#Memory Lane Part 2

[twstjam]

Memory Lane Part 2: Faded Scars

Characters focused on: King of Beasts!Leona Kingscholar & GN!Reader

Word count: 2.2k

Summary: You're an innocent isekai victim... until you accidentally step on a cranky lion's tail.

Or: You wander into another world and meet reincarnations of cartoon villains (who were REAL and also your friends in a past life). Leona-centric chapter.

Masterlist

AO3 Link

The Queen of Hearts, the King of Beasts, the Sea Witch, the Tactician of the Sands, the Fairest Queen, the Ruler of the Underworld, and the Thorn Fairy.

Together, they're known as the Great Seven.

Or at least, that's what Ace had told you... right before him and Grim got collared for burning the Queen of Hearts's statue and you got arrested into having tea time with his boss.

Now, you're told that Riddle was the Queen of Hearts in a past life. According to him, her powers and memories had been passed down the previous rulers of the Queendom of Roses and that he was the current inheritor, thus making him the current ruler of the kingdom (queendom?).

Or at least, that's what you got from his long-winded spiel. He had explained it with a sort of manic, frantic look in his eyes that made you fear he might actually behead you after all, which then died down into a sort of defeated acceptance when you only nodded and smiled at his rambling. The disappointment on his face made that fresh feeling of unexplained belonging twist in your chest, but what in the world were you supposed to say to all that?

Oh that's so cool that you have the memories and powers of a controlling, temperamental tyrant! Based on how you're so uptight and everybody shivers at the sound of your name I'm sure it didn't affect you negatively in any way! Let's totally be friends like we used to be in a past life! Sure, why not! ?

That was another thing you can't quite wrap your head around. He knew you? In a past life? Or at least, the Queen of Hearts did? And you were some sort of "Beast Tamer" that was the only person that the Great Seven listened to?

Oh yeah, as it turns out, Riddle isn't the only one with the memories and powers of an evil fairytale villain. There are others like him, and apparently one of them was here at the Castle of Roses.

"This is a very puzzling situation," Riddle had sighed as you stuffed your face with more desserts in an effort to drown out how much of a stranger you suddenly felt in your own body. The queen sitting across from you had his brow tightly knitted in an intense expression, deep in thought. "I can sense that your essence is theirs, just like all the others, so you should be able to remember. For the past hundreds of years, we've never had a problem like this before. Everyone's always been able to access their past memories just fine..."

He had trailed off and you paused in the middle of taking a bite out of another cupcake (why are these desserts so good?!) at the sudden silence. His gaze was still really far away, as if he was watching an intense drama unfold instead of the untouched strawberry tart in front of him.

He blinks and suddenly he's back to fairytale earth. The crease in his brow disappears as he looks back up at you and you can practically see the light bulb go off above his head.

"Maybe... we can use something to jog your memory."

That's how you're here, standing in the sweet-smelling garden and face-to-face with another thing in this world that wants to kill you.

If you really were a "beast tamer" in a past life, you must've really sucked at it. Or maybe you just didn't inherit the beast-taming abilities like you didn't inherit the memories, which was just your luck.

You don't really believe anything that Riddle had said about you being some sort influential figure like the Seven (except for what he said about your past self having a knack for getting into danger, which you don't doubt a single bit) but right now, as you're staring down a cranky lion man, you really hope he was somewhat right.

"You've got some nerve stepping on my tail and just walking away," the man/lion/furry growls. His mussed dark hair falls over his eyes messily, but you're still able to spot a scar over his left eye. On top of his head are a pair of furry ears, stiffly folded back in irritation. When he talks, you catch a glimpse of inhuman canines in his mouth. "Ain't nothin' worse than bein' in the middle of a nap and havin' some jerk step on your tail."

"As we might have it, the inheritor of the King of Beasts is here at this very castle." you recall Riddle saying, followed by an irritated sigh. "Not that I have any idea where he is... he's always slacking off who-knows-where and has his retainers running around doing chores for him. We must find him. I'll have some of my card soldiers looking as well. He's hard to miss: he's a lion beastman with dark hair and a scar on his eye."

Ears, tail, a head of luscious dark locks, and a scar...

You hadn't put it together before, but in hindsight, you really should've been able to figure it out before you stepped on Scar from the Lion King 's tail. Not that it'd have increased your chances of survival.

"Sorry—! Um, your majesty...?" He was a king, right? But— Wait, Scar wasn't the king in the movie. That was literally the whole plot... you think. You can't really remember. Even if you did, that knowledge would only be useful if the fairytales you knew actually did align with the history of this world. Wait... the Lion King isn't a fairytale! …Or is it?

The lion man is still glaring at you. You pull your mind back into the moment and try to instead think of ways to not get eaten.

...Would it count as cannibalism? Agh, question for another time!

"I wouldn't know anything about having a tail but uh, I'm sure it's not fun to get it stepped on," you stammer with a forced polite smile that you hope looks apologetic, or at least pathetic enough that he'd consider you not worth snacking on. "I'm really, really sorry. I really didn't mean to disturb your nap! But it's actually good that you're awake. The queen's looking for you, soooo..."

"Hey." You flinch at his sharp tone and your back springs up straight. Your blood turns cold with fear as you feel him examine you closely before he speaks again, "Look at me when I'm talkin' to you."

You're not eager to get up-close and personal with his sharp-looking teeth, so you do the smart thing and look up.

His eyes are green (just like the cartoon lion) with slitted pupils, like a cat's. Having never seen such a thing on a human face before, you find yourself transfixed... and then blinded.

The lion man's eyes go wide before he blinks and they suddenly start glowing a bright yellow. You squint your eyes against the light but you don't look away.

The same thing had happened with Riddle earlier when you met him. You hadn't been looking as closely then as you were too busy trying to control your erratic heart rate, but it's hard to miss when someone's eyes change from grey to red.

Just like Riddle's did, the glow in the lion man's eyes fade as suddenly as they had appeared and you're looking at a pair of green eyes again. You think his pupils go round (just like a cat's do!) but you don't have time to be sure as you're suddenly being shoved under an arm and against a hard chest as the lion man throws his head back with a loud laugh.

"Of all the herbivores!" he exclaims boisterously, a stark contrast to his drowsy anger earlier. He practically squeezes the breath out of you and you wheeze weakly.

As you're suffocated to death, your life flashes before your eyes. You see green eyes, dark hair, a scar… Wait, this just happened, didn't it?

There's a lion in front of you. A massive, full-grown lion with a mane of dark hair and a conniving smirk. For whatever reason, you don't run, and that proves to be a mistake when the lion suddenly climbs into your lap and curls up on top of you even as you scream and shove at him. You feel his chest rumble with a laugh when you give up struggling and flop back defeatedly.

You blink and your vision focuses back on a man lion instead of an actual one. The one that was actually holding you down and under an arm instead of a massive furry body. There's a very obvious difference, but you swear the smirk on his face is the exact same, eyes, scar, canines and all.

"Finally decided to show your face, huh?" the lion man chides. You only keep staring at him. You can't move even though you want to. Like with Riddle, your body suddenly feels like it has a mind of its own and your actual mind is telling you things that don't make sense but feel like they should .

The silence between the two of you turn awkward when you continue to let yourself be dragged around like a limp doll. The lion man's expression shifts drastically from a friendly one to one of shock and you almost fall on your butt when he suddenly pushes you away.

"Ugh, I hate it when that happens…" he growls. He's turned away from you, but it's obvious from the sound of his voice that he isn't only exasperated but also embarrassed.

That makes two of you.

"I don't know what that was but I do know it was super weird," you say with a shrug. Lion Man whirls around to level you with another glare, but unlike earlier, you don't flinch. You know he's not going to pounce. Not actually.

"That never happened," he snarls. He steps into your space and you can feel his hostility, but all it does is make you defiant (You mourn the loss of your self-preservation instincts, but hey, at least you're not trembling like a newborn kitten). Lion Man points his index finger at your chest and you can feel his claw-like nails through your shirt. "We're not friends , alright? Just 'cause you used to be chummy with Scar, doesn't mean we're going to be all buddy-buddy, got it?"

He aggressively jabs your chest at each emphasis and you almost stumble off your feet. You mirror his glare and shove his hand away by the wrist.

"You don't have to get your fur all fluffed up," you scoff and a low growl rises in his throat, but you're not dissuaded. "It's not like I want to be pals with you either."

"Great," Lion Man huffs, turning away. "I'm in a bad mood on account of bein' woken up from my nap, so unless you feel like losing a tooth, scram."

You're just about to bite back your assent when a voice suddenly calls back from across the garden.

"Leonaaaa!"

Lion Man curses under his breath. You hear footsteps approach the two of you, and a scruffy-looking man (? He's so small and scrawny that he could be a boy for all you knew.) appears down the path. He has animal ears and a tail too, but his ears are bigger and fluffier and so is his tail.

If Lion Man is supposed to be Scar, then could this guy be a hyena?

"Leona! There you are!" he says with a wide, relieved grin. You'd assumed he was one of the card soldiers, but with a closer look, you realise he isn't at all dressed like one. "I knew I'd find you here."

"Ugh, and now I've got this guy on my tail..." Leona groans, turning his irritation onto the new stranger now. "What is it, Ruggie?"

"Riddle's lookin' for ya," the hyena boy—Ruggie—replies without missing a beat despite the deadly glare trained on him. "Says it's important inheritor business. He's even got the guards looking."

"Inheritor business, huh." Leona's ears rise at that and he glances at you over his shoulder. "Wonder what about."

"Beats me." Ruggie shrugs as he crosses his hands behind his head. "But you should probably go see him before he boils over."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Leona says gruffly as he stretches out his back and limbs. "I don't feel like gettin' collared today. I'll go see what he wants."

Before he leaves though, he turns to you, but instead of looking angry, he looks thoughtful this time. Riddle had had a similar expression earlier, where it seemed as if he was looking at something that wasn't actually there. Not in the present at least.

"I'm guessin' you're comin', huh," Leona sighs, sounding put-upon, and walks past Ruggie towards the end of the garden. He waves a dismissive hand in the air as he says, "Just remember what I said. I'm not waitin' up for you, and don't expect me to."

You roll your eyes at his back before walking after him with Ruggie tailing behind you (probably to make sure Leona actually makes it to Riddle). Leona is far ahead at this point so you could be wrong, but you think you catch the quietest little chuckle from him.

[shepherds-of-haven]

I know it will never happen, but after hearing those voice claims on Patreon, I would pay ungodly amounts of money for a Fire Emblem-esque SoH game. Like, I don't know where you would even start, but if you did end up deciding to make one, no bank would be safe from me 💰

Hey, never say never! A Fire Emblem-esque ShoH game would be a dream! 🥹 You never know, who knows where my future in game development goes after this entry gets published?... I can dream too, right? 😂

Actually, if you want some little-known trivia, before I started working with ChoiceScript, I actually made a proof-of-concept intro for Shepherds as a JRPG-style turn-based pixel game back in early 2017! It was basically just to learn the engine, RPG Maker (my thing seemed to be throwing Shepherds as a story template at any new programming language I came across), and didn't follow the prologue of our version (no Caine or Prihine, the protagonist just gets plopped into Haven right away and joins the Shepherds), but I built a whole map of Ashtown and Whitestone in it; that 100-hour venture ended up planting the seeds for some of the stuff that takes place in our version of the game! You could explore every nook and cranny of the Shepherds' compound and Ashtown, talk to several hundred NPCs who all had their own routines and walkabouts around the city, and even play minigames and engage in turn-based party combat!

Unfortunately, it was all made on the 3DS version of RPG Maker, so it's not shareable as a demo unless you have a 3DS and are willing to download a free app (but Nintendo pulled the servers for the 3DS, so I don't even think that's possible anymore). I do have some bad pictures I took of the 3DS with the demo running, though!

Is this a proto-Chandry or just some random clown? ↑ If you keep bugging him he starts adding the below to his speech lol: ↴

Dog!! You can sneak a peek at Trouble hanging out in front of the Shepherds' compound on the left: this version of RPG Maker only allowed for premade assets, so the character art for the Shepherds themselves was extremely limited... 😔 ↴

Thieves Guild, though the player doesn't know it because Rafe won't move until later in the game: the only hint present in the "prologue" is that there are little wanted posters of Chase all over the city, but this particular one, if you read it, has the words altered to: "WANTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE AUTARCHY BEING VERY HANDSOME" ↴

Miscellaneous stuff (Qael-Qanaeon, Arta and Hal's house, etc.) ↴

Shepherds' compound! I only took screenshots of a few of the rooms, like a sparring gym, Blade's office, the main atrium (there were two guardian 'Viveks', lion gargoyles named Leo and Lionel, and they'd randomly stop you if you walked by them to engage in some silly random dialogue and generally be a nuisance before letting you get through the door), the refectory, one of the dormitories, etc.) ↴

[cupidskissx]

Hello darling!! For the fic ask game, if you'd do me the honour of answering 4 and 16? (Is it cheating to ask for 5 as well because I know you've answered it already but I am DYING for more snippets lol)

Love you hope you have a wonderful day!! ❤️☺️

😍🥹 Oh my, of course my dear, anything for you! Always! 🌹 love you!

4. Tell me about one of your abandoned WIPs. Why did you abandon it?

I answered this one slightly differently a moment ago and reading it again you’ve just reminded me of my first ever Lestappen fic, pre-Monaco Malaise!

I had thousands of words traversing the 2019 season. From the Holy Temple of Lestappen that is Austria ‘19, to mentions of Silverstone, I got up to Germany. A group of driver’s go out drinking and headed back to Sebastian’s holiday home where Max and Charles ended up sharing a bed together. Classic one bed trope. The idea fizzled out, but here’s a snippet of drunk Charles oversharing:

Charles considered him for a moment, “I’ve had my share of sober flings, but gotta keep up appearances, you know.”

That comment niggled its way under Max’s skin, but the thought of having a heart to heart with Charles about his sexuality felt like crossing a line.

The silence extended a beat too long so Charles continued, “I don’t drink much, not since signing for Ferrari. Lowered inhibitions means taking risks. The risk of being seen, or taking the wrong guy home increase pretty quickly.”

5. Share a snippet that you’re proud of from an upcoming fic/chapter.

Sweetheart, I’d send you my whole draft if I felt it was ready, of course you can have another snippet ❤️

“I don’t want another drink.”

Max’s gaze lingers heavily on Charles as he takes a long, slow swig. Dutch courage and all that. The glass is half empty when he places it on the countertop.

“What do you want then?”

16. Do you stick to canon when you write characters and fics?

This is a big fat yes! I experienced a full blown moral dilemma when I had to change one fact for the purposes of continuing the plot for Monaco Malaise Part Two. I already have my disclaimer written that’s how seriously I take it 😂

Of course within reason we all have to deviate from truth and canon but I try my best to portray the most authentic retelling of events and representation of our boys! ❤️

Thank you for asking my love ❤️😍

Fic ask

[felixandresims]

KICHEN 2Point0 Part 2

The 43-piece second half of the KICHEN 2Point0 focuses on appliances and clutter for your kitchens.

Of course, it's also time for another trip down memory lane to revisit the original Kichen & how it links back to this current iteration. All the items apart from the wishboner chair have been completely new ideas and meshes, however we wanted to try and capture some of our favourite elements from the original and reimagine them in our current styles. Way back in 2019 Harrie wasn't experienced in making new meshes from scratch, so many of the clutter items were mesh edits of EA items. For our first few collaborations, we would actually explore all of the EA items that we felt would fit into our theme, but with the Kichen 2Point0, we made all of the clutter items from scratch. It was so important for us to include new essential clutter pieces in this set as even to this day, we will often gravitate towards those original clutter items when building & we still spot them in many of your builds, too!

We have tried to cover all the appliances you need to bring this kitchen to life. Of course, with new EA functional items being added with new pack releases, we were also long overdue for a small appliance refresh that we haven't had in any of our other set releases. Highlights include the functional kettle (requires For Rent EP) and the mixer (requires Home Chef Hustle SP), but of course, we have also included decorative versions for those of you who don't have those packs.

Most of the items are Base Game compatible, except for the Mixer & kettle, as mentioned above, and can be found by searching the B/B catalog using the keyword 2Point0. As the items are designed for both of our current sets, they will also appear when you search using the keywords KLEAN or SOHO.

We can't wait to see what you do with the new items and how you bring them all to life in your game. As always, we would love it if you tagged us in your builds on social media.

Set items include:

High Oven

Low Oven (2 counter height options)

Low Gas Stove (2 counter height options)

Low Induction Stove (2 counter height options)

Induction Hob

Gas Hob

Dishwasher (2 counter height options)

Fridge

Coffee Machine

Kettle (functional & decorative)

Food Mixer (functional & decorative)

Mixer Bowls

Toaster

Pot & Pans

Large Plates

Small Plates

Bowls

Cups

Glasses

Pantry (open)

Pantry (closed)

Double Pantry

Now on Patreon Early Access

This Set is on Early Access and will be available for everyone on the 7th of June.

[harrie-cc]

Kichen 2Point0 - Part 2

The 43 piece second half of the KICHEN 2Point0 focuses on appliances and clutter for your kitchens.

Of course its also time for another trip down memory lane, to revisit the original Kichen & how it links back to this current iteration. All the items apart from the Wishboner chair have been completely new ideas and meshes, however we wanted to try and capture some of our favourite elements from the original and reimagine them in our current styles. Way back in 2019 Harrie wasn't yet experienced in making new meshes from scratch (Fun fact: The dining table included in the original Kichen was her first ever from scratch mesh!), so a lot of the clutter items were mesh edits of EA items. For our first few collaborations we would actually explore all of the EA items that we felt would fit into our theme, but with the Kichen 2Point0 we made all of the clutter items from scratch. It was so important for us to include new essential clutter pieces in this set as even to this day we will often gravitate towards those original clutter items when building & we still spot them in many of your builds too! (edited)

We have tried to cover all of the appliances you would need to bring this kitchen to life. Of course with new EA functional items being added with new pack releases we were also long overdue a small appliance refresh that we haven't had in any of our other set releases. Highlights include the functional kettle (requires For Rent EP) & the mixer (requires Home Chef Hustle SP), but of course we have also included decorative versions for those of you that don't have those packs.

Majority of the items are Base Game compatible with the exception of the Mixer & kettle as mentioned above and can be found by searching the B/B catalogue using the keyword 2Point0. As the items are designed for both of our current sets they will also show up when you search using the keywords KLEAN or SOHO

We really can't wait to see what you do with the new items and how you bring them all to life in your game. As always we would love you to tag us in your builds on social media.

Set items include:

High Oven

Low Oven (2 counter height options)

Low Gas Stove (2 counter height options)

Low Induction Stove (2 counter height options)

Induction Hob

Gas Hob

Dishwasher (2 counter height options)

Fridge

Coffee Machine

Kettle (functional & decorative)

Food Mixer (functional & decorative)

Mixer Bowls

Toaster

Pot & Pans

Large Plates

Small Plates

Bowls

Cups

Glasses

Pantry (open)

Pantry (closed)

Double Pantry

Available Now on Patreon Early Access

Public Release: 7th July

[remxedmoon]

“shadowy figures appeared before you. apparitions, memories of what once was. reminders of who you’re fighting for. are they your true family, or merely wearing their visage?”

[twohats spoilers below the cut!]

DEATHCARDS!!! WOOO!! that leshy quote isn’t entirely set in stone yet, btw. i made these for a king boss fight i’m working on so realistically he’d be the one narrating? but eh. it’s fun to write in leshy’s voice. anyways, hopefully this won’t be too long?? i’ve got way less design notes this time around, but there’s also 6 cards here and i’m not very succinct. sorry in advance!!

siffrin

2 power - 2 health - 5 bones

loose tail - when a card bearing this sigil would be struck, a tail is created in its place and a card bearing this sigil moves to the right. a tail is defined as: 0 power, 2 health.

steel trap - when a card bearing this sigil perishes, the creature opposing it perishes as well. a pelt is created in your hand.

GOD it was hard to come up with sigils for this one. since these are boss exclusive cards, i had a pretty limited pool to work with… hopefully this is still fitting

loose tail is the closest i could get to a sigil that avoids death, since sigils like unkillable and many lives were off the table. plus, there’s kinda a connection with him not valuing his own life?? and sacrificing a part of himself? i think it works

steel trap!! this sigil is exclusive to the trapper boss fight! since summoned cards (like chimes and tails) inherit sigils, their tail card will also kill whatever’s in front of it when it’s destroyed! sort of a “taking you down with me” situation.

mirabelle

2 power - 5 health - 3 blood

swapper - after a card bearing this sigil is dealt damage, swap its power and health.

swapper!! this is an act 3 sigil exclusive to swapbot! ahhhhhhhh i had such a hard time trying to figure out another card design for her. i REALLY liked the bellist sigil for her and didn’t really have any other ideas. swapper felt like it fit with the change belief to me! and it also makes her a pretty terrifying card to go up against. since this is a boss card, that cost is basically entirely for show lol

ALT CARD ART!!! YIPEE!! literally all i did was flip her eyes to look angry lol. swapbot’s sprite changes when it swaps so i think hers would too!

isabeau

2 power - 4 health - 2 blood

dam builder - when a card bearing this sigil is played, a dam is created on each empty adjacent space. a dam is defined as: 0 power, 2 health.

fledgling - a card bearing this sigil will grow into a more powerful form after 1 turn on the board.

dam builder feels like a very defensive sigil to me, and it synergizes well with fledgling!! after a turn, isabeau will be doing 5 damage across 3 lanes! good god.

odile

1 power - 2 health - 2 blood

trifurcated strike - a card bearing this sigil will strike each opposing space to the left and right of the spaces across from it as well as the space in front of it.

sharp quills - once a card bearing this sigil is struck, the striker is then dealt a single damage point.

this was the HARDEST card to think up, and probably the weakest out of the bunch imo. i think i really nailed her regular card and i just. couldn’t come up with anything. agonies

i picked trifurcated strike as a reference to her being able to use all three craft types, and sharp quills… i think because of her aversion to touch? i think. it’s been a while since i made these aaaaa

bonnie

1 power - 1 health - 1 blood

waterborne - a card bearing this sigil submerges itself during its opponent's turn. while submerged, opposing creatures attack its owner directly.

leader - creatures adjacent to a card bearing this sigil gain 1 power.

if yall remember the notes on my kid card, this is based on the beta version of that card!! which means that for once i’m not putting bonnie through the torments. hooray!

waterborne is there because they always stay out of danger during battles! plus they’re from a coastal town so it fits on that front as well. i didn’t really think about the actual sigil names for cards this time around but hey! it’s a nice bonus!

the beta card had trinket bearer, but that’s a sigil that would only benefit the player in battle, so i swapped it out with leader! since they can’t be directly attacked, this basically makes them a permanent alpha on the king’s side of the field. also, leader, snack leader, it fits namewise as well!

loop

2 power - 1 health - 4 bones

haunter - when a creature bearing this sigil dies, it haunts the space it died in. creatures played in this space gain its old sigils.

bifurcated strike - A card bearing this sigil will strike each opposing space to the left and right of the space across from it.

