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hearteyes-for-killmonger · 5 years

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Dedicated to @thadelightfulone . 🏈 This will have five parts. Disclaimer: Okay there was a big mistake in Cali geography from the last part but I'm getting it together.. 😂 Word Count: 3,388

Cute and chubby reader lives her life through books. Erik lives his life on the field. Can they meet in the middle to make it work?

Part 2: Training Season

“HUT.. HUT.. HUT!” Erik grunted loudly, his cheeks puffing as he squatted low before standing with the 80lb Eleiko weighted spiderbar rested on his broad shoulders over and over in a consistent motion using pure quad and core strength.

“You got it. Right there! Right there! Come on,” Travis guided as Erik fought vigilantly through the burn in his muscles.

“AN-,” he panted coming up again with all his might, “ANSWER THAT,” he barked, breathless. His phone was ringing from next to his yellow Gatorade bottle. “Before it goes to voicemail,” he grunted almost to the end of his spider bar squats. He’d already run four miles. His phone was laying right there on top of his gym bag. Travis, his trainer, just had to move his ass and run to it instead of speed walking. “FASTER nigga,” Erik yelled, resting in a standing position with his squat reps completed. “If I’m working this hard, you can run for five seconds.” He almost missed the call, but Travis picked it up in time.

“He’s training. Who is this?… Who?… It’s a Y/N,” he yelled.

“Tell her to hold on while you take these weights down,” Erik grunted allowing Travis to properly remove the weights as requested. He’d dropped the bar with a loud thud once and Travis ain’t appreciate that, angrily telling him how much the equipment cost. Since then, Erik made it a point to respect the property of the training center. Just because he could afford to replace the bars many times over didn't mean he planned to waste his money like that.

“Hand me the phone,” Erik waved, swallowing the gulp of his Gatorade before putting the phone to his ear. “Y/N… Y/N,” he turned the name over as if he were trying to recall where he’d heard it. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Jog my memory.” Travis threw him a towel to wipe his face and neck with. Sweat was collecting on his brow. Of course he knew who she was. The number on the iPhone screen was the number he’d studied to the point of memorization after Savrina wrote it down for him.

“You early coming on this side, bro. You heading on over to Napa or flying back to LA,” Erik asked Sean, who’d made himself at home and was playing Dead or Alive 6 on the xbox. Sean had popped up on him accompanied by one of his favorite bitches, without warning. They both almost got shot at the door. “Fuck is yo problem,” Erik snapped at Savrina. She’d been looking at him all stupid since she walked in. He thought they were cool.

“You ain’t that cute,” she frowned rolling her neck seemingly unprovoked, looking him up and down. Sean snickered with a wide grin enjoying the drama and Erik kissed his teeth, his lip curling in irritation.

“Like I give a damn. Let me be ugly ‘cause you ain’t my type either.”

“What IS your type? No really, enlighten me because I thought you were a man of substance? You think you just about to ghost my friend like nothing?”

“Well maybe she was ugly. My man, Erik, picky ‘bout bitches,” Sean yelled out. Savrina ignored him with a deep eyeroll. She ain't really like Sean, Erik could tell.

“You can’t even respond to a fucking DM to say you aren’t interested. Five seconds from your day. Five. Fuck you. She don’t need this shit, she better than you. And here I thought you’d be the one to have some sense but–”

“DM.. what DM,” he waved cutting her off. He had to stop her because her finger was going crazy and she was about to go a mile per minute, he could feel her words rushing to spill out together all at once.

“The DM she sent you, don’t fucking… act like… Wait. Did you really not get it?” He shrugged as she cocked her head to the side in thought. “This changes everything. Check your DM’s real quick. Check it!”

“Okay, shit.. No DM. I don’t know who she think she messaged, it wasn’t me.”

“You got two IG pages,” Sean reminded Erik. He hadn’t even been thinking about that.

“I got the password to that shit somewhere.. If it wasn’t a fan page, she must’ve DM’d the page ran by my publicist. I don’t even use it that’s why it only follows three people.”

“Aww.. I’m sorry I called you unattractive, boo. You’re really cute! I was just mad. I get overprotective,” Savrina grinned causing him to stare through lowered brows, unconvinced. “Since this whole thing was a big misunderstanding, can I give you her number and have you call her to let her know what’s what?” She wrote it as she spoke on the corner of a page she ripped from the sports magazine on his end table, before he could answer. Typically, he’d raise hell but since she was writing digits, he let it slide.

“Does your friend know you be giving out her number? Last I checked, she wasn’t checking for a nigga.. at all.”

“You know how it is with the real ones, Erik, it takes some vigilance. Some time. She’s cautious. She’s not going to jump and bussit for the first rich prettyboy who gives her attention or flashes a card.” He narrowed his eyes looking back and forth from her to Sean who was still engulfed in the game and she rolled her eyes, a cue for him to keep his mouth shut and mind his business. “Give her another chance. If she shits on it this time, I’ll kick her ass myself.”

“You tell her scary ass to call ME. Otherwise, I’m busy,” he said typing his number in her phone and balling up the paper number to throw in the wastebasket across the room. Savrina twisted her nose in an irritated frown. “She'll call and we'll go from there.. or she won't and we'll move on,” he nodded firmly. That was his final word. He hopped on the game with Sean and the couple spent the night in his spare room having loud sex through the night. It was around 4 AM when Erik crept silently back to the wastebasket to retrieve that wrinkled triangle of paper. He looked at it, reciting the number in his head over and over before shoving it in the pocket of his joggers.

“Y/N from the pool party in LA a while back? We hung out for a bit.. I got your number from Savrina?” The fact that she really thought he didn't remember tickled him. What kind of life did she think he lived to forget shit like that? He was a pro athlete not a xanax rapper.

“I remember,” he said throwing her a bone.

“Hey look, um,” she paused as if she still wasn't sure in her mind what she wanted. Spit it out, he thought. “I don’t know if you’re still interested or–” Or? Sitting down on the weight bench, he waited patiently for her to speak. “Basically, I was wondering if you wanted to meet and hang out or something. I think.. no, I know that I judged you too soon and I want to apologize formally for that.” He waited to see if she was done, listening to the silence over the line and pinching his nasal bridge.

“You just apologized. What you need to meet me for, to do it again?” He scoffed rubbing the lines smooth and flat on his forehead. “Hang out. You wanna hang out with me? Are we fifteen? I’m looking for something real, something permanent. I need to be able to call on you 2 AM. Ain’t no casual hanging out for me.” He waited listening for what she had to say. Nothing. “If you in, you all the way or don’t waste my time.” The silence stretched on further on her end. “Call me back when you figure yourself out,” he said hanging up.

Travis smirked playfully. “You done with The Young and the Restless?”

“Why you up on my dick? Get the weights on, nigga,” Erik chuckled. Travis put the weights on the bar and positioned himself to spot, signaling for Erik to lay back into position and begin lifting.

—

Did he just call me out for being a fuckboy? Incredulous, you stare at the phone in your hand. 2 AM? Nigga. I’ve got a job and a life with no one to step in and live it for me. I’m not picking up at 2 AM to fly to your city at the drop of a hat on ANY day. I don’t care how fine you are. You push the trolly of books down an aisle to organize them on the shelves in their proper places based on the decimal numbers on their spines.

You’re both two busy people in different cities and both of your lives and careers are important. In fact, you're in the process of picking up a second job in editing. You're already dabbling and you don't plan to stop any of what you're doing to set yourself back in any way. What type of Ja Rule 'Always On Time’ relationship does he expect? It gets you thinking. Could you really go all in for a man who you barely even know? Should you? Your full attention, access to your every hour (waking and non), and all of your energy. Can you afford to give that up? Nah. No. Your free time, you can give. Sacrificing, however? Tuh. In the memory of the late great Eartha Kitt, you whisper, “Compromise? What is compromising? Compromising for what? Compromising for what reason? To compromise? FOR WHAT?” Snickering in your own world, you push the trolly to the next aisle to reshelf a few more. Law books and code books. “Stupid.. A man comes into MY life and I have to compromise? You must think about that one again,” you mumble trying not to make too much sound. Eartha had it right. When the books are reshelved, you return to the circulation desk. No one seems to need assistance at the moment so you type out a series of messages in the group chat detailing what happened with the phone call.

Max: Well that's one way to lose a guy. Kate Hudson should've called you.

Danica: No comment

Danica: Actually, I do have a comment. You're weighing the cons with no consideration of the pros. Think on that.

Max: No, no, let her date Brock the Princeton jock with no cultural integrity. Maybe she'll be happy.

Y/N: Oh no, I don't do white boys. No matter how nice a white boy seems, he's always an argument or three words away from calling you a nigger. I refuse.

Savrina: I will wring your thick ass neck if you don't call him back. What more do you want? Are you dumb?

Max: *eats popcorn*

Y/N: Suck a dick and get off mine. I'm trying to think this through instead of investing myself into a relationship that's a waste of time.

Danica: Just think about it. That's all we're saying.

Leaving the chat, you grab your bottle of water and take a long swig looking up to see people walking to and fro. Sometimes the library is extremely busy and other times it's pretty much dead. You decide to use the break to reconsider and think about the pros. What were the pros of dating an NFL player? Money? Clout? That's about it. That's all you could think of, a sugar daddy situation only Erik is young and cute.. and he smells good.. surprisingly. You reopen the chat briefly ignoring the string of choice words from Savrina.

Danica: No one's asking you to give up yourself or your life, just live a little. You're too safe.

Too safe? Is there really a such thing? The idea sends you down a spiral of thoughts. What makes a thing or a person worth the risk of losing your time and energy, both things you cannot get back? When you Google the question, a quote pops up and arrests you. “‘It’s impossible’, said pride. ‘It’s risky’, said experience. ‘It’s pointless’, said reason. ‘Give it a try’, whispered the heart.”

You pull up Erik's number, your finger hovering over the call button. If you're honest, you do want to know him. You want to sit and talk with him and figure out what you have in common. You're interested and you can't lie about that, but you have to be sure. You don't want to waste your time or his.

With a deep sigh, you determine in your mind that this is worth the risk of it not working out. You call the number back and it rings going to voicemail, but then he calls back almost immediately.

“I’m still training,” he blurts and you can hear the clinking of what sounds like weights in the background.

“I’ll make this brief. I’m interested in you. What now?”

“What’s your cashapp?” Just like that. You tell him and he goes silent for a few seconds. “Sent. Come to Oakland. I’ll text you the address.”

Hanging up, you check your cashapp. $200 added. You decide on Saturday. You’ll leave from Inglewood on a 1 hour 20 minute flight to Oakland and come back the next day, Sunday. It works for your schedule. It’s gonna have to work for his. You send a text letting him know when you’ll be there before messaging the group chat to let them know you booked the date. Like a game of telephone, it’s minutes before your entire circle knows and the chat is blinging.

Saturday is the day where you go through airport security and board the plane to Oakland, unsure of what awaits you. You're happy to fly because you surely weren't driving. Looking at the clouds through the window and reading through the book in document form you've been trusted to proof and edit occupies you until the plane lands and you head to the airport exit to find a taxi, almost missing the big sign with your name on it. A black boy who looks like he just graduated high school is holding it high and tossing it, making it dance in the air. He makes eye contact, walking hesitantly toward you. "Ms. Y/N," he asks leaning forward and when you confirm, he looks so happy. "Erik gave me a description and I was hoping I didn't miss you. I'm Devon," he smiles shaking your hand. "This it?" He grabs your shoulder bag from your arm. "Aw man, you must not plan on staying. That's too bad, training season is lit! How was your flight? Where are you coming from?" He continues with the small talk as he leads you to a shiny black range rover, opening the passenger door for you and putting your bag in the back. He turns the key in the ignition and some lively song you've never heard plays over the speaker. "I don't think he knows you're leaving so soon. He said bring you to his place and then you'll head to the training center."

"How far is his house from the training center?"

"Oh don't worry, it's like 30 minutes," he says catching the concern in your tone. It's still very early, only 7:45 AM, but still you plan to leave on time tomorrow to make your 6 AM flight back to Inglewood.

Erik's house is fairly large. When he opens the door, he's just as fine as you remember and even taller it seems. "Oh, ok..," you smile, eyes widening anxiously as he wraps his muscular arms firmly around your thick waist, his face grazing your hair. He's shirtless and barefoot in grey sweatpants, scarred and defined abs and chest out and proud. He smells like soap and you know he's fresh out the shower.

"What you mean oh, ok," he smiles pulling back.

"I mean oh, ok... You have a nice place," you say nodding casually as you look around at everything but him. You feel anything but casual.

"But you said it when I hugged you, not when you made your arrival. Don't tell me you shy! You bitchin up on me?" Your eyes dart to his and he smirks. "Bruh we gone stand out here or you coming inside?" Kissing your teeth you push past him.

"You have a maid?" You inquire because the place is far too neat for a single young male athlete. The interior is nice with white walls and contemporary decor.

"Nope.. Against popular belief, we aren't all dirty animals living waist deep in our own filth."

You grimace. "I stuck my foot in my mouth again." Turning to look Erik in the eye, you try your best to communicate nonverbally that you had no malicious intent.

"You alright? ...Or you still under the spell of my good looks," he teases and you roll your eyes. He's just fine.

"You're not that cute," you lie with a teasing smile that betrays your actual thoughts. He nods.

"That seems to be the popular opinion nowadays. Your friend said the same thing. Fuck you, she don't need this shit," He mocks playfully in a high voice copying her gestures and you laugh because that's Savrina. He's got her down perfectly with the finger pointing all crazy. "This is you," he says catching your attention with a small gesture like he's about to act a scene. "Um.. Hi? Um.. D-Do you remember me? From, um, LA?" His immitation is quiet and meek and he shrinks his massive body hunching over to look small. You walk up to slap his arm.

"I do not sound like that!"

