#but he especially didn't buy a plane ticket as part of it

[st-just]

Always sad when someone posting a 'true story' on here/reddit/twitter gets a lot of positive feedback and just has to keep adding additions that take it further and further from being something that could possibly have actually happened.

Though I mean doesn't seem to stop a shocking amount of people from still believing it, I guess.

[bluehourbucky]

Love from afar

pairing: rockstardad!bucky x fpregnatmom!reader

summary: bucky is away on tour and you're catching up via face time.

a/n: new pictures of Sebastian got me feeling some type of way. also don't mind the kid names I don't know duhshd

-if you'd like to be tagged please let me know! tag list is open! so are my asks

warnings : sexual content / pregnancy / almost mas*uba*on / dirty talk

masterlist

bucky masterlist

rockstardad!bucky [extra content]

DO NOT COPY OR STEAL MY WORK

_______________________________________

18+ only

Minors please don't interact

Having two kids, one of them being a toddler, does not make life easy, especially when your husband is across the globe.

You're proud of Bucky for achieving his dreams and going on a world tour with his band. However, he didn't have to get you pregnant before leaving for 6 months. To be fair, the tour was scheduled months before you even got pregnant.

Bucky and you talked about trying for another baby when he came back, but by the time he comes back, you will be well into your seventh month.

When you found out you were expecting, Bucky almost cancelled the tour because he straight up refused to leave you. It took a lot of conversation and favours to make Bucky change his mind about cancelling the tour.

Buckys sister Rebecca was a huge part of this working out, she's been incredibly helpful and you couldn't thank her enough.

Today, though, you were alone with the kids. Luckily, your kids are very well-behaved, and you stopped minding the absolute mess your house has been since having kids.

Lately, you've been missing Bucky, he's been a huge part of both your pregnancies. He was and is such a hands-on father and husband, so going through this without him is scary. Bucky calls every day no matter the time zone he's in at the time of breakfast - the most chaotic time of the day aside from bed time.

You smile, seeing his name pop on your phone screen, you swipe, and are met with his beautiful blue eyes.

"Good morning, doll. Looking as gorgeous as always. How are you doing? And little one? And our little trouble makers?" Bucky asks, he's literally a second away from buying plane tickets every single time you send him a picture of you or your kids or you three together.

He looks so good, that you don't know if it's the hormones making you horny or it's just the regular horny you get when you see him.

It's been a while since he had let his hair grow out, mostly because the kids have been obsessed with pulling it, and worst of all, they tried to consume it. Now, being on tour, he let it grow since no one tried to eat it yet.

Bucky didn't visit since he knew that he wouldn't be able to leave again, so he called as much as he could. He missed you more than his heart could take, but this years tour has been the biggest one they ever went to.

You can't help but look at your husband with hunger and love in your eyes, the hair tie on his wrist making you hot all over.

"We're good. Missing you lots, but we're okay. Leo and Theo are trouble as always, but they're good." Bucky smiles at the names of his two boys. He loves them more than anything, but he's secretly hoping that the third would be a girl. He's been dreaming of being a little girls dad. She would be his princess, and he would spoil her endlessly. Not that he doesn't spoil each and every one of you already, but he would be unstoppable.

"Lemme see you, give me a turn doll." You roll your eyes but do it nonetheless. You set the phone on the kitchen counter and lean it on the bottle of water. Bucky smiles wide when he sees your bump, he wishies he could be there and talk to it and give it kisses like he had done other two times.

"Looking good, Mamma, wish I was there with you, miss you a lot." he without fail manages to make you blush even after twenty years of being together. You turn to the side and lift your shirt to give him a better view. Bucky turns into a human heart eye emoji when he looks at his wife and not only are his band members teasing him about it but so are his fans.

"Damn, look at you. Shit I'd do anything to have be there, I would have you naked in our bed, you're so sensitive right now and I'm not there to enjoy it. You're killing me doll."

You whimper quietly, he's the one that's killing you. The two of you enjoyed pregnancy sex way too much, and he's right you're extra sensitive right now.

"Lemme see them beauties, bet they're so swollen, so delicious just for me."

You lift your shirt slowly, teasingly releasing your very much swollen and full breasts, Bucky is a very dirty man and you'd lie if you two didn't explore some fun kinks.

"Gorgeous, my pretty wife, looking so beautiful carrying my baby. All mine."

You're about to reach under your underwear, Buckys hand already wrapped around his cock.

"Daddy!!"

You straighten up, and pull your shirt down quickly, your 5 year old bursts through the kitchen door. You don't know how he knew you were even talking to Bucky but oh well. There goes mommy and daddy time.

"Good morning, baby boy. Is it just me, or every time I call, you get a bit bigger?" Theo squeals from excitement and then goes on a rant about something that happened in one of the shows he's watching.

While they talk you go and wake up Leo, your currently youngest kid.

You get him up and carry him in your arms to the kitchen, he leans on your shoulder still half asleep.

"Baby, gimme the phone for a second." Theo immediately gives you the phone and follows you to the kitchen island where you sat.

"There's my other baby. Still sleepy, mommy woke you up, huh? What are we gonna do about it?"

It was a perfectly reasonable time to wake up....

Your son picks his head up at his father's voice and smiles, reaching for the phone. You put Leo down on the carpet not far from you, so you can still see him and Theo, while you make breakfast.

"Mommy!!!" Theo yells and you look up from the fruit you're currently cutting.

"Honey you don't have to yell I'm right here." you put away the knife, when he comes closer, Theo recently took a liking to yelling and dangerous objects.

"Daddy wants to talk to you!" Theo yells and you cringe at the volume, you love him more than anything but how can such a small child be so loud.

"Doll, I gotta go, we got soundcheck in about twenty minutes, kiss the boys for me, okay? Love you."

"Love you more, and good luck! I know you'll be great! Oh, and don't you dare cut your hair before you come home. I'm going to divorce you."

Bucky chuckles and says love you again before hanging up.

"Theo what do you have there?"

"A KNIFE!"

"NO."

[THE END]

I think this might be my favorite thing I've written so far.....

likes, reblogs and comments are appreciated <3

[scrollonso]

First Kiss (Break 1)

A strollonso AU where 18 year old rookie Lance Stroll falls helplessly in love with the notoriously mean world champion. (1.2k words, no warnings) [@v3lnys] {filler chapter? I just felt like Lance and Nando getting closer would make more sense if they spent break together + Mark}

last part - masterlist - next part

They had two weeks off and Lance had absolutely no plans, Nico was on vacation with his family to god knows where, Fernando had probably already arrived in Australia, and Lance didn't have any other friends on the paddock to worry about.

He had thought about going back to Canada but he just ended up back at his house in Switzerland. Spring had started by the time he got home so it wasn't like he could distract himself with snowboarding so he just ended up at home on his couch for the past five days.

Being alone was nice, but a part of him missed Fernando, oddly enough. They'd only ever hung out on the paddock but Lance had grown to look forward to the time they spent together, whether it was actually sitting and talking or just exchanging glances while in the middle of interviews.

As if it was fate, his phone began to rang. It was an unknown number but he figured it might be important, his dad had a history of calling him from random places just to check up on him, as if the 18 year old hadn't been left alone before.

"Hello?" He said, holding his (very small) phone to his ear

"Lancito, I am so glad you answered!" a voice on the other end spoke, a very familiar voice

"Nando?" Lance questioned "How did you get my number?"

"Is not important!" The Spaniard said, brushing off the question "Lancito, are you busy? If you are, cancel, come to Australia."

"No, I'm not busy." Lance responded, wondering if Fernando was really inviting him to Australia, wasn't he with Mark? Wouldn't that be awkward? "Is something important happening in Australia?"

"Si, You are coming, is important."

"Nando, I-" The younger boy laughed, not being able to wipe the smile off his face just from hearing the other mans voice "Sure, I'll come."

"Perfect, I'll send you the information, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay Nando"

"Bye, Lancito! Have a safe flight"

And with that the call ended and Lance wasted no time in buying the tickets to Australia (idk how people bought plane tickets in 2006...)

Lance got off the plane, trying to pat down the hair he could feel sticking up, he always slept on long flights and this one was no acception. It was weird being in Australia a week before he had to but he wasn't going to turn down Fernando is he wanted Lance there so bad, for whatever reason.

It was a Sunday morning and the airport was surprisingly busy, he eventually found his way out and got a taxi headed towards the address Fernando had texted him

"Just landed, headed your way now!!"

Lance stared at the screen before sending the message, just now wondering why exactly he was there, he wasn't blind to the media, especially when he was constantly being interviewed and asked questions fans were dying to know, he had heard the rumours, people saying Fernando was only talking to him to scare him, he was going to embarrass him, he had some ulterior motive, Lance hoped it wasn't true but now that he was blindly following Fernandos orders in another country while he was visiting his friend (who's seat he took) a part of him started to wonder if Fernando was planning something. He hit send.

They'd hadn't texted much, just Fernando sending him the information he needed and Lance thanking him before he got on the plane and turned off his phone, he wasn't too fond of it anyways.

"I am glad you made it"

"Is exciting"

"Tell the driver to go faster"

Lance smiled at his phone, excited to see the Spaniard again, even though he saw him not even a week ago.

"I shouldn't break the law yet"

"I just got here and my dad isn't here to bail me out!"

"I will do it, no worries Lancito"

He shook his head at the text, turning off his phone and waiting to arrive, not too far away from the location

He stepped out of the car, paying the taxi fare then walking up to the house, hesitating to knock. Maybe texting would be better? Or calling? Or anything besides knocking? Before he even had the chance to decide the door opened, revealing a slightly-taller-than-him Mark Webber and Fernando standing by his side, the two closer than he thought they would be

"Lance, welcome, so sorry about making you come so randomly." Mark spoke first, stepping back to invite Lance in

"It's no problem, I wasn't doing anything anyway" Lance smiled as he walked into the house, scanning what he could see

"I told you Lancito didn't mind" Fernando said to Mark, hitting his arm slightly "Is good to make sure you two get along before people start to speculate, ay?" Fernando smiled at Mark then at Lance, reaching up to flatten the hair still sticking up on his head

Lance wasn't sure why he was surprised Fernando was still calling him his nickname, he didn't know why he expected anything to change with Mark around, Fernando seemed the same, if anything he seemed happier around Mark. It made him feel bad, he was the reason Mark lost his seat, the reason Fernando's friend was no longer on the paddock, the reason Fernando had to settle for him instead.

"Well, Lance, I don't mind that you took my seat" Mark laughed, closing the door before putting an arm around Lance's shoulder "I was done with travelling all the time anyway, so don't beat yourself up over what people say"

Lance nodded, Mark was right, and he was pretty old so it made sense for him to be smarter.

"Now, how about we have fun now that we've dragged you to the land down under?" That made Lance smile, he was looking forward to spending the rest of his break actually doing stuff besides binging TV shows.

The next week went by so quick Lance was surprised when he actually had to go to the paddock, almost as surprised as fans when he showed up with both Fernando and Mark.

He hesitated when Fernando suggested all of them going together, worried about what people would say, but the older men made it obvious they couldn't care less so thats how they ended up going together, Mark having plans of doing interviews around the paddock and spending his free time in sither the pink or blue and yellow garage.

Being in Australia a week early was great, they were busy the whole time but Lance enioyed it, loving the time away from his phone and especially away from the media. It made him notice how close Mark and Fernando really were, he felt jealous at times but it was probably just because he was used to having Fernandos attention on him after quali and races, he felt selfish for feeling that way so of course he never addressed it.

"Where are you going first?" Lance asked, looking at Mark, both of them on either side of Fernando

"I was thinking of interviewing people first, it's gonna be weird being the one asking the questions"

"As long as you stay far away from me, we're good"

Fernando shook his head, pulling the taller man closer "We really need to get you used to the media, eh? All you do is complain" He sucked his teeth after he finished teasing Lance, earning nothing but an eyeroll from the teen

"Yeah, yeah." Lance smiled, not able to stop himself when it came to Fernando "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

And with that the race week started.

[lonelywifeposts]

I can't anymore deal with the disrespect.

Almost two years ago, I moved to the other side of the world to be with the man I love: the man I thought I would be building my life with solely, the man I thought who would not let anything come between us.

I started working when I was 15 not just simply to gain work experience but to also not rely on my parents. I have always loved independence and autonomy. I don't like being subjected to do's and don'ts, that's why it has been very important for me to gain freedom at an early age.

During my university years, I was working three jobs at the same time. I never had to ask for school allowance from my parents. I shouldered my everyday transportation and food expenses, books and educational materials, and of course my other needs and wants.

Especially in the Philippines where a lot of people wrongfully use the concept of "utang na loob (debt of gratitude), I already knew that one way to avoid such a drama is to be self-sufficient.

I also managed to move out and live alone, working solely for myself, doing what I want to do.

And here comes marriage. A thing I thought was supposed to be beautiful but only to be tainted by pain, tears, and sorrow. A marriage full of disrespect from people who weren't supposed to be part of it in the first place.

