#Never Never Play Berlin Again

[cosmonautroger]

New Order, Never Never Play Berlin Again, 1984

[wonryllis]

✶ 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘𝒟𝐎𝐋𝐋? RICH BOY ENHYPEN PINNING AFTER YOU.

目录──────𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗬, 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝖺𝗆𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝖾𝗒𝖾𝗌.

𝓉𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 ⋅ enhypen showing that you're not just one of the girls. wordcount total 2882 (approx 0.4k each) ⭑ CONTAINS— female!reader, fluff, suggestive, lots of swearing. % strongly recommend listening to ›› the respective songs while reading! jungwon's is inspired by ␥ kavin and kaning. ( THE ARCHIVE? ) PLS REBLOG ><

𝗟𝗘𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗨𝗡𝗚

ぃ ⏤ now playing. HELLGIRL BY ARI ABDUL

"shit. you gotta wear this one, angel," heeseung groans in satisfaction, ignorant and indifferent to the fact that all the store employees could hear him, someone who never brings over girls to places like these, going insane over one. and the fact that you were unable to wrap your head around this situation just yet.

it was surreal and it was nerve wrecking. but heeseung was adamant that he needed you.

needed you to dress so fucking gorgeous and stand by his side as his date for the night while he paraded around greeting his parents' guests. showing them that he is capable of being committed by bringing along a partner for the first time ever. that's what he tells you—

"is this really fine?" you ask again, hands dusting over the sleek satin hugging your skin in a way that it tickled. heeseung stands up and strides overs to where you stand, arms sliding around your waist to pull you against him. "it's more than fine, absolutely stunning," leaning into your neck to leave kisses, "and so hot," right infront of everyone, no one daring to say a word to him, except you.

you who has been an exception to all his rules, you who has made him want to do things he has never wanted to before. you who has swept him off his feet.

you push against his chest in an attempt to stop him,"we'll be late, should go now," he hums in a low growl, lips nipping right against your ear before he pulls away with much exasperation almost unsated. clicking his tongue in annoyance for the staff to hurry the billing once he's done admiring you. unable to stand that anyone beside him see you dressed so pretty.

"just smile and follow my lead," heeseung tells you once you arrive at the venue. giving you an encouraging look as he instructs the valet to wait until you seem calm enough to step out. that's what he tells you— heart eyes and odd actions speaking for themselves. his hands find your waist when you finally walk up the stairs, breath shaky as you pass the entrance.

"relax angel, 'm right here, we can leave whenever you want," he kisses the side of your head, lips lightly touching your styled hair. never caring about who's looking and who's thinking what. if only you knew it too.

𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗝𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗦𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗚

ぃ ⏤ now playing. STAY BY ARI ABDUL

"look behind you, princess," the voice incoming from your phone suddenly sounds too loud, paired with faint footsteps coming to a halt. jay's lips break into a wide smile when you turn around in an instant to look at him. your eyes following his hands holding an enormous bouquet of red roses, before you notice anything else.

before you notice the want in his eyes. the want for you.

"jay? i thought you were in— " you speak into the phone, eyes locked with his, but before you can finish he hangs up the call. approaching you with quick steps and immediately pulling you into a kiss. one that's short but deep enough to convey his feelings. "berlin? yeah, but i flew back for you," he breathes out against your lips.

"why?" "you know why love," his fingers twirl the hair falling into face, tucking them away and cupping your cheek as he gives you a smile before stepping away.

he waits for you to say something, to address his feelings but like always you avoid it and like always jay lets you. alas there will come a time when you would no longer be able to deny his love, so until then he will continue to show you all ways you own his heart in. his forever princess."what about that conference you were going to attend with your dad?" you ask, accepting his bouquet.

watching him with a soft giggle as he struggles to pull out a single rose and place it behind your ear. "don't worry about it," in a reassuring tone he leads you to his car. teasing you of a surprise each time you question where you are headed.

asking you to have your eyes closed while he leads you to the rooftop of a high-rise building owned by his family, illuminated by pretty lights and flowery wreaths, and a firework show worth a million.

all just for you.

to pose a smile on your face and to be the one to put it. to be the reason of your happiness and to be the person beside you in your best memories,"happy new year, princess," jay whispers into you ear as you open your eyes to see all of it. "jay this—" you gasp in a trance, gaze hooked on the sky while his is fixated in the way the fireworks shine against your pretty orbs and the gloss on your lips,"it's all for you,"

𝗦𝗜𝗠 𝗝𝗔𝗘𝗬𝗨𝗡

ぃ ⏤ now playing. MEDDLE ABOUT BY CHASE ATLANTIC

"you owe me. you can't keep avoiding me forever, doll," jake chuckles, noticing how you turn the other way after catching a glimpse of him. finding it adorable how you do everything you can to not cross paths with him.

leaving him no choice but to wait for you outside your university, leaning against his black lykan hypersport; attracting unwanted attention while his eyes only look for your cute panicked figure amidst the crowd.

"i told you it was a mistake—" you refute, throwing a glare at his smug face as he drives right beside you, following your every step, nonchalant about all the stares you both get as long as you agree to him taking you out. "get in the car," or the other way round, he's fine with both. frustrated and knowing you'd never be able to escape him, you decide to give in.

"you owe me lunch," jake grins as his eyes watch you get into the passenger seat just like the passenger princess you are.

his passenger princess. first and last in his beloved car.

"jake this— isn't this too—" your heart skips beats at the sight of the dock and the luxury cruise restaurant closing in, scared and nervous about how much you'd have to spend but jake just shushes you. getting out the car first and coming over to open the door for you; one hand holding yours and the other cushioning your head as you step out.

"just let me have your time and i'll let you off of staining my prada with coffee," he begs, afraid you'd walk out of here if he were to tell you the real reason. if he were to tell you that you have his heart and no matter what you do his feelings are not changing. if he were to tell you he wanted to take you out to all these places and spoil you rotten and occupy your mind like you occupy his.

if he were to tell you it was indeed not your fault for he bumped into you on purpose to find an excuse to talk to you.

"but—" jake shushes you again, fingers rubbing against your lips as he shakes his head before pulling out the chair for you and helping you sit properly,"don't think too much doll, just do as i say, please?" planning to keep you busy until the sun goes down so he can take you to for a ride on his yacht.

𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗡

ぃ ⏤ now playing. BABYDOLL BY ARI ABDUL

"fuck baby, don't cry like that," sunghoon panics, his fingers grazing under your eyes to gently wipe the tears. afraid if he's not careful enough, he'll break you. "as much as i love the way you look so pretty like this, tears are not for someone like you," he has no idea how to soothe your frantically crying figure, slouched in the passenger seat against the expensive leather of his aston martin.

his hands fumble around in an attempt to think of ways he could just make you feel better and smile for him. those adorable crinkle of your eyes that have him whipped.

fuming each time he thinks of the moron who took that opportunity away from him by making you sad. he swears if he finds him, he'll beat the living daylights out of him. remind him not to linger anywhere around his girl.

sunghoon softly cups your cheek in his palm and leans in to kiss you, lips moving slow and sensual, "forget him, let me make you happy," he whispers into your mouth once he pulls away, foreheads touching and hands caressing your face lovingly. he makes sure your belt is secured before driving off to one of the luxury malls in the city, ones where you need to be of a certain level to enter.

a place you probably could never have the chance to enter if it weren't for him.

"my princess gotta shop her sadness out, hmm?" sunghoon coos as he stops outside the building, watching you gape in surprise, surprised himself that you are yet to realize just how much you mean to him.

"come on, i'll buy you whatever you lay your eyes on," he insists before you have the chance to deny him.

his hands rest at the back of your waist, leading you inside after handing his keys to the valet. dropping a soft kiss on your temple when you watch his vip card being inspected with a nervous breath of how elite this place has to be.

and knowing how new you must feel to all this, sunghoon pulls you closer with the intention of making it known that this is how it's gonna be from now, "get used to it, baby," you're not his yet but he's gonna treat you like you are. after all it's only a matter of time before it happens.

𝗞𝗜𝗠 𝗦𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗪𝗢𝗢

ぃ ⏤ now playing. GOOD GIRL BY THOMAS LAROSA

"good girl, you did a great job," sunoo pats your head teasingly amused at the confusion adorning your features. "sunoo, what were you doing there! you don't even have marketing?" the way you close in, demanding an explanation assures him that you indeed were affect by his presence, by the eye contact he held with you the entire time you were giving your presentation.

walking into the lecture hall in the middle of it as if he owned the place and taking a seat at a spot that directly put him in your line of sight. smirking, raising his brows and pushing his tongue against his cheeks to distract and annoy you.

"would you believe me if i said i came to see you?" his hands took ahold of your wrists playing with your fingers as he waited for you to answer.

"liar," you whisper, suddenly conscious of the implication behind his words and it makes him chuckle, of course what did he expect? you're hard to get, and perhaps that's the reason he feels so attracted, almost crazy over you.

like something he has to have, someone he has to have.

he takes a step closer, his varsity hat poking against the top of your head as his eyes bore into yours just the way they did inside earlier,"see? what do you want me to say then?" he whispers back, tone suddenly changing into a serious one. "you can't just enter any class like that," your innocent claim goes through him from one ear and falls through the other. how naive you are.

"i can if it's my dad's university," he can't help but chuckle at the expression on your face when you put the pieces together and realize it. all those times you came across him in places with strict attendance, it all made sense now.

"as adorably as you scold me, you're gonna see me everywhere you go," sunoo warns, leaning in impossibly close, lips hovering over yours,"you should stop fooling yourself baby,"

his hands move from your wrists to rest against the wall behind, voice dropping an octave,"and you should stop fooling around just because you can," you bite back, pressing your palm into his chest to push him back. "i'm fooling around because i want you, and i will have you," "you—" "we have a party this weekend at our summer villa, come with me?"

𝗬𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗪𝗢𝗡

ぃ ⏤ now playing. SINNERS BY ARI ABDUL AND THOMAS LAROSA

"jungwon? what are you doing here? are you okay?" it makes jungwon happy to see you worrying about him, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pant as he watches you walk around the counter to his figure by the door. finding his cerulean blue chevrolet corvette 2lz parked in his usual spot, and him still dressed in the armani and hermès set you saw him in an hour ago when he dropped you off at your uncle's flower shop.

"mhm, just wanted to see my pretty girl again," he grins cockily once you realize there's nothing wrong and he's just trying playing around like always.

albeit to jungwon, it's never been a play and you have never been a toy.

this has been his way of showing you that you're not just another girl he's chasing after; because yang jungwon has never chased as opposed to what you think. and to harbour such deep and honest feelings that compel him to do what he has never done, that should have given you the hint by now. perhaps he'll just have to try a tad bit harder.

"how do you wear this?" he struts inside, passing by you to the space behind the counter you previously stood at, dangling a lone apron by his pinky and raising his brows at you, waiting. "your clothes will get dirty!" your attempts to curb him fall through for jungwon's persistence to stay with you holds like a strong wall, incapable of budging.

"i don't really care," jungwon's hands loop around the strings in a way that has the apron falling off making you giggle as you give in and just step in to help him,"idiot, that's not how you do it," you mumble.

and all he can think of is how he wants to be your idiot.

"how does this look? i think it looks so pretty on you," he says, putting a messy wreath on your head. to jungwon there's always flowers blooming everywhere you go, sweet scent overtaking all his scenes believing that's how you intoxicated him.

you slap away his hands in a shy chuckle that he doesn't understand, did he say something wrong? not aware and quite literally clueless of his own effect. by the time the sun sets down, you're asleep with your head down on the counter, facing him. and jungwon admires the way you looks so pretty, prettier than any flower.

𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗨𝗥𝗔 𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗜

ぃ ⏤ now playing. STUCKINMYBRAIN BY CHASE ATLANTIC

"riki?" oh. you're here? riki looks up at the sound of your footsteps getting closer, halting a metre away from him, like you always do, not too close, not too far and it drives him crazy. "what are you doing here?" you ask, confused to find him waiting outside your mundane apartment building with his out of place red ferrari sf90.

"uh, you left this in the car last time," he fumbles out a dior liquid blush, clearly brand new and a shade you have never used before.

"that's not mine," giggling, you walk over to the other side, opening the passenger seat door to fish out the gloss you actually did leave and waving it in the air to show him,"this is mine richboy," the soft sounds of laughter, your teasing voice.

his favorite thing in the world as of late.

you who has him smitten with infatuation, unable to get you off his mind no matter how much he tries. you who never gives him the answer he wants but never pushes him away either. you who makes him feel like a pathetic loser, you who makes him want to try as many times as he can to win your heart.

"it's a gift," he quickly improvises, wanting you to accept it, of getting a chance to give you something. "you're gifting me a blush?" you question and it throws him off, blush?,"wait, it's not a lipgloss— i, i had no idea, i have never—" riki swears, he really had no clue,"bought makeup?" he nods and it makes you burst into a fit of laughter again. it warms his heart, leaning against his car and watching you with eyes that speak volumes of his feelings.

feelings that anyone could notice, anyone but you.

he lets you revel in his silly naivety, content to know you are not longer sad as you were a few days ago.

