#but it somehow is working out thanks to her pr team

[dangans-ur-ronpas]

? and mukuro

mukuro, the ultimate visual kei model. though she's very new to the industry and got a lot of help from her manager to get this far

is a lot more shy and awkward than she acts

is a little nervous about fitting in with others since she only became an 'ultimate' recently

?

the suit is a little ill-fitting

[coco-loco-nut]

High Flyer - Part Two

pairing: charles x reader

summary: no spoilers 🤭

masterlist part one requests open

—————————

You stayed a week extra in Abu Dhabi, not needing to return to Maranello quite yet. You could say that the allure of Ferrari World was too much, and Carlos talked it up to you. It was perfectly silly and probably the best second date you ever had.

The photos of you and Charles post-race were popular among fans, trying to figure out who he is. Then the video dropped, and you found yourself trending in the community once more.

“They are just as fascinated with you as I am,” Charles has said over a video call when talking about it shortly after becoming official.

It takes a lot for you to make the relationship work, strictly timed video calls, staying positive during the periods of time when you don’t get to talk to him, even sending letters back and forth. Somehow it works for you, and you cherish the moments when you get to talk face to face.

The glittering Monaco harbor is behind you as you put your earring in, preparing for the prize giving ceremony. Thankfully it’s not far from your apartment, and you only have to be there for your second place award. You hear a knock on your door and grab your phone, just in case it’s a crazy fan who snuck past the door guards.

“Charles?” you gasp, looking at the man in a suit in front of you, a small suitcase in tow.

“Bonsoir, ma cherie. I heard you are in need of a date tonight?” he smiles as you practically throw yourself on him. Charles holds you tight, savoring the moment.

“How are you here?” you ask in disbelief, the shock distracting you from how good he looks in his dress uniform.

“I got a couple days off. Max helped coordinate the surprise,” Charles reveals, your neighbor and friend pulling through for you.

“I’m so glad you are here,” you catch him off guard by pressing a kiss to his lips, melting into his arms.

“I’m glad I am here too, you look beautiful, and I’ve missed you so much,” he says softly, taking in your Ferrari red dress that fits you perfectly.

“I missed you too, this is much nicer than a video call,” you sigh, not wanting to step out of his embrace, fearing that if you do he will disappear. You know that his assignment is almost up, but you learned that ‘almost up’ means a year.

“I know, but I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I get to celebrate my incredibly talented girlfriend,” he pulls back slightly, aware of the time and that you need to leave soon.

“What if we just don’t go and stay in?” you suggest. Any desire to go flew out the window when you opened your front door.

“No, we will go, you will give your speech, and then as soon as it’s over we can leave. You have me for a couple more days,” Charles kisses you once more, not really helping the whole wanting to stay thing.

You rarely lose physical contact with him on the way over to the ceremony, whether it’s holding his hand, his hand on your waist or leg, or you holding his arm.

“Don’t you two look happy,” Max smiles, proud of himself for the surprise. You and Charles make for a much better looking pair than the fan ship of you and Max. Not to mention, Max is like your brother.

“Thank you,” you whisper as you quickly hug Max. Charles shakes Max’s hand after.

“You may have chosen the most boring event to make your first appearance as a couple at,” Max chuckles, leading the two of you to the bar.

“Well, they wouldn’t let me skip it,” you grumble.

“What are you grumbling about?” Carlos approaches your small group.

“That she couldn’t skip this,” Max says before you can reply. Charles squeezes your hand as you roll your eyes at Max. You take a glass of wine, needing something other than champagne.

“And miss a chance to show off her new boyfriend? I doubt it. Aren’t you glad that the PR team chose me to go to Ferrari World instead of you?” Carlos smiles, knowing that he’s right.

“No,” you lie, “I had to pay to go myself after the race. Charles was the only good part about the media duties,” you slightly lean into your boyfriend.

“Sure. We can both go to the amusement park next year and I’ll pay,” Carlos chuckles, grabbing his drink from the bar.

“Let’s find our seats?” Charles suggests, kissing the side of your head. You quickly find your table, Fred already there to represent the team in the Constructors Championship.

“My sometimes favorite drivers,” Fred jovially greets you and Carlos as if he didn’t see you in Maranello a week ago for a sim session.

The ceremony drags on, you take every opportunity to converse with Charles and your table, but you are subject to hours of awards and speeches. When the night is finally over, you turn down every afterparty invitation thrown your way.

“I am not going to place in the top three next year,” you groan as you slide your heels off. Charles is immediately drawn to the piano that sits in your living room.

“Do you play?” he asks, looking natural behind the keys.

“Not well or often enough, the former renter left it here. I keep it maintained though,” you hum, sitting beside him gently. Charles runs his fingers across the ivory keys, trying to recall a song.

“Well then, let me to the honors,” he smiles, fingers pressing down, easily gliding up and down the keyboard.

“That was incredible, you are incredible,” you say softly afterwards, you’ve never been serenaded before and it’s a turn on.

Charles leans in, capturing you in a kiss. His large, calloused hand rough against your cheek. When you pull away, you lead him to your bedroom, craving all the contact that you missed since you last saw him physically.

The air is charged as he unzips your dress, fingers brushing your bare skin sensually, making you arc into him. Charles brushes your hair off your shoulder and neck, pressing featherlight kisses to the area. Your breaths are shallow, breathless from everything.

“Charles,” you whisper, his name like a prayer on your lips, asking for anything and everything.

“Let me take care of you, ma reine,” he replies, nudging you back towards the bed as your red dress slides off your body. You hands slide up his chest, pausing to push off his suit jacket before they rest on his neck and in his hair.

After a long night, you spend the morning rotting in bed. Charles holds you close as you talk about anything and everything. You take him out on your yacht later in the day, a nice change of scenery.

“I don’t want you to leave tomorrow,” you admit as the sea breeze pushes your hair around.

“I don’t want to either, but I’ve been reassigned to southern France. I’ll get to see you more often,” Charles reminds you. You nod, fighting any tears back at the thought of separating again.

“I know, I just love you,” you bittersweetly smile, a pang in your heart as he pulls you close.

“And I love you,” he says softly, savoring the feeling of your embrace.

You see him a few more times before pre-season testing, visiting him off base and vice versa. The visits were short but worth every moment. Charles calls you when you are leaving dinner after the first day of testing.

“Mon amour, how was testing?” he asks, sweaty from a flight.

“My body is sore, but it was good. I just had dinner with my kids,” you smile, a small pack of drivers behind you.

“Oh, Oscar and Logan are there? Tell yhem hello for me,” Charles smiles.

“Hi Dad, Logan isn’t here,” Oscar smiles, popping into the frame and stealing your phone. You carried the loss of your son deeply, but you don’t blame Charles for forgetting that Logan wasn’t on the grid anymore since you said you were with multiple grid kids.

“You haven’t told him?” Ollie asks, large brown eyes looking sad at his exclusion.

“I just adopted you, kiddo. It’s hard to break the news that he’s now a father to twins and a grandfather,” you laugh, pulling Ollie into a hug. It didn’t take you long to adopt more grid kids, in fact as soon as you got to the paddock Ollie and Kimi came up to you calling you mom. It’s like the cat distribution system. Oscar adopted the new Australian on the grid, citing the Alpine connection, meaning you are a grid grandma. Oscar comes back to you and hands your phone to you.

“We are grandparents?” Charles asks, a little bewildered.

“Yes, funnily enough our grandchild was born at the same time as our twins,”

“Twins?”

“Hi Dad!” Ollie and Kimi say at the same time when you turn the phone to them.

“Hello?” Charles is confused but he does love how you take in the rookies and make them feel at home.

“Sorry, Charles, why don’t I call you when I get back to my hotel?” you smile apologetically, wanting to have time for both of you.

“Of course, call me when you get back,” Charles agrees, no trace of disappointment in his voice. He doesn’t have much to share about his day, especially since he doesn’t have a scheduled flight for a while. Charles watches as the call ends, thankful that he didn’t spoil his surprise.

Testing passes and suddenly it’s the first race of the season. You walk into the paddock, your brood with you. You, Ollie, and Kimi are deep in conversation, confusing Oscar and Jack a bit as you speak in Italian. You’ve already had movie nights that ended with them strewn across your hotel room, and you just know that they will be in and out of your room this season. F1TV already caught Ollie leaning against you taking a nap as you hugged him last season, and they captured Kimi doing something similar during testing.

“Papà,” Kimi says suddenly and you furrow your brows. Jack taps your shoulder and points ahead. Your smile grows as you notice Charles standing ahead, waiting for you. You take off, practically jumping into his arms.

“You’re here,” you grin, barely waiting to kiss him.

“I had to fulfill my WAG duties and meet our children,” he smiles, not letting you out of the hug yet. He utilized his brother Arthur, your reserve driver, to get a pass. Your face was priceless when you first connected the two, it was quite funny how long it took. Apparently sharing a last name and resemblance wasn’t enough until he mentioned it on the phone shortly after Abu Dhabi.

“Get a room,” Oscar makes a face that causes both of you to laugh.

“Oh we will,” you lean into your boyfriend, content to never leave.

“Ewww,” Ollie gags, disgusted at the idea. You and Charles laugh, like proud parents embarrassing your kids.

“That’s Ollie, this is Kimi, our grandson Jack, and you know Oscar,” you point to each boy.

“Nice to meet you all officially,” Charles smiles as he keeps an arm wrapped around your waist.

“Alright kiddos, time for you all to get to your teams. Drive safely,” you part ways with them, itching to get to Ferrari for some private time. Charles insists on getting a coffee before going to your drivers room, and the two of you barely get a second alone before there is a knock on your door. You pull away from Charles, irritation laced in your voice. “I just got here, go away,” you call out before pulling your boyfriend back in.

“I know you are hiding my brother from me,” Arthur’s voice responds causing you to pull away, a slight pout on your lips. Charles quietly laughs, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before he gets up to open the door. Arthur struts in, sitting between you and Charles. You did have the chance to spend time with the Leclercs in their home.

“You know, brother, if you wanted to get with Y/n earlier, you should’ve just asked me. You are lucky I suggested that the media team send her instead of Carlos,” Arthur says and you gasp.

“YOU ARE THE REASON HE GOT FERRARI WORLD INSTEAD?” you practically yell, causing Charles to stifle a laugh. You aren’t mad, well you are but in more of a joking way, sorta.

“She really did not like flying,” Charles clarifies, stretching an arm behind Arthur to play with your hair, a comforting touch.

“At least you met eachother?” Arthur suggests sheepishly.

“He was going to be at the race anyway,” you narrow your eyes.

“You trauma bonded?” Arthur suggests again and your eyes light up.

“Have you ever seen the video of Charles during his hot laps?” you ask, wickedly smiling. Charles looks at you, a mix of panic and curiosity in his eyes.

“No, show me!”

“Nope. That blackmail belongs to me, since you so kindly took away my fun,” you shake your head, locking your phone. Charles lets out a breath of relief, he trusts you completely, but he was worried for a second.

“You’re no fun. You never even adopted me into your grid family,” Arthur pouts as you and Charles lock eyes, shared amusement between you.

“Arthur, why would she adopt you? You are my brother,”

“I don’t know, because she’s the most sought after grid parent. Plus, it’s not like you two are engaged,” Arthur says and you flush with embarrassment and flattery.

“Arthur, you are basically my brother, you don’t need to be my grid kid. You are on the same level as Charles and Carlos,” you are starting to feel like a parent describing something to a young kid.

“I guess that is better. You better mention that when making a family tree video,” Arthur concedes.

“Why don’t we go out for dinner after the second practice session?” Charles suggests, hoping to kill some of the awkwardness.

“I think that’s a great idea. Speaking of, I should start getting ready,” you catch Charles’ unspoken message, hoping to get Arthur out of your room.

“Right, I should do my job too,” Arthur stands up, half expecting Charles to follow, but isn’t surprised when he stays. They can catch up while you drive.

“Finally a moment alone,” Charles grins moving closer to you.

“I wasn’t lying, I do need to get ready,” you say between kisses.

“You need to undress first, and I can help with that,” Charles murmurs against your lips as his hands slide underneath your shirt.

“We are working on limited time,” you point out, brain fogging.

“We go fast for a living, we can do it,” you were a few minutes late for your prep meeting. Arthur gave you a weird look, one that told you he knew what you were up to.

Both Charles and Arthur were glad to have the weekend together, spending time as a family while you raced. Before you knew it, Charles was kissing you goodbye at the airport as you both went to your next stops. His France and yours Saudi Arabia.

What you didn’t expect was Arthur banging on your driver room door as you are prepping.

“I’m in, I’m driving,” Arthur seems to be freaking out a little bit as you let him in, dressed in a Ferrari suit.

“Carlos is out?”

“He’s in the hospital getting surgery. I’m driving a Formula One car,” you process it beside him, remaining much more calm than Arthur.

“Did you call your mom?” you ask, knowing the answer is likely no since he would’ve been in team meetings since he found out. Arthur shakes his head no, so you squeeze his shoulder and grab your phone.

“Y/n, what a surprise. Is everything okay?” Pascale’s voice rings out over the phone.

“I’m sending a jet to you right now, and I’ll send the flight details in a bit. Arthur will drive his first F1 race and you should be here,” you tell her over speaker phone, working everything out starting with the flights.

“Is Arthur with you?” she asks as Arthur peers over your shoulder.

“Hello Maman,” you tune out their conversation as you send her the jet details and start working on hotel rooms for her, Lorenzo, and Charlotte as well as paddock passes. You only really get out of your planning zone when Arthur grabs your phone to hang up and hug you.

“You okay?” you finally ask, knowing he is probably emotionally drained already.

“I can’t wait for you to officially be my sister, and I can’t wait to drive alongside you this weekend,” Arthur says, you gently rub his back to ground him.

“You will do a great job. Let’s get through free practice three and then we can talk about some tricks to make it work for you,” you stand up, grabbing your gear to head to the garage.

You try to help him out as the team gets him adjusted and tested for approval, but you have your own driving to worry about too. It’s very clear to the team that you are looking out for Arthur and want to help him learn the ropes. But when it’s time to get into the car, he is own his own. You do well in your program running, but check in on Arthur periodically via your engineer.

Arthur qualifies well for a rookie, and you start the race second row at P3. He is the first person to greet you in Ferrari after you return from the media gauntlet.

“Congrats on P3,” Arthur smiles, showered and ready to go back to the hotel.

“Thanks! You did pretty well for your first time. Give me like 20 minutes to shower, yeah?” you ask, ready to get some sleep.

“Thanks again for helping me get through today, I see why everyone wants you as their grid mom,” Arthur says, not protesting when you hug him.

