#I was avoiding messaging him because I didn't know how to end it myself

[thrina-thrina-on-the-wall]

he used the one view only feature of WhatsApp as a final goodbye. I don't have the video or the picture and I never will. It hits hard.

[muwapsturniolo]

FreshLove For The Fit 2 (rewrite) ˚.🎀༘⋆ C. Sturniolo

"But I do have a proposition for you."

⟢ nothing crazy tbh. mention of boners, nipple piercings and hate from fans.

divider cred @bernardsbendystraws

He fucked up, He fucked up bad.

It only took fans three days to notice his following had gone up on Instagram, the parasocial people looking through the list and trying to see who the new person is. It didn't take long for them to find the new account, immediately blasting it on all socials.

"Chris following a cam girl who wears Fresh Love? Oh, he's a freak!

"No because she's so smart! Let me put on some Fresh Love and get to work!"

Those were just a few of the things that were said in so many words. However, it seemed like on her end, all she was receiving was hate. He went through her comments on Instagram and Twitter; it was brutal, nasty, even a bit scary.

He began to feel bad; after all, this was his fault. He knew how some of his fans were; he knew how much they wanted to 'protect him'. He should have been more careful and avoided following her on Instagram.

He wants to DM her and profusely apologize for any harm he may have caused, but something was holding him back. So instead of messaging her and apologizing, he simply unfollowed her on the app, hoping that would calm everything down.

However, when he got a dm from her on his unrecognizable Twitter account, he knew things were taking a turn.

Your fans are getting a bit crazy in my comments and dm's. You need to tell them to leave me the fuck alone.

Chris's heart drops at the DM, his mouth running dry. There were multiple thoughts running through his head. How did she know this account was his? Would she expose him?

He licks his lips and takes a deep breath before responding, his hands shaky as he types out a message.

I feel like complete shit, i'm so sorry for all of this. Seriously. I should have been more careful with what I was doing.

lmao, i'm just playing with you. I really don't give af about what they are saying. They're just mad you jerked your shit to me, if anything i'm winning in life.

He exhales and closes his eyes reading that she wasn't actually upset with what was currently going on.

Fuck, you had me scared for a second. I've been freaking out about this shit all day. I'm glad you are handling this well though.

I can handle myself very well, thank you very much.

Chris bites his lip as his fingers hesitate over the keyboard, a war raging inside his mind as he debates sending his next response. Eventually he says fuck it, and sends it.

I like the way you handle yourself.

He waits anxiously for a response, worried that he may have overstepped a boundary.

So I take it you like my content then?

Love it actually, was it not obvious?

Chris knew this conversation was taking a turn, and he was curious yet excited to see how far it would go. He stands up from the couch and quickly makes his way to his bedroom, softly closing the door and locking it.

Tell me what you love about it then, I'm curious.

Chris flops down on to his bed, his dick sturring as he thinks about the content he has consumed from her, and what aspects of it he loved.

I think the most obvious thing would be you wearing my brand. That's what made me notice you. I also love the way you sound, the way you try to hold your moans in when you're close, only to let them out in a way that makes my head spin. Don't get me started on your thighs, I could spend all day between them if you let me.

Both adults were staring at their phones with heavy breaths, their hearts beating rapidly in their chests.

Before she could respond to him, Chris sent another message.

What would you say if I wanted you to call me?

I'd tell you to check my prices.

Chris immediately goes to her account, looking at her pinned post and analyzing the prices. He loads up his Cash App and sends her two hundred dollars, leaving a message saying "ft, wear freshlove" with his phone number attached.

A few minutes later, his phone begins to ring, his thumb quickly hitting the accept button.

It takes a second for both of their screens to load, but when it does, they both suck in a harsh breath.

They looked good.

Chris was wearing a pink hoodie that was making her clench her thighs. It was her favorite color, and she loved seeing it on men. His eyes were low as he remained tired, a toothpick in his mouth, and a silver chain adorning his neck.

She was, in fact, wearing Fresh Love, her pink shirt to be exact. He could tell it was a size too small by the way it hugged her chest, her nipples adorned by piercings peeking through the material.

"Hi," she says softly, her soft voice shocking Chris. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he wasn't expecting his dick to jump at the sound of her voice.

"Hey," Chris responds, his eyes darting all over her body. She smirks softly and lies down on her stomach, kicking her feet up as she begins to speak once again.

"So what did you want to call me for?" Chris finds himself suddenly being shy. How was he supposed to tell her he wanted to call her in hopes she would grab her pink dildo and get off for him and with him? It was so easy to be bold behind a screen, but now that he's technically face to face with her, it's different.

"I don't know..."

"Mmm, I think you do know, you're just too scared to admit it." she taunts, a smirk on her face as she teasingly tilts her head.

Chris doesn't like it.

"I'm not scared to admit anything. I just figured you wouldn't appreciate me demanding you grab that sparkly pink dildo and fuck yourself for me. I was raised to be a gentleman after all." His cocky demanor comes back full throttle, a smirk on his face as he takes the toothpick from his mouth. Despite her brown skin, he could tell she was blushing, the way her eyes looked away from the screen and she bit her lip was a dead giveaway.

"Don't act all shy, you post yourself doing the same things I would be requesting....but I'm not going to have you do that. Not yet at least. I want to get to know you first."

He could see the surprise in her eyes. He figured this was something new to her. She was a cam girl, an OnlyFans girl, she was used to men and possibly women using her, demanding things from her, degrading her.

Chris wasn't really that different; he wanted the same things and was objectifying her the same way as others, but there was something about her that was pulling him in and had him wanting this to be something more than transactional.

The call continues with both chatter and laughter, the two adults getting to know each other better for hours on end. The conversation jumped from topic to topic, jokes being dropped and stories being told.

Suddenly, she decides to ask a question that's been bothering her since the start of the call.

"So why did you send me two hundred when my FaceTime price is only one hundred and thirty?"

"Because I wanted to."

His quick and nonchalant response was surprising and confusing to the girl. She squints as she looks at him through the screen, "But you didn't have to, especially if we didn't even do anything sexual." A devious smirk makes its way across Chris's face.

"Well, I did request that you wear Fresh Love, I think that deserved an extra few dollars....But I do have a proposition for you."

[brucewaynehater101]

i've been thinking about Tim's 16th birthday, and had an idea, what if after that disaster Tim realizes he couldn't handle another birthday like that, so on his next birthday he decides to try making his own party, he invites his friends from YJ, rents a place outside of gotham and just completely ignores everything that comes from the Batfamily that day. And it ends up being the best birthday of his life, and so he decides to keep doing it, and it continues going well, until a couple of years later when Dick realizes he never celebrated Tim's birthday, so he decides to give Tim a surprise party. Surprisingly everyone of the batfamily gets together to make the party, and they think they managed to hide it from Tim, only despite the fact that his last few birthday parties were amazing Tim still has a lot of paranoia near his birthday, so as soon as he noticed the family was planning something on his birthday he left Gotham a week before his birthday. No one noticed until the day of Tim's 21st birthday, when Dick tried to find Tim, only to get an automated message saying that Tim's not working today because of his birthday, also that message was always on Tim's birthday ever since he first decided to truly celebrate it, only that was the first time Dick saw it because he never sent a message to Tim on his birthday. Later the batfamily discovers that Tim had a party without even mentioning it to them and get angry because they put a lot of effort on a party for Tim, while he didn't even want them on his birthday. Up to you how Tim responds to that.

I love exploring Tim's 16th birthday trauma. I'm going to tweak your idea slightly, if you don't mind. I myself hate celebrating my birthday, so imma be biased :) Let's go!

Warning: This is an AU, so obviously a lot of details aren't gonna be canon accurate.

Tim's birthdays have always been a hit or miss for him [If you want extra trauma, y'all could make the Flying Grayson show a birthday gift/celebration for Tim. Can be the weekend before, after, or directly on his birthday... Just for fun :D]. Before Tim became Robin, his parents... tried. They tried to be home, to celebrate, to be there. More often than not, they were too busy to actually be present. In those cases, if the connection allowed, they would call Tim.

His parents believed the gifts they gave him, the money they spent on him, made up for them not being there. This is when Tim started to have a complicated relationship with gift giving.

This was the case until Tim's fourteenth birthday.

Tim asked Bruce to become Robin at thirteen, but didn't actually hit the streets until he was fourteen. Obviously, a grieving Bruce didn't celebrate Tim's birthday with him, particularly because Tim wasn't Robin.

For Tim's fourteenth birthday, imma present you with two options:

His parents actually managed to come home and this is the last birthday he gets to spend with his mom

Tim was training in Europe over his fourteenth birthday and thus he was the one to tell his parents they can't celebrate with him

For Tim's fifteenth birthday, his dad is in a coma and his mom is dead. He's also a temporary ward with Bruce. Thus, he gets a fantastic and normal birthday for once. It goes far better than his previous one, giving him hope for future birthdays.

Then the 16th birthday happens.

After this, Tim doesn't trust Bruce and Alfred. Dick, Barbara, Steph, and YJ didn't know about it, so he still tentatively trusts them.

To add extra trauma, let's say Tim's 17th birthday occurs during the BruceQuest :)

Now, for Tim's 18th birthday, he's an adult. He has rocky relationships with his family, and he knows how to engineer distractions/excuses to avoid celebrating his birthday with the Waynes. Usually, he has "missions" with his friends that are really fun adventures or vacations.

He used to leave Gotham two weeks in advance, but, after his eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth birthdays, he calms down. He isn't expecting The 16th to happen again.

[To flesh out some of his other relationships (and feel free to regard as you please), let's say that Cass gets invited to the nineteenth and twentieth.

Steph (after Tim and Steph fix their relationship with one another) gets invited to the twentieth.

Jason and Tim both share a dislike for birthdays or presents, so they usually just send each other some text message phrased as an insult ("Seems you actually survived another year. Would you look at that?") and a cheap gift (a pack of cigarettes for Jason and a pack of Zesti for Tim).

Barbara and Tim send each other puzzles/challenges for each others' birthdays. Maybe Duke is the same way too.

Dick goes out with Tim *after* Tim returns to Gotham post-Birthday (if you want a trying/good brother Dick)

Tim does not accept gifts from Bruce nor Alfred. Alfred will instead make Tim's favorite meal and leave it in his apartment for when he returns. Bruce, on the other hand, feels immense guilt over it and only sends Tim a happy birthday text and money.]

But... Then, for Tim's 21st birthday, he notices his family planning shit. His ass immediately flees town and doesn't return for an entire month, just in case.

The Waynes are pissed at him, particularly the ones who don't know about the 16th. I think Cass probably told them not to plan anything and went with Tim when the Waynes continued their plans despite her warning.

Anyways, if anyone actually yells at Tim that they "put a lot of effort into that party for Tim," I hope he crashes out and yells at them for getting upset without even asking him what he wants. All of this could have been avoided if even one of them had asked him about his plans for his birthday and how he likes to celebrate.

[incrtz]

How many times will it take..?

Part Two

Pairing ⋆ sick! gojo x past lover! reader

Summary ⋆ After last time, you both wanted more… So, Satoru decided to give you the best birthday sex, but it feels way different this time.. more gentle.. more purposeful.

Warnings ⋆ Smut, 18+ topics, NSFW, MDNI, flirty! gojo, rough but gentle, alcohol, condescending! gojo

Word Count ⋆ 2,256

It’s been a few weeks since I had to look after Satoru. After we fucked I left since he decided to tell me he wasn't actually sick I didn't have to look after him anymore.

I'm now laying in my bed with a pack of beers, my favorite thing to do. I flick on my favorite movie, and pull my covers over me, I was about to put my head on the pillow when I was rudely interrupted by my phone buzzing. I brace myself and slide the ‘Answer Call’ button across my screen, lifting my phone to my ear before it gets blasted off.

“Ah. Hi Utahime.” I let out a deep sigh as she rambles down the phone. To be honest, I was completely zoned out until I heard her say, ‘We’re on our way. ‘My eyes widen. What? On your way, where?” I begin praying consciously, hoping she doesn't say… “To your apartment! Pay attention!” She shouts from the other end of the line.

My head falls back against my headboard as I put my fingers to the bridge of my nose, “Who is we? Who are you with?” I ask her, but I have a pretty good guess. “Satoru & Suguru for Christ's sake woman.” She scoffs, “Satoru’s… Done something. I don't know, that's why we’re coming to you.”

“I’m not a doctor. Go see Shoko.” I tell her, my patience wearing thin. “Get off your bed and get dressed, (Y/N). He's seriously hurt.” Before I knew it I was crawling out of my nice comfy bed to my closet, pulling on some loose pants and a tank top before slipping my blindfold on, I put my feet into my slippers as my door buzzes, followed by Suguru & Utahime entering with Satoru.

To my surprise, Satoru isn't injured and they're all carrying something, Suguru has a bottle of what seems to be Champagne, Utahime carrying a few gift bags and Satoru has hold of a white box. My eardrums nearly burst when they all screamed ‘Happy Birthday’ in unison. Oh yeah, I forgot.

I snicker a little before scolding them, “You made me rush thinking he got his ass kicked or something?!” I fold my arms over my chest before we all walk into my living room, Satoru places himself next to me and swings his arm over my shoulders, “Happy Birthday, gorgeous.” He hums as he kisses my forehead.

I roll my eyes and look to the side, “Yeah, thanks.” I mumble back to hum. “You’re gonna love my gift, I don't recommend opening it whilst every ones here.” He whispers into my ear. My body shudders at his tone, so sultry. “Yeah shut up,” I grumble before pushing him off me to stand up.

So somehow we've ended up all black-out drunk, dancing with the lights off in my kitchen whilst we wait for their taxis to pull up. Thankfully, Satoru actually left. To be honest I was fully expecting him to insist on staying the night since that’s what he’d usually do. I’m thankful though. I get to avoid talking to him about feelings.

I tidy up a little before pulling my eyemask off and crawling back into my bed, grabbing the box Satoru gave me. I place it gently on my lap and untie the blue ribbon, softly lifting the lid and then the tissue paper which matched the ribbon color. “Satoru.” I mumbled as I lifted the lace outfit he bought me, its light blue with basically no coverage. I think he bought me lingerie. For my birthday.

I sigh and climb back out of bed, taking the outfit with me before stripping off, gently pulling it over my legs and arms. I stand in front of my mirror, how the fuck does he know my clothing size? My mind starts wandering until my phone buzzes again, this time it's a text. A text from Satoru.

