#building your own family its about needing to get out and see the world and get it under your fingernails its about how we are always more

[actuallysaiyan]

|Come Down And Waste Away With Me| Chapter One: I Am Here.

warnings: angst, mentions of death, set during the final war arc, mentions of alcohol, very heavy and dark themes, mentions of wounds, driving under the influence, self-deprecation, hospital stay, Reader has a quirk and a hero name pairings: All Might/Toshinori Yagi x Fem!Disgraced Hero!Reader summary: the last time you saw Valorie was when the car had flipped and you were seeing her lose her life. while in the hospital during the end of the final war, you begin to lose hope that you're even cut out to be a good person. someone hears your cries for help, and he shows you a light.

dividers: @adornedwithlight

taglist: @cherryblossombankai

masterlist

In the year 20xx…

Here we are at the scene of the crime. Last night was the tragic car accident that took the life of Spectral Valor, also known as Valorie Teagan, and left about half a dozen others injured. What was speculated as foul play at first ended up being corrected as driving under the influence. Also in the vehicle with Spectral Valor was the electrokinetic hero known as Haywire. More details at six…

“You could have died!” A voice yells at you through your drunken stupor.

Here you rest in your hospital bed. Wires and tubes poking and prodding and coming from your mangled body. You fractured your tibia causing you the most pain, followed by the few cracked ribs. A concussion, a few chipped teeth, a fractured tibia, three cracked ribs…

But really none of them hurt more than losing your best friend. Valorie was your glue. She was the angel that helped you shine. Even while you were becoming a hero, she was always right there with you. It hurt you to think you’d never get to see that smile again. You’d never hear her laughter again. You tried to not cry, but it was so fucking hard.

“Did you hear me, Haywire?! You could have died! I can’t deal with this shit anymore.”

It’s the voice of your manager. Why would a hero need a manager? You don’t know, but you had a feeling it had to do with all the club life you were leading. The drinking, the drugs, the week long benders you’d go on…it’s not good for a hero of your stature. Yet you were so good at hiding it. 

“Ken,” you try to say despite your throat having a lump in it. “Ken, I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry, kid. I promised your parents I’d take care of you, but I can’t.”

Oh yeah…Kento had been a family friend. When you lost your parents, he promised to take good care of you. You lost your parents at a young age. They had died doing what they love, saving the world.

“I promise,” you swallow hard. “I promise, I’ll do better.”

Kento sits on the edge of the bed. He runs his fingers through his sandy blond hair. He then sheds a few of his own tears, wiping them away and facing you. He presses his hand carefully on the cast that is on your left leg.

“The agency is dropping you. Or at least, that’s the gist of what I understood.”

You looked away ashamed. “Is anyone still in that building? Isn’t there a war going on?”

Kento laughs sarcastically. He explains to you that even with the war happening, and with the crumbling of society, the agency you still worked for had decided to shut its doors for the time being. Instead of healing and getting to go back to it after, you were being pushed out.

“Sorry kid, but I can’t fix this one.”

That had been three weeks ago. You got your official letter about two days after that conversation. You didn’t get many visitors in the hospital. Especially not with all the heroes coming back from the war. All For One had been defeated. Even that young kid, Shigaraki, had been defeated. Somehow you were clinging to those details as a means to cope with Valorie’s death.

Then you got your hands on a smartphone. You were able to keep up with the battle a lot better this way. Things had seemed so dire for so long. The way things could have ended made you nervous. It wracked you with guilt. You weren’t out there helping. You were just a waste of space. All you were was good for nothing. You couldn’t even contribute to the fight to save humanity and heroes alike.

Rotting in a hospital room after everything that was going on, you begin to wonder if maybe you should have died in that stupid car crash as well. You had been the one to procure the alcohol that night. You were the one who stupidly coaxed Valorie into driving back home. Things had been so bleak for heroes. Nobody trusted you. This only made you feel worse, turning to drugs and alcohol even harder to cope with this shit.

You remember the way you felt when you finally opened your eyes. Just once…just once before passing out again. Seeing her lifeless body next to you. The car had flipped multiple times. Nothing hurt at the time because of the shock, but seeing her…oh Valorie had been so beautiful.

Her life was snuffed out before it even truly began. You had wanted so desperately to start your own agency with her. That had been the plan. You two would have gone on to do such amazing things. And here you had been, looking at the lifeless body of your truest friend.

In the history of assholes, you wondered if maybe you were going to take the top spot. Nothing could make you feel any better. You hated yourself for being so weak to addiction. So weak to addiction that you couldn’t even properly contribute to the world. People were out there risking their lives to keep everyone safe, and you were partying.

And now, you were in the hospital, taking up space.

And even worse, was that you were in the same hospital as Him.

All Might.

The man, the legend, the strongest…

Call him whatever you want, but he also ended up in the same hospital as you. While you were out partying in the wreckage of Japan and getting in the fatal car accident that killed your friend, he and all the other pro heroes had been fighting the good fight. The dread and the pain you felt deep inside of you kept you from wanting anyone but your manager, Kento, to come visit.

Still, you had been curious about the extent of All Might’s injuries. After the battle in Kamino Ward, you had found out about his secret along with everyone else in the world. You still tried to cling to having him as your idol.  You tried your best to see the good in him, just like everyone else had accepted. But soon when people stopped seeing the heroes as the good guys, they started to see that their Symbol Of Peace wasn’t going to be the one to save them. Everyone else basically dropped him like yesterday’s news, but you always looked up to the man.

That’s what kept you and Valorie close. A transfer student from America, Valorie had been very interested in meeting All Might. She was a big fan of his, memorizing all the battles he had in America. The shine in her eyes is what made you become even more fanatical of the man.

She was a shining force and you lost her. You lost the one person in this world that knew you more than anyone else. She was always the one to lift you up when you truly needed it. She was the one to show you the logical way of things.

But times were tough. People started to distrust the heroes. They didn’t want heroes to come help. Even prior to that, you and Valorie had enjoyed the fame and fortune that came with being pro heroes. You had indulged in all sorts of things from time to time, but you never thought you’d get to the point you were now.

You were clinging to anything in a way of coping with this. With the fighting going on outside, you hadn’t been sure if Valorie even got a proper funeral. It didn’t matter, you thought to yourself, because you weren’t going to be able to go. You were confined to this hospital bed for some time.

And with that came the change of rooms…

It all happened so fast. One day you were in a room by yourself, the next day you were being wheeled into another room. The curtains had been drawn around the other occupant in this room. As nosy as you were, you couldn’t quite just get out of bed and find out who it was. Still, you could tell that whoever it was, they were in worse shape than you were.

Lots of rooms were going to be pretty full now. The beds would be needed for those who actually put their lives on the line. Unlike you, the waste of space. You cried often, trying to hide it from your roommate. You tried to desperately keep your sobs low. Thankfully, whoever was in this room with you was often sleeping.

You longed to be able to walk again. The doctors said it would be a while before you were up and doing that. But you hadn’t lost the use of your leg. You’d be going through lots of extended physical therapy to go along with the rehabilitation and emotional therapy you’d be going through as well.

Crying had been the soothing balm at first, but the less Kento came to visit you, the lonelier you got. You heard all kinds of things from the hallways. The news that the doctors would give you had just made you feel even worse. And the one person who came to visit you that wasn’t your manager had been Valorie’s mother. She was very sympathetic with you, which truly surprised you.

Your heart felt so heavy with so much. You felt like you could burst from the amount of emotions that run through you every second. You were clinging to the sweater her mom brought you and you sniffed her scent every chance you could.

Nothing could bring her back and you knew this.

Nothing could bring back the dead.

The world could be at peace, and there was still so much hurt. So much pain would linger. The world could be rebuilt, but the pain would remain like a stain on everyone’s heart. You wondered how you and everyone else would get through this.

You wished you could take it all back…

The last moments with her keep replaying in your mind and you know you’ll never get to see that beautiful smile again. No, she won’t be there to comfort you ever again when you need her.

One night, things seemed very quiet. You were just trying to get some rest despite the fact that your body was aching. You had spent the good part of an hour just scrolling through your phone that somehow hadn’t been damaged in the car crash. The way things were going, it seemed like the world and Japan was trying to band together to get over this.

Still, you couldn’t help but go look at pictures of her. It was breaking your heart, but you needed to see her smile. The same smile that always pushed you to do your best. Even when you felt scared as a new and upcoming hero, she was there to guide you through it all even though she was just as scared as you.

Tears slid down your cheeks as you tried so hard to quiet your sobs. It had been a few days now that you were in the new room and you were sure that whoever your new roommate was would probably grow tired of your constant crying. Doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world, whoever was trying to heal next to your bed would find you annoying.

In reality, the person in the bed next to yours was sleeping most of the time. Tonight was the first time he heard your cries. It pained his heart more than he’d like to admit. He had been in so much pain, but so happy to know the outcome of the battle. He had worked so hard to make sure things would go the way he desperately hoped for.

And now with hearing you cry, his heart clenched in his chest. These were the tears of a lost someone. When he had been first admitted to the hospital, they had told him that he’d be in the same room as you. He barely knew you, but he had heard of the electrokinetic hero Haywire. He knew what had happened, and he did not think any less of you.

Finally, the curtain is pulled back from the bed and you gasp when you see the older man in his bed. You try to wipe away your tears, but it’s obvious you’ve been crying. He looks at you and gives you his best smile, even while in a sorry state himself.

“Don’t cry,” he says. “I am here.”

reblogs and comments always appreciated!

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[crave-mp3]

its so strange and painful and lovely going back to your favorite book as a child and going "ohhh of course this is the story that made me"

[ulyuxe]

In the past fifty years, fantasy’s greatest sin might be its creation of a bland, invariant, faux-Medieval European backdrop. The problem isn’t that every fantasy novel is set in the same place: pick a given book, and it probably deviates somehow. The problem is that the texture of this place gets everywhere.

What’s texture, specifically? Exactly what Elliot says: material culture. Social space. The textiles people use, the jobs they perform, the crops they harvest, the seasons they expect, even the way they construct their names. Fantasy writing doesn’t usually care much about these details, because it doesn’t usually care much about the little people – laborers, full-time mothers, sharecroppers, so on. (The last two books of Earthsea represent LeGuin’s remarkable attack on this tendency in her own writing.) So the fantasy writer defaults – fills in the tough details with the easiest available solution, and moves back to the world-saving, vengeance-seeking, intrigue-knotting narrative. Availability heuristics kick in, and we get another world of feudal serfs hunting deer and eating grains, of Western name constructions and Western social assumptions. (Husband and wife is not the universal historical norm for family structure, for instance.)

Defaulting is the root of a great many evils. Defaulting happens when we don’t think too much about something we write – a character description, a gender dynamic, a textile on display, the weave of the rug. Absent much thought, automaticity, the brain’s subsconscious autopilot, invokes the easiest available prototype – in the case of a gender dynamic, dad will read the paper, and mom will cut the protagonist’s hair. Or, in the case of worldbuilding, we default to the bland fantasy backdrop we know, and thereby reinforce it. It’s not done out of malice, but it’s still done.

The only way to fight this is by thinking about the little stuff. So: I was quite wrong. You do need to worldbuild pretty hard. Worldbuild against the grain, and worldbuild to challenge. Think about the little stuff. You don’t need to position every rain shadow and align every tectonic plate before you start your short story. But you do need to build a base of historical information that disrupts and overturns your implicit assumptions about how societies ‘ordinarily’ work, what they ‘ordinarily’ eat, who they ‘ordinarily’ sleep with. Remember that your slice of life experience is deeply atypical and selective, filtered through a particular culture with particular norms. If you stick to your easy automatic tendencies, you’ll produce sexist, racist writing – because our culture still has sexist, racist tendencies, tendencies we internalize, tendencies we can now even measure and quantify in a laboratory. And you’ll produce narrow writing, writing that generalizes a particular historical moment, its flavors and tongues, to a fantasy world that should be much broader and more varied. Don’t assume that the world you see around you, its structures and systems, is inevitable.

We... need worldbuilding by Seth Dickinson

[imagine--if]

══⋆✰* Dating Cha Hyun-Su Includes: *✰⋆══

A/N: In honour of the second season of Sweet Home, this was mandatoryyyy 😁 just started off with some relationship hcs first but feel free to send some imagine or other headcanon requests through my inbox for Sweet Home characters if you're into it! These headcanons cover season one and two. Enjoy reading 🖤

Warnings: Sweet Home series spoilers, mentions of violence

🩸• Starting from the beginning of this monstrous series of events, the most likely way you'll meet Hyun Su is at Green Home a bit before the monster outbreak and apocalypse comes along. All you'll see of the quiet, sullen young man is his weary, unfocused gaze that briefly trails up from the ground to glance up at you in acknowledgement as he bumps into you somehow while moving into his apartment in the complex. The only sign of his interest in you from first looks is his stare lingering for just a beat longer than he'd usually bother... and that's about it. Boy's too shy and broken and tired to feel like he's good enough to do much else, let alone have a shot at even being friends with someone like you, so he'll just admire you from afar every once in a while and leave you to live your life while he despises his.

🩸• HoWeVeRrR-

🩸• The apocalypse unleashes its hell before much else can happen, and before you know it, you two are out surviving in a ruined world riddled with horrifying monsters and mutations, hiding out inside Green Home as you form the group together with the rest and try to fight off the monsters inside the building along with it infecting and warping others into gruesome, inhumane figures.

🩸• This boy's absolutely damaged and drained from all he's been through before moving to Green Home, and so it takes a lot of energy for him to slowly, slowly break out of his shell and reach out to you in return. But he will. He just needs time and patience, and Hyun-Su will find himself making the tiniest amount of small talk when you're together with the rest of the surviving group in the apartment complex. Or, most likely, it'll be him giving you most of his food when you're eating by silently and gently pushing it over to you, no eye contact, no words.

🩸• Before you, he didn't have the slightest will or reason to live, and so the only idea he can think up while dragging himself around the wreck of Green Home along with the rest of the group of survivors is to follow you around and protect you. The way he wants to die is for you, shoving himself into the way of the monster or whatever else the danger is to take him instead. Hyun-Su's absolutely fine with that idea...

🩸• Until he starts falling in loveee- 😏🖤

🩸• Everyone gets used to the sight of this boy following around after you like a moon-eyed puppy, having a tall, slightly dropping shadow trailing behind your own whenever you go somewhere to find food or weapons or whatever you've been sent to find. From Season One, where Lee Eun-Hyuk tries forcing him to do everything and using his monster side as an advantage, if it involves steering clear of you or putting you in any danger, boy's had enough. Hyun-Su will defend himself in his own quiet but intense way, his dark glare bleeding into Eun-Hyuk's with a few mumbling words of a threat before he wanders off to find you again.

🩸• Hyun-Su does consider trying to completely leave you alone, since everyone's aware that he's dangerous with his monster brimming to the surface from inside of him and his other symptoms and dangerous instability being infected, but it feels like the worst form of torture. He's alone again, in a world grimmer than the last, and he has no idea what to do with himself except feel like crying and telling you everything about everything when you sit by him and ask him if he's doing alright.

🩸• I think that this guy would be mega touch-starved after living in isolation for so long after all the bullying and tragedies with his family, so having you as a comforting voice of reason and warmth is something he can't help but melt into after you've been unspoken friends during the apocalypse and doesn't have the fight left in him to reject you if you try to clean bloodstains and patch up his wounds after a nasty confrontation. After that, it's safe to say that out of the whole group of survivors together in Green Home, he'll always be naturally apprehensive and distrusting towards them all, but if it's you that's trying to point something out or is worried about something; let him go get his weapon, he's coming with you.

🩸• His general aim and instinct is to protect good people and be some source of help and comfort that's been so unfamiliar to him personally, but with you, instinct is boosted 10000000% because it's you. You're too good for this world, way too good for him, and if you die, he dies. This concept basically becomes something Hyun Su isn't even fully aware of until the point where you might almost die somehow being confronted by monsters with the others, which is where you'll witness himself having a full-on freak-out in his mind and using all his strength and darker, monstrous side to come out on top to save your life.

🩸• After the danger's gone and you're alone in a quiet room to recover and process what happened, that's all the time you need to make it official, hugging him tightly and thanking him, while Hyun-Su shakily pats your back in return before giving up and hugging you back equally as tightly, staying in a protected embrace as long as time will let you.

🩸• There's so much raw love and trust and protection in a relationship with Hyun-Su, it's unbelievable 😭 he's so clingy and sweet and ridiculously romantic in private with you until you point it out, which results in a blushing red sight and not being able to look you in the eye in bashfulness for about a straight hour before he gets over it. In public, it's still obvious that you're together, with smaller signs of affection and togetherness like holding hands, or doing that coupley thing where you whisper together in the back corners of rooms or give each other brief, subtle looks that say everything you need to understand what it means and where to run or go or something.

🩸• At first, he is a little reluctant to get too close to you because of that lingering fear of accidentally hurting you or his monster side popping out to ruin everything, but with some time and small steps, he'll eventually give up trying to be overly cautious and let him be wholly soothed by you, which was the biggest relief of all for him.

🩸• But just as you're getting properly closer and in touch with each other as romantic partners as well as best friends and survivors in this mess together, his monster alter ego personality will find it the perfect time to mess around with his head and find a way to overpower Hyun-Su, meeting you properly in the process.

🩸• Now, his monster side is a whole other story when it comes to personality, but if you think that means you'll be left alone or hated or something, think AgAiN, and then again, because no :)

🩸• Hyun-Su's monstrous side is darker, daring, dangerous, and with you, madly possessive and protective. I mean, he won't even try to hold himself back from taking things to extremes and spilling as much blood as necessary if he gets a weird vibe from someone around you, or if someone outrightly tries to attack you. Even if it's a monster like him, there's enough threat in thrashing them through a few solid walls and leaving some biting words behind before stalking off.

🩸• Monster Hyun-Su's a massive starer by the way, so those unnervingly blue eyes are going to be a sight you'll have to get used to, like literal inches away from your face when you wake up, studying you for wounds, or just studying you in general. There's something about you that's just so fascinating to him, and this side of him literally does not know what boundaries are, so he's all up in your face studying you in curiosity with a soft but dark smirk on his face, while you're just "😐"

🩸• Kind of gross but Monster Hyun-Su has the weirdest affection ever. Like, he enjoys feeding you when you're hungry, mostly questionably bloody-looking things until you get it in his head that you're not Hannibal Lecter and just want a breakfast bar or something 😭 and when this guy goes to hug you, it'll be ridiculously tight, sometimes his wing breaking out of its shell to wrap over you, which is kind of sweet. Until he goes to kiss you and it's not a kiss at all, it's more him living up to his monstrous reputation by licking at your skin like some kind of dog until you squeal and push him away, which he always finds hilarious. Meanwhile, normal Hyun-Su's mortified 😂

🩸• Normal Hyun-Su and Monstrous will most likely make an agreement between them to make sure you're kept alive and as unharmed as possible, protect you from any sort of danger, so if you thought you had a shadow following after you before the split between them, you've got a much more threatening one now, so it'd be very hard for much damage to come to you at all. And good luck if you want some time alone to wander and think by yourself, because if he doesn't straight-up follow you out with no buts like usual, he'll be watching you somewhere close at all times.

🩸• I feel like Hyun-Su's monstrous side would find it funny to make you jump, like falling down out of nowhere from a building or something right in front of you when you thought you were alone or something stupid like that. You'll give him an annoyed glare of protest, and he'll just smirk smugly and teasingly with a fake-innocent shrug of "something wrong?"

🩸• To sum up the whole. predicament you've gotten yourself into here, falling in love with Hyun-Su would pretty much protect you from ninety per cent of the apocalyptic mess of the world while being showered with all the lost love and affection and longing he thought were dead along with all the rest of his hopes and energy from the beginning. And then to keep you on your toes, you've got the monstrosity inside of his head coming out at random moments to obsess over you before Hyun-Su can come back to reality again. But whoever's at the surface, and wherever you two are, he'll always, always be there watching you and with you, one way or another.

[springtyme]

51 ✨ for carmy 🐻

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐀𝐭 𝐀 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 ♡

Thank you for the request, anon! I hope you like it 💕

Carmen Berzatto x reader || Carmy playlist || Main masterlist

51: “I can’t live without you.”