To give context, when I got married, my Australia-based Asian husband was just starting his life. He had to put off his career for quite a long time to physically take care of his terminally ill dad in the US.

The Persistent Wedding Invitation

Eventually, his father passed away. We agreed that it should be the start of something new for us, a time for him to rebuild himself, a chance for us to build something together, an opportunity for me to work in a different environment.

I joined him in Australia and it didn't take that long before I got employed. I was just starting my work when his uncle and the uncle's wife called to ask us to go to the US to attend their daughter's wedding.

It was supposed to be a light discussion: a simple yes or no should do. But I hated how we had to explain that we had work and I was just starting in my job with no sufficient paid leaves, only for them to respond, "Did you not tell your employer during the job interview that you're supposed to take leave during this time? You can say that in an interview!"

Ugh. My blood was boiling. What an inconsiderate couple.

The US-Based Brother's Modern Slavery Invitation

Months passed and his US-based brother asked us to go to take a leave from work and take care of their children.

"Instead of paying a nanny, I'll just buy your plane tickets so you can come here and babysit my kids."

Wow. Who in the right mind would ask his sibling to take a leave from work and babysit his children unpaid unless it's an emergency, unforeseen life and death situation?

Oh, he even intended the free babysitting to last a month so he and his wife could go for an overseas couple trip.

The Australia-based Sister's Repetitive Abuse

Apart from his older brother's ridiculous demand, his sister and sister's husband who live in Australia repetitively ask my spouse to take a leave from work to take care of their daughter.

And nope, they don't compensate him. He loses his opportunity to earn his wage in a day or learn more from his career, or pursue something he would want to pursue, so that he can take care of his niece.

"Hi, can you cancel your work shift so you can take care of our child?" -- a phone call that always bothers us twice in a month.

My husband used to say yes always, until he eventually learned to say no SOMETIMES to prioritize his work - a response they blamed on me, telling me that I'm controlling him.

And when I brought up to them how they're abusing their brother for not paying him, I was told that nobody should be paying his own family members to do things for him. What? Seriously?

Not only that. They blocked their communication lines with me. Blocked on social media. Never heard any apologies.

The Insensitive Birthday Invitation

Since I called them out for their rude and abusive behaviour, they also stopped talking to my husband, with the parting words, "Your wife wants us to pay you. What kind of person is she?"

But last week, they called him to invite him for their daughter's birthday. And guess what? My husband said yes.

Of course the invite wasn't extended to me and I don't actually mind. I'm not interested anyway. But I can't believe the audacity of them for being so rude and abusive and just calling up out of the blue without apologies, as if they didn't do anything evil.

The Abusive Behaviour-Enabler Mother

My dilemma doesn't stop with my husband's siblings. His own mom is an enabler of these toxic abusive behaviours.

Upon learning the incident, she asked my husband to instead help take care of his siblings' children and not ask for payment at all.

She also asked him to apologize to his sister for what happened and amend their relationship.

I cannot anymore tolerate the disrespect I feel. I didn't give up my singlehood and moved to an unfamiliar territory just to be treated this way.

Had I only known from the start, I would have never said yes.

I never had my peace of mind since I came here. Every day of my life is full of sorrows and pain. I don't know what to do anymore.

[moonieshinesims]

Generation One - Chapter Thirty Four

It's finally time for River to make her way to Mt. Komorebi. How will the flight be? Will she be able to find Damien when she arrives at the station? And then what happens? She was frightened… but she couldn't let anybody see it… She was on multiple missions and would have to keep her head straight!

*And please let's ignore that River's luggage changes colors 3 times in this post... I clearly wasn't paying any attention lol*

River's family drove her to the airport the night of her flight. She was antsy the whole car ride over.

Bee caught the last thing her younger, stranger daughter said. It struck a nerve with her, given things that had happened to River in the past, but she wasn't sure she heard her correctly.

Mercy smirked and rolled her eyes. "Smooth."

They went into the airport and looked at the boarding time of River's flight. She had about an hour, so she decided to buy her family a coffee before she left.

She knew she didn't have to buy them coffees, she was still under the impression that she might not ever see them again. She wanted to have one last nice moment with her family before leaving, especially when she didn't know if she'd ever see them again.

They sat around for about 45 minutes, talking and joking, until the announcement was made that River's flight was leaving.

They made their way to the front desk so River could hand over her ticket and check her luggage in the scanner.

"You better give us hugs first!" Bee sounded so upset, although she was trying to hide it. River told her cousin Logan goodbye, and then gave her mom and sister hugs.

Bee was doing alright at keeping it together, but only because she didn't want to stress River out.

Mercy on the other hand whispered something into River's ear. Underneath that joking, mischievous personality, Mercy was also worried that River wouldn't make it back home...

"I'll be careful guys, and I'll keep in contact!" They said their final goodbyes, then River finally turned to leave her family behind.

River's luggage was taken on the little cart to the part of the airplane where all the bags were stored. She joined a short line of people getting onto the plane.

When she finally entered the aircraft, she was a little overwhelmed.

She didn't have an assigned seat, and wasn't sure where would be best to sit.

There were only a couple of seats that were left empty. The one with the most leg room was in between a bored looking woman with her face stuck in her phone, and a nervous looking older man. She realized that was the exit row, but perhaps, since she would be on the plane for over 10 hours, it would be best to sit there.

Somehow she was able to sleep through most of the flight and was only awakened when the landing announcement was made.

The nervous man was gone, probably in the bathroom, and the other girl was still looking at something on her phone. Either way, River was glad that they were about to get off the plane. She wasn't sure, if she'd been awake, if she actually liked flying.

Once everyone was ushered off the plane and were able to obtain their luggage, River found herself outside. Damien's messages from days earlier had said he would meet her on the walkway above the trains.

It took River a moment to see next to the airport where he was talking about. The entire town was quiet as River pulled her luggage along behind her across a small yard, towards the train station.

When she made it up to the walkway, she took a look around at her surroundings.

Again, it was so quiet that River felt eerie.

Suddenly, down the walkway, someone began calling River's name in Simlish.

*please ignore that the last name on this sign is NOT River's last name in Simlish... I forgot what I was writing and put another one of my OC's last name on the sign!!*

River turned around and saw that it was Damien holding a sign with her name on it.

"Damien! I was wondering where you were."

"But I actually can't wait to go to wherever I'm staying and get into a real bed."

River then followed Damien down the walkway towards the parking lot. Again, even though she slept a lot, it wasn't good sleep, and she was too tired to be excited or nervous.

When she woke up the next morning she would put energy into being excited.

[babyharleezy]

Surprising Urban on tour on his birthday and jack brings him out on stage for it?

surprise shawty

(urban wyatt x reader)

bloo's notes: pretty sure this is my first urbana banana fic. hope yall enjoy.

tag list: @creme-delacreme (lmk if yall wanna be apart of any tag lists, tbh forgot who even was on any of my tag lists lol)

you had been in contact with jack for a few days now. you two have been planning on surprising urban for his birthday and you were so excited. it was hard keeping this away from urb. especially when the two of you spoke everyday. he was upset that he wouldn't be spending his birthday with his girl. you never missed his birthday and he never missed yours. jack told you that the show would be in Oakland, California on his birthday. jack booked you a first class ticket to oakland without hesitation. you made a mental note to pay jack back since he insisted he buy you a first class ticket; in his words "i just wanna have some part in this".

you were getting ready to board your plane. you had to be real sneaky about it so you knew you would have to fly either when urban was sleeping or working. it was easiest flying during those times because he was constantly shooting you texts or on facetime/call with you when he wasn't doing either of those things. luckily you got in just as urban was waking up and he didn't suspect a thing. by the time you made it to your hotel, urban was fully awake and he was facetiming you within seconds. it had became the ritual when urban was gone, he would facetime when he would wake up and the two of you would be on call for as long as possible. you picked up the phone and tried your best to make it seem like you were still at home so you jumped under the covers of the bed. thank god you had the same covers at home.

"HEYYY BABYY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE" you yelled at through the phone at your beautiful (sexy) boyfriend. "thank you baby, i miss you. i wish you were here." he replied with a sad tone. "aw baby i wish i was there too. work is super crazy tho and you're so far" you said, trying to match his sad energy. you felt bad that you were lying to him but you knew that it would be worth it in the end. "how'd you sleep baby" you asked urban. "i would've slept better with you here" urban pouted and you giggled. after about thirty minutes on the phone he still didn't suspect a thing and he had told you that he needed to get ready for the day. "alright baby, i love you, have an amazing birthday. be safe and i'll call you later tonight" you told your boyfriend. "alright baby, have fun at work. text or call when you have free time. i love you babe" urban replied.

the second you got off of the phone with urban you texted jack.

y/n: the plan is working!!!

jack: perfect! alright ima have neelam stop by ur hotel and give the back stage passes. the plan is to bring you out on stage and surprise urb. we'll make sure he's out on the stage. im so excited, he's gonna love this!

y/n: ahhh i can't wait. thank you for doing this jack, it means a lot. im gonna get some rest and then get ready for tonight

jack: i would do anything for you and urb. see ya 2nite y/n

after your conversation with jack you had passed out for a few hours and by the time you woke up it was about 4 pm and the show starts at 8. you decided to text urban and see what he was up to. you two had a casual conversation and then you told him you were going to go eat dinner. technically you would be eating dinner since it was 7 pm at home, so that wasn't a lie. you were hungry and decided to order some room service. by the time room service arrived and you finished your food it was already 5:30.

you got into the shower and got dressed for the night. you wore one of urbans favorite fits. before you knew it, it was already 7 pm and you needed to make your way to the venue. you were growing more excited as each minute passed. jack had informed you that they had bought a cake for urban and they were gonna sing to him on stage and he asked if you would be the one holding the cake and giving it to urban. of course you said yes.

you made your way inside the venue and met up with neelam who took you inside into a small green room. she told you that urban wouldn't be in this room so he wouldn't accidently ruin his own surprise. as some time went on you heard jack performing and after performing crème he stopped. from the green room you could hear "alright yall, tonight is super special..." this was your cue to get the cake. neelam lit the candles and just as jack told the crowd to start singing happy birthday, you made your way out to the crowd. urban and jack were facing the audience, standing next to each other. urban didn't even realize that there was a cake coming toward him until jack spun him around and his eyes immediately lit up when he made eye contact with you. you two had the biggest smiles on your faces.

"happy birthday urban" you told him just as he got close enough for him to hear. "thank you sweetheart" urban replied. "come on, make a wish bub" you encouraged him. he stood there smiling for a second and before he blew out the candles he said, "i got everything i ever wanted right in front of me". right after he blew out the candles, the cake was whisked out of your hands and you ran to urban and hugged him tightly. "i missed you birthday boy" you whispered into his ear. "i missed you too babygirl" urban replied. suddenly the both of you heard jack's voice booming from the speakers. "alright happy birthday urb. everyone give it up for y/n for flying in tonight and surprising urban. of course, it was my idea! im the greatest best friend ever" he yelled. you rolled your eyes and ran over to jack; grabbing the mic out of his hands, you said "y'all this was not his idea, but he did help and im grateful for him. thank you jackman for helping out buddy." you gave him a quick hug before making your way back into urban's arms.

the rest of the night you and urban were stuck to each other like glue. it was safe to say, urban had one of the best birthdays of his life.

[penwieldingdreamer]

Just one Kiss

The third installment of my Daniel Ricciardo drabble/one-shot series. Also thank you so much for so many likes and reblogs on the other, too. I finally found a fandom again that I enjoy writing for, thank you guys.

If you're interested in the songs that inspire this, here's the Series Playlist

Happy reading. Let me know what you think.

I kept the reader as vague as possible. While writing I imagined a plus size! female! reader but you can think up whatever you want.

You had a shitty day at work, so Daniel invites you to stay with him in Monaco. In the end something might change for you both.

previous part

Warnings: fluff, some angst

Words: 2203

Come to Monaco, take some time off. We’ll go hiking and swimming, you’ll love it.

You read and re-read his message. Daniel had sent you the plane tickets after yet another lengthy call about your crazy boss who was complaining all the time. Covid had hit every business, but just like everyone else you weren’t able to change it and you couldn’t get people inside the shop to buy enough cars to keep your boss afloat.

Each and every day, no matter how hard you worked he wasn’t happy with your performance, even though all he did was sit inside his office and drink the expensive whiskey a friend gave him. 

You had joked about looking for a millionaire boyfriend and stop working if you found yourself with such a boss each time you changed workplaces. The Aussie had laughed at that, telling you he’d be there, providing for everything. “Don’t do that, I’d be stamped as a gold digger.”

“Fuck ‘em, I’d still do it.” His voice was hard but still making you laugh. “Besides, you’d be a great WAG.”

