#and I didn’t know what to do for the background so I was going to use one of the floral ones I have on standby

[lostinlovingrevery]

Prince Charming

Old Man Logan X F!Reader

Plot: He's really no Prince Charming, but he is to you, and you'll treat him like one too.

A/N: I really just wanted to write old man Logan being taken care of...and also being a little softer because he had someone taking care of him...I just want to give him a hug (and other things...)

Warnings: Smut (18+ only!!), Oral (M recieving), Fluff too!! reader gives Logan a massage (in more ways than one ;) ) pet names like princess and baby used, reader loves Logan a lot, a small section of angst but not really?

Word Count: 2401

Soft jazz played in the background as candlelight flickers against the wall of your…bedroom- if you could call it that. Curtains pulled over large windows, fluffy rugs on the floor, a few pieces of furniture placed carefully around the room, with pictures and decorations and a lamp that gave the room a warm, soft lighting- creating an inviting atmosphere that was nothing but welcoming and cozy. The sound of a shower running in the background added to the relaxing atmosphere that you managed to create inside of a smelting plant. 

So, was living in an abandoned factory what you imagined you would be doing when you grew up? Not exactly; especially considering you’d always wanted a castle… an old smelting plant can be kinda like a castle, right?

But, did you get that ‘prince charming’ you always dreamed of?

Well…maybe not everyone would call him Prince Charming…

But you did. Handsome, brave, intelligent. He was someone you’d always dreamed of sweeping off your feet and he did exactly that. Your Prince Charming has adamantium bones, lived over 200+ years (he probably met your great grandfather!), and is the crankiest motherfucker some days when there’s rain coming and his old metal bones get a little rusty and needed oiling like Tin man from Wizard of Oz (Did he see that when it first came out in 1939?). You adored him, and everything else was noise. 

Maybe Charles questioned your taste in men one time when he was feeling a little moody- but what does he know? He had a situationship with a guy who controls metal, and was, by the way, a bit of a nut.

You were curled up in your shared bed reading a book. When you first moved in- and eventually began sleeping in a shared bed, his bed had torn sheets, flat pillows, and a blanket that barely covered his large figure. He didn’t necessarily see an issue with that- but once you surprised him with memory foam pillows, silk bed sheets, and a huge soft duvet, he quickly changed his tune. He’d come home from a long night at work, collapse into the bed, and his aching bones would melt into the mattress as he’d fall asleep almost immediately, you’d wake up in the night- tucking him in at your side and kiss him on the cheek, and go back to sleep.

That’s what you did, you took care of him all the ways he didn’t take care of himself.

You heard the shower turn off, and in a moment Logan came in, towel wrapped low around his hips, his hair wet on his forehead, and he pushed the wet strands back as he walked to the dresser that sat parallel to the bed. You bit your lip as you admired his figure, watching water dripping down his hairy chest and abs, as your eyes trailed down to the prominent vein that disappeared below the hem of the towel, curse that towel.

“I did your laundry today-” You informed him, snapping out of your lustful state, and he looked at you, the corners of his eyes crinkled, and a warm smile came across his face.  

“Thanks princess.” He says in a low voice, walking over to you and leaning over to give you a peck on the lips- something you happily returned, settling on your knees to meet him halfway. He groaned as he attempted to straighten back out.

“You alright?”

“Yeah.” He grumbled, hand going to his back, “Back s’just killing me from sitting in that damn car all the time.” 

You look at him sympathetically, when an idea strikes your head. You crawl backward and patted the bed. “C'mon, lay down.” You say. He raised a brow, unsure of what you wanted, 

“Feeling frisky baby?” He grinned, and you rolled your eyes- but you couldn’t help your smile. Maybe you were, but that wasn’t what you were planning. Yet. 

Shaking your head, you patted the bed again, “Lay on your belly. Off with the towel too” You say. He gave you a questioning look once more, but eventually obliged. You were never one to do something he wouldn’t have enjoyed anyway. He dropped the towel, giving you a nice view of his member, before he climbed onto the bed, and landing on his stomach; He wrapped his arms around a pillow, face planting into it as he waited for you to do whatever shenanigan you were planning for him. You smiled at his resting figure, reaching over to pinch one of his buttocks

“Ay!” He growled. You giggled, holding your hands up to show you wouldn’t do it again, and returned to your task. 

Reaching over, you grabbed your favorite scented lotion, before moving to straddle his back, around his waist. He let out a soft groan, not because of the weight of you- it was slightly comforting to have the pressure of you there, relieving some tense muscles over where you sat. 

Flipping the cap of the lotion off, you squeezed a generous amount onto your hands, clasping them and rubbing the lotion into them, before you placed your hands on Logan's shoulders. You gasped at just how knotted and tense they felt- you’d think the shower would have loosened him up a bit…

He let out a small groan as you pushed and pulled at the muscles in his shoulder, slowly- but surely, you began to loosen the knots as you massaged the lotion into his skin. Using different techniques, like rubbing your thumbs in circles in various spots- that really made him groan, something that sounded almost erotic. You grinned, as your hands moved down to his shoulder blades and upper back.

“Keep moaning like that and even Caliban and Charles will hear you.” You comment, he grunted.

“Let em, I don’t care.” He mutters into his pillow, turning his head so you could understand him. A small giggle escaped you, as you continued your ministrations over his back, palming at tense points and working at his large muscles, thumbs pressing into knots and loosening them, you ran your nails up and down his back- scratching the skin that sent shivers through his whole body. 

You admired the scars on his skin; as you felt every ridge and bump as you ran your hands over his back and up his arms. You knew it wasn’t a good thing, that he doesn’t quite heal like he used to. You still saw them as a part of him, a beautiful part of him that made him a survivor, that kept him alive and kept him coming back to you. You didn’t know how close it would be before those wounds couldn’t heal up, when he may not make it home. You weren’t one to worry about the future though- not when he was here with you now, and you could take care of him the way he deserved. 

You worked him over for an hour, and at one point you were pretty sure he fell asleep, waking up after and claiming he didn’t fall asleep. You sat up on your knees, and gently pat his side, urging him to now roll on his back, which he does so in a slow movement. 

“That was great baby.” He muttered, his eyes half-lidded, and his large hands moved to rest on your thighs that hugged his waist as you sat back to straddle his waist. You smiled, leaning forward to kiss his forehead, pressing your hands to his chest. 

“I’m not done yet.” You say softly, kissing the tip of his nose, and then his lips. Your hands smoothed down his chest and over his stomach, your fingers twining through his coarse chest hair. You ran your nails down the skin- making his stomach flex in reaction and you grinned. 

“Enjoying yourself?” He asks at the sight of your amusement. You smiled down at him and nodded, before moving your hips- grinding against him. Something serious came across his face, as his hands began to squeeze your thighs, leaving dimples in the skin. You rolled your hips again, and you could feel him getting harder underneath you. “So you were just getting frisky hm?”

“I’m just taking care of you Lo-” You say innocently, fluttering your eyelashes at him, you wiggle your hips down, shuffling down his body, where you start pressing kisses over his chest. Your eyes looked up at him as you ran a tongue over his nipple, eliciting a muffled groan as he tightened his jaw, and squeezed his eyes shut, chest rising and falling as he felt anticipation surge through him at every touch you pressed on him. You moved down his stomach, reaching the vein you were staring at earlier, sticking your tongue out, you licked down it- right to his pelvis, and he let out a shaky breath.

You felt slick between your legs at the sound of Logan becoming worked up. He always acts like the boss, the protector, and the provider. The moment you go down on him though, treating him like the prince you saw him as he melts in your arm like putty, appreciating the soft tenderness you give him, and the care you take to make sure everything feels good for him- that he enjoyed you the way you enjoy him. It turned you on hearing what you do to him.

“You’re something else, princess…” He mutters under his breath. You grinned against his skin, as you took in the smell of him, he smelled of cedar and whiskey, the scent of a soap you got him a while back. You bit the skin of his pelvis, making him thrust forward with a groan, as you soothe it over with your tongue. Your hands continued running up and down his belly, as you finally made contact with his erect member. You licked your lips as you sized him up. He was large, the prominent vein from his stomach traveling up to a swollen red tip that leaked a generous amount of precum- beautiful

Logan was an old man, but you never had trouble getting him up. 

Planting yourself between his legs on your belly, you kicked your legs playfully behind you as you took his member in your hand, tapping his tip against your lips, before sticking your tongue out, licking the vein from the bottom of his shaft to the top, as your other hand fondled his balls. He groaned. 

“You like playing with me don’t ya princess?” He rasped, sitting himself up on his elbows so he could get a nice view of you and watch as you took care of him.

You smiled sinfully up at him, and you felt his cock twitch in your hand. His lips parted as he took you in before him, his eyes full of lust. “I’m just helping you not be so tense baby.” You cooed, beginning to stroke his member up and down, he tipped his head back, as you began stroking faster, before taking his tip between your lips, swirling around him and moaning at the taste of him on your tongue. You never truly enjoyed the taste of someone until you met him, and some days it felt like you couldn’t get enough. 

His hand went to your cheek, carefully caressing it- before reaching to pull your hair out of your face- holding it back for you as you worked over him. 

“Look at you darling, so damn pretty…How’d an old man like me get someone like you?” He muttered. You took him deeper into your mouth, slowly working your tongue around him, as spit began to dribble down your chin as you messily sucked him off. He moaned, his hips moving forward, his length going deeper into your mouth, his tip nearly at the back of your throat. You knew he was getting desperate, eager- just barely holding back from shoving you down on him and forcing you to take him completely. You moaned at the thought, eyes rolling back. “Fuck, you feel so good, princess.” He breathed, his voice losing that deep timber, wavering- signaling to you that he was getting closer. 

Your hands braced against his thighs, as you took him in fully down your throat, gagging a bit before you force yourself to swallow, allowing you to bob up and down on his throbbing cock without as much trouble. His hand that held your hair back set the desired pace as he brought you back up to his tip, and down the base, where your eyes began to water, as his very hairy crotch tickled your nose. He was panting, and you now let him take over, as spit covered you chin and his cock, he began thrusting his hips up into your mouth. You felt his thighs begin to shake, and he was cursing under his breath before finally pulling you down over him- head tipped back, a loud curse escaping him, and you felt hot spurts of his cum going down your throat. The pure sight of him was enough to make your legs shake, your stomach tensing as small spasms of an orgasm ran through your body. He let go of your hair, body shaky as you continued to suck him until he rode through his orgasm, and pulled off of him with a pop. You licked your lips, wiping your chin off of the spit. 

He fell back onto the bed, a groan escaping him as he brought his hand up to his face, running it down.

“Fuck princess, you’re something else.” He mutters, and you clambered over him, giving him a sweet kiss. “I love you.” He says softly, bringing his hand up to cup your cheek. 

“Love you too honey.” You purred, kissing his cheek and then his jaw, before curling into his side, his arms wrapping around you. “You feel better?”

“Much.” He mutters, and you could hear he was falling asleep, making you smile. “I’ll return the favor, don’t worry.”

You hummed. “Not a favor Lo. I like taking care of you.”

You felt the small exhale of his chest, and you knew it was an exhale of relief. One where he is silently asking, “What did I do to deserve you?” and you knew simply that all it was, was that he was your prince- and you were his princess. 

[pelova4president]

My treat I

sugarmommies!Ingrid x Frido x sugarbaby!Reader

summary~ you get caught staring for the second time and two of the most beautiful women take an interest in you. this is just the beginning, so there’s not much tension yet. not proof read.

As an intern you were supposed to feel a bit out of place, like you aren’t really supposed to be there. Like you’re invincible.

Invincible, it’s the perfect word to describe how you felt. You found yourself in a room full of journalists and professional athletes. You weren’t a professional athlete nor a real journalist, at least not yet.

The room was bright. The lights were fixated on the footballers walking through the door. There were voices coming from all directions of the room. Question were asked and answered. Player after player came walking through that door until the last one arrived.

Engen, that’s what the interviewer from DAZN called her. She caught your eye. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The effort she had put into the game was seen in little droplets of sweat across her face.

The woman answered the question quick and confident. She answered the questions in almost fluent Spanish, it made you wonder where she learned the language. The interviewer thanked her and Engen gave her a nod before she looked over the interviewer’s shoulder, at you.

She had caught you staring. Well, it was kind of your job to do that but for some reason you really did felt caught by her. Engen didn’t give you much of a reaction, only a tiny smirk appeared.

Weeks later, back in Manchester you she caught you staring again.

Done for the day you let your friends convince you to go out to a bar. It had been a long day, writing whatever came to mind in the hopes it was good enough for your assignment. You really needed to get drunk and forget about whatever you had to do the next day.

The bar was dimly lit, something you would’ve found unsettling if you weren’t already four shots down. There was a soft jazz playlist on in the background as your heels hit the wooden floor. Your friend walked you to the bar where you ordered a porn star martini.

As you sat on one of the creaking barstools you looked around. In the booth left to you sat a couple that was clearly in the honeymoon phase. Next to them sat group of men, laughing at some sexist joke.

The bartender placed your martini down when she caught your eye again. But Engen wasn’t alone. There was a blonde next to her and even with the horrible lighting you could see her eyes sparkle.

The dark haired woman had a black dress on and the blonde a dark grey suit. They were gorgeous.

You looked away as quickly as you could but the damage was already done. You sipped nervously on your drink in the hopes she wouldn’t recognise you.

But your prayers weren’t heard. You felt someone tap you on your shoulder. You closed your eyes and when you didn’t turn the person spoke. “I know you saw us, Ingrid recognised you.”

You turned your head slowly, showing a shy smile. “You’re pretty cute, come sit with us.” the blonde ordered more than offered you.

You got up from your seat and followed the woman to her booth. She let you get seated first, next to Ingrid, in the middle. You felt like you were trapped between the two women.

“I knew i recognised you from somewhere. You are the staring girl from that DAZN interview right?” Ingrid asked you. You looked down at your drink and nodded.

Frido and Ingrid looked at eachother and Ingrid spoke up again. “Frido here thinks you’re very pretty.”

The blonde scoffed at that. “Like you weren’t talking about her for the last few weeks. I was just interested to see her in the flesh. And yeah, i’ll have to agree with you, she really is as beautiful as you said.”

You looked at Frido and she gave you a warm smile. “Thanks” you told her.

“So tell us about yourself, your work, your boyfriend maybe?” Ingrid asked you.

“No boyfriend, or girlfriend and uhm i’m an intern at the moment.” you told them. They seemed to exchange a smile at that.

You asked them about their interest and lives. You got to know they both play for Barcelona and were born in Norway and Sweden. Frido placed her arm around your shoulders as you took the last sip of your drink.

The footballers wanted to know more about you, so you told them more. They were practically strangers, but hot strangers that showed interest so that doesn’t count anyway.

It was 1:30 am when you told them you should probably start to get home. Frido hummed at that. “Yeah, we should too.”

Ingrid walked to the front with you as Frido paid for the drinks. “I really enjoyed tonight, maybe we could do it again some other time?” she asked you.

Ingrid’s eyes looked into yours as she stood infront of you “I really enjoyed tonight too. Maybe we could yeah.” you told her.

“You’re really pretty, even with that shitty lightning i could see how beautiful you are.” she told you.

You couldn’t help but smile as the leaned in. The kiss was soft and genuine, just like her words.

It wasn’t until you heard the door shut that you broke the kiss off. “So you gave Engen the first kiss?” Frido spoke.

You really didn’t know what they had, if they did have anything going on at all. This dynamic was beyond confusing for you.

“Oh come on, if you had the chance you wouldn’t wait either.” the Norwegian defended herself.

