celebrated with passion-filled kisses and tender embraces.

It broke their time apart into days instead of weeks. Manageable fragments of time, spent in anticipation, not loneliness and despair.

It brought much-needed moments of levity to both of their lives…

Until everything went horribly, horribly wrong.

————–

Uh oh...What could this mean?!

Find out in Chapter 6...

Tag list: @hollandorks @chezagnes @stilldreaming666 @yanna-banana @tearoseart-blog @acharliecoxedfan @freckledbabyyy

If you’d like to be added - let me know!

#daredevil fic #daredevil #tabula rasa #daredevil fanfic #matt murdock #daredevil fanfiction #daredevil x original female character #marvel's daredevil #matt murdock fanfic #matt murdock x oc #daredevil fandom #daredevil x oc #matt murdock x ofc #matt murdock x original female character

[alittlextrathatway]

It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

+

Bedroom

I'm sure this can go either angsty or sexy - ha!

And this prompt will be the finale of the Hockey AU. You can find the other parts here: part one | part two | part three

Enjoy!

***

It's no surprise to Sylvie that the date is going well. The problem was never their lack of feelings for each other. She loves Matt -- she has for years. Probably always will.

The problem was everything that surrounded those feelings. His career, her career, the lack of actual time together. None of it ever matched up.

Maybe this is their second chance, but what if it isn't? What if he gets traded again? What happens to her if he has no choice but to leave? Sure, for the time being they're on the same page but, as she learned three years ago, that page can turn at any moment.

Still...

When he kisses her after walking her to the door, she doesn't pull away. Kissing Matt Casey is addictive. He knows exactly what she wants out of a kiss and he delivers. She pulls him inside as they continue to kiss. His mouth desperately chases hers every time she pulls away for even a fraction of a second. His hands push her cardigan off of her shoulders and then skim down her back until they stop to rest just under her ass.

She whimpers into his mouth and when he suddenly decides to lift, she jumps ever so slightly. Making it easier for him to pick her up is her natural response. His shoulders have always been sturdy and holding onto them makes her feel cared for and safe. She hasn't felt either of those things in far too long so, of course, she uses his lift as an excuse to cling to him. The bonus is that it lines their bodies up perfectly.

Matt, seemingly effortlessly, carries her into her bedroom. She hasn't moved apartments or redecorated since the last time he was here and clearly he remembers every square foot of her floorplan. He sets her onto the bed and follows after her, hovering over her with one hand next to her head to keep himself propped up. He must have sensed her earlier internal hesitation because he slows them down by pulling back and resting his brow against hers.

"Is this okay? Should we stop?"

It's more than okay, but yes they should probably stop.

"I mean, maybe," she says, pushing up until her back rests on her headboard. "I want you, Matt. I think I always will. But I don't want us to start something we can't finish."

His brow furrows curiously. "Who says we can't?"

"We couldn't last time," she reminds him. "You were traded. And then I lost you. You, my boyfriend, and you, my best friend. I can handle losing a boyfriend. I've done that before. But my best friend? That one hurt. A lot."

"You're not going to lose me," he declares with a bold sense of confidence she's never heard from him before. Not off the ice at least. "What we had, and hopefully will have again, was rare. I was there too, Sylvie. I remember it. I've never felt even a fraction of what I feel for you for anyone else. So when I left, I also lost the love of my life and my best friend. Same as you, and I am determined I won't lose you again. I refuse."

"You can't guarantee that."

He smirks at her, nodding vigorously. "Yes, I can."

"Matt." She hates to sound skeptical but he couldn't stop the trade last time so what's different now? "Be serious."

"I am serious. I haven't allowed any modifications to my no-trade or no-movement clauses this time around. That's the perk of having two Stanley Cups to my name. If this team ever wants to get rid of me, they're gonna have to buy me out of my contract. And they won't do that," he explains as he brushes a few stray strands of hair out other face. "I'm home to stay this time, Sylvie. My agent and my lawyer made sure of it."

“You…” Her sentence fades away. She has no idea where it was going anyway. Finally, after staring at him like a slack jawed idiot for far too long, she finds her words again. “You can’t be traded?”

“Well, technically it’s possible but I’d have to approve it, and if it takes me away from Chicago or you then that won’t be happening. It’s completely up to me.”

“Completely up to—you can do that?” She asks, Hope slowly flooding her system from head to toe. 

“I couldn’t when I originally signed with them. I was too young and too new,” he clarifies. “That’s how they were able to trade me without my consent three years ago, but a lot about my career has changed this time around. I have more bargaining power and agency than ever before.”

Something about his statement is familiar to her. There’s a memory coming back to her of a FaceTime call not long after he moved, when he started putting in more practice and training time than ever before. At the time, all she could see was that he kept canceling on her, even after he tried to explain it. But now, she thinks she understands.

“That’s why you got so intense about your new team and training routine after you left? You were trying to be better so you’d have more leverage when your contract was up.” It all makes so much sense now. Yes, he could’ve shown more effort with her but in his mind all the work he was putting in was for them — to get him back home. Why hadn’t she seen that sooner?

He nods, a dark edge to his self deprecating grin. “If you’re just now realizing that then I must not have done a very good job of communicating that to you.”

“I..well, not to hurt your feelings but no. No, you didn’t do a very good job of communicating that to me.”

“I thought if I worked my ass off and became someone who wins championships then I’d be too valuable to be pushed around.” He pauses, rolling off of her and onto his side to rest his arms. “And I was right.”

“And I dumped you for it,” Sylvie says with a mortified blush. “Now, I feel like an idiot.”

“Don’t,” he assures her. “I should’ve just been clear about what I was trying to do from the beginning. I shouldn’t have left any room for you to fill in the blanks. That’s on me. Whether we’re friends or more than that, I’m not going to keep you in the dark anymore. I promise.”

“You're issuing a lot of guarantees and making a lot of promises tonight,” she teases.

She expects him to tease her back or make a self deprecating joke, but he doesn’t. Instead his face is entirely earnest when he replies, “That’s because I have every intention of keeping them.”

Damn it. He’s being very upfront about his commitment to making their relationship work and it’s getting to her. More and more of her worries melt away every time he speaks. She’s beginning to believe this really is their second chance and, more treacherous than that, she’s starting to hope they won’t need a third. She’s put off saying those three little words to him since he came back, unsure if she could risk her heart like that again,

But now those three little words jump out of her mouth before she even knows she’s speaking. “I love you,” she confesses on an airy exhale. 

She stuns him and herself. She knows she still loves him  but she wasn’t going to admit it this early, at least not until he told her that everything he’s done since he moved was about getting back to Chicago first and foremost. That revelation was the one that bombarded the last remnants of her walls and smashed them to smithereens.

Caution is out the window. Now she just wants him.

“I love you too,” he says, rolling her under him so he’s propped up above her again. He leans down, pressing his forehead to hers. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to tell you that again.”

“I’m so glad you came back to me,” she tells him, framing his face with her hands and pulling his mouth down to hers for a searing kiss.

As they continue to kiss and hold on to each other, it hits her that the past few weeks haven’t been a dream or an illusion. He’s home and he’s not going anywhere. She hadn’t let herself believe it and now that it’s irrefutable the relief and joy hit her like a tidal wave. Happy tears fall down her cheeks while her arms fold around Matt’s neck and her legs wrap around his waist.

She wants to be as close to him as humanly possible, spiritually and physically. After years of forced separation, they need to make up for a lot of wasted time. What better way to do that than keeping Matt Casey to herself all night long?

#brettsey #sylvie brett #matt casey #matt casey x sylvie brett #girlmadeofstarlight #prompt fic #my fic #angellwings writes

[loving-barnes]

Vendetta - Unity (13)

Pairing: Mob Boss! Bucky Barnes x Mob ! Boss Y/N Fox (Bucky Barnes x female reader)

Warning: talk of sexual assault, angst

Autor’s note: People love throwing glasses in this story. Not just in this chapter but in general. Huh, interesting. 

Viewer discretion is advised. This story is for readers 18+!

Word count: 4100+

Chapter twelve

Vendetta Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Unity (13)

It’s crowded in the small apartment. Yelena is sitting on the couch between Steve and Sam, glaring at the redhead that was invited by Stark. Wade was sitting on a barstool, awkwardly staring into the ceiling rather than the people present. Scott was aside in a corner, humming a tune while picking dirt from behind his nails. Everyone could feel the tension between Yelena and Natasha and yet no one dared to say a word to them about it.

All of them were bruised or patched due to the attack that happened at the funeral. Sam had a wound on his head which resulted in having his head bandaged, covering the stitches. They all looked defeated – hell, they literally were. Hydra decided to play dirty again and so far, they were winning.

There were two bottles of vodka standing on the coffee table. The first round of shots was already poured and drunk. No one dared to speak. They all seemed exhausted and ready for bed. But they needed to stick together and mourn the loss of their men. Some were killed during the attack, including Chao – Y/N’s trusted man. 

The door to the apartment opened. Bucky and Y/N stepped inside in silence, both checking out the people. It seemed as if it was all lost but it wasn’t, not yet. They all were in pain, tired. However, they were determined to break someone’s jaw – that’s what Yelena looked like when Y/N’s eyes found her friend’s face. She was pissed. 

“Seven dead, including Chao,” said the blonde when Y/N and Bucky took off their jackets and joined the circle. “Many harmed, including us.”

“Your father doesn’t need a cremation anymore. Hydra did it right in front of our eyes,” Wade commented when he poured himself another shot of vodka. 

“And it gets better,” Y/N remarked sarcastically and waved with a document she brought. “For those who don’t know, Hydra came to the funeral with only two intentions – to harm us and to take away Queens from me.” 

Who seemed surprised were Wade, Scott and Natasha. These people didn’t hear about the contract closed between Hydra and Attila. “What do you- What do you mean, Y/N? Wade asked. “I thought your father gave you everything, including the business. How come now it’s different?” 

“That, my friend, is an answer we need to find. Yes, my father gave me the business and I officially became the boss once he was poisoned and remained unconscious. Everything was prepared by the lawyers we have. Unfortunately, this contract is something not many of us knew. This document was signed around the time I was in the military.” 

Y/N handed the document to Wade who checked it with Scott looking at it through his shoulder. “Sixty days?” Wade almost shouted. “Wait kind of a fucking joke is this? Also, it specifically says 60 days after Attila’s death. He’s been dead for two fucking weeks already.” 

“Has he always been such a drama queen?” Natasha pointed a finger at him. Everyone ignored the question and so she continued. “I mean, I wouldn’t see it that dark. There has to be a loophole.”

“A loophole?” Sam raised a brow. 

“Yes, a loophole – it technically allows you to avoid a scope of a law or restriction without directly violating the contract or the law.” 

“You think Hydra wouldn’t think of it?” Yelena frowned at her half-sister. “Think about it, Natasha. Those fuckers have everything under control, even this.” 

“There is always a loophole,” Natasha replied strictly. “If you have a good lawyer, they might be able to help you find something. Or maybe, your father made his own loophole that might prevent giving up the Queens.”

“Attila would have to have an ounce of a healthy brain to come up with something like that,” said Wade, not caring how he talked about Y/N’s dead father. 

Suddenly, the people started to talk at the same time, bickering about the contract that Hydra had signed Attila. They were coming up with many ridiculous ideas it only brought Y/N a headache. 

Was there anything she could do now? Her eyes went from one person to another. It slowly hit her that all of those people, standing in the living room, were putting their lives at risk for her and her mess. Mad Man Attila caused this – he made sure to complicate everything and give Hydra anything they wanted. She thought they could all form an alliance and work together to defeat Hydra. But as she kept looking around, she knew she was endangering the people that meant something to her. 

The relationships changed and they all bonded over the several months. 

“I’m giving you all a clean break from all of this,” Y/N’s voice said firmly and loudly. Immediately, she had everyone’s attention. “I can’t put your lives at risk because of the mistakes my father made. It- It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Wait a minute,” Yelena was quickly on her feet, stomping towards her. “You are giving up?” 

“I’m not giving up, Yelena. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt because of this. You all should be protecting your own territory and family. It was a mistake to bring you into this mess,” she sighed. 

“No,” Bucky shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. It was good you brought us into it because thanks to you, we’ve learnt the truth. Hydra was manipulating us for years and we were blind.”

“Bucky’s right,” Steve agreed. “Think about what could have happened if you didn’t present us the evidence that Hydra stole cargo from us and set up this mess. We would have destroyed your family and split Queens.”

“You are a good boss, Fox,” Tony grinned at her. “We are in this together, no matter how it ends. You can always count on us.” 

“There you go,” Bucky smiled at her. “The Alliance stands together and united. Together, we will get rid of those fuckers and get back where it all started.” 

Yelena giggled like a child. “I feel like I am in a movie. Such speeches, much wow,” she commented. 

Y/N bit her lower lip to hold the laugh that wanted to escape her throat. “Alright then, it’s settled. Now, let’s move and plan some work ahead,” she took the phone out of a pocket and dialled Peter’s number, waiting for him to pick it up. 

Peter: Hi, Y/N. 

Y/N: Hey cutie. Listen, I have a job for you. Are you up for it? 

Peter: Anything for you. How can I help? 

Bucky had a sour face and Yelena wanted to laugh at him. He was jealous and it was evident. How could he be jealous of a young boy? Well, he wasn’t a boy but was way younger than Y/N. He cleared his throat loudly and frowned at the blonde.

Y/N: I know you are not a lawyer but I believe you know someone that will help you with the following assignment. I’m going to send you a picture of a contract that my father closed with Hydra. I need you to find out if there’s a loophole. Your job will be rewarded as usual. If you succeed, I’ll throw in even more money. What do you say?

Peter: Sure, just send it through the secured mail. Wait, are you guys still together? 

Y/N: Yeah. I need you to rest, pretty boy. It’s been a tough day at the funeral and you’ve been hurt. Take care, Parker. 

Once the call ended, the first thing she did was to look directly into Bucky’s blue eyes. There was something different inside of them. As if he was pissed that she flirted a tiny bit with her intelligent IT boy that has been in her life for over a year and a half.

“Wade, Yelena, I need both of you to go back into the mansion and destroy every room to find a secret document or something that would reverse the contract.” Wade was about to protest but Y/N continued. “You don’t have to do it now. I want you to rest. There is still time to figure things out.” 

“I just wanted to say,” Wade raised his hand as if he was at school, “that I need to do some other job that I have planned, plus, I need to be with Vanessa. It’s our anniversary.”

“What are you celebrating this time?” Y/N kinked a brow. “The first time you tried anal?” 

Everyone’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Sam chuckled and Steve only shook his head, not commenting on it. 

“No,” Wade seemed to hurt. “We celebrated that last month. This time, it is our real anniversary, thank you very much.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Wade, fine. I’m doing it because I love you.” 

Tony clapped his hands to bring attention to himself. “Alright, moving on from a topic that I don’t want to hear anything about,” he shook his head in disgust. 

“What, you’ve never tried anal?” Natasha mocked him. 

He decided to completely omit the topic and get back to work. “I’ll send my men to the Long Island borders where we’ll have a better eye on them. I’ll pull some strings; maybe get better protection from the police – I provide them money, they provide more security.”  

“We’ll do the same from our side,” Bucky joined. 

“It’s settled,” said Y/N. “Please, everyone go and get some rest. We’ll stay in touch. You know what they say: fresh for the morrow.”

Slowly, one by one, they left the apartment. First, it was Natasha and Tony, followed by Scott and Wade. The Wolves were the last to leave. Bucky patted Y/N’s shoulder gently before he left. He wanted to do something else – even thought about a kiss on the cheek, but she would murder him for it. 

Once they were all gone, both women sat down on the couch and poured themselves another round of shots. It was nice being in a silent apartment after stressful events. 

“You’ve been crying,” Yelena pointed at Y/N’s face which had tear stains on her cheeks. They had ruined the heavy makeup she wore and some of the bruising was more evident than before. “What happened?” 

“Great,” she shook her head. “So I’ve been walking around like this and no one told me about it,” she was annoyed. Quickly, she ran into the bathroom where she took off the rest of the makeup. Some places were sore due to the bruising and she still looked beaten. Staring at her reflection, she was disgusted by the way her face played with colours. “A lot of things happened, Yelena,” said Y/N when she left the bathroom. 

“Wow,” the blonde was startled when she noticed Y/N’s face. “It looks bad and it’s been only a day since Klaue beat you. Glad your eyes are fine and not swollen.” 

Y/N sat back on the couch and sighed. “Oh fuck, shit, in 24 hours a lot of things happened and I can’t process it.”

“Well, start talking!”

“You know how I told you about Hydra knowing what happened to me back in the military? Well, there is more to this,” she gulped dryly. She had to go back to the past again and her stomach started to hurt. “Today, as Barnes and I went back into the mansion, I had an unexpected and unpleasant surprise there. A surprise that made me want to kill myself for a moment. There were rose petals all over the hallway, leading into the dining room. There was a projector set on the dining table that played photos of the night.”

“T-the night? Do you mean the night they raped you?” 

She nodded carefully. “Yeah. I had no idea they were taking photos of me, Lenka. And what’s worse, Barnes saw it all. He saw the pictures of the moments I keep coming back to; the moments that haunt my life even until today.” 

“What?!”

“He was there and seen it all. He knows what happened to me,” she sighed and lowered her eyes to her hands. “H-He was very sweet though. I thought he would keep his distance but he held me in his arms and was there for me, while I went through the rollercoaster of emotions.” Her fists clenched and she licked her lips. “I-it made me feel something among all of those emotions. I must admit that I was so glad he was there. I don’t know how I would react if I was there all alone.” 

“Shit,” Yelena exhaled all the oxygen she kept inside her lungs. “A-are you okay now? I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. But, Barnes did a hell of a good job,” she put her hands on Y/N’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m very sorry, Y/N.” 

And just then, another revelation escaped her mouth. “I kissed him,” she admitted. 

“What?! What the fuck? When?” 

“Last night, when I was drunk and emotionally vulnerable,” she explained. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Just the opportunity was there and I took it. I fucking took it.” Y/N’s brain was immediately filled with flashes of the moment she kissed him. “You know what’s interesting? He didn’t pull away immediately. He deepened the kiss. That fucker liked that I kissed him. Afterwards, he pulled back, telling me it was wrong or… something. I don’t know, the alcohol kicked back in.” 

“Damn,” Yelena’s eyes sparkled. “I knew you still liked him,” she nudged her shoulder. “You two would be great together. Is he a good kisser?”

Y/N frowned at her friend but nodded. “It was very good.” 

“Yeah, it was,” Yelena laughed.  

Y/N tilted her head lightly and made a grimace. “Well and that is still not all,” she chuckled. 

“What more could have happened in less than 24 hours?” Yelena quickly changed positions, kneeling on the couch, listening carefully. 

“The death of Bucky’s parents wasn’t an accident,” she said, biting her lower lip. Her eyes found her hands again, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “Klaue admitted that Hydra was behind the accident. He admitted that Rumlow and he made sure they wouldn’t survive. They used Bucky’s grief to manipulate him.” Without realising it, a tear escaped the corner of her right eye. Her heart was aching for him. “They played as well.” 

“Shit,” that’s all the blonde could muster to say. 

“It’s all going to shit, Lenka. We have to make a plan to stop this nonsense and destroy Hydra once and for all. Otherwise, I’ll lose everything and we all die. I don’t want that.” 

“And do you have a plan?” 

She shook her head. “Nothing much so far. We still have time, though. What we all need now is to rest and lay low. I think I’ve been repeating that for years now.” She reached for her phone and found Peter’s number. “I need to tell Bucky what really happened to his parents. He deserves to know.” 

With Yelena’s approval, she dialled Parker’s number and waited for him to pick up the call. It took him a few beeps, but he managed to pick it up.

Peter: Hey, Y/N, sorry for the delay. I was just in the shower.

Y/N: That’s alright. I’m going to need one more favour from you. I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but this won’t wait. This is crucial and needs to be done before the loophole I asked you to find. 

Peter: Sure, Y/N, anything for you. What do you need? 

Y/N: I need you to find anything about the car crash that happened to Bucky’s parents. The accident happened years ago. Hydra admitted to me they were the ones that killed them. We need evidence, photos, CCTV, anything you could provide me, I would be very thankful. 

Peter: Shit, that’s rough. But, uh… sure, I will have a look into it and will send you anything that will pop up. I-I thought it was just an accident, nothing more. 

Y/N: Well, more revelations are coming to the surface. Who knows what more is about to come to us. 

Steve had his eyes locked on Bucky’s figure who kept fidgeting in the leather armchair. Something was eating him up, he could tell by looking at him. Usually, he was distressed or something was eating him up inside. The blond man tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong, Buck?” 

The brunet kept his mouth shut, looking directly into the fireplace that was lit up. They were all sitting in the living room, drinking some expensive scotch after a long, hard day. His head was filled with flashbacks of the moment it was revealed to him what happened to Y/N. His stomach twisted and turned. The photographs were appearing inside his mind, replaying like a film.

“He’s thinking about the Little Fox,” Sam laughed. “I’ve noticed how he keeps daydreaming about her. I mean, don’t get me wrong, but she deserves to be shut with a cock inside her mouth.” 

Bucky glared at him. Sam was crossing a line. 

“It would be a nice look though. Just imagine, looking down at her with-“

James darted out from the armchair and jumped at Sam, tackling him down on the floor. His eyes were on fire, ready to burn his friend alive. “Shut your fucking mouth, Wilson,” he warned him. He kept his forearm pressed against his neck, constricting him of oxygen. 

“Dude, that the fuck?” his voice was hoarse. 

Steve put his hands on Bucky’s shoulders and pulled him back, making him back away from Sam. The blonde helped his boss to his feet, shocked by the sudden reaction. “Buck, what the fuck happened? Why did you attack him? We usually joke like this.” 

He brushed his short hair with fingers and then shook his head in disbelief. “Don’t ever say anything like this ever again, or I will shoot you in the head.” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you? We normally talked like this and suddenly you do this?” Sam stroked his neck. He could still feel some form of pressure. “Are you in love with her or what?” 

Bucky grabbed the glass of scotch and took a sip. After he was done, he turned on his heel and smashed the glass into the fireplace. The fire multiplied and illuminated the whole room and yellow and orange colour. That simple move made his body relax a bit.

“Buck!” Steve called his name, concerned. “What happened?” 

The boss pursed his lips, debating whether to tell them about Y/N’s assault or not. But he knew they needed an explanation. He would never harm Sam in any way. This was an impulse reaction. He then laughed, remembering her words. She knew he would tell them eventually. 

“As I was with Y/N back in her house, I discovered something disturbing.” He licked his lips and sat back into the armchair. He could see both men were listening closely. “I know the whole deal with Killmonger – that piece of shit raped her when she was in the military,” he informed them. “And that fucker, with his two friends, made pictures of the whole act.” He was disgusted. With every word, he felt like he was about to throw up. His head turned to the side as if he tried to hold back the vomit that wanted to escape his throat. “I saw it all today. It was a surprise from Hydra for her.”

“Shit,” Sam sighed. His face turned a few shades lighter once he knew the truth. “Man, I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t…”

“I saw the photos, Sam. It was disgusting. She was struggling, crying and yet they kept going. It’s,” he couldn’t continue. “She didn’t deserve it. No woman deserves it,” he stated. “It all makes so much sense to me. I’ve learnt a lot of things about her today and I have much respect for her.” 

Steve brought Bucky a new glass, then reached for the bottle of alcohol and poured everyone another round. “Are you in love with her, Buck?” he had to ask him. “Answer honestly. You’ve changed since she came back into your life. I can see it. I’ve been looking at you two the entire time and I even feel the chemistry between you. So, are you?” 

His finger brushed the rim of the glass, staring at it. Deep inside he knew the answer but was too afraid to fully admit it. Would it make him weaker? “Maybe, I don’t know,” was his answer after some thinking. 

The door to the office was slightly ajar and Y/N could see Mr Barnes and her father discussing what she knew was business. They were smoking cigars while going through some documents. Two half-empty glasses were standing on a wooden tray next to a bottle. 

Their wives were somewhere in the garden, chatting and drinking mimosas. Their presence wasn’t important, they’d say. 

Y/N sighed and turned on her heel, quietly walking down the hallway to the stairs. No one was giving her attention per usual. They all had things to discuss and talk about… something, and no one gave a shit about her. She fixed her black sweater and hopped down the stairs one by one, humming something under the nose. 

Why was it okay for her father to have a bigger belly and not for her? Why were there stupid comments about her appearance but no one dared to say a word about Mr Barnes’s weird nose or the fact that her father had weird looking legs? 

As she was about to turn to the dining room, she heard her brother’s voice, laughing as he was talking to none other than young Bucky Barnes. Slowly, silently like a mouse, she approached the entrance into the living room and pushed her chubby body to the wall. Carefully, she peeked from behind the corner and looked at the older boys who kept playing a game together. Why didn’t they invite her to play with them? 

She frowned and nibbled on her lower lip. Bucky was a cute boy, she had to admit – hell, he was the only boy, except her brother, she knew. 

“Ew, Y/N, stop slobbering and go to hell you creep,” Danny barked at her when he found her spying on them. 

Bucky’s eyes met with her for a brief moment before she managed to run away. He looked at his friend and frowned at him. He didn’t like that behaviour. His mother taught him to let others join no matter what. 

Y/N found a secure place in the library that her father built not long ago. It smelled like wood and paper. She loved spending time there. It was also a great place to study. 

She was sitting behind the desk, reading a book and writing down some notes. It helped her to silence the world around her. Her goal was to be educated. If she wanted to have some respect in the family, she needed to learn and earn her place between Foxes. Danny had it easier. He was a boy; therefore, he had some level of respect already. 

But she didn’t know that Bucky was watching her too. He noticed her long ago but never talked to the girl. His mother was annoying, always making comments about him and Y/N being together. His mother was the best mother he could ever have. She was pretty, and smart and always taught him how to behave towards other people. But the teasing…

A hand landed on his shoulder, patting him roughly. He knew it was his father. “Son,” he started to talk with that strong, instructive voice. “One day, you will need a strong woman by your side. Not every woman will be able to deal with this world we live in. It might take some time, but you will find the one that will be able to bear the heaviness of our world.”

It made sense. Their world was dark, and risky but filled with money and luxury. Bucky knew that when the time comes, he’d become the head of the family. He would need a strong woman by his side – strong, loving and willing to stick with him through thick and thin.