"Not now," his chest bounces, "But on the phone.. like I wouldn't remember you. How could I forget you? You told me off, almost made me kill my teammate, and turned me down all in the same day. You dangerous as hell. Then you got me cussed out like I ain't a child of God." That makes you weak and you fall over yourself giggling, your finger in the air begging for a moment to recover.

"In Savrina's defense, she does get protective and she's very stubborn, but it comes from a good place.. speaking of, do you have any food because I'm famished. I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

"You ain't e- DEVON," Erik calls, "Why you ain't feed my woman?" The boy pops up from a different room and you realize you didn't even feel him pass you to enter the house.

"My bad E, I ain't know she was hungry," he calls back and Erik folds a bill in his hand before he's out the door. "Bye Ms. Y/N," he grins passing you and the door closes behind him.

"Mhm," Erik hums like he's watching Devon. "Good kid. He's finna start college in a bit, but until then..," Erik shrugs.

"You pay him to do odd jobs, help him earn a little money," you smile putting two and two together. He nods and you can tell he's not comfortable with elaborating so you drop it. "I'm hungry," you remind him to change the subject and he jumps to lead you into the kitchen.

"Have a seat and watch ya boy work," he points to a tall chair at the kitchen island. You're about to get the inside scoop on what I eat on a training day."

He goes to work cooking a high protein meal while his body moves and flexes filling you with a completely different type of hunger. He whips out the turkey bacon and eggs and you watch, thoroughly entertained by his off the wall commentary and artistic flare. He's definitely trying to impress you with his cooking techniques and it gives you a genuine smile. In a moment when he's just cooking and things are quiet, it's not awkward. It's just peaceful. You chuckle and he looks back at you to read your expression. "Nothing," you smile in answer to his unvoiced question. He raises a brow but lets it go. You'd tell him the truth, that you're just really happy you came and glad you took a chance but you don't want to sound corny so you just rest your hand over your mouth to cover the smile that won't be smothered and you continue watching his back as he cooks the both of you breakfast.

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geniuscloud · 5 years

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Only The Lonely Survive- ATEEZ (Yeosang)

I’m actually kind of proud of this one, so hopefully it’s good! I didn't edit it though, so be warned. Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing this.

Genre: Fluff and Angst

Yeosang X Reader (Fem!)

Private School AU

Warnings: Swearing and mentions of mature themes. Mild bullying.

Word Count: 4.8K

_______________________________

“Um excuse me, are you okay? Class ended 15 minutes ago.”

I was startled awake by the voice of a classmate, who lightly shook my shoulder to wake me from my sleep. The panic in my face began to settle as I quickly scanned around the room, all the desks were completely empty and the only people left were the girl and myself.

“Holy shit, what time is it?”

“It’s 12:16, it’s lunch break right now. You were out cold, do you want me to walk you to the nurses office?” she replied. She was short, extremely long dark hair and big glasses framed her face. Wendy, the shy girl who hardly spoke to anyone, but definitely one of the most caring people in our grade.

“No it’s okay, thanks Wendy. I just was working really late last night, I guess I dozed off because I didn’t get much sleep. Thanks for waking me up, I need to put up my flyers before class starts again.” I quickly collected my bag, giving her a small smile before rushing out of the classroom and into the hall. I had less than 45 minutes to hang my tutoring flyers, plus I had to get to my locker, eat and get to my next class on the other side of the building. I tried to work as fast as possible and was able to get it done within 20 minutes, giving me some time to spare to refuel my energy with food.

“Hey poverty, move. You’re in the way of my locker.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes before spinning around to see who belonged to the voice, “Natalie, nice to see you haven’t changed a bit over the holidays...”

“Nice to see that you’re still poor. Cute sweater by the way, where did you get it? Walmart? Or is that still too expensive for you?”

“Can’t you learn to shut up for once in your life?”

“Can’t you learn that you’re not welcome here? It’s a private academy for the privileged, not for scholarship riding wannabes,” she smirked.

“Nat leave her alone,” a deeper voice spoke behind her. Natalie's eyes widened a little before spinning around on her heels, coming face to face with the guy behind her.

“Sangie, I'm just being honest.”

“Actually you’re being a bitch, do you mind?” he said, titling his head to the side trying to signal for her to leave.

“Here, why don’t you take a flyer on your way out. All that fake tanning must be melting your brain a little, I can help with that,” I smiled while passing her a flyer. Her eyebrows furrowed in response, quickly stomping off without the flyer. Suddenly the paper that laid in my hand lazily was pulled from my grasp as Yeosang studied it.

“You’re doing tutoring?”

“Yeah, I thought about making some extra money to help my parents out. Do you know anyone who might need it?”

“I’m not failing, but I could always use some help getting a little higher grades. Count me in, when can we start?” he smiled.

“We can start after school if you’re not busy? All tutoring sessions will be 90-120 minutes maximum after school because I have to work at 6:30pm most weekdays.”

“Cool, here’s my number. Text me when you find a meeting spot and I'll meet you there,” he shot a quick wink in response before he slung his backpack over his shoulder once again. There was a weird skip of a beat in my heart as my eyes followed his back down the hall. I put my hands to my cheeks, feeling them heat up slightly before I rested my forehead on my locker. Yeosang really was as attractive as everyone had gushed about. His eyes were definitely the first thing anyone noticed about him, and that jawline? My God, you could cut diamonds with that thing.

The rest of the day went by so slowly and the anticipation of getting to study with Yeosang for some reason made me excited but nervous. He was so popular and so attractive, and usually I would stay away from everyone in this school, because most people were snobby due to their social background. Though from what I could tell, he seemed very nice. I’ve never heard anything bad about him, and he definitely wasn’t the stereotypical popular jerk. The final bell rang, and I almost sprinted out of the class and to my locker, quickly grabbing my stuff before running to the washroom. I did a quick check of my makeup, and brushed my hair. I honestly don’t know why I felt some kind of pressure to look good; I was just helping him study!?

I found my way to the quiet section of the library. The walls were lined from the roof to the floor with books, and the old hand carved wood gave the most elegant and antique look. It looked like a scene from a fairy tale had come to life. I sat down at the one table in the far back and let Yeosang know where I was. I felt a knot in my stomach grow from the nerves, and sat patiently for him. What if he doesn’t show up? What if he was just trying to make a fool out of me and waste my time? My palms began to sweat a little, and I rubbed them on my black skinny jeans.

“Y/N?” I looked up from the table, trying to hide the anxiety clearly written on my face.

“Yeosang, hey. I’m glad you showed up.”

“Sorry I took so long, I can to call my parents and let them know I was going to be home later, and then I went down the wrong hall and had to loop back,” he smiled while getting his backpack down beside him and he slid into the seat beside me.

“Okay, well let’s get started. What classes do you need help with?”

“Currently my lowest mark is History, I'm pretty bad at memorizing dates.”

“Okay, well let’s start on that, I'm assuming you’re around chapter 5-6 right now?”

_________________

Soon enough, the hour turned into three, and the light from the sky had completely drained into pitch black. Our time studying was mixed with work and casual chatting, hearing stories about his life and his unfortunate and short-lived relationship with Natalie. I felt extremely comfortable with him, sharing some stories about my childhood as well. We were very different, but it was enjoyable.

“Hey Y/N, do you mind if I ask you a question? It’s okay if you don’t answer me.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

He looked around a little before facing me again, “Why are you always alone? I see you often, but you never are with anyone or talking to anyone?”

I deep a deep breath before leaning forward over the table, “I’m not going to lie. A lot of people look down on me because the only reason I can attend this school is because of a scholarship. My grades are so high I was offered a scholarship as long as I keep my grades up. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, and everyone knows that. This academy is extremely expensive, and no regular folk can just attend this school unless you’re super rich. You see everyone here wearing Gucci clothes and driving nice cars, while I'm a ‘order this cute sweater online because it’s on sale and public transportation’ kind of girl.”

“That’s pretty shallow of others, I think you’re pretty fantastic regardless,” he smiled. I laughed a little before drawing my attention back to the book, continuing to write down some information from the textbook for him. “Wow it sure is getting dark, it’s also starting to snow,” he said gazing out of the window.

“Holy crap, what time is it?”

“It’s 5:44 pm, we’ve been studying for almost 3 hours now. That’s crazy?”

“Oh my God, I have to go. I have work at 6:30!” I shrieked while quickly packing my stuff, “We were supposed to be done an hour ago!”

“I’m sorry I distracted you, how about I walk you to work it’s dark out anyways. I’d rather you get there safe,” he suggested while packing his stuff as well.

“You really don’t have to, it’s okay.”

“No, please, let me walk you to work.” I nodded shyly while putting on my jacket and getting ready to leave with Yeosang beside me. His black padded jacket went down to his knees, and he wrapped a scarf around his neck before turning around to face me. My jacket was zipped up as high as it could go, no scarf, hat, or gloves. “Did you not bring anything but your jacket?”

“I did, but I left my scarf on the public bus, so it’s long gone.”

“Do you want to use mine?”

“Nah, I don’t want you to be cold.” He just lightly laughed before grabbing my hand and spinning me around to face him. His eyes stared into mine as he unwrapped the scarf and put it around me. My breathing slowed down slightly as he kept eye contact with me, neatly wrapping the scarf until my mouth was hidden from the bitter cold.

“I’m not letting you get cold, we can’t let your head freeze if you’re going to be tutoring people.”

“Um, thank you..” I was so glad the scarf was hiding my cheeks, because they were bright red by now. He tucked his hands into his pocket and we started walking down towards the convenience store where I worked evenings occasionally. The walk was silent for the most part, he occasionally asked me a few questions and we continued our conversation from earlier. Surprisingly I was really comfortable around him, he seemed so genuinely kind and interested in getting to know me. The walk was quick, and a little part of me wished we could have done this longer.

“Yeosang, thanks for walking me to work and lending me your scarf. I had a good time studying with you. Here let me give you this back,” I said removing the scarf.

“Won’t you need it on your way home?”

“No, my mom is going to pick me up after work, so please take it back.”

“Okay, and I should probably pay you for the session now, right? The flyer said $15 an hour?” he mumbled grabbing his wallet out, “I only have a $50 so you can accept a $5 tip, right?”

“Nah, for you the first session is free. Plus I had a lot of fun hanging out with you, and you lent me your scarf. Anyways, I should get to work, I'll see you at our next session. Have a good night Yeosang...”

“You too Y/N, text me when you get home so I know you’re safe,” he smiled while wrapping the beige scarf around his face. The color contrasted with his dark brown hair which was still perfect even though the light wind caused a few flyway's to appear every once in awhile. I nodded slightly as he turned away, walking across the street and disappearing through the park. There it was again, the skip in my heart beat returned as I watched him leave for the second time.

__________________

A few weeks had passed since our first study session. He started attending our tutoring sessions three times a week, forcing me to reduce the price because it felt like he was trying to pay me to hang out with him more than anything. I also started tutoring a few other students during lunch or after school on other days. Our tutoring relationship started turning into a real friendship, and I had to learn to control my heart around him. I started seeing him more often, hanging out with him and his friends during lunch sometimes as well. After attending this academy on my scholarship for 2 years, I finally felt like I made a real friend. There were so many shallow people in this school, but I quickly discovered that some of the other students here weren’t so bad after all, and not everyone was ready to cause me emotional distress just because of my money situation.

“Y/N, you’re joining us for lunch tomorrow, right?” Mingi asked, one of Yeosang’s friends who happened to sit behind me in my chemistry class.

“Yeah sure, are we meeting in the cafeteria like usual?”

“Yup. I’ll text the boys and let them know.” Mingi was a special guy, very tall and athletic looking, but very sweet and almost childlike. I used to avoid him because I thought he’d be very cold, but in reality he was a big sweet heart who was scared of bugs. Besides Yeosang, Mingi was definitely who I was closest with out of the group.

‘Hey, can we meet after school in the library? I know we don’t have a tutoring session today, but it’s important.’ The message lit up my phone screen, seeing Yeosangs ID show up.

‘Yeah, I'm not busy today. We can meet up for a bit,’ I replied back.

Soon enough the bell rang, and I headed to the library, our designated meet up spot. I saw him sitting on the edge of the table, a little white bag beside him and his phone in his hand.

“Sang, what’s up?”

“Hey Y/N, sorry to bother you on your day off. I just had something I wanted to give you. It’s a thank you gift for tutoring me even though you keep refusing my money, and also a little thanks for being my friend.” I stopped in my tracks, pursing my lips together slightly before letting my head tilt sideways in confusion.

“You got me a gift?” I asked puzzled.

“Yeah, I remember you needed one, and with it getting cold I thought you might need it,” he smiled while passing the bag to me. I’ll admit, I was interested in knowing what he had boughten me and so I accepted it. My eyes were still squinted with curiosity and disbelief as I kept panning from the bag to his face. After removing the tissue paper, I saw the soft navy pattern fabric neatly folded in the bag.

“You got me a scarf?”

“Yeah, there’s also a little matching hair bow. I remember you said you lost your other one on the bus a few weeks ago and I heard we’re supposed to get another snow storm soon. I wanted to make sure you were warm.” I pulled the scarf out and examined it, it looked like a washed-out charcoal navy color with geometric white and red lines. The fabric was so soft and warm, I couldn’t believe I could like a scarf this much. It looked like a darker version of the beige scarf he had lent me a few weeks ago. “Do you like it?”

“I love it, thank you Yeosang. You really didn’t have to get me anything! I could have gotten one for myself a little later on.”

“Nah, this was nothing. Wait until your birthday, that’s when I really pull out all the stops for my friends,” he said while flashing a bright smile. I couldn’t help but smile back while I rolled my eyes playfully. He then got to his feet and grabbed the scarf from my hands, gently wrapping it around me once again, just like he did the first time. His hands lingered a little as they dragged down the brown fabric of my long jacket, sliding his fingers down the opening where the buttons were sown. His grip never let go, and I felt a little tug causing me to shuffle closer to him a bit. His other hand slid the scarf that was over my mouth down, just barely revealing my lips. I felt the air from my lungs escape all in one go, as if someone had just stepped on my lungs. His eyes were no longer locked into my own, but instead had focused his attention on my lips. My knees felt weak as I tried to make sense of the situation. Maybe I had some food on my mouth that I hadn’t noticed for the last 3 hours while I was in class?

