#AND THEN IT GOT LONG AND TOOK FOREVER HERE HAVE IT
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balancing act | y. isagi + i. rin
⎠tags ; afab + fem!reader (she/her used for reader, good girl etc), threesome kinda, oral (m!recieving), bondage (m!receiving) deep-throating, face-fucking, some gagging, rin-centric, polyam relationship, rin and isagi have and established dynamic, soft dom! isagi, implied sub!rin, and switch!reader 18+
⎠wc ; 2k (enough......)
⎠a/n ; thank you for commissioning me @timesnewreader. i was... very excited to write this.... i hope u are okay with the direction i took....
⎠synopsis ; you start to understand the dynamic between them. or maybe all three of you, a little more.
or isagi teaching you how to make rin feel good while rins tied up.
tip jar | commission post (closed for now)
Isagi's hand is warm as it rests on your head.
You look up at him from where you're kneeling, craning your neck to try and get a look of his face. He notices quickly, instantlyâaffectionate as he lets his hand cup your cheek. His thumb brushes along your lip as he pets you.
A fuzzy feeling settles in your stomach at the touch and he smiles at you. Sun-warm, almost deceptively kind.
You can feel Rin's gaze on you too. Unreadable to you like always. Not quite cruel, not quite openly affectionate either. Something else simmering under the weighted teal irises that makes your stomach tie in knots.
"Don't be nervous," Isagi hums. Him and Rin lock eyes and for a split second, you almost think you understand them. "He won't act tough forever,"
"Shut up," RIn hisses. Isagi clicks his teeth.
"Lighten up first," Isagi says, shaking his head. He cards his fingers through Rin's hair. And then he tugs from the root, hard enough to make RIn hiss. His smile is the same - no traces of malice. "You're scaring her, y'know? Be civil."
Rin looks down at you again. On you? You don't really know. He doesn't look for long, and doesn't respond to Isagi when he talks. His eyes dart in another direction and he scoffs under his breath.
Isagi shakes his head. "You're so dishonest,"
They look at each other again, speaking without talking at all Rin clicks his teeth. Isagi sighs, shrugs, and directs his attention back to you.
"Sorry," He says, apologetic. Sincere. "We both want you here. Promise,"
It's like he's reading your mind, visible relief making your shoulders sag where you sit. Isagi's grin grows another size, pinching your cheek slightly. "You were worried, huh? How sweet."
You squirm a little. You can't find your voice for a minute or two. "A little. I don't... if Rin-kun isn't comfortable with it thenâ"
Isagi laughs.
And then, with no ceremony - he puts his knee between Rin's closed legs and shoves them apart. Rin snaps at him. Isagi keeps his legs forced open without concern.
Rin isn't any position to do anything anyway. You're knelt between his legs but he's got his arms tied - restrained to a chair per Isagis's request. He fights a blush as Isagi keeps his legs apart.
He's not naked, but you can see he's hard. His cock strains against the athleisure on hips - tenting the fabric slightly. Your eyes widen in surprise, and you look up at Rin whose still refusing to look at you.
"Promise he won't bite," Isagi says, encouraging you to touch him. "Not if I keep him restrained at least. It's okay."
You and Rin look each other this time. Rin's eyes lid as you crawl closer between his legs. Your hand is tentative, loosely cupping his cock.
The response is instant. A sharp hiss, dick twitching against your hand despite how lightly you've touched it. It emboldens you, enough to hold it at least. He's hard. You wonder if you did that to him. Some part of you can't believe it.
"See? He's just embarrassed," Isagi says, patient with you. With Rin too, you think. "He wants you make him feel good. Rin had a crush on you first, you know? Between us. I bet you want that too,"
You look up at him innocently. "I want to make you feel good too,"
Isagi lets out a labored breath. "Watching you makes me feel good. Rin-kun will pout if I get to you first," An eye roll. "Unfair right? But that's how much he likes you."
"Shut up already,"
Rin is blushing. Isagi laughs. "See? I'll tell you how to make him feel good. You'll get something nice after, okay?"
"Oh it'sâit,"
"Don't argue, 'kay? Go, get closer to him."
So you listen to him. You inch closer to Rin's lap and rest your hand on his leg. Isagi bends down on one knee behind you, keeping his legs apart when Rin tries to shut them closed. Undressing him for your ease of access, hands pushing his sweats down to his thighs.
At full height, his dick is bigger than you imagined it to be. Prettier too, somehow. It's gorgeousâtip flushed cherry red, with a long curve and veins that stand out. Mostly hairless except at the base, where it's well groomed. The hair grows thick still, contrasts so nice against the pale color of his cock. Pre-cum dribbles from the head, silky and and crystalline clear - laced with white.
You feel your head get heavy. A subconscious desire to get closer to it overwhelms your thoughts. Close enough to breathe on it. Rin huffs.
"You're making such a cute face," Isagi coos, amused by you. Embarrassment flares in your belly, tickles your skin. "He likes when you start light. Too much at once and he'll get overwhelmed. Go slowly,"
He instructs so gentle you don't feel condescended. Despite his smugness, his intention is so genuine it makes you flush.
You let your instinct take over. Your mind clouds, pouting your lips to press a soft kiss to the very base of his shaft. Wet and open mouthed, you rest and feel the weight of it. The pulse of it. His cock is so heavy against your face
You move up, kissing it slowly all the way to the very tip. You let your lips rest there. Rin looks down at you, chest heaving.
The obstinacy has melted off of him. Faster then you could've predicted. There's something...needy to it. Almost. Maybe you're reading it wrong.
"You're so good, hm," Isagi hums - standing on his knees behind you. His hand comes around your waist, palm resting on your midriff. "Learned so fast. Use your tongue,"
You dip your tongue into leaking slit on command. Rin cusses loud.
Without thinking, you open your mouth up enough to fit the tip of his cock into it fully. You don't take him all the way into your throat, heeding Isagi's advice to go slow.
"It's sensitive under the head," He directs. He's so comforting, so sincere. "Try it,"
You concentrate your attention there, pressing your tongue flat. Rin jerks above you - hips threatening to buck up into your throat. But Isagi uses both hands to hold him down by his thighs. Rin strains against it but Isagi is firm. You're reminded then that despite the difference in size between them, their athletic prowess isn't so different.
The thought sends you reeling.
"So desperate," Isagi taunts. "A pretty girl has your cock in her mouth and you get so worked up. What happened to your restraint and self-discipline, huh?"
"Fuck off," Rin swears. His voice lacking the composure you've come to associate with him so strongly. "Shut up before I go soft."
"As if you would. Can't cum without me telling you off, can you?"
You feel him twitch in your mouth and you try not to gasp at the reaction, proving itself in front of your eyes. Your eyes go wide and Rin looks down with an embarrassed blush and ohâ.
"See? Rin-kun only acts tough but truth is he can only take so much," Isagi hums. His hands slide up your chest and you feel him cup your tits - giving them an affectionate squeeze. "That's why we're spoiling him. He's being like this but he's happy you're pampering him. Right, Rin-kun?"
You look at Rin again and you think you're starting to understand. Just a little. How it goes between them. And now between you. The thought makes your pride swell.
"Rin-kun," You pull away, eyes blown wide in some sudden desire. "I like you."
A pause. Air being pulled into lungs, a held breath. Rin's eyes go wide and you watch as his cock dribbles again. Isagi freezes for a moment too before he laughs, laughs warm and affectionate and so loud.
"You caught on fast, huh?" Isagi says, hugging you from behind. His chin rests on your shoulder. "And me too, right?"
"Yeah, of course you too." You nod.
You understand it a little more clearer. Rin never does something he doesn't have a reason or desire to do. His ego doesn't work that way. Not combating Isagi, no matter how smug, is it's own form of submission you think.
"Let's keep going, okay? Without worry."
A weight lifted from your shoulders, you nod again. Open your mouth fully, careful as you stand up on your knees and get closer. The assurance instills confidence in you, makes it easier for you to go through the practiced motions. Your hands on Rin's thighs, corded muscle strained under your palms where you hold yourself up. Both you and Isagi holding his hips in tandem.
You let yourself take him in. Trapped betwen them, you swallow around Rin's cock. Careful to mind your teeth, the edges of your mouth stretch and ache to accommodate his length. The scent of him makes your head feel heavy, a strong musk and the taste of clean skin all over your tongue. Makes your mouth water, brain melting slow. The effort doesn't go unnoticed, Isagi whispering praises as you open up your throat to fit fully fit Rin's cock.
"You're so good. Just like that," He hums, giggling. "Even I can't do this well. So good with your mouth huh?"
You gag voicing a muffled 'thank you' and Rin curses above you. You feel him strain, muscles of his thighs shaking hard.
"Fuckâfuck, don'tâ"
You move then. Mouth full of spit, used to the feeling of his cock down your throat - you move bob your head, hollowing your cheeks. Your eyes prick with tears at the way he hits your throat now repeatedly but you push forward anyhow.
You want to see him cum. You want to make him cum.
You can only go for so long though, before your jaw starts to trie.
When you start to slow, Isagi is kind and does the heavy lifting for you.
His hands rest on the side of your head forcing you up and down. It sends a shot of lightning through you, arousal making your whole body shiver at the controlled force. Precise force. He holds you down but he's careful not to push you too far. You moan around Rin's cock in response to it.
Having your face fucked with Isagi as the driver makes your mind bend with unfiltered lust. Your legs clamp again, an empty ache in your cunt as you think about what he must be like when he fucks.
Rin doesn't make it out any better. You can feel him. How he starts tremble, how his voice goes shot - how his dick gets harder, twitches so violently in your mouth each time he bottoms out in your throat.
"Fuck," His head drops back in a groan. "Fuck I'mâ"
Isagi smiles a little.
"Be a good boy and cum down her throat like she wants,"
That's what makes him let go. Isagi holds you down as Rin cums with something that borders on a scream, straining against his restraints as his cum spills all the way down. It fills your mouth, the taste and the scent making you dizzy. It goes so far into your throat you don't taste it, rather you swallow it all in one go with little fuss other than a loud gulp.
"That's it," Isagi coos. "That's a good girl. Easy, easy. Breathe."
You cough as Isagi lets you off of Rin slowly, exhaling as you clear your throat. When you pull away, Isagi pulls you by your chin to tip your face over to meet his.
"Open your mouth, beautiful."
You do and Isagi smiles with pride. "You really swallowed all of it. Didn't even use your hands," He hums. "What a good girl."
You make a face of embarrassment. "Thank you,"
Rin makes a disgruntled sound. "Untie me before I fucking kill you,"
Isagi snorts, giving you a short kiss before going around to undo Rin's bindings. "Hard to take you seriously when you sound like that."
You sit where you are, in a mild daze you collect yourself. Lost in your own world, you don't notice when Rin finally gets untied.
It startles you when you feel him practically jump you. When his hands are free, he bends over the chair and brings your face to his. Big hands cradle your face as you feel him kiss you so hard it shakes you. More teeth than lip, rough but full of desire. You feel his tongue in your mouth even after swallowing his cum. At some point you give into it, hands clutching his shoulder as you struggle to breathe.
It's Isagi that pulls him off, a laugh on his voice - not mad at all.
"You're so aggressive when you get like this. Just be honest from the start next time instead of trying to eat her, dumbass."
Despite the bickering, Isagi bends down from where he stands to kiss Rin too and Rin lets him so easily you almost want to laugh. Rin must notice. He glares just a little but he looks embarrassed more than anything.
"You did good baby," Isagi praise, a hand on your shoulder. "What kind of reward do you want?"
You pause. "What does Rin-kun want?"
A blush paints him deep red and you ans Isagi sort of smile in mutual understanding. He frowns, bangs covering his face.
"Want you to sit on my face,"
You look at Isagi.
"Then that, if that's okay."
Isagi hums, a hand on Rin's nape. "More than okay. Guess it's fine to spoil him a little more."
Rin makes a disgruntled noise, but ultimately - he doesn't seem too unhappy with it either.
A very careful balancing act.
#writing tag#bluelock x reader#bluelock smut#rin x reader#isagi x reader#rinsagi x reader#rin smut#isagi smut#a.fic
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Rafe Cameron - Late.
Lana Del Rey - Pretty When You Cry
The weekend was awful and you wanted to talk to someone that saturday night. Not just someone, but him. Yet you know the rules that both of you have set: no texting, no calling, no meetings. No need to repeat the past mistakes, but you just know you can't keep yourself off him. Today you need him, to feel yourself falling into his strong arms and feel as if nothing else exists in the world. No wondering how you didn't crash to some random car on the road since your head was full of other matters. Your mind drove you to his new little place, the apartment he got on the Silence Road. The phone showed the time 01:13, a bit too late for the friendly visit, and yet again, you are nowhere to be friends, not anymore. You got out of the car, the nights were getting cold and you stood there thinkin it over and over again, "Am I ready to lose him one more time?". And then you made one step closer to the entrance door, one more and few more. Two knocks at the door and no reply, you knocked again. "Yeah, it was fucking stupid I should just leave before anyone notices" and you start to stride back to the car breathless.
-No way. - He showed at the door in shorts only, topless and barefoot. His buzzcut was getting a little long, the goosebumps from the cold showed on the muscles all over the body and you noticed a little tattoo of a boat on the rib.
-I am sorry, I should have not come here. - Your tears started to show. - And you were asleep and it's late and we agreed not to ever.. do this.. again.. I'm⌠- You were lost of breath, the panic was getting you, it felt as if the ground beneath your feet was dissapearing and you were ready to fall.
-Hey, princess, I'm here, hey.. - He stepped closer to you.
-You can't go out like this, you'll catch a cold, it's veryâŚ
-Hey, it's ok, don't worry about me catching a cold, hey⌠- He was so close, he got your face into his hands trying to find the reason for this sudden appearance.
-Rafe, I'm sorry. - You couldn't look into his eyes. - I'm so sorry for being here, I know that we⌠- Tears were streaming down the face.
-It's ok, hey, look at me. Please, baby, look at me, I need to know what happened, you are safe with me, ok? It's ok, c'mhere. - He held you in his arms as close as it was humanly possible. He placed your head onto his chest, his arms were cuddled to you. For the first time this day you felt safe, it was such a liberating feeling. You stood there with your eyes closed knowing you can finally relax in his arms.
-Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby, ok? You are safe here, you know that. It's ok. I do wish you told me the reason of the tears tho. - He got your face into his hands once again, you always loved when he did that.
-I feel so helpless, I know I can't bother you with my things.
-Hey, your things are my things, I got you. - He put your strands of hair behind your ears, his fingers brushed through you hair as you tilted you head to his hand. You looked straight into his eyes, the striking blueness of them always swept you away. The colour of the sea, the colour of the sky, the colour of everything that gave you hope and comfort. Now they shined brighter in the night. You wanted the moment to last forever, but you knew you only had this night. You got out of his arms, took the breath of fresh air. He noticed you getting away and looked so worried.
-Hey, why don't you come inside and tell me everyhing, huh? - You felt as if he didn't want you to go away.
-Rafe, do you think it's a good idea?
-Sure. - He tried to seem unbothered, putting his hands into the pockets of the shorts. - Why not, and it is really chilly outside. - He shugged the shoulders. You noticed the freckes on them, oh God how much you loved these freckles.
-Why not, I can't let you get cold because of me, right? He started walking to the door checking if you were following. All you knew is how much you wanted this night to last forever, how much you wanted to feel him close to you, to look into his eyes, to have his hands holding you. You might not have another day with him, but at least you have tonight, right?
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Bound by violet
Okay have mercy guys, Iâve never done this beforeâŚ.. so I hope itâs goodâŚ.
The first thing you noticed when you woke up was the scent of lavender and something sharp, like ozone. Your head pounded, and your arms felt heavy. It took you a moment to realize why: you were boundânot with rope, but with shimmering violet threads of energy that pulsed faintly against your skin.
âAh, youâre awake.â
The voice made you jolt, though you couldnât turn your head to see. A familiar oneâtoo familiar. Then she appeared, stepping into view with a predatory smirk.
Agatha Harkness. Or âAgnes,â as you had thought of her until now.
âWhat⌠what is this?â Your voice was hoarse, your pulse hammering as you tugged against the magical restraints.
Agatha tilted her head, studying you with an amused expression. âWhat does it look like, darling? Iâve brought you somewhere safe.â
âSafe?â you spat, glaring. âThis doesnât look safe to me, Agatha. It looks insane!â
Her smirk faded, replaced by a glimmer of something softer. âIâm not insane. Iâm protective. Thereâs a difference.â
You struggled harder, ignoring the way the magic tightened with each movement. âThis isnât protection! This isâthis is kidnapping!â
Agatha sighed, brushing a hand through her hair. âYouâre so dramatic. I saved you, sweetheart. That ridiculous hex? Wandaâs magic running wild? Itâs dangerous, and you donât even know it. You should be thanking me.â
âOh, thank you for tying me up and dragging me into your creepy dungeon!â you snapped. âHow could I possibly repay you?â
Her lips twitched, almost forming a smile, but her eyes remained sharp. âOh, donât worry. Iâll come up with something.â
ââââââââââ
Hours passedâor at least, it felt that way. Agatha sat across from you in a plush armchair, sipping a glass of wine like this was the most natural thing in the world.
âYou canât just keep me here forever,â you said finally, breaking the silence.
She raised an eyebrow. âCanât I?â
âNo! People will notice Iâm gone. Theyâll come looking for me.â
Agatha chuckled, swirling her wine. âOh, darling. Youâre in Westview. Nobody notices anything theyâre not supposed to. And even if they did, who do you think theyâd believe? Me, the charming, helpful neighbor? Or you, the person whoâs suddenly vanished into thin air?â
Her words sent a chill down your spine. âWhy are you doing this?â you asked quietly. âWhat do you want from me?â
Agatha set her glass down, leaning forward with an intensity that made your breath catch. âI want you.â
Your heart raced, but you forced yourself to meet her gaze. âWhy? What did I do to deserve⌠this?â
âYou existed,â she said simply. âYou existed in a world full of noise, and somehow, you were the only thing I could hear. The only thing that mattered.â
You stared at her, stunned into silence. Agathaâs expression softened, her usual smugness replaced by something raw and unguarded.
âIâve lived a long, long time,â she continued. âIâve seen empires rise and fall. Iâve wielded powers you canât even begin to comprehend. And yet, none of it ever felt real. None of it ever⌠touched me. Until you.â
Her confession left you reeling. âSo your solution was to kidnap me?â
Agatha rolled her eyes, her smirk returning. âOh, donât act like Iâve locked you in a dungeon. Youâve got food, books, a comfortable room. Iâm not a monster.â
âYouâre acting like one.â
Her expression darkened, and for a moment, you thought youâd gone too far. But then she laughedâa low, humorless sound.
âYou think I donât know that?â she said, standing. âYou think I donât look at you and wonder whatâs wrong with me? Why I canât just let you go?â
âThen let me go,â you urged, your voice softer now. âIf you care about me, Agatha, let me go.â
She stared at you for a long moment, her jaw tight. âI canât.â
âWhy not?â
âBecause I donât trust the world to keep you safe. AndâŚâ Her voice faltered, just for a moment. âBecause I donât trust myself to survive without you.â
ââââââââ
The days that followed were strange. Agatha didnât keep you tied up after that first night, though the magical barrier around the house ensured you couldnât leave. She tried to make your captivity as comfortable as possibleâbringing you meals, sitting with you to talk, even laughing at your sarcastic barbs.
One evening, as you sat across from her at the dinner table, you asked, âWhatâs your endgame here? Do you expect me to just⌠fall in love with you?â
Agatha leaned back in her chair, a smirk tugging at her lips. âWould that be so terrible?â
You glared at her. âYes. Yes, it would.â
Her smirk faltered, and for a moment, she looked almost⌠hurt.
âLook,â you said, softening slightly. âI get that youâve been through a lot. And maybe you think this is the only way to protect me, or whatever. But you canât force someone to stay with you. Thatâs not love, Agatha. Thatâs control.â
Her eyes narrowed. âYou think I donât know the difference?â
âI think youâre scared to find out,â you said, surprising even yourself with your boldness.
Agatha didnât respond right away. She looked down at her hands, her expression unreadable.
âMaybe I am,â she said finally. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
For the first time, you saw her not as the powerful, conniving witch, but as a woman who had been alone for far too long.
And despite everything, a part of you began to wonder if there was more to her than her obsession.
WellâŚ.. what do we think.. hope this does well
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So I got inspired. Instead of working on my finals I wrote this. Trigger warning for character death. Short one shot below the cut.
Athena's hands were shaking. They were bright pink from the long hoursâŚdays scrubbing her hands. (They should have been coated with blood. She still felt it there congealing against her skin.)
Athena blinked. She saw her hands still coated with blood. She gasped and dropped the scissors onto the ground. It made a clanging sound. (Nothing like the dull thump of a spear hitting the training grounds floor.)
Athena shook her head. She was better than this. Stronger than this. Today she was to become an Olympian. This wasn't even the first time she has lost someone.
(She remembers her mother's phantom touches as she was consumed. Her essence erased by her father's, her mother's husband. She remembered her own frantic attempts to escape.)
Athena picks up the scissors. She won't let herself fall apart, all the gods were expecting her. She wouldn't allow herself to be defeated so easily.
With shaking hands Athena began to cut her hair. Auburn hair clumps fell to the ground. (Crimson drops stained the sand.) She knew her hair was uneven but she doesn't think she could handle looking at herself in a mirror. (Pallas had been the one to do her hair.)
Athena brushed off her chopped hair from her skin. She changed into an beautifully crafted chiton that she had made.
As Athena left the bathroom she grabbed her spear. It had been cleaned and worked on by Hephaestus. (She could still feel the river cool blood run down the spear staining her hands. Forever staining her hands.)
Athena walked out of her new palace. The other gods stopped to stare at her. She could hear them whisper to each other.
Athena paid them no mind. She climbed the stairs to her father's thrown.
There Zeus sat on his thrown. Athena knelt before him. Zeus rose.
"Family, we have gathered here today to welcome a new goddess among us. I present to you Pallas Athena," Zeus's voice boomed out.
Athena kept in her flinch at the title. (It was mocking her friend. Her killer now held her name.)
"The goddess of battle strategy."
Athena felt anything but a master at strategy when you accidently kill your best friend in a friendly spar.
"Wisdom."
If she was so smart why couldn't she save Pallas.
"Crafting. Rise daughter."
On numb legs Athena stood.
Zeus presented Athena a shield. She numbly took it. (The gift was mocking she couldn't protect anyone.)
"Welcome home, daughter."
This wasn't home. Athena was forced to leave the only home she had.
Silently Athena promised never to get close to another being. For as long as she was alive she was a threat to those she loves.
Welcome to "Tasha don't color the sketch" challenge, level impossible
Seriously what are sketches I sure as hell don't know then
Anyway have this pic of Athena cutting her hair after Pallas's death (as a sign of mourning) bc ANGST
#sorry not sorry#epic athena#epic the musical#epic musical#epic zeus#pallas daughter of triton#fan fic#fan fiction
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the feeling of not rushing anything while u are writing/working on a fic like there is no deadline, ppl have no idea and u can write freely until u stop and decide to talk abt it and then post it and i missed that feeling so much
#i wrote having a ghost in my bed like that#and it was the fastest fic i wrote#only the last chapter took me a month to start writing#but i remember writing that chapter in spawn of three days#and it's my fav chapter so far#anyways i'm missing the point#what i'm trying to say is when u talk abt a fic in here and lose ur interest it's gonna haunt u forever#like it was such a good idea and we all shared our thoughts abt that#but when it comes to writing#idk i feel lost so easily#anyways can u tell that i'm working on a new fic#i'm writing slowly which is better bcuz i'm not rushing anything#the best feeling ever#u are just writing for urself and not for an audience whom are not waiting for you to post#anyways i'll drop the name and ship here#jegulus kidnap fic#fic: this heart ain't yours to bleed#jegulus#jegulus kidnap au#this got long for no reason but since u read everything#here is ur biscuit#đŞ#or cookie#wtvr
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wait omg iâm curious about your unpopular thoughts about temenos writing wise.. i love when people discuss octopath writing itâs really enriching to see what we all have to say about certain story elements. plus youâre like a temenos representative to me. your thoughts about temenos make me go âso true!â
Aw, thank you! It took a while for me to decide on what to write here, since honestly I could go on for⌠frankly any aspect of this guy, especially in regards to treatment in fanon. But for now, I'll focus on my thoughts regarding how people treat tragedy in Temenos' storyâ namely, Crick's deathâ and why I personally dislike it as a writing decision and why I disagree with the idea that it is necessary.
Note: Goes without saying, but this is my personal opinion. If you believe otherwise, then that's all good. I'm not writing this to say that any one person is wrong, just to talk about an issue I have with the game's writing itself.
To start, I'll say that my main reason for disliking Crick's death in SH route is a matter of practicality. Killing him off causes Temenos to lose the main person that he had a fantastic relationship and banter with, and in my opinion, Temenos works best when he's bouncing off another person; not unlike most under the Sherlock-archetype.
Also, genuinely? It works wonders to keep Crick alive, if just because it provides a fantastic avenue to explore Temenos' institutional trauma. Having a character that's lived a different experience but within the same harmful institution opens up ways to explore the scope of its harm. And yes, this is for Crick specifically; not Ort, not the travelers, but Crick.
I think it really adds something that Temenos was raised by the church while Crick converted as a teenager during a really difficult time in his life. These two are good for each other. Crick sure as hell makes it a lot easier to write Temenos in fic.
(If you have a different experience, again, that's cool. I'm glad for you. I, however, will never fail to take the easy way out.)
(This is a lie, I'm over here making up fantasy church law for fic stuff but that's not related to this answer.)
I won't pretend that disliking Crick's death is an unpopular opinion. I mean, "Stormhail Fix-it" is an entire genre of fic on the OT2 Ao3 tag. What I do feel tends to go unaddressed though, is the fact that the idea that Crick's death is canon, therefore it is necessary, therefore it is the best decision; an idea that I wholeheartedly disagree with.
Within the text itself, Crick is killed off in order to give Temenos a personal reason to pursue Kaldena, thus putting him at odds with Kaldena's motivations being driven by her ideology and worldview that, "because humans committed the massacre, it was the gods' mistake to put us here". I also won't pretend that Kaldena's writing here isn't fucking awful, because Crick's death is also a device to make the player want Kaldena defeated even though she is just as much as a victim of the church; and that's to say nothing of her portrayal as an indigenous and dark-skinned woman.
These decisions are ones I disagree with. Killing Crick off was unnecessary to give Temenos reason to pursue the culprit, because Temenos already had someone close to him killed; and that's Pontiff JĂśrg. He raised Temenos from infancy, but due to the lack of focus on him outside of banter conversations, it's never relevant to his motivations outside of the desire for truth because a crime was committed.Â
We also didn't need to kill Crick off to show that the church was a terrible institution, because Roi already went missing in action. The Sacred Guard is the main body of law within Eastern Solistia, it's not unreasonable to think that the reason why Temenos dislikes them is because they clearly didn't do shit to investigate his disappearance.
However, one thing I really don't agree with is the idea that Crick's death is necessary because Temenos' story is a tragedy. And if you asked me why, I'd ask this in turn: why is death the only form of tragedy? Furthermore, why must a tragedy contain only tragic events? That in mind, what gives anything value in a tragedy, then?
Pretend we cannot completely rewrite Temenos' story. Even then, changing Crick's death to a permanent injury, a coma, or whatever is still a tragic event; and that's nothing to say of living with the consequences. Isn't losing your faith a tragedy? Isn't losing something you worked for years to do a tragedy?
Similarly, I'd still argue that it's more valuable to make Stormhail a near-death experience because not only does it show Temenos succeeding in making someone question the church but also the terror that is feeling like you're doomed to repeat tragedy. Even if you really aren't, it's hard to dismiss that feeling; especially when it has to do with being victimized by institutions.
And before someone says, "but bad things happen to good people in real life", I'm not treating these characters as living, breathing people who are subject to things like gravity, hunger, and exhaustion. I'm treating them as choices, and choices made that I disagree with.Â
It's why I make different choices. I choose to make Crick have to deal with chronic pain onwards. I choose to make Temenos realize change is still possible. I choose to let them both leave Stormhail alive. Are these better choices? I don't know. But I'll never stop questioning the ones made by the writers regardless; much less stop disagreeing with them.
So, in summary: I dislike Crick's death. I dislike Temenos having to spend the rest of the story without someone he can talk to so easily because Crick's absence weakens a lot of his scenes in Temenos 4. But more than that, I dislike the idea that tragedy is necessary on top of the idea that it is superior. Tragedy's good, I adore the genre; but written in mindful doses and all that.
#ty sm for the ask!! i'm sorry it took so long to get to but i really wanted to like. get my thoughts sorted since there's sm i'd talk abt#i had fun writing this out. it also really helped to get my feelings on SH down on paper bc *man* i got thoughts on the last half of#temenos' story. along w/ how it does hurt his writing that it's not even fully resolved till endgame#um. again if anyone disagrees then cool. but this is just my thoughts on the matter and all that#also i did get kinda... harsh towards the game near the end but it goes w/o saying i say all that bc i love the game sm#i absolutely would not dedicate this much energy to smth i didn't care about and i'm glad for the opportunity to talk abt it haha#bestomato#telegram#8path tag#octopath 2 spoilers#also i def have more to say abt dena but again we'd be here Forever if i did. head full of thoughts on temenos' story OTL
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So if DC were that kind of series, how well do you think a HeiShinRan love triangle would work?
A-are you reading my mind? One of the posts I wanted to make is exactly about this!
I... even put together ranji.psd for it... a lot longer ago than I thought, wow.
Thank you for encouraging me to finally actually write this.
So, first off: I'm admittedly not the most familiar with the Detective Conan manga. But I've scanned over some assorted cases in the manga, particularly Heiji cases (of course), and I couldn't help but be immensely intrigued by a few extra interactions between Heiji and Ran that weren't adapted into the anime (Files 93, 151, 152):
The second one isn't too noteworthyâand honestly, it was probably cut from the anime because this plot point of Heiji deducting in an exaggerated accent is, as far as I can tell, never brought up again or resolvedâbut the protectiveness that Kogoro displays there does catch my interest. He clearly seems to see Heiji as a potential romantic partner for Ran, something that I don't think ever comes up anywhere else.
