#celeste is a true girls girl
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andreal831 · 5 months ago
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H: You came back. E: I always come back.
Haylijah in every episode -> 1.15 Le Grand Guignol
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artz16 · 1 year ago
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I’mma be frank…..
@hatteymcstache ‘s Celeste> Canon Celeste
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mildlybizarrecorvid · 20 days ago
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Someone requested to be summoned swiftly, so I started one of these
Do you, or an oc, or a look you like
This guy's Tarrgven, but human to work with the system
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@kiwi-had-nothing-better-to-do @no-tengo-ojos @jaydove-writes @sky-is-purple-because-i-said-so @jan-pi-suli-ala
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purelyfiction · 9 months ago
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NFL QB Jake 'Hangman' Seresin AU x Popstar F!Reader
Summary: NFL Quarterback Jacob Seresin is in hot water from a streak of bad decisions, just as you go through the worst public breakup of your life. With people slandering both of your reputations, your publicists hatch a plan to bring both of you back into favor and keep the heat off until spring - that is if you can keep up the facade.
Word Count: 5,334 words
Author Note: I know I have two other outstanding Top Gun fics and I swear I'm trying to get those going but I am writing what sparks joy and well.... this certainly does. || Also!! Reader's stage name is 'Celeste' with 'Este' as the nickname. So no one gets confuseddddd
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You'd never anticipated to start the biggest year of your life absolutely gutted, yet here you are. Your boyfriend – well, ex-boyfriend, severed what you had thought to be a loving, trusting and safe relationship, rather unexpectedly on New Year's Eve. Then he'd gone to the press to relay that you were a horrible person, a terrible girlfriend, too involved in your work to even bother paying attention to anyone else. The timing couldn't be worse, since you were about to start your first ever stadium tour in the spring. 
The result had been you hiding away in your little oasis that was your condo in California’s southern escape of San Diego. You’d stayed off the internet, binging TV shows that you’d been too busy to pay attention to and immersing yourself in anything you could, to erase the four year relationship you’d been splintered from. The garbage people probably wondered why there were a near dozen empty quarter pints of ice cream in your recycling bin, but that wasn’t for them to care about. At least you’d recycled them. 
Now, three weeks into the new year, with your favorite Chinese on the way, you sit on your couch going over tour visuals. Your lighting engineer is rambling on the line as you hear the gate buzzer go off. You’re quick to collect your dinner as one of the others on the line gasp and quickly mute their mic. “What?” You quip, walking to your expansive kitchen and dropping the large paper bag down. You’re half paying attention when the employee brushes you off, as your hand pulls container after container of food from the magical Mary Poppins-style bag. Getting to the bottom, you grasp for a pair of chopsticks, only to find several sets of them, along with a dozen fortune cookies. You take a moment to look over your four entrees and styrofoam container of sushi. The audacity of them to think you would be sharing any of this. 
Finally, you address the matter of your dramatic tech director. “What’s the deal over there Hollywood?” You chide, before your phone is ringing, leaving you to hang up the video call to answer the phone. It’s your publicist and you know better than to let her calls go unanswered.
“Check your inbox.” Her voice is frigid instead of it’s usually cheery demeanor.   
“Hello to you too?” Begrudgingly, you do as she commands, finding the email she sent to you. 
Jonah Carter agreed to sit down for an interview with UsWeekly, post-breakup to clear the air and to make sure no one else would fall for his ex-girlfriend's (Celeste) playful, girl-next-door-ish facade.
"At first, it felt like a dream come true," Carter, an up-and-coming actor within his own right, said almost sheepishly. "I thought she was talented and kind, but I should've known it was too good to be true."
But there's more to this pop-star than Jonah says meets the eye. In addition to the vanity and self-importance that seems to plague this generation's starlets, Este was a vindictive slob who routinely talked behind the back of even her closest friends. "It makes me wonder what she's saying about me, now, after everything I've heard her say about those who think are closest to her." The concern for others is written very clearly on the actor’s face as he speaks. When I question the songstress’ messages about authenticity, the man adjusts in his seat as he holds back a laugh. 
"She'd like you to believe she writes all her own music, but I'm not sure she could write a full sentence without the help of her team," Jonah chuckled nervously into his coffee. "Sorry, that was rude. I don't want to stoop to her level." Cowed brown eyes made me wonder what else he had endured behind closed doors. It struck a chord within me. 
“Why did you stay as long as you had if this was what you were facing?” I ask him. The expression of his kind features morphs into despair. 
“When we first met, Celeste was someone I admired. Her compassion, her drive and her dedication to the things she valued spoke so deeply to what I did, what I still do-” he fumbles as he attempts to source the proper words, “They just… weren’t her beliefs. They were her team’s.” Jonah lets out a pained sound, “I think when we got toward the end of it, I realized that she has this way of manipulating what she says, how she acts, to make herself look good. She puts on a show, on and off the stage and you pay for it one way or another. So, I knew what she was capable of. I knew she could be that person if she really wanted to and I wanted so badly to help her see that. I eventually learned that people see what they want to see.”
God, what a load of hot garbage this was. It was a particularly rare batch, clearly it had been baking in a dumpster in the scorching sun with the lid closed. All damp, with a horrendous mix of something rotting and old crusty seaweed. 
The tour was supposed to be announced on the first of the month and here your ex was selling stories (horribly narrated and mangled stories) to the press. You might as well have been kicking puppies at this point. 
“Isn’t he just swell? Nothing but peak wisdom from good ol’ Jonah.” Your eyes could’ve strained themselves with how far back they rolled. Probably the only time he’d ever made them do that too.
“I’ve already called a team together to brainstorm. I don't want you to respond. Stay offline, away from all of it and don't entertain any of the discourse. Not until I have something to work with.” 
“None of it is true we both know that-” You begin to laugh but she cuts you off.
“As much as I want to be on your side here, we are working to put out a fire. Your silence the last three weeks has put you at a massive disadvantage and frankly? The public eye doesn’t see you in the greatest space right now.” You know she’s right. She always is, and right now ‘Celeste’ was synonymous with ‘cynical, fake and fraudulent’. You wouldn’t be shocked if the uproar demanded you be canceled based off of this testimony. 
It wasn’t all but two days later that you were called in by your PR team. Into the office in New York for the first time since before Thanksgiving. It had been a busy end of the year and now that the new one was coming in so ferociously you weren’t looking toward any of the things you once had been. This was the first time back into the light and so you had made sure that the inevitable cameras had something to look at. You’d dressed yourself in your favorites, in an effort to boost your confidence as best as you could. Putting on a show, just like you had been when things had been on the rocks with Jonah. 
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Getting to the office, you’re nearly trampled with the amount of people that swarm you. It’s not normally this bad - hell it’s never this bad. It isn’t until you catch sight of a football jersey and an ESPN logo that your brow furrows. Odd. 
Stepping into the building, you’re pushing your sunglasses up onto your head, looking down at your ringing phone and trying to slide your coat off simultaneously. Instead, you crash right into what you think is a wall, but is instead a broad man, looking rather lost. 
“Easy there, Twinkle Toes.” You guffaw and look up at the blonde man before returning your eyes toward your feet. Of course, the bedazzled statement boots on your feet call attention to themselves before the rest of the outfit can balance itself out. 
“Alright, Prince Charming, you first.” You snicker before stepping out of his way and start to the elevator. Unfortunately for you, he’s apparently heading your way as well, needing access to the lift to the next floor. 
“Prince Charming, huh? I mean I’ve been called worse.” His shoulders roll backwards as the elevator dings to one of the other floors. You keep your head trained forward, suddenly remembering the rule you’d been given. Stay quiet, don’t engage. And here you were giving sass to a stranger and showing up in bedazzled booties. You were really digging this grave deeper than necessary. So, instead of giving him another sassy response, you keep your eyes locked to the neon numbers as the elevator passes each floor. “Oh so, now I’m getting a cold shoulder? Darn, I was really ready to ask you all about the boots on your feet, too.” You can’t help but let your eyes move back over to the broad male, just out of the corner of your eye. His face is completely locked on you, shamelessly at that. “They expensive? They got that waxy red paint on the bottoms of ‘em?” Silently, you turn one of your feet up to give him a glimpse at the blue bottom of the shoe. “Huh, blue. That’s fun. That more expensive than the LouButton or whatever they are?” Finally the elevator reaches your floor, hopefully shutting this chatterbox up for the time being. Yet the questions continue like an immature toddler as you rise up the floors - going to the same floor nonetheless. “Hey, you’re that Celeste chick aren’t ya?” 
“Yes.” You finally answer one of his questions, his face lighting up.
“Oh look at that, she cracks.” Another eye roll times well with the sound of the elevator reaching the desired floor. Instead of responding, you quickly find your way through the glass hallways and to the desired room. You are so glad to be in the presence of the familiar group, the stranger in the elevator having rattled your composure somewhat. Your manager comes in with a cup of coffee and a smile, which immediately puts one on yours. 
“You didn’t have to do that!” You cheer, reaching out for it as she sits beside you. 
“When you see what Rachel has come up with, you’re going to need it.” Oh. Reassuring. 
You see her point when Prince Charming steps into the board room, followed by a host of men in dress clothes and suits, all matching the blue soles of your boots. Charming sits directly across from you, a hand wiggling his fingers as he waves at you. Oh good. 
“Thank you everyone for coming. I know this is a very polarizing group, so before we get ahead of ourselves, I want to introduce Celeste, or Este as we all have come to call her over the years.” Awkwardly, you wave at the foreign men. They grunt and nod. You were already having doubts and not a word had been spoken on their end. “I also want to introduce Beau Simpson, public relations coordinator for the San Diego Sea Lions, Coach Natasha Trace, and Sea Lions owner, Tom Kazansky.”
Sea Lions? As in the NFL team that had been built not even three years ago but had made it to all three playoffs in their short time? The one that Jonah had ridiculed immensely when it joined the league because ‘California doesn’t need another group of inflated egos in the league’? 
“I’m really feeling the love here, Rach.” Charming speaks up and the raven haired woman on the other side of the table sighs. 
“This is Jacob Seresin, starting quarterback for the Sea Lions.” The coach speaks, the blonde man brushing off her introduction. 
“No need for full names, Trace. Clearly we only do the stage name around here.” That was a clear jab to you if you’d ever heard it. “Hangman’s what they call me.” His hand juts across the glass, toward you. Your hands stay tucked under your biceps. 
“Pleasure to meet you.” It’s passive, turning to your team leader. “Rachel. I’m not seeing a connection here.” 
“Jacob is in the same pot of hot water you’re in.” Your attention moves to the similarly broad man who stands up, towering over Rachel. “We feel as though we can spin this to both of your advantages. Jake needs to stop sleeping around–”
“Easy now, Simpson.” The eldest in the room stands up and he gives you a kind smile. It’s not a farce though. You’re not entirely sure what makes it so genuine, but you smile in return of seeing him stand, despite it taking a slight bit of effort to do so. “What he means is, Jake’s professional status has changed due to the words of someone else and we’re determined to alter that. Rachel identified this and made quite the proposal.” The young woman seems all too cheery to cut off the old man. 
“You’re both having relationship woes–” The raven haired woman on Jacob’s team speaks under her breath. 
“Wouldn’t call them relationships.”
“And by putting you two together, we feel as though we can put you into a positive light. Let’s face it, putting two very successful, and attractive people who are already in the spotlight allows people to follow the developing love story. Este attends games, plays the WAG card, has an opportunity to be seen in the public eye more frequently and dispels the ill-spoken words that were published about her this week. Jake gets the proof that he isn’t just a love-em-and-leave-em type.” Your eyes spell out the doubt you’re feeling, looking at your team who is just as skeptical. “That’s just the beginning! Celeste is going on tour this year. Stadiums all across the country have her booked and ready for the summer. We have a captive audience already following these games to see Este and Jake together, and we get brand recognition. The conversations that will come as she gets to witness her betrothed play in a stadium she would be performing in that very summer.”
Now you see where the benefit actually is. Clearing your name while simultaneously promoting your tour in the process. Seeing stadiums you’ve booked and would hopefully sell out. 
“So how are you proposing this works? We’ll need a start, an end - a story on how we met–”
“Well,” Beau settles in his seat, twisting in the desk chair as he draws in the attention of the group, “we have the major details hypothesized. Rachel and I will work with one another to get the rest of it together. For now, you two met at a New Years Eve party.” 
Oh joy. Now you get to remember that bitter break-up that led you here, every time you speak about him. 
The man looks like he walked out of a surfing magazine, as it were. Now, the scowl on his features paints him as a devil. Long hair, muscular arms on display as he leans into the table in front of him. 
“If we don’t do this?” Jake leans back in his chair, a hand coming to fiddle with the lingering 5 o’clock shadow that he has omitted in his morning routine. 
“We don’t do this and there will be a lack of support for the Sea Lions. You’ll have painted the entire team as jackasses who can’t focus to save their life, especially if you continue to party and hook up with whomever your dick has the hots for that night-” Beau has gone off the handle and Tom speaks up again. 
“The point is, public favor will stay low and it will not bode well for the team. With a lack of support, we have empty seats. Empty seats translates to less viewers, then to less money and you know the song and dance. Not to mention morale for the upcoming playoffs. We need to keep the team happy, Hangman. It’s time to do something to benefit everyone.” 
Jake’s expression deepens, as though he was a young child just scolded by his father for his poor behavior. Green eyes shift and face you, his hand jutting out toward you. 
“I’m in.” His hand hovers. Waiting for you to join him in this grand scheme. Glancing at your own team, they look rather haunted. At this point, it was this or to hope that a long string of possible good stories and fan interactions can redeem you. 
You want this to pass. And if this would make it go faster… you grab Jake’s hand firmly.
“What’s there to lose?”
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You went back onto social media. Posted some photos you’d taken with friends back at the beginning of the month, from the worst party of your life. The photos at least were cute and you loved the dress you’d gotten to wear. Luckily these photos were all taken prior to midnight. So there were no red eyes. No ruined mascara and glitter across your cheeks. No freezing car rides home and empty beds. 
Mindlessly, you scroll through the comments. 
Flameth: can still make the whole place shimmer ✨
RunTao: phony photos
Romanacent: so glad to see you’re not letting him get to you!
H_ngm_n: you’re still gonna let me borrow those boots right
It’s the last one you’d been keeping an eye out for. Boots? Looking back at the photo, you scroll through the carousel until you spot them. 
The same shiny sparkly rhinestone boots you’d worn to your meeting. 
Celeste: @h_ngm_n I’m a woman of my word, of course 🤗
Not even a week goes by before you’re ‘spontaneously’ at a bar in LA. Jake has been there for the last two hours, as he insisted you both show up alone and then end up leaving together. You eventually found him in the VIP section, drinking with his buddies. 
You made sure to keep your distance for a few minutes - after all, his friends had no idea this was going down. The only people who knew about this little arrangement were your respective PR teams. That was it. No one else from your teams, your friends and family, absolutely no one knew what your little plan was. Maybe you should just leave. It was a verbal contract, you didn’t sign anything, you were just trying to make this work for the two of you-
The bartender pulls you from your deliberations. There is now a drink that you certainly didn’t order sitting in front of you. Well there was no going back now. Jake had likely made a show of sending over the drink and now you had to go through with this. Glancing over your shoulder, you see the jock, legs spread, arms resting on the back of the booth chair. Green eyes lock in your direction and send a cocky wink as a garnish to your drink. 
You are about to win your first Oscar with this performance. Throwing on a grin, you pick up the drink and easily sashay your way over to him and his football buddies. Some flash titanium wedding bands, some platinum. Some aren’t wearing them at all, like your date, mister 83 who leans forward upon your approach. “Well, well, well, long time no see hot shot.”
“Speak for yourself, pop star.” Jake stands to greet you, his arms coming around you, carefully as to not spill either of your drinks. You catch a whiff of his cologne when he does so. It’s rich, familiar in the way it reminds you of summers camping. Bonfire smoke and smores. Yet clean, like when you came home to a clean house, citrus floor cleaner lingering in the halls. Pulling back, you almost move forward again to sit in it. Easy does it. 
