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pitlanepeach · 1 month ago

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Radio Silence | Chapter Thirty-Five

Lando Norris x Amelia Brown (OFC)

Series Masterlist

Summary — Order is everything. Her habits aren’t quirks, they’re survival techniques. And only three people in the world have permission to touch her: Mom, Dad, Fernando.

Then Lando Norris happens.

One moment. One line crossed. No going back.

Warnings — Autistic!OFC, pregnancy, emetophobia warning, domestic fluff.

Notes — We're closing out the 2023 season!! Double update for the day!

2023 (Abu Dhabi)

The filming studio was chaos. Bright lights, Nerf guns, a beanbag chair someone had exploded accidentally, and Max F was in the corner trying to tape a foam sword back together.

Lando stood off to the side, hoodie hood up, sipping a smoothie and pretending to review a script while actually just taking a breather from the all-day mess.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

He fished it out lazily, thumbed it open.

iMessage — 12:03pm

Amelia (Wifey 4 lifey)

My period is 3 weeks late.

—

He stared.

Then blinked. Read the words again.

And stood there frozen in the middle of the mess, smoothie halfway to his mouth.

“…What the f—”

“Bro, you good?” Aarav called from across the room, eyebrow raised.

Lando didn’t answer. He was busy rereading the message for a third time. Then a fourth. Slowly lowering the smoothie.

Missed period.

3 weeks.

Missed period for 3 weeks.

Period 3 weeks missed.

He let out a stunned, breathy laugh. “Oh fucking hell. Of course she’d just message me about it like it’s no big deal. Of course she did.”

The rest of the guys were still messing around in the background, arguing about whether they could build a kart ramp out of beanbags, and Lando just… walked backwards into a couch and sat down before his legs gave up on him.

Well, clearly she wasn’t freaking out. So that meant he wasn’t supposed to freak out. Cool. No problem. Cool, cool, super cool.

Except, he ran a hand through his hair. It was Amelia. If she was freaking out, she still probably wouldn’t say it. She’d just power through it all and not mention anything had even happened and then be like, “Oh yeah, by the way, our kid is three now.”

He shook his head.

iMessage — 12:05pm

Lando (Husband)

Ok. I’m not freaking out. Kind of want to throw up a bit tho. Love u x

He stared at the screen. Chewed the side of his thumb. Sent another.

Lando (Husband)

Did u like… pee on a stick yet????

Also should i come home. Or stay and keep filming the stupid cart bit. Idk what to do bby xxxx

Amelia (Wifey 4 lifey)

No, I have not peed on a stick. No, you do not need to come home. Finish filming. I will just see you when you come home x

—

He barely had time to process it before Max shouted, “Lando! You’re up!”

Lando slowly stood, still blinking, feeling kind of like he was buffering in real time.

“Mate, you look like you just saw a ghost,” Max added. “You alright, bro?”

Lando just looked at him, dazed. “No. I think I’m gonna be someone’s dad.”

Max’s eyes went fucking massive. “Woah, woah. Hold on. What—”

“Later. Can’t explain. Gotta pretend to joust on a kids scooter first.”

And off he went, hoodie flapping, brain somewhere over the Alps, while back in Monaco, his wife was casually engineering a race car and possibly incubating a human life like it was no big deal.

—

Amelia chewed on her bottom lip as she pulled up Pietra’s contact.

The screen blinked to life and there she was, chin propped on her hand, eating a bowl of cereal. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a lopsided bun, and she had one AirPod in, the other probably misplaced somewhere nearby. Her face lit up when she saw Amelia.

“Hello, gorgeous—wait, are you okay?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. “What’s wrong? You look off.”

Amelia didn’t say hello. She just held up her phone so the camera framed her blank expression and said, deadpan, “I am having déjà vu.”

Pietra blinked. Then squinted harder. “Wait… about what?”

“This call.” She said. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Pietra blinked again, cereal halfway to her mouth. “Você tá brincando.”

“I would never joke about this kind of thing.” Amelia said.

“Meu Deus.” Pietra gasped, dropping her spoon into the bowl with a dramatic clatter. “How? I mean—well, how is obvious, but—how do you know?”

Amelia turned her phone around, flashed her calendar at the screen. One day highlighted in red. Three weeks past due. “Calendar told on me.”

Pietra’s eyebrows shot up. “Three weeks? Amelia!”

Amelia sighed. “I know. But I’ve been so preoccupied with Vegas prep, travel, lobby meltdowns.”

“Oh my god.” Pietra was practically whispering now. “But… how likely is it?”

“Very. We haven’t been, like, trying,” Amelia said, voice clipped, efficient. “But we also haven’t been not trying. No protection for the last… few months. Ish.”

Pietra dragged her hand down her face. “Ameliaaaa. You can’t just drop a possible baby on me while I’m eating cornflakes!”

“I can and did.” Amelia adjusted the camera so it faced the ceiling, then sat cross-legged on the couch, phone balanced on her chest. This was their usual routine. She could write strategy notes with Pietra on FaceTime, no problem. Sometimes Pietra filled the air with stories, or whatever drama was happening in one of her many group chats. Sometimes she was just quiet, scrolling TikTok beside her. It was easy. Safe.

“Have you taken a test yet?” Pietra asked, after a beat.

“No.” Amelia’s voice was flat. “I don’t want to look at a little window. The little window makes things real.”

Pietra groaned. “It’s the only way to know!”

“I don’t want to know yet,” Amelia pointed out.

“I don’t trust you not to emotionally suppress this entire event and pretend it never happened.”

“Unfortunately not possible with this,” Amelia returned.

Pietra reached for the cereal again, shaking her head. “Have you told Lando?”

“I texted him. He’s in London filming Quadrant stuff, obviously. He freaked out a bit but, like, he was fine I think.”

Pietra cackled. “What did you even say?”

Amelia lifted her phone and scrolled briefly. “‘My period is three weeks late.’”

“Oh my god,” Pietra said. “You’ve probably given him a heart attack.”

“I’m nothing if not efficient.”

“He’s probably already told my Max, then. Are you telling anyone else?”

“No,” Amelia said, immediately and firmly. “I haven’t even processed it yet. And it might not even be something to process. It’d be like… trying to run a live feed before the camera boots.”

“Got it.” Pietra nodded. “Just us, then.”

“Just us,” Amelia echoed. She returned her focus to the spreadsheet open on her laptop. Sector delta charts glowed on the screen, comfortingly quantifiable.

Pietra softened. “But like—how are you?”

“I’m fine.” Amelia blinked slowly, as if running an internal diagnostic. “Not panicked. Not excited. Just... fine. Although thinking about it, I have been feeling nauseous a lot more frequently lately. I just kept putting it down to nerves you know?”

“Yes, I know. It’s been a long few weeks.” Pietra agreed. Eventually, she asked, “So. Plan?”

Amelia shrugged. “Go to the bakery and the pharmacy. Buy a bunch of pastries and three pregnancy tests.”

“And then?”

“And then I’m waiting for Lando. I’m not testing until he’s back.”

Pietra smiled, biting back something fond. “Of course not.”

They hung up not long after.

Amelia finished annotating a slide for Oscar’s sector exits in medium-speed corners, then shut her laptop with a soft click. She stood, pulled on one of Lando’s oversized hoodies, and grabbed her bag.

As she stepped out into the sunshine, she ran through her mental checklist:

Bakery

Pharmacy

Groceries

Don’t forget oat milk

Do not freak out

Business as usual.

—

The pharmacy was quiet, the sort of quiet that made every footstep sound louder than it should. Fluorescent lights buzzed softly overhead, and faint French pop music played from an old radio behind the counter.

Amelia moved with purpose, hoodie sleeves pulled halfway over her hands, the corners of her to-do list folded neatly in her pocket. She headed straight for the aisle where the pregnancy tests were shelved, eyes flicking over the boxes clinically. Brands didn’t matter. She just picked three, different ones, out of mild uncertainty more than logic, and turned on her heel toward the checkout.

Behind the counter sat Madame Duval, a tiny, silver-haired woman with thick glasses, a warm smile, and a knit cardigan that didn’t match her blouse but somehow made her look even more maternal.

“Bonjour, Amelia,” she said, her voice like soft wool. “C’est bon de vous voir.”

Amelia blinked. “Hi.”

She placed the boxes down without flinching. Madame Duval looked down, eyebrows twitching faintly. Then she smiled again, smaller this time. “Ah. I see.”

Amelia didn’t say anything. Just offered a shrug and a half-nod. She wasn’t embarrassed, exactly. It just felt… complicated.

“Would you like a bag?” Madame Duval asked gently. “One that is not see-through?”

“Yes please.”

She packed the boxes neatly, moving with the patience of someone who had known Amelia since she had first moved to Monaco. The first time she had come in for antihistamines, she’d asked in English and apologised for not speaking very clear French. Madame Duval had tutted at her gently and waved it off — “You’re young. You learn.”

She hadn’t expected Amelia to remember all of their conversations. But Amelia did. Down to which shelf the chamomile tea had been on that one rainy day when she came in, red-eyed and overstimulated, asking for something that “made bodies quiet.”

Now, only a couple of years later, the girl she’d watched grow into a woman, all sharp focus and clinical precision, stood with three pregnancy tests in her hand and a face like a still pond. Flat on the surface. Rippling just underneath.

Madame Duval placed a single wrapped chocolate on top of the box in the bag. The fancy kind they kept near the till. “For after. Whatever the result.”

Amelia blinked. “I didn’t—”

“Don’t argue,” Madame Duval said simply. “I know you very well, Amelia. You will enjoy your sweet treat.”

She accepted the bag and nodded, a single sharp dip of her head. “Merci.”

Madame Duval smiled again, knowing, warm. “Bonne chance, ma fille.”

Amelia didn’t translate the words in her head. She didn’t need to. They sank into her like the warmth of a blanket after a cold morning walk.

She left the pharmacy with the bag looped tightly around her wrist and walked the short distance back up the hill toward the apartment. The sea was visible between buildings, a thin slice of blue horizon. Everything smelled faintly of croissants and sunshine and exhaust fumes.

She checked her mental list:

Got the tests.

Got the pastries.

Got the groceries.

Back home, she set the bag down on the kitchen counter and grabbed her laptop.

The tests could wait until Lando was back.

For now, it was just another variable. Logged.

Pending analysis.

—

The door clicked softly behind Lando as he stepped into their Monaco apartment, duffle bag forgotten somewhere between the entrance and the bedroom.

The light was low, just the soft stretch of sunrise brushing over the walls, and Amelia was curled up on their bed in one of his hoodies, half-asleep, laptop still warm next to her leg.

She opened one eye when he crouched beside her. “Hi,” she murmured, voice heavy with sleep.

He didn’t answer right away. Just tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and held up a small paper bag like he’d just won a prize. “Get up, baby,” he said, gently.

Amelia blinked. “Seriously?”

He kissed her temple. “Come on. I need to know if my wife is growing a person.”

She groaned, dragging her hand over her face — but didn’t argue. Not really. She let him pull her upright with a sleepy grumble, let him tug her by the hand toward the bathroom, let him press the test into her hand.

They paused there for a second. Fingers brushing. Her gaze flicked up to meet his.

“You okay?” He asked, voice low now, a little more cautious.

“I’m fine,” she said. Then, with a characteristic deadpan mutter, “I’m tired.”

Lando gave her that crooked little grin, the one that always cracked something open in her. “Right. Go pee on it.”

She rolled her eyes and shut the door.

He sat cross-legged outside, back against the wall. Same way he had the first time she’d let him into her quieter corners; back when they were barely even dating and she couldn’t handle knocks on doors, loud voices, or sudden touches. Back when he learned to ask first and sit with her in the silence.

He waited now, quiet, patient, fingers tapping his knee.

The door creaked open.

She didn’t speak at first. Just stood there holding the test, staring at it.

Lando scrambled to his feet. “Amelia?”

She looked up at him. “It’s positive,” she said, voice soft. Like she wasn’t sure the words could be able to come out of her mouth properly.

Silence fell between them — not tense, not panicked. Just heavy.

She looked back down at the test. Then back at him. Her expression was unreadable for a second, and then… it cracked. Not big. Not loud. Just a subtle unraveling. A tremble in her mouth. Her eyes too bright, but dry.

“I thought I’d feel more in control,” she said quietly. “Like it would just slot into the system. Checklist. Contingency. Risk management.” She held up the test, eyes never leaving it. “But it’s not like that. It’s not a flowchart. It’s not a decision tree. It’s just… me. And you. And this. And I can’t logic my way through it.”

Lando took a slow step forward, voice hushed. “Is it a bad feeling?”

She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “It’s just… big.”

And then it happened — not a meltdown, not a scene, just her body folding into his with no warning. A silent collapse.

Hands clinging to the front of his hoodie, face buried against his chest, a single shuddering breath breaking out of her like she’d been holding it in for hours. No sobbing. No hysteria. Just quiet overwhelm — the kind that sneaks up and knocks the wind out of you.

Lando wrapped his arms around her instantly, no hesitation.

“Whoa, hey,” he murmured, steady as ever, his hand in her hair. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, love. You’re okay. We’re okay. We’re going to be okay.”

She didn’t answer, just breathed — deep and shaky. Her fingers still clutched the test like a lifeline. Her knuckles were white.

“I’m scared,” she said after a long pause. The words were barely there. “What if I mess it up? What if I do something wrong? What if I’m not good enough to do this?”

Lando pulled back, just enough to look at her. His hands stayed on her waist, grounding her. “Hey,” he said gently, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. “Don’t do that. Don’t start doubting yourself now.”

Her eyes flicked away. “I’m not soft. I’m not warm. I don’t… glow. I forget social niceties, I spiral over things like flight plans and tyre temps and socks that don’t feel right. That’s not the kind of person who’s supposed to—” She swallowed. “I don’t know if I’m made for this.”

“Baby. You’re made for anything,” he said, firm now. “You’re made for me. And if our baby ends up anything like you, blunt, brilliant, weird in the best possible way, they’re going to be so lucky. And so am I.”

She let out a sound that was halfway between a breath and a laugh. Her shoulders sagged just a little. “We don’t even know if I’m actually pregnant yet,” she muttered.

He glanced down at the test still in her hand. “Kinda looks like we do.”

Another breath.

She let him take the test and set it gently on the counter, his touch reverent, like it was something fragile and sacred. Then, without a word, he slid his hand into hers and led her back into the bedroom.

She didn’t resist. Didn’t speak. Just let herself be tugged along like driftwood in a current.

Lando climbed into bed first and pulled her down with him, settling them in the tangle of covers she’d only half-kicked off earlier. His arms came around her automatically, looping over her waist and up across her back. He tucked her in close, chin resting against the top of her head, one leg hooked loosely over hers.

Wrapped around her like a blanket. Safe. Heavy in the best way.

They lay like that for a long time. Breathing in sync. No words needed.

Eventually, Amelia spoke. Her voice was quiet — raw around the edges, like she'd surprised even herself with the crack earlier. “I didn’t think I’d cry,” she murmured.

Lando smiled, lips brushing her temple. “I’m glad you did.”

She blinked against his hoodie. “Why?”

He huffed a soft laugh, barely more than a breath. “Because it made it less pathetic that I was crying for a second too.”

Her head tipped back just enough to look up at him. “You were crying?”

“Only a little bit,” he said, mock-defensive. “Like, blinked-a-lot-and-hoped-you-wouldn’t-notice crying. I’m British. I’m subtle.”

“You’re not subtle,” she said flatly.

“No,” he agreed, grin tugging at his mouth. “But I am dramatic, and I’ve been alone for two days imagining every possible outcome and Googling ‘is surprise pregnancy good news if you’re in love and mostly financially stable.’”

Amelia blinked slowly. “You Googled that exact phrase?”

“Yes.”

She snorted. A small, involuntary noise that made his heart squeeze. “What did it say?”

“That the internet is deeply unhelpful,” he said. “And Reddit is a lawless place.”

There was another long pause.

Then she whispered, “I was scared it wouldn’t feel real. That I’d just… log it as data and move on. Like it was just another variable.”

Lando tightened his arms around her. “But it does feel real?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “The second I said it out loud.”

He kissed her forehead. “Good. I don’t think I could’ve handled being more emotional than you about this.”

“You’re always more emotional than me.”

“True. I tried at Bake Off the other day.”

“I know,” she said, and even through the haze of anxiety and confusion and quiet overwhelm, she smiled. “That’s why I married you.”

Lando rested his cheek against her hair, and for a few long seconds, the world outside the blanket of their bed ceased to exist.

“Should we sleep a bit more?” She asked eventually, already halfway there.

He nodded against her. “Yeah. Big day of parenting ahead. Gotta start practicing how to Google more useful things.”

She hummed. “Start with ‘how to tell if your wife is actually going to let herself feel things this time.’”

Lando squeezed her a little tighter. “Already figured it out. Just gotta love her loud enough that she forgets to be afraid.”

She didn’t respond.

But she didn’t pull away either.

—

The clinic’s sliding door whispered closed behind them as Amelia and Lando stepped into the small, clinical room. The nurse smiled warmly, gesturing toward the chair.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” she said, setting out the necessary equipment.

Amelia sat down slowly, her fingers lacing in her lap. Lando stood quietly by her side, watching her with closeness.

“You doing alright, baby?” He asked quietly, voice low enough only for her.

She shrugged, eyes steady. “As alright as I can be.”

Lando reached out and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She held on tight.

The nurse prepped the needle, talking her through it as she did. Amelia kept her gaze fixed on the ceiling, her jaw clenched just enough to show her focus.

When the needle slid in, Lando’s hand moved up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

“There,” he whispered. “Done.”

Amelia exhaled, releasing some of the tension she hadn’t even realised she was holding.

—

Amelia and Lando sat quietly in the small waiting area just outside the testing rooms, the sterile white walls feeling colder than usual. Amelia scrolled absently through her phone while Lando rested his arm around her shoulders, both wrapped in a low hum of nervous energy.

The nurse appeared after what felt like an eternity but was realistically just under an hour. She held a folder in her hand, her expression calm and professional. “Amelia Norris?” She called.

Amelia stood immediately, Lando rising just a half-step behind her, his hand brushing lightly against the small of her back in quiet support.

The nurse, a kind-looking woman in her fifties with kind eyes and soft lines around her mouth, smiled gently as she approached, holding a slim folder in her hands. “Amelia, Lando,” She said warmly. “Your blood test results are back.”

Amelia held herself very still, as if bracing for impact.

The nurse opened the folder and glanced down. “Everything looks healthy, and we did manage to confirm your pregnancy, Amelia.”

For a second, neither of them spoke. Amelia’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes fixed on the nurse but unfocused, as though the words had landed somewhere just behind her.

She blinked once. Twice. “Okay,” she said softly. Just one word, but it sounded like it had taken effort to get it out.

Lando, ever the contrast, let out a breathy laugh; short, quiet, almost disbelieving, and slid his arm around her waist. He gave her a gentle squeeze, grounding them both. “Well,” he murmured, leaning in close, “that’s the official verdict then.”

She didn’t answer right away, just nodded, lips pressing into a line. Her fingers twitched at her side, stimming without even thinking.

The nurse, unfazed by the silence, handed Amelia a printout of the blood-work results. “Everything looks perfectly normal for where you’re at. If you have questions or want to talk about next steps, you’re always welcome to call. We’ll book your first ultrasound soon.”

Amelia’s eyes scanned the paper, already filtering the information into categories in her head — normal levels, nothing flagged, timeline confirmed. Just data. But even with all the logic in the world, she felt the subtle shift in the air. It was real now.

“I can fly to Abu Dhabi?” She asked, sharp and direct.

The nurse nodded. “Yes, you can. You’re still very early. Travel is fine, just make sure you stay hydrated and try to keep your stress levels to a minimum.”

Amelia scoffed out a single breath. “Right. Sure.”

Lando gave the nurse an apologetic smile, stepping in smoothly. “We’ll make sure of it. Water, snacks, earplugs, noise-cancelling headphones, the works.”

The nurse’s smile deepened. “Good man. Just listen to your body, Amelia. That’ll be the trickiest part for you, I think.”

Amelia met her gaze, brows furrowed. “Why? Because I’m autistic?”

“Because you’re used to ignoring and pushing aside your discomfort,” the nurse said kindly. “But yes, that too.”

Amelia blinked, visibly filing that away.

The nurse handed her a card. “Call and make your next appointment as soon as you’re back. That’ll be for your first scan — around gestation week seven. You can ask for me by name if you’d like.”

Amelia took the card, examined the name — “Colette” — and gave the barest nod of approval. “Okay. I will.”

Colette gave them both a final smile. “Take care of each other. And congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Lando said quietly, while Amelia murmured something that might’ve been a “you too” out of sheer social obligation.

As they stepped out of the clinic and into the soft Monaco sunlight, Lando reached over and laced their fingers together. Amelia let him. Didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away. Just walked beside him, her expression unreadable — but her grip on his hand was firm.

He glanced at her as they waited for the elevator. “So.”

She glanced up.

“You’re gonna have to let me look at that report later,” he said. “Just to double-check you’re not secretly growing twins or something.”

Amelia huffed. “I’d know if I were.”

He grinned. “Sure you would.”

—

The private jet hummed softly beneath them, the kind of quiet that came with luxury and familiarity. Amelia had curled up beside the window, iPad balanced on her lap, headphones hanging loosely around her neck. Next to her, Lando was dozing — hoodie pulled up, mouth slightly open, dead to the world.

Across the aisle, Max sat with a protein bar and a very serious frown as he scrolled through Instagram. For all the years they’d known each other, Amelia had rarely seen him sit still this long.

She, however, was very much not still.

Her finger tapped quickly across her iPad screen, eyes scanning an article titled “What To Expect in Your First Trimester.” She had three tabs open; one medical, one forum-based, and one purely dedicated to nutrition. Her nose wrinkled as she read the phrase “morning sickness may begin as early as week six.” She was almost six weeks, according to the timeline Colette had scribbled down.

“Oh, screw that,” she muttered under her breath.

Max leaned slightly toward the aisle and blinked at her screen. “What’re you reading?”

Amelia startled slightly and tilted the iPad instinctively away from him. “Nothing.”

Max tilted his head. “No, I definitely saw the word ‘placenta’ just now.”

Amelia pursed her lips. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

He blinked. Then his eyes went wide. “You’re pregnant.”

“What? No. Don’t be absurd.” Amelia spluttered.

“Your ears are red!” Max pointed out.

“Lots of people have red ears,” she lied boldly.

“Name two people.”

“Um.” She looked around desperately. “Um.”

Max raised a brow.

“Okay, whatever, fine.” She sighed.

He choked on his protein bar, coughing into his sleeve. “So you are pregnant.”

Amelia groaned, setting the iPad facedown on her lap. “You can’t know! I’m not even supposed to know, I don’t think. Google says no one is allowed to know until the second trimester.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know!” She whispered-shouted, flinging her hands up in frustration. “Apparently there's this whole unwritten rule that you’re meant to keep it secret until like week twelve in case things go wrong but also I can’t stop Googling everything because what the hell is a mucus plug and why is it in my body?”

Max looked vaguely alarmed. “Oh, god. That sounds disgusting.”

“Exactly!”

Lando stirred at the noise, cracked one eye open, and muttered, “Did you tell Max?”

“No,” Amelia said at the exact same time Max said, “Absolutely.”

Lando sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, clearly too tired to argue.

Amelia shifted slightly in her seat, frowning. “Is it weird I don’t feel different yet? Like I thought I’d… know. That there’d be this, I don’t know, gut feeling. Like how I know when it’s going to rain or when Oscar’s about to spin out of a corner.”

Max softened a bit, leaning over the aisle. “Everyone’s different, I think.”

“Yeah, but I already feel behind.” She nudged her iPad back into her lap. “There are apps and charts and... symbiotic uterine developments. It’s like a project I didn’t plan for. And you know how I feel about unplanned variables.”

Lando reached over sleepily and squeezed her hand. “You’re doing fine.”

Max nodded. “Plus, your kid��s gonna have, like, the two most ridiculous godparents in the paddock.”

She blinked at him. “I never said anything about godparents.”

“You will.”

“I might not.”

“You will.”

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at her mouth.

Then, after a pause, she muttered, “The mucus plug thing is still on my mind.”

Max gagged theatrically, Lando groaned, and Amelia opened another article, determined to understand the entire gestational timeline before they landed.

—

The Abu Dhabi sun was already unbearable by the time they stepped onto the tarmac, the heat pressing down like a hand on the back of her neck. Amelia barely blinked at it. She was too busy focusing on not gagging.

It wasn’t morning sickness. It wasn’t anything that dramatic. There’d been no dramatic sprint to a toilet. Just this constant, low-level nausea that clung to her throat like the aftermath of turbulence. Cloying. Lingering. Like the scent of someone else’s perfume in a closed room.

She clutched her water bottle a little tighter as they walked toward the paddock entrance, sunglasses on, headphones around her neck, McLaren lanyard tucked into the front of her shirt. She wasn’t on duty yet — they were just arriving — but already, her brain was buzzing with briefings and timing windows and tyre strategy for FP1.

Lando walked beside her, one hand on the small of her back, close but casual. He wasn’t smothering her, he never did, but his body was attuned to her like a second radar system. When she slowed for a moment, swallowing hard, he adjusted his pace instantly.

“Still feeling off?” He murmured, quiet so no one around them would hear.

She nodded once, not breaking stride. “Feels like... I’ve had warm milk out of a shoe.”

“That’s a disgusting analogy.” He said, nose twitching.

“I feel disgusting.” She moaned.

Lando gave a small, sympathetic laugh and handed her a peppermint from the stash he’d brought specifically for this. “Want to skip the garage for now? Go to hospitality. Sit down.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said quickly, bluntly. “We land, we go to the garage. That’s the routine.”

He didn’t argue, not really. He just looked at her for a beat longer than usual and nodded. “Okay.”

Max had peeled off earlier, some Red Bull meeting already dragging him into another PR vortex, so it was just the two of them when they reached the McLaren motorhome. Amelia paused for a moment outside the hospitality entrance, letting the air-conditioned breeze spill over her as the door opened and closed in waves.

She stared forward, expression flat.

Then, without looking at him, she muttered, “If I throw up in front of Oscar, I’ll lie and say it’s food poisoning.”

Lando grinned. “You’d lie to Oscar?”

“I lie to Oscar all the time. I tell him the car has good rear grip when I know it doesn’t. I tell him his haircut’s not weird.”

“He knows it’s weird.”

“Then I’m not doing my job properly.”

He kissed the side of her head and ushered her inside.

The nausea didn’t leave; it didn’t even lessen. But she filed it away somewhere behind tyre allocation updates and garage temperature readings. Pushed it back. Compartmentalised.

She had a job to do.

Even if her body, her whole world, had quietly started to change.

—

The garage was its usual symphony of motion, tyre blankets, torque wrenches, low chatter on radios. Amelia stood just behind Oscar’s car, one hand resting on the side-pod, her iPad in the other, watching the data scroll. Her other hand was shoved in her pocket, fingers twisting the small piece of fabric — an old tag from one of Lando’s fireproof undershirts. Grounding. Textural. Familiar.

Oscar was climbing out of the cockpit, unzipping his suit halfway and tugging off his gloves. “How’s it looking?” He asked, pushing a hand through his hair.

“Like you are still lifting off too early into Turn 14,” Amelia replied, not looking up.

Oscar squinted at her. “Nice to see you too.”

She handed him the tablet. “Look at the overlays. You’re lifting fractionally earlier than yesterday.”

“I don’t feel like I am.”

“That’s the thing about data,” she said flatly. “It doesn’t care how you feel.”

Oscar made a face but didn’t argue. He took the tablet and perched on the edge of the front wing as he scrolled. Amelia leaned on the pit gantry behind him, eyes tracking the mechanics, her brain juggling three different timelines.

Tyre test. Race sim. Media obligations.

And nausea. Always the nausea. A thin layer of wrongness settled at the base of her throat.

“You look pale,” Oscar said suddenly.

She flicked her eyes up. “Thanks.”

“I mean it. You good?”

“I’m always good.”

He gave her a suspicious side-eye. “You’ve said that to me before. Usually when you’ve gone two days without sleep.”

She took the iPad back from him. “I’m eating. I’ve slept. I’m hydrated. I’ve had breakfast. What more do you want?”

“Some forgiveness if I don’t get the lift right on the next run?”

Amelia’s lip twitched, barely. “Not happening.”

Oscar didn’t push, but he watched her as she turned back toward the screens. She knew it. Felt his gaze linger.

But she didn’t offer anything more. Not yet. Not when the garage was full of people, and cameras, and microphones always somewhere nearby.

She just reached for her earpiece, shoved it into place, and keyed into the radio with a sharp, clean voice. “Oscar’s ready for the next run. Let’s do race trim, full fuel, softs.”

The engineer on the other end acknowledged her. The crew got moving.

And the nausea, ever present, curled a little tighter in her gut.

Still. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t step back.

Amelia Norris stayed exactly where she was — sharp, unfazed, in control.

—

The air conditioning hummed steadily overhead, and Amelia sat cross-legged in one of the lower chairs, stylus tapping as Oscar muttered something about corner exit balance. She wasn’t entirely listening. Or rather — she was, but her body was staging a full-scale rebellion against her.

The nausea had been background static all day, but now it was cresting into a full wave. Her fingers tightened slightly around the stylus. She blinked twice, tried breathing through her nose. No improvement.

She could hear Lando in the corner, chatting with one of the engineers, blissfully unaware that his wife was currently sweating through her team polo in slow motion.

Oscar nudged her shin with the toe of his socked foot. “You’re quiet. Am I saying something stupid?”

Amelia opened her mouth to answer, but—

Her stomach twisted violently. She slapped the tablet onto the low table and stood up in one movement, but it was too fast, too late.

