#“Leo I'm. I'm so sorry I didn't- I thought you-”

[qoldenskies]

Think the biggest thing about the family meeting for me is that it's literally just mean. They sit there berating Donnie until he cries. There's a supposed reason for the meeting, but Raph literally says that they're moving on to "serious talk" when they start discussing his "behavior." That entire segment of them tearing him down is literally just for their enjoyment. It's not vindictive in the way their physical abuse of him is, not as calculated as the closet situation. It's literally them just being flat out fucking mean because they're having fun doing it.

The fact that they especially poke at his autism is devastating. It's painful by itself (one of the biggest things people tend to praise about Rise when it comes to ND rep is that the brothers have literally never treated him as a burden because of who he is), but you've mentioned before that Donnie is really the one who suffers from the ND "my identity belongs to the people" experience. He uses his technology to make up for what he sees as deficits. But he's been told that not only does his "useless junk" not make up for his existence, but they absolutely hate those traits as much as he'd feared. I've always kind of thought that this was an underlying fear he never mentioned in Witch Town, mostly because it feels like a very ND struggle: it wasn't just the thought of being replaced by mystic that scared him, but the thought that all his tech, all his effort, had become not enough to make up for his living. Except in CC he can think back to what April said and think "You were wrong. You were wrong and I'm sorry for everything."

the fact that their words prey on a pre-existing insecurity is what makes it so HARD to undo.... like YES they can convince donnie that they DO love him, and that he didn't deserve to be lied to and hit and gaslit and abused, but the problem is that donnie heard all of these attacks on his character, and his behavior, and his sense of self was so fragile that even with the knowledge of the curse in mind, he continues to BELIEVE what they said is true. there are some moments where he intentionally holds himself back later down the line in CL, but after the final attack especially its so noticeable. he's so much less verbose. he speaks like he's embarrassed to be speaking. they've noted that so much of his cute little verbal quirks are gone and that he doesn't sound like himself.

it's because he's completely embarrassed with himself and what he used to be. he doesn't miss how things were, his grief is long gone; he feels ashamed for living in that illusion that he was in any way accepted, thinking he'd always just been embarrassing himself and his family without knowing it. his confidence was so fragile that it really only took something like the family meeting to DESTROY it; but to be fair, they wouldn't have gotten away with it day one because he is on the default defensive, but the anger had already been squashed completely and he was on to bargaining at that point.

and they knewwww godddd they knew. they all knew!

they watched themselves around him!! they always made sure not to go too far when they made fun of him!!! they understood how quick he was to disappear back into himself when he felt rejected and they worked around it because they loved him!!! they KNEW!!!!!

and the curse makes them take advantage of the fact that they knew!! what's so horrifying about the family meeting is that they KNEW how donnie was going to respond, they KNEW it would break him, and they KNEW they were going to get away with it, and they did it anyway because they thought it was funny.

and i dont even think they planned it out, especially apparent by the way raph ended up shutting it down. leo jumped on the opportunity and they just joined in the moment they got the chance to like sharks smelling blood in the water. it meant nothing to them, it wasn't an intentional, planned choice to get revenge or question his sense of reality. honestly, it was probably just them voicing all the shit they said behind his back (some to april.... yikes), and that's one of the things leo was scared about donnie SEEING because it was probably way more vicious. they had zero filter when they talked ABOUT him, because even through the curse there would still be the natural instinct to protect his feelings.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Only Figaro could pull off a quip like that. Hook's hair indeed. But they weren't wrong. Willem thought to himself he did have good hair, didn't he? He ran his hands through it as he thought about it. Maybe he'd thank the ol' man for this hair someday.

"I do have pretty good hair, don't I?"

But the world got away from him too fast before he could think on it long. The ice and snow were melting from everywhere. Before they knew it, they were sloshing down a pixie white water river. This was so not the plan, not the plan at all.

If this adventure had been fun at all this part wasn't. Drudging through the blizzard was one thing, but getting submerged in ice water was not it. So not it. Maybe he managed to get to shore after all that, but now they were chattering and as they looked at poor Figaro Willem felt guilty for the first time for bringing them along. The suffer together motto was really pushing them to the test now.

"I'm sorry Smalls. But don't worry. You may be Leo, but I'm not Rose. I'm your DaFriend." He growled. "I'll never let go." He pulled as hard as he could flittering his slopped over wings that were drenched.

Luckily, Nelly could fly in the wet cold like a boss bitch. Her wings weren't real being a doll. She flew on happy thoughts and pixie dust alone. Nelly grabbed the back of Willem and they both pulled. Three big heave hoes later and Figaro was pulled to land.

Willem quickly helped them take more steps back from the water line before it gave way again. He wanted to make sure they were all on stable land.

He didn't know what to do or how to even dry off. Everything was wet from his whole body, his clothes, his pack, to all of the surrounding forest as snow kept melting around them.

He hugged onto Smalls just thankful to be alive at first. Then it dawned on him he didn't know where Periwinkle was. He started to look around and call out.

"Peri! Aunt Peri!"

His teeth and lips were chattering as he called out with a frantic look on his face afraid, she'd gone under.

Nelly would point way down the now raging river. Willem was holding Figaro and himself as he squinted as hard as he could.

"It's her. Way down there. She made it. She's climbing out of the river."

Relief washed over him, but they were still stuck with the pressing problem of hypothermia like this.

"Come on Smalls. We gotta, I don't know. Get out where the sun is blazing down on us."

That was all he could manage to think of at first.

"Build a fire if we can find anything dry. Nelly, go look. And-and... and check on Peri."

Nelly buzzed off like a little bee on a mission for something dry to help while Willem looked up tried to help figure out the best place for them to dry out themselves in the sun.

"It is pretty bright. It's weird how I can feel the heat of it and still feel this cold at the same time."

The ground where there was snow would look like puddles of muck like swamp the ground was so wet. It would look like a flood was draining. He pulled his cold soppy shirt off in some attempt to warm up not having it against his skin as they waited for Nelly when things started to keep changing rapidly.

"Uh... Sm-m-malls?"

The snow wasn't just melting. The flowers were growing. It was like spring was springing. It was more than just the sun was shining.

The Nevers were coming back to life.

He started to smile despite everything. "Maybe we should do jumping jacks? Keep moving?" No matter how much it hurt. No matter how fast the sun or Pan's wake up was making things happen.

"Or maybe a polar bear plunge never hurt anybody?" He was trying to look at it from a different angle. "What would Iorek say?" His shoulders were still shivering though.

Back in Pixie Hollow all the pixies were getting excited. They hadn't been informed yet of Willem's plan. All they knew was Wild Will and those traitors stole Pan right from the Hollow, their blue dust, and even heard Hook was back which made Will seem all the guiltier. They were all in a terrible depression over it deciding how to proceed when out of nowhere here they were all out dancing in the middle celebrating the weather. Could it be? Oh! Could it be?

Rumors were flying that Pan somehow escaped and was coming to save them all. There never seemed to be a proper rumor for how he awoke when after all this time no one could figure out how to wake him from his endless sleep. Like the dwarves with the Snow White the pixies dwelled on the site of the missing glass coffin like a memorial to the worst tragedy ever to befall Pixie Hollow. Wild Will's face, the son of Captain Hook and even Figaro's was in the mind everyone as enemy number one.

What was happening with Pan and Hook? Battling their way out of the labyrinth. The moment he awoke he was up to his old tricks and calling Hook a codfish. Hook was no lost boy. He'd have made his way out and the pair were swashbuckling sword fighting... er hook and wooden knife fighting their way through the Nevers. Pan was trying to get back to his boys and Hook was trying to kill Pan while signaling to the crew back on the Jolly Roger.

While the pixies were celebrating the weather and Willem was just thankful, he and Smalls were alive and that his plan was working, he'd saved the Hollow, Hook was getting word to Pirate Cove that Wild Will was a traitor. Everything he'd worked for in the magic door at Funky Town was being torn apart for the Nevers, the pixie's safety, his mother's home that Tink abandoned herself, and for Delta's alliance with the pixies in Feral. As Willem watched the flowers grow and even though he was smiling that this phase of the plan had really worked, the chill that was down to his bones felt more real than ever as the reality of what this was going to damage crept up in his heart.

Where were his happy thoughts going to be now?

It was the first time in all this that pirate admitted to Smalls, "I'm a little scar- worried." He'd been terrified of his father all his life all while he was his right hand, but he knew he might have just crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed again.

"We can fix this. There's always a next plan." He nodded as if to reassure himself of being able to handle whatever came after this. "We did the right thing. You okay?" He asked as he kept watching for Nelly to come back.

Figaro was always in awe of the wings. Like who didn’t ever dream about having wings when they were a kid? They were fucking cool. And Willem’s were particularly good with that hypnotizing gold color. Adding in Periwinkle’s to the mix and Figaro was feeling that envy hardcore. Wing-envy. That was a thing now. When Willem looked to them, they nodded despite that feeling. “You’re looking extra fly, dude,” Figaro said, making a clicking noise with their tongue and then some finger guns.

They’d definitely have to find a bird or a butterfly or - oh shit a dragonfly would be really cool - to fly on before they got big again. They’d even settle for a mosquito.

“Hey, you got the hair, that’s all you really need from him,” Figaro shrugged. Say what you want about Hook - he wasn’t modern, he wasn’t respectful, he wasn’t very charming - but he did have a great head of hair.

Figaro looked up as well at the water, ready to go all old man shaking fist at the sky. But then they realized there was no fairy above spilling over pails like a good joke. And there was no rubber on the ground that was indicative of a water balloon so -

“This totally means that we’re hot enough to bring on the heatwave, baby!” They said, throwing their arms up into the air. “Or totally the Pan thing but I’m taking credit anyway!”

That jumping reallllllyyyy didn’t help the slush that was quickly turning to water beneath their boots. It was worse than the snow by far, soaking down to the core, making their sock wet, making their toes feel cold. They swallowed roughly and looked from up to down to Willem again, realization really forming.

“Oh botheration,” They said, watching Willem take a spill. They waded through, already not able to feel their feet to try to help him, but Figaro wasn’t the most steady either. Nonetheless, she managed to kick their damn feet well enough to stay above the water, even when it felt like they couldn’t find the ground beneath them.

They did get washed away a couple of feet but was fighting back, shedding the Halloween mask, which drifted away like some sort of weird duck down the water. Cold hand reached cold hand and they managed to get a hold of their slippery footing for just a second.

“Damn, I can’t believe I’m Leonardo DiCaprio right now,” They gasped, the cold water shooting pain throughout their body. The freezing water was numbing but it wasn’t a comfortable type of numb. It was growing more painful by the second. It felt like they weren’t in control of their face anymore.

[turtlecleric]

Imagine.

You've been friends with Rise Leo for so long, that you can't seem to remember a time when he wasn't there teasing you with his signature smirk.

It was always jokes with him. Puns. One liners. Horrible cringe pick-up lines. You name it, he'd say it.

Word play was the game and boy did he know how to play. The dumber they were, the harder you laughed.

You always seemed to be laughing around him. It felt…nice. Just to be silly, let the weight of your world roll off your shoulders just for one moment.

You guessed why that's why it was so easy for you to fall into a habit of teasing him back. Y'all both just needed a reason to laugh.

But…you weren't laughing now.

There, he stood in front of you, with that signature smirk on his lips, telling you that he had feelings for you.

That he ALWAYS had feelings for you; he just never had the words for it until now.

You tilted your head at that, your brow narrowing in confusion as you began to rub a hand nervously over your arm.

So you did what you always did. What he would always do when it came to uncomfortable feelings.

You brushed it off with a laugh, missing the way Leo’s hands flexed at the sound.

You looked up at Leo with a shaky smirk, mirroring his own face, your eyebrow quirked teasingly.

“This is a joke right? I'm missing the punchline here. You've never cared about serious feelings like this before, so why start now?”

