#My face when people who no little to nothing about the sport talk bring up riders like Jessica Springsteen 😑

[isthehorsevideocute]

If there is anything I've learned from interacting with the everyone from the top of the sport to the backyard hobbists, it's that most of the folks at the top aren't often worth learning from. Most of them are not good teachers or trainers and a lot of their success just comes from money and connections

[theemporium]

poly drivers (literally any idk they can all take me to Paris) reacting to a media personnel making a comment about reader… 👀👀

a mood💀thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

.

“My next question goes to the two fellas on the right.”

You pressed your lips together to try and bite back your smile as you watched Max subtly roll his eyes as he reached for his microphone. 

It never failed to amuse you how much the boy hated media duties, even after so many years being involved with the sport. He hated it, he thought it was a waste of time, and if he could avoid it, he would. 

Meanwhile, Charles sat next to him with a charming smile on his face. Despite his questionable acting skills, he was a performer in front of the cameras. He seemed to naturally know what people wanted to hear, what they wanted to hear from him. He seemed to have the media stuff under lock and key after so many years of having a camera shoved in his face. 

And conferences like this one—where both your boys were in one group—were your absolute favourite to watch. Just seeing the mere difference in the men you loved never failed to entertain you.

But as quickly as your good mood came, it quickly dropped when you heard the reporter's question. 

“Do you think sharing the same woman has helped your relationship on track or made it worse?” 

Your stomach dipped as the room fell silent, only the clicking of cameras and scribbling of pens on notepads could be heard. You didn’t care about the other journalists gawking at you, or even the other drivers on the couch. Your eyes were firmly glued to your boys.

Charles was frowning, a look mixed with shock and disbelief written across his face. Your boy in red liked to see the best in people, expect the best in people. And you could actively see his brain trying to work around the question to see if he just misunderstood what the man had just asked. 

But Max was a different story. 

His face was stoic and the glare he sent the reporter was almost bone-chilling. You honestly expected him to storm off, or even throw something at the reporter—to act out in the way you knew he was constantly scolded about by the Red Bull PR team. 

What you weren’t expecting was for Charles to be the first one to speak. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

The shock and surprise was clear on everybody’s face as Charles straightened up in his seat, his brows furrowed as he stared at the reporter in disgust. The man opened his mouth to speak, to probably defend himself, but Charles didn’t give him the chance. 

“No, seriously, who do you think you are?” Charles continued, his accent coming out a little thicker as he spoke. “We are racers. This is our job. Our relationship has nothing to do with anything, and it’s disrespectful that you would even bring it up, let alone talk about our girlfriend like she’s an object. She’s a human, unlike whatever you are.”

You stood there, mouth agape at the words that just came out of your boyfriend’s mouth.

However, Max almost looked proud before he lifted the microphone to his lips.

“You’re a fucking dickhead, have fun completely ending your career,” he stated simply with a smug look on his face before he dropped the microphone, not even bothering to listen to the media managers as they scrambled to get him to sit back down as he walked out with Charles following. 

Your cheeks burned as everyone turned to look at you, but you didn’t pay them any attention as you quickly slid out of the conference room. You barely made it three steps out the door before you felt an arm winding around your waist and tugging you towards a hard body, the smell of Charles’ cologne hitting you seconds later. 

“Amour,” he murmured as he nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, his arms wrapping tightly around you like he was scared you would disappear. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“Shh, it’s not your fault,” you cooed as you wrapped your arms around him, your fingers running through the hair on the nape of his neck as his body sagged against yours. “You were quite bold in there.”

“Didn’t like the way they were talking about us,” he grumbled.

You lifted your head when you spotted Max a few steps away, the smug look still painted across his face as he reached for you, his hand placed on the small of your back. 

“Personally, I think that was the best conference I have ever been a part of,” Max commented with a shrug, his smile widening a little when he saw you snort. 

“Be nice,” you chastised.

“I am,” he defended. “It was hot.”

“It was,” you agreed, and Charles’ arms tightened around you. 

“Let’s get him fired,” Charles said suddenly as he lifted his head to look at you both, trying to ignore the fact his cheeks were burning at your words. 

“I think he did that fine on his own,” Max said.

“No, I want him fired,” Charles frowned. “I don’t want to see him near a paddock ever again.”

“Okay, calm down,” you murmured as you ran your hands up and down his back. “Let’s just get out of here and let you cool down before you do something irrational. I think you’re on an adrenaline high.”

“I don’t like people who say things about us, about you,” Charles huffed.

You smiled as you leaned up, pressing a lingering kiss against his pouting lips. “And I appreciate that very much, baby.”

“Our knight in shining armour,” Max teased, only to wince a little when you pinched his side. “Kidding, schatz, I love you both.”

“Better,” you grinned before pecking his lips too. “Let’s stop by the Red Bull motorhome before we head back to the hotel, I want more of those churros.”

Max snorted. “Whatever you want.”

.

[barcaatthemoon]

green whistle || sydney lohmann x reader ||

sydney gets hurt in practice and accidentally outs your relationship when given a green whistle.

the worst part of your job was having to see the players go down. you absolutely loved being a trainer, and when you were finished with your studies, you were excited to be a sports doctor. still, you had become close friends with the players and you hated having to be the one who told them how long they'd be out for when they got hurt. your least favorite was sydney, it killed you to see such a sad look on your girlfriend's face.

you had been working on some paperwork concerning the girls' physicals whenever sydney was rushed in. with all of the commotion, you would have thought that someone broke something. you rushed out of the office with urgency to see your girlfriend being partially dragged in by two of her teammates with a green whistle in her mouth.

"baby!" sydney exclaimed, dropping the whistle immediately. she tried to move out of the grasps of the other girls, but they held on tightly. "let me go, i want (y/n). she's pretty and gentle with me and gives me the sweetest kisses."

"why would (y/n) be kissing you of all people?" lea asked. it was a pretty poorly kept secret that you and sydney were seeing each other. however, the team was very respectful in not bringing it up until one of you did first. that did not mean that lea wouldn't tease sydney about how she constantly stared at you with a disgustingly lovesick look.

"because she's my girlfriend, duh! yeah, that's right, i got the very cute trainer girl's number. remember when you and georgia said i couldn't, well i did!" sydney shouted. your cheeks were red with embarrassment as sydney continued. it was fairly safe, mostly just about how cute she thought you were.

"quiet, and sit still for me," you told her. sydney promptly snapped her mouth shut and sat up straight in front of you. you checked her out and patched her up, glad that it was nothing more than a bit of muscle strain. it felt pretty bad, but wouldn't need anything more than maybe a week or two of rest. "you can rest here for the rest of practice, and before we leave i'll get you something if you're still in pain."

"you're so good at your job," sydney said as you taped her up. you glanced up at her to find her staring at you. lea and georgia looked a bit uncomfortable, but neither of them made a move to leave. "i'm so proud of you. i love you, liebe."

"i love you too." you stood up and pressed a quick kiss to sydney's lips. this time, georgia did turn away from the two of you, but lea didn't move. you watched sydney try to kick at her for fake gagging. "can i talk to the two of you for a moment?"

"we won't say anything if that's what you're scared of," lea promised you. you nodded, greatly appreciating that they already knew that you wanted to talk about. "you guys are cute together. everyone would be supportive if you did want to be open about with us."

"i'm not sure that it would matter. neither one of you seemed phased earlier," you pointed out.

"don't take this the wrong way, but you guys are not subtle. it's like neither of you were born with a subtle bone in your bodies," georgia told you. you chuckled at that, having known that sydney wasn't subtle, but never thinking that you were just as bad. it made sense, even if you weren't overly thrilled about the news that everybody had caught you openly checking your girlfriend out.

"it's cute though, don't worry!" lea reassured you. "all of us really care about syd, and i haven't seen her so happy with anybody else before. just know that sooner or later, you'll get the talk from the national team."

"as if she'd ever let them threaten me," you scoffed. sydney was off in her own little world on the bench, but you knew how protective your girlfriend was. there was no way she'd let more than one or two members of the national team whisk you away for a shovel talk.

"(y/n) has a point. remember when tod went to shout at (y/n)? surprised that he came around the next practice," georgia said. lea laughed at the memory of your girlfriend tearing into the senior medical trainer. you wouldn't have called what tod was doing shouting, but it was enough to have lea run at him from halfway across the pitch.

"liebe!" sydney whined as she reached out for you. georgia and lea took that as their cue to leave. you turned around to see her laying outstretched on the bench as she reached out towards you. her hand made a little grabbing motion over and over again until you walked over so she could grab you. immediately, sydney latched onto you with her arms around your hips as you ran a hand through her hair. "that's better, i missed you."

"yeah? i missed you too," you said softly. sydney fell asleep after barely three minutes of your fingers running through her hair. you went back to the office, but left a hoodie for sydney to cuddle up with while you finished work.

[russellsppttemplates]

Never letting you go (Max Verstappen)

There was nothing stopping you and Max now

Note: english is not my first language. This is the first Max big piece to sort of introduce their arc, let me know what you think! ✨️

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: mentions Jos forbidding Max and reader of dating, curse words

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

"What do you mean you're going to the Grand Prix?", you quirked your brow as your friend Cara sipped her coffee, "I thought you said you'd never be caught dead one of those", you chuckled.

"Matthew's company got a bunch of passes because they got a deal with one of the sponsors - I think? - I don't know much about it, all I know is that he brought three home because he thought you'd like to join us", she offered.

You never hid how much you enjoyed watching Formula One, even if watching it, especially in the last couple of years, often brought emotionally heavy memories back.

"That's nice, count me in! What type of passes are they?", you questioned, taking a bite from the cake on your plate.

"I don't know, he was talking all about them and I must admit I zoned out", she admitted, "but he said they were really good! He was very surprised at what the passes had, but his boss is very cheap so I don't know how great they actually are considering the possible comparison", she smiled as you nodded, "count me in, though. It's been a while since I stepped foot on one of them", you recalled.

The last race you attended was when Max was in Formula Three still. The paddock was so big and crowded with so many people, you doubted you'd bump into him. It wouldn't do you any good, would it?

"How did you get hospitality passes?", you gasped as Matthew handed you the lanyard, "they've invested a lot of money so I guess the sponsors didn't mind loosening the belt", he shrugged, putting his own around his neck after scanning it.

"Thank you for this, by the way", you flashed him a smile, "no worries, Y/N, the only way I could convince her to come was if you joined us, and I don't mind actually spending the weekend with someone who also knows a little about the sport", he chuckled as Cara laced her arms with her fiancé, "I'm glad he has you to talk to as well, there's only so much feigned interest I can muster up", she rolled her eyes.

Scuderia Alpha Tauri had been Toro Rosso, but despite the name change, as soon as you walked in, some faces were still familiar from the pictures you got sent from Max on gia first season with them.

"Why did you get interested in Formula One anyway?", Matthew asked you while you sipped on a latte, "I always loved the idea of the cars going very very fast, and then when I actually had the knowledge to understand how they worked, they really intrigued me", you offered, "I also had a friend who was very into it, so he also escalated my interest in it".

"He didn't pull you enough to work on motor sport though?", Matt wondered.

"I didn't enjoy the competitiveness of all of it", you admitted, "it's very strict, and if you want to be successful, it takes the good things away - your family, your friends", you opened your heart to him, thankfully noticing it and sorting the heartfelt confession seemingly about a job, "they travel a lot and they're really competitive that is, I'd never be able to do that for a job", you smiled, hoping you saved yourself from further questions.

"That's why you did mechanical engineering, then?", he asked, "for the most part, yes", you replied, "Oh, they're starting free practice", you smiled, looking over to the track from the balcony seats.

Sophie walked into the RedBull hospitality, looking for her family. Because it was Monaco, they felt safe enough to bring the Lio and Luka to the paddock, knowing they would be close to home in case things didn't go well as planned.

"Grandma!", the oldest boy called her from his spot on his father's lap, his brother sleeping on his mother's chest.

"Hey, my dears", she greeted, "You won't believe who I found on my way here", Sophie began, "I'm surprised Max didn't tell me he invited Y/N. It's a shame she isn't here with us, though", she commented.

The first indicator of surprise should be the way the blond woman looked at her mother, "what do you mean Y/N is here?", she whisper-yelled.

"I just saw her in the Alpha Tauri hospitality, I was walking with Helmut and he was headed there, that's when I noticed her. Max didn't tell you?", she quirked an eyebrow just as her son sat down next to them.

"What didn't I tell who?", Max spoke, setting his plate of food down on the table.

"Why didn't you tell us you invited Y/N for this weekend?", Victoria was the first to scold him, hitting his arm in a sisterly manner, "and in Alpha Tauri of all places? I'm sure they would've bent the rules a little and give you a pass so she could be a RedBull guest!".

Max thought he heard incorrectly. Y/N, his Y/N was in the paddock, in the sister team of the one he now drove for.

"I, I didn't offer her anything", Max said, his brother in-law looking at him weirdly as well, "I don't know how or why she is here, but I had nothing to do with it. We haven't spoken in a while", he mumbled. A while, three years, same thing, he supposes.

"Well, I just saw her. You should go say hi, I'm sure she would love to but she can't exactly find you where she is, it has to be the other way around", Sophie offered.

"What makes you believe she would?", Max questioned, both himself and his mother and sister.

"Because the way you never forgot her, she never forgot you", Victoria sterned, "don't you think she deserves your attention? She was in it for the long run, Max, and maybe she has moved on, maybe even has someone", the thought alone made Max loose his cool, "but she was your friend, the person you trusted most in the world and you let her slip".

"Don't sugar coat it, please", Max sarcastically replied.

"It's true, Max, and you know it", Sophie said, sensing her son didn't want to talk about the topic, but not allowing him to leave the table without a piece of her mind as well.

Max needed to put on his suit again, ready for qualifying, walking along the corridor until he found his door.

"Hey, before you go", Victoria called her brother as he was about to go into his driver's room, "Lio is really fussy, so we're just going back to your place, I'm sorry", she said.

"It's fine, whatever you feel the most comfortable with", he said, waving at his nephews and brother in-law.

"We will be supporting you from home, then", she said, kissing his cheek, "And Max? I know you're not used to it, but follow your heart", she smiled.

"Can I do that now?", he softly bit back, smiling and blushing at his words.

"What's stopping you?", Victoria said as she walked back to her family.

"Who is that?", Jos asked as Max asked him if he could invite you over for dinner before the season began.

The conversations with Toro Rosso were getting serious and the opportunity for a seat in Formula One was right there, up for him to grab if he worked enough.

"She's my friend, you know Y/N", Max tried to reason with his father.

"For this to work, Max, I think you need to distance yourself from home", Jos advised, ignoring his mention of you and carrying on with his lecture, "I'm talking no parties, no trips to come and see friends and family - I really think those are just getting in the way between you and the career you deserve".

The statement was clear, and Max knew better than to question it.

"I've spoken to your mother - she wasn't the biggest fan -, but you really need to focus on this", Jos reiterated, "no friends, much less girlfriends", he chuckled.

The dinner ended up being just Jos, Max and Victoria, the thought of having you there quickly erased in his head.

When Max met up with you before he left for the season, he was antsy. Just a week before, you had stolen innocent kisses from eachother's lips and revelled in the feeling of being in eachother's embrace without a care in the world. And it felt good, so good, like the piece that was missing in Max's life finally completed the puzzle.

"Hey", you greeted, kissing the corner of his lips and allowing him to pull you down to sit on the sofa.

"I spoke to my dad, I'm leaving in a few days", Max said, "there's some testing they want me to do still", he mumbled, lacing your fingers in his.

"And where do we end up?", you asked the million euro question. Truthfully, you entertained the thought. Even though being away from Max for most of the year would be a challenge, the love you felt for him was too big, too great for you to forgo that challenge. You were his and he would be yours.

"It's not going to work, Y/N. I need to focus on racing", he stated blankly despite how much it hurt him to utter those words out to you as the conversation with his father resonated with him.

"Max your focus is getting a Formula One seat", his father sterned, "do you know how hard it is? How much effort and work you have to put in? There can't be any distractions!"

"But Y/N isn't a distraction!", Max reasoned. If anything, you were the one keeping him humble and with both feet on the ground at all times. You cared for him, not because of his racing, who he was or who he could become, but because you loved eachother.

You'd never do anything to ruin his career, Max thought as he worked up the courage to tell you all of it. He couldn't get distracted, not now. He couldn't afford making mistakes because he had a girlfriend back at home waiting on him.

Your understanding, however, wasn't aligned with his expectations. He hoped you'd fight, at least, but you swalled your tears and nodded, "okay, Max. I hope you get your seat, you deserve it so much, I know it will happen".

Max put in on pole, leaving you to smile and snap a picture of the moment, wondering if you'd have the courage to send it to him.

"So, does this mean it's over?", Cara asked, "Because I could do with going home, actually", she nudged.

"Let's go, then!", you smiled, putting your phone in your bag and looking for the way out, ending up following the other guests into the paddock.

"Y/N, dear!", you heard someone call your name, and on cue, you looked for the voice despite the fact that it wad unlikely someone recognised you there.