But it's the first instance that gets to me the most. Something the anime does adapt is that Ran only starts warming up to Heiji because he reminds her of Shinichi (Episode 48):
Further, it's later revealed in the series that both Ran and Kazuha love seeing their detective friends smile upon solving a case (File 319):
So, that moment of Ran pushing Conan out of the way so that she can watch Heiji work is loaded with stuff, for all three characters. For Ran, she misses Shinichi so desperately that someone who merely reminds her of him is enough to make her grin and blush and feel at ease. For Heiji, constantly compared to othersâeven called "The Kudo of the West" in FUNimation's English dub!âthere's something achingly tragic about being admired not for who you are but for the person you resemble. For Shinichi, Heiji represents everything that he has lost. He can't give Ran the victorious smile that she's looking for anymore, and she scolds him and removes him from the picture.
But the third "Ranji" example, from File 152, perhaps points to a shift. When Ran lists what she likes about Shinichi (Episodes 2, 42), thoughtful isn't an adjective that leaves her lips:
(That last one, though... girl....)
Ran appreciating Heiji for his own qualities, rather than seeing him as only an echo of Shinichi, does grab my attention.
Of course, personally speaking, I don't really like love triangles. They tend to be tired, exhausting drama, and in this case, I'm a HeiShinRan (and HeiShinKazuRan) supporter, so ultimately, I'd like them all happily loving each other.
But I do find it unfair, in my probably embarrassingly limited experience with love triangles, that they are often composed of two women longing for the affection of one man. So, I can't lieâI maybe yearn a little bit for the love triangle that was arguably being set up here before getting scrapped?
If nothing else, it would mean more interactions between Ran and Heiji, and I would adore that. Out of the main cast, Heiji's pretty much only allowed meaningful interactions with Conan/Shinichi and Kazuha, and, yeah, I don't love that it'd be a love triangle giving him more meaningful interactions with Ran, but I would love the additional interactions. I'd love to see Ran more involved in the cases that the boys solve. I'd love to have moments where Heiji and Ran bond over being accomplished practitioners of their respective martial arts, or how they both have famous fathers, or literally anything.
Plus, I think a scenario where Ran is genuinely interested in pursuing Heiji romantically would also have a huge impact on Shinichi's actions. He likes Heiji! If he saw that Heiji makes Ran happy, would he really keep breaking her heart and asking her to wait for him?
And, for Heiji, I feel like this setup also allows more opportunities for him to seriously confront his insecurities. "She only likes me because she can't have you" is a conversation I could see between him and Shinichi, and that would absolutely have my interest. I have so many feelings about Episode 479 and will finish that 20-page essay someday maybe because it's probably the biggest example of tackling Heiji's insecurities that I know of.
There's something similar with Ran and Kazuha already (File 280), and gosh, I so wish that we got more exploration into it than just a, "Kazuha... You're so cute! â¤ď¸" from Ran.
All this said... it's way easier and less messy to not go into love triangle business at all, and I'm totally cool with that decision! It's cute that Ran and Shinichi are so supportive of Heiji and Kazuha, and vice versa. Love triangles tend to be pretty obnoxious. But I do think there is some compelling character exploration that could be done with a HeiShinRan triangle that I wouldn't hateâespecially if it ended with happy HeiShinRan/HeiShinKazuRan.
#replies#mirrorfalls#detective conan#case closed#ran mori#heiji hattori#shinichi kudo#kazuha toyama#heishinran#ramblings#i'm sorry this took so long to answer! i'm soooo slow and this was one of the things that i thought would take forever to write ^^;#and i also got distracted by digitizing my detco vhs tapes asefasfdadfsdfae#i'm not even sure if this answers the question but... i clearly have Thoughts of some kind here ^^;
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yknow I play a lot of hard games but usually not "took 73 days to beat" hard
#aka gUESS WHO JUST BEAT RAIN WORLD. AFTER TWO AND A HALF MONTHS#rain world#peridots-nonsense#i got into subterranean like a week ago but have been mostly hanging around by the worm grass shelter for 20 cycles#i went to every region (even if i only spent a couple minutes total in drainage lol). met every echo besides the farm arrays one.#got every passage achievement (every one besides dragon slayer/wanderer in outskirts and industrial within my first few weeks of playing)#and never used a passage anyway. three months!!! rounding up a little! for a game that can be beat in less than 20 cycles.#dh was twelve days (though i'd played through part of it years earlier). stray was seven hours. insc was only a couple days.#i've done two separate ultkill playthroughs so not sure which to count but both were less than a week#hk was actually just over a month. may 24 to june 26th. which is still so much less than this. bftes about a month too#i remember how even just a week into rw i felt like i'd been playing it forever...even just a week in i knew it would be one of Those Games#where i wish i could play it over for the first time again. boy was i right. it almost felt like a second life at times#i loved just running around in certain areas building up stores of food and spears and vulture masks#(what comes to mind are / HI_S02 / CC_S05 / SI_S04 / SB_S07. the first two felt like home!)#(* up in the sixth tag i missed the friend. i was relishing in hubristic bloodlust especially in CC so i didn't have much time for taming)#if the tags here seem particularly incoherent i only falsely apologize. i'm just. reminiscing. i don't think i can do anything else#my heart was pounding as soon as i reached the depths. after 325 cycles. 116 hours. two and a half months. it's over.#maybe a little dramatic but hey it took up an invariable portion of my life for a fifth of a year so. it's just interesting#anyway. a standard ''i took too long on this and now the sun's rising'' goodbye to you tag-wanderer
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You wake in the morning your mind made up, there's no point in rushing headlong into these things, you'll stick around where there are free accommodations, at least for a little while, in the meantime you can search the area more and develop a better understanding of your situation, you head to the bathroom to clean up, when you go to untangle your hair you notice the blue from before has disappeared, you pick up the brush from the store and separate out a small amount of hair and run the brush through, it turns blue, you see that the brush is still clean but if you want to brush with it you will end up with a head of colorful hair, interesting, you set aside the brush and go back to cleaning yourself up before heading out to the main place to find the others and let them know of your decision to stay for a while, the older one seems pleased, they get you some spare clothes and finish setting up your space with things to fulfill your basic needs.
Your decision to stay turns from days to weeks to months, at this point you've learned the basics of the language around you, some simple words can be read, and a lot of the mannerisms have become much more familiar, the chirps, you've come to find, are verbal punctuation marks, depending on the chirp they literally vocalize "!!!" or "?", it's pretty cool. Additionally you've developed a deeper and friendlier relationship with both of the homes occupants, the younger one becomes more amicable as you take on some of the chores around the farm, which is what you have come to understand their home is, though the crops and animals are different and the farm methods aren't what you remember from your world, in any case, you help where you can, sometimes you go into town with the others and help with the shopping or other errands, the town is friendly, the area is nice, you've noticed the seasons do change similar to how they would in your world and the autumn turns to winter and leads to spring, though the people here split their seasons into seven distinct sections and their separation of time, like years and months or even days, are confusing, so you don't pay it too much mind, you find that despite wrapping yourself in the clothes and culture of these people you continue to remain yourself, no alterations afflict you, though it has only been some time, you don't think the world changing you physically is a huge thing to worry over anymore, you still check the number of fingers and toes you have each morning anyway, better safe than sorry or at least caught unawares.
You've kept an eye out for any sign of the mentioned key or any other way home, but nothing comes up, even when you manage to ask the older person what they meant before, they admit they really only know what the person who passed through told them, in order to go back to a world when the door closed you needed a key that opened the other side of the door, the person before you had searched this world a long time for that key, but when nothing ever came of it they moved on, before that though they had stayed here which is where the older one had learned some of your language and of your situation.
It's some time in the Spring like season several months in that you are hit with a cleaning bug, the other two went into town earlier so you get to work, while you had already searched the house before for anything that might hint at how you should proceed, you never found anything and the inhabitants themselves had been more useful and you quit looking eventually, imagine your surprise then when you stumble across a journal under a bookcase written in a language you can read, you pause your cleaning immediately and as you consume the book you learn that this was left behind by the person who had come before you, the journal is dated ten years ago and has entries detailing the events of their journey here as well as long discussions on their theories and observations of it all, from the book you learn several valuable pieces of information: there are multiple doorways on this world but they all seem to lead to the same next world although not the exact same place as far as they can tell, the next world is largely unknown but from what they can tell is safe enough in that you can breathe the air, in this world there is a secret organization, or perhaps cult, that studies these doorways but the author is not particularly impressed with them for some unspecified reason, the doors close automatically and cannot be kept open by any means, no going back without the Backwards Key or more specifically the black side key unless someone else opens the door from the other side, interestingly anything that passes through the door has a chance of developing a magic of its own which the writer is confused by (they brought over a bottle that now never runs out of water and a bag that replicates whatever gets put in it, the science behind this is discussed in depth for many pages but just gets chalked up to magic), they think that the doors open to alternate universes rather than across space to other planets but they aren't sure, the plan they chose to follow was to start going forwards through the doors and hunting for one of the keys to the black side then head back and go home, you don't think the plan panned out, this journal has given you more information to work with and much to think about but ultimately still leaves you with not much in the way of choices.
This set up is peaceful, the longer you stay the more parallels you find with your own world and despite missing loved ones from your old life the stability of this new one has begun to lull you into a sense of security, going forward could mean starting over, seeking out the secret organization could spell trouble, just travelling further than this town on your own would certainly be a hassle, staying here and continuing to learn about this world offers an opportunity of safety but you definitely don't see a future in which you reach home this way, do you choose to continue living as you have been?
No
#OKAY OKAY OKAY Iâm sorry I took so long to answer#Hereâs the deal: Iâm not just hopping back through that door#Seems like a bad idea. Cult on the other side sounds like a worse idea.#If it all comes down to âtravel to next world with the current informationâ or âstay here foreverâ I might stay here forever#Hell I might stay here forever even if I could get back- but boy do I want the option#First things first: write everything down. Everything that es happensed so far#Write it twice actually if not a few more. One to leave in the hut and one to leave near the door#Write not just everything thatâs happened but translations for this worlds inhabitants language how society seems to function ectect#The thing is while going through the door isnât a great idea the leads arenât dead here#Traveling hella far probs isnât a great idea either. However a few things are interesting#1. The hairbrush: why is it turning my hair blue? Why does it go away? Why is it a brush from my world?#2. The walkie. Thereâs a downright decent chance it will never really work but Iâll try anyway. Leave it on all the time just in case#3Whatâs up with the berries? Do all berries in this world taste like this? Is it just ones by the door?#4. The other stuff found in the brambles- can I piece anything. About it together? Have they been dropped by other people?#So I do doubt staying here will get me a WAY home#but I might be able to determine other things. Like while I might not be able to get âhomeâ I might now how conceptually I could#So Iâm still not super sure what to do. Itâs great I have the safe haven.#In terms of actual actions Iâm going back to visit the door. Iâll bring a copy of what Iâve written to leave by the door incase someone-#stumbles through. Iâll try the berries by the door and ones further away (since nothing seems harmful ti me here yet Iâll assume they wonât#be poisonous. YOLO I guess.) Then try the walkie nearer to the door#it might be worth it to open the door but not go through. Since Iâve opened it twice before and only walked through once I know you can ope#it see the next world and close it. You wonât pass through unless you walk through. I wonder if I could try the walkie with the door open#or even throw a letter or some sort of communication through. See if itâs possible to hear a response or establish communication?#worth a shot because now I have free time and curiously#yes no anon#guys I got lost in a black berry bush
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This is Ours [Logan Howlett]
Summary: It's your first time back at your grandparents' farm in years, and while many things are the same, one thing is not: they've hired a new farmhand.
Warnings: fem!reader, SMUT, sexual tension, angst, fluff, lots of feelings WC: 18.8k - MASTERLIST
A/N: apologies for dropping another long fic but i literally could not stop writing the juices were flowing. i really hope you enjoy this! i think its my fave so far :)
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For as long as you can remember, summers were synonymous with your grandparents' farm. It was a tradition, one you held close to your heart. To you, your time there embodied your entire childhoodâdays spent under the sun, where the air was thick with the scent of wildflowers and the soothing chorus of cicadas filling the long, golden afternoons.
Mornings began early, with you bounding downstairs to join your grandparents for breakfast. The kitchen was always filled with the comforting aroma of fresh coffee and pancakes. Your grandfather would be at the table, engrossed in his newspaper, while your grandmother hummed softly as she cooked, the sound of the morning radio playing faintly in the background. Your days were spent exploring the fields, helping with the chores and horses, or sitting on the porch with your grandmother, listening to stories from her youth.
It couldnât get any more perfect than that.Â
But as the years passed, things changed. After you graduated high school, the summer visits became less frequent. University took up more of your time, and you were always busyâfirst with classes, then with internships, and finally with starting your career. The farm, once the centre of your world, became a place you could only visit if you were lucky, and even then, it was never for long.Â
You miss it.
This year, however, things were different. You found yourself in between jobs, with the first real break youâd had in what felt like forever. And when the moment the opportunity arose, you knew exactly where you wanted to go.Â
â
The drive to your grandparents' farm is a journey into the past. The country road, lined with trees that stretched out like old friends, brings back a flood of memories from your childhood: where youâre sitting in the back of your parentâs car vibrating with excitement. You pass the same fields, still as vast and green as you remember, dotted with flowers swaying gently in the breeze, and the old oak tree where you used to swing as a child stands tall, its branches reaching up to the sky as if welcoming you back.
When you finally pull up to the farmhouse, the sight of it fills you with a deep sense of nostalgia. The white paint is more chipped than you remember, the porch sags a little more in the middle, and you can tell that itâs been a while since the grass was last trimmed.Â
Stepping out of the car, the screen door squeaks open, and thereâs your grandmother, standing on the porch, wiping her hands on her apron. Sheâs smaller than you remember, more fragile, but the smile on her face is the sameâwarm, welcoming, and full of love. âThereâs my girl,â she calls out, rushing down the steps and into the driveway as fast as she can.Â
âGrandma!â you exclaim, hurrying toward her to wrap her in a hug.
She pulls back to look at you, her eyes twinkling despite the lines of age etched on her face. âYouâve grown even more beautiful, but you look tired. Weâll fix that with some good meals, wonât we?â
You laugh, nodding. âI missed your cooking.â
âAnd I missed having someone to cook for,â she replies with a chuckle, patting your cheek. âCome inside. Your grandpaâs been counting down the days until you got here.â
You grab your suitcase from your car and follow her into the house, the familiar scents of fresh bread and old wood enveloping you the minute you step inside. Itâs just as you rememberâcozy, lived-in, filled with the glow of years worth of love and memories. Your grandfather sits at the kitchen table, a pair of reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose as he reads a book. He looks up as you enter, and the moment he sees you, his face breaks into a wide grin.
âThereâs my favourite farmhand,â he jokes, letting out a grunt as he places one hand on the table, slowly pushes out of his chair.Â
âGrandpa,â you say, meeting him halfway for a hug.Â
âGot here just in time,â he says with a wink. âPlenty of work to do, you know.â
âI figured,â you reply, playfully nudging him. âIâm ready to get my hands dirty.â
âGood to hear,â he says, leaning back against the table for support. âThis old back of mine isnât what it used to be.â
Your grandmother sets a glass of lemonade in front of you and sits down, her eyes flicking toward the window. âWeâve had to make some changes around here, sweetheart,â she begins gently. âYour grandpa and I⌠well, we canât do as much as we used to.â
You hum, listening carefully. Seeing your grandparents grow older is difficultâit's a constant reminder that time is slipping away, and the moments you have together are becoming more precious with each passing day.
âWeâve hired some help,â she continues. âA man named Logan. Heâs been a blessing, really, taking care of the heavier work. But heâs⌠well, heâs not much of a talker.â
âLogan?â you ask, glancing out the window.Â
Thatâs when you see him. Tall and broad-shouldered, he is out by the barn, carrying some hay. Heâs wearing a worn-down flannel with jeans, and his dark hair is slightly tousled. Even from a distance, you can tell heâs strongâhe looks like he knows what heâs doing.Â
âYeah, Logan,â your grandfather confirms. âKeeps to himself mostly, but heâs getâs the job done. Donât mind his gruffness; heâs just not used to people fussing over him.â
âHeâs been here since last spring,â your grandmother adds. âWe needed the help, and he needed the work. Itâs been good for both sides. You should go and introduce yourself after you unpack, dear. Maybe get in some work before we sit for dinner later.â
Nodding, you walk up the stairs in the house and make your way to your room. It looks exactly the same as the last time you saw it. Your old stuffed animals are organized neatly on the shelf above the bed, and the quilt your grandmother made for you, with patches of faded fabric from old dresses and curtains, is spread across the bed the exact same way itâs always been.Â
The posters on the walls, the little knickknacks on the dresserâeverything is a snapshot of your younger self, preserved in this room like a time capsule. Itâs comforting, but also a little bittersweet, a reminder of how much time has passed since you had last visited.
After a few moments of reminiscing, you stand up and begin unpacking, carefully placing your clothes in the old wooden dresser. Each drawer creaks as you open it, the sound a part of this roomâs charm. You smile as you come across some of the little treasures you left behindâa pressed flower between the pages of an old book, a seashell from a family trip to the coast, and last, a picture of you and your grandparents taken one summer when you were about ten.
Youâre standing between them, beaming with a toothy grin, their arms wrapped around you in a warm embrace. The three of you are standing in front of the barn, with the sun setting behind you. You can almost hear your grandmotherâs laugh as the camera clicked, your grandfatherâs playful grumbling about having to pose for âjust one more picture.â The photo captures a moment of pure happiness, a snapshot of a simpler time.
Setting the photo down, you quickly begin to change into your designated farm clothes, and head out to meet the new face around here.Â
The trek to the barn isnât very long, just a few minutes away from the main house, and from the outside, you can hear the familiar sounds of workâfootsteps crunching on the hay-strewn floor, the creak of wood as something heavy is moved. You pause at the doorway, taking a moment to observe him before stepping inside. Heâs focused, his movements efficient as he lifts another bale of hay and stacks it with the others.Â
You take a deep breath, and step into the barn. âLogan?â you call out softly.
He doesnât stop what heâs doing, but with a slight pause and glance over his shoulder, his eyes, sharp and intense, meet yours, and thereâs a moment where youâre not sure what to say. âIâmââ
âI already know who you are,â he grunts, cutting you off.Â
His abruptness catches you off guard, but you quickly recover, nodding. âRight. I guess that makes sense.â
âIf you wanna help, thereâs a broom in the back shed,â he continues, going back to his work as if the conversation is already over. âYou could sweep up the hay.â
You bristle, a little surprised at how quickly he dismissed you, but youâre determined not to let it rattle you. After all, your grandparents did warn you that he wasnât much of a talker. âSure,â you say. âI can do that.â
As you turn to head toward the back shed, you find yourself lightly imitating his gruff tone under your breath, a flicker of irritation running through you. âThereâs a broom in the back shed. Yeah, obviously, I know where the broom would be,â you mutter.
In the shed, the broom is in fact, exactly where you expected it to be, and you huff, grabbing it and walking back to the barn. When you return, Logan is still hard at work, stacking the hay, and doesnât bother to acknowledge you yet again. You set to work sweeping, the rhythmic motion of the broom soon lulling you into a steady state. The barn is quiet, save for the soft shuffling of hay under your broom and the occasional grunt from Logan as he moves the heavy bales.
Time seems to pass slowly, the light outside growing softer as the sun dips lower in the sky. Youâre so caught up in your thoughts that you barely notice when Loganâs footsteps stop. Itâs only when his voice breaks the silence that youâre pulled back to the present.
âYour grandma called for dinner,â he says, causing you to jump a bit at the unexpectedness of his voice in the silence. Before you can respond, he turns and walks away, leaving you standing there with the broom still in hand. You let out a small sigh, feeling the tension in your shoulders. This is going to be a long few months, you think to yourself as you return the broom to its usual place and jog back to the farmhouse.
Inside, the kitchen smells like a warm hearty stew. The table is already set, the familiar blue-and-white checkered tablecloth in place, and your grandparents are seated, chatting quietly as they wait for you and Logan to join them.
You slide into the seat across from your grandmother just as Logan walks over from the sink, two glasses of water in his hands. He places one in front of you with a quick nod, and the other at his own seat, beside yours.
âSo,â your grandmother says, her eyes shining with curiosity as she looks between the both of you. âI take it youâve introduced yourselves to each other?â
You hesitate momentarily, your mind flashing back to your brief encounter in the barn. âYeah, we have,â you reply, managing a smile, if you can call it that.Â
Logan doesnât say anything, his focus on the bowl of stew in front of him. He doesnât seem interested in joining the conversation, which only adds to the growing sense of awkwardness you feel. You glance at him briefly, wondering if heâs always this closed off or if itâs just his way of dealing with new people.
âWell, thatâs good,â your grandmother says, either oblivious to the tension or choosing to ignore it. âLoganâs been a big help around here. Weâre so grateful to have him.â
Your grandfather hums in agreement, scooping a spoonful of stew into his mouth before adding, âHeâs got a strong work ethic. Doesnât shy away from the tough jobs, thatâs for sure.â
Nodding along, you feel the pressure to say something positive. âThatâs great. Itâs good to know the farmâs in good hands.â Even thought the words are definitely a bit forced, you mean it.Â
As the conversation continues, your grandparents shift the focus to you, asking about your job search and what youâve been up to since you last visited. You give them a brief rundown of the interviews youâve had, the options youâre considering, and the challenges youâve faced. You try to keep it light, not wanting to worry them with your uncertainty, but you canât help but notice the manâs presence beside you, still silent.Â
At one point, when youâre talking about finding a new apartment, you hear him let out a quiet scoff, and you cast a look over, catching the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. Itâs gone almost as quickly as it appears, but itâs enough to make you pause. You want to ask him what that was about, to challenge him on whatever it is heâs thinking, but you bite your tongue. This isnât the time or place, not in front of your grandparents who are just happy to have everyone around the table.
They continue to chat with you, asking more about your plans and offering their usual words of encouragement. When dinner finally wraps up, your grandmother insists on cleaning up, waving you off when you offer to help. âYouâve had a long day, dear. Why donât you go relax? Logan can help me with the dishes.â
You smile. âThanks, Grandma.â
Heâs already started collecting the dishes by the time you stand up, but itâs like he refuses to recognize your existence, and that pisses you off.Â
â
The next morning, you wake before dawn, the world still wrapped in the gentle embrace of night, and for a moment, you lie still, listening to the deep, pulsing of the houseâthe way the wooden floors creak slightly as they settle, the distant sound of the wind rustling through the trees outside. The comfort of knowing your grandparents are asleep down the hall brings a sense of calm that you havenât felt in a long time.
Deciding to take advantage of the early hour, you slip out of bed, your feet brushing against the cool floor as you stretch, feeling the muscles in your body slowly wake. You dress quietly, pulling on a soft, worn sweater, and pad downstairs, careful to avoid the spots on the stairs that you know will creak.
You move through the kitchen as if on autopilot, your hands knowing exactly where everything is. You set the coffee to brew, and the rich aroma sills the room.
Reaching for the eggs, you crack a few of them into a bowl, and as youâre whisking, you let your mind wander, thinking about how to spend the day. The soft sizzle of butter in the pan gets your attention and you pour the eggs in, watching as they begin to set around the edges.Â
You pour yourself a cup of coffee, the steam rising from the mug in delicate spirals, and you take a sip, savouring the warmth and flavour hitting your tongue, while your gaze drifts over to the window that faces the back of the farmhouse.Â
Your grandparentsâ own horses, and you recognize some of them from when you were younger. It makes you happy knowing that theyâre still being well taken care of. The way the early light touches the land, and the morning dew covers the grass, you canât help but smile into your mug.Â
Slowly, you walk a bit closer to the window, eager to take in the view you had been missing all these years, when a figure standing over by the horses catches your eye. Itâs Logan, a small surprise given the early hourâyou didnât hear him wake upâbut he stands there, leaning casually against the fence, an apple in his hand.Â
You watch as he holds out the apple to one of the horses, his rough hand moving gently over its neck as it eats. Thereâs something unexpectedly tender in the way he interacts with the animal, a patience and care that you didnât expect to see from him, given how he acted yesterday.Â
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out another apple, offering it to the second horse, who hungrily accepts it. You continue to stare at the sight outside. This side of himâso different from the unapproachable exterior heâs shown so farâstirs something inside you, a desire to connect with him, to see if thereâs more to him than meets the eye.
On impulse, you quickly turn off the stove, grab a second cup of coffee and some toast youâve just buttered, and without overthinking it, you head outside. The morning air is cool against your skin as you make your way over to Logan.Â
As you approach, he keeps his attention focused on the horses. You take a moment, then clear your throat lightly, holding out the coffee with a tentative smile. âThought you might want some breakfast,â you offer, trying to keep your tone light and friendly.
He finally glances at you, his eyes briefly meeting yours. His expression is just as unreadable his had been in the last sixteen hours youâve known him, and then he grunts, âAlready ate,â and turns his attention back to the animals in front of him.
His curt, and honestly rude rebuffals really frustrate you. Itâs not like youâre asking him to wipe your ass after you go to the washroom, so you have absolutely no idea why heâs like this.Â
âAlright,â you mutter, lips pressed together in a thin line, and turn to head back into the kitchen.Â
Once inside, you set the untouched coffee and toast back on the counter with a sigh. This is so fucking awkward. Youâre going to be spending the next however-many-months with him, and you would love it if you could at the very least, get along. His rough-around-the-edges personality is not making this enjoyable for you, and youâre sure that he probably just seeâs you as an annoying nuisance.Â
And itâs not like youâre ever going to pull this card on him or anything, but you have been here longer than him, despite the fact that heâs acting like he owns the place. You get it, heâs been here for a for a while, and itâs only been him doing the work, blah blah. But youâve been helping and doing the work your entire childhoodâmissing a few years doesnât take away that fact.Â
With a heavy sigh, you open a cupboard and pull out a plate, scraping the eggs off the pan and setting them on it. Because your grandparentsâ are still asleep, all you can do is eat in silence.
â
Youâve decided that today you are going to trim the grass. Thereâs always something to do around here, and since the long grass was one of the first things you noticed upon arrival, you think itâs best to just get that chore over with, considering how long you know it will take.Â
Once youâve finished cleaning the dishes and pan, you go back upstairs into your room and get changed. Today, you put on a long sleeve, and a small vest over top. Your pants are some hand-me-down working pants from one of your older cousins, and you snatch a baseball cap from your closet for when it begins to get hotter out.Â
Walking to the back shed, you grab some tools for trimming the lawn. A lawn mower, a string trimmer, and a rake for after everythingâs been cut. Moving over to the back section of the lawn, you set the trimmer and rake against the barn and start using the mower. Itâs the same one your grandparents have used since you were a child, so itâs a reel lawn mower instead of those newer, more electrical ones youâve seen around the city.Â
You canât really complain about it, so you just begin, the steady repetitive action of moving the tool back and forth being somewhat therapeutic. The smell of freshly cut grass begins to hit your senses, and you truly feel at peace.Â
As the minutes pass, the sun rises higher, its warmth spreading across the fields. Youâre completely absorbed in your work, the rhythm of mowing and the occasional chirp of birds the only sounds around you. Youâve missed this. The sounds of cars honking and early morning city traffic has nothing on the serenity of country life.Â
Youâre just completing the first half when you sense movement nearby. Glancing up, you see Logan walking up to you, having grabbed the trimmer. He doesnât say anything, just starts up the machine and heads over to the next patch of grass within the area.
Thereâs a brief moment of eye-contact, like a subtle unspoken recognition to the effort you seem to be putting in. He gives you a small nod, and turns to focus on his task. The two of you work side by side, the hum of the machines, the scent of fresh-cut grass, and the warm sun overhead creating a strangely comforting atmosphere.Â
When you finally finish, few hours have passed, and you walk back over to the barn and grab a lawn bag and the rake. And because Loganâs machine was electric, he seems to have finished his section as well, so you begin raking up all the stray pieces of grass.Â
You quick to find out how awkward it is to hold the lawn bag open with one hand while trying to rake with the otherâthe grass keeps slipping out of the bag, and you canât help but feel a bit ridiculous as you fumble with the task. You scan around, hoping Logan wonât notice, but of course, heâs right there, watching as you flail around.
You feel a flush of embarrassment creep up your neck, but before you can say anything, he steps forward. Like usual it seems, he doesnât say a word, just holds out his hand as if asking for the rake. You falter briefly, not wanting to seem like you need his help, but at the same time you understand how much more efficient it would be if he joined.Â
Reluctantly, you hand it over, and he immediately starts working with the same steady efficiency he brought to trimming the grass. With both hands free, you manage the lawn bag more effectively, holding it open as Logan rakes the grass into neat piles.
The silence between you isnât uncomfortable; instead, it feels like a natural extension of the morningâs work. The sound of the rake scraping against the ground, the rustle of grass being gathered, and the occasional whinny from a horse nearby.Â
After the last of the grass is finally raked and bagged, you tie off the lawn bag and glance over at him. He leans the rake against the barn wall and meets your gaze. Thereâs something in the way he seems to stare at you head on this time, rather than just a quick look, that makes your chest fill with satisfaction.Â
You nod. âThanks.â
Logan dips his chin in return, then turns and heads back toward the barn. The heat of the sun really starts to hit you now, and you take a peak at your watch, noticing that itâs already lunch time. Knowing that even if you tried to invite him, heâs probably say no, you just walk back to the farmhouse alone.Â
â
The next couple of weeks unfold in the same way, moving with an almost predictable rhythm. Each morning, you wake before the sun, quietly slipping out of bed while your grandparentâs are still asleep. As you prepare and eat breakfast, you take your usual place by the kitchen window, watching as Logan interacts with the horses.Â
Then, as the sun rises higher, you head out to begin your chores around the farm. Sometimes, Logan joins you without a wordâhis presence now a familiar and abating part of your routineâor sometimes, you find yourself working alone, but even then, you know heâs never far away.Â
Youâve learned to read his silences, to understand that his gruff demeanor isnât necessarily unfriendliness, but rather his way of navigating the world. And though he doesnât speak much, his actions have a way of communicating more than words ever could.