“i’m normal about inscryption” i say as i give one of my cards a sigil that only appears in the completely missable rulebook of grimmora’s segment of the finale.

so. haunter! the aforementioned grimmora sigil! this appears on no cards ingame, but cmon. it fits. this sigil reminded me of how loop reacts when you guess that they’re a ghost! in battle, i imagine that siffrin will always get played right behind loop. because twohats

bifurcated strike was added here for the same reason it’s on their normal card! it feels like scissors craft!! i needed them to actually have A Sigil to transfer to siffrin and this felt the most fitting to me.

also, just like the normal cards, siffrin and loop are both the only ones to have a bone cost instead of blood cost! teehee :333

and i think that’s it! i’m not making inhabited versions of these cards because they aren’t meant to be accessible outside of the king fight! also! hi! i drafted this post and wrote siffrin’s segment: almost a month ago! oops!! i kept putting this off… at least it’s actually written out now lol. hope you guys enjoy!!!

[alkesims]

You know what the advantage is of taking an entire year to make this? Having it done for The Sims 2's 20th birthday – and, in 5 months, The Sims's 25th!

(ReShade off on the right.)

@philosimy's marvelous Old Town neighbourhood provided the base and the inspiration, and you should go put some respect on their hard work before you download this. It might even be what you came here looking for in the first place!

Their post has all the info you'll need about the SC4 terrain this neighbourhood was built on, and a list of the CC you'll need to use it:

Numenor: Maxis ‘Lost & Found’ #9: Waterfall & River

Criquette:

Lush (Temperate) Road DR & Neighborhood Road Transparency Fix

Road bridges set

Ultimate railway set

Haut-gothique: Age of Empires 3 conversions - part 1

Psychosims: Maxis Lost & Found - Plesiosaur

The good news is that that's all the CC you'll need to use the version with built lots. The bad news is that you'll need Ultimate Collection or all EPs and SPs to make everything work the way it was made. The even worse news is that it can't be perfectly 1:1 or as-is functional, but every lot is as close as I could get to how they appear in The Sims 1 Complete Collection. Basically, do a pass with your own CC and you'll make it nice.

DOWNLOAD (SFS)

To install:

Check your Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods folder to ensure it does not already contain a folder called “B407.” If it does, you will have to delete that neighbourhood to make room for this one.

Download and unpack OldTown2.rar.

Place the folder inside (named “B407”) in your Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods folder.

Start your game and play.

None of the lots in this neighbourhood have been so much as touched by a Sim to reduce game-breaking issues. It is free of the Super Duper Hug Bug. The neighbourhood itself contains no parts that will break your game. Unfortunately, it does include the default Townies, as the original did, and @creesims found memory issues among them. Some decorations may not appear in your game as advertised in this post, depending on your mix of default replacements and object fixes.

If you're only looking for individual lots, they're in the same SimFileShare folder as the neighbourhood and are 100% CC-free. I'll be making posts with caps and details for each one. I won't be making TS1 Sims to go in them, though; many others have done a better job than I could. Have fun finding or making your own.

So, not a perfect conversion. This is partially due to the self-imposed no-CC requirement, and partially due to the very nature of the differences between Sims 1 and 2. If you have an intuition of how Sims 1 looks, you'll notice:

Spiral stairs in odd positions and longer linear stairs.

A lack of curved stairs.

Wide blank spaces between the contents of a beach lot and its shoreline.

Different distances between buildings on a lot or between a building and the edge of a lot.

Differently-shaped shorelines and bodies of water.

Different terrain shapes and paints.

Fences that occupy the edge of a tile rather than the tile itself.

I can't change the above because they are foundational differences between the two games. The below, however, are stylistic choices that you should absolutely trash and redo with your own game:

Foundations and decks replacing floors.

Incongruous build and buy items.

Empty shopping and game space in community lots.

Mod-Related Notes:

The only mod compatibility issue will be with road default replacements. This hood requires Criquette's to work (see CC list above).

Voeille's Seawater: lots with or near water need a pool tile or two added to work properly.

Some community lots contain career reward objects or similar hidden items. You do not need any CC for these to appear on the lots.

However, in order for lot visitors to use the microphones, you'll need lamare's community lot mic fix.

If you know of a collection of 1t2 CC, I'd love to link it here.

Individual Lot Posts:

The Sims

2 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-09-21)

3 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-09-28)

5 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-10-05)

6 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-10-12)

7 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-10-19)

10 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-10-26)

Livin' Large

1 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-11-02)

7 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-11-09)

9 Sim Lane (SFS, 2024-11-16)

Hot Date

Hedman's Hideaway, 21 Wright Way (SFS, 2024-11-23)

Cory's Place, 22 Wright Way (SFS, 2024-11-30)

Wrensday's, 24 Wright Way (SFS, 2024-12-07)

Solana Towne Centre, 25 Main Street (SFS, 2024-12-14)

Landgraab Mall, 26 Main Street (SFS, 2024-12-21)

Old Farm Square, 27 Main Street (SFS, 2024-12-28)

Barrett's Boardwalk, 28 Main Street (SFS, 2025-01-04)

SimCity Beach, 29 Main Street (SFS, 2025-01-11)

Crumplebottom Memorial Park, 30 Main Street (SFS, 2025-01-18)

Vacation

Alpine Preserve, 40 Old Volcano Way (SFS, 2025-01-25)

Penguin Acres Campground, 41 Old Volcano Way (SFS, 2025-02-01)

Al Pine's Winter Wonderland, 42 Old Volcano Way (SFS, 2025-02-08)

Bear Essentials Lodge, 43 Lagoon Moon Road (SFS, 2025-02-15)

Ranger's Ranch Campground, 44 Lagoon Moon Road (SFS, 2025-02-22)

Wren's Fens National Park, 45 Lagoon Moon Road (SFS, 2025-03-01)

Reclaimed Public Beach, 46 Lagoon Moon Road (SFS, 2025-03-08)

Sunset Beach, 47 Lagoon Moon Road (SFS, 2025-03-15)

Palazzo Palms Hotel, 48 Lagoon Moon Road (SFS, 2025-03-22)

Unleashed

The Blackpoint Cottage, 53 Ingleside Drive (SFS, 2025-03-29)

The Walden Estate, 54 Ridge Road (SFS, 2025-04-05)

The Porte Rouge Villa, 55 Ingleside Drive (SFS, 2025-04-12)

56 Ingleside Drive (SFS, 2025-04-19)

The Somerset Home, 57 Ingleside Drive (SFS, 2025-04-26)

SimCentral Park, 58 Ingleside Drive (SFS, 2025-05-03)

The Sunflower Home, 59 Ingleside Drive (SFS, 2025-05-10)

The Meadowlark Home, 60 Happy Trail (SFS, 2025-05-17)

Custer's Market, 61 Happy Trail (SFS, 2025-05-24)

The Oak Villa, 62 Old Farm Circle (SFS, 2025-05-31)

63 Gunter Goth Highway (SFS, 2025-06-07)

The Morris Cottage, 64 Gunter Goth Highway (SFS, 2025-06-14)

The Appleview Farm, 66 Gunter Goth Highway (SFS, 2025-06-21)

The Vanilla Home, 68 First Avenue (SFS, 2025-06-28)

The Charming Family, 69 First Avenue (SFS, 2025-07-05)

Pet Paradise!, 70 Elm Street (SFS, 2025-07-12)

Old Town Quarter, 71 Elm Street (SFS, 2025-07-19)

Sidewalk Walkabout, 72 Elm Street (SFS, 2025-04-01)

McArthur Square, 73 Elm Street (SFS, 2025-07-26)

Lake Barrett, 74 Maple Street (SFS, 2025-08-02)

The Gothic Quarter, 75 Maple Street (SFS, 2025-08-09)

76 Gunter Goth Highway (SFS, 2025-08-16)

77 Maple Street (SFS, 2025-08-23)

The Courtyard Villa, 78 Maple Street (SFS, 2025-08-30)

The Mango Manor, 80 Crumplebottom Court (SFS, 2025-09-06)

Superstar

KWLW Studios, 81 Sunrise Boulevard (SFS, 2025-09-13)

Fairchild Film Studios, 82 Sunrise Boulevard (SFS, 2025-09-20)

Meeker Studios, 83 Sunrise Boulevard (SFS, 2025-09-27)

Midlock Multiplex, 84 Studio Town Drive (SFS, 2025-10-04)

Studio Town Center, 85 Studio Town Drive (SFS, 2025-10-11)

Buckingham Galleries, 86 Studio Town Drive (SFS, 2025-10-18)

Music for the Eyes Inc., 87 Studio Town Drive (SFS, 2025-10-25)

Cameron's Lounge, 88 Studio Town Drive (SFS, 2025-11-01)

The Gast District, 89 Studio Town Drive (SFS, 2025-11-08)

Makin' Magic

EverAfter Oaks, 90 Creepy Hollow (SFS, 2025-11-15)

Alfred's B & B, 91 Creepy Hollow (SFS, 2025-11-22)

Old Man Lum's, 92 Creepy Hollow (SFS, 2025-11-29)

A Spooktacular Spot, 93 Calamity Forest (SFS, 2025-12-06)

Vernon's Vault, 94 Calamity Forest (SFS, 2025-12-13)

Coldwind Meadow, 95 Calamity Forest (SFS, 2025-12-20)

Clowntastic Land, 96 Calamity Forest (SFS, 2025-12-27)

Serra Glen, 97 Calamity Forest (SFS, 2026-01-03)

Forest Edge Camp, 98 Calamity Forest (SFS, 2026-01-10)

[hoshinasblade]

second best |1| hoshina soshiro

PART 1 | PART 2 | BONUS: PART THREE

DISCLAIMER: this fic has a detail that hasn't been mentioned in the anime yet. it isn't a big give-away but if you are sensitive about that kind of thing, please do not proceed. pairing: hoshina soshiro x f!reader genre: slight angst, comfort, childhood friends to lovers, a bit of that miscommunication trope snippet: hoshina soshiro always ranks second at everything in his life. god forbid he falls behind in the bid for your heart too. word count: 3K trigger warnings: author's note: this fic has two parts - part 2 will be posted a week from today :) likes, replies, and reblogs are always appreciated but please do not repost or steal my writings. this is quite long, but i gotta make you guys work for it. i have also set up a taglist for the second part and the other fics or drabbles, please sign up if you wanna be tagged! as always, feel free to let me know what you think or give me a prompt by sending me an ask here!

hoshina soshiro can claim with extreme conviction that he rarely regrets the decisions he has made so far in his life.

from the time he has set his sights on taking the aptitude exam necessary to be recruited in the anti-kaiju defense force, to following captain ashiro mina to support her as the vice-captain of the third division, to religiously adhering to his daily routine of working out even during his off days so he can stay in peak condition - everything he's done is driven by soshiro's lone motivation: to rise and come on top.  

unfortunately, as he sees you walking in the hallway of the training building with his brother, soshiro realises that this is one of those rare occurrences where he hopes he gets a do-over.

it was barely 6 in the afternoon so there was still light from outside; the rays of the setting sun penetrating the transparent windowpanes cast an orange glow to the furniture in soshiro's office. it made him remember how he used to always be assigned as the student to clean the classroom back in junior high school: he would sweep first then rearrange the chairs before closing the windows and drawing down the curtains. he would rush up to the rooftop, in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon. he would stay for a few precious minutes, dreaming of a chance to get out of their town. he was fifteen then.

soshiro shook his head a bit. he decided that today - of all days - will not be when he will have a trip down memory lane. yes, despite the number of times he would get reminded of his past today, he refuses to get sidetracked.

the floor is eerily silent, save for the momentary opening and closing of doors; soshiro is aware that almost everyone has left, flocking to the local izakaya not too far from the base to celebrate. he had half the mind to prompt himself to hurry up in order to make it to the get-together on time. the long and gruelling application process took three months before the vetting could begin, but finally, the third division of japan anti-kaiju defense force honoured its new officers that morning. as the nominated head of the selection committee, he oversaw the entire thing, and at the end, he could not help but to feel confident that their force would become stronger from here - this year their roster of applicants boasts high-profile names like that of the very daughter of jakdf's director general and the young master of the prestigious izumo family.

okonogi, sitting in front of him at his office, was sorting the personal forms of the recruits, a big stapler in her right hand. "i can take care of this, vice-captain", she said to him, "they cannot miss you there."

soshiro smupled to his swivel chair, obviously fatigued by the task he and okonogi had been trying to finish for half an hour already. fighting and defeating kaiju is the main part of the job, but handling the paperwork proves to be as challenging. "right, make sure the headquarters get this by the morning along with the report of all their numbers -" the sound of footsteps nearby interrupted soshiro's train of thought.

there were three loud knocks and the door opened, a man with the same eyes as soshiro peeping inside. even okonogi glanced over her shoulder to identify who the intruder is. soshiro stood up.

"just wanted ta drop by before i head back ta himeji", hoshina soichiro's undeniable accent dripped. spotting the huge pile of forms littering the desk, he commented, "seems like ya are a little preoccupied though."

"hoshina fuku taichou, good evening." your voice was firm yet jovial as you greeted him, the kansai inflection rolling off your tongue. you appeared beside soshiro's brother, still wearing the same standard-issue uniform you wore during the event several hours ago when you were sworn in as a new defense force officer. the outfit is snug on you - soshiro had noticed at the ceremony earlier, but up close the top looked almost skintight, the skirt coming up a little above your knees. soshiro can be a high-ranking official within the force, but he is also a man. if only briefly, he stared. "aren't ya going ta the party?"

taken aback that you would drop by his office, it was out of his mouth too fast he couldn't stop it - "how about ya? what are you still doing here with him?" soshiro responded pointedly at you, throwing you the same query but not answering what you asked him. it was too late to take it back; he sounded like he was interrogating you about your presence with the captain of the sixth division. soichiro winced; soshiro pretended not to see. "i- i was just thinking ya went with the officers on the way there", he added, calmer this time.

"oh, i was just catching up with hoshina-kun", you replied without missing a beat. soshiro doesn't know if the accidental force in his question just seconds prior did not intimidate you at all or you simply ignored his tone. "i mean with soichiro-kun. considering ya are hoshina too", you chuckled. soshiro stole a glance at the man at your side while maintaining an empty expression. he found his brother smirking at him; soshiro willed himself not to picture soichiro as an ugly kaiju with a butt for a face.

okonogi who is now attentively eavesdropping on your conversation caught your attention. "pardon for the bother, hoshina-san. we'll be off now."

for an instant, it looked like you were waiting for soshiro to say something in response. to say what, he doesn't know. the eye contact between you and him held up for a moment but broke as quick as it began. tension prickled in the air briefly then ebbed as you turned away from soshiro. "i'll see ya at the party, vice-captain", you gave him a bow before exiting the room. soshiro wanted to stop you; he didn't.

soichiro sighed. "it was nice seeing ya, 'lil bro", he addressed soshiro, his hand patting the latter's shoulder once, twice. "i have paperwork ta worry about too so as much as i'd like to, i won't be able ta attend your division's party. just in case ya want ta know." soshiro didn't look like he had a crumb of interest to know about his brother's occupational responsibilities; he shrugged soichiro's hand off.

soshiro saw you standing outside, leaning on the wall, when he ushered his brother out. "i'll be driving her to the izakaya though", soichiro informed him. "ya should visit our folks when ya have the time. ya should come home sometimes", soichiro continued, a hint of concern evident in his voice. when soshiro did not respond, surprisingly the older hoshina did not look a tiny bit disappointed. instead, soichiro put on a charming smile and waved at okonogi. "okonogi-chan, see ya around!" he tossed a playful wink at her.

soshiro merely watched as you and soichiro walked together, your pace matching his. a few meters away, he saw you listening intently to something soichiro was saying - he is too close - and although he is not within earshot to hear what is being said anymore, he knows it is another one of his brother's bad jokes. it looks like you were trying to suppress it, but a smile was about to dawn on your lips. soshiro felt sick to his stomach all of a sudden.

the party was already in full swing when soshiro arrived - everyone is hungrily feasting on the expensive wagyu beef, drinks flowing endlessly from the bar. everyone is enjoying themselves; even captain ashiro mina can be seen having small talk with the newly sworn-in officers who were eagerly taking notes from her.

you had easily made friends with the other rookies who are now sitting next to you; it was thanks to your group that this event was planned - after enduring long sessions of strenuous physical training every day of every week, you all deserved a night of everyone just gathering to have a good time. soshiro seems to be exempt from the festive atmosphere though.

he picked the seat next to his captain, who greeted him with a curt nod. he proceeded to grab the mug of beer served to him; the first sip registered a sharp bitterness through his mouth but soshiro relished on the flavor as it overtook his senses.

"everything alright?" captain ashiro from his side asked without lifting her gaze from her own drink. "you are being -" she paused, carefully searching to find the right words, “uncharacteristically quiet.”

soshiro picked the glass of beer again, and when he was about to put the lid on his lips, he could sense someone’s intense stare locked on him. years of being the vice-captain gifted him with equal parts instinct and paranoia so he could not help but scan the room, only to find you, sitting across the room, watching him with a curious expression.

a rowdy group of rookies surrounds you; they are high-fiving each other, laughing at their silly pranks, not minding that all of you are squeezed together at a crowded circle. soft music in the background swelled as everyone cheered and clinked glasses.

soshiro's eyes remained fixed on yours, lasting for what he felt like forever. the buzz of chatter dulled to a distant hum, fading into an almost white noise. his heart raced as he felt his breath catch and his mouth go dry. the corner of your lips curved into a smile and maybe it is the alcohol in his system, but he is certain his cheeks are flushed now.

"huh", captain ashiro lowly exclaimed. soshiro quickly snapped a glance at her. "you talked to her yet?" she asked him. ah, she caught his little moment with you.

soshiro was on the verge of playing it cool and putting on an act; he was about to outright lie to his captain by saying "talk to who?" as if he had no idea what she was referring to. he settled with silence. he was grateful his non-response only earned him a sigh from the captain who did not press the topic any further.

 "to you newbies, congratulations!" captain ashiro raised her glass, still half-filled with alcohol. her voice rang out over the place, everyone's conversations immediately falling quiet. "may the third division always be victorious in our battles to come", she recapped her speech.

the party showed no signs of slowing down. hibino kafka, a recruit in his thirties has been the centre of intrigue that has spanned for weeks now. hibino ossan - as what the others nicknamed him - had revealed in a bathroom conversation with other male rookies that he grew up with captain ashiro. ashiro mina likes dried squid; ashiro mina used to raise pets in grade school - everyone consumed any and every tidbit of trivia hibino disclosed about the usually stoic and serious third division commander. soshiro was among those invested in the rumor and you knew why. for a while, you also wondered how he would react once the rest of the troops learned about your own past with their vice-captain. would he deny it? or would he brush off any potential gossip that may arise from the revelation? if everyone discovered your shared history with hoshina soshiro, would it make him want to reconnect with you?

“you lot will start duty monday next week, but tomorrow will just be another workday for vice-captain hoshina and i”, captain ashiro said, having stood up from her seat, preparing to take off. “no, you can stay”, she said to some of the newbies who have started to get up too.

“nah, captain, why don’t we bring them along to help us file all the tedious paperwork?”, soshiro interjected in his familiar upbeat tone. the crew bursted into snickers; captain ashiro gave soshiro a perplexed look, obviously puzzled about the sudden shift in his mood. testing her theory, she looked at your direction.

captain ashiro couldn't make out why, but you were giggling at whatever your seatmate had said, elegant hand covering your mouth, eyes crinkled. she understood soshiro then - she was not foreign to feeling uneasy inside when she sees someone so physically near someone she cares about after all. "let's go, hoshina", she tucked her pity for the vice-captain away.

"do you guys think they are dating?" a particularly tactless rookie sitting at your table had asked immediately after captain ashiro and hoshina were out the sliding doors.

"i bet they're not", you blurted out a little too soon, a little too sure. you did not mind clipping your accent, your kansai-ben thick and heavy. your fellow officers looked at you, expecting an explanation for your outburst. "i mean -" you stuttered, "that would be awkward, i guess."

"you know to think of it, you're from himeji too, right?" a few more recruits have started to listen in on the exchange. these people can smell the truth off me, you thought. you wanted to smack yourself in the face.

"we went ta the same high school together, that's all", you admitted, feeling backed in a corner. tomorrow when you get questioned for this imprudent behavior, you can probably blame it all on the alcohol. "and grade school", you continued, loose-lipped now.

you still liked wearing pink bows in your hair when you met him. an only child of kind parents, you never experienced having to ask for something you like; you were doted on and spoiled so you were reasonably upset when a young hoshina soshiro did not give you the time of his day. your family has just moved to hyogo shortly before that, and you were anxious to make friends; since your early age, you had made it your mission to make soshiro acknowledge you.

"you dun wanna play with me, because ya are stupid", you told soshiro-kun once. "oka-san said all boys are stupid", you had the nerve to elaborate after he pouted at you, his unkempt bangs sticking on his sweaty forehead, his clothes dirty from training all day.

"yer pretty", he responded and you felt the blush crept up on your cheeks. "pretty annoying."

"come on, spill some tea!" someone's palm connected with the table, jolting you out of your trance. "we have another hibino-senpai situation on our hands!" they declared, grabbing you by the arm and shaking you a bit. if it was meant to encourage you to tell more childhood tales between you and the vice-captain, it worked really, really well.

"he's always had that haircut even as a kid", you said, misinterpreting the kind of story your companions wanted you to tell, judging by their disappointed looks. “i- i don’t know what else to tell you guys”, you held up your hand in surrender.

“do you have a crush on him?” you choked on your drink, caught off guard.

vexed at his absent-mindedness, soshiro was walking back to the izakaya place alone when he heard the commotion. he is going straight to bed once he gets back to the base, but he would have to retrieve his uniform jacket first from his seat earlier.

“you totally do, don’t you!” it stopped sounding like a question and more of an accusation you could not deny. “you like hoshina-san!”

“i -i do, yes... but what of it, huh?" he couldn’t see you but he would recognize the soft timbre of your voice anywhere. soshiro felt like a victorian gentleman getting a glimpse of a woman’s ankle for the first time listening in on the uproar of cheers after your confession.

