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coff33andb00ks · 8 months ago

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Luxury - LN

Part 2 of Hopeless Lando Norris x fem!reader (mentions of reader x Charles Leclerc) Summary: and if they call me a slut, you know it might be worth it for once Themes: none just sex Song: slut! by taylor swift word count: 3949 Warnings: smut, minors dni!, cheating, lando's a bad friend, charles is a bad boyfriend even tho he's not there, reader is a bad girlfriend, honestly the only decent person in this mini series is Oscar, unprotected sex, heaps of praise, and proofreading? we don't know her Notes: again I'm not condoning cheating (unless it's Lando) thanks to those that encouraged me to write this from reader's pov, although I got carried away with the smut. Soooo there's going to be two more parts to this to finish their story <3

You love Lando.

Because he's… Well, Lando. He's become your very best friend. You can talk to him about anything, whether it's work or the shoes you're thinking of getting or the book you just finished, he's always willing to listen. He commiserates over bitchy coworkers, encourages you to just get the fucking shoes, and questions the decisions of the characters you're in love with. He's always up for a game, even if it's three in the morning and he's flying out at nine. He doesn't complain when you show up and bake enough pastries and cupcakes to fill a supermarket, warning you not to tell his trainer when he sneaks a few.

And he makes you laugh. Only he can bring out the ugly snorting laugh that you hate, but you kind of love it because it makes him giggle hysterically.

It's Lando. You don't know how you survived as long as you did before he came, screaming with laughter, into your life.

So, when you began having doubts about Charles, there was only one place to go. You've lived in Monaco with your boyfriend for six months and still haven't made a local friend. Lando's there, and he takes one look at you and lets you in.

And here you are, hugging him after pouring out your worries over Charles' behavior. Because he made you laugh, like he always does.

"If he is cheating, he's a fucking moron. You're not even my girl and I can't find anyone that compares."

Lando's words give you pause and you stare at him. You're used to him cracking jokes. Even if you're having a bad day he never fails to make you cackle until you're crying and snorting – like he just did. This time, though, he's not joking. His eyes aren't dancing with humor, he doesn't have that stupid grin that's not a grin like he does when he's trying to make you laugh.

Your eyes dip to his mouth.

Suddenly, you want to feel his lips. You've felt them on your cheek. Lando is a clingy friend, so it's not new to be this close to him. He's always hugging you, kissing your cheeks, resting his head in your lap, leaning against you when he's drunk. But you want his lips on yours. You're not perfect, you've wondered more than a few times what it would be like to kiss him. Lifting your gaze to his eyes again, you breathe in.

"Lando," you whisper. You can hear the longing in your voice and see it mirrored in his eyes.

You both lean in, meeting halfway, and—

Fireworks.

His breath stutters against your lips, his forehead resting against yours briefly. "Y/n," he gasps. The fingers on your cheek slide into your hair and his lips are on yours again, fully this time.

It's gentle but wild, both desperate and calm. It soothes you and sparks a fire at the same time. Your hands cup his neck, hear his moan echoing yours as your tongues meet. The dance that's as old as time that has you craving more, your secret fantasies rising up while you picture his lips and tongue on your skin.

Lando's arm wraps around your waist and you willingly move closer, craving the tenderness and the heat. His mouth is still on yours and you settle in his lap, pressing as close to him as possible. He's the first breath of oxygen after being underwater. The first raindrops after a dry spell.

You never want this kiss to end.

You feel alive, and right now you can't think about what that means, you can only think of how invigorating this is. Pressing tighter against him you whine, feeling him growing hard in his sweats.

He tears his lips from yours with a gasp, eyes glazed with desire, his pulse racing beneath your fingertips. Digging his fingers into your waist, he presses his face against your neck, nuzzling and kissing. Breathing deeply, like you're his source of air.

"God, Lando," you whisper, wrapping your arms around him and letting your head fall back.

"Please," he moans, both arms around you now, and you can hear the faint whine in his voice. "Please, y/n…"

You nod, tugging on his hair and catching him in another kiss.

"Y/n," he whispers at the corner of your lips, and you can feel that he's holding himself back.

"Yes."

It's barely left your mouth when he's standing, holding you to him. You make a mental note to ask him when he learned to be graceful, because he always trips over stuff or walks into doorways. With your legs around him and your lips on his, though, he isn't, and you don't realize he's gotten to his bedroom until he's lowering you on his bed.

You drag him down with you, half fearful that if you break contact you'll think of a reason to stop. Or he will. And you can finally admit to yourself that you've wanted this for so long, now it's here you don't want it to end.

He moves up the bed, dragging you with him, kiss interrupted by his little chuckle. Pulling back a little, he cups your cheek and breathes your name. He stares at you, reverence bordering on worship, as though he can't believe you're there. "Y/n…" It's a whisper and a prayer and a plea and your racing heart twists and tumbles in your chest.

You say his name the same way, breath catching at the way he melts over you. The gentle wildness, calm desperation, is back, growing frantic while he seems determined to kiss you until you forget everything for him. His kiss grows feverish, breathless gasps whispering over your lips. His hands are everywhere, pushing and pulling at your clothes and you unknowingly mirror his touch, whining when he sits back and rips his shirt over his head.

His eyes are feral, branding each spot of your body he glances at. He squeezes your hips, dragging your shirt up with his blazing palms, his teeth catching his bottom lip as you arch towards him. Your shirt and bra slip away and he presses his face between your breasts, his breath pure fire. Holding you up, his lips whisper over your skin, hand clutching the back of your neck when his mouth closes over your nipple.

Crying out his name, you clutch at his shoulders, squeezing your legs around his waist. He licks and sucks, slow but needy, tightening his hold each time you tremble. Each tiny motion sends narrow flames of desire coursing through your veins, gathering in the pit of your abdomen, twisting and curling like his tongue, until you feel the ache of need. "Lando… Please, Lando…"

You're grinding against him, able to feel how wet he's making you, and you know he can feel it too when he moans harshly and releases your nipple. He shifts, groaning low in his chest as his cock presses against you. "Shit, baby…"

He guides you back down, lips crashing into yours, and his hands tremble as he briefly fumbles with the button of your shorts. His breath fans over your cheek and he deepens the kiss, both of you whining when he pulls back again. Dragging your shorts down your legs, he stares into your eyes, balling them up in his fist and flinging them over his shoulder.

"You're so beautiful," he says softly, staring at you in awe.

The way he said it, coupled with the look in his eyes, made you feel like the most beautiful woman on earth. There was something so heartfelt about the compliment that you felt the unexpected sting of tears.

Lando's fingertips trail over your skin, lips moving silently as he traces the dips and curves of your hips and thighs. An ode to you that was unheard but understood. He swallows hard, closing his eyes briefly before raising his eyes to yours again. Leaning down, he gives you a tender kiss. You cup his face then drag your hands down, memorizing his chiseled form, and when your fingertips reach the waistband of his sweats he hums, gently catching your wrists and guiding your hands above your head.

You gasp for a breath as he rains kisses down the side of your neck, scattering them over your chest, his destination clear when he moves lower, nipping gently at your skin. You lift your head slightly and find him staring up at you, eyes greener than usual. He's so beautiful it takes your breath away.

He hooks his thumbs in your panties and drags them down, scattering worshipful kisses down to your ankles. His lips slide into a playful smile and he lightly tickles behind your knee, grinning when you squeal. The brief lightheartedness eases the tension and you're able to breathe, but the foggy haze of passion doesn't fade one bit. It only increases as he gently spreads your legs, his eyes still on yours.

He's still staring up at you when his tongue drags up your slit, and maybe he kept staring at you but you couldn't be aware, your head falling back with a lustful moan at the sensation. You hear him swallow, his appreciative moan vibrating against your core. He does it again, delving deeper, a soft hum pulsing against your clit.

"Fuck," you gasp, feeling his grip on your thighs tighten when you tried to squirm.

"Lemme take care of you baby," he murmurs. Swirling his tongue over your clit, he teases over and over before giving it a noisy kiss. "You're so wet for me, y/n…"

You force your head up, breath catching because he's still staring up at you. Eyes locked, you can't look away, hands gripping at the sheets while his lips sweep along your slit. The ache inside you only grows, almost painful now as he lifts his head, lips glistening. He licks them slowly and you're in awe at the look of bliss on his face.

"Fuckin' knew you'd taste good," he murmurs before settling more firmly between your legs. He's gentle, hands making their way to your hips while he nuzzles and kisses your clit.

"Please," you whine.

He hums, somehow managing to look innocent, and you watch his eyes darken. Kissing your clit again, he pulls it between his lips, his hand sliding from your hip. Your back arches, his name a ragged moan as his finger teases your entrance and his tongue settles on your clit.

You want to know how he got so fucking good. How he knows what you like when you've never discussed sex with him before. And you think he may be a mind reader because he seems to know just what you want. He keeps his tongue on your clit, licking gently but rapidly, two long fingers inside you, curling and stroking slowly. You're gasping, trembling, hips jerking, heart hammering, still unable to look away from his eyes. The moans of his name turn into whines then whimpers and you feel your body tighten, pussy clenching around his fingers, your breathing stuttering and stopping completely when he curls them deeper, steadily rubbing your spot, and—

"Lando!"

You're cumming, harder than you thought you would. It takes your breath away and you're consumed by exhilaration, your vision going black then exploding with a galaxy's worth of stars. It's too much but you never want it to end, your voice breaking as you cry out to him.

You blink and try to catch your breath, weak but still wound tight. And he's there, softly licking you clean, murmuring sweetly while he crawls up, hands gentle on your trembling body. Shaking hands grab at his biceps and you feel tears on your cheeks when his fingers brush them away.

"It's alright, love," he whispers, lips brushing yours twice before he kisses you tenderly. He curls over you, almost protectively, his voice gently praising you. "Breathe, darling, it's alright…"

"Jesus," you hiss when you can finally speak, blinking rapidly to get your bearings.

"You're so gorgeous when you cum," he murmurs, tracing your cheek with his thumb. His eyes are so soft, practically glowing with admiration. Staring at you as though you're the source of everything good in his world. "You're always beautiful… Like, bathed in sunlight beautiful, you know?" He closes his eyes briefly, breathing slow as his lips return to yours in a kiss that leaves you weak. "But right now, right here…" He sighs. "You're breathtaking."

And you feel breathtaking. Stunning, gorgeous, beautiful, adored, worshipped, all the adjectives you'd use to describe the leading women in the romances you read. You never want to not feel this way again. "Lando?"

"Hm?" He's still staring at you like you hung the stars.

"I need you." Your arms still feel weak but you run your hands over his shoulders, leaning in for a slow kiss while your fingers trace down his sides. Long, languid moments pass while you kiss, so caught up in the feeling of being cherished you're distracted, enjoying the soft suppleness of his lips on yours. His palm cups your neck and there's a subtle change, your breath quickening as his mouth slants over yours. Nudging the waistband of his sweats down, you hear his soft hum, miss the touch of his hands when he reaches down to push them off, his hands bumping into yours when you both reach to ease down his boxer briefs.

He breaks the kiss with a little laugh but it dies as your hand cups around his cock. And the sound he makes is the sexiest sound you've ever heard. It's a gasping, whiny moan, and suddenly you need to know the sounds he'll make when he's inside you. Stroking him, you stare into his eyes and see the question burning. You nod, reluctantly letting go, anticipation stealing your breath as he nudges your thighs further apart. He sits back, lightly clapping and squeezing your thighs.

"God, you're hot," you say without thinking.

Lando smirks, squeezing your thighs again. "You think so?"

You roll your eyes. "Fuck's sake, look at you," you tell him, sweeping your hands through the air to indicate… him. Tousled curls, lean muscle, golden tan. You blink, focusing on the necklace he's wearing, lips parting in surprise.

It's the one you gave him for his birthday last year. You don't know why it makes you feel all soft and mushy inside to see him wearing it now. He's worn it plenty of times, but seeing it on him now, on a day you know he didn't plan to see you… It means something to you.

"You can take a photo if you like," he says.

Giggling, you're half-tempted to take him up on the offer, but he shifts, and his cock glides along your slit and your need is back in full force. "Later," you whisper, hips rolling upwards.

"Yeah?" He smirks again, eyes flicking from your face to between your thighs. His hands slide up, thumb whispering over your clit as he leans over you, his other hand gripping the pillow by your head.

Threading your fingers through his hair, you spread your legs wider, meeting his eyes as his cock slowly pushes into you. The stretch pulls a whine from your chest and you hear his gasping moan. He bites his lip but it doesn't muffle the whimper as he sinks into you and you arch, the sound almost sending you over the edge.

"Shit – fuck," he gasps, clutching tightly at your thigh.

"I know baby," you whine, digging your fingers into his scalp.

"Knew you'd feel good," he whispers between noisy kisses, holding your thigh against his hip as he presses as deep as possible.

"You feel better," you pant. It's like he was built to fill you, and when he's over you like this you can feel his heartbeat against your chest, thrilled that it's racing as fast as yours. It's almost perfect, the way he feels in and over you, but you need more. Your body craves all of him and you whisper a plea, feeling a shiver ripple through him.

He begins to move. Slow and tender, holding your thigh and cupping your neck. Breathless, almost sloppy kisses between echoing gasps and whines and moans. Your nails drag over his skin and you revel in the way he practically whimpers your name. His room is soon overheated, sweat beading on your skin and he inhales sharply, dipping his head to lick it from your throat then leans back, fingers dragging down your front.

You arch into his touch and it leaves goosebumps in its wake. So good. The words echo over and over in your mind, falling from your mouth like a fervent mantra.

"Look at you," he moans, resting his hand on your lower abdomen. "You're being so good, taking all of me."

"Fuck," you whisper, shocked that the phrase has you clenching and dripping around him. If he keeps that up you know you'll cum again—

"C'mon." It's a low, breathy groan. "Work for it, baby."

You grab at the sheets then at him, needing to feel his skin as you begin to roll your hips. He matches your pace, his hands keeping you steady when your back arches and you cry out his name.

"Yes, just like that," he whispers.

"Lando—"

"I know, I know…" He leans down, nipping at your bottom lip then kisses you, and you can feel his neediness. "You feel so good, y/n—"

"Gonna cum," you whimper, clutching at his sides then his back, your hips jerking now. Your head falls back, the heat in and around you almost overwhelming and in the split second before you break you hear him whimper.

He wraps his arms around you as you arch off the bed, holding you to him, his hips moving steadily, his voice coaxing you – let it out, baby, let me hear you. You shudder and scream, panting when he drags you upright with him, lips crashing against yours while he holds you. "Don't stop," he begs, an edge to his voice, and his hands slip on your skin, grasping tight enough to leave bruises. "Give it to me again, love."

"C-can't," you whine, wrapping your arms around his neck. And even though you say it you move, trembling and panting, stars blinding you.

Or maybe it's just the pure desperation in his eyes.

"Yes you can," he murmurs. One hand slips between you and there's giddiness in his smile when his fingers strum your clit and you let out a shout.

"It's—" You curl your fingers in his hair, feel the sweat, hear his heavenly moan. And words you never thought you'd say tumble from your mouth. "It's never been this good – I love it."

His arm tightens around you and you feel his cock twitch inside you. "Me too," he whispers, other hand dancing up your spine and cupping the back of your head, his fingers still steady on your clit. "Love it, y/n."

"Don't stop," you beg, rocking harder in his lap.

Lando whines softly, tongue darting over your lips. "You're gonna make me cum."

You slow, enjoying his little growl. Invigorated by his eagerness, you have a split second of panic because he's not wearing a condom but it's immediately forgotten, your toes curling as his fingers rub harder. And for a nanosecond you imagine being pregnant with his child. "Lan…"

"Need it. This. You." It's nonsense but not really, mumbled against your lips, his eyes drifting closed. "Love it. This…"

"You," you breathe.

His eyes snap open and he gasps, panic flashing then disappearing when you nod. "Not supposed to."

"Can't help it," you moan.

He hisses, squeezing his eyes shut. "D'you want to not?"

"No," you cry.

He kisses you, guiding you back down, and it's bliss, it's heaven, it's pure ecstasy, it's everything it's supposed to be. Euphoria wrapped in blazing heat and vivid light. He's whimpering and moaning against your lips, hips flush with yours and straining, and another orgasm crashes through you at the feel of him cumming, his body your new temple, his name your new prayer.

When you can breathe again you wait for the awkwardness. The weirdness. But it doesn't come. He's still tender and sweet, murmuring even more praise. His hands are gentle where they'd been rough, his lips soft on your cheeks. When he pulls away there's a mutual hiss, and you see the smirk of pride when he looks down to see his cum trickling out of you.

"You can take a photo if you like," you joke, watching his cheeks darken as he grins at you.

"Don't tempt me." He leans to give you another kiss. "Be right back."

You nod, humming as he drags the covers over you before he leaves. He goes into the bathroom and you lie there, surrounded by his scent, feeling his sweat dry on your skin, body still tingling from the best sex you've ever had. You sigh, wondering when the guilt will creep in.

It doesn't yet but you know it will eventually.

Lando returns, washcloths in hand, and you're both silent while he clears the drying sweat from your body, eyes locking when he gently cleans your slit. He flings the cloths towards the bathroom and sits on the edge of the bed, fixing the duvet over you.

