#and i really want to start early to get this shot approved before i go

[niceutossu]

Observant | Sakusa x Reader

Of course you charmed Hinata first, always matching his energetic and early morning greetings. Although the wing spiker was also easy to impress and even easier to like so it wasn’t too surprising.

Similarly, Sakusa wasn’t that shocked when Bokuto became putty in your hands. He always perked up like a little flower whenever you’d shower him with praise, your tone sincere but words firm; never going as far as to baby him but helping to get him back up when he dramatically fell down.

Atsumu did take a bit longer than he had anticipated to come around. At first he was acting like a high schooler with a crush, avoiding you at all costs until you offhandley mentioned having lived abroad. Afterwards, he became the most smitten.

Despite all your newfound connections, you had kept your distance from Sakusa, which he preferred and appreciated. During the brief moments you two did interact you always kept it professional, offering a polite greeting followed up by helpful advice. There was no pressure to become fast friends and you were really good at your job, having been handpicked by Iwaizumi himself.

While he did come to silently admire your professionalism, and Iwaizumi-seal-of-approval, he still found your ability to seamlessly switch gears between him and his teammates to be a bit…off-putting.

How was it that you could get along with him and Atsumu? It was unprecedented and you were also the newest addition to the team, so he couldn’t help himself from questioning your authenticity.

“Hinata-san is always so lively, huh?”

Sakusa paused upon hearing your voice, not wanting to intrude on you and Iwaizumi’s private conversation about his teammate. While he’d normally mind his business he couldn’t help but stand still for a moment to find out what you really thought behind the scenes.

“I guess you could say that.” Iwaizumi responded, having known the ginger longer than he had worked with him.

Sakusa slightly frowned at his tone, assuming you had broken your professional streak and were engaging in petty gossip. Of course you had been faking all those cheerful greetings, just as he had-

“Well, I like it.” Your clear voice interrupted his thoughts, tone firm as if challenging Iwaizumi’s previous comment and his own negative thoughts.

He let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, feeling a brief sense of relief wash over him before he felt shame slowly replace it. What the hell was he doing eavesdropping for and why did he feel guilty? It’s not like being a people person absolved you of anything.

-

Weeks later during your first ever team meeting, and Sakusa’s umpteenth, you catch him off guard yet again as their power-hungry assistant coach goes to make the same tired comment about Bokuto’s inconsistency.

“You’re just not very reliable during high-pressure moments.”

Glancing over to look at his teammate, he could already see his two-toned hair begin to droop when suddenly your hand shot up and all eyes turned to look at you.

Your expression was calm but your eyes were glazed over with purpose, so unafraid it almost seemed like this was your umpteenth meeting.

“Bokuto-san has always been someone who performs best when he’s supported. I’ve seen firsthand how well he steps up under pressure when he’s in the right headspace, and that’s something we can easily help him with.” You speak up, voice firm but polite.

Glancing over at his teammate again he can see the tip of his hair now standing tall, his amber eyes filling with overdramatic tears as he tried to start bounding towards you, barely held back by Atsumu and Hinata who knew better than to disturb a team meeting.

The tension in the room, despite Bokuto’s incessant wailing, was thick. Even though you were both assistants, you were younger which meant the assistant coach was technically your senior, and he had taken your comment as direct disrespect. Thankfully, Iwaizumi came to the rescue, not only agreeing with your point but adding a few of his own to de-escalate the situation.

Afterwards, Sakusa couldn’t help but keep glancing over at you during the rest of the meeting. The smallest part of him even hoping to catch your eye which surprises him.

Why would he ever want such a thing?

-

It’s their first big home game and nothing is going right for Atsumu. Sakusa can tell by the sloppy passes and frustrated grunts during rotations. Everyone was bound to have an off-game, it was human nature. Except Atsumu was anything but human— or at least he pretended to be.

Bokuto’s ‘don’t minds’ and Hinata’s ‘next times’ fell upon deaf ears as the setter finally began to crack. Before he could blow up on court the whistle was blown and a timeout was called.

The blond angrily made his way to the bench, brushing off his teammates encouragement as he sat down with his eyes locked onto the floor. He put his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily, clearly lost in thought over his minor but costly mistakes.

Even though the setter was a pain in Sakusa’s ass, he would never deny his skill when it came to the sport. He was annoyingly prideful but he had every right to be when it came to his precision and control during games. Any time he couldn’t show off these assets, his meltdowns were inevitable.

As such, Sakusa simply swipes the sweat from his brow while glancing over at his aggravated teammate from the sidelines. He knows it’s better to leave him alone to collect himself.

Just as he think this, there, from the corner of his eye, he sees you walking over to them. You stand right in front of Atsumu and he can tell the whole team is holding their breath as they wait for you to say something.

Over-the-top encouragement was a guaranteed way to piss Atsumu off, and also the go-to for inexperienced trainers. Sakusa can’t help but feel a little bad for you when the blond finally glances up at you, his eyebrows knit tightly and mouth parted as if ready to tell you off.

Before he can say anything you kneel down slightly to meet him at eye level, voice steady but soft enough for only him to hear as you speak. From his spot on the court, Sakusa couldn’t hear what you were saying but he does notice something strange: Atsumu is actually listening to you.

A few moments pass and you stand back up, offering him a small nod before going to stand at the sidelines. The setter isn’t staring at the ground anymore and the previous frown on his face has eased up. Whatever it is you had said, it had clearly resonated with him.

A few points later, Atsumu delivers a perfect set to Hinata who spikes the ball and wins them the rally. After, the blond turns back to look at you in the sidelines, flashing you a smile Sakusa had never seen before.

It’s not the annoying grin he puts on for fans or the one he’s practiced for pictures, but something more real and subdued: a token of appreciation.

When Sakusa catches the exchange he feels stupid. Really stupid. You were genuine and true and he was a pessimistic asshole. At least, that’s what it felt like the world was telling him as the rest of the match goes smoothly. Never once during it do you bring any more attention to yourself, despite having been the one to break through to their setter.

Later, during their time in the locker room and after having won, Sakusa overhears Bokuto ask Atsumu what you had said to him. Normally, Sakusa would be in and out, repulsed by the environment and wanting to avoid these sort of post-match conversations all together. This time though he stayed put, taking his time to pack his things.

Why did he even care?

“Nothin’ that hasn’t been said before.” Atsumu responded simply, and Sakusa can’t rationalize why he feels a pang of disappointment when everyone but him seems to know what that means.

He knows you had probably gotten closer to his other teammates, while he himself could count the amount of times you had spoken to him on one hand. But were you really that much closer to everyone else but him?

After he had seen the moment shared between you and Atsumu, he had silently accepted defeat. There was no need to gauge for your reactions anymore. He decided then and there that he could finally let it go. You weren’t like any of the trainers before, you were better in every way and then some.

But now, knowing that he had missed out on whatever magic you seemed to carry, he felt more on edge than he had waiting for you to fail.

He stuffs the rest of the things in his bag unceremoniously, clicking his tongue in annoyance and unintentionally gaining the attention of Hinata who gives him a curious look.

“You’re not really that close to Iwaizumi jr. are you, Sakusa?” The ginger asked, simply making a harmless observation but landing a critical blow on whatever remained of the spiker’s composure. Honestly, Sakusa should’ve told him to stop calling you that ridiculous nickname but instead, all he could muster was a head shake ‘no’ before leaving.

-

The next few days during practice, Sakusa still can’t keep his eyes off you. Now without any judgement to cloud his mind, he’s started noticing things he hadn’t before.

Like how your hair always seemed shine when you would stand by Iwaizumi during morning meetings. Or how you smelled when you walked by, clean but never overpowering.

He feels like a creep for being able to pick up on it but he manages to convince himself he’s still merely observing, making sure you’re doing well for the good of the team.

Over time he discovers that if he gets you to meet his gaze you’ll tense up when your eyes meet his own, with you quickly feigning ignorance afterwards as you look anywhere but him.

Your subtle antics were starting to become a bit too endearing for his peace of mind. And before he knew it, getting you to meet his gaze became like a game of sorts. He felt a little evil at times but nothing excited him more than to see someone who was usually so composed, become so flustered.

You weren’t a serious person per say, he had overhead you cracking jokes even he found himself nose exhaling at. But you also weren’t so easily swayed. Hinata’s friendliness and Bokuto’s frequent touches usually went unnoticed by you. Even Atsumu’s blatant flirting left you unfazed (despite some of the lines making even Sakusa’s stomach flutter…).

So why was a little eye contact making you so nervous? He knows he can be an intimidating guy but he also can’t help himself from letting his thoughts drift to more interesting possibilities.

What if he made you nervous for…different reasons?

That thought alone led to a week of sleepless nights. He remembers the whole ordeal well because he had terrible eye bags. Or at least terrible enough for you to leave energy packets near his water bottle, neatly boxed and sanitized to his liking.

Yet again you kept him thinking of you without even saying so much as a word to him.

How cruel.

After that incident, all of his thoughts drift back to you, with his eyes now unconsciously following suit. He felt a little ashamed at times, given that you were just an innocent bystander who had gotten caught up in his uncharacteristically messy emotions. The two of you weren’t even friends.

You were a stranger, charming and capable yes— but still a stranger. He was only seeing you through a rose-colored lens, he rationalized, having heard nothing but high praises from his peers. You definitely had your own germs and quirks he’d find annoying, a danger to his very way of life.

But if he was being honest with himself, truly honest, you had your own gravitational pull. A sort-of welcome weight that went directly against his usual sound logic and reason.

He only truly noticed it when he saw the way you lit up talking to anyone and everyone. That’s when he thinks he’s starting to get it, to get you.

The patience and passion you have for the sport that rivaled his own. He could see it in the hours you put in and the minute details you remembered, things that made you stronger and infinitely better than anyone before you.

Your quick wit was also a nice addition but these were things he didn’t even get to experience, but merely yearn for from the sidelines for almost a year before he feels himself finally begin to give into your weight.

The old rickety dwellings of his heart creak at the thought of welcoming in someone new. There’s a part of him that shudders at the thought of making room for another person, having spent his entire life trying to put space between him and the world.

Relationships with his teammates were a given, an unwritten rule in the countless contracts he had signed throughout his career. He could deal with people if it meant he got to play volleyball.

This, you, were different though. There was no need to pursue anything outside of daily niceties, simple hellos and goodbyes. You had given him the space to, the chance to live his life without another person’s germs to deal with.

But he didn’t want that, he hated that. He also haged that you had made the choice for him before getting to know him, even though you had only done so because you did get to know him through Iwaizumi. He feels stupid when he really thinks about it; how his feelings were just one big paradox.

If nothing was going to make sense, then there was no need to be logical. At least that’s what he decides when he catches himself searching for you during public events, never once actually spotting you among the crowds.

And it shouldn’t have been that surprising given your role, things he would have normally taken into account being such a rational guy. But all he can focus on for the rest of night is the disappointment he feels, and the heavy ache in his chest. It should’ve irritated him, should’ve made him push you further away but instead it left him wanting more.

Yes. He wanted more, even if it came at the cost of social interaction. If you were going to keep him up at night and occupy his thoughts 24/7, it was better to break his own rules than lose his mind thinking about you. And, if you were going to keep your distance, then maybe he’d to be the one to close the gap.

-

Whatever you were in the middle of writing down is suddenly forgotten when you feel his gaze on you again. It’s getting heavier each time, lingering longer, more insistent. It made it a bit difficult to focus on your work, especially when it was practically non-stop now.

Sakusa was an observer, that much was clear from the day you met him. He was a lot more laidback than the trio you had become well-acquainted with, preferring to stay back with Meian or Inunaki.

You never minded his gaze, noticing how his eyes closely followed anybody from his teammates to coaches. Except just like him you were also an observer, immediately picking up on his increased glances.

In the beginning it felt like he was judging you, gaze passive and discerning. There was no real interest behind it past cold calculation. Despite the heaviness, it was bearable then. You weren’t a stranger to doubts and Sakusa was just another person to prove wrong.

Except, his eyes on you feel different now: they’re searching, watching and impossible to ignore.

The first few times you had pretended not to notice despite the way his eyes burned into you, as if studying you. It made it harder to focus on the clipboard in front of you, your racing heart thrumming loudly in your ears. Why was he looking at you?

You kept telling yourself that you didn’t care, that you were imagining it, and that it didn’t matter either way.

But it did matter.

You had been trying so hard to convince yourself it didn’t, that Sakusa was just another player—albeit a more complicated one—and that whatever you were feeling were just misplaced nerves.

After all, you were surrounded by men like him all the time: strong, talented, and painfully good-looking. Bokuto’s infectious enthusiasm and Atsumu’s flirtatious antics didn’t make your pulse quicken. Even Hinata, with his boyish charm and relentless optimism, didn’t throw you off like this. So why Sakusa? What was it about him that had you so unsteady?

Perhaps it was the way he stood apart from the others, always watching from the sidelines, but never fully engaging unless he had to. He kept his cards close to his chest, making him difficult to understand and even harder to approach. His sharp jaw and dark eyes definitely didn’t help to ease your nerves either.

Honestly, it was a bit frustrating how much he was affecting you. Half the time you couldn’t even see his entire face but when you did, you’d always have to take your lunch then and there to collect yourself in the break room.

You had been so careful to respect his boundaries, so determined to keep things strictly professional, and yet here you were—practically stumbling under the weight of his gaze.

What made it even worse was the fact that he knew. He had to know, didn’t he? You weren’t that great at hiding it, despite your best efforts. It felt like every time he looked at you, he was waiting for you to slip up, to betray some part of yourself you’d rather keep hidden.

Despite this, you wanted him to acknowledge the tension that had been building between you for months now. Because at least if he said something, you’d know where you stood. You could finally stop playing eye tag, stop wondering what he thought of you, and stop second-guessing yourself every time his eyes lingered a little too long.

Except you doubted he’d ever comment on his effect on you and a part of you honestly preferred to live your life without him ever saying anything about it. Perhaps you were overthinking it, and there was a logical explanation waiting to be revealed.

Like your hair being messy or how he found what you thought was thoughtfulness to be overbearing. You were someone who usually prided themselves on their people skills but Sakusa had left you utterly perplexed. It was well-known he was a complicated person but this was way beyond your scope.

Normally, he would stare from afar but this time he was approaching towards you, and quickly. You turned your head to meet his obsidian eyes and flash him a friendly smile, doing your best to ignore the nauseating way your stomach flipped and heart squeezed.

What why what—

“Do you need something, Sakusa-san?” You ask, putting on a brave face despite your crumbling composure.

It wasn’t the first time you had said his name but it was the first time he noticed how sweet it sounded coming from you. It was like even your voice was attentive, carefully curling around the syllables of his name.

“Do you have a handkerchief I could borrow?”

You immediately freeze at his question, eyebrows almost knitting together in confusion before your expression turned neutral again, remnants of hesitation still evident in your eyes.

What the fuck.

From the first day you had met Sakusa, you had also learned another thing about him; he was a germaphobe on the extreme end of the spectrum. Iwaizumi had warned you to steer clear of his belongings and ‘let him come to you’.

You remember cracking a joke that he was kind of like a cat but Iwaizumi hadn’t laughed, or even smiled for that matter.

“Well, no, cause cats eventually warm up to you.”

You waved it off awkwardly before changing the topic, silently making a mental note of Sakusa’s habits. You didn’t mind having to accommodate to him or the fact you wouldn’t be able to get close to him period. This was your job after all, you’d respect any and every boundary of your new teammates.

So why, why was he standing right in front of you, close enough to where if either of you reached out your arms you’d touch, asking for something so…unclean. You blinked up at him, head still reeling at having been so caught off guard.

It was a well-known fact Sakusa would rather be caught dead than use anyone else’s, so he can’t even feel offended at your stunned reaction. If anything, he feels embarrassed that this is the only way he could think of getting closer to you.

You feel your spine tingle as his scent invades your senses. There was an expected cleanliness to it but behind that was a hint of sweat; salty but inviting like the sea. Normally you’d gag at the smell but the fact that it was Sakusa made it gratifying. You manage to hold yourself back from taking in a deeper breath and getting fired for sexual harassment.

You only realize you’ve failed to say anything for too long when he suddenly cleared his throat, now mortified from your earlier gaping. You let out a string of apologies, stumbling over your words as you hastily make way to the bench where you had set your things, looking over your shoulder to make sure he was following you.

Despite seeing you in this flustered state constantly, it never failed to make him feel excited. You never acted this way with other team members, never threw them such coy looks. But even if that was true, he was still himself.

Aside from the excitement of being around you, he was also nervous. Completely unsure of what he would do when he was forced to take what he asked for. Even though he was interested in you he was also not about to get over years of ingrained habits like it was nothing.