“Oh come on, three weeks isn’t that long.” You chide. While most of his body has pulled away from the hug, his free hand still sits on your waist, warm against the AC of the exclusive bar. 
“Technically it was a year ago.” Jake smirks before taking a sip of his drink and you want to groan. So you do. But spin it into something more playful. 
“Observant, are we?” You nearly snarl as you take a sip of your drink, Jake’s colleagues standing up. The one who’d sat right next to him grins and extends a hand. He’s tall, lean but has a stunning smile as he steps your way.
“Not sure we’ve met. Javy Machado, running back, San Diego Sea Lions-” the blonde looks at his friend with an amused scoff. 
“I think she knows who the Sea Lions are, Jav.” The look on the captain’s face is one of skepticism and amusement. You were here to dispel rumors. So, as much as you’d like to smack Jake for being a dick to his friend, you shake his teammate’s hand instead 
“In passing. I don’t follow football closely, but I get by. Celeste.” The smile on your face is genuine as the next player stands. Kind eyes, a domestic bar of hair on his upper lip and the build of a pickup truck, he goes for a quick one armed hug. When he lets go, you have to wipe the temptation of any swooning you were compelled to do. Especially since a gold band glistens on his left hand. 
You’re here for Jake anyways. 
“Name’s Bradley Bradshaw. They call me Rooster.” Your eyebrow furrows as your head twists. Before you can ask, another man on the other side of the room laughs. 
“You should hear him on the field when he’s sacking someone.” This one, curls and meticulously groomed facial hair to boot, leans forward and shakes your hand kindly. “I’m Mickey. That back there is Bob.”  
True to his word, at the end of the bench is a long haired man, tucked into his phone and fiddling with a ring. He doesn’t seem to match the energy of the rest of the group. Curious. “Bob!” He glances up at the sound of his name, blue eyes flitting from face to face before spotting you. When he does he breaks out into a smile. 
“Celeste! Gosh, wow it’s so cool to meet you! My girls adore your music.” This catches Jake’s attention, a brow popping up. 
“Aren’t both of ‘em less than five?” He asks and Bob looks between the two of you. 
“Yeah? It’s never too early to introduce them to great music and influential women.” There’s no faking the smile on your face as you reach over and shake his hand. When you do, you look at Jake with a ‘would you look at that’ coded grin. 
“That’s amazing to hear! I’m glad they have fun with it! That’s why I do it.” You glance back at Jake as he comes behind you, hand shifting to the small of your back. 
“Pay’s in the bathroom, I’m sure you’ll meet him sometime later tonight.” The quarterback gives a nod to his group, before guiding the two of you to a high top table not too far from them. When you sit down he looks at you with a laugh. “Flirt much?” 
“Excuse me?” Jumping to the defense, you watch Jake roll his eyes and then look back at Bradley, before facing you. 
“You were practically eye-fucking him.” 
“Was not.” 
“He’s happily married, leave him be.” The blonde sips at his drink and you can’t help but laugh when you realize he’s giving you a hard time. 
“Right, right, guess I’ll bother you instead.” The tease is off your lips in two seconds. Maybe he was right, you were coming off strong. You huff and sink into yourself briefly. “I don’t know if you realized this, but I haven’t had ‘flirt’,” your fingers mark the quotation marks in the air, “with anyone in a while. Let alone fake it.” 
Jake leans back in his chair, downing the rest of his beverage a smirk making way when he sets the glass down. 
“Don’t worry, you won’t be faking it for long.” 
The two of you sat at that table for probably an hour, bickering over which of the Pirates of The Caribbean movies were the best, and why glitter was a detriment to society. Another round of drinks and the football star return to the table as he laughs when he spills a little of your overflowing drink. 
“No, no I assure you. Glitter originated in some high tech nuclear weapons factory to make the enemy go insane upon introducing it to an environment.” He pushes your drink toward you as you pull your hair back. Not only were you not anticipating for him to be this passionate about it, but you weren’t planning on the night going like this. 
You were enjoying yourself. Jake had told you about his time at UT, six years spent studying communications no less. 
It made sense when you really dissected it. Jake had the ease to hold someone’s attention: he’d held yours this long after all, and he was well spoken. Both were things that were shocking to you. He soon enough revealed the plan had always been football. Communications was for post-retirement, when he got tired out and wanted to be back in the stadiums. 
Stories of his dad commentating his high school games came fondly before he asked about your background. You were a bit hesitant to divulge too much, but what you had was pretty bare-bones. 
Music had always been a hobby but never a career choice. You’d planned to go into school for a degree in education, a masters in English. Go and teach for a bit before getting your PhD in some niche of the world of writing and then become a professor at your alma mater. 
With the rise of social media and the multitudinous connections of the internet, a little original song of yours got popular. Local radio picked it up and then your label signed you. 
“It all was pretty spontaneous, really,” you answer. “My career was in no way by design, but… I wouldn’t change it.” The smile on your face is small, but genuine as your hair falls back around your face. Tracing the rim of your glass, you keep your eyes down before a hand pushes your hair out of your face. Coming eye to eye with him, he grins. 
“Guess it was written in the stars then.” His response catches you. Jake’s eyes are much softer than when you’d approached him earlier. They were dark, focused and possibly a little mischievous. Now? They were gentle. Every shade reassured you that the boisterous man you’d seen in the office and the press was nothing like the man under the helmet. 
It made far more sense to you now. How he’d gotten women hooked on him. The abrasiveness and bold exterior was the casing to the real character. 
How many women had actually made it past the outside?
The rustling of a fabric on leather comes from in front of you, watching as the blonde pulls out a wad of cash from his pocket. 
“Please tell me this isn’t you trying to buy my affection there, Seresin.” As he stands up, pushing his wallet back, the grin carved on his face doesn’t leave when he shakes his head. 
“No, no, princess. This is for the bartender. Turns out you’re not a cheap date.” His knuckles wrap onto the table briefly before he disappears. You blame the blush on your face on the humidity inside the building. 
The two of you bid your goodbyes, before starting to the front of the bar to exit. Reaching the street, it’s expectantly empty. He takes the side closest to the street as the two of you head down the way, toward the row of restaurants and shops that were quiet for the night. 
“Are you hungry?” Jake’s voice breaks through the cold of late January air, looking at him quizzically. 
“If you’re hungry we could go back-” His hand comes to your back again as he shakes his head. 
“Oh-ho, no ma’am I promise, I’ve got something way better.” 
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Unfortunately, he was right. The two of you stand in the glow of food truck lighting, beyond messy tacos in hand. He’s watching you with a smirk on his face, obnoxiously chewing the fish taco in his hand. 
“Is that not the best taco you’ve ever had?” Again, his voice is filled with ardor as he watches you attempt to maneuver the soft corn tortilla that seems to be spilling into your napkin. 
“It’s… a taco.” You shrug, looking down at the brown beef meal in your hands. Jake shakes his head, still chewing. 
“No, no, I will not have you slander Ganso’s Tacos. Absolutely not.” He sets his red basket down on a table, hand in a vice grip around his taco. “Here, open,” he maneuvers closer and you shake your head, backing up. 
“I am not eating your taco!”
“Eat it!!” The two of you laugh. Finally, you concede and take a bite of the hand fed taco. When he finally takes it back to his plate, his expression eagerly waits for your reaction.  One hand covers your mouth as you chew, nodding as Jake looks like he just stole the Mona Lisa without getting caught. 
“You’re right.” One singular fist to the air and he’s back to scarfing down his tacos. 
“I told you. Way better than bar food. This is by far the best taqueria in all of California. And I stand by that.” 
With full stomachs and messy hands, the two of you start back toward the bar, where Jake’s parked. When you do, you finally notice a car has been tailing the two of you since you ordered your meal. 
The crowd in front of the bar proves that your teams were certainly on to something. Flashes of light start in an onslaught, your hand coming to block your eyes. Still, you keep walking toward them, only for Jake to grab your hand and guide you toward his car. 
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Voices shout, questions sail through the air, your name, his name, Jonah’s, more questions about football- it all gets crammed into the cacophony before the passenger door opens under Jake’s hand, guiding you to your escape pod. 
The driver side door causes the car to shake with an unceremonious thud. In seconds, the engine to the sports car is ignited and the two of you are underway. 
It isn’t until you get about two miles out that one of you finally speaks. 
“How long do you think it’s going to take for those to show up online?” White lines on the road disappear as you head further and further from the bars and closer to the hotel you were staying at for the weekend. 
“I give it maybe six hours. Four if we’re lucky.” He laughs, but it doesn’t match the hearty ones he shared with you earlier.
A sports broadcast plays lowly on the radio, both of you overwhelmed by the cameras that stimulating conversation was far from what either of you were concerned with. It isn’t long until you spot your hotel. Jake navigates into the lane closest to the front of the building, pressing down on the brakes. You’re just about to unbuckle when he pulls back out into the other lane, lurching forward and away from your accommodation. 
“Um. Hello?” You question. The car whips around a turn, green eyes fixated to the rear view. Shifting in your seat, you glance behind you. 
“We’re being followed.” Jake just barely makes the light before it turns red, leaving the tailing SUV behind. 
“It’s probably just paparazzi, no big deal.” It’s easy to shrug off for you, but Jake huffs. 
“Yeah. And I’m not dropping you off at a hotel alone with vultures circling.” Navigating the CarPlay in the vehicle, he quickly moves to messages and asks his phone to send someone to your hotel to gather your things. 
“Jake, I’m-”
“You’re staying with me.”
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kadwrites · 1 year ago
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something old, something new | T.S
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previous part | next part
or check out the series masterlist
summary ; how long can you keep that secret?
warnings ; arranged marriage!trope, SLOW burn, soft!tommy , fem!reader, idk what im doing,
a/n ; i would love to know what you guys think of this part<3 thank you guys for all the support i really really appreciate it <33
-
"ya should've stabbed 'im when ya had the chance to." madeline mumbles, putting rose in the crib that was dragged next to the dining table
"what the hell has gotten into 'im?...." fiona looks at celest and celest shrugs , looking back at you
"god i feel like i'm going to explode" you take a gulp of the wine in your glass "i can't lie to tommy"
"then don't, just tell him" celest swirls the wine in her glass
"i 'ave a feeling tommy might just.." fiona runs her thumb across her neck, clicking her tongue
"i mean he's not that violent," you add , your finger moving across the rim of the glass "he's sweet...sometimes.... i think"
"is she ... drunk?" madeline grabs the wine bottle, pouring some in the glass in her hand
"i'm sure he doesn't just go around killing people" you look at the three women around you, "what do ya think jeremy wants to do?"
"i mean he said he wants ya back , didn't he?" celest sips her wine
"i mean yeah , technically i guess..."
"not technically" madeline is points at you "he said he wouldn't let ya marry tommy"
"it's just so odd" your hand rubs at the back of your neck "this is so out of the blue, we ended years ago. it's not like we were in contact too or anything"
"ya attract crazy men" fiona says with a raised brow
"i don't need this." you cover your face with your hand, before taking another gulp from your glass
"come on," celest gets up, taking the wine glass out of your hand "ya need sleep."
you have your arms raised on each side. , wearing a thin white robe. standing with your back straight and head held high, the seamstress starts measuring from the tip of your fingers to your shoulders.
"how is he treating ya?"
"hm?" you snap out of whatever trance you were in, eyes glancing in her direction
"thomas shelby, how is he treating ya?"
"yes , yes he is." you speak almost too quickly "why wouldn't he?" you try to not move,
she looks at you through her spectacles, raising a brow
you raise a brow too "i thought ya knew his family very well?"
"i do, that's why i'm asking" she says with a sigh , moving to the other side to get the measurements and your eyes follow her
the room is spacious, with every kind of fabric and thread you could possibly think of. it's quiet, the light shining in through the windows. the fabric and the design of your wedding dress on a paper on the table. a sketch of it, and it looked perfect.
"he's treating me well" you repeat
"do ya know about grace?"
your eyes drift away, you lick your lips nervously. you never had this conversation with anyone, it was a topic everyone tiptoed away from. except for her, apparently
"i know of 'er, yes."
"he loved that girl, he did." she nodded, rolling the measuring tape, getting your bust measurements.
"yeah, i've heard." you cleared your throat
"ya should've seen how he looked at 'er" she chuckled, "but , the way he looks at you ..." she looks at you again, before moving to make another measurement.
your head snaps this time, looking at her before she reprimands you to stay still "me?"
"mhm."
"i don't think so" you murmur then chuckle
"i wouldn't be so sure" she said with a knowing look , she rolls the measuring tape around your waist "i've known 'im since he was a boy."
"i mean, i'm sure ya do." you smile at her politely "but i do doubt that."
"ya can doubt it all ya like, it won't make it less true" she mumbles ,
a soft knock at the door catches your attention. she frowns, pulling her spectacles down and walking to the door, she opens it slightly
"morning mrs baker."
tommy's voice makes your eyes widen slightly, and your heart flutter.
"tommy." she says with a laugh "ya 'ave no business here, boy."
"my bride is here" he nods at you "so , i do actually 'ave business here"
she opens the door, letting him in. the smile and look on her face is stern, but maternal.
"the girl tells you're treating her well" she mumbles, going back to standing at your side
"she did?" he asks with a small smile before standing against a wall, his back pressed against it with his hands in his pockets, his gaze stuck on you.
she nods, putting her spectacles back on as she writes down the measurements on a piece of paper
"ya were trying to turn 'er on me, sylvia?" he speaks again
she shoots him a glare before looking back at you "ya see what you're marrying?"
you chuckle, tying the robe tighter around you. "yeah, i see it."
sylvia walks out of the room, to the front of the store for a customer that came in, leaving you and tommy in the back.
"why didn't ya bring your mother with ya?" he asks you, getting off the wall but not taking one step further.
"she can be...... overly enthusiastic at times. so i didn't tell 'er i was coming here" you say with a chuckle, turning to look at him
"that's smart" he hums , looking you over.
"she will lose 'er mind but i think it'll be worth it , i think."
he hums again, this time walking to stand in front of you.
"didn't ya 'ave a meeting today? i'm surprised ya even had the time to come here" you tilt your head as you speak
"want to get rid of me, do ya?"
"of course i don't."
"so ya want me around?" he leans closer, and you feel your breath stop. his voice is soft and low, his eyes glance at your lips before going back to your eyes
"i...." you stutter , your eyes scan his face "i do" you speak softly
"i do too."
"yeah?" you whisper back.
the air is so heavy, you feel his breath fan over your lips. your noses brush against each other.
"are ya scared of me?"
"no" you shake your head softly
he leans in closer and his lips press against yours, your eyes flutter shut and you feel as if time stopped moving, the floor under you disappeared.
after a few moments, he pulls back but not far back , his nose brushes against your cheek and his lips press against your ear
"what are ya hiding from me?"
-
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cookiecrumbconundrum · 4 months ago
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the quiet closing & opening of a door
star map with action figures, carl phillips | dungeon meshi | true believer, nicholas sparks | unknown | garden song, phoebe bridgers | the girl on the couch, pang xunqin | little fires everywhere, celeste ng | somewhere, there’s a party, holly warburton | bianca sparacino
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rekino2114 · 3 months ago
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Presenting your profile to the ace attorney girls
A/n:I got inspired by a post I saw and decided to make it with the girls mainly cause i LOVE writing stuff that fits with the gameplay of a game if that makes sense, please tell me you understood that
Let's pretend that you can show profiles in every game
Ngl putting the tags on this might have taken more time than writing the fic itself (I literally exceeded tumblr's tag limit)
Maya fey
Maya:Oh hey, it's y/n. Do you know what they're doing now? I'd like to go on a date with them
Phoenix:....we're in the middle of solving a case.
Maya:so? There's no wrong time to go on a date with your partner
Mia fey
Mia:y/n? What about them?
