#i just made those new ones last year i think and i Do still like them but aoh. they're inaccurate now hfvsh

[c4tluver02]

best friend!Steve Harrington x shy!reader where you get asked on a date, something that has never happened before/never been something he had to worry about because usually the combination of you being so reserved and him hovering kept men from trying any funny business. Steve knows the guy, hates the guy, and spends days trying to convince you not to go on the date (because he doesn’t like the guy… certainly could not possibly be for any other reason…) and eventually you confront him and ask why he cares so much and tooth rotting fluff ensues. Steve dials the guy’s number himself after so you can cancel.

last minute cancel

wc: 3k

cw: mentions of cheating (not from Steve or r), hurt/comfort, angst?, fluffffffff, happy ending, maybe Steve being rude?

a/n: thank u sooo much for the request<333 i hope you enjoy it :D!!!!

Steve has been your best friend for years. 

You met him in high school, just before his “King Steve’ era, and from the moment you two became friends it was like you were glued to the hip. 

During school he was boyish and charming, always alluring to anyone near him.  But with you he was different. Not that he wasn't any of those amazing qualities, but he was far more than that. With you he never faltered when it came to taking care of you. Thinking of you before himself, making sure you are always okay, it was a protectiveness that you were continuously thankful for. 

No one else got this version of Steve, not even Kathy or Stella. The two recent girls on his roster. However recently Steve told you that Kathy dumped him because you went to the movies with them so maybe it’s just Stella. 

Unlike all of the other girls in school you weren't all over him, which could be the reason all those dates were shocked– feeling like they were interrupting something when it came to you two. Which in a sense they were. You and Steve had a way of doing things, a system that has been going for about 5 years. So when Kathy threw a fit about movie nights it’s not even an issue for Steve to call her the next morning saying they won't work out. 

You were too shy to do the things Steve did, it’s what made you two work so well together. He would go to the parties and date the girls while you sat there listening. Interested in all the gossip you're not involved in but still get to know about. For some reason people tell Steve everything, never thinking when he gets home that he would call you to spill all the secrets. 

–

Both of you sat on Steve's bed with your first bowl of popcorn laid between the two of you. The movie was ready, all you had to do was press play, but you had just gotten to his house so now is the time he tells you all the gossip. 

You felt like you were already watching a movie, the way Steve was so animated with his storytelling. His eyes would go wide as his hands would copy the words he says. You could sit and listen to him tell you stories for hours, he reenacts things so well and all the drama added is the cherry on top. 

Only once he was done talking it was your turn, and truly you don't know how you've kept this from him for this long. You have never been able to lie to Steve, not that this was a lie, more of a kept secret. Still something happened to you and you didn't immediately call Steve about it which was weird for you. 

But a guy asked you out a few days ago and it was something so out of the blue for you that you just had to tell Steve in person. Knowing your best friend will have the best reaction to your exciting news, along with help on how to go about it. 

So when he went quiet you began to start. 

“Okay so y’know how I was at the bookstore the other day?” You ask, the smile you have on your face makes Steve smile. This must be good, he thinks. 

“Yeah, you wanted to find a new diary right?” 

“Exactly, and while I was looking I was just so into the journals, I guess, and I took a step back and a guy caught me!” The way you gleam almost fools Steve in that moment. 

“Did he catch you or did you just walk into him and his body was right there?” Steve doesn't really know where this conversation is going but he’s not sure he likes it. 

“His hands literally wrapped around my waist Steve, he caught me, like my literal hero. Anyways, I ended up talking to him, and you’ll never guess what happened!” 

“Uh, he said sorry for being in your way?” His eyebrows raise with the question. 

You roll your eyes at his antics. “No. He asked for my number. My number, Steve.” 

“And did you give it to him?” 

Steve hasn't really had to deal with you and guys. In school guys knew not to ask you out, Steves hovering too extreme for any of them to try anything. And now that you are out of high school, you don't go to any gatherings to meet new people. A little bit too much of an introvert for it. But now Steve isn't always around, no one knows their place when it comes to the two of you. Kathy was pure proof of that. 

“Well yes, of course. It’s not everyday a guy asks for my number.” You’re kneeling on his bed now, so hyped up from your retelling of your own story.  

The way he doesn’t really move makes you a little worried. You always give a great big reaction to his stories, let alone his dates. A little cheer or a smile would help you out. 

“Well who is this guy anyways, you get a name?” 

“Um, Dean Mills.” You say drawing back to your conversation with him. 

“Dean Mills as in from English class that always snored?” His hand goes to his mouth in a faux gasped expression. 

“I don't know Steve, I wasn't in that class with you.” Your body deflates from his witty comeback that is unhelpful in every way. 

His questions have ruined your mood, you back hits his headboard and your irritation spikes just a little higher. He isn't being supportive at all, if anything he’s just making fun of you. It’s understood to not take you seriously, you never get asked out by guys. But does Steve really think you’re so awful that the idea of a guy being into you seems so funny?

“You do know that he totally got kicked from the football team for sleeping with all the cheerleaders right?” Steve sits up now, a hand pressed deep into his mattress to hold himself up. 

“You don't even know if this is the same guy Steve, how are you just gonna write off the first guy I tell you about?” 

The fold of your arms and the slight pout of your lips has Steve feeling bad. He’s really trying to look out for you here, nothing more nothing less. 

“M’sorry, honey. You're right, has he called you yet?” 

It takes you a second to respond because no, he hasn't called you yet. But the last thing you want to do is tell Steve that, it would just further prove his stupid point. 

“It just happened two days ago Steve.” You say with a huff. Movie night doesn't feel needed anymore. You weren't even supposed to have it today, normally it’s saturdays but Steve has a date on saturday so you moved it. One that you helped him pick an outfit for, with no quips or jokes coming from you. 

You pull yourself to the edge of his bed, not really wanting to leave your hang out, you even wanted to sleep over. But right now Steve doesn't feel like he has even a hint of happiness for you. It feels devastating, and you don't even know why he’s being so unsupportive. 

“I think I should head home.” Your legs dangle from the edge of his bed, his long legs get into it way easier than your short ones. 

Steve's sigh is loud from behind you. You can also hear his hand run over his face and into his hair. He didnt mean for you to get upset with him, but if he has the right Dean Mills, which he 100% does, he knows this guy is just using you for a hookup. 

“I am just trying to make sure that you’re doing the right thing, going out with this guy.”

You still don't look at him when he says it. The only thing that could be heard in his room is the sound of you putting your shoes back on. It’s a quick motion, like you positively need to get out of there and it makes Steve’s heart break in two. 

“Why is it so hard for you to think that a guy could just like me?” Your head turns sharply to look at him, finally. But the look on your face makes him wish you didn't, your brows are furrowed, eyes squinted. 

“Honey that’s not..I meant that-” 

“I’ll see you later Steve.” You say it so quickly as you leave his room that he almost misses it. The slam of his front door, however, can't go unmissed. It’s loud, saying everything that needs to be said. 

Yeah, maybe Dean hasn't called you yet, and so what if he was some douche in high school? Like Steve wasn't? You weren't the same as you were in high school, people change. The growth from high school to now is what you hope to see from people and Dean seems to have grown, unlike Steve and his stuck in set ways. 

It was really heartbreaking that Steve just wrote this whole thing off. You never do that to him, despite how badly you want to. Stella isn't lasting you knew that the second you met her. And the same thing happened with Kathy, but did you tell him that? No, you stood there and helped him pick things out for these girls who didn't know him half like you did. 

–

That night Dean had called you asking you out on a date. It was in two days, at a nice restaurant that just opened but had great reviews. You said yes, trying to wipe everything that Steve had said to you from your mind. There was no way his opinions would ruin this for you, the first date you've had in a while. 

 Steve even tried to call you for your nightly call but you didn't answer. Too upset with him to act like everything was normal and hear about the things he did while you supported every breath and movement. There was a split second that you forgot you were mad at him, it was right after Dean called you. Your next immediate response was to dial Steve's number to tell him how Dean had officially asked you out, but you didn't. 

Once morning reached your window the light flowing through your room, waking you up, your anger still sat in your chest. Heavy and painful just as it was the day before. Possibly even worse since the loud sound of a ring stopped you from going back to sleep. 

The phone on the wall was too far, and your body was still limp with the grip of sleep trying to pull you back in. You let the phone go– trying to find that dream that left you all too soon. But it rang again, somehow even louder this time now that your foggy mind didn't halfway block it out. 

Your body brought you to the wall before your mind knew where you were, picking up the phone. 

“Hello?” The grogginess in your voice was present, anyone on the other line could tell you had just woken up. 

“Hey, sorry did I wake you up?” Steve's voice boomed through the phone, loud and perfectly clear unlike your mumbled words. 

“Steve, it's so early.” Your words come out in a stern tone, like you could lecture him on why he shouldn't call people early in the morning because they might just be sleeping. 

“I know, I'm sorry, but I really just needed to talk to you.” 

He could apologize, tell you how bad he feels about the way he reacted. Maybe talk to you about the things you could wear and say to make the date go well. Or at least that's what you hope he'll say, just wanting to talk to your best friend about an important thing that happened to you. 

It’s what makes you stay on the phone, humming as if to say ‘go on’. 

“I talked to Stella about Dean, I was just trying to see if she knew anything about him and what he's been up to y’know? And she told me that she saw him at a party cheat on his girlfriend with three other girls. Three girls!” 

Of course Steve asked Stella, he had to know everything about this dude. And thank god he did or else you would be going out with him. He would hate to see you heartbroken over some idiot who didn't deserve you in the first place.  That was his whole intention with all of this, nothing else. 

“Is that really what you called me to say?” The new tone in your voice is laced with venom. No longer stuck in a sleepy state. 

“I am just trying to protect you–” 

“I don't need your protection Steve, next time you call I hope you have something a little more sincere to say.” And the line goes quiet. Only a quiet beep letting him know you hug up on him. 

What Steve didn't get to tell you was that question to Stella got him another slammed door. Apparently asking the girl you're seeing about another girl isn't the best idea. But Steve had to do it, for you. 

Everything he does is for you. You're on his mind the second he wakes up from his dream about you and right before his eyes shut letting sleep take him away. The way you care about him way more than any of his dates ever would, or how you sincerely understand him. Why he is the way he is and how despite him not being the best, you don't run from him. Always sweet and generous in every sense of the word. Steve doesn't think he could ever live without you, even with this day and a half long fight he finds himself struggling to get by. 

And deep down you felt the same. Maybe that's why this all hurt so much. 

This realization in Steve was what brought him to your doorstep the next day. A beautiful bouquet in his hands as an apology along with a script he's currently going over in his head as he waits for you to open the door. That is if you open the door. 

Steve knows he hasn't exactly been fair. Telling you what you should and shouldn't do has never been something he does regularly. 

Too stuck in his own mind he misses the sight of you coming down the stairs through the window. But when you open the door with your hair curled and a nice dress that snaps Steve right out of it. The lipstick you have on makes the blush on your cheeks pop, a perfect match. 

“Steve, I really don't have time, I have a date and–” You say, turning your head to look at the time on the clock near you. 

“Cancel it.” Steve didn't even know you had a date, you hadn't told him. 

“What?” This makes you look back at him quickly. Any quicker and he thinks you might have given yourself whiplash. 

“Cancel it. Stay with me tonight, please.” His plea sounds so heart wrenching. As if it might utterly ruin him if you left. 

“Steve, I can't just cancel, it's like 40 minutes.” Your wide eyes widen even more at his begging. 

“He’s not gonna give you what you need. He doesn't know you or get you like I do and no one ever will. It’s me and you and you know it.” It comes out in one breath, quick and hurried. He removes one hand from the bouquet and grabs for your own. You don't move away or even flinch at the touch. 

“What about Stella?” He could almost laugh at your question, how could you even think about that right now? It proves his point of you always being so thoughtful, even when he didn't deserve it. 

“Stella was never anything serious, nothing like us. I promise just cancel, we can talk everything out. I just need you here, with me.” His grip on your hand tightens, not wanting you to pull away. Almost as if the tighter he holds onto you the less likely you will leave. 

And after a minute of thinking all you do is nod. It’s enough of an answer for Steve as he elopes you in a hug, your arms immediately follow suit as they wrap around his neck. You can feel the leftover water from the flowers on your back and it makes you shutter. 

“You got me flowers?” You ask, letting go of the hug to get a good look at them. 

“Yeah, I wanted to say I'm sorry, for y’know, being a ass.” 

You look even prettier with his flowers in hand, it somehow matches your dress perfectly. As if you two were the ones that had a date and planned it all out. And maybe you should, you did get all dressed up. But for right now that seems quite far away. 

“I can't believe I’m canceling.” The laugh that comes out sounds genuine like the situation you're in was only possible in your dreams. 

“I can cancel for you if you want.” His hands on your hips feel so soothing and relaxing in this moment, like he was the perfect thing to ground you. 

“Yeah? You’re gonna tell Dean how I need to cancel because a much cuter boy came to my door with flowers?” Your arms revert to their spot around his neck, flowers in hand and all. 

“I mean it is the truth isn't it?” You throw your head back as you laugh, Steve pulls you closer and when you are face to face with him again your noses almost touch. 

“I’d hate to lie.” The smile you show is paired with a shrug. 

“Well, let's get to it honey.” Steve says letting you go, squeezing your hips lightly before letting you turn to go inside. 

Let’s just say Dean didn't really appreciate Steves message. 

[purplecoffee13]

NFWMB - PART SEVEN*

Summary: “When Y/N confesses she needs Harry’s toolbox, he comes rushing to give it to her…” (I’m sorry this summary is so fucking stupid lmfao😭)

Wc: 5.2k

Tropes: boxer!Harry x innocent!reader

Warnings: mention of sexual harassment/assault, bit of angst, SMUT, praise kink, sub/dom dynamics, teehee🤭

A/N: helloooo as promised, here is a new chapter of NFWMB in celebration of me getting my bachelor’s degree (woo🥳)! Thank you for being patient with me💞 I love these two they are so cutiepatootie, so happy reading!

Series Masterlist

General Masterlist

Harry was the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.

Ever since Y/N had told him she wanted him, he had been floating on a cloud of ecstasy.

Sure, his original intention was to do it all the old-fashioned traditional way. Take her out to dinner, take it slow, really court her. But when Y/N said she didn't like the pressure of dating, he knew he needed to act quick in order to not fully lose her. He'd do anything in any way she wanted, as long as he could get a chance to show her how much he wanted her.

Now, this was definitely not the traditional way, but Harry hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. The sole idea of Y/N in that intimate capacity had the ability to send him to the edge. He needed to actively seek distractions in order not to think about it all day.

But when he wasn't thinking of Y/N's beauty or the agreement they made, his mind would float to that pathetic rat that had dared to make her feel unsafe. That had... touched her. He couldn't think about it too long either, not wanting to do anything rash and disrespecting Y/N's wish for him to let her handle the situation.

He just felt so angry and frustrated, and he wanted to her help her so bad, but he just didn't know how. Teaching her to defend herself was the help he was able to give for now, but he was hoping for her to let him in and let him offer her more emotional support as well.

All in good time, he thought.

For now, he was trying to focus on giving his client all of his attention while he was doing his exercises. He was a personal trainer for a select group of people who paid a significant amount to get the most detailed training, so the time-slots with these clients required his full focus.

"All right, good form Brady. That was the last one for today. I still see some restraints when you jump, which is coming from a lack of focus on hip exercises, so we're going to be incorporating those from Friday onward. Sound good?"

The sixty-five year old man smiled at Harry. He had come in here about four months earlier, wanting intensive personal training after five years of not working out because he had decided he was going to run a marathon by the end of the year. He'd later told Harry that his daughter was training for the marathon, and since they used to run together when she was little, he'd wanted to surprise her. Harry immediately signed himself on as Brady's personal trainer.

"I mean that's what I pay you for, right?" Brady joked, wiping off some sweat with the small towel around his neck. Harry huffed out a laugh, humming in agreement and handing Brady his water bottle. Suddenly, he heard a 'ping' sound coming from his pockets.

Turning on his phone, Harry frowned at seeing he had two message notifications from an unknown number.

Unknown

Heyy, I'm so sorry to bother you but I have kind of a weird question.

My bathroom cabinet door just kind of fell off its hinges and Sophie said you had a toolbox. And since I do not have one of my own, nor know how to fix this, I was wondering if maybe you had time to come over and help me somewhere later today?

This is Y/N, by the way. Sorry I should have started with that.

Harry hadn't realized how wide his smile was until Brady flicked him with his towel.

"What are you smirking at?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow. Harry looked at his client and noted the playful glint in his eyes. "I thought you were a bit different the last few sessions, now I know why."

Harry rolled his eyes, not really saying something. Brady sniffed a laugh and turned to gather his things.

"If she makes you smile like that then you better go for it." He said, and Harry was glad that Brady wasn't looking at him because he felt his cheeks turning a little red. "Because I did, and let me tell you... best decision of my life."

A wide smile spread on Harry's face as he listened to the advice of his client. He didn't even try to deny it, just took it with a smile and a nod. Brady only winked at him before walking off to the lockers. Harry immediately opened the chat with Y/N and put her into his contact list.

Harry

Hey

Of course, I'm free for the rest of the day, so just let me know when I can come by.

He quickly shut off his phone before he could overthink his text too much, and scurried off to his office to stress out in private. By the time he whipped his phone out again, he had a text from Y/N.

Y/N

Really? That'd be great, thank you!

I'm working from home today so you could swing by at like 4 if you want?

Fuck yeah, Harry thought.

Harry

Alright, see you in a bit.

With toolbox.

Y/N

Thanks! You're a life saver!

Harry beamed the whole way home. In his car, while he sought the toolbox, as he put the car in the toolbox. He just couldn't stop being giddy over the fact that Y/N had called him a life saver. It was kind of terrifying; how much an impact she had on his mood. Then again, he was too damn happy to worry about it.

It was only a fifteen minute drive from Harry's place to Y/N's. He wondered how it was possible that they'd only recently crossed paths. Maybe it was some kind of faith. Maybe they had come into each other's life at the exact right time.

Harry forced himself to stop pondering as he rang the downstairs doorbell. Taking a deep breath, he waited for Y/N to open the door. When the buzzer went off, Harry was quick to push the door open and hurry upstairs to her apartment.

Y/N was standing in the door opening, smiling as Harry walked up to her. She gave him a small wave, cracking a smile out of him too. She was just so adorable.

That was until his eyes traveled down to her legs, which were barely covered. She was only wearing tiny shorts and a large cardigan. And there was absolutely nothing adorable about those legs.

"Hey." She said when he was finally close enough. Her gaze dropped down to the toolbox in Harry's hand. It was a gift from his dad that he had gotten when he'd just moved out, but the box was huge. It did come in handy whenever something broke, though. Harry barely ever had to run to the store.

"I said bring a toolbox, not the entire hardware store." Y/N joked, stepping aside to let him in. Harry faked a gasp as he stepped into the apartment, his stomach swirling at the memory of the last time he was here.

"Are you making fun of my toolbox, Y/N?" He raised a playful brow, the insinuation floating between the two of them. Y/N stepped closer to Harry.

"I wouldn't dare to make fun of your toolbox." She replied cheekily. Harry's eyes slightly widened at her words. He had expected her to get a bit shy like she always did, but he was pleasantly surprised by her surge of confidence.

It took Harry a few seconds to regain himself, delaying his response. "So, where's the broken cabinet?"

Y/N pointed to a door on her right, and Harry immediately walked towards the bathroom. She was really looking too beautiful today but he needed to focus on fixing this cabinet before he could divide his entire attention to every inch of her skin, despite how badly he wanted to abandon everything and just spend the rest of his life in these four walls admiring her.

He went to work quickly, and Y/N brought him a glass of water while he began rummaging through the toolbox to find the right hinges and screwdrivers. Y/N sat leaned forward on the edge of her bathtub, head leaning on her hands as her stare burned a hole in his brain. He felt his ears turning red at the feeling of being watched by her, but he liked it too much to say anything about it.

"All done." Harry said after ten minutes, turning to see a gaping Y/N looking at the fixed cabinet door. She gasped as she got down to the floor and sat next to Harry, fascinated by the working door.

"Oh my god, you're so fast!" Y/N said with a wide smile as her fingers grazed over the new hinges. Just for good measure, she opened and closed the cabinet. Her gaze flicked over to Harry, the closeness between them suddenly very obvious.

"Thank you." She said softly. Her shy smile made the urge to kiss her almost too big to bear. Harry found himself automatically starting to lean in when Y/N suddenly pulled away and turned back with a glass of water in her hand.

"You didn't drink anything yet." She stated, her big eyes looking up at him. Y/N was back to being her skittish self, and for some reason, when she nervously bit her lip, Harry couldn't handle it anymore.

Leaping forward, he grabbed her face and put her lips on his. Slightly taken aback by the impact of the movement, Y/N let out a small noise, combining a yelp and a moan, but she immediately kissed him back. It was only because Harry felt something dripping from his elbow, that he leaned back from the phenomenal kiss.