I clicked on his message, “You opened my present yet?;)” it read. I snicker a little. My mind is blurred from the alcohol because I'm pulling out the camera app, taking a photo of myself in the lingerie he got me. I cover my face with the phone and cross my legs, sending it to Satoru. I immediately close my phone and leave it on the bedside table whilst I undress and get ready for bed.

Once I’m tucked under my comforter I peel my phone off my bedside table, lifting the screen closer to my face when I realize Satoru sent me a pic back… he's stood in his mirror, his white Calvin Kleins hung low on his waist whilst he flexes his abs and the arm not holding the camera. If I had a drink, it would be spat out by now because Jesus Christ. I bite the inside of my lip and fold my legs, texting him back.

Satoru’s Iphone

Me: {my photo} I quite like it.

Satoru: {his photo} You like this?;)

Me: Teasing a girl isn't very gentleman-like is it, Toru?

Satoru: That right baby? D’ya want me to come back over?

I hum to myself, smirking whilst biting my finger as I message him back. I think for a minute, looking down at myself before replying.

Me: Maybe I do. How long will you be?

Satoru: I’ll be right there. Give me ten.

My smirk grows wider as I pull the lingerie back on, take my blindfold off and apply a small amount of makeup so I don't look totally ready for bed and I quickly make my bed, flattening it out before layng on it. Satoru knocks at the door and I text him, telling him to just come in, which he does almost immediately.

I hear his movements get closer to my bedroom door, my eyes burning homes through the wall as if to see him quicker. Shortly, his tall figure filled the doorway, I turned my lights off and there’s just a few lit candles dotted around my room. The flames reflect off his face as he crawls onto the bed, “Holy fuck. You look even better than the pic you sent me.” He mumbles before crawling over me, slipping himself in between my legs, and placing his hands on either side of my head. “You smell amazing.” I hum, smirking up at him before his hands begin exploring my body.

My fingers trail up his torso, unbuttoning his white shirt that he has rolled up to his elbows. His face lowers to mine, connecting our lips as he shakes his arms out of his shirt, pushing his hips into mine gently, creating some friction in-between us.

As his mouth envelopes mine, it feels as though his entire body is taking over mine, touching me where I wanna be touched, breathing onto my lips just the way I like it. My back arches as he reaches underneath me, unclipping the lace attached to my body. My palms glide down his toned torso until I hit his waistband, hooking my fingers under it as he peels the lace from me, I reach my free hand up to his face, yanking his blindfold off to join his shirt on my floor. I look him in the eyes, tugging gently at his waistband, “God. What’s gotten into you?” He smirks down at me, gently guiding the lace down my legs. “You have.” I hum back as he drops the lingerie on the floor.

“That right?” He grins as he pushes my legs apart, his palms on the back of each one of my thighs as he leans his neck down, pressing his lips to my pussy. My eyelids flutter shut as he slides his fingers in between my wet folds, his free hand sliding up to firmly press on my lower stomach. His gorgeous blue eyes connect with mine as he flicks his tongue against me.

He lifts his free hand, tracing his fingertips up my leg down to my inner thigh, gently massaging as he devours my core, “Fuck ‘Toru~” I breathe out, my voice laced with desire as his groans send vibrations through my body, my hips bucking at the sensation. I push my hand down my body, running my fingers through his luscious, shaggy, white hair and gripping, pulling his head further into me.

He lifts his head up, his lips & chin covered in my arousal as he sits up, my lips forming into a pout as he crawls over me, smirking as he sees my lip pop out of my mouth. His grin widens as he leans down, catching my lower lip in between his pearly whites. His left hand fumbles with his joggers, untying the string before tugging them down to his lower thigh, just where his boxers end. He hoists my legs onto his shoulders, his mouth covering mine once again as he tugs his boxers down, his veiny cock springing free as he lets out a sigh of relief. His palm grips his cock, slowly pumping it whilst his tip glistens with precum.

His tongue explores my mouth, reaching every untouched corner all whilst trying to cover his stifled moans. He pushes his hips forward, his tip pressing against my cunt. His mouth peels off mine as he presses his sweat-lined forehead onto mine, heavily breathing onto my lips as his dick-head finds my hole. His eyelids peel open as he gently pushes into me, my lips parting slightly as I look up at him, his eyes aren’t covered with the usual hunger, and desire that happens when we fuck, they look different, he feels different and I feel it too.

It’s as if we are trespassing, entering enemy territory.

My stomach flutters along with my eyelids as his tip hits my spot, my back arching in unison with his thrusts. The headboard of my bed begins colliding with the wall, with each push inside of me, settling me right on the edge. My head sinks into my pillows as I lift my eyelids open, his orbs refuse to look away from me as I almost hit my climax. My teeth abruptly clamp down on my bottom lip as he lifts my hips, getting a better angle to fuck my G-spot perfectly.

My teeth quickly release my lower lip and my mouth begins sputtering out all kinds of words, Satoru’s hands slide up my hips, like he’s touching the most expensive thing he's laid eyes on. My head pushes further into the pillows as I hit my climax, my legs tightening around his shoulders, “F-fuck ‘Toru..~” I practically scream out. That seems to push him over the edge too as I can now feel a sticky, hot substance coating the insides of my thighs.

Satoru leans back down, caging me in with his arms as he places a gentle, purposeful kiss on my parted lips before climbing off me, and disappearing into the bathroom. He tends to do that, I think he likes giving me aftercare because every time we’ve fucked, without fail hes always cleaned me up and made sure I was dressed and comfortable before leaving.

But this time, I decided to ask him something I've never asked him before, “Satoru. Stay the night?” I shout to my bathroom. I hear the water abruptly stop running from the tap as he re-enters, “(Y/N)(L/N). Have you just asked ME to stay the night?” He repeats, his muscular arms folded over his chest, holding a damp cloth in one of his hands. I scoff and roll my eyes, “Forget it then. Dick.”

I hear an amused chuckle escape from his lips as he gets closer to me, pressing the cloth on my cum-covered thighs, “Of course I’ll stay the night, gorgeous.” He hums, nodding along with his words as he steps back, just looking down at me.

I can’t believe I’m now curled up in my bed with Satoru Gojo, his huge arms wrapped around me whilst I use his chest as a pillow, my palm sits gently on his bare chest as the TV plays in the background. His eyes are glued to me whilst I watch, entertained at the screen.

It must've been pretty late by the time we actually slept because it’s now 2 pm and I can just about open my eyes until my brain starts attacking the rest of my body, begging me to go back to sleep. I pull myself together and sit up, looking at the empty bed next to me. I sigh, frankly, I’m quite disappointed that I’m not being woken up by breakfast in be…

“Finally.” I hear a voice tease from my doorway, my eyes glance up as a wave of relief washes over me. “You slept for hours. I was just about to wake you.” He tells me whilst approaching my bed with a plate of food, placing it gently on my lap before handing me the bottle of water he had shoved in his pocket. “Figured you’d have a hangover.” He hums as the bed sinks beneath him, he leans his back against my headboard as I thank him, letting him know he didn’t need to do this before divulging in the food, taking full advantage whilst i can.

“You know…” He trails off, his eyes watching me in amusement at my reaction to his cooking, “I got you two birthday presents.”

I raise an eyebrow, squinting my eyes a little as he answers my unspoken question, “I gave you the lingerie, and the most amazing birthday sex.”

© 2025 INCRTZ | pls don’t copy or repost w out creds on any of my works. all rights reserved.

[artsninspo]

004 | Richmond Inc.

「 ✦ full library & archive ✦ 」

「 ✦ aaron pierre & characters library ✦ 」

⇚ 003

♠ authors note: the first part of this chapter was meant to be at the end of 003, I hope it doest interrupt your reading flow.

♠ summary: Mr. Richmond and Lorence have their meeting. This ones messy ��️.

♠ pairing: Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre - Rebel Ridge) X Lorence Cole (Black Fem OC)

♠ word-count: ~2.2K

⌖ - St. Moritz, Switzerland

I send Joel a text and meet him on the enclosed rooftop. The view is one of one.

“You really know how to get under the boss's skin kid” he sighs, swirling around whisky in his glass.

“What I do”

“I had orders to inform you of our discussion. Now Rich thinks I didn’t speak to you”

“Sorry, I was cornered in an elevator”

“Well, face him sooner than later. Rip off the bandaid” Joel sighs.

“How was today? How many calls?” I ask.

“Thirty inquiries,” he smiles. “Even if the boss only chooses fifteen new contracts, that's a nice check for our team. I’m telling you you’re a natural.” Joel says but he’s always had faith in me.

“Thanks, I’m sorry I got you in trouble”

“I know, you know I love you kid don’t worry about it” he sighs getting up.

“Get some sleep” he says standing with a hand outreached for me. We make our back to the rooms and he walks me to mine. I send my loved ones goodnight messages and drift away.

…

Unfortunately I rise early without being well rested. The clock reads its five thirty in the morning. My internal alarm is so well set that there’s no resistance even abroad. Discipline keeps me going through the motions instead of motivation because there's a huge lack of that. My nerves skyrocket and I decide to stick to my routine. I reconsider using the gym today and have the equipment I need brought to me in my room. I’ll buy all the time in the world not to bump into him before nine. For the first time in my adult life meditation doesn’t bring me clarity. It’s unsettling and I wonder how Mr. Richmond rattles me so deeply. From our first meeting there was some friction. I’d spent a few weeks hearing Joel sing his praises while my colleagues of the fairer sex ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ about how handsome he was. When he walked onto our floor a hush cut across the cubicles. All I could see then was his complexion, a side profile of facial hair and curls. The minute he was in his office a frenzy started all around me. Everyone was preparing presentations and reports just-in-case. Then there was the constant flow of colleagues into the ladies room to spruce themselves up. The lipstick tubes were being twisted, powder patted one, lashes curled, blowouts scheduled during lunch the whole nine yards.

That first time in Mr. Richmonds office was the only occasion I wasn’t rattled with nerves but it didn't last long. It was the Boss, his barber, Joel and myself. He glared at Joel before looking at me with a dissatisfied expression and outreaching his hand. There wasn’t a welcome or any fanfare, just a hello. His grip was firm and his hands far larger than mine radiating heat without being clammy. I sat there waiting my turn to speak as Joel presented my findings. I watched as Richmond was transformed from scruffy operative to the clean cut CEO right before my eyes. Still I kept my composure and presented my findings. Mr. Richmonds disposition then turned antagonistic as he probed and probed and probed trying to find fault with my research concepts. When there were none to be found he didn't smile and end the angry boss charade like I'd hoped. He gave a curt nod and told me it was good work in a flat tone.

Since then, I’ve given him a wide breadth at every opportunity. I’ve passed up on several opportunities to be in his presence and rub shoulders with him. It’s been almost three years and I don't understand why things have to change now. I’ve enjoyed maintaining a professional distance and avoiding his tirades. Increased proximity will surely erode all of the defences I had set in place and that's not what I need. I quit my morning meditations prematurely and decide on a walk outdoors hoping the movement will help clear my head, hoping the cold will bring some clarity but it doesn't. I return inside and skip breakfast opting for a hot steamy shower. The bathroom gets as cloudy as my thoughts. I turn on the dehumidifying fan and wipe the mirror. The eyes staring back at me are swimming with uneasiness, a deer in the headlights. Not liking my reflection I get my outfit ready for the day. I do my body care routine before my make-up and then slip into my outfit before letting down my hair.

Business, bombshell, barbie; is what it’s giving today. It's a ruse, a fake it till you make it, moment. Maybe if I present like the admins he won't see me as a contender for the director position. Fastening my watch on my wrist I see I have thirty minutes to spare. I make my way to his office for the interim. I walk over to the elevator and get in, hitting the button up one floor. One of my colleagues walks in with red eyes as I exit.

“Good luck” he swallows letting me know Richmond is on a warpath. I send him a sympathetic look making my way to where his secretary is stationed.

“Gordon” I greet and she smiles.

“I’ve told you a million times, call me Cassandra,” she smiles.

“Cassandra,” I amend.

“Lorence,” she smiles. “I hear I’ll be seeing a lot more of you - I’m excited there’s wayyy too much testosterone and serious characters among the executives” she whispers in a dark denim tailored canadian tuxedo.

“Where’d you hear that?” I ask and she rolls her eyes.

“I know everything” she winks, a stiletto nail on full display as she taps her temple with her pointer finger. It’s a cloak and dagger maneuver - Cassandra’s sharper than she looks and too many employees have fallen into her trap. She's Richmond Inc. Chris Hansen. Obviously there's an immense amount of trust between her and the boss.

“What’s it like working closely with Richmond?” I ask and she rolls her eyes.

“He’s a total asshole sometimes. But the man knows how to apologize well when the asshole can't be confined in that gargantuan frame” she says, openly mocking the boss. I snicker a little. “But usually he’s normal, fair, attentive, considerate,” she says. Cassandra’s the only person I’ve ever spoken to that has such a glowing review. I can't help but scoff.

“What’s that for? Has he yelled at you?” she asks, seeming genuinely upset at the prospect.

“No, I maintain my distance.” I tell her.

“Oh I know” she nods.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.

“Terry’s noticed” she says using his first name which is a rarity in this place. I swallow hard, not excited by the revelation.

“Yay!” I remark unenthused.

Cassandra snickers. “Don’t be like that, he's good at everything he sets his mind to. I’m sure it’ll take him no time to learn the best way to work with you-” before she can say more his door opens and we look like a bunch of guilts gossips huddled close to each other with nothing more to say in his presence.

“Gordon, how do I look-” Richmonds baritone crescendos as he looks up from his watch. Cassandra and I straighten, and in an instant all the casual and playful energy is sucked out of the open space. Richmond straightens next before checking his watch.

A silent beat passes between the three of us.

“She’s early,” Cassandra quips. He swallows, sending her a glare but she doesn't cower plopping down into her seat seemingly defeated as she gets back to work.

“Cole” he steps back holding a hand out to his office. 

“Sir” I responded before leading the way. His cologne is an intoxicating mix of clean and masculine, while being a little dark. The room is large with an open concept, there are several seating arrangement options. To my surprise he motions to a sofa instead of the chair at his desk. I take my seat and he takes his, facing me, a coffee table between us. I cross my legs to the side, a habit from wearing skirts. I don’t dare look down into his sprawled legs and oversized thighs sitting in a dominant power pose. His words cross my mind again and I look him over. He looks fine, as usual. I wonder what that was about and look towards the door again. He clears his throat and I feel regret for how it probably looks as I look towards the door.

“Good morning” I greet him, trying to add some levity to the atmosphere.

“Morning” he responds, straightening slightly in his seat. “Well?” He asks.

“Well, what Sir?” I ask respectfully.

