#but with max he becomes the soft-hearted guy

[driftcompatiblesblog]

• according to travis beacham max is somewhere 8-9 years old. english bulldog live an average of 7-11 years. so max has about 1-2 years left to live. and this process can accelerate, because chuck died. imagine: max is gone. herc had lost the last thing that connected him to chuck. he never recovered from the loss of his son and now he has lost another family member. herc was left alone with his grief. i–

• it can also be assumed that herc gave chuck a dog for his 12th birthday (or 13th birthday, but i prefer the first option) before entering the academy (a year after the attack of scissure and the death of angela) in the hope of compensating for his absence

• also english bulldog have a friendly, patient, but stubborn nature. honestly i think young chuck was just like that. and that somewhere deep down this little boy is alive

[imfinereallyy]

Steve always tells people "I love you" before saying bye to them. Maybe it's the years of Upside Down trauma, worrying that these words could be his last. Maybe it's the fact his parents never say it before leaving (if they even bothered to say anything to him at all). Maybe it's because each time his parents were away he thinks that this might be the time they never come back, and he isn't even sure if they love him. Maybe it's due to his years of King Steve, hurting others more than loving.

It doesn't really matter though, the why. What matters is that Steve has made it his mission to always do it before his goodbyes (especially after round three of the Upside Down). Always making sure to even say a quick "Love you! Bye!" as he is rushing out the door.

At first, everyone is a bit put off by it. Especially Nancy who at first thought it was a love confession until Steve turns to Jonathan and says the exact same thing. The kids think he's being gross and mushy, even an exasperated "mommmm" is thrown in his direction every once in and while. Robin is the only one who is receptive to it right away. A soft, "love you too dingus" she says to him, no matter if they are attached to the hip or in a screaming match that day.

Eventually, though, everyone accepts this as Steve's new normal. Gentle smiles, light snorts, and bruising punches (thanks max) are the responses given. But then after round four of the Upside Down, everyone seems to now embrace this part of Steve. Never forgetting to say "I love you too" in return.

Steve's heart comes a little closer to healing each time.

Steve only begins to realize it's a problem though when it comes to Eddie.

Steve finds that Eddie is the only one he has to resist saying it to. See, Steve over the years has become better at providing verbal affection. Note, his "I love you's" had blossomed into "I am proud of you" and "I'm worried about you" and so much more. He has grown out of the years of repressed emotion (well, he was actively learning to at least).

What Steve hasn't gotten better at is touch. Steve yearns for it, craves it in fact, but can't find it in him to reach out. His fear of rejection is too great. And Steve's friends don't really give out touch to those who don't actively seek it.

Eddie though may be the touchiest person he has ever met. It's small stuff at first.

A shoulder brush.

A clap on the back.

A poke in the ribs.

But then it soon turns into bigger stuff.

A boop on the nose.

A tug at his hair.

A goddamn hug from behind.

It's overwhelming, it's intoxicating. Steve can't really tell if it's good or bad for his health. And Steve knows if he asks Eddie to stop he will. Despite his touchy tendencies, the guy understood boundaries. But the problem is that Steve doesn't want him to stop.

The problem is that Eddie's constant physical affection is starting to collide with Steve's need to express verbal affection. The problem is Eddie is starting to fill the rest of the void in his heart. The problem is Steve...

The problem is Steve has to stop himself from expressing his normal "I love you's" because he knows it will mean something different, something more this time. He knows everyone will notice the difference after their years of hearing him say it.

So, Steve never says it to Eddie.

It's no biggie really. Or so Steve thinks until Eddie corners him in the kitchen during one of their game nights.

"Steve, do you...do you have a problem with me?" Eddie asks shyly, staring down at his boots. It was an odd look on him as Eddie was normally larger than life, commanding a room. It hurt Steve to see him like this.

"What? Why would you think that?" Steve asks shocked.

"Not really a no, Harrington." Eddie chuckles darkly, "And don't think I didn't notice but you kinda have a hangup about saying I love you to everyone except me. And ya know, I wouldn't really be offended really if it was cause we haven't known each other very long and ya know, cause I'm a guy. But then, I see you saying it to Argyle. Real easily in fact. And it wouldn't bother me if it was because we weren't close, but Stevie—" Eddie's voice cracks a little, as he slips into his nickname for Steve. Steve knows now, how serious Eddie is being. "—you've gotten to know me better than anyone in this whole stupid state. And that's including Wayne. Hell, you might even be my best friend even though I'm not yours. I'm not delusional I know no one can knock Robin from that spot." Eddie is rambling so hard that he gives Robin a run for her money. Steve thinks for a moment, that the two have been spending too much time together.

Steve stays silent as he walks towards Eddie to stand directly in front of him. Eddie continues without noticing. "Then I worry, it's because maybe. Maybe it's because you found out that I am gay. And that, you had a problem with that. That you have a problem with me." Eddie's voice starts off shaky but then turns into steel as he finishes. He makes sure to keep direct eye contact with Steve, driving his point.

Steve first thinks, wait Eddie's gay? Then Steve processes everything, panics, and loses his filter completely. Throws his worry about losing his best friend (don't tell Robin, but she's his soulmate so she'll forgive him) out the window, and throws his heart on the table instead. "Jesus, no Eds. I—shit. It's not that at all. Like I don't care about that stuff. You know that. I love Robin regardless."

Eddie gives him a look that screams, we both know why it's different. Steve pushes forwards anyway. "And it's not that I don't want to say it to you. It's just, it's different okay. Like with everyone else, I don't have to worry about it being bullshit. And god that sounds bad, but I don't know how else to say it. And I just know if I say it, if I say it you'll just know it's different, and then you'll hate me and it's one thing for the others to not say it back at first, but I think it might kill me if you didn't. And that's not fair to put that pressure on you." God, now Steve could give Robin a run for her money.

"Sweetheart—"

Steve cuts him off, he knows if he doesn't say it now he won't say it all. "God Eddie if you knew how much I cared—if you knew how much I worried every time you leave. If you knew how much I worry about how I don't say it to you when you leave, how I might not ever get to say it, it would terrify you, Eddie. This isn't a normal amount of affection. This is like—what's the word—astronomical amounts of affection. Cause Eddie, it takes everything in me every single time you walk away to not say I. Love. You."

Steve hears it, how he says it. He knows how it's going to sound before it comes out. How it's different. How it's more. Steve closes his eyes in shame.

Eddie's hand cups Steve's cheek. "Baby."

The hush, but the firm tone makes Steve open his eyes. Eddie has gotten so close they are breathing the same air. Steve's heart stutters.

"Baby," Eddie says again, before giving Steve the one affectionate touch he hasn't gotten yet.

A kiss.

A soft, heartstopping kiss. A kiss that has Steve's soul bursting at the seams.

Steve leans his forehead against Eddie's, feeling content for the first time in weeks. Knowing this was Eddie's way of saying it back.

Though, the delicate "I love you too." that Eddie whispers against Steve's lips doesn't hurt either.

Not even a little bit.

—

sometimes I set out to write a quick little thing…and sometimes that little thing turns into a big thing. enjoy :)

p.s. I apologize if there are any tense changes, I wrote this at 1 am lol

[cutielando]

always | m.v.

synopsis: in which you're always there to comfort him

my masterlist

Max got hate.

It was a known fact, but one you vehemently despised. It broke your heart seeing the comments on posts, hearing what people thought of your boyfriend and what things they had to say about him. 

Everyone hated people when they were at their best, they loved dragging them through the mud. Max had started getting a lot of hate after winning his second World Champion title. Due to the fact that he always stated that he didn't care about anyone's opinion of him, it only added to the fuel of hate already coming in.

The biggest amount of hate came swirling in after he had won his third World Championship. Max had absolutely dominated the 2023 season, rendering it obvious that he would be the one ending up winning the Championship once again. 

As amazing as that was, the fans didn't seem to share the same thoughts. They started spreading hate that Max was taking all the fun out of the sport, that the races had become predictable and a lot of fans had given up watching because they had got sick of seeing Max win all the time. It broke your heart when you would see the toll it would have on your boyfriend.

The night after you guys celebrated in style in the clubs of Qatar, the mood dropped when you guys made it back to the hotel and Max finally opened his phone.

You had been taking your make-up off, starting on your night skincare routine, while Max settled on changing out of his clothes and getting into bed.

"Max?" you called out, the silence coming from the room being unusual for your boyfriend. He was always one to talk about everything and anything while you did your skincare, knowing you would get bored otherwise.

No response.

It made you slightly suspicious, but you let it go for the moment, figuring he had just fallen asleep.

Finishing up, you dried your hands and tied your hair in a loose ponytail before exiting the bathroom. You, however, were not prepared for the sight that met your eyes.

Max was sitting at the edge of the bed, silently sobbing in his hands, his phone discarded on the floor by his feet. You immediately sat down next to him, enveloping him in your arms.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, you're okay" you cooed in his ear, rubbing soothing circles on his back and whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

His sobs were wrecking his body, his tears soaking up your shirt. He was holding onto you tightly, afraid that you would just vanish in thin air if he let go of you for even a second. You didn't know what had brought this on, Max had never been one to cry or let what others said about him affect him. 

His sobs slowly started dissipating and turning into little sniffles after a while, his body now void of any tension, slumped against your own tiredly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" your voice was soft, your hands still caressing his soft hair and his back. 

He was silent for a moment, so you didn't press any further. You didn't want to make him feel obligated to talk about what was bothering him if he didn't want to.

"They all hate me" he spoke up, making your eyebrows furrow.

"Who hates you?" you questioned, still keeping up your soothing motions.

"The fans. They all hate me because I've come first this season. They're all saying they hate the sport because of me and that I never give anyone else a chance and it-s getting boring. It's not my fault that I win, I just do it because I like it" he confessed, sniffling before straightening up and pulling away from you.

You shook your head, watching him as he picked up his phone from off the ground. He unlocked it and glanced at it for a second before handing it to you.

"He's taking all the fun out of the sport, I gave up watching it because of him"

"He should honestly just give up and make some room for other people. Nobody likes him winning all the time"

"He's definitely cheating, there is no way someone is that dominant compared to all the other drivers. Does Red Bull honestly want us to believe he's winning on pure talent and with a good car? Not buying it"

"Max should go and kill himself, nobody wants him in this sport anymore. It was fun at first, but now it's making me hate even hearing about Formula 1"

The comments made your heart break little by little. You couldn't understand how people could be so cruel, how they could hate on someone so dedicated and talented, judging him for anything he did.

"Oh, baby. None of those things are true, Max" you said to him while cupping his face, but he shook his head and looked down.

"It is, they're right. Maybe I should just retire and stop racing, that way everything could go back to normal" he shrugged, but the idea sounded ridiculous to you.

"Baby, listen to me. Those people have no idea what they're talking about. They have no idea how much work you put in during the whole year to be able to drive the car. Nobody knows how much pressure you're under, they have no idea. Baby, you've worked so hard to get here and it's finally paying off. You're so talented, so driven and so dedicated to this sport, your wins and titles are just the fruit of your labor. Don't let people tear you down just because they're frustrated and have no idea what they're talking about" a new wave of tears started falling from his eyes and down his cheek, but he was smiling at you this time.

"I don't deserve you" he whispered, hugging you and burying his head into the crook of your neck. 

"You deserve me and everything that you have achieved. I love you, and I am proud of you. Next time you're feeling like this, please come to me. I hate seeing you cry over this" you felt him nod, which brought small relief to your heart.

"I love you too. Thank you for always being here for me, I don't know how I would be able to cope with everything if it wasn't for you" he replied, leaving small kisses on your neck.

"You're never going to have to know what it's like without me. I never plan to leave" you reassured him, giving him a squeeze.

You couldn't even begin to thank your lucky stars for giving you such a perfect boyfriend, someone you were sure you were going to love for the rest of your life.

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[steddiealltheway]

Eddie is a touchy person, and Steve knows it. Hell, he likes it because he's a touchy person, too. But when your friends are literal children, these forms of touch come out as ruffling their hair to annoy them or pats on the back. And Robin, she's great, but not too big on physical touch, especially from guys. Which is understandable really.

But Eddie... well, Steve's allowed to do whatever he wants with him. He gets to hug him, rest a hand on his back, and, shit, sometimes he even gets to hold his hand whenever they do a movie night. And yes, if there's hand-holding, there's also cuddling.

But they're both touch-starved so it doesn't really mean anything... right?

He's mainly wondering this because of their current position - cuddling on the couch face to face. Steve's hand is on Eddie's face, tracing over his cheekbones, his nose, his eyebrows, his jaw... his lips. Honestly, he feels like he's trying to memorize his face by touch, feeling out which areas are soft and which are rough with stubble.

He's never been allowed to explore this before, but Eddie lets him. Plus, he's pretty much a pile of goo under his touch - smile soft, eyes closed, and all around relaxed.

Then, Eddie's hand comes up to run through Steve's hair, and Steve closes his eyes against the touch. God, he loves when Eddie plays with his hair.

He knows that Eddie likes the same thing, but he doesn't like Steve's hand running through his curls because sometimes his fingers get caught and accidentally pull. So, Steve's hand comes up to his scalp, gently massaging and scratching the way Eddie likes.

A movie drones on behind them. Steve's not really sure when he turned completely around to face Eddie, but he doesn't mind. Sometimes this happens. Sometimes Eddie pulls him close and doesn't let him turn, telling him to focus on the movie while he runs a hand up and down his arm.

Steve really can't complain.

He leans his head forward, pressing his forehead against Eddie's, focusing on the way their breath mix together, warm and damp. Steve likes the way it ghosts over his lips.

Eddie shifts in front of him, head coming up slightly so his nose brushes against his as his breath becomes much heavier on Steve's lips. The hand in Steve's hair tugs slightly, pulling his head back so Steve's lips get that tingling sensation alerting him that there's something almost within touch that he could press against with just the slightest movement.

Steve opens his eyes, noticing how close Eddie is, eyes searching Steve's as if asking something that he can't read. But the breath between them changes, becoming more rushed - nervous.

Then, Eddie shifts again, letting their lips lightly brush in a way that could be registered as an accident. But Steve finally gets it when Eddie's eyes search his as he pulls back again.

And shit, yeah, he wants to kiss him too.

So, he shifts his left hand, bringing it out of Eddie's hair, letting it rest against the back of his neck, ready to pull him in.

"Okay, movie night is over!" Dustin yells.

Steve startles back, only being saved when Eddie's hand grabs him by the waist and pulls him in.

He reluctantly turns, noticing everyone's eyes on him - or rather, him and Eddie.

"We can handle the weird PDA, but we draw the line at making out in front of us. Jesus, you two are such a clingy couple," Dustin says, rolling his eyes.

Steve's heart thuds in his chest. "Couple?" he asks.

He feels Eddie tense against him at the question.

"Yeah, we know you've been dating for weeks now. Don't act so surprised," Max says, arms crossed next to El who mirrors the same position.

"Weeks?" Steve asks, feeling weird about the whole thing since he's literally spooned against Eddie.

"It was kind of obvious when you first started holding hands," Will pipes in.

"Plus, everyone knew about Eddie's crush on you, so it wasn't hard to put the pieces together," Mike says.

Crush?

Eddie shifts behind him, sitting up in the small space, putting distance between them. Steve turns to lie on his back, glancing at him as Eddie puts his head in his hands. "We're not dating," Eddie grumbles.

Why does the truth hurt so much?

"Really?" Lucas asks. "Because we wouldn't be against it if you were. At all."

Steve stares at Eddie whose hands flex in his hair. "Really," Steve says. He clears his throat and looks at the kids. "Why don't we finish the movie tomorrow? You all rode on your bikes here, right?"

All the kids nod, looking at each other in a mixture of disbelief and guilt. "We should go," El states. "We will see you tomorrow."

With that, all the kids rush out of the house without another word, giving the two all the space they need.

"I'm sorry," Eddie says, voice quivering a bit. "I-I should've told you. Shit, I didn't think it would get this far, and I didn't, like, try to feel you up or anything. And I got carried away earlier and forgot this is different for you than it is for me. Christ, I am so sorry, Steve."

Steve sits up and runs a hand over Eddie's back, glad that the movement has Eddie looking up at him, scared, with tears in his eye. Steve lays back and opens his arms wide. "Come here," he says.

Eddie stares at him, not moving.

Steve sighs. "This is always what we do when you're upset and that's not changing, so come here."

Eddie's tongue rests against the top of his lip for a moment before he moves to lay slightly on top of him, head resting in the crook of Steve's neck.

Steve lets his hand travel up and down his back, slightly gliding into his hair as it comes up. He thinks.

When they were first friends, Steve would mostly go for casual touches - a pat on the back, a shoulder squeeze, sometimes throwing a hug in there when he really missed him. Somewhere along the way, it became impossible to not be near him. And Steve had never felt so drawn to someone before.