Sophie didn't age, you thought, as you looked at the source of the voice that called you.

"I'm not going to hold you up, guys, you can go!", you smiled, waving at Matthew and Cara once you assured them you would be fine.

"I'm sorry, Sophie - they're my friends, and he was the one who got the passes from his office", you apologised for leaving her to wait a little for you.

"It's alright, dear. It's been so long since I've seen you", she nudged, "I'm sure Max would love to see you, too!", she jumped straight in.

"Would he, though?", you squinted your eyes.

"He would, Y/N", Sophie said earnestly, "I saw you this morning - at Alpha Tauri -, and he knows you're here", she smiled, "I'm assuming you're watching the race, too. Pay him a visit, okay?", she rubbed your shoulder and left a kiss on your cheek, "He's also my ride home, so I need to go look for him! Bye, Y/N!".

Race day meant rush everywhere, so you got to the paddock just in time before everyone rushed inside, finding the perfect spot to watch the race.

"I need to take this call, one second", you said to Cara, recognising Max's contact on your phone.

"Y/N, hi! I didn't think you'd pick up actually", you could hear the nervousness on his voice, "thanks for the picture, by the way, it was very... nice".

"It's no problem really, I thought it would be a good memory to keep", you smiled, "are you ready for the race? Or do you want me to give you a pep talk?", you chuckled. Back in the day, whenever he didn't feel too confident about a race, you had the power to help him out his head in the right place and bring his winning mentality to light.

"I'm fine, actually", he smiled, "I- I was wondering if you'd like to meet up later", he gulped, "I'd like to talk to you, but it's difficult until the race finishes, and then debriefs and media and all that".

"Sure, text me when you're done then", you stated boldly, "have a good race Max, you know I'm supporting you".

"Even if you're with Alpha Tauri?", he joked.

"I never stopped supporting you, it's not going to be a guest pass that's going to change it", you said as he bid you goodbye, ending the call and finding your friends.

When Max won, you clapped unashamedly as everyone else seemed to join you in your excitement, and after the race celebrations were done with, you waited patiently for the text to get to your phone.

"So you're staying back?", Cara asked, "I am, I'm meeting a friend", you explained. At her curious stare, you furthered, "do you remember the guy I told you about when you tried to set up that double date?", she nodded, "yes, the guy you were friends with, and when you both wanted to take a step forward, he had this big shot as his dream career and his father wouldn't allow him to date anyone", she said as she realized, "my goodness, he's here? Y/N, go for it!", she encouraged, "I know you still have feelings for him, who knows? Maybe this is your chance to reconnect", she rubbed your shoulder.

After you bid goodbye to Cara and Matthew, a text go through to your phone.

From: Max

Mum is waiting for you at the door :)

Approaching the hospitality, you quickly spotted Sophie, "c'mon in, dear! Max wanted me to get you myself, he was afraid no one would ler you in", she chuckled, guiding you through until you were in their dining area.

"Y/N!", Max beamed, setting down the crayons he was drawing with at the table with Luka and walking up to you.

"Hey everyone!", you waved at Victoria, putting a pin the two little boys' curious stares as they looked at you so you could hug Max.

"Congratulations, Max, I knew you could do it", you whispered into his skin, his arms hugging you so tightly against him.

"Thank you, Y/N", he spoke, "I missed you so much, I missed this so much", he squeezed you one more time before allowing you to greet the rest of his family.

"This is Tom, and that's Lio and Luka", Victoria said after she hugged you tighlty, "say hi, guys!", she encouraged as the two little copies of Max waved back at you.

"We're going to head home, it was great seeing you, Y/N!", Sophie announced, "I'm sure we'll see eachother a lot more from now on", Victoria complimented, helping her husband pack up the kids' belongings and toys so they could retire to Max's apartment.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner sometime this week", he jumped straight forward, "I'm having dinner with the team today and then the rest of the grid want to go to the club, so I wouldn't be able to spend that much time with you, and I want to be able to just focus on you", he smiled.

"That's fine by me, I appreciate the thought", you smiled as he led you to one of the tables, asking one of the caffé staff for something to drink for the two of you.

“Listen, I think, I think we found each again for a reason", he began boldly, not sure if this was the way to go after not having spoken to you in a couple of years. Still, it wasn't a lie.

"Define found, considering we've been iving in the same city for nearly a year", you smiled, "although you don't spend much time here anyway, so I guess that's a nice enough excuse", you teased, your foot tapping his shin playfully under the table.

"So, Monaco, hm?", Max started, "I didn't expect you to live here out of all places", he nudged, wanting to know more about your move but afraid he was stepping in vulnerable territory.

"I did it because of my earnings for sure. I've got to save as much as I can on tax on the fortune I make as a female engineer", you sternly said as he looked the most surprised you'd ever seen him, "I'm joking - not all of us move to Monaco so our million euro salaries have better taxes", you teased.

"Why did you do it, then?", he asked, smiling at how familiar it all seemed. Just like old times, he thought.

"The company I work for was the one that needed the tax benefits", you clicked your tongue, "and they wanted people to move here. Only one of my colleagues moved here with her whole family, as they expected, so they ended up calling the ones that weren't attached to anything or anyone in particular, and I was one of them", you shrugged your shoulders, "I moved to a new country with a different language, the only people I knew were my work colleagues, so I had no one to complain about them to, but I make it work - at least I like to think I do", you smiled.

Not attached to anyone, he recalled, humming at your response, "it's not such a bad place to live, right? Granted I don't spend much time year, but still enough to appreciate it", Max spoke.

"How about you, Mr World Champion", you nudged, "how does it feel?".

"Obviously it's great, and everything that I worked for", he added, knowing the underlying topic in the conversation, "I get to drive fast cars and I travel the world, there's not much left for it to be the complete dream", he said, gingerly touching your fingers over the table and accepting your hold when you laced them together.

Conversation was flowing easily until one of the employees told Max that he would have to go and get ready for the dinner, meaning you would have to part ways.

"Does Tuesday work for you? I'm not sure how well I'll be tomorrow", he chuckled, "yes, that's fine by me, just text me the address and the time", you smiled, getting up and kissing his cheek, "have a good time, Max, but be careful with the alcohol, I'd hate to have to pick you up again", you reminded him of the time he got way too drunk and he insisted he would only go home if you came to pick him up.

.

Dinner was great and Max invited you back to his place, hoping you'd be able to talk properly about the elephant in the room in a more private and comfortable place.

"You're struggling there, aren't you? Even with your itty bitty small hands?", Max teased as your pinky just about stretched enough for you to not lose everything by dumping the contents of your bag on the sidewalk.

As you and Max left the restaurant, you fiddled with your wallet in your bag, hoping to keep the card the waiter gave you safe for the next time you wanted to visit the place.

"I do not have itty bitty small hands!", you argued, shaking your bag a little to make sure everything was safely in place.

"We need to have the same starting line - like", you rearranged them so your wrists would be touching. Still, it didn't make much of a difference on your end. It looked like it even highlighted a few more differences, "yours is much bigger, I give up", you giggled.

"See?", Max said as he held your hand out against his, "these are the size of fairy hands! Tinkerbell probably has bigger hands than yours!", he exclaimed as you noticed how much bigger his hand was compared to yours. His fingers were a little bit thicker than yours and his palm covered all of your hand almost completely.

Now or never, Max thought as he laced your fingers in his once you let your arms drop and rest by your side. His thumb rubbed your skin and warmed you up, "was this your plan all along?", you wondered, feeling the bravery around you two and choosing to act on it.

"Lacing my hand in yours or proving to you that my biggest mistake was letting you go all of those years ago?", Max stated as he looked deeply into your eyes.

"We should talk about this inside", you bit your lip, allowing him to guide you through the apartment complex he lived in.

His living room was decorated in classy tones, probably with the help of him mother and sister, as you sat down on the sofa and face eachother.

"I know I apologised at the time, but I'm still sorry, Y/N", Max said, "at the time it was the dream and I didn't have much room for my own decisions. Still, I should've fought", he concluded.

"You didn't blatantly acknowledge it and decided we couldn't be together, Max", you conforted despite the hurt you felt at the time, "it hurt, - like a bitch actually -, but not because you were following your dream. I never wanted to pull you back and get in the way of your achievements", you gulped, "but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't like to give this a go, to give us a chance", you smiled.

"I know I have crazy schedules - I am barely here during the season -, but you were always the one I thought about. When I first raced in F1, when I got my first podium, my first win, my bad races - I wanted you there", he admitted, blue eyes looking into yours, "I can't promise that it will be easy, but I'll never risk you or our relationship, that's non negotiable", he stated.

Moving closer to him, you cupped his cheek with your palm, the slight stubble tickling your skin, "I'm in, Max", you smiled, taking the plunge and kissing his mouth, lips moving in sync as his hands pulled you into his lap.

The blissful moment was interrupted by a meow, Jimmy and Sassy walking into the living room, "Oh, guys", Max held you close to him as the cats sniffled you, "this is Jimmy and Sassy, my cats, took then long enough to leave the guest bedroom", he smiled as you tried to pet them, "cute, they seem nice enough - for cats anyway".

[ticktokrobotsnot]

Cooking Up Speculations

Pairing: Carmen Berzatto x fem!reader

Summary: With y/n rushing around to doll herself up for an event, it's only a matter of time before things get out of hand.

Word Count: 6.7k

Notes: I have never written something like this before, and I thought I would give it a shot. I haven't checked the grammar, but if Google Docs missed anything, that's none of my business.

warning: alcohol and mentions of throwing up out of nervousness but no one actually does, or even comes close.

__

The prep work was close to done and for once in The Bear’s short existence it was not a screaming disastrous mess. Everyone was on track and prepared, the sauces were sitting in the fridge, the cakes were waiting to be sliced, the rolls were warm and ready to be cut open and it was all thanks to (y/n) coming in extra early this morning. She had started the prep work for most of the chefs that had yet to arrive in the effort of softening the blow. She would be abandoning them for the dinner rush on what was predicted to be a very busy day.

What sport was being played? Who is playing? And who won were all unknown to y/n but all she knew was that the restaurant was going to be filled with rowdy and obnoxiously drunk men who were going to make everyone’s life miserable and she was going to get a “get out of jail free card”. She felt a small pang of guilt for basically leaving them for dead but sacrifices had to be made and if she could cover anyone’s shift with little to no notice she was allowed one day to herself.

The restaurant was expecting the dinner rush to crawl in at about 6:30 pm which left y/n about an hour and a half to get ready. Y/n was finishing up cutting up some garnishes so that everything would be perfect. The sounds of a spoon slapping skin was approaching and y/n knew that she needed to state her case convincingly so she could leave early. Fighting the urge to not bring anything up, work through her shift and miss her event was deviously tempting but with a deep inhale she put the knife down and turned on the balls of her feet.

Her (e/c) eyes meet his and before she could choke out a lame excuse as to why she was blocking him she spit out, “I was wondering if I could have a word with you.”

Carmen looked expectantly, he thought she was going to ask him to taste test the braised beef she had just finished prepping, or ask an obscure question about the food science between ingredients. Y/n had once asked if he found it annoying during one of their late night clean up sessions and he said it was a nice change of pace and he really didn’t mind. How could he when you were so eager to learn?

Y/n didn’t want to do this out here, people are working and if she was going to beg, which is how she expected the next 5 minutes to go, she didn’t want any witnesses. The damage that would do to her pride would force her to change her name, move to Vegas and make money by selling timeshares to idiot tourists.

She cleared her throat, “Privately, chef”

Although his face didn’t betray anything, y/n knew that she had caught him off guard. After a while of spending most of their time together cleaning the kitchen after hours and talking about every minute detail in their lives, y/n knew that she had raised a few alarm bells in Carmen’s head. If she paid attention she could hear the sounds of a car alarm blaring in the back of his head signifying that he thought something was wrong. He always assumed the worst possible would happen, like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He wordlessly guided y/n to his office. The door was closed and it felt like they were transported to a different dimension where there was nothing outside but the vacuum of space, it was just the two of them in this room and if one of them were to leave the outside pressure would make their body implode and smash into the size of a ping pong ball. She really didn’t want any of them to leave.

With a silent inhale, “I have to leave early today.”

Carmen softened the crease in between his eyebrows, “ Yeah sure, take the day off.” The imaginary crisis was averted and the car alarm stopped blaring in Carmen’s head.

Y/n was surprised that he was being so easy today. Y/n had yet to ask for a day off but she had spent last night imagining the worst possible scenarios possible, she would get yelled at, rejected, or worst he would guilt her for leaving them to deal with the upcoming shit storm.

“Honestly, I was expecting a bit more of a fight.” Y/n joked, “I even made this whole pitch to convince you.”

“ I can hear the pitch so that it doesn’t go to waste,” Carmen said with a glint of humour in his eyes.

Carmen was giving her an inch and so she might as well take the whole mile. Knowing she was about to push her luck and Carmen’s patience a bit more she continued.

“I came in at 4am and started everyone’s prep and helped Tina with the sandwiches during lunch, and did all of Syd’s prep because she had that doctor’s appointment. And I think it's cruel and unusual that you wouldn’t give me a day off when all I did today was prove how much of an angel I am. The least I can get is a measly day off…What you're not gonna give me a day off you selfish prick? You see this is what always happens, little guys always get pushed aside by the Big man. Carmen you're supposed to be better than those billionaire pricks who probably hunt their interns for sport. And I think it's so unfair that I grace you and this business with my presence and I don't even get a single day off- ” Carmen let out an exhale from his nose and covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smirk. The move had almost made y/n fall to her knees, the way his hair was tousled, the way he looked up at her with his sharp blue eyes, the tattoo flexing on his hands that were a calloused and dry from years of washing them nearly a hundred times a day, the veins trailing up from his hands to under his white shirt.

“Okay, I get gist.”

Y/n knew he didn’t ask for an explanation but she wanted to keep him here for just a bit longer.

“I have this thing I have to go to and I live too far away to go home and change so I need your office to get ready. I would get changed and stuff in the bathroom but the lighting is really bad, the outlets don't work, it’s smelly-”

After a quick glance at his watch he realised that he had a few vendors coming by and he needed to get back to the kitchen. “I know, that bathroom is a real shit show. I told Fak to fix it but nothing he fixes lasts for very long. The office is yours.” Carmen rushed out.

“I'm going to be here till 12 so if there is anything you need me to do before I leave just give me a holler.”

Carmen gave a nod of appreciation before his eyes lingered on her face for a second before grabbing a few papers and a clipboard and then opening the door to leave. It was stupid and childish but y/n held her breath wondering if he would be crushed to the size of a ping pong ball as soon as he left but when she heard him yelling at Richie she knew that the “alone in space” fantasy had died.

Y/n slipped out and went to her locker where she pulled out a dress, makeup and a straightening iron. She had an hour and a chance to make herself look like she just came out of a Mattel box and it was a daunting task for someone who didn’t have much experience dressing up.

Makeup was a bit of a disaster at first because she didn’t want to ruin any of Carmy’s papers but after she accidentally dabbed a bit of concealer on a light bill she just stopped giving a fuck and finished up. The hair was tricky, the outlet was near the ground and she had to crouch to straighten her hair.

The last and most daunting task was the dress because y/n was about to strip in her bosses office and although she had dreams about something this amazing, the reality was much less sexy. In a small burst of paranoia she rolled the chair over to the door so no one would walk in by accident and quickly changed. In the back of her mind all she was thinking about was the small glimmer of hope that Carmy would be the one to walk in. In reality, it would be Rich or Fak because boundaries were a foreign concept to the both of them.

And with 10 minutes to spare, y/n was done. She sprayed some perfume and hyped herself up to leave. She knew she would get teased so she wanted a smooth exit, an Irish goodbye would be perfect, fingers crossed hoping that Richie was out back so she would get out before he made these stupid jokes.

After a few deep breaths, y/n picked up her things and opened the door. The coast was clear and she made a beeline to the lockers to grab her purse, change her shoes and go. She would leave most of her stuff, because if you want to survive you have to be light, like those firefighters that ditch their equipment so that they don't get burned alive. Everyone looked busy and with a quick once over, y/n tried to walk through the kitchen. And although women and heels have had centuries of history, the heels still managed to betray her at the very end. The long sound of heel on tile brought Syd’s head up. Y/n eyes widened as she shook her head as to signal to Syd to drop it but Syd let out a playful gasp and Y/n knew that the jig was up.

“You look amazing.”

And a sea of eyes were looking at y/n.

“You get all dressed up for me?” Syd joked and for a split second y/n wondered if she could make a run for it before she realised that she would fall and crack her head open.

“Who else?” Y/n joked back hoping to get out before she was held captive by their questions.

“You look so nice, where are you headed?” Tina said as she came closer and dragged you closer to everyone.

“Umm- I was actually going to-”

“You know who you look like?” One of those women who seduces James Bond at a casino.” Sweeps commented unhelpfully. A hum of agreement was shared among the crew. Y/n’s face grew warm.

“So where are you going?”

“A date, women don't dress like that if it's not for a date” Ebra chimed in.