The strain of Carmy's new responsibilities at The Beef has taken a toll on your relationship, leaving you worried and questioning your place in his life. And you're scared, but not for the reason Carmy thinks.

Angst (with a happy ending). Hurt/comfort. Mention of what happened to Michael.

word count: 2.1k

You stand in the dimly lit hallway of your apartment, anxiously tapping your foot against the worn floorboards. It’s late, much later than Carmen had told you he would be home. The clock on the wall mocks you with its ticking, each second feeling like an eternity.

Your relationship with Carmen has been strained lately, the weight of his responsibilities after taking over The Beef after Micheal’s death has taken a toll on both of you.

You and Carmen had met in New York, about two years ago, when he had moved into the apartment next to yours. You had not looked for a relationship and neither had Carmen, but it was like fate had kept pushing the two of you together. 

It had just started out with a few chance encounters in the hallway or at the local grocery store, with him stumbling slightly over his words as he asked you about your day or offered to carry your groceries. 

But it had been a power outage which had left the whole building in darkness that really had brought you together. You had fumbled your way out in the hallway to figure out if it was just your apartment that had lost power or if it was the whole building. And that’s when you had bumped into Carmen, literally. His strong arms had wrapped around you instinctually, preventing you from falling on your ass. 

You had candles in your apartment, unlike Carmen so you had invited him in to share the light and wait for the power to be restored. As the hours passed, you two ended up talking and getting to know each other better. It was a simple yet intimate evening, and from that moment on, you felt a connection that you couldn’t ignore and a sweet friendship had blossomed between you.

He didn’t have much time off, literally working at one of the best restaurants in the world, but the moments you did spend together were cherished, and it hadn’t taken long before your connection had grown even stronger, evolving into something more than just friendship and eventually blossoming into a real and deep relationship. 

You had not hesitated to say yes to move back to Chicago with him after his brother had passed away.

You never got to meet Michael, Carmen didn’t really speak to him through all the time you dated, you've never fully understood what had happened between them, but you have a feeling that Carmen didn't really knew it either, and he has never really liked talking about his family in general, but you do know that he loved Michael a lot.

You had tried to convince him to go to the funeral, telling him that you would be there for him, but he had kept shooting the idea down. He kept excusing it by saying that he couldn’t, his contract at the French Laundromat hadn’t expired yet, and despite that being true, you had a feeling that going to the funeral would make the loss of his brother feel all the more real, and that was something he wasn’t ready for.

You also had the feeling that he didn’t want to see his mother, at least not in that setting, so you had just decided that you would let him grieve in his own way, and just be there for him in whatever way he needed you to.

It had been the same you had done with his job after all.  

You know that he had loved his job in New York, in his own fucked up way. It was a messed up, down right toxic, work environment, and it had hurt to see him come home every night, tired to the bone, both physically and emotionally drained, yet he kept doing it. His ineffable love for the culinary arts that just couldn’t be extinguished kept him going. It is just after you moved to Chicago a month ago that he told you that he would throw up every morning before work.

It crushed you to hear that Carmen was suffering silently, but you understood why he continued to push through. The restaurant industry was demanding and competitive, and Carmen was determined to prove himself. You had hoped that the move to Chicago would bring some relief, a fresh start away from the toxicity of his previous job. However, the weight of his responsibilities at The Beef seemed to have only deepened the strain on your relationship.

You love him, and you want to be there for him, no matter what. But the constant absence and distance have started to make you question where you stand in his life. But most of all you’re just sad that he is sad, or really it's more that you're sad that he is in a situation that should make him sad, it's like he doesn’t even really allow himself to be sad, and that really hurts to watch. 

You try to push away those negative thoughts, you try yo remind yourself that Carmen is just going through a difficult time, but that just makes the worried feeling in the pit of your stomach feel even heavier.

As the front door finally creaks open, your heart skips a beat. Carmen steps inside, his weary eyes meeting yours. The exhaustion etched on his face is painfully evident, and your worry intensifies, yet you're just so happy to see him. As he slides off his jacket his white t-shirt comes into view, it’s stained with sauces and his hands bear the marks of countless hours spent in the kitchen, but it’s the weariness in his eyes that tears at your heart.

“Hey,” he mumbles, his voice hoarse from lack of rest. “Why are you still up?

You muster a small smile, trying to hide your concern. “I couldn’t sleep,” you admit softly, stepping closer to him. “I was worried about you. You said you’d be home earlier.”

Carmen sighs heavily, running a hand through his unruly hair. “I know, I’m sorry, it was just... things got really busy tonight.”

You nod, biting your lip to hold back the words that threaten to spill out. You want to scream at him, not from a place of anger, but frustration, to make him understand that his health is more important than any sandwich on the menu. But you also know that he pours everything he got into the restaurant.  

“I’m just worried about you, Carmy,” you finally manage to say, your voice tinged with both frustration and concern. “You work yourself to the bone, and it’s taking a toll on you. I can’t bear to see you like this.”

He sighs, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I know,  but there is not much I can do about it, okay. I’m sorry for putting you through this. But I can’t just abandon the restaurant. If I don’t fix it Jimmy’s gonna sell it and turn it into a fucking Applebee’s.” 

Tears well up in your eyes as you take a step closer to him. “I get that, Carm. I do. But you need to take care of yourself too. It hurts seeing you like this.” 

Carmen looks at you, his tired eyes searching your face. There’s a mix of frustration and resignation in his gaze, as if he knows you’re right but doesn’t know how to change the situation. The weight of his responsibilities seems to visibly crush him, and it breaks your heart.

“I know, I know,” Carmen says, his voice tinged with defeat. “But it’s not that simple. The Beef is struggling, and I need to turn it around. I can’t just walk away.”

Your frustration builds, and you can’t help but argue back. “I understand that, Carmy, but you also can’t sacrifice your well-being for the sake of this restaurant. There has to be a way to find a balance, to take care of yourself too.”   

“I know I need to take care of myself, and I don’t want to keep putting you through this,” his voice taking on a more frustrating tone, he isn’t yelling, but there’s an edge to it. “But I just... I don’t know how to do that right now, okay”

The tone of his voice makes you pause for a moment, he has never talked to you like that before and you can’t help but slightly flinch. You know that he is just frustrated but it still makes you feel a deep pang of hurt. It’s not that you’re scared or anything, you know that he would never ever hurt you, you’re just sad that it has come to this. 

But seeing you flinch clearly affects Carmen, his frustrated expression softening, turning into an expression of guilt and regret instead.  

You swallow the lump in your throat and take a deep breath, trying to regain your composure before saying what you need to say. “I love you, Carmen, and I want you to be happy. But I can’t stand by and watch you destroy yourself in the process.” you’re taking a deep breath before continuing, “you’re scaring me.” 

Carmen’s gaze meets yours, the expression in his eyes breaking your heart. “I never wanted to scare you. And I-I would never hurt you.” 

This makes your heart break even more, yes you had flinched at his tone of voice, but not because you in any way had thought he would physically hurt you, never. The thing you’re scared of is that he’ll end up hurting himself…  

You reach out to take Carmen’s hand, wanting to assure him that you understand his intentions, but also wanting to convey the depth of your concern.

“I’m not scared you’ll hurt me, Carm. I know you’d never do that. I’m scared you’ll hurt yourself.” Tears are now streaming down your cheeks, your voice trembling as you’re about to unveil your biggest fear in all of this. “I just don’t want you to end up like Micheal, okay… I was scared that the reason you didn’t come home was because you had blown your brains out on a bridge somewhere.”  

Carmen’s eyes widen at your words, a mixture of shock and pain flashing across his face.

He reaches out to gently wipe away your tears, his touch warm and comforting. “I’m not going to end up like Michael,” he whispers, his voice filled with a mixture of determination and vulnerability. “I promise you, I could never do that to you.”

You hold onto his hand tightly, desperately seeking reassurance. “But Carmy, you’re pushing yourself so hard. You’re not taking care of yourself, and it scares me. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t live without you.”

He pulls you into a tight embrace, holding you as if he never wants to let go. “You don’t have to, I promise you.” His voice cracks with emotion, and you can feel his tears dampening your shoulder.

You hold onto him just as tightly, your heart breaking for the pain he’s been carrying alone and you’re just so happy that he is finally letting himself cry.  

Carmen pulls away slightly to look into your eyes, his expression a mix of gratitude and determination. “I don’t deserve you, but I’m so grateful to have you by my side.”

You smile through your tears, relieved to see him opening up and acknowledging the need for change. “We’ll figure it out together. We’ll find a way to make things work.”

“Yeah, we will,” he nods, before continuing. “I… I actually started going to Al-Anon, I go three times a week.” 

You’re taken aback by Carmen’s revelation, but also immensely proud of him for taking this step. You gently squeeze his hand, your love for him growing with each passing moment. “That’s amazing, Carm,” you say softly. “For how long?”

“I started going two weeks ago, I don’t know why I didn’t say anything earlier,” he admits, a hint of shame in his voice. “I guess I just needed to take it in my own tempo.” 

You shake your head, wiping away your remaining tears. “It’s okay, Carm, I’m just so glad you’re looking out for yourself.” 

Carmen takes a deep breath, his gaze filled with renewed determination. “I really don’t deserve you, thank you for not giving up on me, even when I pushed you away. I love you so much, and I promise I’ll find a way to make this work.”

You lean in and press a gentle kiss to his lips, feeling a sense of hope and unity. “I love you too, Carmy. And yeah, we’ll face this together, one step at a time.”

Thank you for reading! ♡ this is my first time writing for Carmy and I had such a blast writing for him, but I also was a little intimidated by this piece, so please let me know what you thought ♡

[ramp-it-up]

Knock You Down: IV

Photo credit to @thebluemage. Edit mine.

Summary: James Bucky Barnes is an avowed bachelor and one night stand artist. But when he meets you, he finds out that sometimes love comes around, and it knocks you down. Finally! Date Number Threeeeee!

This is a follow up to Part III

Word count: 3.5 K

Pairing: Art Dealer (mob boss) Bucky Barnes x Reader

A/N: This is the final part! (For now) I think that this is one that I will definitely write in answer to asks. I just love these two so so much! Thank all of you for rocking with me on this one. This was in part inspired by Seb Stan's latest pics and this press run 🫠, and partially inspired by an old song by some problematic people, lol. This is the result. As usual, I am Basil Exposition, so this is broken into parts.

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. Read at your own risk. SMUT!!!! The end of the Slow burn, now it's burning very fast 😅. Cursing, flirting, jealousy, apologies, Bucky cooking (a warning!), kissing, dry humping, dirty talk in both English and Romanian, voice kink, oral sex (m and f receiving), protected sex (yay Bucky!) And these two are so fucking fluffy. I'm scared, y'all. I want it to be good enough for the build up.

I no longer have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

-----

As soon as he entered the Brownsville Arts and Culture Center, James Bucky Barnes was hot. Blood was rushing to his ears and he needed a drink. He wasn’t sick; his symptoms were all due to you.

The black dress that adorned your body contained all of his hopes and dreams, but you seemed to be flirting with another man, twirling for him and then giving him a hug. To add insult to injury, you had the nerve to laugh and smile with the punk. 

You in that black dress was everything in the world that Bucky could want, except maybe you out of that black dress. As his eyes traced down your form, he noticed the 5 inch red bottoms that you had on. Yes. You, out of that dress with just the red bottoms. That was what he needed in his life.

But first, he had to take care of that other man.

—-

“Benson’s work emphasizes the subjects’ spiritual essence over their physical appearance, don’t you think?”

You turned around at the sound of the deep baritone. 

“Well hello, Mr. Rogers. How are you today? Delivering an art analysis given to you by AI? Oh. I forgot. You are an ‘art dealer.’ An art dealer who goes to Soul Cycle in Brownsville all of a sudden?”

Steve clutched his heart.

“Ah. I’m hurt, Y/N. I thought we were cool. But I guess I deserved the air quotes.  I do actually love art. I took some art classes when I was a kid and I still love to sketch.”

“Hmmmph. Okay. I’ll give you that. But how is it that you popped up in my Soul Cycle class? Don’t play me, Steven.”

Steve raised his eyebrow at you and grinned. He understood why Buckiy was so drawn to you. Not only were you gorgeous, you were a spitfire. That was hot.

“I would never try to play you, Y/N. I also actually love Soul Cycle. Used to teach a class in Park Slope.”

“I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover, can you?”

Steve’s eyes slid over you appraisingly.

“Speaking of. You look very, very nice today.”

You twirled for him, feeling as safe as you would your brother.

“Nice. Okay, listen. I’m sorry about the other day. I was just trying to protect my friend. And you.”

Steve sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’ve never seen Bucky like this. He’s never been this smitten with someone before and let them into his life. But I get it now.”

Steve’s blue eyes were almost as beautiful as Bucky’s.

“Bucky is my family. Since we were kids. He’s always taken care of me. And I will do anything for him.”

He raised his eyebrow at you.

“I can see now that means that I will do anything for you, because I have a feeling that you’re gonna be around a lot. So do you forgive me?”

You considered Steve. He was not too different from his best friend, and you couldn’t hold a grudge. Not after Bucky laid it all out to you last night You opened your arms.

“Let’s hug it out.”

Steve chuckled and gathered you into his warm embrace. You pulled back and giggled, grinning at him.

“So what makes you think I’m gonna be hanging around?”

“Well, judging from the look on Bucky’s face, he’s serious about you.”

Steve nodded behind you, toward the door. You looked that way and saw James Bucky Barnes headed straight for you. 

And he didn’t look happy.

—--

“Good morning, Frumoasă. You look stunning today. The exhibit is amazing, the space looks great and it seems that the right people are in the building.”

Bucky came up and placed his hand on the small of your back as he spoke to you, ignoring Steve. His blue eyes were storm clouds at the moment, and his touch was electric.

“Thank you, James. You’re so observant, I appreciate that. And you look very handsome today.”

You looked him up and down and bit your lip, meeting his gaze and the way he kept eye contact as he inclined his head in response. 

Bucky was attractive as hell in his black on black shirt, blazer and slacks. You noticed that his collar was unbuttoned; the medallion hanging on his chest made you want to take it between your teeth. You stared at it for a moment, imagining such a scenario where that could happen and then met his eyes again, prompting desire to roll through you as Bucky licked his lips. He was right there with you.

You smiled at him in a way that you didn’t smile at Steve. Who was Steve Rogers, anyway? You could hardly remember meeting him as your mind went to the feel of being in Bucky Barnes’ arms.

You sensed an air of proprietariness as Bucky took your hand and kissed it, causing a shiver to run down your spine. Possessive Bucky Barnes felt like a sin you wanted to indulge in. You cleared your throat and looked at Steve, as if surprised to find him still standing there, watching the show.

“Well, I see some board members over there, I’m going to go do my job. Talk to you later, boys.”

You walked away and gave them a wink over your shoulder, and you caught both of them looking at your ass. You shook your head and chuckled as you went on your way.

“You trying to steal my girl?”

Everyone stopped when Steve laughed, his deep boom a distraction. Bucky still wasn’t amused.

“Oh. So you’re in love.”

“What?”

“You’ve never worried about me taking your leftovers or vice versa before. Hell, we’ve even shared–”

“Shut your fucking mouth.”

Bucky snapped at Steve who put his hands up.

“Whoa, there. Just yanking your chain, buddy; I know she’s special. I wouldn’t dream of making a move on her. Not that she knows I’m alive. When you walked up, I thought I was going to have to take off my jacket so you two could fuck on the floor.”

Bucky was barely listening to Steve as his eyes followed you around the room. One thing Steve said was echoing in his mind: “So you’re in love.”

—-

You floated through the rest of the day on a cloud. The exhibit was a smashing success with the 

Board of Directors in attendance. Securing Howard Benson’s penultimate work from Rebirth was the feather in your cap. 

And you had Bucky to thank for it.

Bucky’s visit was also a hit; he and Steve charmed the board members with the help of Sam and Nat, who arrived later. They all made amends for what occurred that week and you were left very impressed with James Barnes.

After a couple of hours at the event, Bucky came over to let you know he was leaving.

“I will see you later, Frumoasă. I have much to prepare for tonight. Nico will pick you up at 7:30.”

“See you soon, James.”

He kissed your hand again.

“See you soon, Y/N.”

—---

“It is actually insanely attractive how you handled yourself in the kitchen.”

You were seated with Bucky on his couch in his living room, looking over the New York skyline from his Brooklyn penthouse. The dessert had been delicious and the wine in your hand was spectacular. 

“I was sure you’d order something in and just play it off. But I watched you create a meal in front of me, and I should have known that if you said you were going to cook, that you would do just that.”

Bucky’s heart beat double time at what you were saying. He wanted so much for tonight, but most of all, he wanted it to flow naturally. He saw that you were relaxed and open to him, which pleased him immensely.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Frumoasă. I enjoy cooking for my friends and family. Cooking for a beautiful woman is a treat.”

Bucky’s eyes slid over your form. You had changed to jeans and a color block sweater that just put your cleavage out there for the world, which was Bucky Barnes, to see. You also wore the same red bottoms from that day, and Bucky was beginning to think he had a foot fetish as you took them off at his entryway.

You took a sip of wine.

“How often do you do that? Cook for a woman?”

You barely hid your curiosity.

Bucky smiled and drained his glass, reaching over to refill it.

“Not as often as you’d think. Never had any other woman over here. Food is not usually the top priority with them.”

You pouted, which was so cute. Your spark of jealousy inspired Bucky.

“But I don’t want to talk about anyone else. Tonight is about me and you.”

Any uncertainty that arose was quelled by his assertion. You grew warm, so you finished your wine and rose to go to the window. 

“This is the most gorgeous view I’ve ever seen.”

“Absolutely agree.”

You looked behind you and Bucky was still sitting on the couch, hands spread out on the back of it, checking you out. You gave him one of your adorable smiles and he came to stand behind you, and took you in his arms. 

“I want you to know that you deserve everything, Y/N. To be cheered on and protected every day. And thoroughly ruined every night.”

You turned around and his hands went to your hips. It was the perfect moment.

“James?”

“Can I have a kiss?”

Bucky’s eyes dilated, and he moved his hand to your cheek. He licked his lips as he looked deep into your eyes.

“Ah, Frumoasă. I thought you’d never ask.”

His first movement was a subtle brush of your lips. He pulled back to assess the situation, and you didn’t know why, but that made your nipples tighten into stiff peaks. You gasped as Bucky watched you hungrily. 

The air seemed to change around you, and you shivered. He lowered his head so his lips could meet yours again, and this time his mouth was gentle but demanding. You gasped at the spike of electricity that flared between you and Bucky took the opportunity to dip his tongue into your mouth, scorching your lips and soul. With a low groan, he shifted your angle, bending you backward a little to kiss you deeper and ripping a moan from you as you melted against him. 

Good lord, could the man kiss. 

At that point, he was holding you up, one hand on your hip and one hand on the back of your head as you molded yourself against him. Bucky’s fingers dug into you, sure to leave bruises the next day. You relished the thought as you moaned into his mouth again, giving him the opportunity to continue destroying your soul. 

Bucky dragged his lips from yours reluctantly and stared at you, eyes almost black with desire. He brought his thumb up and wiped the moisture from your bottom lip. Motivated, you captured his digit, drawing it into the hot wetness of your mouth. He stared at you, mouth open, as you looked him straight in the eye and started sucking.

Bucky moaned as he pushed his thumb deeper into your mouth, and walked you back to the couch. He extracted his finger, watching the show your lips put on as he pulled it out, leaving them in a delectable pout. 

“More,” Bucky demanded as he crouched down and took your head in both hands as he kissed you again. 

His hands wound up in your hair, tugging gently, then on your back, then your ass as you arched your back to fill his palms. Bucky picked you up, then deposited you on his lap as he sat down on the couch, and you felt how aroused he was. His thick length was where you needed him most.

“Fuck! That feels good.”

Bucky was watching you grind on him like it was the best show on earth. Then he looked up at you.

“Yes, yes it does.”

He leaned forward and captured your bottom lip between his teeth, a preview of how rough he wanted to be with you. Then, he went in for another kiss. That continued for a good five minutes until he pulled away to stare at your swollen lips, and down to your cleavage, which was practically in his face.