“And, who knows,” old Barnes continued. “The right one might be closer than you think she is.”

Bucky sighed. Would it be too bad if he chose Y/N to be the one when they are older? She was living in the same world, dealing with the same stuff as him. But he knew his father would never approve. He always commented on the way she looked. Why did it matter?

Y/N frowned and snapped her head towards the Barnes's as they were leaving her sight. Of course, she heard what he told his son. Boys were mean, she was now sure of it. 

Chapter fourteen

Tags: @lethallyprotected​​ , @memeorydotcom​​, @valkyrie418​​ , @mannien​​ , @brownlee-22​​

#Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes x female reader #Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes Mafia AU #Mob!Bucky Barnes #Mob!Bucky Barnes x reader #Vendetta #Marvel fanfiction #Mob!Bucky Barnes x female reader #James Barnes #James Barnes x reader

[intj-confessions]

Spent the last hour editing chapter 17 and trying not to laugh, because I’ve been sick all week and my chest hurts. It feels both good and bizarre to be laughing at a scene I wrote, and at things my characters says, which I also wrote. 

In other news, my sister has chosen to disregard all alpha reader advice (which is to focus on the story experience) and is nitpicking apart my manuscript, but not in a useful way. She highlighted a space after a period at the end of a paragraph and flagged it for deletion. Wish I was joking. 

#my brain did an I can't believe he said that at something i fucking made him say #she's a lawyer so maybe shes just that used to picking apart contracts #but like can i have feedback on the story itself please #you're alpha reading not critiquing #writeblr #writing #mybook

[amyscascadingtabs]

don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you [chapter 2]

CHAPTER TWO: see me in hindsight, tangled up with you all night

excerpt below, read whole thing on ao3

Amy doesn't return to the office until after she's spent a good hour at home. First, she showers, washing off yesterday's old makeup and grime and letting the warm water run over her shoulders as she lets the sweet scent of raspberry shower gel replace the vague smell of old beer and sweat. Her back is sore; probably thanks to Jake's lumpy mattress, she thinks, and wonders for a second if she should add buy new mattress to the contract before deciding it’s far too much. That's relationship stuff, and that's point one of the contract; that's not what this is.

She blow-dries her hair and replaces her makeup, taking extra care to try and cover a pink mark that sits just a little too high on her chest before giving up and picking a different shirt instead. Then she fills the biggest coffee cup she has, eats a buttered slice of toast standing up, and feeds her pet fish before rushing back out the door.

She probably looks fresher than most days once she's done, but she's still worried Gina can sense something from her secretary desk as Amy walks in. She raises a brow in greeting like she's actually interested, which is rare in itself, and Amy can feel her eyes on her as she walks into her own office and closes the door behind her.

Amy starts regretting her decision as soon as she's opened a new document. What is she even supposed to name it? Friends with benefits contract is too obvious. FWB-C sounds like code for something. Sex agreement makes her sound like someone who’s read Fifty Shades Of Grey too many times (which really is just once). Jake and Amy is a wedding invitation, Rules too general. She puts her head in her hands, staring at the blinking line, and groans. Then she writes in Jake, looks at that for a moment, and adds stuff after. Not her proudest, but it'll have to do.

Amy’s relieved she doesn't have much work to do today, because she spends every free minute she can come across tweaking details on the document, adding and removing sections to suggest. When she's finally happy with the result, she saves it in a personal folder she can be sure no one’s ever going to open, and praises the office-gods for the fact that she has her own printer.

~

There’s a faint smell of artificial lemon in the air of Jake’s apartment as he welcomes her in, and the thought that he might have cleaned for her makes Amy blush. It seems unlike him, but the living room area does appear less cluttered to her than it did this morning, so maybe he isn’t totally incapable of it. She still doesn’t want to check his cabinets.

“You cleaned,” she says instead, nodding to the couch that looks almost neat now. “You expecting to get lucky tonight, or something?” Jake’s cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink, but then he shakes his head and points to her outfit. “You’re one to speak.”

All Amy’s done is put on a maroon floral blouse with lower cleavage than she’d ever do for work and put on a touch of pink lipstick, but he’s not completely wrong. She still chooses to ignore him. “I’ve got the contract. Should we do this, then?”

He offers her an orange soda, which she declines, but accepts a mug of Earl Grey tea from a package that seems to have remained unopened since before the brand last changed its design. A hot drink might calm her nerves, she hopes, but it ends up being quite the distracting experience to watch him make it for her. She tries to read through the contract one last time while searching for spelling errors she knows aren't there, her eyes keep being drawn to his hands as he holds the label of the teabag between his thumb and index finger, bobbing the bag a few times with focus once he's finished pouring the water into a New York Knicks mug. It's hard not to think about how those fingers felt dancing across her skin yesterday, massaging the sides of her breasts and holding on to her inner thighs, and it's harder not to imagine what they'd feel like another time –

“Tea,” he interrupts her thoughts by placing the mug in front of her. “Thought maybe you wanted a cup that didn’t say NYPD on it.”

“Well, you're right in that.” She brings it to her lips, almost burning her tongue and hoping he didn't see. “You want to read it on your own, or should I read it to you?”

Jake sits back in the massage chair closest to her, spreading his legs and putting his palms on them before shooting her that disarming smile again. “You read it.”

Amy swallows hard. “Okay. Section one: relationship status. This arrangement only works if we're both single. We’re not bringing more people into this.”

“What about an open relationship?”

“No. Still complicated. This is complicated enough with just us. If either of us gets in an actual relationship, it's over.”

Jake nods. “Cool. Next rule?”

“Section two: appropriate behavior. We're not dating,” she says, pointing first at herself and then at him with the ballpoint pen she brought from work. “So we can't behave like we're dating. Outside of our apartments, we're strictly friends. Or acquaintances. Honestly, it's weird we're even friends.”

“But you admitted we're friends.”

“Sure.” She takes another sip of the tea. “But that means no public flirting, no inappropriate comments, no like, commenting heart or fire emojis on Instagram pictures –”

“Are these rules for you or for me?” Jake winks. “I know my selfies are stunning, but I’m sure you can control yourself.”

“For both of us. Section three: we part in the morning. No exceptions. Staying overnight is okay, but once we wake up, we’re done.”

“What counts as morning in this scenario? I’m not going to have to get up at six a.m., am I?”

“Not unless you stay at my place when I have work.”

“I’ll remember not to do that, then.”

“Great. Section four – protection.”

“You have an entire section on that?” Jake looks like he’s trying not to laugh.

“It’s important!” She exclaims, feeling herself getting defensive. “I have an implant, so we’re safe from pregnancy, but it’s either condoms or you need to get checked.”

Jake nearly spits out some of his orange soda, coughing slightly. “You must be fun at parties.”

“I’m actually a nationally accredited and registered chaperone.”

“What is that?”

“Doesn’t matter. Are you going to do it or not?”

“Fine. You, then?”

“I will if you want me to.” Amy shrugs. “But I haven’t slept with anyone since my ex, so we should be good.”

Jake’s eyebrows fly up. “Really?”

“That so surprising to you?”

“A little? In the least jerk-ish way possible, you must get, well… offers.”

“People don’t flirt a whole lot with their lawyers,” she says, shifting in her chair and crossing her legs. “And it hasn’t been my focus. Are we good with the contract?”

“Actually, I want to add one more rule.”

“Yeah?”

Jake leans back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head and flexing his biceps through the green shirt with a smug grin. “You’re not allowed to fall in love with me.”

Amy looks at him for a moment, trying to determine whether or not he’s joking, but he doesn’t waver, so she leans forward and draws a fifth section sign on the blank space left on the document. No developing feelings or this ends, she prints out in capital letters, signing her name on the allotted line.

“Won’t be a problem.”

Jake signs the contract, and Amy tries not to grimace at how messy his signature is as she places the document in a thin plastic folder, promising him a copy tomorrow.

“Cool,” Jake nods. He’s messing up his curls with his right hand again, the way she’s noticed he does when he’s trying to flirt. She wonders if it’s strategy or nerves. “So, are you doing anything else tonight, or...”

“What, contract signing’s got you all hot and bothered?”

“I mean, seeing you in full lawyer mode. It’s not, not hot.”

“Double negation?” Amy scrunches her nose. “Oh, you’re going to have to make that one up to me.”

“Maybe I will,” he says, and she needs only to notice the way his eyes darken to know that it’s on.

Amy can feel her legs still shaking a little as she hails a cab outside Jake's apartment just after, and she closes her eyes in the backseat and wonders how it's possible to feel this amazing, this satisfied from a cocktail of what she knows is mostly dopamine and oxytocin. It still makes her feel all giggly, like she can't stop smiling to herself.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket, and she picks it up to read a text from Jake.

Fucking hell that was SO GOOD.

Maybe this friends with benefits thing won't be so bad after all.

~

#my writing #b99 #peraltiago #jake x amy #b99 fic #b99 fanfiction #peraltiago fanfiction #there haha hope you enjoy :)

[k-llama-llama]

Madame

BTS AU: 8th member

Sumi x BTS

Despite how well they know her, Sumi still manages to surprise BTS

A/N: sorry this is so late! Check out my PATREON (patreon.com/kllamallama) for exclusive content. This post was available a month ago for those on my patreon.

Requests are OPEN.Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“Do we have the rights to that song?” Sumi asked, leaning back in her chair.

“We’re working on it.” Namjoon told her.

“But we still have a lot of our own songs to work on in the meantime.” Yoongi pointed out. “So we don’t need to stress about it.”

“I’m not stressed. Who’s stressed?” Sumi smiled.

Namjoon turned back to the screen. They were in the middle of their big planning meeting for their upcoming album, trying to finalize the songs that were going to make the cut. Sumi hadn’t been very active in writing for the past few comebacks, so she was mostly just giving her two cents every few minutes and waiting until they moved onto the concept portion. 

“Are we going to order lunch?” Jin asked.

“Yes, please.” Jimin sighed. “I’m starving.”

“Do we want noodles?” Jin pulled out his phone.

“Salad for me, thanks.” Sumi winked. “I’m on a diet.”

“Really?” Taehyung looked her up and down. “You ate a whole pizza at movie night on Monday.”

“Your point?” Sumi rolled her eyes.

“Can we get back to the actual point of this meeting?” Namjoon asked.

“Right, sure.” Sumi gestured to the screen. “Songs. Let’s go.”

“You’re bored, aren’t you?” He sighed.

“Maybe.” She glanced at the maknae. “Kookie, grape me.”

Jungkook tossed the grape with expert precision, and Sumi caught it in her mouth, giving him a wink.

“You’re being especially childish today.” Hobi shook his head.

“I learned from the best.” She grinned. “But seriously, Oppa, order lunch. Keep going with the meeting.”

She managed to keep herself mostly focused for the rest of the meeting, only breaking her concentration to catch the grapes Jungkook tossed her way behind Namjoon’s back. Even though she hadn’t participated in writing any of the songs, she was really excited for what was on the album. There were vocal parts that she was really excited about, and she was looking forward to a change in sound.

“Is that my sweater?” Taehyung asked.

Sumi glanced down at her outfit. She’d stolen the oversized cardigan from his closet when she’d visited the apartment, and paired it with a tight corduroy skirt. “Yeah? Look cute, right?”

“I think that’s a sign that we need a break.” Namjoon closed his laptop screen.

“Hyung, did you order lunch?” Jungkook asked Jin.

“It says twenty minutes until delivery.” Jin answered. “They probably had to go pick the vegetables because only a psychopath orders a salad from a noodle place.”

“You need to back off.” Sumi shook her head. “I just want to-“

A knock sounded at the door.

“Food’s early?” Hobi exclaimed.

“They wouldn’t come all the way up to this floor.” Namjoon pointed out. “Come in!”

A familiar face opened the door, hurrying right for Sumi.

“I’m so sorry for interrupting!” She exclaimed, holding out a phone. “It’s an emergency.”

“Is that one of our managers?” Jin whispered to Yoongi.

“Min-ji, Sumi’s assistant.” Yoongi replied.

“What’s wrong?” Sumi asked, sitting up in her chair.

Min-ji covered the receiver, speaking quickly. “The online retailer is saying that they’re owed 30% of the proceeds.”

“Bullshit.” Sumi exclaimed. “We signed a contract.”

“They’re saying that it wasn’t clear and so that-“

“Give me that.” Sumi snatched the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello. Who am I speaking to?”

“Lee Sumi. The CEO of the company you’re trying to scam.” She hissed into the receiver.

“Look ma’am, the contract didn’t explicitly state that –“

“It did. Do you have the contract in front of you?” She stood up.

“No, do you?”

“I’m about to.” She gestured at Namjoon’s laptop.

He slid the computer over and Min-ji started typing quickly, going through Sumi’s email.

“All we’re asking for is our fair share of-“

“You’re getting payed for your contribution to this launch, as stated on the contract we both signed. And then I’m sueing you, and then I’m never working with you again.”

“Sumi, this has been incredibly profitable for the both of us. It would be a shame to-“

“It’s about to be a lot less profitable for you, and it’s Miss Lee. We’re not friends.” She leaned close to look at the contract, and then glanced at Min-ji.

“Is this being recorded?” She mouthed.

Min-ji nodded.

Sumi smirked. “Alright. Well, I have the contract here and we’ve recorded this entire conversation where you attempted to violate our contract. You’ll be hearing from our lawyers.”

“Miss Lee!”

“Have a nice day.” Sumi hung up the phone.

“What a dick.” She rolled her eyes.

“They seemed sketch when we signed with them.” Min-ji sighed.

“But Bighit recommended them.” Sumi shook her head. “Start figuring out new retailers and get a statement on my desk as soon as possible. I’ll come by when I finish up here.”

“Alright, see you then.” Min-ji bowed, already holding her phone back up to her ear as she walked out of the room.

Sumi logged out of her email, closing the screen as she looked up.

The boys were all staring at her.

“What?” She asked.

“Miss Lee?” Jimin looked like he was trying not to laugh.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Shut up.”

“You have lawyers?” Namjoon asked.

“I’m about to.” She pulled out her phone. “That idiot should know better than to try and back out of a contract with me.”

“You’re actually going to sue him?” Jungkook asked, looking unsure.

Sumi shrugged. “If I have to. Urgh..30%, who is he kidding?”

“Is 30% a lot of money?” Yoongi asked.

“The original deal gave them 10.” Sumi explained. “Even I’m not making 30%. There’s production, marketing, I have to pay my employees…and I can’t do that if people are trying to cheat me out of my earnings.”

“Did your launch do well?” Hobi asked. “I mean…we know it was well-received, but did it do well in sales?”

Sumi nodded. “Sold out. And we’re working on a restock. And in the meantime we’re working on our next collection and some other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” Jimin asked.

Sumi tilted her head. “Clothes. Perfume. Nothing’s set in stone yet but we’re looking at lots of options.”

“This is really turning into a serious company, isn’t it?” Jungkook seemed surprised.

“Of course.” Sumi slid Namjoon’s laptop back across the table. “I’m building something that’s going to last. It’s not just a spur of the moment thing.”

“Noona,” Taehyung playfully leaned his head onto her shoulder. “Can I collab with your company?”

“Don’t call me Noona.” She shoved him away. “And sure. Maybe. But no one is collabing with anyone until I get my lunch.”

“It’s a salad, it’s not lunch.” Jin shook his head. “It’s going beyond a diet, clearly I failed to raise you right if you’re eating salad by choice.”

Sumi crossed her arms. “I run my own company and I’m a global bestselling artist but you failed to raise me?”

“The food is more important.” Jin sighed. “When I come over for dinner next I’m making you something fatty and unhealthy.”

“Fine. But you get to deal with my mood swings after I eat it.”

“Nah, I leave that to your boyfriend.”

#bts #bts imagines #bts au #bts 8th member #female kpop #female member kpop #female!kpop #requests open #au #kpop #imagines #imagine #kpop au #kpop imagines #kpop imagine

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

Chapter Four.

a/n: this was one of my fav chapters to write, so hope you all enjoy! I think you’re all gonna like this one hehe :’) pls reblog to share and leave feedback as it continues to motivate me <3

SERIES MASTERLIST | word count: 10.1k

come talk to me about WTSGD! i’d love to know your thoughts!

October 31, 2017 

A lot had happened in the last five months that felt like an eternity. 

After Luci’s very first performance for Miss Saigon and her unfortunate breakdown that was caused by one of the biggest critics of Broadway, practically insulting her, she performed almost every night after that. 

When one bad review on her performance was ratified by hundreds of tweets and reviews, saying that Luci’s performance was one of the best they’d ever seen, she’d say she did her damn job. The night of her breakdown, she received a text from Nina, who sent her a link to a few reviews on her Broadway debut. Those articles directly addressed how unprofessional and poorly written Adam West’s review was, and that he needed to open his eyes to observe and admire brilliant, wonderful, and beautifully performed talent. On top of the important names next to Adam West, theatre-Twitter seemed to agree with the positive articles that were written about her, tweeting that Luci was the next face of Broadway; and who cared if she started her career in commercials and Off-Broadway because getting the role in Miss Saigon had proved that she worked her way up and that she was good. 

After reading the articles and tweets, her mood had drastically shifted. She was so overwhelmed by the positive comments that defended her from a misogynistic man that she cried again, but it was tears of happiness this time around. She walked out of her apartment, headed to Harry’s door to show him the uplifting reviews, and he was happy to see that she was ecstatic—he was happy for her. 

They had definitely become closer since that day. 

Harry and Luci hung out a lot. Whenever they had the chance and they both weren’t busy, they would knock on each other’s doors or text one another, asking to hang out. For the most part, he opened up to her, showcasing his true personality and becoming more comfortable around Luci—enough to joke around and be himself. He loved the way he didn’t feel like he had to be someone he’s not; everything felt true and real. 

It was refreshing for Harry to have a real friend, a best friend, other than Jeff and Mitch. Although he developed a small crush on said friend, it was nice to just have a chat and walk around the neighborhood with her. He’d been talking himself up to ask her out, not knowing if she’ll say yes or if she even feels that way about him; but from what he could tell, he thinks that she’s sort of infatuated with him. Luci would flirt with him from time to time, and would tell him that he’s adorable and sweet, making Harry’s cheeks redden from the sweet talk. 

Luci’s situation with Daisy and Samuel never got better. Ever since she started to perform more and more—sometimes even more than Daisy—they would be nothing but rude to her. They weren’t used to someone taking their spotlight; it was like someone stepping right in front of them on center stage to steal the show—especially if it was someone they despised and was new to Broadway. The two tried to take it up with Tal, demanding and arguing about how they deserved to perform every single night, but Tal kept her word to Luci and the rest of the industry: that she would stand up for her cast and run the show herself. 

Throughout the months, Luci had been talking with Harry about something very, very important. It was a few weeks ago, during their walk to a bagel place in the morning, when she first brought it up. 

“Remember that lady who came up to me after the show?” She asked as they walked along the sidewalk. Harry nodded, letting out a ‘mhm.’ “So, she’s a talent agent…” Harry raised his brows, thinking she was an agent for Broadway. “In Hollywood.” Samantha Stone was one of Hollywood’s greatest and biggest agents; she mostly worked with actors who were first starting out in the industry before making them successful. Samantha was always on the hunt for new and fresh talent; she walked the streets with an eye like a hawk. 

In early September, Samantha was in New York for a small getaway, as well as to meet one of her side pieces in the city. She figured she could watch a show or two since she was already in the city, and it’d been ages since she'd seen a Broadway show. Deciding on Miss Saigon because she saw the tweets and reviews of Luciana, she decided to give it a shot and see what her hype was about. And it did not disappoint. She was so intrigued and invested in the story, and was absolutely blown away by Luciana’s performance. Naturally, even though she shouldn’t be working, she waited until the cast was coming out of the theatre to approach her. 

Luci was in complete shock because she’d never had anyone walk up to her, telling her to give her a call because she was a talent agent and hoped to work with her soon. When Luci got back home, she looked up Samantha Stone and her breath hitched as she found out who she had worked with and what she did for a living. 

“Holy shit!” Harry completely stopped walking, making Luci stop as well. They stood on the side of the sidewalk as people passed by them. Harry beamed excitedly, but soon his smile softened, noticing Luci’s didn’t match his. “What’s the matter? Why aren’t you excited?” 

“I-I don’t know. I just get nervous thinking about it, like she wants to work with me.” Luci fiddled with her fingers. 

“Isn’t that great?” Harry asked softly; he didn’t see what was wrong with that, but he was being patient with Luci to try and understand what she was feeling and thinking about.

She nodded. “It is. I’m just nervous; I hate disappointing people. What if I call her and I do an audition or whatever, and she realizes that I’m not meant for the job? She’s the biggest agent in Hollywood, Harry. That would mean I’m not meant for any job,” she explained worriedly, anxiety bubbling up in her stomach as if it’d been simmering for hours on the stove.

Harry slightly frowned. He couldn’t imagine how it must feel to doubt one’s own talents, and he absolutely hated that Luci was doing it. 

“Luciana, listen to me.” Well, that definitely caught her attention. “You’re remarkably talented, end of. If you end up being dropped by that agent, then fuck her. She shouldn’t be a talent agent if she can’t see clear talent right in front of her. Literally everyone in the same room knows you are so incredibly gifted. Plus, wouldn’t you like to try it out? It doesn’t hurt to try because you have nothing to lose. You’ll still be on Broadway; and then you’ll try again later if right now is not your time.” 

Smiling, she appreciated his words. She nodded, knowing he was completely right. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” Her response seemed to satisfy Harry. “Thank you.” 

“Of course. I’ll always be here for you.” She smiled. “Still gonna help me grade papers?�� 

She chuckled as they started walking on the pavement again. “Yup. Believe it or not, it’s actually fun grading papers.” 

He turned to her shockingly. “Oh, really? Then maybe you could be my TA and I’ll have you grade all the papers.” Luci laughed, saying that she didn’t mind; she adored moments when they were playful. Their friendship was refreshing to the both of them. 

A week after her conversation with Harry, where he reassured and encouraged her, she called Samantha, who was delighted to hear from Luci. Samantha asked if she wanted to meet for lunch; Luci was hesitant, but she remembered Harry’s words, and it really didn’t hurt to try, so she agreed and they met in Midtown at a Thai restaurant. 

It was a casual luncheon where Samantha got to know Luci before she decided if she wanted to sign her or not. Luci completely rocked her socks; she was funny, kind, and very humble—traits that not a lot of stars had. So, Samantha immediately thought she was perfect and very likeable. After thirty minutes of eating and chatting, Samantha pulled out her business side, along with a contract, and discussed what this could mean for Luci. She went over her contract very quickly, and Luci knew she couldn’t keep up so she pretended to listen, nodding and letting out a ‘mhm’ to be interactive. 

Samantha had a pen ready for her to sign, but if Luci knew anything, it was to not sign contracts right then and there, and to go over the contract in further details on her own. So, Luci told her that she would look over the stack of papers once more before she got back to her potential agent. 

Luci wished she took a business class to understand such things about contracts and how to handle things herself, but she thinks that she might enroll in some classes some time soon. She attended Boston University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts in Theatre Arts. On top of auditioning, solo acts, musical pieces, and countless shows for the four years she was there, she maintained a 3.5 GPA in her general education, and that’s something she’s incredibly proud of herself for. There were a few classes during her freshman year that she failed, making her consider dropping out, but she picked herself back up and promised herself to work harder, and she did. 

When she got back home, she tossed the contract on her coffee table as she sighed, grabbing a glass of water. She had felt stressed out about the situation, but then she remembered that Harry’s sister, Gemma, was a lawyer in London. So, she sent Harry a quick text, telling him about her situation, and asked if Gemma was able to help out. Harry was on his lunch when she texted, but he quickly asked Gemma and she was quick to comply, anything to help her brother’s friend.

The day after, Harry and Luci both sat down on his couch, FaceTiming Gemma on his laptop; it was the very first time his sister and Luci were meeting each other. Harry warned Luci that Gemma was a bit tough with his new friends, but once the two women chatted for a few minutes, Gemma was smittened with her; Harry was shocked at how quick they seemed to become friends, but he cherished it because he liked Luci…a lot. 

Luci had sent over a scanned version of the contract, so they went over it together with Harry sitting next to her for moral support; and from what Gemma said, the contract was clean. The most important thing that Gemma was looking for was that Luci had a say to back out of the contract, and it stated that clearly. Gemma told her that she could sign the contract if she wanted, and that eased Luci’s anxieties, making her thank Gemma almost a million times for her help. 

The next day, Luci met up with Samantha for brunch with the signed contract in her hand. Samantha was delighted to see that it was inked with her signature; she told Luci that this won’t be the only thing she was going to sign because so many people are going to want her autograph. That made Luci smile, giggling a tad bit at the thought of it. 

By the beginning of October, Samantha called Luci and informed her that she was booked for an audition for a supporting character in Ocean’s Eight that was to be released late next year. Luci was surprised at how quickly Samantha was able to get her an audition, but they didn’t call her the best for nothing. 

With only two weeks to prepare, Luci put her time and effort into rehearsing the few pages of the script Samantha had sent her. Luci didn’t have a talent coach whatsoever, so she tried her best to see every aspect of her acting, jotting down notes on the margins so she could further better herself. She was hiding her stress and nerves quite well as she tried not to freak out about how insane this opportunity was to even audition. 

When her audition was only two days away, she called Ren for the traditional pep-talk that inspired and motivated her to do better and to try her best because that was all that she could do. She wished that her family was physically next to her so she could feel the comfort and warmth that they provide because after all, they are home and always will be. 

Luckily, some producers were in New York holding auditions, so she didn’t have to fly to California for a day or two. She’d never felt more intimidated and nervous than the moment she stepped inside the medium-sized room that was painted in a light gray tone. A long foldable table was in the middle of the room with a small camcorder on a tripod next to it. Luci’s had many auditions, but this…this was real shit, the real deal. She was standing in front of Hollywood and big name producers who’d never heard of her name until the moment she walked in and they had a glimpse of her portfolio. 

She introduced herself, masking the nerves that were crawling up and down her body with a warm smile—not too bright, but enough to show her gorgeous grin. They asked her to read off of page twenty-three to twenty-five; taking a breath, she gave all that she could. And in her opinion, it’s the best acting she’d ever done, which is saying a lot because she thinks she did quite well after every show of Miss Saigon. 

