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lostbookmark · 4 months ago

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🔞 MDNI🔞

Summary: You thought planning your wedding was going to be a magical memory. You didn't realize that it might make you second guess everything.

Pairing: Fiancée Yoongi x Insecure F. Reader

Genre: Romance, Angst, Smut, Hurt-Comfort

Warnings: Explicit Sex, Toxic Family Dynamics, Arguments, Sex Toys, Self Doubt, Over Thinking, Yoongi Overworking Himself,

A/N: In honor of it being October 1st and decorating for Halloween, I decided to drop chapter 1 early. Fun note...I found a dead mouse in one of my decorative apothecary bottles. Fun, fun.

“At 3,000 square feet, this venue is by far the most popular choice amongst young brides. Bridal magazine has ranked us number 1 best wedding venue five years in a row now. It holds 250 guests comfortably with plenty of room to spare. Amazing ventilation and air circulation flow through the room so it does not get stuffy in here. If you take notice of the high ceilings. We have exposed original beams adorned with our beautiful crystal chandeliers that have been handcrafted, especially for our location. We have large floor to ceiling windows on the sides of the building. You have a perfect view of our gardens to the east and the mountains to the west. If you decide on a sunset wedding, the room lights up beautifully. It's very picturesque,” Jihyo, the manager of the most recent wedding venue, tells you with a beaming smile on her face. “After the ceremony, the guests can indulge in a little happy hour. They can enjoy their drinks by either going down the hall into our reception area or wandering the gardens and enjoying our fountains until it's time to announce the wedding party.”

“It’s absolutely stunning. How much are we looking at?” Your mother asked as she wandered around and looked at the chandeliers.

They were large and obscenely ornate as they hung from the dark brown beams throughout the room. The light streaming through the windows hits the crystals perfectly to create a dazzling display of sparkles and rainbows on the cream colored walls.

“Depending on the decor package you choose and how many tables and chairs you need. If you want to add the happy hour. It can be anywhere between 18 and 30 thousand.” Jihyo answers as she looks at her papers on her clipboard.

“Dollars?” You ask as you choke on your own spit, and you see your mom take a deep breath as she glares at you.

You try to fix your look of shock quickly, but it wasn't quick enough for her. You stand up as straight as possible and try to look apologetic. You have gotten used to getting that look again, especially when you don't agree with her lavish and overpriced ideas.

“I'm so sorry, could you give us a minute?” Your mom asked Jiyho kindly. “Thank you.”

Jiyho slipped away quietly, leaving the two of you alone. As your mom turned and looked at you, she had a hard glare set on her face. You swear you could see flames of hellfire in her eyes. It reminded you of the times when you were younger and did something that made her mad. It made you want to hide away and disappear into your closet like you used to. However, that wasn’t your safe space now. Yoongi was your safe space. Your home was your safe space, and you wanted to run.

“250 guests?” You question her, snapping yourself back into the current conversation. “I don't even know 250 people. I don't even think I know 50 people.”

“No, but Yoongi does,” your mom tells you, crossing her arms. “Yoongi is going to have to invite important people, Y/N. You are going to have to impress them. Venues like this…impress people. Don't you want this to be perfect? This place would be absolutely perfect.”

“Yoongi doesn't care about things like that,” you tell her and shake your head in disagreement. “He's not shallow. I think he and I want something small…intimate. Just close family and a few friends. Like 25 people max.”

“Honey, don't be so naive. He's rich. Rich men love to show off their wealth,” she tells you, but you still shake your head at her and take a deep breath. She always brings up his ‘wealth’ every chance she gets. It's probably the only reason why she is okay with you marrying him. “Trust me, money talks, and so do fancy weddings. You’ll thank me for this later. I'll go get Jiyho's card and then we can go to the next venue.”

You sigh and watch her walk away. Her heels click and clack away on the hardwood floor as she searches for Jihyo. This is not how you thought wedding planning was going to go. You feel like your mom is trying to hijack your wedding planning and make her own dream come true by building her perfect wedding. You had been so happy at first when she called you all excited. She explained that your sister had called her and told her the news of your engagement. She had begged you to let her help plan it with you and Yoongi. She told you it would be a good bonding experience, and it would make your relationship grow stronger. You got so swept up in the idea of her finally being in your life that you had agreed almost immediately. Yoongi wasn't happy when you told him. He told you that he wanted nothing to do with her, and she wasn't allowed in your shared home. You respected his wishes, but unfortunately, she was quick to take over. You think you may have made a mistake. A big mistake.

First, she had started to send you pictures of dresses that she thought you would look beautiful in. They were all starke white, poofy dresses with tons of sparkle that reminded you of dresses that fairytale princesses would wear in the storybooks of your childhood. She even found tiaras for you to wear along with long trailing veils. They were beautiful, of course, and definitely showy but not for you. You had told her that you had wanted something simple, but she wouldn't listen. She was positive that she knew what dresses you would look better in. When that didn't work, she tried to bribe you by offering to pay for it with no price limit.You had held strong and stood your ground. You didn't hear from her for a while after that. You felt proud of yourself when you held firm.

When you thought that maybe she had given up on helping you. She suddenly started sending you links to venues . All the venues she has shown you have been the complete opposite of what you always knew you wanted. Large capacity, crystal chandeliers, indoor fountains, and anything else money could buy. You would have been happy with a backyard wedding and wearing a white sundress with sandals. She shut you down real quick, saying it wasn't good enough for one of her daughters. It was good enough for you, and it was clear that she didn't know you at all, and she didn't want to listen once again. You think that she just didn't want to be embarrassed by you and your simple tastes.

You had joked to Yoongi one night while you laid in bed if he was willing to run away with you to elope. You don't think you have ever seen him look so serious as he took your hand and said “Let's go.” You wished you had followed through on your joke, but you couldn't. You couldn't live with yourself knowing that you would be letting your mom down by not letting her be there.

“All set?” She asks, walking back into the room. “Ready for the next one? I think one is by a river.” In the back of your head, you hope she falls in.

“Yeah, let's go.” you say quietly and follow her like a good little soldier. You look at the watch on your wrist. You can't wait for this to be over.

Entering the code to Yoongi's studio, you watch him as he sits at his desk with big headphones draped over his ears. His head was bobbing up and down to the music that he was working on, and the clicking sound of his keyboard filled the quiet room. Closing the door, you walk over to him and gently place your hands on his shoulders, massaging them slowly. He groans, and his head falls forward in pleasure as you dig your fingers in just a little deeper into the tense muscles. You can feel his stiff shoulders start to relax under your touch. Sighing, he reaches around the back of his chair, and he pulls you into his lap. Yoongi takes off his headphones, tosses them gently on his desk, and gives you a quick kiss before resting his head on your shoulder. You run your hands through his dark hair, trying to comfort yourself from the stress of the day.

‘'How was lunch?” he asked, pulling his head away from you to look you in the eyes.

“There was no lunch. There were, however, five different wedding venues,” you tell him, and he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at you questioningly.

“What? I thought you told your mom to stop that,” he said, eyes drifting back to his screen. His slim fingers go back to clicking away on his mouse.

“I did, but you know that she won't listen,” you say, pulling on the black strings of his hoodie. You twist them tightly around one another and let go just to have them unravel. “One of them held 300 people and cost about 20 thousand dollars.”

“Excuse me?” he says, looking at you with wide eyes. You fully have his attention now. “20,000, 300? Who needs 300 people at a wedding? We are not spending 20k on a venue. A beautiful dress that I get to rip off you at the end of the night…sure.... but not the venue.”

You roll your eyes at him and shove him with your shoulder lightly with a small smile on your face. “Yeah I know, but supposedly it's going to be an extravagant event with a lot of important people. With you being all rich and famous….I have to impress people. I was told we need the best champagne, chandeliers, fondues, and the perfect sunset,” you explain.

“Rich and famous,” he said with a laugh. “That’s just stupid. Unless....is that what you want?” He asks you, eyes flicker between you and the screen .

“Of course not. What do you want?” You counter as your fingers continue to twist the strings of his hoodie.

“I want what you want,” he said distractedly, not even looking at you this time. His fingers continued to click away at his mouse. His focus was back on the crowded screen, which was his computer monitor as he watched colorful waves move across the screen.

Yoongi has been busy. Maybe that's why you haven't set a date or had any details figured out yet. He's been pulling long nights in the studio just to come home a couple of nights a week to sleep for a few hours and shower. He was usually gone by the time you woke up on those nights. The last thing that you wanted to do was bother him with questions about your future wedding. You didn't think centerpieces and party favors were high on his priority list right now. He promised you that this was only temporary, but honestly, you're not sure. Several artists that they have signed are growing in popularity, and the demand for songs are coming in strong. He's tired. You can see it in his face, and you can't see this stopping anytime soon.

“Are you going to be coming home anytime soon?” you ask quietly, finally letting go of the twisted material and leaving them to lay in their rightful place against his chest . You watch as he smiles apologetically at you. His eyes flicker back and forth between you and his screen. You have your answer. “I guess not.”

“You know I want to,” he said, rubbing his face with his hand. He lays his head back onto the headrest and looks at you. “I would love nothing more than to come home to you. I just….can't right now. The deadlines are too tight, and Joon has been on my ass.”

You're stressing him out. You don’t want to stress him out. Your sister had stressed him out, and you don't want to be like her. You don't want to suffocate him by being needy and make him run away. Sighing, you give up, and you nod your head in understanding. You give him a quick kiss on the temple and rub his chest lightly in goodbye. Getting off his lap almost dejectedly, you walk back towards the door.

“Baby,” Yoongi says, and you look at him with one hand on the door handle. “I love you.”

“Yeah, I love you too,” you answer quietly right before you open the door and leave. You really do.

Yoongi took you to Paris for your birthday four months ago. Well, he had a meeting with some company that just so happened to land on your birthday and he asked you to come with him. You had never been out of the country before, so of course, you were quick to say yes. The first day, he was gone most of the day, and you wandered around close to the hotel. You did a little shopping, buying Jisoo, Seungkwan, and Lisa little souvenirs in the form of mini Eiffel Towers. You were also excited to try some of their bread from their local bakeries. It was, of course, delicious and much better than the rolls from Chic 'n’ Wings.

The next three days, though, it consisted of you and him in bed tangled up in the crisp white hotel sheets and not wearing any clothing. You only left the room to go out to eat in some fancy French restaurants where you couldn't pronounce anything on the menu except for crème brûlée. Yoongi laughed lovingly at you and helped you order. At night, you had laid in bed with his arms wrapped around you with a beautiful backdrop of lights from the city that made everything feel so special. It was something you never thought that you would ever experience in real life, but he made it possible. You wish you could go back there. Life seemed so much simpler there before all the stress you were feeling. You didn't have to worry about a wedding date, your mom pushing herself in your life or him overworking himself. The pictures on your phone make Paris seem like a distant memory. You miss it, and it makes your heart ache.

“You're still up?” Yoongi says, coming into the bedroom. He tosses his bag on his desk and stands at the end of the bed, looking at you. “I figured you would be sleeping.”

“It's only 10,” you say as you look at him confused. “What are you doing here? You said you couldn't come home. What about the tight deadline?”

“You're upset. I don't want you to be upset. So, I figured I'm now my own boss….technically. I wanted to come home and sleep next to you. Joon can be mad at me all he wants later,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders. “I miss you.”

You jumped off the bed in a flash and threw yourself at him. Your arms wrap around him tightly in a needy hug as you mold your bodies tightly together. You bury your face into the nape of his neck, breathing in his scent. It was familiar and comforting. It was one of the things that you missed the most. His hands are strong as they hold you against him. You snuggle as close as you can to him. You don't think that you can ever get close enough. It never felt close enough.

“As much as I would love to make love to you tonight. Baby, I'm so tired. I don't think I can get him up,” he says into your own neck, making you laugh and pull away from him. “It's not funny. You're all I've been dreaming about. I think about you all the time, baby. I think I might have even written a dirty song about you.”

“Take a shower and come to bed,” you say, smiling a full smile and slapping him lightly on the arm. Your face was bright red as you looked away from him. He laughs, and he brings you close to him again.

“No matter how busy I get, I want you to remember that I love you. Can you do that for me? Know that I'm doing this for us and our future? ” he asked softly, looking you in the eyes.

“I'll try,” you say.

“Good, that’s all I want,” With a kiss on your lips, Yoongi turns and leaves the room.

You climb back into bed to wait for him. You're not stupid. You know this isn't going to last, and he'll be back to the studio tomorrow working those late hours again. You also know that you love him enough that you need to learn how to navigate your feelings in times like this. If he is working this hard for the two of you, then you feel selfish for making him feel bad about it. You know deep down that he would rather spend his time with you, but it's just not possible right now. You tell yourself that this is something that you need to let go of, and you will. You will let it roll right off your back and not let it bother you. You're going to man up and plan this wedding without bothering him as much as possible. You close your eyes and start making a mental checklist. Venue, flowers, date, colors, food, dress, invitations. Shit, you're going to need to write all this down.

Sitting up, you grab the pad of paper Yoongi always had on his bedside table and a pen. You start to write down that mental checklist and make little notes as you go, Yoongi climbing into bed behind you has you stopping and looking at him in thought. He wraps his arm around your pulling you in close to the front of his body. His body is still warm from the shower, and you relax into his warmth. You turn your head to look at him behind your shoulder and give him a small smile. He leans over and gives you a small kiss.

