#gymnastic ring routine

[idiopathicsmile]

School Gymnastics: A Tragicomedy

So one day when we were in third grade, our P.E. teacher divided us into girls and boys. (I don’t remember what the boys had to do. Wrestling? Tackle football? I don’t know, probably not at age nine, but that’s not the point. Gladiatorial combat? I still don’t really understand kids’ sports.)

What matters for this story is that all the girls had to do gymnastics. Now—and I suspect this won’t surprise you if you know literally anything about me—I was always terrible at any form of school athletics. I am intensely, almost impressively uncoordinated. This doesn’t affect my life much at 36, but it was often a miserable way to be a kid. The only playground game I liked was playing pretend, because when you are playing pretend, you don’t have a bunch of people ostensibly on your side screaming in your ear, “Pretend faster! Pretend over there! Pretend with greater accuracy!”

Anyway, gymnastics and my clumsy, doughy little body. I couldn’t do a cartwheel. I couldn’t do a backwards somersault. I couldn't do any of it. We had an entire unit on this business and I literally did not learn how to even safely attempt a single move besides the log roll (lie flat and roll sideways on your belly). In retrospect, this seems like maybe it was in part a teaching problem, not a me problem, but that’s actually not the point either.

The point is, at the end of the unit, we were told to divide ourselves into little teams and choreograph a group gymnastics routine. My group, faced with my long list of limitations (more limitation than girl, really) decide my role will be to just forwards-somersault around the rest of the group as they do their moves. (This is itself kind of embarrassing but trust me, it is but the appetizer.) My friend Ashley has the Lion King soundtrack and we all agree that it is a great choice. The movie has only come out a couple of years earlier, and it of course features some funny, peppy options. 'Hakuna Matata'? 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King'? It's all coming together.

Carried on a wave of youthful enthusiasm, none of us even think to double-check which track Ashley has picked. Foreshadowing!

So the day of the performance comes. Another group goes right before us. They had picked “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, which was a huge hit at the time. I mean, it still is because it’s a classic, but then it was big and new. They step onto the mat and immediately begin to do choreographed dance moves, which they have worked into their routine. We had not thought of this. Oops. Dance moves, of course! So they incorporate the necessary gymnastics, it goes over really well, the energy is high, and now it’s my group’s turn.

I take my place at the edge of the mat, the mat we are required to stay on for the length of the piece. Ashley cues up the track she’d chosen.

A song starts up. Instantly, I recognize it from the movie. It is the very slow instrumental music that plays when Simba realizes his dad is dead.

‘Well, this is not optimal,’ I think. I've been on this planet for nine years; I can see that much. But it’s too late to change the track, and so I tell myself, ‘It’s okay. I’m a performer. I can sell this.’ I put on an extremely solemn face and begin to execute a series of the world’s saddest somersaults.

Friends, when I say “sad” I mean it, in every possible sense of the word. Picture a nine year old with the gravest possible affect, determinedly doing somersaults to the slowest, most serious music she can imagine, in a careful ring around her friends who have actually learned any gymnastics whatsoever. Okay, now as the music starts to pick up and get more hopeful, imagine she gets real dizzy and in front of everyone, she rolls all the way directly off the mat, careening dangerously towards the assembled students.

Somehow, I roll myself back onto the mat, we survive what feels like hours of humiliation, we stagger away, and I blessedly avoid adding “puking my guts out in front of all of my peers” to my very short list of gymnastics tricks.

Later, I asked Ashley what in the world possessed her to choose that song.

“It didn’t have any words,” she said.

(There was absolutely no rule against using songs that had lyrics.)

Anyway, that’s why being an adult is better than being a kid.

I may have to do laundry and make my own dinner and wrestle with more complex existential angst, but you know what I haven’t been asked to do in like 26 years? Somersault for three minutes straight to the musical shorthand for “this cartoon lion cub has no choice but to process the weight of unimaginable grief for his dead dad.” And you know what? If I live another 50 years, I can be pretty confident nobody will ask me to do it then, either.

[austerfit]

Gymnastic Ring Workout Routine: A Comprehensive Guide

Auster Fit is a well-known fitness industry brand specialising in high-quality gymnastic ring equipment and accessories. Their products are designed to provide stability, durability, and versatility for effective ring workouts, making them a popular choice among fitness enthusiasts and athletes.

[shelleysmary]

sauron is so *sighing facepalm* frustrating. he crawled, walked, sailed across middle-earth, made up the halbrand identity, did a boomer in-person job application tour around númenor, didn't lie to galadriel and he has the mental gymnastics to prove it, sailed back to middle earth with an army, fought a whole ass battle, faced his murderer with a mostly straight face, got impaled... somehow, risked sepsis on a six-day ride to eregion, brainstormed magic rings with celebrimbor, wielded tools and operated heavy machinery after said mysterious injury, clocked that his would-be girlfriend was starting to get the ick around him, took radical action, asked her to be his non-platonic business partner (the business being mass-brainwashing and dictatoring), took the L, regrouped, rode back to the southlands (now mordor) to enact plan b wherein he faces his murderer again, gets beat up, goes on a hunger strike (rage and self-pity are his fuel), relives his murder trauma for The Master Plan, back on a horse, rides from mordor to eregion, sadface emoji because he's not allowed to go in, stands in the square, gets rained on, risks regency-era pneumonia, flatters celebrimbor, comes up with plan b part 2 wherein he is now a representative of the valar with a great haircare routine and possibly a stylist, begins his campaign to gaslight gatekeep manipulate everyone in eregion, balancing a full-time job with psychological warfare...

my guy. you could've lived on a nice farm somewhere. gone on vacation. adopted an elven dog. being "good" is too much effort for you??? what do you call THIS?

[hwanghyunjinenthusiast]

Catalyst

AN: The Joshua brainrot has been at an all time high and the most recent concept photos of him didn't help.

Synopsis: A trip to your brother and niece's brings feelings your husband has been shoving down for months to the surface.

General tags and warnings: Joshua Hong x Fem! Reader, they're married, sibling bantering, mentions of food, implications of strained familial relationships, Josh being a horrible communicator, Reader is shorter than Josh, Reader has hair Josh can pull on and porn with a smidge of plot.

Smut tags and warnings: Hard Dom! Joshua, sub! Reader mention of past oral sex (m. receiving), petnames, heavy breeding kink, dirty talk, hair pulling (f. receiving), praise, breast and nipple play (f. receiving), biting (f. receiving), fingering (f. receiving), bit of a humiliation kink, degradation (f. receiving), edging (f. receiving), dacryphilia, piv sex without a condom and creampie.

Word count: 7.3k.

I will block you if you are a minor and/or have no easily visible indication of your age on your blog if you interact with me in any way.

The drive to your brother's place feels like it takes a century. In reality, you're sure it's closer to thirty minutes but, you can't help the way you fidget with your wedding ring in the passenger seat with each minute that agonisingly ticks by. 

“We're almost there,” Joshua says even though you hadn't asked him how long it's  going to be in almost ten minutes and the laugh he's failing to hold back warms your face and puts you on the defensive. 

“I didn't even say anything!” you cry a touch too dramatically but, you know he loves you for your affinity for the theatrics anyway, “I was just sitting here,” you huff, taking a sip of the smoothie you picked up from the restaurant at the hotel the two of you are staying at since you didn't have breakfast. Because a certain someone wouldn't let you get out of bed long enough to grab yourself something to eat.

You try not to think too hard about said morning because you'll be seeing your family in less than fifteen minutes and thinking about how your husband made you choke on his cock is deeply inappropriate. 

“You're sitting there very loudly,” he says with an amused tinge to his voice as he takes a left turn, a smile softening his face and crinkling his eyes and, frankly, doing horribly things to your heart. You'd think after being with him for four years and married for one, your heart would stop performing an entire gymnastics routine every time he so much as looks at you but, here you are. 

“I'm just excited. I haven't seen Aaron and Julie in months,” you sigh, sagging into your seat and taking a generous sip of your smoothie because wow are you hungrier than you realised and you know your brother isn't the world's greatest cook. 

His face softens considerably and, if he wasn't driving (rather attractively might you add), you'd reach over and kiss his cute face. “I know, baby,” he says gently, reaching over and lacing his fingers with your unoccupied hand. The squeeze he gives you makes you smile and you're sure you're looking at him like he's the best thing in the world. Which isn't totally untrue though your niece would give him a considerable run for his money. 

“I'm sure they've missed you too,” he says, taking another familiar turn until you see a home you would recognise no matter where you were in the world. 

“I think you're right,” you say with a laugh when you spot Aaron holding Julie as he waves at you excitedly. The scene is absolutely ridiculous and you wonder how long he's been standing out here with her since you sent him the text that you and Joshua were on your way. It prompts affection to bloom to life in your chest nonetheless. 

The time flies by and before you know it you're practically sprinting out of your car to hug your brother and kiss your niece's adorable face. “I still can't believe you managed to have such a cute baby,” are the first words out of your mouth and you laugh at the disgruntled look that overtakes Aaron's face as he hands his daughter to you. In the back of your mind, you were worried that she'd forgotten who you were but, her small, gleeful noises and giggles let you know she's at the very least happy to see you even if she doesn't exactly know who you are. And that's more than enough for you. 

“Yeah, well we all know I got the good genes which is why I have the cutest daughter in the world,” he says, puffing his chest out proudly and grinning when his daughter smiles at him. Julie's arrival was definitely an…unexpected one but, Aaron stepped up all the same. The thought of him being a father even three years ago sounded insane but, looking at the man in front of you, you think fatherhood suits him well. 

“Oh please,” you scoff when Joshua finally joins the three of you after parking the car, “We'll see who really got the good genes when I have babies of my own,” you snark back, adjusting Julie on your hip. 

“What is this I'm hearing about babies?” Joshua asks with a laugh, greeting your brother who readily hugs him and flashes a friendly smile at your husband. 

“Nothing,” you snort, “Just some good, old-fashioned sibling bantering and, my dearest brother over here denying reality.”

You bite back a smile when Aaoron shoots you a fiery scowl that would terrify most people but, you've had decades to grow accustomed to him breaking it out. 

“Ah, the usual then,” Joshua replies, pointedly ignoring Aaron's betrayed ‘hey!’ in favour of softening his expression to say hi to Julie. 

“You know, I was just starting to like you,” Aaron says, voice dripping with faux hurt as he points an accusatory finger at Joshua who is far more interested in drawing one of those heartstopping smiles from the little girl resting on your hip. 

“Why do you have to lie? Like you weren't tripping over yourself when I first brought him over because you were so excited about having another guy to do “guy stuff with” in the family,” you retort with a raise of your eyebrow. Joshua opts not to get involved though you do hear his barely contained snicker as Aaron falters for an argument. 

“Anyway, why are we still outside? Is this how you treat your guests? Maybe invite us inside, Aaron.” His responding eyeroll takes you back and, it really hits you in moments like these just how long it's been since the two of you have had the opportunity to carve out the time to catch up. 

Thankfully, Aaron decides to just order lunch for everyone instead of subjecting you and Joshua to more of his catastrophes in the kitchen. You just hope baby food isn't too much of a challenge for him because you worry for your poor niece sometimes.

He picks Indian food, much to your surprise since your brother is horrible with spices. “The last time you were here, you were obsessed with that one Indian place a couple of streets down,” is all he offers in explanation as you help him unpack the food while Joshua plays with Julie on the living room floor. Affection warms you to the very tips of your fingers and you're sure you look like an absolute sap as he hands you the large stack of naan bread. 

“I love you,” is all you say in response because you do and it's been painfully long since you've last told him that in person. 

His laugh is surprised but, no less boisterous, “All that over food? Man, if I knew that's all it took to get an ‘I love you’ from you, I would have bribed you with food when we were children,” he jokes but, the fondness in his eyes betrays him. 

“You act like I'm not the one regularly saying ‘I love you’ between the two of us to begin with,” you retort, grabbing a few plates and setting them down on his dining table. 

“Whatever,” he huffs, “Josh, grab Julie and come have a seat. I have some soft carrots and peas, I'll warm up for her while the two of you dig in.” Joshua follows accordingly swooping the little girl in his arms dramatically and smiling when she giggles at the motion. Small hands clutching his hoodie. The sight prompts a combination of love, endearment and another emotion you can't quite put your finger on to stir within you. 

The two smile at each other all the way to the dining table where he carefully places her in her high chair. When his eyes meet yours, they're filled with far too many feelings for you to even hope to name right now. 

Lunch goes off without much of a hitch. The hours tick by quicker than you anticipate. Aaron tells you story after story about his construction job and his apparent imbecile of a boss that he's three seconds away from throttling on a given day. Julie doesn't cause too much of a fuss (she really might be the most well behaved one year old you've ever met in your life), even when Aaron tries to coax her into eating peas which she is not a fan of. 

“Let me try,” you offer eagerly and he lets you readily. With the right amount of cooing and high pitched talks of the food airplane, Julie gleefully lets you feed her the peas. The methods you used cutting the time it took Aaron to feed her in half and you try not to look too smug about it. Though his bitter ‘shut up’ tells you that you do a horrible job. Joshua, for his part, watches the entire exchange between you and your niece relatively silently aside from a few encouragements of his own directed towards her. He's still silent as you cover her entire face in kisses and praise her for eating her peas. 

You'd consider yourself great at reading your husband in most instances but, as you sit back in your chair and meet his eyes across from you, his entire expression is unreadable in a way that is reminiscent of the time where the two of you barely knew each other. 

Your stomach twists unpleasantly. 

The rest of your afternoon catching up with Aaron carries on uneventfully. It all comes to an end when Julie, rather loudly, makes it known that it's time for you and Joshua to make yourselves scarce with a yawn. 

“You heard her, get out,” Aaron jokes, scooping up the girl who can barely keep her eyes open and letting her rest on his shoulder. 

“You should be nicer to your guests, you know,” Joshua says as your brother walks the two of you to the door. A smile spreads across your face because you know a couple of years ago he would have never dared to speak to Aaron that way but, the two had gotten significantly friendlier thanks to your (what you would consider gentle) encouragement. 

“Calling you two guests is generous,” Aaron responds, doing his best to unlock the door with a slumbering toddler occupying his arm. “On a serious note, thanks for swinging by. I know work's been hell for both of you lately so, it means a lot,” it's rare seeing your brother be any amount of serious and sincere and, it always throws you for a loop momentarily. 

“Yeah, of course, man. We've both missed you and Julie tonnes. Your sister here was practically bouncing with excitement the entire drive here,” Joshua responds before you can search for something to say. He and Aaron laugh at your sputtering reaction. 

“Can't believe you'd throw me under the bus like that,” you say, shooting your husband a scowl that is nowhere near as intimidating as your brother's, “Anyway, we'll see you on Friday. Good luck with seeing mum tomorrow.” 

“Thanks,” he says with a long-suffering sigh, “I'll need it.” 

The three (four? Does a sleeping Julie really even count?) of you exchange some hugs before you answer Joshua are making your way to your rental car. 

The drive back to the hotel is…odd. The moment the two of you slip into your seats and buckle your seatbelts, the air in the car feels heavy for whatever reason and Joshua is noticeably quieter than he was minutes ago. 

It's jarring. 

“Hey Joshie, is everything okay?” You ask him after minutes of torturous silence. Hoping the usage of his favourite nickname will help defuse the tension. 

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine,” he responds, his forced attempt at sounding relaxed clear to your ears. 

What is going on? Did something happen back at Aaron's? He was happily interacting with Julie and making heaps of jokes with your brother. The three of you were barely apart so, you're sure if something happened between him and Aaron you would have either noticed it or picked up on it. 

The weird tension remains between the two of you the entire drive to the hotel. Joshua not attempting to make conversation or supply an explanation for his drastic mood change. Once it lasts all the way until the two of you are back in your hotel room, you know you can't deal with not knowing what's wrong. 

“Hey, did something happen at Aaron's?” You ask him as soon as he shuts the hotel door behind him. Your hands anxiously clench and unclench at your sides as you examine your husband's carefully reserved expression. Your heart drops to the gaudy carpet beneath your feet. 

“No, nothing happened,” he says as though he doesn't notice the blanket of tension enveloping both of you, “Why do you ask?” 

Why do you ask!? 

You can only stare at him with a mixture of disbelief and incredulity as he walks towards the kitchen of the hotel room. His tone is light and you can hear his attempts to sweep this under the rug. 

He must know the woman he married because there's no way you're about to let this odd, unexplained behaviour from him slide. 

“Joshua, look, I'm not trying to be pushy but, you're being very weird right now and it's kinda freaking me out. And I'd really like to know what's caused all of this,” you gesture between the two of you, “If you like need space, that's okay but, at least tell me that or just tell me something,” you rush out, watching his back tense underneath his hoodie as his steps halt. 

Silence fills the hotel room for what feels like forever, only adding to the anxiety coursing through you. When he finally turns to face you, thankfully, his face isn't as impenetrable as it was a couple of minutes ago but, the emotions you manage to catch do leave you a little surprised and thrown off. 

“Julie is really cute and you're really good with her,” are the first words he says and you're even more confused than you have been since the two of you got into the rental car to leave Aaron's. 

“Um yeah?” You say but, the questioning tilt to your voice is apparent because what is even going on right now? “Is that…a problem? Did Aaron say something?” 

The sigh that escapes his mouth is drawn out and frustrated and, for a horrifying second, you're worried something did happen between your husband and your brother that you didn't notice. 

“I think seeing the two of you together, how you interact with her, made me come to a lot of important realisations today,” he explains, his words are heavy and his eyes reflect an intensity that leaves you a little breathless. 