Phoenix:they're your partner aren't they?
Mia:Yes, that is true....although I'd like it if you could keep that private. I am your superior, after all
Phoenix:s-sorry boss
Lana skye
Lana:.......
Phoenix:........
Lana:what is it?
Phoenix:nothing I just thought you'd have a stronger reaction to seeing a picture of your s/o
Lana:I don't like to mix my work and personal life, ask Ema if you're really interested
Phoenix:(how does she have an s/o at all with that attitude?)
Ema skye
Ema:That reminds me, if you see y/n, please don't tell them I was eating snackoos
Apollo:hm? Why?
Ema:they.....might have put me on a snack ban cause I spilled fingerprint dust on their clothes
Apollo:......why were you carrying fingerprint dust in your home in the first place?
Ema:......y-you don't need to know that
Franziska von karma
Phoenix:prosecutor von karma might I- ow what was the whipping for?
Von karma:that was for carrying a picture of y/n without their permission
Phoenix:I keep photos of everyone involved with- ow! Again?
Von karma:that was for presenting it to me
Phoenix:why are you mad at me for tha- WHAT ABOUT NOW?
Von karma:nothing, I just felt like it
Phoenix:........
Adrian andrews
Andrews:Oh,that reminded me. I should probably call y/n and see how they're doing
Phoenix: You must really love them
Andrews:Of course, after celeste's death, they were the only good person I had in my life. They really are so so important to me
Iris Hawthorne
Iris:......y-y/n
Phoenix:they're your partner right?
Iris:yes....they-they're the only person involved with me that didn't get their life ruined by dahlia, I couldn't be happier about that
Trucy wright
Trucy:Please don't tell y/n about this, but I'm preparing a super cool magic show made just for them
Apollo:oh that sounds great.....I'm not participating in it am I?
Trucy:Of course polly, who else is gonna be my assistant?
Apollo:(and when did I agree?)
Vera misham
Vera:.....y/n!....
[She draws a heart on her notebook with a smile on her face]
Apollo:I think that's the most emotion I've seen out of her
Trucy: Yeah she probably loves her s/o a lot
Athena cykes
Widget:y/nnnnnn, I love them soooo much
Athena:*blushes* w-widget!....s-sorry boss
Phoenix:it's alright, I know how widget is, that just means you really love your s/o and that's great
Athena:Yeah you're right, I do really love them a lot
Juniper woods
Woods:*blushes* t-thena, don't go around showing me y/n's photo randomly
Athena:Sorry, Junie, but there's nothing wrong with that, right? After all, they are your partner that you love sooo much
Woods:*blushes* If you continue like this, you're gonna make me die of embarrassment
Kay faraday
Kay:there they are! The person who stole my heart
Edgeworth:........
Kay:Get it, Mr Edgeworth? Cause I'm a thief
Edgeworth:yes I got it, I didn't laugh because it wasn't funny
Kay:come on!
Justine courtney
Edgeworth:judge Courtney, this is your romantic partner correct?
Courtney:Yes, they are, y/n is my fiance actually,John is very happy to have another parent figure other than me
Kay:Wow, it must be nice of him to have both of his parents
Courtney:.........shall I remind you that technically he has none of them
Kay:......o-oh yeah I forgot, sorry......eheh
Edgeworth:were you jealous of him?
Kay:........a-aren't you too?
Susato mikotoba
Susato:Is y/n in need of something?
Ryunosuke:oh no I just wanted to speak to you about them
Susato:oh alright then
Ryunosuke:you were really ready to go to them?
Susato:Of course, I'd do anything for them, I want to be the best girlfriend they could ever have, just like I want to be the best judicial assistant you could ever have
Gina lestrade
Ryunosuke:Hey Gina I wanted to-.....w-wait where's the picture?
Gina:you looking for this oddo?
Ryunosuke:....I thought you stopped with the pickpocketing
Gina:Sorry, but I'm gonna keep it, it's of my s/o, and we don't all have fancy cameras like Mr sholmes
Ryunosuke:Scotland yard doesn't?
Gina:Nah,we do, but the boss won't let us use it for "personal purposes." trust me I tried
Esmeralda tusspells
Tusspells:Oh, you have a picture of y/n perfect! Do you mind selling it to me?
Ryunosuke:Hm, why?
Tusspells:I want to make a wax statue of them to celebrate our anniversary but can't use them as a model since I want it to be a surprise, so a picture would be perfect
Ryunosuke:sorry but I need this for the case
Tusspells:Should I remind you what position your detective friend is in? I'm sure you need all the money you can get
Ryunosuke:.......that's fair
Maria gorey
Gorey:That's y/n.....why do you have a picture of them?
Ryunosuke:o-oh you know for case-
Gorey:You know it's been a while since I gave them a gift. Maybe they'd appreciate a real heart to show them my love
Ryunosuke:ok ok I'll throw the picture away (every time I'm near her i feel like she wants to kill me)
Espella cantabella
Espella:ah y/n, they're so sweet
Layton:they must be very important to you am I right?
Espella:yes they treat with so much love and kindness, they truly are the light of my life
Layton:ah young love is so beautiful
Darklaw/eve belduke
Darklaw:no
Phoenix:w-what?
Darklaw:if you want to ask me about y/n then don't. Do you want to end up on trial for disrespecting the high inquisitor?
Phoenix:o-ok (with how scary she is y/n must feel very protected)
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good-griief · 2 years ago
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'school girl' crush
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so… i've been seeing so many milf!reader x ellie stories so i had to write this write a little one shot (i may have to make a part 2)
During summer, as a college student in need of extra money, Ellie ran a daycare with her friend Dina, who was only doing it so her son had friends to play with. Now, though, Dina had met a woman named Mel, who also needed friends for her new kid, and Ellie was ready to send in her informal resignation. 
“You’re leaving?” There was one reason she wanted to stay. This adorable little toddler, Celeste. She had the biggest eyes, and the cutest hair always in little braids. She was always chatting away and stuffing her face.
But why she wanted to stay had to do with Celeste’s mother. Ellie had practically fallen in love with her. She must’ve been five or so years out of college, younger to be a mother, but definitely older than Ellie and her friends. Ellie assumed she was single, the kid’s other parent never picking her up. In fact, with that body, Ellie hoped she was single. 
Sure, she was being a bit of a perv, imagining what this woman’s body would look like outside of yoga pants and a tank top, but she couldn’t help herself when the summer heat was messing with her head like this— at least that was what she told herself. 
You, on the other hand, knew she was far too young for you. She was a college kid with a crush, but that didn't mean you didn't find her cute; always taking her shirt off around the time your SUV pulled up and swimming with the kids so she could show off her tanned, toned body. 
She’d walk your girl to your car, talking with her the whole way and smiling at you when she greeted you. 
“Mama!” Celeste would cheer, running with a waddle over to you as Ellie watched with a smile. 
You would crouch to hug her, laughing as she clung to you, but you were far too tired from work most days to lift her up and convince her to sit in a carseat. She always wanted to sit in front with you, and you always refused, but it was even worse when she hadn’t seen you all day. 
Ellie would get Celeste into her carseat for you, buckling her in and giving her an extra snack to convince her before she spoke to you until Dina called her back in. 
This time, you’d started the conversation, asking whether or not it was true what you heard your daughter tell you the day before. 
“Oh, uh, yeah. Dina found another mom, so…” She shrugged. 
“Well, that’s too bad…” You sighed, leaning against your car as you pushed your sunglasses up. You pointed your thumb to the backseat, where your toddler had already passed out. “She’s really attached to you. I don’t think I can send her back if you’re not there.”
“Aw, man… Really?” You hummed, brows raising. “Well, I guess I could—“
“Do you think you would wanna babysit for me?” You asked. Ellie paused, swallowing. Something about your attitude today was different, like you were finally acknowledging her advances. “You could come over in the mornings, same time as daycare. I’ll give you, like, two-hundred— no, three-hundred bucks? That sound good?”
“Three…” She blinked, dumbfounded. “I can’t. Not that much.”
“It’s the least I can do. We live on the complete other side of Jackson.” She nodded slowly. “Really? If that’s a yes, then… I’ll be home most of the time, working, but you can knock if you need me.” She nodded again, mind drifting to being in your home, being able to knock on your bedroom door at any time… Show you how good she was with your daughter. Maybe, she thought, you’d finally realize you were interested in her, too. “Think you can start Monday—?“
“Yes!” She quickly cleared her throat, lowering her enthusiastic voice. “Yeah. I can start whenever.”
“Are you off yet?” You then asked, earning an eager nod. “Don’t get too excited. I was just going to ask if I could get you froyo, or something.”
Ellie laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. “That’d be nice. Thanks.”
“No sweat. You’ve been working in the sun all day. Hop in.” You walked around to your driver's side as Ellie got in the passengers, completely forgetting about her shirt still sitting in Dina’s living room as you began driving. 
She looked over at you, noticing you were sitting with one leg comfortably bent up on the door and your elbow leaning on it as you held your head up. She, on the other hand, sat cross legged with her arm resting on the window. 
“I promise I’m driving safely,” you reassured her with a laugh. “This is just more comfortable.”
“Oh…” She waved you off. “That’s how I drive, too.” You chuckled at that as she looked at the hand you didn’t have on the wheel, checking for a ring. “Hey, can I ask you something?” She spoke after a moment, gaining a hum of a response from you. “Are you married?”
You laughed. “Ellie, we’ve talked about your little crush on me before.” She groaned, face heating in embarrassment. It was true, you’d told her not to be so obvious about it, but she didn’t take that as an outright rejection. “I’m way too old for you.”
“How old are you?” She asked, earning a brow raise. “Just makin’ conversation…”
“Nearing 30.”
“Well, I’m nearing 25.”
“You just turned 20.”
“21 in October. Come on!” She quickly defended herself. “You’re, what? 26? 28?”
“Oh, Ellie,” you laughed, shaking your head at her. “When this little crush you have goes away, you’ll be happy I didn’t indulge you.” You then switched the conversation. “Aren’t you excited to get back to school? What do you study again?”
You talked the rest of the way to the frozen yogurt shop, eventually getting there and parking. It was right along the beach, and you told Ellie this was usually what you did with your little girl every Friday when she got out of daycare, so she was welcome to join you. 
You were giving her mixed signals, at least in her mind, but you told her the truth as you got Celeste into her stroller. 
“You know, I really should tell you, Cella asked if you could come with us today,” you said as you nodded to the girl, who woke up with a giant grin on her face after seeing Ellie. Ellie was only paying attention to the nickname you had for your daughter, finding it adorable and fawning over it in her head. “I know what you’re thinking, so if you want me to drive you home after—“
“No!” Your toddler immediately protested. “Ellie, come home with us. Show you my new house. It’s pink!”
“Oh,” you laughed. “You’re awake enough to argue, huh?” You crouched down to look at her, pinching her little cheek. “Does that mean you’re awake enough to walk by yourself?” She immediately shook her head, grabbing her small sippy cup attached to the side of the stroller and making sure she had no way to answer your questions by sucking on the little straw. You shook your head, standing as you laughed at her. 
For being three, and halfway to four as she always reminded you, she was pretty advanced for her age. Ellie simply saw that as you being a great mother, which only encouraged her crushing on you. 
“Kiddo, I don’t think your mommy will even invite me over if you argue with her,” Ellie told the girl, who reached her little hand up for Ellie to hold as you pushed the stroller, taking note of her habitual use of mommy, and chuckling to yourself. 
“Sorry, mama,” Celeste said around the straw of her cup. 
“It’s alright, babygirl—“
“So, Ellie can come over?” Ellie laughed, covering it with a cough when you raised a brow at her encouraging your toddler to try and manipulate you. 
“Ellie?” You looked at her. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“Stay forever!” Your girl cheered. 
“How about dinner first?” She said, looking down at Celeste. “I’d love to,” she then said to you. 
You couldn’t deny how good she was with your girl, watching as she convinced her to walk on her own. She’d told her: “mommy’s been working all day, and she loves pushing you, but she’s probably tired, don’t you think?” And despite you saying nearly the same thing earlier, she agreed with Ellie. That gave you the opportunity to take the stroller back to the car, so she didn’t decide to sit again, and grab a shirt for Ellie— who you still hadn’t corrected about calling you mommy when your toddler said mama. 
When you came back, Ellie was talking away with her, laughing at whatever nonsense joke she would tell and making you smile. 
“Here,” you handed her the shirt and she immediately went red, saying she forgot she’d even left hers at Dina’s. 
By the time you got home, it was later than anticipated, but your girl still insisted that Ellie stay and have dinner with you. 
“Maybe another night?” You suggested as you picked her up. “Mommy’s a little tired, bubba. I think bubba’s a lil’ tired too, no?”
“Nope. Wide awake!” 
“Alright,” you laughed as you brought her in, setting her in her gated play area. “Show Ellie your new house while mommy makes dinner, ‘kay?”
The amount of times Ellie had heard you call yourself mommy that day were making her head explode. Celeste didn’t even call you that, she’d realized. She called you Mama, so she was headed down a path of thinking you were doing it just to tease her. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking this way, but it was hard when all she could think about was— “Ellie! Look!” She was brought out of her thoughts when Celeste pointed to the new dollhouse she got. It was taller than she was, and lit up like a real house. 
Ellie scoffed in surprise. “Holy shit,” she muttered. 
“Shit!” The toddler repeated before cackling to herself as Ellie freaked out and told her not to say that. “Shit, shit, shit!” She laughed.
“Stop that!” Ellie was afraid you’d hear her. “Fuck,” she cursed under her breath, “stop it. Now.” She then went on to yell ‘fuck’ as many times as she wanted. 
“What on Earth is going on in here?” You asked as you stepped out of the kitchen. “Ellie?”
“I didn’t—“
“Ellie saying no no words!” 
“No!?”
You laughed. “Ellie, why don’t you come help me in the kitchen?” You looked to your girl. “And you.” You narrowed your eyes at her, making her giggle as you smiled. “Get dinner ready for your dolls. Show Ellie how you set it all up when she gets back.”
Ellie followed you into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind her. “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to—“
“You know, teaching my daughter how to swear definitely won’t get you anywhere with me.” Ellie cursed to herself internally, sulking. “But, I guess it’s a good thing she already knows those words, huh?”
“What?” 
“Her dad loves action movies. She comes home quoting them.” You shrugged. “He just lets her say whatever. I’ve resorted to having her not say it outside of the house or in front of guests.”
“Great dad,” Ellie muttered, making you chuckle as you knew she was only taking the side she assumed you were on because of her crush. 
“He actually is.” She immediately grew embarrassed, making you chuckle. You couldn’t deny how much fun you were having embarrassing her this way. She was awfully cute. Especially with the way she blushed so easily. “He’s the one that got her that dollhouse. A little present for making in through daycare since he knows how tired I’ve been. She used to hate daycare before you.” That brought a smile to Ellie’s face. “Thank you, for agreeing to babysit, by the way. I don’t know what I’d do if you didn't.”
“It’s nothing,” she said quickly, gaining a smile from you. “So… I take it that means you’re not married?” She asked after a moment as she washed her hands, ready to help with whatever you were making. 
“Mm, no. He’s my best friend. We had drunk sex at a stupid party and I got pregnant,” you laughed.
“Were you dating before, or…?”
“God no,” you laughed again. “I’d just broken up with the girlfriend I had since, like, freshman year of college, so he was trying to help me get drunk and find someone else… one idiotic thing led to another, and suddenly I’m six months pregnant, and I didn’t even know until I went to the doctor for a strep test.” Ellie snorted, the whole thing sounding like something out of a television show. “I know, I know. He’s gay too. That makes it even better.” Ellie laughed loudly at that, making a smile come to your face. 
The rest of the night was spent making dinner, and putting your little girl to bed as she’d fallen asleep before dinner just as you expected. You offered for Ellie to stay anyway, and she gladly did. 