When you went to hand him the cloth, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly in surprise. You had his exact brand and style of handkerchief. He could have sworn you used a different brand, having seen you offer all his other teammates a checkered red and white one.

“I haven’t used it for anyone else or even myself yet, so,” you said, voice the least confident he had ever heard it. He knew you were well-acquainted with his germaphobic tendencies but thinking about how you had been holding onto something like this, for him, was almost too much to process.

He stared down at you, expression hardened as he remained unmoving. Your hand remained outstretched to offer him the cloth, still neatly pressed in the packaging. Had you been observing him as much as he had been observing you? If so, he had never noticed your keen eyes on him.

“This brand,” he started, unsure of what he wanted to say.

‘This brand…is my favorite?’ Stupid.

‘This brand…is the best.’ God what is he, Hinata?

‘This brand…isn’t what you normally use.’ Absolutely not.

“I saw you using one like it once and so I tried them out.” You stated, unknowingly saving him with your shy confession.

“What did you think?” He asked, refusing to let your first real conversation end despite the awkward pauses and stiff flow.

At his question there was a sudden beat of silence, your eyes scanning over his face with an unreadable expression. He felt his heart stutter in his chest at your gaze, wanting to run away and hide before you could find whatever you were looking for.

On your end, you were taking your time to admire his features up close. He was handsome, moisturized skin and matching lips. His eyebrows were well-maintained, and you felt your hand twitch at sight of duo moles above his right one; fingers longing to trace over each one individually.

If this was going to be one of your only conversations with Sakusa, and the closest you’d ever get to him, you wanted to savor it despite the tense atmosphere.

“You have a good eye.” You complimented, voice so sweet and honest it made him smile, a small one that he followed with an amused exhale.

At the rare sight you gave him your own unique expression, eyebrows knitting together with a pretty red tint blooming across your cheekbones. Your eyes were searching his own for some sort of explanation, as if you had read him wrong but when he let his smile fully reach his eyes your blush only grew deeper.

Sakusa wasn’t some sort of alien, he smiled when he felt like it just like anyone else, and between knowing you noticed him and having you compliment him, he just couldn’t help himself.

“Thanks, you have a good eye too.” He said, eyes twinkling with some sort of double-meaning that you didn’t quite pick up, evident in the way you cocked your head to the side.

Maybe you hadn’t noticed him the way in the same way he noticed you.

He waved his last statement off, opting instead to take the package from your hand, making sure your fingers touched despite your best efforts to avoid it. He felt himself tingle at the brief skin-to-skin contact, eyes meeting yours as if to say ‘that was on purpose’.

“I’ll be sure to return this.” He states in his usual cool tone as you remained in a bit of a daze, cheeks still slightly flushed with your mouth pulled into a tight line.

He had never seen you show any of the other guys such a vulnerable expression and he felt his chest swell with pride at the thought. The blush on your cheeks was fading faster by the second as you morphed back into the team’s pretty but above all, professional athletic trainer he had grown fond of.

“You can keep it, I bought it just for you.” You admitted, your voice once again brimming with newfound confidence as you bowed slightly.

Now it was Sakusa’s turn to be stunned. He had not expected you to be so honest. This brand was expensive and the store was out of the way. Had he really been worth the trouble?

The piercing sound of a loud whistle and squeaking of sneakers cut your exchange short. Without saying anything he met your eyes again with an intensity you finally understood the meaning of. At least enough to not look away this time, firmly holding his gaze despite the weak feeling in your knees and loud beating of your heart.

A few moments passed between the two of you, eyes locked onto one another’s in a silent confirmation of sorts, an unspoken I see you. After no more than a couple seconds he gave you a small thanks and wave goodbye. As he approached his teammates he felt himself wanting to look back at you, at your eyes more specifically. He always thought the way you looked away when he stared was a little amusing but having you finally hold his gaze knocked the breath out of his lungs.

Had he been looking at you that intensely? He pressed his lips together tightly as the image of your glossy eyes staring into his own flashed in his mind. Before he could think about it any further he remembered the brand new handkerchief in his hand, gripping it slightly before deciding to pocket it, having no real intention to use it then it there.

It had been a gift after all, and a thoughtful one at that. He’d have to save it for some special occasion, just like he’d also have to get you to look at him like that again.

[sodrippy]

graaaa do i hit the gym tomorrow as usual to not break my routine + make up for skipping on monday OR skip the gym tomorrow and get in two more work hours to make up for skipping the last few hrs of the workday ughhh life is so lose lose foreverD

[pitchsidestories]

early twenties II Barcelona Femení x Reader

masterlist I word count: 1886

a/n: thanks for your lovely request anon, we hope you all enjoy this one. <3

You laid in your bed, staring up at the ceiling. You could pretend you’re sick. You could just say that you didn’t feel like going out tonight. Maybe fake a university assignment that you didn't have.

You heard the door to your bedroom open a crack. Without looking, you knew it was Alexia standing there.

“Do I really have to go? I’d rather stay in my room tonight.“, you only half-joked towards the ceiling.

“No, you’re coming with us. It’s a team thing.“, Alexia replied firmly.

You sat up: “But…“

“Not wanting to see your crush is no excuse. Come on, we don’t want to be late.“, she interrupted your protests quickly.

For a second you just stared at her. Then you gave in. ���Okay, fine. Just let me get ready first.“

“Good.“ Your teammate nodded once, seemingly satisfied with your decision. As if you had a choice.

“See you.“ You looked at her expectantly, hoping that she would take the hint.

Luckily she understood and wordlessly closed the door behind her.

You sighed before crawling out of your bed. Since it was only a team event, you decided to keep it simple. You changed into a pair of dark pants and a thin sweater. You studied yourself in the mirror. You decided that you looked nice but not as if you were trying too hard.

You slipped on your shoes, grabbed your bag and left your room.

Alexia who stood outside and pushed a pair of sunglasses back into her hair in front of the hallway mirror, turned to you and gave you an approving smile: “You look great. Now we’re ready to go.“

She shrugged into her trench coat and took her keys.

“Okay…" you mumbled as you followed her outside.

Since the bar was down the street, you decided to walk. Lost in your own thoughts, you walked alongside Alexia for a while until she suddenly asked: “So, who is it?”

You looked up, surprised by the unexpected question and blinked at her a few times. “Who?”

You could feel the heat rise in your cheeks.

“Your crush.“, Alexia said matter-of-factly, either not noticing or deliberately ignoring your embarrassment.

“I…“, you began. The two of you were already right in front of the bar. You just had to open the door and maybe you could get away without answering.

“Ona, Luce, Mario, hey!”, you beamed at the players already sitting at a table. You could feel Alexias eyes on you, signalling you that sooner or later she would get her answer.

But for now, you took the seat next to Lucy.

“Hi, you look good today.“, she grinned at you.

You laughed: “You’re the second person who said that today. What a weird coincidence.“

“Because it’s true.“, Mariona chimed in.

“Yes, your hair looks so nice.”, Ona added. The loving attention of your teammates made your cheeks only blush harder.  You were grateful for the dimmed lightning, so no one was able to tell that your face turned red from the slight embarrassment you felt when they complimented you.

“Thanks, Oni. We’ll go home when our social battery runs out right?”, you asked the fellow introverted footballer with a half-crooked smile on your lips.

“Right.”, she returned your grin. Her reassurance let you breathe a little easier.

“But first we’ll have some fun.”, Lucy padded encouragingly your back. After a short pause the English defender posed a question smirking. “What do you guys’ think is it too early for a first round of aperitifs?”

“I thought we were here to do shots!”, Mapi protested playfully.

“Yes, but this is classier, Maria.”, the older woman countered.

Accidentally your eyes linked with Claudias who was in a deep conversation with Patri, your cheeks started to burn as you felt her looking intensely back at you.

To the two teammates who were still in a discussion on what drinks were the best to start the night you declared nervously.

“I don’t care what it’s I just need a bit of alcohol.”

“I’ll order us some wine.”, Alexia decided who was sitting opposite to you.

“Sounds good.”, you agreed, you were glad that she helped you with this decision because knowing yourself you would’ve taken forever until you decided on something to drink.

“I’ll make you drink shots with me later.”, Mapi threw in amused at the thought of it.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”, you asked her chuckling.

“No, that would be irresponsible only slightly tipsy so..”, she begun to explain.

“So I tell you more about my crush?”, you finished the sentence for her.

“That was the plan.”, the heavily tattooed Spaniard admitted sighing.

“I thought the plan was to say goodbye to a few of our favourite teammates.”, you pointed towards Mariona and Lucy who would both leave Barcelona for London. Your heart sank while you thought about their nearing departure both teammates meant a lot to you, they and Alexia were like the big sisters you never had but always wanted.

“That too.”, Alexia revealed as the waiter brought two glasses filled with wine, you clinked them solemnly together before taking a first long sip of the dark-red liquid.

“Aw, we’re your faves?”, the English defender questioned teasingly.

“No, you’re the most annoying and I’m glad you’re leaving Lucia.”, you joked rolling your eyes at her. The wine provided you the ease and confidence you needed to be more chilled around Claudia. But God, why did she had to look so good tonight, you asked yourself.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t cry too hard when we leave.”, she replied cockily seeing right through your jokes.

Mapi moved closer to you, studying your face: “I think the alcohol is working, girls. It’s Claudia, right? Your crush?”

You almost spilled your drink, a few drops landing on your sweater. You swallowed hard: “Uhm… what?”

“That’s a yes.“, Alexia confirmed with a smirk.

Ona smiled: “Without a doubt.“

You flinched subconsciously and hoped that it was dark enough in the room that the others couldn’t see you blush. Your gaze shifted towards Claudia at the other end of the table, deep in talk with Patri. “Guys, be quiet!”

Alexia deliberately ignored you and called over to her: “Clau?“

“Ale, no!”, you whispered slightly panicked.

“Let’s switch seats.“, Alexia said and got up. Of course, Claudia followed her captains instructions.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.“, you said to no one in particular and then greeted Claudia. “Clau, hello.“

“Hi.“, she beamed. Nothing about her gave you the impression that she would have preferred to stay at her seat, she seamed genuinely happy to talk to you.

You tried to cover up any awkwardness by asking: “Do you have any plans for your free days yet?”

Claudia shook her head: “No, not yet. Do you?”

“No, me neither. Apart from relaxing.“, you bit your lip, wishing you had something more interesting to tell her.

“Me too. Happy for a break after this season.“, she laughed and sighed deeply for emphasis.

“Yes, maybe I’ll go home to Menorca…“, you thought out loud.

Claudia looked at you. “Oh.“

“Maybe.“, you added, unsure about how to interpret her reaction but Claudia shook her head determinedly: “You should go. It’ll be good for you. But if you’re here at one point…“

You waited for her to finish her thought: “Yes?”

The attacking midfielder shrugged, gaze directed towards the table: “Maybe we could go out together at some point.“

“Wait, really? You frowned. “But what about Patri and you… aren’t you two a thing?”

She stared at you for a moment and said nothing but then she burst into laughter: “What? No!”

You suddenly felt hot. Could your cheeks get any redder at this point?

“Sorry, maybe I misread something…“

“You really thought we were dating the whole time? Maybe Patri and I have to reevaluate the boundaries of our friendship.“, Claudia still grinned, wiping a tear of laughter from her cheek.

“No, I didn’t. I just thought… maybe you fancied her.“, you admitted and guiltily bit down on your lower lip.

The young player suddenly turned serious again, searching for your eyes: “I do fancy someone… but it’s not her.“

“So do I…“

“Tell me who it is.“, Claudia begged. She cautiously watched you as she waited for your answer.

There it was, the perfect opportunity. It was now or never. So you took a deep breath and gathered all your courage.

“It’s y-you.“

“Me? I think we should go on a date then.”, much to your surprise the forward beamed at you.  

“Wait, I’m your crush?”, you tried to process what the girl you had feelings for a while just said.

“Yes.”, Claudia affirmed still smiling. Even in the bad lit room you could see her adorable dimple.

“This deserves another shot!”, Mapi yelled excitedly in the background.

“Mapi.”, you wanted her to stay calm and don’t make a big thing out of it, yet over the years you had been this team you got to know her very well the Spanish defender would do as she pleases.

“Too soon?”, Mapi responded sounding innocent.

“Bring the shots anyway.”, Lucy waved it off.

“You had enough, amor.”, Ona stated firmly, resting a hand on her girlfriend’s arm.

“You just didn’t have enough. It’s the last one anyway.”, the older defender reminded the younger one pressing a soft kiss to her lover’s forehead. It genuinely warmed your heart seeing them this openly affectionate around the team. Maybe the young forward and you could have something similar very soon.

Still, something else made you shudder pleasantly. It was Claudias voice near to your ear.

“Let’s go to my place after the shots.”

“Deal., you whispered, before continuing louder for everyone to hear, cheers.”

Pleased how the evening had unfolded Lucy turned around to face Mariona, wearing a satisfied smile on her lips.

“Mario, I guess that means we can safely leave. Everyone here is taken care of.”

The midfielder quickly agreed with her while Ona remembered your talk from earlier reaching out to you with her free hand. “Is your social battery low now, y/n?”

“Yes. I’ll go with Claus to her home though.”, you told her.

“Okay, have fun.”, she winked mischievously at you.

Meanwhile Lucy didn’t let you leave that easy without a big sister remark.

“Claudia if you don’t treat her right I swear..”, she warned the young forward laughing.

“Clau is a good one.”, Alexia interjected.

“She’s and if you don’t treat Clau right, y/n.”, Patri picked up on what the older Englishwoman had said with twinkling eyes.

“Patri we’re talking about sweet y/n here.”, Mariona protested.

“And Claudia isn’t an absolute angel?!”, the other Mallorquin replied promptly.

“Clau, I think it’s time to leave.”, you cleared your throat, pulling her sleeve slightly.

“Please. This is getting embarrassing.”, Claudia muttered.

“Agreed. Good night, guys.”, you waved at your teammates.

“Night girls.”, Alexia answered.

“Do everything I’d do!”, Lucy called after you two grinning. You could hear her girlfriend clicking her tongue reprovingly.

“Let’s just go.”, you pleaded.

“Please before it gets weird.”, Claudia nodded taking your hand in hers as you went into the night together. You both were in your early twenties, everything was still ahead of you and you were excited for what was to come.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

@ that guy who tried to argue that "most people are vaccinated" the other day.

By Courtney Friedman

Local infectious disease doctor said this continued trend is putting people, healthcare system at risk

Most Americans haven’t been vaccinated this year, and health experts are worried about outbreaks of COVID, flu and RSV.

“We’re seeing lower numbers of people going out to get their vaccines for COVID, for influenza. And over the last couple of years, we’ve seen that,” said Dr. Jason Bowling, infectious disease specialist with University Health System and UT Health San Antonio.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that only about 37% of adults have received a flu shot, while just 19% have received the updated COVID vaccine.

It’s even lower for children at 33% for flu and just under 9% for COVID.

These numbers climbed around 2% higher than last year.

Bowling said part of that is likely due to vaccine fatigue from the pandemic, but not all of it.

“I think we’re getting a little too comfortable with COVID and flu, but we’re still seeing people get very ill with both of these and RSV,” Bowling said.

RSV cases have already spiked this year, hitting the vulnerable hardest.

“We now have vaccines available for RSV for people that are at highest risk. So people that are 75 and older, adults (who) are 60 and older and have medical conditions, and then, also, it’s protection for infants,” Bowling said.

He said the rates are low for that vaccine, too, and have been since it was released last year. Part of that, he believes, is awareness.

“It is a new vaccine. So we want people to be aware that this vaccine is available,” he said.

As for the flu, cases are picking up by the week.

“Ninety-two cases just last week of flu, and that’s up from 57 cases the week before. So it was a 65% increase just week to week. And that’s just confirmed PCR tests. So there are way more out there,” Bowling said.

While COVID numbers are currently low, Bowling said they’re expected to spike again soon.

“At the end of this year or early next year. And there’s data now that shows that people (who) are vaccinated have lower risk of long COVID, have less severe symptoms,” he said.

Misinformation and doubts over the COVID vaccine have hampered those numbers, bringing experts to emphasize that it’s trustworthy and helps cut down on long COVID diagnoses.

“COVID vaccines have been studied more than any other vaccine in history. We really have a lot of safety records, and they’re continuing to monitor for side effects, too. So it’s not as though they did the monitoring and they stopped,” Bowling said.

Healthcare workers also are trying to remind people that the perspective is wider than just each individual.

“For some people, it might be a mild illness that lasts for a few days, but for other people, they could end up in the ER, or worst, case admitted to the hospital,” Bowling said.

Even in mid-December, it’s not too late to get your vaccines.

“This is a perfect time to get it because a lot of people are going to be traveling in the next couple of weeks. So if you get that vaccine now, it gives your body a couple of weeks to generate antibodies, provide that protection, and keep you having fun with your family and friends, (but) maybe not in urgent care or the hospital,” Bowling said.