"Y/n?"

You sit up, recognizing the vulnerability. It's rare that Lando's like this. He confesses to weaknesses but rarely ever bares them, and it almost breaks your heart, hearing the worry in his voice. Waiting for him to speak, you watch his fingers pleat and twist then smooth the fabric of the duvet.

"What happens now?" he whispers, slowly lifting his head at the same time as you.

"I don't know," you admit.

He nods, swallowing, and looks away.

"I'll go," you say. Because you can't do this. You can't be awkward with him. Better to just pull away even though it's too late for that. Ripping the bandage off will leave a scar but it's for the best. You'll only hurt him more if you stick around.

You're nearly off the bed when he finally speaks again.

"Stay." It's barely a whisper. The sound of him stretching across the bed is louder, and his fingers grasping at yours are loudest of all.

You know what will happen if you do. You can't even let yourself think of what's already happened, how you're no better than the boyfriend you allegedly love, or how everything has changed.

"I meant it," he says, his voice stronger now.

You look from his hand to his face.

"I wanted this. But… I need you." His voice shakes a little but he says the words and you know how much it means that he's doing this.

Lando doesn't discuss his feelings. Ever. You asked him once and he shrugged, eyes shuttering as he'd explained he'd been hurt too much before. Turning your hand, you let your fingers twine with his.

"I wanted this." He draws in a shaky breath. "I know I wasn't supposed to, but I…"

You wait, knowing he has to work through it. He hates for anyone to put words in his mouth. So you give him the time, unconsciously pulling your legs back onto the bed.

"I like this." He gestures to the twisted sheets. "More than I dreamed I would. But… I love us, y/n."

"I love us too," you whisper.

His sigh trembles the air around you. Looking at your joined hands, he rubs his thumb over your knuckles. "Stay."

#f1 #f1 fic #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris x you #lando norris smut #lando norris imagine #my writings > ln #this wasn't supposed to be a series but here we are

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suzypfonne · 10 months ago

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Aziraphale: "Care to finish what you started, dear?"

#bitchy little cupcake #(affectionate)#sassy angel #ineffable foreplay #good omens #Aziraphale #Crowley #ineffable husbands

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steveseddie · 3 months ago

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sweet as pumpkin pie

steddie | rating: t | wc: 3,1 k | cw: none | tags: dustin & steve, dustin & eddie, eddie knows how to bake, steve has a crush, getting together, first kiss, steve pov

for @steddie-spooktober day twenty-four, prompt “pumpkin”

read on ao3

Pounding at the door has Steve scrambling to his feet and hurtling towards the front door. He glances at Eddie on the couch and is relieved to find he’s still napping soundly, unbothered by the noise.

Steve doesn’t want him to wake up, not when Eddie showed up an hour earlier looking exhausted after nightmares kept him up all night. The last thing Steve wants is for Eddie to lose any more sleep because whoever is at the door grows impatient and knocks harder.

So he fumbles with the lock and swings the door open to reveal–

“Dustin?”

“Steve, we have an emergency!” Henderson shrieks, his loud volume making Steve flinch.

His annoyance is immediately replaced by worry as the kid’s words register. His body tenses up, his fingers itch for his nail bat. “An Upside Down emergency?”

“Worse!” Dustin says. Steve’s stomach churns and he feels sick. He tries to think what could be worse than an Upside Down emergency– “A baking emergency!” He finishes before Steve can spiral.

He blinks at him. “A baking–” he starts in incredulity. “Henderson! Jesus fucking Christ, man.” He reaches over and flicks his stupid Thinking Cap.

“What?” Dustin protests, swatting Steve’s hand away.

“That’s not worse than an Upside Down emergency! Nothing is worse than an Upside Down emergency!”

“Fine, but it’s up there,” Dustin argues stubbornly.

“Whatever,” Steve says, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wishes Eddie was awake so that they could share an exasperated look. “What’s the matter, shithead?”

“You know my mom isn’t home this week, right?”

“Yeah, she’s visiting family or something.” She told Steve as much when she called and asked him to keep an eye on her Dusty.

“Right, well, the science club is in charge of the baking sale this week and she volunteered to bring something, but she forgot it was this week!”

Steve blinks at him, failing to see what the problem is. “So? She left you money, right? Just buy some cupcakes at Melvald’s and bring those.”

Dustin gasps, affronted. “Steve, it’s a bake sale! Not a store-bought sale!”

“Things at stores were baked at some point too, butthead,” Steve argues, but Dustin keeps looking at him like he’s being stupid. “Geez, fine, what do you want me to do about it anyway?”

“I need you to bake me something, duh.”

Steve snorts. “Sure, yeah, I’d love to, except I don’t know how to bake.”

Dustin frowns. “Bullshit! You cook for us all the time!”

“Yeah, cook like actual food, not pies and shit,” he says, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.

“It’s the same thing!”

Steve thinks back on the time he tried to bake brownies for Nancy and how he almost burned his house down in the process. “It’s so not,” he says in a bitchy tone.

Dustin groans, scrubbing his hands down his face. “But Steve, I need a pie!”

“Sorry, kid, you’re gonna have to ask someone else. Maybe Mrs. Wheeler or–”

“I can do it.”

Both of their heads snap towards the living room entrance where Eddie stands, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Christ, he’s cute, Steve thinks, and immediately feels his cheeks heat up. He hopes Eddie is still too groggy from sleep to notice. “Do what, Eds?”

“Make Henderson a pie,” Eddie says, waving his hand at the kid.

Dustin blinks at him with wide eyes. “You know how to bake a pie?”

“Yup.”

Steve finds himself asking, “How?”

Eddie snorts amusedly. “We have ovens in the trailer park too, rich boy,” he snarks but his words lack any heat. “Though I might have to borrow yours for this, ours hasn’t worked since the turkey incident of ‘84.”

Dustin and Steve exchange a look, equally shocked by what they’re hearing.

“So,” Eddie goes on, clapping his hands together. “What kind of pie do you need, Henderson?” He asks as slides his Reeboks on, which he left by Steve’s door when he showed up. “Cherry, pumpkin, apple?”

“Uh, pumpkin?”

Eddie flashes him a dimpled grin. “My favorite,” he says, grabbing his car keys from the table at the entrance. “Let’s go then, shrimp.”

“I thought you were gonna make it here,” Steve says, confused by Eddie leaving.

“Gotta go shopping first, Stevie,” Eddie explains, van keys spinning around his finger. “And I gotta dust off the old recipe, it’s been a while since I used it.”

“Ugh, but I hate grocery shopping!” Dustin whines, earning a smack on the back of his head from Eddie.

“It’s your pie, Henderson. Suck it up.”

Dustin scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

Eddie turns to Steve, batting his long eyelashes at him. “You mind cleaning the oven for me in the meantime, sweetheart?”

Steve should protest that he didn’t agree to help, but with Eddie’s big doe eyes staring at him like that and him calling him sweetheart, all he can muster is a weak, “Yeah, okay.”

Eddie grins, throwing a wink over his shoulder as he grabs the back of Dustin’s neck and pushes him towards his van. “Be back in a few, honey!” He calls back to Steve. “And then we’re baking a pie!”

Steve watches them go and closes the door once the pair gets in the van.

He’s in the kitchen, ready to clean his oven for Eddie when his words register in Steve’s brain.

“Wait– we?”

***

Eddie and Dustin come back an hour later, carrying everything they need.

Dustin dumps his bags on the counter and immediately tries to retreat to the living room but Eddie moves faster. He grabs onto the handle of his backpack, pulling him to an abrupt stop, Dustin’s limbs flailing like a puppet on strings.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asks, tugging Henderson back into the kitchen. “I told you, it’s your pie so you’re helping.”

“But my mom never forces me to help!” He protests, trying to shrug off his backpack to escape.

Eddie wraps an arm around his neck instead.

“Yeah, well. Your mom is a saint, I’m not,” he says, letting him go once Dustin stops struggling and handing him a whisk and a list of ingredients for him to mix.

Begrudgingly, Dustin accepts them and sets off to work on making the filling while Eddie and Steve work on the crust.

Steve has to focus really hard on following Eddie’s instructions correctly. Not because the instructions are particularly complicated or anything, mostly it’s just ‘add this’ or ‘measure that’ or ‘hand me those’. It’s because Eddie is very distracting like this– with his hair tied in a messy bun, the sleeves of his flannel rolled over his forearms, flour smeared on his face.

And then there’s the familiarity with which he moves around Steve’s kitchen after spending so much time here, helping Steve cook or just keeping him company. And the confidence with which he measures, mixes, and adds ingredients, or tells Steve to do it.

Steve always had a thing for competence. It’s why he was so attracted to Nancy, whether she was getting all of her chemistry flashcard questions right or shooting monsters in the face. It’s why he started crushing on Robin after she cracked that Russian code. Steve knows that if he had been there when Eddie played the most metal concert ever, and he had seen him shredding his guitar the way Dustin describes it, he would’ve been too busy drooling over him to fight Vecna.

Eddie knowing how to make a pumpkin pie from scratch is no different– and if it weren’t for Dustin, Steve probably would’ve already pinned Eddie against the kitchen counter to sloppily make out with him.

For now, Steve tries his best to pay attention to what Eddie asks him to do and not get distracted by thoughts of kissing him or dragging him upstairs or–

He realizes he fails when Eddie has to smear flour on his nose to get his attention.

“Hey,” Steve protests weakly, going cross-eyed trying to stare at the white powder on his nose.

Eddie chuckles. “There you are, I’ve been talking to you for like, five minutes.”

“Oh.” Steve must’ve gotten distracted staring at Eddie’s arms as he expertly kneaded the dough and rolled it into balls. He glances down at the counter and realizes he’s done already. Then he glances around the kitchen and notices it’s just the two of them.

“Where’s Henderson?”

“Well, the filling is ready and we have to leave these babies in the fridge for two hours,” he says, holding up one of the dough balls. “So I sent him to pick a movie for us to watch in the meantime.”

“Oh, okay,” Steve says, wondering how he could’ve been so deep in thought that he missed all of that happening. He grabs one of the dough balls while Eddie grabs the other one, following him to the fridge. “Do we need this much pie crust?” He asks as Eddie opens the door.

“I thought we could make two pies so I doubled the recipe. Henderson can take one and we can have the other,” Eddie says, sticking the dough in the fridge. “That way you can try it and I can take some back to Wayne. I don’t think we’ve had any homemade pumpkin pie since my mom died.”

Steve hums. “Is this her recipe?”

The smile Eddie gives Steve over his shoulder is a little sad. “Yeah, she taught me how to make it years ago.”

“I can’t wait to try it,” Steve says softly, knocking their shoulders together.

Eddie spins on his heels, leaning back against the fridge. “I just hope I didn’t fuck it up, it’s been a while,” he chuckles, hanging a hand from his neck.

Steve shrugs. “You can always blame me. Or Dustin.”

Eddie throws his head back, laughing. There’s a streak of flour on his neck and Steve has to fight the urge to clean it up with his tongue. “Nah, Stevie, you two are doing a great job,” Eddie says with a dimpled grin, “even the kid with his fucking attitude.”

Steve huffs, rolling his eyes. “Right? You’d think he’s doing us a favor.”

“Entitled little shit,” Eddie mutters, but the corners of his mouth tick up.

From the living room, Dustin yells at them, his voice dripping with annoyance. “You guys are gonna watch the movie or what?”

Steve and Eddie share a look and start laughing.

***

Two hours later the two of them are back in the kitchen, rolling out the pie crust.

Or at least, Eddie is. Steve keeps messing it up.

“Fuck,” he mutters as he screws it up again. “You know what? You do it.”

“Come on, Stevie, it’s not that hard,” Eddie says, knocking his bony hip against Steve’s.

Whatever protest Steve is about to make dies in his throat when Eddie leaves his perfectly rolled-out pie crust and moves to stand behind him, pressing his body against Steve and Steve’s body against the counter, his arms wrapping around him so he can guide his hands on the rolling pin.

“You gotta start at the center and work outwards,” Eddie says, speaking into Steve’s ear as he shows him how to do it. Steve can barely focus on anything that isn’t the entire length of Eddie’s body pressed against him. “Yeah, just like that.”

“Christ,” Steve mutters. Eddie’s words whispered lowly into his ear are making Steve’s head swim with all kinds of ideas. It’s a good thing that Eddie seems oblivious to it.

“Now you do it,” Eddie says, letting go of Steve’s hands and holding Steve’s waist instead.

Steve’s movements are a little jerky, but he manages to finish rolling out the pie crust successfully, even with Eddie standing behind him the entire time.

“Great job, Stevie,” Eddie says, hooking his chin on Steve’s shoulder to look down at the counter.

Steve makes the mistake of turning his head, leaving their faces only a few inches away from each other. Steve’s breath hitches and his heart starts jackhammering against his ribcage. It feels like it might explode out of his chest when he notices Eddie’s eyes unmistakably flicker down to his lips.

And of course, that’s when Dustin comes barreling into the kitchen.

“Are you guys done?” He asks, his arms crossed over his chest, his foot tapping on the floor impatiently.

Steve drops the rolling pin and Eddie jumps back a few steps. Dustin’s eyes dart curiously between the two.

Eddie clears his throat. “We’d be done sooner if you helped us,” he says, his voice coming out a little strangled.

Dustin gives them an innocent look, eyes wide like he’s never done anything wrong in his life. “But you're doing such a great job, Eddie.”

Eddie doesn’t fall for it. He snorts, throwing a kitchen cloth at his face. “Shoo, you gremlin!”

He doesn’t wait for Eddie to tell him twice, hurtling towards the living room. Steve watches in silence as Eddie carefully places the pie crust on the pan and pours the filling Dustin made.

“Now we wait?” Steve asks once both pies are inside the preheated oven.

“Now we wait,” Eddie says, smiling at Steve. His eyes catch on something and then he reaches out to wipe flour from Steve’s cheek, his thumb lingering on his cheekbone for a second too long.

His eyes flicker to Steve’s lips one last time before he goes to join Dustin in the living room.

***

“I present to you," Eddie starts, spinning around on his heels, holding the pie in his hands, “your pumpkin pie, my good sir.”

Dustin grins, letting out something between a laugh and a snort. “Dude, it looks so good!”

“I told you I could bake,” Eddie says, grinning smugly.

“Hey, we helped,” Steve says with a pout, crossing his arms over his chest.

Eddie sets the pie down on the counter so he can crowd Steve against it. “Oh, I know, baby, I could never have done it without you.”

Heat builds up in Steve’s cheeks. It’s a good thing that Eddie gets distracted by Dustin rounding the counter and wrapping his arms around his middle in an unexpected hug. “Thank you, Eddie.”

Eddie ruffles Dustin’s curls. “You’re welcome, kid.”

Before Steve can protest once again that he helped, thank you very much, Dustin lets go of Eddie and hugs Steve too. “Thanks, Steve.”

“Of course, buddy.”

“I’ll tell Mom to have you both over for dinner when she comes back,” he says, adjusting his Thinking Cap.

“Hell yeah,” Eddie says, licking his lips like he’s already tasting Mrs. Henderson’s cooking. “You just earned yourself a drive home, mister.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, no way I’m letting you ruin my–” Steve clears his throat, “ our pie by taking it home on your bike.” He grabs Dustin’s shoulders, and once the kid grabs the pie, he steers him in the direction of the front door. “I’ll come back to help you clean up,” he tells Steve over his shoulder.

“You better.”

With a wink, they disappear through the kitchen archway, leaving Steve alone with his thoughts.

And he can’t help but think about Eddie– his eyes on Steve’s lips, his thumb softly brushing over Steve’s cheekbone, his chest pressed against Steve’s back.

He forces himself to start cleaning up, just so he can stay busy and not drive himself crazy thinking about what might happen when Eddie comes back, now that Dustin won’t be here.

He’s elbow-deep in rinsing water when he hears the front door open, followed by Eddie’s whistling as he makes his way to the kitchen.

“Stevie, Stevie, Stevie,” he says, waltzing in, “I told you I’d help!”

Without turning around, Steve shrugs. “Grab a cloth, you can help me dry.”

He hears a cabinet open and close as Eddie presumably looks for a clean kitchen cloth but when he appears next to Steve, he’s got a plate with a slice of pumpkin pie on it.

Steve purses his lips. “That’s not a kitchen towel,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Nope, but I couldn’t wait to try it,” he says, leaning back on the counter, facing Steve.

Steve gives the slice of pie a pointed look. “Well?”

Eddie grabs a forkful of pie and shoves it into his mouth while Steve stares expectantly at him, waiting for his reaction. It comes in the way of a sinful moan that makes Steve want to shove his head into the water to stop the heat from creeping up his cheeks.

“I- uh,” he clears his throat, “I take it we didn’t fuck it up?”

Eddie licks his lips, and Steve’s hands tighten around the bowl he was rinsing. “Nop, it’s perfect. Just like my mama used to make it.”

Steve smiles at Eddie’s smug little tilt of his head as he shoves another forkful into his mouth.

“Hey, I wanna try it too,” he says, nudging Eddie’s side with his elbow.

He expects Eddie to feed him some pie since his hands are still under the rinsing water and it’s probably what Eddie intends to do, he scoops some pie up with his fork–

But then he hesitates.