“Okay,” she finally spoke, interrupting your conversation that’d gone through dinner and dessert; it being surprisingly easy to talk to her. “I have to ask— I know I’m probably being ridiculous, but, uh, I may just need you to shut me down.” You raised your brows, humming. She realized that may be a habit for you, but it was an excruciatingly attractive habit to have. “She, uh, she calls you ‘mama’—“
Almost immediately, you lowered your head, laughing. “I don’t have an answer for that, Ellie.” Her face reddened. “All honesty, I just found it a little funny.”
“You were teasing me!” She accused with a red face. You shrugged, looking up at her with a smile and flushed cheeks. She thought back on the day, all the times she’d called you ‘mommy’, all the times she’d done so while wearing your shirt, and felt a flutter in her stomach that made her cross her legs. “You’re awful.”
“You started it—! And besides, I thought I’d have a little fun… I mean, since my little girl wanted you to spend the day with us, I needed a way to enjoy myself too, no?” Your tone was mocking, making her adjust her seating at your near insulting words. “The bathroom’s just down there.” You pointed down the hall, past the stairs. 
“Stop it,” she said pointedly, making you chuckle as you stood and grabbed both your plates. 
“I’ll give you a ride home, alright? Or, is your car at Dina’s?” You asked as you came back to the dining room. 
“What about—?”
“Her dad’s a few blocks down. I’ll tell him.” You quickly texted him, getting a message back almost immediately. 
When he got there, you went to your car with Ellie, driving with the windows down and old rock music blasting through the car at her request. You both sang along, laughing the whole way there. 
You paused the music when you got there, stopping in front of the driveway and looking at Ellie. “I’ll see you Monday?”
She nodded. “I’ll, uh…” She played with the hem of your shirt on her. “I’ll give this back to you then.”
“No need.” You gave her a smile that made her cheeks heat as you leaned your arm on the console to look at her. “Night, Ellie.”
“Night…” She muttered in a daze, quickly snapping out of it and getting out of your car to go to hers. 
As she drove home, all she could think about was your teasing, all she could smell was your perfume on the shirt, and all she could feel was her stomach fluttering. 
When she got home, she went straight to her room. She left your shirt on, slipping her bra off from underneath and taking off her pants. She got into bed, holding your shirt up to her face and inhaling deeply. She quickly stopped herself. “Oh my fucking God, Ellie.” She dropped the shirt and brought her hands to her face in embarrassment, but now all she could feel was the fabric brushing against her nipples as her mind clouded with your voice; calling yourself mommy as you looked her in the eyes. Goosebumps rose on her skin as she shook her head at herself, attempting to shake away her thoughts of you and your awfully mean teasing. She grabbed her pillow, shoving her face into it as she went red. “Get a hold of yourself.”
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sprinklenoodles · 6 months ago
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Since it's Pride Month, it's time for some THH sexuality headcanons!
Sayaka: bi, with a preference for men. Doesn't mean she doesn't find girls PRETTY though. Might had a crush on one of her female classmates before falling in love with Leon.
Leon: straight. He's just a straight dude that's vibing.
Mukuro: bi. Pretty sure this one is kinda canon, so don't have anything else to say about this.
Chihiro: AroAce. I just... can't see him dating anybody. Ever. Plus, he's one of my favs, so that means you gotta be on the aro spectrum.
Mondo: bi, with a preference for women. Did not know he liked men before going to HP. However, it wasn't Taka that was his first male crush there...
Taka: gay. He's very gay, no explanation needed.
Hifumi: straight and ace. The other straight guy here. Don't have much else to say about him.
Celeste: bi, with a preference towards women. While she does want a castle full of servants that are men, she would rather date a woman.
Sakura: pan. Gender doesn't matter to her, she had an amazing boyfriend and now has an amazing girlfriend.
Junko: pan. Her true love is despair though.
Toko: bi. While she does like men, her true love is a woman.
Hiro: gay. He hasn't managed to find a boyfriend though. He's lonely, I'm afraid.
Hina: Lesbian. She loves girls and girls only. No boys there. The bad ending doesn't exist. Her heart belongs to Sakura
Byakuya: AroAce. If you know me, you know I have a LOT of thoughts about this headcanon. Made multiple posts about it, so won't say anything here. He and Chihiro are AroAce buddies though.
Kyoko: bi and demiromantic. She doesn't fall in love easily, though that doesn't mean she doesn't fall in love at all. Like with Makoto.
Makoto: pan. He doesn't care about gender, which causes him to fall in love very easily. He had a crush on multiple of his classmates, both male and female, before falling in love with Kyoko.
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sunnyie-eve · 4 months ago
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6. Forget Her
Fandom: House of the Dragon
Series: Devious Opportunity
Pairing: (Aegon II Targaryen x Cousin! OFC Targaryen!)
Word Count: 1.6k
Notes: Incest, feeling alone, mention of drinking
| MASTERLIST |
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At the moment, Celeste was watching Luke play with twins and their toys on the floor. Luke was the second person Dahlia loved to go to for attention while Astraea went to Jace . They both loved to spoil them since they never had a baby sister growing up.
The twins weren't exactly 100% identical but for first timers seeing them you could confuse them, and then sometimes people who knew them could confuse them if they didn't pay attention. One of the dead giveaways was their hair.  Dahlia had had curly hair while Astraea had straight hair.
"I swear she's going to love you more than her own mother." She laughs as Dahlia stood up to throw herself at Luke wanting to be held.
"She constantly says mama... I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." He looks over at her as he kisses the side of Dahlia's head.
"Dally, come to mama." Celeste holds her arms out so she leaves Luke rushing over to her mama giggling. "That's my baby girl." She showers her in kisses making Astraea jealous rushing over wanting kisses too.
"See, they love you more than us." Luke laughs at her as Jace enters the room.
"I feel like bad news has arrived... The look on your father's face walking in to give our mother a letter." He tells the two.
"Long as it's not about me... I'm not stressing."
A bit of time passes and both Rhaenyra and Daemon walk into the room to give them the news that they received, "We have to make a trip to Kings Landing. It's about Luke's legitimacy. Vaemond want's it questioned." She tells the group.
"You can stay here if you want to." Daemon tells his daughter.
"We know you probably don't want everyone there, mainly the Hightowers, knowing about Dahlia." Rhaenyra adds.
"That's very true but I want to be there for Luke." Celeste tells them so they all agree they will head out soon.
On the ship heading back to Kings Landing, Jace could see Celeste was in deep thoughts, "Only if they didn't hate being with the handmaids you wouldn't have to worry. Everyone is going to assume they're our sisters most likely."
She looks at him away from the water, "Dahlia can only be with them a good amount of time before screaming for me or one of you boys. Astraea is different because she just likes the attention."
"That's because you actually raise them and don't pass them off." He rests on the side with her looking out at the water, "And like you said Astraea loves attention from anyone." He laughs, "You're a good mother to them."
"Thank you, Jace." She takes his hand to squeeze.
"Are you going to tell him or not?"
"I want to but I told him to move on. I just know Otto and Alicent are harder on him as he gets older. They want him to inherit the throne so badly." She sighs, "I just hope he's okay."
"I'm sure you'll know what to do whenever you see him."
She chuckles a bit, "Yeah, run away and swim back home."
Once they arrive getting out of the carriages they all stand together feeling odd being back. Celeste asks Dahlia to be good for the handmaids but she didn't want to go with them. "Fine, stay with mama then." She takes her and Astraea as well, "If you need me, I'll be in my room." She tells the boys heading off.
At the same time, Alicent was leaving the council meeting to go see Rhaenyra and Daemon but Ser Erryk tells her Aegon was acting up again in his room earlier. "What now?" She huffs.
"He won't leave his apartments, he screamed at one of the serving girls for more cups to drown himself in but they ran out of what he wanted. He startled her and she fell backwards hurting herself. She told me to tell you she left and wasn't coming back."
Alicent groans heading off to go to his room to tell him off and on the way she saw Celeste with her daughters giggling as the two year old hoppeds around, "Okay, Dahlia. Let's go take a nap."
"Nap nap!" She puts her arms up to be carried.
"Astraea, wanna nap too?" Celeste bends down to pick both girls up.
Watching the three, Alicent didn't know what to make of it. Was it Rhaenyra's daughters? Or were they hers with maybe Jace? Alicent had no knowledge of when Aegon snuck away to see Celeste so that wasn't a thought for her.
Finally carrying on her way she finally makes it to Aegon's room trying to wake him up. "Get up!" She shouts tossing the sheet off him so covers himself back up asking what. "What? What is it? The serving girl. You scared her so badly that she hurt herself and left."
"I didn't touch her. She fell on her own." He mumbles with his eyes closed.
"That's not the point, Aegon! How can you keep carrying on like this especially on a day like today?"
"Why? What is it today?" He sits up and she slaps him across the face.
"You are no son of mine." She speaks after a moment of silence before turning to leave.
Aegon gets up from his bed holding his sheet up to keep himself covered, "I did not ask for this. I've done everything you've asked me to, and I try so... I try so hard, but it will never be enough."
"You drink till you pass out. You keep yourself in your room sleeping all day unless you are drinking. You do not try, Aegon. You are childish!" She points her finger at him trying to keep it together but can't.
"I drink to forget about her!" He snaps as well.
"Well get over her because you have a wife and child with her. And I'm sure she moved on from you from what I saw on the way here." Alicent says as Helaena walks in.
"Have you seen Dyana? She's supposed to dress Jaehaera." She asked her mother, "As well, I didn't know Rhaenyra and everyone was coming today. What's today?" She asks, getting Aegon's attention hoping Celeste came along.
"Yes, they are here to settle things for Drifmark. Umm, Dyana had to leave, She hurt herself. I'll find another to help." Alicent leaves with her daughter.
Meanwhile with Celeste, she got the girls to take a nap so a handmaid stayed to watch over them while Celeste left the room to find Jace and Luke. Having an idea where they went, she heads out to the yard to find them watching Aemond with Ser Criston practicing.
"Are they sleeping?" Jace asks as she joins his side.
"How else would I be out here?" She laughs.
"Nephews, have you come to train?" He looks over at them and they were lucky to be interrupted with Vaemond entering the gates.
Both Jace and Luke take off going back in while Celeste walks over to Aemond, "The eye patch is a nice touch." She tells him with a smile and sees the look on his face, "You still upset about the whole thing?"
"I lost an eye."
"And you stole my sister's dragon, attacked my sisters and the boys, if I recall." She follows him as he puts the weapons away, "As you said at least you got a dragon so forget about it. You have one of the biggest dragons now. Plus you scared Luke and he stood up to you."
"Shouldn't you be wondering off to see my brother?" He turns to face.
Celeste takes a breath shaking her head, "No, I shouldn't be. If I remember correctly Otto told him to stay away from me so that goes for me as well." She tells him.
"That didn't stop him from going to see you a couple of years ago." He says so she stays quiet, "Whatever happened upset him when he got back." He tells her.
As the two talk, Aegon was carefully rushing around the Red Keep trying to find Celeste. He didn't want to check her room right away just having a feeling she wasn't in there. As he finally made his way to the yard, he just barely missed her as she left.
"Brother, you just missed her." Aemond tells him.
"Are you kidding me?!" He rushes back in to find her.
Sprinting up the stairs he finally sees her taking her time walking down the hall. His heart starts to beat even faster as he runs after her but quickly makes a turn seeing his Grandfather turn the corner to stop Celeste.
"How you've grown into a beautiful young woman." Otto eyes her.
"Thank you." She says politely not wanting to talk to him.
"Have you seen my grandson?" He asks her.
"If you mean Aegon, no. I just left Aemond though heading to my room." She tells him the truth, "I'm sorry but I must be going. I have to get back."
"What's so important?"
"I'd like to get back before my daughters wake up. One doesn't like being alone with the handmaids for too long." She tells him not seeing why not since he would just guess it was with Jace.
"You have two daughters? Congratulations my lady." He smiles thinking she was finally over Aegon, "Maybe they could play with Aegon's and Helaena's daughter." He adds.
"Maybe." She smiles heading off.
Sadly Aegon didn't hear any of that conversation since he left to take the back pathways to get to her room without being seen.
In the room, Celeste sees Jace and Luke with the girls, who were awake. "Do you mind if we take them around?" Luke asks her.
"No," She tells him so they leave with them to go play.
As she takes a seat on the sofa she hears a noise turning to see the secret door to the back ways carefully opening. She stands up walking over having an idea who it was. "Still taking the back ways to sneak in here like you used to at late hours when we were younger?" She laughs as he opens the door all the way looking at her.
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stayandot8 · 10 months ago
Text
Heart and Seoul
Genre: tooth-aching fluff
Relationship type: married nonidol!Chan x fem reader
Important Contents: thank you the request friend :) I immediately got an idea when you sent this to me and I'm sorry it took so long to write. I hope you like it.
request can be seen here.
WC: 1.8k
masterlist
Hubby: Guess what I got???
A picture arrived a second later of three plane tickets, all with the same destination: Seoul, South Korea. A flash of shock hit me and my fingers worked faster than my brain could process. 
“Isn’t it awesome?! My parents helped pay for them so don’t worry, I didn’t spend too much money. Well, not yet anyways. I’m going to buy a snow suit for Celeste because she’s never seen snow before and she’ll want to play in it because if she’s anything like me but that’s beside the point!” Chris was so excited and when he was excited, he rambled about everything and anything. A change that occurred after he became a dad, but a welcome one at that. Getting him to share his feelings wasn’t too too hard when I came along, but ever since his daughter was born, he was a babbling mess. A good change, really. After five years, he’d really mellowed out with her safety. She had too many clothes to begin with with the overexcitement of her arrival from her uncles, but now she was down to only a few new outfits a week, and now he at least acted like he was thinking about it when he changed his mind from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’. He couldn’t deny his little girl anything. 
“Chris, she has snow clothes. Her grandmother bought some for her the last time we went to Korea in the winter just in case it snowed, which she’s still upset about.”
“I know, the weather app is stupid, they never know anything.”
“Chris! She has enough clothes! We’re going to have to give her our master closet if you keep buying her more things!” He was quiet to this, like he was actually thinking about the logistics of it. “Babe, she’s not getting our closet.”
“I know!”
“You were thinking about it though.”
“...Maybe. Then I was thinking about everything else I could buy her with all that room.”
“Chris…” I said warningly. 
“I’m done, I’m done. She’s not getting our closet.”
“Good.”
“But she is getting a snow suit. Okay, love you, bye!” I clutched my phone as he hung up, shaking my head and wondering where in the world he was going to put one more thing she didn’t need. It wasn’t like he was buying nonsense, it was just that he couldn’t tell her no if she really wanted something. He was a good dad like that. 
Me: Christmas with the uncles sounds good :) 
Hubby: Start packing. We leave in three days :) 
Me: Won’t mom be upset we won’t be in Sydney for the holiday?
Hubby: My mom will be fine, she’s used to holidays without me. 
Me: Don’t remind me 
Hubby: It’s yours we have to worry about. 
It was true, I was worried that my mother would be upset about a holiday without her grandchild. She loved them more than anything, cherished her truly. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt about it. 
Hubby: We’ll tell her together. We’re adults now, we can choose to spend the holidays wherever we like. 
Always reading my mind, my husband. 
The front door opened and shut, letting in the Sydney breeze along with it and a head of dark hair waltzed right in. Heading straight for the fridge, she reached for a small bag of apple slices just out of her reach. 
“Mommy!”
“Yes, baby, do you need some help?” I was already off my stool at the kitchen island and heading towards her. 
“Yes please!” She turned her shining eyes towards me, just as warm and comforting as her father’s. Her smile pushed her round cheeks upwards toward her eyes, just like his. Chan said she had my nose and he was more thankful for that than anything. He hated his nose. 
She was still reaching for the bag, knocking a bottle of water to the floor. “Whoops! I’ll get it Mommy.”