Her hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide.

And then she doubled over and vomited squarely into the only available container-like object at ground level.

Oscar’s race boots.

The room fell silent.

Oscar blinked once. Then looked down. Then back up at her.

“Well,” he said, with a perfectly dry inflection. “That’s one way to critique my driving.”

Amelia groaned, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her hoodie. “I’m so sorry,” she managed, breathless. “I— I tried to make it.”

Lando was already at her side, hand on her back, concern etching itself into his features. “Jesus, baby—are you okay? You need to sit down?”

Oscar, meanwhile, remained seated, staring down at the shoes like they might attack him. “Those were custom-moulded.”

“Yeah,” Amelia said weakly, dropping back into the chair. “They’re custom-moulded to hold the exact volume of my stomach contents, apparently.”

“I’m never putting my foot in those again.”

“I’ll get you new ones.”

“You’ll buy me a new digestive system, because I’m never forgetting this.” He frowned.

Amelia finally laughed; a little breathy, a little unhinged. “I hate this,” she muttered, head in her hands.

Lando crouched in front of her, gently brushing her hair back from her face. “You’ve done three days of data crunching and garage shifts while apparently fighting the urge to puke in various footwear,” he said quietly. “Come on, let’s go clean you up.”

Oscar stood up finally, crossing to the corner where someone had mercifully placed paper towels and a bin bag. “Can we agree to never tell anyone about this.”

“Yes,” Amelia agreed.

Lando snorted. “Too late. I already texted Max.”

“You what—?”

“I’m kidding,” he grinned. “But I’m tempted. He’d find this absolutely hilarious.”

—

Amelia was curled up on the end of a low sofa, sipping flat Sprite from a paper cup. The AC was finally hitting just right, and she'd gotten through the rest of the afternoon without projectile vomiting on any more personal items. Progress.

Oscar wandered in, a granola bar half-unwrapped in one hand, still in his race suit tied off at the waist.

He flopped into the chair opposite her, stretched his legs out, and with no preamble at all, said, “Happy pregnancy, by the way.”

Amelia blinked. “Oh,” she said flatly. “So it’s obvious, then.”

Oscar shrugged. “To me? Yeah. You’ve been chewing your pen caps like you’re trying to murder them, you haven’t had coffee in three days, and you were sick in my race boots, so.”

She tilted her head. “That’s a lot of observation for someone who thinks toothpaste is spicy.”

He laughed. “I’m very detail-oriented. And still peeved about my boots.”

She groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said, far too magnanimous. “They were hideous anyway.” There was a pause. Then he added, “Honestly, everyone else just assumed it was heat stroke.”

Amelia lifted a brow. “And you didn’t?”

“Nope.” He took a bite of the granola bar. “You go green when you have heat stroke. You went green this time, so I knew it was different.”

She barked a short laugh. “That’s horrifying.”

“And accurate,” he said, chewing. “So… Lando knows, obviously?”

“Yeah. He made me pee on a stick at six in the morning. Then I had to go and get blood drawn to confirm it.”

Oscar winced. “Disgusting. Anyway—congrats, I guess.”

“Thanks. And sorry again about the shoes.”

Oscar leaned back in the chair, arms behind his head like he hadn’t been personally victimised. “Eh. If the kid turns out to be a world champion, I’ll tell this story in the Netflix documentary.”

“Can’t wait,” she deadpanned.

They sat in silence for a moment. Then, with a smirk that was all mischief and no sympathy, Oscar added, “Next time, at least aim for Lando’s sneakers. His fans would pay for them.”

Amelia snorted into her Sprite. “God, you’re vile.”

“I know. And yet you can’t get rid of me,” he said, and stood up, already texting someone; probably Lando.

She groaned again. Loudly.

—

The Yas Marina Circuit always felt like the end of something.

By the time the sun dipped beneath the glowing skyline and the lights snapped on around the track, the paddock was buzzing with the familiar edge of finality. Mechanics moved with that distinct rhythm—half instinct, half exhaustion. Cameras flashed. Engines roared. And on the McLaren pit wall, Amelia sat completely still, headset pressed tight, her eyes fixed on Oscar’s live telemetry.

No one would’ve known she was pregnant. No one would’ve guessed she’d thrown up in her colleague’s race boots less than 24 hours earlier. No one would’ve known that she’d spent the flight to Abu Dhabi Googling “why does pregnancy make you feel like your body is a hostile foreign nation” or that she’d quietly rested her head on Lando’s shoulder for the last twenty minutes of final practice, just to stay upright.

But now? Now she was fine. More than fine. Because when it came to the race, Oscar’s race, she was always prepared to lock in.

Oscar had qualified well. Not perfect, but decent. Enough to put him in the fight.

Lando, meanwhile, had his own race to run, starting P5. Amelia didn’t let herself think about his car in the first ten laps. She’d gotten very good at compartmentalising again. Still, every now and then, she could feel his presence, could hear his voice from earlier:

“One more race. Then we get a break. Then we breathe.”

God, how she wanted to breathe.

The race itself was tense. Ferrari and Mercedes were locked in their Constructors’ battle, chaos unfolding all across the midfield. Amelia kept her voice calm on Oscar’s radio.

“Strat 7, we’re going to offset slightly from Gasly ahead.”

“Understood.”

“Clean exit turn 3. Good traction now. Let’s build.”

He listened. He always listened.

Mid-race, Oscar made an aggressive but beautifully timed overtake, and Amelia let herself smile—just a little.

Lando, a few positions ahead, was holding ground. Quietly, steadily. Nothing dramatic. Amelia could handle steady. Steady felt manageable.

The final laps bled together like watercolour under pressure. Amelia felt her stomach twist, nausea creeping up again. She ignored it. She had work to do.

In the end?

Oscar crossed the line P6.

Lando, P4.

Respectable. Solid. A good end to a hard-fought season.

When Oscar pulled in and killed the engine, Amelia finally took a long breath and peeled off her headset. Her hands were trembling. Whether it was adrenaline, hormones, or just sheer relief, she couldn’t tell.

Lando found her on the pit wall not long after, hair sweaty, fireproofs unzipped halfway.

“Hey,” he said, brushing her shoulder lightly. “You okay?”

She looked at him for a long moment, the smile tugging at her lips slow and almost reluctant.

“I am now.”

He grinned. “We did it.”

She snorted. “You did it. I just puked in Oscar’s boots and managed his brake maps.”

Lando bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You did both with tremendous style.”

Somewhere nearby, champagne exploded. But for Amelia, the noise faded into the background. The season was over. They were having a baby. They’d finished best of the rest.

And the MCL38-AN was going to be an absolute masterpiece.

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jellybonbons · 11 months ago

Text

Sweet Tooth or Sweet Cravings?

Kenji Sato x fem!reader

Summary: When a chocolate company sent Ken a PR package, he ate the chocolates without thoroughly inspecting them, and, well...things took an unexpected turn.

CW: 18+ (mdni), established relationship, aphrodisiac chocolates, implied panty sniffing, masturbation, fingering, squirting, creampie, unprotected sex, pet names.

Words: 1.5k

AN: this is just an excuse for me to write him like he's in heat :3

Today 4:12 PM

Ken <3: can you come home? its an emergency

The moment you saw his text, your heart skipped a beat. Without a second thought, you clocked out early and made a beeline for the parking lot. You had never driven so fast in your life, and you were sure you almost broke the gas pedal from how hard your heels were pressing on it.

The city streets blurred past you, your mind racing with worry and a thousand scenarios of what could have gone wrong. You barely noticed the honking horns or the changing traffic lights, and your focus was solely on getting to Ken as quickly as possible.

As you reached Ken's home, you punched in the code with shaking fingers, and the door swung open almost instantly. You dropped your bag near the entrance, not caring where it landed, and stumbled inside, quickly sliding off your heels as you hurried to find him.

Rounding the corner into the living room, you saw Ken from behind, his broad shoulders rising and falling with each laboured breath. "Ken, are you ok–" The sight caught you off guard. There he was, panting heavily, glistening with sweat, eyes half-closed as he stroked his cock. It stood proudly and flushed in a deep red colour. His other hand clutched your panty from this morning.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry you have to–fuck,” the moment he saw you, his body tensed, and with a guttural moan, he finally came, his cum coating his hand and abdomen.

As he sprawled against the couch, you took a moment to look around the living room. Your eyes landed on a box of half-eaten chocolates on the coffee table. Curiosity piqued, you picked up the box and examined it closely. The label read "Aphrodisiac Chocolates" in a small, elegant script. Realisation dawned on you, and you couldn't help but let out a small, incredulous laugh. Ken had unknowingly consumed aphrodisiacs, and now the situation made a lot more sense.

You sat down next to him on the couch, eyes wide with concern. "Ken, what the hell? Are you okay?"

"I—I’m really sorry. I didn’t expect this... I think I overdid it with those chocolates."

"Those weren’t just chocolates, were they?"

"No, they were aphrodisiac chocolates. I didn’t check the label...clearly, I should have," he growled, frustration evident in his voice as he discarded your panty from his hand.

"Yeah, I can see that. It’s obvious they did more than just satisfy a sweet tooth," you smirked, leaning closer, your breath teasing against his ear.

"You’re not helping, you know." His eyes narrowed at you, a mix of frustration and desire burning within them.

Before you could respond, Ken, overwhelmed by the effects and your teasing, pulled you down onto him. He ground his hard-on between your thighs, his breath coming out in ragged bursts as he tried to find some relief.

"Ken, what—" You gasped, your voice filled with surprise.

"I need you. Right now. Please, help me." His voice was husky and urgent, his need unmistakable.

–

You lost track of time, the sky outside turning dark as the house became dimly lit. Your clothes were strewn everywhere, and he had taken you on every possible surface – from the coffee table to the expansive living room window overlooking the ocean, and now on his bed.

He didn't hesitate for a moment, his desire insatiable. Somehow, he even managed to feed you the aphrodisiac chocolates during heated kisses, deepening the intensity of your connection with each touch and taste that seemed impossible to quench.

"Baby," you moaned, your voice trembling with need. He had your hands pinned against the headboard, his grip firm and unyielding. His chest pressed against your back, warm and solid, as his fingers delved into your wet cunt, moving with a relentless rhythm that left you breathless.

The squelching sound filled the room, adding to the erotic symphony that drove him even harder. Your back arched with every expert stroke, each thrust of his fingers hitting the perfect spot over and over, sending waves of pleasure coursing through your body.

“Ken, wait!” you gasped, feeling a strange pressure building within you. “I feel like I’m gonna pee.”

He didn’t falter for a second, his fingers maintaining their relentless rhythm. “Just let go, princess,” he murmured, his voice a mix of encouragement and command. “The sheets are already dirty anyway.”

His words and the relentless thrusting of his fingers broke down your resistance. With a cry of both pleasure and relief, you let go, your body trembling as you squirted, the sensation overwhelming. Ken’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he continued to work you through it, his fingers drenched in your release.

“Atta girl,” he murmured, his voice low and approving. “Just like that.”

As Ken finally released your hands, you let them slide down, resting them beside you—the dampness of the wet sheets clinging uncomfortably to your skin, causing you to grimace. You took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the rapid pace of your breathing, and allowed yourself a moment to regain composure.

Ken, still insatiable and eager, looked at you with a determined glint in his eyes. “It’s my turn now,” he said, his voice rough with need. You, sore and spent, protested weakly, “Baby, I’m so beat... I don’t know if I can handle much more.”

He silenced your concerns with a reassuring smile and a quick, decisive movement. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything,” he said, his tone filled with confidence. With a firm grip, he lifted you effortlessly and positioned you on his lap, your legs spread and held against your chest. He manoeuvred you into a perfect angle and guided his hard cock to your still-sensitive cunt.

“Fuck, Ken, too deep!” you cried out, your voice trembling as you struggled to adjust to the overwhelming sensation. Saliva dribbled from your lips, a testament to the intense pleasure and exhaustion.

Ken's voice was a low, teasing murmur against your ear. “But you love it when I go deep like this,” he cooed, his tone dripping with mockery. He squeezed you closer, his grip firm and possessive, restricting your movements and trapping you in place.

The way he moved, controlling every motion and maximising your pleasure, made you feel like nothing more than his personal plaything, his fleshlight. Each powerful thrust sent your breasts bouncing. Your head leaned back against him, the sensation overwhelming as his movements were both demanding and dominant, ensuring you felt every inch of him, leaving you breathless and helpless under his command.

Finally, with a guttural groan that reverberated through the room, Ken’s body tensed, and a shudder ran through him as he reached his peak. His hot cum spilling deeply inside you, a wave of warmth that filled you completely.

He collapsed against you, his breath coming in deep, shuddering gasps as he buried his face in your hair, staying fully inside you. As he caught his breath, he managed to joke through his ragged breaths, “I think I’ll have to give that chocolate company a review —'5 stars for effectiveness!'”

You weakly slapped his arms, a small, affectionate smile tugging at your lips despite the fatigue. “You’re impossible,” you murmured, barely able to muster the energy to respond.

He then gently shifted his position, moving his hand to cup your chin and guide your face towards his. His eyes, soft and tender, met yours as he leaned in to press a gentle, affectionate kiss to your lips.

Pulling back slightly, he whispered with a teasing smile, “But you love me.”

“Unfortunately.” You responded with a playful sigh.

–

You were scrolling through your phone during lunch, your thoughts drifting as you ate, when a familiar company caught your eye. You paused, intrigued by a screenshot of a review with the username Notkensato07. The review was under a popular chocolate company, and as you read the lines, you couldn’t help but groan.

Notkensato07: ★★★★★

"Absolutely incredible! I tried the aphrodisiac chocolates and they were so effective, my girlfriend’s still recovering. If you want a taste of heaven—and maybe a little bit of chaos—this is your go-to. 5 stars, but if I could give it more, I would!

⤷ 241 replies

g0urmetguru: More than 5, huh? That’s some serious praise. I’m curious, how long did the effects last? Asking for a friend 😉

sillysocks76: IS THIS KEN SATO?

ChefRemyDaRat: Wow, talk about a rave review! If it’s that good, I’m buying a box for sure 🔥

chocolateroses: LMAOOO! I hope your girlfriend’s recovery is going well, man!

SweetToothSteve: Wow, this sounds wild! I’ve heard aphrodisiac chocolates are hit-or-miss, but this sounds like a game-changer. Guess I’ll be adding these to my shopping list!

jellybonbons: Nah, that’s cap.

⤷ chikinuggie: You’re just salty because you got no hoes.

⤷jellybonbons: (comment removed for harassment)

⤷jellybonbons: Wtf? why is my comment removed n not chikin for bullying?!

⤷ chikinuggie: The truth hurts, doesn’t it?

⤷ SweetToothSteve: Alright, kids, play nice! 😂

–

Shocked by the boldness of his review, you yelled out his name in disbelief, “SATO!”

Ken, who had been skipping around the living room as part of his exercise routine, froze mid-skip. The sudden outburst made him lose his rhythm, causing him to trip over his own feet.

“Oh shit!”

Dividers by: @/chilumitos

#✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡ ˚#ken sato x reader #kenji sato x reader #ken sato smut #kenji sato smut #ken sato fanfic #kenji sato fanfic #ultraman rising fanfic #ultraman rising smut #ultraman rising x reader

2K notes · View notes

heliosunny · 4 months ago

Note

Yandere!Phainon with a reader who tries to run away but with the song- "veronica, open the door" from meant to be yours ifyk wht mean......

Ah, Heathers. You have no idea how much I love it.

Meant to be yours

Yandere!Phainon x Reader

Valentine’s Day was always an eventful time.

You weren’t exactly famous, but you had enough admirers to receive a decent number of gifts every year—small tokens of appreciation, letters with clumsy handwriting, and carefully wrapped sweets. It was harmless. Fun, even.

This year was no different. The morning started with a few gifts waiting for you, a mix of chocolates and little trinkets from people who admired you from afar. Phainon watched with mild disinterest as you sorted through them, his sharp gaze flicking over each item with the wariness of a guard dog.

"You really accept anything from anyone, don’t you?"

"It’d be rude not to. And most of these are just harmless chocolates."

Phainon didn’t seem convinced, but he let it go—until later that evening when you bit into one of the sweets and felt a sharp, searing pain tear through your mouth. The metallic taste of blood spread instantly, and you recoiled, coughing as you spit out the candy. A glint of something sharp caught the light, coated in crimson.

Phainon was at your side in an instant. His fingers gripped your chin, tilting your head so he could see the damage. His expression darkened, eyes narrowing as his gaze flickered between your bleeding lip and the candy on the floor.

"Who gave this to you?"

You barely managed to answer. You had seen Phainon irritated before, but this was something different.

Phainon didn’t give you a choice. One moment, you were still reeling from the pain, and the next, he had you on your feet, practically dragging you out the door.

"Phainon—!" You tried to protest, but his grip on your wrist tightened.

"You’re going to the doctor" he said, his voice eerily calm, but the way his nails dug into your skin betrayed the tension in his body. "No arguments."

The trip was a blur. You were vaguely aware of Phainon keeping an arm around your shoulders, his pace quick and his grip firm, as if he expected you to collapse at any second. The moment you stepped into the clinic, he didn’t even let you speak for yourself.

"My friend ate some sweets" he informed the doctor, "Something sharp was inside."

"You're lucky you didn't swallow it." the doctor said, peering into your mouth with a critical eye. "The cut isn't too deep, but it'll be sensitive for a while. Avoid anything too hot, spicy, or hard to chew. And definitely no more mystery chocolates."

You winced as they dabbed disinfectant on the wound. You felt Phainon's entire body tense beside you and his gaze burning into the side of your face, but you didn’t dare turn to look at him.

The doctor sighed, scribbling something down. "Just be careful. If you start feeling unwell, dizziness, nausea—anything unusual—come back immediately. But for now, you're fine to go."

You muttered a small thanks before sliding off the chair, but before you could even move toward the door, Phainon’s hand was already on your wrist.

He didn’t let go.

Not even on the way home.

That night, you lay in bed, staring at the dim light of your phone screen.

Phainon [11:07 PM]: Does it still hurt?

You sighed, rolling onto your side before replying.

You [11:09 PM]: It's fine. Just a little sore. You [11:09 PM]: Stop worrying so much.

He didn’t reply right away, but you could see the three little dots appearing and disappearing as if he kept typing, deleting, and retyping his response.

Phainon [11:12 PM]: I’ll handle it.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard. Handle what?

You wanted to ask, but something in your gut told you not to.

Instead, you turned off your phone and tried to sleep.

The next morning, Phainon was already waiting for you outside, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. When he saw you, he immediately straightened, his gaze sweeping over you like he was checking for any signs of harm.

"Did anyone bother you last night?"

You blinked. "No? Why would they?"

He didn’t answer, but then, as you turned the corner, his body suddenly went rigid.

"Go inside"

You followed his gaze and spotted the person standing at the far end of the street. A man, older than you, dressed in plain clothes. He wasn’t doing anything suspicious, just standing near a lamppost, looking down at something in his hands.

"Phainon, what—"

"Inside."

You hesitated but took a few steps toward your door. When you turned back to glance at him, he was already walking toward the stranger.

At the time, you thought nothing of it.

But later that evening, the news spread.

A man had been found dead in an alley. His throat slit cleanly, the wound too precise to be from a random attack.

And when you saw Phainon again, there was a small, almost unnoticeable red stain on the sleeve of his jacket.

----

The room was dimly lit, the only illumination coming from the glow of Phainon’s phone screen. The soft click of his nails against the glass echoed through the silence as he scrolled through your social media.

His eyes flicking between posts, comments. He was thorough—checking likes, reactions, and replies. It was a routine now.

Then he found it.

An unusual profile.

The account was old but recently active. No personal photos, no real name, just vague posts and replies under your pictures. Nothing overtly hostile, but something was off.

His fingers hovered over the screen.

Phainon [12:47 AM]: Who are you?

The response was quick.

Unknown [12:48 AM]: Who’s asking?

A slow smirk curled at the corner of Phainon’s lips. Interesting.

Phainon [12:49 AM]: Someone looking to talk. Face-to-face.

Unknown [12:51 AM]: Lol. You’re coming off strong, man. What do you want?

Phainon [12:52 AM]: You seem close with Y/N. Thought I’d introduce myself.

The typing bubble appeared, vanished, then returned.

Unknown [12:55 AM]: …You’re not their boyfriend, are you?

Phainon’s grip on the phone tightened.

Phainon [12:56 AM]: Meet me tomorrow. Let’s talk.

He sent a location. An alley. Quiet, empty at night.

The typing bubble flickered again.

Unknown [12:57 AM]: Sounds shady as hell.

Phainon [12:58 AM]: Just a conversation. Unless you have something to hide?

Unknown [1:00 AM]: Fine.

The air was cold. The alley was dimly lit, Phainon leaned against the wall, idly spinning a cutter knife between his fingers. The silver blade glinted under the light.

Footsteps approached.

The man—young, nervous—stepped into the alley. He hesitated, shifting on his feet, eyes darting around.

"You’re the guy from the messages?" he asked, voice guarded.

"I am."

"You’re kinda creepy, man."

Phainon chuckled. "Am I? You’re the one lurking around my friend’s profile. You ask a lot of questions. Seem awfully curious about where they are."

"So what? You got a problem with that?"

"I do, actually."

The knife clicked as he extended the blade.

The man’s eyes flicked to the weapon, then back to Phainon’s face. "…Dude. You’re seriously pulling a knife on me?"

"That depends. Were you planning something?"

The man scoffed, shaking his head. "You’re insane. I just follow their posts. It’s not illegal."

"You’re right. It’s not."

The blade slashed upward, catching the man’s throat before he could react. A sharp, wet gasp escaped him as he stumbled back, hands flying to his neck, blood gushing between his fingers.

Phainon caught him before he could hit the ground, gently lowering him as if handling something delicate.

The man’s mouth opened, choking on air, struggling to speak.

Phainon crouched beside him, tilting his head. "You know," he murmured, "you’re right. Maybe you weren’t a threat. Maybe you were just some nobody with too much time on your hands."

The body twitched. The blood pooled. And Phainon wiped his blade clean against the man’s jacket before standing.

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair. Then, with the same casual ease as someone finishing an errand, he stepped over the body and walked away.

Tomorrow, he would check your social media again.

----

It didn’t stop with that first body.

The deaths began piling up. Some were dismissed as tragic accidents. Others, the authorities labeled as suicides.

The first was a boy from your school—a popular guy, known for his playful flirting with you. His body was found hanging in his bedroom one morning, the door locked from the inside. A suicide note was placed neatly on his desk. The handwriting matched his own.

But his friends swore he had been fine the day before.

Then there was the girl who used to compete with you academically, often smugly boasting about outscoring you on tests. She was found in a bathtub, wrists slit open. Her phone—dropped carelessly on the bathroom tiles—had messages on the screen. Ones she had apparently sent to herself.

"I’m sorry." "I can’t do this anymore." "Goodbye."

People mourned. Teachers gave sympathetic speeches. Candlelight vigils were held.

And Phainon?

He never said much.

Then, days later, another death. A boy who had confessed to you once, only to be rejected. He had jumped from the school rooftop. The security footage showed him stepping over the edge without hesitation.

No one had pushed him. No one was there.

And yet… the way he stood, completely still, right before he jumped—almost like he was listening to someone.

The pattern didn’t go unnoticed.

The police arrived at your school, officers questioning teachers and students alike. But no one knew anything. No connections were found. No evidence of foul play.

And Phainon?

He answered their questions with ease.

"I didn’t know them well." "I don’t think they were struggling, but I can’t say for sure." "It’s really tragic."

No one suspected him.

Then, one night, you learned the truth.

It was late. But you had left something at school- your book, forgotten in the rush to leave.

The campus was empty, eerily silent under the flickering streetlights. You moved quickly, slipping through the hallways, grabbing your thing, ready to go home.

But then you heard it. Someone's voice.

And there he was.

Phainon.

Standing in front of a student you vaguely recognized. A trembling figure backed against the wall, eyes wide with terror.

And in Phainon’s hand…

A stationery knife.

"You don’t have to do this..." the student whimpered.

"But I do, You’ve been getting too close."

"I-I won’t say anything, I swear—!"

"You think I trust you? Come on. Let’s make this easy. No unnecessary pain."

The knife glinted.

The student collapsed.

Phainon let the body fall, crouching beside it, tilting his head in quiet observation. Then, just like always, he wiped the blade clean and pocketed it.

You stumbled back, breath ragged. Your heartbeat pounded in your ears.

You had to leave.

You turned and ran, slipping away before he could notice.

The next morning, you couldn’t look at him.

Phainon greeted you as usual, "Did you sleep well?"

You didn’t answer.

"Something wrong? You seem off today."

You forced a nod, gripping your bag tight. Your palms were clammy.

And from that day on, you avoided him.

You didn’t speak. You didn’t text.

But Phainon didn’t like it.

It started with a knock at the door.

Your stomach twisted the moment you heard your mother’s voice: "Oh, Phainon! What a surprise! Come in, dear."

You sat frozen in your room, staring at the door as your mother led him inside.

"Is Y/N in?"

"Yes! Upstairs. Let me-"

"Ah," Phainon interrupted smoothly, voice as polite as ever. "No need to bother Y/N. I’ll just stop by another time."

Your mother laughed lightly. "Oh, don’t be silly! They’ll be happy to see you."

You weren’t happy to see him. You weren’t happy at all.

But the doorknob didn’t turn. There was no knock on your door.

Instead, after a moment, you heard his voice downstairs again.

"Actually, I have to run. Thank you for having me."

You thought you were safe.

You thought he had left.

But as you walked through the quiet streets that evening, heading anywhere but home, you felt it.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

His voice cut through the air, close.

You turned sharply. Phainon stood behind you. The dim streetlight cast eerie shadows across his face.

"I—"

"You haven’t been talking to me. You won’t even look at me." He took a step forward. "Did I do something?"

Your should pretend that it’s fine. Pretend you don’t know.

But the image of the knife, the blood, the lifeless bodies flashed in your mind. And before you could stop yourself, the words spilled out.

"I saw you."

"You what?"

"That night. At school. I saw you. I saw what you did."

"You’re not making any sense."

"Stop lying." Your voice wavered, but you forced the words out. "Just say it. Confess. Admit what you did."

"So....You’re scared of me."

"No....I..."

"Why? I did it for you-"

"Because I should be.. Because you're a murderer."

You turned and walked away. Left him standing there.

You didn’t look back.

Not even when he called your name.

----

Phainon was gone.

He didn’t show up at school.

No texts. No calls. No messages.

And somehow, that scared you more.

Because Phainon never left without a reason.

And whatever he was planning next…

You wouldn’t see it coming.

For days, Phainon didn’t return to school.

At first, you tried to convince yourself that it was over. That maybe—maybe—he had finally decided to leave you alone.

But then, the feeling started.

That creeping sensation of being watched.

At home. On the way to school. Even in broad daylight.

You stopped leaving your curtains open. You avoided walking alone. You tried to tell yourself that it was paranoia.

Then, one night, you saw him.

Through the window.

Standing across the street.

Watching.

And when your eyes met—

He smiled.

You kept your door locked. You double-checked the windows. You kept your phone close, ready to call for help.

BANG

You jolted awake.

Someone was pounding on your front door.

Your phone screen lit up. Phainon. Calling. Again. And again.

BANG, BANG, BANG.

You stayed frozen in bed, your breath shaky.

"Y/N… Open the door."

You squeezed your eyes shut. No. No, no, no.

"I know you’re awake."

You swallowed, forcing yourself to stay silent.

"Come on… just come out and talk to me."

"You used to talk to me." His voice was quieter now, almost sad. "Why won’t you talk to me anymore?"

"I miss you...."

You gripped your blanket tight, every muscle in your body locked up.

More knocking.

"Y/N, open the door please..."

"I won’t leave until you talk to me."

More pounding.

"Please, Y/N... I just want to see you. Everything I did.. I did it for you. I protected you, cared for you,.. Don't you see? I... was meant to be yours..."

No more pounding.

After awhile, you forced yourself to move, crawling out of bed, tiptoeing toward the window instead of the door. Hands trembling, you peeked through the blinds—

And there he was.

Not at the door anymore.

Standing in your yard. Staring straight up at your window.

His phone still in his hand.

Your own phone vibrated again. Another call.

Then, a message.

"I can see you."

You stumbled backward.

Another message.

"If you won’t open the door…"

The typing bubble appeared.

"I’ll come in myself."

Your hands shook as you backed away from the window, heart hammering so loud it drowned out the sound of your own breathing.

You can't seem to find a space to hide.

Click.

Did the door just unlocked? How? How?!

The door creaked open.

A hand clamped over your mouth. An arm wrapped around your torso, yanking you back before you could even scream.

Your muffled cries were useless as your back slammed against his chest.

"Shh," Phainon whispered against your ear. His grip tightened as you thrashed, "It’s okay, I’ve got you."

You tried to scream, but his palm pressed harder against your lips.

"You kept running. Kept hiding. That’s not very nice."

Tears pricked your eyes. You twisted in his grip, your nails digging into his wrist.

"I didn’t want to do it this way, but you left me no choice."

Do what?

"I took care of your parents."

Your eyes went wide, frantic, searching for any possible meaning—any possibility that you misheard him.

But he only smiled, voice gentle. "Don’t worry, they didn’t suffer."

No, no, no—!

Your scream was muffled against his hand, your entire body wracked with terror.

He killed them.

"You don’t have to be scared" he whispered. "You have me now. I’ll take care of you."

But just when his grip loosened slightly, and in a blind surge of desperation, you bit down on his hand.

"Ah—"

He flinched, just enough for you to break free.

You stumbled forward, sprinting toward the door. But the second you stepped into the hallway, you saw your parents. Sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood, eyes empty, throats slit clean.