Smiling at his omission, you thanked him but couldn’t help picturing what life would be like if you did end up with the F1 driver. The glitz and glamor wasn't something you needed, but joining him on one of his trips or at races definitely had its perks. After that you had talked about his upcoming race in Spain and the one back in Silverstone where he ended up on P14, not something he wanted. Not for the team and especially for himself. 

“You’ll get on the podium again, Danny, it will come. Stay positive.” You tried to encourage but heard the doubt in his voice.

“I know, it’s just, I don't have a good feeling with the car. It’s working great one day and the next something is wrong. I don’t know.”

A few hours later you found his message and the link to the tickets on your phone and you knew saying No was not an option. You answered him with a grinning emoji, knowing the Renault driver was already awake and waiting for your reply.

Get ready to dine and wine me, loverboy.

The next day at work you put in your vacation time and left your boss’ office before he could comment on it. You knew he wasn’t happy with you being gone for two weeks, but since you had started working for him you had about two days off from work in the last year. 

“You dare leave with such short notice when it’s the busiest time of the year? I need you here, Y/N!” he called, standing at his desk and gripping your letter before you could close the door.

"I dare to. Work is slow anyway, with the pandemic people don't want to buy cars right now."

Grumbling, he sat back down. "Just make sure you'll do a better job than before so people actually come back. With your mood swings I'd not buy a car from you, too."

Swallowing the cuss, you gave him a tight nod before leaving the office. If you didn't need that job you'd probably have given that idiot a piece of your mind but at the moment he was still paying you more than your last workplace.

Back at your own desk you shot a quick text to Daniel, wishing him luck for the race in Spain and that you couldn't wait for the weekend to be over very quickly.

Three more days, babes, and you'll enjoy the Côte d'Azur. We'll meet in Nice at the airport, I'll be waiting at your gate.

True to his words the weekend was over faster than you thought and Daniel had sent you a voice message in the morning reminding you to have all your essentials, travel documents and to bring the happiest mood now that you would spend two weeks with the Honey Badger himself. You didn't know how he always did it, he was such a happy-go-lucky guy, although sometimes having a bad day, but just picturing his smile while he sent that voice made your day brighter. 

The plane ride was uneventful, even with the pandemic. All you had to do was keep your mask on and everyone was happy. Music was something you probably shared with Danny, you needed it when you were traveling, driving, cooking or just reading a book sometimes. Music made everything better and lifted the mood a bit, so thanks to some of the songs the Aussie had recommended, the journey to Nice, France had been faster than you thought.

You felt giddy, knowing he would be waiting for you at the arrival gate, hopefully in the same mood as he had that morning, knowing the weekend hadn't gone as planned for him as he wanted to. The plane finally touched down, passengers clapping and whooping loudly before you heard the snaps and clicks of the belts being loosened. Sometimes you wondered why people couldn't wait until you reached the parking spot. The doors wouldn't be opened before then, so why bother being the first to grab your shit when you'd still have to wait patiently. Shaking your head, you turned your phone back on.

You sent a quick message to your friend and family, letting them know you got there okay and one to Danny, so he knew you were about to meet him. With him being a famous driver you didn't know how many people might recognize him, if some at all with having to wear the masks and didn't want him to be in the middle of all of that. Although he once told you he didn't mind at all, but with it being this early he was confident it was smooth riding from there on.

Can't wait to see you, babes.

You chuckled at the nickname he gave you. He started a few weeks ago and when you asked him about it, the Aussie explained that it was the nickname for baby or mini potatoes.

"So, I'm a potato now?"

“No, you’re my baby potato.” His laugh had echoed through the speaker and you couldn’t help the grin that stole itself onto your lips as you thought back to it.

Grabbing your travel bag from the overhead compartment you stood and followed the passengers out of the plane. You couldn’t wait to get out of that crowd and see Danny again. It had been too long since you had time off and spending your free time with him was such a privilege. He was literally the sun, even when he had a bad day, he wanted to make his friends and loved ones smile no matter what.

Walking out of the gate, you finally were able to lose the throng of people that had traveled with you. That’s when you found him standing there in his merch hoodie, sunglasses and a mask. 

“Babes, fuck I missed that smile.” He pulled you closer, his arms circling around your shoulders. Michael was sitting opposite the gate at a small cafe area, enjoying a light breakfast. "Did you have breakfast?"

You shook your head, food hadn’t been on your mind this early in the morning. Your flight had left at dawn and plane food was never something you enjoyed, so you nibbled on the cookies and granola bar you had bought before take off. “I hoped I could get something here, enjoy the ocean view and sun.”

The Aussie chuckled, nodding over at Michael who had finished his coffee and scrambled eggs. “We’ll get your luggage, take a car to Monaco and then enjoy an amazing breakfast with a view.”

The drive to Monaco and Daniel’s home there was about half an hour but the scenery that flew past was the most beautiful you had seen in a while. The waters were so blue and even the mountains on the other side looked beautiful. Before you knew it the car was in the garage of the apartment complex. 

After a big brunch outside on the apartment balcony, enjoying the view down to the Port de Cap-d’Ali yacht club, the Aussie took you down to the beach. 

“Did you ever make a decision you might in the end think was the wrong one?” He asked you, his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie.

You looked over at him, your hand instinctively moving to his elbow. “What’s going on, Daniel? I’ve never seen you so down before.”

Sighing, Daniel shook his head. “I, fuck, I’m not sure. With the DNF in Austria and the car's performance I asked for a seat at McLaren. I’m still finishing my contract but I don’t know if getting that ball rolling was right. I just want to race and get back on the podium.”

“Why didn't you tell me before, huh? We're friends. Are you really sure this is what you want? Changing teams, I mean. You know I’ll have your back, no matter what you do.” He put his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. “What did your agent say to that? And Cyril?”

Daniel laid a kiss onto your temple. “He’s on board I think, it’s just so fucking annoying. I try to get it working, I have a few good positions and then it’s fucked up again. Most of all I miss my cheerleader at the track. And well, Cyril is…he's not happy but we're amicable and I try to get the points in, so at least it will be a split on good grounds. I thought he was never going to talk to me again.”

“I guess I can understand that. I wouldn't be happy, too, if my star driver talked with other teams after the first race. But it is your life, your decision in the end and as long as you try I think that's more than you can say about other people. Just think it through very well and take it day by day. Also, I'd be there more often, but I can’t get out of work all the time even if I wanted to. But you know I’m always watching you race and keeping you in my prayers.”

The Aussie let out a soft laugh. “You sound like my mum, she’s doing the same with every race.”

Shrugging your shoulders, you leaned your head against his shoulder. “Your mum’s not wrong to do that, it’s a risky business you’re enjoying. But it’s what you love so I guess there’s no way you’ll be quitting now.”

“Definitely not, but I’m glad you’re here now.” He stopped suddenly, his long fingers brushing a few loose strands out of your face. Daniel’s eyes locked with yours, switching down to look at your lips. Before you could react, his plush lips were on yours. His free hand moved behind your neck, pulling you closer to him.

Your own hands moved from his arms up to his shoulders, holding onto him with all your might, your knees already buckling from the sensations. The last time you had kissed him was back in Australia. That summer had haunted you for months - but in a good way if you were honest. You still felt his touch every night even when Daniel wasn’t there and for the longest time you had dreamed of getting that feeling back.

He pulled away, looking at your serene face. Your eyes were still closed and he couldn’t help the satisfied grin. “I really wanted to do that when you came to Silverstone.”

"There's still COVID, we should have been more careful. What if you"

"Fuck COVID, all I could think about was that smile and your lips. Kept me up at night every fucking day."

“Well, good things come to those who wait.” You returned his grin once you had looked back at him. Daniel had that broad grin he usually wore and you felt your insides tingle. “What’s it mean now?”

Shrugging his shoulders the F1 driver brushed his thumbs along your jaw. “I don’t know but I’d like to see where we're going. Take it day by day, ya know.”

“That’s a great idea I think.” You stood up on your tiptoes, grabbing his cheeks and pushing your lips against his for another kiss. 

Just one kiss had changed your dynamic from friends to something more and you couldn’t wait to explore where it might lead you.

The days after you spent swimming, hiking and just exploring Monaco and the area around the principality. You'd keep your relationship under wraps from the rest of the world for now, not an easy feat with him being a famous Formula 1 driver, but it didn't mean you had to sneak around. Daniel took you on a few dates and you promised to try and be at a few more races, staying at the Renault garage, rooting for your favorite Aussie. You also met his friends and saw Max again, enjoying the time out on the water with them and knew he had needed that time off from all the drama since the start of the season, not just with the pandemic but with the Renault-McLaren issue, too.

next part

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

The money thing (part 1/2) - Daniel Ricciardo

It's always the little things, isn't it? The smallest stupidest things make almost no difference and then make all the difference in the world. They make everything special, but they also have the power to tear everything appart.

You and Daniel fight about money for the thousand time and he's had enough of it.

Warnings: super angst, but with a happy ending :)

Guys, this turned out WAY BIGGER than I expected, so I'm just gonna do a part 2, okay? Okay, thanks for understanding!

Song that inspired me: A list by HVOB

You and Daniel had been dating for a couple months now, having met through a common friend and hitting off almost instantly. You lived in Amsterdam and he, well he lived all over the world really, but his "time off" (meaning not racing) was spent between Monaco and London (for work), and Amsterdam now too, of course.

The changes were small and subtle at the beginning, like your weekends being spent traveling to meet him wherever in the world he was and consequently spending almost all your savings on plane tickets. You never complained to him (you planned on spending the money traveling anyway, so you didn't see the point), but didn't accept when he offered to buy your tickets, either. There's been some awkwardness around the subject but it usually died on its own.

*beginning of flashback*

"You’d have gotten here in time if you'd gotten the early flight like I told you" you remembered him saying that time you got in the paddock after the qualifying session had begun and couldn’t kiss him good luck.

"Baby, I told you. It was crazy expensive! Absurd even!"

"(y/n) for god's sake! What are we saving money for? I told you, you have my credit card number, I've offered to get you one, this is ridiculous, I can't believe I literally earn millions and my girlfriend wasn't there with me because the ticket was too expensive! I'll fucking fly you private if I have to!" he was almost yelling in his driver's room. You could only stare from the corner.

He took a deep breath running his hands through his hair. "Sorry. It's just... it was crap out there. I needed you" you grimaced at his words.

"Sorry. I really am..." you tried to approach him. "I'm here now?" you touched his arm. "It can't have been that bad, you're still on the top 10 and we both know what you can do from the 8th car..." you smiled at him.

*end of flashback*

He started to spend much more of his time off with you at your place, so you decided to get a place by yourself (having a roommate was great for company and splitting the rent, but having a roommate there while you guys just wanted some much-needed privacy was not working). Then there were more traveling to meet him, furniture for the new place, clothing for all the events (GPs or not), uber rides here and there... all of that without mentioning that you weren't being able to get the freelance jobs you used to get to make some extra money, so yeah, to say things were tight was an understatement. You tried to do all your shopping alone, so he wouldn't offer and you wouldn't refuse or be awkward about it, but Daniel seem to be glued to you whenever you were in the same city (not that you’re complaining).

He started to spend much more of his time off with you at your place, so you decided to get a place by yourself (having a roommate was great for company and splitting the rent, but having a roommate there while you guys just wanted some much-needed privacy was not working). Then there were more traveling to meet him, furniture for the new place, clothing for all the events (GPs or not), uber rides here and there... all of that without mentioning that you weren't being able to get the freelance jobs you used to get to make some extra money, so yeah, to say things were tight was an understatement. You tried to do all your shopping alone, so he wouldn't offer and you wouldn't refuse or be awkward about it, but Daniel seem to be glued to you whenever you were in the same city (not that you’re complaining).

The thing is, you always had trouble dealing with money. Sure, you liked to pay for your own stuff so as to not owe anything to anyone (especially boys), but it was so much deeper than that. Ever since a kid, you hated asking for money from your parents, and sometimes even the thought of buying stuff that was a bit more expensive made you sick. You couldn't explain why, you just felt guilty having so much and knowing that most people have never even seen that amount. It's not that you didn't want to spend it and save for the sake of it, you just didn't handle the idea of money very well. Needless to say, dating a millionnaire was bound to cause trouble in the relationship for you.

You were currently at his place in Monaco. It was the summer break and you had decided to spend some days just chilling at home, just the two of you - which you were glad since going out means hair, makeup, clothes, accessories, shoes... and, let's be honest, the kind of places he usually took you is not the kind of places you just throw something together last minute (the Instagram models and other driver's girlfriends looking you up and down were enough to make you think about spending money you did not have to hire a stylist or something like that). The whole situation was really stressing you out and you knew you would have to be honest with him eventually, instead of only dodging the subject and refusing most of his offers to pay. You tried to. You kind of tried. You suggested staying at home, in bed, most of the time, and he gladly agreed, but that strategy wasn't gonna work forever. You had to be honest with him. But at the same time, you knew what he was going to say and do, and the thought of him spending money on you, even if just by handling the restaurant bill, wasn't something you were much more comfortable with. Besides, it was only a matter of time before the "gold-digger" term starts to fly around in the small world that was the F1's.