“Y/N may I ki-”

“Excuse me you two, the library is actually closed for the evening,” a voice said interrupting us. Our eyes quickly snapped towards the librarian who stood to the side with he arms crossed. I took the opportunity to slip away from Yeosang’s grasp and apologize while leaving quickly. Did he just ask me if he could...? Did that really just happen? Yeosang tried to catch up with me, but I ducked through a couple hallways and disappeared out of sight.

_______________________

The next morning I felt emotionally and mentally exhausted. I ignored the handful of texts Yeosang sent asking if I was okay, if he had done something wrong, and if I made it home safe. I didn’t want the police busting down my door because he thought I had gone missing, so I had sent a little thumbs up just so he knew I was still alive. I felt odd, because a part of me really wanted to kiss him, but the other part of me just wouldn’t let him. I've been alone for so long, and I’m still a little too afraid to let people in my life; since only the lonely survive.

I peeled myself out of bed and into the shower to try and wake myself up. The weather was dreadful, the type of damp-cold that stuck to your bones after going inside. I settled on a pair of black comfy jeans, and a large knit sweater to keep me warm. A little part of me wanted to still try to look cute, knowing I was going to have to face Yeosang and the rest of the boys today at some point. After applying makeup, I sat on my bed and stared at the little white bag in the corner.

“He did buy it for me, and I might as well use it” I sighed. I quickly pinned up my hair and slid the hairbow in to secure it. I still had no idea why I was trying to look cute when I literally was an emotional mess on the inside. I will admit that the walk to school was much warmer than usual. I had a few people look at me as I walked through the halls towards my locker, and it felt a little strange having people actually look at me. What I thought would be a peaceful morning turned south as soon as I heard the nauseating voice of Natalie tell me to move out of the way from our lockers which were unfortunately side by side.

“Wow poverty, what student did you steal that scarf from?” she mocked.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not a fool, I know brand name when I see it. I know there is no way you bought a $900 Burberry scarf by yourself. What? Did you steal it?”

“I’m sorry, what? $900 scarf?” I asked, puzzled while searching the ends of my scarf. Low and behold, there was a small ‘Burberry’ tag sown on the ending of the scarf.

“Cough it up, how’d you get that? Wait a matching bow too? What the hell, did you get yourself a sugar daddy or something?!” I could hardly believe my ears, and I felt pressure begin to bubble in my chest.

“Y-Yeosang bought this for me...” I mumbled out.

“What the hell? I knew your so-called tutoring sessions were bullshit. Oh my God, are you hoeing around so you can fit in?” she smirked, her face falling into pure amusement, “Holy shit you are. You’re Yeosang’s play toy aren’t you?”

“What are you talking about?! We literally meet in the library!” I yelled.

“You are not helping yourself. A quiet library like that, you could easily slip under the table unnoticed. Holy shit, I can’t wait to tell everyone what you’ve been doing. If you thought your reputation couldn’t get any worse, wait until this spreads around. You’re going to be so embarrassed that you’ll be begging to leave this school.”

“Natalie, can you stop harassing her!?” a somewhat deeper voice yelled. My eyes instantly fell on the small group of boys behind us. San was angry, his lips now pursed after yelling at her and had his hands balled up in fists, standing a little bit in front of Yeosang and Yunho.

“Are you really hoeing around with all of them?” she said with her mouth agape in amusement, “this is rich.” Natalie pushed passed me and walked off down the hall.

“Hey are you okay?” Yeosang asked, grabbing my arm.

“No, t-this... I can’t do this. Why did you do it?” I asked, my voice beginning to crack as the tears started to spill down my cheeks.

“What did I do?”

“Why would you buy me a $900 scarf!? You know how I feel about money!?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think much of it. I just thought tha-”

“That’s right! You don’t think much about anything. You just throw your money around like it’s nothing! Natalie is now telling everyone that I'm a prostitute, and that I'm your sick little play toy. I’m not a charity case that you can just invest a bunch of money into!” I yelled.

“That’s not what I meant, I just wanted to get you a gift! I wanted to get you something brand name because I knew you’d never do something like that for yourself!”

“What? Just because I don’t value brand name the same as you? Tell me honestly, are you embarrassed to be friends with me because my family doesn’t have money?”

“Are you crazy?! I don’t care that you’re not rich, I just wanted to get you a fucking gift! You’re blowing everything out of proportion. I didn’t say or even insinuate any of these things!” he started to argue back. San and Yunho took a step back, hearing San try to stop our fight.

“Then why the hell did you buy me gifts huh?!”

“Because I like you, okay?! I wanted to give you gifts because I wanted to prove that I could be a good potential boyfriend, and show my affection! That’s also why I tried to kiss you, are you happy now?”

My heart sunk and I took a step back. He just admitted his feelings, but also expressed that he was trying to woo me with his money. To him I was just like the rest of these prissy girls in my school who expected to be treated like a queen and want expensive gifts.

“I’m not for sale you asshole,” I spat. His furrowed expression fell as I shoved past him. For the first time in years, I skipped school and went home.

___________________________

The weekend had given me time to recover, but the amount of texts and call I got from the boys kept reminding me of the memories I didn’t want. Maybe I was overreacting, since he did have good intentions. I just couldn’t help but feel dirty, and sick to my stomach. I was no better than Natalie, the obnoxious and self-absorbed drama queen. I don’t know what to expect when I go to school, but if Natalie has told everyone the rumors I'm going to be a walking punchline.

I could hardly drag myself out of bed and into some clean clothes. I decided against a shower and makeup, settling on washing my face and leaving my hair down. I just didn’t have the power to put effort into my appearance, especially when I might be crying everything off anyways.

The walk to school was torturous, but luckily the weather wasn’t bad. The snow for the most part has gone, but it was still a little chilly. I dragged my feet against the concrete, the lull of emotions evident on my face as I entered school for the first time in 4 days.

“Hey,” someone muttered to me as I struggled with the lock on my locker. I was expecting the bitchy tone I hear every morning, but to my surprise she seemed rather calm. I almost didn’t believe it was her. “You look like shit...”

“Thanks,” I grumbled.

“Are you okay?”

“Why the hell do you care? Four days ago you were ready to ruin my life and now you’re expressing some kind of concern?”

“Listen here Pove- I mean Y/N... I just wanted to apologize for what happened on Friday. As much as I don’t like you, I took it too far. I know how it feels to be threatened like that because it’s happened to me as well. That’s actually kind of the reason I came to this school anyways, because I was running away from a rumor at my old school. I shouldn’t have done that to you, and just so you know I never told anyone,” she confessed. I was utterly stunned by the words coming out of her mouth. “Don’t get me wrong, I still hate you and want you to leave because you don’t belong, but I wanted to apologize for this. I’ll try to not being such a raging bitch to you all the time. Your face still makes me want to vomit, but I'll try to ignore you from now on as much as I can.”

“Um, thanks I guess. I’ll try to ignore you as well?”

She shrugged a little before carrying on with her day as I finally got the lock open. Within a matter of seconds dozens of papers came flying out of my locker, spilling all over the floor and my feet.

“Great, someone else has a problem with me...” I sighed, picking up the papers. They were notes, the same hand writing in black ink had my name written on the front of them. I knit my eyebrows together in confusion while struggling to open one.

‘You are the best person I’ve ever met.’

‘I miss you.’

‘I love the way you laugh.’

‘You are make me lovely.’

‘You are all the colors at once, in full brightness... -All The Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven. Yes I read your favorite book.’

The only thing that was consistent with every note was Yeosang’s signature on the bottom of each note. I choked up a little bit, as I began to fill the small pocket of my bag with the notes.

‘Please meet me at the library during lunch’ I texted Yeosang.

_______________________

I sat at the table in the library, anxiously playing the the hem of my shirt. I needed to apologize to yeosang for lashing out like that, but he might not be willing to accept my apology. He did confess his feelings for me, and I straight up just squashed him without any remorse or thought about how he feels.

“Y/N, are you here?” his voice whispered from around the corner.

“Yeah I'm here.”

“Um, thanks for texting me. What made you change your mind and come see me?”

“Your letters actually, and the fact that Natalie apologized to me. If she can admit she did something wrong, I can as well. I really overreacted, you were just trying to be sweet and I completely blew up in your face. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry for not being considerate of how you felt, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just what I'm used to. I grew up with the norm that you buy the people who you care about expensive gifts and you show that you cherish them.”

“I know, I should have tried to be more level headed and understanding about it. The truth is, when you told me you liked me, my heart stopped for a second. I’ve wanted to hear you say that from the first day that we hung out, and I completely ruined it. I really like you too Yeosang, and I hope I didn’t ruin our chances; because I really wanted to kiss you that night... Hell, I really WANT to kiss you,” I admitted.

“I really want to forgive you and be done with it, but I also kind of want to make you suffer for crushing my heart,” he laughed.

“Yeah... I deserve that.”

“You do, but I don’t think my heart can let me. As much as I want to tease you, a bigger part of me wants to kiss you as well.”

“Then what’s stopping you?” I smiled, stepping a little closer to him, craning my neck upwards to face him.

“I need your permission, because once I kiss you I don’t want to stop. I want to kiss you as much as possible every day. I want you to be mine as long as you’ll have me.”

“Then you’re allowed to kiss me.”

His hands found themselves in the small of my back, pulling me even closer before pressing his lips to mine. He was everything I found myself falling for, he was perfectly lovely in every way. Absolutely lovely.

#ATEEZ #ateez scenarios #ateez scenario #ateez fanfiction #ateez fanfic #ateez yeosang #yeosang #kang yeosang

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smolbeandrabbles · 5 years

Text

Sway Pt.7 - Danny Rayburn x Reader (Bloodline)

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY BEN MENDELSOHN! AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!

It’s only appropriate for me to post this particular fic today...

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Here / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

Authors Note: ...I uhm... Hope that cover doesn’t look TOO much like a wedding... Despite the jokes in this...! I edited it several times! Having said that I did get to use another Dirty Dancing 2 image - THAT THIS ENTIRE FIC STARTED BASED ON WAY BACK WHEN!!! So I’m happy about that! I also had to take advantage of Danny in a suit! So... I essentially wanted to write this, then cut it, then wrote it to take Sway to 10 parts... and it’s ended up really long!

Gosh darn, I just read this back to edit and... There’s a few super significant paragraphs in here I forgot I ever wrote...

Disclaimer: As ever, I only own my OCs!

Premise: As Danny’s departure for the Rayburn’s 45th Anniversary looms, you reminisce on Anniversaries of your own... However, deep down, you know you’re only wasting precious time...

Word Count: 8991

Warnings: DUI / Swearing / Sexual Amble (!!!) / Another load of people talking trash about Danny. Oh god, and I promised we’d get LESS angsty didn’t I?!

I believe, things happen for a reason Even though you might not see it at the time Cause now I know Every plan that came unravelled Every crooked path I travelled in my life Led me here to your side

Could it have been easier? Yeah A little smoother ride? Maybe so But lying here with you, would I change one thing ‘bout that road? No --- Looking at you looking out the window right now, Those eyes, that dress, that smile, that laugh If I could hit pause I would somehow But it don’t work like that --- There’s nothing I wouldn’t try If I thought it would change your mind And I know as soon as you walk out that door… Pain’s a comin’, tears are runnin’ Yeah that’s kind of the way I’m feelin’ Trying to stop your leaving…

Present Day - Your Apartment, Late

You were standing on your balcony, tapping your fingers against a glass of water and watching the sun sink down over your favourite skyline. Another day gone, and you were fast running out of time… The Rayburn’s 45th Anniversary was in just 2 weeks… If you couldn’t stop Danny from leaving… You shook your head, not wanting to think on it, and let out a groan. He joined you, winding his arms around your waist, kissing your cheek and nuzzling his face into your neck; his hum was content… The Anniversary though, only made you think of your parents. You and Danny were fast approaching your 3 year mark. Which made you crack a smile, remembering your Dad’s jest in the middle of his toast. So much had changed over the past year… You entwined your fingers with Danny’s as you placed your hands on his; resting your head against him. AT LEAST during that time, you and him had been something consistent… ***

Previously… You realised, staring at the pile on your kitchen counter, that you might need more help than you thought. And certainly wouldn't be able to get all this in your car at once...

You must have been staring at it for a good few minutes because you heard your balcony door slide across, and were greeted with a call of: "Need any help!?" Danny had gone out for one last cigarette before he put in a couple of hours in the restaurant ahead of tonight. The party would take all day to set up, so you'd offered to go down early to help your parents and friends. "No, no baby that's okay I...!" He threw his smoke down and hurried over, you sighed; "You need to get down to the restaurant." He hummed "Yeah, maybe, but you know I'm never late... C'mon, there's a lot here..." He stacked a few boxes, and held his hand out for what you were already carrying, you held it behind you defensively. "Uh uh! No! You don't get to see this yet!!" He laughed; "Why not!?” Mostly because whatever him, Javi, and Javi’s cousin had decided to dress Danny in remained a mystery - turns out Javi called in a fashion industry favour - and you wanted to be just as mysterious. But you also liked the way Danny would study every inch of you if you ever wore something he'd never seen before. You'd rather he saw this on than off... Well. Maybe off. Later. “Because...!” You didn't need a reason That only made him laugh harder “Don't tell me!! This wedding anniversary is going to turn into an actual wedding...” That made you gasp for effect, but laugh, "Will you stop...!!!" He joked about this way too often. But you only left him shaking his head as he collected the boxes and opened the door for you, "Which car?" "911..." "You’re NOT gonna fit all this in that car!” "It'll fit!” “Nah! We'll put some in mine and I'll follow you down.” “You don’t have to do that...” “I know I don't...” He leant across to catch your lips “But I'd sure like to...”