He had brushed it off for a while, blaming it on him being touch starved - which he was. But usually, he resolved those feelings by having meaningless sex with some girl. Which he hasn't had since he and Eddie started becoming practically glued at the hip. God, he hasn't had any urge to even flirt with anyone really. It's like Eddie has filled all his relationship needs without Steve noticing.

Except for the kissing part. Which, now he's noticed the need for that, he can't stop thinking about it.

Shit, he really wanted to kiss him - still wants to kiss him.

Why isn't he kissing him?

Rather, why isn't he dating him?

He turns toward the mess of curly and swipes them back, trying to look at Eddie, but his face is still buried in his neck.

"Eddie," Steve says. Eddie hums against him, not lifting his head. Steve smiles. "Lift your head up a bit."

Eddie slowly shifts and rests his head in the corner of the couch away from Steve.

Steve snorts. "Lift your head up, not to the side, Eds."

Eddie reluctantly lifts his head up, looking down at Steve.

Shit, he's gorgeous. How did he not notice this before when he was literally memorizing his face? ...oh, maybe that's why he was doing that.

Steve lifts his hand up and swipes Eddie's hair to the right before cupping his face. "What if I told you that I wanted to date you?" Steve asks.

Eddie's eyes widen then shut as he shakes his head. "Don't pity me, Harrington."

"Eddie," Steve says sternly. "What if I wanted to date you?"

Eddie's eyes open and stare down at him. "Steve, you don't mean that."

Steve brings both his hands up to cup his face. "Stop arguing with me. I want to date you, and I want to kiss you, and take you on proper dates, and tell the kids how crazy I am about you to the point that they start complaining about it. Eddie, I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize, but I like you. Shit, I think we've been dating for weeks now without either of us realizing it. So, can you stop arguing with me so we can finally make this official?"

Eddie stares at him, letting his eyes flick back and forth between Steve's as if trying to figure out if he's lying. "You want to date me?" he asks.

Steve groans. "Yes, Eddie."

"Actually?" Eddie asks.

Steve carefully guides his head down to rest against his forehead. "Yes, Eddie."

"You're sure?"

Steve's hand presses into the back of his neck, so his lips brush against Eddie's. "Yes, Eddie."

Eddie sighs in relief. "Can I kiss you now?"

"Yes, Eddie."

They both move at the same time, finally relieving that tingling sensation as their lips push together.

Steve only wonders how he didn't realize he needed this sooner.

[lnfours]

you are in love | l.n

summary: the moment where you knew he was the one.

warnings: best friends to lovers au, shitty dates, language, a little bit of innuendos, and just pure, tooth rotting fluff.

masterlist | inbox | listen

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

you walked out of the restaurant, nails tapping against your screen as you walked on the sidewalk. there was a soft, warm breeze in the city of monaco as you stared down at your phone. your phone locked once you found somewhere to stand, out of the sight from the crowds, and specifically the guy you had left at the dinner table.

can you come get me?

it was almost ten. and if he wasn’t asleep, he was definitely doing better things with his time-

of course, where are you?

your heart pattered against your chest, your fingers moving to tell him the name of the street corner you were standing at. he had responded quickly after, saying he’d be there in five.

and he was, the mclaren pulling up besides you. he had the top open for the nighttime summer breeze to flow through. you stepped closer, opening the door and climbing in carefully before closing it behind you.

“you alright?” he asked, car still parked as he made sure he didn’t have to go back into the restaurant and give the guy a piece of his mind.

when you nodded, he let out a breath of relief, “i just really know how to pick ‘em, huh?”

he huffed out a laugh, pulling onto the road, “we could say that,” he looked back over at you as you looked out the window, “back to mine? or yours?”

you met those stupidly beautiful green eyes and you let out a shaky breath as his eyes scanned your features, “yours is fine. blair is out of town anyway, so it’s been lonely.”

“oh, yeah? where she go this time? ibiza? france?” he joked and you snorted next to him. your roommate, blair, came from money. big money. and every other weekend, she always had somewhere new to take her father’s private jet. even if it was just to visit a louis vuitton store in paris.

her frequent trips had become an inside joke to you, max and lando. so far as to where the three of you make bets on which extravagant place shes visiting every time she leaves. this week, it’s bali.

“close,” you nod, “her family’s vacationing in bali this week.”

“damn,” he mumbled, “so close.”

you both shared a soft laugh, a comfortable silence falling over the two of you as you watched the city life out the window. he couldn’t help but take occasional glances towards you, his eyes falling to the necklace sparkling around your neck.

the one he had gotten you for your most recent birthday. you had refused to accept his gift at first, immediately shaking your head when you spotted the tiffany blue box underneath the wrapping paper.

but he insisted, and now you never took it off. a silver heart engraved with a little four. a subtle detail, but a special one. some people thought he seemed ‘full of himself’ because he got you a gift with his number on it. but, you were the one who encouraged him to chase his dreams. the one who pushed him to do better, the one who never believed for a second how the media tried to paint him out to be.

because, to you, he wasn’t ’lando norris: mclaren formula one driver with a sassy attitude who’s full of himself’, to you he was just ‘lando: the boy you’ve known your entire life, who knew everything about you, and the boy who would pick you up after a shitty date’.

at the end of the day, it was always the two of you against anything and everything. two peas in a pod, as cisca would say.

the two of you got to his apartment, his key unlocking the door and pushing it open. once you got inside, you kicked your heels off by the door as he made his way into the kitchen.

“do you still have those makeup wipes i left here?” you asked.

he nodded, reaching into one of the cupboards as he grabbed the white mug with little yellow stars on it. your mug.

“should be in the top drawer in the bathroom with your toothbrush and hairbrush,” he said, turning back to you, “want a coffee?”

you nodded, letting out a soft sigh, “please. milk and two-“

“two sugars,” he smiled softly, “i know.”

you smiled back at him before turning and walking down the hallway to his bedroom. when you entered, you took in the view of his freshly made bed and the hamper in the corner being empty. a sign that he had done his laundry and cleaned the house today.

you hummed softly, opening the closet door and thumbing through the different hoodies he had. you settled on an older mclaren one, the same one he had lent you a few years back when you were crying on his couch.

you also snagged a pair of sweatpants while you were in there, changing into them and placing your dress on his dresser. making a mental note to take it with you when he takes you home in the morning.

once you had taken your makeup off in the bathroom, you made your way back to the living room where he was sitting on the couch, phone in hand as he held his mug. you sat next to him, your mug on the table next to you. you took it into your hands, smiling over the rim.

“thank you,” you said.

“‘course,” he smiled, locking his phone and picking up the remote, “what episode were we on before we fell asleep the other night? i don’t remember,”

you looked over at the tv in front of you, now noticing he had the show the two of you had been watching pulled up. you twisted your lips in thought.

“uhm, i think six? maybe seven?” you said, he clicked on six and after a few seconds you realized the two of you had guessed correctly.

at some point during the show, your head had ended up on his shoulder. his arm had pulled you closer into him, taking in the smell of his cologne and the shampoo he used. a scent you had grown to love, to look forward to every time he wrapped his arms around you to give you a hug, or whenever you were close enough to him to pick up on it.

at some point you had zoned out, thinking to yourself. maybe the reason all these dates hadn’t worked out was because they all lacked something. something no one else had other than lando, the boy who knew you like the back of his hand.

you shifted, moving to look at the boy with curly brown hair, his face illuminated by the soft glow of the tv. you took in the beauty marks that freckled his face, the ones he used to complain about when he was younger, but you always said it was your favorite thing.

maybe it wasn’t the fact that lando knew you like the back of your hand that turned you away from all the other men who’d swipe right on you. maybe it was the fact that they weren’t him.

you didn’t know when, but somehow you had fallen in love with the boy next to you. i mean, who could blame you? he was everything you could ever dream of, the perfect man.

he turned and met your eyes, his face inches from yours now. you smiled softly, his lips turning up in return. his eyes scanned yours and you took in a nervous breath when his eyes traveled to your lips.

“i’m sorry that date didn’t work out for you,” he said softly, “these guys really don’t know what they’re missing out on.”

you shrugged, “it’s okay,” your heart was hammering against your chest, questioning silently to yourself if he could hear it.

he couldn’t, but he could tell when he scanned your face that you didn’t really seem all that upset. he wasn’t really sorry, either, to be fair. it might’ve seemed selfish, but he always anticipated your ‘can you come get me?’ texts whenever he knew you were going out. he prayed the dates would fail, so he could finally be the one to take you out and do it properly. give you that fairytale kind of love you deserve.

he blurted out before his mind could even filter it, “can i tell you something?”

you hummed. fuck, there was no going back now.

“i’m kind of glad those dates haven’t worked out.”

you furrowed your eyebrows in question, “why’s that?”

“because i want to be the one to take you out,” his voice was soft and it sent your heart right into your throat, “all the fancy dinners, the kissing goodnight at the doorstep, all of it.”

his eyes traveled back to your lips and you sucked in a breath, “can i tell you something too?”

he nodded, his face centimeters away from yours now. your warm breath fanned his face, the smell of your perfume and the hair product you had put in hours beforehand captivating him.

“i want all of that with you, too.” you smiled and he grinned back, a soft laugh leaving both of your lips. he reached up, his hand lifting your chin.

“you sure you want to be stuck with me?” he asked, “cause once i start, i don’t think i could stop.”

your nose brushed against his, “i wouldn’t have it any other way.”

that was all it took until his lips were pressing against yours. you kissed him back, the hand that wasn’t holding your jaw reaching to your hip and pulling you closer, leaving no room between you as you climbed into his lap.

your hands threaded through the curls on the nape of his neck, his arms wrapping around you. a moment of complete bliss, the moment you’ve been waiting for for what felt like ages.

“lets go to bed, yeah?”

you nodded back, nose bumping his as your face wore a smile. he stood from the couch, hands supporting your thighs before letting your legs wrap around his torso. he carried you down the hallway, your face nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

he placed you down on the mattress, the two of you entangling limbs underneath the sheets. he played with the soft strands of your hair, his lips pressing against the top of your head as you listened to his heart beat against his ribs. existing in complete contentment with each others company.

“breakfast in the morning?” he asked softly.

you thought about it for a minute, turning to look at him. it was dark, but you could still make out his face, “sure, just as long as you don’t burn the toast.”

[thoughtidtry]

Mr. Perfectly Fine - MV CL

SUMMARY: Angst: After your break up you take time to reflect on the man you once thought hung the stars. Who knew another would help you find the beauty in the stars as they fell. PAIRING: Ex!Max Verstappen X fem!reader, Charles Leclerc x reader at the end. A/N: Inspired by Mr. Perfectly Fine by Taylor Swift. Experimenting with formatting so please let me know if it helps with reading! 2.8k+ words... I apparently can't write anything smaller let me know if you all would rather have it in thousand-word parts instead of one long post!

"Mr. "Perfect Face" Mr. "Here to stay""

"You're so beautiful liefje"

Max hummed in the crook of your neck as you lay back on his chest while watching a movie. These moments were your favorite, the quiet murmurs, and gentle touches while enjoying each other company. The times when you had him all to yourself with no cameras or teammates looking at you both.

"Look who's talking pretty boy"

You responded back with a playful smirk knowing he hated being called pretty.

"Only pretty liefde really. I'm offended"

All you could do was giggle before looking back at your boyfriend to find him clutching his chest like you would imagine an old lady clutching her pearls.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know being pretty was a bad thing now"

Faking an innocent look as you apologized for your disrespectful comment. You wanted to see how far you could tease before he reacted. Already he looked like he was mulling over whether or not to accept you heartfelt apology.

"Of course pretty could never fully articulate how a face as perfect as your looks. I again am so sorry for the offen-"

"Oh that's it!"

You were interrupted by being picked up and tossed on the couch beside him before he was on top of you looking done. With a smug smirk on his face, he pinned your hands above your head with one hand before starting to tickle you with the other.

"You gonna really apologize now"

You couldn't help but laugh as he poked and squeezed your sides till you were gasping for breath. His laughter echoed in your ears as he continued to torture you.

"I-I'm sorry p-please max"

You finally gasped out and he stopped still chuckling before leaning down to peck your lip quickly.

"That's what I thought"

He declared with a look of triumph on if face. You study his face for a moment with a soft smile before you glance over to see you already looking at him.

"What, liefde?"

Max questioned, his eyes filled with curiosity. You shrugged before answer as if it was the most common phrase ever spoke.

"I just wish we could stay like this forever. Here. Just the two of us."

He softly smiled back at you taking in how relaxed and angelic you looked in the soft glow of the TV.

"Well, I don't plan on going anywhere without you. I'm here to stay as long as you'll have me."

"Mr. "Change of heart" Mr. "Leaves me all alone""

You had never minded Max having to travel to races it was a part of his job. He used to love you tagging along with him to the races, being in the paddock with all the other girlfriends and wives of the other racers, and going back to the hotel with him after to help him relax after a long day. It made sense that you wouldn't be at every race but recently it seemed like he didn't want you there at all.

There was always some last-minute reason he needed to be at the track days before free practice started and you couldn't get off work in time before he had to leave. Trips started to become longer and longer to the point he was never home. You tried your best to understand but you missed him.

You talk on the phone when possible but they were always short. He always had an excuse why he had to go. The engineers needed to talk to him about the car, Checo was waiting on him for a video, or he had made plans to hang out with one of the other drivers.

"Mr. "Never had to see me cry" Mr. "Insincere apology so he doesn't look like the bad guy""

At some point, you stopped trying to call him and just resorted to texting him. His responses were few and hours apart with a made-up reason why he hadn't answered. You were beginning to lose hope when your phone rang one day. The excitement in your voice was evident when answering the call.

"Hey Max, how's the race going?" He sighed in annoyance that you even asked. "Yeah it's fine, look we need to talk" You took a step back at his tone. He was cold or maybe even angry. This wasn't like him at all at least not the side of him you knew. "O-okay yeah. What's up? Everything alright?" You were panicking a little worried something bad had happened. Was he hurt? Did something happen at the track? "Look I just don't think this is really working out. I think we should end things." You froze in shock, this had to be a joke right? He did just say that. All you could get out was a whisper like your voice had been stolen and tears started to well up in your eyes. "W-What?" Another sigh came from his side of the phone. As if this was becoming a more tedious conversation than he had planned. "We just aren't the same anymore you know. I'm sorry, I need someone less clingy, someone who understands what I do for a living." There was a pause as you heard another voice before he continued "I got to go, Christian wants to talk about something. I'll send you any stuff you left in my apartment when I get back. Bye."

"Cause I hear he's got his arm 'round a brand-new girl. I've been picking up my heart, he's been picking up her"

The last few weeks had been nothing but painful. Ever since the break up you've had several people calling and texting you. From the girlfriends and wives you used to spend time with in the paddock check to see if you're okay to random acquaintances wanting to hear all the dirty details. It made you sick thinking about that call, you thought that would be the worst of it until you got a text from Charles Leclerc.

At first, you thought he was just another person trying to figure out what had happened. You had spoken to him multiple times and were able to joke around with each other before everything happened but you weren't surprised. At least you weren't until you opened up the messages.

Hey, I know you probably want to be left alone, but I don't want you to get blindsided by seeing later. Max is seeing someone else. None of us knew until yesterday when he brought her to the paddock and started introducing her to everyone. I just wanted to let you know instead of you finding out through the media.

All the healing you thought you had done crumbled like a house of cards. The tears started to fall before you even got to read the last message. It hadn't even been a full month. How could he have moved on so fast? Through tear-blurred gaze you decided to respond to Charles.

Thank you for letting me know.... I appreciate your honesty. You're right I would like to be left alone. I'm glad to have met you and everyone else, but I can't keep talking to you all. It hurts too much, too many memories. Hope you have a great race, Charles..... Thank you again.

Charles felt a pang of guilt reading those messages. You had always been kind to him and seemed to care a lot about everyone you came in contact with. He felt angry at Max on your behalf and wanted to help you in any way possible.

You are an amazing person chérie. I know you want to be alone but I can't abide by your wishes. Please let me be there for you. We don't have to talk about anything in particular, just tell me about your day or we can talk about our hobbies. Just let me be here for you, please?

It took you a moment before responding to the process. Charles wasn't a bad guy from what you knew of him. You had been isolating yourself from everyone the last couple of weeks not wanting to talk about everything. Maybe having someone to talk to about normal life would be nice? A sigh of defeat left as you messaged him back.

okay.... so what do like to do in your free time?

Charles softly smiles at your message. It was a start and he'll take it. He responded back quickly telling you about how he likes playing the piano and how he had released a few songs. This was a pleasant surprise for you and you told him you listen to them.

"Oh, he's so smug, Mr. "Always wins" So far above me in every sense."

The end of the racing season came quicker than you could have imagined. You and Charles had become closer than you had ever expected. He was there for you to cry to and laugh with and as your heart mended he filled in the cracks still seeping sorrow with his own love and compassion.