All you can do is blink at him, your brain attempting to understand what he's telling you. “What realisations did you come to?” You ask softly but, you know he heard you clearly. The strides he takes towards you are quick and, if you didn't know any better, you'd miss the quiet frenzy in his movements. 

Joshua is a controlled man. He always has been and, you strongly doubt that's an aspect of his personality that will ever change. Even in moments where people see him act more carefree and what they would consider to be impulsively, you know better. Everything is calculated and meticulously thought out by him. 

So, when he tilts your head upwards and descends his mouth onto yours, despite the nerves you can feel rolling off of him, you know that it's a very intentional move from him. And honestly, if you still didn't have a myriad of questions buzzing around in your skull, you'd happily allow yourself to melt against his talented mouth and sturdy body. 

However, you can't stop until you get to the bottom of this. 

“Joshu–”

“I want to have a baby.” 

All of your thoughts halt in your head and all you hear is one, long record scratch. It would be comical if it weren't for your husband just dropping that he wants to have a baby with you on you. Joshua watches you carefully but, all you can do is blink up at him owlishly because your husband just told you that he wants a baby with you. 

“Wha–What?” Is all you can splutter.  

“We have talked about it,” which is true. It's one of the major conversations the two of you had when you first started dating and you were on the same page, “And you're really good with Julie. She practically lights up around you,” he sighs dreamily, resting his forehead against yours, “and you should see yourself when you're around her. It's like…magic.” 

You think it's fundamentally unfair how quickly he's getting you onboard with this idea. 

A shudder runs through your body and anticipation replaces anxiety when he places his hands on your hips and tugs you impossibly close to him, “We could have that. For ourselves,” he mutters, kissing your forehead then your cheek then the cut of your jaw. Everything feels a little turned upside down right now and all your increasingly foggy brain can think to do is grab his hoodie in an attempt to make sense of what's happening. 

“I'd love to watch you be a mum,” he sighs with that same dreamy edge to his voice and you honestly think you might melt on this shitty hotel carpet, “I think–no, I know you'd be great at it.” 

“I think I'd be a decent dad,” he says with a laugh that's too self-deprecating for your liking. 

“You'd be a fantastic dad, Joshua,” you argue with a frown, cupping his face in your hands to ensure he knows you mean it. Because it's simply true in the same way that you know the sky is blue and that grass is green. The past hour may have been a whirlwind but, you'll be damned if you let him talk badly about himself. 

“We could always test it out instead of talking about hypotheticals,” he says and the soft expression colouring his face shifts to a more lecherous one. The sounds of your blood rushing through your veins and your heart thundering in your chest are all you hear for a second. 

“I'm still on the pill,” you blurt out and it just darkens the look on his face further. 

“Well, we'll just have to see how good it is then,” are his last words before he escapes your hold and crashes his lips against yours. It's a completely insane statement and, you both know it. Your birth control pills have proven to be extremely reliable since the two you decided to do away with condoms years ago. However, based on the way he's kissing and the way his fingers dig into your hips through the fabric of your dress, you doubt Joshua is operating on much rational thought at the moment. 

Joshua doesn't give you much time to breathe, let alone think. You move totally by instinct. Clutching at his broad shoulders while his hands drag themselves along your hips, squeezing them occasionally in a pattern only he recognises. 

“Have I ever told you how sexy your hips are?” He pants against your mouth, punctuating his query with a harsh squeeze and a grind of his gradually hardened cock against your stomach. 

“I– um, probably yeah,” you breathe once you manage to catch your breath. A relief that is short lived as Joshua drags his mouth from yours to dot kisses along your cheek until his full lips make contact with your jaw. The tease of his teeth pull quiet gasps from your lips and fuel the increasing wetness between your shaky thighs. 

“Probably, huh?” He muses into your skin, pushing you backwards to the bedroom, an action you dazedly follow along with because it's really difficult to think of anything but, him and the fact that he wants to have a baby with you right now. 

“I need to do a better job of driving that fact home.” 

You nearly trip once you cross the threshold of the bedroom door but, Joshua is there to steady you. Or, rather, press your body into his while he makes love to your throat and impatiently shuffles the both of you to the massive bed. 

Every brush of his lips and tongue on your neck sets your skin ablaze. Years of exploring and memorising your body have made it extraordinarily easy for him to know exactly what causes your clit to pulse and arousal to soak through the flimsy panties you hurriedly put on hours ago. 

One of his large hands weaves its way into your hair and a high pitched mix of a moan and a gasp fills the room when he tugs on it harshly. Your lidded eyes meet his and your tongue feels like it weighs a million tonnes reading all the emotions that swim in them. 

His mouth descends on yours while his other hand impatiently tugs on the zipper of your dress. Distantly, you're worried he'll break something with how hard he's pulling on it but, the thought vanishes into smoke when his tongue licks into your mouth and forces you not to think about anything that isn't him and feeling his cock twitch inside of your fluttering pussy. 

The straps slip from your shoulders and a whine sounding not dissimilar to a wounded animal falls from your lips when he steps away from you. Blinking your eyes open, you're met with an amused and lustful Joshua who takes a second to admire your scantily clad figure as your dress pools around you. 

“So needy,” he tuts, like you can't see his cock straining in his shorts and the way his pupils are totally blown out, “Won't even let me appreciate my gorgeous wife,” he sighs while stepping back towards you. The endearment softens you but, it doesn't dull the roaring in the core of your being. If anything, it has the opposite effect. 

It's always made you feel…a lot whenever he specifically refers to you as ‘my wife.’ You're sure he's picked up on the way it impacts you and, being the menace your husband is, he's grown especially fond of letting it slip out when he's moments away from nestling himself between your thighs or when he's already kissing your cervix. 

“I can't help it,” you reply, the whiney edge making him smirk in a way that's equal parts evil and attractive. Sometimes, you really can't stand him. 

“Poor baby,” he coos without an ounce of sincerity, stepping towards you. Anticipation sits in the pit of your stomach and, you happily let him lay you down on the bed, watching him with baited breath as he savors the sight of you. 

His kisses are more biting. The sensual movements of his lips and tongue replaced by teeth and spit and messiness that make your head spin. His stupidly large hands waste no time in unclasping your bra and throwing it somewhere to be forgotten on the hotel floor. 

“Fuck,” the rasped curse is uttered into your bruised mouth as his hands grope your tits in them, kneading them and thumbing your hardened nipples while you squirm underneath him. 

“Prettiest tits in the fucking world,” he groans like hasn't seen and touched them a million times, revelling in the way the mounds mold to his ministrations and the way your body arches every time he so much as brushes one of your overly sensitive nipples. 

“Can't wait to see how they fill with milk one day,” the confessions pulls a startled gasp from the depths of your chest but, he doesn't give you much time to dwell on it as he kisses down your neck, gracing it with a few nips until he reaches his destination. 

The moment his teeth sink into your flesh, stars dance behind your eyes and you have no choice but, to shut them. The sting shoots straight to the apex of your thighs, adding to the sticky mess between them while your hands move completely on autopilot to play with his soft locks while he savors every bit of you he can with his mouth. 

The bites and nips he litters your tits with fuel the foggy state of your already muddled mind. All you can think about is him and his fucking mouth and the cock you know is leaking in his shorts while he watches you shudder and rut against him every time he bites especially hard.

The stars behind your eyes explode when his mouth envelopes one of your nipples with his scorching mouth while the other is pinched and tugged on by his thick fingers. Joshua is content to watch you grow increasingly fucked out with his mouth alone for now. Normally, he'd give you a little more grief for closing your eyes but, he's in a generous mood today. 

Plus, your perfect tits are in his mouth and hands so, he can't be too upset. 

You can feel him grin into your skin when your entire body jolts as he grazes his teeth along your nipple. Typically warm eyes flashing with every miniscule movement and shuddering noise that passes from your thoroughly kissed lips. The pain from his blunt fingernails pressing into your skin is disorientating in the best way and, fuck, are you beyond wet right now. 

A mix of disappointment and relief wash over you when he frees your nipple with an obscenely loud pop. Your eyes flutter open to watch him as he kisses your tits one last time before descending down your body. Your blood turns molten in your veins with every kiss and light nip he provides your stomach and hips, his intimidating gaze never faltering until he reaches the waistband of your panties.

With faux curiosity, he presses two fingers experimentally into you, watching the way your panties stick to you and your thighs quiver around him. 

“Guess you're more into this whole baby idea than you let on,” he muses, swapping his fingers for his thumb and rubbing random patterns against your clit. The pressure is dizzying. Your head snapping back and a drawn out whimper of his name piercing through the hotel bedroom. A few presses from his thumb is all it takes for your thighs to threaten to shut but, you know better. 

“Please, Joshie, I'm–” any further, breathless rambling is cut off by a moan as he presses his thumb more harshly into your swollen clit, his weighted gaze drinking in the way you further ruin your pretty panties and soil his thumb. 

“Please what?” He asks, glancing up at you with a facade of reservation before his ravenous eyes focus their attention back on toying with your beautiful pussy and making a mess out of you.

All he does is laugh at the frustrated huff you let out before removing his hand from your ruined panties. 

“No!” you gasp desperately, shooting a wide eyed, betrayed look at him, “Wh–Why?” 

“You know better, sweetheart,” he coos condescendingly, the tone not helping the incessant throbbing of your clit, “Good girls don't complain. Good girls use their words to say what they want.” 

All your horny brain can cling to is the desire to cum and be his good girl. Thankfully, you still have enough executive functioning to articulate yourself and your wants. Well, at least somewhat. 

“Joshie, I wanna cum. Please. Wanna be good and cum on your fingers,” you whine, tilting your hips up towards him and hoping you provide tantalising enough of a sight for your husband to just give you want. 

Based on the way his tongue runs along his bottom lip and his eyes flash, you've at least chipped away at his resolve somewhat. 

“Good girl,” he praises, “See? That wasn't so hard,” he tuts, grasping the bottom of his hoodie and tugging it off. Your lips part and your pussy clenches when his bare chest is exposed to you. If you weren't so focused on watching the way his muscles flex and contort with his every move, you'd notice the combination of smugness and amusement on his face. 

Blinking up at him in a daze, you wonder when he moved but, his mouth descending on yours intensely coupled with the way one of his hands cups you over your ruined panties evaporates the thought. You're just happy he's touching you at all. 

Joshua swallows your stuttered gasp greedily. Rutting against your thigh as his fingers drag your panties to the side and he shoves three of them into you without much resistance. It's hard to tell who moans louder at the intrusion (probably you, if you're being honest). He knows you can take it. You can take much more but, the stretch of his long, thick fingers is disorientating after what feels like hours of being wet for him. 

“Josh–Joshie,” you pant against his mouth, your eyes rolling into the back of your head when he fucks you on his fingers without abandon. No buildup. No teasing. Simply, brutally curling his fingers against the spots inside you he knows will have your toes curling and an entire galaxy dancing beneath your barely open eyes. 

“Hear that?” He asks between ragged breaths into your ear, timing his question with his fingers pushing back into and the lewd squelch reaching your ears and warming your face considerably. It's not that you necessarily feel embarrassed about how much you want Joshua but, hearing the evidence is an entirely different story. 

“Hear how wet your pretty pussy gets for me?” He practically moans into your ear and combined with the way his fingers drag along your wet walls, god, it's a lot. All you can do is squeeze your eyes shut and whimper out what you hope sounds like a confirmation to his ears. 

The tension in the pit of your stomach grows tenfold when he nips at your earlobe and introduces his thumb into the mess between your thighs. Moving completely on instinct, your hands desperately clutch at his forearm when he presses his thumb to your clit and draws an array of patterns that only make sense to him into it. “Fuck,” he hisses into your skin as his fingers don't falter in the slightest, drawing the most wanton sounds from you, “It's fucking crazy how wet you get. Gushing all over my hand and the poor sheets. What do you think the staff will think when they notice how soaked the sheets are? Think they'll wonder just how slutty of a pussy Mrs. Hong has?” 

The edges of your vision blur and your mouth hangs open letting out whimpers that increase in volume. Your orgasm is so close that you can practically taste it on the very tip of your tongue. Joshua doesn't seem all that bothered with the way your nails bite into his skin as he continues to bring you closer and closer to the precipice with every curl of his fingers and press of his thumb. 

Until he stops and pulls his hand away from your pussy. 

“Wha–”you gasp at him in confusion and frustration, your hips completely moving on their own in search of any friction to soothe your painfully throbbing clit and walls that clench and unclench harshly around a sudden nothingness. Blinking up at him through bleary eyes, the look on his face drags a whine out of you. A whine that only really makes the corners of his mouth tug upwards further. 

“Come on baby,” he coos, kissing your neck and running his fingers along your sticky folds. He's barely doing anything but, the brush of his fingers against your clit coupled with the faintest bit of friction have you reeling and grabbing at him again as weak moans fill the space between the two of you. 

“You know how much I love playing with you,” he tuts, using those same fingers to add pressure to your clit and nearly send your thighs snapping shut around his arm. The sensation sends your head lolling backwards, giving Joshua ample skin to bite while he works you up to a frenzy. Again.

“It's no fun if you just get to cum so easily,” he mutters, his smirk burning itself into your skin while you try not to cry from the frustration that scorches your insides as his fingers draw an array of patterns into your clit. You'd snark back a response if your brain wasn't melting in your skull and leaking out of your ears at the moment. All you can do is hope your watery eyes and fractured whimpers are enough for him to go easy on you. 

“Don't look at me like that,” he says with a breathless laugh, kissing the corner of your mouth while his fingers pick up the pace and cause your stomach to drop as the tension builds again. “You know how sexy you look when you cry,” he groans, watching your face intensely as his fingers continue to make your eyes roll and your thighs shake violently around them. 

“I–Please please please, can I cum? Ple–” your begging is cut off by a sharp gasp, “Ah Josh–Joshie please, I'm so close.” 

He doesn't give you an answer. Electing instead to maintain the strokes of his fingers and coaxing you to the proverbial edge once again while he watches you struggle not to fall apart underneath him. Joshua knows you better than the back of his hand. He knows you're close just from the way your nails claw into his skin and your eyes can barely stay focused on anything. From the way the heartbeat in your clit hammers against his fingers and your wetness dribbles onto the hotel sheets. From the way you stumble over every word that isn't his name and pleads to cum. If anything, he's impressed you've managed to hold yourself together this long. 

Too bad he enjoys toying with you too much. 

This time a wobbly sob does fall from your lips and you can feel a few, stray, hot tears streaming down your face when he removes his hand again. All you can do is lay there as you attempt to chase the relief of his fingers pathetically. Your pussy once again left painfully fluttering as the promise of an orgasm is viciously ripped away from you. Joshua kisses you before you can whine at him again. It's a messy and deeply uncoordinated kiss, his desire pouring out of him in waves while you try and kiss him back as best as you can. 

“So fucking hot,” he grits into your mouth as he rustles with something, “So hot and wet and needy just for me. Fuck, if you keep looking at me like that, I just might cum before I even fuck you,” he rushes out. Just the thought of that causes you to shake your head and whine into his mouth, clutching at his bare shoulders in desperation. 

His laugh is deep and attractive and it makes you want him even more somehow, “Don't worry, baby,” he soothes, positioning himself between your thighs, “I'll make sure to fill you up nice and good.” 

The press of his tip against your dripping entrance sends a shudder down your entire body. ‘When did he get his cock out?’ you wonder in a daze, using a considerable amount of effort to watch the way he grasps his fat cock in his hand and drags it along your puffy, dripping pussy. 

“We've been together for years and I still can't believe how wet this pussy gets for me,” he mutters to what you assume is himself but, you hear him all the same. You genuinely think you might lose your mind if he doesn't just push into you right now. 

“Joshie,” you half-whimper, half-sob, “I'm so–I want it, please. Did–Didn't you say you were going to ah fuck a baby into me?” 

The storm of emotions that flashes across his face causes the claws of anticipation to dig at your insides. A startled noise is forced out of you when he sinks his cock into you with one, sharp snap of his hips. The sting is minimal but, present. A few more stray tears fall from your eyes as you try to adjust to the toe-curling stretch. Holy shit. You don't think you'll ever quite be over the way his first thrust always sends you reeling. 

“So tight,” he grits out, heavy eyes shifting from watching the way your face morphs into expressions he's seen a million times and will happily drink in a million times more to the way his cock forces you open, “I think you might have gotten tighter somehow. If you wanted me to get you pregnant, all you had to do was ask,” he says with an arrogant laugh. You don't really have much room to argue when he draws more pitchy whimpers from you and you can feel the way you clamp down around him. 

“You–You're the one who told me that ah god you want a baby,” you gasp out in response, your tongue lolling out of your mouth when he harshly grabs your thigh with his massive hand. 

“True,” he concedes, using his other hand to grasp your chin, smearing your wetness on your face and forcing you to meet his eyes that threaten to swallow you whole, “But don't pretend like you're not as into this as I am. I can feel the way your pussy keeps trying to milk my cock and the way you're gushing onto it.” 

His fingers are in your mouth before you can respond. The taste of yourself invading your senses, adding to the haze clouding your mind and making your clit throb as you chase the taste of yourself. 

Your hands fly to his broad back when he uses his other hand to slip between your overheated, sweaty bodies to find your clit. Not giving you a second to catch your breath, he draws frenzied circles into you that send you keening around his fingers and your eyes rolling into the back of your skull. 

“I want you to cum,” he orders, panting into your ear before freeing your mouth from his fingers, “Wanna feel you make a mess on my cock,” he says between heavy breaths while his fingers and cock and words and just him bring you increasingly close to the edge at breakneck speed. 

