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theta-walti · 9 months ago

Text

All Of Me

Summary: Lucy and the reader met at a meta event and hit it off immediately exchanging numbers. The reader is performing in Barcelona, so she invites Lucy and some of her teammates at the concert. One of her teammates is a die-hard fan and would love to meet her, so Lucy arranges it. At the end of the concert, Lucy realises she's in love and confesses.

Warnings: fluff, just fluff

A/N: This is dedicated to Tuck, Shadow, and the anon who requested this, l hope you enjoy and thank you for patiently waiting 🫶

Word count: 4.4k

---☆☆☆---

"Do l have to wear this?"

you asked as you look yourself at the mirror, not completely confident of what you are wearing, you get that it is not any big event like the Met Gala, but it is an meta hosted event that you have been invited to, and your best friend has encouraged you to go as soon as you told her, so under her influence you have decided to do it.

First you went shopping for a dress, deciding that you don't need a makeup artist or any kind of stylist, deciding that you can get ready on your own, big mistake, you have absolutely no idea how to do fancy makeup, the best you can do is basic everyday makeup and that's enough for you, even on your shows and tours you didn't go very fancy unless you hired someone to do it for you.

"Come on! You came from London all the way to Barcelona to do this! And don't stress about it! You look great! Trust me, people would love this look!"

And you did, the moment you told your best friend that you had been invited, she immediately booked you a flight. She was very excited for you, and that alone also made you very excited.

Your best friend stopped what she was doing and walked towards you, then stopped when she was behind you, looking into the reflection. Her hands were on your shoulder and her head next to your own, she smiled.

"People are going to love you, don't you worry, everything is going to be just fine, relax and go enjoy okay?"

You nodded as you understood her words and relaxed a bit, just on cue your driver arrived and your phone ping in a notification, you looked at your best friend one more time with a smile before you put on your shoes and walked out the door, heading towards the car.

The car drive there was peaceful, and you liked that, some calmness before the whole event and the chaos that happens, when you arrived you took a deep breath before you opened the door, unknown to you there was a person hind the door and when you opened it the door has slammed into the person, and your hand flew to your face before you can even speak.

"Oh my god l am so sorry!"

You apologised as you looked up at the person, widening your eyes as you got a bit starstruck. Not only was the person a woman, but she was the most attractive you have ever seen, you stood there, a bit frozen.

"No no, it's alright, it happens"

The woman shook her head as she chuckled, she seemed carefree and forgiving of the accident, she seemed to have asked you something but you were too mesmerised to answer, as you shook your head to focus on the conversation again you felt a bit embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Your face heated up a little.

"l said, are you alright though?"

The woman said with a smile on her face and her eyes gazed into yours, her voice a bit louder as she crowd behind both of you got larger and larger.

"yes l'm okay, sorry that l smashed my car door into you again!"

You apologised again and the woman's smile got a little bit bigger.

"Don't apologise! It's okay! l'm glad your doing alright though!"

The woman's hand went on your shoulder for a little pat before she walked away, leaving you a bit surprised and stunned, not only by her looks but also by how she handled the whole situation.

---☆☆☆---

"hey you alright?"

You looked up from the voice and saw the woman from earlier, you smile and nodded.

"Yea, just bored"

You chuckled as put away your phone, you don't mind these events but the whole reason you don't usually go is because you find them boring, most times it will just be you alone, tucked away in a corner, scrolling though you phone or reading something, you think that must be why the women from earlier approached you, because she saw you alone.

You flashed a smile, hoping that she will stay and talk.

"Let me tell you a secret, l don't really like this either"

The woman leaned in and whispered, then she let out a chuckle, in cue pulling up a chair to sit in front of you, then she held out her hand.

"Lucy, Lucy Bronze, nice to meet you"

you tell her your name as you shook her hand, her hand is warm, not sweaty warm, but warm enough to make you feel comfortable. There is a moment of silence between you and her, before she spoke up.

"These events can be a bit overwhelming, don't you think?"

Lucy said, glancing around the room. You nod in agreement and chuckled, grateful for the opportunity to share your thoughts with someone who understands.

"Yea, definitely. Sometimes, it feels like everyone here is playing a role, and I'm not sure where I fit in.

"You said with a chuckle and Lucy's eyes soften with empathy.

"I know what you mean, l am the emergency plus one for my friend, but hey, we can be the rebels who break free from the script, right?"

You can't help but laugh at her suggestion, feeling a weight lift off your shoulders.

"I like the sound of that"

---☆☆☆---

As the evening goes, after a few glasses of champagne Lucy leans in, whisper in your ear as her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You know," she says with a grin "sometimes I sneak out of these events and go grab a burger. Fancy parties are overrated anyways, no?"

You chuckled and raised an eyebrow, if this is a way for her to ask you if you wanna leave, you would accept it, you never liked these kinds of things anyway.

"Are asking me out?" you reply with a smirk, teasing.

With a mischievous glint in her eye, Lucy tilted up her head a little and her lips also turn into a smug smile.

"it will only be if you want it to be" She stopped for a second before continuing, smirk still on her face. "come on" She said in teasing tone "l don't bite.....unless you want me too" She leaned back on the chair and her smirk widened.

You sat there, your face blushing before you regain your composure, back straight and a smile on your face, gesturing towards the exit.

"Shall we make a break for it then?"

Lucy's face turn into a grin before she stood up and took you hand, together you two sprinted out of the event, giggling like school girls as you head off into the streets of the evening.

---☆☆☆---

Not long after you and Lucy slip away from the event, you can't help but notice the city lights twinkling around you, the streets are alive with energy, compared to the event out here is a million times better, especially with a person you have just met but felt like you have known forever.

As you walk side by side, hands tingle, you notice the sky, a beautiful shade of blue, pink, orange and yellow. You stop and admire the sky a little more, as well as pointing up the sky so Lucy can see it too.

"The sky is so beautiful today"

Lucy looked up in the sky, also amazed by it, the view was incredibly stunning, absolutely gorgeous.

"Yea, very pretty" she agreed, unknown to you she was also looking at you when she said those words, but you were too mesmerised by the beauty of the sky to notice it.

When you two start to move again you decide that it would be best if you and Lucy find something to eat, since both of you haven't eaten since the event started and it has been well over 2 hours now.

"We should probably find something to eat, l'm hungry"

Lucy nodded in agreement and she took your hand again before she started to lead you somewhere.

"I know a place, but you have to trust me okay?"

You nodded and with an amused smile, wondering where she would lead you.

You followed her lead and walked for a while, at one point you convinced yourself that you two are lost in the city, but Lucy insisted that you trust her and let her lead you, so you did exactly that and trusted the process.

After a while Lucy finally stopped and you found yourself in front of a quaint little cafe, The golden glow of the light inside contrasted warmly to the darkness in the night. With a grin, Lucy holds open the door, inviting you inside.

"Welcome to our secret hideout," She declares with a playful wink.

You found yourself giggling as you stepped inside, the familiar scent of coffee and pastries washing over you. Finding a cosy booth in the corner, you decided to look at the menu b for a bit before Lucy spoke.

"You know there is something l wanted you to try, it's not on the menu, but l know they make it, do you wanna try it?"

You nodded and decided to take a leap of faith, and trust Lucy on this, so far she had not disappointed you, so why not trust her on this and see what she orders for you.

Lucy smiled and spoke again.

"l promise you will not regret this"

And with that she ordered a pasta dish in Spanish, since you don't know the language you have no idea what she is saying or what is ordering for you, after the waiter has gone there is a comfortable silence between the both of you, you noticed that she is staring at you so you choose to spoke up.

"You know, not everyday you get to have a pretty lady eating with you" You said with a grin.

"yea? And what about it?" Lucy said, teasing as she crossed her arms, her face also bloomed with a smile.

"Maybe l can get your number? So we can do this again?" You took your phone out and handed it to Lucy, hoping that she will put her number in.

"Your not as shy as l thought you would be ey?" She waved her hand as she took your phone and put her number in, when she gives it back to you your hands blushed and your faced heated up, the touch was electric, not like when she held you hand earlier, somehow that was different, that felt somewhat normal, compared to what you felt just now it is completely different.

When the dish arrived it looked amazing so you decided to give it a taste, as soon as the pasta touched your lips your eyes widened at how good it was. Your eyes also lit up, Lucy chuckled at your reaction and found it adorable.

"See l told you that you'll like it"

---☆☆☆---

Over the course of the next few weeks you and Lucy texted everyday, before your shows Lucy would text you good luck and you would do the same before all her matches, it felt like you have known each other for years even though you only knew each other for a few weeks.

After finishing training with the team one afternoon, Lucy entered the changing room to get changed. Suddenly, her phone pinged, and it was you who texted her. She immediately halted what she was doing and responded, her face blossoming into a smile in the process. Ever since that night, she has remained like this, and her teammates have noticed a change in her behaviour, particularly her mood.

"Anyone special in your life Lucy?" Keira asked with a curious manner. Even though they have broken up they have still remained friends, they just fell out of love, it was no one's fault, instead Lucy was happy for Keira that she found Laura, someone that Keira likes.

"no, not really" She tried to lie, but it didn't work. Keira had known her for years even before they started dating, so she can basically read Lucy like an open book. But before she could say anything a song of yours popped up on the speakers and Aitana spoke up.

"oh l love this song!" Aitana said with a big smile on her face, she also started to dance along to the music and sing along to the lyrics, other teammates laughed at her love for your song while Lucy couldn't stop but felt curious about it.

"You like Y/N's music?" Lucy asked, a bit surprised.

Aitana nodded before she spoke up.

"Yea, her music got me through the tough times, l also heard generally she is a really nice person, like her fans and the people around her, l wish l can meet her, but she is currently touring in America and l can't see her, but l am a really big fan yes"

After hearing this Lucy thought of an idea, but in order for this to work she needed to make sure that you are available and her other teammates agree with the plan. Just on cue your text has popped up on her phone again.

After my show in LA l’ll be coming to Barca, do you wanna come see me? You can bring friends too, l don’t mind xx

Perfect, Lucy thought to herself as she replied, first step done.

Of course, also, l got a favour, l got a friend who is a very big fan of yours, do you think you can do a meet and greet with her after the show? xx

You replied only a few seconds later.

I'm doing a meet and greet after the show anyways so maybe just to avoid the crowd we can do it before the show? xx

That's good, Lucy thought to herself and immediately start to type a reply

Yea, that sounds good, see you soon xx

As you both exchanged texts, a smile remained plastered on Lucy's face, refusing to fade away. You responded with the date and time, sharing in her excitement at the thought of seeing each other again. It's been a while since that memorable day, and the anticipation of reuniting has been building up for both of you.

After her first part of the plan is done she goes on to her second, and that is to text everyone. Fortunately, they all agreed to attend the concert, some even say that it is a wonderful bonding activity for the team. She also mentioned to the group that she planned this as a surprise for Aitana.

The team also agreed to the idea and decided to keep it a secret. Now, she just has to wait for the day to arrive.