“How about August 1st?” You ask, and he looks at you thoughtfully. “Our colors can be black and white. Classic, simple, and easy to coordinate with.”

“Perfect colors, in my opinion, and it seems like a pretty easy date that we can remember,” he comments. “That's just under 7 months, though. Do you think we can plan it all by then? Don't these things usually take like over a year to plan?”

“I'll take care of it. You finish everything that you need to worry about. I'll get you when I need help,” you tell him, and he looks concerned as his eyebrows pinch together.

“No….I can help. I will make time,” he argues and moves to sit in front of you so he can look at you better. “I'll figure it out. I promise.”

“Yoongi, there is no way you can do everything with me. Not with all the hours that you have been putting in at the studio. I promise if it gets to be too much. I will get you and drag you out of the studio myself to make you help me,” you promise him.

“You won't hate me if I'm not there every step of the way?” He asks softly. Yoongi reaches up and moves your hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear.

“I swear,” you promise again as you turn your head and kiss his wrist.

Reaching over, you turn the lamp off and throw everything on the bedside table. Laying down, he follows along and spoons up behind you. Yoongi presses a couple of kisses to your shoulder and then to your neck. You close your eyes and relax into his touch. Your mind keeps going over the checklist and everything you have to add to it. Cake, photographer, rings, bridesmaid dresses, honeymoon. You just took on a whole lot of work by yourself, and you hope that you don't end up regretting it.

A/N 2: Please remember that I am just a casual writer who is not too bothered by grammar. I do my best.

Updates will probably be every two weeks or so.

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foreverisntenough · 5 months ago

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‘OURS’

Summary: You were his and he was yours but what would it be like adding one more? Thrust into a whirlwind romance you never could’ve imagined that became your forever love. You continue building a new life across the pond with a very beautiful Scouser. A sequel to the ‘You’re Mine’ fic.

INDEX

Warnings: This series is 18+ and will contain fluff, suggestion, SMUT (unprotected sex,) pregnancy, parenting, mental health struggles, eating disorder, self doubt, body image issues, daddy kink, angst, alcohol consumption - not sure what else really… if i miss anything please lmk!

Note: Thank you for reading! Please be sure to like, comment, or message me what you think of the series! Try not to nitpick with any real pregnant/ baby logistics it’s better if you just read along happily.

P.S. Thank you so much for completing this series. 'You're Mine' and 'Ours' have been a massive labor of love and so much fun to write. I hope you have enjoyed all 60 chapters! There will be epilogue but until then... The End.

Chapter 30 - 'All Ours' | ‘Ours’ - The Final Part

word count - 14.2 k

Trent was on the carpet in your living room sat in between your legs as you were sitting on the couch behind him. Teddy was on the couch next to you sitting in Marcel’s lap as the four of you watched a NBA game on the TV that night. Maybe the four of you watching is a stretch. Marcell and Trent were watching. Teddy was bothering Marcel with irrelevant and unrelated questions. You were occupied playing with Trent’s hair, scratching at his scalp, occasionally massaging his shoulders. You were just keeping your hands on him. You couldn’t get enough of him lately. You still had yet to tell your families about the pregnancy. You were hiding in sweat sets and t-shirts of Trent’s lately attempting to hide your slightly now more noticeable bump. Trent leaned his cheek against the inside of your thigh as he kissed your knee.

“Celly, know mama has a baby?” Teddy asked Marcel, looking up at him as she pulled at his shirt begging for more attention. You were just far away enough that you couldn’t clearly make out what they were actually talking about but also you were in such a trance focused on Trent you weren’t really trying to listen in either.

“Yeah, I know. You're Mummy’s baby, Ted.” Marcel cooed, confirming what he assumed she was talking about. He kept his focus on the game though. She scrunched her nose, annoyed he didn’t understand her and that he didn’t actually pay much attention to her.

“No, in her tummy, tay?” She tried to correct him, looking at him with a ‘duh’ type face like how could he not know she was talking about a new baby.

“What?” He whispered to her bringing his face close to hers but flicked his eyes to you and Trent with confusion over her. He was shocked to say the least.

“A Celly.” Teddy attempted to clarify what she was talking about pulling his attention back to her. His eyes widened. It took him a moment before he was able to compute what she was referring to saying you had ‘a Celly.’ He debated for a moment if Teddy was like just talking nonsense or if she was serious. Was he supposed to tell you and Trent he knew? What if you were not pregnant and he asked? He didn’t want to offend you. He grappled with the thought for a second.

“Ted, can I tell mummy and daddy what you told me?” Marcel asked her loud enough to draw the attention of Trent. He furrowed his brow but disregarded them and wrote it off as something silly Marcel and Teddy usually talked about.

“Nooos, it’s secret Celly!” Teddy yelped. Trent shook his head with a smile at her not knowing what she was yelling about. Marcel dragged his finger between his lips and locked it at the corner's edge, signaling to Teddy he’d keep their secret but his mind was racing. He needed to know. A little while later you had gone upstairs and put Teddy to bed after Marcel and Trent said a lengthy goodnight to her filled with her giggles. When you came back down, they had moved to the cinema to play a game of FIFA. You made your way there to find them but didn’t say anything or even acknowledge them really when you went in. You just cuddled up to Trent and fell asleep on him in the dark room. Trent made sure you were tight to him, laying his hands with his game controller onto your back keeping you so. As they played, sporadically he’d whisper ‘I love yous’ to you and kiss your hair.

“Bro…” Marcel turned in his seat to look at Trent as they waited for the next game to load and start. Trent raised his eyebrows confused what Marcel’s impatient facial expression was for. “Sooo…” Marcel waved his hand at Trent to signal him to start talking but Trent gave no response. “You and Y/N….” He finally just spelled it out for his brother who was just taking too long for him..

“Oh... Fuck. Mate, it’s not obvious right? Were you able to just tell?” Trent babbled out quietly but relatively panicked. He looked down at your body and tried to examine you hidden under the baggy clothes trying to deduce if Marcel had been able to make out your bump visually. “We’re supposed to go to mums tomorrow. You think she’ll be able to tell? We were trying to wait to tell everyone.” Trent’s anxiety over ruining something you were fairly excited about doing washed over him.

“Wait so you are?!?” Marcel yelped out but bit his lips tightly closed after hoping he didn’t wake you with his excited outburst.

“Yeah. We’ll she is or we are. I’m so happy.” Trent cooed gently, turning his focus to you. He smiled brushing his hand over hair before kissing your temple.

“Damn, that’s amazing. But nah, I couldn’t just tell. I had no idea. I don’t think mum will know either. Your daughter just yaps more than you and she told me.” Marcel smiled simultaneously taking a jab at Trent whilst letting him know that Teddy had spilled the beans.

“Oh dammit, Ted. I knew she wouldn’t keep it to herself. Evidently, she doesn’t really understand a pinky promise and I guess the concept of secrets either.” Trent laughed, Marcel did along with him. Teddy wasn’t the most tight lipped.

“Bro, this is sick… I’m so happy for you guys. How is she?” He nodded towards you. He wanted to make sure you were fine. If anyone knew the depth of how bad things had gotten it was Marcel.

“Yeah, she’s been all good so far. She’ll do amazing. I know that.” Trent smiled again praying that you would be fine this time around. He didn’t know if he could bear an episode like the one that occurred after your pregnancy with Teddy. “Let her tell you about this though bro. I know she wanted to.” He instructed his brother because he knew that you had talked about the way you wanted to announce this to your families, especially Marcel. You wanted everyone to kind of have their own individual announcement, different from your fist pregnancy. In the following days Marcel kept his mouth shut as you began to send out customized newspapers announcing your baby. Each one including a snippet to keep it quiet till everyone knew. Something along the lines of ‘Call us when you read the news. We can’t wait to meet our baby but until all our family and friends know… shhhh!’

“I’m fucking crying. Are you serious right now?” Winnie was balling over a Facetime after she had received hers. It naturally set you off right away.

“Yeah, going to have a little boy. I don’t know anything about them but I know he’ll be really cute.” You gushed with a giggled, starting to deep that you knew zero about little boys. It probably was a similar feeling that Trent had when you found out about Teddy. Things were going to be generally the same but also wildly different.

“Baby, he’s just going to be like a little me. I swear interests will be fairly the same. You, food, sleep, footie. Simple boys.” Trent explained to you as he kissed your shoulder. You smiled hoping that was true but also knowing he was vastly oversimplifying things.

“Do you have a name picked out? Are you keeping ‘TAA’ initials? Wait.. does Teddy know? What does she think?” Winnie rattled questions at you at lightning speed.

“Sheesh, Winn. Slow down please. Teddy does know. I think she’s on board but I don’t think she understands that after he arrives that he’s staying so we’ll see how that goes.” You laughed and Winnie hummed. “Names… Well, I have my opinion and T has his so I don’t know. To a degree I kind of felt like some little nod to dad would be nice.” You kept talking, explaining your current name debacle. You and Trent had talked about this at length. The only thing you had decided though was that you wanted to keep the initials ‘TAA.’ Aside from that, you and Trent just sat around throwing ‘T’ names at each other saying them all day. Trent often saying his suggestions as if it was an announcement at Anfield.

“And number 6…” He paused his dramatics for a quick caveat. “I don’t want him to take 66 so thinking he can have half of my number.” He clarified to you and you nodded. “Trey Alexander-Arnold.’ Good, no? I kind of like it because he’d be the third ‘TAA’ kind of vibe I think.” He looked at you with a smile fairly proud of his idea.

“So you’ll just ignore Tyler’s initials…” You cooed gently with a teasing smirk. Trent rolled his eyes wrapping his arm around your neck pulling you into his chest in a headlock.

“You’re just so funny, huh?” He huffed, kissing your head and then releasing you. “Yes, I know. But this is also my family so he’d be the… You know what fine, scratch Trey. Now I’m not going to be able to think about anything but how salty Tyler would be. Thanks for sending me back to square one, baby.” He muttered with a huff.

“Aww. I’m sorry, T. It was a cute name though but yeah square one, sorry. I will not listen to that argument for the rest of my life.” You cooed, caressing his cheek with your thumb. Back to square one you went, the list of names fluctuating between lengthening and shortening every couple days as you added some and ruled out others. It was all quite nice for the moment. Everyday was kind of exciting because you’d get a call from a family member or a friend who had received the news. You decided you’d hand deliver your announcement to Dianne, she deserved that. That said, Dianne aside, your only other delivery was to Marcel.

“Oh are you serious…” you whined. “You definitely already knew. I can read you like a fucking book. Who told you!” You yelped with a bit of a laugh leaning over your kitchen island slapping at Marcel. You definitely could read him like a book but it also wasn’t that hard. Lying wasn’t a strong suit in the family across the board but Marcel was particularly bad at it. His contrived reaction to your announcement confirming just that.

“I’m sorry! Teddy told me in a backwards way and then I asked Trent but he told me you wanted to tell me so here we are. Can I know what you’re having now?” He asked with a cheeky smile that also ran in this family.

“I still want you to find the gender with Ty. I just wanted to talk to you first. You’re important to me. You really are the best uncle to Teddy.” You began to start the conversation of why you wanted to hand deliver this news specifically to him.

“And you’ve told Ty this, correct?” He interrupted you and you rolled your eyes subsequently. “I'm kidding, I’m kidding, go on.” He laughed not realizing how serious you were being.

“You’re Teddy’s Celly and her best friend but in all seriousness how good you are with our kids aside. Even though this is exciting,I just wanted to talk about… me and you. Sometimes you and I get caught in banter and brother-sister type things which is fine, I love it, I just need you to know that I know what T does for me… Obviously, he and I’ve talked but Marce I also know what you’ve done for me. I wouldn’t have survived without your friendship. You are my best friend before you’re my brother, honest. You’re just really important to me and I want to make sure you and I are good because… I love you a lot.” You softly smiled at him hoping your confessional was going to be received well.

“Fuck… wow.” He choked out a little taken aback hearing your voice begin to shake a little. “I love you too. Y/N, I don’t think I ever thought you didn’t know what Trent does for you. You guys have one of the healthiest relationships I know. You value each other, I know that. You’re my best friend as well. I won’t be telling the boys that but yeah, I know.” You shook your head with a little giggle. Naturally, he wasn’t going to get soft on you without a little humor. “We’re fine. Promise. It just feels like I’ve lost him as a brother, sometimes. It’s strange that we went from messing about in L12 and now, I know I see everyone still, but it’s not just… us. Sorry it’s stupid.” You tried not to pout at him. Marcel gave you a little more than you thought he would. You were slightly worried he wouldn’t open up.

“I’m sorry it feels that way. I can’t really totally wrap my head around his trajectory myself and what that must have felt like at home. I know how you feel though to a degree, having to share him feels wrong because he’s just our Trent and not this global figure to us but as much as we have to accept that’s kind of the way it is, you haven’t lost anyone.” You wanted to comfort him but you knew it was an abnormal situation. You just wanted to make sure he was okay. You really meant it, he was like a little brother.

“Nah, I know that as well. It’s been mad though to have all this happen and then like don’t get me wrong I love Teddy, she's goated, a pain in my ass, but she’s amazing and like I said I love you as well” He smiled prefacing his next statement. “But just on top of footie he’s just got this whole other life that I’m not in.” He puffed out some air, not happy to be admitting to his feelings. You weren’t a younger sibling but you understood and related to how bizarre it was to live in this very abnormal situation less than 1% of the world experienced.