You were laying on his couch, the Olympics playing on the TV but you were too busy overthinking the money thing to pay attention. Daniel was laying with his head on your lap, absently caressing your thigh and watching the TV. His phone went off and he moved to pick it up.

"Hello?" you watched as he answered the phone. "Hey mate, how's it going? Uh nothing, we're just chilling at home. Getting some rest... Yeah, I'm getting rested, you dirty-minded son of a bitch" you rolled your eyes while he laughed out loud on the line with someone. "Yeah, I know... the 19th is it? No, it's fine. Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Alright, mate. Thanks for calling. Have a good one! Bye!" he hanged up and leaned in to peck you on the lips.

"Good news?" you asked him.

"Not really. Just wanted to kiss you" he shrugged, smiling. You smiled back and hugged him, pulling him in for another kiss. He was always so caring with you, always finding an excuse to kiss or touch you. You knew some people didn't like it, but you loved it. Physical touch was definitely one of your love languages.

"What's happening on the 19th then?" you asked him once you guys set apart from the kiss.

"Gotta be in London. Gonna run some testings and other boring race stuff..."

"Hum..." you hummed in understanding.

"You know what would make it less boring though?" he asked and you just looked at him, you already knew what he was going to ask you and it wasn't that you didn't want to spend every minute of the day with him, but you simply couldn't afford any more traveling, especially not in such short notice. "If you came with me. Huh? What do you say? A week in the Queen's land? Then we can fly together to Spa and after the race, I can go with you to Amsterdam. The next one it's the Dutch GP anyway, I'll just get there sooner" he laughed. It was crushing you, the man of your dreams was literally beaming at making plans with you, talking about spending the next few weeks glued together and you couldn't say yes.

"Dan, I have to work" you smiled sadly.

"Can't you work from distance? Or, I don't know, I mean... I know it's tiring, but you could come to London and fly home a bit early, then just meet me in Belgium?" great, his solution includes even more flying. And the thing is, you really didn't mind the flying. You always slept during the whole thing anyway, so you never got tired and the jetlag was minimal. You could work from distance, sure. Your boss wouldn't mind, as long as you got there eventually to check in on everything. But the whole logistics were just too expensive. There was no way you could afford it.

"I... sorry, I don't think I can" you said sadly and watched as his face dropped.

"That's fine, baby. I get it. I'm asking too much, all this traveling... don't worry about it" he tried to mask his emotions but you knew better. He knew you could in fact work from distance, so he was probably thinking the reason you couldn't do it was because you didn't want to.

He got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Meanwhile, you couldn't help but bury your face in your palms. This was so frustrating!

"You wanna go for a run or something? Maybe get something to eat?" he called from the kitchen, already moving on from the subject. You knew this whole thing was only gonna keep build up till he got tired of your excuses or you blowing up, probably the former, but you just keep going.

"Yeah, sure" you answered, getting up from the couch.

You and Daniel were both very active so going for a run, hiking, riding bikes, or whatever in the middle of the day was really routine for you. The Monaco summer weather was as beautiful as always and the sun was shining bright. You enjoyed the rest of your afternoon racing each other, kissing in the harbor, and just taking in the views, spending quality time together. Money wasn't even a thing in your bubble for a while.

"I'm getting hungry" he said on the way back home.

"Me too, and I'm super hot. I could go for a juice or something right now" you were all sweaty from the running, but you didn't care, he was too.

"You're always hot baby, I don't think juice gonna help with that" he grinned at you and you just rolled your eyes at him.

You passed by one of his favorite spots for food, nearby his place and he suggested getting some take-out, to which you agreed.

"Green juice, and a chicken wrap?" you tried to decide while the both of you waited in line.

"I'll never understand how you drink that"

"I've seen you drink that too, it's actually very refreshing"

"Because I'm forced to, I'm a high-performance athlete baby. But I'm on a break, so I'll have a coke, thank you very much" you laughed at him. He was holding your hand and tried to kiss you, wrapping his arm around you, you didn't dodge his kiss, you would never, but still laughed at the fact he wanted to kiss the sweaty mess you were right now.

"I'm gross, only you" you laughed.

"That's my baby, with no makeup she a ten" he rapped shrugging and grinning.

"Alright Lil Wayne, I know that one, don't even finish the verse" you laughed at him, making him laugh out loud, getting everyone's in the restaurant's attention.

"It's true, though"

"Sure..." You just shook your head smiling. Then you heard someone call his name.

"Hey! Daniel!" you both turned around to see Charles and Charlotte sitting in a corner, him waving at you two. You had met Charles a couple of times before but never spoke too much to him. They seemed to be leaving anyway, so they walked towards you guys, instead of towards the door.

"Hey mate, how's it going?" Daniel greeted him with a handshake. "Hey, Charlotte! You know (y/n) yet?"

"Hi! I don't think so, hi! How are you?" she greeted you smiling.

"Hi! Nice to meet you. Hi, Charles!" you said.

"Hey, (y/n). You're keeping him in line during the break? Char won't let me cheat my diet either" he laughed.

"Oh, that ship has sailed long ago! Daniel will just roll into the paddock if it's up to him" you laughed back.

"Hey! I think I've earned the right to some extra calories, we've been working out extra hard lately" Daniel said waving his eyebrows suggestively, making Charlotte giggle, Charles rolls his eyes and you go even redder than you were from the actual workout, while he just laughed out loud.

"I don't even want to know" Charles said. "Always great running into you mate" he was getting ready to say goodbye.

"Are we seeing you guys tomorrow?" Charlotte asked you.

"Tomorrow?" you asked her.

"Stefano's birthday" she said like it was obvious. Stefano Domenicali was the President and CEO of Formula 1, but you didn't know that yet - still, her tone made it seems like it was someone Daniel knew, so you just looked at him. He just rubbed his neck, looking a little embarrassed. "Oh, wait. Please tell me I didn't just said something I shouldn't" she looked at Charles.

"No, no. He invited me. Us, actually" Daniel reassured her. "I don't think we're going though, forgot to mention to you" he said looking at you.

"Uh mate, I wouldn't skip that if I were you. He didn't even invite all the drivers I heard" Charles said. "Maybe just stop by to say hello?"

"Stop by... a yacht... at the sea?" Charlotte said grinning at him. Daniel looked at you.

"You feel like going? It should be fun" he asked you.

"Sounds fancy... I mean, I don't mind if you go" you said.

"Common... I’m not going alone" he nudged you.

"I don't even have anything to wear, Dan" you told him.

"Oh! We can go shopping together!" Charlotte said and you had almost forgotten they were still there.

"Perfect!" Daniel answered for you. You could only imagine the types of stores she shopped.

"Tomorrow morning, then? Daniel can text your address to Charles for me? I'll pick you up!" she was being really nice about it.

"I thought you wanted to go today?" Charles said.

"That's when I thought I would have to go shopping with you, so I could use the extra time since you're the worst shopping partner ever!" she laughed at him.

"Burn!" Daniel laughed.

"His fashion taste is not the most reliable, let's face it" she laughed and kissed his cheek. "It's a date then (y/n)?" she looked expectantly at you. You didn't want to let her down, it was so hard to make friends with the girlfriends of other drivers, they were usually so... not nice. You could always just help her and find something to wear in your own stuff later.

"Yeah, sure! See you tomorrow, at 10?" you said simply.

"Perfect!" she beamed.

>>> end of part 1 <<<

[druigs-wife]

ZUNNI || MARVEL FANFICTION

PART TWO || SOLDIER 🏛

summary: at the airport in baghdad, zunni meets a young traveller, who's reminding her of one old member of her family in the ancient greece.

warnings: flashbacks, angst, fluff, blood, violence, swearing, mentions of death, eternals spoilers!

word count: 7540

A/N: i know it's been a few months since i posted the first chapter, but I finally wrote it :D the book by madeline miller "the song of achilles" inspired me to do this. enjoy!

PART I MASTERLIST ZUNNI MASTERLIST

DOMO | PRESENT DAY

Two weeks have passed since Zunni awakened. Most of the time she tried to get used to the new circumstances. Ajak helped her with the necessary documents so that she could move freely around the countries. In the evenings, she watched the illuminated and bustling cities from a distance. Everything looked completely different now than it was in the sixteenth century. Preparing to leave the Domo, Zun decided to grab the scissors and cut her beautiful, wavy long hair to the same short length she had had from the very beginning. Still, a few highlights were of a different length than the rest of the hair. She muttered nervously to herself.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Ajak walked into the bathroom worriedly, ready to leave the starship. She noticed that Zunni was not coping with one of Phastos' inventions. Her hands were still shaking a little. "Come on, I'll help you with that." she carefully handed her the tool and turned to the mirror to look at her reflection. After a while Ajak finished cutting her hair. She brushed her head a few times with a brush. Now Zunni's hair was only shoulder length.

"I know, but I had to do this, if I want to start over." she reached for a hair elastic by the sink and quickly tied them into a short, low ponytail. Ajak leaned against the wall and waited for her to finish packing.

"What’s your plan then?" she asked her.

"I have to find Kingo. At the moment he’s my only lead." she replied without looking into her eyes, and still packing the most necessary things.

"Do you know where exactly to look for him?" She knew nothing, absolutely nothing. No new clues, no address. Nothing. But despite this, she tried to be optimistic. Maybe he’ll find her? Completely by accident? That could be a miracle.

"Makkari mentioned that he might be in India now, and I think I'll start in Bombay. She already helped me buy a plane ticket. Not far from there, Ikaris and Sersi got married, remember?" it was a wonderful place. Zunni will always remember it with a smile on her face. What an experience...

"We should go with you." she offered, but Zunni immediately turned to her and disagree.

"Ajak, I appreciate your concern, but this is something I have to do on my own." she packed her last item into her backpack and zipped it. She slung it over her right shoulder and headed towards the doors.

"I let them." Zunni suddenly stopped. She looked at her again and couldn't believe what she just heard. The smartest eternal allowed something so reckless?

"What did you do?" Ajak decided not to speak for now. She understood that it would be better if she told her the truth, especially after what happened. But Zunni gave vent to her emotions and expressed her opinion “And you didn’t deign to tell me about it earlier? You knew exactly what was going on when we split up. It only caused the problems, and even Druig and I got hit for it."

"He went on his own. The deviants were gone. What do you think I was supposed to do? I wasn't going to stop him. He made a decision, as did the rest. Makkari took care of you and that's how you woke up here." Ajak sat up on bed and began explaining to her the true version of the events.

"No matter how much I love Makkari, it was his responsibility. And he left me! He left me because of you!" Ajak knew she didn't mean it, she understood that she had to react in some way. But the words made her want to cry. "He promised me that night that when I'll wake up, everything will be fine. He promised me that he’ll never leave me! And now my question is, where the fuck is he?!" single tears started to run down her cheeks. She got up and walked over to the nervous girl.

"Zunni, look at me. It was his choice and unfortunately there's nothing else I can do." she took Zunni's face in her hands and wiped her tears away.

"I swear, when I find him I'll..." she threatened and slowly tried to calm the breathing. Ajak grabbed her shoulders to make her look at her. However, Zunni continued her speech. "I would never, ever leave him." She grabbed the bag once more, which she had tossed in a corner out of frustration, and left the room, leaving Ajak alone. She was worried about her and hoped that soon she'll see her full of happiness, just like in good old days.

The plane to Mumbai was due to leave in three hours. The women had to slowly gather to make it because they still had a long way through the desert. Makkari hugged her friend goodbye and signed to her.

"Visit me sometime. I'm gonna miss you." Zunni nodded slightly and smiled at her as she stepped out of her embrace. "I hope you'll find Druig."

"Thank you for looking after me for so many years. You'll eventually get some break from me." she joked. Makkari's mouth curved upward and she laughed softly.

"It's gonna be fucking boring here without you." she admitted, unhappy with the fact that now she has to watch over the Domo in solitude. "Sometimes you mumbled kind of strange things in your sleep." she rolled her eyes.

Interesting...

"What things?" she asked her a question but didn't have time to answer it, because Ajak had entered the room with the suitcase.

"Have you got everything, Zun? We have to go to the airport in a moment." she announced putting on her blue coat.

"Yes, I'm ready." she replied picking up her bag from the floor "Goodbye Makkari." She waved goodbye to her and turned toward one of the ship's corridors. There was still a sincere smile on the speedster's face. Ajak took one last glance at the cluttered room and then stared at Makkari.

"Stop grinning and clean up this mess!" she spoke to her firmly in her beautiful, yet threatening accent, then joined Zunni and headed to the exit.

"Yes, mum." she signed annoyingly to herself as they were already out of her sight.