You managed to squeeze nearly everything into your car’s limited two-seater space, but Danny still insisted that he help you out. So, now he was following you down the seaway. When you pulled up Danny stayed in his car and just stared. "What?" You opened his car door “It's on a yacht!?” You looked back, it could probably be classed as a liner. Looking like a classier version of somewhere you might have a high school prom. “Yes.” “... Don't tell me your dad bought this.” “Noooo... His friend is letting us borrow it.” Danny shook his head. “His friend!?” *

“Where's papa!?” You embraced your mom “Oh. Called to some project. It’s okay... Men will only get in the way!!” You raised an eyebrow, there were plenty of males around helping! Also... “Oh! Danny!! You sweetheart! You didn't have to!” “What? No, my pleasure...” He put the boxes on the table your mother indicated and joined you, “See you later…!” “Yeah have a good day...” You embraced him He looked around “Well, I know you will...” Kissing your cheek he turned to accept your mom's hug, "Don't go day drinking too much!!" He walked backwards back towards the gangplank with a cheeky wink; only making your mom laugh. “God, I like him...” “I know.” “And so does your father…” She turned to you with a suggestive look. “Yeah, I know!' That much was obvious. Even though Danny was your boyfriend your dad treated him like the son he never had.

***

Everything was ready and set up; except you. Still trying to get those finishing touches looking just right... You sighed, for some reason the place cards on this particular table just weren't playing ball. Your mother called you from across the deck, "Y/N!!!! Are you still not dressed!?" "Mama!! This just isn't working!!" She shook her head "Too much like me for your own good!" She took your arms and steered you away from the table: "Oh yeah... Because I certainly got the perfectionist thing from you with my work in progress..." It was the way she had described Danny as being like your father when she’d first met him. "Danny is a fine man. I'll deal with the table..." She pulled you down a deck and headed towards a large suite of rooms, “Absolutely he is fine..." You tried to hide your smirk, "Do you know what he's wearing?" "No..." "Has he seen your dress?" "No. Mama. I wasn't about to ruin the main event!" She laughed and ushered you into a dressing room; "Now get changed!! People will be arriving soon!!"

You shook your head as she closed the door behind you. You took a quick shower and dried your hair... You already knew it was going up tonight... You took care with your makeup. Going for a little of that classic movie star flawlessness from all those old films your parents loved to watch. Approaching your dress you ran the fabric through your fingers, white into powder blue; halter neck with a cut taken straight out of the 50s. Sporadic clusters of Swarovski crystals covered the skirt and the ribbon that tied it coloured the same blue the dress bled into. You studied it in the mirror for a second and twirled. The only thing that disappointed you was that the cut was modest; whilst the chain was visible the ‘D’ wasn't... You sat and began on your hair, when there was a knock at the door, you beckoned them in and heard your mother gasp. "Oh... My baby is so grown up...!!" She approached you, and taking the straighteners from you she helped finish your look. "I can't wait to see his face." “Mom, this is your anniversary..." "I know I just..." She hummed, sliding pins into your hair "... You remind me so much of us..." You couldn’t stop the smile; but it felt strange, that your mom would compare you and Danny to her own relationship with your father. In your eyes the two were completely different… Maybe she saw something you couldn’t see… But that also meant, as Danny has teased so many times, she saw real longevity in this. For once, you were starting to believe that too. She finished with a pretty hair slide from another one of your favourite designers, leaving some of your hair to frame your face. "You are so perfect..." You almost beamed, but then pulled at the chain again: "Just this... You can't see it... " "Come here... We'll see if we can't make a change..." She took the fine chain in her fingers and uncoupled it, looping it around your neck again she pulled it to make more of a choker and linked the ends back together through the ring to hold it in place, "There... " "Why didn't I think of that!?!" She chuckled "Thinking too much! As always…" she presented you with a box, "But, I also want you to wear this..." You hesitated, looking to her, and opened it with a gasp; "Mama. No..! It's too much!! I can't!!" You knew the bracelet well. The amount of times your mom had worn it for dance competitions... It was the first thing your father had ever saved up and brought her. It held the same significance to your parents as your necklace did for your own relationship. "You can, and we want you too..." ***

Amanda and Evelyn were the first two people you really greeted with enthusiasm. You did, however, have to raise your eyebrows at Amanda’s outfit – never passing up the chance to take someone home (and her relationship with Javi more of a… *cough* summer fling *cough*) her dress was skin tight and verging on inappropriate. That was just like Amanda, though. Evie had gone full on floor length ballgown – never missing the opportunity to dress up. You were thankful they were here, to take your mind off waiting in anticipation for Danny to show. Suddenly there was a buzz around you, and Amanda had to catch someone to explain what was going on. “OH. Someone pulled up with a Zegna Maserati. God, Y/N, I thought your dad was the only one outside of Italy with a car like that!?” “Isn’t it his!?” “No. Different number plate – Your dad came in the Lambo anyway…” What-!? It MUST have been your fathers. “So who are they!?” “You mean the man who looks like YSL dressed him personally?” They jerked their thumb over their shoulder “Talking to your dad…” Now this you had to see. “…If he’s single…” Evie suggested, but you laughed; “I’ll put a word in…” You walked through the crowd, aware they were both following behind you, just as intent on finding out who was the new celebrity. “-Wait!?---Is that--!?” You hushed them in the event this was a mirage. Your dad tapped his arm and he turned. The air left the deck; for both of you. His blue eyes fell on yours and he swallowed hard. You felt like you couldn’t breathe. You could just about make out the look on your father’s face, but everything else melted. You bit your lip shyly, and made your way across the floor to him. The crowd parting for the daughter of the couple they were all here for. You noticed your friends hung back in order to let you have this moment. How many people here knew about you and Danny? It was clear none of them knew who he was – but the fact that putting him in a suit and a fancy car made them all want to know him was very telling of Miami high society. You swept your gaze over him and realised you’d be thanking Javi for a very long time. The suit was fitted; taking every advantage of Danny’s height and body shape – they had obviously tailored. It looked black and simple until you got closer; his jacket gave him smooth lines, the silk iridescence of his collar was bordered in a deep, rich navy which translated into the lining, shining ever so slightly against his shirt in the lighting. The shirt was crisp and bright white – but the stitching black in contrast - the fabric of high quality, to let you know if for any reason you might want to rip through those buttons, it wouldn’t be happening easily. As both of you were having difficultly finding words, your dad stepped in. Introducing you like Danny was a friend and potential suitor; “Mr. Daniel Rayburn, allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Miss. Y/N Ervin.” Danny at least managed a laugh; “It is a pleasure. Although I do believe I’ve seen you around…” “…I was just about to comment it’s lucky I’m not single Mr.Rayburn… Though I’m not sure looking at you tonight that would stop me…” He held out his hand, as if for you to shake and you realised that your dad had not only leant him the car; he was wearing a Cartier watch. And your breath caught again as you pulled his hand towards you. “…Oh my god! DAD!!” Your dad laughed, Danny only looked a little confused, “…You gave him…!?!” The bracelet that your mother had given to you was clearly all part of the plan. Stupidly it hit you that Danny probably hadn’t even gone to the Restaurant today; the cufflinks that he was sporting matched the bracelet perfectly. They had always been your parent’s lucky combination… The fact you and Danny were now wearing them at their 35th wedding anniversary was no mere coincidence. As Danny turned your wrist in his, the significance hit him also. “Oh…” He turned to your father; “…I…” Jack Ervin just laughed, harder than before; Danny at a loss for words was a rare event. Which meant it was much more than just obvious how grateful he was. “Think nothing of it.” You took the opportunity of Danny’s attempt to express his gratitude to study Javi’s fine work closer. The bow-tie had the same gleaming effect running through it that his suit jacket did; but his belt… His belt held the unmistakable Zegna ‘Z’. Was this a big Ervin-Viva Caputa colab that you had missed out on!?! With that expensive glass of champagne in his hand, he certainly looked the part. And everyone on that boat knew it. And he was here, talking to you! “Okay. What the HELL did Javier even do?!” That got their attention back on you, but Danny only held his hands up innocently “I dunno! Ask him!” You then rounded on your father; “You let him DRIVE the Maserati!?” Your father looked like he was about to cry laughing “YES.” “Danny!!! Danny!! Dios Mio just LOOK at you!!” Your mother had swept through the crowd almost as easily as you. Her red dress exquisitely beautiful and looking like something a Flamenco dancer would wear, she embraced her favourite Rayburn and looked him over. She turned to you, because nothing got past her, and gave you an approving nod and wink. Before turning back to him, taking his face in her hands; “How is my boy?!” He laughed and pink dusted his cheeks, “I’m… I’m good! Yeah!” He took her hands in his; “How are you? Oh my gosh – Yeah! Happy Anniversary! Both of you! Congratulations!” “Oh-! It’s nothing! It’ll go quick!” She beamed, but your father made sure to at least thank Danny. Before your mother took your hand and placed it in Danny’s “Enough from us!! This should be a celebration of everyone in our family!” She gave a wink to Danny, who gave another slightly embarrassed laugh “You look like the most important man in the room. This is good! It suits you! Muy muy guapo!” Then she took your fathers hand and dragged him away from you both.

Danny blinked a few times and turned to you, still watching them leave… And it took you a while to pull your eyes back to him, although you knew you weren’t the only one staring; Tonight his intense blue eyes were softer, they matched his demeanour rather than his sharp suit; “I can’t breathe you look SO good.” “I feel it…” He ran a hand over his chest, “But I can’t say it’s me…” You laughed “…I’d rather be on this boat with you in a T-Shirt over this too… I know what’s you. I love you because you are you.” “Still…” He scanned the party, “I think I’ve managed to make an impression on them… And you…” He tipped his expensive glass and whistled “A significant portion of people want to BE me. For once…” he couldn’t help laughing; “You are, as always, stunning…” “Stop…” You murmured it, pushing gently against him, which made him laugh again; “No way… Not tonight… I’m lucky to get to show you off…” “You!?” You shook your head as he wound his arm around you and pulled you in so that he could kiss your forehead “…Baby, no, tonight I get to show you off! I am the Lucky one.” Without your parents here you suddenly remembered the exactly reason you’d thought about inviting him in the first place. “AH!” You made him jump at your suddenly exclamation and the way you held his shoulders “…I asked you here to meet my friends; right!?” “Well, it’s not like I haven’t…” “Yeah, but…” You made a face that said not really “…And you do NOT have to answer all their questions…! In fact, please DON’T.” “Oh, What kinda conversation is this gonna be?” He raised an eyebrow suggestively; but that just made you agree with him. “Yeah. It’s gonna be exactly that.” You turned to Amanda and Evie, and then almost found yourself with a smug smirk at the way they were both staring at Danny. Caught up in that thought, it was him who waved to them both; making them give each other the same look and him stifle a laugh. “Do I have to fend these two off?” “…Hey. I saw you first.” You nudged him into quiet agreement as they came over at your beckon. “I know we’ve done drinks… Kinda… But, Amanda, Evie – Danny. Danny, my two best friends.” Then you added a warning; they all had great ammunition on you the other party could use, “The three of you collude on anything – Not kidding, you’re going overboard…!”

They loved him, it wasn’t surprising to you that they did. Considering that you were pretty sure they also both wanted to date him. It was the impression you’d got that very first time. The impression didn’t change now. Your friends might have been from this world and have long strings of high-class toy boys. But they found it refreshing that Danny was a down to Earth, Southern working boy from the Keys. And older. The more he talked, the more impressive the looks they kept giving you were. He’d passed the best friends test; you knew he would. The two most important people on this ship to you loved him. And your parents loved him… More importantly than that, Danny had done all that hard work himself. Showed what the Rayburn’s really knew…

You introduced him to many members of your family. Danny even managed to stumble through some basic – if not broken, but incredibly polite – Spanish to your fathers’ mother. She had her husband and son to look out for her, so she’d never really had to learn English. Which means every time she turned to you to pay Danny another compliment, making you go bright red and laugh, she completely lost him. Which was great, because every time she did you could see him desperately wanting to ask you what she said. From your father’s father Danny figured where you’d both got your business head from. A retired self-made business man, and extremely proud of his son’s success – and that his son had surpassed him. Although, he had that American patriarchal air that demanded respect from everyone. In a different way from his own father, Danny noted quickly – he could see exactly where Jack had learned to be a man. All at once he was grateful for your family – at the acceptance he seemed to be receiving even from those on the extended side… Maybe he’d finally get the family he always wanted… Dinner was a little different and overly formal. Walking around a party hand in hand with you, and a glass of something strong to calm his nerves, worked on Danny like a charm. But here, sitting in a suit and surrounded by topical conversation of those living the high-life he had very little opinion on ,or stomach for, made Danny look uncomfortable. You noticed it straight away, so you moved your chair closer to his and spent a lot of time with your hand resting comfortingly on his thigh. When he could, his hand would find yours and you could almost feel the nerves. Every so often you’d whisper comforting phrases to him or give him context – because he would be expected to talk. He seemed to position himself as a say little but say something that sounds profound. And it was expertly done; although there was a little shake to his voice from time to time. You knew that would bother him – but he was so far out of his comfort zone now you couldn’t help but be proud. Of course, as ever your father and mother were on hand to help out and you would pick up pieces of his sentences to elaborate on. When they asked about his family, he got into his element because no word of that was stretched truth; he came from this – even if it was different in the Keys. Eventually though, he got back into his nervous ticks and the two of you drifted from the main table conversation into your own world; he held your hand even tighter and he tried not to look like he was getting the I need a cigarette jitters… You kept him steady until most of the table began to disperse. To which he breathed a sigh of relief and you gathered him gently in your arms. He wouldn’t have to suffer much longer… You hoped.