When his eyes met yours, you were entranced.

“You good? You want this to happen?”

You nodded and took his hands in yours, guiding them up to your breasts, squeezing yourself with his hands. You rolled your hips, causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

“Like you said, James. More.”

You continued to grind on him, causing him to just gape at your body moving on his.

“I’ve dreamed of this so many times…”

“Yes? Tell me about your dreams, Baby.”

His hands moved to find your nipples through the lace of your bra and the wool of your sweater. He found them in no time, and pinched them lightly, then more roughly when you moaned.

“Mmmmnnnn. So fucking hot.”

Bucky kissed you again and then pulled away as he stared you down and tortured you. 

“I dream about marking you up,” he kissed your neck under your chin, “to your clavicle,” a kiss there, “and all over this beautiful flesh until I get to your nipples.” 

He looked at you for any signs of discomfort as he slipped his hands under your sweater to find the thin lace there. He found your hard peaks again and started rolling them both in his fingers.

“Then I want to kiss and suck them until you come in my arms.”

“Holy god, Jamie….”

Bucky’s eyes rolled at the second pet name you called him and continued.

“Wake up so fucking hard every morning since I met you. Then, I daydream about how wet and tight you will be after I made you cum, and how good it would feel to… to give you my cock. Do y’like that idea, Frumoasă?”

“Y-yesssss!”

“O să te fac să vii pe penisul meu iar și iar, Frumoasă.”

You almost came right then.

“D-don’t know what you said, but yes to whatever you just suggested.”

Bucky pulled you to him, and then chuckled into your ear.

“It means that I want to make you cum over and over again on my cock.”

You were already making a mess in your jeans, but you knew he could feel you soaking them at the moment.

“Please. Give it to me?”

Bucky groaned and kissed you again, this time encircling your waist in his grip and pressing you down on his bulge. 

“You know I can’t deny you anything. Are you certain?”

“Yes, James. Please…”

He lifted you easily, kissing you as he walked you down the hall to his bedroom, depositing you on his bed. 

“Y’look so fucking good.”

He crawled toward you on the bed and settled between your thighs as you hitched your leg over his. You pressed your core against his bulge and it had you muttering.

“Too many clothes.”

Bucky leaned up and you were fumbling with his button and he with yours. You looked up and laughed. 

“Maybe faster the other way.”

“Agreed.”

You two made quick work of your own garments, flinging them around the room between frenzied kisses. The way your eyes widened when Bucky got naked made his chest swell. He wanted you to always look at him like that.

“Wow…,” you said as your eyes roamed his physique.

His cock seemed massive as it slapped him on the abs.

“Wow, indeed,” replied Bucky as he took you in hungrily.

Your white lace underwear looked amazing against your skin and against your cunt it served to make him hungry.

He moved toward you again, kissing up your leg until he got to the edge of your panties and nudged his nose there, making you squirm.

“Smell so good, look so good…”

Bucky kissed at the edge of your underwear,

“I just know you’re gonna taste good too..”

He moved to the center of you, placing a kiss over your lace-covered sodden slit. Then, he looked up at you and smirked before he leaned down and licked you over your panties. 

“Fuck.”

He pulled your panties to the side and gazed at you there. 

Those blue eyes threatened to steal your soul as he gazed at you and confessed, “This is the most gorgeous pussy I’ve ever seen,” and proceeded to lick a rude stripe up the center of you after he tore your panties away.

“Oh my god, James.”

You rolled your hips again and reached down to feel Bucky’s soft hair. He pulled your hips closer and his lips suckled you with more pressure, adding one finger, then two to stretch you out. 

“Gotta get you ready for me, my love.” 

Your eyes rolled back into your head as you moaned through Bucky thrusting his tongue inside you, then pulling back to focus on your clit.

“I c-can’t.. I–”

“Give me my cum, Frumoasă!”

You locked eyes with him as he buried his face in your cunt and shook against him as you came embarrassingly fast, pulling on his messed up curls.

“So fucking delicious. Taste.”

He took your head in both hands and kissed you deeply, and you responded by sucking your essence off of his tongue. You reached down and started stroking his cock, overjoyed and a little bit scared that your fingers didn’t meet around him as he unclasped your bra.

Bucky whimpered as your thumb came up and stroked his sensitive head, spreading his precum over the wide, mushroom cap.

“You’re so fucking huge, Bucky…”

Bucky pulled you toward him as he reached into his bedside drawer for a condom and a bottle.

“And you’re so wet, Furmoasa. We will make this work. Believe me…”

You continued to stroke and watched him as he brought the wrapper to his teeth and him tearing it open was about the hottest act of sexual protection you’d ever seen. Somehow, your mouth ended up sucking his tip as you watched his eyes roll back into his skull.

“That beautiful mouth…”

Bucky put his hand on your head as you tasted him experimentally, wondering if you’d ever be able to take it all. He seemed to read your mind as he spoke next.

“Don’t worry, I plan on us having a lot of practice with this later, but if you don’t let me put this condom on, I’m gonna cum all over your face, Frumoasă…”

You looked up at him and grinned as his cock jumped in your mouth, but you finally pulled off of him with a pop.

“I need to feel you around me when I cum love. S’all I’ve been dreaming of all week.”

Now his chest was heaving as he rolled the condom on, and he pushed you back onto the bed as his hand went to your core once again. You were even wetter than before and Bucky smiled at you, lining up and kissing you on the forehead as he began to breach your folds.

When he slid inside, your fingernails curled into his shoulders and your eyes grew wide. Bucky stopped, concentrating while his cock pumped, barely inside you.

“There is nothing. In the world. Like being inside your soft, wet, cunt.”

“Fuckkkkk!” 

You became even wetter and he slid fully inside you. There, Bucky waited for you to get adjusted around him.

“So fucking tight. And hot. Just like I knew you would be.”

“More, Jamie!”

Smiling, Bucky started moving and you gripped him as he stroked in and out.

“Please don’t stop. Harder!”

Bucky grabbed the headboard and gave you what you wanted. His other hand pulled your hair and his strokes became more intense.

“Wanted to last longer, but I can’t, Baby. So beautiful. Pussy made for me. Cuming soon, but later… O să te fac să vii pe penisul meu iar și iar, Frumoasă. I never make a promise I can’t keep.”

You orgasm whited out your vision and your throat burned as you screamed. Bucky roared, filling the condom with copious amounts of cum. Your cunt was milking him and he hoped it would hold. He stayed sunk into you as long as he could before he had to get up and rid himself of the prophylactic.

He was only in the en suite for a few minutes as you floated in and out of sleep, lust drunk and exhausted.

Bucky climbed back into bed and got both of you situated under the covers, whispering in your ear.

“Stay tonight.”

“Of course. That was the plan, wasn’t it?”

Both of you chuckled, because you knew it was true. Bucky kissed your ear and waited for your breath to even out. When he thought you were asleep, he whispered again.

“I’m going to be a better man for you, Frumoasă.”

“You are exactly who you need to be, James Barnes. Just keep moving forward. Tomorrow is another day to do that.”

After a few more minutes, you spoke again.

“Tomorrow will only be a week that we’ve known each other. Imagine that.” 

Bucky buried his nose in your hair, inhaling your scent.

“Guess I better wait until tomorrow to ask you to marry me.”

You laughed a sleepy laugh.

“You got jokes.”

“You know me, Frumoasă. A professional comedian.”

But somewhere in the dark of Bucky Barnes’ closet, a diamond found some light and sparkled.

——

The next morning is here ;)

Please, please! Let me know!

[dee-writes-anime]

Through The Ashes

FEATURING Keigo 'Hawks' Takami x Reader

SUMMARY He won't ever stop looking for you.

CONTENT WARNINGS angst, fluff, descriptions of injuries and war, worried birdy :(

AUTHORS NOTE Hawks has been PLAGUING me ever since they animated him getting choked out by afo. What a daddy broooo

Thick, acrid smoke hung heavy in the air, stinging your eyes and filling your lungs as you watched the aftermath of the battle unfold. Flames still crackled in the distance, licking the sky like the world was burning itself alive. Debris littered the ground in every direction, and the sharp, high-pitched whine of sirens echoed faintly behind you, warning civilians to stay away. Yet, as much as every instinct screamed for you to turn back, you couldn’t.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the chaos ahead. The explosion—Toya’s explosion—had been deafening, shaking the earth beneath your feet like an unholy force, and now all you could see were shadows against the inferno. The heat was intense, suffocating, but none of that mattered to you anymore. Not when you saw the figures rushing toward the heart of the flames.

The Todoroki family.

You knew of them, of course—everyone did. Endeavor, the Number One Hero, and his family were always in the headlines. But what you saw now was something raw, something terrifying and intimate. The way they ran toward the flames, toward the place where Dabi—Toya—had been… it wasn’t the hero family you knew from the news. It was just a family, shattered and desperate.

Without thinking, you took a step forward.

Your hands trembled as you pulled your coat tighter around your body, not from the cold, but from fear. There was no logical reason for you to follow them into the wreckage, into the heart of danger, and yet something inside you refused to let them go alone. You didn’t know these people, had no personal stake in their battle, but the sight of them rushing toward the inferno—the father, the children—all of them so broken yet moving forward—it clawed at your chest. Your feet moved on their own, pushing you through the smoldering remnants of the battlefield.

“Wait!” you called, though your voice was swallowed by the roaring fire and the distant shouts of heroes trying to contain the chaos. “Wait!”

They didn’t hear you. They couldn’t. And yet, you kept going.

The heat was overwhelming. Every breath you took felt like inhaling fire, the smoke thickening the deeper you ventured. The acrid smell of burning filled your senses—scorched earth, wood, metal, and something far worse. Your heart pounded in your chest, a mix of fear and determination as your mind raced. You didn’t know what you would do once you caught up to them—didn’t know how you could possibly help—but standing by and doing nothing wasn’t an option. It never had been.

All around you, the remnants of the battle lay scattered. Chunks of debris from fallen buildings, charred vehicles, and the occasional flicker of blue flame still licking at the edges of the wreckage. The world felt like it was ending, and you were running straight toward its center.

You had always been the type of person who couldn’t turn away from those in need. The type to throw yourself into situations others might have avoided, driven by a heart too full of empathy. It was that same instinct that led you now, pushing you forward through the smoke and ruin, your legs moving faster than your brain could process. You didn’t even stop to consider what you were really doing.

Ahead of you, you could still see the Todorokis—Endeavor’s tall frame leading the way, his daughter and sons close behind. Even in the haze, you could feel the tension radiating from them, their steps urgent and frantic as they headed toward the epicenter of it all—toward where Toya had been. There was something tragic about the sight, a family fractured and yet still tied together by the weight of their past, their shared pain.

You stumbled over a chunk of debris, your hands flying out to catch yourself before you hit the ground. A sharp pain shot through your knee as you landed, scraping against the jagged edge of something metallic, but you didn’t stop. You couldn’t. You pushed yourself up, wincing as you forced your legs to keep moving. The smoke grew thicker with each step, the world blurring around you in shades of grey and orange.

It wasn’t rational, this pull inside you. You were just a civilian who had somehow found herself caught in the middle of a war too large, too dangerous. And yet, all you could think about was making sure they were okay. That this family, already so broken, wouldn’t lose more than they already had.

As the heat intensified, sweat dripped down the back of your neck, your clothes clinging to your skin. Your heartbeat thundered in your ears, each breath harder to pull in than the last. But you were close now. You could see them more clearly, the tension in their shoulders, the desperation in their movements.

Your chest ached as you watched them, and for a moment, you wondered why you cared so much. Why were you so willing to throw yourself into this mess? You had no connection to them, no reason to be here. But that didn’t matter. It never had. You couldn’t stand the idea of them suffering alone.

A flash of blue flames roared to life in the distance, making you freeze in your tracks. Your heart dropped, panic clawing at your throat as you watched the fire dance wildly, so familiar, so destructive. You flinched as a sharp crack filled the air—an explosion, small but enough to send a ripple of terror through your body. The battle wasn’t over yet.

Still, you didn’t turn back.

You ran, ignoring the burning in your lungs, the sting in your eyes. The smoke was suffocating now, so thick you could barely see a few feet in front of you. But you kept running toward them, toward the flames, your hands trembling, your breath coming in short, ragged bursts.

You didn’t know if they were okay. You didn’t even know if you’d make it to them in time.

But you had to try.

As you fought to keep going, the chaos around you seemed to blur, your mind drifting for just a moment. Flashes of your past flickered through the haze, small memories surfacing like whispers at the edges of your thoughts.

You remembered the old woman who lived in the apartment next to yours, her voice always soft with age and a weariness that came from living too many years alone. You’d see her every day, struggling to carry groceries up the stairs, her back bent with the weight of time. Most people ignored her, passing by with hurried footsteps, their lives too busy to notice. But you couldn’t. You couldn’t watch her struggle in silence. Every week, you’d knock on her door, offering to help, a small smile on your face. The way her tired eyes would light up at the sight of you—so grateful for such a simple kindness—it was something that always stayed with you.

Even now, in the middle of all this destruction, you could hear her voice in your head. “You’re too kind for your own good, dear. This world will eat you up if you’re not careful.”

But you hadn’t been careful. Not then, not now.

Your feet stumbled over another piece of rubble, pulling you sharply back to the present. The smoke made it hard to breathe, every inhale feeling like fire searing your throat, but still, you pressed on. The Todorokis were just ahead, their silhouettes barely visible through the haze. You had to make sure they were okay. You had to.

Another memory surfaced, as vivid as the heat surrounding you. This time, it was a rainy afternoon, the streets slick with water, and you were on your way home from work. You remembered the boy—barely a teenager, sitting on the curb with his head hung low, his clothes soaked through. People walked past him, umbrellas up, eyes averted. He was invisible to them. But not to you.

You couldn’t forget the way his shoulders trembled, his hands clenching around the thin fabric of his jacket, trying to hide the fact that he was shivering. Without thinking, you had rushed to his side, crouching down and offering him your own umbrella. You had barely any money on you, but you gave him enough for a warm meal, your heart aching for this kid who had nothing.

“Why are you doing this?” he had asked, his voice barely audible over the rain. You remembered the way his eyes had searched yours, confused and a little suspicious, as if he couldn’t understand why a stranger would care.

“Because someone should,” you had replied simply, your words sincere.

That was who you were. Someone who couldn’t stand by while others suffered. Someone who would rather run headfirst into the fire than live with the guilt of doing nothing. And that’s why, now, with the world burning around you, you couldn’t turn back.

The memory faded as a sharp gust of wind sent sparks flying past your face, bringing you back to the present once more. Your heart pounded in your chest, your lungs burning, but your resolve never wavered.

Another flash of memory struck you—this time of the day you stood up for the girl at the coffee shop. She had been just a little older than you, her face pale and her hands trembling as the man at the counter berated her, his voice dripping with condescension. People had looked on in silence, awkwardly sipping their drinks, unwilling to get involved. But you had stepped in, your voice firm as you stood between them, calling the man out for his cruelty. You could still see the shock in his eyes, the way he had stammered before leaving in a huff. And you could still remember the way the girl had thanked you, her eyes wide with relief, as if she hadn’t expected anyone to come to her defense.

You had always been like that—driven by an empathy that wouldn’t let you stand on the sidelines. Even when it hurt, even when it was hard. You couldn’t turn away from someone in pain.

And now, in the middle of this war-torn battlefield, you knew you couldn’t leave the Todorokis to face this alone.

The weight of the destruction pressed down on you, and for a moment, doubt whispered in your mind. Who were you to think you could help? You weren’t a hero. You didn’t have a quirk, didn’t have any special powers to save the day. You were just… you. A civilian. Ordinary. But that had never stopped you before. It didn’t matter who you were. What mattered was that you cared. And that, somehow, always seemed to be enough.

With a renewed sense of purpose, you pushed forward, your feet moving faster now, ignoring the searing pain in your lungs, the ash that coated your skin. You weren’t going to let them face this alone.

Keigo’s chest felt like it was on fire. Each breath was a battle, the air thick with smoke and ash, choking him as he staggered forward. His wings, once powerful and graceful, dragged behind him like broken remnants of what they used to be. Feathers lay scattered in the debris, singed and bloodied, just like everything else around him. But none of that mattered.

Not when you were missing.

His vision blurred as he fought to stay upright, the pain from his injuries dulling into a distant ache, overshadowed by the suffocating weight of fear that gnawed at his every thought. He couldn’t focus on the war, couldn’t think about the destruction all around him. All he could think about was you, disappearing into the flames, into the heart of the chaos.

“Let me go,” he growled, shoving the hands of the medics away as they tried once more to stop him. They were persistent, their voices tight with concern, but they didn’t understand. They didn’t get it. No one did. How could they?

“Sir, you need treatment—” one of them started, her words hurried, but Keigo wasn’t listening. He couldn’t. His mind was a whirlwind of panic, of memories crashing over him like waves, pulling him under. His body protested every movement, pain radiating through his chest and side, his wings twitching uselessly behind him, but he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t.

“I don’t care,” he snapped, shoving past them with more force than necessary. His voice was hoarse, raw from shouting your name, but he didn’t care about that either. He didn’t care about the blood dripping from the gash on his forehead, or the sharp sting of his cracked ribs. The only thing he cared about was finding you.

Because if he didn’t—if he lost you—nothing else would matter.

Keigo stumbled over a broken piece of concrete, catching himself just in time before he fell. His knees buckled beneath him, his legs screaming in protest, but he forced himself to keep moving. He couldn’t afford to stop. His golden eyes, usually sharp and focused, were wild now, darting through the smoke and flames, searching desperately for any sign of you.

But there was nothing.

Just ash, and smoke, and the broken remains of the world around him.

A sharp, painful memory surfaced as he pushed through the debris. He could see it so clearly—you, sitting across from him in his apartment, the two of you sharing one of those quiet moments that he had come to treasure more than anything. You had been laughing at something ridiculous he’d said, your eyes crinkling at the corners, that familiar warmth radiating from you like sunlight. He had always loved the sound of your laughter, the way it made everything feel lighter, like the weight of the world wasn’t so crushing when you were around.

That night, you had curled up beside him, your head resting on his shoulder, and for the first time in a long time, Keigo had felt at peace. He’d felt safe.

Now, that peace felt like it was slipping away. Like it was being ripped from him, piece by piece, with every second that passed without you by his side.

Where are you?

His heart pounded in his chest, a frantic rhythm that echoed the fear gnawing at his insides. You were out there somewhere, lost in the wreckage, and he wasn’t there to protect you. That thought alone was enough to send another surge of panic coursing through him. His wings twitched instinctively, trying to lift him into the air, but they were too damaged. Useless. He gritted his teeth against the frustration that tore at him.

He was always supposed to be the one who saved others, the one who swooped in at the last second, wings spread wide, to pull them from the brink. But now… now it felt like he was the one drowning.

Keigo’s breath came in sharp, shallow bursts as he forced his legs to keep moving. The pain in his side was unbearable, every step sending a fresh wave of agony through his body, but he ignored it. He had to. He had to find you.

Another memory hit him, this one softer, but no less painful. It was a quiet morning, sunlight streaming through the windows, casting golden light across your skin as you lay beside him. He remembered watching you sleep, his heart full in a way that was unfamiliar to him—so foreign, and yet so right. He’d never been good at letting people in, never been good at trusting anyone to stay. But you… you had changed that.

You had become the center of his world without him even realizing it.

The thought of losing you now, of never seeing you smile again, never hearing your laughter or feeling your warmth beside him—it was too much. It was unbearable.

His heart clenched painfully as he staggered forward, his wings dragging behind him, broken and battered, just like him.

The medics had given up by now, their shouts fading into the background as Keigo pushed deeper into the wreckage, his mind consumed by fear. His hands shook as he grabbed at a piece of fallen debris, tossing it aside with more force than necessary. His muscles screamed in protest, but he didn’t care.

He had to find you.

He couldn’t stop. Not until he found you.

