#ITS MAKING ME GO GRAZY I TELL YOU

[streetplants]

AAAAAAAAASA ASA SAFAFSGAFASASA

Aw man, I really went crazy for this one lol

[glitterquadricorn]

Another Leclerc - social media

+ summary: When rumors go around about another Leclerc joining the f1 grid, people automatically assume its Arthur, completely forgetting about y/n leclerc. She'll do anything for a formula one seat. Even if it meant going behind a certain driver's back. +pairing: none. + warning(s): sexism, google translate (I don't speak Italian nor French but if I have something wrong, let me know), like one curse word.

face claim: Lindsay brewer

+ author's note: for a while now I've been wanting to get back into writing, but writing fics stress me out, so I figured making social media/instgram posts will be a lot easier to put together. I've also decided to change how I do social media posts and I'm trying to figure things out, so in the meantime, bear with me.

itsy/nleclerc

liked by charlesleclerc, scuderiaferrari, and 20,102 others

itsy/nleclerc: *insert Sebastian Vettel quote here*

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charles_leclerc: isn't that my jacket? ⤷itsynleclerc: If I said no would you believe me? ⤷charles_leclerc: give me back my jacket or I'll tell mom ⤷itsy/nleclerc: go ahead and tell mom, you snitch

user1: Charles and y/n is exactly how my sister, and I are whenever she burrows my clothes.

patriciooward: when are you going to let me drive your Ferrari?⤷itsy/nleclerc: never. ⤷josefnewgarden: she won't even let me drive it and I'm her teammate! ⤷12willpower: she's let me drive it ⤷patriciooward: Y/N! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!! ⤷itsy/nleclerc: other than my beloved Ferrari, I only love my bed and my mom I'm sorry!

user2: this made me feel ✨poor✨

scuderiaferrari: you have great taste, miss leclerc ⤷itsy/nleclerc: thank you! :)

user3: you look real good in red liked by itsy/nleclerc

user4: I so badly want her to race for Ferrari with Charles! liked by itsy/nleclerc

arthur_leclerc: is there something you want to share with the class?⤷itsy/nleclerc: nope 🤐

user5: y/n clearly knows something we don't ⤷user6: you don't think she's the leclerc deuxmoi is talking about, right? ⤷user5: I hope not because Arthur honestly deserves that f1 seat more than her.

ScuderiaFerrari:

liked by itsy/nleclerc, charles_leclerc, f1 and 3,689,758 others.

scuderiaferrari: two-time indy 500 winner & one-time indycar champion and the first woman to be in formula one since Lella Lombardi, y/n leclerc joins Ferrari in 2026!

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itsy/nleclerc: this has always been a childhood dream of mine to race for Ferrari! grazie per questa sorprendente opportunità! (thank you for this amazing opportunity) liked by scuderiaferarri

carlossainz55: you can't be serious

charles_leclerc: papa and jules would be proud ⤷itsy/n_leclerc: I know 😭😭

pierregasly: Congrats little leclerc! ⤷itsy/nleclerc: thank you, mon frère (my brother)

josefnewgarden: I'll miss having you around ⤷itsy/nleclerc: you and misses are always welcome to come to Monaco ⤷josefnewgarden: we might just take you up on that offer

lewishamilton: hopefully this is a step in the right direction in making the paddock more inclusive and welcoming for everyone! liked by itsy/nleclerc

user1: y/n doesn't belong in formula one. ⤷user2: and the fact that she's replacing someone that didn't need to be replaced is astounding! ⤷user3: the pressure will be too much for her and she'll fail like past women who've tried to make it in f1 ⤷user4: I predict she won't make it to summer break before she quits ⤷user5: why is it so hard for you to comprehend a woman being in formula one? I mean, if you hate women, just say so.

user6: my daughter has expressed interest in karting because of y/n

12willpower: I wish you nothing but the best, kid. ⤷itsy/nleclerc: thanks, old man! 😘

user7: y/n signing to Ferrari is great and all, but I'm over here asking myself what tf is in the water in monaco because it should be illegal to be this good looking! ⤷user8: you're out here asking the real questions ⤷user9: all I'm saying is God bless mama Leclerc

Chili man🌶️ How could do this to me? I thought we were friends.

Mini Leclerc What do you mean?

Chili man🌶️ Don't play dumb, y/n. You know exactly what you did.

Mini Leclerc Yes, I did sign with Ferrari. Yes, I did take your seat. You didn't sign an extension and they reached out to me. I saw an opportunity and I took it.

Chili man🌶️ I was getting ready to talk to Fred about an extension.

Mini Leclerc Early bird gets the worm?

Chili Man🌶️ You're a real bitch, you know that?

Mini Leclerc You think that's the first time a man, much less anyone has called me that? You know as much as I do that Formula one is a competitive sport and in order to get a seat, you may have to do some unspeakable things. Let me ask you a question, though. If the roles were reversed and you were me, would you have done the same thing?

*read*

Mini Leclerc you leaving me on read lets me know you would've. But I'll never apologize for my actions, Carlos. If you have any interest in IndyCar, I can give you some resources to help you out. Good luck in any of your future endeavors, Carlos.

---

thank you to @lorarri and @majaverse for helping me out. they didn't have to do that, but they did, so this is dedicated to them! :)

tagging list:

@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @patzammit @yagirlmexic @tinycyberhacker @keenmarvellover @mrspeacem1nusone @lendeluxe @alexxavicry

if your name is crossed out, I couldn't tag you.

I'm going clean out my tagging list again, so if you want to stay on it, let me know.

[drvscarlett]

About You Pt 19

Sebastian Vettel x Webber!Reader

Summary: Everyone knows about the history of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. But there's a well kept story within the paddock about Sebastian Vettel and another Webber. This is that story.

A/N: and i think its a good time to reread the series because we have some parts that is a hint to the previous chapters. its all connected! i hope you all enjoy!!!

About You Series

2015, Albert Park

Today marks the first race that he would do for Scuderia Ferrari, the dream team of most drivers. From the entrance, there were plenty of Tifosis with their banner and red ensemble waiting for him. Sebastian was used to having fans back in his Red Bull and Toro Rosso days but the energy of Ferrari fans is on a whole another level. People of all ages with different speaking languages calls out his name with something in hand for him to sign with.

“Bring the championship back to Ferrari”

“We are with you Sebastian!”

“Grazie Sebastian, have a good season!”

The words of encouragement being passed by people is something that brings a smile on his face. It was uplifting to hear that people still believed in him despite losing the championship last year. He feels extremely motivated to go to the car.

When he entered the garage, Kimi, his teammate was sitting there with his usual poker expression. Upon seeing Sebastian, he cracked one of his rare smiles and welcomed Sebastian to the team. The rest of the garage seems to be excited in welcoming Sebastian as well. They buzzed about how excited they all are about the build of the car and the opportunities that this season may grant. It was a good omen for Sebastian.

The practice session won’t start for a few minutes, so he opted to lounge in his driver’s room. The minute that Sebastian opened the room, his eyes zeroed in on the fruit basket of oranges placed on his desk.

An irony that a single fruit can bring back so many memories and could make all happy thoughts disappear from Sebastian. It suddenly reminded him that there was one person that he won’t be seeing around this year.

With a sigh, he picked up the card attached to the basket.

Congratulations Sebastian Vettel for being in Scuderia Ferrari. Have a great season ahead.

He smiles thoughtfully with the message. Flipping the card he tried to find who have sent it but it seems unsigned.

‘Can this be from her?’ he couldn’t help but think about it. He believed that he never mentioned it in any of his interviews that this was pre-race ritual goodluck for him. His thoughts couldn’t help but drift to her.

It has been months since he has seen her. There were also no news about her like she disappeared out of thin air, like she never even existed. He just wanted to know how is she doing. Is she doing better now? Can she walk now?

The heavy weight of his feelings had him sitting in silence.

“Seb..”Kimi knocked and entered the room “Free practice is starting in a few and they wanted me to call you”

The Finn was often referred as someone who doesn't care but he was secretly good at picking up emotions, “Are you okay?”

Sebastian looks up and tries to shrug it off“I’m good, don’t worry…Just the oranges”

“You allergic?”

“No”Sebastian’s voice falters “Just wondering who might have sent it”

“Probably a fan of yours”Kimi suggested.

“Yeah a fan”

2015, Sepang

Mark Webber’s book Aussie Grit, a chapter excerpt

Honestly, I never gave it much thinking that my sister sacrificed a lot of her time to be with me. She was merely 16 when she decided to accompany me to my racing and be my personal assistant. Instead of going out during the weekends, she spends it with me in strategy rooms or moping about a winless weekend. Now that I see it, I never saw her have time for herself. Everything that she does is because of me.

I wish I could tell you that I have been a good brother. There are several instances where I have been the cause of her heartache. If only I brought down my ego a notch then I wouldn’t miss several years with my baby sister. It was a great thing that she even gave me a chance. We were rekindling and everything. Then, last year was an eyeopener when she got into that accident. We were lucky to have her alive but it paralyzed her legs completely and it’s taking a while for her to recover. I respect my sister’s wishes to step back from anything motorsports related or from the media’s eyes. As her older brother, I do what I have to do to make sure she is getting the privacy that she needs.

She may or may not be reading this book but I hope you know Y/N how loved you are. We will always be waiting here for you. You take your time and your big brother will take care of everything.

2016, Lausitzring

The crowd was roaring as a Schumacher was once more placed on top of the podium. Glee was evident in Mick’s face as he made his way down from the podium. His eyes scanned the crowd and he couldn’t help but widen when he saw Sebastian’s face. He didn’t know that he would be joining to watch the race today.

“SEB!” Mick immediately made a beeline towards the F1 driver “What are you doing here?”

“Watching you race of course” Sebastian grins.

It was something that Sebastian has tried to do as much as he could. He can sense that Mick needed guidance and Michael would have done that if he was awake. So, whenever Sebastian could, he would drop by and watch Mick race. When he couldn’t, he rewatches them and messages him to commend him or recommend some improvements in his techniques.

“Very very proud of you Mick”he added the praise.

Sebastian hugged Mick proudly. Cameras immediately went off to capture the moment. Both of them have been used to the fanfares of the paddock and they could already see the articles that will be posted comparing young Seb and young Mick.

“Excuse me Seb but we have to get Mick for media duties” someone from the PR team interrupted the moment

“You can wait at the driver’s room”Mick instructed

“Look at you so bossy”Sebastian joked

“Viv, don’t let him go anywhere”Mick insisted “Seb, I still have to talk to you and update you about a lot”

Sebastian nodded and headed his way to the driver’s room. He greeted some of the staffs that were lounging there and proceeded to make himself feel at home in Mick’s driver’s room.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as soon as he enters. The driver’s room was pristine and clean. Sebastian was not the most organized driver on the grid when he was Mick’s age. Seeing how every paper has been neatly filed, clothes folded, and pillows arranged—Mick was far better from him than a mile.

There were two tables but his eyes lingered at the table where the drawer was slightly opened. He catches the glint of a photo frame. Curiosity got the best of him, and he opened the drawer a bit more to see the frame. It was a photo of the Schumacher family with him and Y/N.  The bright smile on each faces and the way Sebastian held Y/N with Mick in the middle. It was a reminder of the good old days.

“I hope you are okay”Sebastian’s hands hovered at the picture.

She never leaves his mind. He stopped talking about her but she is always in his mind. Sometimes when he takes photos of Mick, he wonders if she is watching his progress. What would she say? Sebastian could bet that if things were a little different then Y/N must have been there in every race that Mick participates in. She would have been there with Sebastian proudly cheering for Mick.

“Hey”Mick was right on time to interrupt him “Media is sometimes even more tiresome than the race”

“You think that’s bad, wait till Formula 1” Sebastian snickers.

He slipped the picture back to the drawer and shut it close to avoid anyone else from snooping. If this was hidden away then Mick might have wanted it private and away from prying eyes. Sebastian respects that. However, Mick didn’t miss it.

“You saw the picture, didn’t you?” Mick asked

“Yeah” a sad smile graced Sebastian’s face “It’s been a while since I saw her and its just a bit nostalgic”

Mick has tried to avoid talking about Y/N as per her wishes and of course because he was unsure about Sebastian’s thoughts. He didn’t have the full picture of what went down but he was not dumb to not know that the ending caused them a lot of pain.

As a witness to their pining, Mick can tell that Sebastian never stopped loving Y/N.

“You miss her” Mick softly says.

Miss was a simple word to use. Sebastian longs to be with her. He has all the connection, power, and money to find her but he always stops himself. She needed time and he is willing to give that to her. However, he really longs for her.

“I do kid, I really do miss her” Sebastian sighs.

“Even after all these years?” Mick wondered

The older driver could only nod. Mick gave Sebastian a comforting hug. Mick wished that he could say the things that he know but he made a promise and his Papa raised him to honor his words. The hug is the only thing he can do right now.

2016, Yas Marina Circuit

The party was on full swing. The drinks are flowing, and Jenson could not hear the endless cheers of congratulations for his retirement. As a former party boy, he used to enjoy these kinds of events but now that he is getting older he seems to be taking a step back. He found himself making his way out of the balcony to get some open air.

“Ditching your own party? That’s so unlike you Jenson”

It seems as if Jenson was not the only one who needed some fresh air as Sebastian was also out there with a beer. The Ferrari driver has a drink in hand as he leans by the balcony.

“I think I entered my party days too early so now I’ll be retiring” Jenson admits.

“Congrats to your retirement man”Sebastian hugs him "Retiring seems to be a trend"

The implication was subtle. For the past few years, people have been retiring. Starting from Mark to Y/N and now its Jenson. He has also heard Nico joking around earlier that maybe he could retire as well now that he has a world championship. Sebastian couldn't help but ask if this is a sign from the heavens that maybe he should as well

"You should try to, there is an appeal to it." Jenson voiced out his thoughts.

Taking a sip from his beer, Sebastian shakes his head in response. He can't retire yet. He still has a passion for racing, its the only thing he has ever known so it would be hard to quit it.

"I think I can still keep up with the young ones"Sebastian replied thoughtfully.

"Wanting to race or do you want Y/N to find you easily if she decides to come back?"

Bold statements from Jenson seems to take the conversation to a different turn. A sober him would have himself controlled with the information that he shares especially with Y/N. But his defenses are down and he knew Sebastian wanted to know how she is.

“She is doing okay, she is better now and healthier. But I don’t think she will return, she is happy with her life now. No media, no stress, just a simple life”

A wave of relief washed over Sebastian's face. It was a sense of comfort for him to know that she is okay. The distance is difficult but he is glad that she is alright and getting better.

"I'm glad to hear that." Sebastian stated "But I’m not asking for her to comeback. I want her to have her time to recover as she said"

Jenson's face contorted to what seems to be an irritation or maybe this was the alcohol making his emotions go haywire.

"Why are you like that?" he asked.

"Like what?"

"How can you keep waiting and holding on even though it has been years. You should have forgotten her, you should have chosen another one. Why do you stay?"

"Because I love her." Sebastian answer was immediate "I know it is naïve and simple but there is no other way to put it. I love Y/N. I think she tried to push me away before but its always her no matter what. I know I made mistakes and I hurt her and I tried to make it up. Everyday I am trying to do better because I wanted to be a better person that Y/N comes back to"

The air that Sebastian ended his speech with was crackling with tension. Jenson, who seems to be drunk a while ago, suddenly sobered up with the confession. He looks skeptically at Sebastian and he could see how much he means everything he just said.

"You really love her right seb?"

"I do."

"Okay then wait for her." a resignation in Jenson's part "You take care of her okay? She is one of the best person in the world and she deserves the best. I hope you don’t get tired waiting for her."

Jenson has always been careful to keep his feelings away. He knew that this was a losing battle to admit his emotions but maybe people were right to say that alcohol manages to bring out the deepest darkest truth that we have.

In this haze, Sebastian finally dawns a realization. Something that he should have realized years ago. It was so obvious now that Jenson is all drunk and open to read.

