#But she's off in Paris and she's not back until tomorrow :(

[r0bee]

God gives his hardest battles (mother on holiday) to his most worried soldiers (me rn bc I don't feel well and I'm struggling to calm down without her)

[queers-gambit]

Curiosity Killed The Cat

prompt: after rescuing you from kidnappers, you overhear your boyfriend-turned-savior complain about how clingy you've become.

pairing: Mafia!Bucky Barnes x female!reader

fandom masterlist: Marvel

collection masterlist: Clingy Baby

word count: 5.1k+

note: author wants things out of her drafts! also don't take this fic too seriously, it's not much at all - just me writing for the fuck of it until i'm ready to focus on my bigger projects.

warnings: modern AU, Mafia AU, obvious cursing, small hurt and comfort, brief depiction of physical violence and self-destruction in the form of: loss of appetite, lack of sleep, other symptoms of depression. NOT edited! author is ashamed because she knows she can give you something better but oh well.

Your feet planted, jarring you to a halt the moment you heard your name in a conversation you were not apart of.

You heard the hammering of your heart, echoing beats of your blood pumping with harrowing desperation. Hands turned cold and clammy, sweat breaking out on your brow and then freezing, feeling as if your throat had swollen to a new restriction and you were anchored in you in place.

Rooted.

But for now, all you could identify was the paralyzing anxiety that anchored you to your spot and made your heartbeat thunder in your ears. You stood outside the lounge, unable to comprehend relevant thought; still listening to low, docile tones continue their conversation, but you couldn't hear real words.

You were stunned. Panicked, confused, hurt - so very hurt. That seemed to register, too; you were really, really hurt.

This was perhaps why curiosity killed the cat.

You reprimanded yourself for listening in - transporting back to childhood during all the times your parents would scold you for eavesdropping. You knew it was wrong, you knew this was a private conversation meant to be shared between trusting confidants, but you couldn't help it - you heard your name and stopped. It was natural, right? To feel curious regarding a conversation seemingly about you that you, yourself, was not apart of?

Curiosity, indeed.

Blinking rapidly, you remembered the only other time you felt such mounting, pressurized fear, and while it might be dramatic, the only other time you could remember this level of anxiety was from about two months ago...

"Yes, baby, I got the bacon."

"And the jalapeños?"

"Uh-huh, the biggest they had."

"Cream cheese?"

"Do you know who you're talking to?" You laughed into the phone. "I'm a professional housewife by now, you can relax. I got all you needed for your fancy little dinner experiment."

Bucky laughed down the phone, "Oh, please, like I didn't see you salivating when we watched the segment on Top Chef."

"Hush," you laughed, too. "I'm leaving the store now," you told him, pushing out of the heavy glass doors, "and should be home in, like, 10 minutes?"

"Lemme pick you up."

"I have legs to walk with, so, no thank you."

He sighed, "Well, I'll open the wine to let it breathe. Red's still good?"

"Let's do a white tonight, please."

"Good deal," he mused softly. "Hey, I was thinking earlier - "

"Hang on," you pleaded.

"What's wrong?"

"No, nothing. There's just a van slowing down, I don't want to get hit," you chuckled some, looking up and down the street before crossing. "Sorry, so, what were you thinking?"

"We haven't been to Paris in months."

You smirked, "I'm sure our plants in the apartment are dead by now."

Bucky laughed, "Oh, I am, too. But, look, how 'bout it, Peach? You, me, all the croissants we can consume this weekend. I'll take Monday and Tuesday off, we can leave tomorrow night."

"Oh, that sounds nice," you moaned. "Paris in the spring? Baby, that's so dreamy!"

"So, is that a yes?"

"It's a hell yes," you grinned. "Do you know the weather?"

"Supposed to be nice and sunny, not too warm or cold. Figured this would be ideal," he chuckled. "But does the weather matter if we're in bed the whole time?"

"No, we're not wasting our time!" You laughed. "We're gonna go do shit, okay? Stereotypical tourist-couple shit."

"I'll bring the camera."

"And I was hoping we could have dinner at that little place we love?"

"I wouldn't take you anywhere else," he mused.

"I think it's - FUCK!" Bucky froze when he heard the screeching of tires; a van coming up to a skidding halt, flurry of voices all yelling but he heard yours clearly. "No, no, no, hey, hey, what the hell's happening? Hey! What's this - hey, hey! Don't touch me! Ow, shit! No! Hey! Fuck's sake - oh, my God! Ow! Hey!"

"Baby!? Peach! Hey! The fuck's going on!?"

There was a thudding over the phone, and Bucky listened to more struggling - more fidgeting and fighting - and then the slamming of a car door. Still calling your name, Bucky heard a scrape over the line before a different voice answered your phone, "James Barnes. On behalf of HYDRA, you're overdue on your payment and we warned you there would be consequences. Deliver the full amount of 17 million - "

"It's 15," he growled.

"Two million more for the inconvenience of stalking your woman."

"If you even so much as touch her, I swear to God - "

"17 million at midnight, at the pier, or every minute you're late, she'll receive the brunt end of our frustration."

"Don't hurt her - "

"Midnight, Mr. Barnes, at the pier - you know where. Don't be late, she looks like she won't last long."

The line went dead after he heard your screech of pain, confusion, and fear. The moment the line cut, he dropped his phone and slowly lowered himself to sit on the kitchen floor, shock coloring his system. It wasn't that he didn't have the money, quite the opposite - but he and his men had a plan in motion to take out HYDRA, their org's competition, and this was totally against all they anticipated. After a minute to sit in his own worry, Bucky jumped to his feet, grabbed his phone, keys, wallet, and two handguns; holstering them both before shrugging his suit jacket on.

He made every phone call he could, gathering the men he trusted most to (one of) his warehouse(s).

For hours, you were strung up by your wrists in a joint-pulling position while the Brooklyn Mafia formulated a plan of attack. It was the most pain you've ever known, but then the abuse started and you were blinded by this new pain. You had bruises most places, cuts that wept blood; scars that would never heal, wounds that wouldn't ever close. You were delirious, miserable, confused, just dazed and confused; praying to a God who didn't listen.

"Oh, look at that," your captor mocked, holding a thick-bladed hunting knife in hand, "it's one minute til midnight, and I don't see your loverboy anywhere."

You sniffled, unable to respond.

He stared out the lone window, tisking and narrating, "Nope, I see not a soul - and with how protective he is over you, you'd think he'd want to ensure your safety. Not leave it to chance, huh?"

You whimpered as the clock struck midnight, your heart hammering in heavy-hung worry. You had tears in your eyes, heart nearly beating out of your chest, feeling incredibly nauseous. The desire to scream never lessened, just fearing what was to come; the men in the room making you fear for the state of your life, their knuckles cracking. You only begged, "Please. Don't."

The main captor laughed, "You can do better than that! C'mon, give me the satisfaction of tellin' ol' James you begged for mercy - but it wasn't enough to sway me. I'll lie, for sure, and say it happened but it will be so much sweeter if you actually do it."

"Please," you shook your head, avoiding eye contact. "Just don't do this, please."

"Oh, honey," he mocked, "it's not our fault he's late. Lads! Have at her, but leave her face for now - she's still real pretty."

You listened as he gave commands in Russian, understanding after the years at Bucky's side; whimpering when the first blow landed to your gut and knocked the wind out of you. The minutes drug by and you felt your resolve crumbling, heart still hammering to a never-before-felt speed that made it feel as if it were jumping out of your very body at every single pulse point. You struggled in your restraints, but it was futile by how tight you were bound; unable to protect yourself.

At 12:03 am, the doors blew open in a resounding blast; concrete crumbling and sprinkling the floor. You cried out as the smoke choked you, coughing through the haze; only barely able to make out certain figures to know Bucky had brought his best men. However, despite the sting to your eyes from the swirling dust and smoke, you saw a lone man stalk through the blasted wall, through the fray, and straight up to you.

"Bu-Bucky!" You choked in relief as he reached to untie your feet first. You dangled for only a moment as his metal prosthetic ripped off whatever held your wrists to the torture contraption. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God, Bucky, holy shit, baby, please, please, please," you rambled as he freed you and instantly caught you on his broad shoulders.

"I got you, Peach, I'm here, I've got you," he promised in your ear, hoisting your legs around his waist so they latched and then wrapping his arms around you securely. "Don't let go and don't look up, okay? Hear me, Peach?"

You nodded into his neck, only able to cry.

Bucky jolted and jerked slightly as he moved through the fight again, but not a minute later, you were stepping outside into the sobering, brisk spring air. This was the moment you understood how dangerous and fleeting life with Bucky could be, making a promise to yourself that if he says take the car, you'll take the fucking car.

And now, here you were, outside the high-rise apartment's lounge (which was just a converted bedroom), listening to your boyfriend complain about you some 2 months after the whole fiasco. HYDRA had been all but wiped out, and in the weeks since, Bucky's men had gone on smaller missions to eradicate the HYDRA members they heard rumor of being local. Yet you didn't feel safe, yet.

You didn't feel safe if you weren't around Bucky.

Everything made you jump: the beep of the done-dryer, that spritz of the automatic fragrance mister in the bathroom, the "duh-dunnn" of a loaded-up Netflix. Keys jingling, car horns, the barking of the dog in the apartment a floor below you... Everything.

Being around Bucky was just like holding a safety blanket. He would always protect you, and for about a week after your rescue, he laid in bed and around the home with you; being lazy; time off work to simply hold you and assure you were safe. Safe in his arms. Safe in his embrace, his presence.

So now... To hear this... You were devastated.

You didn't mean to eavesdrop, it just sort of happened. It was still earlier in the morning, but Bucky hadn't been in bed beside you and based on the feel of the sheets, his body hadn't been there in a while. So, you made some coffee and then ventured around the home in search of your lover; coming upon the lounge and hearing voices from within.

You knew it was common for Steve Rogers and / or Sam Wilson to stay late or visit early, so, you weren't shocked by that, but did falter in announcing yourself when you heard Sam ask how you were doing since the kidnapping. He used your name specifically, making Bucky sigh, and for your curiosity to peak.

"She's different, man."

"How so?" Sam wondered.

"She doesn't like being without me now," he chuckled without humor. "I'm serious, she won't go to the gym until I do, waits to have meals together, won't leave the house if I'm out, and," he scoffed to himself, "you can forget going to the grocery store or anything - she's even stopped going to work - "

"You told her to stop working, like, two years ago when y'all first moved-in together," Sam deadpanned.

"I know," Bucky shrugged, "but it feels tenfold now that she's so reclusive."

"It's normal," Steve sighed gently.

"Yeah? Is it normal that I can't even go take a shit without promising her I'll be right back?" Bucky snapped in exasperation. "It's that bad, she's that fucking clingy, man. I go in the kitchen to make dinner, she's in there 30 seconds later to 'help' me. I take a shower, she finds a reason to linger in the bedroom, but that was better than before, when she wouldn't even shower by herself. It's just a lot, she's everywhere I look. I'm starting to find new reasons not to come home, man, she's always fucking here - and when I walk in the door, she's on me. I need to fucking breathe, but I can't tell her to stop, she'll get her feelings hurt and then I'm the bad guy."

"Man," Steve laughed, "you can't be the bad guy if you go to her in a calm and collected manner, but it's only been two months. She's still recovering."

"Exactly why if I say anything, no matter how calm and collected, I'm the bad guy. I get she's hurting and tryna recover, but Goddamn, does she have to be in every room I'm in? Do everything with me? How do I tell my traumatized girlfriend to back off? Let me breathe?"

Sam laughed, "You don't! You just said it - she's traumatized! Cut the girl some slack, she's got a lot to fuckin' deal with!"

"I'm not negating from that fact," Bucky argued, "I'm just trying to say, the way she's clinging onto me like she can't function without me is just grating at my nerves. I just need to breathe and recharge, but I can't tell her that - fuck's sake."

"Buck," Steve smirked, "you're worried Peach isn't gonna listen, but that's her literal superpower. Just communicate, she can't read your mind, but you need to remember how traumatic all of that was for her to experience - she's scarred from that kidnapping, man. So, sure, you need to recharge, but she needs the support."

"Is it wrong to ask for a day here and there to do that? To recharge?" Bucky asked quietly.

"If you communicate, it's perfectly reasonable to ask for," Sam assured softly. "And whatever you do, don't tell her you think she's clingy. Chicks hate that, that word is, just, like, taboo or something. Real heavy, negative connotations."

"But she is," Bucky growled quietly, "'s like she's afraid to let go 'cause I'll disappear or something."

"Oh, noooo," Sam mocked, "I'm Bucky and my girlfriend loves me too much and trusts me too much and actually feels safe and dependent on me too much - ohhh noooo!"

There was a thump, Sam's cried, "Ow!", and Bucky telling him to shut up. You slowly backed away from the door, trying to settle your breathing as you made your escape down the hall. When back in the kitchen, you whimpered and let the first tears fall... The first of many you shed in the hour it took you to prepare breakfast for everyone; doing your best to eat as you cooked so you didn't have to linger around the men. You took Bucky's words to heart, and maybe you were too sensitive, maybe you should venture outside again.

So, when the lads came out, you set the table without making eye contact with any of them. "Here," you directed, setting the pancakes down, "I made breakfast, come eat, it's still hot."

"Wow," Sam smiled brightly, "thanks, Peach!"

You hummed, still avoiding their eyes as you just set the abundance of food to the table. "You... Cooked without me?" Bucky asked you with skepticism.

"Mhm," you hummed, setting the coffee pot down to a hot pad, "and I'm going out shopping with Nat, so, eat up, lads, I'll do the dishes when I get home. Love you, boys, bye," you waved them off, snatching your keys and then moving to the door to stuff your feet into your sneakers.

"Woah, woah, woah," Bucky left the table, approaching you urgently, "hey, what do you mean? You're goin' out?"

"Yep, figured I've stayed in too long, might as well get out and remember life doesn't stop just 'cause I'm sad."

"Peach - "

"I'll see you when I get home, Buck, okay?" You mumbled, slinging your purse on your shoulder.

"Well, here, here, hey, wait, hang on," he pulled his wallet out, handing you over a wad of big bills. "Spend it all, okay? Have fun, call or text if you need me, yeah?"

"Sure."

Bucky leaned in to kiss you but you just opened the door, ready to leave. He frowned, watching you, barely managing to call a quick, "Love you!"

You didn't return the sentiment, feeling hallow and all too silly to return the affection. In your purse was your laptop, headphones, chargers, and whatever else, so, instead of meeting your friend, Natasha - being just a ruse to avoid Bucky - you started small and just went to the local café. You used to frequent it back in the day, but times were changed, and yet, they were all the happier to serve you the same as before. Getting cozy in the corner, you set up camp and ordered your favorite coffee basically every other hour - letting the day waste away as you caught up on work emails.

Might've wasted time on Instagram and Facebook and Pinterest. Got shopping done on Amazon. Browsed through Target's online selection. Checked out the sale items at Kate Spade. Perused Fenty Lingerie because you could.

Before you knew it, a message was coming in over your MacBook from Bucky, asking where you were - why had you turned your location off?

You packed up and with a to-go cup, made the short trek back home. When you got back, Bucky was pacing in the living room; staring at his phone and typing, then deleting, retyping, groaning, glancing up, typing again, then doing a double take. "Where've you been, Peach? Huh!?" Bucky demanded. "You're late!"

"Out with Nat," you eased.

He huffed through his nose, nodding slowly, "You have a nice time?"

"It was okay," you answered. "I'm gonna go to bed after I shower."

His brows furrowed, "I have a meeting tonight."

"I know."

"O...kay?" He let you go, wanting to ask why you didn't ask him to join like you had so often in the past few weeks.

And it didn't stop there, in fact, it got worse. When Bucky got home from his meeting, he was actually shocked to see you nestled in the bed; teetering on the edge of the shared space while snuggling a weighted body pillow.

When he tried to give you a snuggle, you stirred to life and pushed him back, muttering, "Too hot."

The following morning, he was relatively surprised to see you up and about before him; barely getting a word in before you were slipping out the door to go on a morning jog. He was confused by how all of a sudden, where you were once everywhere he looked, now, you were disappeared and distant and gone. You worked out alone, cooked alone - but always left him a plate, but long gone were the cute little sticky notes you left for him. You once haunted the apartment by never wanting to leave, and now, ghosted in and out of it on a daily basis.

You never bothered to go far from home. You liked hanging at the coffee shop and luckily, your job let you work from home most days, and the rare time you were due back in the office, it was only about a 20 minute walk. You got better at lying, couldn't even remember the last time you and Bucky had sex, and even now, the last time you had a meal together. You didn't text him about your day; where you once might've told him about an adorable dog you saw on the street, now, you only ever texted him if he asked a direct question.

Food lost appeal, your appetite vanished.

Sleep evaded you, plaguing you with nightmares when you did rest.

Interest dulled, passions were snuffed, and only fearful, confused anger remained. It showed in the way weight seemed to shift around your body, thinning; the lack of sleep creating dark rings and bags under your bloodshot eyes.

After two weeks of this, Bucky grew irritated and short with everyone around him. It reflected in his work, the way he spoke to everyone; even Steve and Sam getting the brunt end of his anger. Without you to assure him, Bucky was off his rocker; losing his cool; his patience stretched far too thin. So much so, the two mates approached an outside associate, Natasha Romanoff, after a particularly snappy meeting to plead for her to talk to Bucky.

"James," Nat greeted as she strode into his office without knocking.

"I know you're my oldest friend, but you don't have that privilege yet," he mused, never looking up.

"What?"

"Not knocking. What is it, Nat?"

"Just came to check on you, you know, like friends do."

"Hm," he chuckled without humor, "and what did Peach say to you?"

"About...?"

"Me."

"Nothing, I haven't gotten ahold of her for weeks."

Bucky paused, slowly lifting his head in confusion; brows furrowed and mouth set in a firm, straight line. "What?" He grit.

"Huh?" Nat wondered.

"She's been telling me that she's hanging out with you for the past two weeks," he revealed.

"Nope, not since the incident with HYDRA."

Bucky's (right) flesh hand crushed the pen in his grip, taking a long breath. "All right," he sighed, "so, why come today?"

"What's really going on, Buck?" She worried softly. "Is it really whatever's going on with Peach? You're this pissed off? What'd she even do?"

"She just..." He cut himself off with a long sigh. "It's nothing."

"Bucky," Nat gave a pointed look.

"She's just avoiding me," he muttered. "It's like she's barely home, almost like a ghost."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, and no," Bucky snipped, rolling his neck out. "I'm just worried about her now, she's never not communicated before."

"Something's bothering her," Nat shrugged. "She probably needs you right now, Buck."

"I can't do it all," he whispered. "I can't be who she wants and run this organization at the same time."

"She doesn't need that, she just needs you to be her partner," Natasha spoke softly. "She needs to feel loved and supported, and surely, she maybe felt weird about whatever you were projecting. Instead of taking it out on your men," she smirked, "why don't you just talk to her? 'Cause I hear you're bein' a more-than-usual asshole lately. You need to ease up or get laid, 'cause you're taking it out on good, loyal men, and that's entirely unfair."

"They can take it."

"Sure, but they shouldn't have to," Nat rolled her eyes. "Look, since you won't answer me, I'm assuming the sour mood is in regard to whatever relationship issues you have right now?"

"Sure," he tossed the pen away, opened a skinny drawer to his right and select an identical one.

"Bucky," she growled.

He sighed, "She's lying to me, Nat. Saying she's with you when she's not... Is this an affair? She's gone all the time now."

"No way," Nat laughed. "Baby girl doesn't have the energy to entertain anyone - let alone two men. You're just the exception."

"Why lie, then?"

"Maybe she didn't want you questioning her..."

"No shit."

"Well, did you get into a fight?"

"No."

"Any reason she doesn't want to be home?"

He shook his head with a sigh, "Not that I know of."

"You had to do something."

"Honest, I haven't. She was being all clingy, but then one day, a switch flipped."

Nat frowned, "You think... Your girlfriend is being clingy... Because she was kidnapped and beaten up... Because of your fucking job... And is probably scared...out of...her mind...? I get that correct?"

Bucky paused for a long moment, muttering, "Oh, my God."

"Yeah, you asshole. Think of it that way! She's afraid!" Natasha snapped. "And probably picked up on your energy, so, she made herself scarce."

"I didn't mean - "

"I don't care, go home, apologize to that sweet angel - she doesn't deserve this."

Bucky paused, "What is 'this' exactly?"

"James. Focus on the present - your woman. Go make this right. We all know you're this big, bad dude - but it's okay to be a little sensitive towards the woman who loves you without condition!"

Bucky relented, figuring the redheaded Russian mobster was right.

The entire drive home, Bucky considered the ways you had changed in the few, short weeks since he vented to Sam and Steve about your clinginess. You didn't take meals with him, didn't cook, work-out, or do anything you used to do together. Sex? Forget it. Dates? Nope. Cuddling? No, you're always 'too hot'. And when he thought about it, he remembers seeing the wads of cash he'd leave for you stuffed in his sock drawer - surely trying to make him think it was just another emergency fund he had hidden. You never spent his money, feeling humiliated by his choice of words.

Clingy...

You didn't text or call him when he was gone, you hadn't even so much as kissed him in what felt like ages... Well, more like you hadn't initiated any kisses...

His heart weighed in his chest as he realized he hadn't even so much as hugged you in days. You were rarely in the apartment together, and when you were, you were just silent and busy with chores. It was as if you operated on the exact opposite schedule as he did, went to new extents to avoid him, and his heart clenched in his chest.

When he got home, you were caught cooking in the kitchen - being obvious that you weren't expecting him. The door slammed and his baritone voice snapped, "Peach!"

You gulped, holding the sauce-covered wooden spoon to your chest. When he rounded around the corner, he found you and slowed down, sighing in relief. "What's wrong?" You worried in a timid tone.

He panted lightly, relaying, "Needed to find you."

"I'm here."

"I know," he relented, charging up to you and engulfing you in a tight, heavy hug. "I needed to talk to you, Peach," he whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"You. You're what's wrong."

"What the fuck does that - "

"No, no," he pulled back to stare down at you fondly, "I don't mean it like that, just that... You're struggling. I can see that. But you're not alone, I'm here with you, and I got a little caught up in my head when I realized someone was so very dependent on me - it fucking scared me. But then... Then you just shut yourself off and hid away from me, and oh, my God, it's so much worse, baby. Don't do that," he breathed, "okay? Don't ever shut me out - don't stop loving me, don't stop talking to me, don't give up on us. I can't read your mind, you can't read mine, it's not an excuse - but we understand better when we trust each other enough to communicate what's required. I'm so sorry I got caught up in myself, I didn't know what you needed - but I'm here now, I'm here - I'm not leaving you."

You collapsed into his chest, taking a shuddering breath.

"Don't ever stop talking to me, Peach," Bucky whispered, kissing the top of your head; keeping you close. "I'm so sorry, baby, if I - "

"If?" You snapped, pulling back to glare at him through your tears. "I heard you, Bucky. I heard you talking to Sam and Steve, and about how clingy I am."

"I was wrong," he insisted. "I was overwhelmed and tired and just stretched thin, the easiest thing to do is attack those closest to me, and that's you. It's not right, it's the worst I could do to you after all you've been through, and I'm so sorry. I was wrong, you're not the person to take this out on - and I'm so sorry, Peach."

You sighed, "I don't mean to be... I don't mean to cling - "

"Nah," he chuckled, caressing your cheek, "you cling as much as you want. Cling as tight as you want, baby, don't let me go. I'm sorry for what I said and the way it made you feel, it was wrong - so fucking wrong of me, and I see that. When you pulled away from me, I just... I couldn't think. It felt so wrong, and I knew it was my fault." He took your face in both palms, promising, "I'm so sorry, Peach."

You shrugged meekly, "It's okay."

"It's not."

"No, but apologizing is a step in the right direction."

He nodded, "What else can I do?"

"Nothing - "

"Peach."

You paused to think, smiling shyly, "Movie night?"

"Whatever my pretty girl wants," he nodded.

"Hmm... Get a bath with me?"

"All right... Sure, okay..."

"And face masks."

He sighed, "Okay."

"And mani-pedis."

"Baby."

"You said you were making it up to me, right?"

He smirked, "That's right... All right, yeah, sure, fine, we can..." He sighed again, "We can do all that, Peach, whatever you want."

"I just want you," you told him softly. "I didn't mean to be so clingy. I was just afraid... I felt afraid everyday, just so very unsure in this life. You're the only thing that makes sense to me, Buck, and when I heard you, I just... I guess I realized how dependent I'd been and wanted to give you space. Last thing I want is to smother you, to drive you away from me."

"Not ever gonna happen," he promised softly. "I just didn't handle it like I should've. I'm sorry, Peach, but I'm here now - for whatever you need. Want me to take a few days off, just be together? I'll arrange it. Want to get away for a bit? We can go."

"I just need you," you whispered. "Only you and I should be okay - I can be okay if I have you, but feeling like I lost you? Even a fraction? Buck... James, it was such a harrowing feeling, I wasn't sure what to do to move forward. So, I think I just panicked, shut down; thought if I could just get back to normal, you'd love me again..."

"I never stopped loving you," he swore, "I just had a bad lapse in my own judgement. Nothing against you, baby. Nothing."

You nodded again, letting him tuck you into his chest; perfectly snug under his chin as he coiled his arms around you. He let out a long sigh, his guilt swelling to new heights, but for that present moment, everything seemed okay.

Felt okay.

Appeared okay.

And you'd both do whatever it took to remain as okay as you possibly could.

requesting rules and masterlist

Marvel masterlist

Clingy Baby collection masterlist

[plathfiles]

hii, could you do something where reader is family friend and visits every summer so she’s there when Ollie is too, and he senses reader and felix’s tension and tries to ruin it or come between them? And like some angst, drama, tension and just pent up frustration between Felix and reader

ooh yes! angst and drama, this is perfect

i hope you enjoy and thank you for the request!

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pairing: felix catton x fem!reader

warnings: use of y/n, angst, toxic relationships, manipulation, ollie being ollie, jealous!felix, possessive!felix, language.

a/n: I’m really proud of this

☙☙☙☙

You had spent every summer with the Cattons since you were 15 years old. Your father, Henry Roy was best friends with Sir James Catton. Once you met the Catton siblings— Venetia and Felix you came to Saltburn every summer.

Felix Catton. How would someone describe the human embodiment of the Greek god Apollo? That was Felix. He was tall and lanky. When his brown eyes fixed on you, it was like he was staring into your soul.

You couldn’t help but feel attracted to Felix. There was a spark between you two, that burned every summer.

When you turned 18, the Catton sibling’s cousin Farleigh joined in your summer adventures.

The four of you would run through that maze, figuring out its intricate design. Drinking every night and running naked through the tall grass that grew around the castle’s edge.

The summer before you went off to college, Felix and you shared your first kiss. It was a hot sunny day, Farleigh and Venetia were drinking by the pool. Felix had taken you off into maze for a walk.

When you came upon the statue in the middle of the maze, you and Felix were laughing. He leaned in and kissed you. Surprised at first, you pulled away. Then you planted your lips to his and kissed him until dark.

Then the summer ended and you had to go to University in Paris. You told the family you would come back every summer. And you kept your promise.

Now after your first year at college, you came to Saltburn for the summer. Hoping to see Felix. Neither of you had talked about your kiss last summer. It was a moment of passion and you doubted Felix would want to be with someone like you.