“You’ve spoken with Jameson about what’s on the table regarding your employment here. I’m here to answer any questions you may have. I’m open to discussion” he says with body language that reads anything but ‘open to discussion’.

“I was under the impression I had some time to decide,” I respond.

“Decide?” He asks like it’s absurd, like his offer is so good I shouldn’t refuse.

“My day has just started and I haven’t had time to read anything over” I add and he takes out his tablet confirming my words as truth. It only confirms he's a control freak, to be tracking email opens.

“Well then let’s do it now” he says tapping the screen and I hear the printer begin printing.

“Shouldn’t this be done in the presence of HR?” I ask and his eyes light.

“HR?” he repeats in question.

“In case I have HR specific questions…” I explain and he tosses his tablet onto the coffee table making a crash. I sit back and his nostrils flare. 

“Such as…” he responds. At a loss for words I shrug feeling like a mediator should be present already. “What’s your problem with me?” He asks.

“Your temper” I blurt out before my brain can stop me. My cantor takes him by surprise too. “I’m also insulted that instead of self-regulating you increase my therapy stipend” I add, since I’m already halfway to hell I might as well continue right?

“Self-regulating” he mutters and I’ve lit a fuse. He looks at me about going nuclear. “Get out!” he demands, his voice reverberating through the glass office. I swallow while maintaining my composure. 

“No! I’m not a dog, I won't be spoken to that way!” I stand my ground. It’s a surprise to me too. The expression in Richmonds eyes and the hard set of his jaw confirms he’s surprised and incensed.

“You’ve asked me to self-regulate but unless you get out of my face I'm going to continue to speak to you however I choose.” he says with closed eyes. 

“Finally those big ears listen” I quip going low. His eyes shoot open in shock as I get up and head to the door.

“Rescind last night’s email to Mrs. Cole” he shouts standing once I’m out of the office. “Now!” He snaps at Cassandra from behind me. I turn to face him. “You’ve overestimated your importance and outplayed your hand” he snaps and somehow his restraint feels more seething than his tirades.

“Richmond” Cassandra interjects.

“Do IT!” he shouts, blowing my eardrums. Both Cassandra and I wince.

“Do it your damn self!” I snap snatching the cords from Cassandra's docking station.

“You’re suspended.” Richmond swallows, fighting for control.

“I’ll do you one better; I QUIT” I snap giving him a taste of his own medicine slamming my phone and laptop down on the marble desk top. I hope they’re broken. I take my work pass from my hip and add it to the pile with careless abandon. 

“Lorence” Cassandra says with a soft tone.

“I’ll be out in the next hour, don't send me an off-boarding survey. I quit because the Boss is an asshole!” I add having reached my boiling point after three years of being subject to his tyranny.

“I’ll call housekeeping to help you pack and find alternative accommodations” Cassandra relents picking up her phone. 

“Thank you” I nod, swallowing hard. I cast a hateful look over my shoulder at Richmond before heading into the elevator. I swear I see the asshole smirking as the elevator doors shut. I manage to keep it together through packing up my stuff and the entire ride to the airport's hotel but once I'm in my new accommodations I bawl.

Hours later I sit in first class on my flight home and see the email is still there in my personal inbox. I left all my work items in the hotel with Cassandra in spite of her protest. Nagging guilt, curiosity and the prospect of regret makes me open the file. I put in my password fully expecting the file to go blank but it doesn’t. I swallow seeing one million dollars listed under salary along with a list of perks that would make anyone envious. Everything would be the best of the very best and a road to early retirement no doubt. I sigh, closing the document and calling for some champagne. When my flight lands I head to my parents home instead of my own to lick my wounds and recover.

game reveal: those of you who chose 2 and 5 were very much accurate. thankfully, there was no 1. No 4 either, unless you've found a spot for it. If you don't know what I'm taking about check out my page between chapters to play the games I post with us: Richmond Inc. Game & Poll

authors note: thanks to all who played and everyone who's been reading and liking, voting & commenting. What did you think about this chapter? Did you expect it to go the way it did? Are we proud of Lorence?

005 ⇛

click here to ✮ join taglist ✮ and be notified when new updates drop.

[becausegraf]

Shower thoughts moment about Stolas and Blitz' communication issues.

Something I haven't seen in these discussions before myself (beside the matter of how wishy-washy and overly accommodating Stolas tends to be):

Stolas is *overly polite*, to a degree Blitz simply can't decode the intricacies of it anymore.

His politeness is such an obvious, on-brand part of his behaviour that it gets overlooked as a source of communication issues, and their difference in social 'rank' is connected to this, too.

Tl;dr Stolas' usual cordial manner, overly restrained by the upper class code of conduct he was raised with, makes it very difficult for Blitz to take what he does and says at face-value, and this results in a fundamental unease and distrust on his part.

-

I was rewatching 'Ozzie's' again, and something occurred to me about their conversation after.

Stolas gets out of the car, probably after quite the long awkward silence. Blitz is clearly stewing in displeasure.

And then, what does he say? What's the kind of message he chooses to send, in-between his invitation?

'Hey Blitz, *thank you for asking me out, this was nice.*'

He doesn't completely skirt around the obvious issue that things ended on a sour note, but he skips over it quickly, in a hurry to avoid seeming unhappy or ungrateful or upset.

Now, after the whole debacle, Blitz knows damn well this was a mess from start to finish. He invited him out on a fake date, couldn't be arsed to really pay attention to him because he was still caught up in his Original Plan of spying on MnM, and not even minutes later, being unable to keep his gob shut, he ends up attracting the attention of everyone and their mama to him and Stolas, to get them both sublimely roasted in public.

'I enjoyed spending time with you', says Stolas.

'Bullshit', thinks Blitz.

No, he didn't. He got dragged into a sassy rogue's hare-brained scheme like the naive princey he is, tidily sat aside while Blitz thoughtlessly treated him like distraction at best, got publicly humiliated by the top dog of the Lust ring to the point of cringeing and hiding away, and got carted on home in a cramped messy car with a thundercloud in the driver's seat.

-

Stolas' intention isn't to bullshit Blitz. He knows his friend knows he knows this went terribly awry, but in his social circles, something so obvious doesn't have to be stated aloud. It'd even be incredibly unbecoming to complain openly, let alone to have a bitch fit and express frustration the way 'a lower class person' with no filter might.

He can tell Blitz isn't happy with things, and it's perfectly understandable and thoughtful of him to try to think of a way to salvage the evening, rather than to get hung up on whatever the fuck that whole mess just was. He knows Blitz isn't likely to be eager to talk about 'it', whatever 'it' might be, but they don't have to - if they can just spend a bit of time with each other to ensure things are alright between them, they can part ways with some peace of mind.

So that's what he does: he sidles around the unpleasant elephant in the room, like any properly behaved Goetia would, and extends a courteous, polite invitation to wave it all off and have a pleasant evening regardless.

Stolas spent his entire life 'on stage'. He's an actor, both due to a genuine, benign penchant for dramatics, and out of pure necessity to get by when surrounded by high society folk, and living in a household where conflict would be never-ending if he doesn't go out of his way to diplomatically calm things down. He has more than two decades of active training in 'how to ignore the ever-growing pile of crap, and put on your tidiest smile'.

-

By comparison, Blitz is *explicitly* vocal about what he thinks. The day they met, he wasn't shy at all about telling little Stols that his books are boring, and as an adult he's still impulsive and bluntly honest. He's used to open conflict and butting heads with people, and expects others to 'come and give it to him' if they have a problem.

From Blitz' perspective, Stolas' earnestly motivated behaviour has to come off as a bit 'fake', like an actor walking through a script.

Calling Stolas out by going 'oh come off it, you and I are just sex and nothing else' may sound incredibly blind, or deliberately obtuse, but I think he may have partially meant that to say 'can we not with the whole pretend-nice play acting right now, let me remind you of what's real here, and I'm not in the mood for messing around with whatever you think you're doing here'.

He really doesn't think Stolas inviting him to come in and hang out like friends is genuine, and in a sense - why would he? They just had a disaster of a night, and this weird prissy owl isn't starting a shouting match or crying or bitching about it - clearly he's up to something, but it's for sure not 'in earnest'. If it was, they'd be having an argument, or at the very least be talking about the whole thing.

-

Heck, the very first time they met was a whole mess of confusing communication, with the very first thing Stolas says to him after closing the door to his room being something straight out of a sexy roleplay. Talk about making a brand new first impression on Blitz as someone who apparently just Does That Kinda Thing like the massive nerd he is.

I really think Blitz struggles to interpret some of Stolas' behaviour correctly, or at least, in the way Stolas is going for. Their social surroundings and habits are so vastly different there really is no meeting in the middle at times. They're not just not on the same page, but reading a whole different novel.

-

And hey, this goes the other way, too.

During Full Moon, Blitz goes after him when Stolas withdraws from the interaction (which is what you would do if in the middle of a fancy party, your emotions start to boil over - you excuse yourself to have a breakdown where nobody has to be annoyed over it).

Someone following him when he departs can either mean they care about what's going on and are invested enough to want to be there while he's upset, OR it's a case of someone like Stella just not being done ripping him a new one. The way Blitz comports himself does *not* make it one bit clear that him chasing after Stolas is 'because he cares', not when mister hot-headed 'I turn fear into fury' Blitz is going off on a hostile tirade.

'LET'S GO!!' he shouts.

It's literally a case of someone screaming to be engaged with. 'Get back here you bastard we're not DONE.'

This is Blitz 'being real' with people, as unpleasant and aggressive (and in its own way a defensive front) as it is. This is Blitz ready to tear through the haze of indirect, vague communication, expecting, wanting Stolas to stop running, turn around, and give him a piece of his mind properly. If Stolas is upset, angry, hurt... he should just say so, damnit!

That's the social rules he lives by: you throw out a provocation, and the other party responds in the same way, clapping back with whatever crap it is that's got their panties in a twist, and whatever comes out of such a tiff would at least register as 'honest' to someone like Blitz.

This is how he interacts with Verosika. It's how he interacts with Fizz during their conflicts. It's how Barbie interacts with him. It's just 'how you do things' by Blitz' script.

*None* of that aligns with Stolas' expectations or understanding. To him, acting like that is just rude, aggressive, and mean, and he's not the kind of person to match that energy in kind.

-

And this is where in Apology Tour, there is a noticeable and critical change in Stolas' behaviour: for the first time, he gets *snarky*.

He shows Blitz his disapproval, his impatience, his frustration. He blocks him off, pushes back, argues with him. He legit gives Blitz 'a bit of a hard time', well-deservedly, even if for the most part he's still aiming to cut communication short and go back to handling his feelings in private.

Later at night during the party, when he's drunk off his ass and his usual patience and self-control are running on fumes, Blitz approaches him rather demurely, ready to at least try to make amends. It's at this point that Stolas' communication turns into a style Blitz understands: blunt, expressive, and unrestrained. He finally stops holding back, and lets his feelings, notably anger and hurt, show plainly.

Snark and sarcasm, immediate clap-backs - that's the language Blitz speaks fluently. That's what, to him, registers as 'honest', as real, as true. That is the point at which he no longer has any instinctive reason to think Stolas is just putting on a fancy show, because that's how 'normal people talk'.

-

I very much think that as much as Blitz already had intense latent feelings for him, it's the point at which Stolas showed him something 'real', something relatable and understandable and trustworthy, that the imp fell even harder for him.

It broke through the distortion caused by Stolas constantly holding back, and Blitz being quite aware that Stolas, in a sense, constantly put on a performance for him.

In short...

Stolas claims Blitz is the person he can 'be himself with' the most, but I truly think it took until Apology Tour before he started breaking down his own walls of reticence and distance. They've only *just* gotten started, but this tiny bit of change that already started before Mastermind is a sign that things can absolutely go into a better direction with them.

[honeyawa]

cherry kisses and bites +

( featuring ) gojo satoru.

"shoko, oh my god- shoko!"

you're panicking. your fingers are tapping on the table repetitively. your heart is going on a marathon. you're pacing around your room, waiting for shoko to pick up the phone after 5 continuous calls. the time reads 10:13 pm on a saturday night, which makes you wonder: what could she be doing that is so important over her best friend's possible death?

left to your own devices and the incessant notifications from your phone, notifying that both gojo satoru and geto suguru have messaged you, with the occasional calls that you stared at until they were gone.

it was safe to say your life took the "god gave the toughest fights to his strongest soldiers" a bit too hard after all this fiasco.

i mean, what led you to not check on who you were texting before sending an impressive amount of messages all about your-man-who-doesn't-know-he's-your-man (gojo)? the information being handled was of high value! all for it to be wasted in less than 3 minutes because you actually texted your-man-who-doesn't-know-he's-your-man (gojo) instead of your best friend, and now he knows that you like him!

with your phone across the room because you couldn't trust yourself not to peek at the hundreds of messages waiting to be read, all you could do was wait impatiently until shoko picks up. which turns out to be one of the hardest things you've done to the point where you wouldn't be surprised if you turned into a madman at the end of the night—

"confessing on text is crazy, but hey at least you got the job done, right?"

ah, she picked up.

"if you don't see me tomorrow," you pause, considering using all your money and buying plane tickets to travel across the country because you aren't a confrontational person, at all. "just know that i'm dead and i'm gone or i left the country."

"no you won't. plus, you don't even know if he likes you back or not because i know you haven't checked the messages."

"i don't need to know. i'm not—" you cut yourself off after processing what she first said when she picked up. "wait… how do you even know what happened?!"

"we will cross the bridge when we come to it," she responds, though not really responding to the question because she's avoiding it. "nuh uh! tell me how you know!" she's hiding something from you, and you know it. luckily, it doesn't take that long for you to connect the dots together. "were you on a call with them?"

she stays quiet.

aha! talk about accuracy. shoko never stays quiet unless she was found out. you couldn't believe it. your best friend, the one supposed to be with you through the highs and lows, through the thick and thin, was being friendly to the now turned enemy while you were on a crisis?!

"shoko…" cue a sniffle from you, "how could you do this to me?" (okay, maybe you were being a little dramatic, but they don't call you the drama queen for nothing!) you could tell she was starting to get annoyed by that sigh she just let out. it was just a matter of time until she snaps on the low key and gives you an order.

and that moment starts in 3…

2..

1..

"just shut the fuck up and check the messages from him." a beep comes shortly after.

.

..