BAGHDAD | THE AIRPORT

Several thousand years have passed since Babylon, many things have changed, even too much. People used to be kind to each other, but now they act like animals to each other and treat themselves like shit. After the team left Babylon, Zunni and Druig could only read the local records of what was happening in that country, but she didn't expect that the consequences of imposing a new religion on them could be so devastating.

Zunni and Ajak were already at the airport waiting for their flights. They both sat on the benches and stared at the crowds of people and bodyguards shouting over each other.

“Remember how this nation used to be full of life and hope? Everyone could visit the city, receive help, home and care. Now I can see that it's filled with death at every turn." staring at the people, Zunni shared her insights with Ajak, who was leaning her arm against the seat.

"Now it's a dangerous place, especially for foreigners, so hardly anyone visits this country." the mature woman continued the conversation.

"They would have achieved much more if they-" she broke off in mid-sentence, knowing what she would be hearing next. She didn't miss it.

“We won't change it, Zunni. You know it well." she told her for the thousandth time since they had arrived on Earth.

"Unfortunately." she muttered under her breath and sighed heavily. She stretched on the seat and leaned back against it comfortably and closed her eyes for a while. After a few minutes she heard the loud scream of one of the bodyguards. She opened her eyes quickly and headed toward him. He was bothering a young man who looked like a foreigner. He didn't know their official language, and there must have been some kind of misunderstanding. She looked at the seat next to her, but Ajak had disappeared somewhere. On the one hand, it's good, she won't complain about it, but on the other hand, no one is going to keep an eye on their luggage.

Fuck it...she got up quickly walking towards the men. As she got closer, she understood more and more the context of this conversation. This man called his husband. The security guard must have overheard their discussion. He's already dead. She got an idea and approached them confidently.

"Honey? What's the problem?" Zunni hugged the stranger man, he looked scared by the whole situation, but as she approached him, he felt that he was not alone, that he still have a chance to get out of there. "Do you have the tickets?" she asked him, knowing that he was holding them in his hands all the time.

"Y-yes, I have them." he answered her in a hesitant voice and smiled at her, or at least tried, then they both looked at the confused guard who clearly didn't know what to do next.

"ما هي المشكلة؟"

"What's the problem?"

Zunni asked him politely, to which he only looked at them once more and left without a word. She moved away from him slowly, not arousing suspicion from the rest of the people around. After a moment of silence, the man spoke up.

"I feel embarrassed, I'm so sorry you had to hear all of this. I don't know how to thank you. If you weren't here, I'd probably be dead by now." it's true. At this point, it's scary to even breathe in this place. Up close, the boy seemed to have a very familiar face, as if she'd seen it before. She looked at him for a moment more. "Are you okay?" he asked her softly. He snapped her out of her thoughts, she remembered something.

"Sorry, you just... I thought you...You remind me of my nephew very much." She confessed and smiled kindly at him. She began to walk away from him steadily. "Next time, choose your words more carefully when you're in a public place, especially in a country like this." she turned completely and blended into the crowd, returning to her seat and her luggage.

"Thank you again!" he said louder, so she could hear him one last time.

When Zunni had her things in sight, she could also see that Ajak had returned to her seat. She stood up slowly and grabbed the suitcase.

"Where were you? I was worried about you." she touched her arm gently.

“I could ask you the same exact question. I fell asleep a little and you're already running away from me." she bit off her. At the same time, there were various sounds at the airport. It turned out that the flight to the United States was due to depart within half an hour.

"It's time for me." she became slightly sad. She hugged Zunni goodbye, though she didn't want to part with her again. "You'll fit back in, I ensure you." she whispered in her ear. "And remember, take it easy, you're still too weak." she grabbed her cheek and rubbed it gently with her fingers.

"I'll remember." she promised and then Ajak was lost in the crowd.

There is still some time until the Zunni's flight, so she sat back down. Painful memories of Ancient Greece were flickering through her mind.

ATHENS | 1196 BC

Surprisingly, the years on Earth pass quickly. This time, a group of Eternals was sent to Athens to get rid of all the deviants. Due to the fact, that the team is not scheduled to go on hunting on them until the next day, Zunni decided to help the servants in the garden. It allowed her to relax. She loved the distinctive scent of different flowers at once. Together with other women, she worked on removing weeds from flowerbeds. She spent half a day there, learning their language at the same time. As sunset approached, Druig came to the gardens. He sat down on a bench and watched her working hardly. Zunni glanced at him and smiled under her breath. She didn't approach him straight away and decided to finish the last flowerbed. When it got a little darker, she got up from the ground and dusted off her white tunic. All her clothing was stained with soil and remnants of grass.

"γεια"

"Goodbye"

She bid farewall to the servants who were also finishing their work for today. Zunni headed to Druig, which was still sitting and watching her closely. She sighed and shook her head in disbelief.

“I’ve been waiting here for a few moments." he said with a cheeky smirk painted on his face as he slowly rose from the bench and walked towards her.

"Really? Sorry, I didn't notice you staring at me for like...thirty minutes, maybe?" she said in a sarcastic tone. Once they were close enough, he grabbed her dirty hand. Before he could do anything, she warned him "I'm all soiled, I wouldn't do that if I were you." She chuckled slightly. Druig stubbornly brought her palm to his mouth and gently kissed it.

"I enjoy looking at beautiful creatures" he stated, staring deeply into her brown eyes. It has to be said, he know how to charm a woman. Flirting with Zunni was his speciality.

“Come on, we need to finish the vase." He took her hand and they started walking towards their quarters. "But I need to change first."

Zunni and Druig were waiting in one of the larger rooms, which was intended for art. Next to the garden, this workroom was her favorite. The mind controller settled back comfortably on the couch and closed his eyes. He was tired after a day, and tomorrow they must be full of strength to fight. Zunni, on the other hand, sat on the stool and looked at the unfinished vase, she could barely see on her eyes as well. She got up impatiently and started walking from one end of the room to the other.

"For Arishem's sake, where is he?" she slightly leaned out into the hallway to see if the person they're talking about is coming.

"He's probably busy showing off to the servants" he replied sleepily, eyes still closed.

"I doubt the servants stopped him." she slipped out. She should keep her mouth shut. Zunni prayed in her mind that he would be here as soon as possible.

Achilles. The greatest of all the Greek warriors. Son of Peleus…and all that.

Zunni had expected something more from him. He didn't shown his best since they arrived in Athens. There were various rumors about him in Babylon, but according to her only one turned out to be true. He was rarely sober, at least in recent times. As Basilis, his aunt, she tried to reach him, but he didn't want to talk at all. The day before she had caught Achilles and Patroclus, his friend from childhood, making love. They didn't noticed her, but the door was ajar, so she closed it quietly and walked away as if nothing had happened. It was obvious to her that they liked each other, but sadly they were hiding it. If she could do something so that they could live together without any consequences, she would help them.

"What do you mean?" still lying on the sofa, he opened one eye and looked at her curiously, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Doesn't matter." she shook her head and dismissed Druig, leaving him unanswered. "I'll strangle him myself when he finally shows up." She grew more and more irritated.

"Don't be so upset m'lady, anger marrs beauty." and that's where his flip side comes in. Apart from his flirting skills, he can also piss someone off at times.

"Maybe I shoud beat both of your asses." She warned him in a sweet but sarcastic tone. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and closed with a loud bang.

"Χαίρετε, comrades." he greeted with a huge smile on his lips. He could barely stand on his feet, but not from tiredness. He got drunk again.

"I can't believe it. You gotta be kidding me." Zunni's hands dropped completely. It was too much.

"I had my reasons." Achilles tried to justify himself somehow, but it was getting worse every day. He swayed slightly as he wanted to get closer to his aunt, so she ran over to him to keep his balance.

"Allie! We were supposed to finish the painting today. How will you pose in such a state?" she gripped him tightly by the muscular shoulders so he could stand straight, but Achilles pulled her to him with all his strength and hugged her, but without a reciprocating.

"Basilis, my dear auntie, I can do this." still holding her in his embrace, he moved away slightly to look at her.

"Zun, it could be worse. Besides, what you expected from him?" she's already pissed off enough. Finally, after a while, she broke free from her nephew's embrace and moved away from the men.

"I'm sick of you, both of you. I'm going to my quarters." she glanced at them and turned towards the door.

"Auntie!" he shouted after her and spread his arms, barely standing on his legs.

"Go to bed!” she shouted back and slammed the door behind her, leaving them both alone.

In the morning the deviants attacked the city unexpectedly. The strongest gods from Olympus gathered to fight, but even they couldn't cope with the bloodthirsty beasts. The Eternals came to their rescue. Ikaris and Zunni, as always eliminated the most dangerous of them in the air, Thena and Gilgamesh collaborated on land, and Sprite and Druig carefully controlled the entire course of the battle, distracting their opponents from time to time. Phastos, on the other hand, was busy with something completely different, he was sitting in his chambers and creating newer and more absurd inventions for the simple Greek society.

After defeating the last deviant in the air, Zunni landed with a crash on the ground near Thena, who had just delivered the last, killing stab to the last beast in Athens. This battle was hers, she got rid of the greatest number of deviants, and it was she who received all the applause. When she managed to slip out of the crowd of happy inhabitants, she approached her sister, who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Are you okay?" she crouched down beside her and made sure she was okay. Zunni looked at her sharply, as if breaking out of another trance. Her eyes no longer sparkled with white light. She managed to calm down without complications.

"Yes, everything's alright." she took a deep breath and let it out of her mouth "I'm just exhausted." she laughed and Thena chuckled with her. She got to her feet and offered Zunni a helping hand, which she gripped tightly and stood up, brushing the armor off the soil. "Is everybody okay?" she asked the rest of the team and then began to repair the damage caused by the battle.

In gratitude for saving the Greek capital, the gods of Olympus held a great feast in honor of the Eternals. Various food and drinks were placed on a huge marble table. It was going to be a feast until dawn.

"I'm starving." Gilgamesh admitted, first sitting at the table, rubbing his hands together, he didn't know from to start. At the very beginning, he poured some alcohol to warm up.

"Just don't eat it all at once." Zunni patted him on the back, which almost made him choke on one of the traditional Greek spirits.

"Help yourselves!" Zeus ordered all the people in the dining room, pointing to the full table.

The atmosphere was very pleasant. Everyone talked to each other as if they had always known each other, as if they were family. After two hours of feasting, when everyone had already drunk some liquor, the ambience became even more casual. Sprite, with the help of her extraordinary illusions, told everyone "The Legend of Ikaris", and when the story ended, Gilgamesh and Zunni laughed the loudest in the room.

"So he just...flew into the sun? This is ridiculous." she stated, laughing aloud at Ikaris himself.

“The poor man didn't seem to know how to outmaneuver it” Gilgamesh concluded and took another sip of his drink. Eternal just rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. He raised his goblet slightly towards Zunni, who was seated across from him.

"Oh, I'll wipe that smile off your face one day, believe me." a mysterious smirk appeared on his face, to which everyone reacted with laughter.

"Basilis? Where's your nephew? I heard he's causing a lot of trouble lately." Hera asked politely after a moment when the room calmed down. Oh yeah…Achilles. He's late again.

"He has a lot on his mind recently, he's trying to let off steam in some way. He's still a young boy." she tried to explain his absence from the feast. He was probably still asleep. Zeus's wife was not very satisfied with this answer, although she knew that Zunni was trying to be his good carer.

"Have you finished the vase?" she asked another question and on this point, Zunni had to disappoint her too.

"Not yet. I hope we'll do it tonight." she put a handful of fruit on her plate.

"As long as his hangover will allow it." Phastos, who had sat in silence the whole time, interrupted. Zunni looked up from her plate at the eternal.

"Phastos, weren't you supposed to be in your chambers?" defending Achilles, she tried to bite him back.

"I think I have the right to rest, at least for a while, because I don't know about you, but I work for days." He pointed at each person with his fork and took a bite. The door to the dining room slowly swung open, and Achilles emerged from it, trying to sit down at the table imperceptibly. "There he is." he pointed at the approaching man.

"Sorry, I'm late." he bowed slightly to Zeus and Hera and took an empty seat next to Zunni. It was evident that he was still asleep and that he came here only under duress.

"Together with Hera we thought that since you got rid of the deviants, maybe you'd like to settle down here for a while?" Zeus took his wife's hand and announced his proposal to the Eternals. The team exchanged glances, some nodded without hesitation, and others had mixed feelings about it.

"I don't know, it would be very kind of you, but we'd like to arrange it with our leader first." Ikaris announced to Zeus after a moment of reflection.

"Think about it, people like to be in your company." Hera admitted and smiled genuinely at them. Achilles was still leaning on the table and said nothing. Zunni lightly brushed his hand.

"What stopped you this time? Hey? Is something wrong?" she wanted to finally talk to him, to understand why he was behaving this way.

"It's okay. I need a drink." he took his hand away and reached for the alcohol in front of him. Zunni stubbornly tried to pull him away from it, placing her hand on his once more.

"You just sober up, Allie. Put it down." whispering, she asked him.