“Of course, I want you to succeed,” you reply, excited to see his reaction when his family is waiting at the hotel for him. The team covered their hotel rooms since you booked flights before they could.

“I can’t wait for you to be my actual sister one day,” Arthur yawns, your face Ferrari red at the thought. Of course you thought about it, but having him say it is different, it’s more real.

“Maybe one day,” you say, sliding into your chauffeured car. Arthur gets in beside you, and finds himself as your pillow. You accidentally fell asleep as the car left the circuit. Arthur takes a selfie and sends it to his family group chat as your soft snores fill the car. He scrolls on instagram, killing the rest of the time on the drive, when he sees an edit that the F1 account posted. It is the free practice three timesheet with your last name changed to Leclerc. He sends it to you, knowing you wouldn’t want to be awakened for it even if it is funny.

“Y/n,” Arthur pokes you as you arrive at the hotel.

“Hmm, sorry. You should’ve woke me up once I fell asleep, you don’t have to be my pillow,” you yawn, slightly stretching before getting out of the car.

“Maman,” Arthur hugs Pascale, who is patiently waiting at the entrance for him.

“I’m so proud of you,” she says before stopping you from slipping past. Not that you were going to avoid her, you just assumed she would want privacy with Arthur. “And you, thank you for today. You are a part of this family,” she wraps you in a hug, making sure you know how much your effort was appreciated.

“Of course, you couldn’t miss Arthur’s first race. I’ll let you guys catch up,” you smile, hugging her one last time.

“Can’t have you falling asleep again,” Arthur teases, your smile deceives your joking irritation.

“You won’t let me live that down, will you?” you say, shaking your head. “I will see you in the morning for breakfast,” you bid them goodnight, ready to collapse in the plush hotel bed.

It’s a sight to see, you walking into the paddock with the Leclerc’s (minus Charles) behind you. It’s clear to fans that you have been easily incorporated into the family. Charles watches from afar, having the day off from officer duties. He sends a couple texts, wishing you luck and a few memes from fans based on the post made by F1. You reply when you can, but it’s sporadic.

“Ready to lose?” Max asks you during the drivers parade.

“I should ask you the same. But if it means I don’t have to sit through prize giving again, then yes I am ready to lose,”

“It’s not that bad,”

“You won your third championship, you are used to it. Plus, you hate those events more than me, don’t lie,” you laugh.

“Alright, that is fair,” Max relents. He ends up winning, but you climbed a position and took P2. You won’t hear the Italian anthem this week, but you sing it in your head on the podium as you get your trophy. The teams energy is infectious, even for P2. Arthur meets you in the motorhome, holding a phone to your face.

“Congrats, mon amour,” Charles says, a proud smile on his face.

“I drove okay, Arthur drove well though! Points in his first race,” you smile, accepting hugs from Lorenzo and Charlotte. Pascale stole Arthur’s phone, taking Charles away from you.

“Any recommendations for dinner?” Lorenzo asks, ready to celebrate.

“A few. Will you two come out tonight to celebrate?” you ask, adjusting the suit that hangs at your waist.

“Someone has to stay with Pascale, but I know Arthur will party tonight,” Charlotte politely turns down the offer.

“I will, I heard Max always sets up good parties,” Arthur is excited to celebrate with the grid.

“Expensive parties, you are lucky I’m picking up the tab for you,” you laugh, Arthur’s phone being placed in your hand.

“You look tired, call me when you get to your room,” Charles smiles sympathetically.

“Will do, love you,” you smile back, handing the phone to Arthur as you make your way to your driver room. True to your word, you call him once you shower and change. It takes another twenty minutes on the phone for Arthur to bang down your door, reminding you that you have a family dinner to get to.

“Enjoy dinner, I love you,” Charles says before hanging up.

The season flys after that, especially when Ferrari begins to get very competitive again, putting more pressure on you and Carlos.

Charles got leave approved to go with you to the prize giving, both of you deciding to make a mini vacation out of it. The night before, you go to a small Parisian restaurant for an early dinner then a sunset walk along the Seine.

“What was your favorite part of the season?” Charles asks, wrapping an arm around you.

“Hmm, maybe winning Miami, or finally getting more consistent at the end of the season. The PR team would want me to say the trip in Abu Dahbi they arraigned for Carlos and I since I publicly complained that only he went to the Ferrari World last year,” you ponder the question, not having thought about it. You and Carlos had a blast, and it made both of you think of taking trips to amusement parks during winter break. “What was yours?”

“That graphic of you with my last name,” Charles reveals with a smile, he still makes you blush like a schoolgirl.

“That was a good choice,” you see something on the other side of the river and take a step away to get a close look.

You turn towards him to point it out and that’s when you find him on one knee.

“I’ve been waiting since the start of the season to ask you this. I knew during testing that you were the one and that I would marry you, then when everything in Saudi Arabia happened, it confirmed it more. You are my everything, and my forever. Will you marry me?” Charles asks, watching you tearfully nod.

“Yes,” you nod, watching him slide on the ring. Charles is beaming as he pulls you in for a kiss.

“Forever,” you whisper your promise against his lips.

“What if we get married tonight?” Charles asks, the thought springing into his mind.

“Tonight? Why not,” you grin, a rush of adrenaline going through you.

“We will have to wait for the paperwork, but I’m sure we can find a priest,” Charles kisses you, as he mentally plans it.

“Let’s find the nearest church, maybe the priest is a Ferrari fan,” you wink. The priest was, and was more than happy to marry you despite no wedding certificate. Your families were ecstatic, especially when you both promised to have a formal wedding during summer break.

instagram

y/n_leclerc husband appreciation post 🥰❤️

comments are limited

carlossainz55 when did this happen???? we are discussing this tomorrow at prize giving (congrats i guess?)

y/n_leclerc we will tell you everything then!

charlesleclerc Je t'aimerais pour l'éternité ❤️

y/n_leclerc pour l’éternité❤️

arthurleclerc getting engaged and married on the same day is so you coded, proud to be your brother

charlesleclerc we will celebrate when we get home

y/n_leclerc proud to have you as my unofficial official brother 🫶

scuderiaferrari congrats! (admin is sad that we weren’t invited)

maxverstappen1 👍

y/n_leclerc 👍

oscarpiastri no invite 😭 congrats mom and dad

jackdoohan ^ getting eloped 🙅‍♂️ cool

olliebearman ^ he finally did it though!

kimiantonielli ^ i guess sometimes your soulmate isn’t a car

y/n_leclerc you all are grounded

logansargeant congrats! come visit soon!

y/n_leclerc we will try! you are welcome here anytime too 🫶

f1 we so manifested this in Saudi Arabia 👀

[babybulls15]

(Charles Leclerc/Carlos Sainz Jr., 1.1k, rated G, 1/1)

(based on that one video from the Miami shoot where it looks like Carlos is reaching up to fix Charles' hair, they're being oblivious menaces and driving the photo team insane in the process, POV Outsider, Ambiguous Relationship, kind of, they're acting like a couple soo, Idiots in Love, Crack)

Summary:

They can't keep their hands off each other. It's becoming a problem.

Read it on Ao3 or below. :))

(Tumblr kept throwing this at me and somehow it got stuck.

Thanks again to the wonderful @leversainz for beta reading and preserving what's left of my sanity! <33

I hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear your thoughts! :3)

------------------

When Sal had taken over the role of lead photographer for Ferrari a few months ago, she’d known it would not be a cakewalk. She’d known they were going to have high expectations and standards. She’d not known it was going to be this kind of chaos.

Really, it should be simple. A simple photo shoot. Get the drivers into the clothes, position them on the set, take the photos and repeat until the whole line has been visualized - nothing new, nothing really exciting.

Also not a lot of room for problems. Sal is a professional, Carlos and Charles are professionals, everyone is a professional, who’s been through this exact thing about 1000 times before. However, for some inexplicable reason, shooting together seems to make their two models prone to ignore all that professionalism in the room and throw their own out the window with it.

Prior to her first shoot, Sal had already heard stories from the PR-team about most of the vlogs and challenges going a bit awry. But nothing could’ve prepared her for whatever they are.

(Teammates? Friends? Boyfriends? Insane mostly.)

Their exact relationship is a big question mark to everyone, probably even themselves, but they do seem incredibly comfortable - constantly in each others space, touching in some form or another.

That, in of itself, is not a problem. It starts becoming one, when the people they work with need them to not do that for a few hours, and it is apparently impossible.

(They’re not getting downright handsy, but the way they move around each other is still too physically intimate to be edited around the power of teammates and friendship.)

And the worst thing is, no one can even really fault them, as they actually don’t seem to be doing it on purpose.

Sal recognizes it from her own relationship – the need to be close, the bubble of intimacy that makes everything else disappear - so when she has to reposition them for almost every second shot because they keep unconsciously shifting closer to each other, she can’t find it in herself to blame them. At this point, she’s gotten used to it.

(That doesn’t mean she can’t still send them chastising looks every time it happens.)

What she definitely can and will blame them for though, is their current predicament - the candid videos of the new race suits, that are taking way longer than they need to - because Carlos and Charles seem to have a lot of trouble with the 10 cm gap between them. It has repeatedly taken about 20 seconds after positioning, for them to get lost in themselves and instinctively move closer again - much to the chagrin of the videography team.

After they have to cut off the video for the fifth time, because neither of them can keep their hands where they’re supposed to be, Sal also starts blaming the director.

She keeps giving them the call of “Act natural! Like you’re in the garage preparing for the race!” and somehow the guys seem to take that particular one very seriously.

Because, just like before every race, they are completely in their own world, oblivious to whatever is happening around them. Sal has photographed enough Grand-Prixs and therefore witnessed enough of their pre-race rituals, to know the phrasing is really not helping anyone.

They’re now on their eighth attempt to get a particular candid shot of the two drivers in their shiny blue race suits wearing equally blue sunglasses.

The longer she looks at it, the more ridiculous the scene becomes in Sal’s opinion, but it’s the last one and they need to make it stick, so everyone can finally go home. Although the photo-part of the shoot is done and the videographer has taken over two hours ago, Sal and the rest of the photography team are still there (company policy...) and it is starting to drag.

Most of the staff not actively working is gathered around the director and her video monitor, impatiently waiting. They need one minute of usable footage for the promotion. One minute.

As the first half counts down, everything seems to be going swimmingly - they’re keeping it cool, they’re keeping it civil and most importantly they’re keeping it an appropriate distance apart.

At around 20 seconds to go, Charles starts fussing with his hair.

It’s an innocent enough thing, to go down without any protest from the crew. But then Carlos, in a gesture that seems too intuitive to be entirely conscious, starts moving his hands up to where Charles’ are buried in his curls.

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. It is almost entirely silent. No one is even looking at the two drivers. Everyone knows what’s coming is inevitable, so the only thing that matters is the clock ticking on the video timer.

Carlos’ hands reach Charles’ head with about 10 seconds to go. As he starts untangling his teammates hands from his hair and gently takes them into his own, the silence is disrupted by a cacophony of almost unison groans from the team. 10 seconds. 10 seconds later and it would’ve been completely fine. Everyone is already resigning themselves to do the whole thing over again, when the director sighs loudly and shakes her head.

“No. This ends now. I do not care how we do it, but we will find these 10 seconds somewhere else. Cut the last part. We are done here.” Then she gets up from her chair and, to everyone’s surprise, simply leaves the studio.

There is a moment of stunned silence, before the whole team lets out a collective sigh of relief and immediately starts moving to pack up.

As the two drivers are ushered to the dressing rooms, Sal sees Charles lean into Carlos, making the other man reach out instinctively, pulling him closer.

They smile and wave her goodby, when they pass where she is zipping up her bags - talking animatedly to each other, once again caught in their own world.

Oblivious, Sal thinks as she waves back.

Shouldering her equipment, she watches them for a moment longer. Carlos has one arm wrapped tightly around Charles’ waist, like he has been restraining himself the last six hours and now needs to make up for lost time. Charles is no better, as he seemingly tries his best to reduce the space between them even more, practically melting into his teammates side.

Sal sighs, turning to leave. They really are insane.

[takaraphoenix]

WIP Whenever

I got tagged by @clareguilty - thank you dear <3 - and oh boy yeah, I got too many things I am working on parallel right now so I am spoiled for choice (I do not like this, because I usually write one oneshot at a time and don't start four to shuffle between, it's dizzying). HOWEVER since you posted a Stetopher snippet, you're getting a Stetopher snippet in return ;D

Have a sneak peek into Surprise Wedding Guest, a Stetopher Neckz 'n Throats AU based on a prompt from my wonderful @kimmycup to be posted on November 27th. Malia and Allison invite Peter and Chris' celebrity crush, famous Neckz 'n Throats model Stiles, to Peter and Chris' wedding in the hopes that maybe his PR team will send them a signed picture or something. Unexpectedly, Stiles actually shows up.

(Once again, this was meant to be short but then I accidentally also gave Stiles a stalker who's trying to kill him and Stiles ends up hiring Chris' security firm for protection and there were a lot of Pack Feels as per usual and platonic bestieisms for Sciles and Sterica and Sterek and now I'm 16k into this somehow. That's enough rambling, sorry. On to the sneak peek.)

--

“Hi, Batman! Isaac said you’re here!”

The next second, he had the blonde draped over him, scent-marking and hugging him. Yeah, Derek was right. There really were people outside his pack now who he cared about. He grinned as he scent-marked her back, earning a very pleased noise from the wolf.

“We should hang out more,” Stiles declared impulsively. “You mostly live in my phone and that’s a shame. I should get to see you more often, it’s a treat for my eyes.”

He winked, causing Erica to cackle. “Says the literal model.”

“Girl, have you seen yourself,” Stiles raised his eyebrows and dragged his eyes over her. “I can picture you in multiple shoots as we speak.”

“That’d be fun,” Erica grinned amused.

“Okay. Tell me when you’re free.”

The grin turned into a surprised expression as Erica blinked at him. “Wait. Are you serious?”

“Sure,” Stiles shrugged. “I mean it, you’re a total bombshell. If you’re interested in actually doing a shoot, I can arrange that.”

“You… can? And you would? Really?”

Shit, it was too adorable when people got surprised by him doing something for them. Made him feel all giddy and happy, because it showed that they didn’t expect it. That he was more than just his connections and money to them. He’d been used too many times at this point and every time he had someone who really did spend time with him just to spend time with him, without wanting or expecting something from him in return, that meant the world to him.

Stiles raised his eyebrows in amusement. “Yeah, I can. Beyond the fact that everyone in the industry is ready to bend over backward to please me and be on my good side, I really do think that you got the face, and the body, for the job, so what’s the harm in trying if you really are interested.”

“Holy shit,” Erica squealed and fully launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. “I gotta tell Boyd!”