“Marce… You are very much so a part of this life, our life, and his life. I think you should tell him this kind of stuff because seriously, you and Ty are literally a part of every single day and if you’re not physically here bothering me, you’re in that annoying group chat that doesn’t stop. I totally empathize with this kind of grappling with growing up… I’m not saying you’re not grown, just that I know I really struggle to accept that we’re not what we were or maybe aren’t in the same place anymore, you know in our favorite places but we always find new ones. I found one with you all, no?” You smiled coming around the counter hugging him from the side, laying your head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, course. New favorite places.” He mumbled out leaning his head onto yours. “I like our places together.” He muttered.

“Yeah, me too. Those are the good ones. Your pain in the ass Teddy included.” You giggled, squeezing him once more before letting go. “What do you want to do for lunch before the match?” You asked, jumping back into normalcy.

“Erm… anything really but Y/N, I am happy you know for you, and for him. I love your family and you being a part of our family, and obviously Ted.” Marcel shuffled in his chair.

“I know. I know that.” You smiled, turning to grab your phone off the counter. After said match, the group chat lit up as it always did filling with who was coming over to your house. You needed a headcount, they never gave you for food but you always had a general idea, the usual cohort of rowdy boys in your cinema. Teddy gassed with the attention and chaos.

“Come on, Teddy girl. You don’t want to be with all these icky boys anymore. We’re going to eat.” You cooed, coming to grab Teddy from them. She wasn’t going to eat what they were and she needed to eat her dinner at the kitchen table. You didn’t want to taunt her with whatever they were indulging in.

“Too many, mama.” She told you, climbing off a couch next to George. He dramatically acted offended. You scooped up Teddy and kissed Trent’s head.

“One more soon though.” Trent pipped up and you shook your head at his delivery.

“Sorry?” George looked at Trent with a confused look. It was a game of who could put together the dots the fastest. All of the boys in the room had received the newspaper announcements and said their congratulations but not until this moment, had anyone discussed your baby further.

“Shut the fuck up…” Marcel’s jaw slacked. He sat up in his chair. “Oh my days Project TAA, we get fucking project TAA. Bro!” He yelped. Thus the real chaos ensued as all the boys collectively freaked out. You gave a few hugs but you let them all pop off about Trent having a son.

“Do my boobs look bigger?” You asked Trent looking down at your chest before you looked at him. He gave you a cheeky smile. You rolled your eyes. You knew he wasn’t exactly complaining but you weren’t asking about his preference for the visuals he was getting in the bedroom, you were asking about how they looked in the top Prada had sent for you to wear to their show in Milan tonight.

“Your boobs look amazing, baby.” Trent confirmed. They did look good. They were a bit more ‘plump’ than normal. He leaned back on his hands behind him on the mattress with a grin really enjoying how you looked. He licked over his lips.

“I can’t wear this.” You huffed unzipping the tight top. You stood there just in your sheer organza pants and satin high heels now topless. You watched Trent’s eyes light up. Your gaze flashed to his crotch unintentionally but the way he was sitting with his legs spread wide had your mouth watering. Your hormonal flares were getting the better of you. “I’m so horny for you, T.” You whined moving towards him, running your hands over his bare chest.

“Wow, baby. I forgot this is what you being pregnant was like.” Trent smiled greedily, wrapping his arms around you pulling you to sit on his lap. His face coming close to yours. His lips ghosting over yours.

“And I’m so sensitive now.” You moaned, pushing your lips into his for a passionate kiss. You moved his hands from your back around you and up your body, over your nipples.

“Arrgh. We gotta go baby.” He groaned feeling your tits in his hand but trying to not let himself fall into your trap and get lost in you.

“Come on, T, please.” You begged him. You didn’t need to beg. Trent would fuck you but you actually really did need to leave if you wanted to make it to the show on time and you still needed to put on a top despite Trent’s preference to your current state.

“You love Prada. Let’s go sweet girl. You know I can’t say no to you so you have to get off of me.” He laughed at himself knowing the longer you stayed put on his lap with minimal clothing on the thinner and thinner his resilience was getting.

“Fine, fine, but you owe me.” You huffed annoyed that he wouldn’t just take you right then. You were genuinely so horny for him you were praying you’d be able to make it through your night. “I’m just going to wear the sweatshirt.” You got off his lap and stood up looking around the room for the second option for a top for your look. “That still looks chic right?” You asked Trent awkwardly pulling the Prada Oversized cashmere and shearling sweatshirt over your head in an effort to not get any makeup on the cream color.

“Nah, it looks sick baby. I like it.” Trent cooed standing up with a puff of air trying to collect himself.

“Are you sure? I could always change.” You deviously smiled, beginning to peel the sweatshirt off again.

“I’m fuming right now that I’m saying this but can you please keep your clothes on f’me.” He gave you a massive smile and a disapproving head shake as he laughed pulling the fabric back down. This was a couple months ago and your horniness for Trent and your larger tits had not changed. Despite the World Cup being some amount of time away you found yourself in a similar situation trying on clothes, asking for his opinions but back home in your bedroom. Trent was in bed, he deemed your late night activity unnecessary but still entertained you. You were digging through your entire wardrobe trying to find just the right top. To no avail, you came out in a defeated huff. Trent smiled seeing you act so childish over something trivial.

“C’mere baby. You’ll look great regardless. Just come to bed. It’s really not that big of a deal.” He tried to reason with you but it was a big deal… to you. Pulling together looks for a big tournament where you were playing a secondary role was insane but you did it nonetheless because well, you liked dressing up. Doing this insanity while pregnant? Not nearly as fun.

“Nothing, and I’m actually serious, nothing looks good.” You complained, crawling on your bed towards him. You laid next to him and let him pull your tired body into his. He turned your chin to look up at him and kissed your lips. You hummed returning his kiss. “I’ve missed you.” You whined, pulling away from the kiss momentarily.

“I’ve missed you more. Promise.” He pecked your lips again as he tightened his arms around you. You hadn’t actually been apart long enough, only an away game, to warrant any sane person to say they missed one another but you two? You really did. The way his warm body felt against yours felt like heaven. His familiar comforting yet equally sexy scent encased you. His arms felt firm like he’d never let go and you didn’t want him to ever. His breath slowed as he looked deep into your eyes. You felt a shiver run up your spine staring back at him. “Turn around, baby.” He whispered close to you, turning your body in his arms letting your back now press into his chest. He leaned his head down and began kissing behind your ear. Your brain couldn’t really even process anything, you just felt this sense of relief and comfort being held by him in addition to this primal urge to get him to fuck you. You didn’t say anything. You let him work kisses down your neck as you pushed your ass against his hardening cock. “You want me to make you feel good?” He hummed as you let his hands roam over you, peeling your clothes off slowly. He relished in the sight of your now naked body against his. You tried to roll your hips back into him needing more.

“T, fuck me, please.” You begged him desperately. His lips pulled into a teasing smile against your skin. It wasn’t long before he was sliding his length inside you. His hands all over you.

“You want me to fuck you? Show me how bad you want it then, baby.” He whispered against your neck. He steadied his hips behind you and let you move against him. You pushed further against him, taking more and more of his length inside of you. You were wet enough that his cock slid in without a struggle. Needy as ever you bounced your hips on your own, fucking yourself. “That’s right, baby. Good girl.” He smiled, enjoying your desperation. “Use me however you like to. Go on.” He groaned.

“Please. T, baby. I need you.” You whined and he caved, giving into your pleas. You tipped your head back and Trent took advantage of the space returning his lips to your neck. He nibbled on your sensitive skin, scraping his teeth against you, marking you in the millionth way that you were his. You felt the knot in your stomach grow tighter as one of Trent’s hands slid to massage your tits cheekily pulling on your nipples. His other hand slid down in front of you coming to play with your clit and began to circle harshly around it. You couldn’t stay quiet as your orgasm got closer and closer. You clenched your pussy tighter around him. He moaned your name, unable to think about anything but you and how good you felt, the pleasure consumed all his thoughts.You shut your eyes as you awkwardly turned your head to kiss his lips.

“Cum on my cock, baby. Be a good girl and cum f’me.” He sweetly whispered in your ear in contrast to his crass words. The pleasure started to be too much to control. Your pussy clenched tight around him as your body was filled with white hot pleasure. Your warm, wet, and tight walls were becoming too much for Trent to manage. “Can you do that for me, baby? Huh?” His thrusts were mind-numbingly perfect. Your eyes were shut tight but you nodded eagerly for him. Trent held you so tightly, completely flush against him. His pace had become relentless, his hips unforgiving as he moved, driving his cock in and out of you, consistently hitting a spot so deep inside you. Swiftly he was twitching and fucking you full of his cum.

“Fuck T…” you whined feeling his thrusts continue but slow. He emptied himself with slow lazy pumps. He didn't stop though as he came. He kept fucking you at a slower pace though as he watched his release seem from your pussy fucking it back into you untill you came once more for him.

“I love you so much, baby.” He hummed kissing your shoulder. He cuddled up to you keeping his strong arms wrapped around your frame.

“I love you, T.” You sleepily cuddled back into him. He kissed the back of your head and pulled you closer into him. You fell asleep just like that in the most loving embrace possible.

There was a World Cup friendly ahead of this summer’s tournament. In an unexpected turn of events the once very exciting information that the World Cup was going to be held in the United States was now one of inconvenience. By the end of the tournament you’d be a month or so out from your due date and you weren’t sure if you’d be able to fly risking the possibility of attending a potential final, should England make it that far in the tournament. You needed to have your baby in England. You could’ve tried to make arrangements to work around staying in New York for the birth but it didn’t make sense, at least not to you.

“I’m not even listening to them.” Lauren laughed keeping her eyes fixed on Trent and Jude filming a relaxed interview together for the England Youtube page. “Just want to sit on his lap, you know?” She cooed to you with a devious smirk, eyes staying put.

“Laurennn…” You reprimanded her even though you knew Teddy wouldn’t have picked up on her innuendo. “Can you see dada, hmm?” You squeezed Teddy to you as she sat in your lap. You were sitting crossed legged on a turf pitch with your cheek pressed to the side of hers. It was fairly hot and not an easy position for you to get in and out of but it’s where you currently were. Teddy nodded following your finger pointing to a monitor relaying the video of them as it was being filmed. “Fine, they look good to be fair.” You quipped to Lauren with a smug smile agreeing with her sentiment of wanting to sit on your respective man's laps as you watched Trent adjust in his seat raising his hips upwards.

“What dada talking bout?” Teddy turned and asked you before letting her head fall back onto your chest lazily.

“Footie.” You told her. Frankly, you hadn’t really been listening but you assumed that’s what they were on about. She gave you a sort of blank ‘oh…’ in response that made you smile. “ What? You’re not interested in footie?” You asked her just interested in what was going on in her little brain before Trent and Jude broke out into a big laugh about god knows what. You couldn’t really hear their conversation because of their distance from you but the sound carried. They were yapping and laughing away as usual regardless.

“Want to laugh with dada and Judey too, mama.” Teddy complained hearing and seeing their laughter. She was jealous. They looked like they were having so much fun and yet they weren’t including her. The ultimate offense. Your eyes were fixed on the monitor but Teddy was trying to see how far away she really was from where they were sitting to see if she could get there.

“When they’re done, okays?” You cooed gently with a kiss to her hair. You gave her a cuddle and she sighed dramatically letting her body limply fall sideways on to Lauren’s lap as well. She was definitely inheriting some of Trent’s dramatics.

“What? You’re just too cool to be with us now? You’re not having fun so you want to go be with the boys instead?” Lauren teased tickling Teddy’s tummy eliciting a giggly squirm before she pulled her entirely into her lap. “Wait, Ted. No, no, no!” Lauren hushly but sternly tried to call out as Teddy broke away from her in childish defiance running towards Jude and Trent. She even had the cheek to turn her head back to look at Lauren with a conniving smile as she did it. It was a jarringly similar grin to Trent’s that made you shake your head.

“Think we’ve got an intruder, lads.” Jude announced, watching Teddy clumsily step over wires and cords around where they were filming. Lauren stood up and attempted to chase after her but the crew had welcomed her in before she could nab her. Jude laughed seeing Lauren’s face grappling between slight panic and a sly grin thinking this was a little funny. You were stuck as is because no shot you were going to be able to stand up on your own from your seat on the grass in time and you certainly weren’t going to run.

“Oh, sorry.” Trent smiled, turning to see his little girl. “Are we able to cut for a second? This isn’t live, right?” Trent asked, really trying to remember if they said this was going to be streamed or something. They told him he was fine so he stuck out his arms to reach out for Teddy who was currently trying her best to navigate as carefully as she could through the cameras. “Sorry.” Trent apologized once more before grunting, picking up Teddy and lifting her over some equipment. “C’mere Ted. What are you doing, silly girl?” He asked her. She just shrugged with a giggle.

“Did you get bored with mummy and Lauren? We do too.” Jude asked her teasingly with a wink to you and Lauren who was now just opting to sit back down. You couldn’t hear his question but you heard your respective names and rolled your eyes in sync.

“Want to play a game with us?” Josh, the host of their interview, asked Teddy. Her eyes lit at the question. A game with daddy and Judey, absolutely… well and also with this stranger. Josh looked to Trent for his approval to include Teddy in a small game but very quickly he then turned to you for your opinion. You didn’t really know the context so you implied it’d be up to his discretion. “Come here sweetheart. Want to play a game with Jude and your daddy?” Teddy shyly hid behind Trent’s legs.