"now this suits you pretty little face," he says once you seem to calm down, bewildered at his sudden compliment while he walks over to you.

cupping your face and caressing your cheeks,"so pretty," mumbling under his breath, loud enought to reach your ears,"it's boring when you cry, baby," his lips hover over your own as both of your heartbeats pick up in sync, breath getting caught up at the shift in the atmosphere. "let's go on a drive, we'll get you a bunch of pretty glosses to wear for me,"

TAGLIST ( open. ) @kangseulgithegreat @s00buwu @lilyuwon @pockyyasii @nctislifue @ashtxrie @miniature-tragedy @jayujus @brachives @thoughtsmeander2tumblingblindly @eeunoia @nxzz-skz @shawnyle @potato0579 @enhastolemyheart @ro-diaries @aaa-sia @okwonyo @snoopypupp @enhabooks @jjunae @criminalyun

[neil-gaiman]

dear mister gaiman,

every time i see crowley as nanny ashtoreth, he reminds me of a very amazing female impersonator who i grew up with and loved as a teenager and who just recently passed away as i had to unfortunately find out. his name was george logan and he played dr. evadne hinge of "hinge and bracket" with patrick fyffe back in the 80s and 90s.

i had completely forgotten about them until that particular scene with crowley. and upon googling how george was doing (since patrick died way too soon), i found out about george's death. i was (still am) very heartbroken, because they were AWESOME!!!!! especially their live shows / gala evenings. but it prompted me to re-watch their tv show again and i re-discovered my love for gilbert & sullivan operettas. (i could actually picture aziraphale listening to those every now and then).

in general i see a lot of crowley and aziraphale in evadne and hilda's personalities. one is dark, the other is blond. one is moody, the other is always cheerful and too pure for her own good. even the bit of naivity aziraphale has going on screams hilda to me. it's such a treat to find similar behavioral patterns like that and it makes me love good omens so much more now.

i just wanted to share this little thought with you without asking any other questions since i am sure you have a ton to answer.

i hope you are doing well. greetings from berlin.

That made me smile.

Here's a little moment of Hinge and Bracket for those people who have never experienced them:

[mrs-stans]

Sebastian Stan Is “Still Shaking” After Getting Two Golden Globe Nominations

On the heels of recognition for both The Apprentice and A Different Man, Stan speaks to Vanity Fair about his “surreal” journey to awards recognition, as well as being nominated in the same year as Pamela Anderson.

BY SAVANNAH WALSH

It’s not every day that an actor earns a Golden Globe nomination, much less two in the same morning. But Sebastian Stan joined the likes of Selena Gomez and Kate Winslet on Monday by getting dual Globe nominations. “It’s certainly surreal,” he tells Vanity Fair, “still sort of shaking from it.”

Stan secured recognition for both his dramatic turn as Donald Trump in The Apprentice and his more comedic performance as a tormented aspiring actor named Edward in A Different Man. It is the first time that a male performer has pulled off double nominations in the lead acting categories since Ryan Gosling managed to do it back in 2012. “Listen, one of my favorite actors of all time,” Stan says. “I’d be very glad to be in that little stat with him.”

In the early hours of nomination morning, Stan was getting some shuteye—or, at least attempting to. “I actually woke up in the middle of the night at 4:00, and was like, Oh, okay, there’s an hour and a half. I fell asleep again, and then I got a call from my publicist,” he tells VF. Since then, “I’ve been sending a lot of pictures to my mom.”

Some excitement is to be expected, especially when considering what it took to get both of Stan’s nominated films to the screen. “I never would’ve dreamt that I was going to be going to the Globes with both of these films, I never would’ve dreamt that both of the films would’ve come out in the same year,” he says.

Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man sat in limbo for two years before debuting on the festival circuit this year. At the Sundance Film Festival, it was acquired by A24 for a fall release. The film then screened in Berlin, where Stan won the Silver Bear for best lead performance. Meanwhile, The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Vanity Fair special contributor Gabriel Sherman, premiered at May’s Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews. But the film faced a treacherous road to distribution in the days before the 2024 presidential election.

“To even be in one room with both films is not something that’s ever crossed my mind,” Stan says. “So, I’ll be digesting that probably throughout the holiday season.” The recognition for each movie feels extra gratifying because “they both felt really challenging in terms of what the roles we’re requiring,” he says, “obviously one being one of the most famous people in the world, with a lot of people having very strong feelings about [him], and many, many impressions having been done. How do you go in there and find something new, or try to offer a different perspective?”

As it turns out, bringing a young Donald Trump to life during the dawn of his fortuitous relationship with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong, now Globe-nominated for best supporting actor in a feature film) was only half the fight. Stan recently opened up about the struggle to promote The Apprentice in the wake of Trump’s re-election, including having to pass on Variety’s Actors on Actors because other participants were reluctant to talk about the president-elect.

“The movie has had a really uphill battle since Cannes,” says Stan, who also recently nabbed an Independent Spirit Award nomination for the movie. “It’s been hard for people to have permission to express how they feel about the movie, and today feels very gratifying in terms of having the Golden Globes recognize the film, and the work. It feels like hopefully going forward people can feel okay talking about it, and see it.”

Stan earned his first Globes nomination for playing Tommy Lee in 2022’s similarly controversial based-on-a-true-story project, Pam & Tommy. How does he feel to be nominated in the same year as the real-life Pamela Anderson, who became a first-time nominee for The Last Showgirl? “I’m so happy for her, and [it’s] so well deserved. It’s a beautiful film and a beautiful performance,” says Stan. “From our end, this was always part of the goal and the intention [of the series]—to somehow shine a light where it hasn’t been shined before, and hopefully contribute in a way [to her success]. So yeah, I’m ecstatic for her.”

Stan is also rooting for many of his other fellow nominees. “My two favorite films of the year are Sing Sing and A Real Pain,” says the actor, who then praises one of his competitors in the musical/comedy lead actor race. “Jesse Eisenberg, I want to say congratulations to him because he’s somebody I worked with years ago, in 2006 [via Fred Durst’s feature directorial debut, The Education of Charlie Banks], and the man’s a genius. I love that movie so much.”

He also spotlights The Substance, a film that, along with a release date, also shares themes with A Different Man—more specifically, issues of transformation and fixation on physical appearance. “There were a lot of articles that kind of put us together, in terms of the themes of the movies,” says Stan. “But they’re unique in the sense that they are original. Sing Sing, A Real Pain, I should say Anora while I’m at it—to be able to have films that are standing on their own without any IP, or anything about them that we know but their true original film storytelling, is amazing.”

The Globes are seen as something of a precursor on the way to potential Oscar gold—but Stan isn’t getting ahead of himself. “The fact that we’re here today in itself is such a massive step, but it is very much a one day at a time experience,” says the 42-year-old. “As an actor in this community, besides the work that you do on the day, when you go home at night and feel like you’ve left it all on the field, there’s nothing more gratifying than the actual recognition of your peers. I’ve been doing this for 20-some odd years, and I’m pretty grateful. So, knock on wood, and whatever happens next happens—but we’ve already won in a major way.”

[judecole]

caught on film. cp20

pairing: you x cole palmer

summery: you’re a famous retired footballers daughter and have been dating cole for a few months. the media hasn’t caught on to your relationship just yet but your appearance at the euros final in a certain players shirt causes quite the stir.

word count: 2114

authors note: idk

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

You’re not exactly sure what you did in your past life to end up here, in this beautiful grand hotel in central Berlin. Despite your luxurious lifestyle, being born with a silver spoon in your mouth and having everything you ever wanted, you never took a single thing for granted. The hotel foyer is vast and grand, great marble columns dwarfing everyone in sight and traditional historic paintings in huge gold frames hanging on every wall. It’s beautiful. You stay in these kinds of hotels regularly but they never cease to amaze you. Your family PA is checking you and your family into the hotel as the several concierges begin collecting your luggage. You smile warmly at them and thank them before the manager greets you to show you to your suites. As soon as you enter your room you lay flat out on the bed, exhausted from your day travelling. You’d been flying back and forth from the UK to Germany for the last month. Any major footballing tournaments were a big deal in your family, you’ve been to pretty much every one since you were born. You can remember being a small child, wearing a shirt with your father’s name and number on the back and feeling so proud every time he stepped on the pitch. However now, things were a bit different. Your family were now invited as special guests and given all the best treatment, a private box in the stands where members of staff would meet your every need. You did truly feel blessed and very appreciative for everything your parents had done for you and your siblings.

You pull your phone out from your trouser pocket and check for any messages. Nothing. You bite your lip and open up iMessage and clicking on Cole’s name. You had been dating Cole for about six months. Things were going very well for the two of you, your parents loved him, especially your dad who was amazed by his talent on the pitch. You’d initially met him when he played at Manchester City after being invited to watch an U21’s match. You loved his laid back style and calm manor when he was playing. You smile as you remember the first time you spoke to him, all sweaty after the game. You’d gone down with your dad to congratulate the boys on their win and chatted with them. You swear you’d fallen for him right then and there, not being able to get his stupid grin out of your head. You begin typing a message to him when your younger sister walked into your room, plopping herself next to you on the bed. “You texting Cole?” She asks, a smirk on her face. She loved to wind you up about your relationship with the football player, often saying that the pair of you made her feel sick. You roll your eyes before replying, “Yeah, I’m gonna see what he’s doing after training.” You type out the message, “I know ur probably training rn but what are u doing tonight? I wanna see youuuu.’

You place your phone down on the bed and lay back, resting your head on the soft pillows. “Are you nervous about tomorrow? I hope Cole gets to play.” Your sister says, actually not being mean or sarcastic for once. “Yeah. I hope he does too.” You hear your phone ding. Picking it up, Cole’s name flashes on the screen. ‘Defo getting an early night but i can see you in the afternoon. Love ya.’ You smile at the words. You know how serious he takes his job, but he never fails to make time for you too. You text him back quickly and lay back again, smiling. “You’re so in love with him it’s gross.” Your sister playfully hits your arm causing you to slap her back.

A few hours later you’re getting ready to head to the England Squads hotel, a little trip planned by your father’s management team that conveniently lined up with your plans to meet Cole that afternoon. Your mum comes in to your room as you’re putting on some makeup and compliments your outfit, a simple pair of jeans and a top that was sent to you by a company that no doubt cost more than a night in the hotel itself. You smile and thank her, pulling her into a gentle side hug as she kisses your head. Your mum was definitely surprised when you told her about your relationship with Cole. Given your previous dating history he would never had been your type. But there was just something about him that instantly pulled you in, you still don’t know what it was to this day but you weren’t complaining.

Arriving at the squads hotel you check your hair and makeup in a compact mirror, brushing a few stray hairs into place with your nails. Your sister rolls her eyes, something that had now become the norm and makes a comment under her breath you can’t really hear. You get out the car and are greeted by some of the staff who lead you in through the hotels modern entrance. The hotel looked more like a spa than a hotel, every piece of furniture placed exactly, in a way to promote relaxation. You follow through the entrance into a board room, filled with players, staff and other prolific footballing legends and their families. You scan the crowd, looking for Cole. It doesn’t take you long as you see your dad pulling him in for a hug and patting him on the back, obviously congratulating him on reaching the finals. You grin as lock eyes with him, quickly wrapping your arms around him. He places a kiss to the top of your head, surprising you. He wasn’t the biggest fan of PDA, even the smallest things like holding hands made him panic. Maybe it was the fact you were one of the most famous people in the world which constantly occurred to him but never to you. You noticed some eyes laying on the pair of you which made you release him. You quickly returned to your professional manner and wished him good luck before finding your mum. She nudges you and gives you a cheeky smile when you reach her. “You two are silly. Why does it matter if anyone finds out?” She says. “It’s not that. I want to be public with him but not now. I want him to focus on football and I don’t want the media circus for him right now.” You say and give her a small smile. “Well that’s very thoughtful of you but make sure you’re public before Christmas because I’m not editing him out of the Instagram pictures.” She wraps an arm round you as you approach more people and chat about the final tomorrow.

Later that night after an expensive dinner in a posh restaurant near the squads hotel, you text Cole and tell him you want to see him before he goes to bed. He replies almost immediately and you ask your driver to wait outside the hotel and that you were just going to take a quick walk. You could see his tall figure on approach which made you speed up, not wanting to waste any more time not having his arms around you. “Hey.” He says softly when you reach him, extending his arms out and enveloping you in them. “Hey.” You almost whisper. “Wanna go for a walk?” You nod your head and begin walking hand in hand. It was dark now but the city of Berlin was still bustling, what with the warm weather. You walk past busy restaurants and bars packed with what you could only assume were England fans based on the noise. Cole squeezes your hand every so often, he can feel his palms become clammy when you look up at him. He still couldn’t believe his luck. After the first time he met you he couldn’t get you out of his mind. He was glad you made the first move though, otherwise you probably wouldn’t have been in this position now. Once you reach somewhere quieter Cole lets go of your hand and wraps his arm around your shoulder, pressing a kiss to your temple at the same time. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?” You ask him. You almost knew what he was about to say, “Not really. You know me.” He cracks a smile.

“I hope Southgate plays you, Cold Palmer.” You joke and poke his side playfully. “Me too. Hopefully I’ll get some time.” You end up sitting on a bench overlooking a river, the hustle and bustle far behind you now. “It’s really pretty here.” You mutter. “Not as pretty as you.” He winks as you roll your eyes. You continue talking for a while before Cole regretfully tells you it’s getting late and he probably needs to head back now. He places a quick peck on your lips and stands up, offering you a hand. “I’m so excited for tomorrow. Are you gonna score a goal for me Palmer?” You tease as you approach the hotel. He shakes his head at you and smiles. When you return to the hotel entrance he turns to face you, you look up at him and he swears his heart starts beating a hundred times faster. “I’ll see you after the game, okay? I love you.” He places a soft kiss on your lips making you blush. “Good luck babe. I love you too. You’re gonna smash it.” You wave him goodbye and open the door of the car, getting in and thank your driver for waiting.