—☆☆☆—

“Are you ready?”

Frido yelled from Aitana's living room, rushing her. Everyone else on the team had either driven To the stadium alone or driven by their loved ones. Ingrid, Mapi, Frido and Aitana are all going to the concert together, but Aitana takes the most time to get ready, even though she is the shortest of the group.

“Yes! Just hold on for a minute!”

Aitana yelled back from her bedroom, she was rushing everything, from makeup to getting dressed.

Frido rolled her eyes and Ingrid And Mapi both chuckled.

“It is nice of Lucy to do this” Ingrid said with a smile. Aitana has always been one of the very good friends they have, they can trust her on and off the field, she is always very supportive and cheerful.

“It is, but l wonder how she got the tickets, l heard Y/N's tickets are expensive and hard to get like Taylor swift ones” Mapi replied, curious.

Since you are a famous singer your tickets are both expensive, it's not what you wanted but because of the increasing demand for production costs that are associated with your concerts, the price goes up naturally, whether you like it or not, it was out of your control.

“She must have help or has connections, who knows?” Frido answered, checking on her watch to calculate how much time they have left, she predicted that they will be a bit later than everyone else.

Just after Frido finished her sentence Aitana finally came downstairs to meet them, she was all prepared with her green outfit and baseball cap. In your concerts the fans always wear green and a baseball cap, mainly because most of your album covers always have some kind of green in it, no matter it's the background shade or the main attention of the cover, so the fan adapted it and made it your theme, so whenever you have concerts or go on tours your fan will always wear green.

As for the baseball caps the fans found that you will always wear one during your performance, it has a meaning behind it but that's another story for another time. But the fans started to do the same, creating the tradition to wear their own baseball caps to your shows, they will also trade them and bedazzle them, along with bracelets, but that's just a normal thing for concerts trading bracelets.

Fan will often vlog and make videos on the whole process of attending your shows, from the start to the end, and you love watching them, you will like the videos and maybe comment something like “l’m glad you enjoyed the show! See you next time 💚”

“Tada! You like it?” Aitana said as she twirl around with her outfit. It also gave her an idea of whose concert she is going to but she's not sure, she's excited either way.

“Yes, now come along, or else we’ll be late!” Frido rushed with a smile on her face, she pushed Aitana out the door and into the backseats of her car, Mapi also sat in the back with her while Ingrid sat in the front and Frido drove.

—☆☆☆—

When they arrived and got out of the car other teammates noticed her and informed you, you start to walk towards Aitana.

“Hi, your Aitana right? I heard so much about you! All good things of course, and l heard from Lucy that you're a very big fan?” You held out your hand with a smile.

Aitana stood there frozen in shock while she's also starstruck, other teammates laughed at her reaction while you also chuckled.

“I think we broke her” Patri said as another wave of laughter entered the team, Aitana shook her head to clear up and she looked up to you, shaking your hand.

“Yes! I’m such a big fan! It's a pleasure to meet you Miss L/N!” Aitana said excitedly with a full smile on her face.

“Just call me Y/N, Miss L/N makes me feel old” You chuckled and let go of your hand.

“Can l get an autograph or a selfie please?” Aitana said in the same excited tone and took off her basketball cap and took out a pen, ready for you to sign her basketball cap.

“We can do both” You said with a grin and gently took the pen and basketball cap to sign, once you finished you took a picture with her and continued to talk to her for a bit, unknown to you Lucy was also watching you with a soft smile on her face, this does not pass Keira as she planned to question Lucy about later.

A worker from your show came over to you and told you the show was about to start, you nodded and thanked for the reminder before you said goodbye to the team, without a doubt you kissed Lucy's cheeks before you went and walked away. Lucy stood there shocked and her face reddened, butterflies in her stomach, while other teammates stood there in shock.

“You know her?”

“Are you guys dating?”

“How long has this been going on?”

They all asked questions while Lucy just stood there, completely ignoring them and her mind only thought about the moment.

—☆☆☆—

As the team started to walk to their seats Keira spoke up.

“So it's her that you’ve been head over heels for” she teased as she bumped on Lucy's shoulder.

“Oh shut up” Lucy mumbled with a shy smile as she continued to walk, the stadium is large so it takes a while to get to their seats.

“Hey, no judgement, l’m just happy for you, you finally found someone you like” It is true, ever since they broke up Lucy has been single while Keira herself has started to date Laura, she always told Lucy that she should put herself out there and find someone, so when Lucy found you Keira was over the moon for her.

“So how long have you guys been dating?” The question that Lucy dread to answer, you and Lucy have not started dating at all, just crushing as neither of you have the courage to ask each other out, or that's what she thought.

Before Lucy can answer the question the lights start to dim indicating that your show has started, and she decides to focus on your show instead of answering Keira’s question.

“What's up Barcelona! Let's get this party started!’’

You said in a loud and powerful voice as the crowd went wild cheering and the music from your first song of the night started to play, the crowd also started to sing along as you sang, it was a vibe, everyone was happy and content, it was good.

—☆☆☆—

After a few songs you stopped and said a few words.

“Now this song is dedicated to a special person, you know who you are out there, and l hope you like it”

As you scanned the crowd for Lucy, your smile grew wider when your eyes met hers. With locked eye contact, you confidently made your way to the piano and began to play the song.

What would I do without your smart mouth?

Drawing me in, and you kicking me out

You've got my head spinning, no kidding

I can't pin you down

These lyrics are dedicated to the weeks you have spent texting, you have been busy travelling around the world for your tour while Lucy has been playing football and Barcelona, she can't pin you down to see you while you on the other hand cannot stop thinking about her.

What's going on in that beautiful mind?

I'm on your magical mystery ride

And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me

But I'll be alright

It is a part of your plan to confess your love to Lucy with the song, and you wrote it as a surprise song for the fans as well, so it's a win-win.

My head's underwater

But I'm breathing fine

You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

'Cause all of me loves all of you

Love your curves and all your edges

All your perfect imperfections

Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose, I'm winning

“Lucy! She is basically confessing her love to you” Keira shouted through the loud venue.

Lucy is way too mesmerised by you to hear her.

'Cause I give you all of me

And you give me all of you, oh-oh

How many times do I have to tell you

Even when you're crying, you're beautiful too?

The world is beating you down

I'm around through every mood

This is cue back to the many times when you and Lucy facetime each other whenever there is something happening, no matter you both are feeling nervous or scared to do something, or when you or Lucy were crying, how you would always comfort her by saying that she is worth it and she will do the same thing vice versa.

You're my downfall, you're my muse

My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues

I can't stop singing

It's ringing in my head for you

My head's underwater

But I'm breathing fine

You're crazy, and I'm out of my mind

You felt like Lucy is everything to you, whenever what happens she was there for you even though you were long distance, she is your person and you are hers.

As you continue to sing the crowd along sing along and some of your fans predicted that this song is for Lucy, since there was a few pictures leaked online since the night, fans have started to shipped you two together online and tabloids has gone crazy with articles of you and Lucy, spreading rumours that you are together.

—☆☆☆—

After a few more songs and fans demanding a few more songs your show was finished, you went backstage and got surprised by Lucy and her teammates standing there, waiting for you, you immediately wrap your arms around her and closed your eyes.

“Well done, you have done so well”

Lucy praised you and you relaxed into her touch, her teammates awed at the sight, suddenly Lucy got on her knees and held up a makeshift flower.

“Y/N L/N, you have been a bit part of my life ever since l met you that night, you mean to me so so much and l love how you are always there for me, you are caring, funny and got damn it you are so attractive, will you make me the happiest woman and be my girlfriend?”

As the people around you fell silent, you stood there in shock. After a few heart-stopping seconds, you nodded, tears of joy welling in your eyes. Lucy's arms enveloped you as she spun you around, laughter bubbling from both of you. As she gently set you down, your lips met in a magical kiss, sealing a moment of pure happiness. Cheers erupted from the crowd, marking the perfect ending to your unforgettable moment.

---☆☆☆---

yourusername

Liked by lucybronze, keirawalsh, fridolinarolfo, marialeonn16, ingrid_engen, and 973,528 others

yourusername evening well spent 💚💖

view all 6,389 comments

lucybronze 🌷🌷🌷

y/nsultimatefan LUCY AND Y/N IS REAL! I COPY, LUCY AND Y/N IS REAL

keirawalsh couldn't have done it without me 😙

---☆☆☆---

A/N: l hope you like it! This one is the longest k have written 😅🤣 but it was fun!! The song l used is All of me by John Legend, l head this and got inspired.

This is theta, signing out, see you later!

#lucy bronze x reader #barca femeni x reader #mapi leon #aitana bonmati #fridolina rolfö #keira walsh #woso imagines #woso fanfics #woso x reader #woso one shot

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mustachrryluvr · 2 years ago

Note

omg imagine being in subspace and you’re just so incoherent and harry is just holding you and telling you how good you are for him and he notices how you’re trying to suck on his thumb and he just sticks it in your mouth and is like “is that what you wanted princess? you’re so good for me” like holy shit 🥺🥵#Concept

I saw some other accounts get this request, but, since I got it too, here’s my take on it!!

Word count: 2.6k

Warnings: smut, female subspace

Harry comes home unexpectedly and is insatiable.

— — — —

It usually took a lot for you to get into subspace, but Harry got you there so fast tonight that you’re not exactly sure how or when it happened.

Harry has been on tour lately, but you had some responsibilities to tend to back home that kept you from traveling with him for the beginning of the last leg of Love on Tour. You had just flown into London today as Harry had a show coming up in a couple of days in Coventry that you would be traveling to. You had hoped to be able to spend a travel day with him as he had planned to stop by London before the show, but he had gotten stuck in Germany for an extra day and would have to go straight to Coventry the day of the show.

It was only about a two hour drive from London to Coventry, but you hated travelling alone. It would just be you and the driver Harry had hired for you, which technically meant you wouldn’t be alone, but you preferred it be Harry with you. But you decided you would worry about that when the time came and just spend your evening catching up on some shows you were behind on.

You had stayed in Harry’s London home many times, but this was the first time you stayed there alone. The two of you had been dating for 2 years, so it wasn’t weird that he let you be in his space alone, but it still just felt weird to be there without him. So, you made sure you had things around you that made you think of him.

The first thing you did when you got to his house was ravage his closet for a sweatshirt that smelled like him. Then, you took a blanket and pillow from his bed and brought them down to the couch to cuddle up with while you ordered Chinese takeout from the takeaway shop the two of you always order from.

As long as you felt his presence around you in some form, you were okay.

While cleaning up the kitchen and putting your leftovers in the fridge, you swore you heard a door close. You paused for a minute, but didn’t hear anything else so you assumed the noise just came from the tv playing in the living room.

However, when you back to the living room, there he was.

“Harry?!” you said, jumping back a little, not expecting to see anyone standing in the room.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” you continued as you walked up to him.

Before you even made it halfway to him, he raced forward, grabbing you, and pressed his lips to yours.