Splattered all over Y/N's cardigan was the water that had once been in the glass she still holding. It must've tipped over when Harry launched toward her. She looked down and let out a small laugh.

"Oh, you made me all wet!" She giggled, trying to wipe over her cardigan as if it would help the situation. Harry groaned at Y/N's words, his cock suddenly straining way too much in his pants.

"Fucking hell..." he cursed under his breath, hoping it was subtle enough. Y/N heard it anyway, a frown on her face as she met the eyes of the pained man in front of her. Only when a few seconds had passed, she realized the double meaning of her sentence.

"Oh." was the only thing that came out of her mouth as she stared blankly at Harry. Slowly, he began to worry. Had he made her uncomfortable? He couldn't read her face expression.

He was about to ask if everything was okay, when Y/N's hands slowly floated to the button of her cardigan. Harry's eyes followed suit, and his heart rate began to pick up as she began to unbutton her cardigan.

Harry had to actively keep his mouth closed as he watched her take off the cardigan to reveal nothing but a yellow lace bra underneath it. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to touch her in any way he could, but he waited. Either for a signal or to ask for her consent. Just because she was taking off her cardigan didn't mean he'd suddenly gained the right to touch her.

He'd do anything to earn it, though. He'd get on his damn knees to beg for it if he had to.

"Better to take it off, right?" She whispered, a bit uncertainty lacing her words. She was timid; it was the first time she'd really initiated something in this manner.

"Right." Harry whispered back, making sure to keep his eyes on hers. Y/N frowned a bit.

"I bought this yesterday, do you like it?" She ran her fingers over the lace of the bra. Harry's eyes lowered, and he took his time to observe every inch of her breasts and the lace that covered them. His cock was growing painfully hard, but he had to be patient.

"I love it. Fits you perfectly." He rasped. He glanced at Y/N, who swallowed at his words. When his gaze traveled back to her chest, he could see the quickened breaths she was taking.

"Does it make you want to touch me?"

Harry could've melted at the shy words that left Y/N's mouth. He took a deep breath, restraining himself.

"Y/N, everything about you makes me want to touch you." He said, his stomach fluttering as he saw a smile grow on her face. He smirked, leaning closer until his lips were mere inches away from hers. "Can I touch you, darling?"

"Please."

Harry needed nothing more to immediately go in for the kill. He planted hungry kisses on her chin and jaw, working his way down to her neck, Y/N ragged breathing and stifled moans only encouraging him more. His hands traveled up to her chest, cupping one of her breasts and softly squeezing it has he worked to leave bruises on her neck.

"I— Ah... I bought it for you." Y/N croaked out in between moans, her hands searching for any part of Harry's body to hold onto.

Harry groaned into her neck, the confession making him go crazy. Wrapping both his arms around Y/N waist, he pulled her into his lap, placing her right on his hardened cock.

"Yeah? Just for me?" He asked, looking up at her as his fingers trailed the bare skin on her back. Y/N hummed, unconsciously rolling her hips against him to get closer. "How'd you know yellow is my favorite color?"

Y/N sniffed a laugh, her cheeks turning red. "I didn't know it was."

"It is now." Harry said, diving his head in between her breast to leave kisses all over her chest. Y/N grabbed Harry's hair, slightly tugging on it as his mouth touched her all over.

"Harry, please..." She sighed, trying not to moan too loudly. He backed away, looking up at the panting girl in front of him.

"What is it darling? What d'you need?"

Y/N let out a huff. "You know what..."

"No I don't." Harry shrugged, shaking his head. "If you want something you gotta tell me. I always need to know you want it."

Y/N's face was puzzled, and possibly a bit taken aback by Harry's stern statement. He could see her trying to scramble the words in her brain. He knew it wouldn't be easy for a shy girl like her, but he hoped that learning to voice her needs would help her become more confident. In all aspects of her life.

"I... I want you to touch me."

"I am touching you." He took it a little further. Y/N groaned.

"I mean—" she dropped her shoulders. "I want you to touch me.... down there... if you want! Of course. I don't—"

Harry was quick to grab her face. "I want to do whatever you ask of me, don't worry about that. Just tell me what you want, you're doing good baby."

Y/N nodded, looking away as she scraped together some courage. She swallowed before locking eyes with Harry again.

"I want you to touch my pussy with your fingers... please." She said, her eyes wide as she waited for Harry's reaction.

Suddenly, Harry stood up. Y/N clung to him as he went to stand straight and planted her in front of the counter next to the sink. He could tell she was confused when he took a step away from her.

"Take off your shorts and your panties." Was all he said. Y/N did as she was told, quickly taking off her clothes and throwing them to the side. Harry admired her body as she stood there in front of him, waiting for his next move.

"Good girl." He said before grabbing her hips and turning her around to face the mirror in front of them. She was so tiny compared to him. It wasn't that she was extremely short, but his muscles made him way broader in comparison to her frame. But still it was perfect, she was perfect for him.

"See yourself, baby?" He said, lowering his head to plant a kiss in her neck while his arms snaked around her waist. He looked at her through the mirror, seeing her nod in agreement. "You look so perfect, don't you? Tell yourself you look perfect."

Y/N brows creased. "W— what?"

"Tell yourself you look perfect." Harry repeated matter-of-factly, stunning Y/N a bit. She opened her mouth but no sound came out; she was contemplating.

"I look... perfect?" She tilted her head slightly as she did what he asked, but Harry just scoffed.

"A little more conviction, please."

Y/N sighed, hesitantly biting her lip. "I look perfect."

Harry's fingers dug into the sides of her waist, and pulled her into him. In the way her eyes widened slightly, he figured she could feel the bulge that was hiding in his jeans.

"That's it, baby. Yeah you do." He encouraged her with a smile, causing Y/N cheeks to turn red a bit and look down. She gasped when he suddenly slipped his hand into her panties, the sudden touch on her clit causing her to lean into him. Y/N's eyes fluttered shut as she tried not to make too much noise as Harry's fingers explored her cunt.

"Just when I thought it couldn't get more perfect..." Harry said, planting a kiss on her neck before suddenly sticking a finger inside of her. Y/N's hips bucked slightly at the sudden intrusion, and she was quick to grab onto the counter in front of her.

"Shit..." she whispered, breathing becoming more heavy as Harry added a finger. The wet noises of Y/N pussy filled the room, and Harry's pants tightened even more at the sound of it.

Needing her to come desperately before he was going to cream his own pants, Harry picked up his pace. Y/N let out a whine at the speed of his fingers, and began to clench around them.

"You gonna come for me baby?" He took it as a sign, and by the way Y/N's head was hanging low with nothing but small moans leaving her lips, he was interpreting it just right. She quickly nodded in response, keeping her eyes closed as her face began to scrunch up. Harry eyed the counter she was holding onto, and spotted her white knuckled hands.

"You're doing so good, you can come for me." He motivated her. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to start spasming around his fingers. Y/N's body fell forward a bit, her shaky legs barely being able to keep her up as she came around Harry's fingers. He was quick to pull her back into him, forcing her to hold onto to his arm as she rode out her orgasm on his hand.

Whispering sweet nothings in her ear, Harry took his time to let Y/N come down from her orgasm. When she finally opened her eyes, and Harry's spotted the dazed look in her eyes, he couldn't help but smile.

"There she is." He teased. Her cheeks were a bright pink from the orgasm she just had, and a small giggle left her mouth. "Was that good for you? Was that what you wanted?"

Y/N said nothing, solely smiling as she turned around to face Harry. His brows furrowed slightly as the silence went on, but he froze when she suddenly began to sink to her knees.

"Baby, you don't have to feel obligated to—"

Immediately, her smile dropped, much like Harry's heart. She looked up at him with those doe eyes of her, looking disappointed.

"You don't want that?" She asked, and Harry was pretty sure a piece of his heart cracked at hearing the tone of her voice.

"I want everything from you. I just don't want you to feel like you have to make me feel good just because I make you feel good, okay?" He explained, hoping she would understand.

Y/N tilted her head. "But... I want it."

Harry thought it over for a minute, then answered.

"Do you want me to fuck you?"

Y/N swallowed, then nodded. Harry quirked up a brow.

"Yes." She voiced quickly, instantly understanding his silent demand for verbal consent.

"And you wanna suck me off?"

Again, Y/N nodded. "Yes."

"Greedy girl." Harry's lips quirked up, and he pushed back a strand of hair behind Y/N's ear. "Alright, who am I to say no? But just for a little bit, I don't think I'll last long."

Y/N hummed eagerly, immediately reaching for Harry's pants. He was shocked at her sudden burst of confidence when she turned them around so Harry could lean against the counter. He wondered where she'd learned that move, and then he quickly took that thought back, because he didn't want to think about Y/N making this move on other men.

All racing thoughts were thrown out the window when Y/N pulled down Harry's boxers. He could tell she was a bit surprised, and he would be lying if he said it didn't inflate his ego just a bit.

"You still sure about this?" He asked for good measure. Y/N looked at him, a bit... annoyed?

Harry didn't have much time to figure out what the expression on her face meant, because before he knew it, she licked a long stripe from his baseball the way to the tip of cock. Harry hissed, gripping onto the counter as she began to kitten lick the tip.

Fuck, he wasn't gonna last long like this at all.

When Y/N properly put her lips around him and began to really suck him off, Harry had to do everything in his power not to come in the spot. Automatically, he threw his head back, but as soon as he realized he was missing the view of the most beautiful angel he'd ever seen giving him a blowjob, his eyes traveled back to her.

"Fucking— hell..."

Looking up through her lashes, Y/N was sucking on Harry, taking care of what she couldn't take in her mouth with her hand. And then, when she began to speed up, Harry couldn't take it anymore.

Leaning forward, he pulled Y/N off his cock and got her to stand up straight. She yelped at the sudden movement, and she looked slightly offended to be disturbed during her performance of a lifetime. Somehow, when he lifted her up, she knew to wrap her legs around him. She held on tightly as he moved out of the bathroom and made his way over to the couch.

"I have a condom with me."

Y/N tilted her head. "I’m on contraceptives."

"Okay." Harry said. "I haven't been with anyone in like, three months. I got tested then, and I'm clean."

Y/N nodded. "Right... well I haven't been with anyone for like, two years, so I'm definitely clean."

Again, Harry would have been lying if he said that didn't made him feel a bit better about the two of them. But that was not the focus of right now.

"Alright, no condom then?" He asked.

"No condom." Y/N repeated, and that was that.

Sitting down with Y/N on his lap, Harry let her go at her own pace as she grabbed his cock and lined it up with her pussy. It was difficult not to dig his nails into her when she pushed his cock into her. Her jaw was slack, definitely getting used to the size and girth of the man she was pushing inside of her.

It was a matter of patience, but Y/N's tight walls, that patience was running thin. When Harry was about halfway in, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Want me to help?" Harry asked, and when Y/N nodded, he bucked his hips up, impaling her on his dick. She let out a loud a moan at the harshness, throwing her head back. But Harry didn't stop, he began to fuck up into her.

He was mesmerized, watching her tits bounce from the impact, her head back and her neck on display. She was a sight for sore eyes and he couldn't believe he was lucky enough to see her like this.

"Fuck, angel, you feel so good." The nickname slipped out like it was the most normal thing on earth. Harry was pleasantly surprised to feel her clenching around him in response, her nails digging into his shoulders.

"D'you like that? When I call you angel?" He began to provoke her. She nodded.

"I love it." The confession slipped past her lips. She opened her eyes, gazing into Harry's. "Again, please."

"Yeah? Want me to call you angel?" He asked, the rhetoric question earning some groans from Y/N's side. "You know why I call you angel, baby?"

"Why?" Her voice was soft, breath hitching as she began bouncing on Harry's cock more now that he had slowed his pace.

"Because the first time I saw you I thought I was dreaming." Harry said, holding onto her waist. Y/N let out a small moan. "You have this radiation about you, angel. You light up every room you’re in."

"Fuck..." Y/N cursed under her breath. "I can't— I need more, please, please..."

Harry groaned at the sheer desperation in her voice, pulling out to switch positions and laying Y/N on her back. When he entered her again, he didn't waste much time before pounding into her.

"Needed this angel? Needed me so bad, huh?" He asked, watching Y/N's eyes roll back as she tried to hold onto anything she could in order not to fall off the couch.

"Harry— oh my god!" She cried out helplessly, clawing onto his chest and arms. She wrapped her legs around Harry's torso, and he leaned forward to go even deeper, his cross chain dangling above her mouth.

Harry about lost it when she took the chain between her teeth and used it to pull him closer before putting her lips on his. All the sounds that left their mouths entered each other, their pleasure flowing between bodies like a steady wave.

Harry wasn't surprised that Y/N stopped kissing him, having felt her clench around his hard cock. She couldn't even get a word out, but Harry knew enough.

"C'mon angel, come for me." He growled, beginning to chase his own high as Y/N came around him.

Harry's orgasm followed not long after, and he was quick to pull out, his seed coating her lower stomach. Both were breathing heavily, not really speaking to each other as they came down from their highs. After a minute or two, Harry leaned forward and planted a kiss on Y/N's forehead before getting up from the couch.

Y/N was too dazed to say anything about it, but she didn't have to wait long before Harry returned with paper towels to clean up the mess he made. He praised her casually as he wiped her stomach clean.

When he was done, he pulled her to sit up straight on the couch and got a glass of water for the both of them. Again, Y/N could only nod. He sat back down, handing one of the glasses to the girl next to him and watched her take some big sips before grabbing the glasses again and putting it back on the table. He was shocked when Y/N suddenly spoke up.

"I think I'm gonna quit my job." She said, staring at the wall in front of her. Harry put down his drink as well, re-positioning himself on the couch so he was sitting towards her.

"Y/N..." He was speechless. Seeing the look on her face, hearing those words come out of her mouth, it hurt him to see her like that. She finally turned to look at him.

"I can't... I can't be in the same space as him." She looked down at her fiddling hands, and Harry spotted the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm just so afraid all the time."

Fuck.

He didn't know how much quicker he could've pulled her into a hug. Y/N didn't particularly hug him back, but she rested her head on his shoulder as she accepted his embrace.

"I'm sorry." Y/N mumbled, barely cohesive as her words were muffled by Harry's shoulder. He pulled away from the hug. "I didn't meant to ruin the vibe."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He reminded her, wiping a tear away from her cheek. "I'm glad you felt safe enough to tell me."

Y/N sighed. "It's gonna be hard as shit to find a new job here, though."

It was so incredibly unfair that Y/N had to be the one to switch jobs. Harry's jaw clenched. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to HR? They might be able to do something."

Y/N shook her head. "I don't have proof."

"Sexual harassment isn't about proof. If someone makes you uncomfortable, whether they intend to or not, that is sexual harassment." Harry said. He had a zero tolerance policy at the gym, and unfortunately had a sexual harassment situation once at work when a personal trainer kept making inappropriate comments towards one of the cleaners. He was very thankful that the woman felt safe enough to inform him, and he hated that Y/N didn't have that.

"It's complicated. I went on a date with him, that doesn't make me look very good." She replied. The look in her eyes was hopeless, and it scared him that this situation had been draining her so much.

"I still think you should consider it." Harry insisted anyway, hoping she would keep the option in the back of her mind at the very least.

Y/N shrugged. "I'll see."

The silence loomed over the both of them, and Harry didn't know what to do. He wanted to comfort her, tell her all the right things she wanted to hear. But he wasn't sure what she did or didn't want to hear.

Instead, Harry leaned forward, his hand cupping her jaw. Her eyes fluttered closed, head tilting towards his hand. In turn, his stomach fluttered.

"You're going to be okay, no matter what." He assured her. Sure, he didn't know what she was going to do or how everything was going to turn out, but he felt very strongly that things would be fine.

"Thank you." Y/N whispered sweetly, her eyes still closed.

Harry smiled. She looked safe now.

Taglist: @meetmeatyourworst @mema10 @seafoamwhispers @namoreno @inkedskin @fangirl509east @mellamolayla @lizsogolden @prettydelilah @kierramcduffie @harry2121 @babegoals @hermionelove@bitchidontpost @lomlolivia @harringtonhundreds @fruit-harry

[keirareidss]

making amends - s.r

♡ summary: you regret your time in high school so when you have the chance to make amends, you jump at it pairing: spencer reid x bully!fem!reader warnings: mentions of bullying wc: 2.5k based on this request

High school, for you, was... an experience. You like to think of it as just an earlier chapter of your life that has passed. You've grown and changed as a person, what happened in high school was in your past. You didn't like to think about it.

So when you got a job at the BAU as a profiler and found that you'd be on the same team as someone from your high school who you had a... difficult relationship with, you immediately got worried.

Spencer Reid was the smartest person you've ever known. He was twelve years old when he graduated high school, meanwhile you were eighteen and struggling to keep your grades up. You were jealous, that's why you did the things you did, or rather, didn't do.

You ran with a crowd of popular girls in high school, the kind that were popular for the wrong reasons. They were bullies and, looking back on it, you're ashamed to have been affiliated with them. Now, your name was associated with some people's worst memories in school. But you never actually did any of the bullying, you just stood by and watched, as if that made it any better.

You were always told by those anti-bullying campaigns that being a bystander was just as bad as doing the bullying and you'd roll your eyes. Your young self always thought that what you were doing wasn't wrong. You weren't actually hurting anyone, were you?

But then you met Spencer Reid. He was a child prodigy and, frankly, you were jealous. Maybe that's why you never said anything. When Spencer joined your high school, your 'friends' immediately set their sights on him. He was an easy target, a scrawny kid who didn't have any friends and couldn't defend himself.

They'd pick on him every day, calling him names, pushing him around, and you'd stand there, every time, laughing awkwardly. You always felt bad for the little dork, he never deserved any of it.

Seeing him now, successful, using his big brain for good, surrounded by friends he considered family, you were honestly quite proud of him.

"Everyone, meet our new profiler." Aaron Hotchner introduces you to the team in the conference room and you can see Spencer's eyebrows furrowing as he tried to recall where he's heard your name before. He lifts his head, making eye contact with you, his face unreadable as he finally remembers.

"Nice to meet you all." You gave a small smile to the people sitting around the table. You had your first case with the team in California. When you got on the jet (you were still amazed that team had their own jet), you noticed Spencer sitting by himself.

"Is this seat taken?" You asked, stood next to the one across from him. He glanced up at you from the file in his lap, shifting uncomfortably.

"Uh..." You sighed, understanding what he was trying to express. You moved to sit on the other side, across from your boss. The rest of the team filed onto the jet and you were of to Sacramento.

"Alright, Rossi and Prentiss head to the last dump sites, Derek and I will go back to the house, JJ, talk to the family, and you two will go to the morgue, try to find a signature." Hotch orders, finishing by looking at you and Reid. Before anyone could leave, Spencer spoke up.

"Um- actually could I switch with Prentiss?" You looked at him, hurt. No, you didn't have a right to be upset. Of course he didn't want to work with you, why would he?

"Is something wrong?" Hotch asks, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I just think I'd help more at the dump site." Spencer lied.

"Fine. Reid go with Rossi, Prentiss, you head to the morgue." Everyone left for their individual tasks, Spencer avoiding your stare as he sped out of the conference room, his cheeks red.

"Alright, what was that?" Rossi asked him as they made their way to the dump site.

"What was what?" Spencer asked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"Why didn't you want to work with her?"

"It's nothing." Rossi raised his eyebrows. It was clearly not nothing. Spencer rarely vocally disagreed with Hotch's orders. Something had to have happened to make him do so.

"If you say so." He shrugged. You and Emily were having a similar conversation in transit to the morgue.

"Did something happen with you two?" Prentiss asked, her tone soft but prying.

"You could say that." You muttered, looking over the file in your lap. Emily stayed silent, waiting for you to continue. "We knew each other in high school. I was... not the nicest person."

"Wait... did you, like... bully him?"

"Well, not exactly?" You sighed, frustrated with this conversation, yourself, your inability to put it into words, your past actions, you could go on. "I was friends with this group of girls and they liked to pick on him, well maybe 'pick on him' isn't the right choice of words. I don't want to go into specifics because it's really more of Spencer's story to tell but... I didn't do any of the bullying, I just never said anything." You finished, blushing in embarrassment.

"Oh, that's rough."

"I know. I feel so bad. I mean, I've grown and changed, and I'd like to be his friend but I don't know he'll be able to forgive me."

"Knowing Spencer, I bet he will."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you're being genuine and you really have changed, he'll see that." You sighed, deep in thought. You did truly want to be his friend and you couldn't deny his attractiveness. But that would mean a big long talk and those always made you uncomfortable but for him, it was worth it.

You didn't know the little eleven year old prodigy that went to your high school. You knew your friends had talked to him a few times and the stories they told you of the nasty things they'd said to him made your heart hurt.

You were the type of kid to sit back and stay silent when something happened. You hated confrontation, terrified of it. So when you started seeing what your friends were doing to him, this bright eyed young boy, you felt even worse.

They'd push him in the hallways, taunt him with cruel words, vandalize his locker and his stuff, but there was one thing that was the worst of them all.

You had just sat back and watched as the girls you had called your friends laughed at him as the football team stripped him naked and tied him to a goalpost. You watched as tears streamed down his face, a pit in your stomach as your 'friends' pulled you away in a fit of giggles.