“You’re okay, baby. Want to play or no, hmm?” Trent cooed, pulling one of Teddy’s curls straight and then letting it bounce back. She sheepishly nodded. He nodded his head towards Josh for her to go over. Teddy looked back towards you and you smiled and waved reassuring her despite not having really any idea what was happening. “Go on, yeah? We’ll have fun!” Trent reassured her. You knew she was fine as long as Trent was with her. Josh explained a game the crew made up on the spot. The boys would each have a guess and write what they thought the answer Teddy would give to a question on a white board.

“Alright, so we’ve got Teddy Alexander-Arnold with us for our next little segment. Mum’s given us a go ahead?” Josh spoke to the camera and looked to Trent for confirmation. He nodded as Josh rattled on a further explanation of the instructions before they began. “What do daddy and Jude do for work?” Josh asked, looking down at Teddy who had plopped herself onto the turf picking at it with her hands. She tilted her head up to give her answer when he gave her the go ahead.

“Play.” Teddy responded nonchalantly and fairly disinterested before flicking her gaze back to the grass. Josh laughed a little at her answer. Trent wasn’t phased by her attention. He turned his board around to show the correct answer with a smug smile.

“Nah, not having that.” Jude snapped annoyed. He leaned closer to Teddy. “Ted, but what do we play? You’re not saying footie? Also, I don’t know why I’m slightly offended by your answer.” Jude started to laugh at Teddy's belittlement of their careers teasing her reaching over to poke at her pudgy tummy.

“Yeah huh, Judey. Play footie with my daddy.” Teddy clarified with a giggle wiggling away from him. Jude had written ‘Footie’ on his board.

“Hey, hey, hey. Can’t be trying to coerce her into an answer. She said ‘play’ not ‘footie’ you lost the point. Me and my baby bear just vibe different, mate.” Trent quipped back. Josh laughed a little at the back and forth. Trent leaned off his seat and kissed Teddy’s hair.

“Alright, alright. One nil to Trent. Another question for you, sweetheart. What team do you think will win the World Cup?” Josh asked the next question and gave the boys a minute to write their answers.

“Libpool.” Teddy answered with a bit more of a yelp and giggle, very certain and proud of her answer. Both boys turned their boards around begrudgingly with incorrect answers throwing their heads with a groan. Teddy looked at Trent confused and a little disheartened with their reaction.

“Baby… Yeah, that’s a good answer but what team do Jude and I play together on. Where do we live?” Trent tried to clarify for her. As much as Trent was amazing if not perfect with Teddy he could never quite drop his competitiveness, he wanted to win.

“Libpool, dada.” Teddy doubled down. Trent ran his hands over his face. Josh laughed.

“Teddy girl.” Jude shook his head with a goofy smile. “I don’t play in Liverpool. You know I don’t live near you. We have to talk on the phone usually, don’t we?” He gently explained trying to direct her to the correct answer.

“This isn’t really fair though is it though because her answer is wrong.” Trent quipped trying to rationalize why the game wasn’t going to work. Teddy tried to complain, not really appreciating the fact that Trent was talking about her like she wasn’t there.

“Mate, the game is guessing her answer though.” Jude snapped, interrupting Teddy. She stood up and grabbed his arm.

“Judey! Listen!” All three boys laughed seeing Teddy come out of her shell a little more as she got more comfortable. “Live in England, tay? My mama not from there though but dada said can’t laugh at her.” Teddy segued into the unrelated topic about you. It was a discussion that came up recently with her of why you sounded different. You american accented words versus Trent’s made her laugh.

“Right, we won’t make fun of mummy, alright?” Jude told Teddy and she nodded. “But you’re English still and that’s who you’re supposed to say is going to win, Teddy girl.” He explained to her as she pulled herself up to sit in Jude’s lap.They carried on with more questions and banter. It was a little while later on when she started to get tired. She wasn’t even involved in the video at this point. She just was chilling. You were gossiping away to Lauren who wasn’t really listening as much as she was just watching Jude be sweet with your little girl. Teddy started to get worked up in Jude’s arms though beginning to progressively get more fussy as she got more tired.

“Uh oh! Want to just go be with daddy?” Jude cooed gently as Teddy began to start crying. She nodded sadly with a hushed ‘pleabs.” He kissed her before passing her to Trent’s outstretched arms.

“Not having that?” Josh asked Jude with some cheek as Teddy continued to cry.

“Nah, that’s why I love Ted. I just hand her off when she gets upset.” Jude laughed as Trent rolled her eyes as he whispered asking Teddy what was wrong. ”To be fair, she’s so chill more often than not. My only beef is that she won’t wear my Madrid jersey but I think that’s more of an issue I’m taking up with him.” Jude laughed with a smirk.

“Aw, baby C’mon. Going to be okay. Let’s go sit with mama, okay?” Trent cooed, kissing Teddy holding her as she cried ‘mama’ on repeat. “Can I just pop over to my wife quick?” Trent asked in the general direction of the men behind the cameras as he was already standing up. He knew that no one wanted to hear Teddy wailing before even asking. The director nodded.

“Oh, is mummy asleep on daddy.” Lauren giggled, bouncing Teddy on her hip walking back into your living room holding a glass of wine in her other hand noticing you. You’d passed out laying on Trent. She had come to stay for a little to spend some time with you and to help out with the nursery you desperately needed to finish.

“Uh huh… my mama lub my dada so um they um have baby.” Teddy explained squirming in her arms to put her down. Lauren bent over and placed her on the carpet. Teddy immediately took off running to the couch jumping on Marcel who had come over.

“Yeah mummy has a baby. You must be sleepy like mummy though, no?” Lauren cooed carefully sitting herself on the white couch keeping her glass of wine steady.

“Nos.” She giggled despite it actually getting close to her bedtime.

“I think you are…” Lauren cooed, pulling on one of her legs hanging over Marel’s lap. “Have to set a good example for your baby brother. Don’t want him to be like Celly do you?” Lauren teased.

“The stray was so unnecessary.” Marcel quipped with an eye roll.

“I like Celly, Lauwen. No bruber though. No tanks al zander arnol girls only.” Teddy explained through stumbling words, sitting upright hugging Marcel.

“Yeah, you’ll still be Alexander-Arnold girls. Why don't you want a baby brother though? If you had a sister you'd have to share all your cute clothes like mummy has to with Winnie.” Lauren laughed.

“Shares a generous word.” You slowly and groggily spoke coming out of sleep.

“Mummyyy!” Teddy squealed hearing you, crawling off Marcel towards you and Trent on the couch.

“Hi baby. You’re so cute and so loud.” You laughed watching her make her way to you. “Come here, yeah?” You cooed bringing her into you and Trent.

The following weeks were a bit hectic with the World Cup fast approaching. Trent was so busy and you just the same so it was fairly common that someone from your family helped out with Teddy. Frankly, you really needed to accept the fact that you might need a babysitter eventually because this was getting even more overwhelming as your due date came closer as well. Marcel had just begun dating this girl Gracie. Maybe ‘begun’ wouldn’t be the word considering you met her years ago and they had a whole situationship before this current relationship. She was sweet and you liked her. Cute, fairly meek, not in a negative way but she definitely was trying to “fit in” with your family so she wasn’t the most outspoken at the moment. It was a lot for you to walk into but for her it was a little different and slightly more strange. She’d actually known the Alexander-Arnold family longer than you did but since Trent was so successful and famous now it was almost an entirely new environment. That said, she definitely just wanted to be liked by all the people that felt like permanent stays like you… and Teddy.

“Excuse me, my Celly.” Teddy reprimanded Gracie, moving her hand off of Marcel. She was attempting to make it clear that Marcel was hers as you all sat at a restaurant for lunch on a random day. Having someone with you and Teddy all day made such a difference so you took the liberties of going out for something fun and leisurely when you did.

“Okay, I’m sorry sweetheart.” Gracie gently apologized, running her hand over her hair. Teddy didn’t concede though. She just kept her unimpressed glare on her. Marcel laughed a little at Teddy’s upset and Gracie’s kindness.

“This is my Celly. Tay?” Teddy yelled. Your eyes widened. You knew she was possessive of Trent and you but this was really the first outburst about someone else. It wasn’t all that surprising though that the someone else was Marcel though.

“Teddy girl…” You cautioned her. That's really all it took. It was a tone she knew well. “Can we be polite please? That’s not very nice.” You asked her. You mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Gracie. You wanted to really tell her that jealousy was not the way to get a man. She frowned at you and then her face pulled into offense as she watched the biggest betrayal, Marcel wrapping his arm around Gracie.

“It’s okay, really.” Gracie assured you brushing off Teddy’s sass. You smiled and so did she. “We can share him, yeah?” She gave a toothy smile to Teddy before pecking Marcel’s cheek. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back

“Nooooo mine!” She yelled and you immediately looked at her with wide eyes and a shake of the head. You were fast approaching the delightful stage of toddler tantrums. Teddy was really well behaved but sometimes she just didn’t know any better way to communicate her feelings. She sat in her chair as her eyes welled with tears, upset with Marcel and Gracie and now upset she had done something wrong.

“Oh my little teddy bear.” Marcel pouted at her. “Come here. You’re still my best friend, hmm?” He leaned over and tried to pick her up but her tears began to fall as she rejected him.

“You’re okay, baby. Celly loves you, promise. Come sit with me. I got you.” You grabbed her out of her seat knowing she wouldn’t say no to you. She wrapped herself around your neck and sniffled. “You didn’t eat any of your chips, my cute girl. You love them. Want to eat some with mummy?” You cooed and she shook her head ‘no’ but she contradicted herself when she eventually turned back to the table to grab one of your plate.

“I have?” Teddy asked Gracie sheepishly, reaching a chip towards her plate close to yours that had a bit of ketchup on it.

“Of course, Teddy. I'll share with you” Gracie smiled and pushed her plate and thus the ketchup a little closer to her. She shoved her chip into the ketchup and then into her mouth with a greedy smile and a hum. You and Marcel exchanged eye rolls at her. She was very cute and always managed to get her way.

“I’m fucking worried 25 hours a day.” You cried over the phone. You couldn’t even Facetime. You couldn’t bear to look at Trent right now. The World Cup did not end how you would’ve wanted it to but nevertheless Trent and Jude and a few other England teammates had stayed out in California for some time off. You had flown back immediately after the team was knocked out. You were so close to your due date you didn’t want to leave anything to chance, have any complications or be told you couldn't fly home after their departure in the Semifinals so you and Teddy were back home alone sans Trent.

“Baby… come on.” Trent groaned tired from his night out. “Just don’t deep it please.” It was like he forgot who he was talking to. Like the difference in your time zones wasn’t the only thing disconnecting you two. Trent rolled in the massive bed he was staying in really wishing you were in right now. He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face, disgruntled, not even sure how he had just got home. He was very drunk. It was maybe three or almost four am for Trent and late morning for you back home. It wasn’t how you anticipated your day starting and suddenly you felt the tides of your afternoon changing.

“I mean who was there? Are there photos? Like why are you telling me this?” You rattled quickly in a panic after Trent had sort of unintentionally but intentionally filled you in on his night. They had gone to a club. Not your favorite thing in the world but you knew he was going out. What you were unaware of was that they were joined by… let’s just say a man who was a “promoter” out in LA but that title really didn’t encapsulate what he did for a living. You knew nightlife. You knew it well in fact and you knew of this man and you knew that the England players request to blow off steam wasn’t just coming with bottles it was coming with bottle girls.

“I don’t knowww. I just don’t want you to be caught out if someone says something shitty on twitter, alright beautiful?” Trent whined, throwing his head back into a pillow. You could hear other people in the house with him. He clearly was alone in his room or if someone was there they were dead quiet but you knew there were other people there.

“Well, why would they have something to say? What was happening?” You asked, feeling a bit nauseous and you weren’t sure if it was a symptom of your pregnancy or the vagueness of Trent’s borderline black out drunk phone call.

“Nah, nothing baby. Wish you were here with me, you know.” He segued into another conversation entirely. You didn’t know if he intended to do this or if he was just drunk enough to not remember what he was talking about. He poorly attempted to convince you to have phone sex with him. You usually wouldn’t be opposed but like this? No. He was wasted, it was almost the afternoon for you, there was this weird tension and secrecy about what his night actually consisted of was putting you off.

“Okay, can you just go to sleep for me, T and get some water before, please.” You tried to calm yourself down just thinking more about his well being and the pain in the ass he'd be when he’d inevitably call you complaining he didn’t feel well wanting you to baby him when he woke up after this. You tried to say goodnight but you definitely didn’t miss the female voices echoing in the house and one in particular calling his name. He knew. He knew you heard it as well. He was too drunk to process how to handle this appropriately. Another woman's voice calling his name close to four in the morning wasn’t a great look for him and it wasn’t a great feeling for you. For some reason it really bothered you that it was an American accent. He couldn’t think quickly enough to act or say anything before you had hung up. You must’ve hit decline 50 times after that. His vision blurred. Trent didn’t leave his room that night, he slept alone.

“You know why I’m here.” Tyler gently spoke to you standing at your front door. You had waited for this all day after you’d seen the predicted photos emerge on football gossip sites alike. You didn’t want to see them but people would just DM them to you unprovoked. It was so invasive and so… sad. You did not want to see the thread putting together that the interior of the house from this LA model’s Instagram story was the same one in the photo Jude had shared. You didn’t want to see the screenshot of another stranger's story they posted unintentionally capturing a woman standing in between Trent’s legs at the club and you most certainly did not want to see the photo where you could not make out where his hands had disappeared to.