It's an especially hard press of his fingertips that finally sends you careening over the edge he's been pushing you towards and pulling you back from for god knows how long now. Your entire body seizes and for what feels like ages all you can see is white. Distantly, you can hear Joshua saying something but, you couldn't hope to make out what it is. The bliss sending you to another dimension entirely, furthered by him not stopping his thrusts all the while. 

“–Yeah, good fucking girl,” are the first words you manage to catch as the white disapates and you somewhat return to your body, the sounds of skin slapping against skin and the obscene squelching of his cock bullying your still fluttering pussy hitting your eardrums. Blinking up your teary eyes up at him, desire prods at your gut despite just cumming, seeing the way his sweaty bangs shadow his blown out eyes that have never left your face the entire time you were cumming. 

You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him into a passionate kiss. A kiss he readily allows himself to get lost in as his fingers dig into your hips to keep you in place to take every one of his unrelenting thrusts.

“Want one more from you,” he pants into your lips, “Wanna feel you cum one more time before I fill up this pretty pussy,” he heaves, eyes totally glassy and nothing but, ocean deep lust reflected in them. 

“Don–Don't ah fuck know if I can any–anymore,” you whimper in response because, yeah, you really don't know if you can. You feel thoroughly rung out right now. The sparks from your orgasm are still going zipping off all over your body, fuelled by every brush of his cock against your walls and his mouth on you. 

“Of course you can, baby,” he coaxes, his hands drifting from your hips to your thighs, forcing them upwards and his cock impossibly deeper.  The depth sends your head snapping back and a choked gasp echoes through the bedroom, joining the myriad of nasty sounds ringing through it. 

“So–So deep,” you whimper, overwhelmed tears not helping in the slightest to cool your burning face. “Yeah?” He breathes, his pace unrelenting, “Gonna cum all over this fat cock? Gonna make a mess on it like the good girl I know you are?”

God. How are you not going to cum when he talks to you like that while he fucks you like that?

“Ye–Yeah,” you moan, the familiar zip of electricity courses through your entire body when he snaps his hips into you harshly, sending his tip straight into a part of you that sends your back arching, “Clo–Close. Gonna cum. Wanna cum on your big cock, Joshie.” 

“Shit,” he groans, smashing his lips against yours in a kiss that is mostly teeth and tongue, “Fuck. Your pussy is so good. It's out of this world,” he heaves, his strokes growing sloppy but, he pushes through as best as he can, “Wanna watch you.” 

The chord snaps before you even realise how slenderly it was holding on. 

Joshua greedily swallows every watery moan of his name and whatever else your fucked out brain babbles out. Large hands gripping your thighs harshly as his pace grows increasingly unsteady with every stroke he gives you as you cum all around him, gushing onto his throbbing cock. 

“Yeah, that's it,” he groans, “Cum all over me. Such a good girl, such a good pussy. Gonna make me cum so hard. Cum until you're so full that my cum is leaking out of you for weeks. Gonna get you all nice and round and pregnant with my baby,” he rambles deliriously, his cock pulsing wildy inside of you with every thrust. 

“Want it,” you cry in response, “I want it, Joshie. Want your cum. Want your baby.” 

The moan that falls from Joshua's full lips is broken and drawn out. His grip on your thighs border on bruising as he keeps you in place (as if you would go anywhere if you could even move right now) so you have no choice but to accept the ropes of cum he floods your still spasming pussy with. The warmth that fills you draws soft whimpers from you. You're always left in awe with just how much he cums. 

A quiet groan leaves your body when he drops his weight onto you, panting against your shoulder as his cock softens inside of you and his grip on your sweaty body loosens. He's heavy but, you're empathetic because your own body feels like it weighs the same as an adult elephant right now. For the moment, you're content to bask in the intimacy of mind-blowing sex. You'll nudge him off of you when it becomes too difficult to breathe. 

Your fingers move on their own, rubbing his back and smiling when he tiredly hums in appreciation. Returning your affection with featherlight kisses pressed into your shoulder. 

It might have been five minutes or fifteen or thirty but, eventually, Joshua eases himself out of you and rolls off of you. You can't help the quiet laugh that you let out when he groans at the effort before tugging you into his side. 

“So,” he starts, the scratchy quality of his voice washing over you like a warm blanket, “having a baby, huh?”

All you can do is snort very unattractively in response.

Reblogs are greatly appreciated.

Do not repost, edit, copy and/or translate my work. I do not give you my permission to do so, nor will you ever receive it.

Seventeen Masterlist | Ko-Fi

[upsidedownwithsteve]

Steve Harrington x fem!reader[2.6K] a bad dream, a concerned steve, mentions of cheating and self doubt-- and this is definitely not inspired by the way i woke up this morning.

Honestly, you thought you’d gotten over it. 

But upon seeing Steve walk up your driveway, you couldn’t help yourself. You didn’t wait for him to get to the door, to ring the bell and ask you if you knew any pretty girls that would like to go on a date with him. It didn’t matter that that had been the routine for years now, one that normally has you rolling your eyes and batting at his chest until he caught your wrist and pressed a kiss to your palm. 

You didn’t wait for any of that. You rushed at the boy before he could make it past the hydrangeas that grew in your front yard, crashing into him in a hug he didn’t expect. Steve caught you anyway, the breath knocked out of him, his arms right around your ribs. 

“Hi,” he said through a laugh, hoisting you closer, your toes barely touching the ground. “Did you miss me or something?”

You mumbled some sort of reply into his shirt, hiding your glassy eyes and hot cheeks as much as you could. You’d seen your boyfriend the night before, it would have stupid to miss him— but after that dream, well. You felt pathetically desperate for him. 

You couldn’t even call it a dream. Not when you’d woken up tangled in your sheets with tears already burning at your eyes. It would’ve been embarrassing if the feeling hadn’t clawed at your chest for the rest of the day, images that your silly mind had conjured up, playing over and over in your head. You’d tried baking, you’d read for a little, you’d even sat down and tried to watch a movie about space and hairy aliens. 

Nothing had worked. 

And now? Now that you were in Steve’s arms, the feelings only intensified. Because this Steve was real and he’d never hurt you, you were sure of it. But still, could see his cold eyes in your dream, the humourless laughter, the pitying staters of your friends—

“Hey,” Steve’s voice broke you out of your thoughts, tearing you away from the familiar nip starting in the corners of your eyes. “You okay?”

You sucked in a deep breath and gathered yourself before you pulled back, peering up at the boy and giving him your best smile. It was more of a press of your lips, but you nodded and took his hand. “Yeah!” You said a little too brightly. “Yeah, yeah, shall we go?”

Steve looked at you suspiciously but he didn’t dig. Not yet. Instead he let you lead him back down the driveway, only taking charge when you came to his car. He opened the door to the passenger side for you, stopping you before you dropped into the seat with his hand on your chin. He grinned when you turned shy for him, his eyes fond. 

“There she is,” he murmured before he leaned over the top of the car door to meet your lips. A sweet kiss, a quick peck that you wished went on longer but you were sure your neighbours would have had something to say. “I didn’t even get a chance to tell you how pretty you look.”

You ducked your chin, wrinkling your nose. Four years on and Steve Harrington still made your tummy flip. It was a full on gymnastic routine in there when the boy looked at you with those eyes. You gazed back up at him, suddenly wishing you could skip the cinema in favour of clinging to him all night instead. 

“Yeah?” You asked. The sudden need for validation, for reassurance, was like a tidal wave. “You think?”

Steve frowned at that, confused by your question. Normally, he’d talk all sweet to you and get another kiss in return, a big smile and a happy hum, all the things he wanted to see from his girl. But right now, you looked a little forlorn. Smaller, quieter, with an uncertainty in your eyes that he didn’t understand. 

He pushed a hand to your jaw, coaxing you to meet his gaze, his thumb skimming over your bottom lips, your cheek. “What’s wrong?” 

Embarrassment burned at your chest, a white hot flush that creeped up along the back of your neck. “What? Nothing.” You were going to have to be more convincing. 

“Yeah, there is,” Steve accused. He was still eyeing you, gaze roaming over your features as if he could find the secret there. He didn’t mean to sound rude, but he knew you too well to fall for your lies. You blinked at him, a sad excuse for a smile stretching over your lips. “Baby—”

“C’mon, we’re gonna miss the movie, Steve,” you tried, smiling a little more brightly as he continued to frown. 

He didn’t say anything, just studied you a little more before he realised you weren’t going to talk yet. So he leaned in again and pouted at you, all sun kissed cheeks from yesterday's day at the pool, new freckles and too long lashes. “Gimme another kiss first,” he bargained. 

So you did, leaning up to meet him this time, pushing up on your toes as you gripped the top of his car door. Steve caught the back of your neck with his hand, holding you close so he could kiss you a little deeper, a little longer, like he could banish away your funny mood with the stroke of his tongue over the seam of your lips. 

“You sure you’re okay?” He asked once more when he let you pull away for a breath. His nose nudged your cheek, bodies kept apart by the door frame. “We can stay home, if you want.”

Steve watched as you considered and he could see you mulling over his question. But then you tucked your bottom lip between your teeth and shook your head, that same far away look still in your eyes. He’d been looking forward to seeing the new Indiana Jones movie since he’d first seen the trailer but he’d wait it out, for you. 

“No, no, it’s fine,” you assured him, already ducking into the car. You looked up at him from the seat with big, doe eyes, buckling yourself in. “I’m fine. Let’s go, come on.”

But you weren’t fine and Steve knew that. ‘Cause you spent the drive over to the shopping mall with your gaze set on the streets that were blurring by you. But when Steve curled his hand around your bare thigh instead of the gear stick, you grasped onto his fingers and didn’t let go until he had to park. Even in the cinema, as Steve bought the tickets and the popcorn for you to share, you clung to his side, chin pushed to his bicep and hand twined with his as he passed over his card, not even looking at the cashier as he peered down at you, the same concern making his brows draw together. 

And when Indiana Jones was fighting off another enemy and chasing after his hat, Steve made sure to offer you his hand across the seats, bringing yours to his lips when you took it before dropping them back into your lap. You played with his fingers the entire movie, tracing the lines on his knuckles, laughing when everyone else did but entirely distracted the whole time. 

You didn’t talk much on the way home. The streetlights came and went as Steve drove you both back to his, the yellow-amber glow giving way to navy shadows that made your sad eyes look even sadder and Steve felt a heavy ache in his chest over it all. He started to worry, that maybe he’d upset you somehow, that maybe you didn’t want to be with him anymore. It had to be him, right? 

But you tilted your head up for a kiss when you stood by the front door, waiting for him to unlock it. And Steve obliged, happily, ducking his head down to meet your lips, trailing his affection to your cheeks, your jaw, your nose and chin as well. He kissed you until you whispered his name, thick with fondness, smiling a smile that looked a little more real than before. He gave you one more, a lingering thing that was sweeter than the butter popcorn he’d bought before he was leading you up to his room. 

It eased Steve a little as you toed off your shoes and fell onto his bed, a clumsy shuffle up to his headboard so you could curl yourself into the mountain of pillows there. The boy was quick to follow, crawling up the sheets until he was crowding over you, manhandling you in a way you didn’t object to, letting him nudge his way into your arms until he was between your thighs and resting his chin on your stomach. 

He closed his eyes when your fingers found his hair, lashes fanning over his cheeks, humming at the scratch of your nails on the nape of his neck. And then he blinked at you, his own hand squeezing at your side until you met his gaze. 

“Are you gonna tell me what’s been eatin’ at you?”

Your face scrunched at the question, as if it was an awful thing to answer. But the heavy weight you’d felt at six am that morning came crawling back, forcing itself between the cracks in your ribs until you felt your eyes water. You took your hands from your boyfriend's hair and covered your face with them instead, wishing you could hide away under the duvet until you could wake up and start the day again. 

“It’s so stupid,” you told Steve mournfully, words muffled in your palms. 

“Babe,” Steve sat up and you felt the bed dip and shift as he flopped down next to you. His hands found your wrists and he tried to gently pry your hands from your face. “Baby—” 

You whined when he tugged a little harder, ignoring the way he laughed a little, but you gave in, only to bury your head in his shoulder instead. 

“Hey, come on,” Steve coaxed softly. “What’s wrong, huh? Is it— is it me? Is it something I’ve done?”

Your heart ached with the worry in his voice, an awfully sorrowful thing that made your eyes turn a little more glassy than before. You burrowed closer, needling your arms through Steve’s so you wrap yourself around him. “No— well, yeah in a way.” You heard his sharp inhale and you panicked. “No! It’s not, it’s not like that! God, Steve, it’s so lame, forget I said—”

Clearly reaching his limit, Steve nudged you away only to pull you back in, this time settling you on top of him, your legs thrown over his lap until you were coaxed into straddling him, chin to your chest as he tried to meet your gaze. His hands found the sides of your face , big enough to cover the line of your jaw too and he urged your head up until your cheeks squished between his palms. You pouted. 

“Honey,” Steve breathed out and his eyes were wide, caramel brown and panicked looking. “Please, you’re gonna make me burst a blood vessel here— it’s not lame, okay? Whatever is bothering you this much is not lame.”

You relented, leaning to the side so Steve could take the weight of your head and all the silly little worries that rattled inside of it. His thumb stroked over the apple of your cheek and he waited, one side of his mouth ticking up in a smile when your idle fingers found the front of his shirt. You clung to him. 

“I had a dream, alright?” You spoke to his collar, nose pressed to the boy’s throat, all cologne and laundry detergent. “It’s so stupid. It was awful though, you cheated on me with this— this girl and I don’t even know who she was supposed to be. But she was super pretty and you were so mean about it and—” 

You cut your own rambling off with an embarrassed groan and it only turned into a distressed whine when you heard Steve laugh softly. You rolled off him, letting yourself flop to the side so you could hide your face in his pillows but the boy followed suit. Fingertips dug at your ribs until you squealed and flailed, rolling over to battle away his wandering hands. But Steve was over you, hands on either side of your face as he carefully kept his weight up, his eyes bright and searching your own. 

You squinted back at him, heat clinging to your neck and your cheeks and you didn’t want this, you didn’t want him to make fun of you. Why was he smiling?   

“You don’t know how happy I am to hear that it was dream me that was a dick and not actual me.” Steve grinned at you, even when you huffed back at him, but you didn't try to squirm away. “Babe, you shoulda told me, huh?”

“I told you,” you whispered. “It’s lame.”

The boy leaned in, nose bumping your own, foreheads touching. Your breath hitched at his closeness, the feeling of being almost kissed was one that never went away. His lips just touched yours, a barely there thing. “It’s not lame, it’s sounds pretty fucking awful, actually.”

“It was,” you agreed mournfully. “I woke up sweating.” 

Steve laughed at that, a huff of warm air over your lips and you couldn’t help but smile back, a lightness taking over that suffocating feeling that had been stuck in your chest all day. You shook your head at yourself, at your own silliness, letting your hands reach up to slide under Steve’s shirt so you could press your palms to his waist. You wanted him on you. 

“S’that why you’ve been holding onto me all night, huh? Like I’m gonna run away?”

You frowned, head rolling to the side so you could bite affectionately at his bicep. “More like make sure no one stole you,” you mumbled. 

Another laugh, still as soft, still as warm. “You know that won’t happen, right? Like, hell would freeze over before someone else caught my eye.”  

You were silent, eyes trained on Steve’s arm. 

“Babe,” Steve leaned in further, his thighs pushing yours apart so he could lie between them, one of his hands pushing back your hair, his thumb running over your brow bone. Every touch made your body hum. “Baby, you know that right?”

You conceded then, nodding as you turned your head back, lips parting as he caught them between his, a kiss that was much more heated than the others. This one had intent, a meaning behind it that he was trying to make you understand. 

“Would never do that to you,” the boy whispered, his words tumbling onto your lips. You swallowed them whole, used them to close up the yawning crevice that was intent on making your ribs crack. “Ever.”

“I know,” you whispered back and your hands were clinging higher, fingertips pushing into the lines of his back, the muscle that covered his shoulders so you could press him down closer. “I know that. That’s why I said I was being lame.”

Steve tsked at your language again, the awful way you spoke about yourself. But he let you drag him down, giving up on keeping his full weight off of you and he grinned into your hair when you wrapped yourself around him, legs circling his waist, arms around his neck. 

“Dream Steve is an asshole, huh?” He mumbled into your jaw. He pressed a kiss there, a whole line of them until he reached your ear and nuzzled his nose to the spot underneath. He snorted when you nodded your agreement. “Want me to have a word with him?”

You grinned something stupid, squealing when the boy rolled you both over, victorious underneath you when he saw your smile. A real one. You nodded, settling into Steve’s lap as he held your hands, fingers twined between your own. 

“Yes please."

[pr3ttyf4wn]

"Am I weird?"

"Yeah. but so what everybody's weird." Whimsy!reader x fratboy!chris NNN Day 2!

You're a pretty confident girl. You're sure of yourself and dont care what others think because you know what you like and who you are, doesnt matter what any other insecure people think.

But you're only human and in this world other humans are mean to people they find threats, even if that threat is just a self-assured, confident, whimsy lady.

You have hobbies that other people would consider weird, but you never care. Why would you?

you're swinging from your silk rope, more of a curtain, twisted and tangled in it as you practice your aerobatics- Chris on his phone sitting silently in a corner.

This is the routine between you and your boyfriend. After both of your classes are done Chris drives you to the gymnastics and aerobatics place you practice at and then he sits in the corner until your done. Then you and him drive around the town-maybe smoke a joint on the occasion- although you don't do it much. You tell Chris that it "messes with my aura! makes it all dingy."