You wake up the next morning with a nervous feeling in your tummy. It sticks around for pretty much the whole day. You feel especially nervous when getting dressed. You grabbed your England shirt that you’d hung carefully in the hotel wardrobe and put it on, turning around in the mirror to see the back. You’d always wanted to wear his shirt to a game. You snap a quick picture and keep it for later, maybe to post on Instagram. You knew the absolute carnage that would take place when you did. You arrive at the Olympiastadion Berlin in your families usual fashion, through the back in all blacked out vehicles with staff waiting for you at the other end. The nerves had well and truly kicked in now. You check your phone to see if Cole had texted you. You knew he wouldn’t be nervous, very sure in himself and the team’s quality but you wanted him to text you to ease your nerves. Your dad shook the hands of the staff that greeted you and you thanked them as they took you all up to your private box. You were sharing with a few other well known people, you eagerly greeted them with big smiles.

(We all know how the game went so we’ll just leave it at that.)

A devastating loss for England. You were gutted. But also immensely proud of Cole. He’d been subbed on in the seventieth minute and scored only three minutes later. The only goal for England that game. You headed down to the pitch once everything had calmed down and spotted Cole in the stands with his family. His eyes were glassy with tears as he spoke to his dad. You approach slowly and he notices you, standing up immediately and wrapping you in a tight hug. You could hear the snapping of cameras behind you but neither of you cared in that moment. “I’m sorry baby.” You spoke quietly as you pulled away, cupping one side of his face with your hand. “You were amazing.” He sniffled slightly, trying not to cry in front of you but failing miserably as he pulled you in again. You rubbed his back reached up to kiss his cheek. His dad walked towards the both of you and pats Cole on the back before sitting with Cole’s mum. “I can’t believe we lost.” He reaches up to dry his eyes as you pout and rub his arm. You turn around slightly hearing his sister call your name. “Love your shirt.” He smirks a bit, it clearly cheering him up. He wraps his arm around your shoulder as you begin chatting with his sister.

You’re on your way back to your hotel when your phone begins to blow up. Story after story about your relationship with Cole, using the picture they clearly got when you were consoling him after the game. You save the picture, setting it as your lockscreen and then posting the picture of you in his shirt from earlier to your Instagram story.

[stars-and-the-min]

☆ the wrong way to hard launch (16) | OP81

summary : oscar's girlfriend is a walking pr problem for literally everyone (including herself) social media au

pairing : oscar piastri x zhou!fem!singer!oc

a/n the isms of a long-distance, working couple i'm back!!! this was supposed to be published in july my bad y'all i got busy :)

masterlist | last part | part 16 | next part

INSTAGRAM

selinabui

liked by lukaszhang and 298,193 others

selinabui happy birthday to the best cousin i could've asked for. thanks for being some racing-obsessed weirdo, for playing video games with me across the world and most of all for once punching some guy in the face for me. love from: the more talented, overall better, most adorable cousin you could've asked for <3 (you'll always be the coolest older brother!) tagged: zhouguanyu24

zhouguanyu24 Being nice to me 🤨 ↳ selinabui @.zhouguanyu24 just respecting the elderly

linasgirl4 THEEEEE best cousin duo

emptybottlos they're very dear to me actually

MESSAGES

from the phone of oscar piastri

TWITTER

piaa⁸¹ @papayaeightyone · 8h IT'S RACE WEEEEEEEEEEK ↳ piaa⁸¹ @papayaeightyone · 8h 2024 CANADIAN GP FIRST OSCAR WIN MANIFESTING MANIFESTINGGGGGGGG

liv is SEEING EB LIVE!! @olivielina · 4h berlin empty bottles fans, did lina sound stuffy live? in the videos i've seen she looks sick ↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 3h heard from oomf that cami said lina had a bit of a cold :(

INSTAGRAM

chrisyamada 🎵 | Chris Yamada · Pins and Needles (ft. Selina Bui from Empty Bottles)

liked by emptybottles_official and 738,859 others

chrisyamada Surprise drop? @.selinabui and I are pleased to present, to our humble fans, a little collab we recorded back in April. Without further ado, enjoy 'Pins and Needles' tagged: selinabui

selinabui fyi the electric guitar solo is ME bc as if he could ever shred that cool ↳ chrisyamada @.selinabui i totally could

linasgirl4 yall... what in tarnation why have you been sitting on this for 2 months 😭😭😭

lukaszhang ok but when's the mv dropping 🤨 ↳ moonbeamlina @lukaszhang there's... there's a music video 🥹

ceciliapham omfg it sounds so good oooohh it's a slow song ahhh her voice is angelic fr June 7

selinabui Paris, France

liked by oliviarodrigo and 332,164 others

selinabui "are you happy to be in paris?" OUI!

pastry81 close enough, welcome back oscalina!!! ↳ selinabui @.pastry81 oscar pastryyyy 🥺

tina_kim SO NOT OVER PINS AND NEEDLES I'M STARVED FOR NEW MUSIC

oscarpiastri hey there ↳ selinabui @.oscarpiastri oh hi 🥰

aidan_ebass Never ever going to watch a show with you again. Please learn to shut up 🫶 June 9

TWITTER

kay ♡ @ blackcatluna · 1h it genuinely feels like there's an EB show every second night, do these people even sleep 😭😭😭

president linami @.linaminami · 43m is it just me or is the european leg really really busy? ↳ president linami @.linaminami · 42m the band barely has any time to breathe because they keep hoping to countries with like a day or two leeway ↳ president linami @.linaminami · 42m berlin to paris had a four day gap which is one of the longest gap between shows

kayla @luna_apocolypse · 1h tbh it's not super surprising that lina got sick; it's still cold in the northern parts and she wears mini dresses and short skirts for two hours in the evening; plus she's probably exhausted and burning out

lina bui x2 grammy winner @urdaisea · 12m three back to back paris shows... i'm a little worried for lina's health

MESSAGES

from the phone of selina bui

TWITTER

pookie piastri @.op81ln4 · 9h got blessed with cat energy oscar video from mclaren thank you lord 🙏

lina !!! @EB_selina · 4h can i physically afford to watch this race; send advice (i'm sick lmao) ↳ Aidan Park @EB_Aidan · 4h Selina, you have a 40 degree fever get off your phone ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 4h wdym... i'm not on my phone 🥸 ↳ Oscar Piastri @.OscarPiastri · 1h Hey... what did you mean by 40 degree fever 🤨

piaa⁸¹ @.papayaeightyone · 12m uh wtf happened to charles??? ↳ lanaaaaa @.sharlleglrg · 8m that's the monaco curse oversleeping

MESSAGES

from the phone of selina bui

INSTAGRAM

selinabui_news

liked by ceciliapham and 12,002 others

selinabui_news 📱Screencaps of Lina from the Empty Bottles instagram live. Get well soon baby 🥺 tagged: selinabui

piastri_lina how does she still look better than me on the brink of death????

amelia_belrose i hope she feels better soon :( but did you see her face when kas panned the camera over 😭 i thought i was about to witness a murder

marie_h.sb she's been going on stage every night like that 😧 June 11

TWITTER

TMD Tour News @EB-TMDTour · 56m Lina was talking to a fan during the encore, asked for his name and got flustered when he said "Oscar" #TMDWorldTour ↳ piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 32m help i think she broke why did it take her 15 seconds to say something 😭😭😭 ↳ president linami @ linaminami · 49m actually wheezing at kas' face, he seriously can't believe she's that down bad oml

oscalina real ?! @emptyginbottles · 40m i'm eating gooooooood tonight

pookie piastri @.op81ln4 · 23m somewhere on earth oscar piastri is kicking his legs and giggling at that clip of his gf's brain shutting down at the mention of his name

camilina gfs fr @ drummergf · 11m this is unironically the antithesis of that sabrina moment with a fan named joshua like 😭 similar reaction of disbelief and surprise but the context could not be more different

MESSAGES

from the phone of oscar piastri

TWITTER

lina !!! @EB_selina · 4h this is actually really mortifying and i'd appreciate if we all collectively wiped it from memory ↳ Oscar Piastri @.OscarPiastri · 3h It's actually my new ringtone for you ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 3h count ur lucky stars we're not in the same country right now

cami yang @EB_Cami · 38m what if i said i'm also feeling a little messy 🤔

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

taglist @ririyulife @ashy-kit @fionaschicken @namgification @cherry-piee @urfavsgf @eiaaasamantha @sp1rl @destinyg237 @iloveyou3000morgan

[folkloresthings]

BECAUSE I LIKED A BOY / CL16.

in which the world’s favourite pop princess becomes tangled in the life of a certain formula one driver, flipping her entire world upside down.

( charles leclerc x singer!au )

track one: lonesome. track two: fast times. track three: nonsense. track four: opposite. track five: how many things. track six: bad for business.

✩⡱ warnings: some swearing, sexual reference

IMESSAGE.

INSTAGRAM.

liked by y/nupdates, exhalesss, and 3,297 others

y/nontour y/n in berlin tonight 🫶

view all 528 comments

user she’s so slay

user the fact she was crying during the next song too 😭

user poor girl’s had her heart broken twice in the space of six months

user charles done fucked up big time

touring through heartbreak was quite possibly the hardest thing to be done. city after city, having to get on stage every night with a smile on your face, all while wondering what you had done wrong. thankfully, your fans were as supportive when you were sad as they were when you were happy.

but you’d never felt lonelier. after three years of a relationship with austin, you were sure you could never trust another like that again. and mere weeks later came charles leclerc, snatching up your heart and making you blind to any hurt you’d felt before. you were brand new with him, and he had trampled it under his pretty foot.

curled up on the bed of this week’s hotel, an old rerun playing mindlessly on the television, you stared straight ahead at the wall — only pulled out of such a trance when a knock sounded at the door. thinking it was only room service, you dragged yourself to the door’s entrance, only to find lewis hamilton stood on the other side.

“lew? what are you doing here?” you questioned, brows knitting together. he stepped inside, not saying a word other than pulling you into a hug. if it weren’t for the fact you were dried of tears, you’d have broken down.

“thought you could use a friend,” he told you, a fond smile on his face. but there was something in his eyes, something he was battling with. “but, about charles… i really think you should hear him out.”

“lewis, please don’t.”

“he fucked up, i know that. but i saw him with that girl the night of the party. he was practically trying to shove her off of him, and when he knew you’d been and left he went straight after you.”

you were crying now, afraid of what the real truth was. “what about the picture of him and her leaving together?”

“come on, y/n. you know the media better than anyone. she probably followed him out and they’ve made it look like something different.”

you sighed, leaning your head against your friend’s shoulder. your chest was heavy with a decision to be made. the risk of trusting him again, of trusting anyone, only to be caught up in a vicious cycle of heartbreak.

INSTAGRAM.

liked by maisiehpeters, noahkahan, and 882,408 others

yourusername life lately ❤️‍🩹 oh and my new single “opposite” is out now btw

view all 601,827 comments

zendaya new music!!! my life is improved

user a song after the charles drama??? TEA

lizzo pop off queen 👑

lilymhe how can you still look so pretty when crying 💔💔💔

user charles leclerc better count his days

TWITTER.

IMESSAGE.

writers note: it’s concerning how attached i am to this parasocial relationship. petition for sab and charles to date because they’d be such a sexy couple

tagged: @leclercloml @vroomleclerc @gaviypedrisbride

[yapiiya]

Part 1 || Part 2

“I’ll be 87, you’ll be 89 / I’ll still look at you like the stars that shine.”

Blue Lock

Michael Kaiser x Reader

Angst to Fluff

Note: All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional and not based on real people or events. Please be advised that this story includes themes of violence, abuse, strong language, and spoilers for the manga. Reader discretion is advised.

After years of waiting and searching for him every single day—in the park, the bakery, near his house, and around the neighborhood—I found nothing. Not a single hint or clue about where he might be. It felt like he vanished into thin air, disappearing like a bubble without leaving even the faintest trace.

I never got the chance to know if he was okay, if he was mad at me, or if I had done something wrong. I’ve spent so many sleepless nights wondering about him, especially knowing how his dad used to beat him. The thought of it made me sick with worry. I regret every single moment I didn’t ask, “How are you?” or “Are you okay?” He carried so much on his shoulders, and I didn’t do enough to lighten his burden.

It’s been eight years since we first met and four years since I last saw him. He’s 18 now, and I’m 16. I’ve tried to move forward, focusing on my studies and preparing for college. My dream has always been to study in Berlin, the capital, and I’ve worked tirelessly toward it. I told myself that if I couldn’t see him again, the least I could do was honor my dreams. Still, a part of me clung to the hope that I’d find him someday. I couldn’t forget him, not even for a moment.

One evening, I turned on the TV to take a break. By chance, the channel was airing a live soccer match. The team playing was Bastard München, one of the most renowned teams in the league. The energy of the crowd was electrifying, their cheers reverberating through the stadium. But as I watched, my attention was drawn to one player on the field.

A tall young man stood out among the others—his presence magnetic. He had blonde hair styled into a mullet with striking blue streaks at the ends, piercing blue eyes, and blue rose tattoos that climbed his neck, spiraling into thorny stems down his left arm, ending in a crown with a keyhole on his hand. He had a sharp look about him, accentuated by eyeliner, which gave him an air of confidence that seemed almost untouchable.