One morning, as youâre finishing up breakfast, your grandparents announce their plans to head into one of the nearby cities for the day. âWe need to run some errands and pick up a few things,â your grandmother explains, her hands busy packing a small bag. âBut we were thinking it might be nice for the horses to get out and see some different scenery too.â
âThey havenât been to the pond in a while. Itâs good for them to stretch their legs and take in some new sights.â Your grandfather chimes in.Â
You nod, smiling at the thought. The pond is a beautiful spot, a peaceful place where the water runs clear and cool, surrounded by tall trees and soft grass. Itâs the perfect place to spend a day with the horses. âThat sounds like a great idea. Iâll take them out there for the day.â
Your grandmotherâs eyes light up as she hands you a basket. âI packed some food and a blanket for a picnic. There are also a couple of towels in case you want to swim. Itâll be a lovely day for it.â
âThank you,â you say, appreciating the thoughtfulness behind the preparations. You take the basket and head upstairs to get ready, the idea of spending the day by the pond filling you with excitement. Itâs been a long time since youâve been there last.Â
In your room, you change into your bathing suit, a simple bikini that youâve always loved for its comfort and ease. You slip on a loose shirt and shorts over it, then grab a few essentials before heading back downstairs. Your grandparents have already left, so you make your way out to the barn to prepare the horses.
As you start saddling them up, you notice Logan nearby, focused on his usual tasks. His presence has become so customary to you that you hardly think twice before calling out to him. âHey, Logan,â you say, catching his attention.
âIâm heading to the pond with the horses,â you tell him, nodding toward the saddled horses. âGrandmaâs packed some food and a blanket for a picnic. There are even towels if you want to swim. Youâre welcome to join us if youâd like.â
He hesitates, his gaze shifting to the horses, then back to you. After a moment, he mutters, âIâve never ridden a horse before.â
The admission takes you by surprise, and you raise an eyebrow. âReally? But youâve been here for over a year. I just assumedââ
He shakes his head slightly, cutting you off. âIâve always just walked alongside them. Holdinâ onto the reins is one thing, but Iâve never actually been on top of one.â
You canât help the small smile that tugs at your lips. âThatâs okay,â you say gently. âYou can still join us. You can walk alongside like you usually do, and tomorrow, if youâre up for it, Iâll teach you how to ride.â
Logan peers at you for a long moment, considering your words. Finally, he nods. âAlright. Iâll come with you.â
âGreat,â you reply, your smile widening. âI think youâll enjoy it.â
With that settled, you both finish preparing for the trip. Logan helps you load the picnic basket, blanket, and towels onto one of the horses. You mount your favourite horse, and gently click your heels into its side, starting the trip as he begins walking, horses in tow, beside you.Â
The journey to the pond is beautiful. The green trees that frame the pathway, the soft buzzing of nature, the sound of the horsesâ hooves. You and Logan exchange a few words, but for the most part, itâs silent.Â
When you reach the pond, the sight is just as picturesque as you remembered. The water sparkles under the sunlight, the tall trees casting dappled shadows across the grassy bank. You untie the horses, giving them plenty of room to graze and explore, before you grab the picnic basket, while he grabs the towels and blankets. Making your way over to the other side of the creek, you find a nice open patch of grass to set up on.
âIâm going for a quick dip,â you say as you go about stepping out of your shorts. Logan, who is sitting down, looks up, but his eyes seem to stop dead in their tracks when they settle on your body. You swear you can physically see his gaze darken as he takes in the sight of you stripping off your shirt. Itâs subtle, but a small shiver runs down your spine at the attention nonetheless.
Without waiting for a response, you turn and and head toward the pond. The temperature is perfect: just cool enough to be refreshing without being cold.
You dive in, the reservoir embracing you as a much-needed relief from the heat. Everything feels perfectâthe gentle current against your skin, the refreshing sensation of being submerged, and the weightlessness of floating just beneath the surface.Â
But when you lift your head out of the water, you and Logan immediately lock eyes.
Heâs lying back on the blanket, propped up on one elbow, and his focus is squarely on you. The intensity of his stare is like a physical force, pinning you in place. The world around you seems to fade away, leaving just the two of you suspended in time. Your breath catches in your throat, and you can feel a heat build within you, starting in your chest and traveling down, deeper, and deeperâŚBut then, just as suddenly as it began, he looks away, and if you were any closer, you may have been able to spot the red flush creeping up the back of his neck and to the tip of his ears.
The moment is over, but the enduring feeling of it stays with you as you swim back to the shore. Water drips from your body as you step out, and you reach for one of the towels your grandmother packed. Once youâve dried off, you walk over to where Logan is sitting and drop down beside him on the blanket.Â
You are aware of eyes on you again, though this time thereâs a hesitation in the way they travel over your form, as if heâs trying to be discreet but canât quite help himself. You pretend not to notice as you reach for the picnic basket.
âIâm starving,â you say, pulling out the sandwiches your grandmother packed. âWant one?â
He nods, sitting up a little straighter as you hand him a sandwich. After a few bites, curiosity gets the better of you, and you decide to break the ice. âSo,â you start, glancing over at him, âhow did you end up here, working on my grandparentsâ farm?â
He takes his time chewing and swallowing before he answers, his eyes focused on the food in his hands. âI was passing through,â he says finally. âDidnât plan on stayinâ. But your grandparents⌠theyâre good people. Needed help, so I stuck around.â
You nod, taking another bite. âThey are good people,â you agree, thinking of how much theyâve done for you over the years. âBut where were you headed before that? Where are you from?â
Logan pauses for a moment, then looks over at you. âAlberta,â he says. âGrew up there, mostly. Been a lot of places since, but Albertaâs homeâor was.â
You smile, finding comfort in the fact that heâs sharing a bit more. âAlbertaâs beautiful,â you say, remembering the few times youâd traveled through the province. âWhyâd you leave?â
He shrugs, glancing out toward the creek. âNeeded a change. Wanted to see what else was out there. Guess I got used to movinâ around, never really settlinâ anywhere.â
You nod thoughtfully, taking in his words. âMust have been hard, never really having a place to call home.â
His gaze meets yours, and thereâs a hint of something softer in his eyes. âYeah,â he admits, his voice quieter. âBut your grandparents⌠theyâve made it easier. This farm⌠itâs good.â
You smile warmly at him. âIâm glad youâre here. Youâve been a huge help to them. And⌠well, Iâve liked having you around.â
He glances at you, his expression softening just a fraction. âYeah, itâs been alright,â he mutters, a small, imperceptible smirk on his lips. You smile bashfully.
The next couple of hours pass by in a blur. Not much conversation happens, but rather, these weird periods of time where you feel as though your eyes are glued to him, and he you. Itâs differentâunexpectedâand to put it frankly, you feel a bit shy underneath his gaze.Â
Logan is attractive, anyone with eyes could see that, but it really wasnât just his face that pulled you in, it was him. The way he would silently help you with chores, his soft moments every morning with the horses, the way he subtly looks over your grandparentsâ when he thinks they arent watching. All of it. You want to spend more time with him, learn more about who he is, what he likes⌠all of it.
Soon enough, you both begin to pack up the picnic supplies, load up the horses, and head back to the farm. The horses seem content, having had a fun day grazing and napping by the pond, and you ride beside him as he walks. Every now and then, you catch him peeking up at you from under his eyelashes, his eyes lingering just a bit longer each time.Â
You can see your grandparentâs car in the driveway as you near the farm, meaning theyâve also returned from their day in the city. Leading the horses back into the barn, the two of you go through the motions of the familiar routine of unsaddling them, brushing them down, and making sure theyâre comfortable for the night.Â
Once theyâre all settled for the night, Logan steps back, wiping his hands on his jeans as he looks at you.Â
âSo âbout tomorrowâŚâ He begins, shifting slightly, as if unsure how to phrase what he wants to say. âYou really think you can teach me to ride?â
You grin excitedly. âOf course. Iâll come out after Iâve eaten breakfast.â
âAlright then,â he says, pivoting toward the doors, his lips twitching just barely, but enough. âLookinâ forward to it.â
Your fingers are twitching at your sides as you watch him leave. You wait a few moments, then head out as well, closing and locking up the barn for the night. When you step into the house, you find your grandparents in the living room, their faces lit by the soft glow of a lamp as they relax on the chesterfield.Â
âHow was your day?â your grandmother asks, looking up from her knitting with a bright smile.
âIt was nice,â you reply. âThe horses loved it, and the pond was as beautiful as ever. We had a picnic, and it was really peaceful.â
Your grandfather, whoâs been quietly sipping his tea, sets down his cup and regards you with a knowing look. âAnd Logan? Did he go with you?â
You nod, feeling a bit of warmth rise to your cheeks at the mention of their helper. âYeah, he came along. Heâs never ridden a horse before, so he just walked with us. But Iâm going to teach him tomorrow.â
Your grandparents exchange a look, and your grandmotherâs eyes sparkle with amusement and something more tender as she smiles at you. âThatâs good, dear. Heâs a bit of a mystery, that one, but I can tell heâs got a good heart. Sometimes people just need a little time to open up.â
Chatting with your grandparentâs a bit longer, you listen intently as they fill you in on their activities. You can faintly hear the sound of Loganâs footsteps upstairs as he gets ready for bed. The memory of his gaze on you makes your heart beat a smidge faster.Â
â
Logan is unsurprisingly already at the barn when you arrive the next morning. Heâs leaning against it, arms crossed over his chest.Â
âMorning,â you greet. âYou ready to get started?â
Logan glances at the horses, then back at you. âReady as Iâll ever be.â
You lead him over to the horses, choosing one of the gentler ones for him to work with, and begin by showing him how to properly saddle the horse, explaining each step as you go. Logan watches intently, though you can see the slight furrow in his brow as he takes in all the information.
As soon as the horse is all saddled up, you hand him the reins. âOkay, now itâs your turn. Go ahead and mount up.â
He wavers for just a moment, his eyes on the horse as if weighing his options. But then, with a deep breath, he grabs the saddle and swings himself up with ease. He sits stiffly at first, his hands gripping the reins a bit too tightly, but he doesnât look as uncomfortable as you would have expected. Definitely better than your first attempt.
âYouâre doing great,â you reassure him, moving to stand beside the horse. âJust relax. The horse can sense if youâre tense, so try to loosen up a bit.â
He takes another breath, visibly trying to relax his posture. Itâs clear that heâs out of his comfort zone, but heâs determined to push through. You walk him through the basics of steering and controlling the horse, keeping your tone calm and encouraging.
After a few minutes, you guide him around the paddock, walking alongside the horse to make sure he feels secure. Logan follows your instructions with serious concentration, his movements becoming more and more natural as he gets used to the rhythm of the horseâs steps.
âYouâre doing really well,â you tell him, smiling up at him. âWant to try picking up the pace a little?â
He glances down at you warily at first, but then he nods. âYeah. Letâs give it a shot.â
You guide him through a gentle trot, staying close enough to offer guidance but giving him enough space to figure things out on his own. The horse picks up speed, and you watch as he adjusts, his body moving in sync with the animalâs movements. Thereâs a moment when he looks down at you, a spark of surprise in his eyes as he realizes heâs actually getting the hang of it.
As the morning progresses, Logan becomes more comfortable in the saddle, his confidence growing with each passing minute. You spend the next hour practicing different techniques, guiding him through turns, stops, and even a slow canter. Heâs a quick learner, and despite the initial awkwardness, you can tell heâs starting to enjoy himself.
Eventually, you lead him back to the paddock, bringing the horse to a stop. He dismounts, still a bit tense but clearly pleased with himself. He hands you the reins, his eyes meeting yours with a look thatâs both grateful and slightly sheepish.
âNot bad for a first-timer,â you say with a grin, patting the horseâs neck.
He huffs a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. âYeah, well⌠youâre a good teacher.â
The compliment, simple as it is, makes your heart skip a beat. Thereâs something about the way he says it, the sincerity in his tone, that makes you feel a warm glow inside. He begins to walk toward the back shed, undoubtedly going to start on his morning chores, but you find yourself wanting to hold onto this moment just a bit longer.Â
âLogan,â you call out, stopping him in his tracks.
He turns back, his eyes questioning.
âThanks for this morning. I really enjoyed it.â
Logan studies you for a second, then he gives you a small smile. âYeah,â he says quietly. âMe too.â
â
The days come and go, blending into one another as your first month at the farm passes by in what feels like the blink of an eye. The sun seems to rise earlier and set later with each passing day, stretching the hours out in a way that makes everything feel both languid and endless, and the heat only intensifies, something you didnât think was possible.Â
Despite the longer days and rising temperatures, you and Loganâs daily routines have now intertwined in a way that feels as natural as breathing. The once solitary moments you spent watching him out with the horses have now become something shared. Every morning, without fail, the two of you meet by the barn, where the horses greet you with soft nickers and eager eyes, ready for their daily ride.
Heâs improved a lot. He no longer looks uncomfortable or stiff, and heâs able to guide his horse with an ease that surprises even him. You can see the subtle shift in his posture, the way he holds the reins with a sureness that wasnât there before.Â
And just like when you work on the farm together, sometimes, the two of you ride in a comfortable silenceâthe only sounds being the soft snorts of the horses and the creak of leather saddles. But more often than not, you chat about everything and nothing, your conversations easy and unforced.Â
Logan, who once spoke only in short, clipped sentences, has begun to open up more, sharing bits and pieces of his past, his thoughts, and his observations about life on the farm. You learn that he has a sarcastic, dry sense of humor, one that often catches you off guard and leaves you laughing in spite of yourself. He even joins you for your usual morning breakfast of eggs and toast, something that started only a few days into your new morning ritual.Â
Yet throughout all of this, thereâs a something growing between you and Logan, simmering just beneath the surface.Â
It manifests in the little moments, the stolen glances, and the accidental touches that donât really seem to be as accidental as you may think. Itâs in the way his eyes follow you when he thinks youâre not looking, how they intensify when you laugh, or how he seems to fixate on your hands as you work, as if heâs memorizing every movement.Â
Youâre not immune to it either. You find yourself hyper-aware of his presence, the way his proximity seems to alter the air around you. In one afternoon, youâre in the barn, and sorting through a pile of hay bales. Itâs hard, sweaty work, but the itâs kind that leaves you with a satisfying ache in your muscles by the end of the day. Logan is beside you, lifting the heavy bales with ease, his shirt sticking to his back, outlining the broad expanse of his shoulders. You catch yourself staring, and quickly look away, but not before he flicks his eyes over to yours.
He doesnât say anything, but you can see it in his eyes. Itâs like theyâre telling you that he knows exactly what you were thinking, where you were staring.Â
And when youâre both tending to the horses, something happens again. Youâre brushing one down, your fingers working through its mane, when Logan comes to stand beside you, so close that you can smell his natural musk.Â
âHere, let me help,â he says lowly, not waiting for a response as he reaches out, his hand covering yours. You glance up at him, and heâs already looking down at you. Youâre acutely aware of the feel of his hand over yours, the callousness of his skin against your own, and the way his thumb brushes lightly over your knuckles as if testing the waters.
Another time, while fixing the fence out in the field, youâre both working in tandem, passing tools back and forth. At one point, you reach for a hammer at the same time Logan does, and your fingers brush against his. Itâs a fleeting touch, but it feels like a spark in the summer heat, and for a heartbeat, you both freeze, caught in that split second of contact.
âSorry,â you mumble, pulling your hand back, but the apology feels hollow in the face of what youâre actually feeling.
âNo problem,â Logan replies, his voice gruffer than usual, as he hands you the tool.Â
You can feel it. Youâre not stupid. You know something is there, and you wonder how much longer you can resist itâhow much longer you can pretend that everything is fine. But Logan is a hard man to read, and youâre not sure if what youâre feeling is reciprocated, or if itâs just wishful thinking on your part. So you stay silent, letting the tension simmer, hoping that one day, one of you will have the courage to break it.
â
Youâre not the only who seeâs it.Â
âYou know,â your grandmother says one afternoon, as youâre helping them with a puzzle. âLogan has really come out of his shell since youâve been here.â
You blink, and glance over at her. âWhat do you mean?â
She looks up from the table, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous light. âOh, you know exactly what I mean,â she says with a knowing smile. âHeâs been here for over a year, and in all that time, weâve never seen him quite like this. Heâs always been polite, of course, but distant. Reserved. But now⌠well, itâs clear heâs become quite comfortable around you.â
Your grandfather places a piece in the board and nods in agreement. âSheâs right, you know. Loganâs always been a bit of a mystery, keeps to himself mostly. But ever since you arrived, heâs been different. More⌠engaged, I suppose you could say.â
You feel a flush of heat rising to your cheeks, your heart skipping a beat at their words. âI-I donât know about that,â you stammer, trying to brush it off. âWe just⌠work together a lot. Thatâs all.â
Chuckling, your grandmother leans forward slightly. âDarling, donât be modest. Itâd be obvious to anyone that thereâs something going on between the two of you. Heâs practically a different man when heâs around you. Why, just the other day, I caught him actually smiling while you two were out riding. I nearly fainted!â
âYouâve managed to do in weeks what we couldnât do in a year. Whatever it is, itâs good for him. And for you, too, Iâd wager,â your grandfather pipes in, sending you a wink.Â
Fidgeting with your hands, you feel like a deer caught in headlights, and youâre honestly not sure how to respond. âWeâre⌠friends,â you say, though the words feel inadequate even as you say them.Â
The woman across from you raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. âHmm? Well, maybe so. But it seems to me that thereâs potential for something more there, if youâre both willing to see it.â
âI⌠I donât know,â you mumble, feeling flustered under their scrutiny. âHeâs just⌠heâs a complicated person.â
âEveryoneâs complicated, dear,â your grandfather says gently. âBut that doesnât mean theyâre not worth the effort. Oftentimes, the best things in life are the ones that take the most time to understand.â
Thereâs a moment of silence as their words sink in, the weight of their observations leaving you feeling exposed and uncertain. You hadnât fully allowed yourself to consider what you felt, let alone what Logan felt. But now, with your grandparentsâ teasing remarks, itâs impossible to ignore the possibility that there might be something more between you and Logan than just a budding friendship.
Your grandmother reaches over and gives your hand a comforting squeeze. âJust take it one day at a time, sweetheart. Whatever happens, weâre here for you.â
â
The following week, you find yourself itching for something newâa change in scenery. While the farm has been everything youâve wanted and more, you think itâd be nice to go on a drive, explore a small laketown you used to go to when you were younger. So, one morning, as you and Logan are unsaddling the horses, you muster the courage to extend an invitation thatâs been on your mind for days.
âSoâŚ,â you begin, trying to keep your tone casual. âI was thinking⌠maybe we could take a break from the farm this weekend and go into town. You know, just to get out for a bit, see something different.â
He pauses in his work, his hand stilling on the brush as he peers over at you with a raised eyebrow. âThe town?â he repeats, as if the idea is foreign to him.
âYeah,â you say, turning to face him fully. âI need to pick up a few things, and I thought it might be nice to have some company. We could grab lunch, maybe do some exploring⌠It doesnât have to be anything fancy. Just a change of pace.â
Thereâs a beat of silence as he considers your offer. His expression is guarded, as always, but you can see the wheels turning in his mind. Itâs clear that the idea of leaving the farm, even for a day, is something he hasnât done in a long timeâif ever.
âI donât know,â he eventually gets out, his tone uncertain. âBusy places are not really my thing.â
You feel a pang of disappointment at his hesitation, but youâre not ready to give up just yet. âI get that,â you say. âBut itâs not about how many people are there, really. Itâs about taking a break. Youâve been working so hard, and I think you deserve a day to relax. Plus, I could use your help carrying a few things,â you tease, hoping to coax him into agreeing.
Loganâs lips twitch as if heâs suppressing a smile, and for a split second you think heâs going to turn you down. But then he sighs, running a hand through his hair. âAlright,â he says, the word coming out almost reluctantly. âIâll go.â
You beam, unable to hide your enthusiasm. âWeâll leave early on Saturday, okay?â
âSaturday it is,â he confirms.
â
The rest of the week passes quickly, your anticipation for the trip into town growing with each passing day. You find yourself planning out the day in your head, imagining the places you might visit, the food you might try, and most of all, the chance to see Logan in a different environmentâaway from the farm and the routine that has defined your relationship so far.
So, when Saturday morning arrives, youâre up before the sun, too excited to sleep in. You dress in your favourite casual clothesâsomething comfortable but a bit more put-together than your usual farm attireâand head downstairs, where you find your grandparents surprisingly already up and about.
âOff to the city today, are you?â your grandmother asks with a smile as she hands you a thermos of coffee for the road.
âYep,â you reply, unable to keep the grin off your face. âand Iâm dragging Logan along with me.â
Your grandfather chuckles, shaking his head. âWell, that should be interesting. Donât think heâs much of a city slicker.â
âBe patient with him, dear,â your grandmother adds, laughing. âHeâs stepping out of his comfort zone for you.â
âI will,â you promise, taking the coffee and heading out the door.
Loganâs already waiting by the truck, and when you see him, you canât help but falter in your steps. The shirt heâs wearing clings to his muscular frame in a way that draws your eyes, accentuating the strength thatâs always been evident. His hair is slightly disheveled, and thereâs an almost shy quality to the way he stands there, his hands shoved into his pockets as if heâs not quite sure what to do with them.
You try to hide the fact that you were just checking him out as you ask, âReady?âÂ
ââCourse,â he replies, climbing into the passenger seat as you slide behind the wheel.
The highways are empty and the sky is clear. You chat easily about the things you need to pick up, the cute boutiques you want to visit, and even a few memories of the last time you visited the place. Logan listens more than he talks, but you can tell heâs starting to relax, the tightness in his shoulders easing as the distance passes by.
When you finally reach the town, the energy along the streets is a stark contrast to the quiet calm of the farm. The buildings tower above you, and the sidewalks are crowded with people going about their day.Â
Stepping out of the truck, you glance over at Logan. Itâs clear that heâs out of his element, but thereâs something cute about the way he takes it all in. âWhere to first?â He questions.Â
âWell,â you say, smiling at him, âI was thinking we could grab some breakfast at this little cafĂŠ I know, then hit a few shops. Thereâs a bookstore I love that I think youâd like too.â
He nods, his expression softening slightly at the mention of a bookstore. âLead the way.â
You spend the morning wandering around, exploring the shops, and enjoying a nice breakfast together. At the bookstore, you lose track of time, browsing through the shelves and picking out a few titles that catch your eye. Logan surprises you by finding a book on woodworking, something heâs always been interested in but never had much time for. You can see the way his eyes light up as he flips through the pages, and it makes you smile, happy to see him enjoying something for himself.
After spending a few more hours of exploring, you suggest one last stop before heading backâa lookout point that offers a stunning view of the lake and the surrounding landscape. Logan agrees, and you drive up to the spot, parking the truck and leading him to a bench that overlooks the water.
The view is breathtaking. You both sit in silence for a while, just taking in the scenery, allowing the peacefulness of the moment to wash over you. He is staring out into the water with a thoughtful expression when you decide to interrupt his stupor.
âLogan,â you begin, the gentle breeze from the lake rustling through the trees, âwhat did you think of me when we first met?â
He turns his head slightly, his eyes meeting yours with a hint of surprise, as if he wasnât expecting the question. Then he pauses for a moment, looking back out at the lake, as if gathering his thoughts.
âI thought you were different,â he says slowly, each word carefully chosen. âYou didnât act like you were above the work. You jumped right in, got your hands dirty. Most people wouldnât do that.â
You smile at the memory, remembering how you started working together the moment you met. After all, you werenât just a visitorâyou were there to help, and you knew your way around the farm. âAnd now?â you ask, your heart beginning to beat just a little faster.
He remains quiet for a few moments, his focus still on the water. When he finally speaks, heâs timid, almost bashful, as if heâs revealing something heâs kept hidden for a long time.Â
âI think youâre beautiful,â he admits, his eyes flickering back to yours. âI thought that the first time I saw you, too. It was one of the first things that hit me. But itâs more than that. Now⌠now I think youâre perfect.â
The sincerity in his words catches you off guard, leaving you momentarily speechless. Your mouth parts in surprise, and all you can do is gawk, trying to process the depth of what heâs just said.
Logan shifts slightly, his gaze dropping to his hands as he continues. âI was⌠cold at first,â he murmurs, âDidnât know how else to act. You werenât like anyone Iâd ever met. I didnât know how to handle it. But what really got to me was how you didnât shy away from thatâyou didnât let my attitude push you away. That changed somethinâ in me.â
You want to say somethingâyou should say somethingâto acknowledge what he just said, bearing in mind that was probably the most amount of words to come out of his mouth in one go, but for some reason, you canât. The only thought running through your head is that you want to reach out and touch him, to close the small distance between you.
âWhat about you?â His voice is slightly more tentative now, and he definitely just asked that to fill the silence that you were ungraciously leaving. âWhat was your first impression of me?â
His question snaps you out of your thoughts, and you gulp, now knowing that your first impression of him was very different to his of you.Â
âHonestly? I thought you were rude as hell,â you say a bit nervously, watching as his eyebrows raise slightly in surprise. âYou were so gruff, so serious⌠I didnât know what to make of you at first. But then I saw the way you took care of the horses, the way you looked after the farm, and⌠it didnât take long for my opinion to change.â
He shifts, clearly caught off guard. You can see the faintest hint of a blush creeping up his neck as he takes in what you said, and it makes your smile widen.Â
âAndâŚYouâre kind,â you continue. âThereâs this gentleness about you that I wasnât expecting.â You suck in a shaky breath. âI think youâre pretty perfect now too, if Iâm being honest.â
The tint on his cheeks only deepens, and he looks away, flustered. Itâs a rare sightâseeing him like thisâand it makes you swoon.Â
âI donât know about thatâŚâ He mutters, a small, embarrassed smile tugging at the corners of his lips.Â
âI do,â you reply firmly. âYouâre more than you think you are, Logan.â
The genuineness in your words makes him look back at you, his eyes searching yours for somethingâreassurance, maybe, or confirmation that what youâre saying is real. Slowly, almost unconsciously, you both lean in closer, locked in a stare, your breaths mingling as the space between you shrinks. You can see the way his eyes flicker down to your lips, and you feel the same pull, the undeniable urge to close the distance and see what it would feel like to kiss him overriding all your senses.
Your chest pounds as you inch closer, until you can feel the warmth of his breath on your skin. But just as your lips are about to meet, a loud, piercing scream shatters the moment.
You both jerk back, startled, and whip your heads around to see a kid nearby, his face scrunched up in disgust as he frantically wipes at his shoulder. âEw! A seagull just pooped on me!â
The kidâs parents rush over, trying to console him as they pull out napkins, and you canât help but burst out laughing at the absurdity of the interruption. The sound of your laughter is contagious, and soon Logan is chuckling a bit too.
âWell, thatâs one way to kill the mood,â he mumbles under is breath.
Youâre still laughing, the remnants of your almost-kiss still in the back of your mind, but you know the moment has passed. âYeah,â you agree, trying to catch your breath. âGuess we should be thankful it wasnât us.â
Logan grins, warm and wide. âYeah, maybe we should.â
â
Driving back to the farm, neither of you say a word about what almost transpired at the lookout point, and youâre fine with that. Thereâs no need to fill the silence with words, no need to dissect the moment or what it could have led to. You donât want there to be any sort of pressure between you, any expectations. Even if, deep down, all you want is to climb him like a tree, to feel the solid strength of him beneath your hands, and to finally give in to the attraction thatâs been building throughout your time together.Â
Pulling into the driveway and shutting of the engine, you turn to him, and turns to you, his eyes meeting yours. âThanks for today,â he says sincerely âI⌠liked it.â
You smile, feeling a warmth spread through you at his words. âMe too,â you reply, your voice just as soft. âWe should do it again sometime.â
âYeah,â Logan agrees, his gaze holding yours a hint longer before he turns away, his hand reaching for the door handle. âWe should.â
â
A few days later, as everyone sits around the kitchen table after dinner, the evening suddenly takes on a new tone when your grandmother clears her throat and shoots an exchanges a conspiratorial glance at your grandfather.
âWeâve got some news,â she begins, her eyes shining with excitement. âYour grandfather and I have been invited to spend a week at the Summersâ cottage by the lake.â
You smile, genuinely happy for them. The Summers are longtime friends of your grandparents, and the idea of them getting a little vacation away sounds perfect. âThat sounds wonderful! You two deserve some time to relax.â
âWell, we thought so too,â your grandfather says. âBut that means weâll be leaving the farm in your capable hands.â
It takes a moment for the full meaning of his words to sink in. You and Logan⌠alone⌠for an entire week.
Your heart skips a beat and you glimpse over at Logan, whoâs sitting across the table from you, his expression neutral as he listens to your grandparents. But thereâs a quick flash of something that suggests heâs as aware of the situation as you are.
A voice brings you back to the moment. âNow, donât worry,â she says with a reassuring smile. âThereâs not much that needs doing, just the usual stuff. And weâll be back before you know it.â
Your grandfather leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he scans between you and Logan. âWe trust you both to keep everything running smoothly,â he says, before he drops his voice to an embarrassingly low tone. âAnd to keep an eye on each other.â
You canât help but blush at his not-so-subtle innuendo, and you quickly drop your gaze to your hands, trying to hide the warmth creeping up your cheeks. The thought of spending an entire week alone with Logan is both thrilling and nerve-wracking. The lack of a bufferâyour grandparentsâmeans that literally anything could happen.Â
âDonât worry,â you finally manage to say. âWeâve got this. You two just enjoy your time away.â
Logan, who has been uncharacteristically quiet during the conversation, finally speaks up. âYeah,â he agrees, âWeâll take care of everything.â
â
Over the next couple of days, your grandparents pack their bags and make sure everything is in order before they leave. You help them with the small details, ensuring that the house is stocked with food and that all the usual chores are delegated properly.