And normally its silent.

But today you had been talking to one of your friends about a new crystal shop that opened up and how you need to get some more crystals. Two sorority girls walked by you two and laughed about it saying something along the lines of "She's so weird. I don't know why Chris dates her." And although you pretended you didn't care it really hurt your feelings. So now your aura is really dingy- and not from weed.

"Hey, Chris?" You spin down from your silk ropes and land softly on your feet. Untangling yourself from the ropes and then walking over to sit down on the floor by Chris's chair.

"Yeah, little lady?" He asks and looks up for a second from his phone. "You ready to go home?" He checks the time and its maybe 30 minutes before the time you usually like to leave at. He's not surprised when you shake your head.

"Just had a question." You pick at your nails and dont meet Chris's eyes even though they hold a shit load of concern. You seem sad, or dingy as you like to say, and it's scaring him.

"M'all ears." And he really was. Turned off his phone, set it to the side, and everything.

"Do you think I'm weird?"

You're question caught him off guard, because what would make you think that? But in Chris fashion he answers "Hell yeah I do. But, so what? Everybody's weird." He shrugs. "In their own ways. You're just more out there with your weirdness. It's why I like you."

He flashes you you're favorite lopsided grin when you finally look up. You cant help but smile back and lean your head on the side of his thigh for a second. He rests his hand on top of your head, and you sigh softly. "Okay." You finally answer in a soft voice. "Yeah?" Chris tilts his head, hat tilting to the side, almost falling off.

"Yeah." You mumble and bounce back up to go hook your legs over the ring you practice on, Chris gets up too, to pull the rope that suspends the ring so you can practice.

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

a pr3ttyf4wn scroll !

[quaranmine]

Women's gymnastics vs men's gymnastics

I think it's weird the women have to like dance and use music and the men's floor routine is just silent. I don't dislike the dancing mind you, it seems fun, but I think it's just weird only the women have to do it for points. Some of the men's only events are crazy though, the strength required to do those rings are insane. I saw a cute video of the men's gynmasts attempting women's skills and vice versa earlier in the week. It was interesting to see how training for different skills changed what they could do!

[dccomicsimagines]

One Day At A Time - Nightwing x Reader

Part Two 

Author’s Note - Glad I finally got this one started. It was in my head for a long time. More parts are coming.

Voices were the first thing you recalled. They were different tones, some feminine, others masculine. Screams echoed from somewhere far away. Beeps sounded near your head.

You couldn’t open your eyes. Your eyelids had been replaced by stones. “Is she going to wake up soon?” one of the voices demanded. You recognized it as you heard it often. 

“She can wake up at anytime.” This voice was recognizable as well. It gave orders a lot. “We will just have to wait.” Footsteps echoed and a door closed. You wondered if they were talking about you. Were you asleep? It was hard to tell. 

There was scraping of a chair. Suddenly, someone grabbed your hand. They cradled it in theirs. Lips pressed to the back of your hand. “I miss you, sweetheart,” the voice you heard most often spoke. Sweetheart? You felt confused. No one had called you that before. “Please wake up soon.” Something wet dripped onto your hand. 

Disgusting. You couldn’t pull your hand away. It was like your blood had been replaced with sand, holding you down. You endured it. The voice rambled on and on about things. You stopped listening and let yourself drift back into bliss of darkness.

***

Slowly, rising from the darkness and into the fresh air, you finally dragged your eyes opened. The light was bright. You closed them again, reaching up to rub them. 

Your eyes adjusted to reveal a white hospital room with flowers everywhere. The ones next to your bedside were your favorite. Those were the same ones your brother would get for your birthday every year. A smile pulled at your lips. You glanced down at yourself, the paper hospital gown scratching your skin. There were heart monitors stuck to your chest and stomach. Odd.

An IV was in your arm. You pulled at it gently, shivering from the idea of it in your arm. Biting your lip, you tried to remember how you got here. The last thing you remembered was being at gymnastic practice. It was after hours and you were breaking the rules by attempting Olga Korbut’s uneven bars routine from the 1972 Olympics. Most of those moves were illegal now days, but you wanted to try just for fun.

The last thing you remembered was preparing for your dismount from the high bar when your brother, Wally West, and your coach walking in. They startled you and you fell hard. You frowned. Was that what happened? Did you end up in the hospital?

You pulled the covers around you. Where were those voices you heard before? The man’s voice. The one who held your hand. You wondered who he was? Rubbing your hands up and down your arms, you froze when you felt metal on one of your fingers. You glanced down to find a beautiful ring. 

It was a contoured design, two rings fitted into one. You remembered Aunt Iris had one like that. Her engagement ring and wedding ring were made into one. Why would you have a ring like that? You were only nineteen and you don’t remember anyone giving a ring like this to you.

The door to your room opened. You looked up eagerly, hoping to see your family. However, there was only a strange man. He stared at you, eyes wide with a cup of coffee in his hand. His hair was dark, shaggy and falling into his bright blue eyes. You had to admit he was attractive and fit, even if it looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. 

The coffee cup dropped from his hand and splashed on the floor. You jumped only to find the man suddenly hugging you and pressing his lips against yours. Your mind shut off. You didn’t move, unsure what to do. Should you scream? Were you being attacked?

“Oh thank god, you’re awake. I thought you would never wake up.” The man sobbed, breaking the kiss to bury his face into your shoulder. His voice triggered your memory. He was the one who held your hand. 

You didn’t know what to do. Your brain was on autopilot as you patted his back. Maybe he was mentally disturbed and thought you were someone else? You noticed the call button by the bedside and tried to reach for it. 

“Woah, hey.” The man pulled away, grinning despite the tears in his eyes. “You feel okay? Anything hurt? Should I get the doctor?”

You opened your mouth to speak only for it to be dry. Wetting your mouth, you cleared your throat. “I’m fine.” You looked him in the eye for a second before quickly looking at the flowers across the room. Your eye caught a bag sitting on the chair in the corner. 

“I think my heart finally restarted. It stopped when you took that fall.” The man laughed. You looked back at him to find him studying you like you were the most precious thing on earth. It sent a warning shiver down your spine. 

You quickly looked away, eyeing the coffee spill on the floor. “Is Wally here?” 

You bit your lip nervously when the man’s smile faltered slightly. “He...doesn’t know you’re here.” The man took your hand, rubbing warmth into it.

“What?!” You blinked, heart skipping a beat. Oh god, did this man kidnap you? Were you even in a hospital or did it just look like one? Where was Wally? Where was your family?

The man played with the ring on your finger. He frowned slightly with concern in his eyes. “Sweetheart, you know he doesn’t approve of us. He won’t answer my calls, even when you got hurt, but we don’t need to worry about him. We got each other and our family. That’s what matters, right?” He ran his other hand through your hair. 

Your blood ran ice cold. You had to escape. Clearly, this man kidnapped you and was mentally insane. Why did he act like you were in a relationship with him? Thoughts about all those old stalker movies filled your mind.

“Hey, you okay?” The man cupped your cheek. “Calm down. You’re fine. Everything’s okay.” 

You forced a smile on your face to try to reassure him. Get him out of the room. You could escape then. “I just have a headache.” You rubbed your temple. Your chest tightened when his hand moved to rest over yours.

“Let me grab the doctor.” He leaned down to kiss you again. You turned your head, disgusted. His lips caught your cheek instead of your lips. The man frowned, but got up. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He left the room and firmly shut the door behind him.

Once he was gone, you got to your feet. Sharp pain shot through them, but you just gasped and stayed standing. You removed the IV and the heart monitors carefully before going to the bag in the corner. There were clothes inside. You ripped off the paper gown and changed into the sweatpants and sweatshirt inside. The clothes were too big, but you tightened the pants to fit you. There were no shoes, so you made do with a pair of socks.

Panic set in when you heard noise outside the door. You rushed to the window in the room. Outside was a city you didn’t recognize it. Scared beyond belief, you opened the window. The rays of the late morning sun hit your skin. Your room was two stories up, but you noticed a gutter drain nearby. 

With somewhat ease, you climbed out and down the gutter drain. Once you were a few feet from the ground, you dropped. Almost landing on your feet, you toppled to your knees. Your center of gravity was off. Did you gain weight while you were kidnapped? You shook your head, getting to your feet.

“(Y/N)!” The man shouted. You spun to see him leaning out of the window with another dark haired man with him. 

“No.” Adrenaline fueled you and you sprinted off. You were fast, but you were no speedster. Traffic was heavy in the street, but you ran out without a care, jumping over the hood of a car that slammed on their brakes to avoid you. 

You glanced back to see the man already on the ground. Panting, you ran faster down the street, dodging people as you went. You had to break the line of sight. A child ran out in front of you. You jumped, using a light post as leverage to send yourself flying into an alleyway. 

“(Y/N)!” The man was gaining on you as you fell hard on your knees again. The wind knocked out of you. Rage filled you. Why was your center of balance off? You could have landed that in your sleep. However, you got to your feet and kept running. 

Turning several corners, you saw a coffee shop filled with people. You burst through the door, the bell ringing loudly. People stared at you like you were insane. Maybe you did look it, but you had a good reason. “Can I borrow a phone?” you panted, searching the room for a friendly soul.

“Here, honey,” a middle aged woman said, handing you a phone.

“Thank you.” You glanced behind you in a panic and ducked into the hallway that led to the bathrooms. The phone shook in your hand. Every part of your body ached, completely weakened by the run as adrenaline drained into all out terror. 

Air was being squeezed out of your lungs, coming out in ragged gasps. Black swarmed your vision, but you blinked it away. The bell on the door to the shop rang. You slipped into the ladies' room and slid to the floor by the sink. 

Knees pressed to your chest, you dialed the one number you knew by heart. “Please pick up, please pick up.” The man’s voice sounded outside, asking about you. 

“Hello?” You sighed in relief, knowing his voice instantly. 

“Wally?” Your voice cracked. Tears filled your eyes. “Please help me. Walls, please help me.”

“(Y/N)?” Wally seemed shocked. “What’s wrong?” His voice deepened into that tone he used when he was Kid Flash. 

You crawled into one of the stalls when you heard someone tell the man that you went to the restroom. Reaching up to lock the stall, you got up to stand on the toilet to hide. You had to lean against the wall to stay upright. “There’s a man chasing me. He kidnapped me, but I escaped.” You held your breath when the bathroom door opened. “He’s here. Please help me.” Your voice dropped to a whisper.

“(Y/N), sweetheart, I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to come with me,” the man said loudly. He opened one of the stalls. You pressed your hand against your mouth to prevent a scream. 

“I’ll be there in a flash. Where are you?” Wally’s voice sounded distant. He was already on the move. 

The next stall opened. You whimpered softly into the phone. The bathroom fell silent until the door to your stall shook. You choked out a sob, losing your balance. Your foot went into the toilet, but you caught yourself. However, the phone slipped out of your hand and clattered to the floor.

The man kneeled in front of the door. “(Y/N), sweetheart, please tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me.”

“Please leave me alone. I just want to go home,” you begged, ignoring your wet sock as you climbed higher on the toilet in case the man crawled under. 

“We can go home, but I need you to calm down.” The man peeked under the door. You screamed, fresh tears bursting out of you. Suddenly, a loud gust sounded in the room and the man disappeared from the door. “Wally? What are you doing here?” 

“What are you doing?! (Y/N) called me saying she’s been kidnapped and a man is chasing her,” your brother’s voice said. You relaxed slightly, suddenly concerned that Wally seemed to know the man. “And now I searched the city only to find you chasing her!”

The man gasped. “She said what?!” 

The door of your stall shook again. “(Y/N), come out. I think you’re confused,” Wally said. You slowly climbed down from the toilet and opened the door. Wally stood there in a Flash suit. Strange, wasn’t he Kid Flash? You ignored it and hopped into his arms.

Wally held you tight. “Please get me out of here, Walls. Keep him away from me.” You clung to Wally like he was your lifeline.

“What the hell is going on?!” The man stepped forward. You broke out of Wally’s arms to hide behind him, watching the man as he stared at you with his brow furrowed. “(Y/N), sweetheart, I’m Dick. Your husband.” He pointed to his chest. 

“I can’t be married!” You gripped Wally’s arms with a death grip.  

Wally’s head snapped between you and the man. “Wait a minute.” He pressed a hand to the man’s, now Dick’s, chest to stop him from coming closer. Wally spun to you and gripped your shoulders. His green eyes bore into yours. “(Y/N), what year is it?”

You frowned, blinking. Your lips trembled. Wally never talked to you like this before. “2020.”

Dick’s jaw dropped. His hand slapped against his forehead. Wally stared at you with fear in his eyes. “(Y/N), honey, it’s 2023. You’re not nineteen, you’re twenty two,” Wally said calmly. He swallowed hard and nodded to Dick. “This is Dick Grayson. You married him a year ago. Without my permission, I might add.” 

Your eyes snapped to Dick’s. “No...” Your knees collapsed. Wally caught you before you hit the floor. Dick’s hands clenched into fists, keeping his distance from you. Black swarmed your vision again. You blinked it away as Wally cradled you in his arms. 

“This is too public.” The other dark haired man you saw in the window with Dick entered, glancing around nervously. “Get her out of here.” Wally picked you up and zoomed off. Sometime along the way, you fainted.

***

You woke on a soft bed with an older man hovering nearby. He smiled when he saw you open your eyes. The lights were dim in whatever room you were in. In the distance, you swore you heard bats screeching. 

“Hello, Miss (Y/N).” He patted your arm. “Do you remember me?” 

You studied him, but shook your head. He wasn’t a threat, because you didn’t even tense when you saw him. 

The man smiled gently. “I am Alfred.” He held up his hands. “Is it alright if I examine your head?”

You nodded. A lump was in your throat, memories floating back to you. Alfred carefully ran his hands over your head, feeling for any bumps. You winced when he touch a spot toward the back of your head. “It hurts there.” 

Alfred hummed. “I see.” He pulled away. “I am going to alert the others that you are awake.” You tensed, scared to find out what else you didn’t remember. Three years. You were missing three years. “Don’t worry, Miss (Y/N). It will be a calm discussion. We only want to figure out what is going on.” He patted your knee and left the area. 

You pulled the sheet up and around you. Your fingers rested on the edge of the sheet, the ring on your wedding finger sparkling beautifully. How could you forget something so important? You must have loved Dick, right? You snorted. What a name. You hoped it was short for Richard.

Wally came in first. He smiled in relief, coming to your side. “Hey, glad you’re awake, sis. You gave me a heart attack when you fainted on me.” He sat on the edge of your bed. 

Dick followed him. He started toward you, but stopped and moved to lean against the far wall. The other dark haired man from before entered and took a seat on the chair at the end of the bed. 

“Here we go, Miss (Y/N). You should at least drink something,” Alfred said, appearing with a cup of steaming tea. You took it from him, giving him a timid smile in thanks. “I’ll bring a meal in a bit. Remember we are going to proceed calmly.” Alfred glared at the three men in the room. You liked him already.

“Let’s start from the beginning. What the last thing you remember, (Y/N)?” The dark haired man asked, leaning forward and studying you with an intense gaze, your hands began to shake with nerves. Alfred smacked his arm as he passed and the man’s gaze softened. 

You took a sip of tea, gathering your thoughts. Sneaking a peek at Dick, you saw the pain in his eyes. “I remember being at gymnastic practice at Central City U. Everyone had left and I stayed to see if I could do Olga Korbut’s uneven bars routine from the 1972 Olympics. Oh my god, Walls, you remember how much I loved her routine. She was moving like an angel.” You grinned, feeling relaxed for the first time since you woke up to find everything strange and unfamiliar. A small smile pulled at Dick’s lips. You wondered if he liked gymnastics too. 

“And you fell after I and your coach caught you in the middle of a high bar dismount.” Wally sighed, crossing his arms. “You hit your head, but you were fine afterwards.” 

“I don’t remember that.” You bit your lip, holding the cup of tea tightly. “I just remember falling and then I woke up in the hospital with...Dick.” You met Dick’s eye. His smile fell into a firm line. 

The dark haired man hummed. “You remember nothing else?”

You leaned into Wally. He wrapped his arm around you. “Just stuff before. Like growing up at home then living with Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry in Central City when Mom and Dad were having problems. Graduating high school, going to college on a gymnastic scholarship.” You looked at Wally. “Did I finish college? Please tell me I did.”

Wally chuckled. “You did. With top honors.” He kissed your temple. “Of course, then you ran off with Dick afterwards.” Wally glared over at Dick. Dick snorted. You glanced between the men, confused. 

“Was I not supposed to?” You bit your lip when Dick burst out laughing suddenly. Wally narrowed his eyes at you. 

“No, you weren’t. He’s older than you and was one of my best friends.” Wally pulled away from you, crossing his arms. “I made a mistake and invited him to my engagement party after working so hard to keep you away from this life, then all of a sudden, you married him.”

You looked at Dick, knowing you must have loved him quite a bit to piss Wally off so bad. “Enough.” The dark haired man got to his feet. “We need to focus on what’s important.” 

“Bruce, we are focusing on what’s important,” Dick said after he stopped laughing. “(Y/N) might remember if we remind her.” He smiled at you with a charm that made your skin tingle. Maybe there was something there?

The dark haired man, now Bruce, shook his head. “No, there is something going on here. Don’t you think it’s strange that (Y/N) happened to forget about you? Three years is specific.” Bruce pointed a finger at Dick’s chest. “It’s very specific that the last thing she remembers happened the day before you met her at West’s engagement party.”

Dick sobered. “Are you suggesting someone erased me from (Y/N)’s memory? Who could even do that?”