“Yeah, sure. On cue, no?” You snapped a little unfairly at Tyler as you let him inside. You rolled your eyes not really even greeting him. You knew Trent had sent Tyler over that night. You didn’t know what time it was on the west coast, you could’ve looked but you were ignoring Trent. You were raging.

“You know it’s just misinformation nothing happened.” Tyler tried to reassure you that the photos were just nonsense but frankly this had happened one too many times. It wasn’t like you really had the image that Trent could actually go through with having sex with someone else but you just didn’t like that he was even entertaining another woman. It made you sick because you’d imagine he’d be comparing her to you.

“No, I’m tired of ‘nothing happened,’ ‘it’s just a photo,’ ‘it looks worse than it was.’ It isn’t always about international footballer Trent Alexander Arnold’s image… Do you know what a fucking mug I look like? Sitting at home with his daughter and pregnant with his son? Why is he even entertaining it… why is he there to begin with?” You really lost it. You couldn’t hold it together anymore. Tears started to fill your lash line but you wiped them away with a tired gruff. You knew this was your brother in law but this was also Tyler’s job.

“Y/N…” Tyler cautioned you trying to not let you get too worked up but the ball was already rolling. You couldn’t stop the crying.

“No, I’m fucking sick of this. I can’t handle this” You sobbed. You gripped the kitchen counter top before just slamming your phone onto it and leaving the room. Tyler sighed letting you go, he knew you deserved to be mad. He wasn’t going to fight you on it but he was concerned by what you meant by your ability to ‘handle’ this. The thing that really sucked about being mad at Trent in these situations was that you would never keep him from Teddy. It was a little annoying that there had been multiple of these as well but you weren’t going to let his indiscretions or your anger towards him take away from her relationship with him. That said… you didn’t want to be there so you made Tyler call him with her before she went to bed.

“Baby, where’s mummy?” Trent asked Teddy as he Facetimed Tyler who held her sitting on a stool at your kitchen island.

“Um.. mama’s sad, dada. Sad in beddy, thinks.” Teddy babbled unknowingly, kind of spilling the fact that you’d really been upset over this. He knew that but knowing Teddy was conscious of it broke his heart all the more. Tyler’s eyes widened not realizing Teddy had even picked up on that. “Why mama sad?” Teddy asked innocently.

“Mummy is tired.” Trent sighed. “Can you give her a big kiss from me?” Trent cooed kind of wishing he could just give you one himself.

“Mate, you gotta get home now. This one was out of order.” Tyler put Teddy down and readjusted in his seat. “She’s tired of your shit.” He quipped at Trent.

“Ty, I didn’t do anything!” Trent yelped defending his innocence.

“Bro, I’m not questioning that but they’re dragging her online, they’re dragging you. It’s a mess and you need to take care of your wife and your daughter. I’m worried about Y/N.” Tyler replied in a serious tone. “You lost and it was a shitty way to go out of the tournament but this was dumb. Get your ass home. You’re not 19 bro.” Tyler really drove home his point that Trent needed to leave asap. Tyler always had a delivery that made Trent shutter. He would never not make Trent feel young and naive.

“Please come here, okay?” Trent trailed behind you in your bedroom when he returned to England days before he had anticipated. He listened to Tyler and left that night, returning the next morning for home.

“T… I’m upset. Let me be upset. You can’t just make me change my mind to make you feel better.” You snapped turning around to look at him frustratingly. The only words you’d heard for the past couple hours were ‘I’m sorry’ and you weren’t all that convinced by them.

“It’s not about me. It’s about our relationship. I’m sorry.” Trent frowned at you. He genuinely was apologetic, you knew that but it was almost agitating you more because he knew he had put himself in a stupid situation knowingly. It also was agitating you that you felt like you wanted to disappear realizing you were about to have a new born baby and embark on another fresh hell of your postpartum body again. You didn’t want to think about him with other women ever and certainly not right now given how you felt you looked.

“It is about you because who looks bad? I do and you're unphased. I’m upset Trent. It’s fine, okay? I let you do what you need to do. I get it you’re a ‘baller’ or whatever and you guys all love showing this sort of lifestyle.” Trent wanted to interrupt you and correct you. That wasn’t true. Trent didn’t really push that narrative but it just backed your point up a little better if he had. “But you know where I am… you know that I am carrying your fucking baby right now and your calling me what? While some girl is in the fucking house? Why is someone calling your name at 3:56 am? Tell me.” You tore into him remembering the exact time you’d hung up on him. “Why is there another American girl calling your name? Tell me about your night with her… Did you call me after… Did you call me because you felt guilty?” You started crying, gasping for breaths unable to control it.

“That’s not fair. You know that’s not true or what happened here.” Trent pleaded for some sort of mercy but he knew he fucked up. You hadn't necessarily accused him of cheating, it was sort of hinted at but that wasn’t the point. You were upset about how shitty seeing his hands near another woman was making you feel about yourself.

“Fair! You want to talk about fair!?” You yelled between sobs. You stuck your hand out to distance him from coming any closer to you when he tried.

“Y/N… I’m sorry. God, I’m such a fucking idiot. I was just trying to be chilled and relax with the boys. I didn’t want to make a big deal because I was getting chirped for being such a dad.” He woefully tried to explain, unknowingly digging his hole a bit deeper.

“Hey, hmm maybe because you are a dad.” You sarcastically rolled your eyes. “But you’re right… teammates over us always. Got it. Made that one proper clear.” You continue to sort of take digs at him for things that maybe weren’t the most accurate, and definitely a little too harsh maybe. You didn’t feel that way but your insecurity about the photos and that familiar valley girl accent was haunting you.

‘Hey, baby… the attitude isn’t necessary. I'm trying to apologize.” He looked at you both with a stern face not appreciating the jab knowing you two had to get through this but also absolutely terrified he’d upset you like this.

“Well you shouldn’t have to apologize, you shouldn’t be doing this shit. You’re married, you are a father of two babies by the way. So, tell me about her? What’s her name?” You snapped as your emotions continued to run high.

“I know! I know! And I fucked up. I don’t remember anyone they invited names, baby. Honest.” Trent once again took a misstep. Honestly, he was never great in arguments. You were. Your tactics weren’t the most fair but they were poignant.

“Oh, that’s brilliant you did all this for women you can’t even remember their names. Be honest and don’t fucking lie to me… did you touch her?” You made yourself feel sick asking him as you reimagined the blurred images.

“Baby…” He didn’t want to talk about this. Tyler was right Trent was not 19 and this was not some silly cheating scandal. Trent probably shouldn’t have been in that position but he would never cheat on you. You knew that and he knew that you did. It had nothing to do with him, it was more about the ‘woman.’ You were playing that angle though because it was easier to rationalize but both you and Trent knew that this anger and this conversation was stemming from your insecurities.

“Did they touch you?” You pushed for him to answer you. “Tell me. Did you get tired of the fact that while I carry your child for 9 months I don’t look like some Insta baddie worthy of a post World Cup party?” It was a big unfair blow. Trent felt like you punched him in the stomach. He shut his eyes, swallowing his need to defend himself and his pride.

“No, absolutely not…” He whispered, throwing his head trying to refrain.

“Did you touch her?” You asked him and he paused for a bit longer than you would’ve liked. “Oh my god… fuck you. Honestly.” You cried falling into more sobs as you sat on your bed dropping your head into your hands.

“Y/N, let me at least fucking answer. No… Fine, a woman tried and I told her to get away from me. That's what the photo is. I was moving her off me, alright?” He explained. It should’ve made you feel better but it didn’t. It wasn’t enough to shake the idea that your body currently couldn’t compete with some LA model’s.

“Why T… Why would you? Fuck… Am I not enough, you needed to seek out more? You want me to be this confident strong woman for Teddy and it’s things like this that just rip me apart. My husband, her father had other women practically in his lap… and I’m… I’m just. I can’t manage it.” You’d gotten to a place where you would always remember the pain and trouble you endured mentally from your damaged self image.You could forgive yourself, but you’d never forget all the insecurity and hatred and right now Trent’s night in LA had you remembering every piece of your past. You’d healed a lot. It was one of those situations where you had a hard time accepting your own treatment of yourself and the only person you could fault was yourself. Trent said no. It wasn’t even a competition for Trent. He’d pick you everytime but you were taking this out on him.

“You… you are more than enough. I never want anything but you. I'm so sorry I made a mistake even going but I definitely didn’t make a mistake getting myself out of there. I called you in my room, alone because I missed you, baby. It was a lapse in judgment. I’m a fucking idiot putting the most important thing in my life at risk for my ego to be cool for them.” He cooed sitting down next to you. You caught yourself sat on the bed now beside him in the mirror. It was the perfect storm. Emotions high, Trent’s error, pregnancy kicking your ass. You didn’t recognize yourself. You saw a woman who was overweight you’d never met. The problem was that you were underweight and no one could convince you otherwise. It was obsession and all you could think about as Trent yapped a heartfelt apology was that her arms, that women standing in between your husbands legs was that her arms looked thinner than yours, her collarbones raised a bit more. You weren’t sure if you really were upset about their positioning or her presenting the idea of a more attractive option to Trent.

“T… I worry every time you leave. I really do trust you… I do but it’s like sickening sometimes knowing the temptation that is literally thrown in your lap.” You had been on a relentless and unattainable pursuit of visual perfection and that fear and distortion you hid in and it came storming back.

“There is no temptation. There is no one that is you. No one could ever be you. Nothing could fill the void you’d leave behind if I didn’t have you. You are my world. I would crumble without you.” He began to cry. “I’m so sorry.” He leaned his head on your shoulder attempting to take a deep breath. Trent hated arguments. He hated confrontation, and he hated that sometimes he felt like he couldn’t win against your disordered way of thinking.

“It’s fine, T…” you whispered consoling him, cupping his cheek. You’d made progress with your health but it definitely felt like you’d revert back to old ways of thinking the second some sort of comparison was thrown at you and that’s exactly what this was.

“It’s not, baby. I love you. God, I fucking love you.” Trent whimpered trying to reel in his own emotions. He kissed your shoulder and it made you take a deep breath.

“I love you.” you whispered again. The words were tiny and fragile. Trent pouted seeing your tear stained face. His pout turned into a soft frown when he looked up at you. You both sat there in and out of tears. Trent was a light that gave you a strength you weren’t sure you even wanted to have sometimes. He gave you a happiness that you weren’t sure was even humanly possible and you hated that you questioned your worth despite not only the love he gave you but the belief and support. “Please, don’t stop loving me.” You barely were able to mutter out. Trent let out a defeated breath and pulled you into a hug. “I don’t think I can do it without you. Sometimes I think that this unconditional love I have for you makes me feel more insecure because I just want you to be happy and if that’s what someone else does for you. I’d let it happen” You shamefully admitted.

“Stop, baby. Never could someone make me as happy as you. I need to be better but.. You also have to be better for me. It kills me when you think like this.” Trent sighed. “I need you to know that that’s insane. I’d be insane to want anything else but you. I’m so sorry, baby. I never want to lose you.” You could tell he was about to rant.

“Please just shhh, baby. I don’t need an apology from you right now. I just need you.” You explained calmly and honestly just needing your husband, your Trent to hold you and so he did. You stayed quiet for a long time after that, moving to lay on your bed.

“T… Is it okay if we don’t have sex tonight?” You sheepishly asked. You weren’t sure why you were asking. He never pressured you. You just weren’t sure you’d be able to stomach it still kind of fixated on your own insecurities.

“What? Yeah, course. You haven’t been doing it lately because of me right? You’ve done it because you wanted to, yeah? Baby, whatever you want, I’ll do.” Trent cooed, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“No no, I’ve been fine. I just… I just want to be with my best friend tonight. I’m just a little tired and still a little sad.” You told him, hiding your face in the nape of his neck.

“I’m right here, baby. Never ever leaving you. Won’t ever leave. I never want to hurt you and I’m sorry I did. I love you so much.” Trent cooed, pulling you into a tight embrace. He rested his chin on top of your head.

“You can’t imagine how much I love you.” You spoke. Your voice muffled by your proximity to his skin.

“I think I can…” He smiled, pressing a kiss to your hair. You were quiet for a moment before he pulled your face off him and held your face in his hands. “Baby?” He cooed. You sympathetically smiled at him, still a little sad. “I don’t want you to be anyone but yourself for Teddy. If she’s anything like you when she’s older she’ll be perfect to me. Even now, when I see glimpses of you in her. It’s everything to me. That’s all I want and when I think about our little boy and Teddy the most important thing is that they know how much I love you. I just want them to not just hear me say it or see it, I want them to be able to see and feel how much I love their mum, how much I respect you and believe in you, how beautiful you are, how amazing you are and I want them to know that. We are so so lucky to have you, baby.” You smiled and a few tears escaped. He wiped them off your smooth skin. “Tell me something.” He sat up. “Can you do me a favor?” He smiled back at you. Your brow furrowed a little surprised given the circumstances. You were about to be having a month full of gifts and you were sure about that. Post fight? Yeah. Before leaving for preseason? Surely. Push presents? Definitely. You doing something for him? Questionable. “Tell me what you think I love about you.” You shook your head in defiance. “Yeah, go on.” He nodded at you.

“T, I don’t know!” You whined with a pout not wanting to do this.