Finally, the morning of their departure arrives. You stand by the front door, watching as your grandparents load their bags into the car. Your grandmother gives you a warm hug, âTake care, dear,â she says, kissing your cheek before hopping into the passengerâs seat.Â
Your grandfather shakes Loganâs hand, giving him a firm nod. âTake care of things.â
He hums. âI will. Enjoy yourselves.â
With that, your grandparents climb into the car, and after a final wave, they drive down the long, dusty road that leads away from the farm.Â
Thereâs a pause.Â
Suddenly, youâve become extremely aware of how close you two are standing.Â
âSo,â you start, hoping to ease a bit of the electricity beginning to spark. âI guess itâs just us now.â
Logan swallows thickly, his adams apple bobbing up and down. âYeah,â he replies a bit deeper than usual. âJust us.â
âWhat should we do first?â you ask as casually as possible.Â
He shrugs slightly, his lips curving into the faintest hint of a smile. âSame old, I guess. Canât let everythinâ fall apart right when they leave..â
âTrue. Letâs start with that.â
The two of you move into that familiar routine of farm work. Mucking out the stalls, hauling bags of feed from the shed to the barn, tending to the vegetable garden, you do it all. But even though youâre busy with work, thereâs an underlying jitter to everything you do, a heightened awareness of each otherâs presence that just wasnât there before. And itâs impossible to ignore. Each time you make eyecontact it feels charged, almost like a promise of whatâs to come, and it has your heart racing with exhilaration.Â
That evening, after the chores are done and the sun has dropped below the horizon, youâre in the kitchen, preparing dinner while Logan finishes up outside. The quiet of the farmhouse feels different without your grandparents thereâemptier, yet somehow more intimate. Domestic. You can hear the soft creak of the floorboards as he enters the house, the sound of him washing up in the sink.
And as the evening wears on, you find yourself drawing out cleaning the dishes, not wanting to end the day just yet. Logan stays close, drying the plates and placing them back in the cupboards.
âLong day,â he grunts.
âYeah,â you agree, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. âBut it was nice. Peaceful.â
His eyes find yours. âPeaceful,â he echoes, though the word seems to hold a different meaning when he says it.
You both stay there, unmoving, until eventually, he takes a step back, as if sensing that the tension between you needs a moment to cool. âIâll check on the barn,â he says gruffly. âMake sure everythingâs locked up for the night.â
âOkay,â you reply, your voice softer than you intended.
Logan leaves to check on the barn, while heâs gone, your thoughts are a whirlwind of anticipation and nervous energy as you busy yourself with finishing up the remaining utensils.Â
Finally, unable to stay inside any longer, you decide to step outside, hoping the cool evening air will help clear your mind. You sink down onto the old porch swing, and pull your knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around them as you observe the darkened landscape.
A few minutes later, you hear the soft crunch of gravel underfoot, and you glance over your shoulder to see Logan approaching the porch. He walks up the steps and pauses momentarily as if debating whether to join you. Then, with a soft sigh, he settles down beside you, his shoulder just barely brushing against yours.
Itâs now or never, you think. âWe have the place to ourselves now,â you state.Â
He turns his head slightly, giving you a sidelong look, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a small, knowing smirk. âIndeed we do,â he replies.
The simple acknowledgmentâand the way he says itâmakes your pulse quicken, and you canât help the small huff of exasperation that escapes your lips. Heâs always been so tame, so careful with his words, and while you appreciate the way heâs respected your space, youâre done with tiptoeing around.
âDo I need to spell it out for you, orââ But before you can finish the sentence, Logan moves.Â
His hand reaches out, rough and warm, to cup the back of your head. Your eyes widen, and your heart thuds in your chest upon realizing whatâs about to happen. And with a firm but gentle pull, he closes the distance between you, his lips crashing against yours.
You lose track of your surroundingsâthe night, the farm, everythingâas you give yourself into feel of his lips against yours. Itâs intense and claiming, a declaration of everything youâve both been too afraid to say.
His hand tangles in your hair, holding you close as he deepens the kiss, his other hand coming to rest on your waist, pulling you closer until thereâs no space left between you. Your hands find their way to his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his shirt as if to ground yourself in the moment, to make sure this is real, that heâs really here, kissing you.
Moving your lips against his with equal fervor, you pour the longing youâve been feeling all this time into it. The taste of him is intoxicating. Itâs something thatâs so uniquely himâso uniquely Loganâand you canât get enough. Youâve imagined this moment in the dead of night, but nothing compares to the reality of itâto the way he kisses you like youâre the only thing that matters.
When you finally pull back, out of breath and a little dazed, Loganâs forehead rests against yours, his breath coming in heavy, uneven pants. His eyes are smoldering and intense and his smirk is gone, replaced by a deep look of yearning.
âIâve wanted to do that for a long time,â he admits huskily. The way his voice has dropped three octaves isnât missed on you. You can practically feel it vibrate down in your puâ
âYouâre not the only one,â You whisper, interrupting your own thoughts. The connection between you has finally been acknowledged, and you feel a huge sense of relief.
He exhales a breath you didnât realize he was holding, and his hand slips from the back of your head to cup your face, his thumb tracing the line of your jaw. âGood,â he murmurs. âBecause I donât think I can hold back anymore.â
You lean in, pressing another kiss to his lips. âThen donât,â you whisper against his mouth.
The spark that has been ignited between you flares up into a full blown fire, and the next kiss quickly becomes more heated. Without breaking it, Loganâs grip on your waist tightens and you let out a soft gasp as he effortlessly lifts you onto his lap. Your legs straddle his hips, and you can feel the beginning of something growing underneath you.Â
The sensation is dizzying, and you instinctively press yourself closer, your fingers curling into his hair. The swing beneath you creaks softly with the movement, but neither of you pays it any mind, too lost in each other to care.
You shift slightly on his lap, grinding your hips against him, and the movement draws a deep, throaty groan from him. He pulls back just enough to catch his breath, âGod, you drive me crazy,â and then heâs on you again.Â
Itâs wild. Hot, and heavy, and utterly consuming. His hands move from your hips to grip your ass, guiding you to move against him. It feels so good, you release a relieved sigh into his mouth, before dropping your head onto his shoulder, too caught up in the pleasure.Â
The sounds of your moans fill the air as he continues grinding you against him, his own hips bucking up into your core.Â
Biting your lip, you lift your head slightly, a teasing smile tugs at the corners of your mouth as your eyes dart toward the open door of the farmhouse. âYou know,â you begin tilting forward to bite his ear, your voice low and playful, âas much as Iâm enjoying being out here, I think we should take this inside.â
Loganâs lips quirk up into a sexy smirk. âAs you wish,â he murmurs.
As you stand up, your legs a little shaky from what just occured, you peek back at him, and see that heâs already risen to his feet. Stepping closer, you slip your hand into his as you guide him toward the door. But just as you reach the threshold, a thought crosses your mind, and you pause, turning to look up at him with a mischievous glint in your eyes.
âWe gotta go to your room,â you say, running your hands up and down his arms, feeling them flex underneath your touch.âI donât think Iâm ready to defile my childhood bedroom just yet.â
He raises an eyebrow, a grin spreading across his face as he catches on to what youâre implying. âOh, is that so?â he asks, his tone filled with mock seriousness. You wink in return. grabbing one of his hands and dragging him inside.Â
By the time you reach his door, youâre practically vibrating with excitement, your breath coming in quick, shallow bursts. The room is simple, and the bed, neatly made, sits in the center of the room. You canât help but laugh at the thought of how different it will look in just a few moments.
You turn to face Logan, but he doesnât give you time to say anything, his hand reaching out, his fingers brushing against your cheek in a touch that is both tender and possessive. His thumb traces the line of your jaw as he cups your face, his eyes searching yours for any hint of hesitation.
But thereâs none. Youâve never been more sure of anything in your life. The need for him, for this, is so overwhelming that itâs taking every ounce of strength in you to keep from throwing yourself onto him.Â
His lips find yours once more, this time more urgent, more demanding than before. He pulls you closer, his body pressing against yours. âAre you sure about this?â he asks in between kisses.
âAbsolutely,â you mumble breathlessly, your hands sliding up his chest to curl around the back of his neck. The word barely leaves your lips before Logan reacts, a low hum rumbling in his chest as if your answer has unleashed something primal within him.
He kicks the door shut behind him with a force that makes the room tremble slightly, and in the same fluid motion, he pins you against the wall, lips never leaving yours as his body cages you in.
One of his thighs nudges its way between yours, the rough fabric of his jeans brushing against the sensitive spot between your legs. The friction is maddening, electric, and it hits just right, sending a jolt of pleasure up your spine that rips a moan from your throat.
The sound only spurs Logan on, his own need evident in the way he moves against you. He moves his mouth to your neck, trailing up and down it with hungrily. The feel of his mouth on your skin, the way his teeth graze your pulse point, causes you to arch against him, your hands clutching at his shoulders for support.
You can feel the warmth of his breath as he presses his lips to the sensitive spot just below your ear, his tongue flicking out to taste your skin, as his hands explore your body. Theyâre everywhereâone gripping your hip, holding you steady against the wall, the other sliding up your side to brush against the curve of your breast. His fingers find the hem of your shirt, tugging it up, and you lift your arms to help him, the fabric sliding up and over your head before itâs tossed carelessly to the floor.
Bringing his lips back to yours, the kiss is fiery, stealing all the oxygen from your lungs as he pushes you even harder into against the wall, his thigh still working its magic. You canât help the way your hips rock against him, the need for moreâmore pressure, more friction, more him.
Logan seems to sense your desperation, moaning when his hand slips down from your breast to the waistband of your jeans. He fumbles with the button for only a moment before he gets it open, his fingers slipping inside to brush against the soft skin of your lower belly. He pulls back just enough to look into your eyes, his gaze tempting and filled with a desire that matches your own.Â
âYouâre so damn beautiful,â he mutters, voice thick with want. âNo idea why I waited so long.â
You can barely think, let alone form words, but you manage to breathe out, âDonât need to wait any longer.â
The words seem to be all the encouragement he needs. In one swift motion, he slides your pants and underwear down your legs, his hands careful as he helps you step out of them. Youâre left standing before him, bare and vulnerable, but the way heâs staring at youâlike youâre the most beautiful thing heâs ever seenâmakes you feel powerful, desired in a way youâve never felt before.
He pulls you back into him, and this time, you can feel the hardness of his own desire against yoursâbareâ and it drives you insane. His grip finds you thighs as he lifts you off the ground and carries you the short distance to the bed. He lays you down gently on his bed, and breaks away long enough to strip off his own clothes. The sight of himâstrong, muscular, yoursâmakes your breath catch in your throat.Â
Thereâs a moment where heâs standing above you, just staring, his chest rising and falling with the effort to control himself. But then heâs on you again in an instant, his body pressing yours into the mattress, his lips claiming yours and leaving you dizzy.
You lean up into him, your hands sliding up his back, feeling the play of muscles beneath his skin as he moves against you. The need for more builds up to a breaking point, and you canât help the soft moan that escapes your lips as he grinds into you, hard and insistent against your core.
âLogan,â you breathe out. âPlease.â
His name on your lips seems to break the last of his control, a desperate groan ripping out of him. He begins travelling down your body, taking his time, his lips tracing a slow, deliberate path, each kiss leaving a burning trail in its wake. His hands follow the curve of your waist, your hips, his fingers digging into your skin with just the right amount of pressure to make you gasp. Your body is practically begging for him, and you know that youâre on the verge of begging too.
Once he makes it down to your thighs, he nudges them apart, giving him better access to you. He nips and bites at them, moaning along with you. And then, with a deep, almost possessive growl, he finally lowers his mouth to you, his tongue flicking out to taste you. You react immediately, a wave of pleasure coming over you, your hands fly into his hair, tugging at the strands as you try to pull him closer.
Loganâs hands tightening their grip on your thighs as he delves deeper. Youâre lost in the sensations, the pleasure growing and growing until itâs all you can think about, all you can feel. Your body is on fire, every nerve ending alight with desire, and the only thing that matters is the way he is making you feel, the way heâs driving you toward a release that you know will be earth-shattering.
And then, just as you think you canât take any more, he pulls back slightly, his lips still hovering over you as he looks up at you, eyes black. âTell me what you want,â he commands.
You can barely think, let alone form coherent words, but you manage to breathe out, âYou. I wantâI need you.â
That seems to be wanted he wanted to hear, so with a final kiss to your inner thigh, he moves back up your body, connecting his lips to yours again. You can taste yourself on his tongue as his hands slide under your thighs, lifting you slightly to position himself at your entrance.
The anticipation is almost too much, the need for him so immense that you canât hold back the whimper that escapes your lips as begins to push, the tip of him just barely inside you, teasing, testing your patience.
âOh god,â you moan. âI need you. Please.â
And then, finally, Logan gives you what youâve been wanting since that time at the pond. With one slow, deliberate thrust, he pushes inside you, filling you up completely.Â
Everything seems to stop for a moment, the only sound the ragged gasps of breath between you, the only feeling the overwhelming pleasure of being joined together like this, of finally having what youâve both wanted for so long.
He pauses, lowering his head in the crook of your neck as he lets you adjust to the feeling, his breath hot and heavy against your collarbone. And then he begins to move, slow and steady at first, each thrust driving you closer to the edge, the coil inside you tightening with every stroke. The feel of him inside you, the way he moves against you, is everything youâve been dreaming of and more, and you canât help the way your body responds to him, your hips lifting to meet his every movement.
The gentle, deliberate pace soon gives way to something more urgent, more desperate, as the need for release takes over. Each thrust drives you higher, the pleasure building to an almost unbearable level, until teetering on the edge.
And then, he sends you over it. The orgasm hits you like a tidal wave, your entire body shuddering with the intensity of it, your voice lost in the cry of pure ecstasy that escapes your lips. Logan follows you a moment later, his own release crashing into him hard, his body trembling against yours as he buries himself deep inside you, his breath hot and ragged against your neck as a loud, deep, groan reverberates in his throat.Â
Neither of you can move, lost in the aftermath of your shared pleasure, your bodies still entwined, as you come down from the high. He tightens his arms around you, pressing a kiss to your temple as he tries to catch his breath. And when he does, he pulls back just enough to look into your eyes.
âYou okay?â he murmurs.Â
You nod, reaching up to cup his face in your hands, your thumbs gently brushing over the rough stubble on his cheeks. âIâm more than okay,â you whisper back, voice full of emotion. âThat was⌠everything.â
A small smile tugs at the corners of Loganâs lips, and he leans down to press a soft kiss to your forehead, his arms still wrapped securely around you. âYeah, it was,â he agrees.
Eventually, he eases out of you with a tenderness that makes you sigh softly. He walks out into the washroom, and gets a warm towel, wiping you and himself down. After, he settles beside you on the bed, his arm draped over your waist, holding you close. The two of you stay like that for a long time, wrapped in each otherâs arms, until the exhaustion of the day begins to catch up with you, and you feel your eyes growing heavy.
âGet some rest,â you hear, âWeâve got plenty of time⌠no need to rush.â
You nod sleepily, snuggling closer to him as you let your eyes drift shut, the steady pulse of his heart lulling you into a peaceful sleep.Â
â
You wake to the feeling of warmth and security, Loganâs breathing against your ear, his arm still clinging possessively over your waist. The events of the previous night come rushing back, and a satisfied smile curves your lips as you snuggle closer to him.
But it isnât long before that peaceful contentment becomes something more. As you move around, the feel of his skin against yours, the warmth of his breath on your neck, and the memory of the passion ignites a familiar heat low in your belly
He stirs beside you, his hand tightening around your waist as if sensing your thoughts. Pulling you closer, his nose nuzzles against your neck, his lips brushing over the sensitive skin there.Â
His voice is rough with sleep as he murmurs against your skin, âMorningâŚâ
The simple word, spoken in that deep, gravelly tone, is enough to make you ache for him all over again. You turn in his arms, meeting his gaze, and the look in his eyesâdark and hungryâtells you that he feels the same way.Â
The morning starts in the best way possible, the both of you breathless, spent, and with the knowledge that this isnât a one-time thing. The connection between you is too strong, too consuming to be satisfied with just one night or even one morning. And as the day stretches out before you, the realization hits that this hunger, this need, will follow you both everywhere you go.
Throughout the week, the two of you are completely insatiable for each other. Itâs like the floodgates have opened and have no intention of closing. Every moment youâre together becomes an opportunity.Â
It starts innocently enoughâjust a kiss in the barn when youâre supposed to be checking on the horses. But that kiss quickly spirals and before you know it, Logan has you pressed up against the wooden wall, his lips on your neck, his hands roaming your body. The scent of hay and leather mixes with the heady scent of him as he takes you right there, the barn filled with the sound of your moans and the creak of the old wooden beams.
Or when youâre in the back shed, ostensibly looking for some tools to finish up some chores, the moment the door closes behind you, and you both know thereâs no point in pretending. Loganâs hands are on you before you can even say a word, lifting you onto the workbench with ease as he claims your lips in a searing kiss.Â
At the pond too, the tranquil, secluded spot now holds an entirely different kind of allure to what it had before. One afternoon, you find yourselves there again, the cool water calling your name. But as you strip down to swim, the sight of him watching you is enough to make it seem less inviting than the feel of his hands on your skin. You pull him in with you, the rippling water doing nothing to muffle the sounds of your shared pleasure.
By the end of the week, youâre exhausted but in the best possible way, your body and soul both filled with the kind of satisfaction that comes from truly giving in to what you want, to who you are together. And as the sun sets on the final day of your week alone together, you find yourselves back in Loganâs room, the place where it all began.Â
The bed, once neat and tidy, is now a tangle of sheets and pillows, the evidence of your shared moments of bliss scattered around the room. Logan lies beside you, his hand gently stroking your hair as you rest your head on his chest, the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath your ear.
âThis week⌠itâs been more than I ever expected,â he admits quietly, his fingers brushing gently over your skin. âI donât want it to end.â
You lift your head to look at him, your eyes meeting his, and you can see the same emotion reflected thereâthe same desire to hold on to what youâve found together. âIt doesnât have to,â you reply. âWe donât have to go back to the way things were before.â
Loganâs hand tightens around yours, a small, almost imperceptible smile curving his lips. âNo, we donât,â he concurs.Â
â
The morning your grandparents arrive, you and Logan are in the kitchen, finishing up lunch. Your grandmother is the first to step through the door, her face lighting up as she sees the two of you. âWeâre back!â she announces, her voice cheerful as she sets her bag down by the door.
You rise to greet her, giving her a warm hug. âHow was the trip?â
âOh, it was lovely,â she replies, her eyes twinkling as she pulls back to look at you. âThe cottage was just as beautiful as ever. And the Summers send their love.â
Your grandfather enters next, a gleeful smile on his face as he takes in the sight of you and Logan in the kitchen, together. âEverything go smoothly while we were gone?â he asks.
You blush. âYes, everything was fine.â
Then they do that thing theyâve been doing the whole time youâve been with them, where they exchange a glanceâand share a look that speaks volumes. Itâs the kind of look that only comes from years of understanding each other without words, and you can tell they knew exactly what they were doing when they left you and Logan alone for the week.Â
âWell, thatâs good to hear,â your grandmother says with a mischievous smile, her eyes flicking between you two in a way that makes you wonder just how much theyâve guessed.
âSeems like you two managed just fine without us.â Your grandfather says, patting Logan on the shoulder.Â
You can feel the heat rising to your cheeks, and you steal a look at Logan, who meets your eyes with a small smirk. Itâs a way to tell you that heâs just as aware as you are of what your grandparents are thinking. But thereâs no embarrassment on his face, only a quiet confidence, a certainty that whatever happened between you was exactly what was meant to be.
â
The next month flies by, the routine of everything staying largely the same except for one thing. You and Logan are inseparable, drawn to each other like magnets, and with each passing day, it seems like that attraction only grows stronger.Â
Itâs not just the passion that binds you, though that spark is always there, and most often times doesnât go ignored. Itâs the little moments that fill your daysâthe way his hand brushes yours as you walk side by side, the way he rests a gentle hand on the small of your back when youâre working together in the barn, or the way his fingers grip your waist as he helps you mount your horse (even though you donât need it).Â
The work on the farm continues to get done, but thereâs a new layer to everything you doâa sense of shared purpose, of partnership. And even though the days are long and tiring, you find yourself looking forward to each task, knowing that Logan will be there beside you, sharing the load, offering his quiet support and his easy, comforting presence.
As the sun begins to rise one breakfast, you grandfather announces that he needs to run into town to pick up some tools for a repair project. Heâs heading out the door, and as he grabs his keys from the hook, he turns to Logan with a nod.
âLogan, why donât you come along? Could use an extra pair of hands,â he suggests, his tone casual.
Your man agrees without hesitation, always ready to lend a hand. But as he follows your grandfather out the door, he pauses for just a moment, whirling back to look at you, and what you see on his face is insaneâthereâs a deep yearning, a longing that tugs on your heartstrings. Itâs almost as if to say that he wishes he could stay, he doesnât want to be apart from you, even for the short trip into town.Â
You have half a mind to join them.Â
The intensity of that look lingers in the air long after heâs turned away and stepped out the door, and your grandmother doesnât miss a thing. Once the men are in the truck and begin to drive off the property, she turns to you with a teasing smile, one eyebrow raised in amusment.Â
âHeâs really got it bad for you, doesnât he?â she says affectionately. âIâve never seen a man look at a woman the way he looks at you.â
Your heart blooms in your chest. âI guess he does,â you reply, your voice soft, breathless as the weight of your feelings for him wash over you.Â
Your grandmother chuckles, stepping closer to place her hand on your arm âAnd youâve got it bad for him too, Iâd say.â
You laugh. âYeah, I do.â
â
Several weeks later, itâs raining. That should have been the first sign that this day wasnât going to go to plan. Youâre sitting inside, curled up next to Logan on the old chesterfield, his arm wrapped around you as you both enjoy the warmth and quiet of the afternoon.Â
But then you decide to go through some emailsâjust a quick check, nothing more, to clear out any lingering notifications. You unlock your phone and start scrolling through your inbox, Loganâs fingers tracing lazy circles on your shoulder as you do. Most of the emails are routineânewsletters, updates, the usual clutterâbut then you see it, nestled among the others like a tiny, unexpected bombshell.
Itâs an email from the company you applied to months ago, the one you almost forgot about in the blissful haze of farm life. The subject line makes your heart skip a beat: Congratulations! Offer of Employment.
Your breath catches, and you sit up a little straighter, your heart pounding in your chest as you open the email. The words leap off the screen: We are pleased to offer you the position, starting in two months.
You stare at the email, a mixture of shock and elation washing over you. This is itâyour dream job, the opportunity youâve been working toward for years. Itâs everything youâve ever wanted, the kind of position that could set the course for your entire career. But as the initial wave of excitement begins to ebb, a heavy weight settles in your chest, pulling you back down to earth.
You glance over at Logan, whoâs still relaxed beside you. His eyes are closed, his head resting back against the couch. The sight of him, so content, makes your heart ache, because with this job offer comes a harsh reality: accepting it means leaving him, leaving this life youâve built together, at least for a while. And you donât know whenâor even ifâyouâll be back.
Suddenly, his eyes flutter open in response to your shifting, and he looks over at you, concern flickering across his features. âWhatâs wrong?â he asks.
You take a deep breath, trying to steady your racing heart. âI⌠I just got an email,â you begin shakily as you turn the screen toward him so he can read it for himself.
He takes the phone from your hand, his eyes scanning the email. You watch his expression carefully, searching for any sign of what heâs feeling. At first, thereâs no reaction, just the steady, focused way he reads the words. Yet as he reaches the end, you see itâthe subtle tightening of his jaw, the pinching together of his eyebrows.Â
He hands the phone back to you wordlessly.
Then, âThis is what youâve been waiting for.â His voice is steady, but thereâs a sadness there too, a heaviness that you canât ignore.
You nod, feeling tears prick at the corners of your eyes. âYeah⌠it is.â
Thereâs a long stretch of nothing, the sound of the rain outside filling the silence between you. Logan looks away, his gaze fixed on the fire as if trying to find the right words. When he finally speaks, his voice is low, measured. âYou have to take it.â
You swallow hard. âBut what about us? I donât know when Iâll be back⌠or if Iâll even be able to come back.â
Loganâs hand tightens around yours, his grip firm, grounding. âWeâll figure it out,â he says, though you can hear the strain in his voice, the way heâs trying to hold back his own emotions for your sake. âYouâve worked too hard for this to pass it up.â
His words are supportive, encouraging, but you can see the the way heâs starting to close in on himself, as if already bracing himself for your departure. The thought of being apart from him is unbearable.
You lean into his touch, your head resting on his shoulder, and he wraps his arms around you, holding you close. âI donât want to leave you,â you whisper as the tears finally spill over.
He presses a kiss to the top of your head, his lips lingering there as if trying to convey all the things he canât bring himself to say. âI donât want you to leave either,â he admits. âBut Iâll be here when you get back. However long it takes.â
And so begins the countdown to your departure. You always knew it was going to come, always knew you were going to have to leave your grandparents again, but you didnât expect to find the love of your life here, and that makes it so much harder.
â
The remaining two months become a bittersweet blend of cherished moments and a looming sense of inevitability. Each day feels both precious and fleeting, a constant reminder that your time together is running out, and it shapes every decision, every action, every word between you.Â
In the past, your days had been filled with the rhythm of farm lifeâearly mornings, long hours of work, and evenings spent in each otherâs arms, exhausted but content. But now, thereâs a conscious effort to carve out time just for you two, time thatâs not dictated by chores or routine. You start taking more trips to the pond or into town, something you hadnât quite as often before.Â
These dates are different from the intense, passionate moments youâve shared on the farmâtheyâre softer, more tender, as if youâre both trying to imprint each otherâs presence into your memories. You hold hands as you walk on the streets, your fingers intertwined, and every now and then, Logan will pull you close, pressing a kiss to your temple or your lips, as if he needs to reassure himself that youâre still there with him.
Even the way you make love changes during these months. The hunger and desire that had once defined your physical relationship are still there, of courseâLoganâs touch still ignites a fire in you, and the need for each other still burns as hot as everâbut now, thereâs a new dimension to your intimacy, a slow, sensual depth that hadnât been there before.Â
Your grandparents, upon hearing the news, immediately noticed the change too. While they were so extremely happy for your new job opportunity, they also knew what it meant. Theyâve seen the way you and Logan have grown closer, the way your connection has deepened, and thereâs a quiet sadness in their eyes whenever they see you together.Â
Itâs not a sadness for themselves, but for the both of you.Â
They donât say much, but their understanding is palpable. They seem to give you more grace when it comes to doing work around the farm, trying to volunteer and do as much as they can so you two can spend time alone. No matter how much you refuse, they insist, pushing you two out the door with picnic basket and blankets.Â
Sitting on the porch one evening after a long day, your grandmother comes out to join you. She sits beside you, Loganâs arm is draped around your shoulders, and for a brief second, the three of you just sit in silence, watching the sunset.
âYou know,â your grandmother begins, her voice soft and filled with emotion, âI see the way you two look at each other. It reminds me of your grandfather and me when we were young.â
You smile, leaning into Loganâs side as you listen to her. âYou two have always been such an inspiration,â you say, meaning every word.
She chuckles, a wistful sound. âIt wasnât always easy, you know. There were times when we had to be apart, times when I wasnât sure if weâd make it through. But we did. And looking at you two now⌠I know youâll find a way.â
Logan squeezes your shoulder gently.. âWeâll figure it out,â he says, echoing the promise he made when you first told him about the job.
Your grandmother nods, reaching out to pat your knee. âI believe you will. But just know⌠itâs okay to be sad, to be scared. Thatâs part of loving someone.â
The words resonate with you, and you feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes. âThank you,â you whisper, your voice thick with emotion.
She smiles, a small, sad smile that holds a lifetime of wisdom. âYouâll be alright, my dear. Both of you.â
The days continue to slip by, and as the final weeks approach, your chest constantly feels tight. You try to make yourself feel better by lying in each otherâs arms at night, whispering about the future, about the dreams you have, and the plans youâll make when youâre together again. But still, itâs sad.Â
â
Your last day creeps up on you like a shadow at duskâinevitable, inescapable, and suddenly there, looming over everything. You wake up with a rock on your heart, the realization that this is itâyour final day on the farm, your last full day with Logan before everything changes.
He is still asleep beside you, holding you close, his face peaceful in the early morning quiet. For a moment, you just watch him, memorizing the lines of his face, the way his chest rises and falls with each breath, the way his hair falls across his forehead. You want to remember everything, to carry this image of him with you when you leave.
With a soft sigh, you carefully slip out of his embrace, trying not to wake him. You pad quietly to the window, staring out at the familiar landscape that has become so dear to you. The fields, the barn, the trees swaying gently in the breezeâitâs all so beautiful, so full of memories.
You donât realize youâre crying until you feel the wetness on your cheeks, and you quickly wipe the tears away, not wanting to start the day with sadness. But as you turn back to the bed, you see that Logan is awake, his eyes open and watching you. He doesnât say anything, but the look in his eyes says it allâhe knows what today means, and he feels it just as deeply as you do.
Wordlessly, you crawl back into bed, curling up against him, and you can feel the steady beat of his heart beneath your cheek, grounding you in the moment.
âMorning,â he murmurs.
âMorning,â you whisper back, your voice trembling slightly as you press your face into his chest, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to fall..
You just lie there together, wrapped in each otherâs arms, the weight of the day pressing down on you both. Eventually, Logan pulls back slightly, his hand cupping your face as he looks into your eyes. âLetâs go to the pond,â he says delicately. âJust you and me.â
You nod, unable to find the words to respond. The pond has always been your special place, a sanctuary where youâve shared so many intimate moments, where it feels like it all began, and so itâs only right that would spend your last day there, away from everything else, just the two of you.
You decide to walk to the pond. Loganâs hand is warm and solid in yours, and you hold on to it tightly, physically unable to tear yourself from his touch. And when you reach it, a fresh wave of emotion crashes over you.Â
You and Logan stand at the waterâs edge, just staring out into the pond. Then, you turn to him, your eyes filled with tears, and without hesitation, he pulls you into his arms, holding you close.
The kiss that follows is desperate, full of the need to feel connected, to hold on to each other for as long as you can. Itâs not like the slow, sensual lovemaking of the past weeksâthis is something desperate. Stumbling back toward the soft grass by the waterâs edge, Logan gently lays you down, his hands trembling slightly as he undresses you, tears stinging behind his eyelids. As he moves over you, his body pressing against yours, thereâs only this moment.Â
With his skin against yours, his breath on your neck, your bodies move together. Tears spill from your eyes as you hold him tight, your hands unable to stay still, running over every part of him you can touch, needing to feel him, to anchor yourself. His lips find yours again, and the kiss is deep, full of all the love, all the emotion that neither of you can put into words.Â
Itâs a kiss that says goodbye, that says I love you, that says Iâll wait for you.