“Hmm, it would only be fair if i would get one too huh?” she smirked at you. The blonde placed her hand under your chin and kissed you just as genuine. Frido was passionate and controlling the kiss.

When your uber arrived they gave you their phone numbers and told you to text them when you got home. You placed a kiss to both of their cheeks as you thanked them for the night.

You opened the door to your shared apartment, it was dark inside. Your roommates were most likely asleep or staying at their partners place.

Everybody knows that living as a intern is hard. You put all your effort into your work and don’t even get a moment of appreciation. Your salary was low but you already knew that when you signed the contract. But even though it was hard, you really enjoyed the work you did and the people you worked with.

As you got into bed you typed something to the two women. ‘hi, this is the staring girl-‘ no that’s cringe. ‘hey, this is me from tonight-‘ no too weird. ‘hi, i’m home. I really enjoyed tonight :)’ that’ll do.

‘thank you for texting, we loved it too. especially the end ;)’ -frido

‘we only have a few days left in manchester, so maybe we can cook you something on tuesday?’ -ingrid

‘yeah, that sounds really nice. I’d like that.’

A.N. i’ll need some ideas/prompts/hc’s for the next chapter so send them in because i need motivation

[rose24207]

An angel

Summary: guilt eats Lando alive when he wants to come clean to you after dating you for a bet. What he didn’t expect was that you would be so understanding and calm about it.

Genre: angst, fluff

Lando x f!reader

TW: Carlos and max being assholes (sryy), Lando too

A/N: I genuinely think that I would also react like this and I think that’s pretty much sums up the person I am :(

Masterlist pt. 2

It was supposed to be a joke. That’s what Lando told himself when it all started. A stupid, harmless joke that spiraled so far out of control, he found himself falling in love with you—only to be crushed by the weight of his own lie.

The bet was Carlos’ idea, though Max quickly joined in. They were sitting together at a bar in Monaco after a long day of training, laughing and teasing each other like they always did. That’s when you walked in, a vision of effortless beauty, with a smile so captivating even the loud music seemed to fade into the background.

Carlos noticed the way Lando’s gaze lingered on you. “You’re staring, mate,” he teased, nudging him.

Max smirked. “Bet you couldn’t get her number.”

Lando rolled his eyes, feigning indifference. “Easy.”

But Carlos upped the stakes. “Forget her number—bet you can’t get her to date you. Three months, minimum. Make her fall for you.”

Lando hesitated, but Max chimed in, grinning. “If you win, we’ll cover your next holiday. Private jet, five-star everything.”

Fueled by bravado, ego, and the lingering effects of too many drinks, Lando shook their hands, sealing the deal.

The plan was simple: charm you, date you for a while, and win the bet. But nothing about you was simple.

When he approached you that night, he expected the same predictable reactions he always got—flustered stammering or overly enthusiastic flirting. Instead, you met him with warmth and genuine curiosity, treating him like a regular guy rather than the celebrity everyone else saw.

He was hooked.

Every date with you felt like uncharted territory. You laughed at his dumb jokes, shared your dreams with him, and listened intently as he opened up about his fears and insecurities. For the first time in his life, Lando felt truly seen.

What started as a game quickly became the most important thing in his life. But the secret of how it began loomed over him, a constant reminder of his betrayal. He told himself he’d find the right time to come clean, but days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months.

And now, three months in, he was drowning in guilt.

It was a quiet evening in his Monaco apartment. You were curled up on the couch, flipping through a magazine while he paced nervously in the kitchen. He had rehearsed this moment a hundred times in his head, but every scenario ended with you walking out the door.

“Y/N?” he called softly, his voice trembling.

You looked up, immediately sensing the tension. “What’s wrong?”

“Can we talk?” he asked, his hands fidgeting.

You set the magazine aside, concern etching your features. “Of course. What’s going on?”

He sat down across from you, his heart pounding. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I should’ve told you a long time ago.”

Your brows furrowed. “Okay…”

Lando took a deep breath, his voice barely above a whisper. “Do you remember the night we met? At the bar?”

You nodded. “Of course. Why?”

“There’s… something I didn’t tell you about that night.” He hesitated, his stomach churning. “Carlos and Max… they made a bet with me. They bet I couldn’t get you to date me for three months. And I…” He swallowed hard, his eyes welling up. “I took the bet.”

Your expression froze, the weight of his words sinking in. “A bet?”

He nodded, his voice breaking. “At first, it was just stupid. I didn’t think it would matter. But then I got to know you, and everything changed. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Y/N. I swear, this—us—became real so quickly. But I lied to you, and I hate myself for it.”

Silence filled the room as you processed his confession. He braced himself for the anger, the heartbreak, the inevitable goodbye.

But what came next surprised him.

You reached out, taking his trembling hands in yours. “Lando,” you began gently, your voice calm but steady. “Thank you for telling me.”

His head snapped up, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You’re not… angry?”

“I won’t lie,” you admitted. “It hurts to know how it started. But what matters more to me is that you told me the truth. You didn’t let me find out from someone else, and I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”

Tears spilled down his cheeks as he shook his head. “It wasn’t. I’ve been so scared of losing you, Y/N. You’re everything to me. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I had to tell you. You deserve better than this.”

You squeezed his hands, your own eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Lando, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is what you do after. You could’ve kept lying, but you didn’t. You chose honesty, even though it scared you. That says a lot.”

“I love you,” he choked out, his voice raw. “I love you so much. And I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you, if you’ll let me.”

A soft smile tugged at your lips as you cupped his cheek, wiping away his tears. “I love you too. And I believe you. I believe in us.”

His breath hitched as he pulled you into a tight embrace, holding you like you were his lifeline. “You’re an angel,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “You’re too good for me.”

You rested your head on his shoulder, your heart aching at the vulnerability in his voice. “I’m not an angel, Lando. I’m just someone who loves you enough to see the good in you, even when you make mistakes.”

From that moment on, things changed. Lando became a man on a mission, determined to show you how much he valued you. He went out of his way to make you feel loved and appreciated—surprising you with thoughtful gestures, supporting your dreams, and being more open and vulnerable than ever before.

The guilt still lingered, but your forgiveness gave him the strength to move forward. And as time passed, the scars of the bet faded, replaced by a love that was stronger than ever.

Because at the end of the day, love wasn’t about never making mistakes. It was about owning up to them, learning from them, and choosing each other—no matter what.

And as Lando held you close that night, he silently vowed to never take your love for granted again. You weren’t just the best thing that had ever happened to him—you were his everything.

Thank you for reading!

Taglist: @ipushhimback, @ladyoflynx, @lewishamiltonismybf, @cmleitora, @hmma3 , @same1995, @amatswimming, @llando4norris

[nicholasluvbot]

ㅤㅤI'LL LIKE YOU ✶ 보이넥스트도어

𝑓emale 𝑟eaderㅤ۶ৎㅤidol!reader & idol!bndㅤ☘️ㅤONETHOUSAND / fluff ʚɞ non established relationshipㅤ( CLiCK FOR MORE )

alternatively ───── when your fans ship the two of you together.

myung jaehyun.

jaehyun is the epitome of shy but calculating.

in front of you, he can barely string a full sentence together. he isn’t even able to look you in the eyes, his voice shaking as he blurts out, “y-you’re really talented. um—i, uh—really like your new song,” before practically sprinting away, face turning beet red.

fans live for his adorably flustered behavior, constantly making jokes like, “it’s not his fault he went to an all-boys school and has no information about the other chromosome in his database.”

but what they don’t know is how hard jaehyun works behind the scenes to fuel the ship.

he’d scroll through your instagram for hours, obsessively studying your outfit choices, your favorite colors, even the brands you wear. 

then, out of nowhere, he’s spotted wearing suspiciously similar clothes to yours, down to the tiniest details. fans, of course, catch on quickly, posting side-by-side comparisons of your photos, sending the internet into a frenzy.

when asked about it, jaehyun acts surprised, laughing nervously while scratching the back of his neck, “haha, i guess we just have similar tastes?” but inside, he’s thriving. he’s totally smug about it—he knows he’s been caught, but he’s secretly loving the attention.

when the members start teasing him, saying, “didn’t you just buy that bracelet because you saw yn wearing the same one?” jaehyun’s face turns bright red as he stutters, “n-no, i just like the design, that’s all.” sure, jaehyun... we’re all buying it.

park sungho.

sungho is a walking contradiction.

he tries so hard to act cool when the ship is mentioned, brushing it off with a shrug. “ah, fans are just having fun,” he’d say, his tone so nonchalant it almost seems convincing. but his red ears? they give him away every time.

fans live for the moments when he accidentally lets his guard down. like when someone shows him a video of you during a variety show—he’d sit there watching quietly, trying to suppress a smile, his lips twitching ever so slightly. but then jaehyun would chime in loudly, “why are you smiling so much?” causing sungho to immediately snap, “i’m not!” his voice a little too defensive as he avoids all eye contact, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve.

if you ever approach him at an event, though, his whole “cool guy” act crumbles. he’d stammer out a polite greeting, bowing so low and so awkwardly that his members have to stifle their laughter in the background. his hands fidget nervously, and he can barely meet your eyes.

later, when clips of the interaction inevitably surface online, fans zoom in on the way sungho sneaks lingering glances at you throughout the event. they also catch the soft, almost dreamy smile he wears whenever you’re speaking. within minutes, the clips go viral, with captions like, “bro is down bad.”

when he’s alone, though, he replays the clip of the two of you interacting like he’s preparing for a dissertation, his eyes glued to the screen as he analyzes every detail—how close you were standing, the way your voice sounded, and whether or not you smiled at him. his members tease him relentlessly about it, but sungho just mutters, “it’s not a big deal,” even though he knows he’s so far gone. 

lee riwoo.

he is so obvious it hurts.

fans catch him dancing to your songs a little too much during livestreams, his grin wide and his moves full of energy, as if he’s the biggest fan. “it’s just a catchy song!” he insists, trying to downplay it, but the way he lights up whenever your music starts playing says so much more.

his real feelings become painfully clear when you invite him to do a dance challenge together. on the outside, he’s all smiles, nodding eagerly, but on the inside? he’s screaming. internally losing it.

the moment you step into the same frame, though, his usual confidence evaporates. he stumbles over the choreography, his nerves getting the best of him, laughing awkwardly as he messes up. fans immediately notice how red he goes, and they absolutely eat it up. meanwhile, you just find him adorable, completely unaware of how flustered he is.

he’s a shy babygirl™ through and through, so whenever someone asks about it directly, he stammers, looking to his members for help like they’ll come to his rescue.

fans catch on quickly, noticing how he starts fidgeting, avoiding eye contact, or blushing whenever your name comes up in conversation. he denies being affected, always trying to play it off, but his members totally snitch on him during live streams, exposing how he practices greeting you in front of the mirror, muttering to himself, “hi, yn, i’m jaehyun, nice to meet you…” while his face turns as red as a tomato.

obvious, but too cute for words. 

han taesan.

this man is a pro at subtlety.

he doesn’t outright acknowledge the ship, but fans quickly catch on to how much effort he puts into feeding it.

during music shows and award events, he’s always in the background, staring at you like you hung the stars in the sky, and it's so obvious that fans can't help but point it out. whenever you’re on stage or accepting an award, he’s just there, soft smile plastered on his face, his eyes shining with pride. fans zoom in on clips of him, his gaze lingering on you, and caption them with things like, “taesan’s proud bf energy!” and the ship goes viral.

he’s definitely the type to secretly read fanfiction about the two of you..

when the members tease him about how much he lights up whenever your name comes up, he completely freezes. sungho teasingly asks, “taesan, didn’t you say you wanted to collab with yn?” and taesan, flustered and caught off guard, panic-answers, “n-no... i mean, maybe... let’s move on,” but you can tell he’s dying on the inside, trying to keep his cool. secretly, though, he’s probably rehearsing how he’d casually talk to you during the collab

he’s the type to subtly bring you up in interviews, too—“yn’s songs are great; i’ve been listening to them a lot lately”—just to see if fans catch it. and spoiler alert: they absolutely do.

kim leehan.

the definition of soft.

the first time he sees a ship edit of the two of you, his reaction is straight out of a romcom. it’s almost too cute to handle—he lets out an embarrassed laugh, his hands immediately flying up to hide his smile. “ah, fans are so funny,” he says, but his voice is so much softer than usual, and his blush? it gives him away. his ears turn red, and he’s absolutely melting inside, not knowing how to react to being the subject of such a sweet edit.

whenever he’s around you, he can't even hold a normal conversation without giggling nervously and stumbling over his words, offering compliments in the most awkward yet endearing way. and then there’s that awkward pause where he starts fidgeting, trying to salvage what little dignity he has left. but it's clear to everyone that he’s completely flustered and totally into you.

Still, fans adore how genuine and sweet he is, especially when he unknowingly matches his mood to yours—smiling when you’re happy or looking concerned when you seem tired.   

kim woonhak.

woonhak is so loud in denying the ship that it’s painfully obvious he’s head over heels in love with you.

during live streams, as soon as fans even hint at mentioning you, he immediately shouts, “no way! that’s not true!”—almost too loudly, as if trying to convince both the fans and himself. 

but behind the scenes? he’s absolutely dying. when no one’s looking, he’s re-watching every single interaction the two of you have had, replaying the moments over and over, giggling nervously and trying to convince himself it’s not a big deal, but deep down, he knows it’s everything to him.

his members absolutely love stirring the pot, casually bringing you up just to see woonhak completely flail. “didn’t you say yn’s your ideal type?” taesan asks with a smirk, clearly enjoying the chaos. woonhak's face goes red in an instant, his eyes wide as he shakes his head vigorously. “i NEVER said that!” he insists, but everyone can see the way his lips twitch into a nervous smile, the way his hands fidget. fans eat it up, capturing every moment of him flustered.

he’s definitely the type to act all cool in front of everyone, but when it comes to you? he turns into a nervous, giggly mess. 

once, he accidentally liked one of your posts while scrolling through your feed, and when fans pointed it out, he immediately went into full denial mode, spamming “NO” on weverse and trying to distract everyone by starting a random conversation about something totally unrelated. but in his mind, he's already panicking—did they see that?

even when it’s not about you directly, you can see how his mood changes whenever your name is mentioned, like his face softens a little, or he just gives a tiny smile that he tries to hide. he’s loud, energetic, but soft for you in ways that he’s too embarrassed to admit.

ㅤㅤiRAㅤ:ㅤwe all know what inspired me to write this 🤭

ㅤㅤ•ㅤㅤfeedback 🗯 reblogs ───── highly appreciated ˆᗜˆ

tags @sgz-net @kstrucknet @k-films

[imtryingbuck]

Opposite attracts

~ gif not mine credit to owner ~

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Summary: bucky and y/n are completely opposite to each other. (I’m terrible at summaries sorry!)

Word count: 2,842

Warnings: fluff. angst. swearing. Bucky puts himself down. mentions of being sick and being sick on (not detailed). mentions of sex(?)

A/N: absolutely love this request, thank you so much for sending it, I’m so sorry that it took so long🤍

Masterlist

No one really understood why or how the relationship between Bucky and Y/n worked due to them being so different from each other, yet they were so in love with each other. The couple met at university, Sam being the social butterfly that he had introduced them - after they had already met a few weeks earlier.

“Hi, is this seat taken?”

Bucky flinched at the voice, he didn’t mean to, he was to engrossed in the comic book in his hand that he didn’t notice someone approaching him. Looking up, he gulped, shaking his head. “N-no.”

“Thank you.” He truly expected her to take the seat and move it away, not sit there next to him. “I’m Y/n, hi.”

“I know.” He whispered. “B-Bucky.”