San Antonio school districts even see this trend of lower vaccine rates by way of the exemption form parents fill out and get approved by the state of Texas if they want to waive their child’s vaccinations.

Two of the largest local school districts replied to KSAT’s request about the subject on Monday, confirming that trend.

North East ISD:

“We have seen a little steady increase in the number of incoming kinder with conscientious exemptions. In 2017-2018, there were 37 students with exemptions to all vaccines. There were 78 kinder students last year and 90 this year,” the district said.

The district said they see exemptions less in other grades because parents have generally already made those decisions about vaccines by then.

The percentages break down to:

2017-2018: 0.9% of kids had vaccine exemptions. 2023-2024: 2.4% of kids had exemptions. 2024-2025: 2.7% of kids had exemptions. That means vaccine exemptions are up 0.3% from last year.

San Antonio ISD:

The district said they are “seeing numbers of parents opting out of vaccinations trending slightly upward.”

Vaccine exemptions by school year:

2024-2025: 368 students. 2023-2024: 301 students. 2022-2023: 297 students. 2021-2022: 219 students. 2020-2021: 164 students. 2019-2020: 197 students.

[storiesofsvu]

Common Cold

Olivia Benson x reader warnings: minor language, that's about it. I did not read through this or edit it, so... not my fault if there's mistakes or its terrible LOL.

Olivia was pouring her coffee in the kitchen when she heard the small cough from around the corner of the hallway, glancing up in your direction as you rounded the bend.

“You coming down with something?”

“No.” You nearly shot her a glare, “my throat’s just drier than the desert.” You stepped up to the cupboard, pulling down a mug and shifted to the coffee machine only for Liv’s hand to wrap around your wrist, redirecting you to the fridge.

“You might want to hydrate first.”

“Fine.” You grumbled, pulling the Brita pitcher out of the fridge to fill the mug up, feeling Olivia’s eyes on you as you drained it in one go, filling it up again.

“I was gonna stop at the bodega for breakfast, unless you want something different?”

“I’m not really hungry.” You replied with a soft sigh and she raised a brow at you.

“What?” You asked.

“You didn’t eat much at dinner last night either, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Just a tickle in my throat.” You waved her off, slowly sipping your way through the second mug of water, “Carisi always has extra of that emergen-c stuff, I’m sure I can steal some, kick the ass of whatever this is before it has a chance to sneak in.”

“Alright.” Olivia surrendered, pulling you to her to press a kiss to your temple, “you let me know if you start feeling worse and need to come home early.”

“I’m fine.” You insisted, pulling down a travel mug from the cupboard to fill it with coffee, glancing up at your girlfriend for approval that she gave in the tiniest nod before you added sugar and cream and followed her out the apartment door.

By lunch time, vitamins weren’t the only thing you’d stolen from Carisi, his Fordham hoodie wrapped tightly around your frame as you shivered at your desk. Olivia was on the way back from the break room, glancing up across the bull pen to see you tugging the hood of the sweater over your head before returning your attention to your laptop. With a gentle sigh she wandered over to your desk, placing down half her sandwich.

“Have something to eat, you’ll feel better.”

“Still not hungry.” You replied with a yawn, running your hands over your face, rubbing at your eyes the best you could without ruining your make up.

“Sweetheart…” she perched on the side of your desk, “no offence but you look like hell.” Her hand snuck under the hood, smoothing back a few pieces of your hair. “Are you sure you don’t need to go home?”

“I just didn’t sleep well last night.” You yawned again, trying to keep this one contained.

“Yeah, cause you were up all night coughing.” Liv pointed out and you pouted, “and it’s nowhere near cold enough in here for that hoodie, it’s June…”

“Guess I’m just running cold today.”

“Let me take you home.” She rubbed at your shoulder, “get you some rest.”

“M’fine.” You protested, a small cough rumbling through your throat, “can’t have you taking off in the middle of the day.”

“Alright, meet me halfway then.” She slid off your desk, “I’ve got some Buckley’s in my desk, you take some of that, and go sleep it off in the crib. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go.”

“Fine.” You whined, pushing back from your desk as you followed her into her office, surprised when she followed you to the bunk room. She’d grabbed a couple of comfier blankets from her office, tucking them around you as you curled up on one of the beds, her hand coming to rest on your forehead.

“You really are burning up. If this doesn’t help I’m taking you home, understood?”

“Yes Ma’am.” You half teased back, yawning again as you nuzzled into the pillow, pulling the blankets and Carisi’s hoodie tighter around you.

“Get some sleep sweet girl.” Liv murmured, leaning down to press a gentle kiss into your forehead before she moved from the room, flicking off the light to hopefully give you a restful nap.

You weren’t entirely sure how long you’d been out; you just felt the bed dip with Olivia’s weight, a cool hand resting on your forehead and stroking your cheek. You groaned, slowly rolling onto your back as you attempted to stretch out your aching body.

“How are you feeling?” Olivia asked softly and you coughed in return.

“Sweaty.” You grimaced, “thirsty…sore…”

“Ready to admit defeat and let me take you home and properly take care of you?” She asked with a soft grin on her cheeks and you looked up at her and nodded. “Alright, c’mon.”

The entire trip home was honestly a blur, you could barely keep your eyes open, your head resting against the cool glass of the car window. Your body was burning, but you were shivering at the same time, your head throbbing and your throat on fire. Olivia’s hand was resting on your thigh, squeezing softly in assurance that you were almost home.

Back in the apartment she helped you change into comfier clothes, chuckling at the way you pulled Carisi’s hoodie back on, claiming it was fuzzier than any of yours. She sat you down on the couch, taking a make up wipe from the packet and cleaning your face before she urged you to bundle up in as many blankets as you wanted.

Your eyes fluttered shut, listening to her pad around the apartment while she collected whatever she deemed necessary. A few minutes later and she was perching on the edge of the couch, her hand soothing up your side, “sit up for me, take these.”

Groaning as you did so, your eyes cracked open, taking the pills from her and swallowing them down with the help of the large glass of water she’d brought you. She left the bottle along with the Buckley’s on the end table, the water on the coffee table so it was more accessible.

“That should help break the fever, help with your head. Try to get some more sleep and I’m gonna make you some soup for dinner, you need to eat, alright?”

You nodded bleakly, dropping back down onto the couch and Liv leaned over you, squeezing you gently and kissing the top of your head. You shivered slightly when she moved away, her body heat vanishing and she tucked another blanket around you in hopes that it would help.

Being as quiet as she could, she looked into the fridge, pulling out what she’d need for some semi homemade chicken noodle soup and was forever thankful for the leftover rotisserie chicken from last night. Vegetables were chopped up and then placed in the pot to sauté along with some garlic and she preheated the oven for some Pilsbury flaky rolls to go along with it, popping the tray in once it was ready. Broth got added to the pot, seasoned appropriately and once it was boiling and the delicious smells were wafting through the apartment she added in the noodles. Glancing over her shoulder she found that you were still dead to the world, curled around yourself on the couch snoring softly and she couldn’t help but smile, knowing that you were at least on your way to feeling better.

While she was waiting for everything to fully cook she opened the tea cabinet, searching through the boxes until she found the one she thought you would like the best that had the best benefits to helping a cold. She flicked on the kettle and pulled down a mug for you before picking a wine for herself and poured out a glass, taking a sip of it as she waited for the timer to go off. The soup finished first and she pulled it off the burner, tossing in the chicken, knowing it would heat fine as everything kept cooking, placing the lid on the pot to keep it going. A couple of minutes later and the rolls were being pulled from the oven and she was pouring out your mug of tea.

Behind her she heard a quiet groan, a shuffling of blankets and the slow padding of your footsteps as you paused in the kitchen.

“Smells amazing.” You commented, your voice hoarse.

“Well I couldn’t exactly let you go empty handed now, could I?” She asked with a smile, stepping towards you to cup your cheek, kissing your forehead. “Surprised you’re up already.”

“Have to pee.” You yawned, “but I was out long enough to start feeling better.”

“Good.” She pecked your cheek, “hopefully this is only a twenty four hour thing then.”

“Mmhm.” You nodded before disappearing down the hallway.

You stopped in the kitchen on the way back, offering to help and she simply shooed you away, telling you to get comfortable on the couch while she took care of things. First she refilled your water, making sure it was cold and crisp, then she brought over your mug of tea, followed by a steaming bowl of soup with a bun on the side. Finally she joined you on the couch with her own dinner and wine, settling in beside you.

“What’d you want to watch?” She asked, smoothing your hair back, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

“Grey’s.” You mumbled back, blowing on your tea to cool it off before taking a sip.

“Alright.” She replied with a smile, picking up the remote to figure out where you’d last left off on your favourite binge. She watched you curiously for a moment as you tried to navigate the bowl of soup without using the table or pulling both your arms out from under the blanket, “you need a hand?”

“I dunno how I’m supposed to do this without spilling it everywhere.” You whined and she chuckled.

“Here.” She reached for the bowl, “settle in however you want. I’ll hold the bowl; can you handle the spoon?” She asked with a tease and you scowled in her direction.

“I’d be mad at you if you hadn’t made me dinner.” You grumbled, coughing a couple of times before you finally managed to get comfortable and could start eating your soup.

Olivia was happy to see you finish the bowl completely, using the roll to soak up the remnants of the broth before she placed it back on the coffee table. She readjusted slightly, her arm coming to rest on the back of the couch, her heart warming as you immediately dropped into her side. Your head came to rest on her chest, her hand automatically going to your hair, softly playing with it as you curled around her.

“Thank you.” You murmured softly, letting out a little yawn as you refocused on the tv.

“Of course sweet girl.” She replied, kissing the top of your head, “whatever you want, you get. You know how much I hate to see you sick; you’ll feel better soon.”

“Promise?”

“I do.” She laid a kiss on your hair, her hand soothing up and down your back, “don’t fight the sleep alright, you’ve seen this show a million times, you already know what happens.”

“Alright, alright.” You didn’t have any energy left to even try and fight with her, your eyes fluttering shut as the strum of her heart lulled you to sleep.

Olivia had said it herself already, it didn’t matter what she had to give up, or how much extra work she had to do, she would do whatever it was you needed to make sure that you were happy and healthy. She loved you; she loved taking care of you and more importantly she loved seeing you shine and you couldn’t do that when you were sick.  She would happily sacrifice an afternoon at work, a dinner out on the town if it meant making sure you knew you were loved.

Even if that meant you passed on whatever bug you had to her three days later and the entire process began again but from the other side.  

______________________

@red1culous @imlike-so-gaydude @altsvu @svulife-rl rl @svushots @lesbianspacecowboy @whispered-tear-drops @wannabe-fic-reader @lawandorderimagines @venablemayfairgoode @whimsicallymad @oliviaswifey @alexusonfire @screenee @mysticfalls01 @beccabarba @littlegaybabe @cmmndrwidw @bumblebear30 @enduringalexblake @molllss @wosoimagines @brienneseveruscalawayfanfiction @solemnnova @infernumlilith @yourtaletotell @australiancarisi @cerberus-spectre @wandas-wife @emskisworld @newyorker14 @lawandorderuswnt @wandasbrat @hbkpop @samwithnoplan @multifandomlesbianic @sia2raw @ladysc @narvaldetierra @dxtery @poisonedcrowns @momlifebehard @holycrapraewth @alexxavicry @onmykneesformarvel @kmc1989 @temp0rary-bliss @prentiss-theorem

[elliesbabygirl]

GOLDEN RULE [E.W]

synopsis: In which you meet ellie at a coffee shop, or in true order, Jesse messes up your order and ellie comps your drink while flirting with you, from behind the counter.

Warnings: no warnings! unless you're not into intended-lowercase from a lazy author.

–cutesy flirting and ellie being perfect.... (I love her)

Author's note: This is a sfw one-shot but my account is 18+ and therefore would like minors to not interact with this post or my blog in general.

- Petal & Pines Co. Coffee

The soft humming of espresso machines fill the air, blending into the quiet chatter of early customers. The energy of the coffee shop energizing you as the cashier calls for the next person in line.

"Can i get a medium vanilla latte, two extra shots of espresso and almond milk?" The barista's half-paying attention to you as he talks to his coworker down the prep line.

"Yeah, sure thing. Vanilla latte, extra shots and almond milk...got it." The barista, Jesse, presses a few buttons on the ipad register, fumbling with your cup as he turns around to make your vanilla latte.

Jesse's movements are sloppy as he rushes. Tossing the almond milk to the side as he grabs the regular milk instead and starts pouring.

"I asked for almond milk?" You didn't want to get a stomach ache by drinking regular milk. Jesse's mouth forms an 'oh' as he turns back to you. Replacing the cow milk for almond milk. spilling some in the process, before wiping it up with a nearby rag.

you watch as Jesse starts pouring the espresso, but the machine starts sputtering, letting out a loud, angry noise. The high-pitched whine cutting through the atmosphere as Jesse flinches .

"i got this Jesse, go take your break man — what can I get you?" An auburn haired girl with freckles looks at you, effortlessly shifting into the space behind the counter while flashing you a smile.

"she got uh–a vanilla latte with almond milk and two extra shots of espresso!!" She nods at Jesse's words, muttering 'vanilla latte' as she grabs a to-go up.

"what's your name?–I'm ellie!" Like it was muscle memory, Ellie pulls for the fresh shots of espresso. A smile on your face from her charisma, giving her your name and watching as she repeats it, like she was trying to remember it.

"Y/n? cute...I love it" Ellie says, steaming the almond milk in the pitcher as she keeps eye contact with you. Taking in your appearance, biting the corner of her bottom lip like she was in deep-thought.

"Have you been here before?– I've never seen you before today" She asks, pouring the two shots of espresso into the to-go cup.

"No yeah- it's my first time here!"Ellie eyebrows shoot up at your words, a nervous smile creeping on her face as she looks down. Pouring the steamed almond milk into the cup, watching as the liquid turns into a satisfying light brown.

"Really?" She adds a lid, sliding the to-go cup across the counter. You expectantly look at Ellie, waiting for her to tell you the cost of your drink.

"oh..it's on the house, don't worry about it!" She says, shrugging her shoulders with a giddy smile. A rag in her hand as she wipes down the pickup counter.

"How is it? is it better than Jesse's?" Ellie beams at your approval when you take your first sip and give her a thumbs up. She plays with her fingers, thinking on whether she should ask you for your number or not. –Why not?

"you're really pretty–"

"can i get your–"

You both cut eachother off, staring at eachother with smiles that can only be described as awkward. Ellie awkwardly clears her throat, the nerves getting to her as she tries again.

"Can i get your number?– you're really pretty" Ellie asks again. Making you smile as you nod, grabbing the marker that Ellie fumbles with as she tries to rip off a piece of paper towel to act as paper.

A smile beaming across Ellie's face as she takes the paper towel piece from you. Looking down at it, reading your number with the drawn heart next to it.

xxx-702-xxxx –> y/n ❤︎

"Text me, yeah?" She nods ecstatically, watching you walk out the brewery and down the street from the large glass bay-window in front of the shop.

"she said yes....to me" Ellie whispers to herself from behind the counter.

"dude...you're actually hopeless"

"shut up, jesse.."

"are you paying for her drink..?"

The vanilla latte was in fact NOT on the house. Ellie's wallet was now seven dollars shorter...

..

xxx-749-xxxx:

Hey, it's ellie from the brewery

© 𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 ─ 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙙. 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨.

[hothothotch]

hi! can you write a hotch angsty / fluff piece based off the episode of s3 ep 20 where they go to NY and have to work with Kate Joyner and Hotch treats reader like how he did to Morgan and pushes reader aside bc even after reader being there for him after his divorce with Hayley and thinking there was something more but then ends in fluff? :)

hey hey! first i want to say that this ask has saved my life. second, i got carried away again. but i hope you like it, anon s2

(god knows how much i want a part two for this one)

requests are open!

tw: angst, fluff, 5.3k words.

You should have seen it coming.

You’ve been a part of BAU’s team since the departure of Ellie, a quick replacement approved by Agent Hotchner — or Hotch, as the team called him — that took place for the first time after The Fisher King’s case, when Ellie was shot; when she decided working at the BAU was too much to handle, Hotch approved your official transference only a few weeks before Strauss’ approved Prentiss’.

In all honesty, you’d been surprised Hotch didn’t kick you out after that, but grateful nonetheless — you absolutely loved that job.

You had been the first to notice when Hotch’s marriage started to crumble, your own habit of staying late nights at the office giving you a first-row view of the nights he’d stay late and go home only on the early hours of the morning, just to come back fresh and new as if nothing had happened. There wasn’t much you could do to help, even if you wanted to; the fact that Hotch trusted you on the job didn’t necessarily mean that he trusted you enough to let you in on his personal issues, and you didn’t feel like you really wanted to. But, as purple bags started to form under his eyes, a clear evidence that he hadn’t been sleeping, you couldn’t help but start showing small, almost meaningless acts of service that you hoped would make him feel better.