Leo’s eyes widened slightly, his stomach sinking as he watched you shake your head with that disbelieving and exasperated smile that he had come to love so much.

His hands slowly curled into white-knuckled fists as he watched you literally laugh away his confession.

You thought… you thought this was a joke. That he wouldn't take these real feelings seriously.

Leo’s gaze narrowed as his attention sharpened into focus on you.

Very well then.

Leo would show you just how serious he could be.

Imagine.

All of those jokes, all of that teasing, that ADHD intellect, that strategy, that charisma and charm directed solely on you.

Imagine.

Every comment, every look, interaction and touch becoming calculated, purpose driven and direct.

Focused. On. You.

Imagine.

Leo wanting to show you what serious intention looks like.

Because it was NEVER a joke when it concerned you.

~Ninja

[bunnys-kisses]

grid bunny - a (long) drabble

feat. max verstappen, lando norris, charles leclerc & carlos sainz

(it's dirty filth, i'm sorry!!!!!) 🐇

most grid bunnies know they're grid bunnies, they actively search for drivers to bed. but not you, you got caught up in this for some reason or another.

you joined redbull as a mechanic, you were proud of that title! not many can call themselves that! it was an opportunity to see the world and work on what you loved. the cars. your focus was on the cars, not men driving them.

you thought that the relationship you struck up with max was platonic, the thought didn't even cross your mind that he had any feelings for you. you thought to him you were just another face in the crowd. that was until you both split a bottle of wine and you ended up in his hotel room.

you were face down in bed and let him fuck you. he grumbled under his breath in dutch and liked to hold your head back. the three time champion loved to bite as well, your shoulders looked like a total mess by the time you staggered out of his hotel room. you however didn't get far as before you could get your pants in, the champion had his strong arms around you and pulled back into bed.

max was the kind of fuck that you knew you wouldn't get out of your mind. he liked it rough and dirty, he liked that he could move you into the position he wanted as he rutted up into you. it left you out of breath and hot all over, sweat stuck to the expanse of your back. he said to you in a brief break between rounds, "only the best." before he ran his thumb across your clit which made you grow tense. it only made him chuckle before his lips were on your neck again. "you look good in redbull colours."

you wouldn't end up leaving till morning, at least max bought you breakfast and some tylonel for the back pain. the hickies on the other hand had you zipping your coveralls a little higher to cover your neck fully.

-

lando was a flirt, he was all smiles and determination. you had assumed that word got around that the new little mechanic for red bull was a good fuck. he was in your personal space and made you laugh. he'd continue to make you laugh when his head was between your legs.

the driver didn't even get his racing gear off as he got you up on the couch in the driver's room. his tongue dragged along your pussy and you had to cover your mouth to not cause attention. the last thing you needed was some assistant walking in on lando norris, the second higher driver between your legs. headlines in the making. the gloves he wore were rough against your bare thighs as he sloppy noises he made filled the room. he ate like a man with an insatiable hunger, like he had been yearning to get between the legs of the little mechanic. "you feel so good." he groaned, "they should've hired you to bring a little relief to the grid." he chuckled as he looked up at you, "but i'm pretty sure i'd get just a little jealous if you were shared amongst the grid. bad enough i have to share with verstappen."

you felt flushed all over, so vulnerable under him. it was almost cute, as his tongue grazed your clit and soon his fingers joined the fray. you tried to keep noises down to a minimum. it was bad enough the max had rubbed it in lando's face that he had a grid bunny in his repertoire, you didn't want everyone to know about it.

-

every driver did know about it. which landed you in the arms of charles. he was smiles and sunshine, you took a liking to leo. but it was hard for charles to maintain the conversation when he saw you bent over to look at the dog. when you giggled at the animal's antics, you swayed a little which only enticed the ferrari driver.

he had heard from both max and lando about the mechanic that was scurrying around the paddock. with a pussy soft and tight, and a smile that was infectious. that and she was a easy to bed. charles didn't go after grid bunnies, but you were technically a mechanic, so.... charles however would take the longest to bed you, you thought it was because he was a gentleman.

that was not the case, instead he was trying to figure out how to tie you up in his hotel room as he fucked you. also forget about condoms, you had to scatter to different pharmacies in austin to find plan b.

the way he fucked you, he liked watching your face. he like the faces you made when he hit your sweet spots. it was almost a rivalry between the other two men as he held you face in his hand and maintained eye contact. no shying away from him as he moved his hips against you. "pretty girl." his voice was a low drawl and you felt your heart leap in your chest. his hands played with your breasts and you noticed when he got close, his tongue hung out of his mouth like a panting dog.

you'd never admit how good a cream-pie felt, you didn't want any of the others to know that they could do that. you weren't going bankrupt on emergency contraceptives.

-

if charles knew, then carlos knew. you were starting to get a little worried about it. you managed to get yourself through the top four ranking drivers, two from the same team. you couldn't help but feel a little flustered by it all.

the sex was amazing you weren't going to deny it, each driver had their strengths as a lover. the strength of max, the selflessness or lando and the eagerness of charles. carlos was a whole other beast entirely, he liked his hands in your hair. he liked the yank on it as he fucked you from behind. that wasn't his favourite activity though, he loved when you sucked his cock.

when you sucked his cock, it was warm up. he'd always get a little too excited and end up with you on your hands and knees. because of course, your main draw was your pussy after all! (sadly, not your mechanic skills). he did kiss a lot however, any time he pushed you a little too hard he'd smother you with kisses as he tried to ease his pace. but, it was hard. sometimes he forgot that you joined formula one as a mechanic when he was balls deep inside of you. his cock always nudged a little further than his teammate, which often took the air out of you. he had you by the waist as he moved against you. he'd often whisper praise to you, which only made your pussy wetter. he was diligent about protection which you were thankful for (two nights prior you were wrestling lando trying to get him to wear one). if you could describe sex with carlos it would be fun. even if it exhausted you, and he was just as rough as the other three.

-

maybe these men were egomaniacs who all fucked you as a means of one upping each other. passed between first and fourth. but, jesus were they big suck-ups when the post-nut clarity hit.

lando bought you flowers ("pretty flowers for a pretty girl!"), max snuck you some of the fancier food from the driver's room while you worked on his car ("you have to keep up your strength to help me win"), the lengthy almost romantic text message from charles before you started working "i hope it all goes well today, mon amour! i will be waiting for you at the finish line"), and finally the smothering after-care from carlos ("do you need anything? anything you want, i'll get.")

meanwhile you were around the paddock with a slight limp and rope burns around your wrists and thighs (fuckin' leclerc). but you appreciated it, it made you feel like you were more than just some stress relief for the top drivers. they thought about you, or at least thought enough about you, that these acts of kindness (maybe love) were on their mind.

they did have a habit of trying to one-up another. a race of their own for your affection. meanwhile you just wanted to make sure you weren't going to end up in hr's office. you just came here to fix cars!

-

at the end it felt like you were on a routine for each race with minimal breakaway from it. thursday you were with max, friday you were with lando, saturday with charles and sunday with carlos followed by an evening with who won (or at least got to podium), which often meant limping out of max's room in order to meet the other mechanics for the flight out of whatever country you were in.

you didn't want to think about the wetness in your panties when you sat in the plane seat. the plane would take off and the cycle would repeat.

by the end of the season, you were exhausted. as a christmas present you were gifted a one-way plane ticket to monaco. you looked at it then up at max who had his hand in your hair.

"where else were you going to spend the break?" he asked, not even taking into consideration that maybe you'd go home to your family, "i promise it is very nice this time of year, we want to make sure that you're safe over the break." he cupped you by the cheek and those blue eyes gazed into yours.

the idea of your safety needing to be assured sounded like a half assed attempt to seduce you back to the sunny shores of monte carlo. you wondered for a moment if you even needed to pack clothes.

"come home with us."

you took the ticket and looked at it closer. every excuse died in your throat, there was no way that you were going to weasel your way out of this. you should be happy, most would kill for the attention of one driver, and now you had the lingering gaze of four.

you just had to figure out how to get your hands on better birth control before the holidays started because you could only imagine the damage that was going to be done over the next few months. <3

[howthesleeplesswander]

Leo wasn't wrong: his expression when Finn broke the oh-so-terrible news was pretty damn priceless. Faced with the dawning horror and shock that briefly painted that cute face, Finn could only laugh—but it was a humorless sound, quickly petering into a barely-concealed grimace.

Look, Finn knew that the awkwardness between them was his own fault. Only a few short years separated him from the person he'd been back then, but that was exactly the point: he was a different person, now. One who wasn't afraid to recognize his mistakes and try his damnedest to make amends.

And even if that weren't the case? The excruciating awkwardness of Leo's slow approach, antsy hesitation, and forced nonchalance when he finally settled near Finn's side would've given him a change of heart real fuckin' fast.

"Did I not? I dunno, with how on edge you look, I thought you might bolt if I went and said it outright." Despite the teasing words, Finn's voice was soft, understanding. A final chuckle was much more reserved, shaking his head as he glanced sideways at the other boy. The firelight flickering over Finn's expression illuminated a dozen emotions in his eyes: the positives of them (warmth, compassion) meant for Leo, and the negatives (remorse, shame) directed towards himself.

Man, what could he even say to make any of the awful shit he'd pulled any better? Good thing Finn had never been the type to think things through; for something like this, it was better to just dive in and speak straight from the heart, anyway.

"Listen, Leo..." He exhaled long and slow—not quite a sigh, but a fortifying breath. "I get why you're so uncomfortable around me. Hell, I would be too, if I were in your shoes. I don't expect you to believe me, much less forgive me for anythin', but..."

He met the other boy's gaze head-on. When he finally said it after all these years, it was plain, simple, and earnest: "I'm real sorry, for how I treated you back when we first met. It ain't an excuse, but I was...well, I was in a shitty place back then: mad at the whole damn world, and takin' it out on anybody I came across." Those were some of his ugliest memories. Back then, he was so full of hatred and rage that he saw the world in shades of red, distorting every good thing—and good person—he found into something malicious and cruel. Finn's shoulders deflated, exasperated with his past-self.

"You didn't deserve any of that." A hand raked through his dreads before resting on the back of his neck. Still, he didn't look away. "If I could take it all back? I would, in a heartbeat. But since I don't have any time-travelin' powers, all I can do is say I'm sorry."

There was nothing expectant in Finn's gaze. Just openness, and a willingness to listen, learn, and grow that hadn't existed back when the two of them shared their first wild romp across the country. He shrugged as if to say 'I know you probably won't believe this, but here it goes anyway—' before he continued, "Honestly? I'm just real glad to see that you're still doin' alright after all the awful shit I put you through."

So, newsflash, just in case it wasn’t the most obvious thing in the universe to practically anyone else: when an interaction was awkward, everyone felt it.

Sure, the two of them could just go on like this: small-talking their way to eventually . . . parting ways (again); continuing on with their separate lives like everything that had happened between them definitely wasn’t weird and unresolved and totally wouldn’t be a thorn pricking at them for eternity. (And honestly, that sounded a bit dramatic—especially thinking Leo, of all people, could be important enough to affect someone like that—but still.) They could easily (and uncomfortably) tip-toe around each other until it was time for another goodbye, probably loaded with so many sighs of relief once it was done, like the feeling of finally being alone after forced socialization for a whole day. They could just . . . do that.

Knowing Leo, he pretty much would’ve let that happen, so. A blessing or a curse that Finn finally took it upon himself to show a shred of maturity. (Him! Mature! Leo was still one second away from pinching himself.)