After reaching the peak of pleasure, you cling to each other, the tears flowing freely now, a mix of sorrow and love and everything in between.
Logan holds you close, his forehead pressed against yours, his breath ragged, his eyes wet with tears. âI love you,â he whispers, his voice cracking with emotion. âIâll always love you.â
âI love you too,â you choke out. âMore than anything.â
â
Driving away from the farm was probably the hardest thing you've ever had to do in your entire life. Harder than moving away for university, harder than securing your first full-time job, harder than living alone in a city where you knew no one. This was differentâthis was leaving behind a piece of your heart, a part of your soul that you knew would never be whole until you returned.
Your hands grip the steering wheel tightly, your knuckles white as you try to focus on the road ahead, but itâs impossible to shake the image thatâs burned into your mindâthe image of Logan and your grandparents standing on the porch as you drove away. The sight of them, standing there side by side, watching you leave, is something that will haunt you for a long time.Â
Logan, his stoic expression barely masking the pain in his eyes, his hands clenched at his sides as if holding himself back from running after you. Your grandmother, her face a mixture of sadness and pride, eyes glistening with unshed tears. And your grandfather, standing tall and strong, but with a heaviness in his gaze that spoke of understanding, of experience, of knowing just how hard this had to be.
The tears that had been threatening to fall finally break free, streaming down your face as you drive, blurring your vision and making it hard to see the road ahead. You swipe at them angrily, frustrated with yourself for breaking down like this, but itâs no use. The emotions are too strong, too overwhelming, and soon youâre bawling your eyes out, the sound of your own crying filling the car.Â
You can barely catch your breath, each sob wracking your body with a force that leaves you feeling drained, exhausted, and utterly broken.
â
The time apart is worse than you ever imagined it would be. In the beginning, you and Logan make every effort to stay in touch. The calls and texts are your lifeline, little threads that keep you connected to the farm, to him, to the life you left behind.Â
At first, you talk every day. his voice a comfort, a reminder that youâre not alone, that heâs still there, waiting for you. He tells you about his days, about how he still rides the horses every morning, just like he used to when you were there.Â
But as time goes on, the time between each call grows. Your demanding work schedule, and the unreliable service in the countryside, make it harder and harder to find moments when youâre both free to talk. The texts, once long and filled with details about your lives, become shorter, more practical. You try to stay connected, but the distance feels like a growing chasm between you, one that neither of you can quite figure out how to bridge.
Years pass by in a blur. You have no time to spend at the farm, with it being too far away for just a weekend trip, and other commitments seem to always get in the way.Â
Then, one day, the call comesâthe call youâve dreaded but somehow always knew would happen. Itâs your grandmother, her voice trembling as she tells you that your grandfather has passed away.Â
You take leave from work immediately, making arrangements to drive back to the farm and spend a night. The funeral is simple, attended by a few close friends and neighbours, but the absence of your grandfather is felt deeply by everyone.
And heâs there tooâLogan. Heâs standing off to the side, his broad shoulders slightly hunched, his face etched with grief. When your eyes meet, itâs as if no time has passed at all. You walk over to him, and without a word, he pulls you into his arms, holding you tightly as if afraid to let go.Â
The few years apart, the pain of the distance, all of it melts away in that embrace. You bury your face in his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of him that youâve missed so much, and the tears you thought you had run out of begin to fall.Â
âIâm so sorry,â you whisper, everything hitting you at onceâthe loss of your grandfather, the years youâve spent apart, the life you could have had together.
He hugs you tighter, his hand gently stroking your hair. âI miss you,â he murmurs thickly. âEvery damn day, I miss you.â
You spend the rest of the day together, holding each other, talking, catching up, and remembering your grandfather. Logan tells you about the farm, about how heâs kept things going, but you can hear the weariness in his voice, the toll that time and loneliness have taken on him. Itâs clear that the farm hasnât been the same without you, just as your life hasnât been the same without him.
Later that evening, after the guests have left and the house has grown quiet, your grandmother pulls you aside. Her eyes are tired, full of sorrow, but thereâs a calm acceptance in her expression. âIâve made a decision,â she says softly, her voice steady. âIâm going to sell the farm.â
The words hit you like a punch to the gut, but before you can protest, she continues. âNot to just anyone,â she adds quickly. âTo Logan. Heâs been more than just a farmhand, you know that. This place is as much his as it was ours. But⌠I need to move into permanent care. I canât manage on my own anymore.â
You nod, understanding but feeling a deep sadness all the same. The farm has been a part of your life for so long, and the thought of it changing hands, even to Logan, feels like another loss. But thereâs also a sense of relief, knowing that it will be in good hands, that it will stay in the family, in a way.
That night, youâre tangled in Loganâs arms. Leaving him the next morning is just as hard the second time as it was the first.
â
Five years since that fateful summer have passed, and in that time, your life changes in ways you never expected. Youâve built a successful career, made some amazing friends, travelled the world, but the hustle and bustle of city life has taken its toll. The stress, the strain, the dissatisfactionâit begins to weigh on you more and more.Â
So, you make a decision.
You quit your job, find something remote, something that allows you to work from anywhere, as long as you can drive into the city every few weeks to drop off documents. Itâs a drastic change, but itâs one you need. You realize that the life you want, the life youâve been yearning for, isnât in the city.Â
Itâs back at the farm.
As you step out of your car, you see him. Heâs by the paddock, feeding the horses apples, just like he used to. His back is to you at first, but then he turns, and his eyes meet yours, and time stops.Â
Thereâs a lifetime of emotions in that lookâlove, longing, hope. Most of all, thereâs recognition, as if both of you know that this is it, that this is the moment youâve been waiting for all these years.
And when youâre finally standing in front of him again, he reaches out, his hand trembling slightly as he cups your face, his thumb brushing over your cheek the same way it did all those years ago.Â
----
#deadpool and wolverine#logan howlett#logan howlett fic#logan x reader#x men#wolverine#deadpool movie#logan howlett imagine#logan howlett x reader#deadpool 3#hugh jackman#james logan howlett#logan howlett smut#wolverine angst#wolverine smut#wolverine x reader#wolverine x you#james howlett#logan howlett angst#logan howlett x you#logan howlett fanfiction#logan wolverine#the wolverine#marvel#marvel fanfiction
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i think i have a rotator cuff injury and itâs starting to make my job harder + idk if it will heal on its own but it definitely wonât if i keep throwing around big heavy boxes. i might actually have to start looking for another job :((
#itâs making me cry a little bit tbh i actually really like having a physical job but feeling like iâm falling apart at age 29 is not nice#iâm not but itâs like. iâve been healthy for so long i feel like once things start happening itâs just downhill from here#really this is the only reason i didnât want to work here forever but i thought i might have more time#well that and the third shift thing. i miss the daytime#and my plan was to wait until i got back from korea bc i didnât want to deal with arranging a vacation soon after starting a new job#(part excuse but at least a little valid i think)#AND my mom just took a huge pay cut and finding something that pays better than my current job might be hard
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Yandere Boyfriend x you
Rated 18 + -- mature long (?) content!
Includes: Headcanons of possessive, obsessive, and perverted behavior, stalking, rough sex, pretty gender neutral, jealousy, hair pulling, handjobs, going on vacation with you.
*Thanks for all the love on the first post, and hereâs a continuation! Here is the third part! Itâs a much longer version, and heâs now referred to as âyour boyfriend!â This is gonna be a long one, and then I'll take a bit of a break to write yandere priest! This is purely fictional writing!*
Synopsis: Your wish became true, and now you have a boyfriend. He loves you immensely, and now that you two live together, he feels like his life is complete.
He never believed to see a more beautiful and attractive person than you. You have his heart and soul in your possession, all ready and willing for you to devour.
Take him, claim him, and heâll be at your feet worshipping you forever.
He was stoked to be able to have access to your bedroom 24/7. It was like he struck gold as you shown him your newly decorated room. It felt surreal to be your roommate, and the fact that you two would be living under the same roof made it hard for him to control his urges. He knows he shouldnât, but he couldnât help himself. You were off to class, and his hand was on the doorknob. He slowly pulled the door back, and all of your clothes were revealed to him. He reached out and gently touched the fabric of your clothes, his hands feeling the smooth silk, or the fuzzy cotton shirt. He leaned in to sniff the closet, and your natural scent fills his nose. He sighed and he stepped in, he closed his eyes as your clothes enveloped him like a hug.
Your classmate slowly pulled down his pants, his face digging into your sweater as he kept inhaling the soft aroma from your fragrance. He had to keep himself busy somehow. He started to shuffle around the apartment, his pants pulled down to his feet and he looked like a penguin as he walked to the bathroom. He grabbed your towel you frequently used, and he sniffed that too. Your classmate began to rub himself, his fingers touching the outline of his manhood. It stood strong and proud, it was a bit heavy and sort of curved to the left. He used his free hand to start jerking himself off.
It was almost like a routine for him. He would wake up at the same time as you, watch you leave the house and wave goodbye, and then go back to your room to sleep. He soon began to grind onto your pillow. Or he would wrap himself in a little burrito with your covers.
You two had your great moments as "classmates", and had your little movie nights when you were done with class. You had a huge bucket of popcorn on your lap, and it was mixed with your favorite candy, with sweet and savory kernels as well. He would always grab for some when you did- just to brush his hand against yours.
While living with your classmateâŚhe soon became your boyfriend. It sort of happened when you two got drunk and ended up making out in his bed. His lips were soft, his tongue swirled with yours, and he could taste the peach liquor.
Living with him was great: he frequently cleaned, always did the laundry, and he would steal a couple of your intimates. You almost caught him, and you could see the little fabric poking out of his pocket, but he had distracted you by pulling you to the bedroom.
You were getting a bit suspicious that he was at the apartment all the time, but he promised he just had online classes. He then started to be a Photoshop pro. He would create fake grades, and fake assignments he had to do, and he realized that it would be odd if he was available all the time. So, he actually had to sneak into campus and pretend he was a student there. His heart ached as he had to send "I'm actually busy and can't make it" text to you. Knowing damn well that he had nothing going on.
You two went on dates. He always took you out somewhere new, he never once wanted you to feel bored with him. He bought tickets to this stand up comedian you liked, and you both sat down onto your seats. It went well, literally too well. He grits his teeth as he hears another laugh from you. I mean c'mon, the comedian wasnât that funny.
Now that he thinks about it⌠he doesnât remember a time when he made you laugh like that. Even when he made notes of all the things you found hilarious. His eyes widened at the realization, and he started to doubt himself. Maybe he wasnât even funny, no matter how hard he tried-- oh god!
You nudged him to see his reaction, his eyes were shining with love as he looked over to you, but he covered the lower half of his face. And he silently mouthed âCount your daysâ to the comedian.
He gripped onto his thighs, his eyes narrowing at the ground as he silently fumed. He didnât want to seem overbearing, and you were having a good time, so he kept his thoughts to himself. You made fun of him that night. While you guys were walking back home, he frowned as you mocked his tense expression.
âOh stop it.â He grumbled and he looked away. He looked so cute when he pouted, and he crossed his arms.
Though deep down, he liked that he made you smile. Even if you were laughing at him, it was still a win in his books. He sighed and decided to reel you in by wrapping his arm around your shoulder, and he brought you close.
You also got a lot of noise complaints. It was embarrassing to even bump into your neighbors when you left your apartment. They sent you nasty glares, eye rolls, and out right told you to keep it down. They thought you were a porn fein.
Your back arched as your boyfriend thrusted into you, and you held him tightly against you. Being with him was always passionate, he was ravenous and acted as if he had been starved of your warmth. He let out a loud groan. He also had the tendency to curse, the bed shook as he picked up the pace- the headboard repeatedly slammed into the wall. You also had to buy a new bed frame after he broke the other one.
He leaned down and he nibbled and nipped at your neck, he loved to leave hickeys and marks on you. His hands lifted your legs up and onto his shoulders, pressing your thighs to your chest. The bed creaks underneath your weight, and he reaches down to caress your flushed cheek.
When you saw him open his mouth to say something dirty, you quickly silenced it with your hand. He peered down curiously, his brow raised, and he tilted his head in confusion. You remind him to keep it down, and that the people next door will hear.
The next day: you hid yourself in a hoodie, running to the bus stop as you ignored your neighbors heckles.
After you were done with class, you two went to the gym to work out. You promised to help him build some muscles, and teach him how to run properly. He sometimes wished he didnât have a dick. He listened to you explain some random machine, and he grabbed a towel to cover his crotch. You saw how he would nervously dart his eyes around, completely unable to look at you without drooling.
As a punishment, you got him to start running on the treadmill. He pants as you continued to speed up the machine, and sweat began to drip down his body.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Your boyfriend whined, and he had to keep pushing his body to the limits. "I thought you liked me..." He joked as he wiped the sweat off his neck.
When he missed you, he disguised himself when he would follow you around campus. He hid himself behind a bookshelf after he stalked you to the library. He lowered his shades to see what you were reading.
âExcuse me?â Another student tapped on his shoulder.
âPiss off.â Your boyfriend said curtly, and he slapped their hand off him. âCanât you see that Iâm busy?â
The student looked at him and then followed his line of sight. They were going to ask him to move so they could grab their book, but when they saw his flushed cheeks, dilated pupils, and his odd heavy breathing⌠they realized he was stalking you and was probably a creep. The student gulped, slowly backing away as they flagged down security.
You had to save your boyfriend from the arms of a buff man. It was almost funny to see your boyfriend get manhandled by security, his feet dangling off the ground, and he continued to say that the guard was embarrassing him.
Your boyfriend still kept in touch with your siblings, he actually grew to liking them, and when winter break came around, he followed you back home. He stepped inside the familiar house, and he greeted your parents first. He handed presents around to your family, and he quickly put on a white beard and red hat for the kids.
He genuinely started tweaking when he was introduced to your life long childhood friend, and ex. He forced a smile and his grip was tight as he shook your ex lovers hand. Your boyfriend continues to give your ex a sideways glare whenever they were near him, or when they would touch you, he would accidentally push them into the christmas tree.
He holds your hand during dinner, and conveniently turns away when your ex asked him pass the rolls. When you reach over to grab the basket for yourself, your boyfriend handed them to you immediately. His expression souring as you gave one to your ex too.
âI think they meant to give it to me.â Your boyfriend grunts, and he picks the bread off your exes plate and shoves it into his mouth.
You kicked him out of bed that night. He had to sleep on the tiny ottoman, it was either that or sleeping on the floor. But he refused to lay down where he couldnât see you. He sulked, and his body curled up into a fetal position as he saw you sleeping comfortably on the bed.
Your boyfriend slowly unraveled his body and he prowled towards you. His face rubbed up against your thighs, and he murmured âIâm sorryâ into your skin. His lips trailing up to your inner thigh. When you pull away, he rolled his eyes, and he flipped you over onto your stomach.
âDo you like your ex more than me? Is that it?â His voice is calm but you can hear the underlying irritation in it. âDo you get all hot and bothered when you think about them?â
âDo you think about them when youâre with me?â He yanked on your hair, and you wince as you feel a burn at your scalp.
He rubbed his sore cheek after you hit him, and you made him sit in the corner to reflect on his behavior. He sighs and he leans his head back onto the wall, his eyes glancing at your sleeping form. You did tell him he couldn't sleep on the bed, but was he going to listen...? He got up from his spot, and he tiptoed towards you, and he laid down next to you. He was successful until your eyes shot open and glared at him, he quickly slinks away in fear.
Your family decided to take you guys to the slopes. You were still mad at your boyfriend, but you helped him put on his clothes. You roughly zipped up his jacket, wrapped the scarf around his neck, and shoved him into the van. He did not like sitting next to your ex. The car ride was tense for him, and your boyfriend was nice to your parents and thanked them for bringing him along. He rolled his eyes as he heard your ex do the same-- damn copycat.
He awkwardly sat there, you were on his left, and your ex on his right. Your boyfriend stared out the window, occasionally making conversation with you, and when you guys came to the gas station to fill up the car- he couldn't wait to jump out.
Your boyfriend stared at the road as your parents pumped the gas into the vehicle, he stretched his limbs and he couldn't help but wonder how long it would take him to walk back home.... surely it wouldn't be that far. He didn't want to leave you with your psychotic ex. I mean, he didn't know for sure they were a nut case, but he liked to believe they were. However, he also didnt want to be here so... he pulled out his phone and he looked it up, damn. 15 hours?
"Thinking about running away?"
Your boyfriends body stiffened as he heard your ex's voice. He sighed heavily, and he turned around to see the person in front of him. He looked at them up and down... realizing they were wearing the same colors. They looked like they were matching. Fuck.
"You would like that wouldn't you?" Your boyfriend shoved past them and he walked inside the store to find you.
You were standing at the chips aisle, a couple of things already in your hands. Your boyfriend grabbed a beef jerky and made his way to you, his body behind yours, and he pressed himself against you. He kissed your cheek, and his hands rubbed your sides.
"Are you still mad at me?" He moped.
"Are you being nice to my friend?" You said back.
He stayed silent for a bit, contemplating what to say. I mean he could lie, but he decides not to. "I think you're asking a bit too much from me."
The rest of the car ride was silent. When you guys made it to the mountain he was shaking the entire time. He was cold, did not know how to ski, and he was stuck on the easiest slopes with the kids and beginner skiers. He flailed down the hill, he tumbled and rolled, and he crashed into a tree.
You helped him get back to the cabin after he got a concussion.
His body wasn't hurting too badly, and he whined and sniffled- really trying to make it seem he was sick. He loved the attention you were giving him, the light touch of your lips on his forehead, and when he convinced you to touch him down there, he was really happy. His back arches as you continued to move your hand underneath his pants, your thumb brushing against his tip.
"Ah~" Your boyfriend moaned. "Keep going..." his hips jerked up to meet your movements, his cock starting to twitch in your hand. His arousal formed in his stomach, before his cum finally leaked out of his member.
You shimmied his pants a bit lower and you licked his manhood, your tongue tasting the slightly salty and white fluid dripping down his length. The rest of the trip went smoothly. He would often pull you to the side to kiss you, he cooked alongside you, learned how to ski with you, learned how to knit a beanie, and of course his favorite... being intimate with you.
Your ex's room was right next door, and your boyfriend made sure to make you scream out his name every night, and vice versa. He loved to make a show of how much you two loved each other, and his hands were on your hips to help you ride him.
"So goood..." He babbled, his brows furrowed in pleasure, and he latched his lips onto your neck. "Keep ridin' me, I wanna see you lose it on my cock."
Your boyfriend was entranced with how you took him in easily, his dick disappearing into you, and felt you tighten around him. A deep growl vibrating from his throat. He plays with your nipples, pinching and he sucked on them. He twirls his tongue around your hardened nipple. When you came, he lapped up your nectar, and he kissed you.
It was soon becoming the end of your college years, and he started to panic. Especially when he heard you talking about how you're gonna walk on stage, or what you were going to wear. He panicked because he's a damn liar. He wouldn't be able to sneak his way into graduation, and it was time to come clean. He hoped you wouldn't leave him, or think he's crazy for following you across the world to be with you.
Allure: Hopefully this keeps y'all fed until I come back! Hereâs the c.ai link: https://share.character.ai/Wv9R/ondwnvhr
#Allurilove yandere writing#tw yandere#tw stalking#male yandere x reader#male yandere#yandere headcanons#yandere stalking#yandere x you#yandere x reader#yandere oc#yandere writing#yandere boyfriend#yandere boyfriend x you#yandere x darling#yandere x gn reader#yandere x y/n#obsessive love#possesive love#smut writing#smut#sub!yanderemale#sub!yandere x dom!reader#yandere classmate x you#yandere scenarios#submisive men#smutty smut smut
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wanna be yours // ln4
pairing: lando norris X american!reader / mclaren photographer!reader
word count: 18k (listen.... i couldn't stop so get a snack bc it's a long one)
warnings: cursing, alcohol use, smut (18+) (oral, p in v, no protection, praise kink, edging, and choking)
includes: heavy mutual pining and jealousy, asshole!lando, clueless lando and reader, a little lando X oscar X reader bff trio, friends to enemies to ???, and time manipulation ( idk wtf to call it i just changed the creation date of lando.jpg lmao)
summary: you're the mclaren f1 team photographer and lando can't help but get jealous at your friendship with logan sargeant.
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Not many people in the world get to do what they love as a career. It was something you were grateful for everyday. If you were being honest, you never saw yourself being a sports photographer. After graduating high school you had your eyes set on more editorial work, but it didn't take long for you to figure out that it wasn't for you. Years had passed and then an opportunity arose for a job working with IndyCar. You sent in your portfolio and somehow you got the job. That one on a whim decision changed your life forever.
People were insanely impressed with your skills, considering you had never done sports photography before, let alone motorsports. You had made some connections with people while working the job and somehow got connected with someone on the McLaren Formula One team. McLaren liked what they saw, and after a handful of emails, some serious debating, and support from your family; you had made the leap. Now here you are in your second year as McLaren's F1 team photographer.
Oscar and you joined McLaren the same year and the two of you clicked instantly, bonding over being newcomers to the team. It took about a three months for Lando to warm up to you, but once he did, look out. The three of you were never far from each other during race week. Some of the older drivers liked to call you three 'the triplets' because you were always in tow of one another.
You had made another new friend recently, Logan Sargeant. He joined F1 the same year started with McLaren, but you hadn't really made that many friends outside Oscar and Lando besides a couple other drivers. That changed at the beginning of this season. The two of you had started to be more friendly, and it didn't take long for a connection to form. It was nice to have someone that reminded you of home around, even if you guys were from two completely different states.
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Monza
The Italian Grand Prix had just ended and Lando had made podium, placing P2 to be exact. As you stood there waiting for him to get out of the car you snapped a couple pictures making sure your settings were correct. The buzz in the air after Lando or Oscar made podium was something you still hadn't gotten used to. It was electric; from the cheers and chants from the fans, to hollering from the team as he exited the vehicle. You snapped a few photos as he greeted the team, a small bounce in his step proved he was more than ecstatic about his placement. It was a tough race, everyone had brought their A game today, drivers and cars included. So it was fair to say P2 was an excellent spot to be in, even if you would have loved to see him on that top spot.
His helmet and balaclava were off and you knew he was coming your way, so you readied your camera in his direction. Looking through the viewfinder you saw the giant smile that erupted on his face when he saw you and you couldn't help but to reciprocate one as equally as big back to him as you snapped away. One last one was taken of him with two fingers up indicating the second place he had just achieved. As you lowered your camera his arms were already indicating your invitation into them. Your arms wrapped around his torso, something that was just muscle memory to you at this point.
"That was one hell of a race. Congrats Lan." He had you wrapped so tight in his embrace that your words were mumbled against his shoulder, but he understood you just fine.
"Hmm. Thank you love." The term of endearment raised goosebumps on your arms. And as you pulled away from the hug his touch lingered for longer than it should have, something you clocked immediately.
To say you and Lando had a different friendship was an understatement. In fact, you didn't know of any other driver and their team photographer to have a relationship like Lando and you. About six months into your first year with McLaren you had developed a tiny crush on Lando and for the longest time you thought he possibly may have liked you back.
The fact that he was always touching you was one of your first inklings. If it was possible, the Brit was always in close proximity to you. If you were sitting next to each other, your knees were touching or his arm was behind you. Not to mention his lingering touches, hugs lasting longer than they should, his hands lingering on your waist, his fingers grazing you as he passed by. The way he acted with you was far from professional, but you weren't complaining.
Your second inkling was the gift giving. How many people can say their co-worker got them a Cartier bracelet for Christmas? None that you could think of. It wasn't even just expensive things that he would get you. If you guys were at headquarters he would always bring you an iced coffee from the place down the road. You had mentioned once that you preferred their coffee to other places and to your surprise Lando showed up the next day with one in hand for you. Or just even the fact that when you're with Lando, doing anything, he pays. Doesn't matter what it is, he's there with his card in hand, ignoring your pleas to let you pay for once.
The terms of endearment Lando used towards you had also made you wonder if he felt more than friendly feelings. The term 'love' was used quite often, along with 'beautiful'. Both terms surely in violation of HR, but Lando didn't seem to care as he said both freely with no concern of who heard him. And each time he did you tried to hide the blush that would creep onto your cheeks or try not to let him detect how fast your heart was beating when he had you in his arms.
So, to say Lando Norris had you smitten over him was an understatement, but you never acted on that crush for two reasons. One; you didn't want to risk your job, you were sure HR would have a conniption fit if a relationship ever developed between the two of you. You were surprised you hadn't gotten a talking to by PR at least for how you guys acted sometimes during race weeks.
Second; you never truly knew how he felt. Lando Norris liked to mess with your head. In all honesty he probably didn't know that he was, you had never expressed how you felt about him, he had no obligations towards you. But to have him act like he does with you and then that same day see him on Twitter leaving a club with some girl was undoubtedly going to fuck with your head..
After the third or fourth time of waking up to news about who Lando was hooking up with, you knew it was time for your crush to go away. He clearly wasn't interested in you and you were never one to admit your feelings first. So, those feelings got tucked away into a little corner in your brain, locked away, to hopefully never be opened again. Not wanting to lose Lando entirely (and your job), you accepted that you guys were just friends. That he was just one of those people who were naturally flirty, and that maybe you shouldn't take his words and actions to heart. Telling yourself that he wouldn't even be interested in someone like you when he had so many ethereal breathtaking women at his fingertips. And it worked, until he would let his hands lingered after a hug or a term of endearment slipped past his lips. His mindless actions jiggling the door knob to those locked away feelings in your brain.
As he took the podium your cheesy grin had returned as you snapped some more pictures. He really did look amazing up there and no matter what you felt or still feel about him you were always going to be proud of him. He was one of your best friends and as long as you were concerned, nothing was going to change that. The champagne went flying minutes later and more pictures were taken. The celebration continued for a while and as the drivers did their press interviews you made your way back to the hotel to start editing and picking the final pictures to be used on social media.
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Lando had made it back to the hotel after finally finishing all his post race duties. He was satisfied with his placing today, sure he would have loved to have won, but everyone was cutthroat today, he just felt lucky enough to have made podium at all. Of course his night was far from over though, the celebrations had just only begun when the champagne was popped at the podium. He planned on having one hell of a night, he deserved it. And it was a no brainer to him that you would be there with him, any chance he got to spend with you, he took. After taking a shower he grabbed his phone to call you, and to no surprise you answered on the second ring.
Your melodic voice filled his ears, a smile tugging at his lips as he heard you speak. "Hello?"
The phone was on speaker as he dug through his suitcase, trying to find a shirt to wear. "We are going out in about an hour. You coming?"
A sigh echoed through the speaker. "I've got a lot of work to still do. You know I don't just take all these pictures for my own person pleasure."
He finally found a shirt and as he buttoned it he couldn't help but laugh at your words. "Oh really? I thought you just took all those pictures because you were obsessed with me.
You scoffed at his cockiness. "You wish Norris. Someone has to fix that face."
"Ouch. Don't talk about Oscar like that." He joked.
He wasn't there but he was sure that you had rolled your eyes at him. "Whatever. I have work to do." You stated. But Lando knew that wasn't true and that you were coming out tonight, you could never tell him no. If Lando was being honest with himself, he couldn't really tell you no either. If anything the two of you just liked to play cat and mouse.
Cologne wafted through his room as the conversation continued. "You're telling me, you would rather sit in your room all night editing pictures than going out with your favorite person and some of your other friends?"
You laughed at his choice of words. "My favorite person? I didn't know Logan was going?"
Logan.
Just hearing his name roll off your tongue put a sour taste in Lando's mouth. The two American's friendship being a sore subject to Lando as of recently.
He ignored you comment, the lightheartedness of the conversation had dissipated at the mention of the other male driver. "Be ready in thirty minutes. I'll come get you." He left no time for you to respond, already hanging up and tossing his phone on the bed.
Thirty minutes later he closed his door behind him and walked down the hall to your room. The both of you were on the same floor, but about ten rooms apart. A gentle knock was placed on the door and seconds later it opened. Lando felt his heartbeat quicken at the sight of you standing in the doorway. The skirt you were wearing was very short and as you turned around to grab your phone, he saw that your top that already had him staring from the front, was completely open in the back. This was not an outfit that he was used to seeing you in. Outside the usual McLaren gear you donned, you had a casual style, and when you had went clubbing or out before you had never worn anything this scandalous. He wasn't hating it though, in fact he was far from hating it.
"Eyes up here Norris." You stated as you joined him in the hallway.
He hadn't even realized he was staring, but when your words broke him out of his trance a blush crept onto his cheeks. Lando linked his arm with yours, leading you both towards the elevator. "Sorry for staring. You look beautiful tonight." Lando stated as he pressed the lobby button on the elevator. As the doors closed the smell of your perfume swarmed around him, it was almost intoxicating, combine that with how you looked tonight and his head was spinning.
You replied with a simple 'thanks' as you leaned against the elevator wall. He realized he may have made things awkward with his ogling, but god he couldn't help himself. The ding indicated their ride was over and as the two of them entered the lobby they were met with some of the other drivers standing in a group, undoubtedly waiting for them.
"Finally!" The Monegasque driver hollered.
You approached the group, a smile tugging at your lips. "Sorry boys. You know how Lando has to make sure he looks perfect."
The laughs that came from the guys was the last thing on Lando's mind, he was more concerned over how some of his competitors were looking at you. It was the same way he was looking at you merely minutes ago. His jaw clenched as he watched Charles hand get dangerously close to your back as he walked beside you. And as you got into one of the taxis with Charles and Carlos, he thought he might break a tooth from how hard he was biting down. As the taxi that was occupied with you and the two Ferrari drivers pulled away, Lando begrudgingly got into the next one with Oscar and George, already feeling like tonight wasn't going to plan out like he had hoped.
The music was deafening as Lando entered the club. You were nowhere in sight when he had arrived, so here he was on the hunt. He stopped by the bar, grabbing a shot of tequila for him and your favorite drink to give you when he found you. When he saw Charles off to the side of the room he figured he'd find you with him, but to his surprise Charles was stood there talking to some random guy, with no you in sight.
"Have you seen Y/N?" Lando felt like he was screaming, clubs were loud, he knew that, but this one just felt like it was on another level.