Everything was pretty secretive.

You started to get in the office earlier, so you could leave a cup of fresh coffee on his desk (black with no sugar, as you know he liked), and whenever you went out for dinner, you’d come back bearing something that was small enough so he wouldn’t want to pay for what you brought.

You started daring more only a few weeks into your small endeavor. Instead of only leaving your secret gifts, you started to write small notes in Garcia’s colorful sticky notes (because you had none on your desk, so he wouldn’t know it was you) with encouraging comments, mostly about his job — and, when you were feeling specially bold, about his appearance in general.

You thought nothing of it, and had no idea if he even read them, but the fact that you were doing something to at least try and make things better was enough to warm your heart. Much more when his stern façade would suddenly turn into a lighter one as the day went by, even when you were out on cases and he found a cup of steaming coffee waiting for him, a sticky note attached to it with a unique message handwritten by you.

It wasn’t until the divorce that you felt the urge to reveal your identity.

Hotch had been served the divorce papers in front of the whole team, only a few minutes before they went out for drinks — it goes unsaid that he immediately stepped out of the group, deciding to go home. The team still went out for drinks, but the talks weren’t as fun as they were supposed to be, and the topic in hand was only one: Hotch’s sudden divorce.

“Haley left home a few weeks ago” Derek confessed, playing with his full glass of beer. A few women had come to hit on him, but it seemed like that small and closed group had decided that if one of them was miserable, they all would be miserable that night — and Morgan had been the first to agree to that silent contract, refusing every opportunity he had to get laid that night, “She took Jack and her things and… left”.

“How could she do it?” Penelope had asked, her voice wrapped in a wrath no one had ever seen the blonde bubble of happiness be.

“Hotch is very dedicated to his job, Pen” Emily had replied, her voice as condescending as sad, a clear indicative that while she wished things had been different, that maybe there was a second chance, something they could do to help, she still could understand Haley’s side in this bargain, “We understand that because we do the same, but Haley… she wasn’t one of us”.

And it was true. While any of you were ready to make sacrifices, to jump off cliffs in order to do the best for your job, Haley was just a wife that had to stay closed off at home with her kid, praying that, at the end of the day (or the week) her husband would make it back home.

Now Hotch knew how it felt.

“There’s nothing we can do to help” David had said that night, taking his own glass of whiskey and taking a sip of the sour drink, “Just be there for him”.

David was right. And maybe his words that night had been what prompted you to climb the three-steps of the catwalk’s stair one week later, one hand playing nervously with your necklace as you used the other to knock on Aaron’s door right after Spencer had left to go home, only you and your boss still on the sixth floor.

“Come in”.

Aaron’s voice was imposing, as serious as it had always been; it was curious, you noticed very quickly, how you’ve never seen Hotch falter before — even when he was served the papers, or when he officially announced for the team that he was, indeed, divorced. He had been calm and collected, talking about the topics as if he was making a comment about a case, or about the weather, and the only indication of his unsaid pain was the way his fingers played nervously with the now empty space where you’d been used to see his wedding band.

Just as he was doing when you opened the door, your eyes falling immediately on that spot, as if searching for an indicative that they had decided to try again. The hope painful on your heart.

“I finished the reports from the last case” you said after a few minutes, moving slowly to leave the folders on top of his desk, “And I’ve also filled the late paperwork, I’m sorry it took me a while”.

Hotch looked up at you, his brown eyes scanning your face almost curiously, and you frowned nervously at the prospect of having something wrong with your face, “What is it?”.

“Nothing” Aaron replied quickly, dropping his eyes back to his hands, “I’m sorry”.

You smiled softly at Aaron, moving slowly to take the seat across from him, careful enough to assure him that if he didn’t want you to sit with him, then you’d quickly move out and pretend nothing had happened. When he didn’t, you allowed yourself to place both your hands on top of his desk, your palms up in an inviting manner — you knew Hotch wouldn’t hold your hand, even with the clear offer, but you’d keep offering until he felt like accepting.

“We’re a team, Hotch” you whispered, almost inaudibly, hoping, one more time, not to be overstepping or making him uncomfortable in any capacity, “I know we’re not best buddies…” you teased lightly, adding a ‘yet’ on your mind, “But you still can share things with me. I’m here to help, you know? If you want to talk, ever, I’ll be here, okay?”.

Much for your surprise and happiness, Aaron had wanted to talk, eventually.

The first time was after a child-related case, from where he left with the need to see Jack, but unable to do so because Haley had taken him to his grandparents’ house. At first, when he called you up to his office, you’d thought you’d be reprimanded for a mistake you couldn’t even remember you committed, but you had barely stepped inside the office when Aaron started to speak, his eyes focused on the mess of papers on his desk.

“I want to talk” he said, his voice more painful than you thought it would be, “If you’re still up to it”.

You were. Absolutely.

And just as talking to him, falling in love with Aaron Hotchner was the easiest thing you’ve ever done in your life.

You didn’t notice how it happened, or when you finally realized you were head over hills in love with him, but what you did know was the unspeakable feeling of your heart thundering on your chest whenever he shot a smile on your way, or when he accidentally brushed his hand on your arm when walking past you, or during your nightly conversations, when he’d repeat the words you first told him all those months ago, when you offered your help.

“We’re a team”.

But you should’ve seen it coming.

You should’ve seen it coming when Aaron announced whoever was responsible for that case had called him personally, and not respected the natural order of things in which JJ receives the case and reunites with Aaron to know if it deserves their immediate attention.

You should’ve seen it coming when Derek commented about Kate Joyner being as ass, and Aaron immediately got defensive — and to some extent you believed you had noticed, even if you decided to ignore it, since your body had responded to his defensiveness.

But you didn’t. Mostly because up to that moment, everything was okay.

“You’ll keep throwing theories at me until I tell you to stop?” Hotch asked, and even if his voice was serious and perfectly professional, you could see a hint of a smile on the way his brows weren’t as furrowed as usual, a shy dimple appearing on the corner of his lips.

This, you thought as you observed his clear features, moving from side to side on the chair you’ve been sitting on, your sole duty being waiting for Garcia’s call, or a lead of any form, this is what I love the most about him. His almost smile.

The thought alone both intimidated you and made butterflies dance on your stomach. You loved him.

“I will” you agreed with a resolute nod, your face as serious as possible considering how bad you wanted to laugh, “That’s what I do when we don’t have leads, I try every possible outcome and make you smile every once in a while. Because we’re a team”.

Aaron shook his head, his smile a bit more apparent than before, “A team, indeed”.

“I hope we make a good one”.

You cringed visibly at Kate Joyner’s British accent, not failing to notice how Aaron immediately moved to look at her, a smile creeping up on his lips immediately as he met her eyes — and you felt your heart break even more at the realization that it was the same smile he always gave you.

“They liaised at Scotland Yard”, Emily had teased when you arrived, JJ gasping at the mischievous tone on her friend’s voice. You wondered if any of them noticed how your face fell by the minute, your eyes unable to match any of theirs, heart thumping against your chest because you had noticed how Aaron had looked at Kate.

He wanted her.

In a way he clearly had never — and probably would never — want you.

“Hotchner” you looked up immediately at his serious tone, furrowing your brows as you paid close attention at his words. You saw, with the corner of your eyes, when Derek and Rossi moved closer to the three of you, their faces as serious as Hotch’s, “Does it look like he could be one of our guys?”.

“What’s going on?” Derek asked, his eyes following Hotch’s every move.

“We’ve got eyes on one of them” Aaron replied quickly, and for a second you hoped they’d be somewhere you could get them, that maybe this hell would be over in the next hour, maybe you were remotely close… “He’s on the subway platform at 59th and Lex”.

Your heart stopped beating at that moment, your breath immediately caught on your throat as you turned to face Kate, “We could be there” you muttered, your voice nothing more than an accusing whisper, “If we’d followed Derek’s plan, we could be there”.

“No, we should be there!” Derek retorted, his voice pulling out the anger you’ve managed to keep away from your words, and if your message hadn’t been clearly delivered to Kate, Derek’s had been — it was her fault.

“He’s got a gun” Garcia announced on the other side of the line, her voice wavering slightly at the new information.

“What do we do?” you asked, eyes moving past Kate to meet Hotch’s, “What are we supposed to do?”.

Aaron didn’t have time to reply before Garcia’s voice came through once more, “He shot her”.

God.

“Where the hell are the police?”, Kate’s voice was nervous when she next spoke, walking past you as if you weren’t there, her eyes not daring to meet yours, even if you knew that she didn’t care about the rage you were displaying. She cared about nothing other than Aaron’s impression on her, “This is Kate Joyner with the FBI. We have a murder suspect, subway platform. 59th and Lex”.

“He’s getting away!” Garcia announced, her voice clearly anguished.

Your mind started to work, all the training you ever had in your life — both for the BAU and other Units — coming back to you on that second, drawing you to move closer to the phone, you’re voice commanding, “Garcia, can you get eyes on him above ground?”.

“He’s heading west on 59th Street”.

“If he makes it to the park, we’ve lost him” Kate pointed, clearly worried.

The point was, Kate’s worry meant nothing to you anymore. Not when she was responsible for that; not when her pride got over her job and caused you to lose the only lead you could’ve had.

“And whose fault is this, Joyner?” you asked, your voice as venomous as you could make it sound, both your hands holding tightly at the wooden surface of the desk you’ve been sitting at, “Because from where I see it, is yours”.

The silence between your small group was almost palpable, and you could hear how someone took a harsh breath, as if your words had been like a slap to their face. You didn’t turn to see who had had that reaction, though — you knew the team had a very tunneled vision of you, that the fact you rarely snapped at people made them think you weren’t as fierce as Prentiss, even though they knew you were way more able to stand your ground than Spencer, usually without being overly rude at the source of your dismay.

That wasn’t the case, not that day.

You heard Aaron calling your name, and if it were any other day, maybe you’d have drawn your eyes off Kate to look at him, but you knew if you did this now, you’d backtrack — and God knew you didn’t want to.

“We could’ve had this guy!” you spat, pointing at the phone, “We just had to follow along with Morgan’s plan, which was a good plan, but Ms. I’m-better-than-anyone couldn’t handle hearing that someone was better than her!”.

“That’s not what happened—”.

“Oh, isn’t it?” You cut her off immediately, licking your lips for a second as your eyes kept glued on hers. Not blinking, not faltering. For the first time since you joined the FBI, you allowed the anger to consume you, because it was personal for you.

The way she looked at Hotch was personal for you.

The way they kept their bodies close was personal for you.

The way he had immediately stopped reciprocating you and your feelings whenever she was close, was personal for you.

The way she had the man you loved under her spell was personal for you.

“Even if we were on that platform, odds are he would have moved onto someone isolated” Kate retorted, her voice way calmer than yours.

“Maybe, but it was worthy a fucking shot!” you screamed, slapping your hands against the table, the sound calling the attention of the other Agents around, “Morgan said to put us at express stops. You wouldn’t need any new cop or to take the cops that are working from the streets, you just needed to assign us for this, and you decided not to, just because Morgan said so!”.

“It’s not your place to have this discussion”.

You were ready to spat back, maybe even to move closer to Kate and tell her that if she failed to do her job, then it was time someone else do it. But the voice that called you out wasn’t Kate’s.

You faltered, your voice suddenly getting caught on your throat as you turned to face Aaron, his eyes void of emotion as he looked at with you a grave expression, only one message written on his face: shut up, or you’ll see the consequences.

“My…” you stuttered, “My place?”.

“You need to back off” Aaron moved on, “We’re here to give the profile, that’s what we’ll do”.

“We have seven bodies, Aaron!” you said, but your voice had lost the strength it had when you were discussing with Kate, your anger turning into something way more painful. Painful for you, “Seven bodies. A woman was just killed on a subway platform because of her incompetence and you’re telling me to back off?”.

You hated how your voice broke on the last phrase, clear evidence that you were on the verge of tears. And you hated that he was a good enough profiler to see it, but he chose to ignore, because he was favoring her over you.

“You said it right, we have seven bodies” Aaron agreed, “Which is exactly why we need to stay focused”.

Derek snorted, drawing your attention back to him, “Pretty rich coming from the man who can’t stay focused on anything but her”.

As if it couldn’t hurt you more.

Aaron didn’t flinch, his eyes meeting Derek’s as he finished the almost inexistant space that separated the two of them, his voice low and passive — the tone he always used when talking with a suspect, “Take a walk. Now. You both”.

All you needed was for his eyes to meet yours for you to know you were done. With this case; with Kate Joyner; with Aaron.

“I’m out” you announced, messily grabbing your things and throwing them on your pockets, trying your best not to unravel then and there, where Kate could see how much she had affected you — how much their actions had affected you, “Out of this precinct. Out of this case”.

You walked past Aaron without sparing a glance at him, making a beeline towards the elevator. And for a second you thought about ignoring the way he called you, aware that you wouldn’t be able to look at him without the tears falling down your face, without you pouring your heart out to the man you ultimately loved, but that couldn’t reciprocate your feelings.

But you stopped, anyway. You stopped because a part of you hoped you’d see the man you’ve grown fond of in the past months; because you expected him to apologize, to say that you were right, or just say something… because if he didn’t, you might as well give up on him.

Ask me to stay, you pleaded, just ask me to stay.

“You can’t walk away from this case”.

You snorted at his cold words, and even with your back turned to him, you knew his face was still cold as stone, the Unit Chief, not your friend, “I can. And I will” you finally found it in yourself to turn and face him, the first tears falling down your face, “I’ll tell Strauss I couldn’t handle it, that it hit too close to home. Don’t worry, I’ll take the plane back to D.C tonight, I don’t want the jet and won’t make the Bureau pay for a bedroom for me. It won’t ruin your budget”.

“Why are you acting like that?” he asked, and you allowed yourself to bask on the way his own voice faltered, the way his closed demeanor changed at the sight of your tears, but it only lasted one second before you looked over his shoulders, finding Kate looking straight at you, clearly curious.

Suddenly there was no way you’d walk out without saying everything you needed to say.

“You really don’t know?” you questioned, “Okay, so I’ll tell you, Aaron” you made a pause, fidgeting with your necklace once again, trying to find the courage you needed to let it all out — everything and nothing at the same time, “I’m so in love with you, Aaron. I’ve been from the moment you started opening up to me. And to see you dismissing my opinion, acting like I’m nothing more than just an AIT who has no idea what she’s doing here, it hurts…” your voice was nothing but a mumbled hiss, the tears now staining your shirt, and you were unable to stop them, even when you violently wiped them away with the palm of your hand, “It hurts because I thought maybe… maybe you were feeling the same. Maybe you were opening up to me because you wanted me to be a part of your life, more than a friend, but a real partner… I thought we were a team, but I see I was wrong”.

You allowed yourself to look desperate, broken, out of place for one more second as you watched the way his demeanor changed as he processed every word you’ve said. You noticed with a heavy heart when it stopped, when he finally took in the meaning behind your words, and then…

Then you saw nothing.

And that only made your heart break even more.

“As I said, I was wrong” you repeated, pressing the elevator button violently, “I’m sorry, Agent Hotchner. I hope the case ends well. I’ll hand you my resignation once you’re back home”.

And without a word more, you left.

…

Prentiss called to let you know the case had ended only two days after you left — not that you wanted to know, but you had told Hotch you’d hand your resignation once he was back, so you were grateful she called. She didn’t ask if you were okay, because you clearly weren’t, and you were grateful for that, too (even if Derek and Penelope did call to know if you were feeling okay).

Aaron didn’t call.

He didn’t reach out.

Didn’t send a message or an email.

He was dead silent.

You had learnt from Derek that Kate Joyner had been killed on an explosion meant to hit her and Hotch, and that Morgan had driven him back to Quantico once Aaron was cleared from the hospital. He didn’t need to tell you, but you knew he had talked to Aaron (or either talked while Aaron listened) about what you said before leaving, about your feelings and how you were ready to resign because of the way he treated you; you also knew from his voice that he wanted you to ask what had been Hotch’s answer to their talk, but you didn’t want to know. Your heart was already too damaged to accept another blow.

It had been around the third day since the end of the case when someone knocked on your door. You had asked the team not to come over, not wanting them to see you on the state you were — hair disheveled, eyes puffy and red from crying —, and much less have to answer to questions you weren’t ready to answer; but you had been receiving a visit from your neighbor, Mr. Clark, who had caught you crying alone once and since then had been visiting you on the same hour everyday to make sure you were doing okay.

He was also helping you look for new jobs, even if he was trying to convince you to do something less dangerous than working for the FBI. It wasn’t working.