A sharp, ugly scream tore out of you.

The world spun. Your knees buckled.

-----

Your body was heavy.

Something soft beneath you—a bed. But the air felt wrong.

Not your room.

Your head throbbed as your eyes fluttered open.

"Finally awake?"

You turned your head slowly to see Phainon sat at the edge of the bed.

"Sorry about earlier" he murmured. "I know that was… a lot to take in."

Your hands clenched the sheets.

"But it’s okay now," he continued, leaning forward. "You’re safe here. No more bad people. No more threats."

He reached forward, his fingers brushing your cheek with disturbing tenderness.

"You’ll start your new life here," he whispered. "With me."

----

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ If you don’t see me posting as often, it’s either because I’m busy or feeling sick. I have over 130 requests, but I’m working on the plots and will finish some of them soon!

#yandere x reader #yandere #honkai star rail #hsr x reader #hsr x you #yandere honkai star rail #yandere hsr x reader #phainon hsr

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hedwig221b · 4 months ago

Note

I gotta ask now since I’m not seeing it in the rec list, do you have any good recommendations for jock Derek stories?

I do 💕

Cut to the Bone by standinginanicedress

“Not that it’s any of your god damn business, but my name is Stiles. Do you need something?” The alpha grins. All teeth, shiny white, straight as an arrow. He’s got this sculpted perfection to him that Stiles is sure has worked on all the omegas he’s ever encountered before, but Stiles stands his ground and narrows his eyes. “A date.” Stiles looks him up and down, slowly, from the black shoes on his feet, to his uniform khakis and blazer littered with pins, to his face. He frowns, makes a face, and says, “pass.”

Pong Me, Bro by LadyDrace

Stiles doesn't date jocks, because it seems like all they do is prance around making a spectacle of themselves to impress whoever they're trying to hook up with. It's pathetic, and Stiles isn't into it. Which is probably why it somehow completely escapes his notice that one particular jock is determined to catch his eye.

You Look Like Bad News (i gotta have you) by standinginanicedress

Option A : violently tell Derek that they are under no circumstances ever to hook up again because it was stupid and dumb. Option B : tell Scott the truth, stand back and watch as Scott kills Derek with his bare hands so Stiles doesn't even have to face the music. Not an option at all, actually. Expunge this from the record. The real Option B : calmly explain to Derek that the situation is too fucked up and hey, maybe if Derek and Scott ever shake hands and make up, he and Stiles can hook up again because, man…it was great. Option C : forget everything, charge headfirst into danger like fuckin' Bravehart and have sex with Derek all over again. Option D : bury himself alive and wait for the worms to eat him.

soluble by HalfFizzbin

Derek comes back after summer break all hot, beardy and brace-less. Stiles honestly has no idea what everyone's freaking out about.

When the Rose Blooms by DevilishBittersweet

The first time Derek saw him was at a football game. There he was, cheering loudly for number 12, leaning over the bar in front of the bleachers. His nose was bright red due to the cold night air. His messy hair was half covered by a loose beanie. His skin was almost translucent under the large stadium lights. Derek’s acute sight could pick up the small moles that covered his face. Derek could hear his heart beat thrumming loudly in his chest out of excitement. He saw his friends around him. But Derek had his eyes set only on him.

Sandbox Love is Forever by Dexterous_Sinistrous

Being at different colleges, miles apart, meant that they’d likely be too busy for each other. An unstoppable force tearing them apart. But he could hold on for now. “Okay,” Stiles shakily answered, clearing his throat before continuing, “I’ll go with you after the game.” The corners of Derek’s lips started to turn up into a small but hopeful smile. It was different from the smile Derek did for football. It was always more personal—genuine—when he looked at Stiles.

A Thousand Fiery Suns of Angst - Just Press Play by apocryphal

All Stiles wants from life is to learn to control his magic, keep his grades up, and not die horribly while saving Beacon Hills from supernatural threats. It's all going pretty well until Derek Hale, werewolf extraordinaire, has to go and ask him on a date. That asshole.

Made Your Mark on Me (A Golden Tattoo) by writteninthewolfstar

Beacon Hills High and Lycan Heights High are well-known enemies. Derek Hale, Lycan Heights' star quarter-back, is well-known for being aggressive and arrogant. Imagine Stiles surprise when he discovers that Derek Hale is actually his soul-mate.

loving him is red by allhalethekings

"Who’s that?” Stiles asks, eyes not leaving the table. “Who?” Scott asks, following Stiles’s line of sight. “Him? That’s Derek Hale. And you better forget about him. He doesn’t date."

erroneous manoeuvres by slippingfromreality

"Hey, Stilinski!” Stiles clenches his teeth. “What do you want, Hale?” he shouts back, not bothering to turn around. The smug smirk that’s most likely waiting for him is already seared into his mind from overexposure. “A date!” the answer comes, still as loud, and most of the bystanders giggle or snort in Stiles’ direction. Stiles rolls his eyes. This is the third time this week. He’d complain that Hale’s jokes are getting pretty stale, but he’d probably be milking this situation for all that it’s worth, too, if their roles were reversed. “Wrong aisle,” he grouses back, “try the bakery section. I hear they have fresh tarts.” Or, in which Stiles grievously misjudged his bullying situation.

If I should stumble, catch my fall by Gorgeousgreymatter

Well, friendship is canceled. That's all Stiles can think when he walks into the locker room and finds it empty, with Scott's dumb werewolf ass completely AWOL despite the text message he'd received assuring him otherwise. Which wouldn't be that bad, if not for the fact that now Stiles is face to face with a very wet, very naked Derek Hale.

Kingdom By The Sea by kilaem

Lydia grabs his arm and pulls him down in the seat next to her. “When the hell did you find time to bag a guy like Hale?” “We’re friends,” Stiles feels his face heat up, and then the team are running out and Derek sees him and smiles. His blush gets worse. “Oh really?” “Our moms were friends, okay? We’ve been in diapers together.” “I thought you two hated each other.”

Game On by stilinskisparkles

Derek first sees him from across the quad four days into fall semester. He’s sitting on one of the long benches, a marker pen in his mouth, grinning at something the kid lounging on the bench beside him is saying. When he laughs properly he pulls the pen out and throws his head back, his neck a long, lean line Derek is entranced by. He flicks the page in his book and highlights something, tossing the cap up in the air and catching it with his teeth.

[masterlist link]

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indulgentdaydream · 1 year ago

Text

I added these two together. I hope you guys don’t mind! Since I added them together I’m also making this a two parter. My first one ever!!

Comparisons Pt.1

Jason Todd x Jealous!Insecure!Fem!Reader || Angst/Fluff || Word Count: 2,488

Part 2

Warnings: not proofread as of yet. Maybe will after i post who knows

After a six hour morning shift as a dishwasher, you were ready to head home.

It was the early afternoon, your shift having ended at 12. It was sunny. Warm, but not too hot. You were still in your work clothes, simple black pants and a black t shirt, your tote bag full of belongings over your shoulder. It was nice weather for the half hour walk you had back to your apartment. Better than the weather you’ve faired before.

Jason usually picked you up after your shifts, no matter where he was, as long as he wasn’t on patrol. He never wanted you to be seen in public near the Red Hood. He didn’t want you as a target.

“It’s bad enough I come straight here after patrol some nights.” He had said once.

“I’m just that irresistible, eh?” You had smiled.

He laughed, kissing your shoulder, “Damn right, baby.”

This day, though, you knew he was busy with a certain case he was working on. One he wouldn’t tell you about. He had been hard at work on it for the last few weeks, barely able to make much time for you. You didn’t mind. He tried as much as he could, even if it ended up being a five minute phone call, or a visit in the middle of night in between beaten-up thugs.

The sun hits your face and warms your skin in a comfortable way. Your headphones blocked out the Gotham noise, making the moment more enjoyable. Your favourite music instead of honking horns, sounds of engines, distant sirens, and people yelling.

You were stuck in your own world. You began thinking of asking Jason if he wanted to take you for a ride on his bike later. If he was free. You knew it’d be hard for him to say no. He loved taking you for rides. He didn’t have to say anything for you to know that.

You turn a corner, stuck in your head. Thinking about what you were going to do when you got home. You weren’t used to the morning shift.

You start your walk down the road, passing busy storefronts. Crystal shops. Pet stores. Mostly cafés and diners. You briefly considered working as a dishwasher at one of these places instead so you didn’t have to walk as far.

Maybe you and Jason could go to a diner tonight? That was a hopeful thought. There wouldn’t be time.

You’re walking past the third outdoor seating that takes up most of the sidewalk, small bistro tables hidden from the sun by large, white, beach-style umbrellas. Nearly identical to the two others you had passed, only different colour schemes.

You stare straight ahead, the extended seating narrowing the sidewalk and making it harder for people to walk around. You’re nearly halfway past the café when a hand reaches over breaching the shaded area and entering the sunlight to gently grasp onto your wrist.

You’re already twisting, ready to pull the mace Jason had bought you (though you more-so believe stolen from Batman himself, as you could see where he had scratched out the bat symbol on the canister) out of your tote bag and aim, when your eyes land on the owner of the arm, stretched across the thin barrier separating the seating from the sidewalk.

It’s Jason. His face hidden behind sunglasses, a small frown on his lips as he looks up at you from the shade. He waits for you to slip off your headphones before speaking.

“I was waving to you,” his thumb absentmindedly stroking the back of your hand. “You didn’t see?”

“Sorry,” You smile in relief at him, stepping closer to the barricade so as not to impede the flow of foot traffic. “I was more focused on getting around.”

There was someone sitting across from him. You didn’t think much of it at first. You saw red hair. That was regular with Jason, since he was always hanging around with Roy. Or Kory.

That’s who you thought it was. Roy. Nothing different at all. You turned to greet him, a smile ready on your face.

The second you clocked the pretty face, the waist-long, flowing, shiny red hair, your smile faltered.

Artemis gave you a sincere, friendly smile, her fingers swirling her straw in her cup.

Something churned in your stomach, “Hello.”

Jason’s grip on your wrist tightened slightly once, speaking up, “Why didn’t you call me to pick you up?”

You look back to him, “You said you were busy today.”

He frowns again. Technically, he had never said that. But it was true.

“Sit with us,” Artemis said, pointing behind her. “The entrance is there. We’re almost done anyways. Jason can drive you the rest of the way.”

You nodded, sending the best smile back to Artemis that you could muster in the moment.

As you approached, Jason reached towards the empty table behind him, flipping the chair and placing it at their own table, in between him and Artemis, facing where you had just been standing.

Something in the back of your mind noted how he didn’t even stand to do it, his face still pointed towards Artemis, his eyes concealed by his shades, hiding his expression. You sit down, placing your tote bag on the ground beside on, on your right, between you and Jason.

He picked it up and moved it onto the table without a word.

“This is my girlfriend,” Jason introduces you, his hands back on the table, folded in front of him. “This is Artemis. She’s helping me with my case.”

You nod, your mouth suddenly dry as she smiles at you again, “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she smiles again, stretching out plump lips to present straight, shiny teeth.

Jason’s quick goes back to talking with her about whatever they had been talking about before you had walked past, wrapping things up.

You weren’t even capable of listening at this point.

You trusted Jason. You’d always trust Jason. This was for the case and nothing more. You knew that.

Jason had never really spoke about Artemis before. He had mentioned her once, in the early months of your relationship. You had done something. He had later asked you not to, saying he had a bad memory of it from his ex. He had never even mentioned her name. You knew he didn’t like talking about her.

However, you had been out with Jason and Roy at a bar once. Roy had briefly mentioned Jason’s ex, since she was included in the story. Jason had changed the topic fast after that. Then when he’d gotten up to use to washroom, you’d asked Roy to tell you more about her.

“Just what she looks like,” You reasoned. “So I can recognize her if need be.”

Roy hesitated in telling you, but he still did.

You trusted Jason. However, you were losing trust in Roy. He had never mentioned how gorgeous this woman is.

Her skin was smooth. Not a blemish or wrinkle in sight. You tried not to stare, but you couldn’t help it. Her hair was perfect. Her skin flawless. On further inspection you even realized she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

She wasn’t wearing any makeup and she looked that good?

Artemis lifted her coffee cup to her lips, nodding to something Jason was saying. Nothing you understood, anyways. Even if you were listening. You caught sight of her flexed arm as she finished off the drink. She was strong. Probably worked out nearly as much as Jason, but far more slim than he was. But in a good way.

She smiled again, wide, displaying her pearly whites. You ran a tongue over your own teeth, pursing your lips quietly in thought. Yours weren’t anywhere near that.

Your arms suddenly felt itchy as you looked over Artemis’ again. You looked down. You needed to take your eyes off of her. You were being stupid. Jason had broken up with her. Jason had picked you. He had been dating you for nearly a year and a half.

Your eyes drifted to your own arms, spots of acne along biceps. No definition in sight. Your under eye bags suddenly felt like they were on broadcast. Your face felt gritty, your hand coming up to absentmindedly scratch at the break out you had along your cheek. The frizz of your own hair visible in the corner of your eyes.

You looked back up, looking out at the busy street. Jason had chosen you. Jason loved you. Jason kissed you everyday and always made sure to tell you how much he loved you.

Except in the past few weeks while he had been busy with this case.

Had he been working with her this whole time?

You glanced back down as Jason placed his hand on your knee. He always did this when you guys were out. You look back up at him. He’s leaning on the table with her other arm, straight-faced, nodding along to something Artemis was saying. Even her voice is pretty. Her tone carrying a confidence you were failing to find in the moment.

You looked back down to your own legs, Jason’s thumb moving lightly back and forth over the side of your knee. He didn’t even know he was doing it. He never did.

You looked over to Artemis’ legs, hidden underneath a pair of jeans. Even then you could see how skinny hers were. Could see that her thighs weren’t spilling off the sides of the small metal bistro chair.

Soon enough, she was standing, beginning to say her goodbyes. You swallowed thickly. She was tall too. An amazon, you remember Roy mentioning. How could you forget.

The crop top she was wearing fit her nicely, showing off her toned stomach and even dipping down at the neckline to show some cleavage.

You looked away, your arms folding across your stomach, hiding your own torso.

She smiles at Jason. You quickly look to Jason and find him smiling, too. A genuine smile. One he had yet to give you while you’d been sitting here.

You’re his girlfriend, you remind yourself. He loves you.

She smiles at you and gives her farewell. You can only nod. You watch as she leaves.

God. She was nice, too. Nicer than you had wanted to be to her.

She walks in the direction you had come from. Her hair flowing behind her, an expensive-looking purse hanging from her shoulder. Most men walking past stop to turn and look at her. She ignored them all.

That never happened to you. In fact, Jason had been the first guy to ever even ask you out. You never understood why you were his choice. Not when he was able to pull women like that.

Jason pats your knee and pulls you out of your thoughts, “Want to get anything before we go?”

You can’t even face him. She’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. A fucking amazonian warrior.

You stare down at the table, catching sight of your own hands. Your nails worn from your shift at the restaurant, fingertips still wrinkled from the water.

Why the hell would he ever stay with you if she was still in his life?

“No.” You finally answer. “Thank you.”

He nodded, sighing as he fished out his wallet to pay for their coffees. He counts the bills and change, speaking with his head down, “How many times have I told you not to walk around with your headphones on?”

You lift your head to look at him, “What?”

He doesn’t look at you, his eyes still hidden by his shades. “Your headphones. You get so lost in your music you couldn’t even see me waving to get your attention.”

Your fingers curled around the edge of the table, “I was looking past you. I didn’t expect to see you—”

“I was calling your name, too. If your headphones were off then you could’ve heard me.” He tossed a twenty onto the table, leaning forward on his elbows to look at you. “Anyone could sneak up on you.”

You pursed your lips, your brows tightening at him.

Why did she get a smile and not me?

Jason gestured to your bag on the table, “Same with this. The hell you putting it on the floor for? You wouldn’t notice it was taken until far too late—”

“You don’t have to drive me,” you interrupted. “I’ll walk.”

Jason cocked his head slightly, looking genuinely curious, “Why? Car’s right over there—“

“I’ll walk.” You repeated. Firmly.

You needed the walk. You had to try and work the jealousy out of your mind before you got into it with Jason. You didn’t want to argue. Not now. Not in public.

Jason sighed, running a hand over his mouth, “Don’t be like that.” He started to stand, his keys jingling in his hand, “Come on.”

He reached to take your bag for you, a large brown envelope already in his hand. Whatever Artemis had given him.

You reached out and snatched it from his hand. You stood, throwing it over your shoulder. “I’ll walk.”

Jason stared at you for a moment, seemingly frozen in place.

He sighed through his nose, “What’s wrong?”

You took a deep breath trying to control your emotions. This was stupid. Jason had broken up with her for a reason. Had been dating you for the last year and a half for a reason.

Unfortunately, your mouth was working faster than your mind, “Don’t act like you didn’t start this.”

Jason pushed his shoulders back. He tried again, “What’s wrong?”

You shook your head, frustrated.

“Fine,” he stuffed his free hand in his pocket. “Just don’t be wearing your headphones while walking around.“

You were tired. Your shift had been long. You were worked up from your mind running all the comparisons between you and Artemis. It was still running them, you suppose, as otherwise you wouldn’t have said, “I guess you wouldn’t have to worry about her all the time. She can handle herself.”

Jason’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, his first shown emotion since that smile he’d given her, “Who?” Then they shot up almost just as quickly. “Artemis? Is that was this is about?”

You felt your face heat up in embarrassment at his realization. He’d figured you out.

His shoulders tensed, “Do you really not trust me?”

The way he had said it, his tone, has made it sound like the silliest thing in the world. Now it made you feel even stupider. Of course you trusted him.

You caught people staring in the corner of your vision. You ducked your head back down.

You gripped your tote bag at the straps over your shoulder and stormed off.

You heard Jason call your name as you passed by him again, on the other side of the barrier, headed back to your apartment.

Hope you guys enjoyed!! Pt 2 will be out later this week!!

Update!! Part 2 is here!!!

Part 2

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #dc #red hood #jason todd fic #red hood x reader #jason todd x fem!reader #jason todd x you #red hood x you #missy writes #ask missy #jason todd x y/n #dc x y/n #dc x fem!reader #dc x you #dc x reader #dc fic #red hood x fem!reader #red hood fic

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maimurariki · 6 months ago

Text

Soft spot - nrk.

-I need you cause you’re everything that I’m not.

| pairing: delinquent!riki x rich girl!Reader.

| synopsis: in which you, the perfect, rich, and popular student helps the schools feared delinquent with a few small injuries.

• *+. Wrote this at 12 am! enjoy and reblog if you can🍂

You were sitting in class, talking with a few of your friends after the teacher finished the lesson for the day. It was fifth period, about an hour after lunch. You heard that there had been a fight, but didn’t look too much into it. In the midst of chatting with your friends, your head began to hurt. After trying to ignore it, you quickly asked your teacher for the pass to the infirmary.

After walking the halls for a while, you reached the infirmary. There you saw a boy sitting on a nurse bed with a disgruntled expression. His face and arms had a few bruises, two open wounds on his face bleeding. One on top of his left eyebrow, and one on his bottom lip. He looked like he had just gotten into a fight. The boy sat alone, looking quite lonely. Seeing your appearance in the doorway, he raised his eyebrows, observing you for a moment before turning his head the other way, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

There you stood, not really knowing what to do. You had looked over at the nurse, who wasn’t even bothering to help him. Did people fear him that much?

Your eyes went back to him, your lips moving before you could even think.

“Do you… need any help?”

The boy scoffed at the your offer, his eyes narrowing as he looked you up and down with disdain. “I don’t need your damn help. Especially not from someone like you.”

He turns away from you, wincing slightly as he examined the bruise on his arm. After a moment, he mutters under his breath.

“Besides. Those morons wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me. ‘Would rather let me bleed out if you ask me.”

He chuckled darkly, but there’s a hint of pain in his eyes - pain that goes beyond just physical wounds. His tough exterior cracks for just a second before he plasters that cynical expression back on his face, glaring at you.

“So why don’t you run along? Don’t want you getting your pretty hands dirty with someone like me.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, looking at the nurse leave the infirmary, excusing herself from the awkward situation. You walked over and grabbed a first aid kit, standing in front of him.

Riki’s eyes widen slightly as you approached him with the first aid kit, clearly not expecting you to stick around. He watched warily as you set it down on the bed beside him.

“What, you’re actually going to bandage me up, or are you just here to gawk at me?” He said sarcastically, but there’s a small hint of curiosity in his voice. Like he can’t quite believe you’re still trying to help him. As you start to unravel the bandages, Riki jerks his arm away, scowling.

“I said I don’t need your help. Just leave it, alright? I can handle myself.” His tone is sharp and defensive, he’s used to being independent. To not rely on others. But he doesn’t move away when you try again, his tough exterior showing some cracks in the face of your kindness.

“Why’re you doing this anyway? You barely know me.”

You froze for a split second. He was right. You had only ever heard his name pumping your peers, but obviously didn’t know him personally. So why were you doing this? You continued to bandage his arm, a small shrug coming from you.

“I… don’t know. I just felt like it.”

Riki stared at you intently, searching your face for any hint of deception. After a long moment, he let out a restated sigh.

“Fine. Do what you want. Just don’t expect me to be grateful or anything like that.” He sat motionless as you started to clean and dress his wound, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

But every so often, he’ll glance over at you, like he can’t quite believe you’re still there. As you finish wrapping the last bandage, Riki flexes his arm experimentally.

Your hand lingered on his skin for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. He freezes at the unexpected contact, a muscle in his jaw ticking.

“There. Happy now?” He doesn’t pull away though. Doesn’t even move. It’s like he’s caught between the desire to shove her hand off, but also a strange urge to lean into her touch.

Soon realizing, you pull your hand away, studying his facial features. You notice the cuts on his face too, noticing that t your work isn’t quite done here yet.

“Hold on a sec, there’s cuts on your face… let me get those.” You sat down and leaned closer to his face, cleaning the cuts.

Riki stiffens as you move closer, your face now mere inches from his. He can see the details of you that he’s never noticed - the long, dark lashes, the softness of your eyes, and the careful way you touch him.

It’s unnerving, this close proximity to someone showing him such gentle care. His voice comes out softer than intended, almost a growl, he there’s no bite to it.

“You’re… too close.” He mutters, not moving back but not pushing you away either. It’s a half-hearted protest, a last-ditch effort to maintain his barriers.

As you clean the cuts, he watches your hands. They’re steady, and your touch, though light, is warm. It’s.. not unpleasant.

He realizes he’s been holding his breath and exhales slowly, the action more revealing than intended.

When you’re done, you lean back a bit.

“There. You look good as new.” You softly smiled.

Riki hesitates for a moment, the soft smile on your face doing something strange to his insides. He sits there, a mixture of confusion and a warmth he can’t rember feeling before.

His gruff exterior fades slightly, replaced by a genuine, albeit halting attempt to respond.

“Yeah… thanks.” He mumbles, looking down to avoid meeting your gaze directly. His next words are muttered to himself than to her “never had someone… do that for me before.”

The, unable to stop himself, he adds with a hint of defiance. “But don’t make a habit out of it, alright? I can handle myself just fine.” Even as he says it, his voice lacks the usual bite. It’s almost as if he’s trying to convince himself more than you.

You nodded, standing up and giving him what looked to be a sweet strawberry candy. “Here. You need it after the sour day you’ve had.”

His hand hovers above yours before he finally takes the candy, his large, calloused thumb unable to mask its delicate wrapper. “Thanks.” He manages, voice barely above a whisper.

You got up and made your way for the door, smiling to to yourself.

Riki’s gaze follows you, a mix of emotions playing across his face. Confusion, surprise, and something else he can’t quite place. He’s not used to such acts of kindness, especially from someone like you. Popular, wealthy, everything he’s always resented.

He clears his throat, almost as if he was arguing with himself.

“Hey.”

You stop in the doorway if the infirmary, not turning around.

“Stay away from guys like me, you hear? It’s…better that way.”

It’s a warning. A push, an attempt to maintain the distance he’s always kept. But there’s a hint of protectiveness in there, and note of genuine concern. He’s not used to caring, but something about you makes him want to shield you from the ugliness he knows all too well.

You look over your shoulder, eyes looking directly into his. The sunlight from the infirmary windows gracing onto your face and figure in the doorway.

“Okay.” You gave him a small smile before walking out, going back to your class.

Riki watched you leave, his eyes glued to the spot where you once stood in the doorway, bathed in the golden sunlight. There was a strange feeling in the boys chest, an unfamiliar tightness that’s neither pain or discomfort.

…

The boy had only known you for thirty minutes, yet he’s already gained a soft spot for you.

inspired from ‘soft spot’ by Keshi.

#enhypen #enhypen drabbles #enhypen niki #niki x reader #nishimura riki #heeseung x reader #jake sim scenarios #enhypen fluff #enhypen x reader #sunghoon x reader #sunghoon scenarios #jay park x reader #sunoo scenarios #sunoo x reader #jungwon x reader #jungwon scenarios #jay park scenarios

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itstheghostofmypast · 3 months ago

Text

Baby Steps

Domestic AU Choi San x (F)Reader

Summary: He wanted to be better- no- the best man you had ever seen.

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 2.5 K

Est. Read Time: 12 min

Warnings: Toxic Father, Abandonment Issues

Rating: PG-17

Type: One-shot

Networks: @k-labels

Banner: @cafekitsune

A/N: GUESS WHO'S BACK!?

“I like it.” You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest, staring at your husband who was standing there in all his suited glory, all tired and exhausted from a hard day's work, his not so narrow shoulders barely fitting in the small doorframe of your even smaller washroom as he sighed at your persistent banter.

“It's the disco ball isn't it.”

“Of course it's the disco ball!”

That confession and a little pout was all it had taken for the two of you to move from your extremely cramped studio apartment to a slightly better and bigger studio apartment, with more sunlight and surface area- taking with you, your mismatched furniture, potted plants and your LED monitor screen the two of you used as a TV. The two or you had spent your entire Saturday morning moving into and unpacking, setting things where they belonged in your new little home.

“See.” You huffed, landing on your back with a light thump on the mattress next to your worn out mountainous man, staring up at the ceiling, smiling when you felt him lace his fingers with yours.

“All I see is that we finally have a decent sized fridge.”

You smiled at his statement and sat on your elbows, staring at the monitor screen, “Oh~ it'll rain tomorrow!” You exclaimed, ignoring the way he groaned in response, turning to the other side, holding his ground when you pulled on his shoulder to face you, “Shall we have some soup tomorrow!? I'll bring the ingredients on my way back! OooooOo we could make this noodle soup recipe I found!”

San closed his eyes and stood his ground, resisting against your will for him to lay on your back, he just needed a 15 minute nap to recharge, but he had a feeling he was not going to blessed with it, not because of your constant yapping, no he liked your yapping, it rang like the little bells you'd here when Tinkerbell spoke, it was the bubbling guilt within him that had kept him up all night, had him sigh in defeat when you had rested you head against his chest, wrapping your limbs around him, had him frowning while packing, had him zoning out while he drove the two of you to your new home. To be fair, he should have told you but- SMACK

He winced at the smack, his shoulder aching, as the skin of his exposed shoulder stung because of the impact, causing him to sigh in defeat as he closed his eyes to rest for a few minutes. He felt the bed shake as you stood up, your grumbling voice tickling his ears as he rubbed his bare shoulder, wondering if you were upset with him for it too. You had to be, right? Any sane person would be mad at spending their biggest bonus on a rent deposit, something a man usually takes care of, it's not that you had said this to him, no, you'd never say anything like this, but it was true, it was a man’s job to provide, that's what he had promised when he had gotten down on one knee, to protect you, cherish you and give you a perfect life, comfortable life that you had always deserved. It's something he had promised you to make sure you didn't have to live the same life your mother did.

All your life you had seen your mother working, at least that's what you remembered. The memory of your father was a blur, and if you had a say yourself, you'd say your brain had deleted the file. There was no need to remember a man who had chosen his mistress over his wife, especially because his mistress was having a son. So, since that unfortunate night, you had seen your mother work tirelessly, to give you a good life, now, that did not involve luxuries, but she strongly endorsed a good education, healthy meals and a roof over your head.

There were moments in your life where you'd barely see that poor woman, who was busy doing odd jobs after her shift would end at her day job, from bagging groceries to baby sitting to making lunch meals for offices to even working in your school cafeteria part time- did you get bullied for that? Yes, you did, though all that had done was push you to study harder, work harder, and to end up earning a life that would allow your mother to quit all her jobs and then you'd be the one providing for her, giving her a comfortable life.

The moment you had confessed that to Choi San he was whipped, on the floor, down right rolling on the ground for you- the only problem was, that you had told him this as soon as you had rejected his offer on a date, ensuring that you respect him as a colleague and telling him how you do believe that he is a great person, but that you had no time or interest in men, given the lack of existence of a male figure in your and the dire need to give your honest, hardworking and loving mother the life she deserved. Fortunately for you, fate had sent your way a God sent blessing, one who effortlessly had worked day and night to gain your approval, from showing you how your father was not what a “true man” was supposed to be, to lending you a hand once and a while- and let's not talk about how he had to earn your mother's approval.

Whether you'd like to admit it or not, gaining her approval was not as difficult as you had believed it to be, as you had wanted it to be. In fact, the moment Choi San had brought you home, all soaked to the bone and shivering- your bus had broken down and you had to run home, ironically he lived in the same direction- holding you close as the two of you waited for your mother to open the apartment door, you had begun to realise how you had lost this battle, especially when you noticed the way your mother had invited him into your place of residence, urging that he too should stay for warm soup- and even though you had tried to protest, something that had San almost leaping out the window (mind you, only because he wanted to do nothing but make you feel comfortable, and if his absence did so, then he would disappear like Houdini). That night, as you lay next to your mother in your shared bed in your cramped small studio, she had nagged you for the first time, and for the first time you were jealous, especially when she had said, “He's a good boy, no, a good man.” How dare she pay more attention to him than you? She had even ended up giving her portion of rice for him, because he was a “big man”- the hell did that mean?