Another gasp, “ IS it a date, is he handsome?” Sydney probed.

“Actually, I'm not- '' Y/n tried to finish before she was interrupted.

“What type of car does he drive?”

“We'll see when he picks her up. When is he picking you up?”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU CLOWN JABBERING ABOUT '' Richie burst through the door to see what all the commotion was about and he looked like he was in utter disbelief.

“I didn’t know that it was possible for you could look like that”

Y/n was slightly offended.

“You normally look like death.” Richie laughed. Scratch that y/n was very offended.

“I could look like this everyday if I wasn’t in front of a stove, you clown.”

Ignoring her, Richie asked the room,“ Where is she headed?”

“A date”, Sweeps added.

“I'm going to my friends-” y/n tried to interject.

“A date huh, our little y/n is all grown up now. Soon we’ll be sending her off to college.” Wiping a fake tear and leaning on Tina for mock support, “They leave the nest so soon, it was like it was just yesterday when I saw her struggling to walk.”

“It WAS yesterday and I was only struggling because I hit my knee on the shelfs in the walk-in.”

“Who’s the guy?” Richie asked

“ Your dad.” Y/n knew it was childish and unoriginal but she was too flustered to be a bit more creative.

Richie ignores her and continues, “You know what you look like? You look like one of those girls who kills Johns”

“Are you saying I look like a prostitute?”

“A classy one for like the president and shit.”

“or an ambassador,” Ebra added.

“or a CEO,” Richie continued.

Y/n knew it was going to be tough but she wanted to get out before she was stuck forever.

“I have to go now, I’ll see you guys bright and early tomorrow. Richie you suck major ass. And just so you know, i'm not going on a-”

Carmen walked in with a clipboard and a pen not even sparing a glance up.

“Ok, I just got the beef delivered so we should have enough for Ebra till the end of the week.”

“Heard, chef”

“And Marcus”, who watched the whole thing and didn’t offer any help to y/n except the occasional chuckle.

“I have your eggs”

“Heard, chef”

Although no one said it, everyone was waiting for the moment that Carmen looked up and saw y/n. The dishwashers who never really left their stations shut off the water and were subtly watching this mess unfold.

It was the longest that y/n had seen Richie quiet. He just stared at Carmen, while hiding his mocking smile under the guise of rubbing his stubble.

“I know we are low on onions but the guy is coming in a bit so sit tight”

“Heard”

Maybe, y/n thought, she would be able to walk past Carmen unnoticed if she walked on the balls of her feet so that the heels made less noise. Y/n took a step forward to hightail it out of here so she could make it in time and even though the heel was a lot quieter then last time, the unusual silence in the kitchen made it impossible to disguise the sound.

The sound of heels on tiles brought Carmen back to reality.

He looked up and y/n didn’t know if she imagined it but she thought she saw him raise his eyebrows. And if she was really going to feed into her delusions, she would say that his eyes widened and his pupils dilated too.

All that came crashing down thought, because after a beat of silence barring the sounds of sizzling and bubbling. Carmen questioned, “I thought you would have left by now chef.”

“I got held back but I really do need to leave now. I'm going to miss you guys and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.” And with a quick wave y/n brushed shoulders with Carmen as she left. The smell of her perfume lingered and Carmen felt a bit dizzy.

Carmen wanted to ask where y/n was going but he didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, not when the two of you have already gotten so close. Richie had different plans, “Hey cousin guess where y/n going?”

“I don’t know cousin, that isn’t really any of our buis-”

“She is going on a date”

“A hot one” Syd chirped

“With a nice car” Ebra added

Richie’s comment felt like a ton falling on his head. Now he felt a different type of dizziness. He quickly composed himself

“Chefs, we have a dinner rush coming, now is not the time.” Carmen said with a bit of an edge.

Richie led Carmen to the front under the guise of asking a question about the tablet. The crew looked around and shared a knowing snicker.

“I can't believe that you let her go like that?” Richie added. “Right now she is in some guy's car about to get wined and dined to high heaven while you wait here with your cock in your hand like some cuck.”

“ Cuck?” Carmen said with venom, it's like he was giving Richie a chance to take it back before he killed him.

“I would be fucken pissed. I wouldn’t let someone take my girl out like that, all dressed up for someone who isn't me”

For a second Carmen imagined you sitting across from your rich new date with the nice car and the handsome face and felt like throwing up. He was angry, he was angry with this “date”, he was angry at Richie for saying all that stupid shit to get a reaction, and embarrassingly enough he was angry at y/n. He had no right to be but he just couldn’t help it.

“Richie if you don’t knock it off, I’m going to send you flying out the fucking window”

“Yes, chef.” Richie mockingly replied.

And with a swift turn Carmen returned to the kitchen with a different temperament then he had 10 minutes ago.

The dinner rush was a nightmare, but the kitchen was hell. There wasn’t a single thing that didn’t set Carmen off. He wasn’t screaming like he was with the to-go orders but he was on edge. They could feel it when they had to remake dishes because he didn’t like them, or when they had to listen to him criticise innocuous things after housekeeping. When that dinner rush ended, the crew looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but there. The second the restaurant closed, chefs cleaned as fast as they could to get the hell out of there. It was the fastest they had cleaned since the morning rush with the pre-orders.

With a quick goodbye, everyone but Carmen left the restaurant hoping that he would be in a better mood tomorrow.

Carmen did what he did every night, got on his knees and scrubbed the floor with a towel. Carmen knew it was unfair and he knew he had no right to dictate what you did. You weren’t his and he waited too long. A part of him understood where y/n was coming from, during one of their late night conversations he had mentioned that he had never had a girlfriend and he didn’t really have the time. This conversation took place some time after the two had gotten close but before he realised that he might have liked her for quite some time. Things were different now and Carmen wanted more.

He tried his best to be understanding but the thought of y/n clinging onto someone else’s arm and laughing at their stupid unfunny joke, made him livid. What if they kiss? Or what if they sleep together?” That thought made him stop scrubbing and sit on the balls of his feet and throw the wet towel with an unnecessary amount of force to another corner of the kitchen. He couldn’t do this today, he couldn’t be here. He got up and cleaned up the towel and bucket of dirty soap water and walked home.

He ended his night with a nightcap hoping that he would fall asleep easily but it didn’t work. He spent a good amount of time staring at y/n contact hovering over the call button before flaking out because it was 2 in the morning and he had to get to work at 6:30. Maybe Richie was right and he was a coward but before he could think too long, sleep had overcome him.

The restaurant was a bit of a walk away from Carmen’s house but he never minded it before, it felt like a good buffer between “Home Carmen” and “Work Carmen”. Today was different, he couldn't not think about y/n and that annoying date of her’s so for the first time in his time in Chicago he listened to music on his way to work. The music was so loud that it was just obnoxious noise and allowed him to stop worrying for a few moments. Carmen couldn’t think about y/n without feeling a bit… he didn’t know how he felt he just knew it was not a great feeling.

Being the first one in the restaurant was not new to him but it felt strange that after 30 minutes he was still the only one there, normally y/n would be there by now asking Carmen about a baking show they both happened to catch the night before, or ask what he ate for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Carmen would always fight the urge to lie and say that he cooked something magnificent when in reality he probably ate a bag of chips and drank some flat soda. One of the things that these AA meetings emphasised was honesty, to both himself and others, and even if it was embarrassing he told you the truth. You never really judged him because you did the same thing.

After sorting through fuck ton of bills, a few of which had brown power on them and one of them had a (s/c) smudge on the corner he heard a buzz in his pocket. He looked at it hoping it was you saying that you'll be there any second.

(Y/N): I'm so sorry to do this to you but I'm going to be a bit late today, not super late but like an hour. I have to grab my extra apron from my place and I'm a bit far from there. I'll be there by 8 the latest. Again, super sorry :(

Carmen read the text a few times to check if he read that right, you were going to be late because you weren't home and slept somewhere else and needed a change of clothes. Which translated to, you were with someone else, which means you might have done something with someone else. He just stared at the text for a few more seconds before he heard the sound of the front door opening, Carmen didn’t have to look to know it was Sydney. He snapped out of it and sent back an “ok”, lowercase just to be a bit petty. Was it immature? Yes. Did he regret it? Not really.

Y/n spent the rest of her food budget for the week yesterday in a drunken haze with an uber from one side of Chicago to the other. The bachelorette party was a success and y/n was glad that her friend had a good time at the fancy restaurant that she picked out. Y/n was trying to be responsible and limit herself to a few drinks but it's hard to say no to the bride to be and before she knew it she had to leave her car at the restaurant because they took her keys and y/n and her friends crammed into an uber headed towards one of the bridesmaids houses.

Y/n woke up in a hurry, she grabbed a random shirt and joggers from her friends closet because all she had was that dress, which now had wine spilled on it. She quickly gathered her things and texted the group chat that she had to leave early so she could get to work. They would read it when they woke up. Not repeating yesterday’s mistakes she took the train to the restaurant, got her keys back and drove at illegal speeds to get to her place where she took a shower, changed back into her friends clothes because she was way behind on laundry. She took one last look in the mirror before grabbing the apron and sprinting out the door to drive to work. She got there at 7:30am and she felt like death. The hangover was finally catching up to her, and she poured herself some water from the dispenser out front. She knew everyone was in the kitchen by now. She gave herself a few more seconds of quiet before she opened the door to the kitchen and gave a quick hello and rushed towards the lockers to put her stuff in and change into her non-slip shoes and apron.

Richie raised his eyebrows. This was too good, it was too easy, all he needed was for Carmy to get out of that depressing office of his to bear witness to this.

Richie was the first to ask, “New shirt? Never seen it before? ”

“Good Morning to you Richie, if you need to know I borrowed it from my friend.”

Carmen wanted to rush out as soon as he heard your voice but he refrained. He promised himself that he would give you a bit of space to respect you and your date/boyfriend. That didn’t stop him from listening through the door.

“Some friend you got there, real close.” Richie jokes

y/n didn’t know what he was talking about, “Friends tend to be close, Richie. You would know that if you had any.” Y/n barked back.

“How was it?” Syd asked as she sliced what looked like gallons of onions.

Y/n knew that last night was probably a good night but she was so drunk then and so hungover now that it all made her a bit nauseous to think about.

“Honestly, I don't remember much but I do know it was fun.”

“Hungover?” Tina asked.

“Very, my whole body feels like i was run over by a semi”

Marcus handed y/n a gatorade before going back to work with the cakes.

“You come back to us in new clothes, showered, late, hungover, and sore. You must have one hell of a night!” Richie said louder than necessary just so that Carmen would hear, he had a feeling that Carmy was eavesdropping.

“Im telling you guys i didn’t actually go on a-”

Carmen didn’t want to hear anything after Richie spoke because he felt like he was going to hear something he didn’t want to know. He picked up a clip board, slammed the door open and began walking around.

“Chef.” Carmen said mechanically

“Chef.” Y/n replied back fully expecting this, she left early, came late and was now distracting everyone.

Y/n quickly busied herself with peeling garlic and the rest day fell back to its usual rhythm. The prep finished right before the restaurant opened and they worked on filling to-go orders along with the regular lunch and dinner orders. One thing was noticeably different to y/n, Carmen hadn’t looked or approached her once. Normally he would walk by all the chefs and ask how they were doing, checking the quality, etc but the second he got to y/n who was at the far end of the kitchen he circled back. He made comments to everyone’s dish and he had yet to even get within a 3 feet radius on y/n.

Y/n could feel that something was off and to test it, after the dinner rush she finished making one of the test items that Sydney and Carmen had wanted to try out and after a small taste she knew she killed it.

Y/n walked up to Carmen with the dish and set it down. “Can you taste it and tell me what you think?” Carmen didn’t look up, he just grabbed a fork, took a bite and said a quick “It's fine, chef”.

Y/n then looked the dish over to sydney and asked her to try it.

“It added a bit of chocolate because I read somewhere that Japanese people put chocolate in their curry”

“Chocolate huh?” Sydney grabbed a small notebook and made a note.

“It’s okay?” y/n asked.

“It's fire, chef. Great work”

In y/n mind that confirmed that something was wrong with Carmen. Y/n waited till the restaurant closed and everyone left to bring it up. It was just Carmen and y/n alone in the restaurant and y/n could feel there was something in the air.

“You don't have to stay late, you should leave early” Carmon proposed while not looking at her.

That was strange because Carmen never asked her to leave early. She walked up to Carmen who was sweeping the floor and ripped off the bandaid.

“Thanks for the offer but I want to stay with you for a bit longer.” Carmen’s grip on the broom toughened till his knuckles turned white. It was a risky thing to say and after a beat of silence y/n took the coward’s way out by diverting and changing subjects.

“I'm sorry I was so late today Carmen, are we good?”

“We're good.”

Another awkward silence.

“ I don’t think we're good, you seem, I don't know, pissed?”

“I'm good, you're good, we’re good” Carmen said by turning his attention to a very interesting onion skin on the floor.

“You didn’t say anything about the dish I made, or that I was late. Someone told me that you seemed off yesterday.”

“Was this someone named Sydney?”

“Cannot confirm or deny, Carmy”

Carmy finished sweeping and took a few steps back.

“There it is again! You keep walking away from me and not looking me in the eye.”

Carmen didn’t know that he was being obvious, he thought he was subtle because Richie would have brought it up if he wasn’t. Carmen forced himself to look up at y/n and felt like the wind was knocked right off his lungs, he really hadn’t seen her at all today and he missed her.

“You can tell me what's happening so that I can help or at the very least listen to what's wrong.” y/n offered

Carmen bent down, and started to scrub in silence. He looked like he was piecing something together and y/n didn��t want to intrude so she continued to scrub assuming the conversation was over and that they were going to spend the rest of their lives in this uncomfortable silence. A few minutes pass and then a long sigh is heard from the other end of the kitchen. Carmen looked up.

“I’ve been a bit..” Carmen started. Y/n wanted him to finish his thought before she called him a dick.

“It's been a weird day.. I know it shouldn’t but I can't help but ask..”

A pregnant pause passed.

“How was..” y/n leaned in so she could hear.

“How was your “thing” yesterday?” He spit out.

Y/n looked a bit confused, “Umm it was fine, I mean we were at a restaurant so it wasn’t anything to crazy”

“Why were you so late today?”

The other shoe dropped, “ I knew you were pissed that I was late.” With an exhale she continued “We went to dinner and then got shit faced drunk and ubered over to a friends house. I had to go by that restaurant in the morning to pick up my keys and drive to my place so I could take a shower and not smell like a walking liquor store.”

“How was he?” Carmen choked out after a few more beats of silence.

“How was who?”

“Your umm…”

“Mmm” Carmen continued.

Y/n waited but it felt like he was testing her patience,

“Your date?” Carmen finally conceded while swinging his head down.

“What date? I went to a bachelorette party with a few of my girlfriends.”

Carmen’s head shot up, “ I thought-”

“The people in here are so nosy, I kept telling them that it wasn't a date and they wouldn’t bother to listen.”

Carmen’s shoulders relaxed and he felt like he could finally look at you without feeling guilty that he was looking at another guy’s girl.

“What’s been on your mind, Carm?” Y/n probed and Carmen's shoulders tensed up again.

Y/n could feel the atmosphere change and she wanted to capitalise on it while she still could, she could trick herself into thinking that Carmy was jealous of some imaginary guy that he thought she went on a date on, when he probably was just diverting attention to avoid talking about his own problems.

More silence.

More scrubbing.

Carmen looked up with a look of determination, y/n assumed that he had finally hyped himself to tell her what has been bugging him. Although the tension was killing her she did want this moment to last for a bit longer. In this moment she could convince herself that Carmen was troubled because of her and not because work was drowning him or that he is a mess because his brother left him this shithole and left.

She wanted him to have a problem with an easy solution. If he liked her, the easy solution was that she would kiss him and tell him how much she longed for him. He would then confess how much he yearned for her and she would give all of herself to him and he would finally have a win in his life, something that wasn’t tainted by his love/hate relationship with cooking, his family, his brother. Something that he would have all to himself, her love.

Just for a few moments she repeated, that's how long she had till the dream died. This wasn’t the first time something similar had happened. They would stay late and in the comfortable beats of silence Carmen would look up with such a look of determination and y/n heart would flutter hoping for those three special words but she would get something completely different but still equally important, information about a very private part of his life whether it be the AA meetings, or the guilt he felt for resenting his brother. And everytime y/n’s heart would break a bit and then mend itself knowing that even if she couldn't have him like she wanted to, she would still be important to him.

That type of relationship, friendship, used to be enough, but not anymore. With his plans to change The Bear he was getting further and further away from her. It used to feel like it was the two of them but y/n was starting to wonder if she was going to be left behind. If she would stay friends for a while until the longing grew too strong and y/n would leave The Bear. Even if Carmen misses her for a while, y/n knew he would bounce back like he always did and she would slowly be replaced by Sydney or whoever. The thought that in a few years he will have learned to cope with his grief and trauma and move on from the past, move on from y/n, and maybe settle down with someone else made y/n feel like throwing up.