“You love her”

“Loved.” Jenson begrudgingly admits “I know at one point I tried shooting my shot because I wanna piss Mark off. But when I got to know her damn man, I was a puddle. I knew it was useless to tell her how I feel when a) I am a playboy that cannot be taken seriously b) you look at her like she hangs the whole universe in front of your eyes and c) because she loves you so so so damn much”

Plenty of times that Jenson wished that he played his cards right. He wished that maybe he could have sabotaged the relationship and show Y/N that he is a better option. However, he doesn't have the heart to do that knowing that it would end up with Y/N being hurt. He also knew that her happiness is with Sebastian and all he ever wanted was to make her happy.

“So you take care of her better now that you know that I’ll always be watching your back. You fail another time and I’m stealing her away” Jenson laughs jokingly

Sebastian nodded in agreement.

2017, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

"One, two, three, smile!"

Anyone passing by would have thought that its just another tourist family with the mother taking a photo of her daughter and husband. But they couldn't be more wrong.

Four time world champion Sebastian Vettel was hiding under the glasses and the cap. He looks like any other regular dad with his fanny pack and the simple get-up. Margarette was now 3 years old with a crooked smile that makes her a spitting image of her father.

"Papa, where we gonna go today" the little girl couldn't contain her excitement.

"You are so energetic huh" Sebastian picks her up with ease and placed her to sit comfortably on his shoulder "We are off to see this beautiful place"

"What is it?"

"It's a secret but its near" Sebastian assured.

It was one of those trips that Sebastian have planned to spend time time with Margarette. The Spanish Grand Prix was just right around the corner so Sebastian is maximizing his time to spend with his little girl. Hanna couldn't help but feel a sense of joy seeing the two together. Maybe the two of them didn't work out as a couple but she was glad that Sebastian never abandoned Margarette.

"Papa are we going to that big palace?"Margarette asked "Mama look we are going to that palace"

Margarette was pointing to the tall construction of the Sagrada Familia. It made Hanna let out a small wow because she have heard stories about this place before but this was really a breathtaking sight.

"It's not a palace darling, its a wonderful church made as a biggest apology for the city's sin"Hanna explained.

"But Hanna"Sebastian interjected "I think this is the grandest showcase of love because they keep on working on it for years and years for the city's forgiveness and-"

Sebastian stops halfway. The memory of the place from years ago seems to dawn him and why the whole conversation was flowing out as if it was recited for memory.

"You alright Papa?" Margarette wondered.

Sebastian was quick to shrug everything away, "Let's go inside"

The inside was even more beautiful than its facade. Margarette didn't know where to look and she seems to be awestruck anywhere she gaze upon. Sebastian chuckles to himself plagued once more by the memory of a certain someone that he once toured with in this place.

Once again, Sebastian was at the pews muttering a prayer. Even now he doesn't believe but he prays to any mighty Being out there to take care of Y/N. If its possible, make her walk again and help her heal from everything that she has been through. Sebastian was sure there were some stray tears that runs down his cheeks as he prayed.

A tug at his side reminded him that Margarette was there sitting next to him.

"What do you pray for?" she wondered.

"I'm praying for a friend"

"Is that why you cry?"she pressed on more "Is friend sick? Is friend sad?"

Sebastian honestly don't know what to answer with the following questions. How could he say so when he didn't have any form of communications with her.

"I don't know baby if she is okay but I pray she is okay" Sebastian sighs.

Her tiny hands reached for Sebastian as if a way to comfort him. Sebastian held Margarette's hands tightly. Hanna watched the two of them from a pew behind not wanting to interrupt the moment of the two.

"You know they say we can get three wishes when we visit a new church" Sebastian diverts the topic "You should go make your wishes"

"Like a birthday wish? It will come true?"

Sebastian nods and he immediately noticed how she brightened up. She was at that age that she has so many to wish for and she wanted to wish every best thing in the world. However, after a moment she seems to smile.

"I'll wish for your friend to be okay" Margarette declared "And I hope you see friend soon"

"That's very thoughtful of you baby"Sebastian couldn't help but hug his little girl.

Silently, Hanna prayed as well for that wish to come true. She hopes that maybe Y/N could come back for Sebastian. She has been a witness to how much Sebastian waits for her to return and its clear to her now how much he means to her.

2017, Suzuka Circuit

Sebastian Vettel asked about when is he going to settle down.

After being stuck in a panel in the Japanese Grand Prix media day with a group of drivers who have wives and girlfriends, Sebastian Vettel sticks out like a sore thumb in the bunch. He was pressed as to when would he introduce a girlfriend or if he has any plans on settling down. The Ferrari driver joked that the media is just like his mother asking him the same question.

“The thing is, I am happy as I am at the moment. I am not cynical about the idea of love, its just that lets say that love has already found me early. Maybe I am a sappy or romantic but I intend to wait for that love to return to me because it’s the love that I have promised to wait for. Nothing compares to her.” The person behind Sebastian’s definition of love has remained a mystery to the media. It has already been years but Sebastian has not been spotted to bring any partners to the paddock.

When asked about his rumored daughter, Sebastian has admitted that he has a daughter. He refused to deny his daughter but he wanted a quiet and simple life for her.  “She is someone I treasure greatly. I intend to keep her away from the media as much as possible, she is one of the best thing that life has given me without asking.” He also mentioned that she is co-parenting with the mom of his daughter as they are great friends and nothing more.

2018, Albert Park

“Exciting season yeah Kimi?” Sebastian was his usual enthusiastic self.

The Finnish driver just shrugged a small yeah as they pass through security. Sebastian was already used with Kimi’s responses and he decided that it balanced out their duo. If Sebastian is the hyperactive one then Kimi is the laidback quiet one.

“Did you hear Jules' godkid is coming to the grid this season?" Kimi wondered.

Sebastian remembered how Jules has been mentoring a young kid before. He has mentioned his name multiple times but Sebastian have forgotten it already.

“Charles?”Kimi offered.

“Charles? The one we saw in 2015?”Sebastian asked

“Yeah that one. He got a seat at Alfa Romeo”Kimi nodded in agreement.

It was crazy how quick time passed by. It was just yesterday that he was racing with Jules and now he will be racing with his godkid. Sebastian could feel his age catching up on him with the new rookies joining the grid.

“We better go check on him and welcome him” Sebastian suggested.

“You go ahead, I’ll catch up later”

Sebastian headed to the Alfa Romeo garage which is quite a walk from the Ferrari garage. He stopped by to greet some of the media and the people at the paddock. But he has his eyes set on to welcome the newest rookie to the Formula 1 community.

"I'm looking for Charles Leclerc" Sebastian announced upon reaching their sister team's garage.

The mechanics were quite busy with the preparation for the car so all hands were on deck. It was a good thing that Fred Vasseur immediately caught Sebastian's presence

"I think he is the driver's room with his family" Fred smiled

"Can I interrupt them?"

"Go ahead, I'm sure Charles would love to see you her" he encouraged.

Sebastian made his way towards the room and he could hear the overlapping voices of Charles' family. It brings him back to the first time that he joined Formula 1 and his whole family has also been supportive just like this.

"Charles, be careful. I don't want you hurting yourself in your first race"

"So I can do it in my second?"

"You are a little menace, how do we put up with you?"

The bantering between them seems to keep Sebastian from disturbing them. He knew that he shouldn't be eavesdropping on them and he started to think that maybe he should just greet Charles later during the drivers' parade.

"But Charles listen to Pascale, you come back safe to us"

The chills that went down his spine when he heard that voice was like no other. He knows that person very well but he can't help but think that he may be wrong because its been so long. His heart started to beat loudly, his clammy hands shaking to twist the door knob of the door open. He was out of his wits to even overhear that Charles was getting out of his driver's room.

"Yeah, I'm-" the shock was visible in Charles face and he immediately steps out of his driver's room "Sebastian, I didn't know you were there"

Sebastian wanted to mentally facepalm himself to be caught in such an embarrassing situation.

"I just wanted to welcome you to the grid, kid" Sebastian manages to say

Charles shifts from his spot, "Thanks I guess"

It was obvious that Charles seems uncomfortable with Sebastian around. A normal feeling that a rookie driver would feel in his first season. Sebastian wanted to ease his mind a little.

"Jitters?"

"You could say that" Charles agrees "Maybe I just need a little bit of time with the family before I go out and race"

"You do that. I'll see you later"

"Thanks Sebastian"

As Sebastian retreats, Charles could let out a sigh in relief before entering his driver's room again.

Pascale was there with eyes wide as if asking his son if that's who she think it was outside the door. Lorenzo and Arthur were by the door seemingly anxious with the interaction.

"He's gone now and I think I managed to hold him off" Charles assures everyone "But I still think its really a bad decision for you to be here"

"And miss your first race in Formula 1? Jules would kill me"

Sitting at the corner of the room, Y/N Webber was there. Her face seems to have matured over the years but she still carries the same tricks just like how she is fiddling with her necklace.

All eyes of the Leclerc family was on her because this was the closest call that she have encountered with Sebastian after all these years.

"I have been careful Charlie. I have been to several of Mick's races undetected with him at the attendance. I have been in some Formula 1 races undetected "Y/N soothes "Calm down, okay?"

Charles couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty. He didn't want his debut to be the reason for Y/N's pocket of peace to be disturbed. He certainly didn't know that Sebastian was coming to greet him.

"I travelled a long way to watch you race so you better focus, okay?"Y/N encourages.

"Thank you for being here Y/N" Charles softens to a smile.

"But Y/N, aren't you planning to ever meet Sebastian again?" Lorenzo couldn't help but wonder.

The girl in question could just smile.

Honestly speaking, there wasn't an answer in her head at the moment. Hearing his voice just a door away was taking all of her self control to not run outside and hug him. She is scared if he would still welcome her back or would he still love her as much as she loves him even after all these years?

Fiddling with her necklace, the pendant that he has given still sits on the chain together with the ring he once gave her.

[bentosandbox]

LaTers lyrics TL

keysmashed this out quickly yesterday because i think we're not going to get an official one

disclaimer: done with the power of JLPT N3 and a honorary texlapp doctorate also i tried to reword some the english lyrics to make them make sense

texas / lappy / both

この身を盾にして 影は背中に迫っていた My self as his trump card, his shadow approaches my back

自由を縛ったのは 自分か世界のせいか Who was it that bound my freedom, was it me or the world

境界を踏み越えて満ちる 騒がしさを知った I step over the boundary, and am full of the turbulence I knew

狂乱を巻き込んだ力 戦いで示すだけEasy My power engulfed by frenzy, demonstrating it in battle is easy

昨日に追い付かれるのか Will yesterday catch up with me

明日を追い駆けるのか Will I chase after tomorrow

Which one do you like? Which path will you take?

さよなら 告げるために此処にいる ‘Goodbye’, I came here to say this

最初から 揺らがない覚悟を持って From the very start, with my unwavering resolve

打ち砕け Sink or swim Break into pieces, sink or swim

逃さないよ Stop bugging me Can't get away, stop irking me

Fight to the last 速度を上げるStory Fight to the last, speed up the story

追憶を振り切って Break from your memories

何の因果が結んだ 聞こえない振りは止めてよね Just what kind of fate has tied us together? Stop pretending you can’t hear me, okay?

重く感じた刃に 縋り付くのは記憶 My blades feel so heavy, with the weight of my memories clinging on

愛憎の重なった玩具（おもちゃ）ぶつけ合えばいいよ Playthings of both love and hate, it’s fine to smash them together

退路は塞がったままで 信じた道を歩んでくJourney My path of retreat still closed off, I set off on the journey I believe in

受け入れて楽しもうか Why not accept it and have fun?

掻き消���て進もうか Why not drown it all out and move on?

Which one do you like? Which path will you take?

さよなら 高くついた代償は ‘Goodbye’, an expensive farewell

これから 斬り伏せて払えばいい From now on, I cut down whomever I please

Live in this world And live in this world

過去から 地続きの 夢を見た I dreamed of a connection from the past

未来へと 臨むため現在（いま）を行こう Let’s head towards the present (now) to face the future

いつかは… Someday…

ありがとう 次を描きたいから ‘Grazie’, I’ll express this next (time)

応えよう 剣先に触れる音で Come on, respond, with the sounds of our sword points touching(🤨

さよなら 告げるために此処にいる 'Goodbye', I came here to say this

最初から 揺らがない覚悟を持って From the very start, with my unwavering resolve

忘れないで Be the light Don’t forget now, be the light

夜明けまで Slash the darkness Until day breaks, slash the darkness

Fight to the last A fight to the last

速度を上げて行け Come on, let’s speed things up

もう止められない程 (Til) it can’t be stopped no more

追憶を振り切って Break from your memories

I'm guessing it's supposed to be the 'later' in ‘see you laters’ if La = Lappland and te = texas what is rs relationship???

lines that made me ????

Which one do you like?

my gut() is telling me it's more along the lines of 'which path do you like better' so i went with 'Which path will you take?'

逃さないよ Stop bugging me

was wavering between the first part referring to tex (as in lapp telling her she can't run away forever) but the 'stop bugging me' convinced me its referring to herself being unable to escape the quagmire

ありがとう 次を描きたいから

nobody corrected me on twitter so i take it my reading isn't horribly off lmfao..texas saying thank you to LAPP?? dio mio

[multi-fandom-of-madness]

Darkness At The Heart Of My Love

Pairings: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia X GN!Reader

Type: Fluff that turns to angst w/ no comfort

Summary: Copia had just begun his reign as Papa, and was overworked. He needed to get away from the ministry and all of it. He found someone along the way. Someone who showed him love and happiness. It was perfect, until things changed, and then things descended into chaos.

Warnings: Mentions of character death, heartbreak, use of Y/N, google translated Italian

Word Count: 3,619

Notes: I’m debating on whether I want to make this into a short series. I already have the second part written, but I don’t know how I feel about the plot I previously had for the third part. I originally did this as a self insert, so if there are pronouns that don't correlate with a gender neutral reader, please let me know I will fix it asap. Also I'm sorry for the way the song lyrics copied over, you're just gonna have to deal with it (unfortunately).

Read on AO3

~

When the summer dies

Severing the ties

I'm with you always, always

Will you walk the line?

My path serpentine

Remember always

That love is all you need

Tell me who you wanna be

And I will set you free

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

For you

It was a September afternoon. The leaves were just starting to change and the air had just started to relieve itself of its hellish temperatures. Summer finally started saying its goodbye.

The Clergy had been on Copia’s back recently due to his most recent accomplishment of being in talks to become the new Papa. He knew that they just wanted everything perfect, but he was struggling to believe he could live up to their practically impossible standards. It had been an impossibly long day, and he knew that he needed a break before he snapped, inflicting the wrath of Sister Imperator.

He drove around, just trying to clear his head until he found a café. A small little thing that looked very simple. He didn’t bother to check the name or the reviews before walking inside.

“Good afternoon! How can I help you today?” A chipper voice called out to him. His head snapped up from his phone as he set his eyes on them.

“Oh, hello. I-I’m good. How are you today?” He responded, his cheeks reddening slightly as he stumbled over his words.

“Well, it would be better if it were time to go home, but honestly I can’t complain too much,” the cashier responded. “What can I get for you today?”

Copia looked over the menu for just a moment. “Could I just get a black coffee and a blueberry scone?”

“Sure thing!” They smiled as they told him the total and grabbed his scone. They handed him the bag, and his hand lingered for a moment. He held his breath once he realized what he was doing, and grabbed the bag.

“Grazie,” he mumbled as he walked over to the other end of the counter to wait on his coffee. He watched as they poured the coffee, entranced by their every move.

“Here’s your coffee, sir,” they called as if he wasn’t jumping at the chance to talk to them again.

“Thank you,” he said, taking it and finding a seat. He was the only person actually sitting down, everyone else who came in got their orders and left. Copia knew that wouldn’t do for him. If he left, he didn’t know what would have happened.

He sat for a while, eating his scone and sipping his coffee. It was peaceful in the little café. Soft music played over the speakers, and the scent of freshly baked treats filled the air. It was nice.

“I’m heading out now! I’ll see you guys later!” He heard them call, apron off and bag in their hand. He watched them walk towards the door, and jumped up, not really knowing what he was doing.