Sitting on a stool in his kitchen while he tried to cook you dinner, you couldn't help teasing him for his terrible cooking skills. He mocked you back at how inept you were when it came to baking. The conversation lulled as he began to focus on not burning the food before he hesitantly brought up the award ceremony. "If it's too soon I understand, but I would love for you to be my date."

You took a moment to consider the proposition. As long as you were in Charles' life Max would be in yours. You knew you would have to see him sooner or later, so why not now? With your decision made you smiled a bit.

"I would love to be your date, Charles. This is your night to celebrate a great season. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The night arrived sooner than you had anticipated and there you were walking on Charles' arm in a velvet red dress looking in his words like an angel. You held the compliment close as you made your entrance together.

Friends and acquaintances were rightfully shocked at your attendance. They quickly came to hug you and let you know how happy they were to see you before you all were seated for the ceremony. It felt good to be around everyone again, you had missed them. Missed the funny moments and heartfelt chats. The night seemed to be shaping up to a great time.

Max made a speech when accepting his WDC trophy. He made sure to thank a woman named Kelly, who you assumed was his girlfriend, along with the normal thank you to his team.

He seemed so calm, relaxed, and perfectly fine. It had only been a few months, how could you still be recovering while he was at ease. You felt so small and lowly at that moment, looking up at him at the top of his career.

Charles, of course, noticed like he always did and grabbed your hand in his with a soft squeeze before running his thumb across your knuckles. Once the ceremony ended, the people who had not noticed you before came to say hello while others said their goodbyes.

"Now I'm Ms. "Gonna be alright someday" and someday, maybe you'll miss me. But by then, you’ll be Mr. “Too late”."

Max stood near the front smiling as he talked to some of the other racers. He was dressed in a simple black suit with a bow tie to match and a beautiful woman on his arm. You could see why he liked her, she was gorgeous and seemed to fit perfectly beside him. As the commotion around your appearance began to reach an all-time high, he looked to see who it was about.

Never did he expect to see you, in a criminally perfect red dress that hugged your curves in all the right places, hanging on to none other than Charles Leclerc. He couldn't have stopped himself from staring if he wanted to. You looked amazing and he could tell you smile was genuine.

The sharp sting of past memories hit him as he studied your body language. So open, warm, and cheerful as you spoke you Lily, he realized how much he had missed you. Once your eyes locked it was over, your grip on Charles' arms tightened as Max strides forward completely leaving his girlfriend behind.

Charles noticed your discomfort, immediately following your gaze. He thought something might happen, Max would never just let you attend without having something to say. Looking down while shaking his head, he swore so quietly you barely heard before leaning close to your ear.

"Let me know if you want to leave. It's okay if you don't wanna talk to him."

Looking up at him, you softly smiled at how empathetic he was about your feelings. The worry in his eyes was evident but you had prepared for this. Resting a hand on his chest you shook your head.

"No, it's okay. Let's just get it over with and have a great night."

“Goodbye, Mr. “Casually Cruel”, Mr. “Everything revolves around you”.”

Max's blood boiled as he watched you touching Charles. How did you even know him? You had barely spoken to the Ferrari driver during your relationship. When did you get so close to him? He would find out soon enough as he drew closer.

"Charles" He nodded to the driver after coming to a stop in front of the pair before glancing over at you.

"What are you doing here Leifde"

He hadn't meant for that to come out but it still felt natural to call you that even after all this time. It sent a surge of anger through you to have him call you that again.

"I'm not your Leifde anymore Max. You lost the right to call me that. Would hate for your girlfriend to hear you."

You sneered back like venom making it clear you did not appreciate the name. He smirks at your reaction, loving that he still has an effect on you. Turning to look back at Charles he decided to try and get a raise out of him. After all, he's the reason your here right.

"What couldn't find your own date so you settled for my ex?"

Charles' composure snapped at that. How dare Max speak about you in such a disrespectful manner. You, even on your worst nights, couldn't say a negative comment about this man and here he was acting like you were damaged goods. He went to step forward and get in Max's face when you held him back getting in between the two placing both hands on his chest. Looking up at him, hoping he would understand what you were planning to do.

"He's not worth it, amour."

You loudly spoke the last word to get Charles' attention. He snapped his head down to you at the sound of his native language on your tongue. With a cheeky smirk on your face, you lean up to whisper in his ear.

"Please just play along."

There was a hint of mischief he caught in your eye as you moved one hand slowly up to the back of his neck.

"Mon chéri, let's just go home. I wanna slip into something more...comfortable"

Not only did this make the Dutchman scoff from behind you but also stormed off mumbling something under his breath. Charles can’t take his eyes off you, not when had just hinted at being a couple to get Max to leave. He didn’t mind it. If he was honest, he had actually enjoyed the way it felt to have you holding on to him all night. You let out a sigh of relief once he was gonna looking back up at Charles. Taking a small step away you started to apologize before being cut off.

“Come on ma belle fille, let’s get you home.”

Charles smiled a sweet smile grabbing your hand to usher you out of the room.

“Goodbye, Mr. “Perfectly Fine”.”

As you and Charles arrived at your house, he broke the comfortable silence of the driver. He looked like at scolded puppy as he began to talk.

“I’m glad you came with me tonight. Sorry I almost lost my cool at the end there.”

You snicker a bit before hanging him a half shrug.

“Honestly, it felt great to put Max in his place so thank you.”

He chuckled a bit in response while shaking his head slightly. Max was an idiot for losing you and Charles wasn’t gonna make the same mistake.

“Glad you had a good night Cheri. I know this might be too soon but could I possibly take you on a date? “

He pause hesitantly before continuing to ramble on

“If it’s too soon I completely understand but I couldn’t let my chance to show you how much I liked you pass without at least-“

You cut him off by grabbing his face, pulling him in for a kiss. At first, the shock of you kissing him caused him to freeze but he quickly recovered, kissing you back with so much passion that you were left speechless. Smiling as you both pulled apart, he had to be certain.

“So, is that a yes?”

You threw you head back laughing before confirming.

“Yes Charles, I would love to go on a date with you.”

[captainpulisic]

the rust that grew between telephones - c. pulisic

authors note: saw a video on twitter where christians parents called him a 'shy, soft spoken kind of guy' and I got really soft over him gif credit to owner word count: 2.6 k

you’re dead asleep when the phone screen begins to light up the room. you blindly reach for the it on your nightstand, refusing to fully exit your slumbered state. surely you had set your alarm clock to the wrong time last night, because there was no fucking way it was already time to start the day. you’d bet your life that you had just fallen asleep, at max, an hour ago. 

it’s okay, you try to convince yourself. it’s probably only midnight and I have many, many hours of sleep left. 

yet, as you peek one eye open, it is not your blaring alarm illuminating your screen and room. you’re met with christians contact photo. suddenly, you feel wide awake. the sleepiness and appeal to go back to bed is long forgotten, now only eager to hear his voice. 

answering the call, his raspiness indicated he’d also just woken up. you hear his low voice, “hey baby.”

oh.

oh how you missed his voice, especially as the first thing to hear in the morning. if you closed your eyes, you could perfectly envision waking up by his side. tired eyes and soft giggles, as he pulls you close to him. you feel slightly pathetic over how your heart begins to hurt. it had only been a few weeks since you’d last seen him, yet the yearning was unbearable. you missed him. you always do when you’re apart, but recently it has been worse. your skin itched for his, lonely nights spent counting down the minutes until the season would be over and he’d be coming back home. 

“hey you,” trying to sound as awake as you can, stifiling a yawn that wants to escape you. he must not realize how late it is on your end. sitting up, you pinch yourself a few times to become more alert. you manage out a somewhat energetic, “everything okay?”

“yeah, everythings okay over here.” his voice is softer than usual, sadder if anything. he pauses for a moment, you can feel his hesitation before speaking. soon enough he whispers his confession, uncertain and slightly embarrassed. you might have missed it if you weren’t hanging on to every word he was saying. “I just really miss you.” 

your heart aches even more, if possible. “i miss you, too.”

“like, really bad y/n,” he’s always struggled with properly articulating his feelings. he prefers to affirm his love for you with simple, small acts and sweet, shy touches. telling you his true feelings always resulted in him turning a blushing and stuttering mess. therefore, you know how much this must really be affecting him, for him to outwardly say this. your heart breaks as he goes on, “do you know how much it sucks to wake up and not have you right next to me? it’s horrible.”

you do know, you always feel like that in his absence. 

“i know, my love.” you sit up, trying to wipe away the weariness from your eyes. “but we’ll be together soon, yeah?”

“soon.” he confirms, it’s the only promise that's managed to keep him sane. 

hoping to keep him on the line and distracted from the ungodly hour he woke you up, you ask him about what he has planned for the day. its meaningless talk, really. he goes on about the scheduled training and new tricks they’ve been working on, occasionally complaining about the team's current slump. once in a while you hum, letting him know you're attentive to every word he’s saying. yet you’re more focused on how soothing his voice was, it was all warmth and safeness to you.

still clueless of the time, he asks what your plans are. you begin to mumble about the exams and work you have planned for tomorrow- well, for today. you too, in return, complain of how exhausted uni life has been treating you and the endless pile of assignments you can never seem to finish. 

your error is droning on about how tiring it all is, because it just makes you revert back to your drowsy state. you don’t even realize when your words begin to die off and a rather large yawn breaks loose.

“y/n? are you falling asleep?” christian frowns. he had been too wrapped up in the horrible mood he had woken up in, he hadn’t thought of the wretched time difference. “wait, what time is it?” 

“uhm,” your hesitation lasts too long for his liking. instantly, it all clicks for him.

“fuck”, he groans. “it’s the middle of the night, isn’t it?”

“no.”

deny deny deny. 

if he realized it was so fucking late, he’d send you back to sleep. that was the worst fate he could condemn you to, you were sure of it. with him training all day and the drastic time difference, moments to properly talk were rare. you weren't going to give up this precious, stolen time with him. your scarce phone calls consisted of quick recounts of what you'd both done that day and gentle whispers of how much you’d missed each other. too soon, one of you would have to hang up to either get started on your day while the other had to unwind from their day already spent. 

you didn’t care how childish you sounded, you weren’t going to let him make you go to sleep. he couldn't make you! 

“y/n.” he was much more serious, more stern. when he got like this, you liked to tease him, calling it his ‘captain voice’. that’d usually leave him with reddened cheeks and arguments long forgotten.

it comes out more of a question, then an assurance. “I was already awake?”  

“y/n.” he repeats. yeah, it was a long shot that he’d believe that. 

you mock him, “christian.” 

you hear him begin to huff out his disapproval of your childish antics. much to your dismay, another damned yawn escapes you. no point in trying to win now, you rest your head back on the pillow and accept your defeat. you sigh, “okay, I was asleep.”

he makes a noise that sounds like a mixture of a disappointed groan and a victorious ‘hmph’. 

oh my sweet boy, how I miss you. 

“i’m so sorry,” he’s sputtering out apologies faster than you can try to assure him it’s all okay. “I was dreaming of you and then I woke up and you weren’t here. I felt horrible. I needed to hear your voice before I went insane. I called without thinking, i’m so sorry I woke you. go back to sleep, please.”

your reply is automatic, “no.”

“yes.” he tries (and fails) to reason with you, “you just told me how busy you’re going to be in the morning!”

“you can’t make me!” you argue.

“y/n.”

“so i’ve been called.”

“go back to sleep,” he tries again. you’re tempted to do it just because it’s him asking you. you would do anything he’d ask of you, it's quite humiliating how you’re putty in his hands. no, you have to stand your ground. you had missed him too much and you weren’t ready to say your goodbyes. back to his shy state, “i’m now very embarrassed that I called.”

that irks something in you. you’re stupidly obsessed with him, you’d go days without sleeping if it meant you could always talk to him. the fact that he doesn’t get that offends you quite a bit. if he’s embarrassed over how much he misses you, then you should be utterly humiliated. 

“christian,” your voice comes out harder than you’d planned. “listen to me.”

instantaneously, his protest had stopped and the line had gone silent. you pull the phone away from your face, unsure if he’d hung up to make you go back to your unwanted slumber. no, the call was still connected. putting the phone back to your ear, you barely caught his faint, “yeah?”

“i’m glad you called.” suddenly, you feel as shy as you imagined he did. you also struggle to express your feelings but you’re desperate to keep him on the call, not wanting to part ways yet. “i’ve missed you terribly.”

another pause, “really?”

“I can’t believe you’d even question it,” you utter in disbelief. “of course idiot, ‘m always missing you.”

“i’m not questioning it!” all the clatter on his end of the line has stopped. you’d assumed he was getting ready to leave for training and now you were both left in silence. it takes him a few seconds to gather his thoughts and words. eventually, “i’m sorry, i’m just in my head right now. have i told you how much this distance sucks?”

“i know, my love” the urge to hold him and kiss him is borderline pathetic. trying harder to distract him from the sad thoughts and prior argument, you have to think fast. you drop your voice a tad lower. you try your best to sound as alluring as possible, “that’s why we should really take advantage of the time we have right now. c'mon, think of the fun things we could do at this late, late hour.”

you begin to mumble half-hearted details of what you had in mind, yet christian hums his disapproval.

“y/n, stop trying to seduce me.” the ‘captain voice’ reappears. “it’s only late for you and you’re about to go back to sleep, or else.” 

it’s a teasing threat. you both can’t deny the smiles you’re fighting as the conversation unravels. scolding words but you know him, this was your usual banter. 

“oh, yeah?” you counter back. “what are you going to do when you’re thousands of miles away, huh? and like i’ve said countless times, i’m not even tired!” 

“you yawned three times as you told me ‘all the filthy things’ you wanted to do to me, i’m positive you’re tired.”

“oh baby, I think you need to get your hearing checked because I was not yawning.” you scoff, scolding yourself for getting caught. your brain fumbles trying to think of a good comeback. you blurt the first thing that comes to mind, “that's just how I breathe.”

“then you’re the one who needs to go get checked because thats some weird fucking breathing.”

you snort, “has anyone ever told you how good of a flirt you are?”

“no,” he deadpans, the captain voice more present than ever.

“hmm, I wonder why. should we, maybe, try to figure out why that is?” 

“y/n,” he’s not letting you sidetrack him again. “please, go to sleep.”

you whine once more, “but I wanna keep talking to you.” 

“i know, pretty girl but you have to sleep.”

you feel yourself losing this fight. trying to find some common ground, “will you stay on the call if I go to sleep?”

christian weighs his options, “promise to actually go to sleep?”

“promise to keep talking?” you counter back.

“if i promise, will you stop answering my questions with a question?”

you force yourself to hold back your laughter, “will you?”

he laughs and you’re unashamedly proud that you’re the cause of it. you’re sure you hear him call you a ‘smart ass’ but he swiftly denies it. 

much to your delight, christian begins to tell you an in depth play by play of their last game and how he thought they could improve. half of you wants to fight the sleepiness and continue listening to his rambles, but the sane part of you begs for some needed rest. you don’t even notice when you drift off, slipping back into dreams of the next time you’ll see christian. 

meanwhile, christian chatters on, even after you’ve fallen asleep. as he gathers his things to leave, he talks about everything and nothing. he tells you about how mason gave up on learning chess within the first ten minutes of christian trying to teach him. he tells you about how he found a new restaurant for the both of you to try next time you visit. the whole drive to the bridge, he recounts funny things that had happened with the guys and the latest gossips he knew you liked hearing about. he even managed into sneaking in a few, shy ‘i love yous’. as he went on and on, he knew you’d want to hear this again, once conscious, but he didn’t mind. he’d happily repeat himself a million times for you. 

-

he’s gotten even more handsome, you’re sure of it. you hadn’t thought it was possible but here he was, in all his glory. big brown eyes and now close enough to chart the freckles across his cheeks. those stupid phone calls and banter don’t measure up to the way he’s looking at you right now.

he had told you there was no need to pick him up from the airport, that you shouldn’t subject yourself to the hassle. clearly you went against his wishes, tackling him as soon as you had sights on him. that's how you were now, pressed flush against him, arms entangled around each other with promises of never letting go. 

“hey baby,” he whispers, lips pressed to your ear. “lets go home, yeah?”

instead of replying, your wrapped arms give him a gentle squeeze. unaware of the few curious glances directed towards the pair of you, you wonder if it’s physically possible to get any closer to him. 

“i’m never leaving your side again.” you mumble, face pressed to his chest. you try to peek up a glance at him, looking away immediately when you see his heavy gaze already on you. why does he have to look at me like that? it makes me feel like i’m on fire. slightly shaking your head, “i’m serious, one day they’re going to have to pry my corpse from yours.”

his dimple is more prominent than ever, “y/n, you really need to stop trying to seduce me.”

you both laugh, basking in each other's presence. christian presses a kiss to your hair, reaffirming how much he had missed you. his left arm never unwrapping from your waist, even when you begin to walk to the car.  

it’s a quick drive from the airport to your shared home. after unpacking and dinner and intimate touches were shared, you’d found yourselves laid in bed. your head resting on his chest, your fingers were mindlessly tracing the outlines on his tattooed arm. 

christian lets out a content sigh, “you have no idea how much i’ve missed this, missed you.” 