At the end though, two years in, when you were ever so close to giving up, the people in your team burdening you with their work had you wondering if this was your fate because you were poor, you met the warm embrace of a sun-kissed, mountainous being, one who held you close, letting you silently cry as he whispered in your hair, ever so gently, enough to have you gripping onto him tighter than you could ever imagine, “Let me help you…we can do this together.” Since then, the two of you had been an unbreakable force, especially at work, and let's just say when your mother came to know about him wanting to marry you a year ago, she had urged him to “DO IT TONIGHT!” The poor lad had to convince the potential future version of his wife, “Mother, please, I can't force her yet, after the project.” True to his word, after the project, the man had gotten down on one knee and slipped that ring on your finger faster than you could say yes.

Six months, it had been six months and here he was, having you spend your bonus on your new apartment. If only he had worked harder, done more over time work, maybe taken up another job, where he could work a few hours in the night, he could've done this himself, he could have let you save the money, or spend it on something you like or spend it on your mother, he could have set a better example-

“San?”

He flinched at the closeness of your voice, sighing when felt the tip of your finger gently push between his brows, “Why is my big man frowning in his sleep?”

Huh?

Slowly yawning he sat up, stretching his arms over his head, not noticing how you were smiling at him, he looked just like a cat sometimes. Turning his head to face you, he saw you walk back into the open kitchen, picking up a pot and placing it on the small dining table, “Come on, I made soup, even made side dishes, replenish your strength my little soldier!” Your cherry like voice calming his nerves as he quietly nodded and sat down, staring at the food before blinking up at you, “How…long was I asleep for?”

“Hmmm…I think an hour or so…but you were knocked out cold!” You exclaimed, “I dropped a pan and you didn't wake up.” Your smile faltered when you didn't get a reaction out of him, only to look at him staring at the plate in front of him, was he upset? He had seemed a bit down since yesterday, maybe he was tired, but then again, he'd been agitated ever since you had convinced him to move. Maybe he didn't want to move? Maybe he thought you were taking charge? Maybe he didn't like that- no man likes a woman taking decisions, so why would he-

“I'm sorry.”

Your thought halted at his words, eyes meeting his guilt ridden ones, what was he guilty of? He slowly reached over for your hand, having you sit on the stool that was closer to his chair, as he stroked the back of your hand with his thumb before bringing it to his lips, pressing his warm lips against your skin, whispering, “You do so much for me…I can't thank you enough,” you felt something warm blossom within you at his words as you whispered his name, only for him to continue. San reached for your other hand, now holding your smaller hands in his, though he still chose not to make eye contact, “I'm sorry you had to…pay the deposit with your bonus…it's my job, I promised to give you a comfortable life, to give you everything, and not only are you still working but you had to invest in our move. I know,” taking a deep breath he finally looked at you with a sombre expression, one that had your heart break, you never wanted him to feel this way, “I know, you say you don't mind but, I would rather have you save, or spend on your mother- I'm going to apply at the store nearby for a night shift, I can go there after work, and a morning shift for the weekends, an extra cash flow will-”

“You will do no such thing!” You snatched your hands out of his and frowned, ignoring his gasp as you scoffed, “You think I'd rather have a few extra dimes than be able to spend time with you? What are you stupid or dumb?”

“Both of those words usually mean the same thing, love.”

“That's what you got from what I just said!?” You huffed, gripping him by the front of his vest as you leaned closer to frown at him, “I don't like men, I really don't, you on the other hand just piss me off and I still love you for some ungodly reason! Do you realise I spent my bonus here because I wanted to? Because I wanted to start a happy life with you? Didn't you say we're in this together?”

His hands gently gripped your shoulders before pushing you to sit straight, not letting go of you even when you let go of him, he felt his heart leap with joy at your words, “I just…don't you think you could have spent it on yourself or your mom? I know I said we're in this together…we really are but I-”

“You're not my father, Choi San.”

His breath hitched at your statement, fingers digging into your shoulders by reflex, unsure of what to say at the confession.

“You're not like the man who abandoned me because he wanted a son, you're not like the man who was too busy living another life to even turn to look at the one he had left halfway through…each day I wake up in your arms, grateful to have found someone who puts me before himself, someone who cares about my mother, someone who wants to keep me happy, someone who treats me like an equal.”

You felt his hold on you relax at that, smiling softly at him as you leaned closer, cupping his face to have him look at you before gently brushing your lips against his, “My mother wanted to move back to the countryside, she's happy there, she knows I'm happy with you, I send her enough each month to know she's living the life she deserves…we visit her on weekends, don't we?” he nodded in your hold, his own hands now gripping your waist like you were a piece of him- which you were.

“I spent my money knowing it was a good investment, I did the math Sannie,” You smiled before leaning even closer, “You.Can.Spend.On.A.New.Mattress.” Punctuating each word with a kiss you pulled back, and moved to the chair, leaving your husband sitting there a blushing mess as you began to eat, “Let's get rid of the old thing. Need a new one…” you said before taking a bite nodding towards his food as you swallowed, “Can't give her grandkids with a busted mattress.”

From the tip of his toes to the top of his head the man felt like he was on fire. Did he know that you two were not going to have kids anytime soon? Yes, he did. Did the thought of having a family with you excite him? Yes, it brought him pure joy, enough to have him smiling like an idiot, as he started to eat like the hungry boy he was, not before putting his extra serving of rice on your side, “Eat up, love, gotta keep you strong and healthy for the future baby Chois.”

“Calm down big boy, we aren't having them anytime soon.” You snorted, as you smiled at the thought of your own little family, wondering if your kids would be as hyper as him, or as calm as you- either way, that was for later, for now, you needed to work harder, get a bigger apartment, save up and so much more, and just the thought of it had you frowning for a moment only to lock your eyes with your husband who gave you that boyish smile calming your nerves,

“I know, baby steps, baby steps, one day we change the mattress, get a bigger apartment and then before ya know it, we get our own dozen babies.”

“Sure Mr.Choi, whatever makes you sleep at night.”

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cassiemaebarnes · 2 months ago

Text

Grumpy & the New Girl: Part 16

Bucky x reader

Summary: She wasn’t supposed to meet him like that. He wasn’t supposed to let her in. But sometimes, things don’t go according to plan.

Word Count: 6977

@ohdrey89 read my mind...

sorry if it feels a little rushed but I needed to get to this part, it's too good...

A little while later, when the pizza was mostly gone and the team had settled into casual conversation, you caught Nat’s eye from across the table. You gave a faint nod towards the door, and she leaned over and whispered something to Wanda as you started to scoot your chair back.

You leaned over to Bucky, whispering “I’ll be right back,” then stood and made your way to the door, Nat and Wanda hot on your tail.

You walked down the hall a little ways, then turned around to face them. They had a mix of confusion and excitement on their faces when they finally spoke.

“What’s going on?” Nat said, narrowing her eyes playfully.

“Oh, I think we know exactly what’s going on,” Wanda said with a smirk.

You just sighed, shaking your head, but you couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face.

“So, I was telling Bucky what we talked about today–”

“Of course,” Nat said, cutting you off with a smirk. “But go on.”

“And we talked about the ‘label’ conversation…”

“I knew it!” Wanda said, pumping a fist in the air.

“And…” Nat said expectantly, wanting you to finish.

“He officially asked me to be his girlfriend.”

The three of you looked at each other with smiles, before shrieking with excitement. Wanda was jumping up and down, Nat just shook her head like finally, and you just stood there, stupid smile covering your face that you couldn’t wipe off even if you wanted to.

“About time,” Nat said, followed by an exaggerated nod from Wanda.

“Seriously,” Wanda added, “we’ve been waiting for this since day one.”

You just rolled your eyes and opened your mouth to say something, but Nat cut you off.

“I mean, come on. Literally hours after you met you were crouching under his arm at the fridge and he offered to make you breakfast. That’s called destiny.”

You just laughed. “I mean…yeah, honestly I should have known.”

“It’s one of those classic ‘everyone can see it but you’ stories,” Wanda said with a dreamy smile on her face.

“Yeah,” you said, still smiling. “Looking back it’s like – how could I not have seen it,” you added with a laugh.

“No for real,” Nat said, all of you laughing now.

“So,” Wanda said, linking her arm through yours, “when’s the wedding?”

“Yeah,” Nat said, looping her arm through your other one. “We need to start looking for bridesmaid dresses,” she added, smirking at you.

“Oh, calm down,” you said, slowly walking back toward the conference room. “I’m sure we still have…” you paused, playfully tapping your lips with your finger like you were thinking, “…about a week before he finally breaks down and asks me to marry him.”

The three of you started giggling, still walking arm-in-arm down the hallway, and you knew that no matter what happened next, it was going to be fun having them to talk about it with.

The next morning, you woke up tangled up with Bucky in his bed, wearing nothing but his t-shirt, the rest of your clothes discarded on the floor.

Bucky reached over and turned his alarm off, arms immediately coming back to wrap around you.

You let out a small, content sigh and burrowed a little closer, your cheek pressed against his bare chest. His heartbeat was steady and warm beneath your skin, and his metal hand moved slowly up and down your back in a lazy rhythm.

“Morning,” he murmured, voice still heavy with sleep.

“Mmm. No talking yet,” you mumbled, eyes still closed.

He chuckled softly, brushing his lips against your forehead. “Fair enough.”

You lay there a while longer, caught somewhere between sleep and consciousness, wrapped up in warmth and quiet and him. At some point, his hand found yours, fingers lacing together naturally. It was peaceful and unhurried, and you didn’t want to move. But eventually, the light filtering through the blinds and the very faint sound of the compound starting to wake up made you sigh.

“I should get up,” you muttered reluctantly.

Bucky gave a dramatic groan, tightening his grip around your waist. “Don’t. Just stay here. I’ll say you’ve been kidnapped.”

You laughed lightly, then tilted your head to glance up at him. “I probably should just leave a brush and a toothbrush in here at this point. I’m in here more than my own room.”

He laughed at that, eyes crinkling with amusement. “You should. Actually…I can do that.”

You blinked, caught off guard. “Wait – you’re serious?”

He shrugged, smiling. “Yeah. Why not? I’ll clear out a drawer. Make it official.”

You laughed again, shaking your head. “I was joking, but honestly…that might not be a bad idea.”

Grinning, you finally sat up, stretching your arms above your head before swinging your legs over the side of the bed. “Okay, I’m gonna go get ready. Try not to miss me too much.”

“I make no promises,” he said, leaning over to kiss your shoulder before you slipped out from under the covers, pulled on your shorts, and padded out of the room.

By the time you finished getting ready and made your way down to the kitchen, the smell of coffee pulled you in like a magnet. The room was already softly buzzing with the sounds of the team talking and eating breakfast.

Bucky was already there, sitting at the kitchen island with a mug in front of him. He looked up as you walked in and gave you that slow, familiar smile.

Without a word, he nudged a second mug toward the empty seat next to him – your usual spot. You glanced down and saw it was already fixed just how you liked it. Perfect.

You slid into the seat with a smile, wrapping your hands around the warm cup. “You’re really trying to lock this down, huh?”

Bucky smirked. “Just being a good boyfriend.”

No one in the room said anything. No whooping from Sam, no eyebrow raises from Nat. Just the soft clink of a spoon in a mug and the gentle hum of the coffee maker.

You sipped your drink, glancing sideways at him. “This feels weird. We’re not getting bombarded.”

“Shh, you’ll jinx it,” he said, smirking at you.

“I guess everyone’s finally accepted it,” you whispered.

“About time,” he said, leaning in and pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Okay,” Sam cut in, like usual, “well if he’s gonna do that, then we have to make fun of him.”

You just looked up at Bucky and gave him a mock glare. “Way to go, Sergeant Softie.”

He just smiled and shook his head, then leaned back and wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

“Well, get used to it everyone,” he said proudly.

The room burst into laughter and fake groans, but you could tell by the smiles that they all loved it.

As the laughter died down and everyone settled into their mugs and conversation again, Steve cleared his throat from where he stood by the fridge.

“Alright, listen up,” he said, voice cutting through the room just enough to get everyone’s attention. “Before we head down to the gym, I’ve got something to share.”

You looked over at him curiously, Bucky’s arm still warm around your shoulders.

Steve glanced at you with a small smile. “Starting today, y/n is officially training with the team.”

A little cheer went up around the room – Sam gave a dramatic fist pump, Nat clapped once like she’d been waiting for this moment, and even Tony offered a sarcastic little golf clap from where he leaned against the counter.

“Welcome to the team,” Bucky said dramatically, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You survived the emotional initiation. Now it’s time for the physical one.”

You rolled your eyes with a grin. “Great. Can’t wait to get punched in the face by super soldiers.”

“Oh, I’m gentle,” Nat said with a wink. “Mostly.”

Steve chuckled, then started talking about the plan for training.

But you just leaned over to Bucky, smirking. “I think I liked your welcome package better,” you said, nudging his side with your elbow.

He looked at you, eyes sparkling, and gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah, me too.”

You clinked your coffee mug gently against his in silent agreement.

“Alright, lovebirds,” Sam said, standing up and stretching. “Let’s move. We’ve got a gym to sweat in and a new recruit to haze.”

“Oh good,” you said dryly, pushing your chair back. “Exactly how I wanted to spend my morning.”

Bucky stood and offered his hand to help you up. “You’re gonna kill it,” he murmured.

“Better not kill me,” you said under your breath, but the grin on your face gave you away.

The team filtered into the training room in a casual group, everyone stretching out, chatting, and pulling on gloves or slipping on gear. The walls echoed faintly with the sound of sneakers on mats and the low hum of the overhead lights. You stood near Bucky, following his lead as you stretched out your arms and legs.

“Don’t worry,” he said under his breath, leaning over just slightly. “First rule of training – look confident even if you’re not.”

You smirked. “Well good news – I am confident.”

That earned a chuckle from him and a raised brow from Sam nearby. “Ooooh, she’s talking spicy already.”

After a few minutes of stretches, Steve clapped his hands. “Alright, warm-up time. Ladders, shuttle runs, and core circuits. Let’s go.”

The group moved like a well-oiled machine, and you jumped in with them, heart pumping quickly as you kept pace. You could feel them watching you – small glances here and there, like they were gauging what you could do. But you held your own through the warm-up, breath steady, footing solid.

By the time the real drills started, sweat had begun to bead on your forehead. Steve called out movement patterns and agility sequences while Sam tossed in cardio bursts. You didn’t miss a step.

“Damn,” Sam muttered as you cut sharp around a cone and vaulted over a low barrier. “Alright, Speedy.”

“Not bad,” Nat added, tossing you a nod of approval as you passed.

You smiled but didn’t break focus. The movements were fast, but you were faster. Crisp, efficient, and entirely in control.

After another thirty minutes of drills, Steve called the team to the mat. “Alright, last piece for today – sparring. Light contact. Controlled. Let’s pair off.”

He looked around, then pointed between you and Nat. “You two.”

The whole room went a little quiet.

“Let’s see what she’s got,” Clint muttered, nudging Sam.

Nat cracked her knuckles and gave you a look that was half-challenge, half-welcome. “You ready?”

You just shrugged. “Are you?”

Everyone else took a step back, forming a loose circle around the mat. You squared up, eyes locked on Nat, waiting for her to make the first move.

She lunged – fast, precise – but you deflected smoothly, pivoted, and used her momentum to spin her off-balance. She adjusted quickly, but you were already ducking low and sweeping a leg. A second later, Nat was flat on her back, blinking up at the ceiling.

The room went silent.

“Yo – did she just pin Nat like it was nothing?” Sam asked, wide-eyed.

Nat laughed, shaking her head as you offered her a hand. “Okay,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’m done taking it easy on you.”

You just smirked. “Bring it on.”

The second round was different – faster, more intense. Nat moved with sharper precision, testing you, but you adjusted to her flow. You didn’t overpower her, but you kept up, holding your ground, ducking, weaving, using technique instead of brute strength. The crowd around you had fallen totally quiet, too focused to even joke.

And then – just as Nat tried to flip you – you shifted your weight, locked her arm, and twisted cleanly to take her down again. This time you landed on top, pinning her shoulders. Firm. Clean.

The whole room erupted.

“Okay!” Clint shouted. “I’m not sparring her.”

“Bucky, man,” Sam said, laughing, “you better behave. She’ll fold you like laundry.”

Bucky just stood there with the biggest grin on his face. He shook his head and crossed his arms. “That’s my girl.”

You pushed off Nat, helping her up again as she gave you an impressed look.

“Where the hell were you hiding all that?” she asked, brushing off her shoulders.

You just shrugged, trying to hide your grin.

Bucky met your gaze across the mat, pride written all over his face. You gave him a wink, heart pounding – not from the fight, but from how good it felt to surprise everyone and hold your own.

Yeah. You were officially part of the team now.

You and Nat were still catching your breath when the group circled up again, stretching out tired muscles and wiping away sweat. You dropped into a seated stretch beside Bucky, who passed you a water bottle without a word – just a soft smile and a subtle nudge of his knee against yours.

“Well damn,” Sam said, flopping onto the mat nearby. “You’ve been holding out on us.”

“You were scary fast,” Clint added, rotating his shoulder. “Like, I blinked and Nat was already on the floor.”

“I don’t know if I should be impressed or worried,” Wanda said with a grin.

“Oh, you should definitely be worried,” Nat said, reaching over to nudge you. “She’s officially dangerous now.”

Bucky just chuckled beside you, pride practically radiating off him. “Told you all she was tough.”

“She’s more than tough, Barnes,” Tony said, pointing at you like he was mentally calculating your stats. “We might need to run some diagnostics and make sure she’s not secretly enhanced.”

“Oh please,” you said with a laugh, shaking your head.

Steve clapped his hands once more, bringing everyone’s attention back. “Alright, before we all scatter – quick heads-up. We’ve got a mission coming up in a couple of days. Everyone’s going. First planning meeting is at two this afternoon.”

A few groans went up, but most everyone nodded.

Steve gave a short nod. “See you all later.”

The group began breaking off into pairs, stretching and chatting as they headed for their rooms or grabbed their things. Bucky fell into step beside you, glancing sideways as you both walked.

“You were incredible back there,” he said quietly, nudging your elbow. “I’m seriously proud of you.”

You turned your head toward him, beaming. “Thanks. I think that’s the most fun I’ve ever had in training.”

“I believe it,” he said with a grin. “You made Nat look like she needed a rematch.”

“She does need a rematch.”

He laughed. “That’s my girl.”

After a quick trip to your room for a shower and fresh clothes, you wandered down the hallway barefoot, hair still damp, and made your way to Bucky’s room without a second thought. You didn’t even knock – just opened the door and strolled right in.

He was shirtless, facing his closet, pulling a gray t-shirt from a hanger. He turned his head slightly at the sound of the door and raised an eyebrow at you with a smirk.

“Ever heard of knocking?”

You shrugged as you walked past him and flopped down onto his bed, face first into the pillow. “Nope. You’re lucky I didn’t bring snacks.”

“Lucky, huh?” he said, amused as he tugged the shirt on. “This is what we’re doing now? Just waltzing in like you own the place?”

“Might as well,” you said, voice muffled against his blanket. “I’m in here more than I’m in my own room.”

He snorted, stepping around the bed and picking up his boots from the floor. “Not wrong.”

You peeked one eye open as he started tidying up, gathering a couple of his shirts and tossing them into the hamper. Then, without comment, he bent down, picked up your clothes from last night off the floor, and dropped them into his laundry basket too.

“Wow,” you said, watching him with a smirk. “We’re laundry-official now?”

“Oh, absolutely,” he said casually. “This is fully domestic. Should probably start charging rent.”

You chuckled and rolled onto your back, one arm flopped over your head. “Better give me a drawer first.”

“Deal.”

You stayed there, lazily chatting while he tidied up – straightening pillows, stacking a few books, putting some clothes away. Every now and then he’d glance over at you like he still couldn’t quite believe you were there.

Eventually your stomach grumbled loud enough to interrupt the calm, and Bucky laughed. “C’mon. Let’s get food before you pass out.”

The two of you wandered down to the kitchen, warming up some food and slipping into your usual spots. No one said anything – just the clink of forks and the quiet buzz of conversation.

Until about five minutes in.

“So…” Sam said, not even looking up from his plate. “Did Bucky ask you to use those moves on him after training?”

You choked on your drink as the table erupted into laughter.

Bucky didn’t even flinch. He just kept chewing, swallowed, and casually replied, “Please. I’ve already seen those moves. And more.”

Your jaw dropped. “Bucky!” you yelled, smacking his arm.

Everyone else howled around you. Even Steve looked like he was trying not to laugh, head in his hand.

Bucky just grinned and took another bite. “What? He started it.”

You glared at him, but the grin tugging at your lips betrayed you.

You just shook your head as the group settled down, falling into casual conversation. As 2:00 rolled around, everyone started getting up and heading to the conference room.

Everyone filtered into the room, falling into their usual seats. The big screen at the front lit up with a map and a set of mission files, and Steve stepped up in front of it with a remote in one hand and that familiar "mission face" on.

“Alright, listen up,” he started. “We’ve got intel on a Hydra splinter group operating out of an abandoned compound just outside of Prague. Intel says they’ve been moving a lot of material in and out of the area over the last few weeks – equipment, supplies, and some kind of high-tech disruptor we haven’t identified yet.”

You sat up a little straighter, the playful vibe from earlier quickly shifting to focus. Everyone else leaned in too – Nat and Sam already scanning the screen, Clint scribbling something on a notepad, Wanda narrowing her eyes as she listened.

Steve clicked the remote and another screen popped up, this one showing an aerial image of the compound.

“We’re wheels up at 0600 two days from now. Plan is to land outside the perimeter, infiltrate quietly, and disable the disruptor before backup arrives to secure the area. It’s a full-team op. Everyone has a role.”

He turned to look directly at you, giving you a small nod. “You’re officially in the field roster. You’ll be with me, Wanda, and Bucky on the east flank.”

You blinked in surprise and nodded slowly. Your first real mission. And they were trusting you with a frontline role?

You glanced at Bucky, who gave you a small grin. Pride and confidence radiated off him like sunlight.

Steve kept going. “Nat, Sam, Clint, you’ll take the west side. Minimal contact until we give the signal. If things go sideways, fall back to the point marked here–” he clicked again, highlighting a spot on the map, “and regroup.”

He ran through more specifics – gear loadouts, comm channels, support teams on standby. You jotted notes where needed, but your mind was racing a little. This was real. And they were trusting you like you’d been doing this all along.

As Steve wrapped up, he looked around the table. “Questions?”

Clint raised his hand lazily. “Is there a post-mission pizza plan, or are we on our own?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Debrief first, pizza later.”

Everyone chuckled and began gathering their things, the buzz of excitement mixed with tension filling the air.

Bucky waited until you stood, then quietly fell into step beside you again as you headed back out into the hallway.

“You alright?” he asked, voice low. “You went kind of quiet.”

“I think I’m still waiting for someone to say I’m not actually going,” you admitted with a small laugh. “Feels a little surreal.”

Bucky bumped your shoulder. “You earned it. You crushed training today, and Steve wouldn’t put you on a team unless he was sure you could handle it.”

You gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“Besides,” he added, flashing you a grin, “you’ll be with me. I’ve got your six.”

You rolled your eyes. “Obviously.”

The next few days passed in a blur of training drills, briefing updates, and strategy sessions. There wasn’t much time for anything else – early mornings turned into long afternoons in the gym or meetings, with evenings spent poring over floor plans and contingency protocols. Meals were quick, conversations even quicker. Everyone was locked in, focused.

You did your best to keep up with the pace – memorizing every exit route, running sparring matches until you were sore in muscles you didn’t even know you had. But underneath the adrenaline and determination, a quiet knot of nerves had started to settle in your chest.

And it only got worse the night before departure.

You were in your room, packing for the fifth time, pulling things out of your bag and putting them back in like that might somehow calm the anxiety in your head. Clothes, gear, weapons, backup comm – what were you forgetting?

You sighed and rubbed your hands over your face.

Then your door creaked open.

You turned around, startled, just as Bucky stepped inside. His face shifted the second he saw you – smile dropping instantly, replaced by quiet concern.

“Hey,” he said, shutting the door behind him and walking over to you. “What’s wrong?”

You opened your mouth, but no words came out. You just looked at him helplessly for a second before letting out a heavy sigh and stepping forward.

He didn’t hesitate. His arms were around you in an instant, holding you tight as you pressed your face into his chest and let your body melt against his.

“I’m just…nervous,” you admitted, your voice muffled. “I keep packing and unpacking and checking things like I’m gonna forget something. I don’t know. My brain’s just spinning.”

Bucky’s hand moved slowly up and down your back. “You’re not gonna forget anything.”

You didn’t answer, and he leaned back just enough to look at you, his hands still firm on your arms.

“You’re ready for this,” he said softly. “You’ve trained hard, you’ve done the work. You’re smarter than half of us and quicker than most. I’ve seen it.”

You gave a half-laugh, eyes still wide with uncertainty.

“And I’ll be with you the whole time, alright?” he added.

You nodded slowly, eyes locking with his. “Okay.”

He smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead. “Come here,” he said gently, tugging you toward the bed. “You’re done packing. You’ve checked it a hundred times. Just sit with me for a bit.”

And for the first time all day, your shoulders dropped just a little.

You both sat down on the edge of the bed, and for a while, neither of you said anything. The tension in your chest was still there, but it had loosened its grip – dulled a little by his presence.

“I keep replaying every possible scenario in my head,” you said quietly after a moment, fingers twisting in your lap. “What if something goes wrong and I freeze up?”

Bucky gave a small hum. “Then one of us will have your back until you unfreeze. It happens. It’s part of it.”

You glanced over at him. “You make it sound so normal.”

He shrugged. “Because it is. Doesn’t mean it’s not hard. Or scary. But freezing up doesn’t mean failing. It means you’re human.”

You let out a slow breath. “I think I needed to hear that.”

He reached over, lacing his fingers through yours. “You’re gonna do great. You’ve already proven that you belong out there.”

You gave a small smile, then stood, brushing your hands down your thighs. “Okay. I need to stop spiraling.”

You crossed the room, zipped up your bag with finality, and set it gently off to the side near the door. Then you pulled out your clothes for the morning – your tactical gear, boots, undershirt – and laid them neatly across the back of your desk chair, ready to go.

Behind you, Bucky stood and grabbed your bag without saying a word, slinging it easily over one shoulder. You gave him a grateful look, and the two of you headed down the hallway side by side.

The kitchen was quiet when you got there – just the soft tick of the wall clock and the low hum of the fridge. A small pile of duffel bags and tactical packs had already started to gather near the door, everyone else just as ready for the early departure.

Bucky set your bag down beside his with a soft thunk, adjusting the strap so it wouldn’t fall over. Then, without speaking, he reached out and laced his fingers through yours again, giving your hand a light squeeze.

You didn’t need to say anything.

The walk back to his room was slow and quiet. Not tense – just heavy with that last bit of calm before everything kicked into motion.

When you got there, you both wordlessly moved through your usual routine. He turned down the lights while you crawled into bed, pulling the covers up around you. A moment later, he joined you, shifting close until your legs tangled and his hand found yours again under the blanket.

The last thing you felt before drifting off was his lips brushing your temple, his voice soft in your ear.

“Goodnight, doll. You’ve got this.”

And for once, you actually believed it.

The morning light filtered softly through the curtains, warm and golden, but not nearly strong enough to break through the haze of nerves beginning to creep back into your chest.

You woke tangled up with Bucky again – his arm draped across your waist, your head tucked beneath his chin, legs twisted together beneath the blanket. For a moment, neither of you moved. The world was still quiet. Heavy.

Then Bucky reached over to turn off the alarm, and you shifted.

This time, you sat up a little faster, already running over a mental checklist in your head.

Bucky blinked awake beside you, his voice still thick with sleep. “Morning.”

“Morning,” you murmured, rubbing your eyes. “Today’s the day.”

“Yeah,” he said, stretching a little before sitting up. “You sleep okay?”

You nodded, then let out a breath. “Better than I expected.”

He smiled faintly, then gestured to the bathroom. “You can get ready here if you want.”

You turned to look at him. “Seriously?”

He was already heading into the bathroom. “C’mere,” he called.

You padded across the room, still barefoot and a little dazed, and stepped into the bathroom behind him.

He pulled open the drawer beneath the sink – and your eyes widened.

Inside was everything. Your exact hairbrush. The brand of deodorant you used. Your favorite perfume. Even your skincare stuff. And not just one or two things – like, a whole backup lineup, ready to go.

Your heart caught in your throat. You stared for a beat too long before finally looking up at him.

“You – you got all this?”

He shrugged, eyes soft. “Course I did.”

You blinked, the gratitude bubbling up so fast it made your chest ache. You wrapped your arms around him, hugging him tight without a word.

He didn’t say anything either – just hugged you back, his arms warm and steady.

A few seconds later, the two of you started getting ready, not saying much. You were still a little anxious, but the sight of that drawer, the thought that he’d done all that without a second thought – just to make your mornings easier – stuck with you.

You weren’t doing this alone.

When you were finished, you gave his hand one last squeeze and stepped back out into the hallway. “I’m gonna change real quick,” you said.

“Alright. I’ll meet you in a sec.”

You made your way back to your room and got dressed, slipping into your tactical gear, checking every strap and buckle like muscle memory. You tied your boots, pulled your hair back, and gave yourself one last look in the mirror.

Just as you opened your door to head out, you saw Bucky coming down the hallway toward you, already suited up.

He gave you a little nod. “Ready?”