“Excuse me, but I was just wondering if you-if you had any plans today. It’s been a long day, and you seem like you would be nice to talk to. Only, if you want to of course! I just thought you were gorgeous-I mean you seemed nice. Not that you aren’t gorgeous of course! I’m sorry, I don’t really talk to people outside of my work,” he rushed his words. He was slightly shaking, scared of what they would say.

“I don’t have any plans,” they smiled. “There’s a park right down the road, I could take you if you wanted.”

A look of relief washed over his tired face. “Really? I-well, I would like that actually.”

“My name is Y/N,” they said, holding out their arm.

He looped his arm in theirs, internally smacking himself for not asking their name earlier. “Copia.”

“Well, Copia, it’s nice to meet you.” They squeezed his arm lightly as they left the café. He smiled and looked at the ground.

The park wasn’t far at all, just about a ten minute walk. It was pretty, especially now that the leaves were changing their colors, shedding their summertime glow. There was a winding path that had trees scattered along with a few bushes surrounding them. The flowers on the ground were already wilting, but the scene was still beautiful nonetheless.

“So, Copia, what brought you to my little café?” They asked, their head tilting as they continued to walk arm in arm. Copia found it refreshing to not have his title used to address him for once. It seemed to be all he heard now.

“Well, work has been getting to me. Sis-My boss likes everything to be perfect. It’s just the way that the company is run. I’m beginning to take on a new…new mantle, and in order to properly take it on, I have to be perfect. It is a lot of stress for one man.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure it is stressful. May I ask where you work? I might be able to help, or at least provide some comfort with a little more context.”

He was hoping they wouldn’t ask that question, terrified of scaring them off. “Well, it’s a, uh, ministry of sorts.”

“Oh, so you’re going to become a priest. I guess that could be difficult. Not living a life of sin and being perfect for God and all of his followers.”

“Well, not exactly,” he admitted to them. “Are you religious?”

“I’m not entirely religious. I’m sure there’s a source of something out there, but if it is, I haven’t found it. I don’t judge religions though.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” he sighed. They gave him an odd look. “Our ministry isn’t exactly…Christian.”

“Now I'm a little bit confused.”

He laughed lightly at their response. “It’s a Satanic church. We preach about the word of Satan, and it’s a fun little gig we have going. We use a band to spread the word. Maybe you have heard of it?”

“That's interesting. What is your band called? I’m not sure whether I would have heard of it or not.”

“It’s called Ghost, we are pretty popular,” he teased. He wouldn’t be sure whether they’d heard of it or not, and was surprised by their reaction to saying he was with a satanic church.

“No, I don’t think I have heard of it actually.”

“Well, what kind of music do you like? I can help be a good judge of whether it would provide entertainment. It’s, eh, not really your basic music.”

“I’ll listen to almost anything, honestly. I’m always down for a good tune.”

Copia was taken aback by this a bit, a pleasantly shocked look on his face. “Well, it’s a rock band. A pretty good one if I do say so myself.”

“Maybe I’ll give it a listen later.” 

They continued to walk for a minute in silence before Copia piped up. “So, what do you do for fun?”

“I don’t really know. I like to read, watch TV, listen to music, and all the basic things.”

“What about video games? Any of that interest you?”

“Not really. I never got into gaming.”

“Interesting.”

“What about you, Copia?”

“I play a game or two here and there, but with the Ministry, I don’t get much time to myself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry that sucks. You can always call me up, if you want some company. I don’t really do much other than work. Here,” they said, sticking their phone out to him, “put your number in, and then you can text me whenever you get too stressed and need an outside source for comfort.” Copia took the phone, put his number in, and sent himself a message to make sure he didn’t put it in wrong, then they continued on their first walk of many.

And that is what they did for months.

They texted back and forth often, called, and even went on quite a few dates. Copia had yet another long day, and knew that he could trust the person he now proudly called his partner. He called, asking if he could spend the night at their apartment, and of course they said yes.

Copia made his way to their apartment, using his key to get inside. “Dolcezza? I’m here, amore.”

“I’m in the bathroom! Just got out of the shower!” They called, and he walked that way. He still had on his paints, which still shocked them sometimes, but they were beginning to grow used to it. “Well don’t you look handsome?” They teased, noting that he was in a hoodie and sweatpants.

“What? Oh, heh, yeah I guess I am a beauty. But you, amore mio, look stunning.” He grabbed their hips, pulling them into a kiss. They had on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of black shorts to match. Their hair was wet, and before the kiss they were drying it with a towel. As they kissed, they dropped the towel in favor of wrapping their arms around his shoulders while his arms crossed around their back to pull them in.

“Well, someone missed me,” they said as they pulled away, leaving their arms around him.

“I always miss you,” he said, pressing a lighter kiss to their forehead.

“You’re so sweet, Copia,” they hummed, staring up into his mismatched eyes, nothing else but adoration showing.

“I love you, tesoro.”

“I love you too. What brings you tonight? Anything special?”

“No, just a long day. Needed a way to relax,” he hummed, looking at them.

“What do you want to do?” They asked, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.

“What do you say I treat you to a dance?”

“What do yo-” before they finished, Copia removed them from where they leaned on the counter, dancing with them out to the living room. They laughed as he spun the both of them around, one hand holding theirs while the other rested on their waist, kissing them while he dipped them.

They were absolutely in love, and that was easy to see. They had only been to the Abbey a few times, but any sibling of sin, ghoul, or anyone who crossed their paths could see the love on their faces.

Soon, the rings on their left ring fingers became evidence enough. Copia, being the romantic he was, proposed to them about a year and a half later.

The air was warm, spring just beginning to settle in, as they walked through the park they first walked at. They walked there often now, finding comfort in the atmosphere. Little did Y/N know that Copia had a surprise waiting for them. It wasn’t uncommon for them to go on picnics, especially not if they were sunrise or sunset picnics.

They walked the winding trail, arms linked together, as Copia nervously led them to their destination. In the other hand, Y/N held a picnic basket that had all of their favorite things, as Copia’s hand nervously fiddled with the small box containing the second most precious gem. The first being his beloved.

The sky was a gorgeous pale blue, the clouds outlined with pink and orange as the sun began to sink past the horizon. Their normal picnic spot had been set up to look very different.

Copia had to pull a few strings, but the trees were decorated with lights, and all of their favorite flowers formed to make a walkway that led to a small platform that was covered in more flowers.

He walked them towards the destination while one sibling of sin hid in the bushes to capture it on video and get the most perfect photos.

Y/N was in absolute awe. It looked like something out of a movie. “Is that for me, Copia?” They asked innocently, unsure of whether this was just for them or someone else.

“Yes, carissima. This is all for you.” He walked up to the platform, letting them take the first step. He steps up next, bending down on one knee. “I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on you that I wanted to be the one you loved. I have cherished every moment, every laugh, even the fights, all because I got to spend that time with you. You are the love and the light of my life. I love you beyond words, Y/N. So please, will you marry me?”

Crying, Y/N lowers themself to be level with him. “Yes,” they cry, holding his face in their hands and kissing him. “A thousand times, yes.”

Copia’s face lights up as he takes their left hand off his face, slipping the ring on, then pulling them into the closest hug they will ever feel in their lives.

Will you spill the wine

To summon the divine?

I'm with you always, always

Now paint a pair of eyes

And let's watch as it dries

Remember always, that love is all you need

Tell me who you wanna be

And I will set you free

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

So bold, so sweet

The big day was here. The day where Y/N and Copia would pledge their love in front of everyone.

Marrying a Papa was a big deal. Everyone in the Clergy would gather to watch the occasion. The reception, however, was for close friends and family members only.

“Are you ready?” A voice called from behind Y/N . It was their father. He wasn’t entirely on board with the concept of marrying a satanic pope, but once he realized just how wonderful Copia made them feel, he accepted the relationship, and welcomed Copia with open arms.

“I believe so,” they said, using one hand to hold the bouquet of flowers, the other smoothing down their outfit.

“Then I believe it’s time,” he said, taking their arm in his as the doors opened. They looked up to where Copia was standing in awe. He had on a gorgeous suit and his paints were on. Tradition is that they wear full regalia, but he didn’t want to remember this moment as Papa, just as Copia. He finally was able to compromise with just using his paints, so he took what he could get.

They could tell that there were tears in his eyes. He was always the sentimental type. They smiled as tears welled in their eyes as well.

As they reached the altar, their father smiled at them and kissed their cheek before sitting down. Copia reached a hand out to them as they walked up the stairs, handing a bridesmaid the bouquet of flowers.

“Hi, you look gorgeous,” he whispered excitedly.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” they said, giving him a wink. The officiant began speaking, signaling the ceremony had begun. There was a bottle of wine, two chalices, and their rings on a small table next to the officiant.

A little while into the wedding, both of them poured wine into the other’s chalice, crossing their arms as they sip. It wasn’t the most necessary part of the ceremony, but it was something that they decided to do. A symbol of their joining together.

They slipped their rings on after, officially combined as one.

They walked back down the aisle, arm in arm, smiling like children, so happy that they found their perfect match. Neither of them wanted to get their outfits messed up, so as their chosen guests filed into the reception room, they changed into simpler, yet still formal, outfits.

“I am so happy that I have you now,” Copia said, coming behind Y/N to wrap them in a hug and leaned his head on their shoulders.

“Until death do us part,” Y/N responded in a joking tone.

“Not even death could keep us from each other,” he said, kissing their neck. Y/N turned around, wrapping their arms around his shoulders, kissing him.

“I would never let that happen,” they smiled.

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

For you

“Are you excited? It’s your last concert of this tour. I’m so proud of you,” Y/N said, kissing his cheek as they helped fix his robes.

“It has been a blast. I’m sad to see it come to an end, but that just means we can start new journeys now,” he smiled.

“You’re going to do amazing.” They both walked to the side of the stage, waiting for the cue that they were good to go. “Do you hear that? Copia, they love you.” A smile rested on their face, their head leaning on their husband's shoulder.

“No one could love me the way you do, dolcezza. They may love me, and I may entice them, but my eyes are only for you. I am only for you. I will be with you always,” he said, listening to the crowd’s chanting.

“It’s time. I’ll see you after the show, my love.”

“I love you,” Copia said, kissing them lovingly before walking on stage, the crowd screaming their heads off.

Y/N made their way to their designated spot above the crowd. There was always one section where they would stand and watch, no one else to bother them. The crowd was extremely reactive tonight, everyone having the best time. Even the ghouls looked to be having the greatest night of their lives. 

They smiled, singing along to every song. Occasionally, Copia would look up to where they stood, and they waved each time.

He bounced around the stage, everyone enchanted by his every move, but now the concert was coming to an end. He looked so content and happy performing that neither of them wanted this to end.

“Now this song is very special to me. I used to sing this song, worried about the pain another would cause me, or a pain that I would cause another if I let anyone near me, close to my heart. I said no! No relationships!” He paused, looking around the crowd then looking up to them. “Now, I know that I was wrong. I wish I could have figured this out sooner, but when I stepped into that little coffee shop, I’m glad it took all the time that it did. For the past few years, my love, my beautiful, my angel, my partner has been by my side. So now, I sing a new song of love. Love for the one I am so glad to be able to call my partner. For my Y/N.” He pointed at them as the crowd cheered at the mention of their name, causing them to grin and blush. "This is Darkness At The Heart of My Love!” The crowd cheered some more as the opening notes played.

He sang beautifully. His voice was perfect, and his movements bewitching. Everything about this performance proved Copia was a masterpiece. Y/N leaned onto the railing, singing and watching as their lover made his way through the song.

“Remember always that love is all you need. Tell me who you wanna be, and I will set you free,” he sang as the song drew near its end, looking up to Y/N as he did.

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

So bold, so sweet

There's a darkness at the heart of my love (my love)

That runs cold (runs cold), runs deep (runs deep)

The darkness at the heart of my love (my love)

So bold (so bold), so sweet (so sweet)

Y/N didn’t notice the security coming behind them, but they recognized similar strange figures standing on either side of the stage, stalking towards Copia.

Panic flooded them as they turned to run to try and save him, though it was a waste of effort. The security guards behind them grabbed them, forcing them to watch the events unfold.

“And all this time you knew that I would put you through the darkness at the heart of my love for you!” Copia sang, unaware of the men behind him while Y/N struggled.

When the summer dies

Severing the ties

I'm with you always, always

The men came behind Copia, grabbing his arms and legs, pulling him away from the microphone. A look of fear filled his face.

Paint a pair of eyes

Let's watch as it dries

I'm with you always, always

“No!” They screamed out, watching him get dragged off stage, struggling in the same way they were. “Copia! Please! No!” People in the few rows below them turned, watching the tears streaming down their face as they continued to scream.

Sister Imperator walked out on stage, beginning to say some words, but Y/N couldn’t make it out. The guards let them go, and they crumpled to the ground, shaking and sobbing, feeling utterly broken. “No,” they cried quieter. The crowd was painfully silent as they watched Sister. “This can’t be happening. No. Please.” A few siblings of sin walked toward them, lifting them off the ground, walking them back to a car.

They took them back to the ministry, and they cried the whole way there. They brought them to bed, changing their clothes and making them comfortable. They listened to their cries, sad looks on their faces.

They said nothing now, laying in the bed them and Copia would never share again. They held his pillow close, crying into it.

He was gone, and they wouldn’t get him back.

[sayitaliano]

Ciao, I have a few questions:

what is the difference between lesbica and lesbiche?

Also, if I wanted to list my pronouns (he/she/xe) in Italian, what would I say?

Which kinda a follow up- are there neopronouns in Italian?

grazie, buono giornata!

Ciao!

lesbica = lesbian, singular; lesbiche = lesbians, plural I'm leaving you a few links about the lgbtq+ vocabulary, just in case you need: Lgbtqa Vocabulary | Lgbt+ | non binary (writing)

for pronouns I suggest you to read here (and other posts in the grammar masterpost in the pronomi section, right after pronomi diretti/indiretti). Btw personal pronouns are: I = io, You = tu, He/She = egli/lui, ella/lei (there's no specific agender pronoun as far as I know but check point n.3) We = noi You = voi They = essi/loro, esse/loro The pronouns I "deleted" are the ones taught in school for declaring verbs conjugations while studying, but not much used in common language. The fact that English provides the 2 forms pronouns (eg. they/them), doesn't need to be applied in Italian too: you can simply write he=lui / she=lei / they=loro as necessary.

Italian is a pretty gendered language, every noun has its gender to which you need to conjugate articles, adjectives and sometimes other parts of speech. Eg. you wrote "buono giornata": that's grammatically wrong cause "giornata" is a feminine word, so the adjective "buono" -masculine- is not correct; you should use "buona" -feminine- -> "buona giornata". We're still kinda behind with neopronouns, so when talking it gets a bit difficult. You can call a person by their name or be formal before asking how they rather be called (formal speech needs you to use a general "Lei", which has nothing to do with the person's gender despite seeming feminine -we recognize you're being formal cause you need to use verbs at the 3rd singular person too); or you can use the noun "persona" = person. Persona is a feminine noun, but you can use it no matter the gender of the person you're talking with cause it's just the noun itself being feminine. When writing you can add an */u/ə/ä at the end of the noun, instead of the "gendering" vowel when it comes to other nouns/adjectives and so on: eg. sono alt* = I'm tall (no gender specified). You can try using "u" when talking too (eg. sono altu), I heard it once so... yeah, you can try. It really reminds me of Sardinia tbh (Regional stereotypes, sorry) but if it works... I'm no one to tell y'all otherwise. Not saying we're not working on finding a solution, but it's a tough research and translating from English, a language that has a different grammar from ours, is pretty impossible. I've been researching a bit online and I noticed that English neologisms are probably to be used in Italian as well so: “ze/hir”, “xe/xem”, “ey/em”, “ve/ver”... just go with what makes you feel better anyway. You can still explain what you mean if someone doesn't get it (it doesn't have to be a bad/rude person, it's just that is something new for many of us, especially the elders, that are not so much online or informed about this kind of pronouns/changes). BTW you can try watching tonight's show about the Diversity Media Awards, maybe you'll get some more recent news on that matter too (IDK).