His eyes dart over Stece’s face, searching for something. He either finds it or gives up, dropping the fork back onto the plate and placing it on the counter next to him.

Steve cocks his head, puppy-like, but before he can get a word out, Eddie grabs his cheeks and kisses Steve square on the lips.

He instinctively kisses back– or does his best to do so considering his hands are still in the water. He moves his lips against Eddie’s and when Eddie laps at his bottom lip, Steve opens his mouth, letting Eddie’s tongue slide inside.

He tastes like pumpkin pie, is Steve’s first coherent thought, followed by– holy shit, I’m kissing Eddie.

It’s that realization that makes Steve retrieve his hands from the sink, dripping water all over the floor, to wrap his arms around Eddie’s shoulders. He kisses him more deeply, chasing after that taste of pumpkin pie, and smoke, and cinnamon, and Eddie.

They pull back when they finally need to come up for air but stay wrapped up in each other.

Steve’s eyes dip down to Eddie’s lips, red and slick with spit. He hears them moving but realizes he didn’t hear whatever Eddie said from the blood still rushing through his ears.

“Sorry, what?”

Eddie chuckles a little breathlessly. “I said, what did you think of the pie?”

“Oh, um. Good, it’s–” Steve licks his lips. “It’s good.”

Eddie’s mouth twitches with a hint of a smirk. “Yeah?”

“Mhm but, uh, I think I need– I need to give it another try, you know?” Steve stammers out, watching as Eddie’s eyes go a little dark at that. He licks his lips and Steve does his best not to let out a whine.

“Come here then, pumpkin,” Eddie says, pulling Steve forward, mashing their lips together.

Neither of them points out it would be easier for Steve to grab a forkful of pie– they’re too busy chasing after the taste of it on each other’s mouths to even try.

#steddie #steddie fic #stranger things #stranger things fic #for once i am Not late for this! woohoo #well technically i am because this was supposed to be for the baking prompt but i finished it until now so. pumpkin it is #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #monse writes #steddiespooktober

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l0veu-somuch · 9 months ago

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nct dream pretending they forgot about your birthday ... 💝🍰

mark's flight wasn't supposed to come in until the morning after your special day and you weren't about to be a bitchy partner who whined and demanded him to meet your wants without consideration for him as well, so you had stayed silent about it and simply got yourself a cupcake with a lit candle that you blew out on your own. yet that hooded figure sitting in the lobby of your building looks awfully familiar... and the way he was holding a handful of balloons and his typical catty smile as he threw his arms around you and whispered "happy birthday" to your ear was undeniably the love of your life.

renjun had texted you that morning like it was any other day, letting you know he'd be over to pick you up in an hour or so since you had made plans for you to go shopping. you even did your hair and dressed up a bit differently just so it would be even the slightest bit obvious that today was not like any other day yet he'd barely spared a glance at any of it. only when you were ambling back to your place that he pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind him and your front door swinging open with a cacophony of bright cheers from inside that you realise he'd gathered all of your family and friends for your surprise celebration.

it felt too much like any other night when you and jeno would tuck in on the sofa for a horror movie marathon and stuff your face with popcorn he accidentally bought 3 boxes of. you were beginning to doze off having had a long work day and jeno’s warm body wrapped around yours, so you were slightly gruntled when he excused himself to the bathroom and jolting you awake once again. you thought nothing of it, perhaps ruminating over what you had had a feeling you were forgetting about, when you heard singsongy whispering from behind you. you turned to see jeno with a cake that seemingly emerged from nowhere, decorated with candles and lovely loopy lettering on the top that spelled his love for you. you blew the candles out just as the clock struck midnight and you shared a sweet kiss to welcome your new age.

haechan watched as you ran around with his siblings on the grassy park, catching a cacophony from the cute puppies that were on a walk with their owners. the blaring summer sun beat you out and you trudged over to where you'd set your blanket down, gulping down refreshments from the water bottles he'd packed as he dabbed on the sweat droplets on your forehead. you closed your eyes for a moment, buzzing under the gentle touches from your boyfriend when a shrill kidlike scream shaked you from your doze. you pushed yourself up on your elbows to see his youngest sibling manage to balance the huge white frosting cake on his wobbly arms, while his other siblings trailed behind him with balloons and party poppers. "happy birthday, sunshine," he whispered to you, gently kissing your forehead, sweet smile stretching his and your lips.

you were only wrapping your shift up at the animal shelter, evidence of your failed attempt to scraggle a day off so you could properly celebrate your birthday for the first time in a while after becoming a full fledged independent adult human. in all honesty you'd fully given up on even treating yourself to a nice meal and all you wanted now was to crawl into bed and maybe give a video call to your parents before dozing off. just as you'd pulled the key from the lock and secured the notch to safely guard the animals inside for the night you heard a rather familiar cough from behind you. jaemin looked somewhat silly with the balloon wrapped around his wrist against the quiet nighttime empty road backdrop, but it all didn't matter when you spotted the takeout bags and cake box on his other arm, as well as the way he pulled you into his free side to press the birthday kiss you wanted so badly to your full cheeks and grinning lips.

you woke up without chenle next to you on the bed, which made you slightly pissy like a scraggly cat because you'd been counting on some birthday kisses from the love of your life since the second your eyes opened. you stayed swaddled up in your blankets for a while, replying to messages sent from your family and friends before you walked out of your room, only to be greeted by a trail of roses leading to a grand bouquet atop your dining table and a breakfast spread with a whole cake, and chenle and daegal leaning against the counter as soft piano instrumental played in the room.

it was just your luck that your final exams ran up until your birthday with a sit in landing even right on your special day. jisung had played the ultimate green flag boyfriend role by guiding and accompanying you all while you were studying, refilling your water bottle and helping you untangle your laptop charging cord when your fingers started to tremble from gripping the pen too tightly. by the time the hour rolled and you handed in your answer sheet your mind was blank and you desperately needed to be tucked into your blankets preferably with jisung by your side. as you slugged out of the room you were met with jisung holding a small buttercream cake with a few lit candles, and a gentle smile stretching his lips. his hands held onto the cake as if it were the most precious thing in the world, and his eyes blinked at you like he was looking at the most beautiful thing in the universe.

#nct dream #nct dream scenarios #nct dream imagines #nct dream fluff #mark #renjun #jeno #haechan #jaemin #chenle #jisung #mine

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eternalsa2z · 1 year ago

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Cheat Day

Okay so, like, I knooooooow I'm supposed to be on a strict diet. My girlfriend told me no more naughty treats if I want to be the pure, innocent person she fell in love with. But it's soooooo hard to resist for so long. The temptation becomes too much. I NEED to give in to my bitchy bimbo side.

So I decided to, like, allow myself one cheat day. I shut myself into my secret pink room and gorge on these GORGEOUS treats. An Elixir-infused shake. A BMBO-laced cupcake. An 'In-Slutin' pump from SluTech to regulate it all. Soon I'm, like, totes blissing out as my alter ego Brandi bubbles up to the surface.

But, like, the best part of Cheat Day? The cheating. I don't stay in this room cuz food isn't the only craving I have. Brandi needs meat. Brandi desires flesh. Brandi hungers for the juices of the hung or the hotties. So if you, like, don't tell my girlfriend...I'll sooooo fuck you as silly as me.

#bimboification #gender neutral transformation #elixir #bmbo #slutech #bitchification #technology transformation

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suzypfonne · 1 year ago

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Close second, the gay little shoulder dip after checking Crowley out.

Third runner up

Michael Sheen literally COULD NOT have said "ugh, it'll be a complete nightmare" any gayer than that. jfc. the look up/eye roll? the bitchiness? thats The southern pansy right there. thats the gayest thing aziraphale has ever done, even after kissing a male shaped demon

#gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide #aziraphale my beloved #the southern pansy #Aziraphale #sassy angel #bitchy little cupcake #gaaaaay (affectionate)#good omens #Michael “Acting Choices” Sheen #Michael Sheen #Michael Sheen's queer characters

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fuck-customers · 3 months ago

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Alright, so here's part two to my "entitled customers" story.

Another super annoying thing that unfortunately happens from time to time with customers who think they can just do whatever they want is this:

So sometimes, we have big special orders with fancy bowls, trays, plates, cups, etc. If we're really busy, sometimes we have to place some of these special orders with trays/bowls/plates on the display shelves since our fridge is too small. However, just because the special order item is out in the open on the display shelf, that doesn't mean it's available for normal customers.

Yet, recently, we had a small tray of cupcakes out on the display shelf waiting to be picked and some dipshit waltzes right in and tries to purchase that tray of cupcakes despite the fact that it CLEARLY has another customer's name on it. And then he wanted to get all whiny and bitchy when I informed him that the tray of cupcakes was reserved for someone else and not for sale.

I mean good Lord. What makes you think you can just take someone else's order for yourself? The sheer entitlement of these people...

Posted by admin Rodney

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sukunasbow · 2 years ago

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halloween party, spencer reid.

summary: in which you and your boyfriend attend your son’s school party for halloween!

warnings: spencer isn’t the dad of reader’s kid he’s just her boyfriend and like a dad to her kid, lots of fluff, bitchy pta mothers, and not fully proof read!

notes: i know it’s not halloween but i miss halloween and love spencer so, here you go! also this is literally so random and doesn’t have a proper ending, i just wanted to write something cute!

You, your boyfriend, and your kid walk into the classroom filled with other families and students. “Okay! Go have fun, buddy.” Spencer smiles, leading your son towards the group of his friends in the middle of the room that are dancing to Halloween music. “Okay, Spence, Some of these PTA moms can be bitches, so watch out.” You whisper, earning a shocked face from your boyfriend, “I will.” He breathes out. “Let me go put these down.” You hold up the plate of poorly decorated cupcakes you attempted to make look professional, walking towards the plastic tables set up with food, then placing the plate down on one of them. “Those look unique.” One of the other moms creeps up behind you, making you gasp in shock. You turn around, putting on a fake smile, “Thanks.” You mumble. “Did your son make them?” The lady questions, her tone sharp. “I made them, actually.” You shake your head. “And they taste amazing.” Spencer suddenly interrupts the conversation, taking one of the orange frosted cupcakes off the plate and biting into it, wrapping his other arm around your waist. “Oh, I’m sure.” The mother seethes, grabbing a cupcake for herself and eating it, orange icing coating her lower lip. “You’ve got a little something there.” You gesture to the icing on her face, biting your lip to hold yourself back from laughing, Spencer doing the same. “Thanks.” She swipes the sugary frosting off her face and storms off, leaving you and your boyfriend together, silently laughing at the encounter.

“Pass me the orange, please.” Your son says, waiting for you to give him the orange marker you’re holding. “Of course.” You grin, giving him the marker and instead picking up a purple marker from the table. “How does it look so far?” Spencer holds up the colouring page he’s working on, the picture is a creepy monster of some sort and his colouring is shockingly precise. Before you can say anything, Your son opens his mouth, “Not as good as mine!” He holds up his own paper. “Wow! It looks amazing!” Your boyfriend smiles, taking the drawing from your son, showing it to you. This colouring page features a ghost, the colouring bleeding out of the lines. “I love it, I’m going to put it up on the fridge when we get home.” You nod, placing the paper back down on the classroom table covered in markers and and crafting supplies. “Thank you.” The little boy picks up the paper and puts it in his backpack, “I’m going to play with my friends.” He calls out, already running towards the group of kids, earning a laugh from you and Spencer.

#missing halloween rn #and spencer #x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x y/n #criminal minds x you #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n

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bnhatrashsammy · 1 year ago

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Random Kirishima Headcannons

-for your 6 month anniversary he gets the both of you matching crocs. He is very proud of this and will be genuinely upset if you won't wear them every now and again.

-doesnt care what it takes or how embarrassing it is for him-- he will do whatever it takes to make you laugh. Its genuinely one of his favorite things. To just watch as your face contorts into pure joy as laughter envelops you from his antics.

-calls you baby girl. Also calls you random nicknames he just thinks up on the spot. puddin. My lil pepper. Cutie with a booty. Cupcake. Thiccy Bitchy. Lovely dovely. It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to be fun to say.

-i feel like he'd be the type of partner to have a very physical love language, just because he's unsure of how to deal with too much emotion at once. So expect lots of pda and private affections too. This boy will be all over you if he's fallen for you.

-gets paranoid and wants to be away from you if he is feeling particularly anxious or panicked because he couldn't handle it if he accidentally hurt you in any way physical... he just needs some time, space and proper reassurance and he'll be back on his bull shit <3

-rarely gets jealous. 100% could see him in a situation watching someone hit on you and he just sighs lovingly and agrees with them bc ofc you're beautiful/handsome/adorable/cute and he knows you're his and not going anywhere

#bnha x reader #bnha x you #bnha imagines #mha x you #kirishima fluff #kirishima headcanon #kirishima x reader

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suzypfonne · 9 months ago

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That sassy little head waggle in the second gif

Good Omens | 2.04 The Hitchhiker

#sassy angel #just enough of a bastard #bitchy little cupcake #(affectionate)#aziraphale #crowley #1941 Crowley is so damn hot #go 1941 #good omens 1941 pt 2 #good omens #gif omens

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silvervioletvalentine · 2 years ago

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🦋It’s true, it’s always been you 🦋

Pairing: Max verstappen X Cherrie!

Word count: 13.3k

Summary: in which Cherrie and max hate eachother so much that they fake date. Fall in love and traumatise their friends in the process.

Max swore that he hadn't meant to lie to his friends , he really didn’t . He had just made the small mistake of not really paying attention , already growing annoyed at the relationship talk that was taking place at the table around him .

Everybody else all happy with their partners and so grossly in love that it made max feel sick just to hear yet another cute little story about the picnic dates, surprise trips and romantic walks on the beach that they were having. Christ , talk about sickly.

Was he also feeling a tad bit bitter about his own long term singleness and dried up love life? No, not at all!

In fact he was completely happy on his own. He didn't need a woman messing with his head anyways , he already had Cherrie for that. She wasn't even his girlfriend and yet the annoying brat drove him mental and most of his days were spent trying to one up her in their petty arguments .

Even going as far as finding something that she couldn't do... like when she told them that she couldn't bake, max had found it in him to become a bakery overnight . Smugly shoving his homemade cupcakes in her face the next morning while she glared at him like he was the devil killing puppy's, threatening to shove her heel up his ass if he didn't back away from her immediately.

Which was why it was completely cherries fault that he did what he did next .

Having been caught up with gazing over at her by the bar, watching as she threw back vodka shots like they were water. Her silver dress shining underneath the lights , long legs crossed over each other as she gossiped with her friends.

So when Lando was teasing him for not having a girlfriend still, he found himself rolling his eyes in annoyance and opening up his big mouth before he could even think of the consequences of his next actions.

He looked at them blankly and straight up lied for no reason. "I do have a girlfriend actually." Enjoying the Brief feeling of watching the rest of the drivers pause their chatter to look over at him in shock.

Daniel was looking at him in disbelief , blinking rapidly . Opening and closing his mouth several times before a loud "what?! Who?!" Came hurling his way in shock.

Lando quickly echoing his disbelief as he looked at max with wide eyes. "You have a girlfriend?!" He repeated in surprise "since when?" He wanted to know.

Charles , Pierre and Carlos were looking at him with similar expressions of 'what the fuck?' And 'no way!'. Charles even going as far as snorting , smirking over at him . Having been spending way to much time with Cherrie , who happened to be his best friend, which meant that her bitchy meanness had started to rub off on him.

It was another reason why he couldn't stand her, even when she wasn't there in front of him. Her sidekick was doing her bitchy trade for her instead.

She had trained the Ferrari driver well and max was sick of seeing the two of them together, gossiping between them and judging everybody that passed them by.

Charles on his own was just fine , max could deal with him without any problem. He could even chat with him casually if he felt like it.

But Charles with Cherrie? Was a total fucking nightmare. They were like the terror twins and Cherrie was nothing but a bad influence on him.

Before meeting her Charles would have never had dared to look max in his face and laugh . Would never have had the confidence to scoff and give him a judgemental glance, snickering underneath his breath at him.

That was all Cherrie. Max was certain that her bitchiness was contagious . That had to be the reason for this bullshit.

"There's no way you have a girlfriend." Charles muttered in amusement , squinting his eyes at him. Already glancing over his shoulder to see where Cherrie was at the bar , ready to call her over so that they could gossip about this shit together like they usually did.

There was nothing more that Cherrie loved than teasing max for his long term sickness (singleness. Again. She was a mean little bitch!). Many a hour she had spent teasing him and rubbing it in his face about how she was never single and he always was.

The two always ending up fighting when max shot back that the only reason she wasn't single was because she was a attention seeking whore who couldn't stand to be alone .

He was right but Cherrie would never admit it. Instead she would argue with him instead. Neither of them yielding , trading insults and sarcasm until the sun started coming back up and one of their friends had to forcibly separate them.

Max narrowed his eyes at Charles, his grip on his beer bottle tightening at the condensing tone in his voice .

That two week holiday with Cherrie had turned him into a catty bitch. A complete replica of his best friend. Max thought in Annoyance. Trying to stay calm.