He didn’t know why she was introducing herself to him, he knew who she was, everyone did. Y/n L/n was bubbly, talkative, a person who made friends with everyone and anyone, she was popular, and so beautiful - something everyone thought about her, and so did he.

“What are you reading?” She asks, bringing him back to the present.

“J-just a comic.”

“Which one?”

“I- erm, this one.” Showing her the cover.

“Is that the new one?”

“Y-yeah?”

“I’ll have to ring him later and see if he has it.” He gives her a questioning look, which she laughs at. “My brother, he’s a massive fan of comics. Honestly you should see his collection!”

“Oh, right.”

“He’s a bit of a nerd.” She chuckles. “And he absolutely loves gaming.”

“Right.”

“Sorry, you’re trying to read and I keep talking, I’ll leave you alone now.”

“Okay.” He felt guilty about how he reacted, especially when she lowered her head, but he was nervous - sitting there tense as she talked. He didn’t know why she was talking to him or even sitting next to him when there were other available seats.

A couple of weeks later Sam brought Y/n to the house he shared with Bucky and Steve, the group of friends that also included Natasha, Wanda, Clint, Vis and Thor were having a movie marathon and Sam had invited her. When Bucky saw her entering the house he truly didn’t know what to do with himself - especially when she sat in the seat next to where he always sat.

And from that day on, Y/n joined their friendship group. Much to Bucky’s annoyance. It wasn’t because she was rude or mean or even spoke down to him, no, she was sweet and kind, didn’t judge or laugh at him for stuttering and stumbling over his words, she was always interested in everything he had to say. So the reason why he was annoyed about her being around all the time? Well because he had a huge crush on her and that annoyed him.

He knew that she wouldn’t like him, he was completely the opposite of her; he was shy, nerdy, insecure, he was everything she wasn’t.

Bucky’s hands shook as he did up his tie, staring at himself in the mirror whilst Steve poured drinks for them. Sam, Thor, Clint and Vis were finishing off getting dressed, their conversation and laughter fading into the background as he remembered the moment he told her he had feelings for her.

It had been a year since Y/n became an official member of their group, in that year Bucky finally stopped becoming a stuttering mess every time she spoke to him, he grew more confident when he realised that she wasn’t going to judge him or laugh at him for being himself.

It was Wanda’s birthday, the group threw a party for her in the house she shared with Natasha and Y/n - the group watched with much amusement as Bucky came out of his shell the more he continued to drink. “Steve!”

“Yeah?”

“Ha-have you seen Y/n?”

“I saw her going outside ten minutes ago, why?”

“I need to talk to her.” The blond nodded his head as he watched his best friend stumble across the room and out of the house. Bucky found her sitting on the ground, leaning back as she stared up at the stars. “Y/n.”

She would have been startled by the intrusion if he hadn’t made so much noise trying to get out of the door. “Yeah?”

“I- I Bucky Barnes need to tell you something.”

Giggling at his words, she held out her hand to help him sit down next to her. “And what is it you need to tell me?”

“I don’t like you.” He says when he finally gets as comfortable as he can on the hard ground. “Well that’s not true, I do like you. A lot. Like a lot, a lot, you know?”

“I like you too Bucky.”

“No you don’t.” He snaps. “Sorry that was mean.”

“It’s okay, but of course I like you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, you're my friend.”

The soft, shy smile on his lips disappeared at her words, of course she only saw him as a friend. “B-but that’s not what I meant.”

“What do you mean?”

“I like you, more than a friend.” Picking at the rim of the plastic cup in his hand, before whispering. “I think I love you.”

Her cheeks instantly went red. Her heart raced as she looked over at him and saw the seriousness on his face. Reaching over to hold his hand, her whole body tingled when he flipped his hand over and their fingers slotted against each other. “I think I love you too.”

“You're lying!” Watching as she shakes her head. “You are! You’re too pretty for someone like me.”

“Firstly, I’m not lying to you and secondly, don’t put yourself down!”

“But you are, you're so pretty and look at me! Fat and ugly and-“

“No!” She shouted, making him jump. “Don’t call yourself names especially when they aren’t true! Please Bucky.”

“Bossy.” He mumbled. “You really like me?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t say I do if I didn’t.”

“Because I’m slightly drunk, can I kiss you?”

“Slightly?” He nodded with a dopey smile. “Okay.”

“Okay, as in I can kiss you or.” She didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence, taking a hold of his face she pressed her lips to his. “Wow.” He whispered after they pulled away for air. “P-please don’t take this wrong but.”

He didn't finish his sentence as he puked up.

When he woke up the next morning, face down on the sofa, his head was pounding and he was convinced the room was spinning. With a groan he managed to sit up, coming face to face with Sam and Steve sitting there with massive grins. “Wh-what happened?”

“Aside from you confessing your love for Y/n, kissing her, then being sick on her, and then passing out. Nothing much.”

The room finally stopped spinning as his heart stopped beating. “I-I-I was sick on her? I told her?” Grabbing a cushion he held it to his face and screamed. “No, no, no I couldn’t! You're lying!”

“We watched-“

“I kissed her? When? How? Oh god!” As he was having a mini panic attack his so called best friends were crying with laughter. “It-it’s not funny!”

“It’s fine, she didn’t seem to mind- well until you were sick on her.”

“I bet she hates me!”

“Who hates you?” His eyes went wide as Y/n came into the living room. “Bucky?”

“I-I- can we talk?”

“Sure.” She glanced over at the guys - who were trying and failing to conceal their amusement. “Boys, fuck off.”

“Yes ma’am.” They said in unison, saluting her which she laughed at.

“Bucky?”

“I am so so sorry, I didn’t mean it or mean to be sick, I-I understand if you never want to speak to me again.”

“Oh.” Twisting the bottom of her shirt in her fingers. “You didn’t- it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine! I shouldn’t have told you, I promised myself I wouldn’t do it.” Gripping the cushion for dear life. “I’m never drinking again.”

“Wait, did you mean it? Do you like me?”

“Of course I like you! I told you last night. Please don’t make me feel any more stupid than I already do.”

“And I like you! I meant what I said last night.”

As they waited for the car to come around, Bucky smiled at the memory of their first date.

Two weeks after he drunkenly confessed and made a fool of himself, he asked her out on a date to which she said yes, happily.

He borrowed Steve’s car and drove to her house, clumsily handing her the bouquet of flowers he had gotten her - not mentioning that he had brought way too many, not knowing which one she would have preferred. A meal and cinema, it was simple yet she didn’t show any sign of it being boring.

“So, where are you taking me?” Y/n asked from the passenger seat.

“I tried booking a table at that new restaurant but they didn’t have any seats available, so I thought we could have a picnic instead, if that’s alright?”

“It’s perfect, I’ve always wanted to go on a picnic.”

“Sam helped me.” He admitted with a laugh.

“He’s always helpful.”

As he pulled the car up to the beach, he watched Y/n’s face light up. “I remember you saying that you always love going to the beach, so I thought- is it stupid?”

“It is perfect! This is already the best date ever!” They worked as a team to lay the blanket out on the soft sand, once sat and food was out of the basket, they talked whilst eating. “If you could have any job in the world, what would you choose?”

“I would own a restaurant, what about you?”

“I would have a rescue centre for animals.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I love animals.” She chuckles. “If not that then I would be a veterinarian.”

“Why not be both?”

“Maybe.” She shrugs, finishing her sandwich off before speaking again. “What would you name your restaurant?”

“I don’t know. It wouldn’t happen anyway.”

“You don’t know that.” Shifting herself onto her knees, an idea of a possible name came to her head. “J.B.B Food, or Barnes Restaurant or-or James B Barnes - no not that one, or Food by James?”

He chuckled softly as the possible names of this restaurant that he would never have, kept coming out of her mouth. “You’re thinking of names of something I don’t even have.”

“I’m getting ahead of myself aren’t I? Maybe we could think about the food you’ll cook.”

“Everything.” He winked. “Okay maybe not everything but I would cater to everyone.”

“And obviously I would get food for free.”

“Obviously.”

“Oh I could be your taster! This is going to be amazing!”

He bursts out laughing. “Again, it’s not even going to happen.”

“You need to have faith, if you want it to happen then it will!”

“Alright, what about you? You want to run a rescue centre, what would it be called?”

“Easy. Y/n’s animal rescue centre, it will have places for all animals big and small, people would have to have a background check when they want to adopt because you can’t be too careful, and after two years of opening I would have to open another one because of all the animals I will rescue.”

“You’ve really thought about this?”

“In full detail.”

“I like it.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “Then again, it might not happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Well you don’t have faith in your dream, so I might as well not have it in mine.”

“But yours is more realistic.”

“But so is owning a restaurant, if you put your mind to it, it will succeed. Five years after opening your first one you’ll be onto opening your fourth or even fifth!”

“One a year? You're killing me!”

“No, I’m making you rich! And me fat from all the taste testing I’ll be doing.” She giggles. “One day we’ll have our dream jobs.”

“One day.” He whispered, watching as she continued to eat.

They never made it to the cinema as they spent hours on the beach building sandcastles - which Y/n got a stranger to vote which one was the best - and having a splash around in the water, he found it amusing that she was creating sand-angels, they shared many kisses whilst they were there too.

When Bucky dropped Y/n off that night, they shared another kiss before she asked him something that caused him to choke on air. “Do- would you like to come in?”

“For?”

“What do you think?” Her eyes went wide as he started choking. “Shit, are you alright?”

“Fine, I’m fine. I-erm I- I’m still- you know?”

“Wh- oh. Oh that’s okay, I don’t want to pressure- or think that you want to- you know with me- no pressure or-“

“I want too!” He blurts out cutting off her rambling. “I’m just nervous.”

“That’s okay. Everyone gets nervous, we don’t have to do it tonight.”

“I do- I want to, tonight I mean- if you're okay with it?”

After fifteen minutes of convincing Bucky that she wasn't going to judge him or his body, he finally took his clothes off - cheeks going bright red as her eyes scanned up and down his body with nothing but admiration and lust in her eyes.

They both laid there panting for breath as the scent of sex and sweat was heavy in the air. “You- you said that you was a virgin.”

“I am- was, why? Was I bad? Oh god!”

“The opposite.” She giggled. “You was great, I promise.”

“T-thanks, I guess.” He laughs, wrapping his arm around her - smiling as she shuffles closer to him. “You were amazing by the way.”

The car passed by his restaurant, yes his restaurant, four years after graduating from university Y/n all but knocked down the door to their shared apartment.

“I’ve found it! Bucky!”

Coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, he frowned at her words. “What are you talking about?”

“A building, I- fuck I ran all the way up here, I found the building.”

“Okay?” He says slowly, walking into the kitchen to fill a glass up with water to hand it to her. “You found a building?”

“Yes, but not any building, no, no I found thee building!” Gulping down the water way too fast she ignored the slight ache in her chest. “For your restaurant.”

“What? Where?”

“It’s- get dressed and we can go now, hurry.”

Y/n went halves with him on the building - much to his dismay. It was run down and needed a lot of work which the group were more than happy to help with, a year later Barnes Restaurant was opening its doors. Two years after that he was opening up another one, with one being done up.

As he sat in the back with the guys, the car went by Y/n’s Animal Rescue Centre.

“It’s happening! Bucky it’s happening!” She screamed down the phone, deafening him, before bursting through the large doors of the restaurant. “It’s happening!” She sang loudly, startling the customers.

“What’s going on?” He asked coming to the counter, laughing as he says. “Calm down your scaring off my customers.”

“The woman got back to me, it’s-guess what- it’s happening!” The customers who were enjoying their meal laughed along with Bucky as Y/n starts to do a dance. “They accepted my bid! I am now the proud owner of the land!”

Bucky ran around the counter and picked her up and spun her around. “I’m so proud of you baby, so proud!”

Everyone cheered, even though they didn’t really know what was happening.

Just over a year later the rescue centre was up and running. Six months after the doors opened, Y/n came home with a white fluffy kitten. “Don’t be mad… but, look.”

“It’s- baby, we talked about this.”

“I know, I know but look at her.” Practically shoving the kitten into his face. “She’s so cute.”

“She is, yes.” He couldn’t disagree with her, but they talked about her not bringing animals home with her, she had brought two dogs home once which they gave to Steve. “I don’t think-“

“I’ve already thought about that, whenever the landlord comes we’ll just hide her, simple. Please Buck, please.”

He was never able to say no to her, especially not when she was pouting and giving him her best puppy eyes. “Fine but if we get caught out, I’m blaming you.”

It was a lie and they both knew it. “That’s fine. What should we name her?”

Nearly an hour it took them to settle on a name. Alpine.

Bucky stood at the end of the aisle watching with a bated breath, tears burning his vision as the love of his life walked towards him.

They were completely opposite to each other, yet their love was just the same.

Tags: @imcinnamoons | @pigeonmama | @capsbestgirl77

[mixolya]

ᓚᘏᗢ — two worlds apart !

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ᯓ★

pairings﹕ itoshi sae x gn!reader

contents﹕ one shot, angst, lovers to strangers, wc: 836, proofread

the time difference between japan and spain was eight hours. it wasn’t just time that separated you, though. it was the ocean, the unfamiliar cities, and the fact that itoshi sae had a life that didn’t include you anymore.

you hadn’t planned on falling in love with him. it had just happened. like breathing, like the way the sun set and rose again.

sae was like the tide, calm and steady, but he had always been destined to leave. you knew that from the start.

“i'll come back,” he’d said once, his voice soft but resolute. “when i'm where i need to be.”

you'd believed him because it was sae, and you wanted to believe.

but believing didn’t make the ache go away.

your phone rang at 2 a.m.

bleary-eyed, you fumbled for it on your nightstand, barely registering the name on the screen.

sae.

your heart leapt, even though you knew it shouldn’t.

“hello?” you whispered, your voice thick with sleep.

“were you asleep?” his voice was quiet, almost hesitant.

“it's two in the morning,” you replied, rubbing your eyes. “what do you think?”

he didn’t laugh, didn’t say anything for a moment. The silence stretched thin between you.

“sorry,” he muttered finally.

“it's okay,” you said quickly, sitting up. “what's up?”

“i just… wanted to hear your voice.”

your heart clenched. it was cruel, the way he said it, as if he didn’t know what those words did to you.

“sae…”

“i miss you.”

the words hit like a punch to the gut. you closed your eyes, letting the weight of them settle over you.

“i miss you too,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper.

but missing him didn’t change anything.

the thing about sae was that he was good at making you feel special, even when he was thousands of miles away.

he'd send you random photos, of the view from his apartment, of the Spanish streets lit up at night, of the meals he’d cooked but probably hadn’t eaten.

he'd text you good morning when it was midnight for you, good night when your day was just beginning.

and you’d let yourself believe, for a while, that this was enough. that his fragments could fill the emptiness he’d left behind.

but they couldn’t.

it happened on an ordinary day.

you were sitting in a café, your phone buzzing with notifications. a message from sae sat unopened on your screen. you hadn’t replied to his last one yet, too afraid of what your answer might mean.

when you finally opened it, it was a photo. sae, standing in a stadium, his arm around someone you didn’t recognize.

the caption read: Another win. Hope you’re doing okay.

you stared at the picture, the knot in your chest tightening. he looked happy. he looked like he belonged.

and you realized, with a sinking clarity, that you didn’t fit in his world anymore.

you called him that night.

he picked up on the second ring. “hey.”

“hey,” you said, forcing your voice to stay steady.

“what's up?” he asked, and you could hear the faint sound of a match playing in the background.

“are you busy?”

“not really,” he said, muting the tv. “what's going on?”

you took a deep breath, trying to find the words. “sae… i don’t think i can do this anymore.”

there was a pause. “do what?”

“this,” you said, your voice cracking. “waiting. pretending we’re okay when we’re not.”