You’d heard from Elsbeth that Felix was bringing home a friend. You dreaded the thought of it being a girl, until Elsbeth clarified it was a poor boy from Liverpool.

The day before Oliver arrived you came to the house. Elsbeth was overjoyed to see you, giving you a hug and her usual kind compliment. Venetia said hi and pulled you aside, letting you know that would be staying on her side of the castle.

Farleigh and you exchanged jokes, although really happy to see eachother. Sir James asked you about your father and told you that he planned on inviting your family for dinner one night.

But you wondered where Felix was.

“Where’s Felix?” You asked Venetia, she was like a sister to you. You knew to trust her and she would always have your best interest at heart.

“He’s hiding and also preparing for his new friend Ollie to come over tomorrow. It’s annoying, he won’t stop talking about him. And you, christ, Felix is so nervous to see you,”

You blushed when she said this. But as if he heard his own name, Felix was walking into the room. You looked up at him, a smile spreading on your face.

You walked to him and he pulled you into a hug. Felix had missed you and he wanted to tell you how he felt. After he kissed you last summer he realized how in love with you he was. Felix spent the entire school year pining after you, figuring out a way to tell you.

When he became friends with Oliver, he always talked about you. How you were a friend but could definitely become something more.

Oliver was jealous. He was madly obsessed with Felix and had plans of his own this summer.

“I’m so glad you’re here, y/n,” Felix smiled charmingly at you.

“I’m glad too,” you replied, looking up at him with heart eyes. Venetia gave Farleigh a ‘let’s hope they get together this summer’ look.

After a night of pleasantries, you went to your room excited for what the summer had to bring. Little did you know, this was the calm before the storm.

☙☙☙☙

Oliver arrived the next day. You met him and heard all about his sad backstory. He was nice to you. Felix introduced you to him and immediately Oliver saw how much he loved you.

It made him sick with jealousy. So he planned to tear you two apart.

Later that day, you walked back to your room to change for dinner when you stumbled across a note.

‘Meet me in the garden tonight after everyone goes to bed — Felix ♡︎’

You blushed, closing up the note and planning to meet him. When you got to the garden, you waited. You didn’t see Felix anywhere. You sighed in frustration and confusion. You were cold.

But then you heard foot steps and in the dark you could see a figure. But it wasn’t Felix, it was Oliver.

“What are you doing out here Ollie?” You asked, your arms wrapped around yourself.

“I saw you, from my window. I wanted to know if your okay,” he said.

“Thanks, Ollie but I’m fine. I’m waiting for Felix. I thought—never mind,” You said.

“What?” Oliver asked, his plan unfolding just as he imagined.

“Felix asked me to be here. I thought he was going to tell me he wanted me, after last year,” you explained vaguely.

“Ah well. I don’t want to hurt your feelings but Felix has someone. Well multiple girls. He can’t keep his hands off them at Oxford. It’s ridiculous,” Oliver lied straight to your face. And you believed him.

Tears came to your face. Felix wasn’t interested in you and he already had someone, someone that wasn’t you. “No it’s alright. Thank you for telling me,” you said, wiping away a tear.

“I’m cold, so I should return to the house,” you said, walking past Oliver. He grabbed your hand and pulled you close.

Leaning in, he kissed you softly. You pulled away from him.

“Ollie no,” you said, looking into with eyes with warning. He let your hand go and you walked back into the house.

As you walked back into the house, you didn’t know that Felix saw you and Oliver kiss. As soon as he saw it, his heart broke and he turned away from the window. He didn’t see you pull away and leave.

The next morning, breakfast was awkward to say the least.

You were mad at Felix for not telling you he was involved and for standing you up. Felix thought you’d gotten with Oliver and was extremely jealous.

He was also angry with Oliver, as he knew how Felix felt about you.

Later that day, Oliver tried to find Felix. He was sulking in the sun.

“Felix? Is everything alright?” Ollie asked innocently. Felix just huffed in response.

“What do you think?” Felix asked passive aggressively.

“I’m not sure. I want to know what’s made you so upset?” Ollie asked innocently.

“How could you get with Y/n? I saw you two last night in the garden. You kissed her,” Felix said, sounding hurt.

Oliver frowned. “She wanted me to kiss her. I didn’t know what else to do. She left me a note to meet me and I was going to turn her down because I know how much you like her,” he said.

Felix’s face softened but his heart was breaking. Did you not like him? Obviously not if you wanted Oliver to kiss you, he thought.

“I’m sorry Felix,” Oliver apologized.

Felix turned to his friend, “It’s alright mate, it’s not your fault.” He reassured.

☙☙☙☙

You and Felix were not speaking to each other. Just glaring at each other across the room. Venetia was confused and Farleigh was too busy worrying about his own situation to notice.

“What happened between you and Felix?” Venetia asked, one night before bed.

You huffed, “Nothing, I guess. We kissed last summer and now, well he doesn’t want me anymore.” You explained.

“I find that very hard to believe. He talks about you all the time when you aren’t here. And Farleigh said he couldn’t stop thinking about you during school,” she laughed.

This confused you. You wanted to confront Felix. Angry, you took the note. “Right, I’ll be back,” you told Venetia.

You practically stomped to Felix’s room that night, banging on the wooden door. Felix opened the door, his hair disheveled and only wearing his boxers and maroon robe.

“What do you want?” He asked coolly, leaning against the door.

You huffed, crossing your arms. “Don’t take that tone with me. You have been nothing but aggressive towards me this entire week. You won’t look at me, except when you glare. As if I’ve hurt you in some way,” you ranted.

Felix looked at you confused as you continued to speak. “Which is ridiculous, because you invited me to the garden. Not the other way around. I know you have loads of woman just lining up to fuck you. So I will do you the favor of fucking off,” you said, pushing the note into his hands.

You left in a huff and Felix was utterly quiet. He opened up the note and recognized the hand writing immediately.

Why would Oliver lie? He thought. Why did he pretend to be me and write you a note?

Felix walked next door and into Ollie’s bedroom. “Hey mate, I have a question.” He said, shortly.

Oliver looked up from his book, “Yes Felix?”

“That note that Y/n gave you. Did it look anything like this?” Felix said angry.

Oliver looked at the paper that he’d written and slipped under your door. He gulped. “I can explain,” Oliver said, albeit timidly.

“I don’t need an explanation Ollie, you’re a fucking liar. You took advantage of our feelings. Why would you do that?” Felix said.

Oliver couldn’t respond and when he didn’t, Felix left the room going out to try and find you.

You were crying on the bottom of the staircase, drinking a bottle of champagne that you’d snagged from the kitchen.

Coming down the stairs, Felix heard you and came to you quietly.

“Y/n, don’t cry,” Felix said. Hearing his voice, you stood up and turned around.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, wiping away your tears.

Felix walked towards you. His thumb landed on your cheek and wiped away a fallen tear. “I’m sorry about Ollie, he manipulated us. Told me that you wanted him. It made me jealous, because well…because I love you.”

You looked at him in surprise. Felix loved you. “You love me?” You asked, to which Felix nodded, a soft smile on his face. “And you aren’t seeing anyone?” You wanted clarification.

Felix furrowed his eyebrows in worry, “No, no im not. I only want to see you,” he said, leaning in incredibly close.

You nodded, “I love you too, very much,” you smiled softly, looking up into him.

In a heartbeat, Felix kissed you. At first it was soft and sweet. It became heated as you kissed him back. Felix moved his hand around your waist, to hold you up and close to him.

When you pulled away for air, Felix smiled softly. “I’ve been wanting to do that again since last summer. I don’t like it when you’re away. You’re mine, you know.” Felix smirked, pulling you into his hips.

“Am I now?” you grinned, liking the sound of him calling you his. Felix nodded, leaning into kiss you.

“Felix….” You heard Oliver say from the top of the stairs. Felix’s grasp on your waist tightened protectively. You both turned to Oliver.

“Go away Oliver,” Felix said warningly. You gave Oliver an angry look. You wished he would leave.

“I need to talk to you, Felix. We need to sort this out,” Ollie practically whined.

Felix shook his head, “I can’t have you here mate, it was a mistake inviting you.” He said.

☙☙☙☙

The next morning in a dramatic fashion Sir James and Elsbeth led Oliver out of the grounds. You, Felix, Venetia and Farleigh watched from the top of the staircase as it happened.

When the door closed, Sir James clapped his hands together. “Alright. The Henry’s are coming to dinner tonight, everything must be perfect.” He said.

[flemingsfreckles]

Physio’s Daughter pt.5

Jessie Fleming x Reader

Read the previous parts HERE

Warnings: cursing

WC: 4.0k

A/N: hi :) enjoy (if you’re reading this the same day it was posted and want to help make a decision on the future of this story go vote on the poll on my feed)

The players ended up with way more downtime than the staff during the week before you all left for Paris they were really only responsible for keeping their bodies ready to play and showing up to get on the plane. You and the rest of the staff had meetings, more paperwork, you all had to pack your equipment away, it took more hours of your time than you had expected.

This meant you had to turn down Jessie on three different occasions when she asked you to coffee.

The first time Jessie shook off the rejection. Not thinking much about it, you were obviously busy with work and didn’t have the time that day.

“I’m wrapping up here. Want to grab a coffee this afternoon?” She stuck her head into your office.

“I would Jessie but I’m not out of here until 5 tonight. Plus should we be grabbing coffee?” You give her a questioning look. You had agreed to friends now, friends grabbed coffee but it felt like a gateway to something more with her.

“Oh, okay, sorry I didn’t realize you had to work so late.”

She shook you off, walking back over to her locker to grab her stuff and leave for the day, having to stop alone for coffee.

She didn’t stop asking, one thing about that girl, she loved to stop by your office and she also loved to get coffee.

“Coffee? Do you have a lunch break at some point?” Jessie’s head once again swung around your office door early in the morning when players were released for a couple hours break before having to return in the evening for film.

You sigh throwing your hands up, gesturing to the pile of papers in front of you “I’m supposed to get a lunch but I think I have more travel paperwork to do during that time, I don’t know Kelly from the administration called and-”

“Don’t worry about it.” You notice the tight lipped half smile she gives you. You so badly wanted to say fuck it to the paperwork and go get coffee with Jessie, you’d get coffee with that woman every second of every day if you could. But you had work. You were at work and she was your coworker.

Insistent on getting you to say yes, Jessie offers another plan. “What about tomorrow morning since it’s a later start? Before we come in?”

“Tomorrow I have to be here at normal times, it’s just you guys who get to come in late.” You give her a frown.

“Look if you don’t want to come to coffee with me, that’s okay, just say that though.” Her voice is quiet but she looks frustrated with you. Her eyebrows furrowed, upset lines on her forehead.

“No! Jessie, I do! I do want to get coffee with you, just, this isn’t a great week. I’ve still got a ton of work to get done before we leave. As the newbie on the staff I get all the simple but time consuming work no one else wants. Unfortunately the next few weeks will be just as crazy for both of us.”

“Okay.” She turns to leave “I’m sorry for bothering you.” Before you can really stop her to explain that she’s not a bother and honestly the short chats you get with her are the highlight of your day, she exits the door. And you're left alone in your office, a massive pile of paperwork to still get done.

With only two days left before you had to fly to Paris you were trying to get most of your work done today. You didn’t want to have to deal with work and the stress of packing tomorrow. You curse yourself for not packing sooner. You end up in the office until it’s dark outside checking your watch and seeing it was 7:30 at night. Your mom had left the office two hours ago, giving you a kiss on the head and telling you not to stay up too late.

You focus in, getting tunnel vision on the paperwork, racing through the stack of papers, until your phone goes off.

Jessie Fleming: what time do you have to be in tomorrow?

A text from Jessie has your phone vibrating in your lap. You pick it up and respond, wondering why she would need to know.

You: 5:30

You: Do you need treatment? Is your calf alright?

Jessie Fleming: So the facility will be open at 5:30? Calf is fine but I’m trying to get in some extra recovery and stretching, feeling a bit tight after today's work.

You: Yeah it should be, for all I know I might still be here when you show up.

Jessie Fleming: You’re still there?

You: I am

You: sent an image

You send Jessie a selfie of you, smiling in your desk chair, a significantly smaller stack of papers than she saw you with earlier in the day.

Jessie Fleming: sent an image

The image is her, in what you assumed was her Canadian apartment bed, a soft smile on her face, her head resting on a pillow with light gray cover on it. What also stands out to you is the way her sheet is pulled up, just under her collarbones. You can see her collarbones, she wasn’t wearing a shirt.

You: Why are you in bed this early?

You: Do you sleep shirtless?

You regret hitting send on the second message when you actually see that she’s typing.

Jessie Fleming: That’s professional to ask

Jessie Fleming: But yes

Jessie Fleming: Most of the time

Jessie Fleming: Obviously not when I have travel roommates or anything, but I’m in my own place for the next few days so I’m enjoying it before a lot of hotels with Janine.

Jessie Fleming: And I’m in bed because I’m watching a documentary and I’ve been told to get as much sleep as I can by the training staff at work.

Jessie Fleming: Especially this new young girl, she has been on my case about taking care of myself and whatever, but she’s cute so I gave her a pass.

The mention of Janine has your mind thinking back to the other day, Janine grabbing Jessie and whispering to her before she gave you a look that felt like she suddenly knew everything. You wanted to ask Jessie about it but now probably wasn’t the best time.

You: I sleep like that too, more comfortable

You: I’m sure that girl is just looking out for you.

Jessie Fleming: I know, right? I tried to tell that to so many of my teammates, none of them listen.

Jessie Fleming: stop texting me, go back to work so you can go home.

You: you’re the one texting me

Jessie Fleming: shhhhh

You: 🙄

You put your phone away, putting it on silent so there was no temptation to text Jessie, having no idea if she had responded. You finish your paperwork, finally standing up your back and knees both cracking as you stretch. You check you phone as you walk to the car, seeing it was 8:22. You’d have to go home, get dinner, shower, all to get up at 4:30 to be at work by 5:30.

A message from Jessie sits on your screen. You debate texting her back but you don’t want to wake her if she’s already gone to sleep.

Jessie Fleming: Have a good night, hope you’re not at work too late :)

When you sit back at your desk the next morning you feel deja vu, feeling like you never left. The only difference is there is no longer a pile of work in front of you, you thank yourself for staying to complete it all last night. You lean forward letting your head rest on your desk for a moment.

“Hi!” Jessie comes around the corner of your office, sounding way too chipper for 5:30 in the morning, but then again she was able to be in bed at 7:30. You look up to her to see her carrying two coffees. She approaches you and sticks her hand out offering you one of the drinks. You were so grateful, you had opted for 5 minutes of extra sleep in the morning instead of getting a coffee and you were starting to regret that decision.

“Should you really be showing up to my office with coffee? You do remember what happened last time you did that, right?” You question her, squinting at her across your desk and sending a glance to the wall where she had pinned you.

“Maybe that’s why I’m doing it, maybe I liked what happened last time.” She pauses, tilting her head, thinking back to the memory. “Except not when your Mom walked in, I didn’t like that, that was terrifying.” A quick grimace follows by a smile comes across her face.

“Jessie, we can’t.”

“I know, I know.” She sounds defeated. “I just figured since going out for coffee doesn’t really fit into your schedule right now, I’d just bring it to you. I promise I’m not trying to get anything out of you.” She sits down in the seat across from you.

“How late were you here last night?” Jessie’s phone buzzes on the table, she ignores it.

“Just before 9.”

“Oh wow, I was asleep by then.” You envy her early bedtime.

“Yeah so I am incredibly grateful for this, thank you.” You shake your coffee cup as her phone lights up with another notification. This time your eyes trail to it. You’re not trying to look at her messages but you just can’t help but glance at the lit up screen.

Jessie noticed your eyes' quick movement toward her phone, “Sorry that’s just Janine, I told her I was coming in to do some early recovery and she’s giving me a hard time about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s just teasing me.” She pauses, “about you.” She uses her coffee cup in her hand to point at you.

“Oh, did you tell her? She gave me a weird look the other day, after you came back and we hugged in the training room, you two walked out together and she sort of stared at me. So did you tell her? About the kiss I mean?” Finally getting an appropriate time to ask what was up with Janine’s look.

“It may have slipped out, one of the times I was talking about you. But she’s been teasing me about you since before that.” Jessie looks down to type back to Janine on her phone.

“Jessie!” Her head snapped back up when she heard you scolding her name. Knowing someone else knows about your kiss, someone you didn’t yet know well enough, makes you uneasy. “You can’t just be telling people that!”

“It’s Janine, she’s my best friend, she knows me too well, she knew something happened and asked. I didn't think it would be a big deal, she’s not going to tell anyone.” Jessie defends herself.

“I get that you think that Jessie, but if she slips up, next thing the whole team knows, then it gets out, you’ll get in trouble for sleeping with the student trainer, who’s 4 years younger than you.” You were spiraling, you’re not sure if you believe what you’re saying or if your mom had just scared you into it. You didn’t want your own career to be at risk and you definitely didn’t want Jessie getting in trouble.

“We haven’t slept together, plus you’re an adult, it’s not like I’m 20 and you’re 16! We’re both grown.”

“I know that, but good luck telling that to anyone else, they won’t listen!”

“I really didn’t mean to tell her, it just sort of slipped out and I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be an issue.” Jessie crosses her arms across her chest, she feels less warm than usual, less friendly, less inviting.

Only, it felt like it was a problem that she had told people. You weren’t sure why Jessie would think it was okay to go around telling people about your kiss without at least checking in with you. A small bubble of frustration with the woman sitting across from you started to build.

“Jessie, if people find out I could get fired! Sure, it might temporarily make your image bad but you’re too damn good, you’ll stay Captain, you’ll keep getting your call ups, keep being desired by different clubs, it won’t ruin your career like it could mine.”

“Nothing is going to get out, nothings going to happen, it’s not that big of a deal!” Now Jessie is raising her voice at you slightly. She’s leaning across your desk.

“Maybe it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal that to you, but it is to me.” You yell back, thankful that no one else was in at the office yet. You take a breath realizing this argument was not something you needed to be doing at 5:30 in the morning. “You should probably go do your recovery. I have things to get done” You point to the doorway.

“Oh.” It’s obvious the sadness on Jessie’s face and in her voice. A sudden change from her argumentative demeanor. “Yeah, I’m going to do that.” She pushed back from your desk. “I’m sorry.”

You let her walk out without saying anything. She doesn’t close your office door on her way out. Feeling stupid about the argument, you let your forehead come crashing back onto your desk with a loud thud, a lot harder than you intended.

“You okay?” You hear Jessie ask, hearing the sound of your head against your desk from the other room.

“Yeah, all good.” You groan back. You didn’t want her to care and feel the need to check on you. You know you shouldn’t care about he either but you can’t help yourself.

Despite being quite annoyed with Jessie at the moment, you’re unable to look away every time she passes by your door, doing exercises or walking across the room to get equipment. Time goes on and then you hear her digging in the ice cooler, the sound of a plastic bag and some shuffling around.

“Stupid wrap.” Hearing her talking to herself you stand up from your chair, it was your job after all to help with these things. You see her struggling to hold and secure a bag of ice she had made to her calf.

“Let me help you.” You offer empty hands to take the ice bag from her, grabbing the wrap and squatting in front of her to help her get it tight on her leg.

“Thanks.” She gives you a smile, the way she was grinning looking down at you sent a shiver through your body.

“Is it still treating you okay?” You look up at her from where you’re kneeling in front of her.

“Yeah it’s been good, just being overly cautious with it still, that’s why I’m doing all this.” She points down where your hands were wrapping the ice bag. You just nod, returning your focus to what you were doing instead of staring up at the girl’s pretty brown eyes.

You let the silence sit between the two of you for only a second before you break it.

“I’m sorry for how I reacted in the office just now. I think I’m just a little paranoid, we’re adults, we’re allowed to do what we’re doing technically. I just didn’t think you’d be going around talking about me and the fact that you kissed me.” You stand up.

“To be fair, I’m not going around talking about you to everyone, it’s really just been to Janine, she made some comments about you before we had even really talked much, she knows me too well. She knew I was interested, so she made some comments about me finding you pretty to which I blushed and she was onto me right away apparently I’m not great at hiding my crushes.” She looks down at her feet.

“I just freaked out, knowing that someone else knows that you had me against the wall, in my office.”

“If it helps, she doesn’t know I pinned you to the wall.” Jessie’s face is now a bright red. It’s suddenly very obvious to you how close the two of you we’re standing, face to face. It’s apparent that you can make out all the little details of her face, where each freckle sat across her nose and cheeks, you could see it all. Despite still being upset and frustrated with Jessie for telling Janine about your previous kiss, you suddenly don’t care and have the desire to kiss her all over again.

“Jessie.” You stare at her lips while saying her name. You don’t know if she noticed you’re staring, but her tongue runs over her bottom lip, wetting it.

“What?”

“Don’t, what, me. You know what.” Your eyes don’t move from Jessie’s lips.

“No I don’t. You’ll have to enlighten me.” You do, leaning in your hands finding her face you pull her toward you. Your lips meet hers, they’re warm and soft and plump against yours. Her hands find your hips, pulling you against her hard. Her grip is tight, it feels safe. This time you’re able to finish your kiss, both of you pulling away just before you debate sliding your tongue against her lips.

“You really should stop bringing coffee to my office I guess, it always seems to end like this.” You let out once you both breathe for a second. Jessie lets out a soft laugh.

You hear the door to the training room open and you jump away from Jessie, turning to pretend to organize something, finding nothing, everything already being packed up. This leaves you just standing there looking at the wall. You and Jessie both look over to see Janine standing there, coffee in one hand, training bag in the other and a smirk across her face.

“Well you two aren’t suspicious at all.” She says sarcastically as she walks from the doorway further into the training room and in your direction. “I’d recommend actually doing something to make it look like you two weren’t just doing what I think you were.” You can’t read her tone as she speaks to you. “Looking at imaginary things on the wall doesn’t really work as a good cover.” She stops behind you to speak softly only to you. You stay facing the wall, not wanting to turn and let either of the players in the room see how bright red your cheeks are.

“I’m going to go change, I’ll be back in probably 5 minutes, behave yourselves.” Janine says to both of you, she walks away into the changing room.

“Whoops.” You turn back to look at Jessie who is still standing where you kissed her. You both have matching blushes on your face.

“At least it wasn’t my mom this time.” You shrug at her, trying to make light of the situation again.

“I guess,” she shrugs back.

“But seriously Jessie, we can’t keep doing this, we leave for Paris in less than 36 hours. You have to go, be focused, be this team's leader, we can’t, I can’t be distracting you.”

“I know.”

“So that means no more surprise coffees, no more private meetings, like Janine said, we have to behave. Strictly professional from now on. No more of this.” You use a finger to point between the two of you.

“Strictly professional, got it.” She nods at you but her smile tells you she’s not taking you seriously.

“I’m serious this time Jessie.” You try your best to be stern with her.

“So am I.” You were both lying through your teeth, and you both knew it but neither of you were going to call each other out and say anything.

“Or just until the Olympics are over.” You add, hoping she’ll maybe be interested in whatever the two of you were doing come the end of the games.

“Until it's over.” She flashes you a smile before turning to leave, following in the direction Janine went to change. She flashes you a smile before heading through the doors. You move back into your office leaning against the desk.

“Hey.” You jump as Janine flies around the corner of your office door. She walks in closing the door behind you.

“Okay I don’t have a lot of time, but I need to talk to you really quick.”

“What’s up?” You move behind the desk, looking for her file pulling it out. You start to open it and Janine’s hand comes down on it, closing the folder hard.

“This isn’t about me.” She’s staring down at you as you sink back into your chair.

You realized exactly what this was about. “Oh.”

“If you so much as hurt a hair on her head-”

“I won’t.” You interrupt.

“I wasn’t finished.” You nod, letting her finish. “Jessie is a special human and quite frankly she doesn’t need you. She’s perfect on her own, she’s strong and independent and she doesn’t need you, but she wants you, so I’m going to respect that, but please let her focus on this tournament. I don’t know what you two are really doing, she’s been pretty tight lipped, but please. She’s smart but she might not think straight with her crush brain, she might think she can handle starting something with you during this tournament, but she can’t. She needs to be focused. She’d hate herself down the line if she let someone get in her head and mess with her playing. She’s worked her life for these tournaments. This team needs her focused, not distracted because of you.” Janine rants at you.

“I know. We’ve discussed it. I won’t be a distraction to her or to anyone. I promise, I want what’s best for her and the whole team.” You mean it, you want what’s best for the team, and you don’t want to distract Jessie or anyone, you saw how hard they all worked and would hate to be the reason anything went wrong.

“You seem like a good person, and given that Jessie likes you so much, you must be. So I’m going to trust you.” Her hand comes off the file on your desk.

“Janine! Come play Teqball with me!” Jessie hollers through the training room.

“Ahh the queen of Canada awaits.” Janine says, looking at you. She turns to leave, her hand on the doorknob. “Just so you know, I’m serious, don’t hurt her, I’ll make your life miserable.” The way she spoke with still a large smile while telling you she’d ruin your life was slightly terrifying, but very much fitting for her Canadian personality.

“I know.” You just nod. And you did know. It wouldn’t just be Janine coming after you if you messed up with Jessie her entire team would hate you. If you distracted her from the tournament the country of Canada would hate you. You’d never get to work for a Canadian team, you’d never get to live that down. Your nerves build up a bit, even though you had no intentions to hurt Jessie ever, things happen, life happens.

Your spiral of nerves is diminished as you hear Jessie’s laugh carrying through the room. Just her laugh made you smile, your nerves ease. You were in deep, probably in too deep, but there wasn’t anything you could do now, except go to Paris and do your best to just be coworkers with Jessie. You needed to be invisible and not a distraction..

So that’s what you did. Or at least tried to do.

[authorhjk1]

Water gymnastics

Blackpink's Lisa X Male Reader

And that's how this happened."

The woman in front of you laughs as she covers her mouth with her hand.

"You didn't ask him to do anything?"

You shake your head, before reaching for the glass of wine.

The brunette giggles as she puts another piece of the cake into her mouth. You realized that she started to eat smaller and smaller bites. Maybe because it tastes so good.

"What flavor is that, by the way?"

"You wanna try?"

She uses her fork to separate another piece from the cake, before moving it towards you. It looks like she wants to feed you. You hesitate for a moment, knowing that this would look kinda weird. Especially, if someone would take a picture. Her fans wouldn't appreciate it and neither would Ahin.

You lean forward quickly, hoping that no one saw it. She gives you a big smile as you chew the chocolate cake, before swallowing it.

"Chocolate."

She nods excitedly before eating another piece herself.

"I honestly don't get, how you can eat waffles and stuff for supper and cake as dessert afterwards."

The brunette shrugs her shoulders as she smiles.

"I like sweet things."

She bites her fork and looks at you a second too long.

Once you finish your own piece of cake, you lean back in your chair, glancing at the hotel lobby, before focusing back on her again.

"Originally, I planned for all four of you to be here, but your company didn't want to hear that. I don't know why, but it might have been more profitable."

"That's because they have other schedules as well. And the company is sometimes more than just annoying."

You chuckle at her last comment, glad that you are your own boss.

"Have you been in Paris before?"

Nodding, you remember what happened the last time you were here.

"I did. I found a place that serves delicious tteokbokki."

"Wow. Your pronunciation is really good."

"That's because I speak Korean."

"Really?"