In that time, you had thought about how lucky you were that you were on the good side of those girls, that they hadn't chosen to pick on you instead but now, looking back, you wished you had said something.

You wished you could have spared that young, brilliant, optimistic boy from the horrible things he went through.

As the case progressed, Spencer avoided you like the plague. Understandable, but still a little painful. And once it ended, he had even more reason to evade you.

"Come on, Reid. One drink."

"Morgan, you know I don't drink." Spencer protested weakly. You stepped into the conference room where the team was packing up.

"So one water then. It doesn't matter what you have, just come celebrate with us." He caught your eye and you quickly looked down.

"Alright, fine. I'll come." Spencer sighed and Derek grinned at the success. He walked towards the door, stopping next to you on the way.

"You're coming too, right mama?" He nudges your shoulder.

"Uh..." You hesitated, glancing at Spencer. Maybe it'd be better for you to go back to the hotel and give Spencer the space he'd been wanting from you.

"Come on. Don't be a stick in the mud." You chuckled a bit, conceding.

"Fine."

The team headed to the bar where you got a large table for seven. Derek went up to get drinks for everyone. As the night went on and everyone got drunker, Spencer stood up to take a breather outside. No one at the table noticed, apart from you. You hesitated for a moment before following.

Opening the door forced a cool breeze over your skin. When you stepped out, you immediately spotted Spencer on the small porch area, leaning on the railing.

"Hey." You said softly, stepping closer. He glanced back at you before pulling his gaze back to the horizon.

"Hi." He responded as you stepped up to him. You leaned against the railing beside him, staying silent for a few moments, gathering your thoughts.

"Look, I-"

"I wanted to-" You both spoke at the same time. "Oh, sorry, you first." You said.

"No, no, go ahead."

"Okay, um... I just... I thought we should talk." When he didn't respond, you continued. "I don't know if you remember me-"

"I do." He said and you could hear the bitterness in his tone.

"Right, why wouldn't you." You agreed with a small awkward smile. "Uh, well, first I want to formally apologize and say that I'm sorry. For everything that happened to you in high school." He turned to look at you now, half not expecting that to come out of your mouth. "I was a stupid kid, and I know that doesn't excuse it, but, really, I didn't know what I was doing. My friends- those girls were horrible to you and I should have done something."

"It wasn't your problem."

"No but it was. I watched everything they did to you. I just stood by and watched." Your tone was harsh, but not against him. Towards yourself, feeling hatred for your past actions. "I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through. You didn't deserve any of it."

"Thank you for saying that." He said after a moment of quiet thought.

"Look, I've changed since high school, I like to think I'm a different person now, and I truly hope that you can forgive me and we can be friends. But if you don't want anything to do with me, I understand."

"I just... can I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" You didn't expect this. For him to dig into the past like that but, you supposed he deserved to know.

"I guess I was scared. I mean, those girls basically ran the school, I was terrified that if I spoke up they'd come after me next but... I should have taken the risk. I doubt it'll make you feel better but, if I could go back and change what I did, I would."

"Thank you." He said plainly.

"Do you... have any other questions?" You asked, confused by his simple response.

"No, not really. I... I think I need some time to think."

"Y-yeah of course. I... I guess I'll leave you alone then." He turned back to the railing, looking down at the ground and you stepped away, heading back inside. You already felt like a weight had lifted from your shoulders just from speaking everything out loud. You just hoped he could forgive you.

You were getting ready for bed that night in the motel when there was a knock on your door. You shuffled over to the door in your pajamas, opening it to find Spencer on the other side.

"Hey."

"Hi. I, um, I was thinking and... I forgive you."

"Really?" Your eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. It actually seems like you've changed and I think we can be friends." Crossing your brain was the fact that you wanted to be more.

"Good, I- I'm glad." You sighed in relief. You really had wanted to be his friend, it seems like he really grew into himself and, to be honest, he wasn't all that bad looking.

"Do you maybe wanna get coffee tomorrow? After we land?"

"Yeah, definitely." You shut the door after he left excited and looking forward to getting coffee with your new friend.

~♡~

You sat in a cozy cafe, Spencer across from you, a coffee in his hand. This whole situation felt like a date, maybe a little hopeful on your part, but you didn't want to bring it up to him.

The current topic of conversation right now was a book Spencer was really into right now and trying to get you to read. You weren't big into reading but you'd buy every book he recommended to you if it got you closer to him.

"It's really interesting actually, I can lend you my copy if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"Really? Great, I'll bring it to the office tomorrow." You continued chatting but instead of parting ways at the end, you suggested you swing by his apartment to grab the book so you can read it tonight. He gave you directions as you drove to his place and you waited in his entryway while he ran and got the book.

"Do you wanna come in?" He asked a little awkwardly.

"Oh, no, I should get home." You got the sense that he was done with social interactions for the day and just wanted to wind down so you didn't want to impose. "Thank you for loaning me the book."

"Of course." You both lingered, wanting to continue the conversation.

"You know, you've really grown up since high school." You said, staring up into his entrancing brown eyes.

"Have I really?" He asked sarcastically, chuckling.

"Well, I meant- you've just- you're really.... you're kind of hot." Your face flushed immediately as Spencer's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I mean, you- you've grown into yourself."

"Thank you?" You let out an awkward laugh, staring at the floor, wishing a hole would open up and swallow you into it. "I'm glad you think so." He still sounded unsure.

"I'm being completely honest here. It's kinda one of my life goals after I got out of school."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh. Honesty is key." You grinned, making him chuckle. The two of you fell into a comfortable silence. You slowly leaned closer to him and, surprisingly, he leaned in as well. You met in the middle, his lips soft on yours as his large hand cupped your jaw.

The kiss was soft and sweet, simple with no tongue, just gentle presses against each other's lips. When he pulled away, he stayed close, looking down into your eyes.

"I- I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" You said and he chuckled a bit.

"Yeah. Let me know if you like the book." You said your goodbyes and you headed down the hall, feeling giddy about your new relationship, one that you didn't even know where it was going, and unbearably happy that Spencer had forgiven you.

Taglist: @superbeaglewitch, @perfectgoopfishuniversity-blog, totallynotabuckybarnessimp, @dramioneforevertilltheend. @cynbx, @diminombre, @tinythebunni

[anothermansjeans]

I think singer!reader would sometimes join Spencer on a case, like when she's writing her new album. Cause who gives a fuck is she writes from her own home or a hotel room.

So after a tough day at work with a particularly difficult unsub, he gets back to his hotel room and she's just laying in beb humming some lyrics while tapping her hand on her leg

And everything is just so sweet and fluffy

<33

-XXX-

~W~

OH ITS BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE I'VE GIVEN THEM SOME ATTENTION!!!! i promised something and ITS HERE!! it's been a while since i've written pls be kind LMAO

also! the song referenced is Count On Me by Ashe

wc: 889

cw: cm case stuff, suggested nsfw stuff

singer!reader masterlist

++

Spencer was exhausted. The team had flown out to Washington state to help the Seattle police department on a case. It was grueling, truly. Involving kids, too much death, and a very persistent and hard-to-tame unsub.

This unsub was unlike anything he's seen in all of his years on the team. Yes, there were always the most heinous people they've dealt with– some people affecting those on his team– his family– but something about the man they had locked up made his stomach churn. Why would you ever want to hurt children?

His thoughts ran rampant on the subject as he sulked through the hotel lobby, into the elevator, and into his room. The stupor he’d been in shattered the moment he opened the door and a soft strum of a guitar played.

“Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da… Da-da-da-da”

He took his satchel off his shoulder and placed it on the chair by the door while toeing off his shoes. You were sitting on the bed in nothing but one of his shirts and socks (the way he left you this morning), while a guitar sat on your lap, pen in your hand, and notebook in front of you. He watched as you would hum and play before jotting down notes in the book. You were ethereal.

You had a small break in your tour schedule, and you were luckily also in Washington the same time the team was. Because of this, Spencer had practically begged you to stay with him while he was there for the short week. It took very little convincing before you were sprawled out on his sheets and whispering sweet nothings to each other.

You continued the pattern of singing and writing as Spencer made his way over and gently sat down, leaning his body to lay on the pillows behind you, eyes instantly closing at the melodic sound.

His presence caused a pause in your actions, and you turned to face him a bit. “Hey…” Your voice was soft– truly the perfect pitch for the setting you've created– and you placed your hand on his forehead, brushing the hair from his face. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, clear with stress. “Do you want to talk?”

He shook his head slightly, nuzzling his face closer to your thigh and gently placing a kiss. His arms sluggishly wrapped around your waist, squeezing the tiniest bit before he spoke, “no… just want to listen to you.”

You just about melted into him. You knew there were times where he was affected by a case more than he normally would be, and those days, you'd be curled up together as you work on your new album. Today was one of those days.

“You want to hear the newest song?”

He turned his head so that his cheek rested on your thigh, but his eyes still met yours. He let out a soft “mhmm” as an excited glint appeared in his eyes.

“It's not done– clearly– and I think it'd sound better on piano, but the working title is Count On Me.”

Your fingers softly strum the guitar as Spencer lightly taps on your leg where his hands rest from his arms around you. A smile makes its way to your face before you start singing.

“This could be our last night together

We may never know

'Long as I'm alive, you'll never be alone

You'll never have to learn to take it on your own

I hope you die first so you'll never know

What it's like

Without somebody

To lean on”

You continue to play, and Spencer holds onto you tighter. You look down quickly to make sure he’s okay, but all there is is a look of adoration beaming from him.

You give him the same look, and then pick up on the strumming.

“Count on me

And I'll be there

Whenever you call me

Oh, I will come running

I'll be

On the next plane home

Whenever you need me

Oh, I will be there

Count on me

Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da

Da-da-da-da”

Your fingers begin to slowly fade out on the guitar, and once you stop, you gently place the instrument to the side, and give Spencer your full attention. “So?”

He pulls you down so that you're laying with him, and he maneuvers himself to lightly lay between your thighs, his arms still around you. “I love you.”

You chuckle and drag your fingers around his forehead to go down his cheek. “I was talking about the song.”

He hums with a smile– a smile that reaches his eyes– and he leans up a bit to capture your lips with his. The kiss is light, but it speaks more than a thousand words. When he pulls back, nothing but honesty litters his face. “That might be my favorite one yet.”

“Really?” You search his eyes for an inkling of a lie, but again, you find nothing but the truth. “I love you, too.”

His forehead goes to rest on your chest and he’s quiet for a moment. “Thank you.”

His thanks confuses you. “For what,” you ask, as you run your fingers through his hair.

“For everything. Loving me, making me feel safe, making me happy.”

His words are simple, but they make you feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

“Well then, thank you, too.”

++

singer!reader taglist:

@itsleilabxtch @hopeless--romamtic @taylorswiftilovecowboylikeme @marshatesthisreality @ladylincoln @delightfulmakerpiegiant @chericherrypie @punksnotdeadbutiam @stillhere197 @laddywitch @httpstoyosi @obi-wansgirl @amandareids @mynameiskelly @charismatic-writer @aremuslupinsimp @loverliner

let me know if you would like to be added or removed!

[tacoma-narrows]

Fast as Lightning!

All that tiger OC yearning I've been going through over the last few weeks has finally amounted to something!

Meet Sitka! He's my new tiger OC! Actually not just a new OC, he's a new sona! He's my first new sona since Starburst, who I got over three years ago at this point hehe. He represents a more self-confident, adventurous and ready-for-anything version of me, compared to a lot of my other sonas who tend to back down a bit more under pressure and confrontation and stuff.

I LOVE how his design came out as well! It was kind of a challenge to come up with a tiger design that didn't look like every single tiger OC ever made lmao, but I really like where it ended up! He was also partly inspired by the roller coaster Kingda Ka, which was the world's tallest when it got taken out from Six Flags Great Adventure this past year </3 That was themed to a mythical bengal tiger, so I tied that in a bit here with his lightning bolt shaped necklace :3 I also decided that his theme song is Telling All of the World by Flickerstick !

I'll have more below the cut, including his ref and his OC icon like the ones I have for all of my other OCs. I also decided to give him a secondary alternate design/form, so check out under the cut if you wanna see that hehe :3c

Hope you guys like him!! He's up on both Toyhouse and Art Fight, which are also linked below the cut, if you wanna see him on either of those sites :3

Here's his ref and his icon! Generally his design is pretty straightforward haha. If you draw him, the markings don't have to be absolutely exact to the ref, just keep the general shapes and placement consistent. All the markings in his body are symmetrical as well!

And then here's his alt form! :D Lookit him he's so CUTE omg I love him so much <33 Ever since I made Soda about a year ago, I'd wanted to make a balloon animal OC since I think those designs are also really cute and fun hehe. The main differences here compared to his main design are that he's got a balloon tie on the end of his tail (a design trait I think is rlly cute on balloon OCs hehe), the shapes of his hair an fur and stuff are more rounded, he's got big bappy paws and he's shiny and squeaky all over! He's also still got his necklace but the shape of that is also more rounded :3 I'm very excited to see what people do with this version of him in particular during Art Fight hehe

Anyways, that's Sitka! I'm rlly glad I was able to put him together before the start of Art Fight, so he's one of two new characters on my AF roster this year along with Kickflip (though Tiros and Vela and Furry Rhazz also kind of count in that realm lol). Again, hope you guys like him! :D

Here are his links if u wanna check him out :3

[dragolord19delta]

A Meet and Greet at Sonic Fankid Showdown!

@sonic-fankid-showdown

Sonic Fankid Arena

Cafeteria

"Welcome to the Sonic Fankid Meet and Greet!"

Starlis took a sip of the cup of punch she had snagged as she watched the host for this year, a red quokka named Barry, address the crowd. "This will be a day where you all introduce yourselves in the hopes of maybe making a new friend or three." As she continued watching and listening to him speak about the meet and greet, Starlis ran a hand through her dark-blue spiny quills nervously. 'Deep breath, girl. This isn't that bad!' Starlis mentally reprimanded herself.

As Barry continued his announcements, the small bits of conversation could be heard amongst the murmurs of the other 63 Fankids present. All of this did little to ease the nerves of the 17-year-old Hybrid Hedgehog. Starlis adjusted her sunglasses before running a paw over her head quills. 'Okay, no need to overthink things, girl. Let's just do this. Gaia, Zia's the talker, not me! Still, she'll be so disappointed in me if I just hang back this whole time…'

Taking a few more steps into the room, she kept an eye out for other attendees.

They have a LOT of food…

"Here I go!"

Taking one last calming breath, she started towards the food table. 'The one cool thing about this is seeing all the… what-ifs? I guess?' Starlis mused. She eyed the people around her as she made her way towards the food table. There were even some Echidnas! Thinking of Uncle Knucks having kids was… weird. For so long, it had just been her, Zia, and Robin thinking that the rest of the family having kids was… strange.

Might as well make a good impression. At the very least, Starlis wanted not to get too nervous or flustered…

Meanwhile, Nightshade was just casually on the outside looking in as she watched everyone from a safe distance away. She didn't feel like socializing too much but came anyway to check the other fankids out, and there were a lot of them. She decided to check out the refreshment table since there were a couple of people there already. She saw a small dark blue hedgehog with red streaks in her quills that looked a lot like her dad's quills. She kinda dug the look, actually, more metal than emo, but she wasn't about judging someone else's style. Though she didn't recognize who this person was, she thought Why the hell not. She smiled at her as she went closer to the table. "Hi," Shade said with a wave.

"I-oh!" Starlis had been so lost in her own thoughts while browsing the refreshments on hand that she wasn't quite sure what startled her from her reverie: The sight of someone nearly two feet taller than her, the subtle smell of lavender and something… musky, dog-like scent wafting by her olfactory senses, or the deep yet clearly female voice behind her.

All she knew was that she jumped hard.

"WAAAUGH-!" The result of her jump was a startled yelp, and she barely held back the instinctive impulse to use Hyperspeed to boost her spin. But Hyperspeed wasn't on her feet… and her hands were full of a plate of chicken kabobs!

Despite her best attempt, the entire serving of those delectable poultry morsels… slid off her plate and onto the ground, and lay there in all of its splattered chicken glory. A moment of silence was in the air.

'…aaaaawwww, stinky weasel-babies', was all Starlis could think. "… uhm… Hello?" she said at length, her quills slumping with the same speed as her tail had. 'Great. I'm already screwing up…' And of course she had a smudge of hot sauce on her cheek too! Despite the shades she wore, Starlis had a very distinctive blush on her cheeks.

Shade felt a little bad when she watched the shorter metalhead (She had what looked like a standard metal font band shirt on) practically drop her meal just because Shade scared her. She was glad the chicken hadn't gotten onto their clothes, but the girl looked so disappointed. "Shoot, sorry didn't mean to startle you like that," Shade said embarrassed that she could have made her jump that badly.

"T-that's ok, just… nervous is all…" Starlis replied quietly as she bent down to pick up her plate and the kabobs that had fallen off of it. "… not big on socializing…"

Shade looked at the poor girl who was looking at her food. Shade thought about something for a moment, then came up with an idea. "You want me to help you get another serving while I get mine? Then maybe we can hang out for a little bit?" she asked.

Starlis couldn't help but be surprised by the offer. It wasn't what she had expected in response to… well, THAT disaster. She looked up at Shade, taking a moment to process the height difference between them. She had never met a Mobian this tall!

"… uhm, sure!" She finally said after a few more moments of thought, nodding before extending her free hand. "I'm Starlis, nice to meet you!"

Shade took Starlis's hand and gave it a firm shake, "Nice ta meet ya too Starlis," she said with a grin. "I'm Nightshade or Shade if ya want"

Starlis looked at Shade carefully, eyes flicking over her face. The third eye was… different. Mobius had no shortage of odd species and even odder hybrid traits, but a third eye? The only person she knew was… "Um, is one of your parents Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Shade nodded as she started gathering food onto her plate. "Yeah, Shadow and Sonic are my fathers, actually." She said with a smile.

Starlis perked up at that, beaming brightly. "No way! They're my dads too! That's wild…" Her expression then became thoughtful as she grabbed another plate for herself… though this time making sure to not put quite so much on her own plate.

"…I gotta admit, this is wild too, seeing all the different Fankids and all. I guess I just never really considered what, if any of my dads' friends had kids?" Her tail twitched as she pondered the idea.

"What about you, Starlis? Got any siblings?" Shade asked before taking a bite out of some chicken.

"Nope!" Starlis replied, shaking her head as she chewed on one of the kabobs. "It's just me. You?"

"Yep, I have four younger brothers and sisters, two boys, two girls." She said with a slight giggle in her tone, "The younger two are twins and can be quite a handful, but they're still adorable."

Starlis couldn't help but smile at the thought of that, thinking back on some of the antics she and Zia had gotten into when they were kids… "Well, I have two kinda cousins/friends? There's Zia De Sol, who's Auntie Blaze and Amy's kid." She mused, thinking about how much her own girlfriend had changed over the years.

"Then there's Robin, Auntie Rouge and Wave's adopted daughter," Starlis explained, grabbing a soda from a nearby cooler with her tail before flicking it up and behind her so she could catch it. Popping the tab, she took a long sip while Shade gaped at her for a brief moment.

"That was cool as fuck." Shade said, her third eye just blinking along with her normal ones.

"Heh, thanks. It took ages to figure it all out." Starlis said with a grin. "I don't get to use it much, but it comes in handy sometimes…" Her gaze moved over towards the crowd, eyes moving over each of them carefully before she turned back to face Shade. "Anyways, what about you?"

"I got some cousins and uncles and aunties too," Shade said, thinking fondly of them all, "Some I see often, others not so much.”

Starlis nodded and thought for a moment. What could she do to continue this conversation? This was actually going well! She hadn't messed up beyond dropping her plate, and even then, she'd met someone new!

"…So what do you do, you know, outside of all this?" Starlis asked curiously as she adjusted her glasses. They were starting to slip down her muzzle a tad, and she didn't want them falling off.

"Well… I'm still in high school…" Shade started, but Starlis interrupted her, "High school?!?! I thought… Oh… well, I figured with your height…" Shade shrugged her shoulders with an understanding smile. It wasn't like she wasn't used to the whole age thing. She's gotten it a lot of times before. "It's fine. It's not the first time I've gotten that question. Also, I do music in my spare time."

"Oh, cool!" Starlis replied with a nod as she glanced around. She noticed a few other dark-furred fankids drifting towards a darkened corner of the cafeteria and sighed. "Welp… I guess we can't escape the fellow edgy goth kids, even here…"

Shade laughed as her third eye moved to watch them. "No one ever is" she said as she grabbed some more food off the table.

For the next hour, Shade and Starlis were still talking and getting along rather nicely. The two quickly joined the 'Shadow Collective' as someone dubbed it in the corner. Starlis made a note to tell her Baba that his DNA apparently had an unusually strong tendency to produce 'edge'.