“y/n-”

“i love you,” you interrupted, your chest tightening. “i always will. but this isn’t enough for me. not for you either. i can’t keep holding onto something that feels so far away.”

his silence was deafening.

“i don’t blame you,” you continued, tears streaming down your face. “you're chasing your dreams. you're where you’re supposed to be. but i can’t keep pretending i'm okay with being left behind.”

when he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “i never wanted to hurt you.”

“i know,” you whispered.

“i still love you,” he admitted, and you could hear the pain in his voice. “but i don’t know how to fix this.”

“maybe we can’t,” you said, the words breaking something inside you.

neither of you said anything after that. the silence was heavy, final.

“i should go,” you said eventually, your voice trembling.

“y/n-”

“goodbye, sae.”

you hung up before he could say anything else, dropping your phone onto the bed.

and for the first time in a long time, you let yourself cry.

the time difference between japan and spain was eight hours.

it wasn’t just time that separated you, though. it was everything, the life he had, the life you wanted, and the realization that sometimes, love wasn’t enough.

you deleted his messages the next morning, one by one. and as you walked out of your apartment, the ache in your chest felt a little less suffocating.

because the truth was, letting go didn’t mean you stopped loving him. it just meant you loved yourself enough to move on.

© mixolya 2025. do not copy, remake or edit any of my works.

[newtonsheffield]

ohh i love the funeral au! i'm just picturing the times anthony knocks on her door (or her bedroom window if it's the middle of the night), very obviously having just cried his eyes out and looking for company. he's accidentally crashed many sharma dinners and move nights

Oh for sure. Anthony who feels like he has no one else to go when his chest feels tight and his eyes are red and puffy. Anthony’s hand was still shaking when he knocked on the door, pulling his coat tighter around him.

“Anthony, Kate didn’t tell me you were coming.”

It was Kate’s mother, her eyes widening as she took him in. He could hear the rest of the family chattering in the background and his chest ached for Kate’s laugh. Ached to feel it pressed against his skin. But he stepped back, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Mrs Sharma. I should have realised you’d be busy.”

She gave him a kind smile. “We were just getting ready for dinner, actually.”

“Yeah, yes.” Anthony sniffed, trying to stop his voice from wobbling. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I should have realised what time it was.”

“Anthony.” Mary Sharma’s firm voice stopped him cold as he tried to back away. She stepped forward, “Go upstairs. I’ll send Kate up in a second.” She wrapped her arms tightly around him for a moment, rubbing his back gently. “Go on. She’ll be up soon.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised by how comforted he felt sat on the edge of Kate’s bed, surrounded by her things. He could see the picture of them on her wardrobe with the rest of her pictures. Pictures of her friends and family, and there he was, right beside her. His nose was buried in her hair and her arms were around his chest as she grinned at the camera. He felt so calm when he was with Kate. So at peace.

The door opened and Kate slipped inside, her brow furrowed. She was wearing a hoodie that she’d taken from his wardrobe, carrying two plates of food piled high by her mother. “Hey, are you okay?”

Anthony nodded, rubbing at his eyes. “Yeah, sorry, I’m just being stupid.”

Kate shook her head, setting the food down. She sat beside him, kissing his forehead gently before she wrapped her arms around him. “Your only stupid thing is insisting on wearing those jeans and not letting me tailor them for you.”

Anthony let out a watery chuckle, “You’re just going to do them while I sleep one day and we both know it.”

“I am just waiting for my moment, it’s true.”

[lumosinlove]

Vaincre

Link to Ao3

~

june part viii

“Hold on, hold—What did you say?”

Sirius stepped out onto the moonlit porch of the cottage and put a finger over his free ear—as if it was his fault he could barely hear the words his little brother was saying. Regulus’ call had come half-way through washing up after dinner, Julian begging for a nighttime game of pick-up, and Hope laughing at Remus for eating the last of the apple pie straight from the dish. He’d assumed he was calling about travel plans, but he hadn’t expected the thumping music in the background or cacophony of laughing voices. 

“I said I’m driving up day after tomorrow,” Regulus shouted, then laughed at something and said hello to someone, telling them to make themselves at home.

Sirius briefly wondered where he’d picked up the phrase and learned to use it so easily. It wasn’t like they’d heard it much. Make yourself at home. Instantly, Sirius thought of that basement bedroom at Pascal’s, and their warm kitchen—the kids doing homework, Celeste and Pascal cooking. Sirius, you don’t have to ask for water or anything else. Please, help yourself.

“I know that,” Sirius shouted back to Regulus, even though he probably didn’t have to. “You—ouais, you already told me that?”

“Oh. I did? Okay!”

“Ouais, I—” Sirius turned as Remus’ face appeared through the screen door, a questioning look on his face.

“You good?” Remus asked. “You’re yelling?”

Sirius pulled the phone away a bit. “I think my brother is drunk calling me.” He pressed the speaker back to his cheek. “Are you okay?”

Remus, obviously trying not to laugh, retreated back into the house.

“I just wanted to call,” Regulus shouted in his ear. “I just wanted to say, see you soon. Just wanted to say I’m glad this is—”

There was a long pull of silence, during which Sirius couldn’t tell if Regulus was talking to someone else, had dropped his phone perhaps, or was just thinking.

“I’m glad…” He began finally. “I mean, I’m glad these things happened.”

He didn’t sound drunk, Sirius supposed. He just sounded…unsure.

“What things?” Sirius asked.

“Everything.”

“What?”

“I just wanted to call you! And hear your voice, Sirius, fuck.”

“Why? Are you okay?”

More cursing, a blend of French and English. “Yes. Nothing has to be wrong for me to want to talk to you.”

“I…Ouais, okay.”

It seemed like he had moved somewhere quieter, but only by a bit. There was still music, low and filled with quick-lyrics, and Sirius caught passing parts of English conversations. Sirius picked out one voice, a girl, who said Regulus’ name and find me later.

“Who is that?” Sirius asked, then felt stupid.

Regulus didn’t hear him, busy telling the girl something before the speaker rustled, back against his ear.

“So. Finn and Alex go running every day,” Regulus shouted over the music. “I mean, when they can. When they’re in the same city.”

Sirius hadn’t known that, but, then again, Regulus probably spent more time with the Cubs. He should stop thinking of them as the Cubs. That had been Finn and Logan during their rookie seasons, and then Leo, but they didn’t really deserve that anymore. Especially not with a Cup.

“I—That’s nice.” Sirius looked towards the lake. The waves were soft tonight. All the boats had long gone home. Did he want to go running together? “I thought you were sort of done with…”

“No, I don’t want to run, I just…”

For the next few seconds, and Sirius pulled his phone back to watch some of the time go by on the screen, there was more silence. This was their way. He wished it wasn’t, he wished he had the right words to fill every part of his brother’s mind until he could cancel out all the wrong ones. But half-finished sentences it was. Half-thoughts that somehow found completion once they both stuttered and tried a few dozen times.

“I’m just saying,” Regulus said. “I’m just saying that when I get there, I’m your brother not your house guest.”

Sirius looked back towards the screen door at that, hoping Remus would be there. House guest? What did that mean?

“Did that sound bad?” Regulus said loudly.

“Non,” Sirius said. “I—non. I don’t—okay.” He was sort of panicking. Dumo would have known what to say. “I’m—sorry.”

“Non. C’est—Non. I’m saying it all wrong.”

Finn and Alex run. House guest.

“I…” Sirius cleared his throat. “Reg, I can barely hear you. I don’t know…I don’t know what else… I didn’t mean to make you feel like we’re…”

Not as good as other brothers.

“I just mean.” Over everything, he did hear the breath Regulus let out. Someone else said his name through a laugh and a hello. “Hi, yeah, come on in.”

Sirius waited, unsure how to have this conversation with music and other people right there.

“I should probably go,” Regulus said. “Sorry, I know you’re with everyone. And I know I’m—it’s loud, sorry. I don’t know.”

“I’m not with everyone,” Sirius said.

“Ha, right.”

Something definitely took a tumble in the background. The music soared up, louder, and Regulus cursed.

“Shit,” he said. “Sorry! Someone—Sirius?”

“I’m here,” Sirius said. “I’m right here.”

“I should…” The next words, shouted like they were talking to each other over a windstorm, still hit Sirius somewhere soft and gentle. “Hey, I get to stand next to you, right? On the day? Your day.”

Sirius pressed a hand over his chest and found the lake blurring through what must be a few tears. That. That had surprised him. It probably shouldn’t have.

“Please,” Sirius said, then laughed a little when Regulus did. “Yeah, you’ll stand next to me.”

“Good. Okay, good.” Someone else said Regulus’ name.

Sirius realized he still thought of him as his quiet brother, half pressed against the sides of rooms so nothing could surprise him.

He felt only pure relief in realizing that wasn’t true anymore.

“I love you,” Regulus said suddenly, a gasp of breath almost. “So. Yeah, I do. And I’ll see you soon.”

“I—see you soon,” Sirius said, staring, unseeing, at the lake. “I love you, too, Reg.”

He sort of forgot to go back inside. He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting on the top porch step until a blanket appeared around his shoulders and Remus sat down close enough to press their hips and shoulders together.

“Is he okay?” Remus asked. “You’ve been out here for a while, I couldn’t tell if you were still on the phone.”

“Sorry,” Sirius said. “I didn’t help with dishes.”

“More than enough hands for that.” Remus turned Sirius’ hand over and traced a line of his palm with his thumb. “Everyone’s gone up to bed.”

“He just said he…” Sirius cleared his throat. “He just wanted to call me.”

Remus nodded. “Okay…Is he all good?”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah, he—he said Finn and Alex go running together when they’re in the same city. And that when he gets here, I should treat him like a brother? Not like a house guest?”

Remus laughed, just a little. “Well, okay, then. Blunt, as usual.”

“I have no idea what any of it meant.” Sirius rubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t think he was actually drunk? I mean, I don’t know.”

“Sounds like he wants to spend time with you.”

Sirius shook his head, bewildered. “Sounds like he wishes we were Finn and Alex. Merde, or you and Jules. I don’t…”

“No,” Remus said, hand hooking over Sirius’ shoulder. He rested his chin there, too.

“Yes.” Sirius sighed. “I don’t know. He was so… He has all of these friends, and then he said he loved me, and asked if he gets to stand next to me. I thought—I mean, of course?”

“Did you tell him that?”

“Yes.”

“No, I mean before.”

“Well—Before when?”

Remus squeezed his arm. “He might have thought you’d choose James. Or Pascal. Julian said he thought I was going to choose Thomas when I told him he’d be next to me.” Sirius felt Remus’ quiet laugh against his neck. “Then he googled weddings and got all freaked out I was going to make him give a speech.”

Sirius smiled. “Oh God, Reg is not going to give a speech, there’s no way.”

“That’s fine,” Remus said. “We have a lot of people who are going to want to say something. I went with my dad and sorted out the whole music, sound-system situation today. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to stop potential karaoke.”

“Oh God. James.”

“Yeah.”

“Finn.”

“What, you’re not going to sing me a song, Black?”

“There’s a lot of things I’ll do for you…That’s maybe not one.”

“Well, damn.”

“Unless you…like, really want me to.”

“I would never torture you like that.”

Sirius pressed his smile into Remus’ cheek, enjoying the way Remus leaned further against him. Something made the nearby waves pick up, and Sirius closed his eyes, suddenly wanting to be in their room with the windows open, listening to them as they fell asleep.

“We owe your entire family a vacation,” Sirius said. “A long one.”

“For real, though,” Remus laughed. When Sirius put his hand out, Remus laced their fingers together. “Hey.”

Sirius looked down at him. He had more freckles than Sirius had ever seen him with. They dotted across his nose and cheeks. They would be there for their wedding photographs. Something about them made Remus look like he had when Sirius had first met him in his Lions staff jacket. Hi, Sirius? I’m Remus Lupin. Is there anything I can do for you?

Remus hooked a finger in the neck of his shirt, pulling his attention back to right then.

“You’re the one who found a whole new sort of family,” Remus said. “It’s good Regulus is doing that, too.”

“I know.”

“And you’re doing it again. You’re my family and we’re yours. That includes Reg—believe me. If you don’t make him know it, my mom will.”

Sirius smiled. “Hope Lupin versus Regulus Black. That—oh, what’s the thing your dad says?”

“Which thing?”

“Ah…” Sirius squinted upwards, carding a hand through Remus’ hair. “Oh. We love to see it.”

Remus tilted his head back, laughing. “We love to see it. Oh my God. You’re funny that you remember that.”

They leaned their heads together. The waves had quieted. Sirius watched Remus’ thumb make slow tracks over his knuckles and wrist. The woods around them rustled, and a cluster of crickets sang somewhere close by. Sirius still couldn’t believe how many stars he could see here.

“I know we just said how much help we’re getting with wedding things,” Remus said quietly. “And that we owe them a vacation, so we should probably stick around. But…”

“But?” Sirius said, then he couldn’t help himself anymore and leaned in to kiss Remus. He made a soft, happy sound. Sirius pressed his thumb over his engagement ring.

“Do you maybe,” Remus hardly leaned away to speak, “want to drive somewhere tomorrow?”

“Just us,” Sirius said, and kissed him again, then again, in time with the hush of the lake’s shore.

“Just us.”

~

“No.”

Finn laughed as he reached the end of the pier before Alex, catching himself on the railing. He pulled back, letting himself hold on by his fingertips as he tilted his head up to the sky and let out a whoop.

“I win,” he shouted. “I fucking win.”

“I let you win,” Alex panted. He had his hands on his knees and was trying to blink sweat out of his eyes. “Tell me, who’s in the playoffs right now and needs to conserve their strength? Oh yeah. Me.”

“Fuck off,” Finn said. “I’m not even out of breath.”

“That’s because you’re a freak.”

Finn reached forward and flicked the bill of Alex’s cap up, knocking it to the ground.

Alex swiped at him, making to hit him in the groin, but Finn jumped back, out of reach. Alex scowled as he picked up his hat.

Finn turned back towards the water. The day’s heat was catching on now and he adjusted his own cap, pushing his sweaty hair back.

“No training today, right?” Finn asked.

“Nope.” Alex came to stand beside him. “Day off. Tomorrow, though. Morning’s optional. Do you know if Tremz is going?”

“I’ll ask him.”

They walked in the sun until they could cross back across the road and the smooth pavement of the river paths turned into the West Village’s cobblestones. There was a cluster of dogs outside of their regular coffee shop and Finn saw Alex snap a photograph of a particularly glossy golden retriever and send it off to Kasey.

“Are you bringing breakfast back or are they meeting you?” Alex asked.

“Lo’s probably sleeping still—bringing back.”

Alex nodded. “Do you—like urgently, or—Want to sit for a bit?”

Finn raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, I wanna sit. Are you okay?”

Alex turned his hat backwards as they went inside the shop. “Why?”

“You just started three different sentences.”

Alex kept his eyes on the menu. “I just—What are you poking me for, I want to have coffee with you, I’m being nice.”

Finn put his hands up. “Okay. Be nice, then.”

They ordered and found a table out front, so small they had to sit side-by-side to avoid being in the middle of the sidewalk. It was half in the shade of a tree and in the shadow of a row of Citi Bikes. Finn watched Alex fidget with his straw.

“How’s your shoulder?” Finn asked.

“What? Oh, fine. Just one of those things. Doesn’t bother me enough to bother me.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah. Lo’s got that with one of his calves. Doesn’t bother him on the ice but at home he’s all—you know. Harz, Le, can you get that, my leg.”

Alex laughed. “Let me guess. You get it for him.”

“So what if we do?”

“Shocker.”

Finn laughed, shaking the ice cubes around in his cup. “Whatever.”