You let out a breath and nodded back. “Yeah. Ready.”

You fell into step beside him, the two of you heading down to the kitchen in silence. The others were already there, milling about with quiet focus – checking packs, sipping coffee, scanning tablets. No one said anything when you walked in. There was no teasing, no sarcasm. Just the quiet hum of the team, fully in mission mode.

You stood close to Bucky, just listening to the low conversations until Steve finally stepped in, a duffel bag in one hand and a tablet in the other.

“Alright,” he said, voice cutting clean through the room. “Let’s move out.”

Everyone straightened, the sound of zippers and boots and clinking gear echoing around the room before everyone headed to the quinjet.

A few minutes later, the low hum of the quinjet filled the cabin as the team flew in quiet formation. Everyone was dialed in – eyes scanning files, weapons checked and rechecked, tension running under the surface like a current.

You sat between Bucky and Wanda, your knee bouncing the smallest bit.

You didn’t realize you were holding your breath until Bucky’s hand slid over your thigh. He didn’t say a word. Just rested it there, his thumb gently brushing in slow, grounding circles.

You looked over at him. He was staring straight ahead, jaw set, completely calm. But that simple, quiet touch? It worked better than any pep talk ever could. You took a breath, nodded once to yourself, and kept your focus forward.

The jet landed with a soft hiss, the rear ramp lowering as the team began to move.

“Alright, let’s split up,” Steve said, voice firm through the comms.

You nodded, heart thudding in your ears as you followed behind Steve, Bucky, and Wanda through the trees toward the abandoned compound. The building loomed ahead, half-collapsed and covered in vines, the remnants of something long-forgotten.

But something wasn’t right.

You slowed, eyes narrowing.

“Do you guys feel that?” you asked, glancing around.

Wanda frowned slightly, scanning the area with her abilities. “It’s…quiet.”

“Too quiet,” Bucky added, lowly.

You stopped in your tracks, turning toward the left corridor. “I’m gonna check something.”

“Stick together,” Steve said sharply, but you were already walking toward a hallway partially obscured by rubble.

“I’ll be quick,” you said into the comm, keeping low and moving with purpose. You slipped through a crumbling archway and into a side wing of the building, the air colder here.

Then you saw it.

A hidden stairwell – half-covered by an overturned crate and nearly invisible unless you were looking for it. You stepped closer, heart jumping.

Your hand went to your comm. “I found a secondary entry point. Could be storage or lower-level operations – they definitely didn’t want this seen.”

Static crackled, followed by Steve’s voice. “Hold position. We’ll come to you.”

But before you could respond, the stairwell erupted in movement – four figures burst up from below, all armed, one already firing.

You yelped and dove behind a pillar, debris exploding around you.

Adrenaline surged, and you moved fast – firing back in short bursts, staying low, repositioning quickly.

One down. Then two.

You rolled, ducked behind a support beam, then took out the third with a well-aimed shot.

The last came at you hand-to-hand, but you reacted without thinking – grabbing his wrist, flipping him with his own momentum, and landing a solid strike to knock him out cold.

It was over in seconds.

You exhaled hard, heart racing.

Then you heard boots – fast, frantic – and looked up just as Bucky stormed in, weapon raised, eyes wide and frantic.

He saw you standing, chest heaving, surrounded by unconscious bodies.

His shoulders dropped, but only for a moment.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he barked, voice sharp and panicked.

You opened your mouth, but the words caught in your throat. He was already crossing the space to you, eyes blazing.

“We told you to hold position!”

“I – I saw something, I had to check it out–”

“You could’ve been killed!” he snapped, jaw clenched.

There was something in his voice – not just anger. Fear. Real fear.

You stepped back, breath catching, the weight of it all suddenly heavier.

“I handled it,” you said quietly, but your voice shook anyway.

And Bucky just looked at you – like he didn’t know whether to shake you or hug you.

Before you could respond to Bucky’s outburst, footsteps echoed through the hallway again.

Steve rounded the corner with Wanda close behind, both of them slowing at the sight of the scene in front of them – bodies on the ground, your breathing still heavy, and Bucky standing between you and the chaos like a shield.

“You good?” Steve asked, eyes scanning you quickly.

You gave a short nod. “Yeah. Four hostiles, all neutralized. They came from that stairwell – it was hidden.”

Steve crouched near one of the downed agents, frowning. “This wasn’t just a recon post. They were guarding something.”

Wanda closed her eyes, scanning the space. “There’s something below. I can feel it – some kind of power source.”

“Alright,” Steve said, standing. “Let’s move. Whatever it is, we shut it down.”

Bucky hadn’t said a word since snapping at you, and he didn’t meet your eyes as he turned and followed Steve.

You fell in step behind them, jaw tight, trying to push the sting from your chest.

The mission didn’t take long after that. Wanda disabled the energy core while you, Bucky, and Steve secured the perimeter. It was smooth, efficient – but you barely felt it. The adrenaline had worn off, and the pit in your stomach was growing heavier by the second.

Once the building was cleared and the rest of the team rejoined, Steve called it in, and you all made your way back to the quinjet.

The flight home was silent.

You sat next to Bucky, just like always, but he never turned toward you. Never looked at you. His jaw was tight, arms crossed, staring ahead with a cold sort of stillness you’d never seen from him before.

You didn’t know what to say. The mission had gone well. You’d seen a threat, reacted fast, handled yourself. But none of that seemed to matter. Not to him.

You glanced over at him, hoping for a flicker of softness, even just a glance – but he gave you nothing.

You sat back slowly, trying to stay still even as your heart pounded again for a whole different reason.

You were proud of how you’d handled the fight. But the silence from Bucky settled in your chest like a weight.

Was he mad you didn’t listen? That you took a risk?

Or was it worse than that?

Was he disappointed in you?

You stared down at your hands and tried to keep your breathing steady. The rest of the team was scattered across the jet – quiet, tired, and probably chalking the silence up to post-mission fatigue.

But for you, the worst part wasn’t what had happened out there.

It was what wasn’t happening now.

The jet touched down on the compound’s landing pad with a low hum, the bay doors opening to the muted light of early evening.

Everyone stood slowly, unbuckling and gathering their things with the quiet exhaustion that always came after a mission. Bucky didn’t say a word – just grabbed his gear, slung his bag over his shoulder, and headed down the ramp without even glancing your way.

You watched him go, lips parted like maybe you were about to call after him…but nothing came out.

Your fingers curled around the strap of your own bag, and you stood, following behind the others. You spotted him near the elevator across the hangar, but just as you were about to pick up your pace, Steve’s voice called out behind you.

“Hey,” he said, walking toward you. His expression was calm, but firm. “Good work today.”

You nodded, trying to look like that meant something – trying not to let your disappointment show. “Thanks.”

“But,” he added, crossing his arms lightly, “next time you get that gut feeling, call it in first. I don’t doubt your instincts – they were right – but you’ve got backup for a reason.”

Your throat felt tight, but you nodded again. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not mad,” Steve said, offering a faint smile. “You handled yourself better than most rookies would’ve. Just don’t take that kind of risk alone again, alright?”

“Alright,” you murmured, managing a small, grateful smile. “Thank you.”

He gave you a final nod, then turned to head toward the control room.

You stood there for another second, feeling the weight of the conversation settle right next to the ache that was already blooming in your chest.

You made your way to the elevator alone, stepping inside and staring at the panel in front of you, heart pounding as if it didn’t quite know what to feel.

Once the doors opened, you walked straight to your room, dropped your bag beside your dresser, and headed to the shower. The warm water helped ease the tension in your shoulders, but it didn’t do much for the rest of you.

When you finally stepped out, you dried off and pulled on a pair of soft shorts and one of Bucky’s hoodies. It smelled like him – faint cologne and something familiar – and it made your chest squeeze all over again.

You padded quietly across the room, hair damp and skin still flushed from the shower, and sat on the edge of your bed.

The silence was deafening.

And you still had no idea if Bucky was going to come find you…or not at all.

You sat on the edge of your bed for what felt like forever, chewing at your lip, debating. Finally, with a frustrated sigh, you pushed yourself up and made your way to Bucky’s room.

You paused outside his door, swallowing hard. Then you lifted your hand and knocked.

It was a few seconds before the door opened, revealing Bucky. He looked at you with an unreadable expression, his face guarded, his eyes tired.

“Hey,” he said flatly, voice low and neutral.

Then he turned around without waiting for you to respond, heading back toward his duffel bag on the bed. He started unpacking his gear like you weren’t even there.

You stepped inside hesitantly, closing the door behind you. The click echoed in the quiet room.

You stood there, awkward and unsure, watching him move stiffly. The silence stretched on until you couldn’t take it anymore.

“What’s wrong, Buck?” you finally asked, voice softer than you intended.

He didn’t look at you as he shoved his boots back in the closet. “You know what’s wrong.”

Your jaw clenched. “No, actually, I don’t.”

He finally turned to face you, eyes sharp now, frustration breaking through. “You split off from the group. You ignored the plan. You could’ve been killed.”

You blinked, taken aback by the harshness in his tone. “I had a feeling something was off, Bucky. I trusted my gut, and I was right. I handled it.”

“That’s not the point!” His voice rose, cutting through the air between you. “You weren’t supposed to handle it alone! You’re not on your own out there anymore – you have a team. You had me.”

You crossed your arms defensively, heart pounding now for a different reason. “I know I have a team, but I didn’t have time to wait around for everyone to agree. I did what I had to do.”

His jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “And what if you hadn’t handled it? What if you got hurt before we even knew where you were?”

“But I didn’t,” you shot back, the tension snapping between you both like a rubber band pulled too tight. “I took them out, I called it in. You don’t trust me to handle myself?”

“It’s not about trust,” he growled, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. “It’s about being part of a team, and yeah – it’s about me not wanting to watch you get yourself killed because you couldn’t wait five damn seconds for backup.”

Your chest rose and fell, your breath shaky as anger and something more vulnerable tangled inside you. “I’m not some fragile rookie, Bucky. I know what I’m doing. You don’t get to treat me like–”

“Like I care about you?” he snapped. “Sorry, that’s not something I can turn off.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to just stand behind you and let you do everything!”

“Yeah, well, you can’t just split off every time you think you feel something either!”

The words hung there, heavy, bitter.

You stared at him, heart aching, hands shaking at your sides. “But I was right,” you said, anger and hurt mixing in your voice. “I can’t stand there and ignore it just because you’re scared something might happen to me. That’s not how this works.”

Without waiting for a response, you spun on your heel, yanking open the door and storming out.

You didn’t look back.

Part 17 | Masterlist

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bigtreefest · 6 months ago

Text

New Year Coming In

Pairing: Boyfriend! Jake Jensen x Girlfriend! Reader

Summary: You and Jake may have signed up for more than you can handle to start off the new year with a bang.

Word count: 1,514

Content/warnings: MINORS DNI, 18+ ONLY, smut, p in v unprotected sex, creampie, oral sex (f receiving), cum eating, kissing, exhausted sex, aftercare, Jake and his glasses and his hair and his beefy body and his everything

A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you all enjoy this Jakey crackfic that took over my mind at 2am. Please, feel more than welcome to screech with me about it. And a special little thanks to @brandycranby for a line of dialogue.

Comments, reblogs, and asks are especially appreciated!

Dividers by @strangergraphics

Main Masterlist

The idea sounded perfect at first. Jake was happy to indulge you. Heck, it felt amazing for him, too. He got to welcome the new year with a good release, pleasing himself and the woman he loves. But oh man, if he didn’t wish he met you sooner before, this was the one thing that would get him pleading for it to be 2001 all over again, even if he had to relive the awkward years to avoid death by dehydration. Never mind how old the two of you were back then, he would’ve time traveled for it to be that year with you now.

A nice year would’ve been 2004, too. Coming four times in one session was something he could do with his eyes closed. Except he hadn’t, his eyes were peeled open, looking at the bright screen, in the times where he remembered being locked in his dark bedroom with his first laptop. Four times, easy. Really, even ten times, 2010. It would’ve had to have been parsed out over the course of the day, but he could’ve done it without complaint. Except, for the year 2025, the two of you had gotten a late start, not realizing how long and how much 25 rounds would take out of you. The agreement being 25 times, for each of you.

Not that he wanted to complain, but Jake Jensen never thought that he would’ve seen the day where he thought it was too much sex. And yet, here he was nearly drained. He laid on his back, cheeks ruddy, glasses crooked, bleached strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead as he looked up at you with hooded eyes. His pupils were dilated in bodily satisfaction, just barely able to focus on you as you bounced on top of him, chasing your 12th simultaneous orgasm.

The sheets had been discarded long ago to the side, leaving you both exposed to the air in the room that was steadily rising in temperature, the sweat on your bodies lingering.

His fingertips dug into your thighs, sore hips sloppily raising to meet yours. Just enough sensation remained in his dick to feel you begin to clench in closeness as you reached down to rub your clit, tipping yourself over the edge with Jake joining you. His eyes squeezed shut and his chest heaved, nothing coming out of him despite the sensation of overstimulation that had overwhelmed him. In fact, he had shot blanks for the last three orgasms, too.

While you both came down from your highs, puffs of humid air filling the narrow space between your mouths as you leaned down to kiss Jake, he looked up at you, his face a mix of pure exhaustion, lined faintly with dopey satisfaction, but also a little worry. He hummed against your lips, pressing his forehead to yours to get just enough leverage to speak.

“Baby, I don’t think I can get to 25. We’re at 12 and my dick is gonna fall off.”

You giggled, pulling away and placing a hand on Jake’s cheek, thumb brushing back and forth.

“Okay, okay. How about this, what if we just make it 25 total?”

Jake furiously nodded his head, grateful for the reprieve. Between the two of you now, you’d reached 24. He could get you to 25. Hopefully. He knew his body was past halfway to limp, sucked dry, but maybe you weren’t as much of a noodle. Maybe you had one more in you.

Just when he thought he could take a breather, though, the both of you looked over your shoulder at the TV that had been softly playing in the background. In the top corner by the year’s newest pop sensation was a countdown clock to the new year. It had just reached under ten minutes.

Your head snapped back forward and your gaze met your boyfriend’s, the both of you panicking with eyes as wide as saucers. You had to make your deadline and time was dwindling quickly! But Jake swiftly jumped into action, tugging your hips in a gesture to pull you up his body. There was no way he had the time to recover and go another round, but this was dire!

“Use my face. USE MY FACE!” he urged you as he frantically pulled his glasses off and set them on the bedside table. You shuffled forward on your knees, his limp dick sliding out of your puffy entrance, filled with multiple rounds of your combined release. You moved so quickly to hover over his head that it didn’t have time to seep out of you before Jake yanked you down to his mouth with a firm grip by his large hands.

In an instant, his tongue was inside you, laving at your still spasming pussy, drinking down your wetness as his nose nudged your clit, coaxing it back to a stage of readiness. In seconds, he had you whining, grinding your hips against his face, begging for more attention on your sensitive nub. Jake could tell exactly what you needed, moving his mouth upwards, goatee lightly scratching your labia as he did so, and latched on to your clit, tongue working in tandem with the suction he was creating.

As if he still weren’t close enough to you, he used his hands to press on your plush thighs, squeezing you closer to him when he sucked harder. A new wave of arousal flowed through you, confirmed by Jake’s satisfied hum that sent a shockwave out from your core and across your limbs.

Your arms flailed, searching for something to hold onto, one reaching the headboard, the other drifting down into his damp locks. As you fisted his hair, you made brief eye contact with him, a smile on his face evident by the creases at the corner of his bright blue eyes when he reached up and tweaked a nipple towards the end of his focus range. Jake could just barely make out the scene above him, squinting slightly, when you fought throwing your head back in pleasure.

You might have felt like ecstasy was about to make your body implode, but you would’ve held on for just how pretty the sight of your boyfriend was, enjoying this moment underneath you, trying to feed your insatiable appetite for him. You were so zoned in to his every feature that he caught you by surprise when he did that thing with his tongue, guaranteed to make you topple over the edge every time.

You barely caught the image of him winking at you in reassurance that he wanted you to let go as you squeezed your eyes shut and your fists clenched hard, the headboard creaking. Jake let out a groan against your pussy that sent another tingle up your spine, causing you to call out, “Ah, Jake!” when you careened over the cliff once more.

Jake broke the suction of his mouth, gently easing you off of him, his strong arms setting you into the mound of sheets that laid at his side. He had regained just enough life in his legs to jet to the bathroom quickly to clean himself up, returning with a warm, damp towel which he used to tenderly wipe between your legs. He discarded it, tossing it into the hamper as fast as he could.

Jake settled back into bed, slipping his glasses back on and looking at the countdown clock on the television which had just dipped below 30 seconds, as he pulled your naked body on top of his, a sleepy smile filling your face, eyes closed peacefully. You hummed contentedly, finding comfort pressed against his beefy torso as his one arm wrapped around your shoulders, the other hiking your knee up for you to toss your leg over his slim waist. Your head settled on his shoulder, nearly face-to-face with him, just in time for the final countdown.

Both of your gleaming smiles matched each other when the ball dropped and you lifted yourself up to kiss him, lips dancing slowly, reverently. There was no longer a rush. The two of you could just enjoy each other as you rang in the new year with a definite bang.

As you pulled away, gasping for air, you resettled yourself down with your ear right over Jake’s heart, your hand moving to idly rub over his belly as the two of you watched confetti fall over Times Square on the screen.

“Got any resolutions, babe?” you slurred.

Jake blew out a contemplative breath, pressing a kiss to the top of your head as his fingertips teased up and down your arm. He clicked his tongue in thought, “Maybe presenting the suggestion to you that we take the square root of the year and do that many orgasms instead from here on out. That way in 2064, when we’re old and wrinkly, we’ve only gotta do eight. And in 2081, our frail bones can settle for nine.”

You laughed along with his warm chuckle that rumbled his chest and nodded. “Good idea, Jakey.”

Bonus A/N: My life’s dream is to drain Jake’s body like this. Thank you.

Taglist: @hawkeyes-queen @ronearoundblindly @mercurial-chuckles @steviebbboi @thiquefunlover63

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theegyal · 9 days ago

Text

Hush, [Annie x Smoke ]

Chapter 9 : Family Reunion

Silence felt in the room, hanging between them like a death threat. Their breath sliced through the sanitized air and the steady beep of the heart monitor. Olivia's perfectly curated composure cracked, the fine lines of it splintering across her face.

Elijah pushed himself up, the flimsy hospital gown scrapped against his skin and the dull throb in his skull was nothing compared to the storm brewing in his mind. He looked at the blonde woman standing by his bed, and saw a total stranger.

"Darling," Olivia began, her voice a strained. "You're confused. The seizure—"

"Tss girl I ain't confused," he cut her off. The voice that came out was not Smoke's lazy drawl. It was pure Delta mud, thick with the accent he hadn't used in years.

"I'm tired. Tired of this room. Tired of whoever you are."

Olivia visibly twitched. A flash of disgust crossed her features before she masked it with concern.

"Smoke, listen to your voice. You're not speaking clearly. We need to call the doctor, help you get oriented—"

"Ain't nothin' wrong with how I talk," he said, his eyes narrowing. "You don't even know me" He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet hitting the cold floor.

A bright memory hit him again: Annie, laughing in the kitchen, flour on her nose. The scent of collards and bacon. Her cry of joy when the pregnancy test came back positive.

He stabbed the call button beside the bed with his thumb, his gaze never leaving Olivia's. "I want you to git."

A nurse appeared at the door. "Is everything alright, Mr. Moore?"

"No," he said calmly, his southern accent ringing with authority in the sterile room. "I want this woman gone. She ain't my family. Don't know that girl, ma'am"

12:10 AM

Humiliation burned hotter than any scratch on Olivia's face. She stormed down the hallway, her heels clicking like gunshots against the tile.

She didn't slow until she was in the privacy of a hospital stairwell, the heavy fire door slamming shut behind her. Fumbling in her purse, she pulled out her phone and dialed, her fingers shaking with rage.

"Roberts," a nervous voice answered on the second ring.

"He's awake," she hissed, foregoing any greeting. "And he's a mess. He's talking like some backwoods farmer. He threw me out."

"Ms Manson, I—"

"I don't need your excuses," she snapped. "I need a solution. Whatever you gave him, it's wearing off. I need something stronger. Something to put him back under, to quiet all this... noise in his head. Do you understand me? "

"But his seizures—a higher dose could be dangerous—"

"I don't care about dangerous!" she shrieked into the phone. "I care about fixing what that ghetto woman broke. I want my husband back. Fix it, or I will tell my father your part in this has become a liability."

She ended the call without waiting for a reply, a venomous smile touching her bruised lips.

12:15 AM

Outside, the hospital doors had slid shut, leaving Annie and Stack in, the now raining street. Annie sank into the passenger seat of Stack's car, her body hollowed out, staring blankly as he buckled a fussing Lois into the back.

"They gon' come for us," she whispered, shaking. "After what I did...they'll take Lois."

"Let them try," Stack said. He slammed the driver's side door, the car rocking with the force. "Don't stress about it Annie."

He looked over at her, his usual smirk gone, replaced by a grim resolve. "I ain't lettin' 'em touch you or my niece. Not ever, I'm Stack don't for Goddamn sake ! Ain't Carol told ya what we used to do ?"

She laughed bittersweet at his joking tone.

He hadn't even turned the key in the ignition when a woman in scrubs approached the passenger side's window, tapping gently on the glass.

Annie flinched, expecting security. Stack tensed, ready to peel out.

She hesitantly rolled the window down. It was a doctor, her face tired but kind.

"Ma'am?" She said, looking directly at Annie. "Are you Annie Moore?"

Annie looked at stack before nodding hesitantly. Her heart knotted in her chest.

"Mr. Elijah Moore is awake," the doctor said. "And he's asking for you. Specifically. He won't speak to anyone else until he sees you and his daughter."

12:25 AM

Dr. Roberts hung up the phone, his hand trembling so badly he nearly dropped the receiver. The blood drained from his face. Liability. That was the word that snake used. He knew what that meant when it came from Colonel Manson's daughter.

He was disposable. Just like Clayman was.

He paced his office, sweat beading on his forehead. For months, he'd been caught between two fears: the powerful, political influence of the Colonel, and the immediate threat in Elias Moore's eyes.

I will peel your life apart piece by piece. Wife, kids, your whole damn gene pool.

Stack's threat was no idle boast. It was a deadly promise. Roberts looked at the framed photo on his desk : his smiling wife, his two young sons at a picnic.

His choice was made.

He snatched up the phone again, his fingers fumbling as he dialed the number Stack had burned into his memory.

Stack's phone buzzed just as Annie was getting out of the car. He glanced at the caller ID: UNKNOWN. He almost ignored it, but a gut feeling made him answer, hitting the speakerphone button.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Moore? Mr. Elias Moore?" The voice was panicked, breathless. "It's Dr. Roberts."

Stack smirked, drumming his fingers on the door handle. "Damn. My dear grown-ass best friend. You got some for me ?"

"She called me!" Roberts blurted out, the words tumbling over each other. "Olivia Manson, the daughter of the colonel ! She wants him sedated! A stronger dose. She wants to—Look, she's on her way to my clinic to make sure I do it. I just want peace for my family—"

"Clayman also had one. Tch" Stack responded before hanging up.

12:30 AM

Annie took a deep breath, the cool, rain-washed air doing little to calm the frantic beating of her heart. She unbuckled Lois from the car seat. Her daughter, looked at her sucking her tiny thumb.

Holding her baby tight against her chest felt like holding onto an anchor in a raging storm.

"You sure 'bout this?" Stack asked, calming his nerves from the conversation with Roberts

"He asked for her," Annie answered "He asked for his daughter. I'm taking her to him."

She closed the back door and, with one last look at Stack, turned to follow the doctor back into the hospital, Lois's small head nestled in the crook of her neck.

Stack watched them go until the automatic doors slid shut, swallowing them whole. He was left alone in the car, the rhythmic thump of the windshield wipers counting off seconds like a metronome of dread. He scanned the hospital entrance, waiting, watching.

A bitter helplessness gnawed at him. He could hotwire a car in ninety seconds, but here, he was pinned. Trapped. Manson had him by the throat with a single word: deserter.

If he acted out, that bastard would burn them both. The official story would leak, and Elijah wouldn't just be a man with amnesia : he would be a traitor to his country. They'd be buried so deep in a federal prison, they'd never see the sun again.

Frustration boiled in his throat. He slammed his palm against the steering wheel. He couldn't do this alone. He needed backup. He needed someone who wasn't afraid to get their hands dirty, someone who played by their own rules.

He needed Carol.

He pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over her number, he didn't save a name, never need it. A wave of shame washed over him. He had no right to call this number. No right to even breathe her name. The last time he'd asked her for help, she'd paid for it with four years of her life behind bars while he ran.

Fuck— He never once visited her.

Stack swallowed the acid taste in his throat and pressed dial.

The line clicked open on the third ring.

"Mmh... you sure got a whole lotta nerve," was all she said. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was filled with so much ice it burned.

"Carol," he started, his own voice sounding hollow.

"Nah. Don't," she cut him off. "Don't say my name like it still belong in yo mouth. I see this number, I know it's you. You got two seconds 'fore I block this number for the rest of my natural-born life. One... two—"

"It's about Annie,"he blurted out, the words rushing from him. "She's in trouble. Can lost Lois and all, if we ain't act quick"

There was a dead, loaded silence on the other end. He could hear her breathing, a slow, controlled inhale. He knew she was weighing her love for Annie against her hatred for him.

"The last time you told me to help you?" she said, her voice dangerously quiet, "I woke up in jail, pendejo. Tch... talk Elias. And you better pray to whatever sad-ass God still answer your calls that you ain't lyin'."

Stack explained everything, the words tumbling out of him : Manson, the amnesia, the fake life with Olivia, the drugs, the foreclosure. He told her everything, holding nothing back.

When he finished, he heard a sound, something crashing on floor. Yes, Carol Montenegro was pissed. Annie was her everything. Her sister, her best friend. However, something didn't sit right : Stack. That chico had a some balls to call her.

"So, the big daddy Elias Moore finally done got his dumb ass caught in a mud-shit he can't shoot his way out of," she mused, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "And now you come callin' on the dirty Ol' Delta whore you left to rot. That about right?"

"Carol, I—"

"Save it," she snapped. "I ain't doin' a damn thing for you. I wouldn't piss on you if you was on fire, Moore. You hear me? Not even a drop. But Annie..."

Her voice softened, just for a second, the loyalty and love for her friend cutting through everything else. "They not touchin' her baby. Not her man, neither."

"So you'll help?" he asked, barely daring to breathe.

"I'll help Nia," Carol corrected him fiercely. "This ain't for you. You and me ? We square chico, you hear me? We're nothin'. I'm getting back to Chicago tonight. You tell my girl I'm comin'. And this little snow bunny bitch? Don't you worry about her. I'll handle it. I learned a thing or two during these four years in prison."

Before he could respond, she hung up.

12:35 AM

Annie followed the doctor down the quiet hall, Lois's soft breaths warming her neck. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic mix of hope and fear.

When the doctor pushed open the door to Elijah's room and stepped aside, Annie paused on the threshold, her breath catching in her throat.

He was sitting up on the edge of the bed. His eyes, the warm, deep brown eyes she knew better than her own, were clear. And they were fixed on her.

He didn't speak. He couldn't. His gaze dropped from her face to the small child in her arms. Lois,m stared back at him, giggling, laughing.

Annie slowly walked into the room, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

"Elijah," she whispered. She was on the verge of crying, her voice breaking.

"Annie," he breathed her name as an apology, a prayer, a homecoming. He patted the empty space on the bed beside him.

She sat down, carefully shifting Lois onto her lap so she was facing her father.

For a long moment, they just looked at each other, a broken family trying to find the shape of itself again.

Elijah lifted his hand, his movements hesitant. He gently caressed Lois's soft, curly hair. His thumb stroked her chubby cheek. "She... she got my mama's nose," he murmured, his voice infused with melancholy. Tears flowed down his cheeks.

Lois was bubbly. She didn't cry. She gurgled, a happy, inquisitive sound, and reached out with a tiny hand, her small fingers wrapping around his thumb. She held on tight.

Elijah let out a shaky breath, a sound that was half sob, half laugh. He looked from his daughter's perfect face to his wife's. "I'm sorry, baby," he whispered, his eyes pleading with hers. "I don't remember everything yet. It's... it's all foggy. But I remember you. I remember lovin' you so much it hurt."

Annie couldn't hold back her own tears any longer. She sobbed freely, she couldn't care less if her face was ugly.

"Mmh—aah" she wailed like an infant, catching Lois mischievous eyes.

All the silent tears of relief and grief and overwhelming love, damping her face, reddened her eyes.

She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his, closing her eyes. Lois was a warm, living bridge between them.

"You're here," Annie exhaled painfully near his mouth . "You're just... you're here."

"I'm here," he promised, his other hand coming up to cup her face, his thumb wiping away her tears. "And I ain't goin' nowhere ever again."

"Welcome home, papa" She smiled, heart full of joy, butterflies flying in her stomach.

As if she could understand something, Lois gurgled, her thumb wet in her mouth :

"Baba ! Bwaba"

The three of them laughed. Allowing themselves to taste the happiness they had been deprived of, for ages.

Tag list :

@thelifeoflagab @juniooox @tadjoa @shamansha @brownskincheyenne @freelandgoddess @Ib-xci @blaqgirlmagicyallcantstandit @iammyownlover @stormynovashambler @summrsovrinterlude @prettygirl2800 @puffmamaa @harleycativy @jasssdee1 @itstayleigh @queenofklonnie22 @bigjh @tadjoa @Isc72 @forzaferrariii , @blxckberrie @avidreader73 @partylikemajima @lolalikesgames @ultralspblr @post-woke @jasssdee1 @lizbehave @rkiiives @underated345-blog @thefutureemmywinner @chknnwffls @maddyf22

#sinners #smoke x annie #annie x elijah #annie sinners #fanfiction #elias stack moore #smoke sinners #smoke and annie #sinners film #sinners fanfiction

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claramelooo · 17 days ago

Text

CHECKMATE (12/20)

Here I am again! Last chapter of the week, I promise!