You’re too kind for your own good, you know that? The memory of his own voice echoed in his head, a teasing remark he’d made once during one of your late-night conversations. You’d been sitting on the couch, your legs tucked beneath you, eyes soft as you listened to him talk about the latest mission. He had always admired that about you—your kindness, your empathy. But now, that very kindness had led you into danger. You had run into the flames, into the destruction, without a second thought.

Why did you do it? he wondered, his chest tightening with every passing second. Why did you run into the fire?

But he knew the answer, didn’t he? You couldn’t stand by while others suffered. It was who you were. The same reason you had always stayed up late to listen to him vent, always showed up with that smile that made the world seem a little less dark. You were selfless in a way that frightened him, a way that made him love you more than he ever thought possible. And that was why he was terrified now.

Because that selflessness could get you killed.

“Damn it,” Keigo muttered, his voice cracking as he called out your name again, his throat raw from the smoke, from the desperation that clawed at him like a living thing. His legs buckled beneath him, and for a moment, he collapsed to his knees, his body trembling from exhaustion, from fear. His hands dug into the ground, dirt and ash slipping through his fingers as he fought to keep moving, fought to push himself up again.

He couldn’t stop.

Not until he found you.

The world around him was crumbling, flames licking at the edges of the destruction, the acrid stench of smoke and blood filling the air. Heroes and civilians lay scattered across the battlefield, some being tended to by medics, others… others weren’t moving. But Keigo’s mind was a blur, his thoughts fixated on one thing, one person.

You.

He forced himself to stand, his body screaming in protest, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t afford to care. The thought of losing you—of never seeing you again—it was enough to make him feel like he was suffocating. Like the air had been ripped from his lungs.

“Come on… please…” he whispered, his voice barely audible as he staggered forward again, his heart pounding, his vision blurring with tears he refused to acknowledge.

He couldn’t lose you.

Not like this.

Keigo’s legs were failing him, each step a struggle as the ground beneath him seemed to shift, unsteady and broken like the world around him. He could barely keep his feet under him as he pressed forward, forcing his battered body through the ruins. The smoke was so thick now that it burned his lungs, every breath ragged and painful, but none of it mattered—not when the only thought in his head was finding you.

“Please…” he rasped, his voice barely a whisper, hoarse from shouting, from the smoke, from the sheer panic that clawed at his throat. He stumbled again, his boots catching on a piece of fallen debris, and he went crashing to his knees. Sharp pain shot up his legs, but he pushed it aside. He couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when every second without you felt like a lifetime.

Your name tore from his lips again, a desperate cry swallowed by the chaos around him. The sound of crackling flames, of distant shouting, all of it drowned out the voice in his head screaming for you, his heart pounding with a frantic urgency that felt like it was going to tear him apart.

Where were you? Why couldn���t he find you?

His hands dug into the scorched earth, fingers curling into fists as he forced himself back up, shaky and weak. His wings dragged behind him like lead weights, broken and useless, but none of that mattered. He couldn’t fly—he couldn’t even run—but he would crawl if he had to. Anything to get to you.

Keigo’s eyes darted through the wreckage, searching, searching… but every face he passed was unfamiliar. Strangers—heroes and civilians alike—lay scattered across the battlefield, some being tended to by medics, others motionless, lost to the carnage. But none of them were you.

His heart clenched painfully, his mind spiraling as he staggered forward, his breaths coming in shallow, desperate gasps. His mind raced with questions, with fears, each one more terrifying than the last.

Had something happened to you?

Were you hurt? Trapped?

Or worse… had you been caught in the explosion?

That thought alone was enough to send a fresh wave of panic crashing over him, making his vision blur, his heart race. He couldn’t—he wouldn’t—let himself think that. You had to be okay. You had to be out here somewhere, waiting for him. He refused to believe anything else. But the longer he searched, the longer he called out your name and heard nothing in return, the harder it became to hold onto that hope.

And then, through the haze of smoke and destruction, he saw them.

The Todoroki family.

They were emerging from the flames, their silhouettes hazy against the backdrop of devastation. For a moment, Keigo’s heart leaped into his throat. Maybe—just maybe—you were with them. Maybe you had stayed close, maybe—

But as they drew closer, his hope shattered.

You weren’t with them.

His heart plummeted, his legs nearly giving out beneath him as he stumbled forward, his wings dragging limply behind him. He watched as Shoto helped his father walk, the two of them bloodied and exhausted but alive, with Fuyumi and Natsuo at their side. They were safe. The Todoroki family had made it through the flames, but you…

You were nowhere to be seen.

Keigo’s vision blurred with a fresh wave of panic, his mind spiraling, thoughts crashing over him in a tidal wave of fear.

Where were you?

Why weren’t you with them? Had something happened? Had you… had you been caught in the blast?

No.

The word cut through his mind like a blade, sharp and immediate, but it did nothing to stop the growing dread that gnawed at his insides. His chest tightened painfully, his heart racing as worst-case scenarios flooded his thoughts.

What if you had been caught in the explosion? What if you hadn’t made it? What if he never got to see you again, never got to hold you, to tell you—

Stop.

Keigo shook his head, forcing the thoughts down, but they were relentless, clawing at him like a living thing. His breath came in sharp, shallow gasps, his body trembling with exhaustion, with fear, with the crushing weight of it all. His wings twitched, instinctively trying to lift him into the air, to give him some kind of advantage, but they were too damaged, too weak.

He was useless.

His chest burned with the effort of trying to breathe, trying to keep himself steady, but the panic was overwhelming now. It felt like the world was collapsing in on him, like the walls were closing in and he couldn’t escape. His mind raced, spiraling out of control, each thought more frantic, more desperate than the last.

What if something happened to her?

What if I can’t find her?

What if she’s gone?

Keigo staggered forward, his legs threatening to give out, but he refused to stop. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Not until he found you.

Not until he knew you were okay.

“Where is she?” he rasped, his voice barely audible as he called out to the Todorokis. His throat burned, raw from the smoke and shouting, but he didn’t care. “Where—”

But the words got stuck in his throat as they turned to face him, their expressions mirroring his own—exhaustion, fear, relief for their survival, but no answers. They didn’t know. They hadn’t seen you.

You weren’t with them.

And that realization hit Keigo harder than anything else. Harder than the explosion, harder than the injuries that covered his body, harder than the weight of the war. The fact that you weren’t with them, that you were still out there somewhere, alone, maybe hurt, maybe—

No.

Keigo shook his head again, harder this time, trying to clear the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn’t lose you. He wouldn’t lose you. But as the seconds ticked by, each one stretching into an eternity, the fear gnawing at him grew sharper, more suffocating.

He needed to find you.

Now.

Without another word, without waiting for the Todorokis to respond, Keigo turned and staggered deeper into the wreckage, his legs barely supporting him. His wings twitched uselessly behind him, the pain in his side flaring with every breath, but none of it mattered.

None of it mattered if he couldn’t find you.

Keigo was on the edge of losing it. His legs trembled beneath him, his body a fragile shell held together by sheer desperation. Every corner he rounded, every pile of debris he overturned, his hope slipped further away. His voice was hoarse from shouting, from begging the universe for any sign of you, but the only answer was the crackle of flames and the distant wails of survivors.

His chest tightened, an unbearable pressure building behind his ribs. He had fought wars, faced enemies that made grown men tremble, but nothing had ever scared him like this. The thought of losing you, of never seeing your face again, felt like it would tear him apart from the inside out. He stumbled through the wreckage, feeling like a man chasing a ghost.

Until he heard it.

A voice—your voice—soft but unmistakable, rising faintly above the chaos.

Keigo’s heart lurched in his chest, his breath catching in his throat. For a split second, he froze, too afraid to believe it was real. His mind raced, doubt clawing at him—Am I imagining it? Is it just wishful thinking?

But then he heard it again, clearer this time. You.

Without thinking, his body moved before his mind could catch up. He turned sharply, his wings dragging painfully against the ground as he forced his legs to carry him toward the sound. His heart pounded, hope igniting like a fragile spark that he clung to with everything he had.

And then he saw you.

Near the collapsed remains of a building, your clothes singed, your hands blackened with soot, but you were there. You were alive. Keigo nearly collapsed at the sight. You weren’t just sitting idly, either. You were kneeling beside a civilian, tending to them, trying to help, your expression full of determination despite the chaos around you. Even after everything—after the fire, the explosions, the danger—you were still helping others. It was so you, and his chest swelled with a mixture of overwhelming love and pure, unrelenting relief.

Keigo’s legs nearly gave out beneath him as he rushed forward, his body trembling with exhaustion, his wings dragging uselessly behind him. His vision blurred with tears he hadn’t realized he was holding back, his throat tight with emotion as he reached you. He barely noticed the pain in his body, the stinging gash on his forehead, or the smoke filling the air around him. None of it mattered.

All that mattered was you.

He fell to his knees beside you, his hands shaking as they reached for you, unable to stop himself from pulling you into his arms. The moment his arms closed around you, he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The weight of the fear, the panic, the agonizing uncertainty—it all came crashing down, replaced by the overwhelming relief that coursed through him like a tidal wave.

“You’re okay,” he whispered, his voice cracking as he held you tight, his wings trembling with emotion. “You’re okay…”

You didn’t have time to react before his grip tightened, as if he was afraid you might slip away again. He buried his face in the crook of your neck, his breath shaky as he held you against him, his heart pounding in his chest. His body was trembling, not from pain, but from the sheer intensity of the relief that washed over him.

For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. All the words he wanted to say—the fear, the panic, the love—they all seemed to choke him, stuck in his throat as he clung to you like you were the only thing tethering him to reality.

Finally, he pulled back just enough to meet your eyes, his golden gaze filled with a depth of emotion you hadn’t seen before. His voice trembled as he spoke, the words barely above a whisper.

“What were you thinking?” His voice cracked, a mix of frustration and overwhelming relief. He pressed his forehead against yours, his breath coming in shallow, shaky bursts as he tried to steady himself. “I thought I lost you…”

His voice broke on the last word, the raw emotion in it palpable. His fingers curled gently around the back of your neck, his forehead still pressed against yours as he closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of smoke and soot and you. He couldn’t bring himself to let go, not yet, not when he had come so close to losing everything.

“I thought…” He swallowed hard, the words faltering on his tongue. “I thought you were gone.”

The vulnerability in his voice—the sheer terror that had consumed him—was unlike anything you had ever heard from him before. He was always so composed, so confident, but now… now he was broken, his heart laid bare in a way that he rarely let anyone see.

Keigo’s fingers trembled as they trailed down your arm, his grip tightening again, his wings trembling behind him. He was trying to be strong, but the fear of what could have happened, of what almost happened, was still too close, too real.

His breath hitched as he rested his forehead against yours, his golden eyes fluttering shut. “You scared the hell out of me.”

You reached up, your soot-covered fingers gently cupping his face, brushing away a tear that had slipped down his cheek. The small gesture broke something in him, and he let out a shaky breath, leaning into your touch. For a moment, he just let himself be there, let himself feel the relief, the warmth, the overwhelming gratitude that you were still here.

Alive. Safe.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered softly, your voice hoarse but steady. “I couldn’t just stand by…”

Keigo let out a soft, bitter laugh, shaking his head slightly. Of course, you couldn’t. He knew that. It was who you were—selfless, kind, always putting others before yourself. And that was exactly what terrified him. You would run into the flames without a second thought if it meant saving someone else, even if it meant risking your own life. And while that was part of why he loved you, it was also what scared him the most.

“You could’ve been killed,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I… I can’t lose you. Not you.”

His forehead remained pressed against yours, the heat of his breath mixing with yours in the space between you. He was trembling still, his body weak and battered, but none of that mattered. Not when he had you in his arms, alive and safe. He would deal with everything else later—the wounds, the destruction, the aftermath of the war.

For now, all that mattered was that you were here.

You could feel Keigo’s breath, uneven and ragged, as he held you tightly, his forehead pressed against yours, his body trembling with the aftermath of fear and relief. For a moment, you couldn’t find the words. Your own body was exhausted, limbs heavy from the sheer weight of everything you’d just been through, but the warmth of his embrace was enough to steady you, to remind you that you had made it—that he had found you.

"I’m sorry," you murmured again, your voice soft but steady. You could feel the guilt, the concern radiating off him, but you had to make him understand. You reached up, your fingers brushing lightly against his cheek, tracing the edges of the soot and dirt smudged there. "I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Not when people needed help. Not when—"

Your voice faltered as his grip on you tightened, his hands curling protectively around your back, pulling you even closer as if he was afraid that if he let go, you would disappear again. His wings, tattered and battered, trembled behind him, but you could feel the emotion rolling off him in waves, raw and unguarded.

“I know,” he whispered, his voice thick with a mixture of frustration and love. “I know that’s who you are. But… god, I thought I lost you.”

His words pierced your heart, and in that moment, you could feel the weight of his fear, the depth of his desperation. You had never seen him like this before—not Hawks, the confident, sharp-witted hero who always seemed to have everything under control. This was Keigo, the man who loved you, the man who had been terrified of losing you.

Your hands moved up to cradle his face, your thumbs gently brushing the tears that clung to the corners of his eyes. You hated seeing him like this, so broken, so vulnerable, but you knew that it was because of how much you meant to him. And that knowledge—that overwhelming love—was enough to chase away the exhaustion that had been weighing on you.

“I’m okay,” you whispered, your voice steady as you leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

His breath hitched slightly at your words, and you felt him relax just a little, his grip on you loosening enough for you to lean back and look into his eyes. His golden irises, usually so bright and full of life, were clouded with emotion, but there was relief there too—relief that you were safe, that you were still with him.

And in that moment, all the chaos around you seemed to fade away.

The crackling of flames, the distant cries of survivors, the murmur of medics—it all melted into the background, as if the world had shrunk down to just the two of you, holding each other in the midst of the devastation. It was as if, for that brief moment, nothing else mattered. Not the war, not the destruction, not even the pain. Just the two of you, breathing in each other’s presence, finding solace in the simple fact that you were together.

Your hands slid down to rest on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing, the rapid beat of his heart slowly beginning to calm. You could feel how much he had been hurting, how much fear had consumed him, and your heart ached for him. You wanted to take that fear away, to reassure him that you weren’t going to slip through his fingers.

But before you could say anything more, you heard the sound of footsteps—quick and purposeful—closing in around you. The medics had caught up.

"Sir, you’re injured. We need to—"

"No," Keigo growled, his wings twitching protectively as they tried to usher him away. "I’m not leaving her. I’m not letting go."

The medics hesitated, their eyes wide as they took in the sight of the number two hero, bloodied and broken, clutching you as if his very life depended on it. His wings flared slightly, despite the obvious pain it caused him, making it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere without you by his side.

"Both of them need treatment," one of the medics said, her voice soft but firm. "We’ll tend to them together."

Keigo didn’t even acknowledge the medic’s words, his focus entirely on you. His fingers threaded through your hair, his gaze locked onto yours as if he couldn’t bear to look away, as if he needed the reassurance that you were still there, still breathing, still alive.

"Keigo," you murmured softly, your hands finding his again, gently squeezing them. "It’s okay. Let them help."

For a moment, he didn’t respond, his jaw clenched tightly, his wings twitching in agitation. But after a long, tense second, he nodded, albeit reluctantly, his hands never leaving yours. His grip on you remained firm, even as the medics began to assess your injuries side by side. They worked quickly, efficiently, but with a gentleness that suggested they knew better than to push Keigo too far.

The pain of your wounds began to register now that the adrenaline was wearing off, but even through the aches, you found yourself focused entirely on Keigo. You could see the exhaustion weighing him down, the cuts and bruises marring his skin, the blood soaking through the bandages on his side. Yet, despite everything, he still held onto you, refusing to let go, his eyes never leaving yours.

"You were hurt, too," you whispered, your thumb brushing over his knuckles as you held his hand. "You should’ve let them treat you first."

He let out a soft, bitter laugh, shaking his head. "I don’t care about me," he murmured, his voice rough with emotion. "I care about you. I—"

His words trailed off, his throat tightening again as his eyes closed for a moment, as if he was trying to hold back the flood of emotions that threatened to spill over. When he opened them again, his gaze was softer, more vulnerable than you had ever seen it.

"I can’t lose you," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the chaos around you. "I can’t."

Tears pricked at your eyes, your heart swelling with a mixture of love and sorrow. You wanted to tell him that you weren’t going anywhere, that you were safe, that you would always come back to him. But the words didn’t come. Instead, you simply held his hand tighter, letting the unspoken promise hang between you.

The medics continued their work, bandaging your wounds and tending to Keigo’s injuries, but neither of you moved, neither of you willing to break the connection that tethered you together. Even in the middle of the wreckage, even with the world in ruins around you, there was a sense of peace in that moment—a fragile, fleeting calm that you both clung to.

The world outside was still in chaos—firefighters working to extinguish the last of the flames, medics rushing between survivors, the distant wails of sirens cutting through the air. But for you and Keigo, none of that mattered right now. In this small bubble of shared warmth, where his wings wrapped protectively around you and his hand never let go of yours, there was peace. For the first time since the explosion, since the world had turned to ash around you, there was quiet.

The two of you rested together, sitting amid the broken ruins of a world still recovering from war, but all Keigo could think about was you—how you were here, alive, against all odds. He pulled you closer, his wings folding tighter around you like a shield against the devastation that still lingered around you.

"I’m not letting you out of my sight again," he murmured softly, his voice thick with a promise that went beyond just words. His forehead pressed lightly against yours, his breath warm against your skin. "Not after this. Never again."

His grip on your hand tightened, as if to remind himself that you were still here, still solid and real. The fear that had gripped him so tightly earlier hadn’t completely faded, lingering in the back of his mind like a shadow, but now, with you in his arms, he knew he could breathe again. He knew you were safe. For now, that was enough.

Your eyes, still tired but full of understanding, met his. You saw the depth of his emotion, the silent turmoil that still lingered beneath the surface, but you also saw the love that had carried him through all of this—the love that had driven him to search for you when he should have been resting, the love that had made him fight through the pain just to find you. And it was that love that made you smile softly, despite everything.

“I know,” you whispered, your voice soft but firm, filled with the same promise. “We made it through the flames together.”

His heart squeezed at your words. You had always been so brave, so strong, even when the world crumbled around you. You had never hesitated to run into danger to help others, and while it terrified him, it was also part of why he loved you so much. But he couldn’t lose you. Not like this. Not ever.

Keigo let out a shaky breath, his thumb brushing lightly against your knuckles as he spoke, his voice quieter now, almost reverent. "I’ve fought wars. I’ve faced death more times than I can count. But this…" His voice wavered for a moment as he closed his eyes, his forehead still resting against yours. "This is different. Losing you—" His breath hitched, and he shook his head, unable to finish the sentence.

You placed your other hand gently against his cheek, guiding his gaze back to yours. "But you didn’t," you said softly, your voice carrying a gentle reassurance. "I’m right here. We’re both still here."

His eyes flickered, golden and tired but filled with something softer now—relief, love, and a quiet kind of determination. He nodded slightly, letting himself believe it, letting himself sink into the comfort of your presence. You were here. You had made it through the flames, through the chaos, and despite everything that had happened, you were together.

Keigo’s wings, tattered as they were, curled protectively around you once more, their warmth a soft contrast to the cool night air that had begun to settle over the ruins. His head tilted slightly, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, lingering there as if to ground himself in the reality of this moment.

"I don’t care what happens next," he murmured, his voice low but filled with resolve. "I don’t care about the aftermath or the rebuilding or any of it. As long as I have you… that’s all I need."

You leaned into him, resting your head against his shoulder, the weight of the battle and the destruction finally beginning to settle in your bones. It was over. For now, at least. The war, the flames, the terror—it had all passed, leaving behind scars and wreckage, but also this. The two of you, holding each other in the aftermath, finding solace in the fact that you had survived. Together.

The night air was heavy with the scent of smoke and ash, the distant hum of voices still echoing through the broken city, but in this small pocket of peace, it was just you and Keigo. The weight of the near loss, of how close you had both come to losing each other, hung in the air, unspoken but understood. Yet, despite everything, there was a quiet comfort in the way he held you now, his arms wrapped securely around you as if he was never going to let go.

And he wasn’t.

Not now, not ever.

"I’ll keep you safe," he whispered, the promise threading through his words like a lifeline. "Always."