…

oh, okay.

you're being fed straight to the sharks (or shark in your case). okay. wow. you just can't believe this. was she hoping for your downfall that much? ouch. with no one else left to be your emotional support, you have to give yourself courage to finally check what he sent you.

you take a huge gulp, and with shaky fingers, you slowly press on your texts.

unexpectedly, it felt like a giant rock was lifted off your back. the first messages you read didn't contain any "i'm sorry but i don't feel the same way" "you're like a sister to me" "i want to focus on myself" "i only see you as a friend" etc. it did, however, contain many variations of "OPICK UP THE PHONE" "i know you see this." "Text Me Back." texts.

one that did manage to catch your eye was the "watch out. i'm coming to your house right now." wait, he's not actually coming to your house right? (he most definitely is.)

you think your eyes are about to fall out of their sockets.

the feeling of relief that just came by? vanished. crushed. obliterated. annihilated. it feels like everything is back to step one, fuck. what could be better than calling your dear friend shoko once more and start ranting again? nothing. so you went ahead and just did that.

"the person you tried to reach is not available, your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system."

you think you might just cry.

to make matters worse, at that very moment, someone rang your doorbell. finger crossed and chanting "it's not satoru" over and over again, you clench your eyes and hope that it is indeed not gojo satoru.

but life seemed to have something against you, as you hear a very familiar voice talking to your mom, the voice of the one person you didn't want to see right now.

who is it? well, ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary folks, it appears to be gojo satoru! (is the world revolving around him now?)

oblivious to the quiet footsteps marching up the stairs, you mull about where to hide. maybe under your bed? no, that's too freaking obvious, plus you don't know if you would still fit after all those years. the closet seemed to be a fine choice until you realize that's the second most obvious place to hide too.

deep into thinking, you seem to have forgotten that the enemy is quite literally in your house, and in front of your bedroom door no less.

baam! your door swings open with enough force to send you flying and landing on your ass.

"why didn't you say anything!?" alright! straight to the point! and by shouting too!

"what the fuck do you mean?!" you shout back, matching his tone and everything in between, which is laced with confusion because you weren't really the one to catch things from the get-go.

"i mean," he starts and pauses, you notice that his chest is rising and falling at a quick pace. he must've ran here. (deep breaths gojo.) "why didn't you tell me that you liked me back for 4 whole years?"

"maybe because i didn't want to get rejected and throw away what we had?"

"well, why did you think you were going to get rejected?" he questioned. it seemed like he was implying that he does like you and this is not just a one-sided romance, seemed like..

but, did he say it outright? no. thus why you're still assuming he doesn't like you. you're no delusional bitch.

"um, maybe, just maybe, because you don't like me?" (you really got the dragging effect on the second maybe, it was perfect, from duration to pronunciation too.)

okay. why is he blankly looking at you now? as if you said the most out-of-pocket thing ever. why does it seem like everyone is judging you all of a sudden?!

"wait so, you mean, you still haven't gotten the hint yet?"

"does i look like a pirate on a treasure hunt for you to be talking about hints? might as well give me that uma costume and a map too." your arms are crossed, you're leaning to the left, and your right foot is repetitively tapping against the floor.

(gojo had a laughing fit when you did that.)

"sorry queen, i take that back." after every word, he giggles like a newborn when they see you embarrassing yourself in front of them. "what i meant to say was, i do like you back!"

"nuh uh."

"the fuck you mean 'nuh uh'?"

"wheres the camera at? i need to make sure i was photogenic during the whole video!"

"there is no camera. im hurt you think i would do something like this to you" his hands are covering the area where his heart was unless it decided to travel and go to his eyelids just for him to randomly feel the pulse at a place it shouldn't be.

"oh!" okay wait, so he did like you... you feel like everything is a fever dream right now, or that you're about to faint. you can't tell the difference.

"can i kiss you? you look so cute right now." hes currently squishing and pulling your cheeks so you can't say things properly. what you can do though, is bite (or try to) his hand the next time he goes in for an attack. ow!

"eat a cherry before."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀꒰͡ ⠀ ִ 𝒩 𝑜 𝓉 𝑒 𝓈 ⠀ׂ ⠀ ͡꒱

gojo, did infact, eat a cherry

“its too early!!” yall known eachother since the womb and acted like a couple for 4 years. it speaks enough.

if you havent noticed by now, you are oblivious. so very much so it make sashisu want to throw you on a train track and watch you get ran over (affectionately)

you were actually studying for an upcoming exam until you decided to take a little 1 hour break! (it was originally a 15 minute break but tiktok flirted with you saur..)

your mother was actually leaving when gojo came so she wasnt there with experience all the shouting

you think she wouldve thought you guys broke up (you were never together) and wouldve bought you anything you wanted + ice cream

getos messages are still left unread. (next time you see him your gonna catch it on SITE)

[pisstintedglasses]

Diary of a Horny Man

Landlord!Park Jongseong-Jay x Tenant!Reader

warnings: BDSM, unsafe sex (don't copy them), dacryphilia, begging, brat, POV, rough sex, daddy dom!Jay, loud af, dubcon, cnc

Chapter 7 - You Were Curious, Weren't You?

You had a plan. One perfectly tailored to how you were going to swoon Jay back. Every detail, every step, was carefully calculated. You didn't just want him back—you wanted him to forget that there had ever been a reason to be angry with you in the first place. Every potential obstacle was accounted for, with contingencies laid out from A to Z in case anything went wrong.

 And the first step? Apologize. Because, sure, you wanted to get in the guy's pants, but you weren't a heartless, insensitive bitch. You couldn't just act like everything was fine when you knew you'd hurt him. But how could you do that when he was actively avoiding you?

It wasn't explicitly said, but you were pretty sure Jay was avoiding you. For the past week, he hadn't been around the flat at all. Not once. Not a single text or message from him, not even a casual glance when you passed by. It had been a week since your little altercation—the fight that was supposed to be nothing more than a moment of tension, but turned into something more. 

A week since both of you tried to one-up each other, without even knowing the other was playing the same game. Neither of you knew the other had something planned, and yet, in the end, both of you were determined to get your way.

But neither of you cared enough to admit it out loud. You wanted to win him back, but your desire to see him smile wasn't the only thing fueling your plan. He wanted something too, didn't he? He wanted to make you regret what you'd done. He wanted to see you squirm, to feel the sting of his absence. To make you miss him so much that it hurt. Your desire was a bit more straightforward—you just wanted to fix things, to make it right—but Jay's plan was already set in motion.

 The way he was avoiding you? That wasn't just coincidental. It wasn't the cold shoulder you thought it was—it was part of his strategy. He wasn't avoiding you because he was still angry, though. No, he wanted to hurt you. Not in the traditional sense—he wasn't going to lash out at you emotionally or physically. He wanted to make you ache for him. He wanted to make you long for him, to crave him. And he was doing that by disappearing, by letting days pass without a trace of him.

He wasn't showing up at the flat, and you were starting to realize that maybe it wasn't just a coincidence. Maybe it was part of his plan. You'd tried to reach out to him in small ways—nothing too desperate, just little gestures to see if he might give in and talk to you. But nothing. Not a peep. It was as though he was actively making himself scarce just to test how far you'd go to find him. And here you were, standing in front of Gale's apartment, knocking on her door in yet another attempt to find him.

"Gale! Have you seen Jay around? I... I really need to talk to him," you said, the words coming out with a little more hope than you intended. Gale, who had been a fixture in the building ever since you moved in, flashed you a warm, understanding smile, but her eyes held a quiet worry.

"No, dear. I've been looking for him myself. He hasn't picked up the weekly batch of macaroons I make for him," she said, then paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "Actually, that reminds me!" She disappeared into her kitchen, calling for you to follow. You hesitated for a moment before doing as she asked, curious about what she meant.

When you entered, the familiar smell of freshly baked sweets filled the air. Gale was standing near the counter, arranging a tray of steaming macaroons with a prideful gleam in her eyes. "Here, have some, dear," she said, offering you a plate. "I made a large batch for the both of you. You young-uns love your sweets, so I figured I'd make you some that were less processed." You took one, already savoring the warm, buttery scent, and bit into it. You couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh. Gale's baking was always spot-on—fluffy, light, and perfectly sweet.

"These are amazing," you murmured, taking another bite.

"Oh hush, you," Gale said, waving a hand dismissively. "We old folks can't enjoy these 'cause diabetes is just waiting to knock on our doors, but letting you younger ones enjoy them feels just as good." She sat across from you, sipping her own cup of tea. Her eyes softened as she watched you, her gaze turning somber.

"Are you alright, Gale?" you asked, setting your macaron down and meeting her concerned stare.

"It's just that I'm worried about Jay..." Gale's voice faltered slightly. "He's a kind boy, but that Karina really did a number on him. I'm worried he might make a bad decision. This little disappearance act of his is only making my nerves worse." She sighed, and you could hear the care in her voice.

Karina, you thought with a deep sense of frustration. She was such a bad omen in Jay's life. You had no idea what had happened between them, but whatever it was, it had clearly left a mark on him. "I'm afraid I might be the reason he's gone missing," you admitted, your voice almost a whisper. "I've done something... bad to him lately. And I really want to apologize for it, but it seems like he doesn't want to see me." You ran a hand through your hair, your shoulders sagging as you let out a deep sigh.

Gale reached across the table, placing a gentle hand over yours. Her touch was warm, comforting. "I'm sure Jay will find it in his heart to forgive you," she said, her voice soft and steady. "Jay's always had a soft spot for you, you know. He rejected all the other tenants who wanted the place. He didn't want anyone else here. He didn't want you to leave, either." Gale paused, her eyes meeting yours with a kind of wisdom you hadn't expected. "He wanted to leave the place to us, but I think, in his heart, he sensed something good in you. That's why he let you in."

You blinked, taken aback by her words. "What makes you say that?" you asked, curiosity creeping into your voice.

"JJ has trust issues, dear," Gale explained gently. "Especially after his breakup. He's been through a lot, and it's been hard for him to let people in, even someone as kind as you. But I've seen the way he looks at you, even when you don't notice. He cares about you more than he lets on. You just have to give him time. He's not ready yet, but he'll come around when he's ready. Trust me."

You felt a sense of relief wash over you, mixed with a tinge of hope. You wanted to believe her—wanted to believe that Jay wasn't gone for good. That maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for you both. "I hope he's ready sooner," you whispered, mostly to yourself.

Gale smiled softly, squeezing your hand. "He will be, dear. He will be."

And for the first time in days, you allowed yourself to believe it.

You were just about ready to give up on your little plan. The late-night pacing, the carefully thought-out words you kept rehearsing, the shallow breaths you took every time someone walked past your door, making you hope it was him—none of it mattered anymore. All you wanted was to see him. Not to win him back with promises or persuade him with tears. You didn't want a dramatic confession or a scene worthy of a novel. You just needed to apologize. Raw. Honest. Undressed of pride.

You wanted to fall to your knees and let your voice break if it had to—no speeches, no theatrics. Just the truth.

Gale's words, kind and warm as they were, managed to soothe the ache in your chest for a moment. But the second you were alone again, it all returned. The guilt. The longing. The sense of finality you weren't ready to accept. The empty space beside you in bed taunted you, cold and wide. Sleep was a cruel taskmaster, dangling nightmares in front of you like bait—making you relive every sharp word from that argument with Jay, every glance, every moment where things could've been different if only. You tried not to spiral. But regret had a vice grip on your mind, and tonight, it wasn't letting go.

You curled into yourself tighter, arms wrapped around your knees, the sheets twisted and damp beneath you. Then—just like that night. That night. The night you discovered that cursed room. You heard something.

A sound.

At first, it was faint, like a knock or a bump you could've easily written off as your imagination. But it came again, louder this time. A low thud. Then a rhythm. Followed by—

Muffled voices.

And then—rustling. Not of sheets or careless steps, but something more... heated. Frenzied.

Clothes.

You stiffened. Your breath hitched, heart pounding in the hollow of your throat. Carefully, you slipped from the bed, padding silently over to the shared wall. You pressed your ear against the cool plaster, brows furrowing as you strained to make sense of the sounds. A woman's voice floated through—barely audible. But clear enough to make you freeze.

"Jay..."

You flinched. It was barely a whisper, but the way she said it—drawn out, breathy—felt like a slap across the face.

Then the moans came. Quiet, but unmistakable. And not from pain.

You pulled back instinctively. A sharp breath escaped your lips as you pressed your palm over your mouth, eyes wide. No. No, this couldn't be happening. Was Jay—was he in the next room? Was he seriously—

Fucking someone else?

The thought alone made your stomach churn. You shook your head, trying to dismiss it. Maybe it was just your paranoia. You'd been on edge. Sleep-deprived. Maybe your mind was playing tricks.

But something darker within you needed to know.

Cold feet met colder floors as you crept to the hallway, your fingers trembling as they touched the doorknob. You didn't even register your breath until it caught in your throat when the door cracked open.

Then you saw it.

Jay.

Right there. In the dim glow of the other room, bathed in red-hued light like some twisted painting, he was with another woman. Not just with her—inside her. His back taut, muscles flexing with every deep thrust. Her red silk dress bunched around her waist, one strap sliding off her shoulder. Her eyes were closed, mouth parted in some silent cry of pleasure. One hand gripping the sheets, the other—touching herself, palming her breasts with abandon.

It was obscene.

Your hand flew to your mouth as you nearly let out a sound—a gasp, a sob, a scream—you weren't sure. You tore your eyes away from the woman, only to find something far more haunting.

Jay.

He was staring at you.

Dead on. Like he knew. Like he had been waiting for you to walk in and see him. There wasn't an ounce of surprise on his face. Just... intention.

He wanted you to see this.

You couldn't breathe. Every nerve in your body screamed at you to turn away. To run. To slam the door shut and forget what you just witnessed.

But you couldn't move.

His thrusts didn't slow. If anything, they grew more purposeful. Harder. Deeper. He kept his eyes on you, never once breaking the connection, even as he reached up and wrapped a hand around the woman's throat—his lips moving.

"You were curious, weren't you?"

You saw the words leave his mouth before he leaned down and kissed her—filthy, open-mouthed, tongue and all, like he wanted to taint the moment just a bit more for you. Like it wasn't just about fucking her—it was about hurting you.

The heat that surged through you was unbearable. A sick mix of heartbreak and humiliation, rage and—worse—arousal. You hated yourself for the way your thighs clenched. For the heat rising to your cheeks. For not being able to look away.

You felt like a puppet in his grasp. Spellbound. Stuck.

And when he was done, he discarded the woman like she was nothing. She clung to him, whining about how she wanted to sleep over, how he could use her again in the morning. He didn't respond. He didn't even look at her.

Jay just stood, bare-chested, sweat-slicked, and reached for his clothes in silence. When she finally left, heels clacking down the hallway in defeat, he followed behind, buttoning up his shirt, face unreadable.