It was actually kinda fun! The conversations were animated, and she'd already gotten a few new numbers out of it… including Shade's. She couldn't help but feel relaxed around these people- they felt familiar in many ways. Not like her friends or the family, but just familiar in ways that seemed almost instinctual…

"So then Roxie goes-" Shade was regaling Starlis with a tale of her girlfriend after a platypus girl who had joined the corner, had gotten grumpy when Starlis didn't recognize the name of 'Doctor Starline', which had evolved from that to someone named 'Surge the Tenrec' (After Starlis heard what this Starline had done to her, Starlis swore to shoot him somewhere painful if they ever met in her world. Elsewhere a certain platypus crossed his legs instinctively.) to gushing about their girlfriends. Shade had just been getting to the good part when a loud voice broke across the cafeteria.

"Well, folks, I'm glad everyone's enjoying themselves here so far! But now it's time for some announcements." The host quokka called out from his position at the podium, getting everyone's attention.

"Oh? Hm, well, might as well pay attention…" Starlis mumbled quietly, looking at Barry. "Wonder what the deal is?"

"Okay, okay, so we're going to start with our first vote bracket!" Barry announced as a holographic projection appeared behind him. It was… a bracket. A bracket that looked almost like those March Madness brackets she and Zia had seen back on TV. Only this was different: This one was titled 'SONIC FANKID SHOWDOWN'.

"We will now start drawing names!" the red Quokka sing-songed cheerfully, "I hope you guys are all ready to show off your talents!" The crowd started muttering in an anticipatory tone. Starlis could only think of one thing.

Oh shit.

"So, how does the big battle royale work anyway?" Starlis asked as she eyed the stage nervously. She had never really been around crowds this large before… not without Zia nearby.

She glanced at Shade out of her peripheral vision, who shrugged, "Never been to one. Got the email, and I figured, why not? It sounds interesting at least."

"Fair enough," Starlis replied quietly, taking a deep breath. She was gonna need to calm down a bit. After all, it's not like this would be too stressful- just some quick introductions, and maybe a little showing-off…

"Hey, look on the bright side, it'll make a cool story for your friends back home," Shade said.

"Oh, I don't know how, but Zia snuck backstage this afternoon. She said something about 'giving moral support', and I can't say no to her…" Starlis replied with an awkward smile. "Ah, girlfriends, am I right?" Shade laughed. Starlis was still surprised that she was a year younger than her, but she seemed much more put together than her.

Shade nodded, then looked back up at the stage where the Quokka was drawing balls and dropping them in a lottery ball machine, which began to tumble them, "Well, all the balls are in the air and… here. we. GO!" Starlis watched as the formerly tumbling balls fell to the bottom before being sucked into little tubes, separating the balls into pairs "The first bracket will be… Stake VS Harlo Robotnik!"

Shade tuned out a bit after a few people were picked. She knew she was probably gonna be one of them soon, but until then, there really wasn't much she could do other than talk with some others. Her third eye looked over at the refreshment table again, looking over all the food still there. 'Hmmm, should get some more of those cheesy puffs or whatever they are. They were sooooo good!' Shade thought happily. An elbow to her knee snapped her out of her thoughts about the food, "-e the Hedgehog vs. Starlis Maria Hedgehog!"

Shade's ears shot up as well as Starlis's own as they both looked at the stage where their photos and names had appeared. "Ohhhhhh fudge…" Shade heard Starlis mutter under her breath.

Starlis gulped nervously, looking at her new friend turned opponent. Shade looked… calm? Yeah, that was it, she looked calm. The taller hybrid couldn't help but smile at Starlis, though, as if to reassure the shorter hedgehog girl. Shade gave her a friendly nod of acknowledgement. "Hey, let's give these guys a show, alright? No hard feelings?" she said with a warm tone.

Starlis could only give her friend an uneasy smile back at the reassuring words, but when Shade extended her hand, she took it in her own with a firm grip. She didn't want to disappoint Zia, or anyone else for that matter… But this? This sucked. It felt like all her confidence left her body in one fell swoop. 'Ughhhhh…. why me?' Starlis thought with a grimace as they walked onstage together. Starlis still wasn't sure how exactly she would handle this situation… What was there really to do? Her eyes scanned over the large sign hanging above them, displaying pictures of everyone participating today alongside each pairing number and name combination listed below them on a screen mounted next to it.

"Well, I hope everyone is excited to see this Showdown, Everyone! Don't forget, the competition starts in 2 days, so the training rooms are open 8 am to 8 pm. See you guys soon!" Barry announced cheerfully from his position near the center stage before he stepped away from his microphone stand, disappearing backstage.

Author's note: While I'm not an artist like most of you folks (looks at everyone's awesome art) I like to think I'm an ok writer! So if anyone wants some written stuff done, I'm your dragon! Characters mentioned: Starlis M. Hedgehog (@dragolord19delta) (Night)Shade the Hedgehog by @sonnewolfie009) Who I wrote this for! Stake (by @thefantasylife8) Harlo Robotnik (by @xinnamonbun and @halastar05) Esme Starline (by @mischeva)

[androgynous-barbie]

OH ITS A FRIENDLY RIVALRY NOW? It’s not flip floppy bitches vs unsuspecting new boys? Can’t pick a struggle OR a narrative 🤭 embarrassing

Oooh I was sooooo hoping you’d pull the nepotism and plant cards

Again- numerous years in the industry to get where they are and then suddenly they’re neck and neck with these boys who came out of nowhere? And it’s the NOT new act that’s the plant? Okay suuuurrrre (sarcasm)

Nepotism? Zooey came from nothing. Homegirl was writing songs in a bus stop before she was discovered. Mira’s family barely even likes her so theres no way THEYD pull strings to make her dreams come true. And exactly how would Rumis dead mother (may she rest in peace) pull strings for her?

They already have being women working against them, they have being more of a trio than of a GROUP against them, and then there’s the pressure of having to toe the line of being as talented as (or worse, MORE than) your mother so you don’t get told you don’t deserve your success. You can’t begin to imagine how hard they had to work. IIII can’t imagine it. And you’ve seen their moves. You think that just *happens*? You think rich daddies can buy you rhythm? Get real

believe me there are plenty of actual nepo babies that lost their golden opportunities cuz they actually sucked. Can you even name the girl that played Katara in shyamalans avatar? Ever wonder why Beyonces son is never on stage the way her daughters are?

And oohhhhhh. A former girl group member mentoring a new girl group. No woooonnnnnnder they’re so successful. This neeeever happens. Oh wait what? It happens all the time? Huh.

pleeeeease yall bring up that unserious ass show all the time. Do you REALLY think a gimmicky ass show that has vocalists chugging hot sauce wouldn’t pull a surprise appearance gimmick? Be soooo for real

And then your boys ACTUALLY crash an event for the girls and then you still find some way to make the girls the bad guy. I watched a live stream of it. If anyone made anyone uncomfortable it was Jinu whispering his knows what in Rumis ear the whole time.

But I won’t even demonize him the way you do the girls (extremely literally too) because the boys literally left after Rumi cheered Jinu on after he got too flattered by all the positive attention he was getting (/stole cuz lemme remind you THEY CRASHED and the girls found a way to make it work still when they didnt have to)

You say I’m turning a blind eye to the levitating as if wires don’t exist when you’re sitting here pretending that disintegration is a normal way to die. If Huntrix really killed those boys there would be bodies. If they truly killed them in front of us there’s no way they could’ve hid the bodies in front of us. But fine let’s say you’re right and they DID kill the Saja Boys….. again do you REALLY think disappearing into thin air is a normal way to die? They might’ve done us a favor even THEY know nothing about cuz 👀 THAT would be demonic

(Maybe you’re conflating how the girls killed the boys careers and all two of their songs disintegrated from the charts? 😗 food for thought…. And the way your brain works… eat up)

“Mira has a shit personality” even if that WAS true at least she HAS one. The majority of the boys had traits at best (cuz literally what if those were just their names lol) and shes least a cute fake-cocky vs Jinu’s real (and unearned) cockiness and condescension

“Zooey’s a tryhard” you’re just saying that because absolutely ZERO trying went into anything ‘Saja Boys’ sang which leads us perfectly into

“Rumi’s a song hog” sweetie the only thing that kept SB from being a male Pussycat Dolls retread was that Nicole (Jinu) would let Baby rap

The girls didn’t kill them. Whatever happened though was probably for the best cuz I can’t imagine them having lasted much longer oop 🫢

this is a saja boys stan blog, floptrix apologists aren't allowed to interact with my posts. they deadass set jinu on fire and then stabbed the other boys to death and no one did anything. y'all can stream golden all you want but no one can tell me h*ntr/x wasn't behind the mysterious disappearances. think about it like... they act all erratic, show up late to shit, and cancel shows. then they start stalking the boys and flip flopping between being bitchy and trying to get in their pants. and let's not forget the awards when they started fighting each other. what even was that? that song was so violent too. have you even looked up the lyrics? and no one's heard anything from the boys since the incident at their show that they put on for FREE because that other group decided to break up. only they're not broken up now that the boys are fuckign DEAD. zoey LITERALLY stabbed mystery after punching him in the face. i saw mira fucking dissect abby. everyone saw it. i've been crying nonstop for the past week. all their socials are wiped and my boys are gone.

y'all are so blind to the literal demons in front of you. my bias was disintegrated onstage by an honest to god demon. no one can tell me rumi isn't demonic. the other two are probably her minions she brought up from hell to assist her in brainwashing people and consuming their souls. i've never been so sure of anything in my life.

[vargaslovinghours]

Say it like you mean it

[leafy-m]

So I hit my 700th edit for the WHA wiki today, because I am a totally normal person

[potter-inthe-tardis]

A hear me out, unironic bop!

I'm rewatching the series of unfortunate events show, and I remembered this song from my childhood, so I had to go look it up, and yes it's still a bop!

[mangled-by-disuse]

I feel like it's so easy to fall into thinking "how in the world did anyone figure this out?" partly because of the temptation to view the finished product as, you know. The Process. it's a form of irreducible complexity, where to learn to make paper, you have to have found all the steps.

but, like. maybe you make cloth, and you realise this plant sheds and felts easily if you weave from it and then wash it. maybe you cook it, to see what happens, and find it sticks together. maybe you come from a culture that already has a habit of pounding starchy foods, making them into flour, and making solids out of the runoff - soy, rice, curds. maybe you happen to think "oh what would happen if i did that?"

maybe when you're drying crops for the winter you notice that a bunch of them stick together, and that they do it more the more you pound them. you think it's cool. you try to make something that holds together. it works. you tell your mate. he tells his kid. they try it out. someone says "could we make clothes from this?" oh sure but we'll have to make it thinner.

maybe you're cooking fibres up for something else and you pass a spoon through it and the film sticks and comes off all in one piece. hey, that's neat. wonder what we could use that for?

maybe you make really shitty paper for centuries because you're using the wrong plant, or only washing it once or twice, or not pounding it fine enough. but it's interesting. people keep thinking it could be useful, but people also think it's neat. hey, we write now! wouldn't it be great if paper was smoother, whiter, flatter, easier to store? what if i try this extra step, this new ingredient?

iteration, my dudes. everything worth a damn is iterative. very few things in this world are invented in their final form. it's been millennia. people have had a cultural and political and financial incentive to iterate, sure - but also, people like to innovate. people like to play with ideas, try things that strike them as interesting. and shitty paper is still useful. making things into blocks is useful. finding that you can wet things and dry them out and change their properties is useful.

idk the answer to "how in the world did they figure [X] out" is less often "a wave of pure genius" and more often: over centuries or millennia, iteratively, through generations of better and worse products.

...except manioc root that one's still kinda baffling to me.

how do people make papers for traditional painting and calligraphy in the past by chinese artist 山白shan bai

[ourceliumnetwork]

because i'm feeling chatty today but i know my sentences won't make lots of sense i don't know that the medicine i'm taking for the fibromyalgia is the best fit for me actually. i'm kind of thinking maybe the mental side effects aren't worth the pain relief lol.

[butt-puncher]

I wish that I was more

[eufezco]

NEW OLD JOEL 𓂃 𓈒 ❀

old man!joel x younger!fem!reader

synopsis – after years on the road, you and joel finally settle in jackson and there's nothing you love more than coming back from work to your old man wearing those glasses.

smut. fluff

the last of us masterlist

after traveling what felt like the entire world following joel, you both finally decided to settle down in jackson. it was peaceful, a not so small community anymore where you could breathe again, where you could do more than just survive. eat three meals a day. sleep through the night without one eye open. and with all that peace came space, to feel, to think, to finally let yourself consider what had been quietly building between you and joel all this time.

he was reluctant at first. the age gap weighed on him more than it ever did on you. you’d never brought it up, never even seemed to notice it in the ways he did. but you two had lived too much together since you first started traveling with ellie. that kind of bond didn’t come easily. yet joel didn’t think he had the right to want something as soft, as tender, as the love you showed him. and jackson helped him with that. the town gave him the kind of peace he never thought he’d earn. and slowly, as the years passed, joel softened and started to accept the life he deserved and appreciate the little things.

the way you massaged his shoulders after a long day of work, the way he always made sure you were warm in the mornings when he had to leave early, how you'd wake up tucked beneath an extra blanket. you built a life together made up of shared breakfasts and quiet evenings walking through the snow-covered streets of jackson, of fixing things around the house side by side, of laughter in the kitchen when something burned, and the way he'd kiss your temple like it didn’t matter.

—hi, —you said coming into the house. joel looked up from where he was sitting at the table, glasses low on his nose, hands busy with something that needed to be fixed. his eyes softened the second he saw you.

—hey, darlin’, —he said, —you’re back early.

—yeah, the snow is getting worst, there wasn't much we could do in the garden, —you replied, shrugging off your coat and hanging it up by the door.

joel gave a small nod, eyes following your every move, —i figured, —he said, —how’s the ground looking? any chance we can save anything before the winter really sets in?

you sighed, taking a moment to pull off your gloves and slide them into your pocket. —a few plants are holding up, but it’s mostly the cold that’s making it tough. i’m thinking of giving it another shot in the spring, once everything starts to warm up.

joel hummed. you approached him and hugged him from behind, resting your chin on his shoulder. his hand, still holding the small tool, paused for a second before he gently placed it down, he took one of your hands in his, bringing it up to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles.

—how was your day? —you asked.

—good, busy. dina told me the cracked main lines are full of roots. should've checked them but i forgot, —he rubbed his hands over his face, clearly annoyed with himself. you could see how much he cared about getting things right, about showing that he was still capable, still useful. he picked the piece again and fidgeted with it.

—it's okay, you can get it done tomorrow. the main lines aren't going to move, —you reassured him, your voice gentle, as you smoothed your hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath your palm.

—yeah, you’re right. tomorrow’s another day, —the therapy sessions were working, somehow, because never in your life would you have imagined the joel you first met would learn to take things slow.

you kissed his cheek, his beard tickling your lips, as your hand slid slowly over his chest. you couldn't help but smile at how lost he was in the task, not even seeming to notice the way you were touching him. you pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his neck, letting your lips pressed there for just a second before pulling back.

—joel, —you murmured. your fingers brushed against his before you gently took the small tool from him and set it on the table. you moved closer, slipping one knee over his lap, easing yourself down until you were straddling him. —are you planning on working all night?

joel's hands instinctively found your hips, steadying you, surprised but not willing to stop you. —was just about done here, —he said, —then i was gonna give you every bit of my attention. but i see you've got other plans for me.

you loved how he looked with the glasses low on his nose, made him look more domestic, but you gently slid them off, folding them and setting them on the table. his eyes followed the movement, then back up to yours, darker now but entirely focused.

—thought you liked those, —he murmured.

—i do, —you whispered, —but i'm afraid they might get in the way.

he hummed, his eyes fixed on your lips.

you unbuttoned the flannel he wore beneath his jacket. he watched you, barely breathing, his hands still resting on your hips but his thumbs began to trace soft circles through the fabric of your jeans. you sighed softly as the last button came undone, revealing his body. your hand moved over his chest, tracing the old, pale scars that marked his skin. your eyes moved lower, taking in the softness of his belly, the way he relaxed under your gaze instead of tensing. you bit your lower lip, what if you said this was the sexiest he has ever looked?

—i couldn't wait to get back home to you, —you brushed your nose against his, you hips started rolling against his own. joel swallowed, his hands flexed where they held you, fingers tightening just a little.

—yeah? —he asked, his voice low, a little gruff.

you nodded, and your lips finally met his in a kiss that felt like it had been waiting to happen all day. it was desperate, needy, but slow and passionate. your fingers sank into the soft, graying hair at the back of joel’s head, tugging gently, needing him closer. he groaned low in his throat, his hands working hungrily on the zipper of your jeans.

you lifted your hips from his so he could slid your jeans down your legs and immediately after, you straddled him again. as your fingers worked on the buckle of his belt and then unzipped his pants, joel's big hands cupped your ass, pushing you forward and encouraging you to grind against his crotch.

you whined, feeling the rough fabric of his jeans through the thin one of your panties. you pulled down his underwear, just enough for his cock to sprung free. you connected your lips with his again, his hands now on your cheeks as you lowered yourself just enough for his tip to go in. he let out a deep grunt straight from his chest, you let out all the air you had in your lungs in a moan.

you took all of him. joel let his head rest on your shoulder as his hands traveled down your body to your hips. he helped you move, at first just rocking your body back and forth against his. your lips, half parted pressed together, made it easier for your breaths to mingle. then, you lifted your body and then dropped back onto him. you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed his lips while you repeated that same move again and again.

—fuck, yeah, just like that, —joel groaned in your ear.

you tried not to be so loud, you didn't want to attract anyone's attention or cause a scandal. but your cries and his moans eventually echoed on the walls of your living room every time you lifted yourself a bit more and then sucked his cock completely inside you again.

joel rose from the chair in one fluid motion, his strong hands holding your weight. with a sweep of his arm, tools and scraps went to the floor, forgotten. he laid you down on the now-cleared table, the wood cool against your back, contrast to the heat building between you as his cock never left your body.

—did so good for me, now let me take care of you, hm?

he grabbed your thighs with firm hands and guided your legs around his waist so he could go deeper. your heels pressed into his lower back as he leaned in closer, his forehead resting against yours. the table cracked with each one of his thrusts and you feared it might break, it wouldn't be the first time joel would need to ask his brother for help in repairing a piece of furniture that you had broken since your arrival in jackson.

one of his hands sneaked in between your bodies and found your clit, his fingers moving fast and with urgency as he felt how you were getting tighter and tighter. you closed your eyes shut, feeling a little dizzy from all the panting as your body jerked and squeezed his own between your legs as you came. after that, he didn't last much longer and released himself inside you.

you both stayed there for a few minute. joel rested on top of you and with your legs still around him, you welcomed the weight of his body pressing you down onto the table. you played with his hair as he finally looked at you. you showed him a little smile and he gave a quick kiss to your lips.

—my body's gonna hurt so much tomorrow from this.

you giggled, —i'll make sure to give you the best massage ever.

you showed him a little smile, and he gave you a quick kiss to your lips. but as you pulled away, both of you noticed the mess of tools and pieces scattered across the floor, the work joel had been focused on before everything had shifted between you.

—i'm afraid you're gonna have to start all over again.

—with that or with you?

[snoopyracing]

champagne coast — ln4

pairing: lando norris x reader word count: 19k warnings: cursing and alcohol use includes: friends to lovers, summer!lando, mutual pining, fluff, and a little angst summary: when lando and you spend summer break together you don't expect italy to hold such a special place in your heart.... or lando and you go on vacation and everyone thinks you're a couple. playlist for the fic: spotify | apple music

masterlist

─── ༺❀༻ ───

It was the Monday before the Belgium Grand Prix when Lando asked – what are you doing for summer break?

The sun had started to set over the coast, its golden reflection rippling across the water and onto the balcony of Lando’s Monaco apartment. The same balcony that the two of you currently resided on, choosing to share the wicker couch instead of one of you sitting in one of the empty chairs.

You were sat sideways on the couch with your legs crossed, your view consisting more of Lando than the picturesque sunset over the sea. A cheap bottle of pink moscato, which was your favorite, was sitting on the table where Lando had his feet propped up.

He’d always complain about how sweet it was, but then drink more of it than you. In all reality, he’d actually grown to love it because of you, but he’d never tell you that. He’d only been able to find it at one place in Monaco, so when he knew you were coming to visit he always made sure to have a couple bottles on hand and maybe a bottle for himself when he was missing you.

Your eyes met his as you processed his question. This right now was your summer vacation. He surely knew that, right? “Summer break? I don’t have a summer break like you do, Lando.” It was true, you had barely managed to get this week off from work to be able to go to Belgium, let alone have a month off. “I figured me being here for a couple days then going to Belgium would be my vacation.”

A disapproving sigh escapes past his lips as he speaks. “That is not a vacation.”

“Well it sure as hell beats being stuck at an office in London.”

He downed the remainder of the wine in his glass and fully turned his body towards you. His arm resting across the back of the couch, his fingers nearly touching you. “I think you should come with me on vacation.”

You stifle a groan by taking a drink of your wine. “Lando, you know I don’t do Ibiza. It's not my kind of place, especially this time of year.” It was a beautiful place no doubt, but the big party scene was not your favorite. And the couple times you had gone with Lando and your shared friend group it was so chaotic and you had a hangover that lasted for what seemed like a week. So no– Ibiza and you weren’t the best of friends.