As he’s pushing you backwards towards the couch, you try to mumble against his lips to ask him what he’s doing here but it's no use. “Harr-mmmmmm”, is all you get out as he pushed his mouth deeper into you. You feel the backs of your legs hit the edge of the couch and have no choice but to sit as he lowers you down. He continues to push into you until you are laying with him on top of you with him still devouring you.

Harry gets comfortable laying on top of you between your legs as you accept his deep kisses and wrap your legs around his waist. You feel him push his hips roughly into yours as he slightly lifts his lips off of yours. One hand is placed on your waist while he moves the other up to hold your jaw. You look at him in awe as he finally says his first words of the night.

“I missed you so much, pretty girl,” he rubs his nose against yours as he continues with his hips still rutting into you. “You’re gonna do whatever I tell you to tonight, okay? Be a prefect, good girl for me. Can’t go another minute without you.”

You’re completely immersed in the moment at this rate, and you subconsciously decide to ask him why he’s here later. Because right now all that matters is him.

You give him a small smile and nod at his words. “Mmmmm, already wet and excited for me, aren’t you lovie?” he asks, pleased with your reaction to his words.

“Always for you,” you get out before he’s crashing his lips back onto yours.

You’re not sure what has made him so insatiable in this moment. Yes, it’s been a while since the two of you have been intimate since it's been a while since you’ve seen each other, but this feverish desire to have you right now isn’t something you’ve seen from him before. Not that you’re complaining.

Harry and you were no strangers to playing around with dom/sub dynamics, and it is obvious that Harry wants to delve deep into that world tonight as he is rutting his hips into you so aggressively at this rate that you are already being stimulated enough that you could come if he kept it up. It was only when he was in his dominant headspace that he acted rough with you. You both enjoyed it a lot, but you also were very aware of your intimate moments and didn’t want them all to be rough and dominated by one person, so you often played with different types of dynamics all the time.

But, to be honest, “Dom Harry” was your favorite version. So, if he wanted you to be his “perfect, good girl” tonight, you best bet that’s exactly what he is going to get.

Being what Harry needed in that moment was all that mattered to you.

He had come on so strong and dominant right away that it pushed you into your subby headspace quickly. You weren’t near subspace yet, but you wouldn’t be surprised if you ended the night there as your need to please Harry and Harry only was already so strong.

Without another word, Harry quickly stripped you of your sweats and underwear before doing the same to himself.

His cock sprung up to his lower stomach, the tip an angry, fiery red as he growled at the relief he must’ve felt. You mewled and brought your eyebrows together in concern at the sight as all you wanted to do was help him rid himself of the pain he was probably feeling.

He could read your thoughts all over your face. “Aw, don’t worry about me baby. This sweet, little cunt is gonna make me feel so much better, isn’t it?” he says while stroking himself with his attention on your soaked core.

You moaned at his words. His filthy language always making your chest feel full in the best, most erotic way possible. “Please Harry, use me. I just want you to feel good…please, H,” you whine out to him in the most delicious way that almost has him losing all his composure right then and there.

Without another word, Harry leans forward over you, wraps your legs around his waist, lines himself up with you, and slams himself as deep as he possibly can into you. You both let out near pornographic moans. You at the painfully, pleasurable intrusion, and him at the sudden warmth and tightness that surrounded him.

He could’ve come right then and there, but he fought the urge by immediately pulling out and slamming right back into you.

You could barely even get any moans out as he kept his quick pace. You could only emit tiny whimpers before he was already pushing another one out of you. You had no control over your body in this moment and just decided to give it all up to him.

“Pretty girl just gonna let me use her like a rag doll, huh? Taking me so good that you can’t even control yourself,” he pauses to groan as you involuntarily clench around him in response to his words. “God-Fuck, baby. Cunt made just for me, I swear. I don’t know if I can ever go without.”

It was right then when he decided to switch his pace from fast and rough to slow and deep that you could feel it. You could feel yourself falling under, falling into your subspace. All you could feel was him. All you could hear was him. All you could see was him. You were absolutely consumed by him.

It usually took a lot for you to fall into subspace, but this time you fell quick, and hard.

You gasped airly and looked at him with big eyes and furrowed brows when he thrusted into you especially deep, hitting all your spots.

“Yeah, baby? Right there, huh? Gah..so good for me…” he sighed out that last part as he leaned further into you, enclosing his whole body around yours. Isolating you from being able to look at anything but his face.

“Harr…” you gasped out as you reached your arms around his back and clawed at his back, roughly grabbing at his shirt he was still wearing.

He felt you tighten around him as he watched your jaw drop and eyes clench shut all while he felt your fingers cling to him as if he would disappear. He knew then that you were about to come (which was for the best because he really couldn’t hold out much longer).

“Such a good girl for me, come on baby, let go. Be my good girl and let go.. y-yes that's it, pretty,” he moaned out as you let go, your mouth open in a silent moan as your whole body seized and convulsed under him in immense pleasure.

Harry followed and released into you soon after as your release completely sent him over the edge.

As each of you came down from your equally strong highs, you relaxed into the couch as Harry placed all his weight on you with his face resting in the crook of your neck. It made you feel safe when he did that.

After a minute of catching your breaths, Harry was the first to speak out. “Did so well for me, pretty girl.”

He paused for a moment, expecting to get a response from you, at least a blissed out hum. However, when he got nothing in response, he immediately was worried.

“Lovie?” Harry lifted his head and brought one hand up to gently smooth over your jaw. He finds you looking at him in completely awe and adoration. Eyes slightly glossy as you look deep into his eyes.

“Oh, princess. You’re deep, aren’t you?” He shifts his body weight onto his free hand placed next to his head so he can pull his weight off of you, but you immediately freak out that he’s gonna leave you. With a sad and worried look on your face, you flatten your hands on his back and hurriedly speak out, “No, no, stay. Please.”

“Sweetheart, shhhhh,” he quietly responds as he lowers himself back down on to you. It’s now that he realizes just how deep you are. Absolutely beyond floaty. He wraps himself back around you, but still keeps one and on your jaw as his thumb slightly caresses your cheek.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby, okay? Harry’s staying right here with you.” You sigh out at his words, closing your eyes again as you revel in the feeling of his body on yours and nuzzle your head into his hand that rests on your face.

Harry hadn’t even noticed you getting floaty and hadn’t expected it since it usually takes a lot to get you there. He wasn’t complaining though, because he felt so much happiness knowing that you trusted him so much to allow yourself to get into this headspace with him. He knew that being in subspace was a vulnerable thing and doesn’t just happen with any partner, so he was elated to know that he felt safe with him.

He just laid there for a moment, looking at you with adoration. Letting himself feel the pride coursing through him. Proud of you and your willingness to be vulnerable with him. “You did so good for me today, princess. Thank you for trusting me.”

After he spoke, he took a moment and realized he was slightly worried about you, though, as you were quieter than you usually were when you were in subspace, but just tossed it up to the fact that you got very deep very quickly and your system wasn’t used to that.

As he admired you for a moment, he noticed you nuzzle deeper into the hand he had been caressing your cheek with. For a moment you seemed to get frustrated and let out a small whine as he moved his hand along with your movements.

“What is it baby? Hmm, what do you need from me? I’ll give you anything,” he says as he moves his thumb that had been on your cheek to your bottom lip.

When he placed his thumb on your lip, you immediately opened your mouth with a gasp, your eyes going wide almost begging him with your eyes.

“Oh, lovie,” Harry chuckled, catching on to what you wanted, and allowed his thumb to slip behind your lips as you hummed and gently began to suck on his finger. “Is that what you wanted princess? You’re so good to me.”

Harry laid with you for a while as you continued to suck on his thumb. If that was what was going to bring you comfort in this moment, then he would let you do it forever. You had never needed this type of comfort before, but he was willing to give you whatever you needed. Aftercare was very important to the both of you, and this is just what it looked like for you today.

You must’ve dozed off a bit, because the next thing you knew, Harry was gently taking you into the bathroom where he already had a bath ready for you.

“Hi, lovie,” he softly said to you when he saw your eyes open up. They were brighter and less glossy now, telling him that you had come back to him.

“Hi,” you softly replied with a small, content smile on your face.

Neither of you spoke again as he undressed you and himself before placing you in the warm bath. He got in right behind you and pulled you into his chest where you immediately relaxed.

“You’re back with me now, right, baby?” he asked has his hands rubbed up and down your arms trying to keep you grounded with his touch after coming down from your floaty state.

“Yeah, Harr. Felt so safe with you, had to let go,” you responded quietly as you closed your eyes and enjoyed his touch.

“That’s okay. I always want you to feel that safe with me.”

You sat in silence for a few minutes before Harry picked up your loofa and some soap to begin cleaning you up. As he started, you spoke up, “Why are you home anyway? I thought I was meeting you in Coventry?” You turned a little to look at him, confusion written on your features.

He chuckled as he continued to clean you off, “Was supposed to stay in Munich an extra day for a meeting, but it was cancelled. Thought I’d just come home and surprise you.”

“Surprise me and fucking devour me is what you did goddamn. Bout gave me whiplash with how quickly you came at me”

Harry loudly chuckled at that, “Oh, shut it. I know you absolutely bloody loved it.”

You giggled before you responded, “Mmmm, yeah, I definitely did. Love you, bub.”

“Love you, baby.”

You two sat in silence throughout the rest of your bath before you retired to bed. It wasn’t long before you were tangled together, sleeping the night away.

— — — —

That was something… lol haven’t written smut in a HOT minute so I'm so sorry if it’s eh…also didn’t proofread so there are probs grammatical errors but whateverrrrr

Thank you for this request!! Feel free to send others! Please check my masterlist to see who I write for and my other works!

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polin-erospsyche · 8 months ago

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Benedict: Lord Kilmartin, our mother adores you. But our mother also has an obsession with great love stories.

Mondrich: What should he do? Give the man some practical advice.

Me thinking maybe he should bribe the whole staff of the Bridgerton household or hire a carriage and bribe the drivers. Because apparently 5 min in a carriage in the middle of the night in the streets of London and two fingers seems to do the trick and check the box of « great love stories » for Violet Bridgerton.

Also not Colin immediately after looking unimpressed by rocks thrown at windows and the most smug he’s ever looked because he has the love of his life and he’s getting married in the morning. He’s like « no, that won’t do, it’s not racy enough » 😏

#why is my brain my brain?#also I squeal every time I see engaged and in love Colin #this man is a wonder his smugness is rolling off his shoulders #like wow dude #and Benny boo just choosing chaos #your time is coming my love #polin #bridgerton #bridgerton season 3 #colin bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #will mondrich #lord kilmartin

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kamotecue · 1 year ago

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the transfer ✯ a. bonmati

pairing: aitana bonmati x reader

summary: the spanish defender tried to get you out of her mind, but she couldn’t. little did she know, she would see you sooner than she thought.

part two of here

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

you didn’t know how to feel about the transfer, it was a shocking move that no one expected. yet here you were on a plane to spain, more specifically barcelona to sign a two year contract with the team.

but thankfully, the team had hired someone to drop you off at the training grounds where you’ll sign the contract. after that, you’ll have the whole day to yourself.

as you arrived at the training grounds, you took a deep breath.