Hope this helps somehow, please feel free to ask for further infos if you need!

[moonlightpirate]

Something's Coming

Sorry it took so long! But for the few who wanted it here is my Balkan fic.

You have just moved to the west side with your brother who wants to become a Jet. Tonight is the night of the dance where unfortunately no one has asked you. What will happen when you run into the same boy for the third time today at the dance?

Author note: I know its reader insert but I did give you a nickname. Occasionally have you go by dolly or dollface.

Ao3

Masterlist

Barely a month had gone by since you and your brother had moved into one of the new two bedroom apartments on the west side. For being a part of the new apartment buildings you were almost disappointed how small it felt in there, even smaller when your brother had his girlfriend Graziella over. Jack, your brother, was trying to prove himself and join the Jets with the help of Graziella of course. He was close though the current leader, Ice, was starting to trust him along with the other Jets. Or at least that is what you heard him telling Graziella. You weren’t sure what to think. Honestly, you just wanted to focus on your job at Gimbels to help pay rent and to hopefully get into college in the future. Of course Jack was nowhere to be seen this particular morning so you made yourself breakfast and got dressed before making your way downstairs. You had decided to head to Doc’s drugstore and maybe a local bakery before heading over to Gimbels. Tonight was the night of the dance at the school and you still hadn’t found a dress yet so you figured what better place to look than there? As you approached Doc’s you saw a tall man with dark brown hair leaning against the wall flipping a coin. Carefully you avoid eye contact not sure what to make of this man and make your way into Doc’s. 

“Good morning Valentina!” You cheerfully shout as you enter. 

“Ah! Y/N! Good Morning! Buenas Dias! Come in!” Valentia hugs you, “Are you ready for the dance tonight? I know some handsome boy has asked you by now.”. 

As Valentina asked that the boy from outside had come in and was browsing around. 

You chuckled nervously, “Oh Valentina no boys here know who I am or would bother asking me to the dance. I honestly wouldn’t be going if my brother didn’t want me to go.”.

In an effort to get away from the boy that was in here you quickly grabbed the few things you needed and met Valentina at the register.

“Ay, tis a shame. I’m sure some boy will ask you at the dance my dear. Do you need anything else?” Valentina inquired, she noticed you were a bit nervous about Balkan being in her shop and wondered what he had done. 

“I am fine. Thank you. I will see you later.” You smiled and quickly darted out of the shop.

“What did you do to that poor girl?” Valentina demanded.

“I didn’t do nothing.” Balkan defended.

“Oh querido, what do you want with her?”.

“I dunno. She was just a pretty girl…..wanted to get another look at her. Ain’t nothing serious I swear.”. 

“What about Tat?”.

“What about her? She left me. Can’t a guy move on?” Balkan started to sulk. 

“Si, just be careful.”. 

Balkan huffed and walked out the door and took a quick glance up and down the street hoping the girl was still in sight. Once he saw that she wasn’t he resigned himself to finding the Jets and seeing what the plan for the day was.

***********************************************************

Just as you rounded the corner after leaving Valentina’s you nearly ran smack into Tat and Mamie. 

“Perfect, you might be able to help us. Where is Graziella?” Mamie asked. 

“Hello girls. Well to be honest I’m not sure. Haven’t seen her in a few.” You respond.

“Okay where is your stupid brother then? She’s probably with him.” Tat retorted.

“Do you see him here with me? No? Well then sorry I know about as much as you girls do about his and Graziella’s whereabouts.”.

“Why I oughta….” Tat threatened. 

“You oughta what? I’m not joined at the hip with him. Where you girls heading? If I see Grazi I’ll let her know you two are looking for her and where to go.” You interjected.

Mamie rolled her eyes, “We are going dress shopping. That’s all she needs to know.”.

Both girls roughly bump into you as they pass by you. You groan and roll your eyes. Once both girls were out of sight you quickly darted down the nearest alleyway. Of course you had one idea where Graziella and Jack were but it was a long shot. You hated doing this since you knew it wasn’t necessarily safe to be in this part of the west side but you ducked under the fence and into the last of the construction sites where most of the equipment was abandoned. Without fail you heard some laughing coming from the one piece of equipment. Knowing that it was Jack and Grazi you grabbed a rock from some nearby rubble and threw it at the side.

“Oi! You two. Grazi is being looked for by Mamie and Tat. They’re going dress shopping. I’d rather not get beaten up because you’re spending so much time with her so hurry it up.” You shout.

Now that you’ve delivered the message you turn to make your way back out of the construction zone. 

“Beaten up? What you mean by that? Were they going to beat you up?” Jack inquired, grabbing your wrist to stop you from walking away. 

“How did you get out here so fast?”.

“They wouldn't hurt a fly doll face. Stop being so intimidated by them.” Graziella chuckled. 

“Don't worry bro they weren't actually going to beat me up. Was trying to get ya’ll out here faster.” You chuckle, before turning and walking away. 

Jack looked down at Graziella, “You know….she doesn’t really have girl friends around here. Why don’t you take here to get a dress?”.

“Jack…..”.

“Grazi baby please do it for me.”

Graziella rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh, “Fine I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”.

*****************************************

You hadn’t gotten very far when you heard a female shouting after you, “Hey Dolly girl wait up!”.

“Graziella?” You turn and shout back confused.

“Hey girl come with us we will help you find a great dress.” Grazi grinned, linking her arm into yours and pulling you towards where Mami and Tat were waiting for her outside a dress shop.

“Listen that is awful nice of you but……”

“No buts lets go!”

You spent the afternoon dress shopping with the girls.Tat seemed mildly annoyed at first but slowly warmed up to you. You found a dress in your favorite color and style and you were delighted. Much to your surprise the girls invited you over to help you get ready with them. Once ready Jack, Diesel, and some man for Tat came to pick you guys up and escort you to the dance. As you walked in and heard the music begin playing you felt a lump in your throat, you were probably the only one here without a date. Your brother and his friends excitedly ran off to the dance floor and began to join the others. You hung off on the sidelines watching the spectacle of everyone dancing. Since you were a stranger, any single man there focused his attention on the other single women that they already knew. After about an hour you began to wish you hadn’t come to this stupid dance. You quickly turned and went into the bathroom trying to avoid tears as a rush of emotions hit you. After a few moments in the bathroom you finally were able to compose yourself. You took a deep breath and made your way back out into the hallway where you heard a clink of something metal hitting the ground. Looking down you saw what looked like a coin, but somehow shinier and bigger. You bent down and picked it up but just as your fingers wrapped around it you saw another pair of hands reach out for it. You glanced up and found yourself looking into a pair of warm brown eyes that were looking very concerned. You recognized him as the boy from Doc’s shop earlier today. 

“That’s my lucky coin.” The boy stated.

“Lucky you say?” You grin, standing back up, not breaking eye contact.

“Indeed it is so if you could give me it back I would much appreciate it.” He responded clearly nervous.

“Which side is the lucky side? Heads or tails?”. 

“What?”.

“You heard me. Which side is the lucky side?”.

He pondered your question for a moment before grinning, “Tails generally. Why you ask?”.

You flipped the coin, still not breaking your eye contact with him quickly you caught it and placed it on the back of your hand deciding since this was the third time you had seen him today you would see if luck was part of it, “Well if it’s tails you tell me your name and I give you your coin back. Heads you get it back and we part ways no fuss.”

He seemed almost in suspense as you removed your hand like he was holding his breath. Truth be told you were holding your breath this was the most insane thing you had ever done. You both finally broke the intense eye contact to look down at your hand, it was tails side up. When you looked back up at him you saw the biggest grin on his face and saw his hand extended towards you. 

“Names Balkan now how about giving me my coin back.”

“Righto here you are.” You flipped the coin towards him and started to walk away.

“It’s tails again. So was wondering if maybe you could give me your name miss.” Balkan hollered after her.

“Its Y/N but you can call me Dolly…..most people do.” You giggle. 

“Dolly….will do! How about a dance then?” Balkan inquired. 

“Now just how lucky are you feeling?” You tease.

“Let’s find out shall we?”, Balkan flipped the coin in the air again,”well it’s tails. How about it?”.

“Well I guess one dance wouldn’t hurt.”.                                                                                        

“Excellent!”.

Balkan held out his arm for you and led you out onto the dance floor. There were a few whispers and gasps you heard Grazi ask your brother is that really Dolly with Balkan? But you didn’t care in that moment for all that mattered was how entranced you were by Balkan’s brown eyes and how he moved you across the dance floor. At the end of the night he walked you home and gently gave you a kiss on the cheek.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” Balkan inquired.

“Tomorrow? Maybe.” You reply.

“Please, I must see you. I don’t want to go a day without seeing your face.”.

“When?”.

“Around 5pm? I can take you to dinner?”

“5pm works. Meet me at docs since I’ll be around there.” You instruct him.

“Perfect. I can’t wait.”.

You give him a hug and try to kiss his cheek but before your lips make contact he moves his face so that you kiss his lips instead. Shocked, you pushed him away. 

“Good night y/n. I’ll see you tomorrow” Balkan smiled and winked at you before turning and disappearing into the night. 

“Goodnight….see you tomorrow.” You respond still in shock at the kiss, your cheeks slowly turning red. 

[beauty-and-passion]

Ciao Bella! Spero che tu stia facendo bene! Qual è il tuo preferito fanfiction? Hopefully this is a more fun question that what you've been getting. Ti voglio bene <3 !

Mio tesoro, i tuoi messaggi ed il tuo sostegno rendono le mie giornate migliori. Cosa farei senza di te? Grazie di esistere <3

Speaking of your question, there is an obligatory premise.

There are a ton of amazing stories I've read and there are even more I still have find. However, if I have to pick my favourite, I want to pick the one I absolutely love more than any other.

Does that mean all others are bad? Nope, just that this one is the absolute best, the one that got everything I want from a story. The top of my personal chart, it you want.

So, as you probably already imagined, my absolute favourite Sanders Sides fanfiction (at least by now) is Mind the Gap by parallelmonsoon.

This is a one shot and it's a short one, so reading it will take just a few minutes. The plot is adequate to its shortness: Thomas tries to enter Janus' room and it doesn't go as well as he imagined. The characters are in canon and everything that happens is plausible. Also, there's a huge psychological component and you know me, I'm a sucker for this stuff.

But most importantly, this story has an experimental writing style that struck me the first time I read it and left me such a strong impression I still think about it today, after two years.

I love it, because it's simple and apparently very stupid - I mean, everyone could've used brackets the same way Para did. And yet, something so simple was used to show some of the most complicated concepts ever. I would've never been able to explain them with the same elegance and simplicity Para used.

Last but not least, the construction of the story. How the tension rises until it reaches the climax, how Thomas is slowly coming closer and closer to a realization... until everything snaps and he comes back. Perfect. And the fact Para didn't need thousands of words to tell it, really speaks loudly about what a magnificent writer they are. I don't know in which fandom they ended up, but thank you for your story, Para: I will cherish it forever as one of the best I've ever read.

But this was a one shot: do I actually have a favourite long fiction? Well, if I have to pick my absolutely, 200% most favourite fanfiction, the one with the best writing style, the best plot, the best scenes, the best written characters, the one I still remember fondly after years and I am still willing to read all over again and that I still find beautiful, then I think my absolute favourite is Bother Me a Little Bit Longer by patentpending.

It's a moceit, so it covers two titles: best fanfiction with a ship and best longfiction... but what can I say? Patentpending is another wonderful writer. Their writing style isn't incredibly innovative nor experimental, but it has that special something.

I can't exactly pinpoint what this "something" is. It's like a spark, something special hidden between the words that makes a writer able to captivate you. It's something that pulls you in the story and makes your eyes move faster along the lines. I remember how hard it was for me to stop, in order to savor every line of every chapter, because I just wanted to read and read and read forever.

I've felt this drawn only two times before, once by a published author and once by another fanfic author. And, just like patentpending, the other fanfic author was able to keep that magic spark in all of her stories, no matter which fandom she wrote for.

In addition to that magical spark, the story has everything I want: Patton and Janus aren't two idiots, but characters with motivations and logical sense. All other characters are IC. The story is full of surprises and we always oscillate between funny, sweet and serious moments. I still like this story a lot and, when I have some spare time, I gladly read it again.

So here they are, the tops of my chart: my favourite one shot and my favourite Sanders Sides long fiction. Of course this isn't set in stone and my new favourite can still be somewhere, waiting for me.

But in the meantime, since there are a ton of other amazing stories and authors I think about dearly and since it would be a shame to not mention them, here they are in a quick list:

° Partners in Pranks by jowritesthings: another Moceit, but a one-shot. This one cracks me up and puts a smile on my face every single time I read it, so it deserves the world.

° patton and the no-good day by caffeinated_cryptid: Patton is a fantastic character, he's wonderfully explored and the time loop idea... I may have a thing for time loops and time jumps and everything time related, because I love it a lot.

° They Share A Kitchen by BuddyBuddyPalBuddy: I affectionately hate the author because this story is incomplete and yet, it has some of the most beautiful scenes I've ever read. The third chapter in particular is quintessential Intrulogical: there's everything I've ever wanted to see with them, from the act of creation to the power of their cooperation, to the marine environment. It's pure beauty and I love the author for this story. And I lovingly hate them because they will probably never finish it.

° With A Door Between Them by rosesisupposes: not only this story managed to write a good conversation between Janus and Roman, but it's also funny, they are IC and the concepts it explores, despite being well known by everyone, are explained in a very beautiful way.

° Those Good Lies by Agent_Ravensong: beautiful story, beautiful structure, beautiful interactions between Thomas and Janus. All with interesting concepts and headcanons that lead to some scenes I still have stuck in my mind.

° Morbid Fascination by alicat54c: there are a lot of beautiful things here, but the most beautiful of them all is the use of creepiness. In general, it's not easy to show someone being creepy, without making them appear also bad or unpleasant. And yet, you managed to do it. Remus and Janus are still wonderful, the creepiness is just another aspect of them. And, considering how often we all ignore it, seeing it so beautifully explored here makes me very happy.

° Folds in Paper (Book 1) by AdrianaintheSnow: this story confirmed me I have a thing for time travel. But the whole time travel thing isn't just something that pops up and has zero importance for the story. On the contrary, time travel plays a HUGE role here, it is strongly intertwined with Janus and Patton's relationship and how it evolves. And it made me fall in love with this story. I devoured it in two days and I am still patiently waiting for Book 2, hoping that it will be as good as Book 1 was.

[alessandroiiidimacedonia]

I have to tell you something that I don't want to - Vi devo dire una cosa che non vorrei

🇬🇧 Good day everyone, I'm writing this to warn you that in the coming months I could drastically slow down the site and social media pages. I'm not having a good time and among other things I can't concentrate and read.

I don't like making announcements and "press releases" because I'm not a celebrity or with fans eagerly waiting for some news, but it seemed right to me for those who follow me. I don't know how much longer this will go on but I hope I won't lose you in this difficult time. When I'll be able to start reading again I'll publish the reviews but I can't tell you when. Maybe tomorrow I'll start a very light booklet that I'll read quickly and have something to talk to you about, maybe it will take two months. In the meantime, I'll do what I can, what I can.

Forgive me, however, life with all its problems as you too know comes first.

Before deleting all of this forever, the fruit of so much work, I will wait because I realize (I hope) it will be a temporary situation. It will certainly bring about some changes, but I can't foresee them now. I'll keep you up-to-date.

I still have so much to discover about Alexander the Great and Hellenism and I plan to do it with you as soon as I can, because this passion is there and always will be. Just for now I have to put it aside.

For the simplest articles I'll try to do everything possible so that you don't feel too much difference compared to before, but at least you know that it hasn't been abandoned but just a little slowed down because the last thing I want with Alessandro III di Macedonia is to close it and I hope I never have to make that decision.

In the meantime, sorry and thank you all,

Elena

🇮🇹 Buondì a tutti, scrivo questo post per avvisarvi che nei prossimi mesi potrei dare un rallentamento drastico al sito e alle pagine social. Non sto passando un bel periodo e tra le altre cose non riesco a concentrarmi e a leggere.