“Who said anything about Ibiza?” He’s got a smirk toying at the corners of his lips, you can tell by the way his upper lip twitches slightly. Not that you stare at his lips that much to be able to notice that kind of thing.

“Lando Norris not going to Ibiza during his summer break? Should I alert the press? Did you hit your head? Are you running a fever?” You lean forward to check his temperature, but he playfully swatted away your hand with a giggle before you could get close enough. “Have you broken the news to Fewt-”

That smirk had fully developed across his face as he cut you off. “Who said anything about Max?”

Now you really thought that he’d bumped his head or was slightly tipsy already. You cocked an eyebrow at him in question. “Where are you going then? Especially without Max?”

Lando leaned back, the wicker creaking beneath him, but his eyes were still trained on you. Golden hour had made them even more blue, resembling the crystal blue water that was just a short walk away. “I’m going wherever you want to go.”

“Lando.”

“Y/N.” He’s the one to cock an eyebrow now.

“I can’t go with you.”

His smirk had turned into a pout and he knew how to work those big blue eyes, especially on you. “Why not? Wherever you want to go– we will go. Not many people get that opportunity Y/N.”

You go to take another drink and realize your glass is empty, but before you can reach for the bottle Lando’s already got it in his hands, reaching over slightly to pour you another glass. “Who all is going then if Max isn’t going?”

He sets the bottle back down on the table, hesitating for a moment before speaking. You two are close, probably the closest friend he has compared to Max, but he worries that you won’t be up for what he’s about to suggest. “It would just be me and you.”

You feel your cheeks get hot at his proposal, but you shake it off, blaming it on the wine.

As much as the idea of Lando and you going on a trip together sounds amazing, you just don’t think you can make it work. You live a normal life and being able to just go on lavish trips at the drop of a hat is not something you get to experience, no matter how much Lando wants you to or you would like to.

“I would love to Lan, but I don't think I could get the time off again.” Your finger nervously circles the rim of the wine glass as you contemplate even bringing your other reason up. Mainly because you know what his answer will be, but against your better judgment you take another swig of the wine as liquid courage before telling him the embarrassing truth. “I also just can’t afford it.”

And without skipping a beat he blurts out. “I’ll pay.” You’re immediately shaking your head no, but before you can verbally deny his offer he’s speaking again “Seriously Y/N. I will pay. It’s not a big deal.”

Except him paying your way for this trip is a big deal. Just how it’s a big deal everytime you come and visit him in Monaco and he insists that you don’t spend a dime while you’re here. It’s bad enough that you stay at his place, let alone have him pay for your dinner every night. Or how he is always offering to fly you out to races on your free weekends. Or insisting that the random gifts he gives you don’t cost that much, like you can’t read the designer labels on the boxes or labels.

It makes you feel bad that you can’t offer the same back to him. The constant worry that he might think you are using him for his money makes your stomach hurt because it’s the last thing you’d ever do. He’s one of the most giving and kindest people you know and to be able to call him your best friend is something you treasure. And you truly hope he knows how much you appreciate everything he does for you, but how could he not when you tell him every chance you get.

“Lando, really I cannot let you pay for me to go on vacation. It’s one thing to let me crash at your apartment and for you to get me passes to races, which I appreciate more than you will ever know. But I draw the line at a whole vacation. I don’t want to seem like a freeloader who is using you, that’s honestly the la-”

“Oh my god will you just let me spoil you!” Lando had enough of your endless rambling. Your need to always try and decline his gifts or offerings until he convinces you that you are worthy of them drives him crazy. To Lando there isn’t a person on Earth who deserves everything and more than you. And the fact that he can afford to give you anything you’d ever want tickles him pink. Hell if it was possible, he’d buy you the whole damn universe, even if you hadn’t asked for it.

“I hate that you think– that I would think you’re using me. Never in a million years would I think that. You mean a lot to me Y/N, truly. You’re one the most important people in my life and you deserve everything and more that I give you. If I thought you were using me, I would not be asking you to go on vacation with me, believe me. I love having you around and with us not seeing each other like we used to, I figured a trip with just the two of us would be nice.”

He pauses for a moment as he scoots a little closer to you on the couch, your legs touching as the glow from the sun envelopes around you two. “Now please don’t try and worm your way out of this trip. I’ve missed you so much and if you don’t end up going I think you’re just gonna have to move in with me.”

You roll your eyes at his dramatics, but try not to let his heartfelt words get to your head. “How would I even get the time off work again? Tell them ‘Oh my famous F1 driver best friend wants to take me on a trip. Can I please have some more time off?’ I don’t think that would work.”

“Well I think it would work. Especially if you add in that I’m super hot.”

The giggles that come from you lets you know that you’ve drank your fair share of wine for the evening. “Oh I don’t think they would ever tell me no If I added that in.”

“If they do say no then just quit and I’ll get you a job somehow with McLaren or Quadrant or something. I just really want to go on this trip with you.”

You aren’t sure if it's the wine in your system or the fact that you want nothing more right now than to spend a week with Lando in some beautiful country, without a care in the world. But you ignore every responsible and logical part of you and tell him what he wants to hear.

“Alright. So where are we going then?”

His eyes light up and the smile that spreads across his face is comparable to that first win smile. “That’s all up to you baby.”

Both of your hearts skip a beat at the term of endearment that came from him. His because he can’t believe he let it slip and yours because you can’t believe he called you that so easily. But you both ignore it and you focus on the one place you’d had on your mind since he mentioned taking a trip.

“Italy?” You suggest with a hopeful smile on your face.

He fills up his glass with the last of the fruit juice like wine and holds it up towards you, your glasses clinking together in a toast. “Italy it is then.”

─── ༺❀༻ ───

Six days later an email notification pops up on your phone as you’re sitting in McLaren’s hospitality, talking with Lando’s Mom. You glance at who it’s from, not wanting to be rude and get on your phone mid conversation, but when you see your boss’s contact you can’t help but open it. “I’m sorry, it’s from work.” Cisca waved you off, the conversation had only consisted of why they couldn’t stock better snacks in hospitality, and she knew if work was emailing you on a Sunday it had to be important.

You had emailed them Monday night requesting the time off and when they hadn’t responded by Friday you figured they were denying it. Or firing you for requesting more time off while currently being on a vacation. So to be getting this email on a Sunday had you worried, but as your eyes scanned the email you couldn’t hold back the excitement. By some higher power unbestowed to you, they had granted you the time off.

“Never seen someone so excited over an email from work.” Cisca teased.

“Yeah. Honestly thought I was getting fired, but they approved my time off for the Italy trip Lando and I are taking.” You leaned back in the chair, relief finally washing over you.

“Just the two of you?” Cisca had her suspicions about her son’s feelings towards you and your feelings towards him. She’d secretly hoped the two of you would end up together the first time she met you years ago. She honestly thought you were his girlfriend that day and was surprised when he introduced you as his friend. Then she thought maybe he was hiding your relationship because she had never known her son to bring around a female friend like he had you.

You had attended family dinners, a couple holidays, races, and so many other things that just didn’t seem normal to bring a friend to. They had become so accustomed to you being around that when he finally said that he was bringing home his girlfriend for everyone to meet and you didn’t walk through the door— everyone was a little shell shocked. The relationship didn’t last long and she had her theories as to why. To Cisca there was just no way the two of you didn’t have feelings for eachother, she could see it plain as day, and it drove her crazy that the two of you didn’t see it.

“Yeah. At first I thought he was asking me to go to Ibiza again with everyone and you know me, it’s not my thing. But then he said we could go anywhere I wanted and that it was just me and him, so I chose Italy.” You gathered your things, eager to tell Lando the good news before race time. “You raised a good man, Cisca. I couldn’t ask for a better person in my life than him.”

There’s a smile on her face as she watches you talk about Lando, how your smile never falters and how that twinkle in your eye seems to get brighter the more you talk about him. “Thank you honey. You had better go tell him, hadn’t you?”

“I’ll be back!”

Thankfully Lando’s not that hard to find, he’s in the garage looking over some data on the monitors with Will when you spot him. You stand back out of the way, waiting until he’s done, but as soon as he turns to walk away you’re racing towards him. Your arms flinging around him from behind and you can feel him tense under you, but when he hears your laughter his muscles relax.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Lando asks as he turns around to face you, his hands lingering on your hips.

“Hmmm. It may have something to do with work approving my time off.”

That same smile from the other night finds its way onto his face and he’s pulling you into his arms, the two of you swaying back and forth as he nuzzles his head into your neck. “I knew they would approve it, it was meant to be.” His voice tickles your neck as he speaks causing a giggle to escape past your lips.

“Can’t believe we get to spend a week together in Italy.” You state as he releases you from his grip.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You furrow your eyebrows at him, still not sure that he wouldn’t rather be going to Ibiza with his friends.”You’re sure you’re not gonna miss Ibiza?”

His fingers toy with the hem of your shirt as he speaks– his blue eyes boring into yours. “I’d miss you more if I went.” And there isn’t a single ounce of doubt in his words. If he ended up going to Ibiza without you, he’d be at a club wondering what you were doing. Eventually downing one too many shots to try and numb that annoying ache in his chest that forms when you aren’t around. The one that even with you around this week, he had felt occasionally at the idea of you not being able to go to Italy.

The idea of him spending his summer break back in England had crossed his mind a couple times, especially if that meant he got to spend time with you. Luckily though fate was on his side today and he wouldn’t have to deal with that ache for the foreseeable future.

You can feel the slight blush on your cheeks as you process what Lando had said to you and you pray he doesn’t notice it. Just him simply saying he’d miss you if he went to Ibiza should not have you blushing, but here recently it seemed like that was all he could do was make you blush.

A familiar Australian accent hits your ears and around the corner comes Oscar, his hand clamping down on Lando’s shoulder as he comes up behind him. “Y/N. Haven’t seen you in awhile.” His bunny teeth showing as he flashes you a smile.

Your mouth barely opens to speak before Lando’s speaking for you. “I know. She’s been too busy working back in London to come see her favorite person.”

“I’m really such a horrible friend. I’m so sorry Oscar, I really should make more time to see you. In fact, how’s Australia this time of year? I think I might come visit you.” The playful smirk on your face and Oscar’s laugh does nothing to tell Lando that you’re just joking and like a little kid he’s got his arms crossed across his chest with a slight pout on his face.

“Um. I think I’m your favorite person Y/N. Plus you can’t even go to Australia because we are going to Italy.”

Oscar and you can’t help but laugh at Lando’s dramatics, but Oscar wants to tease Lando even further. He knows how his older teammate feels about you, even if Lando won’t give the idea any time of day when Oscar brings it up. Lando had confided in Oscar about his idea to take you on a trip, but Oscar didn’t think he’d actually go through with it. “Italy? Who’s all going? Maybe Lily and I could tag along?”

Lando’s eyes widen at Oscar’s suggestion, mainly because he knows you’d jump at any opportunity to spend time with Lily and this trip was meant to be just for the two of you. “It’s just gonna be me and Y/N…” He trials off, trying to figure out how to nicely tell Oscar that he can’t come.

“There's a month between Singapore and Austin. We should all plan something for then.” You chime in. As much as you would love to spend time with Oscar and Lily, you really want to have this trip just be Lando and you.

Lando’s surprised at you turning down Oscar’s suggestion, but smiles and nods towards Oscar, agreeing with your idea. “Yeah that sounds like a good idea.” Oscar states, a small smirk on his face as he eyes the two of you, fully knowing that you’ll come back from Italy together. And if you don’t Oscar thinks he may have to knock some sense into his teammate.

The driver’s parade was set to start soon, so you tell Oscar you’ll see him around and give Lando a hug, knowing you won’t see him again until after the race. “I’ll see you later, yeah? Be safe and good luck.”

Lando’s grip on you lingers, not wanting to fully let you go just yet, but when they get the final warning that it’s time to go he reluctantly frees you. A small frown on his face as he heads towards the track and you go back to hospitality.

The two McLaren drivers stood side by side on the flatbed of the moving truck, smiles on their faces as they waved at the fans in the grandstands. “Never seen two friends like you and Y/N go on a trip together– alone.” Oscar’s voice is low, there’s an interview going on to his left, but he’s loud enough that Lando can hear him.

Lando keeps looking straight forward as he speaks. “Don’t know what you mean by that.”

“I think you fully know what I mean.”

Max, who was on the other side of Lando, had been eavesdropping the whole time, and couldn’t help but put his two cents in. “If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about. I just want to say, do us all a favor and finally tell her how you feel.”

Lando shook his head at the two drivers. You two were just very close best friends, there wasn’t anything he needed to admit to you. It was just a trip that two best friends were going on and there was nothing more to it– right?

─── ༺❀༻ ───

A week and a half later your plane touches down in Naples and even though the flight from London is only around three hours you want nothing more than to just get to the hotel and relax.

The Uber ride from the airport to the hotel thankfully doesn’t take long and you have no issue with sitting down in the lobby of the hotel with all the luggage while Lando checks you two in. You do notice that it’s taking quite a long time for Lando to check in and as you glance up from your phone towards the reception desk you see him talking with the worker and showing her something on his phone. Then with a sigh and a shake of his head he turns on his heel back towards you.

“Everything alright?” You ask.

He slips his phone back into his pocket and grabs his suitcase. “I booked us a two bedroom suite and they told me that all they have available is a one bedroom. Even though I showed them the booking on my phone, someone is already in it. So, I’ll just take the couch and you can have the bed.”

This place was fancy, and Lando had undoubtedly paid a pretty penny for the two nights that you were staying here. You would have thought they would have comped the room or something for their mistake. But by the displeased look on his face it didn’t seem they offered him anything but a sorry for the inconvenience.

Even with the hotel screwing up the room, the one you end up with is amazing and as you enter the room your jaw drops slightly at it. You set your bags down and explore the room further, taking in all the beautiful artwork on the walls and the natural light streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows. You enter a door to your left and it’s the bedroom, which is even better than the main room, mainly because of the huge balcony that overlooks the sea.

There’s a gentle breeze in the air as you lean against the railing, taking in the view and the hustle and bustle from the surrounding area.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Lando’s voice makes you jump, you were so lost in your own little world you didn’t even hear him come out onto the balcony. You nod your head in agreement as he slots himself beside you, mimicking your actions of leaning on the railing. “And it’s not even the best part of our trip.”

“You know you didn’t have to get such a nice room, we are only in Naples for two days.” As much as you try not to feel guilty about him paying for all of this, you do.

“And what did I say a couple weeks ago?”

A groan emits from you as you remember his words to you in Monaco. “You said to let you spoil me.”

“Exactly. I just want you to enjoy yourself and stop worrying about how much everything costs. We are here to relax and have fun, which means figuring out what we want to do tonight.”

You ponder your endless options and all you really want to do is sit on this balcony and enjoy the view, but your stomach growling tells you maybe dinner would be a good idea first. “We are in Italy– how about getting some pizza and then just come back here and relax?” Lando agrees and while you’re freshening up he looks up good pizza places within walking distance.

You two are just about ready to leave when there's a knock on the door, followed by room service!

A confused look is shared between you two, but when Lando looks through the peephole there stands a worker with a room service cart. He opens the door and is greeted with a smile from the employee.

“From the hotel as an apology about the room.” The employee hands Lando an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne nestled in it. “Have a nice rest of your stay.”

Lando looks back at you with an amused look on his face as the guy quickly leaves, the wheels of the cart squeaking as he hurries down the hall. “Well, we have something to drink on the balcony later.” Lando states as he sets the bucket down on the coffee table.

“Champagne and pizza? No thanks.” You see there’s a card attached to the bottle and as you open the envelope and read the words written, your cheeks turn scarlet.

“What does it say?” Lando questions, moving to stand behind you so he can read it too. His eyes scan the letter and he soon finds himself in the same state as you. He clears his throat as he steps back, suddenly feeling too close to you at the moment.

to the happy couple,

we are so deeply sorry about the mix up with rooms and we hope you can accept our apologies. we’ve sent a bottle of the finest champagne that you can get in naples and have comped any room service you may order during your stay. as always if you need anything please don’t hesitate to call the front desk and once again we sincerely apologize for our mistake. we hope you enjoy your stay here and the city of naples.

The letter isn’t spoken about, actually what you two were addressed as isn’t spoken about, but you both agree that their actions were nice. The walk to the pizza place is quiet, the both of you occasionally pointing out things that you think are interesting or pretty, but both of your minds are preoccupied with being mistaken for a couple. Anyone else would have laughed it off, but clearly not the two of you.

By the time you’re back at the hotel and sat on the balcony with the pizza and champagne your conversation had returned to normal. You teasing Lando about not even drinking the glass he had poured for himself and him complaining about you insisting that you get a pizza that has peppers on it.

“You know what would make this evening even better?” The pizza is long gone and the two of you are sat admiring the painting in the sky left behind from the sun.

“Some pink moscato?” There’s a grin on his face as he says it. If there’s one thing he knows you love, it’s a glass of pink moscato on a balcony with a view.

You try to hide the smile on your face as you glance over at him, but he’s caught you. “You know me too well Norris.”

“Should’ve told that employee that we wanted a ten dollar bottle of wine instead of that champagne.” Lando jokes.

“Thought you didn’t like it? That it was too sweet?”

He shuffles slightly in his seat, fully knowing that you’d caught on to his facade. “I may have grown to love it.” He admits quietly.

You’d known for a while, but hearing him say it was much more satisfying. “Yeah. Kinda figured it out last year when you started drinking more of it than me.”

Nighttime draws near and once you start yawning, so does Lando, and after the fourth round of yawning Lando states that it’s time for bed. The subject the two of you hadn’t discussed any further than what was said in the lobby earlier. The guilt started to eat at you as you brushed your teeth, he’d invited you and is paying for everything and he doesn’t even get to sleep in a bed? What kind of friend were you?

Lando was making the couch up as you walked out of the bathroom and for this being a luxury hotel that couch looked stiff and seemed to be more for show than actual comfort. He already had a bad back and it looked like sleeping on that couch was going to have him trying to find a chiropractor tomorrow instead of sightseeing. “Lan. You take the bed and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

He doesn’t even look back at you, still occupied with trying to make the couch somewhat comfortable. “No. I’ll be fine. You take the bed.”

“Lando.”

“Y/N.”

“Lando, look at me.” You knew he wasn’t going to budge with the whole couch thing, so you thought of the next best thing. The two of you sharing the bed. It was plenty big and truly it shouldn’t be that big of a deal if you two shared it. You were grown adults and bestfriends, no one should have to sleep on the couch.

His focus tears away from the couch and over to you, who’s already in bed and under the covers. “Look at how big this bed is.” Your body extends over to the other side trying to show him just how big the bed is. “Just sleep in the bed with me, there is plenty of room.”

Your offer takes him by surprise and he stills for a moment, he’d love nothing more than to climb into that bed right now, but a part of his brain is telling him not to. And he’s about ready to tell you no once again until he makes eye contact with you. Those damn eyes of yours could be used in interrogation rooms across the world, one look into them and he’s crumbling like a poorly built sandcastle. The gentle pat on the empty side of the bed is what flattens the sandcastle and he’s mumbling out an okay before sliding under the sheets next to you.

The two of you don’t know what to do for a moment, both still and flat on your backs under the sheets, like if you moved an inch the gremlin under the bed was going to get you. But eventually Lando turns on his side, mumbling out a goodnight as he pulls the comforter closer to him. You take his actions as a sign for you to roll over too and you figured that falling asleep wouldn’t be an issue after all the yawning earlier, but you were wrong. You tried counting sheep, tried laying on your back, tried anything you could think of to fall asleep and nothing worked. It wasn’t like there was a major time difference between here and London, it was literally only an hour, so unfortunately jet lag could not be to blame.

Lando hadn’t moved the whole time and you figured he fell asleep as soon as he turned over, but you were bored and going a little crazy because even though you were tired, you couldn’t fall asleep. “Lando.” You whispered, but got no response. “Lando. Are you awake?” You whisper a little louder this time, but still no response. So with a defeated sigh you roll back over and shut your eyes, praying that this time you can go to sleep. But within a matter of seconds you feel the bed shift and Lando’s voice echoing through the room.

“I’m awake.”

You roll back over— the two of you now facing each other. “Why didn’t you answer me a minute ago?”

“I was trying to go to sleep myself.”

“Oh sorry. I’ll go out to the other room and watch some TV or something.” You barely move an inch before Lando’s got his fingers wrapped around your forearm, gently pulling you back towards him.

“No, don't leave.”

You can feel your heartbeat quickening as you realize just how close the two of you are. The glow from the moon cascades through the balcony doors allowing you to make out the moles on his face and those pretty long eyelashes of his that make his already breathtaking eyes seem even more beautiful. Sometimes you think he has stars in his eyes from the way that they sparkle. And as the two of you lay here right now, you realize the only reason that the moonlight is flooding into the room is because she’s looking for her lost stars that have found a home in Lando’s eyes.