“Well, what do I tell you I like.” He smiled, leaning over kissing your shoulder.

“I don’t know… my ass.” You sheepishly threw out one. He hummed and nodded for you to continue. “This is stupid.” You muttered but he gestured for you to keep talking. “My tits.” He nodded with confirmation. “My lips.” He hummed again with assurance. “My toes.” You laughed and he laughed with you knowing he recently commented that he liked your white pedicure. You were grasping at straws for ideas. It wasn’t that Trent didn’t tell you things he liked, in fact just the opposite.

“You’re sort of right. But baby, you could literally name any part. I love every fucking inch of you inside and out. Your missing volumes of things I love about you. You know me, I don’t fucking like to lose and I’m not loosing this. I’m going to get you to love you the way I love you.” He wiped his thumb over your lips with a glint in his eyes. “I wish you could just see the way we see you. Be brave for me right now. Tell me what you thought when I was in LA. Like mouth off, baby. You need to learn to back yourself. Give me a ‘you’re a fucking idiot because I’m sexy.’” He gave you a cheeky smile knowing this was something you wouldn’t want to do but hoping you’d do it for him. You thought for a moment and smiled.

“You couldn’t have created a prettier baby with anyone else.” You smiled back at him. He squinted at you. It was a little bit of a passive one. You really we’re complementing both Teddy and him in the process.

“I’ll take it butt I was looking for more of a ‘I’m the lengest girl you’ve ever seen, you’re lucky I gave you a chance.’” He laughed and you rolled your eyes. “I want to hear one of these everyday. Remind me and yourself everyday that you’re it baby.” He kissed you a few times.

“Thank you for loving all of my imperfections.” You smiled into the kiss.

“They are not imperfections, they are what makes you everything you are and everything I’m madly in love with.” He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you tight into him. He swayed you back and forth with a hum and a few kisses. “The fact that I get to just be in your presence. Get to experience you in my life and be a part of yours, it’s the biggest blessing. I have never seen a more beautiful person inside and out, baby. Please don’t ever forget that. You’re incredible.” He kissed you a couple more times. You muttered out a ‘thank you.’ “Do you believe me?” He brushed his nose against yours.

��I think I am starting to. I like… life with you. Our life. I feel like I used to dread the lulls and now it’s like there could never be enough time in this life with you or my babies. I just crave more of it all. You made me like to live” You giggled a little. “Sorry, I know that sounds dramatic.” You shyly smiled.

“Good.” He kissed once more, sealing how much he loved you. Things would always be hard but progress was being made slowly and you think that’s what made you so upset. It felt like you took a few steps backwards when Trent went to LA but as he held you, you knew things were better than they’d actually ever been. You believed what he was telling you.

“Want to go see mama and dada, Celly.” Teddy huffed, kicking her dangling legs back and forth off a chair in a hospital waiting room. You had gone into labor hours ago. Teddy wasn’t even there the whole time but she was getting restless.

“Nah, you don’t. You want to hang with me, yeah?” Marcel laughed, pulling her towards her. She wiggled out of his hold.

“Nosss humph.” Teddy huffed again, folding her arms over her chest. She was still holding on to some serious resentment towards him because of his relationship with Gracie.

“What’s with the attitude?” Marcel laughed a little more. He shouldn’t but he almost fueled her behavior because he thought it was funny the way she huffed about but still managed to remain really cute.

“My Celly only, tays?” She repeated her statement that had been on a loop lately to him. She wanted him to understand that Gracie had to go in her mind. That wasn’t really an option nor her decision but she’d try.

“Sweetheart, come on! You're always going to be my best friend, I promise.” Marcel reassured her, picking her up and placing her on his lap. She smiled greedily and giggled happy with his confirmation. “Alright, so we’re good now?” He asked her and she nodded content that she was now sitting with him. “Good. I have some questions for you. How small do you think he’ll be?” He asked her just to keep her busy for god knows how much longer.

“Small.” Teddy simply confirmed. He hummed, agreeing.

“What do you think his name will be?” He asked her another question, one of many he was starting to think of.

“Tom.” Teddy answered again very matter of fact. She said it as if she knew that was 100% correct. 100% going to be your son’s name but Marcel knew that wasn’t going to be the case. He was pretty sure he knew the names you’d narrowed it down to and ‘Tom wasn’t on that list.

“Tom? Why?” He laughed a little at her. “You know what? Okay. My nephew Tom Alexander-Arnold. Got it.” He smiled as she nodded, verifying.

“Did so well sweetie. I’m so proud of you.” Dianne cooed, giving you a gentle hug. You smiled at her with tear filled eyes. She and your mum were the first to come into the private room to meet your son. Early that evening you and Trent welcome your baby boy Theo James Alexander-Arnold into the world. He was perfect and there were no disagreements with that fact. Thankfully this time around both of your families were here and on time for the delivery, Trent included.

“Let’s see him then.” Tyler came into the room shortly after to meet little Theo. You offered if he wanted to hold him but really you were having trouble even being a foot apart from him. “Ready to play in the prem, mate?” Tyler smiled running the back of his finger over his chubby cheek. This was already a running joke before you even had Teddy that there was this predetermined destiny for a child of Trent’s to play football but it really kicked off once all the boys in your life found out you were having a son. It was all in good fun of course but at the moment you were really emotional. You pouted at Trent sadly. He took Theo back from Tyler but not before giving him a reassuring nod that he was sure that that was going to happen. He kissed Theo and placed him in your arms softly.

“No, he’s going to stay with mummy forever.” You held Theo to your skin letting his head rest against your chest as you began to cry again. “Never ever leaving my perfect baby boy.” You frowned looking at how adorable he looked. Trent hushed you sliding next to you on the hospital bed, taking a seat. “He’s so perfect. I love him.” You explained to him but kept your eyes locked on him.

“Yeah, I know, baby. You did so well. Look at him. I actually think he looks a little like me.” Trent teased running his hand gently over his son's head. You started blubbering crying. Trent let out a sympathetic breathy laugh at you. “Hey, just joking. It’s okay.” He kissed your forehead.

“He looks like you. He looks just like you, T and he’s perfect… and beautiful.” You kept crying. You were a mess. You don’t know why you felt so protective this time around. Of course you did with Teddy but you were also slightly terrified having it be your first pregnancy.

“He’s pretty cute, huh?” Trent asked you inspecting your little boy. You nodded. Trent was emotional after Theo was born. He was balling in fact.

“I’m so proud of you. You did so well, beautiful. You’re did so amazing.” Trent kept his lips pressed to your hair. You could feel him shake a little. He was crying. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that you had created one more little miracle that was finally in your arms. Theo Alexander-Arnold was an exact replica of Trent, marginally more than Teddy even was. You could already make out the little dimples indented in his cheeks. His nose, the shape of lips, everything was perfectly matched and perfectly cute. “He’s everything baby. I’m so in love with him.” He cooed, eyes full of tears as he ran his hand over Theo’s head. “I am so grateful for you and all the sacrifices you’ve made for us and for him. I love you so much, beautiful.” He whimpered, leaning over more to see him. He gently nudged his nose against Theo’s tiny identical one. Theo batted his eyes open and Trent sucked in breath. The same perfectly warm deep brown eyes he had looking back at him. He fell in love instantly, completely in awe. “He’s so beautiful. I can’t believe we made him.” You cried through a smile tugging at your lips as you inspected the tiny cherubic figure in your arms. Trent looked at you. You were absolutely glowing. Your eyes were tear stained but shining bright, filled with love. You were flush but your skin had never been softer. You were perfect. His heart swelled to the point where he got a little nervous it was possible it could burst. He would do anything for you and that little boy, Teddy too.

“Shhh, baby. You’re okay. Just close your eyes for me, alright? Can you try to rest for a little while?” He asked you. You initially tried to say no “Your boys will stay right here with you, I promise.” You gasped in a breath hearing ‘your boys’ for the first time in your life starting up crying again. Trent delicately took Theo out of your hold.

“Oh my gosh… You guys are making me cry stop.” Winnie cried along with you sitting in a chair in the room. Having missed your first birth she was a mess seeing you. Trent rolled his head to see Winnie pouting looking at you two.

“Okay.. Okay.. come on though. Let’s go see mummy and daddy and your new brother.” Marcel cooed to Teddy holding her hand coming into the room.

“Mummy matter?” Teddy yelped out too loud despite Marcel’s earlier instructions to be quiet. He laughed, shaking his head at her disregard once she saw you laying in the bed with an IV in your arm. She ran to the side of the bed Trent was seated on and he smiled with a laugh as she attempted to use him to climb onto the bed. “You tay?” She asked you, concerned.

“I’m okay, Teddy girl. Come here, baby.” You smiled and reassured her. Winnie picked her up to help Trent and placed her on the bed between you two. “Can you say hi to your baby brother?” You asked her quietly. She tilted her head actually taking a closer look at the swaddled baby in Trent’s arms she hardly noticed before.

“Hi baby. Is my Celly?” She asked you sitting up to peer into Trent’s arms that made you laugh a little.

“Yeah, but this is your baby brother, Theo. Have to look after him and be the best big sister for me, okay, baby?” You cooed, running your hand over Theo’s head gently. Trent reached towards her and pulled her onto his lap with a kiss to her head and helped her hold Theo in front of him.

“Oh Tio… hmm.” Teddy spoke looking at the baby in her arms. “Hi Tio, we can share my mummy, tay?” She cooed kissing him. She was so sweet and gentle it made you start crying again. Winnie quick to follow. You guessed for the foreseeable future he would be ‘Tio’ to Teddy as opposed to ‘Theo’ with an h.

“What about daddy? Gonna share me too?” Trent asked her, dropping his head to press the side of his cheek to hers looking at Theo.

“Nos tanks.” She replied with zero hesitation. Very sure of herself that daddy was not going to be on the table yet but she’d settle sharing you.

“Teddy, can you watch mummy for me? I’m just going to get her a drink from the kitchen quickly, okay?” Trent asked Teddy standing up from the couch. A few days passed of having Theo in your lives and you were exhausted. You had fallen asleep next to Teddy. Theo was in a bassinet. Trent didn’t really need her to do anything but it’d make her feel important. It was important to make Teddy not feel left out despite all the focus on him. He could see and hear Theo from the kitchen and you’d be fine. You needed sleep.

“Tay, dada.” Teddy confirmed plopping her head onto you. You shuffled a little maternally knowing it was your little girl without a thought. You pulled her into you instinctually.

“Dada, mummy won’t let goes.” Teddy complained a little while later after Trent returned and you still hadn’t released her. She was getting bored.

“Oh, I’m sorry baby.” He laughed. You looked happy with Teddy but he knew she was getting restless. He kissed your cheek a few times settling behind you before leaning to whisper into your ear. “Can you let go of our Teddy bear, please.” He smiled, flashing a wink up to Teddy. She giggled when you reluctantly let go of her. “C’mere. Can give me a cuddle instead, yeah?” Trent cooed pulling you back into him burying his face into the nap of your neck, kissing your skin.

“Hello big sister.” Dianne cooed as Teddy ran to the front door to greet her after she let herself in to your house.

“Nana shhh! Mama sleep with dada and baby.” Teddy explained to Dianne pushing her finger flush against her lips signaling her to be quiet.

“Oh goodness. I’m sorry, are they upstairs?” Dianne asked her, lowering her voice. You knew Dianne was coming over but of course, she didn’t know what room you’d be in. She smiled, letting Teddy take her hand and drag her into the living room where you were after Teddy answered a simple ‘nos’ to her question.

“Hey mum.” Trent lowly whispered, sitting up a bit but keeping you in his arms. “Sorry, Y/N just finally is sleeping. I didn’t want to get up. I’m not sure the last time she slept so…” Trent gave Dianne a sympathetic smile.

“It’s good for her to rest. Let me see that beautiful boy. Looks just like daddy, huh?” Dianne gently picked up Theo from his bassinet as he began to wake. “Teddy girl, come with me and Theo to get you a snack. Want to come with us to the kitchen?” Diane asked Teddy who had just plopped herself on the carpet. Dianne winked at Trent knowing it’d probably be nice to just have a moment with no kids even if it was only for five minutes, even if they were only in the other room.

“Hi…” You pouted as you woke up exhausted in Trent’s arms. Your eyes fluttered open more as you nuzzled into him until panic rushed through your entire body. “Wait! Where is he? T…” You looked at him terrified, almost on the verge of tears. God, you were so tired.

“Baby, he’s with my mum. He’s okay. You’re okay. I got ya.” He cooed gently, kissing your lips. You nodded relieved. He leaned forward a little more and you thought he was going to kiss you again. You tilted your head ready to let your lips meet. He didn’t though. Instead Trent ran the tip of his nose against yours. You left out a shaky breath as he pressed his forehead to yours. “I’ve got you, I’ve got Teddy, and I’ve got Theo. Promise I will take care of all of you.” He whispered. You felt your heart falter hearing him.

“We’re so lucky to have you daddy.” You smiled. You were going to say more but you heard Teddy’s giggle along with the scamper of your dogs come rushing out of the kitchen. Suddenly Theo’s cries began. Trent cupped your cheek and ran his thumb over your skin. He gave you a cheeky smile. He sat up and you sighed as he pulled you with him.