"Yes I do. And it's been going on a while.. it's just private." He continued to lie. Unable to pinpoint the reason to why he kept up his bullshit, only knowing that he wasn't go to stop now.

As soon as he saw Charles roll his eyes and the rest of his friends grin between themselves like it was so disbelieving that he could have a girlfriend , as though it was completely impossible.

He knew he was fucked.

"Oh really?" Charles smirked at him in amusement , exchanging a glance with Pierre beside him. "Who's the unlucky girl then?" He asked him.

And max. Max didn't know why he did it. Why he said it or why the thought even sparked up in his mind.

But he glanced over to the bar again and caught sight of the bane of his existence laughing loudly with her head thrown back, long hair shining and eyes squeezed closed in mirth as she giggled with her friends.

And he opened his big, lying mouth and blurted out "Cherrie. You'll know her very well I suppose."

The whole table froze. Mouth dropping open as Lando gasped loudly in shock, Daniel bursting into laughter while Charles smile slowly slid off his face, eyes going wide in disbelief.

"Cherrie? My Cherrie?!" He exclaimed loudly , slamming his glass down onto the table in shock. Looking at him as though he was expecting max to just burst out laughing and tell him that it was all a joke. That he wasn't dating Cherrie at all.

Max didn't laugh. He stuck with his lie, enjoying wiping the smug look off of his face.

He hid his smirk behind his beer bottle "I think you mean my Cherrie now." He simply responded , trying not to laugh at the look on everyone's faces.

Charles was shaking his head in denial . "No! There's no way mate. You hate each other!" He reminded him as though he had forgotten their constant arguing.

Pierre was nodding along in agreement , beyond confused . "Yeah.. I mean just last week she told you that she was going to break your knees If you ever touched her compact mirror again." He said.

Max paused for a moment , pursing his lips as he glanced over at said threatening , gorgeous maniac at the bar. Oblivious to the shit that he was currently dragging her into .

"That was..just a joke. She was joking." He muttered , lying through his teeth. Grimacing as he recalled the utter fury on her pretty face when he had been fiddling around with her Chanel compact mirror , trying to wind her up.

Then he had dropped it and she had almost dropped him , Face first onto the floor with her fists. That girl was completely material and max was certain that if she had to choose between her designer wardrobe or her friends , she would proudly declare Chanel as her new best friend instead.

Charles looked at him with a frown, mouth gaping open. "No she wasn't! You- you can't be serious! She would have told me!" He exclaimed, not believing his lie in slightest.

Max was in far too deep to start backing out now. Instead he rolled his eyes, actually getting annoyed by how they all seemed to think that there was no way on Earth Cherrie would ever look at him that way. It was more than insulting and he honestly felt a little hurt by their snickering and disbelief.

He knew that Cherrie was like... a thousand on a scale of ten. When she wasn't spitting venom on him and going on her sarcastic rants , she was a pure vision to be seen.

Max might have hated her but he wasn't blind. She had the kind of looks that made you stop in your steps and do a double take . Or a triple take.

Max could still remember the first time he had caught a glimpse of her at the paddock, there with Charles for the weekend. He had been stunned, stood frozen in his place like he had seen an Angel , watching her laugh freely , a smile so bright and beautiful that it lit up her entire face.

Then she had opened said mouth and all that attraction had went rushing down the drain because she was mean. A real Mean woman that had a razor for a tongue and could be a weapon for men's egos everywhere .

You had confidence? One look from Cherrie and no you didn't! She had the judgmental glance cut down to a T. It was honestly impressive.

In fact sometimes she and max argued without even saying a word . Simply arguing through squinted eyes and pinched expressions on their faces , it honestly freaked out their friends to witness the way that they could silently communicate from across a crowded room like that.

But instead of using their obvious connection for good, they used it for petty arguments instead.

"She doesn't need to tell you everything." Max countered back to him.

Hiding his grimace as he caught cherries curious eye from across the bar, lifting a eyebrow at him as she slowly lifted up her fist up to rest against her cheek, then lifted up her middle finger at him. Giving him a sarcastic smile too.

He looked back a frowning Charles, stomach turning as he just began to realise what the fuck he had done.

He had told their friends that he and Cherrie (who was still swearing at him from across the bar) that they were dating. There was absolutely no way that she would go along with this and he knew that she would happily call him out on his bullshit and get a good laugh at out if too.

So it was with that humiliating thought in mind that he quickly got to his feet , gave his still shocked and confused friends a casual nod of his head before turning around and beelining it straight towards the she devil herself .

I just need to get to her before Charles does. He thought to himself in a slight panic , hurrying over to her as fast as he could without physically running.

Cherrie looked up at him with a scowl as he came to a stop beside her , pursing her lips as she looked up at him from her seat. Twirling her straw around her cocktail glass, looking at him expectantly.

"Cherrie..." he breathed out , clearing his throat awkwardly as his mind went blank. Forcing his eyes away from her red. Pouty lips that were sucking at the straw, her eyes never leaving his , feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

Cursing everything that she had to look like a Goddamn sin in front of him. Why was it the crazy ones that were always so fucking hot?

How was this fair for his sanity?

She blinked up at him blankly . "Yes max? How can I help you today?" She drawled out , giving him a fake smile. Elbow resting on the bar as she rested her cheek in her hand, swinging her legs back and forth in front of him boredly.

He swallowed, giving her a tense smile as he leaned against the bar next to her as casually as he possibly could. Aware of their friends watching their interaction closely . Charles especially.

Cherrie eyed him suspiciously when he gently brushed her perfectly curled hair over her shoulder, eyes narrowing up at him dangerously.

"You look very pretty today." He tried to be nice , he really did. And it wasn't a lie. She looked beautiful but the look she gave him in response wasn't so pretty.

She looked him up and down judgmentally "I always look pretty. What have you done max? Actually I don't care. Whatever you've done I want no part in it!" She told him firmly. Sipping on her cocktail again casually. Glancing away from him.

Max sighed , expecting this. But he couldn't pussy out now. His pride was resting on this and the stubborn woman in front of him.

Why had he blurted out her name? He wondered in misery. Why had he told his friends that the one woman that loves to torture him and get underneath his skin was his girlfriend? Why?

Then he glanced at her smirking red lips and pretty eyes and knew exactly why he had said her name.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life and a tiny part of him (a huge part of him. All of him) wanted to be able to have a woman like her by his side. To be able to brag to his friends that he had the most gorgeous partner out of them all.

Because despite their constant arguing, he looked forward to her petty remarks and sarcastic rants. He looked forward to their bickering and the little looks she would give him when he would deliberately say something stupid just to get her reaction . One which she always gave him without missing a beat.

He enjoyed the way she would send him little texts throughout the week. A picture of a bull's ass along with the sweet words 'didn't know you were in Texas today!' . Continuing to send him pictures and insults all throughout her holiday just to wind him up.

He liked the way that they were both so similar , the same mean and judgemental humour. Because she might have been an asshole but so was he. He liked the way she would immediately look over to him whenever someone said something stupid , both of them sharing a look between them, a quick raise of the brow and a silent 'can you believe this guy?'.

He would never admit it but he enjoyed their bickering just as much as he enjoyed her bitchy remarks and sarcastic looks. She was the only one that dared to even go up against him like that, the only one that wasn't afraid to match him with his bullshit.

It was nice. She wasn't and he wasn't but he liked that they could be assholes together. Was that so bad?

He sighed loudly , looking at her pleadingly. "Cherrie..I may have.. fucked a little bit." He admitted to her as though it pained him because admitting that he was in the wrong to her did bite at him. It was hard.

Cherrie just side eyed him. "That's not new. But what has it got to do with me?" She muttered over the rim of her glass.

Looking over his shoulder and frowning slightly as she caught the way Charles was scowling over at them, meeting her eyes with a unimpressed look on his face .

"The fuck? Why is Charles glaring at us?" She questioned , confused as fuck to why her best friend looked so pissy.

Max grimaced , clearing his throat a little as he looked at her a little apologetically. "Yeah.. that has something to do with me fucking up. I may have .. lied to him." He mumbled , embarrassed.

Cherrie frowned at him in confusion "okay? About what?" She asked him warily , finally paying attention to him properly . Getting uneasy at the little, sheepish smile he gave her .

"I-er- I told him and all of them- that I had a girlfriend." He told her , fidgeting with the bar top anxiously . Unable to meet her eyes.

Cherrie looked at him in confusion "but you don't have a girlfriend . Unless you're calling your right hand the love of your life now." She snorted , giggling when he glared at her sharply.

Gritting his teeth as he inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm.

"Cherrie.." he gritted out "I told them that you're my girlfriend." He bluntly told her , knowing that there was no point beating around the bush.

Cherrie was still giggling at her own little joke, barely paying attention as she wiped underneath her eyes to make sure that her mascara didn't smudge from her tears of laughter.

"Ahh god. Well that's too bad but-" she abruptly stopped laughing. Head snapping back over to him with wide eyes, mouth dropping open in shock.

"Did you just say I'm your girlfriend?!" She exclaimed loudly , looking at him like he was insane .

Max quickly hushed her, repeatedly tapping at her arm to get her to quieten down. Glancing over his shoulder to see their friends still sending them curious looks, Charles looking like he wanted to kill him.

He hissed at her quietly "shut up! Not so loud! I told you that I fucked up! I just blurted out your name and now they think that we're together." He rushed out, quickly explaining his situation to her.

Cherrie scoffed at him, slapping his hand away from her arm. "Then tell them that you lied and that it Isn't true!" She said as though it was that simple.

It was Max's turn to look at her like she was insane . "No way! They'll never let me live it down! You have to help me!" He pleaded to her desperately out of options.

Cherrie laughed in his face "I don't have to do anything! As If they'd even believe it!" She snapped back at him, cheeks flushing despite her attitude. Not expecting to be demanded to be his girlfriend all of a sudden .

Max looked at her, insulted. "What’s that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that i date the Tom Brady's and the Henry cavill's. Not the verstappens!" She exclaimed at him, letting him drag her along to the corner of the bar , out of sight from their friends. Tucked in the dark corner of the room, max glared down at her in disbelief.

"Are you saying that I'm ugly?!"

She rolled her eyes at him . Huffing. "No. Just that I can do better!" She shot back at him.

Max pulled a face at her, scoffing at her arrogance. "You'd be lucky to have me! You're not that great! You've got a nice face but everything else isn't as good!" He insulted her, reaching down to adjust her necklace so that the hook was at the back of her neck instead.

Cherrie didn't even flinch at his hand near her neck, used to him fixing her clothing and jewellery for her. He had been doing it ever since he overheard her complaining about her hair getting caught in her necklace to her friend once.

It was the same way that Cherrie silently fixed his tie for him at events , muttering that she was going to strangle him with it if he continued to do it so sloppily. It was their weird normal.

"Shut up! I'm not pretending to be your girlfriend max. That means I'll have to spend time with you... willingly." She complained , leaning against the wall with a huff .

Max stood in front of her with his hands pressed to his hips. Frowning at her . "Come on Cherrie! I can't be humiliated like this. They'd never let me live it down. They've all got these perfect relationships and it just- I just was sick or being teased for be the only single one alright?" He sighed out to her, looking at her pleadingly . "I wouldn't ask this of you for no reason..."

She looked at him in silence for a moment , chewing on the inside of her cheek with a pissed off frown that he was dragging her into this and asking her to lie to her friends too.

"What do I get out of it? I don't want a boyfriend yet." She whined , looking up at him with a pissy pout on her face .

Max sighed, rolling his eyes at her. "Hawaii?"

She paused , pout quickly disappearing at the thought of a free holiday. "Two weeks?"

"One week." He negotiated.

She looked at him sternly "two weeks. And I want to drive your new Ferrari for a week too." She told him with a grin, wrapping her arm around his neck loosely as she looked up at him through her dark lashes prettily .

Max pursed his lips, looking down at her, unimpressed . "Two weeks and you're not going anywhere near my car."

She sighed dramatically, slowly going to pull away from him as she casually shrugged her shoulders at him. "Well I guess you can go back there and explain to them that you lied about me being your girlfriend"

Max groaned loudly and quickly pulled her back to him, rolling his head in defeat. "Fine. But You're not driving it without me being in the passenger seat." He sighed out .

She let out a small squeal, clapping her hands together in excitement while max tried to hide his amused smile at her behaviour. Shaking his head at her .

"Yay! I can't wait! Okay!" She grinned up at him happily, mood completely taking a full turn at getting a free holiday and getting to drive his Ferrari too. "Let's go then boyfriend!"

She stepped away from him and starting to walk back in the direction of the table where the rest of the drivers were sat, confidently strutting ahead of him while he hurried to catch up to her. Reaching to take ahold of her hand , making her look over her shoulder at him In surprise.

"We need to hold hands. Look affectionate . Otherwise they’re never gonna believe it." He told her , his lips twitching as he intertwined their fingers together slowly , watching her look down at their hands with a grimace. Unused to the casual affection from him.

The closest their hands had been was when they were slapping at eachother childishly during another petty argument.

"Why?" She blurted out , looking confused. She was never that affectionate with her past boyfriends either . She hasn't grown up with people hugging each other or her. Her family were never the caring or affectionate type.

In fact , the last time any of her parents had hugged her was for a press photo at her schools graduation.

She was used to casual moves. She had no problem sticking her tongue down someone's throat in a crowded room. But holding hands? She never held hands with anyone. It felt too intimate . Which she knew was ridiculous.

But she couldn't help it. Her arm erupted in goosebumps as she felt max softly caress her knuckles with his thumb , fixing the strap of her dress with his free hand casually. His eyes never leaving her flushed face .

"Because that's what couples do. Try to be nice?" He muttered to her with a teasing grin, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his as he slowly led them over to the table.

Charles already frowning up at them, looking like he was questioning his whole life

Cherrie didn't answer him. Just shoving him down into the booth and plopping herself down on his lap, giving him a smirk when he let out a startled huff, his pupils widening as he glanced up at her in surprise.

She just wrapped her arm around his neck loosely , feeling everyone's shocked eyes on them.

He wanted her to be nice and affectionate? Alright. She could do that. She'd show him how nice she could be.

It was with that sly thought in mind that she meant her head down and kissed him square on the mouth, a loud and noisy kiss. More for show than anything. Hearing max inhale sharply as he wrapped his own arm around her hips, his eyes fluttering closed as he tightened his grip around hips in response.

Kissing her back more gently than she kissed him, tasting her coconut lipgloss against his lips before she pulled away with a soft hum. Wiping gently at his now lipstick stained lips with her thumb, tapping his cheek with a smirk as she took in his flustered face as he swallowed thickly.

She then casually looked around the table at the gobsmacked friends and smiled brightly. "Having a good night guys?" She chirped at them, reaching for the cocktail glass in Charles hand and swiftly stealing it from him.

Charles was too busy gaping at the two of them to care, his eyes flickering bwgeeen them rapidly in shock. "But- Cherrie- what the fuck?!" He stammered out in disbelief , feeling like he was going crazy.

Because since when was his best friend dating and kissing max verstappen?

Cherrie just shrugged casually , lifting the glass to her lips about to take a sip before max swooped in and took it from her. Setting it aside on the table and handing her his bottle of beer instead, not wanting her to drink from the same glass as Charles.

Cherrie just gave him a amused glance, rolling her eyes at him. Max just raising his eyebrows at her with a small shrug, not explaining himself.

"What?" She acted like she had no idea why he looked so shocked. As though it was normal for her to be kissing max instead of fighting with him.

Charles looked at her in disbelief "what?! What do you mean what?! What are you doing? What is this?!" He motioned between her and max with his finger . Mystified and wondering what the hell was going on.

Max smirked at him as he hugged himself against her back, squeezing his arms around her waist , sighing softly as she buried her hand into his hair and gently scratched her nails against his scalp soothingly.

"Me and max are.." she tried not to cringe at the thought of saying boyfriend and girlfriend. "Fucking." She ended up saying instead like the mature woman she was.

Max rolled his eyes at her "we're dating." He corrected her , giving her a look.

She just shrugged "same thing." She muttered leaning back against him and getting comfortable on his lap.

"No it isn't." He muttered back to her.

"Yes it is. That's my dating."

"Just- just shut up." He sighed. Shoving the bottle of beer into her mouth to shut her up and to stop her from arguing with him.

Charles was gaping at them in disbelief "Cherrie! Why didn't you tell me? You told me that you wanted to strangle him yesterday!" He reminded her with wide eyes, wondering what the hell he was missing.

They both paused , Cherrie clearing her throat as she felt max scowling at her, his fingers squeezing her hips a little harder this time.

She smiled sheepishly , laughing as she patted Max's shoulder repeatedly. "Oh ya know!.. that was just..foreplay!" She exclaimed , grinning proud of herself for covering their backs with that one.

Max tried not to face palm, instead digging his forehead against her shoulder blades and trying not to scream. Holy fuck was she a terrible liar.

He glanced up at their friends disbelieving faces and grimaced. Oh dear. He was fucked. Completely fucked if she kept this up.

"I love wrapping my hands around his throat and.." she placed her hand around his throat , her mischievous eyes meeting his amused ones as she mimicked strangling him. Laughing loudly at the unimpressed look he gave her. "Just -yee haw!"