The entire game revolved around him. His teammates passed the ball to him like loyal subjects serving their emperor. He moved with precision and authority, as if the field was his kingdom. Then, as he approached the goal, the crowd’s cheers reached a crescendo. With a swift, powerful kick, he sent the ball flying.

“GOAL! And Kaiser uses his signature move, the ‘Kaiser Impact!’ What a phenomenal strike!” the commentator exclaimed, his voice filled with awe.

The game ended with Bastard München winning 4-2. My heart raced as I tried to process what I’d just seen. There was something achingly familiar about him. Compelled by curiosity, I searched for him online.

“Michael Kaiser…”

The name confirmed it. The articles, the photos—it was him. Mihya. The boy I had been searching for all these years. My Mihya.

As I read more, my heart swelled with pride. He had become everything he ever dreamed of. He was living his life to the fullest, chasing his passion and thriving. But a lingering question haunted me: Why had he left without saying goodbye?

It’s been twelve years since we first met and eight years since I last saw him. He’s 22 now, and I’m 20. Over the years, I kept up with his games, watching him from afar. But as much as I admired him, he felt more distant than ever. He was a global star now, with fans across the world, shipped with models and actresses, and surrounded by a life I could never touch.

In Berlin, I worked hard to make a life for myself. I loved it there—the opportunities, the people—but something always felt missing. A part of me, a piece of my heart, remained elsewhere, always longing.

When the school year ended, I returned to my hometown. My family greeted me with warmth, celebrating the end of the school year. It was wonderful to be home, but the ache in my chest persisted.

That night, unable to sleep, I wandered out of the house. My feet carried me to the park where so many of my childhood memories were made. Sitting on the swing, I let the memories flood back.

“it’s been eight years, huh?” I whispered to myself, my voice barely audible against the silence of the night. The words hung in the air, heavy with longing and regret. The rain began to fall, soft at first, then steadily growing heavier, each droplet a whisper from the past. I didn’t move. I let the rain soak me, its coldness seeping into my skin, grounding me in the present even as my mind drifted to the past.

The wind carried my words into the darkness, as if taking them to wherever he was. And as I sat there, the rain falling harder, I let the memories and the longing consume me. After all these years, I had hoped for closure—but deep down, I knew that a part of me would always wait for him, even in the pouring rain.

But then, the rain stopped—not entirely, but above me, it was dry. Confused, I looked up to see an umbrella shielding me from the downpour.

“Haven’t you learned your lesson, Sicky head?”

That voice. That nickname. My heart stopped.

When we were kids, I used to get sick often—always catching colds because I played in the rain or forgot to dry my hair. He used to scold me, teasingly calling me “Sicky head”.

Slowly, I turned around. My breath caught in my throat.

“Mihya…”

There he stood, Michael Kaiser, in the flesh.

“What? Are we just going to stare at each other all night?” he teased, his smirk so familiar it brought tears to my eyes.

Before I could stop myself, I leapt from the swing and threw my arms around him, the umbrella falling to the ground. But then I remembered—he hated being touched. I quickly pulled away, stammering an apology.

To my surprise, he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close again.

“Not with you,” he murmured. “That doesn’t apply to you.”

“Do you… hate me or got tired of me?” I asked, my voice trembling as I looked away, tears silently streaming down my face. Thankfully, the rain masked them—or so I hoped.

“Stop crying,” he said softly, stepping closer and cupping my cheeks with his hands. His thumbs brushed against my wet skin, and his touch was both gentle and grounding. “And no, I would never hate you.” His voice was firm, filled with conviction.

“Then why…” I hesitated, my voice breaking. “Why did you leave me behind?”

He sighed deeply, his hands still cradling my face, as if afraid I’d disappear if he let go. “I would never leave you willingly. It’s just… things got complicated.” He looked down for a moment, then met my gaze again, his expression heavy with regret.

“I was accused of stealing in a jewelry store, and before I knew it, I got arrested.” he said, his voice carrying a mix of anger and frustration at the memory. “But when I was at the jail, someone offered me a way out—he said I had potential in playing soccer..”

He paused, his eyes searching mine for understanding. “He told me he’d heard about me fight back—against the police, against my father—all with just a soccer ball. So, I took the chance. I didn’t have a choice, but it meant leaving everything behind… including you.”

I felt a lump in my throat, the weight of his words sinking in. “All this time,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, “I thought you left me behind.”

“That’s bullshit,” he said firmly, his voice almost cracking. “Mihya would never do that, right?” He looked at me with a soft smile, trying to ease the heaviness in the air.

There was a comforting silence between us, the kind that didn’t need words. I looked into his eyes again, and for the first time in years, I felt the warmth and familiarity I thought I’d lost. His gaze was steady, full of reassurance and an unspoken promise.

As I studied his face, I realized how much he had changed. His features had become more mature, his jawline sharper, and the boyish softness was gone. His mullet, now longer with blue streaked ends, framed his face perfectly. Despite the changes, he was still Mihya—my Mihya.

“You’ve grown,” I said softly, unable to hide the awe in my voice. “But you’re still the same to me.”

He chuckled, shaking his head lightly as the rain continued to fall around us. “And you’re still the same too, always overthinking,” he teased, his voice laced with warmth.

Silence filled the air. It was comforting.

"I told you, you're the best," I said, breaking the silence. My voice firm but filled with affection as I looked into his eyes.

He gave a small, almost self-deprecating laugh. "You've always believed in me, haven't you?" he asked softly, his voice carrying a note of wonder. “You should’ve come to one of my matches,” he continued, his tone turning teasing. “I would have definitely seen you there.”

“How did you even know I wasn’t there?” I asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Because I always look for you,” he said, his voice softening but still carrying a playful edge. “Through every game, every goal, every crowd screaming my name—you were always the one I was looking and playing for. No matter how far I went, I always thought of you.”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I looked away. “You’re such an asshat,” I muttered, my voice trembling slightly. “I thought… I thought you didn’t want me to see you anymore. That’s why.”

His teasing demeanor faltered, and he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.” He looked down for a moment before meeting my eyes again. “I actually come to this park twice a month, hoping I’d see you. I even went to your house, but they told me you weren’t there anymore.”

“Ah… yeah,” I said, fidgeting with the hem of my hoodie. “Well, my mom divorced my dad, and my grandma wanted us to live with her. We’re still in the neighborhood, though.”

His expression softened further as he nodded, taking in the details.

We fell into a natural rhythm, talking and catching up like no time had passed. We laughed over old memories, shared stories of the years apart, and danced together under the rain, letting the drops fall around us. It felt like we were in our own world—just us, the rain, and the echoes of our childhood.

“I missed this,” he murmured, his voice quiet but firm. He reached up, his hand brushing my cheek with a tenderness that made my heart ache. “I missed you.”

I smiled, my own hand hesitantly reaching up to rest against his. “I missed you too. Welcome back… Mihya.”

Mihya, my childhood best friend, the boy who had once been my entire world, was now the man who still held my heart in his hands. And as I looked into his eyes, filled with so much emotion, I knew I was still the girl who believed in him. The girl who never stopped cheering for him, even when the distance felt insurmountable.

Without a word, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. The warmth of the gesture contrasted with the cold rain, and my cheeks flushed as he pulled away. His gaze dropped to my lips, and I saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

“Can I?” he asked softly, his voice barely audible over the rain.

I nodded, unable to find my voice.

His hand on my cheek slid down to my neck, pulling me closer as his other arm encircled my waist. The world around us blurred, the rain continuing to fall as he closed the distance between us. His lips met mine, soft and tentative at first, then deeper, as if he was pouring all the years of longing into that single kiss.

It felt like time stopped, the rain a mere backdrop to the emotions surging between us. Every doubt, every question, and every unspoken word seemed to dissolve in that moment.

I didn’t even care if I’d wake up tomorrow with a fever or a cold. In that moment, nothing else mattered—the rain, the chill, or the consequences. All I could think about was the warmth of the memories flooding back and the joy of being here, now, with him.

The years had changed us, shaped us, and pulled us apart. But standing there, I realized that some bonds could never break. We were more than childhood friends. We were two halves of the same story, destined to find each other again, no matter how much time had passed.

I could feel it deep in my soul—our love, our bond, would never fade. It would grow with us. We would grow old together, like the stars in the sky, shining brighter with each passing year. And no matter what, I would always be his number one fan, cheering him on through every triumph, every challenge, every goal. And he would always be the one who held my heart, the one who truly knew me. The one I’d loved since we were kids. The one I’d continue to love for the rest of my life.

— Taglist!

@8x9d

— Author’s note!

Hi, everyone! I know this part is longer, but I hope it kept you hooked till the end. Thank you so much for the amazing support on the first part of this story—it truly motivates me to keep writing! I’ll do my best to stay active and bring more stories your way. Every reblog, like, and comment means so much to me and helps share this story with others who might enjoy it. I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or anything that stood out to you. Thank you so much for taking the time to engage. <3

[canirove]

The invinsible princess | Chapter 2

“A very chocolatey Christmas”

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

Masterlist

A few months later...

“You know, I was kind of surprised when I got your text.”

“Why?”

“Because I usually am the one who goes visit you in Madrid and not the other way around” my cousin Irene says. 

“Then it was time I came to visit you in Barcelona” I smile.

“Yeah… But why?” she says, giving me a suspicious look.

“Why what?”

“Why have you come to visit me now?”

“I was home alone and bored" I shrug. "My parents are on their annual solo trip before the holidays and Leonor still is at the academy, so I thought… Why don't I go pay my dearest cousin a visit? And I haven't seen Aunt Cristina and your brothers in ages.”

“But we are a few days away from Christmas, and we are spending them all together with grandma. It doesn't make any sense to come now. What are you hiding, Sofía?”

“Me? Nothing”

“Liar.”

“What?”

“You are lying” Irene says. “Who is he?”

“Who is who?”

“The guy you've come to see here in Barcelona.”

“I've come to see you, not a guy” I chuckle.

“You are such a bad liar, Sofía” she laughs. “C'mon, spill the beans. Who is he? When and where did you meet? Is there a Tinder for royals or something?”

“What?”

“I don't know, could be a thing” she shrugs. “Anyway, who is he?”

“He… Ok, fine” I sigh, giving up. Since we were little Irene has always read me like an open book, and it can be so annoying. “There is a guy.”

“I knew it!” she smiles. “Now tell me all the details. When did you meet?”

“This summer.”

“Oh, so this is new! Was it during your holidays in Mallorca?”

“No. It was before that.”

“In Madrid?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of? What do you mean?” she asks with a confused look.

“First Berlin and then Madrid.”

“First Ber… No!” she gasps. “During the Euros?”

“Yep” I nod.

“Is he a football player?”

“Could be.”

“Could be? Oh… my God, Sofía. Oh, my God! The princess is a wag?” she laughs.

“I'm not a wag.”

“But you may end up being one” she smirks.

“Maybe… I don't know. Everything still is too new and we are just getting to know each other.”

“But wait. Wait, wait, wait. If you've come to Barcelona… Does it mean that he plays for Barça? Is he… Oh my God, is he Gavi? Did you steal your sister's crush?” Irene laughs again. “She's gonna be so pissed when she finds out…”

“It's not Gavi.”

“Then… That new guy? Fermín? He's cute.”

“I don't like them blonde, Irene.”

“Then… umm… No! Ferran? He is like the hottest! You are such a lucky bitch!” she says, hitting my arm.

“Ouch, that hurt!” 

“I can't believe you are seeing Ferran. Like… Woah” she chuckles. “And then you go around saying you are invisible to everyone and that no one pays you attention. You are seeing one of the hottest Spanish players!”

“I'm not seeing Ferran either, Irene.”

“You… what? Then who…”

“Pedri.”

“Pedri? The Pedri?”

“Yes, Pedri. Why that face?”

“I don't know, I just… He doesn't seem your type.”

“Doesn't he? Have you looked at him?” I laugh.

“I… Not really, no.”

“Then you can properly look at him tomorrow, because you are coming with me to watch him play” I smile.

“What?”

“I got tickets. Well, Pedri got them for us.”

“So this is why you've come to see me? To have me third wheeling?”

“I've come to visit you and your family, and then to ask you to accompany me to the game. If someone spots me with you it'll be less suspicious than if I am on my own.”

“Aren't you the invisible princess like you say all the time? You don't need me” Irene says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“That's what I thought too. But Pedri has shown me that that isn't the case. That to him, I've never been invisible.”

“Did he tell you that?” she chuckles.

“He did, yes. And stop laughing, it was quite romantic.”

“If you say so…”

“It was” I say, now being the one who hits her arm. “So, are you coming to the game with me or not? I haven't gotten to see him play with Barça yet, this is the first time.”

“Really? Haven't you known each other for a few months already?”

“We have, yes. But he's been recovering from his injury and we've only managed to meet in person once since the Euros.”

“Just once?” Irene says.

“Yes, for his birthday.”

“And how did you celebrate?” she asks, moving her eyebrows up and down.

“You are the worst” I reply, rolling my eyes. “But yes.”

“Yes what, dear cousin?” she smirks.

“Yes, we had sex to celebrate his birthday. Now, are you coming to the game with me or not?”

“Don't change the topic of conversation just yet. Was it good?” 

“Irene…” I sigh.

“I know it wasn't your first time, Sofía. But what about him?”

“It wasn't either.”