He walked out without a glance.

And then the door clicked shut behind him, leaving you alone with the image seared in your mind—of him, of her, and everything in between.

And you broke.

// to be continued //

The Entire Series > CLique Here

Chapter 8 - Use them on you

[smoooothoperator]

What Was I Made For?

06: I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

Charles Leclerc x driver!OC (Dafne Morelli)

childhood enemies, forced proximity, accidental pregnancy, enemies to lovers

Warnings: time skip (three months), Sebastian Stan, race inchident, crash, hospital

a/n: Hiiii!!!How is your life going??? I have to thank my lovely @alltoomaples for being the beta reader of this chapter :3 thank you!! And I just have to warn that this is the start of the real deal!

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Every way of feedback is very welcomed

3 months later. Abu-Dhabi GP.

“Are you sure it's okay if we're seen together?”

After that charity event, where I had an anxiety attack and Sebastian came to help me, the two of us somehow got closer. We exchanged numbers and he texted me every day asking me how I was doing, if I felt better or if I had an anxiety attack again. And that concern turned into something more as weeks passed by, ending in something like a situationship.

“Of course. They should mind their own business” I smiled. “You came to support me”

He smiled and nodded, pressing a light kiss on my head and grabbing his backpack, getting ready to leave the hotel room to go to the track.

Avoiding Charles in Maranello was easy, I only had to look at the schedule and go whenever he wasn't there or even being in the same building but making sure I didn't see him at all. During race weeks was harder, because our garages were next to each other and the team briefings were in the same room, but that didn't stop me from sitting on the other side of the table and ignoring him.

And now that the season was finally ending, I could finally breathe in peace knowing that the only time I'll see him after this race is going to be at the team dinner.

I got out of the hotel room with Sebastian behind me holding my hand, squeezing it softly as we walked towards the elevator. The last three months with him were amazing, he always supported me even if he had to be away filming, sending me gifts or calling me before a race.

“This is the last race of the season, right?” he asked. “Why don't we go somewhere to have a week alone, only the two of us? Maybe somewhere warm?”

“That sounds amazing” I smiled looking at him, pressing a kiss on his cheek and hugging his arm.

If someone ever told me that I could do something like this with the one and only Sebastian Stan, I would tell them that they had drugs on their drink. But here I am, waking up next to him some mornings and feeling his touch all over my body.

I knew there were rumors about us. Some people somehow connected dots and started saying that Sebastian and I were dating. And the comments are everything but good. I had haters all over my career, but since that night of September the hate started to get worse, making fans get creative and make comments about everything I did: be with someone older than me, going to fashion events, trying to start a clothing brand. 

“You are tense” Sebastian said while we walked towards my car. 

“I'm okay, it's just… I'm tired” I smiled weakly. “It's been a long season, all I need is to rest”

“Are you sure?” he sighed. “It's just… Lately you've been so tired, Dafne. And I worry about you”

“Don't worry, really” I smiled, squeezing his hand softly. “After this race I'm all yours, okay?”

He smiled softly and nodded, kissing my temple and getting in the Ferrari. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, preparing myself for what is about to come once I'm near the track. I swallowed thickly, feeling tears burning my eyes and the knot of my neck not letting me breathe. 

I can do this, just one more day. I can handle this. Another day or hearing the crowd roaring, engineers talking to me asking me to push more and more, fake smiles to the photographers. Just one more day until I can disappear for a while and come back stronger to fight Charles.

I sighed, opening the door and sitting on the driver seat, looking at Sebastian and smiling weakly. This will be the first time he will come to a race, and even if we made clear to the other that what we had right now was everything we wanted, I was still nervous about what people would think and assume, how he would react to the hate.

“It will be okay, yeah?” he smiled looking at me, placing his hand on my knee and squeezing it softly. “The race will end before you know it and then you won't have to be around him for some months”

I smiled weakly and nodded, driving towards the track. My grip on the steering wheel is tight, with my mind working nonstop about the different scenarios of what will happen once my car appears near the track, with all those fans there waiting for the drivers. Will they be respectful? Will they scream profanities? Will they hate seeing Sebastian next to me? The hate will be towards me or towards him? 

I clenched my jaw when I started to see all the people behind the barriers, taking pictures of the cars that drove in front of them, calling the names of the drivers. I recognized Lando's car in front of mine, and I could hear the fans calling him, excited to see him. But when I drove pass them, the turned their heads to look at the car behind me.

“God, not even taking pictures of this beauty?” Sebastian said, trying to cut the tension. “Come on, this car is amazing, when will be the next time they'll see a Ferrari Roma?”

“This is Abu Dhabi, Seb” I smiled weakly. “They have supercars in every corner…”

I looked at him smiling weakly. I know he tries to cheer me up, but it's not the first time they do this. I'm already used to being ignored.

“My family will be in the hospitality during the race, you want to be with them?” I asked him, changing the subject.

“Don't mind me, I love your family, they are great” he smiled. “But… I want to be in the garage. I-if that's okay with you, of course. I want to experience a race inside of the garage”

“Yeah of course” I smiled. “You'll have to stay in the back, but… Yeah, sure”

He smiled and nodded, biting his lip and looking at the front.

What people will if they see him in the garage? What will media say? 

I swallow thickly and park the car, taking deep a deep breath before opening the door. Sebastian got out after me, looking all the time at me. I grabbed my backpack and locked the car, looking around. 

“Go ahead” Sebastian smiled, nodding. “I'll be okay. It's just scanning the pass and then I have to walk to the big red building, right?”

“Yeah” I nodding, grabbing tightly the backpack. “I'll see you there”

I took a deep breath and walked away, wanting to go back and kiss his lips, but I knew people had their cameras ready to picture every move I made. So, instead of that, I walked alone with the biggest fake smile I could make, scanning my pass and walking through the paddock, letting the photographers take pictures of me. 

Chin up, bitch smile, walk straight.

During most part of the day I felt nauseous. And my chest hurt. 

“Probably your period will come soon” my sister Soleil said. “You want me to give you some vitamins?”

“Yeah, sure” I nodded, moving my shoulders in circles to warm up. “And give me a cold jacket before I go to the anthem”

The last few days I have been feeling weird, true. My breasts were more sensitive and I felt swollen. 

“Thank God this is the last race if the season” I sighed.

Sebastian was out of my room with the rest of my family while Soleil helped me get ready for the race. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed, slipping the fireproof shirt inside the leggings.

“Yeah, probably it's the period” I sighed looking at my abdomen. 

I walked out of the room with the suit hanging on my hips, grabbing the bottle of water and walking towards my family and Sebastian. I saw Charles' family near, and I just smiled weakly at them before hugging Sebastian.

“You ready?” he smiled, kissing the top of my head and rubbing my back. 

“Yeah, I'm just a little nauseous” I smiled weakly. “Probably I shouldn't have eaten that yogurt from earlier…”

“I'm sure it's nothing” my mom smiled. “You always get nervous in the last race of the season, is normal”

I nodded and smiled weakly, hugging Sebastian tighter as he rubbed my back, comforting me. 

I heard Charles walking out of his room and I tensed immediately. I can't avoid him always, we are in the same team, even if we hate it.

“I have to go make the team photos” I sighed, kissing Sebastian's jaw. “The race is in an hour, you can go to the garage now”

“Okay” he smiled kissing my forehead.

I smile looking at him walk away, biting my lip when I heard my sisters giggling. I rolled my eyes and grab the helmet Erica was holding for me.

“What would say the Dafne of a year ago?” she smirked.

“About what?” I laughed.

“Well, look at you and Sebastian” she smiled. 

“Yeah, well” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “We are not dating”

“Yet” she smirked.

“We are too busy for that” I sighed.

I walked out of the hospitality and went towards the garage, smiling weakly when I saw Sebastian already with a headset hanging on his neck. I walked towards him and smiled.

“You'll be okay here?” I asked him.

“Of course I'll be” he smiled, holding my helmet while I zipped the suit. “Smile, okay?”

“Yeah” I sighed, smiling weakly and grabbing the helmet, following all the workers that were walking towards the stands where the picture will be taken.

Charles was already there, following me with his eyes. He was already sitting in the tyre of his car, with his helmet resting on his thigh. I ignored his eyes and sat on the tyre of my car, looking at the camera with my helmet on my thigh, wishing this would end fast so I could take a lap on my car to place it on the grid. 

“Are you okay?”

I frown, turning my head slowly and looking at Charles standing next to me. I laughed loudly, standing up. Did he really ask that?

“As if you cared” I laughed. 

“You look pale. If you get sick today it won't be good for the team” he frowned.

“Mind your own shit, Leclerc” I said. “What I do is none of your business”

I walked away fast before he could talk to me more, not wanting to interact with him at all. I got inside of my car and after the track was clear, I drive to the postion I'm starting the race. 

But things do not always go how I planned. The moment I got out of the car he was already there, looking at me with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Fuck off” I groaned. 

“I heard you throw up this morning, Morelli” he frowned. “Remember our rooms are next to the other”

“So? Am I not allowed to feel sick?” I scoffed.

“Today is an important race for the team, Dafne!” he exclaimed. “If we want to keep the second position of the championship we have to be in the podium. And if you are not feeling well, that won't happen”

“Come on, don't make me laugh” I frowned. “I drove multiple races having the period, with cramps making me want to get out of the fucking car and curl in my bed! And did I do it? No, right? So shut the fuck up, focus on your own race and leave me alone”

I groaned, hugging the helmet and starting to walk away. But again, he's not satisfied with making me mad, so he keeps opening his mouth.

“Why did you bring that dude?”

I frown, turning around on my heels and frowning. 

“Oh, now we are talking about my private life?” I laughed. 

“He's too old for you” he frowned. 

“Oh my God, shut up!” I exclaimed, walking closer to him. “Do you have something else to say? At least I am with someone that has a brain and a job and doesn't need my money to be someone. Oh, and he is way better in bed than you, asshole”

I saw him clenching his jaw as well as his fist, and I knew that it hurt him. Groaning, I turned around and walked towards the garage to have one last meeting with my engineers to have everything ready before the race.

I walked towards Sebastian once the meeting was done and he welcomed me with that shy smile he always has. He was on my side of the garage, opening his arms slowly as I walked closer to him.

“Are you ready?” he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist while I hugged his neck, playing with the baby hairs of his nape. 

“I am” I sighed. “And you?”

“I’m excited to see my girl being an absolute badass out there” he smiled, making me freeze after I heard those words.

“Your girl?” I whisper. “S-Seb…”

“I know” he sighed, pressing his lips on my forehead. “We’ll talk after this, okay? Come back to me with the big trophy”

“I will” I smiled, playing with the hair of his nape and standing on my tip toes to press a fast kiss on his lips. “I have to go”

“Yeah” he smiled. “You’ll do amazing”

He unwrapped his arms from my waist, pressing another soft kiss on my lips before I walked away, with Soleil joining me on the grid.

“And that big smile?” she teased me, handing me the cold jacket and helping me put it.

“Well, Sebastian called me his girl” I chuckled softly. “I think tonight we are going to talk about… Well, us”

“Finally! Arthur owes me money!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands.

“What? Did you make a bet with him? Why?” I frowned, confused, but somehow that smile didn’t disappear from my lips.

“Because it was obvious you two would end up together” she said. “He said it was going to be during the winter break, but I just said that it was going to be for sure tonight after the race”

“Idiots” I laughed, shaking my head.

The national anthem played, and I took my position alongside the other drivers. My mind was a spiral of thoughts and emotions. The weight of the season, the pressure of the race, and the looming conversation with Sebastian were all battling for dominance in my head. But most of all, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease in my body.

As the anthem concluded, my dizziness started creeping into my body. I blinked hard, trying to focus on the task ahead. Just one more race and I will rest.

The cars roared to life, and the anticipation in the air was electric. I strapped myself into my seat, hands gripping the wheel. Sebastian's words echoed in my mind, giving me a strange mix of comfort and determination. I glanced towards the garage, knowing he would be there, biting his lip like he always does when he’s nervous about something.

The race started, and I pushed all doubts aside. My car flew down the track, driving through the early chaos of the race with precision. But as the laps progressed, the dizziness got worse. Each turn required more concentration, each acceleration felt more hard.

On the 44th lap, I found Esteban Ocon in front of me. He had to let me pass because he had the blue flag. But he was fighting me, defending like he was defending his position.

“What the hell is he doing?” I groaned. “He has to let me pass! Fucking idiot!”

“Stay calm, Dafne. We sent the report to the stewards” my engineer said.

Some seconds after he seemed to understand that he couldn't fight, maybe he even received a penalty, so I just drove next to him, showing him my middle finger as I overtook him.

But then it happened.

He didn't give me enough space, making his front wing clip my rear tire, sending my car spinning out of control. I struggled to regain control, but the dizziness made it nearly impossible. The world around me tilted and swayed, the track blurring as I fought with the steering wheel.

I hit the barriers hard, the impact shaking my entire body. Pain exploded in my head, and the last things I remembered were the deafening sound of crunching metal, the voices of my engineer and Fred in my ears and the crowd screaming terrified before everything went black.

The sound of the beeping of a machine next to me was the first thing I heard when I started to wake up. Then I held the weight of another hand holding mine. When I started to take deep breaths, the smell of hospital and Sebastian's perfume filled my lungs, making me open my eyes and search for him with my eyes.

“S-Seb” I croaked, feeling a wave of pain in my neck when I moved my head.

“You are awake” he said softly, relief flooding his voice.

“What…”

“You had a crash” he sighed, smiling weakly. “Ocon lost control of his car and crashed into you… You've been unconscious for some hours, Daf…”

“The race” I mumbled, nervous.

 “There was a red flag” he explained, rubbing my hand softly. “Until they took your car out of if the barriers and they translated you to the helicopter”

“Who won? The championship…” I mumbled concerned. “We lost it…”

“Fuck the championship. You could have died, Dafne” he sighed. 

I swallowed thickly, looking away and closing my eyes, the memories coming back in fragments, repeating in my mind over and over again. The race, the dizziness, the impact.

“My family?” I whispered, swallowing thickly.

“I sent them to the hotel” he sighed. “They have been here since you arrived and they needed to rest, Dafne. I'll call them later, okay?”

Some minutes later, after Sebastian pressed a button, a doctor entered the room with a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a reassuring smile, holding a file and pressing it against her chest.

"Miss Morelli, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked, checking the monitors.

“Like I got hit by a truck” I sighed, smiling weakly.