“nervous, ms. l/n?” the driver had asked as you chuckled at his words.

“just a little bit.” you timidly said, giving him a soft smile. he hummed at your words, completely understanding it.

“i’m sure you’ll do well, you had a fantastic season at arsenal.” he commented as you gave him a small nod. you had exited the car, and immediately someone had guided you to a room.

you talked about the contract, the essentials like the kits, the clubs sponsors and etc. you had finally signed the contract, posing for a few pictures as they would release it on their official social media page later.

“would you like to meet the team? i heard they are currently training.” a staff had asked, as you politely declined as you had to set up your apartment.

you bid goodbye before swiftly leaving but only to be stopped by a staff.

“what number would you like on your jersey?” she asked, as you gave her a small smile.

“number 17 is still available, is it not? i’d love to have that number.” you said, as she hummed in acknowledgment.

you had already set up the guest bedroom, and the kitchen. the living room was a mess as it had the cardboard boxes from the furniture you had ordered. your room was close to being complete, you just needed the finishing touch.

but the next day, you grabbed a light breakfast before heading to the training grounds. you had two pairs of football boots in your kit bag, followed by shin pads and a fresh pair of clothes. you were clad in the barcelona training kit, and it was quite stunning.

you watched from the corner of your eye as the team did their stretching. you were having a small talk with the physiotherapist about your recent knee injury that you sustained during the world cup, it was the final game against norway.

“muy bien chicas, tenemos un nuevo fichaje. [alright ladies, we have a new signing.]” jonatan, the head coach said as the players had stopped their stretching—a late signing? whispers had broke out, a late signing was always interesting.

“¿vamos? [shall we?]” he commented as you took a deep breath before making your way to the field, aitana’s eyes had widened on realization. while the rest looked a bit curious.

you weren’t from world class national teams like they were. but you were signed to a well known club in london, arsenal was always a talk of the town.

“este es y/n l/n, nuestro nuevo fichaje. y/n, puedes presentarte. [this is y/n l/n, our newest signing. y/n, you can introduce yourself.]” he gave you a small smile, as you softly nodded.

“hola, soy y/n. anteriormente jugé para el arsenal, y juego para el equipo nacional femenino de filipinas. [hello, i’m y/n. i previously played for arsenal, and i play for the philippine national women’s team.]” you fluently said in spanish, as a few players furrowed their eyebrows.

you had locked eyes with aitana as she gave you a soft smile, little did you know—that was the start of a developing relationship.

#aitana bonmati #aitana bonmati imagine #aitana bonmati x reader #espwnt x reader #woso imagine #woso x reader #woso one shot #barca wfc imagine

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agendabymooner · 2 years ago

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london boy ! lando n. x ofc (alessandro sister!writer!ofc)

"they say 'home is where the heart is' but god i love the english."

summary: nicola grazia 'cola' alessandro just moved to britain after tilly wolff's newly opened publishing company hired her as an editor and writer, so what's a better way to get to know your new home than to tour the city with lando norris? OR everyone thinks that the mclaren driver is seeing someone... and he proved to everyone that he is- he just wouldn't show her face.

content warning: based on characters from the rush series (see masterlist), fluff, ion even know if lando's english, use of explicit language, "private but not secret" kind of relationship, colabebe is a private account, daniel ricciardo being a good brother-in-law?? events have taken place post-wedding series.

note: i have a different part already made for this and i made that shit first before the actual introduction to the characters/storyline 😭 my brain is in shambles rn sorry guys. cheers xx

masterlist

liked by landonorris, mateoales, loricciardo

landonorris put them damn dogs away dawg 😩🐶 liked by colabebe

colabebe ur the only one i can hear bitching about it 🤭

landonorris do you have one more room for a person to spoil loricciardo nora_alessandro jacquelinalessandro

mateoales no gtfo no british parasites allowed

danielricciardo have a brother-in-law who feeds off your chanel addiction ✅ liked by colabebe

colabebe have a sister-in-law who keeps an eye on your pregnant wife whenever you're away ✅

danielricciardo i agree ✅

hellonsite you should donate some for charity 🙌

colabebe didn't u call me poor back in elementary for my tattered shoes?

user1 girl bffr 💀

nora_alessandro and now you're few steps away from buying your own chanel bag tesoro 🥰 liked by colabebe

[translation: extremely grateful for the opportunity that was given to me by @wolffpublishing, and for that reason, i will continue to thrive in my journey as an editor and author. thank you so much! hello united kingdom!]

tagged wolffpublishing

liked by danielricciardo, landonorris, alex_albon

danielricciardo LETS GOOOOO !!!!! liked by colabebe

tillywolff welcome to the team nicola! ❤️ liked by colabebe

colabebe thank you so so so much tils!

landonorris i cant wait to play muse for you shawty 😭 liked by colabebe

colabebe bold of u to assume i'm not writing about alex_albon

alex_albon yeah i appreciate that and all but isn't that lando's youtube silver plaque on your shelf?

colabebe 👀

landonorris SO YOU WERE JUST SEDUCING ME SO YOU CAN TAKE THAT PLAQUE??? i was so convinced you didn't have ur eyes on it yet here i am 😐

mateoales disgusting comment by lando aside, i think you can sell that plaque at a pawn shop

landonorris STOP ENCOURAGING HER TEO

landonorris you can keep that plaque ig 🤠 liked and pinned by colabebe

colabebe hehehe <3

landonorris its like i never win against any of you alessandros

loricciardo don't lie- you always get your way with me

landonorris so does she???

loricciardo she's my sister mate 🧐

georgerussell63 ur sister sent some wine in ur new flat. congrats! liked by colabebe

colabebe do you think u and her can send another one bc me and lando emptied it already 🙂

georgerussell63 i'm just a boyfriend, not jesus.

colabebe posted a story !!!

liked by carlossainzjr, georgerussell63, loricciardo

user1 your plaque and YOUR WHAT? 😟😳

landonorris did i stutter?

user2 i didnt know u have rizz like that 😱 liked by landonorris

georgerussell63 baffled. did you seriously just bring her in your office instead of actually touring london??? smh norris

landonorris absolutely not 😠 she went paddington shopping and to the places that had the sorting hat and everything 😤 i dont like these accusations george william russell

user3 oh no, no-rizz used the full name RUN PRINCE GEORGE🏃‍♀️

carlossainzjr i hate that 👌 thing lando so much liked by landonorris

landonorris sorry babe

carlossainzjr its okay babe

user4 arent we all worried the drivers know who she is?

user5 we? whos we? i like the chaos in the comments idk why u crying about it 🥰

danielricciardo i hope you can still attend the family dinner after calling her a thief 😇

landonorris she likes me so much she wouldn't dare uninvite me

user6 what if lando's dating one of daniel's in-law? 🤔

user7 YES QUEEN BE DELULU I LIKE THAT 🤤

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cloveroctobers · 7 months ago

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THE STRANGERS: SINNERS ON COURT

A/N: the point? I’m highly disappointed with the new release of the strangers and the summer is the perfect time for the horrors and THAT was just not it for me. I’ve also been strongly debating if I even want to dip into writing for challengers since it’s very layered but also MESSY and who wants to flop if you drop something but you don’t know unless you try right? So here’s me serving something since chapter 1 gave us…not much? I’m blaming the writers and not the actors ofc so they need to hire me for chapter 2 ASAP. So this is for my horror and challengers lovers I guess! I might have to do a trilogy myself depending how this turns out.

In short: Challengers meet The Strangers.

WARNINGS: mostly oc x art pairing with a hint of Tashi x oc! Language, slow burn/slow start? Slight graphic violence + animal brutality?—Not overly described but hinted + a LENGTHY read!

SYNOPSIS: Andromeda, “Andra,” Cove has always been the secret double to Tashi’s game even when Andra claims that is far from true. Although their friendship has been on and off since Andra transferred out of Stanford…everything always comes back to the court. Andra seeks out Art’s company to attend her grandfather’s birthday party back in her hometown in Virginia Beach not expecting Tashi and Patrick to show up as well considering the confirmed secrets the three have recently spilled. After the events at Andra’s grandfather’s birthday party, the four decide to take a trip up to Andra’s cottage to get reacquainted but soon find three more guests at the door who release nothing but terror that surely ruins the weekend.

.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *

“I just remember the knife plunging into him and the amount of blood that spluttered from his mouth as they flung his body to the floor…” Andra hears the intake of her breath before she continued, “his eyes still locked on me as if—as if he was imagining during his last moments what our life as a married couple could be like and I couldn’t help him. I couldn’t stop them from hurting the man I wanted forever with. They took that from me and I still feel that knife, shoving its way through my body every time I think of him. My forever husband.”

The host of the podcast speaks now, “Not long after Maya honored us with this virtual interview, she was found brutally murdered in her shared home with her late fiancé, Ryan. The case of the road-trip lovers still remains unsolved till this day.”

A nudge to Andra’s bare upper arm makes her flinch, bringing her back to reality as she glances to her right to see her good friend, Art Donaldson staring at her, freshly awakened from his nap. Andra allowed him to be her passenger princess since he had to take two flights to get here, which she was thankful for.

After he received more frustrating than devastating news: that Lily was biologically Patrick’s, Art fled to London to take a much needed break from his two opponents. Art held Lily so tight and even thought of taking her with him but had no energy to fight Tashi who made little noise at his departure. She knew he would be back. Andra received a text from Tashi before Art ended up calling her and it was so laughable that Tashi acted like she had everything so figured out.

[~From: Tashi Duncan.

I fucked up and it’s finally caught up…you’ll probably be hearing from Art soon. I know you’ll do me a solid and watch over him for me, won’t you Meda?

Purposely leaving Tashi on read, Andra didn’t engage in a conversation because not even three minutes later, Art was in fact calling her phone—which led to a two hour call.

“What the hell are you listening to?” Art stretched his arms back around the headrest, a frown in between his brows.

Andra glances at him while rolling her stiff neck around in the driver’s seat, “A true crime podcast…about this couple that ends up having to stay in an airbnb and they basically get slaughtered by three sociopaths in creepy masks.”

Art squints, “and you feel that’s appropriate for us who are currently on the road alone surrounded by nothing but trees in this hillbilly state?”

“Hey! You wanted to see the cottage. I was—

Art interrupts his old friend, “Don’t say perfectly fine staying with your mom and step-dad because you and I both know you can’t stand those bastards.”