** Later that evening, as you still hadn’t left the table (Danny needed that quiet…), further family members began to wonder exactly who your man was. That left you sitting with Danny and your aunts. Your father was an only child, but your mother came from a family of 4 sisters. She was the youngest. They were all fussing over him and asking questions; at first they were the right kinds of questions, where he grew up, what he did before Miami, where he lived now, what he was doing now… and then they weren’t… where did he attend college… what car did he drive… what was his job… what was his salary..? At the point he said he was the chef, and not the owner/manager – although really Danny was both – and then they broke into the salary question Danny cleared his throat, you could tell that made him uncomfortable… And you didn’t like that… Putting your hand on his knee again you pulled him back to you; “Baby… Do you mind getting me a drink?” He looked more than grateful; kissing your cheek gently, “Sure thing, I’ll be back…!” He took his leave politely and wandered off. You took a breath – and turned back to the table. They were also watching him walk away with some interest. Although as soon as he was out of earshot they all turned to look at you, and the conversation continued. In Spanish. “Isn’t he too old for you!?” That first shot hurt, but it didn’t hit as hard at the others; “There is no way he makes enough for you to both live comfortably on.” “…And he’s living in downtown…” “He must have borrowed that suit…” “Agreed, he looks so awkward in it… He can’t be from here…” “-And the car!” “Y/N, really… He didn’t even get a college degree?” You could hardly believe what you were hearing. SURELY, SURELY your family could not be as bad as the Rayburns!?! In fact, this was WORSE. Because the Rayburns didn’t say it out loud. “You can do better… Look at the men around here…! What about the men you work with!?” What hurt even more is that they actually tried to make themselves sound sympathetic towards you; like Danny was just a mistake you’d made. No – your mistake was clearly thinking this was a good idea, and forcing Danny to be here with you in the first place. You stood in one movement. Attempting to swallow the lump in your throat. “You’re right. I can do better. And so can he!” You left, but you didn’t get very far before you got upset and started crying. Unfortunately for you, Danny was just strolling back to your table. When he saw you, his face became instantly worried and he attempted to catch your arm; “Y/N… What’s wrong!?” But you didn’t want to make a scene here… It was your parents anniversary after all. You shook your head and ran quickly for the stairs to the lower level rooms. He wasn’t the only one to notice that you were clearly upset. As he called after you, Amanda and Evelyn rushed to him. “What happened?!” “…I dunno… She…!” He hesitated… Putting the glass he was holding down, he followed you “Y/N! Wait!” You locked yourself in one of the bathrooms and sat down. Just a few deep breaths. Just a few deep breaths… that’s all it would take. Hot tears stung your eyes as you tried your best not to ruin your makeup by having them stream all over your face. You were angry, at them for saying those things. At everyone else here for clearly thinking it – you’d seen the way some of them were looking at him like he wasn’t good enough for you… - At yourself, for not standing up for the man you loved SO much. You wanted to yell at all of them. Danny didn’t have to be here. He’d be having a better time anywhere else in the world right now than being in that suit on this ship. But he was here for YOU. He was dressed up for YOU. They weren’t worthy of his time or his presence here… Hell, they didn’t deserve to be in the same room as him. Danny loved you dearly, he had a better heart and mind than half those people on deck… His family couldn’t see that either; you didn’t know why you’d expected Miami socialites to be any different. You heard a knock at the door; “Y/N… C’mon… What’s wrong…” Now he sounded visibly upset, which didn’t help you. You found yourself holding back sobs. “…Baby…” his voice was soft “…Baby, I’m here… C’mon…” You heard other hushed voices, and he replied to them. They were both female. Of course Amanda and Evelyn would be just as concerned. He knocked again; “Y/N… Darlin’… Open the door… Let me in… Or… Let them in… I don’t know, just… Baby please don’t cry…” Saying that made you actually sob. And you heard the noise he made. “…Y/N… Please… I’m right here… Sweetheart… I’m here…” Only now you continued to sob. You heard a fourth set of footsteps and the hushed voices fell silent for a minute… Three sets of footsteps disappeared… Then there was another knock. “Danny? Girls? What happened?” “We don’t know… Y/N got upset and ran down here… Danny followed her, we wanted to support her too…” Danny moved away from the door and bit his lip, “She’s cryin’…” Jack noticed that Danny looked like he was about to tear up too… “Okay… Go back to the party all of you… It’ll be alright… I’ll get her out…” The two girls left, looking to him sympathetically. Danny was reluctant, but followed. Jack placed a hand on his shoulder; “Danny… I’m sorry…” “For what?” “...I know this isn’t easy for you…” “I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for her.” Jack nodded “I know. And you have no idea how much I appreciate all you do for her… I’m very proud that you are with my daughter…” “…Thank you?” Danny wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to react. Jack just smiled, like he understood how Danny was feeling; “Whatever they say… Hers will always be the only opinion that matters.” “I agree…” Danny said it softly, but then smiled “I… Kinda think that yours matters too…” Jack laughed. “You’re too good. Mr.Rayburn. Too good. Wait at the top of the stairs, I’ll have her back to you in 5…” With that, Danny headed back to the top deck, and your father tapped on the bathroom door. “Y/N.” Oh, great. Way to ruin your parents party by having your dad find you crying in a bathroom… “Open the door. I’m the only one here…” You reached up and unlocked it. He slid it open, shaking his head. It hurt him to see you like this as much as it did Danny and your friends. He shut the door behind him and locked it, sitting next to you he took you in his arms and handed you his pocket handkerchief. “Estrella… What’s wrong? What happened? Who said it?” “Who said what…?” You dabbed at your cheeks to stop your tears ruining any more of your makeup than they already had. “I’ve been watching all night, to know that you have been watching all night. I’ve seen the way they look at him too…” You didn’t answer, still sniffing away… “…You know. Your mothers’ sisters never liked me either. Hated me in fact. I was a nothing too. I could dance, great, but how was that going to make a good living?” He knew exactly what had happened. You wondered if your father was protecting Danny just as much as you were. He chuckled; “Better believe that all changed when I was able to get them into places like this…” He shook his head “…Why they act so high and mighty I don’t know… They’re not exactly from the echelons of Miami either…” He rubbed your arm affectionately. “Your mom’s father however… Now of course no man was ever good enough for his youngest… But… All he cared about was how I was going to treat her… He knew there was more value in love than money. Still, Jorge decided that maybe I ought to earn something if I wanted to raise a family…” “…You built the business… for mom?” He shrugged “For mom and you… When you came along. The point is, I value what her father values…” You raised an eyebrow; “So… He’s not good enough for me?” He laughed; “No one will ever be good enough for you, until one is. And… he IS.” He brushed some of your hair back into place; “I believe I’m right if I make the statement Danny is the best thing that ever happened to you…” “He is…” You didn’t hesitate. You knew that. Like fact. “Then, he is more than good enough for you. And I will let those hateful bitches know that myself.” You choked on something between a sniff and a laugh; “Papa. I probably wouldn’t say that to their faces!” “Watch me.” He smiled; “For the record. Danny is better than ¾ of the people out there.” “They’re your friends.” Weren’t they? People your parents liked? “…They’re friends we have to make. The society in which we live. We all know who the real friends are…” He fumbled around in his pocket; “…The whos-who… Probably not to be associated with after tonight…” “Because of how they are treating Danny!?” “…Something like that…” He twirled what looked like a pen, and held it out to you “I don’t want anyone I know, or invited tonight, to cause anything to happen between the two of you. You are happy. The happiest I’ve ever seen you, and I’ll be damned if I let some high-and-mighty socialite ruin that… For either of you.” You laughed, realising he was holding out liquid eyeliner, you took it with a grateful smile; “I thought you might be crying over something else, tonight… So… I thought I’d keep it just in case. You don’t look too bad. Touch it up, but hurry now, your man is waiting…” You dried your eyes one final time before he helped you stand up. You embraced him; “Gracias Papa!” “It’s nothing… Not for my little girl…” He exited the bathroom and then turned back “He looks good in YSL don’t you think?” You turned to the mirror, yeah; a little bit of a touch up and you’d be fine. “…He looks a bit awkward. He was carrying it well, then when we all sat he looked uncomfortable… Now he’s standing again he’ll…” You looked to your fathers face; “What?! I have to admit that! He’d rather be in a T-shirt, or chefs whites c’mon daddy…!” “…You noticed what he’s wearing didn’t you.” “He’s wearing your watch…” You let the eyeliner glide smoothly as you began touching up “…He’s wearing the cufflinks that match this bracelet, don’t think I don’t know what you and mom are up to…” you smiled. “…Yes. Mr. Daniel Rayburn looks fantastic. He really does. But it’s not him, and he knows it’s not him.” “…And so do you, so, tell him to be comfortable... He looks awkward because he’s trying to make that suit look natural. He is wearing it, it is not wearing him.” “Then YOU tell him that. He respects you.” “But he loves YOU. We both know he didn’t turn up to this party for your mother and I… He came because you didn’t want to turn up with anyone else…” When you reached the top of the stairs, Danny was indeed waiting for you, and you weren’t even on the top step before he’d gathered you in his arms again; “Are you Ok?” “Yeah… God, I’m sorry… I just…” You shook your head, “I know… This isn’t you… And you want to be anywhere else right now… I’m sorry I made you come here… and wear a suit and…” He shook his head, and his smile was brilliant. “Baby girl… I am here… with YOU… You look amazing, and I am proud to look at least half decent next to you… Darlin’… When you are here, make no mistake, there is no place on Earth I would rather be than right here with you in my arms…” “But they-” “I know. I’ve only been used to it my entire life…” He shrugged, and rolled his eyes “What is one more night.” “Tonight wasn’t meant to be one more night, though, it was meant to be your night off…” “Tonight is very much a night on…” He guided you through the crowd, his hand respectfully around your waist “…Overtime…! Tomorrow, we will have a lazy day… on the couch… watch movies… I might even consider ordering take out… God, what am I saying…!” You wrapped your arms around him as you continued to walk… Funny thing was, you knew that would be a better day than you would ever have hanging out with half the people here tonight. Guests had begun to gather around the bottom of the stairs with drinks. You guessed your parents were about to make their big toast… You both collected your own drinks and found Amanda and Evie. Both glad you were okay, even more glad you were back in Danny’s arms.

“…I want to give a toast to the best thing that ever happened to us over the past 35 – married – years… Our daughter-” oh God! You placed one hand to your forehead – Here we go! You weren’t surprised that Danny led the cheer on that one. Your father continued his speech, making increasingly embarrassing anecdotal comments about your first steps, first words, your first car and teaching you how to drive (the red tape mark and the boat thankfully remained buried and your Rayburn boys were sworn to absolute silence), college degree, graduation, first job… promotion… Everything part of a world Danny wasn’t from. But Danny, seeing the look on his face, was living all of those moments with your father… He couldn’t be prouder of the person Jack was talking about, even though he wasn’t a part of any of it. He couldn’t be any prouder of you. That he got to experience you. “But I didn’t want to make a toast just to our daughter, on an anniversary, right!?” Your father laughed and left a pause for emphasis; “I also wanted to make a toast to the best thing to ever happen in her life…” You felt Danny hold his breath as you looked to him; your father was really toasting him!? “So…” Your father raised his glass with a wink; “Mr.Danny Rayburn… I want to thank you for putting that smile back on me daughters face, I’m grateful for the way she talks about you… For you bringing her down to Earth, because you did that when she needed it most…” He laughed “I… Just hope I get to make many more of these!” You and Danny shared a significant look; doubtless your dad was thinking about Wedding speeches already. Your dad took a sip of his drink through the applause, with Amanda and Evelyn pushing Danny’s shoulders with a bit of pride of their own (they’d seen this through from the beginning, after all), and just when you thought he might switch subjects, he continued; “…I ALSO want to say a big thank you to Danny and his incredible team at Viva Caputa! Thank you for the catering tonight!” Another round of applause went up and you turned, quick; “What!?” Danny raised his glass to your father; you smacked his arm “WHAT?! Why didn’t you TELL ME!” “Mmmm… Mmmm…!” Danny shook his head like that one was remaining a secret. “Oh my god! I can’t believe it!” He laughed, murmuring; “It’s Ok… The guys have a well-deserved day off…” Danny had his arms around you for the duration of your parents’ speeches and toasts, every so often he would brush his fingers against your side gently, calming… Like he was never going to let you go... In a room full of people like this, you belonged here with him.

Your parents took centre stage and held each other. Barely a breath was taken over the hushed crowd as they recognised the stance instantly. The way your heart skipped as the music swelled. They were about to perform the dance that had won them state… AND nationals, and had put your parents on the map. Everyone in the dance world knew them because of these very moves. It was your favourite; because of the story it told. Every time they performed it they added a slightly different element, because it was about them. About their relationship; and of course, in 35 years plus of performing this that relationship had grown and changed…

Danny nudged you, making you look at him; “What?” “We should…” he tilted his head to the dancefloor, you looked back to your parents, the next graceful turn they made. It was all so natural to them… Look at the way they looked at each other… Was that how you looked at Danny when you were in his arms like that? “No… This is them… It’s all them…” “Trust me… We should…” “Danny..?!” He took your hand, with confidence and pulled you out. He was crazy, this was THE dance, this was your parents dance. If you were going to go onto the dancefloor at all, it wouldn’t be this early! You did trust him, though, implicitly. You took a breath and watched him pick up the next bar of music, the way he moved. Then you realised, he wasn’t just matching the music… He was matching your dads’ movements. OH MY GOD--!? No way, your parents--- Did your parents teach HIM this!? He held out his hand, and you took it, instinctively. You knew this dance off by heart, you couldn’t believe that your parents would be this sneaky… But your heart… You couldn’t have loved any of them any more than you did right then…

*** You approached him again. You'd been trying to help your parents usher people off the ship or get them home safe. This left Danny to his thoughts... Something you weren't always sure was good... He hadn't touched his shoulder all evening, which was a good start. But it also wasn't like you hadn't noticed him sneaking his painkillers every so often either. "Darlin'..." He turned back to you from looking at the city lights, as you wound your arms around him, he had a cigarette in his hand and you were glad he was unwinding... He'd lost his tie; his top shirt buttons were undone and all at once you knew he was more comfortable. "You ready to go?" "Mmmhn?" He looked around at the remaining guests. "It's not over yet?" You shrugged "It is for me..." He looked to his half-finished glass and gave his own shrug, placing it on the nearest table he took your hand in his; "Better say goodbye to your parents. Is there anything we need to take back?" "Don't think so... We can always head down tomorrow... It’s not like this liner is GOING anywhere..."