“the three of us attended the same high school, soichiro-kun was a grade ahead”, you said. soshiro froze. you are talking about his brother. “he has always been good at everything, t'was hard not ta like him.”

soshiro closed his eyes, attempting to steady his breathing. he always had his suspicions - for the ceremony earlier his brother even took a day off his busy schedule as the commander of the sixth division to attend as a guest. he should have known.

last year, soshiro’s squad fought a lizard-type kaiju with a fortitude of above 8. like the reptile, a cut made on any of its limbs was useless due to advanced regeneration. a fractured rib, extremely bruised arms, and a dislocated shoulder were what it costed soshiro to win against the monster. his bitterness threatening to consume him, he cannot believe that you confirming his worst fears would hurt more than that fatal experience.

of course, he said to himself. it’s not like he can fault you for liking soichiro - everyone did. as the firstborn son, their father always had favored him. soichiro has been the more skilled swordsman between them; he was the golden child, charismatic and talented with an effortless charm - like moths to a flame he would attract people, and even in his silence he would overshadow soshiro.

soshiro didn’t stand a chance against his own flesh and blood.

he was a teenager when he dreamed of running away from the constant but inevitable competition he had with his brother. scouted for the third division, he relished on the freedom. but how do you escape the reality of the one you love loving the one person you could never measure up to?

[icyg4l]

PAC: Your Future Partner's Love Language

Hello beautiful people, tonight marks the third post of the week regarding love! (meaning I kept my promise, yay!) I have a sale going on tomorrow, so be sure to tune into that. If you would look to book a reading, please read my guidelines and then dm me! If you have any inquiries, also dm me! Without further ado, please select your pile!

Top Left-to-Bottom Right: (1-4)

Pile 1: I feel like you’re the independent woman trope, Pile One. This person will be attracted to you because you have your own. But that doesn't mean that they won’t be giving. This isn’t a stingy lover at all. I get Cancer/Capricorn/Aquarius energy from this person. I see this person will be big on gift giving. They will also shower you with compliments. They don’t expect this in return, to be honest. They’re also really big on paying the tab every time at restaurants. I feel like this person is calm and collected. This person wants to follow in their family’s footsteps. They’re big on marriage and doing things the proper way. They would like to show you off, this is part of their love language as well. And lastly, this person really likes to see people stand on business. Part of their love language is helping you plan and put things into action. They’re going to be your number one fan. Expect roses and romance with this person, Pile One.

Cards Used: The Hierophant, The Hermit, 4 of Discs, Queen of Swords

extras: tacos. party pooper. mellow. skilla baby. carrie underwood. bartleby.

Pile 2: So when I was shuffling for this pile, I heard the term ‘yapper’. This person really likes to talk, even if it’s about nothing. I thought of this guy who I sit next to in my English class, and he says whatever comes to mind. I feel like this person just really wants a listening ear since they didn’t get that when they were younger. They could have been the type of kid to have “talks too much” on their report card. They have big Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo energy. This person just wants to be heard and valued for once, they feel taken for granted. This person has the tendency to go down memory lane as well. They also have a thing for tickling. They honestly seem like a big kid. They are really big on humor. Their sense of humor can be deadpan or they could say a lot of one-liner punchlines. Be prepared to laugh a lot. I think this person values one-on-one time a lot as well, Pile Two.

Cards Used: Judgment, Ace of Swords, Death (RX), Eight of Discs (RX), 7 of Discs (RX)

extras: bright teeth. nice style. black beanies. toby from this is us. “kiss the ring.” wrestlers.

Pile 3: Oh man, the chemistry is hot here. This person really likes PDA. They enjoy physical touch. They want you to find any reason to touch them & they want to do the same for you. This person wants everyone to know that y’all are together. They could be a little clingy, let them know if that’s too much for you. I get the feeling that this could be their first real relationship so please be gentle with them. I feel like this person is like a big teddy bear. They really enjoy hugs, sharing drinks with you, cuddling, hand-holding and sloppy kisses. It all makes their world go round. You guys will be engaging in a lot of sexual activity together so please protect yourselves! Overall, this person is not shy. This person is quite the flirt, very physical. They give big Leo, LIbra, Aries energy. You guys are going to be like that one couple in high school that got detention for kissing by the lockers. People might be uncomfortable by your dynamic because you’re so physical with one another, but fuck it!

Cards Used: Knight of Wands, The Chariot, Princess of Cups, The Lovers, Ace of Cups.

extras: sweet face. wink. “hold me.” soft hands. racy. lord farquaad. monochromatic. skin-to-skin.

Pile 4: Can we say dramaaaa? I feel like your person is really dramatic. They’re the epitome of go big, go home. They give off Pisces, Leo, Sagittarius energy. They’re the epitome of male R&B singers in the early 2000s. This person has the best intentions but it can be overwhelming for you at times. Know that this person is doing their best. This is a part of who they are, there’s no faking this personality. I think this person would literally do anything for you. If you were to ask for a cookie from the store, they would bring you the cookie, a sandwich, a drink, chips and flowers just to make your day. This person is really good at planning parties and spending money. If you were to have a birthday coming up, they would have a surprise party planned with all of your favorite people there and thoughtful gifts. This person wants to give you the world, honestly. Don’t feel embarrassed by the things that this person does because you deserve it. They do it out of purity, but you can tell them to tone it down if it’s really getting to you.

Cards Used: The Emperor, The Fool, Justice, 7 of Cups, Ace of Discs, Princess of Cups

extras: my way by usher. “It’s camp.” new edition. clown colors. teezo touchdown. rich uncle vibes.

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 8.2 K Warnings: angst Prompt: After fighting some of those deamons, will the rest of Vixen's issues be resolved? Is there a way to be happy even without the boys? This IS a Wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.Proofread by Lovely @aremuslupinsimp

You leaned down and took one of the Mirror shreds in your hands. Depending on where you moved it, you could see reflections from all the things you’d seen inside: Sirius crying, Remus desperate, your father crying for your mother, and you crying for Nina. You being dropped from your father’s arms and several other moments. You sighed, placed the shred in your bag, and walked towards the clock. If you had one of the parts, then not even the most expert reparo, and neither would all the king’s men, put Riapsed together again. 

When you crossed over to the other vault, you took the three keys on the face of the clock and placed them in your bag alongside all the money you’d already taken. You gave one long look to the vault, at the books lying on the floor and at the harp singing its sorrowful song in the back. You didn’t understand why your father had created the riddle for you. You didn’t understand why he kept making things harder, but in the end, it didn’t matter. 

Not as long as you didn’t follow the same steps he would, not as long as you made the choices he would scorn. 

You walked outside of the vault, the goblin, Tharnock, was waiting patiently there for you. Your little odyssey through memory lane had eaten up about 2 hours, and you had to get out before people knew you were there, or before Thernock realised how weird the entire thing had been for him. 

“Are you finished, Miss?” 

You nodded, “Yes, thank you.” 

Tharnock walked you back to the minecart and you were both back in the main hall in a matter of minutes. The goblin gave you the key as you walked past the golden gates, he went back to his desk and you walked the hell away from the bank. Once outside, you used the hairpin to blend within the crowd and walked towards a less transited street. 

You still hadn’t eaten at all over the weekend. But the strong emotions revolting inside you didn’t make you want to go and buy something either. You checked the clock and decided it was about time to raise your wand. The knight bus appeared a couple of minutes later.

“Where to, Lassie?” the same pudgy guy that had picked Beth and Tom asked. 

“Hogsmeade,” you replied. 

“Hot chocolate?” 

You contemplated the idea for a second. You had tried to drink the hot chocolate before and you didn’t like the idea of getting it all over yourself again, although it was quite tasty. “No thank you,” you said in the end.

“That’ll be 11 Sickles then.” You paid with a galleon. “No change, Lass?” 

“Sorry, no.”

He grumbled something about people never carrying change and then handed you 6 sickles. One of them was sticky and you tried not to make a disgusted face as you wiped it on your jeans and walked into one of the few available seats. The trip wasn’t too long, but by the time you were in Hogsmeade, you wanted to puke. 

“Thanks for using the Knight Bus, come back soon!” The guy said as you and a few other students you didn’t recognise got down from the train. It was cold outside, and you walked straight towards Honeydukes. 

The train had arrived at Hogwarts about an hour before and plenty of students roamed around Hogsmeade, making some last-minute purchases and stocking up on candies and such. They all looked happy and carefree. You had been like that before, you sorrowfully wondered if you’d ever get to smile that big. 

There was a couple kissing in the Alley behind the Three Broomsticks, and you flinched when you noticed the way the guy was holding her. It was a thing Sirius used to do all the time. You looked at them for more than would have seen appropriate, took a deep breath and continued walking. 

“Hey, Starkeeper!” You heard someone calling from behind. Funny he called you that, you hadn’t been particularly good at keeping your star.

He ran up to you and stopped right in front of you with a frown. He looked all over your face. “Sorry, I thought you were…” You took off the hairpin, and Minho looked at you in shock. “I knew it was you!” he whispered-shouted as he leaned closer, placing an arm over your shoulder and covering as much of you as he could with his chest. “Why are you hiding, is it because of Christmas?”  

“Nice to see you, Min” you said with a small smile. You were genuinely happy about not being alone. “Tom– Tom told you about Christmas?” 

“No?” he asked, confused. “My parents did. They had been invited to the party, Arkalis is Dad’s coworker, but we were travelling back to Korea to visit our family for Christmas. Mum feels terrible about not going, they were told everything that happened, she wished she could have helped you.” 

“Oh,” you said as you took a deep breath. You knew Minho’s parents worked in politics, his father was an ambassador from the Korean Ministry of Magic (KMM), but you’d also heard that in Asia there wasn’t as much prejudice against muggles as there was in England. In fact, much like the Americans, they didn’t have a derogatory term for them, but rather they called the 비마법사 or 비마법 for short, which basically translates to non-wizard or non-wiz. And there was no such term as Muggle-born either, a wizard was a wizard, that simple. 

Obviously, Minho had been in shock when he found out such a term existed and that’s why he was such good friends with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, he just didn’t understand the whole bIood purity bias some of the Slytherins insisted on, not even if he was also a pure bIood. Unfortunately, even if the KMM considered all wizards wizards, they did not see different sexual preferences as openly as the Eastern part of the world did. In fact, they deemed homosexuality as a “European deviation” even if it had existed in Asia for the same amount of time. Of course, Minho was horrified at the idea of being outed. 

“Yeah,” he continued. “They think what you did was insanely brave. They were talking about you at breakfast. They recognised you as the Gryffindor seeker and I had to tell them you were actually the keeper instead. They came to our match a couple of months ago, the one where you threw yourself off the broom to beat Reggie to the snitch? You know, right?” You nodded, it’s not like you could forget about that. “Anyway, they said they thought you were really determined then, but that they didn’t know just how brave you were until they heard about the party.” 

You swallowed, you had been told that by adults more than once in the past few days. Brave, determined, and you might have been all those things, but you were also alone now. Your bravery had charged a hefty price in return. Minho noticed you were upset, and he leaned a little closer, cocking his head as he looked at you. “Have you eaten? I’m going to meet Tom at The Three Broomsticks.” 

You opened your mouth to respond, and then closed it again, shaking your head in response. You were pretty sure mentioning to Minho –Mr. Healthy– of all people that you hadn’t eaten since Friday would have you listening to a very long talk about the importance of food and how it fuels your body and whatnot. 

“So it’s my treat then,” Minho said as he pushed you along with him. “For saving the world!” You were about to argue. “Don’t even think about it, young lady,” he retorted. 

Minho had gotten a lot bossier since he started dating Tom. You sighed and didn’t argue further, which had him throw a weary glance at you. You almost always sassed him back in some way or another. By the time the two of you arrived at the restaurant, Tom was already sitting on one of the tables with two butterbeers ordered.

“Slysprite!” he said once he spotted you, and leaned in to pull you into a hug. He also gave an awkward hug to Minho, as if both wanted to stay together for longer but knew it wouldn’t be appropriate to do it in public. Tom waited for you to sit down and handed you his jug of butterbeer. He looked at you patiently as you took a big gulp. You were about to ask Minho if he could buy you something heavier when Tom spoke again, “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing’s wrong.” 

Tom gave you a look. “Sirius and Remus were whispering to each other the entire train ride, James was clearly angry about it and you were nowhere to be seen. In fact, I’d dare say you left since the party on Friday. Effie said something about you feeling sick, but I didn’t buy shit. What happened?” 

“Tom,” Minho said in a warning tone. 

“Nope,” the blue-eyed boy said with a hand finger up as if to tell Minho not to meddle. “What happened?” he insisted.

You sighed and raised the butterbeer with your hand. “Do you have some real alcohol?” 

“Minho, babe?” he said with a small pout, Minho threw him a look, but Tom called most people babe anyway. Even if Minho knew his was special. “Would you be a darling and bring this kind lady some whiskey?” 

“She hasn’t eaten, Tom.” 

“But she surely had breakfast, right?” You didn’t respond, only raised one of your eyebrows at him. “See, go get her some.” 

Minho stood up and walked towards the bar, he was the only one old enough to buy Fire Whiskey, and he got two glasses since he knew Tom would want some, and he’d drink a bit from his glass. He also ordered fries and a dish to share.

“You look like shit,” Tom said.

“Well, thank you,” you responded and took a sip from the butterbeer, they had never felt bitter to you before, and yet this time it was almost hard to swallow the foamyness of it.

“I mean, why the hell did you leave the Potters’? Do you know how dangerous that is?” 

“I’ve almost diеd plenty of times in the last couple of days,” not to mention the last couple of hours, you thought. “I had to leave.” 

“Why?” 

“Because!”  

Minho arrived with the drinks and handed you the glass, you thanked him and dragged it to your mouth, drinking the double whiskey he’d ordered in one swing. Minho, who had barely let go of it, took hold of it again and pulled it from your mouth, as he placed the food on the centre of the table. He was sitting beside you now, using his body to cover your face from most of the restaurant “Ey, Ey!” He said. “What’s wrong?” He looked at you with genuine concern, both boys did, which only made you feel even worse. 

You looked at them for a second and then turned to Minho with the hopes of changing the subject. “Tell me about your Christmas, Min. Did you see all your cousins?” 

The boy sighed and turned to Tom for help. Minho would have probably responded and would have distracted you from everything that was going on, but Tom was more of the “no-nonsense” kind of guy. He looked at Minho sternly and shook his head slowly. Minho frowned at him in return, as if it pained him not to comply. 

“Slysprite!” Tom chided. “You just downed a glass of Firewhisky like it was water, your face tells me you’ve slept like shit and Sirius and Remus are just as bad as you. James looks exasperated and I’m sorry to be the one to knock some sense into you, but you look like you bought a liquor store and drank it.” 

“I’m not drunk.”  That was true, the entire Gringotts adventure had been enough to sober you up. 

“It’s not what I mean,” Tom responded pointedly. “You know it’s not what I mean.” 

“I’ve had quite a fucking day, Tom.” 

“Well then, go on and tell us about it. What the fuck is wrong with the boys?” 

You sighed, if you didn’t say it then it wasn’t real. And yet you would say it now. “I broke up with Sirius.” 

“What did he do?” Minho asked.

“Why does everyone assume it was he that did something?” 

“Because it’s Sirius Black,” Tom responded. “If not then, why? You look miserable about it, so it’s not because you didn’t want to be with him.”

“Of course, it isn’t,” you said as you hid your head in between your arms and let out a sad groan. 

“Then?” 

“You can’t tell anyone.” 

“Well, we’re both great at keeping secrets,” Minho said, and you turned to him with an incredulous look. 

“That was an accident!”

“I’ll put a tongue twister spell on him after, you cool with that, babe?” 

“For sure.” 

You sighed, “It’s not because of what he did, it’s because of what he wouldn’t have done.” 

“Which is?” 

“Date Remus.” 

Both boys eyed each other confused before turning to you again, your head was buried in between your arms, and you didn’t say a word. 

“What?” Tom asked with a frown.

“I accidentally bumped into Remus jerking off to Sirius’ name…” 

“Well, we’ve all jerked off to Sirius’ name,” Tom said as if it was a non-issue. Minho was about to protest, but after thinking about it for a second longer, he remembered he too had done it.

You threw him an exasperated look, “Maybe, but you don’t look at Sirius the way Remus does.” 

Tom closed his mouth. Minho just frowned as he looked at you. What about the way he looks at you? he wondered. 

“And then I felt like shit because Remus is my best friend and he likes Sirius and I was in the middle of that and–” 

“But Sirius likes you,” Tom interrupted. “I’ve never seen him like anyone in the way he likes you.” 

“Which is why he would have suffered in silence,” you added. “He likes Remus too,” you sighed. “After I found out, I paid closer attention. I was so bIoody blinded by his beautiful eyes, long lashes and prince-like looks. I was not looking at the way he always veered closer to Remus. Heck, I took a fucking picture of the two of them cuddling each other because I thought it was cute once I slept with them.” 

“You… slept with Remus and Sirius at the same time?” Miho asked, confused.

“What? No! We were cuddling not shagging,” you said as if it made it more normal. “Anyway, I totally get it. I mean, Remus is tall and handsome and has those beautiful eyes of his that are always a different colour. He’s clever and brilliant and good at all the classes he takes, but also gentle and kind, not to mention he’s fucking ripped… I cannot blame Sirius for falling for him. And of course, I could never blame Rem for liking Sirius, I’m on the same fucking boat.” 

Tom was looking at your problem, and all he could see was the solution and a very interesting one at that. But he wasn’t just outright going to say it, he had to allow you to discover it yourself. “And do tell, Slysprite, what else is there to like about Remus Lupin?” He asked sceptically. Minho looked at him with a frown and Tom gave him a reassuring nod.

“What else?” you asked in disbelief. “What isn’t to like about Remus? You know he is perceptive as fuck? He knew I was feeling down and helped me feel better, he’d met me a fucking week ago. He’s always three steps ahead of you, I swear I can never beat him on magic chess, he’s a brilliant duelist, and incredible at DADA. He knows the best book recommendations and he speaks so softly when he reads to you. When–” you hesitated. “When Nina and Mum diеd he was there to comfort me. He didn’t ask questions, he just hugged me and listened, he’d such an incredible listener. He can be moody sometimes but that just adds to how charming he is and I– I mean… he’s the best friend I could have ever asked for, I could not imagine how incredible he would be as a partner. Sirius will be lucky to have him. Anyone would.” 

“Aha,” Tom said as he nodded and looked at you. 

“What?”

Tom shrugged, “Nothing,” he said. “It just sounds to me that… you like him as well.” 

You looked at Tom, your back straightened for a second as you pulled back, and you let out a hollow breath, then you gulped. If it hadn’t been for the dire situation you were in, Tom would have taken a picture of how hilariously dumbfounded you looked. 

You groaned and buried your head in between your arms again. “Thanks, Tom! Way to make me more fucking miserable!” you mumbled.

Another thing you had been too blind to see. Fucking Ricchie had been saying that for ages, Reflection Nina had also mentioned something similar. The fox surrounded by the moon and stars? The lady at the three broomsticks? Symbolism was everywhere. Heck, you kept stealing his fucking sweaters because you loved the way they smelled.

“More miserable?” Tom scoffed a laugh. “Darling this is the best thing that could have happened to you!” 

“How?!” You asked, turning back at him, tone angry and bitter. 

“Well, simple: Sirius likes you and Remus, You like Remus and Sirius, Remus likes Sirius and you. It’s a throuple.”

“Remus doesn’t like me!” 

“Oh, he does,” Minho said casually. 

“What?” You asked as you turned to him, he seemed so sure about it. 

“I’ve seen those loving eyes of Remus before, he’s smitten.” 

“But that’s–” Impossible! 

Is it? Really? 

Remus had always been there for you. You remembered his worried expression when he found you on the snow, the hesitance by which he touched you, the way he looked at you back at the Halloween party, the way he would complain about you taking his sweaters but would always wear them after he got them back, when they still smelled of you. 

The way he blushed when you teased him about Alice, how he always seemed slightly disconnected when talking about her, or sex, for that matter, with you. If he thought of you as a friend, and only as a friend, would he be uncomfortable over it? Had James ever been? 

“Oh,” you said as realisation hit you. “Oh,” you said again when you realised how fucking miserable you had made them both. Of course, Remus would never go for Sirius, not if he loved you as well, it was the fucking reason you had –stupidly– broken up with Sirius in the first place. “I’ve been an idiot!” 

“There it is,” Tom said with a satisfied nod and got head slapped by Minho who was a lot more comprehensive over your struggling feelings.

“Tom, you’re brilliant,” you said as you stood up from the chair and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I owe you big time, we all do!” you said thinking of your boys. Yes, your boys. Didn’t that sound delightful?” 

“What are you going to do?” Minho asked.

“Find them,” you said matter of factly. “Find them and talk to them.” 

“That’s the spirit,” Tom cheered and took out some parchment from his bag as the door shut behind you. 

“What are you doing?” Minho asked him as he leaned over the paper. 

“Writing Beth,” he said. “I think I won the bet.” 

“What bet?” 

“The one about those three having a very intense threesome,” Tom said casually and got another head slap from Minho. 

“Oi,” he complained and pushed him playfully. Not that it did anything to Minho, Tom had always been smaller. 

“Don’t bet on peoples’ feelings!” Minho chided. 

“What about yours?” 

“What about mine?” 

“Can I bet on the feelings you have for me?” Tom asked almost in a whisper as he leaned closer to his boyfriend. He had a small smirk when he leaned back, it growing wider when he noticed the tip of Minho’s ears reddening. 

“You’re such an idiot,” Minho said as he covered his face with his palms, maybe then it would be less evident how blushed he’d become.

Tom just smiled and patted him on the back, “That makes you a bigger idiot since you fell for me.” 

You ran through Hogsmeade and used a disillusionment charm to walk through the back door and into the cellar. From there you climbed down the hatch and almost bumped into James as you turned to walk. 

“Vixen?” he asked. He couldn’t see you at all. “Did you get an invisibility cloak or something?” 

“What?” you asked, confused. “Finite incantatem,” you said and looked at him with a frown. 

“It was a disillusionment charm? I couldn’t see you at all.” 

“Maybe you should get your eyes checked,” you said as you leaned closer to Prongs and took his glasses from his face. 

It was like you were surging with energy now, excitement and a bit of nervousness buzzing through your very atoms as you thought of being able to kiss Sirius again, of never having to stop. As you thought of how soft Remus’s lips would be on yours, how happy it would make him to know that he could have what he wanted without hurting anyone at all. 

“Are you okay?” James asked, concerned. You looked nothing like what you’d sounded through the earrings. 

“Totally!” you replied. “Do you know where Sirius and Remus are?” 

“Well, I’m not sure… I think Slughorn wanted to talk with Remus about some potion he’s been working on with a student and he went there. Sirius…? I have no idea.” 