“i missed you more.”

after the busy evening you had just spent, it’s no surprise when you see him begin to snooze off. you don’t mind, you finally had him in arms reach and reassurance that you had many days to have the conversations that had been too scant. 

 

you murmur, soft and quietly, “go to sleep, baby.”

“hey,” he barely peeks one eye open, the corner of his lip threatening to quirk up. “that's my line.”

you roll your eyes, giving him one final kiss to his bare shoulder “night, i love you.”

instead of responding, he wraps his arms around your waist and flips you to your side. you let out a surprised yelp but nonetheless, your body automatically finds the perfect way to fit with his. instantly, he pulls you close to him, leaving a delicate kiss on your earlobe. you barely hear his low, “i love you too.”

after that, his faint snores are all that is heard. you follow in his steps, eyes growing heavier by the seconds. yes, sleeping is much better when christians voice rings right next to you and not through a phone.

feedback is greatly appreciated please!

[lcdrarry]

LCDrarry 2024 Round-Up Post | Week 5

On Sundays during our posting period, we won't post new works, instead you have time to catch up with the works that posted during the week and hopefully leave lovely comments for our creators.

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information. Thank you!

PPS: Please share far and wide! Thank you!!

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Fic

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Black Sheep

Prompt: "Shaun the Sheep", 2007-2020 Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 10,808 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: smut, dirty talk, praise kink, soft d/s dynamics, begging

Summary: “You know, Potter, maybe all you need to win is a little—incentive, let’s say.” “An incentive?” Harry asks, his interest piqued. He takes a step closer to the fence, and then another one, until he’s standing so close that he can smell the intoxicating scent of Malfoy’s expensive cologne. “Shall we say that if you win, you can have whatever your heart desires?�� Malfoy replies with a smile. “Anything.”

Read it now on AO3.

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Jackknife To The Heart

Prompt: "Mad Max: Furiosa", 2024, George Miller Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 11,723 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Gunfights

Summary: Draco licked his lips, slow and sensual. He climbed over Harry’s lap and slid down onto his knees. “Keep making love to me, darling,” he said, gazing up at Harry, something starry in his eyes; and then he pulled down Harry’s pants and took his cock in his mouth.

Harry sucked in a breath, threw the shifter into gear, and drove.

Read it now on AO3.

***

the beating of our hearts (is the only sound)

Prompt: "Pacific Rim", 2013, Guillermo del Toro Prompted by: @stavromulabetaaa (stavromulabeta on ao3) Author: Anonymous Word Count: 12,675 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: canon (Pacific Rim) creature grossness

Summary: Do you want awesome, kickass fights between giant robots and aliens??!?!?

Go watch Pacific Rim.

This is a story about two flawed men who fall in love during an apocalypse.

Read it now on AO3.

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Draco Malfoy's New Guide to Old-Fashioned Dating

Prompt: "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days", 2003, Donald Petrie Prompted by: @sleepstxtic Author: Anonymous Word Count: 52,377 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: Non-Consensual Drug Use

Summary: When Harry's job as an auror is threatened by his perceived negative attitude towards Death Eaters, he makes a desperate gamble with his boss to save it. Bring a Death Eater as his plus-one to the company holiday party. Unfortunately for him, there's only one person he can think of to ask...

Meanwhile, in order to save his best friend Pansy Parkinson from a terrible social fate, Draco Malfoy makes a bet with Pansy's mother. He believes that old-fashioned, traditional courting methods are the best way to repel, not attract, a potential suitor. Now, if only he can find a wizard who has no clue about those methods...

Read it now on AO3.

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A Ferret, a ScarHead, a Weasel, and a Baby

Prompt: "Three Men and a Baby", 1987, Leonard Nimoy & "Taken", 2008, Pierre Morel Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 91,420 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Angst, Anxiety, Epic Fight Scene(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Blood, Muggle Weapons, References to Past Child Abuse, Abduction, Injuries

Summary: They say becoming a parent is an unparalleled, priceless joy. Draco Malfoy finds himself putting that theory to the test when the star witness in his dangerous illegal potions case entrusts him with a powerful wish: protect her newborn baby at all costs. Now, it's up to Draco to fulfill that wish despite the looming threat of criminals hunting for the child. To think, just the day before, he was fretting over his inappropriate feelings for his annoying, bespectacled git of a housemate—not the mechanics of changing nappies!

Thank Merlin it takes a village to raise a sack of flour, ah, child.

Read it now on AO3.

***

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Creator reveals are on 15 June.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Since Miraculous Ladybug is becoming for more mature audiences it should split povs between Marinette and Adrien. Its upsetting how Adrien has such a main character backstory yet he's not apart of it or a major character in the show even though he feels like it. It feels like he should be Marinette's costar but he's treated as some guy most of the time. I get that Marinette's the main character but still Adrien feels so wasted on. Honestly he kinda reminds me of Steven Universe. Dead mom, complex with not being entirely human, well meaning but absent dad(Gabriel's hearts was in the right place but just went down hill). Like when Adrien finds out about the whole sentimonster thing imagine the identity crisis he's gonna have. I also wonder what they're gonna do with Emilie. She's not dead anymore and she was the driving force for why Gabriel did what he did. I wonder if she's gonna be a good mom or if the fan theories are right and she's just as bad if not worse then Gabriel. Rose haunted the narrative because she was so important if it wasn't for her and her actions we probably wouldn't even have Steven Universe or the many momswap aus. But after Gabriel got all the Miraculouses Emilie felt kinda of forgotten and last minute when she was talked about.

Are there any other shows that you sometimes compare Miraculous too?

I don't think that Miraculous is aiming at more mature audiences now unless there was some announcement that I missed? If anything, I'm expecting season six to tone things back down because I'm guessing that it's going to be a soft reboot. New main villain, new animation style, new school, the signs are all there.

Shows rarely ever change their target audience like that. It's just too risky a move. You have to redo the marketing and somehow convey to parents that the show is no longer safe for their child as it's aimed at teens now. But anyone who wants a more serious show for teens isn't going to want to sit through the first five seasons which were not written like a serious show for teens, so the audience for this would be the small subsection of viewers who want to watch their childhood favorite get more serious.

While that's certainly a demographic, it's not the massive one you get when you stick to anyone ages five-and-up. Since five-and-up is also where the toy sales are and Miraculous has a lot of tie-in toys, it would be pretty wild if they abandoned that demographic at this point. I dug up an old tweet that I remembered seeing to give my warning some extra backing. For full context, this was in reply to a tweet asking if the writers consider the teen audience when writing the show:

[Image description: a tweet from the show's head writer reading "they are not the primary audience. The main target is kids 5 to 12 max. It doesn't mean we don't consider older audiences. But it means that whatever we write must not leave the kids behind."]

This tweet is admittedly over two years old and anything is technically possible, but I would strongly caution you against having expectations for more serious content unless you know something that I don't. The show was originally sold as to investors, distributors, and so on as a kids show and, unless they were able to renegotiate those agreements, it's going to stay a kids show.

I'd also caution you against assuming that Emilie is alive. I thought that was where the show went, too, but statements from the writers have made it pretty clear that Emilie is well and truly dead, which further supports my soft reboot theory. Bringing her back means a stronger tie to the previous seasons and you don't want that for a soft reboot.

Please don't read this as me praising that writing choice! I think it was stupid as hell to magically bring back Nathalie while killing off Emilie. They were both dying and only one of them is a domestic terrorist who actively chose death by knowingly using the broken Miraculous. The other is a Good And Pure Soul Who Was Too Perfect For This Cruel World (or, at least, that's what the show seems to want us to think). Plus, if you're going to use the wish, do something big! Change the status quo! But that's not how formula shows work so they probably couldn't do that.

Quick side note: this is my best guess as to why the leaked scripts indicated that Emilie was going to come back when season five ended the show. Series finales are usually allowed include elements that would ruin the formula if the show continued because the show isn't continuing. Season finales are not allowed to do that because the next season needs to stick to the same formula. When season five went from end-of-show to a mere end-of-season, that probably signed Emilie's death warrant. Sorry Adrien, no happy ending for you! Hope you like being an orphan!

Moving on!

In my opinion, it feels like they only used the wish to let Gabriel die and get rid of Emilie without it being too traumatic for the indented audience, but it's still basically a murder suicide being treated as a happy ending which is wild! At least it was a pretty one where the murderer and his victim ascended into the light?

We admittedly might see larger impacts from the wish next season as we don't explicitly know what the wish was, but have they ever let a season finale lead to something interesting? Not really, so I don't see why that would change now. I'm not even sure if Adrien's sentistatus is going to come up again. It should, but it may also just fizzle out because the writers don't know how to deal with it. The sentimonster thing is not the kind of plot point that you can handle in 20 minutes, especially when you have to include some sort of akuma fight, too. Bringing up the sentistuff would also complicate a soft reboot so, yeah, I have no idea if they're ever going to touch it again.

As far as recs for shows like Miraculous go, I'm afraid that you'll have to be a little more specific about what you're looking for because Miraculous is trying and failing to be a lot of things. If you want a duo show with a lot of banter, a badass female lead, and a goofy-but-narratively-important male lead, then I'd point to Kim Possible. If you want a team show with romantic undertones, then Teen Titans is a good pick. If you want identity shenanigans, magic, and romance, then American Dragon Jake Long might be worth checking out in spite of the very dated slang, though fair warning that one is enemies to lovers. It's done in a very fun way, but it's not a partner show like Miraculous kind of is and the romance is also not the main focus.

Part of the reason I was drawn to Miraculous is that shows about superheroes don't tend to have a strong romance element to them, so there aren't a ton of options for me to give you when it come to shows that fill a similar niche. However, if you're willing to go into the realms of fanfic, then you've got a wealth of options. Pretty much any property with secret identities will have fics about identity shenanigan romances. Love squares are nothing new. I've been reading them for years! I basically watched Twelfth Night when I was about eight and never looked back. Identity shenanigans or bust!

People will even bring them into fandoms that don't have any secret identities because identity shenanigans are really fun to play with! They make for some of the best romances. I'm sure that you can also find them in novels, but it's not something I've seen a lot of, so I mostly stick to fanfic for my identity shenanigan needs. That's where almost all my recs are from.

Should I do a fanfic plug to demonstrate what I mean? Yeah, why not. This baby deserves more readers and, if you like Miraculous, then you'll probably love this. (Seriously, if you read it, feel free to come talk to me about it. It's so good and also proof that I really am drawn to very specific tropes. What can I say other than I know what I like?)

We Didn't Start The Fire by ohhgingersnaps

Ava is all burned out, literally— she’s an exhausted JojaCo employee by daylight, and pyrokinetic superhero The Phoenix by moonlight, until she accidentally starts a fire at work and has to blame it on her superpowered alter-ego to avoid being discovered. The Phoenix is forced into early retirement, and with nothing else to lose, Ava moves to her grandfather’s old farm for a new start. Between restoring the farm, resolutely bottling all of her feelings, and trying to keep her powers under wraps, Ava has a lot on her plate. She’ll figure it out. Eventually. She hopes. Meanwhile, the hacker Memento, Phoenix’s good friend and confidant, is left to pick up the pieces alone after her sudden disappearance. He’s fully convinced that she didn’t start the fire, and he’s determined to discover the truth and clear her name... As long as he doesn’t fall for the pretty new farmer down the road, first. Part superhero AU, part mental health recovery arc, and part rom-com, topped with a generous serving of secret identity love square shenanigans, hurt/comfort, shameless flirting and banter, and dramatic irony.

I've mentioned before that I don't like OC main characters. Video games are the one exception to that rule. I'm really not big on reader inserts (no judgement, just personal preference), so when I read fanfic for a video game with a self-insert type main character, I'm looking to read about people's fully developed OCs, but I also want a good deal of the focus to be on the game's characters as they're the only reason I'm looking for stuff to read. That's what this fic is and I love it!

I also wouldn't normally rec fanfic for properties outside of Miraculous since this is specifically a Miraculous blog, but this is Stardew Valley fanfic, which is why I picked it over fic from other, more complex properties. If you don't know that game, it's a farming sim whose cast is developed enough for you to get attached to them, but who don't have a ton of depth, so you can read this sucker without having touched the game because there's no deep lore here. The game dev is apparently pretty open about the fact that he kept lots of things about the characters ambiguous so you could read things like their relationships and ages in whatever way makes you happy. Only prep work I might recommend is reading the character summaries from the game's wiki and you'd only need to do that for the named characters.

As I said above, fics like this are where I get my more-serious-story-with-identity-shenanigan-included itch scratched and are what I'd recommend looking for in either fanfic or original fiction form if that's what you like as TV shows just don't seem to have this kind of content, probably because TV shows often draw plot lines out to maximize views while novel-style stories generally have a clear end goal, which is why it can be hard for TV romances to feel satisfying. However, there are certainly a ton of TV shows that I haven't watched, so if anyone has recs for anon, then feel free to drop a comment or give this a reblog with your rec list.

[f1bordeaux]

If You Cared (part 2) | mv1

It's been years since you've indulged in a vacation. What better time is there than summer? Your family, the beach house in Italy-it seems perfect. But, for things to be just like good old times, your family needs to invite his. So of course you are having mixed feelings as the boy who broke your heart re-enters your life like nothing happened. Warnings: None Pairing: Max Verstappen x Reader Word count: 2.2+k Poetry style | Story style A/n: Here is part 2! The angst literally hasn't began yet there is so much more to come you might hate me by the end of this lol srry ;) Also! If you want to be tagged in future parts, let me know! Part One|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Part Five

“How are you feeling?”

You don’t turn around, already aware of who is speaking to you. Instead, you remain sat on the edge of the pool, feet lightly swinging through the water. There is a lot of noise coming from the house, people talking, laughing, sharing a drink or two. Outside, however, it is quiet. The comotion becomes a background noise that is masked by the chirping of crickets and the ocean waves only a few kilometers away. It is calm, it is dark, it is peaceful.

Mia sat down next to you, keeping her knees tucked into her chest. “I’m fine.” You say.

“Dinner was-”

“Tense.” You answer for her. And it was. Dinner was a never ending slew of compliments to Max, your family praising him and his family bragging about him. Did he deserve the comments made towards him? Absolutely. He was a phenomenal driver, something you couldn’t even deny. Max knew what he was doing on the track like it was second nature. Maybe it was second nature to him. But, all you could think about was the boy who left you. The boy who turned his back so quickly that he couldn’t even hear you cry. The boy who took everything from you just to disappear a few years later.

“Yeah.” Mia said. “Tense.”

Silence came quickly after that, the two of you just taking in the atmosphere around you. The sun had long set, the heat had long gone. The pool lights casted a turquoise glow over the backyard. It was beautiful. You remembered running across the tiles as a kid, jumping into the pool at late hours of the night. Max and you would be playing together and Mia and Victoria would be on their own. Life was good then. Life was simple.

The patio door slid open, unbeknown to you. Mia turned to look, however, eyes going wide when she saw who it was. With her lips flattened to a line, she rested a hand on your shoulder before standing up. “Try not to ruin your own summer, y/n.”

With that she was gone, her body being replaced by another. “Care if I sit with you?”

Again, you knew the voice before you saw the face. Max lowered himself to the ground, sticking his feet in the water right next to you. He was so close that if you moved over, just an inch, your thigh would be flush against his. You wonder if he’s just as warm as he used to be. You wonder if his skin feels just as soft as it once had. You think of a lot of things as Max kicks his feet through the water.

“We haven't had a chance to talk-”

“Since you left?”

He sniffles, leaning back on his palms. “I was going to say since I got here.”

“That works too.” You say. There are two ways to proceed. You can either cause a huge comotion, letting him know that-hey, maybe you were not over him. Maybe you still envied him for making you fall in love with him and then disappearing off the face of the earth. Maybe you guys could have made it work but he didn’t even bother trying. Or, you could do as you told yourself a week ago and move on. Let yourself have a good summer. Let the hurt come in waves but dont show it. Maybe you can outgrow it this year. “How was your flight?”

He looks at you, almost confused-like. It wasn’t what he was expecting you to say. “Uh, good. The Florence airport was packed but once we got over here everything was fine.”

You nod, looking down at the water. “Good, good.”

“How’s work been? I hear you work at a museum in New York.”

“Yeah, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

“Wow,” He shakes his head in approval. You don't need his approval, but you wonder what he really thinks of your job. Does he think you wasted your life? Does he think that your job is cool? At least you didn’t work at a McDonalds, right? “That sounds fancy. I can’t say I’ve been.”

“Have you ever been to New York in general?”

“No.”

You chuckle. It feels wrong to do so, but you can't help the small laugh that brushes past your lips. His dry humor is still intact you notice. What else is still the same about him? You haven’t heard him laugh yet, so you wonder if it sounds the same as before-boyish and cute. Does he still play FIFA like no tomorrow? Is his favorite color still blue?