Danny called your dad over; "Thanks, again, it’s been great." "Come now, Danny, it’s always my pleasure. I'm glad you came." He nodded to you "She's even more so... It'll be smaller next year!" He made the promise like Danny's presence would be concrete. You liked that. Your dad embraced you. "Estrellita... You have yourself one hell of a man... You are lucky." "I know papa..." "With any luck, one day you'll get your own one of these... Then you can learn from my mistakes..." "Oh. Y’know... Only around 34 years to go... Then..." He looked to Danny, then continued in Spanish "Don't let this one go...!" "I don't intend to..."

Your mother hurried over upon realising you were both leaving "Oh...!!! No!! Not my favourite daughter and her other half!" "Mom I'm your only daughter!" "Yes, well, I'm more concerned over our Danny here...! You won't stay?" “If she calls it I'm following her, M'am!" Maria was obviously disappointed as she embraced him "You really outdid yourself tonight Danny, in every capacity. You should be really proud of yourself." "Ah! It was nothing...!" His smile was shy and you could swear that red was crossing his cheeks for once. "No. It was everything!!" She smiled, then turned to you, as your dad also embraced Danny tight. "My darling girl... My sisters they..." "Mama I know..." She gave you a look that let you know there was possibly a world of hell coming "... You will look after him?" "Always." "He will certainly look after you." She smiled "... I could not have wished for better for you..." Honestly what was with your parents!? It was like he had gotten down on one knee already. They were almost definitely hoping for it. Geez... They were probably planning it all in their heads already. But you were sure neither of you were ready for that. "Oh!" Danny held out the Maserati keys "Better give these back..." Your dad didn't hold his hand out, rather backed away; "What? It's not like anyone else will be driving her tonight." Danny froze and looked at him like he was insane "No! Jack-! I can’t-!" Your father winked, patting him on the shoulder "Go on. Take her out. You deserve it!"

Danny stared hard at the car as he unlocked it; "Is this a good idea?" "How many have you had?!" "Like... More than should be allowed, but I'm lucid, is this legal?!" You noticed that someone, somewhere had changed the number plates back to your dads. "...Either my dad has a city agreement..." it wouldn’t surprise you "Or its going to be one of those legal for rich people fines..." Danny raised a questioning eyebrow, but now wasn't the time to get into those details. You both entered the sleek, stylish Maserati and he turned the key in the ignition. Making the "oh." sound that turned him into another boy-with-a-toy at the hum of the engine. You could hardly believe your dad was about to let him take you on a thrill ride in THIS car. "You ever actually driven a supercar before!?" He noticed the way you checked your belt more than once. "...Yeah, I drove this down here didn't I?" "Carefully, like your life depended on it, I bet!!" "My life DOES depend on it.” He looked to the dashboard "Sorry this can go HOW fast!?" "Don't you DARE!" "Oh God! How many of these are there, 100?" He put the car in gear and laughed nervously, checking around he reversed smoothly out of the parking space "...There'll be 99 after tonight!" "Don't say that!" Your voice practically pitched, and he took a deep breath. "I made a promise to get her back in one piece. I have a feeling your dad didn't mean the car...." You were watching him very carefully. Although he looked a little jumpy, and his eyes held all the excitement he wasn’t allowing to show on his face, he was checking and double checking every road and mirror as he pulled out of the Marina. He tapped the screen and the SatNav flickered into life; "Ah ha..." "Daniel. Eyes on the road..." He rolled his eyes "Back to Daniel, am I?" He took your hand "Darling." He emphasised the G like he was trying to be sophisticated "Would you please zoom out the navigation system so I can see the appropriate stretch of road." You were staring at him like he was crazy "I certainly will... On one condition." "Which is?" He leant over towards you, but kept his eyes on the road "Drive with two hands, and STOP talking like that." Danny laughed hard; "I’m trying to be the kind of man that owns one of these.” "Then you missed the point! My dad just wants you to be YOU." "And what do you want…?" He glanced at the screen to watch the road that headed up the coast line and onto the interstate, where he would really let this car fly... You smiled across at him "...Well. I know who I fell in love with. That's all I ever asked for.” "...I don't think he exists anymore..." "Hmm!?" "... You already made him a better man..." He paid attention to his mirrors again and blatantly didn't look at you "...So he just hopes you’re still in love with him." You shook your head, what was with Danny tonight? Did it had something to do with your dumb crying episode, which you were now SO over. "You tell him not to worry...." You looked out to sea, dark, the waves every so often lit by street lamps "...I'm not sure I've ever loved anyone more than I do him..."

You continued to stare out of the window as he brought the car up to the increasing speed limit – affording him to look back to you. Every moment he spent with you he tried to savour, if only life had a pause button he knew he’d find himself pressing it often. He’d always thought this was way too good to last… But he was also quick to realise that he could probably put you through anything, not that he would want to, but your versatility would allow him to – AND let him find you still holding onto his hand at the end of it all. Somehow this was working out for him; you, Nolan, the restaurant. Suddenly he stopped looking for all the things that could go wrong – and was starting to allow himself to enjoy everything that was going right… You wound the window down as the engine revved at the gaining speed, allowing the cool evening air that rushed past you to fill the car. Danny continued to carefully push the car into the next set of numbers – when they started to turn red at the top end of the speedometer he held his hand out for yours. “I’m scared of what you’re about to do…” He laughed, “You just gotta trust me.” You took his hand in answer and the next thing you knew the car was more than flying as he broke into triple figures. You found yourself getting that shot of adrenalin as the world passed you by in a blur, flashes of colour every so often melding into the dark of the evening. “Oh My God!!” You couldn’t help but let out something akin to a scream, which only made him laugh harder as he continued to let the speed climb. Even with just one hand on the wheel; he managed to hold the car steady. And even with his hand in yours his eyes were focused on nothing but the road.

He took it back down in notches, almost letting the car coast until the dash started to read something more sensible. Both of you were near breathless and he let your hand go; looking across to you. “Guess there’s still 100 of these!” You put a hand to your heart; “I think my heart is going at the number of miles an hour you were just at.” He chuckled; “That was good fun!” “Don’t be getting ideas.” “Aw, and here I was thinking about taking the Porsche out…” “Hands off the 911 Mr!!” “MMM… Careful…” He produced the keys from his pocket; spinning the keychain around his index finger; “Wait WHAT!?” “You forgot about it. I didn’t.” “Danny you are NOT driving that car.” He looked across to you almost disbelieving; “C’mon! What is one more joyride?” You tipped your head; thinking that phrase was a double entendre “Take me home and I’ll consider it.” “Hm.” He acted like it was a hard choice “Ok… Home…” He looked to the time on the illuminated clock; “Yeah… let’s… go home…” Then he looked across to you like he was about to say something impressive; “Our home.”

* The Anniversary the year after had been a smaller affair with closer friends and family. As had happened with your surprise birthday party (you still weren’t forgiving anyone for that!) and Nolan’s birthday, Danny had closed down his restaurant for the evening. That also meant your parents got to invite his whole team (And Nolan, but that was given.) – especially after the efforts for their 35th. “Well, Danny… Team… You’ve all outdone yourselves once again!” Danny wasn’t one to be shy, but this time when he smiled to your dad’s compliment, he looked to the table… “Aw… It was nothin’…” He laughed “We’re happy to. You guys have given me the best time of my life. Honestly, I can’t thank you enough!” He had his arm over the back of your chair, barely moving from touching you or being that close all evening… You loved and trusted this whole group. None of them were judgemental. With time, and it wouldn’t be much longer, Danny would love them all too and accept that he was somewhere he finally belonged. It wasn’t a class, or a title, not even a name… But friends and family, real family. Sometimes family didn’t have to be blood relatives, after all. “To Y/N, and Danny. Thank you for everything, and I truly mean everything, over the past 2 and a half years….” Then he laughed again “2 and a half! Wait until it’s 35!”

Present Day – Your Apartment, PM

Even with the AC on nearly as high as it would go, with Danny all over you it was still SO hot in your apartment. Not that in the literal heat of the moment you particularly cared but hell… It was making your short breaths even shorter. Wrapped up in your white sheets on one such Sunday morning was where you found yourself today. “Danny… it’s… too hot…” You were breathless as much as you were laughing as he kept kissing you. The man was nothing if not persistent. Your bedroom window was open, as was the balcony door and you still had the AC cranked and you were still falling victim to the Miami sun. “Baby girl, trust me, there is NOTHING as hot as you…” Aw Geez… How the hell was this not affecting him too? Was he just so used to working out in it at the Keys? Or in a hot kitchen day-in-day-out in the middle of summer? Both. You guessed. Your office was air conditioned, your car was air conditioned... You only had to face the heat on the short walk from one to the other or when you wanted to face it on a beach. This was neither of those things. You laughed again as he kissed the base of your neck; “Alright, quit it!” “Nah…” He bit your collar bone harder than he perhaps meant to, judging by the resulting gasp from you. “…You need to know…” He kissed up your neck and then your jaw line to your lips; “…You’re so fucking hot.” “Yeah, that’d be the weather…!” You giggled again. “Or you?” “Mmm…” He gave you a playful smirk; “Well, hell, I know exactly how I make you feel…” There was no better feeling than being one with Danny. Now in a different way to how you were one and the same on the dance floor, but it gave you the same sensation none the less. Tangled up with him like this, even with it being too damn hot, made you feel like there was no place on Earth worth being than here. Oh-! “…That was…” “What?” You said it under your breath, but Danny Rayburn thought he caught on anyway… His blue eyes were alert, bright and intelligent and cool as the Miami water. “Sorry. Did you just say, sexy?”

Your problem now was… How many more times were you going to get to do this? Fast running out of lazy days where you could just DO this. I mean, in his parent’s house in the Keys!?!? Was Danny thinking straight?? Did he really know what he was doing…? Did he honestly think it was best for everyone for him to be heading there…?

@stcphstrange - I read a good portion of these paragraphs whilst editing and immediately thought of you... ☺❤😚

I use these GIFs you keep seeing because when I see them I think of the way I think of him looking at Reader... And I have a lot of feelings...!

*AFTER EDIT - 8/6/19* OKAY. So, those of you that have read this before now... I’m so so sorry you’re likely to miss this. But. The gorgeous Amanda (my Amanda, not readers Amanda... but if she wants to date Javi that’s fine by me!) presented me with this GIF of Mr.Mendelsohn. and HOLY SHIT If it isn’t Danny (and what he’s WEARING!) in this part!!!

#Danny Rayburn #danny rayburn x reader #Danny Rayburn x You #Bloodline #Ben Mendelsohn #Linzi Writes #Happy Birthday Mendo!#I have a three fic contribution to Mendelweek!#12 #Liliana #That Golden Globes Suit STILL gets me #I didn't even see the pics before I described what Danny was wearing I SWEAR #UGH-! Killer! Have Mercy!

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stripestheboar · 7 years

Text

Day 6 - Hotland Girls (Undertale)

Well... this ship exists. I like it, but damn, it’s kinda popular. This is ship between Fuku Fire and Skateboard Girl. A few headcanons you should be aware of going in:

Fuku is Grillby’s daughter.

Skateboard Girl is named Blaine.

They’re already in a reltionship.

They’re around 18.

........ That’s kinda it.

Pairing: Hotland Girls

Word Count: 2,608

The house was relatively silent partially darkened by the night, the only light coming from a low yellow glow from a partially closed room and a much brighter green one emitting from the figure at the stairs. The young fire monster walked with painfully slow steps, attempting not to wake her sleeping father in the room just feet from her. She knew from past experiences that the fourth step had a loose board, and proceeded to step over it as she made her way down the stairs. A bag at her hip and her clothes set to bring out her flames, she knew that if she was caught now, it would at least be a month or so without the car. Or maybe her it would be her phone. Either one was enough to make her soul clench.

As soon as the bottom step was reached, she quickly made her way to the door, being sure to slip out without a sound. Once the door was locked, she took a moment to relish the calm, still night air, her flames burning a little brighter at the sudden rush of fresh air. Looking over, she saw an idle, rusty car stopped a few houses away, just as promised. A familiar arm stuck out the window and waved, and she wasted no time in booking it over, coming to a light jog as she approached. As soon as she was inside, she was greeted by the same snarky grin she’d been waiting to see all night. The purple monster beside her had on her usual attire, being a ratty pair of jeans and a plaid shirt, barely buttoned up near the top, and her same cap that she had turned backwards and tilted just enough to make room for her large horns.

“Took ya long enough,” Blaine chuckled, starting the car. “Yeah? Well it’s not like I just run out,”Fuku sighed, throwing her bag into the back. “I mean, I’m pretty much a small green lighthouse.” She leaned forward and turned on the radio, looking over at her friend as they began to speed off. “You’re lucky he works so goddamn late. He sleeps like a damp log the moment he gets home,” she sighed. “Ever since we got out of the Underground, he’s been watching me like a hawk. And he still doesn’t trust me alone after he caught me last time.” Faint recognition appeared on the other’s face as she concentrated on the road. “Oh yeah. Two weeks without the phone, right.” “Three!” Fuku exasperated. “Three fucking weeks! I swear, I was going to kill myself if I went one more day. Japanese is so fucking hard without Undernet. I tried to explain why my grade was dropping, but he wouldn’t even listen to me. Asshole.” Blaine gave a small laugh in response, before asking, “So why don’t you just learn the language or something. Or, y’know, study?” Fuku just flicked her flame, a fire monster’s version of an eye roll. “As if. That shit is super hard. I should’ve just picked up French. At least Muffet would be able to teach me something.” She looked back over at her friend, before observing the car. “Where’d you get this old thing?” Her friend gave a small shrug. “My dad bought it off a used car lot. He let my take it out for the night. As long as I don’t wreck it, he’s cool with it.” Fuku watched her house disappear into the distance, before giving a short sigh. “So, what’s this place you keep talking about?”