Which was not untrue…

Andra’s mother was big on living up to “the Cove,” name and felt that her daughter was the biggest disappointment (compared to her older brother Ahmed) although she kept a tight smile on her cheeks when speaking about Andra to family members. Andra’s mother’s side of the family came from a lineage of historians and archaeologists and Andra’s grandfather was also a well known tennis player in Ethiopia. Half of Andra’s mother’s siblings were also in the athletic field, her mother was once a gymnast and even made it to the Olympics multiple times until she suffered a severe neck injury on her third attendance ultimately ending her career—you can just guess how well she bonded with Tashi more than she ever did with her own daughter—later becoming a athletic sponsorship director.

Andra laughs with a nod of her head, “yeah, you’re right.”

Art hums already being aware, reaching for Andra’s phone pausing the podcast to search for a playlist for this late night morning drive. “This is a mood killer…no pun intended so I’m switching this but rest in peace to Maya and Ryan.”

You’re resting your head back against the headrest, eyes focused on the road, “You’re lucky I’m getting tired and don’t want to argue with you since there are rules such as: Driver always gets to pick the soundtrack.”

“So you were listening to this to scare the shit out of you and keep you awake?” Art states with a curious glance at the braided haired woman, “pull over and let me drive the rest of the way then.”

Andra twists her lips around, ready to debate on that since she loved her “little,” coupe and actually loved being the designated driver. When she transferred out of Stanford, she may or may not have gotten into illegally racing a few cars for extra cash, after her mother put a hold on her card until she declared a new major that was satisfactory enough to her. If anybody needed a ride and fast then Andra was your girl…just try to keep that on the low, although it was public record.

A yawn ripped through her lips before she can even stop it. She didn’t even want to dare a glimpse at Art who now sat up with a fold of his arms. He was being such a dad and Andra found this funny, laughing to herself while Art patiently waited for her to say something.

“You’re too cute, Art.” Andra tells him, lolling her head to peek over at the now dark haired blond, “looking like a scolding parent as if I didn’t get enough of that at the beach.”

Art sighs at that.

For as long as Art’s known Andra, she’s always been this humorous vibrant personality but it only ever shined when she stood on her own. It dimmed a bit whenever Tashi took over and Andra made herself small enough so her own mother wouldn’t find something to pick at but that never did her any good. Andra only came out here to celebrate her grandfather, since she was never sure how many more years the old man had left in him and he was much softer on her than the way he treated her mother, which was a cycle for what Andra endured. Her step-father refused to see it, comfortable in his rose colored lenses while she also often had a bickering relationship with her brother, Ahmed who claimed she played the victim game whenever their mother said something that basically teared her down.

It was a tale as old as time.

Andra thought inviting Art out here was to mainly help him wrap his head around what he was going to do and it would be good to see each other face to face after all this time but turns out it was him being by her side that made things a little easier.

“What do you need?” Art decided to ask, keeping his eyes trained only on her.

Andra chewed down on her bottom lip as she whispered, “…for you to drive.”

Art dipped his head at this, waiting for Andra to pull over to the side. They unbuckled their seatbelts and Art was out into the night while Andra climbed over to the passenger side with her fallen over zip up hoodie. Shutting the door behind him, Art adjusted the seat with a small teasing smile at the bronze skinned woman who scoffed at him in return.

Before he switched gears he says, “for what it’s worth…I think you’re brilliant at whatever you do and the only thing that matters is what you’re comfortable with when you look in the mirror. Be proud of that.”

A watery smile goes his way and Andra lightly reaches over to shove his shoulder, “you’re disgustingly sweet and I’m glad you’re in my life.”

“I love you, you know that?” Art sends a lopsided grin back.

Andra breathes, “I love you too.”

And that keeps Art warm in the sixty-five degree summer night. He runs his fingers over the door and cracks the window open, allowing the air to brush against the side of his new do, loving to hear the sound of that. It felt good to hear sentiments being reciprocated verbally and Andra never had a problem letting it be known. The pair connected in that kind of way, the whole words of affirmation was huge in the way they wanted to be loved and can always count on each other to be so reassuring.

“Now how many more hours do we have to go?”

Andra who’s balled up on her side, peeks at her glowing phone that was plugged into her car informs, “just a hour and nine minutes.”

Art puffed out some air as he switched gears, then checked over his shoulder before pulling back onto the road, “It’ll be sunrise by then so…hopefully a gas station will grant us with it’s presence and we can fill up, grab some shitty coffee or energy drinks and be on our way to your fancy cottage.”

Andra rolled her eyes, “it’s nothing compared to your California barbie dream house.”

“Please,” Art snorted, “it’s far from that and just a place to lay our heads and raise Lily in…” He clears his throat, “it’s just a house.”

Andra knew Art was still coming to terms with it all. He already went off about it and what he thought marriage should be despite spending years in one. Art claimed he wanted a divorce but the next thing Andra knew, Tashi and Patrick were showing up without her invite. Art didn’t invite them necessarily but he did let it slip to Patrick where he was over texts and that he didn’t know when he was coming back. Art needed some time and he always felt like there was never enough in this world.

The next few moments consisted of Andra dozing off, her phone buzzing with notifications as Art got off the next exit after driving nine miles and headed to the gas station. Art grabbed his own phone, tempted to wake Andra but she looked so at peace with some much needed sleep. He quietly exits the car and makes his way to the dingy gas station, greeting the grunting old man with the Santa Claus beard at the counter before searching their inventory. Art decides against the coffee that has a few dead flies floating at the top and circled back to the fridges.

Once he finds the little that he wanted, he slides the objects onto the counter at the man with the unkept beard. A small smile graces Art’s lips in a attempt to be friendly but the man doesn’t budge.

“That’ll be it, thanks.” Art urges as he holds open his wallet, also hoping to get the strange man to get a move on so he can get out of here quickly.

The man grunts, reaching forward from his spot on the stool to bring the few items closer to his view before he slowly starts punching them into the register. Art’s patient as the man takes his time and before he can start looking around his gruff tone comes out, “that’s a pretty one you got out there, don’t ya?”

Art blinks, easily picking up at what the man is hinting at and chooses to ignore him, “I’ll need some gas too. $25 on pump three.”

The man hums to himself, reaching over some more to punch his dirt stained fingers into the buttons although his eyes keep darting out the window. This time Art follows the old man’s stare but only to check on Andra to see that she is still in fact asleep on the passenger side.

“Y’all not from around these parts are ya? Headin’ north might not be the best choice ‘round this time of year.” The man tells Art who feels his brows coming together in a frown.

He wasn’t concerned about how the man can figure out if he was from here or not. It was the same as visiting any place and Art’s been to many considering his status. It was what the man, Walter (according to his also grimy looking name tag) said afterwards.

“It’s a week before the holiday, I think we’ll be okay but thanks for caring.” Art keeps his calm, small smile still on his lips as he pulls out two twenty bills, noticing the: CASH ONLY sign, “keep the change and you have a nice upcoming morning.”

Art doesn’t bother engaging in more conversation, shoving his wallet back into his jogger pocket, and scoops the items into his arms; not asking for a bag either. Art half expected the man to latch onto his wrist and deliver another unsettling line. This time Walter just goes back to being silent and Art’s not sure which one was worse, as he steps away and exits the store.

The pinging of his own phone, doesn’t stop Art in his tracks as he continues back to the coupe. Opening the door, he dumps everything into the driver’s seat for now before moving quickly to the nozzle. The minutes feel long as Art darts his gaze from the changing numbers on the pump, to Walter’s stare from the store, and back to Andra whose body gently rises and falls with each breath.

With a click, Art brings his attention to the nozzle to place in its original space, then moves the drinks into the holders and tossing the few snacks onto the floor by Andra’s sneakers on the floor. He searches the glove box for some sanitizer, but no amount of alcohol can erase the internal feeling of something going wrong.

Art laughs to himself as Walter holds up a hand in their departure, feeling that he was just being paranoid since his nerves were already out of whack way before he got to this state. Art shrugs it off once the gas station is no longer in sight and feels his phone ping some more.

“Not now, Patrick.” Art bites with a scratch to the back of his head.

He doesn’t have to look at his phone to know that it’s Patrick. He’s been the main one sending texts at all sorts of times since Art left the country. Art was already irked before but now that he brought Tashi to impose on his time with Andra was just another thing to tick off the list. Andra was great at distancing herself from the two and was always vocal on her distaste for Patrick but this was still a process for Art.

You can only be on the court by yourself for so long according to Art Donaldson.

Andra Cove strongly felt different.

“Hey,” Andra’s raspy voice is followed with a grasp to Art’s shoulder, catching him off guard which makes her widen her half lidded eyes at his flinching, “…everything good?”

Art scoffs, “what? Oh yeah! I just thought southern people would have the best manners.”

Andra clenches the tiredness from her eyes, trying to comprehend what the blond was saying to her, “…what happened?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Art says, “take a look in the holder, I got your favorite.”

Peeking at him with one eye, Andra glances down at the yellow bottle and reaches for it with a smile that splits over her lips. “Pina colada Fanta? I can’t believe you remember that.”

“How can I forget? You talked about it all the damn time back at Stanford and would throw a fit every time the campus never had it.” Art briefly looks at the woman from the driver’s side.

Andra laughs as she squeezes it to her chest before placing it back in the holder, “appreciate you, bub.”

“Sure,” art replies, “try not to chug it all down for breakfast later and then complain about a tummy ache afterwards.”

“Are you this bossy with Lily?” Andra questions while getting ready to roll her body to face away from Art again.

She freezes a bit, wondering if it’s a sore subject to even mention the child’s name but Art just shakes his head with a snort, “I’m actually the fun parent, believe it or not.”

“Oh I do.” Andra’s turned back to the window again, reaching a hand back to squeeze Art’s thigh in comfort.

He watches Andra’s hand: her gel nails a combination of a summer orange sunset and magenta. Her pretty fingers are inked with delicate designs and Art finds that her touch radiates a warmth that he’s not used to. A touch that is gentle but firm enough that lets him know that perhaps this gloom season doesn’t have to last forever.

There’s some instrumentals playing throughout the car now but Art doesn’t seem to mind it. Andra’s hand is now back to her own lap as she catches up on another round of a nap and Art is left to his own thoughts and this horrible energy drink that tastes like battery acid.

“Jesus,” Art mutters to himself as he feels himself gag balling a fist up to his mouth, in hopes of settling his stomach on his own.

He glares down at the drink momentarily before his eyes connect with something in the road, which makes him tap on the brakes. They squeal some, which makes Andra pop up in bewilderment, hood to her hoodie sliding right off.

“Damn,” Art comments as Andra grips onto the dash, leaning forward to get a good look at what’s in the road.

Andra sighs, “it’s a deer.”

“Yeah but…it doesn’t just look like roadkill.”

The way its head is bent back is unnatural along with the amount of blood that stains the gravel. There’s traces of glass the decorate the ground which indicates it could have been hit, which was not uncommon. It was the way that both sets of eyes locked on the deer with squints in their eyes that they noticed multiple wounds on its backside that appeared blunt and not accidental.

Andra exhales, her side eye going to the sides of the car before her hands went to check that the doors were locked, “nope. Art, if you don’t float this shit, then I will.”