Charles shook his head. "The American stole her away from me! It was a shame, we were having a good time!"
The American. No guessing as to who that was. He stopped by the bar again, this time it was two tequila shots, the burn felt good as it slid down his throat. His eyes scanned the room, it was hard to see. Between the flashing lights, loud music, and bodies in every direction, he figured he'd never find you. Then just when he was about to give up he spotted you. Your back was to him, but he could see the tall blonde driver that was with you, his hands roaming your body as the two of them danced.
Lando tightened his grip on the glass as he watched the two of them and he couldn't help but think 'who the hell invited Logan?' The same hands that were on your body seconds ago now pointed at him, motioning for you to look back at Lando. A smile spread across your face as you realized who was standing there and as you walked over he felt his demeanor soften.
"I've been looking for-" Logan had now come up behind you, his hand resting on you shoulder, causing you to pause for a moment.
Lando's eyes flickered to Logan's hand on your shoulder, then back to you. Fucking ridiculous. He wanted to take Logan's hand and break it, make him not be able to race ever again and then he wouldn't be an issue again. His softened demeanor now long gone. "Here. Your favorite." He stated as he shoved the now watered down drink toward you.
You accepted the drink, but your smile was now gone as Lando turned on his heel to leave. You weren't sure what his deal was, but he on the other hand knew exactly what he was about ready to do.
He wasn't sure how many shots he had consumed by now, but god dammit he was a multi-million dollar F1 driver, who just got podium at the hardest race of the season so far. He was going to drink however much he wanted and no one, not even you were going to ruin his fun.
Lando made his way out to the dance floor and his eye caught the attention of some random girl. Perfect. The music pounded in his chest as the mystery girl and him were less than cordial in the middle of the swarm of bodies. The alcohol coursing through his veins only added to how he was feeling right now. It didn't take long for the random girl to be in tow behind him as they leave the club, for their lips to be on one anothers in the backseat of the taxi, and for his wandering hands to explore her body in the elevator. But what does take long is for him to get into his damn hotel room. He keeps trying and trying and the keycard will not work. He was getting impatient, the last thing he wanted to do was go back down to the lobby, he wanted to get into his room. Then he heard you voice.
"Lando?"
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There was a cool breeze that whipped through the night air as you walked the streets of Monza. The liquor in your veins was the only thing keeping you warm, considering your less than modest outfit choice for the night.
"I'd give you my jacket if I had one." Logan stated as he walked next to you.
You flashed him a smile. "I'm fine really. It's not that bad out."
The two of you had decided to walk back to the hotel, it really wasn't that far of a walk from the club. Plus, you had wanted to soak up as much time in Italy as you could. As you walked you were thankful you didn't go crazy with the drinking tonight, the idea of walking in heels on these streets while plastered sounded horrible. If anything at this point you only had a slight buzz. You couldn't say the same for some of the other drivers who were undoubtedly still living it up at the club.
Light conversation was made between the two of you as you walked.
"Did you have a good time tonight?" You asked.
"I did. I'm glad you decided to come out too." Silence filled the space between the two of you for a moment before the driver spoke again. "Can I ask a question?"
Your heart skipped a beat. You hated when people asked that, just ask the damn question instead of making your mind run worst case scenario, but you simply replied. "Sure."
Logan scratched the back of his neck, like he was unsure if he should even ask the question. But just before you were about the tell him to spit it out, he spoke. "What's up with you and Lando?"
Glancing over at Logan you gave him a confused look. "What do you mean what's up with me and Lando?"
Your question made Logan stop walking. "Oh come on you know what I mean. Are you guys a thing?"
A genuine laugh came barreling out of you. "Me and Lando? Oh yeah and I'm a F1 driver." You had continued to walk, but Logan grabbed your hand pulling you back towards him.
"I'm serious Y/N."
The joking manner of the conversation was now suddenly gone. "Nothing is going on between me and Lando. Believe me." You groaned, Lando was the last thing you wanted to talk about right now, especially after his weird behavior in the club.
Logan's grip on your hand still lingered. "Doesn't seem like it."
You rolled your eyes at him, why did he have a sudden interest in Lando and you? "Logan. There is nothing going on between us. I really like my job and would like to not be fired. You don't think HR has some rules set in place or something? Plus I'm not even his type. I'm not a model or some ethereal woman from some foreign country." His grip on your hand had loosened enough for you to turn and continue walking. He still stood frozen for a moment, processing your words and when he realized how far you had gotten ahead of him he had to jog to catch up to you.
"You like him don't you?" He asked as he finally caught up with you. The little locked door in the back of your brain labeled Lando was bursting at the seams, but you did not want to unlock it tonight, especially to Logan. Thankfully you could see the hotel in the distance and you felt no need to answer Logan's prying question. "I'll get it out of you eventually." Logan stated as the two of you entered the elevator.
You just shook your head at your friend as you leaned your head against the elevator walls. The adrenaline from the eventful day was starting to wear off and the tiredness had set in. As the elevator doors opened you looked back at the tall blonde, holding your hand out to him. "You gonna walk me to my room or did I let you dance with me for no reason earlier?"
Logan's eyes widened as he hurried to your side. "Coming!"
You rested your head against his shoulder as the two of you walked down the hall. "I did really have a good time tonight. Thanks for spending it with me. Even if you did steal me from Charles."
"I think me taking you from Charles was more of a favor or dare I say a good deed." Logan joked.
Rounding the corner to your room you heard giggles and shhs. Logan and you exchanged questioning looks, wondering who was being naughty in the hallway. But as you finally made it into eyeshot of your door you stopped dead in your tracks.
It was Lando and some girl you had never seen before, making out against your door. You felt Logan's grip on you tighten as he forced your feet to move with his towards your room. As you got closer the two of them still had not broken apart, only until you spoke up.
"Lando?"
Lando's eyes turned into saucers when he saw it was you standing there, but as they shifted to the right of you, they narrowed at the sight of Logan with his arm still around your shoulder.
"What are you doing?" It was a rhetorical question, anyone knew what they were doing. As you stood there waiting for a response your eyes glanced over to the girl, she was definitely his type, no doubt about it. The longer you looked the more you had wished you guys would have taken a taxi so maybe you wouldn't have had to witness this.
"Well. I can't seem to get into my room." He fumbled with the key card, still clearly drunk. "Stupid key card won't work."
Your eyes moved back to Lando, a small sigh escaping past your lips as you glanced up at the room number by the door. "That's because you have the wrong room. This is my room, 710. Yours-" you pointed down the hall "is down there, 701."
Lando's mouth formed an O shape after realizing what he had done and the random girl and him erupted into a fit of giggles. You tried to hold back the eye roll that was so badly wanting to let go. "Sorry. Let's go.." Lando paused looking at the girl he had pinned to your door seconds ago.
Jesus christ. He didn't even know her name.
"Bella." The girl answered, not even phased at him not knowing her name.
"Right Bella. Let's go." Lando dragged the girl behind him towards his room. He let the girl go in first and before he passed through the doorway, he gave one last look back at you before slamming the door shut behind him.
A loud sigh escaped past your lips as you stood there, staring at the now empty hallway. You had no reason to be jealous, you knew that. There truly was nothing between Lando and you and tonight was a prime example of him showing you he had no interest in you. But dammit, you couldn't lie and say it didn't sting when you saw him with someone else. Even when you try to push away your feelings, try and bury them so deep that you tell yourself you're fine being friends, being colleagues, but you know deep down that the want for something more will always be there. You dug in your clutch for your key card, finally finding it you scanned it. The little light turned green, but as you placed your hand on the handle you hesitated. Your forehead leaning against the previously occupied door.
"I used to like him."
Logan only gave a slight hum as a reply and when you turned your head to look at him, you knew he knew. He gave you a small smile and quick hug before bidding you goodnight.
"Talk to you tomorrow?" You questioned.
"Of course." He stated as he made his way down the hall.
As you entered your room you flung your heels off and grabbed some pajamas. Your open laptop on the desk caught your attention, you could have swore you saved everything and put it up before leaving earlier. Worst case scenario ran through your head as you turned it on, you prayed all your work wasn't gone. As the screen came to life a picture of Lando popped up. It was one of him you had taken before qualifying the day before. He had a cheesy grin on his face and he held up a number 4 on his fingers, one of his signature poses. You saved the picture and put your laptop up before climbing into bed.
Unfortunately for you, sleep did not come easy that night. You couldn't stop thinking about Lando and that girl. You knew you should just let it go, god knows you've seen him with multiple other women, but tonight was the first time you saw it with your own two eyes, in person. The feeling of seeing it actually happen versus seeing it on Twitter was like night and day. When you saw pictures being spread around, sure it was annoying, but you could just get off your phone and suddenly it was gone. Tonight though, was different, the image forever engraved into your mind. Thinking back to standing in the hallway made your stomach turn, it felt like it had officially confirmed that the idea of the two of you ever being a thing was officially dead.
Yet here you were, tossing and turning in bed. Because tonight you had officially let all those locked away feelings out for the first time in forever. You weren't sure if it was seeing him with that girl that did it or just the hinges finally breaking on that door. You just let yourself fully feel, feel every emotion your brain threw at you. Anger, jealousy, sadness, love? Even though you knew the two of you had no chance, you couldn't help but want. You wanted to be the girl he had pinned against your hotel room door. You wanted to be the girl he kissed before and after his races. Fuck you just wanted to be the girl he loved. More tossing and turning ensued and you just couldn't get your mind to shut off. As you glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand the time read 4:04. A dry laugh echoed through the room. 'Fucking number four' you whispered to yourself.
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As Lando awoke the next morning he knew he had made some bad decisions last night. The pounding headache was proof of bad decision number one and the phone number sloppily written on a tissue on his nightstand was proof of number two. He was thankful the girl had left before he woke up, mornings after one night stands were never his strong suit.
His mind wandered to last night as he laid in bed. Perhaps he may have been a little overzealous with his actions. He couldn't help it though, the idea of you not being his drove him crazy. The thought that you was more interested in other guys, especially Logan, always seemed to make him make some not so great decisions. Last night was a great example.
Lando wasn't entirely sure when his feelings for you turned into more than friends. In fact, when he heard they were getting a new photographer he wasn't even that keen on getting to know you. Photographers came and went in this business and a lot of the times he felt like they got in way. Sometimes he just didn't want to have a damn camera in his face, but then he met you.
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February 2023
It was a formal setting, a team meeting before the start of the season. Of course the big topic was his new teammate Oscar, who he had met a couple months beforehand, along with the usual beginning of season talks. Towards the end of the meeting he had noticed a girl sitting in the corner of the room, he could tell she felt like she was out of place. He remembers thinking about how beautiful she was, but as he sat there he couldn't remember her from anywhere. Zak had already talked about who was new this season and Lando prided himself on knowing everyone on the team. So who was this mystery girl?
The meeting had finally ended and people were getting up to leave when Zak spoke up. "Oh yes. Sorry I forgot." He pointed towards the mystery girl. "Everyone this is the new team photographer. Y/N. Please make her feel welcome." Lando remembers a blush forming on your cheeks as you gave the room full of people a smile and small wave. As people filed out of the room Lando hung around, wanting to properly introduce himself to you. He noticed you were gathering your things to leave and he knew now was his window of opportunity.
You had bent down to pick up your bag and by the time you stood back up, there Lando stood, a smile tugging at his lips. You jumped a little, startled at the closeness of him. His smile finally broke free as he stuck out his hand for you to shake. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. I'm Lando." As their hands touched he could have swore he felt the "sparks" that they talk about in the movies, his heart beat racing a little as he really took in all your beauty. Not to mention your perfume (that you still used today) that was making his head spin. "Welcome to McLaren." He was finally able to spit out.
"Thank you! I'm glad to be here."
Your accent made his ears perk up. "An American huh? What made you come all the way over here?"
The blush from when Zak introduced you had never really faded and when Lando mentioned your accent it just deepend. "Well, long story short. I used to work for IndyCar, made some connections with McLaren and now here I am."
Lando heard Zak calling his name from the hallway, he didn't want to end the conversation, but duty called. "Boss is hollering for me. It was lovely to meet you though. I'll see you around yeah?" He was trying not to sound like a douche while also trying not to seem overly enthusiastic. A simple 'see ya' came from your mouth as Lando walked out the door.
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For a about a month after that Lando played it cool. He watched you from a distance, watched as your friendship with Oscar formed. Watched as you did you work, something that he realized very early on that you were amazing at.
Around the three month mark Lando had decided that playing it cool was not his forte. He somewhat felt jealous as he watched his teammate and you joke around or when they would go get lunch without him when they were back at headquarters. Lando wanted to be the one you went to lunch with and joked with. He remembers a conversation Oscar and him had about you once.
It was an off week for racing and that meant a couple days were spent at Headquarters running the sim and creating content for social media. Oscar and you had came back from grabbing lunch. He watched them part ways and as Oscar came towards him Lando raised his eyebrows at him, giving him a questioning look.
"Oh don't even start. You know you can come with us." Oscar stated as he sat down.
"Well someone has to stay here and hold down the fort."
Oscar shook his head as he rolled his eyes at his older teammate, sometimes Lando's dramatics made him seem like the younger one. "Yeah I'm sure the hundreds of other people who work here can manage if Lando Norris leaves the building for an hour to go get lunch." Lando stayed silent, only crossing his arms over his chest as he stared back at Oscar. "You gonna finally fess up to why you've been acting so pissy lately?"
Lando scoffed at Oscar's question. "I just thought I would have gotten a lunch invitation by now."
"Literally told you, you can come with us. Y/N has even asked why you don't come with us." Oscar didn't let Lando respond to his comment. "Although, it is weird to me how distant you are with her. You like everyone on the team and I know you would like her too if you got to know her."
Lando shrugged, not exactly sure what to say back to his teammate. He didn't want to say, yes he knows he would like you, in fact the giant crush he has on you right now is making his stupid play cool decision eat away at his brain. The fact that even from only talking to you when necessary for work he's become enamored with you and your work. How you have a knack for capturing him in a way that no other photographer has before. How he thinks that if he lets himself become close to you that it may be bad for the both of them, but he wants to so bad. But he doesn't say any of that. All he says is.
"Well then let's all do lunch tomorrow."
The rest was history. After having lunch with you and Oscar the next day it seemed like you and him were inseparable. Looking back now Lando could have punched himself for not getting to know you better sooner.
As time went on his feelings grew stronger, but he was too scared to say anything. Too afraid to ruin the amazing friendship you guys had. Too afraid that if he opened his big mouth that things may be too awkward and you would leave your job and him. He had grown to love having a camera in his face, but only if you were the one taking the picture. And to think he might get that taken away just because of a crush destroyed him, so he kept his mouth shut.
It was fine for awhile, he would distract himself with random girls (who always somewhat resembled you) any chance he got. Something perhaps he shouldn't be proud of, but people already expected it from him. So why not live up to the playboy expectations? But he soon realized maybe his actions were hurting him more than helping him. When you started to become closer with some of the other drivers he thought perhaps he was pushing you away from him.
That was the last thing he wanted to do, so he thought maybe the best way to reel you back in was through your one true love; photography. Thus, lando.jpg was born. He wasn't going to lie, you truly had gotten him more interested in photography, but the instagram was started under false pretenses. The way his heart skipped a beat when he got a text from you about it was a little embarrassing to say the least.
you: do i need to break the news to zak that you are quitting racing to pursue photography or are you?
lando: nope. was just inspired by one of the best photographers i know.
you: oh so you're coming for my job?
lando: might need to post some content first before i go applying for jobs.
you: well i better be apart of your first post. considering i was the inspiration.
lando: wouldn't have it any other way.
And to no surprise there you were front and center on lando.jpg. Lando even made sure to make the caption "coming for her job". His sudden interest in photography had you around him more often, something he was beyond happy about. It had even escalated to the two of you hanging out, outside of work hours. As time passed it seemed like you two were just getting closer, but yet neither of you would admit your feelings for eachother.
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In Lando's mind he was content with how you were in his life at the moment, that was until a certain American driver entered yours. To give himself some credit, Lando had been pretty good with his actions lately, he hadn't been messing around with anyone for a good while now, but last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. He wasn't really sure if it was just Logan's actions last night or the fact that the Ferrari drivers couldn't have been more friendly with you either.
To Lando you were his and he never was good at sharing his toys as a child, so why should he have to share the girl he was obsessed with? His only problem though (that he could never seem to internalize) was that you weren't his. You were only his in his mind. And that's why he's lying here in this hotel room, alone, with just a headache and a phone number that will be thrown in the trash later.
He recalled the scene in the hallway last night. Sure he was drunk, but unfortunately not drunk enough to forget the whole thing. In his drunken defense he really did get the rooms mixed up, and maybe he would have eventually realized it. It was just his shit luck that you showed up, with Logan in tow. He remembered his stomach turning at the sight of Logan's arm around you. And now come morning he'd made himself nearly sick at the idea of Logan and you sharing a bed together last night, he wouldn't be surprised if you did though, he figured his actions probably drove you right into his arms.
Lando hadn't even realized what time it was until texts come rolling in asking where he was and how the car was going to leave without him.
Shit.
He had never packed his stuff up so fast in his life and as he walked out the door he knew he had probably forgot something. Speed walking was putting it politely, he was more like running down the hallway. He looked down for a split second to grab his phone out of his pocket and then suddenly he's barreling into something. That something turned out be someone, you to be exact. He hated to say it, but you were the last person he wanted to face this morning, considering their encounter in the hallway last night. But his fuck ups were casted aside as he crouched down to look at you.
"Fuck. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He looked you over, he knew he was like a brick wall, so it had to have hurt when he ran into you.
You rubbed your arm as you looked up at him, his blue green eyes staring back at you with a worried expression on his face. "Goddamn Lando. Watch where you're going." You huffed.
He extended his hands out to help you up and offer you quickly accepted. "I know I'm sorry." He stated sheepishly.
Instead of helping you pick up you bags, Lando took the time to sneak a peek into your room. He wasn't sure what he thought he was going to find. Maybe a naked Logan still under your sheets from last night? But to his relief your room was empty, but he wasn't as quick with it as he thought.
"What are you doing?" You inquired.
His head snapped back to you, your eyebrows raised in question of his actions, your free hand on your hip.
"Just making sure you didn't forget anything." He mumbled out quickly.
An eye roll was all he got back from you as you turned on your heel. Suitcase and bags wheeling behind you down the hall. Lando quickly followed behind you, resembling a lost puppy. As the pair entered the lobby a handful of the other drivers were down there chatting, surely waiting for their cars to arrive. Lando gave some 'heys' as he walked past, there was no time to stop and chat. There were two cars waiting outside the hotel and Lando could see Oscar in the first one. Of course he was already in the car and waiting thought Lando. It was rare for them to all be leaving together. Most of the time they just went their separate ways after a race weekend, but on the rare chances they do have flights together, you always rode in the same car as him and majority of the time they sat by each other on the plane. So he was confused to see you getting into the second car.
After quickly throwing his bags in the back of the first car he trapsed over to the second car, ignoring the shouts from Oscar about missing their flight. The door was still open and as he peered inside the vehicle he'd wished he hadn't. There sat Logan and you, already chatting away. You were practically on Logan's lap with how close you were to him.
Lando cleared his throat, causing the two Americans to look towards him. "Y/N are you riding with me?"
His grip on the door frame getting tighter as he noticed the quick glance Logan and you shared, silence lulling between the three. Your silence already answering his question.
"Actually I'm gonna ride with Logan. He has the same flight too, so it works out." Her words cutting through the silence in the air and he thought that if he gripped the door frame any tighter he was going to leave dents in it.
Perhaps he was pushing you away from him.
"Alright." Lando stated, before what some would say slamming the car door shut.
The look on Oscar's face was the last thing Lando wanted to see when he entered the car. "Shut up." Lando huffed.
Oscar shrugged in response, a small smirk playing at his lips. "I didnât even say anything!â
Lando rolled his eyes at his teammate, choosing to look out the window as the car started to move. âYou didnât have to. Your face said it all.â
Oscar had been dealing with Lando's hissy fits about you ever since that day he confronted him about going to lunch together. To say Oscar was ready for Lando to either man up and admit to you how he felt about you or move on was an understatement.
He also knew how you felt about Lando. Oscar had a hunch about it just from the way you would look at Lando sometimes. Or the way you would always glance at him when someone had said something funny, guarenting the two of them to be a giggling mess as soon as they made eye contact. Or the way you captured him in photos. Granted you did an amazing job when it came to taking any photos, but you captured Lando in a different way. In a loving way almost, Oscar remembered his girlfriend saying you captured Lando through the female gaze. Something he didn't really get, but clearly it meant something. So when you drunkenly admitted one race weekend how you liked Lando and how conflicted you felt about it all, he wasn't the least bit surprised.
So needless to say Oscar had gotten the rundown on what had occured in the hotel hallway last night from you this morning, infact very early this morning. He was still in bed when your loud pounding on the door woke him up. When he let you in, you just started in and Oscar didn't even say anything, just climbed back into bed as you paced back and forth in front of him. In the same breath you said that Lando is a douchebag, but that you don't care that he was hooking up with random women. Oscar could only let you ramble as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
What Oscar did to get stuck in the middle of his two friends who both clearly wanted each other, but were too stubborn and backwards to just admit how they felt was beyond him. Not to mention one friends solution was to just act like said feelings don't exist. While the other friend can only seem to make things worse for himself, undoubtedly pushing the other person away.
Oscar knew your version of last night, and he knew Lando probably didn't want to relive it, but sometimes stirring the pot was Oscar's only form of entertainment.
âSo I take it you donât want to talk about the hallway incident last night then?â
Landoâs attention averted from the window back to Oscar. âHow did you know about that?â
âYou forget Y/Nâs my friend too-" he debated whether or not to bring up Logan, but fuck it he thought "and so is Logan."
A forced laugh came from Lando. âEveryone just seems to love him donât they?â
âMaybe Y/N likes him because he doesnât turn into an ass when sheâs around other guys and he doesn't hook up with random women in front of her hotel room.â Oscar knew he was pushing Lando's buttons, something he knew how to do quite well if he did say so himself.
Lando's jaw tensed, what was Oscarâs deal this morning? âKindly shut the fuck up Oscar.â
Oscar put his hands up in defense. âJust saying. Your actions have consequences. Even if she doesnât know you're being an ass because you're jealous. I would think, she thinks, youâre just being a shit friend in general. So maybe get yourself in check. Or admit how you feel. Either way somethingâs gotta give.â
Silence filled the air between the McLaren drivers. Lando knew deep down that Oscar was right, but he would never admit it. To Lando, his self destructive tendencies sometimes made more sense to him than the logical sane ones that Oscar presented him.
No words were exchanged for the rest of the car ride, the Italian pop song playing softly from the radio was the only thing heard. As they boarded the plane Lando still held out some hope that you would sit next to him, like you always did. But that hope was crushed as soon as you sat in the row behind him, with Logan right next to you. His headphones were immediately over his ears, not wanting to hear the two of them the whole plane ride.
The look his teammate gave him as he sat down beside him was one of pity. Maybe he really had fucked up, he had a feeling that things between you and him these past few weeks had been different. But after last night and this morning, there was no doubt their relationship had shifted.
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The next two races were in Azerbaijan and Singapore and you were still a little on edge from how Lando acted in Monza. Him slamming the door on Logan and you was beyond ridiculous. His attitude that whole night was also beyond ridiculous, especially considering how well he had performed in the race that day. A far cry from how he performed in the most recent two. Your job had been fairly easy on the Lando content aspect. He hadn't even placed in the top ten in Azerbaijan or Singapore, so that meant no extra pictures of podiums or celebrations for him. Which honestly, was fine with you, considering you didn't know if you were going to get asshole Lando or sweet funny Lando. In Singapore you had gotten asshole Lando, which looking back was ten times worse than his attitude in Monza.
You had some free time before qualifying and so you had inconspicuously made your way over to the William's garage. Mostly everyone there knew you by now as Logan and you had become fairly close. Not to mention the bright papaya uniform didn't allow for any blending in to occur. Logan was talking with some of the mechanics by his car when he spotted you, he quickly excused himself and came over.
"What are you doing in enemy territory?" Logan joked.
"I had some free time, came to see if I could figure out some strategies to relay back."
Logan raised his eyebrows a playful smirk developing on his face. "Oh I see. This friendship has just been a ploy all along!"
You raised your hands in defense, laughs coming from the both of you. "You caught me."
The two of you chatted some more, particularly about how excited you were for the next race, which just so happened to be in Austin. Any chance to be back in the states was one you took full advantage of. It didn't even matter that it wasn't even close to home, it was still home enough to you and you figured Logan thought so too. As the two of you talked about making plans while in Austin you heard a certain British voice holler your name.
"Y/N!"
Both Logan and yours heads turned towards the voice, the voice that sounded more like a mother hollering at her disobedient child than anything.
There Lando stood, his papaya suit making him stick out just like you and by his tone you already knew which Lando you were going to get. He was stood outside the garage, probably not daring to enter. You mouthed a 'what' at him and he motioned for you to come to him. You shook your head at him, deciding to speak up this time.
"I'm talking to Logan. What do you want?"
He rolled his eyes as he begrudgingly made his way towards Logan and you. "Don't you have work to be doing back at our garage?"
What the fuck? What was he trying to be your boss now? You were sure the look on your face was nothing shy of displeasure.
"What are you talking about? I've done more than enough for today and it's still an hour before qualis." You glanced over at Logan and you could tell he was a little taken aback from how Lando had spoken to you.
Lando's eyes lingered on Logan as he spoke. "Well still don't think you should be hanging around in other teams garages while on the clock." His gaze moved over to you. "Don't you think?"
You so badly wanted to smart off to him, make a snide comment about how badly he had done in the last race in Azerbaijan and how maybe he needed to be the one working. But you didn't, you bit your tongue, figuring it would only make things worse. So you only stated the obvious.
"Did Zak send you to come get me or something? Because last time I checked you weren't my boss."
Before Lando could respond Logan spoke up. "I think I'm gonna leave you guys to-"
Your head snapped back to face Logan, grabbing his arm before he could move. "No. We were having a conversation." As you turned to look back at Lando you could have swore you saw him staring at your hand on Logan's arm, but his gaze flickered back towards you too quickly. "Lando I'll be back at the garage in a little bit. I was talking to Logan before you interrupted and I'd like to finish my conversation if you don't mind." Your tone nothing shy of shitty.
You just wanted him to leave, he was causing somewhat of a scene to the people close by. And thankfully for you he left without a word, only a disgruntled look and a huff as he walked back towards the McLaren garage.
"Sorry." You stated as you averted your attention back towards Logan "I don't know what his problem is anymore. Ever since Monza he's been so fucking bizarre. Always hot and cold, I never know what Lando I'm going to get. It's been making my life a little stressful if you couldn't tell."
Logan glanced at Lando walking away then back to you, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I think I might have a hunch."
Your eyebrows furrowed at his statement. What more could Logan know than you? Not to sound like one of those people, but you clearly knew Lando better than Logan. "What? What is it?"
Logan did the old sealing his lips and throwing away the key gesture. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Oh come on tell me!" You exclaimed, desperately wanting to know what Logan knew.
He quickly changed the subject. "So how about going to a rodeo in Austin?"
"Logan tell me!"
He only shook his head as you unsuccessfully tried to pry the information out of him.
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Austin
A month had passed since Singapore and you had spent your break alone. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. If anything it made you realize you really needed to make friends outside of people at work.
It didn't help when pictures from the Bali trip that a bunch of the drivers had went on, Lando included, started to be posted. Bali had treated him well and you wanted to kick yourself for ogling over the pictures of him. Especially after how moody he's been, but you couldn't help it. His sun kissed skin, his curls in full force from the Bali climate, and that stupid smile (that you loved so much) on his face had you smitten.
The break was over soon enough and you weren't that upset because the end of the break meant that you were coming home for a little bit. Something that you had been looking forward to again ever since Miami.
The warm sun hit your face as you walked around the paddock. Texas in October was still warm and you hoped it wouldn't get too hot today. You were giddy, mainly because of being back in the states, but you also just had a good feeling about the race today. Somehow you knew either Oscar or Lando were going to have a good day today, you had hoped both, but at least one would make you happy.
As you snapped some pictures of the crew around the garage you felt a presence behind you. Though you already knew who it was, that cologne had invaded your senses one too many times for you to forget who donned it. Deciding to let him be the one to say something, you pretended you didn't notice him behind you and took some more pictures.
"Think I might be a better photo subject, don't you think?" Of course the first thing out of his mouth was some cheeky comment.
You merely rolled your eyes, and as you turned to face him you quickly captured an off guard photo of him. Clicking the buttons to look back at the photo you grimaced, turning it around to show Lando. "I think this photo says different."
Lando moved in closer next to you to get a better look. "That's not fair! I wasn't ready!" He exclaimed, laughter laced in his words.
Shaking your head you couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Every good photo subject should be camera ready at all times. This right here proves your statement wrong."
"Yeah whatever."
You had suddenly become hyper aware at just how close the two of you were. Your arms pressed against each other as the two of you huddled around your camera. It had been awhile since you had been in this close proximity to him and you weren't sure if it was that or the cologne but your head was spinning. Your gaze wandered from his big hands that now held your camera, up his arms, then neck, and they finally landed on his face. The tan he had acquired in Bali still glowed in the Texas sun and his curls moved slightly in the breeze. God, you had missed him. You had not only missed him physically, you missed the Lando you were in the presence of right now. The funny and sweet Lando. Not the Lando you had in Singapore.
"Hey can we talk real quick?"
Hearing his voice had snapped you out of the trance you didn't even know you were in. A blush crept onto your cheeks, you only hoped he hadn't caught you staring. You only nodded your head at him, hoping you had heard him correctly.
"I wanted to apologize for how I was in Singapore. That wasn't me back there. I think I was still mentally struggling from doing poorly in Azerbaijan and knowing I would and did do poorly in Singapore just added onto it. So again I'm sorry."
Wow. Where did this Lando come from? You were grateful for him apologizing, but there were still plenty of other things he needed to apologize for.
"Oh. It's okay (even though it really wasn't). Thank you for apologizing though." You weren't going to ruin this now rare good moment with Lando, so you quickly changed the subject. "So how was Bali?"