“Do you have the map?” you asked. James shook his head and you handed back his glasses. “These seem all right to me,” you said with a shrug. 

“Moony must have it,” he added, still confused.

“Oh, that’s excellent, I need to go to the dungeons then,” you said and turned around to speed off, but James caught up to you and pulled you to turn to him. 

He was looking at you with concern. “Are you okay?” he asked solemnly, both hands on your shoulders as he stared at you attentively. 

You were almost dragged back to reality by his question. Bad things still happened around you, dark and sad, and life-threatening things. You were still upset about what happened, but you weren’t hopeless anymore. There was light at the end of the tunnel and the fact that you wouldn’t be alone as you faced all of it was as comforting as it was thrilling. Your boys, you’d get to see your boys. 

“Yeah,” you said with a small smile as you nodded. “I’m going to fix things.” 

“The thing with Remus and Sirius?” 

“Exactly that,” you added with a smile, James’ concern slowly turned into a small grin. 

“You’re telling me you found a way to have them stop being all moody?” 

“If the plan works,” you said with a shrug.

“You seem confident.” 

“It’s a good plan,” you retorted. James nodded and you turned around again. 

“Hey, Vix!” He said again. 

“Yeah?” you asked as you turned around. James smiled from how excited you seemed, and then turned to his bag, throwing the cloak at you. 

“Take this, might be useful.” 

“And you?” 

“I’ll disillusion myself to get out and walk back to the castle,” then he cocked his head to the side and bit his lip. “I heard Evans is going to be at Hogsmeade before dinner.” 

You smiled, “Good luck!” 

“You too.” 

You took off again, the cloak in your hands and your small, expansion charm bag bumping against your hip as you rushed through the passage. It hadn’t been many times that you’d taken the HoneyDukes way to the castle, but it was narrower and somehow less moist than the one on the Shack. 

You arrived at the one-eyed witch statue, took the cloak and wrapped it around yourself before speeding all the way to the dungeons. You stopped just outside the potions classroom. You could hear Slughorn’s voice from the door. 

“So, would you be interested in taking the potion for a test?” 

“You said Belby worked on this?” Remus asked. 

“Yeah, I believe he collaborated with someone too, but that person didn’t want to take any of the credit. They made some kind of deal, I believe.” 

“Okay,” Remus said as he took the potion in his hands and nodded. “I’ll tell you how it went next month.” 

“Very well, I’d like to get all your thoughts on a paper so I can hand those to Dacmocles. You may change your handwriting or use a Quick-Quotes quill, I believe Professor McGonagall has one and will gladly lend it to you.” Remus seemed hesitant after that. “Of course, both you and your partner will get extra points for your work. Not that you need much of those.” 

“Right, yes,” Remus said, trying not to grimace when the thought of you, still alone, Godric knows where, came crawling into his mind. “I’ll write the paper.” 

“Brilliant!” the professor retorted and went back to check the papers on his table, which prompted Remus to exit the room with a simple nod. You smiled as you saw him pass by you, determined to get somewhere as he pulled a very familiar parchment from his sweater, and walked towards one of the secret passages you used all the time.

You walked right behind him and watched as he swore over the map and used Lumos to see the words that slowly appeared on the parchment.

“Who are you looking for?” You asked, leaning just behind him and looking at the map just from the side of his shoulder. 

Remus almost jumped out of his skin, turning completely when he heard your voice, his shoulder accidentally hitting your chin since you didn’t have enough time to pull back. He didn’t notice though, too shocked about you literally appearing out of nowhere.

“Where the hell have you been?” He asked as he placed both of his hands over your shoulders and inspected your face thoroughly, trying to check if you’d been hurt.

Yeah, it could have been hell, you thought. 

“We should talk.” 

“I was so worried, we all were, you shouldn’t have left like that!” Remus responded, completely ignoring your words and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. Remus was scared you would push him away, he was terrified it was the last hug he gave you so he squeezed. 

“I thought I had to,” you said honestly. “You like Sirius.” 

Remus pulled back, “Starshine, I don’t know how you got that idea into your head but–”  

“It wasn’t a question.” 

“Would you let me speak?! I’m telling you, that’s ridiculous, not because I like boys does it mean–” 

“Remus,” you said a little more sternly. “You don’t have to lie to me.” 

“Why aren’t you bIoody listening?” He repeated, exasperated, you saw the flash of gold in his eyes. Even then, you thought it was charming. “It’s ridiculous that you think I would–” 

“I don’t blame you, I like him too.” 

“For Godric’s sake! I said I don’t–” 

“I saw you that night, with the coat,” you rushed out before he had time to protest again.  

Remus’ frown deepened. The night with the coat? He wondered, and then the images came to him, and he paled. “Whatever you thought you heard–” 

“You jerking off to my boyfriend’s name, you mean?” You asked with a knowing smile. Remus was utterly dumbfounded, you weren’t half as pissed as he expected you to be. Heck, you seemed diverted. 

“Is this funny to you?” Remus asked, face cold and tears welling up in his eyes. 

You instantly felt terrible for the way in which you’d said it. “NO! No, of course not,” you said and took a deep breath. “I was–” you bit your lip. “When I found out I was shocked– and pissed, because I hadn’t seen it before, because it was obvious that Sirius and I being together was hurting you and–” 

“It is not hurting me!” Remus defended. “You and Sirius are meant for each other and–” 

“So are you and him,” you said more calmly. “Perhaps more than me and him…” 

“That’s bullshit, he loves you, you know that.” 

You smiled again, that knowing sort of smile Remus couldn’t quite place, “He loves you too, you know?” 

Remus clenched his jaw as a frustrated exhale escaped through his nose. How ever could he respond to that? He hated this, he hated having caused you so much pain, because he was stupid and horny due to the moon and because he quite literally couldn’t keep it in his pants and because he was an idiot and–

“Remus,” you called his attention, driving him away from his destructive thoughts. “Do you like me too?” He turned to you even more shocked at your question. His face was one of anguish and despair as if he didn’t know what to say, or how to respond to such a question. “Be honest,” you added, calmly.

Remus shook his head with tears in his eyes. 

“Would you take veritaserum and deny it again?” 

“Are my words not enough?” 

“You didn’t even speak. And they weren’t enough for you when I told you I wasn’t afraid, nor were they when I told you I thought you were beautiful.” 

Remus swallowed, “Even if I did–” You were biting your lips to stop yourself from smiling. “Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter, would it? You need to go to Sirius and–” 

“Remus, I like you too,” you blurted out. “I don’t how I was so stupid not to realise it before. I mean the potion at the Slug Party, the way I cuddle with you, the way I’m always happy when you’re around. The way you make me laugh, the way you smell.” You had to take in some air from how fast you were speaking. “I was blind, completely blinded by Sirius to see–” 

“Do you not like Sirius anymore?” Remus asked, almost reproachingly. 

You laughed, “Of course, I like him still! He might be the love of my life, but we’re all a bunch of idiots, that’s what we are!”  

“Little Witch, I don’t think I’m following,” he responded confused. 

You took his head in both of his hands. “You beautiful, self-sacrificing idiot,” you said then. Remus wanted to retort with you being much worse than he was, but he wanted to see what the hell you meant by that more. You licked your lips, enticed to kiss his own, but you knew you had to talk to Sirius about it first. “Don’t you see? We’re all pinning for each other, mutually.” 

He didn’t speak, so you took that as a sign to continue, “You like me and Sirius, I like you and Sirius and Sirius liked the both of us.” 

“You’re saying–” he stammered, “you’re saying you want us all to be together?” 

“Well, wouldn’t that be the only natural solution? We were already together all the time–” 

“I don’t know about natural,” he muttered, you smiled. 

“The only difference would be that you could act on your desires and Sirius could act on his. Wouldn’t that make you happy?” 

“Would it make you happy?” 

“It would make me ecstatic!” you replied with a smile. “And I’m sure Sirius even more so, he’s been pining for you while being with me, he must have felt terribly guilty about it, but he never had to be. Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time three people have fallen in love with each other.” 

“It’s a love triangle,” Remus huffed a laugh as he rolled his eyes. 

“But none of us has to be alone in the end,” you added with a smile, as you bit your lip, and then pressed a kiss to his cheek, right next to the spot your thumb had been resting on. Remus’ smile only widened and he leaned in to kiss you, but you turned your head before your lips clashed with each other.

You didn’t miss the hurt look on his handsome features and you pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry,” you said, voice muffled by his shirt. “You don’t know how much I wanted you to do that, but we need to speak to Sirius first. No more lies, we all need to be honest with each other this time around.” 

“Sirius is gonna flip out when we tell him,” he muttered into your head. “He’s been sulking over being an idiot for falling in love with me since you left.”

“Then we’re both idiots,” you said with a small smile, still hugging Remus tightly. “Did you guys figure each other out?” 

Remus pulled back with a sceptical look. “Did you really think if you left, we were just going to start dating?” 

“You didn’t?” 

“Of course not!” he replied. “We were both upset, you left with no wand and alone! Nobody knew where you’d gone to, let alone if you were safe wherever you’d been and you were breaking apart because of Christmas. Sirius was drowning in guilt and to be honest, I wasn’t much better. We would have never been happy if we thought you were upset.” 

You bit your lip, looking down and thinking how much quicker things would have gotten solved if instead of running away, you had faced the issue head-on. If instead of leaving, you had brought Remus to the kitchen and forced him to talk things through with the two of you. 

Of course, you didn’t know he liked you too then, but perhaps you wouldn’t have had to go through Gringotts alone if you had. You wouldn’t have gone through those lonely, almost desolate days in which you drowned yourself in alcohol. 

“I guess it makes sense,” you said with a sad smile. “I couldn’t have continued on with Sirius if I thought it was hurting you either. Of that I was certain.” 

“As if you being with Sirius hadn’t already broken half of the school’s hearts,” Remus huffed.

You looked up at him with a smile, “Perhaps, but none of those hearts belong to my best friend.” 

You saw the faintest blush creep up on Remus’s cheeks, you were again tempted to pull him into a kiss, and you willed yourself to stop. Not until we talk to Sirius about it. 

“We should go to him,” you said with resolution. “Where is he?” you asked as you leaned down and picked the map up from the floor. 

“I was looking for you,” Remus admitted, as he leaned closer to you, helping you open the map as you held it. “I wanted to find you as soon as you got to the castle so both Sirius and I could ambush you. I was going to try and convince you I didn’t like him.” 

“More lies?” 

“You told Sirius you didn’t like him anymore,” he sassed back. He didn’t have to say it, you knew how hypocritical it was.

You huffed, “Maybe being in love really does make you more stupid,” you mumbled as your eyes scanned through the map. You saw Peter in the broom closet again, which made you assume he was “greeting” Annie Doxon. James was not at the castle, so he was probably still with Lily back at Hogsmeade. Some of the teachers were in their classrooms, the prefects were helping some of the first years out, or so you assumed since most of them were walking at rather random places inside the castle. The kind of which only the newer kids ended up in. 

“There,” Remus said. “Gryffindor tower, he must be in our room.” 

“Looks like we’ve set direction, captain,” you said with a smile. 

Remus smiled, but he faltered just seconds later. “Wait! How are you?” 

“Very excited about talking to Sirius.” 

“I don’t mean that,” Remus reproached. “I mean about Christmas.” 

You swallowed, and you took a deep breath. “I’m better,” you said honestly. “Well, at least I think I am. Kind of? Something happened in Diagon, I’ll tell both of you all about it after we’ve sorted this out, does that sound fair? One problem at a time…” 

“Will you actually talk about it?”  

You nodded, “I think I avoided the subject so much that it came crashing onto me like a full-speed train, but perhaps I needed that.” 

Remus gave you a weary look, clearly preoccupied with what you’d said, but he was certain he wouldn’t get anything else from you if you didn’t have that “Sirius talk” first. He nodded, still biting his lip as he placed a hand behind your shoulders and pushed you right in front of him, towards Gryffindor Tower. 

It was almost as if going through that first time you met him, when he took you to the passages so you didn’t get busted for being out late. You smiled as you walked, and at some point pulled out Nina’s wand to get some more light out. 

“Lumos,” you whispered. The light was blinding enough to illuminate the entire place before you managed to dim it. 

“What the– you bought a new wand?” Remus asked. 

You turned to him and showed him Nina’s. “Olivander refused to sell one to me, he said this one was meant to be mine.” 

“It’s…” he hesitated, he wasn’t sure he wanted to say her name. Every time they mentioned it you would instantly shut them out and become distant, and last time he suggested you use her wand, you were pretty clear when you told him why you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to remember everything that had happened every time you made a spell.

“Nina’s,” you finished for him. “Yeah, a lot of stuff happened in Diagon.” 

He placed a reassuring hand behind your neck, he was warm, and you hadn’t quite realised how much you craved his touch until you felt the pads of his fingers brush against your skin. You leaned closer to his hand almost instantly, relaxing into his touch. 

He smiled when he noticed and started playing with the hair at the nape of your neck. Remus had always known you liked being coddled, but at the same time he tried to maintain a decent distance since you were dating Sirius, but the fact that he could give you the type of solace he yearned to give, was somehow comforting to him in itself. Like that time when he found you on the snow, but without feeling terrible for betraying his best friend.

He was soft as he made his touch a little more purposeful, finding the tense muscles and pressing onto them with his warm hand, it was delightful, to say the least. “Is that okay?” he asked hesitantly. 

“It’s perfect,” you said honestly. “I knew you were good at petting, I mean you were brilliant with Vixen but –yeah there– I had no clue you’d be this good with humans.” 

Remus laughed at your praise to hide his blush, not that you were looking at him, your gaze was still focused ahead of you and you were carefully counting the turns, not to get lost. It was something you did often when you were inside the passages, and Remus thought the way you muttered 2 left, 1 right, straight, etc. was adorable. 

“I’ve got my hidden talents. Really good with my hands,” he replied with a bit of a smirk. “I’ll show them to you one day.” 

“Godric, Remus!” you said as you turned to him with a shocked scoff. “Who would have thought shy old Moony could be such a flirt?” 

“Only when it matters,” he said with a smile and then squeezed both his fingers onto a knot in your neck and you almost moaned. “I wasn’t lying.” 

“Show off!” you said as you rolled your eyes and swatted him playfully on the chest. This is nice, you thought. You missed being able to interact with them so casually. It was like you’d been walking on needles for too long, and suddenly you were taken to a soft meadow.

By the time you were close to the exit on the passage, you unfolded James’ cloak again, and placed it around yourself, that way you could follow Remus all the way to his room without being spotted. 

“Stand close,” he said.

You refrained from teasing him over it, deciding you’d tease him mercilessly once Sirius was in on the discovery. Remus walked inside the common room, greeted some of your classmates with a simple wave, and continued walking towards his room. The path you already knew so well, you could follow in almost complete darkness. Remus was about to open the door before he turned, looking over his shoulder before muttering, “Should I go in first or–” 

You disillusioned yourself and passed the cloak over his head once you made sure there was nobody else in the hall. “I’ll go in first. I should probably apologise to him,” you responded. Remus nodded. “Give me five minutes and then come inside.” 

You walked in, Sirius was sitting on Remus’ bed, head down and staring at his hands as he picked on his nails and bobbed his leg up and down. He didn’t look up when he heard the door, he seemed to be lost in thought. You saw a clear tear fall over his hand, and he was quick to wipe it out with his thumb.

“Puppy?” you asked as you deactivated the charm. 

He sprung from the bed in a second, his eyes were red-rimmed and he looked as bad, if not worse, than when you left him crying in James’ kitchen. “Starshine?” he asked, as he spotted you, as if he didn’t believe his eyes. And just like Remus had done, he went straight to wrap his arms around you and push you to him. “I thought I’d have to go look for you as soon as you got here. Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” you said as you hugged him back, tightening your arms around him. “I’m so sorry,” you said then, thinking of how sad he was and how much you’d hurt him. Thinking of the moment when he’d begged you to be selfish for him and instead of complying, you’d lied and told him you didn’t love him. “I lied, I do love you! Don’t ever doubt that.” 

He pulled back, looking at you as confused as Remus had been earlier, more so when he was the tears pricking your eyes, “Starshine, what are you talking about? I’m the one that fucked up, I’m the one that–” 

“You asked me to be selfish for you, you told me to stop being the hero and I ignored your pleas, I only succeeded in making all of us miserable and–” 

“But it was I the one who fell in love with his best friend while dating you, It was I the one that… I should be on my knees beginning for forgiveness.” 

“No!” you said then. “There’s nothing to forgive! I was the idiot for leaving, not you!” 

“What?” Sirius asked, even more confused, and terrified that the inch of hope you’d created wasn’t real… What if he was dreaming of you again?

“I talked to Remus,” you said then. 

“Wait, you did? Are you convinced he's not into me, then?” 

“Godric, no! He definitely likes you.” 

“So then… why are you– you don’t seem angry about it.” 

“Yeah,” you choked a laugh, cheeks wet with some tears still, but stretching into a smile. “You see there’s one thing I hadn’t realised, one thing that was the key to solving this puzzle we’ve been dancing around for months, and I wish I hadn’t been as oblivious to it, we would have spared the three of us a heartache.” 

Sirius looked at you as you rambled, not sure he understood what you were going on about. It was like you discussing muggle books with Remus that he hadn’t read, he understood the words, but other than that it was like you were speaking a different language. 

“And I’ve always said I’ve been so good at reading people, I was embarrassingly stupid in interpreting my own feelings, to our feelings, that I allowed myself to wallow in my own self pity, and in my own little hole of darkness, too obscure to see the bigger picture and–” 

“Étoile, you’re rambling.” 

You shot your mouth and looked at him with an owlish gaze, you took a deep breath, thinking of how to break it up to him. “Sirius, when you think of me kissing anyone but you, what do you feel?” 

“Anyone but me?”  

“Imagine me kissing Peter.”

Sirius couldn’t quite hold back the sombering of his gaze. You had analysed everything that had happened since you met them, and you had a pretty good idea of what you were about to do, if things went awry though, you weren’t sure you’d be able to withstand the heartache that would ensue. 

“Why do you–” 

“What if it was James? Alex? Tom?” you pressed. Sirius gave you a sorrowful look now. Were you trying to tell him how upset you’d felt over the fact that he liked Remus? It was certainly working.

“Starshine, I–” 

“What if it was Marlene?” His expression was still dull, although rather curious, “Beth? Sybil? Evan?” 

He cringed at the last one, “I think I get what you–” 

“What about me kissing Remus?” His expression changed, you didn’t need to prickle into his mind to know what he was thinking. Although you had been tempted to try legilimency, deep down you knew it would be unfair. “I’ve done it before, remember? At Marlene’s party near the beginning of the year?” 

Sirius remembered it. Of course, he did, there was no way in hell he didn’t, you had been sitting on his lap while you made out with his best friend. That day he thought that might have been the hottest thing to ever happen in his life, but he assumed it was about seeing you kiss, and imagining himself in Remus’ place, rather than seeing the both of you kissing each other. He gulped. 

“Sirius, how would you feel if I kissed him?” 

He didn’t know how to respond. He couldn’t tell the truth, could he? Wouldn’t that upset you further? Make you feel like the entire relationship had been a lie?

“I mean–” he stuttered, “It would–”

“Sirius,” you said softly as you pressed your hand to his cheek. “I want you to be honest, above everything else. Does that sound fair?” He didn’t respond, he only gave you a pleading look. “We’ve lied to each other and ourselves enough.” 

That was like an arrow straight to the heart. Cupid, you traitorous beast, how could you do this to us? he thought as he tried to find his words again. His tongue felt stale inside his mouth, his lips were shut tight like a statue’s, it was as if he couldn’t speak, even if he wanted to.

“Would it upset you?” 

“No,” he mumbled, so low it was almost inaudible. “It wouldn’t.” 

You nodded, and then leaned your head to the side, searching for his downcast eyes before you said, “It wouldn’t upset me either… I mean, it wouldn’t upset me to see you kissing Remus.” 

“What do you mean–” 

“Remember that night I took a picture of the two of you cuddling each other? I always found it adorable.” 

“I was figuring out I liked him back then…” Sirius mumbled, and you smiled.

“Well, I was never jealous. I could never be jealous of Moony,” you explained. “The fact that he liked you and you liked him was not the reason I left.” 

“Then why–”

“Cause I thought I was causing the both of you pain by being in the middle, the obstacle that prevented the two of you from–” 

“You could NEVER be an obstacle!” he rushed out. 

“I know,” you reassured with a smile. “Do you want to know what the last piece of the puzzle was?” Sirius nodded, and you smiled. “Turns out Moony dear, did not only have a crush on you.” Sirius frowned at that, about to ask what you meant but you beat him to it. “He likes me too. He liked the both of us, from the very start.” 

“Moony what?!?” He asked, shocked. 

“And really, we should have seen it sooner, I mean Remus is good at keeping his secrets, but Moony with Padfoot and Vixen? He’s absolute trash at it, it was as obvious as a Sytherin trying to pass as a Gryffindor. We should have known!” 

“So you’re saying that…” 

“WE’RE ALL INTO EACH OTHER!”

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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A/N: Well, what just happened?

Read more Marauders Fiction

[joeys-babe]

Joey B Imagine: Simply Shady II*

Summary: You surprise Joe at training camp!

(Part 2 to - Part one)

Warnings: Fluff, smut (sending nudes, piv sex in a public place)

Pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

Imagine Universe: Misc.

A/N: Go to the very end to see y/n’s Porsche!! (you'll find out about it later)

August 1, 2024 - Second day of pads

After my mental walk through memory lane sparked by Joe’s hair, we cuddled in bed for a few more minutes before Joe got up to shower.

Last night, after quite a few rounds of a purely blissful workout, Joe and I were too tired to shower, so he was going it now. Since he was up early to go to camp, I was in no rush to get out of bed, so I declined his offer to join him.

Joe showered fairly quickly and came out of the bathroom wearing a random t-shirt and his pink shorts. He walked over to the bed, a grin on his face as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“I’ll be back home right after practice ends. I don't have any meetings or sessions today.” - Joe

“Alrighty. See ya later, I love you.” - you

“I love you too. Byeeee.” - Joe

Joe drawled the word out as he grabbed his practice bag and disappeared down the hallway. I laid there just grinning at his adorableness.

After staring at the doorway for a few moments, I rolled over onto Joe’s pillow like I always did when he was gone. I loved burrowing my nose into the fabric to smell his familiar scent, something that always helped if I was dealing with separation anxiety.

-

An hour later, I had just stepped out of the shower when my phone vibrated on the counter.

bengals added to their story

I immediately picked up my phone and clicked the notification. My eyes widened at the video of Joe walking into the practice fields. That black compression shirt was one of the hottest things he could wear, along with his cut-off football pants turned into shorts. God, he looks mouthwatering. After staring for a few minutes, a thought entered my head.