This time y/n didn’t fall for Carmen's “look”, she had a neutral face and was ready to hear what Carmen's issues were. She wouldn’t assume that she was going to get a confession. This time she will help him with his problems and move on from this one-sided crush. Maybe she WILL go on a few dates to forget about him.

“Carmen, do you want to talk about it?We don’t have to do anything you don't want to.”

Determination morphed into apprehension.

“I am feeling something, it is n-n-not…” He exhaled through his nose.

”It's selfish y/n. I'm being selfish. You have every right to do whatever you want but I..”

Y/n tried to look as comforting as possible trying her best to hide any confusion, if Carmen was any other person she would ask if he was sober right now because he was a total mess.

“I’ve never done this before, and I-” and he ran his palm through his hair.

Y/n refrained from thinking about how amazing he looked under the fluorescent lights with his tousled hair and apprehensive gaze. He could bring up his nightmares or sleepwalking, and she would feel so guilty for perving over his eyes.

“You looked very nice in that dress yesterday.” Y/n felt like a lump was forming in her throat. He was going to say something like this and think it's an off handed comment but she would go to the bathroom and cry because she knew nothing would come from it. Y/n thought it was a bit cruel.

“You looked so beautiful yesterday it was hard for me to look at you without making a fucking idiot out of myself. I wanted to run over to you and tell you that as soon as you left but Richie told me you're going on a date and it was…”

Carmen continued, “You are special and you deserve someone who isn’t…me. And you're free to do whatever and if this is completely …wrong…bad…i don't know, just stop me and we will never talk about this ever again…”

He searched y/n’s eyes looking for a sliver of doubt or disgust but he was met with glassy eyes and a look that longed for him to continue.

“When I thought you were going on that date I knew that I couldn’t not have you and that made me feel….” A sigh reverberated through the kitchen.

“ I like you…romantically.” Carmen uttered.

Y/n didn’t say or do anything for a moment, she spent a few moments wondering if she was hallucinating or dreaming. And in a moment of pure adrenaline, she scooted over to Carmen who was still on the floor before cupping his face in her hands and whispered, “Can I kiss you?”

The kiss wasn't electrifying; it felt like a wave of warmth seeped into every corner of their beings. It felt like dipping your hand in warm water after shovelling the show, the type of warmth that sends shivers down your spine. Y/n fingers get lost in his wavy hair and his hands hesitate, not knowing where they should go before landing one on her hip and the other on the back of her neck to pull her closer. Y/n heart was beating so hard she wondered stupidly if he could hear it, Carmen was wondering something similar. They slowly pulled away for air before getting a good look at each other, both their lips were swollen and red and their eyes were dazed.

Y/n knew he was a flighty person, one wrong move and he would go running for the hills so she refrained from asking if they were dating now, this could have just been a one time thing and she didn’t want to ruin it. Thankfully Carmen held her hand and stroked it with her thumb before swinging his head down and looking up at her.

“I want to be with you y/n”

“I like you too, Carmen, for a very long time.” And their lips meet once again.

Y/n resisted the urge to say that she only bought the dress in the hopes that he would take it off of her, that was a story for another time.

“Let's get you home” Carmen mumbled into her lips, the vibrations and the friction making her lips burn in sensitivity.

Carmen helped y/n get up before they both packed up their stuff and headed out the door. Both hiding the smile of triumph from each other, not really knowing how much the other loves them yet, and only time would remedy that.

[pixiesfz]

More Caitlin foord please!!

si si si

secrets we keep c.f

plot: your sister kyra adopts a dog and you look after it only to find caitlin in your sisters house one day

warnings: none really cooney cross reader!

You remember when your sister sent you a photo of her new dog Bentley you knew that you would be taking care of it most of the time.

"Kyra you do not have time for a dog!" You scolded her, using your older sister privileges "Why are you acting like you don't love him already" she fired back, pointing at the puppy who was now sleeping in your lap.

"shut up".

Now here you sat in your sister's apartment playing fetch with Bentley too busy cooing over his cuteness to hear the jingle of keys at the door.

"C'mon you little shit!" a voice emerged and you widened your eyes, that wasn't Kyra's voice but it was Australian.

Bentley ran over as your quick plan of hiding and pretending nobody was home was ruined by his small yaps.

"Bentley no!" you discouraged him, following him to the voice.

Caitlin dropped to her knees to pat the dog "fuck" she heard a mutter and she popped her head up to meet eyes with you.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't know Kyra had any friends over" she stood up quickly "Uhm no" you chuckled out of nerves

"Sorry," you said quickly after "I'm Y/n Kyra's sister" You introduced yourself and Caitlin stepped back "I didn't know Kyra had a sister" she stated

"She doesn't want people meeting the best Cooney-Cross" you joked and the blue-eyed girl laughed.

"I'm Caitlin" she introduced herself and you smiled "I knew that, you kind of play in my sister's team both league and internationally" you smiled.

Caitlin looked around to hide her blush "So is Kyra here?" she asked and you crossed your head "She's gone to watch Charli play" you told her "So I'm on dog sitting duty"

"I was wondering how she was dealing so well with a puppy" Caitlin smirked as she remembered Kyra taking credit for the good behavior of her dog.

"What brings you about, I can message her" you said and the brunette waved you off "she accidently double booked herself, me her and Steph were supposed to go out for ice-cream but then Steph dropped out" she explained and you rolled your eyes at your sisters lack of organization.

"She does have the worst memory, she got the sports and I got the brains and our younger sister got the looks" you explained and Caitlin smiled

"I think you got some of the looks but Kyra didn't get any of it" she joked and you looked down, hiding the red on your cheeks "uh- uhm thankyou Caitlin" you smiled and laughed.

Bentley started barking at the door with his leash on the floor "I think he's ready for a walk" you explained as you both turned to him.

"during the night?" Caitlin asked and you shamelessly nodded your head "Not ideal I know but nothing ever happened to me yet so I should be fine" you explained but you could tell by the girl's furrowed brows she didn't think it was a good idea.

"Do you-" she started, shuffling on her feet "Do you want to walk him with me to the ice cream place?, not too far and he'll probably have a good sleep after" she explained and you hesitated

"Or not" Caitlin said and you smiled "No I think that's a good idea" you said and Caitlin couldn't help the smile that grew on her face.

"that's good because I had a small lunch so I could binge an ice cream" she admitted "Kyra has barely any food so an Ice cream wouldn't be so bad" you laughed and walked towards the eager puppy who started jumping on your leg in anticipation.

"Hey is okay if you grab his doggy bags from the counter?" you called out to the Australian who was stood still watching you.

"You mean 'poo' bags?"

"Doggy bags are classier" you defended as you two laughed at each other "ready?" you asked and Bentley barked as a 'yes'.

"I wasn't talking to you".

On the walk you caught yourself laughing at all the Australians jokes, even when she was called by Allana, her and your sisters teammate who was equally shocked that Kyra had a sister.

"Well have fun you two," she said before hanging up.

"So how come you live in London?" Caitlin asked and you smiled "I actually moved here about three years ago to run my own business, I always loved the atmosphere" you explained and she smiled

"How much do you miss the Australian weather?"

You groaned "so much, I can't deal with all this rain, and the snow I remember as a kid I hoped it would snow so bad but now" you stopped "that is a whole different story".

Caitlin laughed, your hands brushing together to open the ice cream door causing you both to flush red and you felt butterfly's in your stomach.

'God what am I? A teenager again' you thought to yourself.

"They have a Tim Tam flavour here" Caitlin stated and you gasped "no way" "yes way" she smirked "Well I have to get that it would be illegal if not"

"You're funnier than Kyra" she told you and you smirked "I'll be sure to tell her you said that" and she rolled her head back "she'll probably kick me with her boot"

"I give you permission to tell on her to Kim, I'll be stuck with her whining but it will be fine"

"You would do that for me" Caitlin exaggerated as you both walked out with your ice-creams, Bentley looking up at you both, wanting to sniff what was in your hands.

You laughed, bumping her shoulder lightly with yours "I think I had a better time with you than I would've with Kyra, she would've tried to eat my ice cream before I had a chance to even try it"

You smiled at the compliment "to be fair I did want to try your flavour" you told her "and if I had hung out with you as much as Kyra I possibly would have done the same thing" you smiled, slightly defending your sister.

But Caitlin smiled "Wanna swap? You can try mine and I try yours?" she asked and you nodded "yeah" you nodded and you swapped, almost being near to Kyra's apartment.

You both finished your ice-creams, taking a photo of the view you had, Caitlin even took one of you and Bentley in front of a random street name with your name on it.

After asking for your permission she posted it on her story.

When you arrived back you both stood in front of Kyra's door "that was fun" you started and the girl nodded "yeah I wouldn't mind doing that again" she said and you smiled "me too".

"Can I uhm-" Caitlin started, shuffling her feet same as she did when she asked for you too walk with her "Can I have your number?" she asked and you nodded "yes" you nodded and took her phone from her hand.

"I'm always free Thursday nights" you told her with a slight smirk "me too" she smiled

"Cool, It's a date".

[buccini555]

… 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝...

≡ Shinichiro finally noticed you

⌕ I m a g i n e s !

♡... 𝑭𝒕. Shinichiro Sano and special participation by Izana Kurokawa!

⚠︎!! explicit smut,unprotected s♡x, virg♡nity loss, school bathroom s♡x, oral, overstimulation, bl♡wjob, smoking, petnames (baby, honey)... I think that's all?

On that day that seemed to be just another day full of boredom, not many people had gone to school because it was a week after the holidays, but, you were there with your friends, you realized that they didn't give a damn about you, for that reason you ended up walking away and going to some corner of the classroom where you could be alone, as you didn't have classes that day, you just stood there passing a colorless nail polish on your nails anxious to finally leave that stupid place, everything was really boring until someone walked through the door in the class, Shinichiro Sano, a grade above you, you had already talked a few times before and you had a huge crush on him, so you laid eyes on the taller one, you had already noticed him a few times, but, you knew that despite being extremely extroverted, he was shy when it came to girls and you also faithfully believed that you would not have a chance with that boy, he is handsome, tall, affectionate and cute, you always have him in your thoughts, every time Shinichiro spoke to you he was extremely kind.

Shinichiro came to bring the message from the another teacher, since they had nothing to do in the classroom, it was better that they practice some sport or something, you thought it was a waste of time, but it was the same with the rest of your class, arriving at the place of sports, you sat apart from the rest, continuing to manage your nails and listening to songs, your playlist had just started when Shinichiro sat down next to you.

"What are you doing here, alone? Have your friends left you out again?" Shinichiro approached you, making you take off your headphones and pay attention to him, you could only notice how handsome he was and that made you a little intimidated.

"They're like... boring as fuck! but I really don't give a shit, how about you? Why are you here?" You replied despondently, looking away and putting your songs aside.

"I saw you alone and I came to keep you company! I don't want to see you so sad" He smiled, Shinichiro looked confident and shy at the same time, you could see a bit of nervousness on the taller one's face.

"Hmm? Okay... Seriously, I really wanted to go somewhere more secluded, don't you know any places?" You questioned him, watching the other people from afar.

"Hmmm? I know a place! Do you want to go with me?" He looked at you after thinking a bit, wondering if you really wanted to go with him.

"I honestly am hating being here..."

"I think it's best that no one sees us going together, so go to the bathroom behind the court and wait for me, understand?"

"Bathroom?" You laughed, questioning him about the location.

Shinichiro laughed and you got up, quickly going to the aforementioned place without get other people's attention, that bathroom had been disabled for a few years, so no one went in there, unless you had the key, as you obviously didn't get it, you waited for Shinichiro, who arrived soon after.

"Do you have the key to this place, Shinichiro?"

"...I have my secrets, baby." Sano responded immediately, taking the keys out of one of his coat pockets.

He opened the door, first looking to see if anyone was around, but there was just you and him.

"What a strange place!" You spoke in a low tone while looking at the abandoned bathroom.

"We can leave here if you want..."

"Oh, Shini, whatever! We should go into one of the cabins, someone can come in here."

"It's quite impossible for anyone to enter here, but... Since you want to enter, let's go."

You and Shinichiro entered one of the cabins, the place was tight, for that reason you were getting closer and closer, at that moment, you started to see Shinichiro with different eyes, you knew the sudden approach was getting him a little excited, but obviously he wasn't going to show it, he seemed to want something, but he didn't know what to do, so, you got even closer to him, when he finally took the courage to hold your waist and give you a small kiss.

"I-I'm so sorry! I don't know why I did it!" Nervousness took hold of him, as he had never had a girl in his hands before.

"Shini? Hey, no need to apologize, I... want to." You reciprocated the kiss, this time, it became longer and the kisses were getting more and more "warm", you held the chain around Shinichiro's neck while kissing him, he gently ran his hand over your body, making you sigh a few times.

After a few kisses, he gently held you by the waist again and placed you on top of a small counter inside the cabin, staying between your legs while kissing you, at that moment you realized that he put more strength into the touch, also feeling how excited he was while he was between your legs you could feel how hard he was, he was itching to try you, you knew that if they did something, it would have to be quick, so, even though you were still a virgin, you didn't waste time at that moment with Shinichiro.

"Shini, S-shini? P-please"

"Baby? You want to stop?"

"No! Please, I want more!"

"Hmm? More?"

"I-I want you, Shini."

"I don't want to give you the wrong impression..."

"N-no, baby, I want to lose my virginity with you..."

"B-baby, you should expect someone special!"

"You are special to me, Shinichiro, please, I'm so horny, only you can satisfy me."

The fact that you wanted to lose your virginity to him just made him even more horny and more willing to fuck you, when he realized that you really wanted him, Shinichiro just stopped talking, he started kissing you with even more desire and put his hand inside your pants, gently jerking you off over your panties, when he started to feel you were wet enough "So pretty, baby!" he just pulled your panties aside and started touching your clit, after you started moaning even more he gently put his fingers on you.

"...Mmm, baby? I promise to be careful."

You were already horny, almost begging him to fuck you, you just moaned softly begging for his dick, so, answering your request, Shinichiro gently made you touch. "Can you handle a dick that big, or nah?" You just nodded your head in affirmation, he was already extremely turned on so he started to put it on you carefully, when you got used to his dick he started to be faster and go deeper and deeper, holding her mouth so no one can hear her moans, "That tight pussy belongs to me, only I can fuck you like that, cum for me honey" He said as he worked hard, he just wanted to make you have your first orgasm, so Shinichiro really put effort into what he was doing.

"F-fuck, can I cum in your mouth?Please" He asked you when he was about to reach his peak, you quickly accepted, giving him a blowjob before he cumming, you knew what you were doing so you just made the taller one let out some moans and melt in your mouth.

You still had some time, so Shinichiro refused to try your pussy taste, he really wanted to use his tongue at that moment, but, when he started to lick your clit and penetrate you again with his fingers, some motherfucker knocked on the door, Shinichiro was sure it was his brother, Izana Kurokawa, Izana had become a fucking smoker and used to go to that bathroom for a smoke sometimes.

"Fuck! stay quiet, baby, I won't stop" He made you stay quiet while he finished what he was doing, when you finally came in his mouth, Shinichiro and you got dressed and left the bathroom.

"What the hell is that, Shinichiro?"

Izana screamed as soon as he saw you leaving the place together, he started laughing, apologizing for having disturbed. Shinichiro just looked at him in disgust and grabbed your hand, pulling you away.

[reminiscingtonight]

Public Relations

Leah Williamson x Reader

Word Count: 2.6k

[WOSO Masterlist]

Being a public figure meant not having an ounce of privacy in your life. 

You’re more than proud of the part you played in the 2019 World Cup and subsequent international matches, but there’s no denying how much you treasure the moments you could keep your personal life more… personal.

That’s why when you and Leah first started dating, neither of you were in a hurry to publicize it. 

Technically you guys were in the same circles before you even got together. Same sport aside, you actually first became friends with Keira. You had become friends with Keira when your national teammates went over to Man City during Covid. After one too many video calls with Rose, Sam, and Abby in which Keira had the unfortunate act of being caught in the background, it seemed almost inevitable that you became friends. The two of you just clicked.

So yeah, you were already somewhat in the same orbit. Now how did Keira tie into you and Leah getting together?

Well let’s just say after a night out spent with her best friend, Leah woke up with a pounding head, a sinking feeling she did something stupid, and a returned DM.

[I think you’re pretty good looking yourself too]

Leah’s drunken initiation didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take too long for your flirty messages to turn into something genuine, and before you knew it, the two of you had been dating for almost a year.

Dating Leah has been nothing but bliss. The distance sometimes wreaked havoc on your sleep schedule and wallet, but Leah was worth the late night wake up calls and frequent flights overseas.

The two of you had just started talking about being a little bit more public with your relationship, ready to stop hiding as much. On your last trip out to see Leah, you even posted a picture of you at her game. Leah has always loved the sight of you in her clothes, so your surprise appearance, dressed only in her jersey and clothes you stole from her apartment only set to light her heart ablaze.