“Interesting… Very very interesting. If you are so eager to see him again, it's because it was good. Is he an expert on anything in particular?”

“Irene, I'm not going to tell you anything else.”

“But you will in the future.”

“Urgh” I groan.

“May I ask you something else?”

“I'm not going to tell you how big he is, Irene.”

“I wasn't going to ask you that, Sofía” she says, rolling her eyes. “Though now I'm curious… Anyway” she says. “What excuse did you use to come see him that day?”

“I told everyone I was going to visit Leonor at the academy” I shrug.

“Wait, she knows?”

“Yes, she does. And before you ask, she approves, so… Are you coming to the game with me or not?” I ask her again. 

“You know football isn't my thing, Sofía. Footballers, yes. But watching them run around for 90 minutes?”

“C'mon, Irene. Say yes. Carlos will be there too, you can talk to him if you get bored” I smirk. 

“I don't know why that should interest me” she says, trying to look unbothered. She's always had a bit of a crush on him even if she denies it. “But I don't know… What does he think about this? Does he agree?”

“Is that important?”

“Well, yes. He's your bodyguard.”

“He doesn't approve because he doesn't like that Pedri is a football player. But I don't give a shit about his opinion on this. He is no one to tell me who I can or cannot date. So, Irene. Will you come with me? Please” I pout. “Please, please, please. I'll tell Pedri to introduce you to Ferran.”

“Ok, fine. I'll go with you” she sighs.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you” I say, hugging her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah” she says, patting my arm. “But I'm only doing it because you seem to really like this guy and I've never seen you this excited about anyone before. And maybe a bit too because I want to see if Ferran is as hot in person as on tv.”

“Thank you” I smile. 

“Though now you owe me one.”

“And I won't forget about it. Thank you, Irene” I say before hugging her again.

“You're welcome” she replies, hugging me back. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I like your cousin.”

“Even if you only talked to her for five seconds before she only had eyes for Ferran?” I chuckle.

“Even so” Pedri smiles. “But I don't blame her. He is a really handsome guy.”

“And so are you.”

“Thank you” he says, kissing my cheek. “But have you seen his abs? You can grate cheese on them.”

“Meh. I can't eat too much cheese, it doesn't sit well with my stomach. That wouldn't be useful to me.”

“What?” he laughs.

“Yeah” I shrug. “And I've seen your abs, and they are perfect. You have nothing to envy him.”

“I think you are a bit biased here, my lady” he says with a teasing smile.

“Maybe” I reply with a matching one.

“Ehem” someone says behind us as we are about to kiss. Carlos, my bodyguard.

“Sorry” Pedri says as we keep walking.

After the game we decided to visit the Christmas market and maybe grab something to eat before going back home, both of us wearing a hat and a scarf to kind of hide our faces and not get recognized. And so far it has been working and no one has looked at us, though maybe the fact that the market is packed with people is helping us too.

“You seriously chose the coldest day of the year to come visit me, Sofía” Pedri says, the arm he has around my waist hugging me a bit tighter.

“What? This isn't cold, stop complaining” I laugh.

“It is to me, ok? I'm from the Canary Islands in case you've forgotten. I'm not used to it.”

“Then I guess I won't be able to take you skiing with my family. It is a tradition that has been done for generations.”

“I'm not allowed to ski, so” he shrugs. 

“Then you can stay with my grandma in the lodge and play cards with her. She can't ski anymore.” 

“With your grandma… as in the previous queen?”

“The very same” I smile. “Does she also intimidate you like my mum does?” 

“She seems nice. Though I think she can be quite scary when she gets mad.”

“You have no idea” I chuckle. “And she doesn't like the cold either, so now you have two things in common.”

“Which basically makes us bffs. Cool” he says, making us both laugh. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“You have… Pedri…”

“Uh?” . 

“Your face.”

“What about it?” he asks before taking another ship from his hot chocolate.

“Oh my God” I laugh.

“What? What is so funny?” 

“Your face” I say again.

“What is wrong with it? I thought you liked it.”

“And I do. I like it very much. But…” I say before I burst out laughing.

“Sofía, are we sure you are drinking chocolate and that it didn't get swapped for alcohol?”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just… Don't move” I say, putting my drink down and holding his face with one hand, using the other to deal with what had made me laugh. “Look. This was on your nose.”

“Is that… chocolate?” he says, looking at my finger. “There was chocolate on my super attractive nose?”

“There was, yes” I chuckle before sucking it. 

“Fuck” Pedri whispers, his eyes fixed on my mouth.

“What? Am I the one covered in chocolate now?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“That was so hot.”

“What?” 

“What you did with your finger, Sofía. That was… wow.”

“Oh… I see” I smirk. “Did it make you think of something we could do?” I say, closing the space between us.

“It made me think of something you could do, my lady.”

“To you?”

“To me” Pedri says. “Let's go back to my place.”

“Already?”

“Yes” he nods.

“But we haven't finished our hot chocolates yet.”

“I am too hot right now to drink that.”

“Well, you are wearing the thickest coat ever, that's normal” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Don't tease me, Sofía.”

“Or what? What will you do if I don't stop teasing you?” I say, brushing my nose against his.

“It's more about what I would not do to you once we are at my place.” 

“Ehem” Carlos says next to us, completely ruining the mood.

“Urgh” I groan, resting my head on Pedri's shoulder. 

“Now going back to my place doesn't sound like such a bad idea, uh?” he chuckles. “C'mon” he says, moving my arms from around his neck. “I'll make you a hot chocolate myself if you are still in the mood for it once we are done with… you know.”

“Do you know how to make hot chocolate?” I ask him, arching an eyebrow.

“It's not that difficult, and I'm a man of many talents, my lady.”

“Are you?” I smirk.

“I am. And we better go, because if we keep insinuating things, Carlos’ face is gonna turn so red his head may explode” he laughs.

“It might, yeah” I chuckle.

“Shall we, my lady?” Pedri says, offering me his arm.

“Sir” I giggle before taking it, Carlos sighing behind us and probably rolling his eyes too.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Your hot chocolate, my lady.”

“Thank you” I smile, taking the mug Pedri is giving me before he gets in bed next to me.

“Be careful, tho. It is…”

“Bloody hell!” 

“Hot” Pedri sighs. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. I think I won't be feeling my tongue for a couple of days, but I'm fine. And I managed to not spill it all over your sheets.”

“You also… umm…”

“What?” 

“You have chocolate on you.”

“On me?”

“Yes. Let me…”

“Fuck” I gasp when his finger suddenly touches me between my boobs and moves up. How had the chocolate ended up there without me not noticing, when it had burnt my tongue? I don't know. But holy shit.

“Done” Pedri smiles after sucking his finger. “Sofía, are you ok?”

“I think you just unlocked a new thing that turns me on.”

“What?” he laughs. 

“The chocolate… the finger… Wait.”

“Sofía, what… What are you doing? You are going to burn yourself again and… Is that a P?”

“A chocolate P, yes.”

“From Pedri?” he chuckles.

“Exactly. Now lick it.”

“What?” he says, his eyes going wide. 

“I want you to lick the chocolate from my chest, Pedri. And if you do it following the shape of the letter, even better. C'mon” I say, laying down. 

“As my lady commands” he says before moving to be on top of me, his elbows resting next to my waist, his eyes focused on mine as he licks the chocolate.

“Bloody hell” I gasp. 

“Those words didn't sound very princess like, my lady. Again” he smirks. “Did you like what I did, tho?”

“Very much.”

“Should we do it again?” 

“Please.”

“Give me the mug” he says, nodding towards the bedside table as he sats up, straddling me. “What should I write now? An S for Sofía?” he says.

“For example.”

“Ok” he says, dipping his finger on the hot chocolate before touching me, the feeling making me gasp again. “Perfect. But I think we could do more. Maybe… a heart?”

“S heart P?” I chuckle. 

“Actually… You've given me an idea. Hold this” Pedri says, giving me the mug. “Try not to let it fall, I'm very fond of these sheets” he smirks.

“I can't promise anything” I smirk back, biting my lip when I feel his tongue on my stomach, trying to focus on the mug in my hand and not on what he is doing to me.

“You taste so good, my lady” he says when he's done.

“Me or the chocolate?”

“I’ve tasted you in other places. It's you” he winks, making me laugh. “Ok, give me the mug back. Time to watch the artist work.”

“The what?” I laugh again.

“I should probably take a photo once I'm done. They could frame it and put it in the Reina Sofía museum.”

“Of course. Let's put a photo of me topless and covered in chocolate in the museum named after my grandmother. I'm sure she would love it. And my mum too. Especially her.”

“Yeah… Umm… Maybe it isn't such a good idea.”

“Still scared of my mum, Pedro?” I ask him with a teasing smile. “I think she liked you when you met her after the Euros.”

“She actually was really nice with me, asking me about the injury and all that. But if she knew the things I've done with her youngest daughter… well. And I have to focus on this, so silence, my lady” he says, dipping his finger on the chocolate again.

“My lips are sealed” I reply. 

Though they don't stay sealed for too long, because the moment his finger starts touching me, I hear myself gasping. First he draws an S over one of my boobs, then a heart between them, and then a P on the other. It is so stupid but so… hot.

“Urgh. Perfect” Pedri says when he's done, sucking his finger and putting the mug done. “Am I allowed to take a photo or will the secret service come after me?” 

“As long as you don't show my face… I don't think they could recognize me because of my boobs.”

“I could” he says, moving from the bed to grab his phone.

“What?” I laugh.

“You have a mole on the left one and another tiny one under the right one” he shrugs.

“Oh my God” I laugh again. “How have you had time to notice all that? We've slept together like twice.”

“Wrong.”

“Uh?”

“We slept together twice on my birthday. Earlier today was the third time. What we are doing will probably lead us to the fourth. And tomorrow I'm not letting you go back to Madrid without doing it one last time, so that would be five. Maybe six. And, like I already told you…” he says, coming back to the bed. “I am a man of many talents, my lady. And the mole on the left is visible when you wear something with a bit of cleavage.”

“Is it?”

“It is. And like I've also told you many times, you've never been invisible to me, Sofía” he smiles.

“Yeah” I reply, feeling my cheeks getting warm. This is what makes me blush. Him being cute, not having him licking chocolate from my stomach.

“Now, stay still. I want this photo to be museum worth it even if it will never be at one” he says, sticking out his tongue as he focuses to take the photo. “Beautiful. I'm such an artist!”

“Of course you are, Pedri” I chuckle. 

“Don't make fun of me, Sofía.”

“Or what?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

“Or all that chocolate will stay there until tomorrow.”

“As if you weren't looking forward to licking it” I laugh.

“I actually am, yes” he smirks. “So, without further ado…” he says as he goes back to laying on top of me, my body tensing in anticipation. 

“Well?” I ask him when he does nothing, just look at me while resting his chin on my stomach.

“I'm admiring the view” he smiles.

“Admiring the… fuck” I gasp when I finally feel his tongue on my nipple. He had drawn the beginning of the S as close to it as he was able to and… Bloody hell. Again.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I think I've packed it all” I say, looking around Pedri's room. “But urgh, I don't want to leave” I pout, wrapping my arms around his neck. “We aren't seeing each other until next year.”

“Sofía!” he laughs.

“It is a really bad joke, isn't it? Though accurate.”

“And bad" he chuckles. "But think it'll be just a couple of weeks before you come back. And this time for more than just two days and a half.”

“Yeah” I smile. Because with the help of my cousin Irene, we've come up with this excuse about us missing each other so much, that I've decided to spend a month in Barcelona with her and her family since I don't have anything important to do. Perks of being the second in line.

“But before you go…” Pedri says. “I have something for you.”

“For me?”

“For you. Wait here” he says, letting go of me and opening the drawer of one of his bedside tables. “You don't know for how long I've been debating if I should give you this or not since all this between us is still new and you may think it is too soon for gifts. And maybe you won't like it, or think it is a stupid gift, or feel like you now need to give me something in return when there is no need to, or…”

“Pedri. Pedri, hey” I say, taking his free hand and giving it a little squeeze when he walks back to where I am standing, the other holding a small box. “You are rambling.”

“Yes, sorry” he chuckles. “I just… ummm… Merry Christmas, Sofía” he smiles, giving me the box.

“Merry Christmas, Pedri” I smile back, taking it and slowly opening it.

“It's ok if you don't like it, it's something silly. But I saw it while looking for something for my mum and thought it was cute and…”

“Aww, Pedri!” 

“Is that a good aww? Do you… do you like it?”

“I love it!” I say before hugging him. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Thank God” he sighs, making us both laugh.

“Will you help me put it on?”

“Of course” he says. He has gotten me a necklace with a little banana charm and a letter S hanging next to it, and it is the cutest thing ever. “There. How does it feel?”

“Perfect” I say, touching it. “I love it, Pedri. I seriously do.”

“Don't you find it stupid? When I told Ferran he laughed at me.”

“Ferran knows nothing” I reply, rolling my eyes. “This is perfect. It is you and I, but no one knows. Only us” I smile.

“Only us” Pedri smiles back, neither of us saying anything else for a while. We are just smiling at each other like two idiots. “That must be Carlos” he sighs when someone rings the bell.

“Yeah…”

“Two weeks, Sofía” he says, cupping my face and resting his forehead on mine. “Just two weeks and we will be back together.”

“Two weeks” I reply, focusing really hard on not starting to cry and on not paying too much attention to the way saying goodbye to him is making me feel and at how badly I don't want to do it, all while trying to also ignore the little voice inside my head that keeps saying the same thing over and over again: you are falling in love with him, Sofía.