“Oh thank you Cece, that was very helpful of you.” She loved hearing these things, loved hearing how she helped someone. Anyone. More of her father’s features shining through, she just loved to help in any way she could. I opened the bag and handed it to her. “There you go, baby .Do you want to watch some TV before your grandmas and grandpas come over for dinner?” 
Once in a while, all the grandparents came over for dinner to spend time with the three of us. They wanted to see their Cece before all the holiday craziness came and they had to get busy with everything else that came with the holidays. 
With the house smelling like grilled meat and rice, the doorbell rang like chimes in the wind, a touch from Chris when we bought the house. Cece ran to the door, yelling “I got it, I got it!” She opened the door to both sets of grandparents flinging their arms wide open at the sight of her at the door, her red sparkly dress swinging as she lept for them. They hugged her, bags swinging from their arms as all four of them came around her. 
I was luckier than most with my in-laws. They had welcomed me with the most open of arms into their family and made me feel like a part of the family, like they had always been there just waiting for me. My parents got along with them, his mother bonding with mine over their love of plants and house decor. Our fathers got along with sports, the only issue ever being who was paying for the wedding (they both wanted to pay for it). They loved me and I loved them. I knew this situation wasn’t common, so I cherished it whenever they all came together. 
“Cece, are you going to let them come in?” I laughed while they hugged her, knowing they wouldn't let go until she did. 
“Oh, it’s fine, she’s fine.” Chris’s mom said while the others were putting their belongings in the hall closet. She picked up her favorite grandchild and held her until she arrived in the living room with all her toys neatly stacked. Celeste had a habit that she picked up from her father of finding joy in organization. It had to come from him because it definitely did not come from me.
As the other grandparents gathered around Cece on the floor, my dad followed me out the back door to find Chris hard at work grilling. They hugged and we watched Chris grill. 
“How’s the producing business, Chris?” Neither took their eyes off the meat.
“It’s good! Keeps me busy, but I get to meet celebrities so it has it’s perks. And the company is still good with letting me off for time with Cece. So I can’t complain.”
“That’s because you still work on your days off. I still haven’t been able to stop him.”
I sighed and gave Chan’s back a reproachful look. My dad chuckled. 
“Honey, you haven’t been able to stop him from working since you started dating. Remember Valentine’s Day a couple years ago?”
“Hey!” Chan finally turned around, mouth open in mock shock. “You said you were okay! You know how hard it was to get Tiger JK to actually sit down and work with me.”
“I do! And I’m still proud you managed to get it done in time.” I smiled and took his free hand that wasn’t holding a giant pair of tongs. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be a little salty that you had to miss our second Valentines together.” His eyes squinted. 
“And have I made it up to you every year since?” He cocked his eyebrow. 
“I need a beer! Anybody else?” My dad quickly jumped up to head back inside for said refreshment. I shot Chan a smirk. 
“Was that necessary?”
“Hey, he could’ve done the math. Cece was born in November.” I rolled my eyes. His tone suddenly got serious. “Do you want to tell them now or after we eat?”
“After. Let them enjoy their time with her now.”
*
“You what?!”
The plates were cleared, Cece was passed out on the couch watching her favorite show, and the news had just come out. My mother, ever the drama queen, was fanning herself from the news. My father was helping her, if only to save himself the pain of a scolding from her later. 
“Well, they’re adults now, honey. They can do what they like.”
“But they’re taking her for the holidays too, Richard. Did you think about that?”
“Yes I did. They’ll be fine, they’ll be back afterwards.”
“And besides,” Chan’s mom interjected. “You can spend it with us! We can get wine-drunk and celebrate Christmas ourselves without the kids.”
Chris grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. My mother just watched us smile at each other. 
“We miss Korea, mom. And Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, I just think this year we want to spend it differently. We’ll pick you up some of your favorite face cream while we’re there, too.”
“So the trip won’t be a total waste for you!” Chris tried to placate her, but her face remained unchanged. “Alright Mom, what about this: when we get back, you guys can have Celeste for a whole weekend, just her and you.” She perked up at that.
“Friday to Monday?”
“You can even bring her back Monday night.” Chris, ever the diplomat. A rush of pride went through me. My mom thought about it for a moment. 
“Deal.” 
Chris’s dad piped in.
“What about us?!”
*
Celeste did really well for her first plane ride. We arrived at the Incheon Airport around noon, but we didn’t know what awaited us outside until we stepped outside to our car waiting to take us to our hotel. Driven by Hyunjin with a passenger seat occupied by Felix, they waved us over before climbing out of the car to fling their arms open for Celeste, who stopped halfway to them, noticing the white fluff all around. 
“Daddy, what’s that?” she asked, her voice dripping in wonder. Her eyes shining with pure curiosity, she ignored her uncle’s waiting arms to hold her arms out to catch the falling flakes. They disappeared as quickly as they had landed in her hand, but that didn’t stop her from trying to catch all of the snowflakes in her immediate vicinity. She jumped and reached, trying to reach the clouds they were falling from. This insanely cute action was met with laughter from all angles, and before she knew it, she was hoisted into the air by her uncle to get a closer look. 
Chris and I stood by and let them catch up and enjoy the cold.
“She’s so cute. She takes after you, you know.” I placed a hand on my stomach. 
“I dunno. Maybe this one will be just as cute.”
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babyphat05 · 2 years ago
Note
Do you have anymore book recommendations on socialites/high society?? I just read your socialite post on your blog and want to learn more ab this!
Books:
How to Meet the Rich by Genie Sayles
True Prep by Lisa Birnbach
Shanghai Girls: Uncensored & Unsentimental by Mina Hanbury
The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
The Official Preppy Handbook by Lisa Birnbach
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
How To Date Like a Courtesan by Celeste Mgboli
Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello
Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin
Selling Luxury by Robin Lent
Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit
Articles:
How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People
The Duo Behind Socialite Rank
How to Look Rich, According to People Pretending to Be Rich
Shaka Monroque Covering Town and Country 2012 her story is super interesting, I’m always on the lookout for black socialites**
Devorah Rose, a Celebrity of Her Own Making
Ten Incredible ‘It Girl’ Profiles, from Chloe to Tinsley to Tavi
The Rich New York Women Who Love Their Fake Birkins
A Definite History of Socialite Rank
Linking other publications/videos/podcast you should keep up with on this topic:
Guest of a Guest
Spoiledserena tiktoker
Town and Country Magazine
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hoaxriot · 1 year ago
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FOR THE FIRST TIME
pairings. sirius black x fem!reader
synopsis. years had passed and your daughter was at hogwarts. your husband was out and had not showed himself yet.
notes. this is part two coney island! i also put a name for the kid but you can imagine any other name or gender i just chose this so it would be easier to write. this follows the scenes of the movie in the shrieking shack. idk why i wrote most of the scene but i felt it was important and some things are a bit different.
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it had been years since your friends were murdered by one of your best friends and your husband was put in askaban for it. of course, years since you had given birth to your only kid, your daughter— celeste. she had become your entire world after she was born.
you continued to live with remus after because you still needed that help and he was glad to do it. his dream became true and he had became uncle moony.
celeste’s first words were moony and he was thrilled about it, soon after she turned one you moved back home but he was still around. life had started to become better as celeste grew up, everything was okay again. you still missed your friends dearly but after celeste you knew you could not stay in bed all day, she made you happy.
when your daughter started to grow you knew she was a wizard which made you happy. time came around where she could finally understand that other families had a father around and she didn’t.
the right age, you sat her down and explained to her in the best way possible with remus to help.
then it was time for celeste to go to hogwarts and you to become a professor. ever since then, life had been better. your daughter was sorted into gryffindor and she had found herself friends, she was happy so you were too. of course, one of her friends were harry potter which made you happy but he had not know you even though his father was your best friend.
just days before now, you had learned the truth about who killed your friends and who was framed because of remus lupin. that’s how you found yourself running into the whomping willow like you had done multiple times before.
your daughter was in there, you knew of it. you watched as remus shoved the door open and yell a spell. you ran in behind him to see your husband, sirius black on the floor with remus pointing his wand at him. you looked up to see your daughter standing beside hermione with fear struck in her eyes.
moving your eyes back to your husband who was being pulled up by remus into a hug, “i found him!” you heard sirius say causing a frown to come upon your lips. sirius had not noticed you standing behind remus.
“let’s kill him.” sirius said pulling away from the hug, you still stood frozen behind remus. too in shock, your husband was in front of you while your kid was a few feet away from you. sirius was older just like you, he has a beard and he still wore his askaban clothing.
hermione started to yell at remus causing him to turn towards the girl, then sirius saw you. it didn’t feel real the way you stood in front him, you looked the same as you did the night he got taken away. sirius has waited for this moment since then, he saw you look towards the kids. confused he sees you meeting eye contact with one that looked like him and you. was that—
he got distracted by remus and his anger. remus told him to wait after he started to yell.
“i did my waiting! twelve years of it… in askaban!” sirius yelled in desperation causing tears to evade your eyesight and your daughter to flinch.
remus gave his wand to sirius, “very well, kill him. but wait one more minute. harry has the right to know why.” the potter boy started to yell at sirius and remus blaming him for the death of his parents. he had every right to, he didn’t know. then professor snape came in. harry then yelled a spell and he went flying. celeste scrambled back against the wall causing you to look at her in sadness, this must’ve been so confusing for her.
then somehow sirius got rons rat from him and turned him back to what he truly was, peter pettigrew. they dragged him from the hole in the wall, pushing him into the middle of the room. sirius grabbed your hand and pushed you behind him a bit.
of course, peter tried to play nice in some way but he was failing miserably. he also failed at trying to get his way. now you were walking behind the granger girl with your daughter as she held onto your hand tightly. she always thought she would run straight into her father’s arms but neither of you did.
once you climbed out of the whomping willow, sirius put ron down and celeste dragged you away.
“mom, why didn’t you hug dad?” she questioned letting go of your hand facing you, you smiled sweetly at her.
“i wanted to, badly. things were a bit difficult down there.” the both of you laughed lightly. your smiled dropped when you saw sirius making his way to the two of you. celeste noticed your expression and before she could say or do anything you took off in a jog to jump into sirius’s arms.
sirius caught you with a large smile as he wrapped his arms around your waist, clinging onto, all the years he missed with you. you still had the same vanilla smell to you, the same grip you always had on him when the two of you hugged.
there was just one thing different— the kid watching you, the kid who immediately ran into your arms and stayed with you until now. you could feel sirius lose his grip on your jacket, you knew what he was looking at so you pulled away still holding onto his arm.
“c’mere.” you said to him as you pulled his arm towards celeste, you felt her nervousness so you smiled at her.
“sirius, this is celeste,” you saw his smile grow at the name, he had brought the name up one time when you two were talking about kids, “celeste, this is sirius… your father, as you know.” you spoke looking at her, she was quiet which scared sirius until she threw herself into him, very hardly causing him to let out a small ‘hmph.’
nonetheless, he hugged her back. you smiled at the interaction. he then heard her start to cry, your smile dropped a bit but you knew she was just like you and cried at overwhelming times. sirius then brought his hand to her head rubbing it comfortingly. at that action, she gripped onto him harder.
sirius opened his eyes to see your eyes filled with tears, he laughed a bit also knowing how you were, crying when you were happy. celeste heard him and pulled away to see you as a tear fell down your cheek.
“mum!” she laughed at you making you gasp playfully, “don’t mum me, you’re crying too.” you spoke pointing at her tear covered face. she then copied your playful gasp.
“don’t mind me, i just met my dad.” celeste joked causing sirius to laugh, she had humor just like him which made him smile as he laughed. he moved to stand beside you wrapping his arm around your waist.
“let’s go home,” he whispered into your ear but then you were distracted by each other again when remus started to transform causing the moment to be ruined.
that night was only a few nights ago, but now you were sitting in the noble house of black on the floor around the coffee table playing a game with celeste and sirius.
games had become something you and celeste did every night she was home, sirius was more than glad to be apart of that.
he finally had what he has always wanted, you— his wife. a kid who loved him and who he loved, giving her a life he had never once had. he was free and happy.
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laurenairay · 9 months ago
Text
comes back to me, burning red - F. Andersen
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Summary: Kendra Lee and Freddie Andersen lost touch after he was traded from Anaheim – will a surprise encounter bring back their friendship? And maybe more?
I’m jumping in as a pinch hitter for @misshoneyimhome for @callsign-denmark’s Luck of the Puck fic exchange! I haven’t written about Freddie in a little while so it was fun getting back to him – and thanks for answering all my questions! Such a lovely twist of fate after receiving my own fic from her today.
Flashback sections are in italics.
Words: 7.9k
Warnings: discussion of Freddie’s injuries, light angst, friends to lovers, cheesy flirting
Title from: Red by Taylor Swift
~
“Good morning Kendra Lee!”
Kendra grimaced, shutting the door to her yoga studio behind her, her long blonde hair swinging as she turned.
“Full name, first thing in the morning? What did I do?”
Her colleague and friend, Mimi, just snickered, shaking her head.
“Nothing bad, I promise,” Mimi said, smiling.
“Still ominous,” Kendra mused, swiping her staff card to log her as present in the building, “What’s going on?”
“Okay so you know how you moving over to Raleigh with me a month ago was to give you opportunities to do more yoga rehabilitation work?”
“Yes…?”
It was true, as vague as her friend was being. Having worked across yoga studios California for nearly 11 years, Kendra had jumped at the chance of diving more into rehabilitation work within yoga. Being made co-owner with Mimi and her sister Celeste was just the cherry on top.
“I was staying late last night to finish up the stock check and I got a call – specifically for you to do yoga rehab for an athlete needing conditioning to make his way back to playing. I know it’s right up your street, kind of exactly what you want to do more of, so I said yes.”
“You said yes already?” Kendra asked, surprised.
“I know, I know, but this is a huge opportunity. I said yes, with the caveat that I would double check timings with you this morning and let them know your availability for today,” Mimi explained.
“For today?” Kendra gasped.
“Yes, I know, but the guy organising it all for the athlete was insistent – the athlete chose you, off a list of yoga instructors based on feedback from other clients you had, and that’s huge,” Mimi said, wincing in apology.
Kendra took the time to think over her friend’s words, throwing her long blonde waves up in a twisted bun, her typical work hairstyle.
“You’re right. That is huge. Surprising, but huge. I guess, uh, just see what I’ve got this afternoon? I know I’ve got a couple of classes this morning already,” Kendra eventually said, “including…damn it, one that start in 15 minutes.”
Pregnancy Yoga, affectionately known as Moms who Move. Not women to mess around.
“Alright, you go get set up and I’ll call them back. Thanks, Kendra. And sorry for it being so last minute,” Mimi smiled.
“Hey, it happens. Let’s stay positive with it!” Kendra grinned.
As sudden as the work was, it really was where her heart lay, so this could only be a good thing right? Everything she’d been working towards?
“That’s the spirit I love! Get it girl!”
Kendra just laughed her way into Studio Two, her usual room, ready to make sure her class was set up in time.
By the time the afternoon rolled around, Kendra was pleasantly tired. All three classes had run smoothly so far today and there had been no major hiccups (or incidents) with any of her students. Even the Grooving Grandmas class (the adorable name her group of 12 senior ladies gave themselves) had behaved today, which only left her in a great mood.
So great, she lost track of time, until Mimi poked her head into the room.
“Hey, Kendra, your 2pm is here.”
“Oh damn, the athlete?”
“Yeah that’s the one. I’m just finishing up his intake forms if you want to join us,” Mimi said with a smile.
Kendra smiled back, nodding as she followed her friend out to the front desk. If she was being honest with herself, she would’ve liked a bit more preparation time, or even a name to start with. Hell, even the sport the athlete played in would’ve been useful, so she could start thinking of a program for them. Hopefully the athlete would understand the last minute nature of the set up. Hopefully.
But standing there in the lobby was the last person she expected to see. Just as tall and gorgeous and imposing as she’d last seen him in Anaheim, before he left over 7 years ago. He was her athlete?
“Freddie?”
“It’s been a long time, Kendra,” he murmured, smiling.