“Do you remember jumping into the pool at like midnight as kids?” His hoarse voice cuts your train of thought in two. “Your mom would yell at us because she wanted to go to bed but now she had to make sure we showered.”

“I was just thinking about that earlier.” You want to slap yourself across the face as you say that sentence. You were thinking about him? There goes your ‘I dont give a fuck about him anymore’ deminer. 

But he smiles, exhaling through his nose as he turns to look at you. “Where’d the time go?”

“I wish I knew, Max.” You say, pulling your legs from the pool. Slowly, you walk to the back door, the orange glow from the inside light painting your skin shades of golds and browns. You look almost like an angel, like a God. Max notices it. Max notices a lot of things. “Goodnight.”

He sighs from behind you. “Goodnight, y/n.”

That night after a long, cold shower, you sit at the desk in your room, looking over the backyard and pool you had just conversed at. Your palm rests on a handle to one of the top drawers, and you fight yourself on whether or not to open it. You know what's in there. You know what you’re getting yourself into. But you don’t know if you want that pain or not. It was like Pandora’s box. If you got sucked in-which you knew was about to happen-there would be no escape. You would be heartbroken all over again.

Fuck it.

You pulled the drawer open, the contents shifting forward. There were photos-hundreds of photos-and two letters. There were two pens, a pink one and a blue one, there was a small fabric square, and there were a pair of glasses. Everything, save the photos, belonged to Max. The letters, you knew, would tear you apart to read. So, you pushed those aside, opting to pick up a small stack of photos. On the back in Sharpie ink they said, 2008. You and him were 10. Your birthday wasn’t until winter-his in fall only two months apart from yours.

Pulling the rubberband away, you studied the photos. You, Mia, Luca and Victoria in the pool. You, Max, Luca and Mia eating dinner at some restaurant. Max and Luca on bicycles. Victoria and you hugging on the beach. The sunset over the backyard. Max and you, lying together on the couch tucked underneath six or so blankets, fast asleep. His arm was around you, your cheeks pressed against one another. You smiled to yourself as you felt your throat closing up. “This sucks.” You whispered.

It did suck. You just simply couldn’t understand why Max didn’t want to try. It’s not like you guys were neighbors at the time. You only saw one another during the summer, but you were still friends during the rest of the year. Why would any of that change just because he was getting popular in driving? The only obvious reason was because he didn’t want you around. He didn’t want you. It could have worked if he would have tried. But he didn’t, so why should you spend your summer trying to mend the bridge he burned?

You threw all the photos back into the drawer, slamming it shut. You turned off the lamp desk and walked to your bed in the pitch black. Whatever was meant to happen, would happen. With or without Max.

-

“You’re sure you don't want to come?” Mia asks through your cracked open door. “Max-”

“She said no.” Luca pushes her aside, sticking his head in your room. Your attention was buried in your phone, mindlessly scrolling through some form of social media. You couldn’t see Luca’s childish grin or Mia’s worrying features. “I’ll bring you back some waffles or something, y/n.”

“Whatever, Luca.” You responded. He stuck his tongue out, making a spitting noise before slamming your door shut so hard you were afraid it would fall off the hinges. “Luca!”

It was far too early in the morning to be dealing with your little brother. Actually, it was never a good time to be dealing with your little brother. He’d woken you up, close to four am, to ask if you wanted to go grab breakfast and watch the sunset. You declined his offer, opting to stay in bed just a little longer. Plus, if everyone was going, Max was going. The last thing you wanted was to watch the sunrise with Max. So, you hid under the covers for a little longer, feeling the ceiling fan drag cold air on your exposed skin.

You heard the front door close from downstairs, a signal that you were finally alone. Slowly, you rose from your bed, taking long strides across the room. Just because you didn’t want to watch the sunset with everyone didn’t mean you wanted to miss out on it. There would be a perfect view from the backyard or from the beach only a quick walk away. You sombered through the house, a soft, chilling blue being cast through the windows. You loved this time of day, before the sun was up, before the heat settled into the ground, before the world was really active. It was so serene.

“Good morning.”

You paused at your spot on the base of the steps. Max stood in the kitchen, a glass of water in his hand. “You didn’t-why didn’t you-”

He shrugged as you struggled to speak. “I thought you were going. I didn’t want to bother.”

Guilt trip me, perfect. “Max, you shouldn’t base your itinerary on what I’m doing.” You said.

“So then why didn’t you go?”

“Fair point.”

He laughed, bringing his water to his lips. Yeah, you thought. He still has the same boyish laugh. “Come,” He said, holding his hand across the kitchen island. You stepped closer, although hesitantly. “Let's watch the sunrise and hash out whatever this is.”

Face your fears? Speak to Max about the problem at hand? Explain to him that you aren't over the loss of his presence in your life? Your stomach churned at the idea. Your stomach churned even more when you realized that you were only wearing a large tshirt and some underwear that was barely covered by the hem of the shirt. Instantly, your cheeks heated up, the back of your hand going to cool one side down. God you should have gone to breakfast.

Max raised his eyebrows, closing his hand before reopening it. “Well?”

“Right, yeah, sorry.” You said, grabbing a blanket before grabbing his hand. He knew you looked good-effortlessly good. You had just gotten out of bed and still you looked perfect. Your lips were plump, your eyelashes were so long and dark, your skin was glowing. He thought you looked better now than any dolled-up girl he’d met in Monaco. You looked so good just existing, but he didn’t think he’d be able to say that to your face.

The two of you walked outside, sitting in the patio chairs facing the ocean. He cleared his throat, turning to look at you as you draped the blanket over your legs. “I’m sorry.”

“Max-”

“You deserved better. I had no right to make you fall in love with me and then just go. I knew I’d leave so I should have never ruined what special bond you and I had. I’m so sorry, y/n.”

Your jaw was practically on the floor as he spoke. Where was this coming from? What prompted him to say this? “I-I’m speechless.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, but can we have a few weeks that are similar to our childhood? Just me and you doing dumb stuff that we shouldn’t be doing? Making memories that we’ll tell people for decades?” He looks right into your eyes as he speaks, something he never really does. There is this soft sparkle in his eyes, this soft dazzling glow. He looks amazed, he looks taken aback. He looks so-pretty? God, the way his voice was dancing through your ears, the way his hair looked-still messy from getting out of bed-the way his hands fidgeted with one another, the way a faint blush dusted his cheeks-Max looked so desirable right now. You wanted to reach over and kiss him, to feel his warm, plush lips on your own.

You forced yourself to look away, afraid of what would pursue if you didn't. The sun had partly peaked over the oceanline. Give him a chance, you told yourself. What's the worst that could happen? He knows he fucked up and wont make that mistake again. Neither will you. “Yeah,” You finally say. He provides a relieved smile. “Yeah, let’s have a good summer, Max.”

Continuation tags:@hanversace

[dearmura]

hii:) can u write something like riki x f!reader when they just listening to music at 3am with riki’s airpods!! like clam music and they just hugging and talking to each other with soft voice not to wake someone up. that idea popped up in my head while listening to cold by sign crushes motorist (it’s really nice I promise!!) and it really reminded me of riki and his vibe!! thank you~~🖤

midnight blues

warnings: not proofread

pairings: non-idol! Ni-Ki × fem! reader

genre: fluff

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

groaning softly as your eyes flutter open, you slowly become aware of your surroundings, brought awake by the soft sound of music in your ears almost too low to hear. feeling the figure holding you tighten his grip, your hear a slight shift in the pillow beside you

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up, angel?" riki whispered worryingly, placing a soft kiss on your forehead before tangling your legs in his. shaking your head dismissively, you utter a quiet 'its okay' before leaning into his touch, comforted by the warmth of this body heat

you try to form a sentence but the sound is muffled by your face buried in the crook of his neck, refusing to leave his embrace. giggling softly at your clinginess, he utters a teasing 'hm?,' wanting you to reiterate. as if physically paining you to do so, you peel yourself away from his chest for a second, meeting his eyes

"why are you still up?" you mumble, voice still not fully recovered from your previous slumber. you nuzzle into him further as you wait for his answer, earning a chuckle out of the boy

"dunno, just been a little stressed, that's all" he tries to brush off, making the whole ordeal seem so miniscule. with the clock reading 3 am, you whip your head to the boy

"ki? it's 3 am, what do you mean that's all?" there's a hint of worry in your voice as you speak, you hand coming up to his face to caress his cheek. he leans into the touch

"s-nothin princess. jus wanna stay li-this for now" he slurred his words a little, almost drunk off the attention you were giving him. not wanting to press further, you let it go, knowing he would open up to you about it sooner or later, just not right now. hearing the same soft melody that woke you up before, you change the topic

"can I listen too?" you ask, eyes switching to the airpod he took out at the beginning of he conversation, ensuring he was giving you his full, undivided attention

"of course, angel" he says in his classic deep voice that never fails to make your heart skip a beat. handing you the airpod in his hand, you place it in your ear before he snakes his hand to the back of your head, gently bringing your head to his chest

*now playing: it's you - max*

feeling his fingers tangle in your hair, he softly massages your scalp, making you let out a satisfied hum. as the chorus rolled around, he slightly pulled away, now inches away from your face, softly singing the lyrics

"it's you~ loving's so easy to do~" eyeing you pure adoration, you can't help but giggle, hiding your face as you feel his eyes on you. he chuckles before taking your hands

"why so shy, angel? can't a boyfriend express how much he loves his pretty girl?" as he speaks, he lifts your chin to meet his eyes. slowly, he leans in, letting your lips meet. you hope he doesn't notice the flush that comes across your face. he'll probably tease you about it later but for now he ignores it

pulling away, you both smile as you rest your head on his chest, lulled back to sleep with the soft thump of his heartbeat. smiling fondly at your sleepy state, he can't help but grow drowsy himself, sleeping happily knowing you were

fin

an: so sorry I took so long to post, I've been a little busy:') I hope you guys enjoy! Loved this prompt btw!!

[rainylana]

A prequel.

Eddie Munson x female reader

warnings: cocaine use, language, sibling loss, depression and grief, angst.

summary: this is short and considered a prequel to a potential series if you guys want it enough. so please let me know! if not, i’ll leave it as is!

Eddie remembered your screams. He remembered them everyday. That was why he couldn’t sleep now. It was raining slightly, a soft sprinkle that wasn’t strong enough to put out his cigarette. He sat on the porch steps, elbows on his knees, eyes tired and drained, dark circles under his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a decent nights sleep.

He was sleeping on the couch tonight, after a fight he’d had with you, but it wasn’t giving him much comfort. Nothing did, these days. The only real joy he got was when he visited his uncle. He loved you very much, but the spark was disappearing day by day. And maybe that wasn’t fair to say, he couldn’t begin to imagine what you were going through. He absolutely could not. Eddie was lonely, he missed you and what you once had, but his girl was nothing but a shell anymore. He missed you terribly. 

It had been two months since your sister, Meredith had died, two months since that dreaded night that haunted everyone. It was like the world had stopped turning on its axis completely, like everyone had stopped breathing.

The friend group was trying it’s hardest to heal and move on from the tragedy of loosing their friend and the state that Max was in, but it was hard when they knew how much you were suffering. Eddie didn’t want to move on without you.

You weren’t doing well. You didn’t eat. All you did was sleep and drink. You were angry, a shell of who you once used to be, so vibrant and bright, now dull and hallow. You didn’t think it was fair that Max had lived and Meredith had died. Even though Max was only living by the machine, her body was still living, her heart still beat, even if her soul was lost somewhere. Max was still here and Meredith wasn’t, and that just wasn’t fair.

Eddie put his cigarette out on the wood railing, hurrying up when the rain started to fall harder. He shook his hair like a wet dog when he came inside, squinting his eyes in the darkness of his home. He went back to your shared bedroom, gently climbing back into bed and resting his arm above his head.

You were snuggled against the pillow, lips parted as you breath in deeply. You must of been having a peaceful sleep, he figured. You didn’t get much of it, as you were usually awakened by night terrors. He brought up his finger to swipe your lip gently, sighing in exhaustion.

“I don’t know how to help you, baby.” He whispered, practically mouthing the words as if you could hear him. He just didn’t know what to do. You were becoming grey, lifeless. Your hair was matted and your face was drained, skin pale and bruised in places.

A wave of ptsd came over him, hearing your screams and your sister’s lifeless body torn to shreds by the demobats. He swallowed harshly, blinking away tears so he wouldn’t wake you up. He missed Meredith so badly, everyone did. It practically killed him for you to go through this pain, killed him because he couldn’t understand it.

He didn’t know how to help.

•

“Where the hell have you been?” You snapped, pacing back and forth wildly. “I’ve been waiting for hours!”

“I know, I know!” He apologized quickly as he rushed inside. “I know, I’m sorry, baby, there was a hold up. The guy-”

“I don’t give a fuck! Just give me my shit!” You barked, stomping toward him and grabbing the bags he carried, turning the upright for the contents to spill on the floor. You rummaged through it till you found your ziplock bag of coke, rushing to the table to dump out a little. Eddie watched as you lined it with a credit card, catching his breath against the wall. You huffed out a breath of relief as you snorted the little white lines, wiping your nose after the second one. You shakily sat down, hands shaking from your intense withdrawal.

“What?” You locked eyes with him.

He shook his head, pushing himself off the wall as he bent down. “Nothin’.” He started picking up his stuff.

“Looks like you got something to say.” You challenged, pushing back your unbrushed hair.

Eddie signed, zipping up his backpack as he tossed it to the side. “Y/n, it’s nothing, honey.”

You glared at him before you decided to drop it. “How was your day?” You asked, starting to feel calmer.

“Was just fine.” He sat down across from you. “Another day at the office.”

You nodded, placing your hands on the table as you stared off into space. Eddie very much regretted letting you get into his stash, but he’d been so desperate for anything to help you. He didn’t realize what kind of hole you’d fall into. You were hooked and it was his fault. It had been a few days since he was able to get more, so you’d been extra worked up. You took anything he had, but cocaine was what really had it’s grasp on you. Being high was the only joy you could really fathom.

“Don’t you think you should watch what you’re doing?” He looked at you through his lashes, nodding down to the bag between you.

You knew what he was talking about, but you raised a brow. “Huh?”

“You know what I’m talking about.” He said. “Your becoming too dependent on this. Don’t you think it’s time you slow down?”

You looked at him in hypocrisy. “You’re the one who fucking gets me this shit, Eddie.” You scoffed, voice sore and hoarse from previous crying sessions. “I can’t stop. It helps me, you know that.”

“I know.” He closed his eyes. “But maybe you should consider stopping. You’re becoming..too…I don’t know, you just need to stop, y/n. We’re all worried about you.”

You shook your head, a lump building in your throat. “So, what are you saying? Not gonna give me what I want anymore? You’re just gonna let me suffer. You know I need it!” Your voice cracked with tears and he looked down guiltily.

“Angel, please,” He pleaded, fisting his hands on the table. “Please, you need to get some kind of help! Anything! Just not this. I’m sorry for getting you started, it was stupid and I shouldn’t have done it. I just wanted you to feel better, but I should of realized what it would do. But baby, it’s been two months since she died.” He begged you, shaking his head with every word, hoping to get through to you. He reached out to grab your hands.

“Please, open up to me.” He begged. “Please, tell me what I can do.”

The mention of your sisters passing made you shed a tear, pulling your hands away from Eddie’s. “Just get me what I need. That’s what you can do for me.” You got up and left him at that, disappearing into your room.

Eddie stared at the table, allowing his eyes to burn with tears as he choked on his breath.

•

The weight of your sobs was causing you pain, your chest was on fire and you felt like the contents of your stomach would come up any moment. You couldn’t breath. You tried again and again to get air into your lungs, but you couldn’t. This feeling, this ache of grief in your heart was the single worst thing you’d ever felt in your life. If it wasn’t for Eddie, you’d surely kill yourself.

Your eyes were wide and you knelt down to the wood steps below you, gripping your chest as you hyperventilated. You were so loud that the neighbors dog was staring at you, pulling back it’s ears in confusion. You cried and you wept with your broken heart, shaking and sobbing as it started to rain yet again, but you couldn’t move from your spot.

She was too young, too sweet and too innocent. She was only sixteen. She had her whole life ahead of her. You didn’t even get to say goodbye. Eddie had dragged you away as the upside had caved in on itself. Her body was still there, a rotten, soulless corpse. You had no family, only Eddie, but you still felt alone.

You didn’t hear him burst outside in the pouring rain, grabbing your shoulders as he hurried to get you out of the weather. You sobbed as he wrapped his arms around your wet body, lifting you into his arms as he carried you inside.

He sat on the couch with you in his arms, holding you like a newborn baby. He rocked you, closing his eyes as he laid his head against yours, the weight of your heartache hitting him like knives to his heart. He didn’t shush you, didn’t tell you it would be okay or give you promises of false hope. He just held you. He’d done this time and time again, and holding you was the only thing he could truly do.