You closed your eyes, resting your hand gently on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath your palm. It was the sound of life, of survival, of the love that had carried you both through the flames.

And as the world slowly began to rebuild itself around you, as the fires were extinguished and the chaos gave way to quiet, you knew that no matter what came next, you would face it together.

Because you had made it through the flames once, and you would make it through anything else that followed.

[pierregazly]

in the mind of another ꨄ max verstappen

max verstappen x fem!soulmate!reader

warnings: mentions of sexual themes (no smut), pining/yearning for another, tiny bit of angst but hea! [wc is 5.4k]

in which soulmates always have a way of building the connection with one another. for you and max, you've always been the voice instead the others head, the one thing that has always been a constant presence. but will that voice inside your head, ever be the voice you hear from in front of you?

By legal terms, a soulmate was defined as “person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity.  This may involve similarity, love, romance, platonic relationships, comfort, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality, compatibility and trust.” In today’s day and age, more often than not, your soulmate was that of romantic origin, a person you yearned for on a regular basis. 

It was something instilled in you at an early age, that everyone had a soulmate, but not everyone met their soulmate. Everyone had a way of interacting with their soulmate before they met. You learned early on, very early on, that you could interact with your soulmate through your mind. Through words, pictures, even internal conversations. But sometimes those interactions would lead to nothing, and your parents tried to ensure you were aware of that in the fear that you would be heartbroken one day.  

One thing you could never do was tell them your name, who you were, or where you were until it was time. It was like your mind would go elsewhere when you tried to tell the male on the other end who you were. He told you the same thing happened to him every time he tried.  

The both of you spent a plentiful amount of time interacting in your shared youth. He would often ramble on about his day, about go-karting, and his dad who he kind of hated but obviously loved, about his mum who he missed, and his sister who he couldn’t wait to see when she came to visit him wherever he was in the world. 

You would do the same, you’d tell him about the things you did that specific day, explain little things about your family, the things you looked forward to for the remainder of the week. It was something you both just got used to. 

The both of you grew up together. Even if it wasn’t physical, you were an emotional tether for one another when either of you needed it. He was there for almost all of your firsts, your first graduation, your first familial heartbreak, your first crush, your first boyfriend (which he was eager to help you through when it ended).  

Ever embarrassing to admit, he was even the one in your mind, more times than you can count, when you felt the butterflies in your tummy growing as your fingers explored different parts of your body. He always pushed you to continue, telling you exactly what he would do with his own fingers, or his own tongue; when he finally got the chance to make you feel the way you were making yourself feel. 

It was something you didn’t speak about after it happened, but it didn’t change the fact he was usually the one your brain went to when you made yourself feel that way. He argued it was the soulmate connection, that your soul just simply wanted him to be the one to do it. 

As time went on, the conversations dwindled amongst the two of you, both of you growing up and growing out of the fantasy that you would meet your soulmate one day, meet each other. 

You still got glimpses into his brain occasionally, pictures of blue and red cars, racecars are what you presumed. His fingers on what looked like a controller, but turned out to be a steering wheel when you asked him what it was. 

“Seems like a bit of an extravagant steering wheel, no?” 

The silent laugh was loud in your mind, as if you could feel his body rumbling in its laughter at your words, “Pretty extravagant, yeah. Not everyone gets to use something like this, though.” 

“Explain the steering wheel to me, there’s too many buttons and toggles,” you prompted him, knowing full well it would dive him deep into an explanation about the object you so often saw inside his head. 

That was another thing you learned about him early on. He liked to explain everything. He used to spend hours describing the go-karts he drove every weeknight and weekend, putting as much detail and emphasis into his explanations so that you would better understand. As time went on, so did his explanations, explaining situations he’s found himself in around the world, explaining how his career was kicking his ass but how he loved it, occasionally getting drunk and explaining how soulmates worked and that it was inevitable you’d meet one day, even if it felt like that day was never coming.  

Not wanting to be the one to burst his fantasy and ruin whatever hope he had, you would usually just nod along and silently hum to him when the conversation of eventually meeting one day was brought up. 

You still shared nights together, even from thousands of miles apart, your brain yearning for him as his did the same. 

There were moments in time, where you were positive you had almost met him, or perhaps had made eye contact with him. It was a small feeling inside of you, like everything you were looking for was in the same building as you, or around the corner, or even in the same city. 

Usually just as fast as the feeling appeared, it was gone. It never lasted for long periods of time, it was like your soulmate bond was teasing you, pushing for you to reinstate your faith in the connection. He always argued that if you lost faith in the soulmate bond, it would lose faith in trying to push the two of you together. 

Yet another thing you learned early on, whoever he was, arguing was in his blood. If he disagreed with you, with something you said, or with an opinion you had, he would go off into a whole explanation and argument about why he knew you were wrong, and how he knew he was right. 

It was endearing, how passionate he was about everything in his life, and seeing how his passion for everything just continued to grow as he grew up.  

Over the last 8 years, you had learned not to even attempt to communicate with him on Saturday or Sundays. He had told you that it was the busiest time of the work week for him, and that he couldn’t handle internal distractions on those days. 

You would only speak to him when he spoke to you on those days. Usually it was a fleeting ‘have a nice rest of your weekend’ or ‘I can’t wait until you’re here with me, celebrating this with me’.  

He never elaborated on the last part, and you never went out of your way to ask. Whoever he was, he was usually celebrating something on Sundays, at least that’s what you assumed from the raw happiness and elation that usually went through your connection on those days. 

You hadn’t heard from him, from your soulmate, in weeks. Which wasn’t necessarily unusual, either of you could cut off the connection for weeks at a time if things were stressful in life, or if you just needed a break from the never-ending person that was inside your head at all times. 

It didn’t mean you didn’t miss his dry sense of humour, the bluntness with which he said things to you, the never-ending arguments about the stupidest things. You would never admit any of this to him, though.  

Ignoring the yearning-feeling from inside of you, you allowed yourself to think about how things would be if you ever met the person on the other end of the connection. Would it be instant happiness? Relief? Joy? 

People always explained their own experiences to you, saying it was like love at first sight, but amplified so significantly, because it felt like your soul was complete, like everything was finally where it needed to be in life. They described it as meeting the one thing that made you whole, the one thing that made you continuously push to be your best self, to continuously push to be better at everything you did in life.  

You truly couldn’t believe what they said, not that it sounded exaggerated or silly. It was just difficult to imagine anything causing a feeling so instantaneously and intense as what they described.  

Your friends had disappeared earlier in the day, eager to try and find themselves different drivers throughout the entrances to get photos or autographs with. You really had no interest in any of it. Your soulmate had eagerly admired, and shit talked almost every single person on the grid to you, at least once or twice, so it really wasn’t worth trying to interact with any of them after that. 

Your paddock pass sat heavily on your chest, the lanyard rubbing against your neck as the bright Sun shined down upon your skin. The cheering of the Tifosi could be heard throughout the entire fan sections. The Ferrari faithful were dedicated, especially at their own Grand Prix. 

He had told you that Monza was one of the ones not to miss. That it was electric, regardless of who you drove for, even if the fans were booing your favourite driver, or your favourite team, it was a delight to drive in Monza. 

You found yourself staring at the different drivers names that were wrapped around the seating section. Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell... Max Verstappen. 

He was handsome, that you could admit. With his pretty blue eyes, and his arrogant little smirk, and his annoying obsession with having to win.  

“Oh, you think Max Verstappen has pretty blue eyes, huh?”  

A small sound erupted from your chest as you listened to the words floating through your head from the man you hadn’t heard from in weeks. 

“Look who’s alive! Thought you got lost with your little controller steering wheel.” 

Laughing at your words, “You didn’t answer my question! You think Max Verstappen has pretty eyes?” 

“I think Max Verstappen himself is pretty. Other than when he’s being an arrogant prick.” 

That feeling had been eating at you all day, again. Like your soulmate bond was trying to force you to go in a direction you weren’t understanding. It was like it was trying to tell you that he was here, that he was so close you could almost smell him, almost touch him. You had been ignoring the little jabs inside of you all day, refusing to acknowledge the fact that maybe, just maybe, the person you were yearning for so heavily, was so close. 

“My soulmate just called me an arrogant prick, without realizing she was calling me an arrogant prick.”  

The Brit in front of him guffawed, his whole body moving as he gripped his side at Max’s words, “Mate, how did that even happen?” 

Shrugging his shoulders as he looked at Lando, “Not too sure. I haven’t heard from her in a few weeks, figured she had shut the connection off for some time alone and all of a sudden, she’s thinking about how ‘Max Verstappen has such pretty blue eyes’ and then told me that I’d... or he’d be attractive all the time if he wasn’t such an arrogant prick.”  

Patting his shoulder gently, all Lando did was grin at him, “Just think, mate. At least whoever she is, she thinks you have pretty eyes and that you’re good looking when you’re not being an arrogant prick.” 

Max shoved him as he walked by, walking away in the direction of his driver's room. He had been having that feeling again, like his body was yearning for something that it couldn’t explain to him. He had tried to ask a few people about it, had asked Sebastian in the past if it was something he had experienced before meeting Hanna. Of course, Seb hadn’t been much help when one considered the fact that he and his soulmate had met in their shared childhood. 

It wasn’t something he could ask either of his parents, both admitting long ago that they weren’t destined for one another and that they had never had a connection with their true soulmates, which allowed them to willingly marry each other. Victoria had met her soulmate and now husband when they were young as well, so she would be of no help. 

He was almost embarrassed to ask Christian, or any other older person who had already met their soulmate. He was a grown man, he could literally just google it if he wanted to, but what exactly would he type in? 

What is that weird yearning feeling I get every now and then, out of the blue, in random buildings or random cities? 

Max was almost positive the answer would be ‘allergies’ or ‘hunger’. He figured that maybe it was soulmate related, it would make sense, but it wasn’t a feeling he had often. It wouldn’t make sense to only yearn so heavily for your soulmate in certain areas. 

It was always the strongest when he felt like he was truly connecting with you. He noticed it for the first time when both of you had touched yourselves to the sound of the other, egging one another on, saying exactly what the both of you know the other wanted to hear. Max couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed that time with you, how intimate it was, how much he craved to be the one making you moan and whimper. 

The feeling always grew after that, the yearning for the other person, the desire to have you there with him, the desire to have you underneath him after a night of celebration, the desire to have you wrapped in his arms, the desire to send you an unnecessary bouquet of flowers... if he could just figure out who you were, all of that would be possible.  

But the yearning today was different. It was like his body was trying to tell him he needed to go somewhere, trying to encourage him to walk down halls he didn’t usually walk down, or trying to push him in directions that made no sense.  

“You gonna tell me why you’re thinking of Max Verstappen so much today, and why you’re thinking so much about his pretty blue eyes?” 

He could feel the involuntary smile reach his lips when he heard your soft laugh. He really tried not to be someone who was smitten with a person he had never met, but he couldn’t deny that he was in love with you, likely had been since the both of you were young.  

You were the one constant in his life, the one person he could always turn to when he needed someone. You listened to all his ranting, dealt with hours upon hours of ‘Maxsplaining’, dealt with unnecessary outbursts and temper tantrums, but you never complained about it. You always eagerly pushed for him to continue, asking him more and more questions, prompting him out of his head and prompting him to get over whatever frustration had pushed him over the edge that day.  

“If you must know. I’m at the Monza Grand Prix, and I had to get away from all the Ferrari fans for a bit, pretty sure they were going to blow my ear drums. Max Verstappen’s name is everywhere, so I, of course, had to internally acknowledge his attractiveness while grimacing at his name in front of me.” 

Max felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. You were here? In Italy? At the Monza Grand Prix? The same place where he was, at this very moment, at this very second?  

He could tell you were waiting for a response from him to your words. It was like he could sense the raise of your eyebrows from the silence that emitted between your connection.  

“You’re in Monza?” He questioned eagerly, his hands sweating as he waited for a response 

“Yes sir, just about to try and force myself to go find my friends and head back to the paddock so I can avoid getting trampled by any other Ferrari fans.” 

Max knew almost instantly that, that had to be what the feeling was. The yearning. You were close by, and his side of the soulmate connection knew it.  

He had tried to tell you who he was before, had tried to explain it to you in words that the connection wouldn’t muffle or meddle with. It never worked. Any time he tried to explain to you who he was, or what he did for a living, it was like his brain malfunctioned and he had to hotwire it back on. 

You had told him the same thing happened to you every time you tried to explain to him who you were, or the easiest ways to find you in the real world. Every time either of you tried, it was like the connection was shutting it down. 

Daniel had told him it was likely the bond, telling him it wasn’t the time yet, that the both of you had to wait until the bond was steady and ready for you to finally meet in person. Max had never believed it, until right now.  

You had never been able to tell him exactly where you were before, at least, not that he can ever remember. You had told him the things you were doing in the past, had told him the people you were spending time with, even that you were getting dinner in certain districts. Any time you had tried to tell him the restaurant, or the city even, the connection would malfunction. 

But you were just mentally able to tell him where you were, you were internally able to tell him where you were going in the place that you currently were. 

“I’m... I’m in Monza too. At the Grand Prix, I mean.” 

He could almost feel the instant shock and excitement at his words. Before he or you could get the chance to say anything else, he heard GP calling for him, the annoyed expression on his face an indication that he had been looking for Max for far longer than he actually wanted to be.  

“I have to get back to work. Please, don’t leave before you hear from me again. Maybe this is a sign.” 

You could practically feel the shock coursing through your body. Both of you were here. In Monza. At the Grand Prix. At the same time, together... but not together? You tried to contain the giddiness at his words, a silent hum in acknowledgement when he told you not to leave. How could you leave? Especially now that you knew he was here? And that he was working? 

It gave you some indication as to why he was always so busy on Saturdays and Sundays, if he worked for a Formula 1 team, or for Formula 1 in itself. Their biggest days of the week were the weekends, especially during race weeks. It made sense why he could never talk on those days of the week, or why he always seemed so happy or moody on Sundays. 

You couldn’t believe that both of you were able to tell each other where the other was, that the connection finally allowed you to give that little tidbit of important information to the other. Maybe it finally was time, maybe the connection was finally allowing you to meet the one person you had been yearning for, even if you tried to convince yourself that you weren’t.  

The text message to your friends asking where they were garnered a response, which prompted you out of your train of thought. Letting them know that you were on your way to their location, your brain moved back to the previous thought your mind was on. He was here, like truly here. Within the same 10 kilometers as you. Probably the closest either of you had ever been to each other before. 

Your friends greeted you eagerly when you finally found them, excitably telling you all about the drivers they had met, how Alex Albon even recognized two of them from previous Grand Prix and how they just knew Charles Leclerc was going to win today because the Tifosi were going crazy and how could you not win with all that support screaming for you? 

Nodding along with a smile on your face, you had an inkling they were wrong. Max Verstappen was likely going to get his tenth win in a row, but you weren’t going to say that to them.  

The drivers parade went by faster than you were expecting, before you knew it, the cars and their drivers were lining up in their respective places along the grid. Your friends eagerly itching for a better view of the upcoming race. You couldn’t even put the effort in to pay attention, wondering where he was right now.  

Was he working? Was he one of the mechanics? One of the pit crew, eagerly waiting for their driver to pull into their spot? One of the engineers, hoping their instructions and their drivers did as they were supposed to? You tried not to let your mind wander to the other possibility, but it was hard not to. 

What if he was one of the drivers? One of the 20 men now pushing themselves around the track at the fastest speed their car could take them? You tried not to stay on that thought too long, but your mind seemed to wander back to it.  

It would make sense, really. Whoever he is, he had been karting since he was a boy. His father had been unnecessarily forceful with him about it, always pushing him even when he was down, telling him that champions didn’t cry and that if he wanted to win everything one day, he had to act like he wanted to.  

He always made it seem like he was on top of the world on Sundays, like everything he ever wanted had happened that day. Would a mechanic, or an engineer, or someone from the pit crew consistently have that level of elation on Sundays?  

You knew it was possible, if they were working for a winning team, or a winning driver, and that driver was making their lives as easy as possible, then you knew it was definitely a possibility. You just couldn’t shake the idea that maybe, just maybe, it was one of the drivers. 

The crowd was cheering as eagerly as they possibly could, Verstappen had overtaken Sainz three laps prior after the Spainard had led for 15 laps straight. The Tifosi were relentless though, cheering as loud as they could for their two drivers. Your friends had resigned themselves to the fact that Verstappen was getting his tenth win in a row, which was slowly coming closer and closer as the time ticked down. 

It felt like time was zooming by; the minutes on the clock trickling down as the stadium waited for that last lap to start. Sainz was battling to keep Leclerc in fourth, doing everything in his power to keep the third podium spot he had rightfully earned. 

The checkered flag waved as the Red Bull car of Max Verstappen passed the finish line, a simultaneous cheer erupting within the crowd when the two red Ferrari’s passed the line with barely a second apart. 

That feeling inside of you, the yearning, it had been getting stronger and stronger throughout the race. Strong enough that you had to rub at your chest with a grimace more than once, ignoring the signs that obviously your soul connection was trying to give to you.  

The television in front of you showed Max Verstappen on the top of his car, both hands and 10 fingers up as he stared at the moving camera, an obvious celebration beginning as he ran towards his team. Verstappen jumped at them, right as you heard his voice in your head. 

“Where are you right now? I want to see you. I need to see you.” 

He sounded out of breath, but elated, as per usual on a Sunday. Must work for Red Bull then, you thought to yourself. 

“I don’t really know how to explain where I am, I’m in the Paddock Club with my friends.”  

Turning away from the screen, you tried to focus on the words coming through the connection. 

“Come to the area where you can go towards the garages, I’ll have someone tell security to let you in. What are you wearing? I don’t think you’ll be able to tell me your name yet, and I don’t want to risk fucking this up.” 

You had absolutely no clue how to find the area he was describing to you, explaining to him that you didn’t spend most of your time at Grand Prix’s unlike someone, apparently. All he did was laugh joyfully, explaining to you in simpler terms how to get to where he wanted you to go. 

“I have to go do a few more things, but just wait for me, okay? I’ll come to find you, the moment I’m done. I swear.” 

“I’ve waited for years; I think I can wait a few minutes more.” 

He didn’t verbally respond, but you could still feel the happiness, the sense of something you could only describe as adoration come through the connection before he shut it off again. It was obvious he had commitments, but it was disheartening knowing you still had to wait a few more minutes, that he wouldn’t be there waiting for you, behind whatever security guard you were going to have to verbally grapple with to be let behind the barricades. 

All you told your friends when you left was you had to go make a call, and that it may take a few minutes. They tried to argue with you, telling you the drivers were just about to do their post-race interviews and that it was always one of the best parts, but you simply brushed them off, eager to get to where you needed to be. 

It didn’t take you long to find where he had told you to go, his explanations as thorough and necessary as they usually were. Before you could even get a word out to the security guard, a tall brunette in a Red Bull shirt lightly tapped your shoulder and gestured for you to follow her, flashing her entry pass at the guard and pulling you along. 

“I’m Liv. I work in PR with Red Bull; I was told to wait for you. Sorry for just like... pulling you along. No one really gave me any explanation, just that I was told to look out for someone wearing the exact same outfit you are, and that it had something to do with a soulmate thing and I couldn’t get involved or ask questions.” 

“This pass will get you in and out of pretty much wherever you need to be in the Red Bull garage and areas nearby,” the brunette rambled on as the both of you walked, pulling a second entry pass from her back pocket to give to you. 

Both of you stopped in front of what only could be the hospitality lounge, if the plethora of food and drinks were any indication. You didn’t necessarily know where to go, or where to stand, so you looked back over at the brunette with confusion evident in your eyes. 

“Just wait here! He shouldn’t be long. Feel free to snack, or make yourself a tea, or you know... drink whatever really. I have to get back to work. Just like, don’t leave. I’ll probably get in trouble for that. Anyways, bye! Good luck!”  

Not giving you the chance to respond, Liv, as you learned previously, turned and basically ran out of the room. You were left alone in the hospitality area, everyone from Red Bull obviously still celebrating Max Verstappen’s tenth win in a row. 

You didn’t know what to do with yourself, deciding to sit down on one of the couches being the only real option you could decipher. The television was on low, the interviewer speaking to Sainz, Perez, and Verstappen. 