As soon as their hug ended, she rushed off to the kitchen again, leaving Stiles with an amused smile on his lips before he sat down. The smile dimmed a little when he saw the frown Chris and Peter aimed at him. Oh. Had he… Had he overstepped? They were Erica’s Alphas, maybe they didn’t want one of their pack-members to do something like this. He felt weirdly disappointed and sad at that thought, that they may judge his profession. There were enough people like that, he knew it from his own experience. People who looked at the porn and enjoyed it but still looked down on the models for doing the job. He hated the thought that Chris and Peter may be looking down on him.

“You didn’t have to do that, Stiles,” Chris spoke softly. “You know that Erica didn’t befriend you to get a job, right?”

“Huh,” Stiles blinked surprised.

“She loves you a lot,” Peter added, voice as gentle as his husband’s. “You just told us about how most people want to gain something from you. Erica doesn’t.”

Oh. The sad feeling dispersed and was replaced by comfortable warmth again. A soft smile spread over his lips as he regarded them.

“That’s not…” Stiles shook his head. “That’s sweet of you to say, but I’m actually aware of that. She never asked me for anything, she didn’t ask for the shoot either. I offered. I like doing nice things for the people I care about, if it’s in my power to do it. Pulling some strings is nothing.”

He watched the frowns on Chris and Peter’s face to slowly fade as they nodded. It made him smile. They’d been worried about him. That was… nice. He bit his lips, watching Isaac carry over their food. It smelt as divine as always. Boyd seriously was an amazing chef and this place should be booked out at all times. Looking around, he saw far too many empty tables for a Friday night.

He knew his post during the wedding had gained them some traction, but that had been five or six months ago now, hadn’t it? Celebrity craze tended to die down. Well, Stiles couldn’t let that stand. He got his phone out and took a moderately indecent picture of himself eating – he knew full-well what his lips looked like and the effect they had on horny people – and then posted it to his insta, tagging the restaurant again.

“Put your phone down,” Chris ordered, very sternly.

It startled Stiles into nearly dropping it because holy shit that bossy voice was hot. When he looked up at the man, he must have looked like a deer in the headlights, even as he obeyed.

“In our pack, there are no phones allowed during dinner. If you eat with us, you follow our rules,” Peter clarified, voice as serious as his husband’s.

Stiles bit back the ‘Yes, sir’ that threatened to spill from his lips at the commanding voices. He would not mind following their rules in other settings either.

--

Tagging @kimmycup @blairwaldcrf @miazeklos

[houseofbrat]

Why use a screen shot from the cringey woodland nymph video? Surely this would have been a perfect opportunity to present a united front with a recent and never seen before family portrait. They (and their PR team) MUST be aware of the rumours swirling around, perhaps Kate refused to participate in a photo session & obviously they couldn’t risk Photoshop-gate again. Then there is this sudden dash to Norfolk and no real excuse as to why they have bailed on the Buckingham Palace pre-Christmas lunch. Personally I think there is a massive rift between Will & Kate and Camilla, in addition to the very obvious deep seated problems in the Wales’ marriage. Surely this facade cannot continue for much longer (but I have been saying that since March lol)

Agree with the massive rift between Will, Kate, and Camilla. We know about the Wales marriage problems, but I’m curious as to what exactly is going on with Camilla (and Charles) and the Wales. I feel Charles threw Andrew under the bus with the Chinese spy as a distraction. I believe Charles was already informed of this years ago.

I used to think the PR folks were really stupid. But this is too in-your-face to be anything but taunting. ...Especially on the heels of everything that came before.

At some point, the truth will come out.

Why couldn't they take a nice photo before or after the Christmas Carol service? Send like that would be a perfect time and seeing to get a Christmasy family photo. No, instead of something new, let's remind everyone of the overly produced saccharine video.

they didn't even try. like at all.

This is an out take from their cringy video of a few months ago. Wow. They are leaned away from each other to the point it is two subject groups in the image instead of one.

I’m not so much concerned with their marriage, because that’s all assumption. But what I am concerned about is what do they give back to their society? They are next in line to the throne, but want complete privacy. They need to look at the other royal families and get advice. They are so out of touch it is unreal.

They give nothing. They do nothing. Kate going to the Wimbledon Final, or some showy christmas concert is not giving back to the people. They are both as lazy as fuck. If she has had cancer, why hasn't she thanked her medical team, why hasn't she attended some cancer support groups, why hasn't she engaged with cancer charities, why hasn't she visited hospitals and talked to cancer sufferers? It is appalling that she has done nothing like this. it's crazy how in the same breath they insist they are just like regular people, they ask to get all the privacy they need and year long time off work with pay and perks, they are so tone deaf yet pretend to understand regular people... it's even worse for Kate because she was regular person, all it took is 14 years in wealth and she already lost touch..

That was the most depressing Christmas card I’ve seen in ages. A screenshot from their video last summer. It was so… beige. And not attending the annual luncheon definitely raised my eyebrow. 🤨

At the core of this is that William is alone- no wife, no father, no mother, and no sibling. His extended family tolerates him because he holds the purse strings but there is no love there. Who is going to help this man during his reign? There is a void there. A power vacuum invites nefarious people to fill it. The government better sideline the family now to protect the British people and their state secrets.

The Andrew spy scandal is nothing compared to what is coming with William. He, like Andrew, is too stupid and arrogant to know when he is being played and by whom. Stop relying on the royals to be some sort of political tool for soft diplomacy now. William will somehow entangle himself in nonsense with a hostile actor, of he hasn't already.

even charles has people he can trust, in the rf's own way; princess anne, camilla, prince edward & sophie. but whiskers has alienated everybody.

What a pointless charade, there must be journalists bursting to come out with the truth. Just get divorced already. Life is too short to be this miserable and it must be impacting on the kids.

this card is SAD.

last year, right before the drama became public, K and W skipped C and C Christmas luncheon (yes, this one that they all used to attend) and C and C skipped K’s Christmas carols.

so something happened before Christmas of last year that started this war between heir and King.

Could have been the coronation stunt, but what if it actually related to something revealed in Spare, released Jan 2023. Followed by drama between king and heir all year.

for example, Kate Middleton's “last-minute visit to the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show overshadowed King Charles's pre-planned visit with Queen Camilla.”

and then whatever had been stagnant between K and W boiled over and he treated her like crap in public all year until christmas 2023 and then we never saw her for months.

Within two hours of KP announcing Kate's “planned abdominal surgery" on Jan. 17, BP announced that the King would be undergoing surgery for an enlarged prostate. She was in hospital for 10-13 days, both released same day. No one ever saw her come or go or any of her family visit, but W visited for ten minutes once. we did see Camilla visiting C and Charles leaving.

lots of weirdness, the press wants everyone looking to California, but the problem is actually in the UK.

It had to be an old picture. A new one is totally out of the question. She wouldn’t have it. He wouldn’t have it. The list of reasons are endless now

Now we know, there's something definitely amiss with this pair. No doubt about it. 

The release of the card coincided with them skipping Chuck and Cams lunch. Sounds like they waited to release it to distract that they didn’t go and would highlight the rift between C&c and W&K.

I must say I found it weird it came out the day they didn’t go to the meal. Certianly feels like Some tensions in the family .

[scenetocause]

⭐star⭐

ah thank you anon!!! i'm gonna do climb up to your lips because altho i already did the logan ask i have an embarrassing number of thoughts and feelings about. my own fic. good god. but specifically about girloscar and i've been really fighting the urge to write a bit from her perspective because it's unnecessary authorial indulgence but also whatever, doing it for free aren't i.

Oscar's going to fucking die. They can't seriously be making them play Twister, this is like some sort of torture. The team shouldn't be torturing them, they're meant to be driving F1 cars soon. If she DNFs this weekend it's absolutely on marketing.

She says it to Mark, who tells her it's just a bit of fun, mate. Don't worry, he's probably shit at it. Which tells her Mark doesn't know anything about Lando Norris because the guy can contort into a shapes Oscar's never seen before but now very much haunt her dreams even when he's just meant to be sitting in a press conference chair.

It's not fair, being given a hot teammate. She could've had someone weird and awkward like Esteban but the need for a seat, to secure her future, was too strong to worry about the other side of the McLaren garage until she was there and it was suddenly her problem.

Lando's really nice, too. Helps her out, isn't anything like as annoying as she'd expected him to be. He's taken to spending meal times with her and giving her bits of his food and things, probably because he's a fussy little bitch but Oscar still appreciates it. The company, the way he doesn't seem scared of her being a girl, the sort of sad illusion he could be her boyfriend or whatever.

Logan says it's just teammate stuff, that him and Alex do that kind of thing, too. But Oscar's pretty sure Logan's never had Alex bring him a hot chocolate and a brownie just because it was a bit chilly in the sim room that morning. She doubts Logan is having to play Twister with him, either because Williams is a humane team with sane people doing their PR.

Sweating her way through a game of who can look the stupidest between her and the world's hottest, bendiest man has got to be some circle of hell. At one point she somehow ends up having to stick her arse practically in his face and she wishes she'd worn jeans, even if that might make it even worse, just in case he can see her whole bush up the leg or something.

When she admits she's in a world of trouble it's not just because she has no idea where her left foot can go now. Trying not to look Lando in the face is fruitless because he's giggling and keeps wriggling around, getting her attention so she'll laugh with him. Maybe it's awkward for him, too, having some girl he'd rather not touch having to climb all over him.

She knows she doesn't have a chance with him, that he's just being friendly. Lando dates models, influencers, whatever. Pretty, little girls with long hair who tell him he's big and strong or something, not someone taller than him. She can compete with him, not instagram hotties.

It's fine. Oscar could probably get her own instagram hottie if she liked. Or some guy who worked in finance, could look after her future. Handle all that shit, probably be nice enough to her. Mark was suggesting it the other week, that that'd be a good way to plan things out and Oscar's practical enough to know it makes sense.

It's just that she's being really stupid about being in love with Lando Norris. And guys in pinstripe suits make her pussy dry up.

Wanting things comes naturally to a racing driver. And usually there's a set way of getting them: be good enough, win. It's just that she's not going to magically become half a foot shorter, skinny and with a lingerie deal any time soon, so that's not an option.

"You're not putting your foot between my legs." Lando's blushing, mouth wet and panicky-open, like he's going to make one of those screeching noises she shouldn't find cute.

Conceding is the only option. Because Lando's not just laughing, his voice is a croak and he looks - obviously, he's not but - like he's turned on. Like Oscar could push him back onto the mat and kiss him and he'd wriggle and moan just as much as he is now. Like he'd want her to touch him and she knows he doesn't, would probably freak out if he knew the way she thinks about him.

(face down in a pillow, getting fucked raw, that flush high on his skin while he's making all his weird, whining noises and begging to come, still begging for her to hold him afterwards so she can stroke his sweaty curls - it's started invading her thoughts at the worst times, like right now)

Limbo is even worse. She's shit at it and he could probably get under something an inch off the ground. It's awful, Prema challenges were never like this; she might not know how to cook eggs but at least Rob didn't, either.

Lando's clearly insane because he's won both the first rounds, has got this challenge in the bag, except he makes the third one all or nothing. By this point, Oscar had figured it'd probably be slime wrestling or something equally awful but instead they get to sit down and play jenga like relatively normal people.

He absolutely lets her win. Which is shit, as she explains to Logan later.

"I think he just wanted to get away, y'know? Like, obviously he doesn't want to spend time with me, that's fine."

Logan raises his eyebrows, fringe standing on end where he's been running his hand through it. "Didn't you just say he followed you to your driver room and talked about Halo for twenty minutes?"

"Well, yeah but I think he was just hiding from Sophie." And they'd had hats to sign, so it sort of made sense to do it together.

Logan sits back, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his arms. "You know how many times Alex has been in my room?"

The fuck would she know that. "No?"

"Zero. Nada. Zilch." Logan looks smug, for some reason. "I've never been in his, either."

"So?" Clearly Williams have different rules. It's not like they're in Logan's room now, sitting out on the patio in front of the motorhome nursing sparkling waters.

"I am just saying," Logan's grinning, like he knows she isn't going to listen to him and thinks it's hilarious. "That doesn't sound like a guy who doesn't want to spend time with you."

[hard-core-super-star]

get her back! [H.Steinfeld]

pairing: hailee steinfeld x reader

summary: you and hailee try to get your relationship back on track while shooting the sunkissing music video. it’s easier said than done though, especially since the line between love and hate blurs more and more every day.

warnings: still a chaotic mix of angst and fluff; stubborn idiots finally admit their feelings but keep arguing because it's easier than figuring out how to make things work; mentions of crappy PR stunts; R being lowkey petty + hailee being absolutely clueless why; some metaphors get repetitive but it's part of the plot, i promise

wordcount: 1.6k

a/n: this is part two to one step forward, three steps back. slightly inspired by both get him back! and logical by olivia rodrigo because guts has taken over my life in the best of ways. thank you for all the love and the requests for a part two, i see you and i am eternally grateful to all of you. i love writing about these stubborn idiots and i can only hope you enjoy reading about them just as much <3

* * * * * * *

Working with Hailee and being in love with her are two very different things that should definitely not mix. Not just because it’s incredibly unprofessional but also because it’s way too easy to pretend like you’re mad at each other because of the work you’re doing and not the messy way you’re handling being back in each other’s lives.

It’s immature and stupid and somehow not surprising at all considering the way you two act around each other. You both know what you want and yet neither of you wants to be the first one to take that leap. Which just leaves you with moments like these. 

“You know what your problem is?” Hailee asks, her eyes narrowed and filled with a certain fire you can’t quite explain.

You’ve been on set for the SunKissing music video for about an hour and you’re both already at each other’s throats. The entire week has been filled with random arguments, borderline ridiculous complaints, and total radio silence on Hailee’s part about your relationship. Radio silence that should make working with her easier just like all the times before.

Instead, it’s just become the newest reason for you to push her away again. And okay, maybe you’re still pissed about the countless articles you’ve had to read about a supposed ‘love triangle’ because, for some reason, Hailee’s PR team insists on keeping the QB story running. Everyone knows it’s faker than the brunette’s heterosexuality and yet you’re still here.

Fighting for her attention like always.

You force yourself to push those thoughts away and focus back on the conversation at hand.

“You."

“No. You don’t know how to let yourself be happy.” It suddenly dawns on you that you’re not arguing about the music video choreography anymore. “You can take it out on me and on the job and on whatever else you want to make yourself feel better but don’t act like everything's always my fault. You’re the one who said you’d give me a chance and yet you’ve spent the entire week looking for reasons to push me away.”

She's right.

You both know that. 