The producers’ faces were unreadable as they simply looked at one another, writing a few notes on their yellow notepads. Luci wanted to lurk, to see what they were writing as she hoped they weren’t disappointed or had immediately crossed out her name from their list. 

They thanked her for coming in before dismissing her; she thanked them as well, waving as she walked out the door where she released the biggest sigh. It wasn’t from relief because she was still on edge of the result of her audition, but she felt like she had been holding her breath for the ten to fifteen minutes that she was in that room. Her heart was pounding quite sturdily; and if she was being honest, her mind had completely blanked out once they yelled ‘action,’ but that was usual for her. 

Now that it was ten days after her audition and Halloween, Harry practically begged Luci to get out of her apartment. She knew that she couldn’t stay cooped up in her room as she overthought the audition constantly. She began to get headaches from overthinking every single thing she did in that audition, and it drove her insane. 

So, when Harry suggested that she should go to the Halloween party that Daisy was throwing on the rooftop of her building, she dreaded it at first, but the thought of going out was calling her. She assumed Daisy wouldn’t want Luci to be at her party, but she invited the entire cast and a few more people that she knew personally, so it wasn’t like Daisy was going to speak to her. Since it was a party, everyone could bring a guest or a few friends, so that was when Luci begged Harry to attend with her. 

“Please, come with me.” She had her best pouty lip on, looking at him with doe eyes. Just by that look, he almost gave in, but he wasn’t sure if this type of party was for him. Harry was a mellow and chill guy; he didn’t need rooftop parties and unlimited amounts of booze. He was fine with a small gathering, a few movies and board games—now, that was his type of party. “The party would be so much more fun with you there.” 

Harry playfully scoffed. “Please. Luci, I’m the most boring guy there is.” 

Her brows furrowed in disagreement. “No, you’re not. I happen to think you’re quite fun.” He smiled softly at her in appreciation. “Please. We wouldn’t even have to stay that long.” 

He could tell that she wanted, no, needed him to be there with her. She wasn’t very close with her cast mates—despite all the months she’d been part of the production—besides Nina. But Nina knew everyone so Luci would be left awkwardly standing there, waiting for her friend to come back. 

“How long would we stay?” 

Her eyes brightened with hope. “However long you want.” 

“An hour? Hour and a half, tops?” 

“Sounds perfectly fine to me.” 

“And what would we wear?”

Luci was a bit shocked by his question. “You wanna match?” 

“I mean, that would be fun, right?” She nodded, agreeing. “Since it is quite last minute, I say we dress up as the 70s or 80s era. Pretty easy, right?” 

She liked the sound of that. “Yes, let’s do 70s! I wanna raid your closet because I know you have some gems in there.” 

Harry laughed out loud—her favorite laugh that was music to her ears. He knew he had a great sense of fashion, and he’d always go to the thrift store to pick up something that he’d never worn before. It wasn’t like he was not going to wear it, he just needed to be more comfortable with himself to wear the clothes that he buys. So, for now, he settled with black skinny jeans and patterned-print button downs, which is the most ‘flashy’ he’d dress as…for now. 

“I knew I liked you for a reason because I was hoping you’d say 70s.” Luci felt her cheeks warm up before they went to Harry’s apartment. 

It took an hour and a half to find an outfit that Harry liked; it would’ve been shorter, but with Harry’s 70s playlist that was playing in the background, they took breaks to dance and sing. Harry had a beautiful voice, Luci thought; and she wondered if he was ever in a band before or wrote music because he does have an elaborate music taste, and that added to Luci’s liking for him. 

They proceeded to go to Luci’s apartment so Harry could help her find an outfit. He brought his wireless speaker so the music wouldn’t stop; and she continuously threw the articles of clothing onto her bed—where Harry was lying on his stomach—every time he shook his head no. 

With the same amount of time it took Harry to decide on an outfit, Luci settled on hers. She looked in her full-body mirror, twirling around to see if it looked okay and if she was satisfied with it. Harry remained on her bed, admiring how beautiful she looked as he thought that she was way out of his league. As Luci was dancing and prancing around her apartment, Harry was deep in his thoughts; he didn’t know if asking Luci out was the way to go. Not only would he lose her as a friend when or if she rejects him, but he couldn’t bear the ache he would feel in his heart. 

For his own sake, he needed to protect himself before the heartbreak; and if that meant refraining himself from making a move, then that was completely fine to him. 

“Ready?” Luci called out from the doorway. Harry got off the bed, looking her up and down. 

She was wearing peach colored pants that flare at the bottom, sitting high on her waist; a white silk blouse with orange accents, a long brown coat because it was quite chilly outside, and pink glasses that were transparent. He thought she looked absolutely beautiful, and her outfit was meant for her. The colors matched Harry’s outfit as he wore rust-orange pants that sat wide at the bottom, a flashy patterned long-sleeved blouse with the collar matching his pants. Luci gave him a similar pair of glasses as hers, so they weren’t wearing shaded lenses in the nighttime. 

“Yup. You, uh, look really good.” 

Luci smiled, shrugging one shoulder. “Thank you! You look good, too. This color looks amazing on you.” 

Harry looked down at his outfit, hiding the blush that formed on his cheeks. “Thank you. I like it a lot.” 

They headed out and towards Daisy’s apartment building where the rooftop was large enough for everyone to stand comfortably without feeling like they were shoulder-to-shoulder. There were plenty of lounge chairs, and a few tall bar tables next to tall heaters, considering it was just below fifty degrees. 

Some people were making their way towards Daisy's apartment since it was too cold outside, but Harry and Luci decided to stay, both agreeing that the heaters were keeping them warm as they sipped on their drinks. 

“Luci!” Nina walked over towards her, giving her a hug; Luci made sure not to mess up the placement of her fairy wings. 

“You look amazing!” Luci complimented as Nina put her hands on her cheeks, thanking her friend. Luci could tell that Nina was a bit drunk already as her eyes were drooping and she couldn’t stand straight on her own two feet. 

“Harry! I’m so glad you’re here.” He smiled saying hello to her. Nina and Harry met in July when he had gone to see another show. He was giving Luci another bouquet of flowers—the same bundle that he gave her the last time since she told him that she really liked them, and they looked amazing on her windowsill—and she dragged him to find Nina since she was performing the same show. Nina immediately gave Luci that certain look that said ‘he’s really cute,’ and Luci just nodded, giving her an apparent look as well. 

“Did you bring anyone?” Luci asked, knowing that she was talking to a few guys; her favorites, from what Nina told her, was Laurent and Alec—the two guys that are in her Soul Cycle class, one on Monday and the other on Friday. 

Nina shook her head. “No. I wanted to get fucked up today and didn’t want any of my mans see that shit. Oh! Can I take a picture of you two? You both look so cute!” 

Luci looked at Harry, silently asking and he nodded. She stood beside him, not knowing whether to put her arm around his waist. They’d never taken a picture together before, after all the months of knowing each other. Luci handed Nina her phone before she turned on the flash, taking a picture of the two. Harry hesitantly puts his arm around Luci’s shoulder, making her look at him, smiling. She then wrapped her arm around his waist as they both smiled at each other before looking back at the camera. Nina was squealing behind the phone because she just captured the cute and quiet interaction between them that made for a sweet candid. 

Nina handed Luci’s phone back to her before she told her that she was going to talk to some other people. The two women hugged, and Nina said goodbye to Harry. 

Harry leaned into Luci’s side, bending down slightly. “Send me those pictures, yeah?” 

A chill ran through her body at the sound of his voice so close to her ear. “Sure,” she croaked out, sending the pictures to him. 

After a few moments of light conversation and humming the beat of the music, Harry asked, “So, which one is Daisy?” 

Luci looked at him, quite shocked as to what sparked his interest in her, but she didn’t say anything. She looked around until she spotted her in a leather catwoman suit, hugging her body tightly that Luci thought it was cutting off her circulation. But she had to admit that it looked amazing on her. 

“That one.” She slyly pointed at Daisy who was talking to some of her friends. Luci was surprised to see that Samuel wasn’t here, considering that he was part of the cast. Daisy and Samuel seemed to be in their ‘off again’ stage of their relationship; and no one who was part of the cast or who was close to them could keep up with how many times they’d been through that stage, but they seemed to like each other too much to call it quits for good. 

“Hmm. She seems nice.” 

“Yeah, she does—to everyone except me.” They were both looking at Daisy, and it was like Daisy could sense a few eyes on her, so she looked around and made direct eye contact with Luci. She excused herself to her group of friends before making her way towards her and Harry. “Speak of the devil.” Luci sighed, making Harry chuckle. 

“Luci! I’m so glad you made it.” Daisy faked a smile as she greeted Luci with a hug, which surprised both Luci and Harry. Daisy pulled away, immediately locking eyes on this. “Oh, who’s your friend?” Instantly, Luci knew why Daisy was so nice to her; it was because she spotted Harry and didn’t want him to think she was such a bitch. 

With her brows furrowed, Luci shifted a little closer to Harry who was standing there and not saying anything. “This is Harry.” 

Daisy flashed him her stunning smile that wooed almost everyone. “Hi, I’m Daisy.” He shook her hand, introducing himself. “Your outfit looks really good.” She complimented him. 

“Thanks, Luci helped me pick it out.” He smiled at Luci, who was smirking. For a second, Daisy rolled her eyes before she returned to her big smile. 

“Would you like to get a drink with me? I see you’re almost empty.” Daisy’s eyes pointed at his cup, which only had a small sip lingering at the bottom of his clear plastic cup. 

“Uh-”

“C’mon, just one drink?” Her voice was innocent and sweet, nothing like the cruel and rude Daisy that Luci knew all too well. 

What Luci expected Harry to say was that he was okay and that he didn’t want a drink with her, but he responded quite the opposite. 

“Okay, sure.” Luci’s head averted towards Harry as she looked at him with shock and a face asking what the fuck he was doing. But he shrugged as Daisy clapped, grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the bar. Luci huffed, watching the two walk away and she was left by herself with a watered down drink and the cold air. 

She figured she’d wait for him to come back to where she was sitting, hoping he wouldn’t take too long. 

But twenty minutes had gone by, and Luci started getting annoyed.  

Thirty minutes, and Luci tells herself that she doesn’t care and mindlessly goes on her phone. 

An hour had gone by when Luci huffed, mentally saying that she does give a shit and goes to find Harry. 

How long could one drink take anyways? Definitely not an hour, Luci thought. She searched the rooftop for the two, only to hope that Harry was looking for her too. After ten minutes of looking around the rooftop, passing her cast mates who were asking her to take a shot with them—she took another one, adding more alcohol into her body—she couldn’t find Harry. She started to think the worst; he could’ve possibly taken Daisy home, or Daisy could have taken him up to her room—either way, she didn’t like any of those options. 

For a minute, she mentally debated if she should check Daisy’s apartment, which would be better since it was warmer indoors than it was out—she was convinced it got colder once Harry left her side—but the negative side of her mind, who was taunting her like the devil on her left shoulder, told her to check if Harry was inside because she wasn’t going to like what she was going to see. 

Either way, she needed to find Harry and she didn’t want to go home without him, so she went inside the building and took the elevator down to Daisy’s floor. There were people walking in and out of her place, so it wasn’t that difficult to find which one was hers. With the same amount of people inside her apartment as there was on the rooftop, Luci made her way through the nice and luxurious apartment. She was just on the edge of tipsy; the drinks with her coworkers had gotten her there. Heading up the stairs, she passed by people who were making out, cuddling on the steps, and talking. 

Once she got to the end of the hallway, she had almost given up on her search for Harry until the door at the end of the hall opened, revealing Harry who was leaving and quietly closing the door. 

Luci stood in the middle with an expressionless face. He hadn’t seen her yet, but the way she wasn’t giving any emotion didn’t mean that she didn’t care; the thoughts in her mind were invading every inch that there was just too much to focus on. 

Harry turned around, stopping in his tracks once he faced her. 

“Hey,” he greeted softly. 

“Hi.” 

“I’m sorry for leaving-”

“Were you…” Luci referred to what was happening inside the room as she couldn’t finish her sentence because the thought and the words simply disgusted her. 

“N-No.”

“Why do you seem unsure?” She was testing him; she heard the hesitancy in his voice, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell the truth. 

A new attitude rose him. “Why do you care?” His voice was a tad bit harsher, but he was a little confused on why she was questioning his actions. 

She inhaled and exhaled deeply, crossing her arms, avoiding his question. “I’m going home. Are you coming with or…?” Harry bit the inside of his cheek, remembering that she hadn’t answered his question, so he’ll ask again later. He nodded, and Luci turned around; he followed. 

The entire ride on the subway and walking towards their apartment building was quiet. They didn’t even sit next to each other like they always did; just across one another, avoiding eye contact.

It was when they were both in front and unlocking their doors was when Harry spoke up. 

“Luci.” She stopped her movements, turning around slowly as did he. This time, she looked at him so deeply in the eyes that it was physically difficult for her to take her eyes off him. “Why were you mad at me before we left?” 

On the ride back home, Harry thought about the events at the party. He’d never seen Luci so annoyed at him before, so it got him thinking a lot about what she felt for him. She was jealous, anyone could see that, and he wanted her to say it out loud why she was jealous because he could name a few reasons. 

“Did you have a good time with Daisy?” 

Harry breathed out a chuckle. “You’re jealous,” he stated immediately. 

“Answer my question-”

“Then answer mine.” 

The tension was so thick that with just one small poke of a needle, it would collapse and break. They’d never had this type of conversation before, where the tension was rising and the room felt warm; they were always playful and laughing with each other that neither of them thought they were capable of having this certain type of energy with one another. 

“I was mad because you left me alone at the party…with Daisy of all people,” she said honestly, leaving a few things out. 

“Is that all?” He raised his brows, crossing his arms. 

Luci shook her head. “That’s not how it works, Styles. I answer yours, you answer mine.” 

A smug grin landed on Harry’s face. “Did I have a good time with Daisy?” He repeated her question. “To be honest with you, no. She was pretty drunk, so I took her to her bedroom—that’s why I was in there, She was…nice.” Luci sensed a ‘but’ trailing. “She even asked me if I’d wanna go out some time.”

“What’d you say?” 

He tsked. “Not how it works, Suki.” Luci rolled her eyes, letting out a soft huff. “Hey, they’re your rules.” He chuckled. “Now, answer this: why were you jealous?” 

There was a surge of confidence that Harry’s never felt before; maybe it was because he knew things Luci didn’t know herself, but watching her unfold those realizations was definitely feeding his ego. 

Luci sighed deeply before she started. “Knowing that Daisy could possibly get anyone she wanted was a bit of an insecurity of mine when we were on our way to the party. That was because I knew she’d want you. I mean…look at you, you’re literally so gorgeous.” Harry blushed. “And I knew that it was inevitable that she would ask you to hang out; I was just surprised when you said yes.” 

He nodded. “I rejected her when she asked if I wanted to go out.” A bit of weight lifted from Luci’s shoulders, but not completely as there was still something heavy she’s been wanting to say. “Why’d you hope I’d say no? Besides the obvious that she’s mean and rude to you.” 

Alright, time to fess up, Luci. 

Luci inhaled deeply, hoping her confession wouldn’t have him running for the hills. “Because why would you go out with her when you could go out with me? Like, on a date…” Her anxiety was up to her chin as she locked her hands behind her back, preventing them from shaking any more than they already were. 

That one simple question had answered all of the other questions swirling in his mind; not the ones that were asked in the rapid fire round of questioning and answering under the thick cloud of tension over them, but the ones he asked himself a few months ago when he was doubting that she’d ever felt something for him because all this time, she had felt something, and she just asked him out. 

His heart flipped. “You wanna go on a date with me?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to ask, but I didn’t know if you were interested in me or not,” she said shyly. Luci hadn’t asked someone out before—someone she was really interested in. She’d either wait until they asked her and if they didn’t, she’d move on and pretend that her feelings for them never existed. But Harry was different; seeing him with Daisy tonight had made her realize just how much she felt for him. He made her laugh, smile, and he was such a kind person. 

“I’d love to.” He suddenly answered, taking her back a little. 

She looked at him with wide eyes. “R-Really?” 

“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to ask you too, because I’m very much interested in you, but I didn’t know you were interested, well, until tonight.” Luci giggled. 

“I made it pretty obvious that I was jealous, huh?” 

“A tad bit, but it’s sweet; and I wasn’t gonna go on a date with Daisy. She’s no Luciana Ivy Suki.” He teased, making her face heat up at the sound of her full name coming from his lips. She wanted to kiss him right then and then, wanted to taste the sweet taste that he was storing in his mouth; but she refrained from doing so, figuring that they’d wait until after their date—whenever that was—to wait to kiss him because it would very much be worth the wait. 

“Okay, I’ll, uh, plan the date then.” Her lips turned up, feeling a certain ache on her cheeks already from smiling too much. 

“Can I plan it too?” He genuinely asked. 

“I did ask you, Harry.” She raised her brows teasingly. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll plan the next date then.” He blushed. 

Luci tilted her head, smiling sweetly at his words. “The next date, huh? We haven’t even been on the first date; what makes you think there’ll be a second one.” 

“Oh, love, I think there will be.” Harry stepped closer to her, heart pounding in his chest; Luci gulped at the closeness. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her by the way he was looking at her intently. And for a moment, she was gonna give in and say ‘fuck waiting,’ and kiss his pink lips until he leaned forward and kissed her soft cheek for a brief moment. “Can’t wait for our date. Let me know what the plans are.” 

“O-Okay.” The touch of his lips on her skin had stunned her, and she wanted them back on her instantly. 

Harry opened his door, giving Luci a small smile before walking in. She started to slowly back into her open apartment, holding onto the door handle tightly. Before they closed their doors, they stared at one another, admiring each other before they said: 

“Sweet dreams, Luciana.” 

“Sweet dreams, Harry.” 

November 8, 2017 

Harry strongly knocked three times on the door right across from his own door with a bag full of takeout, another bag full of snacks, and a small brown bag that had a white box inside. 

The door swung open; Luci smiled at the person behind it. 

“Happy Birthday, love!” Harry greeted.

“Aww, Harry, thank you so much.” She was surprised that he remembered, let alone bring a celebration to her as she eyed the bags in his hands. Luci turned twenty-six today; her day was full of greetings from her cast mates, her family, and FaceTime calls from her brother and parents. She was going to make a trip back home for a day or two since she had to perform on Friday, but she was going to see her parents during Thanksgiving, so FaceTime calls had to suffice till then. 

Stepping to the side, she invited him in. He hugged her tightly, kissing the side of her head as her face heated up. They walked to the kitchen, and Harry set the bags on the countertop, unraveling the tie of the takeout. 

“First, I’m sorry for just showing up unannounced and invading your place.” He added a breathy laugh. 

“No, it’s okay! You’re welcomed any time,” she genuinely said; Harry made a mental note of that. 

“Second, this is not a date. I know you didn’t want today to be our first date, but I couldn’t just sit in my apartment and not do anything on your special day! So, here I am.” 

“Here you are.” Luci couldn’t help the warmth that rushed to her face and neck. 

“Third, I brought Chinese since it’s your favorite food. And I just so happen to know a lovely place that has the best Chinese in Brooklyn, which is my favorite place that I’ll take you to soon, but know that you’re so incredibly special because I never take anyone there.” He took the takeaway boxes out of the bag, opening them up as steam released from the boxes. 

Luci leaned against the countertop. “And what makes me so special?” Teasingly fluttering her eyes. 

Harry stopped what he was doing, looking at her intently. “You’re so sweet, funny, and incredibly kind. But most importantly, you’re grounded and humble; and you’re special to me.” His dimpled poked through his skin as he smiled, meaning every word. 

Heart flipping, stomach in knots, and tears washing over her eyes, Luci walked around the counter to hug him, head resting against his chest as she whispered a ‘thank you’ in his ear. 

For the rest of their night, they ate the authentic Chinese food while Harry told her about the restaurant he got it from, including the workers who owned the place. They also talked about work, teased, flirted, and bantered about whether fruit belonged in salads—they do not. 

Harry gave her the brown paper bag that held her gift, and she opened it with shock. He gifted her a gold circle pin that was customized with her initials engraved in the middle, and the saying ‘Shine bright, Dream even bigger,’ separated at the top and bottom. He’d noticed that she had pins on her travel backpack, and would occasionally wear one on the side of her baseball cap. It was the most thoughtful and attentive gift she’d ever received, and that earned Harry a tight hug and many thank you’s. 

After the night was coming close to eleven-thirty, Harry called it a night as he still had to wake up early tomorrow for work. Their goodbye at her door was a long one that was filled with tight and long hugs as they swayed for a moment, enjoying the warmth of each other. They promised each other that they would find a day that was open in their schedule so they could finally have their date; they even pinky swore on it—Harry kissed her pinky, vowing. 

Luci watched Harry open his door before walking inside his apartment; she blew him a kiss as he caught it, placing his palm on his cheek, making her smile. 

As they closed their doors, Luci couldn’t help but think that she just had the best birthday ever. 

November 17, 2017 

Luci’s leg nervously shook as she waited for her digital clock to hit 2:30 p.m. 

Today was Luci and Harry’s first date, and will hopefully be written down in history. She’d been anticipating this day for a while now, and she couldn’t believe the day was finally here. The few days after she asked him out, they tried settling on a date, but the two weeks after Halloween were booked for them. 

Luci was performing most days out of the week and Harry needed to figure out his teaching plans since it was close to Thanksgiving break and winter break. But when Harry found out that he had a random Friday off, he immediately told her, and to their luck, Luci wasn’t performing that day. So, they were settled on a day, and Luci couldn’t wait to take him out. 

She told him that he was going to need to dress warm since they were going to be outside for most of the day, so he opted for light blue jeans that were a bit baggy, a white t-shirt, a black coat that had faux fur on the thick collar and cuffs; since he, assumingly, was going to be walking around a lot, he wore black old school vans. Harry looked in the mirror, ruffling his hair in his hands to get it to stick the way he wanted it to. His hands slightly shook as he was fixing his hair, and he realized he hadn’t felt this nervous in a while; it had been a while since he’d gone on a date with someone he truly liked. 

When it hit two-thirty, Harry opened his door and locked it before taking a step forward. He took a breath, shaking his nerves off; as he was just about to knock, he heard Luci shuffling around inside her apartment as her keys jingled in her hands and her boots thudded against the wood. He put his hand down, thinking it would be nice for her to just see him right when she opened the door. After a few moments, Luci felt like she had everything she needed, so she swung her door open to only find Harry standing right in front of it, hiding behind a familiar bouquet of flowers—her favorite ones from him. 

“Hello.” He smiled, dimples clearly present. Luci felt like she could cry on the spot from just being so overwhelmed with her nerves and the anticipation leading up to this day, this moment. “These are for you. Hope you never get tired of them.” Harry handed her the bouquet, and she hugged them to her chest. 

“Harry, thank you. Believe me, I would never.” The start of her cheek aches had begun, and it had been about thirty seconds into their date. But cheek aches with Harry were her favorite type of aches, so she didn’t really mind it. 

She went back inside her apartment as Harry followed her in; she put the flowers in a vase before fixing them a little, making sure none of them were drooping down on the edge of the glass vase. Placing them on her windowsill, where she usually puts the flowers Harry gifted her, she smiled gratefully at them before turning her head and smiling at Harry, extra grateful. 

“Shall we go?” He asked, and she nodded. 

Harry followed Luci down to the subway station as she got on the M train. In eleven minutes, there were four stops; the subway was quite packed with no available seats, so the two stood, holding onto the silver bar in between them with their bodies close in proximity as they stood. Harry took the chance to look down at her, simply admiring her beauty as she mindlessly looked around, not noticing his eyes lingering on her. 

When their stop was on Essex Street, they got off, transferring onto the F train towards Coney Island; and Harry suddenly knew exactly where they were going. He didn’t say anything but smile. The entirety of the ride took forty-two minutes with twenty-two stops; they were able to sit down next to each other after the first stop. 

Their bodies were close—thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder. Luci took out her wired earphones—figuring they were going to be there for a while, why not listen to some music—handing Harry the left one as she put the right one in. She played Fleetwood Mac, Tame Impala, ABBA, Lorde, and Hozier—a few artists they’d bonded over—as they both swayed in their seats, making up some dance routine with their arms and shoulders. They laughed and ignored the weird looks of bystanders, who were trying to have a peaceful train ride to their destination, but Luci and Harry were too focused on each other to care. 

Once it was their stop, Luci put her headphones and phone in her purse before they got off and walked side by side one another. Harry had the urge to pull her close to his side, to hold her soft hand, but he was too shy to make a move. When they walked up the stairs to exit the station, their fingers brushed together—practically bumping into one another. Luci confidently made the move and linked their fingers together; Harry looked down and back up at her as he blushed, squeezing her hand lightly. 

“Is this okay?” She asked, looking up at him. 

“It’s perfect.” He meant it; the way her small hands fit so perfectly into his, as if he was protecting them. Holding her hand was comforting, and it surprised him at how comfortable he was to be making physical contact with her; but ever since he met Luci, he’s surprised himself quite a few times already. 

They finally reached their first date hotspot, and Harry assumed right as to where she was taking him. 

Three wide entryways painted in navy blue and orange had ‘Luna Park’ painted in orange at the top. Above the entryways were large flower-like and crescent moons that lit up during the nighttime, giving the boardwalk the most illuminating glow. The large Ferris wheel could not be missed as the carts swung and rattled back and forth. On top of the excitement of the amusement park, there were screams from people who were on the roller coasters, and the smell of fair food that they couldn’t wait to devour. 

Luci paid for their entrance admission, and Harry frowned, wanting to pay, but they both agreed that they could go half on the food, and games and rides. 

They felt like little kids who were at Disneyland, minus the famous castle and Main Street music, as they walked around the park to check it out as the wood beneath them creaked with every step while they hadn’t let go of each other’s hands. 

“Everything looks really fun,” Harry exclaimed.

“Right! Do you wanna play some games first or ride on some rides?” 

“How about we get the rides out of the way? You look very excited to go on them, and I have a feeling there’s no way you’re not going on them without me.” Harry assumed, quite accurately. 

Luci put her hand on her heart teasingly. “You know me too well.” Harry chuckled. “Okay, let’s go on some rides!” She dragged him to the admissions booth, and Harry paid for both of their passes for rides. 

They waited in line for the ‘Cyclone,’ which was the biggest rollercoaster besides the Wonder Wheel. Luci sensed Harry’s nerves as he kept looking up at the ride, and he couldn’t keep still. 