“You look eager to get out of here, Max. Big celebration planned for your tenth straight win?” 

The Dutchman chuckled, a cocky grin prominent on his face, “I have something I have to do after this, of course, though, not the celebration right away. I’m sure the team has a celebration planned, but it’s a bit arrogant of me to be involved in my own celebration party planning, no?” 

The interviewer laughed in response; you simply cocked your head at his words. Ironic that Max Verstappen would call himself arrogant, just hours after you had told him how arrogant you found Verstappen.

A few more questions zoomed by; your own thoughts preoccupied by the idea that your soulmate could be coming towards the room at any minute. The feeling in your chest, in your body as a whole, had grown substantially again since you sat down. What you didn’t notice was him grabbing his chest at the same time you did, rubbing it with a grimace as the yearning grew and grew. 

It didn’t take long for the interview to end, the television going back to the reporters as the drivers evidently went to go do whatever it is they do after their post-race interviews. 

You could hear someone walking down the hallway, which was strange considering how busy the Red Bull garage had to be right now. The steps grew louder as they got closer and closer to the room you were in, the door slamming open being the only thing to pull you out of your thoughts as you spun around. 

Making direct eye contact with your soulmate for the first time was exactly how everyone described it. It was instant, the feeling that seated itself inside your heart, inside your mind. It felt like you were whole, like everything you had done in the past 24 hours, let alone the past 10 years, had led you to this exact moment. 

You subconsciously moved off the couch, stepping in the direction of the man that was now eyeing your every move. You couldn’t tell what was going through his mind, whether he was happy, disheartened, you didn’t know. 

He stepped in your direction, just as you put another foot towards him. You could see the corners of his lips turning up, a smile starting to edge itself onto his cheeks.  

“I can’t believe you’re really here. In front of me. Like, a real person.” 

It was the same voice that you’ve heard in your head for years, except the words were coming from the mouth of the man in front of you, coming from the mouth of the man with the prettiest blue eyes you had ever seen. 

You barely had time to process anything before he had wrapped his arms around you, pulling you directly into his chest as you wrapped your own arms around his body.  

He was real. Everything you had yearned for, for years was real, and Max was right there, holding you in his arms as he pressed his lips against the crown of your head, not wanting to let you go. 

Max could barely contain his eagerness as he basically sprinted down the hall of the Red Bull garage after the end of the interview. Olivia had told him where she had brought you, telling you to wait in the hospitality lounge and that he’d be there to see you as quickly as he could get out. 

He couldn’t believe that you were really there. After spending years of talking to an invisible force inside his head, years of having a constant companion who he could turn to for internal comfort, you were barely seconds away from him. 

Max didn’t hesitate to throw the door of the lounge open, making eye contact with you just a second later. 

Everyone was right, the feeling you get when you finally meet your soulmate, the person that’s supposed to complete you in the best of ways. It was instant love, instant happiness, a feeling better than any win he had ever accomplished, a feeling that could barely be explained in one million words.  

He knew right then that he loved you, and when you smiled at him, he knew you knew it too.  

i am obsessed with the soulmate trope so this obviously got out of hand and way more descriptive than i intended. im hoping you all love it as much as i loved writing it!! let me know what you think

my requests are also open :)

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[uniquexusposts]

Your Royal Highness - M. Schumacher

Summary: Y/n gets lost at the Spanish Grand Prix and bumps into Angie, Mick's dog. They build a small friendship. What will happen if princess Y/n and Mick meet? Genre: fluff

The sound of roaring engines and the smell of gasoline filled the air as Princess Y/n stood in the midst of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The third free practice for Formula 1 ended two hours ago, making Formula 2 race their Sprint Race.

She was invited by the organisation, together with her family. The family liked watching any kind of motorsport, especially F1. Well, King Marcos loved the sport since he karted during his younger years, and he had some close friends within the sport. Y/n liked the sport as well, it became a sport she would watch together with her dad. The rest of the family watched it because they were forced to, not because they wanted to.

Y/n was walking around the paddock alone, as she escaped from the press and guards. She wanted to be on her own for a moment; no fake smiling (for as far it is possible due to the facemask), no standard conversations, and not being alert for a moment. But amidst the excitement of being alone and away from everyone, she had somehow lost her way. Y/n was now standing somewhere between cars, trucks, and maintenance stuff. Not the paddock.

Disoriented, Y/n wandered around. She didn't have her phone with her. For a moment, she liked to be alone, not knowing where she was, since she always was spotted somewhere. But she was lost.

Then she saw a dog walking towards her. Y/n stopped walking and crouched down, ensuring she wouldn't lose her balance on the heels she wore. The Australian Shepherd looked disoriented as well. The big eyes gazed at the princess.

"Hey," she softly said. "You are lost too, aren't you?" Y/n put her facemask under her chin and looked around, there was no one around. "I am, actually," she said to the dog. "I have no idea where I am. But we will figure this out together. Your owner needs to be here too," and reached out to pet the dog's head gently.

The dog wagged its tail gratefully, as if it understood her words. Y/n got up, grabbed the lease, and they were walking in a random direction. Y/n put on her facemask again when she faced some people again. At least she was back in the paddock area again, now she had to find someone who would take care of the dog, or find the owner of the dog.

"Hello, there."

Y/n looked at the man who was standing in front of her. Then her eyes fell on the dog, who happily walked to the man and nudged his leg. The man in question was Sebastian Vettel, driver for Aston Martin. Y/n recognised him from his eyes, hair, and of course, his clothes. Sebastian petted the dog. "Is this your dog?"

"This is Angie," Sebastian replied. "She is the dog of a very good friend of mine. Did you find her somewhere or..?"

"Ah, I see. I was lost, and I think Angie was lost too," she replied and politely smiled. She quickly realised Sebastian couldn't see it due to the facemask.

He nodded. "If you have time, we can bring her back to Mick," Sebastian proposed.

That was the Angie. "Sounds like an excellent plan."

Sebastian nodded, his eyes lighting up from probably his smile from under the facemask. Sebastian led the way, with Angie trotting happily beside him. Y/n followed him closely - well, for as far as she could since of the 1,5-metre distance rule. As they walked through the paddock, she couldn't help but see the behind-the-scenes world of Formula 1 through the eyes of a four-time world champion. Y/n and Sebastian spoke about the weekend and their predictions. It was a glimpse into a world she rarely experienced, and she felt increasingly intrigued by the sport's inner workings. Even though Sebastian was a huge personality within the sport, he was a normal man. No titles were sewed to them.

"So, what makes you want to be here?" Sebastian then curiously asked.

Y/n chuckled. "I got invited, actually."

"And you're bored already? Being in the back of the paddock already?" Sebastian chuckled.

"Ah, crap, you got me there," she playfully replied. "No, I was walking around and deep in my thoughts, and then I got lost, I guess. There is so much happening here, can't keep track of it."

"But are you enjoying your time here?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Good, that is what matters."

They neared Haas' area. Y/n never really liked the team - besides the memes and drama they could create. A group of people were in a passionate discussion.

"Mick!" Sebastian called out, disturbing the group. He stopped before the entrance; he obviously couldn't be near them.

Y/n stood slightly behind Sebastian, as she didn't want to stand out. It made her realise it was the first 'normal' conversation she had with someone ever since she arrived. A smile grew on her face when she saw Mick Schumacher's reaction.

Mick's face lit up with surprise and relief when he saw Angie. He apologised to the group of people and walked towards the dog, his friend and the woman. "Angie!" He kneeled down to embrace his dog. "Where have you been?"

Angie responded with delighted barks and a wagging tail.

Her owner looked at Sebastian and then at the woman beside him. He reckoned that she must be a guest from a team's VIP or a VIP in general based on how she was dressed and the energy she showed.

"I found your dog somewhere in the back," Y/n exclaimed. "It seems Angie and I both got lost for a little while."

As their eyes met for the first time, a spark seemed to ignite between her and Mick. Y/n couldn't help but be drawn to the bright colour of Mick's eyes, even from the 1,5-metre distance if it wasn't less.

Mick, too, found himself captivated by her presence. Her eyes were filled with a rare combination of warmth and intelligence.

He chuckled warmly, giving Y/n a grateful nod, still captivated by her presence. "Thank you for bringing her back. She's my troublemaker," he playfully replied, looking back at Angie. "Always finding ways to keep me on my toes when she doesn't get the attention she wants."

It made her chuckle and step towards him, breaking the distance rule. Y/n handed him the lease of Angie. Mick stuck out his hand, grabbing the lease, Their hands touched. It made them both look into each other's eyes immediately. It was like a sparkle got created from their touch.

Y/n cleared her throat and looked away. "No problem, it was my pleasure. She is a delightful companion," she replied, trying to keep it formal enough. She felt a sense of ease and comfort in Mick's presence that she hadn't expected.

As they continued to share glances, the weight of her royal title and fame seemed to fade into insignificance. In that moment, they were simply two people, brought together by a rare moment of bringing Angie back and a shared love for motorsport.

Y/n's heart fluttered under his intense scrutiny, and she found herself drawn to him in a way she couldn't explain. It was as though destiny had woven their paths together, creating a connection that felt both exhilarating and comforting.

Finally, Mick tore his gaze away from Y/n's, returning his attention to Angie. But the spark between them remained, an invisible thread connecting their hearts in a way neither of them could have anticipated.It was just seconds, just a couple of seconds, but so much happened.

"Excuse me," a voice said. "Con permiso," he repeated. It made Y/n and Sebastian turn around. A man was making his way through a crowd. "Y/n, here you are. Your parents almost started a search party," Fernando Alonso mentioned and looked worried, but relieved simultaneously.

Y/n raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, you must be important if people have to start a search party for you," Sebastian chuckled.

Y/n forced a smile. "No, he's only joking," she said, giving Fernando an annoyed look, hoping he would shut up and get the hint.

"Your security almost cleared the track," Fernando continued, ignoring the look. "People are looking for you, Y/n."

It made Sebastian widen his eyes. He turned to look at Mick, who didn't understand what was happening. He turned back to Fernando and Princess Y/n. "Your Royal Highness," he said and nodded down.

Mick got up quickly and did the same, not realising the Princess of Spain had found his dog. "My apologies, Ma'am. I didn't recognise you because of the facemask."

Y/n looked unamused at Fernando, who obviously blew her cover. She turned to the two German drivers and smiled, hoping her eyes would show it too. "It is fine," she replied. "And please, call me just Y/n. But if you will excuse me, my family is looking for me. Good luck on qualifying today, both of you." She petted Angie on her small head and stepped away, walking alongside Fernando.

"What did you do this time?" Fernando asked.

"'What did I do this time?'," she mocked. "Well, I brought Angie back to Mick Schumacher and I met Sebastian Vettel in the meantime," she answered.

"I'm surprised," he responded. "Your people are freaking out because they couldn't find you anywhere," he mumbled, leaning closer to Y/n.

She smirked. "Mateo sucks at his job, then." They both laughed. "But tío Nando, I had a normal conversation for the first time. I would like to disappear more often to have normal conversations like that."

"You tell Mateo and your parents about it," Fernando replied, pushing her to the VIP area. 

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos@crashingwavesofeuphoria@maryvibess

[imagine-knowing-a-name]

It's Not A Phase

Summary: You've been dating Wanda for a while now, long enough that she wants to introduce you to the Avengers. Common room photos, however, reveal a side to her that you'd never seen before... a certain emo side.

Word Count: 1288

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Warnings: mentions of killing people, but generally just fluff!

A/N: you can blame @family-house-of-m for this one

»»————-　★　————-««

Very few things in this world feel as untouchable, unobtainable, and awe-inspiring as this; the architecture of the tower is symbolic, in a way, touching the sky like a beacon of hope.

But from where you stand in the street, dwarfed by its massive, looming shadow, you've never felt so insignificant. You shove your hands deep into your pockets, huddling in on yourself despite the warm summer air, as you wait for your girlfriend to appear.

When she does, she arrives like the blossoming buds in the park, a ray of colour and joy emerging from steely grey. Just like on a walk among the flowers, you feel yourself relax upon seeing her.

You smile and open your arms for an embrace that she willingly falls into, then she giggles into your neck.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," you murmur when she pulls back, though your arms still drape over her shoulders. It's the truth too, with her long hair flowing free and swaying slightly in the light breeze, down to her coral and white sundress trailing her every turn. She's beautiful, and you want her to know it.

She takes your praise with a blush, pushing herself closer to your chest until your sporadic heart rate catches her attention.

"Are you nervous?"

"They're intimidating," you defend.

"They're harmless when you know them. But I'd fight any one of them if they made you uncomfortable," she promises, "and I'd win."

You know she's telling the truth, as – you assume – her team knows too. While your girlfriend may be the embodiment of summer and light, you know what she's capable of against those who hurt her loved ones.

"Getting through today without a fight is a goal I didn't expect to need."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologises, though you're quick to reassure her it's not a true concern. "They're going to love you, I think. Really, I'm the one who should be getting nervous."

"I don't plan to ditch you for your family; what else is there to be concerned about?"

"Oh great, another worry I didn't expect to need," she grumbles, a smile teasing her lips at the callback to your previous words. You scoff and playfully push at her shoulder with a shake of your head. She grins and pulls herself back into your arms. "It's…something else, but you'll see it when we're up there."

"Is my sweet superhero girlfriend hiding a deep secret?" you say with a fake gasp, playing into the act until she grabs your hand and pulls you into the building. "Something scandalous?" you tease again while you stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the elevator. You know without looking that she rolls her eyes, but you still don't get an answer out of her.

She interlocks her fingers with yours again just before the elevator pings, signalling your arrival at the destination. She takes a deep breath and you fear she's settled your own nerves at the expense of her own; you squeeze her hand and let her lead you forward into the common room.

"She's back everyone!" The yell takes you by surprise and before you know it you've jumped away from the voice and into your girlfriend, who shoots a glare at the laughing redhead.

"Natasha, this is Y/N. Y/N, Natasha."

"Um, nice to meet you," you greet, moving forward to shake her hand despite the flush of embarrassment lingering on your face.

Natasha clasps your hand, returning the greeting with a polite "pleasure to meet you too". Even if her smirk never fades and she tracks her eyes first over you, then over your girlfriend.

You cast a nervous glance behind you, before stepping back to your girlfriend's side; she smiles encouragingly at you, which fades when her gaze falls back to Natasha.

"Where are the others?"

"On their way, I'd assume. Did you not hear me shout for them?"

"We heard," the girl beside you huffs, drawing another smirk out of the older woman.

Natasha turns to you again, "they really are all excited to meet you, Y/N. Wanda's told us so much about you."

Before you can ask about what she's said, the room suddenly crowds with an influx of Avengers, all talking over each other to introduce themself to you first. Red wisps wrap around you and pull you free from the crowd to stand slightly behind her, the witch putting herself between you and the team until they prove they can act reasonably.

They don't take the hint and Natasha notices the growing stress of both you and your girlfriend, so she drops the teasing act in order to command the crowd into a line. You're surprised by the rapid change in pace from her drawing enjoyment from your fear and embarrassment to defending you against the rabid Avengers hoard. Wanda doesn't seem quite so shocked, as if she knew Natasha's allegiance all along – of course, that is very possible, considering they're teammates while you'd only met the redhead five minutes before.

Thanks to the assassin's work, however, you're soon able to greet each Avenger one by one, all with an opinion on your relationship with Wanda ranging from: "She's been so much happier since knowing you," to "Why on earth would you date my sister?"

The latter came, of course, from Pietro, Wanda's older twin brother. He took his self-assigned role as Wanda's protector very seriously: testing your grip on the handshake, glaring from across the room, and criticising his sister in the expectation that you'd say wonderful things about her to prove him wrong. You expect the "I'll hurt you if you hurt my sister," talk to come any day now, especially if you end up hanging out in the Avengers tower more frequently.

Regardless, he seems to approve for now, nodding his head and letting you walk farther into the common space, where you notice a very interesting picture up on the wall. You step closer almost without thinking, and certainly without comprehending your girlfriend's hesitant interruption behind you.

You turn back to her with a wide grin across your face and a sparkle in your eyes that she can't help but smile at, even if her eyes display a tense dread waiting for your reaction.

"Did my girlfriend…" you begin, edging back towards her, "my sweet, summer girlfriend… have an emo phase?" You're standing right in front of her now, foreheads practically touching as you interlace her fingers in yours, grinning knowingly.

"It's not a phase," Pietro teases, though his mouth is promptly shut in a red mist.

"Yeah, she's still emo-" Tony continues in his place. He is silenced too, but your eyes widen and Wanda realises that it's too late.

"Not so summery after all, huh?" you whisper for only her to hear.

"Not with them."

"I love getting to see that side of you." You punctuate it with a kiss, before speaking up for the whole team to hear you again. "Was that the big secret?" She nods. "Oh, my love, you didn't have to worry about that, I'll stand by you through any style you choose. I thought it was going to be that you'd killed someone or something!"

"...I mean, I have done that," she says bluntly. You look up at the team to see if she's joking, but they're all in various stages of thought themselves: slight grimaces, scratching heads, slow nods, and all avoiding eye contact.

"You all have, haven't you?" you ask.

"Missions aren't without their casualties," comes Natasha's reply; her voice is flat, but you can see the strained nonchalance with which she shrugs and you pull Wanda closer.

"I'll love you no matter what, even through your big, dark, emo secret."

»»————-　★　————-««

taglist: @canvascoloredin (I couldn't tell if you wanted to be tagged in everything or just Jeff, so it it's just for Jeff fics please let me know :) )

[wooahaeproductions]

Tracing Time (part one)

Kwon Soonyoung (Hoshi) x Female Reader

Summary: In order to cope with your mother’s death, you decide to study abroad in Rio for the summer just like she did. You come upon the diary she kept during that time, following all that she did 20 years ago. However, you didn't expect finding love would be part of that process.

Genre: fluff, angst, romance, comedy, smut (in part two), strangers to lovers au, neighbors au, college au

Word count: ~4.7k

Warnings: mentions of a family members death and mentions of ways to cope. Part two will have smut and will have it's own warnings.

Rating: 18+ for the completed fic

A/N: It's finally here! I struggled to write this for some reason but hopefully part two will come easier. This fic is for svthub's 2024 World Tour Collab and I am so happy to be apart of another collab. Please check out all the other amazing works as well! I also want to thank my beta readers Summer @beomcoups and Kiki @nonuify 🥰~Maren

You took a deep breath as you stopped in front of the student housing building and started at its gorgeous architecture before pulling an old photo from the front pocket of your bag. You held it out in front of you, confirming this was the building the smiling woman in the photo was standing in front of. You were here, standing in the same spot your mother had at your age when she studied at the very same summer exchange program in Brazil that you were going to.

You slipped the photo back into your bag and took one more big breath before bringing yourself and your luggage into the lobby of the building. You were supposed to meet the student liaison for the university exchange program there to get your dorm keys along with your class information. You looked around the large lobby in awe. It looked much more like a hotel with its grand marble floors and sophisticated ambiance than student accommodations. 

“You must be Y/N!” You heard a woman say in accented English and you spotted her walking across the lobby toward you. She was an older woman wearing a designer pantsuit, and her hair looked like she had just been at a salon. You certainly weren’t in Chicago anymore. Everything was different here, and you had only been at the airport and this place so far. 

“Hi, I am she,” you responded to the woman, feeling a little overwhelmed already. Which honestly wasn’t that unusual given the circumstances of the past year. 

“Welcome to PUC University and Rio de Janeiro. I’m Mrs. Delgado,” she said. She must have sensed how overwhelmed you were because she gave your arm a gentle pat before continuing. She pulls a packet of paper out of the bag she was carrying and hands it to you. “This is your class schedule and some information about the benefits available to you as an exchange student. There are only three classes since it is a summer program, one being the Portuguese class that all of our international students are required to take, Drawing 110, and Brazilian Art and Architecture.” 

After explaining your schedule, she then pulled out a set of keys that jingled on an ornate keychain, one that matched the building. “And these are the keys to your dorm,” she said, handing them to you. “I’ll let you get settled and ready for your first day tomorrow. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me and boa sorte!” A second later, she was gone leaving you staring at your dorm number on the keychain. 