"I feel wonderful. Give me a drink!" again her nephew threw her hand away, he was acting so childish.

"Achilles!" she screamed in a whisper so as not to attract the attention of all the guests present. He gave her an irritated look and stood up, loudly pushing his chair back.

"Great, I wish you a lovely feast, then." he bowed before leaving the room, full of bitterness. There was an awkward silence in the room.

"What an annoying kid, how are you dealing with him?" Phastos commented on. It gone too far. Zunni had to talk to him seriously after all, so she got up from her seat as well and picked up the alcohol that Achilles had wanted to drink a moment earlier. It seemed that this was the only way for him to finally open up to her. “Hey, where are you going?” Phastos asked as she walked away from the table.

"Don't disturb yourselves, I must finally talk some sense into him. Thank you for hospitality, Zeus." she bowed culturally and took the alcohol under her arm.

"The pleasure is all mine." he nodded, smiling slightly at her, then continued to eat the dish.

"Should I go with you?" Druig was sitting a few chairs away, and as Zunni passed by him, he grabbed her gently by the waist to make her look at him. He offered her support.

"There is no need, thank you." she smiled a little sadly and took his hand off her body. She headed to the exit and began to follow Achilles.

She didn't have to search long. Her nephew was sitting in the garden, staring at the landscape of Athens from above. She approached him and waved a jug lightly with his favorite alcohol in his sight. He seemed to be a little bit surprised.

"I want to understand you, but I don't know how anymore. I thought maybe this would convince you?" she approached him closer and handed him the alcohol, then sat down on the bench next to him, while Achilles put the jug down on the ground and sighed heavily.

"Tomorrow I'm leaving for war." he gasped his words as he stared straight ahead. Zunni's eyes widened. Why is she finding out about it now? "And the best part is, only thanks to me they can conquer Troy."

"What are you talking about?" she asked him a question, stepping back slightly.

"According to the prophecy of Calchas, it's thanks to me, that they can win this war. There is only one catch..." He lowered his head and took a deep breath. "I'm going to die..."

For a moment, Zunni didn't believe what she had just heard. Achilles, her nephew, the person she has to protect at all cost, is doomed to die. She didn't take her eyes off him and after a moment she took his cheek and turned him so that he finally looked at her. He was unmoved, and in fact he seemed to be reconciled with his fate. But Zunni wasn't.

"You're not going anywhere. I forbid you!" she shook her head and raised her tone to which he stood up abruptly.

"You won't be deciding about my life! I'm leaving tomorrow morning, whether you like it or not!" he started screaming at her.

"When we got here, I promised Zeus to look after you!" she got up from her seat and began to speak to Achilles, who had his back to her, "It's my duty to stop you from doing this. "Why do you care so much about the glory, if you're going to be dead?!" he turned to her as he heard the last word.

"What do you know about me, huh? Maybe that's what I want?" he shrugged and continued arguing.

"That's not true." she said immediately and firmly.

"How do you know that?" pointed at her with his open hand to continue her speech.

"I know about you and about Patroclus..." a grimace appeared on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't manage to. "Before you say anything, I really care about you. he was really happy." he walked closer to her, and she touched his shoulder gently, "I'm sorry I couldn't prove it to you sooner, but I also get lost in this sometimes." a single tear ran down her cheek. "You can think of me whatever you want, but for me you'll always be my family." Zunni's confession stunned Achilles. His expression softened, but he continued to insist on his.

"Sorry, but that's what my goal is. I know your opinion about the war. You would stop the bloodshed at all costs, if you could. And...Patroclos is going with me." She lowered her hand and took a few steps back.

"You'll lead him to the slaughter. I don't support this. We protect your planet from all violence, and you use it anyway." she expressed her opinion with her arms folded.

"Basilis...as my aunt, please respect my decision." this time it was he who grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. She was the only person besides Patroclus who could understand him. She didn't support what might happen in the near future, but she had no other choice. Zunni closed her eyes and hugged him. Achilles deepened his embrace, thanking her for understanding.

ATHENS | 1186 PNE

The war lasted much longer than the Eternals had expected. Only Druig, Thena, Gilgamesh and Zunni decided to stay in Greece. She watched it all closely from a distance, still worried about her nephew. She realized long ago that she'll not convince him. The Eternals were receiving messages from the front from one of their trusted soldiers, he informed them of all Achilles' exploits. Some were indeed worthy of a hero, but the rest not very much. Not for Zunni. The informant was due to arrive in the capital a few weeks ago, but he never did.

A worried Druig entered Zunni's quarters. She was standing by the balcony with her arms folded, admiring Athens.

"Something must have happened." she admitted, standing with her back to him. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly from behind.

"Maybe they had some complications along the way." he tried to cheer her up.

"This is taking too long." she sighed. "I have to end this." Druig turned her gently to face him. "I don't have the strength to only hear about the losses these people suffer." she confessed to him after ten years of being quiet.

“Zun, we can't-”

“I don't care what I can and cannot do anymore! I had allowed this slaughter to go on for way too long. Ten fucking years waiting for this torment to end! He's my nephew, I love him. I guess I deserve to see him again. One last time." she sobbed loudly. Druig analyzed what she had just said. She was not wrong. He also didn't supported that and wanted to let her alone into this mess.

"I'm going with you." he stated.

Later that day, they flew away in search of a camp near Troy, which allegedly contained Achilles and Patroclus.

Druig held tightly to his companion and together they were flying over the Aegean Sea. The land was now in sight, together they looked for the nearest Achaean camp. Zunni and Druig landed near one of them to check if they were in right place. Three warriors stood outside patrolling the area. As they spotted the Eternals approaching, they recognized them in the blink of an eye. One of them trotted up to them.

“Basilis! What are you doing here? Something happened in Athens?" he began to question anxiously, he didn't expect their presence.

“Where is Achilles? Is he here? " she looked around the camp from afar.

"Yes, my lady. He is, but a few kilometers away and still fighting. He should be back soon." he answered her. Thank Arishem, he was still alive. Maybe all is not lost yet.

The soldier led them into the camp. There were bloody warriors everywhere, groaning in pain. On the way to some free tents, Zunni remembered to ask on more question, equally important.

"Tell me one more thing...what happened to Patroclus?" he stopped and looked down on his feets. The soldier considered his words for a few good moments, but in the end he only pointed on the tent to the west of them.

“I'm sorry, my Lady…but he's dead. He was slain today at the battle." he finally confessed. She stared at the indicated tent for a long moment, hesitating to go in there. If Achilles didn't know it, he'll face severe agony. Zunni and Druig eventually entered to the tent where the dead Patroclus was lying. He was battered and bloodied, his face as pale as a sculpture. She covered her mouth with her hand. That was horrible. The worst part is that Achilles let it happen. At the same time, the perplexed hero stormed into the tent. When he saw the body of his beloved one, he fell into great despair. He knelt in front of him and hugged him as tightly as he could while his tears ran down his cheeks like a stream. Zunni discreetly asked Druig to leave them alone. When he did so, she approached her desperate nephew and hugged him tightly as well, trying to soothe him at all costs.

“Shhh… I'm with you, Achilles. Let it all out. I got you." she closed her eyes and the two of them sat there for an hour until he stopped shedding tears.

After a while, Zunni led him to his bed. He wished to take Patroclus with him. They were both lying on the sheets, Achilles was brushing the strands of his beloved's hair away, and Zunni was playing quiet, calm melodies on the lyre nearby the bed. He turned his sleepy gaze from his lover to his aunt and stared at her for a few seconds. When she felt his eyes on her, she lifted hers as well.

“Tomorrow I will kill Hector. I must avenge him." Achilles' eyes became wet again. Zunni just hummed to herself. "Do you want to stop me?" he asked in a low tone. She sat in silence for a moment, then said something that surprised him and something she didn't expected she would ever tell this to.

"I will not even try to...If you die, I wouldn't be surprised if I do the same for you."

He needed that, he needed these words. Deep inside, the thought of the next day hurted him, but he tried not to showing it, so he just nodded and started stroking Patroclus's hair once more.

Achilles received new armor early in the morning and left without saying goodbye. He was afraid that if he would saw his caregiver again, he would gave up. The hours were passing horribly slowly, but it was finally done. Hector died and with this, revenge was fulfilled. Achilles didn't talk much after the incident. Together with the soldiers, they were planning an attack on Troy. Zunni and Druig didn't interfere in their doings. She just wanted to stay with her nephew until the very end. One day have passed, commanders and warriors began to leave the camp. This time he didn't say goodbye either. They waited alone for the end of the war.

Druig was enjoying a plate of fruits and Zunni was peeking out of her tent every so often, looking for any soldier. But nobody had come. It was evening, she had a feeling that this day would become the history, but her mind wandered around Achilles all the time. He wasn't her nephew anymore. He became someone much more important to her.

She ran out of her tent without saying a word, leaving Druig alone and took to the air as quickly as possible. She began to fly towards Troy. It was several kilometers from the city, but already high flames engulfing the battlefield could be seen. As Zunni flew closer, she saw everyone slaughtering each other like animals and setting fire to everything they could. The city was covered in blood. She looked everywhere, but nowhere to see Achilles. She came even closer. Paris, brother of Hector, was in her sight as he was aiming his bow. The arrow hit her nephew's heel. That was the end. She flew to him, didn't manage to catch him, so he fell to the ground with a thud. His breaths became less and less regular. With the lasts of his strength he looked at her.

"You weren't the perfect caregiver, dear aunt...b-but you were the mother I needed." moved by his words, she began to sob and laid her forehead on Achilles', who breathed one last time. The battle continued around them, but he was the only thing that mattered to her. However, her mourning was interrupted by an arrow aimed by Paris, which bounced off her protective barrier. She turned and picked herself up from the ground, grasping the sword dropped by her nephew.

“Do you want to avenge him?! Let it be a fair duel. Without any magic, witch!" he challenged her. Zunni became even more furious and without thinking she got rid off her shield and all powers for that moment. When it happened, Paris drew his sword and started running towards her. Zunni rapidly blocked his first hit, again and again. She pushed him a few inches from her and kicked him in the stomach, pushing him even further. He slammed his fist on the ground and rose from it, gasping intensely. This time it was she who started to punching him. Paris tried to protect himself from them by dodging, but Zunni took a big swing and cut his stomach. It was not a fatal blow, but he felt it, then grabbed his stomach and blood appeared on his hand. Without hesitation, she took another swing with her sword and this time she cut his arm, which caused Paris to fall on his knees. A sword escaped from his hands and he became defenseless. She came close enough to him to put the sword to his throat. Her eyes flashed white light several times, there was a vengeance in them. But before she delivered the killing blow, Druig could be heard in her mind.

"If you kill him, you will not bring him back." Druig was in her mind from the very beginning when she escaped from the camp. He followed her each movement and wanted her to stop before doing something that she could regret later.

In fury, Zunni hesitated for a few more seconds, but finally let go of Achilles' killer and took a few steps back. Paris didn't know what to do. There was fear in his eyes. He grabbed his throat and breathed deeply before taking his bow and sword and then disappearing into the ruins of Troy.

Several days have passed since the deaths of Achilles and Patroclus. On the hill near their camp, an obelisk was builded in honor of the hero. Zunni knelt in front of it and arranged the most beautiful flowers around the grave, then lit a few candles. She did the same at his beloved's tomb. When she finished, she got up and started praying for a while. Maybe that's what he wanted? After all, they're happy together and going to love each other until the end of the world or even longer. Zunni took Achilles' sword from her belt. Gods allowed her to keep it as a souvenir. She laid it down carefully on the grass and in one graceful movement gave it some of the cosmic energy she possesses. She always carried the sword with her, and with it...her son.

ATHENS | ONE DAY LATER

The Eternals were due to leave Greece this day and return to the rest of the team in Babylon. Zunni was ready an hours ago. She spent her last moments in an art studio. At last she finished the vase. The woman wiped the sweat from her forehead with one hand and stood up to see it whole. It looked magnificent. None other than Druig knocked on the door.

"We are leaving." he informed her. Yet Zunni was still staring at her creation. He walked over to her and began to admire it as well. "Beautiful." Druig stated. He looked around the room and found her bags not far away. "I will wait for you outside." he was heading for the exit and left the room. Zunni looked at the vase for a few seconds longer and after a while she grabbed her baggage and left the room as well.

The vase depicts Achilles and Patroclus in their embrace with swords holding high. In the background behind them the Eternals fight with the deviants.

BABYLON | A WEEK LATER

"Grounded?!" upon their return to Mesopotamia, everything quickly came to light. Due to the fact that Zunni entered the field of the Trojan War and almost killed Paris, Ajak decided to chill Zunni's actions. She didn't tell Arishem about it, because the sentence would have been more severe, so she decided to punish her herself.

"You will not be able to fight the deviants or go on missions outside Babylon until further notice." she told her firmly. Druig was also in the room, trying to help ease her punishment. It could have been much worse. Zunni didn't tell Ajak that Druig was with her all the time, because he would also got grounded. But does he ever listens to her?