She eyes you with a surprised look on her face. Up until now, the two of you spoke English.

"I moved to an area around Seoul about two months ago."

"We could have met way sooner then."

She laughs as she playfully slaps your hand, which is resting next to your plate, across the table.

"Well, turns out I need to open a restaurant to be able to meet you."

The brunette chuckles as she shakes her head, finally chewing on her last piece of cake. You pick up your phone, which starts to vibrate on the wooden surface next to your hand. A message from Ahin appears on the lock screen.

"I'm gonna try on the clothes which I'm gonna wear tomorrow. Help me pick something? 😉😘"

You glance at the brunette, who is sipping her wine.

"I have something coming up. Unfortunately."

You gesture with your phone in your hand.

"Since the two of us are staying here, I guess I will see you today or tomorrow again. Maybe for breakfast."

The Thai girl's smile drops a little, but she nods her head.

"Breakfast with you sounds great."

Getting up, you button your jacket, before walking off. Going past her chair, you lightly place your hand on her naked shoulder.

"Have a good night."

"You as well."

Not turning around, you hear sounds, which indicate that she is watching after you as you walk out of the luxurious restaurant and towards the elevator. Pressing the button for the seventh floor, you video call your girlfriend.

As the doors open, she picks up. The pink haired woman has already placed her phone on the counter of her kitchen, showing her entire living room. You don't know what is keeping the phone up right, but you see all kinds of clothing sprinkled throughout the room.

Ahin is standing in the center. You don't even look up as the doors close again as you see her wave at you. Only wearing a black lacey bra and matching panties.

"Is this so difficult that you need my help?"

You ask in a mocking tone, before looking around, gladly realizing you are on your own.

"Well,"

Ahin places her hands on her hips, glaring at you.

"First of all, I'm doing this to look good. Which means, you have to help me, because I value your opinion the most."

Your girlfriend uses her thumb to slowly let her right bra strap slide off her shoulder.

"Second of all, I'm sure this will be very beneficial for the both of us."

Smiling, you walk out of the elevator, heading towards your room.

"I don't think this is how it works."

You sigh as you slowly stroke yourself, watching Ahin.

"What do you mean?"

She asks with an innocent look on her face.

"Don't you have to wear clothing to see if your accessories match it?"

Ahin puts on the second one of her long sparkling earrings, before putting her hair behind her ear. It's the only thing she is wearing.

"Are you actually complaining right now?"

"Not at all."

You grin as you keep your hand on your shaft. Usually you like to be a little rougher, even with yourself. But right now, this seems just as enjoyable.

Ahin uses both her hands to put her long pink hair behind her back gracefully. One of her fingers traces along her collarbone afterwards.

"Would you like anything on here?"

"You are not talking about a necklace, are you?"

She bites her lip seductively, trying to make you cum faster.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Now she plays coy as she walks over to the counter, where the phone is standing on.

"What kind do you like?"

She shows you a silver necklace, which matches her earrings.

You nod as you honestly don't focus much on her necklace. The way she is slightly leaning over the counter makes her chest look bigger.

"Or maybe this one? I would look hot in this. Don't you think?"

You tear your eyes away from her naked body to see the necklace in her hand. Or rather her choker. She puts it on, before letting her arms rest at her sides.

It's a black piece with small silver stripes in it. At the front a word in silver letters catches your eyes.

"Cumslut"

"I don't think this would be very appropriate."

You stroke yourself a little faster as you see Ahin like this. Naked. Only wearing her earrings and that small piece of fabric around her throat.

"But you seem to love it."

She winks at you.

"I won't wear it tomorrow evening. I don't know about tomorrow night though."

You chuckle as you see her start to pose a little. Her right hand rests on her waist, while she bites her finger on her left hand. She makes sure you have a clean view at her throat.

"Do you have anything else like this?"

Ahin's eyes sparkle with amusement.

"You would be surprised."

"How come?"

"Well, in case you wouldn't accept my confession, I was prepared to seduce you until you would give in."

"Maybe I should have waited a little longer then."

She bites her lip.

"I have so much stuff. I will make sure you won't regret your decision."

You are about to answer, when another message blocks your view. Groaning in annoyance, you read it. It's important, unfortunately.

"Ahin."

You sigh as you swipe the message away.

She pouts already, knowing what you are about to say.

"This is important. It's about tomorrow."

"You should pay more attention to me, you know?"

"I just spend twenty minutes watching you try on clothes."

"I think we both know you did more than watching."

"Ahin. I have to go now."

She rolls her eyes, before looking at you excitedly.

"Give me a second!"

She scurries out of view, probably towards her bedroom. She comes back a moment later, hiding something in her fist.

"Got something for you."

She wiggles her eyebrows playfully, before opening her hand. You sigh as you see the pink item.

"You might be overestimating my phone. I doubt, it would reach you from here."

Ahin shakes her head as she puts the small vibrator on the counter.

"I have the original remote, you know? I don't need you to get me off on the plane."

She sticks her tongue out as if she won this fight.

"How come you are so horny all the time?"

Ahin points at her choker, raising an eyebrow. No words needed.

Another message pops up.

As you see your phone's screen light up, you swim towards the edge of the pool. Drying your head with a towel, you answer the call.

After you got two messages earlier, you had to go the restaurant for some final decisions for the opening. Once you got back, you decided to cool off by taking a swim, since Ahin would be asleep by now. The time difference sucks.

Luckily, this call only takes a couple of minutes. As you hang up, you see someone entering the pool area.

The brunette is still wearing the yellow dress she wore at dinner.

"Lisa."

You greet her, when she sees you in the pool.

"Hi! Are you swimming as well?"

You nod, before letting go off the edge.

Pushing yourself off the wall, you watch Lisa walking towards the pool. Her skin is darker than Ahin's due to the sun. As you take in her body, you remember what your girlfriend did to you earlier.

Lisa sits down in one of the chairs, watching you in the pool.

"Are you not coming inside?"

"Is it cold?"

You shake your head as you swim a little closer.

"Maybe later. I had a drink at the bar."

You chuckle as you reach the edge of the pool once more, only two steps away from your new model.

"I think I have something to make you sober."

Before Lisa can reply anything, you are already moving. Drops of water hit her skin as you splash her with it playfully. It's not much, but there are now dark spots on her dress.

"Yah!"

She chuckles and glares at you at the same time.

"Now, I'm definitely not going in."

You rest your forearms on the edge and you catch Lisa staring at them. You were surprised at first, when Ahin complemented you on your forearms, when you rolled up your sleeves once. It looks like she isn't the only one, who likes them.

You tap the tiles with a finger, while looking at Lisa.

"If you don't want to get hit again, you have to join me."

She leans back in her chair, a cocky grin on her face.

"Make me."

"Your decision."

You pull yourself up, lifting your body out of the water and the pool.

Lisa can't help but stare as she watches you. Working out and sleeping with as many Korean stars as possible marks your body. She bites her lips as the muscles in your arms move. Her eyes fall onto your chest and then your abs as you leave the pool. The water glistens on your skin and partially drops down your body.

Looking towards her, you catch Lisa staring.

"Wanna take a picture?"

Her cheeks turn the deepest of red as she looks away. You walk over, standing in front of her.

"Take off your dress."

Lisa looks at you with wide eyes.

"W-What?"

"You don't want it to get wet, do you?"

She shakes her head hesitantly.

"Or do you plan on walking through the hotel in a drenched dress?"

Shaking her head once more, the brunette slowly stands up.

"Give me a second."

You don't actually know if she is wearing her swimsuit, or anything for that matter, underneath. Not wanting to look like a creep, you turn around. Hands folded behind your back, you look through the windows on the other side of the pool.

You hear her dress drop. Before you can react, you hear Lisa's shout.

"Yah!"

Something hits you in the back. Surprised, you stumble forward. That something, probably Lisa herself, pushes you further. Falling over the edge of the pool, your instincts take over. You reach behind you blindly, trying to hold onto anything. It feels like you caught her wrist. You fall face first into the water.

Collecting yourself, you look around, still underwater. You see Lisa's wide eyes as you keep holding her.

Wanting to have your revenge, you grab both of her hands with one of yours, before swimming upwards. The pool isn't deep. Maybe twice as deep as Lisa is tall.

When you break through the water, you pull her with you.

"Hey!"

She coughs as you look at her. The yellow dress is gone and reveals what Lisa was wearing underneath. A white bikini with different patterns on it.

"Who is staring now?"

She chuckles as you look into her eyes. Her dark hair is all wet, partially sticking to her skin.

"Just wondering how I should take revenge."

Before she can react, you pull Lisa towards you. The water makes both of your movements slower, but you manage to hold onto her hands. You pick her up bridal style. One hand reaching around her back, still holding hers, while the other grabs her thighs from underneath.

Her wide eyes are only millimeters away. Her nose almost touches yours. You catch Lisa glancing at your lips, before you lift her out of the water. Her body drips like a waterfall.

"Have nice flight."

Lisa's mouth opens wide to protest, but you already throw her up. She is not very heavy, so you can easily do it. You watch her hang in the air for a second as if time has stopped for a moment. Turning away, to not get hit in the face again, you hear Lisa hit the water. A wave washes over your body as she lands right next to you.

You turn around, the water slowing down your movements once more. She jumps out of the water, shaking her head.

"You! I could-!"

She raises her hand, but you jump her again. Quite literally this time. You push her against the edge of the pool. Lisa feels the cold tiles against her shoulders as you press yourself against her. The two of you stand as close as before.

"You could what?"

You tilt your head slightly.

"Shut up."

Lisa sneaks her arms around your nape and leans forward. Your lips touch and you can taste some of the water on her lips. You and Lisa make out in the pool. The water almost reaches her chest, while barely half of your body is getting wet.

You hold the back of her head with one hand, the other holds onto the edge as you slightly lean against it. This way, you can kiss Lisa comfortably, without having to pick her up.

The fierce Thai girl keeps kissing you, before she finally pushes you away, her hand still on your chest.

"I don't think my boss meant this when he said " do your best, Lisa "."

A sly grin plays on her lips.

You take her hand off your bare chest and pull her towards you again.

"Time to live up to his words."

Lisa bites her lower lip, before you capture it with your own pair once more.

"Fuck, you are hot."

She whispers into your mouth.

You break the kiss and reach underwater to grab her thighs. Lifting her petite body out of the water, you hold Lisa on your arms. Tasting the water on her toned stomach, you kiss her skin.

The brunette holds onto your hair. You move your lips as if you are running through an imaginary labyrinth on her abs. Occasionally using your tongue, you lick her belly button, making her giggle slightly.

"That tickles."

One of her hands is placed on your back. Her pink nails scratching you slightly, whenever you make her breath hitch.

Lowering her a little, you are now face to face with Lisa's bikini top.

"I think you are wearing too much clothes."

She reaches behind her to undo the strings, which hold it together and in place, before throwing it behind her. You palm her small mounds, admiring them for a moment, before leaning forward.

Yet again, you make your way all over her body. And once more, Lisa's nails find your skin. She isn't scratching hard, so it doesn't hurt, but it makes you want to please her harder. You take one of her nipples into your mouth, sucking on it, playing with it, before you focus on the other one. Switching again and again, you feast on Lisa's chest and the rest of her body as she squirms in your arms, never letting the water rest.

You stop as the lights suddenly turn off.

"What happened?"

You laugh at Lisa's slightly scared tone.

"After 12 pm, they turn off the lights in this room. We can turn them on later with the light switch."

The only lights which illuminate the pool now, are the sparkling lights from outside the windows. The city of Paris makes you see the silhouette of Lisa's body.

You resume your work on her tits, occasionally moving a little lower to pay attention to her stomach.

"Fuck, yes."

Lisa begins to slowly grind against you. Her hips are just above yours. You lower her a little further, which makes her moan as she feels your dick inside your trunks. Taking the new position as an opportunity, you dive into her neck. You kiss more and more of her skin as she starts to grind against you faster and faster.

You feel one of her hands reach downwards to cup your crotch.

"You feel so big."

Kissing her harder in response makes her moan again.

"Let me suck your cock."

That's a demand you can't say no to.

Slowly lowering Lisa's body into the water, you feel her slide out of your grip. You move back a little to sit on the upper half of the steps, which lead into the pool and which the two of you ignored earlier. Before you are able to sit probably, you can already feel her greedy hands on your waistband.

In a blink, your trunks are off and you feel Lisa's fingertips on your cock. The water adds a new sensation to it.

"Let me get out of the water."

You try to move upwards since you figure Lisa wouldn't love the idea of sucking your cock underwater.

Suddenly the door opens and you hear a man's voice.

"Mr. (L/n)? Your drink?"

He sounds a little confused and you remember that you ordered something before you came here.

You are about to say something, when you realize that you are holding Lisa's head under the water. Her hands are resting on your thighs. Then you feel her lips on your tip.

The man reaches for the light switch. That's the only thing you can see in the dark.

"Don't!"

You almost curse as you feel Lisa's lips move further down.

"I like it like this."

"Sure, sir."

You can hear the uncertainty in his voice. But you can't risk being caught. This is against the law in France anyways. You are in a public place. There is just no one else here at the moment.

"Can you just put the bottle on the table over there?"

"Of course, sir."

You can feel Lisa struggling for air. Just as the man from the staff turns around, you pull her head up. She gasps for air quietly. You can barely see her wide eyes.

Looking behind you again, you see the man turning around. Once more, you shove Lisa's head underwater. You hiss through your teeth as you feel her warm mouth around your cock.

"Anything else, sir?"

"No thanks."

You are about to scream at him to get out. Lisa's tongue flicks against your tip.

"Have a pleasant night, sir."

"You too."

The brunette gives your tip a small bite. It barely hurts, but jolts of pleasure rush up your spine.

You see the man walk through the door. Lisa taps your thighs again. As soon as the door closes, you pull her up.

"Holy fuck!"

She gasps as she recovers from her involuntary diving lesson.

"Now, get up."

She motions for you to move and you climb two more steps. The water is only reaching your knees now.

Lisa leans forward. And once again, you feel her lips on your cock. You can barely see her head, bobbing up and down as she sucks you off.

"Fuck."

You reach forward to hold her hair back. One of her hands is holding onto the base of your cock, while the other rests on your thigh. Lisa keeps her rhythm as she gives you head. Her tongue flicks against your shaft occasionally, before she takes more of you into her mouth.

At one point, you realize you have already adapted to her rhythm. You start to guide her head as you feel Lisa giving up control. Her warm mouth hugs your cock as her lips glide along its length.

Both of her hands are now resting on your thighs as you slowly start to fuck her face. Lisa doesn't move, her mouth a wet sleeve for your cock. You make her take more and more, until you hear her gagging.

When you let go of her, Lisa gets off your dick.

"I wanna fuck you."

She states, before climbing on top of you. Since she now knows, you might get caught, Lisa wants to do this quick.

You look at her in surprise as you feel her straddle you.

"I need it."

She kisses you once more as she reaches down, holding your cock in her hand. You hear her whimper as you begin to penetrate her and you realize that it's not her pussy.

"Lisa, what-"

She shuts you up with another kiss.

"This is my tightest hole. Don't you like it?"

You honestly can't complain as she sinks herself onto your cock.

"Fuck!"

She moans loudly as you enter her further.

Lisa does feel tight, but you realize that she has done this before. Her ass easily adjusts to your cock, making it less painful for her. You feel the ring of her muscles glide along the length of your shaft. The pleasure, which starts to build in your groin is already becoming unbearable. You reach for something, anything, to let it out. Your fingers close around Lisa's throat as you find it. You weren't searching for it, but the way the brunette moans, signals that you are doing the right thing.

She starts to slowly move up and down. The waves become bigger once more, due to her movements. Lisa was right. Her ass is really tight. And because you can barely see anything, it heightens your other senses even more.

With one hand on her throat and the other on her waist, you let Lisa bounce on your cock.

"Tighter!"

She yelps as she impales herself on your cock over and over again. You do as she says, tightening your grip on her throat. Her moans become raspier and you feel her walls clench around you. Your hand on her waist moves towards her ass, occasionally squeezing her cheeks.

"Fuck you are big."

You feel her becoming faster and now you regret not being able to see her face. The water splashes around the two of you and except for Lisa's moaning and her skin hitting yours, it's the only sound in the room.

Lisa's own hands are now both placed on your shoulders and she leans forward a little. Her head buries itself in your shoulder as she tries to muffle her moans. Your hand leaves her throat and dives for her pussy.

You start to rub her clit as she keeps bouncing on top of you.

"I'm gonna cum!"

The combination of your cock in her ass and your thumb on her clit proves itself too much for Lisa. The Thai girl manages to ride you a little longer, before she suddenly stays in place. Her hips seem glued to yours as her body freezes.

"Fuuuck!"

She moans loudly, which echoes through the room. You actually can't tell if she squirted or not, since you are wet anyways and it could have been a small wave.

"More. More."

Lisa begins to move to get off of you. You feel the ring of her muscles slide along your shaft, until you leave her.

You suddenly hear a knock on the door.

"Fucking hell."

You murmur, before glancing at Lisa. She is already in the water again, motioning you to follow her. And just as before, you sit in the same place as earlier, with Lisa's hand on your cock. She is ready to dive as soon as the door opens.

Once it does, you see some guy walk inside. The outline of his silhouette shows that he is still wearing his clothes. Feeling Lisa's lips on your cock again, you are too late to stop him. The lights turn on and you probably look like a deer in headlights.

The man jumps as he sees you sitting in the pool.

"What are you doing in the dark, mate?"

He has a thick British accent.

"Just wanted to enjoy the view."

You lazily gesture towards the window as you realize that Lisa's bikini top is swimming near by. You become nervous. Especially since Lisa is tapping your thighs again. Her lips around your cock are sealed tight.

"The showers are behind that door by the way."

You point to your right, hoping he would neither see Lisa nor her clothes.

"Thanks, mate."

He walks past you and you instinctively push Lisa's head down a little further. A couple of bubbles escape her nose and reach the surface. You crane your neck, waiting for the moment he steps through the door.

You pull Lisa out of the water, who is gasping for air again.

"Don't push me even further."

Her hair sticks to her shoulders and cheeks.

"Just making sure we don't get caught."

"Lets make you cum then."

Her blunt tone surprises you a little, but you follow her out of the pool. She looks over her shoulder at you, before kneeling on the chair, she sat on earlier.

"Pound me."

You step behind her and you see that she is still wearing her white bikini bottoms. She must have slid them aside earlier. You untie the strings, which hold the last piece of her clothing in place.

Her firm cheeks make you want to give her a couple of good slaps, but how are you going to explain those sounds? Instead, you just squeeze them, harder than before.

"Fuck me already."

Lisa sighs and reaches behind her. She pulls her ass cheeks apart, showing off her hole. You place your tip at her entrance and with one slow stroke, you are back inside her ass.

"Right there."

Lisa sighs again, trying to be a little quieter than before. Knowing that the other guy could come out any minute, you start to fuck Lisa into the chair. You start to chase your own orgasm as you feel her tightness around you.

The Thai girl's moans become louder with every thrust. You get nervous, when she doesn't stop. And although you hear him showering, her moans and screams would eventually overpower the shower.

While one hand stays on her waist, the other reaches forward. You close her mouth with your hand, making her moan and scream into it.

Her still wet body makes it hard to hold onto as you keep fucking Lisa into the wooden chair. It scratches on the tiles as you rock it back and forth. She is holding onto the backrest with both hands now, her knuckles turning white.

Lisa moans and says something, but you can't hear her. You can't stop fucking her like this. The sound of the chair sliding over the tiles becomes louder.

Lisa's ass hugs your cock tight and you can feel yourself, slowing approaching the end.

"Fuck, your ass feels great."

You feel her smile into your hand.

Due to her wet skin, your have to readjust your hand on her waist occasionally. Every time you do, you grip her a little harder. Slowly, red marks of your fingers start to appear.

You hear Lisa mumbling something inaudible again, but you can't take the risk of removing your hand.

The pressure in your crotch starts to build up further.

"Lisa-"

You are unable to say anything else. She nods vigorously. You feel her body shake a little and her ass gripping you even harder.

"I'm gonna cum inside."

She doesn't stop nodding as you keep plowing her into the chair.

You start to lose your grip and your hand slips off her mouth.

"Fuck, yes!"

Lisa takes her chance.

"Fill me up!"

In the back of your mind, you register that the sound of a running shower is gone. It's not like you can stop now anyways.

Lisa arches her back and it feels like you can go even deeper now.

"God yes!"

Lisa's head is now hanging off the backrest, while both your hands are holding her hips. You pull her back towards you, whenever you thrust forward.

"Almost there."

You groan, too overwhelmed by this quick but hard fuck.

Your grip tightens one last time and you can feel Lisa's muscles clench around you even harder. You manage to do two more strokes, before you finally cum.

You shoot your load inside her ass, making Lisa moan deeply. You have to hold onto the chair yourself as you fill her with your seed.

"It feels so good."

Lisa sighs.

"So fucking hot."

You are unable to speak for the moment. It takes you a couple of seconds to recover, before you remember the English dude.

"We have to hurry up."

"Yeah."

Lisa nods and you slowly start to leave her ass. Once you are out, you already see a globe of cum fall out of her hole. You grab her bikini bottoms and hand them to her, before you slowly walk into the pool. The sensation of the cold water makes it kinda weird. Once you finally reach your trunks and her top, you move to walk back out.

The two of you get dressed as fast as possible.

"I'm gonna see you for breakfast?"

You nod, before watching her walking off. Taking the bottle of gin with you, you follow her through the door. Still a little winded after a spontaneous anal session in the hotel pool.

You smile at her as you see her walk in.

"Ms Lee. It's nice to see you."

Greeting your girlfriend rather formal feels weird, but the two of you are keeping your relationship private so far.

"And it's nice to be here."

You are glad she isn't wearing the choker she tried on yesterday, but you do wonder if it's in her luggage. Nevertheless, she looks like a goddess with that pink hair and beautiful dress. The long silver earrings are now matched with a tight necklace, almost a choker. The black dress is showing off her shoulders and collarbone.

Ahin didn't want to wear anything too revealing, knowing that it might look weird and distract you from work tonight. As much as she loves to tease you and make you horny, she knows that this is very important to you.

The long sparkling silver belt adds a little more class to her outfit as well. It makes her waist look smaller.

"What would you like to eat?"

You gesture behind you, still being formal, knowing that at least one camera is capturing this moment. There are several journalists and such in this place. They are all trying to take the best pictures of the celebrities and write the best stories for their papers. After all, you are not no one. You aren't famous like Ahin, but your name is mentioned in news papers regularly.

"I would love to try some Korean dishes."

You extend your hand.

"Please follow me."

Your girlfriend takes it and you squeeze hers a little.

Your restaurant is quite unique. Instead of just serving one kind of food, you offer various dishes from countries all over the world. American burgers and pizza to Italian pasta, French delicacies, Chinese noodles and Korean BBQ and more.

It takes a lot of space, since the meals are actually made right at the customers' tables. Of course it was very expensive to plan and build all of this, but it hopefully makes you a lot of profit in the future. The walls and pictures and tables all represent the different countries you can eat from.

You and Ahin walk through the port of Venice and past the great wall of China, until you reach the banks of the Han River.

"Please, take a seat."

You gesture towards one of the empty tables. One of the chefs is already walking in your direction.

Although Ahin is a model for one of your companies, it would be weird to eat with her alone. You whish her a great night, before roaming through the restaurant once more.

[souryoong]

good for you | myg (18+)

Pairing: boyfriend!yoongi x f!reader

Genre: smut!! (18+ readers only pls), established relationship

Word Count: 2,278

Summary: you've been teasing your boyfriend over text while he's been away in paris for business, and he comes home early to teach you a lesson.

Warnings: mentions of sexting, cunnilingus, fingering, making out, clitoral stimulation, tongue kissing, praise kink, edging, reader gets teary, orgasm denial, hitting it from the back, creampie (god I still hate that word!!). also showering together is henced because after all, they are a couple.

Authors Note: hi guys!!! welcome to my own version of march madness (some watch basketball, I write smut. jk I do like basketball too.) I said it before, but just in case you didn't hear, I am celebrating yoongi's bday as well as my own this month by posting my favorite pisces 2 (or 3? its the aries in me to be a menace) times this month. enjoy the smut and happy birthday to my twin flame, yoongi!!

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Yoongi’s patience with you seemed to always be never ending. Nothing that you did ever seemed to cross the line, and when it did, you knew.

Well, today was one of those days.

Yoongi had been in Paris for work for a few days, and with the time difference, you got bored at night and stayed up late, sending him pictures and videos of yourself. They started off with sending him cute outfits that you bought, and then lingerie. However, he stopped responding when you sent him a video of yourself in the bathtub, making you wonder if you might have taken things a little too far. You didn’t want to interrupt him if he was dealing with important business.

Feeling kind of panicky and unsure what Yoongi was thinking, you eventually went to bed, hoping he would somehow not see it, or completely forget about it.

In the morning, you woke up to a text from Yoongi.

Yoongi: You like teasing me like that don’t you, distracting me from work?

You knew he wasn’t actually mad, he probably did enjoy what you were sending him, but maybe it was a bad time.

You thought for a second, and sent a quick text back to him.

You: Just thinking about you, baby.

Hoping that smoothed things over, you went on with your day. Since the time difference, you weren’t expecting to hear from Yoongi until later on in the night.

Later on, when you were winding down for the night, changing into your pajamas, your boss at work called a zoom meeting, discussing some business endeavors.

Since you were very much not modest — your pajamas were a pair of underwear and a big t shirt, your camera was turned off so no one could see you.

The meeting felt like it was going on for forever, you had one of your AirPods in even though sometimes you felt like you probably weren’t even paying attention. The good thing was is that you probably didn’t have to talk.

You pulled your knees in towards your chest in your chair at your desk, taking a drink from your glass that was next to your computer mouse. Suddenly, you heard a knock, but brushed it off as one of your coworkers making noise. You didn’t look away from your computer screen.

A few seconds later, there was another knock that was slightly louder than before; making you realize it was in the room and not coming from the computer. You looked around the room and was almost in disbelief when you saw Yoongi leaning against the doorway, one of his hands in his pocket of his tan colored suit.

“Yoongi?” You questioned him quickly. “I thought you wouldn’t be home until tomorrow.”

Yoongi stepped towards you. “My manager told me there was an earlier flight, so I left right after my event; hence why I’m so dressed up.”

“Yeah, you look so sexy.” You complimented him as he walked behind you. “What made you decide to leave early?”

That was a stupid question.

“Oh did someone suddenly forget what she did to me?” Yoongi’s large hands were on your shoulders.

You were silent, looking at your computer.

“Hey sweetheart. That was a question.” Yoongi leaned down, his low voice in your ear.

“I forgot about it.” You responded, reaching to rest one of your hands onto his.

“I’m not mad. You can send me whatever you want; you know that.” Yoongi brushed a piece of hair away from his face. “But to send me a video of you in the bathtub, while I’m sitting at a meeting? I had to cover my lap like I’m a goddamn teenager.”

You smirked to yourself at his reaction, not realizing he wasn’t done talking.

“Now I’m in the mood to edge you until you cry. Make you learn your lesson.”

You bit down on your bottom lip. Fuck. You knew Yoongi meant it when he said things like that.

“Yoongi, I —" You started to speak, but you were cut off.

“Hey, looks like someone has a meeting to listen to, right?” You wondered how long he was standing there earlier as he planted a few kisses along your neck, making you close your eyes. He was for sure pushing your buttons as you hummed in response.