“You two know each other?” Mimi said, confused.
~
“How are your teaching hours coming along? You can’t have many left now before the next level, right?”
Kendra smiled up at her boss brightly. After her initial 200 hours training, she knew that teaching yoga was going to be her life’s work, even though she was only 21. Having worked insanely hard over the past two years, she was nearly ready to lead classes all by herself rather than as an assistant, and wasn’t that a heady thought? “No, not many left at all. As of yesterday I actually have 990 hours logged.”
“So you’re nearly ERYT 200?” her boss, James, grinned.
The third level of yoga instructor, after two years and 1000 hours of teaching.
“Just 10 hours left!” Kendra said brightly.
“That’s kind of perfect, if I’m being honest. We’ve been contacted by the Anaheim Ducks to run a conditioning class for a portion of the team. There are 20 players who’ve signed up, and the idea is that those who find it useful will sign up for more classes.”
“20 ice hockey players. My God. Will they take it seriously?”
She’d seen plenty of jocks in her 21 years and she knew exactly how much they goofed around when they didn’t care about things.
“Oh yeah, this is mandatory for these players and I’ll be evaluating them to send it back to their trainers. It’s serious – and it’s a big opportunity for the studio too.”
“Yeah definitely. And it’ll be good to see a different type of client for a change,” Kendra nodded.
“We love our yoga moms, don’t front,” James mused.
Kendra just grinned. She did love her beginner’s yoga mom class, he was right.
“It’ll be a big opportunity for you too, to work with them. If enough sign up, I’d like you to take on at least one for solo instruction the moment you have those 1000 hours done, to give you that experience. But if any of them give you any trouble, you let me know, okay? I won’t stand for it, regardless of who they are.”
“Thanks boss.”
“Any time.”
By the time 11am rolled around, Kendra was nervous. Not a bad nervous though, more like butterflies. She was so closed to her next stage of yoga teaching that she could almost taste it. She just hoped that this giant group of giant men would be a positive experience. They arrived in a herd, filling up the room quickly, and Kendra waited at the front of the room off to the side while her boss waited for them all to be ready.
“Alright, thanks for joining us today. I’m James Fields, owner and lead yoga instructor here, and this is Kendra Lee, who will be running this class alongside me,” he started.
She just grinned at the curious looks sent her way. Let them underestimate her, that was fine.
“As you all know, this class is mandatory and I will be evaluating you for your conditioning staff, so pay attention and we’ll all have a great time.”
Kendra watched a few disgruntled expressions popping up and fought not to laugh. Hockey players. She should’ve known they wouldn’t be any different. As her boss continued to talk, Kendra’s eyes drifted across the room, eventually landing on the man in front of her. Well, man was pushing it – this guy couldn’t be more than a couple of years older than her. A broad-shouldered redhead, pretty face, serious expression taking in her boss’s words. This one was paying attention. This one wanted to learn. Good. Even from here she could tell he would tower over her, although at 5ft2 that wasn’t really a difficult barrier. Maybe 6ft4? Maybe? Either way, this guy was going to be a good student, she could already tell.
As if he could sense his eyes on her, the man glanced over, catching her gaze. She froze, a little embarrassed to be caught staring, but he just smiled. Oh what a lovely smile that was. It was all she could do to smile back.
“If you’re all ready then, Kendra will lead you through Sun Salutation to warm up.”
She broke out of her thoughts, waving cheerfully at them all and earning a laugh. “I’ll be gentle, I promise,” she grinned.
~
“Yeah Freddie used to come to classes at my first studio, back in Anaheim about 10ish years ago. It’s been a while,” Kendra nodded, forcing a smile on her face.
Mimi raised an eyebrow but smiled politely at Freddie. “If you head on into Studio Two, Kendra will be right with you. I just need her to sign a form.”
He nodded, following the instructions with a smile sent Kendra’s way, leaving her alone with her colleague.
“Okay what the hell was that?” Mimi asked, wiggling her fingers in the direction Freddie went.
Kendra sighed, hands on hips.
“That was an old friend who I haven’t seen or spoken to in over 7 years. Him coming here out of the blue just threw me off, that’s all.”
“Is he going to be a problem? Because I have no issue with kicking him out if he doesn’t deserve a moment in your company,” Mimi said firmly.
It was times like this that Kendra really loved her friends.
“No, no it’ll be okay. There was no drama, we just drifted out of contact. Sure it sucked, but it was a long time ago? It’ll be fine. Besides, like you said, this is a big opportunity for me to do more with yoga rehab, right?”
Mimi pursed her lips but nodded. “Alright, if you’re sure. But let me know the second that you change your mind, if you need to.”
Kendra just gave her a quick hug, nudging her friend’s hip with her yoga mat, before heading resolutely towards Studio Two.
~
“So you enjoyed the last group class then?”
“I did. Anything to keep my flexibility up as good as it can get, right?”
Kendra just smiled, nodding. “Not that you seemed to have a problem with your flexibility.”
“Well I certainly haven’t had any complaints.”
He froze the moment the words left his lips, looking mortified. It was all she could do to burst into laughter at the horror on his face.
“I am so sorry. That was so unprofessional,” he groaned.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard since I’ve started here,” she said, still giggling, “You have nothing to worry about Mr Andersen.”
“Please, call me Freddie?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as his cheeks flamed red.
“Sure thing. Now let’s talk solo session scheduling – what works best for you?”
~
Kendra took a shaky breath as the memories of her first solo yoga session with Freddie washed over her, before steeling herself, pushing open the studio door. Freddie was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor on the mat he’d brought with him, and immediately smiled up at her, loosening a bit of tension in her chest. She could do this. She could totally do this.
“Hey, Freddie,” she said, unrolling her own mat.
“Hey Kendra. It’s good to see you,” he replied as she sat down opposite him.
“Good to see you too. I won’t say it isn’t a surprise because that would be a lie, but it is good to see you after all these years.”
Freddie winced a little, making her grimace inside. Was that too much?
“About that…”
He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, so Kendra quickly shook her head. Their past wasn’t what this was all about, and it would do neither of them any good to hash it up now.
“You’re here now,” she said firmly, “So, yoga rehab. Do you know much about what it entails or if there’s anything your team specifically wants?”
“Uh, I only know the basics really. Obviously I’ve done it a lot before for conditioning, which is what my trainer said this mostly will be as my injury was a blood clotting issue rather than muscles or joints?”
Blood clots. Damn. And for someone only in their 30s?
“That must’ve been really scary,” she murmured.
His eyes widened a little in surprise, but he nodded, smiling sadly. “I genuinely thought my career was over. I’ve been out for stretches of time before, but never for anything like this. I felt…helpless,” he admitted.
She could only guess he was being so vulnerable because of their history but she still appreciated his honesty. It can’t have been easy to admit such a thing.
“I can imagine you would, yeah. But the team are figuring it out, right? They wouldn’t be signing you up for yoga rehab if they didn’t have a plan in place?” Kendra said, trying to be positive.
“Yeah, yeah you’re right. They’ve tried a few things and they seem to be happy with the results anyway – they’re looking at about a month if all goes well,” Freddie nodded.
“That’s fantastic. I’m glad I’ll be able to help you get back to where you need to be. I’ll do a bunch of research after today, to make sure I’m not pushing you too hard, to make sure I’m doing the best I can for you,” Kendra said, smiling.
One month. One month with a rehabilitation she’d never come across before. This was the exact kind of challenge she wanted – and it would be with Freddie?
“I know you will, Kendra. I trust you completely. I just…”
He trailed off, chewing his bottom lip, his hesitation making her chest ache.
“What is it?” she prompted, trying to be gentle.
“I don’t want this to be it. I’m not ready for my career to be over. I still want, no, need to prove myself,” he said softly.
“Your talent and reputation precede you, Freddie. Everything that you’ve achieved with the Leafs and now with the Canes? How beloved you are by teammates and fans? You prove yourself, every day.”
“You’ve followed my career?” he asked, clearly surprised.
To be fair, she didn’t think she would’ve been able to keep following him after he left Anaheim, but it was Freddie.
“How could I not? We were friends,” she shrugged, trying to keep her voice light.
A wave of sadness washed over Freddie’s expression, making her heart clench in her chest, but before he could speak, Kendra cleared her throat.
“You’ve got this, Freddie Andersen. We’re going to get you back to where you need to be, and you’re going to kick metaphorical ass. Maybe even literal ass if you need to,” she said firmly.
Freddie managed a small smile, nodding.
“Let’s do this then.”
~
“Hey, Kendra. Thanks for today. I really enjoyed the session.”
She looked up at Freddie as she took her hair out of the twisted bun she put it in for working, letting her hair cascade down her back in blonde waves.
“You don’t have to thank me every time, you know,” she mused.
After that fateful first group class, Freddie has eagerly signed on for more conditioning classes at her studio, and her boss had happily signed him on as her first solo yoga client the moment she reached her 1000 hours milestone. It had been intimidating, if she was being honest, but she was thriving under her own steam, leading all on her own. It didn’t hurt that Freddie was a willing student, keen to increase his flexibility and core strength. And it didn’t hurt that he was absolutely gorgeous either – but that was just for her own thoughts.
“I want to thank you though. The team, management in particular, are really noticing the work I’ve put in as full-time backup, and that’s all down to you,” Freddie said with a shrug and a smile.
“Well in that case, gold star for me,” she grinned.
Freddie barked out a surprised laugh, making her giggle as she rolled up her mat.
“Did you, uh…do you have any more classes now?” he asked, awkward enough for her to pay attention.
“No, you were my last of the day. Why?”
“There’s a new smoothie bar that’s opened up down the road and I was going to go after this – if you want, come with me? I’d love to learn more about how you got into yoga instruction so young,” he said hopefully.
Kendra eyed him for a moment, trying to read any implications or anything untoward in his words. The last thing she wanted was to give off the wrong impression, especially in her first adult job, but Freddie just looked so genuine that she couldn’t help but to smile. A friend couldn’t hurt, right?
“I could go for a smoothie,” she said after a moment or two, nodding.
“Great! Um, I’ll shower, change, and meet you in the lobby?”
“Sounds like a plan,” she mused, “See you soon.”
Within no time at all, Kendra had changed into a cute little cropped lilac sweater and black jeans, leaving her hair down her back to dry in waves. She hadn’t packed any makeup with her, annoyingly, but Freddie saw her all the time without makeup so she guessed it didn’t really matter. Even if she would’ve preferred a dashing of mascara and a swipe of lipgloss. Maybe she’d have to leave a spare of each in her work bag, just in case any future hangouts after work happened.
If today’s smoothie run wasn’t awkward, of course. Damn she hoped it wouldn’t be awkward.
“Ready to go?”
“Let’s do this!” Kendra said cheerfully.
Freddie just smiled down at her, easily towering over her 5ft2 frame with his 6ft4 one – yes she’d looked up his height to be certain, she was curious – opening up the door for her to walk through first.
“Such a gentleman,” she teased.
“I aim to please,” he drawled.
Kendra snorted, immediately covering her face in embarrassment, but Freddie grinned like a cat who got the cream.
“Cute snort,” he smirked.
“Ass,” she shot back, sticking out her tongue to let him know she wasn’t actually mad.
Freddie just laughed, a clear beautiful sound that sent butterflies in her stomach going overdrive. No, this was not the time. Be a professional. Don’t be a giggly idiot. Damn it.
The walk to the smoothie bar couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes, the two of them staying in a comfortable silence – something that Kendra found difficult with people she’d known for years, so for her to feel such at ease with someone she barely knew? It was strange. Nice, but strange.
“Okay, what’ll it be?” he asked, looking up at the board, “My treat.”
“Are you sure?” she frowned.
Sure, this was her first job and she’d only been in it a couple of months, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pay her way.
“Absolutely sure. I insist,” Freddie said firmly.
The intensity in his eyes, warm but solid, made her inhale sharply and nod. If he insisted…
“I’ll have almond milk, pineapple, kale, and mango, with a dash of honey. Thanks, Freddie,” she said, smiling up at him.
He just smiled back down at her, sending those butterflies into overdrive again, stepping forward to repeat her order as well as giving his own. When their smoothies arrived, Freddie walked over to a table in the corner so she followed, sitting down with a happy sigh.
“Oh man that’s good. Thanks for inviting me out,” Kendra said, after taking a sip of her smoothie.
“You’re welcome. It’s nice to actually meet someone near my age that as interested in yoga as I am,” Freddie said simply.
“Yeah? Not too many friends or girlfriends wanting to join you?” she asked, somehow managing to stop herself cringing to hard at the wording of her question.
Freddie just smirked slightly but didn’t call her out, thankfully. “No friends who want to do yoga with me, no. Most the team only do yoga when they absolutely have to. And no girlfriend either.”
“That’s a shame,” she said lightly, ignoring the zing through her body, “Yoga is fun and a great stress-reliever.”
“Is that why you got into it then?”
Kendra relaxed back into her seat, taking another sip of her drink, before starting to talk. Over the next hour, the two of them exchanged life stories, getting to know each other properly. Freddie talked about his career so far in the Danish league, how different and difficult it was to move over to Anaheim in August, how he’s just trying to make his mark now he’s been with down with the AHL team most the season and only up for a week. In turn, Kendra talked about how she’d always lived in California, having moved from her hometown in Santa Monica to Anaheim after meeting her now-boss at a training course, how she’d seen her mom doing yoga with her friends and fallen in love with the flow and peacefulness of it as well as the strength it gave. Talking to Freddie felt like they’d been friends for all her life, something she’d never experienced before, and she could only hope this wasn’t the last time they got to do this. Freddie was special, that was clear as day, and she felt lucky to see this relaxed side of him that she doubted many were privy to.
Eventually though, once their smoothies were finished, they had to leave before they overstayed their welcome, and Freddie walked her back to her car.
“I’m perfectly capable of walking across the parking lot on my own, you know,” she mused, jerking her chin in the direction of his car, all the way on the other side.
“And if some weirdo stalks you to your car when I can prevent that, I’d rather avoid you being alone,” he shrugged.
“Aww are you my knight in shining armour, Mr Andersen?” she teased.
Interestingly, his cheeks dusted with a blush.
“I’ll sweep you off your feet any time you need, Miss Lee,” he smirked.
Kendra just burst out laughing, shaking her head at his banter flirting. Ridiculous guy. This was going to be a fun friendship, she could already tell.
“Give me your number? We can sort out another smoothie run,” Freddie said, smiling.
She ignored those traitorous butterflies and nodded, unlocking her phone and handing it over. It could only be a good thing to have more friends in Anaheim, right?
“You think you can handle seeing me outside of the yoga studio?” she mused.
“Oh I know I can.”
~
Kendra and Freddie settled on three yoga sessions a week for his rehabilitation, 12 in total, to give him the conditioning build up he needed while still taking care to manage his recovery. She’d spent all night after that first meeting researching and planning the best course of movements and flows for him, making it challenging but helpful, eventually dragging herself back to bed at 4am, satisfied that what she’d planned would help him.
With any client, she would want to make sure she was satisfied, but with Freddie? She needed it to. Even after everything, she didn’t want to let him down.
Their first two sessions went well, the first mostly easing Freddie back into the swing of things, assessing where his strengths and weaknesses were, and the second session left Freddie groaning but smiling, happy he was able to push himself. Their third session, which Kendra was preparing for, would be another mild push, nothing extreme but still to see where she would need to adjust any plans.
It was all a process, but one she was enjoying immensely. Not just because of her student.
“Knock knock.”
Kendra jolted out of her thoughts, hand on her heart as Freddie walked into the studio with a grin.
“You are the worst,” she groaned.
“So you don’t want the smoothie I picked up on the way?” he mused.
He brought her a smoothie?