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

an incomplete list: things alex (and us readers) love about hrh prince henry of wales

something that I love dearly and find super cool about the list that alex makes for henry about what he loves about him is that we've actually experienced most of these things about henry with alex throughout the narrative of the book so it feels super organic and touching because yes we've come to love these things about henry too

so in honor of henry's birthday and because i was feeling sappy, here's all the moments throughout the book described in the list under the cut

1. The sound of your laugh when I piss you off.

Chapter 2, end of alex's london trip

“No booty calls,” Alex tells him, and Henry chokes on a laugh.

Chapter 4, great turkey calamity

“…you’re not a totally boring asshole.” “Wow,” Henry says with a laugh. “I’m honored.”

Chapter 10, morning after alex storms kensington

“Hi,” Alex says carefully, squinting over his coffee. “You seem … less pissy.” Henry huffs a laugh. “You’re one to talk. …’”

2. The way you smell underneath your fancy cologne, like clean linens but somehow also fresh grass (what kind of magic is this?).

Chapter 7, post-karaoke

Henry smells like expensive cologne and champagne and a distinctly Henry smell that never goes away, clean and grassy…

Chapter 9, lake house

…then Alex has him, inhaling the clean smell of him, laughing into the crook of his neck.

Chapter 15, election night

The second he steps backstage, there’s a hand on his back, the achingly familiar gravity of someone else’s body reentering his space before it even touches his, a clean, familiar scent light in the air between.

3. That thing you do where you stick out your chin to try to look tough.

Chapter 6, post-red room

“Hang on,” Henry says, and Alex is already groaning in protest, but Henry pulls back and rests his fingertips on Alex’s lips to shush him. “I want—” His voice starts and stops, and he’s looking like he’s resolving not to cringe at himself again. He gathers himself, stroking a finger up to Alex’s cheek before jutting his chin out defiantly. “I want you on the bed.”

Chapter 7, phone conversation

“It’s fine,” Henry says, steadiness rising in his voice as if he’s stuck out his chin in that stubborn way he does sometimes. Alex wishes he could see it.

Chapter 13, confrontation with mary

And [Henry] does the thing Alex loves so much: He sticks his chin out, steeling himself up. “I’m not a coward,” he says. “And I don’t want to fix it.”

4. How your hands look when you play piano.

Chapter 6, post-red room

Alex tries not to be in awe of the simple agility of his hands, tries not to think about classical piano or how swift and smooth years of polo have trained Henry to be.

Chapter 8, in Henry's apartments following wimbledon

His hands are fast, almost effortless, even as he goes off into a tangent about the War of the Romantics and how Liszt’s daughter left her husband for Wagner, quel scandale.

5. All the things I understand about myself now because of you.

Chapter 6

He’s starting to understand what swelled in his chest the first time he read about Stonewall, why he ached over the SCOTUS decision in 2015. … It’s weird that the thing with Henry could make him understand this huge part of himself, but it does. When he sinks into thoughts of Henry’s hands, square knuckles and elegant fingers, he wonders how he never realized it before. When he sees Henry next at a gala in Berlin, and he feels that gravitational pull, chases it down in the back of a limo, and binds Henry’s wrists to a hotel bedpost with his own necktie, he knows himself better.

6. How you think Return of the Jedi is the best Star Wars (wrong) because deep down you’re a gigantic, sappy, embarrassing romantic who just wants the happily ever after.

Chapter 2, in the medical supply closet

Then, unprompted, Henry says into the stretching stillness, “Return of the Jedi.” A beat. “What?” “To answer your question,” Henry says. “Yes, I do like Star Wars, and my favorite is Return of the Jedi.” “Oh,” Alex says. “Wow, you’re wrong.” “…isn’t there something to be valued in a happy ending as well?” “Spoken like a true Prince Charming.” “I’m only saying, I like the resolution of Jedi. It ties everything up nicely. And the overall theme you’re intended to take away from the films is hope and love and … er, you know, all that. Which is what Jedi leaves you with a sense of most of all.”

Henry's passion and ability to recite things he's interested in 7. Your ability to recite Keats. 8. Your ability to recite Bernadette’s “Don’t let it drag you down” monologue from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Chapter 7

It’s another thing Henry does—whipping out these analyses of what he reads or watches or listens to…

Chapter 10, in the v&a

“James was completely besotted [with George Villiers]. Everyone knew. This French poet, de Viau, wrote a poem about it.” [Henry] clears his throat and starts to recite: “‘One man fucks Monsieur le Grand, another fucks the Comte de Tonnerre, and it is well known that the King of England, fucks the Duke of Buckingham.’”

Henry, who has tried, does try, and keeps trying 9. How hard you try. 10. How hard you’ve always tried. 11. How determined you are to keep trying.

Chapter 6, red room

Alex has been learning for a while Henry isn’t what he thought, but it’s something else to feel it this close up, the quiet burn in him, the pent-up person under the perfect veneer who tries and pushes and wants.

Chapter 7, conversation with June and the J-14 magazine

“It pisses me off sometimes, thinking about everything he’s been through. He’s a good person. He really cares, and he tries. He never deserved any of it.”

Chapter 10, when alex storms kensington

Alex swallows hard. “You’re not even gonna try to be happy?” “For Christ’s sake,” Henry says, “I’ve been trying to be happy my entire idiot life. My birthright is a country, not happiness.”

Chapter 10, morning after alex storms kensington

“I’m saying,” Henry begins, and the knit of his brow is nervous but his mouth keeps speaking, “I’m terrified, and my whole life is completely mad, but trying to give you up this week nearly killed me. And when I woke up this morning and looked at you … there’s no trying to get by for me anymore. I don’t know if I’ll ever be allowed to tell the world, but I … I want to. One day. If there’s any legacy for me on this bloody earth, I want it to be true. So I can offer you all of me, in whatever way you’ll have me, and I can offer you the chance of a life. If you can wait, I want you to help me try.”

Chapter 13, in london following the email leak

Henry who has been through the worst thing and now the next worst thing and is still alive. [Alex] reaches out a hand and touches the ridge of Henry’s shoulder blade, the skin where the sheet has slid off him, where his lungs stubbornly refuse to stop pulling air.

Honorable mention: When Alex used to think Henry didn't try Chapter 1, the lead up to cakegate

“I’m just saying,” Alex says, resting an overly friendly elbow on Henry’s shoulder… “You could try to act like you’re having fun. Occasionally.”

12. That when your shoulders cover mine, nothing else in the entire stupid world matters.

Chapter 5, in Alex's room after the state dinner

Henry’s hands are huge on his back, his jaw sharp and rough with a long day’s stubble, his shoulders broad enough to eclipse Alex when he rolls them over and pins Alex to the mattress. None of it feels anything like anything he’s felt before, but it’s just as good, maybe better.

Chapter 7, post-karaoke

Henry rolls Alex onto his side and burrows behind him until he’s covering him completely, his shoulders a brace for Alex’s shoulders, one of his thighs pressed on top of Alex’s thighs, his arms over Alex’s arms and his hands over Alex’s hands, nowhere left untouched. It’s the best Alex has slept in years.

13. The goddamn issue of Le Monde you brought back to London with you and kept and have on your nightstand (yes, I saw it).

Chapter 7, paris

In the morning, room service brings up crusty baguettes and sticky tarts filled with fat apricots and a copy of Le Monde that Alex makes Henry translate out loud.

Chapter 10, morning after alex storms kensington

And beside him, there’s a copy of Le Monde on the nightstand… He recognizes the date: Paris. The first time they woke up next to each other.

14. The way you look when you first wake up.

Surprisingly, no direct descriptions of this but we can extrapolate from Chapter 15, presidential election victory celebration

And for a fraction of a second, a whole crystallized life flashes into view, a next term and no elections left to win, a schedule packed with classes and Henry smiling from the pillow next to him in the gray light of a Brooklyn morning.

15. Your shoulder-to-waist ratio.

Chapter 5, alex sexuality crisis musings while on a run with june

He thinks about Henry’s voice low in his ear over the phone at three in the morning, and suddenly he has a name for what ignites in the pit of his stomach. Henry’s hands on him, …Henry’s mouth, … Henry’s broad shoulders and long legs and narrow waist…

16. Your huge, generous, ridiculous, indestructible heart.

Chapter 9, last night at the lake house

What if [Alex] got so wrapped up in everything Henry is—the words he writes, the earnest heartsickness of him—he forgot to take into account that it’s just how he is, all the time, with everyone?

Chapter 11, hometown stuff email

You love so much bigger than yourself, bigger than everything. I can’t believe how lucky I am to even witness it—to be the one who gets to have it, and so much of it, is beyond luck and feels like fate.

Chapter 12, bad metaphors about maps email

…the truth of you. the weird, perfect shape of your heart. the one on the outside of your chest. give yourself away sometimes, sweetheart. there’s so much of you.

Chapter 12, in london following the email leak

Six feet of boy curled around kicked-in ribs and a recalcitrant heart.

17. Your equally huge dick.

Chapter 10, in the V&A

“Oh, yeah,” Alex says. “The top list of reasons to love you goes brain, then dick, then imminent status as a revolutionary gay icon.”

18. The face you just made when you read that last one.

Chapter 4, new years eve party

[Alex] was having fun watching everything he did play out on Henry’s face.

19. The way you look when you first wake up (I know I already said this, but I really, really love it).

See #14

20. The fact that you loved me all along.

Chapter 10, morning after alex storms kensington

“What about you?” “What about me?” Henry says. “Christ, Alex. The whole bloody time.” “The whole time?” “Since the Olympics.” “The Olympics?” Alex yanks Henry’s pillow out from under him. “But that’s, that’s like—” “Yes, Alex, the day we met, nothing gets past you, does it?” Henry says, reaching to steal the pillow back. “‘What about you,' he says, as if he doesn’t know—”

Chapter 11, re hometown stuff email

But the first time I saw you. Rio. I took that down to the gardens. I pressed it into the leaves of a silver maple and recited it to the Waterloo Vase. It didn’t fit in any rooms. You were talking with Nora and June, happy and animated and fully alive, a person living in dimensions I couldn’t access, and so beautiful. Your hair was longer then. You weren’t even a president’s son yet, but you weren’t afraid. You had a yellow ipê-amarelo in your pocket. I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire. And then I was a careless fool, and I fell in love with you anyway. When you rang me at truly shocking hours of the night, I loved you. When you kissed me in disgusting public toilets and pouted in hotel bars and made me happy in ways in which it had never even occurred to me that a mangled-up, locked-up person like me could be happy, I loved you.

[thedeviltohisangel]

All The Things I Did

a/n: welp i'm in over my head. accepting prompts.

Every time a plane landed from Greenland, she watched and assessed those who departed from afar. They were always flush with the cold of flying and the excitement of arriving. Chest filled with the pride of reaching the front and the longing to taste the adrenaline of flying in unfriendly skies. She hated watching them deteriorate the longer they were in the English countryside. Hated that no matter how many times she laced up her boots and tread into the darkness and came back with a map or a plan or a snippet of a conversation in Berlin that it was never enough. She chose, deliberately and emphatically, to not try and get to know them.

But then, one day, Major John Egan got off that plane. And he was loud and ever present. He made jokes and sang in the officer’s club and spent days asking around about the Lieutenant that read at the bar and wrote notes in the corner of the interrogation room.

Spook. That is what the men called her. The Colonel had introduced her as an intelligence officer to someone once but no one had been there to verify the designation now. But she fit the bill. Steady demeanor. Whip smart on the off chance she was asked to answer a question before a mission. Quietly discerning even when ordering a Coca-Cola. 

She wanted to blend in but Bucky wouldn’t let her. He picked her out almost instantly upon his arrival. Saw her head flitting between buildings and caught her gaze for a moment on his way to Colonel Huglin’s office. A big red folder with SECRET emblazoned across the front. 

“Major,” she spoke with a polite nod. She didn’t wait for him to respond in kind before she was off and around the corner like she had never actually been there. He welcomed the challenge.

----

He saw her again that night, sitting at the bar with a half-drank Coke collecting condensation and her nose buried in a book of maps of Western Europe. Music was playing and people were dancing and John was wondering why it felt so normal. Maybe he’d be able to get Buck to loosen up a little once he got here. 

“It’s good to see you again, Lieutenant.” But for now, John would settle for learning her name. She curled an eyebrow and cast him a sideways glance, John noticing the red pen in her hand for the first time. “I’ve heard great things about the work you do here.” He leant his elbow on the bar and took her in for the first time. Her uniform was pressed immaculately and fit her like it had been tailored by a professional yet she seemed uncomfortable in it. Hair curled perfectly with not a strand out of place and a dusting of pink powder across her cheeks.

“Well, Major, those kinds of discussions would fly in the face of my exact line of work, wouldn’t they?” She faced him fully and he swallowed thickly. She could probably read him just as well as she could that book in front of her.

“Still. You’ve got a good reputation for the crumbs you give these boys.” She looked around and took note of the stares. 

“They’re only boys until they go up for the first time.” She turned back to her work. He wasn’t giving up. She wasn’t quite sure what they were when they came back but it was something different. 

“No one will tell me about it. What to expect when I go up there in a couple days.” With a sigh, she closed the book in defeat and faced the Major, crossing her legs professionally.

“I can only assume it's because there are no words for them to describe it. And if they tried, pilots such as yourself may not be eager to join up.” He smirked.