The glance Art shoots Andra’s way, confirms that twisting feeling he felt back at the gas station. He crosses his hands over the steering wheel, turning the car to go around the deer and picks up the speed just as the navigation system speaks telling the two which direction to continue in.

That was enough to keep Andra awake for the rest of the drive.

6:46AM

The old friends are pulling up to the Olive green and white cottage. Equally they both rest their heads against the seats, just measuring the amount of energy it was going to take to collect their things and bring them into the home.

“It’s nice.” Art compliments while Andra who rolls her head to meet his tired stare with her blank one, “what? I’m not bullshitting you, honest.”

“Uh huh,” Andra answers as she grabs her Fanta staring at it a bit with a smile, “c’mon Ken, let’s get inside before the bugs start chomping.”

Art teases with his own nickname, “can we check our surroundings first, Belle? I’m getting some red flags?”

It was the way he actually had a rose by one of his own personalized nicknames for Andra in his phone—the only one with a emoji by her name truly—that reminded Art of how much he missed their friendship.

“Is this more about the Santa Claus cashier or the stabbed up deer?” Andra asks with her hand on the door.

Art scratches at his brow as Andra’s phone dings, “uh…both?” He muttered while she deeply inhales, eyes going to the phone she was about to leave behind in the holder. Pulling it free, she unlocks the phone and reads the message with a scowl.

Holding the mic on the bottom right of the device, she speaks into it, “thanks for letting me know last minute, dumbass. Send.”

Shoving the phone into her hoodie pocket, she meets Art’s eyes, “Ahmed gladly let me know that the front porch light is still broken from the last time he snuck up here to use my place for who knows what.”

“I’ll take a look at it, just set a reminder.”

Andra nods, quickly doing so before pushing the door open followed by Art. He breathes in the fresh air which smells of pine and salt from near by water. It’s quiet besides the light chirping from some birds and there’s not many cars near by at Andra’s neighbor to their left.

“The Triplett’s come here in the winter months, they’re Minnesota natives if you can believe it.” Andra informs as she swings the strap of her duffle bag against her shoulder and moves the seat back into place.

Art nods, “so what you’re saying is…we’re actually alone?”

Andra shrugs, “that’s kinda what the cottage life is all about, babe. Don’t worry though, that’ll be ruined once your two favs decides to grant us with their presence.”

Art watches as Andra slams the door, leaving Art behind as she crosses the pathway towards the front porch. He’s scrambling a bit now, grabbing his own bag and locking the car. He jogs up the steps just as Andra is unlocking the door. “Did I mention that I’m sorry about that?”

Andra fans her hand as Art steps into the home, being met with the grand view of the water out back. She’s locking the door behind him and then responds, “you sure did but nothings changed.”

She hoist the bag on her shoulder as she breezes by that, “alright little house tour since it’s still early and we could both use some more sleep. Dining table is here, kitchen in the corner, sitting area to a pretty great view is up ahead with the best deck in this sleepy town right beyond those doors, bathroom is right by the last set of sliding doors leading out to the deck, and your room is right around that wall. Around from there is the actual living room and my room is upstairs. Please keep your shoes by the door.”

Art breathes out a laugh, “if I didn’t know that you were once a careless tennis athlete who chose cross country instead—out of all things—then went on to sports journalism later turned kinesiologist, I’d say real estate might be your true calling.”

Andra rolls her eyes with a laugh, “thanks for the whole run down of my résumé, you’re a great guest so far.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He winks as he moves to start unlacing his sneakers while Andra shakes her head, moving towards the couch with her back to the sliding doors.

She jokes, “I’m not on your salary so I don’t have a personalized chef or anything—

“Shut up, Andie.” Art playfully aims his shoe at the braided woman who grins at him with a wink, “I don’t need that special treatment shit, especially when it’s going to be over by next year anyway. I already know I’m gonna be taken care of by you.”

Since Art got his friendship with Patrick back, he seems to believe that he’ll be retiring soon and he wasn’t anywhere near forty just yet.

She shrugs her shoulders, “…all depends on how good of a guest you are.”

“I think I’m the best you’re gonna get…compared to your brother anyway.”

“Don’t even get me started on his bobble head!” Andra yells before continuing, “Now I have to check the house to make sure he didn’t ruin anything and try to hide it but at least he was honest about the light. The bare minimum! Please let me know if anything seems off in your room?”

Art laughs a little, knowing just how much Andra went at it with the older guy. Art never had any issues with Ahmed, he had an award winning smile and was definitely a charmer. The only thing Art didn’t get was why he didn’t have his sister’s back when it came to their mother? Probably because he got all the credit of being the “good” kid and didn’t want to ruin that but that was selfish. Art didn’t know what it meant to be a sibling but he figured it should be some sort of union, even if you had to Duke it out from time to time.

Blood was supposed to be thicker than water is what they say.

Art was an only child so he’s always been on his own but he felt like his late nana was the closest thing he’s had as true family.

Art zones back in on Andra stepping back into his view, “…what I was meaning to say before my mind goes all over the place is the kitchen should be pretty stacked although we’re only going to be here for a day or two. I had someone make sure of it so we don’t have to make any special trips but if you want to later—

“Andie,” art calls out to her making her blink and realize that she’s talking a lot, something she does when she’s stressing or needing some rest, “we’re good, get out of here.”

Her hands are on her hips now, “Are you trying to bully me, Donaldson?”

“No?” Art blinks.

“That’s what I thought. See you in a few hours and holler if you need anything.” She starts to walk off but Art follows her.

“…you do have weapons here right?”

She glances at him over her shoulder, “duh, who the hell do you think I am? Oblivious?”

“…what’s your middle name again?”

“Good night, art!” She waved her fingers in the air while Art is smirking.

“It’s morning!”

“Then tweet, tweet, bitch!” She calls back over the wall before she disappears and heads up the stairs.

Art can’t help but to let the bubbled laughter fly past his lips, heading to the right where the bedroom is waiting behind the sliding barn doors. Dumping his bags on a near by chair, he plops down on the side of the bed, resting his hands on his knees as he soaks in the stillness.

Flinging his body sideways to lay down, after staring out at the view for some time, he pulls out his phone to see a few texts from no other than Patrick.

The most recent says that Art’ll be seeing him and Tashi by the early or mid-afternoon at the latest, depending on when Tashi was ready to go. All Art did was like the message, placing his phone back on his belly before he closed his eyes.

Art is awakened by the stench of food and the goosebumps that decorate his skin. Rubbing at the new texture on his skin, he pushes himself up into a sitting position and peeks through his slumber eyes to get a sense for what time it is.

11:52AM

He gets to his feet, rubbing at his eyes and leaves his phone behind face down on the bed. Leaning in the doorway he looks both ways before stepping out onto the dark wood floor and heads back towards the front of the cottage. He spots Andra immediately facing his direction in the kitchen, leftovers of a sandwich in her hand while she’s sipping at some sort of smoothie.

“Morning sunshine, how did you sleep?”

Art leans against the counter from the opposite side and grins, “like a baby.”

“See the magic of this place yet?”

“I still need some convincing…maybe the last bite of that sandwich will help?”

“Oh you mean this one? That’s full of grease and has the potential to clog arteries? Aren’t you an athlete?”

Art gives a straight face, “doesn’t mean I can’t have cheat days and when did you become my trainer exactly?”

Andra pops her lips at the taste, leaning forward to mockingly toss the rest of the sandwich into her mouth.

Art leans away from the counter, “alright, okay. Your hospitality actually sucks and I rate this establishment zero stars.”

“You can’t chop me.”

“I just did.” Art states matter of factly as he starts making his way into the kitchen.

Andra scrunches up her nose, “always such a little baby! There’s one waiting for you in the toaster oven and I’ll be reporting this to the blogs.”

Art argues, “And you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

“Classic answer,” Andra circles around Art now in her flowy white skirt to plop on the couch dramatically with a hand tossed against her forehead, “I thought you said you loved me, Arthur?”

“Oh c’mon, not the whole government name drop, Andromeda!” Art drags out her name around stuffing his face while Andra laughs laid out on the couch.

He preferred “Art,” over his full name any day and that’s what everyone’s known him as before he even made it big. That of course didn’t apply to his own parents who felt it was foolish to call their son by a nickname rather than what they gave to him at birth. They were less hard asses than Patrick’s parents but when it came to titles that’s where he and Andromeda related.

“I’ve been added to the group chat thanks to your side piece.” Andromeda waves her phone in the air.

Art takes her leftover smoothie and plops down beside her, sipping at and ignoring her raised brows, “what side piece?”

“Mickey mouse.” Andromeda tells as she shows the dark blond her phone, “Patrick says him and Tashi are now on the road so we should see them around 2 at the latest.”

Art slowly finishes chewing, elbows on his knees as he’s in thought, nodding at this information. He can’t exactly say he’s thrilled to have them here—as bad as it sounds considering 1/2 of the pair consists of his wife but he’ll keep that to himself.

Andra sits up then, shuffling to sit thigh to thigh with Art as she nudged his shoulder, “Take a minute and get ready, I’ll be outside enjoying the sun until I give you the rest of the tour.”

He questions with a lopsided grin, “there’s more?”

“Always.” She flashes her teeth at him, leaving Art to peer down at her lips briefly before she turns her head to look at the waterfront for a bit, leaving Art to analyze the profile of Andra’s face. The little chocolate chip mole by her hairline of her straight backs is something he always found cute no matter which way she wore her hair. Just like her finding the spec of honey brown on the side of his dark blue hues in his right eye.

She gets up, using his shoulder for leverage before she breezes by him smelling like caramel, peonies, and pink pepper—a mixture of many scents that matched her body chemistry quite well. Art lets out a long sigh, leaning back against the couch after she slides the door closed but that doesn’t stop him from watching her walk across the deck to sit pretty on the wicker egg chair.

Some time later Art makes his way out to the deck, freshly changed and dressed for the remainder of the day. He meets Andra out on the deck, leaning over it just as she’s getting off the phone.

“I don’t care when you bring it, Ahmed. All I know is that it better be back here by the time I come out here again. Yeah, yeah. Bye!” Andra ends the call while there’s amusement on Art’s face while he takes a spot right next to her.

He glances at her before looking back at the view, “are you out here tearing your big brother a new one?”

“Nooo, what gave you that idea?” She’s sarcastic although her smile is as sweet as can be.

She spins to rest her elbows on the banister, eyeing Art’s appearance. He meets her stare, raising his brows in question as she says, “The facial hair is a good look on you. What’s next? Growing your hair back out?”

Art snorts, “nah, I think that’s over for me. Too much maintenance.”

Andra hums as she waves him along, “let’s see the dock…wait did you put your sunscreen or bug spray on?”

“Uh no?”

“Not on my watch, Donaldson.” She charges right by him to the egg chair, coming back with a dropper, “hold out your wrists.”

“What is it?” He asks but complies as the oil is dropped right on his skin.