“Hello, Mr.—” you cut yourself off immediately when your eyes met the newcomer, your lips slightly parted as you took in his image, “Agent Hotchner?”.

You noticed how he flinched at your words, moving slightly back as if you had shot him straight on the heart, and not just called him by his title. Still, Aaron tried to keep himself perfectly composed (as always), one hand hiding something on his back as he fidgets with his fingers with the other.

If you hadn’t spent the past weeks crying over him, you’d have found it adorable.

“What are you doing here?” you asked sharply, your eyes scanning him one more time before you stopped to find his eyes, almost losing yourself on their brown — almost green, depending on the light — immensity.

“I wanted to talk to you” Aaron replied, rolling his eyes at the notice of how obvious his words were, “I wanted to apologize”.

You tilted your head to the side, your body clearly blocking his way inside your apartment — something you’ve never done before, “Okay. Done. You can go now”.

Your words were harsher than they’ve always been, void and certain, mostly because you knew you still loved him, and that if he asked to go inside, you’d allow. You’d buy anything he said in order to feed the fantasy of you two being more than friends, of the possibility of you being what you wanted you to be.

“Can we talk?” Aaron pleaded, taking a step towards you, “Please”.

“Why? So you can ignore everything I said at the precinct and cry over Kate’s death?” you spat out, and maybe you shouldn’t have talked about someone’s death with the coldness you’ve done, but you were honestly tired of Aaron and his bullshit, “I offered myself to help you, Aaron, because I knew you were suffering over your divorce. And if for some miracle Haley and you decided to go back together and try again, I’d swallow my feelings and let my heart break as I watch you and her trying to rebuild what you had, because I know how much you suffered over losing her. How much you miss being Jack’s father everyday…” you raised one finger, pointing directly at Aaron’s heart — the heart you still loved more than everything, “But I’m not stupid. I won’t let you step on my feeling to cry over another woman after I’ve told you how I feel, after I’ve pathetically confessed my love to you. I’m worthy more than that, Aaron! I deserve more than someone who only needs me when they’re emotionally vulnerable. I deserve to be loved, Aaron!”.

Aaron was silent for a moment, his eyes scanning your face as he observed the first tears rolling down. You thought he wouldn’t say anything, that maybe he’d only move away as you told him to, but he didn’t.

He took a step towards you, using his free hand to clear your tears, “I know” Aaron whispered, licking his lips, “And I should’ve thought about it, about your feelings, before putting mine on top of them. And I apologize, even if I know it’s not enough”.

No, it wasn’t. Because merely apologizing wouldn’t erase the memory of him observing as you poured your heart out and dismissing it on behalf of another woman. It wouldn’t erase the comments, and how he belittled you. It wouldn’t erase the pain you’ve felt on the plane back, or how pathetic Erin Strauss made you feel for abandoning the field over personal problems.

“I didn’t notice you were in love with me because I was trying to brush past the fact that I had fallen in love with you, of how inappropriate it would look like for Strauss, of how it could jeopardize your career…” Aaron cleared his throat, looking at the ground, “And how bad I felt over the fact that you were trying to help me with my marital problems, and I was too busy noticing how beautiful your smile is. I didn’t believe it was right for me to fall in love with you, because I didn’t deserve someone as pure as you”.

You remained silent; your arms crossed in front of your body. You knew there was something else he wanted to say, so you allowed him to.

“I imagine you heard someone talking about how… how much Kate looked like Haley”.

You snorted bitterly, and that seemed to attract his attention back to you, “Everyone. Even I thought that when I saw her”.

Aaron nodded slowly, this time his eyes didn’t move from yours, “When I saw her, all I could see was Haley. And I tried to convince myself that the fact I was shaken by that meant that I was still in love with Haley, and that I didn’t have to worry about my feelings for you, that I wouldn’t mess up our friendship because there weren’t feelings between us… but whenever I looked your way, or talked to you, I’d feel my heartbeat faster. And when I looked at Kate, I felt… empty. As if I was staring at an old ghost” he confessed, and you could see on his demeanor how confessing that pained him — either because he was confessing in a way that he wasn’t in love with Haley anymore, or because he felt bad speaking ill of the dead, you weren’t sure, “So I tried to force myself into find that old spark, the way I felt for Haley, something that would prove to me that I wasn’t in love with you, but I failed. And I failed you in the meantime”.

You took a sharp breath, hating yourself for the way you started to play with your necklace, “Where does it put us, Aaron?” you asked painfully, “Because I won’t go through that again”.

Aaron took his hand off his back, showing you the small Tifanny box he had been hiding, your breath getting immediately caught on your throat as you reached for the object hesitantly, “I’m not proposing to you” he clarified at the look on your face, “I couldn’t, not after just getting divorced… and I also can’t be in a relationship with you, now. I want to, but I need to settle things with Jack before I bring someone knew into my life, and I need to prove to you that I mean it when I say I love you”.

“Aaron…” you whispered, opening up the lid to reveal a golden lock pendant, one that you knew all too well — one you had nonchalantly commented with Aaron you wanted, but thought nothing of it, believing he hadn’t paid any mind at your words. He had, “I can’t… I can’t accept it, I—”.

“I’m not trying to buy your forgiveness, I’m not stupid to think you’d accept a gift in exchange of it” he cut you off, “But I want you to keep it as a promise that I’ll try to make it up to you every day, until you can forgive me. And that I’ll wait for you ‘til my last breath, if needed”.

You looked up at Aaron, nodding slowly.

You knew by the look on his face that you’d be the one leading them from that moment on, that if you wanted to just get the necklace and tell him to go, he’d go without missing a heartbeat. But you didn’t want it. Aaron was willing to try, to win your forgiveness and to respect your feelings in a way he hadn’t before.

“We’re a team” you muttered under your breath, opening up a smile.

So maybe you owed it to yourself to try, too.

Aaron gave you a similar smile, nodding, “We’re a team. The best team”.

And as you took a step to the side, inviting Aaron to enter your apartment, you knew you had already forgiven him.

Thank you for the request ✨

[littleadaline]

Thank you for the sandwich [F.T7]

Warnings: some smut content [18+], some light swearing

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: whoooops hihi

———————————————

“Oh and another thing,” Flick told you before exiting his office. “Ferran had his Adidas commercial canceled today. If you want to get ahead on the YouTube channel content, today is your day. He came in early for training, I have no reason to keep him this late.” He handed you back your bag.

“Thank you. I’ll grab my equipment from my office and head down to let him know. Have a nice day, mister.”

‘You too.” He softly smiled at you before closing his office door shut.

You walked back to your office, head in your notebook, scanning for the ideas you had jotted down for Ferran content. You had made it to your desk when an unknown figure sitting in your chair made your heart jump.

“Ferran, coño, you scared me. What are you doing here?” You put down your material in the now-empty chair.

“I had my Adidas shoot canceled for today. I wanted to know if you wanted to catch up on some content we had to shoot.” He shot you a smile, nervously fiddling with the pens at your desk.

“That’s funny because I was going to ask you to do the same. But I need to finish editing tomorrow’s video, if you don’t mind waiting for me.”

“Can I wait here?” He kept playing with the stationary on your desk.

“Will you be quiet?” You raised an eyebrow, plugging your computer into the wall.

“Yes… at least I’ll try.” He shot you a smirk. You giggled, signaling him to sit in the chair next to you.

You spent the next 30 minutes putting the clips together, selecting audios and playing with the visual effects. You always felt a great deal of pressure when tasked with editing the videos for the club’s social media. You wanted to be proud of your work, all while having the fans' approval. You were deeply focused on your work, when Ferran’s voice pulled you out of your bubble.

“Are you done yet? Are you done yet? Are you done yet?” He playfully threw a few balled-up Post It’s at your face.

“Ferran! What did we agree on?” You said through gritted teeth, the frustration of your work getting to you.

“But I’m bored!” He whined. You looked to your left, only to be met with a pouting face and arms crossed across his chest.

“I am almost done, I swear! Have some patience.” You diverted back to your screen, only for your stomach to betray you. An idea flashed through your face. “How about you get us some food?”

“Sure! What do you want?” He got up, straightening his pants.

“I’ll have a turkey sub, extra pesto, hold the tomatoes please. And a mango Jarritos.”

“Anything else?” He ruffled the top of your hair before leaning into the doorway.

“No, thank you!” You re-arranged your hair in a hurry.

After Ferran had left your office, you took a quick glance at yourself on your computer screen. You had trouble hiding your reddened cheeks at Ferran’s touch. You liked it when he subtly crossed the boundaries of professionalism and into friendship. Ferran was the first player you really clicked with when you got started. He made sure you were well welcomed, and treated with respect. 2 years into the job, you had each others’ number and addresses. You would often meet up on days off to spend time with your newly formed group of friends. But these past few months, you have wanted to spend less time with the group and more time with just him.

Ferran came back just as you were saving the video on your hard drive.

“I got you something extra. Little sweet treat for all your efforts.” He handed you a brown bag. Your ears perked up, your arms extending for the bag.

“You got me… red velvet? You remembered.” You sighed in awe.

“Of course I did! It’s your favorite.” He shrugged nonchalantly. He sat back in his chair, kicking his feet up. You ran up to hug him, your sudden move throwing him off the chair and onto the floor.

Ferran’s arms softened your fall, your faces merely a few inches away. You could feel his breath on your lips, and it took all your might to stop yourself from violating the code of professionalism. Ferran’s eyes lingered on your lips, unable to pull away. He had one hand on your back and the other on the back of your thigh, his touch leaving a burning sensation on your skin.

“We-um…We should get up before someone walks in and sees us.” You breathlessly said, pushing yourself off of his chest. You tried to hide the fact that your little interaction had caused a not so small chemical reaction in the Barça player’s shorts.

“Yeah… that.” He said, disappointed.

You both ate your food in an awkward silence, before cleaning up and heading downstairs to film the video. The vibes were off, which prompted you to call off the shoot earlier. It would just have to be a shorter video than usual. Nothing bad. You both said your goodbyes and parted ways for the rest of the evening.

“I’ll see you…” Ferran asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Monday. I’m off for the weekend.” You waved him off as he drove away.

———————————

You had finished loading up the dishwasher when the doorbell rang. You opened the door only to find Ferran standing there, his hair and clothes soaked by the rain.

“Ferran? Oh my God, come in! How long have you been standing outside?” You pulled him by the sleeve of his jacket. “Let me get you a towel. Give me your jacket.” You undressed him from the many layers he was wearing.

He sat on your couch, droplets of water tainting his sweet face, and dripping onto the floor.

“Aye, Ferran, what the fuck happened to you?” You knelt in front of him, towel in hand. You dried his face the best you could, giving extra attention to his face. Your heart fluttered at the sight of the water droplets clinging to his eyelashes. “What were you doing in the neighborhood?”

“I told Flick.” He blurted out.

“You told Flick… what did you tell him?” You hummed softly, your hand resting on his cheek.

“I went back to his office after you left. I told him that I love you. I told him I was in love with you, and I was planning on asking you out, one day or another. I wanted to suppress my feelings, protect you and your heart…But after today’s incident in the office… the way your lips just…Fuck.”

He grabbed you by the neck, pulling you into his lap, before crashing his lips against yours. Your body took no time reacting to his touch, choosing to melt into his embrace. Your hands found the nape of his neck, gently stroking the hair, nibbling behind his ear, subtly leaving a hickey. His hand lifted your ass before gently placing you in his lap, his hands never leaving the curve of your ass. You moaned into his mouth, as his fingers found the hem of your shirt, peeling it off painfully slow.

“May I?” He gestured at your bra. You nodded feverishly, your body itching to tear his clothes off and leave trails of kisses along his chest. Ferran’s eyes grew hungry as he slowly undid your bra. You trailed your arms alongside his body, searching for the hem of his shirt. Ferran’s hands found yours as you peeled away his soaked t-shirt.

You got up from his lap, shimmying out of your shorts and underwear, before extending your arm out to him, inviting him to do the same. He rapidly shed his clothes before grabbing your hand and dragging you to the bedroom, where your bed was a witness to your sexual activities.

The next morning, you woke up to Ferran’s soft snores. It was still dark and early in the morning. You snuggled back into bed, Ferran’s hand instinctively wrapped around your waist. He hated to admit it, but he was a snuggle bug. You turned back to face him, his lips slightly ajar, and his hair merely ruffled. You snuggled against his chest, letting his heartbeat lull you back to sleep.

The next time you woke up, it was once again because of Ferran. But he wasn’t snoring in your ear anymore. He was leaving hot, feverish kisses at the base of your chest.

“Good morning hermosa.” He came out from under the covers, his cheeks covered in a faint pink hue, his hair still disheveled. “I must say, that body of yours, is a 10/10. Love every freckle, dimple and scar this body has. My love.” He said as he snaked his hand down to squeeze your ass as you giggled from the sudden move.

You both spent the rest of the day in bed, as neither had any obligations. As the day dwindled down, you both sat on your couch, your head in his lap.

“So… when you said you would ask me out one day or another, to Flick, did you mean it?”

“Princesa, I meant every word I said to Flick. I would steal the Milky Way for you if you asked me to.” He bent down to leave a kiss on your lips. “Which is why I want to ask you… would you like to go on a date with me?”

“Yes!” You giggled with excitement, feeling a part of your dream come true. You swung your arms around his neck, dragging him down for a heated make-out session.

[rrenzwrld]

GIRLY hear me out 😩!!

tattoo artist connie x shy black reader

it's like a her first tattoo and connie is her artist.

i wasn’t sure if i should’ve written a fic or just hcs but i wrote a fic! and if you want some hcs lmk! <3🤭

It was your 18th birthday and getting a tattoo was the first thing that came to your mind since you couldn’t think of anything else. Due to your low pain tolerance, you questioned yourself as to why you didn’t think a bit harder when your parents asked you what you wanted for your special day.

“A tattoo? You can’t even get flu shots without crying.” Your mom joked which sent your dad laughing a bit.

“Okay I know, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“Well, you already know what you wanna get?” You nodded as you pulled your phone out to show the sketch of some flowers that you drew. “Aww that’s cute~ You gettin it on your arm?” You wanted it on your thigh because you thought it looked better there.

“On my thigh?”

“Your thigh? You sure you can sit there for that long?” Your dad commented. He exchanged looks with his wife before their eyes said everything else for them. Your parents were a bit strict so you were shocked that they even let you get a tattoo. “And you already made the appointment?”

You nodded. “It’s someone Tiera knows.” Is what Tiera told you when you mentioned the tattoo birthday gift to her. You didn’t know this person but you trusted Tiera. She even offered to be there with you but you made it your mission to go to the place on your own. All your parents did was give you the money so the tattoo would be a gift.

After talking it over with your parents, as you’ve done for majority of the choices in your life, you get to the tattoo parlor that Tiera was talking about.

When you get there, there’s a tall guy with a buzzcut and tattoos littered over his arms and a few piercings on his face. He looked up and instantly smiled when he saw you walk in. The tattoos and piercings made him look scary so his bright smile towards you eases your spirit.

“Hey!” He comes from around the counter to greet you. He looked to be the only one there at the moment it it was early so you figured whoever else worked there didn’t come in yet. “You’re Y/n, right? Tiera told me you were coming.” You nodded your head and internally thanked your friend for being the reason you didn’t have to speak too many times today.

“First time?” You nodded again. “You don’t talk much, do you?” You shook your head. You didn’t really like talking unless you really really wanted to. You didn’t know this guy enough to try to talk his head off.

“Aww man, we gotta fix that. C’mon.” You followed him through the place to the secluded area he’d be working at. He was giving you small directions while he made sure he had all his stuff together.

“What’s your name by the way?” You felt silly.

“Oh, Connie.” He smiled again and you could almost melt into a puddle.

“Is that short for anything or..?”

“I don’t like telling people my real name. I hate it.” The two of you were beginning to have a conversation when he was cleaning your skin and everything. “Anyways, Tiera already sent me the flowers you wanted and everything,” He showed you the sketch of the flowers you wanted. Connie’s drawing was a lot better for what you wanted for the tattoo than you thought. “You like it?” You nodded excessively which was a big stamp of approval from you. “That’s good.. before I go ahead and get started, you got any concerns or anything?”

“Is it gonna hurt?” You said quietly. He laughed a bit but he didn’t mean to.

“Yeah, maybe.” Was an understatement for someone with a low pain tolerance. “You like shots?” You shook your head and he chuckled again. “That’s okay, once we get to talking, you’ll forget all about it. It’s gonna be quick, okay?” You nodded. You were obviously in good hands so you didn’t know why you were so worried. And plus, Connie was a cute guy so you didn’t mind that addition to the experience.

In a way, the experience was quick. Once the two of you got to talking as he was inking your skin for the first time, the pain didn’t mean a lot and you were slowly coming out of your shell with Connie. The conversation started off with simple things, then it went into more personal topics and before you knew it, he was finished.