[lokisprettygirl]

Under his influence (Post Avengers! Loki x female reader)

Read chapter 6 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 7

Summary : You come face to face with another god.

Warning: kissing, subbish loki behaviour, soft loki is way too soft

"Thor, Are you going to tell me where this brother of yours is finally?" Thor glared at Tony as he questioned him. Again.

"I told you, i do not know of his whereabouts"

"Uhhhuh? So tell me about this heimdall person, i learned that he can see everything and he can find Loki no matter where in the galaxy he is" Tony said

"And where did you learn this completely untrue information from? " Thor asked him, not that stark was wrong but he couldn't have told him the truth just yet.

"Doctor selvig" Ofcourse.

"Look if I had any inkling where Loki was I'd go get him right this moment" Thor answered him so Tony sighed before he walked away.

"I love kissing you" you giggled as you pressed a small fleeting kiss on his lips again. He smiled and tucked your hair behind your ears, he really was enjoying having you on top of him on the sofa, maybe the dream wasn't so far from the reality after all.

"That's nothing, you should do other activities with me" you chuckled as he said that. He was so cute you just wanted to keep hugging and kissing him

"Mmmm i thought we were going to take things slow"

"This is me taking it slow sweetheart, if we were on Asgard we would already be a couple of naked friends"

"Godd you're cute" you giggled again and it made him smile.

Last night you thought waking up in the morning after that intense kiss would make you feel awkward with him, that's usually what happened before, guys used to get too sexual too fast and you never even felt the heat with them, most of the time you would just indulge them so you'd be done with the sex stuff and get back to them being nice to you for no reason. But Things didn't feel weird with Loki at all.

You woke up and he was in the kitchen trying to make you a cup of tea first thing in the morning, your heart soared at the sight of him and it made you feel so emotional about him, after that he sat down with you and you both had a conversation about this thing between you two. He had made it clear that he didn't want just sex with you and you didn't feel used by him, you felt so comfortable with him that it just all came naturally to you, the urge to coddle him was intense but at the same time it didn't make you feel as if you were annoying him with the constant affection that wasn't purely sexual in nature.

"So are you sweet princess..I wish you didn't have to go" he mumbled as he kissed you again.

"I know I'm sorry but mommy gotta work so she can spoil you rotten with fancy stuff you know" you joked but it probably went over his head because his cheeks were flushed to the max, you hadn't seen such rosy cheeks before "I was kidding lo" he nodded as you said that, he was finally able to breathe. As you got off his lap, he tilted his head to look at you. Why were you so beautiful?

"Don't you feel bored here? All alone? Maybe you can come with me sometimes, you just have to look like a different person" you said to him as you packed your bag for the work.

"I don't know, I mean i really want to but I'm afraid the tesseract would make it easier for them to find me wherever I go" you looked at him confused as he told you that.

"How? I mean, isn't it hidden in your vault?"

"It is but ..I will explain someday whenever you are free"

"Okay.. anytime I'm home..you can talk to me you know that right? I don't have to be the one to talk all the time" He smiled as you said that

"You do not talk enough, if you have been told otherwise before, it's simply just untrue" he mumbled sincerely so you walked towards him and kissed his forehead. The way he just knew whenever your words were hiding your insecurities was impeccable.

"You're becoming my best friend, you know that right? Am I yours? And Do you have other best friends because they have a competition now" he chuckled as you said that.

"I do not have many people I can even consider as my acquaintances, let alone by my friend"

"That's a shame because you're one of the best things to exist"

"You are so cute" he mimicked your accent so you kissed his forehead one more time and then you finally managed to get out of the apartment. You really wished you didn't have to work.

You were locking the door from outside when you heard Mrs Geller's voice. That can't be good? Did she want to be a spy or something?

"Y/n i haven't seen you in so long" You turned around to look at her and smiled,

"Hello Mrs Geller, actually you did, we met on my birthday remember, i brought the cake for you?" You reminded her so she placed her hand on her head.

"Ohh yess yess silly old me, so how's that boyfriend of yours? your mother told me he was very handsome" she asked excitedly

"Uhhhh actually we broke up" you pretended to look sad so she stepped towards you and hugged you.

"Awnn hhoney I'm so sorry..are you seeing someone new now because I heard voices last night" Your heart sped up as she said that, you were stuck to your door when all that kissing happened.

"Ahhhh yess ummm..it's the guy from the gym. Chase yeahh" you mumbled nervously so she smiled.

"Well I hope he's the good one and the one for you" you nodded and excused yourself as you really had to be at work on time. Okay No more press me against the door while we are kissing for the two of you.

Your day went by normally, there was this unwanted tension between you and Chase, you knew he was talking shit about you to everyone so you glared at him everytime your eyes met with him. Serves you right for going on a date with a coworker.

The only thing getting you through the day was knowing that the sexiest guy in all of universe was cooped up in your apartment at the moment.

After your shift ended you walked out of the gym and there were a few girls clicking pictures with some guy a few feet away from you, you had seen a local celebrity or two before so it really didn't shock you, what shocked you was that he was no local celebrity but a Fucking Avenger. Holy crap.

He looked at you and started to walk towards you so you turned around and walked the other way.

"Lady, wait up" you heard his voice and it made you halt in your place unwillingly. Yup that's definitely his brother, that was Thor. You turned around to look at him as he approached you. Maybe you should have continued to walk.

"Are you talking to me?" You asked him, he was in earth people clothes but that shaggy jacket resembled something a homeless person would have worn out of compulsion.

"Yes my lady" he smiled

"Wait you're Thor right?" You pretended to be surprised and he smiled again, this time you could count all the teeths he had in his mouth.

"I had hoped the disguise would camouflage me and make me look like a proper midgardian" he chuckled as he fixed his jacket.

"Yeahh only if all the midgardians loved to dress up like a hooligan ..why did you ummm what do you want from me?" You tried to keep your tone as polite as you could, you knew this was something to do with Loki because there was no way an Avenger had just seen you on the road and wanted to talk to you for no reason. Things like that didn't just happen to you out of nowhere.

"I am assuming you may have a clue what all of this is about" you crossed your arms as he said that.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about" Maybe instead of canoodling and kissing you should have learned the art of lie from the god of lies and mischief.

"Pardon me lady uhhh-"

"Y/n"

"Lady y/n, my brother Loki is a very dangerous man, I do not know what he has been telling you but half of those things are just lies"

"I think you're confusing me for somebody else, who is Loki?" The whole nation knew who Loki was at this point, you duffer.

"All I want to say is, I have known about this for a while now but I just can not figure out why he's hiding and what he's planning on doing next" you gulped as he said that.

"Again i literally have no idea what you're talking about, so if you don't mind please excuse me, i have to go home" And then you should probably die. You turned around to leave but he spoke again,

"You should have informed us, you do not know my brother as well as you think you do, how many days has it been? Mere few weeks? I have known him all my life, he's not someone you can trust" You didn't respond but kept walking away from him but you jumped on your spot as he whirled around his hammer to fly away, he scared you a little, well he scared you alot, if he knew already why didn't the Avengers come for him?

You were worried about Loki now, what if you go home and he's not there? You didn't want them to take him away and hurt him the way they had done before, granted he started a fucking war but still, he didn't do it because he wanted to hurt people, he did it because he had no choice.

"Okay I have some very bad news to share" you mumbled as you locked the apartment door from the inside, as if that would stop the god of thunder from breaking in if he was determined to do that.

"Did you see Thor?" He asked you so you looked at him shocked.

"How did you know? Wait let me just move away from the door" you mumbled. You feared the spy.

"I heard the thundering" Well he wasn't freaking out for some reason

"And that is not worrying you because?"

"Because I had a hunch that he must have known" he mumbled. He seemed too calm for some reason.

"How?" You sat on the couch next to him so he put his book down and smiled

"Can I kiss you first?" You gave him a little smile so he leaned in and grabbed your chin with his fingers before he kissed you, you thought it would be a touch and go sort of kiss but nope he almost sucked your soul into him in the very best way. You were breathless and you almost didn't remember anything about Thor for a few moments.

"Ohh wow God you're a good kisser"

"So are you princess " your face flushed at the remark, he was holding your chin with his fingers so he pulled you closer and kissed your forehead. Damn if you didn't love them forehead kisses more than anything.

"Ummm we need to talk about this Thor situation, also I saw his hammer, the big hammer everyone talks about" Gee he indeed hoped you meant mjolnir and not the other hammer.

"Mjolnir?"

"yeah that...mobonil..umm I'm freaking out here, how did you know that he knew?"

"Heimdall, must have informed him"

"Sorry ummm Who is Handle?"

He chuckled as you said that

"Heimdall, the protector of bifrost, but I deem him the loyal snitch of Asgard" He seemed so proud of himself for that remark.

"Okay that's the guy you froze right because he went against you?"

"Yes And i enjoyed it tremendously" you cupped his cheeks as he said that.

"You're so cute" you pecked his lips and he smiled "Wait so he knew you were here?"

"He can see everything, everywhere, all at once" you nodded as he said that. That would make a good movie title.

"That must be exhaustive, I'm so confused if they know already then why the Avengers aren't here yet?"

"Well I'm assuming my oaf brother hasn't revealed this information to his band of heroes just yet"

"Why would he do that? Am I asking too many questions?"

"No. You're perfect my darling " he pecked your lips again before he answered you "Perhaps he is attempting to figure out what am I planning further, it must wound him, me not causing mischief around the globe"

"Or maybe he misses you" you mumbled as you got up and he shook his head, you were in a dire need of a shower, you were sweating profusely on the way back home because of the meeting with Thor but talking to Loki had put your heart at ease a little bit.

However now Loki was stressed out of his mind. Why did Thor keep this to himself? What was he doing?

"What did he tell you? May i know?" He questioned you when you came out of the bathroom.

"Ummmm he said that i shouldn't have believed anything you had told me and that you are a liar and a very dangerous man" a frown appeared on his face as you said that so you walked towards the couch and sat down on his lap.

"He is not wrong, i have participated in multitude of transgressions

"Yeah? You're a dangerous man..very very dangerous?" Your pitch got high and it curved the corner of his mouth into a small smile.

"I can be"

"I know..you're too powerful "

"That I am"

"But I also know that you could have hurt me the day you met me and you could have manipulated me–"

"How do you know I have not done just that, maybe all of this just an act to fool you" well you never even thought about that even though it could have been a possibility.

"It's not"

"How are you so sure?"

"I am not, i have been lied to and been hurt before and surely have been fooled more than twice so shame on me" you chuckled, making his brows scrunch in that adorable manner "But I'm choosing to believe you because I like to believe that these past two months has been as nice for you as it has been for me and that you love being my friend and my…best friend and–" his eyes teared up so you kissed his forehead. You were about to get up from his lap but he grabbed onto your hips, making you nervous all of a sudden, the ball kept rolling back and forth.

"I would never want to be someone who makes you feel like that darling but I am not like you, you're perfect, in every way and i am full of flaws, i have done reckless things that I regret now, i have hurt people who may or may not have cared about me, I am not the person you believe me to be" his voice sounded so small and it made your heart render for him.

"And that's okay, nobody is perfect, I am not either but the way you are choosing to ignore all my flaws or maybe choosing to accept me with those flaws because you care about me is exactly how I feel too, I care about you lo, and I want you to know that what you have done before isn't going to change that for me" he placed his head down on on your chest and hugged you tightly, your fingers caressed his scalp in a gentle manner and that's all he needed in the moment.

He has never had anyone put so much of their belief in him, you trusted him to not hurt you but he was Loki, he fucked up even when he didn't want to, he got punished even when he made no mistakes, he just knew someday he'd do something that would make you run away from him. He hadn't even showed you his real self just yet, that hideous monster was not someone you'd ever want to hold and cuddle.

"What would you like for dinner lo?" You asked him softly so pulled away to look at you

"Whatever you feed me would be generous" you smiled as he said that.

"Soooo cuteee"

There it was, the intense need to coddle him and then it hit you, he had become the man you have been looking for all your life, the only problem was you couldn't tell anyone about him, you couldn't share how gorgeous your boyfriend was because nobody can know about him.

After dinner, he wanted to take a shower so you laid down on the bed and waited for him. You felt extremely anxious, if his brother knew then there was a possibility they'd come get him anytime they wanted, the thought scared you, they'd probably take him back to NYC, Or worse Asgard. There is no way you'd be able to handle another long distance relationship, especially not an interplanetary relationship. Did you two even have a relationship?

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't even feel him getting into the bed, he was right on top of you, the cold water dripping from his hair made you shiver as they hit your bare skin. Also, he didn't have a shirt on. He did not have a shirt on.

"Hiiii" you giggled nervously so he leaned down to kiss you

"Is this fine? I can put a shirt on if you'd want me to" you bit on your lower lips as he said that.

"It's fine lo" you mumbled as your fingers brushed over his chest, he wasn't a hairy guy in general, maybe it was the frost giant genes because his brother seemed hairy but Loki did have soft little curls of hair on his chest, they were as soft as the hair on his head "Have you ever been told how pretty you are?" he gulped as you said that. He has been called handsome before but never pretty.

"Not after I matured, no" you brushed hair behind his shoulders and you could feel him shivering with the touch.

"Would you mind if I call you pretty?"

"Why would I mind?"

"Well guys..some men don't like that.. "

He smiled as you said that and leaned down to kiss you,

"You can call me anything you want"

"Really?"

"Mmmhhmmm"

"Why??" Because he desperately wanted to be beneath you while you'd call him pretty and kiss his forehead.

"Because I cherish it whenever you're being this way with me" you smiled as he said that.

"Well I cherish you and you're the prettiest man I have ever known" the charm he was using to keep his cock from having an erection was exhausting him, he didn't want to make you uncomfortable, you wanted things slow and he wanted to learn more about you before he takes that step with you, besides his life was so unpredictable these days, having sex with you didn't seem like the brightest idea but it has been so long and every time you touched him or praised him it made him want to hump himself against you.

"Thank you, so are you princess. Well not the prettiest man but the opposite of it, well not the opposite of pretty.. opposite of men" you giggled as he rambled, you just made the silvertongue ramble so you were pretty proud of yourself. He laid down next to you so you turned towards him, his body was so cold but you were getting used to the feeling.

You truly wished that the night had gone by smoothly with him snuggling in your arms but the sound of loud thundering awakened you both and it wasn't supposed to rain today so you knew what you feared was about to happen. His brother was there to take him away.

😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

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[lorifragolina]

A Hallmark Christmas Movie in Summer

And now, we're almost there! The poll spoke up and I'm posting the last corner of my first @harringrovesummerbingo card! I had so much fun writing this one, it's my favourite, because both of them are so silly and stupid and funny, and I adored Max, she is a little brat, affectionately!

I love Hallmark Christmas movies and they are perfect for one of them, witha little summer twist!

Title: A Hallmark Christmas Movie in Summer

Square & Prompt: C1 "Caught in a thunderstorm"

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3679

Major Tags: Idiot to lovers, Hallmark cheesiness, plant shop.

Summary: One is a successful professional person in a big city, probably already an associate, with a healty, handsome neurosurgeon partner. The other is a ripped lumberjack or something similar, living in the same old little Midwest village, maybe not so educated but really good at feeling. One returns home for Christmas and the other turns their entire world "upside down". Now make it in Summer, the one is a bit of a loser and the other is a sort of ripped lumberjack in the same old little Midwest village... Could a thunderstorm draw Steve and Billy near each other?

Read it in AO3

Perfect. Just perfect.

The day couldn’t go worse. 

Not only that, he left his card at the reception of the hotel that morning, so he had to come back  after a three hour drive. Not only he forgot to stop at the last gas station when that red light of the battery turned on, so now the car was at side of the road, out of power, and he just noticed that he left the house’s key inside, but now, the sky was becoming black and silver, the cold air was blowing against him and he could see the lightnings and hear the thunders really near. He was in the fucking middle of nowhere, alone, frightened, and lost.

Well, lost… he probably would prefer being lost. He crossed the “Hawkins” city sign and sighed. 

His parents had sold his childhood home and he came back there to see it for the last time, to take the last things he wanted to keep; he got the chance to take a break from his shitty life in Denver, where his girlfriend had just dumped him for another, less loser, guy, he lost another dead-end job in a insolvent company and he had just to leave the tramp flat he couldn’t afford anymore.

Steve Harrington was coming back to Hawkins in the worst way: heart broken, broke, unemployed and futureless.

And soaking wet, because the dark sky melted down in a cold, heavy and pouring rain in a second, drenching him from head to toe and making him feel even more miserable. 

The city seemed empty and turned off; finally he saw the only open shop along the street that had a light inside and ran to it, opening the door wide at the ting of the little bells, and he took shelter inside.

“Fuck to this shitty city, fuck the rain!” he exclaimed while the door closed behind him, his hair still glued on his forehead and eyes, drippin miserably on the floor.

“And a good day to you too, Harrington”.