Wally took the cup of tea from you when your hands started shaking so hard that it threatened to slosh out. “It’s okay,” Wally soothed, rubbing your back. “You’re fine, we’ll figure this out, okay?”

“Don’t you think it’s odd that a day after you two announced your pregnancy that (Y/N) takes a fall during patrol and forgets about you?” Bruce said, waving his hand in the air. “We need to open an investigation.”

Your blood drained out of your face. Pregnancy? You looked down at your stomach with wide eyes. Heart monitors on your stomach, the loss of your center of balance? Wally was staring at your stomach too. His face white as a sheet.

“Shit, Bruce. Just let the cat out of the bag, huh?” Dick rushed to your side. He hesitated before taking your hand. “(Y/N), sweetheart. Don’t freak out. You’re fine, the baby’s fine.”

“Baby?” You looked at him, chest tightening. Breathing became a struggle. Every muscle in your body tensed, trembling. “No, no, no, no. I can’t...I don’t remember anything.” Your cheeks felt wet, tears escaping. 

Suddenly, you were in Dick’s arms with your head pressed against his chest. “Breathe with me, sweetheart. One breath at a time.” His calm heartbeat loud in your ear. You fought to slow down, trying to breathe in rhythm with him. Wally disappeared from your side. Your hand clutched at Dick’s shirt. He tightened his arms around you. “There you go. You’re doing such a good job, sweetheart. Nothing to freak out about. We’re taking care of it.” 

You buried your face into his chest, breathing in his scent. He smelled of sweat, cologne, and laundry detergent. Your abdomen tingled as if your body remember that scent. You found you liked it. 

“I’m heading out. Call me if there is an emergency,” Wally said. You looked up at him, eyes widening. Wally wouldn’t look at you and Dick, arms crossed. “I’ll let Mom know you’re okay.” With that, he zoomed off.

“But...” You blinked, your heart felt like it was ripped from your chest. “Why?” You looked at Dick. Dick smiled sadly at you.

He kissed your temple. “I’ll explain later.” Dick kept his arms around you as you sobbed. You buried your face into his chest, feeling so cold and alone. Your head ached as you tried to remember. How could you not remember getting pregnant or getting married? Why did Wally abandon you with these strangers that weren’t strangers, but were? Dick’s chin rested on the top of your head, not saying a word.

***

Dick stumbled out of medbay, exhausted and heartbroken. The bats screeched in the distance. The cool air in the cave made him shiver. You had cried yourself to sleep. Dick wished he could have comforted you, but he didn’t know how. What do you do when your wife doesn’t remember even meeting you? 

Bruce was at the computer, working away on the theory he had throw out in front of you. Dick’s hand clenched into a fist. It was bad enough you were recovering from the news that you forgotten three years of your life and your husband, but to find out you’re pregnant and that someone may have erased your memory. No wonder you broke down. 

Dick turned away from Bruce and headed up the stairs to the manor, needing distance. The absolute terror in your face when you looked at him in that coffee shop bathroom haunted him. He never wanted to see that expression on your face again.

Delicious smells came from the kitchen, drawing Dick toward it. His stomach growled. The last time he ate was that sandwich Alfred had brought him in the hospital. Dick ran his fingers through his hair. Was that a day ago? Time went by so fast after you woke up.

“Hey, Dick,” Tim said as Dick entered the kitchen. Alfred was over the stove, stirring a pot of what looked to be his special chicken noodle soup. Tim sat at the counter with a sandwich and a bowl of soup. 

“Hi, Timmy.” Dick collapsed into the stool next to Tim and took half of the sandwich from his plate. 

Tim watched him worriedly. “So how’s (Y/N)?”

Dick took a big bite of the sandwich. “Not great.” He mumbled with food in his mouth. Alfred turned to glare at Dick before going back to the stove. A jolt ran through Dick. Dick waited until he swallowed to continue. “She just cried herself to sleep in my arms. Bruce let slip that she’s pregnant, then Wally got all mad again and ran off.” Alfred poured another bowl of soup and set it in front of Dick. “I’m worried what the stress is doing to her and the baby.”

“This is why I suggested a calm discussion.” Alfred set a spoon next to Dick’s bowl. “Is she asleep?” 

“Yeah.” Dick finished his sandwich and started on the soup. His eyes caught the ring on his finger. The one you had specially made for him. His heart broke once again. 

“Well, I’ll prepare a tray and take it down. She needs to eat.” Alfred moved to grab a serving tray. 

Tim eyed Dick and Alfred. “So it’s true then?”

“What’s true?” Dick glanced at Tim, frowning at how pale he was. 

“(Y/N) doesn’t remember you or us or...anything?” Tim swallowed hard. The food in front of him forgotten. 

Dick took another spoonful of soup, pushing away the urge to cry. “No, she doesn’t.” He froze, noting the shifting shadow by the kitchen door. “Damian, come on out.”

“TT.” Damian stepped out and came over to sit beside Dick. Alfred raised an eyebrow and quickly served Damian a bowl of soup too. “Can I see her?”

“Let’s give Miss (Y/N) space for now.” Alfred picked up the serving tray. “I’ll bring this down to her.” He left the room.

The three ate in silence. Dick slipped into his own thoughts, your face flashing before his eyes again. He dropped his spoon and buried his face in his hands. “It’s probably not permanent,” Tim said, biting his lip. 

“Or it is.” Dick groaned, dropping his hands. “Do you know how it felt to see her so scared? She climbed out the hospital window and ran out into the street. Then she called Wally. Wally! They haven’t spoken in a year.” 

Tim laid a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Dick glanced at Tim. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything, Tim.” 

“No, but I’m sorry just the same.” Tim pulled away to play with his spoon. 

“TT.” Damian jumped off his stool and took his bowl to the sink. 

Dick watched him. “Damian, you okay?” It helped to focus on something else. He’d rather comfort his brother than deal with his own emotions at the moment. 

Damian spun and glared at him. “You are weak.” Dick and Tim flinched. Damian shook his head. “You are just giving up. If (Y/N) doesn’t remember you, then make her remember you.” 

“It’s not that simple, Dami.” Dick got to his feet and came to kneel in front of Damian. “This isn’t something you can just fix.” He rested his hands on Damian’s shoulders. 

“TT, then you take it one day at a time until (Y/N) remembers everything you had, everything we all had.” Damian jerked out of Dick’s grip and walked away. “Fool.”

Dick stayed on his knees. His body froze, shocked to his core. “So you’re saying I get (Y/N) to fall in love with me again?” He turned to look at Tim, who was nodding. “That’s not going to work. I don’t know how we did, it just happened.”

“You mean you don’t have any idea how you fell in love with (Y/N)? Come on, that’s not true.” Tim chuckled, getting to his feet and started to clean up the dishes. “You told me how you saw her from across the room and basically drew to her like a starving man to bread.”

“I didn’t say that.” Dick got to his feet and started to wash the dishes. Tim grabbed a towel to dry. 

“Yeah, you did. It might have been after your wedding night and you were half asleep, but you did.” Tim smirked. “(Y/N) said you drank too much, but then Jason made that crude comment and you whaled on him.” 

“Okay, I remember that. (Y/N) made me sleep on the couch until our honeymoon.” Dick felt a smile pulled at his lips. It felt wrong. Why should he be smiling when he lost the love of his life?

Tim laughed. “I didn’t know that part.” He dried a bowl and put it away. “I think if you help (Y/N) relive those moments, it might spark her memory.” Tim shrugged. “Unless Bruce’s theory is right.” 

Dick choked, dropping a dish into the sink. “I pray he’s not. Who would do such a thing?” He grabbed another dish towel to dry his hands, shaking. 

“Don’t think about that now.” Tim grabbed Dick’s arm. “Calm down.” 

“How can I be calm, Tim?! My wife doesn’t remember me at all!” Dick threw his hands up in the air. 

“Quiet.” Dick turned to see Cass staring at him, silently appearing like she always did. He should have heard her. Suddenly, her hand shot out and Dick fell limp to the ground.

“Cheap trick.” Dick mumbled, his cheek rested on the floor. HIs body paralyzed from the nerve strike. 

Tim knelt down next to Dick’s head. Dick felt Tim’s thin fingers checking his pulse. “Little much, Cass, don’t ya think?”

“He needed rest. No sleep for days. Sloppy.” Cass grabbed Dick’s arm and pulled him up. Tim grabbed Dick’s other arm and they drag him out of the kitchen.

Dick closed his eyes, letting the darkness of sleep take him. The last thing he remember was being flopped down onto a couch.  

***

You leaned against headrest, keeping your eyes on the city outside. “So we live in Gotham?” The car was clean and smelled like mint from the bat shaped car refresher. 

“Well, no.” Dick cleared his throat, keeping one hand on the wheel while rubbing the yellowing bruise on his neck. You asked him about it, he just said it was what he needed. Whatever that meant. “We live in one of the suburbs between Gotham and Bludhaven.” He glanced over at you somewhat nervously. “Bruce bought us a house for our wedding gift. Decked it out with everything, even added a secret tunnel that would take us straight into Gotham or Bludhaven in minutes.” 

“And Bruce is your adoptive father and Batman.” You frowned, playing with the sleeves of the sweatshirt you were wearing. Apparently, it was yours, but you don’t remember seeing it before. You sighed. It was a common occurrence nowadays. “Damian, Tim, Cass, and Jason are your siblings. Tim, Cass, and Jason are adopted while Damian is Bruce’s biological son.”

Dick nodded. A smile pulled at his lips. “Yeah, that’s right.” He glanced over at you. You met his eye. It sent a pleasant shiver down your spine. Over the last few days, you noticed you were feeling those shivers more and more. You played with your wedding ring, unable to take it off. It felt wrong to remove it.

“You’re Nightwing and I’m...” It was on the tip of your tongue. 

“Redwing. Red from the Flash and wing from me,” Dick said after several seconds of silence. “You didn’t go out too often. Mostly to help me out if I needed backup.”

“And we both run a trapeze and gymnastics school?” You folded your arms across your chest. Your heart glowed with joy at having your dream job of teaching gymnastics. 

Dick nodded. “And dance and boxing.” He looked back at the road. “We added those recently, wanting to reach out to more kids.” 

Your eyes fell to the ring on his finger. “Did I give you that ring?” 

“You did.” Dick’s hand left the wheel and was held out in front of you. You took it, feeling the calluses that were very similar to yours. The ring was a dark gray metal with no scratches or marks. “You had Superman make it out of some kind of Kryptonian metal, so it doesn’t wear or tear.”

Tracing the ring, you frowned. You tried to remember, pushing your brain until a headache blossomed in your temple. “I’m sorry.” You let go of his hand and turned away to look out the window. 

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Dick rested his hand on your knee. You tensed. Dick flinched his hand away. “Sorry.” He bit his lip. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re figuring this out. One day at a time.”

Tears filled your eyes. He had been saying that a lot over the last few days. One day at a time. Like that was supposed to help you get three years back. “Are Iris and Barry really gone?”

“Yes, I don’t understand it all myself.” He looked at you as if you were going to break into pieces. “Apparently, they got sent to the future. Wally’s the Flash now.”

“Wally married Linda and had two kids who I’ve haven’t seen in a year because Wally hates that we’re together.” You took a deep breath. “Mom remarried after Dad disappeared and now lives in Europe. She agrees with Wally. Not surprising. She always liked him more.” 

“That’s not true.” Dick drove down a street of very nice houses. Suddenly, he turned into a driveway of a beautiful huge white house. It was surrounded by trees, offering privacy from the neighbors. “Here we are.” 

Your jaw dropped. “This is the house?” You quickly got out of the car to get a better look at it. Dick followed you.

“You like it?” He came to your side.

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect something so...large.” You walked ahead to the front door and took out a key from under the mat. It didn’t occur to you until the key was in your hand that your body must have remembered the motion. You looked back at Dick to find him staring at you with hopeful eyes. A lump formed in your throat.

“Go on in, sweetheart. I’ll get the car in the garage.” Dick climbed back into the car and opened the garage door. You pushed open the door and walked into the quiet, dark house. A motion sensor light clicked on along with a soft alarm. Your heart stopped.

Dick suddenly ran in behind you. “Sorry, forgot about that.” He typed in a code into the box in the corner by the door. A sensor popped out and Dick widened his eyes for it to scan his retinas. “There you go.” He turned back to you and started to lean forward, but stopped when you backed away. His face fell. “Don’t worry. It’s just our security system.” With that, he went back out the door to the car. 

You watched him go. Blood rushed to your face when you realized you were looking at his butt. You covered your eyes, telling yourself that he was your husband and you probably could look at his butt. However, the embarrassment didn’t go away. It was a very nice ass though.

Slowly, you wandered through a beautifully decorated living room and dining room, stopping to study the pictures on the walls. There were a few of you as a child, along with you assumed were Dick’s childhood photos. You stopped at a picture of you and Wally as kids. Both of you were in swim suits with the blow up pool behind you. Wally’s arms were around you, both of you grinning as your mom snapped the picture.

Tears filled your eyes again, but you pushed them away. You had enough of crying for one day. 

You explored the rest of the ground floor, finding the kitchen, pantry, office and a bathroom. It was so beautiful that you felt out of place. This was something you always dreamed about. Your own home, a place where you always belonged. You went upstairs. Another bathroom and three bedrooms. Two were empty, one made up into a guest bedroom. At the end of the hall, there were double doors. You swallowed hard and opened them.

The master bedroom was decorated by you. That you recognized right away. It very close to the bedrooms you designed as a teen when you couldn’t sleep after gymnastic practice. You would cut out photos from home magazines and print out pictures from the internet to paste together a mock room design for your dream home. 

The bed looked so comfortable, you went over and laid down on it. It was as soft as you liked it. The comforter and sheets smooth on your skin. You stared up at the ceiling. Your dreams really came true, didn’t they? Maybe this was some form of karma. You got what you always wanted, but now you can’t remember the pieces that made it all happen.

“Hey, you found our room,” Dick said, coming in with the bags. You recognized one of the bags as the one you stole clothes from at the hospital. He set the bags on the armchair in the corner. “You picked everything out in here, I was just along for the ride.”

“So we’re both sleeping here?” You asked, stomach twisting with nerves. Dear god, it felt like you were about to have your wedding night with this man. 

Dick paused, smile faltering. “No, I’ll be in the guest room.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to rush things for you. It wouldn’t be healthy for you or the baby.”

Your hand went to your stomach. There was a slight bump, which you only noticed after you found out you were pregnant. Dick’s eyes watched your hand. “Right, sure.” You got up from the bed and wandered toward the door in the corner. It led to a master bathroom with a walk in shower and giant tub in the corner. “Bruce really went all out, huh?”

“Yeah, he did.” Dick followed you, leaning against the doorframe as you peeked into the shower. “You told him about the house you dreamed about as a child and he made it for you and me.” 

“I told him about it? But I never told anyone about it. Not even Wally.” You spun to look at Dick. That pleasant shiver went up your spine as he smiled at you. His eyes sparkling with what seemed to be love. 

“You told me on the night we met. It was after Wally and Linda’s engagement party. Everyone was passed out drunk or left. You and I stayed to clean while Wally took care of Linda. We got to talking and I offered to take you out for breakfast at three am.” Dick sighed. “We talked until seven am, telling each other everything.”

You blinked. “Everything?” Your eye caught the photo on the wall. It was of you and Dick standing in front of the Golden Gate bridge. The two of you gazed into each other’s eyes, foreheads pressed together. “Like this? Is this our honeymoon?”

“No, that was a trip we took the summer after we met.” Dick came to your side. He kept a safe distance between you and him. “We were keeping our relationship a secret. Linda and Wally’s wedding was a month later and we didn’t want to cause trouble.”

You hummed, noting how happy you were in the photo. “I wish I remembered.” Dick hesitated before gently reaching over to rub your shoulder. You forced yourself not to tense. His touch felt nice, warm.

“You will, but for now, I’ll remind you.” Dick smiled. His pain was almost hidden, but you could see it in his eyes. He took your hand. The contact alone made you want to cry. Dick tugged you. “Come on, let me show you the basement.”

“That’s not creepy at all.” You laughed halfheartedly, letting Dick lead you down the stairs to a part of a wall with a framed poster of the Flying Graysons on it. “Is it hidden for a reason?”

Dick winked at you. A jolt ran through your abdomen. “Remember that tunnel I told you about? Well, we don’t want that out in the open.” He touched the side of a frame and a fingerprint scanner popped out. “Always use your thumb.” He pressed his thumb and it dinged. The wall swung open revealing a staircase. “It scans you as you walk. If it doesn’t recognize you, the alarms go off and you’ll get sealed in the stairwell.” 

“So this is like the safe room then?” You went in first, scared but comforted by the fact Dick was right behind you. 

“Yeah, this would be the place to go if we have a situation like that. Of course, they’d have to try to get into the house first. I’ll show you how to lock down the house too.” Dick slipped around you once you reached the bottom of the stairs and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. The weight of his arm felt right.  “What do you think?”

It was a huge underground base with big computer on one side. Costume displays were build into the wall. Three motorcycles and one military looking car sat at the far end. You pulled away from Dick to look at the workout area. There was a lot of equipment, but the only thing you focused on was the uneven bars.

You broke into a run toward the uneven bars and glide kipped onto the lower bar before doing a flip to the high bar. “Careful,” Dick chuckled, leaning against one of the punching bags nearby. “Your balance is off because of the baby.” 

“Right.” You did a few backward giants before slipping into a few piked Stalders. A laugh escaped you. You couldn’t even begin to describe the joy you had. Your body ached for this. 