Of course, she's right. Because at the very top of the list of reasons why Hailee Steinfeld is the most infuriating person you've ever met is the fact that she knows you. 

She understands you in ways you never thought anyone would. And it's just as terrifying as it is wonderful. 

It's exactly that mix of feelings that makes you react in the only way you know how. 

You lash out at her despite the voice in your head that tells you to suck it up and apologize before you take things too far. “So, if it’s not your fault then whose is it? I’m not the one ignoring your existence the second you leave or letting people write articles based on ridiculous lies.”

She groans, the sound so out-of-character for her it almost makes you forget about your complaints. Almost but not quite.

“Putting up with stupid rumors is part of the job, y/n. It’s nothing new so why does it bother you so much?”

The question is valid. Or at least it would be if you hadn’t made your feelings explicitly clear the day you agreed to help her with the music video. You’ve worked with her for years, most of which have been spent straddling the line between friendship and relationship, but this time was supposed to be different. 

In a way it was different. You couldn’t deny how you felt about Hailee anymore and you couldn’t act like it didn’t bother you how clueless she was still acting about it.

You swallow back your cutting remarks and instead mumble out the only thing you can think of. “You know why.”

She stares at you for a few seconds, her eyes seem to almost look through you as if she's trying to figure you out. You don’t know what she’s looking for since your feelings aren’t exactly a secret anymore. 

The silence lasts a second too long and you decide to walk away before you make things worse. It’s a move you learned from the brunette herself and one that’s driven you down this dead-end road you can’t seem to escape from.

For a second it seems like she’s going to let you go without a fight but then you feel her grip your wrist. Her hold on you is surprisingly soft like she’s wordlessly begging you to stay despite how much better it would be for both of you if you just walked away now.

Unfortunately for the logical part of your brain, you’re never able to say no to those stupidly soft hands and ridiculously warm eyes.

You turn around to face her again, trying to act like the close proximity isn’t making your mind swim with bad ideas. You’re definitely the worst actress out of the two of you but at least the brunette doesn’t comment on it.

“You’re a jerk,” you whisper, your voice lacking the usual bite it carries when you’re trying to piss Hailee off.

“I literally haven’t said anything yet.” The subtle smile on her face makes your heart skip multiple beats in the span of a few seconds.

You wait a bit before you respond, distracting yourself by shrugging her hand off your wrist so you can hold onto it instead. Hailee doesn’t rush you, seemingly understanding the storm of feelings in your head better than you do.

“I know.” You tilt your head down to avoid those brown eyes you fell for all those years ago. “That’s the problem. All you have to do is look at me and I forget all the reasons why I’m mad at you…why dating you would never work.”

“I don’t think your feelings for me are the problem, y/n.” 

You’re well aware of the way she’s redirecting the conversation back to the dumb argument you were having mere moments ago but you don’t fight against it. All you want is answers and if it takes you tearing down your walls for her so be it.

“Why? Because I’m the problem?”

“No.” Her voice is so quiet you have to force yourself to fully focus or risk missing out on her vulnerability. “It’s because I messed up so badly that you feel like you can’t trust me again.”

She’s right.

Again.

You wish you could say you were surprised.

Your silence speaks volumes, at least to her, and it’s not long before you feel her free hand nudging your face. You lean into her touch and let her tilt your head up until your eyes meet again. You don’t want to ruin the moment but the need to be witty outweighs your need for honesty. “Is this supposed to be an apology?”

The question earns you a chuckle and the sound is more than enough to ease some of the tension that’s gathered inside of your chest. “Something like that.”

She leans forward the slightest bit, giving you the chance to put space between the two of you if you want. You appreciate the gesture, and all the sweet parts of her it represents, but you’re tired of running. Tired of tiptoeing around a truth so obvious it’s painful to deny.

You lean in the rest of the way and gently press your lips against her.

It’s not exactly fear that holds you back. You’re trying to show her you want more than the fleeting moments of passion and the heated arguments. You want the real thing. Even if it means you’ll get hurt even worse in the process. Anything is better than the months you’ve spent ignoring her existence.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles against your lips. “I’m an idiot and an asshole but I really, really, want to be with you. For real this time.”

You lean back just enough to properly look into her eyes again. “Hailee-”

“I know, I know.” She silences your worries with another sweet kiss. “I thought it would be easier if we took our time with this but it was just an excuse. I don’t think I know how to be with you if we’re not arguing about something stupid all the time.”

“That’s because you’re immature,” you reply with the tiniest of smirks on your face. “And an idiot. And annoying in all the best ways.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

This time you're the one who laughs. It's insane how quickly you can go from total sincerity to playful jabs at each other. If you're being honest though, that's exactly why you love her. Because neither of you has to hold back around the other, even when it's infuriating.

“It’s supposed to be me telling you I’m okay with taking things at your pace. As long as you stop acting like we’re just friends.”

“You don’t want to be my friend? I’m heartbroken, baby.”

“I’m going to leave if you don’t stop.”

“Okay, okay. I’m kidding. But what do you want to be? Just so we’re on the same page ‘cause-”

You roll your eyes and shut her up with your lips. You have a feeling that’s exactly what she wanted you to do but you’re not about to complain. Especially when it results in her wrapping her arms around you and pulling you close.

You don't have all the answers you wanted, and there's still a lot the two of you have to figure out, but one thing is obvious. You're in this together. No matter how much you annoy the other or how scary it is to be completely honest after years of lies.

She's with you. For real, for real.

[elisysd]

17. I’ve been thinking way too loud, I wish that I could block me out

Masterlist - Previously - Next

Chapter soundtrack: Block me out - Gracie Abrams

When Ethan came back to his hotel room, Julia was already sleeping. Or at least, she pretended to. After what happened in the ice-bath she almost gathered her things in her suitcase and went to Romy’s hotel room to beg her to stay with her before giving up, thinking she might just be overreacting. So she just decided to hide her face in the sheet, hoping that Ethan would believe she was asleep. And he did, slowly she could feel him removing the sheet and the mattress sinking before feeling the warmth of his body radiating all over the bed. She could feel her heart beat faster, and her breath getting caught up in her throat. She wanted to turn around and remove the barrier of pillows that was separating them as much as she wanted to increase it. She wanted to curl up in his arms as much as she wanted to be far away from him. She wanted to kiss his face because of what he was making her feel as much as she wanted to slap him for the same reason. But she stayed still and she finally let herself fall asleep.

She woke up on race day feeling something weighing down on her belly. It was heavy and hot and was preventing her from moving. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Ethan’s forearm resting on the sheet covering her body. She turned her head towards him to see he was still sound asleep. Some pillows were removed, letting his arm find its way to her. Fully awake now, she didn’t dare to move, not wanting to wake him up. But still, she needed to get up. She tried, slowly, to leave his embrace but felt a resistance and was pulled back against the stack of pillows. She thanked the stars, the sun, the moon and everything that could be thanked that the makeshift border still existed. She didn’t even dare to move or to breathe for what mattered, to stunt to move.

Finally, after a long breath in and breathe out, she dragged herself out of the bed in one swift move. She looked at Ethan’s silhouette and saw him moving, as if he was trying to search for her warmth. She heard him groaned before turning away and readjusting his pillow, still asleep. She stayed, observing him, for a moment. He was cute. He looked like a little boy, far away from the arrogant and ruthless image he was giving to other people. But by now, she knew better than to believe it. It was just a facade. Deep down, he was a caring guy with strong values that was hiding this side of him behind a bad boy attitude. She couldn’t believe that she had fallen for it, somehow. But here she was.

On tiptoes, she went to the bathroom for a quick shower before heading out, Ethan was still in his bed but this time, he had taken most of the space. One last look at him and she was out. It was so out outside that she was already sweating and she started to imagine herself in an ice-bath. Maybe she could ask her dad, or Niels and Noah to set one up for her? Her mind went back to Ethan and what she felt when they shared one. How his hands felt around her, how his body fitted against hers as if it was always meant to be, how he ignited a fire within her that had almost consumed her at that moment, how she felt like she couldn’t breathe anymore. It had been too much. But oh God, did she want it to happen again.

Once she arrived at the Skoda hospitality, she was surprised to find it empty. No mechanics, no PR teams when usually they were always the first one to arrive and were usually found gossiping at the coffee machine, no engineers either, just people working for catering. She sighed, at least no one would bother her and she had a large choice of fruits, pastries and other food at her disposal. She didn’t restrict herself, she never did when it came to food anyway, and took a little bit of everything before sitting down near the large open window that had a view on the paddock. Unlocking her phone she saw a few texts from her dad and one from Louis that she immediately opened. It was the first time since the incident that he was talking to her. Well, it was not really talking but it was still something.

Are you still mad at me?

It was way too early in Europe for her to call him and she knew that he was still probably sleeping, but still she replied.

Why would I be? I’m more concerned about YOU being mad at ME.

She was about to put her phone back in her pocket when it buzzed and saw that Louis had already replied.

I’m not mad at you. You are helping Ethan because you are a good person. But I’m mad at him because he forced you to lie to me. I don’t like that. It’s not right. Therefore, I don’t like him. And I’m mad at him.

It’s more complicated than that, Louis. Ethan tries to make things right, you know, and sometimes it requires making choices that don’t feel right. It doesn’t mean he is a bad person. He was great with you! You liked him! It’s not because he made a mistake that you have to hate him. I know that he cares a lot about you.

She waited for an answer that didn’t come. Louis must be back to sleep or trying to figure out her last text. She hesitated to send him another one but gave up on the idea. She didn’t want to overwhelm him. From the window, she could see people starting to arrive and soon the hospitality was crowded. She quickly ate the remainder of her plate and left the place. Her feet took her near the Ferrari hospitality. She was hoping to see her dad so she could know if he had news about Louis and so she could talk to him about her upgrade ideas. She was motivated, she wouldn’t back down today. And she needed to focus on something else rather than her feelings and Ethan.

She finally saw him arriving from afar, his RayBan covering his eyes and his red shirt making him stand out from the crowd. She sped up to catch him and she saw a smile on his face when he recognised her.

“Ju’, what are you doing here so early?”

“I was up early and at least here we have the AC…” she shrugged. “I wanted to see you, do you have five minutes?”

“For you? Always.”

“Great! Can we go somewhere private? I want to show you something.”

“We can go to my office.”

He led the way and Julia could feel the anxiety rising. What if her father told her off? What if he thought she had crossed a line? What if after all the hard work she had put into it, he thought it was still not good enough? Or worse, what if he actually liked it? What would it mean for her? For her career? Would he ask her to come and work with him? And what would she say if he asked her how she had the ideas?

“Ju’? Princess? Are you still with me?” her dad’s voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

“What?”

“I was asking you what you wanted to talk about?”

“Oh, hum… well, I don’t know how you will take it and i don’t want you to be mad or to think I overstepped but I had a little time off, where I was bored out of my mind and I started to think about your cars and wondered if I could try to come up with something that could help and… I know it’s not my job and you have all the rights to get angry and…” she stuttered.

“Show me.”

Julia stopped rambling and looked at her dad trying to process the answer.

“You want my opinion so, show me.”

She gave him her folder where notes and drawings and data simulation were written down, as well as annotations on the side and waited. She saw her dad frowning, rereading things, annotating and circling things on the paper before taking his phone and calling what she supposed was someone at the factory and speaking Italian way too fast for her to understand anything. Finally, he hung up and looked at her.

“It’s not perfect, of course, you don’t have all the info. But I think you might be onto something. We need to try it out on the simulator before doing anything but, Ju”, you might just have saved our first part of the season.”

“Re…Really? Like, for real? You like it?”

He nodded enthusiastically.

“You must be really bored at Skoda if you start to work on our package…”

“I mean… they don’t let me do anything, so might as well work on something else…” she confessed, sitting on the chair in front of her dad’s desk.

“What do you mean, they don’t let you do anything?”

“It’s just… Wilhelm says I’m not a team player. And now I’m working on organization stuff, as he liked to call it, when in reality I’m only putting cables and nuts in the right boxes… Not really what I had imagined when I started.”

“Do you want me to talk to him?”

“No. I don’t want to look like I asked for your help, it will only make everything worse. He’s already thinking I’m not deserving my place in the team and I’m only here because I’m your daughter… But, as you always say, it’s like that. I just hope to have a better opportunity in the near future.” she added while emphasizing the near, looking at her dad.

He didn’t answer, only nodded still looking at her graphs. She was proud of her and it went better than she expected. And he didn’t even ask questions. She excused herself and left as she was supposed to attend a meeting with the whole team to discuss the future plans and upgrades.

When she arrived, she wasn’t late but she was in the last ones to come in, earning a few judgemental side glances. She found a seat near Niels and Noah and got to them. They were laughing at something that Niels was showing on his phone. When she approached them and asked what they were laughing about, Niels just showed her his screen where a red panda was doing rolls, or attempting too, resulting in cute little missteps from the animal.

“Pandas are so cute…” said Julia, still in awe in front of the animal.

“Yeah, they are adorable and funny at the same time.” added Noah.

“You know, I was thinking…” started Niels.

“Oh, dangerous…”

“Shut up, Noah. As I was saying, I was thinking. We are soon heading to the Chinese GP in Shanghai and I know there is a zoo where we can see them, so what are you guys thinking of going there to visit? We could make it a group activity! Like, we could invite Ethan, Romy, the Lambo guys and what about Ferrari? You are close to the drivers, right Julia?”

“I don’t think inviting Martin and Elijah would be a good idea…”

“Oh yeah, that would create unnecessary drama with Ethan. Almost forgot that for an instant.”

They kept chatting for a few minutes until Wilhelm arrived and asked for the room to be silent. He started by thanking everyone for their involvement and hard work throughout the first races, saying how every individual was an essential part of the team and Julia couldn’t help but think how bullshit that was. He turned his head towards Niels and Noah and praised them for their results and feedback. She heard them sighed. Being praised for being in the bottom of the leader board was not something an athlete liked to hear. The team principal then turned to the presentation screen with a proud smile on his face.

“I would like to introduce you to something I’ve been working on with our technical leads in Warsaw. The next upgrades for our car and what we expect them to correct on the current one.”

And Julia felt a stone dropping in her stomach. It was her ideas, the ones she showed him a few weeks ago and the reason why she had been pushed into the background. The reason why she had started to work on Ferrari’s cars was because she felt useless here. And now, not only her ideas were displayed for everyone to see, but Wilhelm was getting praised for a work that wasn’t his. She felt bile going up her throat. But what could she do? It’s not like she could scream that he was stealing her work. No one would believe her anyway. So she swallowed her pride and tried to act as if everything was fine.

Once the meeting was over, she was the first one out of the room. Everything in her wanted to go to Wilhelm and confront him, but she knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to fire her for insubordination. And she didn’t want that. She knew that something like that could happen, she thought she could handle it and be ready but the truth was she was not.