You giggled “So why don’t you like your real name? Are you a Carl or something?”

“No.. my real name is Constance—“

“That’s a pretty name.” He looked at you like he thought you were lying.

“I doubt it but your name is pretty. You are also pretty.” Your heart dropped to your feet even though it was for a good reason.

“You’re just being nice..”

“Nah, I’m for real,” He said as he was wrapping up your tattoo after he showed it to you. For your first tattoo, especially on a place you wouldn’t expect to get it, it was absolutely beautiful. You would definitely be coming back her to get another some other time. “I’m bout to ask for your number right now, you cool with that?” He smiled at you for another time that day with those alluring hazel eyes. You didn’t even notice how well his small freckles painted his face. It was your favorite part about it so far and you internally beat yourself up for beginning to fall into him so quickly.

“I guess, but don’t you have a girlfriend?” He furrowed his brows in confusion at you once he finished up.

“I don’t, yet.” All you could do was hum as you wondered if his flirting was genuine or if it was normal thing he did.

The two of you sat in silence before you spoke when you were getting ready to go back up to the front to pay. “Thank you, Connie.” You smiled warmly.

“Of course, pretty girl.” You started to hand him the money until he stopped you.

“Nah, you good.”

“What? No, here—“

He laughed. “It’s fine, Y/n. I’ll get you next time.” He must’ve really liked you if he missed out on money from just meeting you today. But you didn’t like not paying people.

“Okay..” You put the money back in your purse.

“But I know how you can pay me though if you want.” Your head instantly shot up.

“Hm?”

“That number?” You eyes widened. You didn’t think he was serious.

“You were for real?”

Connie chuckled. “Yes, yes I was.” He slid over a piece of paper and a pen. “Whenever you’re ready.” You fought back a smile before writing down your number and sliding it back to him.

“Thank you~”

“Bye, Connie Springer.”

“Bye, pretty girl~”

[widowsistersandfriends]

Tears

Request: Could you write a fic where the reader is Natasha and Yelena's little sister and one day she is very sad but she doesn't want to tell them what's going on but the widow sisters have their way of getting the information out ;))

Note: Thank you for this adorable request! I really enjoyed writing this one, and I appreciate your patience while waiting for me to write this one! Enjoy! <3

Word Count: 3053

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You woke up bright and early, eager to start your day. Today was Friday, and you were looking forward to the weekend after a long week of school. You got out of bed and washed up before heading downstairs for breakfast. Although you were training to be a mini Black Widow, your two older sisters still insisted you get a good education. You didn’t mind though, as you loved learning and exploring new topics.

The smell of fresh scrambled eggs and crispy bacon filled the air as you descended down the stairs. You took in a big whiff and sighed with happiness.

“Good morning, Y/N, just in time for breakfast!” Natasha said cheerfully. Yelena however, was not seen anywhere at the table, so you asked the redhead where she was.

“Oh you know how she is. She loves her sleep,” the redhead said with a chuckle.

“Can I go wake her up?” You asked.

“Eat your breakfast first. I want you to have enough time to eat and digest,” Natasha said, placing a plate in front of you consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, apple slices, and a glass of orange juice. You thanked Natasha for the breakfast and dug in with your fork.

You finished your breakfast and went to pack your backpack for the day. You quickly piled in your notebooks and folders along with your pencil case and laptop.

“Alright Y/N, wanna come wake up Yelena with me?” Natasha offered. You nodded excitedly, as the two of you slowly opened the door to the blonde’s room. Yelena was a deep sleeper, so she didn’t even move or respond to Natasha’s soft spoken words asking her to wake up.

You tapped Natasha’s arm and whispered her a question, earning a response and a slight grin from the redhead. With her approval, you reached under the blanket and began squeezing the blonde’s side muscle with just the right amount of pressure. Yelena jerked in response, snorting and immediately tried to wriggle away.

Yelena grumbled into her pillow, clearly trying to suppress her giggles. She was never a happy camper having to wake up.

“Come on Yelena, wake up and it’ll all be over~,” you said teasingly. You jumped on top of her and began scribbling your fingers all over her stomach, causing the blonde to let out a loud bark of laughter.

“OHOHOKAHAHAY Y/N, STAHAHAHAP IHIHIM GEHEHETTING UHUHUP,” Yelena shouted, all while swatting your hands away.

Natasha watched from a distance, chuckling slightly at Yelena’s state as you got off of the bed.

“Stop laughing at me, Poser. You’re no better than me,” Yelena said with a huff.

“Then you better get up then before I prove you wrong,” Natasha said, a teasing tone coating her threat. 

“No no no! Natasha dohoHOHOHONT AHAHAHAHAHA,” the blonde screamed with laughter, as her redheaded sister began to scribble up and down her feet which were sticking out from under the covers.

“Then get up you silly butt,” Natasha said, as you laughed while watching the blonde suffer.

Natasha eventually let her sister up, after a good ruffle of her hair. Yelena shot you a glare, giving you a warning look where you knew you were gonna be in big trouble. Luckily it was time for school and you had to go catch the bus.

You picked up your bag and headed out the front door after giving your two sisters a big hug.

“Have a good day at school!” The two widows said, while waving at you. You waved back and boarded the bus, looking forward to the fun day ahead.

Your day started off well, as you stayed engaged in all of your classes. You had fun learning in each class, and were now headed to gym class. Today, you guys were splitting up into multiple teams for a dodgeball tournament. You were skilled when it came to throwing and catching, so this really made you excited inside. 

After you all split into teams, you began playing against each other to see who would move on in the bracket. Your team was fairly strong, and you guys had made it to the championship game. You were excited for the challenge, until you heard someone chirping from the other team.

“Hey look guys, they have a girl so we’re gonna win!”

“A girl can’t compete in this! They can’t throw!”

You were the only girl on your team, so you knew who this was directed towards. However, you felt the anger building up inside of you. You’ve never really been in this situation before, so you didn’t know the best way to handle it. Instead, you just followed your gut.

“You shut up! Why don’t you beat me first before running your mouth!” You shouted across the gym. Everyone started ooohing in anticipation of a fight.

“I already know I’m gonna win because girls can’t throw!” The boy shouted back.

“It’s a team sport you dummy, so why don’t you get your facts straight first before you speak nonsense!” You yelled back. At this point, you were so ready to whip the ball into his face. Or another part.

The match began and your team began to play. Balls whizzed by as you ducked and dodged, all while throwing darts across the gym. You even caught quite a few to eliminate the guys on the other team. You felt an adrenaline rush going through you, loving the fact that you were proving him and everyone else in the gym wrong.

It was an intense match, and each team now had three players remaining. Teams were allowed to pass the ball around to the people on the side who were already out as well. You had been studying how the people on the other team threw, analyzing the spin and the route the ball would likely take. 

The kid threw the ball at your teammate, who was caught off guard as the ball ricocheted off his shoulder and in the air. You turned and quickly dove for the ball, rolling to break your fall which you had learned from when training with your sisters. Your team cheered, as it was now 3 versus 2. It turned into 2 versus 2 when one of your teammates got pegged in the knee.

Your teammate made a good effort to throw, but it was caught, eliminating him from the game. Now 2 versus 1, you knew you were your team’s last hope. But your desire wasn’t winning. It was defeating that guy and making him eat his words. If he hadn’t said that before, you wouldn’t be as focused on winning and more on having fun. However, your fun would come when you came out victorious.

The ball came straight for you, slightly away from your head. You debated on whether you should dodge and survive, or risk reaching out to catch or possibly fumble it. You reached out at the last second, snagging the ball with one hand, eliminating yet another person.

You felt the pressure now, eyeing the same boy who had talked down to you. He was still chirping away, but you didn’t respond. You were focusing on your next move. He currently had the ball and was trying to find a way to catch you off guard. You saw his eyes move, which was more than enough for a spy in training to figure out what would happen next. 

You smirked to yourself, seeing his eyes look past you. He was planning on throwing it to one of his teammates out of bounds, to catch you off guard and to eventually get you out. He wound up and threw, and as you suspected it was intended to head over you. However, you jumped to intercept his throw, and spun around faster than light while whipping a side arm throw across the gym, nailing him. 

“Two balls for the price of one!” You shouted across the gym at him, as your team started cheering and celebrating. 

“Whatever, you just got lucky. You’re still inferior and need luck to beat a guy,” he chirped back.

“Oh no honey, just no. It’s not luck. It’s called playing the game and not running my mouth when I can’t back it up,” you clapped back.

“You talked that talk but couldn’t walk that walk,” you said, as he began to move closer.

He didn’t say anything, but he wound up to punch. Luckily, you remembered the move Natasha taught you that she used against Happy in the fighting ring in front of Pepper and Tony. The guy was humiliated as he was thrown to the ground. 

“Thanks for playing, better luck next time! And don’t even try to start shit, I have two sisters who can fight as well,” you said, turning and walking away. If you had a mic, you would’ve dropped it for dramatic effect. 

While you were glad you defeated him and put him in his place, the rest of the day you were boiling with anger. You couldn’t quite pin what it was. 

You returned home after a long and eventful day, grateful to finally be home. 

“Hey, Y/N, how was school today?” Yelena asked, giving you a hug, as you dropped your backpack on the ground. 

“It was fine,” you said flatly.

“Just fine?!? You’re usually bouncing off the walls and telling us every detail about your day,” Yelena said, giving your shoulder a playful squeeze.

“I said it’s fine, okay,” you snapped at the blonde.

Yelena was taken aback a bit, but she didn’t pressure it anymore and let you go up to your room.

“What was all that?” Natasha asked, entering the room.

“It seems like Y/N had a bad day at school, but we should give her some space before talking to her,” Yelena said, as the redhead nodded in agreement. 

Your two sisters gave you a few hours to yourself, before knocking gently at the door.

“Y/N, can we come in?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah,” you answered quietly, but just loud enough for them to hear.

Your sisters walked in, each sitting near you on the bed.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Yelena asked, patting your back softly.

“I don’t know, there was just a ton of stuff that happened today,” you said vaguely.

“If something bad happened and you want to talk about it, you know we’re always here for you,” Natasha chimed in.

You sighed, knowing that you wanted to talk about it, but just didn’t know where to start. You hesitated for a moment, before speaking.

“I’m okay. But if you really want to know, you have to pay a price,” you said, giving the faintest hint of a smirk.

Oh? Is that a challenge?” Yelena said, as both sisters knew you were transitioning into your playful mood. 

The two widows quickly pinned you with your arms above your head. 

“No wait! Let me go!” you cried, wiggling around to the best of your abilities. 

“Hmm, no. We know you were sad and we want to know why and cheer you up!” Natasha insisted, as she sat on your waist and began to rake her nails in your armpits.

“HAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHEASE,” you begged.

“Oh? Begging already? You’re in for a long ride little one,” Natasha said teasingly.

You continued to laugh and scream, as your sensitive underarms could not get used to the ticklish sensation being produced from her nails. It also didn’t help that being pinned made you a thousand times more sensitive than you already were.

The redhead moved her hands down to poke and dig in between your ribs, making you scream with laughter.

“GAH NOHOHO THAHAHATS MEHEHEHEAN,” you said, giggling hysterically. 

“Oh I know,” Natasha said with a smirk. She then traded places with Yelena, so they could both get a chance to wreck you.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” Yelena asked teasingly.

“An old fart on top of me who sleeps for a million hours,” you said cheekily.

“You little—”

With that, Yelena had dug into your sides the same way you had, along with the most ticklish pokes, pinches and scribbles, to your tummy. 

You burst into hysterical laughter, from both her reaction and the tickles.

“OHOHO MY GOHOHOD STAHAHAHAHAP IHIHIT TIHIHIHICKLES,” you cried out.

“Oh what’s wrong, Y/N? Too ticklish?” The blonde asked with an evil grin.

“YEHEHEHES IHIHIHI AHAHAHAM NOW STAHAHAHAHAP,” you squealed.

“Better tell us why you’re sad,” Natasha teased, as she added on with more armpit tickles.

You were a mess now and they both knew you were bound to break soon.

“OHOHOHOKAHAHAY IHIHIHI’LL SPIHIHILL PLEHEHEHEASE,” you shouted.

The girls stopped tickling you and gave you a chance to catch your breath. After a couple of minutes you explained everything to them.

“Y/N, I understand why you were upset and you have every right to be. You stood up for yourself and didn’t want to be judged just because you’re a girl,” Natasha said.

“We’re both proud of you for how you handled it. You’re very mature for your age. Not to mention, you kicked his ass and showed him who’s boss” Yelena added, giving you a high five.

You giggled slightly, feeling better after they comforted you.

“And just remember. Yelena and I are always gonna be here for you. We will always stand up for you and we will never think less of you for your age, gender, height, race, sexuality, anything,” Natasha said with a firm grip on your shoulder. You looked into her eyes and knew she was being sincere. It was a love and support you never knew existed, or that you needed.

“We see you as a strong woman, someone who is willing to fight and stand up for herself. We are so proud of you for taking the leap of faith and having the courage to stand up for yourself when no one else would,” Yelena added.

You gave them both a hug and thanked them for talking you through it all.

“Y/N, we have to make sure you’re all cheered up,” Yelena said with a smirk.

You sat up and quickly tried to bolt, but not before Natasha grabbed you and threw you back onto the bed gently.

“You’re not going anywhere until we see you smile,” Natasha said, pinning you quickly again.

“I already did!” You insisted.

“I didn’t see it. Did you?” Yelena asked her sister.

“Nope, I never saw it once today,” Natasha said, knowing she was riling you up. With that, she sat on your shins and looked back at you with a smirk. “You ready to smile, Y/N?”

“Never!” You shouted stubbornly. Natasha rolled her eyes playfully and began to slowly drag her nails over your feet, as you wiggled them frantically, hopelessly trying to avoid her nifty fingers.

You held in your laughter, determined to not let them hear you laugh.

“Come on little Y/N, let it out~,” Yelena said, as she began to rake her nails over your inner thighs. You bucked at the sensation, close to bursting into laughter, even though they were tickling you slowly.

“Ihihihi’ll nehehever lahahahaugh hehehe,” you giggled, clearly not able to hold them in.

With that, Natasha began to tickle your feet with full force, scribbling at your heel, arches and toes, while Yelena squeezed into your hip divots with no mercy.

“OK OK OK STAHAHAHAHAP IHIHITS TOO MUHUHUHUCH AHAHAHAHA,” you screamed with laughter, as your two sisters took in your beautiful smile. 

“Awww there’s that cute little smile,” Yelena teased, reaching behind her to squeeze your knees, making you squeal and kick with laughter.

Once the girls thought you had enough, they flipped you over to massage your back.

You laid there with your arms above your head, now relaxing with the massage.

“You know Y/N, I don’t understand how ticklish you are,” Yelena said.

“You’re almost as bad as Yelena,” Natasha added.

“What do you mean almost as bad? She’s way worse than me,” Yelena insisted, shooting her sister a glare.

You got their attention again when you let out a small giggle when Yelena brushed her nail over your back.

“What was that?” Natasha asked. Yelena now raked all ten of her nails over your back, causing you to wriggle from side to side while giggling hysterically into the pillow.

“Awwww, your back is ticklish. That is  so cuteeee,” the two sisters cooed, now tickling your back and back of your thighs with their nails.

“GUYS STAHAHAHAP IVE HAHAHAD ENOHOHOUGH,” you screamed, as Yelena made sure to dip into your sides to catch you off guard. After a few more minutes of squealing, screaming, and pleading, the two girls finally let you up.

“You guys are the worst,” you said with a huff.

“You love us,” Natasha said, giving you the same hair ruffle she had given Yelena that morning. You pouted which they thought was adorable and hugged you at the same time, smothering you in endless love.

“Remember Y/N, today’s Friday. That means we can eat pizza and watch movies all night,” Yelena said.

You cheered with excitement, as you guys started planning out the night and which movies to watch.

“Wait, but before we eat, will you help me get revenge on Natasha?” You whispered to Yelena.

“Oh definitely, Poser needs a good wrecking,” Yelena said with an evil grin. Before Natasha could react, she was pinned to the bed the same way you were, and was tag teamed by you and Yelena. Sure enough, you guys all shared the same weak spots, as Natasha was lost in laughter as she was attacked with tickles. 

After the redhead was wrecked to pieces and warned you guys that you were in big trouble, the pizza finally arrived at the door. You eagerly jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. The three of you enjoyed the pizza and watched lots of fun movies that night. Tickles were thrown in here and there, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You were grateful for the two powerful and caring women in your life, who spoiled you with love and tickles. What happened to be sad tears turned into tears of laughter, which all three of you loved.