You did a tucked Jaeger release before flipping down the lower bar. It felt unsteady, but you quickly adjusted to your change in weight. You did a toe-on release back to the high bar. Gaining momentum with a few more backward giants, you did a layout Jaeger release. Your grip slipped slightly, but you held on with one hand. 

A scream slipped out when you tried to gain control. Suddenly, arms wrapped around your waist and you were pulled down from the bar. “It’s okay, I got you.” Dick pressed you against his chest until your feet were on the floor.

“I should have chalked first.” You bit your lip, face burning. Dick’s arms stayed around you. The walls felt like they were closing in. Reality sunk your stomach to the floor. Who were you if you couldn’t remember?

“You were amazing.” Dick started to lean forward, but froze when you pulled away from him. You avoided his gaze.

“Right.” Hot tears filled your eyes, out of your control. “I’m tired. I’ll go lay down for a while.” You walked away briskly, head down.

Dick sighed loudly behind you. “Okay, I’ll wake you for dinner.” You glanced back at him to give him a quick nod before disappearing up the stairs. 

***

“I don’t know what to do. She doesn’t get up from bed and only eats what I bring her.” Dick stood up from the kitchen table and poured himself another cup of coffee. “I thought coming home would help spark her memory or at the very least cheer her up, but she’s depressed.” 

Alfred hummed and sipped his tea. He settled back in his seat at the table in your kitchen. You were upstairs, still in bed despite it being two in the afternoon. “Well, that is not healthy.”

“No, it’s not. I’m scared for her and the baby.” Dick sank back into his seat. “I don’t know what to do, Alfred.”

“Have you tried talking to Mr. West again? Perhaps Miss (Y/N) needs someone familiar around?” Alfred crossed his arms, pursing his lips.

“Wally won’t answer my calls. I tried calling him, but he won’t pick up.” Dick ran a hand through his hair. “I called with her phone to see if he would pick up for (Y/N), but nothing. Her mother is not answering either, which isn’t a surprise. I debated calling Bart Allen or Jesse Chambers or even Jay Garrick, but I don’t know if it would be a comfort to her. She wasn’t very close to them.” 

“I swear that man and his mother are almost as stubborn as Master Bruce.” Alfred stood up and moved around the kitchen. “Did Miss (Y/N) have any cravings?”

Dick smiled halfheartedly as Alfred looked through the cabinets. “Well, not recently, but before everything, she was dying for pot stickers and refried beans. We had them every night for two weeks.” 

Alfred shook his head. “I suppose we can add a salad on the side.” He started to cook, gesturing for Dick to get out. “Now I need you to come up with a plan to get Miss (Y/N) out of bed. It’s best that we don’t have to force her out.”

“Right.” Dick sipped at his coffee and left the kitchen. He racked his brain. There had to be a way to get you out of bed on your own. He was a fool for expecting Alfred to come over and magically fix everything. Dick smiled. However, if he figured out a way to get you up, Alfred’s food would probably keep you up. It was going to be way better than the food Dick had made for you the last few days.

Dick wandered upstairs and stopped outside an empty bedroom. This was the room you planned for the baby. Nothing was in it yet. In fact, it wasn’t even painted. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Dick’s head. After all, you were still you, even if you didn’t remember the last three years. 

***

“Oops.” You jerked awake, sitting up in bed. Your eyes felt sticky, your body more tired than you ever felt before. The master bedroom was empty, but the doors to the rest of the house was open. “Damn, which color was it supposed to be again?”

It was Dick’s voice. You frowned. Curiosity tickled you. You felt the urge to get up and see what he was doing. Honestly, you were waiting for something to happen. Wallowing in self pity and sorrow only seemed worthwhile for so long.

You pulled back the covers and got to your feet. The pajamas you wore were a little tight around your stomach, the baby bump revealing itself. You still couldn’t believe you were pregnant and married. How do you forget something so important? It was like you were living someone else’s life.

“It couldn’t be black, could it?” Dick’s voice echoed down the hall. Your heart jolted. Why did you have a sense of dread? 

You went down the hall, not caring that you were walking around in pajamas and bed hair. Dick was in one of the empty bedrooms surrounded by boxes and paint cans. He was holding up paint sample cards to the wall, clearly deep in thought. “What are you doing?” you asked.

He flinched, dropping his sample cards. “(Y/N)? Oh, good. I was thinking of painting this bedroom. We were going to make this the baby’s room, but white walls are just so boring. I was trying find a color that matches those decorations.” He nodded to the boxes. 

You knelt down to look through the box, getting curiouser by the minute. Inside was a ton of baby decorations, all circus themed. “Wait, you were thinking black for the walls?” You looked up at him in disbelief. Your eye caught the black paint sample on the floor. “Black? For a baby’s room?”

“Yeah, it would really bring out the circus theme.” Dick’s eyes were wide with innocence. You swore you saw a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“No, that’s not happening.” You got to your feet and took the paint samples from him. “I mean what are you thinking?” 

“I don’t know. This is more your thing.” Dick shrugged as you tossed the black sample over your shoulder while keeping the others. You held them against the wall and glanced back at the decorations in the box. “I think we should go with this blue.” You handed him the right sample.

Dick grinned. “Yeah, I can see it now.” He came up behind you and held the paint sample to the wall. “I’ll go buy the paint.” You shivered, feeling his breath against your neck.

“Miss (Y/N), Master Dick, dinner is served.” Alfred appeared in the doorway. You crossed your arms.

“I’m not very hungry, Alfred. Sorry.” You moved away from Dick and toward the door.

“That’s too bad, because I made pot stickers, refried beans, and a green salad.” Alfred sighed and headed down the stairs. Your stomach growled. You found yourself following him.

“You did?” Wrapping your arms around yourself, you licked your lips. “When did you get here, Alfred?”

Alfred shrugged. “A few hours ago.” He disappeared around the corner. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Dick came up behind you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders to lead you toward the kitchen. “We’ll finish the baby’s room later.” 

You frowned, glancing back at the room. Did you really marry a man who thought black was a good color to paint a room? No wonder most of the house was your designs. “I suppose I could eat. Since I’m up and all.” 

Dick hummed. You glanced at him, wondering once more what you saw in him. He was hot, you admitted to yourself, and kind. You pondered some more as you both joined Alfred for dinner.

***

With your stomach full and satisfied, you ended up in the baby’s room again. You offered to help with dishes, but Alfred refused your help, instead making Dick do them as Alfred had to head home to take care of Bruce. 

Kneeling down next to the box of decorations, you sorted through it. There was were pictures of circus animals, a worn stuffed elephant, a circus mobile, crib sheets with lion and lion tamers on them etc. You noticed a lack of clowns, but then remembered the Joker and thought it was for the best. 

“We have the crib, but it’s still in the box in the closet. Bruce and Alfred sent it over once we told them the news.” Dick’s voice made you flinch. You forced yourself to relax as he slowly made his way to sit down next to you on the floor. He kept a nice distance between you, sensing your unease.

“That was nice of them.” You bit your lip. Dick reached over to take the worn stuffed elephant, smirking at it. “That was yours, wasn’t it?”

Dick looked up at you in surprise. The hopefulness in his eyes panged your heart. You didn’t remember that, you just guessed. “Yeah, I grew up with Sikta. She’s named after one of the elephants we had in the circus.” He chuckled, glancing back at the stuffed elephant. “She used to tease me by spraying water on me when I was close by and I would sneak her peanuts.”

“Wow.” You felt a smile pull at your lips. “We didn’t have any pets when I was little. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let us and with Wally being a superhero. No one had the time I guess.” You shrugged, taking out a few classic children books. “These were mine.” You opened them to see your messy three year old handwriting inside. “I wrote my name in them because Wally always did it to his.”

“Is that your name? Wow, your handwriting has gotten much better.” Dick teased, leaning closer to look at the book with you. You got a whiff of his cologne, faded, but still there. 

His words gave you pause. “Did I take your name?” You looked at him, blinking when you found him only inches away from you. He turned, his lips almost brushing yours. 

“Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “You said your name sounded better as (Y/N) Grayson instead of (Y/N) West.” A blush came to his cheeks. “I was quite flattered.”

“Is that why Wally doesn’t approve?” You took a deep breath, breathing in his scent. It made your body relax. Your abdomen buzzed with excitement. 

“No.” Dick sighed. He paused before slowly wrapping an arm around your waist. You found you didn’t mind the touch. “I don’t know for sure to be honest. He hated that we were together and that we kept it a secret for so long. Wally always said that he worked hard to keep you from this life. I think he didn’t want you to be apart of the superhero life and by being with me, you joined it.” 

You pursed your lips. “Right, so I should be the one left out? It’s bad enough that I spend holidays alone with Mom and Dad when Wally ran off to save the world. At least with Aunt Iris, it was just me and her when Wally and Barry ran off. Less fighting and passive aggressive comments all the time.” 

“Do you want to try to call him?” Dick looked at you with those sparkling blue eyes. You found yourself awed by them. Hopefully, the baby would get his eyes. They were so much prettier than yours. 

“No.” You turned back to the books, picking up the Peter Pan book. Opening the cover, you smiled sadly when you saw Wally’s name crossed out and replaced with your own. Dick’s chin rested on your shoulder, looking with you. “I don’t think it will do any good.”

“You don’t know that.” Dick pressed a kiss to your shoulder. “But I’ll support whatever you want to do.” You felt him smile into you, feeling it through your pajamas. 

You felt yourself crack like the ground during an earthquake. Your emotions swelled to the surface.

“I’m sorry.” Tears welled up in your eyes uncontrollably. You turned away from him. “I’m sorry I don’t remember. I’m sorry I don’t know you like you know me.” A sob slipped out. It was unstoppable. You felt like there was no way to put a lid on your emotions. “It’s horrible to see the hope in your eyes, but the truth is, I don’t know if I’ll ever remember because nothing here triggers anything for me.” You glanced around the room. “I don’t remember buying this stuff, I don’t remember anything of the photos of us, or decorating this beautiful home.” You choked, wiping your tears with your sleeve. “It’s hopeless.”

Dick pulled you into his arms, letting you rest your head on his chest. “It’s not hopeless and you don’t need to be sorry. You can’t help it. I understand that.” He kissed the top of your head. You relaxed, soothed by his scent and warmth. Your body certainly remembered him, but why couldn’t the rest of you? “I love you, (Y/N). During our vows, I promised to be with you even after death parted us. We’ll work through this.” He chuckled softly. “If anything, we’ll just have to make new memories and stop focusing on remembering the old.”

You looked up at you, smiling at his goofy grin. “Did we really promise each other that in our wedding vows?” 

“We did.” Dick leaned down. His lips brushed softly against your cheeks, making your entire body light up in pleasure. “We’ll just have to get married over again, so you can have new memories.”

You blinked. “Do you really mean that?” His lips left you aching for more. He got to his feet and held out his hand. 

“Yeah, I do.” He winked at you. “Come on, let’s get out of here and watch a movie or something? Maybe we can discuss what kind of memories we want to make while we do it?” 

You nodded, starstruck. Now you could see how you fell in love with him. He was just so...charming. You took his warm hand and got to your feet. Hope was reborn inside you.

***

To say Dick felt great would have been an understatement. He was practically skipping through patrol. Many of the criminals he found were quite surprised by the happy Nightwing who wouldn’t stop smiling as he knock their lights out. 

He finished up patrol early and picked up a few things. Dick couldn’t believe he was so stupid. You needed to make new memories instead of him trying to force the old on you. Yes, it hurt him to know you didn’t remember the first time you met, the time he proposed, the wedding, you telling him you were pregnant... Dick swallowed hard, pushing his own feelings aside. He had to focus on you.

Dick took the tunnel home and quickly changed out of his suit. He showered quickly before the food he picked up could melt. Jogging up the stairs, Dick felt like he could do anything. 

The kitchen light was on. Dick frowned slightly, wondering if you were up. He knew he turned that off.

As he stepped inside, he froze when he saw a tall, masculine figure leaning inside the fridge. Dick carefully set the bag down on the floor and crept up behind the figure. He grabbed the figure by the back of their leather jacket and pulled them back out of the fridge. The figure grunted, elbowing Dick in the stomach. 

Dick groaned before using his strength and position to push the figure into a hold over the kitchen counter. “What the hell?” the figure said. “You greet all your visitors like this, Dickhead?” 

“Jason?” Dick blinked, feeling stupid for not recognizing the brown leather jacket that Jason always wore. He let his brother go. Jason groaned, stretching his arms. “What are you doing here?”

“I got back from four months in space yesterday, so I decided to stop by and get something to eat while on my way back to Gotham,” Jason said, glaring at Dick. “(Y/N) said I was always welcome. She even gave me a key.”

Dick sighed. He rolled his shoulders to try to relax. “Right.” He took the groceries out of the bag and slipped around Jason to put them away in the fridge. Jason licked his lips at the sight. “It’s not for you. Don’t touch them.” 

“Why not?” Jason snorted, opening a cabinet to take out a bag of chips. 

“Jay, did you get any news while you were away?” Dick closed the freezer and leaned against it with his arms crossed. “I’m assuming no, because you wouldn’t have sneaked in here if you did.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “I know you spawned. Tim sent me the announcement card.” He shrugged his shoulder, shoving a chip into his mouth. “Congrats, I guess,” he mumbled with his mouth full. 

Dick held back a wince. That felt so long ago. You were so excited to send out those announcements. “Something happened with (Y/N).” He swallowed hard when Jason suddenly froze, staring at Dick with wide eyes. “She’s fine, physically at least. The baby is too.” Dick held up his hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Jason finished chewing and swallowed before he spoke. “So what happened?” His eyes darkened. Dick almost smiled. He always found it funny how protective Jason became of you once you joined the family. Then again, everyone in the family felt the same way. 

“(Y/N) took a fall during patrol a few weeks ago.” The memory flashed before his eyes. He had to blink it away. “She was in a coma for about a week. When she finally woke up, she didn’t remember me.” He bit his lip, hating the horror dawning on Jason’s face. “She doesn’t remember anything from the last three years. The last thing she remembered was the day before Wally’s engagement party.”

“Shit.” The color drained out of Jason’s face. “I’m sorry. Geez, I could have scared her to death if she found me, huh?” He ran a hand through his hair at the same time Dick did. Dick noticed, but Jason didn’t. 

“It’s okay, you didn’t get the message.” Dick rested a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “If you want to crash on the couch, I can introduce you. She’s met the others again already.” 

“Why can’t I take the guest room?” Jason met Dick’s eye, having a ‘duh’ moment. “Oh, right. I suppose if she doesn’t remember you at all, you won’t just jump into bed together.”

Dick hummed, tensing when he heard a creak from the stairs. “So the couch is what I can offer you. We’re going to make up the other bedroom, but we haven’t got to that. I was going to set it up before...” 

Jason snorted, tilting his head. He heard you too.

Dick sighed before turning to meet you as you entered the kitchen. You took his breath away even with bedhead and those pajamas that were getting too small for your growing belly. “What’s going on?” you yawned, rubbing your eyes. You saw Jason and jumped at the stranger in your kitchen.

“Sweetheart.” Dick soothed, reaching out to take your hand. You relaxed slightly. “This is Jason, my brother.”

“Oh.” You laughed slightly. “Hi. Dick told me you’re the one who causes the most trouble.” You waved at him shyly. Dick could see the grief in Jason’s eyes once he realized you didn’t recognize him, but only knew of him. 

Jason quickly hid his feelings. “Nah, Dickhead is the troublemaker. Isn’t that why you’re knocked up?” He smirked when you seemed slightly taken back by the comment. 

You blushed, taking a step behind Dick to hide your pajamas. A somewhat awkward silence filled the room. Dick cleared his throat, squeezing your hand soothingly. “Can Jay stay the night on the couch?” he asked you. 

“Sure.” You bit your lip. “That would be fine. Sorry that the guest bedroom is already taken.” 

Jason shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ve been sleeping on a rock floor for the past week, so this will be luxury.” He shoved more chips in his mouth. 

“I’m going back to bed.” You slipped away. Dick turned, but you were gone as quickly as you came. 

“Wow, so you weren’t kidding. She doesn’t know us at all. Otherwise, she would have yelled at me for eating chips and insist I eat some leftovers or something.” Jason sighed, rolling up the chip bag and wiping his fingers on his jeans. 

Dick held his breath, listening to your footsteps as you moved around upstairs. “I have a plan though.”

Jason snorted, shaking his head. He grabbed a can of soda out of the fridge. “What? You’re going to hit her on the head again and see if it all comes back?” 

“No!” Dick punched Jason’s arm. Jason winced, rubbing his arm. “I thought I could trigger her memories with the house and photos, but it’s not working.” Dick bit his lip. “So I decided to make new memories with her. Tomorrow, I’m going to make her breakfast.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Right. Well, don’t mind me.” He waved a hand and brushed past Dick to go to the living room. Dick snorted, holding back a yawn of his own. He turned off the lights and headed upstairs to the lonely guest bedroom.

***

You stood in front of the full length mirror in the huge bathroom, studying yourself. Three years didn’t change much overall. Sure, your hair was different. Maybe your face thinned out a little, losing the bit of it’s childishness. 

You turned to the side. The baby bump was new. You remembered Dick said you were almost at the end of your fourth month. Running your hands over it, you smiled. Children had always been something you considered. Tears filled your eyes as you thought about finally having your own family.

Of course, you didn’t remember anything about your husband or the act of getting pregnant itself. You took a deep breath. “New memories,” you said to yourself. Dick was supportive of it and honestly you felt it was the only way to move forward.