They watched two beagles pass by, one coming over to sniff intently at Finn’s shoe. Finn asked if he could pet them, mostly trying to give Alex a moment to say whatever he wasn’t saying. He ran his palm over the dog’s soft ears, smiled at the warm kisses of its tongue against his wrist, and nodded his thanks to the owner who continued on.

“They’re not getting married. Yet.”

Finn watched the dogs go for another moment. Their white-tipped tails swished happily in unison. Twins. Brothers.

Finn turned back in his seat and took a sip of his coffee. Alex was looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He had one of his knees bouncing. When it rattled the table, he stopped.

“Hello?” Alex sighed.

Finn put an arm around him and pulled them together. The bill of Alex’s hat, low on the back of his neck, bumped into Finn’s nose, but Finn just held on tighter.

“Al…” Finn squeezed him hard. “Thank God, fuck.”

“I—yeah.” Alex sighed, slumping into him a little. “Guess you were right. I was worried. And sad.”

“I know,” Finn said. He pulled back. “How is everything now?”

Alex laughed, rubbing at his jaw. “Fuck. So much better. It’s like I was using half my lungs or something.”

“Don’t I know that feeling.”

“Yeah, what is up with us?”

“Mm…I don’t know. Maybe mom knows.”

Alex shook his head like he was still clearing the fog of these last months. He turned his face up towards the sunlight coming through the trees. “Yeah, she probably knows. Anyway…”

Finn raised his eyebrows and Alex shrugged.

“There you have it,” Alex said.

“There you have it? C’mon, how’d it go down?”

Alex groaned. “It went down, that’s all that matters.”

“Alex. What happened to telling each other things?”

“There’s nothing to tell. Natalie and I talked and then Kasey and I talked and—I don’t know, I confessed?”

“Al.”

“And I cried.” Alex slapped his hand to his thigh, laughing a little. “Which was—nice. But embarrassing.” He messed with his straw again, the paper scratching against the plastic lid. “I don’t think I even—really knew how worried I was. I think I assumed they would get tired of me. And I was just going to have to be okay with that.”

“I’ll beat up anyone who thinks they could get tired of you.”

Alex smiled slightly. “I’m glad I was wrong.”

“O’Haras don’t do sometimes. We’re all-day-every-day.”

“Ha, yeah. I guess that’s true.”

“So, you’re spending the summer together?”

“Yeah, gonna go to California, train with one of Kase and I’s old teammates. See Natalie’s family. What are you guys doing after the wedding?”

“France,” Finn said. “New Orleans.”

“Fancy you.”

Finn smiled. “Lo’s hoping for a Cup day in August, obviously, and he wants to bring it to Harvard with Percy and Will.”

“You gonna go?”

Finn nodded. “I want to take Leo all around. I mean…If he wants. I think he’ll like it? But I don’t want it to feel like…”

“‘Here are all the things we did without you?’”

“Yeah, exactly.” Finn stretched his legs out under the table. “I want—I’d mean it like, look, this is special now because you’re here, too. I mean, it was special before with just Lo, but it was also just…”

“Sad,” Alex finished.

“Yeah.” Finn laughed. “Are you going to finish all my—”

“Sentences.”

“Al—”

“—ex, stop,” Alex wined, then laughed loudly when Finn punched his arm.

“Okay, I’m done having coffee with you.”

Alex laughed and stood up. “Yeah, yeah, if you don’t get Tremz his chocolate he’ll bite you.”

“I mean, you’re—”

“—not wrong,” Alex said, then jumped out of Finn’s reach.

“Alex.”

“Okay, okay.” Alex lifted an arm and pulled Finn in. “See you later, yeah?” He pulled back and flicked his forehead. “Love you, Fish.”

Finn squinted one eye closed. “If you say so.”

Finn waited until Alex was halfway down the street, fishing his keys out of his pocket.

“I love you, too!” Finn shouted.

Alex turned to laugh, shaking his head.

Finn shut the front door to Logan’s apartment as quietly as he could. He set the croissant bag down on the counter, along with his keys and wallet, humming as he went. There were signs that Leo had been awake. Some coffee in the glass pour-over container, and his phone on the counter.

“Of course you and Remus are both morning hummers.”

Finn turned sharply towards the living room. “Whoa.”

Regulus’ sharp smile flashed and faded from where he sat on their couch. “Hey there.”

“Hi. Sorry.”

“No, my bad, I should have said something.”

“No. I mean—all good.” Finn took down a plate for the pastries. “Does morning hummer mean what I think it means?”

Regulus raised his eyebrows. “Uh. I don’t know. What does it mean?”

“Well…” Finn glanced in the direction of the bedroom. “Well, what do you think it mea—”

“Let’s just drop it.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Finn took a sip of his coffee. “If I’d known you were coming over, I’d have brought you something.”

“It’s all right,” Regulus said. “Leo said I are getting breakfast before I head up to Remus’ lake house tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes. Wedding. Best man, right?”

“I think James thinks he is, but it’s me.”

“Of course it’s you!” Leo emerged from the direction of the bedrooms, freshly showered, and pressed a kiss to Finn’s cheek. “Morning, Harz. You look so cute. Little tomato.”

“Thanks? I think.” He twisted Leo’s gray streak, still damp, once around his finger. “Sleep okay?”

“Second half of the night, yeah.” Leo let Finn run a hand over his hair, eyes closing happily. “How’s Alex?”

“He’s good. I beat him home, so, ha.” Finn put a thumb over Leo’s bottom lip. “Where’s our pet hockey player?”

Leo laughed, took his hand, and kissed it. “Still snoozing.”

Yes. Finn set the plate down. “Cool. I’m going to…” He glanced at Regulus. “Go say hi to him and then shower.”

“Say hi to him?” Leo repeated with a snort. “Okay, call it what you want, I guess. Reg and I are getting breakfast. Oh, and I think we’re going to his friend’s birthday party tonight—you wanna come?”

“Love to.” Finn looked at Regulus. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” Regulus said, standing. “Logan, too, if he wants.”

“We’ll see if he feels like he’s gotta lie low,” Leo said. He shrugged at Finn who nodded. Then Leo made a happy sound and wrapped his arms around Finn’s shoulders. “Party with you, I like the sound of that.” He pressed a firm kiss to Finn’s mouth and it felt like sparking wires. “I love you, I love you, you’re sweaty, ew, I love you.” He kissed Finn’s cheeks before whispering in his ear. “I know what you’re up to, you better change those sheets.”

“You got it, lover,” Finn whispered back.

“You guys are really bad at whispering,” Regulus said. He was standing by the door now. “Le, I want waffles.”

“I want that special quiche they had that one time, fingers crossed.” Leo grabbed his wallet and keys, then stumbled a bit when Finn reeled him back in, straight into one more kiss.

“I love you,” Finn said. “Have fun.”

“You taste like summer,” Leo smiled. “See you tonight. Let Lo know and we’ll text you the address.”

“Tell Logan congrats on making the finals,” Regulus called, then the apartment door swung shut.

Finn slipped through their open bedroom door, undoing his watch as he went. He smiled at the sight that waited for him. Logan was sprawled across the whole bed, like he was searching for them even as he was asleep. He was on his back, bare save for the tight gray briefs that he favored, and his chin was tilted up with his arms by his head. The sheets were low enough to show his tattoo. Finn’s heart picked up just looking at him. He could feel himself getting turned on. Logan and Leo both liked making love in the morning, and if Finn wasn’t careful, he’d see every sunrise and get endlessly hopeful each time.

Finn sat on the edge of the bed, pushing his sweaty hair off his forehead. Logan didn’t stir. He put a hand on Logan’s hip, thumbing over the dark ink. Nothing. He leaned over and pressed a kiss right to the center of Logan’s chest. That got a deeper breath, one of only just waking up.

Logan peeked an eye open and then, seeing Finn, closed them again and let a slow, sleepy smile spread over his face.

“Hi,” Finn whispered. “Good morning.”

“Mmm…Cœur.” Logan kicked back the covers. “Did you run?”

“Yeah, just got back.”

Logan stretched, his back arching. By the sly, tired look in his eye he knew exactly what he looked like. “Do you want to…”

Finn nodded, rubbing a palm high over Logan’s inner thigh. “I really fucking do.”

The sound Logan made next was low in his throat and pleased. “Come here.”

“Leo doesn’t like it when I bring outside sweat into the sheets,” Finn said—just to make him ask again.

“Good thing they’re my sheets,” Logan said.

Finn laughed and reached behind him to yank off his shirt. “That’s true.”

He shed his shorts and socks, too, and Logan tugged him down by the band of his underwear.

“If someone told you I was a morning hummer…” Finn mumbled into his kiss.

Logan threw a leg around Finn’s hip and pushed him onto his back. “Who’s someone?”

“Not Leo.”

Logan settled his weight down over Finn’s clothed cock and rocked slightly. He pressed one more kiss to Finn’s mouth before putting his hands against Finn’s chest and sitting himself upright. “Not sure I like that someone else knows that.”

Finn smoothed his hands over Logan’s strong thighs, so warm from being tucked under the covers. “That’s what I thought. Regulus just said—”

Logan froze. “Like, here?”

“Regulus was in our living room. Emphasis on was. Him and Le are at breakfast now, so…”

Logan sighed happily and rolled his hips again. “Oh.”

Finn hissed a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, baby, carry on. He says congrats on making the final round, by the way. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a few trips to Colorado. Not too many though.”

“Me too,” Logan said absently, more intent on palming Finn through the cotton material of his briefs, then himself. Finn could have lay there forever. He covered Logan’s hand with his and tucked a thumb into the front slip of his briefs to feel the silk of him.

Logan pushed into his touch, then bent to kiss him before reaching for the bedside table. Logan held the jar they kept there out to Finn and bit his lip around a smile.

“Oh, now he’s bashful,” Finn said, taking it.

Logan let loose his full grin and fell forward, tucking his face into Finn’s neck to bite at the sweat-damp skin. It was a bit of a tangle, ridding themselves of the rest of their clothes, and Finn laughed softly at the way Logan splayed his thighs wide over his lap, grinding their half-hard cocks together.

“You smell,” Logan whispered.

“Well, if I recall what I’ve learned about you over these many years—”

But then Logan was kissing him, licking into his mouth until Finn bit down on his lower lip just to hear his low groan. Logan moved down to kiss the salt from his jaw and neck, firm lips and quick dashes of his tongue and sharp, just on the side of not-too-hard nips from his teeth. Finn wondered what Logan would say if he asked him to just cover him in those biting kisses entirely and take his time about it.

“Did you have sweet dreams?” Finn asked, unscrewing the jar’s top.

“I’m in one,” Logan said, pulling back to watch Finn slick his fingers. “Did you have a good run?”

“Yeah,” Finn said, watching the way Logan’s eyes trained on his hand. “Got a chocolate croissant from that coffee shop by the river.”

Logan’s eyes darted to his, affronted.

Finn reached down and smoothed his hand over Logan’s ass. “Don’t give me that look.” He enjoyed the way Logan’s breathing hitched when he dug his palm into his muscles. “I don’t go near a bakery without leaving with something for my Lo.”

“Finn,” Logan whispered shakily.

“My sweet tooth creature of chocolate and sour candy.”

Logan pressed back against Finn’s slick touch.

“Of course it’s chocolate that turns you on.”

“You turn me on—” Logan cut off as Finn’s fingers found home, brows drawing together. His knees tightened around Finn’s hips. “Ah…”

Finn pressed his smile into Logan’s temple, then turned it into a kiss. They had time, so Finn kept his touches slow. The sun was coming through the window, lighting up dust in the air and throwing a warm slant across Logan’s lower back. Logan lay down against his chest and Finn could feel each one of his steady breaths. He kissed Finn’s skin every once in a while. Finn stroked his free fingers through Logan’s hair. It was almost like he was going to be put back to sleep, save for the needy thrum of his heart Finn could feel if he pressed a palm to his back. His skin still held that solid sort of heat he always had when he was sleeping, the warmth Leo and him always pressed their freezing fingers against in the middle of the night. Most people, Finn guessed as he felt Logan’s cock began to get wet between their stomachs, would shy away from any cold touch in their sleep. A slumbering Logan, however, always seemed to give them more room to warm up.

“Feels good?” Finn murmured. He scratched gentle fingers down the back of Logan’s neck and used the leverage of his other, slightly tweaking wrist to press deeper inside Logan’s body. More oil, a third finger that made Logan press his forehead into Finn’s chest and push back against his hand.

“Yeah,” Logan said. “Mhm, fuck.”

Finn rolled his head against the pillow to catch a good look at Logan’s parted mouth and shut, blissful eyes. His lashes cast those gorgeous shadows.

“You’re so fucking strong right now,” Finn said. “Fucking big, it’s…” Logan’s shoulders, the powerful muscles of his back, made Finn’s cock ache. He pressed hard into Logan, gentle with the pads of his fingers, until the corded muscles in Logan’s back shifted like rippling light and Logan gasped out a sound. “God, Lo, I love it.”

Logan’s laugh was a huffy, embarrassed sound, but his cheeks were pink and proud as he pushed himself to sit up, palms on Finn’s chest. Finn’s hand slipped out of him, but Logan was already reaching for the jar, then taking Finn in his hand, in both hands, to give him slow, smooth strokes.

Finn’s hips were pinned by Logan’s weight and he dug his nails into Logan’s thighs, trapped there with nothing to do but try to breathe through the sight of Logan’s scarred-knuckled hands around his cock. Logan watched, too, then darted his eyes to Finn’s face.

“I love your voice,” Logan said softly. His accent, sated already, dragged his words like a hand through clear water. He pushed himself onto his knees and positioned Finn’s cock, pausing to rub it against himself for a moment. “I love when it sounds like I’ve had you already and we haven’t even started.”

Finn just smiled and ran a hand through the mess Logan had left on his stomach. Then he felt the heat. Logan’s heat. It locked around him and Logan’s head dropped back in one, satisfied motion as he worked himself slowly down.

Finn’s toes curled and he dug his heels into the mattress. “Lo.”

“Mm,” Logan smiled up at the ceiling, eyes closed. He didn’t move. He stayed still, adjusting, before lifting himself so Finn could watch his cock slip nearly all the way out of him. Logan’s mouth fell open slightly, lost in the feeling if sinking down again. Finn, looking up from the mesmerizing sight of where they fit together, had expected his eyes to still be closed. But Logan was watching him.

“Sometimes, I can’t believe it’s you,” Logan whispered. He smoothed his palms up Finn’s chest over his heart. “I’m so—” He cut off as Finn accidentally slipped out of him. The sudden lack of contact ached and Finn hissed as his shaft jolted, seeking Logan and dripping beads of want from its tip.

“Non…” Logan began to say.

“Here, baby,” Finn was there, holding his hips and guiding them together again. “God.”

Finn felt his cock pulse, watched Logan feel it inside by the look on his face, saw the gleaming evidence of being as close to the edge as he was when Logan pushed himself up again. Finn splayed his hands over Logan’s ribs.

“So good,” Logan whispered. “You feel so good…”

Finn bent his knees, planting his feet on the bed to lift up into Logan’s body. It was the moments before the fall when he never felt deep enough, when ever part of him wanted to hear the sound of his skin moving against Logan’s more than anything.

He gripped Logan’s thighs, his fingers pressing indents into the strong muscle, and relished in the weight of Logan’s hands on his chest as he tried to keep his balance even as his breathing uneven. Logan reached behind him, hooking an elbow around Finn’s knee and found his rhythm again, letting himself fall down as Finn pushed up.

“Lo,” Finn grit out. It half-occurred to Finn that he should be doing most of the work, that Logan had other performances to pay attention to, but the blinding heat around him banished those thoughts quickly enough.