Enjoy it <3

MINORS MUST NOT INTERACT

Warnings: +18, angst, tension, semi public sex and fingering.

Pairing: Governor! Agatha Harkness x Fem Reader

Summary: Agatha tries to win over young voters.

Knight

noun

1. a piece represented by a stylized horse's head. It moves in an "L" shape, two squares in one direction (either horizontally or vertically). Each player starts with two knights, and they are considered minor pieces, valued at three points.

One day until Monday.

Twenty-four hours until you walked into the office and saw the beautiful face of your insufferable boss. 1,440 minutes until you could talk to her after waking up beside her. 86,400 seconds to pretend none of it had ever happened.

Your head felt heavy on the pillow. Your mind crowded with memories of the two of you, her body and all the things she’d said.

Some of those words had warmed your heart; others had made you come and some had rejected you without mercy, without hesitation.

Over lunch, Natasha mentioned the possibility that Thanos had been murdered.

God… That meant Agatha would be investigated, right?

That would be disastrous for her image.

Her son. Nicholas, right? You didn’t know him, not really. Just a few pictures. But you knew what it was like to lose a father.

You had to warn her. Agatha needed to be ready. Call in legal. Talk to Jennifer. Prep the entire image team.

You needed to get to the office as early as possible.

And that’s exactly what you did.

Each step down the hallway echoed in your head like a metronome of nerves.

The words kept repeating in your mind like a half-rehearsed monologue.

“Sonya,” you called out, eyes locked on Agatha’s glass office door. “Is she in yet?”

The assistant, typing furiously, glanced up for barely a second before returning to her screen.

“She got in about ten minutes ago. She’s actually waiting for you.”

Your heart skipped.

You ran a hand through your hair, trying to look less like you were falling apart inside.

Then, feigning confidence, you stepped into the room.

Agatha stood by the window. The morning light traced the outline of her silhouette, and her shoulders were visibly tense.

When you entered, she turned to face you with that gaze that missed nothing.

In silence, she took two steps toward the door behind you and locked it with a sharp click.

The air grew heavier.

You were about to speak, to bring up Thanos. The way she had stirred things inside you no one else ever had. But then she turned back to her desk, opened a drawer, and held out a yellow envelope to you.

“Here." She said, avoiding eye contact.

You frowned.

“What is this?”

“It’s... a way to make sure you feel comfortable and safe.”

Her voice was calm, rehearsed. Cold. Colder than yelling.

You took the envelope and opened it slowly. The contents made your eyes go wide.

Money. A lot of it.

You didn’t bother to count, but you could swear there was at least $2,500 inside.

"You're paying me?"

Agatha sighed, crossing her arms.

"It's not payment, it's a gift. So you can keep studying. So you can have freedom, without any... complications."

You felt your face burn.

"A gift?" Your voice came out low, but sharp. "Is this so I keep pleasing you in bed? Or to keep my mouth shut out here?"

She narrowed her eyes, like she was holding something back inside her.

"You don’t understand. I’m trying to protect you and myself. I’m a public figure. A powerful woman. It’s campaign season and if this gets out…”

Oh, God…

Okay. Now you were pissed.

This wasn’t good at all

"So you'd rather pay me to pretend it never happened?"

Silence.

You gripped the envelope tightly. You wanted to throw it in her face. Tear it to pieces right in front of her.

For a moment, you even wanted to accept it and pretend nothing had happened.

Pretend you hadn’t felt anything. Pretend it was just wild, incredible sex. Pretend it didn’t hurt when she kicked you out the next morning.

"I… I'm not good at this," Agatha said, her eyes locked on yours now. "I just… I can't let this spiral out of control."

You gave a hollow smile, the kind you wore when everything hurt too much.

"Control, control, control. That’s all it is with you, isn’t it, Agatha?" You said, biting the inside of your cheek. "But it’s too late for that."

You placed the envelope on the desk with deliberate calm, like returning an unwanted gift.

She exhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You don’t understand! Can’t you see I’m trying to protect my entire life?” she snapped, her voice rising. “You think it’s easy? That I can just fall into your arms and ignore everything I’ve built?”

Her eyes had a greener hue now, glistening like fresh water.

You looked at her.

And you could saw the broken woman that Agatha Harkness really was.

It hurt.

It hurt even more that, despite the way she was treating you, you still wanted to understand her.

To comfort her.

"I didn’t ask you to want me!" You shouted. "I didn’t ask for you to look at me like that, to touch me like that! And now that it’s happened... you try to buy my silence like I’m just another political mistake to manage?!"

She stepped back and stopped behind the desk, gripping the edge like it could somehow keep her upright.

"You’re being unfair."

Her voice was too soft, cracked.

"And you are a coward, Agatha Harkness."

You stared at each other.

Everything unsaid hanging between you like thunder in the air.

Until a knock at the door broke the spell.

Daniel stepped in, and you looked at him, desperate for the tension to break.

“Ladies! Everything’s ready. Barkley’s waiting for you both.”

Right.

Tacoma. The speech. The plan to win over the youth.

You still had a country to convince.

You nodded and walked out of the room, swallowing hard. You had to get your breath back before you could breathe the same air as her again.

[...]

The campaign committee was pure chaos, buzzing with electric energy. Posts with the hashtag #MotherHark were already going viral.

Quick-cut videos of her speaking to young people about politics were flooding TikTok and Instagram; impactful quotes captioned with modern typography, intercut with clips of her staring directly into the camera while the campaign slogan pulsed in purple and white:

"Politics is everything, and everything is politics."

You were sitting in one of the chairs in the conference room, waiting for the campaign bus to arrive, silently watching the latest video on your phone. In it, Agatha spoke with a steady voice:

"From the moment you choose what to wear, what to eat, or even which movie to watch, politics is there. Invisible, but always present. And it's time for you, young people, to start seeing it."

“They’re commenting like she’s some kind of communist MILF.” Sharon murmured from across the room, chuckling.

“She is a MILF.” Billy replied with a crooked grin, leaning on the production table.

You rolled your eyes.

You hated that term and the way it sexualized older women.

So typical of teen, clueless boys.

Jennifer walked in right on time, followed by Sonya and three interns holding clipboards.

She looked flawless wearing a charcoal turtleneck, tailored pants and a navy blue trench coat with a slight satin sheen.

Even at seven in the morning, she looked like she’d already had three coffees and absorbed the soul of a wartime general.

“Team,” she began, wasting no time. “We have thirty minutes before we head out to Tacoma. The school is prepped, the students are already in the auditorium, and the media crew left earlier to set up the cameras.”

She tapped a small stack of cards against the table.

“What I want from you: focus. No unnecessary improvising, no drama en route. We're going to show these teenagers that their opinions matter. I want them to feel like political agents and if they leave with only one idea in mind. They have power.”

You and a few others boarded the bus.

It was massive. The biggest tour bus you'd ever stepped into.

Agatha was sitting by the window.

Dark sunglasses, a tired expression.

That sculpted jawline. The same one that made you ache to trace it with your fingertips, was tense. She wore a purple T-shirt, and damn, that color looked perfect on her.

God…

You two had fought.

But all you wanted was to kneel in front of her and make her feel good, right there and then.

Hesitating, like someone jumping off a cliff, you sat down beside her.

Silence.

The bus began to move, a gentle rumble under your feet. Voices around you talked about equipment, schedules and image strategy.

But between the two of you, there was only silence.

“Thank you for not taking the money.” She said softly after a few minutes.

Her voice barely sounded like hers. It was quiet, almost human.

You kept your gaze forward, fixed on some imaginary point on the back of the seat in front of you.

“It wasn’t hard to refuse,” you replied. “What’s hard is forgetting that you thought I’d betray you.”

She turned her face slightly toward you, like she was about to say something. But she held back and looked back out the window, her fingers fidgeting with the diamond ring.

"If I had met you in another life," she murmured. "Maybe everything would’ve been different."

You turned now, facing her. The shadow cast by her hair, the sharp line of her lips. There was a kind of tiredness there. Not the kind that comes from a bad night’s sleep, but from a whole life.

Her words hit you differently. You hadn’t expected to hear that from her, and something sparked in your chest.

What did she think about when the lights were off and she was alone in her massive bed at night?

You had never wanted to find out so badly.

"If you had met me in another life," you echoed. "You would’ve done the same thing. Because this isn’t about me, it’s about what you don’t allow yourself to feel."

Her head turned slowly, like your words had a physical weight.

The sunglasses couldn’t hide everything. Since the tight curve of her brow, the subtle twitch in the corner of her mouth.

Agatha was trembling slightly or maybe that was just your desire for her to be.

"You’re too young to understand." She said. Not with anger, but with something more like quiet desperation.

"And you’re too old to keep hiding."

Her jaw clenched.

"Don’t say it like it’s that simple. It’s never occurred to me like that."

"What? The fact that you’re a lesbian?"

Agatha froze, like you'd touched something forbidden inside her.

"I’m not..." she tried, but the word felt too heavy in her mouth. "...that."

"Lesbian. Saying it won’t kill you, you know?" You said. "That’s what I’m talking about. Even if we had met in another life, you still wouldn’t let yourself feel it."

"I just like to keep a reserved image." She leaned back into the white leather seat like a sulky child.

"You can be reserved and still be comfortable with your sexuality at the same time." You said casually, rummaging through your bag for your earbuds.

She flailed her hands silently, and it made you want to laugh. It was funny how expressive she was when no one was watching.

"Excuse me?! I’m very comfortable with my sexuality!"

You couldn’t help it, you let out a little laugh.

"Oh, sure you are," you said, rolling your eyes with a teasing smirk tugging at your lips. "But let me tell you something..."

You leaned in just close enough to catch the ocean-color glint behind her sunglasses.

"No straight woman kisses the way you kiss. No straight woman fucks the way you fuck."

You whispered the words onto her warm lips.

Agatha let out a soft breath, her tongue slipping between her lips in an attempt to hold herself together.

You knew she wouldn’t make a move here, but still…

Watching her hesitate because of you?

Delicious.

Before she could reply, the bus came to a halt and one of the assistants stepped in.

"We’re here."

The school auditorium was full. Teenagers between 15 and 18 filled the rows of wooden chairs, buzzing with curiosity.

You stood near the exit with other team members, trying to focus.

Which was hard, because Agatha was wearing a purple jacket—the kind that made her look like she’d been on the varsity basketball team in high school—and you couldn’t help imagining it.

She looked younger, and hotter.

It was all part of the game, you knew that.

And Christ, you were feeling so stupid for falling for a political strategy you had written yourself.

Agatha walked up to the stage with no fuss and cleared her throat lightly into the mic.

"Good morning," she said, her voice carrying effortlessly. "I know. Ten-thirty in the morning already feels like punishment."

Soft laughter rippled through the room. She let the silence breathe, her timing impeccable.

"But I’m here today because... someone told me young people don’t care about politics."

She paused dramatically, raising an eyebrow.

"And I thought that was so ridiculous… I had to come check for myself."

More laughter now. Genuine and warm.

"I want to talk to you the same way I talk to my 17-year-old son, who’s convinced I’m the definition of boring. Spoiler: he’s absolutely right."

Even more laughter.

Suddenly, the auditorium felt like the audience at a stand-up comedy show.

"Come on, don’t be shy! I want to hear from you!"

A girl in the second row raised her hand. Agatha pointed at her with a nod of her chin.

"You. Name and question."

"Jade," the girl said. "Have you ever thought about quitting? I mean… being a politician seems kinda dangerous sometimes."

Agatha looked at her for a moment, as if really digesting the question.

The room went quiet.

"Every single day," she answered. Honest, razor-sharp. "But the secret is remembering why you started. And for me, it’s remembering who’s watching me."

She looked over the crowd. Her gaze landed on you for just a second.

It was quick, but enough to burn.

"My son. You. People who think the future’s screwed. My job is to prove it can be different, but it only works if you are part of it."

Another student raised his hand. A scrawny boy in an X-Men hoodie.

"Did you always want to be governor?"

"No," she said. "When I was young, I wanted to be a dancer. Eventually I found out you actually need talent for that."

Louder laughter this time.

"So I went with the more dramatic option, is true. Changing the world through action and speech. And honestly? Sometimes I think I should’ve risked Broadway instead."

A real laugh formed on her lips, and it was like she was born for that stage.

She leaned in slightly.

"But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can be many things. I was a daughter. A wife. I became a mother. Today I’m a candidate, and tomorrow? Who knows... Maybe I’ll just want to be a good example for someone who hasn’t even been born yet."

You held your breath.

Because it wasn’t just the content, it was the tone. The quiet vulnerability. The way she allowed little cracks to show.

Just enough for you to fall in love with her.

Fuck…

You were so screwed.

When a shy student asked how to get involved in politics without knowing where to start, Agatha answered:

"You start like you start anything: by messing up. A lot. Getting into things you weren’t invited to. Yelling before you even know how to argue, but you learn. Because when you speak, someone listens. And one day, you look back and realize that the first time you raised your hand... changed everything."

Then she reached out her hand, symbolically, to the students.

"Raise your hands. Make noise. The world won’t give you space if you ask politely. So scream!"

And they did. The auditorium exploded with wild, living shouts, and the vibrations climbed up through your feet.

Her presence up there, it was so grounded, so human, so powerful and stirred everything inside you.

And worse: she knew it.

You saw how she looked every student in the eye. How she treated every question like a mission. The way she moved her hands. Always authoritative, but warm. That low tone of voice. The almost automatic gestures.

She was... everyone’s mother.

And for a moment, you wanted to be back in that hotel room.

You wanted to kneel between her legs and say it again, through tears and desire.

Mommy.

Your face burned.

You clutched your notebooks to your chest, trying to hold yourself together.

Jennifer appeared at your side, cutting through the electric current.

"She’s doing very well," she said in a neutral tone. "See that? That’s what I call winning."

You could only nod.

But the truth was, in that moment, you weren’t thinking about votes.

You were thinking about how much you wanted to rip off that purple jacket and call her Mommy again and again.

[...]

The bus buzzed with praise. Excited comments, laughter, applause. Jennifer could barely hide her excitement as she said, “That’s three major headlines right there.” Even poor Sonya smiled, and she never smiled.

But all you wanted was Agatha.

She climbed the bus steps slower this time. Her posture still upright, still in control. But her eyes even behind those dark sunglasses were searching.

For you.

She hesitated, walking to the back and sat beside you.

The same seat as earlier.

Your heart skipped.

"You were amazing." You said, trying to keep your voice steady.

"Thank you," she replied, still looking out the window. Then she turned her head slightly. "You were right, the younger audience is the key."

You nodded.

The silence that followed was both comforting and torturous. It cracked beneath the surface like static, like the whole world was waiting for something to happen.

Then Agatha discreetly reached out and took your hand.

Almost like an accidental brush, but your entire body lit up, because you knew nothing Agatha did was accidental.

"I think I’m tired," she said. Her voice low, intimate. "Really tired."

Her fingers began to stroke the back of your hand. Slowly, and almost absentmindedly.

But you knew better.

There was nothing absentminded about her. Every movement was calculated. Every touch whispered that it was anything but innocent.

Because Agatha was a control freak bitch.

"And you..." she continued, leaning in just a little. "Should make me feel good."

Your breath stuttered. You turned to face her, catching the shadowed gleam of her eyes behind her glasses.

And still, you felt her cutting through you.

"Yes," your voice came out as a needy whimper. "Anything."

You whispered, because that was all you could manage.

Fuck. You’d go to the ends of the earth if she asked. You’d give your soul to the cruelest devil and fight the strongest god if it meant pleasing her.

"Anything?" She repeated with a smirk, just a hint of irony. The corner of her mouth curling like a comma full of meaning.

She looked around the bus. Everyone was quiet, resting before the ride back to the office.

Then she leaned in, her shoulder brushing against yours.

"Unbutton your pants and spread your legs." She said. Her voice already hoarse, already pulsing.

Your heart slammed against your ribs as her words cut through the air between you, low enough that only you could hear them, but loud enough to make your body react instantly.

You hesitated for a second. Not out of fear, but because of the risk. Then, under Agatha’s watchful gaze, you slid your fingers down to the button of your pants, undoing it with an almost inaudible click.

She watched every movement. The sunglasses hid her eyes, but not the hunger in her expression.

When you spread your legs just enough, she let out a quiet sound of approval and then… with a casualness that could’ve fooled anyone into thinking she was just reaching for something in her pocket, she slipped her hand between your thighs.

The first touch was electric.

Her steady and controlled fingers found you already wet, and she inhaled sharply, like even she couldn’t quite believe what she was doing.

"You filthy little tease," she murmured, her lips grazing your ear as her fingers slid over you, exploring, gauging your response. "But you’re so damn pretty…"

You bit your lip hard to keep from moaning, your hips moving involuntarily against her hand, chasing more pressure.

Agatha smiled slowly, predatorily, then pressed her fingers firmly against your clit, making you choke on a wave of pleasure.

"Quiet," she ordered, voice like a ribbon of silk and steel. "Or everyone’s going to know you’re grinding into my hand like a needy little kitten in heat."

Blood rushed to your face, but you didn’t stop.

You couldn’t stop.

Your muscles were tight, your stomach coiled, every flick of her fingers dragging you closer to the edge.

She noticed—of course she did—and slowed her pace, fingers now circling torturously slow, watching every microexpression flicker across your face.

"You gonna come for me right here? In front of everyone?" she whispered, her lips brushing your temple. "Gonna be a good girl and stay quiet while I make you fall apart?"

You shook your head, desperate, but she already knew the answer.

"Mommy…"

"Oh. You really like that, don’t you, baby girl?"

Oh, fuck.

Your eyes rolled back under your lashes.

And then, she sped up.

Her fingers worked you with cruel precision, and you grabbed the seat hard, your knuckles white, your whole body trembling with raw tension.

"Please," you mouthed, voice gone, lips just forming the word. "Mommy."

She understood.

And with one final perfect circle right where you needed it most, she brought you to the brink… and stopped.

Her fingers pressed down firmly, holding you there—no movement—leaving you suspended in the abyss.

She watched your desperation, the corners of her mouth curling upward, before she began again.

Slower. More torturous.

"You make me ravenous," she confessed, her voice trembling, like she hated every syllable she had to admit. "No one’s ever… ever made me want to lose control like this."

Your pulse spiked at the crack in her voice.

She was unraveling.

You dared to touch her free hand, lacing your fingers with hers, and she gripped your hand tightly just like she needed an anchor.

"Not yet," she rasped. "You come when I say. Only when Mommy says."

When release finally came, it hit you like a jolt of lightning.

You arched, muscles clenching around her fingers, body shaking like a leaf and she covered your mouth with her palm, muffling your cries in a gesture that was both domination and protection.

"Shhh… quiet now," she breathed against your neck, licking the salty sweat there as she dragged out every wave of your pleasure. "All of this… all your filth… belongs to me."

When she finally withdrew, you were wrecked. Breath ragged, kegs weak, makeup totally smudged.

Agatha wiped her fingers slowly on your pants. Her eyes hidden, but her jaw tight with tension.

Two tears slid down your cheeks before you could stop them, and you smiled.

"Feeling better now, Governor?"

She swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths, trying to reel herself back in.

Then she looked at you, serious. Hard.

"Would you… want to continue this somewhere else?"

She whispered it like even she couldn’t believe she was saying it.

"Y-yes."

She shook her head and stood up, disappearing into the bathroom stall.

You let out a shaky breath, barely believing what had just happened.

And then, your special phone vibrated.

Wait for me at your dorm door. 10pm.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur.

You returned to the office on trembling legs, panties damp, head on fire.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

Jennifer was talking about a press conference with local reporters next week, but your brain absorbed nothing. Only a silent, impatient countdown ticked at the back of your mind.

Five hours until your shift ended.

Then eight more until Agatha would show up at your dorm and take you… somewhere unknown.

But honestly?

Fuck it.

You wanted this.

You wanted her.

And you’d do anything.

So when the clock finally struck, you left the building like you were on fire.

You crossed campus with the afternoon warmth brushing your face.

You entered the dorm, dropped your backpack on the couch without a second thought, and went straight to the shower.

A cold one, of course.

Not because you wanted to, but because you had to.

The freezing water hit your skin like a jolt. You leaned against the shower tiles, breathing deeply.

That woman.

She made you come with an intensity you didn’t even know was possible, on that damn bus.

God… she made you come so fast and so well.

All you wanted now was to return the favor, but the water didn’t wash it away.

Her touch remained on your skin like embers, still burning.

You stepped out with wet hair dripping down your back. The towel dropped to the floor in a hurr, wearing nothing but the thinnest pair of shorts, you lay on your bed.

Your eyes stared at the ceiling, but your mind was miles away.

On her blue-green eyes. On the taste you could still feel on your lips. On the command and the plea.

Your hand slid down your damp stomach, a distracted caress that quickly turned to raw desire.

You tried to stop.

Tried to be good.

But the truth?

Agatha had branded her fingerprints into your body, and every fiber of you ached for more.

Your hand moved lower, trembling.

But just before your fingers could go any further, your phone buzzed again.

The special one.

You grabbed it quickly, heart pounding.

Agatha.

Behave.

You closed your eyes, bit your lip, and smiled, utterly defeated.

She knew.

That fall was wrong, elegant, and inevitable.

You tried to think of the campaign, your job, even Carol.

But you weren’t playing it safe.

You were playing to be tamed by the queen with iron hands.

~*~

See you on Thursday!!

@vyvvycg @rosekjsses @3liyuh @indentity0018 @beggingonmykneesforher @reginassecretlover @trying-to-do-good @imjustvibingsworld @mbxoxo @jazzyxqlz @eternallyconfuzed @ctrlaltedits @sheriffhaughtearp @lesbiansweet @i-luv-w1men @htinha157 @syssmin @wandasslut3000 @fuzzygiantlamphorse @imaginaryblogger01 @aboutcustardcreams @upsidedowndanvers @starbucks-06 @absolute-memegarbage @trinity2k @greyella @angel-kitten-babygirl-u-choose @whitelotus00 @dandelions4us @creaturesaphique @warpdrive-witch @sweetmidnights @dingdongthetail @mommy-mommy-mommy-hi @milfovers4 @jaylie-bee @holystrangersalad @chlondykebar @natashashill @harknessshi @whoreforolderfictionalwomen @ahintofchaos @lowlyjelly @xblinkx2 @rmaximoff @loveshineslikethesky

#agatha all along #wlw post #checkmate #agatha harkness x fem reader #agatha x reader #agatha harkness #domme mommy #mommy k!nk #lgbtq #lgbtqia #agatha harkness x reader #mommy knows best #dom mommy #bdsmkink #bdsmdominant #older woman younger girl

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pankowcrumbs · 2 months ago

Text

Crimson and Smoke X Lewis Hamilton (Requested)

MasterList

F1 Masterlist

18+

Plot: Lewis is 12 years older than you and a forbidden work romance is not something he wants to mess with but....he does anyway with pressure from some of the other drivers.

If someone had told me last year that Lewis Hamilton would be standing in the Ferrari garage, red fire suit clinging to his frame, eyes pinned to me like I was the only thing he could see I’d have laughed in their face.

And yet, here we were.

He'd been with us barely a month, and already the tension between us was dangerous. Electric. It crackled whenever he walked past me, whenever his fingers brushed mine as he handed me a clipboard, whenever his smile curved a fraction too slow.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew he felt it too.

The whole grid knew.

The whispers had started almost immediately Carlos, Charles, even Lando teasing Lewis mercilessly in the paddock.

"Just ask her out, mate," Charles had said, clapping a hand on Lewis's shoulder after a press conference. "You’re Lewis bloody Hamilton. What are you scared of?"

Lewis had just smiled tightly, eyes flickering to me standing across the room, arms crossed, pretending not to notice.

I knew what held him back. It wasn’t the team, or the PR nightmares Ferrari were so obsessed with. It was the age thing.

Twelve years between us.

To him, it was a chasm he wasn’t sure he could cross.

To me? It only made him hotter.

Wiser. Sharper. Unbelievably sexy.

Every look we shared built the fire higher. Every accidental touch made it harder to breathe.

And I was aching for him.

The tipping point came one humid Friday evening after free practice in Monaco.

I was sat a table away from Lewis, trying very hard not to make it obvious that I was staring at the way his forearms flexed as he picked apart his sandwich.

God help me.

Meanwhile, across the room, a few drivers were not being subtle at all.

Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, and Lando Norris huddled together like a pack of conspiring schoolboys, whispering, glancing at Lewis, and then glancing at me.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

But then George straightened up and walked over to Lewis, clapped his hands loudly and said, far too casually, "Mate, we were just saying you seem... stressed."

Lewis gave him a flat look. "I'm fine."

"No you’re not," Charles piped up, grinning.

"You’re brooding, like a teenage girl," Lando added.

"You're pining," Carlos declared.

Lewis threw his sandwich down with a sigh. "Pining for what?"

Four pairs of eyes snapped towards me.

I nearly choked on my water.

Lewis turned bright red.

Carlos clapped him on the back, almost knocking him into his plate. "Come on, mate. The whole paddock knows you fancy her."

"She likes you too," Lando chimed in, far too eagerly. "You’re both just being pathetic about it."

Lewis mumbled something under his breath, ears scarlet.

Charles leaned in, serious now. "Lewis, you're overthinking it. Age doesn't matter. You make her laugh. She lights up when you walk in the room. Just tell her."

George nodded firmly. "We’re staging an intervention."

Lewis buried his face in his hands.

"This is a nightmare," he groaned.

"Nope," said Carlos, smug. "This is a rescue mission."

"And you’re welcome," Lando added.

I wanted to sink into the floor. I busied myself with pretending to check my phone, heart hammering so loud I was sure they could hear it.

Finally, Lewis pushed back his chair with a scrape, stood up, and fixed them all with a glare.

"Fine. You lot are insufferable. I’ll talk to her."

Cheers and whoops broke out behind him as he stalked over to me.

My mouth went dry.

He stopped beside my chair, leaning down so close I could smell his cologne.

"You," he said roughly. "Walk with me."

I nodded, throat too tight to speak.

The moment we stepped out of the hospitality tent and into the warm afternoon air, Lewis grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together.

His palm was warm, slightly rough.

It felt right.

We walked until we were tucked behind one of the team trucks, out of sight, hearts hammering.

Lewis took a breath like he was about to say something important.

Then, low and rough, voice all shaky confidence, he said

"I like you. A lot more than I should."

My heart flipped over.

"And before you say anything," he rushed on, "I know it’s complicated. I know we work together. I know I’m a bit older..."

"You’re perfect," I said.

He stared at me.

Then, finally, like gravity was pulling him, he kissed me.

Lewis made a low, broken sound deep in his throat a sound that went straight between my legs and kissed me back like a man starved.

His hands found my hips, fingers digging in, dragging me closer. His mouth was hot and insistent, tongue sweeping into mine, tasting, claiming.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

"Fuck," he rasped, forehead resting against mine. "I’ve wanted to do that since the day I met you."

"Good," I whispered, hands sliding up under the hem of his shirt to feel the heat of his skin. "Because I want you, Lewis."

His jaw tightened, muscles flexing under my palms.

"You’re sure?" he asked, voice tight with restraint.

"Positive."

The last thread of his control snapped.

He stood abruptly, grabbing my hand and dragging me into his drivers room, slamming the door behind us.

The moment we were alone, it turned feral.

Lewis pinned me against the door, mouth devouring mine, hands everywhere gripping my thighs, squeezing my arse, dragging me closer until I could feel every hard line of him pressed against me.

His mouth trailed down my neck, biting lightly, then soothing the sting with his tongue.

"You drive me fucking crazy," he muttered against my skin.

My hands were frantic, tugging his shirt off over his head, running greedy palms over the smooth planes of his chest, the inked lines of his tattoos.

He was gorgeous lean and powerful, body honed like a blade.

Lewis ducked his head, kissing a path down the column of my throat, nipping at my collarbone.

I gasped when he dropped to his knees without warning, hands sliding up my thighs beneath my skirt.

"Let me taste you," he said, voice wrecked, pleading.

I nodded frantically, fingers burying in his curls.

He shoved my knickers aside with a groan and buried his face between my thighs.

The first sweep of his tongue made me cry out, knees buckling.

He licked me like he was starving slow, deliberate strokes, savouring every sound I made, every tremble he pulled from me.

His hands gripped my hips, holding me still, as he devoured me, murmuring filth against my skin.

"So sweet," he muttered "Could spend all night right here."

When he slid two fingers inside me, crooking them expertly, and sucked my clit into his mouth, I shattered with a sob, coming hard against his tongue.

He didn’t stop. He licked me through it, coaxing every last aftershock until I was whimpering, tugging at his hair.

When he finally stood, his mouth was wet, his pupils blown wide.

"You’re so fucking beautiful," he rasped.

He kissed me again, letting me taste myself on his tongue, and I moaned into his mouth.

Then he lifted me just lifted me like it was nothing and carried me to the small sofa in the corner, laying me down carefully.

As he knelt between my thighs, peeling my clothes off piece by piece, his gaze was molten.

"I’m gonna make you feel so good, baby," he promised, voice wrecked with need.

And then he made good on every word.

The sunlight stabbing through the thin curtains was what woke me first. The second thing was the feeling of being completely trapped in the best possible way.

Lewis was wrapped around me like a vine, arms banded tight around my waist, one leg slung lazily over both of mine.

His face was tucked against my neck, breath warm and steady on my skin.