While you were taking the soft coming out approach for the public, you didn’t think you were hiding much from your teammates. You never shied away from taking Leah’s calls in front of them. Hell, if memory serves right, some of them have even almost walked in on you as the two of you were… let’s just say having a less than family friendly call. These were the people you thought of as family, the first people you told anything to. You were sure they were already well aware of your affections for the English defender. 

Turns out you were wrong.

It all began with the end of an international window. 

You’re chilling in the locker room, basking in the joy of another successful game while scrolling through your phone. It’s easy to ignore the numerous notifications of congratulations. You’d reply to them all eventually, but there’s only one text thread you’re seeking out. 

While you were on the field, Leah’s been blowing up your phone with her play-by-play reactions. Seeing her live reactions as the game was progressing, despite the late hour in England, only made your heart flutter. You smile at the texts, sending a quick heart back before making a mental note to call Leah after she’s gotten a couple hours of sleep. 

When you tune back into the noise around you, you catch the end of some plans to go out on the night. 

“So what do you say? Let’s go out, party, maybe get some cute girls’ numbers?”

You look up to see Sonnett wiggling her eyebrows at you. The smile on your face is genuine, a bubbling laugh coming out to accompany it. “I’d be down to go out, but I think Leah might be upset if I follow through on that last part.”

“Who?”

Your head tilts at the confusion clear in Sonny’s voice. “Uh, my girlfriend?”

It’s almost as if your words bring about a halt to everyone’s celebrations. The locker room goes strangely quiet as everyone stares at you weirdly.

You blink, confused by the sudden lack of noise. “What?”

Kelley’s the first one who seems to get her bearings back together. “What-- who-- girlfriend? Since when have you been in a relationship?”

“Leah Williamson,” you start, not even having the chance to answer the second question before the room erupts.

“The England captain?!”

“No way!”

“Since when?”

“I call BS! There’s no way you could’ve hid something as big as this!”

You’re a bit insulted at their lack of faith in you, but you choose to give them all the benefit of the doubt. Everyone’s busy in their own ways, maybe if you just explain it well you would jog their memories. “Why do you think I went to England during the offseason?”

Your team still looks unconvinced, each of them exchanging skeptical looks with one another.

“I literally have an instagram post with me wearing her jersey at one of her games.”

Kristie taps at her chin before snapping her fingers. “Wait, that Arsenal pic from last February?”

You nod, thinking that this is it. The post would 100% be enough to convince your teammates. After all, you were wearing Leah’s jersey. Not to mention, the [(S)he likes my American smile] caption that pretty much spoke for itself.

Only Sonnett doesn’t seem to think so, shaking her head in disbelief. “Nah, this is fake news. No way you have a girlfriend. Let alone bagged Williamson. Like c’mon, choose someone more believable.”

Rose sends you a knowing look but doesn’t jump in to help you. Leave it up to the only person in the locker room who’s more than aware of your relationship to the English captain to not say anything. If anything, she looks amused at your inability to convince the others of your relationship with Leah. Fucking Rosemary.

“Hey don’t worry about it.” Sonnett's smirk has you doing everything but ‘not worry’ about it. “I’m sure the great Leah Williamson wouldn’t mind you sliding into her DMs. After all, who could say no to a face like yours?” 

The defender leaps away when you lunge for her with a murderous expression plastered on your face. 

---

Rose is the first to meet you when the game ends. You’re both sweaty as hell, legs bruised all around and sore. All you have to do is take one look at the grin on her face to know you’re not going to like whatever’s about to come out of her mouth.

“A little birdy told me you have a visitor.”

You narrow your eyes at her. “One word and I will ‘accidentally’ tell Sof about your drunken confession.”

Rose’s cheeks instantly flame red. 

“What was it you said? Something about her--”

The midfielder shoves hard on your shoulders, nearly knocking you over but efficiently cutting you off. It’s not a secret how much Rose likes Sofia. Sofia’s honestly the only person on the team who isn’t aware of the younger girl’s crush on her. You’re half tempted to lock them in a room together to speed up their coupling, but you’re not that evil.

“Anyways, tell the little birdy to mind her own business too unless she’d like me to tell Luce some cool secrets of hers as well.”

Your friends love playing dirty, but so do you. 

Leah’s not hard to spot. She looks beautiful dressed in your blue Reign jersey, a matching beanie on her head.

“Hey stranger.”

“Hi, you’re wearing the wrong jersey,” you grin, taking a minute to appreciate your last name on Leah’s back before you’re eagerly pulling her in for a hug. 

She pulls away with a snort, rolling her eyes at you. “I’m wearing your club jersey, what more do you want from me?”

“I know, but don’t you think you’d look more fabulous in my US jersey?”

“Don’t push it.” But the sparkle in her eye tells you it wouldn’t take too much for it to happen. Leah may be fiercely loyal to her Lionesses, but she did love you quite a lot. 

By the time she’s set to leave, you’re heavily debating whether or not you should book a last minute ticket to go with her. It’s only Leah stealing your phone and her reminders of how much you love your own club that stops you from following through. There’s lots of tears and kisses when you drop her off, heart already aching before she’s even through the airport doors.

Leah waits to make an instagram post until she’s already back home, but you can’t help but still feel the little flutter in your heart at the picture she chooses. 

Taken the night of the game, she’s still wearing your jersey, though your name and number are partially obscured. You’re not visible in it, but she’s sticking out her tongue at you and throwing out her signature hand gesture over her shoulder.

[I like your American smile 💙]

---

It seems as if Leah’s visit to Seattle is more than enough to convince your teammates of your relationship, but the general public still remains steadfast in their beliefs of your “lovely friendship”. You wanted to laugh when you read the countless [friendship goals!!] and [imagine visiting your best friend on the opposite side of the world] comments on Leah’s post. To you, it seemed like a further stretch for you and Leah to be best friends than lovers, but then again, they said the same thing about Kristie and Sam before they posted a picture of them making out with each other. 

When you slyly suggest doing the same, Leah correctly calls you out for just wanting to make out with her, not that she has any objections to doing so. In the end, the two of you agree to just table the discussion until you’re reunited again. With the US going over to England for a friendly in just a little over a month, the two of you are set to meet up again soon anyways, so waiting a little longer wouldn’t be too much of a burden.

When you first arrive in London, you’re instantly herded to the hotel, no pit stops, no detours to see your girlfriend. Megan’s sure to poke fun at your pout while you’re in the car together. 

Leah’s nothing if not professional, so it would have been hard to convince her to house you on that first night anyways. Still, you can’t help but sulk in your hotel room. Leah texts back a picture of Georgia guarding her door.

[G says you’ll see me over her dead body]

You know you could take the midfielder. But it’s the sentiment that counts. 

By the time the actual game rolls around, you’ve been training like crazy, not having enough downtime to miss your girlfriend much. Before the game starts, the two of you still send each other good luck texts. You’ve sent one before the other’s games since you started dating, and although you’re pitted against each other tonight, neither of you wanted to break the streak yet.

When Hemp scores the first goal not even ten minutes in, you know it’s going to be a long game. 

It’s a constant back and forth. 

Sophia scores.

Then Georgia. 

You don’t get too much time on the ball. Millie’s been marking you close all game. You’ve been forced to pass the ball almost instantly every time it makes it to your feet, and you wouldn’t be a striker if it wasn’t starting to get on your nerves.

But then suddenly it’s as if all of the stars align. When Andi pokes the ball out, you’re there to receive it. The second you have it, you’re making a break for it. With your blood pumping in your ears, you dodge white shirts, Mary’s yellow one set in sight.

From the corner of your eye you see Lucy streaking towards you. You don’t even have enough time to divert before she’s sliding.

It’s a good tackle, but your momentum keeps you going. The ball soars out of bounds while you go flying over Lucy’s outstretched legs.

You land hard, sliding a few feet before staying down. You rest your head on the grass, all the noise sounding like a faint ringing in your ears. It doesn’t take long before a hand is resting between your shoulder blades, rubbing softly. You don’t have to raise your head to know it’s Leah.

“I just need a second,” you wheeze out, trying to pull some air back into your lungs. 

Your girlfriend hums in response, but doesn’t leave your side.

When you finally make it to your feet nearly a minute later, Leah hasn’t moved an inch, only taking a step back when you give her hand a light squeeze. Lucy gives you an apologetic pat, the whistle sounds again, and just like that, the game’s back on.

The closer the game gets to half-time, the more antsy you get. Player after player sends in more than a couple shots towards goal, but nothing seems to go through.

And then it happens.

Trinity rockets the ball right past Earps. 

You’re the first to reach her, screaming right into her face. “Let’s fucking go!” 

The twenty year old accepts your hug with vigor, letting out a surprised yelp when you lift her into the air. 

When the game ends in a 2-2 tie, you know it’s a well deserved draw. 

You carefully make your way around the field, shaking hands and hugging where necessary, all the while keeping an eye out for your girlfriend. It’s only minutes but feels more like a lifetime before you make your way over to her. Leah gives you a toothy grin, brushing a stray piece of hair off your face when you reach her. 

“Hi baby.”

“Hi,” you breathe out, not caring how you practically melt into Leah when she gets her arms around you.

The blonde chuckles, arms briefly tightening before she’s leaning back to give you an appreciative once-over. “Nice job today. You played great. Definitely gave our backline a run for our money.”

“Thanks babe. I guess you did a fine job too.” Your grin betrays your amusement. 

Leah rolls her eyes at you, a hint of a smile on her lips. “So do you want me to strip right now, or?” Leah puts her hands on the hem of her jersey, giving you an expectant look.

You know exactly what she’s asking for, but you decide to play coy. “Oh, now you want to wear my jersey? I dunno, I might give it to Keira.”

You pretend to scan the field for Leah’s best friend, but your girlfriend doesn’t even bother humoring you. Leah narrows her eyes. “Guess I’ll be going home alone tonight then.”

Though mostly likely empty, her threat still has you quickly scrambling to pull your jersey off, practically knocking Leah over by how hard you shove your jersey into her hands. 

Later that night, you and Leah post the same picture. You’re in England white and she’s in US blue, your arm wrapped around her waist. You’re laughing at something Sanchez said off to the side while Leah’s looking at you with a look that can only be described as lovestruck.

The English captain’s caption is a cute and simple heart.

Yours on the other hand--

[History will say we’re roommates 👯]

kmewis19: they’re lesbians, stacey

lavellerose: moms

keirawalsh: moms

sophsssmith: my otp right here

leahwilliamsonn: don’t be getting all sentimental now 🙄

lavellerose: lmao someone’s in the doghouse

.

Safe to say, everyone gets the message.

[sheigarche]

hi! I saw ur Jossam hcs and holy shit they were amazing, so, could u do any other until dawn hcs? It can be abt any character/ship that u want. Tysm and I hope u r doing okay!

Hi, thanks for the ask and sorry if this is a bit too long, but I wanted to give a little something for each character 😅

My random Until Dawn headcanons:

Sam's coping mechanism is to study everything she can about the myths and legends that she now knows are real. It's become a bit of an obsession, and she even chose history as her major so she could learn more about the native peoples and their culture. Understanding things helps her cope, but her behavior also makes her loved ones worry. It's a tough balance.

Josh has psychosis caused by depression that worsened after being neglected and mistreated for years. I know the fandom often headcanons Josh with schizophrenia, but in-game we don't see any negative symptoms for that disorder. And we do know that he's been diagnosed with depression, and psychosis checks all the boxes for what we see him experience in-game.

After what happened on the mountain, the survivors didn't stay together as a group of friends. They split up to deal with their own traumas. Of course, some are still close to each other or keep in touch, but as a whole they are not one big found family.

Sam tries not to push anyone away. If they want to talk, call her, or meet up, she'll do it for them. But she never opens up about herself. What's in her head, stays in her head. And that's it. The only exception is Josh, who with light conversations manages to put her at ease and get her to share a little, but only when she's sure she won't overwhelm him.

Josh has not faced any legal charges. His father covered it all up. But he got the treatment he needed and got better after a while. It's a slow process taken one day at a time and the guilt still haunts him, but he has his life back and doesn't want to waste it.

Josh tried to reach out to his friends to try to make up for everything that happened, but most of them gave him the middle finger and moved on, except for Sam and Chris. Mike tried, but in the end they didn't get anything close to a friendship.

Matt and Emily broke up. Not much to say, the night made them realize that they are not compatible, even if they care about each other and have chemistry, it just isn't enough. A friendship didn't work either.

Emily doesn't want contact with any of those people anymore. Except maybe Sam, and only because she sided with her in the gun situation in the basement. So she'll call Sam and check in every now and then.

Mike and Jessica have had their ups and downs together as they deal with trauma. Breakups and reunions are common as they try to learn to be normal again after what happened. That night made all the difference in their relationship and they realized how much they care for each other and just don't want to give up on those feelings easily. They managed to be happy together despite everything.

Matt visits Jessica, not very often, but enough to be considered friends. They bond over the survival situation they endured and it's good to see each other once in a while.

Chris and Ashley started dating and got married not long after. They overcame the trauma together and still have contact with everyone in the group, but nothing too close. But Ashley can't bring herself to be around Josh anymore. So Chris just slowly ended up drifted away from him as well, becoming a friend that he might go out for a drink once every couple of months but nothing more.

Mike and Sam went out for drinks one night, but they couldn't bring themselves to talk about what happened on the mountain and they had nothing else in common to talk. So they ended up talking to the bartender about whatever sport was on TV, passionately rooting for two teams they didn't even know. It was fun, but it was one of those things that happens once and never again.

Sam and Josh's relationship is a real slowburn. Even though they have feelings for each other, there's just too much trauma involved. And they're afraid of hurting each other with their coping mechanism. It took a while to just be friends again and the next step is always complicated for them. But they are both willing to make it work. Because they are in love and are patient enough to wait for the right moment.

[alwaysonf1]

big leagues?

Pairing: Charles LeClerc x Hamilton!OC

Genre: Slice of Life; Fluff

Word Count: 1.2k

Warning: Language

Rating: PG-13

Author's Note: She has a name now *shrug*

“It shouldn’t take that long to tighten it.”

“It wouldn’t if you’d get off my ass about it.”

There’s a huff, but Iman still sees the feat of the hovering mechanic. The man is impossible. Most of the time she doesn’t have any issues being around him, she even enjoys his company and what he can teach her. Their relationship started when he was one of the people in charge of her during an internship years ago. But he’s incapable of chilling the fuck out during a race weekend.

Iman would also love to have slid under the lifted car, tightened a bolt, and got up so that she can do other pre-practice checks, but the damn thing is stripped. She knows it was the older, know it all mechanic who hates her mere existence because she’d asked him to do it. He was smart enough to complete a simple task, but clearly not since he managed to fuck up three of them and now, she has to check every single one.

It’s tedious and she finds that all the others are fine but can’t bring herself to leave it up to chance. She refuses to risk Alex’s race and more than that potentially his safety. Sometimes it almost feels like she’s the only one who understands why being a little overly cautious in a sport where accidents are par for the course is a good thing.

There is chattering in the garage as everyone prepares, but it’s mostly quiet near the car. Her check has halted any work being done and she knows that some people are annoyed with her - outside of the man currently rushing her - but she doesn’t have it in her to care.

As she goes over the last two bolts, she hears the tapping of a foot and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Ben, stop hovering. I would be done already if someone didn’t strip these things. Maybe talk to him about his fuck up instead of helicopter parenting me making sure nothing else is messed up.”

Her tone is firm but doesn’t lean into disrespect. They have a dynamic where she can speak in a way that may seem like she has a lot of audacity to check a superior from an outside perspective, but she doesn’t use it. Not yet at least. As she looks over the last two, she knows that if he has something to say when she gets up words will fly.

Thankfully, Ben regains some sense and walks away. And in less than a minute she’s up and holding the three bolts she had to change out. She dangles them in the air for all to see and gives a pointed look to Gareth, who has the decency to look ashamed and then looks away from her.

Ben still has a look on his face, but she knows it’s out of stress, so she let it slide. Iman levels a look at him and he sighs and then turns to Gareth, professionally laying into the man while everyone else gets back to work.

The rest of the checks are done within the hour and that’s when the drivers begin to hang around their cars.

“Hope you didn’t break anything on my car. Don’t think I don’t know your plans to help Logan win,” Alex jokes.

Iman rolls her eyes.

“How is that plan coming along by the way? I’m in the points, but this guy is in my way. Need his car a little slower this weekend,” Logan chimes in.

They’re both dorks and Iman is unsure of how she puts up with them. She always thought that Logan was the worst in that department and was so unsure of how close the two drivers were, but if they weren’t bonded before they are now in all the ways they can mess with her. It’s like adding another brother to a roster that is already filled with heathens.

“If I wanted to slow you down, I wouldn’t mess with your car, Ally Cat. And maybe if you weren’t a punk and would just pass your teammate things would be easier for you, Logie Bear.”

Both men cringe at the nicknames. Alex's is a full body shudder and Logan looks like he’s going to throw up. Which brings out Iman’s first smile of the day.

“Now stop bothering me and go warm up.” 