[thisisxli]

𝐌𝐇𝐀 𝟒𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 - 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐱 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫(𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐛/𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐛)

Rs: Various x GN!Reader(afab/amab)

Warnings: alcohol, beer, adult things

Tags: slightly rushed, everyone is having a good time, Reader is high drunk off their ass, Kirishima x Mina implied, kissing, fluff, spin the bottle, fireworks, 4th of July, happy stuff, Tokoyami is a drinker, Sero's breath stinks, fun, fun, and fun, no angst, aged-up characters(in their late 20s to early 30s)

Summary: Reader and her old classmates from UA catch up for good old times and celebrate the 4th of July, perhaps and preferably getting drunk in the process.

wc: 1.0k

a/n: I wrote this in like 10 mins?? So it's rushed, very sloppy. But I did try my best so I hope you enjoy it. And I know they all live in Japan, not America so they don't celebrate the 4th of July. Buttt, I'm doing this because I want to and because why not. I thought it was a really good idea yk? :) why not? Js pretend they're in America.?? 😅

The group laughs and cheer on a glass of champagne.

"Shit- shit- shit! Go, go," Denki laughs, nearly tripping on his feet when he starts to run, Sero trailing not too far behind him who lit up the upcoming firework. Midoriya and Iida exchange a few words before heading over to the rest of their old class.

"You guys havin' fun?" Midoriya suggests, smiling wider when you all agree with one another. Suddenly, bursts of laughter are heard from Denki and Mina, laughing at the image of Bakugou with a party hat that was forced onto his head. "Fuckin' bastards!" Small explosions spark from his palms, the other two collectively chittering to themselves. "More drinks, anyone?"

You turn to the sound of Uraraka's voice, floating bottles of beers heading over to the group. You all cheer, clinking tips before taking large sips. "Pretty, right?" You take a sip of your beer, smirking, "hell yeah. I don't know who bought these fireworks but we might just get arrested for it." Kirishima chuckles at that, clinking his bottle of beer with yours. "It was Denki and Todoroki who bought it," he states, nearly spitting out your beer. "What? Todoroki?- No, seriously?"

"I'm serious!" He laughs, gulping down his bottle. Mina suddenly appears, tugging at Kirishima's sleeve, "c'mon, let's light the red firework! And I'll see you later on tonight when the party ends, (Y/N)," Mina exclaims, winking at you before dragging off helpless Kirishima. You smile, turning to see Sero and Tokoyami. You snort, cocking a brow at the bird headed man, "didn't take you to be such a drinker, Toko." He grumbles, finishing whatever 4th bottle that night. Sero laughs, a little hazy. "I only drank two! This man is still low-key sobEr," he burps, making you physically recoil and burst out in a cackle. He follows along just as you get dragged into the group Midoriya and Bakugou was in.

You all watch in amazement as fireworks go off, red beautiful ones splattering across the sky and ones that looked like stars or flowers loomed over your faces.

"Let's play Spin The Bottle!" You surprisingly hear Iida suggest with a robotic voice. You share a look with Jirou, 'he is so obviously doing it for Momo,' you both think.

Fireworks nearly deafen your ears as others blow up in the distance, a bottle of beer set in the center of the circle of your old classmates formed in. "Les'gooo," Midoriya burps, "is that alcohol?" You exclaim, laughing when a fat glass bottle of red fireball appears in Hagakure's hands. Starting with Todoroki, of course, he spins the bottle and it lands on... Sero? You make a 'pfft' sound.

They take a shot of the fireball and hug each other like the men they are, Kirishima nodding his head in approval. Now it was Midoriya's turn... who landed on Uraraka. The girls chitter and blush when they see the two flustered and nervous. They shared a quick peck, nonetheless. Now it was Bakugou's, that landed between you and.. Kirishima. "Hey- no! It's-" you cut off with a laugh, "it's leaning towards you, see?!" "No, you!! I don't wanna share a kiss with a man, you go!"

"Alright, shut your trap! One of you just come over here, you damn idiots!" Bakugou raises his voice in annoyance, tapping his foot. He was sort of nervous. You sighed in defeat before crawling your way over to Bakugou, alcohol and beer intoxicating the air and your breaths. You hear a bunch of 'oooo's when you spread apart his connected knees. You lean in agonizingly slow as a joke, of course; you really didn't expect Bakugou to grab your head and roughly smash his lips against yours. Sure, it sort of turned you on but you had to be real, it's Bakugou for gods sake. No way.

You both disconnect with a loud smooch, falling on your butt as he glares down at you with a small smirk. "Shit, whatever," you mutter, crawling back to your place next to cheerful Kirishima.

It was now your turn to light up the fireworks... but you had a hard time trying to switch the lighter on. "Fuck (Y/N)!" Oijiro explains, Sato immediately running away when he thinks you've switched it on. "Fuuck- okay, somebody hand me a shot of fireball!" You shout to the group of adults, biting your tongue down in concentration as you try your best to emit flames from the mechanical object. Immediately, Koda comes carefully rushing to your side with a shot, immediately downing it and setting the glass shot in his hands. He immediately runs away just as you light it up.

"Go, go, go!" You rush Oijiro who's already dashing until you fall on your own two feet. You couldn't get up. Not when you were drunk and delirious, too far in the alcohol invested in your brain as you lay on the floor. "(Y/N)! You dumbass, MOVE!!" Mina jumps up and down as her anxiety spikes. Midoriya immediately rushes to you and carries you on his back, sighing in relief when the firework explode and emits into a beautiful scenery.

"Oops," you burp, earning a shaking head of disapproval from Midoriya. "Fuckin' dumbass," Denki laughs with Oijiro. You bark back at him, punching at the air and squirm on Midoriya's back.

"M-Midoriya," Iida calls out with a drink of alcohol in his hand, his arm wrapped around drunk Momo. "Why aren't you drinking anything? Aren't you h-having fffun?" He slurs, taking another sip from his plastic red cup. Midoriya chuckles, only just a tad bit tipsy. "Well somebody's gotta drive you people home, right?' Iida laughs, blushing into a deeper shade of red when Momo starts to kiss him on his pulse. "Yes! Of- of course! Now if you'll excuse me-" Iida drags Momo off to who knows where, earning an eye roll from Midoriya.

You roll your eyes back as your head polls to the side, resting your head on whoever's shoulder that was next to you. "I love you guys," you say, loud enough for your old classmates to hear.

"Aww! I love you too, (Y/N)!"

"That's sweet, we love you too!"

"I agree."

"Je t'aime!"

"We... love you too..!"

"Aww, shucks..."

You hear someone click their tongue beside you, leaning their head onto yours, "sure, idiot." Well. You hear more fireworks go off, bright colors illuminating your faces. You'll accept that for now. But now, you were just so happy. You were glad you were with the people you loved and cared about.

a/n: I was going to post this in the morning yesterday... But my phone got locked in a trunk of my car along with the keys... but I got it out! But um.. late post.. And back onto hiatus!

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 29

"Jay, this is a terrible idea."

"Nico strikes me as the type to love Mean Girls, it's worth a shot anyways."

"Not that, more the fact that the harpies are particularly keen on eating us."

"We'll be fine, come on."

"Couldn't we do this in the morning?"

"Then we would have to wait till tomorrow to watch Mean Girls with Nico, whether he agrees or not isn't important."

"Okay that's fair..." Percy knocked on the door of the Hades cabin, no response.

"Di Angelo, I've known you for long enough that you aren't asleep, it's just me and Percy."

"What if he's fixed his sleep schedule? Sounds like something Will would make him do."

"True." Jason said gripping the door handle, twisting it as the door swings open. "Nico?" The room was dark, Jason flicked on the lights knowing that if Nico really was asleep, something as subtle as lights wouldn't wake him anytime soon. Jason froze, before quickly running up towards the raven haired boy, he checked for a pulse, it was so weak he could barely feel it. He saw the knife in his hand, blood had stained everything. "Call Hazel and Reyna. NOW!"

"What?" Jason walked out carrying the small boy, shock came over Percy's face. "I-I didn't think it was this, he wasn't this bad this morning, h-he was trying to stop, w-what."

"I'm taking him to the infirmary, his pulse is really weak, just call Hazel and Reyna." Trying to keep his voice stable, panicked look on his face, shaking, he ran to the infirmary. He kicked the door open,

Will knew he wasn't meant to be taking night shift for another five days but he managed to convince his younger siblings to let him take today, they didn't want to let him but eventually they agreed when Will swore to take it less often in general. He was finishing some paperwork when the son of Zeus ran inside. "Solace!" Will looked up seeing Nico in Jasons arm, he didn't even pause for a second, going straight into doctor mode. He ran forward to the first empty room, the room Nico always had, the only private one as well, Jason followed after him.

"Lay him down here; put pressure on his arms, that's where it's bleeding the most." Will attached him to a machine Jason had no clue what the purpose of was, he snapped on some rubber gloves and started working. He tried to help as best he could, "I still need concent to do this stuff, you approve right? It doesn't seem important now but I will get in trouble if I don't follow it."

"Anything to keep him alive."

"Well then let's make sure he doesn't wake up too early so he doesn't die of shock." Will could barley think straight but he had to stay focused, he would have been less worried if it was anyone else but Nico already being half way to death scared him. It was possible but he needed to work quickly, he tried to sing the hymn but it didn't work, he'd be okay, Will knew what be was doing, Nico wouldn't die tonight. At least he told himself that. Percy ran through the door,

"Hazel and Reyna will be here as soon as they can, will Nico be okay?"

"I don't know..." Will half whispered, a tear fell down his face. "Could one of you go back to see if there was anything else there?" Will muttered before continuing with his work, physically holding back his tears.

"'Course Solace." Percy said running back out, he knew Will was under a lot of pressure and having less people there would probably be better.

"Don't leave me alone Neeks, you're my best friend, you aren't going to die on me." Will whispered, wrapping up his arms and legs to stop some of the bleeding, he wasn't going to last much longer losing any more blood, it was already a miracle he'd lasted this long.

"There was an empty bottle of vodka, and a half empty packet of cigarettes."

"Shit." Will said, shaking.

"Will, take a breath. If anyone can keep Nico alive it's you."

"The chance if him living is even lower now, with so much alcohol in his body."

"You've got this." Will tried as hard as he could, Nico seemed stable, he would be fine... he hoped.

"Go, tell Annabeth, try to clear your head. I'm not sure when exactly he'll wake up and when he does having a lot of people might not be the best."

"Perce, I'll come with you in a minute, just want to ask Will something."

"Kay bro, I'll wait for you outside."

"Thanks bro." Percy left the room and started pacing around, this was his fault, he shouldn't have let him. He was talking to him earlier, whatever he said wasn't enough, fuck. What if he didn't fucking live? He killed Bianca and now he might have killed Nico, what was he doing at this point? He wanted to not feel it, to not worry about it but he refused to drink or smoke or do any kind of drug in general. He wasn't going to end up as a addict, he hadn't survived two wars to prove Gabe right.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Can you, I don't know exactly but is there a way that you can keep him in th infirmary for a bit, or just a way that be won't be left alone or have access to anything? I don't- I don't want him to succeed." Jason said, rubbing the back of his neck,

"Well, I can keep him in here, do you think it would help him?"

"Will he be alone?"

"I'll be there with him and other people are allowed to come in but not too often."

"Then yeah."

"I'll make sure he gets as much help as he can."

"Thank you."

***

[minijenn]

UF Preview

Yeah so I started working on Magic and Mystery. Kind of keeping it as a mix of the old version of these chapters, with a completely new second half that I think ya'll will really enjoy. For now, enjoy the kids interacting with the Gems who are just ya know, early UF, shady af.

---

As the light faded, the Crystal Gems appeared, hot off the heels of another successful mission. Pearl and Amethyst shared a proud smirk, while Garnet stood between them, a bubbled gemstone hovering over her hand. Much like she’d done with the centipeedle a few days ago, she sent the bubble to somewhere unknown with a mere flick of her wrist. Just one of the many peculiar, impressive feats the Gems could apparently pull off. 

“Hi, guys!” Steven hopped up from the couch, running over to meet them. 

“Oh! Hello there, kids!” Pearl greeted. She offered the twins a polite wave as they followed after Steven, still amazed by what they’d just seen. “What are you both doing here?

“Oh, don’t tell me,” Amethyst chuckled. “You got tired of hanging around the shack with Stan, so you came up here to chill with us instead, right? Can’t say I blame you. The old guy can be a bit of a drag sometimes.”

“Um… well, we’re technically supposed to be working down at the shack right now…” Dipper admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“But what Grunkle Stan doesn’t know won’t kill him!” Mabel chimed in much more cheerily. “Maybe. Probably. Hopefully. I mean, he is pretty old… Hm…”

“Ha! Skipping work to have fun instead? Turns out you two are cooler than I thought,” Amethyst elbowed both of the twins as she pushed her way past them toward the kitchen. “Which is crazy; I never thought anyone related to Stan could be “cool”.”

“I hate to say it, but I can’t help but agree with Amethyst…” Pearl interjected, a diffident frown on her face. “While I usually wouldn’t approve of anyone shirking away from their responsibilities, you kids are probably much better off spending your time up here instead of at that so-called ‘Mystery’ Shack.”

“Oh! Oh!” Mabel’s hand shot up into the air. “Do you guys have any real mysteries here?”

“A few,” Garnet said vaguely. 

“Oh yeah?” Dipper asked, instantly curious. Between lake monsters and manotaurs, he hadn’t gotten a chance to investigate the Gems as much as would have liked. And what better place to start than here, in the very temple they called home, getting answers straight from the source? “Mysteries like… whatever’s behind that door over there maybe?” 

He pointed to the large, elegant door that stood behind the warp pad, marked with a star and a gemstone resting on each of its points. “Oh, you mean the temple?” Amethyst asked, sticking her head back out of the fridge as she rooted through it. 

“The temple?” Dipper repeated, confused. “I thought we were in the temple.”

“Nah, this isn’t the temple,” Amethyst corrected. “This is just the house. It’s kinda like a lobby to the temple, actually.”

“Wait, so does that mean my room is part of the lobby?” Steven asked. “Maybe I should set up a welcome desk for when visitors come by, just like a real lobby!”

“Anyway…” Pearl continued. “The temple serves as our base. Garnet, Amethyst, and I live inside of it, while Steven has his own room out here. At least until he becomes more accustomed to using his Gem.”

“Yep!” Steven perched his hands on his hips, taking up a bold pose. “And when I do, I’ll be able to go in there any time I want, right?”

“Yes,” Garnet answered before Pearl could protest. 

“Wow! I bet there’s so many cool things in there!” Mabel exclaimed, excited. “Mind if we take a peek?”

 She attempted stepping past the Gems to get a better look, only for Garnet to step in the way to halt her advance. “That’s not a very good idea.”

“What? Why not?” Dipper asked. 

“Um… well, the temple… It’s a bit… dangerous,” Pearl explained, frowning awkwardly. “Especially for… non-Gems-” 

“Non-Gems, pfft, just say it like it is, P,” Amethyst cut in. “It’s waaaay too much for plain ol’ humans, like you guys!” She jumped in between the twins, ruffling their hair as she let out a laugh. In light of the circumstances, her “joke” wasn’t one that either Dipper or Mabel found very funny. 

“Amethyst!” Pearl scolded, appalled by her rudeness. “But yes… The temple really is no place for humans. We’re sorry, but we just don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”

“But don’t be so down about it!” Amethyst encouraged as soon as she noticed the frowns on both of the twins’ faces. “At least you guys can still hang out here with Steven.”

“Yeah!” Steven exclaimed, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. “And you guys are welcome here any time!”

“...Thanks, Steven,” Dipper returned with a half-hearted smile. Still, he couldn’t quite keep his sights off the temple door, longing to get even just a peek at whatever lay beyond it. At the secrets the Gems seemed so keen on keeping completely to themselves.

[anotherwvba]

Learning on the Job, pt. 11

It was Minor Circuit Fight Night in The Omni and the excited hum grew louder and louder as fans packed the arena. Usually, the fans would still be coming in as the first match hit the ring and tonight would be no exception. Those that arrived early to get to their seats were the diehards, those that were the hungriest for a night of thrills and excitement. Two young ladies planned to deliver just those in spades tonight.

The lights dimmed as the voice of the WVBA, Jazzy Jamboree, entered the ring, mic in hand. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s… FIGHT NIGHT!” The crowd cheered wildly as Jazzy’s voice echoed through the arena, “I’m your man on the mic, Jazzy Jamboree and we’ve got one helluva main event! Tonight, the flashy and flamboyant Disco Kid takes on rookie sensation Piston Hondo and the winner gets a shot at King Hippo’s Minor Circuit Championship in two weeks.”

There was a roar of approval as Jazzy continued. “But before that, we got a night full of action and the ladies kick us off. So, fight fans? Are we ready?” Another cheer shook The Omni before Jazzy made his trademark call, “Then let’s get ‘em out here and let… them… hands… GO!”