What if I went to surprise him?

Joe and I had been planning on soft launching our engagement for a while now. Every idea we came up with, we didn't like. An Instagram post didn't feel like an us way of announcing it. And Joe didn't want to just blurt it out in a press conference.

What if I went, surprised Joe, and wore my ring?

I couldn't help but giggle when I looked over at it in my jewelry dish. Though I had told Joe I didn't need anything big and flashy, that’s exactly what he gave me. The gorgeous diamond glittered in the light coming from overhead, and you couldn't miss it from a mile away.

After I made my mind up, I quickly threw on a pair of jean shorts and Joe’s yellow Bengals shirt. I blow-dried my hair, did light makeup after, and then pulled my hair back into a slicked-back ponytail. I curled the pony as a final touch, grabbed my lipgloss that I knew was Joe’s favorite scent, and sprayed my fav perfume on.

I was walking out of the bathroom when I stopped dead in my tracks, honestly unable to fathom how I almost forgot the star of the show.

Doing a quick jog back to the bathroom, I grabbed my engagement ring and slipped it on, my eyes going wide when I saw that my curling iron was still on.

“Oopsies.” - you chuckled to yourself

After that, it was smooth sailing all the to the garage and into my car. As soon as my hand touched the steering wheel, I remembered when Joe surprised me with it.

——

Flashback - October, 2023

It was a normal October day, or so I thought, I was returning home after yet another shitty day at work, but a smile pulled on my lips when I pulled into the driveway to see Joe standing at the front door, waiting for me.

He was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt, looking incredibly adorable with his hood pulled over his head. I was quick to get out of the car to run up to him, not even paying any mind to park in the garage like normal.

“Hi, baby.” - Joe grinned

“What are you up to?” - you laughed

Joe just shrugged with a smile, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me close to his warm chest. I could feel his rapid heartbeat, but I just figured it was because he was excited that I was home.

I leaned in to give him a sweet kiss, our lips staying entwined as Joe pulled me into the house and shut the door.

He ended up pulling away out of necessity, both of us a little out of breath from the kiss.

“I have a surprise for you in the garage.” - Joe

I gasped, my hands lightly slapping his chest out of excitement. I tried to think about what the surprise could be, especially with it being in the garage. Joe had just signed his contract extension last month, and with the load of money that had just come into his possession, he was unpredictable.

“Did you get the patio furniture I was looking at the other day?” - you gasped

Joe shrugged, purposely grinning cheekily to lead you on to think that you had guessed it. You couldn't be farther off, though.

A moment later, Joe moved to stand behind me. He put one muscular arm around my waist to guide me before covering my eyes with one big hand.

“Joeyy.” - you giggled

“Just trust me.” - Joe grinned

I did just that, and Joe guided me to the garage, pausing for a moment to open the door before leading me down the steps.

“Okay ready?” - Joe

“Mhm!!” - you

Joe felt a smile pull at his lips at how excited I was getting. With his arm still around my waist and his hand still on my eyes, Joe leaned forward and turned his head to the side to kiss my cheek.

“Three… two… one…” - Joe

Dramatically, Joe removed his hands from my eyes and jumped to the side to watch my reaction.

Letting out a loud gasp, I immediately slapped my hands onto my cheeks when I saw what was in front of me. It was a car. A fucking Porsche, to be more specific. It was my favorite color, blue, and one of the prettiest shades of it at that.

“Joe! You did not!” - you

“But I diddd.” - Joe smirked

After staring at the car of my literal dreams for a few more moments, tears started to form in my eyes. Joe, my boyfriend, who just signed a huge contract, made his first big purchase of it on me.

I turned and looked at him before running into his arms. Joe immediately hugged me tight, slowly swaying us from side to side as he let me cry into his chest.

“I hope these are happy tears.” - Joe nervously chuckled

“They're major happy tears, Joey.” - you sobbed

Joe pulled my head away from his chest before turning around and reaching into the mudroom. He grabbed the key off of the little hanger, handing it to me with a proud smile on his face.

He loved every bit of this. He was making the amount of money where he could buy his favorite person the car of her dreams, and he had never felt so proud of himself.

“Go look.” - Joe smiled

I unlocked the car, opened the door, and somehow cried harder when I saw the interior. Joe seriously picked everything that I would've.

Before I even got a good look, I turned back around and moved back into Joe’s arms. Joe chuckled as he held me close, rubbing my back and peppering my head with kisses.

“Thank you… so much.” - you cried

“You’re so welcome, baby.” - Joe

It took me a few minutes to collect myself, but once I wasn't steadily crying, Joe and I got into the car so he could show me how to work some stuff.

“Oh, fuck. I forgot I got the massaging front seats too.” - Joe

“These things massage?!?” - you

“Yup. They're also ventilated and heated.” - Joe grinned

He really decked me out.

“Why’d you get all of these add-ons for my car when you just got original everything for your own?” - you

“Uhm, that's obvious. I want you to have everything and more, so I'm gonna get you everything possible. Did you see the all-black wheels??” - Joe

I nodded, feeling a little emotional when Joe hooked his phone up to the car and played a favorite song of mine lately.

Joe and I giggled, using our hands as fake microphones as we sang You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift. I had my head leaned over onto his shoulder as I sang, lovesick grins on both of our faces.

“I love you.” - Joe grinned

“I love you more.” - you smiled

——

Back to present day

By the time my walk down memory lane was over, I was pulling into the parking lot of the stadium. My eyes widened when I realized I somehow drove here completely zoned out.

“I won't question it.” - you mumbled

As I walked over to the practice fields, I noticed my favorite security guard already smiling at me from a few feet away.

“Hey, Freddie!!” - you grinned

“Hello, Miss y/n.” - Freddie

Freddie waved, and without thinking, I waved back with my left hand. Freddie’s eyes went wide, and I giggled when I looked down at my hand to see what gave him that reaction.

“Is that a ring I see??” - Freddie

“Yes, sir.” - you grinned

Once I got closer to him, he put his hand out, and I hovered my hand over his. Freddie examined the hefty ring on my finger with a smile on his face.

“I’m glad he finally did it. And might I add, Mr. Burrow did exceptionally picking this out. This ring is huge, sweetie.” - Freddie

“I’m glad he did it too, and yes, Joe did amazing. I catch myself staring at it all of the time.” - you

“Does he know you're coming?” - Freddie

I shook my head no, and Freddie personally escorted me over to the family and friends area. He knew I got a lot of unwarranted hate, and without Joe knowing I was here and keeping eyes on me, he wanted to make sure I got over to the restricted area safely.

When I first got over to some of the other wags, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the amount of adorable babies there were.

Gracie McPherson, Evan’s wife, let me hold their daughter Merritt, and I felt myself melt when I held her in my arms.

Morgan Wilson was standing to the side, silently smiling as she assessed the situation before her eyes fell on the ring on my finger. She let out a loud gasp, making all of us look over at her.

“Everything okay?” - Gracie

“Y/N… what is on your left hand?!” - Morgan

Gracie’s neck snapped in my direction before she looked down at my ring finger, making her gasp as well.

I couldn't help but laugh as Gracie, Morgan, and a couple of the other girls all looked at me with their jaws dropped open. They were waiting for me to say something or at least confirm their thoughts.

“We’re engaged.” - you grinned

All of the girls squealed, Gracie even getting Merritt out of my arms in back in her stroller so that she could pull me into a hug.

“You’re gonna be a wife!!!!” - Gracie

“Oh my gosh! Here comes Mrs. Y/N Burrow, everyone!” - Morgan squealed

We all spent a few minutes giggling, all of the girls congratulating me and poking fun at Joe for finally getting down on one knee.

The rest of the practice was kind of boring. Nothing super significant happened until the practice was finally over. Sam came over to say hi to Jess, his face lighting up when he saw me, knowing I was here to surprise Joe.

“Oh my god! Wait, I'll go get him.” - Sam

Sam gave Jess a quick kiss before running off to get Joe, who was signing autographs. From far away, I saw Joe’s face light up when Sam pointed in the direction of the family area.

Joe signed for a few more minutes before jogging over to me. I giggled when I saw that he was trying to suppress a grin.

When Joe finally made it over to me, he let the grin take over his lips. There was a rope between us, and Joe crouched underneath it.

God, he looks perfect. Joe’s wearing his black cut-off compression shirt with his little white shorts.

“What’re you doing here??” - Joe grinned

“Wanted to surprise you.” - you grinned

“Well, you sure did.” - Joe chuckled

I reached out with my left hand, putting it on Joe’s chest. Joe looked down at my hand and smiled when he noticed that I had my engagement ring on.

“Is this our soft hard launch?” - Joe

“I think soooo. All of the girls were freaking out when they saw it.” - you giggled

Joe’s cheeks were starting to hurt from how hard he was smiling. He was over the moon that it would be public that we were getting married, along with the excitement that I had surprised him.

“Can I get a kiss?” - Joe

“I don't know. You're super sweaty.” - you chuckled

All he did was roll his eyes, wrapping a muscular arm around my waist and pulling me into him before pressing his lips to mine. The kiss was short, still a little heated, though.

Joe just looked way too hot right now. How was I supposed to not kiss him harder than usual?

When we eventually pulled away, Joe’s eyes were a little wide, and his cheeks were flushed.

“Someone’s worked up.” - Joe chuckled

“Have you seen yourself? I'm gonna be a little worked up when my fiance looks like a walking orgasm.” - you

Joe rolled his eyes a little, trying to cover up that his cheeks were blushing before he leaned in for another kiss. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the photographers snapping a picture in our direction, so I made sure that my ring was noticeable.

“Very subtle, baby.” - Joe laughed

“We’re not going for subtle. If I could climb to the top of the stadium with a megaphone and yell that we were engaged, I would.” - you

We spent a few more minutes wrapped up in each other before Joe departed to go take a shower. I walked back to my car with an unwipeable smile stuck on my face.

I was sitting in the driver's seat, waiting for Joe to come out since he said we could go get lunch together, when he sent me a text.

It was a few pictures of us that the photographer had taken, my engagement ring sparkling under the Cincinnati sun. The text Joe sent with it made me giggle.

I’d say I did a pretty damn good job picking that ring 🤷🏼‍♂️

You definitely did babe 😙

I mean… do you see that sparkle?!

I think the space station can see the sparkle, Joe. LOL. But hurry up! I'm hungryyy.

Yes, ma'am 🫡

As I waited for Joe, I laid my head back against the headrest, and my mind wandered back to the end of June.

——

Flashback - end of June

Joe was done in France and was on his plane home. I was so excited to see him after being apart from him for a while.

I landed and am at the place 😁

What the fuck does that mean?

Wdym? What place?

The Airbnb that we’re staying at for a few days.

My mouth dropped open at his text, my heart rate picking up at the surprise. Where even was he?

We’re? Where are you??

Yes, we’re. You have a flight here to me tomorrow. I'm in Hydra, Greece, baby. 🤍

What the fuck? Is this a joke? Why are we going to Greece?

It’s almost camp. I felt bad that my first big International trip wasn't with you. So why not extend said trip a little so that I can have memories with the love of my life, too?

You’re unreal. Giving me a day's notice to pack is crazy, though. You’re lucky that I'm so excited for this trip, babyyy.

Then you should get to it, babyyy. Ttyl 😘

I had to grin when he used extra y’s in the word baby like I had. He's so adorable sometimes.

Ttyl Joey!! ILYYY. I'm so excited for the trip. 🤭

Joe hearted the message before he put his phone down to take a nap. On his bedside table was the little black box that had been burning a hole in his pocket for a while. He couldn't help but grin when he grabbed it, pulling it to him before opening it to see the engagement ring that was stored inside.

This was it. He was gonna propose. And he was so glad that it was you.

-

Though packing was a nightmare, I got done eventually and got ready for the night. I don't think I ever slept just tossed and turned out of excitement.

The morning came fairly quickly, and I was practically bubbling when I walked up the steps of the charter plane.

I sent Joe a quick text telling him that I made it onto the plane, ending it with yet another ‘I miss you’.

Scrolling through my camera roll while waiting for a response, I was a little intrigued when the text banner popped up.

Shiesty 💓 - Attachment: 1 Image

I clicked the notification, gasping when I saw the picture, and immediately smashed my phone to my chest to cover my screen.

The image consisted of Joe standing in front of a wall-length mirror, butt naked. The star of the show? One of his huge veiny hands wrapped around his even bigger erect cock.

I miss you too. 💕

I couldn't help but laugh. The insanely revealing and intimate image paired with such a tame and innocent text was baffling. It was so Joe, though.

Joe’s duality never failed to amaze me. On the outside, he was this confident, level-headed star NFL quarterback, and at home with me, he could be multiple different things.

1. An intimate, purely sexy lover who took the reigns in the bedroom.

2. A seriously romantic guy, constantly showering me with love and affection. His more serious side when it came to our relationship.

3. A total softy goofball. Where all he wants is to be cuddled and kissed as he can't help but blush and giggle.

There was never any in-between, and he was always in one of those three modes.

It was a few moments later when I realized I hadn't texted Joe back, so I made sure to quickly do that.

Oh my god, Joe.

Thought I’d send you a little treat after those lingerie pics you sent me last night. 😙

That is def a treat, baby. I wish I was there to have a taste.

You have no idea how horny I am right now. I’m about to bust just from seeing your contact name pop up.

Joe and I went back and forth for a while, just teasing each other before he eventually said that he was in dire need of a cold shower. I had to giggle when Joe sent me a selfie, showing me that his face was completely flushed red.

After my text convo with Joe ended, I decided to take a nap because this was going to be a loooong plane ride.

-

When I finally landed, it was later in the day in Greece, and there was already a driver for me waiting.

I was antsy the entire way there, just completely excited to see Joe for the first time in a week. When the GPS in the car said arrived, my jaw dropped open at the beautiful house we pulled up to.

Joe was standing on the second-floor balcony, a grin spreading on his lips when he saw me step out of the car.

“Joey!!!” - you squealed

“Hi, baby.” - Joe smiled

Moments later, I helped the driver get my suitcase to the door before I ran into the house. I quickly found the staircase that led upstairs, peeking in every room till I found the master bedroom that Joe was standing in.

When I finally found him, I practically sprinted towards him before throwing myself into his arms.

“There's my gorgeous girl.” - Joe

My legs went around Joe’s waist as his arms went around my waist. Joe held me tightly to him as he slowly swayed from side to side, squeezing me tightly.

“I missed you so much.” - you

“I missed you too, baby. So much.” - Joe

We stayed like that for a while, just wrapped up in each other’s arms before Joe eventually moved around and fell back onto the bed. I fell with him, and I quickly got comfortable in his chest.

“Do you wanna take a quick nap? We have a date later.” - Joe

“A date?” - you grinned

Joe’s heart fluttered when he saw the sparkle in your eyes. He hoped he'd see them again later after what he was going to do at dinner, which would change your lives forever.

-

After our nap, Joe got ready fairly quickly, but it took me a lot longer. I was surprised to see that Joe was somewhat dressed up when he walked into the bathroom.

“You look handsome.” - you grinned

Joe slightly blushed at the comment, walking up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder, just watching me do my makeup.

“I love you so much.” - Joe mumbled

“I love you too.” - you grinned

-

Joe and I walked hand in hand to the restaurant just because it was so close. The hostess immediately recognized Joe and walked us to our private eating area outside.

It overlooked the gorgeous water, and the warm fairy lights above us illuminated the darkness.

“Joe, it’s beautiful.” - you

Joe looked over at me, his baby-blue eyes scanning over every feature on my face as I continued to look forward.

“It is, isn't it?” - Joe

He was talking about you.

-

Dinner was delicious, and it was incredibly romantic. The slight breeze made Joe’s curls fly around, and there were quite a few times when I caught myself staring at him. The light from the candle on the table lit up Joe’s eyes and made his tan skin glow in an utterly incandescent way.

Joe’s white button-up shirt was clinging to his chest and arms, making him look even more desirable. He just looked perfect all around.

When we were finished eating and Joe paid, we started walking together, but in the opposite direction of our Airbnb.

“Joe, where are we going?” - you

“You’ll see.” - Joe grinned

After walking for a few minutes, my hand tightly wrapped in Joe’s, we ended up at this private beach access point.

“Uhm, are we allowed to be here?” - you

“Yup. I pulled some strings. You might wanna take your heels off, though.” - Joe

I bent down to start unwrapping the strings of my heels before Joe dropped down on his knees in front of me. Joe gently picked one of my feet up, and I grabbed onto his shoulders as he slid the shoe off, doing the same for the other side.

Joe stood back up, holding my heels with one hand and going back to holding my hand in the other. It was a small gesture, holding my heels for me, but it didn't go unnoticed.

As we started walking together, I saw a wooden rope swing in the distance, roses and candles all scattered around it.

“Joe… this is so sweet.” - you smiled

“Wanna swing?” - Joe grinned

I nodded, and we both quickly jogged over. The swing was sort of high up, so Joe grabbed my hips, easily lifting me and setting me down on the piece of wood.

Then, Joe walked behind me and gently started pushing me. The giggles leaving my lips were calming his nerves because silently, he was freaking out. He was now hyperaware of the ring box in his pocket, and suddenly, that pocket started feeling tighter and tighter.

After a few minutes, Joe walked back in front of me, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders to pull him closer and kiss him.

“This is the most romantic thing in the world, Joe. Thank you for everything.” - you

I looked up at him, nothing but love in his eyes as he looked down at me like I was the only woman in the world like I was his most valuable possession.

“You mean the world to me, y/n. You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, and though I wholeheartedly believe that women aren't possessions, you're the most valuable thing I've ever had.” - Joe

“I was just thinking that! I was just thinking that you look at me like I'm your most valuable possession.” - you

The entire time I was talking, Joe was staring into my eyes with that perfect smile on his face. He seemed a little dazed, but I’ll take it as he's a little tired, happy, and buzzed from the wine we drank at the restaurant.

“You always know what I'm thinking, huh?” - Joe

“That seems to be a common theme!” - you giggled

That’s when Joe got an idea.

“Oo. Let’s test your skills. Close your eyes, and I’ll hold several fingers up. You have to guess, and you can open your eyes to see if you're right after.” - Joe

“Okay!!” - you giggled

I closed my eyes, and Joe silently held a couple of fingers up. With my eyes still shut, I guessed.

“Mmm. Three.” - you

Joe quickly switched the number of fingers from one to three, wanting you to think you got it right because that would make what was about to happen even sweeter.

When I opened my eyes, I laughed when I saw that I had guessed right, clapping my hands and doing a little happy dance.

“I got it!” - you

“You know me so well. Okay, one more.” - Joe smiled

As soon as I closed my eyes, Joe quickly dropped down onto one knee. His heart was beating out of his chest, and his hands were shaking when he pulled the box out of his pocket.

“Mm. I think… nine.” - you guess

Joe took a deep breath before I opened my eyes. I immediately gasped when I looked down at Joe, my hands going up to my face as I immediately started crying.

“Y/n. I don't even know where to start.” - Joe

He nervously chuckled, trying to blink back tears as he took a deep breath and just spoke from the heart.

“Y/n, from the moment we collided on that sidewalk, my life changed forever. It was a chance encounter, but it felt like destiny was bringing us together. Who would have thought that a simple accident would lead to the most beautiful journey of my life? We've been inseparable since college, growing up together, learning from each other, and facing every challenge hand in hand. Your love and support have been my anchor, especially through the demanding world of the NFL. You've been there for every game, every victory, every defeat, cheering me on and lifting me. Your belief in me has been my greatest strength. Now, as we stand on the brink of the rest of our lives, I can't help but look back at all the incredible moments we've shared and look forward to the countless memories yet to be made. You are my best friend, my confidant, and the love of my life. I want to spend every day making you as happy as you make me.” - Joe

Joe’s voice was shaky, along with the sobs that left my mouth as tears streamed down my face. When he was finished speaking, he took yet another deep breath and popped open the ring box.

“Will you marry me? Will you be my forever, my always, and my everything for the rest of my life?” - Joe

I nodded my head, slipping off of the swing and getting onto my knees as well. I engulfed Joe in a hug as I cried into his neck.

“Is that a yes?” - Joe

Pulling back, I cupped his cheeks and looked into his gorgeous teary eyes.

“Yes. Yes, Joe, I’ll marry you.” - you

Joe lept forward, wrapping his arms even tighter around my waist as he smashed his lips into mine. When we pulled away, both Joe and I laughed through our tears as he slipped the ring on my finger.

“We’re gonna get married.” - you sniffed

“Yeah… we are.” - Joe sniffed

We kissed for a few minutes after that, just feeling more in love than ever. Joe was so fucking glad he finally did it.

“My fiance.” - Joe mouthed to himself

——

Back to present day

I was pulled out of my thoughts when there was a knock on my passenger-side window. I jumped, looking over to see Joe cupping his hands to try and see through the tinted glass.

Rolling down the window a little, Joe jumped back, and I unlocked the door. Joe opened it and slid into the seat with a smile on his face.

I grinned when I looked over at him, he was still wearing his compression shirt and shorts, even after he had just practiced in it.

“Why’re you still wearing that?” - you

Joe shrugged because he didn't have a real answer. He put it on in hopes that it'd work you up enough to have a quickie in the back of the car, and since you noticed it so quickly, he was hoping that's what was gonna happen.

“You look good. The extra weight you've put on is driving me crazy.” - you

I spoke to him as I punched in the address for the salad place Joe and I were going to. We’d just get it to-go and eat it in the car.

When I started driving, Joe reached over and put his hand on my thigh, not knowing what to do since he wasn't usually in the passenger seat.

Joe just scrolled through his phone until that bored him, and then he initiated a game of I Spy.

-

While we were eating our lunch, I randomly turned sideways in my seat, extending my legs and letting them rest on Joe’s lap. He barely even flinched, settling his salad on my shins as he continued eating.

“Hey, can I post one of those pics? Do you think it would be a good idea to? So that it’s coming from one of us.” - you

Joe shrugged, taking a hefty bite before quickly chewing it up and swallowing. When he was done with his mouthful, Joe put his fork in his bowl and put his empty hand on my thigh.

“You can do whatever you want, baby. You don't need my permission.” - Joe

“I know, but this is a big deal. If you don't want me to post it, that's okay. This is just as much about you as it is about me.” - you

Joe squeezed my thigh, his eyes never leaving my face as he thought of what to say next.