Naturally, as a guy who was totally down to keep things as awkward as possible, Finn’s invitation to come closer was met with no doubt the stupidest face. He wished he’d had a mirror, just so he could fully appreciate it and laugh. Instead, Leo just kind of stood there for a prolonged moment. Well, no, he was definitely moving (because, Gods, he really never learned how to sit still), passing his weight between his feet like he was dancing atop lava rock, but he didn’t exactly make any forward progress at first. “What, you aren’t just gonna toss me some spoonfuls and see if I can catch ’em in my mouth?” he proposed. Thankfully by then, he successfully smirked, but both of them had to know he was stalling—

And for what, dude? Clearly he’s not going to shank you, and even if he tried . . .  You’re nothing if not good at running.

—from everything, apparently.

Leo blew out an irritated breath at himself. It did enough to clear his mind and force his feet to actually bring him somewhere. Pretty lame that even when he reached Finn’s side, he waffled for another second of stupidity before sitting. “Y’know, if you wanted me to be closer to you,” Leo crooned, hoping to the gods that he was pulling this off well enough, “you didn’t have to use the pot as an excuse.”

[thelostconsultant]

Lunch with a stranger

pairing: Charles Leclerc x female reader

summary: You've seen Charles before, but it's only when he interrupts your lunch when you exchange more than one word.

You were so lost in the screen of your phone that you didn't even notice the furry baby shark approaching you.

As you sat at a table on the street with a glass of ice cold lemonade and some snacks serving as your lunch, you talked to your friends in a group chat to arrange your plans for the weekend. Brunch in the morning, beauty salon before lunch, then a quick shopping trip in the afternoon.

And then you felt it; sharp teeth gently nipped the skin on your calf until they were replaced by the little creature's tongue as it licked your leg. You leaned to the side to see the criminal under the table and saw an adorable little puppy who looked surprisingly excited to see you.

But why did it look familiar? You could have sworn you had seen this dog before, and not just once, yet your mind couldn't put the pieces together to help you out. Then you noticed the leash and followed the thin line to the owner. A familiar face. That explained everything.

“I'm sorry, he likes to make friends,” the guy said with a sheepish grin.

You waved your hand in a way to tell him it was no problem, then returned your attention to your phone and lunch, expecting him to move on. But he didn't. Out of the corner of your eye you saw him pick up the dog and take the seat across from you.

“I'm Charles, by the way,” he said.

Nodding, you took a sip of your drink, enjoying the way it cooled you down from the inside. “I know. Our nation's greatest hero as of now.”

You didn't want to talk to anyone today, especially not to someone you knew from your psychologist's office, but he seemed really determined to get more than a few words out of you. You had never spoken to each other more than politely greeting the other, and honestly, you didn't even think he would remember you.

But he did, apparently. He waved over the waitress to come and take his order, ignoring your silent protest, then looked at you with an intrigued glint in his eyes. “So you watch F1?” he asked casually.

“I watch the Monaco GP since all I have to do is go out to my balcony, but that's the most I see from it,” you replied, not missing the disappointed look that crossed his face. But he didn't say anything, he just scratched his dog’s soft spot behind his ear. “What?”

Charles looked up with a questioning hum. “What what?” You rolled your eyes, but since the waitress had just arrived with his order, you didn't want to go into the details. “Okay, look,” he began once you were alone again, “I just… I see you at Dr. Brezzo’s office whenever I can go on my normal schedule, but we never have the chance to talk. So when Leo found you, I thought I should take this chance.”

He seemed like such a sweet guy, but at the moment you didn't need new people in your life, especially not ones who lived in the spotlight. You just wanted to have some quiet and peaceful months until your meds kicked in, until you were finally back to normal. You'd been doing great, it would have been a shame to risk it.

But when you opened your mouth to tell him you weren't interested in this chat, he gave you the damn puppy eyes as if he had known what you wanted to say. With a sigh, you nodded and stuffed a forkful of salad in your mouth. He waited patiently, even began eating his own food while making sure he gave his dog a bite so he wouldn't be left out.

“You look tired,” you noted, earning a surprised look from him. “A friend of mine is a huge F1 fan and he told me about how terrible things have been for you. I'm sorry. Is that why you need therapy? No, wait, don't answer this, it's too personal. Let's talk about something else.”

For a while he was just watching you with a barely visible smirk, and then he surprised you with what seemed to be an honest response. “I would go to therapy anyway, my job is stressful enough on its own, but yeah, the team's recent performance is definitely something I need to learn to deal with.”

“I'm sure there are highs and lows in every aspect of life, so maybe it won't last much longer,” you offered with a warm smile.

Charles nodded. “That's what I'm hoping for. What about you? Why do you go to therapy?” he asked cautiously.

Well, since he was honest with you, there was no reason to lie. It's not like he would go around telling everyone about it. “I have bipolar disorder. The meds will hopefully work, but I need therapy too. Makes things easier,” you added with a shrug.

He was awfully quiet, and for a moment you expected him to stand up and leave. Wouldn't have been the first time, you had already lost a friend thanks to this. But then he picked up his glass and watched the bubbles move inside as he broke the silence with a smile. “You look well to me.”

A small smile crept on your lips when you heard this. “Thanks. Honestly, I feel better too,” you said proudly. Because you were proud of what you achieved in a short amount of time.

Then you both returned to your respective lunches, but Charles had to focus on keeping a healthy balance between feeding himself and Leo for now. It was adorable, really. You felt like you should say something, anything to break the silence, but he didn't seem to mind it. To him it might have been comfortable, because when he noticed you staring, he flashed a smile at you without saying a word, then returned to his lunch.

A good fifteen minutes later your phone had begun to blow up. Your friends were sending dozens of messages into the group chat, making your phone ping and buzz non-stop. With an apologetic smile, you took a look at it, and your breath caught in your throat as you tapped the links they threw in there.

“Oh, shit,” you muttered, a painful groan leaving your throat when you noticed you'd been tagged in several social media posts too.

Charles looked at you with a puzzled look. “What happened?” he asked.

Instead of answering, you just showed him your phone. He kept scrolling, his eyes growing wider as he began to process the dozens of posts and hundreds of comments about the two of you having lunch together. It was insane how fast rumors flew across the internet, and it didn't make you happy at all.

Despite being born and raised in Monaco, you had been taught to stay under the radar your whole life. Your parents made sure no photos of you would be published anywhere, and you were trained to do everything in a way that kept you away from the spotlight. People didn't know your name, they barely even knew your parents’ name, which was a good thing.

Well, so much for that.

“Hey, it's okay. Just a few photos,” Charles offered as he gave you back the device and placed his hand on your arm. “They'll move on soon, I promise.” When he saw you were still upset about it, he spoke up again. “Look, I think you already knew I wanted to ask you out, so if you would say no anyway, this is the time to tell me. I wouldn't blame you.”

How could he be so sweet? You did have a feeling that's where this conversation was going, but you weren't sure until now. Now that you knew, you had to figure out how to decide. When he showed up, you were sure you didn't want anything. But now? Maybe getting to know him better wouldn't be so bad after all.

“It's okay. I think I can handle it,” you told him with a small smile.

Your positive response made him smile too as he looked down at the puppy in his arms. “You heard that? You'll get all the kisses and cuddles you want.” He looked up at you with a playful look in his eyes. “Maybe I will too,” he added.

[pablitogavii]

Protecting her

Life with Pablo Gavi, the boy everyone adores, and I hate with all my passion not for any particular reason. I actually tried making peace with him the moment I stepped foot into his house at the beginning of my exchange program.

I tried to be nice, to even become his friend but he would always push me away and find some reason to fight me. Even Aurora and his parents tried to make us like each other but it didn't work so I just deiced to stay out his way..somehow that didn't stop him to sabotage me every step of the way all the freaking time!

leo: look at what your brother did to me! boy is a delinquent! I can't do this anymore Y/n..I'm sorry.

There was a picture attached of my soon to become boyfriend with bruised eye and busted lip. Did Pablo really did this just so Leo dumps me knowing it would spite me!?

I heard stumbling and rushed towards the front door to comfort Pablo about this. I was done staying on the sidelines and letting him do whatever he pleased just because I am guest at this house..this is MY life he was messing with for his own amusement!

"Why did you do it!? Tell me he said something to provoke you? Tell me you weren't just trying to spite me by doing this Pablo.." I said but he completely ignored me, like I was invisible, unimportant and that drove me mad.

"No! You're going to start listening to me! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO LEO!!??" I said pushing him against the wall with all my strenght which was not possible unless he let me do it.

"Hm..or what if I don't listen chiqui? What will you do to me precious..huh??" he pushed back and I needed up glued on the wall in the matter of seconds. I gulped..he was so close..and I was no longer angry at him..I was tired of this whole "hate" thing.

"I'm tired of this Pablo..just leave me alone!" I said trying to push him but he wouldn't budge looking down at my face like he was lost in thought. I would give up everything ot know what he was thinking right now.

"P..please.." I was close to tears yet again being dumped not to mention that all my "friends" here only hang out with me thinking they will get to meet my new "brother"..I just wanted to be left alone by everyone especially Pablo Gavi who made this whole trip horrible!

"Fine.." he moved and i walked away not knowing that something in him broke seeing me so sad in front of him knowing he was the reason for it.

I was crying rather loudly knowing his parents and Aurora are not here and Pablo probably didn't even care about it. I was very wrong since he was glued to my door listening to each sound until finally opening the door and walking closer to the bed.

"Stop crying.." he said and I realized that he was indeed there watching me, probably in amusement.

"Leave me alone asshole!" I yelled feeling the bed move as he laid behind me making my whole body contract especially when his strong arms wrapped around my body..what was this nervousness and why did it feel so good to be held by him!?

"Please stop crying...if you like Leo that much I'll stay away.." he said while his hands were tracing invisible shapes on my bare skin making shivers moving down my spine and make me breathless. I truly didn't care that deeply for Leo..I almost cared more how it was angering Pablo..how I finally gotten some type of reaction out of him. I slowly moved turning around in his embrace to face him.

"It's not about Leo..it's about you..why can't you just stop hating me!?" I spoke my hand moving to his face caressing it gently and he let me do it for a few moments closing his eyes looking like he was enjoying it..maybe Pablo felt something for me..maybe I did for him too..maybe that's this tension between us..maybe it's love?

"Because you're annoying!" he pulled away and that gentle caring Pablo vanished in a matter of a second and he was back to being hateful asshole..he only wanted to feel in control and I gave him the chance..like an idiot..thinking he was genuine.

Quickly, he was out of my room returning to his crying himself to sleep..he was a coward to speak about his emotions..because I am not permanent..I will leave him soon and he couldn't afford to get attached.

Weeks went by and I couldn't sleep without imaging those strong arms wrapped around me. Leo asked me to try again but I rejected him..I couldn't stop thinking about my "gentle" Pablo wondering if that was his true nature..I wanted to get to him again..to feel that way again..to understand him.

"Are you ready hermanita?" Aurora said and I met her outside as she was my ride to the stadium for El Classico. I rarely went to his games thinking he would hate me there, but today I wore his jersey and went with the rest of his friends with pride. I wanted him to look me in the ye and tell me hates me if he does so much!

y.n.bebe

Rora and me at #ElClassico ❤️❤️

comentarios:

gvirafans: with Gavi jersey👀

aurorapaezg: hermanitaa💗

belengavira: pretty girls ❤️❤️

pablogavi: ❤️

I saw his comment..he probably did it because people would talk if he didn't..but a heart..it felt special..and made me even more determined to get close to him again.

During the game, Gavi was comeptlely focused as always wanting to win against the biggest enemy. Barca was better but it was frustrating that no ball would finally enter the goal..and time was running out till end of first half.

"I saw that new hermanita of yours..hmm..the things I'd do to her body" Vini provoked and Gavi lost it kicking the ball into the audience and walking towards him while everyone pushed him backwards and referee showed him a red card.

"Say that again hijo de puta!? Let me hear you say it again!" Pablo was not stopping until Xavi himself pulled him away from the pitch giving him a whole lecture about being more mature player.

"It was a good game hermano" Aurora said when we met with Pablo since Barça still ended up winning. Pablo was still heated and seeing me there wasn't helping.