“203,” you murmured the number, looking around to see if there was any indication of where your room would be. You opted to ask the boy manning the front desk, whose English was actually great. He pointed to the staircase on the other end of the lobby and told you it was up those and to the right. Just as you were about to head up the stairs, wheeling your suitcase behind you, someone just about knocked you over. A guy to be exact, a handsome one at that. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m late. I’m so sorry, but I’m late!” He blurted, briskly brushing past you with a rushed apology. You stood at the bottom of the stairs, blinking while he ran out of the building. You didn’t have the energy to think about him right now despite his looks, not that you ever entertained the idea of a meet-cute this way or god forbid actually falling in love in this scenario.

You shook your head and put the handle down on your suitcase so you could carry it upstairs with you. You turned the key in the door to your room and walked in, your eyes taking in where you would live for the next few months. It was simple, much like a hotel room but you did have a tiny kitchenette that you didn’t expect to have and a window that looked out to the square that was in front of the building.

You brought your suitcase up on the twin bed so you could unpack a few things before thinking about finding dinner. You put a few clothes in the small dresser that was there before stumbling upon the whole reason you were here: your mom’s diary. You picked it up and sat on the edge of the bed with it, fingertips stroking the leather cover.

Six months earlier 

People were coming in and out of the house giving you and your family words of condolences, but everything was a blur to you. You sat on the couch in the living room when you had all come back from the funeral home, numb to everything. Tears had long since been exhausted, and now all you were was an empty shell, an empty shell without a mother. You were vaguely aware that your grandmother had sat down next to you, brushing your bangs out of your eyes before gently placing a book in your lap: your mother’s diary from when she was the same age as you.

You opened the leather book up, looking at the cover page that you had stared at so many times since your grandmother had given it to you. You recognized your mom’s loopy writing confirming that the diary belonged to her and Summer 1985 written underneath. You turned the page to the first entry, the one that had the photo of your mother outside this building stuck in right before it. It was dated June 15th of that year, when she arrived in Brazil and was in the same student housing. 

As you read your mother's account of her arriving at student housing, you couldn’t help but feel as if you were hearing her voice again. It was almost as if you were just on a trip and you were reading a letter she sent you. But of course, you weren’t just on any trip, and she was gone. 

Your stomach grumbled, interrupting your reading, and you closed the diary. You sighed, wondering if you should venture out to find something to eat. You pulled out your phone and laid down on the bed for a few minutes while you looked to see if there was someplace close that sounded decent. However, jet lag took over, and you fell asleep with your phone in your hand, it falling and smacking you on the forehead some time later.

Fourteen hours later, you awoke to your phone alarm going off. You panicked. Was that the first time your alarm went off? Were you late for your first class? You hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all, but that darn jet jag overcame you. Pressing your finger on the phone screen to silence the alarm, you were relieved to find that it really was just your first alarm. It was 7:30 am and you weren’t late, you had plenty of time. Which was a good thing because your stomach had upgraded from the light growling from last night to feeling like it was about to eat itself. 

You had done your research before enrolling in the summer program and knew that the university offered a student cafeteria for meals that was part of the tuition fee. You assumed it was in the packet of information you received yesterday as well, but you hadn’t had time to look over that yet. You got dressed in a simple sundress, one that was classy and suited to the warm weather in Rio. You grabbed the book bag with all your class materials from where you placed it at the small table by the door and headed out of your dorm.

The lobby was bustling with others probably also headed to their morning classes. The university’s campus was only a short distance away, so you opted to walk although it looked like the dorms had bikes outside the building that you could borrow if you wanted to. Your first class didn’t begin until 9 am and you would have plenty of time to get there as well as get breakfast at the cafeteria. 

You walked out of the dorm building and out to the cobbled stoned square. You paused to bring a map up on your phone, making sure you were about to head in the correct direction. You continued to walk on the brownish-gray stones as you passed by a few little shops before the cobblestones turned into a normal concrete street. You followed it up a small hill before you reached a large traffic circle with the main university building behind it. 

Luckily there was a campus map just outside the doors to the main entrance. You looked at it, finding where the cafeteria was and also noting where the international building was for your class afterward. The cafeteria was teeming with students getting food, mostly breakfast at this early hour. You got in line and grabbed some sliced fruit and scrambled eggs, as well as some coffee. They had some items that were also common for Brazilian culture, but you opted to try those later when you were less nervous and didn’t have a class to attend right after.

You scanned your meal card at the checkout which had been in the packet of information that Mrs. Delgado had given you yesterday. You chose an empty table near the windows and ate your food as leisurely as you could before class. Your stomach was no longer trying to eat itself and all that remained was an uncertain feeling in the pit of it. You didn’t even know why you felt all this turmoil, but nothing felt right or even normal since your mother passed.

You placed your empty tray at one of the receptacles by the door and walked out of the cafeteria. You followed the path you mapped out earlier, leading to the international building. You had about 15 minutes before the class started, so you didn’t need to hurry. You looked around at the buildings on your way. The campus looked much like a normal campus but all buildings were made from stucco material and the main roads had a wave-like pattern in them.

You reached the classroom after a few minutes. The door was on the outside of the building and you opened it. Still being a bit early, there were only a few people in the classroom. You chose a seat in the middle, not too far in the front but not too far in the back. You sat your bookbag on the floor next to you, took out the textbook with your notebook and a pen, and set them on the table in front of you. A couple of loud students entered the classroom and you couldn’t help but look up at the noise. 

You couldn’t believe your eyes. The same boy who nearly ran you over yesterday was among the group. You inwardly groaned. Worse yet, when he scanned the room for a seat, he spotted you. You looked down at the desk, trying to hide your face to no avail. “Oh! It’s you!” He exclaimed, coming to sit in the space next to you. You kept looking in every other direction but his, hoping he would think you were actually someone else.

He didn’t seem to be aware that you were trying to avoid eye contact and continued to introduce himself. “Hi, I’m Soonyoung! I’m really sorry for almost running into you yesterday but I hope we can be friends since it looks like we are both exchange students!” Now you couldn’t help but stare at him. How could someone have so much energy and also be so clueless to your anti-social cues? Your brain was tired just listening to him ramble on. 

You weren’t sure what else he was saying but it sounded like he asked a question. “-your name?” Oh, great, he was asking for your name. You contemplated not telling him, but he would probably annoy it out of you anyway. “I’m Y/N,” you responded, your irritation slightly bleeding into your tone. Soonyoung didn’t get to say anything after that. Luckily, the teacher walked into the classroom at that moment, clapping his hands to gain everyone’s attention and effectively cutting off any conversations happening. 

The teacher, who introduced himself as Mr. Morales went over the class syllabus, and then you started in on the first chapter of the textbook which introduced the different sounds the Portuguese language had versus English. You avoided Soonyoung’s gaze the entire time but you could feel it on you. As soon as class was dismissed, you threw your belongings back in your bag and booked it out of the classroom before he had time to think about catching you. 

You didn’t have more classes today, your other two would happen tomorrow so you had planned to take the somewhat long trek to see the famous statue in Rio, Christ the Redeemer. It would take you about an hour and a half by bus, but your mother had visited it, so you wanted to as well. You pulled out the bus timetable and map (one of the many things in the packet that Mrs. Delgado had given you) from your bag as you walked back toward the front of campus where the bus stops were.

You found the stop for the correct bus number and sat down in a seat under the covered area to avoid the early afternoon sun. The timetable showed the bus you needed would be there in about five minutes and once you got off it, you would have to decide if you wanted to walk to the statue or if you were going to take a tram. 

You sat there watching students walk by as you waited, looking like they were having the best time being at school. You felt so out of place, questioning why you even decided to come here. Would this really make you feel closer to your mother, make you feel better about her being gone? You highly doubted you’d ever feel better about the latter. 

You stuck your hand inside your bookbag, finding your mother’s diary and brushing your hand over the smooth leather surface. Somehow feeling the front of the book, touching a physical item of hers always soothed your thoughts. You knew you would continue feeling like you didn’t belong in a place as amazing as Rio, but you wanted to keep seeing what she saw and hearing her voice through diary entries, even if it was something you could only hear in your head. 

The bus arrived, pulling you out of your thoughts and you got up to get on it. You tapped the bus pass on the pad at the front near the driver and scanned the bus. There were quite a few people on the bus but it wasn’t packed. You spotted a window seat near the middle and took it. The ride was kind of long but you had nice scenery to look at and the bus wasn’t too loud. You took some time to relax a little and soak it all in. 

About an hour later, the bus had reached its destination. You had arrived at the bottom of a somewhat large mountain near the entrance to a rainforest. You looked at how high it was and at the statue at the top. You definitely were not going to hike that today, and opted to take the tram that was available instead. There was a little kiosk nearby where you bought your tram ticket and a schedule posted on the side that said the tram came every 5 minutes at this time of day.

Luckily, you didn’t have to wait long at all since you bought your ticket just a minute or two before the next one arrived. You handed your ticket over to the driver and got on the tram. It reminded you of those trams they had when you went to the zoo or something. The sides were open so you could feel the breeze as the tram climbed the mountain and you could smell the different plants and trees.

The further the tram climbed, the closer the famous statue got, and soon you arrived at the bottom of it. The tram stopped at the park at the top of the mountain that contained Christ the Redeemer. You got off the tram, in awe of how big the statue really was. You knew it was big, but seeing it in person was something else entirely. 

Many people surrounded the bottom of the statue and there were no benches to be seen. You found an empty area on one side and decided to sit on the concrete floor of the platform. Looking up at the statue, you settled in your sitting spot and pulled your sketchbook and your mother’s diary from your bag. You opened the diary to the next unread page, dated a week later than the first. Another photo was stuck in the pages and you took it out, seeing another photo of your mother smiling, with Christ the Redeemer in the background.

June 21st, 1985

Rio has been amazing. I haven’t been here long but it sometimes feels like home to me. I feel like I belong here with all this incredible architecture. And guess what? I met a boy! I came to visit the famous Christ the Redeemer statue and he offered to take my photo with the statue. He was actually in the middle of drawing a caricature for another girl but dropped everything when he saw I was trying to take a photo of myself with the statue. I couldn’t help but swoon a little. I found out he studies drawing at the same university that I’m attending for the summer. And then he asked me out for dinner! I’m really excited to go on a date with him. Will this just be a summer fling or could it be more? 

You took in this entry. Did your mom meet someone here? Was it your dad? You couldn’t help but be curious about this man and you wondered how far their relationship had gotten. Was he the person from whom you got your talent for drawing? You had so many questions and knew that those questions might go unanswered. For now, you opted to try and feel connected by drawing something yourself.

You took your sketch pencils out of the small pocket at the front of your bag and opened your sketchbook up to a blank page. Setting it in your lap, you looked around, deciding what you wanted to sketch exactly. Just the statue or the people surrounding it too? You decided to just sketch the statue to start with and fill in surrounding areas as you saw fit. You drew, looking up every once in a while to look at the small details of the statue. 

One time you looked up and noticed someone busking close to the bottom of the statue a little bit in front of you. He looked cute from just a glance. He was dancing to a little boombox playing near him with a cup next to it, collecting any change people were willing to give. You looked closer and realized who the dancer was. Soonyoung. You sighed in annoyance. Was he everywhere? Was the universe messing with you?

You continued to draw, hoping he was too distracted by his busking to notice you. There were tons of people around, there was no way he could spot you among all of them. As you sketched your eyes couldn’t help but be drawn back to him like a magnet. His dance moves were sharp but smooth and you could see his routine completely consumed him. You kept taking glances while sketching.

You were finishing up the last few lines when you heard your name called. You thought he was too enthralled with his busking to notice you, but you were very wrong. He picked up his cup of change and his boombox and jogged over to where you were. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, stopping in front of where you were sitting and giving you a smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle.

“Um, yeah. I decided to do some sightseeing and do some sketching,” you responded, a little meekly. You felt weird around him now for some reason. He was annoying in class earlier, but now he seemed different and you weren't sure what to think. He was still bright and energetic but not irritatingly so. 

“Oh, you draw?” he asked, a bit surprised.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m studying here this summer. Art,” you explained.

“Cool! I’m here for performance arts if the busking hadn’t given you a heads up already,” He offered with a small laugh.

He paused your small conversation for a minute to take a look at his change cup to see how much he had made today.

“Listen, if you are done with what you wanted to do today..there’s a nice cafe near the tram station and if you are hungry, I made more than enough money today so I’d like to treat you,” He rambled. It wasn’t exactly a question, but the way he said it was actually kind of cute.

You were hungry and you supposed it couldn’t hurt, right? “Alright,” you agreed and a smile stretched across his face again. You put your sketchbook, pencils, and mom’s diary back in your bag and stood up, brushing your pants off from any dirt that you picked up while sitting on the ground. Maybe you should take a page from your mom’s book and get to know Soonyoung a little more.

You both walked back down off the statue’s platform and down the stairs to where the tram would pick you up and take you back down the mountain and to where the cafe Soonyoung mentioned would be. Once again, you did not have to wait long for the tram to arrive and you both got on, Soonyoung sitting next to you.

You could feel the breeze again as the tram descended the mountain this time. You looked over to find Soonyoung looking out the other side quietly, the wind ruffling his hair lightly. He had the same smile on his face as earlier, making his face look strangely childlike compared to the manly confidence he had earlier while busking. You liked seeing the two different sides of him. It was cute. He could be quiet when he was by himself, a big difference from when he was with a crowd.

While you were busy staring at Soonyoung, the tram stopped back at the bottom of the mountain. “Y/N?” Soonyoung questioned, holding out a hand to pull you up from the seat.

“Oh, sorry,” you said, not realizing you had spaced out. You took his hand as he pulled you up, noticing how big it was. It felt nice, having your hand engulfed in his. You continued to hold on to it as you both got off the tram. When you both got off, you let go awkwardly, not wanting to give Soonyoung the wrong idea (even if you did really like holding his). You hadn’t even been on a date yet. He gave a nervous chuckle and just beckoned you to follow him. 

You followed him down a few streets from the park area where you guys were previously, to a little hole-in-the-wall cafe that was surrounded by other shops and small apartments. It was small and felt homey when you walked in the door with Soonyoung. You waited at the front for a minute or two before someone came by to seat you. “Oh? I see you brought a friend today!” The waitress said before grabbing some menus and guiding you to open-air seating at a back patio that featured a small garden to the side of it.

She sat you two at a table and sat the menus in front of you. “I’ll be back in a few to take your order,” she said before giving Soonyoung a knowing wink. 

“I take it you come here a lot,” you commented.

“You could say that,” he responded with a sheepish grin, “I usually make enough to come here each time I busk, so two to three times a week?” 

“Two to three times a week?!” You were surprised that he busked that often and that he chose to come here every time.

“Yeah, it’s the only way for me to make some extra cash. I’m here through a special program so they only pay for my tuition and dorm fees,” he explained. You nodded. You were similar, except that you had your grandmother sending you spending money when you needed it. 

You turned your attention to the menu, trying to decide what to eat. There were a lot of options but you decided to try a more traditional Brazilian stew called Feijoada. Something hearty sounded good after the busy day you’ve had so far. The waitress came by and took your order while Soonyoung ordered Moqueca, another type of stew but with seafood.

You made more small talk while waiting for your food to arrive such as where you were originally from (You: Chicago, Him: Seoul) and what types of foods you liked. You passed the time well enough that your food felt like it came out quickly. It looked amazing and your stomach confirmed how hungry you were by giving a small growl. Loud enough, however, to make Soonyoung let out a small giggle.

You start digging in when Soonyoung nervously broaches a topic. “So, when we were at Christ the Redeemer you mentioned doing some sightseeing. I don’t know if I’m reading too much into things, but it seems like it was more than just seeing the sights here.”

You put down your spoon and contemplate whether you want to open up to him or not. You sighed before starting your explanation. “You’re right, it’s not just general sightseeing. In fact, my mom is the whole reason I’m here.”

“Your mom?” He asked, prompting you to continue.

“Yeah…she um, died about 6 months ago,” you said, looking down at your stew like it was the most fascinating thing in the world at the moment.

“Oh, Y/N. I’m so sorry,” Soonyoung frowned, his voice turning sympathetic and you swore his eyes had a sheen to them.

“It’s…okay. Or at least it’s becoming okay,” you responded honestly and then continued. “Anyway, my grandma gave me my mom's diary. One she kept while she was here doing this program with the university. So I decided to do it too and see all the same sights she did hoping it might make me feel closer to her or something? I don’t know.” You were rambling a little now. 

“I think that’s neat,” Soonyoung said after a minute.

“You do?” You asked, a bit surprised.

“Yeah, I think it’s cool. You get to go stand where she stood and see the same things she saw with her own eyes. That’s definitely a good way to feel closer to someone,” He encouraged.

“It does,” you agreed.

“This might sound weird and I know we’ve only known each other a few days but would it be okay if we go to the places your mom did together?” Soonyoung asked. His eyes no longer had the sheen you saw a minute ago but instead held a mixture of empathy, excitement, and something else you couldn’t decipher. 

Before you knew it, you found yourself nodding. “I think I’d like that,” you said, a smile starting to tug at the edges of your lips. Then you leaned over the table to give him a small peck on the cheek. He looked a little stunned for a minute but then he smiled back, a wide smile that showed his teeth and you had to admit he was adorable. 

How could you go from being so annoyed by him to liking him a lot in just one day? You didn’t know but maybe your mom would have wanted this for you.

©️wooahaeproductions

All works on this blog are protected under copyright. Do not repost, continue, or translate my works.

[ranticore]

visored longwing harpies & the hall of faces

I did say there was no exclusive global culture on Siren shared by humans of a certain body type, and I lied, because there is One.

The early settlers on Siren were the unaltered human workforce of a certain megacorporation. While an almost unlimited budget was poured into the dodgy gene programs, since that was why they chose to settle a planet so far out of the reach of The Authorities, everything else was done pretty cheaply, including the settling itself. In order to map out their new home planet, incredibly cheap mass-produced aircraft were used by pilots. These aircraft could be made quickly and easily at the settlement site because they lacked a flight computer or any real sensors - or any equipment at all in the cockpit. Rather than a multitude of different equipment loadouts on an aircraft that would take time and effort to swap out or maintain, the pilots instead used these visors which were universally compatible with the one-size-fits-all aircraft. It's kind of like how it's easier to just carry a phone around with a calculator app than it is to carry a phone and a calculator, even if the phone app calculator experience sucks by comparison.

The visors were the real expensive kit, each custom built to a pilot's exact needs and flight style, and they were built to last. the aircraft fell apart in the following centuries but the visors remained, hyperlight plastic powered by the planet's native star, and something interesting happened. The remains of the first settlement were largely inaccessible to anyone but longwing harpies, and these harpies had the right head shape to fit the visors. Many of the pilots had filled their visors with video and photo files from home, from Earth, like a worker decorating his cubicle with photos of his family. Some had been decorated on the outside, as well, resembling birds. The harpies that found the visors obviously tried to use them. They found themselves experiencing visions of strange worlds, recordings of long-dead pilots and ATC, and found that each visor can interface with every other one, no matter how far apart. Each visor came with its own callsign, its own name, which has remained for thousands of years - and because of this, each visor is considered by the cultures of Siren to be a named character with a distinct personality (eg. the swan visor was cygnus2, it is known now as Signastoo)

I keep posting the map and it needs to be redrawn but essentially every red triangle is an ancient telecomm tower. These became the only remaining waypoints on the visors' HUD and mapping software, meaning that 1. a true global culture could emerge, with longwings gathering at these sites, and 2. visored longwings became the gold standard for navigation on Siren. In a world that is basically just water, that's a big deal.