She had a few hours to kill before the race, so she took her bag and went out to wander around the paddock. Her feet took her to the Maserati garage without even noticing it. She had not seen Ethan since the morning and she was ashamed to admit it but she was missing him. It was stupid! It had only been a few hours! How could she be already missing him? It made no sense. He also was the only person that she wanted to tell about what happened during the meeting. He already knew about her struggles there. It would not surprise him. And she knew he would support her. And she needed that. She needed someone to understand her without having to tell everything. She just needed his shoulders to cry on. If she still had tears left to cry.

She tried to catch a glimpse of him but the garage seemed empty for the most part. Maybe, just like Skoda, they had a team meeting. She hid in a corner, away from everyone and waited. It didn’t take too long as a few minutes later she saw his blond hair peeking through the door. Since when could she recognize him by his hair? He was already wearing his white fireproofs that were clinging to his body. She tried to catch his attention by approaching the entrance. He was in deep conversation with his race engineer but someone else did see her. A woman, well dressed that she was sure belonged to the PR team. She was way too overdressed to be a mechanic or an engineer.

“Miss Leclerc, right?” she asked, throwing Julia off of her feet.

“Yeah? How do you know me?”

“You are hard to miss. The daughter of a third times world champion and team principal of the Scuderia, here in the paddock? You are what everybody is talking about. I’m Ashley, by the way. Head of the media team.”

“Well, nice to meet you, I guess.”

“Yeah, very nice. Especially since we will see each other a lot in the next few weeks.”

“What do you mean?” asked Julia.

“Ethan. The PR relationship. I must admit it was a clever move from him, one I didn’t see coming and it’s my job to see these kinds of things coming. But I have to admit, this relationship has a lot of potential. I didn’t think he would be this smart and able to come out with something like that. You both have to be more careful with your public appearances, for now stay on the down low until I find the perfect way to present your relationship to the world.” Ashley explained, leaving Julia completely stunt.

“Present our relationship to the world? I don’t understand.”

“Julia.. Can I call you Julia? Even if the scandal died down a little, it doesn’t need a big thing for it to blow up again. You must have noticed how Ethan is less present in the media activities. We are keeping him in check, focusing on his career. The rumors around his supposed new relationship with you didn’t damage his image, but I can’t say that it had been making any good toit either. He just looked like someone that didn’t care about the rumored girl expecting his child. That’s why it is important that when the right time comes, you guys show love and support and above all, a united front. I think of photoshoots, paddock walks hand in hand, cute moments during races.We are going to stage anything, you won’t have to worry. The only thing you need to worry about is to look happy and in love, sweetie. Do we understand each other? I’m sure we do.”

“Ashley? What are you doing?”

Ethan had finally noticed Julia, alone with the blonde woman and went straight to them, standing protectively next to Julia.

“I’m explaining to her what is expected of her in the upcomings weeks.”

“Not until Monza, I thought we were clear about that.”

“We are. It gives me enough time to prepare everything. I just want you both to be ready because when we launch this relationship, it will attract a lot of attention.”

And with these last few words she left. Julia released the breath she was unintentionally holding and turned to Ethan.

“You told them?”

“I couldn’t hide us any longer, they had to know. And it gives us enough time to get prepared for whatever they are going to throw at us. Because I know Ashley, I know how good she is at her job and how scary she can be. She is damn good but I won’t lie, I prefer to have her by my side than to have her against me. But anyway, don’t worry about her. What are you doing around here, shouldn’t you be with your team?”

He saw her face crumpled and her shoulders sunk. She let out a heavy sigh and Ethan took her by the arms to get her away from the crowd that was starting to form around the paddock. The both headed behind the garage where most of the equipment was, and Julia let herself fall on a box.

“Wilhelm is stealing my ideas.” she simply said.

“Fucking bastard. I knew there was a reason why I’ve never liked him in the first place. How do you feel? Sorry, it’s a stupid question. Of course you must feel horrible.”

“I feel robbed. Well, I’ve been robbed! He stole my ideas and didn’t even acknowledge me! Like… he presented them as if he was the one behind it!”

“Dick move.”

“Yeah! And he got praised, of course! Everyone looked at him like he was God, the one that was going to save Skoda from being the shitty team they are!”

“How dare they?”

“And I stood on the side, feeling angry. I swear, I was this close to go up there and take his microphone to tell the truth, but I care too much about my job to do something like that.”

“Well… maybe you shouldn’t.” finally said Ethan.

“What do you mean, I shouldn’t?” she repeated.

“He clearly is disrespecting you. And he is always belittling you. He makes you feel like you are not part of the team. Maybe you should just tell him to go fuck himself.”

“And then, what would I do? You know how fast words are spreading out there, he would just need to say that I’m not reliable and no one would take me, and then my dream to work in F1 would be over…”

“That’s not true. Any team would be happy to have you. Ferrari for starters, your dad would take you.”

“He wants me to prove myself, I’m not sure that quitting at the first difficulty is something he wants to see me doing…” she mumbled.

“Okay, then if not Ferrari, Audi! Romy would be the first to push for your application to be considered. And they are the only team to have full gender equality. They have as many women working as mechanics than as engineers. You would have a voice there, they would listen to you.”

“Okay… fine, let’s say Audi would be an option. What else do I have?”

“Me. I mean, Maserati. You stay for a while with me there and then, when I’ll get that seat at Lambo, I take you with me to work on my car and we are world champions together. How nice does that seem? Surely, it would look nice on your CV.”

“Sounds very idealistic.” she smiled. “ And it’s optimistic from you to think that we wouldn’t end up killing each other at some point.”

Ethan laughed slightly and she joined him. He had a way of making her forget her problems. Even if it was just for a little while. He crouched down in front of her and took her hands in his, making her look at him.

“You are great, Julia. Talented and smart and ambitious and honest and hard-working, I can keep going if you want. Don’t waste your time in a team that clearly doesn’t deserve you. You don’t deserve losers, you deserve winners. That’s on that side that you belong. That you’ve always belonged. That you will always belong. I know that in the future, teams will fight to have you working for them.”

“I wish I could believe in myself as much as you do.” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, I can believe in you enough for us both.”

They locked eyes and Julia could swear that Ethan quickly looked at her lips. But it had been too fast for her to be one hundred percent sure. The silence was heavy as if both of them were scared to make a move that would break the bubble they were in. But it had to be broken at some point, they both had duties to perform and it was Julia who made the decision.

“I should go, I still have stuff to do, even if it’s boring.”

“I should go to… Everyone will be searching for me and I don’t want to be told off.”

“Break a leg for the race but try to not break the car, okay?”

He laughed and took a few steps back before stopping and turning to her. She was still there, her gaze still on him. He quickly got back to her, engulfing her in his arms before planting a kiss on her forehead. He would have stayed like this if it had been possible, but he had to go. Reluctantly, he let her go, still feeling her skin against his lips.

Julia felt better, walking back to the Skoda garage. It felt like the heaviness of her day had been lifted off of her shoulders after seeing Ethan. She wasn’t sure if he had been completely honest while he was cheering her up, but still she appreciated the effort. She wasn’t surprised to see everyone ignoring her. She felt invisible in this team. She was sure that if she was leaving, no one would notice her absence. That hurt somehow, but it made her realize that she was worth better than that, Ethan was right. She had one hour left to spare before the start and decided to go to Niels, to see how he was feeling before the race.

She had never imagined that she would grow close to the drivers, but here she was. In this hell of a work environment she was glad that she had been able to make some friends, some allies. She went to his driver’s room and knocked. She could almost swear she heard someone gasping inside and muffled voices.

“Niels? Are you in there?”

She didn’t hear anything at first and she thought that she was starting to get crazy if she was hearing voices but something falling on the floor. There was definitely someone inside.

“I can hear someone inside, you know? It’s unnecessary to hide. Unless you are not Niels and in this case you are going to get into trouble. I’m gonna open this door, just so you know. And my dad enrolled me in karate classes when I was younger, so I know how to fight and…”

She didn’t even have the time to finish when a disheveled and red Niels opened the door.

“Julia… hey… I wasn’t expecting you.” he tried to say, nonchalantly.

“Sure, you didn’t. What were you doing there?” she asked suspiciously, eyeing him up and down.

“Me? Nothing? Why?”

“I heard voices and something falling on the floor. Aren’t you alone?”

“I like to talk to myself before races. You know, to cheer me on. That’s my little pre race ritual.”

“Does your ritual imply having the fly of your pants wide open?”

“Shit!” he exclaimed looking even more flushed than he already was.

“So you are not alone.”

“I… well… oh fuck, how am I going to get out of this…. Please don’t say anything to anyone.” he begged her as she was looking across the room.

“Niels… don’t tell me he is in the closet? That would be a very obvious place to hide.”

“He is not.” he quickly replied.

She shook her head while rolling her eyes, still looking around. That’s when she saw an all too familiar t-shirt. She could recognise it anywhere for the very simple reason that she was wearing the same at this precise moment. Niels was wearing it as well, the only difference between Niels’ and the one in front of her, was the driver’s number and the name. She picked it up and with a half smile looked at Niels, holding the white Skoda piece of clothing in her hand.

“Noah? You can come out from wherever you are.”

Author's note: What do you think will happen next? Let me know your theories, I love to read them.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment or an ask, as well as reblogging and leaving a like. It helps a lot for the story to find its audience. I also have a taglist for this story, so if you want to be added so you never miss a chapter, let me know.

Taglist:

@herondalism @aundercover @musingsbyshreya @karmabyfernando @reengard @mycenterfold @smoooothoperator

[luffysprincess]

oh my god i'm in love with your library of love event.

okok so hear me out... me and sae itoshi >:)

while most of the time we just speak english with each other, sometimes i'll either talk to sae in italian and he'll reply in spanish (or vice versa). definitely one of my favourite ways of communicating.

me and sae initially got close through shidou. it's mine and shidous life goal to make sae's life living hell >:)

we work out together (aka i die and suffer trying to keep up with his work out) and he tries his best to help me with my volleyball drills but poor guy just isn't used to hitting a ball with his hands (somehow finds a way to replicate the movements with his feet or something)

i made the first move cause lets face it, this is sae we're talking about. i actually met him at an airport and made a joke about his football skills which he took seriously enough to lecture me about football for way too long. :')

to this day he refuses to tell me when he realised he fell in love with me (starts stropping whenever i ask, he'll never admit he's stropping though)

UHMMM THANK YOU IN ADVANCE <3

i hope this isn't too much :')

⌱ TITLE: You In My Head

⌱ GENRE: Romance, Sports AU, Comedy

⌱ PREDOMINANT TROPE(S): fake dating to lovers ; slow burn

⌱ SYNOPSIS:

When pro football player Sae Itoshi accidentally concusses a fan in the middle of a live-streamed match after sending a football straight to her head, his reputation takes a hit. News articles come out about his harsh attitude and “lack of care” towards said fan, known as Lumi, who’s reportedly lost her memory since waking up at the hospital after the incident. In fear of being sued, his PR team sends an unwilling Sae to move in to Lumi’s town and help her regain her memories in hopes of forming a relationship with her for the public to see.

But Sae slowly begins to appreciate this predicament after spending adequate time with Lumi. He finds that she understands him better than anyone has. So when the time comes to end this publicity stunt, will he finally come clean and reveal his true feelings to Lumi? Or will he break her heart and return to his old ways?

⌱ ADDITIONAL PLOT POINTS:

Sae and Lumi go on quite a few dates. Most of them in public places where paparazzi has been called to take pictures of them. But some are spontaneous and private, in hidden areas of the town that Lumi shows him.

The two take turns teaching each other the rules and even some tips on football (sae’s sport) and volleyball (lumi’s sport) despite the fact that Lumi is still concussed.

Their first intimate moment is when Sae properly and meaningfully apologizes for hitting Lumi in the head with the football in that first match even though it was accidental. He press a soft kiss to her forehead and almost goes in for her lips but is interrupted.

The couple is interrupted 4 times before they finally have their first kiss on page 288.

⌱ AESTHETIC:

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: Following Battle Royal, beloved author Lucy Parker pens another delicious romantic comedy about a fake relationship between a grumpy royal bodyguard and the charming, sunny assistant who melts his cold, hard exterior.Petunia De Vere enjoys being the personal assistant to lovable, bumbling Johnny Marchmont. But the job has its share of challenges, including the royal’s giant, intimidating bodyguard, Matthias. Pet and Matthias are polar opposites—she’s spontaneous and enthusiastic, he’s rigid and stoic—but she can sense there’s something softer underneath that tough exterior…For Matthias Vaughn, protecting others is the name of the game. But keeping his royal charge out of trouble is more difficult than he imagined because everywhere Johnny goes, calamity ensues, and his petite, bubbly assistant is often caught in the fray. Matthias hates the idea of Pet getting hurt and he’s determined to keep everyone safe, even if it means clashing with his adorable new coworker.When a clumsy moment leads to a questionable tabloid photo, the press begins to speculate that Pet is romantically involved with Johnny. To put an end to the rumors, the royal PR team asks Pet and Matthias to stage a fake relationship and the two reluctantly agree. But as they spend more time together outside of work, they begin to wonder what real emotions this pretend connection might uncover. Especially when a passionate kiss leaves both of their heads spinning… 

Review:

She’s the sunny personal assistant to the new Royal and he’s the grumpy bodyguard, when a scandal threatens their favorite royals what better way to divert attention then to fake date...but it’s starting to feel very real. Petunia De Vere or “Pet” is the bubbly and sweet personal assistant to Johnny Marchmont, the new husband of the princess. Pet loves her job but there are definitely challenges but thankfully theres Matthias, a intimidating and strict bodyguard who just somehow always seems to catch Pet when she’s in danger. Matthias might seem scary but Pet knows that underneath that exterior is a very sweet and caring person. Matthias has made it his life’s duty to protect Johnny, and he can’t help but want to make sure Pet is protected and happy too. While Pet and Matthias might be polar opposites both of them just want to protect the people they care about. When the media starts spreading rumors that Pet is Johnny’s mistress ( which couldn’t be further from the truth) The Royal team decides to come up with a plan to squash the rumors once and for all, have Matthias and Pet stage a fake relationship, which they both agree too. Yet the more time Pet and Matthias spend together and “pretend” to be in love the more they are falling for one another. Can they take this relationship from fake to real? This was a really cute and sweet fake dating romance with a grumpy x sunshine and a tall x small trope. Pet and Matthias were both so sweet and caring for each other and their romance was just so cute. I had a blast with this one and would definitely recommend it for fans of fake dating romances!