"It's all her fault!" he said pointing at me in front of everyone and I looked away sadly..he was trying to hate me so I give up but I'm not giving up that easily because i know what I felt that night is real!

"Leave her alone! She did nothing wrong!" Aurora tried defending me but I was done being silent walking towards him bravely.

"Let's leave them alone.." Pablo's guy friends said and everyone left as the two of us stood there across from each other not saying a single word. Two can play this stupid game Gavi!

"What did I do to you huh!? Why don't you admit that you don't actually hate me Pablo?? I know you don't.." I said touching his sweaty jersey but he pulled away quickly like he was scared..

"Don't touch me!" he yelled expecting me to turn away and run but I moved closer again.

"Why? What are you sacred of when I touch you huh?"I said once again touching his chest and this time he didn't move staring at my lips longingly.

"Chiqui don't.." he whispered when I moved closer feeling my cheeks blush at the new nickname he chose..the feeling was back and I didn't want to lose it.

"Why?" I asked touching his face and again he closed his eyes as his hands wrapped around my waist pulling me even closer as our chests touched.

"B..because I won't be able to hold myself back" he whispered as we both opened around eyes looking into each other.

"P..Pablo.." I said breathlessly moving even closer but then Leo's familiar voice interrupted our little moment and Pablo pulled away angrily.

"Please let's talk Y/n..about us" Leo said and I internally cursed seeing Pablo's disappointed look as he just walked away without a word..freaking great!

"Is she coming?" Aurora asked

"She has another ride" Pablo said annoyingly reminding himself why he put up a wall..last thing he needed is to get hurt by a girl right now.

"No! I don't!" I said rushing after them after telling Leo I was done with him and sitting in the backseat next to Pablo whose jaw was clenching and he was clearly angry.

"He understood that it's over.." I whispered to Pablo but he was unfazed..once again like he didn't care. Here we go again!

"I don't care!" he whispered back before going on his phone as I sighed loudly besides him.

That night I couldn't sleep..I couldn't have him mad at me anymore..I did maybe the stupidest thing in the world walking to his room in the middle of the night. Luckily he was awake..

"P..Pablo.." I said and he turned around sitting in his bed with a surprised look on his face.

"Go away!" he said but I moved closer standing in front of him.

"I'm not going anywhere..I know why you hit Leo, he told me what he said to his friend and that you heard him" I said and Pablo looked up with raised eyebrows.

"He said you're alone and he can get with you in a week..and I showed him you're NOT alone" Pablo said and I smiled nodding my head and touching his hair as he looked up at me.

"And Vini?" I asked moving my hand down to his face while he looked at me finally putting down his guard and being vulnerable once again.

"Don't talk to me about that disgusting hijo de puta!" he said angrily and I knew he must have said something about me on the pitch..something that didn't sit right with Pablo and he needed to protect me..something you don't do for a person you "hate".

"Don't get angry.." I said and he nodded feeling more sad than angry while his hands snaked around my waist and he pulled me in kissing my stomach over my dress and I breathed heavily.

"I can't stop hating you chiqui.."he spoke into my stomach and I sighed raising his chin up and moving to sit on his lap.

"Why Pablo?" he said moving his hair back and he leaned into my touch as his face went into my neck and he started kissing my skin passionately.

"Because you're leaving me so soon..and I don't want to lose someone I love so much.."he finally said what's been on his mind for awhile and I felt my heart banging against my chest.

"So you decided to hate me? Why didn't you just ask me to stay with you??" I said with a smile and he was surprised to hear me say those words looking up into my eyes hopefully.

"And would you stay for me chiqui?" he said while I held his face and his hands tightly held onto my waist.

"Hmm it depends.." I said smirking moving in and he gulped once again looking at my lips longingly and I smiled.

"On what chiqui??"he smirked and I blushed to scared to tell him what I wanted right now..I just wanted him to finally kiss me.

"Hm..let me guess then" he held my face pulling me in and kissing my lips hungrily making me breathless but never happier. Then he pulled away..and I wanted to cry..I was so tired of these games and I just wanted to be with him!

"Please don't push me away again..please" i latched onto his shoulder and he smiled kissing the top of my forehead before pulling me in bed with him letting me lay my head on his strong chest.

"I'm never letting you go again precious.." he said as I looked up kissing him again as we continued to make out pulling onto each others clothes int he heat of the moment...

[i-need-to-get-a-life3]

You Can't Do That- Leo Valdez x F! Poseidon cabin reader.

summary: your older brother Percy doesn't take to kindly to you dating his ex crewmate....

Warnings: Cursing, Kissing,Boo spoilers, hot shirtless latinos, slight mention of sex, but this is after the war, so percy is 18. Slight ooc characters maybe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the Giant War, everyone's guard had been high, but after a few months, it mostly passed, and life returned to normal. Except for one thing: you had a boyfriend now, when Leo finally killed Gaia, and died, you had been devastated, but when he flew put of the sky, you had been ecstatic. You admitted your feelings for him, which he returned. But that didn't mean that you didn't get the occasional nightmare.

Percy didn't kill Leo after you guys started dating, but he did hand out some colorful death threats, and start stalking monitoring you and Leo on a daily basis.

One night, when Percy was fucking around hanging out in the Athena Cabin, you had a nightmare, Gaia had rosen back and had taken her revenge on Leo. You shot up, and saw that Percy, who usually helped you through your rough nights, wasn't here,

'Oh yeah, he's busy having his own rough night' you thought. You decided to run to the Hephestus cabin to visit Leo.

"Mamacita?" Leo asked sleepily as you shook him awake. "What's up?" You hung your head.

"I- uh, I had a nightmare." Leo sat up.

"Ah, y/n, mamacita, I'm so sorry" he comforted you. "Come on, you can lay here." He said as he scooted over. You climbed into his bed and snuggled into him. And that's when you realized he had no shirt on.

'Oh' you thought slightly staring. He noticed and laughed

"Did you come here to get comfort or did you come to stare at my abs?" You suddenly felt warm.

"I can do both" you retorted he laughed and pulled you closer. He patted your head and you both eventually fell asleep.

~le time skip~

"WHAT THE FUCK!!" You and Leo started awake. You looked up. It was Percy.

"Oh shit" you muttered "Hey Percy!" you smiled

"DON'T 'HEY PERCY' ME Y/N!" you dropped your smile. You could see that this was not going to be easy. Leo shrunk back behind you.

"Coward," you muttered. "WHAT?" You yelled back.

"What are you doing in here?" Percy fired. You opened your mouth to respond, but he had more to say. " What were you doing last night?""Why is Leo shirtless, and why aren't you wearing pants?!" He asked, which made you aware that you were wearing a big t-shirt and underwear.

"Oh my Gods Percy-" you started but he cut you off.

"Were you guys, oh my gods, you're too young, you can't do that!" You felt yourself heat up, and Leo burnt his pants off too.

"NO!" You screamed. "It just got hot at night, so I took off my sweatpants!" " And since we're on that subject, what were YOU doing in the Athena Cabin last night?!" Percy blushed, and you were all suddenly aware that the entirety of the Hephestus cabin was watching.

"Nothing to see here!" Leo said unconvincingly

You glared and kissed him on the cheek. You pulled on your sweatpants. "Bye Leo." You did awkwardly. He waved an tried not to burn his boxers off. Peexy pulled you out of the cabin.

Lets say, that the three of you never brought that up again. But that didn't mean you stopped doing it.

[aryxchse]

GIRLY I GOT YOU WITH THE LEO FICS!!!!

A fic about leo taking care of fem!reader while she's on her period and he's her portable heater

Maybe with a little NSFW if you're comfy of course 💙🤭

I LOVE YOU BESTIE💙

shark week. | leo valdez x fem! reader

a / n ; omg this is like- so genius?? girl ur my savior fr love u too 🫶🏻🫶🏻

warnings ; period, a cute leo who's too hot to handle, cramps, cursing, not proofreaded and i probably have grammar mistakes, reader a little drooling over leo, shirtless leo, vs vs.

"fuckin' hell." you whined, hugging your stomach.

you were at bunker 9, in leo's bed, but without leo. and you were on your period, not a good match.

the pain made you turn into a ball of whining mess, tossing and turning around in the bed. you already take a medicine and even vent to infirmary for this, but will shooted you out saying 'it's no big deal.'

"hurry up leo," you murmured. he was taking a shower when you arrived, which he still was. taking the grease out of his body must be hard for him.

after what felt like an eternity, leo got out from the shower with only a towel hanging lowly around his hips. he thought no one would be at his room, so he was comfortable.

he hummed a spanish song while entering his room, shaking the water of his head before yelping when he saw you.

"what in the hades- y/n! baby, you scared the shit outta me," he panted, a hand on his chest. you managed to both drool and laugh at his scared and naked self.

"sorry," you murmured, hugging your belly more. "jus' needed you but you were showering."

his confused face immediatly left itself to a soft and worried one. he excused to dress and he was fast as light about it. when he came back, with no shirt and sweatpants, you cursed internally.

"scooch over pretty," he said, voice low. you did what he said and opened a spot next you in his bed. he happily pulled you into him and nuzzled his nose in your hair. "what happened?" he asked.

"shark week." you said, snuggling him more. the natural heat of his body made you instantly relaxed, and he seemed to get that too. he pouted, playing with your hair. "poor girl." he said, his other hand finding a way into your shirt and caressing your back.

you only whined when another pain hit you, it made your head burry into his neck more. he put the hand on your hair down to your stomach, making the place warm up. "is this better?" he asked gently, making you even warmer.

"mhm." you answered. he smiled to himself and put the blanket on top of only you, since he was burning hot. he caressed the every skin he could touch with his hot fingers, and at that moment, his powers didn't seem like a curse anymore.

"don't worry pretty, i'm gonna make you feel better." he whispered, kissing on top of your head.

the start is a little rushed can u tell???

[niphredil-14]

hey so the rottmnt boys tend to think their appearance would be an issue in attracting someone to them. So how do you think they would deal with a s/o who one day unprompted, the boys are just doing normal things, is like “It’s frustrating how everything you do is so attractive to me” and s/o hides face in pillow and makes a groaning noise, like they can’t contain themselves, but are trying too. S/o ends up giving their boys a massive smooch once they get themselves out of their pillow confinement?

thanks so much for sending this in! I've been dying to get some more tmnt requests! I don't write for Mikey unless I'm feeling super inspired specifically for him, so sorry about that. Hope you enjoy!

Leonardo: He may be the self proclaimed "face-man," but we all know that he deals with quite a bit of insecurity. Growing up watching movies with attractive people who look nothing like you can be discouraging, as can having to live in the sewers your whole life because the humans in the above-ground-world would see you as a hideous monster. While dating you, he never once took you for granted, because he knew how fortunate he was to have you. I don't think he would ever intentionally tell you about his insecurities, but it wouldn't be hard to figure out. So when you tell him that, and get so frustrated at your own lack of control over yourself and your emotions, it flusters him. He'd be so grateful that you shoved your face into the pillow because that meant that you wouldn't be able to tell just how flustered he was. He would try to cooly play it off as if it meant nothing to him, but the breathy tone to his voice, and the slight shake of it as he spoke gave it away.

"Well what did you expect? You didn't seriously think that you could be immune to my charm, did you?"

Raphael: I think that Raphael would be a bit more open about his emotions and insecurities with you, not completely, or all the time, but he would most certainly be better at communicating with you when he struggles than Leo would. He most likely told you when the two of you began dating that he was surprised that someone as attractive as you would ever want to go out with a big, scary mutant like him. It would probably take quite some time for your affirmations to sink in and become believable for him, he would appreciate your compliments, but it wouldn't be until much later in the relationship that he would be able to genuinely believe that you thought he was handsome. He might become more accustomed to your compliments, and I doubt that he would ever outright deny them, but I think it would be a while for him to stop doubting, if ever. But whenever you complimented him, especially out of the blue or unprompted, he would become so, so, so soft. His eyes would get all big, a smile as bright as the sun would be exposed by his lips stretching back against his beak, and a slow, steady thump, thump, thump would be heard from his heavy tail banging against the nearest surface.