Blaine was silent for a few seconds as she prepared to make a turn, before flicking her eyes to Fuku and answering. “Skate park,” she grinned. “Found out about it just last week. Pretty cool place. Pretty short distance, too. Just a quick drive away.” The fire monster gave a groan as she slumped even more into her seat. “Aw come on, don’t we such a baby,” Blaine chuckled. “You’ll be fine.”

“Girl, I can’t even skate,” Fuku huffed. “You expect me to survive longer than five minutes at a skate park, you’re out of your mind.” Blaine rolled her eyes with a slight chuckle. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll teach you. Piece of cake. You’re gonna have a great time.” The green monster just sighed in annoyance. “Yeah? Well I don’t even own skates, so I can’t do it even if I wanted to,” she pointed out rather matter-of-factly. “Nah, I’ll lend you my skateboard,” the other responded, jerking a thumb to the back of the car. “You’ll be fine.” Fuku was a little taken aback that her best friend would let anyone take a ride on her skateboard. She was a little flattered by the gesture, but still persisted. “Alright, but everyone’s gonna see me fall down a bunch of time. It’s going to be so embarrassing,” she sighed.

“Not really; it’ll just be you and me,” Blaine responded, making another slow turn. The other seemed slightly surprised by this. “Yeah? You sure?” The purple monster gave an affirmative nod. “Yep. It’s not that much of a popular park. Not many people go there.” Fuku narrowed her eyes for a moment; hard to believe that the usually disorganized Blaine was able to think up a sturdy plan for their night out. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Alright, she’ll take the bait, but just this once. “Alright, fine,” she sighed, looking away. The other denizen of Hotlands grinned and gave herself a mini pat on the back to cheer herself. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna love it,” she assured her friend. Fuku huffed and looked at her suspiciously. “Yeah? You sure about that?”

Blaine smirked and leaned over, planting a kiss on her girlfriend’s flame. “That’s a promise.” Fuku blinked in surprise, growing brighter as her flames flickered a light turquoise for a few seconds there, before she turned back in her seat and buckled in for the ride ahead, ignoring Blaine’s light snicker.

The pair continued their journey down the road, singing along to whatever song on the radio was popular at the moment. However, it wasn’t until a good four songs passed that Fuku realized the ride was stretching on a bit longer than she thought. “Hey, what gives?” she asked. “I thought you said it was only a short drive.” Blaine didn’t make eye contact this time, instead just giving a short hum to confirm it. “Yeah, I know,” she said. “It is short. Just a good… hour drive away.” The green monster sat up straight, tossing a bewildered look at her girlfriend. “An hour drive? Are you kidding me? You call that short?” Blaine just gave a small chuckle. “Yeah, okay, maybe I lied about that. Don’t worry, I’ll get you home on time.” Fuku groaned in annoyance and slumped in her chair. She should have known; Blaine was a notorious liar, even if most of her deceptions are relatively harmless. “You bitch,” she muttered, though it wasn’t exactly in an angry way. She was just frustrated at the moment.

Well, they did eventually get to their destination: a rather large skate park with plenty of ramps and skating space. However, to the flame’s surprise and slight annoyance, the skate park was filled with people, most of them humans. It was rather crowded in there. Fuku shot a look to Blaine as the horned girl exited the car. “You said it would only be us!” she cried, getting out as well. Blaine merely chuckled as she went to the back of the car. “Ha, sorry. Lied about that, too.”

“Ugh. Okay, so I guess you lied about letting me use your skateboard, too?”

“Yep. Definitely.”

“Oh my god.”

“So I bought you a pair of skates instead.”

She watched in slight amazement as her bestie pulled out a pair of brand new white skates. Still, she was a bit frustrated, but she did promise herself she would at least make an attempt at it. She sighed and snatched the skates out of her hands and marched on over to the park.

A few humans glanced their way, looking curious to see a fire monster and her purple girlfriend come in and sit down. Fuku mumbled a few confident, pep talk-like phrases to herself a she fitted the tight skates onto her feet. She was glad they at least fit her decently. “How did you know my size?” she asked Blaine, who gave her a small smirk. “You rub your feet on me sometimes when you sleep,” she answered. “You have, like, the smallest fuckin’ feet.”

Fuku flared a sea green color for half a second, before, she tried to brush it off by standing up with the skates on. She immediately squealed as soon as she began to slip and slide in place, before crumbling onto the bench in a weak mess. Blaine let out a rambunctious laugh before bending down to help her girlfriend back up, who was now a darker shade from the embarrassment. Fuku gripped her hands tightly, trying to keep herself steady on the ground. “O-okay, now help me out. You said you would teach me.”

“Oh, I lied about that, too.”

“Blaine!”

“Joking! Joking!”

And so, one monster steadily grabbed the other and lead her to a small rink where those with roller skates could practice and just cruise around. Blaine gave her girlfriend an encouraging smile, grabbing her skateboard as she led her to the small ring. Fuku was trying her damnedest to keep steady, but she still slipped a few times. Fortunately for her, Blaine was always there to catch her in case she fell.

“A bit clumsy, eh?” she grinned. Fuku just huffed as she tried to straighten herself. “No no, I’m fine. I’ll have this down in no time. Just- FUUUUCK ME!” She squeaked in terror as she slipped into split position, gasping as she grabbed onto Blaine’s waist to just keep herself up. The other laughed and helped her up. “Hey hey, just stand still, back straight, and don’t try to take a step,” she instructed, watching her attempt to follow the orders and stand up a bit straighter. Once she was steady, Blaine began to lead her around the rink once again, attempting to teach her how to skate on her own.

The process of actually teaching the newbie how to get around on wheels was pretty difficult. Often times she would have to shoot glares at snickering teenagers just to save Fuku the embarrassment of constantly falling down. However, as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, and while things were going fairly slowly to begin with, slowly she began to make progress, falling less frequently and being able to stay up by herself for a few good minutes. It was moving that was the right part, and though it took over an hour, Fuku seemed almost ready to get off of her training wheels and into the rink.

“C’mon, babe, one more time,” she encouraged, stepping back to watch her stand perfectly still, both arms spread out wide to keep her balance. She took a step forward, almost slipping and falling had it not been for the help of her flapping arms. She gulped and tried again, this time moving forward a bit as planned. She repeated a step, smiling when she didn’t lose balance. “Looking good,” Blaine grinned, watching her slowly repeat the step around the rink. A few more circles later and she was rather getting the hang of it.

Blaine grinned, glad she was able to do a bit of skating on her own now. Once she was sure Fuku was good and steady on the ground, she grabbed her skateboard and began to glide around, her girlfriend trailing behind her. It only took a few minutes, but Fuku soon realized how easily she was able to keep up with Blaine now that she was on wheels, instead of having to jog after her as she usually did. Maybe Blaine did have a point to all this after all.

After a bit of rolling around casually, Blaine went about skating down the halfpipes and doing a few tricks. Fuku sat by, encouraging her friend with quick praised each time she came back up onto the ledge, about to perform another trick.

A couple of hours after the two monsters had started their fun together, they decided to head back home so they could get some rest before their parents woke up. They got back into their car, laughing and talking and a bit tired.

“I had a really great time,” Fuku smiled, taking off the large skates from her feet. “Hey, I told you you’d have fun, didn’t I?” Blaine sighed, grinning over at her. “Yeah, you did,” the flame gave in, closing her eyes and leaning over to give Blaine a quick kiss. The other returned it, of course, before they started on their way home. They spent the rest of the drive talking and singing along to music. By the time they arrived at the Fire residence, the sunrise could just barely be seen.

“Thanks for the skates,” Fuku said quickly, giving Blaine another kiss. “Maybe we’ll do this again some other week?” Her girlfriend nodded in agreement at the idea, leaning against the wheel. “Sounds good. I’ll check to see if I can somehow steal the car while my dad’s out again.”

“Wait. I thought you said he let you borrow it.”

“Uh…. That was a lie, too.”

Fuku just laughed before giving another kiss, grabbing her bag and the skates, and exiting the car. She watched the car drive off as she made her way back to her house, a barely visible smile across her flame. She slowly opened the door to her house, slipping in without a sound. She silently pat herself on the back, thinking she had gotten away with the entire night, until she went up the stairs. Her foot hit the fourth step, causing a loud creak to emit from the staircase. Her soul clenched when she saw the kitchen lights come on. “Fuku,” called the all too familiar voice of her father. Fuku cursed herself, sighing as she slowly made her way to the kitchen.

“Heyyy, daddy,” she greeted slowly, attempting to play off the fact that she was fully clothed in not-so-modest clothing, holding a bag and a pair of skates. Sure, he didn’t have his glasses on right now, but he wasn’t blind. Grillby was slumped over the counter, arms crossed patiently with a bottle of hundred proof vodka nearby, his version of a morning coffee. He gave his daughter a tired look, before taking a swig.

Fuku sighed. “Well, look, you see, I just woke up an hour ago and wanted to-“

“I saw you go out five hours ago, Fuku.”

“Dammit,” she swore to herself. “Well, you see, it’s because…. Okay, I have nothing.” Grillby’s flames just flicked in slight annoyance.

“Four weeks without the phone.”

“What?!”

“Hand it over.”

“But daddyyyyyyyy!”

“Want me to add the car to that, too?”

Fuku just groaned and handed her device over grumpily before going upstairs to get some sleep. “Did you at least have fun?” Grillby called, causing her to pause for a second. “Yeah, dad. It was…. It was great. I learned to skate.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah…” She then went to her room to catch up on sleep, wishing there was some way to wake up four weeks from now. Hopefully her dad wouldn’t read her texts. After tonight, who knows what Blaine would be sending her.

#Undertale #Hotland girls #Fuku Fire #Skateboard girl #Blaine #Fuku #Blaine/Fuku #Fuku Fire/Skateboard girl #love #romance #Grillby #utshippingpridemonth #shipping pride month #Coonfics

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vickyvicarious · 7 years

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max and the misunderstanding (bmw 6)

bullymagnet week, day six: the festival/fair

read day one, day two, day three, day four, and day five first. also available on AO3.

“We’ll have to split up into pairs to cover all the possible locations,” Spender muses in his deep, dramatic mission-planning voice. At least he’s not talking to the window or standing in front of a fan so his jacket billows out this time. “I don’t want to leave anyone alone in the face of this threat…”

“Great,” Isaac grumbles, “so who’m I with, Isabel, Ed, or you?”

“Well, Isabel, but you don’t have to ask like that.” Spender sounds mildly affronted. “Unless you actually want to go with Johnny again.”

“No thanks. Our philosophies clash,” he replies a little sourly. Looking over at Max, he half-smiles. “At least you can handle him.”

“Uh,” says Max, who is unaware that he’s ever been truly successful at curbing Johnny’s Johnny-ness. It’s been a few weeks since he came into his spectral powers, and even though he hasn’t officially joined the club he’ll help out from time to time – but while none of those times have ended in terrible failure yet, any word other than ‘chaos’ would still be a misnomer. “I can?”

“Can’t I?” Ed jumps in before anyone can answer that genuine question. “I beat him up once and we bonded, you know.”

“Face it pal, even if that did really happen it’s not like it’s ever stops him from destroying everything when you fight together,” Isabel grins, affectionately punching him on the shoulder and causing him to stumble back a step.

Max reflects, not for the first time, that Isabel could probably beat up Johnny if she wanted, even without spectral powers involved. Alas, organizing a grudge match is not the order of business today, no matter how much he’d love to see it (Johnny) go down.

“Look, Isaac said no, Ed can’t control him at all, Isabel I’m a little afraid what would happen,” Spender breezes through that last one extra-quick, “and I just… don’t want to. Max, you’re with Johnny on this one. He won’t say no to you anyway so it all works out.”

“He says no to me all the time,” Max says, flashing back to the fifteen minutes spent yesterday having a shouting match over who could have the last tube of red paint in art. The confrontation ended with Johnny pinning Max’s head to the floor with a foot as he used up the entire tube purely out of spite even though it covered his whole canvas.

For some reason though, everyone seems amused by this claim. Isaac blatantly laughs.

“Sure,” he says, grinning like he knows something Max doesn’t. “Ask him to the fair. He’ll definitely refuse you.”

“Whhhhhhhhhhh,” Johnny says, when Max asks him to the fair. “Whhhhut. W-who me.”

“Yes. And, um, not these guys,” Max says somewhat rudely, since if he doesn’t spell it out Johnny will definitely bring all his friends along. “Just you and me.”

“WITH YOU. ME. FAIR. WHAT.”

Behind Johnny, RJ collapses foaming at the mouth. Stephen falls to the ground to shake them, shouting pleas for their survival.

“Are you, uh, sick or something?” Max asks. “You’re super red and making no sense.”

Johnny spins to Ollie.

“AM I SICK, DUDE?” he roars in what appears to be panic. “’M I HALLUCINATING?”

Ollie leans in, squints at Johnny, feels his forehead, then inexplicably turns to Max, poking him several times and then tweaking his nose.

“Nope,” he tells Johnny, and claps a hand onto his shoulder, staring deep into his eyes. “It’s Code Twitterpate.”

Johnny takes a deep breath at this. He slowly turns back to Max.

“S-sure,” he says, voice startlingly soft. “Um. Yeah. Okay.”

“Cool,” Max says. “I’ll meet you at the West Entrance around noon?”