She squeezed his hand tightly. “Harry, you don’t have to go on the ride with me.” She was starting to feel concerned for him because his hands were becoming damp, which she didn’t care for, and he kept bouncing his leg everytime the line stopped moving. 

He raised his brows, and brushed away his nerves to the side but not very far. “No, no. It’s okay—I’ll be okay.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Pressing a kiss to the back of her hand, he nodded. “I’m sure. We’re here to have some fun, not be nervous, right?” 

“Yeah. But I’ll admit, I was nervous before we left,” she said, hoping to change the subject to distract him from the fast ride above them. 

“Why’s that?” He curled his lips into his mouth. 

“This is our first date, I want it to go well,” she said honestly. It had been a while since she’d been on a real date—the last one being in college—but to be nervous for a date was a feeling she wasn’t familiar with. 

“Think it’s going quite well, don’t you think?” He gave her a toothless grin, brows raised. Luci nodded, happy that he was always reassuring her and making her feel comfortable. “Plus, I was nervous too—still am, if I’m being honest.” 

“Yeah?” 

He nodded his head as if his nerves were the most obvious thing. “Oh, yeah. I want this to go well too. But by the way we’ve been friends for months before this happened, I think we’ll be okay, Ci.” Her eyes slightly widened at the new nickname that she’d never heard; Harry instantly noticed her shock. “I-Is it okay if I call you that?” To be honest, he’s always wanted to call her some unique nickname that would only be for him. ‘Luci’ seemed to be the name everyone called her, ‘Ana’ was her brother’s name for her, so the last syllable in her name seemed to be free. 

“No one’s ever called me that.” And she thinks that’s extra special. “But yes, please call me that.” She approved, and he smiled. 

It was their turn to get onto the Cyclone, and Harry suddenly didn’t feel so nervous anymore as they were being safely strapped into their rollercoaster cart. The ride was quite high, looking over the blue water and Coney Island Beach; the view was quite gorgeous, even in the middle of a cold November day in New York. 

They screamed as the ride dropped; Luci held up one of her arms as the other held tightly on Harry’s hand as he grasped the metal bar, afraid to bravely put his arm up like his beautiful date. 

When the ride was finished, they had a rush of exhilaration, wanting to go on the other rides. So, they did; they laughed, screamed, and were the most carefree people they’d ever been in their entire lives because they brought it out of each other. 

After they filled their rollercoaster crave, they ate and talked. Individually, they were both worried about this part of the date where they had to talk because they’d been hanging out for so many months and getting to know each other that they thought coming up with conversation topics were going to be difficult. But it was natural for them; they didn’t put any pressure on themselves to speak every single minute of the date. Instead, they relished in the comfortable silence they seemed to form, not minding it one bit. 

The sky had turned into a cotton candy pink from a bright blue quite quickly. Luci wanted to watch the sunset, but was a bit sad that they hadn’t played the majority of the games; but Harry told her it was okay, and they would come back another time when the park reopened again during the Spring. 

Hand in hand, they walked to the beach that was just across the street from Luna Park. The bright lights from the park were becoming distant as they continued to walk further away from it. Since it was mid November, there weren’t that many people out because of the cold temperature—just the few people who were passing by along with others who decided to watch the sunset as well. 

“Tell me about your last relationship?” Luci suddenly asked; Harry looked at her amusingly. 

“Like now? In the middle of our date?” He teased, making her laugh. 

“I mean, if you want to. I was just curious.” 

Harry thought for a moment. “Hmm. My last serious relationship was over a year ago. We broke up right before I started teaching at the middle school.” 

“What happened?” She asked softly, not wanting to pry, but she was also curious. 

“We weren’t good for each other anymore. I guess life happened, and we turned into people we weren’t proud of. We grew apart; she was more in love with her career than she was in love with me. Couldn’t say I was the best boyfriend either,” he explained, not getting into too much detail. But he’d neglected her without even realizing it, causing his ex to occupy herself with work. “So, we broke up. And it felt like it was a sign from the universe that was holding me back from venturing out because I immediately got a job at the school when I had been putting off finding a proper teaching job.” He breathed out a chuckle, remembering the memory.

He’ll admit, his last relationship had hurt him quite a lot. He’d never felt such pain before, and it had made him quiet and reserved. But how it ended made him not seek out to find a relationship. For a while, he didn’t like the idea of love because it had only hurt you. But then he met Luci, and at first, he was hesitant to even be her friend because just at first glance, he was ruined, and he didn’t want to go through that process again; but here they are now. And maybe, he’ll tell her this, but for now, he doesn’t want to scare her off. 

“Do you still talk to her?” 

“Nope. Last I heard of her, she was engaged to this woman she met a few weeks after our breakup, but I have no clue if they’re still together.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What about you?” 

“My last relationship?” Harry nodded. “To be honest, I’ve never been in a serious one…like ever.” 

He raised his brows in shock. “Really?” 

“Yeah. The furthest I’ve gone that was close to a relationship was a friends-with-benefits towards the end of college, which didn’t end well.” Harry sensed her mood change a bit, so he didn’t pry on asking what happened in the past. The bad memories had filled her mind, making her frown, but she pushed those thoughts away, not wanting to think about them at the moment because the timing is unbelievable. “That’s that; I don't have any exciting or tea-spilling relationship stories.” 

For a moment, she didn’t want to jinx her luck, but she imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship with Harry—despite it only being their first date. Her mind took her to a fantasy that was so special and sweet because that was how she pictured what it would be like to be with him. 

They sat in silence as the sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls above them took over their hearing. It was nice and refreshing to sit side by side, taking in the beautiful scenery that the world provided. Sunsets had always made Luci feel a vast amount of gratitude towards the world and the people around her; the opportunities, the things that she got to see—they all wouldn’t have happened if the sun didn't go down, promising a new tomorrow. 

Suddenly, Harry stood up, brushing the sand that had gotten on his jeans. He reached out to Luci, who was still sitting down and looking up at him. 

“C’mon. Let’s walk,” he suggested. She grabbed his hand as he helped her up, and she patted away the soft sand that had stuck to her black jeans. 

They held hands as they walked the shore of Coney Island Beach, walking towards where the sun was departing from the world. Once the sky had turned into a purple and orange blended masterpiece, Harry stopped walking, facing Luci as he took a deep breath. 

“I’m trying…really hard to hold back.” He held her cold hands in his, lightly pushing and pulling her towards him. He’d been thinking about it for the entirety of their date, and he just wanted to pull her in and kiss her whenever.

Luci shook her head softly as she stopped swaying; her eyes flickered towards his mouth, glad she wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing. She dreamed of this—had been wanting to press her lips against his for quite some time 

“Don’t hold back. Please, don’t hold back.” Her tone and eyes were pleading for him to not refrain himself from the most magical feeling. Luci let go of his hands, wrapping them around his waist as if she was giving him permission to kiss her. 

He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing down to her elbows before he trailed them back up and to the sides of her neck and jaw. Placing a soft kiss to her forehead before placing his on Luci’s, he inhaled deeply, taking in the saltiness of the ocean next to them and the sweetness of her skin. 

Luci fluttered her eyes closed, and Harry took that opportunity to connect his lips with hers. They molded their lips together as if it were one, tasting one another for the first time. The feeling of their passionate kiss felt like the ocean had synchronized together, forming the most beautiful and largest wave for the most dedicated surfer; and when it crashed, it was powerful, breathtaking, and strong—like no other wave could top this one, no one could top this one of a kind kiss. 

Harry smiled into the kiss, making Luci smile and giggle as well. Her stomach fluttered, hugging him tighter to her as his thumbs gently caressed her soft skin. Nothing could top this feeling. 

Pulling back, Harry breathed out a giddy chuckle before placing a few more pecks on her lips as if he was dreaming the first time. Luci opened her eyes as did he; she looked into his and found an immense amount of adoration within him. 

“I like you…a lot.” 

She leaned her forehead against his chest, cheekily smiling and restricting herself from squealing before she looked back up at him. “I like you too, Harry.” 

Harry flashed her his smile, something that he couldn’t wipe off his face, not like he tried. Nowadays, he was smiling a lot more, and he was one hundred percent sure Luci was the cause of it. 

Kissing her forehead, Harry hugged her to his chest as they watched the sun go down. With her face pressed against his chest, she heard the erratic heartbeat that was pounded heavily; and in that moment, she knew exactly how that felt—to feel so much for one person that your heart could fall out—and she only hoped he could feel hers because it was pounding just the same. 

As they held each other tightly, they both knew that this was going to be something special. 

And they were all in for the ride.

an exciting chapter! come talk to me about your thoughts, feelings, favorite moments and scenes! thank you for reading <3 next chapter will be up next saturday!

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles au #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles x oc #harry styles smut #harry styles series #harry styles writing #harry styles ff #harry styles fanfic #boyfriend!harry #actress!oc #harry styles #hs au

[chaos-is-beautifvl]

Broken

Chapter II: Crocodile Tears

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↳ series masterlist | criminal minds masterlist

warnings: let me know if i missed any ; cops, police stations, interrogation rooms, mentions of anxiety, panic, and murder

word count: 1072

She was sitting on her old wooden stool, back hunching slightly as she leaned forward to add the tiny details to her painting. She leaned back, a smile coming across her face as she inspected the artwork. It was nowhere near done, but she was still proud of the portion she had completed.

She stood up and walked into the kitchen to wash her paint-stained hands in the sink. As she was washing them, a knock came at her door. She yelled out a 'just a second' before quickly finding a towel laying around and wiping her hands off as she made her way to her door.

She peered into the peephole of her door, which gave her the view of her apartment complex's hallway. Not knowing who the person at the door was, she didn't unlock or open the door. She had watched way too many horror movies to know that you don't just open your door for a random stranger.

"Police! Open up!" the voice out in the hall said. The girl raised an eyebrow, confused as to why the police would be at her door. 'Maybe they need help with a case or something,' she thought as she started to unlock the door. Little did she know, they weren't there to ask for her help, rather accuse her of committing said crimes.

She opened the door to see two police officers instead of just one. She assumed the other had joined when she stepped away from the door.

She smiled politely at the two men, "Hello, officers. What can I do for you?"

One of the men spoke, his voice gruff, "Are you Y/N L/N?"

The girl nodded and was about to ask what they were there for when she was interrupted. The man who spoke stepped forward, turning her around and putting her arms behind her back. Panic washed over when cold, metal cuffs clung to her wrists, even more so as the officers escorted her out the safety of her apartment and into the back of a police car.

She was replaying the events of today in her head as she sat at the table. At some point, in between the agents coming in and leaving, her wrists went numb, so she no longer felt the irritation of the metal digging into her skin. It was the only good thing that'd come from her sitting there.

When the door opened again, she popped her head up a little to see who it was. Agent Jareau, from earlier, came in with a cup of water and a somewhat thick file in hand. She set the file and the cup down to remove those wretched handcuffs.

The girl sighed in relief, slowly rotating and massaging her wrists to get the blood flow going again. When the woman carefully slid the water over to her, the girl was ready to gulp it down but wasn't sure if she should, so she just looked to the blonde.

The woman nodded her head, a small smile on her face. With that, the girl lifted the paper cup to her lips and took a long drink. Her throat was no longer dry like the Sahara desert from the anxiety and stress of her current situation.

She then set the cup down and sat up a little straighter before turning to the woman, who was now sitting in the chair across her.

"I'm not really- uh, sure why I'm here," the girl started, trying to keep her voice steady. "I've never killed anybody, and I certainly haven't been an accomplice."

The blonde, blue-eyed woman sat forward in her chair, arms perched onto the table. She sighed before opening the file to the right of her. She looked at the girl as she pushed the manila folder over to her. The girl gave her a confused look before peering down at the contents.

Her face contorted into one of shock, panic, and confusion. Are these real people...? It seemed as though every person inside the manila folder was killed using different methods, each one as gruesome as the one before.

She looked up to the woman as she tore her eyes away from the people. The pictures having shown them before and after their murders. They all looked so happy, but their fate was grim. Something about them seemed oddly familiar to the girl. Her voice shook as she spoke, "You think I did this?"

"There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that led us to you." The girl's face dropped. What evidence could they possibly have on me?

"Listen, Agent Jareau," the agent nodded her head for the girl to continue, "While what happened is truly terrible, I had nothing to do with it."

"Well, you see, the problem is that you have interacted with all of these people. Either through your work or by simple passing." The girl looked back down at the faces, and a small gasp left her mouth when the realization hit her. She had interacted with these people. Some were regulars at the book cafe she worked at, and some had contracted her to do artwork for them.

The girl shook her head, a hand rising to her mouth when the imagery of those people murdered entered her mind. Tears filled her eyes, not in remorse but shock and fear. What in the hell going on? And why do they think I'm involved?

She cleared her throat, correcting her posture, "I didn't do this, but I would like to get a lawyer." She spoke meekly, afraid that if she spoke any louder, she would crumble.

The agent nodded and picked up the case file. Before she walked out of the room, she turned to look at the visibly frightened suspect, who had a stray tear rolling down her cheek.

The only things that came to the agent's mind were: Is she crying because she feels remorse? Or is it because she got caught? Or could it possibly be that she had nothing to do with this and was crying because she was scared? Or could her crying be all a part of her act?

The agent wasn't sure. She closed the door behind her and stepped into the conference room where her team was waiting. The same team who had just so happened to see the entire interaction from a small camera in the corner of the room.

a/n: how are you guys liking it so far? if you would like to be tagged, just let me know. also, requests for the cm characters are open. i predominately write for spencer, but i'm willing to write for the others. guidelines are in pinned post!

#third chapter out friday #broken series #my writing #chaos-is-beautifvl #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid series #spencer reid x y/n #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid imagine

[ac3id]

Selfish [ii/iii]

Pairings: Yandere!Miruko ( Usagiyama Rumi ) x fem!reader

Warnings:  y/n's life goes📉,alcohol consumption, harassment, uses of aphrodisiacs, dom!Rumi consensual smut

[a/n:dm us if you want to be added or removed from our taglist]

Summary: You are satisfied with your life, as a successful lawyer, you’re rich and powerful. Your life never boring as you often visit foreign countries with your friends, of course until you meet Miruko the Rabbit Hero one day in the court. A conflict between your boss and her end in the court and pique her interest when you manage to win the case. Miruko is selfish, and she must have you, she’ll not stop until she has you. She may along the way ruin your life so the only person you have is her. Miruko really doesn't care, she’s selfish.

word count: 2.9k

part i, ii, iii

masterlist

The frantic ringing of your cell phone woke you up from your sleep.You frowned thinking it was your alarm clock waking you up for another tiring day. You brought the device to your face and squinted as the bright light illuminated the darkroom and stung your eyes. 

"What?" you said as you recognized the caller I.D, it displayed your boss's name and you groaned. Picking up the call you placed it to your ear and immediately regretted it. 

"L/N," he snarled into the phone and you almost flinched. Your mind started going about all the reasons for him to be calling you at this hour. 

Did he found out about me slacking? In the end, you couldn't find a reason. 

"Yes? Sir?" you ask, "Don't play innocent now! Why did you do it? Do you realize what could have happened if the Mayor had died? How much did they pay you?" he screamed into the phone and your face paled.

 "What do you mean? I-" "Oh! Don't start now!!" he cut you off, sweat was rolling from your forehead despite the chillness of the air conditioning. You felt sick. An urge to throw up your dinner propelled you. Your boss continued to explain how you had leaked confidential information about the Mayor's whereabouts for a secret meeting. Your firm was the only one who had this information, it was only given to a trusted few- including you. 

Your boss informed that a few villains had attacked the Mayor and when interrogated about how they knew about the meeting, they answered that a woman by 'Y/N L/N' had told them about it. This was, obviously, false. The night the villains reported about meeting with you- you were with Neo (more like Miruko) at the gala. It could not have been you. 

Confident, you blurt out your response. "It was not me! I was with Neo on Saturday night. The annual Pro-Hero meet. I was with him the entire time! I'm being set up!" there was a pause from his side and you hear a sigh. 

"That must be true, Y/N." He called you by your name, finally. "I trust you, you would never do this to us. There will an inspection. You'll be called anytime now. I called to warn you. I have known you for five years! There is no way it was you! Do you have any ideas about who could be setting you up?" 

His voice was softer as he spoke and a wave of relief hit you. "I don't know, sir. Could be anyone who does not like me, could also be someone from the firm!" you exclaimed, "You're correct. Listen, Y/N, you'll be fine. We will get you out of here, okay?" he continued and both of you talked about the potential suspects for about ten minutes and ended the call. 

Sleep came scarcely it felt as if you had only closed your eyes for ten minutes and the birds had started chirping welcoming a new day. You got up on your bed and palmed your temples the anxiety from the night started to build up again. You ran to the washroom as you hovered over the toilet seat and emptied your stomach vomiting. You felt sick. Even though you knew that you weren't at fault the nervousness of getting sued still built up bad.

You started cleaning up and heard your phone ring. You knew why they had called. 

"Hello? Y/N L/N?" a feminine voice greeted you, "Yes, that's me, good morning." you greeted despite how bitter your mouth felt. "Good morning to you too. Can you come down to the station ASAP? It's for a case." she asked. "It's for a case?" 

"I cannot disclose the details via call, we will tell you as soon as you arrive, good day." she hung up the call and you scoffed, you continued with your routine and made your way down to the station. 

They sat you down in an integration room, you had been here before but this time it was different. You were not with client this time.

"Hello, L/N," It was Lee David, the bastard hated you. All the time at trial, the suspect he brought back was proven not guilty due to your courtesy. Seeing you sitting down, minutes away from getting sued brought him great satisfaction. 

"Hello, Mr.Lee," you greeted him with a bitchy smile which he returned. "You look like shit." You continued signaling to his messy hair and sleep-deprived eyes. "What's with the new hair? Did you shed your skin, you snake?" he glared at you and you laughed. "That was a very bad one Mr.Lee," 

"Enough, let's get down to business." Another inspector came they asked you questions and you answered truthfully.

Maybe it was that luck was not on your hand that day because, in the end, you were charged with breach of contract and had to pay your entire life's worth to the Government. 

How did this happen? When the detectives called Neo to confirm your alibi, he confessed that you did attend the gala with him but the entire night he did not know your whereabouts. That was no lie, you were with Miruko. But you couldn't have disclosed that or what the two of you were doing together. So, you sat and watched as your whole life fell apart. 

Every day became harder after your fall. Your friends 'left', your firm fired you. You couldn't even afford your apartment anymore! You lived with a college friend who still cared about, drank away all your worries. You had reached the rock bottom. Nothing could have been worse than this. 

Oh boy, you were wrong. 

It was another one of those nights were you drank away your worries and down at a park thinking about better days. It was late, you did not notice the thugs who were surrounding you until you felt a hand on your shoulder. You quickly turned back to be greeted with an ugly face smiling down at you. 

"It's late miss, why don't you come with us? We will take care of you. It's quite dangerous for women like yourself to be alone now, right?" 

He turned to his friends behind him and started giggling, your blood grew cold as his grip tightened on your shoulder. 

"No, I am fine." You tried swatting his hand away but it wouldn't budge, "C'mon now, princess. Come with us! we'll show ya' a great time." 

"What's going on over there?" A familiar voice calls out and everyone whips their heads to the source. Miruko stands, glaring at the men and you feel the leader's grip fall from your shoulder. She was in her joggers, probably out on a run. 

They knew better than to mess with Miruko. 

"Hey, you there? Are you okay?" Miruko runs up to where you were sitting, you stand up as she approaches. A small gasp leaves her when she recognizes you. 

"Y/N," she starts, "How are you- I heard what happened and I can not help but blame my-" 

"Thanks for scaring those guys off." 

Maybe it was Miruko fault, maybe it was not. You did not care anymore. 

"Y/N," she called out sternly trying to look at your face but you turned away. There was a pause, silence, and then she placed two fingers under your chin and pulled your face to face her. She wore a soft expression which made you groan internally. You didn't need her pity. 

"Listen,-" "It's not your fault!" you exclaimed before she could start. 

"Please don't." Miruko sighed as she let go of your face, "Where are you going to stay tonight?" she asked. 

"At my friend's place," "How far is it from here?" 

"An hour." Miruko frowned, "Stay over at mine, you're in no shape to travel alone for an hour." she says pointing out to your red cheeks still intoxicated. She was right if you left now there was no guarantee you wouldn't run into weirdos from before. 

"Fine." You say as you follow Miruko.

Miruko's place wasn't far. She lived in a gated community very much like you did before your life went upside down. You followed her into the kitchen where she put down a glass of water for you.

"It's late, you should sleep. I'll be arranging the guest room. Just come upstairs after you've...drank the water.." It was an awkward sentence to say. 

You followed her instructions as you gulped the water slightly cringing at the taste. You walked up the penthouse and saw Miruko standing in front of the guest room scrolling through her phone. She turned to you as she saw you approach her, "I have kept some comfortable clothes you can sleep in," she said scanning your body you almost thought she was checking you out (she was) until you realized you were wearing jeans. "Yeah, um, thank you again. Miruko."

 "Rumi, call me Rumi, Y/N." 

"Right, Rumi."

You wished her goodnight and changed out of your clothes into the large shirt and shorts she had presented out for you. You got into the bed, switched off the lights, and drifted off to sleep. After what felt like minutes you were awoken again. 

"Hot," you whispered. You felt hot all over your body, you discarded yourself of the large shirt and shorts. Left in a spaghetti top and your panties you kicked your blanket and tried to go back to sleep but your mind felt hazy. 

You felt your clit throb with need, you couldn't take it anymore.

You open the door to Miruko's bedroom. You feel yourself get wetter when you find sleeping on her bed, glowing under the moonlight. 

You climb on her bed and make your way to straddle her left thigh

You tried to relax your breathing as you find yourself shamelessly grinding on her thigh, trying desperately to get yourself off and make the pain go away. This was embarrassing

you leaned down to softly kiss her neck, you let your hand go under her robe, tracing her abs, your breath hot against her neck. You feel her stir under you she slowly opens her eyes. Her red eyes ran over your body taking in your desperate figure. You panties wet, clinging to your cunt and nipples hard under the thin tank top you wore. You realize she had woken up and stopped grinding against her, embarrassed you look away from her bringing your trembling fingers from her body, 

"I am sorry, I don't know wh-" 

"Continue." 

"What?" you were confused, your brows knit together as you look back at Miruko. Her face is stern, she is looking up at you with a glare, her gaze makes your clit throb and you try your best to not act on instinct. 

"I said." she pauses and pushes her leg harder between your legs, applying pressure on your clit and you let out a soft moan.

 "Continue, fuck yourself. Give me a show."

her voice was deeper, it sent shivers down your spine. Your face heated up as you started grinding yourself against her thigh again small whimpers escaping.

Under you, Miruko smirked, the aphrodisiac she had given you had worked. 

She lets out the quietest moan as she watched you fuck yourself on her thigh. Her gaze so intense you felt the tips of your ears burning.

You brush your lips against hers, Miroku kisses you passionately, gently, softly, wanting to be as tender with you as possible. Your lips molding perfectly together. You bite her bottom lip softly, trailing kisses down her neck, tugging on the ends of her hair slightly to make her head go back, allowing you more access.

"So impatient today, huh?" she purred, her hand resting on your hip, urging you to go on. You panted in response, clutching her leg between your thighs

A soft whimper escapes from you making her grip tighten on your hip, definitely leaving bruises, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. The flimsy material of your panties allows you to feel the defined muscles of her thigh as your clit grounds into it.

You pull away from her neck to grind down harder. she can feel your arousal seeping to her thigh.

You began leaving kisses down the valley of her toned breasts, slowly lapping your tongue and sucking on the skin around her nipples. You attach your lips to her right nipple, rolling your tongue on the bud and sucking harshly as you continued to grind yourself against her. You shivered at the stimulation your clit received from the friction of her muscles, feeling your arousal dampening the cotton of your panties, her head went back a moan escaping her lips.

You whimpered, the noise fueling you on moving your hips faster. Miruko looked up at you in awe, there was something so needy about you as you rode her thigh, your pleas, and whines, making her clit throb with arousal.

You place your arms over her shoulders and begins to rock you back and forth on her thigh, gently encouraging you with soft strokes to your skin.

You close your eyes, head rolling back as your hips stutter, the wet soft slapping of your skin against hers bringing you much closer to your climax.

Miruko piercing eyes never left your body. Her grip on your waist getting tighter, "Go harder, sugar. I wanna see you cum." You nodded and quickened your pace.

Your grip tightens on her shoulders as you prepared yourself for the intense wave of pleasure.

Within seconds, an orgasm washed over you like a wave. You continued to ride it out grinding yourself on her thigh. Your grinding slowing down and eventually coming to a stop. Both of you were panting. You looked down to see the mess you made on her thigh.

''Mommy, p-please take care of me'' you sobbed, tears pricking around the corner your eyes. The way you were addressing turned her on. You were so desperate. 

''It hurts'' your voice cracked which broke Miruko's heart she underestimated the dose of the drugs she had given you.

"Is my pretty girl horny?" you sobbed in response making her move your panties to the side, letting her finger move up your folds collecting your arousal. She groaned softly. "Fuck I've barely touched you, sugar and you're already soaked."

"I-I want m-more." it was nothing more than a mere whisper with a sob.

She discards your drenched panties and strips off her robe and gently lays you onto your back, lining your cunt up to hers. She looks up at you, a smile playing around her lips. The look on her face made you drool further for her, your thighs rubbing together in an attempt to soothe your intense heat

You lie pliantly beneath her, your hair splayed beneath her, making you look angelic.

"you ready, sugar?" she asked, gazing at you as she straddled your waist. you nodded jolts of pleasure running up your spine in anticipation.

She grinds her pussy down onto yours, she chokes out a moan, her eyes rolling back as your juices intermingle.

Your clits rubbed against each other. You moaning softly underneath her drove her wild. It fueled her desire, causing her to grip your hips and grind into you harder, panting wildly pressing you further into her mattress. Every thrust against your sensitive cunt an electric charge shoots through your body.

Your moans are loud and obscene as your wet pussy rubs over hers. "Oh, yeah, mommy! Harder! Right there, fuck!" you screamed, throwing you head back and moaning.

"Shit," she whispered and growled, "Like that, sugar?" 

"Ah, fuck, right there," you moan, gripping the sheets beneath you. Miroku pants, reveling in the sight beneath her; your spread legs in between hers, your hardened nipples and back arching at the slightest movements. 