"You're just too sweet, Doll."

Donatello:

Probably the most insecure out of all the brothers. Though it was all out of love, his brothers (especially Leo) teased him a lot growing up, and he had spent a good amount of time feeling inferior to theme in any way that didn't involve brains. He had been keenly aware of the fact that they would most likely all never find love, but he had convinced himself that even if by some miracle his brothers were able to, that he would never have the privilege. He wasn't big and strong like Raph, or confident and outgoing like Leo, or as friendly and cute as Mikey. He was a cold, introverted man who only knew how to navigate his tech. So when he got into a relationship, as happy as he was, he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was convinced that it was all just a moment's lapse of judgement on their part, and that soon they would realize their mistake, and leave him behind. Because of that mindset, he had endeavored to savor every single moment he spent with his partner, he lavished them with every gift he could think of, and made sure that, even though he wasn't overly affectionate by nature, that they never forgot, even for a second, how much they meant to him, even if he was convinced that he cared for them much more than they could ever care for a monster such as himself. He would never admit these insecurities to them, he did not want them to feel obligated to reassure him, he didn't want to bring them down, but it was clear to them with the look of pure shock and disbelief that he let slip whenever they complimented him, and so they continued to, in hopes that they could crack through his walls, and convince him that they loved him just as much as he loved them. And every time they looked his way, no matter how long they were together, or would be together, it would feel like a gift from the highest of deities, a blessing for their most loving devotee. He may never fully stop viewing himself as a "monster," but it was okay, so long as he was theirs.

"If Ceres was graced with the gift of the Sun's praise, my dear, it would not feel a googolth of what I do when you so much as gaze in my direction."

(can you tell who's my favorite lol) REQUESTS ARE OPEN

[tsuvvy]

You drew stars around my scars

Pairings: Percy Jackson x reader, Annabeth Chase x reader, Connor Stoll x reader, Leo Valdez x reader (separate)

Summary: They comfort your insecurities of your scars

Warnings: Mentions of scars but no specifications of how they got there, I tried to keep it Gender neutral but kind of failed

You stood in front of the mirror, the sight of the scars on your body making you nauseous. They were disgusting. You were disgusting. Everything about your scarred and ugly body was disgusting.

They made you ugly, gross, and disgusting.

You hadn't heard them come in..

"What's got your pretty head so wrapped up, huh?" He questioned from behind you, startling you out of your thoughts. You raised your gaze to see Percy behind you in the mirror, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame, that flirty dumb smirk that made you swoon laid on his lips.

You turned towards him. "How long have you been there?" You questioned, still a bit startled.

"I asked first." He retorted, pushing himself off of the door frame and coming towards you.

You sighed, rolling your eyes and crossing your arms over your chest. You looked away from the mirror; away from him.

"It's nothing," you said, turning away from the mirror all together and grabbing your shirt off the bed. Before you could put it on, Percy pulled the shirt out of your hands, multitasking and pulling you closer with his other arm.

"You and me both know thats a lie, sweetheart," you spoke into your ear.

"Get off, Percy.." You sighed.

"You're beautiful," you paused. He knew, didn’t he? He knew of your insecurities without you even telling him. But, maybe he was just saying that to say that.

His thumb swiped across a scar on your thigh. That made you realize he did know. He was extremely observant and perceptive despite the learning curves he's had.

"No..." You muttered under your breath. You didn’t agree with him.

He kissed your cheek. "C'mon, hon," he led you over to the bed.

"Wait, what?" Before you could even question anything, Percy had laid on top of you. "Percy! Get off of me!"

"Nope!" He grinned down at you. "I'm not getting off until you agree with me that you are beautiful!"

You sighed in annoyance, giving him a scowl before he leaned his weight on you and hugged your middle. No matter how annoying and stubborn he was, he always managed to make you feel better.

You hugged him with one arm, and you winded your hand into his hair.

Even if the inkling of insecurities still rests in the back of your mind, Percy would keep them in the back. As long as he was with you, there was no chance those thoughts were coming forward. He's there for you, and he always will be.

I feel like she's a little ooc, so sorry if she is 😓

"What's wrong?" She asked. She could always tell. All it took for her was a glance your way, and she could read every emotion you felt.

You glanced at her in the mirror, your gaze resting back on your scars.

Annabeth waited a moment before sighing softly. She stepped forward towards you, placing a warm and comforting hand on your elbow.

"You have to get out of your head, love," her voice was soft, comforting. Something she didn't show a lot of the time unless she fully trusted who she was talking to.

"I know," you muttered, stepping into her arms, "I know I do, it's just.. It's just so hard, sometimes." Annabeth stared at you for a moment.

She grabbed your hand, "Come with me," she told you.

"Where are we going?" You asked softly.

"To the strawberry fields." She gave you a smile.

You stared at her. Now, the back or her head as she leads you to the strawberry fields. She always knew you so well. The strawberry fields were always so calming to you. You liked to take strolls in them whenever you were feeling stressed.

"My love," you looked up from the strawberries, looking to your girlfriend.

"Yes?"

"You are beautiful." Your lips parted in a bit of surprise. "I love your scars, and your hair, and your smile, and just.." She paused, kneeling down and giving you a kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

You hadn't seen or even heard the sneaky son of Hermes come into the room. You only noticed him when his warm hand grabbed your hand from behind you startled you.

"Connor?" You questioned, having jumped a moment before when he startled you.

You looked at him in the mirror. His hand on your arm was so light, yet so firm and warm. Your eyes widened slightly when you saw him lean down to your arm, his lips touching a scar on said arm.

You watched him trail his gentle kisses along your scars. Gods, you loved his kisses, and he loved giving them.

Your heart rate increased when his other hand met your torso, gently pulling you to face him just as his lips got to the base of your neck.

"Connor..." You muttered, but he didn't respond as he kissed your jaw.

You gasped softly when his lips finally met yours in a firm yet gentle kiss. And just like his hands on your body, it made you swoon. You leaned into him, and he set his hands on your hips as you laid your arms around his neck.

"You are beautiful," He said, just barely against your lips. You could feel his breath as he spoke, "say it back, tell me you are beautiful."

You were silent for a moment. His eyes had stayed closed for a few moments after the kiss, but when he opened his eyes. You were met with his beautiful sky blue eyes.

"I.." You hesitated, your lip trembling for a second. "I'm beautiful.." You finally muttered out, voice slightly shaky.

"There you go," He smiled, giving your lips a few pecks, "my beautiful girl."

His thumb was gently swiping over a scar on your hip. You didn't want his thumb anywhere else. And for the first time in a long time, you felt a bit better about yourself.

You felt beautiful.

"Well, look at my gorgeous baby!" Leo cheered, that happy smile you could never resist on his face. He hugged you from behind, his warm and dirty arms landing around your waist. He hadn't realized you were feeling down. Not immediately, anyway.

Leo paused, looking at you in the mirror. He could tell something was wrong. "What is it, mi amor?" He questioned. Those dumb nicknames always made your heart flutter.

"Nothing, I..." You paused, swallowing your disgust for yourself. "I'm fine.." Your voice was quieter.

"I can tell when something is wrong," his arms tightened, "Tell me." He urged almost desperately. He hates seeing you upset, and he hates not being able to help even more.

"I feel.." You paused, staring at him in the mirror. Your eyes locked within it. He was listening intently and waiting patiently for what you would say. "My scars.." You said softly.

"Your scars?" He questioned. He ran his hand across one of the scars on your torso, "What about em'? I love em'"

Your heart fluttered at the feeling of his warm hand over the scar. "How could you possibly love them?" You asked, tears welling in your eyes. Your voice was almost breathless, he has to be lying. "They're so gross and ugly, and.." You stopped, preferring to hold the sob in your throat back rather than continuing on rant.

Leo's gaze softened, "Hey, hey.." He gently turned you around. You just opted to hide your face within your hands. "Hey, Hermosa," his voice was gentle, so we're his hands as he grabbed yours, prying them off your face. "You are the most gorgeous person I have ever laid my eyes on, and a few scars isn't going to change that." He could tell his words weren't helping, so he decided on something that might.

Leo backed up for a second, pulling his shirt over his head. "You say I'm handsome all the time," he started, pointing at a scar on his chest. "Does this make me any less handsome?" He questioned.

You sniffed, wiping your eyes and nose. "No..." You muttered quietly.

"Right," he dropped his shirt on the floor and stepped closer to you. One of his arms, he winded behind your back, pulling you closer to him. Then his other, he raised his hand, wiping you tears with his gentle yet calloused thumb, "So why should your scars make you any less beautiful?"

He placed his hand on your jaw, gently holding it as he leaned in and set his warm lips on top of yours.

[fishsticksloser]

Hi! Just wanted to say I love you fics! I tried to find on your page whether or not your requests are open or not but if they aren't just delete this and sorry. This is my first time requesting anything and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right tbh. but I was wondering if you could do a rise Leo x reader where Leo flirts with them with cheesy puck up lines but reader flirts back by teasing and Leo does not get that's what's going on. Eventually reader stars calling him "mon cheri"(my love in French, I think, I do not know French) and she tells him it means dumb. Leo doesn't know so he just goes along with it until they go to run of the mill and she calls him that and Hueso is just like, "how did you get a partner??" And Leo is like "what?? It means stupid" then hueso says something along the lines of "Pepino, I may not know much French, and you may be dumb, but that's not what that means."

Gender neutral or female pronouns please.

Sorry again if your requests aren't open and if this is to specific🫠

Mon Cheri

Leo x gn!reader

Warnings: fluff, Leo is kinda dumb, cheesy pick up lines, French

A/N: Mon cheri actually means 'my darling', my love in French is 'mon amour'. This is all over the place, sorry ://

It started as harmless flirting.

"Are you made of stardust? Because you’re out of this world!"

But as time went on... Leo started developing a bigger and bigger crush on you.

"Is your smile made of sunshine? Because it brightens up my day."

You would giggle and blush a little, which only made him try harder. He wanted to impress you, wanted to hear you laugh more.

"Do you believe in fairy tales? Because our love story is going to be legendary."

Of course, his brothers did nothing to help him. They didn't encourage him or anything.

Why? Well... They thought that you two had already discussed it and we're together. After all, it's like Leo couldn't stop holding your hand or having some part of himself touching some part of you.

꒦꒷⚔️꒷꒦

"Mon cheri, can you help me with something?" You ask Leo. His brothers perk up, this was the first time you'd ever used a pet name for Leo. Leo laughs, standing up to help you with whatever you needed.

"What does that mean?" He asks, linking his arm with yours.

"Dumb." You reply, which makes Leo laugh a bit more.

"I can live with that."

꒦꒷⚔️꒷꒦

Mon cheri meant dumb.

Mon amour meant idiot.

The list went on.

No one corrected your or Leo. Raph, April, and Mikey thought Leo knew the truth and it was just a joke. Donnie, on the other hand, knew that Leo had access to the Internet and could easily look it up. Just because he didn't, it wasn't Donnie's responsibility.

Leo didn't even know, didn't care if you were actually calling him dumb and an idiot. He likes that you had little nicknames for him.

The pick up lines certainly didn't stop either. He flirted with you every chance he got cause... You weren't his yet.

꒦꒷⚔️꒷꒦

Leo took you to Run of the Mill for some pizza, wanting to spend more time with you. Hueso of course had to come over and overhear you call Leo 'mon cher' which piqued his intrest.

"Pepino, I had no idea you were in a relationship." Hueso grins, motioning to you as you sit across from Leo.