The house was quiet for five in the morning. You had been awake since you heard Dick and Jason downstairs. Moping and sleeping for the past week left you full of an energy you weren’t sure what to do with.

After leaving Dick and Jason, you explore every single drawer and storage container in your bedroom. It was like shopping, discovering you still had amazing taste in clothes. Dick had nice clothes too. You blushed at the thought.

You rocked on your feet. Boredom was your problem now. 

With a sigh, you left the bathroom and collapsed onto the bed. You reached for your phone and started to look through your pictures again. There were a lot of selfies of you and Dick, a picture of an ultrasound, shots of Dick’s family doing silly things, and lots of kids and people you didn’t know. You guessed that they were people from your gymnastics school.

 But there was one person missing from your recent pictures. Wally.

Tears burned in your eyes. “New memories, but without my family.” A shaky breath slipped out of you as you opened your contacts and hovered your thumb over Wally’s name.

You remembered how Wally wouldn’t look you in the eye once he found out you were pregnant. How fast he ran out of the batcave, leaving you alone with people you didn’t know.

Your Wally wouldn’t do that. Never.

You hesitated, hovering your thumb over the call button. He probably wouldn’t be awake if he answered at all. You bit your lip.

Melancholy ate at your heart. You wanted to just see someone you knew. Uncle Barry, Aunt Iris, Wally. Even your mother or father would be great right now. 

Your stomach growled. A blush came to your cheeks. You sat up and looked at the double doors to the rest of the house. “It’s your house, you can go eat, you can do what you want,” you told yourself softly. Blueberry muffins with strawberry smoothies sounded good. Very good.

You stood up and went to the door. Taking a deep breath, you opened the door and stepped into the hallway to shuffle your way to the kitchen.

***

Dick woke to the smell of freshly made muffins and coffee. He opened his eyes and jerked up to his feet. “Crap.” He checked the clock only to find it to be seven in the morning. Blinking, he rubbed a hand over his face. Did he make the muffins already? Why would he be in bed though?

He grabbed a shirt from the foot of his bed and headed downstairs. Your laughter drifted from the kitchen along with Jason’s low chuckle. 

You and Jason were at the kitchen table with muffins and smoothies in front of you. Jason had a grin on his face. Dick’s heart stuttered when he saw a matching one on your lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw you  smile. A real smile.

“Hey, I was going to make you breakfast,” Dick said. He straightened his shoulders when your smile didn’t fall as you turned to look at him. “I picked up the fruit last night.”

“Sorry, I was hungry and up early. I saw the fruit and went with it.” You stood up. Dick’s eyes dropped to your bump. Still there. Slightly. He wished he could rest his hand on it, but he stopped himself. You might not be comfortable with that yet.

Jason glanced between Dick and you. He took a big bite of a muffin. You turned away. Dick raised an eyebrow at him. Jason just smiled while chewing.

“Close your mouth,” you said, patting Jason’s shoulder. Jason obeyed. Dick’s heart fluttered as he thought for a moment how it was like the old you. You took out another plate and glass. Dick took a seat across from Jason. 

“I was telling (Y/N) about my adventures in space,” Jason said once you sat back down and served Dick a muffin and a smoothie. 

You smiled, resting your chin in your hand. “I think you were on the part where you got drunk on alien beer and found yourself in bed with a three foot tentacle monster and a six breasted woman.” 

Dick choked on his smoothie. He coughed. You reached over to pat his back. Jason just laughed, leaning back in his seat.

“You what?!” Dick said after he recovered. Your hand stayed on his back. Dick met your eye as Jason told the story. His heart fluttered with hope, your touch warm and so familiar. He hoped this new memories idea worked. His heart couldn’t take it otherwise.

[cripple-ace]

I have a very specific pet peeve in batman fanfics. When a male character is practicing or competing in gymnastics and they use tge female apparatus.

Guys, do a tiny amount of research Dick would not be doing backflips on a beam like Simone Biles he would be doing flares on the pommel like Stephen Nedoroscik. He wouldn't be flipping between the uneven bars but he would be showing strength and somersaulting over the horizontal bar, parallel bars and still rings.

Men have 6 apparatus and Women have 4, the only over lap is vault and floor. Men's floor routines do not have music or dance elements it's about tumbling and strength.

[blueironywrites]

Title: Overconfidence

Rating: PG

Prompt: Gymnastics from @wolfstarmicrofic

Word count: 241

Summary: Sirius's toxic trait is that he watches an Olympics sport and thinks he can perform it an elite level. Remus is not convinced.

I am writing a fic for each of the prompts this month. You can read all of them here.

This is dedicated to all of us who watched the Olympics and went “I could totally do that”.

+ + +

“You know, I think I could do that.”

Remus looked up from his book at his boyfriend who was sat on the opposite end of the couch.

“You think you can do that,” repeated Remus, pointing at the TV screen where a man was performing a complicated rings routine.

In a few weeks, Remus would be stepping up his training regime, ahead of an upcoming gymnastics competition that he and many upcoming Olympics hopefuls would be attending. Much to Sirius's initial dismay, this meant that Remus spent most of his free time studying old gymnastics competition videos. Despite Sirius's claim he was only interested in watching gymnastics when “my sexy boyfriend does it”, he had gone from being mildly interested to watching more hours of the sport than even Remus did.

For instance, Remus was reading a book while Sirius had been glued to the screen for the last few hours.

“Yes!” exclaimed Sirius. “I could do that... handstand-y thing.” He looked at Remus who was fighting a smile. “Just you watch, I'll be coming for your world title next year,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Remus. As he said this, he lunged for the remote that was just out of reach. With a small yelp, he fell off the couch and crashed to the floor on his side with a thump.

“I think my world title is intact,” said Remus, laughing as he passed a grumbling Sirius the remote.

[rebelspykatie]

Gymnastics/Olympics AU Part 1

Steve’s not used to sharing the spotlight. He can’t believe this fresh-faced nobody is out here acting like he has any idea what he’s doing. For years, Steve’s been the golden child of gymnastics. Everyone loves him, no one’s come close to beating him at any of the events he specializes in, he puts butts in seats, which is more than most of the field can say. Until now, when Eddie Munson just waltzes onto the scene like he was born to do gymnastics. 

He makes it look so easy, long limbs flying through the air as if the universe created him to be aerodynamic. Strong arms holding him in place on the rings, not moving an inch, and perfect balance on the pommel horse. It makes Steve furious. He’s trained his whole life, worked for years to get to this level. It shouldn’t be easy. 

Every qualifying event leading up to the Olympics just made it more obvious that Steve should be concerned. Eddie kept climbing the ranks, perfecting his routines, sticking every landing. It grated on Steve’s nerves. His success doesn’t feel earned, which is stupid because he did earn his place just like Steve, but it happened in the blink of an eye. 

And Steve just has to suck it up and accept it or he doesn’t look like a team player. The media loves pitting them against each other, too. Golden Boy vs. Wild Child. Steve’s known for his looks, perfectly coifed hair, bright charming smile, eyes that melt the panties off the ladies in the crowd. And here Eddie is, long hair wild and untamed, just like his personality. His smile is coy, teasing the crowd. He’s boisterous, where Steve is reserved. 

So of course when they get to the Olympic village, they’re paired up. Roommates. Steve can’t help groaning when he walks in and sees black and leather scattered all over one side of the room. He makes it his mission to stay out of their room as much as possible over the course of the competition. He’s being cockblocked by a tragic set of circumstances. At his first Olympics, he was a bit too young to honor the tradition of sleeping his way through the Olympic village, but the next year, he made a name for himself.

Now, he’s frustrated, not just with Eddie stealing the show, but he’s got a lot of pent up emotions he wishes he were taking out on the hottest athletes from around the world. He can’t even focus long enough to convince someone to take him back to their room, mind only on Eddie and the way he looked at podium training. 

Robin, who's on the US soccer team, thinks it’s hilarious, following him around and pointing out all the ways Eddie is better than him. She likes to humble him. When she catches him staring, she has this smug little smirk on her face like she knows that Steve can recognize how talented Eddie is, but won’t admit it. And that’s not the problem at all, he can admit it, he just doesn’t want to. He’s fascinated with the way Eddie stays on his feet, like a cat falling from its perch, he alway seems to land upright, perfectly positioned. His eyes are drawn to his lithe limbs and how strong his forearms look as he’s braced in the air over the parallel bars. 

And maybe Robin picks up on that too, teasing him about how dumb his face looks when Eddie flexes, or how Steve can’t help but stare at the way his shorts ride up when he dismounts an apparatus. It’s not enough that Eddie’s taking his spot, but he’s captured Steve’s attention, as well. He lies awake at night, listening to Eddie’s even breathing, wishing he had the courage to be nicer. But there’s a tone to their relationship now. A reputation built on rivalry. It would be foolish for him to think that Eddie would want to even be friends after the way they’ve circled around each other in these competitions. 

Little does Steve know that Eddie’s been watching him, too. 

Part 2 | AO3

[player1064]

Footy RPF Fictober, day 6 - Different sport AU

also available on ao3

shoutout to the carraville server for brainstorming what sports they could do in this one........... im literally no thoughts head empty just imagining gary in a gymnast's outfit. tbh.

---

Something that nobody tells you about the Olympics is how boring it is. You spend four years training for what ultimately comes down to a couple of days’ worth of events.

Jamie does alright for himself in national competitions – more than just alright actually, alright doesn’t get you picked for team GB – and he’s had his fair share of European medals. Even at the international level, he’s lost track of how many times he’s made the finals at the World Athletics Championships (maybe it’s not polite to brag. But who cares – he’s worked hard to get where he’s got, he’s allowed to toot his own horn a little).

The Olympics, though… they’re a different beast. It’s his second go-around and if you’re just going off of placement then technically it’s been worse than the first. He’d not made it out of the heats for the steeplechase and he’d come dead last in his semi final for hurdles. But he’d got new PBs for both, so it’s not been a complete waste of time.

It does mean that he’s been stuck loitering around the Olympic village with nothing to do while he waits for the closing ceremony to come around. He works his way through the books he’d brought along with him, he gets to know all the other sorry bastards who are in the same situation as him, and he goes to watch whatever random events the Team GB people can get him tickets for.

That’s the one highlight of it, really. Usually Jamie’s so locked in to the world of athletics that he forgets other sports actually exist, that there’s people who actually earn a living off of, like, boats. Or beating other people up.

Or, as it would turn out, gymnastics. The first time Jamie shows up to watch it he’s expecting to see a load of young girls jumping around in sparkly leotards – not really his thing, but he can appreciate it from an athletic point of view. Instead, though, he’s met with a lot of very muscular men performing routines that he can’t tear his eyes away from.

The British team earn themselves bronze medals, too, and it’s far enough removed from Jamie’s own sport that he can skip feeling jealous and just be impressed. So he asks if he can get tickets for the next day. And the next.

There’s this one guy on the team. He must be around Jamie’s age, maybe a couple of years older, and Jamie’s pretty sure he’s not smiled once the entire games. He’s tall for a gymnast, though really not that tall at all, and his legs. Jesus fuck, those legs. His arms, too, and his chest – just every bit of him, actually.

He’s in the next event – individual all-round – and he doesn’t place. But then at the next one he bags himself a silver for the rings, and he just misses third for the vault (Jamie’s only just learnt the scoring system for this sport but he’s certain he was robbed). And then he’s not in the next event, and when Jamie leans over to ask another team GB spectator where he is they look at him like he’s stupid and tell him “he’s already done all his disciplines”.

So he politely waits for the British lad to be done with his bit (gotta support the side, even if it’s not the British lad he’d been hoping to see), then he high-tails it out of there and goes back to mope around the village.

Neville, he’s learnt by now. Gary Neville. He’s been asking around the team GB lot to find out what people know about him (the usual stuff – name, what part of the village he’s staying in, does he like men, how old is he, please for the love of god tell me he likes men, that sort of thing), and it’s not a lot. He sounds like a bit of an anti-social prick actually, so focused on his sport that he doesn’t have much time for other people.

Sporty family, apparently. His brother plays football for Manchester United (Jamie makes a mental note to avoid football talk when they eventually get to speak), and his sister plays netball for England. Gary is somehow (especially considering that Jamie’s just watched him snag two Olympic medals) the least successful of the three.

There’s a bunch of fast food places in the Olympic village – kind of stupid, considering what professional athletes usually eat, but also kind of genius considering the amount of people who’ll be in need of comfort food. It’s in one of these that Jamie manages to accidentally-on-purpose run into him.

“It’s Gary, right?” he says to introduce himself, all casual-like. “Surprised our paths’ve never crossed before. I’m Jamie, but most people just call me Carra. Athletics.”

Gary squints at him, frowning. There’s a little line at the centre of his brow that Jamie hadn’t noticed when he’d been watching him from the stands. “Right,” he says slowly, like he’s not quite sure why Jamie’s talking to him. “Hi. Were you waitin’ to order, or…?”

“Nah, not too big on Chinese. Just – was walkin’ by and I saw you, thought I’d congratulate you on the medals.”

“Oh! Thanks, yeah, obviously I’m really proud, and pleased for my whole team too I s’pose… erm, I’ve not had much time to watch the athletics, that all go alright?”

Jamie shrugs. “As expected.”

“Right. Well, nice to have—”

Gary takes a step as if to leave. Jamie takes a step too, so that he can’t. “Didn’t fancy going back up there today to cheer your mates on?”

His face scrunches up with displeasure as if Jamie’s just suggested he walk over hot coals. “It’s my rest day,” he says, like that’s reason enough not to go.

To be honest, Jamie can’t really judge. He’s been avoiding the other track events too.

“D’you want some company?”

“You what?”

“With yer resting.” Jamie looks around the village, gestures vaguely at the other athletes milling about like we both know they’re all doing it too. Then, in case the problem was less the principle of the thing and more that Jamie hadn't made himself clear enough, he adds, “in your room. Would you like to rest, with me, in your room. Or mine, I’m not fussy.”

Gary blinks. “Are you comin’ on to me?”

“Jesus Christ, what else would I be doin’? I’m fit, you’re fit – in both senses of the word –” with that, Jamie adds a wink. It may be over the top, it may be sort of cringe-worthy, but he’s never had any complaints about that sort of thing before. Someone even once called him cute for it. “Why not give it a go? If it’s shite then you won’t have to see me for the next four years anyway.”

“You’re a real charmer, aren’t you?” Gary shakes his head, then looks him over consideringly. Jamie feels a bit awkward under his analytical gaze; he puffs his chest out a bit, tries to stand a little taller.

Then, Gary shrugs. “Yeah, alright then. But if you break one of these fuckin’ – flimsy little beds, you’re paying for the damage. Deal?”

[jennibeultimate]

hiii this is random but !! ive been watching the olympics gymnastics and im kind of Obsessed and wanna get into watching gymnastics not just once every 4 years ?? wondering if u have any advice on where to start !! coz i know Nothing lol :))

Hi, you're welcome!

There is plenty of gymnastics to watch all year round. The Olympics is the highlight though every 4 years!

Btw I also got into watching artistic gymnastics by seeing the Olympics (20 years ago 🤯, when watching was depending heavily on terrestrial broadcast).

I am not really sure if I am the best to explain artistic gymnastics and tbh I am not following gymnastics as closely as 10 years ago but I still try to give some advices. I hope it helps. Pls ask if anything is unlcear.

I think in short the best advice is to just watch as much gymnastics as you can 😁 With time you will see and understand more about the sport.

A short and incomplete introduction into artistic gymnastics:

Let's start with some basics:

There are different kind of gymnastics, but I assume anon talks about artistic gymnastics as this was the most prominent discipline that gets most attention.

The governing body of gymnastics is the FIG. You can find a YouTube channel, an Instagram account and a Twitter account.

There are two shortcuts for artistic gymnastics. Men Artistic Gymnastics = MAG and Women's Artistic Gymnastics = WAG.

Male gymnasts perform on 6 apparatus (Vault, Floor, High Bar, Parallel Bars, Pommel Horse and Still Rings), female gymnasts on 4 apparatus (Balance Beam, Uneven Bars, Vault and Floor). The All Around (AA) competition is the most prestigious as you have to be good on all apparatus.

I would not bother with understanding everything about the points for the start, but for the basics there is a Difficulty Score (D-Score) and an Execution Score (E-Score) for each routine. The execution score will be deducted starting by 10,0. The difficulty score is open end. How the deductions on the E-score work is far too complex to explain in a simple post but you can watch out for landing errors, going out of bounds on a landing on Floor and Vault, pointed feet and bend knees, just to name some common errors. A fall is easy to spot and is always 1,0 off. The D-Score works different. Each element has a value starting by A and going up to H. A has 0,1 difficulty and H has 0,8. The 8 most difficult elements count towards the D-Score. There are some different requirements on each apparatus what you have to fullfill, but it would lead to far here to explain.

Competitions:

Artistic gymnastics has a World Championship every year except in the Olympic year, so that's the event to watch out most besides the Olympics. It always happens some time in October each year. Next World Championship 2025 will be in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Before the World Championship there are multiple other competitions to watch. There are championships on continental level (European Championships for example), World Cups and national competitions. And more but these are the competitions I would put my focus on. The Nationals of the USA are probably the most hyped and easily accesible via YouTube. European Championships have various broadcasts on TV but also have their own streaming site here Most events have some form of livestreaming or videos accesible afterwards.

Watch just as much as you can from competitions. You can always rely on Youtube videos. Also old videos are fun to watch.

Gymnasts and countries I recommend to keep an eye on:

I will focus on those who compete at the Olympics this time, but tbf getting into gymnastics at the Olympics may be the worst time as a lot of gymnast you'll see at the Olympics retire afterwards. So next year you might not see many returning ones...