“It's totally understandable. You had a severe concussion and some minor injuries, but nothing too serious" he said. "However, there is something else we need to discuss. We ran some tests to make sure everything was okay after the crash”

“Okay… and? How did they come out?” I asked confused, nervously.

“You are pregnant” the woman said, opening her file and showing me what looked like an ultrasound. “Three months pregnant, to be more precise”

“W-what?” I mumbled.

 "The baby seems to be doing fine despite the crash, but you'll need to take it easy for a while.”

Pregnant. No. No, it can't be. Sebastian and I always used protection. Always. And I am on the pill.

“It's imposible” I said, looking at Sebastian and then back at the doctors. “No, I'm sure it's a mistake. I can't be pregnant. I'm on the pill! We use protection!”

“There are many possibilities, Miss Morelli” the woman said. “The condom could break… I saw in your medical file that you've got prescripted some antibiotics three months ago because of a throat infection. The antibiotics can take down the effects of the pill…”

The woman kept talking and talking, Sebastian's grip in my hand was tighter. But my mind only could repeat that scene from three months ago. 

“Please, leave me alone” I mumbled, making the woman stop talking. 

She and the other doctor nodded and walked out, closing the door behind them.

Three months. My mind raced, trying to piece it together. The timing... it couldn't be. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt a mixture of emotions swirling inside me. Anger, disgust, fear, panic.

“Talk to me” I heard Sebastian whisper, squeezing my hand again. “Dafne, please say something”

“I don't know what to say” I whisper, feeling my throat closing with panic.

“We can do this together, okay?” he smiled weakly. “Maybe this wasn't how we wanted, but… God, Dafne, the past few months made me realize that I really like you”

“Sebastian…”

“I know it's not the perfect timing, but I promise I will take care of you two, hm? I can take a break from filming, we can… We can buy a house, what do you think? So our baby can grow up happy. Yeah, we can do that. We will live together, hm?”

“Sebastian”

He's going to hate me. 

“And I know you might not like it, but you can't race…”

Oh, that was what broke me.

“It's not yours!” I exclaimed.

“What?” he mumbled, the smile on his lips disappearing slowly.

“This baby” I whisper. “It's not yours. It's Charles'”

Sebastian's grip on my hand tightened slightly, but he didn't say anything immediately. I could see the hurt flicker across his face, masked by a veil of confusion.

“That fucking idiot” I spat, feeling the anger burning in my veins, getting rid of his grip in my hand. “Of all people it had to be him! Why?!”

“Dafne, calm down…” I heard Sebastian say.

“Calm down? Calm down?!” I exclaimed.

“We'll do this together, okay?” he said, trying to reach my hand again. “I'll be next to you-”

“No” I said quickly. “Leave me alone”

“Dafne…”

“I said leave me alone!” I said louder. “Get out, please! Get out! I don't need your pitty, I don't need you!”

He clenched his jaw, looking at me with pain in his eyes. But that pain is nothing compared to the one I'm feeling right now.

“I need to be alone” I whispered, feeling a wave of panic.

Sebastian hesitated for a moment, hurt and confusion filling in his eyes. Finally, he nodded silently and stood up, his shoulders down, defeated. He paused at the door, casting one last worried glance at me before leaving the room.

Alone in the hospital bed, the anger that had fueled my outburst began to disappear, leaving behind a terrible ache. I felt disgusted. Disgusted at the situation, at Charles, at myself for letting this happen. How could I have been so careless? How could I have let him go this far?

The tears that I had been holding back finally spilled over, tracing silent paths down my cheeks. I was scared of what this pregnancy meant for my career, for my relationship with Sebastian, for everything I had worked so hard to achieve.

I was so lost. I will lose my career. My family will be disappointed. The team, the media will hate me. Sebastian probably hates me, I'm not carrying his child.

What am I going to do?

taglist

@racinggirl @elisysd @alltoomaples @ssprayberrythings @rach3164 @yvonne-dump @deliciousfestsalad @janeh22 @hc-dutch @ninifee1802 @kakorrhaphiphobia @ssararuffoni @itsjustkhaos @scaramou @tapedeck-hearts @apollosfavkiddo @sltwins @glitterquadricorn @ladystardust05 @theseerbetweenus @vizzzashley @auawdo @leah-also-known-as-creatoronwp @leptitlu @green-thots

[diam1nd-arc]

this comes without saying, an outstanding number of people have reached out to me w/ similar experiences ranging from gaslighting, misogynistic behaviors, guilt tripping, manipulation, love bombing, and blatant disrespect in many forms of uncomfortable messages from yes, apollo.

i had no idea just how deep this rabbit hole went, i was completely fooled from someone i deeply cared and was reminded that everything was fine and supported, and honestly i thought i was going to just let it be. but with over 17 concerned muns coming forward to share their experiences, i for one need to air out these concerns.

despite beginning to feel more comfortable, this whole situation has me in a spin. i want this to be my peace, and for all of those wanting to know the real reason my prev blog was deactivated and blocking the person who is the curator of this anxiety.

my experience was being lead into a single ship scenario because they felt intimidated by one single blog that my emma interacted with in a usfw manner. mind you, no relationship or feelings attached and i was writing with this person before developing anything irl with him. but for some reason, they were self-inserting ME as my muse, doubling it as an act of cheating on his muses, and made him uncomfortable as a person who has claimed to been deceived in that manner themselves. my immediate response was a voice call to help calm him down and reassure that everything was okay and that i am not emma, and i am not involving myself with that muse or mun in any sexual/relation based manner. it was by his recommendation that single ship would be better so that this problem would never resurface or would not have to worry in the future. at first, and i say lead because, i wasn't 100% for it at first. it felt a bit unfair because i am fully aware that i am not my muse, and this is fictional writing. but to avoid another "im deleting my blog" scenario guilt trip, i talked myself into agreeing with the single ship, to which became a reasonable standard with my blogs. when it came to making an official post, it took an incredible amount of pushing to get him to do that, and now that i really know why, is he was messaging many people for additional ships that he didn't want me to know that he wasn't honoring his end of this agreement. this past weekend, he decided that single ship wasn't good for him after i finally confronted him about the unfairness and well, here we are. me, a sentimental person, wasn't okay with going back and forth, especially when i changed how i write my own muse to better suit someones comfort levels. which is confusing to me because the initial complaint from him was he was annoyed with how people only want to ship with his ocs, all the while bad mouthing others (my friends) who partake in usfw writing. i know for a fact, if i would of agreed to go back to multiship, another problem would of popped up even tho his solution was to blacklist usfw tags so he didn't 'see' anything, despite still reporting to me on the same muns blog he had issues with. i feel it's a grab for control. and i asked him, with an open mind, how is it fair that i am to accept all of this change when he is not? me deleting for my sanity because, honestly, "now you know how i felt when emma fucked bucky" was never going to be resolved soundly. this was a grab to forcefully make me feel bad indefinitely because he didn't like something. it's possessive behavior. i was constantly told how he was going to delete everything then turn around to blame me for everything; then i asked if he could part ways with tumblr with me, and i was met with more gaslighting. this is fictional writing, we should have never gotten to this point.

there's another the issue where someone confronted him about graphics being in mirrored likeness, which i never saw myself because he wanted to keep it a quiet. said person has reached out to me and confirmed that he too tried to guilt trip them into deleting his blogs and blaming a de*th as for reason for stealing inspiration, even after claiming to change theirs in his likeness. i won't go into detail about his personal life, but i've never heard that as a reason why, especially when he's claimed to using this type of style long before this loss occurred. i did make a post via a rant, supporting one of my friends in a similar situation but he also knew very well it was also in his defense. we were on voice call, again, and he knew the moment i posted it and asked me to delete it the next day because he claims he resolved the issue. which i found out is not true. if you're going to admit to someone you stole something, why lie to me?

another mun in particular came out to admit to me that he was flirting with her, and has asked him to stop a number of times due to her being actually married. but once another callout resurfaced for them, in their experience he flaked out on being their friend because of fear of being affiliated. basically, i'm not going to allow you to pretend you don't know me online, and then try to be my friend behind closed doors in dms. when asked if he knew about these two people, the answer i got was "i saw a callout and that's about it." i'm glad she stood her ground on that because i too, felt like a secret.

more instances were brought to my attention whilst we were 'dating', he was also love bombing and getting attached to others very quickly while entertaining the idea of ME. i've been shown a history of unsolicited affection and desire for shipping his muse with everyone with a pulse and getting attached to all of these muns as well. to me, this is was shocking to learn about while you were pointing the finger at me accusing myself of blatant cheating. not once did he ever tell me anything felt forced, but that he needed me, felt lost without me.

from what im gathering from all of these muns, we were all manipulated to believe someone who claims is a charming gentleman, has the capabilities to gaslight and make you feel incredibly bad about feeling a certain way, or even stating how something was making them uncomfortable. many were fooled as i was, trying to comfort someone who clearly had a complex to receive attention from as much people as possible without them even knowing a bit of backstory. pinning people against people. these additional muns that came forward TO ME, have all explained the same level of discomfort they felt in dms with him directly. it's honestly beyond words to explain how deep this goes. i'm not going to list every single encounter thus far, because honestly.. this would be far too long and i want those others to make their peace.

i do not plan to release screenshots publicly because that's not who i am. but just know, all 17(and counting..) of us have a collection for those who want the truth. i want this post as an urged warning to be careful, no witch hunts or hate. curate your space as you see fit. i sincerely hope that those that are still by his side, do not get the treatment that we all got. i tried my best to resolve this with him privately, but was met with aggression and mockery, and now as i'm being told, pretending nothing happened.

..and because i know he will read this, for the record, i could of handled a simple break up / mutual parting ways. i'm a grown woman that would of accepted that, but you took this way too far. you've played a part in me feeling insecure about others when i shouldn't have, you selfishly kept me in your corner and made me feel in the wrong about so so many things. where you now display as we were forced. you played the blame game in attempt to get me to question my sanity and awareness of what was really going on. i didn't get a choice. im glad you were finally able to be honest to me, but i only wish you would of told me sooner. thankfully this was short lived. i never pinned you as this type of person, but good lord.

my discord alongside many many others is open to show every bit of proof we have for reference, or to just talk it out. please be safe.

[sirfrogsworth]

Adventures in Cooling

The 5-star rated HVAC repair service I used kind of depressed me.

It was almost... too good?

Like, they offer 24/7 service. They have a text message system that lets you know when the tech is coming. Every tech has their own custom van that serves as a giant advertisement. The entire process is documented with a tablet computer. Every serial number and model number must be photographed. He has to follow a diagnostic checklist. And an upsell checklist. And a repair checklist. He had so many checklists that at one point he pulled a card out of his wallet to make sure he didn't forget one of the steps. He had a poorly memorized speech for every upsell. You could tell he didn't have "his" tools, but the company's tools that he borrowed.

None of this was "bad" as far as a workflow. The service was flawless and nothing was forgotten. But you could tell that every detail was micromanaged and if the tech didn't follow the procedures to the letter, he would probably get some kind of demerit.

I felt sorry for my tech. He was in his 60s and clearly had a severe chronic knee injury. He walked slower than I do. He was quite monosyllabic and difficult to make conversation with. Not unpleasant, just not great at communicating.

At one point I asked him if I was a good candidate for a heat pump and he was like, "Everyone is."

End of advice.

Oh, and the uniform.

The uniform was very silly.

Every square inch of his shirt was meant to assure people they have a qualified technician. The one sleeve listed his certifications from some Alphabet Association that certifies such things. And then the other sleeve made sure to let me know my technician was drug tested and background checked.

The entire visit I kept trying to imagine how being stoned might negatively affect HVAC repair. I mean, if he was on a little cocaine perhaps we could have wrapped things up 30 minutes sooner. Marijuana might have helped him communicate. Opioids could make his knee feel better. I don't think shrooms would have been a good idea. If he hallucinated an angry fan monster in my A/C unit that could have been really awkward.

He was a terrible salesman—but for some reason, I fell for every upsell. Actually, I sold all of the upsells to myself in my head. I got a new filter and had him install it because I worried I would forget or I would install it improperly (not really possible, you just stick it in). But for the price I paid I could have bought 6 years worth of filters.

I just wanted everything sorted. I am so stressed and do not have the bandwidth to deal with A/C troubles. So I just said "yes" to everything. But the price kept inflating as we went along and every time it inflated he required a signature on his tablet.

This repair business had been corporatized to death and it made me miss all of my dad's friends from the old days who he would ask for favors. He always "knew a guy." He would trade car repairs for discounts on things we needed around the house. And they all worked for themselves and had their own tools and their own shitty truck and they all said, "There's your problem!" with the same masculine affect.

Their uniform was a flannel shirt and jeans and I bet some of them were high as fuck.

And this elderly gentlemen with the bum knee kept checking his checklist to make sure he checked every check because he feared managerial discipline.

He got to the sales pitch for the fluorescent dye. He was like, "Do you want this? You don't have to buy it." And I started selling it to myself in my head despite his assurance it wasn't really necessary. I worried if I had a big leak and I don't discover it until the middle of July, I would regret saying no in this moment. But then I realized he hated the dye injection process. And his poor salesmanship was mostly him not wanting his hands to be fucking radioactive yellow for the rest of the day. He tried wearing gloves to avoid it, but he still ended up with yellow hands and grumbled, "I really hate this stuff." Which was one of the few unrehearsed things he said to me the entire time.

Once the checklist was complete and the house was already starting to cool, he had one final sales pitch for me. He asked that I give his company a 5-star review and to make sure I mention his name. He told me that in July all of the techs with the most 5-star reviews will have their names put in a hat. And "the boss" will give one lucky employee a free vacation.

This vacation thing sounded like such a manipulation. And I'm sure "the boss" has instructed his techs to tell this tale of the free vacation so customers will be like, "Well, shit. I don't want this poor old guy with the shitty knee to miss out on that."

And it was then I realized just how this company got so many 5-star reviews.

Diabolical.

But the good news... my house is cold as heck.

And I keep shivering because I can't figure out the perfect setting on my thermostat. I guess I was used to the inefficiency and I will have to recalibrate.

[666writingcafe]

Conspiracy

Simeon

This is wrong. How is any of this deemed acceptable?

Ever since my and Luke's return to the Celestial Realm following the announcement of an indefinite postponement of the opening ceremony for Diavolo's school, these thoughts have been constant in my head.

You see, Father feels like the brothers haven't been punished sufficiently enough for defying Him. It's not enough for them to merely be cast down to the Devildom. In His eyes, they don't deserve the opportunity to live a happy life down there. He'd much prefer to personally torture them for the next millennia or so before casting their souls down in Cocytus for all of eternity.