Daniel was laughing hysterically while lando looked between the two of them in amusement , eyeing Max's blushing face, cherries hands around his neck while she grinned obliviously at her best Friend casually. Charles just looked at her in disbelief , speechless.

"Yee haw?" Lando snickered , eyeing the two of them with a grin.

Max shifted in his seat , swallowing as he felt Cherrie shuffle around on his lap again. Swinging her body sideways so that she could rest her feet against the seat instead, her body still facing their friends as she sipped at her beer casually. Not at all bothered by what was going on.

"Yeah. Cause when I ride him-" max slapped his hand over her mouth before she could even finish her sentence but the damage had already been done.

Their friends were laughing at his flustered face while Charles just looked like he was going to be sick.

"But.. max Cherrie? Since when is he your type?" Charles still couldn't believe it. Frowning at her in confusion.

Cherrie swallowed her beer and simply shrugged, glancing down at max silently for a moment. Eyes flittering around his features , lingering on his lipstick stained pout for a moment too long before looking away.

She sighed "I like it when guys bully me." She said.

Pierre gave her a amused look "have you tried therapy? That seems like a personal issue." He snorted. Not at all surprised by her comment. He had heard her say crazier and more unusual things before.

Cherrie looked over at him with a grin, unbothered by the looks she was receiving from around the table. Ranging between amused, concerned and confused.

"Why do I need therapy when I have max to bully me? I mean just one insult and whooooo-" she might have been a little drunk at this point. Having already been drinking endless cocktails before max had even arrived . "My panties are gone! I love it when he's mean- it turns me on-" she told them shamelessly , giggling.

Max carefully pried the bottle from her hands , setting it aside quickly. Laughing awkwardly as he flushed bright red , patting cherries side with a small , amused grin.

"Okayyyy I think- I think we're gonna go!" Be announced . Pulling Cherrie up to her feet before she could even blink. Wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her as she wobbled on her heels , winking up at him drunkenly.

He had to laugh. It looked more like she had something in her eye than a wink. But she looked cute trying. He could give her that.

"Charles!" She said way louder than necessary making him cringe . Her best friend looked up at her tiredly . Far too confused to be dealing with her shit.

"I'll tell you everything.. but not tonight because this is my night. And Max's night. And max is gonna take me home. Aren't you max?" She rambled , hugging him from the side as she clung onto him with a drunken grin. Batting her eyelashes up at him.

He laughed and nodded his head, helping her out of the booth. "Yes I am." He agreed . Grabbing his jacket from his chair and helping her put it on so that she wouldn't be cold when they got outside in her tiny dress.

He huffed as she almost slapped him with her arm, leaning all of her weight against him as she made it more difficult for him to fasten up the jacket. Giggling like a naughty child as she moved around, trying to see Charles properly over his broad shoulders .

"Love you!" She called over to him, waving her hand at them chaotically.

Charles sighed long and hard. "Love you too but this isn't over!" He warned them, more to max than Cherrie. Narrowing his eyes at him. "I still don't believe this." He said . Not believing his lie.

Max just looked at him blankly "I don't care what you believe. It's the truth." He countered back, untucking cherries hair from his jacket so it didn't pull and hurt her head. "So..." he gave him a sarcastic smile, shrugging dramatically . "Bye bye!"

And with that max practically carried Cherrie out of the bar while she giggled incoherently against his neck, hugging him and refusing to let go.

So far. Max would say that it was going well. And he felt like he was definitely getting the full girlfriend experience when he was sat behind her on his knees at three o'clock in the morning , holding back her hair while she threw up her body's worth in liquor. Sobbing against the toilet lid as she promised to never drink again, max patting her back with a grimace as she babbled away to him tearfully.

It reminded him quickly that even the beautiful ones were a complete mess sometimes. And he had to laugh when he wiped her mouth and brushed her teeth for her, her eyes blackened with mascara from crying. Clinging onto him , still drunk and still such a mess as she spoke around the toothbrush tearfully

"Am i a good girlfriend yet?"

He just laughed and wiped her makeup streaked face with a wet towel affectionately. "You're doing a great job honey."

A week later and Cherrie was stood in front of her mirror , turning this way and that way as she tried on different dresses. Max sat at the end of her bed with his head resting in his hands, watching her get ready quietly.

"Do we have to go? I think they already believe us." She whined a little , not wanting to go to fancy restaurant when she could just stay at home instead.

Over the past week max and her and hung out almost everyday to sell their act. The first day that max had arrived at her door with a grin and a demand to come golfing with their friends, Cherrie had threatened to run him over with the golfing kart.

Now , when he turned up at her door with a smile and a invitation to dinner with their friends , Cherrie had greeted him with a smile and dragged him to her bedroom to give him a small Fashion show of all her new dresses that she had bought . Max just humming along and nodding at them all, telling her that she looked pretty in them all.

"Yes we do. Do you really want to say no to free food?" He knowingly looked at her , fidgeting with the heels in his hands that she was having him hold onto while she tried to find ones that looked best with her dress.

Cherrie sighed loudly "no." She mumbled as she clipped earrings into her ears with a pout. "But still..oh my god..." she got distracted by her own reflection. Running her hands over the dress in amazement.

Eyes going dramatically wide as she looked in the mirror and met max eyes that were already on her . He hadn’t looked away from her since the moment she opened the door to her home and let him in with that damn smile lighting up her pretty face .

“Do you think my ass has gotten bigger?!" She wondered , Turning to the side again and running her hands over her butt in the skintight dress she was wearing , admiring herself with a small smile.

Max looked down at her ass silently , blinking heavily as he bit down on his lip, slowly nodding his head up and down in a daze.

“Yeah ..it's - it’s perkier." He said in amazement , unable to look away. Instead he slid his eyes up to her chest that was hanging out of the thin material too.

He grinned cheekily at her "I think your boobs have gotten bigger too." He told her casually. As though they were chatting about the weather.

Cherrie turned around with a loud giggle, looking pleased. "I know right! My bra size has gone up! Isn't it amazing? I mean .." she gushed confidently , excitedly. "I can't wait till Hawaii. I'm going to look amazing in a bikini!" She exclaimed.

Max chuckled , nodding his head along to her as he handed her heels back . Smiling to himself when she placed her hand on his shoulder to balance herself as she quickly put them on. Her chest right in his face as he shamelessly stared at her definitely bigger than before boobs in awe.

"For sure. I think your mouth has gotten bigger too."

She slapped the back of his head without missing a beat as she straightened back up, rolling her eyes at his teasing as he laughed loudly at her reaction . Grinning up at her slyly.

"Asshole!" She picked up her clutch bag and strutted out of her bedroom, max quickly hot on her heels . "Anything you want me to do tonight?"

Max groaned loudly like he was in pain "don't say stuff like that Cherrie! You're setting yourself up!" He almost whined. So many jokes and such little time.

Cherrie just giggled and let him take a hold of her hand again, used to it now. "Ya know.. this is going to ruin my reputation. Holding hands and all that.." she told him as she locked up behind her, max swinging their hands between them happily .

He looked down at her in amusement , smirking. "You're whorish reputation?" He mused , laughing at the look she gave him. Exasperated.

She huffed at him, side eyeing him as they walked down to the restaurant that was around the corner from her apartment where they had agreed to meet their friends.

"Yes actually." She said proudly , not ashamed of her whore era at all. "How am I going to bag a footballer now?" She joked, grinning up at him teasingly.

Max snickered "are they any left? You've already gone through them all haven't you?" He shot back at her with a shit eating grin.

Laughing hysterically when she started hitting him with her clutch bag, cursing him out . Paying no Mind to the looks they were getting as they entered the restaurant, max leading her over to their table while laughing still.

"That's unnecessary! It wasn't that many!" She complained to him. Handing him her clutch bag absentmindedly as she smiled to their friends.

Max took the mini pink bag from her, holding it casually as he pulled out the chair for her . "Just a team or two.." he grinned unable to help himself from winding her up.

She huffed , sliding into her seat carelessly. "Keep trying me max. I will body you." She threatened him , picking up her wine glass that Charles had already ordered her. Taking a big gulp , oblivious to the amused stares they were getting from around the table. Too immersed in their own little bickering bubble to care.

"In bed?" He resorted cheekily , laughing when she just rolled her eyes at him.

Charles looked at her with a small smile, still not used to the sight of the two of them together . Watching the way max passed her a napkin and topped up her wine for her as their food was served.

"Are you coming to qualifying next week?" Charles asked her. The two of them usually travelling together and Cherrie hanging out in the Ferrari garage supporting him.

She glanced over at him apologetically "er- no. I'm gonna hang out with max this time. Cause he's-" she hesitated , glancing over at max who gave her a small encouraging nod. Still not used to calling him

Her boyfriend. Fake or not. "-My boyfriend and I should support him right?" She poked at her plate with a small grimace after taking a few small bites.

Charles frowned at her "and I'm your best friend. You're team Ferrari . Not redbull."

Max smirked at him smugly "actually she is team redbull now seeing as she's dating their driver.

No more red." He proudly stated . Before glancing over at Cherrie when she made another small huff.

"What?" He muttered , raising a brow at her curiously.

She nudged at her plate with a small sigh "I don't like the chicken." She muttered with a subtle pout , glancing over at his steak with hearts in her eyes.

Max frowned back at her , completely exasperated "why did you get it then?!" He countered back. Used to her doing this by now.

Just last night they had gotten a takeaway, a pizza for her and a Chinese noodles for him. He hadn't even gotten to take a second bite of his food before she was eyeing up his plate with a pout, giving him pleading eyes as she told him that she didn't fancy pizza anymore.

She was an absolute nuisance!

"Because I wanted it when I ordered it but now I don't . Can we swap?" She asked him hopefully, eyeing up his steak, not even bothering to be subtle about it now. She knew that she would get her own way eventually , a few pretty blinks of her lashes at him and he was done for .

Max huffed at her "absolutely not. You've made your bed so lie in it." He told her firmly .

Lando and Charles could only watch in silent disbelief as Cherrie pouted at him, nudging his arm quietly , tilting her head at him prettily, looking at him pleadingly. Going all out with the puppy look towards him, seconds away from whining too.

She had no shame. Especially not where food was involved.

And max caved . Max, who didn't share food.

Max, who had threatened to break lando's fingers the last time he had tried to take a slice of his pizza for himself .

He slid his plate over to Cherrie and swapped their plates with a exasperated sigh, giving her a judgmental side eye as he did so.

"You're so annoying. You need help." He muttered to her before taking a bite of the chicken , watching her happily dig into his steak with a pleased look on her pretty face.

Lando looked over at him in pure disbelief "how come you'll give her your food but not me?" He exclaimed loudly making them both glance over at him with matching , uninterested looks on their faces.

Oh wow. He thought grimacing. They have the matching bitch looks down to a T now. That was scary.

Max just shrugged , hiding his grin behind his fork as he swallowed his bite before answering him. "Because if I don't she'll just take it anyway." Plain and simple .

Cherrie nodded along to his statement proudly , grinning at them slyly. "Yes I would. A good woman takes what she wants, whenever she wants it." She told them seriously , taking lando's glass of wine and sliding it over to herself . Taking no mind of him gasping and trying to take it back from her.

She just pretended she couldn't hear or see him, sipping on it happily.

Max just shook his head at her "that's a crime. You're a criminal Cher." He laughed, grinning over at her in amusement.

Charles's scowled deepened "Cher?" He muttered , unable to believe that she had gone from being called a bitch by him to a affectionate 'Cher' so quickly.

Max glanced at him with a subtle smirk "yes. Cher. Baby. Love of my life. Fire to my loins-" he started listing off nicknames , Cherrie giggling beside him at the repulsed looks Charles was giving them.

"By the way.. I'm going to Hawaii next week Charles. Can you look after my cat?" She blurted out to him suddenly , recalling her upcoming plans.

Her suitcases were already packed and max had booked their tickets the moment that they had gotten home after she had agreed to play along as his girlfriend. Only things had gotten more serious and real than either of them could have Expected but in a good way.

Cherrie seemed to genuinely forget that they were playing pretend , having been enjoying spending time with max one on one. He was a lot funnier than she gave him credit for when she wasn't so set on picking a fight with him.

Who would have thought that the man that made her scream in fury the most , could also make her laugh like a hyena with his stupid jokes?

"Hawaii? Why? Since when? I thought we were going to Spain for holidays this summer.." he said while looking at her in confusion. Having heard nothing of these sudden plans.

She just shrugged "max is taking me. The pool has a pool ontop of a pool Charles! A pool with a pool right in front of an ocean view man.." she sighed dreamily , already picturing herself laying in the sun and swimming all day.

Lando looked at max, impressed. "Wow! What's this for... a anniversary? or did you fuck up that bad already that you had no choice but to leave the country?" He joked . Giggling to himself as he looked between the two of them. Not at all surprised by their closeness now that he had time to think it over.

It actually made sense to him he supposed . He knew that max only wound her up because it was the only way he could think of to get her attention , bypassing hello and going straight to annoying her instead.

But someone that hated someone so much wouldn't look for them in a crowded room and get all pouty when they couldn't find them there.

And if max hated her so much then he wouldn't have spent the last year chasing off any man that even so much as looked twice at her. That wasn't normal for 'enemies'.

And it was the same for Cherrie too. For someone that claimed to hate him so much , she spent a awful lot of time talking about him.And she spent a awful lot of time willingly in his company too.

Considering that Charles was her best friend and not max, she spent more time in the red bull hospitality than she did in Ferrari. Claiming the she was just going to wind max up some more , to 'jinx him' for his race so that he wouldn't win.

But Lando had once seen the two of them having a intense game of Mario kart , bickering at each other, sat thigh to thigh as they carried on like they were the best of friends. They would deny it but Lando had heard them laugh together and make plans for a rematch after the race.

And what kind of people that 'hated' each other played mario kart together willingly?

"Just a holiday. No reason other than Cherrie is starting to disappear into the walls without her tan." Max casually replied, quickly finishing up with his food and picking up the fancy desert menu as he waited for everyone else to be done with their first course meal.

Cherrie nodded along in agreement with a serious look on her face . Swallowing her bite before replying "so fucking true. I was going to put on a white shirt this morning but then I looked into the mirror and could only see my hair. I'm fading away."

Max snorted , chuckling to himself as he shook his head. Grinning at the sigh of misery she let out.

"So sad. Can't think of anything worse than you being pale." He muttered sarcastically, laughing loudly when she reached out and smacked his forearm without even glancing at him. Muscle memory by now .

"Shut up max." Was all she muttered back to him before focusing her attention back to her best friend, shifting in her seat once she finally noticed the contemplative look that he was giving the two of them.

She hated having to lie to Charles, she really did but honestly ... it was a little fun winding up their friends like this. And she was having fun bickering with max without their usual aggressiveness and truthful threats.

When she told max she was going to kill him before, she usually meant it. Now when she told him that, they both knew that she was just joking around. No harm done. Not at all serious with her violent warnings anymore.

It was nice. She kind of wished that max had come up with the idea of being her fake boyfriend before this. It might have been a more easier and less tense few years between the two of them.

"You should hang out with us tomorrow night Charles!" She suddenly suggested , both of their heads snapping towards her with two very different reactions.

Charles was smiling At her, pleased to finally have the chance to hang out with her again after being blown off for max lately . Meanwhile max was looking at her like she has completely lost her mind. Sighing loudly and crossing his arms over his chest like a pissy child that wasn't getting their own way.

"No way." He blurted out just at the same time that Charles replied with a pleased "sure! Sounds good!"

The two of them meeting eyes while Cherrie and Lando just looked between the two of them in vague amusement. Lando looking a little offended as he looked over at Cherrie with a frown "what about me? Can I come?"

Max scoffed "no. Neither of you are coming!"

Cherrie just smiled brightly "of course you can! I'll cook for us!" She exclaimed getting excited at the thought of getting to play around in Max's fancy kitchen.

All three men paused at her words , grimacing deeply as they shared wary looks between each other. Charles clearing his throat and refusing to be the one to tell her that was a bad idea.

Max easily did so, the only one unafraid to look Cherrie in her eyes and tell her straight. "No you're not. You'll put us all in hospital! Remember what happened when you baked us all cupcakes ?" He gave her a pointed look. Cherrie looking away with a stubborn purse of her lips.

"I ended up in a intimate relationship with my toilet Cherrie. So no. You will not be cooking." He sternly told her before adding on a firm "ever again."

Cherrie looked between them with a scowl. "That was baking! Cooking is different! I'm sure that I can handle making a - a chicken-" she tried to defend herself weakly.

Charles scoffed , shaking his Head at her wildly . "Absolutely not! You are not going anywhere near chicken Cherrie! You can kill us! You should not be anywhere near raw meat!" He exclaimed .

Still traumatised from all the others time that she had tried to 'cook' for them. All of them nights ending up with a horrific case of food poisoning that she always denied giving to them.

Max and Cherrie shared a smirk as the same dirty jokes filled their head. Snickering between each other little little kids. Cherrie snorting childishly as she nudged Max's arm repeatedly in a fit of giggles.

"There's some raw meat that I can handle just fine on my own-" she wiggled her eyebrows , still giggling only max was joining her this time. His cheeks flushing red when she winked at him suggestively.

Charles sighed loudly , looking at the two of them with a unimpressed look on his face while Lando cackled beside him.