With that she turns on her heel and walks away. Every other mechanic is taking a break so they can give their fool focus in the next thirty minutes, and she plans to do the same. Ben - Chief Mechanic - had her come in earlier than the initial schedule called for and she was starting to feel tired. She’d still have more than enough energy to focus until they wrapped things up, but she didn’t want to lag later. Especially since she’d promised to catch a late lunch with the team and then dinner with some of the drivers.

She takes several steps outside of the garage and takes a deep breath, looking around to see where she should go next. It takes a moment, but after little debate, she pulls off her lanyard, stuffs it in her pocket, and heads toward a fan area. 

“Wait. What way would you do it then?” Alex calls out as she starts walking again.

She says nothing. Doesn’t even look back.

“Iman. What way?” he shouts, sounding desperate. 

Laughter slips free and she makes sure it’s loud enough that he can hear and evil enough that a little fear hits him. Alex knows she would never do anything to fuck him over, but over the last two plus years he has also learned to be a little scared of her. Which was by design on her part, she prefers that people are a little afraid of her. And it’s just fun when it comes to her friends and family.

Her chosen path leads her past most of the garages and she doesn’t spare any of them a single glance. What they’re doing is none of her business. But she makes sure she greets anyone she makes eye contact with or who speaks to her. She’s not rude. At least not if they aren’t. 

Iman is pretty sure that most of them know by now that her mouth is worse than Lewis’; she’ll keep it diplomatic, but she’s less likely to hold back. She’s pretty sure Horner still holds some hurt feelings for some slick shit he tried to say in her presence because she refused to let it slide.

Toto high-fived her after and reminded her that she always has a job with him if she wants it. But she wasn’t going to use that connection just yet.

The last garage she passes is the Ferrari one and she can’t help but look at the driver doing his warmups just outside of it. His back is partly to her so she picks up speed to get out of there, but before she can pass his head snaps in her direction as if he could sense her presence.

Charles’ lips curl into a smile when she meets his eyes and then he winks at her. Iman makes a show of rolling her eyes, says hi to his trainer, and continues walking out of there and into the crowds of people milling around.

Her heart doesn’t calm down until she’s far enough that she knows he can’t see her.

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

𝓣𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓮 : [How To Trust]

Everyday brings new challenges, new miracles, and new faces into his life. And yours, he decides, shouldn't look so scared all the time.

Tags/Warnings: Hospital/Medical AU, Doctor!Jungkook, slightly aged up!Jungkook, Doctor!Yoongi, Nurse!Jimin, Doctor!Namjoon, Surgeon!Hoseok, mentions of Anaesthetist!Taehyung, blood, medical terms, hospital stuff come on this is a medical au, mentions of panic, mentions of vomiting but not descriptive, mentions of suspected abuse, mentions of actual abuse (mental/physical)

Length: 4.4k words

THERE IS NO TAGLIST FOR THIS FIC!

A/N: Please do not come for my throat if some stuff doesn't make sense. I've tried hard, but I'm not a doctor, and so none of this should be taken too seriously. Treat it like a medical drama. Those ain't real either haha also how big do I have to make the warning that there's no taglist for people to realize there is no taglist

-> Masterlist

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"Do you have a girlfriend, young man?" The elderly hybrid giggles, her owner and husband on a chair sitting close to her bed shaking his head as Jungkook chuckles himself, adjusting the drip for her medication.

"I do not, Miss Yong." He informs her. "With a job like mine, it's a bit difficult." He explains, shrugging. He's got to talk a bit louder so she can hear him properly, but he's positively surprised by her otherwise overall good health. She's way past the typical age where Hybrids are known to decline, after all. A little bit of hearing loss is nothing compared to what he usually sees in hybrids her age.

"Oh that's such a shame." She whines to her husband at her side. "He's such a handsome friend, isn't he? You must go on dates, at least!" She whispers at him, but he just laughs.

"I'm sorry, she can be nosy." Her husband apologizes for her, though Jungkook simply shakes his head.

"No worries. She's completely allowed to be nosy." He charmingly says, making the older woman laugh to herself, her floppy ears just as grey as her hair. "Are you in any pain right now?" He asks her, but she shakes her head, visibly drowsy from the pain medication she's already been given for her fractured ankle. "That's good. I'll go check up with my coworkers on the scans, and then I'll be right back to discuss how we'll proceed from here, is that alright?" He asks, and she nods.

"I've got my company right here." She smiles at her husband who holds her had with an equally warm expression.

When Jungkook walks to the small area for staff to discuss the scans, he can't help but shake his head amazed, Jimin laughing as well. "She's awfully energetic for her age." Jimin grins brightly, clicking away on the computer to find the scans from earlier, Hoseok close by nodding to himself. "To imagine her being almost sixty. Amazing." Jimin smiles to himself.

"The fracture is a bit complicated, and I doubt she'll walk perfectly fine in the future even after surgery-" Hoseok informs, showing Jungkook the scans. "But she'll be fine. I doubt she's going into any sort of competitive sports at her age anyways." He chuckles.

"I've already printed all the forms out for her admission, filled out what I can. I'll just need your signatures and other info I didn't bother to do." Jimin jokes.

"You think she's still high risk surgery?" Hoseok asks, referring to the patient. "Considering her age. I'm a little worried about anesthetics."

"She's got no blood pressure issues or any other health problems we'd usually see in hybrids her age. So no- while I'd love you to stay a bit careful, I don't think she's high risk." He nods. "Taehyung should stand by during the surgery to watch over everything if that makes you more comfortable." He says, and Hoseok nods.

"Right, he's back from break, isn't he?" He chimes up, nodding. "I'll go fetch him then." The surgeon agrees, walking off as Jungkook goes back to the patient as well.

Things like these make him feel proud.

It's not arrogant to assume that he's playing a big part in cases like hers- a 58 year old hybrid in very good shape- things that are becoming more and more common these days. Every new discovery, every new person deciding to study this field, every new medical issue solved, adds to the life expectancy of hybrids. And it's not just them- Jungkook knows that sometimes, discoveries about hybrids' bodies can help humans too.

"Alright Miss Yong, you have indeed fractured your ankle pretty badly." Jungkook nods as he walks into her section in the emergency hall. "We'll schedule you for surgery, but considering your overall wonderful health, I'm not worried." He informs her. "Although I do have to inform you that considering your age there is a basic risk to any surgery present." He says, especially towards the owner and husband, who nods.

"That's only logical." He nods, since his wife seems a bit sleepy. "So how long will she stay here?" He asks, and Jimin sneaks into the room, preparing everything to have her transported to her room.

"It's not clear yet, but it'll definitely be until the end of the week at least." Jungkook informs him. "But Doctor Jung will give you a more detailed insight on what's to come from here on." He tells them both.

"Is he as handsome as you?" The lady asks, and Jimin can't help but snort a laugh.

"Oh, even more so, I'd say." Jungkook jokes, and everyone laughs.

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Jungkook has given an oath to protect life, and he's aware of that- but he hopes whoever's up there above makes an exception for him when he has to commit a murder in the next few minutes.

"You better have a real good reason to ping me out of my bed at 3 in the fucking morning.!" Jungkook growls under his breath, walking into the staff room where Namjoon seems to have already been waiting. "The ER is empty- so is my bed, when I should be in it! Why am I here?" He whines, changing out of his clothes and into his scrubs- his shift is gonna start at 5 anyways, so it won't really be smart to go back home after whatever is going on that needs his attention so badly is done.

"Trust me, I hate ringing you out of your sleep." Namjoon sighs, as he slides a clipboard towards the young doctor, who slips on his shoes before he takes it to read over it. "Take a good look at it, and tell me what's fishy about it." He asks, and Jungkook adjusts his glasses, reading through all the medical jargon written down in handwriting he used to be unable to read.

"Are you trying to test me here?" Jungkook asks annoyed, though he keeps his attention mostly on the clipboard, moving page after page to find what his friend and coworker seems to be hinting at.

"No, I'm serious." Namjoon questions, crossing his arms.

The seriousness in his voice makes Jungkook focus a bit more, looking through everything when he flips a page back and forth. "Wait, that doesn't make sense.." He mumbles to himself, and Namjoon seems relieved that his best friend has seemingly found the issue as well. "How the hell does one get stabbed three times 'on accident'?" Jungkook questions, shaking his head. "On the thigh, too?" He wonders, looking at Namjoon in front of him.

"Owner said the patient had 'moved around' while he tried to remove the butter knife, forcing it back in twice." Namjoon offers, and Jungkook scoffs.

"Come on, stabbing someone with something as dull as a butter knife is already pretty impossible to achieve." The young doctor questions. "But really? And anyone believed him?" He wonders, looking through the vitals once more.

"Read the name again. The owner's, not the patient's." He asks, and Jungkook's eyes widen.

"Jo Dongsun? So that's why they're just gonna shrug it off?" He asks. "Cause he's an actor?"

"Probably." Namjoon sighs, walking back to take a sip from his cold coffee on the table. "But that's not.. entirely why I pinged you." He says, peaking Jungkook's interest as he's finally awake and alert enough, fully back in work-mode. "The patient- poor thing is refusing any up-close treatment, has to be put on local anesthetics, and you know that's not ideal." The young doctor says, walking out the door with his friend at his side, walking back into the ER. "And you've got a hand for things like that. Maybe you can try and make her feel more comfortable so we won't have to medicate her this much?" He asks, and Jungkook nods.

Hybrids are pretty sensitive to most human medications- their bodies still being studied, many side effects still being explored and explained. But until they're understood to the degree that the world understands the human body, they have to work with that they have- and adjust everything else. It's why people like Jungkook are so vital to today's medical system- he's talented in creating solutions for problems no one else would think of, keeps his studies up to date, and is most of all compassionate and kind even to the wildest of patients.

He's also got a certified degree proving his top knowledge when it comes to hybrid care specifically. It's why Namjoon had even proposed the idea to everyone to move you into Jungkook's care instead, though some aren't really on board with it, considering his rather.. wild attitude so to speak. He won't back into whatever the man will try and tell him happened- he will try and get to the bottom of this, no matter how much impact that guy has.

If he has to ruin a career to save a life, he will.

"I'll do my best. If it's a domestic abuse case she's probably pretty terrified." Jungkook mumbles more or less to himself, before he seems to arrive at the corner you're hidden in, curtains giving you some privacy. He doesn't know what to expect, really- even though he's read all of your data, everything he needs to know about your physical and mental state- he still won't know what he's dealing with until he goes behind that curtain.

And nothing in the world could've prepared him for what's behind that said curtain, as he pulls it back and catches his first glimpse of you.

He knows you.

Jimin is currently rushing from left to right with gauze, trying to stop your bleeding when Jungkook shows up. "I assume Namjoon filled you in?" He asks distracted, and Jungkook nods.

"Yeah. How's the bleeding?" He worries, watching how another nurse hangs up a bag of blood to prepare a transfusion to make up for the blood you've lost.

"Those two here-" Jimin points at the ones he's talking about. "Are alright for now, they're deep, but this one right here definitely hit one of the bigger blood vessels." He explains, exchanging the gauze again. "It just won't stop." He hisses to himself.

"Alright we've got the blood here already, which is good because that blood pressure is not making me happy right now." He says, taking control of the situation and nurses standing by for any sort of demand. "I want you to stop any medication you're using to keep her unconscious right now so we don't have her drop any further. Have we got any scans of the wounds yet?" He asks, and Jimin nods.

"She came back from CT a few minutes ago, they should be back soon." He says a bit distracted, hissing to himself when the wound starts bleeding as soon as he takes away the gauze.

"Where's her owner?" Jungkook asks, and Jimin's face shows all he needs to know.

"I'd say too worried about the potential scandal than here." He scoffs. "But trust me I'd rather deal with him than her careworker demon in the waiting room right now." He says.

"Let me guess, elderly woman, sour attitude and dark lipstick?" He asks.

"You know her?" Jimin wonders, fixating a bandage.

"Met them both a week ago I think? Already got a sense something was off.." He wonders. "Gives me a good chance to check on something though. Can you hold her turned a bit, I want to get a look at her tail." He asks the senior nurse, who nods, gently turning you on your side for his friend to look at.

He feels around at the base, all the way down to the tip of your tail, deep in thought.

"What're you looking for?" Jimin wonders, closely paying attention to your vitals as they slowly change, your consciousness returning very slowly.

"Proof." Jungkook simply states. Considering you're above the age of 21, he can't just lean on the help of the law for hybrid abuse- you're too old for that, and your category is too low as well. So the only way he can get you out of this situation, is by providing undisputable proof of present neglect or abuse.

"You think it's abuse?" Jimin wonders. "That's a big claim to make, Jungkook. That guy could ruin your career and future with a snap of his fingers."

"So can I." Jungkook himself simply says. "I want an X-ray of her tail, full side and length." He offers. "And as soon as she's back up, ping me."

"Did she break it?" Jimin wonders, carefully adjusting you back on your backside.

"Not today-" He says, taking his clipboard with him. "-but in the past, at least four times."

"that's not uncommon for canine hybrids." Jimin softly argues. "they knock their tails into things constantly." He claims.

"I'm aware." He nods. "But her tail's ice cold down the sixth vertebra. And that's exactly where she caught it last time I saw her- which means she didn't see anyone for it until now." He mumbles the last part to himself, running off to check with someone else he knows and trusts-

leaving a confused Jimin behind.

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"I could give you options to at least file in for neglect." Yoongi quietly mumbles, looking at the X-rays and scans. "Though if you spin it smart, you could argue about her past medical history being proof of something going on as well." The young man nods, reading the charts on the clipboard. "How do you know her?"

"Met her last week. She'd gotten her tail caught in those automatic glass doors, complained over numbness in her legs right after." He sighs. "Her caretaker was what bothered me most. She wasn't at all interested in her health." Yoongi nods at that, giving the clipboard back.

"Well-" He softly speaks, getting up to adjust something near the patient's bed, before he sits down again. "-I'm not in the position to tell you not to get attached to her." He responds, his gaze on the female feline hybrid in the bed, monitor beeping in a steady rhythm, soothing his mind a bit. Yoongi has been at her bedside ever since she was admitted- no owner to take care of her, instead in government care. No one knows exactly why he of all people is so attached to her, visiting her every day at least once- but it's a well known fact to everyone that he loves her dearly.

Even though, if they have any memories together, she won't remember any of them even if she ever wakes up.

"But I have to remind you that you're playing against a huge name. This will cost you your entire career if you fail." Yoongi says, and Jungkook nods.

He knows this. Going against a name as big as him will put him into the public eye as well- and considering that he doesn't have any foolproof evidence yet, he'd be dumb to actually try and involve authorities at this point in time. No matter what, this isn't as easy and cut-out as he wishes it would be.

"Do what you're paid for, for now." Yoongi reminds him. "Look after her, make sure she recovers, get her back on her feet. As soon as you leave this building, leave her here as well."

Jungkook sighs defeatedly, nodding. "I'll check up here before I go tonight." He says, nodding to the hospital bed behind Yoongi- but he only shrugs, before Jungkook get's pinged back to the emergency room where you're still placed.

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When he arrives, he can already hear the commotion from behind the privacy curtains.

"I have a right to be here, she's just being dramatic!" The familiar voice of the lady calls out, and Jungkook feels like he wants to turn and go the other way. But instead, he listens to Yoongi's advice, and enters the small section where you're being treated. "You! Put your workers in line here, I've been verbally assaulted just for checking up on her-" She argues, Jimin ready to snap at her.

"Miss- okay, let's calm down everyone, this is not helping her at all right now." Jungkok tries to solve the small fight between an angrily glaring Jimin and the older woman currently huffing in anger. "I kindly ask you to move to the side please so I can properly assess her, if you don't mind." He asks, but she crosses her arms.

"You can just squeeze past me, what's the big deal? I thought you've already done that, you've had her here for ages after all!" She huffs. "We've been here four hours almost, for a simple accident! This is ridiculous!" She yells at him, but he's not at all bothered by it.

"Miss I will have to get you removed if you're going to hinder me in doing my job." He calmly responds, noticing how you lean into Jimin's body, something the nurse notices as well as he masks gentle comforting touches as things such as adjusting your gown that you've been given. It's another clue that something's off- the way you're moving away from her, technically a known and familiar and usually comforting person, instead leaning towards a stranger in something scary as a hospital with all its sounds and smells.

"You can't make me do anything." She threatens him. "Who do you think you are? Fresh out of medical school and thinks he's something better! Are you even old enough to work as a doctor?!" She claims, and Jungkook simply sighs, opening the curtains a bit.

"Can I have security here, please?" He calls out, a nurse close by picking up a phone to call for them, while the woman is successfully triggered by his actions.

"Come on, up. We're leaving." She snaps at you, reaching to rip out the delicate tubes connected to your arm- but Jungkook steps in instead, putting his body in front of her so she can't reach you.

"Miss, I can understand this is stressful, but you're being unreasonable." He argues as gently as he can. "I can't let you take her in this condition."

"You're gonna hear about this!" She seethes as security leads her away. "Have fun playing doctor while you can.!" She hisses, being escorted away while still arguing.

Jungkook sighs, and so does Jimin.