“Where you going baby bear!” Trent cooed, reaching out and nabbing Teddy mid run swinging her off the ground. Her giggles continuing. You got up and took Theo back from Dianne as they entered the room and calmed him down. Trent came to you with Teddy in one of his arms and pulled you and your little boy into them with his other. “They're ours, baby. All ours.” He laughed a little and you sighed before he pecked your lips. You smiled up at him with a happiness you never wanted to loose and returned the kiss.

•

Thank you for reading! Please like, comment, or message what you think of the chapter and the entire series 🤍

I cannot believe the series is officially over. I really can't express how much I loved talking about this with anyone that has messaged. The first part of The Epilogue is out now! I hope the official conclusion will do Y/N and Trent's story justice.

The End 🫶🤍✨🧸

#trent alexander arnold #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander arnold imagines #taa x reader #footballer x y/n #footballer x reader #taa66 #oursfic #trent alexander arnold smut

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bibibbon · 4 months ago

Note

Just realized that the way Deku is treated like a nobody for saving the world in the ending is exactly how All Might was trated after his retirement.

There are no more fans pestering All Might for his autograph or trying to talk to him, we don't see any of his fans or kids even try to approach him. It's like this guy wasn't the #1 hero for years and helped them feel safe in a chaotic world, but was filling papers for 40 years instead.

Everybody knows about All Might's real form and they act like he's nothing just like with Izuku. Dai is the only one of those kids who recognizes him. The way heroes are discarded once they are no longer of use either because of death or retirement is sad honestly. It reeks of commercialism's Out with the old, in with the new kind of mentality

Ooooh an unintentional parallel by horikoshi between these two??? Iam not sure

However, Iam not sure what horikoshi was trying to get at here. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense at all for the public to simply become silent about all might after his retirement specifically the all might fans in particular. After all mights forced reitement there was various talks in the media about the great change this would cause in society and how they could prepare for it and this can be seen in chapter 115.

I do find it interesting that everything seemed to be convinetly quiet for all might after his retirement maybe this is because a lot of people still didn't know hos legal name and all they knew was his second identity instead. But don't you think its weird that the public who saw all might fight and be forced into retirement due to that fight not question a lot of things at hand like:

Why does all might look so different?, is it another quirk?

Who was that villain that was so strong to be able to take down the strongest hero in Japan?

Has all might been lying to the public?

For a character like all might who was set up to be the most infuelntial hero within Japan and the world, who was set up to be a pillar to society his absence was treated like a casual Tuesday morning which is so weird. Sure its understandable that people would of expected all might to retire soon since he has been on duty for over 30 years but it would still cause a huge ordeal that probably the guy who kept japan the safest and has been the most constant thing in hero society is suddenly retiring.

You would also think that all might would still be visibly shown to have fans, people who acknowledge him, respect him, appreciate him or heck even the opposite people who dislike him and want to kill him. Horikoshi could of shown us how all might deals with all of this whether that be fans bothering him nonstop like paparazzi, invading his personal space and bombarding him with questions and wanting him to sign their things or haters who keep posting about all might and outright maybe threatening to kill him for a various of reasons. Yagi was a convenient cover up for all might in the vigilantes manga he used it to pretend to be his own assistant to naomasa and he could easily live a quiet life without needing to be bothered or in danger 24/7 by villains and what they could do in his disguise of yagi.

Yagi is the true all might that the world was never meant to see so what happens now that the world knows?

Does the world simply cancel all might? Honestly I doubt it but hey iam adding it here since it could be a possibility.

Overall, this does seem pretty weird with how the former strongest hero in Japan simply being forgotten about even though the whole idea of yagi being all mights disguise was framed in a way where it helped keep him safe and was equally convient for him.

Moving on to izuku now this one is equally as annoying and weird as all mights to be Frank. The hero society is never framed to have fully learnt their lesson since almost everything from the last chapter and before that hints at the topic of history will repeat or rhyme itself. The way izuku receives recognition from characters in the series is very mind-boggling to me since its always inconsistent. @mikeellee provides good examples of this whether that be izuku being never given the credit to him cleaning the beach or to him being able to help keep control and keep cool under pressure during the shopping mall incident which helped save lives.

Izuku does seem to get much more negative light when it comes to his mistakes which is fair and valid however, arcs like the vigilante and final arc come to prove that the thing that izuku is necessarily being told off about is something outside of his control. Izuku can't control the fact that he is all mights successor he didn't know what he was signing up for when he received ofa and was ignorant to the existence of afo. The same idea applies to the civilians who put a huge pressure on him to get things back to normal and bring back an era of peace. You expect a 16 year old child solider to do that? The final arc was framed in a way where izuku couldn't save shigaraki and in my opinion with the way it was written and framed it seemed like ahigaraki wouldn't be saved. Izuku tried yet he lacked everything he needed, knowledge, resources etc etc and due to that it led to a horrible conclusion for both characters making them unlikeable (to me).

There was this very insightful meta that went along the title of the "uselessness" of izuku midoriya. This meta points out a poem about izuku and how that revolves around his character while I do enjoy the idea of this I still dislike the execution of it. Yes, this can be an explanation as to why izuku is so forgotten adding that ontop of the reoccurring idea that izuku is plain and easily forgettable it meshes well as an explanation however, you would think that after someone has accomplished incredible feats like izuku and someone who has a statue would be talked about right? And not in a fangilring cheerleading way similar to what happend to bakugo and shoto because that just went to show how hero society didn't change instead.

In the end, I don't think that this was an intentional parallel written by horikoshi but it was an interesting one

#mha #mha critical #bnha critical #bnha #horikoshi critical #thanks for the ask #bhna critical #thanks for the ask!#thanks anon #thanks anon!#all might #all might deserves better #midoriya izuku #izuku deserves better

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mochinomnoms · 8 months ago

Note

Reading that of adopted children, yeah, I agree with Kalim and Malleus. I REALLY doubt they could have adopted children. Specially Malleus, like, you are telling me the next heir is not blood-related to Malleus, I think Briar Valley views Draconians as gods I swear hqbahw-- anyway, having adopted children means they won't get Malleus magic capabilities, so that's a no-no. Besides, Malleus is an only child, who the heck can they turn to IF is not Malleus' heir?

BTW, if you are using a magicless Yuu/Mc... good luck with Malleus Xd I wouldn't dare put adopted children in that position, still. Especially adopted children. What a combination, tbh! 😂

With Kalim AT LEAST, they can say, "Oh, well, let's get one of his siblings' children as the heir."But even then, that's asking for even more problems @×@ because... who would be?! He has a LOT, and I would feel bad for his adopted children being looked down just for not being blood-related.

Anyway, Mc/Yuu has to either suck it up and look for another partner, one that isn't from high class or at least first in line of some high ranking position (I don't think would be that much of a problem with Leona, but then again, I still wouldn't do it, just in case). That or simply have their children, lmao.

I think that with Malleus, they are able to have the kid via magic. Mild Chapter 7 spoilers but I believe that the egg and it's growth are attributed to magic and love. I think that potentially Malleus could create the egg and pour magic into it while Yuu could pour love into it (I'm sure it senses like the vibes or something).

The last ask was specific to adoption so I didn't mention it, but the thing is that surrogates and IVF are options for same-sex couples or infertile couples, or couples who don't want to be pregnant themselves for any reason. It wouldn't be that complicated to just do that for either of them, and the issue of bloodlines wouldn't be a concern.

The main issue I think would come up is that people sometimes don't consider adopted or stepkids as "true" members of a family because they're not blood related. But that's not the case at all, they're still family no matter what they say and with Kalim and Malleus, it would really come down to them setting their foots down to protect their families.

I also think that they wouldn't let something like other people's issues with adoption get in the way of their relationship. Both of these characters strike me as extremely devoted lovers, they'd put their spouse and their needs above everyone else. If their spouse doesn't wish to carry a child for whatever reason, then they will make it work.

The only issue would come if the spouse doesn't want kids, as both Kalim and Malleus also strike me as people who really want kids. If you don't want kids, and that's a hard ass line, then there might be a dilemma. Even in Kalim's case, where I strongly believe polygamy is accepted in his home (his father must have multiple wives for him to have over 30+ children...I refuse to believe that a single birth giver did that) if you don't want kids at all would still cause some strife, because you can't just ignore his kids from your other spouses. Otherwise, I don't think there would be any issue.

#mochi asks #twst #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #malleus draconia #kalim al asim #malleus draconia x reader #kalim al asim x reader #i think we might be making it more complicated than it actually needs to be #if bloodlines are a big enough issue for them to not want to adopt then surrogates are available and tube babies #for lack of a better word anyway but i have a friend who was conceived via ivf and it's very expensive but thats not an issue with these tw

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gaysindistress · 2 years ago

Text

When Night Comes - one

Summary: Who would win in a staring contest? New York’s resident mob boss and master of the side eye Bucky Barnes or the daycare teacher who really wants to go home and smoke?

pairing: Mob!Bucky Barnes x reader

warnings: mob!Bucky because he is his own warning, probs only cursing this chapter

word count: 2.1K

masterlist

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on Google/Pinterest

“Hey I need your help out front,” Jessica wearily asks as she pops her head into the classroom door. The other woman who’s sitting on the jungle carpet with the kids nods her head and stands up, kids clinging to her arm as she does so.

“What’s up?” she asks, shaking off the monkey children, “I need you guys to go sit on the carpet. I need to talk to Ms. Jessica.”

The kids run back to the group before Jessica explains, “There’s a man here to pick up Wyatt but I don’t recognize him and he’s not showing any ID. I figured with who his parents are, you might want to check it out.”

“Bruh you’ve got to be kidding me. Get a picture of him and his car and don’t let any of the kids out of the room until I come back. I’m getting real sick of this shit,” the mental exhaustion of running a daycare, let alone one with high-profile clients, rips her apart most days.

Another kid comes running up to the two women, complaining about how annoying her brother is being, “Ms. Jessica, Ms. Sunny, Mason won’t leave me alone. He keeps pinching me.”

Jessica takes over the situation and leads the little girl back towards the carpet, asking her what she did to try and stop him while the other woman, Ms. Sunny, leaves to handle the rather broody-looking man at the school’s front doors. His jaw is locked in a permanently clenched state, no doubt causing tension but also creating a killer resting bitch face. He’s looking down at his phone and doesn’t notice that she’s in the lobby with him until she clears her throat.

“I’m here for Wyatt,” he fumbles to put his phone away when he looks up at her.

“Can I see your ID please?” she asks, coming to stand in between him and the hallway leading toward the classroom.

“No.”

She flashes a very fake smile and crosses her arms over her chest, “Unfortunately it’s our policy; I can’t release a child into someone’s care unless I know who they are or I see their ID to confirm they’re on the approved adult list. So if I can’t see your ID then I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Just call Steve,” his jaw twitches as his frustration grows.

“I can once I see your ID.”

“You don’t need to see my ID. Just call Steve and bring out Wyatt.”

She scratches at the corner of her eye in annoyance, “I’m about 30 seconds from calling the police on you for attempted kidnapping. You may either leave or show me your ID, it’s really not that hard.”

When he puts his hands on his hips, metal flashes from under his coat in an attempt to scare her into submission but all she does is let out a breathy laugh at the lame attempt. This only frustrates him even more and he digs into his pocket to retrieve his phone to make a call while giving her the staredown. Being an unbothered queen, she flashes him another sarcastic smile when he gives her a particularly nasty look. The kids are going wild in the classroom, screams and laughter echoing through the hallway and into the lobby. Another man gets out of the SUV the first man no doubt arrived in and raps harshly on the school’s glass door. A black hoodie peaks out from under the leather jacket he’s wearing, giving him a softer look than the other man who’s in a full suit. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve assumed that he was the lackey and the first man is the boss but she does and resists rolling her eyes when she pushes open the door for him.

“Thank you, Doll,” his honey voice coats her ears as he slides past her, “What seems to be the problem?”

“This asshole here wouldn’t let me see his ID and was being rude, demanding that I just bring out Wyatt,” she’s dropped the kind daycare teacher act at this point and falls back into her normal personality and word bank.

“Is that true, Scott?” the honey-voiced man asks Scott, turning his head to look at him.

“Maybe if she wasn’t being such a bit…”

He cut him off with a stern look, “I’m going to stop you right there. We don’t call women names even if they are true. Now apologize to her and go to the car.”

Scott mumbles a very curt and snarky apology to her and shoves the door open, storming off like a child. She lets out a deep sigh, watching him leave before looking at the other man whose eyes haven’t left her, “I still need to see your ID.”

“Of course,” he pulls his wallet from his back pocket and flips it open to hand her the card.

She glances over it and hands it back, “Thank you, Mr. Barnes. Wyatt will be right out and next time you come to pick him up, please come in yourself or have the Rogers add the asshat to the list. I really don’t enjoy arguing with a man-child when I have a classroom full of better-behaved kids.”

Mr. Barnes chuckles and nods to show he’s in agreement, “Scott could use a lesson or two in manners. I’ll make sure he won’t bother you again.”

Wyatt comes bounding out of the classroom, backpack hanging off one shoulder and half-finished coloring pages fisted in his hands. He breaks into a sprint when he spots his uncle crouching down with arms wide open and nearly tackles him to the ground.

“Uncle Bucky!” he shouts when he jumps into Bucky’s arms.

“Hey buddy, how was your day?”

“Look at what I made,” Wyatt shoves the coloring pages into Bucky’s face with excitement, “Ms. Sunny helped me.”

Bucky’s eyes rake up her form before making intense eye contact with her, a small smirk on his plump lips, “Is that so? Why don’t you say goodbye to Ms. Sunny?”