"Children." He said shaking his head "you're all children."

An hour and a half later and Cherrie and max were saying their goodbyes to Charles and Lando , Cherrie quickly being dragged over to the corner of the exit door by Charles who insisted on speaking to her before they left.

"What's up?" She mumbled to him smiling, cheeks flushed from the endless jokes and wine that they had all shared over dinner.

Charles sighed quietly , looking at her for a moment with a serious look on his face. Enough to sober her up slightly as she realised that he wanted to 'talk', no doubt about her sudden relationship with max.

"What are you doing Cherrie?" Was all he said to her , hands on his hips as he waited for her to answer. Giving her a pointed look. "And don't lie to me. You've spent years denying even liking max as a person, never mind a friend.. and now you two are suddenly in love?" He scoffed, seeing right through her. He was her best friend after all.

Cherrie shifted on her feet, grimacing at the ache in her ankles from the high heels she was wearing. Wishing that she had worn her converse instead.

She looked at Cherrie silently for a moment , trying to gather her thoughts. A month ago and she would have been agreeing with him, happily cursing out max and talking shit about him to all her friends.

But now.. now she had a great night . A great week even. She was happy, she was fed and tired. All she wanted was for max to walk her home like he had been doing lately , wanted to talk to him about everything and nothing underneath the stars before saying goodnight with a warm embrace between them.

Something that max had taken to doing when she had casually told him one night that she wasn't used to easy affection like that. Her own parents had never hugged her after the age of six. And well, it has become the reason why she shied away and cringed from simple affectionate hugs. She simply wasn't used to it.

So max had made it his silent mission to fix that. When he arrived at her door, he greeted her with a smile and a hug. And when they said goodbye , he would pull her to her chest and let her hold onto him for as long as she deemed comfortable before pulling away.

And she was enjoying it. It was nice. Even if max was the same asshole that she had spent the past few years arguing with and getting in to petty fights with.

He was still the same asshole but so was she. She was a little bitch. A big mouthed asshole just like him.

And well, was that so bad? It was pretty fun to have someone you could be a cunt with without having to worry about offending them. The rude , the sarcasm and the insulting jokes just bouncing between the two of them perfectly.

She loved it. So she told Charles just that.

"I think that I've been taking max the wrong way this whole time. All those times that I thought he was insulting me because he hated me.." she sighed out with a small smile. Clutching onto her clutch and swaying slightly , glancing over her shoulder to see max grabbing something from the waiter after settling their checks.

"I think he was just copying my sense of humour Charles. What do you always jokingly call me when I've done something shocking again?" She looked at him with a raise of her brow, trying to prove a point.

Charles hesitated before sighing in realisation. "I call you a stupid bitch." He muttered, pursing his lips stubbornly when she let out a giggle.

She grinned "exactly. And I find it funny because I call you a dickhead too. And it's no harm right? That's just us being affectionate towards each other. That's our sweetheart or honey." She rambled to him, pulling Max's jacket that he had thrown around her shoulders even closer to her body.

Charles slowly nodded his head, still frowning. "Yeah but-"

She shook her head, cutting him off. "And max does the same thing. That time that I parked my car on golf terf because I thought that was what I should do.. what did he call while laughing?"

"A stupid bitch." He mumbled, looking away from her smug little face. Getting it now.

Cherrie laughed softly , glancing over at max again. Smiling to herself when he looked up and met her eyes, pulling a silly face at her. Then he shot her a middle finger and Cherrie stuck up both of hers at him in retaliation, both of them laughing beneath their breaths.

She looked back at Charles with a quiet sigh "exactly. And I went off on him because I didn't know him then. I thought he was just being mean even thought you called me the exact same thing when you found out what I did. I think I- I think I might have been deliberately taking everything he's said to me the wrong way so that I didn't have to face the truth." She told him quietly , looking down at the floor between them for a moment as she really thought about their past together .

Chewing on the inside of cheek as the lines between covering for max and telling the truth blurred until her honest feelings were spilling from her lips like the red wine she had been drinking all night long .

Charles looked at her curiously "and what's the truth?" He asked her quietly, giving up on being mad at her for keeping something like this from him as soon as he saw her swallow, eyes going glossy as she let out a long , shaky sigh.

A small, pitiful laugh escaping her as she shook her head at herself . "Fucking hell Charles...I like him. I like that asshole. I like his stupid jokes and his sarcasm. I like his bluntness and his lack of filter. I like the way we both laugh when we watch someone fall over instead of helping them.." she breathed out so in her own thoughts about max that she missed the squint of the eyes Charles gave her as she casually told him that she and max liked to laugh at people getting hurt.

"He- as stupid as it seems- he gets me. He's just as much of a cunt as I am!" She giggled , biting down on her bottom lip to suppress the silly grin that wanted to appear . Snapping out of her tipsy daze and looking back up at her best friend who was now just watching her silently, a look of realisation on his face .

There was a moment of silence between them before Charles slowly nodded his head , coming to a understanding then.

"I suppose I should of expected this really." He sighed, smiling at her as he brought her into a side hug. Seeing the way max kept peering over at them as he waited by the exit doors for them to be done talking.

“I Should have known that he liked you when you lost your phone on that night out . You and max were bickering about how stupidly clumsily you are..you ended up nearly fighting him in the parking lot. It was a pretty nasty fight." He recalled with a small laugh . "And then- then the next day he casually dropped a new phone into your bag alongside some painkillers for that hangover you had." He mused, smiling now. Wondering how he didn't see it sooner.

It was cherries turn to be speechless. Swallowing soundlessly as she glanced over at max who was texting on his phone as he waited for them impatiently . She could almost hear him huff and puff from here.

Then her phone buzzed in her hands and she glanced down at it to see max texting her.

Hurry the fuck up Cherrie! Do I need to remind you that You're wearing a dress?? Ten more minutes and your legs will turn into ice blocks. Do you want to get hypothermia?? Let's goooo!! Now!

She giggled and shut off her phone, a giddy feeling entering her chest as she looked back up into the knowing eyes of her best friend.

"Yeah..he did do that. That's not something someone who hated me would do is it?" It was more spoken to herself than Charles. Realisation hitting her hard.

And as she made a hasty goodbye to her best friend, she hurried back over to max as quickly as she could on her heels. Max rolling his eyes at her as she nearly tripped down the three steps that led to the open street.

Taking ahold of her arm to pull her into his side , wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her as they began their walk back to her apartment.

Huffing at her as he looked down at the sky high heels on her feet . "They make your legs look beautiful but there not good for you. You should keep a spare pair of trainers or flats in my car for next time.." he told her casually , stopping in his tracks for a moment as he slid himself around to the other side of her body So that he was the one walking on the side of the path closest to the road instead.

Then they continued walking as though nothing had happened . Cherrie leaning her cheek against his arm to hide her smile , sighing contently as she cuddled into his side. Sliding her arm around his own waist and squeezing his hip gently.

"Next time? There's gonna be a next time?" Her voice was quite and surprised.

Max just glanced down at her with a blank look on his face. No expression as he casually answered her (more like informed her) that "yes. There's going to be a lot more ‘next times’ . I liked getting dinner with you and our friends so we're definitely doing this again."

Cherrie just rolled her eyes at him with a snicker. Pinching his waist and making him flinch, shooting her a look to behave.

She pinched him again, laughing when he cursed her name loudly into the almost silent street. Still not removing himself from her side.

"Ok boyfriend. You can put my converse in your car then... maybe some sweatpants too." She mumbled tiredly . Yawning dramatically and missing the way max smiled to himself , his cheeks going pink as she called him her boyfriend so easily.

Neither were very good liars . Their feelings were written all over their flushed faces . It was a good job then that it was too dark to see the love in their eyes as they cuddled all the way home.

The next night and Cherrie let herself into Max's apartment excitedly , kicking off her shoes and hanging up her coat before rushing into the front room and scaring the living shit out of max who hadn't heard her come in.

"Max!" She exclaimed loudly , throwing herself over the back of the couch and landing clumsily by his side as he jumped half a foot into the air.

Gasping loudly in shock as he clutched at his racing heart with his hand, slapping her thigh scoldingly as he looked at her with wide eyes. "Cherrie you can't do that! I almost had a heart attack!" He shouted in shock. Leaning back against the couch with a huff as he tried to calm his poor pounding heart down again.

She just laughed and turned so that she was facing him on the couch. Crossing her legs beneath her with a grin as she held out her hand to him excitedly.

"Look what I found! It's you!" She exclaimed while showing him the toy redbull car that she had bought while getting gum at the local store.

Max glanced between her proud grin and the small toy car, feeling himself soften as he smiled back at her softly. Gently taking the car from her as he looked at it in amusement . "No Ferrari?" He couldn't help but remark. Smirking at her as she got comfortable beside him.

Glancing up at the tv and gasping once she noticed which movie was playing. A smug laugh escaping her as she slapped his arm "you're watching the labyrinth! You told me that you hated it!" She accused him, squinting her eyes at him.

Max pursed his lips, avoiding her knowing gaze. "Yeah well.. I changed my mind. Plus you talk about it so much that I thought I might as well give it a second chance.." he mumbled , fiddling with the toy car in his hands for something to do.

Cherrie smiled, heart melting . "Aw! Look at you- watching something just because I like it!"

He huffed "I didn't do it for you." He stubbornly denied.

She smirked . "Yes you did! I told you last night that the goblin king is the love of my life and now you're watching it! Your competition!" She teased him.

Max side eyed her. Crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. "I thought you didn't believe in falling in love." He threw back at her. Smirking smugly when she fell silent.

Looking at him quietly for a moment before clearing her throat , scratching at her collarbone awkwardly. "That- things change. And I didn't say that I didn't believe in love-"

Max scoffed , shifting on the couch and stretching out his legs so that they encased her body between them. Used the heel of his foot to press into the bottom of her back, pushing her between his legs even further, Without a word even being said.

Cherrie just shuffled over and wrapped her arm around his bent knee. Resting her chin on her arm as she looked at him. Their faces only a hands length away.

"You said that falling in love is for stupid people." He stated matter of factly . Amused as he carefully slid his arms around her lower hips , watching closely for her reaction to his touch.

She just sank into him with a soft sigh, picking at a loose thread on his jeans. Eyes to his neck instead of meeting his own As she mumbled "yeah well- I categorise myself as stupid people sometimes." Quietly. Barely audible if they hadn't had been so close.

Max paused. Eyeing her closely as he felt his heart Jump in his chest. One hand sliding up from her hip to her waist as he gave it a gentle squeeze, never taking his eyes from her pretty face. Inhaling deeply as he watched the way her nose twitched , her eyelashes fluttering as she refused to meet his curious gaze.

"Yeah? You believe in it now?" The hope in his voice sickened him. Yet the way she sheepishly glanced up to him with a shy smile tugging at her painted red lips had him grinning like a fool.

Maybe he categorised himself as stupid people now too. Only if she did as well.

She sighed shakily , carefully wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Tugging at it gently between her fingers as Max's eyelids lowered , tilting his head up to her as she knelt up on her knees so that she was above him now.

It gave her the confidence to laugh softly , taking in the way his breathing grew uneven beneath her. His face a permanent shade of red since the moment she had arrived.

She smiled down at him in defeat. "Yeah I do. Some mean little bitch made me fall in love even though I didn't want to. And even though I still want to strangle him sometimes.." she leaned her face down closer to his own so that their noses brushed together gently .

Max let out a soft laugh, their darkened eyes briefly meeting before they fluttered closed again.

"Don't talk about yourself like that." He breathed out teasingly before closing the gap between them and kissing her before she could say something snarky back to him again.

He kissed her like he should have kissed her so long ago. Clinging onto her body as she lowered herself down above him, fingers sliding into his hair to pull his head back as she deepened the kiss. Straddling his hips as he slid his hands up her thighs , taking the soft material of her dress up with his fingers too.

Between hungry kisses, max panted against her mouth breathlessly "you-this isn't fake Cherrie." Needing her to know that this had never been fake to him. Not even for one moment.

Was it a stupid idea to trick her into being his 'fake' girlfriend instead of just finding his balls and asking her out? Maybe a little bit.

But did he really care? No fucking way. Because at the end of the day he had the love of his life straddling his lap with her dress riding up her hips as she kissed him like he was her air, their tongues brushing together messily as she cupped his jaw and scraped her nails against his scalp while she grinded her hips down onto his own.

Max moaning lowly against her swollen lips as she smirked smugly, nudging their noses together as she whispered . "I know max." Her fingers hurriedly unbuttoning his shirt .

Max panted as he followed her rushed movements, quickly pulling her dress up over her head. Eyes wide and lips parted in awe as he gazed down at her body , swallowing thickly as his heart raced in his chest.

"You do? You get it now?" He muttered against her skin as he kissed over her shoulder and down to her chest . Pulling her closer to him till there was no space between them. The toy car falling to the ground as max flipped them over so that her back was against the couch with him hovering over her this time.

Pulling away to breath , he looked down at her with a affectionate smirk tugging at his swollen and stained red lips. Panting breathlessly as Cherrie looked up at him with a small smile .

"That you like me?"

He huffed out a laugh . That was an understatement.

"That I love you moron. And I want this to be real.

No more play pretend." He corrected her, heart in his mouth as he waited for her reaction to his love.

But Cherrie just smiled and nodded her head casually . Wrapping her legs around his waist to pull him close again, running her fingers through his hair.

"Okay. Sounds good." Was all she muttered. Giggling girlishly at the way Max's eyes went wide , his breathing hitching as he looked down at her in surprise.

"Okay? That easy?" He couldn't believe it. Having expected some bickering or smart ass comments on her behalf.

Instead he was getting soft eyes and an open heart. Max almost wanted to cry when she smiled up at him as though everything was going to okay.

Because it was. Finally.

"That easy." She confirmed kissing him again , smiling against his lips as she murmured. "I love you max. You're such a asshole but you’re my asshole."

Max couldn't have kissed her any harder if he tried. Then his pants went flying over their heads, her bra landing on a lamp in the corner of the room as max showed her just how much he loved her right there on his couch.

Completely forgetting about their guests for the evening who let themselves in after knocking for a while and getting no answer.

Charles Impatiently huffing as he held the bags full of takeout in his hands while Lando held onto a bottle of champagne for them to share.

"What if he's murdered her?" Charles worried after knocking for the fourth time and getting no answer. His protectiveness kicking in full force. Cherrie was his best friend and as much as he could see now that they liked each other. He still didn't trust max in the slightest.

In his head .. no man would ever be good enough for his best friend.

Lando snorted a laugh "don't you mean her killing max? Cherrie is the crazy one." He said while grinning.

Charles frowned over at him "she's not crazy . She's-" he struggled to find the right word for her chaotic behaviour. "She's-creative." He settled with.

Lando giggled at him "yeah . Creative with her threats. Didn't she say she was going to unhinge his jaw if he ever ate her pasta again last month when we were getting lunch at the track?" He reminded him in amusement.

Charles sighed loudly , looking exasperated. "Obviously! It was good pasta and max just ate it all!" He defended her easily . "And anyways- oh my god-" he paused mid sentence as they both froze as they heard noises coming from inside the apartment.

A loud whine and grunting had both Charles and Lando freezing warily, exchanging concerned glances as they then glanced back to the door in front of them.

Another loud scream had Lando worriedly biting his nails . "You don't think they're - you don't think that they are actually killing each other so you? It's sounds like someone's in pain!" He whisper shouted at Charles. Clutching onto his oversized bottle of champagne worriedly.

They heard cursing and then Max's voice grunting "Cherrie-fuck! I'm gonna-" before a woman's cry sounded out through the door.

And automatically Charles thought the worst. Eyes widening as worry shot through him like a sharp arrow to his chest.

"I knew that something was wrong! He's attacking her!" He exclaimed angrily before bursting through Max's door without any hesitation. Ready to rescue his best friend from his evil clutches. Lando quickly scurrying after him .

"Cherrie! Don't worry I'm here to save you-!" He called out loudly as they both came skidding around the hallway corridor and into the front room.

Screeching to a abrupt stop as Lando let out a shriek of horror from beside him as they looked at the scene playing out in front of them.

Both max and Cherrie's head snapping over to them in shock. Naked and tangled around each other , and definitely not fighting .

"Oh my god. You guys are fucking." Charles blurted out in shock. Glancing between the two of them with a sheepish chuckle as the both of them slapped their hands over their eyes quickly.

Lando was gagging frantically beside him "my eyes! My eyes! I've just seen Max's-"

Max huffed loudly as he carefully rolled off of Cherrie , passing her his shirt to throw on as he pulled his boxers back up over his hips. Glaring at the two of them in annoyance .

"What the fuck?! Can't you knock?!" He shouted at them with a scowl as he buttoned his shirt to cover up cherries body. Untucking her messy 'I've just had sex' hair from the collar so that it wouldn't pull at her scalp painfully .

Charles scoffed at him "we did! Like a hundred times! We heard noises and thought someone was in pain!" He defended them loudly .

Lando still moaning like he was scarred for life beside him. Bashing his head against the wall as he tried to get the image of Max's ass and dick from his brain to go away.