“You can be a lover or a fighter, whatever you desire… Life is like a runway and you're the designer…”

Ava Max’s “Choose Your Fighter” started playing through the speakers as golden spotlights danced throughout the arena. The buzz of the crowd built as the song continued and the spotlights converged on The Omni’s east entrance stage, revealing Skye and Dudley in corner attire and Gemma Golden, her back to the crowd and her head down.

“Wings of a butterfly, eyes of a tiger… Whatever you want, baby, choose your fighter…”

On cue, Gemma turned dramatically to face the crowd for the first time and they erupted. For a moment, the cheers and signs overwhelmed the actress. Her heart pounded and her nerves tingled. She hadn’t known what to expect, but this wasn’t it. She wasn’t a fighter. Gemma Golden was an actress, a movie star, but now, with no irony or ill intent, this crowd was cheering her on.

“You got this, girl.” Skye nudged Gemma playfully. “This is just another stage and your crowd is waiting. The bell rings, the curtain rises…”

“And no more nerves,” Gemma finished, starting the bounce a little on her toes.

Dudley stepped to Gemma’s side, as well, “Indeed, Miss Golden. You are ready for this, more so than I would have thought possible.”

That was high praise. Gemma looked at Dudley with a tear in her eye, then sniffled it back, “I’m ready.” With a deep breath, she stepped forward and transformed. The actress seemed to disappear as a brash, hungry underdog took her place, playing to the crowd and waving and smiling as she made her way to the ring

She was feeding off the energy of the crowd as she entered the ring, dancing around the perimeter with the grace and confidence of a seasoned pro. She was becoming Melody Thames, the character she would play in “The Birmingham Butterfly”.

As Gemma came to a stop in her corner, she faced the TV camera that was in-ring for the introductions and started shadowboxing. Skye couldn’t help but smile, “I see you, girl! Really getting into it, aren’t ya’?”

Gemma turned to Skye, a look of determined confidence on her face, a slightly different accent to her voice, “I’m ready! I’m gonna knock this bird on her arse, Carla.”

“Carla?” Skye asked with a hint of confusion. “‘Knock this bird on her arse’?”

Gemma chuckled, breaking character, ”Sorry, Skye. That was Melody talking. Carla’s her coach in the script. I’m finally starting to feel my character. It’s amazing.”

“I hear ya’,” Skye smiled, understanding all too well, “but remember, Melody isn’t the one in this ring and Mika’s not a stuntwoman paid to miss her punches. They’ll look good for the cameras because they’ll be real.”

“Reality checked. Got it. Thanks,” Gemma answered, still focused and sure, “but I am ready.”

Skye went to respond, but Dudley’s hand on her shoulder stopped her short. She was seemingly more nervous than Gemma. As Skye looked up to Dudley, he merely nodded reassuringly. Gemma was right, she was ready.

Just then, the arena lights dimmed once more as pink, blue, and yellow lights bathed The Omni and the music shifted to a heroic rock tune. Cristina Vee’s rendition of “Carry On” filled the space and all eyes went to the west entrance stage.

“Here I’m standing in the night…”

The big screen lit up with stars twinkling as if it were a night sky. The light from the faux stars created three silhouettes on stage as the arena lights dimmed.

“... my Crescent Wand, the only light…”

A single spotlight hit the stage, revealing Star Mika, Alexandra, and Doc Louis. Mika was bouncing on her toes, bobbing and weaving with a serious and focused expression. The crowd cheered enthusiastically, but Mika didn’t react at first. She was in fight mode.

“You got this, kiddo,” Doc gave Mika a firm pat on the back. “Show ‘em whatcha made of!”

With a sideways glance at Alexandra, who gave a silent encouraging nod, Mika nodded her head and set her eyes toward the ring, fixing her gaze on Gemma. As Mika walked down the aisle, throwing punches in the air, her eyes never left Gemma’s. Mika’s expression, one of a woman focused on defeating her opponent, never shifted. It was an expression Gemma returned in equal measure.

Mika saw Gemma’s determination clearly as she was about to step up into the ring, and only then did Mika crack a hint of a smile. She’s ready for this. She’s a fighter ready to go. Alright, Gemma. Let’s make some magic!

Gemma watched Mika enter the ring, her own thoughts whirling. You’re gonna try and beat the bloody hell outta me. That’s fine. You helped make me ready. I owe it to you to not back down. Let’s go, Mika!

Dancing on her toes, Mika moved around the ring with a fluid grace before she stopped in front of Gemma, moving and shadowboxing mere inches away from her opponent, her eyes staying locked on Gemma’s.

For her part, Gemma held Mika’s gaze, her own determined expression unwavering, “You look mad.”

“Not mad,” Mika responded, never ceasing her movements. “Focused.”

Gemma, now in a boxer’s bounce herself, staying limber, tilted her head in curiosity, “On what?”

There was a mischievous twinkle in Mika’s eyes as she answered, “Knocking you out.”

An honest smile turned the corners of Gemma’s lips up, “You can try, sunshine.” There was an edge to her voice that Mika had never heard before. A competitive edge.

Mika couldn’t help but smile back now, a mix of pride and excitement, “Oh, I will. But remember, magkakasama tayo. Okay?” She extended her glove to Gemma.

“Yeah, we are.” Gemma tapped her glove to Mika’s, “Let’s do this.”

Still smiling, Mika backed to her corner, never breaking eye contact with Gemma until the last moment. As Mika reached her corner, Jazzy returned to center ring and the crowd hushed for the formal introductions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your opening contest is a three-round bout in the WVBA Women’s Circuit! When the bell rings, the man in charge of the action is referee Luigi Saltamico." The buzz of the crowd grew as Jazzy continued.

“Introducing first, in the red corner, standing 5 foot 9 and weighing 9 stone 6 pounds, fighting out of Birmingham, England and making her professional debut, please welcome the star of the upcoming film ‘The Birmingham Butterfly’... Gemma Golden!”

Gemma raised her gloves, giving a gracious nod to the cheering crowd, her heart pounding with nerves and excitement, before extending a threatening glove toward Mika, a playful smile on her face.

“And her opponent, in the blue corner,” Jazzy continued and the fans quieted. “She stands 5 foot 9 and weighs in at 184 pounds. Fighting out of the Bronx, New York by way of Iloilo City, Philippines, her professional record stands at six wins, one loss, with four wins coming by way of knockout. Presenting the ‘Heroine of Justice’... Star Mika!”

Mika danced forward, gloves raised, as the crowd roared their approval. As she held her fist toward Gemma and struck her best Sailor Moon pose, the crowd got even louder. The moment broke both boxers, both chuckling, the tension broken and a tone set between them. It would be a fight, but they would leave friends.

“And now,” Jazzy stepped back to make room, “referee Luigi Saltamico to give instructions.”

Both fighters came to the center of the ring, Doc with Mika and Dudley with Gemma. The two coaches shook hands and a rare smirk crossed Dudley’s usually refined countenance. “I would not have expected to see you in the opposing corner, Jay.”

“Like old times, Duds,” Doc smiled back. “At least we ain’t the ones eatin’ leather tonight.”

“Indeed,” Dudley gripped Doc’s hand a little tighter, “but we will see the usual outcome when we are across the ring from each other.”

Doc returned the firm grip, “We was two and two. Never been anything usual when we faced off.”

Dudley’s smirk became a smile, “The unusual was our usual outcome, my old friend.”

The referee finished his instructions as the two coaches parted warmly. “Obey my commands at all time and protect yourself at all times. Touch gloves and come out fighting.”

Mika held her gloves out, a focused, yet warm, expression on her face. “You ready to steal the show?”

Gemma brought her gloves down on top of Mika’s, determined and resolute, “I’m ready, Mika. Let’s make this a proper punch-up. Good luck, sunshine.”

“Break a leg, girl,” Mika nodded, extending the traditional actor’s good luck wish.

Both boxers returned to their corners, coaches in tow. The crowd noise became a dull growl, a roar threatening to come out at the sound of the bell. The moment settled in. Mika and Gemma locked eyes across the ring. Their moment had come.

Star Mika is an OC belonging to @cyrah-is-cool101 and is used with permission.

Alexandra Rosal Archangle is an OC belonging to a friend of @cyrah-is-cool101 and is used with permission. Jazzy Jamboree is an OC belonging to @sukipershipper and is used with permission.

[ladespeinada]

having finished watching the bear in the early hours of the morning, i have some thoughts rattling around in my head that i need to jot down because they keep distracting me from work, lmao. spoilers under the cut 

→ i had fun! it was emotional! it was stressful! i was entertained and then i had to suppress the feelings of familial relatability brought up in ep. 6!  → MARCUS!!! TINA!!! NAT!!! EBRA!!! RICHIEEEEEEE!!!!! All going through their own shit, changing, emotional, relentless, scared, nervous. I especially loved Richie this season and he had a speech in ep. 1 that broke my heart ("I'm 45, I've been here a long time, you feel me? I mean, you know what the fuck you're doing, you know. You love all this shit. It's fun for you. I don't have that. I'm afraid imma wake up and you guys are all just gonna cut—just drop this ass.")

→ Sydney, light of my life. Her fierce ambition, so obvious and strong in S1, got tempered by doubt and distrust in her partner, by the gradual recognition that she is doing so much, too much, by herself. I don’t think it bodes well that the last shots we get of her, she’s ralphing after opening night service—after an intense kitchen set-up that tests her limits and shows who she can and cannot trust. (Giving Carmy in NY, throwing up before service vibes). And honestly? I wouldn't be mad if she really, really starts doubting her partnership with Carmy and just dips. 

→ Anyway, I came back to add that Sydney, despite her doubts and not-unfounded fears, is such a positive source for those around her. We saw it in S1, when she gave Marcus a confidence boost, when Tina sought her approval after initially being very hesitant about her. And that faith in others just increased in this season, and god, to be around someone like that, who lifts others up no matter what, is so rare. I love her so much. (And her carrying around that book the whole season! Just holding onto courage and confidence, letting it shape her leadership.) 

→ I'm so happy Natalie wasn’t relegated to glimpses this time around. She's present and focused and involved in dismantling her family’s trauma and history, and I love that for her. I also love her and Syd's relationship (them almost being synchronised in saying Carmy Problem) and her interactions with Fak, lmao. 

→ Tina at culinary school! Tina with reservations about her place but thriving and finding inspiration. There's a moment where some of the people in her class all go out, and they invite her, and when she meets them at the bar, they've all got a nasty judgemental face (it's def an age thing) but then she EATS THEM UP at karaoke with a beautiful song in English & Spanish, TINA TE ADORO. 

→ I immediately re-watched Marcus's episode and I want a spin-off series where he stages at different world-renowned bakeries and lives his best patissier life. 

→ That Variety piece that said Carmy was the least interesting character in this show was RIGHT ("It’s no coincidence that these weaker points tend to involve Carmy, a character perfectly rendered by White who’s still the least interesting part of his own show.") 

→ Speaking of: the romance between Carmy and Claire (which we all unfortunately saw happening after the trailer, and is fucking annoying, and yes part of it is because I love Syd & Carmy together, but also because the showrunners pledged no romance in the show which would have been fine, too) is BORING. So boring. I know Claire is going to get a lot of hate and honestly, it's barely fair because she's just not developed as a character at all. Beyond being someone Carmy knew in his past, and who is now stealing his time and energy away from the restaurant, there's not much to her. She's written with so little dimension, and exists purely to be Carmy's lil girlfriend and it's disappointing. She could have at least been fucking interesting. 

→ Carmy's so angry around the time of the opening, and he projects it onto everyone else, and it's really his own fault that he's not aware of what's happening in the restaurant.  → Okay so another thing—Sydney talks about how much she wants a Michelin star, how it’ll make The Bear a true destination spot. And rudely, Carmy goes, “you really want one of these bullshit stars?” to which Syd says yes, I really do, and this fucking dickhead tells her: “you’re gonna to have to care about everything, more than anything” AND HE STILL LET HER DOWN!!!!!!!! The more I think about it, the more upset I get. 

→ Also, Michael doesn't haunt the narrative the way he did last season—his presence is so faint. There's moments, of course, but it just feels like something is missing or off. I had expected some sort of sentiment to come to the surface towards the end of the season at least, some sense of acknowledgement that maybe he would have loved The Bear, or hated it, or something, from literally anyone—Carmy, Nat, Richie, someone—but nope, nothing besides the cannoli.

→ Episode 6, man. Episode fucking six. Natalie Berzatto, you deserve peace. 

→ Anyway, overall there’s a sort of bite missing in this season. The looming threat of Cicero has been softened a lot and yes, obviously internal workings at The Bear are the new obstacles but it doesn’t feel quite the same. Maybe it's a lack of tension, or a lack of anxiety? I don't know how else to explain it.

[hinataxsunshine]

1.07 — a fathers rage

Fire. Guns. Chaos. Death.

It was all so much for Hinata. Once second he was trying to process the death of one friend and the rise to power of another— and the next thing he knew there was a announcement on the TVs saying that the Beach had become the 10 of hearts

Phone in hand, Hinata had stood there with everyone— staring at Aguni who had just deemed everyone to their doom. Deemed Hinata, to his doom. This wasn’t his friend— had power changed him as well, like it did Takeru? He couldn’t think much of it first.. but then Niragi and his stupid fucking Gun started causing chaos. The Beach members started running past him, but he froze. He really should start moving, running from the insane militants who started shooting the beach members but he couldn’t. Gods, this stupid fe-

Then he felt a hand grab his wrist and pull him back, forcing him to run from the scene. After they got far enough, he turned to see who had saved him. Usagi. She was one of the few people to figure out his fear early on.

“Thank you” he chokes out, and she nodded. She then asked if he knew where Arisu was, or if he would help them look.

He didn’t, but suggested maybe looking on the fourth floor. It was away from everyone and there were a lot of empty rooms. Usagi thanked him and left. Now, Hinata had to find Aguni again, maybe he could get some answers. Or find Senshi..

No. Maybe he shouldn’t. Although he was confident Senshi wouldn’t shoot him, he wasn’t sure they would be alone. They could be with other Militant..

Would Aguni be with the militants? Fuck. He could still be in the main lobby. And Hinata didn’t want to risk going there.

Hinata really shouldn’t have been lost in thought. As he ran through the halls, he didn’t even notice the Militant standing infront of him. He ran into him, and stumbled back. Fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fu-

The militant tried shooting him first. But it seemed he had wasted too many bullets, and Hinata could see a couple of bodies lying behind the Militant. Members he knew, not close enough or well known— but knew enouth that he felt sadness for them. Guilt. Taking this opportunity, the militant branded a knife and swiped for him.

Thankfully, the militant was worse with a knife than he was with a gun.

The bad part? He managed to hit his eye, slicing it deep across his left eye. Searing hot pain shot through his head as he stumbled again and fell backwards. Hinata could feel blood dripping down the side of his face, as a hand went up to cover it. Ow. Fuck. He was going to die here. Maybe then, he could be reunited with Take-

“Get away from him” An English accent, a voice he was extremely familiar with. The Militant furrowed his eyebrow, “The American. Still can’t understand what the fuck your saying” He hissed out, but stepped forward, “But I’m going to have pleasure in—“

Before he could get another word in, the American foreigner grabbed his gun— one that he always carried even though he wasn’t allowed.. and let loose on the militant. Hinata just shut his eyes— his eye as he heard the gunshots fire right behind him.

Then they stopped. A body fell to the floor but Hinata kept his eyes shut. He could hear a shuffle walk towards him, and stand infront of them.

Screams and gunfire could still be heard in the distance, but all of it quieted down as soon as he felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder. “Hinata” Max whispered gently, and Hinata opened his eyes. He hadn’t even realized he had started crying before he sniffles and tackled the older male into a hug.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you now” he whispered. Hinata was thankful that he had spent all those years studying English, had spent a few months in America.. because knowing the comforting words from the American man calmed him down. “You’ll be safe with me. Okay?”

“I need to find Aguni” he whispered out, taking a moment to find the right words. He felt Max’s grip tightened. He knew what that meant. Max didn’t approve of his love for his friends. But Max just pulled away, standing up and holding out his hand. “Let’s go. I doubt your.. friend will be willing to talk. But I can protect you along the way” he said

Hinata stared up at him. The American man who had came to Japan for a school field trip, and was unlucky enough to have the same fate as the rest of them. The Man who became a legend amongst the people and lost his daughter figure to a game.

The man who had found the beach, and at first stayed close to Hinata because he was one of the few people who could understand him.. The man who in the end— became one of the most important figures in Hinata’s life. A father figure.

He knew what Max was telling him.

‘I will be your weapon, and protect you from harms way’

Soon. Soon Hinata would figure out a way to repay him. But for now, he would accept the unspoken words, and figure out what the hell was going on.