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[sagehqs]

If they could have it their way, this would be most of their nights. Getting a taste of it only made them want more of this, more softness, more cuteness, more cooking, more conversation, and ultimately more of Owen. His whole existence, from that beautiful head of hair to his well-worn sneakers, she was borderline obsessed with him; happy and thankful that they were being blessed with the opportunity to get to know him like this. Days in and she was head over heels, fully invested, and happy with her existence in this little relationship. In a matter of days, Sage went from having a huge crush on Owen – hardly able to handle a real conversation with him, to now where they were dancing and cooking in her kitchen. It was a wide gap, but somehow they closed it, and she wasn’t planning on looking back or getting too caught up on how long they were both crushing on the other.

With a gasp and a headshake, Sage quickly took note that checking in on Owen and his well-being would be a frequent occurrence, as they were now immensely worried, and rather confused as to how he’s made it this far just coasting in a world made for the hearing. “I… thank Goddess for your neighbor making sure you don’t just burn up with your dinners. We really, really need to get you some alternatives so you’re not raw-dogging life like that.” At the compliment of making a good team, they grinned and nodded along enthusiastically, “We make a very good team, actually. I’m totally here for it.” And she was, the concept of meshing with someone so well that they could work together as a team was cute, and it made her feel rather excited to see that this camaraderie was already so prevalent in their relationship.

Sage furrowed their brows and nodded, “Of course I’m going to trust you with this recipe. I think it’d be riskier to trust you with pre-made ones; those are the ones without wiggle room. This? This has room for error, but when you follow it exactly, it’s the best taste.” Moving to lean her head against his arm, she nodded, “Trust me, I know you got this. Grandma wrote it down because it works well, trust her process. Plus… this is really the only cornbread recipe I have. I don’t trust Google with an Appalachian staple like this.” They took pride in the dinner being made tonight; in the food they chose for the two of them, and in the fact that they were even able to make a dinner like this happen. Having him have a hand in the process of making the food, though, was even better than they could have anticipated. For once, they feel like they can move around the kitchen with ease, not rushing to make everything happen on their own; they could get used to cooking like this.

As he complained about only making one thing, Sage quickly shook their head, “You helped with the potatoes, cutting them is half the cooking, honestly.” Hearing his laugh in tandem with his comment, they joined in on the laughter. “Then I’m sure the cornbread is going to be great. I have nothing but faith in you and this cornbread.” Even if he might not be the best chef on his own – most of which seemed to be a situational issue rather than on him, Sage was positive this cornbread would turn out right. Her grandmother’s recipe, after all, was simple and relatively easy to follow, so with the attention Owen paid to it, this would be perfectly fine, completely edible, and hopefully a great introduction to one of her personal favorite side dishes. Humming in thought, Sage looked around, mentally running through the list for dinner – then gasping and hurrying back to the fridge to get everything out for dessert.

After splaying out the fruit on the counter, Sage hurriedly moved to grab a pie pan from her cabinet. Moving back, she didn’t pass up the opportunity to bump her hip against Owen’s again, happily doing so as she placed the pan on the counter. “Now, we’re onto the dessert.” Chewing on the inside of their lip, they eyed the fruit for a minute before looking back up to her partner, “No preferences? Because if not, I might just do eenie meenie and let fate select our pie for the night.” Not that she was particularly opposed to the idea, she wanted to make sure there were no politely hidden preferences before going in to make the final decision on the finale of their meal. “Any fruit you might prefer to another? The more I look, the less I’m liking the idea of pear – that might make a better cobbler than a pie now that I’m thinking about it.” With a shrug she moved over to the fruit again, still eyeing it before deciding to put the pears back into the fridge.

Another dramatic look took place on his features as he was poked in the chest, bringing a hand up to place against the place they had poked him. Easily giving the teasing right back to her. "If that's the case, good thing I'm a frequent user of door dash." He signed back, raising his eyebrows some as he kept his eyes on Sage. The teasing that came between them was something he lived for, it flowed so easily like most things between them. Dishing it out just as much as she gave it to him. He wanted all the moments, the sillier ones like these, the tender ones like their dancing, and all the ones in between with Sage.

With one last sound of protest, Owen moved back over to the counter, making a show of dragging his feet the entire way over. Half tempted to sweep her back into his arms and pull them into another dance but also knowing that they really needed to cook dinner before they did anything else. It was still early in the evening, the faster they got done cooking, well, the more time they would have to just curl up and be together. "This is probably where I should tell you that I've been in my apartment for three years and just last month finally got a fire alarm that flashes." He made a face and gave a shake of his head. "My poor neighbor had to text me every time my fire alarm was going off." Another admittance to Sage and yet another one of his signature loud laughs to accompany it as well. "But perfect- see we make a good team." Owen beamed from where he was, eyes on Sage as they moved around the kitchen.

At the mention of it being their grandmother's corn bread, Owen raised his hands in mock surrender. "You're putting too much trust in me now. Grandma's recipe? That's a lot of pressure right there. I can't mess it up now." Biting down on his bottom lip some to try and keep his grin at bay, though Owen knew it was quite the loss cause. "It's one thing to mess up any recipe but one belonging to grandma? I feel like it's a whole other level." His eyes moving from Sage down to the notecard, reading through it until he felt the squeeze on his arm, looking instantly back up at Sage. A smile coming as his reply to the kiss and wish of good luck. Determined that he wouldn't mess this up in anyway. Though knowing himself, Owen had a feeling the odds were pretty low. Wrinkling his nose the smallest bit as Sage moved away again, looking back down to the notecard, reading over it a few times before he moved to grab what he would need.

With everything in hand, Owen rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment, reading it one last time before he looked up, glancing over at Sage who now had pots and pans scattered about, wondering when the hell that had even happened. He gave an amused shake of his head, getting himself to focus as he followed the instructions. Going over each one a few times, not wanting to make a mess of the corn bread that Sage seemed to love so much. It wasn't that he was bad at cooking, it was mainly what he had mentioned to Sage, how he lost track of time when cooking and things tended to burn because of it. But this- following the recipe was simple enough and before Owen knew it, he was letting himself get lost in the process of mixing it all together. Looking up very now and then to see what Sage was doing, the kitchen filling with some of the most amazing smells.

As Sage moved back to where he was, Owen looked up at the movement, flashing her a warm smile, finishing up the last few steps that he needed to do as they were moving away yet again. Pushing down the urge to let out another sound of protest, and finishing up the corn bread. Seeing the pan placed in front of him, Owen gave a nod of his head, figuring that was what he was going to use, and he carefully scraped it out of the bowl he had been mixing it all into, and into the pan, flashing her a thumbs up with his one free hand before eh sat the bowl back down. "I love how I managed to make one thing and you've basically cooked an entire meal. But I think that corn bread should be good- pretty sure I read each step at least fifty times." Owen laughed, looking around the kitchen to see what she had been doing while he had been working on the cornbread. Impressed with how much they were getting down now that they weren't distracted with kisses and dancing. Pushing off from the counter, Owen placed a quick kiss to her cheek before moving to wash his hands, before turning back to face them once more. "Is there anything else that I can help with or needs to be done?" Finding himself enjoying cooking in the kitchen with Sage quite a bit, moreso than he had ever done so while cooking alone at home.

[tteokdoroki]

had it | k.bakugou.

♡ pairing: katsuki bakugou x fem!reader.

♡ word count: 4.5K

♡ rating: everyone.

♡ genre: pro hero!au, married!au, fluff, comfort.

♡ summary: your pro hero husband is a show off, always has and always will be... but when his big ego gets in the way of you doing your job, you give him little piece of your mind..

♡ warning(s): please read ! mentions of violence, i gave reader a quirk?? bakugou with a daughter ok literally nothing. oh and angst if you squint.

♡ author’s note(s):  hi besties!! happy birthday to meee!! today i’m dropping a fic that’s been a long time coming, its a short and fluffy little piece with domestic baku bc i love him with babies n kids ok ok!! i hope you all have a lovely day <3

♡ masterlist | requests | kofi

some say that working for a pro hero is an honour, no matter what the position is. some may work behind the scenes— creating gear and suits that support the pros protecting their cities or livelihoods. others are in charge of things like reports, PR and even physical health. everyone plays an important role in a hero's career. there’s never a dull moment working in a team supporting the pros, especially if that pro was dynamight.

the offices for katsuki bakugou’s hero agency were always buzzing; usually because the clean up team were rushing through with stacks upon stacks of receipts and paperwork from the damage done during bakugou’s patrols— other times it would be his secretaries gossiping about how good he looks in his winter costume because damn did that tight black shirt do his arms justice but usually it was just because of the PR team contacting media outlets with excuses for bakugou’s potty mouth.

working for the hot headed blonde was more laid back than it seemed however, the man himself was rarely ever in the office as the number two hero but out on missions instead, the pay was pretty decent and no one ever really faced his angry wrath nor his sailor like mouth unless they had royally fucked up on their job. katsuki bakugou was someone to admire, he never gave a damn about what people had to say about him— he only cared about getting the job done and maybe that’s why most people enjoyed their time under the dynamight agency.

particularly this time, right around noon.

the doors to the floor of the secretary offices fly open, crashing loudly against the walls and drawing the staff from their daily work. this office space is around ten floors up and somehow you’ve made it in record time today. “where is he?” your voice crawls through the entrance of the room, settling over the workers like a thick fog— commanding, menacing and soft all at the same time. newbies cower in their boots, confused at what’s going on and it’s safe to presume those who have been working here for years have yet to give them the run down. “don’t make me ask again.” you add, eyes darkening as you cast your gaze across the room.

an intern approaches you, visibly shaking with fear which makes you loosen your stance and raise an eyebrow toward them. “he-uh... he just went for his lunch break—“ the stutter, gulping under the stare of another highly ranked pro hero. “in his...office— ma’am!” they stumble through their words, hiding behind the ungodly amount of paperwork that's been dumped into their hands. you make a mental note to chew bakugou out on the load his interns have been getting as well as your prior reasons for coming to his agency.

nonetheless you shake your head and drop the frown, a sweet smile quickly replacing the look that could put anyone six feet under if you really tried. with a tap to the side of your head, the visor to your hero costume rises above your eyes— allowing you to give the poor little intern a cheeky wink as thanks. “‘ppreciate it darling, have a good one!” you thank them properly with a ruffle to their hair, resuming your previous stance as you march the rest of the way through the office and kick open the door at the end of the room.

the intern sags, a whimper of relief passing from tired lips while they wipe at the sweat forming on their brow. they’d not even encountered their boss yet and they’d already come face to face with a top pro hero. “w-what’s her deal?”

a chuckle to the left of the poor kid startles them out of their mind; but they relax upon realising it’s just another one of dynamight’s secretaries— haruto, who’d apparently been working at the agency since it started up. “that’s nightsky, her quirk is lullaby, which allows her to control certain people if she hits the right note. she can also put them to sleep, if she really wants to,” the intern now perks up, remembering you from countless interviews on tv. you ranked pretty highly too, managing to the reach the top five this year along with others like shoto and deku. “she owns the hero agency across the street, herself and dynamight have been going at it ever since. it’s like they’re elderly lovers or somethin‘.”

“d-do you think they are? lovers like you say?” the intern asks a little too excitedly, touching at their messy hair from where you’d ruffled it. a crimson blush warms their cheeks, the idea of two pros playing enemies to the public eye but being lovers in secret seemed like something right out of a romance novel. how romantic.

haruto only chuckles at the newbie, standing to ruffle their hair as well before heading over to the coffee stand to fix himself a cup. “beats me,” he mumbles cheerily as he walks away, arms crossed behind his head. “but with the way yn bursts in here at the same time everyday to scold bakugou, and leaves with a huge smile on her face— i wouldn’t put it past them. they probably have a whole life together.” he taps his nose once as if he’s given away too much information, turning away without a word.

the intern hums, seemingly happy with their superior’s answer and easily heads back to work from there.

katsuki bakugou was bored out of his mind.

being a successful pro hero was all he’d ever wanted— being the number two pro hero just came with that. bakugou wanted to get to the top and show everyone he was the best of the best and with him being blessed with a powerful quirk there was no way he couldn’t be where he was today. yet, now that he’d finally achieved his dream all he wanted was a fucking break. the blonde stares down at his microwaveable bowl of home cooked stew, a frown cutting deep into his cheeks. it was his lunch break for crying out loud, but instead of scarfing down the delicious meal before him, the hero was forced to watch it cool as some dumb fuck reporter asked him questions over the phone.

the telephone interview ( or a waste of his fucking time, as katsuki had called it ) , had been set up by his PR team right after he’d taken down a couple low level villains downtown earlier this morning. katsuki had called it nothing but apparently the whole world and their mother had been on his ass, watching as he took the criminals down with ease and raving about how glorious dynamight was during that fight. the reporter drones on about said event, asking the same old questions and it takes everything within the hot headed pro not to blow a casket— he’d been promised a few extra days off from his manager if he could finish the interview without blowing something up and only god knew how much katsuki needed a break from dumb paps and some overly obsessive fans.

‘so, final question, how does it feel to be the number two?’

bakugou grunts, buying himself time to formulate an answer. what he really wants to do is kindly tell the reporter to fuck off and ask more original questions; but with the prize of a longer weekend hanging in the balance he bites his tongue for the sake of freedom. “well i—“

“katsuki bakugou.” your voice cuts through his sentence before he can finish, vermillion eyes land on your hero costume clad form as you burst into his office. a lazy smirk now decorates the hero’s lips, brow quirked with piqued interest. “i have a bone to pick with you, you motherfucker.”

the reporter on the other end falls silent as katsuki watches you, leaning back in his plush leather chair. you look slightly disheveled, costume torn in a few places, scrapes littering your skin as you pant heavily from exertion— chest rising and falling with every breath, it seems ragged and bakugou makes a mental note to remind you to get your ribs checked out later. “you’re late, shitty woman.” the number two sits up a little straighter as you enter the room, leaning up to look at you while you slam your hands down on the smooth marble desk— the force rattling the items he has neatly placed on it.

‘uh-? mister...dynamight-? sir?’

your eyes sweep the room while the pro before you deals with the reporter, mentioning to her that they’ll have to continue their call later. in the meantime, you note that katsuki’s office is meticulously clean, not a single book, folder or pen out of place— it’s high up with a perfect view of the city and the large windows allow golden beams of the sun to light up the room. the sound of a phone being placed back on its hook brings you from your thoughts; annoyance settling deep in your veins as you turn to face bakugou again.