Non mi piace fare gli annunci e i "comunicati" perché non sono una celebrity o con i fan che aspettano ardentemente qualche notizia però mi sembrava giusto per chi mi segue. Non so per quanto andrà avanti ancora ma spero di non perdervi in questo momento difficile. Quando riuscirò a riprendere a leggere pubblicherò le recensioni però non so dirvi quando. Magari domani inizierò un libretto molto leggero che leggerò velocemente e avrò qualcosa di cui parlarvi, magari ci vorranno due mesi. Nel frattempo farò quel che potrò, quello che riuscirò.

Perdonatemi però la vita con tutti i suoi problemi come sapete anche voi viene per prima.

Prima di cancellare per sempre tutto ciò, il frutto di tanto mio lavoro, aspetterò perché conto (spero) sarà una situazione temporanea. Sicuramente porterà dei cambiamenti che però non so prevedere ora. Vi terrò aggiornati.

Ho ancora tanto da scoprire su Alessandro e l'Ellenismo e conto di farlo insieme a voi, appena potrò, perché questa passione c'è e ci sarà sempre. Solo per ora devo metterla da parte.

Per gli articoli più semplici cercherò di fare il possibile affinché non sentiate troppa differenza rispetto a prima però almeno siete al corrente che non stato abbandonato ma solo un pochino rallentato perché l'ultima cosa che vorrei con Alessandro III di Macedonia è chiuderlo e spero di non dover mai prendere quella decisione.

Nel frattempo scusatemi e grazie a tutti,

Elena

#2023yearofAlexandertheGreat

#AlessandroIIIdiMacedonia #ἈλέξανδροςὁΜέγας #Alexandros #alexandertheconqueror #AlexanderofMacedon #alessandromagno #AlexandreleGrand #Alexanderthegreat #alessandroilmacedone #AlexanderderDerGroße #AlejandroMagno #AlessandroilGrande #ancientmacedonia #greekhistory #ancientgreekhistory

[oyesmendes]

loved us more

a/n: this is it, the second instalment to "heartbreak anniversary"! some warnings may include - mentions of anthione hubert, flowers, grieving; its a sad/angry piece :") don't hate me!!!

masterlist | heartbreak anniversary

i miss you too.

he read the words again and again. pierre remembers the feeling of waking up to that text from you, the slither of hope that he felt extinguished all the pain in his chest. he remembers picking up his phone to call you, and it rings once before going straight to voicemail.

"hi, you've reached my voicemail! i'm probably taking a nap so... i'll call you back?"

that was a month ago.

now he was here, in spa, the last stop of the triple header this year. he walks into the red bull hospitality building, greeting the team members as he passes them. valencia spots him first, and she makes a beeline towards the frenchman.

"i've got your flowers, they're in the room."

"grazie," pierre thanks her, making his way up to his drivers room. when he opens the door, the first thing he spots is the bouquet laying on the table - brown paper encasing the white and pink chrysanthemums. his heart drops, knowing that the triple thread twine holding the flowers together was your signature.

"mon ange, we could really just go to a florist for this." pierre tells you as he watches from behind.

"tonio would appreciate this." you say, placing the flowers gently on top of each other.

you had the privilege of meeting anthione when you first started dating pierre, and you immediately hit it off with his childhood friend. the three of you had grown close over the course of a couple of months, and the accident had hit you and pierre equally hard. it was the first year without him, the first race back in spa, and you wanted to make something special for him; and you know flowers were the only way to show your love for the boy now.

pierre continues to watch as you arrange the flowers with care, wrapping them in brown paper, cutting up the three strands of twine to finish the bouquet. you put it in a jug of water to keep the flowers fresh, taking a step back to admire it.

pierre hugs you from behind, resting his head on your shoulder. he sighs softly, "yeah, he would."

his fingers touch the flowers gently, and pierre is almost sure that you were the one who put this together. but were you really here, in spa? he shakes the thought out of his head, he knows he can't be hanging on to that slither of hope this weekend. after the last two races that he underperformed in, he needed to focus.

there's a soft knock on the door just as pierre picks up the bouquet, and pyry sticks his head in the room.

"time for the track walk." pierre nods.

his friend looks at him sympathetically after recognising the bouquet. he holds the door open for him and pierre walks out, holding the bunch of flowers in his hand.

he walks quietly with the team, bouquet in one hand as they make their way down to the garage. he was clutching on to the stalks of flowers so tightly, trying his best to push all thoughts behind as he made his way down to the track. but he couldn't help it, he scanned the garage, the places you would usually stand while waiting for him; and you were no where to be found.

its as if suddenly pierre realised that you were really not there anymore.

his team decides to do the track walk on foot, and they make their way down - chatting about the previous race and following up with the new one. they come up right before eau rouge, and whatever strategy spoken before that long forgotten when pierre sees a silhouette he's all too familiar with, walking next to a tall frame that he knew was esteban.

"so coming right up here there aren't too many changes, just a couple-"

"sorry hang on-" pierre jogs forward but doesn't get too close as they arrive at the top of eau rouge. he watches from a distance as the girl in the blue dress squats down to place the flowers on the ground.

pink and white chrysanthemums.

"y/n?" pierre almost did not want to call out your name, in fear that he was just seeing things, hoping things. but the silhouette turns at the sound of his voice, and it was indeed you.

he jogs up the rest of the distance between the both of you, and there's a gentle smile on your face.

"hi there," you say softly. pierre doesn't speak, but he just watches you, his eyes fixated on yours. esteban looks between you and him, and he wants to say something, but decided against it, letting the pair take in the moment.

pierre scoffs, "hi? after all this time all you can manage is hi?"

esteban's eyes widen, and so do yours. you take a step back from him, eyeing the man up and down. esteban steps closer to you but you turn to him, letting him know it was okay.

"tu me manques aussi. i miss you too. you forgot about that?" he says flatly, completely ignoring the stares he's getting. you sigh, breaking eye contact with him as your eyes trail to some of the flowers that were already laid on the ground.

"let me talk to tonio first, we can talk about that later." you say, pushing past him as you knelt on the ground. and it's suddenly when pierre remembers that he's here to pay respects to anthione, so he steps back, knowing the importance of this moment to you. he laid his bouquet down, and he steps back before walking off. you look at both bouquets - almost identical to one another, and tears start to form in your eyes.

"grazie mille, y/n. i know this was very last minute. the boy didn't even tell me he hadn't gotten flowers until yesterday." valenica hugs you, holding the bouquet you just handed to her.

you knew in the moment that pierre would recognise your work immediately, but you still handed it to her, "its no big deal. least i could do after all these years."

esteban squeezes your shoulder, "i'm going to wait up front, join us when you're ready."

you nod, turning your attention back to the flowers.

"hi tonio," you sigh, bowing your head, "you've got two bouquets this year, lucky you huh?"

you laugh humourlessly, "i know, i know, if you were here, you would've nagged my ear off already. but i had to let him go, and i think you would've agreed with me," you run your fingers along the petals of the flowers, "hopefully."

"you know, there was a part of me that thought i could work it out. there was a small part of my heart that wanted to crawl back to him, to tell him i love him, that i forgive everything he did. but there's another part - a bigger part of me that knows i could never forget it." you sigh again, blowing a kiss to the flowers, "i love you and miss you tonio."

you stood up from the ground, joining esteban as you both made your way back to the pitlane. he shows you one of his tiktoks that he just curated while waiting, and you couldn't help but giggle. pierre hears your laughter fill the air first, before spotting you as you walked into the pits. he makes his way towards you, and your heart sinks.

"i'll see you later. call me if you need me." esteban whispers in your ear. when esteban leaves, pierre comes closer to you, his eyes never leaving yours.

"come to my room." he said in a low voice.

you tug at the lanyard around your neck, "i'm with alpine this weekend."

"then i'll come to yours." he said nonchalantly.

"arrête ça s'il te plait." stop this, please

"alors ne dis pas des choses que tu ne penses pas" then don't say things you don't mean.

"comment savez-vous que je ne le pensais pas?" how do you know i didn't mean it? you clap back, folding your arms in front of your chest. there's a pause, and you take it as your cue to walk off, but you hear him shout from behind,

"est-ce que tu m'aimes encore?" do you still love me?

you spin around, walking towards him furiously. he looks at you, his eyes empty and void of any more emotion. but the attention that you've gathered from the multiple teams around you made your blood boil.

you poke his chest, speaking through gritted teeth, "you don't get to say that when you're the one who cheated on me."

"but you miss me, no?"

you scoff, pulling him into the alpha tauri garage, away from prying eyes.

"yes pierre, i miss you. is that what you want to hear? is that what will make you happy?" you pretty much exploded in front of his team, but you couldn't care less. pierre is still staring at you and he wants to say something, but a person emerges in the corner of your eye, and for a moment you couldn't believe it.

the same fucking brunette.

you snap your head in her direction, and she's like a deer caught in headlights. pierre turns in the same direction, and the look in his eyes changes - was it fear? or disappointment? you couldn't really tell. but you knew you had to leave. you turn to him, for the last time.

"don't- don't fucking call me, text me or even attempt to talk to me anymore, pierre gasly."

"s'il te plait, mon ange." please, my angel. he grabs on to your arm, pulling you towards him. you try to squirm out of it, but he wouldn't let go.

"s'il te plait? you brought her here, mon amour. after all that we went through, it only took you three weeks before you brought a new girl to a race. and it's her, pierre. i know it's her."

"i- i couldn't- you didn't pick up the phone so-"

"so you brought her here? to the one race you know was of importance to the both of us? you ruined us, pierre. with your own bare hands, you ruined us. the poor girl didn't even do anything wrong and now you're parading her around like some arm candy, something to fill the void in your heart." every word you said was laced with venom, used as ammunition against the person you still loved.

"when did we get so bad pierre? what happened to us?"

pierre looks down on the floor, "i'm sorry, mon ange."

you sigh, knowing that going on isn't going to bring either of you anywhere.

"yeah pierre, i'm sorry too." your eyes meet the brunette's as you speak to pierre for the last time,

"i hope you treat her better, because god knows she deserves more than you ever gave me."

-

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[dejwritesarchived]

✧˖*°࿐ synopsis + warnings — a stranger buys you a drink in at a bar in italy ( unprotected sex, cream pie, breeding kink, exhibitionism kinda, female anatomy, she/her pronouns, doggystyle, no foreplay, reader & obi get right to the point, pussydrunk!obi, completely bad italian, like i purposely used google translate because i'm aware that it isn't a reliable translator, obi crush me with your biceps challenge, minors dni )

✧˖*°࿐ @misss-chrisss 1k getaway — congrats on 1k followers chris, so proud of you sis.

© 2022 dejwrites, please don't repost & plagiarize work.

YOUR EYES SCANNED OVER THE BAR TAKING IN YOUR SURROUNDINGS. Your legs crossed one of another as you watched people interact with each other. Venice, Italy was just so stunning. The unique architect of the buildings, the liveliness of its natives, museums, and of course the food. You sat at a bar toying with the straw in your now empty glass listening to the Italian pop songs that blared through the speakers in the place. As your curious eyes scan over the bar that was crowded with tourists, locals, and you even remembered some band was supposed to be playing tonight.

The bartender placed a napkin down in front of you before placing a drink down on it. Your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion while your lip gloss-covered lips parted to question it, but the bartender beat you to the punch.

She would wipe her hands with the white hand towel before throwing it over her shoulder, "That very handsome hulk of gentlemen right there brought you that drink. I assure you hop on it before another one of these ladies do, he's been declining them left and right." The lady gave you a wink before going to another person at the bar.

You would stare at the man taking in his features. His dark hair was combed perfectly and it went well with his neat undercut. The shirt he wore fitted him so well. You could obviously tell that he worked out, regularly. You sipped at the drink, your teeth nibbling at the straw as you stared at the handsome man across the bar. The two practically eye fucking each other before you decided to finally make the first move. You picked up your drink to make your way towards him, hopefully, he saved the seat next to him.

"Grazie per il drink," You said. You knew you had butchered such a simple statement. You didn't want to assume that everyone in the bar was a tourist. Even though, your tour guide told you that it was a quite popular spot for tourists to whine down.

"Benvenuta bella," He answered with confidence.

Your eyebrows knitted together in confusion. You understood he was telling you you're welcome. However, you didn't hear an Italian accent that you've been hearing for the past couple of days. Perhaps, he was a tourist also. Or maybe, he moved here months ago.

You nervously sipped at your drink wondering what to say next. Adjusting yourself here and there on the stool to be sure to gain his attention by your attire. The skimpy dress you wore rose every second with each movement of your thighs.

"Cosa ti ha portato in Italia?" The man questioned and you could only tilt your head in confusion.

Feeling like a dumb character in a movie for not knowing such a question as the brawny man stared at you waiting for an answer. Soon as you tugged out your little notepad of Italian phrases and questions, the male let a laugh tumble from the back of his throat. To you it seemed like each laugh he let out, his pecks were getting huger. But that could have been just you staring at them for a long period of time.

"I'm a tourist also, no need to bring that out," The stranger motioned to the small book.

Your face heated up in embarrassment before playfully slapping the stranger's arm. "You really was going to let me struggle with trying to figure out what you were saying?" You questioned.

"Yes, just to see you struggle a little bit," He answered truthfully. He took another sip from the beer he was drinking before looking at you. "I believe I was asking, what brought you to Italy?"

"You believe?" You asked.

"My Italian isn't the best. I would hope that's the thing I asked you," The stranger said.

You let out a chuckle before the two of you engaged with each other some more. From talking about different bars in Italy to the wonderful restaurants, it seemed like the two of you just clicked. So lost in each other's conversation, that you haven't even noticed the bartender had placed the two of you tab in front of you. Which the stranger was kind enough to cover both of them.

You tried to argue against it because you weren't the type to like to be indebted with no more. Especially considering the eyes the stranger was giving you. They lingered a little longer at the way your dress rose or the way your boobs jiggled when you giggled. He wanted you.

"This may come off as blunt, but I always wanted to hook up with a stranger during vacation," The stranger admitted as he took another sip from his beer.

You watched as his tongue glides over his lower lip lapping up any droplets of beer that lingered on his lips. You adjusted yourself in your seat before finishing off your drink, "Then let's do it then." You huffed before climbing off the stool.

You gave him an assuring look before disappearing into the crowd of the bar, pushing the door open to the singular bathroom to see it was empty. You felt a bit embarrassing, what tourist would even do something so reckless. As you stared into the mirror, you were wondering what even made you do such a scandalous thing. Having sex with a complete stranger during your trip that was supposed to be filled with museum visits, fancy spas, and shopping sprees.

You were expecting the stranger to not follow you. After all, you didn't know much about him. Other than he liked working out, he was a firefighter, and the captain at his fire company. However, you saw his large frame squeezing through the door and soon locking it. A sly smirk appeared on your face as you were staring at him. The sound of the music playing in the bar vibrated off the walls of the bathroom as you two just stood there. Both of you basking in the sexual tension that built up just from him buying you a drink.

"Well, someone is going to be knocking on the door so we should really—"

His words were cut off by the eager kiss you latched upon his. Your hand placed on the back of his neck clasping him closer to your form as you could feel him tap at your thighs. You hopped out in his arms while your legs wrapped around his waist as he placed you slowly on the edge of the sink.

Bent over the sink with your dress pushed up to your waist, the anticipation of feeling him sink inside your walls caused nervous bubbles to form in your stomach. Your hands grasped at sink feeling the tip of his cock rub teasingly at the entrance of your cunt. You were aware of how huge his muscular stature was and you were sure he had the cock that went with it.

When you felt the stranger push himself slowly inside you, a low hiss escaped within your lips. "You okay?" The stranger asked in a worried tone.

He didn't push any further inside of you as you were adjusting to his quite large size. You would give him a hum in response before glancing back at him giving him a comforting smile. "I'm okay, please keep going, sir." You responded.