Cherrie just giggled as she got off the couch, making sure that the shirt covered everything it needed to before bouncing over to their friends shamelessly, unbothered by being caught mid fuck. It wasn't the first time that this had happened in her life , probably wouldn't be the last either.

"We really need to lock the door behind us next time." Max muttered with a annoyed sigh . Running a hand through his hair that was ticking up in every direction , glancing over at Cherrie and silently admiring the way she looked in his shirt .

"I don't know why you're so pale Charles. You've walked in on me getting railed before." She casually mentioned as she walked into the kitchen to get them large glasses for the champagne that Lando had brought.

Charles scowled at the both of them while Lando collapsed onto the dining table chair, taking deep breaths and unable to look max in his eye now.

Max scowled too at the thought of Cherrie with anybody else , huffing underneath his breath as he snatched the bags of takeaway from Charles hand so that he could plate them up.

"But-but it's max! It's very different! I didn't know all those guys!" He exclaimed. Glaring at max in disgust. "Defiling my best friend! How dare you!"

Max rolled his eyes "shut up. She's fucked around with half of the top favourite footballers and actors.. and singers.. and billionaires and-"

Cherrie frowned over at her now real boyfriend "hey! Do you mind not making me sound like a slut max?"

He just gave her a pointed look. Kissing the side of her head apologetically as he passed her to get the plates. "Cherrie. I love you so much but- there was about two years of you slutting around. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have a past.” He simply replied.

Cherrie pulled a face back at them "I'm not ashamed. I'm proud of myself . It's quite impressive really isn't it? And about three of them wanted to marry me-" she proudly grinned. Reaching up to give max a quick kiss before forcing Charles to sit down at the table, seemingly still frozen in shock by the doorway, still traumatised from what they had walked into.

Max scoffed and pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at her as he slid her plate of food to her first. "The only man you'll be marrying is me." He stated to her casually like it was no big deal.

Charles looked like he was about to have a stroke. While Lando had quickly gotten over his horror as soon as the plate of food was put in front of him.

Glancing up from his plate as he shovelled a spoonful of noodles onto his mouth, looking over at Cherrie curiously. "Cherrie?"

"Yeah?" She slid Charles a extra large glass of champagne. Patting his back encouragingly as he gaped between her and max, still in shock.

"Are your tits real?" He asked her. Genuinely curious .

Max and Charles snapped their heads over to him in disbelief . "Lando!"

Max scowled "that's my girlfriend ! Watch it!"

Cherrie just smiled and nodded her head, completely unbothered as she dug into her food. Max wrapping his hand around the arm of her chair and pulling at it, with her sitting in it calmly, pulling it to be beside him so that they were side by side instead.

"Yeah they are. Nice huh?" She winked at Lando jokingly. Patting Max's thigh when he glared at her, huffing at her in disbelief.

Lando grinned , laughing loudly at the look on Max's face . Enjoying winding him up far too much now.

"Very lovely." He agreed with a grin before motioning between the two of them with his finger. "So.. this is very real then? The two of you?"

Cherrie and max glanced at eachother with knowing smirks, laughing beneath their breaths. She nudged Max's arm gently with her own, max leaning down to give her another kiss. Just because he could now.

And also because he loved seeing the way Charles grimaced at him in disgust . "Best friend stealer." Charles mouthed at him with narrowed eyes. Miming stabbing him with his fork.

Max just snorted and gave him the middle finger.

He grinned "it's always been real. We're in love and this.." he looked down at Cherrie with nothing with love in his eyes. "Is a forever thing. So you might as well get used to seeing me around her now Charles. Because she my best friend now."

And Cherrie had to hold Charles back before he could throw himself across the dining table for that comment.

Giving her smirking , finally real , boyfriend a shake of her head as he continued to wind up Charles for the rest of the night. Deliberately kissing her in front of him and telling Charles that if he was lucky he could be one of her bridesmaids at their future wedding.

And just like that. They were in love. And their friends were traumatised for life.

#f1 imagine #formula one imagine #f1 oneshot #f1 fic #formula 1 imagine #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen fic

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sungbeam · 1 year ago

Text

𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬

nonidol!lee hyunjae x f!reader

6.7k words (my hand slipped, sorry), fluff, angst, low-key e2l, ex friends 2 implied lovers?, low-key rich kid au, swearing, drinking and drunk talks/crying, a shitty situation, a bitchy ex gf, uhh very low-key hurt/comfort?, lots of mentions of pizza and soft drinks, THE PLOT IS SO RUSHED IM SORRY I CRAMMED.

a/n: requests now closed! whew,,, what a doozy 😭 im sorry if it feels rushed bc it low-key really was such a rushed and ambitious plot on my part. to the anon who requested it, ik it's not exactly what u asked for and im sorry ><

The pizzeria was like your second home. Maybe it was your home, but you weren't sure if calling a pizza place your home was the best word. It acted as your bubble away from academic responsibilities, family obligations, and anything else you wanted to forget. For the past three years of your college career, you made this place your comfort spot, while also picking up some spare change.

Your friend and co-worker Dae bumped her hip with yours as she passed by you with her hands full of empty plastic cups to refill. "Your group of banshees just walked in," she mused, slipping past you to the fountain drink machine on the bar counter.

Your head perked up and watched the front door on the other side of the room open to let a wave of your friends in. Dae liked to joke that your friend group consisted of a bunch of "banshees" from how loud they could be. You couldn't blame her at all; it was hilariously accurate. On a bad night, the group's volume could reach levels of a nightmare baby being birthed from the Devil's anus.

"Yn-ie!" Chanhee and Jacob waved to you as the group of five made their way through the tight spaces between tables.

"Hey, guys," you greeted them. "You're so lucky a group just left." You nodded toward the circular table in the back corner where your friends often made their home. It was big enough to seat seven—ten, if you squished—but it was almost always for you and your friends.

The pizzeria's owner and your boss, Mr. Moretti, usually didn't mind your friends occupying the space. You were pretty sure he was glad your friends were hiding themselves away in the back. (Not because of the merriment, just because of the noise. Some customers just wanted pizza and a quiet night, and you could respect that.)

"Waitress! Waitress!" Changmin screeched, waving one of his hands around like a lunatic.

You came up to the table with an unimpressed look on your face, and Kevin wrestled his neighbor back into this seat. "Okay, so Changmin doesn't get to eat tonight," you drawled and braced your hands on the backs of Sunwoo and Chanhee's chairs.

"I was just wondering how long it takes for someone to get service around here," Changmin jested. He feigned one of those pompous brushes of his hair, mocking one of the rich pricks who had come in here last month thinking that the RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE sign didn't apply to him. Changmin broke into a lopsided grin at your arched brows. "What? I think I'm funny."

Your eyes widened in a silent 'Can you believe this guy?'

"He's sugar high because someone let him get to the cupcakes," Kevin directed his flat gaze to his counterpart, Jacob.

Jacob's hands lifted in innocence. "What? No one was eating them, and he said he was hungry."

"Okay, drinks, folks!" You clapped to regain their attention. You did, after all, have other customers. "What're we feeling tonight?"

A chorus of drink orders flew up into the air—coke, iced water, Sprite, lemonade—and you nodded, stepping away to grab them those very beverages. Your friends had all been here enough times to know exactly what was on the menu, so while you stepped away briefly for their drinks, they could deliberate and get back to you as soon as you returned.

Like a well oiled machine, you delivered them their drinks, and Kevin doled out the lineup for tonight.

"You know, I was thinking of painting my nails black," Kevin said as he finished off the order. He held his hand out in front of him, inspecting the state of his bare nails.

Sunwoo straightened in his seat. "We should do it together, hyung!—I mean… you could probably paint my nails. I dunno if you should trust me with one of those thin ass brushes."

"You're right," Chanhee chimed in, "we shouldn't."

You snickered to yourself as you left your friends to their own devices and pinned their order sheet to one of the clips hanging in the kitchen window. There was a set of plates set out on the window sill, the bill reading for table three, and you picked it up to take over to them. Dae appeared next to you, tightening her ponytail, and grabbed the dishes for table four right beside it.

With both your hands full, you departed to deliver your respective orders.

As you set the dishes off food down onto table three, you heard the telltale swish of the door opening, and night air flooded into the room. On instinct, you straightened with a smile to greet them. "Hi! Welcome—" your voice died on your throat, and when his eyes locked with yours, you stuttered, "—in. For how many?"

Lee Hyunjae brushed a hand through his blond hair, his other arm wrapped around the shoulders of a girl who was unfortunately familiar to you. A couple of the guys with him, you recognized, too, but he was the one who had made you trip over your words.

One of them with jet black hair and kind, feline-like eyes, lifted four of his fingers in a wordless signal.

You nodded, lips set in a firm line, and gestured to the open four-seater at table eight.

You tucked your empty tray beneath your arm, mentally thanking anyone who was listening that his party was seated in Dae's section and not yours. Thank god for odd numbers.

Dae was swift to chirp out her usual cheeriness to the newcomers, and you scurried back over to the register to cash a table's check. As you did so, your eyes flitted up toward Hyunjae's table. He glanced over at you periodically, looking away whenever you were already looking at him.

What the hell was he doing here? You wanted to yell, scream. Out of all the places, out of all the nights, out of all the times… how long had it been since you last saw him, you wondered to yourself as you let the bitterness seep into your bones and meld with the marrow. It was a feeling you knew all too well.

You strode over to table seven to set their check down on the edge of the table. Everything in the pizzeria was so close together; it was near impossible not to catch the words being exchanged at table eight.

"—don't understand why you chose this dump, Hyunjae." That was the girl, the one who's face made you want to throw something at it. Her name was Kyla, and the last time you saw her in person, she had just become Hyunjae's girlfriend.

Sometimes you questioned how they even managed to stay together so long, but then again, people like them deserved each other.

"Eric just wanted pizza, babe," drawled the blond, his arm casually draped over the back of her chair.

The two others seated at the table consisted of the man with jet black hair, and another with a medium-toned brown hair peeking out of a gray hoodie. The latter said, "You guys'll love this place! Their breadsticks are literally the fluffiest things in the world."

A smile curled onto your face at that comment. Now that you thought about it, you'd seen him around before.

You slid over to table one and began stacking the dirty dishes left behind by customers who had gone. Table eight's conversation continued.

"Is it normal to be able to see grease in the air?" Kyla gagged, her nose wrinkling in disgust. She soaked in the close quarters of the restaurant with little appreciation.

The other third wheel at table eight, the one with black hair, lifted his eyebrows. "It's cozy in here, Kyla."

"Yeah, just give it a chance," Hyunjae chimed in.

You brushed past their table to grab table seven's check and hustle it back over to the register. You met Dae at the counter, her hands once again full with cups that needed filling.

A grunt left her lips. "Table eight," she began.

"Yeah," you agreed. "Sheesh."

Her head turned to you over her shoulder. "You know 'em?"

"Unfortunately." You pursed your lips. "It's been awhile," you amended. "I only know the couple at the table—enough to say, good luck, girl."

Dae made a face, but she pulled her shoulders back to solidify her posture. You always admired her work ethic and her customer service skills. As fellow waitresses during many a dinner rush hour, you both had to deal with your own handfuls of difficult people. At this point, it wasn't difficult to sniff them out from a mile away. There were some days you just wanted them to yell at you and get it over with.

Just as Dae left to go drop off drinks, your friends' order hit the window sill. You tucked the finished bill for table seven into your apron pocket and grabbed the trays to set on the table for your friends.

"You look like you're about to gnaw my fingers off, Jacob," you teased with a twinge of nervousness.

The man grinned at you, with teeth. "I'm hungry."

"Valid." You backed away from the table, and the carnage began.

You laughed, ducking your head, as you left your friends to their feast. You arrived at table seven and wished them a good night—

"Do you not have cherry coke? Isn't that, like, a universal fountain drink?"

You glanced over to see Dae's mouth twitch just slightly, but gave nothing else away. "No, we only have regular Coke and Diet Coke; I said that earlier, miss."

Kyla stared at her as if she'd just gotten her puppy revoked. "But they both taste like ass."

"You can have a fruit punch instead," Dae offered.

"But I don't want fruit punch."

You saw that the other two boys at the table fidgeted nervously. They were making eyes at Hyunjae, urging him to do something.

He seemed to lift his gaze to yours at that exact moment and you wondered what he saw in them. Something shifted in him, a silent acceptance of surrender.

The next thing you knew, he was leaning into the conversation. "Ky, you can just get a water or something and then we'll go get a drink after this. How does that sound?"

She threw a look over at him. "I really just want a cherry coke, Hyunjae. If I have to be forced to eat at this place, then the least you could do is get me a cherry coke."

Okay, that was enough.

"Is there a problem here?" You asked, sidling up beside Dae. You saw her loosen up out of the corner of your eye.

Kyla opened her mouth to retort something, but she halted abruptly. Her head cocked to the side, eyes narrowing, like she was trying to figure something out. You knew the moment she recognized you. A slow smile curled onto her mouth. "Oh my god… Yn Ln. Mommy and daddy kick you out or something? Why are you working at this dump?"

You were certain your eye started twitching.

Hyunjae grappled her shoulder. "Kyla."

"This is gold," she chirped. "Wow, I didn't think anything good could come of this dinner, but—" she sneered, "wow. You look awful."

"Takes one to know one," you said with venom dripping from your words. "We have a right to refuse service, ma'am, so if you don't quit badgering my friend and me, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

She didn't seem to catch your drift. "No. Get me. A cherry coke."

You suppressed every urge to fuck this girl up. To Dae, you murmured, "Can you cover my tables?"

"For sure, girl," she said, giving you a reassuring clasp on the shoulder. "Should I call Moretti?"

"No, I think we should be fine—"

"Wait until I tell everyone I know about how absolute ass this place is," Kyla ripped you back out into reality. She had her phone out now, and Eric, the guy in the hoodie, was reaching across the table to stop her.

You weren't allowed to touch her, you reminded yourself. You could do this with just words. No matter how much it killed you to not sucker punch her stupid, pearly whites in. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave," you told her through gritted teeth. "Either you buckle down with your regular Coca-Cola, or you get out."

"How about—no."

All breath dissipated from your lungs when you felt the carbonated liquid dumped in your face, the blocks of ice just missing your eyes. The entire establishment seemed to freeze with you.

You scoffed, slowly wiping the soda from your eyes and shaking out your arms. You couldn't seem to form coherent speech.

"What the fuck is going on here?" You recognized Kevin's hardened voice behind you, his hand squeezing your shoulder to tell you he was here.

As Kyla and Kevin dueled it out, you found Hyunjae's eyes again. To his credit, he seemed horrified and apologetic, his mouth parted in shock. But then again, he didn't have much credit anymore in your book.

Your hands fisted. You wanted to yell at him to get out. It had been a decent evening, a good evening, before he and his like came in and threw a drink in your face.

You didn't want to address the burning bitterness that coursed beneath all the annoyance and anger—out of everything, why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he try harder to help you? Why was he with her when he could be with y—nevermind. That didn't matter.

Even now, your back still ached from when he'd last left it stabbed.

"Are you okay, Yn-ie?"

You realized that Hyunjae and his party had gone now, and the shop patrons were slowly going back to whatever they had been doing before. Chanhee appeared before you with a couple napkins from the dispenser on the table, and Dae rushed over with a massive roll of paper towels. Your other friends had flocked over, too, to help clean up and also attend to customers while you pulled your shit together.

You gave a nod, finding your voice to tell them so. Your gaze casted briefly toward the front door where you knew he wouldn't ever be stepping back into.

You told yourself that was a good thing.

It was late when you finally pushed out of the back doors of the pizzeria building. Your car was parked out back with many of the other employee cars; it was just a lot more convenient and a lot less traffic. It had been a couple days since the fiasco with Kyla and Hyunjae, and you hadn't heard or seen him once since then.

That was a good thing. It was supposed to be a good thing. After all, why would he suddenly reappear in your life now? What purpose or what significance did that have?

You were going to try and forget about him again. Your life was plenty good without him, and yet…

"Yn."

Speak of the Devil. You swore under your breath as you nearly tripped over the curb. His voice was haunting, as was his presence, his whole silhouette. You'd once found a home with all those things—with him.

You and he stopped beside your car. "What are you doing here?" You asked him.

Hyunjae had his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. "I, uhm," he began, "I wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry?" You parroted. The word was sticky in your mouth and it clung to all the wrong crevices.

"Yeah, for the other night." He clasped the back of his neck. "I… I broke up with her, by the way."

Your eyes widened at his words. He broke up with Kyla? A part of you wanted to pump the sky and jump up and down—finally. Fucking finally! But there was another part of you, the rational one, who yanked you back to Earth and smacked you in the head to think about it. Three years of dating that girl, and just now he decided to break up with her? What was the tipping point? There was no way he didn't know she acted like a spoiled brat all the time.

What was so good about her anyway? You thought you had understood at the time—she had more money, more connections. Her parents were old money rich, not entrepreneurs like yours. It was stupid to think that was the reason, and you couldn't afford to go down that rabbit hole of methodology again.

"So?"

Your singular word seemed to slap him in the face. "So? I—" Frustration flickered across his face for a split second. Now he knew how you felt.