“Such as myself? I promise the stories do me no justice.” It was her turn to roll her eyes.

“You’re the air exec for the 100th who arranged to be a part of a different company’s missions.”

“And?”

“Do you fancy yourself a hotshot, Major Egan?” John almost choked on the sip of his drink that went down his throat. She was studying him. Analyzing his reactions to her words like they were a math problem. Picking her conversational path accordingly. Instead of replying, he flagged down the man behind the bar.

“Can we get the Lieutenant something a little stiffer?” 

“I don’t drink,” she deadpanned as whatever Major Egan was drinking was placed in front of her.

“You dance?” The rest of his glass went down easily. 

“With the right partner.” She knew what he was really asking. Answered ambivalently anyways. And carefully considered his hand when he offered it. “You’ve known me less than a day, Major. You haven’t even asked my name.” She stood from the chair she had been occupying, pushing the Major’s hand into his chest and holding hers on top of it for a beat.

“Not the right partner?” he mumbled as she looked up at him with the clearest eyes he had ever seen.

“Not yet. Enjoy the rest of your night, Major. I’m sure I’ll see you at breakfast.” John wanted to do something to leave an impression. Maybe kiss her hand. Spin her around and coax her into joining him on the dance floor. Chase whatever was gnawing inside of him to figure out more about her. Instead he let their hands drop and watched her grab her things from the bar top and walk out of the party. He didn’t notice that they had had an audience the entire time they were talking. Didn’t notice the way she took a deep, steadying breath once she was out of the room. Didn’t know, may never know, that she wanted to dance. Wanted to smile and get to know people and experience everything this life had to offer her. But if one more airmen went up and didn’t come back down, especially one like Major John Egan, she doesn’t think she could handle it.

----

“This seat taken?” This time it was John’s turn to be surprised. He looked up from the morning paper to see Lieutenant…Cooper is what her name plate said, holding her cap and gesturing towards the chair across from him in the mess hall.

“All yours.” She sat quickly and thanked the attendant when he placed a cup of coffee and a plate of food in front of her, her napkin placed delicately across her lap. “You learn that in debutante school?” He meant it as a joke but she froze.

“Maybe.” He hid a triumphant grin behind his own mug. “But I also learned that the way I behaved last night was not appropriate and I wanted to apologize.” John leaned forward, snatching a ration of bacon from her plate. 

“I’ll accept your apology when you give me that dance you owe me.” The look behind his eyes was wicked. She hates that she enjoyed it.

“I’ll tell you what, Major Egan, come find me after your first mission and you can have your dance.”

“John.”

“Your oak cluster outranks my bar, Major-”

“We’re gonna ease you into calling me Bucky.” She giggled and John beamed.

“Bucky?”

“I’ll tell you while we dance…” He left the sentence hanging, silently asking for her to provide her name in turn.

“People who aren’t my mother call me Cass.” He whispered it, enjoying the way it rolled off his tongue. 

“Suits you,” he shrugged, leaning back in his chair. 

“I’m glad you think so.”

----

Cass did her best to keep her eyes off of him during the brief of his first mission. Did her best to keep busy with cables and news from Washington in the few hours it took to complete the mission. Did her best to keep her wits about her when the first plane landed back on the runway. She watched from afar, as she had been accustomed to, as Major Egan got out of his plane. He was flushed with flecks of blood across his face. There was less behind his eyes than there had been the morning they ate breakfast together. Disappointed, her eyes dropped to her shoes. No one was safe from this war.

She skipped listening in on interrogation, securing a copy of the notes instead, and retired to her billet without any interruption. Sleep eluded her, sheets tangled around her legs as she tossed and turned. Giving up, she headed out in her robe and slippers to the airfield. The cool air soothed her instantly and made her smile as she breathed deeply. 

“Didn’t think I’d cash in on my dance out here.” She nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around to see Major Egan leaning against his plane. His curls were loose and he was wearing his sheepskin instead of his blazer. 

“I’m sorry to intrude, Major-” she fumbled over her words as she tugged the robe tighter around her body.

“You told me there would be no words to describe it. I don’t have the tools to think about it, let alone talk about it.” His voice was strained under the weight of what he had just experienced. She approached him cautiously. “What do I tell my boys when they get here?”

“Nothing. The same way you went up there and followed your instinct and it brought you back here, it will for them too.” She was close enough to rest her hands on his chest, the way she had that first night by the bar, and he didn’t think twice as he twisted a lock of her hair around his finger. The light of the moon kissed an ethereal glow to her. One more intoxicating than the bottle of whiskey he had brought out with him.

“Dance with me,” he whispered, melting under her gaze and giving himself permission to stroke his fingertips across her jaw. She obliged, unable to deny him anything after he had learned the horrible truth that everyone who came here eventually did, her head resting against his heart and his arm tucking securely around her waist.

“Tell me more about you, John Egan.” It was best he remembered who he was, where he came from and what had originally inspired him to come here. To fight this fight. 

“I’m from a little place in Wisconsin,” he murmured as he rested his cheek on top of her head and his eyes drifted shut, lulled into peace from their gentle swaying. “Joined up even before Pearl.” She smiled. Almost everyone in her town had joined up after Pearl, including her.

“I’ve never been to Wisconsin. Didn’t leave South Carolina until they sent me to training in DC.” John hummed.

“So I was right about debutante school.”

“Next time, I’ll teach you a proper waltz.”

“Gotta have something down here to get me through being up there,” he mused, his eyes opening to look down and enjoy the tranquil look on her face.

“Don’t get used to it. My next trip across the channel got approved while you were gone this morning.” John stopped abruptly and looked at her quizzically.

“Across the channel is a warzone. Occupied territory.” 

“I know you know what they call me. Spook. How do you think you get your images of bombing sites and civilian population density and everything else? Someone has to go and get it.”

“Colonel said intelligence officer, not spy.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. He felt a twinge at the thought of her in danger but couldn’t help but feel the kindred spirit of someone chasing danger.

“I never said anything about spying. Just procuring.” His smile broadened and he swore he was going to kiss her if the sound of a wrench being dropped onto pavement didn’t startle them apart. Lemmons ducked back under the plane as soon as he saw the moment he had interrupted, Cass already retreated back into herself and shaking the fog of John Egan from her head. “I should go try and get some sleep before…” He nodded in agreement, clearing his throat and straightening his tie.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll walk you back.” He did so in silence, neither of them sure how to get back to where they had been. Not sure if they should go back to that dangerous of a place. “I can pick you up for breakfast in a few hours,” he offered slowly as they arrived at her door.

“I’d like that.” 

“Good. So I’ll see you then.”

“Sweet dreams, Major.”

“You too, Lieutenant.” She threw him one last smile over her shoulder, John not leaving until she disappeared from his view. If only Gale could see him now.

[raapija]

‎‧₊˚✧ Whenever you want me *:･ﾟ

fashion designer!lance x footballer!nando

~500 words, no warnings <3

A small glimpse into a tender moment between Fernando and Lance.

Fernando could hear Lance's bare feet padding along the tile flooring of the hallway to his bedroom. The mild scent of his shampoo leafed in through the open door. The Canadian's head peeked into the room. 

"Hey..." he said shyly from the doorway, making Fernando snicker. Lance stepped in, and to Fernando's delight, he had found one of his hoodies to put on. His hair was still wet, dripping onto it and staining parts of the fabric a shade of blue darker. He had on a pair of boxers, too, nothing more. Seeing him like this was strange to his ordinary get-up; a suit and vest, classy and stylish. Sure, Lance looked great in a suit, but Fernando preferred him like this. 

"You look cute." Fernando said when Lance sat on the edge of his bed. He smelled good, his fruity shampoo and soap suited Lance much more nicely. The hoodie was too big on him, Fernando liked them baggy, but Lance almost disappeared into it. He had tied the hoodie's drawstring into a bow, which Fernando found charming. Lance always had to add something special. 

"Can I keep this?" the Canadian asked. He picked at the hem of the hoodie where there was a small tag with a Real Madrid logo on it. Fernando swiped a strand of Lance's damp hair off his forehead and to the side. Lance’s chestnut brown eyes looked at him. 

"Sí, got more than enough." he said and watched Lance's cheeks turn pink. He really was adorable. Lance leaned forward to kiss him, sweet and soft. Completely opposite of the way he had crushed their lips together half an hour ago on the same bed. Not rough and needy, but nice. Tender. 

"I wish I could stay." Lance lamented as he scooted closer, settling into Fernando's arms and laying his head onto his bare chest. Fernando held him close, Lance matching his breathing. 

"You could. Never leave again." Fernando said and rubbed small circles on his back. Lance was warm. Soft to the touch. "Stay with me forever." 

"I wish I could." Lance repeated, his voice small and frail. Right at this moment Fernando could ditch his whole life for him. Quit playing football; get his pension and leave town. Go wherever Lance needed him. Be it Montréal, Paris or Berlin. He couldn't care less about anything other than Lance. He'd lounge in his studio all day, watch him work on his sketches and patterns. Bring him coffee when he needs it and take him out to lunch. 

"Will you come see me soon?" the Canadian asked and Fernando nuzzled his hair. Lance's hold around his waist tightened. Fernando felt like he would shatter into his arms if he let go. Lance rarely let this softer side of him show. Normally he was cool and collected, always ready for whatever came his way. But with Fernando, he could let go of the walls he had built around himself. Make Fernando the one to take care of him. 

"Whenever you want me." 

[popcornkwantum]

(A bit late because I forgot, BUT)

DnDads Live show AMSTERDAM *.✧

All favorite parts and quotes of the chaos that happened in Amsterdam. This one is going to be long yall

Darryl's Amsterdam dad fact: he has been to Amsterdam before, but was so afraid of the red light district that he avoided ALL red lights (including those of traffic lights. So he ended up never leaving his hotel room)

At the same venue one day after the live show, there was a smut book convention lol, so Henry's Amsterdam dad fact was that he and Mercedes would go visit that

Ron's Amsterdam dad fact: he's banned from photographer's dark rooms, because he thought it was the red light district

We got the SMASH DADDIES oneshot

And Anthony's first note in the envelope was: "some sort of justification for a battle royale"

We got: all dads, all teens, THE MOTHMANS from Sons & sonsability and the PCs from the mountain of dadness. They all played 4 characters

It was so chaotic

Freddie went back and forth between Glenn and Taylor to compliment himself

AND AND Sons & sonsability co-DM Amanda Schuckman was also in the audience?? So she just joined on stage for the whole show!!

AND HERMIE WAS ALSO IN IT

The first time Anthony talked in the Hermie voice, one person very very loudly booed and Anthony went like "one guy booed and I agree"

"Martf [?? I don't know who that is?] I love your really long penis" ~ Ron

And then he got strangled with his own penis by Glenn

Elizabeth Mothman (beth): "I'm going to kill the hand." Anthony: "how are you going to do that?" Elizabeth Mothman: "I'm going to roll." Anthony: "... not what I meant."

HENRY (from S1) TELLING NORMAL THAT HE THINKS THAT HIS DAD IS GOING TO BE SO SO PROUD OF HIM :')

The group literally broke the game by killing the boss with 2x nat 20s on intimidation in a row

And then we got a DUNGEON (like Anthony wanted). A red light district dungeon where they had to find a magical bike helmet

(There was also a sheep minotaur but that wasn't used (I still really want to draw it tho))

And Paeden was there.

Darryl: "Paeden? I don't think you're allowed to be here." Paeden: "this is where I become a man."

"Roll a dexterity saving throw as a bike is going to run you over" ~ Anthony

Henry is convinced that he's in Berlin and can take his clothes off in the middle of street (??) And someone in the audience really loudly cheered

"She's far worse than a vampire, or a werewolf. She's a 40 year old woman."

HERMIE AGAIN. He was in almost every red light district dungeon room (it was less weird than it sounds now)

The dads basically had to make Anthony/Hermie feel physical or emotional pain (in the pain pain pain room) and feel love (in the love&embrace room)

"I'm not here to open my mind. I'm here to open my mouth: ~ Ron to Henry who was trying to convince the other dads to eat a plantburger at McDonalds

Henry trying to make Anthony fall in love with him: "Do you have a secret hunch on how you're going to die?" Anthony: "Yes. On stage. In Amsterdam."

THEY ALL SUNG THE GASTON SONG AS KARAOKE TOGETHER (we gave our inspiration to get them to do that."

Anthony took off his shirt during the song.

NORMAL ASKED OUT HERMIE

Darryl the wingman: "you should go on a date because you never know how long you will be alive." 💀

Hermie ACCEPTED

Freddie had a whole speech about whatever he was talking about, made a whole buildup to get everyone to pull out their phones and scan the QR-code

It was a webshop to buy a bicycle helmet

They really managed to shit as much as possible on the fact that Dutch people almost never wear a bicycle helmet lol

All people who had bought one at the end got free stuff from Anthony and Freddie tho!! Since this was the last show of the tour

It was REALLY GREAT!! Absolutely feel free to add things to this list! I made a lot of notes but absolutely didn't catch everything :D

[softtdaisy]

🌲 new year kisses l mick schumacher

summary. mick has been your new year kiss for years. what happens the day he met someone new?

words count. 2,119

a/n. i honestly don't really know what to think about this one?? I really hope you will love it🫶

a very angsty Christmas l masterlist

The stars were shining, the music was loud, the people were screaming. No doubt, you were at the annual New Year’s party at your friends’ house.