"My pretty girl. You look so cute like this," she grinds her cunt against yours faster, her tits bounce with every thrust. The pitch of her moans growing higher. Both of your moans fill the room. You tremble beneath her as she fastens her pace again

You pull her in close, your lips claiming hers in a hot kiss. You explored every part of Miruko's mouth, feeling her soft lips against yours. you bit her bottom lip as the erotic and lewd noises of your cunts rubbing against each other fill your ears.

"Ahhh -fuck-mommy," you scream in between kisses. she pulls away to look at you moaning and whining. she moved a few strands of loose hair, biting her lip and putting her hands on either side of your head to help her increase her pace.

You both groan out, your hands clasping her arm as she grinds forward quicker and harder. 

"Dirty girl... feels so fucking good," she breathes out, increasing her pace to a medium as she throws her head back in ecstasy.

"shit... I'm close mommy, so close," you whimper, your lips parted as her pace quickens. her head is slightly thrown back, moaning into oblivion as her orgasm comes closer. "God, cum for me, sugar," she groans, her grip on your leg getting tighter.

Your back arches one last time before your orgasm rolls like powerful waves through your body, making you tremble beneath Miruko's frame. 

"You did so well for me, my precious girl. Always so good for me."

her hands find your hips and her brows scrunch together and her lips opening with soft pants. Riding her orgasm as you tremble with the aftershocks of yours.

Honestly, she just wanted you to cum again. You looked so hot while doing so, she wanted to see you doing it — she wanted to see your pretty face in pleasure, and your eyes rolled back. she wanted to hear you moan while watching you do it, too.

"Thank you," you murmur, your lips just barely brushing against hers. you sigh heavily, chest heaving as she kisses you back.

"It’s all right." 

You slump down next to Miruko and drift off, Miruko watches you sleep as she smiles to herself. Her plan had worked. 

#yandere smut #boku no hero academia #bnha #yandere bnha #yandere #yandere writing #yandere writings #yandere x reader #miruko x reader #rumi usagiyama #miruko bnha #bnha x reader #bnha yandere #yandere smut writings #selfish #yandere aesthetic #bnha fanfic #bnha writings #girl x girl smut #bnha smut writings #bnha smut #bnha yaoi #miruko smut #yandere lemon #yandere imagines #bnha imagines #yandere hero #yandere villain #tw: drugs #tw: alcohol

[eloarei]

Hiatus’d WIPs:  “Touch” (bnha)

I recently had a conversation with a friend/reader about how many unfinished fics I have lying around, and it made me decide to finally make a post for each one; under the assumption that I never write any of them again, I can at least link these posts at the end of the AO3 WIPs for people who are curious how the rest of the story goes.  So here we have:  WIP and notes for Dekumight fic series “Touch” (including unfinished next chapter) My thoughts: This was really one of my favorites for a while. There was something really fun about writing the sort of non-verbal communication they had going on, and the deep love and also awkwardness. However, the actual story of the fic doesn’t differ much from the canon plot, which makes it a little less interesting to write, and also difficult to pick up, because frankly I don’t remember shit anymore about canon.  Under the cut: (8,300 words total) 3,000 words of what would be the next chapter (ending about halfway through), then a rough draft of the second half of the chapter. After that, there’s a super-rough draft/ outline of the next several chapters, followed by a bunch of notes from when I was initially planning.  NOTE: Tumblr completely destroyed all formatting, so this should be full of italics, which implies thinking, but instead you’ll just have to puzzle it out.  Similarly, my notes have a bunch of bolding and some strikethrough, which probably doesn’t work either. Sorry. 

Takes place directly after “Retouch” (chapter 2) : 

Chapter 3 

It was just a few minutes later that Toshinori was hit with a spike of pleasure that he really shouldn't have been surprised by. He was finishing up some paperwork for UA though and wouldn't be getting ready for bed for a while, so instead of following through with the echo of Izuku's intense sensation, he just took a deep calming breath and willed himself to leave it alone. However, he did take a moment to send Izuku a well-timed text saying simply, | Sleep tight |. He still wasn't sure if the boy was aware of what he was doing to him, but he figured he'd just tip him off a little bit instead of asking outright. Not yet.

Izuku responded with a cute, embarrassed | ^^; you too |, and Toshinori laughed. So he hadn't expected to be called out on it, huh? Well, they could talk about it later; maybe over the weekend, if Suzuki's papers didn't scare him off. (And even then they'd probably still want to talk about at least a few things. Even if Izuku suddenly wanted nothing to do with him, even if they never saw each other again (a chilling thought), they'd still be affecting each other like this for the rest of their lives. It warranted at least a short conversation.)

Most likely, though... Most likely it would be a long conversation they'd be having, if Toshinori's impression of Inko was anything to go by. If it were just him and Izuku, who knew if they'd ever do much serious talking. It was far too tempting to just sit side by side with their hands tangled together and feel. So, it was probably good that Izuku's mother had such a strong hand in the situation-- and it was definitely good for both of them that she was such a reasonable woman. He knew she would probably bring up all the right topics (the things he still hadn't really researched; Suzuki wasn't going to be pleased with his ignorance), and ask all the right questions, and be super tactful about the whole thing, so he didn't fret about it, focusing instead on just getting through the week.

Easier said than done, he'd have told you, if you asked him at any point during those next few days, but eventually it was done, and he was standing outside the Midoriyas' apartment door with a briefcase in one hand and the other poised to knock. But before he could make a sound, the door opened, and Izuku was standing there, looking up at him with the brightest eyes.

“Hi,” he said, the simple word both enthusiastic and shy. His smile was impossibly wide, sending his freckles up into his eyes. “I, um, I could tell you were there,” he answered, before Toshinori could even ask how he'd known to open the door. Without further ado, Izuku reached out and took his hand, leading him into the apartment. They both breathed deep, relieved sighs as soon as they touched. Three days had just been too much.

Inside, Inko was doing dishes. “Oh, Toshinori, hi,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “I'll be done here in just a minute. Izuku said you have some papers for us to look at?”

“At my manager's insistence,” he explained. Guided by Izuku, he took a seat next to him at the kitchen table, their hands still joined, and set the briefcase up where his other hand could find what he needed. He pulled the stack of papers out and set them in the middle of the table.

“How's your week been?” Izuku asked quietly, as they waited for Inko to join them.

“It's been fine,” Toshinori answered, though the emotion rolling around in his chest said 'I missed you', and he was fairly sure Izuku could feel it.

The boy squeezed his hand at the feeling and replied, “Me too,” in response to the unspoken sentiment.

Drying her hands off on a dishtowel, Inko sat down across from them and gave the pair of them an appraising (but ultimately approving) look, before she slid the stack of papers over to her. “What have we got here?” she asked, apparently rhetorically, as she didn't wait for Toshinori to attempt to explain. She read through each page carefully and then passed it over to Izuku, who seemed mildly surprised but also read each one before sliding it over to Toshinori. (He skimmed them again for familiarity's sake, but he'd already read through them in detail with Suzuki a day or two before.)

Other than a 'hmm' here and there, Inko didn't make any comments until they were through the entire stack, which took about an hour. (Although she did stop to tell Toshinori to make himself at home, when she realized he might be thirsty or something.) It was a very quiet hour, and it would have been unnerving for Toshinori if he hadn't still had Izuku latched onto him, feeding him wisps of emotion as he read.

Once they'd gone through the whole stack, Inko started over from the beginning, and began to point out little details here and there and ask questions.

“I think most of it is reasonable enough,” she said. “We're not entitled to any of your income or royalties; that's fine. And we can't talk to the media about you. I'm alright with that. Izuku?”

Izuku nodded. “That's okay. I wasn't going to.”

“But this part here--” She pointed at it. “--says we're not allowed to tell anyone about the situation at all unless we have express written permission. That seems sort of... broad.”

Toshinori looked at the passage that Inko had indicated. “Uh, right. I told Suzuki I didn't think it was necessary, but he claims it's a safety precaution.”

“For you,” Inko said, and she did sound accusatory, but not overly much. “What happens if we break the contract? Suing us won't get you very much.”

“I wouldn't do that,” Toshinori tried to say, but Inko continued on.

“What if we need to tell someone and you're not around to give us permission? Like, Izuku's doctors? It just seems unreasonable. Dangerous, even. I get that you want to protect your status, but--”

Toshinori could feel Izuku begin to speak before he could hear the sound. “It's fine, mom,” he said. “It's not just for him. It's to protect us too. Remember that story a couple years ago? There was that lady who was kidnapped by villains because they thought they could use her to get to her husband?”

Inko pursed her lips, a slightly sour face. She clearly remembered the story, and how the woman had been tortured just to hurt her husband. Toshinori remembered it too; it had made him sick. It would have made anyone sick, especially anyone who was close to their soulmate.

“That's probably what Mr. Suzuki was thinking of,” Izuku added softly, and Toshinori could tell that he didn't quite believe in Suzuki's altruism (hard for him to, when he could feel Toshinori's own skepticism about the man), but that he did still believe the reasoning was fair.

A bit subdued, Inko nodded. “Well of course we won't go around telling everyone. I... just think it's a little silly to have to get it in writing like this.”

“You're right,” Toshinori said, shaking his head. “Leave that one, then. I'll get Suzuki to take it out.”

It went like that for another hour or so, Inko pointing out things she wasn't sure about and Toshinori mostly telling her to just cross them out, because honestly, Suzuki was going to be pissed, but who cared? There was no one in the world who mattered more right now than Izuku, and that necessarily made his mother pretty important too. Toshinori would do whatever it took to make them comfortable, and his manager could just deal with it.

By the time they were done, they'd tossed out about half of the papers and scratched through parts of most of the rest of them, and were left with a reasonable list of promises that read roughly like this:

The Midoriyas could not talk to the media about All Might, and they couldn't knowingly do anything that would jeopardize his career, and Izuku couldn't act in any way that would hinder All Might's ability to do his job as a hero. That was pretty much it, though the basic meaning was hidden in so many superfluous details that it had their heads spinning.

As for Toshinori, he would not infringe upon the Midoriyas' anonymity, or use his status to coerce or extort them in any way, and he would be responsible for any financial issues that resulted from their connection (including, but not limited to, doctor's bills and lawyer's fees).

Honestly though, they all knew that these were pretty moot points. If Izuku or his family broke any of these rules, there was really nothing that All Might's lawyers could do about it. And if All Might failed to uphold his end of the bargain, the Midoriyas could take him to court for it, but it would be inviting far more trouble than it was worth.

More than anything, though, they trusted each other enough for this whole paper-signing situation to be mostly just laughable. Getting the papers to Suzuki was not a high priority (well, he might have thought so, but he was a failure of a manager if he actually expected such a quick turnaround, after all these years), so Toshinori didn’t hurry off, instead offering to take the two out for lunch. “Oh, thank you, Toshinori,” Inko said sweetly, “but I’ve got some work to finish up. Why don’t you two go out and take advantage of the nice day?” At his elbow, Toshinori could feel Izuku’s slight surprise echoing against his own. Although Inko had only been supportive so far, they still couldn’t help expecting that she was going to try to keep them apart-- though maybe they were just projecting their reasonable fears about society onto the only other person who knew just yet. But whether or not she might be more strict about them seeing each other in the future, she seemed fine with it just now, and they were grateful. “Thanks,” Izuku told her with a sunny grin, while Toshinori nodded in agreement. “Want us to bring you anything?” Inko shook her head. “Just be back before it’s late! And stay safe!” They promised they’d be careful (in every possible way), and left the apartment together, walking close by but with their hands in their respective pockets-- the safest place for them, when they would have wandered if left to their own devices, gravitated naturally toward each other and the fulfilling feeling they provided. “So what did you think of the papers?” Toshinori asked, a relevant icebreaker to start conversation once they were on their way. “I hope they didn’t seem too strict.” Izuku grinned, and drifted close enough to bump their arms together. “They seemed fine,” he said, apparently unbothered by them. “Honestly, I’d sign whatever I had to. It’s already crazy that I even got to meet you. So, whatever I have to do now… I’ll do it.” That smile was an absolute slice of sunshine, and if Toshinori wasn’t warm just by their proximity, it would have done the job. 

They wandered for some time, down towards the city center where they might find something for lunch (maybe something other than ramen, so they could expand the list of foods they knew they both liked), chatting a little. The topics were never anything consequential; Toshinori thought Izuku was still a little nervous around him and wasn’t sure what to say. He understood the feeling, even without a physical link, rather feeling that way himself. But Izuku also had the natural anxiousness of the young and quirkless (he remembered feeling that way), so Toshinori tried to guide the conversation in comfortable directions. Heroes were always a safe topic, and one with no end of iterations. They’d walked a few casual miles, keeping their attention slightly on their surroundings in case a good restaurant caught their eye, and were in the middle of discussing Kamui Woods when something else caught their attention. In the distance a block or so, there was a crowd gathered, their exclamations and worried murmurs rising to a concerning pitch just as an explosion shook the area. Many of the citizens shrieked and ran for cover, but plenty of them were still huddled around in a nervous fashion, like people observing either a train wreck or a predator from which prey could have no hope of escaping. Toshinori became aware of Izuku latching on to his arm more than he strictly felt it, the young man’s concern bleeding over into him and mixing with his own. He could feel Izuku’s natural empathy coming strong through the connection, something he’d only glimpsed the times before. There was something happening nearby, something that frightened and worried everyone; should he help? What could he even do? Should he stay out of the way? After all, they’d only just found each other, and to lose Toshinori now would be devastating; to be found out might be even worse! Izuku would hate himself if he ruined All Might’s career by causing a scandal, but he couldn’t just sit back if someone was in danger and, ahh, if only he had powers, if only he could do more than cling and be a burden to his soulmate and-- Oh, Toshinori thought. These were not his fears; they were Izuku’s. It was Izuku’s desire to help whoever might be in trouble, his desire and his desire and that was right, he wanted to help too. Of course he did. He was a hero, wasn’t he? There was only so worried he could be for his own safety and his reputation and Izuku shouldn’t worry either because it would be okay and I am here and it was amazing-- he really was the right one for him. The perfect soulmate, and maybe something more, but that was something he could think of later. The screams were louder now, and the worried murmurs too, and as an explosion shook the windows of a building half a block down they agreed they couldn’t turn away, not when there was a chance they could do something, anything. Even if there was no power left, it was still his duty, and he didn’t have to do this but yes he did. “You’re at your limit?” Izuku asked, glancing up at him through his fluffy bangs, concern bleeding out of him through more than just their physical connection. It couldn’t have been much more than a guess, but from his expression Toshinori could see that Izuku somehow knew it, like an intuition. 

He nodded. “Essentially,” he replied. He wasn’t sure how to explain it in detail, but hoped a more nuanced understanding of it would flow through their bond. “I always have a reserve amount, but it’s… not much.” Izuku seemed to get it. “Maybe we can just… go see, if there’s something we can do.” That seemed fair; that seemed like the least they could do. Maybe there was something, some way to help. Inspired by each other, they jogged over to the scene and the crowd surrounding whatever trainwreck was keeping their attention so strongly. Toshinori froze down to his veins when they saw what was the cause of the commotion. It was a mutant; the same mutant he was sure he’d captured just the other day. Yes, he’d been distracted by Izuku’s presence, but he distinctly remembered turning the water bottle full of sludge over to the police before absconding with his new soulmate up to the rooftop. Izuku’s arm brushed Toshinori’s as he stepped closer in a subconscious bid at safety. How had the mutant escaped? Was it perhaps a different man after all? A twin, or someone with the same quirk? Had Izuku done something wrong? Distracted All Might from his task and caused the villain to escape? Was it the police’s fault? He glanced down at Izuku, who glanced up at him, and Toshinori shook his head. It’s not your fault, he said wordlessly, or Don’t worry about all that. And Izuku nodded, back on track after a momentary lapse of focus. How and why the mutant was here was of little concern. They both turned back to the scene at hand. “Okay, stand back and I’ll try to handle this,” Toshinori said, looking down at Izuku in a way he hoped was reassuring, and knowing anyway that he didn’t have to; Izuku could feel his determination, and every little ounce of worry that things might not go as planned. It was a nuance that Toshinori had learned to deal with in his life, and it was something Izuku was going to have to deal with as well. (Though given the boy’s penchant for overthinking, perhaps it wouldn’t be that much of a trial after all.) “Do you have enough energy?” Izuku asked nervously, obviously not wanting… well, all the things that could go wrong if Toshinori ran out at the wrong time. Toshinori laughed in soft self-depreciation. “Probably not,” he admitted. “But I’ll do what I can. That’s what it means to be a hero, right?” With Izuku’s arm still brushing his, he could feel the boy’s admiration, and it doubled in him and gave rise to a heroic rush he didn’t think he’d felt for years. Still, he waited for the right moment. That was another thing about being a hero; you couldn’t rush in blindly (not with his level of experience, anyway). He watched as the mutant swung his head around, like a cornered animal watching viciously for its enemies, and he could just about guess when it was going to let its guard down. Almost… he thought, his muscles tensing in anticipation. But just as he was about to spring forward, he felt a twinge of panic from Izuku’s side of the connection. It was a spike of recognition. Kacchan! 

The roughest of drafts: 

Izuku freaks out and runs to try to rescue him and they're all surprised when he actually manages to do some slight damage to the mutant; it's not enough to defeat him, but enough to stun him into dropping Bakugo, at which point Toshi transforms and rushes to finish him off. Tl;dr, turns out that a very tiny amount of Toshi’s power has become available to Izuku. (Make some note of the pain aspect, Toshi feeling Izuku’s pain from using OfA.) 

Afterward, when Toshi is talking to reporters (and Izuku has managed to avoid at least a little of the reprimanding from canon, due to appearing to have some power) Izuku can feel the discomfort, Toshi’s power draining. Perhaps he plays the fan, comes to shake his hand as thanks for saving him and they're both a little surprised that it eases the discomfort, seems to give Toshi back a little strength. Izuku had just done it as an instinct, but in light of what had just happened with the power sharing, they're both very curious how this whole soulmate thing is going to work. 

Toshi excuses himself from the crowd before too long and goes to find Izuku. He finds him being confronted by Bakugo, who knows that something is strange but doesn't know what (and is upset like in canon about Izuku trying to help him). Toshi tries to stay out of sight until Bakugo runs off, feeling that Izuku is confident enough in his ability to handle this. When they rejoin, Izuku explains who Bakugo is. 

“[But enough about that.] Are you okay?” 

They join hands. Toshi can feel that Izuku is fine but still he says, “It's you I'm concerned about. Do you know what you did back there?”

“That was your quirk,” he said, and Toshi nodded.

“Some of it, at least. Is your arm okay?” 

Izuku stretched his arm out, wiggling his fingers. “It aches a little, but I'm okay. I'm just… I've never done anything like that before. It felt… kind of amazing.” 

Toshi could tell that it was a little more than an ache, but that Izuku wasn't lying. It really wasn't hurting him much, and he was really feeling exhilarated. He remembered feeling like that when he first took the quirk himself. 

Izuku’s side of the connection was curious and Toshi realized he could feel him thinking about his past. He debated with himself for a minute. Was this the right time to tell Izuku about his past? He would have to tell him some time, and there was no reason to wait. “I felt the same way the first time I used it,” he said. “When my mentor gave it to me. I was about your age.” 

The feeling of surprise that Izuku emanated was not as much of a shock as he expected, more of a warm melting feeling, a soft realization. “You were ...quirkless? Someone gave you your quirk? But how?” 

Toshi tells the story as they head back to the apartment, but they take a detour to sit somewhere and finish talking. (Way before this, Izuku texts his mom to tell her what happened and that they're fine and they'll be home in a while.) It's gotten dark by the time Toshi has finished telling of Nana and AfO and needing to pass OfA on, and they're sitting on a bench in a corner of a park or something. 

“It was just an idea before,” Toshi says, “but now I'm pretty sure it's the right one. Would you be willing to take it? One for All?” 

The surprise this time really is a shock, and it nearly knocks the breath out of him. “...Really?” 

“You can tell I'm serious,” Toshi says with a smirk, and then he nods. “Yes. Really. It's the only thing that makes sense.” 

He thinks of the reasons: he needs to pass it on, and Izuku wants a quirk, needs one to get into UA. And he's defenseless without one, a real danger with them together now. And he's already shown that he can handle it, at least a little. 

“Should I think about it?” Izuku asks, looking unsure. He's probably thinking about all the things they talked about with his mother earlier, trying to be careful. But Toshi can tell he really wants it, and that's enough for him. 

“If you want,” he says. “Take your time.” He knows that Izuku will say yes. (He's less sure if Inko will agree, but he knows that between the two of them, they can convince her.) 

He can feel Izuku trembling, and it's with excitement he thinks. “Thank you,” Izuku says, almost breathlessly, and he leans forward and kisses Toshi, softly and quickly, and then looks him in the eyes for a short moment, twists his body in his direction more and leans in for another kiss. This one is a little deeper, lingering, not obscene but less than entirely chaste and Toshi can feel so so much through it, especially as he allows himself to kiss back. They don't take it far; Toshi can feel that Izuku knows there are boundaries, though Toshi is nervous about himself, unsure if he would be able to keep himself from crossing them, to stop when it was time. He's a bit anxious, but he's glad Izuku is reasonable, and he's excited and he's happy and they're melting into each other even though they've stopped kissing and it is finally Izuku who speaks up to interrupt them getting stuck in their twofold thoughts. 

“I should get home. I have to tell my mom about all this. Am I… Can I tell her? About OfA?” 

Toshi nods. “It's a big part of all of this. I guess she should know. And that'll give you a chance to talk it over with her. Decide if you want it.” 

‘I do want it,’ he could tell Izuku was thinking, although maybe not in so many words. Izuku was trying to be patient and make smart decisions. He was doing his best to be worthy of being Toshi’s soulmate, and Toshi was overcome with affection for him. He hugged him close, and even more than the kissing, that was the most they'd ever felt, the most contact they'd ever made. It was less electric than kissing, but like an overblown, overexposed photo. They stayed there like that for a little while before they silently agreed to get up and go back. 

The end of chapter 3, more or less. 

Chapter four. 

Izuku took a week to act like he was thinking about it, but in truth he'd decided almost immediately, and convinced his mom that it was a good idea (or that she should let him do it at least) on that first night, after Toshi had walked him home and said goodbye. 

“Izuku! I saw on the news about that mutant attack! You're really alright? And Toshinori, and Katsuki?” 

“We're fine mom! Toshinori saved us. But…” A pause. “With dad, have you ever… accidentally used his quirk before?” 

She raised an eyebrow at him, looking a little worried. “I can feel when he's using it, but i've never breathed fire myself.” 

Yeah, it wasn't anything he'd ever heard of before. Maybe it was because most people's quirks weren't that strong. Maybe it was because he was quirkless. Maybe… well there were a lot of reasons it could be. It didn't matter that much why; it had happened, and they'd both felt it. 

“I used it. All Might’s power.  Just a little bit of it.”

“Are you okay?” 

He said he was fine, he thought, but Inko was skeptical. She remembered some times when he was younger, when he thought an injury was less serious than it was. She convinced him to go to the doctor tomorrow and he agreed, dismissively as he was so invested in telling her about Toshinori’s offer. She's a bit nervous about the idea but it doesn't take long for her to give in. 

At the doctor's tomorrow (maybe only mentioned, not a scene) it turns out that Izuku did in fact fracture a bone in his arm. (Is a cast needed for that? Probably not.) 

Later that afternoon, Toshinori texted him and asked if he was okay; his arm felt a little off. Izuku responds casually that it was just a fracture and he's fine, and Toshi fusses over him a little, apologizes for putting him in that situation. Izuku really is not bothered by it. Toshi doesn't ask if Izuku has decided and Izuku wonders if he's changed his mind. A week later, he says that he's decided to take OfA, if he's still offering it, and Toshi says that he'd be happy to give it to him, if he's really sure. But! There's no way Izuku is going to be able to handle it in his current state. They begin to train (though not until Izuku’s fracture heals). In the meantime, Izuku continues school, and Toshi continues work, and they see each roughly every weekend. Sometimes they'll meet out for lunch or sometimes Inko invites Toshi over for dinner. 

(Cover some catch up. Mention Suzuki being annoyed about the edits to the paperwork etc)

It's a few weeks before they start to train, but of course it's much less covert than in canon. Inko knows exactly where they're going; Toshi has discussed it with them over dinners and such. He doesn't tell them that his plan is for Izuku to clean up the trash on the beach until they get there though. 

The next several months are a more efficient training than canon. After Toshi is pretty sure Izuku has grown strong enough, they try the power-share again, and Izuku is able to start using the very tiny percentage of OfA, sometimes. It works if he's recently been in physical contact with Toshi, and fades after a minute or two. It's not enough to do anything very heroic, but it is a significant boost to Izuku’s natural strength, allowing him to move items several times his normal weight limit. 

(They also find that Izuku can actually use a version of OfA that is more than twice as powerful as his tiny version, only if Toshi is currently in contact with him. However, Izuku hurt himself the first time they did that, so they avoid it until much later.) 

They still don't have a perfect grasp on Izuku’s ability to handle it by the time they transfer it to him, but it's better than canon, and they do it earlier so he has more chance to practice. He has at least some ability to use it at half-power before the entrance exam (chapter 5). The only reason he hurts himself so badly there is because he freaked out and wasn't careful. 

Training is pretty fun for them. It's more like play than in canon, with Izuku showing off, carrying Toshi around, silly stuff like that. He's moderately less concerned about being a hero, mostly because Toshi is so constantly encouraging so he doesn't worry about it. And he knows that even if he doesn't make it somehow, he's still got Toshi and nothing can take that away. 

Aside from training, they still spend a good amount of time together. Events and holidays and such. Izuku meets Suzuki. Toshi invites Izuku (and probably Inko) to his place once or twice, though they still spend most of their time out or at the Midoriyas’ apartment. Inko politely requests that they not stay at Toshi’s place. (She isn't /too concerned, but she just wants them to know that she has some kind of expectations about how they'll handle their relationship. She half expects Izuku to go behind her back in some of those regards.) 

Izuku has his 15th birthday not long after they start training (might have to look this one up) or thereabouts. He has mixed emotions about this, and about inviting Toshi to his ‘party’ (probably just a fancy-ish dinner with his mother (maybe dad too?) Since he doesn't have any friends). He wants Toshi there, of course, but he's somewhat embarrassed about still being only 15, and doesn't want to draw attention to it. On the other hand, he's also excited to be getting older, closer and closer to the age that it would be appropriate for he and Toshi to act however they liked. (This birthday scene goes in early middle of chapter.) 