Steve’s heart skipped a beat, and he slowly raised his head, moving his wet hair with a hand.

He tried to say something, but words died in his throat and he stayed there, still like a statue, mouth opened, totally blanked.

His enemy, his nemesis, his senior year nightmare… his secret high school crush was there, at the other side of the bar, smirking at him with those perfect blank teeth, his pink lips, his soft flawless skin, his sparkling blue eyes and his blonde curls covered by a hanky, a short sleeves shirt that showed his tattooed toned arms, and a tattoo peeking out  from the collar too, and a black apron cover him and a bouquet of colorful flowers in his hands.

Steve looked around furtively, during an instant that seemed to last forever, to the shop he just entered; buckets of flowers in the floor, shelf with vases with various shades of green and in many shapes, a light floral scent of dried flowers and fresh water. 

He just invaded a plant shop, and Billy Hargove was in charge of it. 

Outside, the storm continued.

“Billy?” he finally murmured, and Billy smiled more, becoming more bright, if possible.

“Hi, Harringrove. Long time no see,” Billy finished the bouquet and smiled again, making Steve blush, and he noticed it, giggling. “Back home, finally,” he added.

Steve shivered, the water still dropping from him. “Just… just visiting my parent’s house… they… they…'' he looked around. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to take cover…”

Billy waved a hand. “Don’t worry. Typical summer thunderstorm”.

Steve could barely breathe, everything Billy said sounded terribly hot and flirty, but it was surely his fault because he didn’t expect to find him here, working between flowers and making a bouquet. He was golden tanned, and he wondered how he could get a color like this in a shithole like Hawkins.

“My car broke and I have…”

Billy smiled again and opened his mouth to answer, but in that moment the door opened again with the jingle of the bells. 

“Jesus Christ, everything happened to me! It always rains when I do some deliveries by foot, damn shit… oh”.

A short figure, covered by a yellow raincoat, dripping like Steve, had entered the shop cursing with a high pitch voice.

Max took off the hood, shaking off the water, and stared at Steve with the same surprise as him staring at her.

“Steve?” Max eyes darting to Billy.

“Hi… Hi, Max…”

“What’s going on?”sShe asked, while Steve was asking the same thing to himself.

“Steve’s car broke and he got caught by the rain like you,” Billy said in a warm, soft voice, and Steve shivered again. “He’s just visiting, right, Harrington?”

Steve nodded. “Yes, I…”

“Well, it’s late and I think nobody would come at this hour, so, what if we just close the shop for today?” Billy continued. 

Max hung the raincoat and took off the boots, smoothing her soaked hair. She shrugged and nodded, turning the sign on the door on “closed”.

“I better get going…” Steve took a step to the door, but Billy snickered a little.

“Oh, not at all, you can’t go around like a drowned rat. Max, can you tidy up while I help Harrington?”

Billy showed a door to Steve, and looked at Max with a crooked smile.

“Slut,” she mouthed.

Billy guided Steve upstairs stairs to the first floor.

“Do you live here?” Steve asked to break the ice.

“Yeah, it’s convenient with the shop. I thought you wanted to dry a little, you seem frozen”.

In fact, Steve felt the water dunking his hair and his clothes and he was beginning to teeth chattering. His hands were ice cold. 

“The bathroom is right there. I’ll get some more towels, if you want to take off those wet clothes”.

Steve kept telling himself that it was probably his fault because he was surprised and nervous, but Billy’s tone seemed really flirty.

He took off his shirt in the bathroom and opened the pants button, but he looked behind him and saw Billy standing there, looking at his narrow waist, some towels in his hands and a smirk in that pretty face.

“Please, don’t mind me, Harrington,” he purred. “We used to be teammates after all, don’t we?”

Steve blushed furiously. Yes, they used to be teammates and change in the same locker room, and he had a hard time in his senior year having Billy around. It took ages to understand that a part of this hate and intolerance against Billy was due to a little attraction too. It took ages for him to come out and accept his past crush on Hargrove.

And now he was half naked, embarrassed, in Billy’s bathroom, in Hawkins, the last place he expected to see Billy again, with his nasty look on his back.

“I’m afraid I don’t have many things that can fit you… but I can borrow you a tracksuit,” Billy entered the bathroom, closer to Steve, and left some clothes for him. “Do you need some underwear too?”

Steve felt his cheeks on fire. “No… I’m fine,” he tried to hide his face, dressing up quickly and drying a little more of his hair. 

“So you stay at the old Harrington manor?” asked Billy from the kitchen. 

“Yes… They are about to sell it and I’m checking…” he nervously went near the door. “I have to go now, I have to return to the car”.

“No way. I’m going with you and I’ll check on it.” Billy took his keys and made it clink, winking at Steve. 

“There’s no need…” Steve tried to brush aside Steve, but Billy nodded.

“Of course. I’m glad to help”.

Steve sighed and got in Billy’s car. He wasn’t surprised to see the infamous blue Camaro and to hear the roar of the gas that Billy liked so much in the old times. 

“It is the battery, nothing serious,” he said after checking the dashboard. “Luckily I have the jumper cables”.

Billy restarted Steve’s car and then cleaned his hand in his jeans, smiling at him. 

“Thank you so much, Billy”.

“No big deal,” Billy leant to his car but he didn’t feel like going away. He shared a little to Steve, who sat in his car, hands on the wheel, too embarrassed to stare back at him. 

“Well, Harrington, have a good time at Loch Nora,” Billy sighed finally, patting Steve’s car and opening the Camaro’s door. 

“Wait, Billy…” Steve gripped the wheel. “Can I… well, I’d like to… do you have plans for dinner?”

“I could cancel, why, Harrington?” he grinned, with sparkles in his eyes. 

“Well, I want… I want to thank you… maybe we can have dinner together?I… I have nothing at the house, anyway…”

Steve sweared internally and cursed himself. Why did he start stammering and begging so pathetically? He bit his lips. 

“Deal,” smirked Billy. “You buy,” he blinked again. Steve nodded. “Can you pick me up in an hour?” 

Steve nodded again and started the car, trying to go away before doing some other screw-up.

Billy had just the time to take a shower and fix his hair, then he dressed up a little bit and bathed in aftershave, as Max noticed in a loud voice when he stormed out the door at Steve’s arrival.

Hawkins didn’t have a lot of fancy restaurants, but fortunately one of the prettier has a table for them. 

Billy ordered a glass of red wine and Steve had the sensation that his way to drink it was too sensual for a simple thank you dinner, and he felt goosebumps all over his body. They chatted nicely about trivial things for half the time. 

“So, what is your life in Seattle, Harrington?” Billy asked abruptly in the middle of the second course.

“Denver,” corrected Steve.

“Denver,” nodded Billy. “Living the best life, right? How are you doing with your girlfriend?” he blinked. 

Steve gulped, swallowing a mouthful. There was no need to tell his whole pathetic story, but there was no need to lie either. They’re chatting about this and that.

“Well my girl dumped me recently, so not very good but one always survives, am I wrong?” he snickered, trying not to seem too miserable.

“Oh. I’m sorry, but I’m sure you’ll find someone better, plenty of fishes in the sea”, Billy smiled again to him. Obviously he hadn’t an idea about how King Steve had sunk so low lately. 

“And you?” Steve teased, raising his eyes at him behind his beer.

Billy scoffed. “Oh, no boyfriend at all,” he stopped a little, letting the word sink between them. “The dating pool is absolute shit, you know…” 

Steve pursed his lips. No, he couldn’t really understand how Billy was single, every man, woman, boy or girl, old or young, any gender and orientation should throw themselves at a stunning beauty like Billy, especially there, in Hawkins, where he should be surely one of a kind. He himself would jump on him either…

“I’m bi,” he shot suddenly, almost without filtering from his brain to his mouth.

Billy choked, blushing a little.

Steve praised the earth to open and swallow him. 

Billy finally smiled, slipping his hand near Steve’s on the table, without touching it, but making the move evidently. He grinned and changed the topic.

When they left the restaurant, the air was warmer than in the afternoon, the heat had already dried the fleeting rain of the thunderstorm, and Billy put his jacket on the backseat of Steve’s car. Steve left him in front of the plant shop and Billy waved him goodnight with a big smile, sighing while the car went away.

The next day started as a hot, shiny and clear summer day, and Max and Billy were working in the shop with the door open to let some fresh air enter. 

Steve appeared in the doorframe in the middle of the afternoon, waving Billy’s jacket as a shield.

“Hello… you left it in my car yesterday…” he lent the jacket to Billy. Max startled looking at Billy, surprised: it was his favorite jacket and he would never forget it. 

“Slut,” she mouthed behind Steve’s back, and Billy grinned at her. 

“Thank you, Steve. It had been a funny night and I wasn’t thinking about the jacket…” he purred, and Max rolled her eyes, while Steve blushed. 

“No problem… Well, I have to go, I… I have some paperwork to handle…,” he turned his back, but Billy stopped him.

“Hey, Harrington, your pantry’s still empty?”

Max sighed, and Steve turned to him, confused.

“Well, yeah… why?”

“What about a homemade dinner… to thank you for it?” Billy whispered softly to him, rubbing his jacket. 

Max wished to be abducted in that very moment: Steve babbled something unintelligible for a long, pathetic minute, before nodding and accepting, bright red like a pepper. 

“Great,” Billy stared at Steve’s eyes until Steve had to lower his gaze and stormed away.

Max stood with her hands on her hips. 

“Harrington, eh? You’re such a slut”.

Billy didn’t look at her face, but took his car keys. 

“I have to go for groceries. Ah, sleep out tonight, I need the house”.

Max shook her head. “What?”

“I need the house, so stay at El’s or Sinclair or whatever, understood?”

Max smirked. “You seem a little bold to me for someone who needs a favor”-

Billy rolled her eyes. “Jeez, ok, fine, please, could you please leave me the house for tonight? Please? ”

”You’ll have me for Thanksgiving and the spring break next year!”

“Are you nuts?”

“And Lucas. And El too,” insisted Max.

“You’re kidding,” Billy looked angrily at her.

“You’re the one who wants to get laid, not me”, Max returned to her work, waiting.

“Ok, ok, fine, you three at my house, whatever!” Billy snapped, and Max smirked. “So you’ll stay at El?”

Max nodded. “Ok, deal, I’ll sleep out tonight. I’ve already planned to stay at El’s, anyway,” she made him tongue, and Billy opened the door with rampage. 

“Bitch,” he snapped at her.

“Slut!” she yelled in return.

Billy opened the door and Steve entered the apartment, welcomed by soft light, a chill music and a delicious smell from the kitchen. The first time he didn’t notice many details, but now he could see a lot of house plants that seemed obvious, and some pictures of Max, Max’s graduation, a portrait and a photo with her and Billy eating an ice cream. 

Billy reached him with a glass of wine and Steve felt a little nervous.

“Is…. Max living here too?”

“Yeah, it’s me and her at the moment…” Billy read the worried look in Steve’s face. “She’s out for dinner,” he smirked, inviting him to sit on the sofa. Steve, instead, followed him in the kitchen where he was giving the last touches to the dinner. 

He had tied his hair up in a bun, with some blonde lock on his neck, a silk shirt, red, and Steve had to awkwardly admit that he had imagined it, the sleeves rolled up on his arms; he had already seen Billy’s tattoos last night at the restaurant, but now they were even hotter with the extra care he put in his outfit. 

Steve had tried to appear at the best too, and after all he hadn’t completely lost his touch, but he almost passed away when he saw the front, the shirt lazily unbuttoned and the tattoo that peeped out on Billy’s pecs, while his golden medal captured the warm light of the room. 

Billy led the conversation during the dinner, and Steve tried to relax, with difficulties, because it seemed that Billy could flirt so naturally that Steve couldn’t even try to resist. After all, an invitation like that had an obvious purpose. 

The food was delicious, another skill that Steve didn’t expect from Billy, but he was distracted by the charming conversation and Billy’s lips, along with more than a couple of the fresh white wine that matched perfectly to the shrimp pasta and the delicate sauce of the meat. 

When they finished, Billy tempted him with a stronger wine and they moved to the sofa. Again, Steve felt nervous for Billy’s proximity, their knees were lightly touching each other, and trying to guess how to carry on with the date.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, will Max…”

Billy shook his head. “Oh, she’s busy, she’s out for the night. A pool party or whatever”.

“Oh.” Steve nodded. 

“A pity you couldn't throw a pool party here again, right?”

Steve shrugged. “It’s life, I guess”.

Billy chuckled softly. “Although I can only imagine how big is the pool in your mansion in Denver,” he said, in a tone that Steve couldn’t read. He blushed, thinking at the dump he had called home for the last two years. 

“Well…” he considered putting all his cards on the table or maintaining a little dignity, at least for the moment. “Actually I don't exactly have a pool… actually I’m leaving my… my apartment, I need a fresh start, I guess”.

“Well, it’s good too. It’s a classic, right? The little city golden boy who leaves the Midwest and lives the best life in a big city…”

Steve bit his lips. 

“I guess you can make it successfully whenever you want…” again, Steve couldn't really read Billy’s tone, and it seemed a little mocking to him, but how could Billy know he was all but successfully and rich and that he had had a miserable life since when he left Hawkins without any idea? “Do you already have a plan?”

Steve shrugged again. “I’d always wanted to see California, but lately I was thinking of staying here for a while… like, downshifting a little”.

“Yeah, it’s like a movie, right? The successful man who returned to the shitty little place and made it a big win”. “Well if you’d say living in this shithole is a win...”

Billy blinked, and Steve cursed himself, wondering if he hurted his feelings in any way.

“I mean… there’s nothing wrong with staying here, of course… it’s not a matter of running away or failing, I mean… I’m happy to be there and…”

Steve forced himself to breathe slowly and stop the tornado of thought inside his head. He was better than that, and he could do better. 

He raised his eyes and looked Billy straight in his’. 

“It’s a matter of luck, too,” he said softly, smirking a little.

Billy smiled lightly and put down his glass, hanging out towards Steve; his hand slipped sweetly on Steve’s thigh.

“It’s a matter of opportunity too,” he whispered, closing the distance between them and kissing him. 

Steve released a whine of relief and answered gladly and fiercely to the kiss; he grabbed Billy’s forehead and felt Billy’s hot hands tucking directly under his polo. 

Billy’s chest was moving fastly, and his curls were loose and ruffled on the pillow. His lips were wet and parted, and he was looking at Steve topping him with a feral shine in his blue eyes; Steve shivered, although the contact between their naked bodies was almost scalding. He was about to zone out, he would never, ever imagined in his wildest fantasies he could find himself there, between Billy’s Hargove’s legs, his prohibited high school crush, balls deep inside him and making him squirm and whimper. 

Billy arched his back even more and clinged his legs on Steve’s back.

“I have been waiting for it since I was seventeen..“, moaned Billy. 

Steve blanked out. 

He woke up with the soft touch of Billy’s arms around his waist. It took a moment for him to remember where he was and what happened before falling asleep after the most perfect sex of his life.

Billy suggled on his neck, purring and kissing it softly, and Steve felt his considerable manhood, half hard, against his legs. He moaned of pleasure; his girl didn’t like morning cuddles, but he was a fan. 

Billy kept brushing his naked skin, burning him where he touched, and Steve reached out for a kiss, then two, and laid down on his back, taking Billy between his own legs, this time. 

Billy whispered, satisfied, trying to catch his breath, smiling in the curve of Steve’s neck. It was something he could get used to, Steve thought, if he had to stay in Hawkins, an advantage he had never considered.

After a while, Billy got up and put his briefs on, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“So, you’re thinking of staying in Hawkins for the moment?” he asked, and Steve blinked a little, surprised by the odd and abrupt question. 

“Uhm, yes, I think so…”

Billy stared at his eyes, grinning. “Well, if you come to California one day, you can stop and say hello,” he smiles, satisfied with the clueless expression on Steve’s face.

“What do you mean? I thought… you lived here. The shop…”

Billy chucked sweetly. “Oh, no. I’m just helping Susan for the summer, the shop is hers. She’s on honeymoon right now… this is her apartment. I live in California,” he enjoyed Steve’s astonishment. “I work there… modeling. I actually have a pool. Maybe you could enjoy a little party, if you’d come visit”.

Billy smiled slyly, while Steve was speechless. It took a couple minutes for him to regain his senses.

“But… I thought you lived here…” he repeated dumbly. 

“Well, I hope it’s not a problem,” Billy whispered, bending a little towards him. “Does it change things?”

Steve shook his head. He wasn’t surprised that Billy was successful and that he was a model, he was even prettier than when he was eighteen. Steve lost the opportunity once, and he was tired of feeling like a loser. 

He smirked, smiling at Billy and pulling him closer, grabbing his underwear.

“It’s not a problem. Not at all”.

[literaryfandomangel]

Time After Time - Chapter Two

A/N: Talk about eating disorders in this chapter. Please don't read if you don't like.