For a second, I just lay there, blinking up at the ceiling, trying to process the ridiculous fact that I had spent the night the most unbelievable, filthy, amazing night tangled up with Lewis Hamilton in his house.

In his bed.

Jesus Christ.

A slow, stupid smile crept across my face.

"Morning," came his voice, low and rough with sleep.

I turned my head to find him already awake, watching me with the softest, fondest expression that made my chest ache.

"Morning," I whispered, cheeks flushing hot.

Lewis tightened his hold on me, rubbing his nose against mine in a way that was almost unbearably sweet considering the downright illegal things he'd been doing to me a few hours earlier.

"You alright?" he murmured.

"Bit sore," I admitted with a bashful laugh.

Lewis grinned wickedly, the dimple in his cheek flashing. "That’s my girl."

I shoved his chest weakly, but he only laughed, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

It would’ve been so easy to stay like that safe and warm and completely drunk on each other but reality came crashing in, ugly and inconvenient.

I twisted to look at the clock on the side table.

8:32am.

The garage meeting was at 9.

"Fuck!" I scrambled upright, yanking the sheet with me. Lewis let out an indignant grunt as the covers were ripped away, baring his frankly obscene body to the air.

"We’re late," I hissed, grabbing my clothes off the floor in a panic.

Lewis just stretched lazily, muscles rippling, completely unbothered.

"Worth it," he said with a grin, arms folded behind his head like he was posing for a bloody Calvin Klein ad.

I threw his shirt at his face.

"Stop looking so smug, Hamilton, and help me!"

Still laughing, he rolled out of bed, tugging on a pair of joggers.

The mirror caught my reflection and I winced hair a mess, lips swollen, a suspicious bite mark peeking out from the neckline of my top.

Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

"We look wrecked," I muttered, attempting to tame my hair into something vaguely professional.

"We are wrecked," Lewis said cheerfully, coming up behind me to kiss my shoulder. "And you’re beautiful."

I melted slightly and hated how easily he could do that.

"Focus, Casanova. We have to get there without anyone seeing us together."

Lewis gave a theatrical sigh, but grabbed his hoodie and a cap, pulling the brim low over his eyes.

I shoved on my jacket, trying desperately to look normal and failing miserably.

He drove to the track and parked ad He cracked the car door open a fraction, peeking out.

"Coast’s clear," he said.

We slipped out trying to look casual, trying not to laugh and completely failing when Lewis bumped his hand against mine deliberately, pinkies brushing.

I bit my lip to smother the giggle threatening to escape.

We made it across the hospitality lot, weaving between trucks and motorhomes, this close to safety when

"Oi!"

I froze.

So did Lewis.

Slowly, we both turned to see Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz standing nearby, grinning like a pair of Cheshire cats.

Lando waggled his eyebrows obnoxiously. Carlos pretended to wolf-whistle.

I felt my face go up in flames.

Lewis just smirked, tugging the brim of his cap lower and grabbing my hand properly, twining our fingers together.

"Morning, lads," he said, utterly unbothered.

I gaped at him.

Carlos laughed so hard he had to lean on Lando for support.

"Oh mate, you’re so caught," Lando crowed.

"Tell the rest of the grid we won’t be at breakfast," Lewis called over his shoulder, dragging me along with him.

"Yeah, tell them we’re… busy," I muttered, mortified.

Behind us, we heard more laughter and the distant chant of, "Hamilton’s got a girlfriend!" echoing down the paddock.

I groaned, hiding my burning face against Lewis’s shoulder.

He just laughed and squeezed my hand tighter.

"You realise," he murmured in my ear, voice low and wicked, "you’re stuck with me now."

I looked up at him at his ridiculous smile, at the crinkles at the corners of his eyes, at the way he was looking at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered and felt my heart clench, wild and bright.

"Good," I said, grinning despite myself. "Because I’m not going anywhere."

And when Lewis bent his head to kiss me, right there in the middle of the paddock, in full view of anyone who cared to look I didn’t pull away.

I kissed him back.

Because fuck it.

I wanted him. He wanted me. And no amount of rules or whispers or grid-wide gossip was going to change that.

We were already a team.

And we were just getting started.

178 notes · View notes

mcrdvcks · 3 months ago

Text

i love you, always and forever ࿐‧₊ wanna see what's under that attitude

chapter summary: The kids try scaring Logan but fail at every turn. You come up with a new binder.

word count: 8.1k+

pairing: Logan Howlett x fem!reader

notes: like last chapter, this is pretty much mostly fluff. next chapter is where we ramp things up a bit :)

warnings/tags: reader wears glasses, fluff, slight angst, brief mentions of sex, slight scott slander (in a playful way...?)

series masterlist - chapter 10 → chapter 12

It was part infuriating and part upsetting. It’s not that the two of you never fought, you did, but it was usually about stupid things like Logan keeping his boots in the middle of the walkway, or you staying up late to finish grading papers.

After going to Jean’s lab to help her with a project, you went back to your classroom and found a cup of tea and a note.

“Sorry. Can I make it up to you? Love, your idiot husband.”

The note stayed on your desk longer than you intended. You read it again—Logan’s familiar scrawl, the self-deprecating humor tucked into his words. It was sweet, yes, but it didn’t entirely quell the lingering frustration from the fight last night.

Not that you could exactly pinpoint what the fight was about. It had started small, like they usually did, and spiraled into something heated before either of you realized it. Logan had been snappish, you’d been stubborn, and by the time the argument ended, you’d retreated to your classroom to prep for today’s lessons while Logan stomped off somewhere else.

Still, the tea on your desk—your favorite blend—was warm when you found it. And the note? It was peak Logan. Gruff but apologetic, with enough charm to make you start forgiving him before he even said the words.

You tucked the note into the front pocket of your notebook before starting class.

---

The rest of the day went smoothly enough. Your students were engaged, a few even managed to crack a joke that earned more than a polite smile from you. By the time the last class ended, you felt lighter, the earlier tension fading.

When you returned to your shared room, the sight stopped you in your tracks.

Logan had cleaned.

The scattered boots, flannel shirts, and that one stubborn pair of jeans that he left draped over the chair for weeks were all gone. The bed was made, the surfaces were wiped, and you could smell the faint scent of lemon from the cleaner he must have used.

You bit back a smile, crossing to your desk where even your papers had been neatly stacked. A small bouquet of wildflowers sat in a glass jar next to your lamp. They weren’t extravagant—just blooms he must’ve picked from the garden—but the thought behind them made your chest ache in the best way.

---

Dinner wasn’t just dinner—it was dessert.

When Jean intercepted you on your way to the kitchen, she barely contained her grin. “Don’t go in there yet,” she said, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall.

“Why not?” you asked, narrowing your eyes.

Jean just tilted her head, smirking. “Let’s call it a peace offering. Logan roped me into supervising.”

Your brows furrowed, but before you could press her for more details, the kitchen door swung open. Logan stood there, holding a tray with two small plates of molten chocolate cake. The edges were slightly uneven, but the rich scent of chocolate and caramel made your stomach flip.

“Dinner’s still cookin’,” he said, nodding toward the plates. “Figured this’d keep you happy ‘til then.”

Jean winked at you before slipping past Logan and disappearing down the hall.

You accepted the plate he handed you, raising an eyebrow. “You made this?”

“Well, Jean stopped me from burnin’ the place down, but yeah,” he admitted, smirking slightly.

You took a bite, the warm, gooey center melting on your tongue. “This is actually good,” you said after swallowing, and Logan chuckled.

“High praise, comin’ from you,” he teased, but there was no edge to his words.

---

Later that evening, you curled up in your favorite chair with a book, the day’s tension completely gone. Logan had been uncharacteristically subdued all evening, watching you with a quiet intensity that made you wonder if he was still waiting for you to forgive him fully.

When he finally approached, it wasn’t with words. He slipped the book from your hands and pulled you into his lap, his arms wrapping around your waist as he nuzzled into your shoulder.

“I’m sorry, darlin’,” he murmured, his voice low and soft.

You turned slightly to look at him, your fingers brushing the side of his face. “For what?”

“For bein’ an idiot,” he said, smirking faintly.

You laughed, resting your forehead against his. “I can’t even remember what the fight was about.”

Logan’s brows furrowed. “Somethin’ stupid, I’m sure.”

“Definitely stupid,” you agreed, a smile tugging at your lips.

He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest, and you felt it down to your bones. “Still. Shouldn’t’ve snapped at you.”

“You’re forgiven,” you said simply, leaning in to kiss him softly.

When you pulled back, his smirk returned, softer this time. “You’re too good to me, sweetheart.”

“Don’t forget it,” you teased, and the two of you laughed, the fight already forgotten as you melted into his embrace.

---

The two of you turned a corner as Theresa and Jones let out a “boo!” that startled you, making you yelp and grab Logan’s arm.

Logan, as always, didn’t have a reaction.

“Tess!”

The girl giggled, “sorry, Y/N! We were tryin’ to scare Logan.”

“Yeah, well, good luck with that.”

You shot a glance at Logan, who was, as always, unbothered by the kids’ antics. It wasn’t surprising—after all, he’d been through far worse than a couple of kids trying to scare him.

Theresa and Jones gave each other a glance and high-fived, clearly proud of their latest attempt. You, on the other hand, just rolled your eyes, though you couldn’t deny that their efforts did keep things interesting.

Kitty, Rogue, and Bobby weren’t far behind, each trying their own version of a surprise attack on Logan over the next few days. The thing was, Logan always managed to stay calm, unflinching. It was as if nothing phased him—not even the most elaborate scare attempts.

Kitty tried jumping out of a closet one afternoon, “Boo!” she yelled. Logan barely blinked.

“I’ll get you one of these days, Logan,” she muttered, walking off, her pride wounded.

Later, Bobby had hidden in the shadows near the kitchen, armed with a bucket of cold water. His grin was smug as he prepared for the perfect ambush.

But Logan never gave him the chance. As soon as Bobby moved to tip the bucket, Logan had already pivoted, his heightened senses picking up on his every move. A simple swipe of his hand sent the bucket flying, and Bobby got drenched.

“Next time, freeze yourself, Bobby,” Logan muttered, walking past him with a casual shrug. Bobby was too wet and too stunned to reply.

But it was Rogue who seemed most determined. She set up a whole contraption in the hallway, a series of loud noises, ropes, and traps designed to rattle Logan. The thing was, she had underestimated one key detail: Logan had been through far worse. Nothing in this mansion could surprise him anymore.

By the end of the week, you’d had enough of the spectacle. You overheard them planning yet another attempt—a clever one this time, involving wires, an old airhorn, and some poorly executed timing. It wasn’t exactly foolproof, but they seemed hopeful.

Curious, you made your way to the common room, hearing their hushed voices as you approached.

“We’re gonna get him this time. For sure,” Jones was saying, his voice filled with excitement.

“You just gotta set up the wires right, Bobby,” Rogue added, sounding slightly exasperated. “And remember, we hit the airhorn before he steps through the door. We time it perfectly, and he’ll jump outta his skin.”

Kitty added, “Yeah, and don’t forget the confetti—it's gotta be a show.”

You leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, catching their attention. “Really?”

They froze, like deer caught in headlights, before Bobby awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh... yeah. We’re... we’re gonna scare Logan.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I’ll handle it.”

Jean, who had been nearby and overheard the conversation, gave you a look. “You? You’re gonna scare him?”

You shot her a playful smile. “You’ve all tried and failed, right? It’s my turn.”

The kids exchanged skeptical looks. “Okay, but if this goes horribly wrong—” Bobby began.

You just waved him off. “It won’t. Trust me.”

---

That night, you set your plan into motion. It wasn’t anything big or flashy—no confetti cannons or dramatic airhorns. Instead, it was something subtle but effective. You weren’t trying to make a scene; you just wanted to prove a point. If anyone could catch Logan off guard, it was you.

Logan was in the kitchen, rummaging in the fridge for a beer. His flannel was rolled up at the sleeves, and his usual gruff muttering filled the space as he searched. You leaned casually against the far wall, glasses perched on your nose, watching him.

With a quick glance over your shoulder to ensure that the kids were watching, you exhaled and concentrated. Time slowed, the air thickening like molasses, until the faint hum of the fridge faded to silence. You stepped lightly across the room, weaving through the paused world, until you were standing right behind Logan.

Unfreezing time with a soft snap, you waited.

“Need help finding someth—”

Logan whipped around so fast he nearly knocked the beer he’d just grabbed from the shelf. His eyes were wide, and for the briefest moment, you saw the flicker of instinct—the readiness for a fight.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N!” he growled, clutching the bottle like it might ground him. “What the hell?”

You crossed your arms, fighting back a grin. “What?”

“Where the hell did you come from?” He narrowed his eyes, scanning the room as if trying to piece together what he’d missed.

“I was here the whole time,” you said, feigning innocence.

Logan huffed, stepping back to give you a once-over. “Don’t lie to me, darlin’. You weren’t there a second ago.”

“Maybe you’re just not as sharp as you think,” you teased, tilting your head.

His scowl deepened, but there was something else behind it—a flicker of realization. “You froze time, didn’t you?”

You shrugged. “Prove it.”

Before Logan could respond, a burst of laughter erupted from the doorway. You turned to see Bobby, Kitty, and Rogue peeking in, their faces lit up with glee.

“We saw that!” Bobby crowed, doubling over. “You actually got him!”

Kitty clapped her hands, practically bouncing. “I can’t believe it! Logan never gets startled!”

Rogue leaned against the doorframe, smirking. “Guess the big bad Wolverine ain’t so unshakable after all.”

Logan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re all a damn pain in my ass.”

“Oh, come on, Logan,” you said, patting his arm. “It’s not every day we get to see you speechless.”

“You think this is funny?” He glared at you, but there was no real heat behind it.

“A little,” you admitted, biting back a smile.

The kids continued laughing as Logan shot them a look that could’ve melted steel. “You’ve had your fun. Now get lost before I make you regret it.”

Bobby snickered but wisely ducked out, dragging Kitty and Rogue with him. “Totally worth it,” he muttered as they disappeared down the hall.

When they were gone, Logan turned back to you, his expression softening. “You know I’m gonna get you back for this, right?”

“Good luck,” you said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “You’ll need it.”

He grunted, shaking his head with a smirk. “You’re somethin’ else, sweetheart.”

“Don’t forget it,” you said, grabbing the beer from his hand and taking a sip before walking off, leaving Logan standing there, muttering about how he’d never live this down.

---

The heat in the mansion quit working due to an ‘accident’ caused by Scott and Hank. This was the third day it was out, and everyone was freezing. Well, almost everyone.

Logan always ran hot, during the summer it was a curse to sleep in the same bed with him, tucked into his chest, but right now? Yeah, you can forgive him for holding you close when you were sweating in the summer nights.

The two of you were on the couch in the common area, with some of the other kids and adults trying to watch a movie and feel the heat from the small fireplace.

Your arms were wrapped around Logan’s waist under his jacket, and your face was pressed into his side, glasses sitting awkwardly on the bridge of your nose. His body heat was a gift, radiating through the layers of your clothes. You tilted your head slightly, looking up at him.

“You’re like a space heater,” you mumbled, voice muffled against his side.

Logan huffed a quiet laugh, his arm tightening around you. “Guess I’m good for somethin’, huh?”

Across the room, Scott was poking at the fireplace with a long iron rod, trying to coax the flames higher. Jean sat on the arm of the couch, balancing a mug of cocoa, while Bobby was busy freezing the edges of a blanket to stop Rogue from stealing it.

“Hey, Logan,” Bobby called, his breath visible in the cold air. “Why don’t you share some of that heat? You’re hogging it all.”

Logan shot him a glare, the kind that wasn’t entirely serious but still made Bobby hesitate. “Get your own,” he growled. “Ain’t my fault you can’t keep warm.”

“You’re so generous,” you teased, your breath making a small cloud as you spoke.

“Don’t start with me, sweetheart,” Logan muttered, though the corners of his mouth twitched. His hand rubbed small circles on your back, an unconscious gesture that made you sink deeper into his side.

Jean’s gaze shifted between the two of you, her lips quirking into a knowing smile. “You two look cozy.”

“Warmer than you,” you shot back without looking at her.

“Oh, absolutely,” she agreed, holding up her mug. “But at least I’ve got this.”

“You could just sit closer to the fire,” Logan suggested, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.

Jean raised an eyebrow. “And give up my prime seat for Scott’s endless fire-poking? No, thanks.”

Scott glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head. “It’s called keeping the fire alive, Jean.”

“It’s called annoying everyone within a ten-foot radius,” she countered with a grin.

You snorted softly, adjusting your glasses. The banter between the two of them was as familiar as Logan’s steady heartbeat under your cheek. Moments like this—small, quiet pockets of normalcy—were what you’d come to cherish most.

---

After another day of the cold, you had had enough. If Scott and Hank couldn’t fix their mess, you were going to have to do it yourself. You had layered on five thick layers of clothing, along with your gloves, beanie, and earmuffs. You weren't letting the freezing temperatures keep you from being warm and comfortable any longer.

The hallways in the mansion were unusually silent, and the only sound was the crunch of your boots on the frozen floor as you made your way to the furnace room. You were fully prepared to face this head-on, especially after Scott and Hank’s continued "lack of action" over the last few days. You weren’t sure what the problem was—Hank had said something about a malfunction and Scott was apparently trying to do some sort of "maintenance," but neither of them seemed to be getting anywhere.

It wasn’t the first time you’d had to step in and fix things—especially when it came to Scott. Sure, he had his good qualities, but there were times when he’d just... drag his feet on the simplest things, and you had no patience for it.

As you rounded the corner, there was Scott himself, bundled in a thick parka, kneeling on the ground next to the furnace. You sighed, already knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"Scott," you called, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow, "you still haven't fixed this thing?"

He looked up, eyes wide behind his glasses. "Well, I—"

"You said you were going to fix it yesterday, and the day before that," you interrupted, a little too sharply. "It's been three days! You can't just keep poking at it and hoping it will magically work."

He immediately sat back on his heels, clearly taken aback by the annoyance in your tone. "I was going to get to it," he mumbled, but you could see the guilt on his face.

"Yeah, well, I’m tired of freezing my ass off," you snapped, though there was no real malice behind the words. "You know what? I’ll do it myself."

Before Scott could respond, you got to work. You could tell he wanted to argue, to defend himself, but this wasn’t the first time he’d been in this position. And at this point, it seemed like you were the only one who actually cared enough to do something.

A few minutes into working, you heard footsteps behind you. You glanced over your shoulder to see Logan and Jean standing there, both clearly curious.

"What’s going on?" Logan asked, his eyes narrowing as he saw you kneeling by the furnace with a wrench in hand.

"I’m fixing this," you said simply, still focused on the task at hand.

Jean grinned. "You mean Scott’s not doing it?"

"Looks like it," you said dryly, giving Scott a pointed look. "He’s been staring at it for three days."

Scott shot you a defensive look, but you weren’t having it. "I’ve been trying," he muttered.

"Trying, or pretending?" you retorted, twisting the wrench harder.

Logan stepped closer, his arms crossed over his chest, his usual smirk making an appearance. "You know, sweetheart," he said, glancing at Scott with an amused glint in his eyes. "I think it’s better you’re handling this. At least you won’t take three days to get it done."

You huffed a laugh, then rolled your eyes at Scott’s defeated expression. "You’re lucky I’m even doing this. You know, I was going to let you do it, but it seems like that would take a lot longer than I have patience for."

Scott sighed dramatically. "I was going to fix it!"

"Yeah, in another year or two," you muttered, now tightening the last bolt.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Jean asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly amused by the little scene unfolding.

"Five more minutes," you said, your tone flat as you focused on finishing up.

"Should’ve just let her handle it from the start," Logan teased, looking at Scott. "But hey, now you’ve learned something for next time, right?"

Scott grumbled something under his breath, but said nothing more.

Finally, you stood up, wiping your hands on your thick layers, a small sense of pride swelling inside you. "There. Done. You’re welcome."

Jean raised her cup, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "Nice job, Y/N. But did you have to do it like this?"

You shot her a sidelong glance, lifting your eyebrows. "Your husband is an idiot. You should really do something about that."

Scott groaned, rubbing his temples. "I was going to fix it, okay? Just... give me a break."

Logan chuckled, leaning against the wall. "You were going to fix it, huh? For someone who was going to do it, you sure did a good job of standing around."

Scott shot him a glare, but Logan was too busy enjoying the moment to care. "Don’t worry, Scott. Next time, just leave it to Y/N. She gets things done."

Jean rolled her eyes, but there was a fondness in her voice when she spoke. "You know, I’m pretty sure I told you to fix this a week ago."

"I know, I know," Scott muttered, now looking slightly embarrassed. "I’m not proud of it."

Logan chuckled again, giving you an approving look. "Well, sweetheart, it looks like you've done more in five minutes than Scott did in three days. Nice work."

You shook your head, fighting a smile. "I swear, you’re all so predictable."

Jean raised an eyebrow at Scott. "Guess I know who I’m asking next time."

Scott sighed dramatically again, as if defeated. "Yeah, yeah. You can ask Y/N next time. I get it."

You chuckled, crossing your arms as you turned to head back to the common room. "Glad I could help. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy the heat I fixed."

Logan followed you with a smirk, hands in his pockets as he watched you walk away, amused by the whole exchange. "You’re somethin’ else, darlin’. You know that?"

You shot him a side-eye, your lips curling into a grin. "Don’t forget it."

The sound of Scott and Jean’s bickering faded behind you as you walked back inside, warmth finally returning to the mansion, and with it, a slight sense of satisfaction that maybe, just maybe, you were the one who kept things running.

---

Your new binder was different than your previous ones. Instead of it being pregnancy related it was completely relationship related.

Nothing was wrong with your marriage, far from it, just sometimes you feel like you… need a little help being affectionate. Logan seems to do it effortlessly and you overthink everything.

Which is why you had spent the last 2 months researching and putting everything into your binder, complete with tabs, highlights, and annotations.

Of course it was just for you. A guide if you will.

The binder sat neatly on your nightstand, innocuous to anyone else who might happen upon it. But to you, it was a treasure trove of ideas, strategies, and research on how to show affection—subtly, purposefully, and in ways that didn’t make you overthink everything. It wasn’t that you had a problem with affection or PDA. No, you didn’t mind being close to Logan or holding his hand when others were around. The problem was initiating it. That little voice in the back of your head would second-guess every move: Does he want this? Am I overstepping? Am I doing this right?

Logan, on the other hand, was a natural. He didn’t hesitate to grab your hand or pull you into his lap during movie nights. He kissed you in front of others without a care, and when he called you those pet names it sounded like it belonged to you and only you. He made it look easy—effortless, even. You wanted to match that, to give back as much as he gave, but your shyness and tendency to overanalyze sometimes got in the way.

Hence, the binder.

It wasn’t just any binder—it was meticulously organized. Each section was labeled with a handwritten tab: "Physical Touch," "Words of Affirmation," "Small Gestures," and even "Spontaneity." You’d spent weeks filling it with ideas, things you’d read, and even notes on what Logan liked. It was your secret weapon, and while you hadn’t exactly put it to the test yet, you felt more prepared.

---

Logan knew about the binder. How could he not? You weren’t completely subtle—leaving tabs open on your laptop, jotting notes in the margins of books he’d catch you reading, or the one time you left the binder wide open on the bed after getting distracted by a shower.

That day, Logan had walked into the room, ready to drop onto the bed after a long training session with the kids, only to stop short at the sight of your meticulously organized binder. Curiosity won out over respect for your privacy as he glanced at the open page.

At first glance, he thought it was one of your usual hyper-organized projects—another guide like the one you’d made for his motorcycle a while back. That one had been impressive, filled with diagrams, troubleshooting steps, and even a list of tools he might need. It had been so thorough it almost made him laugh, but he’d appreciated it. You always had a knack for diving deep into anything you set your mind to, and it showed in the way you approached every problem or idea.

But this binder was different. The tabs caught his attention first: Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Small Gestures, and Spontaneity. He frowned slightly, curiosity getting the better of him as his eyes skimmed the open page.

It only took a few seconds for him to realize what it was. A guide. For him. Well, not exactly for him—more like for you. A guide on how to be affectionate.

At first, it made him smirk. The idea of you, you, needing a manual to show affection seemed almost ridiculous. From where he stood, you were already the most thoughtful, caring person he’d ever met. You didn’t need a binder to prove that.

But as he looked closer, the smirk faded. The notes scrawled in the margins, the careful highlights, and the tiny hearts here and there—this wasn’t some casual project. This was you, trying your hardest to give as much as you thought he gave to you. And that hit him right in the chest.

Logan sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, the binder still in front of him. He let out a long breath, rubbing a hand over his jaw.

You didn’t need to try so hard. Hell, you didn’t need to try at all.

The truth was, he’d seen you make gestures more meaningful than any grand romantic moment he could think of. The whiskey you gave him for your anniversary, aged for five years because you thought that far ahead. The way you’d ask, shy and hesitant, if you could trim his hair or beard, like it wasn’t the most intimate thing in the world. Or how you’d spend hours in the kitchen, making him dinner or baking something sweet, even though you never made a big deal about it.

You were affectionate. You just didn’t see it.

Logan closed the binder carefully and set it back on the nightstand. He leaned back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, his mind whirring.

Later that evening, when you walked into the room, Logan was sitting in his usual spot on the bed, a book in one hand. He glanced up as you entered, a little smile tugging at his lips.

“Hey,” you said, giving him a small smile as you slipped off your shoes.

“Hey, darlin’.” He set the book down, watching you move around the room. You seemed oblivious to the fact that he’d seen your binder earlier.

After a moment, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Been meanin’ to ask you somethin’.”

You froze slightly, looking at him with wide eyes. “What is it?”

Logan’s grin softened. “That binder you’ve been workin’ on…”

Your face went pale. “What binder?”

“The one with all the tabs and notes,” he said casually, leaning back against the headboard. “The one about… affection.”

You groaned, pressing your hands to your face. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Too late,” he said, chuckling. He reached out, catching one of your wrists and tugging you gently toward him. “Come here.”

Reluctantly, you let him pull you into his lap, your cheeks still burning. “It’s not what you think,” you mumbled.

“Uh-huh,” he said, his voice warm with amusement. “You made a damn binder about us, sweetheart. I think I know exactly what it is.”

You squirmed slightly, trying to hide your embarrassment, but he held you steady, his arms wrapping around you. “Listen,” he said, his tone softening. “You don’t need a guide for this stuff.”

You looked up at him, your brows furrowed. “I just… I overthink everything. You’re so good at it—being affectionate, I mean. It’s easy for you.”

Logan tilted his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You think I don’t overthink things? Darlin’, half the time, I’m just wingin’ it.”

You blinked, surprised. “You are?”

“Yeah,” he said, brushing a strand of hair out of your face. “But you? You do things that blow me away without even tryin’. Like that whiskey you gave me. Or when you ask to trim my beard—do you know how much I look forward to that?”

You opened your mouth to protest, but he silenced you with a kiss, his lips lingering against yours for a moment before he pulled back. “You don’t need to try so hard. I already know how much you care.”

For a moment, you just stared at him, your heart full and your cheeks warm. “You really mean that?”

Logan smirked, his hands sliding down to rest on your hips. “I mean it. But if you wanna keep the binder, I won’t stop ya. But maybe you could do some research on… something else.”

Your cheeks warmed instantly, and you looked away, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “Logan…”

“Hm?” His fingers lightly drummed against your hip as he leaned back, his gaze fixed on you with an amused glint.

You avoided his eyes, focusing intently on the fabric between your fingers. “I, uh…” you mumbled, barely audible, “had to put it in another binder.”

Logan stilled for a moment before a low chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Another binder?” His smirk widened, and you could feel it without even looking at him. “Well, now you’ve got me curious, darlin’.”

Before you could stop him, Logan reached over toward your nightstand.

“Logan, wait!” You grabbed his wrist, your voice more desperate than you intended.

His head tilted, a playful grin spreading across his face. “Unless what, sweetheart?”

You sighed, your face burning as you kept your hold on his wrist. “Unless… unless you’d rather not know,” you mumbled.

“Oh, now that’s just cruel,” Logan teased, leaning closer until you had no choice but to meet his eyes. His voice dropped lower, gravelly and teasing. “You’ve been hidin’ a second binder from me? I’m startin’ to feel left out.”

“Logan…” You groaned again, burying your face in his chest.

He laughed, wrapping his arms around you as he leaned back against the headboard. “C’mon, Y/N. I ain’t gonna bite. Unless you want me to,” he added with a wink, making you swat at him lightly.

“It’s not—it’s not what you’re thinking,” you said quickly.

“Oh, yeah? Then what is it?”

You hesitated, your face still pressed against him. “Just… research. That’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” Logan drawled, clearly enjoying your embarrassment. “Research about…?”

You stayed silent, your fingers gripping his shirt tightly.

Logan leaned down, his lips brushing against your ear as he murmured, “Darlin’, you know I’m not lettin’ this go.”

You groaned again, reluctantly pulling back just enough to look up at him. “It’s about… you know what it’s about!”

Logan raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening. “Darlin’, if I knew, I wouldn’t be askin’. Now spit it out before I get the wrong idea.”

“It’s—it’s personal, okay?” You pushed your glasses further up your nose and squirmed slightly in his lap, the mortification nearly unbearable. “It’s just research. For us. About…” You sighed, the words dying in your throat.

Logan’s teasing grin softened as he studied you. “About what?”

He wasn’t letting this go—not because he was trying to embarrass you, but because he wanted to know. Logan didn’t pry unless it mattered. And right now, it mattered to him.

“About… that,” you whispered, motioning vaguely at him with one hand.

Logan tilted his head, the dots connecting in an instant. A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. “That, huh? We’re talkin’ about sex?”