More holidays: Christmas, new years, Valentine's day. Maybe just slight mentions of those. 

Chapter ends when Toshi wishes Izuku luck at the entrance exam. He kisses him and Izuku is a little shocked because Toshi is rarely if ever the one to initiate that sort of thing. He heads to the exam, excited and confident. 

Chapter 5. 

Toshi heads to UA (potentially along with Izuku), and goes to watch the exam with his fellow teachers. He's met them several times and they know about his injury and resting form, but only Nedzu knows that Izuku is his soul mate. Most of the others are familiar enough with him to know that he doesn't have one, and many assume that he's one of the few who will never have one. 

When the exam starts though, they might be able to tell that he is on edge, excited but nervous. However, they are all focused as well. It's not until Izuku smashes the robot (and everyone is shocked) and Toshi reacts to the pain that they notice the connection between them. He's not incapacitated (like Izuku is) but he is distressed and in pain and having to deal with the commotion from the other teachers. (Choose one teacher to perhaps help him out.) 

As soon as he's able, he goes to Izuku. (At some point he calls Inko to let her know what's happened, and she's worried and upset and he has to talk her down until she realizes that he's upset too.) In the infirmary, Izuku is knocked out, which Toshi already knew, could tell because the pain subsided very quickly. Chiyo looks up when he comes in, obviously connecting the dots. 

“He made quite a mess of himself,” she tells him, pulling up a chair next to Izuku’s bed for him. She tells him the details of what Izuku broke.  “But he'll recover.” 

“Thank you,” Toshi says, reaching out to carefully run his hands over Izuku’s arm, laying his hand on the side of his face, thinking about if this was a good idea, etc. 

Eventually, Izuku wakes up and they talk. A few people might come by in the meantime. Izuku is eventually clear to go home. Toshi takes him. Izuku asks if he passed, knowing that Toshi was there, and all Toshi can say is that he thought he did a good job, but he doesn't know for sure. (He later finds out that Izuku scored quite well, but refrains from telling him, letting Izuku get the letter from the school.) 

He gets a phone call from Izuku after the letters have gone out, and he can feel a sense of excitement even before he picks up. Izuku is crying on the other end. “Why didn't you tell me I made it?!” But he is obviously extremely happy.

Out on patrol or something, Toshi can't stop grinning for the rest of the day. When someone asks him, he just says that he's excited for new opportunities. 

Chapter 6

Izuku and Toshi both begin at UA. Izuku has already made friends with a few people from the exam, and of course he knows Bakugo. Bakugo is extra suspicious of him, confused about how he's got a quirk suddenly, and knowing that he's been acting strange the whole past year. He might even suspect that they're both related to izuku’s soul mate, considering the timing. 

School is, of course, plenty for them to focus on, but izuku and Toshi are still very focused on each other as well. Toshi treats izuku much the same as in canon, inviting him for lunch and etc, “playing favorites”. But since the other teachers know they're soulmates (at least, some do?) they don't criticize him quite as much for it. 

Toshi and izuku continue to progress in their relationship, lightly, balancing their personal and professional relationships. They act very casual around each other and have to be careful not to be too casual in front of the class. 

Izuku makes friends, which is sort of new for him. He loves them and wants to be open with them about his situation, but he can't. He's thought about telling, but he knows he can't break the rules they set. It's harder when perhaps the rumor (true rumor? What do you call that?) goes around about how he was affected by the soul link pain when he was little. He can easily tell his friends that it's not bad anymore, but it's hard having to pretend he doesn't know who it is. (Also may have to decide about sub-pairings? Otherwise it will be very hard for any of the other students to talk about their experiences. If they had mates in the class (like most ships) they would likely find out very quickly.) 

Most people won't immediately assume it's All Might, even if they spend a lot of time together. 

Key point: they hone their energy sharing, as Toshi becomes a bit exhausted some days. Simply being in contact for a while (lunch or something) acts as a recharge for him. When the other staff figure this out, they're much more accepting of izuku hanging out in the staff lounge. 

(Need to rewatch to see what the first few weeks are like.) 

Maybe include some scenes with Inko.

Chapter 7

This is the USJ incident. Toshi gets caught up in work and is late to help at USJ, but less late than in canon because he feels/hears Izuku crying out for him. Don't have to describe most of the USJ events because it's from Toshi POV, but have to decide when he gets there and if it all goes more smoothly. 

The way that Toshi and izuku act towards each other (calling by their first names, extreme familiarity and working together) is what starts to tip off some of the students, though it's not relevant at the time. 

The encounter is a little easier this time, with the power-share (this is probably the first time they try it out seriously) and the desperation to save each other (and the others) echoing between them. 

Any character who takes notice of their bond and quirk in canon is likely to notice the soul link instead. 

After the incident, emotions are running high. This was the first time they were honestly scared of losing each other. They want to hold each other for a very long time. Perhaps they are seen by some of the students (who maybe chalk it up to generic relief over the situation, but would definitely file it away for later). Later, they still don't want to let each other go, and perhaps spend their first night together (not necessarily sexual or anything), Inko having not allowed them to do so before. 

Emotional wrap-up; they're scared but calmed by each other's presence. They know they can handle the future together. 

END? (of this particular story, probably)  Brainstorming, notes, and ideas for further fics in the series 

And the notes below:  (my shorthand for the characters is IM = Izuku Midoriya, AM= All Might, IMmom = Inko (not shorthand in that case I know lol, I think I didn’t want people reading over my shoulder)) >>>"Touch" sequel

A lot of people actually expressed an interest in this, so let me jot down my ideas-- as well as their ideas. 

AM and IM have met, and now keep in touch. How has this changed their lives? Well now whenever they feel a strange pain, they'll call or text each other to make sure they're okay. They're both aware of what their relationship would be, if IM was older, and so is his mom, and so is pretty much everyone else that knows. In fact, most people assume that they're 'together' anyway, and it causes some tension. They try to keep it mostly under wraps, but it's nearly impossible. IM's friends and classmates are sure to notice, and AM's manager thinks maybe they should just come out with it. For their part, IM and AM just want to enjoy each others' presence and keep their moral concerns personal. IM is of course more brave (between the two of them), while AM knows he's 'supposed' to refrain. In public, they're both very good about it. 

Some time in the future, after they've really adjusted to each other, and the drama (at least from their friends and family) has died down, they take to being heroes together, as they at some point realize how much more receptive they are when they're together/touching. 

Questions! : 

--Does IM still get OfA? (I'm leaning towards yes? Most of the rest of the story wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t.) 

--How do friends/family react? Some people are jealous? BK particularly? IMmom is as supportive as possible, but she still worries for IM. As time goes on, if IM get OfA, she worries for AM too. (What about AM's cop friend?? I dunno, haven't thought about him much.) 

--How do media/people react? Manager wants to tell, because he knows people will find out and it's better to come out with it before they do. But AMIM want to stay private. Perhaps at the tournament, it is no longer possible to avoid media attention. Someone notices AM's discomfort when IM fights TS, notices IM look to the stands for AM before doing something reckless. When they find out, it's all anyone wants to talk about. AM's thin form becomes very useful for avoiding the media. 

--Perhaps around then, IM is kidnapped to be used against AM? 

--When things are calm, AMIM often text each other just to talk-- sometimes in the night. "I miss you" IM texts. "Is that what you were thinking of?" AM asks, aware that IM is awake and wound up, and winding him up too. This is before they've really worked out how things are supposed to go between them. IM is bold; AM is holding himself back.

-- IM goes to UA, begins to use quirk. -- AMIM work harder at managing IM’s abilities than in canon, because its effects are more obvious on them. -- AM starts at UA as a teacher; AMIM have to hide their link. IM has not told anyone. AM had to tell the staff. -- When the villains attack, AM gets there sooner, as he’s tipped off by their link. Things happen about the same. -- (Should I bother to include that part if nothing is significantly different? Leaning towards no. Maybe just touch on it.) -- At the tournament, that’s when people take notice of AMIM’s link. (IM’s friends have already begun to notice.) -- After that, it’s all anybody wants to talk about. AMIM are in the spotlight, though UA tries to protect them. -- The media begins to gossip about them, some piecing the puzzle together about their quirks. Some guess that IM is AM’s son (and has inherited his quirk). (It’s not unheard of for family to be platonic soulmates.) -- Manager makes them come out with an official statement finally, despite their reluctance. -- IM receives many invitations to intern with heroes. For safety’s sake, they turn them all down, except Torino. -- IM goes to train with Torino, covertly, while AM stays behind to deal with the PR mess. -- Things happen about as usual. Maybe only touch on this part as well? Not super relevant to the AU. -- IM thinks about AM during the fight with HK, and AM wants to get to him, knowing something is wrong, but knows he won’t make it in time. (Remember, “Touch” was 3rd person limited-omniscient. POV can be from IM, AM, and other relevant characters.) -- Would AM be allowed to test IM during the midterms? Maybe gloss over that part. Especially towards the end of Season 2, go more vaguely into the ending, to avoid making it obvious that you have no idea what happens after that. XD; Isolate the emotional core of the story (the emotional drama or problem) to solve in the final scenes, even if it avoids canon entirely. That’s preferable, in fact. Points to write, unrelated to canon occurrences: : -- AMIM want to spend a lot of time together, but they must balance their responsibilities. IMmom is pretty understanding and allows them a lot of freedom. -- Manager (needs name) is less understanding, hounds them to release a press statement. -- Most of their time together is spent in private or secluded places. Obvs, they frequent the beach for training. -- They often text and talk to each other on the phone, nightly if they haven’t seen each other. -- AM is still struggling a little bit with the fact that IM is so young, but he’s impressed by IM’s emotional maturity. -- IM is over the moon about AM, not enduring nearly the moral struggle AM is. He’s not an idiot, and he’s not oblivious, but he doesn’t think that there’s anything particularly wrong with them messing around a little. He’s considerate enough not to wind AM up when he’s busy or they’re in public, although sometimes he can’t help how he feels. (Being ‘turned on’ isn’t really strong enough of a feeling to cross the link; only acting on it is.) -- For his part, AM (at first, at least) tries not to touch himself, or at least only when he thinks IM is sleeping. Eventually they come to the conclusion that that’s not working out well-- and the most logical way to handle it, so as not to inconvenience either of them, is to go at the same time/ at set times. -- That is the most AM allows them to do (hugging/cuddling is totally fine, limited kissing is okay), and even that seems like too much to him, but he compromises with himself because he knows it would be worse if he didn’t. (It’s not as if he’s going to convince a 16-year-old to stop touching himself for 2+ years, and though his own urges are less frequent, it’s been uncomfortable trying to hold back entirely.) He doesn’t allow them to touch each other, and IM is actually pretty okay with this. Well, he respects it, at least. He’s just happy to have AM in whatever capacity he can. Some notes regarding the universe: -- laws regarding consent ages are a bit more lax, given the soulmate thing. AMIM would be more-or-less within their right to do whatever they want with each other, as long as IMmom is okay with it. And even if she weren’t, they could apply to be married, even at IM’s young age, by passing a test that proves they’re soulmates.(I don't think they'll do this. Manager would have a heart attack. ...then again, maybe he'd like the idea…) -- however, there is still certainly a stigma about age-difference relationships, particularly where one party is underage. 

Story 1 plot points to mention our resolve:

-- telling IM that his mom already knew

-- AM coming to terms with IM being a fan

-- AM telling IM his real name

-- AM telling manager about IM immediately. (Might be a good point to start with.) 

To time skip or not to time skip? I'm leaning towards not. New outline, after I've written a bit. 

1. AM talks to manager, Suzuki, and tells him about the whole situation, almost entirely honest. They decide to keep it a secret until AM has a successor. (AM POV) 

2. AMIM go on a date, where they talk about both applying to UA. IM wonders what AM is not telling him. They hold hands. AM brings up the paperwork Suzuki wants them to sign, and IM agrees. (IM POV) 

3. AM sees something that convinces him to offer OFA to IM. (AM POV) 

4. IM begins to train for OfA. (IM POV) 

5. IM goes to UA entrance exam. (AM POV) 

6. They begin at UA, and try to figure out how to act around each other, after they've had so much private time over the past months. (IM POV) 

7. The villains attack UA, AMIM touch-team to beat them, and people start to really put their relationship together. (AM POV)

END S1. Ugh how did this get so long that I have to separate it by season?! 

Touch2 titles:

Some related words: Touch, feel, sense, sensation, emotion, Touch, touched, touching, touches, touchstone, touch-tone, aftertouch, finishing touch, retouch, out of touch, in touch, untouched, Touched can mean: physically touched (he touched my arm), lightly mentioned (he touched upon the issue), emotionally moved (he was touched by the story), brought together metaphorically (their lives touched), affected (his life was touched by his decisions) Touch, taste, smell, see, hear

Leaning towards using other ‘touch’ words for different parts of overall story. 

Touch - original story

Retouch(ed) - this story 

Touch-up - maybe the next part

Finishing touch - the last story (though there might be another in between) 

Untouchable - first nsfw side story, before izuku is of age, on the phone with each other, feeling the echoes of their actions. 

Untouched - second nsfw side story, when izuku comes of age and they finally get together physically. 

Aftertouch - epilogue (years in future, maybe, working together) 

In touch - side stories taking place in the timeline of the story

Out of touch - side stories taking place before or after story, or from different character's point of view or about different characters. 

Chapter quotes:  Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity. 

-Edwin Hubbell Chapin (Chapter 1, Retouch) The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. 

-Helen Keller The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating. 

-Pearl Buck Aim for your star, no matter how far, you must reach high above and touch your life with love, you must never look back, but charge on! Attack! See your goal your star of desire, see it red hot, feel it burning, you must be obsessed with it to make it your true yearning, be ready my friends for when you truly believe it, you will certainly achieve it and by all of God’s universal laws you will always receive it! 

-Bob Smith We do not do well except when we know where the best is and when we are assured that we have touched it and hold its power within us. (lol god this one is awfully literal) 

-Joseph Joubert If you can learn from hard knocks, you can also learn from soft touches. 

-Carolyn Kenmore, Mannequin: My Life as a Model When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. 

-Henri Nouwen And that’s everything I’ve got about Touch/Retouch! I might clean up that third chapter and post it some day, but *shrug*. 

#elo fics #Dekumight #long post

[justasparkwritings]

Illicit Affairs: Beautiful Rooms Pt. 3

Previous: Beautiful Rooms Pt. 2 

Pairings: Namjoon & Reader (Barely)

Genre: Angst, Slice of Life

Ratings: PG15

Word Count: 2.1K

Warnings: Therapy and Swearing, Lots of Reminiscing 

Summary: Under the guidance of Dr. Aarons, Jungkook and Namjoon work to rebuild their relationship. 

Listen: illicit affairs by Taylor Swift

          “Let’s debrief,” Dr. Aarons sits gently in her chair, hair grown out a little, the new length carefully tossed over her shoulder. She adjusts the pen in her hand and consults the list in her notebook. “We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last few weeks, but there’s one piece we haven’t discussed.”

           “What is that?” Namjoon asks.

           “There’s a new stipulation in Jungkook’s contract that says he can date, I understand, similar to yours, it was a consolation prize,”

           “Mm, when the lawyers and I renegotiated the contracts, it seemed fair that he get something special in return,” Namjoon answers.

           “Jungkook, how do you feel about it?”

           “About dating?”

           “Yes, with all you’ve been through, bringing another person into your life?”

           “I feel, scared,”

           “Can you explain that?”

           “Scared that all of the trauma is going to come back, scared I’m not enough, scared I can’t love someone,”

           “Why do you think that?” Namjoon asks.

           “You don’t get it, do you?” Jungkook’s earnestness slips through his syllables.

           “What don’t I get?”

           “Joon, I’ve spent nearly a decade thinking that Big Hit loves me because I work myself to the bone, because I damage my body and push it past its limits. Love costs,”

           “No it doesn’t,”

           “Your love cost,”

           “No,” Namjoon shakes his head. In the nearly two months they’ve spent in this room with Dr. Aarons, Namjoon has had his share of epiphanies. This, this is new and horrifying.

           “Yes,”

           “I,” Namjoon lunges at Jungkook, a foreign behavior that results in Dr. Aarons gasping. But he doesn’t fight him, he pulls him in, hugging him fiercely. “It doesn’t, it doesn’t Jungkook, there is no price to my love, I swear.”

           “This is the last hurdle I want us to discuss before the rest of the members arrive this week.”

           “Okay,” Namjoon sits back in his spot, leaving Jungkook’s arms empty.

           “We have to separate the idea that the actions you carried out aren’t related to love,”

           “How do we do that?”

           “Jungkook, you’ve made a list of memorable moments with Namjoon, both positive and hurtful, we’re going to work through them to separate the different emotions during those moments. Sound good?”

           “Yes,” The men reply.

           Dr. Aaron’s projects a table on the empty wall to their right, a natural screen. Namjoon stares at the T-Chart and reads over the first event.

           “Jungkook, why don’t you read the first one?”

            “Namjoon asks for a hug on stage,” Jungkook reads.

           “Why did you bring this memory to us?”

           “It’s always stuck in my mind,”

           “Can you elaborate on why?” Dr. Aarons smiles at the blush on Jungkook’s cheeks, before she turns to Namjoon. “Namjoon, what do you remember of that day?”

           “That was, what, Love Yourself World tour? Yeah, I was just feeling so emotional, we were in Seoul before going to the US to play stadiums. It was all so overwhelming, to start in our hometown, to be there, as Bangtan with all we’d been through.”

           “Jungkook, why did this stand out to you?”

           “Namjoon-hyung isn’t one for physical affection, he’s not like Hobi-hyung or Jimin-hyung, he doesn’t walk around with a free hug sign… it was so special that he wanted to share that with me, with all of us on stage in front of everyone.”

           “Was that moment pure love, or calculated action?” Dr. Aarons inquires.

           “Pure love,” The men answer in unison.

           “Let’s look at the next one.”

           “Preparation for Billboard awards,” Jungkook reads.

           “Which time?” Namjoon asks.

           “2018,” Jungkook specifies.

           “Oh, Fake Love era,” He nods his head, mind already racing through the string of events that made that year nearly unbearable.

           “Yes,”

           “Granted, we are only on the second event, but 2018 seems to have been one hell of a year. What was going on behind the scenes?”

           The thing about being a therapist is that you always know more than your clients think. Particularly when they’re famous, and Billboard has created detailed lists of their accomplishments for the last few years, you tend to be clued in when a high-profile individual waltzes through your doors. Dr. Aarons had never worked with an idol of such status and power as Jungkook and Namjoon, and eventually OT7. So, to prepare, she naturally went in to read the facts. The lists of accomplishments, itemized by year, proved indelible to her work with them. She felt prepared when Jungkook walked into her office, and through their dedicated time each day, she learned more and more. Dr. Aarons could see in that first meeting how damaged his psyche was, she could see the betrayal and confusion, the years of misuse of his body, the systems woven into his DNA that he was going to have to relearn. But she also saw the drive, the hope, the soul in his midnight irises. Now, watching him interact with Namjoon, she was beginning to feel proud of all the progress he’s made.

           “We were practicing nonstop,” Jungkook’s voice pulls her back.

           Namjoon nods, “We were all falling apart.”

           Dr. Aarons hums thoughtlessly, an empty gesture to the two whose minds are reliving the hell from that year. “This is when you considered breaking up?”

           “Disbanding, yeah,” Namjoon nods again. “We met and talked about it, a lot. It was hard navigating the pressure of becoming a more global group and the pressures of the Korean music industry.”

           “Hobi-hyung and Jimin-hyung released solo stuff, too,” Jungkook adds

           “I did too,” Namjoon reminds him. “It was a busy year with a lot of promotions and changes, so many music videos, we played the Tokyo Dome,”

           “Mic Drop Remix came out, and we had a song go platinum for the first time,”

           “We started to win big at MNET and MAMA awards,”

           “Wasn’t that the first time we were in Time Magazine?”

           “Mm, the world voted us person of the year,” Namjoon remembers receiving the news, they had been ecstatic.

           “But you wanted to disband?” Dr. Aarons wonders. “Why?”

           “All that success was overwhelming,” Jungkook answers.

           “Jungkook, you’re an introvert?”

           “Yes,”

           “I can imagine the toll that took on you, and still does, finding time to rest and recharge,” Dr. Aarons has had this conversation with him before, the need to manage his introverted personality, how he controls his body and the world around him. The tattoos, the piercings, the hair dying. All symptoms. All things she wasn’t sure Namjoon had realized.

           “I guess I thought exercise was a way to manage it,” He shrugs.

           “Jungkook, what stands out to you about Namjoon at this time?”

           “He was the reason I joined, the promises he made. We were together wondering if it was worth it and I just felt like I’d sacrificed so much, my body was breaking, and he was sitting there wondering if we should quit.”

           “Mm, did you feel betrayed?”

           “Yes, by him,”

           “What about the other members?”

           “They didn’t see it that way, Namjoon-hyung didn’t promise them what he promised me,”

           “You were feeling betrayed by him, and working your body to the max with minimal success,”

           “Yes,”

           “Namjoon, how were you feeling?”

           “I felt like we were gaining success but at what cost?”

           “That cost was me,” Jungkook says. “It’s always been me.”

           “Jungkook,”

           “Namjoon, we’ve been working on this, but there’s still a disconnect.”

           “I don’t know how to make him understand what I was going through too,”

           “Mm, Jungkook?”

           “Ttaeron naui sum makhil ttaemyeon / Mojal nulleosseugo gyesok dallyeo” Jungkook replies.

           “I know,”

           “You don’t, you never will. You got love, you got a career, you got a life, you got it all.” Jungkook whispers.

           “Was 2018, specifically the lead up to the Fake Love performance love, or calculated action?” Dr. Aarons presses.

           “Both,” Jungkook answers.

           “Elaborate,” She requests.

           “Namjoon-hyung wanted to walk away because he loved us, he respected us, he wanted us to be happy. But pushing me in rehearsals and building me up by complimenting the results was calculated. The lies he told were planned. He knew what he was doing to me.”

           “Namjoon, do you think that’s a fair assessment?”

           “Yes. You were also working out so much because you had to lift your shirt every time, we did that stupid song,” Namjoon sits back, the air in his lungs deflating.

           “Who decided that?” Dr. Aarons asks. “It’s something I’ve wondered about.”

           “Choreographer,” They answer.

           “Could it have been a calculated move?”

           “Maybe,” Jungkook answers. Namjoon sits silently, staring at his hands. His silence tells Dr. Aarons everything she needs to know, it was.

           “Hmm, alright next,”

           “Bangtan performing Ddaeng together,” Jungkook reads.

           “Tell me about that,”

           “We had two concerts, like a showcase, and OT7 decided we wanted to perform Ddaeng together. We divided the vocal line, Hoseok took Jimin and Seokjin, Yoongi took Taehyung, and I had Jungkook. We rehearsed and then performed together,” Namjoon explains.

           “What was special about this?”

           “We never perform rap line songs with the rap line. It was a surprise to the fans, and something we all really wanted to do. Namjoon and I have always been close, and he let me really take the verse and make it mine for those performances,”

           “Namjoon, why did you pick Jungkook?”

           “I didn’t, it was just, decided,”

           “Hobi-hyung took Jimin and Jin because they were the least experienced with rapping, and were happier to split a verse than have their own.”

           “Taehyung wanted Yoongi’s verse, desperately wanted it.”

           “I would’ve been happy with either, but I guess, I’ll take any opportunity to work with Joon-hyung,”

           “How was rehearsing?”

           “Really fun,” Jungkook says. “It was the most fun I’ve had in rehearsal, maybe ever,”

           “It was thrilling to watch him take on this song, my verse and make it his own. Our styles are very different. It was fun to watch him play with it, make it his,”

           “You still rapped parts of it with him,”

           “We took turns at the beginning of the verse,” Jungkook answers. “Then I did the rest.”

           “Love, or calculated?”

           “Love,” Namjoon answers.

           “Was it?” Jungkook asks.

           “You think it would be calculated?” Namjoon asks.

           “Show me how I could do more than just sing, push me to explore different parts of my job, continue my drive. Could’ve been calculated,”

           “But you didn’t get into rapping at that point, you haven’t yet,”

           “True,”

           “From what I’m hearing, it sounds like love,” Dr. Aarons decides. “You two have come a long way in the last two months. I’m excited to talk to the other members and work through a few items with them too. How are you feeling about them coming?”

           “I’m excited,” Jungkook tells her. “I haven’t seen them in a while, I miss them.”

           “I’m happy we’ll get to work through this, though, very nervous,” Namjoon answers.

           “Good. All things to take into consideration as we ready our minds for our meeting.”

           Dr. Aarons bids the men adieu, and as they exit into the LA sun, Namjoon turns to Jungkook.

           “You’ve come a long way,” Namjoon compliments.

           “So have you,” Jungkook responds.

           “Do you want to get dinner later?” Namjoon inquires, eyes hopeful. They haven’t had many 1-1 moments, a few work activities together, some studio time and lyric sessions, but limited social time. At first Joon hated it, but after meeting with Dr. Aarons a few times outside of their group work, he came to realize how important it was for each of them to be apart, separated during their therapy.

           “I can’t, but maybe we can get coffee tomorrow before the guys show up?” Jungkook offers. It’s a consolidation prize, Namjoon can see it in the way he shrinks himself in the sunshine.

           “Sounds good, I’m moving into a bigger place with them, are you coming too?” Namjoon inquires.

           “No, I’m staying in mine. Dr. Aarons’ wants me to slowly transition back to work,” Jungkook informs him.

           “That’s a good plan,” Namjoon nods, sunglasses masking the disappointment in his eyes.

           “Yeah, so coffee, tomorrow?”

           Namjoon nods, “Eight?”

           “Sounds good,” Jungkook waves at Namjoon before turning and going his own way.

           Jungkook has plans, plans that he’s sure will go from dinner through the evening until early morning when his new love has to go to work. It’s new, a few weeks old, but feels like being on stage: familiar, comfortable, challenging, exhilarating, home. Jungkook’s only told Dr. Aarons about it, and she’s given him cautious advice. He had asked Dr. Aarons if this was a good idea, a relationship, dating at all… potentially his first real relationship with someone who looked at him like, like no one had before. It was something that was just his, in his heart, to be shared with her and only her.