“How was Paris?” You tried to distract your mind, at this point you weren’t even paying attention to your meeting.

“It was nice. I think you’d like it. Next time you should go with me.” One of his hands was now on your inner thigh, and you knew for sure that you were probably soaking your panties.

“I think —“ Your words were cut off when Yoongi’s fingers brushed against your clothed clit, making you swallow hard.

He moved one of your legs to rest on top of the desk, giving himself full view of your panties that were in fact soaked.

“Already worked up for me?” It was a stupid question to ask; you always were.

“Yoongi.” You spoke, a neediness in your voice.

He moved your chair back, somewhat startling you. Then he was hovering over you; his face close to yours. He gave you a quick kiss, making your heart flutter.

He slipped his fingers underneath the waistband of your panties. “Lift your hips.” Yoongi suddenly spoke, and you did.

Yoongi pulled down your panties, swearing to himself when he saw how wet you were. Stuffing them in his suit pocket, he turned your chair and got on his knees in front of you.

“Fuck.” Yoongi muttered to himself, putting his hands on your thighs. You felt like you were holding your breath. Trying to focus on your computer screen, but also trying to brace yourself for Yoongi’s tongue or fingers.

Yoongi barely touched your clit with his thumb; making you jump. He pressed harder, moving in slow circles.

You let out a sigh, practically feeling your arousal dripping out of you at this point. Yoongi paused for a second, pulling your hips towards himself so that you were sort of laying back in your chair; and more comfortable. Just as you looked away from Yoongi, you felt him push his middle and ring finger inside of you, pressing against your front wall hard.

You cried out his name, leaning your head back.

“You’re so fucking wet.” Yoongi grunted. “Fuck.” He was right, you could hear the squelching noises from his fingers going in and out of you.

Yoongi didn’t say anything before leaning down and sucking your clit into his mouth; forming a rhythm with the way his fingers were moving in and out of you.

Your body shuddered when his fingers brushed against your sweet spot; and you knew you weren’t going to last long if he kept going like this.

One of your hands was in his long, dark hair; trying to hold him there. You could feel yourself getting close, hanging on the edge of your orgasm.

Until suddenly, Yoongi stopped.

“Yoongi!” You were so frustrated, panting. “What the fuck?”

“Baby.” Yoongi spoke lowly, kissing your inner thigh. “Did I say that you could cum?”

“No.” You sighed, looking towards your computer screen.

“Be good for me.” Yoongi glanced up at you, giving you a look that gave you chills and reminded you that you were practically naked in your home office, while he was still fully clothed.

He suddenly stood up in front of you, removing his tan suit jacket; and then throwing it off to the floor. Yoongi leaned in close, grabbing your jaw and giving you a deep kiss; making you taste your own arousal.

“Can you do that for me?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yes.” You answered, even though it didn’t sound very promising. “But Yoongi, I think I might have to talk in this.”

“Then you can talk.” Yoongi pressed three of his fingers against your clit, then in a half of a second they were inside of you again.

Yoongi was going way harder than before; fucking you with his fingers. He stood up, trying to get better leverage. You felt his fingers bump your sweet spot, making you grab onto him; practically begging him not to stop.

“Yoongi, don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” Your voice was a whine as your walls were clenching his fingers.

On the brink of your second orgasm, you could hear the squelching noise coming from between your legs; realizing that you were probably gushing at this point.

“Yoongi.” You whined, pulling him in for a kiss.

You felt his fingers leave you again, making you let out a sob of a moan against his mouth. At this point you wanted to cry. You wished that your stupid meeting was over and Yoongi was pounding you into your mattress.

“Yoongi, I don’t know if I can take it anymore.” Your voice was shaky as you exhaled.

“I think you can handle more.” Yoongi answered you. He was right, you always liked to push yourself until you found your limit.

You let out a whine when you felt his fingers teasing your entrance again. “Yoongi, please.”

In what seemed like perfect timing; you heard everyone in your meeting saying their goodbyes and wrapping up.

“Alright have a good night everyone, see you Monday morning.”

You watched Yoongi in front of you undoing his belt, and throw it onto the floor with a thud. You quickly unmuted yourself in the meeting to say good bye, then left.

You took out the one AirPod you had in your right ear just in time for Yoongi to grab your chin with one of his hands, kissing you with such a force you thought he’d bruise you.

You grabbed onto his wrist when he simultaneously slipped his tongue into your mouth as his fingers started rubbing your now over sensitive clit.

Yoongi let out a moan into your mouth, making your core clench around nothing.

You broke away from the kiss, his face was still close to yours. Practically aching for him, you whined. “Yoongi, please.”

Swiping his tongue over his bottom lip, Yoongi stood back up, and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Go to the couch. With your back towards me.”

As Yoongi’s shirt was discarded onto the floor, you got up out of your chair; your legs feeling like they didn’t belong to yourself at first. The couch was only a few steps away from your chair at your desk.

You put your knees onto the seat of the couch, then leaned your upper body onto the back rest. Never thinking you’d be having sex in your office; you were glad that this couch was surprisingly roomy.

Hearing movement and fabric rustling, you could only assume that Yoongi’s pants were now off. He moved his hand along the small of your back, pushing your t shirt up to expose more of your body to him.

“Fuck.” Yoongi swore as you arched your back, getting ready for him. “Look at you.”

You let out a moan when you felt his cock head against your entrance, and you moved, trying to fuck yourself onto him.

Yoongi grabbed a hold of your hips, keeping you still he pushed himself inside of you; bottoming out in one thrust.

“Fuck!” You let out a moan, your mouth falling open.

Yoongi sucked in a harsh breath. “God, you feel so fucking good.”

You put your knees further apart on the couch in attempts to feel him a little deeper.

“Yoongi, fuck.” You slightly turned, grabbing onto his wrist as he held onto you. “Don’t stop.”

You felt him nudge your g-spot, making your walls abruptly clench around him. You could tell that your orgasm was somewhat close.

Suddenly Yoongi pulled you up so your back was against his chest; the new angle making you feel him so deep it was like he was in your stomach.

Your eyes were watering as you still clutch onto him. “Fuck, Yoongi I’m so close.” Leaning back into him, he planted a few kisses along your shoulder and neck.

Yoongi reached between hour legs with one hand and started to rub your clit, and your legs started to shake underneath you.

Your eyes were getting teary as Yoongi’s pace never faltered. “Yoongi, please.” Your voice was a whine. “Let me cum.”

“Yeah, you wanna cum?” Yoongi’s voice was breathy against your neck.

“Please.” You leaned into him, one of your hands making its way to his dark hair as you craned your neck to kiss him. “Tell me I’m a good girl.”

Yoongi grunted, starting to fuck into you so hard that you fell forwards back onto the couch. “My good girl.” It was almost as if he was enunciating the words with his thrusts.

“Oh god.” The words left your mouth like a sob as your orgasm crashed into you; this time Yoongi doing nothing to stop it. Your body nearly trembling as Yoongi continued fucking into you. “Fuck.”

“Shit.” Yoongi swore under his breath, his hips stuttering before releasing himself inside of you.

“Yoongi.” You whined at the feeling before it was apparent it was running down your inner thigh. You laughed slightly. “My couch.”

“What?” He was panting, then laughed with you. “Sorry, baby.”

You turned to face him. “God, what time is it? I’m exhausted.”

“You’re telling me. I’m jetlagged as fuck right now.”

You looked up at him, both of you were sweaty, fucked out, and exhausted.

“I’m happy you’re home.”

Yoongi smiled at you, pulling you up off of the couch. “Me too, now let’s take a shower and go the fuck to bed.”

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Tags: @dearlyjoonie @thepurpleghost @che-er-ful @thoughtfullysassysublime @yoongiscta @polyparkj

[leaawrites]

hii I saw your post about the short n sweet writing n I was wondering if you could do Logan huntzberger with one of them you can pick which one side I haven’t listened to the album yet x

Sharpest Tool

Logan Huntzberger x fem!reader

Summary: in which, the smart yale boy isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to relationships.

Warnings: sexual references, rory is kind of a villian (but so is Logan), angst,

Wordcount: 0.7k

Masterlist, Short n'Sweet Series

She had been warned, by almost everyone. She should’ve known.

It was obvious, that somewhere in between promises and heartfelt laughter, somewhat a little less than something, but a little more than nothing was hidden. It was obvious, that whatever he said was nothing more than a line he said more than once that night. It was obvious, that the missed calls and lonely nights were signs enough. But they never talked about it, so she never understood what they were.

“You know, that Rory’s been over at his more often lately, right?” Paris asked, as both girls were occupied with the last papers for the Yale Daily News. The last story being put into it’s right place.

“It’s not like that,” she defended herself more than him. If Paris knew, that she wasn’t even aware of what they were, or that she knew that she wasn’t the only one, she wouldn’t gear the end of it. And she would never talk to Rory again, probably be kicked out of the Paper as well. “They are friends, that’s all.”

“They went out to dinner and Rory didn’t come back home that night,” Paris kept on pushing her closer to the edge.

“It’s nothing.”

“What is?” The brunette in the doorway asked, walking into the room as it feel deadly silent. “What were you talking about?”

God, why couldn’t she take a hint that she wasn’t appreciated here?

“Nothing,” Y/n answered once more, shooting a dirty look in Paris’ way to tell her to keep her mouth shut. “I need to go, I’m meeting Logan.”

“He’s out with the guys, he probably won’t be home,” Rory answered nonchalant, helping Paris with the Paper now.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks, leaving little space between her tears and skin, tearing one off with every blink of her eye. She couldn’t be serious, could she?

“I’ll find him,” she answered, before walking out and leaving Rory dumbfounded as to what she did wrong.

She should’ve known.

Of course, someone like Logan would never settle solely for her. Of course, she wouldn’t be the only one he whispered to in between his sheets.

She should’ve known.

Logan was busy talking to his friends to notice her walk near him, until her hand found his and he almost jumped back at the contact. Until his eyes met hers and he pulled her into a hug, kissing her head in greeting, instead of using his mouth and the words in his head. He was good at talking until it came to her - to them. Then he didn’t seem to know the definition of commitment or anything serious relationship related. It were always just kisses and smiles and hugs and flowers and chocolates and sex and whispers and moans and giggles, but never actual words.

“You’ve met Colin and Finn already, right?” Logan asked, keeping his hand on her waist as she shook both boys hands.

“Yes, we met at that one party. You introduced us,” she answered as if it was nothing. As if she was the only one he should remember, because there were no others.

“Oh, right. I forgot, sorry. The one at Halloween, right?”

No, one on a random Tuesday, where he seemed surprised to see her out of her dorm for once. Like she wasn’t supposed to be there.

“Yeah,” she answered with a smile. “I’m gonna go now, just wanted to say hi. The day was really long and tiresome, but I’ll see you tomorrow?” She asked, turning to Logan to see the wheels turning in his head, searching in his brain for a free time for her.

“Yes, of course,” he answered, not turning around once as she walked away.

She wouldn’t see him tomorrow, she saw him and Rory, yes. But not him. The boy she started to love two weeks after meeting him because he gave her hope for meaning something. And when she was too eager for more than he was willing to give, he couldn’t understand why she stopped calling.

He really wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

[flemingsgirl]

Enough pt. 1

AN: Here's to our princess, the fighter and captain of an incredible, resilient, and unique team. You showed what you're capable of, and the next tournament will be yours. You shined all over these games and gave it all you have. What a comeback after the deduction.

Forever proud.

Find my other works here

The ringing of your phone pulls you out of your evening nap. As you read the caller ID, your lips turn upwards, and you’re quick to answer the call. “Hey, hey.” The girl on the other end greets.

“Bonjour,” you respond as she rolls her amber eyes, still a smile creeps on her cherry lips.

She shakes her head before she moves on. “How are you?”

You let out a chuckle at the casual conversation the Canadian tries. “Quite good. Just finished recovery and you?”

“Nervous, but all around okay. Can’t wait for the game tomorrow; I feel like the team has potential.” She rubs the back of her neck, eyes avoiding you through the screen.

“That’s great. Hopefully you can show off your talent, captain Fleming,” a smirk creeping on your lips as you wink at her.

“The team will do just fine with or without me. Never mind, how’s Paris?” her eyes drifting back to the screen watching as you walk from your bedroom out to the balcony.

“Superbe. I understand why it is called the city of love. Nice people, good food and all these athletes.” You lick your lips, locking your eyes with hers. “Excellente.”

“If you continue like this...I…” Jessie’s eyes are searching around her hotel room.

A giggle escapes your lips. “You…What?”

She rubs her chin, “I don’t know yet, but it’ll be terrible.”

“Nothings worse than how I miss you.” Your mouth fell open, and your eyes widen. A moment later your hands hide your face.

“Aww, I miss you more. Can’t wait to see you again.” The Canadian teases, one side of her mouth turning up.

“Yeah, hopefully with medals,” you comment. “Dancing in the setting sun.”

“Are you planning out our next date?” Now both corners of Jessie’s lips turn up.

“So, you’re thinking of dates when we meet?”

Her brows darted up. “What else would it be?”

“Two friends hanging out.” Jessie scoffs on the other end. “You’re nice and we can talk about everything, like you’re my bestie.” The Canadian rolls her eyes, lips falling into a frown.

“Okay I’m hanging up now. You’re mean,” her voice getting quieter, as if she distances herself from the phone.

“Wait… bebe.”

“Oh, I like that sound.”

“No-oh you’re not privileged.”

“Well seems like it. You already called me that, no takesies backsies, it’s my name from now on, no other.”

You sighed, you hated how your mouth had a mind on its own. “You’re unbelievable.”

Wishing you could erase the smirk that lingers on Jessie’s lips you adorn the football player. “I thought I was bebe.”

Without another word you end the call just for Jessie to call you back after a few seconds. Her smile the first thing you see as you accepted, her eyes beaming as she observes you. “You not quit on talking with me. I want updates.”

“On what? My relationship status? Last time I checked I was still single.” Jessie stays silent. “You know I don’t mean it like that. It’s just a joke. I enjoy getting to know you, slow and silently. It’s comfortable and you’re kind and a warm-hearted person. The last weeks were incredible and pretty dope.” You feel the heat rising to your cheeks and cover your cheeks and mouth behind your hand, a smile from ear to ear sitting on your face.

Jessie gives you a heartwarming smile back, eyes glued on you through the screen. “I was counting the seconds until you say this word.” She chuckles afterwards, her reddish cheeks growing a deeper shape.

“Wow thank you for the kind words, Fleming,” you roll your eyes, eyes avoiding the woman in front of you.

Another chuckle fills the room. “What? It was just a matter of time ‘til you use it.” The line stays silent, only the breaths of you two audible. “Thank you, you possibly don’t know how much your words mean to me. I enjoy spending time with you too. Your outgoing persona and you view for the small things in life influence me. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m really looking forward to watch your games and I’ll cheer on you!”

“And so do I! Sadly you aren’t making it into the gym.”

“Don’t be sad. I don’t need to be seen for you to feel like I’m there. Have a look in your bag.”

Your brows knitter as you scrunch your forehead. “What do you mean?”

“Just have a look, I promise.” You glance over to your luggage finding it still untouched after your arrival. In a second you moved over and find a carbon box covered with a ribbon on top in between your clothes.

“How did you…”

“Magic.” She waves her hands in front of her camera and you giggle at the sight of her silly side.

“Jessie, tell me,” you drag out the "e" as you push her to reveal her magic.

She shruggs her shoulders. “Theres nothing to tell.”

“For sure. How did this box end up in my bag in Paris when you’re in Saint Etienne?”

“Like I said. Magic. Open it.”

“I… I have no words, why? I’ve got nothing for you.”

“You don’t have to. Having you in my life is the best present someone can get.”

“Stop it.” Your smile falls into a frown and your eyes getting glassy as curtain of tears settles in.

Jessie’s bottom lip quivers and her brows rise. “Please don’t cry when I can’t reassure you. Open it, now,” she changes the topic. Her voice a higher-pitch and bubbly as she shuffles inpatiently in her spot.

“Alright, alright chef.”

You pull one string of the band, and it falls to the sides of the box. When you lift the lid, you’re meet with a moose plushie and upon further glancing a silver necklace catches your eyes. You take the item out and observe it in detail. The maple leaf chain is highlighted with rhinestones. “Jessie this is…”

The Canadian interrupts you. “I know its too much and if you don’t like it, I can take it back and we forget about it. It’s too soon, right? I knew it. I shouldn’t have done it…” her voice just above a whisper and it’s trembling as she rattles at a rapid pace.

“No, Jess stop. It’s perfect. I really like it. It somehow holds a connection to you and it’s great. Keep an eye on our team pictures,” you wink at her.

“I’ll do.” A knock echoes through the phone as Jessie’s eyes stop on the person who entered.

“It’s dinner time,” Janine’s voice fill the air. “Who are you on the phone with?” her eyebrows wiggle as she lowers herself to glance at Jessie’s screen.

“No one,” Jessie’s hand covers the phone as she spins in her position, now on her back and her phone pressed onto her body. “That’s my clue to go. We’ll talk later.” She rushes and catches you one last time on the screen. You give her a shy smile and nod in agreement.

Little did the Canadian know; you had a surprise yourself for the young woman.

[senditcolton]

I'm Still Glad I Met You

Isn't it profound, how such a brief experience can be so special?

summary: Emmaline 'Emma' Evans never expected to be in Paris, searching for inspiration to bring back to her new cafe in New York. She certainly didn't expect to meet Nico, a stranger who doesn't feel like one. But is it just the City of Love twisting her emotions, making her fall for someone who is sure to be temporary? Or is this is the start of something real? song inspo: need by taylor swift word count: 12.5k warnings: hinted intimacy (non-explicit), brief language, resolved angst. written for @wyattjohnston's winter fic exchange to @offside-the-lines with love 🤍❄️🖋️ bonus epilogue!

Au nom de l’équipage d’Air France, nous vous souhaitons une bonne journée.

From the large windows, Emmaline Evans watches the darkened tarmac pass, her plane headed towards the gate. There was still a small part of her that couldn’t believe that she in Paris. It was exciting even though she wouldn’t be able to explore until tomorrow. But she knew to hold her excitement close to her chest, letting her head guide her instead of her heart.

She wasn’t here for a vacation. She was here for work.

While this trip was an early birthday gift from her parents, it was bought with the express purpose of helping her prepare for the opening of the café she and her best friend Morgan had been planning for the past year and was now only 4 months away.

La Crème de la Crème. The best of the best. That was the name and that was the goal; to bring a bit of France back to Greenwich Village and impress all who walked in with Morgan’s coffee talents and Emma’s pastry skills. And what better way to bring Paris to New York than to take inspiration from the City of Love itself?

Pulling her phone out from her purse, she checks the time. 8pm. She scours through her memory until she remembers that New York is six hours behind. Opening her messages, she shoots off a quick text to Morgan.

Landed! I’m going to get to the apartment and then try to sleep. How are things going over there? sent 8:08pm

The rustling of the other passengers pulls Emma’s attention from her phone, realizing that it was time to depart from the plane. She hastily grabs her items, lugging her suitcase from the overhead bin and makes her way through the airport. She utters a quick thank you to the universe for her knowledge of the French language or she would be completely lost. It isn’t until she has successfully grabbed a cab and began the route to the Paris apartment, does she check her messages again.

It's all good here! The rest of the equipment came today so the plan is to finish installing that today. And then all that’s left is the menu, staff, and décor. received 8:16pm

You make it sound so easy. sent 8:37pm

Babe, we’ve been planning this for ages. We are literally in the homestretch! received 8:42pm

I know, it’s just… ugh. I wish you were here with me. This is our dream after all. sent 8:44pm

I do too. But I’m perfectly fine holding down the fort here. You just focus on Paris and all the amazing desserts you’re going to recreate when you come back stateside! (don’t forget to make notes about the coffee as well!) received 8:49pm

I don’t know coffee nearly as well as you but I’ll do my best. Thanks, Morgan. I literally couldn’t do this without you. sent 8:53pm

You know it. received 8:54pm

A small chuckle escapes from Emma’s throat at Morgan’s reply. She sighs, looking out the taxi window, blinking a few times at the sights in front of her. She was so absorbed in the everything she left behind that she wasn’t even paying attention to where she was. She had entered the city limits. She arrived.

Paris. The city seemed to sparkle as she rode down the narrow streets and alleyways. It was early in the evening which meant the streets were crowded with people. Emma had always believed that New York was the city that never slept but she had a feeling that Paris would prove her wrong.

The taxi pulls up to the Airbnb that Emma rented and she takes her luggage, thanking her driver before grabbing the key out of the lockbox and making her way up the narrow staircase. She looks out the small window, looking at the city stretching out in front of her, the lights of the Eiffel Tower shining in the distance.

These next 4 days would be magical. That much she was sure of. What else could this experience be described as?

~*~*Day One*~*~

Emma had been in Paris for less than 16 hours and she had already found so much inspiration. It wasn’t just the cafés that she had stopped at so far, it wasn’t even the assortment of treats she had already eaten; it was the city. She thought the stories she heard about Paris were exaggerations – no city could be that amazing. People surely had to be over-romanticizing the city of romance. But they weren’t.

Here, in this moment, sitting at the Café de la Paix outside the Grand Hotel, watching as the people passed her by, listening as the chatter of multiple languages bouncing off her eardrums… she realized those stories were true. The city itself brought about its own kind of energy, cocooning her in a beautiful dream. The afternoon sun was warm on her face and Emma could only hope to bottle a mere drop of this feeling and pack it in her suitcase to bring back to New York along with her notebook that was already filled with scribbles and notes about the delicacies that she had sampled.

“Je peux me asseoir ici?”

The slightly butchered pronunciation pulls Emma out of her reverie. She looks over to see a man standing with his hand lightly resting on the chair across from her. She shoots him a smile, her hand gesturing towards the seat.

“It’s all yours.”

“Is it that obvious that I don’t speak French?” the stranger asks her as he sits down, a sheepish look on his face.

“I never said that,” Emma laughs, her lighthearted teasing pulling a relaxed smile onto his lips. “But you shouldn’t feel too bad,” she continues. “I’ve noticed that if you have even a hint of an accent, the locals here switch to English, even if you actually know how to speak French.”

“I take it that’s happened to you?”

“The American is hard to mask,” she replies with a slight shake of her head. “I’m Emma.”

“Nico,” the stranger replies, reaching for her outstretched hand to give it a polite shake. “So, American huh?”

“Born and raised. What about you? I don’t mean to pry but I do hear a… unique accent.”

“I’m from Switzerland but I work in America,” Nico explains.

“And you’re in Paris for…” Emma asks, unsure why she is so interested in this – very handsome – stranger’s story. But Nico doesn’t seem to mind her questions as he gives a small shrug and replies with that same gentle smile on his face.

“My job. Some press work,” he says, vague but nonchalant.

“Wow. You’re from Switzerland, you work in America, but your job also takes you to Paris? Quite a world traveler.”

“I’m very lucky,” Nico says before turning the question back to her. “What about you? Are you here for work or pleasure?”

“Work. But maybe a little bit of pleasure?”

“Well, now you’ve intrigued me.”

“It’s kind of a long story.”

“I’d still love to hear about it.”

“Really? I don’t want to waste your time,” Emma says, hesitant. However, she can’t deny the small spark of hope that flutters in her chest over the prospect of Nico wanting to talk to her. Who wouldn’t deny the attention of an attractive and kind stranger?

“I have nothing planned for the rest of the day,” Nico assures her. “Plus, you’re one of the few people who has been welcoming to me, outside of the people from my… company.”

“Are the Parisian’s living up to the ‘stuck up French’ stereotype?” she laughs.

“Unfortunately for them, they are,” Nico replies with a laugh of his own. “But I guess it is pretty fortunate for me.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“Because then I wouldn’t have run into you.”

Emma feels her cheeks flush as his casual flattery, her head ducking down in shyness. When she looks up, she can see the grin on Nico’s face – as if he enjoyed making her flustered – and Emma is struck with the strange juxtaposition of wanting to playfully wipe that smirk away but also wanting to make sure it stayed just so she could see it more.

“Well, if I’m going to tell you my life story, I’m going to need more coffee,” she finally replies, before waving over the waitress.

The day ends up being a waste for Emma – well, at least in the work sense. She doesn’t leave Café de la Paix until late, sun hanging low in the sky; not nearly enough time left in the day to hit all of the cafés, boulangeries, and patisseries that she planned on visiting. But she finds that she doesn’t care. Because all those ‘wasted’ hours were spent talking to Nico.

He was funny and sweet and charming and drop dead gorgeous. Talking to him felt so natural, like they had known each other for ages even though they just met that day. The entire experience of him sitting across from her in a Paris café, listening to her stories, telling her stories of his own, and constantly shooting her that beautiful dimpled smile… it felt like something out of a dream.

The cynical part of her psyche wanted to shake her; he was a stranger and she was caught up in the romance of Paris. That was all. But the hopeless romantic side of her wanted to stay in this cotton-candy colored haze for as long as she could.

Which is why, now, as she sits in her rental apartment, her notebook splayed open in front of her, she isn’t brainstorming a menu or planning the ingredient list for the café or even scrolling through Pinterest for interior design inspiration.

Instead, her eyes are tracing the scrawl of numbers that Nico wrote in the top right-hand corner.

A number that was written as a request for him to join her on her exploration of Paris.

And – after she banishes that negative voice into the corner of her mind – Emma enters the number into her messages, texting him an invitation to meet her at Du Pain et des Idees on 34 Rue Yves Toudic.

She falls asleep to the knowledge of Nico’s reply.

See you then. received 9:18pm

~*~*Day Two*~*~

This was absolutely ridiculous.

That was all that Emma could think as she closes the door to her rented Parisian apartment.

Granted, a lot of things about this situation were ridiculous. The fact that she was in Paris. The fact that she was there to help open her dream café. The fact that everything she ate tasted better than she could ever imagine.

But the most ridiculous part of all? Nico.

The man that she had only met yesterday and yet… there was something about him. His gentle eyes, his soft smile, the dimples in his cheeks.

He was at the boulangerie when she arrived, a coffee in hand and an Escargot a la Pistache for her. Another thing to add into the ridiculous column – that pastry was the reason that particular store was on her checklist.

And then the day that followed… even more unbelievable. Walking down the Parisian streets with Nico by her side, taking multiple pit-stops into cafés and patisseries and boulangeries, talking about everything but also nothing at all. Nico stayed by her side into the late afternoon, until his job called him away.

There was a constant battle in her mind about why this was happening.

The hopeless romantic was telling her that this was fate; she was supposed to meet Nico here in Paris and they were supposed to experience this moment in time together. That there was a reason, some grand universal scheme, that out of all the tables he could’ve chosen to sit at in Café de la Paix, he chose hers.

The cynic, however, was telling her this was nothing. He chose that table because it was open. He accompanied her today because it came with the promise of delicious French cuisine. And sure, maybe he liked the way she looked. Perhaps that was the reason he stuck around; he was a young handsome man in a foreign country who was simply looking for a good time.

But if that was all he wanted, why choose her? He could easily pick up any beautiful French woman at any bar or club, spend the night with her and then forget her name come morning. Why spend an entire with her, seeming perfectly happy keeping her company, even if that company included her ranting to him about the details of pastry and desserts, something he admitted he knew nothing about?

That unknowable ‘why?’ was haunting Emma. Was she being paranoid? Or was she being careful? Or was she just overthinking about something and someone that was temporary?