Your body was radiating so much heat that you felt like you burning up in the mini black dress you wore, but in reality, your body was just eager to take the stranger's cock. You could feel his soft plush lips place kisses on the back of your shoulder before he continued. His toned hips lunging forward bit by bit as his cock disappeared inside you. The whimper that was stuck inside your throat was forced out when you felt the aggressive thrust towards the fatness of your ass.

"Fuck." You uttered to yourself.

As if your whimper was like a key starting an ignition, his thrusting only grew faster. The pornographic sound of skin slapping against each other bounced off the bathroom walls while your whimpers attempted to overpower it. Your fingers dug at the material of the porcelain sink as you felt the stranger's nails dig at the soft flesh on your waist.

The stranger lifted the black shirt he wore up to get a better view of just how your cunt took him. To his shock, you didn't run from him. He didn't particularly want to brag about the size of his cock. Many of his previous sexual partners has described that his cock could have been overwhelming due to his muscular form. But here you were bucking like an anguished housewife that hasn't been touched for him to move at a better pace.

The fucked out expression that was pasted on your face drove this stranger crazy. However, when his brown-colored eyes traveled down to watch your drooling cunt swallow his dick with ease which pushed him further to being pushed off the edge. The lewd sound of moaning and profanity echoed in the bathroom.

Pretty pedicured fingers digging at the sink in front of you. You could only let out moans of separation. Your moans reeked of wanting more of this stranger that you hardly knew. You needed him now more than ever, despite only meeting him a couple minutes ago. The sinful thoughts of you daring to sleep with a complete stranger were knocked out of your head when you felt his cock pull out of you. Your thighs shook slightly and you let out a childish wine.

"Please put it back in..please..." You whined, your hips bucking to brush your pulsing cunt against his cock.

"Just wait for a second," He affirmed as he was lining himself up once again. Having to tug himself out for a slight break. He could have felt his skin get hot at the thought of cumming a little too quickly. However, when he found himself sinking inside your cunt once again, it felt like an addicting trance was put on him.

Now it was his turn to utter out curse words and strings of groans. His large body hunched over yours as his nails dug into the flesh of your waist. Driving your body upon his cock with ease to the point that he could feel your pretty cunt clenched around him. Your moans rang into his ear while he only thrust forward once more until his thick white cum painted your gummy walls. A sheet of sweat covered his forward while he slowly moved inside of you being sure to keep you stuffed before he's pulling out hesitantly.

You had clenched your thighs together while dabbing your face with a paper towel. The feeling of the stranger's cum dripping down your plump thighs made you even more turned on. Perhaps you could invite him back to your room. You could feel his strong brawny arms around your waist. In just one motion, he's tugging the fat of your ass upon his crotch. When your eyes met his eyes in the mirror, you couldn't help but smirk feeling his soft lips on your neck.

"Should we take this back to our hotel room Mrs. Akitaru?"

"Obi, I have your cum leaking down my thighs. Let's get out of here please." You huffed as your hand extended to him.

Obi let out a low chuckle as he was digging into his pocket to place your wedding ring back onto your finger. "We should try this again," he says as he brought your hand up to his mouth.

His soft kisses on your knuckles cause you to smile.

"Babe, we have too much stuff to do in Italy, we can't roleplay as strangers and fuck in different bars the whole trip."

TAGS (if it's a cross over your url. tumblr didn't let me tag you) — @thicksimpx @aasouthteranoswife @tonaken @rinhoes @gabzlovesu @caribbeanwifey19 @sindinminpin @bbgiirrll @potterbell @gardenof-venus @strawberrysanzu @chieflawyerpastatoad @maydayaisha @akanelover @plussizeficchick @littlemochi @celi-xxmoon @po3ticb3auty@hw-shorty @sunkissedebony97 @gaiasmight @himbrosimp @maideneyes @thenerdyrebel @reiners-milkbiddies @babyyblueey @woahhajime @happygoluckyalexis @mastermindenoshimaalicia @sleepy3 @leviackermanst @ghoejo @yooniluvbot444 @xxkay15xx @xsweetdellzx @suspirihah @minniecums @serotoninaf @pweetchimilk @beat-up-beyblade @hellavile @allukanezuko @moonstar300-blog @onyxluva

[sweatshirtghoul]

A Tease Here and There

Summary: After a passionate morning with Terzo gets cut short, you decide to tease your Papa until he has to take matters into his own hands. Commissioned fic! 

Warnings: smut, rough sex, dirty talk, minors dni

  “Tesoro. Wake up. Ho bisogno di te.” Your eyes fluttered open as you felt a warm hand gently caressing your cheek. You looked up to see Terzo looking at you with a mix of adoration and lust in his eyes. His raven hair was slightly mussed from sleep, framing his face. Looking down, you were greeted with him palming his rather plentiful erection through his pants. You moaned at the sight, and brought your lips to his for a sloppy, lazy kiss. A groan ripped from his throat as he positioned himself on top of you, his lips never leaving yours. “You know, cara. I dreamed of you. There Papa was, laying in this bed,” he gestured to the luxurious purple sheet around you, “and I had you on top of me. You were riding on my cock, looking like the very image of Jezebel.” He punctuated this by grinding his clothed cock against your bare flesh. “Per favore, mia dea,” he begged, voice rough, “allow me to make this dream a reality for us, sí?” You eagerly nodded, trying to hurriedly remove your sleeping shirt while Terzo rutted against you. You two had been in a relationship for a while now, and it still amazed you as to how he could take your breath away with just simple words. Terzo moaned as he played with your now-exposed breasts, alternating between rolling your nipples between his fingers and taking them in his teeth.

  You felt a growing trail of precum on your thigh and you could take no more. “Papa,” you moaned breathlessly, “take me now.” You felt him smile against your breath and begin to line himself up with your aching cunt. He began placing frenzied kisses against your neck, rubbing himself up and down your wet folds. “Sí, amore. Your Papa will take care of you. I will have both of us crying out in pleasure, you know this thing.” He began to push in, achingly slow, wanting to savor your pleasures - when there was a knock at the door. You both tried to ignore it at first, focused on each other’s breathing, but when the knocking became more insistent, Terzo muttered a curse under his breath and dramatically slung himself off the bed. Not bothering with clothes, he slammed the door open, “Aí! Who dares disturb Papa while he is about to make his goddess cry out his name in pleasure?!” Omega stood on the other side of the door, trying to look anywhere other than the proud erection your Papa was sporting.“I’m sorry to bother you Papa, but Sister Imperator wanted me to remind you about your meetings with the clergy board and to tell you not to be late.” Omega said, shuffling from side to side awkwardly. Terzo put his head in his hands and groaned.

  “Cazzo di merda, I thought that was tomorrow. Grazi, Omega.” “Of course, Papa. Maybe head down there with some clothes, yea?” Papa nodded and waved the ghoul off, shutting the door. He walked back to your bed, from where you had watched the whole exchange. Terzo climbed up and stood on his knees, cupping your face in his hands. “Perdonamí cara. I must attend to this shit. This place would fall apart without its Papa.” You stifled a laugh. He shook his head and straightened up, holding your face tighter. “But do not fret, dolce. Tonight, I will be back, and we will not leave this bed, sí? I will make sure the whole clergy hears our pleasure.” You laughed and kissed his nose. “Don’t worry, Papa.” You scooted closer to whisper in his ear. “I’ll be wet and ready for you all day.” He inhaled through his nose sharply. “Sorella, do not tease your Papa this way. It is very cruel, no?” He put a hand over his heart, pretending he had just been stabbed. Rolling your eyes, you pushed him off the bed. “Go tend to your duties, Papa.” Begrudgingly, he left the bed to don his paint and vestments. As you watched him scurry out of the room, you had a great idea. Maybe Papa could use a little teasing. After a few more minutes in bed, you decided to get up and get ready for the day.

  Seeing as you were not only your Papa’s lover but also his assistant, him being tied up in meetings all day had cleared your schedule significantly. You hopped in the spacious shower, reveling in the feelings of the warm jets. You took your time indulging yourself in every body scrub, lotion, and oil you owned. Admittedly, most of them were Terzo’s, too. Anytime you poked fun at his immense skincare routine, he would simply throw his hands up and say, “Amore! You know I have an image to maintain, eh?” After you had decided your skin was glowing and enticing enough, you went over to your underwear drawer to pick out what lingerie you would wear today. Your Papa did love you in purple, you thought to yourself, but it would drive him crazier to know you were wearing nothing at all underneath. You chose your shortest-cut habit and decided to forego your veil. Terzo did like to pull your hair, so you may as well give him something to think about. For the final touch, you spritzed on a small amount of his cologne. In his true vain fashion, he had once said, “Cara nothing drives me mad more than your wanting scent, but smelling my cologne on you after I have just made you see stars makes me want to have you immediately again.” Satisfied with your evil scheme, you decided to head over to your office for the day.

  You made your way into the plush entry room that was just before Papa’s office. His heavy oak doors were closed, but you could hear many muffled voices inside. You sat down at your desk, you began to fantasize about all the times Terzo had taken you on this desk. He would often burst out of his office in a haste, and bend you over. Seeing as Papa only had the one appointment all day and would more than likely not be receiving any visitors, you began to slide your hand between your legs and underneath your habit. You thought of your Papa bending you over your desk, pounding into you roughly, scattering papers everywhere. With your free hand, you began to tease your breast through your habit. The friction on your habit made you moan, quickly biting your lip to stifle it. The sound of someone clearing your throat startled you back to reality. Withdrawing your hand at lightning speed, you looked up to see Terzo, staring down at you with wild eyes and chest heaving. “Papa! I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you come out. I was just....” You trailed off as you noticed the slight bulge peeking out from his vestments.

  Without warning, he yanked you up from your seat by your hair, forcing you to stand. He slammed his mouth on yours, teeth and tongues clashing together. He roughly cupped your pussy, groaning when he found it bare. “You think this is funny?” He growled against your ear, his voice a rough whisper. “Do you think it is wise to tease your Papa this way, stupid troía? What if it was a Cardinal who had walked out and spotted you? Lucifer forbid, that insufferable Copia. What would they see when they see my assistant pleasuring herself?” He yanked your hair back and looked into your eyes expectantly. “They would,” you were cut off by a smack to your cheek. “Speak. Up.” “They would,” you continued, louder, “they would say how much I must want you, how much I need your cock always.” Satisfied with this, he let you go and threw you back down to your desk. “Find the expense report from last week. It is needed.” With that, he straightened his robes and turned to go back inside, slamming the doors behind him.

  After a few minutes of searching, you were able to find the report he was looking for. You hesitantly knocked on the door, not wanting to actually piss him off. “Entráre!” Terzo called sharply, making you flinch. You opened the door and bowed to the room full of cardinals, suddenly feeling very exposed. Papa held you under a scrutinizing gaze, you wanted to make yourself as small as possible. You walked over to behind his deskto hand him the reports. You almost stopped in your tracks as you saw the bulge he was sporting a few minutes past had turned into a fully tented erection, hidden behind the desk. He was obviously still just as worked up from this morning as you were. Saying a silent prayer to Lucifer and hoping you would still have a boyfriend after this, you “accidentally” dropped your stack of papers, sending them flying. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” you said as you addressed the cardinals. “Let me gather these and I”ll be out of your hair.” Crouching down behind the desk, you did actually have a goal to gather the papers, but you sticking your ass in the air, giving Papa a full view of your exposed, dripping cunt didn’t hurt either. Papa rolled in his chair, subtly pushing your habit up further to expose your ass to him. A single clap brought you out of your quest. “Everyone. Out.” There was a calmness in Terzo’s voice that never meant anything good. After all of the cardinal had managed to cram themselves in the entry room, he slammed the door.

  He turned around to you with his hands behind his back, not a single movement betraying his calmness. However, in his mismatched eyes, you could tell he was seething. You began to get up from the floor, but he quickly held up a gloved hand, and you remained still. “You will stay on the floor like a puttana should. Look at you, ass in the air like a bitch in heat for me.” He circled you slowly, predatorily. You opened your mouth to speak, but two clawed fingers quickly found their way in. “I don’t want that filthy mouth open unless it is to receive this cock. Do you understand?” You nodded. “Brava raggazza. At least you can listen to some instruction.” As he leaned back against his desk, he palmed himself, rewarding a groan. “What are you waiting for stupída cagna? Put yourself to work.” Needing no further invitation, you crawled forward and began to undo his belt, his intense gaze not leaving you the whole time. When his hefty cock finally sprang out, it was dripping and almost purple, ready to split you in half. You began to gently lick at the tip, when he gripped your head and shoved himself in to the hilt. You gagged and did your best to manage the intrusion, tears streaming down your face. “Yes, that’s it troía. Take it. Soffocare su questo cazzo.” He began thrusting roughly, groaning loud enough that you were sure the cardinals outside knew exactly what was happening. You placed your hands on his toned thighs for balance, his death grip on your hair unrelenting.

  When you thought he might be close, he surprised you by yanking you up by your hair, bending you over his desk. You gasped as you felt your habit torn off you, leaving you exposed. Terzo laughed deeply behind you, a rumble coming from his throat. “You wanted this, no? You wanted everyone to see what a whore you are for your Papa.” He began to caress your round ass, and you knew what was coming. “You know why this is warranted, sí?” You remained silent. You cried out as he smacked the flesh of your ass, hard. You winced as the sharp sting set in. “Speak.” “Yes, Papa. I know I deserve this.” You stifled a moan. “Bene. You will count, yes?” “Yes. Papa.” You felt the first smack come down, he wasn’t holding back. “One. I was being a stupid whore.” You knew Terzo was smirking behind you. The next one, harder than the first. SMACK. “Two. I was being a stupid whore.” Smack after smack, number after number, the assault finally ceased.

You heard shuffling, and stifled a moan as you felt two fingers roughly being shoved into your aching pussy. “No, tesoro. Let them hear. Let them hear you cry out for your Papa.” You threw your head back and cried out at the unrelenting fingers. You felt your body spasm and just as you were about to reach your peak, he withdrew his fingers. He spit on them and shoved them roughly in once more, edging you again. When he pulled them out a third time, they were replaced by the head of his cock. “Filthy whore. Do you think you should cum? No, puttana. Questo è per me. Questo è tutto per me.” With that, he shoved his entire length in, making you wince. The pain quickly turned to pleasure as he hammered into you brutally. You clenched tighter and tighter around him, your orgasm rapidly approaching. You tried to look back at the man pounding into you, but your head was roughly shoved against the wood of the desk. “Non durerò. Cum with me, cara. Milk my fucking cock with everything you have.” He gasped and panted as his cock kicked inside you. You went over the edge as well, your cunt spasming around his leaking shaft.

He collapsed against you, paint and sweat running down your back. “I’m sorry I ruined your meeting, Papa.” You said, tilting his head to look at you. He smirked and kissed your cheek. “It is okay, dolce. It was a boring meeting anyway. And judging by the tent Copia was sporting when you walked in, I’d say it was welcome entertainment.”

[chal-latte]

AN: IM RLY SORRY THE FORMATTING IS SO BAD IM ON MOBILE AND THMBLR IS FUCKING IT SO BAD!!!! REALLY SORRY <3

y/i/n tagged @tchalamet in a story!

y/i/n incase ur wondering this is the kind of shit he send me during work

tchalamet

Liked by h.a and 7.190.271 others

tchalamet fitting

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h.a Grazie my friends🖤🖤🖤

y/i/n fitting 😉😉

↪️ tchalamet 🤫🌟

fanpage7 WHATS WITH THE WINK EMOJI WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

fanpage17 r u thinking what im thinking????

oliviarodrigo @y/i/n yeah right, fitting😂

↪️ y/i/n liv we need you to 🤫

↪️ oliviarodrigo you both are just so in love i couldn’t help it but i accidentally told conan conan

↪️ tchalamet LIV???