It felt like my heart was breaking as I sat in the car with my father. All of my belongings were packed into the back of the station wagon. Dad had practically drug me out of the house, tossing me into the car. I stared out of the passenger window, tears rolling down my cheeks. 

I couldn’t believe that my father would be this petty. I watched as we passed everything that had become familiar in the past four and a half months. Santa Carla felt more like home than Phoenix ever had. 

Dad drove past the entrance to the Boardwalk - the silhouette of the carousel and Ferris wheel visible in the daylight. I watched as we passed the restaurant that the guys had taken me to - the magic of that night still tangible. As the car drove past Hudson’s Bluff, my heart completely shattered. 

The guys were sleeping in their cave, at least I assumed, and I wouldn’t get a last chance to say goodbye. Nausea built in my stomach, any hunger pains deep within my stomach disappeared. I had to hold out - I would be back in Santa Carla for Christmas. Only fifty odd days to wait. 

At first, I sent letters weekly to everyone - Mom, Grandpa, Sam, David, Paul, Marko, and Dwayne. But as time went on, I grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, the letters stopped, though I kept a journal, never failing to write in it daily. 

I was supposed to return to Santa Carla on December 20th, 1986, to celebrate Christmas with everyone. But by this point, Dad had me in a hospital, being fed through a feeding tube. Dad never told Mom about my downward spiral; therefore, on Christmas Eve, Mom arrived in Phoenix worried that I wasn't in Santa Carla. 

What Mom found broke her heart. She saw me sitting in a hospital bed, a nasogastric tube taped to my cheek, pumping my frail body full of nutrients. I heard her shouting at my Dad in the hallway; as she walked through the door, she turned, eyes full of fire. 

"I should have never allowed you to take her!" Mom spit. "She was up to 102 pounds when she left Santa Carla! Aria was getting better! Look what you've done to my daughter!"

"You were letting her cavort with bikers!" Dad argued, red-faced, while I sat in bed, tears streaming down my face. 

"Does it matter? As long as our daughter is getting better?" Mom retorted. "I met those "bikers." They are nice guys and never treated her like Justin!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dad spat, not liking that Mom disparaged the guy Dad liked. 

"You failed to see the way Justin treated her!" Mom snapped back. "She'd come home covered in bruises, cowering from loud noises. I knew what he was doing; you chose to ignore it!"

"Justin treated her nice!" Dad argued though he knew Mom was right. He'd seen me come home with bruises on my face and arms and Justin screaming at me, but he'd claim it was my fault. "If he yelled at her, that was her fault!"

"I'm going to the attorney tonight," Mom said, voice low. She slammed the door to my room, and I jumped. "I'm sorry, honey. Are you alright?"

"Fine," I whispered, voice hoarse from not speaking for so long. She sighed, running a hand through her short hair. 

"I'm going to call Max, okay?" Mom said, her voice soft as she called her boyfriend from the hospital phone. I couldn't pay attention to what she said, but after a few moments, Mom handed me the receiver. I looked at her in question, my fingers shaking from the weight of the phone. "Your guys want to talk, right?"

"Aria?" I heard a frantic voice as soon as I lifted it to my head. Hearing Marko's voice eased some of the pain in my heart. "Are you there?"

"'M here," I whispered, feeling as if my throat were full of shards of glass and gravel. 

"Are you alright?" Dwayne's liquid velvet voice asked. I realized the four of them were there, each one anxious to speak with me. 

"Uh-huh," I murmured, eyes drooping. "Love you."

"I love you too, kitten." Oohh, that's nice, I thought, a smile on my face at David's familiar pet name. His voice sounded thicker than usual and deeper, too. I wondered if he was smoking too much while I was gone. 

"Baby!" Paul's voice joined the others on the phone. "I miss you!"

"Miss you," I whispered, feeling whatever energy I had drained out of me at the sudden longing and sharper pain in my heart. I gasped, hand moving to clutch at my heart as my mother screamed. 

"What's happening?" I heard the four of them demand, but I blacked out, the pain too much to handle. 

The next time I woke up, my mom had gathered all my stuff from the hospital room. She was humming to herself as she folded the clothing in the drawers. I watched her, feeling terrible like always. My heart kept skipping beats, and I was having a hard time as my entire body ached. 

"Honey!" Mom's jubilant voice greeted me. She came to my bedside, holding my hand. "You are coming back with me."

"It's allowed?" I whispered, fearful that Dad would pop up anytime and force me to stay. He knew staying here was killing me, but he wanted to control the situation. 

"The Judge has granted me emergency custody," Mom beamed, looking pleased. "There will be a hearing in February, but you are coming to Santa Carla."

"Even though I'm sick?" I questioned, and she nodded, her smile dimming. 

"You must remain on the nasogastric tube for a few weeks. But if you show improvement, they will remove it at the local hospital," Mom grinned. "There is no need for a nurse as I can change it."

"Thanks, Mom," I whispered, leaning my head onto her shoulder. She rubbed my thin shoulders momentarily, tears falling on my head. 

"I love you," Mom whispered before she stopped crying. "Alright! Let's get this show on the road to Santa Carla."

Mom drove all day and into the night to reach Santa Carla. We had to make a few bathroom stops and add a nutrient bag. Finally, we reached Santa Carla. The lights of the Boardwalk were bright like usual, and the faint echoes of carnival music were loud over the crashing of the waves. I smiled, the pain in my heart lessening as I realized I was home. 

When Mom pulled the car into Grandpa's driveway, I saw it was decorated with Christmas lights. I let out a weak chuckle as even the wood-carved animals were covered in Christmas lights. I didn't even get to open the car door when it was opened, and a platinum blonde head was peering into the car. 

"David!" I gasped, wrapping my thin arms around his shoulders. I breathed in David's scent, enjoying this moment. As I pressed my body close to his, I could feel those tingles bubbling up underneath my skin. I also felt the aches and pains in my body start to lessen. 

"Kitten," David's voice sounded sad as he pulled away, looking down at my skeletal form. He had never thought I could look worse than this August, but the human body never ceased to amaze. His gloved fingers gently touched the tube taped to my cheek, ensuring my body had the proper nutrients. He had never felt guiltier in his undead existence, knowing their bond was the reason for this downward spiral. 

"Move!" Paul demanded, pushing David out of the way. The other three were very anxious to see their mate, and David was hogging the doorway. "Baby!" Paul was gentle with his hug, feeling like I would break with rough handling. 

"Paulie!" I whispered, starting to feel tired but feeling better. Whole, if that was possible. "Missed you guys."

"Guys, can we take this inside the house?" Mom interjected, looking amused. They all agreed, but Marko snatched me from the car. I let out a peal of laughter, the first in a long while. 

Chapter Three

[jakesullysleftnipple]

Why So blue?//Mission With Miles continuation//

Miles Quaritch finally sees your new Na'vi body

a/n: So sorry for this coming out so late. It's a little hard trying to write avatar fanfic since my fixations keep changing but a promise is a promise!

Weeks have passed since the mission you had with Miles and his team. Since then you and him haven’t seen each other often. Aside from casual heys and team meetings you guys practically never talked. With the newfound information about the Na’vi base, he was busy coming up with a plan to storm it. Once General Admore heard of the location that was all she wanted to focus on. Getting Miles and his team back out there and “passive the hostels”. But thanks to you it took longer to make a plan. Your words and how you viewed this vast and dangerous world gave him second thoughts about this mission. He constantly tweaked the plan or held off planning altogether. Not everyone noticed but people close to him like you and Lyle did. Speaking of you, today was a very big day for you. Today was the day your avatar was finally ready for you to link with. 

You were standing near your avatar in its chamber. Pressing your palm against the cold glass tube, wanting to feel closer to this new version of yourself. As your human body stood there watching intently, The Na’vi you were still in deep sleep. It was insane how they managed to capture your looks so well, the way your eyes were shaped, the way your hair was, hell even down to the body shape. The major differences are the blue color, the size, and the tail. You were enthralled by your Na’vi, how different yet familiar you looked. You’ve dreamed of this day, the day you could roam this vast planet as one of them and now that dream has become a reality.

“Alright, it’s time to get you set up. Ready to link with your avatar?

It was Max, another one of your good friends. Since you and he study in a similar field of work you were always rambling to each other about work. You haven't seen him in a while too, he’d go on frequent trips to Pandora with the other scientists to study the plants, animals, and Na’vi if they came in contact with them. His words broke you out of your train of thought. You whipped your head around being met with a kind smile, of course, you were ready. 

“Yes, I am.”

You say confidently as you pull yourself away from the glass chamber and follow after Max. Even though you were excited you were just as nervous. Your nerves make your body tense and your breathing grows shallow. It wasn’t a busy day at the base today, hallways were crowded with people due to frequent scouting missions lately. Within a few minutes, you both arrive at your designated linking pod. Max gave a quick rundown of what to expect and what you should do during your time in the pod. It didn’t take long for you to get set up, you loved watching your coworkers link up so you were very familiar with the process. As he talked you through it you started to climb into the pod, the softness of the foam comforting and helping relax your nerves. Now it was time for the process to begin, Max carefully laid you down in your pod and made small adjustments to make sure you were comfortable. Nervousness was written all over your face, clear as day to anyone.

“No need to be nervous, the linking process is not painful at all. When you wake up in your new body it will feel very different so go slow when it comes to moving. Other than that you’ll be okay.’’

He reassured you while placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. You knew this already but hearing it from someone else made you calm down more. You and Max give each other one last smile before he begins the linking process and closes you in your pod. Now you were alone. Just you and the many thoughts that circled your thoughts. As you lay there your heart pounded, the sound loud enough for you to hear and not just feel it shake your being. Now wasn’t the time for that, now was the time to relax and transfer your mind into your new body. So you closed your eyes and took some deep breaths while thinking of things that relaxed you, Pandora's life. As quick as your nervousness came it left as your mind transported your mind to Pandora. You could feel the warmth of its sunbeam on you, the softness of the grass brushing against your body, the sounds of nearby creatures moving through the trees and ground. It was like you were there again. Your heart no longer raced and the only thoughts on your mind were the ones of Pandora. You craved that life again, even if it was for a few moments. Without warning your mind went blank. You felt nothing, you thought of nothing, and for a brief moment, you were nothing but a conscience. Then bright fluorescent lights stained your site. You wanted to get up and cover your eyes from these painfully bright lights but your body was so heavy, like you had sleep paralysis. Slowly your vision came back to you, the bright lights getting no softer as you slowly became aware of your surroundings. Sounds of people running back and forth now filled your ears. It was hard to make out what they were saying and see them, hell you weren’t even sure what was happening. Max told you before you went under that it was normal to not remember what was happening but that too slipped your mind. You were just focused on moving. Right as you tried to pull yourself off the medical bed someone placed their hand on your chest and held you down.

“Stay down for a sec, they need to do some motor function checks.”

Who said that? You asked yourself as your face scrunched up still trying to adjust to the light. From the feeling of their hand, they were not a human. Your first instinct was to shove them back and move anyway but your vision finally got clear when you noticed it was Lyle, your best friend. He was busy looking at something else in the room but still, he held you down. Then 2 more nurses came up to you and started to run some small tests. Seeing how your eyes reacted to light, how your fingers moved, how your ears reacted to sound, and a few more things. Once you were aware of everything you laid back down and just let them do their job. The heaviness of your body dissolved the more you became aware of your body. Your new body felt so different, even though you were several feet larger you felt lighter. 

“Alright now let's get you up.”

Both nurses help pull you up from your lying position in bed so you can start some training. As you sat up you finally got to see what your body looked like up close. It felt unreal to be a Na’vi, you couldn’t help but admire your new features. If it wasn’t for the nurses guiding you upward you would’ve sat there longer just to look at yourself.  It was necessary to do a bit of training before you were allowed to continue with your day. Lyle gave you a few words of encouragement for your training before he too had to go off. 

“Wish I could stay to help but Miles needs me again, see ya later!”

Oh shit Miles! You thought to yourself almost forgetting about him. Since he was always ducked away in his office it was so easy to forget about him and every time he was brought back to your attention you couldn’t shake the thought of him. Thankfully you had to train so hopefully that could distract you a bit. Alongside this new form, new clothes were made for you. Every Na’vi recom could pick So for the next few hours, you trained your body and explored the outside facility. You were getting used to your new instincts like your eagle eye vision and your newfound flexibility. It was fantastic! You felt so alive and now with your new Na’vi form, you can finally get the full Pandora experience. Just the thought of it made your ears perk and your tail twitch. You were thrilled to be in your new body, you were thrilled for all the new things you could experience like bonding with creatures. It wasn’t long after the training that you got back to work inside, most of your equipment was too small to handle so you helped out elsewhere. For the most part, you hung around Max, telling him about all the cool things you could do. He enjoyed having you company as he worked on his assignments. It was nice sharing a conversation with someone who had the same passion as pandora as you did. Most people here were only focus on money or any excuse to escape Earth, it was rare to find anyone here who wanted to work here for none selfish-ish reasons. 

“Hope I ain’t bothering anything but Miles needs you for a bit.”

Lyle butted his head into your conversation with Max to tell you that. He gave your shoulders a firm squeeze before dragging you off. 

“Hey!- ugh, see you later Max!”

You shouted to him before Lyle pulled you in front of him and nudged you off. Lyle seemed to also be happy that you were Na’vi now. The grin on his face still ide like when you transferred into your new body. He kept shoving you down the hall like it was urgent. 

“Why does that old fart need me? I thought he was busy with the general again and stop pushing me damnit!”

“Alrighttt. I don’t know why, might be to look over the information you two gathered on the mission. All he said was to bring you in quick while he was rummaging through papers.”

He pulled back from you and crossed his arms, letting out a small sigh as he continued to walk alongside you. Even in your Na’vi you still came up a little shorter than him, only by a foot or so. As you both walked he talked about the mission Miles and the general were plannin. He said they didn’t have an exact plan yet due to last-minute changes and uncertainty from him. You too found it weird but one of the last statements was how you changed him. Enough to start him on the path of thinking logically when it came to his harsh actions. You didn’t think much of it until Lyle brought it up to you. Once you both made it there Lyle patted you on the back and wished you luck as he went off elsewhere.

“For a soldier, he is a bit strange.” 

You mumbled to yourself as you headed into his office, first, you knocked but he didn’t answer so you just walked in after a few moments of waiting. And there he was. Not paying attention to anything else but the papers in front of him. He was hunched over his work like his life depended on it.  He brushed his fingers through his short hair and he grumbled incoherent words under his breath. He glanced up quickly, only catching the bottom half of you. He assumed you were one of the other recom members. He smacked his teeth and with a deep sigh, he spoke. 

“You’re not who I asked for, excuse yourself and get who asked you to get, and stop wasting my time.”

His voice was strong and demanding, it was clear that he was aggravated and stressed. Just then you closed the door behind you and walked up to his desk. Your tail whipped with curiosity as you watched him look over and over the files. 

“We haven’t seen each other for a while and that's  how you speak to me? Wowwww.”

He says with sarcasm written all over your voice and face. You threw your hands up and turned away from him. As soon as you spoke he stopped everything, the papers he had slipping out of his hand and onto the desk. His eyes finally meet your figure. His ears narrowed as he looked at you. That was when you turned back to him. A sly smile on your face as your tail moved quicker. It was hard to hide your emotions with your new body, you looked like a cat ready to pounce. Once he figured out who it truly was he too couldn’t hide his excitement. He stood up from where he sat at his desk and walked over to you. His hands held his hips as he waltzed up to you, that sly smile he always wore on his face. Even in your new form, he was still roughly a foot taller than you.

“Well look at you buttercup...You're just as eye-catching as you were in your human body…”

“Thank you, sir, probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me pfft.”

You both laugh a bit before Miles gently grabs your chin and examines your face. His tail slowly swayed as his low-set yellow eyes took in every inch of your face. You and him have grown fond of each other's physical touch so you didn’t stray from his touch. He stood still as he took your presence. His eyes longed for you, it had been a while since the both of you had been alone. He took one step closer to you and pulled you into a kiss. A deep sigh of relief escaped his lungs as his lips pressed firmly against yours. You were a little surprised but kissed him back, leaning closer to him as he did the same. You let your hands rest on his chest while his other hand held your lower back, not wanting you to move just yet. His tail like many times before wrapped around your leg as he continued the kiss a few moments longer. Finally, you both pull back, just looking at each other in comforting silence. He smiled at you, the tension and stress melting away thanks to you. 

“Hm..That’s what I needed…But since you are here, I could use your help.”

He nodded and let him lead you to his desk. He sat down in his chair and had you sit across his lap. Before he got back to work he couldn’t help but yo admire you, he looked at you with the same look in his eyes when you were in your human body. No matter what form you were in he still found you captivating. He wasn’t big on expressing things like that verbally but he could physically. While he worked and explained some of the details to you, you brushed your fingers against his short hair and he kept his arm around you. That's why he needed you, he didn’t want you to work or run errands. He wanted your presence again, he needed it. And now you were here to do so.