"…m' sorry." You mumble quietly, and Jimin immediately looks at you gently.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart." He reassures. "Let's get you properly sorted out now, okay?" He tells you, and you nod.

"How are your legs doing, hm?" Jungkook asks, and now you seem to properly look at him for the first time.

"Oh." You simply say, only realizing now who he is. He looks a lot different than last time- his bangs are brushed back and revealing his forehead, and he's dressed in a more formal-casual style, with black slacks and a light brown button up, the first few undone. It's like he's suddenly aged up five years at least, but he doesn't seem unfriendly or intimidating at all, even though you can see the muscles underneath his skin work as he rolls up his sleeves.

"I look a bit different, don't I?" He chuckles, walking closer. "Are you in a lot of pain right now or is it manageable?" He wonders, and you finally seem to settle down quite a bit.

"Just a bit." You quietly answer him. "And my legs are okay." You explain. "Just.. feel a bit like I'm gonna be sick." You worry towards Jimin who's busied himself with petting one of your ears. When he hears this, he gets a small paper bowl ready just in case, and Jungkook nods as he checks all the vitals.

"Hm, your blood pressure is still a bit low so that might be why you feel a bit nauseous." He reassures. "We'll get some more fluids in for you, you're pretty dehydrated. Do you drink enough water during the day?" He asks you, and you shrug. "Don't know?" He chuckles in sympathy, aware that you might still be a bit dizzy and foggy in the head from everything going on.

"What's too little?" You ask him softly.

"Well, I'd say everything below maybe five glasses in a day?" He says, and your eyes widen.

"That much?" You wonder, looking at Jimin at your side.

"A lot of people forget to drink during the day." The nurse reassures. Jungkook however, can't help but dig deeper.

"Doesn't your owner make sure you drink enough?" He wonders, and you shrug.

"Don't see him much." You mumble. "He's busy. I mostly stay with Miss Hwang, and she doesn't really pay much attention to what I eat or drink." You say, watching how Jungkook steps aside to let a nurse hang up a bag of IV-fluids.

"Hm, I see." He nods to himself.

"Am I in trouble?" You ask suddenly, ears pinned down.

"For what would you get into trouble for?" Jimin wonders next to you.

"Cause I used the phone without asking." You offer them. "I just got scared. I know it's not allowed for me to used it.." You say, and Jungkook exchanges a glance with Jimin.

"No, you're not in trouble." Jungkook reassures. "Who said you can't use the phone?" He wonders, though tries hard not to show his inner worry.

"My owner and Miss Hwang. Cause I'm a hybrid, and I'll go to prison if I do." You say.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened today?" Jungkook asks, pulling a chair closer to sit on it next to where you're laying.

"We had Dinner, Dongsun and uh, miss Hwang and I." You recall, looking at your hands. "I.. we had pizza." You describe, seeing the scene in front of you again. "And I wanted- I asked Dongsun for a piece of his and he said yeah- and usually he doesn't share with me so I got excited." You explain; looking at Jungkook as if to convey that you're sorry about whatever happened. "I knocked over a glass on the table, and it spilled on his phone I think- so he got angry, and I think he just wanted to hit the table, but he- I think he just- he just didn't see that I was sitting too close, probably, maybe- and-" You ramble now. "I don't know, I don't think I remember it right, I think I just got scared and made things up in my head." You stutter, Jimin gently rubbing your shoulder in reassurance.

Jungkook can sense something wrong here.

"Do you do that a lot?" He asks. "Make stuff up in your head when you're scared?" He questions, and you shrug.

"Dongsun says I do. Hybrids do that all the time, he says." You explain to him. "So I- Miss Hwang and Dongsun will know what happened, really. I- you're a doctor right? Why do we do that?" You ask, and Jungkook can't give you an answer.

Because there is none. Whatever world-view and twisted facts you've been fed until now are simply bullshit.

"What.. happened in your mind?" Jungkook carefully asks, as Namjoon enters the small space. "Like, what do you remember happened?" He wonders.

"Dongsun got really angry. He gets angry often, because I'm stupid." You explain casually, making Namjoon's face twist into one of pure confusion. "He was surprised for a second when he accidentally hit my leg with the knife. But then he.. I don't know, it was like he.. snapped. And so he did it again, and another time, until I ran away and hid in the bathroom." You say. "In my mind it looked like he was hurting me on purpose. So I ran off, and- no wait, I didn't run into the bathroom, it was the bedroom. Yeah. I made a mess there- Dongsun has a really pretty white carpet there, I got into trouble once because I accidentally dropped a glass of juice on it.." You drift off.

"Did you call the ambulance there?" Jungkook questions, and you nod.

"That's where I used Miss Hwang's phone that was on the bed." You say, and it confuses everyone for a second why her phone would be there- but they don't think about it for now. "Am I gonna get put into jail now?" You ask, and Jungkook shakes his head.

"No, absolutely not sweetheart." He shakes his head. "You did a great job calling for help. We'll take good care of you, and make sure you'll be alright, okay?" He asks, and you nod.

"I think I might be sick.." You mumble ashamed at Jimin, who quickly reaches for the paper bowl to hold for you, another hand holding your hair away from your face.

"Why is her blood pressure still so low?" Namjoon wonders more quietly to Jungkook, who'd just stood up as well, arms crossed.

"Maybe an underlying issue undiagnosed." Jungkook mumbles, watching you. "Maybe drugs. I'm gonna have them do a urine test for common birth control and hormone blockers. I've not got a good feeling with her whatsoever." He lowly tells his coworker. "I know domestic abuse when I see it, and right there-" He looks back at where you're laying back down with the help of Jimin, another nurse walking in to tell him something, "-is a hybrid who's been conditioned into believing that she can't trust her own judgement, and that she has to abide by everything her owner and caretaker say." He tells Namjoon, walking out of your hearing range for a moment. "Hell- they told her it's illegal for a hybrid to use a fucking phone, Namjoon, that's cult-shit!" He hisses.

"Yoongi has told me you're suspecting something like that." The emergency doctor shakes his head. "Hearing the little that I did, I'm honestly on board with you. But we're not law enforcement. Jungkook, our hands are bound- she's above age and below category for us to use any of the safety laws in this case." He reminds the younger doctor.

"I know." He sighs, defeated. "Fuck, I know."

"Let's make sure she gets the treatment she needs for now, alright? Go one step at a time." Namjoon tries to reassure his friend. "For now, you've got medicine on your side. She can't be taken home in this condition, no matter if her owner wants that or not. Currently, she's legally in our care, until she's deemed healthy enough to go back home." He reminds his friend, who nods.

"I guess that's all the time we get." He worries, watching as everyone walks around, Jimin exiting your little space to talk to another nurse standing by.

And for the first time in a long while, Jungkook knows he'll go against Yoongi's advice, and take his work home tonight.

Your fearful gaze haunting him in his sleep.

[blossom-works]

Home for My Heart: The Secret Life of Kylian Mbappe

Inspired by ArrDee’s “Home for My Heart”, featuring Cat Burns

Writer’s note: Since I’m a little self-indulgent, I’ve made the reader Asian 😁

---

“What is this? It looks like a woman has come down to the field and is comforting Mbappe after his confrontation with ___.”

“If I didn’t know any better, it looks like she’s trying to calm him down.”

Like everyone else in today’s stadium, the two sport anchors are confused at the interaction. No one knows who this woman is and her relation to the star athlete. The woman, dressed in a warm, coat has her hands on Kylian’s face, making him look at her. Their conversation is inaudible. When this mystery woman did this though, she mistakenly shows off her engagement ring to the whole world. 

The camera that is on them zooms in on her finger. The crowd erupts (more than it already was). 

“Holy! Is this woman Kylian Mbappe’s fiancé?”

“I don’t know Aaron, but it seems the entire stadium seems to think so.” 

By now, hundreds of people have pulled out their phones to record and document this news. Some are recording what is being shown on the big screen and others who are close enough, are recording the actual (potential) couple. Sure enough, what solidifies everyone’s suspicion is a kiss being placed on Mbappe’s lips. The roaring of the crowd sends vibrations through everyone’s bodies. 

Kylian Mbappe heads back onto the field, mind cleared from seeing red, and takes his position as a forward. The woman, now known as “Kylian Mbappe’s Mystery Woman”, stands on the side lines with the Real Madrid coaches and manager. She internally thanks her subconscious for bringing her things with her when she went to the field. Even if her seat is in the VIP section of the stadium, she can bet that someone would want to snoop through her personal items. 

You do not know what ___ said to piss Kylian off so much, but that is the least of your worries. Due to his outburst, a press conference is going to be called for and reporters are going to want to know what your relationship is, and for how long you have been together. 

Never did you think that you would be dating the famous footballer, Kylian Mbappe, but it happened. He was on a family vacation in America and happened to stop by the gym you frequented with your sister and her husband. He came up to you to say how impressive your lifting was. You thanked him while trying to keep a straight face. You thanked the Lord that your face was already flushed from your workout, because you knew you were blushing. Being a football fan, you knew who Kylian Mbappe was. 

Kylian had asked you if you knew a place to go that was family friendly and recommended the aquarium in the city. Every time you take your nieces and nephews there, you guys end up staying at the aquarium for about five hours. One thing led to another, and you somehow agreed to have a brunch date the following day. 

When things got serious, you two had a night-long talk. 

---

“Are you sure you want to continue our relationship?”

Four months have passed since you two agreed to start officially dating. Most of your dating life consisted of phone calls, FaceTime, and text messages. A total of six months since you two first met. When you agreed to date the athlete, you knew what you were getting yourself into. You knew your relationship would have more downs than ups. It was a risk you were willing to take. 

Recently, Kylian has been busier than usual. For about two days, you two did not talk to one another. Not even a text message was exchanged on his end. You do not blame him. Sure, it broke your heart a bit, but you know it broke his even more. Hence, the current conversation. 

Looking at his face on the screen, you can see how guilty he feels. 

Turning the question around, you ask “Do you want to continue our relationship?”

Kylian says nothing. Yes, he wants to continue dating you because he really likes you. He likes how patient and understanding you are with his lifestyle. Never once have you complained about how he is not able to spend a lot of time with you. Nor are you unreasonably asking him to go out of his way to make that time for you. He likes that you have so much love to give and yet, so sassy at the same time. You never miss a beat to tease him. Every time Kylian has something witty to say, you out-wit him. Your big heart is what made you choose to be a child life specialist. It is one thing you both have in common: a shared love for children. A thought he will not admit aloud, but it is an aspect that makes Kylian think your relationship can be permanent. 

Kylian’s prolonged silence signals that you should take the lead. 

“Look Ky, I get that you have a demanding job. You have to be in one country one day, and in the following days, in another. You have promotional work and all that too...So what?”

Your question catches the Frenchman off guard. 

“How many relationships have you or one of your girlfriends broken it off cause shit got a little tough? Sure, I wish you could have more free time, but that’s not the reality of things. The reality of things is that you are a busy man whether you want to be or not. I knew that going into this relationship.”

You continue ranting and then you finished off with this, “If everyone broke up because things got too tough, we would all be single.”

When Kylian reiterated that to his family, they already took a liking to you.

---

Since then, you and Kylian have worked your asses off to keep your relationship going. It worked and you ended up moving to Spain and are now engaged. 

Thanks to his assets, you two have been able to date in secret. Kylian would rent out restaurants and other buildings. He would even go as far as to make the present employees sign an NDA along with whomever owned the building. Just like you, Kylian was persistent in keeping your relationship a secret, and to keep you in his life. But now that your relationship has been revealed to the world, you just know that this will test your commitment to one another. You only hope that you two can navigate through the scary woods. 

After a two-hour game, Real Madrid won the match 7-4. Kylian and his team are jumping on top of each other in celebration as the Madrid fans are going just as crazy. Your heart swells with pride. Especially since Kylian scored the last three goals. Every one of them was dedicated to you as he would run up to you for a kiss. He left you blushing each time. 

That night, Kylian posted his first picture of you two on his Instagram. The caption: “Donatello and his April ❤️”. 

One Week Later:

“Mon amour, regarde combien d'articles sont écrits sur nous.” Kylian shows you, his phone. Since the game, Kylian’s phone has been blowing up news about you two. Many journalists have been contacting him and Real Madrid to get some kind of a statement. My love, look how many articles are written about us.

Sure enough, Kylian has notifications popping up left and right. He has also been tagged in many posts and videos about the game. Hundreds of people are wondering who you are. Checking your Twitter, the top hashtag is “Mbappe’s secret woman”. 

Jokingly you say, “I guess we’ll have to up security for the wedding.”

Your joke did not resonate with Kylian. His brows are furrowed, showing his usual forehead wrinkles. Turning around so you two are chest-to-chest, you say, “Hé, tout ira bien.” You try to smoothen out the wrinkles, but the worry does not leave his face. Letting out a loud sigh, Kylian hugs your body, making you lay right on his chest. Hey, everything will be fine.

“No, it’s not. People are going to try to find out who you are and then target you. I don’t want the media following you around while pushing a camera to your face. I also don’t want you to lose your job because of me.”

“No one is losing anything, Kylian. Not you. Not me. We’ll find a way to get through this, okay? You and me.” Kissing his cheek you continue, “We’ve been able to keep our relationship a secret for three, almost four years now. We were able to keep things stable, and we can still keep things stable. It’ll just be a little hard for a while.”

Your words did not comfort the man, but it did pull him out of his pessimistic head. Thanking you, Kylian kisses the top of your head. Of course, sweet moments only last so long. Your stomach lets out a loud roar. Kylian lets out a deep chuckle. 

“Allons vous chercher quelque chose à manger.” Let’s get you something to eat.

Jumping up, you jog straight to the freezer and pull out a bag of pork dumplings with a beaming smile. Since you moved in with Kylian, you changed your diet to match his. Though, by not much since you were already eating a gut healthy diet. Since you got engaged, you gave up pork completely, but the Asian in you is begging for some pork dumplings. The chicken and vegetables ones are just not cutting it out for you. The wedding is soon, so you think that eating a few (or the whole bag) of pork dumplings should not affect how you look. 

Kylian rolls his eyes with a smile on his face, snatching the plastic from you and pre-heats the air fryer. Just as the machine beeps, Kylian’s eyes blow wide like he figured out how to make a working time machine. 

“Cherie? I think I have a plan to calm the press down.”

Two Weeks Later:

Lights. Camera. Action. 

On the sides of the streets are loads of reporters and photographers from all over Europe and even the USA. A red carpet has been set up with a backdrop of today’s sponsors. Footballers arrive in their nice cars wearing even nicer clothing. FIFA’s annual awards show has come to Paris, and people are going crazy. The best footballers, new and old, are going to be in one building where the best of the best get trophies.

Another big van pulls up to the curb and a group of security guards open the sliding door. Out comes Real Madrid’s one and only Kylian Mbappe. Clad in a classic dark brown, silk suit. One of his many Hublot watches is around his left wrist. But Mbappe himself is not what has the large crowd going crazy. It is the fact that the footballer turns around and escorts a lady out of the car. 

In a matching, formal dress you make your debut in Mbappe’s world. Officially. 

Taking the late Princess Diana’s tactic, you hold your clutch up to your chest to prevent any cleavage from being exposed. Dainty earrings and a necklace add some sparkle to your silk look, and your hair is neatly slicked back into a French twist. Makeup done to perfection to highlight your features. 

With a deep breath you wrap yourself around Kylian’s arm as he leads you to the red carpet. The bright flashes of the cameras blind you for a bit before your eyes semi-adjust to them. Kylian tucks you to his left, his hand never leaving your waist. Shaking your head to get your hair out of your face, you put on the best smile you can. The way you are holding onto your clutch, photographers are capturing the metals and diamonds on your finger. 

---

“Ky! Stop it! I’m doing the dishes here!”

“C’mon bébé. Let’s dance.”

“After I do the dishes.”

“The dishes can wait!” Kylian takes your hands out of the sink and pulls off the silicone gloves. His hips sway with the Spanish music as he leads you away from the kitchen island. You do your best to give him an annoyed look, but who are you kidding? Kylian’s goofy smile and stupid dance makes everything forgiven. Moving to the beat with him, you join the horrible dance. 

Twists. Spins. Dips. Weird arm waves. Pointing. And horrible singing. 

Kylian’s playlist went from R & B, hip hop, classical, rap, pop, and now cheesy love songs. The one people slow dance to. 

You two sway in a small circle within the privacy of your shared home. Dishes still in the sink, long forgotten. A table that still needs cleaning and floors that need sweeping. But all of that sinks into the back of your mind. Lost in your own little world with the man you love. 

“We should do this more often, Ky.”

“What? Dancing?”

“Yeah. It’s nice.” You say as you look up to him. You were not blessed with the “height” gene, so you have to look all the way up to Kylian. He has to tilt his head all the way down to make eye contact. If Kylian had to name the five things he loves about you, your height would be one. He just loves that you have to hop onto the kitchen counters to get something from the top, cabinet shelves. The menace in him sometimes hides the stool you bought just to see you “Spiderman”. It is even funnier and cuter when you pull the seat all the way up to the wheel in order to drive. 