↪️ oliviarodrigo *olivia has left the chat*

↪️ y/i/n i thought we were forever liv..

fanpage6 GUYS WTF HAPPENED DURING THE FITTING???

fanpage13 WHY DOES OLIVIA KNOW AND WE DONT

y/i/n

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fanpage7 its another fitting guys

fanpage19 i think they got drunk n nasty

oliviarodrigo im staying silent

↪️ y/i/n as u should.

schiaparelli Love❤️

tchalamet it is not fitting

*Liked by y/i/n

fanpage30 it is fitting

fanpage18 ITS FITTING @tchalamet

fanpage16 @oliviarodrigo WHATS GOING AWN!!! TELL US!!!

↪️ oliviarodrigo whats done in the fitting room, stays in the fitting room. sorry.

y/i/n

Liked by tchalamet, vogue and 4.720.503 others

y/i/n OK I SURRENDER. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FITTING WAS….🥁🥁🥁 @tchalamet and i made a 🥁🥁🥁 24 hours with @vogue video!!!!!! we had so much fun messing around with @vogue ft. @h.a @schiaparelli and @oliviarodrigo you can watch what we did on 11/29/21 @ 12AM EST. ✌️

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tchalamet LETS GO🤘🤘🤘💥🪐🌪

vogue make sure to subscribe to our youtube channel and turn on the notification button to be early on this series of 24H with vogue.

oliviarodrigo it was totally this yall sooooo nothing else🙄🙄

↪️y/i/n im so reporting u to ur manager

fanpage20 theyre edging us so bad

fanpage16 CANT THE 29TH COME QUICKER

fanpage2 i cant believe i subscribed and turned on the notification button on vogue just for them

kidcudi ya rascals

↪️ y/i/n @tchalamet is

↪️ tchalamet u have stop pointing everything at me

↪️ y/i/n xoxo baby

fanpage5 MY FRIEND WORKED FOR VOGUE’S YT AND THEY SAID THERE WAS A STEAMY SCENE

fanpage18 im so- i cant take this anymore

fanpage29 theyll be the death of me

fanpage6 ☠️☠️☠️

[shysneeze]

Congratulations for 3k!! That’s amazing!!

I was wondering if I could do a 🐌 with

“You’re my only friend” and

“Can you stay a little longer?”

With Nancy x fem! Reader?

Love your works! And again, congratulations on 3k lovely! ❤️❤️

thank you :) and ty dearly for giving me the opportunity to write for nancy <3

warnings: drinking, implied reference to nancy losing barb etc, drunk confessions - im not really fully awake rn pls excuse if this is complete nonses - also its too long for a blurb but shhhh

---

Nancy's search for you ends in the upstairs bathroom of your classmates house, just as the panic of losing you has begun to make her breath feel hallow - she really has grown to hate high school parties.

"(Y/n), there you are," She exhales shakily in relief. "I was scared there, when I couldn't find you."

You're sitting in the bathtub, red cup hanging from one hand, knees pulled up to your chest. She can see the tear stains on your cheeks as you blink up at her, lips slack with surprise. Slowly, she steps into the bathroom, setting her own drink on the edge of the sink and locking the door behind her.

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry, Nance," You manage, recovered from your surprise, "I didn't mean to worry you, I just needed a minute."

Nancy frowns, concern flickering back to life in her chest as you sniffle softly. Self consciously, she freezes on the spot, debating her options.

"Okay…" She nods slowly, "Can I help? I can leave if you like-"

"No, no, don't do that," You plead, voice slurred just a little from whatever is sloshing at the bottom of your cup, "Can you- Can you stay for a little longer?"

Nancy smiles in relief at not being sent out into the party again, nodding as she carefully climbs into the bath with you, settling in the same position, mirroring you. You let out a sheepish laugh.

"Happy graduation day, Miss Valedictorian," You joke, holding your cup up to her in mimic of a toast, "I can only imagine this is exactly how you planned to celebrate your academic accomplishments,"

"Well, I always meant to spend it with friends," Nancy smiles, nudging your foot with her own, "So, it's not too far off,"

Nancy watches your smile fade, eyes flickering from her own. You twirl the contents of your cup for a moment before lifting the cup to your lips. You wince as the drink slides down your throat and toss the cup across the bathroom.

"(Y/n)," Nancy starts again in concern, "Are you okay?"

As you meet her eyes again, its with a new, indecipherable look in your eyes that almost startles Nancy.

"You're my only friend," You confess in a whisper barely audible over the muffled thumping of the music below you. "Do you know that?"

Nancy has no response. You twiddle with the thread on your sleeve, brows pulling into a pained expression that makes Nancy lean forward to place a comforting hand on your knee, squeezing in reassurance.

"You know you can tell me anything, (y/n)."

And, infuriatingly, you do know it, and a drunken confidence mixed with the giddiness of watching as her thumb traces comforting circles against your knee, takes over you.

"You're my only friend," You repeat, gulping, "but I'm terrified that I like you as something more… I like you, Nancy."

Nancy's hand goes slack on your knee, and a laugh escapes you, far more bitter than the lukewarm remains of your cup. Her lips part with no words to leave them.

"I know," You agree with her dumfounded expression, "but it's been cruel, all these years of watching you and Steve, then Jonathan… and now high school is over and I- I'm going to lose my only friend, but I needed you to know."

It's such a big confession, and it sits there in the space between you as the music continues downstair, though you worry your heartbeat is even louder.

Then, just as your ready to clamber from the bathtub in embarrassment, Nancy shuffles closer, tugging herself towards you with her hand on your knee and settling on her knees, between your legs. She lifts a free hand to cup your cheek, thumb grazing your skin softly as she smiles at you. Your heart stutters, breath escaping you in a startled gasp.

"You're drunk, (y/n)," She sighs softly, shaking her head slowly, "So I won't let myself feel too special tonight… but if tomorrow you still feel the same, and this isn't just some last attempt to cling to high school, then I'll tell you all about how I've liked you forever too."

Nancy grins to herself at your star struck expression, standing slowly as you process what you've heard. She steps out of the bath and holds her hands out towards you, tugging you to your feet and guiding you from the tub. And a grin finds your face when she doesn't drop your hand.

"C'mon," She says softly, "Let's get you home, lover girl."

[risukadarlin]

[piofiore no banshou] vol. 1: nicola - track two

2; giocoso

masterpost

                                                                               ✿

[00:07] Did you have fun?

We should come again, if you did.

There are still loads of exhibitions left and our hotel is right in front of Central Park.

We didn’t make any other plans for today but…

The sun’s still up; let’s see what’s in this area.

If you see anything interesting, we can go take a look.

But a place as big as this…

There’s no way we’ll be able to see it all in one day = just like the Met.

But it’s extremely safe around here.

We should come more often.

Well, such a nice environment is bound to attract trouble eventually.

Maybe it’s because of the art gallery or the hotel or the fancy buildings…

But doesn’t it remind you of Falce?

Apparently they built Central Park to bring some nature into a crowded residential area.

But most of the people living here are rich.

A lot of people were upset because of how hard it is for normal people to get here.

If we carry on north from here, there’s a conservatory.

It’s quite far away, so we should go when we have more time.

There’s a reservoir around here…

Oh, look! There it is.

The size is more like a lake than a pond.

I can barely believe this is manmade.

Hm? What kind of tree is that, I wonder?

There are so many white flowers on its branches.

It’s a cherry blossom?

Now you mention it, I heard they received cherry blossoms as a gift from Japan and planted them here.

I think they’re called Yoshino cherries.

You can see Belvedere Castle from this side.

It’s a familiar word to us but…

I wonder why they named it something Italian.

There’s an observation deck inside?

Shall we go in?

Let’s go then!

                                                                              ✿

[02:35] Your hand, signorina.

The staircase looks quite narrow.

Watch your step.

Wow, the cherry blossoms are really beautiful when you see them from above.

They’re pure white.

There are petals floating in the water too.

The breeze feels so nice right now but I’m sure it’ll get colder when the sun goes down.

It’s already spring but the climate here is much harsher than Burlone - even harsher than I thought.

Summer in New York is hot and humid.

And the winter is supposed to be quite cold.

I heard this park fills with snow, so the whole floor looks white.

Sometimes they even have snow storms and you need to spend the entire day indoors.

Just thinking about it is depressing.

Yes, that’s right.

I’m not really great with the cold as it is.

I hate snow.

So you need to warm me up on nights like that, signorina.

Now then, let’s get home before it actually gets cold.

What should we have for dinner?

What about that restaurant we went to last week? You really seemed to like it.

I prefer fish to meat but the steak there was really good.

What?

Is there somewhere you’d like to go? Tell me.

I don’t mind where.

Let’s eat what you want.

We could go to the first diner we see or we could buy hotdogs at one of the stands and take them home.

Homemade food?

You want me to cook something?

Of course!

If that’s what you want, I’ll gladly make something.

I’ll make something delicious for you.

Oh, but… That’s right.

Why don’t we cook together tonight?

I want to eat your cooking too.

Grazie, signorina.

Right, let’s go and buy ingredients.

                                                                              ✿

[05:10] Just going into one shop is enough to convince me that the Falzone made the right choice by leaving Italy.

They have meat and vegetables, pasta and canned food and even general goods.

It’s like having a market inside the building.

It’s ground-breaking that you can pick the items up yourself and pay for them altogether at the end.

You do have to have a lot of trust in people for a place like this to work.

But apparently shops like this are popping up all over America.

It’s amazing.

I can’t help but feel like Italy has some catching up to do, when I see places like this.

I don’t have time to stand here and get emotional.

We have a job to do.

So…

What do you want to eat?

And you can’t just say “anything”.

If you say that, then I’ll have no choice but to cook you several dishes.

Lasagna? Okay then!

I’ll make something delicious.

Do you want a traditional one, with bolognese?

Or what about one with spinach and egg?

Don’t look so worried.

Maybe I’ll just make both.

If you don’t finish it, we can always heat it up and finish it tomorrow.

What do I want to eat?

Hmm… Let me think…

What about acqua pazza?

I showed you how to make it the way I like, didn’t I?

You came to mine to make it.

We won’t be able to get the same wine here but…

I see…

This country is under prohibition.

They don’t even sell wine here.

When we move over here, we won’t be able to drink, will we?

I mean, there are ways to get alcohol, but…

The quality and quantity won’t be as good…

We can think about the future another time. 

I’ll have acqua pazza without the wine today.

We can add herbs if you’re worried about the fish being too strong.

They should sell rosemary here.

Oh, they have rocket!

Seeing familiar vegetables like this makes me miss Italy.

We might as well make a salad with this.

W-wait a second, signorina.

The food you’re holding… Let’s not buy that.

You’ve never had it before?

Parsnip?

It looks like a white carrot.

But the taste is very… unique.

It’s sweet, like a medicinal herb…

If I had to compare it to something…

It’s like liquorice.

I heard that it tastes better, depending on how you cook it but…

I don’t really want to eat that…

Artichokes?

Yes, don’t worry, I can eat that.

You can put it in pasta or make omelette with it.

Giulia uses it a lot in stews.

And… I can’t say this too loud but…

Artichokes are actually a big source of the Italian mafia’s income here.

Do you not believe me?

I know it doesn’t sound true but it is.

They’ve been cultivating them in California for generations.

This should be enough vegetables.

Should we buy meat next?

Or fish?

I know about most kinds of fish you can buy but I wonder what they have here.

Do you think the sizes are different?

You can tell?

I know we’re just shopping but I’m having loads of fun.

We can’t shop like this in Burlone - like a normal couple.

When I think about how this really is a special occasion, I get a bit carried away.

I know it’s a bit childish.

I’m a little embarrassed.

That’s unfair, you can’t just say things like that.

I love you too.

I love it when you’re by my side, laughing like that.

More than anything.

                                                                              ✿

[10:05] It’s starting to smell good.

Is the acqua pazza ready?

You’ll need to wait a little longer for mine.

Why are you apologising?

I’m making it for you so I’d rather make something complicated.

It makes all the cooking worth it.

To finish, a lot of cheese.

Then put it in the oven.

Now we just need to wait for it to bake.

We were right to choose a room with a kitchen.

Now I can eat your home cooking every day.

We did eat at restaurants a few times too.

I should have made something for you much earlier.

I was only able to help you a little.

But look forward to this week!

Let’s cook together again tomorrow. If you don’t mind, of course.

I’m happy you agree.

No, I was just thinking about how you always look so cute in an apron.

I know it’s a bit early but…

I can’t help but think wow… you’re actually my wife.

You never have to dress like that at the mansion, right?

They don’t even let you use the kitchen most of the time.

So it’s… unusual.

It takes me back a little.

You helped Giulia a lot when you lived in the Falzone mansion.

I wish I could eat your cooking when we get back to Italy too, but I’m not sure Baltoro would let you.

Hm? Well…

I’m sure if you ask Giulia she’ll let you cook at the Falzone mansion, but…

But then you won’t just have to make food for me, but for everyone.

If I’m being honest… I don’t really like that idea.

Nothing makes me happier than my adorable fiancée doing things for me!

But I don’t want to make you do things for other people.

Really?

You understand how I feel?

I’m really happy.

I’m glad you want to keep me to yourself, even if it’s just a little bit.

I’m not joking.

Everyone gets possessive sometimes.

Isn’t it a good thing when your lover wants you that badly?

I might be a bit more possessive than most but…

That’s just because I love you so much.

But Giulia and Baltoro don’t get it at all.

There’s no need to get so angry.

Hm? No, it’s nothing.

I remember them butting in when I was talking about it before…

We weren’t fighting or anything…

Anyway, it’s nothing serious.

More importantly…

Now then, signorina.

My hands are free until the lasagna is finished…

We can be quick– Ouch!

You’re right.

I’m sorry.

We shouldn’t do that in the kitchen.

I’ll be patient.

I’ll behave until this finishes baking.

[riffheartsgraziella]

Riff x Graziella HC - The Day Riff, Jr. Was Born

A/N: This one ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, but I hope you enjoy!

Graziella had been struggling with intense discomfort all day. As petite as she was, these last few weeks of her pregnancy had been particularly challenging as her womb stretched itself to its limits, her belly bulging hard and swollen. The baby had been on the move constantly, pressing down roughly on her pelvis and kicking harder than ever. He certainly wasn’t going easy on her. Somehow, that fact reminded her of Riff and made her smile despite the unbearable ache of missing him. Even the simplest tasks, like getting up out of a chair and walking around the room, exhausted her, so she had pretty much been sticking to the four walls of her bedroom at Velma’s apartment. Thankfully, the frigid February winds had been keeping everyone indoors as of late, so she didn’t feel like she was missing out on too much. And the girls always came by to keep her company. “Can yous believe he’s gonna be here soon?” Mamie was chattering excitedly, cooing over the baby clothes she was tenderly folding. The Jet girls had thrown Grazi a little baby shower last month and now they were making sure to help her organize everything before the baby finally arrived.