His eyes lit up. "Oh it was amazing. Wish I could have just stayed there. You would have loved it too, you should have come!"
Well, there was never an invite sent your way, so how were you supposed to have come? Is what you wanted to say, but instead you just said. "Think that might be frowned upon in the workplace."
Lando shook his head. "I doubt it. How was your break though?"
You shrugged, it definitely was nothing like Bali. "Just spent some time at home."
A frown stretched across Lando's face. "Now see, now I really wish you would have came."
You just ignored him, the idea that he was stood here telling you he wanted you to come but couldn't even invite you stung a little bit. So you changed the subject again and the two of you chatted until race time, and for a moment it was just like old times. Lando soon left to prepare for the race and you finished up the crew pictures.
Later as you stood there while the national anthem played you had no idea just how crazy your night was about to be.
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If there was a race Lando was looking forward to the least, he would have to say Austin. The main reason being he knew Logan and you would be up eachothers asses.
But after some self reflection during the break he had promised himself he would be on his best behavior from now on. Personal life and racing included. He had trained extra hard this past week, running the sim like no other, and trying make up to the team for how badly he had performed in the previous two races. Everyone knew the car was more than capable of performing, it was the driver who was at fault for the poor position. The driver who after Singapore may have went into a spiral after realizing he may have fucked everything up more even more than what he thought after Monza.
Lando couldn't help it, it was like when he saw you with other guys, specifically Logan, his brain short circuited and every promise he had made to himself about behaving went out the window. But after having that moment with you in the garage moments ago he realized he had to keep his shit together. It was the first real carefree funny moment the two of them shared in months. He didn't want to go that long without it again, without you near him, without hearing your laugh that he had caused. So if all you were ever going to be in his life was a friend, Lando guessed he could live with it.
Him living with it lasted until the post race celebrations.
He had tried, really he had. In fact he held up the racing end of his promise by winning. His first Grand Prix win to be exact. In the post race interviews he credited his win to all the extra hard work he had been putting in and of course the team, but his big motivator may have been winning to impress you. Even if he had said he was fine with being friends, he still wanted to show to you that he wasn't the loser that you had seen in the last two races. Show you that in many ways he was better than Logan, and what better way than to win the race both of them were competing in. And the fact that it was an American race was just an added bonus to him. He was grasping at straws at this point, but the little sliver of hope kept him sane, until it didn't.
How a big group of drivers, significant others, and friends ended up at some club, karaoke bar, line dancing, and mechanical bull place all wrapped into one he will never know. But he was sure you had something to do with it. It was a far cry from the places he was used to overseas or hell even in Miami or Vegas, but he had just won the Grand Prix, he was going to have a good time no matter where he was at.
The drinks were going down smooth tonight, and at one point he had lost count of how many he had consumed. It seemed like they just magically kept appearing in front of him, he was constantly being brought drinks or shots from people wanting to congratulate him on his win. At this point he was starting to feel a little unsteady on his feet. Perhaps he may have gone too hard too fast with the alcohol tonight. He wasn't plastered yet, but he was getting there quick. He was about ready to down another shot when his teammate came up behind him. "Think you may need to slow down on the drinking for awhile."
Oscar walked alongside Lando, well more like guided him, towards the karaoke section of the place. Sitting him down at one of the booths as he slid in next to him. Lando slumped forward, his face resting wobbly in his hands. You were seated at the same booth but directly across from them.
"Jesus Lan, we've been here two hours. How much have you had to drink?" You asked.
Lando held up his pointer finger, indicating one.
Oscar and you shook your heads at the curly haired driver. "Very funny." You stated.
Lando now donned a sour look on his face, they had misunderstood his gesture. "No. I'm number 1!"
"Yes Lando you won today." Oscar reassured his teammate.
Oscar and you sipped your drinks while you prayed Lando would sober up enough that you didn't need to be worried about him. The pair was having to either decline the drinks that people were sending over for the winner or drink them themselves. They soon found themselves a little on the tipsy side from perhaps doing the same thing Lando was guilty of moments ago.
"You guys are freaking idiots." Lando mumbled. The once responsible friends that were looking after Lando were now in the same boat as him. Perhaps Lando was slightly more sober than them at this point.
After your second tequila sunrise the idea of karaoke sounded like the best thing ever. You knew Oscar wouldn't be up for it and Lando didn't look the happiest right now, so you searched the place for the one person who you knew would be up for it. You were able to spot him easily, his tall frame making him stand out in the crowd.
"Logan!"
You were tipsy enough to forget that yelling for a person in a loud club did absolutely nothing. And as you yelled again Lando tried to just tune you out, ignore the annoyance and jealousy arising in him over you hollering another man's name. He was supposed to be on his best behavior, but he should have known from before that alcohol and his good behavior don't mix.
You had finally gotten Logan's attention and as Lando saw the American driver walk towards their table he fiddled with his phone. Not even bothering to acknowledge him as he greeted him.
"Will you please do karaoke with me?" He heard you ask Logan and without even looking up he knew you were giving Logan those damn puppy dog eyes that you used to give him when you wanted him to do something for you.
He heard Logan laugh and from the corner of his eye he saw him reach out his hand for you to grab. "Yes, but only for my favorite girl."
Lando's blood ran cold at Logan's use of words. His favorite girl? His? The simple three letter word made his body tense and as the pair walked away Lando finally looked up. He had wished he hadn't as he saw Logan's arm around your shoulder as the two of them walked.
"Mate I thought you had gotten your shit together? I can feel how tense you are from over here." Oscar's speech was clear, he clearly hadn't drank as much as Lando thought.
"I'm perfectly fine." Lando stated as he looked back down at his phone.
"Yeah and my ears didn't pop from the pressure displacement in the air when you heard Logan call Y/N his favorite girl."
Lando did not like that fact that he was trapped in this booth with the one person who could read him like a book. "Can you let me out?"
Oscar scoffed at Lando's question. "You don't want to listen to Y/N and Logan sing? We have an excellent view of the stage." He took another swig of his drink as he eyed his teammate.
Not even twenty seconds later the two Americans took the stage and Lando suddenly found his phone to be more interesting. They had decided to sing some song about saving horses and riding cowboys, whatever it was Lando had tried to tune it out. But when he would hear you laugh in between parts of the song his eyes would venture from his phone up to the stage. He never looked for long, his jealousy getting the best of him when he would see how close Logan and you were. Not even physically, at this point they were clearly emotionally close, perhaps even closer than Lando and you ever were. At least that's what Lando's worst case scenario brain told him.
Lando managed to make it through their karaoke session without blowing a gasket. But as you returned to the table your smile faded as you looked at Lando, who looked less than thrilled as you approached him.
Sliding back into the booth you eyed him. Your mouth working faster than your brain. "Why are you always so unhappy when I'm around anymore? Or when we go out? If you don't want me to come out just tell me." The apology he had given you earlier didn't even exist at this point and the one good moment that you didn't want to ruin from earlier was gone too. You had enough liquid courage in you to finally say what had been eating away at you for months.
Lando was slightly taken aback by your sudden abruptness. He wasn't sure what to say at first. His teeth found the inside of his bottom lip as he tried to choose his words carefully. "I'm not unhappy when you're around, I love having you around. Also, I wouldn't invite you out if I didn't like having you around Y/N." He figured leaving out the mention of him hating when Logan is out with you was a good idea.
You huffed before grabbing one of the shots that had just been dropped off at the table. You downed it easily, slamming the shot glass back down on the table. "Really? Because you sure don't show it."
Oscar was still seated next to Lando, taking sips of his drinks as he watched the two of them go back and forth. He knew this was a long time coming, but he didn't expect to get a front row seat to it.
Lando sat up straight in the booth, suddenly getting defensive. "Why would I not want you around?"
You drummed you fingers against the table as you stared him down. "You always get so pissy when we are out. Like I'm not allowed to have fun or something. Or not allowed to have a little free time while I'm working."
"That's not true." Even though it was.
You rolled your eyes, you clearly were getting nowhere with this conversation and perhaps you should have waited until you both were sober. "You know what nevermind. I should have never brought it up."
Your sarcastic tone went straight through Lando, but he didn't even get a chance to respond back as you had already scooted out of the booth and was lost in the sea of bodies.
"That went well." Oscar stated, but when Lando didn't respond Oscar just kept going. "You remember what I said on the way to the airport in Monza? Either tell you how you feel or get your shit together? You know she's not a confrontational person, so she has clearly had enough of your shit to even bring it up." He took the last swig of his drink and as he got up from the booth he gave Lando one last final warning. "You're gonna lose her and this little conversation the two of you just had was proof enough."
Lando now sat alone in the booth, the only thing surrounding him was empty glasses. How did his nights that were supposed to be filled with celebration and good times always end up filled with drama and regrets? Oscar's words ate away at him as sat there twiddling his thumbs. How much more of this back and forth shit could he take? How much more could you take? Lando scanned the table and found one lonesome shot untouched. He wasn't even sure what it was until that familiar burn hit his throat.
Tequila.
Tequila always seemed to make him make bad decisions, so he knew tonight was either going to end badly or great. Either way he was finally going to man up and tell you how he felt.
It didn't take long to find you, considering you had made yourself the center of attention in the whole place. He heard your laughs before he saw you, but from the crowd of men gathered around the mechanical bull he knew exactly where you were.
He pushed his way to the front and sure enough there you were. When he saw you on that thing he couldn't help but stare. The operator of the machine clearly knew what he was doing, giving everyone a show. The way your thighs clenched onto the sides of the bull to help you stay on. Your ass and tits jiggling when the operator moved the bull a certain way. Not to mention just watching your body sway, you'd think you were a pro at this. Lando's mind started to wonder to how you'd look on top of him and that's when he realized it wasn't just him watching you look like that. You were surrounded by a big group of men, some of them his fellow competitors, that he was sure were also thinking the same impure thoughts as him.
He spotted the Ferrari drivers first, both of them leaning over the railing watching you intently. Then he spotted Logan, eyes wide as he watched your ass shake in the air.
This was the beginning of the end of Lando's good behavior promise. Lando could feel his blood starting to boil, knowing all these men were undoubtedly getting their dicks hard over you. He didn't mean to cause a scene, really he didn't. But before he even realized what he was doing he had jumped the railing and had his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you off the bull. Your legs kicking him and insults flew through the air as you protested his actions. He had carried you towards a relatively empty area and as he sat you down he prepared himself for the fallout of his actions.
"What the fuck is your problem?" You shouted, anger and liquor doing nothing to conceal how you felt.
Lando raised his hands in defense. "Y/N. I was just trying to protect you-"
"Why would I need protecting? Especially coming from you? The way you've acted towards me these past couple months I figured you'd rather me be dead!"
The handful of people who were around had started to stare, if Lando had thought he caused a scene moments ago, it was nothing compared to now.
Lando tried to explain himself. "You should have seen how those guys were looking at you."
You scoffed at his comment. "Well have you thought maybe I wanted them to look? I'm allowed to have a little fun Lando, maybe you should try it sometime. In fact I'm surprised you haven't found your random girl to hookup with on my hotel room door yet." Your words were laced with venom, he had finally pushed you hard enough.
His eyes narrowed at you. "Why are you bringing up what happened in Monza? All I was trying to do was save you from a night filled with fighting off all those sleazy guys. They only wanted one thing from you, especially the other drivers."
Shaking your head at Lando, a laugh escaped past you lips. "Yeah I guess you would know about using women wouldn't you?"
Lando ignored you dig at him, fully knowing what you had said was true.
"I just think you should be careful about who you are friends with. The way Logan was looking at you-" More often than not Lando was quite the hypocrite when it came to his issues with you.
Your jaw tightened at the mention of Logan, there was no reason to bring him into this.
Tonight was the final straw, you had truly had enough. This wasn't a healthy friendship and as much as it pained you, it was becoming more of a reality that this chapter of your life was needing to come to an end. As you cut the McLaren driver's sentence off you knew this may be the last time you spoke to him.
"You know what Lando, you are right. I do need to be more careful about who I'm friends with." You moved closer to him, the two of them merely inches apart, your finger poking at his chest as you spoke. "And he's standing right here."
Lando could have swore all the air left his body as you spoke those five words to him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Surely he had heard you wrong. "You don't mean that." Lando stammered, his eyes never leaving yours, trying to search for a joking gleam in your eyes. But dark, cold, and empty eyes were all that stared back at him.
"I do." You whispered, you hand lingering on his chest, you could feel his heart racing, yours doing the same.
Lando stood there dumbfounded as you walked away. He didn't protest, purely from the fact that he was still processing what had just happened. Had he finally lost you? From the looks of it he had and he hadn't even told you how he felt. Why couldn't he be normal for once? He always had to make everything about him, about how he felt.
He figured at this point what else did he have to lose? He was still going to tell you how he felt about you. Maybe if he was lucky you would feel the same, but with Lando's track record he knew his chances were slim.
You had a good head start on him, but his legs carried him as fast as they could out of the building and down the street towards the hotel. He silently thanked god that there weren't any fans outside the hotel and by the time he reached you room he was out of breath as he knocked on you door.
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Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could you have been so stupid? The tears thankfully hadn't started to fall until you had reached your hotel room, but now as you sat on your bed they wouldn't stop coming.
You knew what you did was the right thing, but you still felt stupid. Stupid for even developing feelings for Lando in the first place, stupid for allowing your relationship to turn into what it had. Why you ever let it get to this point was beyond you. It hurt, god did it hurt, but life teaches you lessons and this clearly was one. As you typed up a draft resignation letter on your phone you heard a rapid knock at your door. You had texted Oscar earlier letting him know you were coming back to the hotel, that things had gone sour between Lando and you. So, you figured that was him coming to check up on you.
But oh boy were you wrong. On the other side of the door stood an out of breath Brit, who was the cause of the tears you were now rapidly trying to wipe away. You had tried to slam the door in his face, but he quickly stuck his foot in the doorframe, a groan coming from him as the door hit his foot.
Good I hope it hurt you thought.
"Y/N please. I need to talk to you." His grip on the door was much stronger than yours and he easily was able to make his way into your room.
"Why so you can shame me or be rude to me or bad mouth one of my friends again? Think you did enough of that earlier." You stood your ground, arms crossed across your chest.
Lando closed the door behind him and as he eyed you he fully took you in. The red puffy eyes, tear stained cheeks. God he had fucked up. "What was said earlier got blown way out of proportion. That's not how I intended for you to take my words."
"It wasn't just what you said earlier Lando, it's been a combination of a lot of other things. I don't know what switched between us, but it's not the same as it used to be. You're an ass to me more than not anymore. I don't know what I did to make you act like that, but you won't have to deal with me much longer. I'm writing my resignation letter. It'll be sent in the morning and I'll be gone."
Lando had started to panic, the realness of the situation they had found themselves in had really started to set in. "No no no no! You don't have to quit your job. You love what you do."
A loud sigh passed your lips, clearly annoyed at him. "Well when the main person I work with can't ever seem to be happy with what I do or associate myself with, then perhaps quitting is what needs to be done." Maybe it was some of the alcohol still in your system or maybe you just wanted to be an ass back to him finally, but the tears had subsided and your mood had turned slightly petty. "Which now that I think about it, why do you care so much about who I hang out with? I mean it's ok for you to fuck any woman with pulse, but I suddenly become close with other drivers and now it's time to slut shame me? Wonder what the press would think about that?"
The smirk that was on you face made Lando irate, you were so fucking stubborn sometimes. All he had wanted to do was come up here and confess how he felt, fix his fuck up from earlier, but now he was riled up again.
"When in the fuck have I slut shamed you? I mean what do you want me to say? That you can go fuck my competitors? If thats all thats stopping you then please don't let me get in your way." Lando regretted his words as soon as they came out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted was for you to go fuck someone else.
That wasn't at all what you were trying to get at. In fact it was the opposite, but if he was going to bring it up, you were going to play along, anything to get under his skin. What better way to hurt a man's ego than to talk about how much you would want to get with his competitors. You grabbed your phone off the bed, unlocking it and scrolling through your contacts. "Maybe I will. I mean I have endless choices don't I? I know Charles would have loved to fuck me in Monza. Or perhaps Logan? You said yourself he was eyeing me tonight. Or maybe Charles and Carlos both? You should have seen how they were with me in the taxi when we were in Monza."
Lando thought he was going to lose his mind, he felt like he was going to break his jaw from how hard he had it clenched. Just hearing you say those things had him on the edge of snapping. "Hmm. I think I'll go with Logan. Think he would know how to please me." Before you could even pretend to start texting him Lando's hand was on your wrist, prying you phone from your hands. His breath labored as he pulled you close to him.
"You are not fucking any of them."
Your eyes widened at his actions, his hands around your wrists, his pupils blown as he stared you down, and the smell of tequila on his breath. The petty joking manner you had moments ago was now long gone.
The angry tension in the air had now transitioned into something foreign, something deeper. And unknown to you but you had been the one to change it.
"Well why not?" You had tried to bring back the previous atmosphere, but the Lando that stood inches away from you was one you had never seen before.
"Because the only driver you can fuck is me."
Your breath caught in your throat at his words. If there was a world record for how fast someone could blush you were sure you had just broken it, except your whole body felt like it was blushing. It radiated through your body directly to your core.
Your mind felt like tv static, you didn't know what to say or do. Lando was still inches away from you, your wrists still tightly in his grasp. "What?" Was all you could muster up and even that was barely coherent.
"Oh come on. You aren't gonna make me spell it out for you are you?" With just a wide eyed blank stare as your response he freed your wrists, but his hands now glided over your arms and shoulders and up to your neck. The feeling of his hands dancing over your skin made your eyes flutter shut. This was far more different than your knees touching or a lingering hug.
This wasn't how Lando had expected to be telling you how he felt, he hadn't even had anything like this one his mind, but you talking so freely about fucking his friends flipped a switch in him. "You gonna make me tell you how I've been obsessed with you since I saw you sitting in that meeting on your first day? How I drove myself crazy trying to distance myself from you, but you're so fucking intoxicating you just kept drawing me back in. How I basically ruined our friendship because I couldn't stand to see you with fucking Logan."
He paused, but still maintained eye contact as he pressed a chaste kiss on your hand. "Is it wrong of me to assume you've wanted me as bad as I've wanted you?" It was almost his way of asking permission to continue, and you granted it easily by letting out a faint 'no'. With that simple word his kisses moved from your hand up your arm and finally landing on your neck. It was somewhat embarrassing how hot and bothered his words and just some simple kisses were making you.
"Or how about how I could only think of you when I got with other women. Wishing it was you I had pressed up against your hotel room door in Monza. How the idea of any other man even looking at you in a sexual way made me want to break their jaw. You want me to tell you how fucking stupid I was for not telling you how I felt sooner. For basically putting us through hell and back because I couldn't keep my shit together when you talked to Logan."
His kisses had gotten sloppier, and he started to pay more attention to your neck. A small moan emitting from you when he found that sweet spot. You could feel his smirk against your neck as your moans filled his ears.
As your mind slowly processed all that he had just said, a lot more things started to click. First of all your inklings about him feeling the same were very much correct. But to think you hadn't put him being an ass because he was jealous of Logan together had you baffled. Usually you were very observant, but clearly not observant enough. You felt like your body was on autopilot as he still worked on your neck, you were supposed to be mad at him, supposed to be leaving him, leaving all the shitty moments behind. But as you stood here now you were glad he had come up to your room. Glad that you didn't fight that hard to not let him into your room. Because even if you had cut him out of your life and left, you knew deep down those feelings for him would never go away. No matter what had happened between the two of you.
Your hands pressed against his abdomen as he was surely giving you something on your neck that was going to need to be covered in the morning. "Wish I would have told you how I felt sooner." Your words were breathy as his hands now wandered up under your shirt. "You weren't the only one being driven crazy. You were-" It was hard for you to focus on your words, your brain only wanting to focus on how good Lando's hands and lips felt on you. "You were constantly fucking with my head, making me think you liked me and then getting with other women. Made me feel like shit when I saw you with them and then you made me feel like shit for months because you're an asshole."
His attack on your neck had halted, the two of you making eye contact once again. Your eyes glanced down at his lips, they were red and swollen, as much as you wanted to hate him, your desire to kiss him was much stronger.
"I know baby and I'm sorry for ever making you feel like that.'
Your eyebrow raised at the term of endearment. "Baby? Moving a little fast there aren't you Norris?"
A smirk had spread across his face. "You've been my baby in my mind for a long time. So forgive me for being eager."
Rolling your eyes at the brunette you linked your hands behind his neck, once again staring at his lips. "You gonna finally kiss me or do I need to go find Logan?"
The mere mention of the American had Lando pulling you into him, your lips meeting in an instant. It took a second for your brain to catch up, but once it did you practically melted into him. You had thought for a long time what it would feel like to kiss Lando, and you were happy to say it was better than you had imagined. His right hand was cupping your face while his left held onto your side. If you were weak in the knees before you surely were now as the two of you pulled away from each other, grinning like idiots. "Why did we deprive ourselves of this for so long?" You asked as your thumb caressed his cheek.
Lando leaned into your touch. "I don't know. I guess we both like to suffer." He gently removed your hand from his face placing an open mouth kiss to your palm. "I still need you to know how sorry I am for being such an ass. Let me show you how sorry I am you." He started to trail kisses back up your arm and you honestly didn't need any convincing. With a simple 'ok' from you Lando's lips were back on yours as he leaded you back towards your bed, your lips never separating.
The back of your knees hit the end of the bed causing you to fall back onto the bed. Using your forearms to prop yourself up you stared back at the driver who was stood at the end of the bed. He kicked off his shoes and his shirt was being pulled over his head in a matter of seconds. He didn't even give you time to gawk at his toned abdomen before he was climbing onto the bed, his chain dangling over you as your lips reconnected. Wrapping your fingers around the chain you pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Your need for him growing more and more by the minute. The desire for his touch consumed you and as you started to squirm under him you heard a soft laugh come from him.
"That needy huh?" His teasing tone causing the aching throb between your legs to intensify. With only a whine coming from you as a response he looped his fingers through your belt loops, slightly tugging on them. "Which should come off first? Pants or shirt?"
You were in no mood for his teasing, the idea of having to wait any longer for his hands to be on you again sounded like torture. "Both."
"Both? That's my girl."
My girl repeated in your head as you struggled to get your shirt off. Those two simple words causing your arousal to grow even more and as he pulled off your pants you sure you had already soaked your panties. But Lando wasn't focused on that yet, to his surprise when he looked up to see you taking off your shirt, you hadn't worn a bra. Your breasts were already on full display. "Jesus." He groaned as he climbed his way back up to you. "Should have known you didn't wear a bra tonight the way your tits were bouncing on that bull." He wasted no time, immediately placing his large hands on them. As he pinched and tugged one nipple with one hand, his mouth had found its way onto the other. It was a sight you couldn't tear your eyes away from, something you only dreamed about. A whimper escaped past your lips and Lando could have died right there a happy man as your whimpers filled his ears.
As much as you were enjoying the pleasure he was giving you, it was creating a much bigger need someplace else. If your panties weren't soaked earlier, they definitely were now. The aching between your legs was becoming almost unbearable. Your hands found there way to his hair, fingers running through his messy curls. "Lan." You breathed out. His actions halted at the sound of you calling for him, blown pupils staring up at you.
"What baby?" No audible response came from you, but when he saw you clench your thighs he knew exactly what you wanted. "Oh, I think I know what you want." His fingers trailed from your breasts all the way down to the waistband of your panties, his fingers toying with it, gently snapping it against your skin.
"Thought you weren't gonna be an ass anymore?" His teasing making you crazy.
Even though he was looking down you could see the smirk on his face, the little shit was enjoying every minute of making you squirm. You watched as his hands landed on your thighs and in one swift motion they were hooked under your knees and he had pulled you even closer to him, causing your legs to be wide open for him.
Lando felt his dick twitch at the sight of your soaked panties, and once he pulled them off he thought he had died and gone to heaven at just how fucking wet you were, from him. He hadn't even properly touched you yet and you were already a mess. His hands masssaged you inner thighs and ghosted around the area you wanted him the most. "God, you're gonna be the death of me. You know how fucking soaked you are?" He took a single finger and quickly ran it up your slit, your wetness that lathered his finger quickly entered his mouth.
Your skin was on fire from just that his one little action, and as you watched him suck your wetness from his finger you thought your heart was gonna beat out of your chest. "Lan please."
"Please what?"
You threw your head back in frustration, he had to be getting off on this. "I want your mouth" you glanced down at his long thick fingers that had found a home on your thighs once more "and your fingers."
"Whatever my girl wants." He scooted down on the bed and as he lowered his head between your thighs the pit in your stomach grew. He wasted no time in getting to work, or in finding your clit. As he gently sucked on the sensitive bud you couldn't hold in your moans. The boy was a fucking expert with his tongue and from the way he was devouring you, you could tell he was enjoying it. Your fingers grabbed his curls as he fucked your hole with his tongue, his nose brushing against your clit. It was embarrassing how fast he had you close to coming undone. Your chest heaving as you felt your orgasm coming, and he hadn't even used his fingers yet, but almost like he knew what you wanted, you felt two fingers slide inside of you. Your moans getting louder as he still worked your clit and finger fucked you at the same time. When he added a third finger and curled his fingers, reaching that soft spongy spot, your eyes rolled to the back of your head.
He had raised his head to look up at you, a smirk splayed across his glistening face, covered in your slick. "That's my pretty girl. Come on, I know you're close. Gonna come all over my fingers and face aren't you."
His words of praise went straight to your core and as you clenched around his fingers a small laugh came from him. "Someone likes to be praised." You couldn't even be bothered to give him a witty comment back, you were on the edge of coming undone. His mouth went back to work and in a matter of seconds you were unraveling beneath him. Your legs shook as he still worked you through your orgasm. His name tumbling out of your mouth like a chant.
Your breathing was labored as you tried to come down from your high. Glancing down at Lando, he had never looked hotter to you than right now. His face and fingers covered in you, his hair a mess and lips swollen from him devouring your pussy. And the mess between your thighs that was caused by him, had you craving more.
Lando's erection was painfully throbbing at this point, still trapped behind his boxers and jeans. How he didn't just blow his load at the sight of you unraveling because of him, he wasn't sure. But one thing he did know was that he needed to be inside you, immediately. "I know you're still coming down but I need you so badly." His hands fumbling with the button on his jeans.
You simply shook your head at him, hands reaching out to help him get his pants off. "I don't care what you do as long as you can make me come like that again."
The words of praise went straight to Lando's cock, he truly didn't think he had ever been this hard in his life. The way you were looking up at him through your lashes as you toyed with the waistband of his boxers had him groaning. "Y/N stop."
A look of innocence spread across your face. "What? I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine." Your hand brushed past his still clothed erection and the whimper that came from him was like music to your ears. You soon granted him relief has you tugged his boxers down, his cock slapping against his stomach. Your eyes widened as you took all of him in. He was clearly blessed with not only good size, but girth. The mere thought of him stretching you out had you practically drooling.
You wanted to please him the same way he had you, but you had barely rubbed your thumb over his tip before his his large hand wrapped around your wrist, halting your actions. "I really just want to be inside of you."
Not one to oblige you scooted back on the bed, head resting on the pillows as you watched him come towards you. The anticipation was killing you and as he rubbed his tip between your folds it had only made it worse. "You know how beautiful you are? Think you might be even more beautiful when you take my cock won't you baby?"
Eagerly nodding at his words you couldn't take your eyes off his cock as his tip teased your entrance. You knew he was going to be a tease, so you rolled your hips towards him, patience not being your strong suit when it came to him. "That hungry for my cock huh?"
In one swift motion he had pushed himself in you, completely bottoming out. "Oh my god!" It had caught you off guard, even with how wet you were it still hurt a little as his cock stretched you out.
You hadn't even realized you had clenched around him until he spoke up. "Fuck. I'm not gonna last long if you keep doing that." His face scrunched up in pleasure.
"Sorry." You stated, pressing a kiss to his forearm.
Lando had started to move his hips and as the first waves of pleasure jolted through your body you couldn't help but think this is not how you saw your night going when you woke up this morning.
The room was filled with a mix of both yours and Lando's moans and the sound of slapping skin. You weren't trying to be dramatic, but you truly thought Lando's cock was made for you. The way he filled you up just right with each stroke was making your head spin.
Still sensitive from your first orgasm, you could feel yourself getting close again, the familiar pit in your stomach growing as he pounded into you relentlessly. The pleasure overwhelming you. But just at the brink of coming undone for the second time tonight he abruptly pulled out.
"You've got to be jok-"
He lightly slapped your thigh. "Ass up."
He didn't have to tell you twice as you quickly flipped over, face buried in the pillows, back arched with your ass in the air. The cool air on your now very exposed pussy sent a shiver down your spine.
Lando was enjoying the view as he lightly toyed with your clit earning a muffled moan from you. His hands gripped your waist to enter you once more when something in the corner of the room caught his eye. Gathering your hair into a makeshift ponytail with one hand and the other under your stomach he pulled you up and back towards him until your back was flush against his chest, practically sitting in his lap. His still very prominent erection rubbing between your folds. As he positioned the both of you to face the corner of the room that's when you saw it.
Your reflection staring back at you. The horny little shit wanted to fuck you in front of the mirror. You couldn't lie the thought of it was hot. So, you took the initiative, as you raised your hips you took his cock in your hand, lining him up with your entrance.
The both of you watching in the mirror as you sank down onto him. The image right up there with Lando eating you out as one of the hottest things you'd seen. A string of curse words was heard from Lando and all you could do was grip his legs as you felt him buck up inside you.
As you rolled your hips you couldn't tear your eyes away from the mirror and neither could Lando. The new position allowing for him to feel even deeper inside you, if that was possible. One of his hands reached around and started to rub your clit, the added pleasure causing your eyes to flutter shut.
"Nope. Open your eyes pretty girl. I want you to watch."
When you didn't open them he told you again, but when you didn't open them the third time, his other hand was now suddenly wrapped around your throat. His large hand easily covering the front of your throat. The slight pressure he applied to the sides of your throat caused your eyes to fly open, but combine that with you riding his cock and his other hand still working on your clit you were once again on the brink of an orgasm. The sight of you in the mirror was nothing less than pornogrpahic and if Lando could, he would have taken a picture.