When Logan began to come, Finn knew he was only halfway there. He didn’t touch himself. Didn’t move to have Finn touch him.

“Ah—Ah—” Logan was loud. Hoarse, panting sounds fell from him that Finn swore were going to make him come. He reached down and pushed on the root of himself, trying to starve it off. Logan wasn’t done.

Logan leaned forward and fucked himself back on Finn in quicker snaps now as he painted strips of white over Finn’s body. Finn tilted his head back into the pillows, relishing the silky splash that reached up his chest, and the rhythmic squeezing of Logan’s orgasm around his cock.

“Fuck,” Finn said, hand circling Logan’s cock in a tight grip. “Oh, fuck, Lo, keep doing that, keep…”

Logan braced his hands on Finn’s ribs and began to push himself harder, hardly lifting off at all.

“Come here,” Logan whispered. He tangled his hands in Finn’s hair, gripping tightly, and kissed him.

Finn didn’t break the kiss as he went, just let Logan lick up his gasps. He pushed Logan onto his back in the rough, tumbling way he liked and hardly gave him any time for a please little laugh before he was grinding his cock into him, aiming straight for what would get Logan close to the edge of another one.

“Uh—” Logan pressed his teeth around Finn’s jaw, then dragged a half-kiss across his cheek until they were kissing as Finn rocked into him. “Yes, yes, Finn, yes…”

“I know.” Finn’s words sounded shaky to himself as he spread his palms down Logan’s back. He kissed the corner of Logan’s parted lips, the side of his nose, the high of his cheek. He caught a flash of green and Logan was suddenly looking at him again. It was written all over his face, how good he thought Finn felt inside. Finn could feel it in the half-smile they gave each other just before it was too much again and Logan dipped his fingers into Finn’s hair and brought their foreheads together. He felt it in the span of Logan’s hand down his back, then the way he cupped Finn’s jaw just to kiss him again through their mixed, heavy breaths.

Finn pressed his cock deep into him, almost straining for more, and stayed, and stayed, sucking a bruise into Logan’s neck until he felt him seize up around him and come between them again with a gasp. Finn smiled to himself.

“Good,” Finn whispered as he began to move again, chasing after his own now. “I’m gonna…”

“Yes.” Logan’s voice stuttered, pleasure that sounded like tears. He was trying to bring Finn closer with every part of him, drawing him in with his heels and the clutching of his hands and his core. He pushed his head back into the pillows and Finn kissed over the curve of his throat. He got a hand around the side of it, thumb just under his chin, so he could keep him like that while he added another bruise.

He thought of the party tonight as he rocked into Logan harder and watched the mark form as he worked Logan’s skin. Logan looked beautiful at parties. Low lights made his green eyes go dark. Anyone could see he was taken now. He’d need to pull Leo aside at some point, kiss him until he got that beautiful, open smile on his face like at the museum.

“Rouge,” Logan’s voice whispered. Two hands on the sides of his face. Logan had sweat beaded on his upper lip. Finn kissed him and slowed his hips. Logan reached down for his waist, coaxing him on. His thumbs were two lovely pressure points against each hip bone.

“Beautiful at parties,” Finn said softly.

Logan’s eyes edged on bewildered at that, but they were happy. They told Finn that Logan knew he’d been thinking about something, could even picture what he’d been thinking, at least a little. They’d always been that way. Logan nodded quickly, bottom lip between his teeth.

He began to fall over the edge at that look on Logan’s face. How had Finn ever convinced himself that Logan didn’t love him?

Logan opened up again at the feeling of Finn emptying inside him. Finn held his breath and closed a tight fist around the pillow beside Logan’s head. For a minute, they were just two heartbeats.

When he could breathe again, Finn peeked out from the warm crook of Logan’s neck. There was that small smile on his face, his eyes closed. He was making figure-eights around the notches of Finn’s spine. Finn shivered, sensitive now, and he eased himself from Logan’s body and tucked Logan into his side.

As he watched, Logan’s throat moved as he swallowed. Finn touched one of the love bites he’d left behind. Logan curled a gentle grip around his fingers, his palm against the back of Finn’s. He kissed the pads of his fingers and opened his eyes to look down at him.

“And what do I sound like now that you have actually had me?” Finn whispered, then winced one eye closed when his voice cracked.

“Sorry, what was that?” Logan laughed through the words.

“Shut up.” Finn ran a hand from Logan’s chest all the way down to the soft bend of his knee. “Oo-Ways.” Finn kissed his shoulder. “Want me to clean up?”

Logan thought for a moment, stretching beneath Finn’s hands. “Non. Shower soon.”

“Want me to bring you a chocolate croissant?”

Logan smiled. “Hm. Chocolate. What a turn on.”

~

Remus rolled the car windows down to let the smell of the lake and trees in, and smiled when he felt Sirius’ hand settle on his thigh as he drove them up towards the mountain trails.

“I still feel bad,” Sirius sighed. “Fuck.”

“Julian is not mad at you.” Remus said. “All we said was that we were going on a date—he can’t be mad that he couldn’t come.”

“But he was,” Sirius groaned.

“Disappointed maybe. He’ll live.”

“He’s going to hate me.”

“He literally could never hate you.”

“He’s going to start liking James more.”

Remus laughed. “Oh. So, that’s what you’re really worried about.”

Sirius just frowned at the sun-streaked road. Remus reached up to ruffle his hair. “Turn left here.”

He’d packed a simple picnic lunch and picked a straight-forward trail to a lookout that he’d hiked to a million times. The earth was spongy and soft beneath his feet as he settled the small lunch box, packed with icepacks, at the bottom of his bag. Making sure Sirius wasn’t looking, he opened it briefly to check all was right, then zipped up his pack.

Sirius started a few paces ahead of him, head forward as he climbed over roots and rocks like they were racing and he was determined to come in first place.

“Hi, I’ll just be back here,” Remus called out. “Your fiancé, trying to take you on a romantic hike.”

Sirius didn’t turn right away, so focused that it took him a moment to register that Remus had spoken. He stopped on top of a flat rock and looked back.

“Quoi? Did you say something?”

“I said I’m just your fiancé, back here, trying to take you on a romantic hike.”

“What?” Sirius laughed and stepped down. He retraced his steps back to Remus’ side. Even in the more mild mid-mornings, sweat already shone on his cheeks.

“Aren’t we trying to get to the top?”

Remus laughed. “Um. We’re going to get to the top.” He tugged at Sirius’ backpack strap. “Doesn’t mean we have to do it in under an hour.”

“Oh.” Sirius’ smile, aimed at the trees, was sheepish. “Right.”

Sirius stuck close to him after that, bending to feel a small stream running past them, or pausing to take Remus’ picture. Remus laughed himself hoarse when the rustle of a rabbit, darting between bushes, caused Sirius to jump half out of his skin. Sirius laughed himself when Remus stepped right into another small stream and walked the rest of the way disgruntled by a soaked sock.

They came to the summit sweating and out of breath, but as the trees opened up to reveal only sky and blue-purple mountains, they both stood quietly.

“Wow,” Sirius said. He turned in a slow circle, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “It’s like we’re the only two left.”

“If there’s anyone I would choose…” Remus began, and Sirius started to smile. “It would be Thomas.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Ouais, sure. Thomas.”

They found a shade-spotted place beneath a tree and Sirius rolled out the blanket from his pack while Remus set out their lunch of turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce—Sirius’ smile was worth the slightly soggy bread.

“Hey,” Sirius said softly. He turned Remus’ gaze away from his bag with a hand on his chin, and kissed him. Remus had expected it to be quick, and the warm swipe of Sirius’ tongue, then the small scrape to his bottom lip, made him sway and catch himself with a hand on Sirius’ knee. Sirius smiled at him when he pulled back. “Feels like yesterday.”

Remus nodded. From the corner of his eye, he could see his ring. “Yeah, it really does.”

“This is perfect.”

“Wait,” Remus said, then produced from between cold-packs, a half-bottle of champagne.

“Loop,” Sirius laughed delightedly. “Really—C’est parfait.”

Remus began to untwine the wire. “I thought you’d like that.”

They let the sun creep towards their blanket. The champagne in the plastic cups caught the light, and Remus wiggled his nose at some bubbles as Sirius cut into a ripe pear and passed him slices as he went.

“So.” Sirius took a sip of champagne. “Do you think anyone would listen to me if I tried any pull that might get Tremz back?”

Remus leaned back on his elbows. “Hm. Well, it’s not like—I mean, you wouldn’t exactly have to convince anyone on our side. But the Rangers would have to be willing to deal. Money would be the problem.”

“I think about it when I’m trying to fall asleep sometimes. I’d take a pay cut,” Sirius said. “And I wouldn’t ask that of Leo so early in his career, but I bet Finn would, too.”

“And Kasey’s retiring,” Remus added. “That frees up quite a bit.”

“Ouais, this is what I’m saying.”

“But if the Rangers aren’t interested—”

Sirius sighed. “Yeah…Yeah.”

“Logan’s about to get them to a Cup, their first in a long time, if all goes to plan.”

Sirius didn’t say anything, just looked out towards the mountains. He set the core of the pear aside, wiping the leftover juices on a napkin.

Remus sat up again. He rested a hand on Sirius’ sun-warmed neck. “I’m sorry, baby. I know you miss him.”

Sirius nodded. “I do, but… More I just…If we ever got traded apart—”

“La la la.” Remus scrunched up his nose. “No, don’t. We’re drinking champagne, you can’t talk like that while we’re drinking champagne.”

It had been one thing this year, getting used to being on a team with all of his closest friends. It would be something entirely different to be in another locker room, filled with other players—some of which probably wouldn’t trust his experience.

“I was just going to say, if it were me, or you, I’d hope someone would help me. And it has happened. A player leaving and returning. It happens.” Sirius glanced at Remus, then down. “This is going to sound bad, but I am the face of the Lions. When I got here, we were in a horrible slump. I was part of pulling them out of that. Me, James, Dumo, Kasey… Then Finn. Then Logan.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Remus said. “That sounds true. That is true. I’d know, I watched it happen.”

Sirius nodded, then groaned and fell back against the blankets, his head pillowed on Remus’ pack. “I’ll try. I just won’t say anything to him in case nothing happens.”

Remus set his cup in the grass and rolled onto his side to be near him. He righted with the 1 and 2 pendants, which had switched to twenty-one.

“I love you,” Remus said. He leaned down to press his nose into Sirius’ cheek, enjoying the slight scratch of his stubble. “I don’t know how anyone calls those grey eyes of yours cold.”

Sirius just smiled, his eyes closing. Remus lowered his head to his chest and felt his arm wrap around his shoulders. The sun felt like it was soaking into his very bones. The champagne had made his head pleasantly buzzy, and Sirius’ heart beat slowly beneath his ear.

“I love you, too,” Sirius said.

He had hardly finished the words when Remus felt one rain drop, two, right on his cheek—and then downpour.

The sky was still blue, even as the sudden shower was came down with such force that for a moment they both merely lay there, staring at each other. Finally, Sirius cracked a smile, let out a surprised laugh, and began to sit up.

“Whoa. Oh my God, shit, the—the blankets.”

Remus’ laugh startled out of him. He shut his eyes and turned his head up to the sky. “Oh my God.”

Distantly, thunder rumbled beneath the rattle of the rain on the trees.

“Here, Re, go under that tree and I’ll—”

But Remus just pushed at Sirius’ chest, getting him to stay where he was. “No. I—no, wait.”

Sirius’ t-shirt was already thin and clinging at his shoulders, carving itself into his muscles. He blinked fast, laughing as the rain ran into his eyes. Up close, there was nothing steely about his expression. He was rainwater. Remus tucked two fingers around the chain of his necklace.

“It’s just rain,” Remus said.

Sirius spluttered a little. “This is—someone turned a tap on.”

But Remus just laughed harder and put his hands into Sirius’ soaked hair. It slipped, silky and dark, between his fingers.

“I want to kiss you,” Remus said. Raindrops ran into his mouth and matted his hair down against his forehead. “I want to kiss you when no one is about to come around the corner or knock on our door our shout up the stairs.”

At that, Sirius stopped trying to salvage their small camp. His hands found Remus’ waist and he lay back on the soaked ground at Remus’ slight pressure. Let their champagne mix with the rain in the plastic cups. Remus wanted to see if he could taste that combination, and he leaned forward and kissed Sirius for the summer storm that he was.

~

Luke liked Saint in his apartment. He liked the steam coming out of his bathroom and the sliver-glimpse he got of his lean body stepping out of the glass-encased shower. Luke looked back to his own reflection in the mirror. He’d ironed his shirt, the soft white linen mostly unwrinkled now. At least, he’d tried. He snapped a quick photo and sent it to Logan with two question marks.

The reply came after a few moments.

Nice!!

Finn was looking over my shoulder he’s better at this - brown belt instead?

On subway also - maybe slow reply

Where are you going?

Luke sent him the link to the restaurant.

But I’ve never been. Finn have favorites?

This reply did take longer. Maybe the subway, maybe Finn thinking. Then a link came through. He tapped on the address and it loaded in Maps, showing a small restaurant, not too far away. The tables were small. Candles. Romantic. A wave of nerves heated Luke’s neck and he glanced at himself in the mirror.

Thanks a lot

“You’re dressed.”

Luke looked up at Saint’s voice. His expression matched the faint hint of surprise it had held. He had a towel around his waist.

Luke set his phone down on the dresser. His heart really shouldn’t be pounding this hard. They’d done this before. These almost-dates. Quiet-never-quite-said-dates. Romantic, sort of, but could be mistaken for anything by the table beside them. Business. Friends catching up.

“Did you want me to lie around naked all evening?” Luke asked.

Saint arched a brow, but he didn’t reply and Luke smiled down at the brown belt he was weaving through his slacks.

“Why are you dressed like that?” Saint stepped in a slow arc around him, as if he needed every detail of Luke. Maybe there was something wrong with Luke’s heart. Maybe love didn’t make everyone feel this way. But it was nice. He wanted Saint to make him explode, actually, he really kind of did.

Logan was on the subway with Finn. They were probably standing or sitting pressed together. Maybe kissing once or twice. Luke had kissed Saint in an Uber, dark and out of view of the driver’s mirror.

“You’re going to be dressed like this, too, in a second,” Luke said.

“Why?”

Logan, talking about Leo coming back from his trip home. That night at that one bar, Logan had spent nearly the whole time pressed into Leo’s side just…content. Just at ease. So at ease.

Luke walked forward and took Saint’s face between his hands. Water dripped from Saint’s hair onto the cuffs of his shirt. Little dark droplets that would dry and fade. He kissed Saint once, then looked at his closed eyes and did it again.

“I’m taking you on a date,” Luke said.

Saint’s eyes opened. He had his mask up, the one he wore over his expressions on the ice. He looked Luke up and down, then moved out of his reach and went to the dresser. His eyes snagged on Luke’s phone, which he’d left open to Finn’s restaurant.

In the mirror, Luke caught a glimpse of a small, bitten back smile.

~

Finn steered them into a liquor store where they picked up small bottles of rum, gin, and tonic.

“I don’t know, it’s probably BYOB?” Finn said, though Logan hadn’t asked. He loved Finn and Leo in these stores, chatting up the sellers, asking advice. “The address is an apartment not a bar. We’ll stop at a corner shop and get you soda.”

Logan let Finn lead. He snapped a photo of Finn examining a wine label and Leo replied hot.

Finn made quick conversation with the man at the bodega, then found them a subway and grinned back at Logan as they walked down the stairs to the sound of a train rushing into the platform.

“You gonna hop it again if I dare you?” Finn asked as he took his phone out to pass them through to the platform.