There exist only a few thousand visors (about 3k I'd say). The unused visors are kept in the Hall of Faces, the ancient aviation bay at the first settlement in West. Because of how water levels and land structures have changed over the years, this building exists on a mesa that rises another few thousand feet out of the water, with sheer sides, and is utterly inaccessible to anyone but a longwing harpy. When a visored harpy dies, the visor is returned here. If you want to claim a visor, you need to hold an interview with one of the elders at the site, who will test you rigorously to see if you can inhabit the character of one of the visors. If not, too bad. If you do get it, it's yours until either you die or you do something considered 'out of character' for the wearer of that particular visor. It is DEEPLY discouraged to steal a visor off anyone because it would be largely impossible, given how they all can communicate (imagine a gigantic worldwide discord server where the location & name of every person is known at all times... the drama is likely insane but at least if someone steals a visor, everyone will know about it)

not every longwing desires a visor because it comes with a lot of responsibility alongside its automatic prestige, and you can't really give it up once you have it. also there's always the possibility of being diagnosed with a super annoying, glitchy, or hated visor character lol. but among the roughly 2700 visored harpies on Siren there does exist a global culture exclusive to them. they chat to one another long-distance, engage in closed-practice ceremonies where they all get high and look at videos of Earth, and essentially become a class outside the mundanity of normal life on Siren. to the rest of the population, they basically become telepathic wizards

Terwyef's visor (first pic) is called Scrappercharlee and is one of the more common models, tho it has been decorated over the years with extra bits. Scrappercharlee is a bit busted and half the HUD is missing. Miakef's visor (second pic) Signastoo is one of the very fancy and well-known ones, it's shaped like a swan's head and likely belonged to a high-ranking pilot who could afford a bit of frippery and showmanship back in the day. Birds do not exist on Siren and harpies are mammals so the swan itself is symbolically meaningless, but the bird-style visors introduce the idea of 'a bird' in the abstract, and this has been imbued with its own form of meaning by harpies.

[syoddeye]

ill-advised

simon x f! reader | 1165 words cw: simon being a gross creep, terrible advice, slimy internet culture, bad usernames, unsolicited nudes a/n: wrote this silly thing on my phone. lightly edited. been thinking about how simon would be the world's worst agony uncle. enjoy a few easter eggs.

Simon doesn’t have a God complex. No. He leaves that to the Simulation 5 streamers who build complicated dungeons beneath their character’s cottages, forcing others to labor on paintings or crochet projects to sell and support their captor’s livelihood. Not that he…watches those. No, no. He’s simply seen more than his fair share of depravity. Some of it at his expense, some at others, and more than a chunk of it dealt by his own two hands. He knows how the world works. How people work. He knows his shit, plain and simple.

So when his schedule allows, he logs on after midnight. His username and password are two alphanumeric strings, but people recognize the cluster of digits and letters. Wait for his comments. Follow his account. Send him stupid digital gifts, some useless currency to dress up his default icon. The amount increases daily, as does his following. His own little cult.

He doesn’t care about the numbers. Not really. He just loves dishing out his honest opinion, and nobody’s safe.

AN [Advice Needed] Family forgot to invite me on a trip, expect me to go last minute Hi, it’s like the title says. I (25 M) live across the country from my parents, siblings (all all adults), nieces, and nephews. I am the only one who lives on this coast, but I try to visit twice a year. I recently reached out to my brother to see when he thinks I should come visit in June and suggested some dates. I know it’s only February, but I want to save money on airfare. He responded: “Isn’t that when we’re going to Hawaii???” It was the first I heard of it. It turns out my parents invited my siblings to Hawaii and planned a family vacation without me. I confronted my parents about it, they swore they invited me too then said I could send them my share of the bill for the resort and book a flight. Like it’s no big deal. I can’t afford to go and I don’t want to go, but I feel really pressured. And sad! They forgot me! Who am I, Kevin McAllister?

> 35J0G39GH6: Find out the resort name. Cancel the reservations. Cease contact.

Within seconds, a dozen upvotes. A minute later, a hundred. Up, up, up. And the replies? Oh, the replies. He smirks at the cracked phone screen.

>> michaelEthelcaine: Fucking brutal as always >> c0y0t3fug1y: LMAO it’s this simple OP - this dude is never wrong >> patcemetery79: I DID THIS BACK IN 2003 FOR A FAMILY REUNION. A REAL RIOT! HAVEN’T BEEN INVITED TO ONE SINCE@ HILARIOUS!!!!!! I LOVE YOU 35J

Simon receives a fair share of downvotes, too. Negative comments. He doesn’t give a shit, but some of them are fucking hilarious.

>> grasshopperwhirlpool: Not funny. Be better than this asshole, OP. I’m sure it was a simple mistake. >> thewildrumpussy: really mature advice. who shit in your coffee?

Every few weeks, a morally righteous do-gooder encourages people to mass-report him, and he gets a slap on the wrist. The idiots come out in droves after some of his more choice replies, like worms after a heavy rain. The most recent offense?

AN [Advice Needed] My husband (35 M) forgot my (33 F) birthday My husband of three years forgot my birthday. No flowers, cake, or gifts. When I came home from work he asked about dinner. I lost it, turned around, and left. I’m at my sister’s house now (and she started baking when I called and told her what happened!) but he won’t stop blowing up my phone. He says it’s because he’s been so busy but here’s the thing: he forgot last year too. I really love him but I’m tired of this treatment.

> 35J0G39GH6: Have your friend take you home between 3-4 AM. Cut his brake lines. Go back to her place. Wait for the inevitable.

>> 6polyesterbutthole9: i dont care if this is illegal its funny af >> passtheaggression: Hand to god, you need your own forum dude.  >> gordonramsme55: Where are the mods on this??? This shit is going to get someone killed. Report this psycho. >>> puffalo: Agreed I think this breaks Rules 3 & 5, reporting now >> austrianPrincess: not saying i did this but when my boyfriend’s brakes failed, i got a big check, OP!  >>> gordonramsme55: This is what I’m talking about!  >>> 6polyesterbutthole9: get that check >> tech60nyneme: WOW someone check this guy’s crawlspace. reported and blocked

That one earns him the most severe ‘punishment’ yet: A month-long commenting ban. No skin off his nose, he's deployed days later, anyway. If anything, the radio silence winds his followers up, their excitement a palpable thing when he gets out of forum jail. He rewards them with another series of blunt, to-the-point pieces of advice. 

His absence makes one particular fan particularly hungry, and a little desperate.

He’s no stranger to unsolicited dick and cleavage pics from his followers. They flood his inbox, giving him a side hobby of delivering pithy degradation the sick fucks seem to love. Saves the best for his private collection. 

But then he gets a picture from some cute thing with a comment about him being her favorite person on the Internet. Knelt all sweet in front of her mirror, haloed by a ring light, white lace barely hiding the goods. His eyes snap to her tits—where his ridiculous username is scrawled in sharpie. There’s nothing to critique except maybe the laundry in the background of the shot. Tugs his cock to it, then clicks her username to check her comment history, and wouldn’t you know. Her location is public on her profile. She’s a couple hours away from her idol and doesn’t even know it. 

>> 35J0G39GH6: Perfection. >> YN10282022: Oh my god, I didn’t think you’d reply. >> YN10282022: You know, a few months ago, you gave me good advice about my creepy boss. >> YN10282022: I posted about the stuff he’d say to me. >> YN10282022: It took some time, but I was able to record him. Sent it over to his wife on their anniversary. When he accused me, I told him HR was getting the next copy. >> YN10282022: I got a promotion and a raise, and sent the file anyway. >> 35J0G39GH6: Good girl. >> 35J0G39GH6: I’ll be in your neck of the woods in a week for work. >> YN10282022: Really?? I’d love to meet up! >> 35J0G39GH6: Probably shouldn’t. I’d advise you against meeting me. >> YN10282022: They do say you should never meet your heroes. :) >> 35J0G39GH6: Shouldn’t meet strangers off the Internet, either.

She still sends him the address of a cafe. It matches one he finds on her social media an hour later. She seems to be a frequent customer. Simon grins at his screen, the sole light source in his dark room. He taps back to her pretty picture.

She looks like an angel.

[kairismess]

❝WE WOULD BUILD OUR OWN FOREVER.❞

🏐 genre: fluff ~ ! ✒️ word count: 624 💭 summary: kenma thinks he's found his forever, and that's with you. he tells you of all the things he's been dreaming of doing together with you in the future, and he hopes that future he dreams of would be one you'd love to live out with him someday. 🍥 author's note: it is now canon that kenma kozume collects sylvanian family cats and names each one of them after his favorite video game characters bc i said so . (also the title is an adventure time song ref TEEHEE ily marceline)

"i want... to live in a cozy cottage with you, well, maybe not exactly a cottage... the inside's like a cottage, just as warm and homely as one, and... i wanna have two cats with you." kenma mumbled out sleepily as he tried to keep his golden eyes open, smiling at you as you smiled at his confession.

kenma wasn't exactly used to commitment, let alone any form of romantic relationships; he had hardly fallen in love, let alone fallen this hard for someone so lovable and spectacular. this relationship with you had only lasted for about four months, soon to be five, but kenma couldn't stop himself from dreaming out his desires; his need to be with you until you both grow old and wrinkly, and love you forever, exactly the way you deserve to be.

you chuckled as you shifted under the covers of your bed, angling your phone's camera so he could still see your pretty face. "what would we name our cats, ken?" "hmm..." kenma hummed, he didn't think too hard on trivial things like that, but these cats, to him, would be like children he'd want to have with you in the future. he wants to be a cat dad, only if you'll be his co-cat parent.

"...link, link and kirby." he declared in a hushed voice, making you giggle. "like the game characters?" "yep... and when we get a home of our own, i'll make sure all three of you will live the most comfortable lives ever, trust me." he promised, his half-lidded eyes about to droop to sleep now. though he toughed it out, he wanted to spend the whole evening with you and make the most of it, even if you were both just seeing each other through tiny phone screens.

kenma yawned before continuing, though when he did yawn, you let out a little gasp of adoration. he looked like a newborn kitten waking up from its nap when he yawned, it was too cute for you to bear. "a-and... i'll get you all the games you want. we could play animal crossing, and make little homes and islands for ourselves, rule the world together... and, and..." his voice was getting slurred and soft, he was on the brink of falling into a deep, peaceful slumber.

you smiled as he tried to fight the urge to sleep, but your voice brought him back to reality as he set two feet into dream land. "ken... i'd love that. but darling, you need to sleep." kenma's eyes opened a little wider at you admitting you shared the same sentiments of love and fondness of that dream kenma had for the two of you, and the two cats he wished to have with you, to parent with you.

he smiled and chuckled, almost as if he were teasing you for being so caring around him. "i wanna fall asleep in your arms, dear..." he mutters, and ultimately, his body gives in to sleep, and before you could even promise him he could sleep in your arms on the train ride to school, he was out cold. he was lightly snoring and a hint of drool drooped down from his open mouth and onto the pillow beneath his head.

"sweet dreams, ken." you whispered to him as you set your phone by your side as you fell asleep with him on call, hoping your beloved would dream nice dreams of you, in a small cottage-like home, the safe space for you two with your two little cat babies, building your forever together with him, even if it's in mere life simulator games. that would be enough, more than enough for you; and kenma couldn't be any happier knowing that.

[aheathen-conceivably]

Long before the last note Antoine had grown aware of Zelda’s presence; but as he finished, he looked up at her with a newfound vulnerability in his eyes. As she stared at him unmoving, he absentmindedly moved his hand along the strings to fill the quiet left by the watching stars, “Was it alright, you think? Writing lyrics, it’s new. Harder than assembling notes, if you ask me.”

She looked at him in amazed silence. His original piano pieces had been brilliant, and sometimes he had written ditties for her to sing, but never before had she heard him sing his own lyrics. She had always known how much he loved it - this place that he had left but that walked alongside him everywhere he went; but it was so much clearer this way, so full of both love and hate, loyalty and disdain, longing and relief, that it was difficult for anything other than music to encompass it. 

She brought her hands together in something that may have been a clap if she wasn’t so afraid to disrupt the stillness of the desert air. On silent footsteps, she left her reverie behind and moved to sit where he had made room for her on the worn wooden bench.

She looked at him earnestly, trying to ease his fear with even just the movement of her eyes, “It’s brilliant, Antoine, truly.” And she meant it, not just because she was under his spell and not her own now; the judgmental eyes of God and her sisters were shut out when she was in his orbit. Now there was only him and his memories for her to get lost in. 

He left his hands on the strings, still playing the familiar notes as though they helped make the admittance easier to utter, “You were right, you know? When I play it’s like I can see it all laid out in front of me. Or better yet, under me. Like I’m above it, observing it all like a story. Makes me realize I loved it more than I thought I did. That house. That place. Her. I wrote it because I know it’s gone now, probably nothing but rubble under a cheap government build. I just don’t want to forget. Or maybe I don’t want the world to forget.”

The stars looked down on them as his smile widened with every inch she drew closer to him. They reflected brightly in her eyes as she leveled them to his, “Would you sing it again? So I can hear it better?”

He let out a small laugh, just as much in relief as in humor. “Surely you would prefer to sing it? With a voice like yours I would hate to imagine what mine must sound like.”

She brought her knee up on the bench with them, curling as close as she could without dislodging the guitar from his arms. “Hush and sing. You don’t need me now.”

“I always will, Mrs. Duplanchier. No matter what. But as you wish….” 🎶

Part 3/3

(As Antoine is meant to have written House of the Rising Son in this universe, I’m going to leave a little disclaimer about this song and its origins under the cut, in case you are interested!)

The origins of the song House of the Rising Sun are much older and more complicated than I have presented here. Folklorist Alan Lomax has written more on it if you are interested, but it is commonly thought to have originated as an English folk song, morphing into the version we know today amongst various groups of American immigrants.

Perhaps best known for its 1964 version by The Animals, it has long formed a staple of American folk, blues, rock, and country recordings, with recorded versions by everyone from Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Doc Watson, Nina Simone, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Alt-J (amongst so many others). However, I have taken inspiration from the earliest known recorded version, which was done in Appalachia in 1933.

Of course, in having Antoine write this song I have compressed much of this history into a single figure, as well as slightly twisted the meaning of the song to fit the story line. The latter is mostly based on personal interpretation of the lyrics and is purposefully meant to draw a line from this family’s musical heritage through the 1960s and beyond. It also gives a face to the very real figures behind many of the staples of American music that have come to us from the early part of the 20th century, many of which were written or played by black men and women whose songs have continued onward while many of their names and stories may have been forgotten.

[writing-in-the-impala]

Secret Smokes

Pairing: Teacher! Remus Lupin x Reader

Series Summary: When the reader bumps into the new DADA professor on the bridge in Hogwarts she begins to build a friendship with him all thanks to their shared feeling of not belonging and love for muggle cigarettes. Their friendship blooms while they both fight internal battles deciding what is wrong and what is right leading to a lot of fluff, angst, flirting and a rollercoaster of emotions.

Warnings: Swearing, Drinking, teacher-student relationship (but like it’s all legal chill), SLOWburn we’re in for a long ride

Word Count: Just over 1k

A/N:

This story takes place in a AU where Harry's parents are still alive so Remus Lupin still has all his friends and there is no war however that doesn't make him any less angsty. Everything else is pretty much the same as the canon universe! Enjoy!

MASTERLIST  | SERIES MASTER LIST | Part 1, Next Chapter

The wizarding world and the muggle world have always felt like two completely different worlds, maybe that's why Witches and Wizards who are muggle-born become outcasts. It's hard adjusting to a school but adjusting to a whole world at 11 is even harder. Even in your last year of Hogwarts you still didn't feel like you belonged, each summer going back to the muggle life that you have always known, working a summer job at a coffee shop and hanging out with muggles rather than wizards. You had friends in Hogwarts of course, some closer than others and even though it helped you feel more at home you knew that after Hogwarts you'd end up working a muggle job.

Maybe that's why entering your last year at Hogwarts didn't seem as intimidating because at the end of the day it didn't really matter what results you got in your N.E.W.T.S. Still in its own way you knew you'll miss the castle and the life you've lived in it. So your final train ride to Hogwarts felt a bit bittersweet. One thing didn't change, once again a new Defence against the dark arts teacher got introduced, this time one called Remus Lupin. He looked a lot kinder and nicer than the last one.

Your first week went by extremely quickly, quidditch practice hadn't started yet so you had more time to just hang out with your friends. All your lessons were easy so far as everyone was settling to being back. The new profesor was quickly becoming everyone's favourite due to his friendly nature, he seemed to befriend every student something no other profesor really did. You didn't really get to interact with him too much one-to-one during lessons as whenever he had free time the girls with a crush on him would jump onto the opportunity. You didn't really care about DADA as you wouldn't need it in the muggle world but you did understand why everyone was developing a crush, you had your own brewing for him.

It didn't take long for you to get home sick, homesick for the muggle world. Nothing really felt right to you, not even the food it just never tasted as good as what your mother would make, you missed your parents terribly it was a lot harder sending them owls than sending owls to wizard families, they didn't really grasp the concept. The twins could see that you were getting down again, they knew this happened every year after summer, and they've always tried to help lift your spirit. "Y/N we were thinking it was a good time to plan the first prank of the year what do you say?" Fred said. "Y/N is in her last year, she can't be participating in your silly games." Percy answered for you. "Who invited him?" George snapped back.

"Percy might be right I can't get in as much trouble as I did last year I don't want to get suspended, I'm on thin ice with old Minnie after the last prank we pulled before summer." You admitted, maybe you didn't care about your exam results but you didn't want to get suspended. The debate continued and you ended up agreeing to planning a prank that you may or may not help with. After dinner you decided to take a quick detour to the covered bridge, at the end of your fifth year you discovered it was empty in the evenings as it didn't lead to anywhere people would go at that time of night, it instantly became somewhere you would go for peace, and once you discovered smoking, it also got added to the list of secret smoking spots.

When you approached the middle of the bridge you saw a figure standing smoking a cigarette, you felt a bit gutted someone was using your spot but also excited at the idea of someone being so alike you. You approached them and they quickly put out the cigarette. "Don't worry man, I'm not a teacher I won't snitch." You claimed as you walked up to them before you could make out who it was.

"I know but I am." The figure replied, you were now close enough to make out that it was Professor Lupin. He was no longer leaning over the edge but standing straight with his hands in his pockets.

"I won't snitch if you won't?" You said pulling out your own packet of cigarettes. And his face turned to a gentle smile.

"I really shouldn't-" He protested. "Oh come on, you're new. This is normal." You preached. "Yeah Minerva and I do this all the time but don't tell her I told you." This got a laugh out of him.

"I may have believed you up until that point Y/N. But that's where you've lost me." He remembered your name and for some reason it made your heart skip for a second, he had so many students that he's met in one week and he still managed to memorise yours.

"Come on I'll give you a smoke if you don't tell anyone?" You reached out the pack to him "Camels?" He questioned while taking one. "You know them?" You took one out the packed for yourself before putting it away. "They're muggle smokes." He stated nonchalant, there wasn't any hate in those words which was rare around these halls. "I like them." You pulled out a lighter to light your cigarette while he snapped his fingers and it was instantly lit. "How did you do that? You instantly snapped back . "Do what?" He smiled while holding the cigarette in his mouth, he was attractive in the moon light. "Light it with a snap." You replicated his previous action. "It's a simple arson spell, just a small flame. I used wand less magic." He explained "If it's wand less why did you snap your fingers? Surely you could've just done it." You pressed. "Yes. You've got me there." He admitted. "So you were just trying to impress me?" Slipped out before you realised how those words could sound flirty, you barely knew the man. Truthfully if he wasn't your profesor and this was an interaction with a student you would be developing a stupid crush on them.

"You could say that." He said, with half a smile on his lips. "I'm the new profesor who you've just caught spending the evening by himself smoking, I don't want you to tell everyone I'm boring now I seem impressive."

"Or insecure." You shot back and he bit his lip and shook his head in disbelief at your words. He decided not to reply, instead went back to leaning over the bridge looking out into the darkness and smoking his cigarette and silence fell upon you both.

"I like the camel ones, just because the camel is cute." You broke the silence after a while, you felt bad for calling him insecure and wanted to kill the awkwardness. He laughed at your comment. "You know smokings bad for you? Even if the camel is cute." He said flicking the butt of his cigarette into the darkness. "I know." You quietly replied.

He checked his watch before standing up straight"Curfew has already started so don't stay out here too long as Snape is the one on duty today." He began to walk away. "Professor-" He turned around at your words. "This didn't happen right?" You questioned nervously. "What are camels?" He replied with a wink. "Have a good evening Y/N."

"You too Professor."

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