"I was there with her!" just as the team leader was about to leave the room, Druig have confessed. She turned to face him and looked at him suspiciously.

"Were you on the battlefield with her, or several kilometers from Troy?" she asked him a trick question. He looked at Zunni, who was clearly telling him to give up and not continue the argument. The mind conttroller didn't listened to her.

"We were there together." after a long moment, he lied. Ajak hummed and continued to stare deep into his eyes.

“You're lying Druig. Give it a rest. I will not ground you." she didn't agree.

He walked around the room to come up with some excuse. Zunni cursed under her breath. What he was doing was so childish, but also kinda sweet that he wouldn't leave her alone. After a moment he looked at one of the flowers in the pot and pushed it to the ground. The rug was soiled with dirt all over it. Ajak hands dropped. She was resigned. Zunni hid her flushed cheeks in her hands. Druig changed his face expression and was about to say an insult directed to the leader, but she overtook him.

“Okay, that's enough. You're grounded." she left irritated by the whole situation and slammed the door behind her. Zunni looked at him in disbelief and a characteristic smirk appeared on his face. She turned to face the balcony, you could see the landscape beyond the Babylon's walls. The Eternals were just battling the deviants attacking one of the villages. She watched the fight closely, thinking of that she has to wait a while before returning to the battlefield. Zunni felt Druig's soft breath on the back of her neck. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He enjoyed relishimg her scent, tenderly pressed his jaw against the side of her head.

"You're a dumbass, you know that?" she started to tease him and he just laughed at the nickname she gave him. For the rest of the battle they both watched the stunning landscape and enjoyed by themselves presence.

THREE DAYS LATER...

During another deviant attack, the team had to split up. Gilgamesh and Ikaris fought right outside the city gates, while the rest fought a few miles away. A lot of the creatures flew, which made it difficult for them to cooperate. The flying Eternal tried to get the situation under control, but there were still too many of them. He was centimeters away from one of the monsters. He covered himself with his hands, knowing he was going to get hit. It didn't happened. With the help of her energy, Zunni managed to eliminate the enemy before it could had harmed her friend. Ikaris uncovered himself and looked at her surprised.

"I'm gone for a few days and everything is falling apart." she taunted him, then eliminated another deviant approaching him. “Someone is out of shape, man. Focus." she flee away from him and took care of the rest of the beasts.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @hey-there9-its-me @shityoudidntaskfor @assassinsasha23 @mshannah @ambearsstuff

𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

„𝐙𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈” 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

A/N: i promise that the next chapter will focus only on relationship with druig 🤠

[aphrodite-would-be-proud]

Anon said: BSKSBS OK SO BEFORE REQUESTING IS CLOSED (hopefully I’m not late-) CAN I GET REINER AND HIS S/O GOING IN A PLANE TRIP SOMEWHERE WITH HIS CUSINS OR HOING TO A ARCADE???? I really love your fics and they make me go 💞💞✨

Reiner and his cousins on an airplane

{ Reiner x you | tw:air-sickness | fluff | modern }

{ "La Seine a Paris" 1915 by Henri Alphonse Barnoin 1882 - 1940 }

When arriving at the automatic glass doors, leading to the long open terminal area, Gabi and Udo were the first to run off towards the large clear windows.

Their faces smoshed against the glass, watching in awe as a plane was making a round through the runway, preparing to take off.

Following them was a very sleepy Zofia who fell into the nearest seat available, as her mother sat beside her while talking to Udo's mom.

Soon enough, an out of breath Falco was sitting near them after insisting to carry the clearly too heavy bag, that was twice his size, to the luggage area with Reiner.

Udo's mom made sure each of them had their carry on backpacks with snacks, blankets and everything they might need, while Zofia's mother made sure they behaved and didn't bother the security too much during check up.

Reiner was beside you the whole time, going with you to finish the documents and get their boarding tickets, taking a walk through the airport free market and buying something to drink from the vending machines.

It's a trip you've both been planning for months, a week alone in a far away tropical island, white sandy beach with stray coconuts and tall palm trees. The perfect getaway for you to relax and get some time for yourselves.

At least that's what it was supposed to be, wasn't it for Reiner accidentally mentioning it to Bertolt one night.

And just like fire spreading, it wasn't long before Bertolt told Annie, who mentioned it to Zeke who spoke to Pieck about it and it ended with Porco who spilled it to Zofia's mom on a Saturday's night.

Just after 24 hours of Reiner telling Bertolt, you both got a call from Udo's mother saying they've already booked tickets for them and the kids to accompany you.

"We thought you'd feel alone all by yourselves."

And with Reiner already having taken the time off work, he couldn't reschedule it.

That's how you ended up boarding and airplane with four kids and their two mothers.

Surprisingly getting them through security wasn't as hard as you thought it would be, especially with Zofia's mother keeping an eye on them.

It wad the boarding part that's almost caused a fight to happen on the airplane, you see like all kids, they too wanted to window seat.

You and Reiner looked at each other, both concerned you might get kicked off the airplane if this wasn't solved really quickly before it gets physical.

Thankfully, with some coaxing from Udo's mother and sly manipulation form Zofia's mom. The kids ended up agreeing on a seating arrangement that restored peace between them.

Gabi would sit near the window, Falco in the middle seat with Reiner near the aisle. He'd be just opposite side of where you sat next to him, Zofia near you in the middle and Udo near the window.

Apparently Zofia's and Udo's mother somehow managed to take the far away two seats that were booked for you and Reiner.

With being separated, even if it's by a small walk through aisle, Reiner's mood quickly went sour as he looked at your with a grumpy look.

He really wanted to sit next to you, like genuinely wanted to experience your first flight together next to each other and maybe watch some movie while snacking on airplane peanuts.

But it ended with him sitting in a far too uncomfortable seat, just near the aisle where passing people would accidentally step on his feet.

Next to him, Falco was too busy playing games with Gabi who lost interest in the window after two seconds, apparently they managed to steal Reiner's phone from his pocket while he was pouting about being far away from you.

Meanwhile Udo was really invested in the window and looking at the ground below, occasionally making comments bout anything interesting he'd see.

You couldn't help but notice how unusually stiff Zofia was, even paler than usual. She'd only reply to Udo's comments with a nod of her head without opening her mouth, her grip on the armrest so tight that her knuckles were turning white

Voicing your concerns to her, she didn't look you in the eye while shaking her head for a no.

Catching on to your concerned look, Reiner asked what's wrong which brought Gabi's and Falco's attention.

"I'm okay." Was all that she said before closing her eyes.

"You sure? You're acting as if the plane will crash or something." Gabi said from her seat.

That made Zofia's eyes snap open as she snatched the paper bags from under the seat and nearly ripped it open before emptying her stomach inside.

Udo didn't leave her side after that and even agreed to move to windowless seat so she'd feel better, her mother too stayed by her side.

After a while as the lights dimmed and blankets were being handed by the flight attendants, you could see Zofia clutching close to Udo in the back seat, him reading some book his mother gave him while making sure the blanket doesn't fall off of her.

Next to Reiner Gabi and Falco were the first to fall asleep, sharing a blanket and the tv in front of them playing the end credits for an avengers movies.

Reiner failed to suppress how happy he looked while moving to the empty seats beside you, wasting no time in holding your hand in both of his firmly.

"I missed you." His muffled voice came after burying his face in your neck.

[lacharcutiere]

still [sawamura daichi]

1,6k words

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part eight of i’m gone i’m gone i’m gone miniseries. you can only put these things off for so long.

JST: japanese standard time (GMT +9). EST: eastern standard time (GMT -5). EDT: eastern daylight time (GMT -4).

tings // fluff, a little bit of angst, kinda suggestive at the end ?? // i swear this søng is abøut eating øut my best friend's pussy - cøzybøy // dm, ask or comment to be added to taglist ! minors dni.

☾𓆙𓂻

— JAPAN, SUMMER 2024.

the summer passes like this: you and daichi laughing too loudly in busy restaurants and train cars; having arms around each other in the back of taxis on the way home from clubs; making instant udon at three a.m.; walking up and down the neighborhood a hundred times; laying silently side by side and not needing to say anything. it's a routine, it's familiar—it's home.

a couple weeks before you're set to head back to new york, daichi asks you a question as you lay next to him on a blanket in your driveway, staring up at the stars.

"have you decided what your plans are after college?"

"i'm gonna come back here."

"i thought you wanted to go to grad school? you can do way better in the states, especially with a degree from columbia."

you roll onto your side so you can look at him better. "i know. but i've been away too long already. i miss you."

he gives you a little smile. "but i'm right here."

"right here is pretty fucking far from america."

"hm."

"hm."

that's the end of the conversation.

— 2 AUGUST 2024. 23:09 JST.

everything happens the exact same way it has for the past three years: he takes you to the airport. you try hard not to cry; you say your goodbyes. check-in, security, buy some candy to eat at the gate. board the plane. sixteen hours later, you're in america.

one thing was different, though.

when he said goodbye, his lips touched yours.

you don't stop thinking about it for weeks.

☾𓆙𓂻

— AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 2024.

slightly relieving is the fact that amid thesis writing and too many classes and working an internship under one of your professors (that one's nice, it even earns you enough to get a small apartment a few blocks from campus), there proves to be little time to be spent missing daichi.

you finesse your schedule to fit weekly facetimes on friday evenings (new york time) and shoot random texts back and forth about your day between classes and during meals, and without much space for anything else, it's enough. good things are worth waiting for, anyway.

— DECEMBER 2024.

but then winter sem break rolls around and there's no school so it's back to having too much lonely alone time with your thoughts. you write daichi a christmas card and drop it off at the post office. it's early this year, but oh, well.

☾𓆙𓂻

a week before christmas you receive a call from an unknown number. the phone speaker crackles when you accept the call.

“hello?”

“hey.” the voice on the other end is bright, smiley, accented. it’s tōru.

“tōru? what’s up?”

“i’m outside,” he says, “come down and meet me?”

you’re a little confused, but you decide to humor him. “uh, okay, give me a minute… do i need anything?”

“bring a coat, it’s cold out. i’ll be waiting down here.” the call ends.

a few minutes later you push through the doors of the building to be met with a brisk wind and tōru standing by a payphone, grinning.

“do you have your subway pass?”

you feel inside your pocket for it and nod.

“good,” he says. “come on, we’re in a hurry.”

“where are we going?”

“downtown.”

“ohhkay?”

he laughs. “‘s not anything you won’t like, promise.”

you follow him into the nearest subway entrance, lost in thought as you push through the barrier and step onto the train. it's only when he nudges you and says, "this is our stop," that you realize you've been looking at the ground the whole time.

tōru notices how absent you seem to be and asks, "are you okay?"

"i would be if i knew what was going on," you respond.

"yeah," he says, leading you up the stairs and into the terminal, "yeah, i think you will be."

you're in grand central. tōru asks if he can borrow your phone for a second. when he hands it back to you, he doesn't say anything, just takes you by the arm smiling widely and leads you into the fray of commuters that fill the station.

"tōru!" you groan, "can't you just tell me where we're going?"

"magnolia," he replies simply.

"we came all the way here just for coffee?"

"mhm."

"tōru!" he stops walking and turns back to you, trying and failing miserably to stop grinning for a second. "what the fuck?"

"come on," he says, "you'll like it."

"we've been here before! what's so special about—"

"you'll see."

☾𓆙𓂻

coffee in grand central is surprisingly good. it's also surprisingly expensive. ah, well, it's new york. new york has much more to offer than just overpriced cafés.

such as... this. such as a laughing man that leads a remarkably pissed-off looking girl by the arm, towards this stupidly good, stupidly overpriced café.

the pair are weaving through a stream of people, almost there, and then they're there, and the girl is looking much less agitated now. she looks somewhere between crying and wanting to run in the opposite direction. thank god, she chooses the former.

he loves you. so much.

☾𓆙𓂻

"daichi?" you mean it to be a scream but your voice cracks a little and it comes out airy.

he has the exact same look on his face that tōru's had this whole time. "hi."

"oh my god, what the fuck?"

"you said it was lonely, tōru told me maybe it would be nice for you to have a date for new year's, i had some extra money saved up. so i came."

"you— what?" you look back at tōru. "you planned this? just? last minute?"

"nah," daichi laughs, "no, i meant to come visit you for christmas a while ago. i already had tickets and everything, i was gonna tell you but then i got your card and figured it might be more fun if it were a surprise."

"oh my god." that's all you can think to say.

— CHRISTMAS 2024.

you can't even explain how good it feels to wake up and walk into the living room to find daichi asleep on your couch on christmas morning, how good it feels for it to not just be you. the whole time he's been here, though, you've forced yourself not to think about the fact that he's going back home in a week and a half, forced yourself not to do anything just yet. soon, though. just a few more months.

☾𓆙𓂻

when he wakes up, you're making coffee for the two of you.