           So maybe he was ditching and lying to Namjoon, but after nearly a decade, isn’t it time?

Next: Beautiful Rooms Pt. 4

#houseofddaeng #club jimin #kim namjoon #kim taehyung #kim seokjin #min yoongi #Jung HoSeok #jeon jungkook #park jimin #BTS fanfic #kim namjoon angst #kim namjoon / rm #jungkook fanfic #illicit affairs #folklore #therapy #reminiscinng #namkook #namkook moments #best friends #love #family #fake love era #fake love #amas #ficswithluv #btsgoldnet

[masterthespianduchovny]

Honestly, I don't understand what some GA supporters, Gillovny haters and David haters, which I believe are mixed groups, against David and a friendship, albeit at a distance and occasionally with Gillian. At SM, the haters draw him as if he were the same arrogant actor who was portrayed in the 90s, who didn't have a friendly off-screen relationship with Gillian (hello, they are both very introverted and worked 17 hours together. How much could they handle this work overload? (to be continued..)

 Are these followers afraid that GA is getting involved with a "rapist/misogynist", just because his have a relationship with a 27-years-old girl? Why did David write about incest is his last book? Why did he say that he wouldn't like to with Gillian on anything but The X Files? Why was he openly a sex addict? And this arguments being based entirely on facts and gossip from 15/20 /25 years ago?

People draw David as if he were a maniac who can attack Gillian at any time, and that she doesn't know his true nature, so he has a relationship. It's amazing how people make assumptions based on the past things and don't even bother to keep up with what they're doing today. And even worse: they think they can govern your personal lives. I saw it from Gillovnys in the past, and now i see it in these groups.

I read these anons earlier and spent some time thinking about your remarks and the larger implications of certain accusations and DD/GA’s relationship. This response way longer than I intended, but like I said, I spend some time thinking about your comments. And when I say it’s long, I mean it’s long.

Anti’s alleged issues with DD is a combination of things: misogyny, sexism, homophobia, pedophilia, and being friends with an alleged sex trafficker.

David has said some homophobic, misogynistic, and sexist remarks. It’s one of those things that, although a handful of people knew better, his views were “normal” back then. This isn’t to excuse David, but rather, provide context. Because there’s problematic shit and beliefs from 10 and even 5 years ago. The question I ask myself is: has David unpacked these beliefs? Is he learning and growing?

The fact that they have to dig into shit from the 90s to find shit on him says A LOT. Maybe he’s learned to keep those views to himself OR maybe he realized that some of his beliefs were fucked up and left them in the past. I’m not saying that no one can’t be upset about what he said or even dislike him now because of it. However, I don’t think people who genuinely dislike him are sending hate anons to people because they like him.

I really don’t like talking about the pedophilia and him “knowing” he’s friends with a sex trafficker accusations because, even when accusations are proven to be false, someone will believe there's truth to them. It taints a person and that's generally speaking. The reason I’m addressing them now and with you is because I want to be transparent about what’s going on with Antis and my issues with them. I don’t want to be accused of bias or protecting DD because I’m “hiding” the truth.

This man in Hollywood accused David of being sexually inappropriate with a minor who later became his wife. Apparently, this happened in David’s trailer during the original run of the X-Files and was well known on set. This revelation occurred during the Me Too era, like when accusations were hot and took just about everyone accused of impropriety down. For reference, Harvey Weinstein, a powerful producer with more money and influence, was taken down. Louis CK, well respected before his victims came out. Pre Me Too: Bill Cosby. Aziz Ansari. Hell, even some of the faces of the movement were taken down.

So, this Hollywood dude claimed on twitter that David was touching on a minor while at work and EVERYONE on set knew, but somehow this story never caught on. Virtually no media outlets picked this up. And this accusation is worse than the Aziz accusation and he was torn to shreds as his career took a hit. But David can be accused of this horrendous thing and no one reacts to it??? Apparently, he must have better lawyers than Harvey, Louis, etc because the rumors never even took flight. AND, I believe the thread is still up too. Not even crazed right wingers or pizza gate fanatics were interested in this story. However, since David is involved with a significantly younger woman this means that that rumor is true. 

The thing is: there’s implications to this accusation that the antis didn’t think of and they got mad at me and others about it.

They said that Gillian hated David, didn't talk to him, and ignored him as much as she could because she knew about all of this. So, I asked, “If she knew David was a predator, why did she keep working with him? If you argue it was due to contract reasons, why did she work with him on IWTB and Seasons 10 and 11? Why didn’t she report him?”

Me and others were accused of holding women accountable for mens’ actions. But that still doesn’t answer the question, right? If Gillian hated David because he’s a predator, why did she still work with him? Her “hate” was supposed to be “proof” that he was morally corrupt. Since Gillian “hated” David, we’re supposed to hate David.

Another layer: David’s friends with a guy who allegedly is a sex trafficker, which to Antis mean that David knows and is okay with this. They’re friends, how could he not know???

This is important to note because they switch between Gillian knowing David is a “predator” and not knowing depending on the argument. So, when they swore up and down that she hated him, Gillian “knew.” Now that Gillian and David confirmed they are friends in some capacity, “just because she’s friends with him doesn’t mean she knows everything about him.”

Interesting, right?

They used examples of Harvey Weinstein and Ted Bundy to prove how someone can hide despicable acts after swearing up and down Gillian KNEW, which is why they weren’t friends. And, if you’re thinking...well what about David’s friend who allegedly is a sex trafficker, wouldn’t the same logic apply to him?

BINGO.

There are a million excuses and justifications when you apply their logic to Gillian, but they never give David the benefit of the doubt. They never critically examine any information they’re given if it paints David in a bad light. Then they put their heads in the sand if this info implicates Gillian. And the sad part is that I can go on a longer rant tearing their accusations apart.

There isn’t any consistency from Antis. I’d respect them if they’d dropped Gillian because she’s friends with the “predator” they hate. But no, their stance and justification changes so she's always in a good light.

You see how low they're willing to stoop to justify their hate. They aren’t content with disliking David, they need others to hate him too. They're too invested to admit they were wrong because then they’d have to face how foolish they looked hating David on the behalf of Gillian who doesn’t hate him at all. All that energy and hate for nothing.

Lastly, I genuinely do believe Antis are afraid that David and Gillian may be fucking or, at least, that casual fans will come to that conclusion. Think about it: who reacts like this to two people, who many thought hated each other, essentially announcing they are friends?

Who?

These are two adults with (an) adult kid(s). And they could literally become grandparents at any time. lol. These are two people who have known each other for damn near 30 years and Antis think they know David and Gillian better than they know each other.

But a simple photo got them rattled because they HAVE TO admit Gillian’s friends with David. She inadvertently put them in a corner and the only way out of it is to admit something they mocked others for believing. Their other options would fall into Gillovny thinking: they're fucking or dating.

And that’s what they’re really upset about.

They were left with options that fell into Gillovny thinking and had to choose the lesser of the evils. And they can’t say David and Gillian aren’t friends without looking delusional. Especially when they don’t have their handy dandy convenient excuses of “promo” for the x files or a charity. lol. Especially when they took a personal photo together and posted it online.

And I guess that’s the beauty of the picture: you’re only left with three options. Because, if you take friendship off the table, there is no other way to explain why David was there that doesn’t suggest them being intimately acquainted with each other.

I’ll say this: Antis don’t care about facts if the facts can’t be used as ammunition to shit on someone even if they have to distort it.

Now I know this is long and I’ve discussed things you didn’t intend, but I guess I needed this rant. LOL. Some Gillovnies and David fans may be upset that I discussed those topics, but most of the people on my blog either already heard about this OR have read me discuss it before.

Either way, Antis are hypocrites and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

#anon mail

[satoruvt]

the color of you - gold (2)

i lost the template for the banner i used in part one so i had to make a new one and it looks different and im sad but at least this chapter is fuckin AWESOME

pairing → keigo takami x bakery owner!reader

word count → 1736

summary → you’re not really dating, so you can’t really be in love with him… right?

song inspo → portland by armors

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five

“Does everything look correct?”

The packet in front of you is intimidating, thick and detailing every aspect of the relationship you and Hawks are supposed to have. You flip through the pages, looking over the big points - no one but you, Hawks, his publicist and your lawyer are to know about the terms of your “relationship,” you need to be okay with having your picture taken, and the whole thing will only last a few months to cover a few press conferences and an awards ceremony. The line for your signature on the last page is blank - you expected Hawks to have signed it already, but the line above his name is blank as well. The ball’s in your court, it’s saying.

“Yes,” you say, nodding up at his publicist. “Everything looks fine, thank you.”

“Any boundaries?” Hawks speaks up, and you meet his eyes from across the table. You shake your head no, offering a curt, gentle smile. Your lawyer hands you a pen to sign the contract, and after a deep breath, you drag the pen across the paper in your name. Hawks does the same after you.

“There we go,” he says when he’s done, clicking the pen. His smile is laid-back, easy. “We’re officially in an unofficial relationship.”

You can’t help the smile that dances on your lips, because it really is ironic, but it’s quickly forgotten as the publicist goes over the general idea. There are big events scheduled for the two of you to be seen together - the press conferences, a few dates, the awards ceremony. You’re welcome to do anything else that you might want, the publicist says, and you don’t miss the wink Hawks sends you.

The rest of the meeting is settled with a copy of the contract handed to your lawyer, and the four of you disperse. You’re gathering up your things when you see Hawks waiting in the doorway. “Let me walk you to the front,” he says, and you do.

His agency building is smaller than you thought it would be, given he’s the number two hero. You get strange looks from a few people as the two of you walk towards the front - you’re not surprised, if you were anybody else but yourself you’d be curious too - and it’s not until the two of you are in the elevator, taking it down to the first floor, that Hawks speaks again.

“So,” he begins, and you turn towards him. “Fancy going on a date with me tonight?”

His gaze is playful, so you join in, and it’s not as awkward as you thought it would be. “You read my mind. Must be a lovers’ connection.”

He likes the humor, you decide, when his teasing smirk grows into a grin. “Well, I figure since we’re gonna be dating for the next few months, I should know about my new girlfriend. Doesn’t do well for the press if they ask me questions about you that I don’t know how to answer.”

You laugh, nodding along to his words. The elevator doors open and the two of you continue to the front of the building in comfortable silence.

“I’m very much looking forward to our date tonight,” you tell him when the two of you reach the front doors. They slide open as another person walks into the building, and the warm air from outside brushes against your legs. Hawks grins, pulls you closer to press a chaste kiss to your cheek. It takes you by surprise and you feel your face grow hot, but before you can say anything Hawks is already walking back to his office.

“See you tonight, babe!” He calls, and you roll your eyes, but the soft smile on your face would fool anyone.

And although it’s embarrassing to blush over something as simple as a cheek kiss, you suppose the pink on your face is a good thing. You notice paparazzi outside of the agency, and they definitely saw what just happened.

-

By this point, you’re not really nervous to be going on a date - “date” - with Hawks, but Jesus, it’s stressful to pick out what the hell you’re gonna wear. Do you actually try? Do you put on some jeans and a nice blouse and call it good? What does going on a fake date with the Number Two hero call for?

In the end you settle for a sundress, something in the middle. It doesn’t take much longer for you to finish up getting ready before you’re heading out the door to the restaurant Hawks had told you to meet him at. You’re lucky it’s not that far away - a fifteen minute walk at most. The sun glows in the evening light, drenching the world in melted gold.

The restaurant is small, but filled with a decent amount of people. When you step inside the gentle hum of overlapping conversation fills your bones, and you see Hawks in a booth down a walkway. You point him out to the hostess and she lets you find your way to him. 

“It’s awfully rude to keep your date waiting,” he says when you get close enough, standing up to greet you.

“What can I say? I dress to impress.”

Hawks kisses your cheek and you scrunch your nose at the feel of his stubble on your face. He lets you into one side of the booth, and you’re expecting him to sit on the opposite side, but instead he sits next to you. The low light of the lamp overhead makes his eyes brighter.

“You do look great.”

“Why, thank you.”

Both of you are teasing, playful, and the conversation is fluid to follow. You’re not speaking across a table so your voices are hushed, gentle, and you think you’re starting to understand why Hawks chose to sit next to you rather than across from you - it’s intimate, couple-y. 

“You know,” you say, finger tracing the rim of your wine glass, “since we’ve been dating for a total of, like, five hours, there’s a lot that I don’t know about you.”

“Ugh, were you even a fan?” Hawks teases, and you scoff, rolling your eyes. His tone softens when you make eye contact with him. “Ask away.”

“For starters, I don’t even know your real name.” You lean your head on your palm as you look at him. “And I feel like, as your girlfriend, I am entitled to that.”

Hawks chuckles, and there’s a certain look in his eyes that you can’t put your finger on. “It’s Keigo Takami.”

Keigo.

“Keigo, huh?” You repeat. It floats around in your mind, lingers on your tongue like the taste of honey. It reminds you of amber, gold, of coins and riches. Keigo.

“Well, I’m Y/N L/N.”

“I know, I looked you up.”

“At least one of us is smart.”

By the time your food comes, you’re barely eating, and it catches up to you how much the two of you have been talking. You’d been worried that the whole thing would be awkward and weird and not at all convincing, but you’re certain if anyone saw the two of you right now, they’d assume you were dating. The conversation rarely stops, and if it does -

Oh. He’s close.

There’s a moment of silence, a break from talking as you shift from one topic to another. On top of the two of you already being close from sitting on the same side of the table, with how much you’ve been talking, you’ve just gravitated towards each other. His arm is draped over the back of the bench, casual, but you can’t really focus when you fixate on his lips.

“And so we, um…” you trail off, then blink yourself out of your trance. “Wow, I completely forgot what I was gonna say.”

Hawks - Keigo - notices, and his face is smug. The smirk on his lips is nothing short of pride.

“Catching feelings for me already, Y/N?”

“In your dreams,” you bounce back.

For the first time tonight, you check your phone. It’s getting late, and although you don’t live very far away, you don’t want to be caught alone after dark. “Ah, I should probably get going.”

Keigo nods, reaching into his pocket to pull out a few thousand yen banknotes and set them on the table. You want to tell him that you have your own money to pay, but he cuts you off by getting out of the booth and speaking himself. “I’ll walk you home,” he says, and you furrow your brows as you get out, too.

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna trouble you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Keigo says, offering his arm to you with a sly grin. “It’s my duty as a hero. And your boyfriend.”

He puts emphasis on the word and you can’t hide the amused smile from your lips, looping your arm through his. 

The walk to your apartment is as comfortable as being in the restaurant with him, but somehow it feels nicer. You suppose it’s the open air, the golden sun having gone down past the distant mountains, leaving remnants of its light in freckles and rosy skin. The walk home seems faster, and you find yourself a little disappointed that the night is ending so soon.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to come inside,” you say, voice sultry as the two of you stop in front of your door. “Make the paparazzi think we had a little more fun in the privacy of my home?”

Keigo shrugs, and you can see him thinking about it. “I mean, if you’re okay with it…”

“Now who’s catching feelings?”

He scrunches his face up and you giggle. When you speak again, your voice is softer. Crickets chirp somewhere nearby. 

“I had a good time, dating or not,” you tell him, find your key and unlocking the door. “Thanks for taking me out.”

Keigo takes your hand in his and brings your fingers up to his lips in a formal kiss (though the wink he sends you says otherwise). “Anytime, princess. See you later.”

He takes off out of your apartment building and you go inside, immediately laying down on your sofa in the living room. You feel over the spot on your hand where he kissed you, humming quietly to yourself. 

Maybe this won’t be as hard as you thought.

#ADSKFKDJFL THIS SERIES IS MY BABY #I WILL NURTURE IT TO ADULTHOOD #bnha x reader #mha x reader #boku no hero academia x reader #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero academia imagine #my hero academia imagine #hawks x reader #hawks bnha x reader #bnha hawks x reader #keigo takami x reader #takami keigo x reader #keigo takami imagine #hawks imagine #x reader #reader insert #imagine #tcoy

[gyllenhaalics]

Perks of Being Good - Prologue

Pairing: Mob boss!Jake x reader, hitman!C.Evans x reader Summary: Your father died taking a bullet for one of Jake’s men. So naturally, you take your father’s place as an associate. And Jake honors your father’s last wish by protecting you. He might have gone a little too far with his protection. Disclaimer: I do not own anyone whose name appears in this story. Word count: 1500

Warning:  Innocent/corruption kink, fingering, dirty talking, daddy kink, p0rn with plot (that you can ignore).

A/N: This is for my Smut Therapy, a mini-series that’s mostly just smut, to help me (and anyone who needs it) with stress. The list of warnings will get longer as we get to the main part, as noted in this POST.

Dedicated to: @realovesthings​ my username buddy @gyll-yee-haw​ you inspired me to write this, thank you so much @angelic-holland​ & @gyllenwh0re​ I thought of you while writing this, thank you for all the smut you’ve written for all of us (I hope you’re okay with me tagging you)

You pulled yourself to the corner, shivering, trying to cover your body as much as you could. You bit your lips to block the whimper bubbling inside your throat. Your eyes couldn’t move away from the man standing in the middle of the room.

“Didn’t know the old man has such a cutie of a daughter.”

“Have some respect for the dead, Evans.”

You realized they were talking about your father as the tall, well-built man named Evans walked around with his silenced pistol, kicking the bloody bodies to make sure there was no sign of life left. Several people broke into your apartment. They would have killed you if it wasn’t for these men.  You felt a pair of blue eyes pierced through you. He dressed in an all-black suit that accented the gold chain around his neck. You almost jumped when his coat touched your shoulders, and felt his lingering body heat wrapped around you.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe now. Once you calm down, I’d like to have a few words.”

…

It’s been several months after the incident. You’ve been an associate lawyer for Maggie since then. The job was passed on to you by your late father. Maggie handles the family’s legal businesses, and that means someone has to pay taxes. That is why you’re here at one of her property, which happens to be a porn set. At least the mistress spares you a small guest room for your desk, even though the walls are not sound-proof.

You bury your face in mountains of tax documents and property contracts, trying to ignore the dirty talking and heavy moaning. You clip the pages neatly together in a hurry. You only have to give this to Maggie, and then maybe you can ask her to let you go home early for the day. Jake can be here to pick you up at any moment.

“Ma'am, your document.”

You lower your voice and hand the paper stack to the woman behind the camera. She smiles and crooks her finger at you, asking you to come closer. You follow, with reluctance. It seems to be a threesome scene today, the actress lies across the sofa, resting her head on one man’s lap, nibbling on his cock, while the other man is penetrating her. Their hands roam all over her skin, tugging her sensitive spots as she lets out her ecstatic moan and squirms underneath them.

You must admit, for someone who has been here for months, you still get flustered every time they shoot a film. It would be a lie to say you have never watched porn, but Maggie’s works are different, women-oriented if one may call. They are not always gentle and sensual. Some of them are pretty rough.

“That’s a wrap! Somebody give my girl a glass of water.”

Maggie exchanges a few words with the crew and dismisses them soon after. She then turns to you, who have subconsciously hugged the paper stack like a shield.

“What do you think, honey? My offer’s still on if you’re interested.”

“I don’t think I can, ma'am. I’m not uh, experienced.” Blood rushes to your cheeks. Maggie has been offering you to be in one of her works. The pay is hefty and a dozen times more than being a lawyer for the mobs. But you can never see yourself doing it. You don’t know what Maggie sees in you that makes her so determined.

“Oh, honey. Innocence is a perk.”

Maggie brushes a strain of hair to your ear. Before you can process her words, you hear heavy footsteps behind you. You turn and see a man towering over you, still with his gleaming gold chain.

“Afternoon, Mr. Gyllenhaal.”

“Told you to stop calling me that.” Jake winces at your formality. “Maggie hasn’t been too hard on you, has she?”

“Jake, that’s you.” Maggie retaliates, amused at this whole situation.

Things between you and the boss started soon after he saved your life. Your father died taking a bullet for one of Jake’s men. So naturally, you take your father’s place as an associate. And Jake honors your father’s last wish by protecting you. He might have gone a little too far with his protection.

…

On your way back, you lean on Jake’s chest as he has his arm around your back, encasing you in a half embrace. As soon as you got in the car, he couldn’t wait for a second longer to have his hands all over you.

The driver acts like he doesn’t see or hear anything. As far as anyone can tell, you have been the boss’ lover for a while now. One can guess from the way he dotes on you, how he showers you with lavish gifts, or from that one time he had you warm his cock for the entire meeting and you were on the verge of tear because you couldn’t get your release.

“Heard Maggie was pestering you about being in her film?”

He whispers in your ears as he kneads your breasts through the blouse. He isn’t that rough, but the pressure is enough to make your breathing quickened. And you always love the feeling of his beard scratching on your skin. The tickling sensation always gives you butterflies in your stomach. You return his affection by caressing his thigh, inching closer to the visible bulge on his pants.

“Maggie’s been very kind to me. She was only joking.”

“Maggie doesn’t joke about her work, princess.”

Jake grabs your face with his free hand and makes your whimper softly. His lips cover yours in a passionate kiss, almost as if he wants nothing but to devour you whole. After breaking off the kiss, Jake places his fingers on your lips. You obediently open your mouth and take his fingers in as he has taught you. Your tongue swirls around his digits, trying to get them as wet as you can.

“Now, lift your skirt.”

He removes his fingers from your mouth, leaving behind a thin trail of saliva. He looks down at your skirt, giving you the signal to not stopping. He watches in amusement as your trembling hands lift the fabric.

“No panties? And you’re so wet, princess. How filthy.”

But you were the one who told me to. You thought, but you’ve learned from your past mistakes to hold your tongue. Jake grips your neck and pins you down on the backseat. His index finger pushes its way into your bare pussy. It is so sudden you cannot hold back your whimpering.

“Hasn’t she told you? There’s a huge market for your type.”

Jake adds another finger starts pumping them in and out of you, slowly at first.

“Innocent and obedient. Look how well you’ve learned, princess. Inexperienced. Yet so sensitive that any stimulation is too much for you.”

He quickens the pace.

“Can never forget the first time I made you come. You couldn’t stop crying and shaking. Poor thing, how pathetic.”

He curls his fingers, finding your sweet spot. His thumb grazes on your clit. You shut your eyes, letting his biting words ravage your thoughts.

“So naive, you think Maggie is kind? One day, you’ll find yourself spreading your legs for a whole bunch of her goons. Or maybe that’s what you want?”

You shudder at his words. The thought is a little scary for you. That’s not a lie, but an oddly pleasant sensation builds in the pit of your stomach. You feel another wave of wetness leaks from your pussy.

“If you’d like to be a little whore, I can arrange that, princess. Maybe my next meeting, yes? You can warm my cock like the other day. Then, after we finish, I’ll let my men pass you around and use you like the fuck toy you are. And if you’re good enough, maybe they will have mercy on you and fill that little pussy up nicely. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

His voice turns deep and harsh, and his fingers are torturously fast. Your walls contract around him like crazy as you find yourself on the verge of orgasm. The filthy things he said, you know he wouldn’t let anyone touch you without your consent and his permission. But the thoughts alone are enough to bring you over the edge.

“Daddy, please let me come. I need to come. Can I-”

Jake pulls his fingers away. He brings his hand down and smacks at your clit. The combination of the sting from his strike and the sudden lack of stimulation almost drives you insane. He gathers you up into his arms and plants chaste kisses on your forehead.

“Not yet, baby girl. Once we’re home, you’ll be good for daddy and make daddy comes first. Then, and only then, you can come.”

You whine and punch at his chest. Though it probably feels like a mosquito bite to him.

“Don’t be a brat now, princess. Don’t fret. I have a surprise for you at home.”

…

#jake gyllenhaal #jake gyllenhaal x reader #jake gyllenhaal smut #mob boss!Jake #smut therapy #smutty smut #fic: perks of being good #fics

[starkerforlife6969]

Single Dad Baker Peter x Lawyer Tony

There was a misconception about divorce lawyers when Tony was at law school.

His classmates at Harvard sneered at him whenever he took it as an elect, semester after semester. They thought that the money was in corporate, that the prestige was in finance, that the fame was in criminal.

Family law, they sniffed, was for silly little things.

Tony hadn’t given them any credit then, and he doesn’t give them any credit now.

Ask anyone. He’s the most renowned divorce lawyer in the country. He’s one of the wealthiest men in the state. He’s on more retainers than plastic on teenager’s teeth. Rich heiresses and paranoid old men, wealthy immigrants and not-so-idealistic trust-fund students know better than to enter into the law-binding contract that is marriage without Tony Stark ready and waiting in the wings to come and save them some day from utter devastation.

Sure, Tony doesn’t believe in love, how can he? With everything he’s seen? But he does believe in loss. He’s seen wholesome people lose their homes, seen kids torn apart by separation, seen ruthless, vindictive jerks - men and women- tear their partner to shreds for reign over the holiday home. For custody. For triumph.

Tony wears his tailored suits, and lives in his penthouse apartment looking over the city, he drinks expensive coffee and he sleeps on a thousand-thread cotton sheets, but he knows that the only thing a partner is good for, is one night.

Repeats? No thank you. But here’s his card. One day, when you make the mistake of falling in love (a temporary state) and divorce arrives (inevitable. Horrible) he’ll show up on his steed (a Bentley) and his sword and shield (a fountain pen and a stack of papers) and he’ll win.

Oh he’s saved tech-tycoons 50% of their business. They’ve repaid him with a few percent here and there, stakes and shares in stocks and bonds, and he has more money than he knows what to do with.

You’d have to be out of your mind to think he’d ever kiss someone on the lips and put a diamond on their finger, just to see them take half of it away in a few meagre years.

No thank you.

* Tony comes back to New York after a month long holiday in India (what do you mean he networked and picked up a few new clients? Royalty looks ever so good on the old resumé, not that he’s needed one to get a job for a long, long time), there’s a new bakery around the corner from his penthouse.

He squints at it, trying to decide whether or not he’ll venture in tomorrow morning.

It’s called The Parker Place. It’s painted a sweet lavender, and there’s a chalkboard sign outside that says: We serve hot drinks too! with a smiley face and a heart. It’s nice and neat and-

“That’s been there for the better part of a year, dipshit. Nice tan.”

Oh. Maybe he should spend a little more time exploring his city. Tony turns with a smile. “Nat. You’re looking well.”