In three days’ time, she would be on a plane flying back to New York and whatever she had shared with Nico would be over. She would never see him again. That wasn’t something that her emotions were lying to her about. That wasn’t something refutable. She would never see Nico again. Because that is what this was: temporary.

The thing is… it didn’t feel temporary.

If this was fate or destiny or whatever, it didn’t feel like Nico was supposed to come into her life for a few days and then leave without another word exchanged between them. It felt more intentional.

But, once again, perhaps her emotions were twisting this reality into the fairytale that she so desperately wanted her life to be.

Emma is startled out of her spiraling thoughts by the shrill sound of her phone ringing. After rummaging through her bag, she grasps her cell and is surprised to see Morgan’s number flashing on her screen.

The spike of fear that rushes through her clears her head faster than even the strongest cup of coffee. There was absolutely no reason for Morgan to be calling unless it was an emergency; money troubles, delivery issues, hell it could even be something worse like mold or an electrical fire. Emma quickly accepts the call and lifts her cell to her ear, mentally preparing herself.

“Girl, you better tell me what the hell is going on with you,” Morgan’s voice echoes through the line, clear as day even with the white noise of New York in the background.

“What?” Emma asks, taken aback by Morgan’s unexpected words.

“Nuh-uh, you don’t get to avoid this,” Morgan quips, confusing Emma even further.

“Morgan, I really don’t know what you are talking about,” Emma sighs.

“The pictures? The angles? That love-struck look on your face in every single one of them?”

“What are you talking about?” Emma repeats.

“Babe, come on. I’ve known you for years now. You think I don’t know what it looks like when you’ve tripped head over heels for someone?”

Finally, the fog lifts from Emma’s brain.

“You’re talking about the pictures I’ve texted to you,” she sighs, collapsing onto the couch. In an effort to keep Morgan updated, she had asked Nico to occasionally take her picture – across from café tables or in front of other classic Parisian sights, all which she sent to Morgan with a quick message or an even faster emoji.

“What else would I be talking about?” Morgan says, the exasperated tone that Emma had grown to love hitting her eardrums.  

“I thought you were calling me because there was some type of emergency.”

“This is a freaking emergency!” Morgan shouts, causing a laugh to fall from Emma, one which is ignored as Morgan barrels on. “My best friend has been struck by Cupid’s arrow in the City of Love!”

“I have not.”

“Don’t deny it. Now, spill. Who is the mysterious French gentleman?”

“He’s actually Swiss,” Emma retorts, knowing that Nico’s nationality was the least important reason Morgan was calling. A thought that is practically confirmed by Morgan’s next words.

“What?”

“Nothing. His name is Nico. He’s in Paris for work. I met him at Café de la Paix yesterday.”

“Really? That’s it? That’s all I get? The CliffsNotes version?”

“Well, to be honest, that’s all I really know. I mean, we’ve talked about family and childhood and general get-to-know each other things – food, movies, all that – but that’s it,” Emma explains, the words feeling stupid as they come out of her mouth.

When talking to Nico, she didn’t mind that they kept things surface level. She knew the reason for it. It was because of that word that continued to plague her – temporary. No point getting into the ‘deep stuff’ when all this would be a distant memory soon.

“Is he handsome?” Morgan’s voice sounds again, her focus on what she considered ‘important’ forcing a laugh from Emma’s lips.

“Drop dead gorgeous,” Emma sighs, Nico’s eyes and dimples and smile dancing through her mind.  

“Have you slept with him yet?”

“Morgan!”

“What?” Morgan exclaims, her own laugh seeping into her words. “I feel like it’s a very relevant question: have you slept with the drop-dead gorgeous man you met yesterday, who is choosing to spend a day of his vacation with you?”

“I told you, he’s here for work. And we didn’t spend the entire day together.”

“Not important. Have you slept with him?”

“No, I haven’t,” Emma replies, the smile clear in her words.

“Bitch, why not?” Morgan shrieks, causing Emma to laugh once again.

“Because. Besides, you should know I don’t do that anymore.”

“Yeah, I know, not since you got out of school. But come on! First off, I take it he’s not a pretentious wanna-be pastry chef, right?”

“He’s not.”

“Alright. Secondly, you’re never going to see him again so what’s the harm?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Emma sighs as she sinks deeper into the couch cushions, the joy dropping from her voice at yet another reminder of this being temporary.

“Woah, okay,” Morgan says, her own voice softening at the sadness broadcasted in Emma’s. “Something else is going on here.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Clearly, it’s not considering how upset you sound. Come on, it’s just me. Your best friend in the whole wide world who may tease you a bit but would never actually judge you.”

Emma takes a deep breath, looking around her apartment, trying to get her thoughts in order. Her eyes move to the window where she can still see the shape of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

“It’s just…” she begins, hesitating, worried that the words will sound ridiculous. But she relaxes, remembering that it’s just Morgan. “I’ve never felt like this before. Nico, he’s… he’s so sweet and so kind. I mean, like you said, he’s spending his free time to hang out with me. Like, that must mean something right? I mean, if he wanted a piece of ass he could find one easily.”

“Not one as hot as yours,” Morgan interjects but Emma pays no mind to her words.

“It seems like he cares about me as more than just a potential hookup. And when I’m with him… it’s easy, like we’ve known each other for ages. Part of me wants to say that all these emotions are fake because – y’know – it’s the ‘City of Love’ and Paris just making me think this is more than it is but… I feel like I could fall in love with him.”

Emma can hear Morgan’s intake of breath, a tell-tale sign that she opened her mouth to speak but Emma cut her off before she could utter a syllable.

“I know that’s stupid to say about a man I met less than 36 hours ago. Plus, like you said, we’re never going to see each other again. His job apparently takes him all around the world so the chances of running into him after this are slim to none. But since I like him this much – in a way that is beyond casual – I’m worried that if I sleep with him or hell even kiss him, it will just make it harder to get over him. Which, again, is silly that I’m worried about getting over someone that I will might spend a maximum of four days with. Like – it’s just – I don’t know.”

Emma heaves another sigh, her hand moving to run through her dark hair before a half-hearted chuckle escapes her.

“This is why I don’t do casual.”

There is a small pause as Morgan takes in all of Emma’s words, the only sound filtering through the phone being the ambient noise of both of their respective cities. Emma finally hears a sigh from the other line before Morgan’s voice comes through.

“Listen, you know I’m not much for soulmates and true love and all of that. But I think you should just embrace it, whatever it is that you are feeling.”

This time, it is Emma who is about to voice a retort and Morgan who stops her before she can.

“Yeah, you’ll probably never see him again. Yeah, this is all temporary. But isn’t that even more reason to dive in headfirst while you can? Better to live a life of mistakes than a life of regret.”

Emma lets Morgan’s final statement sink in, her brain moving a mile a minute. She was right: what was there to lose? The question whirls around Emma’s head, the answer to which doesn’t instantly appear. The only thing that Emma could think to utter was another sigh.

“You know, sometimes you give really good advice.”

“It does tend to happen from time to time, thank you for noticing,” Morgan laughs. “And hey, regardless of what you decide over there in Paris, maybe this whirlwind romance will give you even more inspiration for the café!”

“And sometimes you give advice like that,” Emma jokes, the exasperation in the tone obvious.

“Eh, you win some, you lose some. I’ll let you get some dinner and sleep. Keep me updated – this time on everything not just the food, please and thank you.”

“Will do. Bye Morgan.”

Morgan replies with a quick goodbye before the call ends, leaving Emma alone with her thoughts once more. The hours pass and after ordering some takeout, Emma sits down at her small kitchen table. While she eats, Emma flips open to the back page of her notebook, writing down all the emotions and questions swirling around in her head, trying find some logical solution to her current predicament.

She’s in the middle of making a pros and cons list when her phone screen lights up with a message. Not thinking much of it, she doesn’t bother looking at the preview before unlocking her phone, ready to read another quip from Morgan. She is halted in her movements when she sees Nico’s name on the screen.

Hey. I had a lot of fun hanging out with you today. I was wondering if you wanted to do it again tomorrow? I have the evening off and would love to take in some Parisian nightlife. received 7:58pm

Emma’s eyes dance over his words before jumping back to her own looped handwriting on the pages of her notebook, trying to add this message into the tangle of possibilities. She is about to type up an excuse about why she can’t before a familiar voice echoes through her mind.

Better to live a life of mistakes than a life of regret. What’s the worst that could happen?

Yes, it could be a huge mistake letting Nico get any closer, letting him mess with her emotions any more than he already has. But maybe, just maybe, this was meant to be. And as Emma chews over those two possibilities, another question enters her mind.

Which would hurt more? Getting over Nico or never giving him a chance?

Emma looks back to her phone, the answer obvious to her now. She deletes the previously half written message before typing up a new response.

What did you have in mind? sent 8:06pm

Anything’s good for me. Just as long as you’re there. received 8:10pm

~*~*Day Three*~*~

Emma thought that she would get used to this feeling; the feeling of existing in a dream. It seemed to happen every hour she spent with Nico by her side. And now, the evening air warm as the two of them sit outside of Carette, the sweet taste of macarons in dancing across their tastebuds with the Eiffel Tower shining directly across the Seine… it was something out of a romance novel.

Emma glances across the small table towards Nico, wondering if he felt the same. He catches her stare and when that beautiful smile appears on his face, the butterflies erupt in her stomach. No one else had been able to illicit that reaction from her with something as simple a smile.

“Anything you would like to do next?” Nico asks, wiping the remnants of his dessert on the small paper napkins.

“Not really. I – well, we’ve – hit most of the cafés and stores on my list so I don’t have really anywhere I need to be,” Emma explains. Nico nods, acknowledging her words with a small hum. “I might just head back to my apartment. It is getting kind of late.”

“Need any company?”

His words catch Emma’s attention, the potential entendre clear within them. Emma shoots him a questioning look and it seems that her expression makes Nico realize how it must have sounded.

“I mean, not like that, I, um – what I was trying to say was would you like me to walk you home – keep you company on the way to your place,” he stumbles over his words and in the streetlights, Emma can see his cheeks turning a rosy pink. She assuages his fear with a soft laugh.

“I’d like that.”

“Good. Okay,” Nico sighs, his hands running through his hair.  He smiles again, one that Emma returns, before he lifts himself from his chair, holding his hand out to Emma. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Emma says, placing her hand in his as he helps her from her seat. Emma is about ready release her grasp when she feels his grip slightly tighten, an action that brings another questioning look on her face.

“Is this alright?” Nico asks, his voice soft.

The butterflies in her stomach flip into overdrive at his gentle request. Although she had agreed to this – Date? Meeting? Rendezvous? Whatever. – with Nico, a part of her was still hesitant to make a more daring move. To dive head first as Morgan said. Vulnerability had never been much of a strong suit for her.

But considering that Nico was looking at her like she hung the stars, that sweet earnest expression on his face, she realized that she didn’t care if her heart would be broken by the end of this trip. Because whatever she shared with Nico… it was magical.

Why not keep the magic for as long as she could?

The smallest of smiles tugs at the corner of Emma’s lips as she adjusts her hold around Nico’s hand, weaving her fingers through his.

“It’s perfect,” she whispers, her voice wavering a bit; a waver that Nico hears but silences with a small squeeze of her hand and that bright dimpled smile.

The two of them leave the small café, walking hand in hand across the square, through the Trocadero Gardens to the Pont d’Iena bridge, the Eiffel Tower standing tall in front of them. The water of the Siene is a soft soundtrack below them and Emma finds herself caught up in the beauty of Paris.

Part of her thought that the novelty of the city would wear off eventually. But it seemed that Paris revealed something else wonderful to her every second she walked down its paved streets. As her and Nico walk underneath the sprawling base of the Eiffel Tower, Emma’s eyes trace the steelwork; its gentle arcs, its cross-work patterns, the diamond in the center that she knew lifted up and up, the lights hung on every intricate weld. This vacation was one of the best things that ever happened to her, that much she was sure of.

And it was made even sweeter with the presence of the man by her side, still holding her hand.

She looks over towards Nico, his eyes connecting to hers, a smile appearing on both of their faces. She lets him lead her away from the tower, down Champ de Mars.

Emma had previously thought that the city was manipulating her emotions, getting her hopes up over someone who didn’t feel the same. Now, she thought that perhaps the city brought Nico to her for a reason. That the city wasn’t scheming to break her heart… it was planning to open it and let Nico – with his gentle eyes and soft smile and adorable dimples – change her for the better.

Her daydreams are interrupted by a chorus of ‘oohs’ falling from the mouths of other tourists around her and Nico. Emma looks and sees a few people with their camera’s aimed behind them and when she turns, her jaw drops.

There in the background, the Eiffel Tower stands, it’s thousands of lights now flashing, making the entire structure look as if it was covered in glitter.

“I haven’t been able to catch the light show since I got here,” Emma whispers, partly to herself but her words also land on Nico’s eardrums. “I always forgot when it started.”

The two of them stand there, taking in the sparkling spire before Nico’s voice breaks the brief silence.

“Do you want a picture?”

“Could you? That be amazing,” Emma says, reaching into her purse before she stops. “Oh, right. My phone died.”

“I can use mine,” Nico replies without any hesitation, reaching into the pocket of his jeans.

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” he says, phone now in hand.

Nico starts to take a step back, his hand slipping from Emma’s grasp. But before he can fully let go, her fingers tighten around his. The action takes Nico by surprise, his eyes jumping to their intertwined hands before looking back to Emma.

“Take one with me?” she asks, her own voice soft, the question seeming to hold more weight than it should. Emma watches as a flicker of hesitation passes across Nico’s face, the uncertainty making her anxiety jump. But Nico once again silences her fear, his expression morphing back into that smile that made her heart skip in the best way before he gently nods his head, stepping back towards her.

Nico turns their bodies so the Eiffel Tower is behind them before holding out his phone. Emma takes a small breath before she moves, slotting her body next to his, her free hand lifting to rest on his chest. Every movement is tentative, unsure of how much Nico will allow. But when Nico drops her hand to wrap his arm around her body, pulling her closer, Emma relaxes. Her body curls into Nico’s, head resting on his shoulder as Nico angles the camera to capture the shimmering tower in the background.

Nico’s thumb presses the shutter button a few times before moving the phone closer to them as his hands navigate from the camera to the photos. Emma looks over the images, the smile never leaving her face. Each picture is beautiful; the two of them looking incredibly happy, the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance. She turns her attention away from Nico’s phone, back towards him. But when their eyes connect, her breath catches in her throat.

The look on Nico’s face is one that Emma has seen a thousand times before, but only in movies and television shows. A look that had never once been directed towards her. A look of utmost gentleness, the yearning in Nico’s irises gleaming with the same intensity as the light show still happening behind them.

Nico’s head dips closer towards Emma’s upturned face and Emma finds her own body is stretching up to meet him. They pause, bare inches in between them and Emma can feel the gentle brush of Nico’s breath fanning across her cheeks.

Another moment of hesitation, the air thick with indecision, waiting for someone to make the final move.

In the end, it turns out to be Nico that leans in, closing the gap between them and capturing Emma’s lips in a gentle kiss. The press of him against her surprises Emma – not because she wasn’t expecting it, not because she didn’t want it, but because she couldn’t quite believe it was really happening.

The touch of him, the taste of him… it felt too good to be true.

But when she feels Nico start to pull away, the shock subsides and the hunger takes over. Her hands blindly lift to burrow into the soft hair at the nape of his neck, dragging him back into her as she reciprocates the kiss.

This time, it is Nico that is taken aback by her intensity but it is brief – a minuscule surprise – until he matching her passion, his own hands tightening around her waist, pulling her body impossibly closer to her. The kisses deepen, the two of them enveloped in the desire that had been steadily building for the past two days.

Eventually, they fall away from each other, dazed from the kisses shared. Emma glances up at Nico, the smile on her lips mirrored on his.

“Wow,” he whispers, his hand lifting to delicately brush his fingers across Emma’s cheekbones, causing a light laugh to escape her.

They stand there for a moment, still wrapped in each other’s arms. Emma’s thoughts spin in her mind; questions about what this means and if this changes anything. But eventually, one voice takes over.

Embrace it, Emma.

She wasn’t sure if that voice was that of her best friend or of Paris or her own, but it didn’t matter who spoke. All that mattered was that she listened.

“Do you have anywhere you need to be tomorrow morning?” Emma asks, the words light with the crooked grin that twisted itself onto her lips. The smirk is quickly matched by Nico, this time the double entendre being anything but unintentional.

“I don’t. Why do you ask?” he says, his own voice teasing.

“Oh, there’s just this café right next door to my apartment that I think you might enjoy,” Emma nonchalantly replies, matching his taunt.

“Planning another brunch?”

“It opens pretty early. And people always say that first customers get the freshest food.”

“Breakfast then,” Nico says, his agreement to her anything but subtle offer painted clearly on his face. 

“Perfect,” Emma replies.

Nico leans forward, kissing Emma once more and if there was any question left in either of their minds, it was erased by the need coursing through their bodies. Nico pulls away, his arms falling from Emma’s frame – albeit reluctantly. He takes a single step back before offering his hand once again, one that is immediately accepted by Emma. Their fingers intertwine as Emma takes her place by Nico’s side. He looks down at her, his eyes bright.

“Lead the way.”

~*~*Day Four*~*~

The gentle morning sun rouses Emma from her slumber. The plush sheets brush against her bare skin, the warmth trapped within them comforting her, lulling her back into her dream. Or, more accurately, the dream of last night.

The brush of Nico’s hands against her skin, the strength of his hold on her hips, the feeling of his lips tracing her silhouette, the softness of his hair in between her fingers, his strong arms wrapped around her as they both fell asleep.

Arms that were no longer holding her.

Her brain slowly registers the emptiness surrounding her as she blindly reaches behind, hoping that her palm would land on the solid form of Nico. But when her hand lands on the softness of the sheets and solidness of the mattress, Emma’s eyes open.

She lifts her body upright, muscles protesting, still sore from last night’s activities. Her gaze dances around the studio apartment, finding it completely empty; only the fabric of her own clothes scattered across the floor.

Emma’s heart drops, the critical voice that had been kept dormant coming back in full force, assuming the worst.

He got what he wanted. He coerced himself into your bed and you were foolish enough to let him. And now that he accomplished what he set out to do, there was no reason for him to stick around.

The soft chime of the doorbell echoes around the apartment, cutting of the voice before it had a chance to berate her further. Emma sighs, lifting herself off the bed and grabbing the robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door She throws it on before walking down the stairwell towards the entrance door.

She isn’t concerned about who is waiting on the street. It was most likely a delivery person who mistook her door for the side entrance to one of the stores next to her. But when she swings the wooden door open, the French poised on her lips, she is silenced by the sight of Nico standing on the other side of the threshold, a bag hanging from his arm and two cups of coffee in his hand.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to take your keys and make you think you lost them or something,” he explains, the sheepish look gracing his features. Emma stares at him for a moment, her thoughts rearranging themselves at the realization that she was wrong and he didn’t simply abandon her.

“It’s alright,” she says, stepping to the side. Nico crosses through the doorway as Emma closes the door behind him. He lets her climb back up the stairs first before they both re-enter the apartment.

Nico breezes over to the small table in the kitchen, leaving Emma still standing bewildered near the entrance. She watches as he sets down the two coffee cups before fishing into the brown paper bag and removing a pair of eclairs.

“I probably should’ve waited for you because my French is terrible. Thankfully, the workers remembered you so I trust that they got your order right,” Nico explains, shooting a smile her way. “You must really like that place if they know your name after only three days.”

“Wild & The Moon has great food. I think I’ve stopped there every morning since arriving,” she says, walking towards him and taking a seat in one of the chairs. Nico settles into the opposite seat, that soft smile on his face.

“Well, I’m not going to be one to disagree with a pastry chef,” he laughs, his cheery demeanor breaking through the thin wall that Emma had hastily created around her heart when she woke up to find him missing. She returns his grin, although it is slightly half-hearted. She can see her hesitance register on Nico’s face but Emma doesn’t address it. Instead, she grabs the coffee he placed in front of her, taking a small sip.

“Is everything alright?” he asks.

“It’s perfect. Exactly what I always order,” Emma replies with a small shrug.

“That’s good to hear but it’s not exactly what I was asking.”

Emma looks back up at him, his eyes trained on her face. His emotions were painted so clearly onto his features; concern, confusion, and an inkling of fear. Emma sighs again, shaking her head slightly.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“It’s bothering you so it isn’t nothing,” Nico shoots back, the earnestness in his statement startling Emma. Nico hesitates before reaching his hand out, brushing his fingers against hers before intertwining their grip. “Tell me, please.”

Emma takes a breath, the words sticking in her throat, unsure whether to tell him the truth or to brush off his worry again. But she decides to embrace it – every emotion, the good and the bad.

“I thought you left me,” she whispers, looking back up at him. “Took off after I fell asleep because this – whatever this is – is casual. And that’s what happens with casual.”

Emma immediately regrets the words when she sees Nico’s face fall.

“Is that what you think about me?”

“It’s what my worst intentions thought,” Emma answers honestly. “I’m glad I was proven wrong though,” she continues, a hopeful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. One that Nico blissfully returns.

“Last night…” he begins, pausing to deliberate his words. “Last night was amazing. Really. But I want you to know that I loved hanging out with you before that. I don’t want you to think it was all a ruse to get in your pants.”

Emma wants to tell him that she didn’t think that but it would be a lie so she just keeps her mouth closed, listening intently to Nico instead.

“I really like hanging out with you,” he concludes, looking back at her.

“I do too,” Emma responds with a smile.

She doesn’t tell him that she thinks she’s falling for him, or at least could see herself falling for him. Because, while this connection may be pure and genuine, that didn’t erase the fact that this wasn’t going to last. She was leaving tomorrow, back to New York. He would leave soon – back to wherever it was that his job took him next.

Instead, they sit there in silence, eating their food and sipping their coffee. It is a silence filled with a sense of comfort but an overlay of sadness as well. This was likely it for them.

“Today is your last day in Paris, right?” Nico asks, breaking the silence by voicing the unavoidable truth.

“Yeah. My flight is tomorrow at 9am.”

“Anything you want to do for your last day?”

“Still want to hear me rant about French pastry?”

“I have to admit, it is pretty entertaining,” Nico laughs, that jovial sparkle in his eyes. “And I was serious; I like hanging out with you. I don’t have anywhere I need to be so why not spend the day with you?”

The butterflies start up again; both at Nico’s sweet words but also at the heated way that he is looking at her from across the table, his eyes dancing over her frame. His gaze makes Emma suddenly aware of the only thing that is separating her bare skin from his sight is the fabric of her robe. She smirks, the desire sparking again as she lifts herself up from the table.

“Well, I looked at my notes and I actually managed to hit all the shops I wanted to,” Emma muses, taking a few steps towards Nico. “So, maybe we could go to the Louvre.”

“See the Mona Lisa?” Nico asks, his body turning towards her as she walks closer.

“Although I hear that it can get insanely crowded.”

“A little claustrophobic, wouldn’t you say?”

“My hosts – the couple who owns this apartment – left a long list of tourist spots that are close by. Some gardens, some museums…” she continues, her hands toying with the bow holding her robe together.

“That sounds relaxing,” Nico responds with a small hum.

“But I also have to do laundry and pack and I would prefer to not leave that to the last minute.”

“Completely understandable.”

“So, I don’t know really know what we should do today,” Emma sighs, her body settling between Nico’s parted thighs, the tie of her robe now partially undone, the fabric falling off one of her shoulders. His hands reach out and a small shiver rushes through Emma’s body at the sensation of his fingertips grazing the back of her thighs.

“Maybe we should just stay in?” Nico playfully suggests, his hands dancing up and down her bare skin.

“And waste our last day together?” Emma teases. Nico smirks up at her, one hand moving to the front of her body, gently undoing the remaining tie before slipping beneath the fabric, his fingers grazing her hipbone.

“I’m sure we can find something to do to pass the time.”

~*~*A Year and A Half Later*~*~

“Is the Frasier ready to go?” Emma shouts into the kitchen, her voice startling the few customers waiting by the pick-up counter.

“It’s loaded in the back of your car with the macarons and the components for the mille-feuille,” her sous-chef April calls back. “I’m need to grab profiteroles from the racks and we should be good to go.”

“We have all four flavors of macarons?”

“Yes, boss. Everything is accounted for.”

“Good. Be ready to leave in less than ten minutes,” Emma calls, pushing through the swinging kitchen doors, walking behind the café’s main counter. She weaves her way through the two baristas working on orders towards the pastry display. Leaning down, her scan over the pastries, taking inventory of what is left and what need to be replaced. She is almost halfway through her task before a nudge on her shoulder pulls her attention away from the case. Emma glances up to see Morgan’s blue eyes looking at her from underneath her blonde bangs. Wordlessly, she hands Emma a cup filled with a latte.

“You work her too hard,” Morgan says, nodding towards the kitchen, her words referencing April.

“Nothing she’s not used to,” Emma says, taking a drink. “Trust me. The chefs at her school were likely a hundred times more terrifying than me.”

“I don’t know, you’re pretty scary when you’re stressed.”

“Stressed? Who says I’m stressed?” Emma replies, her eyes turning back to the pastry case. “We need to replenish the Pain au Chocolate as soon as possible. It’s one of our best sellers so those five will probably be gone by the end of the morning rush and we don’t want the customers waiting.”

“I’ll get Jacob on that when he’s done taking orders. And you’d be stupid if you weren’t stressed.”

Her words bring Emma’s attention to her best friend and co-owner, her brows downturned into a scowl.

“Don’t give me that look,” Morgan scoffs. “Only a year since our business opened and a professional hockey team has asked us to cater their charity brunch? This is huge. You should be freaking out, it’s okay. You don’t have to hold it together for appearance’s sake, at least not in front of me.”

“You look pretty calm,” Emma retorts.

“I screamed my lungs out in the walk-in fridge when I got in this morning.”

“You should’ve told me. We could have screamed together,” Emma laughed, taking another sip of her coffee as her and Morgan departed from behind the counter, sitting down at one of the small tables in the corner.  

“With nothing but the eggs and milk as our witnesses,” Morgan laughed. The two of them look out over the café, the sound of customers talking and the hiss of the milk steamers echoing around the space.

“This is insanity,” Emma sighs.

A year. A single year from the grand opening of their café, La Crème de la Crème, and they were already more successful than they could’ve imagined. And now, in a few minutes, Emma and April would be driving across the Hudson to cater for the New Jersey Devils charity brunch.

“If you meet the person that decided to take a chance on us, give them a giant kiss on the mouth from me,” Morgan says, her testament causing Emma to laugh.

“If you want to kiss a hockey player, you should come yourself.”

“Gotta make sure this place doesn’t burn down. But who knows, maybe you’ll fall madly in love with a hot stranger like you did the last time you went to a different city without me,” Morgan jokes. The reminder causes Emma to roll her eyes.

“Will you ever let that go?”

“Have you?”

The blush that invades Emma’s cheeks is all the answer Morgan needs. Yes, it had been a year since the café opened, another four months on top of that since Emma returned from her ‘research’ trip to Paris. And she would be lying if she said she didn’t find herself still thinking about the man she met there.

Nico. He still occupied a space in her mind, ever since that last kiss they shared as he helped her into the taxi the morning she left. It was hard to let him go even though she knew that it would probably be for the best if she could just forget about him.