“Shut up,” Logan replied without looking at him. Finn laughed at him but placed a kiss on the back of his neck.

The train to Brooklyn was crowded, but Finn spied one free seat and motioned Logan towards it.

“You sit,” Logan said. “You’re holding all the bags.”

Finn narrowed his eyes but complied. “I feel unchivalrous.”

“Un—what about a horse?”

“What?”

“Un cheval.”

“Ooh. Yeah, I have no idea.” Finn pulled Logan in until he was standing between his thighs. Logan held onto the rail above them and watched Finn’s eyes drop to the strip of skin it exposed as his shirt rode up. Finn steadied Logan with hands on the backs of his knees, the bottles clinking gently in the bag on his lap. He glanced at the two people beside them, eyeing the headphones over their ears and their noses in their phones, before playfully biting at the waistband of Logan’s shorts, laughing when Logan tangled his fingers in his hair and tugged his head back.

“Tu es un peu chahuteur.”

“Hm,” Finn said. “Eye level.”

Logan just shook his head. He was trying to decide if he was crazy for how Finn caused such a happy pressure in his chest, when he felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. When he checked it, Finn tilted Logan’s phone down to see, then leaned back in his seat.

Logan laughed. “You’re such a baby. Luke’s just asking me if he looks okay for a date.” He turned the phone around. “There, you can see. I think he does.”

Finn glanced at the picture, then turned away in a huffy sort of way.

“Rouge.”

Finn made a show of adjusting the bag of bottles in his lap. He didn’t look up when he said, “Tell him to put a brown belt on instead of black. It’s softer.”

Logan smiled, leaned down to kiss Finn’s head, and typed on his phone. He heard Finn mumble something that sounded a bit like yeah, whatever.

Another text appeared. “He wants to know your favorite restaurants. Little bit fancy.”

“My favorite?”

“You did grow up here, so.” Logan was having a little bit of fun with the pink heat spreading across Finn’s cheeks. His ears. He reached out and rubbed a thumb over the warm shell of his left one. “Where would you take Le and I? Little bit fancy. Summer night. Nothing too heavy, have to play tomorrow…”

Finn worried the inside of his cheek for a moment, eyes on one of the subway ads behind Logan’s head. Finally, he sighed and took Logan’s phone. He typed an address and restaurant name into the text and hit send.

“Merci,” Logan said. “He says thanks.”

Logan let go of the above-head railing completely as the train pulled into another stop, letting people off. The two beside them hardly looked up and didn’t budge. Logan leaned more heavily into the cradle of Finn’s thighs, stabilizing himself as the train jostled forward again. He cupped Finn’s chin gentle and made him look up.

“I love you,” Logan said.

“I’m not jealous of him. I love that you have him, I’d be a horrible person if I didn’t, not to mention a terrible boyfriend,” Finn said. “I’m just—I’m jealous that he gets to see you every day.”

Logan put his fingers back in Finn’s hair, gentler this time. Finn closed his eyes and leaned into his touch.

“I know, Rouge.”

A whole season, Logan thought, not for the first time. How am I supposed to go a whole season without this?

They stood at the address’s buzzer for a few unanswered moments before texting Leo who told them to go around the alley and enter a gateway through the back. It led them to a courtyard, lit up by warm, white lights strung overhead. It was a crowded space, loud with laughter and music. Logan moved around the sparse lawn furniture, which was set out in odd pairs like different pieces had been left behind by different people. Leo. He just needed to spot Leo. Finn was looking, too, eyes scanning the crowd.

Finally, Logan found him, hitting Finn to get him to look. Leo was standing with three people, all of whom were listening to him tell a story. He was wearing a shirt Logan didn’t recognize, a lovely light blue color, and it was unbuttoned enough for Logan to see the pendant of his fleur-de-lis necklace. His chest and collarbones looked warm in the lights strung above the courtyard.

“Jesus,” Finn said. “Look at him.”

Logan chose that moment to trip a little on a loose stone, and Finn caught him with a hand on his chest but laughed so loudly a few people looked at them. Logan bit back a smile and shoved Finn.

“Fuck off.”

Finn just slipped their hands together and began to pull him in Leo’s direction. Logan pulled back, though.

“Wait.”

Finn looked at him, then at Leo, then back. “What? Why?”

“I think we shouldn’t interrupt,” Logan said. “Let’s just…” Logan was enjoying how lit up Leo looked, how much he deserved to be the center of attention like that. “Get his attention, but give him a second.”

Finn wasn’t subtle about it. He waved his hand above his head until the motion caught Leo’s eye then made a heart with his hands and pointed to the table filled with drinks. Leo grinned and nodded. His circle looked, too, and Logan smiled and looked down with hot cheeks when he saw Leo’s mouth form the words, those are my boyfriends.

At the drinks table, Finn’s hands were already swiftly pouring what looked like a gin and tonics.

“Ew,” Logan said.

“They’re for Leo and I,” Finn laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Or I would, if you gave me elbow room.”

Logan pushed closer to him. Finn didn’t complain, just settled a hand on the back of Logan’s neck and began pouring coke into a cup one-handed.

“Well, this is familiar. Drinks table, loud music. Mixing you a drink.” Finn reached for the rum. “You gonna watch me flirt with girls from across the room?”

“Ouais.”

Finn raised his eyebrows, looking up from where he was pouring. “Ways? What do you mean ways?”

“Then I’m going to come over and show them you are mine.” Logan took the cup Finn had now filled with ice. “I’d like to do it a few times, actually. Just because I can now. Go talk to someone and I’ll wait five minutes for them to fall in love with you, and then I’ll come over.”

Finn just picked up his and Leo’s drinks, shaking his head, but he was grinning hard. “You think it takes five minutes?”

“It took me two, I think.”

Finn clicked his tongue, but put a foot out to stop Logan from walking. “Come here, Ten, fuck.”

His kiss was soft, even quick, but Logan was surrounded by voices and lights, he could smell the rum in his drink, and it was almost as if he was eighteen and getting everything he’d ever wanted.

“It took me one,” Finn said, then laughed and walked away from Logan’s eye-roll.

When they turned, Leo was already watching them and grinning.

“You’re here.” Leo called when they weaved their way through the crowd. “I—oh, thank you, sweetheart.” He took the drink Finn held out and accepted a quick kiss. “Y’all, this is Finn and Logan. This is Amanda, Harper, and John—it’s Harper’s birthday, this is her place.”

Logan used the introduction time to move around to Leo’s other side. He was more interested in Leo’s lean back in that shirt than whose birthday it was.

“Happy birthday,” he said, offering a small smile to a girl with a pretty bob and brown eyes.

“Thank you,” Harper smiled. “Thanks for coming—wait, which one is which? Logan, Finn, Finn, Logan…”

Finn raised his hand. “Finn.” He pointed. “Logan.” Logan watched as Finn slipped right into his element. “Happy birthday. Wow, this is a great place—courtyard in the city is such a score.”

“Oh my god, right?” John said. Logan met his eyes and realized he had been watching Logan take in Leo. Logan smiled back, maybe a little awkwardly, then looked down at his drink.

“Seriously,” Harper said. “I’m not even sure how I got so lucky.”

“How’d you find it?” Finn asked.

Logan let every part of himself relax. This was a rhythm he loved. Finn, launching into a conversation so easily that he hardly had to say anything, hardly had to do anything except feel it when Leo put an arm around his shoulders and turned his head down for a kiss.

“Hi, Lo,” Leo said in his ear. He carded a quick hand through Logan’s hair. “Oh my God, I didn’t realize it was getting kind of long. I love it. How are you?”

“Good,” Logan said. “You look really good.”

That brought Leo’s smile to a new light. “Thanks, I bought this today. You like it?”

Logan nodded, reaching forward to touch one of the small, white buttons. They had a slight sheen to them.

“Thanks for coming,” Leo said. “I know you’ve got training tomorrow.”

“I missed you this morning, I wanted to be with you.”

Logan knew he should let Leo keep up with the conversation around them, even if he just wanted to ask how his day was, and what he did, and where he got the shirt so Logan could get him more of that blue color.

Leo squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll come to the gym with you tomorrow, I think.”

Logan smiled. “That’ll definitely make it go faster.”

“Wait,” said Harper suddenly, drawing their attention. “So, you’re like—actually…I don’t even know what to call it—like you’re in a playoffs right now.”

Logan blinked, but figured Finn must have said something.

“I was explaining we met through hockey,” Finn said. “And John said I looked familiar, so I was saying about Alex and such, maybe he’s seen his face around.”

“Oh.” Logan took a quick sip of his drink. “Ouai—Yeah. So, we’re about to start the final round. I fly to Colorado the day after tomorrow for the first game.”

“How many games are there?” the other girl—Amanda?—asked.

Logan felt himself smile a little, and noticed Leo and Finn doing the same.

Amanda flushed a bit. “Sorry, that’s probably a stupid question.”

“Non, non,” Logan said quickly, mixing with Leo and Finn’s protests. “Non, it’s—Really, it’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t as, ah…” He looked at Finn, trying to find what he would have said in this situation. What was the thing he said? “Ah, wrapped up as we are in all of it.”

He paused, but Finn stayed quiet and the others were looking at him. “Um. Well, there could be four games, if one of us wins straight in a row.”

“A sweep,” Leo chimed in.

“Or there could be seven, if we really go back and forth.”

“And they’re all in Colorado?”

“Non, we trade off. Colorado, New York.”

“Damn,” John said. “That’s a lot of travel.”

“Tell me about it,” Leo said.

“So…” Harper gestured her drink between the three of them. “You’re all on different teams? That must be hard.”

Leo’s hand tightened around Logan’s waist. He saw Finn glance away.

“Ah, non. We were all on the Lions—Gryffindor’s team?”

“Oh, I love Gryffindor,” Amanda said. “My best friend moved there this past summer.”

Logan flashed a brief smile. “Ouais.” He nodded to Leo and Finn. “They’re still there. I got traded to New York a little while ago.”

“Oh.” John frowned. “Wow. I’m—is it weird to say I’m sorry? That feels weird.”

“Oh, no,” Finn assured him. “Believe me, we’re all sorry.”

“Hey, there are fights in hockey, right?” Amanda asked more brightly. “Do any of you do that?”

Regulus’ laugh reached them before he stepped up on Logan’s other side. “Wow. You two have been here for four minutes and we’ve already got the place flooded with hockey talk.”

“Guilty,” Finn said.

“Wait, so are you, like, famous to some people? To fans? Like would people stop you in the street?”

Logan just raised his eyes at Regulus. They obviously didn’t know who his brother was.

“Yep, got a couple of celebrities in our presence.” Regulus raised his eyebrows right back. “Bow down, I guess.”

“Oh, stop,” Leo laughed. “Finn, honey, come here, I want you to meet someone you’ll like. Lo?”

“Ouais, just going to get some more ice.” It was so hot, even with the sun lowering in the sky, that his drink was little more than watery soda.

When he found the ice again, it was also watery mush. Logan pushed a hand through his hair, cursing softly when it got caught on a knot. Leo was right, it was getting a little long, curling just at the back of his neck.

“Salut.”

Regulus had followed him apparently. He stood on the other side of the table a bit awkwardly, hands in the pockets of his shorts. His t-shirt said I can’t, the Rangers are playing.

Logan laughed, pointing. “I didn’t notice that.”

Regulus smiled and replied in French. Thank God, Logan thought. He was already tired. “A little inside joke. Sirius was livid.”

“Ha, I bet he was.”

“Here. Fresh ice,” He pushed a cooler Logan’s way.

“Ah, great. Hey, thanks for inviting us. I know you probably don’t want all the hockey stuff around but—”

“Non, non,” Regulus said quickly. “I mean, yes. But that’s not—I don’t mind so much anymore. Obviously.” He gestured to his shirt. “Just needed a break, you know? A clean slate for a while.”

Logan nodded. “I get it.”

“Thanks for coming. You’ve got a lot going on right now.”

“Non, it’s a great break. And I’m trying to soak up as much time with the boys as possible, so.”

“You do have a whole summer for that.”

Logan smiled. “But it’s a short summer.” He used a fresh cup to scoop some ice into his drink. “Oh, before I forget.” He checked behind him, but Leo and Finn were across the courtyard. “I got us a cottage for the wedding. When you’re not with Sirius, you should come over and hang out.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

“The boys don’t know. It’s a surprise.”

“How long are you guys staying up there?”

“Just a week. But we’ll be leaving Loops and Cap—or.” Logan rolled his eyes at himself.

Regulus laughed. “Habit.”

“Yes. One that my new team is not a fan of. But anyway, we’ll all be leaving them alone so, if you want, you should come stay? I know Leo will like that. Finn and I, too. It’s got, like, six bedrooms, so. And a dock. The family I got it from said we can use their boat—motor and sail.”

Regulus took a sip of his drink—Logan couldn’t tell what it was with the opaque red cup. “I’d really like that. If it’s all right.”

“It’s more than all right. I might invite my friend Luke and—and Saint.”

“Deveaux and Montague?”

“Ouais. You can bring someone, if you want.”

“Oh.” Logan swore Regulus’ eyes found someone in the crowd. “Ha, maybe.”

Logan looked over again to see Finn and Leo talking to two girls. He recognized their shared glances and the way they leaned in to catch every word Finn said. His entire chest got warm when he saw Leo switch his drink from one hand to the other and put his hand low on Finn’s back.

“You and my brother are still close.” Regulus said it like a statement, drawing Logan’s attention back to him. Then he added, “Right?”

Logan took a drink, tilting ice into his mouth. “Always.”

Regulus nodded. “Right.”

Logan looked at him, waiting for more, but Regulus didn’t offer anything right away. There was a plastic box of cookies on the table and Logan pointed to them.

“Just cookies? Nothing that’s going to make morning skate rough?”

Regulus smiled. “Yeah, just cookies.”

He took one, too, as if to prove it. “Do you think of him as a brother? Sirius. I know he thinks of you that way.”

Logan paused with the cookie halfway up to his mouth. He wasn’t sure if he was overthinking that question—especially coming from Regulus.

“I mean, obviously not like you. But, yeah, I think of him like that.” Logan took another sip, the rum sweet on his tongue. “Just with—Pascal and everything. And I could speak French with him. And we were with each other when, you know. The pictures. My trade. He’s one of my closest friends.”

Regulus nodded. He stopped nodding, and then nodded again. He snapped the cookie in half and chewed slowly.

“I’m glad he had that,” Regulus said finally. “I was just… All this wedding stuff. He’s got so many people.”

Logan nodded. “Ouais. Yeah, he does.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Logan could see Finn and Leo extracting themselves from the girls.

“He’d give us all up for you, though,” Logan said.

Regulus blinked, eyebrows going up. “I wouldn’t want him to do that.”

“I know.” Logan felt Leo’s hands on his waist, laughing at something Finn had said. He had about two more seconds, holding Regulus’ eyes, to make sure he knew. “But he would.”

Even once Finn and Leo started talking at the same time, Regulus’ gaze stayed on Logan, and he gave a pleased, conceding nod.

[wondergirlsthings]

Accidental Discoveries: Going Through Jude Bellingham’s Phone

Jude Bellingham x Reader

It wasn’t intentional, really. You were just sitting on the couch, scrolling through your phone, when you felt an annoying flicker of your phone freezing once again. Frustration settled in as you tried to fix it, but it just wasn’t working. You sighed and glanced up, seeing Jude on the other side of the room. He was lounging on the couch, the TV on in the background, his eyes glued to his phone.

His phone was carelessly lying on the coffee table beside him, unlocked. You glanced at it briefly, your eyes catching a few notifications. For a split second, you thought about how easily you could just check the time on his phone instead of bothering with yours. You didn’t mean to, but curiosity tugged at you.