The feeling though was gone again, in a matter of seconds. He had basically thrown you off his cock, then pulled you off the bed, the both of you now directly in front of the mirror. You were impressed with Lando's stamina and you knew from him practically edging you (and himself) twice now, when he finally did let you come it was going to be mind blowing.
He had you bent over, hands gripping the sides of the mirror, as he spread your legs. This time there was no teasing your clit, he wasted no time, his cock slamming into you as soon as your legs were spread. His thrusts were relentless, you weren't sure if you would even be able to walk tomorrow. But from the way his fingers were gripping your waist you for sure knew there would be bruises there tomorrow. Your moans only encouraging him more as he slapped your ass, the sting only adding to your pleasure.
"God, look at you. Taking my cock like that. Who else can fuck you like this huh? Make you an absolute mess?"
You were too fucked out to respond, your legs feeling weak as you watched him in the mirror. Lando's hand reached around towards you neck, finding its previous home from moments ago. "I said who else can fuck you like this?" He gave your throat a light squeeze.
"No one. Only you." You finally mustered up, brain too consumed by pleasure to actually form a sentence.
You watched as the smirk formed on his face at your words. "There's my good girl." Your pussy fluttering at the pet name, which in turn earned a 'fuck' from Lando.
His other hand reached down to your clit, once again giving it some attention. As your orgasm approached you prayed this would be the time he finally would let you come. Your whimpers a telltale sign to Lando you were ready. "Gonna be a good girl and come for me? Come on baby. Let everyone know who's making you feel this good. Want everyone to know your mine."
With his words of praise your orgasm washed over you, hard. The pleasure was so intense you couldn't even hold yourself up anymore. Your body convulsing as your ears started to ring. Lando's name echoing out of your mouth in a less than quiet volume. It didn't help that he was still fucking you through your orgasm, the overstimulation bringing you almost to tears at how good it felt. Lando came seconds later, hot sticky cum filling you up. Profanties mixed with your name bounced around the room as he milked every ounce out of his orgasm.
As he pulled out a whimper came from you at the sudden empty feeling, while a groan came from him at the sight of his cum leaking out of you.
Lando basically carried you back to the bed, afraid your legs would give out if you tried to walk. His arms immediately wrapping around you as you rested your head on his chest. "Think I accomplished your request didn't I?" Lando asked with a smirk on his face. His fingers rubbing gently circles on your back.
"You did more than accomplish it Norris. I think everyone in the hotel knows that." A blush creeping onto your cheeks at the fact that you were not so quiet moments ago.
"Poor Oscar." Lando laughed. Oh god, you had forgotten Oscar's room was right next to yours. "Actually don't worry about it. He should be happy we are finally together."
Raising your head to look at him you gave him a questioning look. "Together? I never remember getting asked anything. Only being told I could only fuck you."
Lando rolled his eyes at your dramatics. "Yes and that statement still stands." His free hand cupped your cheek, his thumb gently caressing your cheek. He hadn't planned for tonight to go the way it did, but as he laid here in bed with you in his arms he wouldn't have it any other way. He wanted this all the time. "In all seriousness. I do want you to be mine. My girlfriend."
You would have never thought you'd be in this position. It had been a tough couple months for the two of you and just hours ago you were ready to erase him from your life as best as your could. But you still loved him, even more now if that was possible.
"Well it's a good thing I want you to be mine too huh?" His eyes lit up at your words, smiling for ear to ear. His lips were on yours in an instant, something you don't think you'll ever get used to. "Even though you were an asshole." You said as you pulled away.
Lando let out a sigh. "Well I guess I'm still gonna have to show you how sorry I am aren't I?" His cheeky expression not matching his tone of voice.
"I think so." You stated as your lips met once again.
An ignored text alert sounded off from the bedside table of the two lovers. It wouldn't be read until morning, laughter coming from Lando as your cheeks turned red.
Oscar: well I'm glad I'm not in the middle of whatever the hell that friends to crushes to miserable fucks to enemies shit you two had going on anymore. but please for the love of god remind me to never take the room by either of you again!!!!!!
#lando norris#lando norris x reader#lando norris imagine#lando norris fanfic#formula one x reader#formula 1 x reader#formula 1 fic#praying this doesn't flop bc i worked so hard on it and its literally 18k words... lmfao#mine#writing
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Sleeping, Dancing and Mistletoe
Summary: Logan x Fe!Reader -> Times when people found evidence that you and Logan were possibly a couple, and the one time you both finally confirmed it.
Disclaimer: Mostly fluff, mentions/illusions to sex, Logan checking you out. Couple of swear words here and there. This has been unfinished in my drafts for at least a week so...yeah. This is finished. little Christmas at the end. Not Proof Read.
For what felt like the thirtieth time in the hour, you turned over with a huff and pressed your pillow to your ears, trying to muffle the sounds coming from next door.Â
And just as it finally died down, you sighed and was just about to thank some ancient being for hearing your prayers whenâŚit started again.Â
âThatâs it.â
Changing out of your longer pyjama bottoms and into some sleep shorts, you made your way out of your room, keeping your footsteps as quiet as you could until the noises faded away and you started to reach your intended room.Â
Opening up the door, you found exactly what you were looking for.Â
Shaking his shoulder as he lay on his stomach, you whispered his name, hoping heâd hear you.Â
âLogan.â You shook him for a third time. âLogan.âÂ
Nothing.Â
With another sigh, you slapped his face gently and said his name once more, a little louder and firmer.Â
âLogan.â
Finally, he groaned. âWhat?âÂ
His voice was muffled by his pillow but you could hear him just well enough. Or maybe you were just used to his grunts that they were starting to become their own language you could understand.Â
âMove over. Iâm sleeping here tonight.â
âWhatâs wrong with your bed?â
âNothing.â
âThen go and sleep there.â Logan turned his head away from you and scrunched up his pillow beneath his head.
âI canât. My neighbours have decided tonight is Valentineâs Day 2.0.â
You pushed half of his body with your hands until he finally got the cue to turn over.Â
âToo much information.â
You shook your head, âToo much information is what Iâve been hearing for the last hour.â
Finally, Logan rolled onto his back, his covers covering his bottom half, and groaned. âFine.â
âThank you.â
Logan straightened himself in his bed, giving you room to get in beside him. And the minute you touched his covers, you were glad you had changed into shorts.Â
Logan was like a furnace. Just constant heat radiating from his body and for as much as it, at times, got too hot to stand near him, he was also, in your opinion, the best person to fall asleep beside.Â
âJust shut up and go to sleep.â
Laying on your side, it wasnât long until you closed your eyes, thankful that you could hear nothing other than Loganâs steady breathing and the distant clock down the hall that was forever ticking.Â
However, just before you fully drifted off, you felt Loganâs hand take hold of yours and you smiled.Â
He could be gruff all he liked, but when it came to you, he could be a softie.Â
By the time morning rolled around, Storm was in search of both yourself and Logan. So, when she found your bed empty and cold, she figured Logan would know where you were.Â
But he was asleep.Â
Right beside you.Â
Storm leaned against the door frame for a while, taking in the picture in front of her.Â
Logan was fast asleep, something that was a miracle in itself, with you right beside him, your head turned towards the windows in his room, his own looking towards you, all the while, his arm slung over your midsection and one of your own hands, holding his.Â
âStorm- what are you- Oh.â
Jean looked inside.Â
âLooks like someone had a good night.â She smiled before looking back at Storm. âDo you think we can finally ask if theyâre together?â
âIâd say this is confirmation enough.â
You shifted in your sleep as did Logan, and the two girls hid behind the corner for a moment.Â
You turned your head and the rest of your body towards Logan, all the while his arm held you in a stronger grip and pulled you towards him.Â
It took you a moment but you finally opened your eyes, adjusting to the light before your vision finally cleared on a sleeping Logan.Â
For a moment, you allowed the hand between you both to reach up and brush the stray hairs from his eyes. It was rare you ever got to see Logan thisâŚcalm.Â
Serene.Â
Rested.Â
Unknowingly, you started to run your left thumb over Loganâs arm that still held onto you.Â
Then his fingers twitched, running over the exposed skin at the bottom of your back.Â
âAre you watching me sleep?â His voice was rough, the first words in the morning.Â
âNot anymore,â you smiled, brushing the final parts of his hair out of his face.Â
âThanks for letting me stay.â
Then a cough came from the door.Â
Logan groaned. âIs this a new hobby; watching people sleep?â
Jean and Storm laughed from the door. âYou two look cosy.â
You lifted your head and glared at Jean. âThere is one reason Iâm here. Maybe I think itâs time you make an investment in soundproof walls.â
Jean turned a little red and Storm laughed.Â
âLook, weâve got a busy day. You can kiss your boyfriend later.â
âHeâs not my boyfriend,â you called out just as Logan called; âSheâs not my girlfriend.â
Storm and Jean nodded and just as Jean snapped a picture, she sent it to both yourself and Logan as they walked away.Â
âSure.â
Leaning up, Logan reached for his phone to see the notification pop up before he placed it back down and you climbed out of bed.Â
âTheyâre got a point.â
âAbout us being a couple?â
You threw a t-shirt at Logan. âHaving a busy day.â
Logan laughed a little, scrubbing his face as he watched you leave his room before he reached behind him and took hold of his phone once more.Â
Jean and Storm were right.Â
From the pictureâŚthey did look like a couple.Â
A couple of days passed and you were sitting in the quiet living room, the fires on both sides roaring.Â
All classes had been finished for two days and some kids had returned home for the holidays, which meant you had some free time on your hands.Â
And for you, that meant finally reading.Â
Until you sensed someone stood behind you.Â
âIf you want to know what happens, you could just ask me.â
Logan plucked the book from your hands and circled around the sofa before coming to sit down beside you.Â
âLogan! Give it back.â
âI want to see what itâs about.â
You sighed and sat up, âItâs a romance, Logan.â
âA romance?â Logan had a hint of a smirk on his face. âLike theâŚtrashy kind?â
âLike the romantic kind.â
Logan looked at you and smiled. âThe trashy kind.â
You rolled your eyes and took the book back from him, leaving him to fix the blanket so it rested over both of you. He placed his arm over the back of the sofa, allowing you to lean into him, whether you noticed you were doing so or not.Â
âJust because you might not believe in romance, doesnât mean the rest of us are the same.â
âI believe in romance.âÂ
âYeah, right.â
Logan couldnât help but smile. âWhat?â
âThe Wolverine,â you said with a deep voice. âBelieves in romance?â
Logan nodded. âOccasionally.â
âOccasionally?â
âDo you just like repeating everything I say?â
You nodded and smiled. âOccasionally.â
Logan rolled his eyes and took the book back from you and read a line out loud.Â
âPeople really talk like this?â
You leaned into Logan. âNo, but in a book itâs not so bad. Go on, read some more.â
âYouâre enjoying this, arenât you?â
You nodded. âYouâre like my own personal audiobook.â
Logan gave a short smile before getting a little cosier and continued reading out loud.Â
It wasnât long before Logan found you asleep against him and he shifted in order to avoid you getting a crick in your neck.Â
âKeep reading.â
âI thought you were asleep.âÂ
âNow Iâm awake.âÂ
âFine, just be quiet.â
You gave a fake salute. âYes, sir.â
Holding his arm around your body that was pressed between himself and the sofa, Logan quickly kissed the top of your head and went back to reading.Â
And ten minutes later, you were asleep.Â
And so was he.Â
An hour passed before someone found either of you, but this time, it was Scott and Bobby.Â
âThey might be in- oh. What do we have here?â
âOh my god, Rouge has to see this. I told her they were together.â
Bobby rushed off and soon returned, pulling Rouge with him.Â
âWhat is it?â Then she gasped.Â
âBelieve me now?â
And what Rouge saw made her smile.Â
On the slightly too small sofa for Logan, you lay both between him and the sofa, as well as partly on him with your hand a little over his heart. His head was turned towards you. The blanket had fallen a little, so she reached over and pulled it up both of you before turning around and throwing a log onto the fire.Â
âCome on, let's leave them.â
âBut-â
âNo, you are not going to disturb them. Come on.â
Rouge dragged the pair out and closed the door behind her.Â
The third time people suspected you and Logan were an item was one late evening in October.Â
Half of the kids were playing outside with all the freshly fallen leaves, whilst some of the older kids helped them find different critters and point them out, and build them habitats. The rest of the kids were either in their rooms or studying.Â
Save for two.Â
Bobby and Rouge were hiding outside of the kitchen watching yourself and Logan cook.Â
âI didnât even know he knew how toâŚchop. Let alone cook.â
âYou should have more faith in him.â
âCome on, Rouge. You canât tell me you weren't thinking it, too.â
And she couldnât. Because she was.Â
Meanwhile inside the kitchen, Logan was watching you from the kitchen island as he continued chopping the veg.Â
There was something different about you. From the way you practically danced around the kitchen finding the different items for the recipe, to justâŚyou. Whilst he was (semi) shirtless, just having his zipper hoodie on, along with his jeans and socks. He would have been fully dressed, except you had come and ambushed him in his room â even though you denied the word âambushedâ â to get him to help.Â
And you were just simply in your pyjamas (of sorts) along with one of his zipper hoodies.Â
âBub,â
Logan laid down his knife and walked over to you as you stood by the stove, standing a little higher to see how much water was left in the pot at the back.Â
You hummed a questioned response, but was met with a questionâŚyou didnât expect.Â
âDance with me?â
âWhat?â
Logan smiled lightly as he pulled the wooden spoon from your hand and pulled you closer to him, despite him walking backwards.Â
âCome on,â his voice in a light whisper. âDance with me.â
âDidnât take you for a dancer.â
Outside the door, Bobby and Rouge mouthed to each other; âTheyâre dancing.â
And you both were.Â
Gently swaying to the music for a while, you allowed Logan to lead you around a small space in the centre of the kitchen.Â
âWeâre gonna burn the sauce.â
Logan gave a slight smile at you as he spun you out and back in, âWeâre not gonna burn the sauce.â
âLogan.â
âCanât you ever just enjoy a moment?â
âWhen that moment doesnât include burning the house down, yes.â
âBit of a jump, donât you think, from burning the sauce.â
âHa, so you agree. Weâre gonna burn the sauce.â
Moving over, Logan turned down the heat on one of the pans before taking your hand back into his. âNow we wonât.â
Bobby and Rouge watched, in shock, the rest.Â
For one, Logan knew how to dance? Since when? And since when did heâŚcook and dance in the kitchen? UnlessâŚ
Then Logan did something even you didnât expect.Â
He dipped you.Â
You hand tightened its grip on Loganâs arm as you let out a small, if a little nervous, laugh.Â
Logan had been full of surprises recently. From the impromptu audiobook session in which you woke up in his arms, to him not only dropping off a cup of coffee during your break from teaching but also a freshly baked muffin.Â
And now he was dancing with you in the kitchen.Â
And dipping you.Â
When you had rushed him out of his room to help you cook, you hadnât expected him to know the recipe for the sauce from the top of his head. Something he just happened to rattle off whilst you were looking for the cooking notebook that should have been in the cupboard beside the oven. Let alone be the one to ask to dance in the kitchen, and dip you.Â
Bring you back up, both of you gave a slight chuckle as you turned around, the music slowly fading away in the background.Â
âLoganâŚâ
Looking at him, you forgot what you were going to say.Â
Had his eyes always had so much green in them?Â
Loganâs palm became warm against your back as it pressed further into you. Or maybe you pressed further into him and he just held you tighter.Â
Slowly, your hand left his bicep and trailed towards his chest all the while your eyes studied his face. Youâd known him for years and seen him a thousand times or more.Â
So why did now feel like you were seeing him for the first time? Noticing him? Noticing each particle he was made up of that allowed him to sway with you in the kitchen to the music that had changed on the radio?
Only, before the space between yourself and Logan became any more closer, a noise came from outside the door.Â
A sneeze.Â
A sneeze that shocked you and Logan back into reality.Â
Still holding you, Logan looked towards the door and gave a hint of a smile when he saw the flash of white disappear behind the beam.Â
Realising what was happening, you lowered yourself back to the ground and slowly stepped out of Loganâs arms. âWe should finish up.â
Logan nodded in agreement, however did look back at you when you got back to the stove, not noticing you do the same a few moments later, watching him pick up the rest of the veg and toss it into the collider to be washed.Â
Time passed and after more music, more conversation - including a burnt tongue from when you had shoved a wooden spoon with fresh sauce on, into Loganâs mouth for him to try - and a lot of scrubbing later, you found Logan sitting inside the library and collapsed next to him.Â
âGood news, the kids loved the food,â you told Logan. âDouble good news; Jean and Scott are on cooking duty tomorrow.â
âThank fuck.â
âThank you for helping me.â Turning to look at Logan, you found him already looking.Â
âYou did ambush me.â
âI didnât ambush you.â
âI wasnât dressed.â Logan examined himself. âTechnically, Iâm still not.â
You rolled your eyes with a slight smile. âFine. Maybe it was a mini, tiny, miniscule ambush.âÂ
You made a small space between your fingers. âLike this big of an ambush.â
Logan looked at you, at your fingers and then back to you in slight disgust before moving your fingers wider with his own.Â
âThat big of an ambush.â
You rolled your eyes and dropped your hand. âAnd they say us women are dramatic.â
It was Loganâs turn to roll his eyes. However, as he did so, his arm wrapped around you, and pulled you back into him and the sofa.Â
âJust shut the fuck up for a minute and listen.â
You did so.Â
âI donât hear anything.â
âThatâs the point.â Loganâs eyes were shut as his head rested on the back of the sofa.Â
Eventually you gave a shrug and joined him.Â
An hour later, Storm found you both fast asleep beside one another so with a knowing smile, she found a blanket, covered you both up and closed the door behind her. But not before reminding herself she needed to get verbal confirmation from you both.Â
She wasnât handing over any money to Jean and Xavier until she had verbal confirmation of what exactly was going on between you two.Â
And she didnât have to wait longâŚat least in the long run, she didnât have to wait long.Â
Until then, there were plenty more incidents of falling asleep next to each other, bringing each other coffee, dancing to music in the kitchen, smiling and laughing â all before she finally got verbal confirmation that the inevitable had finally happened.Â
Finally, it was acceptable to decorate for Christmas.Â
Two days prior, Rogue, Logan and Storm had been helping you find all the old decorations in the attic and bring them down. Storm did try then to bribe something out of Rogue, but she apparently was just in the dark as the rest of them.Â
But the smile she gave when she looked over at Logan, who was placing down another box from the back of the pile for you to take a look at, told Storm something different.Â
âI canât believe you leave it this late to decorate.â
Logan looked at you. âWeâre still in November.â
âSo?âÂ
Taking hold of the garland, you started to climb the ladder. Logan held onto the bottom just to be safe.Â
âIf you had it your way, the decorations would be up all year round.â
âHey, no.â
âHey, yes.â
âIâd take them down forâŚâ you tried to think. âHalloween. Youâd have a little break.â
Logan didnât look entirely thrilled. âHalloween is one day.â
âTechnically, itâs a month.â
âTo you, itâs a month. To the rest of us, itâs a day.â
You looked back at him. âTo you itâs a day, to the rest of us itâs a month.â
Then you looked back at the garland. âHow does that look?â
âGreat from where Iâm standing.â
You looked a little confused for a second before quickly looking over your shoulder, realising where Logan was, in fact, looking.Â
Not at the garland, but at your ass.Â
You smiled and started to step down the ladder, hitting his shoulder on the way down.Â
âI meant the garland.â
âOh, yeah, sure.â Logan looked up. âLooks great.â
You laughed. âYou didnât even look.â
With a smile as you finally stepped back into his arm, he looked to the side and up. âIt looks great.â
âGood. Now,â Logan turned back to look at you and you kissed him quickly. âWe have to put up five more.â
âI get to watch you put up five more.â
You smiled. âThis is why youâre my favourite person.â
Logan smiled. He could help you with everything else, but when it came to the garland, you had full control on where it went. Which, he didnât mind. So long as he got to watch you put it up.Â
You quickly kissed him once more, only to be pulled back when you tried to walk away.Â
Then Logan gave you a real kiss.Â
A little dizzy, you smiled and placed a hand on his chest and closed your eyes. âWow.â
He gave you a quicker, lighter kiss. âYou better get going before Rogue comes back with another box of lights.â
âLight?â Then it hit you. âOh, yeah.â
Logan smirked a little as he watched you walk away and down the hallway.Â
It was a couple of hours before everyone was in the same room, making the final touches all the while most of the other kids were either playing outside in the snow, were taking naps or decorating their own rooms.Â
And the others had been watching you and Logan all day.Â
The stolen glances, the stolen touches, the slightly knowing smiles from both Rogue and Bobby. And then, as Logan was helping you down from the ladder, his hand on your thigh, Bobby went to make the final hammer to hang up the mistletoe.Â
âWait, no. Not there.â
âWhere then?â
Storm looked around. âI know. Y/n, hang this just above there. We donât need a remake of Mistletoe Central 1997.â
Logan looked at Storm. âDo I wanna know?â
Storm shook her head. âHere.â
She handed you the mistletoe before Logan passed you the hammer back from his belt.Â
Three knocks and the nail was set in and the mistletoe was above you on a corner beam, just a little to the side of the christmas tree.Â
At least this way, those looking for it, would find it.Â
"Oh, no, wait.â Jean said, looking at you. âHave to kiss someone. Itâs tradition. Youâre under the mistletoe.â
There was no one else apart from Logan.
Logan looked around at the others. He wondered how long it would take.Â
Coming up behind you on the ladder, you moved over for him to stand beside you. His palm on your back held you steady and, leaning his other arm on the ledge of the ladder, his hand cupped your face and he kissed you.Â
Lasting a little longer than the others had expected, you soon heard Rogue giving a little cheer, as well as a couple of whistles from the others.Â
âOkay, I think they get it.â You whispered to Logan as he finally pulled away, a smile very noticeable on both of your faces.Â
âHappy now?â Logan asked, turning towards where Jean and Scott were standing.Â
âThat was some kiss.â
You felt yourself blush at the comment. As did Logan.Â
He helped you back down the ladder before you both turned and really saw the other's expression. As well as the exchanging of money between people.Â
âSoooâŚhow long has this been going on?â
You were leaning into Logan, his hand around your back and on your hip.Â
You looked at Logan, âA couple of months. WeâreâŚwhat? November now so that wouldâŚâ
âThat wouldâŚâ Logan counted back in his head. âMayâŚJune, JulyâŚsix months.â
You looked back to the others. âSix months.â
A chorus of shocked faces and loud voices sounded out; âSIX MONTHS?!â
All before a small call from Rogue was made, which made both yourself and Logan smile.Â
âI knew it!â
#logan x reader#logan howlett x reader#wolverine x reader#the wolverine#wolverine#logan#logan howlett#logan howlett fic#wolverine fic#wolverine x you#logan x you#logan howlett x you#fluff#christmas#kissing under the mistletoe#established relationship#three times this one time that#sleeping together#dancing together#slow dancing in the kitchen#logan can cook#flirting#shirtless wolverine#shirtless logan#falling in love#falling asleep together#x men#x men x you
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Previously On Apologies 2 Tournament ArcâŚ
Our two competitors find themself in a very sticky situationâŚ
With Noir still feeling guilt over the waddle dees that âdiedâ during the competition
And Rope MF trying to figure out the best rope fact to tell poor NoirâŚ
Thereâs no signs showing that they could possibly ever be friends.
With the polls turned in Noirâs favor will things change for the better or get even worse?
This Time On Apologies 2âŚ
CW: Some blood
Uh oh! Seems like Noir just made a bad decision! What will he do on the next epi-
.
.
.
wait⌠Itâs not over?
Looks like Noir about made a big mistake that anger Rope MF and no amount of rope facts can fix that problem!
Who will come out on top?
Will Noir finally kill his first waddle dee in this competition?
Or will Rope MF show Noir why no one ever mess with Rope MFâs Rope?
IS THIS FRIENDSHIP SALVAGEABLE??!??
FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON APOLOGIES 2: âITâS TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE!!!â
⌠SECOND CHANCE, GRAND FINALS âŚ
Noir Fontaine VS Rope MF
âTHERE ARE NO STRINGS ON MEâ >>>⧠VOTE HERE â§<<<
this poll closes 9AM (CST) 28th of October and results will be posted on the 29th. to learn why we are no longer polling on tumblr, read our information post here
#Conditional Reblog#DISCLAIMER: IF YOUâRE LOOKING AT THIS FROM THE REBLOG THERE IS AN ENTIRE ASS COMIC HERE ITâS JUST LONG#Rope MF#long post#Like LONG#HOLY MOLY THIS TOOK FOREVER!!!#I AM SOO SORRY IF THIS IS EXTRA#I TOLD YOU IF ROPE MFâS GONNA GO OUT#HEâS GOING OUT WITH A BANG!!!#THIS IS ALSO THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY SO IT GOTTA BE GOOD!!!#Also Dess if youâre reading this please donât feel any pressure to top this#Iâm just really extra sometimes lol#This round has been soooo much fun! Iâm also having a great time doing this silly grand final story arc with you too Dess!#I like to imagine Starstruck Dee and Valfrey are just having a grand old time chating#And thereâs just these two bozos#also full disclaimer Rope MF is just a waddle dee#I just feel like if I was Noir and I knew that most waddle dees are practically harmless I would be flabbergasted if one just absolutely#decked me in the face#When Rope MF isnât using his brain cell for rope you know youâve fucked up#Iâm also not good at writing serious scenes so sorry if itâs bad#Also guyyyysss weâre kinda cooked when I cooked with this comic#Can Rope MF somehow still end up on top?#if not Iâm still happy Rope MF somehow got this far#and that I can do whatever this is#Holy moly I just realized this reblog is so long that it doesnât show any of it#For me at least.
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Chasing Cars | Masterpost (jjk)
âsummary: when your brother goes to study on a semester abroad, your life collides with his best friend Jeon Jungkook, who's coincidentally your roommate. Will you survive the collision, or will you crumble into dust?
âstatus: completed
âpairings: brother's best friend!Jungkook x younger sister!female reader, Hoseok x female reader, Namjoon x OC, Jin x OC, Jimin x OC, Taehyung x OC and others.
ârating: 18+ (minors DNI, some chapters have mature content)
âgenre: forbidden love?au, college!au, slice of life!au, smut, angst (as usual a lot of it), fluff
âtotal word count: 218.5k (lmao my fingers slipped)
âa/n: I got the idea for this fic just a little over a year ago, following a power outage that lasted for a few days where I live and Jungkook's live where he kept coming back with different outfits (the white dress shirt hit me right in the gut). It took me a long time to write, as I was working on multiple other projects at the same time, but I am so so happy to be ready to share this baby with you guys <3
âThank you to @moonleeai and @jessikahathaway for beta-ing this monster <3 (and for all your encouragement and support)
âAnd a special thank you to @wintaerbaer and @btsborahaee for encouraging me and supporting me whenever I screamed to you about this fic
âadd yourself to the taglist here!
âdiscord server link here!
âââââ
If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol
âââââ
âłTeaser (Jungkook pov): the day he met you (1.1k)
You fucking touch her, you're dead.
âłChapter one: when the Incident happens (11.8k)
Jungkook is Tae's best friend.
âłChapter two: when Jungkook teases you (10.2k)
You know I hate that nickname.
âłChapter three: when Valentine's Day happens (13.1k)
You know, Taehyung doesnât have to know everything.
âłChapter four: when you and Jeon Jungkook clash (9.5k)
I was just going to say that we should keep this between us.
âłChapter five: when you have to go back to reality (12.1k)
We just pretend nothing happened, no?
âłChapter six: when Jungkook hosts his friends over (9.6k)
I really want to kiss you right now.
âłChapter seven: when doubt makes you question everything (15k)
Why do you want to believe the worst of me so bad?
âłChapter eight: when secrets are unveiled in New York (13.5k)
I want you.
âłChapter nine: when a party makes Jungkook jealous (11.2k)
You make me insane.
âłChapter ten: when time slips through your fingers (10.1k)
I donât want to lose you, peach.
âłChapter eleven: when Jungkook visits Taehyung in Paris (8.4k)
Canât wait for you to be back.
âłChapter twelve: when it breaks (7.3k)
I canât be with you.
âłChapter thirteen: when it's too late (8.9k)
I have to talk to him.
âłChapter fourteen: when the truth comes out (12.2k)
We never told each other how we felt.
âłChapter fifteen: when you find your way back to Jungkook (7.4k)
You came?
âłChapter sixteen: when Jungkook takes you out on a date (8.9k)
I think I was waiting for you my whole life.
âłChapter seventeen: when forever awaits you (9k)
Getting to love you is the most beautiful thing thatâs ever happened to me.
Drabbles in Jungkook's pov (might add more as the story goes on)
âłChapter 1.5: the first party (1.6k)
Then why are you bringing him home, peach?
âłChapter 3.5: Valentine's Day (1.1k)
We should have hung out like this before.
âłChapter 4.5: a walk through campus (852)
You love it, peach.
âłChapter 5.5: the return to reality (2k)
You wanted to talk?
âłChapter 6.5: hosting his friends at the apartment (4.4k)
What the fuck is wrong with you?
âłChapter 7.5: when he realizes (2.5k)
Isn't she Taehyung's sister?
âłChapter 8.5: the engagement party (6.6k)
Have fun while it lasts.
âłChapter 9.5: jealous jungkook (3k)
Shouldnât I prove to you that youâve got nothing to worry about?
âłChapter 10.5: the morning before Paris (1.7k)
I promise I'll come back to you and make it work.
âłChapter 11.5: the kiss (1.2k)
Just this once.
âłChapter 12.5: after losing you (4.6k)
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
âłChapter 13.5: returning home (4k)
What am I supposed to do?
âł Chapter 14.5: losing you again (3k)
I can't believe you've been wearing the necklace
âłChapter 15.5: a conversation with Taehyung, and his reunion with you (2.6k)
Itâs never been like that with her.
âââââ
All rights reserved to @/oddinary4bts, 2024. Do not copy, repost or translate.
#chasing cars masterpost#jungkook smut#jungkook angst#jungkook fluff#jungkook x you#jungkook x reader#jungkook fic#jungkook#jjk smut#jjk angst#jjk fluff#jjk x you#jjk x reader#jjk fic#jjk#jeon jungkook#chasing cars#chasing cars series
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