“The backstock should last you through the morning. If it doesn’t, Kenneth is coming in at 1. April and I should be back before then but if not, he can run the kitchen until we arrive,” Emma says, finishing off her drink and lifting herself up from the table. “Remember to have Jacob stock the Pain au Chocolate.”

“We’ve got it covered here,” Morgan says, her smile calming Emma’s beating heart. “Just focus on being the coolest pastry chef, impressing all those important people, and bringing in new customers.”

Emma responds with a playful salute before disappearing back into the kitchen. April is waiting for her by the back door, black chefs coat on, the café’s name written in cursive script over her breast. After confirming everything was in the car, they both hop in and start the drive to Newark, New Jersey.

Emma sends a thank you to whatever power there was for making traffic light, the trip not taking nearly as long as Emma had suspected it would. They are soon arriving at the hotel, pulling up to the entrance. After a quick explanation of who they were and why they were there, a few hotel workers come out to assist them as they bring their food into the kitchens.

“I’m going to find the organizer, ask where they want us to set up. Just get everything ready to be assembled and then we will go from there.”

April gives Emma a small nod in acknowledgment, turning her attention to the boxes of food in front of her. Emma leaves her to it, following the signs to the ballroom. She walks through the open doors, finding the room decorated in the red and black – colors that she now knew to be the teams –tables filling the space around a small stage.

On one wall lined with banquet tables, she spies an elegant woman holding a clipboard talking to the hotel staff, who Emma was told were providing the rest of the food. She makes her way over, the conversation hitting her ears, confirming that this was the person she needed to speak to.

Emma stands off to the side, waiting for the discussion to conclude before stepping forward.

“Hello. I’m Emmaline Evans, the co-owner and pastry chef from Crème de la Crème,” she says, holding out one of her tattooed hands.

“Oh, yes!” the woman says, graciously accepting Emma’s handshake. “I’m so glad you made it. My name’s Nicole, I’m one of the people who helped organize this brunch. Are you all settled, everything good?”

“Yes, my sous-chef is in the kitchen right now getting the plates ready. I just wanted to introduce myself and say thank you for the opportunity. It means a lot for our new business.”

“Of course! Though, I should really introduce you to Jess. She is the one that came in telling us about this amazing café in Greenwich that we just had to get,” Nicole explains, her bubbly personality infectious, making a smile break out on Emma’s face.

“I look forward to meeting her. I’ll probably be out once everything is prepared, introduce myself to some of the other guests and check to make sure everything tastes alright.”

“Perfect! I wouldn’t expect anything else from a savvy business woman, neither will any of the guests. A lot of driven people here,” Nicole explains, before turning to face the banquet tables. “We have the traditional breakfast fare here and your table is over there,” she gestures to a table a short distance away. “We decided to keep the sweets a little separate from the rest.”

“Makes perfect sense,” Emma nods, taking the layout into memory. “Would you like us to delay bringing the food out so there is a space between the main course and the dessert?”

“Is that alright for you? I think that would be best.”

“Absolutely.”

“Amazing. You can bring out the food at, let’s say 11:30? We might still be in the middle of speeches and all that but that could work out because after we’ve wrapped up there, we can direct people to your delicious food.”

“Of course. I’ll go back and get everything ready. We’ll be out at 11:30.”

“Perfect. Thank you again!” Nicole exclaims and Emma is about to extend her hand for another handshake until Nicole sweeps her into a hug instead. Emma embraces it politely before pulling away and disappearing back to the kitchen. On the way, she sees the beginning of the crowd trickling in, her eyes glancing over the guests decked out in expensive dresses and suits.

This was a golden opportunity and she wasn’t going to waste it.

She breezes into the kitchen towards the corner where April had completely set up everything in the few minutes she was gone. Emma explains the timeline and they both set to work; April filling the profiteroles with their whipped cream center and Emma assembling the layers of the mille-feuille. April finishes first and sets about arranging the macarons and profiteroles on the platters provided before moving to cut the Fraiser into slices and placing each piece on their separate plate. Emma finishes assembling the mille-feuilles and glances at the clock.

“Alright, we’ve got a few minutes. Finish plating the Fraiser and bring those out first. I’ll take the macarons and profiteroles and then we can both bring out the mille-feuille.”

“Sounds good. Do you need any help with the platters?”

“No, I should be fine,” Emma says, leaning down to pick up the silver tray the macarons were placed on. “We’ve got the labels for everything, correct.”

“Yes, boss. Do you want me to bring those out first or last.”

“Last. We can arrange the table how we see fit and then label the plates instead of having to shuffle everything around.” Emma is about to leave the kitchen before she turns back to April, the platter resting on her shoulder. “You know you don’t have to call me boss.”

“Force of habit,” April laughs, her brown eyes sparkling as she looks up from the Frasier. “You can stop pretending that you don’t like it.”

“Ha-ha,” Emma utters a sarcastic laugh before leaving. She retraces her path to the ballroom, hearing the echo of an amplified voice guiding her steps.

Emma slips in, the tables now filled with guests, their attention turned to the front stage as she sees Nicole as well as few other beautiful women standing by the podium. She registers parts of their speech; happiness for how the season was going, excitement for what was coming, reminder of the charity they were here for, and of course a call for generosity in donating. Emma makes her way around the perimeter of the room, coming to the assigned banquet table before setting the platter down. She moves back catching the eyes of April walking in with the platter of Fraiser and directs her with a nod of her head.

A few trips later, Emma is standing in front of the table, her eyes gazing over the assortment of the food she was proudest of. It looked beautiful, the whites and golds and reds and pinks and browns of the desserts creating a stunning mosaic, each section labeled in the same elegant cursive that graced her chef’s jacket.

“I’m going to go back, clean up the kitchen and get ready for any food we might have to bring back,” she says, looking to April.

“Don’t you want to stay here? You’re the chef after all,” April asks from the other side of the table.

“I plan on making the rounds a little later, get a little more personal interaction. I have no doubt that you’ll make an excellent first impression of our company without me.”

Emma sees her words register in April’s mind, a smile gracing over her features before it shifts to serious, her body lifting to stand a little taller.

“I won’t disappoint you, boss,” April says, her words serious but punctuated with a small wink, causing Emma to playfully roll her eyes. She doesn’t give another response, departing the ballrooms. She is only a few steps out of the door when she hears the final announcement echo from the speakers.

“Now please enjoy some delicious pastries from Crème de la Crème Café.”

Hearing her company name announced along with the applause that followed – although she knew the cheer wasn’t directed towards her – made her heart leap. Everything was perfect so far; all that was left was for the guests to like the food.

Emma cleans, packing the equipment they brought into her car and assembling a few take-away boxes that she hoped she didn’t have to use. She leaves the kitchen, taking a quick stop in the bathroom to wash her hands and adjust her appearance, making sure not a hair was out of place. She takes a few deep breaths, straightening her jacket before moving back into the ballroom.

She takes in the sight of plates filled with her food on tables, the smiles on peoples faces and it makes her relax. Emma catches sight of April still manning the table, her smile never wavering as she hands out desserts, her lips explaining each delicacy. She catches Emma’s eye, sending her a wink before turning her attention back to the guests. Emma lets out a sigh before she gazes around the ballroom.

“Oh, there she is! Emmaline!” she hears a voice call, locating Nicole sitting at a table waving her hand. Emma smiles, weaving through the crowd until she reaches her.

“Everyone, this is Emmaline Evans. She’s the chef that created all these wonderful treats for us!” Nicole explains and Emma smiles, nodding her head to the other guests sitting there.

“How is everything tasting?”

“Delicious!” one of the gentlemen at the table says. “Why haven’t we heard about your restaurant before?”

“We actually opened a year and a half ago so we’re relatively new.”

“Well, you are sure to get some new customers if your food always tastes this good,” he laughs, extending his hand. “Erik.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Emma says, accepting his handshake.

“I can guarantee that the food is always this good,” another feminine voice sounds from across the table. Emma turns her attention to a brunette smiling at her. “Definitely worth the drive to Greenwich.”

“Oh, right! Emmaline, this is Jess. She’s the one that insisted we book your company,” Nicole explains, the words forcing Emma to extend her hand eagerly, Jess accepting it with grace.

“Thank you for the opportunity. It really means a lot to me and my co-owner Morgan, so thank you for taking a chance on us.”

“I knew it wasn’t going to be that much of a risk. I’ve been forcing Nate to drive me to New York on his days off so I can get your food,” Jess says, nudging the shoulder of the man next to her – who Emma can only assume is Nate. “You deserve way more recognition. And, when I heard about a small woman-owned business, I knew I had to give my support. Kind of what we do.”

The other women at the table laugh in agreement, causing another smile to break out on Emma’s face. She politely stays for a few minutes, answering queries about the food provided, the menu at the café, and other general questions. Slowly, her body registers the weight of someone’s eyes on her from across the ballroom. A lull in the conversation allows her to lift her head and look around.

When her eyes land on the source of the stare, her heartbeat falters in her chest.

It had been over sixteen months since she had last seen him but she swears she could recognize those gentle brown eyes and that flowing chestnut hair anywhere.

A few tables away sat Nico; the man that she met in Paris all that time ago. The man who enchanted her from the moment he sat with her at the café table. The man she never thought she would see again.

He was here.

Emma quickly snaps out of her trance, breaking his gaze and turning her attention back to the guests in front of her with a polite smile. But beneath her composure, her thoughts were as erratic as her heartbeat. She steals another glance back in Nico’s direction, finding him in a conversation with the young man next to him, that familiar dimpled smile on his face.

“Apologies,” Emma says, interrupting the conversation taking place around her. “I should greet the other guest, check in on them.”

“Oh, of course! We’ve kept you long enough,” Nicole speaks.

“You should go talk to out team leadership,” the man next to Nicole says – Jesper, she remembered. Emma watches as he twists in his seat, eyes roving over the room before stopping, his long arm pointing to a table. “Over there.”

The directionality of his gesture has Emma’s heart skipping again, the anxiety only heightened when she follows his point to the table where Nico sat.

“That’s our captain, Nico, and our two assistant captains, Jack and Ondrej, along with their partners and a few others,” Jesper says turning back to Emma, who quickly plasters a gracious expression on her face.

“I will make sure to stop there, thank you,” she says before departing, moving only to the table next to the previous.

She was going to keep her word – she just needed a little time.

Emma introduces herself to multiple guests, answering the same questions, and handing out more business cards than she could count. She navigates the ballroom, slowly making her way over to Nico’s table. She swears that every time she moves closer, she can feel Nico’s eyes landing on her more frequently. She manages to focus on the guests in front of her enough that no one suspects anything is amiss. But she knows that the effort is half-hearted at best. The other part of her brain is twisting itself in knots over the prospect of speaking to Nico again.

She never expected to see him. She certainly didn’t expect to see him at a work event. In the fantasies that she allowed herself to occasionally indulge in, they would always run into each other at a bar or in the park or even on the street. In those daydreams, he was single and the magic from Paris would still be there between them.

But now, Emma is forced to make her brain prepare for the possible reality that she was about to walk into: that he was here with an insanely beautiful woman on his arm and the romance in Paris was exactly what she feared it to be – temporary.

It didn’t make it any better that she would have to reckon all of those heartbreaking truths with a pleasant smile on her face; the shield of professionalism she was forced to maintain that could absolutely not crack.

 Emma concludes her previous conversation, taking a deep breath before turning towards the table she had been avoiding all afternoon. She walks up to the edge, glancing around the faces of the guests, trying not to let her eyes linger on one face in particular.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she speaks, calling their attention to her. “I’m one of the owners of Crème de la Crème and I just wanted to check in, see how everything was tasting.”

“It’s fucking fantastic!” the dirty blonde next to Nico exclaims, causing Nico’s head to turn with a glare and a hiss of ‘Jack!’. A blush invades his cheeks before the man – Jack – looks back towards Emma. “Sorry, I mean, it’s really, really good.”

Emma laughs gently at his words before speaking.

“It’s alright. I’m glad to hear you like it that much.”

“It really is delicious,” the stunning blonde woman next to Jack speaks. “Is your store located in Newark?”

“No, we’re actually located in Greenwich Village in New York. But this was an amazing opportunity for our business that we just couldn’t pass up.”

“That’s awesome. Do you normally cater?”

“We’re relatively new to the catering side of food service. We do provide food for smaller parties: birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations like that. This has been out biggest event yet so this was also a test for us, to see if we could handle it.”

“Well, I say you passed with flying colors!” the woman smiles. “Could I have your card? My sister would love this and her birthday is coming up.”

“Of course,” Emma says, her hand dipping into her pocket to retrieve a card.

“Actually, could I have two? I might slip one in this guy’s hockey bag as an anniversary reminder,” she laughs, nudging Jack’s shoulder.

“When have I ever not wooed you?” he laughs.

“I’m not saying you haven’t. This is just a subtle hint about what a few delicious macarons might do.”

Emma nods, grasping the two small slips of paper and extending them to her.

“Could I also have one?” an all too familiar accented voice requests.

Emma turns her attention to Nico, her eyes connecting to his. She doesn’t give a verbal response; just another nod of her head. She hands two cards off to Jack’s partner before turning to Nico, holding a business card out to him as well. Emma suppresses a shiver that threatens to run through her body as Nico’s fingers graze against hers as he takes the paper from her hand.

“Planning on surprising a special lady, as well?” Jack teases. The question is innocent when coming from his mouth but it stops Emma’s heart as she waits for the answer – preparing for the worst.

“If by special lady, you mean my mom when she flies in for the mom’s trip, then yes,” Nico jokes back, his eyes flickering back to Emma. “Besides that, no one else comes to mind.”

Emma lets out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding at Nico’s subtle admission; he wasn’t seeing anyone, at least not seriously. The other women at the table were with his teammates, not him.

“Could I ask where you learned how to cook?” another gentleman at the table asks, his voice turning Emma’s attention to him.

“Of course. I went to The French Pastry School in Chicago, which is one of the only schools that focuses exclusively on pastry creation,” Emma explains, her eyes darting towards Nico as she contemplates her next words. “But I was also blessed with the opportunity to travel to Paris and experience the authentic Parisian cuisine first hand. That trip inspired me in many ways.”

From the corner of her eyes, Emma watches as a smile tugs at Nico’s lips.

“I’ve been to Paris as well. It’s a beautiful city with amazing food.”

“Right, you were there a little over a year ago, with the NHL European press tour,” another guest says, providing answers to questions that Emma didn’t bother asking back then. He told her that he was there for work. That wasn’t a lie. She just didn’t know that this was his job.

“It was an amazing trip,” Nico replies, his eyes darting to Emma, the weight behind his words only noticeable by that recognizable sparkle in his irises.

Emma’s own smile graces her features. Their silent conversation reminded Emma of passing secret notes, communicating in a way that only the two of them could understand. The hope soared in her chest but she pushes it down in an effort not to get caught up in the moment. She excuses herself, sneaking one last quick glance over her shoulder at Nico before making her way over to April.

She forces herself to focus on the moment at hand, taking stock of the remaining food, the event dwindling down. Emma helps April carry the remaining leftovers into the kitchen, instructing her to pack up the food and load it into the car before helping the hotel staff clean the few remaining dirty dishes.

Emma makes her way back into the ballroom, gathering the remaining business cards from their table, as well as the labels before helping the staff pick up the plates scattered on the tables.

She is absentmindedly gathering the plastic plates into a stack, reaching out to grab the last plate at the table. But before she can, it is taken by a strong hand before it is extended to her. Emma lifts her eyes to thank whoever it was in front of her but her voice catches when her eyes connect with Nico again.

“So, Paris, huh?” he asks, the question loaded with a myriad of emotions that Emma couldn’t even begin to place. She takes the plate from his hand with a smile.

“Yeah, it was a really wonderful experience.” 

“I bet.”

“Ate a lot of good food, saw some beautiful sights,” she continues, a mischievous smirk appearing on her face, her eyes never leaving Nico’s. “Met this really great guy.”

Emma swears that she can see the sigh escape Nico’s chest – the potential fear leaving him as his body relaxes, his tentative smile shifting to match her grin.

“I was worried you didn’t remember me,” he confesses. Emma’s eyes soften at his admission, her head slightly shaking in disbelief.

“Did you really think I’d forget?” she murmurs, her own words just as much of a confession as Nico’s. She watches his brown eyes shift, the confusion dancing within them.

“At the table…”

“I had to remain professional,” she explains, gently cutting him off. “Talking about a whirlwind romance I had with the team captain in front of potential clients – some of which are his teammates – isn’t really the way to get rehired.”

“Good point,” Nico laughs, the sound echoing around the almost abandoned ballroom, his hand lifting to run through his hair. His chuckle pulls a giggle from Emma’s own lips as she shakes her head again.

Their laughter dwindles until the silence covers them again. Emma can’t seem to tear her eyes away from him and it is clear that Nico feels the same. The two of them stand there, taking in the sight of the other, seemingly convincing themselves that they were really standing in front of each other. That this wasn’t just a fantasy.

“In truth,” Emma says, breaking the fragile silence, “You’re hard to get over. No one I’ve met since Paris has even come close.”

The broad smile that appears on his face makes Emma’s happiness increase, the subtle admission that she was also currently unattached understood by Nico.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” he tells her, the words bringing a small teasing laugh from Emma.  

“Didn’t know you missed me that much,” she jokes.

Her words seem to catch Nico off-guard. Her green eyes follow Nico’s movements as he reaches into the interior pocket of his suit jacket, fishing out his phone. His fingers move, tapping on the screen and scrolling until he pauses. A smile tugs at his lips as he stares at whatever was on his phone before he turns the device towards her.

Emma swears her heart skips for the hundredth time that day as she takes in the image on the screen. It’s the picture they took that night in Paris – the night everything changed. Her eyes dance over the screen, looking at the ease in which her body was resting against Nico’s, the way his arm was wrapped around her frame, the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the background.

“You kept it,” she whispers.  

“Of course, I did,” Nico responds with just as much tenderness. Her eyes flicker back up to the man in front of her, the look in his eyes an echo of the one from that same night. She watches as he hesitates, seemingly debating the words he was about to say. Whatever doubts he had, they apparently weren’t enough to stop him as he speaks again. “I don’t know if I ever missed anyone as much as I missed you.”

If her heart was beating erratically before, it practically stopped at Nico’s gentle words. The desire, the yearning, the emotions hanging from every syllable hit Emma like a freight train, his need bringing forth her own. A need that she tried – desperately – to get rid of for months because she thought she would never see him again.

But he was here. He was real. And he missed her.

“I missed you too,” she admits, the confession not feeling dangerous or terrifying. Instead, it felt as simple as breathing. It felt as easy as it always did when she was next to him. It felt like Paris.

Emma and Nico look at each other, the truth of their admission floating around them, seemingly enveloping them in that love-struck haze that they existed in months ago. In a different city. In a different country.

“I don’t know if this is way too forward but I’d like to take you on a date. Or, I guess another date. If that’s alright with you?” Nico asks, his words still hesitant. Emma responds with a gentle smile.

“That sounds perfect.”

“I can’t promise that it will be as magical as Paris though,” he laughs.

Emma’s expression falters a little at his words, the fears from Paris returning along with the joy. Their reunion felt enchanting right now but maybe the shock of seeing each other again after all those months was the only thing causing this sensation. Maybe after the moment died, the worry that invaded her mind in Paris would be proven true: that it was just the City of Love that fueled their connection.

Embrace it. All of it.

It is that small voice of bravery and vulnerability that sounds, the declaration echoing in her mind. Emma takes a deep breath, summoning the courage she felt in France and letting it fill her body, letting her heart guide her actions. She reaches out towards Nico, letting her hand creep closer to his, her fingers brushing over his skin.

The energy that surges between them when their fingers intertwine is powerful. Those fireworks sparkle stronger than anything before; stronger than the lights about them, stronger than all the lights on the Eiffel Tower. That electricity has Emma looking up at Nico, seeing the same emotions dancing on his face. That touch was proved a fact that they knew in their hearts to be true but their heads still doubted.

That this – whatever it was, whatever they shared those months ago… it wasn’t temporary. It wasn’t the city. This was real.

“Paris wasn’t the magical part.”

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[bon2bonn]

Change of winds

22!F1!grid X female!driver!reader

Words count : 3.2k .

* I'm so sorry for the long delay 🙏🏻 💔 . 💀🤦🏻‍♀️Life is shit in general and I can't finish any of my WIP list , so this might be the last update for a while until I could make/find the time to breathe and get some proper writing done .

2.october

Stretching after a long dreadful meeting was the first thing she did once everyone dismissed themselves out of the room , suppressing a yawn by covering her mouth as she leaned back in her chair in exhaustion . Today was a full schedule and that means back to back meetings along with legal and audit reviews of months worth of work , not to mention the preparations for upcoming events and gala's due to end of year celebrations back in headquarters .

To say her schedule was packed would be an understatement, but she made sure to not overwhelm herself and made time to check on the guys . she hated how they all got distracted by their busy schedules and lives in general, now they barely got a chance to meet eachother at their Spare time, and that was hard on all of them , the transition of going from spending most of their time working together even spending their off time close by to separate across the globe with them traveling constantly and her tucked away from one meeting to another not to mention the different timezones far away from their reach .

They still made the effort to call and leave voice messages daily, keeping her up with what's happening on the grid, and she in return left them all with voice messages and calls before every race , wishing them luck and a safe drive , religiously tuning in to every quali and race despite the time gaps and the work load , even indulging her now employees to enjoy the sport too , unknown to them how she herself used to race not long ago , some even recognized her but kept quiet out of respect to not get her unwanted attention, so she made most of the time to distract herself from the pit of uneasiness growing in her chest , and her almost overflowing schedule helped in that aspect.

A light knock snapped her out, followed by her assistant Lauren who peeked her head in , giving her an apologetic look making her sigh deeply before ushering her in " what now? " Lauren winced as she briefed her on the situation " you remember Mr Solly ? , head of the Australian branch is outside waiting on for an urgent meeting, something to do with the recent changes regarding the finance and marketing department " she tilted her head at the name " he came all the way to France to complain?" Lauren just nod not knowing what to say, making her huff a laugh " that's dedication, I'll give him that " taking a quick glance at her watch she then decided "Alright, I have 20 minutes before the next meeting so send him in , and please make sure to send out the Japanese deadline notice before we head to Montreal " Lauren nods as she typed on her pad then handed her the next meeting files " this will be our final meeting for the French branch , tomorrow will be field day and you have an appearance at Paris d'or gala , then you're free till Wednesday night , we'll be heading to Spain for the launch then we'll fly to Montreal form there before heading to New York on the 13th " she slumped over the desk dramatically , Groaning as she grumbled " and I thought my media duties were torturous " making Lauren remember " by the way the new Media team are going to attend the event tomorrow evening and will accompany us through the rest of the way back to UK " she snapped her head at the news " what!? , no no no " Lauren nod at her miserable face " yes, be grateful they're not following you everyday" , she straightened her posture and nods " if they try to get on my nerves I'm ditching them for good " Lauren nods in agreement " fair enough " then she made way to the door , letting Mr Solly in before closing it behind her .

The man walked in confidently with a certain look in his eyes, one she saw too many times to recognise with ease, he was sizing her and at the same time giving off the illusion of power , of having the upper hand over the situation, and she wanted to see the show he was trying to put up to it's end so she held her tongue as she greeted him " Mr Solly, you're a long way from Australia" he nods stoically " Ms L/N, I apologize for the inconvenience , I know how demanding your schedule is these days " she gave him a bored look " good to see we both think of it the same way " , her statement made him clench his hands but he kept his cool and proceeded " well , it's about the financial arrangements you installed previously and we see that they're a bit , extreme " she leveled him with a raised eyebrow " and may I ask who is we? " He cleared his throat " well the .... The directors and ..." She didn't waste time listening to his lame excuses " if my memory serves me right , and it does. The 'arrangements' as you called them were approved by the board members along with the department manager himself and the shareholders " his breath hitched and she didn't stop there " these arrangements came in time with various complaints from within the department about missing numbers from the accounts and they're not just small undetected numbers, they're big Mr Solly, too big to get swiped aside as human error or collateral casualty, so I'm asking you directly Mr Solly, do you have something to say? " , he clenched his jaw before he gritted out " what are you insinuating? " She leaned back on her chair with a wide grin " I'm not insinuating anything Mr Solly, I'm just asking obvious questions? But you seems to already know the answers " , He straightened his back and dropped his fake smile " you have no idea how things work, this is bigger than you , you think you can just come in and run around as you please just cause you're sitting on that chair? It's only a matter of time before everything crumbles because of your ignorance , you won't be smiling then " , she feigned surprise " are you threatening me Mr Solly? " He seemed satisfied with her reaction as he smugly answered " no , I'm simply enlightening you " she shook her head in boredom, staking her files and intertwined her hands on top of the stak giving him a wide smile unfazed by his falling apart façade " then let me enlight you in return , in two weeks time will be the next evaluation, I'll expect one of two things when I turn up by then , either your full report along with the missing accounts and data or your resignation letter, it's up to you to choose which one I'll be receiving first " .

She stood with a silent huff , not giving him space to react or answer back to the accusations and collected her files " now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be , I'm sure you know your way out " she made her way to the door and left like nothing happened.

The man was at the point beyond seething, he screamed at the empty chair, slamming his hands on the desk and proceeded to kick at chair before him . She stood by Lauren's desk, not bothering to glance at the closed door where the shouts of anger radiates off " charge him if he damaged anything and be sure to have at least one of the security to..... help him out if needed , and let me know if Martin call back or send the files I asked about " with a final nod she made her way to the next meeting .

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Posted Tuesday , 4.oct .2022

The L/N official

📍Paris, France 🇫🇷

Liked by Lewishamilton , Pierregasly, Redbullracing , and 2,274,119 others

TheL/Nofficial . light mode ☀️, night mode 🌑✨ , First official post with our lovely boss @Y/nsworld, we kicked off our journey with Paris 🗼 enchanting glamour, thank you France for the hospitality and we can't wait to return for more 🇫🇷♥️ .

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Username Mo...Moth..... Mommy?

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Username CEO!!Y/N! That's it she can do it all !

Username another fantasy of mine just came true on a huuuuuge scale so excuse me as I scream my lungs out 🤠

Username L/N????? Hold the fuck up what did I miss??????

Redbullracing as gorgeous as always 😍🙌🏻

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Username a lot of things are happening at the same time and I'm beyond losing my shit !!!! Send help !!!!!

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

4.october 2022

Letting a chuckled at her frowning face , then shared an amused grin over her head with Sergio who extended his arm out for her to hold into " I thought you'd be more hungover than this " , she gave him a hard glare reaching blindly to smack him as she replied emphasizing with each smack " and I thought you'd be nicer " he dodged the last one groaning as he held his wounded shoulder from her assault " you ditched me for months!! and when you show up you hit me !? " She shrugged " I'm suffering and you're the one responsible for it so you have to suffer too " she turned to Sergio who was now laughing at their fight while kylian scoffed at her "it's not my fault you drink like a bottomless pit ! I told you to slow down !" She turned her head back to scowl at him " I was nervous!! and you dared me to drink half of what we had!" He looked away at her accusations finding interest in the ceiling , away from her glaring eyes .