“You got any ideas on how to fall asleep? I’ve tried just about everything in the book.” For some reason you're whispering and you wonder if it’s from how close you are to Lando’s face or how suddenly nervous you are to be this close to Lando.

He’s silent for a moment, the logical and sane part of him screaming at him to not even suggest what he’s been thinking about ever since climbing under these sheets. The mere idea of it being the thing that had prevented him from being fast asleep by now. But he’s got you at literal fingertips length and he thinks there may not be another opportunity like this again. So– he acts with his heart and not his brain.

“Come here.” He’s moved onto his back with his arm outstretched towards you.

“Huh?” You know exactly what he’s insinuating, but you can’t actually believe that he is.

“You wanted an idea on how to fall asleep and this is my idea. I’ll get you to fall asleep in no time.

“You think us cuddling is gonna get me to fall asleep?” You definitely hadn’t wondered what it would be like to be wrapped up in Lando’s arms before. How it would feel to have his fingertips trance mindless patterns across your skin or have your head on his chest. He was your best friend, which meant those thoughts had never crossed your mind– right?

He shrugs, trying to hide the nervousness in his demeanor, the mere thought of you denying him right now was enough to have him on the next flight back to Monaco in the morning. He should have never put himself in this situation, but god as soon as he climbed into this bed all he wanted to do was have you wrapped up in his arms.

It had consumed his brain, and then consumed it even more because why was he having this desire to have such a tender moment with his best friend? Though his brain stops spiraling when he feels the bed shift and you’re suddenly tucking yourself into his side, arm slung over his torso, and your head laying on his chest. The same chest that his heart is about ready to beat out of and he prays you can’t hear how hard it’s working.

But as you both get settled and Lando’s heartbeat finally mellows out he realizes just how right this feels, like the two of you were matching puzzle pieces. Any other girl he had cuddled with before now seemed to feel wrong because as far as he was concerned, nothing felt better than this. It felt natural and easy and he found himself drawing absent minded patterns on your side where your shirt had bunched up.

He’d spend the rest of his life here in this moment with you if he could. And when he hears your slight snores something short circuits in his brain and he’s pressing a kiss to the top of your head mumbling out goodnight before he’s out like a light too. The moonlight blanketing over the two of you, who right now look more like lovers than best friends.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

The next morning you’re already up and ready for the day by the time Lando wakes up and he tries to hide the disappointment of not waking up next to you, already missing the feeling of having you so close. A feeling though nice, he knew it was one that he probably shouldn’t be feeling. He asks you if you slept well while he’s getting ready and you tell him yes, not going into very much detail, for your own sake and his.

The day is full of sightseeing and lots of walking, which is something that Lando likes to complain about. You visit Pompeii and a handful of other places for you and Lando to nerd out about and truly be tourists. You eat amazing food that Lando says his trainer will hate him for, but he justifies it with the excuse of being on vacation. Hundreds of pictures were taken, your phones already begging for more storage and it was only the first day of the trip. Lando even went as far as bringing an actual camera, stating that lando.jpg would be revived soon.

But in between the sightseeing, eating, and everything else– both of your brains immediately go back to the sleeping arrangements from last night. You both can’t stop thinking about it, but no one brings it up, almost like it’s something you should be ashamed of. No one wants to admit how right it felt to be in eachothers arms last night or how both of you probably had the best sleep of your lives.

You didn’t want to admit that when you woke up this morning to Lando spooning you, your stomach was doing flips over the realization that you had moved in the middle of the night and he had found his way back to you. So many thoughts and emotions running through your brains, yet you both think it’s better to just act like it's not a big deal.

Night falls once again and Lando crawls into bed next to you. You’re both absolutely spent after the eventful day you’ve had and Lando worries that you won’t need him to fall asleep, but his worries soon dissipate because you’re tucking yourself into his side as soon as he’s gotten himself comfortable. You’re like a moth to a flame– the consequences of these actions never even enter your mind as slowly feel yourself drifting off to sleep.

And when morning comes you don’t run away when you feel Lando’s arms around you, even with the butterflies making an appearance again. You enjoy your moment alone, the sun shining in through the windows, the sound of the city already alive, and the way Lando looks as he sleeps. It's truly a beautiful morning.

He wakes up not too long after you and there’s a funny feeling in his chest when he realizes that he’s gotten to wake up with you still in his arms. That you were the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. It all just feels so natural and right, that once again no words are spoken about this very non-platonic thing that is happening between you two.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

“We’ve got a little bit a drive ahead of us today.” Lando states as he comes out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Water droplets are scattered across his tan skin, his damp curls falling slightly onto his forehead. You’re trying not to stare, but good lord how could anyone not.

“It’s only like an hour.” You're still sitting in bed, propped up against the headboard as you now watch him rummage through his suitcase.

He holds up a shirt and shorts, silently asking for your opinion. You give him a nod of approval and he heads back to the bathroom to get dressed, but he leaves the door slightly cracked so he can still talk to you. “Yeah it was an hour. I’ve canceled the driver and made some new plans for today.”

“New plans?” You raise your voice slightly so he can hear you.

“It’s a surprise.” He peeks his head around the slightly open door— a mischievous smile painted across his face, before disappearing behind it once more. “So you had better start getting ready.” He commands as the door fully opens, revealing a fully dressed Lando.

A few short moments later a domestic scene plays out in the bathroom mirror. The double sinks both occupied, various hair products, makeup, and other random items are scattered across the counter. You’re watching Lando through the mirror as he tries to wrangle the mop of curls on his head, but everytime you look away he’s watching you brush your teeth or do your skincare. And the occasional times your eyes do meet in the mirror you’re both like little kids, eyes immediately darting away with smiles on your faces and little giggles echoing through the bathroom.

“You gonna tell me what the surprise is?” Patience had never been your strong suit and thus knowing about surprises was like a form of torture to you.

“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?” He’s still screwing with his hair, but he’s looking at you through the mirror.

“Oh come on, just tell me. Pretty pretty please?” You’ve come up behind him, your chin resting on his shoulder as you flash your best puppy dog eyes at him through the mirror. And for a split second Lando almost cracks– those puppy dog eyes working on him better than you would have ever thought.

“The faster we pack everything up, the faster you get the surprise.” He’s shocked his words come out smoothly, his brain still foggy from your pretty eyes and close contact.

Ten minutes later you’re walking out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby, where Lando tells you to wait while he goes outside for a moment. You assume the surprise is outside and so you try to peek and see what’s out there, but he’s coming back in before you can get a good look.

“Alright let’s go.”

You don’t see anything that you would consider surprise worthy as you walk out the doors, but then Lando leads you towards the cars parked outside the hotel and stops in front of a vintage yellow Ferrari. Your eyes dart back and forth between Lando and the car, unsure if he was just stopping to admire it or if you were going to be riding in it. He answers your unasked question by opening the passenger side door, motioning for you to get in.

“Is this the surprise? Where did you even get this car from?” Your eyes widening over the car itself and the fact that he’d gone through the trouble of even finding the car.

“It’s part of the surprise-” He’s got a smirk on his face as he speaks “and I have my connections.” He motions once again for you to get into the car and this time you don’t oblige. The leather seat soft under your legs as you sit down, the car was surely close to 60 years old, yet still looked brand new.

Lando puts the luggage in the trunk while you're examining all of the car’s little quirks and details while you wait.

“Ok, you ready?” Lando asks as he gets in the driver's seat.

“Gonna tell me the other part of the surprise?”

He sighs, he wanted you to figure it out on your own, but you were so persistent sometimes. “You know how you’ve always talked about wanting to drive along the coast of Italy?” You nod, a smile already forming on your face as you realize what he’s planned for you. “Well, instead of just taking the straight shot over, we’re gonna take the long way all along the Amalfi coast. And I figured it was only fitting that we do it in a Ferrari, considering we are in Italy after all.”

You can’t wipe the smile off your face as you stare at Lando from the passenger seat. Sometimes you wondered if he was even listening to you when you spoke, but then he pulls stuff like this and you know that he’s always listening– remembering things that you care about or like. “God, I don’t deserve you.”

Thankfully the car is still parked because you’re pulling Lando into a bone crushing hug, your cheek smushed up against the side of his head, a giggle emitting from him as he tries to hug you back.

“When you told me your work approved the time off, I knew for sure that this was one thing that I wanted to make happen. That same night I was online trying to find a car to rent for the day, but then I saw this one for sale…” His words trail off and your jaw drops at the realization, but in all reality you know it’s a very Lando thing to do.

“And now we’re sitting in your newest baby?”

He’s got a sheepish look on his face as he speaks. “As soon as I saw it I knew it was the perfect car for this. Plus it’s the ultimate vacation souvenir!”

“You’re crazy.” He actually couldn’t be more perfect.

“Yeah, but you love me.” He teases as he starts the engine.

“Unfortunately.”

─── ༺❀༻ ───

The long winding road along the coast provided scenery that was beyond your wildest dreams. It was serene and picturesque– like something straight out of a movie. The bright blue water on one side of the road and the white stone mountains on the other. The various tunnels that somehow had even more breathtaking views on the other side of them. The handful of towns that you had to drive through, each of them more charming than the last, you only wished you had enough time to stay a week in all of them.

As simple as this was, you would have been more than content with this trip if you went home tomorrow, not that you wanted to, it was just that sometimes the simple things in life meant more than anything lavish to you. You weren’t hard to please, all you needed was Lando singing along to some song on the radio, beautiful scenery, and the wind blowing in your hair for you to be the happiest girl in the world right now.

The whole trip your attention was divided between the coastal beauty and the beauty in the driver's seat. You couldn’t help but glance over ever so often at Lando, especially when you’d hear him start to sing along to a song. He just looked so ethereal sitting next to you, one hand on the steering wheel– the other resting between you two.

There was a moment where you felt the sudden urge to reach out and intertwine your fingers with his, a moment of insanity you’d thought. It surely had nothing to do with how sunkissed he looked from only being in the sun one day, or how the wind had made his curls the perfect amount of messy, or how you’d catch him looking over at you with a smile on his face.

If only you knew that Lando had been fighting the urge to reach out and grab your hand too. He’d never seen you so ecstatic over something as simple as going for a drive, but he’d drive this car till he ran out of road or gas, whichever came first, just to see that smile of yours. The way your eyes sparkled in the sunlight and how you giggled at his singing was just an added bonus, but all of them made his chest feel funny. He’d been around the world more times than he could count, seen so many breathtaking places, but right now none of those places compared to the beauty that was sitting next to him in this car.

You’re in your own little world so much that you don’t even realize you’ve made it to your destination until Lando’s putting the car in park in front of a very luxurious looking villa. “We’ve arrived.” Lando states in a sing-song voice.

“Is this when you tell me Max and everyone else are actually coming too?” You question, flabbergasted over the size of the house. And you can tell what he’s thinking just by his facial expression. “Lando this place is huge just for the two of us.”

He rolls his eyes before getting out of the car to get luggage. “It’s actually a lot smaller than you think.”

When you step foot into the two story villa it immediately has that Mediterranean coast charm with intricate tile floors, artwork that adorns the walls, and windows with the most gorgeous views– needles to say you’re in love.

Then you take in just how big the place is with it’s one too many bedrooms and bathrooms and various other rooms that you probably won’t even use. Lando’s words echo in your head as you explore the house some more, and there’s nothing small about this place at all. “You’re such a liar Lan.” Your words are playful as you walk through one of the many french doors in the house that leads out to the back.

“Lie? I would nev-”

“Oh my god!” He’s cut off by you realizing that the backyard of this villa is nothing shy of paradise. A massive pergola covered part of the back of the house with vibrant bougainvillea lining the top and hanging down the sides. Various other flowers and plants are scattered strategically around the area. Under the pergola there's an outdoor kitchen and a large glass dining table, clearly meant to host a group of people, not two. Further out there’s a pool with sunbeds lined down one side of it– a poolside bar on the other.

All of these things are great, but the real show stopper is the view that this place has. From the front of the house you can’t really tell just how close you are to the water, but from out back it’s a completely different view. There’s a separate sitting area slightly further out from the pool. It’s got a little pergola of its own with couches and chairs and one of those fancy rock fire pits and that is where you get the best view.

It’s like something out of a nature documentary– it’s so perfect that it almost seems fake. The sea is so close that you can hear the waves crashing against the rocks and it’s just endless bright blue water for days. You thought the view in Naples was pretty, but this was breathtaking.

“Knew you’d love this place.” Lando states as he comes up beside you, acting like he hadn’t been lingering behind you the whole time, admiring the view (you) from afar.

It was true though, Lando knew as soon as he saw this place online that it was the one. It didn’t matter that he paid an astronomical amount for it or that the house was way too big for just the two of you. All it took was for him to see the view to know you’d be the happiest girl in the world here.

He could picture you two sitting out here in the evening, watching the sun set over the coast, undoubtedly with a bottle of pink moscato. You’d end up drinking one too many glasses and your cheeks would get red and you’d get the giggles.

As Lando stood here– eyes never leaving the beautiful scene in front of him. He can’t help but feel that funny feeling in his chest over how radiant and happy you look. And he thinks that if this house was for sale he’d buy it in a heartbeat, if that meant he got to see you like this all the time.

A smile finds its way onto your face as you glance over at the guy you call your best friend. “You weren’t lying when you said you were gonna spoil me, huh?” You gently nudge him with your elbow, your smile growing even bigger at his response.

“Only the best for my favorite person.” His smile is equally as big as you lean your head on his shoulder and in that moment he thinks that maybe the reserve driver could just finish out the season and he could just stay here with you.

That night as you both head to your rooms there’s an obvious tension in the air. You’re both slowly making your ascent up the stairs and lingering in the hall, trying to milk every last second until you inevitably have to go into your separate rooms.

After so long though, you’re the first to cave as your hand reaches for the doorknob. Your door creaks open and you’re mumbling out goodnight lan, i’ll see you in the morning before entering the room. Although you don’t close the door behind you and Lando takes that as an invitation to linger in your doorway. He doesn’t need to speak for you to know he’s there, you can feel his presence, and subconsciously you’ve left that door open for him.

“Goodnight Y/N.” You’ve got your back turned to him as you're digging through your suitcase for pajamas, but you can hear the slight grin he has on his face as he speaks.

The sight of Lando as you turn around has butterflies erupting in your stomach and it makes you feel weird to be feeling those things about your best friend. He’s leaned up against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest and that grin that you’d sensed him having was still on his face as he looked at you. Your eyes scanned over him, focusing on little details like his hair still being wind tousled and how the tops of his cheeks were slightly burnt from the car ride today.

And for someone who claimed to not need a ton of sleep– he looked so sleepy as the two of you locked eyes. Those big blue eyes slowly blinking and drooping ever so slightly as his head now too rested against the door frame. He still donned the hoodie that you teased him about putting on earlier after his claims of it being chilly once the sun set, only adding to the sleepy look he had going on right now.

Someone had never looked so cozy and you wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in his arms, but that wasn’t going to happen tonight. You will tell him goodnight again and he’ll close the door behind him before shuffling over to his room. Your mind will be preoccupied with him as you get ready for bed, the image of him in your doorway forever burned into your mind as you brush your teeth. As you crawl into bed you won’t think about how cold the sheets feel or how you want to be cuddled up to your best friend. You won’t think about how it’s been two hours that you’ve laid here and sleep has yet to greet you. And you certainly won’t think about how you’d be fast asleep right now if Lando was beside you.

But unfortunately you do think about all those things and you’ve exhausted every resource to try and distract you from it. It was different at the hotel when there was only one bed, but now with multiple bedrooms to choose from there was no reason for the two of you to sleep in the same bed. Lines were already blurring between you two without either of you knowing it and if you chose to go seek solace with Lando then those lines would blur even more.

But you didn’t know that your actions would eventually have consequences and seconds later you’re throwing the covers off of you with only one destination in mind– Lando’s room. The journey though, is short lived because as soon as you open your door you’re met with a wide eyed Lando, his fist frozen in the air like he was getting ready to knock on your door.

The frozen fist moves to rubbing the back of his neck as he speaks to you. “Sorry, was coming to see if you were still awake.”

“I was coming to see if you were up too.” He’s still got that hoodie on from earlier, but you noticed he’d changed out his shorts for boxers. His hair was even more messy and you’d wondered if he had even fallen asleep yet. “Couldn’t sleep either?”

Lando shrugs. “Not really– kept tossing and turning.” He acts like the reason he can’t go to sleep isn’t right in front of him as he rests his head on the familiar door frame.

“Yeah I can tell by your hair.” You tease. He just gives you a half assed smile and when he doesn’t tease you back that’s when you realize just how tired he is. “You want to watch some TV or something? ”

He shakes his head no. The only thing he wants to do is go to sleep, but how can he when you’re not next to him? It was embarrassing to admit that only after two nights of sharing the same bed that he couldn’t sleep on his own, but here he was. His big bed felt too empty and he realized that even if he slept in a twin sized bed it would still feel empty without you next to him.

Not to mention he’d found comfort in you being his personal heater at night. It was no secret that Lando ran cold, often seen sporting a jacket during race weekends while his teammate was in shorts. So with his personal heater gone, he’d resorted to wearing a hoodie to bed, which didn’t come close to holding a candle to you.

When he finally worked up the courage to get up and go to your room he was pleasantly surprised to find you up too and facing the same problem as him. A little sliver of him hoping that it was the exact same problem and that you couldn’t sleep without him.

For a split second you caught his eyes looking past you and towards your bed. He couldn’t have made it any more obvious, but if was actually hinting at what you thought he was hinting at, then you weren’t going to pass up on the opportunity. It wasn’t a coincidence that he had come to your door and that you both had trouble sleeping in separate beds. So, you act on impulse and tell him come on just sleep in here tonight and like a little kid who’s gotten scared of the thunder at night he’s crawling into your bed in an instant.

It’s like you two are magnets– immediately finding your way to each other under the sheets and it doesn’t take long for the both of you to finally fall asleep. And some time in the middle of the night Lando had shed his hoodie, no longer needing it with you pressed against him. When you two wake in the morning with the sun streaming through the windows and sleepy smiles plastered on your faces, there’s an unspoken agreement that even with the plethora of beds in this house, you two would be sleeping in the same one every night.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

Lando and you were best friends, nothing more. Nevermind the sharing a bed every night or the longing glances or the sometimes suggestive thoughts you had about him. So maybe your friendship wasn’t practical or normal, but there was nothing romantic going on between you two. It was something you had drilled into your head for some time now. You’d try to ignore the way your heart would speed up when you’d catch him looking at you or the way he always has to have physical contact with you. And any other crazy thoughts that you’d speculated about had always been pushed aside rather quickly. He was your best friend after all and once again nothing more.

Though over the course of the week you’d found yourself having a hard time in pushing aside those non platonic thoughts about Lando. There were instances you two had found yourselves in that you just couldn’t ignore.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

“What’s the plan for today?” You ask as the two of you are sitting outside the cutest little restaurant, enjoying brunch.

Lando finishes the last little bit of his eggs before answering you. “Well nothing that involves you getting behind a motor vehicle with the way you’ve been downing those bellinis.” You roll your eyes at his dramatics. Yes, you’d had your fair share of bellinis, but they were so damn good and there really wasn’t that much alcohol in them for it to be an issue. “How about we just see where the day takes us?”

“Well I already had the idea of renting jet skis in my head, but I guess we’ll do what you suggested.” You joke.

Now Lando’s the one to roll his eyes at you as he flags down the waiter for the check. He doesn’t even look at it when it’s brought over, he just hands his card over like it’s nothing. It’s something that you still aren’t used to him doing even after knowing him for so long and you’re sure he’s gotten ripped off more times than he could imagine.

He quickly signs for it once the waiter comes back and with his card back in his wallet you’re free to go. Except when you stand up all those bellinis hit you and you’re a little unsteady on your feet, something that Lando clocks immediately. You aren’t drunk, just buzzed, but Lando isn’t going to let you live this down. “You wanted to rent jet skis huh?” He teases as he wraps an arm around your waist to steady you.

“Think we still could to be honest.” You’re confident in your ability to walk on your own, but Lando insists on keeping his hold on you.

“Well I don’t want to waste a day at the hospital, so let’s just look around at the shops.”

You’d passed them on your way to brunch and Lando had promised you’d come back to them. They were cute little stores, each one specializing in certain things. You took your time in each one, feeling the silky material of some of the dresses, admiring the leather detailing on the handbags, and gawking at the dazzling jewelry in the displays. Everything was quite luxurious and your eyes couldn’t help but linger on a certain bag and bracelet, but the price tags were all you had to see to know they weren’t coming home with you.

Lando had been watching you the whole time, fully prepared to be your bag boy and was ready to pull out his wallet whenever he’d see you pick something up. But much to his disappointment, all you did was look and after going through all the stores you left empty handed. “You didn’t see anything you wanted?” Lando asks as you continue down the street.

You simply shrug your shoulders at him. “Nothing that I couldn’t live without.” He doesn’t press the matter anymore, fully knowing that he’d be coming back sometime this week to get you that bag and bracelet that you kept circling back to.