“Now pat it against your neck and ankles then finish with your wrists.” She instructs, “the mosquitoes are devils by the water and hate lemongrass.”

Art shakes his head with a smile, “whatever you say, mom.”

“That’s okay, clown me all you want but you’ll be thanking me by the time we’re inside for the night, free from bites.” She pats his waist on her way by to put the dropper back.

Together the friends make their way down the set of stairs to the lower level. They walk across the grass where Andra points to their left, showing where the shed is full of equipment for water activities.

“Paddle boarding?” Art quizzes as he caressed his facial hair, “I can’t picture it.”

“What? I can’t have other hobbies?” Andra asked, hands on her hips while staring at the man underneath her eyelashes.

Art shrugged, “course you can. I just remember a certain lake party where you were lounging by the lake instead of being in it.”

Andra shields her eyes from the sun as she turns up her glossed lips at the memory, “I’m surprised you remember that when you had your tongue down Divinia Alonto’s throat.”

“Did I?” Art inquires, “I was honestly so worried about my new friend not having a good time.”

“And keeping Patrick from getting his ass beat by one of those guys that’s probably a linebacker now.” Andra chuckles as she leads the way up the small hill towards the dock.

The air is warm just as the light breeze while the two travel some more together. It was funny thinking about it all, how Andra became acquainted with the pair, first watching them at the US open since she was visiting Ahmed who recently moved out to Queens, New York. She would later end up at Tashi’s match a week later, sitting on the bleachers not far from Patrick Zweig and Art Donaldson. She ended up introducing herself to the two prior and congratulated them on their win just for Patrick to invite her to a lake party they were attending that night.

Andra said she would think about it just as her pink LG chocolate phone was ringing. It was Tashi. Art even took it further to round off a number Andra can reach them at, leaving her to just stare at them in amusement.

“Aren’t you gonna type that in? Or do you need me to do it for you?” Patrick attempts to flirt but Andra just peers at him from underneath her oval purple and black glasses.

Andra laughs, “I’ve got it but if I need someone to lift a finger for me, I know just who to call. Later.”

“Later.” The boys echo as they watch her walk away.

“She wants me, dude.” Patrick leans back into Art’s shoulder as they both watch her hips sway, doing a signature spin while answering the phone.

“Yeah right, in your dreams!

“Hey,” Art speaks, his eyes were off to the right, “you never mentioned a court.”

Andra deeply exhaled as they both face it now, “that’s because I try to forget it every time I’m out here. After I purchased this property, my mom made it her mission to have one put out here as some sort of gift to me? Honestly it feels like torture porn to me but I shut my mouth and never use it.”

Art turned his eyes into slits, “if you don’t use it then somebody definitely does. What do you get up to out there in Alaska?”

It still shocked Art to hear that Andra settled out in Alaska these past few years. Of course she still traveled all over working with the most popular athletes, this he knew because he seemed to get the runaround whenever he mentioned her but Tashi deemed it as Andra still holding a grudge with her cutting Andra off after she transferred.

Art believed it was possible but eventually they reconnected instead.

“Lots of things,” Andra answers, “but you’d have to come out there and see.”

Art hums, “that another invitation?”

“As if you need anymore.” Andra looks at him and he holds her stare.

“…I think,” he starts as he leans towards her a bit, “I’d like to see if you still got it.”

Andra scoffs, “I don’t need to prove a damn thing.”

A smile twitches onto his lips, “sure you don’t but we’ve got nothing but time?”

“And we can enjoy that time by the dock underneath the sun. I know you like to get a little tan for the summer.” Andra argues with a cross of her arms.

Art rolls his eyes, “if you’re a chicken shit just say that.”

“If you wanna see me in a skort just say that.” Andra fired back, standing on her toes a bit to match his height.

Art presses his tongue into his cheek, looking off to think about it, “fine, you caught me! I’d love to.”

And the way he’s speaking to her makes Andra bite her bottom lip and Art knows he’s got her. He’s smirking as he tries to reach for her folded arms in attempt to hug her but she playfully slaps his hands away and points at him in warning.

They’ve worked up a good enough sweat on the indigo blue court. Art’s serving with the ball at the neck of the racket before he sends the ball over. Andra has no issue matching Art’s rhythm, he’s found his spark again but Andra knows he’s been tired of professional tennis. It just took him much longer than it did Andra. She knew right from the beginning that it wasn’t her sport although she was phenomenal at it.

It was a shame really because it seemed effortless. So causal she swung but it was always fast, her brows remained turned inward while the rest of her face remained calm despite the usual routine of pulling her bottom lip underneath her teeth. Art is so lost in the swing of things, picking up on Andra’s own tics that he tries to go for the ball at the last minute. Andra pulled another one of her moves, almost like a ballet twirl spinning just as she smacks the ball back to Art.

Stretching his arm just too far, Art hisses as he feels his shoulder sting almost like static radiating down his arm followed by a burning sensation. Andra sharply inhaled, eyes widening as she tosses the racket to the side. Moving around the net she’s down on her knees as Art lays on his back panting.

“Hey,” she speaks touching his shoulder which he lightly grips, “Let me.”

Carefully he moves his fingertips out the way, choosing to stare up at the sky for a while as Andra feels around. Art groans as she touches just at the crease of his armpit, surrounding by his old wounds.

“It’s a muscle spasm,” Andra informs as she digs her fingers along his skin, “breathe through it, Art.”

He pinches at the bridge of his nose, doing as instructed and croaks out, “my shoulder stood no chance, I should have known, you still got it and do that famous spin of yours.”

“Whatever,” Andra dismisses, “now look at you, all messed up, old man.”

Art huffs, “well I wouldn’t pick anybody else to look after me.”

Andra shakes her head with a small smile as she raises Art’s shoulder while still pushing back at the stubborn spasm. When Andra shakes his shoulder out to help relax it, she goes to raise it again but he’s sitting up now with a wince. With one hand he slips against the small of Andra’s back, making her inhale as she looks over at him.

“Am I hurting you?” She softly inquired, quickly checking in but Art shakes his head.

He’s pushing her to his lap and whispers into the summer air, “Never that.”

Before his lips are placed right on her’s.

Their noses are smashed together as their lips work together. Andra makes the move to grip Art’s jaw, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. He rubs at her back and squeezes her hips, matching her speed as if time is all they had.

Abruptly she pulls back, holding her lips while Art peers at her in alert. His eyes are even darker now but the spec of gold in that one eye is bright.

It’s such a pretty sight with his lips pink and panting.

“Art…what was that?” She questions behind her hands.

His hands don’t leave her frame as he breathes, “that was something I wanted to do since I hugged you for the first time in years at your grandpop’s party.”

She tilts her head at this news and moves to sit beside him against the hot court, “You’re married, Art.”

“I don’t think Tashi knows that.” Art mutters while Andra sighs.

“So this is about revenge?”

Art shakes his head, “no. It’s about finding what’s missing and you’re it.”

They both lock eyes and Andra doesn’t realize she’s leaning in until Art is kissing her again, pushing her back onto the court which burns her bare back in more ways than one. She hisses and Art pulls away and sits her up immediately as he cups her face, “…can we go inside?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Their grins are wide as they scramble to their feet like two old friends secretly up to no good. The excitement was real, doing something that most would frown upon but the pair were not the only two that moved to their own drums.

Andra’s helping Art remove his shirt, he playfully whines more than needed as she pulls it over his aching shoulder but reveals he’s just messing with her and it’s not anything he can’t handle. His hands find comfort right on her ass, pulling her lips right back to his as he lays back against the couch. It’s when he starts bucking his hips against her’s after she slips her tongue into his mouth that Art knows he’s in trouble.

“I’ve missed you, Andie.” He tells her as she presses kisses down his neck.

She pulls back, “how much?”

He managed to flip the two over, sliding his hand up her leg brushing her white skirt all the way up as he presses his front against the only cloth that’s left covering her. “That much.”

“Then I think we need to fix that, don’t you?” She quizzes, holding his face in her hands again.

His lips are pressed to her’s and she nips at his bottom one and just as he’s reaching to shove down his own pants, there’s knocks at the door.

Both of their gazes turn to the door and Art sits up.

“Special delivery!” A familiar voice screams behind the door.

Art clenched his eyes shut while Andra sits up on her elbows to pull her skirt back down.

“Sorry,” Art kisses her cheek while Andra just secured the satin pearl colored tie around her braids before handing him his shirt back.

Art can already see Andra closing up and he hates to see it. She waits for him to fix his shirt again, this time with the tag in the right place, and wipes the gloss from his lips before making her way to the front door.

Yanking the door open to stop the pounding at it, she spots a grinning Patrick with shades on leaning against the door. “Mickey! You don’t have to kick my door in to announce your arrival, we can hear you from up the street.”

“You sure? Didn’t want to startle your quality time, sweetheart.” Patrick clicks his teeth with a wink as he leans forward to smack a kiss to her cheek before squeezing his way by.

Andra yanks Patrick by his backpack and scowls at the back of his neck, “Take your shoes off in my house, asswipe.”

“Yeah, whatever you want. Got it.”

Andra steps onto the porch now, spotting Tashi with her phone pressed to her ear pacing back and forth. Patrick snickers as he makes his way over to Art, arms held out ready for an embrace but Art just gives him a side eye before choosing to move into the kitchen.

Tashi lifts her head just to meet Andra’s eyes on the porch. They watch each other, Tashi half expecting Andra to send her a Princess wave like old times but she doesn’t. Once Tashi starts crossing the lawn towards the steps is when Andra turns her body to lean her back against the front door. She sees Tashi’s mountain of bags resting on the porch and raises her brow at them.

“Hey,” Tashi greets shortly as her heels click against the porch.

Andra dips her head, “Hi, Tash. Have a nice ride up here?”

“I never would have picked this hick town for you even if it’s part time, what were you thinking?” Tash asked as she begins moving her bags into Andra’s home herself.

Once Art comes over, he silently grabs the last bag to bring in before putting space between him, Tashi and Patrick.

“I was thinking, my money, my choice.” Andra replies as she closes the door.

Patrick lets out a low whistle, arm stretched along the back of the couch, “easy with the claws ladies.”

Tashi glares, “Shut the fuck up, will you?”

“Don’t start.” Andra warns the dark haired man who just shrugs, peeking over at Art with his tongue out in silent laughter who’s shaking his head at him.

Tashi surveys the cottage, heading to the waterfront view while looking left and right. “So what’s the sleeping arrangements?”

“Art’s on this level, I’m upstairs, Pat and you can have the couches.”

Patrick bounces on the one he’s sitting on now, “cool.”

“Right,” Tashi snorts, “So the room with the barn doors? Got it.”

Andra sends a look to Art who just moves the tension from his jaw. Tashi picks up on this and says, “what have you two been up to?”

“Yeah! It’s a nice set up you got here, Andra! I’m sure there’s plenty and nothing to do.” Patrick’s fishing but they’re not taking the bait.

Art decides to change the subject, “have you two eaten?”