You couldn't wait for him to say anything; you had so much to say to him. "Listen Jaehyun," you said plainly. "I don't know what you want from me. You broke up with your girlfriend? Good for you. You're sorry for the other night? Okay. I don't know if you expect me to grovel and praise you for owning up for once—"

"Okay, what?" He cut in. "First of all, I don't expect you to grovel or praise me or whatever. Second, what do you mean 'owning up for once?'"

"I mean it exactly like I said it." You clenched the strap of your bag in your hand. Crazy how your car was literally right next to you, but you couldn't get into it. Your feet were glued to the street, and a part of you wanted to know how this ended. "The last time I saw you, Kyla laughed in my face, and you encouraged her. You dropped me like our years of friendship meant jack shit to you. I don't know what you're trying to pull, Jaehyun, and I don't wanna know."

Hyunjae leaned his head back, eyes closed for a second. "Yn, it's so much more complicated than that."

You stuck your tongue in your cheek. "That's such bullshit, and you know it. You don't get to come back and tell me this." There was a shakiness in your voice now, and you knew you had to get going or risk yelling. "That's just not fair."

"I know it's not fair."

"Good."

"Fine," he bit out. "I don't even know why I'm here."

Your hand found purchase on the driver's side door. Say something. Give me a reason to stay. "Maybe your sense of guilt has finally returned and your brain wanted to make amends."

He rolled his eyes, and it felt like a stab in your chest. "I'm going to leave now."

"Thank god." The words tasted sour in your mouth and you realized that he hadn't given you a reason to stay; in fact, it had been the exact opposite.

You both went your separate ways again. When you clambered into your car and watched him walk away through your rear view, it dawned on you that the entire conversation had been one massive circle. You wanted to hear him out—of course, you did.

You used to know him, after all. You used to know him so well. And perhaps that was why you hadn't just now.

"We need to talk."

A pair of hands slammed down on your desk and you nearly fell out of your chair. You tugged your earbuds out of your ear to give whoever this was a piece of your—

You frowned. "Oh. It's you."

Hyunjae frowned back at you. He was wearing a jean jacket today, hair styled presentably. He didn't have to look so good in this lighting, but you supposed even the sun liked to favor him. "Yes, it's me. Can you get up so we can—" He nodded out toward the library window beside you, "—talk?"

"So you want us to jump out the window?"

"You are so annoying."

Your smile was saccharine. "Not as annoying as you."

It had currently been around fifteen hours since he showed up at the back alley to confront you with that sorry apology. You'd woken up this morning less mad and more sad… smad. Sure, you were smad. It seemed that a night of sleep hadn't deterred your ex-best friend from talking to you, and you couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

"You don't even go to this school," you told him in a pathetic attempt to wave him away without actually waving him away.

"This is a public campus, Yn." He pulled out the seat across from you before you could protest. "I don't have to go to this school."

You scowled. The organ in your chest was beating awfully fast—you really hoped you weren't about to get in a screaming match with him here of all places. "What do you want, Hyunjae? You can't just show up everywhere I go unannounced."

"I don't do that."

"I'm starting to think you're obsessed with me, actually."

"Will you just—"

"Heya, Yn." Relief flooded through you at the sight of Changmin and Sunwoo walking up to your table. The former narrowed his eyes behind his dark-framed glasses. "Everything okay?"

You flipped your notebook closed and swiftly packed all of your items up. "Yeah, perfectly," you said. Hyunjae didn't follow as you stood up. "Bye, Hyunjae."

As you walked toward the library exit, Changmin and Sunwoo converged on either side of you. "What was that all about?" Sunwoo asked, his head peering behind you at the boy who was no doubt still sitting at the table. "Why is he here?"

You shook your head and pushed out onto the university grounds, propping the door open for your friends trailing behind. "Dude, I have no idea. He dropped by on my way out of work last night—"

"He what?"

"It wasn't even a productive conversation," you told them. You didn't know where you were going, but you turned around to face them as you walked backward along the path. Maybe you shouldn't have just left him there. "I don't even know how he knew I was at the library."

Changmin's mouth quirked downward. "Isn't this like… kind of creepy? What's with him anyway?"

"Yeah, Yn, how do you know him?" Sunwoo chimed in.

You sighed, face scrunching up as you thought about where to begin. Swiveling back to front, your friends clung onto you—both physically and to your words. "Our parents loathe each other, because they're business rivals, but Hyunjae and I went to the same schools when we were kids and we became friends."

It had been the two of you against the world—best petty friends. That first time his parents had driven him over to your house for a play date, the looks on both yours and his parents had been priceless. It'd been a wonder that they'd let you continue with the play date. From that point on, however, you both became friends for life, all despite the odds.

At least, that was how it had been.

Three years ago, just before both of you were going to begin your college careers, he had pretended that everything between the two of you was nothing more than dumpster fire. He ended up with Kyla, he became a jerk, and you'd spiraled. Had it been something you'd done? Had it been you? Did his parents open his eyes to your families' petty rivalry and get him to turn on you? That was what it had seemed like.

You'd survived, somehow. You had friends now—good friends, nice friends, un-petty friends. (But Hyunjae had been that person for you, too, once upon a time.)

You found yourself in your apartment at six in the evening the next day, staring at a half-drunk glass of wine and a crossword on your coffee table. You'd snatched up one of the newspapers in the lobby to busy yourself with in an attempt to take your mind off thrown cups of coke, bitchy ex girlfriends, and bitter ex friends.

It hadn't worked yet.

A knock on your front door drew your focus away, and you dragged yourself up from the couch to see who it was. Something panged in your chest at the face on the other side of the peephole.

You ripped the door open. "Do you want a restraining order?"

Hyunjae stood on the other side looking a little less put together than yesterday, but still more put together than you. "Yn, can we please just talk?"

"How do you even know where I live?" You asked him, not moving from the threshold, and thus, leaving him no room to come in.

"I literally helped you move in three years ago," he said, blinking. Oh. "Now, can I please come in?"

At least he was saying please, you reasoned with yourself. Begrudgingly, you let him in.

His shoulders seemed to deflate as he slipped inside, and he left his shoes on the show rack by the front door. Once you'd replaced all the locks, you swept past him to your kitchen area. "Want a drink?"

"Uhm, sure. Yeah, thanks."

You came back to the couch with another glass and poured him some of the red.

The two of you sat on the couch beside each other with a comfortable amount of space in the middle. He picked up his glass and chugged the entire thing, while you finished off your own glass and reached for the bottle. It felt so strange to be in his space again—or at least, for him to be in your space again. You didn't know if the jittery kick in your heart was from nervousness, excitement, or both.

What more did he have to say to you?

When you topped your glass off again, Hyunjae refilled his own.

"What do you want from me, Hyunjae?" You asked him for what felt like the hundredth time within the past week. You didn't have the heart to look at him now, the alcohol making your brain buzz and your chest heavy.

He nursed his glass, elbows braced on his knees. "I'm sorry," he said, clearing his throat when his voice came out rough. He fidgeted with the collar of his shirt. "You're probably so fucking tired of me, but I just… I knew I had to make things right."

You tugged your legs onto the couch and tucked them under you. "Why? Because you broke up with your girlfriend for throwing soda in my face?" For a moment, the thought amused you. Out of all the things to break up with Kyla for—out of all the things—it'd been over Coca-Cola.

Hyunjae swallowed down his wine. "No, that's not—that's not why I wanted to break up with her. I mean, part of it, of course. She'd disrespected you and your friend and the workplace."

His words and their sincerity drew your eyes to him on your left. His head hung, but you could see the glazed look in his eyes, dulling out those pretty, mahogany irises of his. He looked like your Hyunjae for once, not the one who had appeared in the doorway of the pizzeria with his arm around a girl who didn't appreciate him or anyone.

"And I'm sorry for that," he continued. "I'm sorry I didn't do more to prevent that from happening."

You stared down into the dark stillness of your wine glass. "Well, it wasn't exactly your fault," you said quietly.

You heard him huff, "Yeah, sure." He lifted the glass up to his lips again, and you did the same.

"The little altercation was recorded and posted online," Hyunjae suddenly said. "And when my parents saw, they pretty much backed out of the partnership between our company and Kyla's parents'. They didn't let me break up with her before because of the contract or whatever, but after that PR nightmare, they pretty much cut ties for me."

He took another swig, and you found yourself really looking at him this time.

"I was and have been an asshole to you, Yn," he said. "And it's no excuse, but it was… I was just trying to make it easier for both of us."

The wine was penetrating your defenses. Or maybe that was his story. But either way, the stinging in the corners of your eyes led to a watering of your vision, and everything was getting blurry. The lights, him, your whole view of the situation. His parents hadn't turned him, but shackled him instead.

"I thought," you began, lifting a hand up to wipe your eyes dry, "you hated me."

Hyunjae raised his head, shaking it, then hanging it again. He drank. "I couldn't hate you. I tried—I tried to make it easier to see you differently, but… Yn, you were my best friend." His voice broke at the end and he swallowed. "I thought about you so much these past few years, and it was so hard to get through it without you."

Your heart was sinking fast into your stomach and you could feel it hammer against your bones. You'd thought about him too much, as much as you loathed to admit. The man who you felt had simply thrown you away… how pathetic was it that you couldn't stop caring? But now, the lens was widening. Maybe your feelings weren't so unique.

Both you and Hyunjae moved at the same time, arms raising to drain your glasses of the last bits of wine.

You told yourself it was the wine that was making you want to cry, but when you and Hyunjae looked at each other, his eyes were lined with silver. He sniffled, setting his glass on the coffee table. "I'm sorry," he whispered, biting his lip when emotion made him screw his face up and turn away from you.

You put your glass next to his and clambered over the sofa to wrap your arms around him. He turned his face into your chest and sobbed, the sound coaxing a crest of emotion out of you, too, and you held him and rocked him through the oncoming waves.

It was the wine, you thought. God it was the wine. It had to be the wine.

But your best friend was here in your arms, where he belonged, you liked to think. He was home.

You curled your hand over the back of his head, your cheeks damp. "'m sorry they forced you into that relationship," you rasped. The bitterness was sweeping back in a different color. "I wish I knew."

He sniffled. "They threatened to do something to your parents' company. I couldn't—I couldn't let you and them get involved."

The confession stabbed through you. You had no idea what his parents had told him, and made him do, for the sake of business. You had no idea how unhappy he was, and god—you wished you'd known. Maybe things wouldn't have come to such hurt.

Hyunjae pulled himself away from you and wiped his eyes. "I think after all that shit, I'm a little fucked up."

The both of you shared a watery laugh, the space that had originally been left between you, nonexistent.

You cupped the sides of his face. "You made it though, and you've been so strong, Jae."

His bottom lip trembled. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Yeah," you nodded. "Yeah, I forgive you." How could you not? And it was the wine—you swore it was the wine—that had you leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his hairline. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into you, his hand reaching up to cover your hand with his own.

"I like you a whole lot better than her," he murmured.

"I'd hope so," you mused, patting his cheek. "You deserve to have someone so much better than her."

He gulped, eyes searching your face. "You think so?"

"I know so."

Your heartbeat stuttered when he leaned forward slightly. You could smell the wine on his breath as it fanned over your skin. It felt as if the world slowed in that moment—the lights were dimmer, his eyelids low, lips shiny and plush.

And then he blinked, energy and alarm and… something else in his expression. He pulled out of your hold and his ears turned bright red. "I should go."

Your lips parted. "Wait—"

He practically leapt off the couch and banged his knee against the wall as he hobbled into his shoes. "Damn—I—" he opened the front door, pausing over the threshold. You didn't know why he was leaving; you wanted him to stay. Why, why, why was he leaving? "I, uhm, I've overstayed my welcome."

The door rattled as he closed it behind him, as if to tell you to not follow him out. You were left on the couch alone again, two empty glasses of wine, feeling stripped.

What the hell was that?

"And he just… left?"

You nodded, sweeping the apron around your waist over the hook in the back room of the pizzeria. It was late when yours and Dae's shift ended, as per usual. The shop was pretty much closed, leaving the two of you and two of the cooks who usually closed up the establishment when you both left.

For the entirety of your shift, you had been turning over yesterday's events over and over again. "I don't know what I did wrong, y'know? Maybe I crossed a boundary or something? I dunno."

Worry gnawed at your stomach as you recalled what happened to Dae. You both stepped out of the back of the building to head to your respective cars. It was dark out, as it usually was, with a few street lights along the road that you and Dae stuck to while walking.

As you approached your car, you noticed Hyunjae standing beside it with his hands tucked in his pockets and his head turned toward you. Rather than the sourness you'd felt for him at the beginning of the week, the feeling twisting in your chest was sweeter, but bitter still.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Dae said to you softly with a gentle nudge of your arm. She walked ahead of you and passed by your car to get to hers, leaving you to confront the man plaguing your every thought for the past week.

You swallowed as you made your way over to the driver's side door where he was standing. "Hey."

Hyunjae gave a slight bob of his head. "Hey."

"Did I do something wrong yesterday?" You asked him, earnestly, searching his face for any hint as to why he had left so abruptly.

"No, it wasn't your fault—it definitely wasn't your fault," he told you. He sucked in a breath, carding a hand through his hair. "I had an epiphany of sorts."

"An epiphany?" You furrowed your brows.

His cheeks had flushed slightly, and he couldn't exactly meet your eyes. "I thought it was just the alcohol clouding my judgment, and in combination with all the emotions, and I just—" he shook his head. "It's probably not important, but…"

You bumped your elbow with his. "Jae, you're here. It probably is important."

A small smile curled up onto his face. "Y'know," he began, finally lifting his head to look you in the eyes, "she would have agreed with me and brushed me off."

You knew who the "she" he was talking about was. You frowned. "She was never good enough for you, Hyunjae."

"I know." He sighed. "I just wanna be enough for you though now."

Surprise lit across your face, and you could feel the butterflies in your stomach start to take flight. You couldn't think coherently with his words, and you were probably reading into it too much. The two of you had been away so long that you probably forgot how to read him; there was no doubt that something changed over the past three years, right?

When you failed to find a reply, he shifted slightly, his body facing straight toward you. "I've had a lot of time to think, and the whole time I was with her, I just kept comparing her to you." He stepped closer to you and his hand reached out to tentatively take your fingers with his. "She never measured up; maybe that made me even more bitter for ruining our friendship."

You met his eyes. There was that glimmer of the rich brown like what you'd seen last night. (Your Hyunjae was present and accounted for.) "What… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I," he said, fully taking your hands with his, "would like to start over on a slightly different note. But if you don't feel the same, we can start wherever you're comfortable with."

It would be different, you realized. But it would be a good different, right?

You found your voice, curled your fingers around his in the space between you. "Okay."

His smile slowly widened, his eyes squinting into upturned crescent moons. "Okay?"

You nodded, returning the expression. "Let's start over on that different note."

The pizzeria was as alive as usual. It was warm, smelled like tomatoes and cheese and bread, and it was still your home away from home. You had just finished your break and were tying your apron back on when Dae bumped her hip against yours as she passed by with a tray of dirty dishes.

"Your banshees just got in," she said, before disappearing through the kitchen doors.

Your gaze went to the door where you found your five friends, and the additional three, who were filing in altogether. You made eye contact with one person in particular, his smile softening into something fond at the corners of his mouth. He lifted a hand in greeting, grabbing everyone else's attention as they said their hellos to you.

The eight of them made their way over to the round table in the back corner, piling into the chairs around it.

"Waitress! Waitress!" The hyena-like sound set off an alarm in your head and you came over to the table to give Changmin a stink eye. He grinned innocently. "Oh yay, it worked."

You gave him an unimpressed look. "You sound like a chihuahua."

"Joke's on you, I think chihuahuas are cute," he huffed, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

You braced your hand on the back of Hyunjae's chair, the other one gently patting the top of his head. He acknowledged your greeting, his hand reaching up to cover yours on the chair back. "What's to drink, y'all?"

A chorus of beverages rang out, and you mentally counted the few repeats and the singles. You promised to be right back, and left to go grab them. As you went, you could hear your boys start up a lively debate about the multipurpose properties of the lemon. You wondered if that was what they had been bickering about on the car ride over here, and you heard Eric say something about lemons for cleaning; Juyeon just said lemonade; and Changmin said for inflicting "more pain." (No, you didn't want to know.)

When you returned to their table to pass out your drinks, you went around, leaving Hyunjae for last. You set his cup of coke in front of him and he passed you a smile.

"You're not gonna dump that on me, are you?" You asked, eyes narrowing playfully.

He grinned. "As long as you don't dump me, we're good."

Sunwoo made a face from across the table. "Yuck, get a room!"

Chanhee smacked him upside the head. "At least they have someone to be yucky with."

"This feels familiar somehow," Kevin pondered aloud. "Like déjà vu."

Jacob shrugged. "Maybe in another universe. I dunno, it seems like something we would have said to Sunwoo at some point."

"Hey!—"

You were halfway through a laugh when Hyunjae caught your attention, twisted around in his chair to smile up at you. "What's up?" You asked him.

His eyes, you could never get sick of his eyes. They glistened in the lighting here. "Nothing," he said swiftly, "I'm just… happy to be here." With you.

You understood, and you caught his hand on the back of the chair and gave him a little squeeze. "I'm happy you're here, too." It seemed that some things were just meant to come full circle.

tbz m.list

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