"Y/N?" Leo questions, looking at Heuso with the most dumbfounded look he could muster.

"Yes. They called you mon cheri." The skeleton nods, questioning how the turtle managed to make it so far in life.

"It means dumb." Leo replies, still not understanding what Hueso was saying. Heuso scoffs, shaking his head.

"I may not be fluent in French, Pepino, but I believe that means my darling." Heuso chuckles and walks away as Leo turns to look at you, his mouth held open.

"I trusted you!" He whispers angrily, well... Not angry, more in disbelif. "I though you were teaching me French!"

"You're the one who just blindly believed me! You have access to the internet and a brother who is fluent in many languages including French!" You point out, Leo drags your chair to him. Surely Leo wouldn't suddenly turn on you and smite you in front of everyone... Would he?

Soon your chair is right in front of his, your legs between his. "What is dumb in French?" Leo asks suddenly, his hands on your chair so you can't move.

"Slang? Bête..." You respond immediately, Leo nods, seeming to take in that information.

"Good... I guess you should just call me that now."

"Why?"

"Because I was dumb, thinking this was all one sided, not even thinking to actually fact check." Leo doesn't wait another moment, leaning forward to kiss you so softly. He pulls away, his tail thumping against the chair. "Think I kind of deserve that title."

[triptuckers]

capture the flag - leo valdez

Request: nope Pairing:  leo valdez x apollo!reader Summary:  during capture the flag, no one gets stuck in leo's traps and he wants to find out why Warnings:  none Word count:  800 A/N: this has been sitting in my drafts for a while and now that I'm back in my pjo era time to finish it! enjoy :)

capture the flag is always fun. it's a nice way for people to train together while it feels like a game. even though sometimes people get too competitive.

it gives leo the chance to litter the forest with traps, and to test new inventions. of course, he could test them in the bunker or on his friends. but this is the real deal. no one knows where the traps are, how many there are. it's the perfect conditions to test them.

he's made a new batch of them but for some reason none of the traps work.

whenever he goes to check on them, they're all disabled. no one's activated them, or he would have found a fellow camper near one.

and leo is absolutely sure he activated them. they didn't blow up so there's nothing wrong with them.

and yet they're disabled.

rather than trying to capture the flag, he decides to hide in the bushes near one of his traps to see what - or who - is disabling them.

he listens to the sounds of the woods around him and pulls stuff out of his tool bel two mindlessly build little machines.

after a while, he spots movement out of the corner of his eye.

whoever it is moves quietly and gracefully. so definitely not an ares kid, leo concludes.

the person slowly walks over to leo's trap, careful where they put their feet down on the forrest floor.

leo watches as they walk around the trap, examining it. he shifts to get a better look at who it is.

he frowns slightly. he would have expected someone from the hermes cabin. maybe piper because he's spent a lot of time trying to explain his machines to her.

but he didn't expect it to be a daughter of apollo.

to be fair, leo thought the apollo cabin didn't know anything about traps or machines in general. their skills were mostly archery, medicine and music. not traps built by a hephaestus kid.

leo's eyes follow your hand movements as you carefully prod around the trap. surely you wouldn't be able to- and you disabled it.

smiling to yourself, you straighten your back and us your foot to slide the now useless trap aside.

when you turn around, you hear leaves rustle behind you.

instinctively, you knock an arrow on your bow and turn on your heel.

you are met by leo, who is frantically waving his hands in front of his face.

'don't shoot, don't shoot! I come in peace!' he yells.

you lower your bow. 'leo! gods, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!'

'that's alright.' says leo, lowering his hands. 'I was the one hiding behind you.'

you frown. 'why were you hiding anyway? usually you like to be in the middle of the action.' you say.

'can't help the fact people start fighting over me wherever I go.' says leo, making you chuckle.

'yeah, right, valdez. as if anyone could come near you with the amount of traps you're setting.' you say.

'speaking of which.' says leo, walking over to his trap and picking it up to examine it. 'how did you know where the kill switch was on this?'

you shrug. 'that's a tactical secret I can't reveal.' you say. 'for future capture the flag purposes.'

'or you just got lucky.'

'23 times?'

'yeah, that seems unlikely.'

you smile. 'there's a window in the roof of bunker nine.' you say. 'it's actually a two way mirror. it doesn't let any light through. gives me a perfect view of your workspace, though.'

'so the tactical secret is spying.' says leo.

'can't win if you don't play a little dirty every now and then. plus it's cool to see all the stuff you create.'

you shoulder your bow. 'good luck activating all of the traps again.' you say. 'I need to get back to my cabin.'

you start to walk toward the noise your fellow campers are making, to see if your team is winning and how you can help.

'hey!'

you turn around to see leo is still standing in the clearing with the trap in his hands.

'if you want to, I could show you how to make these? then you will be able to do more than just disable them.' he says.

you smile at him, you've always liked leo.

but you are surprised, you know leo is kind of protective of bunker 9 and usually only Hephaestus kids go inside. it must be a huge deal for someone from another cabin to be invited into the bunker.

and Leo wants you here.

'sure.' you say. 'I'd like that. but first we have to steal your flag.'

'oh no, you won't.' says leo.

with one last smile, you disappear into the woods, leaving leo to reactivate his trap before coming after you.

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit/Max

[mrabubu]

Can I say I'd be like...extremely curious to see Ana with Leo in full human form BEFORE the invasion?

I mean, this scenario of them kissing by mistake. This beautiful thing you described and which made me gasp (maybe because my heart burst). I can't help but imagine what Ana might look like...does she have long hair? Short? How did she dress before the invasion? What expression does she have???? I'm travelling. And Leo?!?!?! Damn! What did you do to me?

TALP /deep inhale/ /deep exhale/

Ok sorry I just didn't expect you to like this thing I'm drawing xdd

So, okay, I tried to think of something. I'll probably try to make something more interesting, but for now something simple..? Don't know what ideas you had, I probably didn''t meet your expectations, so, sorry xdd

And, honestly, she's falling into my favorite metaphor of a butterfly, with metamorphosis/changes and all.

Because now I have a thought that before being Kraangified she was like this typical shy person (yeah, very original, but like, cliches aren't bad, it's mostly about how you use them...?) , and Leo helped her to open up, but after turning into Kraang zombie she went back to how she was before, and even worse.

I DON'T NEED FOOD, GIVE ME CHARACTERS TO USE A BUTTERFLY METAPHOR ON.

[ahllohehn]

Hi ive just found this blog and i cant say ive ever thought of a percy jackson hermitcraft au but im love it and would love to let you info dumpanything you havent got to yet!

honestly I've been holding off a lot of things because I'm afraid to be met with "That's not plausible because that's not in the books!" when I've never really liked stricting myself to the books.

But thank you for stopping by :] (although I can't fully claim this AU is the first of its kind) And the opportunity? (Apologies for I'll use your ask for this INFODUMP )

about au au tag discord

The HaTO Discord obviously knows this, but Scar's parent is..... Gaea. I honestly didn't plan to go down this route at first, but when I considered Qrow's idea on it I decided to borrow it (I'm so sorry dad) because, it would actually..... seem cool?

Getting the "Gaea has been asleep in the void of Chaos for such a long time, how can Scar exist?!" out of the way, I'm copy pasting what I first wrote for it here since it's about time I let it leave the discord anyway;

Since Gaia is the earth itself. Just because she's asleep, doesn't mean she's completely incapable of interactions (from what I saw in the books anyway with the Leo stuff). Paired with the fact that Athena is capable of making children simply from thoughts, I thought maybe; what if Gaia could do that same?|

Imagine a mortal nature lover that spent most of their days advocating for the better well-being of the earth. How maybe they've always lived for the earth and with the earth? Maybe they were a farmer, a gardener. If the earth could feel the love its received, wouldn't it basically count as Gaia accepting some type of worship?

The same way how some gods would… gift children as a compliment or a blessing for their mortal partners, I thought maybe Gaia could basically will a baby out of a plant with the *cough* bodily.. fluids... (blood or.. whatever) that seeped into the earth. So I guess it's kinda like a 'babies come from a stork' story. So Scar's mortal parent would've basically been fine another day but would suddenly have their life turned upside down the next day as soon as they see a child in their garden they don't remember having.

Other than that, I thought it'd be cool to see a story following a child of Gaea that has to choose the destruction of their friends or the freedom of their mother.

Scar would've grown up to be a papa's boy ofc, but his dad has taught him to love nature and the earth so much that he honestly wouldn't mind the possiblity of being able to interact with the mom he's been taught to worship his entire life.

I'll stop there ugh I'm so noisy. If you want almost in-character stuff, there's a fake scanned letter of Satyr Doc talking about Scar.

[robin-the-enby]

Hello! I was wondering if you could do a Markus(DBH) x Reader where she is the S/O of Leo Manfred, but the relationship is definitely not a happy one. Like he insults her and pushes her around all the time.

If that is triggering please ignore this request! Hope you have a lovely day! :)

You can think that you're in love, when you're really just in pain...

Pairing: Marcus x f!reader

Warnings: use of Y/N and she/her pronouns, female reader (appearance is not discussed or mentioned), swearing, mentions of psychological and physical abuse, Leo is a gaslighter, I guess that' it

A/N: OMG, I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! Will you ever forgive me? 😭 But I took my time with this piece (and honestly might have gone a bit overboad) and while it did suck the soul out of me, I am very proud f it and hope you will like it. I made the reader female in the end, but the appearance of the reader is never mentioned, she is only reffered to with she/her pronouns, so I hope that's not a problem. If yes, I'll make sure to change it ;)

By now, you knew these streets by heart, that's how often you visited Carl Manfred. The old artist liked to joke that you were his in-law, given that you were his son's spouse. This wasn't the only reason however, because Carl also thought you were a kind and gentle soul and he really hoped that Leo saw that and tried to better himself in life, if not for himself, then for you at least.

Carl only talked well about his son, preferring to think about the god times instead of where exactly it went wrong and whose fault it might have been. But your presence was calming and very much enjoyable. He did have Marcus to run errands for him and take care of him, but you offering your helping hand gave him the feeling that he oh so lacked - his family taking care of him, now that he couldn't do it very well himself.

Even though you and Leo weren't married or even engaged, the old artist still considered you family. After all, you have been with Leo for a few years now, the thought of you leaving from his and Marcus' lives was strange and one Carl did not like to think about. Although...

Sometimes, when the house got quiet, when Marcus was fetching some paints or doing other errands in town, Carl would think. To be fair, he didn't know what you saw in Leo, even though he'd never admit that. He knew that opposites often attracted, and he really did hope your love would help Leo, whenever he'd ask you how his son was doing, no matter what mood you were in, it instantly changed. Something in your eyes...shifted. You looked tired, somehow older in those times, and he could see there was a heavy burden weighing you down. When it came to talking about Leo, you stuck to the basics. "He's doing fine." you'd say with a smile. But whenever Carl would ask hopefully "Has he found a job yet?" or "Is he...clean now?" you found that you could not answer. You didn't want to worry the old man, but it felt wrong to lie to him either. So you just hung your head low and admit quietly that no, he doesn't have a job and no...he isn't clean. You tried to lighten up the mood by saying he's looking for a job, which wasn't really a lie, at least, Leo insisted that he's looking for employment any time you'd bring that topic up, but you suspected Carl had stopped believing you at some point, although he never said so.

Today, you were once again visiting the old man and his android. It was strange to think that Marcus wasn't human. Every time you interacted with him, you almost forgot about it, enjoying his presence around you that much. Marcus was...serene. He wasn't loud, he wasn't crass and he was always kind. To everyone. Even if it created more trouble for him. Sometimes you wished you didn't have to leave. That you could stay with them. You were pretty sure Carl would be more than happy to let you stay, wishing for the company of his loved ones, even if he never said it, and Marcus...well...Marcus would be happy if Carl was happy. If you could call it happiness. It was strange to imagine that Marcus has never experienced any emotions at all. It made you a little sad. But the fact that he didn't know what emotions were and so he couldn't be aware of the fact he's missing something made you feel a little better. Although sometimes...sometimes it felt like Marcus was...different. Many a time have you seen him just...space out. You could see the, probably very much real, cogs in his head turn as he processed...something. But what that something was? You weren't sure.