“i had it,” you growl lowly, jumping the gun before he can even register what you’ve said. “i’m a grown woman, katsuki, i can handle a couple of criminals myself, you know.”

the blasting hero does nothing but smirk even wider at the irked tone that litters your voice, standing up as well to tower over you. bakugou still wears his own hero costume, considerably in less damage than yours— not a single tear had formed in his suit, mind the small scratches on his face no doubt from his stupid explosions creating some debris. leaning over the desk between you, bakugou uses a forefinger and thumb to tilt your head up, bringing you even closer than before. “clearly y’didn’t sweetheart, or otherwise that icyhot bastard wouldn’t have needed to back you up ‘fore i got there...” his timbre voice sends sparks of electricity through the air in the room, it’s low and gravelly which is enough to send shivers down your spine but you’re not about to let katsuki bakugou know that he makes you flustered— it’d go straight to his head, the cocky bastard.

nonetheless; you roll your eyes at the mention of your old classmate and fellow pro hero— shoto todoroki. yourself and shoto got along fairly well, even back in high school, so it was normal for you to work together from time to time; you both made a great team and your skill set complimented each other’s well. katsuki was just jealous. he never really got along with todoroki like that. “he didn’t back me up, we were working together,” you snap back at the blonde, shaking yourself from bakugou’s grasp and flicking him right between those alluring vermillion eyes. “something you might not be familiar with, mister number two.” bakugou backs away from you completely ( only wincing slightly ), making you smirk in victory. you’ve struck a nerve. deciding to leave the conversation at that, you turn to make your exit as he collapses back into his seat with a deathly scowl and a quiet ‘tch’. “like i said, i had it, dynamight. next time, don’t jump in uninvited.”

happy that you got the last laugh, you open the door to leave his office but pause when a wave of heat hits your back. you should have known, katsuki bakugou was never one to back down from a challenge and you certainly weren’t an exception. well shit. when you turn around to face the blonde, small explosions spark from his right hand and he has some what of a look of a feral pomeranian, blood red eyes full of rage.

you visibly gulp and katsuki growls out his next words with the upmost venom, designed to hurt and cut at your feelings. “well maybe y’sudda let the actual pros handle shit like this,” bakugou begins, voice rising in volume with every syllable that passes his lips. “we both know you’re no good at short distance attacks with your quirk, shitty woman, you couldn’t have taken those villains down without me.” the blonde finishes with a short ‘tsk’, settling the explosions that spark in his palms. now it’s your turn to be pissed. you could handle katsuki’s jealousy, his petty reasoning for joining you on your patrol and taking the credit but bashing you and your quirk? no way in hell would he get away with that.

“bakugou?”

“what? the fuck y’still here for?”

you roll your shoulders, gracing the blonde with a devilish smile as your eyes light up mischievously. “why are you hitting yourself, bakugou?” you sing, hitting just the right notes that will have him under your spell, the tone in your voice as smooth as chocolate. katsuki’s eyes widen in horror and before he can stop himself, his free hand comes up to slap him across the face. that was your quirk, lullaby. you had the ability to sing your way out of any situation— adjusting the tune of your song to control the actions of certain individuals or groups of people. it was near impossible to resist but the more people you used your quirk on, the weaker your control over them was. that doesn’t mean you weren’t going to use it on bakugou from time to time. the blonde tries to fight it, he really does, but he’s no use up against your ability— losing all control of his own body. he grunts on impact, looking bewildered for a moment as he moves to grab his own wrist to stop any impending blows. “not so cocky now, are we dynamight?”

“h-hey!” he stammers, refusing to accept defeat against you. “shitty woman, no fuckin’ fair. you know i can’t use my quirk against you in here.” he was right, while your quirk was poor against short distance attacks ( meaning you had to result to hand to hand combat ), bakugou couldn’t use his own in enclosed spaces without hurting anyone he didn’t want to. especially you, he would never hurt you intentionally unless you were sparring.

“shoulda thought about that before you decided to taunt me, you know better than to piss off your wife, katsu.” you chide, still smiling just as brightly as you were earlier, before taking a seat on his desk and folding one leg over the other. it was quite amusing to watch your husband of four years fight against himself— everyone knew katsuki had an unbelievable amount of strength even without his quirk so he was definitely beating himself up ( literally and figuratively ).

bakugou looks up at you through gritted teeth while he struggles to keep the wrist you have control of down and you almost feel bad for the guy. “turn it off, dammit!” he curses at you, said hand rising above his free one to tug at his own sun kissed locks.

feigning interest in the objects on your lover's desk, you ignore his pleas for you to release him from the holds of your quirk and hum “apologise.”

“f-fuck... fuck y-you.”

you sigh knowingly, picking up a hand crafted paperweight, covered in glitter and sequin stars,  inspecting it carefully. bakugou could hardly ever say the word ‘sorry’, it was just in his nature and he’d been that way since you were young. part of you knows it’s because of how he was treated as a child where people praised him for his quirk. that meant he became prideful yes, thought highly of himself too and struggled to admit when others were right...but he had his own way of apologising— through actions instead of words.

like when you first moved in together and he had broken your favourite mug, instead of saying he was sorry, he spent all night super glueing it back together for you to use in the morning. to him, actions were louder than words but you right now; you were being mean and just wanted to hear him say it.

“fuck fuck, fine. alright. ‘m sorry.” bakugou lets out a strained growl as the hand you control gives a particularly hard yank to his hair. “i’m sorry for lying about your quirk. it’s not shitty…’n ‘m sorry for... barging in on your patrol. again.” you grin, satisfied with his answer and grab the hand he keeps down with his wrist. you press a simple kiss to the skin, making your husband blush as you release your hold over the limb. katsuki shyly yanks it from your grip, rubbing over the area that you’d kissed, shooting his gaze to the side in the process. “jesus shitty woman, if i don’t die from being a hero or of old fucking age, i know for a fact you’ll be the one to kill me first.” he mutters harshly under his breath, but you know he’s only kidding from the way his hands now fall to your thighs and his fingers rub small circles into the exposed skin.

“pro hero nightsky murders number two pro hero dynamight in cold blood!” you joke as if you’re reading a headline in a news article, katsuki only glares up at you— making no effort to curse you out because of your shitty joke, which causes you to frown while leaning  forward to brush some of his hair away from his face. “you know i’m only kidding right? is something wrong? did i come at a bad time?”

it’s only now that you notice the exhausted expression that paints your lover’s face. he’s always up to playing this game with you, at the same time every day— you come to bother him about some trivial matter, tease him a bit and leave with a kiss. but today, you can tell he’s trying to hide something from you. something that bothers him.

bakugou shakes his head, leaning into your touch as you play with his hair— a habit he’d picked up from even before you started dating back in high school, although he’d never admit that to you if you’d asked. “nothin’, just this stupid fuckin’ interview the PR team want me to do about the fight today. the one i took from you,” your husband smirks slightly at the thought and you roll your eyes for what seems like the nine hundredth time that afternoon. “didn’t get to finish my fuckin’ lunch but they promised me a couple days off if i got the interview done.”

“better the number two than me, eh? but don’t worry, i’ll order us some take out tonight,” your suggest, voice coming out as soft and mingling with your slight giggle— a quiet melody to katsuki’s ears. your only reply from him is a grunt, so you stop your fingers in his hair and watch as he scowls up at you. you quickly press a kiss to the explosive hero’s lips, pulling away to reveal his blushing face. you smile, knowing that you’re the only one who can make him flush red like that. “there’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?”

if there’s one thing katsuki bakugou hates, it’s how you read him like an open book. one look at him and it’s like you know exactly how he’s feeling. he can never hide anything from you— sometimes that both pisses him off and reminds him of how much he is loved by you. he hesitates with his words at first but decides to confide in you anyway, knowing that you’ll get it out of him in one way or another. “‘m worried about you, dumbass.” he mumbles, nudging your hand with his head as if to ask you to continue your earlier actions. “i know you had it, yer fuckin’ powerful but you looked so tired in that fight today ‘n i thought something bad was gonna happen to you, y’fuckin’ shitty woman.”

he toys with the tears in your costume now, smoothing over scars from your bumps and scratches as a result of combat. “oh lovebug,” you mumble, cupping his cheeks to make him look up at you. “you know i can handle my own, they just took a lot out of me today. i promise i’ll—“

“that’s not it, fuck,” katsuki cuts you off, brows furrowing deeply as he grabs your wrists— pulling your from his desk and into his lap. he holds you close, burying his nose into your neck as if you’re going to disappear. you sit still, a little shocked by his actions and his quick change of mood, but wrap your arms around him anyway and slowly fall silent. “it's just that...we’re both pros now and at the top of our ranks ‘n we both have a lot to lose.” you instinctively cling tighter to katsuki, mind flickering to the homemade paperweight you’d spotted on his desk earlier... causing your heart clench.

your daughter had made that for him during her time at preschool for fathers day; something your husband cherished with his whole heart, even if the thing was still sticky with glue when he’d gotten it.

katsuki loved taiga more than anything in the world and if something had happened to her because of your line of work, you don’t know what either of you would do. “what if something were to happen to you? or to me? or shit...both of us? who would look after taiga? you know what happens to kids who end up in the fucking system.” bakugou pauses, the same tired expression from earlier now sitting heavily on his face. “i just want you to be careful, stop pushing yourself so much, y’fuckin’ dumbasss. we have a family take care of. it’s not just you and i anymore.”

you nod, grasping onto your lover’s clothes tightly. the air is flooded with a comfortable silence, the pair of you holding one another right the way through it. you treasure moments like this, where the world stops and katsuki shows you another, more vulnerable side to him.

he would never admit or show this to anyone; but he cares , more than he lets on... especially for you and especially for your daughter. he was attentive, paid attention to you and your weaknesses and helped you overcome them. it was something you couldn’t stop loving about him. “i promise to be more careful, for you and for taiga,” you say quietly after he’s done scolding you, brushing your lips against the side of his head in a soft peck. “that must’ve been why jumped in earlier, you were worried about me?”

“somethin’ like that, you crazy woman,,” bakugou whispers, there’s a tinge of fondness to his ruby eyes as you pull away to look at him, his hands settling on your hips while he moves up to press a soft kiss to your awaiting lips. “didn’t want you getting yourself killed.”

you stay with katsuki in the office for a little longer than usual, laying on his chest as he prattles away about everything and anything even though he should be working. you make sure he eats his lunch, despite how cold it is and promise him a boat load of take out when he comes home later— your sweet cuddling session only being cut short by a call from your assistant to tell you that your daughter is ready to be picked up from school. “better finish that interview katsu, taiga’ll be happy to know her daddy’s getting some time off to spend with her soon,” you remind him as you gather yourself together, your husband pouting ( he swears on his life he wasn’t ) from the loss of your warmth in his lap. “she has a lot to tell you.”

the blonde quirks a brow, watching you as you head for the door. “yeah? like what?” a hand comes up to cover your mouth as you giggle at his curious face. sometimes, when you look at katsuki, you could see how much your daughter resembles him, right down to his mannerisms. she had somehow inherited the shape of your nose and the brightness of your smile ( the only reason barely anyone realised bakugou had a kid, he never fucking smiled. ) but the bakugou genes were incredibly strong so there was no way she’d miss out on those crimson eyes and uncontrollable, untameable messy blonde hair.

she even acted like him. a very brazen little girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it, so she had her daddy wrapped around her stubby little fingers.

you grin, eyes sparkling with the same mischief as before. “oh y’know, just her little crush on midoriya’s boy.”

“yer fuckin’ kiddin’ me.”

“i would never joke about such a thing,  just make sure you’re home in time for dinner, number two!” you squeal, dashing out of the office before your husband has time to demand more answers from you. slamming the door shut, you chuckle at the melody of curses that leave your husbands mouth before heading off to pick up your daughter.

on your way, you admit to yourself , that maybe you didn’t have this fight in the bag. but what you did have; was a loving husband, a beautiful daughter and the best life you could have ever imagined.

extended ending:

“so, taiga... daddy hears you have a little... crush on someone.”

you’re in the kitchen, washing the dishes from tonight’s dinner as bakugou wipes tentatively at your little girl’s messy face— she was a poor eater but it’s something you didn’t mind, not when your husband was so soft with cleaning her up. you can see them from where you stand, watching katsuki knowingly.

taiga looks up from the colouring you’d set out for her when she finished up her meal, crimson eyes shining brightly as she fixes her gaze on her father. “mhm mhm!! he’s mister deku’s son! and i’m gonna marry him!”

“no yer not.” bakugou answers simply, looking close to popping a vein.

“why not?”

your husband scoffs, throwing away the tissue he’d used to clean his little girl up before joining her in her colouring. “‘cause daddy says so ‘n boys are gross, especially ones who’s dad’s look like broccoli.” the older ash blonde seems satisfied with his answer, grinning to himself as you dry the dishes with an amused smile.

but taiga isn’t finished, swapping her green crayon for a red one to finish up her drawing. “but you’re a boy...and mommy still married you!”

bakugou pauses, lost for words as taiga continues to colour— humming the theme song from a commercial for some of deku’s merch. you can tell it’s taking everything katsuki’s got not to combust right there on the spot, but he can’t stay mad at taiga for too long, not when she’s describing her wedding and how her daddy is going to walk her down the isle.

setting the dishes to dry and towelling your hands; you smile to yourself as you admire your family. some would say you had it all, and looking at the pair of bakugou’s now, who were you to deny the truth.

[softforloki]

Hey could you write something where reader is new to the team but before she joined she was a huge Loki fan girl. Most of her sleep wear is Loki themed and she’s got a ton of Loki plushies. It’s why she keeps the door locked. But one morning she forgets to close her door and Loki walks by and sees a collection of Loki stuffed animals and some clothing items. Instead of teasing her about it, he buys her a huge ass Loki teddy bear that’s almost to big to fit through the door but he manages. Just something cute and fluffy to brighten my awful mood.

ACK! YES! Omg this is such a cute idea thank you for sending in an idea.

For the record I am always accepting requests, but I may not write every idea I’m sent. So please if you have something you’d like to see send it in! 

Edit: OH MY OSIFSOIOSFDOJ GOD

I shit you not right as I was finished writing this, I highlighted the whole fic to put it in a word counter and i somehow managed to DELETE THE WHOLE FUCKING THING IFHOIFHWERIHGWOEIRFGOWI

If this seems a little fast paced and poorly written, then I’m really sorry but I had to rewrite literally this whole thing and I was really annoyed about it aosifhaoifhaois

Summery: Loki’s your favorite Avenger, and your personal decor can attest to that. Can you keep your passion under wraps when you move into the Avenger’s Tower?

Warnings: Very little swearing, just me loosing my mind

Masterlist

Word Count: 1,375

Caring in Secret

You’d always had a soft spot for villains.

You ate up every enemies-to-lovers novel, movie, or television show you could get your grubby hands on. You firmly believed that everyone had good in them. No matter what they did, everyone could be redeemed, and that they could put good into the world.