Her lips parted in surprise, but she stuck her hand out anyway, Freddie just laughing as he passed it over. The moment she took a sip, a wave of nostalgia ran over her. All she could think about were the smoothie runs and coffees hangouts and even the occasional lunch they used to go to together. Two and a half years of memories all flooding through her system, and it was all she could do to keep her face calm and neutral as the memories of conversations and vulnerability and laughter swirled through her thoughts. This wasn’t fair. This really wasn’t fair. She wanted to be mad at him for daring to dive back into their past like him leaving meant nothing, but how could she? How could she be mad when those memories still brought her joy?
“Almond milk, pineapple, kale, and mango, with a dash of honey. My favourite. Maybe you’re not the worst. You really remembered this?”
“Of course I did. I loved our smoothie dates,” Freddie nodded, smiling.
Dates?
“Dates?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Figure of speech? I don’t speak English?” he offered.
“Yeah nice try, I’m pretty sure your English is better than most people I know,” Kendra mused.
Freddie blushed but laughed.
“How could I forget anything about the girl who got me doing the best Bridge pose of my life, hm?”
She tried valiantly not to think about how good Freddie looked bent over in a backwards arch. Valiantly.
“Alright, but don’t think this means I’ll go easy on you, Freddie,” she said brightly, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he grinned, “Give it to me rough.”
Kendra took a moment, trying to hold in her laughter, before she gave in and cackled.
“Oh man that was so bad, even for you,” she grinned.
“Not my finest, I’ll give you that,” Freddie shrugged, a light blush on his cheeks, “Still made you laugh though.”
Well he wasn’t wrong there.
Kendra sipped on her drink while Freddie laid out his mat, leaving the cup in a safe spot as she moved to stand in front of him.
“As always, let’s start with Sun Salutation,” she grinned.
The next hour flew by. As she promised him, Kendra did push him hard – some of the poses he wasn’t quite ready for, she could see that, at least even for the length of time they were trialling today. His natural flexibility hadn’t left him, that much was obvious, but there was still work to do. At least she could take pride in being part of rehabilitation that would never push him further than he was ready for. His safety, physical and mental, was the most important thing.
But he could do this. She knew that he could do this, and that excited her.
“Alright, that’s us done for today. Thanks, Freddie,” Kendra said softly.
Freddie opened his eyes, practically floating from savasana, face flushed from exertion.
“Thank you, Kendra. I feel awesome. Tired but awesome,” he grinned.
“Not aching too much anywhere?” she asked, standing up gracefully.
Freddie groaned as he stood up, rolling his shoulders as he checked in with himself. Kendra smiled wryly at the action – at least she could trust an athlete to know his own body.
“No, not too much,” he said.
“Are you sure?” she frowned, hands on hips.
“I promise. I know the difference between aching from a good workout to aching from injury and pain. This is good,” Freddie insisted.
Well alrighty then.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Kendra said happily, rolling her neck from side to side to loosen tension, “Take a shower, Andersen, I can smell you from here.”
Freddie barked out a laugh, shaking his head in amusement.
“Care to join me?”
“In your dreams.”
Freddie just smirked, sending a shiver down her spine. There. That was it, the spark she’d been missing for so many years.
“See you on Wednesday?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Freddie nodded.
~
From: Freddie I have a return date March 7th
From: Kendra That’s amazing! I told you that you could do it! These last eight sessions have really paid off! Do you feel ready?
From: Freddie As always, I should’ve trusted that you were right lol I think so? My body does for certain
From: Kendra And your mind? If you don’t feel mentally ready, Freddie, please don’t let them push you
From: Freddie Thanks, I appreciate that I think it’s more nerves than not mentally ready? Like, I don’t want to let the team down. And I don’t want critics to call me washed up
From: Kendra You could never let the team down They can see your passion, see how hard you’re working And screw the critics. They don’t know you or your body You are the furthest thing from washed up, so don’t talk about yourself like that
From: Freddie I’ve missed your fire. Yes ma’am
From: Kendra Damn right you have. That’s more like it
From: Freddie Can I still finish off my course of session with you? And maybe carry on for a few more afterwards? Just to make sure I still have that confidence?
From: Kendra As many as you want I’m here for whatever you need
From: Freddie Whatever I need? I like the sound of that
~
“So today’s your last official yoga rehab session with Freddie. How are you feeling?”
“Yeah, it’s all gone really well. It’s been nice reconnecting with him, as well as seeing him grow back into his conditioning and confidence. You were right, Mimi, this was a great idea,” Kendra grinned.
Mimi and Celeste both smiled at her, but the smiles quickly turned hesitant. What? What was wrong?
“Has he said something? Have the Canes said something?” she asked, starting to worry.
Had she done something wrong and he hadn’t had the guts to tell her?
“No, no, god no. Freddie’s had nothing but high praise for you since he got here and I have no doubt he’ll be saying the same to his team,” Celeste said quickly.
“He talks about me?” Kendra asked, not knowing whether to ignore the butterflies in her stomach or not.
“He does. And he always has a smile on his face when he leaves here, same as you. We just…”
“Just what?” she prompted.
“We just want you to be careful,” Celeste said, finishing her sister’s sentence.
 What the hell?
Mimi winced at Kendra's expression before clearing her throat.
“When I met you, it was obvious that part of you was missing,” Mimi said softly, Celeste nodding.
What?
“What do you mean?” Kendra frowned.
“This fun flirty side of you? These beaming smiles? It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but seeing you around Freddie makes so much sense,” Mimi explained.
Okay that was crazy.
“We really are just friends,” Kendra said, shaking her head.
Mimi and Celeste send her matching disbelieving looks.
“No, really,” Kendra said, shrugging, “We always had this flirty banter but it was never anything more than that.”
“Never anything more?” Celeste said, raising an eyebrow, “Not even once?”
“No!” Kendra laughed, “He would come to my yoga classes, we’d get coffee or smoothies occasionally, sometimes lunch, but never anything more.”
“I really don’t think you see what we see. What no doubt everyone sees when they watch the two of you,” Mimi said.
“You can’t fake that kind of chemistry, Kendra. He clearly has feelings for you,” Celeste added.
What?
He had feelings for her?
And everyone saw it?
Mimi and Celeste watched her obvious turmoil with soft pitying smiles.
“Think about it. Just think about it. That’s all we’re saying,” Mimi said, her voice warm and reassuring, “And be careful?”
“You’re our girl, okay? We just want you to be happy,” Celeste said, smiling.
“Uh yeah, sure. I’ll think about it,” Kendra murmured.
It was all she could do to walk in a straight line for their staff kitchen, desperately needing a cold bottle of water to sip on while she sorted through her thoughts.
She’d always found Freddie attractive. That was something she could admit to without hesitation. But it was something she’d buried deep, knowing she could never act on it. Bringing that acknowledgement back up to the surface was terrifying, because it wasn’t just a physical attraction – it was everything about him. If she let herself think about how attracted she was to him, let herself think about his laugh, and his kindness, and his terrible taste in coffee, and his soft smile when he talked about his family, and literally everything else about him…she felt like she would explode.
How was she supposed to behave normally around him in their last scheduled yoga session, when all of these dangerous feelings were bubbling at the surface?
No, she had to find a way. She couldn’t ruin everything, not when she’d just got him back into her life. She just couldn’t.
Somehow, she managed to keep a lid on her emotions for her entire day until Freddie’s session at the end of her evening, running through the most challenging routines that pushed him to his limit, but left him with a smile on his face. He was ready. He was really ready for his return to play in two days time.
So why did it feel like everything was ending?
Freddie had stayed mostly quiet, focusing on his movements, but there were times in between flows that she caught him staring at her as if he was thinking. Thinking hard. It was almost off-putting, if it didn’t make her feel giddy. Were her friends right? Were her feelings really reciprocated?
Whatever was going through his mind, she didn’t know, but even she could feel a trembling intensity between the two of them that she couldn’t put a finger on. It felt like…anticipation.
When their class was over, Freddie insisted on waiting for her to grab all of her things, Mimi and Celeste just smirking as he waved goodbye to them, escorting her out to her car. This time he apparently hadn’t parked that far away from her, so he was insistent on walking her properly, although it could definitely be classed as more of an extremely slow stroll rather than a walk.
Like he was drawing this out as much as she was.
“You must be freezing,” Freddie murmured, “Here take my jacket.”
Before Kendra could form a word of protest at his sudden words, Freddie was slipping his jacket off and placing it over her shoulders. The warmth immediately hit her body, thrumming through her veins, and she knew without a doubt that her burning cheeks gave her thoughts away.
“There. Better?”
It was all Kendra could do to nod, staying silent as Freddie made a grunt of approval. Why was this affecting her so much? It was a just a jacket. It was just a jacket, right? It didn’t stop her sinking into the warmth though, picking up the scent of his cologne, ignoring the way her heart started beating that little bit faster.
She had to say something. She had to say something.
“Freddie…I need to ask you a question,” she said softly.
“Go for it,” he mused.
“Did you know it was me when you agreed to do a yoga rehab course?”
“What?”
Kendra exhaled a little shakily, but shook her head. She needed to know.
“When your team suggested yoga classes as part of your rehab treatment plan, how did you pick a teacher? Did you know I would be running this for you?”
“Ah.”
A single word. How ominous.
But Kendra just stayed silent, unwilling to say anything else before he did. She needed to know. It would change everything.
“The team gave me a list of options, with short descriptions about the teacher and any feedback from other clients. And…the moment I saw your name on the list, I didn’t have to think any further or look at anyone else,” he murmured.
“What?”
Freddie let out a shaky breath, halting his walk, so Kendra stopped next to him. What did he mean by that?
“I took it as a sign from the universe that I finally had a chance to make up for letting our friendship fizzle out. You were one of the best parts about Anaheim for me, and I was so wrapped up in my head in Toronto that I was stupid enough to let our friendship go. To let you go. I wanted to see you again. I knew that you would be amazing from the yoga side of things, but to get the chance to say that I’m sorry? I couldn’t pass that up.”
As he spoke, his words clear and his expression more serious than she’d ever seen, her heart started racing like it never had before. He really meant all of that, didn’t he? He really chose her?
“You have nothing to apologise for,” she eventually said, a little more breathless than she would care to admit.
“Yes, I do,” Freddie replied, huffing out a laugh, “You deserved better than I treated you.”
He looked relieved, like her being mad at him was even a possibility (not with them, never with him), but she just shook her head. Yeah, it had hurt at the time, when she finally resigned to losing contact with him – but that was over 7 years ago. With time, that hurt had faded into an ache, which in turn faded to occasional wistfulness. She could never hold a grudge against him for a trade, and certainly not for following his dream. That just wasn’t who Kendra was.
She started walking again, Freddie wasting no time in joining her, even though their steps were practically glacial in speed.
“Maybe I deserved a little better communication but it was so long ago, Freddie. I’m not holding onto past grudges. And honestly, the fact that you chose me because you wanted to reconnect? That’s all I needed.”
“Really?” he asked, voice hopeful.
“Really really,” she grinned, “Although I’m sure you can think of something to make it up to me.”
A grin spread across Freddie’s face too, making her feel a little giddy.
“Anything you wanted, Kendra Lee.”
“That is a dangerous offer, Frederik Andersen,” she shot back.
He just shrugged, grin not leaving his face. “You know I’m good for it.”
This, these flirty exchanges, served to do nothing other than light her blood on fire. Why was it always so easy to slip back into this with him like nothing had changed? That was a good thing, right?
“Come out with me on St Patrick’s Day night,” she blurted.
He raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed, but she just laughed.
“I’m going to a karaoke bar with Mimi and Celeste – join us,” she explained.
“That’s what you want? Out of all the things you could’ve asked for…you want me to join you for karaoke,” he said incredulously.
Kendra inhaled sharply at the implication in his words but nodded anyway, hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
“I do. It’ll be fun, to see you outside of work, and to do something with you that we’ve never done before. We already have a little booth booked and it’ll be better than cramming into a regular bar for St Patrick’s Day,” she said firmly.
He laughed softly, shaking his head in disbelief, before eventually nodding.
“Alright, I’ll be there. Text me the address,” he mused.
Kendra just grinned, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach as they finally reached her car.
“Thanks for lending me your jacket, Freddie.”
“Any time.”
~
By the time the evening of the 17th March rolled around, Kendra was buzzing. She'd not seen Freddie since his debut back on the ice, him having given the three of them tickets to say thank you. Watching him win? It was everything, and she couldn't have been prouder of him. But with his schedule and hers, he hadn't scheduled any more classes like he'd said he'd wanted to, so Kendra had been limited to text messages, hoping that her daydreams weren't just silly fantasies.
Kendra, Mimi, and Celeste had been in O'Malley's for an hour, and Freddie still hadn’t arrived. The longer that time went on, the more disappointed she felt, not wanting to believe that after everything they’d regrown between them that he would just ghost her. No, that wasn’t Freddie. It couldn’t be Freddie.
“Breathe. Have a drink. He promised he’d be here, right?” Celeste said with a sweet smile.
“He did. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have changed his mind,” Kendra sighed.
“Hey, no sad faces. It’s St Patrick’s Day and we’re having a good time!” Mimi said cheerfully.
Kendra just groaned, taking a big gulp of her beer, her friends just cheering. They were right. She couldn’t dwell on this. If Freddie was going to come or whether he wasn’t, she was still out with her friends to have a good time. That was what she needed to focus on.
“Up next, Kendra singing Red!”
“Ooh girl that’s you, go!” Mimi squealed.
Kendra took a deep breath to steel herself, sliding out of their booth with a confident smile. If anyone could make her feel better, it would be Taylor Swift, she knew that much. As the intro music starting playing, she focused on letting it flow through her, tapping her foot in time with the beat.
“Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street, Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly, Loving him is like trying to change your mind, Once you're already flying through the free fall, Like the colors in autumn, so bright, just before they lose it all.”
As if summoned by magic, the door to the pub opened, and Freddie walked in. Within seconds he saw her standing on the karaoke stage and stopped in his tracks, offering her a small stunned smile. He came. He didn’t ghost her. Freddie actually came as she asked him. That had to mean something, right?
“Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes, Tell myself it's time now gotta let go, But moving on from him is impossible, When I still see it all in my head, In burning red, Burning, it was red.”
She found herself pouring her emotions into the words, pouring everything she felt about Freddie into the song, not able to take her eyes off him. By now, Mimi and Celeste had noticed how she was performing just for Freddie – she could see their grins from across the room – and a few other patrons were starting to notice too. But she couldn’t stop herself. Her body felt almost out of control, singing her heart out to the only man who’d ever truly held it.
“Oh, losing him was blue, like I'd never known, Missing him was dark gray, all alone, Forgetting him was like trying to know, Somebody you never met, 'Cause loving him was red, Yeah, yeah, red, Burning red.”
His eyes were almost wild, locked onto her like she was the only person in the room. It was a heady feeling, giving her the confidence she needed to finish the song with a smile.
“And that's why he's spinning 'round in my head, Comes back to me, burning red, Yeah, yeah.”
She curtseyed dramatically to cheers and applause as the song ended, a wide grin on her face, and she moved to step off the stage, Freddie was already there with a hand extended to help her down. She took it silently, inhaling sharply as Freddie didn’t let go – instead her guided her across the room to the bar, the crowd parting with whatever intensity was on his face, so much so that they were served immediately.
“Two baby guinnesses,” Freddie asked politely.
The barman just laughed, nodding as he poured the shots, Freddie not letting go of her hand even as he paid for their drinks. He passed her one of the shots with a hopeful smile, the sweetness in his eyes intoxicating, so she clinked the glass gently with his, the cool liquid sliding down her throat smoothly.
“I wasn’t sure if you would make it,” Kendra said, offering him a small smile.
“I was thinking. Thinking about a lot of things. And I have something I need to say,” Freddie murmured, voice barely audible above the rumble of the room’s conversation.
“Oh?” she said, breath caught in her throat.
“I need to be honest with you, Kendra. I don’t think I can do any more classes with you.”
Oh. Everything in her chest felt like it was crumbling, Kendra barely able to get a breath in.
Wait, what?
“It would be incredible unprofessional of me,” Freddie added.