Pulling your car into the driveway of the Manfred residence, you didn't even attempt to fight the stretch and the deep breath you took. It felt so freeing to be here, far away from...well, home. And the air was so clean and fresh, too! You could spend the whole afternoon sitting in the garden, just breathing. Carl sure did have taste when he picked out this place to live out the rest of his life at. It was calm, mostly quiet and smelled so, so good. Most people don't realise how amazing fresh air is until they taste it with their lungs, you thought to yourself. But even as you were here, your mind couldn't stop comparing everything to how it was at home. The yelling outside and inside. The constant sense of unease. The constant suffy air that wouldn't get out of your apartment, no matter how long you left the windows open. And you knew you had to come back. This place, as nice as it was, was just a break. A small oasis that would fill you up with strength until your next visit. But your reality was out there. In the downtown Detroit, in the tiny apartment you were renting.

Maybe if Leo admitted that he has issues and put his pride aside just once, you wouldn't have to take up so many shifts. You could actually like your job. You could do so much more than to just keep the both of you alive. Maybe you could have a bit of peace. But you doubted that. No matter how hard you tried, how much you did for the both of you, it seemed to never be enough. You took up extra shifts to treat the both of you to some nice meal? The apartment wasn't clean enough. You deep cleaned the apartment? You didn't cook dinner. You didn't have money to lend him? He didn't believe you, unless you showed him. And god forbid you asked him what he needed it for. Or if you complained.

Shaking yourself out of your thoughts, you made your way to the front door. Yes, reality wasn't...perfect, but you wouldn't let it ruin this moment for you. Or, at least, you would try. As you were about to raise your hand to ring the doorbell, a figure appeared from behind the corner, abruptly stopping at the sight of you. You whip your head around, startled a little at the stranger's sudden appearance. But, as your eyes focused on the person, you recognised Marcus. His intense eyes that never made you feel unsafe, his short hair, which you weren't even sure was real, you thought briefly, and his firm build...

"Oh, (Y/N)! I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you..." Marcus apolgised with a very sincere feeling smile. You chuckled slightly at your reaction "Oh hello, Marcus. It's alright, you just startled me, that's all." Marcus was quiet for a moment, and judging by the intensity of his gaze, you assumed he was assessing your vitals to ensure you really were alright. At first, the intensity with which he looked at you sometimes unnerved you, but when he explained it was just to make sure you were physically and mentally alright, you relaxed. It was handy to have someone that could tell you something was wrong with just one look, something you yourself might not have even noticed.

"Carl noticed your car, so he instructed me to tell you that we're in the garden." Your mouth made an "o" shape in silent understandment as you nodded and followed Marcus around the house. The short walk was silent, but comfortable. Soon you could see Carl relaxing in his wheelchair in the sun, looking as content as can be. You couldn't help the smile that bloomed on your face at seeing him. You've come to learn that this place, these people, were your safe place. You felt free here, not judged, not scrutinised. Nobody expected anything from you here and everything you did for Carl or for Marcus was met with appreciation.

Carl turned around at the sight of your footsteps on the small stone path and his face lit up "(Y/N)!" he exclaimed, opening his arms for a hug. You hugged him shortly and greeted the artist. "It's so good to see you! Come, come, sit down, let's have a chat!" he urged you as he moved towards a wooden bench overlooking the various flowers and bushes in the garden. From what you knew, Marcus not only took care of the old man, but the house, and by default the garden, as well. And if that was true, then he did an amazing job. The colours of all the petals were radiant and fresh, bees buzzing around happilly. It was a lovely sight. Sitting down, you made yourself comfortable. Carl stopped in front of you in a way that he could comfortably talk to you, but let you enjoy the sight as well. Something was telling him you needed it.

"Marcus, could you get us some drinks please?" he asked his android assistant gently. You always admired how Carl treated Marcus with such respect and care, as if he was a real person. All the time, you were met with people abusing their androids, seeing them as things to care for their every need, including receiving their master's anger. And although it felt obvious that one should treat their helpers respectfully, it was still a nice change. Another perk of spending time here. Marcus nodded with a small smile, asking Carl what he would like. "Some tea would be nice." Carl replied and Marcus turned to you. For some reason, you felt your face warm up slightly and you looked away from his enchanting eyes. Your mind ran a million miles per minute, trying to come up with something that wouldn't troube him too much. "Uhm, just some lemonade, please." you stammered after a second. Marcus nodded, never mentioning your stutter or pointing out your awkward behaviour.

When the android disappeared from view, Carl looked towards you "So, how is everything?" he asked, smiling. You never liked to answer that qestion, No answer felt right unless you went into detail, but you didn't want to burden him with all that. So you did the thing people usually do, you smiled and waved your hand dismissively "Ooh, you know. Everything is the same. Nothing interesting happening in my life." Carl nodded, but you were sure that being the perceptive person he is, he could see right through you. So he nodded without pressing the issue, and instead decided to press another one. "And how's Leo?"

It was as if that protective curtain around your happy place opened and you were exposed to the harsh light of reality. As if on autopilot, you hung your head slightly, the idea of looking into the old man's eyes suddenly uncomfortable. You chuckled awkwardly and shrugged "Yea, Leo's...Leo's good." you said, but your voice was small, void of the confidence and cheeriness it once posessed. Truth was, you haven't seen Leo in two days. He has been ignoring your calls as well as your texts. On one hand, you were worried about where he was, what he was doing and with who. But on the other...You were relieved. Your home is finally quiet, you don't wake up in the middle of the night to unexpected company coming over, because Leo invited them for a red ice party. You feel bad for feeling good when your partner is missing, but at the same time you can't help but enjoy it.

Sometimes fate has a strange way of playing with our lives. And it seems that in your case, Carl chose this day to finally choose the uncomfortable topic and interrogate you. "(Y/N), what's wrong?" the artist asked softly and you wondered when exactly has this became an intervention. "Nothing's wrong, work has just been tiring." Not a lie, but not a complete truth either. For some reason, you felt ashamed to admit to Carl how has Leo been treating you. You knew it wasn't right, but you also weren't someone who'd let others just push them around, and you knew Carl knew that. And maybe that's why you didn't want to tell him. Besides, how do you tell someone that their child is a toxic abuser?

"Cut it out (Y/N), I know something's wrong. Now, I know Leo doesn't have a job and that he's still on that...thing." Carl said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth "But I feel like there are things you haven't been telling me." The worst thing about this conversation wasn't the fact Carl knew you were lying to him, it was the way he was so nice about it. You felt like this whole thing was wrong, for some reason you felt like he should have been mad at you, should have been asking why you were so stupid as to staying with his stupid son, who everyone knew was a scumbag. You sure felt stupid. And yet... "You know I wouldn't do that." you smiled at him while racking your brain for an exit out of this conversation. "Hey, Marcus has been gone for quite a while, huh? I'll go help him out a bit." you didn't wait for an answer, already standing up and heading to the backdoor. Carl turned around to look after you and from behind you, you could hear him call out, cheekiness masking his worry "I may be old, but I'm not senile!"

Stepping into the house was like teleporting to another world. While the garden was full of colours and bustling life, the house was quiet and the brown hues of the furniture and decorations almost made it feel sleepy. But it let a lot of light through its big windows and it didn't feel heavy or suffocating. The worst you could say about it was that it felt serious, but glancing at the life sized giraffe taxidermy in the living room disproved even that claim.

Following the soft clacking of mugs and the conistent hum of the kettle, you made your way to the kitchen. Marcus was standing at the counter, preparing Carl's tea, your lemonade already done on a small tray on the table. His broad shoulders moved uder his uniform and you found the movement...mesmerising. And while observing Marcus quietly was quite normal for you, as creepy as that sounds, this was the first time you felt as if your...affection, towards the android might not be as platonic as would be appropriate. You were taken for pete's sake, you couldn't be fantasising about another man like that! But, you reasoned for yourself what was the harm? It wasn't like Leo was here and even if he was, he'd probably pay little mind to you. You would be surprised if he could even stand still for more than half a minute.

"I know you're there, (Y/N)." you heard Marcus chuckle, successfully bringing you out of your thoughts. You realised that during your internal argument, you have leaned against the doorframe and probably was watching him like a creep the whole time. Great. "Heh. Somehow, that does not surprise me." you chuckle in return, hoping to brush off your inadequate behavior. Marcus' shoulders shake in silent giggles as he looked behind his shoulder at your drink "Your lemonade is done. Do you want to drink it outside with Carl?" he asks and you shake your head. "It's okay, I'll stay here for a while, but I'll join you two afterwards." you explain, hoping he doesn't push the matter. But it seemed that luck was not on your side that day.

"Did Carl's questions about Leo tire you out?" Marcus tried to joke, but he quickly realised he must've brought up a sensitive subject at your lack of a positive reaction. You just hung your head, as you were used to when talking about your boyfriend and smiled, although the expression held very little joy. "Yeah...sort of." you said quietly and sipped on your lemonade. Your brows scrunched together and you odded a little "Hy, this is some really good lemonade!" you commented, hoping to divert the conversation once more. Marcus thanked you and finished with Carl's tea. Then, he wordlessly picked up the tray and went outside to give it to the man.

He was gone for quite some time, that you almost thought that you would really be left alone, even though you didn't know whether that was what you wanted anymore. But it seemed that Marcus was more in tune with your emotions than you would've guessed for an android. He quietly sat down next to you and after a bit of silence, during which he probably ran through all the things he could've said, he finally spoke up. "Why Leo?" Yo had to say that it was the last question you expected, although, you didn't really know what you were expecting.

Sighing, you shrugged "I don't know...anymore." you added after a second, deciding that if you were to tell someone about your troubles, it would be Marcus. Would he tell Carl? If he asked, which you know he would, then the android would tell the artist everything. But hey, at least you didn't have to do it yourself. "Anymore?" Marcus asked quietly and you felt those gorgeous eyes trained on your face as if it was the only thing he could see. You nodded "Yeah...I guess- I guess he wasn't that bad at the start." you shrugged, the memories of him showering you with sweet words and gifts that weren't expensive, but that much more meaningful, almost gone from your brain. "And then I found out about the drugs and I thought-" you took a sharp breath in, already feeling the familiar pressure behind your eyes "I thought, he loves me, I'll be there for him and help him get through it. But he never got better. And when he blamed everything on the drugs, or on the withdrawals I believed him, because...Well, because I never thought I'd end up in that kind of situation, you know?" you chuckled, the noise laced with self deprecation.

You felt his hand land on your arm gently. A fleeting thought of how warm his hand was crossed your mind, before you heard him speak "It's not your fault." You quickly nodded "I know, I know, but it doesn't feel like it, you know? From a young age, we are warned of the signs of abuse in relationships, so how could I have ended up in one?" you sighed "I just feel...stupid." Your shoulders sagged and you slumped a little in your chair, as if a tremendous weight was lifted from your chest.

Even though Marcus was already lookng at you, you somehow felt his gaze sharpen "Is he..." he breathed out and it looked like he didn't know how to phrase what he wanted to say, which made a weird feeling spill throughout your gut, because it was strange, almost unsettling to see the lovely android, who is always so composed, at a loss for words. "Does he hurt you?" "No, no!" you were quick to assure him and you could see his shoulders droop as he relaxed his posture slightly. "He can be a bit rough, but-" you shook your ead again "it's no a big deal."