Kylian kisses you square on your forehead. “Alright, cherie. We’ll dance more often.” 

As the song ends and another plays, Kylian asks if you can grab his phone on the edge of the counter behind you. Taking four steps you pause the music and click the “off” button. 

“Here you go-”

Holy mother of baby Jesus. 

Down on one knee with a ring box in hand, and a diamond that shines from the lights above.

“I used to not love anything more than football. Of course, there was my family, but my love for both was almost equal. But with you, I know that I love you more than football. Kylian Mbappe is known for many things, but I want one of them to be your husband. Épouse-moi.” Marry me.

---

When you decide that you have had enough of people taking your pictures, you signal to Kylian that you will wait for him at the entrance door. Kylian nods and sends you off with a good smooch to your lips (you wonder if people’s fingers ached from clicking the camera buttons of their devices). He makes sure that a couple of security guards follow you to the building. 

Clearing his throat, the Frenchman fixes his suit jacket. The cameras flash thrice as fast, and the screams get twice as loud. After a couple more photos, Kylian says goodbye to the crowd and makes his way to do one or two interviews. 

“Mbappe! You look great!” An interviewer compliments.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

“So, I’m guessing that the beautiful lady with you is your mysterious fiancé?” 

Smiling, Kylian confirms. 

“How long have you two been together? And why have you kept your relationship a secret for so long?”

“Well, you see, I don’t like to talk about my private life, you know? I spend a lot of time on camera and on the field, so I want to spend the rest of my time in peace. No cameras. No microphones. When I’m not out, I want to be with my family and the people I care about as me.”

“That’s very understandable and honorable of you Mbappe. Can you give me any information about your fiancé? Like her name and what she does?”

Kylian shakes his head. “No. No. No.”

“Oh, can you tell me anything about her then? I’m sure the world would like to know who stole Kylian Mbappe’s heart.”

Looking directly at the camera, Kylian says “She’s the love of my life. No woman can replace her. No woman. She means everything to me. If I had to choose football or her, I would always choose her. My family loves her, and I love her family. There’s no Kylian Mbappe without her. There’s no home without her. She makes everything I do worthwhile. She’s my best support and I will do everything in my power to protect her.”

The interviews awes into the microphone and before she can ask more questions, Kylian walks away. With a big smile he takes big strides up the stairs to meet your guarded figure. Re-tucking you into his side, you two disappear behind the glass doors. 

By tomorrow morning, the world went into a frenzy as pictures of you and Kylian waved the internet. Oh, and pictures of Kylian wearing a wedding ring too. That one got its own headline.

---

I’m really thinking about making an Mbappe series. Similar to my Hades series. Should I give into my delusions or should I keep it satisfied with this fic?

[cooloddball]

Ok, so I would like to throw in my opinion on the "fell first/fell harder" Lestappen take.

Let me preface this by saying I'm very new to F1 racing and am learning quickly about the sport and the racers (and falling absolutely in love with all these adorable goobers too!)

I only looked into it because a coworker of mine is in love with Daniel lol. In searching Daniel I found a pic of Charles and was IMMEDIATELY like 👀👀 'Damn ok I see you, gorgeous, who are you??' And in searching him, I saw MANY pics of him and MAX.

In lengthy conclusion, MY hot take is this: Max fell first in a heavy moment of bi panic. Let's face it, Charles is the kinda guy that could definitely make "straight" men questions themselves for a hot minute. I can FULLY see, understand, and sympathize with the idea of Karting Day Max being genuinely confused about what exactly it is he's feeling for Charles because, no, absolutely NOT is he attracted to boys! (Read: his dad would probably get pretty pissed to hear/know his champion racing "straight" son has a huge boy crush on his rival of all people)

So it's treated like an early school crush where you're young and immature and kinda mean to them only because you don't want them to know you actually like them, y'know? Plus, he has to be a bit ruthless! This is his rival, for corn's sake!

Flash forward, Max goes to F1, his crush probably simmers/dies down now that he's got all new focus. In comes Charles to F1 bringing all those emotions and memories back to the surface. But Max is determined to stay focused this time. And in this time I believe is when Charles starts really dealing with HIS side of the crush because look at (his) Max now! All grown up and racing in F1 and giving him a serious run for his money and looking damn fine while doing it and Charles has trouble not letting it effect him.

Eventually time progresses, they grow and mature and come to realize they're both equally deserving to be where they are at and they're both amazing drivers and Max has now allowed himself to start letting go of the school yard crush tendencies and started really appreciating Charles for who and what he is. I think he's now allowing himself to just enjoy being with and around Charles. He's come to realize he LOVES the giggles and the dimples and the shimmer in the sea green eyes and, hey, Charles is a damn good driver so why shouldn't he be honest about that and tell the world?

I look at his body language and how he acts and speaks around Charles (and vice versa) and, for all the years they've known each other, they're still so bashful and giddy around each other. I've noticed that when Charles might be giving an interview, Max will just walk over and start talking, and Charles gives him his FULL attention despite the fact he was originally talking to someone else first. Maybe Max and Charles can't have each other romantically, so they take the best they can get.

I'm so sorry for such a long (and probably confusing) rant but I've really no one else to talk with about this and I'm OBSSESSED with their obsession with each other that I could go on for literal HOURS about these two lovesick knuckleheads 🥰🥰

no apologies needed i love you and this ask because long asks are the best. i also like the fact that you are of a different opinion because we can’t all see things the same way.

as for the who fell first vs who fell harder i get why you see it that way but from my side i feel charles fell first because that’s who he is, like it would take something very little to happen for him to get a him to like something/someone and he loses interest just as quickly. meanwhile max is the kind of person who takes his time to understand things/ people and it takes a while to like these things/people but once he’s in it’ll take a lot to get out/dislike something etc.

also, as i mentioned in an earlier post, it’s charles’ “hostility” towards max when they were younger that did it for me. like from the lore we have there’s nothing that max could’ve done that warranted charles disliking him so much. and no, charles got his revenge for the inchident. i think charles realised he had a crush and max was oblivious (at first) because all he was focused on at the time was racing (thanks to jos 😡) so he probably didn’t care to form many relationships/friendships with the other karters which probably made charles feel some type of way like max didn’t care enough to like him so he decided “if it’s only racing you care about i might as well give you something to remember me by” so he focused his energy on racing against him and just outright being a track terror. little did he know that’s what max needed to steer him to liking him (charles)but it was too late, max had a target on his back…and here we are.

if you ever want to talk about them, i’m here to listen and offer whatever take.

[haybels]

a note

I was eight. I have friends over- those friends you have because your parents are friends. We’re playing with our little sisters, and they want to dress us up. I get put in a tutu, and take it off as soon as possible. My heart is pounding- not out of embarrassment, but because I wish I could wear things like this more often.

I was twelve, laying in bed way after my bedtime. I had my iPod touch, the one I got the day I went to the Odyssey of the Mind competition in Iowa. My body was starting to change, and I was starting to lose sight of myself. In passing on the internet, I hear about a way I can make myself more comfortable. I throw myself into it- read about everything relating to it. Knowing it exists helps me. I find resources, learn the lingo, and cry as I realize how much I want it, but how much it seems out of reach. I Google if I can get hormones and surgeries without my parents permission.

I was fourteen. We were in the car, the whole family, shopping for new furniture for the living room. I was tuning everything out- a girl, my age, had jumped off an overpass on a freeway. Her parents found out she was transgender and kicked her out of the house. She took her own life. I see posts talking about her, showing awareness to the plight of people like her. I share the posts, wishing I could have the support I see her having. Her name was Leelah Alcorn. I still think about her every night before I fall asleep.

I was sixteen. I’m not a particularly good athlete, though I still go out for sports whenever possible. I get told I’m not a real man, and that feels good.

I was eighteen. I want to watch the Super Bowl, so I find some friends going to a fraternity house to watch the game. I make an impression, and I get an invitation to join. I lay in bed, night after night, thinking about what it would mean to join. I swallow my feelings, try to accept what I always will be, and sign the bid.

I was nineteen. I sit next to some people I met in class- I had sat next to them last year but never managed to talk to them. This year, they find me. We bond over being in the same major and how much we hate the required class we’re in. I tell them the secret, the one that I told myself I’d never let slip, and they become the only ones I can trust.

I was twenty. I stay inside- I can barely bring myself to leave my room. How can I face myself these days? I let myself grow unkempt. Long hair to represent what I want for myself, and unkempt facial hair to show what everyone else sees me as.

I was twenty two. I return home after graduation. All my friends are off to bigger and better things, but I don’t. It’s hard to care for your future when you haven’t felt anything in years, when you feel like there’s nothing to look forward to. I still haven’t found a job, and the failure is getting to me. If I’m not the smart one, the one who has it all together, then what’s the point. It’s clear I’ve been left behind. I sit in the garage, a rusty fishing knife pressed to my wrists, and think about finally doing it.

I was twenty three. I swallow my pride and decide I need it, that life isn’t worth living anymore if I have to tiptoe around everyone else’s feelings. I call a clinic and schedule an appointment. I get my prescription and decide this is the time I need to come clean. I’m told I don’t know what I’m talking about, that I haven’t thought this through, that I need therapy before I can make this decision. I start my treatment and lie, saying I had taken their advice and waited. Lying has become as easy as breathing, my tells becoming suppressed. What’s lying about one little thing when I’ve been hiding the truth for my whole life?

I’m twenty four. I’ve struggled for so many years. Tomorrow is when I’m reborn, but I’ve known for so many years. I’m proud of myself, but also mad that I’ve caved to others for so long and delayed what I’ve wanted my whole life. But it’s over. I’m going to be free.

I’m finally going to be happy.

[akirqx]

she/her + romantic

none!

someone extroverted, friendly/outgoing, smart!!, isn’t afraid to show me off or express himself, and taller than me!!!! also guys who are protective over me but not controlling. they have to have good humor and can take a joke. someone who can have a little playful competition, and doesn’t care abt being seen as clingy and just wants to express their love.

i’m really talkative, and i love trying and learning new things. i’m pretty smart, i take a lot of APs and school takes up a lot of my time, but i love going out with my friends and i hate studying 😭. even tho i talk a lot, i get really scared when i talk to someone i’m interested in for the first time. i love shopping, and i play softball competitively, but i enjoy other sports like tennis and volleyball just for fun (even tho i lwk suck LMFAO). i’m also a photographer, i do mostly sports photography, and i love flowers!

giving: acts of service and gift giving. receiving: quality time and acts of service

friends to lovers or strangers to lovers

i’m 5’3-5’4, and i’m filipino. i have long dark brown hair and my style switches between abg and stockholm and i wear glasses!

extras: an ideal date would be a festival/amusement park or a day at the beach. i LOVEEE those little photobooth pics. my favorite flowers are pink stargazer lilies.

thank you so so much and i hope you have an amazing day!!

(there was an error when i tried sending this the first time, so if it happened to send twice im so sorry 😭🙏🏻)

Oikawa Tooru definitely noticed you first. I feel like he took interest in your photography and approached you about it! (..strangers to lovers?🤭)

I think I’d be such a cute interaction if he saw you taking a photo of some flowers and then came up to you to recommend a better place for the picture.

We all know he has fangirls and is super focused on volleyball but I feel like once he noticed you that one time, he started seeing you everywhere

He thinks he’s so smooth asking you to come to his next game to take some cool shots of him

If you actually say yes and show up he gets all nervous and asks iwaizumi if he looks good today (he knows he does)

I feel like because he spends so much time on volleyball, he makes sure whenever he hangs out with you that you know he loves you, he def doesn’t care about looking clingy.

Always makes sure to show you off so people know he’s taken

Is also super smart!! Power couple fr

He’d probably make fun of u for being bad at volleyball as a playful joke but will take pride in teaching you (if u want!)

Oh my god if u ever got shy around this man his ego will skyrocket 😭

When you guys go to amusement parks together he pretends to not be scared but is the loudest one on the ride

And then if you bring it up after he pretends he wasn’t scared

I feel like he’d say he’s really good at winning those prizes but he actually sucks and you spend a good 15 minutes waiting for him to actually get something

Would def love taking pictures with you! Especially those photo booth ones :) probably keeps one in his phone case

He buys you one of those big bouquets for your first date and it’s mostly your fav flowers

I feel like he’d steal ur glasses right off of ur face and puts them on just to tease about how bad ur vision is (even if it’s not that bad)

He loves all of your gifts omg he’s so dramatic when you give him something

He will go shopping with you and he will take it seriously when you ask for his opinion on clothes or smtg

He’s always matching your energy and I feel like you guys always have good conversations like there’s never nothing to talk about

He’s also competitive so you guys make plenty of little competitions out of literally anything

It can get really chaotic sometimes..

And he always cheers you on at ur softball games!! He brags about you to anyone who will listen

omg this one was soo fun to write I really hope you like it !!🫶🏻 Oikawa was literally the first person who came to mind when I read yours so I hope you like him…😭

Thank you for requesting!

[prettyboyhowl]

the gang goes to Barbie (drabble)

(when I thought about which movie the ROs would see between Barbie and Oppenheimer I quickly realised none would go for Oppenheimer lmao, so have a drabble)

You look down at Gil's footwear with a combination of disgust and awe. "I still can't believe you bought those. Are you even going to wear them after today?"

"Uh, hell yeah! It's gonna be me and my barbie pink Crocs all day every day." With a shit-eating grin, he flicks his pink sunglasses down over his eyes. "That's Kenergy, babyyy."

Nearby, Otto sports a similar pair of shades on top of her head. You all agreed to wear pink to see the movie, but she lacked the colour in her wardrobe and didn't want to buy a new outfit. Instead, in an effort to commit, she took an old plain white tee and scribbled on it with hot pink marker. The front says 'BARBIE', with a messy thick line underneath it, and there's a large 'B' on the back. She's wearing it with a pair of black cargo pants and boots.

In contrast, Lemon Sorbet truly went all out, showing up to your meeting spot outside the cinema in a pink suit. He bristles with energy, looking very excited and happy to be here.

Gil's not completely donned in pink, dressed in a hawaiian shirt and shorts, but he's a staunch competitor for 'most attention-grabbing' with his pink shades, the pink Crocs, and the flaming hot pink feather boa draped around his neck. Passers-by glance at him as they approach, then do double takes as they pass, the streets crowded with people on their way home from work. You stand in a bit to avoid blocking the sidewalk.

The most normal-looking one is actually Ernie, who, despite her commitment to the theme, hasn't changed much from usual. The elegant light pink jacket and skirt combo may be a little fancy for the cinema, but it's the kind of outfit she'd normally wear. She's standing off to the side, eyes sparkling as she takes a picture with a Barbie movie poster that's been put up on the outside wall of the cinema; framed and rimmed with lights to combat the darkness setting into the sky.

"Alright, let's go," Gil exclaims, gathering the group's attention. He begins to lead the way to the supermarket three doors down.

"Aren't we going into the cinema?" Ernestine asks.

"We're getting snacks first," you say with a smile.

Gil slows to take up the space on Ernestine's other side. "Right, see cinemas usually don't let you bring in your own food because they want you to buy their snacks, which are more expensive," he explains to the Otherworlder.

"Ohh," Ernestine nods understandingly. "So you save money by smuggling in things you get from the supermarket."

"Exactly!"

"Why don't you steal from the supermarket while you're at it?" There's not a hint of sarcasm or judgement to her tone, and when you scan her face you find her looking at you in genuine question.

"Uhh," your smile freezes, "that would be illegal." You swear they have laws in Faethairis; why do you always seem to be having this conversation with Ernie?

"You're breaking the cinema's rule, aren't you?" she points out.

"Yeaaah," Gil pulls a face, "but that's not the same as breaking a law. Potato, tomato, you know?"

Ernestine tilts her head. "Aren't you already breaking laws-"

She's cut off by loud laughter from Gil, who looks around to check no one was listening in. His voice pitches up nervously. "Whaaat, we have not done… anything of the sort."

"What are you three talking about?" Lemon Sorbet asks brightly, catching up from behind with Otto in tow.

Three different answers come simultaneously: "What snacks we want." "Law-breaking." "Nothing much."

Otto lifts a brow amusedly as Lemon Sorbet just smiles cheerily. "Ooh, I'm so excited for the movie," he confesses. "Aren't you, Otto?"

She shrugs non-committally. "Eh. Better this than the other one."

"To think of how far Barbie has come… " He lifts a finger. "You know, I was there when the first one was released. Fascinating, how things evolve." You can see the scholar in him ignite as he begins to get lost in reminiscence.

"Hey, we should all take a group photo later," Gil suggests as you all file into the supermarket, flooding the bright white aisles with a wave of pink.

"Can you stop pushing me?" "I'm not even touching you… ow!"

"Otto I think you need to stand a bit closer." "Yeah, people will think you're scared to be seen with us." "That's ridiculous." "Okay now you're too close."

"Are we smiling or doing funny faces?"

"Let's smile first."

"Okay wait is everyone in the frame?" You start the countdown. "Okay, 1, 2, 3…"

"Barbie!" "Margot Robbie." "Cheese!" "…"

*click*