“Unprofessional? Freddie, if I’ve done something-”
The last thing Kendra was expecting was for Freddie to cut off her words with a kiss.
And not just any kiss. A toe-curling, melt into his arms, curl her fingers into his shirt kind of kiss. As his hands cupped her face and his lips moved with hers, it was all she could do to let out a soft little moan, interrupted only at the chorus of cheers and whistles around them. Freddie broke the kiss with a soft laugh, Kendra just feeling dazed, but his shy smile just made her giddy all over again.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. I just didn’t think I could,” he admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
They were right. Mimi and Kendra were right.
“What changed?” she managed to ask.
“We changed,” he said. “We’ve both grown so much in ourselves since I left Anaheim and I am proud of both of us for taking what we need to make ourselves happy and successful. But I don’t want to lie to myself any more, thinking that I don’t need you too.”
“You need me?” she said, surprised.
“I do, in every way. I was an idiot for so many years, Kendra. I don’t want to waste any more time,” he said seriously.
“Jesus, Freddie, knock a girl for six why don’t you,” she said, huffing out a laugh.
He froze at her words, clearly fearing the worst, but Kendra just grinned. How could she be anything but excited?
“I’m yours, Freddie Andersen. I always have been,” she said happily.
The smile that spread across his face was worth a thousand lifetimes. This was what she had been waiting for. Exactly this.
“Now, buy me another drink and sing a song with me, and I’ll consider kissing you again,” Kendra grinned.
He laughed in disbelief but grinned so widely in response that it made her giddy. “One blue moon pale ale, coming right up.”
Her favourite girls night drink? How did he remember everything she’d ever said?  They were really doing this. They were finally doing this. 
“You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” she laughed.
“Probably. You love it though.”
That she did.
58 notes · View notes
sereneres · 1 year ago
Text
strangers, friends, lovers, repeat
CHAPTER 0.6 — SOUR GRAPES / 2.4k
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summary. — you were a stranger to sakura back then and she’s a stranger to you right now.
warnings. — based on strange by celeste / angst / heartbreak / mentions of a slur being said
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“hey, ━━.”
there’s three– no, four boys standing in front of her and, while sakura had no idea what they had just called her, she had a feeling that it wasn’t a very nice word.
still, her mother had taught–ordered, more like–her to be kind and polite to everyone because she didn’t need another reason for everyone to hate her, so kind and polite she will be. it’s hard, but she deals with it because what else can she do?
“hello.” she says slowly, “do i… know you?” at the end of her sentence, she gives the group of boys what she’s sure is a shakey smile at best and a grimace at worst. whatever it was, it seemed to make the boys frown even more, so maybe she shouldn’t have smiled–or done anything with her lips–to begin with.
“yah, ━━,” that name again. just what did it mean? the way he was saying it made it obvious that it was some kind of… bad word, but one he relished in calling her. a slur, perhaps?
she’s pulled from her thoughts when the boy continued to speak. “we,” he gestured to the four of them, “heard that girls from knee-hon-go–” she had to bite back a laugh at the way he butchered the pronunciation. “were ━━ ━, so we wanted to know if it’s true or not.”
sakura, having barely stopped herself from laughing at the boy’s words, which, disregarding his horrible pronunciation, just sounded wrong in general, cleared her throat. “…i’m sorry, but i have no idea what you said.” she apologizes, trying–and failing–to give them a genuinely apologetic smile.
at least this time, her smile didn’t seem to anger them.
“huh?” the boy asked–he seemed to be the spokesman of the group–raising a brow with a sneer growing on his lips. “you can’t understand? are you ━━ or somethin’?”
“what?”
“‘wHaT?’” one of the boys mocked, making his voice high-pitched as if to mimic her voice but if anything, his attempt at making her looks stupid or whatever only served to make him look stupid.
it seems the boy realized it too, because he immediately followed up with a flustered, “shut up, ━━. acting dumb won’t help you at all.”
she’s not so sure what happens in the next few moments. she thinks one of the boys says something but she couldn’t understand it, partially because of his heavy accent–why did they have so many different accents here?–but mostly because the second he started speaking, she felt someone else–one of the boys who had somehow inched towards her without her noticing–grab a fistful of her hair and pull down-
and so, sakura found herself on the floor, her bare knees scraping against the very rough ground because it was hot and she didn’t want to wear tights, no matter how thin they supposedly were, but thankfully, she was wearing safety shorts under her skirt and- oh wow was that blood?
one inspection later–she squinted at the drop of red liquid on the ground–she concluded that it was, in fact, blood. the only issue is, who’s blood was it? another quick inspection of her legs and hands told her that it wasn’t hers, so-
“what the ━━!” one of the boys yelled, a hand to his nose, a thin stream of blood running down his lips, chin, and neck. “you ━━ ━! you broke my nose!”
ah, so that’s where it came from. the blood, that is.
belatedly, she notices the shoes of another student–where did they come from?–in front of her, and, over the loud thumping in her ears, she could hear the owner of said shoes snorting. “that was the ━━ point.” she mutters, giving the boy a disgusted look before turning to look at sakura, her brows furrowed with visible concern in her eyes. “are you okay?”
“who are you?” she asks, or, rather, blurts out, before immediately regretting her words. she probably should’ve just thanked her for saving her or actually respond to her question but–
“yn.” the stranger–now known as yn–says, smiling. “yn ln. it’s nice to mee- ack!”
later on, as she helped you stand up properly once the group of boys had left with their tails in between their legs or however the saying went, sakura wonders why you had helped her when the two of you were quite literally strangers. was it… what was it called? a hero complex? did you have a hero complex?
whatever it was that you had, a good act should always be returned fully, or so her mother has told her, so she helps walk you to the nurse’s office.
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“hey, are you okay?”
sakura purses her lips, giving you the most unimpressed look she could muster up. “i think i should be asking you that, yn-ssi,” she says dryly, gesturing to the darkening bruise on your cheek and forehead, “considering how injured you are.”
“oh, this?” you point at the said injuries, your eyebrow raised comically high. “this’ll go away. i’m more worried about whether or not you’re okay after hearing those idiots call you all those names.”
you then smiled, and she would’ve considered it a rather charming some had your lip not started to bleed from how widely you smiled. “‘m injuries’ll heal ‘cuz they’re physical, but yours might not ‘cuz it’s ━ ‘n all that.”
“━?” she repeats, grimacing at how badly she had pronounced the word. “i’m sorry, i don’t know what that means.”
“oh?” there’s a look of confusopn on your face, though it quickly turns into one of surprise. “oh!”
“what?” sakura asks, feeling somewhat uncomfortable due to the way you were looking at her. “is there something wrong? should i get the… uh, nurse?”
you blink, your brows unfurrowing as your confusion turned into understanding. “oh.”
at this point, sakura has no idea what to say now that all you were saying was, “oh”, in different tones, and it certainly didn’t help that your expression was changing every other second.
“you’re a foreigner.”
it’s less of a question and more of a statement, but either way, it’s enough to make sakura suddenly feel uneasy. she shifts in her chair, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt anxiously as she looked at anywhere but you.
noticing how tense sakura looked at your words, you hastily shake your head–and hands–side to side. “not that that’s a bad thing, of course!” you say, cheeks flushing as you smiled sheepishly at her. “i was just surprised, you don’t really speak like a foreigner.”
“really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting her head. “everyone i’ve met since coming here has said that my accent is very notic…eable?”
“noticeable.” you correct, your lips pursed. “and maybe it is, but i didn’t notice it, so…”
“thank you…?”
it sounded less like an expression of gratitude and more like a question, but, fortunately, you didn’t comment on it.
“anyway, i don’t think i got your name.” is what you say instead, smiling at her.
“ah, i didn’t tell you?” she frowns, eyebrows furrowing as she recounted everything that had happened in the past one hour or so.
you shake your head. “you didn’t. i mean, i think i know it, but i’d like for you to tell me it anyway.”
“oh. uh, my name is sakura.” she laughs nervously, averting her eyes. “miyawaki sakura. i, erm, transferred here a few months ago from japan.”
“really?” you stare at her, your own eyes wide with intrigue and curiosity. “why’d you come all the way here, then?”
“uh…”
“oh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to!” you say hurriedly, laughing sheepishly. “i was just curious. there aren’t a lot of transfers that come here, much less transfers from japan here, so…”
“it was for my dad’s job.” she muttered quietly, giving you a small smile. she thinks it’s a little cute, the way you fidget anxiously in fear of having said something wrong. “he got a better job opportunity here so we moved. my mom wasn’t all that happy but she agreed because we… uhm, really needed the money.”
sakura isn’t sure as to why she was sharing this much information with you. she wasn’t an oversharer by any means–though you did ask her first–and she was considered a private person by many.
that said, maybe it was just because she needed to talk–she did tend to talk more when she was nervous–or maybe it was because you just seemed so nice and- what did you just say?
“sorry, could you repeat that?”
you blink at her owlishly. “i was just asking you if you wanted to be friends.” you said, and, seeing the incredulous look on her face, you hastily add an, “look, i know it’s a bit… childish of me to ask that, but i just wanted to know if you wanted to be friends or not so that we could hang out. i wouldn’t want to bother you if you don’t, erm, like me, and–”
“okay.”
she probably should’ve said something like, “okay, i’ll be your friend”, or something less confusing than just an, “okay”, but between your nervous rambling and her own nervousness… well, she wasn’t really thinking properly.
“okay…?” you repeat, looking both curious and worried. “what does that mean? do you want to be friends, or are you just saying okay to shut me up, or-”
“the first one.”
“oh.” a pause. “oh!” she’s never heard someone say the word, “oh”, so many times before. “oh-”
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“hey.”
sakura is nervous. so nervous, in fact, that she doesn’t even notice you come up to her with a curious look on your face. just looking at you makes her regret ever coming up with this stupid plan. why did she think this was a good idea?!
“hello?” a hand–yours, obviously–waves up and down in front of her eyes, pulling her out of her thoughts. “earth to sakura, are you in there?”
she blinks. “oh, yn, sorry, i, erm, did realize you were here.”
“weren’t you the one who called me here, though?” you asked, raising a brow at the older girl. you’re confused, and rightfully so because, well, as you said, she was the one who told you–or rather, told chaeyeon to tell you–to come here and meet with her. “i mean, technically chaeyeon was the one who told me to come here because you told her to tell me to–”
“i like you!”
oh–excuse her languge–fuck.
sakura is certain that just might die on the spot, and, while she obviously won’t, she’d be happy to just bury a hole right where she stood, jump in, and never come out again because why the hell did she say that?! sure, she was planning on confessing to you today, but not like that, and certainly not so bluntly and without any feeling or any plan-
“you like me?”
huh. not a positive response, seeing as you weren’t blushing or smiling or much of anything, but not a negative one, considering that you did seem disgusted or upset. merely… curious, if your eyebrow raise was anything to go by. perhaps a little confused and a little surprised because, well, your best friend had just confessed to you, but only a little.
needless to say, it’s infinitely better than the reaction she had been expecting and bracing herself for.
to be absolutely, definitely, glass-transparent clear, she wasn’t worried that you would react negatively in a, “ew, you’re gay?” kind of way, mostly because you were gay yourself–there was, of course, internalized homophobia, but that was more chaewon’s thing than yours–and also because you weren’t the type to say that even if you weren’t gay.
no, what she was worried about was being rejected on the spot because she’s been your best friend for years and what if-
“i like you too.”
huh. maybe she shouldn’t have been scared after all.
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her cheek stings a little, the pain only exacerbated by the rain pouring on her and on you. that pain is nothing, though, in comparison to the heartache she felt when she looked at your face.
“fine.” you hissed, your hands clenched at your sides. she has no doubt that you’re hurting the same way she is, both physically and mentally. “if you can’t handle this– handle us, we are through.”
she’s sure that her heart would have broken in that moment if it weren't already broken. your teary, empty eyes, paired with the cold look on your face was something she had, fortunately, never seen before, and it easn’t something she wanted to ever see again.
that said, it wasn’t likely that that would ever happen, considering what you had just said.
“okay.” she mumbles numbly, eyes, unknowingly to her, equally as empty as yours, if not more so.
the sight of it makes you grimace, feeling just as hurt as she did, if not more so, seeing her like this, but there’s nothing you can do.
you can’t wrap her up in your arms like you normally would when it felt like the world was torturing the both of you, can’t even stomach the thought of having her warm skin against yours until she starts sweating and whining for you to get off of her because she was starting to get sticky.
you can’t press millions of butterfly kisses on her neck, making her giggle oh so sweetly because she’s always been ticklish, she’s just never told anyone that she was. it’s something you’ve abused multiple times, whenever she was sad or lonely, and it never failed to make her smile again.
in the corner of your eyes, you can see the older girl’s hands twitch at her sides, likely longing to take your hands in hers and wordlessly promise to you that it’ll be alright. that everything will be okay.
she probably wishes–and she does, you just didn’t know that–that she could kiss you one more time, wherever you allowed her to. she’s kissed almost every inch of your body–an exaggeration, though it didn’t really feel like one–and it’s like an arrow to your heart to know that you won’t ever feel her lips on yours–on you–again.
“goodbye, sakura.”
this is the first time she’s ever heard you say her name–you calling her a shortened version of her name didn’t count–since the two of you got together, so it doesn’t surprise her when she feels her tears, which had been waiting for this moment, to roll down her face. unlike the rain pouring down, it's warm, and she clings desperately to it because of that.
“…goodbye, yn.”
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previous. / sour grapes. / next.
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ultimateplaylistmaker · 5 months ago
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Ultimate Talent Development Plan - Makoto Naegi Event Notes
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fkamfkjan of course it starts with him getting hit by a soda can
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Wait what why are you here Kiyo, also Makoto called him Kiyo. Also what the fuck kind of metaphor is that, what are you thinking about with Makoto Korekiyo-
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Alright fine you have a point Korekiyo
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Damn he's poignant at times
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Have you considered simply getting taller?
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Angie no!
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Sayaka I love you but this is SUCH a strange conversation starter
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Makoto looking at this luck singularity: ah well, this'll get weird
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Celeste's character is so so so fascinating and i'm guilty of girlbossing her a bit too hard like many people, her views of luck were very much the foundation nagito was built on
Also if we're talking about the mahjong thing, my ranking of winner to loser is Nagito, Makoto, Celeste, Jin. Celeste gets lost because as she doesn't bet anything it's not gambling, her talent doesn't activate but her skills carry her enough to beat jin at least. Makoto almost wins but loses last minute with a super lucky move from nagito, which nagito views as unlucky as he wasn't supposed to win.
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Ouma is such a fucking MENACE in this scene I fucking love him
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Why the fuck did you say that like that Makoto I'm laughing why are you saying it like its some criminal nickname or something
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Girl what do you MEAN you have friends
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OH NO MAKOTO
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Makoto this is going to be REALLY awkward!
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This is the most awkward moment of his fucking life goddamn pitching nothing but strikes my dude
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Too many ahoges.
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Wait what huh
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The fourth wall is in fucking tatters, truly the true mark of a protag isnt ahoge, its a gift giving love language
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Who let you two be in a room
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GET HIS ASS
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Togami that's gay
Alright sum up
Makoto never really grows into his hope talent due to the lack of killing game, and as such tends to get pushed around a lot and dragged into things. However he's still very kind and quite perceptive on small details, able to push people to improve and open up.
He also stays somewhat hung up on his luck talent to the very end, while he does get a bit more confident, he never really embraces into being an ultimate. That doesn't mean he doesn't end up with a lot of friends and good memories with him and Kirigiri still managing to bond.
All and all a very average school life.
Outside of Makoto, Ouma keeps up his 'hardest difficulty' thing from v3 even in a not killing game scenario, Togami continues to hate everything going on ever, all the protags bonds over being protags and being gift givers, Shuichi still has self esteem issues, and Kirigiri keeps up a very stoic no emotion business relationship with her father. Also Usami apparently is working with the Reserve Course? Well can't get any worse then canon I suppose.
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