The streets are charming and bright. It’s a place that you can’t help but feel alive in, especially as the summer sun beats down on you, but the light breeze coming in off the sea makes it bearable. Your buzz was long gone, but Lando still insisted that you link your arm with his as you stroll down the streets– just in case. You don’t oblige to his request, enjoying the feeling of holding onto his solid bicep as the sound of him slightly humming the song that was playing at brunch fills your ears.

A sense of peacefulness washes over you and it’s at this moment that you don’t feel like you’re on the arm of the famous Formula 1 driver Lando Norris. He doesn’t have a million cameras on him or people flocking to him for an autograph. It’s just you and your best friend Lando– the boy who was gagging when you teased the idea of ordering fish at dinner last night or who you laid in bed with this morning, watching dumb Tiktoks until you were both in tears laughing. It was nice for once, to just have Lando.

You’re just about ready to circle back to the villa when you hear a woman shouting in Italian from down the street. You’re not anywhere near fluent, but you recognize some basic words and what you’ve heard has you pulling Lando towards the voice.

Fior! Bei Fiori!

At the end of the street there stood the lady, who had a cart of the most vibrant fresh flowers. When she spotted the two of you approaching, a smile painted itself across her face. “I think your pretty girl deserves some flowers, don’t you?”

The corners of your mouth turn upwards and a smile is painted across your face. You can feel your cheeks getting warm at her statement, at the implication that you were Lando’s, but it’s his response that makes them comparable to the roses found on the cart.

Lando feels his chest get tight over the lady assuming the two of you were together. It’s nothing new, for people to assume that he’s with a girl just because he’s seen with one. Though for some reason when someone says it about you, it gets a reaction out of him. He’s grinning as he looks at you and then back to the sweet old lady. “You’re right, my pretty girl does deserve some flowers.”

The butterflies that erupted in your stomach at his words were embarrassing and not the appropriate reaction to be having over your best friend, but his comment wasn’t very platonic either. You’re blushing and grinning, probably very easily comparable to a school girl at the moment. He’s got a smug look on his face as he hands you of course the biggest bouquet the lady had. It’s truly a beautiful bouquet and it smells divine, it had anything you could have gotten at the shops beaten by a mile.

As you head back towards the villa you can’t wipe the smile off your face and you can’t stop thinking about my pretty girl. The words shamelessly repeating over and over again in your head. “So you think I’m pretty huh?” You tease.

Now Lando’s the one to blush and he hopes you just think it’s just from the heat and sun as you look at him. “Of course I do. I’d have to be blind to not think so.” He’s sincere with his words, he truly thinks you’re one of the most breathtaking women he’s ever met– intellectually and physically.

You lean your head on his arm, the same one you’ve still wrapped yourself around. “You sure know how to swoon 'em.”

“You’re my best friend. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

And for the first time, for both of you, it feels weird and almost stings to hear the word best friend said out loud. Because deep down you know you’re way more than that.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

Although you weren’t that much of a party girl you didn’t mind going out every once in a while. So when Lando suggested going out to one of the bars tonight it didn’t seem like a bad idea. You’d done your fair share of relaxing and to you that meant a night out deserved to be had.

With a final spritz of your perfume you’re ready to go and as you looked in the mirror one last time you couldn’t help but think damn, I look good. You found Lando waiting for you in the foyer, his head lifting up from his phone at the sound of your heels clicking down the stairs. “Might want to close your mouth before you attract flies Lan.” He hadn’t even realized he was in that much of a trance until you said something, he could feel his cheeks getting warm at getting caught.

You hook your arm with his as he leads you out the front door. “Sorry, you just look unreal tonight.”

“Well you don’t look too bad yourself.” He’d chosen his tried and true white button up, leaving the first few buttons undone, which revealed even more of his gorgeous tanned skin. How someone could make something as simple as a white button up shirt look so good was beyond you, but it was clearly something he was skilled at.

The bar you end up at is relatively small and you realize it must be the most popular one with how packed it is. It’s on the coast and there’s a gorgeous outdoor area that you are immediately drawn to, mainly because there’s slightly less people out here. It’s still a good time though and the people are somehow even more rowdy out here and you wonder if it’s the fresh air.

You’ve danced, drank, laughed, talked, everything you could think of on a night out. It's been nice, especially doing it all with Lando, who somehow through the course of the night has undone more buttons on his shirt and you think he might as well just undo them all. It’s clearly getting late from how the crowd is slowly starting to thin out, but you two are still having a ball, and you figure you’ll stay till they kick you out.

Lando’s gone inside to get you both another drink, which he easily could have gotten from the bartender out here, but he claimed that the guy didn’t know what he was doing. While you wait you venture off to a far corner of the patio that’s somewhat empty. There’s a couple people sitting in chairs sharing a cigarette, but other than that you’re alone. Even in the dark the view is amazing and as you lean on the railing a nice breeze comes in off the water. It’s relaxing and nice, especially when you’re that sticky kind of sweaty and a little more drunk than you realize.

“Absolutely beautiful.” You jump at the unfamiliar, yet familiar voice. It had been a minute since you’d heard another British accent besides Lando’s. When you turn around to put a face to the voice you aren’t expecting to see such a gorgeous man standing there. He’s really the whole package– stunning blue eyes, pretty smile, fluffy light brown hair, nice facial hair.

“Uh- yeah it is.” You assumed he was talking about the view.

“Can I join you?”

He’s cute and you wouldn’t mind some company, so you tell him yes.

“Where’d your boyfriend run off to?” He asks as he nurses his Corona.

“He’s not my boyfriend, but I’m not wrong in assuming you know who he is, right?” This guy is in his twenties and British, if he didn’t know who Lando was then he had to be living under a rock.

He takes a swig of his beer before responding. “I know who he is.”

You scoff, there was a big possibility that he was using you to get to meet Lando, it was something you’d dealt with many times before. Guys showing interest in you only in hopes of becoming Lando’s friend or even worse girls who would befriend you only to try and get with Lando. You weren’t some step on the ladder that led to Lando, you were your own person with feelings and a life, who deserved to have people like you for you, not who you knew.

Maybe it’s the alcohol or maybe it’s the fact that you’re done being led on by people, but either way you confront the guy about it. “Are you using me to get to him?”

You hear him laugh a little and it lights a fire in you, but his words extinguish it before it gets out of control. “I was brave enough to come over here and willingly flirt with you before I even knew if he was your boyfriend or not. If I was trying to use you to get to him, I don’t think that would be a good plan. Which now that I know you’re not his girlfriend, kinda makes me think he’s an idiot. How could he have a girl like you in his life and not be madly in love with you?”

Your brain is fuzzy as you’re trying to process what he’s said. “Sorry wait- you were flirting with me?”

He’s got a cheeky grin on his face and he lets out a chuckle at your cluelessness. “When I said ‘absolutely beautiful’ I wasn’t talking about the view.”

“Oh.” You’d thought it was kind of weird for him to just randomly say that about the view, but for it to be aimed towards you was the last thing you had thought of. “Well, flirt all you want then.”

Not only did this place have one bartender that was incompetent, it seemed like all of them were. Lando had waited for what seemed like ages for a beer and a vodka cranberry. It wasn’t even that busy at the bar for it to be taking so long and at one point he contemplated just going behind the bar and doing it himself. By the time he finally got them he was surprised you hadn’t come looking for him, but when he made his way out onto the patio he saw exactly why you hadn’t.

Over in the corner Lando sees you doubled over laughing with some guy as he watches from afar. His grip on the glasses gets tighter as he sees you place your hand on the guy's arm. The tightness in his chest increases the longer he stands here and watches. It bothers him more than he cares to admit– to see you with some random guy. To hear that laugh of yours and him not being the source of it is driving him crazy. But what really sends him over the edge is when the guy tucks a stray strand of hair behind your ear and without a second thought he’s storming over there.

Lando tries to play it cool as he approaches and he’s glad he’s got these drinks to use as an excuse. Your mid conversation when Lando interrupts, but he doesn’t care one bit. “Here’s your drink.” He says as he pushes the slightly watered down glass towards you.

“Oh thanks Lan.” You flash him a smile, but his face is emotionless and the fun light hearted atmosphere has suddenly turned awkward. For some reason you feel like you’ve been caught doing something you shouldn’t have. “Um, Lando this is-” You remember at that moment that you hadn’t even asked the guy his name, which to you makes this even more awkward.

“Harry.”

“Right. Lando, this is Harry.” You motion between the two men. “Harry, this is Lando.”

Harry extends a hand out to Lando and they very awkwardly shake hands. “Nice to meet you mate.”

Lando only nods his head at him before turning his focus back to you. “I think we should get going, they are gonna close soon.”

You think he’s joking, considering he’d waited all that time to get these drinks, and now he suddenly wants to leave. “I just got my drink, can we at least stay until I finish it?” It also feels rude to just abruptly leave in the middle of the conversation that you were enjoying with Harry. But Lando doesn’t know how to hide his emotions very well and by the look on his face you know he’s being serious.

“Well you can stay, but I’m leaving.” He knows he shouldn’t leave you alone with some guy you just met, but god he doesn’t think he can stand here and watch you flirt with him anymore than he already has. So, without hearing your response he starts making his way towards the exit.

A regretful look washes across your face as you look at Harry. “That was so rude of him, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s up with him, he never acts like that.” You take a big swig of your drink, fully knowing dealing with Lando is gonna be a pain. “It was really nice talking to you, but I better go hunt him down.”

He shrugs, clearly not as upset over this whole situation as Lando or you are. “No biggie, I’m sure we’ll see each other around. It’s a small place.” You bid him goodbye, but you don’t get very far before he’s hollering. “Can I at least get your Instagram?” Which has you coming back and quickly exchanging usernames before you're off again to find Lando.

You run into him in the bar and it looks like he was coming back out towards the patio. A look of relief washes over him when he sees you and he’s leading you away from the loud music and out the front exit before either of you can say anything. Only once the bass of the music is a faint sound in the distance does Lando speak up. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone with that guy. I was coming back in when you found me.”

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but you were kinda rude to him for no reason.”

Guess you were diving in head first with this.

Lando stops walking and turns to face you, a confused look on his face. “I wasn’t being rude.”

“Yes you were. We were having a conversation and you just butted in and demanded we leave. Not to mention you wouldn’t even speak to him. He was nice, you would have liked him if you gave him the time of day.”

“You barely know the guy, you talked to him for what ten-fifteen minutes? I just didn’t have a good feeling about him.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his dumb excuse. He shook the guy's hand and didn’t get a good feeling about him? Bullshit. “Well if you didn’t have a good feeling about him then why’d you leave me with him?” He’d started to walk again, but stopped dead in his tracks at your words, spinning on his heel to face you once again.

“I already told you I regretted leaving you. I just had to get out of there for a second.”

“Why?” You were being adamant, your arms crossed across your chest as you waited for his answer.

He knew exactly why, but he couldn’t tell you that, he hadn’t even fully accepted it himself. “I don’t know Y/N.”

You’re getting frustrated with him and these damn heels that you chose to wear are not making your mood any better. “There’s a reason for everything, Lando. How would you like it if I acted like you did tonight with a girl you were talking to? You’d be livid.”

He completely ignores your accusation and turns the conversation in another direction. It had been itching at him to know if you were just being nice or if you were actually interested in the guy, so he plucked up the courage to ask. “So you were flirting with him?”

The look on your face is one of pure confusion, but your tone is nothing but shitty. “I’m not sure how you jumped to that conclusion from what I said or why it’s really any of your concern, but yeah it was just some harmless flirting. I’m sorry for having a little fun!” You were thankful that it was late enough for the street to be relatively empty, the last thing that needed to happen was pictures or a video getting out of you two arguing. You were sure there were already rumors about you two being on vacation together, you could only imagine how this would be misconstrued.

Hearing that his best friend was potentially interested in someone else had his head spinning and he could no longer blame his reactions on the alcohol. He couldn’t lie to himself anymore, ignore the way his heart raced when he looked at you. Or how he loved hearing that old lady call you his girl the other day.

It had been building up– festering almost this whole week and maybe subconsciously he wanted to go on this trip with you to see if there was some truth to what everyone had teased him about. He just didn’t think it would actually be true. Or that at two in the morning on a dimly lit street in Italy, during an argument, he would finally accept that he was in love with you.

But even with him realizing he’s in love with you, that doesn’t stop him from being an absolute idiot. “He was probably just using you to get to me.” Lando immediately regrets what he said as soon as it comes out of his mouth. He knows that's a sore subject for you and the look of hurt on your face makes his stomach churn.

“Now you’re just being mean.” You’re sure it’s a mixture of things that are contributing to the salty tears welling up in your eyes at the moment, but it’s Lando’s comment that actually makes them fall. You’re storming off before he can say anything, wishing you would have just stayed at the bar with Harry.

Lando knows he’s an idiot, but he also knows he’s the one who lit the match, which means he’s gotta be the one to put it out. “Y/N come on. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have said that.” He catches up with you rather quickly, your heels slowing you down.

“Just leave me be Lando.”

“Y/N. Stop walking for just a minute.” He’s grabbing at your arm, trying to halt your movement.

You stop and face him and for what it’s worth he does look sorry, but that doesn’t change how you feel. “What? You want to poke fun at me some more?”

“No I-”

“You know I was just having a little harmless fun with that guy, like you said I talked to him for what? Fifteen minutes? Nothing was going to come out of it. But is it really that far-fetched of an idea for a guy to actually be interested in me just for me? Am I that undesirable and unlovable for it to seem like a reality? Or was he like everyone else who’s used me and threw me away as soon as they got their five minutes of the almighty Lando Norris experience?”

The tears that slide down your cheeks are a mixture of anger and embarrassment and maybe you were being a little dramatic. Perhaps the multiple drinks you’d consumed weren’t helping either, but when the person you care about the most says something like that, something you’d confided in him about, it hurts.

Lando feels his heart break to hear you talk about yourself like that. All he wants to do is to scream out that you’re not undesirable or unlovable. He’s wanted you and loved you for some time now, the moment it started he’s not sure, but he knows it didn’t happen overnight. It’s always been there– he was just too blind to see it.

He’s not entirely sure on how to make this right, he knows he was an ass, but he also knows he can’t take back what’s been said. The worst part is that he knows exactly how you feel and somehow he still thought that was a good thing to throw in your face– all because he was jealous. He could deal with people trying to use him, he’d developed a sixth sense for them and never let it get too far, but you were too kind. Your big heart and trusting of others had gotten you burned one too many times and it hurt Lando even more to know that all that had happened because of him.

“I should have never said that to you. I know first hand how it feels to have people use me and the only reason you’ve had to deal with that is because of me. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Your sniffles fill the night air as you try to calm yourself down. While people used you to get to Lando, at least they didn’t want to be your friend to leech off your fame. Use you for your money and generosity, expecting paddock passes and some lavish lifestyle. People saw Lando as an object rather than a person more times than not. While your feelings were valid and Lando was still an ass for saying that, you realized to be in his shoes was worse. So, you wipe away your tears and accept his apology indirectly. “Think we’ve only got each other at this point.”

His voice is soft as he approaches you, his hand reaching up to brush a stray piece of hair out of your face. “Don’t think I need anyone else but you.”

The tender moment has you turning to putty in his hands– the argument pushed to the back of your mind. His hand moves to cup your face and his tumb brushes gently across your cheek. You feel like time has frozen in this moment and for a split second you swear he looks at your lips, like he’s going to kiss you. The fact that this is your best friend is no concern to you at the moment. Then the moment between you two is ruined just as fast as it began, the sound of a very loud and drunk group of people leaving the bar up the street brings you both back to reality.

You back away from each other slowly, like you weren’t sure exactly what had just almost happened. You’d already resorted to blaming it on both of your emotions still running wild and the alcohol still coursing through your veins. The group of people are getting closer, their obnoxious singing getting louder as each second passes. They might not even know who Lando is, but you aren’t in the mood to wait around and find out, the last thing you want to deal with right now is drunk fans. “We’ve had too much to drink, my head and feet hurt. Let’s go home.” You grumble as you begin the trek home once again, your feet aching more and more with each step.

Lando stops for a moment and kicks off his shoes, he couldn’t let you walk in pain the whole way home. Especially after the pain he had caused moments ago. “Here put these on, your feet are killing you.” He hands you the white sneakers before squatting down in front of you to help you get your heels off.

Your feet already thank you as you slip on the oversized shoes that clomp on the stone street. And like a magnet you find yourself wrapping your arm around his as you walk down the street. You’re sure you two are a sight–you in shoes that are way too big and Lando only in socks as he holds your heels for you.

“You know you’re still an ass.” You tell him as you lean your head on his shoulder.

“I know.”

“You know you aren’t unloveable.” He hopes you know he’s being sincere, your words still replaying in his mind as you walk.

“I know.”

By the time you make it back to the villa you’re both exhausted. The alcohol, the argument, that moment between you two, the walk home– you were sure tomorrow morning would be a rough one. There aren’t many words spoken as you get ready for bed and as you slide under the covers next to Lando you can’t shake something from your mind from tonight, and it wasn’t the argument.

It was the fact that during the whole time you were chatting with Harry, you couldn’t help but compare him to Lando. There wasn’t the same sparkle in his eye like Lando, his smile wasn’t the same, his laugh. It seemed like everything that you noticed about this guy came second best to Lando. Sure you were having fun and he was nice, but not once had the thought of Lando slipped your mind. And even right now, with Lando next to you, you’re still somehow thinking about him.

It didn’t take long for Lando to fall asleep and you were on the verge of it when your phone went off on the nightstand. Usually, you would just ignore it, but something in you told you to see what it was.

harryinsta is now following you

You then see that he had sent you a DM and you’re expecting it to be about meeting up some time, which you were going to politely decline, but it’s quite the opposite.

harryintsa: i must have been mistaken earlier. lando's not an idiot.

yourinsta: huh?

harryinsta: he’s in love with you lol

Your heart nearly beats out of your chest as you read the message over and over again. Lando wasn’t in love with you, was he? Sure you’d heard it from just about everyone in your life that you two were in love with each other, but you always thought it was silly. You guys were just best friends is what you would always say, but to hear it come from a literal stranger was different.

You couldn’t lie that you hadn’t recently had your moments of perhaps thinking that he did, though you’d always talk yourself out of the idea. Although, if he was in love with you that may explain his behavior tonight. Or maybe it was just the alcohol like you’d originally thought. Then the tender moment you two shared entered your mind and suddenly the gears in your head are working overtime.

You locked your phone and sat it back down on the nightstand. Just from a simple DM you’d gone from being dead tired to now being wide awake– staring at the ceiling. You’re not sure how much time had passed as you laid there over analyzing every interaction with Lando. You were struggling enough trying to figure out the things you had recently felt about Lando, let alone the possibility that he was in love with you. All you knew for sure was that things weren’t the same between you two, you’d felt a shift when you were with him in Monaco before the Belgium GP. It had only amplified during this trip and you had a feeling that by the end of it things would be different.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

Two days later you’re sunbathing on a comfy lounger on the beach, while Lando’s out in the water doing god knows what. You’d given up on watching him a while ago, deciding instead to be productive and try to catch up to Lando’s tan level. Which, after laying here for some time now, it seemed impossible. That boy could be in the sun for a day and have a glowing tan– you not so much.

Moments later you think a cloud has passed in front of the sun, but when you feel cool water droplets on your hot skin you peek open one eye to find a wet and grinning Lando standing over you. “Hi.”

“Hi.” You greet him back as you sit up, your smile matching his. “Did you have fun out there?”

“I had a lot of fun and the water felt amazing. You should have got in.”

“I will later.” You notice he’s got one of his hands behind his back like he’s hiding something. “Lan, what have you got?” He tries to play dumb for a moment, trying to wind you up, but he eventually caves and pulls a plastic pail from behind his back. “Please don’t tell me you stole that from a kid.” Your half joking and half being serious, because where the hell did he get that from?

“I did not steal it from a kid– I borrowed it.” The smile on his face never falls as he continues to speak. “They had a bunch of them. I don't think they’ll miss it. Plus I needed something to put your present in.”

You cock an eyebrow at him, curiosity written all over your face. “My present?”

He’s smiling so hard as he sits down at the end of the lounger that you think this must be the best present in the world. Seconds later the pail is turned upside down and out falls the prettiest seashells. Your heart swells when you realize all that time he had spent out in the water he was looking for shells– for you. There’s a light pink one that catches your eye and Lando notices when you reach for it.

“Knew you’d like that one.”

Of course he knew that, sometimes you think he knows you better than you know yourself. “Can’t believe you spent all that time finding them.”

He shrugs like it’s an everyday thing. “I knew it would make you happy, which meant I enjoyed doing it. Really only took me so long because I wanted them all to be perfect for you.”

The sun beating down on you feels cold with how hard you’re blushing. “You’re my favorite person, you know that?”

Lando starts to get shy when you get sappy, like he hadn’t just said the sweetest thing a second ago. He’s smiling, but focuses on carefully putting the shells back into the pail. “You’re my favorite person too.”

A while later you decide to open up the umbrella between the two loungers. You had chosen to give up on the tanning lifestyle and instead dive into a new book. While Lando was fast asleep on the lounger next to you, apparently all that hunting for shells had worn him out.