"merry christmas," he says, wrapping one arm around your shoulders. he places a card on the counter in front of you. "open it."

its message is simple.

you do as it says.

"i, uh, haven't gotten you anything yet, but—"

"daichi," you laugh, "it's okay. and um, i may have also not been able to get you anything. also because i didn't know you'd be here."

"wait, wait, i'm not finished."

"okay?"

"what do you want to do after you're done this year of school?"

"i already told you," you say, "i'll move back home."

"no, what do you want to do? you want to go to grad school, right? continue studying here?"

"no, i just want to stop waiting." you sigh, a little frustrated. "i don't wanna have to keep putting this off, it's been—"

he cuts you off. "i'll be here."

"huh?"

"i'll be here. or wherever."

"i don't get it?"

you've always loved the way daichi's nose scrunches up when he smiles. "you're the one planning on studying more, not me. not immediately, anyway. i'll go with you."

"daichi."

"what?"

"you're fucking joking."

he laughs; you look so confused right now. "i'm not. promise."

"i don't even—"

"hey."

"hm?"

"think you can handle long-distance for five months?"

"uh—" you inhale sharply. "yeah."

"good," he says, "then we don't have to keep putting this off."

it's been five months since you last let your lips touch his. it still feels just like the first time it happened.

— 31 DECEMBER, 2023. 19:36 EST.

he tries not to let you pay for dinner, but in the end, you slip the waiter your card while daichi's in the bathroom. it's his birthday; it's your treat.

and after dinner, there's that new year's eve party that tōru's been going on about. it feels good, so good, not to be there alone. it feels good to watch the broadcast from downtown and count the seconds to midnight as daichi's arms are wrapped around you from behind. the clock reaches zero; daichi kisses you hard. you're both drunk on champagne.

you watch him smile across the room at tōru, who's got his girl on his arm. the two of them look happy, too. everything is warm.

— DEPARTURE: 3 JANUARY 2025. 08:15 EST.

daichi's asleep next to you when the alarm on his phone goes off. you'll miss not waking up next to him for the next five months, but at least that's all it will be.

he makes faces at you in the mirror as you both brush your teeth; keeps trying to tug your sweater off when you get dressed. you spend these thirty minutes laughing with him until it hurts. the two of you take the subway back to grand central; make out in a corner of the terminal while he waits for his train to jfk international to arrive.

"see you in may."

— 21 JANUARY 2025.

taglist: @sakruisin-thru @softetsurou @oligbia

[donnerpartyofone]

This is from over a decade ago. What's going on in this picture was actually kind of crazy. It was the very end of my relationship with the abusive boyfriend who programmatically destroyed most of my 20s. He had tickets to see Weezer in Las Vegas, and he spent about two weeks begging me to join him; I told him repeatedly that I couldn't afford it, but he finally won me over with his apparent desire to spend time with me--something you become very susceptible to when a person is constantly showing you how much they hate you--and I sold my iPod for exactly the amount I needed for airfare. Incidentally his obsession with Weezer tells you everything you need to know about what he thought of himself, especially if you also witnessed the drooling excitement with which he explained that Rivers Cuomo was so abusive that there was even an entire website full of stories about things he'd done and said to women. But anyway, after I booked my flight, I discovered that one of my best friends and her husband would be in the general area around the same time, so we agreed to grab lunch while I was there. This immediately triggered my boyfriend, who suddenly declared that I was ruining his vacation by forcing him to take me, and insisting on involving my friend (as if I couldn't have met her by myself). Ironically, I didn't know at the time that my friend was also being terrorized by her shitty husband; as with many abusive relationships, she didn't feel able to tell me until she was ready for divorce, and so there we were in Vegas, pretending to have a great time with our hateful partners... So, this picture was taken at the controversial lunch, though I can't remember if it was before or after my boyfriend said something that was chilling even for him. I was describing a coworker at my comics job who we thought was a closet furry; she was always obsessively searching for hints of sleaze in the Sonic the Hedgehog books, and anything else that was perceptibly furry-baiting, but if you acknowledged her interest level, she would vigorously protest her innocence. As we were giggling about how repressed she was, my boyfriend calmly declared that "She needs to get raped." Nobody spoke. We all just kept eating like nothing happened. When I remember this, I think about the split personality I had to maintain all the time: Part of me was sweating with fear, and the other part was completely frozen over. When you're in a long term abusive relationship, you develop kind of a Jurassic Park mode--if you don't move, maybe the predator won't notice you. I had been through his process where he spent the beginning of the relationship crying about how I was too good for him, the middle condemning everything about me as stupid and disgusting and beneath him, and the end telling me what a boring doormat I was because I didn't really say anything or do anything anymore. But part of me is still really, really ashamed that I didn't talk back to him when he said that my coworker's neurosis should be corrected by sexual assault. Like, what kind of person just lets that go? How could I let my friend and her husband believe I thought that was cool? (Her husband probably DID think it was cool, but I didn't know that at the time) But on the other hand, I can't imagine what would have happened if I had talked back to him, even without two veritable strangers sitting there. I was stuck in a hotel with him. I had spent all my money on the plane tickets he coerced me into buying, and I had nowhere to go. And in fact, when I think back on all the scary things he said to me that no "normal person" would have accepted, the stuff I rarely tell people because who would understand why I stayed quiet, the reason I did was always the same: If I talk back, it's going to be way, way worse.

And now for a very, very short moment of sharing. I didn’t get any pictures of strippers, hookers, Weezer, or me petting some sting rays in an aquarium; but this is me in Las Vegas with my nachos-bloody mary breakfast, right after a desperate waitress tried to scoop all the shit back into nacho mountain form before exclaiming OH FER CRYIN OUT LOUD and walking away from me forever.

[astudyinfreewill]

One of Adam's firsts? Something he didn't have the chance to do as a kid because his dad thought it was a waste of time or money? Adam's first petting zoo/Aquarium? Adam's first amusement park? Adam's first, uh, airplane ride/vacay out of Virginia?

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Ronan says, cautiously. Ronan is hardly ever cautious, which makes Adam feel even worse.

“It’s fine,” he replies flatly, drying his palms on his jeans. Ronan, as always hyper-aware of Adam’s hands, gives him a skeptical look.

“I can see that. Listen, it’s not too late to cancel.” 

Adam can tell both that Ronan doesn’t want to cancel, and that he would in a heartbeat.

“It is too late to cancel,” he says stubbornly. “We would lose the money.”

“I’m not exactly terrified, Parrish.”

Adam throws him a withering glance. “Some of us don’t have the ability to just dream up checks.”

Ronan shrugs. It’s not real, this sparring, Adam knows that, even though only a year and some change ago it would have devolved into an absolutely real and ugly fight. The calculated insolence in the set of Ronan’s shoulders means he’s putting on an act, pushing Adam’s buttons with the spoilt Aglionby prince attitude, in an effort to distract him from his nerves. Adam is a little awed – both at Ronan’s strange brand of thoughtfulness and at their ability to read each other so well. He guesses dating for a year will do that.

A year. He can hardly believe it. And yet they’ve lasted this long, in spite of demons, hit men, and the various obstacles of long-distance relationships. And that’s why they’re here, at an airport, waiting to board a flight to Paris for their first anniversary. Paris, of all places. That’s something else Adam can’t believe.

It was Ronan’s idea, because for all his barbs and sharp edges, he’s a hopeless romantic at heart, even if he’d deny it to his last breath. They’d been lying in bed, limbs tangled as sweat dried on their bodies, Adam’s fingers tracing the hooks and claws of Ronan’s tattoo, Ronan’s face buried in the crook of Adam’s neck.

“You’re a menace,” Ronan had said, non-sequitur.

“Oh?” Adam smiled.

“Yeah. You are. You make me absolutely fucking stupid.”

“Stupid how?” Adam asked, lips teasing the shell of Ronan’s ear, enjoying the resulting shudder.

“Stupid like—I want to do all sorts of mushy stuff for you. Buy you flowers and shit.” Neither of them bothered to mention that for all the times they’d woken up to a bed full of dreamt petals in every color of the rainbow, Ronan might as well have bought him a whole flower shop. “Write you songs. Take you to stupid Paris and kiss you on the stupid fucking Eiffel tower.”

Ronan’s face was resolutely buried in Adam’s neck, but it was easy to tell he was blushing furiously, his cheek hot against Adam’s throat. Adam’s heart was doing funny things in his chest.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I know. It’s a damn cliché. I said it was stupid.”

Adam didn’t think it was stupid. His life had been so bleak until he’d found them – Ronan and Gansey and Blue and Cabeswater and Persephone and Opal and magic – so utterly devoid of poetry, that romantic clichés had never really been an option. Between school, work, and avoiding his father, he didn’t have time to worry about much else aside from his next meal or stealing an extra hour of sleep. And yet there was part of him – the part of him that had sent Blue flowers, the part of him that had made Cabeswater play music for Ronan – that deeply longed for romance. But possibly even more overwhelming was the idea that Ronan wanted to give him that kind of stuff – that he thought Adam was worth being romantic over.

He ran through a few quick calculations in his mind, unable to completely shut off his rational side even with his heart beating unsteadily against his ribs. He had time off from school, and a part-time job at the library that paid well. It could work.

“We could go to Paris,” he said, trying for offhanded and missing by half a mile.

Slowly, Ronan lifted his head to look at him. “Are you messing with me?”

“I’m not!” Adam protested. “I’ve never been to Paris.” Which Ronan knew, because, well – Adam had never been out of Virginia, period.

“I thought you were terrified of flying,” Ronan pointed out.

“I’m not terrified,” Adam argued, his ears going slightly warm. “I just don’t like it.”

“Yeah, well, that’s kind of the point. I don’t want us to celebrate our first year together by doing something that you’re not going to enjoy. You don’t have to go along with it just because I want to.”

Adam shot him an unimpressed look. “And based on what you know of me, how likely am I to do something I don’t want to do just to please other people?”

Ronan laughed and kissed him. “Not very, you beautiful bastard.”

“Exactly.”

Ronan shook his head, still smiling in a slightly awed way. “Are you sure?”

Adam’s mind conjured up images of beautiful buildings he’d only seen in movies, of old monuments and new discoveries and adventure; he thought of walking with Ronan along the riverfront of the Seine at night, and kissing him in the soft glow of old streetlights.

“I’m sure.”

And he was. Present Adam, however, thinks Past Adam is a sentimental idiot and loathes him deeply. He dries his hands on his jeans again, leg jiggling nervously.

“Look, Parrish. It’s going to be fine. I’m going to hold your gross sweaty hand and everything.”

“Oh, wow, Lynch, that’s so generous of you. I mean, especially considering how much you hate holding my hand under normal circumstances,” Adam retorts dryly.

Ronan has the good grace to concede the point, but Adam is too nervous to even feel smug about it.

“Last chance to turn back, Parrish.”

“No,” Adam insists. “I really want to go.” And he does, despite how miserable he feels now. “Besides, Gansey would never forgive us. He dragged Blue and Henry there all the way from Iceland just so we could hang out on Saturday.”

Ronan rolls his eyes, but the mention of Gansey seems to remind him of something. “Hey, you know this is not going to be as bad as the helicopter, right?”

“…No?” Adam hates how small his voice sounds, but really, how would he know? He’s never been on a plane before.

“No,” Ronan smiles, “it’s much more stable. And nowhere near as loud. Plus, you won’t have to worry about Gansey’s sister kidnapping you or something.”

Adam scoffs at the ridiculous (but still admittedly flattering) notion of Helen’s interest in him, but he feels relief edge its way in, easing the knots in his stomach. Before he has time to start worrying again, they’re boarding.

Ronan, true to his word as ever, holds his hand as they taxi down the runway (“Nothing’s happening yet, Ronan.” “Shhh. I’m being supportive,” Ronan grins, pulling Adam’s hand into his lap). He doesn’t even complain when Adam nearly crushes his fingers as the engines fire up and they hurtle towards the sky.

Adam actually knows a lot about the mechanics of planes, because he likes knowing how things work. He’d gone on an extra research binge after they’d booked their tickets, thinking that understanding the hows and whys of aircrafts and flight would ease his anxiety, except he’d only ended up making himself more aware of all the ways things could wrong.

But then.

Then he looks out of the window, and just like that, he stops thinking of science and engines, of lift and thrust and gravity, and for a blessed, magical moment, all he feels is wonder.

He stares at the tiny buildings and trees underneath, at the clouds close enough to touch. The world is gradually fading away below them, and sure, Adam will never like being suspended mid-air – he’s an earthly creature, made of touch and practicality, likes having his feet on the ground and his hands busy – but right now, as the plane gently rocks up and to the side, he feels as light as a cloud himself.

Because he’s flying, and Ronan is holding his hand; because he never ever has to go back to the trailer park, because he saved himself; because Ronan loves him, and Adam finally believes himself worthy enough of it to love him back, and they’re going to Paris.

Adam is flying, and he’s not afraid.