It has become a tradition now. They were doing this in a rooftop apartment in Berlin, it felt out of the world and time. Maybe that was the whole point of this party, finally. To live a life you weren’t used to, act differently and do what you were scared of most of the time. It was refreshing to end the year like this. Both for you and for Mick. 

Because they were his friends, first. He was the one who brought you here, right when you started becoming friends. He wanted to share this moment with you. There were still a few things beating the feeling he had when he came here every year. This feeling of putting his issues and fear at the door and just living the beautiful life he was supposed to have. 

“How come I’m still amazed by this place every year?” Mick asked, taking off your coat. You turned around to answer him, telling him that you were feeling exactly the same. But you got lost in his blue eyes. In magnificent, perfect eyes that were undressing you. You may have cheated a little, wearing the silver dress you knew he loved on you, to get this exact look from him.

You went with him at the end of the season party a few weeks ago, wearing this same dress. You could never forget Mick, being completely drunk, whispering in your ear “being around you is like a little death.” And if you thought for a second that, maybe, he didn’t realize the meaning behind the expression, the wink he gave you and the way his hand fell slowly at the end of your back were enough to prove to you he knew.

You put a hand on his arm. “I told you,” you finally replied, “it’s magic.” You gave him the biggest smile, trying to save him from his thoughts. And yours, too. Coming back here was like letting your feelings come back again too. These two things seem to go together.

And while Mick took your hand to bring you inside, you chose to put all of this aside. Waiting for the moment that you knew would happen later. The one that would wreck your mind again. Like every year.

“Here comes the couple!” you heard your friends say. You rolled your eyes while Mick laughed, bringing you even closer to him. You felt his lips on your hair, the kind of kiss you were always craving for. It was easy to play around the idea of you being together. It wasn’t the case. It has never been. 

When you met Mick, there was an evident chemistry and attraction between you. Everybody saw it to the point some drivers assumed you were his girlfriend the first time you went to a Grand Prix weekend.

But that was the sad part. You weren’t. Because you were both seeing different people at that time.

During the first months of your new friendship, you grow closer, dealing with your attraction for each other without doing anything that could hurt your partner. Some moments were harder than others. Mick’s arms have become your safe place and some parts of you hated that nothing could ever beat this feeling. And you knew for sure that you were the only one that could calm his anxiety. 

Maybe these things were part of the reasons you both ended up single before your first friendship anniversary. The thing was, if you were close before, you were even closer now that there were no “other people”. You slept together in the same bed naturally and way too often for just friends. Nothing ever happened, except for some kisses and hugs that lasted longer than they should. But the way he was caressing your hair when your face fell naturally on his chest, the way he would whisper sweet words to your ears while you were playing with the line on his chest. These weren’t things friends should no.

You both knew it.

You were both too scared of what could happen if you decided to speak up.

It was easy as long as none of you found someone to spend their life with.

“What are you looking for?” you asked Mick. You noticed how he seemed to search for something right when you walked inside. You frowned, looking at the same place he did to understand what he could have been searching. It didn’t make sense. You just arrived.

You saw his cheek turning red before he turned his head to you. “Where we kissed last year.”

You rolled your eyes to hide your shyness. He didn’t need to remind you what happens every year here. You perfectly remember that.

It has become some kind of tradition over the years. It started at your first New Year together. 

You were both newly single, ready to drink to forget and enjoy the night with your favorite friend. And you did have fun. Dancing so much you had stiffness. Singing so loud you lose your voice.

So closed you ended up kissing each other at midnight like it was the most natural thing to do.

You didn’t question it that night. The feeling of Mick’s soft lips on yours, his hands lost everywhere on your body and his smile, oh that smile, pressing against yours was so magic that you didn’t want to know if it was right or wrong. It didn’t matter as long as you appreciated the moment.

You barely ever talked about it. Just saying that it was a fun and nice thing to do and complimenting each other on your kissing competences. But it didn’t mean a thing.

Right?

And it was perfectly fine that it happened again every time. It was the only moment you could think that maybe this new year would be the one where you would finally confess your feelings and try something together.

In the end it always ended up the same: Mick got so focused on his career that he didn’t want to start a relationship and your own job prevented you from traveling as much as you would. Each time you saw each other you got closer but without ever crossing the couple line. It was an eternal circle you weren’t sure would end one day.

“Ten!” 

You turned around, noticing all your friends started the countdown already. How could you not even see it was finally midnight? You put your champagne glass on the counter, watching everyone running to the living room.

“Nine!”

You laughed nicely at the couple who just left the bathroom in a hurry, clearly stopping what they were doing to be with their friends. It reminded you of your thir New Year you spent with Mick. For some reason, you managed to get locked in the bathroom together. You freaked out first, sad that you won’t be with everybody else for that moment. But then you started laughing at the situation. In the end, it wasn’t that bad that nobody could see you kiss at midnight, again this year. 

It was the first time you wondered if maybe this could be more than just an ambiguous friendship.

“Eight!”

Thinking about Mick didn’t bring him to you. You looked around, confused. You can’t lose a tall blonde man like him, it’s impossible. But you couldn’t see him anywhere, not even when you joined all your friends.

“Seven! Six!”

You asked around if they saw Mick. Some of them ignored you, deliberately or not, some laughed, thinking it was some kind of joke. How would they know if you don’t? You were the one supposed to be with your best friend. So focused on your search, you didn’t notice some of their looks on you. Meaningful. Quite sad, too.

“Five!” 

You had a hard time finding your way to the other room, they were all so close to each other they were like a big whole person. Maybe it was a sign from the universe that you should go further. That you should stop before the disaster.

“Four! Three!”

You finally saw Mick, on the balcony. You were wondering why he was there? Why would he be outside by himself? You walked to the door, ready to join him.

“Two!” 

Before you opened the door, you saw him laugh. Then you saw her.

“One!”

You watched silently, incapable of moving, while he grabbed her face between his hands.

“Happy new year!”

Or was it, really?

Could it be a good year when it starts with the man you’re so deeply and secretly in love kissing another woman in front of you? What hurts, was that it hit so close. She looked just like you and you felt like a watcher, looking at your relationship with Mick. The way he always kissed you with his hands on your face like that so his thumbs could caress your skin, how he would always smile against your lips, how his whole body was reacting to the kiss.

Expect it wasn’t you. Not this time.

You kept watching them. Hoping that maybe you were dreaming. That it wasn’t Mick. 

But the truth was there. It felt like a hole in your heart, one that kept growing each second that passed. You felt selfish. Feeling this bad when all Mick did was finding someone new. When you were too scared to confess your own feelings.

It wasn’t until your friends started to come over you, screaming and singing like you were supposed to, that you realized it wasn’t fair. Neither to you, to keep getting your heart broken because you couldn’t take your eyes out of them. Or to Mick, to expect him to wait for your strength to show up and not try to find love again until then.

“Happy new year!” you heard them and you let them take you away in their happiness, pretending you were fine. And maybe the drinks and the music helped you forget for another hour what has just happened. You just pretended everything was just fine and since you still haven’t seen Mick, you could act like it was just a lie. Maybe, in another universe, he wasn’t even there and didn’t ruin you without meaning it.

It was almost 2 when you saw Mick again. Someone had spilled their drink on you by accident and you were now looking for a sweatshirt in whoever room you were in. You heard the door opened in your back and assumed it was the bed’s owner that was just checking you weren’t making a mess. Which you could have done, since you were shaking from how you were with your wet dress. 

But it wasn’t. “Honey, you’re here!”

You almost stumbled from the chair you used to have access to the top of the wardroom. Mick noticed, rushing to put his hands on your waist to catch you. “That would be a pretty bad way to start the year with broken bones.” He laughed and for a few more seconds, you put aside all that happened earlier. Just enjoying this feeling of being in his arms, again. 

Then the truth hit you when you saw the lipstick marks. On his lips, on his cheek. Even on the collar of his shirt.

Mick had found someone to kiss tonight. And it wasn’t you.

“Someone had fun, I see.” you tried to sound as light-hearted as possible, not letting any sad feelings appear in your voice. But considering how drunk Mick looked, he probably wouldn’t even notice. 

The huge smile that drew on his face the moment you talked about that let you know you were right. He had no idea what was going on in your head. “I have so much to tell you! She gave me her number, I’m seeing her again to see if we can make this work out somehow.” He looked so happy, almost jumping around like a kid on christmas day. You didn’t have the heart to break his happiness with your sadness. 

So you put your hands on his face and give him a light kiss on the forehead. “I’m so happy for you Mick. You deserve this.” You didn’t need to find any excuse for the tears in your eyes. He started to hug you tight against him before he even got the time to see them. 

This is what you get for being too scared of speaking in fear of losing the man you love.

You end up losing him anyway to another woman.  

[meetinginsamarra]

Fanfics I really liked in June 2024

So. Since I keep a list of what I´ve read anyway (there´s always a list), I will rec all the fics I´ve wholly enjoyed on a monthly basis. Old and new, canon or AU, big or small authors, long or short but nearly always Johnlock (-ish).

-----

The Disappointed Optimist's Guide to Sharing a Flat with a Madman by Calais_Reno @calaisreno

Despairing over his horrible living situation, John Watson has a small bit of luck when he meets Victor Trevor, who is trying to get out of his lease. Taking over the lease will mean moving in with Sherlock Holmes, but compared with his current horrible flatmates- Seriously, how bad can it be? A couple of brats who mess up the flat, make fun of him, and eat his food. Or a bloke who doesn’t talk and sometimes plays the violin. He can stick it out for two months...

Lots of fun and some hurt/comfort, great reading!

Two Dozen Kilometres North of Berlin by stopthat

“How am I meant to forgive you?” John whispers, the moment calling for quiet, the question heavy and harsh. Sherlock thinks of what they’ve both been through, each suffering in solitude, existing in a divided nightmare, several worlds apart.

“Perhaps you’re not,” he says, closing his eyes against the inescapable dark.

Reunion, angst with happy ending and bedsharing. What more does one need?

A thing with peas by khorazir @khorazir

Sherlock does the laundry. John cooks a thing with peas. They talk. Finally.

Yes, finally! Just a lovely and long overdue and very satisfying conversation.

A Home for Us by sussexbound

He has been on the road for two years, and he is exhausted. He’s almost accepted that he will never see London (John) again—almost. But then there are nights like tonight, where he is weak, and all he can think of is the warmth of the flat they once shared, the crackle of the fire in the hearth, the teasing smile playing at the corner of John’s lips, the boxes of half-eaten Chinese takeaway balanced precariously in their laps. He aches at the memory of it, at the realisation that it is something he may never experience again.

Post-Reichenbach, hurt/comfort and caring John. No Mary. Lots of feelings!

Masters of Ink by Indybaggins @indybaggins

John has a triple-coiled tattoo machine in his hand and a row of inks at the ready. He has gloves on, a willing client in front of him, and a detailed stencil. He is ready to win this bloody competition. Except he’s competing against Sherlock Holmes...

Awesome first meeting on a reality show, Ink Master AU. There is expert tattooing, slightly less expert flirting, and two men falling hard. But John is married, and they can’t all win.

[nancy-xx]

Nancy and Sid, Johnny Moped Concert, 1978.

The History of these Photos:

"My name is Silvia Escario... but people call me Sylvia Resorte. I was a singer in one of the first punk rock bands from Barcelona called Ultimo Resorte. We were the first punk band with a female singer in Barcelona, and since then I've been playing in other bands like Berlin 80... now I have a band called Algo Toxico. I took these photos of Sid and Nancy in London in 1978. I don't remember the name of the club I took them to, it looked like a big old dance hall, all I remember is that Johnny Moped was playing... Since I barely knew English, I used signs and looks to get to know a girl who became famous in the London punk scene only because of her hairstyle. Her name was Su Catwoman. Su and I were on the dance floor, figuring out ways NOT to dance like punks, they were playing X-Ray Spex, and suddenly Su stopped to tell me that Sid Vicious had just entered the club... I took my camera, which was given to me by my grandmother (a former journalist during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s), and ran up to Sid. I took my picture, but then I thought it wasn't very good, so I decided to take another one. I was preparing to do it, but just at that moment Nancy appeared in the lens. She hit my camera and I dropped it on the floor. I thought it was broken and picked it up, but it was fine. I turned to glare at Nancy... but she had already turned away, not caring at all about me or my camera. It really pissed me off because the camera belonged to my grandmother and she could have broken it. So I kicked her in the ass. Sid saw me doing it, turned around and kicked me in the stomach. Nancy came up to me again, came to my face and looked at me with FURY, she grabbed my hands and almost scratched me with her long pink nails (I didn't have nails to scratch her back), and we just stood there looking at each other with hatred, until another punk girl came up to us and told us not to get mad, quit it, there was nothing special about it.... A few days later I was returning to Barcelona and thinking only about two things. Firstly, I was very worried about the quarrel with Nancy and regretted that we could not become friends instead of quarrels, which now made me feel only disappointment and guilt. Secondly, I thought that I would never sell these photos or use them for profit. They didn't belong to me. They belonged to a Punk In 1979, I formed a punk band with my then boyfriend. Our name was Ultimo Resorte, our first concert took place in a psychiatric hospital. (Ultima Resorte means "Last Resort", but we had that name before the British OI band). Looking back, I believe that Nancy, in those last days before she died, really tried to help Sid deal with his demons, but her own negative emotions and longings were too hard to resist. I always say it wasn't Sid who killed Nancy. It was this world that killed both of them."