She rolled her eyes and asked " where's Leo ? He's my favourite anyway, and he's for sure nicer than you " he pouted and made his way behind her to wrap his arms around in a tight hug, swaying them from side to side as he whined " I thought I was your favourite?! " She held his arms with one of her hands while she used the other to reach back to give him a hard pinch on his side " not when you're amplifying my headache " making him yelp in pain and flinch away holding his side " fuck! " , she ignored him and turned to Sergio who was holding back his laugh and raised an eyebrow at him with her eyes narrowed " you want one ? " He backed away raising his hands in fear " no thank you" she nods and made her way towards the rest of the team waiting for the tour guide to lead them further into the newly built facility .

Her father's company has been one of the main investors which made the responsibility to attend on a short notice to attend the tour either along with the other investors from other companies or with the team itself, and since she was barely conscious that morning when Lauren flooded her phone with SOS messages to drag her not even 15 minutes later to attend with the team their first tour on the newly built facility .

So here she is , willing her tired self to push through the day in favour of sleeping her killer hangover away , not to mention her little shit of a best friend who is making hard for her to not throw him in one of the construction containers to serve him for poking fun at her .

°°°°°°°°°°°

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

5.october

Tom made his way to the stairs, avoiding the crowded lift in order to clear his mind a bit , a little exercise with some music won't do him any harm , so with his headphones on loud he took the first two floors before contemplating his choice as his legs started to shake , and it didn't take long for him to deem his choice a shitty one and used the exit door to find the lift in the third floor .

He leaning on the wall to support his weight as he waited to catch his lost breaths , and when it finally arrived it was way less crowded than he expected, with only one lady standing on the side with her hands clapped before her in an elegant way , he adjusted his hoodie and greeted her in a polite " hello " receiving a nod back before taking the other side further from her after pressing the top floor, focusing his eyes on his phone to pass the time , after a moment she asked after noticing where he's heading " you're going for a meeting too ? " He looked at her then shrugged " you can say that " she hummed in thought then pointed at what he was wearing , a hoodie along with jeans and his hair a mess , and gave a disapproving face " I don't think you have an appropriate attire for such place " even shaking her head with disdain " kids these days " he gave her a side glance , huffing a laugh under his breath before speaking aloud " well , it's a good thing i didn't ask for your opinion nor approval on that , seeing it's none of your business " leaving her with her mouth shut and hands clenched into fists , and made his exit when they reached the floor , rolling his eyes at her then turned round the corner and out of her sight.

He came face to face with Eddie who looked ready to head to a meeting, giving him a glare as he stood his ground with his arms crossed making Eddie clap his hands in a pleading manner " it's a last minute meeting, I wouldn't go if it wasn't urgent, it's only half hour consultation " when he didn't receive any answer he went for bribery " I'll get you a brand new set " Tommy gave him an unimpressed look " Bibi already did send me one from France " Eddie rolled his eyes with a mumble of " of course she did " before huffing at his youngest brother and asked " what do you want ? " Tommy extended his hand with his palm up " I'm driving back , and for the next week " he glared back at him and Searched his pockets before throwing his key at Tommy's waiting hand pointing at him in warning " just this time " and hurried down the hall to the meeting room , he swung the keys around his finger as he made his way to Carlton , his brother's longtime assistant who sat behind his desk as usual , making the later look up when he made his way over , smiling up at him as he leaned on the desk " look what Van Gogh dragged in " Tommy's smile widened , with his dimples on full display as he peeked his head over the screen that Carlton was working on minutes ago , " oh , no need for insults , you could just say you missed me " Carlton raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed " yeah sure , I do miss you missing up my files and distracting me half of the time you're here , and the other half you spend whining up and down about being board " Tommy kept his grin and teased with his eyes squinted " so you do miss me ! " Carlton rolled his eyes and sighed going back to his work " sit your ass down, I got work to do " he saluted and made his way over to set of plush chair across from the desk and made himself comfortable then started working on one of his sketches , moments later he heard his name being called, and when he looked up he was greeted by a slightly medium sized bag aimed at his face but he caught it before any damage could happen, and before jumping to send it back at Carlton he looked at the bag and his smile returned at the sight of his favourite candy , and called out in a sweet voice " ooooh , so you did, did missed me !? " making the other mumble under his breath " sometimes I regret doing so " making Tommy ask loudly " what was that ? " , " nothing! , if you don't want it give it back ! " The call made Tommy hug the bag and lean away "ok! I want it ! And thank you for thinking of me ! " making Carlton groan and burry his blushing face on his hands almost regretting his action , almost , but the sound of Tommy's loud humming made him take it back , " huummmn , sweet , but not as sweet as you~ " , yup he definitely regrets it now .

Back to Edward who was making his way to his urgent consultation after handing over his car keys, taking a breath before unlocking the door and stepping in , about to greet the Clint who turned out to be a woman standing by the window overlooking the skyline of London with her back facing him , but his words died in his throat when she turned around to face him , a smile made it's way upon her lips and she didn't hesitate to greet him , taking notice of his stunned face and stiff shoulders " hello Edward , it's been a long time " , he couldn't grasp if it's real or if he was having a cruel dream , no a nightmare . but it took him a moment to find his voice again and ask in disbelief " Mom ? " .

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

[prettyyoungandbored]

The Night Before - Charlie Dalton

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x Fem!Reader

Author’s Note: This man has consumed my mind. Anyway, enjoy this cute bit.

Part Two

NOT MY GIF

Charlie padded around the kitchen, tie loosened and dress shirt sleeves rolled up. He smeared some mayo on the toasted piece of bread before topping it off with a piece of lettuce.

His eyes met the telephone in the kitchen and for a brief moment, he considered calling Y/N. He was barely able to spend time with her at the rehearsal dinner.

When his father offered to host the rehearsal dinner at his -not Charlie and Y/N’s - favorite restaurant, Charlie knew it would not be about him and Y/N, but rather his parents bringing attention to themselves.

Her mother and his mother whisked her away from him. It wasn’t long until his father whisked him away and then the boys arrived and he mingled with them.

He did get to sit by her when speeches took place, but after that they were separated again shortly after.

But when he tried to kiss her goodnight before she headed to the hotel, his mother and her mother shooed him away, telling the couple not to make a show of it.

As much as he wanted to hear her voice, he knew it was late and that she needed her rest. He’d see her tomorrow, after all.

Just as he went to take a bite of the sandwich he’d just thrown together, he heard the front door open.

“Hello?” Charlie asked.

“It’s just me!”

The sound of Y/N’s voice caused his heart to drop down to his stomach. He put the sandwich down and made his way into the hallway where Y/N hung her coat on the rack, revealing her baby blue night gown.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she shrugged.

The way she scratched the back of her neck gave it away. It always did. Charlie knew what he had to do to get her to spit it out.

He threw an arm around her waist, leading her to the kitchen. “I wish you would have called me. I would’ve come and got you myself.”

“I figured you were out with the guys.”

“We grabbed a couple drinks afterward. I just got home an hour ago.” He motioned to the sandwich “I made this if you’re hungry.”

“I’m starving,” she chuckled softly. “I barely ate at the rehearsal dinner. My mother and your mother kept nitpicking at me every time I tried to eat.”

Charlie’s eyes softened. “They what?”

“You know how they are,” she sighed, waving her hand. “Izzie snuck me pieces of bread so I was ok.”

He handed her the plate with the already made sandwich. “Take this.”

“Isn’t that yours?”

“I can make another.”

She hesitated for a moment before taking it. She then grabbed the butter knife and cut the sandwich in half.

“Saves you the trouble,” she said.

Charlie happily took the half as the couple clinked their sandwiches before taking a bite.

Y/N moaned as she chewed into the sandwich. Charlie cracked a grin.

“My favorite sound,” he remarked.

She shot Charlie a playful look before taking another bite.

“So, what’s really going on?” Charlie pressed as he set his half back on the plate.

She exhaled, eyes meeting his. “Why didn’t we elope?”

He nodded in agreement. “I’ve thought about that every single day.”

“We had the opportunity while we were in Paris. We should’ve just taken it.”

“Not that I disagrees with you at all, but what’s bringing this on?”

She set down her half of the sandwich. Tears filled the brims of her eyes. “This wedding doesn’t feel like us. It feels like our parents are just using it and using us to make themselves look good. It’s become their day, not ours. I had to compromise with our mothers just to get the dress I wanted. I barely knew half the guests at our rehearsal dinner. I just-.”

She wiped her tears with her fingers. “I know I should be grateful that they are giving us the most beautiful wedding. But honestly, Charlie, I would’ve married you in the courthouse and been happy.”

Charlie pulled Y/N into his arms, kissing the top of her head. His heart sunk at her misery, wishing he could take it away. He knew all too well what it was like have to consistently compromise, even when it killed you to.

It was a life Charlie Dalton had been born into. He, of course, wasn’t afraid to break some of the rules that were put in place for him. Y/N never had the luxury to, other than her wedding dress.

He would make it his mission to break that for her.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. He wiped her tears with his thumbs.

“Tomorrow is our day,” he told her. “Ours, not theirs. They can have the hours leading up to it, but after we say ‘I do’, it’s our day and we can do whatever we want. And then after tomorrow, no more interferences from them. Just the very occasional dinners and holidays. The rest of the time, we live our lives the way we want to.”

She smiled. She could survive the hours before knowing that once they say “I do” that it would be over.

“How do you always know the right thing to say?” she asked with a soft chuckle.

“It’s a gift.”

His lips met hers, not as hungry as they normally were but gentle and rather reassuring. He’d save the hungrier kisses for later.

“Hm, plus,” he began, breaking away for a moment, “if it all gets to be too much, we can leave and get started on the consummation. Personally, I’m more excited about that part.”

She snorted. “Of course you are.”

“Can you blame me?”

She wrapped her arms around his waist. “You still want to marry me even though I’m breaking tradition?”

“Are you kidding? You breaking tradition makes me want to marry you even more.” He gave her a butt playful squeeze. “Personally I think the whole thing is bullshit.”

“I think it was meant for men by men with the idea of having one final night of freedom,” she said. “That’s just my personal hypothesis.”

“I don’t think you’re entirely wrong. Besides, it wasn’t like I was going to get belligerently drunk. After all, I have this thing tomorrow that I need to do that I want to be sober for.”

She scoffed playfully. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

He shrugged. “Just marrying the girl of my dreams.”

“Ever the charmer, Dalton.”

He smirked. “Get used to it, Mrs. Dalton. You already said ‘yes.’ Can’t turn back now.”

“Hmm, still have to get me to walk down the aisle.”

He leaned in close, breath hitching. “Do I?”

She hummed. “But you have tonight to convince me.”

His lips barely touched hers when the phone rang. Charlie smirked as he pulled away.

“I wonder who this could be,” he said before picking up the phone.

“Dalton residence…yes, hello Mrs.- yes, she’s here. She came home because she wasn’t feeling well so I am taking care of her.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. Of course her mother would do a bed check.

“Well, Mrs. L/N, as Y/N’s soon-to-be husband it’s my duty to take care of her when she’s not well. I believe the vows go ‘in sickness and in health,’ correct? Well, how can I say that in front of you and Mr. L/N and not prove myself beforehand?”

She giggled at the way he used his classic Charlie Dalton charm on her mother. She didn’t need to be on the phone to know it was working.

“Of course I will have her up and ready for you to pick her up. Should any further issues arise I will call you and let you know…ok, you too. Yes, good night.”

He hung up the phone and sighed.

“We should have eloped,” he finally agreed.

Y/N nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We just have to get through this ceremony and then it’s just us, remember?”

He smiled at her reminder. “Just us.”

She grabbed his hand. “C’mon now. We’ve already broken one rule. Might as well break another.”

[scarlettjohanssons-mistress]

Are you safe with me

Warnings: Implied/referenced rape/non-con, sexual assault, angst and hurt/comfort, assault

Word count: 1.5 K

Pairing: Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) x Fem!Reader

Prompt: R has just suffered a trauma

Requests: OPEN

[Main masterlist] [DC masterlist]

Carefully, and trying to make it as unobvious as possible, I stretched out my arms, making my bones thunder, and carefully, I yawned, trying to get some oxygen to my poor, battered brain.

My boss had kept us in the conference room for what seemed like years.

More than three hours trying to find a solution to an extremely stupid problem, from which, it seemed, the magazine was hanging by a thread. It was extremely stupid.

Carefully, I looked at the watch on my wrist only to realise that it was already 11:30 PM.

"Does anyone have any solutions?" asked Jessica, the boss. Nobody answered, we were all extremely tired.

"Jessica, I don't think this is going anywhere," said Raquel, her right-hand woman, "We are extremely tired. We can sort this out tomorrow".

Jessica kept quiet, but watched us with a very unfriendly look on her face. She even stared at everyone's faces for a few seconds.

"It's OK. You can go."

Quicker than I would like to admit, I grabbed my things and left the office. I didn't even check my mobile phone or my work computer, I just turned it off, picked up my coat and went out into the streets of Paris.

Carefully, I ran down the stairs of the metro and climbed into the first carriage I came across, a few seconds before it closed its doors.

It was almost empty, only for a man and a woman with her baby. I carefully placed my bag in my arms, hugging her tightly and trying not to fall asleep.

"Hi cute" I looked up to see that the man was sitting next to me. I turned my head to notice that we were the only ones in the carriage.

"Sorry but…" I tried to get up from the seat, but his big hand stopped me. I sat back down.

"Why are you leaving, beauty?"

"Get away from me!" my right hand struck his cheek, but, apparently it only made him angrier.

"Well, princess, if you don't want to do it the easy way, you'll have to do it the hard way."

Out of nowhere, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at my head. I froze immediately and just raised my arms.

"Give me your phone and your wallet"

With a trembling hand, I took both things out of my bag and handed them to him. He quickly stuffed it into his sweatshirt pocket, but he never stopped pointing it at me.

"Good, beautiful. I like obedient girls. Now on your knees."

Without even thinking about it, I fell to my knees, feeling my stockings tearing on the scratchy floor.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see him start to undo the belt of his jeans.

"You're hungry for a fat cock, aren't you, gorgeous?" I could tell as he dropped his trousers until they covered his shoes. "Are you going to suck my cock?"

Before either of us knew it, the metro had reached the next station, so he pulled his trousers back up and forced me to stand up.

Thankfully, the station was one of the most used by tourists, so, despite it being almost 12:00 P.M. the carriage began to fill up quickly, so I took that opportunity to get off the carriage and run to the outside of the station.

With bated breath and a sense of dread, I approached a restaurant, asking a waiter if he could spare a couple of coins to call someone.

Maybe I looked really bad, because he didn't give me the coins, he just passed me to the kitchen and told me I could call whoever I wanted.

With trembling hands, I dialled the number I knew by heart.

"Hello?" Her voice was hoarse. She was asleep. Shit.

"Diana?"

"T/N, My love, is that you?"

I felt my eyes fill with tears again.

"Are you OK, why are you calling me from an unknown phone?"

Evade.

"Can you come and get me?"

"Oh, sure baby, are you at work?"

"No"

"Where are you?"

I broke away from the phone to see where I was. It was only then that

I realised where I was standing.

"Do you remember the restaurant from our first date?"

"Yes"

"Here I am"

"Okay, I'll be there in 5 minutes. Are you sure you're okay, T/N?"

I made a sound of denial.

"Can you hurry up… please?"

"Sure, baby. I'll be right there."

And she hung up.

———————————————————————————

Before I knew it, two toned arms embraced me tightly, as that sweet scent wafted into my lungs.

"I'm here".

Before she could say another word, I quickly pounced on her, hugging her torso and hiding my face in her chest.

Only then could I start to cry.

Diana like the good girlfriend she is, simply let me cry and began to rub soothing circles on my back and start a light cooing.

When I calmed down, I simply lifted my face and looked her in the eye.

Just looking into her beautiful eyes made me feel at peace.

"Can we go?"

"Sure"

With his right hand on my lower back, he guided me to the car Bruce had lent her, but not before thanking the staff.

If he had come by car and arrived in 5 minutes, that meant that he might have broken more than three traffic laws.

She opened the passenger door and made me sit down, even put my seatbelt on, closed the door and ran into the car.

She quickly began to drive,

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked in her soft voice.

"Can we talk about it later?"

"We can talk about it anytime you want, baby, I just want you to be okay."

She gave me a smile as he took her right hand out of my hand and kissed the back of mine.

"Thank you. I love you."

"I love you"

———————————————————————————

I thought I would fall asleep on the way home, but no matter how sleepy and tired my body was, it was impossible for me to close my eyes for more than a few seconds.

So, I had no choice but to look out of the window and make Diana believe that I had fallen asleep. Until we reached our home.

Diana turned off the car, causing the soothing music on the radio to stop playing, leaving an uncomfortable silence.

"I know you're awake T/N"

But she didn't say anything else, she just got out of the car and opened my door, raising her hand. I took it and we both went into the house.

Once in the house, I went upstairs and into the bathroom. I quickly removed my smeared make-up and went into the bath.

I washed my hair about three times and scrubbed my arms, legs and face with enormous force. I even hurt my thighs a bit.

I left the bathroom to put on some panties and one of Diana's few casual T-shirts.

I put a towel over my head and lay down.

Minutes later, Diana arrived and lay down next to me, hugging me from behind, pressing little kisses on the back of my neck.

"I was assaulted"

The kissing stopped abruptly and I felt her get up.

"What?"

"I was mugged in the underground. The man had a gun" I began to sob "and he almost raped me, Diana".

The brunette didn't hesitate for two seconds to hug me tightly, letting me cry as much as I wanted, but when I pulled away from her chest, I noticed that she was crying too.

"Why are you crying?"

"This wouldn't have happened if I had been with you."

I took her face in my hands and forced her to look at me.

"No, my love. Neither of us is to blame for this."

We both hugged each other for a long time. Trying to soothe each other with Diana's body heat. It was a great advantage of dating a goddess.

"I'm going to kill him"

She tried to get up quickly, but my arms prevented her from doing so.

"No, not today. Now I just want you to hold me" I hugged her burying my face in her neck. "Please, I just need my girlfriend."

"Here I am, sweet girl. I'll always be here for you" I constantly kiss my head "You'll always be safe with me"

"I know, I always feel safe with you."

"What did they steal from you?"

"My mobile phone and my wallet"

"The one you just bought?" I just nodded, feeling the tears of anger start to roll down my cheeks. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry."

After another moment of silence, of her hand trying to reassure me and her lips kissing my temple and my hands playing with the zip of her sweatshirt.

"I love you, and believe me, I'll be sure to cut off his testicles."

"I know, I know your word is fact."

"Just like my love"

"Just like mine" I kissed her nose.

Note:

The only good thing about having my own cell phone stolen is that… I'm more active writing

I hope you enjoy it

I appreciate the reblogs, the likes and the comments

taglist: @littlebitchsposts // @xxsekhmet

message me or send an ask to be added to my taglist!

[sequinsmile-x]

All's Well That Ends Well to End Up With You

Emily and Aaron get married, and they make other promises to each other along the way.

-x-

Hi besties!

I'm back at work tomorrow following my surgery, and the most intense Sunday Scaries ever have set in...so I wanted to write some fluff. This is based on an idea from the lovely @louisaland who suggested something to do with our favs wedding day.

This is part of the kissing prompt series I am doing of unrelated mini-fics and oneshots, and this is the 'kisses as a promise' prompt.

As always, a full list of the prompts I'm working my way through are on the main fic's master list.

As always let me know what you think <3

-x-

Warnings: so fluffy you should floss after reading

Words: 2k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily hums a tune she can’t remember the name of, letting the vibrations of it pass from her chest to her two-month-old daughter’s, hoping that it lulls her back to sleep. It was 3 am, the house quiet apart from her humming and the occasional grunt from Mia, the little girl resistant to sleep even though she had a clean diaper and a full belly. Emily tilts her head to look down, sighing when her eyes meet Mia’s, the dark eyes she’d got from her staring back at her, wide and open as she grunts, squirming in what Emily thinks is an attempt to get even closer.

“Mia, baby,” she says, hearing the slight whine in her own voice as she kisses her daughter’s head, breathing in the sweet smell she’d been addicted to since she’d first held her, “You need to sleep. We both do,” she runs her hand up down her back, “Mommy and Daddy are getting married today,” she can’t help the smile at the thought of it, resting her cheek on the top of Mia’s head, “We need our beauty sleep.” 

Aaron proposed just two weeks before they found out she was pregnant. They’d been trying for a little while, both achingly aware they were working against a ticking clock and that this was something they wanted. When she was staring at two lines on a pregnancy test, her engagement ring sparkling just out of the corner of her eye, it all felt too good to be true. Like she was in a dream she’d wake up from only to find herself alone and in her apartment in Paris, everything that had happened to her since a fantasy she’d let herself get lost in. Aaron would always assure her it was real. He’d hold her and let her hear his heartbeat, and he’d breathe a little deeper so she’d feel the rise and fall of his chest as he told her all about their present and their future- something so intimate and real she knew her imagination could never come up with it. 

She had everything she’d ever wanted. A house that actually felt like home. A little boy she loved as her own. A little girl she’d felt grow beneath her skin. A partner who loved and respected her in equal measure. 

And today, she was going to marry him. 

As soon as they found out she was pregnant they decided to hold off the wedding until she had the baby. She didn’t want to be a pregnant bride and Aaron was happy to do whatever she wanted to do. They agreed the wedding would be small, and no matter how much Elizabeth made her opinion on it clear Emily was pleased that she’d managed to stop her from interfering.

When she was a little girl, she never imagined that she’d pick a wedding dress based on ease of access so she could nurse her 8-week-old baby. She never imagined she’d get married in her friend’s backyard. She never imagined she’d find a man like Aaron, and that she’d have the kind of love she felt every day. 

It was nothing like what she’d pictured, but it was infinitely more. 

“Neither of you need beauty sleep.” 

She looks up at the doorway of the nursery, and she smiles when her eyes meet her fiancés. He looks deliciously rumpled, his pjyamas askew and his hair sticking up in every direction. Exhaustion that came with having a newborn written all over his face in a way she’s sure is written all over hers. She hums and looks back down at Mia, unsurprised to find that she’s still awake.

“Daddy is lying, Mia,” she says, stage whispering as she raises an eyebrow when she looks back over at him, “But we love him for it.”

He shrugs and walks over, joining them on the loveseat, his arm hooked around her shoulder as he replies, “Not a lie,” he kisses her forehead and then places his hand over hers on Mia’s back, “You’re both beautiful. If you got any more beautiful it would be unfair on everyone else.” 

She chuckles and rests her head against him, her cheek pressed against his jaw, “You promise?” 

He cups her cheek and encourages him to look at her, stamping his lips against hers, soft and sure and simple. “I promise.” 

It was something that had started in the early days. Back when they were both too nervous to admit how much they loved each other. She didn’t even remember the first time she’d done it, the first time she’d looked up at him, her smile shy as she asked him if he promised. He kissed her in response, his forehead against hers as he followed it up with a confirmation. It became their thing before they could say that they loved each other. Two words instead of three that were never replaced when they did become brave enough, another way to express how they felt for each other that was just theirs, an oath they could make in front of other people without them knowing. 

She smiles and kisses him before she pulls back, casting a glance down at the still awake Mia. Emily groans, the sound turning into a shaky breath as she feels tears press at the back of her eyes, exhaustion starting to get the better of her. “Why does she hate sleep so much? I’m so tired.” 

“Let me take her for a bit,” he says, offering his hands out to take her as Emily nods, letting go of Mia as he shifts her into his arms, kissing the top of her head as he settles her against her chest. Emily wraps both of her arms around one of his and rests her head on his shoulder, her eyes drifting closer for a moment as she breathes him in. 

“You should sing,” she says, not even attempting to suppress a yawn as she settles into his side, “It always helped when she was living inside of me and never stopped kicking.” 

“I can sing,” he replies, yawning, rubbing a circle on Mia’s back, “If I can think of any songs.” 

She chuckles and kisses his shoulder, “We seriously need some sleep otherwise we’re going to say the wrong names during our vows tomorrow.” 

He kisses the top of her head, “You’ve just given me an idea,” he says, clearing his throat before he starts to sing, “Goin' to the chapel, and we're gonna get married, gee, I really love you-”

“Oh god,” she grumbles, hiding her smile against his tricep, “Of all the songs-”

“And we're gonna get married, goin' to the chapel of love-”

“We aren’t even getting married in a chapel, we’re getting married in Dave’s backyard.” 

“Are you going to keep on interrupting me?” He asks, his eyebrows raised as he looks down at her, “Close your eyes and relax.” 

She sighs, putting fake irritation into it as she makes a point of closing her eyes, “Go ahead.” 

He kisses her forehead and returns his attention to Mia, “Spring is here, the sky is blue, whoa birds all sing as if they knew, today's the day we'll say ‘I do’, and we'll never be lonely anymore.”

___

“Bells will ring, the sun will shine, whoa, I'll be his and he'll be mine, we'll love until the end of time-” she cuts herself off with a groan and stops her pacing, taking an opportunity to look down at Mia, smiling when she sees the little girl was, of course, awake, “Daddy is lucky Mommy loves him so much sweet girl, because he’s got that damn song stuck in my head. I walked down the aisle humming it to myself.” 

It had been a beautiful day. Small, simple, perfect and theirs. The party was still going on outside, but she’d heard Mia’s cry through the monitor she’d been keeping an eye on since Aaron, her husband, put her down for a nap just a couple of hours ago. Dave had set up one of the rooms downstairs for Mia to nap in and they’d brought the pack and play. Despite Elizabeth’s insistence that it wouldn’t work, that they’d need to get a sitter all day for their 2-month-old and not have their daughter at their wedding, there hadn’t been any problems. Except for when Mia started crying in Penelope’s arms during the vows. She only settled down when Emily passed over her bouquet and took her little girl from her bridesmaid, holding her against her chest as she promised forever to the man who she was building her family with. 

“There’s my wife and the world’s most adorable bouquet.” 

She looks at Aaron and smiles, enjoying the parallel from the early hours of that morning. It was only a handful of hours ago, but so much had changed. He was her husband now. She was a Hotchner, at least in her heart - there was a mountain of paperwork to get through before she made it official. Elizabeth had been horrified when she found out she was changing her surname, said she was throwing away all the opportunities her name gave her, but Emily had simply rolled her eyes. 

Being a Hotchner had given her everything and she’d only been one for two hours. 

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she quips and he shrugs and walks into the room, letting the door close behind him before he wraps his arm around her. 

“I’d happily walk in on my girls together for the rest of my life.” 

She smiles and kisses him, “You’re corny as fuck today.” 

“No cursing in front of the baby,” he says, smiling when she rolls her eyes at him, “And I’m allowed to be corny today,” he stamps a kiss against her lips, “We got married.” 

She nods, “I guess I can give you today,” she says, sighing in relief when she looks down and sees Mia is asleep, “I’m going to put her down.”

He smiles and kisses Mia’s forehead, “Love you so much, Mia.”

Emily does the same, whispering her love for her daughter against her skin before she lays her down in the pack and play, holding her breath as she lets go and waits for a moment, smiling when she stays asleep. Aaron steps up behind her, crowding her between him and the portable bassinet their daughter is asleep in. He kisses her shoulder, then her neck and she hums contentedly.

“We should go back outside,” she says quietly, turning in his embrace, her smile getting wider when he wraps his arms around her, his hands warm and firm against her back, “It’s us they are celebrating out there.” 

“And our love for each other,” he replies, stamping his lips against hers, “Don’t forget that part,” he winks at her when she playfully narrows her eyes at him, “You did just say I can be as corny as I want today.” 