“I can’t! It seems like just yesterday we found out about him,” Rhonda laughed, sitting down beside Grazi on the bed and resting a hand on her rounded belly. “Really? I feel like Grazi’s been pregnant forever,” Karen teased, throwing a wink over at her as she carefully folded the blankets Grazi had been gifted. “Trust me, I feel like it, too,” Graziella laughed, resting both hands atop her protruding stomach. “God, I’m like a whale.” “Ya ain’t! Don’t say that!” Velma insisted, looking over at her from where she was setting some stuffed animals in the little bassinet across the room. “Yer the most beautiful pregnant girl there ever was!” Mamie told her, nodding her head for emphasis. “Yous have ta say that ’cause yer—oh!” Graziella let out a sudden groan as she tried to shift in bed. “What is it?” Velma demanded, all of the girls frantically turning their full attention towards her. “Nothin’!” Grazi insisted, waving her hand. “I’ve been feelin’ a little uncomfortable today, but it’s just ’cause this little monster won’t stop kickin’ me,” she grinned, poking her belly playfully. “Are ya sure, Grazi?” Velma asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, ya are gettin’ kinda close. The doctor said it could be any day now.” “I’m sure. It’s really not—” Before Graziella could even finish her sentence, she let out a loud gasp of surprise and glanced down at the blanket beneath her. It was suddenly completely soaked, as was the nightgown she was wearing. “Grazi! Did yer water just break?” Rhonda gasped, shooting straight up and staring down at her friend with wide eyes. Karen, Mamie, and Velma squealed and ran over to the bed as well, hovering anxiously with outstretched hands. “Oh my God! My water broke!” Grazi cried, her face devoid of all color. “Don’t panic! Nobody panic!” Karen insisted calmly, shooting pointed looks at the other girls. “It’s all gonna be fine, Grazi,” she added, gently touching her friend’s cheek. “I’m gonna call Mouthpiece! He’ll tell everyone!” Velma declared, hurrying out of the room to grab the telephone in the family room of her apartment. Her parents were away for the weekend, so they wouldn’t be able to assist them, but the Jets would take care of things for them. “Tell him ta tell Diesel! He can see about gettin’ a car ta bring Grazi ta the hospital!” Mamie cried, following Velma out of the room. “Good thing we already started packin’ yer hospital bag,” Rhonda said, running over to the corner of the room and snatching it up. “Grazi? Grazi, breathe,” Karen told her gently, noticing how pale her friend had become. “It’s all gonna be okay. The baby’s gonna be here soon!” She sat down beside her and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Oh, God, he’s comin’. He’s comin’ now!” Graziella exclaimed, panic blazing in her eyes. She’d been unable to think about anything but finally getting to hold her baby in her arms, but now that the moment was here, she was terrified. “What if I can’t do it? What if we don’t get ta the hospital in time? What if I—” “Grazi!“ Karen said sternly, ever the rational voice of reason. She grabbed her by the shoulders. “If anyone can do this, it’s you. We’re gonna get ya there. We’re gonna be with ya the whole time. Just breathe.” Graziella nodded and did her best to take deep breaths as Karen and Rhonda helped her out of bed and dressed her as quickly as possible. She breathed as the contractions started to take hold of her, causing her womb to clench painfully. She breathed as Karen, Rhonda, Velma, and Mamie helped her down the stairs of the apartment building, assuring her that the boys would be there soon. She even breathed as Diesel frantically drove up onto the curb in an old station wagon, nearly hitting the fire hydrant outside Velma’s building in the process. “Hey, Grazi!” Diesel panted, hands on his hips as he tried to catch his breath. “Alright, everyone else is on their way ta the hospital, so we gotta go. Like, now. ’Cause I gotta get this car back,” he added, looking nervous. “Who’d ya borrow it from?” Mamie asked as the other girls helped Graziella into the backseat. “Well…there wasn’t really anyone around ta ask, so I sorta maybe hotwired this one,” Diesel admitted slowly. “Diesel!” Mamie cried, slapping his arm. “I’m gonna bring it right back!” Diesel insisted, hurrying Mamie into the passenger seat. “That’s why we gotta move!” “Oh, yeah, that’s why. Not ’cause I’m back here goin’ into labor or anythin’,” Graziella said through gritted teeth, clutching her stomach as another contraction passed through her. “Drive, Diesel!” Rhonda exclaimed. Drive he did. Going at madman speed, even racing past a few Stop signs, much to Mamie’s horror, Diesel got all of them to the hospital in record time. “I’ll meet yous back here!” Diesel called out the window once all of the girls had safely exited the station wagon. “I’m gonna bring this back,” he explained, throwing an apologetic look in Mamie’s direction before driving off. “God, at least he got us here fast,” Velma said, shaking her head as they worked together to get Grazi inside. Mouthpiece had gotten the word out fast, as he usually did, and the Jets had assembled quickly, as was their fashion. By the time the girls entered the waiting room, the entire remainder of the gang was there, gasping in relief when they saw them. “There yous are! What the hell took so long?” Gussie demanded. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe the baby’s comin’!” Tessie exclaimed, her eyes wide with delighted excitement as she and Sweden both bounced on the balls of their feet. “Tiger an’ Ice are tryin’ ta get ya checked in, since we knew yous were on the way,” Mack explained, pointing to the receptionist’s desk, where both Ice and Tiger were gesturing wildly. “She’s here!” Maxie yelled over to them. The few people sitting in the waiting room who happened to not be members of the Jets just stared, slack-jawed, at the group of more than twenty rowdy teenagers yelling orders at each other from every corner of the room. “Here, Baby John, hold this,” Rhonda insisted, hastily shoving Graziella’s hospital bag into the youngest Jet’s arms. “What do I do with it?” Baby John asked nervously, but everyone else was too preoccupied to pay him much mind. Karen went to check in with Ice and see what was happening, while Velma and Tessie led Grazi over to a chair, encouraging her to keep breathing through each painful contraction. “Here, Grazi! These are supposed ta be good for ya,” Sorella said, handing her a cup of ice chips. “Nat an’ I went an’ got ’em from the cafeteria.” “What the hell is takin’ so long?” A-Rab demanded from his spot on the couch beside Dot, who was anxiously sucking on a lollipop. “Ain’t they see we got a lady with a baby here?” “Yeah, what is takin’ so long?” Action joined in, rising from his spot near Rhonda. “Hey! You!” he called out, getting a nurse’s attention. “What the hell is takin’ so long? Our friend’s havin’ a baby here,” he told her, pointing at Graziella. “Sir, I can see that. You’re all just going to have to wait a moment,” the nurse responded, looking harried. “Wait for what?!” A-Rab cut in, glaring. “For her ta have the baby in the damn waitin’ room?” Graziella groaned at that and Dot slapped her boyfriend’s arm. “Sir…” the nurse began, arching an irritated brow. “Why don’t yous move yer fuckin’ asses a little bit?” Action snapped. “Action!” Rhonda exclaimed, her turn now to slap her boyfriend’s arm. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask the both of you to leave. Now,” the nurse said sternly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Action and A-Rab. “What?! But we—” “Now. Unless you’d like me to call security,” the woman threatened. “Would you two idiots just go wait downstairs before you stress Grazi out even more?” Dot scoffed, rolling her eyes. “But it’s cold outside,” A-Rab frowned. “Shoulda thought o’ that before yous mouthed off,” Rhonda said, throwing Action’s jacket at him. Heads down like a couple of schoolboys, Action and A-Rab had no choice but to head downstairs and wait for the news of the baby’s arrival outside. “Oh, God, what is takin’ so long?” Grazi asked, sweat beading on her brow despite the freezing winter weather outside. She squeezed Tessie’s hand tightly, wincing through the pain of yet another contraction. “I’m sure they’ll be ready for ya soon,” Velma said, biting her lip as she rubbed Grazi’s back soothingly. Sure enough, one of the nurses soon called Graziella’s name, while another arrived with a wheelchair to escort her to the delivery room. She was told that she could bring two people with her. “Is one of them the father?” one of the nurses asked, looking with wide eyes at the group of Jets scattered throughout the waiting room. “No,” Graziella replied quietly, her heart pierced through at the question, which had been innocently asked. It’s not like the nurse could have known. “No, he’s gone.” Something about the look on Grazi’s face must have told the nurse it was better not to ask anymore questions. “Okay, well you still get to have two people with you.” In the end, Graziella chose Velma and Mamie. They were her two oldest friends, and they’d been through everything with her since she was a little girl. They’d see her through this, too, just like they’d seen her through everything else. “Good luck, Grazi!” Tat called out, waving and blowing her a kiss as the nurse started to wheel her away. The rest of the group echoed her, waving and sending Graziella off with all their good wishes. “We’ll be here waitin’ for ya!” Ice called out, offering Grazi an encouraging smile as she gazed back one last time at her dearest friends in the whole world. They wouldn’t have to wait too long, it would seem. By the time Graziella was finally settled in a hospital bed, one of the nurses declared that she was already nearly eight centimeters dilated. “You’ll be ready to push soon, honey,” she told her, patting her knee with a comforting hand. “I’ll go get Dr. Dupont.” Thankfully, her doctor was on call tonight. “Yer doin’ great, sweetie,” Mamie said brightly, squeezing her hand and wiping at her forehead with a damp washcloth. “Really, Grazi, we’re so proud o’ ya,” Velma nodded, brushing a few sweaty locks of blonde hair off Graziella’s neck. “I can’t believe he’s really comin’,” Graziella murmured, gazing up at the ceiling as a massive wave of emotion came crashing down over her. “Oh, God, he’s really comin’. He’s comin’ an’…an’ Riff ain’t here!” she wept, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh, sweetie,” Mamie murmured softly, tears glistening in her own eyes. “Oh, Grazi,” Velma said gently, hugging her friend as best she could given the circumstances. Both she and Mamie knew that all they could do was be there for her, as they had been every day since that awful night last summer. A few moments later, Dr. Dupont appeared and examined Graziella, declaring that she was ready to start pushing. “Okay, it’s now or never, Grazi,” Velma said, squeezing her hand encouragingly. “We’re right here,” Mamie promised, smiling in support. Graziella had known labor would be difficult, that it would be painful. But knowing something in your brain and experiencing it firsthand are two totally different things. As she began to bear down, trying to force her baby down the birth canal, Graziella didn’t think she had ever been in so much pain in her entire life. She screamed in agony as Velma and Mamie held her knees, whispering encouraging words that she could hardly process. “Breathe, sweetie, breathe!” Mamie instructed. “You’re doing wonderfully, Graziella. Keep pushing for me now,” Dr. Dupont said, monitoring the baby’s progress as she pushed as hard as she felt she was physically capable of. “Keep going!” Graziella collapsed back against the pillows, panting and crying and sweating. “I can’t! I can’t!” “Yes, you can, Graziella! I see the baby’s head now. Come on, honey,” he encouraged her kindly. “Ya can do it, Grazi,” Velma said, wiping at her brow with a washcloth. “We’re right here. Yer doin’ great.” “The baby’s almost here, Grazi,” Mamie added, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Ya can do it. Just think o’ Riff. Think o’ how proud he’d be o’ ya. Think about how he’d be tellin’ ya ta keep goin’,” she said softly. Squeezing her eyes shut, Graziella took Mamie’s advice. She pictured Riff there beside her, holding her hand and pressing kisses to her sweaty forehead. She pictured the way he’d be smiling at her, teasing her, pushing her to keep going, the way he always did. She imagined what it would like to hear him say, “Yer doin’ great, girly girl. Yer almost there. Ya can do this.” She imagined how proud he’d be to hold his child in his arms for the very first time. “Almost there! One more big push!” Dr. Dupont called out, giving Graziella the motivation she needed to bear down hard one last time, a loud cry tearing from her throat as she did so. Then suddenly, with a whoosh and a loud cry, her child entered the world. The room, which had been filled with the sound of Graziella’s cries just seconds before, was now filled with the cries of a tiny baby taking in his first breaths. “Congratulations! You have a son!” Dr. Dupont announced, holding the squirming baby up in the air as he carefully examined him. Graziella wept at the news. A son. Riff’s son. She knew it would be a boy! “You have a perfectly healthy son,” Dr. Dupont said again, smiling as he carefully placed the baby in Graziella’s waiting arms. Velma and Mamie both wept as well as they looked down at his perfect little face. “He’s an angel,” Mamie breathed out reverently, lightly stroking his cheek with one finger. “He really is perfect,” Velma cooed, touching his hand gently. Graziella didn’t think it was humanly possible to feel such love. As she gazed down at the sweet baby in her arms, the last gift Riff had given her, she thought her heart might actually burst. It didn’t seem possible that her heart could possibly contain such love and not explode. She ran one finger down her son’s cheek, admiring the silky softness of his skin. His little mouth opened and closed as he gazed up at her sleepily, his eyes already starting to drift closed. Weeping, she held him close and pressed soft kisses to the top of his downy head. Dr. Dupont and the nurses smiled and turned to give them a moment’s privacy, but one of the nurses turned back at the last minute. “Have you thought of a name?” she asked curiously. “Riff,” Graziella told her without hesitation. “His name is Riff. Just like his daddy.” “Welcome to the world, Riff,” the nurse responded with a smile, turning again to leave the room. “We’ll give the two o’ yous some time alone together while we go tell everyone the good news,” Mamie said, kissing both Grazi and the baby on the forehead. “Ya did amazin’, Grazi,” Velma told her proudly, rising to follow Mamie out of the room. When the two of them appeared in the waiting room a few minutes later, everyone was on the edge of their seats, staring up at them expectantly. “It’s a boy!” they screamed together, throwing themselves into Diesel’s and Mouthpiece’s arms. All of the Jets erupted, cheering and screaming and crying as they clung to one another in excitement. Even those who had been staring at them earlier in the evening couldn’t help but smile at the scene before them now. Rhonda and Dot hurried downstairs and out onto the freezing cold sidewalk to throw themselves ecstatically into Action’s and A-Rab’s waiting arms. “A boy!” Rhonda cheered as Action swung her around excitedly. “Grazi has a son!” Dot laughed as A-Rab held onto her tightly. A little while later, once the baby had been thoroughly examined by Dr. Dupont and cleaned up by the nurses, Grazi and Riff, Jr. were able to start receiving their visitors. “I don’t think they can all come in here at once,” the nurse who had asked for Riff’s name said skeptically, eyeing the large number of guests who were waiting to see the newest member of the Jets. “Please,” Graziella begged, smiling tiredly as she cradled Riff, Jr. in her arms. “Just for a little while.” The nurse sighed, looking up and down the hallway surreptitiously. “Fine. Only for a few minutes,” she insisted, quickly waving the Jets in. The room was immediately filled to the brim as all of the Jets and their girlfriends crowded into the room. The boys had scrounged together what money they had to buy Grazi a huge bouquet of flowers, which Baby John proudly placed on the table beside her hospital bed. “He’s so small,” Diesel commented from where he stood behind Mamie, hands resting on her shoulders. “I mean, I know he’s a baby an’ all, but…” “Hard ta believe any o’ us was ever that small,” Big Deal chuckled, his arm around Natalie’s waist. “Say hi, Riff,” Graziella said softly, waving his tiny hand gently. Grinning, she looked up at all of them. “Might take him a little while ta learn everyone’s nicknames,” she teased. “That’s alright. We got time,” Ice replied with a smile, his arm wrapped tightly around Karen. “He looks like Riff,” Baby John said softly as they all stared down at the little baby in Grazi’s arms, the last piece they had left of their friend and leader. “Shit, man,” Action muttered, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. The nurse he and A-Rab had yelled at had graciously allowed them back inside after Rhonda and Dot forced them to apologize. Within seconds, there wasn’t a dry eye in the hospital room as they all mourned the one person who should be there more than anyone else. The sight of Riff’s son had made all of them come undone. Riff might be gone, but he would live on through this child that he and Grazi had made, this child who brought them all a sense of hope in a world that was sorely lacking it. “We ain’t gotta talk about this again after tonight,” A-Rab insisted as he wiped at his eyes, which made them all laugh. “Alright, you guys, rules are rules. Time to let mommy and baby get some rest,” the nurse told them, popping her head back into the room. “You can come back to visit tomorrow. Maybe in smaller groups,” she added. Everyone gave Grazi and the baby a kiss as they left the room, promising that they’d be back soon and gushing about how sweet Riff, Jr. was. And then it was just Graziella and her son. The room felt strangely quiet with everyone gone, but Graziella reveled in the chance to get to whisper to her baby boy, just the two of them. “Hello, my little love,” Grazi said softly, lifting his tiny fist in one hand and pressing a kiss to it. “I’m yer mommy. An’ I love ya so much. I love ya more than anythin’ in this world,” she murmured, rocking him slowly in her arms. “Yer a miracle. The last gift yer daddy gave me. Yer named after yer daddy, ya know. I can’t wait ta tell ya all about him.” Lowering her head, she pressed a tender kiss to her son’s forehead. “I did it, Riff,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched at his Miraculous Medal with her free hand. “I did it. Our baby’s here. I wish ya were here, too.” She swallowed back the grief that was always just beneath the surface. “But I know ya are. I could feel ya, just like Mamie said. I miss ya, baby. Watch over us, would ya? Watch over yer son.” She wasn’t sure if it was her exhausted delirium, but in that moment Graziella could have sworn that she felt the brush of gentle fingers across her cheek. As she gazed down at her son, his eyes opened and locked onto hers, holding her captive. “Hi, Riff,” she whispered, smiling for them both.