“You can post it. You can even do that collaboration thing where it posts to my account too, if you want.” - Joe

“You want that on your feed? Joe, you've never once posted me.” - you

“Yes, and I realize how fucking stupid that is. You're the woman that I'm spending the rest of my life with, why not post you?” - Joe shrugged

This Joe 2.0 was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. After his wrist injury, Joe had almost turned into a completely different person. But he'd grown for the better.

“You mean that?” - you

“Of course I mean it. I mean all of it.” - Joe

When he said that, Joe reached out and grabbed my left hand, running his pointed finger over my ring, and my heart exploded.

After I gave him a quick kiss, I reached for my phone, saved the photos Joe sent me, put a quick filter on them, and selected them on an IG post.

I pondered the caption before typing what I thought was clever yet funny.

Got my ring. It’s Joe’s turn this season! 🧡

Joe laughed when I showed him, but he thought it was the cutest thing ever. Before posting it, I made sure to turn the comments off before inviting Joe to be a collaborator. I showed him how to accept it on his phone before finally posting it.

“I’m sorry that it took me so long to realize that I should post you. I've kept the greatest thing to ever happen to me in the dark, and it’s gonna break my heart when the inevitable ‘I didn't even know you had a girl’ comments come rolling in. I just want you to know that you mean the world to me. No matter what anyone else says.” - Joe

When I met his soft eyes, my stomach fluttered but my heart broke a little at the apologetic look in his eye.

“Hey, you know that doesn't matter to me. I genuinely don't care what we make public because of how much love we share in private. I know how much I mean to you.” - you

Joe didn't know what to say, so he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips. When we pulled away, Joe dropped his head on my shoulder, feeling a need for closeness.

“I love you.” - Joe mumbled

“I love you too. Always.” - you kiss head

An impulsive thought entered his mind, and his tongue darted out, licking a stripe up my neck before pulling his tongue back into his mouth and giggling.

“Joe!” - you giggled

“Sorryyy.” - Joe drawled it out

-

After we finished lunch, I drove us back to the stadium so Joe could drive his Porsche back home.

Joe gave me a thorough kiss before he opened the door and slid out. He shut his door before running around the front of the car to my window.

When I didn't roll it down immediately, Joe adorably tapped on the glass, smiling when I eventually rolled the window down.

“I hope you know you're wiping that fingerprint off of my window, Mr. Burrow.” - you

Joe pulled his compression shirt away from his stomach, using it to wipe the barely there mark that I was simply just teasing about. My eyes immediately were glued to the patch of his stomach that was bare, practically salivating at the sight of his happy trail and the thought of what it led too.

“There. But I wanted to know if you wanted to head inside the facility with me. I have to grab something from my locker, and I thought you might wanna see the locker room revamp in person.” - Joe

“Am I allowed? What if a guy walks out of the shower room all naked.” - you

“Practice has been over for like two hours. No one’s there.” - Joe

I contemplated his offer before eventually turning my car off, locking it, and grinning when Joe opened my door for me.

We walked hand in hand to the facility, smiling at the receptionist, Laura, who greeted us.

“Congratulations, you two. I saw your post. Nice ring choice, Joe.” - Laura

“I’d say I did pretty good.” - Joe shrugged

Joe and I kept walking after a minute or so, leading me to these big double doors that needed his key card to enter yet again.

My jaw dropped open when Joe opened the door and gestured for me to walk in. The last time I was in the locker room was after the boys won the AFC Championship. This was not the same locker room.

“Woww. This is so cool, Joe.” - you

“Wait. You haven't even seen my locker.” - Joe

Joe grabbed my hand again, his long legs and excited pace making it hard for me to keep up with him as he borderline race-walked to his area.

“Look! It’s clean. All organized. OH, and look at my fridge!” - Joe

It was adorable how excited he was getting to show me everything. His emphasis on the fact that it was clean was because, with the lack of storage in the old lockers, Joe’s would get majorly messy, and Sam would take a picture when Joe wasn't around and send it to me.

There had been a few times when I’d gotten onto Joe to clean it up, so he was proud to show me his somewhat organized locker.

After Joe’s detailed tour of his locker, he plopped down onto the little chair that sat in front of it. He looked up at me like he was expecting a question, but all I did was climb onto his lap.

Joe’s eyes widened, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned in, kissing up his neck, doing the same to his jaw, and then spreading sloppy kisses all over his smooth cheeks.

“Baby.” - Joe sighed

“You said we’re alone, right?” - you

I slowly started grinding down onto his crotch, while tracing the shell of his ear with my tongue, running it over his jawline, up his chin, and finally pressing a wet and thorough kiss to his lips.

Joe quietly whimpered into the kiss, the movements of my hips getting rougher once I felt something hard below me.

We were kissing like it was our first time tasting each other, pure lust radiating around us as our mouths sloppily moved against each other.

I stopped moving for a moment, moving around till my crotch was right on top of Joe’s hard bulge before I started rocking into him again.

“Fuck. Baby, you're gonna have to stop.” - Joe

“Why, Joey?” - you teased

“I’m gonna fucking cum if you don't stop. Please, stop.” - Joe whimpered

I got off of Joe’s lap a moment, a gush of wetness seeping into my panties as I looked at him in front of me. Joe looked like walking sex.

Fuck, him in that black compression shirt that made his sculpted chest and huge arms bulge out and those shorts that left nothing to the imagination. Joe’s shorts, and the fact that he was sitting, made his huge muscular thighs look fucking perfect. Not to mention the fact that his cock was almost busting out of his shorts. The cut-off football pants already accentuated his crotch, but now that he was hard, every detail of his huge dick was seeable.

Feeling a little bold, I got my phone out of my back pocket as Joe tried to calm himself down.

“Joe. Can I take a picture of you?” - you

“Right now?” - Joe

I nodded, and Joe shrugged, saying ‘I guess’ as I excitedly started directing him.

“Spread your legs more… oh, and put your hands behind your head.” - you

Joe did exactly as I had instructed, purposely flexing both his thighs and his biceps as he smiled for the camera. I bit my lower lip at the image that popped up on my phone. I need him.

“Joe?” - you

“Yeah?” - Joe

I slowly reached for the button of my jean shorts before undoing it, unzipping the fly, and letting them drop to my ankles. Joe’s heart rate picked up as he realized what was gonna happen.

“Are there cameras in here?” - you

“Uhm… I don't think so. Because of the showers.” - Joe

Slowly sliding my panties off, Joe groaned when I walked in between his parted legs and crashed my lips onto his. Joe lifted his hips, yanking his shorts and underwear down before reaching for his shirt.

“You better keep that fucking shirt on.” - you

“Yes, ma’am.” - Joe chuckled

I slid back onto Joe’s lap, hovering over him as I reached down and pumped his cock a few times.

“Baby, please. I need you.” - Joe whimpered

That’s all it took for me to quickly guide his thick tip to my entrance and sink onto him. When he bottomed out, Joe leaned forward and sucked on my neck hard, trying to stifle his moans.

I waited a couple of seconds before slowly starting to rock my hips back and forth. I moaned out from the fullness, Joe’s perfect dick stretching me out.

“Joe, fuck.” - you moaned

Joe reached for my hips, slowly helping me start to pull off and sink back down. His eyes were glued to the way my heat swallowed his thick cock, and it was driving him fucking crazy.

Soon, sounds of skin hitting skin started to fill the locker room as I set a hungry pace, riding Joe into oblivion as he struggled to stay quiet.

“Fuck, baby. You're such a- shit. That's it. That's my good girl.” - Joe whimpered

Joe was going crazy. The love of his life was fucking the hell out of him in the locker room of the NFL team he played for. He couldn't believe this was real life.

I pulled Joe’s head out of my neck and pushed him to where his back was flat against the chair. He looked a little confused, but I couldn't help but borderline drool over his perfect body.

“Put your hands behind your head.” - you

Joe’s eyes go wide before he does as asked, putting his hands behind his head in a way that makes his biceps bulge. He looks like a fucking greek god.

The sight of his thick and veiny arms made my core clench down on Joe’s cock. In response, Joe sucked both of his lips into his mouth, trying his hardest to stay quiet as his face scrunched up.

“Y/n, baby…” - Joe panted

Joe stayed in that position for a while before his arms started to get tired. He dropped his arms and leaned forward yet again. Joe nestled his mouth under one of my ears before he stopped holding back his sounds of pleasure, knowing how much I loved it when he was loud.

“Fuck- mmm, baby.” - Joe whimpered

“Holy shit, Joe.” - you moaned

A few minutes later, I noticed how Joe was starting to get louder. His chest was heaving, and sweat was dripping down his face.

“I’m close. Please… please.” - Joe

I moved faster on him, wanting him to cum for me. How could I not with how perfect he looked?

When Joe’s whimpers got louder, I moved my hands to his lower stomach, moving them under his shirt and running my nails on his lower stomach.

“Oh my god- I’m so fucking close.” - Joe whimpered

A minute later, Joe came, his body shaking as he emptied himself inside of me. Joe was moaning loudly through his whole climax, completely forgetting that we were in a public place.

It took him a couple of moments to collect himself, gaining his breath back, and once his head cleared up, he realized I hadn't finished yet.

Joe abruptly stood up and pulled out, man-handling me to be bent over with my forearms on the chair that he was just sitting on.

Out of nowhere, Joe thrust his entire length into me with no warning. I didn't even get time to adjust before he started moving, and he set a rough pace.

“Oh my god! Joey fuck.” - you whimpered

Joe only sped up, fucking me harder with the need to make me climax in the back of his mind.

“Come on, baby. Are you almost there?” - Joe

“Mm. Yes! Joey, please.” - you moaned

Upon hearing that, Joe started thrusting harder, which I didn't think was possible. Every thrust was hard, hitting that spot inside me each time with his tip.

It wasn't long til I was climaxing. Joe had pinched my clit and gave me a specifically hard thrust that sent me right over the edge.

I moaned his name through my climax, my core clamping down on him so hard that it sent Joe over the edge for a second time. Joe was a mess, whimpering loudly as he shot his second load.

What happened next was something I wasn't expecting at all. As Joe was coming down from his high, he laid a harsh slap on my ass.

Joe left his hand there, bringing his other one over to my other ass cheek as he grabbed two handfuls. That’s how he stayed for a while, letting his cock slowly soften before he eventually pulled out.

When he did, Joe walked over to his mini-fridge & microwave cubby, grabbing some paper towels to clean me up. When he was done with me, handing me back all of my clothes and helping me stand with shaky legs, he cleaned himself off.

Now that we were both fully dressed, Joe cleaned off the chair, doing an all-around assessment of the area to make sure everything was clean.

“I can't believe we just did that.” - you chuckled

“Me neither. That was intense.” - Joe

“Intense and so fucking good.” - you

Joe chuckled, holding me into him tightly as he rubbed his big hands over my back.

“What’re you gonna do with that pic you took of me?” - Joe smirked

In all honesty, Joe felt smug as fuck that I wanted that picture of him. All he could think about was the fact that I thought he looked so good that I needed a picture of it, and it was hard for him to pretend like it didn't give him a huge ego boost.

“Mm. I don't know. Maybe make it my home screen.” - you

“I don't know about that… maybe keep that pic in the hidden album.” - Joe chuckled

We continued talking for a few minutes before it eventually went silent. I was in a daze, staring at Joe and admiring his perfect face before a thought popped into my head.

“What’d you need to grab from in here?” - you

“Nothing. I brought you in here for a tour with hopefulness for a happy ending.” - Joe

“Joseph Lee!” - you giggled

Joe just laughed with me, wrapping his arms around my waist and rocking back and forth between his feet. His head was on my shoulder, his adorable laugh going right into my ear.

“I love you.” - you grinned

“I love you too. More than you can fathom.” - Joe

Authors note: I SPENT THIRTY MINUTES HAVING FUN ON THE PORSCHE WEBSITE.

Requests;

[fanfictionismyaddiction]

Crash Course

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Word count: 708

Pairing: Lando Norris x diver!reader

Summary: Two fierce rival drivers, Y/n and Lando Norris, find their intense competition on the track evolving into something deeper.

______________________________________________________________

The roar of the Singapore crowd still echoed in Y/n’s ears as she clambered out of her wrecked car. She felt a surge of anger and frustration, her pulse racing with adrenaline as she tore off her helmet, tossing it aside with little care. The final lap had been hers—until that moment when she miscalculated, clipping Lando's car. Now they were both out of the race, and her championship hopes lay in shambles.

She didn’t care about the bruises or the pain in her side; her mind was laser-focused on one thing—Lando. He had every right to be angry, but so was she. She could already see him stalking toward her, his expression thunderous.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Lando’s voice was low, laced with fury. “You could’ve—”

But before he could finish, Y/n staggered, the world around her spinning. She blinked, trying to steady herself. The heat and exhaustion of the race clung to her, but something else was wrong. Her side ached more than it should have. The adrenaline that had been keeping her going was ebbing away, and her vision blurred. She stumbled again, reaching out blindly.

Lando’s hand shot out, catching her just before she collapsed completely.

“Hey—Y/n?” His anger vanished instantly, replaced with concern as he held her steady. She clung to him, trying to focus, but her body wasn’t cooperating. Pain flared up her side, and she gasped, finally realizing how badly she was hurt.

“I’m fine,” she muttered, her voice weak, though even she didn’t believe it.

“No, you’re not,” Lando said, his voice tense as he looked down at her. “You’re bleeding.” His eyes flicked to her side, where blood soaked through her race suit, the fabric darkening beneath his hand.

The pit lane had descended into chaos around them, but Lando didn’t seem to care about anything else. His grip on her tightened, worry etched into his features as he guided her gently to the ground. He kept her propped up against him, his arm supporting her shoulders.

“You need help,” he said urgently, shouting over his shoulder for the medical team.

Y/n winced, finally feeling the sharp, throbbing pain in her ribs. Her breaths came shallow, and she felt herself leaning more heavily into Lando’s chest. “It’s not… that bad,” she protested weakly, though her body betrayed her, trembling as the pain surged.

“You nearly fainted, Y/n,” Lando replied, his voice softer now, yet filled with intensity. “Stop pretending you’re fine.”

Despite everything, she wanted to argue, to push him away and insist she didn’t need his help. But there was a softness in his tone she hadn’t heard before, and the warmth of his arms was oddly comforting.

The medical team finally arrived, and Y/n felt Lando gently hand her over to them, though his hand lingered on her shoulder a moment longer than necessary. As they assessed her injuries, he knelt beside her, watching closely, his anger now a distant memory.

“You scared me,” he admitted quietly, his voice barely audible over the commotion.

Y/n blinked up at him, confused. “Why do you even care? I thought you hated me.”

Lando’s gaze softened, his jaw clenched as if struggling with what to say. “I don’t hate you, Y/n. I never have.” He hesitated, his expression vulnerable in a way she hadn’t seen before. “You push me. You make me want to be better. And yeah, sometimes you drive me crazy, but… I care.”

Her heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat. Before she could respond, the medics lifted her onto a stretcher, cutting the moment short. Lando stood up, walking alongside as they moved her toward the medical center, his eyes never leaving her.

As they reached the entrance, Y/n grabbed his hand, stopping him. “I didn’t mean to take us both out,” she whispered, guilt and exhaustion weighing heavily on her.

“I know,” Lando replied, his thumb gently brushing against her knuckles. “Just focus on getting better. The championship can wait.”

She gave him a weak smile, her mind spinning—not just from the injury, but from everything he had just said. As she was taken inside, Lando’s words echoed in her mind, shifting everything she thought she knew about their rivalry.

[ruh--roh-raggy]

Home Sweet Home (William Afton x Wife! Reader) - Pt. 1

Hello hello! So, I'm fully insane about this man rn. I can't help it. The brain rot has taken over my life and here we are lol. I wanted to write something that really focuses on the domestic fluff side of Reader's life with William, of course there will be some smut thrown in there too because I simply can't help myself 😂😂 Reader and William have just bought their first house together. This story follows their week long escapade of unpacking, making their home perfect, and going down memory lane. Lots of super cute stuff, chapters containing smut will be updated with proper warnings. If you enjoy this story and would like to be added to the tag list, please let me know!

WARNINGS: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, MDNI, 18+ CONTENT AHEAD, smut marked with divider, age gap (reader in 30's William in 40's/50's), some swearing, face sitting, cockwarming, size kink, a singular (1) spank to readers ass, slightly dom! William, praise, Will just wants to give his wife some tender TLC after a long day of lugging boxes around (if I missed any please let me know!

You can find my Masterlist here!

Word Count: 3,538

Part 2

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“I want to paint the living room green, I think it would look nice with our couch.” William drove down the road, a soft smile on his face as he listened to you ramble on about all of your plans for their new house. Business at the pizzeria had skyrocketed, which meant that he could finally give his pretty little wife the front porch, white picket fence house of her dreams. You should be pulling in about a half hour before the moving truck is scheduled to arrive, allowing the two of you time to empty out his trunk. You stood at his side with a giddy smile on your face, William thumbing through his key ring to find the new shiny gold addition to his collection. He slides the key into the lock, chuckling at your excited squeals as he pushes the door open. He grabs you by the wrist, stopping you from running inside ahead of him.

“Isn’t there some old wives tale about carrying your wife over the threshold of a house?” He mumbles out the vague details he could remember. You nod, wrapping your arms around his neck with a giggle.

“It’s for good luck. Why? Do you want to carry me inside?” You smile coyly up at him.

“Well I’m not going to be the one bringing bad luck into our house.” He proclaims proudly, jabbing a finger into his chest. You let out a shriek as he scoops you up in his strong arms. You press a kiss to his scruffy cheek as you pass through the door. “Well, Mrs. Afton, welcome home.” He smiles down at you.

You spun around the empty living room floor, broom in hand as you did a quick sweep before the furniture got brought in. “Oh, Will, I'm so happy. Our own house.” You beam up at him. Your husband breathes out a chuckle, sweeping you up in his arms as he places a kiss to your forehead. Both of your attention was drawn to the windows as the moving truck rumbled into the driveway.

“Don't lift anything too heavy.” He orders with a firm point of his finger. “I hired movers so you don't have to struggle, if I see you doing too much you're going to be in big trouble later bunny.” You roll your eyes, wrapping your arms around him as you place a kiss to his chest.

“I promise I won't work too hard.” You fidget with the hem of his shirt. “I just want everything to be perfect.” You sigh with a slight shrug of your shoulders.

“I promise it will be, we have the whole week to get everything exactly how you want it.” He smiles, his thumb rubbing languidly across your waist. You excitedly threw open the front door, directing the movers inside before clamoring out to the truck yourself. William trailed after you, keeping a close eye on your excited figure. Your husband loved how passionate you were about everything you did, but you also had a tendency to overwork yourself. He sighs as he sees you struggling with a box, gently taking it from your hands and propping it against his hip. He glances around the trailer. “Here.” He nudges a box with his foot, one he had made a subtle marking on to signify it was one he packed light enough for you to easily carry. “Take that one, we’ll go put these in the bedroom.” He hops down from the back of the truck, taking your box from you and wrapping his hands around your waist to lower you safely to the ground. You practically skipped up the porch steps, scooting past the movers as you raced up to the master bedroom. Your mattress sat in the middle of the room. The white, sheetless bed was a stark contrast to the nearly black hardwood.

“We’ll need to go get a bed frame.” You sigh, setting down the box before collapsing on the mattress. William groans as he lays down by your side.

“I’m sure we’re going to have to get a lot of things.” He chuckles, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you to him. “We’ll take care of everything, doll, don’t worry.” You spent the rest of the afternoon sliding furniture around downstairs while the movers brought in the rest of the boxes. The sun had already set by the time everything was brought in. You collapsed onto the couch with a tired groan, finally kicking your shoes off as you sank into the worn leather of the cushions. William sits beside you, lifting your feet only to drop them back in his lap. You let out a pleased hum as you feel his strong hands knead into your aching muscles. “Day one is officially over.” The two of you exchange a sleepy high five. A soft smile spreads across your lips as you take a moment to look at your husband. His gold, wire framed aviators sitting low on his nose, his large calloused hands massaging your feet with the utmost care and delicacy. You were William’s entire world.

“Honey,” he perks up at your soft voice, calling out to him, “how about I throw something together for dinner so we can get to bed.”

“I don’t think we have any groceries bunny.” He rebuttals with a chuckle. “Are you up for a drive? We could go pick up some pizza.”

“But it’s so cold.” You pout.

“I’ll go grab you one of my coats, sweet girl.” He cups your cheek, pressing a kiss to the top of your head as he passes by you. You let out a soft hum as you buried your face into the soft fabric of your husband's coat, the comforting smell of his spicy, musky cologne, machine oil, and cigarettes filling your nose. He had an arm wrapped around your shoulder, allowing you to cuddle into his side as he drove up twisting back roads. The radio crackled softly, whatever song was playing was barely audible over the car's loud blower. You rested your hand on his thigh, William glancing down quickly, the sight of your wedding ring glinting in the soft light bringing a smile to his lips. He loved the fact that you were all his, his pretty wife, his little bunny. He loved how sweet and delicate you were. He had been hardened by years of working in his workshop and other strenuous jobs he had throughout his life, he barely registered this evening was brisk let alone cold. But he definitely wouldn't complain about you cuddling into his side for warmth, how your cheeks and the tip of your nose dusted pink from the chilly night air, how your fingers trembled as you tucked them under his thigh. He shuddered softly as you pressed your lips to his neck, the buzzing, yellow light from the pizza shop's sign illuminating the cab as you and your husband exchanged a look filled with need.

“Hurry back.” You shoot him a coy smile as he stumbles from the car.

The smell of warm crust and greasy pepperoni filled the car, the pizza nicely heating your lap. William’s arm draped over your shoulder, you allowed the rumbling car ride to rock you into his side. Your eyelids grow heavy as you try to keep yourself awake, a sleepy smile crawling across your features as you pull into the driveway. You sighed as you looked around at the mess of moving boxes, your dining table tucked away into a corner that would be too much work to get to. “Why don’t you go sit on the couch doll, I’ll be right back.” William’s hand quickly slips into yours, giving it a gentle squeeze as he passes by. You flop back into the cushions, letting the pizza box rest next to you. Even with the short amount of time you’ve spent in the house you could tell how different it was from your old apartment. You and William had moved to the middle of the woods in Hurricane, your nearest neighbor at least ten minutes down the road. There were no sounds of your neighbors talking quietly through the walls, no footsteps of the dog that lived upstairs. The house was completely silent, outside completely pitch black. You jumped as William’s feet started to thud down the stairs. He pushes into the living room with a groan, dragging your mattress behind him. He drops the bed in the middle of the floor with a dull thump, twisting side to side in order to stretch out his back. “I’ll go grab some pillows and blankets.” He smiles at you.

“It’s just like our honeymoon.” You laugh as he pulls you up from the couch. He tilts your chin up with his finger, capturing your lips with his.