“We stopped at that one place for breakfast before we left but I’m always down to decide what’s for dinner.” Patrick admits while Tashi rolls her eyes.

The now blonde haired woman brushes by Andra, “I’m going to bring my things into the room while you guys figure out how to entertain yourselves.”

Andra follows after Tashi as she’s going back and forth, bringing her things and arranging them and Art’s things. Andra sits on the edge of the bed waiting for Tashi who raises a brow at her. Art lets out a long exhale as he listens to the door slide closed and Patrick gets to his feet to place his backpack on the floor. Stretching his arms above his head, he moves towards the wall where the front door is to mess with the record player.

“Just make yourself at home, why don’t you?” Art mutters to Patrick as he flicks through some records and picks a random one to place down.

Patrick shrugs, “what am I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for you to talk to me?”

“You’re lucky that Andra even opened the door.”

“What is this? You finding a new team member to replace me? Don’t forget that I’m always your number one.” Patrick leaves the needle off as he burns his stare into Art who’s resting his hands on the counter.

“Are you fucken serious right now? No way are you saying that to me when you did what did behind my back, again.”

Patrick rests his hand on his chest, “you’re acting as if I knew, which I didn’t, and what we’ve been over already! I would never try to take Lily away in the first place, I’m fine being uncle Patrick and I’ll still love her regardless.”

“Well shit, thanks for your permission!”

In the room, Tashi has now taken a space on the bed, arms crossed while Andra stands in front of her. “…Do you really think being here smothering him is the best choice?”

“Smothering?” Tashi scoffs, “Art fucked off for two weeks and he folded right into your arms. Whether you like it or not, I’m his wife and he’ll always need me.”

“Tashi…you had him believing that lily was his—

“She is!” Tashi exclaimed, “you honestly think Patrick would be a good father and god forbid a husband? They’re not children, they’re men and should start acting like it. Those white boys wouldn’t be shit without me and you know it, which is why you walked away.”

Andra frowned, “I don’t have anything to do with your relationships with Pat and Art so I don’t appreciate you trying to wrap me into your bullshit. I’ve been out the mix, sis. You’re already in my house, which takes a lot of balls from the both of you after you did Art dirty.”

“Art, art, art, art, art! Jesus! Did you fuck him already? Was it even better now than back when you were nineteen?”

One thing about Tashi, she knew how to be so disrespectful. However it had no effect on Andra as a smile split over her lips at the blunt short haired woman. It wasn’t a secret that Art was Andra’s first before he decided to start going after Tashi. They were each other’s flings and that was good enough for Andra as long as he wasn’t screwing anybody else that didn’t deserve him. It was her mistake then and maybe it would have been her mistake now if they had more time on that couch.

She didn’t need Tashi picking at scabs.

“Would that make you feel better?” Andra asked with a tilt of her head, “voluntarily giving us a pass for what exactly? To even the score?”

Tashi smirks, “You were always my greatest weapon and I don’t get even, I win.”

Patrick stands on the other side of the counter, taking Art’s glare, “I don’t know what you want from me, man. We were back to normal, great even! I’m at my best and you’re going out with a bang, don’t let this ruin how far we’ve come.”

Art huffs, “I’ll decide.”

“Fine, whatever you want but don’t make it another thirteen years.” Patrick snaps, “…where’s the booze?”

Andra pats at her scalp in frustration, “if you have any respect for me as a past friend, you’ll do right.”

“What’s your definition of right?” Tashi rolls her hands around trying to understand, “Leaving when it gets tough and having unrequited love?”

“What’s yours?” Andra debates stepping to Tashi who gets up in her face, “Cheating on your husband, having a baby on him, lying to him for years, and still walking around like the mean girl you are? Let me tell you something Ms. bob, we’re grown now and it’s tired.”

Tashi sizes Andra up, “it’s cute that you think you have a back bone now. Took you long enough.”

“Keep trying me and you’ll see just how that back bone works.”

Tashi kisses her lips at Andra who steps back, “great talk.”

“You haven’t changed and I don’t think you ever will. I’m glad I walked away from this friendship years ago, you make me sick.” Andra snips over her shoulder as she reaches for the handles.

Tashi fans her hand, “oh fuck you and your excuses. You’re just looking to point the finger at every bad guy to make yourself feel better about your lack of drive for anything.”

“What?” Andra whips around, “You’re the only miserable one I see here. At first I thought it was ambition but that turned into greed and then control. You’re just mad that I would no longer let you diminish my voice. I’ve had enough of that with my own mother! I’m not tennis, I’m more than that, which you’re not and that bothers you so maybe you’re the one that’s really sick.”

Tashi claps it up while Andra stares up at the ceiling, “glad you finally found your voice and told me how you really feel in person, instead of laying it out to the public like you should have. Only took you forever.”

Andra shrugs her shoulders, “if I have something to say, I’ll say it to your face.”

Tashi hums as she steps to Andra this time, brown eyes scanning over her features,“Tell me more.”

“I don’t want to do this with you anymore, Tash.” Andra’s hands are up in the air, “I removed myself from the situation long ago and after this weekend here, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We just don’t mesh and that’s okay, I have boundaries and you have crazy standards that you expect everybody to follow. Art and I were cool before you came into the picture—

“Aht, don’t do that. We were high school friends before Art. Why should some man come between us?”

This was true, Andra and Tashi were the best of friends anyone can have as teenagers starting from their junior year. This wasn’t their first fight and wouldn’t be their last. They were in different groups by the time Andra came along since she was from Virginia but her family moved out to California when she was fourteen. They knew of each other since they had gym class together but didn’t get the chance to form a friendship until they were sixteen.

“You don’t get it,” Andra sighs, “it wasn’t just Art. It was everything for me and it would have killed me so I chose a different path. If you wanna be mad at me still over that, fine. We can’t change each other.”

“You honestly think that’s what our relationship was?” Tashi pries, “it was about challenging each other and shaping each other into the best of the best.”

Andra tightens her stare, “So tell me Tash, do you like the result?”

Tashi inhales, thoughts wandering as there’s more harsh knocks at the door. Andra deeply frowns figuring it’s Patrick who locked himself out as she looks away from Tashi, sliding the doors back to peek out. She can’t see from the doorway but she also doesn’t hear Patrick or Art talking.

The knocking sounds again and Andra steps out, followed by Tashi. Andra sees Art walking over to the door while Patrick brings his attention away from tinder on his phone.

“I thought it was you,” Andra tells Patrick, shoving his shoulder, making him lift his head to peek up at her.

Patrick snorts, “nah. My serve is more baseline.”

Tashi walks along the path between the couch and sliding doors, peering at the view of the afternoon sky turning lightly yellow against the blue. There’s birds in the sky but they’re flying further away. All of their heads turn back to the knocking, leaving Art to unlock it before Andra tells him to ask who it is.

Her attention is pulled away as Patrick starts carrying a conversation about dinner but she’s curious to who’s at the door. She see’s Art standing up straight before closing the door, locking it while holding a piece of paper.

“Who was it?” Patrick examines as Art makes his way over to the three still holding onto a fallen paper.

The blond shrugs, “some girl looking for some other girl.”

“God, I hope it didn’t slip to the paps that we’re out here.” Tashi actually seems uneasy about that, perhaps this news was more damaging than she was letting on.

Art replies, “Yeah that would not be great.”

“I mean…would it be the worst?” Patrick sits up on his elbows, “The press is hot right now and I’m the hottest topic—which I should be.”

“Yeah mainly for having a kid with your coach, who happens to be my wife.” Art retorts, “You should be so proud.” He flicks the paper into the air, leaving Patrick to reach up and snatch it.

Patrick turns his attention to Andra who’s sitting on the other side of the lounging shaven man, “…you never told us this was some religious town.”

“What?” Andra frowns, trying to not dissociate.

Patrick holds the paper up in the air as if it’s show and tell, “Latter-day saints? Don’t tell us you invited us here to join a cult?”

“I didn’t invite you!” Andra declared while Patrick flicks the paper to the ground and raised his hands in surrender.

Tashi asks Art, “what’s the name of the girl she said she was looking for?”

“It wasn’t Tashi.” Art notifies, “don’t worry.”

Tashi breathed out a laugh, “me? Never.”

Art moves to sit at the dining table glancing at the three in the room. Andra’s gone quiet, Patrick’s humming a tune while he’s messing around with his phone again, and Tashi is burning her stare into him. He knows they’re going to have to talk at some point during this trip but for now?

“Andie and I ate not too long ago but nows a good as time as any to decide what to eat for dinner. So…any suggestions?” Art questions, eyes moving around the sitting room.

Tashi mumbles that it doesn’t matter, arms crossed as she also seems to have a lot on her mind. Patrick is sitting up against the arm of the couch now, blabbing about many options that most likely wasn’t in the fridge or freezer. Art’s eyes are on Andra as she moves to pull the large curtain over the sliding doors, which makes Tashi eye Art watching her as well.

Andra moves back to the kitchen, pulling out some already prepared items from her assistant to rest on the counter. Patrick’s back at the record player and Tashi has now taken Patrick’s spot on the couch.

The braided woman flinches as she feels hands lightly grip her hips. “Hey, are you okay?”

Andra nods, “yeah…I think so. You?”

“Ask me tomorrow,” Art whispers into her ear.

Andra utters, “just need to get through tonight.”

“Yup. Perhaps slow and steady wins this race?” Art guesses as he swiftly presses a kiss to Andra’s hairline by her personalized chocolate chip.

When he leaves her side, Art catches Patrick’s eyes who has his brows raised at that exchange, waiting for Art to tell him something with Art’s own eyes. Art just shifts his blues, leaving the main area to take a minute to himself. That doesn’t last as Patrick shortly follows after Art, seeking answers about what his plan was with Andromeda.

Tashi turns to Andra as Patrick disappears into her shared room with her husband.

“Guess it’s our turn to be fucking housewives, huh?”

Andra leans her elbows along the counter, feeling a cramp in her stomach while she breathed through it, “the real ones just exited the scene.”

Tashi laughs at this as she pushes to her feet looking for a drink. She wouldn’t exactly call this, “happy hour,” but it’ll do for now. Andra knows it’s bad luck not to cheers and Tashi Duncan was one of the last people she wanted to do so with but Andra had a feeling that she didn’t want anymore bad luck.

So the glasses clinked while Patrick and Art hashed it out behind the barn doors. Outside of the cottage by the water, stands a darkened silhouette underneath the slight shade of a dogwood tree, just lurking and waiting for the right time to rally.

Dollface would soon be ready for the next task once the hours passed with some friends to bring to the match.

.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *

Continue with my summer anthology writings & prompts here.

#challengers movie #challengers #challengers 2024 #challengers x reader #art donaldson #art donaldson x black!reader #art donaldson x oc #art donaldson x female reader #mike faist #tashi duncan #tashi donaldson #tashi duncan x reader #tashi duncan x oc #patrick zweig #the strangers #the strangers chapter 1 #queued #summer writings

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