You always trusted Jude completely, and you never had any reason to doubt him. Yet, in that moment, a tiny thought crept in. What if? You barely even knew who the people were who texted him sometimes, other than his teammates or family. That was normal, right? So why was it making you feel uneasy?

It only took a second before your fingers moved on their own, picking up his phone. You glanced at him quickly—he was too busy to notice. You told yourself you were just going to check the time, but as your thumb unlocked the screen, your eyes caught a few texts that were different.

There were messages from someone named “Maya”. The name didn’t sound familiar to you, and the way the conversation flowed caught your attention. You told yourself it was nothing, just a random contact, but the more you looked, the more you felt uneasy. Some of the texts were playful, a bit flirtatious. She called him “babe” in one of them. That tiny word made your heart beat faster, and suddenly, everything seemed to freeze.

Before you could go any further, your phone buzzed beside you, and you jolted. The distraction snapped you out of it, but the sinking feeling in your stomach remained. You placed the phone back onto the table quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed. But you could already feel the guilt piling up inside you.

Suddenly, Jude spoke up from behind you. His voice was casual but laced with curiosity. “What are you doing?”

You froze, your heart leaping into your throat. There was no denying it now. He had caught you. You quickly placed the phone back on the table and tried to act nonchalant.

“Nothing, just... checking the time,” you said, your voice betraying your nerves.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “You sure about that?” Jude set his own phone aside and shifted toward you, a bit of concern creeping into his eyes. You could feel the tension in the air as you avoided his gaze.

“Actually, I wasn’t just checking the time,” you admitted, feeling your cheeks flush. “I, um... I saw something on your phone, and I wasn’t sure what it meant.”

Jude’s eyes softened, sensing the change in your mood. “What did you see?” he asked, his voice quiet, not angry, but more concerned.

You swallowed hard, unsure if you should even bring it up. The words felt like they were stuck in your throat. “It was just a text from someone named Maya. She... called you ‘babe,’ and I didn’t know who she was, and...”

You trailed off, suddenly feeling vulnerable. You hadn’t meant to invade his privacy, and now you regretted it. Jude sat silently for a moment, processing what you’d said. His expression shifted, and he gently took your hand, turning it over in his.

“Look,” he began, his voice soft and steady. “I can see why you’d feel uncomfortable. I get that. But I want you to know that I’ve never wanted to keep anything from you. Maya’s just an old friend from when I used to play back in England. We’re not... anything more than that.”

You blinked, still not quite sure how to react. “But she called you ‘babe.’ Isn’t that... a bit much for a friend?”

Jude chuckled lightly, squeezing your hand. “I get it. It’s a bit playful, but honestly, there’s nothing between us. I promise you. I only have eyes for you.”

You sighed, feeling both relief and embarrassment flood over you. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone through your phone. I know it was wrong, and I trust you, I do. It’s just... I guess sometimes I overthink things.”

Jude smiled warmly at you, his thumb brushing over your hand. “You don’t need to apologize. I get that you were worried, and I should have reassured you sooner. But there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

He leaned closer, his lips brushing against your forehead in a tender kiss. “You know I’m always here for you to talk about anything. If something bothers you, we’ll sort it out together, okay?”

You looked up at him, meeting his gaze, and your heart softened at the sincerity in his eyes. You realized how lucky you were to have someone who understood your insecurities and was willing to talk things through.

“I promise I’ll never go through your phone again,” you said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

Jude laughed lightly, shaking his head. “And I promise to always make sure you know exactly where I stand. No more mysteries.”

You chuckled, relieved and feeling much lighter now. “Deal.”

He pulled you closer, wrapping his arms around you. “Good. Now, how about we focus on what really matters? Us.”

The rest of the evening was spent snuggled together on the couch, watching TV, and talking about everything and nothing. The tension had melted away, replaced by the comfort of knowing that communication, trust, and love were always at the core of your relationship.

[sheeezu]

I’ve been trying to shift for the past five years. I love shifting and it’s honestly the one thing that kept me going all this time and gave me hope and it just felt right. Everytime I would feel demotivated I would change my mindset, think positively, and try again. Or I would take breaks and then try again. I have tried every method and then realized I didn’t like methods so I tried no methods and just intention which I liked but then the cycle would repeat after trying for so long and not shifting at all. I’ve had moments where I’ve felt myself shifting but never got further than that or actually fully woke up in my dr or wr. I’m a stubborn person and never wanted to give up on shifting because I know I can do it and I know I deserve it and it is what my soul wants. But lately I’m so burnt out with my cr life which never gives me a break and with trying to shift to the point where I’m thinking of giving it up even though I don’t want to and it’s been the one thing giving me hope. I’ve even tried not to try to shift and just go with the flow and simply affirmed but I still wake up here. I know a lot of other shifters feel the same way as me who have been trying for years. But I’ve reached this unfortunate point where I have lost a bit of faith and am too tired to try anymore even though it’s everything I want. It’s like I see it dangling in my face and see other people get it easily and I know I can have it too but I can never reach it and now it’s too exhausting. But it’s like even if I took another break, the cycle will just repeat like it has been. And trust me I’ve read everything and tried changing my mindset and thought positively and have had hope and know I can shift. I know this seems like I’m just ranting and having the most negative mindset so you’re like well of course this is why you’re not shifting, but genuinely after trying your best at something you’ve loved for five years and still nothing and in fact things are just getting worse in your life when you’ve done your best at juggling everything from work, school, family, and shifting, just to feel like you are going no where and lost everything anyways, that can break down even the most hopeful positive of people like me in my shifting journey. I don’t know if there’s any advice you can hopefully provide for this that I probably haven’t heard but thank you anyways for all you do and I’ve always admired who you are and how authentic you are. ❤️ who knows maybe something will miraculously change for me when I least expect it but for now here I am! ❤️

Of course, you're right, that I've probably got nothing new for you, but maybe what I'm about to say may ease your stress, make it fade away from background.

Shifting is dependent on which lens you to try to look at it.

If you looked at it through the eyes of your CR self, then of course, you'll remain your CR self.

But if you were to view it from your DR self's eyes, shifting won't be there, but your DR will be.

Shifting is all about breaking a mold. to solve shifting like any other worldly problems, robotically, like you're trying to pass on a test, is not how it works.

Simply assume you're not human. I know you've mentioned the struggle of juggling other activities alongside it, you have to let go of the crave to make yourself seem like "you've done enough", that is a human response to any situation.

I know my word would induce nothing but agitation in you, because it is simply not something anyone who works hard would want to hear, shifting does not require hardwork.

I would rant all I know in this post, to try to push you in the right direction, but I wouldn't like to be so unorganised.

I have already made much posts on my blog, which focuses on letting go of human identity and ideologies, so please, if you haven't come across the knowledge I can share, reach back in my inbox, so i could link all the posts I think could help you.

[legendary-69420]

Broadway’s Brightest Star 1 : From Tracks to Theatre

Chapter 11 : Part 1

(Racing Hearts : VOLUME 3 )

racing hearts

It was an ordinary Tuesday morning when Charles, lounging on his couch, began aimlessly scrolling through Instagram. He wasn’t looking for anything specific—just killing time before the day’s responsibilities kicked in. That was until a familiar name caught his eye on a reposted story from none other than Mark Spencer.

His thumb froze mid-swipe. The story displayed a vibrant trailer with elegant gold lettering over lush jazz music:

"La La Land comes to Broadway, starring none other than @Mark_Spencer as Sebastian!"

Charles blinked. Mark Spencer? HIS Mark Spencer? When had this happened?

The clip played automatically, showcasing Mark in full Sebastian mode—dressed sharply, spinning on a lamp post, jazz piano music in the background and Mark with an effortless charm. The captions provided all the details: show locations, dates, and a prompt to book tickets. Gigi Meloni (A famous model) had been cast as Mia, and the chemistry between her and Mark looked flawless even in these brief snippets. The polished teaser ended with Mark’s smile lighting up the screen, and Charles felt something twist in his chest.

He couldn’t stop himself from diving deeper. A quick search led him to the official Broadway account. There, a post highlighted Mark’s involvement:

"We wanted someone perfect—someone with both theatrical experience and the passion to embody Sebastian. After seeing Mark’s performance in the 'Barbie' movie and in 'All of Us Strangers', it was clear: he was our Seb," the owner of the production stated. The director added, "Funny story: Mark’s audition featured him singing parts of Mia’s solo as a joke. Classic Mark." Ryan Gosling himself had chimed in with his approval: "Mark is literally the perfect choice. Couldn’t be happier to see him bring Seb to life." Emma Stone added: "Can’t wait to watch his performances—he’s going to be phenomenal."

Charles scrolled to the comments section, which was already exploding with reactions.

@MarkFan69: "Mark 6 months ago: La La Land is my favorite movie. Mark now: Starring in La La Land Broadway. Talk about growth! ✨🔥"

@F1_Fangirl: "WHAT THE HELL!!!!! MARK AS SEB IS SO PERFECT 🥵"

@MarkandCharles4ever: "The Seb we didn’t know we needed 😭💖"

@Charkshipper : "Mark Spencer continues to be the main character of our lives.😆"

@F1Gossip_Guru : "Mark Spencer is Sebastian? My heart can’t take this. 💓💞"

@Markismybf : "Mark and Gigi have SO much chemistry. I hate how perfect they look together.😍"

@MarkSpencersfuturewife : "Okay, but who else is still rooting for Mark and Charles to duet after seeing this news?!🤩😗"*

Even the drivers couldn’t resist joining in.

@Lando_Norris: "So THIS is why you ghosted me for two weeks. Makes sense now."

@Carlos_Sainz "Looks like I’ll be booking tickets for opening night! Proud of you, hermano."

@Lewis_Hamilton: "Wow. Can’t wait to see this. You’re a star, Mark."

Charles stared at the post for far too long. His surprise was quickly giving way to jealousy. The realization that Mark would now have an onstage love interest—a gorgeous, talented model, no less—set his thoughts spiraling.

Charles’ Reaction :

Setting his phone down thinking, Charles muttered under his breath, "No shit, Sherlock." His mind raced. When had Mark found time for this? Between races, promotional events, and whatever else Mark was doing, he’d somehow landed the lead in a major Broadway production? And not just any production—it was La La Land.

Mark’s love for the film was no secret. He’d gushed about it on more than one occasion, calling it “the perfect blend of heartache and hope”. But Charles hadn’t realized the depth of that passion. And now… Mark was Sebastian, pouring himself into the role, creating onscreen chemistry with someone else.

Charles swallowed hard, scrolling back to the trailer. The scenes between Mark and the model were captivating—dances under the stars, moments of raw emotion. It was acting, sure, but it was good acting. Too good.

He let out a small huff and tried to brush off the irrational pang in his chest. You’re being ridiculous, he told himself. It’s just a role. Mark’s a professional. This doesn’t mean anything.

But deep down, he couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling that Mark’s newfound Broadway stardom would add another layer of distance between them.

And yet, at the same time, Charles couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride. Mark had done it again—proved his limitless talent to the world.

As Charles set his phone aside, he muttered a final thought to himself.

Looks like I’ll be booking tickets to Broadway.

(Dividers by @omi-resources)

[alittlegiraffe]

Title: Worth Fighting For

You loved Marshall. That was never in question.

But lately, it felt like you were a ghost in your own relationship. Marshall was always busy—writing, in the studio, or dealing with one thing or another. It wasn’t that you didn’t understand his world. You knew how much his work meant to him, and you’d always been his biggest supporter. But somewhere along the way, you started to feel like a background character in his life.

The little things he used to do—leaving sweet notes, calling just to hear your voice, even looking at you like you were his entire world—those things had disappeared. You knew he loved you, but lately, it felt like he was just going through the motions.

---

It started innocently enough.

You’d been having a rough day, and one of your coworkers, Chris, noticed. He was easy to talk to—kind, funny, and always ready with a compliment that made you feel seen.

“You look stressed,” Chris said one afternoon, leaning against the edge of your desk.

You shrugged, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, you’ve been killing it here lately. I don’t know how you manage to stay on top of everything.”

The sincerity in his voice made your chest tighten. It had been so long since someone looked at you like that, like you were more than just someone to lean on or depend on. For a fleeting moment, it felt good.

But as soon as you got home that evening, guilt settled in. You hadn’t done anything wrong—nothing beyond a smile and a little small talk—but the fact that it felt *nice* bothered you.

The guilt gnawed at you for days, and Marshall didn’t seem to notice. He’d been distant, wrapped up in his own world as always.

One night, as you sat across from him at the dinner table, you couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Marshall,” you said softly.

“Hm?” he replied without looking up from his phone.

You swallowed hard, your hands trembling slightly. “We need to talk.”

His head snapped up, concern flashing in his blue eyes. “What’s wrong?”

You took a deep breath. “I feel like we’ve been drifting apart. Like… like I’m not a priority to you anymore.”

He frowned, setting his phone down. “That’s not true. You know I love you.”

“I do,” you said quickly. “But I don’t *feel* it, Marshall. Not lately. I feel like I’m just… here. Like I’m someone you expect to always be around, no matter what.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but you held up a hand, cutting him off. “Let me finish. There’s more.”

His brows furrowed, but he nodded, giving you the floor.

“There’s this guy at work,” you began hesitantly, avoiding his gaze. “Nothing happened, but… he’s been nice to me. He notices when I’m upset, and he compliments me, and for a moment, it felt really good. It felt good to be seen. And then I felt *horrible* because it made me realize how much I’ve been missing that with you.”

The silence that followed was deafening. You risked a glance at him, and the hurt in his eyes made your stomach churn.

“So, what are you saying?” he asked finally, his voice low.

“I’m saying that I don’t want to feel this way. I don’t want to feel invisible to the person I love most. And I don’t want to be the kind of person who gets attention from someone else and *likes* it because I’m not getting it at home. I don’t want this to break us, but I need you to fight for me, Marshall. I need to know I’m worth fighting for.”

He sat back in his chair, running a hand down his face. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath.

You waited, your heart pounding in your chest.

Finally, he looked up at you, his eyes filled with a mix of guilt and determination. “You are worth fighting for. You always have been. And I’m sorry if I made you feel like you weren’t.”

You bit your lip, tears welling up in your eyes. “It’s not just about saying it, Marshall. I need to *feel* it.”

“I know,” he said, standing and moving around the table to crouch in front of you. He took your hands in his, his touch firm but gentle. “I’ve been so caught up in everything else that I’ve taken you for granted. That’s on me. But I swear to you, I’ll do whatever it takes to fix this. To make you feel like the queen you are.”

You let out a shaky laugh, tears spilling down your cheeks. “You mean that?”

He nodded, his grip on your hands tightening. “Yeah, I do. And I’m sorry. For all of it. For not seeing how much you were hurting. For making you feel like you weren’t enough. I’m gonna do better. I promise.”

You searched his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, you felt a flicker of hope.

“Okay,” you said softly. “But this has to be both of us, Marshall. We both have to work on this.”

“Deal,” he said, leaning in to press a kiss to your forehead. “I’m not losing you. Not now, not ever.”

--

[unriding]

a … a gift from the talented @kruinka 🥹 thank you so much!! ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ)

[wigglebox]

Suptober - Day 12 || Swap Meat [x]

[princesskkfish]

@intotheelliwoods I love your art and comics and I drew this based off your newest update i hope you like it :]

the newest update for 2AL oh my gosh emotions go brr. Like noooo big Leo and Casey are leaving nooo but also yess cuz Casey and Leo need to go experience the world again but mann

(I did a background and a no background version cuz I couldn’t pick which I liked better)

[spaceyalienz]

H-O-T-T-O-G-O!