“Oh, trust me,” he starts in a sultry tone, “I wish I could spend this entire week in bed with you.” You dropped down onto the mattress, a soft sigh falling from your lips as he massages your shoulders. You smile at him as you watch him disappear upstairs, returning a few minutes later with a box full of your bedding and some pillows. Deciding you weren’t up for the challenge you left the sheets in the box. You piled your comforter and a few throw blankets onto the bed, you crawled in before your husband joined you with the pizza. You two sit side by side, your head falling to rest against his shoulder.

“It’s no Freddy’s.” You grumble at your lackluster pizza. William chuckles in response to your pouting.

“How about we swing by and see Henry tomorrow, I’m sure I can sneak you a piece.” He winks with a lopsided grin.

“That sounds perfect.” The two of you chat quietly as you eat your dinner. Your new house feels too big for just the two of you. You laid on your back, staring at the exposed wood ceiling, you blinked a few times to adjust to the all consuming darkness after William had turned off the light. You felt the blankets shift as he crawled into bed next to you. His silhouette outlined by the soft, pale light of the moon that streamed through the window.

“We should get a dog.” He suddenly whispers, making you giggle. “I don’t want you to get scared all by yourself.” He teases.

“Maybe that’ll get you out of that workshop earlier.” He playfully rolls his eyes as he wraps an arm around your waist.

“You know, there’s nothing stopping you from coming to visit me.” He argues with a slight shrug.

“Except that everytime I do I end up sprawled naked on your workbench.” You smirk at him, your fingers absentmindedly playing with the soft material of his tshirt.

“Occupational hazard.” He responds quickly. You both laugh as you cuddle into his chest. He cards his fingers through your hair, his lingering gaze studying your features. “You’re so beautiful, bunny.” Your eyes flutter shut as his lips brush over yours.

His hand paws at your thigh, dragging your leg over his waist as he crushes you against him. You cup his face, deepening the kiss, his beard tickling your palm as you melt into him. Your legs lock around his waist as he rolls on top of you. His large, calloused hands wrap around your sides, pushing your hoodie up and over your head in one swift motion before his lips connect with yours again. You shivered slightly as the cold night air hit your naked body. He practically purrs at the sight of you, his lips hovering over your neck. Your fingers slid into his hair, a small squeal escaping your lips as he bit down hard on your sensitive skin. You bite your lip, letting out a soft hum as he pushes his hips into you, his already growing bulge noticeable through your thin shorts. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off me today, could you rabbit?” He smirks against your skin. You practically drooled over the sight earlier. William had a box resting on each shoulder, his skin glowing with a thin sheen of sweat. He paused as he caught sight of you leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over your chest as your eyes raked over him. He smirked, knowing that playful glint in your eye. He smiled as he noticed your cheeks reddening from your position laying below him. He hooks his fingers into the band of your shorts, placing featherlike kisses down your stomach as he eases them down your legs. You moan softly as you feel him nip at the skin of the inside of your thighs. Your back arches off the bed as he brushes his thumb over your sensitive clit, a broken moan leaving your lips. With how busy you had both been due to the move it had been a while since the two of you had been intimate. Your skin was already on fire from the small touch alone, William smirked as he watched your reaction closely. Your hands fisted in the blankets as he tossed your legs over his shoulders, his hot breath bouncing off your already soaked core. His arms slip around your hips, holding you firmly in place as he dove into hungrily lap at your folds. You moan out his name, already attempting to squirm away from his assault. He growls, dragging you closer to him. His fingers dig into your thighs with a bruising force, sure to leave marks behind. Your fingers tangle in his hair as his tongue swirls around your clit through your lace panties. He ate you out like a man starved, your soft gasps and quiet moans echoing in the empty room. You whined, tugging on his hair. “What’s the matter bunny?” He pushes your panties out of the way with his fingers, his skin growing slick with your arousal.

“I need you.” You whined, looking down at him with pleading, teary eyes. William gives in immediately with a soft chuckle, never one to deny you what you wanted. He tugs down your panties, placing soft kisses to your legs as he removes your final article of clothing at an agonizingly slow pace. He slides an arm under your back, pulling you on top of him as he collapses into the mattress. Your hands landed on either side of his head as you lost your balance, you blushed as you realized you were sitting on his broad, strong chest. He brushes your hair behind your ear before both of his hands wrap around your thighs.

“Come sit, bunny.” He coos, your face burning at his casual command. William absolutely loved whenever you sat on his face. However, he was well aware he would have to warm you up to the idea whenever he suggested it. You were always worried you were too heavy, you hadn't shaved, or you hadn't showered, and your husband always reassured you that none of those things were going to pose any problems for him. His beard tickled the inside of your thighs as you hovered over his eager mouth. His hands squeezed at your hips, groaning as your soft skin squished between his fingers. You cry out as he pushes you down onto him, his tongue lapping at your clit before he shoves his way in between your folds.

“Oh, fuck! Will!” You moan, your hips moving on their own. You let out a soft sob everytime his nose bumps against your clit. He growls, pressing hard into your hips as you try to wiggle away, his assault on your already sensitive cunt threatening to push you over the edge mere minutes after he starts. “Baby, it's too much.” Your voice shook as you tried to plead with him, years slipping from your damp eyes onto your cheeks as the coil of pleasure in your core wound tighter. William’s eyes were hazy as they met yours, his face smothered in your thighs as he greedily sucked your clit into his mouth. You tug his hair, making you groan against him. “I'm gonna cum.” It was all too much for you to handle, your body losing its rhythm as your climax threatened to rip through you. William let out an affirmative hum below you, knowing you were close by the slowing of your movements. He decides it's time for him to take over, determined to make you cum on his tongue. His fingers dig into the curve of your ass as he gradually increases the pace of your hips. You yelped as one of his hands suddenly connects with your skin, the mixture of pleasure and slight pain causing your soaked cunt to throb. Broken moans and whines rumbled effortlessly from your mouth, the fine tuned roaming of his hands paired with his expert tongue knowing just how you wanted to be touched to fall apart in his hands. William never got tired of making you finish. The way you would fall absolutely silent and still for a moment, mouth hanging open as no sound dared escape, your body taking time to catch up to the immense pleasure you were feeling. Now was no different. William felt his cock twitch at the sight of your eyes rolling back in your head, that brief moment of absolute silence making his ears ring before you screamed his name. He forced your hips to keep moving, never allowing your pace to slow as he felt your thighs shaking against his cheeks. You practically collapsed as he finally pulled his mouth off of you, a firm hand on your lower back keeping you upright as you shakily moved yourself back onto his chest. William reaches up to caress your cheek, wiping away tears that streaked down your skin. Your eyes felt heavy, you struggled to keep them open and on your husband as you came down from your high.

“Do you want to lay down?” He asks in a soft tone. You nod, collapsing into the mattress with a happy sigh. You hear the soft shuffling of William getting undressed before he gets under the blankets with a groan. You could feel the heat radiating off of him as he moved closer, his fingers ghosting over your waist before your pulled back against him. You can't help but giggle slightly as you feel his erection pressed firmly against your back.

“You want some help with that?” You press yourself into him, his breath catching in his throat at the contact as he tries to stifle a growl.

“You can't even keep your eyes open bunny.” He chuckles, you smile as you feel it rumble in his chest. You let out a dismissive sound, giving him a slight shrug. “How about we compromise?” You glance over your shoulder at him, curiously raising an eyebrow. Your eyes slide shut, letting out a soft hum as you feel his rough hands roaming over your skin. His fingers dip in between your thighs, gently coaxing them apart. You gasp as you feel his member prod at your entrance. “I could always fill you up before we go to bed.” He offers with a smirk, your face instantly flushing at the thought of cuddling up with your husband, trying not to squirm too much as he impaled you on his thick cock. You give him a nervous yet excited nod, the sight of you looking at him so sweetly as you chewed on your lip making it hard for him to not flip you over and pound you into the mattress. William assisted you holding your legs open, one massive paw wrapped around your thigh to allow him room to attempt to fit inside of you. You gripped tightly onto the sheets as he slowly began to push inside, the stretch from making it barely past his tip intense due to the lack of prep. “That's it sweetheart, just relax.” He purrs in your ear, pressing his lips to your shoulder. Another roll of his hips makes you whimper, feeling him slip slightly deeper into your fluttering cunt.

“Fuck, ‘s too big, ‘s not going to fit.” Your words slut as you tried to focus enough to speak. His pace was agonizing, you could feel every inch of him and every thick vein sliding over your velvety walls. You let out a shuddering breath as he finally bottoms out in you, the tip of his cock pressed snugly against your cervix. You felt like you would break in half at the smallest wrong move, even your slight shifting as you cuddled up with William had the edges of your vision going fuzzy.

“Such a good bunny, taking all of me so well.” His lips trail over your neck, you feel him smirk as you clench around him, repeatedly kissing and teasing what he knew was a rather sensitive spot of skin.

Your fingers intertwined with his, his strong arms wrapped protectively around as you're held flush to his chest.

“I love you.” You say quietly, feeling sleep trying it's hardest to pull you under. He gives your hand a soft squeeze.

“And I love you, sweet girl.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tag List: @yellowbunnydreams @zoey5252 @redflowery @loudchaosking (I think that's everyone, if I missed you or you would like to be added please let me know!)

[bellesdreamyprofile]

a baby miracle: part 2

“So won’t you please, be my, be my baby.”, you sang softly as you continued stirring the batter for tonight’s dessert. The song made you smile and caress your little bump. The yittle baby hadn’t started kicking yet, but the doctors gave you promising news that it would happen in no time.

You wiped the flour off your hands on the handmade apron and looked for the muffin tray around the kitchen. Huffs fell from your lips as you couldn’t find the tray you had been using for two weeks straight. You stopped in trance and thought of the last time you baked muffins — Benny’s birthday! You smiled at the sweet memory - a very, very small, shy smile on his lips as you sat sideways on his lap, his big hand placed lovingly on your growing bump as you sang softly to him.

When you exclaimed “Make a wish!”, his eyes turned to you, taking you all in. Then he pressed his lips to your cheek and blew the lone candle on his chocolate muffin. You clapped your hands and turned his chin to face you, so you could finally give him the birthday kiss he deserved. You couldn’t put a price on that day - nor on the growing blush on his cheeks.

You sighed happily, coming back from memory lane. Benny did the dishes that night, saying you didn’t need any additional strains on your body. And that was when you looked up, catching sight of the muffin tray on top of the kitchen cabinet. Now, you weren’t the tallest nor the shortest, but you still needed a small chair to get up there. On your tiptoes and on the small chair, you desperately tried to even simply brush your fingers on the metal - but in vain.

“What’s the lil´ miss doin´ on the chair?”, Benny’s voice almost made you lose your balance as a shriek left your lips. His hands set on your hips as he gently gripped you and moved you sideways. “Especially when I told her that she shouldn’t be doing no heavy lifting.”

You rolled your eyes at his words and let out a little laugh. “Bennyyy.”, once your feet were on the ground, you let your head fall on his chest, a soft sigh falling from your lips. “I was cravin´ the muffins I made for your birthday.”, you quickly explained your actions, his hands on your bump and yours on top of his.

“Mhm. Those were very good muffins indeed.”, Benny placed a kiss on top of your head and tapped his fingers on your baby bump. “Still not a good reason for you to be on that chair and on your tiptoes.”, you unwrapped his hands from you and looked at him with a small smile - big puppy eyes and dimples and all.

“Don’t give me that look.”, he raised an eyebrow at you, making you pout. “It’s for your safety, honey. If you had fallen from that chair—“

You immediately cut him off at his negative view of things. “Alright, alright. Why don’t you reach for the tray, then? Since you put it up so high, mister.”, your finger pointed at the tray you had desperately tried to reach for. Benny looked at you and sighed, shaking his head, but he still followed your instructions.

“There you go, baby.”, he set in on the kitchen counter and squeezed your arm, giving your cheek a kiss. You couldn’t describe Benny as an extremely affectionate person, but his little touches and soft kisses, whenever he was in a good mood, brought you endless amounts of joy. The pregnancy brought you two impossibly closer - his hands always on your body as a testament of you and your baby’s safety.

“How long do they bake?”, you glanced over your shoulder and saw your man sat by the kitchen table. Puppy, blue eyes trained on you, following your every move.

“20 minutes, honey. Why?”, the muffins were finally in the oven, your feet carrying you towards your designated spot and sat down.

Benny’s lips formed a small smile at your clueless question. Baby brain, he thought to himself.

“We were supposed to get the baby stuff. The clothes, the bib, the whatever—“

You gasp and slapped your hand against your forehead. “I totally forgot!”, Benny smiled, wanting to pull you over his lap and kiss all over you at your sweet reaction. “I guess it’s because you and Johnny brought the old crib over so I-I thought that’s it! There ain’t nothing else to buy anymore.”

“Benny goddamn it, man, I said move it to your left, not your right.”, Johnny called out, but Benny only huffed and grunted at his words. You watched the two men carry the crib upstairs with your hands on your bump and a smile on your face.

“Johnny, don’t be so hard on my Benny.”, you said teasingly and watched them take another step, more grunts followed.

“Well your Benny don’t know his left from his right.”

“I swear to god, Johnny, one more word—“

“Alright, boys, just a couple of steps and you’re on the landing!”, you tried to show excitement as you had a feeling that the day was going to end with Benny and Johnny not being on speaking terms. And just like that, the crib was upstairs. You sighed in relief and started making your way up as well. You found both of them with their hands on their hips as they breathed out.

The crib was white, although chipped, since it was already used by Johnny’s kids.

“You didn’t have a lighter crib in that garage, huh?”

Johnny raised an eyebrow at Benny and shook his head. “This—“, he patted the crib. “Survived two little girls who had teeth as sharp as knives, look.”, he pointed at the little marks on the wood.

You let out a little laugh and finally approached them, Benny’s arm instinctively around your shoulder. “Looks pretty good to me. Thank you, Johnny.”, you smiled gratefully at him.

Johnny winked at you and moved to the opposite side of the crib. “Alright, man, let’s move this to the nursery, yeah?”

“Oh my goodness, Benny, look!”, you exclaimed and showed him a pair of pink boots. Benny glanced your way and then at the boots.

“We don’t know the gender yet, baby.”, he said slowly and took the boots from your grasp. He started inspecting them and let a small smile grace his lips. Benny looked up and noticed you were gone, making him sigh and set the boots in the basket he was forced to carry for you.

“Honey?”, he called through the aisles, but you were nowhere to be found.

“Oh. My. God.”, he heard your familiar voice, his head turned around and that was when he finally spotted you. Relief washed over him - despite being married for two years, he still wasn’t used to you disappearing on him like that.

“Baby. How many times have I told you—“

Benny started his usual speech, but as you turned around with an item in your hands, he stilled in place. 

Tears in your eyes as you had a mini denim jacket in your hold. Colorful patches all over the piece of clothing - needless to say, almost a copy to the one Benny was wearing right now.

“Honey…”, he said softly and reluctantly touched the small jacket, already imagining your little one wearing it proudly. “Is that for our honeybee?”, you looked up and nodded tearfully.

“I love it.”, Benny brought you into a hug, mostly for his sake as he was hiding the way his eyes suddenly looked really wet and blue. “Put it in the basket, baby.”, you threw the jacket in and covered your mouth with your hand to muffle any sounds.

Benny looked alarmed and looked at the basket and back at you again. “What is it?”

You pointed at the pink boots in the basket and at the jacket. “The boots. They match the jacket.”, Benny brought you into a side hug as you made your way to the cashier.

“They do match, baby. Ours is gonna be the prettiest baby in town.”, he looked down and smiled at the way you nodded at his words.

A/N: I can´t with these two

MASTERLIST PART 3

[leclercss]

Tainted Love, Part 8 (Charles Leclerc ft Lewis Hamilton)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Masterlist

plot: in an attempt to fix your marriage, you've reluctantly agreed into being in an open relationship with your husband. so far, it's only been your husband that has taken advantage of your recent arrangement until one night out you meet a man who makes you begin to question your marriage.

pairings: charles leclerc x fem!reader

warnings: (+18) mentions of smut, cheating and some swearing

authors note: this is going to be the second last chapter but my emotions are real.

word count: 4.3k

taglist: @ironmaiden1313, @ru-kru, @buendiabebeta, @flwr-quicksilver, @ravioli19, @julesandro, @hornedravenclaws, @thatobsessedreader @pinkangelavenue, @queenofshinigamis, @notleclerc, @paullinne, @bisexualbith, @tempo-rary-fix, @bbygrlllllll, @teenagedreams-cl, @lunamelona, @leclerc16s, @palomaxaxaxa

Your eyes remained glued on your phone, as they have done for the most part these last three days.

All fixed on the "Read" underneath your message. You're not really sure what else you're expecting really. For him to respond to you after that shit show? You must have been out of your mind if you thought that Charles would ever want to speak to you again. If the roles were reversed, you'd have done the same thing. But he loved you, so surely this was worth talking through?

Here you were again, stuck between delusion and heart break. It's the only placed you'd been since Lewis slammed the taxi door in your face. And in a fucked up way, it's the only place that comforts you because facing the reality of your situation feels so much worse.

Your tragic trip down memory lane is interrupted by Whitney placing your McDonalds on your lap. It's been your forth one since you arrived at her apartment on Sunday evening, when you could no longer stare at the front door anxiously waiting for Lewis to come home.

"Have you heard from Lewis?" Whitney asks as if she's been reading your mind.

"No," your response is practically a grunt.

Whitney bites her bottom lip, hesitating for a moment before she asks her next question.

"Have you heard from Charles?"

"No".

She pauses again.

"Have yo-"

You interrupt her with a loud sigh and Whitney takes the hint to stop asking you questions that are any way related to the shit show of your life right now. Since you had arrived at her apartment four days ago, with a weekend bag and a stream of tears in tow, you'd barely spoken. Well, you'd barely spoken after you finally told Whitney everything. And that meant everything.

She'd poured you a large glass of wine (or two) when you began to explain the last twelve months of your life. From when yours and Lewis' relationship began to change, to your suspicions of Lewis sleeping with other women, to you confronting Lewis about working on your relationship, to Lewis' genius solution to your marriage woes by suggesting an open relationship, to Lewis taking full advantage of that arrange me before you finally had enough with your constant arguments with Lewis.

And then, on that infamous girls night out where you kissed Charles, and, unbeknownst to Whitney, you spent that night with him, then there was the Joris birthday party shenanigans, to Lewis' sudden awakening and the reconciliation of your marriage on the very same night of Joris' party. Then you somehow found yourself juggling both relationships seamlessly all up until your birthday when Charles whisked you a way for the best weekend of your life when you declared that you were falling in love with each other. And finally, a week later, Lewis was treating you to the most extravagant birthday yet until you found yourself at the dinner from hell where your both your marriage and your relationship fell to pieces.

Fuck, did this all really happen within the space of 12 months?

Whitney watched on as you spilled the truth on the chaos that was your life, through the tears and snot that streamed down your face. She didn't say anything, she just took in all of the information while filling up your glass with wine the second it became empty. She wasn't sure how to process all of this. There was just so much information to unpack and while she had some inclination that you weren't telling her certain things about your relationship with Lewis, she could have never imagined that this would be the situation.

And, Charles?

Yes, she knew that you had kissed him that night and yes, she teased you about it every now and again. But being in love with him? Having a full on relationship with him? Let's just say it wasn't on her 2023 bingo card. This was some soap-opera level shit.

But then she thought about it a little more, during your many hours of silence between the two of you in the last few days, that maybe there were some signs when it came to Charles. You'd always tensed up whenever she mentioned him. At first she thought it was the embarrassment from kissing him on that night out, and the fact that you regretted your actions since you were still so invested in your relationship with Lewis.

There was a couple of times when Whitney had suggested that the two of you meet with the guys for a few drinks but you'd always come up with an excuse. Actually, come to think of it, you'd only come up with an excuse when you realised that Charles would be present. Did a drunken kiss from months ago really upset you that much? she'd thought at the time.

But then Whitney thought about it a little bit more. It wasn't just you that had acted weird, it was Charles and Joris too. Charles' cheeks would always flush whenever your name was mentioned. And Joris would always look at Charles for a reaction. That was pretty innocent. Maybe Charles was just a little embarrassed about your kiss and Joris teased him about it too.

But then Whitney would remember the look on Charles' face whenever she'd turn up at the pre-arranged drinks on her own. She'd told the guys that you were at home or out with your husband and Charles just had this bizzare look on his face before spending the rest of the evening looking like a lost puppy and would spend most of the time on his phone. Wait, had he been texting you the whole time?

Despite him being single, she never saw him with other girls. He never seemed the faintest bit interested. And that always surprised Whitney as someone with who looked like Charles did definitely got a lot of attention. She'd seen it first hand the way girls would throw themselves at him. But he'd always shrug them off. He just wasn't interested.

There was that one time when Charles turned up completely out of the blue when the two of you were out with a couple of friends and Joris decided to tag along. Yourself and Charles had said hello and greeted each other with a polite hug but the two of you were just so awkward. For two adults in their mid to late twenties, it was almost comical the way the two of you acted around one another. Like a pair of school kids being forced to be around their secret crush.

Whitney had briefly noticed the lustful looks Charles had given you all evening. It was almost kind of weird the way he'd look at you, hoping to catch your attention, especially when he knew your were married. At one point, herself and Joris had to hold back their laughter when Charles so obviously glared at the random guy who had bought you a drink at the bar. It was all just an innocent crush, right? Come to think of it, the two of you did leave the bar in quick succession that night…

As for Joris, well Whitney had asked him about Charles a few times. Did he have any women on the go? Was he open to dating? But Joris just shrugged it off, said that Charles was a bit of an odd ball when it came to women. There was someone that he was really into but it was a touchy subject so they weren't allowed to bring it up. Turns out it was you that was the touchy subject.

As for spending time with Joris, he more often than not suggested for him to go to Whitney's place when they were hooking up. He'd made up some excuse that the guys were sick of hearing one another having sex and they kind of made a rule to keep sex at the flat strictly to nights of parties or when it was 100% sure that the other guys wouldn't be around. She never thought a group of guys would care about something like that but apparently it was a French thing. Or so Joris had said.

Whitney came to understand very quickly that it was all a cover up for you and Charles to spend time together. She'd called Joris yesterday to ask him what the fuck had been going on. He'd explained everything, or at least everything he knew. And when Whitney asked about how Charles was managing, the silence from Joris' end of the phone told her everything.

Whitney sighed, "He really loves her that much?"

"He does".