“Y-yeah,” Johnny nods, still using that really really gentle voice. Ollie is beaming down at both of them like some kind of proud parent.

“…..See you then then,” Max says, and walks off quickly. After a minute, his phone buzzes.

[How’d it go?] Isaac asks.

[Once you parse through the crazy, he just really likes the fair I think.]

Isaac sends back a string of laughing-and-crying emoticons, then refuses to explain what’s so funny.

When Max arrives at the fair’s West Entrance at approximately noon-fifteen the next day, he is immediately accosted by a vigorous noogie from his partner for the day.

“That’s for bein’ late,” Johnny says smugly, as Max pretends to himself the tears in his eyes are only from the bright sunshine. Ow. Ow. Ow.

“Sorry, geez,” he says, rubbing cautiously at his head. “I had to ditch Zoey. My dad wanted me to bring her too, but I mean that wasn’t happening.”

“I like Zoey,” Johnny reminds Max, as though he doesn’t regularly wake in a cold sweat over that very fact.

“So do I but do you really wanna bring her along today?” he asks, instead of showing his fear. Johnny blinks, then grins widely.

“Nah,” he says brightly. “I think we’re good as-is.”

“Yeah, good,” Max repeats, sounding a little dumb even to himself, but he’s kind of distracted by Johnny’s smile. It is just… so happy. Does he really like the fair that much, or is it just the prospect of beating up a spirit?

Maybe it’s the combination of fair and spirit?

“Here, I’ll uh, I’ll pay.” Max stumbles forward to buy their tickets with the money Spender handed out yesterday. Johnny makes a small choking sound in the back of his throat but doesn’t protest. He grips his ticket really hard when Max hands it to him.

“Right, so, we’re by the fairgrounds with all the rigged games,” he says as they walk into the fair, studying his trisected map. Ed called the rollercoasters right away, making all the blood drain from Spender’s face. At least Max managed to jump in fast enough to get the carnie games and haunted house instead of the area with the ferris wheel and carousel, that would’ve been super boring. “Do you wanna–PFLGMH.”

“Got some cotton candy,” Johnny explains, unnecessarily since about half of it is currently blocking Max’s airways. He never even knew that was possible with something that melts so fast. “Here, ‘s for you.”

“Gee, thanks being so attentive,” Max snarks after he manages to stop choking, but the sarcasm appears to fly over Johnny’s head as he just grins a little wider and takes a bite of his own cotton candy.

Well, whatever. Max is always willing to appreciate terrible food that’s bigger than his face. He accepts his and continues munching on it as they start off down the fairway, meandering around to avoid spirits and ghosts mixed in with the crowd.

“I was gonna say, do you want to try and actually win anything? I know we’re supposed to check them out but I kind of don’t want to waste money on something no one can win anyway.”

Johnny scoffs. “I can win ‘em. Do every year.”

“You’re lying,” Max says immediately. “Or cheating. Nope, lying.”

Johnny’s chest puffs up, and he turns his head to grin one of his sharktooth grins at Max.

“Sometimes I forget ya ain’t been around forever, but then you say somethin’ dumb like that,” he says fondly. Max is considering getting offended, but Johnny looks so happy at the chance to brag that he decides to let the insult slide this time. “You, new kid, are lookin’ at the King of the Carnival!”

“This is America,” Max deadpans.

Johnny just laughs, and dashes off to the nearest booth – one of those shooting galleries where you have to knock over the bottles. The guy behind the desk gets a very intense look on his face as soon as they approach.

“Jhonny,” he snaps. “Y-you won’t beat me this year! I’ve fixed every flaw!”

“So... you’re admitting to rigging the game, then?” Max asks.

“Wh- no! This is a game of skill, and anyone could win a fantastic prize!” the guy shouts with a big grin… then leans across the counter and snarls, “But between you’n’me kid, you’re going DOWN.”

Johnny looks up at the prizes hanging from the roof.

“Max,” he says confidently. “I’m gonna win ya a tiger.”

He – he does. Actually, really quickly, and Max is gifted a tiger bigger than himself by the crying carnie. He holds it awkwardly, unsure what to do with it and also still kind of stunned, frankly.

“Okay, that was actually really impressive,” he’s forced to admit. He’s tried his hand at these games before and never won one of the big prizes, even after reading How To Cheat A Cheat: Tips of an Ex-Carnie at the library.

Johnny flushes, grinning proudly.

“Jus’, just wait,” he kind of splutters, and then next thing Max knows they’re making their way down the row, challenging every game and decimating them all. It’s surprisingly fun, just watching Johnny go – he’s super into it, and keeps glancing up to make sure Max is watching, sending him these little grins and waiting expectantly for praise every time he dominates another challenge. It’s kind of hilarious, all these carnie guys are recognizing Johnny and getting all fired up to defeat him, but he doesn’t pay them any attention, too busy showing off. This one guy doesn’t even get to finish his rival monologue before Johnny’s popped all the balloons on the back wall and is shoving a stuffed elephant into Max’s (very full by this point) arms.

He even claims to have a technique for the Wheel of Fortune, which Max would normally scoff at, but by this point he just accepts the bragging as fact – a move justified when Johnny does, in fact, win on his first spin. By the time they arrive at the other end of the track, Max is exhausted just from dragging around the loot Johnny’s dumped on him, let alone the hours under the hot sun.

“All right, break time,” he huffs, dropping everything onto a luckily empty table. “Siddown your majesty, you deserve a funnel cake after all of that.”

Johnny plops down, grinning ear to ear, and he looks so proud of himself, obviously just having the time of his life. Max is really… really endeared by that expression for some reason, there’s just something about the sight of Johnny sitting there in his ‘like a boss’ shirt surrounded by stuffed animals, a dragon painted on his face, grinning up at the sky.

On a whim, he whips out his phone and takes a picture. Johnny blinks, losing the grin, and Max smirks.

“Got a new picture for my contacts,” he says, wagging his phone at his friend. Johnny’s cheeks go pink, and Max walks off to get the food before he can retort. On the way, he exchanges texts with the rest of club, reporting their lack of progress and confirming that so far everyone else is in the same boat. Though Spender has apparently vomited twice already, and Isabel made Isaac get his caricature then hurt herself laughing, which means that for once Max’s team is the only uninjured one, so far anyway.

When Max returns with the funnel cakes, sodas, and hot dogs, he’s ambushed by a heavy arm dropping around his shoulder. Johnny drags him into his side until their cheeks are pressed together, commands him to smile, then blinds him with his flash, all while Max is still struggling not to drop the food. Afterwards, he grins at Max, holding up his phone.

“Me too,” he says, and Max feels warm all over.

They really need to get under some shade at some point before he fries like an egg.

After they eat, Max points out the funhouse stuff – the haunted house comes first, of course, and he and Johnny step in together with all the confidence of preteens who have seen multiple movies they weren’t supposed to be old enough for yet. Though, Max doesn’t really have to sneak that much usually, his dad just tends to forget that ratings are a thing and invites him in to watch whatever. He kind of envies Johnny for getting to choose which stuff to smuggle in and watch in secret with his friends; it sounds a lot more fun than watching movies with his dad suddenly saying “oops” and covering his eyes at key moments while shouting off-key lullabies.

…Anyway. Max is kind of expecting the haunted house to be where the spirit finally jumps out at them. It’s kind of cliché, for an evil ghost to be in a haunted house, but those exist for a reason, right? He’s also kind of expecting to get told to leave his tool outside, because somebody bringing a baseball bat into a haunted house is just a recipe for disaster. Max and Isabel’s larger tools getting confiscated on rides and stuff is even the fake reason Spender made up after the fact for why they both needed to be paired with mediums today.

In the end though, both expectations are proven false. Max abandons his gigantic pile of stuffed animals outside, kind of secretly hoping they’ll get stolen because he’s tired of carrying them around, but the bored teenager at the door doesn’t seem to notice or care about the baseball bat sticking out of his backpack. And then once they’re inside, it’s darkish, and there are a lot of spooky noises, but it’s not actually that scary because the spirits that are everywhere in Mayview serve as kind of natural nightlights, making it really easy for spectrals to see the shoddy setup and the bored employees. The grudge they’re looking for isn’t around, and the closest Max comes to actually being scared is when he trips on the step going outside at the end and nearly falls on his face.

Normally Max would be majorly disappointed by something like this, but Johnny spends the whole trip through grumbling about not getting to reflexively punch the jump-scare staff in the face like he apparently normally does. Seeing them beforehand, he complains very seriously as Max attempts not to snicker too loudly, takes all the fun out of it.

“Th’ haunted house is supposed to hone my sick senses,” Johnny is still complaining as they step outside.

“Yeah, I can see the lack of spooks really has you aghost,” Max agrees.

“My spirits ‘re low,” Johnny admits, stepping over a line of small things that look like duck/toothbrush hybrids. He narrows his eyes pointedly at Max’s bat. “But I’m not gonna hold a grudge about it.”

Max laughs, breaking first. Normally he can go longer punning against Johnny, but right now he’s just in a really good mood, okay, so he settles for just kind of elbowing Johnny’s side. This devolves immediately into an elbowing match all the way over to the pile of fairground prizes, which Max is dismayed to see have not been stolen. Where is the rampant crime he was promised as part of the fairground experience?

“I can’t take all of these home,” he says, ignoring Johnny’s betrayed little noise. “This is way too much. Do you want ‘em?”

“I got those for you,” Johnny complains. Then clears his throat and says, “Uh, I mean, I got like a million already anyway. Just keep ‘em.”

“No way, these are all donation-bound.” Max glances over at Johnny and instantly regrets it; his expression is practically the definition of quiet disappointment. It’s even worse that it’s quiet, somehow. He looks hurt, which just isn’t fair at all.

“…Fine, whatever,” he mumbles.

“–Except Skullcruncher, of course,” Max blurts, then grabs at the first prize of the day. He instantly regrets choosing the gihuge tiger when he thinks about transporting this home, but it is the one Johnny actually promised to win for him and it’s kind of cool-looking, so. “Oh, and uh, something for Zoey. The weird donkey thing, I guess.”

“Nah, she’ll like the octopus better,” Johnny says. He’s correct. He’s also grinning, trying to hide it by stooping down to pull out the chosen toys from the pile, and for some reason him ducking his head and smiling into his shoulder as he hoists a five and a half foot tiger over it makes Max want to hug him, or ruffle his hair or something.

“R-right,” he says instead, snatching up the octopus and trying to hide his own smile for reasons he’s not entirely sure of. “A-anyway, uh, on to the hall of mirrors?”

It’s quiet and cool inside. Johnny’s quiet too, in that peaceful way he sometimes gets. He’s not the type of person you’d expect to be able to just be quiet with, but Max has noticed it happening on a fairly frequent basis when they’re alone together. He feels comfortable now, just like he always does when this happens, relaxed after a fun afternoon at the fair, and while the mirror house isn’t that exciting really, at least it’s not crowded.

He’s making faces into an eternity of reflections when he notices gray out of the corner of his eye. Half-turning allows him to see Johnny standing just behind him through another mirror. Something’s going on, but it looks to be all in his mind ‘cause Max can’t see any spectral reason for him to be emitting smoke. He looks like he’s in the middle of talking to his spirit, because he’s twitching pretty quickly in place, but of course that’s over in a couple of seconds.

When he emerges, it’s with a firm expression. He takes a deep breath, nods once to himself, then reaches forward, beyond the edge of the mirror Max is watching through. He’s not sure what Johnny’s trying to do; a second later he feels fingers brush against his hand, but at the same moment his phone buzzes, startling him, and he pulls it out to check his messages.

“Oh, hey! Isaac and Isabel got the spirit! Turns out it was in the ferris wheel watching the sunset and they surprised it from behind, talk about boring,” Max says. He looks up, laughing a little. “I kinda forgot that we were even here on a mission for a minute–”

He stops.

Johnny is staring at him, eyes wide, hand outstretched. Slowly, red spreads across his entire face. He drops his hand. He also drops Skullcrusher.

“I,” he says, and blinks several times. His voice is all croaky. “Um. I gotta go-”

Johnny spins around and bolts out of the room, crashing into four mirror walls on the way out. Max is left staring after him, completely confused. Somehow, he doubts that it’s Johnny’s bladder suddenly bothering him so much, a theory supported by the kid’s complete absence once Max finally makes it out of the mirror hall, but he doesn’t really know what else could be bothering Johnny so much.

When, after stalking the porta-potties for ten minutes, it becomes clear that Johnny really has ditched him, Max ends up convening with the rest of the Activity Club to catch a ride home from Spender, ending up smushed in the middle of the backseat between Isaac and Ed, and underneath Skullcrusher. He texts Johnny during the drive, asking what’s wrong, but there’s no answer.

“What’s going on?” Isaac asks quietly, nudging him.

Max isn’t sure what to say. He was having a great time all day, and he’s pretty sure Johnny had been too. Right up until that very last second, after talking to – oh.

“I think Forge said something that bothered Johnny,” he mumbles back, extra quiet since Spender is weird about Johnny’s spectral hitchhiker. “He got all red all of a sudden and just left, and now he’s not answering my texts.”

“Ah,” Isaac says wisely. “Ahhhhh. I see.”

“We all do, it’s not exactly subtle,” Ed interjects. Isaac ignores him.

Instead, he claps a hand on Max’s shoulder, smiling wisely down at him.

“Johnny will be okay,” he promises. “And Max, you’ll understand some day… when you’re older.”

“You’re thirteen shut up,” Max retorts, and sinks down into his seat to grump in peace since no one else is being helpful.

[Seriously, you okay?] he types, then doesn’t close the phone. Keeps staring at that picture of the King of the Carnival, smiling so wide.

#bullymagnet week #bullymagnet #paranatural #my fic #I HAD FUN WITH THIS ONE #alas if max had a better vocabulary all this could've been avoided #isaac is a Teenager and Wise About These Matters #or at least obnoxious about them

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