You groaned again, burying your face in his shoulder. “Yes, Logan,” you mumbled against his flannel, “we’re talking about sex.”

His laughter was warm, not mocking, and his hand ran comfortingly up and down your back. “Darlin’, you’ve got a binder… for sex?”

“It’s not like that!” you protested, lifting your head just enough to glare at him. “It’s not just… sex. It’s ideas, okay? And… you know… different kinds of… sex.” Your voice trailed off as if you were praying for the bed to swallow you whole.

Logan’s lips twitched, a smirk fighting to break free. His hand, still resting against your waist, gave a reassuring squeeze. “Different kinds of sex?” he repeated, his tone equal parts curious and teasing.

“Don’t make me explain it,” you mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his lap, your glasses slipping slightly down your nose. You pushed them back up, avoiding his eyes.

Logan chuckled, the sound deep and warm in his chest. “Darlin’, you made a whole damn binder about it. Kinda feels like you owe me an explanation now.”

“Logan,” you groaned, pressing a hand against his chest. “It’s not—okay, fine. It’s just… research.” You sighed in defeat, giving in to his unrelenting stare. “While I was working on the first binder—about affection—I came across all these articles. They were talking about keeping relationships… fresh or whatever.”

Logan raised a brow, his smirk widening. “Fresh, huh?”

You huffed, the words spilling out faster now. “It’s not like we need that, obviously! I just thought it was interesting. Like… there’s so much information about the benefits of intimacy and… you know… other stuff.”

Logan stayed quiet for a moment, watching you with an expression you couldn’t quite place. Then he reached up, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. His hand lingered, fingers brushing lightly against your cheek. “So, you went down a rabbit hole and decided to make a sex binder.”

“You’re impossible,” you muttered, trying to hide your face again, but his grip shifted to gently cradle your jaw.

“Hey,” he said softly, his thumb brushing your cheek. “I’m not makin’ fun of you, sweetheart. You know that, right?”

You hesitated, nodding slowly. “I know.”

“I just… I gotta ask.” His tone took on a playful edge again, but his eyes were kind. “Did you highlight stuff?”

You groaned again, louder this time, and Logan’s laughter filled the room. “Stop it!”

“I’m serious!” He was grinning now, his arms pulling you closer. “Did you? Little notes in the margins, maybe a color-coded system?”

You swatted at his chest, but your lips betrayed you with the ghost of a smile. “I’m never letting you see it. Ever.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Logan said, his hands sliding down to your hips. “You’ve got me all curious now.”

“It’s not meant for you,” you insisted, though your voice lacked conviction. “It’s… it’s just for me.”

Logan leaned back slightly, studying you with a mix of amusement and admiration. “You know, you don’t have to try so hard, right? With anything.”

“I know,” you admitted softly, your gaze dropping to the space between you. “It’s just how I am. I like being prepared.”

Logan’s grin softened, his eyes warm. “You’re already more than enough, Y/N. Binder or no binder.”

A warm flush crept up your neck, and you tried to shrug it off. “Maybe. But it doesn’t hurt to be extra prepared.”

“Guess I can’t argue with that,” Logan said with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to your temple. “But for the record, darlin’, I think we’re doin’ just fine.”

You couldn’t help but smile as you rested your forehead against his chest. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He wrapped his arms securely around you, his voice dipping to a near whisper. “But if you wanna share any ideas from that binder, I’m all ears.”

“Logan!” Your laugh was soft but genuine as you swatted him again. He only chuckled, holding you close and dropping a kiss to your hair.

“Relax, sweetheart. I’m just teasin’,” he murmured, though there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Kinda.”

“Unbelievable,” you muttered, but the smile stayed on your face.

Logan smirked, letting you settle comfortably in his lap. “What can I say? You keep things… fresh.”

---

Logan stood behind you, his strong arms draped loosely around your shoulders as you both hovered near the bathroom counter. The soft hum of the mansion in the distance made the quiet between you even more intimate. You toyed with the pastel swirl of the bath bomb in your hand, letting its light weight roll across your palm as the faint scent of lavender and citrus teased the air.

Logan’s chin rested on top of your head as he glanced at the colorful sphere. “You’re tellin’ me this thing’s supposed to do somethin’ magical in water?”

A smile tugged at your lips, your fingers tightening slightly around the bath bomb as you tried not to laugh at his skepticism. “Not magical, just… fun. Jean gave it to me,” you murmured, tilting your head back to look up at him.

His dark eyes flicked down to meet yours, softened in a way most people never saw. “Well, if Jean says it’s good, I’m not gonna argue. You trust her taste more than I trust it.”

You laughed softly, leaning into his chest. “She said it would be relaxing,” you said. “And, to be honest… I thought you’d enjoy it too.”

One of Logan’s eyebrows quirked. “I enjoy baths, darlin’, but I ain’t ever thought about tossin’ a candy ball into one.”

You nudged him lightly, your shyness waning just a little under the bubble of his warm presence. “It’s not a candy ball! Just… watch.”

With that, you slipped out of his hold briefly to kneel by the edge of the tub. The still, warm water reflected faint ripples across the bathroom walls. You turned the bath bomb over in your hand once, the little ridges of its pastel swirl tickling your palm. Then, with one last glance back at Logan, you dropped it into the water.

The reaction was instantaneous. A quiet fizzing sound bubbled into the air as the ball began to spin, leaving a kaleidoscope trail of purple, pink, and yellow hues in its wake. A soft floral-citrus scent filled the room. You looked up at Logan, whose sharp expression had morphed into one of genuine curiosity.

“Huh,” he muttered, kneeling next to you and dipping a roughened hand into the water. “Didn’t expect all that.”

You grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “See? Magical,” you teased gently.

Logan’s smirk returned, his wet fingers brushing against your wrist. “Well, I’ve had my share of magic over the years, but this is new. You wanna take it together?” His voice held the gruff warmth that never failed to settle your nerves.

You nodded, cheeks warm as you stood. His hands ghosted to your waist to steady you as you slipped off your robe, leaving only your glasses perched delicately on your nose. Logan shed his own clothes quickly, his usual efficiency softened as he reached for you.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” he murmured, stepping into the colorful water before holding out a hand to help you in. “You’ve officially sold me on this… thing.”

Once the water embraced you both, you leaned back against his chest, your shy hesitance melting into the warmth of his touch and the soothing swirl of colors around you. Logan’s arms wrapped protectively around your waist, his hand finding yours underwater and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“This is nice,” he admitted after a long moment, his voice a low rumble near your ear.

You hummed in agreement, adjusting your glasses slightly as they fogged. “Told you,” you whispered, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

Logan’s mouth pressed to your temple, lingering there as his thumb traced lazy circles over the back of your hand. “Don’t think I ever needed bath bombs, but if it gets me this? I’ll take all the candy balls you can find.”

You laughed softly, warmth spreading through your chest, not from the bath but from the rare, unguarded tenderness in his words. For a moment, you closed your eyes, letting yourself exist in the colorful, fragrant water and the strong, steady hold of the man who always remembered you.

---

It didn’t matter at this moment that you had flour on your apron, possibly on your face, or that this is your 4th attempt at making the choux correctly. You were going to win the baking contest this year.

For 4 years straight you had won the contest, a little competition that the team set up to go along with the student talent show, but the past 4 years you lost.

What made it worse was that you lost to Hank of all people last year.

And though Jean had won the other 3 years, you weren’t going to let that happen again.

Logan leaned against the kitchen doorway, his arms crossed and an amused smirk tugging at his lips as he watched you meticulously pipe custard into cream puffs. The counters were a chaotic mess of flour, powdered sugar, and tools, with a faint scent of caramel lingering in the air. Your glasses slid down the bridge of your nose, but you didn’t stop to adjust them, too focused on perfecting the next puff.

“You know,” Logan drawled, his gravelly voice cutting through the soft hum of the radio, “I’ve seen you in a lot of situations over the years. Didn’t think I’d ever see this side of you.”

You glanced up briefly, brushing a strand of hair away with the back of your hand. “What side is that?” you asked, your tone a mix of distracted and determined.

“The cutthroat competitor,” he replied, pushing off the doorway and stepping closer. “You’re actin’ like you’re tryin’ to win the damn Olympics, not a bake-off.”

You let out a soft laugh, finally pausing to push your glasses up your nose. “It’s not just a bake-off,” you said, your voice tinged with mock offense. “It’s the bake-off. I’ve lost four years in a row, Logan. Four. And Hank beat me last year. Hank!”

Logan chuckled, shaking his head. “So what’s the plan, darlin’? Intimidate ‘em with your… what is this thing called again?”

“Croquembouche,” you said, your tone proud. “It’s a French dessert. A tower of cream puffs held together with caramel. It’s supposed to look impressive.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, leaning on the counter to peer at your progress. “Impressive, huh? Looks like a lot of work for somethin’ that’s just gonna get eaten.”

You shot him a playful glare. “It’s not just about eating it. It’s about presentation, creativity, skill—”

“And your pride,” Logan interrupted with a teasing smirk.

You sighed, shaking your head but smiling despite yourself. “Fine, maybe a little bit. But it’s more than that. Jean’s won three times, and I love her, but I’m not letting her win again.”

Logan leaned closer, his smirk softening into a fond smile. “Didn’t know you had this much fight in you about somethin’ like this. You’re usually so…” He hesitated, searching for the right word.

“So what?” you prompted, turning to face him fully, your hands resting on your flour-dusted apron.

“Calm. Reserved,” he said with a shrug. “Not the type to get worked up over a contest.”

You tilted your head, feeling your cheeks warm under his gaze. “Well, maybe it’s because I know I can win this. I just… haven’t yet.”

Logan reached out, brushing a stray bit of flour from your cheek with his thumb. “I like seein’ you like this. Fire in your belly suits you.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words, and you quickly turned back to your cream puffs to hide your flustered expression. “If you’re not here to help, you’re just in the way,” you said, trying to sound stern but failing to hide the smile in your voice.

Logan chuckled, moving to stand beside you. “Alright, tell me what to do. But if you make me use one of those fancy piping bags, I’m out.”

You handed him a small saucepan instead. “You can stir the caramel. Just… don’t let it burn.”

He took the pan and nodded, his expression serious. “Got it, boss.”

As the two of you worked side by side, the tension in your shoulders eased, replaced by the familiar comfort of Logan’s presence. He didn’t tease you much after that, instead offering quiet support as you assembled the tower, his large hands steadying the base while you carefully added each cream puff.

When the croquembouche was finally complete, you stepped back to admire your work. The golden caramel glistened under the kitchen lights, holding the delicate tower together with intricate threads.

“Well?” you asked, glancing at Logan. “What do you think?”

He crossed his arms, tilting his head as if appraising a fine piece of art. “Looks like a winner to me, darlin’.”

You smiled, the warmth in his voice melting away any lingering doubt. “Thanks, Logan.”

He reached out, slipping an arm around your waist and pulling you close. “Don’t need some contest to know you’re the best, but I’ll admit… this thing’s pretty damn impressive.”

You leaned into him, resting your head against his chest. “I’m glad you think so. Now, let’s hope the judges agree.”

Logan pressed a kiss to the top of your head, his voice soft. “They’d better. Otherwise, they’re gonna have to answer to me.”

---

The judges were seated at a long, makeshift panel in the mansion’s common room, where the baking contest had been set up. Charles, as always, presided over the event with an air of calm authority. Beside him, Rogue and Bobby whispered back and forth, clearly enjoying themselves, while Scott sat at the far end, arms crossed but watching intently. A whiteboard behind them displayed the competitors’ names—Jean, Hank, Ororo, and you—with empty spaces awaiting scores.

You stood near your carefully crafted croquembouche, nerves buzzing. The caramel-glazed tower gleamed under the room's lights, every puff perfectly placed. Logan lingered just behind you, arms crossed, his presence grounding despite the mischief in his smirk.

“Alright, who’s up first?” Charles asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement as he glanced at the assembled desserts.

“I’ll go,” Jean volunteered, her tone casual but confident. She wheeled forward a stunning cake decorated with delicate sugar flowers. It was classic Jean—graceful and precise.

You exchanged a glance with Logan. “Of course she’d make something perfect,” you murmured, adjusting your glasses nervously.

Logan leaned closer, his voice low. “Perfect’s overrated, darlin’. Ain’t got half the heart yours does.”

You shot him a grateful smile, feeling your cheeks warm. Jean finished her presentation, earning nods of approval from the judges. Then it was Hank’s turn. He unveiled a surprisingly elegant chocolate soufflé, its rich aroma wafting through the room.

“Hank,” you muttered under your breath, watching him with narrowed eyes. “Where was that finesse last year?”

Logan chuckled. “He’s tryin’ to rattle you. Don’t let him.”

Ororo went next, presenting a tray of intricately decorated éclairs that practically sparkled under the lights. By the time it was your turn, your nerves were frayed, but Logan’s hand briefly brushed your back, steadying you.

“You’ve got this,” he murmured.

You stepped forward, your croquembouche balanced on a cake stand. “This is a croquembouche,” you began, clearing your throat. “It’s a traditional French dessert made of cream puffs and caramel. I, uh, thought it’d be... memorable.”

Bobby leaned forward, eyes wide. “Whoa, did you make all those little puffs yourself?”

You nodded, pushing your glasses up your nose. “Every single one.”

Rogue whistled softly. “Looks like a lot of work.”

“It was,” you admitted, glancing at Logan, who gave you an encouraging nod. “But I wanted to challenge myself.”

Charles smiled warmly. “Well, it’s certainly impressive. Let’s see how it tastes.”

You carefully dismantled part of the tower, handing plates of cream puffs to the judges. Logan stood just behind you, his presence steady and reassuring. As the judges sampled your work, you held your breath.

“This is incredible,” Rogue said, her voice muffled by a mouthful of pastry.

Scott, ever the critic, nodded slowly. “The caramel’s a little sticky, but the flavor’s perfect.”

Bobby gave you a thumbs-up. “Best one so far.”

You let out a small sigh of relief, turning to Logan. “Think that’s enough to beat Hank?”

Logan smirked, leaning down to whisper, “Not even a contest, sweetheart.”

When the scores were tallied, your croquembouche stood victorious. The room erupted in applause, and you felt a wave of pride wash over you. Jean clapped you on the shoulder, her smile warm. “Guess I’ll have to step up my game next year.”

Hank grumbled good-naturedly. “I demand a rematch.”

Logan pulled you into a brief hug, his voice low in your ear. “Told you you’d win.”

You laughed softly, leaning into him. “Thanks for being my sous chef.”

“Anytime, darlin’,” he said, his eyes full of warmth. “But next year, you’re on your own with those candy balls.”

i kinda messed up the timeline a bit here so this is part 2011/part 2012

#logan howlett x reader #logan howlett x you #wolverine x reader #wolverine x you #james howlett x reader #james howlett x you #logan howlett #logan howlett fanfiction #logan howlett x fem!reader #logan howlett fic #i love you in every time #i love you always and forever #abby's works ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

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giuliannna · 2 months ago

Text

SUNDOWN

⏾ 12 : NIGHT SIX

the dock is quiet, but nothing about tonight feels calm. sometimes the only way to move forward is to push your way through every ugly truth.

sundown came and went with a soft warmth, the kind that clung to your skin and lulled the waves into a still hush. the last glimmers of light paint the water, shadows stretching long across the dock as the day slips below the lake’s edge.

it should feel peaceful, but you can’t seem to get rid of the tightness in your chest.

everyone else is by the fire behind the house, their laughter occasionally drifting through the trees to reach your ears all the way down by the shore.

mandy hadn’t pressed when you declined her invitation to join - just offered you a small, knowing smile before brushing off your absence with a quick excuse to the rest of the group.

you needed space. needed air. but mostly, you needed quiet.

so, now you’re sat at the very edge of the dock, your legs dangling above the surface, feet just barely brushing the cool water below.

you’ve been sitting there for an hour or two - just watching the light fade away, and selfishly wishing that you could disappear right alongside it.

until, the rustling of grass behind you snaps you out of your daze.

at first, you thought it might be mandy or claire. but the steps are slower, more hesitant. weighted in a way that tells you exactly who it is without even needing to look.

“hey,” you hear hamzah’s voice, low and cautious.

you don’t answer.

he stops a few paces away, the old wooden boards creaking beneath his feet. “can i-”

“no,” you say, cutting him off before he can finish the sentence. you don’t turn to face him.

there’s a pause. a long one. silence sits heavy between you.

“please,” he tries again. “just- just listen to me.”

you stand, brushing your hands off on your thighs. “you don’t really deserve from me anything right now.”

“i know i don’t,” he says quickly, his voice breaking a little. “but i’m asking anyway. please, just give me five minutes, or something.”

you look over your shoulder, meeting his eyes. his expression is tired. apologetic. desperate, even.

but you can’t let that soften you - it’s not good enough.

“i’ve given you so much time, hamzah. i waited for you to just be honest with me - and i thought we were getting somewhere, but you blew up in my face again.”

“i was pissed, alright?” he fires back, his voice rising slightly. “martin was being a dick, and you were just - sitting there. like none of it meant anything to you either.”

your mouth drops open for a moment, stunned. “are you serious right now? you’re mad at me for not defending you, when you’re the one who’s been walking around acting like this whole thing would never have any consequences?”

“i never said that.”

“you didn’t have to.”

he runs a hand over his face, breathing hard. “i didn’t know what to do, alright? i panicked. i said a bunch of shit i didn’t mean.”

you let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “and now you think showing up and saying please instead is enough to undo all of that?”

“i don’t know,” he says, voice strained. “i don’t know what’s enough. i just - i need you to let me try.”

you glare at him, chest heaving, the pain still too fresh to soften. “you don’t get to ask for that,” you whisper, voice trembling. “not yet.”

hamzah steps closer again, and this time you don’t move away. you just look at him like you’re daring him to say something that’ll push you past the edge.

“i didn’t know what to do with the way i was feeling,” he says, slower now, like each word takes effort. “i’ve never had to.. deal with something like this. with someone like you.”

you narrow your eyes. “what the fuck does that even mean?”

“it means i care about you, okay?” he says, his voice cracking. “too much. more than i wanted to. and i didn’t know how to handle that.”

you press your lips into a thin line. “so, what, you decided to ruin it before i could?”

“no! i-” he breaks off, frustrated. “i told myself that if i pushed you away, it’d be easier.”

you laugh, bitter and sharp. “easier for who? you? that’s really convenient, hamzah.”

“i know,” he says quickly, like he’s trying to get ahead of the rising anger in your voice. “i know i hurt you, but i was hurting too-”

“don’t,” you snap. “don’t try to make this about your pain when you’re the one who-“

“i’m trying to tell you the truth-”

“you’re not listening!” you shout.

and when he opens his mouth again, trying to push through your anger, something inside you just.. snaps.

you step forward and slap him.

it’s not hard. not really. but the sound of it echoes off the water like the crack of a gunshot.

he stumbles back a half step, stunned, one hand slightly lifted like he wasn’t sure if he should block it or take it.

the silence after is deafening. you’re breathing hard, eyes watery. you don’t feel an ounce of regret.

“you don’t get to interrupt me anymore,” you say, voice low and trembling. “you don’t get to cut me off or twist the story to make yourself feel better.”

he blinks, eyes wide, lips slightly parted - but he says nothing.

“i was your friend,” you remind him once more, fists clenched at your sides. “long before anything else.”

you take a shaky breath.

“you could’ve come to me. you could’ve told me you were scared or confused. and i would’ve listened. because that’s what friends do.”

for once, he looks like he has absolutely no idea how to respond.

“but instead you humiliated me and made me feel stupid. and you couldn’t even have the decency to be honest about why.”

you fully stare at him, folding your arms tightly across your chest.

“so, do you really think i’m just gonna fall apart every time you throw out some half-assed apology?”

“no,” he says quickly. “no. i know that. i don’t expect you to forgive me. i just - i need to tell you the truth.” he pleads, remembering the advice he received from martin.

he pauses, looking at you expectantly. his eyes search yours, and you can tell he’s holding back something heavier.

when you don’t move, leave, or yell at him, he takes it as permission.

“i’ve never been good at.. any of this,” he says, cautiously moving closer to you. “not with people, or with feelings - i didn’t think this would ever become more than what we agreed on. i kept telling myself it wouldn’t. but it did.”

you scoff under your breath, eyes narrowing. “yeah - and instead of telling me that, you made me feel like it was all in my head - like i was the crazy one for even suggesting it.”

“i know,” he says, his voice cracking. “i know i did. and that’s on me. that’s all on me. i didn’t know how to deal with it, and instead of just talking to you - like we used to - i ruined everything.”

you open your mouth, the fury building again, but he cuts you off - not with force, but with sincerity.

“i have feelings,” he says, grabbing your hand. “for you.”

the words hit like a tidal wave, slamming into you with full force. he says it again, like he needs you to hear it twice to believe it.

“real feelings. and i don’t care about our fucking agreement. i’ve felt all of this while, but it just scared the shit out of me the more real it became.”

you try to pull your hand from his, but his grip tightens just enough to keep you there. his voice lowers roughly, like the words are scraping their way out of him.

“please,” he says again, quieter this time. “just.. please.”

you glance up at him, and for a second, you almost don’t recognize the look in his eyes. for once, there’s no arrogance or cockiness.

just desperation.

regret.

but you’re still angry.

“why?” you snap, yanking your hand free. “so you can call it a mistake again? push me away the second it gets too real for you?”

he flinches as if you slapped him again.

you cross your arms, blinking against the sting in your eyes. “don’t waste even more of my time, hamzah.”

hamzah exhales shakily and runs both hands through his hair. “fuck,” he mutters under his breath.

“i didn’t mean it. what i said about it being a mistake. i just.. panicked. i thought if i shut it down fast enough, i wouldn’t have to deal with-” he pauses, shaking his head like he’s frustrated with himself. “i didn’t want to feel all of it.”

you stay quiet, watching him closely, letting him scramble for his words.

“you’ve been in my head for months,” he finally says. “like - i couldn’t stop thinking about you. even when i tried. especially when i tried. but it all got worse when we came on this fuckin’ vacation, and..” he shakes his head slightly, sifting through all the thoughts running rampant in his mind.

“..and i thought, okay, if we keep it casual, if i just keep my feelings to myself, maybe it won’t ruin everything. but it did, didn’t it?” he says, his voice getting weaker by the moment.

your throat feels tight. you hate how much you want to believe him.

but you can’t let him off that easy.

“so you hurt me to protect yourself,” you say bitterly. “that’s really great, hamzah.”

“no,” he quickly counters. “no, i wasn’t trying to hurt you, i swear. i just- i didn’t know what else to do. i kept telling myself that we were only hooking up, that you didn’t feel anything either-”

“i told you that i did,” you interrupt, your voice sharp.

he nods, wincing. “i know, i know. and i ignored it. i didn’t want to admit it to myself, because the second i say it out loud, it becomes real. and if it’s real, it means i have to face all of it.”

you glance down and catch him picking anxiously at his nailbeds.

“it wasn’t just about how i feel about you - it was about what it would mean for us, for everything we already had. and i was terrified i’d just fuck it all up.”

“you did fuck it up,” you say, folding your arms tighter. “you didn’t just shut me down, hamzah. you made me feel stupid for trusting you.”

he closes the distance between you slowly, like he’s approaching something fragile.

“i know,” he murmurs, sounding like a broken record at this point. “and i hate myself for it.”

by now, you really want to believe him. but you can’t be done just yet.

“i can’t believe you let yourself forget that we were just friends before all of this,” you whisper, voice cracking. “you were the one person i always thought i could count on,” you say, trying to fend off the tears threatening to flood your eyes.

“but you just tried to throw it all away like it meant nothing.” you sniffle.

hamzah swallows hard. his voice is barely a whisper now.

“it didn’t mean nothing.”

you look away, but you can still feel his eyes on you.

“it meant everything,” he says. “that’s the part that scared the hell out of me. you- you scare the hell out of me. everything you make feel.. it’s all new to me.” he confesses, and it’s the most genuine thing you’ve ever heard.

you blink fast, trying to hold yourself together.

“you don’t get to just say that and expect everything to be okay,” you say. “it’s not that simple.”

“i don’t expect that,” he says quickly. “i know it’s not simple - nothing about this is. but i had to say it. i had to let you know i’m not going to be that stupid anymore.”

you study him - really study him - and see the wreckage etched into him; the tension in his jaw, the bags under his eyes, the torn up hangnails decorating his fingers.

“you should’ve said all this sooner,” you whisper.

“you’re right,” he replies. “i should’ve. but i didn’t, and i’m sorry.”

the apology lingers in the air between you. real. raw.

he steps forward one last time, until you’re chest to chest.

“i know it’s been like, a few days, but i miss you,” he says softly. “not just the sex. god, i couldn’t care less about the sex, but - you. i miss being your friend. i miss everything about you.”

you’re silent for a long moment. then, finally, you speak - your voice low and barely steady.

“if you want me to really forgive you, you’re gonna have to earn it,” you murmur. “i’m not just gonna forget about this.”

“i know,” he says. “but i’ll be here for you from now on. i’ll prove to you that i mean it, no matter how long it takes.”

you stare at him.

the man in front of you is not the one who slammed that door shut on you days ago. this is your friend, who you hold real feelings for - more feelings than you’ve ever experienced with anyone else.

he’s stripped bare, desperate, and finally, he’s honest.

you nod, once.

“okay. but i swear, if you screw it up, i’ll-”

“i won’t,” he quickly confirms. “i promise. really promise.”

he lifts a hand hesitantly, brushing a thumb over your cheekbone. you lean into it, just slightly.

when you let him touch you, it’s not out of lust. it’s a quiet surrender. he exhales shakily, like he can’t believe you’re still standing there.

then he kisses you. just to make sure that this is all real.

the moment his lips meet yours, it’s not frantic or hungry. it’s careful - like he’s afraid to press too hard, like he’s anticipating for you to change your mind and push him away.

but you don’t.

you kiss him back, testing the weight of it. testing him. because this isn’t about heat or want. it’s about everything he never said, and everything you were too afraid to ask for.

his hands cup your face so gently it almost hurts, his thumbs brushing across your skin like he needs to memorize the shape of you all over again.

your fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer. everything starts to unravel at the edges.

he kisses you like he’s trying to apologize with every part of himself. like if he holds you close enough, you’ll be able to feel how sorry he is.

the press of his lips is desperate now, his breath hitching between every pass of his mouth over yours. one of his hands slides behind your neck, holding you there, fingers tangling at the roots of your hair like he’s terrified of letting you go.

you tilt your head, your nose bumping into his, your mouths clashing messily for a second - and it makes you both laugh softly, breathlessly.

it’s tangled. imperfect. real.

and god, it hurts.

it hurts how much you missed this. how much you hate him. how much you love him.

the kiss shifts again - this time slower, deeper, a little sadder. you can taste the pain in it, the way he parts his lips just enough to let you in.

his movements are like a confession, bleeding every unspoken word onto your tongue. he’s tearing himself open and giving you the shreds.

“i’m still mad at you,” you whisper against his lips.

“i’d be worried if you weren’t,” he replies, voice soft.

you look up at him, searching his face. “..but i believe you.”

his gaze wavers, like he’s scared to hope too much. “yeah?”

you nod. he kisses your neck softly. a silent thank-you.

“i’m sorry,” he whispers against your skin, over and over like a mantra, his breath catching on the words. “i’m so fucking sorry.”

you press your forehead to his, eyes closed. “you better be.”

“i am,” he breathes out. “more than you know.”

you kiss him again - not because you forgive him yet, but because you want to keep believing that he means it.

for the first time, it doesn’t feel like you’re chasing after something empty and meaningless.

one of his hands slides down your back, curling around your waist as he pulls you into his chest. your knees bump together, your noses nudge, your hands rest flat against his heartbeat.

and that’s how you stay.

wrapped in each other’s arms, mouths still brushing in slow, unfinished kisses - until your anger fades into exhaustion and the dock becomes your bed.

you’ve both sunk down, your bodies draped across the dock, tangled together.

his arm is slung over your waist, his hand tucked just beneath the hem of your shirt. you two are pressed together like you can’t stand even an inch of space.

his breath moves slow and even against your collarbone, the sharp edge of emotion having dulled into a drowsy silence.

your fingers toy gently with the fabric of his sleeve, eyes fluttering open every few seconds to glance up at the sky. the stars have come out in full, sprinkling themselves across the darkness above you. beneath you, the dock is firm and cool, the wood slightly damp.

neither of you have made an effort to leave. not when the night fully blanketed over you, not even when the breeze picked up and the air got colder. hamzah only shifted closer, his nose nudging your temple, his thumb brushing idly against your ribs.

finally, your eyes begin to close.

the last thing you feel is the weight of him beside you. the last thing you hear is the sound of crickets humming and the splash of a fish breaking the lake’s surface. there’s a high possibility you’ll wake up covered in bug bites, but you don’t care.

the world fades around you - soft, still, and somehow, for the first time in days, entirely quiet.

you don’t dream. there’s no need to.

he’s already there.

read part thirteen here

a/n: yay..? yay..!

xoxo giulia

taglist: @gulicore @sturniyolo @slushingmynoob @testdrivethv @ecstqzy @slushyboob @ldrvinyl @xoxoange1l @sleep9times @chrissvalentine @str8fromttpd @elysiumb @hamzahsbiggestfan @ilovezah @screamertannie @i-miss-summer24 @willowpeaks @slushedup @harrys0nlyange1 @venus-planetof-love @milkteabish @xarerie @gabwilliams @slushypoopz @isathefantastic @modernbaseball17 @rock678 @hoe4hamzah @anginluv @slushingkoala @simonegrimes @marixoa @brlwla @cupidsbrainrot

#giulianna ⁀➴#hamzahthefantastic #hamzah imagines #hamzah x reader #hamzah fic #hamzahthefanatasticxreader #hamzah angst

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