She felt sorry for Charles but she also felt sorry for you. Yes, you'd found yourself in this mess. And you had made so many mistakes from what she’d heard. But she firmly believed that none of this would have happened if it wasn't for Lewis and his stupid ego. Whitney felt validated in her dislike for Lewis. Yes, he was hot, rich, successful and apparently was great in bed but his personality was just so ... bland. There was just a surface layer to him, never any substance other than how what he showed on the outside. Behind the tattoos and the ridiculous fashion was an insecure man who only seemed to care about you when your attention was on somebody else.

She thought back to the time that Lewis proposed to you. After the wild sex and love bombing naturally died down and it was time for the two of you to to build a foundation, you'd started to get a bit irritated at the lack of effort from Lewis’s side. Your relationship with Lewis looked like it was running its course and so you had decided to go on a date with some guy just to test the waters, to see if there was a better guy for you out there. But that experiment had ended pretty quickly. As soon as you had started to date anyone else, Lewis was very quickly back in the picture and seemed more invested than ever. Whitney had expressed her concerns to you about his newfound interest but you ignored her, you were blind to whatever Lewis did. And so, Lewis locked in your attention for the long term by proposing just a few months later and that was that.

You had fallen for it and you fell for him even harder. And now, four years later, you had found yourself in the same cycle. This time with more catastrophic consequences. It seemed like your marriage was over, and sadly your relationship with Charles.

"Do you hate me?"

Whitney's head quickly turned in your direction. Your eyes were glued to the TV. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills had captured your attention and you were shoving a dozen McDonald's fries into your mouth. It's the first time you'd sparked up a conversation since taking refuge on her sofa a couple of days ago.

"What? No, I don't hate you," Whitney sighed. "Why are you asking me that?"

"I don't know," you mumble as you continue to be captivated by the tv screen. "I've been a pretty shitty friend. Lied to you for months and then coming running to you when it all goes tits up".

Whitney felt her stomach sink. "[Y/N], I could never hate you," she began. "Yes, I'm upset that you didn't tell me what was going on. You know me. Yes, I have my opinions and I know you don't always want to hear it but at the very least I would have never wanted you to go through this alone. I hate seeing you like this".

For the first time in a while, your eyes move away from the tv screen. and you're staring at the McDonalds that's in your lap. You're fighting to hold back the tears.

"I know. I should have told you. I was so scared that you'd judge me. I know you've never liked Lewis all that much," you stop to wipe your nose, "And this whole open marriage crap was doomed from the start but I really thought that if I said yes, he would see how much he really loved me and that I was willing to do anything for him”.

You fall silent. The only sound in the room coming from Lisa Rinna throwing a glass a table. That damn dinner in Amsterdam.

Don’t you ever go after my fucking husband.

Whitney isn't sure what to say, so she waits for you to continue.

"I want to hate him for this whole thing, you know. He was the one fucking other people first but we both made a promise that we would never hurt each other. I was always sure he'd be the one to hurt me but I'm the one that hurt him".

Whitney jumps out of her seat to console you and you let yourself sob in her arms. Hearing you speak about your relationship like this made her heart break. Maybe you weren't as blind to Lewis' behaviour as she thought.

"[Y/N], he has to take some of the responsibility in this. He stepped out on you first and he asked you to commit to something that you were uncomfortable with. He used your feelings for him against you," Whitney tells you. Her hand soothing your back. Your sobs become even louder.

"That's why I'm angry at him. He pushed me away and I fell in love with someone else because of it. But why do I feel so guilty?"

Whitney sighs, "Because you still want him to love you, like you always have".

Silence falls again for a few moments.

"[Y/N], do you still love Lewis?"

You nod. And then there’s silence again.

"Can I ask you something?"

You lift your head off her chest and look up at her. Your eyes red, skin all blotchy. You look so innocent and child-like in her arms. You don't answer her but your silence is enough of a yes for Whitney to ask you her next question.

"Who are you more sad about losing? Lewis or Charles?"

-

Not long after you had finished your conversation with Whitney, she had tucked you into her bed for some well needed rest.

Her heart ached for you and she felt guilty. Guilty that she had made her dislike for Lewis so apparent that you were too scared to tell her the true state of your relationship. The only thing she was grateful for was that Lewis hadn’t gotten you pregnant through out your relationship, it was the only way that this situation could be worse than it already was.

She was so angry and frustrated that it had gone so far. An open marriage, who the fuck does this guy think he is?, she had thought to herself. And he gets to act like he's the victim? This man had some serious audacity.

She secretly enjoyed the fact that Lewis felt so threatened by Charles that he made himself look like a right dick at your birthday. She'd have loved to have seen his face when the ball dropped and he realised that Charles, the man you loved, was just a metre or so away from him. Karma was a funny thing.

But the more Whitney got lost in the rabbit hole of finding new ways to find pleasure in Lewis' misery, the more she realised that whatever her feelings were towards Lewis or Charles or this entire series of unfortunate events, she couldn't let your heart break any more. If she couldn’t have prevented all of this mess from happening before, she was going to try and fix some of it for you.

And so, with your conversation from before at the front of her mind, she decided to send out a text.

Probably a bit of a surprise that this message is coming from me but I love [Y/N] more than anybody and I know you probably don’t want to see her right now.

I can’t imagine how angry and hurt you are but she never wanted this to happen. I can see how much she really loves you and I know that you love her too.

You two need to talk. You can’t fix this otherwise and you deserve that chance to fix your relationship.

I haven't seen her this bad in a very long time. Can you please come and talk to her? She's staying at mine.

And it turns out Whitney’s text worked. Not long after she got a response.

Sure, I can come by tonight?

And so he did.

Whitney didn’t miss the sadness in his eyes as she opened the front door. The skin underneath his eyes were dark and it looked like he had spent the last few days crying, almost as much as you had been.

“Thanks for coming, I know it couldn’t have been easy coming here,” Whitney said. Her voice soft, whatever she was feeling, seeing him in person like this made her feel guilty. And she didn't even do anything wrong.

He just grunted in response.

“Come in,” Whitney said, stepping aside to allow him into the flat. “She’s just asleep at the moment but I thought it was important that you guys talk.”

He nods. “You said she’s been in a bad way?”

Whitney nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, it hasn’t been this bad since her dad passed. Today was the first day that she’s properly spoken since she told me what happened when she arrived on Sunday”.

She pauses for a moment.

"She might smell of McDonalds when you see her though. It's all she's been willing to eat," her attempt at making a light-hearted joke doesn't clear the awkwardness in the room.

He’s just staring at the ground, hands shoved into his pockets. He doesn’t really want to be here, but somewhere deep down he believes he owes it to you. If Whitney was reaching out, it was definitely something worth listening to. Even if they didn't have much of a relationship.

“What did she say today?”

Whitney sighs softly, “I think it’s for her to say”.

He nods again.

“Can I see her?”

This time Whitney nods, “Sure. The bedroom is just the door on the right”.

He mumbles a thanks and heads down the short hallway. He takes a moment outside of the bedroom and Whitney watches his movements. He’s nervous as he takes a deep breath before stepping into the bedroom.

You feel the presence of somebody taking a seat on the bed beside you but you’re slow to respond. You assume it’s Whitney coming to check on you and so you just tell yourself to go back to sleep.

The person beside you stays still for a while. You can feel their eyes on you but you try not to let it disturb you. It’s the first time you’ve properly slept in days.

It’s a few minutes later before the person on the bed decides to lay down beside you, their body ever so close to yours.

You let out a groan. “Whitney, I love you but I don’t feel like spooning right now”.

You hear a dry chuckle beside you, like they’re forcing themselves to laugh.

“It’s not Whitney”.

Your eyes immediately open and you turn to face the person that’s in the bed beside you. The room is dark but you don't need to see him to know who it is. You know that voice so well.

“Charles,” you whisper.

You can’t believe that he’s here beside you and so you reach out to touch him to make sure that it’s really him here with you and not just a part of your dream.

He’s real. And he’s here beside you, letting your hand rest on his cheek as you search for his eyes in the darkness.

“What are you doing here?”

“Whitney messaged me. She said that you weren’t in a good place,” Charles responds.

“She messaged you?”

“Yeah, I was pretty surprised as we don't really speak much but she felt like we needed to talk”.

You smile softly. Grateful for your best friend but also grateful that Charles’ hasn’t decided to stomp on your heart. Or so he hasn’t yet.

“I’m surprised I’m here, to be honest. Joris would kill me if he knew I came to see you,” he chuckles but he doesn’t find it funny. He finds it painful actually to think of how much is best friend despises you. It wasn’t all your fault though, not in Charles’ eyes.

“When Joris had booked the Salt Bae restaurant for Saturday, I thought that the bill was going to be the most shocking thing that evening but I’d have paid for 50 of those ridiculous gold steaks if it meant I didn't have to sit through that dinner,” Charles continues. As the level of uncomfortableness rises in the room, your hand falls from his cheek and you find yourself wrapping you arms around your legs for comfort.

You don’t know what to say. Where do you even begin?

Charles fills the silence for you. “Lewis would have been pretty happy to buy 50 of those steaks the way he was splashing this cash that night,” Charles’ voice is laced in annoyance and disgust.

You cringe at the memory of Lewis’ over-the-top behaviour that night. But that’s not what leaves your mouth.

“It feels weird to hear you talking about him,” you whisper, you can’t believe this is the thing that you say out of all the things you could say. It just felt so strange hearing Charles mention Lewis by name.

Charles scoffs, “What? Your husband? I’m just amazed he didn’t end up bending you over the table and fucking you in front of me but he was definitely making a good go of it. I felt sorry for the couple who was at the table with you who had to hear that cringey naked chef story”.

His tone is getting angrier the more he speaks.

“I’m sorry, Charles,” you can barely hear your own voice. You feel like a coward for not saying more but you honestly don't know how to get your words out. You can’t read the expression on Charles’ face because you can’t see him through the darkness. So you just let him do the talking.

“I’m just surprised that you’d be married to someone like that, you know. So obnoxious and so vulgar,” he spits, “acting like he’s got the biggest dick in the room. I wanted to punch his fucking face in".

You've never heard Charles speak like this before, with so much hatred and venom in his voice. It looks like Lewis' antics had gotten under his skin after all. You couldn't blame Charles for feeling this way though, Lewis did everything in his power to emasculate Charles that day.

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you did," you whisper. You reach out for Charles in the dark, you hand resting on his arm. He tenses up a little but he doesn't pull away which reassures you that he can't hate you that much if he's letting you touch him.

"He's not worth it. What kind of a man is he anyway? Cheats on his wife for months and then throws the toys out of his pram when he finds someone who actually loves her for her," he huffs.

But it's those last few words that fill you wish some warmth and gives you the courage to ask Charles the following question, "Do you still love me, Charles?"

You feel him place a hand on top of yours in the dark.

"As much as everyone doesn't want me to, I can't stop loving you, [Y/N]," he responds. His voice is the softest it's been since he came into Whitney's room.

"Do you hate me?" God you've had to ask that question one too many times today.

"I don't hate you, amour. I hate that you married a guy like him. Yeah, he's good looking and rich or whatever but he's an asshole. You deserve so much better than that," he pauses his mini rant and takes a deep breath, "Look, I knew you were married when we first got involved so I've only got myself to blame. But since the night that we met, I haven't spent a day not thinking about you".

It sounds weird but Charles thinks that he can hear you smile in the dark.

"You just called me amour".

You can't keep the smile to yourself and a sense of relief washes over you at the sound of him calling you that special pet name.

"You'll always be my amour, even if you are married to a man with shitty tattoos," Charles grunts but the tension seems to leave his body and he pulls you towards him in dark, somehow pulling you into a hug and your head is resting on his chest.

"I'm so sorry Charles, I never wanted this to happen," you whisper. "You never deserved any of that. I thought I'd have lost you, especially when you hadn't responded".

Charles sighs, "I know. I just needed some time".

His fingers find their way into your hair and begins to lightly stroke you hair, resting his chin on the top of your head.

You just lay in each other's arms, taking in the smell and feeling of each other. You don't want to let you because if you do, you're so afraid that he'll come to his senses and run from you. But he doesn't seem to want to let go of you either, and you remain content in each other's arms.

Eventually, he breaks the silence.

"Have you spoken to him?"

You hesitate for a moment, but decide to tell him the truth, "No. He doesn't want to speak to me. After dinner, I got in the Uber and he didn't get in. And then he never came home. I messaged him when I got here to let him know I'd be here for the forseeable, so he can make sure that Roscoe is taken care of".

Charles hums as his response but he doesn't say much.

"I'm pretty sure he hates me," you're not sure why you've said this, especially to Charles of all people.

"He probably just hates himself," Charles is honest with his response. You look up at him in the dark.

"Really?"

"Maybe he hates you a little. But he I think he hates me the most," Charles chuckles. "But I don't mind though, he's the one that fucked himself. And if he wasn't so selfish, you wouldn't be here with me right you".

And in the dark, you feel Charles warm breath hit your face before his lips find yours. The kiss is gentle and neither of you really know what to do next. The both of you couldn't imagine you being in this place just a mere two hours ago. And so you savour the moment for what it is before the both of you slowly pull away from the kiss.

Charles' breath catches in his throat a little, as if he wants to say something but he doesn't. And so you stay in each others arms a little while longer.

You're not sure how much time has passed, you're pretty sure that the two of you fell into a light sleep at some point. But as you begin to stir in Charles' arms, he finally finds the courage to say what he's been holding in.

"I want to be with you, [Y/N]. But I need more than a half of you," he begins. He waits for some sort of response from you but all you manage is to sit up and look at him.

He lets out a little sigh. You're waiting for him to finish, almost as if you're waiting for him to tell you what to do. To tell you how you can fix this.

"I think we have a good chance at things but my first mistake was thinking that I could be okay with you being married. Even if he wasn’t entirely in the picture, he’s still there. And he won’t let you go without a fight. You know, I thought half of you would be better than all of you. But maybe I need to be more like Lewis and be selfish. And so, if you want us to work," he pauses, making sure that you're still fixated on him, “I need to know that things are over between you and Lewis".

All you can do is gulp as the consequences of your actions begin to sink in.

It was time to make a decision - Lewis or Charles? The longer you waited to make your choice, the more likely you’ll lose the both of them forever.

[williamsonarssnal]

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | LW (parte.2)

SILVER SPRING ⸻ leah williamson x swimmer! reader.

Warning: making amends, feeling a bit angsty, Leah is the reader's true love, mentions original character. English isn't my first language!

Childhood memories flooded Y/N's mind as she sank deeper into the pool's depths. Her first touch of the water, the sensation of freedom and weightlessness, like a fish swimming in its own sea. The conquest of the first gold medal, the taste of victory and the joy of representing her country, the national anthem echoing in her ears. The unconditional love of her first pet, a Golden Retriever named Toby, who accompanied her on all her adventures, licking her face with affection after each game. The butterflies in her stomach during the first kiss at a school event, the promise of a future full of romance, whispering secrets under the moonlight. The declaration of love for Leah, the sincerity and vulnerability that united their hearts, sealing a pact of eternal love. The games with Marvin, her new furry companion, the walks in the open air, exploring new places together, the unshakeable friendship between dog and owner. The first words "I love you" whispered to Leah, the confirmation of a unique and true love, a melody that echoed in her soul.

The images mixed, forming a kaleidoscope of happy and unforgettable moments. With each desperate stroke, Y/N approached the surface, seeking light and life. The pain in her calf was excruciating, like knives piercing her muscles, but her willpower drove her to fight against death, the memory of her dreams and everything she loved most pushing her upwards.

Suddenly, a hand gripped her arm firmly, like a ray of hope cutting through the darkness. Y/N felt a strong pull and then her feet touched the bottom of the pool. She coughed up water and air, opening her eyes with difficulty, her vision blurred by the chlorinated water. A blurred figure was leaning over her, offering her support, a guardian angel appearing out of nowhere.

"Calm down, Y/N, you're safe," said the soft, familiar voice, like a balm to her soul.

Y/N blinked a few times, trying to focus her vision. The figure approached, revealing the face of one of her teammates, Emily, the swimmer who always encouraged her in training, the friend who listened to her in difficult times.

"Emily?" Y/N asked, still dazed, her mind processing what had happened. "What happened?"

"You had a bad cramp and started to sink," Emily explained, with concern in her eyes. "I was in the other lane and saw you right away. Thank goodness I was here."

"You had a strong cramp and started to sink," Emily explained, with concern in her eyes. "I was in the other lane and saw you right away. Thank God I was there." Y/N looked at Emily with gratitude, tears welling up in her eyes. "You saved me," she murmured, her voice choked with emotion. "I don't know what would have happened without you."

Emily smiled gently, a smile that conveyed compassion and friendship. "Of course, Y/N. We're teammates, we're family."

Helped by Emily, Y/N got out of the pool, her muscles trembling with cold and emotion. The memories of her near death were still fresh in her mind, the image of sinking into the depths haunted her, but the gratitude for being saved flooded her.

"Thank you, Emily," Y/N said with a choked voice, hugging her tightly. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Emily hugged her back, a warm hug that conveyed security and support. "No need to thank me, friend. I would do anything for you."

Y/N felt safe and protected in Emily's arms, as if she were in a safe harbor after a storm. The fear and anguish that had gripped her moments before began to dissipate, replaced by a feeling of peace and gratitude.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked again, concerned about Y/N's condition.

Y/N nodded, still shaking a little. "Yes, I'm better now. I just need to rest a bit."

Emily helped her up and took her to the locker room, walking side by side down the wet hallway. In the locker room, Y/N changed clothes and sat on a bench, still trying to process everything that had happened.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Y/N looked at Emily, her eyes still full of tears, but with a more serene expression. "I don't know, Emily," she confessed, her voice full of uncertainty. "I almost lost my life today. It made me think a lot about what really matters."

Emily sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I understand, Y/N," she said with compassion. "It was a scary time. It's natural that you're questioning everything now." She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I've always put swimming first," she continued, her voice choked with emotion. "I trained relentlessly, sacrificing everything for my dream. But today, when I saw myself sinking in the pool, I realized that none of it matters if I'm not here to enjoy life with the people I love."

Emily looked at her intently, her eyes full of understanding. "You're right, Y/N," she said. "Life is much more than just achievements. It's about the moments we spend with the people we love, the feelings we share, and the experiences we have."

Y/N wiped her tears with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath. "I need to talk to Leah," she said, her voice determined. "I need to tell her how I feel, how much she means to me."

Emily smiled at her, an encouraging smile. "It's the right thing to do, Y/N," she said. "Communicate your feelings, don't leave anything unspoken."

Y/N stood up and hugged Emily tightly. "Thank you for everything, Emily," she said with gratitude. "You saved me today, and not just from the pool."

Emily hugged her back, squeezing her in her arms. "BFFs forever, Y/N," she said with a sincere smile.

Emily drove Y/N home in silence while the swimmer pondered her friend's words and the uncertain future that lay ahead. Her near-death experience had made her question everything, her priorities, her dreams, her feelings for Leah.

When they arrived home, Y/N thanked Emily again for her help and support, promising to keep her updated on what happened with Leah. Emily hugged her warmly and got out of the car, driving back to her own house, hoping that Y/N would find the happiness she so desperately desired.

Y/N walked into the house, her hesitant steps leading her to the living room. Marvin, the golden retriever she shared with Leah, greeted her with an excited bark, wagging his tail frantically. She knelt down beside him, stroking his soft head and feeling the comfort of his presence.

"Hey, boy," she said in a tired voice. "I missed you."

Marvin licked her face enthusiastically, as if happy to have her back home. Y/N got up and walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. As she drank, she looked at the phone on the counter, knowing she needed to call Leah and explain everything that had happened.

But with each passing second, her hesitation grew. What would she say? How would Leah react? What if she wasn't ready to talk? Y/N felt trapped between the desire to confess her feelings and the fear of rejection.

Suddenly, a noise at the door pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned and saw Leah standing there, her eyes full of concern. Marvin barked again, jumping for joy at seeing his other owner had returned.

"Leah!" Y/N exclaimed, surprised by the presence of the English player. "What are you doing here?"

Leah approached her, her eyes fixed on her face. "I know what happened at the pool," she said in a firm voice. "Emily called me and told me everything."

Y/N felt her heart pounding in her chest. "And… what do you mean by that?" she asked, trying to stay calm.

Leah took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "Y/N, I love you," she said, her voice soft and sincere. "And I was so scared of losing you."

Leah's words hit Y/N like a lightning bolt, causing all her doubts and fears to dissipate instantly. She couldn't believe that Leah also loved her, even with her obsession with swimming and her difficulty balancing the sport with a relationship.

"Leah," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "I love you too. More than you imagine."

Leah smiled, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "So what does that mean?" she asked, reaching out her hand to Y/N.

Y/N looked at her hand and then into her eyes. She knew it was time to make a decision, to choose between her dream and her love. But in that moment, looking at Leah, she knew what really mattered.

With a radiant smile, she took Leah's hand and squeezed it tightly. "It means we're together," she said, her voice full of determination. "We'll find a way to make everything work, because the love we feel for each other is more important than anything else."

Leah pulled her into a tight hug, and the two surrendered to the happiness of finally being able to be together without fear or resentment. Marvin barked again, wagging his tail excitedly, as if celebrating the union of his mistresses.

Informal translation:

"Woah, Leah!" Y/N exclaimed, taken aback by the English player's sudden appearance. "What brings you here?"

Leah closed in on her, her gaze fixated on Y/N's face. "I'm aware of the pool incident," she stated firmly. "Emily filled me in on everything."

Y/N's heart pounded like a drum in her chest. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" she inquired, attempting to maintain composure.

Leah inhaled deeply and met S/n's eyes. "Y/N, I've got feelings for you," she confessed, her voice soft and genuine. "And I was terrified of losing you."

Leah's words struck Y/N like a bolt of lightning, instantly dispelling all her doubts and worries. She couldn't fathom that Leah reciprocated her feelings, despite her unwavering dedication to swimming and the challenges of balancing a relationship with her sport.

"Leah," she began, her voice trembling with emotion. "I feel the same way about you. More than words can express."

Leah's lips curved into a smile, her eyes sparkling with joy. "So, what does that mean for us?" she asked, extending her hand towards Y/N.

Y/N glanced at Leah's hand and then back into her eyes. She knew she had a decision to make, to choose between her dream and her love. But in that moment, gazing at Leah, she realized what truly mattered.

With a radiant grin, she grasped Leah's hand and squeezed it tightly. "It means we're a couple," she declared, her voice filled with determination. "We'll figure out a way to make it work, because our love for each other surpasses anything else."

Leah pulled her into a warm embrace, and they surrendered to the bliss of finally being together without any fear or resentment. Marvin barked once more, wagging his tail enthusiastically, as if celebrating the union of his beloved owners.

tagged: @woso-obsessed

sorry for the errors! x