She shakes her head lovingly at him and wraps her arms around his neck, scratching her blunt nails against the base of his head, “Don’t tell anyone this,” she says, her teeth sinking into her lower lip, “But I like it when you’re corny.” 

He already knew, because of course he did. She knew he didn’t miss how she’d smile when he’d say something she would have once considered trite and the thing of cheap airport romance novels. How she’d sink into his embrace as he told her how much he loved her and their life together. He already knew but he smiles anyway, his lips catching the corner of her mouth before he pulls back enough to speak. 

“Your secret is safe with me.” 

She smiles, any attempt to contain it ruined when her dimples give it away, carved out deep in her cheeks by love and happiness, “You promise?” 

He kisses her, his hands on her back holding her in place, and she holds him close too, wanting nothing more than to sink into him, her husband, for the rest of her life. When they finally pull back, his forehead against hers again, she sees his smile, the same one he’d given her when they’d been confirmed as husband and wife, before he whispers his reply. 

“I promise.” 

[galacticseonghwa]

Nothing Matters in Paris - Liu Yang Yang (chapter one)

INCLUDES: fem!reader x "teacher"!yang yang, swearing, age gap, yang yang is like 10 years older than he actually is, fluff, smut, angst(?), somnophilia, fingering, katoptronophilia, degrading, name-calling, cockwarming, idk if i go everything so just lmk what i've forgotten. wc: 2k a/n: please DNI if you're not comfortable with the "teacher" x student dynamic, the dynamic was explained better in the profiles post. however, as the story goes on you will understand how and why yang yang is classified as a teacher. ALL CHARACTERS ARE OVER THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE!

“good morning class, this will be my last class teaching you for the year.” our music teacher says, a smile on her face. a loud chorus of shock erupted in the class at the news.

“ten dollars she says she’s pregnant” shotaro whispers from the right of me. i nod my head agreeing. “she’s started glowing recently, i wouldn't be surprised if she is.” i say.

“i’m going to be on maternal leave from tomorrow until a few months after my little one is born,” the teacher pauses with a smile. “i have mr. qian coming in to teach you all until the stand-in teacher comes in next week.” just as she finishes her sentence mr. qian walks into the classroom.

“hi guys.” he says happily, his black hair slicked back in his usual fashion while wearing what looks like bike gear. as if he could sense my gaze, mr. qian turns his head towards me while taking off his motorbike jacket, a smile placed on his face as he reveals the tight black shirt he was wearing.

“i’m just here to sit in and see where you guys are up to.” mr. qian turns away from me as he speaks to the class. “also i would prefer if you guys called me kun. mr. qian is my father.” kun’s smile doesn’t leave his face.

before long, mrs. rivas starts the class. “we’ll be doing our group projects now, just so kun has a fair idea of what our class is about.” mrs. rivas looks through the paper on her desk quickly. “shotaro and y/n you two are up first.” her voice is soft as she looks at shotaro and i with a smile on her face.

taro and i make our way up to the front of the class and look at each other, anxiety in both of our eyes. “uh, hello.” shotaro begins awkwardly earning giggles from a few of the girls in the class. i look at taro and nod my head in reassurance. “we got this.” i whisper to him, he nods his head and takes a deep breath.

“y/n and i will be performing our favourite song, Love Wins All by IU. we hope you like it” shotaro steps back and clicks play on the backing track we had both spent time on making together. taro starts off the song, turning to me as he starts singing. i nod with a smile and give him a thumbs up.

as the pre-chorus starts coming up, i start hearing the loud beating of my heart in my ears. i’m sure shotaro senses my fear as he steps closer towards me and grips my hand in his. “you’ve got this.” taro whispers into my ear.

the next moment i open my eyes, everyone is smiling and clapping. taro throws his arm over my shoulders as he smiles widely down at me. “you did it! i’m proud of you!” he says and brings me in for a hug.

i pull away from shotaro with a shy smile and bow. “thank you.” i squeak. mrs. rivas stands up and claps with a wide smile. “you two did amazing. what are your thoughts mr. qian?” her voice is quiet as she watches kun cross his arms over his chest, a frown on his face as he studies shotaro and i.

“you two have a real talent,” he pauses as he nods. “although it would be nice to see you more confident in yourself y/n, you have the talent a lot of people would die for.” kun uncrosses his arms and claps. “good job, truly.” he smiles softly.

shotaro and i look at each other baffled. kun was never one to give out praises to students unless they were truly talented, he had a knick for picking out the next big name. shotaro bows instantaneously as we begin walking towards our seats.

kun was quick to wave us off with a smile and a small shake of his head. “did kun just complement us, specifically you though?” shotaro stares at me wide-eyed, the laugh that escaped my lips was quiet as i coo and squish his cheeks.

“you’re so cute, i just want to eat you.” i giggle, shotaro frown with a scoff and swats my hands away from his face.

“i’m anything but cute!” he defends himself. i nod tauntingly and watch as shotaro scoffs again and sits back in his chair while crossing his arms across his chest. “i’m not talking to you for the rest of the day.” shotaro states and turns his back towards me.

i laugh wholeheartedly at his outburst and poke his side, he jolts and almost falls off his chair. “don’t do that, i’m mad at you” he whispers harshly. “uh-huh.” i drawl out and watch as he side eyes me before turning back around in his chair.

“how old are you again, taro?”

shotaro says nothing but gives me his middle finger. “you know damn well, we’re the oldest people in this class other than the teachers.” shotaro says.

“it’s not our fault our gap year turned into a four-year-long gap year.” i shrug with a laugh. shotaro and i vowed to have a gap year after graduating high school and then going straight to uni, but then somehow one year turned into four before we decided to put our plan into effect.

feeling a very demanding gaze on me, i look towards the front and see kun staring at me. kun does nothing but raise his eyebrows as i look at him, there was something in his gaze that made me believe he knew something that i didn’t.

“why’s he staring at you like that?” shotaro whispers to me as he brings his chair as close to me as he can. seeing this, kun coughs awkwardly and looks away from me. i turn to shotaro and frown at him. “i don’t know, but it looks like he knows something i don’t” i mumble.

“well no shit, he’s a teacher. he’s bound to know something you don’t.” shotaro rolls his eyes dramatically. i smack his arm, earning an ‘ow’ mumbled from him. “you know that’s not what i meant.” 

“i mean, he knows something about me or something that’s about to happen to me that i don’t” shotaro looks at me, i can see the gears turn in his head while he tries to think of something. “i could be wrong but maybe you’ve caught the eye of a friend of his.” he shrugs, my mouth hangs open before the loudest laugh escapes my mouth.

“want to share with the class what you find so funny, y/n?” kun asks, a frown on his face as he steps behind the teacher's desk and leans forward to place both his hands on the edge closest to him.

i try my hardest to stifle my laugh, but fail miserably as i look at kun. “no, i’m sorry.” i cough to stop myself from laughing anymore. kun raises his eyebrows and clears his throat. “very well then, pay attention.” he points towards mrs. rivas.

the rest of the class drones on as group after group performs their projects for mrs. rivas and kun. the bell for lunch finally rings, shotaro and i look at each other and nod. shotaro bolts out of his chair and all but sprints out of the classroom.

i giggle to myself as i watch. taking my time collecting my own and shotaro’s stuff, i notice i was one of the last students to exit the classroom. “y/n” kun calls for me as i pick up shotaro’s laptop and place it into my arms.

i turn to kun and wait for him as he walks up the class steps towards me. “yes?” 

kun stops in front of me and looks me over with something hidden behind his eyes. “have you ever thought about getting a vocal coach?” his voice was low as he crossed his arms and leans his hip onto the desk next to us.

my mouth drops open before his eyes widen. “wait i didn’t mean it like that!” he raises his hands in defence. “i meant it as in for your performance anxiety, you seem to really struggle with it.” he says quietly.

“oh, uh. i’ve thought about it before, but never thought it would be a good idea.” my face turns hot as i turn away from kun’s intense gaze.

“why do you think it wouldn’t be a good idea?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious. “i don’t know, i guess the shame i’d feel explaining to someone that i struggle to sing in front of people who isn’t shotaro.” i say with a shrug.

kun nods, a hum leaves his throat. “well i happen to know someone who could help you if you would like that is,” he pauses and uncrosses his arms. “just let me know by the end of class on friday, then i can give you his details.” kun finishes.

“thank you kun, i’ll let you know.” i smile, kun nods with a soft smile as i walk away to go find shotaro. 

i find shotaro sitting at our usual spot in the library, typing away on his phone angrily. “why’re you grumpy?” i ask and sit down next to him. shotaro lifts his head with a deep frown before it disappears when he sees me.

shotaro quickly pulls his bag from my hands and opens it to throw out all sorts of snacks, including sandwiches. “some loser is trying to doxx me on discord.” he says with a roll of his eyes.

shotaro places chocolate milk in front of me as well as one of those cream and strawberry sandwiches that his mum makes and that i am in love with. “i could kiss you on the lips right now.” i say and dig straight into the sandwich in front of me.

“do it then, you’re all bark no bite.” shotaro rolls his eyes comically and shakes his head. i squint my eyes at him as i contemplate on whether i should or not.

deciding there’s nothing to lose, i grip shotaro’s face in my hands and place a soft kiss on his lips. when i pull away, shotaro’s staring at me with the widest eyes i have ever seen on anyone. his eyes narrow before he slides his own cream and strawberry sandwich towards me.

i laugh at this and watch as shotaro puckers his lips and moves towards me. i push his face away from me and giggle as he huffs dramatically. “fine” he says and pouts at me. 

“kun asked me if i wanted a vocal coach.” i say to shotaro as i take a bite of the cream and strawberry sandwich. shotaro stops mid-bite then his eyes dart towards me. “he said it could help me with my performance anxiety. i’m thinking of saying yes.”

“well if it could benefit you, i don’t see why you don’t say yes.” he nods at me.

“that’s what i’ve been thinking, he says it’ll be someone he knows.” shotaro chokes on his drink, he laughs wildly at this.

“i told you! i bet you that the friend he’s referring to is the one you caught the eye of!” shotaro laughs harder. i roll my eyes. “him and his friends would all be out of my age range.” it was shotaro’s turn to roll his eyes.

“it’s probably a younger friend, and that age range of yours doesn't stop you from drooling over hyde, which need i remind you is my uncle.” shotaro points a finger at me.

“okay but that’s different!” i say defensively. “he’s a celebrity!”.

shotaro looks at me knowingly. “you saw him on the weekend when you came to my family’s countryside house, he’s just about as normal as you and i” shotaro states matter of factly. “yeah, well-” shotaro cuts me off by shoving a strawberry into my mouth.

“it’s not different, you two know each other personally.” he shakes his head with a laugh. “anyway, i think you should say yes to kun. it’ll be good for you.” i nod as i think about it, having a vocal coach to help me overcome my performance anxiety would be really good.

profiles | previous | next | masterlist

this chapter was VERY rushed so 90% of it won't really make sense, as the series goes on the chapters will get better i promise.

TAGLIST: @yourbeomiebear

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[itmeansiris]

The Solar System Legacy Challenge: Random School Holiday Gen 1 pt.77

The weekend was over and Monday morning came with the promise of a busy schedule. When M and Kason came downstairs the triplets were nowhere to be found.

They were normally raiding the fridge or crowding the bathroom trying to get ready for school. Sure, it was still raining, but they hadn't gotten any notification about school closures due to the weather.

Kason: Think they packed up and went to live in Moonwood Mills with the wolves?

She swatted his arm before pointing at him.

M: If they did guess who gets to go bring them back smartie pants. I'll check upstairs, can you run the coffee machine?

M figured she'd start with Venus. She stopped outside her door hearing faint voices from inside. She knocked twice before opening the door.

M: V? Oh! Good morning ladies.

Venus spared her mother a moment's glance before returning her focus to her void critter battle as Aphdroite rambled off things she learned about Chestnut Ridge. Venus wasn't truly listening as usual, just adding the occasional head nod or half grunt to keep Dite appeased.

Venus: Morning Mom.

Aphrodite: Good morning Mom.

M: How come you guys aren't getting ready for school?

Aphrodite: It's a 3 day school holiday Mom. They put the reminder in our backpacks, it's hanging on the chores board downstairs. Nana put it there.

M tried to remember if she'd seen the note Aphrodite was talking about and could vaguely remember her mother mentioning it during lunch the day before. Luckily, Kason had the next two days off, and M had finished her latest book, freeing up plenty of time. This was the start of an eventful week.

M and Kason had the kids spend Monday morning skill-building. In the afternoon as the kids got restless unable to go outside because of the continued rain Kason suggested a family-friendly yoga session. Kason and M were graceful in their movements showing off a little. Dite caught on quickly striving for perfection. Ishtar and Venus were not as interested in the peaceful nature of the activity. They tumbled and fell over one pose after another until they were on the floor in a fit of laughter. Though their parents didn't mind, Dite on the other hand wasn't pleased with the giggling duo.

Aphrodite: Do you guys ever take anything seriously?

That evening they made homemade pizza and Spirit helped the kids build another blanket fort. They finished the night by breaking out the popcorn maker and settled in for a spooky movie night.

By Tuesday morning the rain had stopped. M took Zohreh with her to Comet's Vet appointment while Kason and Spirit taught the kids how to ride their bikes.

When M and Zohreh got back Spirit and Kason were in the kitchen with the kids. Spirit and her favorite little helper Venus were making spooky day cookies. M went and got changed to join the others downstairs when she got a call. She'd barely answered when the voice on the other line came in strong and without a greeting.

Winter: I'll be there tomorrow.

She bleated before M could say hello.

M: That's a day early is everything okay?

She heard Winter scoff. She could hear the rapid fluttering of Winter's massive black wings. She could recall all the times she had seen Winter flutter her wings without taking flight it normally meant she was anxious or worse mad.

Winter: Can't a girl want a little time away from her kids and husband to grill her best friend about the rumors she had to hear about from Peyton? Is that reason enough? Plus I still need a costume for your spooky day party. Figured I could drag you shopping.

M hadn't spoken to Winter in weeks and hadn't seen her since they were in Tomarang for Jorden’s funeral service, which meant she hadn't had a chance to explain what had happened with Paris recently. Winter and Peyton (Kason's twin brother) were coming to Brindelton Bay for the fall holidays. They planned to arrive on Thursday (the day before the party), but it seemed Winter was expediting her own arrival. M didn't offer any objections, it had been too long since she had seen her best friend.

M: I'm sorry Winter. You never need a reason to come and see me. I can't wait to meet Hannah.

Winter: Yeah, well that will have to wait.

Winter responded flatly. M wasn't sure if the hint of annoyance she was picking up in Winter's tone was real but she didn't like the way it made her feel.

M: We clearly have a lot to talk about. But do you mind if I invite Kiersten, the girl I told you about?

Winter: Sure. It's about time I met the person who's been occupying my bestfriends time while I've been away moving and having a baby.

M: Oh watcher Winter..I'm a horrible friend.

Winter's wicked laughter was enough to pull M out of her own head. Winter had always been a little mischievous and her antics didn't exclude Mercury. M had always blamed it on the spellcasters who had trained her but part of it was just how good ole Winter was.

Winter: I'm just busting your balls. You've been busy too M. I was upset-though, having Peyton show me the pictures and you never even calling that hurt. But I know you were dealing with it and the kids are excited to see their cousins and Uncle Kason. I can't wait to see you and hear all about the drama. Oh, and I can't wait to meet your friend.

M smiled as Kason came into the living room to steal a kiss.

M: Winter Lotus you better behave yourself she's nice but no one could replace you and you know it.

She warned using her parenting voice. On the surface, it may have been a joke but M couldn't shake the feeling that she had been neglecting her friendship with Winter and wanted to reassure her friend (and herself a little) that no one could ever take her place in M's life. They weren't just best friends. They were like sisters but were legally sisters by marriage to the Gratz twins. They were aunts to each other children. Winter was her family just as much as Beckett was her blood brother.

Winter: Does that mean I can't show her any magic tricks!

Winters laughter filled the line again along with the familiar twinkle noise that indicated she was using her magic.

M: Winter!

Winter: I'm just kidding! Love you M, See you tomorrow.

Previous Next

Beginning

Sidebar: Venus is playing on @ravasheencc voidcritter tablet. They still own the battle station but V likes to play alone or online sometimes! She’s determined to be the best.

Pose:

Willowsworld: Two bodies, One mind

Libet: child emotions

starrysimsie: On the line

[nyubiecore]

Paris In The Rain ☆ kim sunwoo

a the boyz sunwoo oneshot

" walking down an empty street puddles underneath our feet "

kim sunwoo x fem reader

genre : fake relationship , frenemies to lovers , fluff , kiss

in which the fake relationship you both agreed upon started to feel too real to be fake in Paris , the City of Love

a beep noise came from your phone , notifying you of a new message

you reached for your phone beside you as you pressed the on button , now displaying a selfie of you and sunwoo that you guys took before taking off

you checked the message from sunwoo :

" wyd "

" taking a shit "

" why'd you even bring your phone w/ you to the toilet "

" jk " " just chilling at the balcony " " why? " seen by sunwoo

you only roll your eyes and enjoyed the view of Paris in the rain. you've heard from your mom that Paris looks the most beautiful when it rains . you smile to yourself as you take some pictures of the Eiffel Tower from your hotel room to show to your mom

your class had arranged a week trip to Paris in the holidays , you got to share rooms with your best friend , Yoora for the week

at first , you didn't want to go since it costs a hefty amount of money but since you figured it would be one of the last memories in high school so why not , since your apparent fake boyfriend offered to pay half of it that you thanked him for the thought but still pay all of them off yourself - with some help from your parents of course

" why why? is it sunwoo? " Yoora asked from inside the room where she sat on the bed

you looked over your shoulder , " yeah , but he put me on read " you said in your most annoyed tone

she smiled " this is good times , you should go on a date with him tomorrow since we're free anyways "

" i won't bother " you replied

she let out a huff in defeat " hey you guys are couples in love , we are in the city of love , do you see my point right here? "

you stopped on your track then moved to join her inside " does it look like that? do you really think he's in love with me? "

" are you a fucking fool? everyone could see that you moron "

" what do you mean? "

" ask any of our classmates who've never seen him staring at you hopelessly , and that one time you almost fainted in class that he escorted you to the nurse's office even if he knows he needs to pass that class " Yoora said half defeated " don't keep denying it Y/N , cut yourself some slack will you? just because of that jerk you saw last summer and it didn't work out make you think it'll never work out , okay? " she continues comforting your overthinking self

you were silenced

since you guys started this agreement just because of some petty ex-boyfriend of yours who's currently a psychopath that would chase you all the way down the worm's hole to get back with you

and his possessive fangirls who'd never shut up and chase him everywhere , there's not one person in your class that has found out about this agreement and only compliments about how cute you guys are

at some point , you yourself were confused about this. is it really fake? since the last 3 month you guys became the school's hottest ship , it would be a lie to say that you've never had a thought to actually put hope in this relationship and never fluttered upon his actions

like that one time you didn't answer his text because you were crying over the miserable life you were put in and he searched for you all over town until he found you , finally hiding at the playground all by yourself

but all of those thoughts didn't last long as you kept hearing voices about how he is bad news , that he's a big red flag and that one time he cheated on 3 girls at the same time

some oil were also poured into the flame by his fans who couldn't sit back and watch you guys happy and always , searched for any possible chances to judge you , trample you and gaslight you that sometimes you even felt so small that you were scared to even face them at some point

you snapped out of your thoughts when you felt your arms getting swayed by Yoora

" girl? Y/N? gosh stop with the daydreaming , the doorbell rang , go check it out will you? " she said

you blinked your eyes , coming back to your senses as you rush to the door

you pushed down the door knob , opening the door revealing sunwoo , in his comfortable hoodie over his head and a hot pink colored umbrella on his right hand

" wanna go for a night walk , princess? " he said in an attempt to charm you

sunwoo always likes to give you pet names but since last time you guys watched a classic movie about the royal family , he started to call you princess and couldn't stop talking about it

your heart fluttered a bit but you couldn't possibly show him that " in this weather? " you ask ridiculed

his brow hanged higher than the other as he showed off the umbrella on his hand

" in this? " you continued as you looked at yourself in a graphic pajama set

his lips corner curled up , " if you'd like to , i won't mind but i could wait here if you mind the cute fit " he chuckled to himself

you gave him an eye as you asked him to wait while you go put on a proper clothes for the ocassion as Yoora give you the eyes

by a few minutes , you came back out in a white sleeved crop top and black loose jeans

sunwoo stood on his feet as he checks you out

you roll your eyes " keep your eyes to yourself would you? "

he smirked " sorry to offend you princess "

you guys walked to the lobby and sunwoo leads you along the revolving door until you guys came outside the hotel , taking in the scent of the rain and the sound of Paris's bustling streets

walking on the sidewalks of the road , sunwoo opened the umbrella that mostly covered you

" what's with this hot pink umbrella? " you laugh

" shut up " he said as he roll his eyes

" hehe"

you wanted to say something about how his other hoodie side that were exposed to the rain were clearly wet but you knew he wouldn't bother.

while walking , you came over a wine shop

you look at sunwoo who were already looking at you as you smile cheekily

" can you read my mind? " you asked as you nudged sunwoo's side

" I can't read minds but I can see what's in front of us " he replied

you nudged harder to his side as you rushed to cross the streets

after a successful attempt of buying the cheapest wine , you guys were seated at one of the bench near the Eiffel Tower

you drank straight from the wine bottle and swallowed the berry flavor.

the rain had stopped raining by this time

sunwoo just looks at you

you took in the view of the big Eiffel Tower in front of you. far from what you expected , you couldn't actually hold your liquor as much as you thought you could.

you grunts as you leaned into the bench

" I'm so glad that I'm here now , right? " you turned your head towards sunwoo who were quietly looking at you

he smiled to himself as he nods softly " me too "

maybe it was the air , maybe it was the wine - it should be the wine - but you felt like you were free off pressures and your right mind because …

you smiled cheekily " did you know? that none of our classmates suspected our relationship? " you chuckled " I mean , it's such a sudden thing but how could they be so gullible , right? " you said as you chuckle

sunwoo stayed quiet - furious? - as he reached for the bottle of wine and took a sip of it

you watch him as he put the bottle down " oh? did we kiss just now? ommo ommo " you said as you laugh drunkenly

he only kept quiet as he avoids eye contact with you

" hey , I'm sad that you act so relaxed over my first kiss " you say making a sad expression

" princess , that's not a real kiss okay? it's just an indirect kiss " he said earning a nudge to his side

you look up at the Eiffel Tower , " did you know? I heard from that if you go to watch the Eiffel Tower in the rain with your lover , your love will last for a long long time " you said drunkenly

" who says that? " sunwoo asked

" me! " you said as you pointed to yourself and chuckle

" then, we're going to be lovers aren't we? "

" ey , how can the kim sunwoo of Daeryeon High date a nobody like me. you won't know how much it takes to date you even if it's fake " you let out a huff

" why is it hard? "

" your lover would have to see your table full of gifts from girls prettier than her everyday , don't even mention the judging eyes she'll get from your die hard fans too , oww even talking about it sends me shivers to the bone " you say hugging yourself on the bench

he stopped on his track. it's not like he never knew how bad girls who've had relationship with him got bashed. it's just , since you he started to feel eager to keep the relationship though he knows you're having a hard time , ofc he tries to protect you at all cost tho

" so you won't do the role? " he laughs

" do you want me to? " you jokingly say as you make eye contact with his sweet eyes

the sudden eye contact only triggered sunwoo and you didn't really mind it since you were drunk and everything

he looked away , his cheeks slightly tinted with pink blush " what if I say I want , then what will you do then? "

you stopped , " hek " you got hiccups. you embarrassingly cover your mouth and looked forward

he smiled looking at you " we should go now " he stands up as he wrapped his arms on your side holding you steady while you hold the wine bottle on your hand

maybe because of the late hours or the choice of way , the streets seems a bit more quiet not in a spooky way , just comfortable? or maybe it was because of your company? you didn't know anymore as the alcohol takes control of your brain

along the road , you saw a flower shop that were still open and many bouquet and varieties of flowers from the glass

" pretty tulips " you said drunkenly

he looked at the flower shop

" wait here " he said before abandoning you outside the flower shop

he ran back out in a few minutes with a few tulips wrapped in his hand then hands it to you

" what is it? oh! tulips! " you say as you clap repeatedly

he only smiled as you take the tulips from his hand

you guys continue the walk as it freshen you up

but the unstraight walk didn't go away

" princess , can't you walk straight? it's dangerous "

you only chuckled " hey do you like me? why do you call me princess all the time , it made me flutter.. " the last part was said in a lower voice

he only shake his head

you kept the unstraight walk until you wanted to cross the road that you almost did carelessly

when a bicycle almost hit you , that you felt a hand on your elbow pulling you back from the road , turning your body to the owner of the hand and sending your tulips to bounce to the sky

panicked sunwoo is now a few inches to your face , you could smell the light scent of wine from his breath that were fanning your face

" gosh you're so clumsy " he said but didn't break the close proximity

your eyes broke into an emotional eyes " hey , can you stop making my heart flutter? do you know how much I started to like you since 3 months ago? "

he was taken aback for a bit but the emotions left his eyes as it went to your lips

" what if I like you " he said

" don't make those kinds of jokes , it hurts "

you said before seeing your tulips that is now stuck on one of the tree branches

you point at it " my tulips "

sunwoo looked at the spot you pointed to , him being a few cm lower from the branch helped as he reached for it

it became a failed attempt , so he held the end of the branch and shake it lightly sending the tulips to almost reach the ground when you and sunwoo tried to prevent if from falling

reaching for it , both of you accidentally held hands - with tulips in it - and were faced in the same proximity from just now

you turned to face him , you scanned his delicate face

you never cared how sharp his nose and his jawline is - also the fact that he's much more handsome than you imagined , you were pretty much in awe

" your nose is so well sculptured "

" stop that , princess "

" stop that pet name "

" what if I like you that's why I give these pet names? "

you stopped on your track

" you're kidding "

" are you still drunk? "

you look at him ridiculously " umm.. no? "

" then I should prove it to you " he said before bringing his hand to both your jawline and pulled your face closer to his bringing your lips together

the kiss was slow but you can feel the adrenaline pumping in your brain and your heart rate soaring

sunwoo pulled away a few seconds after

you look at him , still ridiculed " what does that kiss mean? "

" I'm sorry for stealing away your first kiss , but I do actually like you and the reason all of our classmates didn't find out isn't because they're gullible but because I liked you for real and I show my gestures to you " he said

you could see his vulnerable gaze towards you , you could fall in love in that gaze every time and now , you're sure , you're in love with him

" can I kiss you back? " you asked

" if you kiss me now , it means you are my girlfriend , real girlfriend and I won't want to let you go anytime near " he said smiling

you smiled widely as you connected your lips with his into a kiss you knew you could never forget for a long time

the kiss was firm as he wrapped his arms around your body and your arms going to wrap his neck

you pulled away for air as you tasted the last remaining taste of wine lingering on your lips

" should we go now , princess? " he asked making you flutter

you got up and wrapped your arms on his neck , gave him a peck " we should , prince " you smirked as you walked along the empty lane with him

sneakily , he reached for your hand and held it

" I guess a walk in the rainy Paris actually helped huh? " he said

-end-

thank you for reading , i think this one is kind of awkward since i'm not really good at writing these types of things so please cut me some slack :>