You’d noticed out of the corner of your eye awhile ago that a little boy kept glancing over in your direction, specifically at Lando. You knew he had to have been a fan or he was the kid Lando stole the pail from. The nervous glances back and forth tell you that thankfully he’s a fan and you think it’s the cutest thing. You’re in the middle of considering waking Lando up so the boy could come over when you hear a groan that is undoubtedly Lando awaking from his slumber.

“What are you looking at?” He asks as he rubs his eyes.

You nod your head in the direction of the boy who’s just seen that Lando is awake and is practically bouncing with glee. “Think you may have a fan.”

A big grin spreads across Lando’s face as he sees the little boy. Lando loved meeting all his fans, but meeting the kids was his favorite. He thinks a big part of the reason he always makes sure to find time for the younger fans was because he was that kid once. Before he was ever F1 driver Lando Norris, he was just a kid who finally got the chance to meet their idol and he knows that picture or an autograph means the world to them

Lando motions for the boy to come over and he’s instantly tugging on his Mom’s shirt to get her to come with him. She gives you guys a questioning look and when Lando motions again they both come over.

The little boy’s Italian accent is the cutest thing ever as he greets you two and you can tell just how much it means to him to be talking to Lando.

“What’s your name?” Lando asks as he signs a beach towel of all things.

“Luca and I’m seven!”

“Seven is a great age. You know I started karting when I was seven!”

Luca’s eyes get as wide as saucers as he glances back at his Mom, who is already shutting down any talk of Luca karting. “I told you possibly next year. You’re still my little baby. I don't want you getting hurt!”

Lando gives the Mom an apologetic look. “How about a picture?” Which easily takes Luca’s attention away from karting, as he’s already at Lando’s side with a big smile on his face before his Mom has her phone out.

They take a couple pictures and high fives are exchanged throughout their interaction. The whole thing is very sweet and you can’t help but look on in adoration, fully knowing that Lando would make a great Father one day.

You see that Luca keeps looking over at you and then back to Lando, but you don’t pay that much mind to it. You figured he was just nervous or something, but what comes out of his mouth next takes you by surprise.

“Your girlfriend is very pretty.”

You feel your heart skip a beat and you glance over at Lando to see what his reaction is. You prepare yourself for the worst, but in true Lando fashion he’s all smiles. In fact he’s sporting that full face smile of his and it makes you feel funny.

“Thank you buddy, I think so too.” He looks over at you with nothing but love in his eyes and you’re immediately looking away like some shy school girl.

Thankfully, the Mom comes to your aid and quickly changes the subject. “Ok Luca, you’ve bothered them enough. We should get back to our spot. Thank them for their time.”

His cute little voice mutters out grazie as he gives you a small wave goodbye.

“It was very nice to meet you, Luca.” Lando bids him farewell and you both wave back at the little boy.

As soon as they’re gone you’re immediately shoving your face back into your book, you don’t even want to talk about what had just happened. It was nothing really to be so worked up over, it was just a little kid who saw two people together and assumed they were together. It happens all the time. But it is a big deal when you find yourself liking being referred to as Lando’s girlfriend. It doesn’t help when neither of you deny it and correct the person. Lando likes to play into it and you love it too much to say anything.

Ever since getting that DM the other night your mind had been in a whirlwind over how Lando felt about you and how you felt about him. Hell you can’t even look at him right now, you’re so in your head that you’ve been staring at the same page for the last five minutes. You just wished the book you were reading could tell you how to come to terms with the fact that you’re in love with your best friend.

It was something you’d realized the other night while you were awake overthinking everything. Those feelings had always been there, but you had just pushed them aside, ignoring every little butterfly or rapid heartbeat. When they actually turned into romantic feelings you have no clue because as far as you knew, you and Lando had always been like this.

You two just dove in head first into the co-dependent friendship that was more like a relationship lifestyle. All those times you’d gone to his parents house for family dinners and holidays, both of you attached at the hip. How he wanted to ask you to move to Monaco with him and then almost didn’t even move because he said he’d miss you too much. The group vacations that always ended up with you two going off and doing your own thing. The texts from him every Wednesday before a race asking if he needed to get you a paddock pass and a flight. This trip in particular– sleeping in the same bed when you don’t have to, the cuddling, the getting mistaken for a couple three times so far, the fact that it was just you two alone on the trip.

It was all there the whole time and you wondered how you could have been so blind to not realize it sooner. You were in love with him. You loved his pretty eyes and curls and the way his real laugh only seemed to come out around you. You loved his big heart and his caring nature and sometimes you thought he was too nice to be a Formula 1 driver.

You loved everything about him and truth be told it made your stomach hurt from how much you loved him. You wanted to actually be his and be able to kiss those pink lips that you sometimes found yourself staring at. When people said you were his girlfriend you wanted it to actually be true and not have it be Lando just playing along. You were so down bad that you prayed that Harry was right and that Lando was actually in love with you too.

While you were freaking out, so was Lando. When you immediately went back to reading your book and not speaking a word, he figured he had weirded you out by basically implying that you were his girlfriend. He just figured it was easier to go along with what the kid thought than explain that you weren’t his girlfriend, but god does he wish you were. He didn’t know what to say to try and test the waters because he knew whatever he would say would come out awkward and he didn’t want to make things worse. So, once again it’s not talked about and you two pretend that it didn’t happen when you finally speak again.

─── ༺❀༻ ───

It’s the last day of the trip and you’re dreading going back to reality and away from this little slice of heaven. The only thing you have to look forward to is the supposed fancy dinner that Lando had planned for tonight, which was what you were currently getting ready for. Music plays through your phone and you softly sing along as you do your makeup. When you look up after digging in your makeup bag you spot Lando in the mirror, leaning against the door frame behind you. Your eyes lower and you see that he’s holding two gift bags.

"Those better be for your Mom.” You state as you put the finishing touches on your makeup.

“I think we both know they aren’t.” He sees you roll your eyes in the mirror and it only makes him want to spoil you more. “It’s our last day, I think you deserve a parting gift.”

You turn to face him as he makes his way over to you. “I haven’t gotten you a single thing this whole time. It makes me feel bad.”

Lando only shakes his head at you. “You being here with me is the best gift you could have ever gotten me. I truly don’t need anything else.” He hands you the bags. “Now open them please.”

A small smile finds its way onto your face as you take the bags from him. You decide to open the bigger bag first and once you pull out the tissue paper you know exactly what it is. It’s still in its dust bag, but you see the branding and your jaw is dropping before you even see the actual thing. “You did not get me this bag Lando!” You exclaim as you remove the dust bag and see that it’s the same bag you were eyeing at the store the other day.

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Saw you eyeing it and knew I had to get it for you and before you say anything else open the other present.”

You set the handbag down and grab the smaller gift trying to figure out what else he could have possibly gotten you. When you open it and see the bracelet you were also looking at the other day you’re at a loss for words. “Lando Norris!” You could slap him, hug him, kiss him, and yell at him all at once. He’d dropped probably close to six grand on these two gifts and your head is spinning at the thought of it.

“Don’t even say anything about the price. I know you’re thinking it, but I wouldn’t have bought you them if I couldn’t afford it. I wanted you to have them, you deserve nice things.” You deserved a lot more than a handbag and a bracelet, but what he thought you deserved money couldn’t buy.

You know there's no use in fighting him on it, but you still feel bad that he just spends all this money on you. He takes the bracelet from the box and fastens it around your wrist, the diamonds glittering in the light as you move it around. It’s truly stunning and the handbag will go great with your outfit tonight. As soon as you two make eye contact again you’re pulling him into a bone crushing hug and you two stay like that for probably longer than necessary. “Thank you a million times Lan. I love them both so much.”

It’s time to leave for dinner shortly after that and when you arrive at the restaurant the host guides you back to a secluded corner. It’s a very romantic ambiance and you can’t help but feel like you’re on a date, which wouldn’t be a horrible thing. Moments later a waiter comes over with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “It’s on the house– for the special couple.”

There it is again and it seems like with each time it happens it makes your heart race even more. Lando shifts in his seat and you focus on the rising bubbles in the glasses as the waiter pours the champagne. Lando tells him thank you and your attention moves to the menu.

“What are you thinking about getting?” You ask, ignoring the obvious.

“Probably the steak.” He grabs the flute of champagne and takes a drink. “What was that? The fourth time now?”

You know exactly what he’s talking about, but you’re surprised he’s decided to talk about it. “Yeah it was.” You set the menu down and grab the other flute. “Think I’ll get the steak too.”

Dinner actually turns out to be an amazing time. The food is decadent and Lando and you have good conversations that don’t revolve around you two being mistaken for a couple or being in love with each other. When the waiter brings the bill you’re quite sad because that just means this trip is that much closer to being over.

You take your time heading back to the villa, trying to savor every last moment you’ve got here. The sun was low in the sky by the time you get back and you tell Lando just how you want to spend your final evening in Italy. You hurry and change into comfier clothes and take off all your makeup before heading to the spot with the best view out back. Lando makes his way out there not too long after you, but he’s got one more surprise for you.

“Don’t think the evening or this trip would be complete without this now would it?” He pulls a bottle of pink moscato from behind his back along with two wine glasses.

He knew you too well, but it was something you loved dearly about him. “You’re a man after my heart Norris.”

He hands you a glass as he sits down next to you, the sun just beginning to set on the horizon. “I try.”

There’s a comfortable silence between you two for a while and the only sound to be heard is from the waves below. It feels like paradise sitting here with this amazing view and the guy you love next to you. It’s probably boring to the majority of people, but this was everything you could ask for and more and the perfect way to end this amazing trip. You lean in closer to Lando, your head resting on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around you. A content sigh escapes past your lips as his thumb starts to draw mindless circles on your arm.

“Thank you again for everything. This trip was amazing and I’m glad we got to go together– just you and me.”

“I’m glad too. It was probably the best summer break trip I’ve had. Don’t think Ibiza will be seeing me for a while.”

You’re not even looking at him, but you can sense the smile on his face and you can’t help but laugh at his lie. “Yeah, and I don’t like pink moscato.”

“Alright so Ibiza will inevitably see me, but not as much as Italy.” He pauses for a moment, glancing down at you still resting on his shoulder, his heart swelling just by looking at you. “I think this may be our place now, just for the two of us.” His voice is soft when he says it, like he’s not sure if he wanted to say it outloud.

You lift your head up and are met with his piercing blue eyes staring back at you. He looked radiant as golden hour cascades over him and it’s like you’re in a trance as you look at him. You take in every last bit of him, all the little details about him that you’ve memorized over the years. The slight stubble on his face from not shaving for a couple days, the little moles, his long and somehow always curled eyelashes, those pink lips of his. He’s everything you could have ever dreamed of and more. You’ve had him at fingertip length for so long now and all you want to do is reach out for him, take what you want and never let go.

Lando feels his breath catch in his throat as you two make eye contact. You’d never looked more beautiful than in this moment and he doesn’t know how much longer he can take without you actually being his. You were the love of his life, his best friend, and everything he’s ever wanted. It may have taken him a long time to realize it, but he’s never felt like this about anyone before. You know each other like the back of your hands and it only makes sense that you’d be the one for him.

And it’s in this moment that it clicks for you two that it’s now or never. You’re never going to have a perfect moment like this again. It feels right, like the universe wants this moment to happen and if you let it go to waste you may never get the chance again. Lando takes his free hand and gently cups your face, his thumb ever so softly rubbing across your cheek. You’re practically putty in his hands and you feel like your heart is gonna beat out of your chest. You want to scream out to him that you love him, that you want to be his, but you can barely get your brain to communicate with your mouth.

“Lan-”

That’s all you can get out before Lando’s leaning in and his lips are on yours. He tastes like the sugary sweet wine and his lips are soft as they move in sync with yours. Kissing him is even better than you’d imagined and as your hand reaches up to his neck you deepen the kiss. It feels like you two had kissed a thousand times before and as he pulls away you’re already left wanting more.

Your foreheads rest against each other, both of you breathless and a little light headed from that singular kiss. When you both actually internalize what’s just happened you’re both grinning, that then turns into laughing and it’s like music to both of your ears to hear each other laugh.

“I think that was a long time coming.” You state as you finally lean back onto the couch.

Lando reaches out for your hand, intertwining his with yours. “When did you realize?”

“That night when we got into that argument, which looking back now, you were totally jealous.”

“I was not jealous!” He tries to be serious, but the knowing look on your face has him cracking. “Ok I was jealous.”

“When did you realize?” You question.

“That same night. I couldn’t understand why you flirting with that guy bothered me so much. Well I guess now we know.”

“Yeah cause you’re in loooveee with me.” You’re laughing as you speak, but he shuts you up with another kiss and leaves you pouting when he pulls away.

“Only kissed you twice and you’re already pouting when I pull away? I think you’re in loooveee with me.”

You lean back in, capturing his lips in yet another kiss and you’re like teenagers who’ve gotten into their first relationship.

Lando sighs when you stop kissing him, he can’t believe he could have had this sooner if he would have just opened his eyes. “You think you could get another week off from work?”

You’d do anything to get another week in a paradise with him, but you know it’s not possible. “Hmm, why don’t you just spend a week in London with me?”

“Well you haven’t even told them that you now have a famous F1 driver boyfriend. Who if they didn’t know already is very needy and needs to see his girlfriend.” He teases.

“Well you forgot to add that you’re my hot and famous F1 driver boyfriend.” You counter back.

You’re both grinning like fools at each other and as you curl up into his side and take in the last sunset you’ll see in the place that now holds such a special place in both of your hearts, you’re glad you let him convince you to come on this trip.

As the sun finally sets over the water you actually say those three little words.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[cosmic-dust-poltergeist]

Pt3 of the Danny is the 99th attempted clone Tim made of Kon. Kon learns about Danny.

Relevant info: Kon was dead closer to a year and a half in this au, and this happens a few months after his revival.

[Pt2: here] [Pt4: here]

So Tim has admittedly been putting off meeting up with the Titans. Everyone has settled back into the new normal. Too much has happened for it to look anything like before, but the other 3 Titans have been hanging out semi-regularly, and Tim turns down their invites 3 of 4 times. He knows it's starting to hurt their feelings, and he hates that.

But... he's scared to admit he's a father now. A father to a clone of one of them. He's not sure how to bring it up. Cassie never asked if he was successful, probably just assumed he failed because there isn't a third Superboy flying around. Jokes on her. Danny isn't going to be a Superboy. He's not allowed to even think about being a hero or vigilante until he's 14 at the earliest, and Tim is going to help him find his own name if he chooses that path. He won't be a Robin or Superboy. He won't live in the shadow of those legacies if Tim can help it.

None of that is relevant for the here and now, though. Tim got Jason to babysit Danny and finally agreed to a hang out with the Titans. He asked Danny for his opinion first before making his decision and got the go ahead. So, Tim is finally going to come clean.

Tim barely makes it into the tower when he's tackled by his friends.

"Tim! You're here!" Bart cheers.

"Yeah, it's good to see you guys too. Sorry I haven't been very present." Tim fidgets. "I've been busy... I also haven't been honest..."

"Tim?" Cassie sounds concerned. And Tim just can't. He extracts himself from the puppy pile. He can't make himself give eye contact. He's sure his guilt and shame are written all over his body language.

"Tim, you can tell us anything." Kon sounds super genuine. Tim takes a deep grounding breath.

"Okay, let's do this like a bandaid." Tim finally looks at them, focusing mostly on Kon. "I have a son. He's technically Kon's, too."

He gets the dubious pleasure of watching his three idiots look at his abdomen, as if he gave birth.

"Why-? Kon, we never fucked!? What the fuck guys??" He sputters, waving his hands in front of him.

"Then how-" Cassie realizes. "Oh!"

"Oh?? What do you mean??" Bart is looking between them and vibrating in confusion. Kon is just looking like a confused and concerned puppy.

"Okay, so, I may have had a breakdown with everyone dying or going missing." Tim grimaces. "And while I was fully aware that even if I succeeded, it wouldn't be Kon, I still tried to clone him. And, um, I did manage to succeed in the end."

"Fuck, Tim.." Kon starts.

"Look, I was in a really fucking dark place and needed even just a piece of good I lost." Tim hugs himself, self loathing burning him from the inside out. "Everyone was turning their back on me, I just needed something, anything, to keep going."

"Fuck, I should have helped..." Cassie bites her lip, chewing on her guilty conscious.

"It's fine. No one was listening. Don't beat yourself up over it. You were in a bad spot, too." Tim gives a humorless laugh. "Danny was my 99th attempt. And my last attempt, if I'm honest. I could feel myself breaking more with each failure. On a fucking whim, I decided to make the 99th attempt a baby instead of trying for a teenager, and it worked. I fucked up a bit, I forgot to adjust the knowledge download to that of a 1 year old, but he was alive. He's the best thing to ever happen to me. I was scared to tell you. I'm sorry-"

"Tim.." Kon cuts him off, and Tim snaps his mouth shut. "I.. I'm honestly not sure how to feel about you cloning me, but I'd like to meet him. What's his name?"

Tim rapidly blinks back tears. "Aedan Drake, he prefers being called Danny. I.. I didn't add Kent because I don't trust Clark with him or give him an El name, I wanted him to understand kryptonian language and culture first. I... I also wanted Danny to be old enough to make the decision over his name himself. I don't want him to be treated like you were. The house of El were so awful to you."

"I understand, Tim." Kon steps towards Tim, "Can.. Can I hug you?"

Tim nods and is swept into a tight hug. He feels something give emotionally, and he sobs into his shoulder. "I fucking love him so much."

"Tell me about him." Kon says softly. He can feel Bart and Cassie hoving, unsure what to do, but unwilling to leave.

"He's physically around 3 now. He loves ghosts and space and named the wolf plushy I bought him on his first day alive Wulf." There's some chuckles over that. "He's sassy and petty, but insanely sweet and tries to help out with any and all tasks. I see so much of both of us in him. Nature vs Nurture is a messy bitch. You remember what I said my start as Robin was like?"

"How you had to babysit a grown ass man and force him into better habits?" Cassie snarks.

"Karma's a funny bitch. Danny started doing the same shit to me as soon as he figured out how to walk." Tim giggles. "Anytime we weren't in danger, he'd force me to take care of injuries and to eat and sleep. And I'd do it because what kind of monster denies a baby trying to be helpful... plus he gets really stressed and depressed if he can't help."

Tim grips the back of Kon's shirt. "I don't understand how he developed my people pleaser tendencies so early on. We were stuck on LoA bases when he first started doing everything in his power to help me. I was purposely being a little shit to our "hosts" at the time. So it wasn't a surprise that he developed a Robin's need to troll, but he only saw me be nice to him."

"The LoA??" Kon asks in alarm.

"It was a rough year..." Tim scowls. "And if I see Ra's again, I'm gutting him. B's rules be damned."

"What happened?" Cassie asks, suddenly a lot closer.

"He's a creep, a pedo, and a child abuser." Kon rubs Tim's suddenly very stiff back and shoulders. "I could handle him being creepy towards me. While gross and awful to have a disgusting 300 or something year old man trying to wife me-"

"Excuse me???"

"He WHAT?"

"-I'm more pissed I couldn't protect Danny. I don't know what that piece of shit did when I couldn't take Danny with me, but Danny is linked to the pit now. He luckily doesn't have pit rage like Jason, but he can calm Jason's pit and apparently glows according to Duke." Tim sobs. "I should have killed the man when I had a chance. I don't know what he did to Danny!"

"It's not your fault, Tim." Kon hugs Tim tightly, it's almost painful. "You were in a tough spot and doing your best to keep you both alive."

"Just focus on healing and moving on." Bart says while running a hand through Tim's hair. Cassie rubs both Tim and Kon's backs as Tim gets himself under control.

"Can.. can I meet him?" Kon whispers.

"I'd love for you to meet him." Tim sniffles. "He was nervous you'd hate him for existing. I apparently passed on my stupid anxiety. I couldn't quite get him to believe me when I told him he wouldn't be who you'd be mad at if you got mad. He wants to meet you, but I accidentally made the most jaded baby in the world."

"A Super raised by a Bat is going to be terrifying." Bart giggles. "We'll have to make sure he doesn't become a supervillain."

"Meh. He's too cute. If he goes evil, all he has to do is pout and he'll instantly win." Tim jokes, wiggling out of the hug. "Want to see pictures?"

There's a very strong positive response. The next 3 hours finds Tim showing off pictures and explaining the stories behind them, his team melting at how cute his son is. Tim feels the lightest he's felt in a while. He does have to promise Bart and Cassie to bring Danny over once Kon and Danny meet one on one first.

What Tim doesn't know is Kon is absolutely obsessed with and slightly horny over this parental side of Tim. He's fully daydreaming of the 3 of them living together and being disgustingly domestic the whole time Tim is showing off Danny. Cassie can tell what Kon is thinking about and is amused.

Once Tim leaves, the Titans go to the training room and fuck up some bots because of the rage they feel on Tim and Danny's behalf. They all agree to be as petty as possible to any LoA members they come across and to murder Ra's the moment there's an opportunity to do so without the JL knowing. Tim isn't the only unhinged one on this team. That's why they work so well together.