"What do you mean, rough?" Marcus presed on, his tone still as gentle as if you were a scared animal that could run away if he made one wrong move and yet, his eyes never left yours and when you looked at him, looked at those beautiful eyes that you were sure could count as a piece of art, there was...emotion behind them. You were sure of it. You've lived around androids for the better part of your life and you knew how they looked, even when they were assisting someone. Never ever have you seen such intensity behind synthetic eyes. And yet, you almost felt...relieved. You cleared your throat "Oh it' uh, it's ot a big deal..." you tried to reassure him once again (or maybe you were trying to convince yourself it hasn't gone that far, that hope and love haven't blinded you towards physical abuse as well) "Just sometimes when we fight, he grabs me a bit too roughly. It usually doesn't even leave a mark." you shrugged, but as you were saying it, you realised how horrible it sounded. So you stopped yourself before you'd dive into explaining how sometimes it was not just grabbing but shoves and pushes that you'd endure from Leo when you were too uncooperative for his liking.

You turn to face Marcus again and he looks a you with such sadness it almost feels like it was him who went through thaat. It wasn't just pity, the kind of look the pharmacist would shoot you every time you'd come for that one cream to help soothe your skin after a rough argument with Leo. But no, Marcus seemed...almost heartbroken, the kind of heartbroken a child is when their beloved pet dies.

"You don't have to put up with it you know?" Marcus asked gently, although it felt more like a reminder "You only have to say a word and I'm sure Carl would have nothing against-" you stopped Marcus' rant by putting a hand on his chest "I know, I know," you said nodding "but I don't want to bring Carl into this. He shouldn't have to put up with whatever mess Leo gets into, let alone my problems."

"It's ok to ask for help." he put his hand over yours that was on his chest, caressing yor skin lightly with his thumb. Your eyes were immediately drawn to his and on yours, the contact making your cheeks heat up as you mentally cursed yourself. "I know, but..." you trailed off "I just feel like...if I got into this mess, I have to get out of it. I don't want to-" you groan "I guess I don't want to give him the satisfaction of having that complete control over me. I know it sounds stupid-" you went to pull away, feeling the hot shame flow over you, making you want to cringe away from your robot friend. But Marcus only queezed your hand and tugged you closer to him. "It's not stupid. And there's no need to be embarassed." he reassured you and you shot him a quick smile, which he reciprocated, before you continued "So yeah, I guess that's why I never...said anything. Besides, he's not always like this. Sometimes he wakes up and is the textbook version of a doting boyfriend. I guess...I guess it made me hope that something could be done, that if I try hard enough, he'll see what he's doig and we can ge through it together." you chuckled sadly and this time, Marcus hugged you.

At first, you went stiff as a board, not expecting such a gesture from him, after all, Marcus has never been very touchy, since he wasn't programmed for that, but by now you were suspecting that Marcus could do more than what he was programmed to do, even if you didn't understand how that worked. Gradually, you relaxed into the hug, letting your arms gently wrap around his neck as his were wrapped around your waist. You let your head rest on Marcus' chest and as you breathed in, you caught the smell of his clean clothes. The warmth rdiating from his body was also something you couldn't complain about. You stayed like this for what must have been minutes, before you felt the android shift. Thining he was done with the hug, you went to let go of him, but his arms only tightened around you. You looked up at him only to find him already looking down at you, his eyes portraying some sort of inner conflict.

Just as he was about to voice whatever was on his mind, you registered hurried footsteps as well as rushed sentences beig exchanged, and not in a positive manner. Both you and Marcus let go of each other just in time before Leo rushed through the dooray, visibly seething, with a worried Carl on his heels.

"I told you dad, I just want to talk to her, so either you tell me where she is, or-" he stops mid sentence when he sees you and Marcus in the kitchen. He looks disheveled, his hair tussled, his clothes wrinkled, he looked sweaty and the whites of his eyes were very red, no to mention his pupils, which were way out of proportion. For a while, he just looked beween you and Marcus, his gaze jumping from one to the other, before he nodded and chuckled throwing up his hands "Well isn't this just great. I come home to no girlfriend, no car, no food and when I finally find her, she's all over a fucking robot." he sneers first at you, then at Marcus. Leo takes a few steps towards you, extending his hand as if to grab yours and you can't help but back away out of habit. Leo, of course, notices this and chuckles awkwardly "C'mon babe, we're going, the taxi won't pay itself." he says it as if he was lightheartedly joking, but the tension in his voice as well as his body gives away his real emotions.

And for some reason, something inside you...switches. You've had enough. Enough of not being appreciated, enough of being ordered and pushed around, when you deserved something, someone much better. Someone who would hold you tenderly, who would smell like fresh clothes, who would be warm and lovely, who could at least take care of himself.

"I'm not going anywhere." you said calmly, shaking your head. Leo looked at you like you just grew another head "Sorry?" And you gladly repeated yourself, adding "Maybe if I would've known where the hell you've been for the last two days, I would have waited for you. But I guess I'm not worth picking up the phone for. That is, if you even have it." you allowed yourslf to release the frutration that's been building up inside you for god knows how long now. Carl's eyes were wide, shocked fromhearing all this new information about your relationship with his son.

"Babe, you know I was busy-" Leo tried, but you were having one of it "Yeah, I see how busy you are. Couldn't you at least wait until you sobered up till you came here?" you scoffed. Leo narrowed his eyes at you and growled lowly "Listen, we can talk this through at home, no need to make a scene." And you actually laughed, catching all three men present slightly off guard "Cause a scene? You roled up here in a taxi, which you expect me to pay for, because no way you have any money on you after wherever you've been, you barged in like a hurricane and demanded to see me, and why? Just because I dared to drive somewhere? The ca is the only thing you have to your name, you live in my aparment, off of my and your dad's money, which you still send on useless shit. You don't help me out with anything, whatever I do is not enough, even though last time you actually put any effort into our relationship was years ago, so when I decide to take a break and visit a place I actually feel welcome at, it's still somehow my fault."

Maybe if it weren't for the fact that your soon to be ex boyfriend's face was getting redder with your every word, you could actully focus on the weight being lifted from your soul after that monologue. But Leo didn't look just mad, but insane. A small part of you started regretting your words, but feeling Marcus' and Carl's presence slightly calm you down. Still, when he took another step towards you,your body tensed up and you took an instinctive step towards Macus, trusting him to intervene if something went wrong. And given how your stomach squeezed uncomfortably, the situatio was more than likely heading that way.

But Leo, of course, noticed this "Bullshit." he spat out "I try, so fucking hard to please you, to be enough for you. Every day, all I think about is you. So sometimes, I need something to help me relax. But none of you," he turned around to direct his words not only to you, but his father as well "none of you get that. You all just bring me down." at this point, Leo was borderline yelling and you tried to stop your body from shaking, out of fear or adrealine, you didn't know. "I was worried, have you thought about that?" he focused on you again"I was worried where you were, what happened. So I looked for you. And when I finally found you, my fucking girlfriend, what do I see?"he turns his attention to Marcus now, both of the men staring deep into each other's eyes "I found you all over this fucking piee of plastic." he growled with disdain "I have no idea what you and dad see in these monstrosities-" he would continue, if it wasn't for Carl jumping in "Leo, that's enough!" the old man said sternly, even though you knew very well how much it pained him. As Leo was turning around to face is father, Marcus grabbed his shoulder firmly "Perhaps you should leave." he said, keeping his voice calm, although you knew that he was anything but calm. You never noticed how expressive Marcus' eyes were until today...

"Not without her I'm not!" Leo jerked away from the android's hold, turning to face you again, bringing you out of your thoughts. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere." you said, suddenly more tired than anything "I'll pay for your fucking taxi, but it's the last time I ever want to see you." you offered, just wanting him to be gone already. You knew you didn't have to do it and that it would probably be wiser to not do it, but you just wanted him out of everyone's hair. At least for today. Carl sure didn't need this day to be more stressful than it already was.

Surprisingly, Leo huffed "Fine." and you pulled some money out of your wallet and handed it to him. And with that, he turned on his heel, muttering "Fucking bitch..." as he walked out, making Carl almost scold him again, but you placed your hand on his shoulder as a sign to let him go.

After that exchange, the tension disappeared from the room, until Carl moved to the table and you sat next to him, Marcus standing by Carl's side. For a while, none of you said a word, until he old artist sighed "I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know it was that bad." he muttered apologetically and you shook your head "It's ok, you couldn't have known." and after that, you had a very long conversation with Carl about you, Leo and everything that has been going on with him. Some of it he knew, most of it he didn't. You went through many different emotions during that conversation. Frustration, anger, but mostly relief. It was finally over. When the tears started maing their way down your face, you felt Marcus' hand gently squeeze your shoulder and you grabbed it with a sniffle, intertwining your fingers to ground yourself. You felt Carl's eyes follow your every move during that interaction, but you didn't look at him.

Finally, after the tears had mostly dried, the old man sighed "I think...I think I need to lie down." he said quietly and you almost apologised. Almost. Mrcus let go of your shoulder to help him, leaving you alone. After they disappeared up the stairs, you stood up and went into the small bathroom on the ground floor, to wash your face, now sticky from all the tears you've shed, but also to get your mind together. You knew you would have to leave at one point, but you really didn't want to go to your apartment. And definitely not alone. After all, Leo still had the keys. Changing the locks would be a pain, as well as making sure he won't try to pull some other shit in the ext few weeks, maybe even months. You knew that there was a chance he would leave you alone, but something was telling you it would not be so easy. Not with Leo. You sighed and returned to the kitchen, only to find Marcus already there, waiting for you.

"Would you like a cup of tea? There's an herbal mix that should help you calm down." he asked you so gently you thought you would start crying again. Instead you just sniffled and ndded with a thsnkful smile "That would be lovely, thank you." As Marcus started preparing the tea, you found yourself sanding awkwardly a few steps away from him, leaning against the counter. It felt wrong to just sit down. You didn't even know what to do with your eyes, or what to say, but luckilly Marcus beat you to it "Carl said to tell you that you should stay here tonight. Unless you don't want to of course." he informed you as gently as before. "No, that would actually be very nice, thank you." you said, relieved "I'll nee to bring some take out for him as a thank you." you said, knowing very well the artist liked some junk food every once in a while, despite his doctor's protests, as a treat. "You don't have to do that." Macus turned to you, while carefully filling up your cup with the hot water. You shook your head and closing your eyes with a sigh "It's only right, after what happened today."

Suddenly, you feel a presence right in front of you and you open your eyes to fid Marcus right in front of you. He leans forward, resting his hands on the counter on either side of your body, looking deeply into your eyes "You may feel like it, but none of this is your fault. You didn't deserve the way he treated you and you're not stupid, or a failure for getting tangled up in that." he said quietly, but firmly enough to let you know you should better get it through your thick head sooner than later. You gulped as you got lost in his mesmerising eyes that told you how sure he was of what he has just told you. And suddenly, your hands found their way to his chest, catching the android slightly by surprise. His eyes seemed to pull you in, until you realised that your faces actually were getting closer, both of you leaning towards each other, none of you brave enough to clos the gap entirely.

You saw something in Marcus's eyes shift and he exhaled, lowering his head unti it was resing on your shoulder. You almost automatically wrapped your arms around his neck, holding him close. "I'm sorry, I..." he started, but agai, didn't quite know how to continue "This is all very new to me, but... something is telling me I- we should wait." he confesses, chosing to bluntly say what he was feeling, probaby figuring out you knew he gained the ability to feel and that he definitely felt something for you. He could feel you nod next to his head "Yeah, that's...that's probably for the best." you pulled away slightly, and he could sense that your body temperature rose slightly, especially in your face "But in the future...I would really like to try again...I think." you said bashfully and Marcus couldn't help the smile growing across his face.

Sure, you had a long journey of healing and finding yourself ahead of you. And inevitably, he would have to talk to Carl about his deviation, but as long as he could figure out his newly gained sentience alongside you and help you flourish again and find that spark that had almost been snuffed out of you, he could wait for eternity.