So, He gave Michael permission to do whatever it takes to get the brothers back up here. Michael decided that the easiest way to convince them to leave the Devildom would be by telling them that we're willing to pardon them for their digressions. And since Michael's presence down there would make the brothers highly suspicious, he's planning on taking on the form of Raphael during his trip. After all, most of the brothers are scared of Raphael, so they'd do anything to avoid his wrath.

And guess whose responsibility is it to make sure that Michael's impression of Raphael is pretty much perfect?

Fucking Raphael. How dare he put this on my plate?

I've been disgusted with myself this entire time. Father is literally having us break one of His commandments for what? Petty revenge? What happened to "love thy neighbor"? Did Lucifer wound His pride so severely that He's forgotten how to act?

And the worst thing about all this is that I am powerless to stop it. As it is, if anyone found out I was questioning His will, I might as well be joining the brothers in Cocytus. I'm already on thin ice as it is due to me keeping vital information about the brothers from Him before and during the war.

And somebody has to take care of Luke. I don't trust the others to keep him from harm's way. They'd exploit his innocence for their own selfish needs, and I won't allow that to happen.

So I've kept my objections to myself. Through Michael's training, through my return to the Devildom to deliver the message to Diavolo about "Raphael's" arrival, and through this stupid meeting in the prince's home office. In His eyes, I'm behaving like the perfect angel, blindly doing what I'm told.

And then I made the mistake of making eye contact with Zephyr. It's only momentary, and yet time seems to slow down to a crawl.

I can't have them disappointed in me. We didn't talk a whole lot during my initial visit, but I know that they have a strong moral compass. They'd reject me if they found out that I kept this from them.

Before I can question my emotions too much, the meeting ends, and the six of us--Michael, Lucifer, Diavolo, Barbatos, Zephyr, and myself--walk out of the office and make our way down the hallway. Zephyr and I trail behind the others.

I have to move quickly. Before I change my mind and before anyone notices.

There's a nearby door that's slightly ajar. Perfect.

I quickly grab Zephyr and drag them inside the room, making sure to reposition the door back to where it was as to not cause suspicion. The second they make noise, I cover their mouth with my hand. Their eyes widen as I begin listening for returning footsteps.

Thankfully, no one comes to investigate.

"Will you remain quiet if I remove my hand?" I whisper urgently. Zephyr nods their head. Sure enough, they don't begin screaming for help when I let go.

"Good sheep," I murmur, mentally smacking myself when I fully register what left my mouth. Zephyr remains silent. This room is rather small. Did I shove the two of us in a closet?

Oh, this isn't good. I can already feel myself begin heating up, and I'm pretty sure it's not just due to the cramped space we're in.

"Listen carefully, because I'm only going to be able to say this once," I quietly tell them. Another nod. "It's a trap. They're not getting pardoned. You have to do everything in your power to convince them to stay here." Zephyr tilts their head and looks contemplatively at me. Are they questioning my intentions?

A moment later, they softly smile at me.

"Don't doubt yourself," they whisper softly. "You're doing the right thing." They gently push the door open again, allowing me to leave the room first.

I needed to hear that.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @interconnectedmatrix

[bluem1ngs]

PAU CUBARSÍ | part 2 |

(scroll to bottom for part 1 of the story)

She was staring down at the box. It was laden with memories of their relationship, and him coming to her house to give her the things she had left at his place throughout the years struck her hard.

He entered her bedroom, and sighed, “I just wanted to make sure you had everything back.”

“You mean other than you?” she said, only then coming to realization, “Sorry.. that wasn’t fair.”

He almost scoffed, with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Pau,” she called out, stopping him from walking out the bedroom.

“You know when you couldn’t play for two months because of an injury two years ago?” she told him, “You told me that you took playing for granted before everything happened and you made a promise that if you had a second chance, you would do things differently.”

She sighed and took a shaky breath. "I know I hurt you... But I told myself that if I could get you to listen, I would tell you that," she stood up from the bed and walked over to him, "There was never a day while I was away that I didn't believe you were the best thing in my life."

He sighed and looked at her. "You can’t just say that, Daniela. Not after months of silence.”

“Why? It’s the truth.” she informed him.

"Really?" he inquired, and she replied, "Yeah."

"What about the day you threw our relationship away?" He asked her.

"You ended things between us," she reminded him, genuinely bewildered by his words.

"Yeah, after I drove a thousand miles to see you and you didn't even call me after I left!"

"Pau, you just walked away!" She argued back.

He shook his head and laughed dryly, "Well, that beats running away."

She told him sincerely, "I did call."

"You called my voicemail, Daniela!" he shouted, utterly irritated.

"Because I knew you were going to hang up on me anyway, so I had to leave a message!" she exclaimed, desperate to make her point.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I didn't even play it. I removed your contact."

She stared at him and let out a sigh of nearly dismay.

"Well, then you deleted this," she said, taking a deep breath. “I was being childish when I walked away from you to go find myself. I was being stubborn. I handled it completely wrong, and I can’t take that back, but I wish that I could. Did I want to explore new things? Yes, I loved every night of it where I was in different countries and finding my true passion.”

She looked at him with want and passion, saying, “But I want you to know something, Pau. There was never a night where I loved it more than I loved you.”

He merely glanced back at her, unsure how he felt.

"Daniela," he said, "Let’s not get off to a bad start. I’ll see you later." With that, he left the bedroom.

When she heard the front door open and close, she sat down in her bed and took in everything.

When she heard a knock on the front door, she walked over to open it, surprised to see him standing there after days of silence.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" He asked her.

She stared at him and nodded.

She walks out of the house and closes the front door behind her.

"I just wanted to say sorry. I shouldn’t have left your house like that the other day," he apologized to her.

She merely glanced at him and said, "It's okay."

“Not really,” he breathed. “Look, I’ve been avoiding you these past few days because I’m still mad, I mean about everything.”

She takes a deep breath and anxiously wipes her hair away from her face.

“Pau, I need to ask you something, and I really don't want you to take it the wrong way, but," she stared deeply into his eyes, "I need to know what you want from me... or from us. W-What are we now?"

He shrugged, serious expression on his face, "I don't know."

She glanced at him and inquired, "What do you want us to be?"

He sighed, “I don’t know, Daniela. I can’t answer that right now.”

She exhaled, “I can. I want us to be together.”

"Why?" He inquired, perplexed, "I mean, we're so far from... who we used to be. Why fight for it?"

She informed him, "Because I love you."

He sighed and looked at her, “I know we promised to give us a second chance, and I won’t break it… but it’s hard for me to forget everything.”

She returned his gaze, holding her necklace in a comforting gesture.

“I’m going to head back home, alright?” he told her and began to walk away.

She called out “Pau,” and he turned around.

“I'm not going anywhere," she said. He slightly smiled and nodded his head.

She watched him leave her front yard and thought to herself.

Wearing the team jersey, with his name on the back there she stood in the stadium.

He gave her the jersey the day he registered for the first team, and he loved seeing her with his name on her back, but it almost hurt him that day.

Everything between the two was uncertain, with unspoken words remaining between them that had yet to be addressed. Regardless of how complicated things were, she continued to support him.

He asked her to wait for him in the tunnel once the game was over, and she did.

He entered the tunnel and was taken aback to see her standing there. Deep down, he didn't trust her, and he was almost certain she would leave him again.

She takes a deep breath and brushes her hair almost nervously away from her face.

“You played well today. Thank you for inviting me.” She tells him and met his eyes but received nothing in return.

He sighed, finally meeting her gaze, "Listen, Daniela, don't worry about us."

She nodded, her eyes heavy with sorrow.

He looked at her with loving eyes and said, "Our love is still there... it just takes time."

She hugged him and exhaled shakily. He stood there, holding her in his arms.

She drew away from his embrace and stared at him with complete adoration.

"Call me later if you want to talk or..." she laughed slightly, a smile on her lips.

He nodded and bit his lip with a smile.

Just as she turned to walk away, her phone rang. She saw the screen light up with his name on it.

She turned around to see him walking over to her, his phone in his ear, and a goofy smile on his lips.

He put his around her shoulder, and the two walked out of the stadium together.

She opened the front door to find him standing there.

"Wow, two times in one week?" She joked, making him chuckle.

His laughter subsided, and he only smiled at her.

She stood there wearing a blue button-up shirt and jeans, her hair curled and voluminous. He always admired her elegance and refinement.

"Were you going somewhere?" He asked her, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, no, I went grocery shopping earlier." She asked him, with a sweet grin, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if I could take you out," he said, and she smiled knowingly.

“Of course," she replied, her smile widening.

She grabbed her purse and they set out for the city.

They walked side by side in silence, looking ahead at Barcelona.

She looked across at him, and he seemed upset about something.

"What's wrong?" she questioned him sincerely.

He looked across at her, unable to control the slight smile on his lips.

"Nothing," he told her, but she saw right through his lies.

She flashed him a look and he knew that he couldn't get away with it.

“I’m just kinda worried about everything. I mean, there’s a lot of things going on right now like the league, the champions coming up… and wanting to fix things with you.” He spoke softly, meeting her gaze.

She merely glanced back at him, completely enamored by him.

"You know for most of my life I would've gone through most things like this alone, but then I met you, and I finally found someone that I could depend on when life got like this," He glanced at her, looking intently into her eyes. "So I guess I wanted to see you tonight because I wanted to know if that was still there for us."

"Pau, you can always talk to me," she informed him, and he nodded as she spoke.

She took his hand, and he glanced up at her. She stood there, offering him a soothing smile.

The two started walking down the streets hand in hand.

"What should we do first?" he asked, instantly meeting her beaming eyes.

She nearly dragged him into the thrift store, and he eagerly followed her around the aisles.

She put a hat on his head and turned her head to see every angle of his face. He only grinned, taking the time to admire her.

He picked one of the sets of sunglasses on display and placed it on her nose. She giggled and gave him a funny look.

As they walked out of the store, she held her wrist against his, admiring the matching bracelets they had just bought.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She is the most beautiful woman, physically and emotionally.

"How about we order some food to your house?" he asked, and she looked up at him.

"I also have some ice cream in the fridge," she said, smiling, and he smiled back at her.

The two sat on her couch, a pint of ice cream between them.

With the spoon in her mouth, she used her hands to lift her hair and put it up into an effortless French twist. She only then noticed the silly look on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She questioned him, smiling, "Do I have ice cream on my face?" and attempted to wipe anything from her mouth away.

"It's not that, I was just remembering," he responded, laughing.

She asked, setting down her spoon, "Remembering what?"

"Your hair." he smiled, recalling, "You wore it that way the day I met you."

"You remember how I wore my hair the first day we met?" She gushed, teasing him but yet absolutely taken with the fact that he remembered something so little.

"Of course," he smiled and leaned in to kiss her lips. She carefully drew them apart and relished the kiss.

She bit her lip in a beautiful small smile, "Thank you," to which he inquired, "For what?"

"For giving us a second chance." she whispered, and he only smiled, kissing her lips once again.

(part 1 here)

[iwantacoolusernameman]

Akaashi Keiji x Fem! Reader

『The Moment I Knew Pt. 2』

1 / 3 / 4

The pain eased in the coming days but what stayed with you was this new realization you had made about your feelings. It almost baffled you how you were so blind to it before but looking back it was so obvious that it had always been him for you. However, one question still lingered on your mind: did he see you in the same light?

Rummaging through all your memories with him you almost made yourself believe that yes, he did but then again, he was your friend after all and what if he was just, well, friendly? So you made a point to be more careful with his calls and texts from then on, not because you were an asshole who ghosted people but because you felt paralyzed everytime his name popped up on the screen. Tongue-tied was an understatement of the state you were in. You just couldn't allow yourself to be friendly with him like you were before. What if your feelings for him only grew the more time you spent with him and you'd have to always pretend to just be a friend because there was no way you'd put down your guard and ask if he felt same? How easy it sounded, to ask a single question, but vulnerability was not your strongest suit.

Your short replies to his text messages and the way you'd find excuses to quickly end the phone calls did not fly over his head however. And he had a hunch on why you were suddenly seeming to avoid him. You must have been pissed that he didn't show up to your birthday party despite promising that he'd be there, right?

Keiji closed his laptop with a sigh and rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. As if he wasn't already stressed out enough because of work, the way you were distancing yourself from him only pissed him off even more. It was late but he didn't care, he needed to talk to you, understand why he was being avoided like the plague by the person he wanted to hold closer than anyone else in the world.

Your phone started buzzing, interrupting your reading time on the couch. Seeing the name on your screen you shut your book with a loud thud and hesitantly answered the call.

"Do you know how late it is, Keiji?" You tried your best to sound non-chalant, hoping the beating of your heart wasn't shaking your voice.

"I know you don't sleep at this hour. We need to talk."

You gulped. He waited for a moment and then spoke again when he was met with your silence.

"Actually, forget it. You're right, it's late and I don't wanna say something I'll regret. But we still need to talk so let's meet up. Tomorrow. Can you make it tomorrow?"

For a second you considered lying to him, making another excuse, telling him you were busy already but your mouth already spoke while your mind was busy with thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm free tomorrow."

"Good. At the usual café? Is 10 a.m. good?"

"Yeah."

"Ok.. I'll see you tomorrow. Night."

"Yeah.. good night."

The phone call ended, leaving you alone with your hammering heart in your chest. You had spent the entire week avoiding him and now you were supposed to meet him tomorrow? With a deep exhale you stood up from the couch and made your way to your bedroom. Sleep seemed to be the only cure to keep your mind quiet right now.

I brought this upon myself, you thought to yourself, laying in your bed, and you also couldn't deny the fact that he did deserve an explanation from you.

>>next day

At the café you paced back and forth on your seat, staring into space. When was he gonna show up? Your probably tenth glance at the clock on the café's wooden walls told you that you were just on time, even a bit early. And as if he had somehow read your mind he showed up right then, with that little smile on his face as he greeted you, causing you to feel an uncharacteristic flutter in your stomach. A wide smile appeared on your red lips against your own will. What was that promise you'd made to yourself about never wearing lipstick to impress anyone again? You were thinking to yourself how you must've lost your mind when you were putting it on infront of your bathroom mirror but that clearly hadn't stopped you.

And there he was, your friend who you had fallen in love with and he had no clue. How could he? You didn't even have a clue up until your birthday party last week. But now that you knew it seemed like it had been infront of your eyes all this time. Just how many times had you already lost yourself in those dark blue eyes while a feeling of home spread inside your chest? Just how many times had you spend hours deciding on what to wear when you would meet up with friends and you knew he was gonna be there? Certainly more than you'd like to admit.