Maybe that made you naive, maybe it made you an idealist. No matter what people thought of you, you stayed true to your philosophy.

It was what had drawn you to Loki it the first place.

The man who had once brought ruin to your city was now working with the people who’d saved it. It was the redemption arch of your dreams.

The Avengers had some kind of PR team that seemed determined to bring Loki out of the shadows he lurked in by putting out more and more merchandise based around the God of Mischief. Loki themed graphic tees, pajamas, plushies, and even office supplies hit the market by storm, and you were at the front of the line to buy them.

You found yourself practically swimming in Loki merch, particularly stuffed toys. You had an army of about a dozen of them displayed on your bed and the shelves surrounding it. Something about being surrounded by the likeness of one of the most dangerous men in the world brought you so much comfort. Maybe it was the memory that people could change. That no matter what happened, they could get better.

For the longest time, you thought this was the closet you’d ever get to any of the Avengers. For better or for worse, this soon changed.

You didn’t officially work for SHIELD, so you didn’t expect to ever work with the heroes who kept the city- and the rest of the world- safe. You were a criminal psychologist working for the New York Police Department (an occupation that fit your idealist morals surprisingly well). You were good at your job, good enough that you’d been brought in by Director Fury to interrogate captured HYDRA agents and other captured bad guys.

Evidently, you were good enough at your job that you were promoted from everyday crooks to Avengers Level Threats.

Your knees went weak when you took your first steps into the incredible tower. You realized with a jolt that you were going to be living here from now on. You were living in a dream.

It wasn’t that day that you felt the electric shock of mortification about your admiration for the dark-haired demigod. When Loki (the real, non-stuffed Loki) shook your hand begrudgingly and introduced himself, you suddenly remembered your socks pattered with golden horned helmets tucked safely into your boots. 

You took care to lock the door to your bedroom whenever you left it. There wasn’t any shame in having an idol that you bought merchandise of, but it became a tad strange when you lived in the same building as that person.

You later discovered that the Avengers could get their own products for free, so a lot of them ironically wore clothes bearing their own or another team member’s resemblance. You still opted to keep your Loki treasure trove hidden away, and keep your graphic tees hidden under sweaters and zipped jackets. It was one thing when Thor wore hoodies with his brother’s name stamped across the back, you figured it would be a little less funny if you, a newbie, did the same.

Besides, you liked Loki, and you were pretty sure he liked you, too. You’d worked hard to crack the walls he’d set up and slip past his defenses. You didn’t want to jeopardize your friendship with him by revealing your boarder-line obsession. 

So you were diligent to always lock your door.

Until one day.

Two HYDRA agents who’d been causing the team problems for months were brought in, so you had to rush from your room to do your job. Halfway to the interrogation rooms, you realized with a chilling jolt that in the hurry, you’d left your door swinging, not just unlocked, but wide open.

“No one’s gonna go up there, for now.” You muttered, reasoning that it would just be a waste of time to run back up to shut the door. “Everyone’s busy down here.”

You ignored the growing pit in your stomach and hurried on.

. . .

Loki was going up to your room.

He hadn’t seen you in the chaos of bringing the agents in, so he decided to pop up to your room to make sure you knew what was happening. It had been easy to slip away undetected from the mass of people, reliving, even.

As Loki approached your room, he noticed your door hanging open. Odd, he thought, knowing this was out of character. You probably where down on the lower levels after all, if this was the case.

Despite knowing he should turn away, respect your privacy, or even close your door out of courtesy. That damnable curiosity that had plagued him for centuries pulled him closer, though. Just for a peek.

Bookshelf teeming with books, partially made bed, serval small plush versions of himself- wait, what?

Loki blinked a few times, sure he’d imagined them, but there they were. It was as if he’d seen the toys, his eyes had been opened to the rest of your room. He noticed the pajama pants patterned with his signature daggers draped over the foot of your bed. He saw you laptop, which had be decked out with Loki-themed stickers. He nearly stepped on a notebook emblazoned with his helmet lying on the floor.

Once the shock had worn off, he found himself somewhat flattered. It was charming, seeing this side of you. He knew he had some sort of fanbase (though for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why), he would’ve never imagined you were part of it.

His lips curled up in a found smile.

. . .

The knock startled you. You quickly slid your laptop under your covers, threw off your Loki-hoodie, stuffed it under your bed, and in record time answered the door.

You were well practiced in opening your bedroom door just enough so that you could see outside, but whoever was there couldn’t see in. That person, to your delight and somewhat horror; was Loki. A small smirk spread across his features when he saw you. 

“Hello, there.” He greeted smoothly. “I have something for you.”

“Something for me?” You echoed, raising a brow. “What the occasion?”

“No occasion.” He lilted. “Just something I thought you could add to your collection.”

“My- oh.”

Loki wrestled the comically large teddy bear through your doorway, placing it gently on the floor. You watched as it tipped over from the weight of its own head and fell onto your feet. The gesture would’ve been sweet, if not for the fact that the bear was costumed in Loki’s garb. You felt your heart sinking longer and loner as you continued to stare at the toy. “How did you know?” You asked, your voice a near whisper.

“I came up to get you for something a few days ago. You’d left your door opened.” Loki admitted, his smile dropping a fraction.

“Oh,” You said again, wishing you could curl in on yourself and die in a pit of embarrassment. You lowered your head.

 “You needn’t be ashamed, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Loki quickly said, gently closing his hands around your biceps. “It’s perfectly alright.”

“You’re not upset?”

“No, not at all. It’s quite endearing, actually.”

He released one of your arms, placing a finger under your chin to tilt your gaze up to meet his. He gave you a reassuring smile. You tentatively matched it. 

You wrapped your arms around his torso, pressing your face securely into his chest. He held you, letting you hide.

“Perhaps once the public sees how important you are,” He whispered in your ear, sending shivers up your spine. “and there is merchandise of you as well, I’ll collect all that I can and decorate my room the same way.”

You groaned, hands fisting in his clothes. “Please don’t.”

He chuckled, his fingers ghosting over your back. “Just try and stop me, darling.”

[the-empress-7]

Organizing a royal tour takes a lot of time and the very first step starts at the political level. It's not the royal who gets up one day and say "Hey you know what, let's visit that tropical country in Africa so we can show the world we are not racist anymore and then I'll get to buy so many amazing new frocks." Lol no.

If the govt of the country has or intends to have some ties with UK, if they want to.forge new economic, geographical, political alliances, then their 2 govts start discussing how and when these alliances will be formalized. Then a lot official paper work gets formalized, or at least the time does. Most times, a smart govt will not just make money deals. It's usually a barter system. For eg. abc gives, say raw material - steel, ore, oil etc. In return xyz gives something else of equal value that's needed by abc, say - wheat, rice, sugar. It's tricky to imagine this for us regular folks, but even a country like Jamaica, Bahamas, Belize likely has something of value to UK, it her than just Goodwill. This is not exploitation, despite of the colonial past. These are valuable economic alliances.

A royal doesn't just land on the airstrip one fine day. Once all the political understandings are reached, then the host country has to officially invite the foreign dignitary. Whether it's a politician or a royal, they still have to accept at their end. Still have to check their own availability, and can decline. Without the explicit understanding that the visiting royal will be hosted as a respected guest, the visit wouldn't be finalized. You think the UK govt will just send Will or Catherine there and leave them to fend for themselves just because they are nice and popular and grown up enough to take care of themselves? Hell no! The govt will take care of their whole contingent through out. We haven't heard of any untoward incidences involving the KP team there. That means at least officially, so far this tour is going well.

As opposed to this, the Oceania tour was a disaster. There were rumblings with the staff, Aus staff, organizers, last minute changes to the program. The organizers we're scrambling throughout to accommodate HnM. That's a bad look. Neither the hosts nor the UK govt liked that one bit. No significant alliances we're forged. Infact, Andy had to go and do damage control and carry out the work quietly which was expected of the Sussexes. Say what you may about him, but the govt clearly showed more confidence in him than the Sussexes and that tells you everything.

Kate's lovely wardrobe, Will taking the salute that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's what we see, but the work is being done by countless other nameless people who make actual deals that benefit both the countries. Will and Kate just have to do the public part of the grunt work - walk abouts, being on video while someone says something tone deaf or nasty, talk about their children or their homelife etc. This may not necessarily be the most pleasant job at times but they grin and bear it. Because they know what's at stake. In return, they also bear the responsibility of the tours "failing" because the public or the media only sees them so you blame who you see. That sucks.

Long story short, the Jamaican PM saying something rude is a departure from agreed to protocol. It's an unnecessary flex. Jamaica isn't doing WnK a special faviby hosting them. So to dump on them like this is a bad look. It also shows a disrespect to the other countries hosting the royals. And we may never know this, but seriously throw a wrench in political relations.

Blaming will and Kate somehow, for having a failed tour, or reveling in the fact that they may somehow have been tone-deaf to visit the countries or may have somehow not known enough about the countries before visiting them shows an infantile approach to global politics. There's more to how the world is run than mere optics and PR.

(Thank you for listening to my Ted talk. I know you didn't ask for it. But seeing how immature even grown up, respected reporters are is just plain infuriating. Smart, Intelligent people world over read these papers and news. And not all of us are stupid to believe everything that's being said.)

Thank you for the Ted Talk anon, I appreciate and agree with what you wrote.

[nikethestatue]

Ok this is a more business take on why CC3 may need to come out before ACOTAR5 if Elriel was Sarah’s original plan. I would love your thoughts!

- the fallout from the fandom could mean lots of lost revenue . I was looking at JLA’s fan fall out with her recent novel even though the book rating rallied the amount of “reviews” on good reads is less than half of the last book because of bad press at the beginning. That probably translates to tens of thousands of books that were not bought because of it. (Went from 150 thousand to 60 thousand)

-BB may think this is risky given the unusual hype for a certain redhead with clear teal eyes 👀.

- Sarah has not done any ACOTAR press most likely because it will destroy the current hype around the book that the bonus chapter created with the red headed herring 😉.

- Sarah has done interviews about how she loves Elain, loves gardening and doesn’t change her story… but that has not deterred that crackship lackies from spreading propaganda

-CC3 can lay more ground work to change peoples minds and also potentially assassinate one of the characters’ “character”

- I would be very surprised if this hype hasn’t been talked about at the PR level with Sarah and her team hence the interviews with the above mentioned plugs

- I know Sarah was planning Elriel and I wouldn’t be surprised if BB wanted a potential love triangle with a woman because (women hating women 💰💵💰💵) so she threw them (BB) a bone with the bonus but now it’s turned into a monster they can’t control?

Sorry this is long 😅

I would agree with most of this!

i think CC3 might be setting up Elriel for Elriel book, and will hopefully put an end to Gwynriel. Especially if it becomes somewhat obvious that the relationships will be between Lucien/Elain/Azriel and not Elain vs Gwyn.

I dont think SJM would ever write Elain vs Gwyn. So she has to put an end to gwynriel--either by removing her from the narrative or giving her a separate LI where it's obvious that it won't be with Azriel.

I think that yes, given the backlash against JLA, BB might be keen on prepping Elriel in CC3 for the Elriel book. So that it's not 'abrupt' (I mean, it wouldn't be anyway, but thanks to Gwynriels, now everything is pushed back, because they are obsessed and threatening to tank the book and set themselves on fire), but obviously the level of crazy is really really high in this fandom, and even if SJM maybe wasn't even planning to do this originally, now she has to 'set up' Elriel (yet AGAIN). Because clearly, large swaths of this fandom somehow did not understand or refused to accept the set up in 3 freaking books!

Toddlers behave better than some of these TIkTokers.

Thanks Gwynriel. Now we have to wait until 2024 for the Elriel book.

[sidehugsnsideblogs]

FCSU #82 It’s A Departure

All too soon Abby's eighteenth birthday rolled around. After much soul-searching she came to the conclusion that her father's church, now called The Restored Fundamentalist Church of Spiritual Unity, was the true path to salvation. Like many girls before her, including her mother, she began work on a wedding dress. She twirled around in front of her sisters showing off the textured skirt and fashion forward bodice.

Autumn loved the dress but it also forced her to confront the reality that Abby WAS going back. They'd managed to repair their relationship over the years and it tore her apart to imagine the house without her. In the months leading up to and following Abby’s departure Autumn coped with her grief through meditation and painting. Her skill was improving and sims from around town started to order commissions. She was starting to make a bit of money, too.

For Abby's birthday her mother made her a cake resembling a hamburger, the only food other than FCSU salad that she was willing to eat. She blew out the candles and aged up, finishing high school with a B grade. Abby sat down with her siblings who couldn't for the life of them understand why she wanted to go back to a cult so badly.

She gently explained that she belonged with her people, living a simpler life. "It's okay if you can adapt to the townie world but I cannot. In order to thrive I need my community around me." They were all crestfallen but understood that it was her choice to make.

"You all can come back too if you want, once you're done school." She added. None of them seemed particularly enthused by the idea. Nevertheless Abby hugged everyone and told them she loved them. She broke down when it came to saying goodbye to Allie-Jayne.

"Thank you, Mother. I love you." She whispered. "I love you too Abby, just remember, you are always welcome here." Abby nodded and then left to catch her bus to Oasis Springs. It felt like the end of an era, like everything was changing.

A lot had changed over the years in Brindleton Bay as a whole over the last few years. Ryder, Thomas and Alex now dominated the high school football team. All three of them were easy-going, popular and active. Ryder and Thomas, dissatisfied with the svelte frame they inherited from Isaac began bulking up when they hit their teens. Ryder had grown into a stereotypical heartthrob type. Thomas was determined to excel in all aspects of life, somehow managing to be equal parts jock and nerd. Alex was the funny one of the group and loved to showboat his athleticism.

All three boys had been trained by their aunt Becca-Dawn who'd moved out to Brindleton Bay recently. She thought starting over in a smaller town surrounded by family might ease her anxiety. She still did freelance programming work but was also ready to get back into the fitness game. Becca  was still on good terms with Penny, she just wanted to strike out on her own and give Penny and Greyson some privacy since they’d finally moved in together.

The hardest part of moving was leaving Lily behind. Lily was Penny’s cat but Becca-Dawn had fallen for her too. Her first few weeks were rocky as she tried to adjust to not having a pet. At Teresa’s urging she adopted an adorable Boston Terrier mix named Peanut. She got along well with Hannah’s new puppy, Hugo.

Back in San Myshuno Penny’s documentary finally premiered. It was picked up by several festivals which meant she had to go on a PR Tour to give some insight and interviews for the film. She never dreamt that her project would gain tract outside of Newport or Oasis Springs. Between her documentary and her iconic red carpet looks her fame was skyrocketing.