There are plenty of amazing gymnasts but the post is already far too long, so I'll point out a few of the best and a few of my faves. (There sadly is a picture limit per post on Tumblr)

WAG (Women's Artistic Gymnastics)

I guess this name is familiar but always worth mentioning: Simone Biles 🇺🇸(superstar of the sport, called "Greatest of All Time" GOAT and frontrunner for the last decade - most decorated gymnast of all time. Olympic AA champion 2016 and 2024, World AA Champion 2013,2014,2015,2018,2019,2023)

Rebeca Andrade 🇧🇷 (World AA Champion 2022, Olympic Silver Medalist 2021 and 2024, Olympic VT Champion)

Qiu Qiyuan 🇨🇳 (2023 Uneven Bars World Champion - great Beam and Bars worker - just won Olympic UB Silver 2024 few hours ago)

Some others worth mentioning (sadly not pictured):

Kaylia Nemour 🇩🇿 (2024 UB Olympic champion - first African gymnast to win a medal at the Olympics)

Sunisa Lee 🇺🇸 (2021 AA Olympic Champion, 2024 AA & UB Bronze Medalist)

Flavia Saraiva 🇧🇷 (the most fun floor routines and gorgeous beam)

Elsabeth Black 🇨🇦 (fan favorite, 2017 Worlds AA Silver Medalist, 2022 Worlds Beam silver medalist)

Team USA is without a doubt the strongest nation in WAG. Not only did they win most of the team competitions the last decade, but also with quite a margin. Team Italy and Team Brazil have fought their way up to the top with Italy having a balanced team of gymnasts who can score evenly on all events and Team Brazil having superstar Rebeca Andrade who contributes massively with huge scores. Team China imo has the prettiest gymnastics of everyone but their weakest event Vault prevented them from winning team medals since 2014. Their strongest events are Beam and Uneven Bars.

(From left to right: Team Italy, USA and Brazil)

MAG (Men's Artistic Gymnastics)

Zhang Boheng 🇨🇳(World AA Champion 2021, Olympic AA Silver Medalist 2024 - tbh the best AA gymnast atm but battling with injuries and lost the AA final by a few tenth despite having a fall)

Daiki Hashimoto 🇯🇵 (Olympic AA and HB Champion 2021, World AA Champion 2022 & 2023)

Shinnosuke Oka 🇯🇵 (Olympic AA Champion 2024, World Junior AA Champion 2019 - the surprise AA Olympic Champion. Just 20 years old with a bright future)

(Shinnosuke Oka (left) and Daiki Hashimoto (right))

Zou Jinyuan 🇨🇳 (Olympic PB champion 2021, World Champion - the cleanest execution on parallel bars and overall you'll ever see)

Some more MAG gymnasts worth mentioning:

Carlos Yulo 🇵🇭 (first Philippine gymnast to win a world title and Olympic title - great AAer and Floor and Vault specialist - 2019 FX World Champion, 2024 Vault and Floor Olympic Champion)

Ilia Kovtun 🇺🇦 (2021 Worlds AA Bronze medalist & 2023 Worlds AA Silver Medalist)

Team China and Team Japan are those to watch out for the titles. They have the best teams and are far off all other countries atm (with Russia's team banned who won in Tokyo 2021) Team China is very strong on Still Rings and Parallel Bars. Team Japan is very strong on Parallel Bars

(Podium from left to right: China, Japan and USA)

Team USA unlike in the women competition are not frontrunners, but have received the Bronze medal at this games with hitting 18/18 routines. Other teams to watch out are Team Great Britain and Team Ukraine. Team Ukraine are the current European Champions are strong on Parallel Bars and Vault. Their weakness is High Bar which costed them the team medal in Paris. Team Great Britain has strong gymnasts on most events, most prominently Vault, Pommel Horse and Floor.

(Team Ukraine at the European Championship 2024 - from left to right: Nazar Chepurny, Stelmakh, Oleg Verniaev, Igor Radivilov and Ilia Kovtun)

About artistic gymnastics fandom:

If you wanna talk about gymnastics you can join the fandom, called gymternet. (The experience to see your faves suffering together may sting a little less 😅)

Tbh I am maybe not the right person to ask about fandom side of gymnastics (I am mostly active in figure skating fandom). There are a couple of "fandom" sites I use to follow gymnastics news: The Gymternet (link here) and The Balance Beam Situation (link here) (this one is a bit more on the "drama" side with the reporting)

For more fandom stuff you should better ask someone else for advice.

______

And while I am at it I also recommend watching rhythmic gymnastics, it's different but very beautiful. And the competition at this Olympics is about to happen from 8th to 10th August 2024! (Tbh by now I follow RG much closer than AG)

[siremasterlawrence]

              Sweet Sound Of Freedom

Captain America Aka Steve Rogers should be very carful about looking through her shield issued binoculars as he peers in to the top floor of the penthouse only to be disgusted.His mouth wide open is dropping to see his best friend Bucky The Winter Soldier locked up in some sort of glass standing upward in some space pod machine as his eyes stare in to the lights.His body is forcefully attache to heavy steel metallic bonds keeping him set in to one held place on his neck, shoulders, arms,knees, wrists, ankles and legs so tightly on and wound up.He stood up taking one more second to be in one with it all and fully digest all the crazy information he has received during this odd frenzy is occurring before me and he puts it the binoculars away.We stood up walking backwards to the edge of the roof top taking a deep breath he bent down a bit taking a deep breath he goes for a run racing across the room as he hits the edge jumping off.He spreads his arms and body through the air as he forms a ball with his body doing a cannon ball as he hit the window crashing through it and the glass shatters in to the room.He flips on to the floor rolling over across his friends digs he jolts upward scanning the area making sure to know every inch and crevice of the room like top notch name brand surveillance equipment.He smirks a bit removing his shield from his back flipping it on to his right arms he slid it upwards of his hands on to the wrist with very little effort he pushes it aside then he throws it.The vibranium shield hits the wall harshly on to it as it bounces off wall to wall making a impact with the back wall eventually as if smashes the camera in two as he takes a dive to the pod.The camera falls to the floor in to a million pieces shattering on to the floor leaving a bit of room for Steve as he does a activate work routine move worth of sizable Olympic gymnastic. He buckles his legs together propelling them forward as he makes contact with the glass breaking though he leaps in to the pod using his sheer strength to destroy the shiny steel metallic bonds throwing them out in to the room. He places one of Bucks arms on to his shoulders carrying him to the window push it hip as the air circulating waking him up in a fury as his eyes pop open and he is now becoming away to aware.

“Steve? What are you doing here? Where am I?” He asks coming to.

“Sorry Captain! We can’t have that.” A voice comes through.

“Who the hell are you ?” Steve stammers.

“Mm! Oh Captain “ a voice rings 

“Step in to the light “ he demands

“Zombie…Endless…Transform” the man begins.

“No Stop!” Bucky begs

“Dead…Blank…Sleep”

“Wake him up”

“Relinquishing him of your power “

“Captain America ssshhhh”

“I am your Master America”

“Bucky? Bucky”

“He can’t hear you “

“You bastard “

“Bucky wake up”

“Mmmm…Yes Master”

“Please educate Steve”

“Bucky submit “

“As you wish”

“My King”

“BUCKY!”

“Steve? Who are you ?”

“It’s me Bucky”

“Tackle him”

“Hold him down”

“Lead him to me”

“Remove it”

“What? NO!”

“Strip his clothes off”

“BUCKY NO!”

“He loves you Bucky”

“Nnnnoooooo!”

“FUCK YOU!”

“Why do you fight me?”

“Because Master wills you “

Steve struggles a bit as Bucky Barnes trips him as he falls to the ground which both he and I laugh so hard as we baffle at Steve’s own pathetic behavior as he unravels before my eyes. Bucky faces me walking over to my side he is so thrilled wrapping his arms over my tiny waist as he leans in to kissing me slowly a bit closer and yanks me in to hush body as we make out intensely.The rooms lock up everything sealing us all three in to the room leaving me in a feverish pitch on my heightened by my desire for them all to submit to me and soon enough he takes me the side. Steve stares at both of us with absolutely need, lust and desire overtaking Bucky planting another kiss on my lips because we can make out with the man who consumes him. Bucky lights up on my orders using Steve’s arm to drag him across the room and in to another room I made just for him he yank the chain on the ceiling as the bulb comes to life and he throws Steve in to the lions den. Bucky is with my hands are ever so sweetly and gleeful locking him in to the room with my other video camera as my lens glisten on Bucky’s efforts pay off and tie him down with ropes then proceeds the back of the room. “Sorry my dear friend!I completely forgot all about you my future slave pet pal and you will soon worship Mr with the very best of them. Master Lawrence understands you with the utmost scientific and psychological control.” Bucky swears to him. “Buck! Please think about what you are doing to me this is psychological torture is that how you are. Are you relapsing back in to being hydra agent under sedation and mind control reprogramming.” Steve informs him hoping to shake him back in to reality of it all.

“Whoever thought you could escape?”

“I will”

“Try as you like it”

“It will never happen”

“You can’t survive it”

“I have succumbed your issues “

“I am no hero”

“I am villain”

“Listen to what you are saying “

“I hear it loud and clearly “

“We are a vessel”

“Vessels for him”

“He commands “

“We follow “

“Submit “

“Pleasure”

“Transform”

“Live it, breath it and be it”

“Yes Master”

“Will you join us?”

“Bite me”

“I will ask again”

“Steve desire only me”

“Get off of me”

“I love you!”

“Do you really?”

“Here to the universe “

“Back from the stars “

“Oh Steve! Glad to distract you “

“Let us celebrate “

“How master?”

“Kiss me slowly and tenderly “

“Become my favorite “

“Surpass Bucky”

“Master”

“Sir Yes Sir”

The end 

[joeys-babe]

I’m just seeing your post about into the mystic lore and that sounds so interesting! Idk if you ever bored it would be so fun to hear about their life in hs, maybe what their routine was, like hanging out after school, dates they would go on, getting asked to dances, etc! Love your writing and can’t wait for what’s coming out soon!!

I love this! Here are some little details about HS Joe and y/n! Let me know if you wanna see more of this kind of stuff!

——

- Even though you and Joe only had first-period chemistry together, Joe 100% changed his route to his classes so he could walk you to yours.

- Though you had different lunches, Joe would usually skip lunch B because it was your free period. You two would drive over to the elementary school and volunteer there!

- When you met Robin and Jimmy, they immediately loved you. Your parents loved Joe just as much, if not more. Over time, a friendship formed between your parents too.

- Once your parents got to know each other better, you and Joe alternated going home with each other after school.

- You and Joe had a go-to restaurant that you'd go to, and there were many walks in the park between you two.

- In Chemistry, Joe would sneak your hands into the desk just to clasp his fingers with yours.

- To motivate Joe to study for his Chem tests, you'd come over to his house with homemade flashcards. Every question he got right, you’d kiss him.

- After Joe’s basketball games - that you were cheering at, of course - Joe put his letterman jacket over your shoulders till you had to part ways for the night, just to see it over your cheer uniform.

- Joe slowly became a big cuddle guy. After a tiring practice or just a long day of school, when you were over at his house, Joe would always end up with his head lying on your chest.

- Wherever one of you was, the other was there too. He was practically an honorary cheerleader because he was with the squad so much, only because of you, though.

- Everyone thought your relationship was adorable. Though Joe was teased by his teammates relentlessly for how whipped he was, they were aware of how much you meant to him and praised you for keeping their guy so happy.

- Joe asked you to prom months in advance. He found no reason to wait since he knew that you'd be his date.

- At prom, you and Joe slow danced for the first time, falling more in love with each other with every passing second.

- After prom was the first time you and Joe had ever made out. You two grabbed some fast food since you'd left the dance fairly early and were parked up in the empty parking lot. Joe leaned over the center console to kiss you, and it didn't stop for a solid ten minutes.

- Joe forced you to play football with him all of the time. If you were at his house, the majority of the time, you'd end up in the backyard with a ball.

- So many movie nights at the theater and in both of your living rooms.

- Joe became your spotter for learning new skills for cheer and gymnastics. You couldn't tell who was more excited when you'd perfected one, you or Joe.

- No matter what, Joe was always at your cheer competitions. Your mom even got him a shirt that had the team logo on the front and “cheer boyfriend” on the back. He wore it proudly.

- The last few days of Joe’s senior year ~ your junior year ~ were savored and bittersweet. It would be the last days you and Joe would both be in high school.

- You went to Joe’s graduation, of course, and sat between Robin and your mom. Cheering loudly when Joe walked across the stage for his degree.

- The doubts of your relationship lasting because of Joe moving to Columbus were in the back of your mind, but Joe promised you he would do everything he could do to assure your relationship would last. You were truly his everything.

- The day Joe moved into his apartment, he introduced you to his roommates before going out on a date. There, he would give you the promise ring that had been sitting in his drawer for months.

- Joe knew you were the one.

[newtonsheffield]

I was watching old olympic gymnastics clips and suddenly was reminded of rising gymnastics star lucy and her boyfriend gregory who swims from the gold rush au and had a whole breakdown and spent 20 minutes scrolling the tag…molly love can I trouble for a revisit😭

Okay, but imagine when Gregory was convinced he could do a routine on the beams

“He’s a distraction!”

She could steal hear her Uncle’s voice ringing in her ears when she got to the gym, grabbing her bag from the back of the car.

“I got into the olympics, what more do you want fro me?!”

She could still taste her own words on her tongue. The bitter, metallic edge of them tasted like poison, and her hand stung from where she’d slammed the door, not quite drowning out her uncle’s angry retort.

“I want you to fucking win, Lucinda!”

Lucy took a shuddering breath as she reached up, tying back her hair and pushing through the doors. She waved to Hermione who was stretching lazily on the floor already. Lucy shook her head, trying to rid herself of the argument that had sunk its way into her bones. Lucy felt her muscles coil tight as she stepped onto the mats and went into autopilot.

“That’s my GIRL!”

Lucy’s heart fluttered as she stuck the landing from the beam an hour later, her muscles starting to ache and her shoulders heaving.

“Future Olympic gold medalist Lucinda Aaaaaabernathy!”

She bit back her smile as she caught sight of Gregory who did a little roll on the mat, his brown hair flopping into his eyes as he whistled excitedly.

“Bridgerton.” Hermione’s mother sighed, “I’ve told you if you’re going to observe practice, you need to be quiet.”

Gregory smiled charmingly at her, “Sorry! But that was incredible!”

Hermione chuckled, pinching Lucy in the ribs, “Your golden retriever’s here.”

Lucy rolled her eyes but she felt her shoulders relax at the sight of him, “He’s not blonde.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “That’s obtuse and you know it. He’s sweet.”

Lucy watched as Gregory winked at her, ruffling his hair, still wet from his own practice and it caught in her throat. “He’s very sweet.”

“Let’s call it there for today, Ladies.”

“Does that mean I can holler?!” Gregory sat up, grinning.

“Yes, Gregory.” Hermione’s mother sighed, “Holler if you must.”

“Lucy!! You’re incredible!”

Lucy smiled as she made her way over to him, waving to Hermione and her mother as they made their way out. Gregory grinned up at her, opening his arms so Lucy could sit on his lap. She felt her body relax into his the second her skin met his and his arms closed around her, holding her close.

His chin rested on her shoulder and his voice was soft. “Are you okay?”

Lucy shook her head, her fingers finding his against her rib cage. “Not really.”

“Is it your ribs?”

She loved that he remembered how she’d landed three weeks ago, caught on the side of the beam. He’d winced when she’d tugged off her leotard and stepped into the shower and he’d seen the bruising starting to take shape across her.

“No they’re fine.” she took a shuddering breath, “I don’t really want to go home today. We argued.”

He didn’t ask who she’d argued with. He didn’t need to, but his arms tightened. “About me?”

Lucy didn’t bother to deny it. They didn’t keep secrets between them. They weren’t the sort. “You’re a distraction.”

Gregory tutted, tapping her thigh to indicate he wanted her to stand, “Your uncle and I might have finally agreed on something.”

Lucy’s stomach gave a lurch of apprehension as Gregory made his way towards the beam. “What are you doing?”

“I am about to show you two things: a distraction, and how multi-talented I am.” He grunted as he hauled himself onto the beam, pointing his toe.

“Greg, if you break your neck a month before the olympics I am not explaining that to your brother!”

“I’m not going to break my neck.” Gregory rolled his eyes, spinning his arms to catch himself as he started to fall, “This balance situation is harder than I thought I’ll admit.”

“Please don’t-” But it was too late.

Gregory leapt forward, attempting a wild handspring. He nearly landed it as well, but his weight was too far forward and he slipped narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the way down. He let out a grunt as he landed against the mats.

“Greg!” Lucy darted forward, kneeling beside him, her heart pounding in her chest. “Are you okay?!”

Gregory blinked up at her for a moment before he let out a playful growl, snatching her around the waist and rolling quickly, cradling her body beneath his.

“Told you I’d distract you.”

Lucy relax again, feeling the anger and frustration from early seep out of her. “Yeah. You did.”

“Want to stay at mine tonight?”

Lucy nodded, “I don’t have any of my things though.”

Gregory rolled his eyes, “I’ll go and get them for you. I’m not scared of that fucking prick.”

“But you’ll have to be up early to train.”

He rolled his eyes again, “And I’ll tuck you back in and you can keep sleeping, and then I’ll make you a smoothie when I get back.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

Gregory leapt to his feet, lifting her easily to rest on his back, “Come on, let me distract you.”

And she was glad for once, that her uncle was right.