"Did you order yet?" He asked as he sat down across from you and you didn't miss the way his eyes momentarily flickered to the unusal for you color on your lips.

You shook your head. "Nope. Waited for you."

"Didn't have to."

"I know. What are you getting?"

His eyes skimmed over the menu sheet on the table and he shrugged. "Probably the same as always, you?"

"I think I wanna try something new." You hoped that trying something new would maybe help you get your mind at least a little bit off of him and your feelings, something to distract you. Gosh, at this point you didn't even know how to behave around him anymore. Part of you wanted him to be yours so badly, to tell him about your feelings whilst another part of you screamed to never let it show, that you'd get disappointed and hurt and ruin something that was good as it was. As your mind and heart played tug of war with each other, you tried your best to remain calm and like your usual self.

He looked at you with a raised brow. "Y/n changing her routine?"

"Well," you awkwardly smiled at him and scratched the top of your nose. "I'm feeling up for a change."

His eyes fell onto your bright red lips again before meeting your eyes. "I can see that."

Suddenly you were starting to regret your choices. All of them. The avoiding him in first place. The agreeing to meet him. And the red lipstick. Although on the other side of the coin, another part of you felt a little triumphant flutter in your heart evertime you caught his eyes scanning your face, getting used to the new look.

After Keiji got his usual Caramel Latte and you were staring at your never tried before Lavender Latte, an uncomfortable silence fell between you two. Thankfully the distracting chatter around you made it feel easier to bear.

"The reason I wanted to meet you," he finally spoke, "is because I wanted to properly apologize for missing your birthday party."

"What?" You looked at him with confusion. "No! No, Keiji. You already did. It's fine."

"It didn't feel enough over the phone. And I also wanted to know if you're mad at me that I missed it." His fingers casually wrapped around the hot mug, he looked at you with a serious expression seeking a genuine answer.

You were about to try the new drink but his question caught you off guard and instead you set your drink down on the table a little harder than intended, causing the spoon to stir and clatter agains the glass. " No! Of course not!"

"Then why have you been avoiding me?"

"I wasn't- I-" your mouth stayed open as you tried to find an excuse to sell him but nothing. "Look, I didn't mean to."

"But you did. If it's not because of the party, why is it then?"

Because I realized that I fell for you and I'm terrified of you not returning my feelings and hurting me because I don't think I could handle that!

That's what you would've loved to tell him but of course you couldn't. No, you wouldn't. You didn't trust yourself to be able to handle it if he didn't react well. The risk was too big for you.

He let out a frustrated sigh when you gave him nothing but silence to his question. Maybe you two got along so well because of your stubborness. Like calls like, was it? He mentally shook away his thoughts of how well you two seemed to match even in your less positive traits and brought his focus back to you.

"You don't usually wear that shade." He remarked and your heart smiled all over again. It wasn't even about the color or what he thought of it. Just the fact that he seemed to take notice of little things about you made you want him even more. It felt so unfair that he was close enough to touch yet so far.

"Like I said," you stirred the spoon around in your fancy drink, avoiding his gaze and keeping up the casual facade. "Feeling up for a change."

"Should I be worried?"

"Oh no!" You looked up from your drink and dismissively waved your hand between you two. "Nothing like that. I'm ok, just.. y'know."

"I don't know, you're gonna have to elaborate."

Man, he's stubborn.

"Well, people change." You replied. A lame excuse and you knew that too.

"Im aware of that." His gaze bore into you.

"Like all the time," you continued.

"I know. What's your point?"

"You know what, it's nothing." The sip you took from your latte made you scrunch up your face. "I'm just yapping."

He took a sip from his familiar drink as well, then put his glasses, fogged up from the coffee steam, down on the table. "You're not a yapper."

"I'm a changed person now. Get used to it."

"Honestly, what's up with you?" The frustration was catching up and lacing around his words now and suddenly you felt like you were running out of time. You didn't mean to mess with him but you couldn’t deny that it probably seemed like that was exactly what you were doing.

"So you noticed my new lipstick shade," you tried to buffer by changing the topic and messing a little with him, a part of you unable to hold back from testing the waters a little after all. No, honestly, what was up with you? All those mixed signs you were giving him made a little frown appear over Keiji's face.

"What are you implying?"

"Nothing."

"I'm sure." He honestly didn't even know why he was still putting up with you at this point. Something made you act weird. Weirder than usual and he could tell you were hiding something from him when a light suddenly went on in his brain.

"Is there someone you like?" he asked you very straight-forward, his suddenly flat tone and expression hiding his uneasy anticipation to your answer.

"I mean," he went on as he noticed the way you stared at him with wide eyes and at a loss for words. "The new style, the way you've been ignoring me, probably cause your head is totally elsewhere, and let's not forget how you're acting all strange lately, I just thought, I don't know, maybe there's someone who's been occupying your mind. You seem a bit out of it. Like you're not quite here, but not in a bad way. Just in a.. bit of a different way."

Was there any way you could possibly talk yourself out of this? Your mind shot hundreds of excuses your way, all of them sillier than the one before. Probably not, you realized. But you still didn't feel ready to confess the truth.

"I'm taking that as a yes?" he said, a little unsure, when you still didn't answer.

"No!" You finally said, feeling your face heat up. "There's nothing like that, I really just needed a change."

"Ok.. then let me get a few things straight and I'm gonna need your full attention here, with me." He looked at you with a serious gaze and you nodded. "You're not mad I didn't show up at your birthday party?"

"No."

"And that's certainly not the reason you've been distancing yourself?"

"No."

"But you admit you've been distant?"

"I guess.." your eyes cast down on your drink like a kid who got caught causing trouble.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you?"

"So you're telling me it's none of my business."

"Yeah."

"So I was right about there being somebody you've got your eye on," he inquired, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed.

"No! Just- let it go. Please."

"Fine. But only if you stop avoiding me."

You hesitated a little. "I will."

"Good."

Both of you exhaled in relief into the silence, the tension slowly melting away. You didn't dare take another sip from your drink, partially because it tasted terrible and partially because you felt like your heart was gonna jump out of your throat any second now.

"How's the drink?" He asked after taking the last sip of his own bevarage and putting his glasses back on.

"It's gross, wouldn't recommend," you replied, stirring the liquid around with a spoon. "And.. uhm- thanks for the birthday gift by the way. Bokuto made sure I'd get it and double and triple checked and asked me if he'd already given it to me."

You smiled at the memory of Bokuto excitedly handing the present over to you and Akaashi nodded slighty, more to himself than to you.

"I was a bit hesitant to trust him with it but he was very enthusiastic to play delivery guy for me."

You chuckled, the image of Bokuto trying to prove to Akaashi what a trusted delivery guy he'd be flashing in your mind.

"Good thing we have him," you chuckled.

"Yeah." Despite his calmer demeanour you could tell that there was still a restlessness in the air around him.

"You know," he started again, proving your feeling right. "You'd do both of us a huge favor by just speaking up about what's on your mind."

"Can I tell you a different time?"

His expression softened, a bit surprised that you gave in so easily this time, and he silently nodded.

You sighed. It wasn't like you didn't want to tell him, you were just too scared as of right now and needed a little more time. Until then you had no choice but to keep playing pretend.

[dangermousie]

I love the ending

she tracks him down to the argan group nutters (long story) and is all yelling at him to be with her etc and then rescues him from drowning (aka his actual nightmare came true but she saved him) and then

"…Bai Siyan is gone." Drops of water dripped heavily from the end of his hair. "The real Bai Siyan, that is, my damn nephew, is gone. I brought that bastard here." "……!" The omitted words contained a lot of information. It was possible to understand his determination to bring the kidnappers here in the hail of bullets. "So I am nothing. There is no name or family to package me. I was adopted and raised by the owner of a fishing ground, and I hate humans." For the first time, she saw his true face clearly. "Nothing is allowed, no qualifications, this is my true identity." No longer that handsome elite, no longer the only son of a political family, no longer the spokesman of the Blue House, but just a man soaked all over. "Love at first sight." Hee Joo used all her strength to gently hit his arm. "I… at that time, I saw you crying…" She suddenly wiped the corners of her eyes that were about to get hot. What made her happier than being alive and well was that she still had the chance to express her true feelings to this man. "I fell in love at first sight when I was nine years old." "……!" "Twenty years. For twenty years, I only saw you." The man was shocked. "In my eyes, you are not the grandson of the prime minister, nor the son of a congressman." "……" "The person I want to see again is the you who secretly cried in the back alley, the you who didn't eat well, and the you who had nightmares." "……!" "That person is not Bai Siyan." He couldn't help but frown. In fact, that expression was terrible, but since it had come to this point, she had nothing to fear anymore. "And the brother who had phone sex with 406——" The round back of her head was grabbed suddenly. The man bit her small lips, as if he wanted to swallow it. He turned his head and kissed her as if he wanted to suck her soul away. His tongue pressed against hers and swept deeply through her mouth. It was more suffocating than drowning. The lips that had parted were pressed together again, again, and kept sticking together. The wet flesh rubbed eagerly. The wet clothes were tightly pressed against each other. "I…!" Hee-joo took advantage of the gap between her lips and shouted. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breathing. "When I was little, I used to look through the trash cans for snacks." "What?" "Oh, and actually, I fart loudly." "…" "That's my shortcoming." She blushed and avoided his gaze. "So, what I mean is…" How could I be so bad at expressing myself? Maybe it's because I used to only threaten people, so now I find it difficult to have ordinary conversations. "If we are a real couple, to be a real couple, we can't hide anything…, in fact, we should have had such a conversation a long time ago, this kind of…!" Although he had a blank expression, Hee-joo insisted on finishing the words. "From now on, I want to tell you who I really am." "…" "Although translation and messaging are good, we should share more of each other's thoughts. We have a lot to say." "I didn't know we needed so many words." "What?" Hee-joo was startled by his rejection and felt uneasy. But she didn't back down easily. "No, no, conversations between husband and wife are important…!" "I love you." The voice was a little choked. Hee-joo stopped. "I love you, Hong Hee-joo." The sunset was setting behind him. His face looked particularly strange in the backlight. No smile. Instead, there was a distorted expression as if he was suppressing something, like a scar under the reflection of the sunset. Hee-joo couldn't look away. Every second was precious. It turned out that there was no need to say anything more. She grabbed him a little dazedly, and he kissed her again in response. The tongues were entangled and saliva was exchanged. "Well…" The whole body was numb. He smiled softly between the kisses. The sun sets and night is coming. The two hugged each other tightly as if today was the last day of their lives. The chaotic breaths kept interweaving, colliding with each other and separating, and colliding again.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Villain's Coffee Shop part 42

Warnings: rough recovery, heading off to battle

I managed to combine several anon requests into these next few parts I'll be posting soon:

Anon ask #1

Anon ask #2

Villain must have dozed off, because when he woke up again he found Hero restlessly pacing around the room, and the hallucination of Superhero was gone.

"Hero? Is something wrong?" He asked, slowly sitting up. Mocha meowed in annoyance as he was displaced.

Hero jumped, startled, looking at him guiltily. "Sorry, it's just -- I watched the news this morning," she blurted.

"And?" Villain prodded, raising an eyebrow meaningfully.

Hero nervously wrung her hands together. "And... apparently Superhero has launched a massive search for me, seeing as I never returned to Agency after you got me out. And he has a lot of resources at his disposal---"

"---Which means it likely won't be long before he finds us," Villain finished the thought. "How unfortunate." His lips twitched into a frown. "We should work on a plan, find a way to catch Superhero by surprise and take the fight to him first."

"But does it really have to come to a fight?" Hero shuffled uncomfortably on her feet. "Can't we just expose Superhero's corruption to Agency and let them handle it?"

Villain shook his head grimly. "No. Violence is the only way to end this. You've seen firsthand how vicious Superhero can be, especially after what he did to me -- the only way to win is to match that kind of energy with our own. A fight is inevitable."

Hero stared guiltily at the floor, avoiding his gaze. "On the news report--they labeled me as an unpredictable criminal," she whispered, half to herself. "Superhero knows I knew you were Villain. He's pinning all the blame on me and wants me arrested as a traitor to the hero Agency."

"Exactly my point," Villain scoffed in disgust. "Superhero will lie, manipulate, and do anything to swing things to his benefit. There's no 'talking it out' with that kind of person. Violence and deceit is the only form of communication they understand. And with Superhero's mind-bending powers... he can just erase the memories of anyone who dares stand against him. He's a tyrant."

"...So what do we do?"

Villain oddly exchanged a brief glance with Mocha. "...I think I might have an idea."

-------------------------------------------------------

Villain explained his plan, and re-explained it whenever Hero got lost in the details. It was kind-of-simple-but-not-really. He wanted to send a message to Superhero, set up a place to meet and 'talk', which was apparently code for 'fight it out'. Now they just needed to figure out the where.

"You know that giant bridge that goes over the river running through this city?" Villain said. "We should stage the fight there. It's far away from civilians and it'll minimize casualties and damages. I imagine this fight will be messy."

"Good idea," Hero agreed somberly. "I still wish it didn't have to come to this though. It feels... wrong."

"After all the things Superhero's changed in your head, I'm not surprised you're still attached to him. He's forced you to adore him all this time. Who knows the lasting damage it's had on you." Villain shrugged, then got off the couch with a grunt of effort, trying his legs out for the first time since he'd been injured. His balance was wobbly at first, but he managed to stay upright. He smiled triumphantly.

"I'm almost battle-ready myself thanks to Supervillain. I've got a burner phone you can use to set up the meet point with Superhero --- in the meantime I'll work on making some visors to protect us from his freaky mind control. Deal?"

"Yeah... deal," Hero muttered unenthusiastically, picking at the loose threads in her jeans. Even knowing everything Superhero had done, all the ways he'd manipulated her and invaded her thoughts, she still couldn't fully bring herself to hate him.

But despite being heavily conflicted, Hero still gave Superhero a call.

Superhero was furious, demanding she return to Agency for correctional punishment, but eventually she got the message through about the time and place she wanted her and Villain to meet him -- but left out Villain's name. She didn't want him knowing his enemy was still alive.

Superhero begrudgingly agreed to show up at the meet up point, three days from now. Hero had done that intentionally to give Villain some more time to fully recover before facing his greatest nemesis.

And as it turned out, three days was precisely the amount of time the two of them needed to prepare. By day three, Villain had crafted two visors to block Superhero's powers. One for him and one for Hero. And after thoroughly reviewing their plan, they finally headed off to the bridge, where the final fight would take place.

And there they found Superhero, already waiting patiently for them standing in the middle of the bridge.

But... he wasn't alone…

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

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