She is, but then again, she always does. Her hair’s pinned up today, and her pencil skirt and blazer are some sort of silky material that he wants to reach out and touch. But her stilettos are weapons, and he still has a bruise on his calf from when tried something. “I’m sure.” She rolls her eyes, “taking on your workload for a month didn’t have any impact on me at all. Not like I have my own case load.”

He hums around his smile, and nods at the bakery. “Any good? They serve coffee?”

“Pretty good,” she says noncommittally. “Though, I rate according to convenience and this is a little out of my way…”

“Why are you here? Not that I don’t appreciate the welcome party.”

She doesn’t give anything away- she has a brilliant poker face, like everyone in this game- but he’s known her for too long now. Over pizza and late nights studying for finals and Mock Trials with hang overs- “Rumlow called. Wants to hire you.”

Tony blinks in surprise. “I’m Kate’s retainer, she hired me years ago.”

“Rumlow’s offering triple. Fury wants you to switch.”

Tony scoffs at that. “I’m Kate’s. Besides, I can’t drop her without-“

“Fury can get you cause, Tony. Kate’s been taking Class B-“

“She has to,” Tony snaps, “married to that thing. Fury’s not my boss, Nat.”

The red-head looks bemused. “Technically-“

“I’m not dropping Kate. I want to put Rumlow in the ground. it’s about time they get divorced, he’s a fuckin’-“

“I know.” Nat cuts him off, softer. She shakes her head a little. “You’re a real softie, you know that?”

He bristles a little in offence. “I’m a shark.”

“Every other time you follow the money, but when you see a good person you go all warm-hearted and soft.”

Tony flips her the bird and heads into the lobby. He can feel the weight of her stare on the back of his neck and decides to be especially vicious when it comes to destroying Rumlow. He wants blood. He’s a shark, not a softie.

*

The sight that greets him when he steps into The Parker Place on Monday morning is so fucking cute he nearly melts on the spot.

And then he catches himself, and he scowls and puts on his air of casual, charming, charismatic. His default setting.

Besides, it’s not that cute. It’s just a very handsome man with fucking fluffy Disney curls and big eyes at the counter, covered in flour, with a young girl- just as covered- with the same brown hair and adorable laugh, and they’re mixing a bowl of what smells like heaven.

It’s not cute. Not even when the man reaches over to smear chocolate on the little girl’s nose and she tries in vain to lick it off.

Not cute at all.

Instead, he busies himself with looking around the place. It’s nice. Airy and inviting. There are shelves of cupcake decorations and cake stands on one side, freshly made loaves of bread on the other. Behind fancy glass cases are doughnuts bursting with cream and an assortment of toffee pastries.

It smells phenomenal. There are sheets of freshly rolled dough on baking sheets ready to be slotted into the many ovens behind the counter. For now, though, the ovens billow out the delicious scent of vanilla and sugar.

There’s muffins, croissants and cake all lit up in display perches, chocolate sprinkles, vanilla sponges and sugar dusted cream-filled puffs. The small, silver bell above the door gives way to the sound and scent of happiness, sugar, and home-spun food.

Tony doesn’t even know where to look.

He’s the only person in the shop this early, and he glances up at the chalkboard propped against the wall and reads the drinks options in handwritten cursive.

Caley Coffee! Tina Tea! Hannah Hot chocolate!

Tony’s not so sure those are brands.

“Oh! God! I’m so sorry!” Comes an effusive voice, and Tony is suddenly wondering whether it’s the little girl responsible for all those exclamation marks.

Still, he can’t help but smile through his shark facade when the beautiful young man wipes his hands against the front of his blue apron and hops up behind the counter. Is he here all alone? No way he’s able to manage this workload. “It’s fine,” he nods, feeling a little off his game. He wants to be suave. Wants to wink and do a little flirting, because this gorgeous slip of a thing would be divine for a night-

But the man’s daughter is still avidly mixing the huge purple bowl dotted with flowers, and Tony doesn’t feel right flirting in front of a kid. Not to mention, the man’s probably taken. There’s no wedding ring, but the man’s covered in four. He probably removed it.

Not that marriage is a huge obstacle, anyway. They always crumble.

But Tony’s not about to violate one. “I’ll have a-uh- a Caley Coffee.” He says as he steps up to the counter.

His breath catches for a second. The man, up close, is even more attractive than Tony first realised. He’s not attractive, he’s beautiful. It’s a sort of beauty Tony’s never seen before, outside of twilight era, Hollywood movies. Fading starlets, a type of beauty he thought might have died out a long time ago, along with the black-and-white pictures his mom used to watch.

His eyes are honey, and his lips: strawberry. There’s a sprinkling of freckles across his nose, and his skin is like smooth cream.

He’s positively edible.

“Oh yeah,” the man blushes- fuck. That blush. Tony watches it hungrily. “Sorry about that, Hannah names all the drinks because she says everyone deserves a name.”

Tony can’t help but crack a smile. “Sounds like a smart girl.”

Hannah looks up from her bowl and beams. “I am a smart girl!”

“You’re just smart,” the man chuckles, effortlessly making the coffee without even having to look as he adds milk and sugar and creamer- all things Tony hasn’t asked for, but he’s not about to stop the man now. “Girl or not, you know that, baby.”

“Yeah, I know,” she nods, “I’m smart!”

Tony could watch them all day.

“So, are you new around here?” The man asks, handing Tony his coffee and ringing it up. It’s cheaper than Tony thought, so he pulls out a few extra bills to put into the tip jar.

Tania the tip jar, according to the label.

“No, no, I’ve been away. I live just around the corner.”

“Must do something fancy,” the man teases, taking the money. “Suit like that.”

Tony tries not to preen. “Lawyer.”

“Oh god, Hannah-Montana,” the man whispers, aghast, and the brunette’s head snaps up immediately, already giggling at her father’s antics. “An actual shark has walked in here and you didn’t warn me!”

“A shark!” She squeals, looking at Tony with enormous honey eyes, “you’re a lawyer! Lawyers are sharks in snappy suits, and they snap snap snap and give law suits!”

Tony’s cheeks ache a little, from how hard he’s smiling.

“You’d be amazed at the sorts of things they have in story books now,” the man teases apologetically. “I hope you have a good day, Sir!”

He can’t help it. It slips out. “Tony.”

The man goes that lovely pink again and nods shyly. “Peter Parker.”

* There are a few reasons Tony can’t get The Parker Place out of his head.

For one, that coffee was goddamn fantastic. Sweet and high quality roast, an exotic, but homey flavour- he’s craving more.

Second, Peter Parker.

Maybe even Hannah, a little.

He never thought being a shark could make a kid laugh, but hey…he hadn’t hated it.

It’s only the first in a series of blows today, but Rumlow buckles like a baby calf. Kate stares at Tony; tears of hope and gratitude in her eyes, and Tony ignores Natasha’s knowing look from the back of the court room, and wraps the woman up in a hug.

Divorce cases rarely see the inside of a courtroom when Tony’s working them. It’s normally huge meeting rooms in sleek offices, with glass tables and leather seats and gorgeous views.

It’s elegant, and sometimes there are vases full of honeysuckle on the table and it doesn’t look like a place where people sign their love away.

Tony knows better, of course.

* When he goes into The Parker Place on Tuesday morning, it’s to get some coffee. Definitely not to try and find out whether or not Peter’s attached.

When he steps inside, however, Peter and Hannah aren’t there. Instead is a friendly looking guy in a Hawaiian shirt with a huge grin. “How can I help you today, Sir?” He beams, and Tony wonders whether this bakery has some sort of magic power. Everyone here is obscenely happy.

There are a few other customers milling about, considering the different cakes in the case, and he orders his coffee, trying not to feel the sense of longing that permeates deep into his core.

The coffee’s still excellent though.

* Stane isn’t a great lawyer, but he gets under Tony’s skin. Rumlow did a smart thing hiring him.

As he heads home on Tuesday evening, a light drizzle hanging over New York, he’s surprised to see the lights in The Parker Place shining brightly; a radiant gold in the otherwise murky, lightless street.

He’s drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Inside, everything’s spick and span. The counters gleaming and wiped down, and Tony can see Peter fiddling with something on a baking tray.

Tony opens the door. The bell dings, and Peter looks up.

“Tony,” Peter sighs happily, “I hoped we’d make a repeat customer out of you! But it’s always hard to tell, you know? There are so many places just like this in New York.”

“Your coffee was amazing.” Tony manages, and it’s not as subtle as he’d have liked, but it makes Peter blush again.

“Thank you, please- um- sit, I’ll be with you in a second, I’m just trying to finish these scones before tomorrow.”

Tony sits on the pale blue wooden chair and feels all the stress of the day leave him. He watches as Peter squirts gooey filling into each puffed shell; watching as they fatten up happily, and he tries for the love of god, not to get an erection. He clears his throat, “so where’s Hannah?”

“In bed, thank goodness,” Peter laughs, and Tony takes him in- there’s a few dark circles under his eyes, his hair’s a little frizzy and his sleeves are starting to come down. It’s the end of a long day. He gestures to the ceiling, “and I’ll be able to hear if she gets out of bed. Thin floors.”

Tony glances up in surprise. “I didn’t realise you lived- above.”

“It’s a nice little apartment,” Peter nods, dusting the scones with flour or sugar. “It was a big risk moving here- I had to sell the house, but…” he nods, a content smile on his face. “It was the right thing to do. We’re- we’re doing okay.”

Tony wants so much he aches. “Hannah’s mom…”

“Oh no, it’s-“ Peter huffs out a small, sad laugh, “it’s complicated.”

Tony wants to brush the sadness away. Wants to feel Peter’s cheek under his palm. “I’m a smart guy,” he offers.

“Well my- my parents died when I was really young, I don’t even- remember them, but my Aunt took me in. She raised me, and then a few years ago, she…she fell in love. They had Hannah, but-“ Peter turns, sliding the tray into the fridge and hiding his face. “They passed away, and- now Hannah’s mine.”

The sense of loss hangs heavy in the air, and when Peter turns around- he’s smiling again, like everything’s okay.

“We’re happy,” Peter whispers, “it was- hard, but we’re…” he gestures to the shop and the pastries and the smiley faces drawn on the chalkboard. “She’s my little girl, and we’re gonna be okay.”

Screw one night, Tony thinks, speechless. What about the rest of our lives?

* “Well what are you doing, little miss?” Tony grins, sitting opposite Hannah as she scrunches her face up over homework.

She looks up at him, eager for the distraction. “Daddy said if I finished all my homework, I could have a peanut butter cupcake.” She pouts, looking down at her work. “But this is hard. Mr Lo made it look easy, but it’s not.”

Tony clucks sympathetically, before looking over her little work sheet. He shakes his head fondly. “You are damn smart, sweetheart. Every single one you’ve answered is right.”

She perks up at that, looking down at her work with surprise and renewed enthusiasm. “Really?”

“Ya huh.”

She races through the last few, and bar one silly mistake, finishes it all. She scampers off into the kitchen, and returns triumphant, with a peanut butter cupcake in one hand, and a mini pancake in the other.

Tony takes the pancake eagerly and they both chew in contented silence for a moments. “You always such a nerd?” He asks conversationally, and she giggles.

“Daddy says we’re equals pequels.”

Tony hums thoughtfully around his delicious mouthful. “How’s that?”

Hannah licks all the icing off her cupcake. “It means- if I don’t do homework, daddy can put me on the naughty step. And if daddy says a bad word, I can put him on the naughty step. We’re a demo-cacy. And and, if daddy knows more, I should listen to him as much as I can, like with boring stuff like-“ she looks a little sulky, “playing with fire, but if I know more- daddy tries to listen to me! Like, on how pirates speak, or or what flavours taste best in a cheesecake!”

Tony chuckles. “That’s quite a modern take on parenting. I approve.”

He looks up when the last rush of customers leaves, and finally Peter’s free. He’s covered in edible glitter and a light sheen of sweat, and there are a few diced rose petals still on his fingertips as he comes over and ruffles Hannah’s hair. “Hannah-Banana, eating that peanut butter cupcake, I can only assume…?”

“All finished, daddy-doughnut!” She chirps, and Peter kisses her with sticky lips.

Then he looks at Tony, a little shyer, a little braver. “I’m closing up soon, Tony, maybe…you could come up? For tea? And danishes?”

* “I’ve put on at least five pounds since meeting you.” Tony grumbles, squinting at himself in the mirror, even as he takes a huge bite of one of Peter’s raspberry cream danishes. The flavour bursts across his tongue, and Peter laughs, coming around with a tray of tea.

“You’re as dashing as ever, Tony, and I think you know it.” He teases, as the two of them sit down.

Tony watches Peter take a long, deep sip, the smell of jasmine tea in the air, and he wants.

“I don’t…” Tony croaks, when Peter meets his eyes, and everything is there; exposed, between them. “Love is…”

“Very real,” Peter promises, gesturing to Hannah’s bedroom.

Tony sighs. “That’s a different kind of love, Peter. That loves never goes away. Romantic love…it fades. Always.”

“Okay,” Peter murmurs, his honey eyes sad, “I wouldn’t know anyway, right? I’ve never had it.”

“Me neither,” Tony whispers.

*

On a sunny Saturday morning, Tony pinches his nose and looks through the annulment contract, Peter’s slicing peaches, and Hannah’s playing with a complex looking forest set.

“Have some eclairs, Tony,” Peter urges sweetly, setting down a heaped tray. “You worry too much, you’ll win like you do every other time.”

“I don’t know,” Tony sighs, reaching for the chocolate coated deliciousness. “Both of them are vicious- they’re tearing each other apart.”

Peter brings over another plate- this time, topped with gooey, chocolate chip cookies. Hannah comes racing over to grab three. “I’m sure it’s nothing that can’t be solved with a bit of sugar and some maple syrup.”

Tony feels reluctantly fond. “Peter, property division is a little more refined than that.”

But of course, as he chews, he wonders.

* Susan and David pause when they walk into the meeting room in the sleek office building among the New York sky rises.

Tony grins winningly. “I hope you don’t mind,” he says as he beckons them in, “it was a colleague’s birthday and there were left over cookies.”

“It’s not- a problem.” Susan chokes, as the two of them enter the room. She sits down stiffly, eyes on the heaped stack. The room smells of melted chocolate. “We actually-“ she gestures to David awkwardly, “we met in a cooking class.”

David nods, looking anywhere but Susan. “First week was desserts.”

Susan stares at her nails. “I burnt mine so badly, but David, he…”

“Swapped ‘em. She was so worried the teacher wouldn’t like her, like we were kids.” His laugh is wet.

The two people in this room are human. The ones who were in here last week, fighting for custody over the house and the dog and the garden shed tools- those were animals. Tony gestures for them to sit, and as soon as they do, David bursts into tears.

“Have the fucking house,” he whispers, so quiet Tony almost doesn’t hear it.

Susan wipes her black, mascara-coloured tears. “He’s your dog.”

*

“Daddy told you,” Hannah laughs, decorating her cupcake with blueberries. Tony hoists her into his arms and tickles her till she cries mercy.

Peter comes out of the kitchen, covered in custard and bread crumbs, and Tony crosses the bakery floor-

And kisses him.

* Peter’s skin tastes like sugar- it never fades, but Tony’s always had a bit of a sweet tooth.

They fit together, slot in a way Tony never expected.

He loves Hannah fiercely, is overwhelmingly protective, and understands his work a little better now. Love is strong, but it’s balanced on life and circumstance, which is weak and flimsy. Sometimes love falls and cracks.

“I love you,” Tony whispers, as he and Peter snuggle in bed. They’re in Tony’s apartment- they’ve just christened his kitchen- baking wise, and Hannah is fast asleep in one of the guest rooms.

Tony’s childproofed the shit out of this place. He can feel Peter’s smile curve along his shoulder, “love you too,” he says, muffled.

But Tony means it more than that.

So, the next day he comes in, and hands Peter the annulment.

Peter looks down at his hands- covered in clumps of dough- “as romantic as legal documents are, handsome, I’m-“

“I’ve signed it already.” Tony breathes, “if we ever divorced- you’d get half my money- I’d be entitled to nothing. I wouldn’t take anything from you. It’s all yours.”

Peter blinks. “Tony, we haven’t even-“

“We will,” Tony blurts, feeling unhinged and desperate, “I’ll end up baking you some disgusting cupcake, but you’ll eat it because you’re too lovely to decline, and then you’ll find the ring I put into it, and we’ll get married and then life will fuck us, Petey, and then we’ll divorce and-“

“Oh Tony, Tony,” Peter cries, rushing around the counter to gather the older man into his arms. He gets raw dough all over Tony, but Tony doesn’t care. Just leans into Peter’s embrace as the younger man peppers his face with kisses. “You’re such a romantic skeptic, I can’t deal with you. I love you, and I will love that proposal, you glorious man.”

Tony gazes down at him, tears in his eyes, “but what happens when-“

“When life tries to fuck us?” Peter whispers, twining their fingers together, and he smiles. “We’ll fuck it right back. I promise.”

From anyone else, Tony wouldn’t believe it.

Right here, he does.

* “Bet you never thought you’d see the day, huh?” Tony mutters, adjusting his bowtie.

Hannah’s in a frilly white dress, tossing rose petals into the air.

“Actually,” Nat grins, fixing his bowtie for him, “I saw it coming a mile away.”

* He loses his fear somewhere along the way.

Between school runs and tantrums, between the highs and lows of Peter’s business as customers come and go. He loses his fear somewhere along their cotton anniversary. Somewhere around Peter burning casserole for his special birthday surprise dinner and the fantastic make up sex on Egyptian threads.

He loses his fear even when faced with the never-ending line of couples wanting to hire him. For the gold diggers and the sunset clauses and the genuine destructions of love.

He loses his fear because he comes home every night to Peter. To Hannah.

Peter crawls onto his lap in the middle of Aladdin and stretches out against him like a cat. “Let’s go on holiday,” he says around a yawn, “I always wanted to go to France.”

“I’ve gone a few times,” Tony hums, carding his fingers through Peter’s hair, “I’ll take us. You like the sound of that, Hannah?”

She gives him a thumbs up, eyes on the movie.

He’s gonna see her grow up, Tony realises. He’s going to drive her to college with Peter, sit at her High School graduation and cheer embarrassingly loudly.

He’s going to go grey and Peter will find him even sexier than he already does. Peter’s going to get better and better and better at baking.

Tony’s going to spend the rest of his life this happy. This in love.

The truth hits him, and the fear leaves. It evaporates.

He’s home.

“You love me,” he breathes, alight with certainty, and Peter snorts.

“Only a lot.”

“I will never divorce you.” He vows, speaking of a future certainty that he always warns his clients against. Breaking every rule he’s ever known. He was trembling at their wedding- even though he loved Peter with everything, he was still so scared of the transience of their love-

Now he knows.

“Good, good,” Peter says around another yawn, “I’ll never divorce you either. You’re my Tony.”

His Tony.

It’s all he ever wants to be.

Hannah notices the cuddling and leaps onto the couch with them, and Tony holds them close and is content.

#starker #fluff #peter x tony #lawyer tony #baker peter #single dad peter #getting together #flirting #tony stark is bad at feelings #precious peter parker #tony stark has a heart #protective tony #nicknames #lots of warm cookies and feelings #divorce lawyer tony #happy ending

[revisitingstoneybrook]

#6 Kristy’s Big Day: Chapter 2

Ann Martin really knows nothing about planning weddings.

Here's where our typical BSC spin on things starts up. So on Saturday, they picked a date for the wedding, Kristy's going to be a bridesmaid, and the icing on the cake is Elizabeth told Kristy she could wear heels with her dress. Yay! But then, on Wednesday, things fall apart. Uh oh! Does Watson the Millionaire miss all the kinky shit and want to get back with Lisa?

Kristy comes home from school to find Elizabeth there. She glumly tells Kristy that her company (one of the many ad agencies that BSC parents work for) wants to send her on a business trip to Europe. Kristy immediately starts begging for Elizabeth to take her along and Elizabeth says she'd love to but can't, as it's during the school year. Patience, Kristy. Your time will come.

And no, Elizabeth isn't leaving right away. She's leaving come September, you know, when Kristy starts 8th grade for the first of 68 times. And she’s supposed to be in Vienna on the day she was planning on getting married. Well, Watson's a millionaire. Bring the whole family to Vienna and do a destination wedding! Only, since this is the BSC, they'd have to invite the entire club.

Kristy tells her to just push the wedding back a month and Elizabeth said she was planning on doing that, until she got a phone call at work. It was her realtor, who's already found a buyer for their house, two days after it was put on the market. Um, what? That seems really, really fast. Then again, the house is in a primo location. You're right in one of the hottest BSC neighborhoods! Childcare for next to nothing! Yes, the BSC affects the housing market in Stoneybrook.

Great news, right? Well, not really. The family (we later learn it’s the infamous Perfect Perkinses) is in a rush and willing to pay the asking price. But Mr. Perkins is in such a rush, he wants to move in by July 15th. That's in about one month. Ok, what the hell. Is it that realistic to close on a house that quickly? With contracts and the bank’s approval and all the inspections and re-inspections? Then again, this is the Perkins family buying it. The purchase will go off without a hitch. Myriah's probably their lawyer.

Kristy, needless to say, is shocked and must agree with me because she tells Elizabeth it'll be impossible to pull off. Well, with the Perkins family, you never know. Those girls are magical. Kristy wants her mom to sell the house to someone else and Elizabeth says no one else is going to offer them as much money as the Perkinses are. “Well, what do we need money for? You're marrying Watson,” is Kristy's response. Geez, first Watson the Millionaire is a jerk, now he's a Sugar Daddy? And no, not this Sugar Daddy.

Sorry, Claudia.

Elizabeth explains to Kristy that she doesn't want Watson the Millionaire to feel obligated to have to pay for things like her children's college tuition. So the money (or half of it, since half belongs to her deadbeat ex Patrick) is going towards college. What does this have to do with the wedding? Elizabeth and Watson the Millionaire are getting married at the end of June and the Thomases are moving into the MANSION two weeks after that.

Holy shit. Planning a wedding in TWO WEEKS?! I mean, if they were going for a little thing like Sharon and Richard later do, maybe. But they're obviously not. How will they get vendors and stuff on such short notice? Are they going to get the neighbors to bring flowers? Because only Ramona Quimby's aunt could get away with that.

And why must the wedding be now? Why can't they just move into the MANSION and have the wedding in October and not spend two weeks freaking out about everything? If they have issues about living together before the wedding, live in separate wings. Lord knows the MANSION's big enough, if Kristy's talking about her brothers getting suites of rooms if they ask nicely. Just stay away from the third floor so Karen doesn't go nuts. Or if they have to get married now, have a small ceremony at city hall and go for a big ceremony and reception after Elizabeth comes back from Europe. Why am I so perplexed over a BSC book?

David Michael comes home from school as Elizabeth gets a phone call from a friend of hers and tells her friend that the wedding will be in two and a half weeks. As soon as Elizabeth hangs up, she freaks the fuck out when she realizes what she's gotten herself into. David Michael, fascinated and at the same time terrified, holds Kristy's hand and watches their mom go nuts over what to do about flowers, dresses (she says they need to find a dressmaker...wouldn't buying off-the-rack and having it altered be easier?), food. I guess invitations are out the window because she says she'll have to tell relatives about it.

“Planning a wedding is like having a baby. You need time to prePARE things!” Uh, Elizabeth, you just realized this now? Oh and their guest list is around 300 people. Planning a wedding for 300 people in two and a half weeks. Is Elizabeth INSANE?!

Finding some grasp on reality, Elizabeth admits that they'll never be able to book a reception hall, so the mansion’s yard will be the venue. While she freaks out over decorations and what to do if it rains, Kristy suggests she call Watson the Millionaire, while Elizabeth tells herself she'll call Watson the Millionaire. She disappears into her bedroom (ooooooooooooooooh) and comes back later, looking somewhat saner. But it doesn't last long because she opens up a kitchen cabinet and starts sorting pots and pans out. Oh my...planning a wedding AND packing up a whole house to move at the same time.

David Michael launches into one of his talents, whining, and Kristy joins in too. I always liked Kristy's line about David Michael is a champion whiner because he can turn one-syllable words into multi-syllabic words. Well both kids don't want to...oh wait. Let me rephrase. They don't wanna move. They wanna stay he-ere.

Elizabeth shoots them a Look (now we see where Kristy gets it from) and David Michael gives her a quick apology before running out of the kitchen with Louie. Kristy, being as stubborn as she is, argues with her mom about how she promised they wouldn't move until the fall. Uh, Kristy, she never promised anything. She just said the wedding would be in September and wasn't expecting these two bombs to drop on them. Kristy says she doesn't want to spend this summer at Watson's and Elizabeth points out she'll be spending the next summer at Watson's. And the one after that and the one after that. And guess what...you'll be 13 throughout all of them, Kristy!

But Kristy wants one last summer on Bradford Court with the BSC and Mary Anne (that's the same thing!) and...Jamie Newton (um, ok) and the Pikes (except Mallory...and don't the Pikes live on Slate Street?). Elizabeth apologizes but tells her this is how things have to be now. Upset, Kristy storms upstairs to her room. Might I add, bonus points to Ann Martin for actually having Kristy act like a 13-year-old here and not some strange tween/adult hybrid.

Up in her room, Kristy stares out the window that looks into Mary Anne's bedroom. She isn't there, she's out babysitting Jenny Prezzioso (because no one else in the BSC will...bitches) and Kristy's glad for that so she can just think things over. You know if she told Mary Anne the news she just got, she'd cry so much her room would fill up with tears and overflow into Kristy's, like when Pearl cries on Spongebob.

Kristy waxes nostalgic on the good and bad that happened at those windows. Their infamous flashlight code they had to develop because Richard wouldn't let Mary Anne use the phone (now he lets her talk on the phone like a normal person, according to Kristy), giving each other the silent treatment by pulling the shade down, sailing paper airplane messages back and forth. While she thinks about picking out a similar room at the mansion and decorating it the same way as her current room, Elizabeth calls her down to help her with planning this extravagant wedding in two and a half weeks. She wants her to write down the names she calls out from their address book. Kristy also notices the pots and pans have been put away. Packing's waiting until later.

Well what do you know...most of the guests are from out of state and a lot of them have kids. Hello foreshadowing! And hey, you guys. Kristy says weddings are hard to plan! Thank you for stating the obvious, Kristy.

#babysitters club #kristy's big day #kristy thomas #bsc #snark