Wyatt launches himself at her legs, rapidly saying his goodbyes. She smiles down at him, “Have a good night, home slice. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

He runs back to his uncle and takes his hand as Bucky pushes the door open to leave. He pauses and sends Wyatt to the car so he can get one last word in with the daycare teacher.

“I really am sorry for the confusion earlier. Let me make it up to you.”

“Yeah come in yourself next time,” she scoffs, spinning to go back to the classroom.

“How about dinner?” he calls after her, freezing her just before she gets to the room.

“Are you seriously asking me out?”

He shrugs his shoulders, a smirk growing even wider, “Are you saying yes?”

She doesn’t give him the satisfaction of answering and disappears into the classroom, leaving him chuckling to himself. It’s not the first time they’ve met, having seen each other in passing when he picks up Wyatt but this is certainly the first time he’s actually talked to her. She’s not surprised that he decided to flirt with her; he is, after all, the king of New York and known as the Flirt of Brooklyn. Even though the kids call her Ms. Sunny, she’s a far cry from her nickname and is unamused by his behavior. He’s going to have to try harder than that to get under her skin or take her out.

Jessica quickly gets up from the teacher’s desk when Sunny comes back in, “Everything go okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waves Jessica off, “It ended up being Wyatt’s uncle who sent in his bodyguard. I told him that he needed to come in himself like he had been doing so hopefully I won’t have to call Mom and Dad. You know how Mr. Rogers gets when we call him.”

“Oh yeah, I wouldn’t get them involved unless it again,” Jessica agrees but her face lights up at the mention of the uncle, “Oh my god it was Bucky Barnes?”

This time she can’t stop her eyes from rolling on their own, “Yes it was. Jesus, what is it with you and every other woman who works here?”

“Um did you even look at him? He’s like super hot and rich, who wouldn't want a piece of that ass?”

“Ok language, we have little ears,” Sunny whispers to her over-excited coworker, “Also he’s a criminal so there’s that.”

“Which makes him even hotter. You’re telling me that you didn’t feel something down there?”

“Jessica!” The woman smiles devilishly at her, awaiting her answer.

“No, and the whole bad boy thing is the worst trope I’ve ever heard of.”

“I’ll bet you anything that after one more interaction with him and you’ll be gossiping right along with us,” Jessica winks at her as she waltzes away to go help one of the kids with their project.

“Oh Sunny,” Jessica’s sing-song voice calls out as she walks down the hallway to the classroom. From her spot at the teacher’s desk, she can hear just how excited Jessica is by how she’s practically running down the hallway. She bursts into the room, two drinks in hand and various bags hanging off her arms.

“I come bearing gifts,” she puts the drinks on the desk whilst dropping her bags to the ground, “A chai with almond milk and cinnamon. Also, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Sunny takes the boiling chai into her cold hands and sighs at the warmth it brings as she listens to the favor, “Thank you, my dear. I’m all ears.”

“So,” she begins, shoving off her leather jacket, “my friend is having a kickback this weekend and I need you to come with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you to be there.”

Leaning back in the creaky chair, Sunny gives her a disapproving look, “Hm you said need.”

“Can’t it both?” Jessica’s black hair falls forward over her shoulders as she moves to rest her arms on the desk, “Either way I would really really appreciate it if you came with me.”

“You still haven’t told me why.”

“The guy I've been talking to on and off for like months now is going to be there and I could really use a wing woman.”

“Girl, what do you need a wing woman for?”

Jessica scoffs, dramatically spinning away, “He’s so fucking dry over text but in person, he’s like a totally different person. I need someone to flirt with him a little and see if he’s really just that way or if he’s just not interested in me.”

Sunny mulls over the thought, sipping away at the devilishly hot coffee in her hands. Going to a kickback would be fun but flirting with people, let alone talking to people isn’t something that she enjoys or wants to do on her time off.

“What do I get out of it?”

Flashing the best smile she can, Jessica pleads with her, “A lifelong friendship. Please please please come with me.”

“How big is this kickback going to be?”

“Like 50 people tops.”

Her jaw drops in shock, “50? As in five zero?”

“Yes,” Jessica says sheepishly, dropping herself onto a tiny table meant for their kids.

“That’s not a kickback. That’s a whole ass house party. Kickbacks are maybe 10 people, not five times that.”

“I promise it’ll be so low-key that you won’t even notice. I’ll pay for the Uber, drinks, whatever, just come with me please.”

“ You do realize how inappropriate it is for a director to hang out with a teacher let alone go to a house party, right?” Sunny asks, setting her coffee down and checking the time to make sure they have enough time to hash out the details before the kids arrive.

“No one will find out. Your bosses don’t even check on us that often. I highly doubt they’re going to find out you went to a friend’s house for some drinks.”

“You underestimate their ability to royally fuck me over,” her alarm goes off to let her know that it’s 7 am and parents are about to start showing up, “I’ll go BUT you’re paying for everything and I reserve the right to leave whenever I want and you have to come with me.”

“Oh my god! Yes yes yes thank you so much, Sunny you’re a lifesaver,” Jessica jumps up in glee and throws her arms around Sunny who had gotten up to open the school doors, “We’re going to have so much fun!

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes #mob au #mob!bucky #mob!bucky barnes imagine #mob!bucky barnes x reader #mob!bucky barnes and reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #when night comes - bucky barnes #vampire!bucky #vampire bucky barnes #vampire!bucky x reader #vampire au

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lillaydee · 2 months ago

Text

One Heart Part 10

Sheriff Joel Miller / Reader

Trying and failing miserably to recover from an inconceivable loss, you accepted your best friend's invite to spend time with her and her family for a summer, hoping for a chance at a new beginning. Little did you know that the new beginning you were stepping into was a little too close to home.

WARNING:

Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Grief/Mourning, Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Ellie is mentioned, Sheriff Joel, Sarah plays matchmaker, No age gap, Joel is in his 30s, Joel is Trying His Best (The Last of Us), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Fluff and Angst.

SERIES MASTERLIST

PART 9

---

***Some descriptions of injuries and possibly bad medical jargons ahead. Also, possible inaccuracy in hospital/medical related red tapes and procedures.

I also need to preface this chapter by saying I'm sorry! 🥹***

When you arrived in this town, you had planned to stay for ten weeks. You were only two weeks out before that deadline, but you were not in a hurry to keep it. You didn’t have a job waiting for you back home, and honestly, you liked it here. So, you decided, to yourself for now, to stay a bit longer and see how things go. You were happy, you had friends, who honestly, had started to feel more like family. Maria was not in hurry to let you go from the restaurant, so you had an income and a place to stay. And you had Joel and Sarah – two people who you were starting to feel like you could not imagine life without. Joel didn’t bring the deadline up at all, so you didn’t either. You did tell Jenny, in strict confidence, of course, to keep your house off the rental listing for now, just in case. She was more than happy to oblige, seeing how happy her son and granddaughter were with you around.

Will was set to leave for offshore the following Wednesday, and the family had decided to have a picnic on the farm that Sunday evening while everyone was there, the girls excited to play with the kittens who had become permanent residents on the farm. Omera brought her array of sandwiches, you with an assortment of cookies and scones and garnish, Jenny and Maria were pulling buns out of the oven, Joel and Tommy went out for ice. You and Omera laid out blankets on the ground, setting the food and drinks out, chatting while waiting for everyone to get there. Will came to join the two of you after a bit, laying on Omera’s lap, while Ben, with his excessive energy, chased the girls around playing tag. You liked this. This felt like home to you now. But you had only been with Joel for a month and met him less than a month before that. Wasn’t it too fast to make such a commitment? You thought of Will and Omera, they only saw each other every other month. Surely long-distance relationships could work?

“So when you go back home, will you be going back to your old job?” Will asked, breaking your train of thought.

“No… I don’t actually have a job waiting for me back home. I don’t know what I’ll do when I go back, actually.”

Omera and Will looked at each other. Will sat up. Omera turned to face you.

“Listen, Lynn, I need to ask you something okay?” You nodded, guessing where this was going. “Is there any possibility that you might stay? I thought you and Joel are going strong?”

“We are. It’s just… I don’t know. Isn’t it too soon to be deciding things like this?”

“For what it’s worth, I want you to know that I love having you around. Maria and Tommy definitely love having you around – that restaurant is booming! And I know Jenny loves having you around too,” she said. “I do hope you stay, Lynn.”

“Look, if you’re doubting Joel’s feelings for you, or something like that? I’ve known that man a long time. This, right here, with you, is the happiest I’ve seen him, ever. And Sarah… well… you know that girl loves you to pieces,” Will added.

“Plus, your cooking is awesome!!!” Benny jumped on the picnic blanket, grabbing a scone and shoving the entire thing in his mouth. “S’Good!!! Pees sthay!” He gave you his best pleading eyes, mouth and face full of crumbs.

“What are we talking about here?” Joel’s voice came in, Jenny, Tommy and Maria following close behind. He took off his shoes and got on the blanket, gave you a sweet kiss hello, before laying his head on your lap.

“This delicious scone,” Omera answered, not wanting to put you in a spot. “You need to teach me how to make this. I can never get it this crumbly.”

Joel reached up to find your hand, pulling it to his chest, fingers interlaced, his eyes closing from the gentle head scratches you were giving him. You can see your life like this, with him, with Sarah, with this family, everyone just getting together, enjoying a quiet picnic at home, watching the kids play, relaxed, happy. And let’s be honest, you really didn’t have anything to go back to, apart from your sister, who has a life and family of her own to worry about. You needed a new start, that’s why you came here. So, why couldn’t this be it? This… perfection.

And yet, apart from thinking of extending your stay for a few extra weeks, you couldn’t bring yourself to commit to just moving here, despite the place feeling so much like home. Was it really just the fact that your relationship with Joel was just beginning? Was it that simple? Why won’t you commit?

Brain? Why won’t you commit?

Oh, now you’re quiet.

‘Oh, you have the answer, but you won’t like it.’

What? What’s the answer?

‘Sorry, you’re on your own for this.’

Shit.

---

School holidays were especially profitable for that small town, the mountains providing great hiking, trekking and camping during the summers and skiing and snowboarding during the winters. On that particular Tuesday, there had been a case of fender benders just outside of town, involving multiple cars. No one was hurt, thankfully, but Joel was kept busy all morning, right through lunch service and beyond.

You were prepping some ganache for dinner service when you heard it – a commotion from the street outside the restaurant. You watched from the restaurant window, Maria and some of the staff joining you. Apparently, a couple had spent a few days vacationing in town – the lady a married woman, having an affair with a co-worker. The husband followed them, and confronted them in front of the restaurant, broken hearted that his wife would betray him like this. In his anger, he had taken a baseball bat from a small boy, a generic wooden one that little kids used for playing and began swinging.

The cops and ambulance were called. You watched as Joel and his officers tried to calm the man down, Joel telling them not to shoot. The couple had taken refuge in their car, but were unable to escape, as the man had begun beating the car down with the baseball bat, breaking it in the process. While the man was distracted, Joel tackled the man, who struggled and fought back for a while, before several officers came in to help, successfully pinning him down, cuffing him. Joel stood up, brushing his hands off the dust and gravel from the road, seeing you in the restaurant window, his face breaking into a wide smile, dimple showing, happy to see you for the first time since he dropped you off that morning.

That’s when you saw it. Blood. On his stomach. A broken baseball bat sticking out of it. He saw the look on your face, looked down, and unthinkingly, pulled the bat out.

---

It was like time slowed down. Blood came gushing out of the wound. He dropped to his knees. You didn’t know how, but you were by his side in seconds, your heart beating so loudly you can hear it through the chaos. You held him in your arms, pleading with him to stay with you. His eyes never left yours. His face was so pale. He didn’t seem to be in pain. His hands were warm and slippery from all the blood. There was so much blood. Someone pulled him away from you, his hand holding yours until it was too far to hold on any longer. You were screaming. The paramedics were quickly on him, Maria and the staff holding you tight as you fought to get to him.

They got him into the ambulance, an officer escorting you to it so you could go with him. You sat by his head, holding his hand, the paramedics working as fast as possible to stop the bleeding. His eyes were looking around, looking for you, he was fighting the paramedics, trying to find you. You kept telling him you were right there, please baby, cooperate, please stay still. You need to stay still baby, you shouldn’t move. He finally saw you and instantly relaxed. His eyes kept trying to close on their own volition, but you kept telling him to stay awake. He managed to keep his eyes on you, smiling weakly, muttering something you couldn’t hear with all the chaos and siren going on. They managed to stabilize him by the time you got to the hospital, but they stopped you from going in with him, you held on to his hand until he was wheeled away from you, his eyes never leaving you until the door closed.

You were left standing there all alone, your hands and clothes bloody, your face wet with tears. An officer came and brought you to the waiting area, asking you if he could get you anything, but you were too shocked to speak. You weren’t crying anymore, but the tears didn’t stop rolling down your cheeks. You sat there, the officer remaining with you, until Maria arrived. Tommy, Benny, Will and Frankie arrived soon after.

The waiting room was filled with police officers, but you were too numb to notice. Jenny brought you some clothes from home. You immediately thought of Sarah, panicking at the thought that she’s all alone. She’s with Omera and Winta, she told you. She’s fine, Lynn, let’s get you cleaned up. She and Maria took you to the bathroom and helped you. You were in a daze. The next thing you know, you were back in the waiting room, in clean clothes this time. Tommy got you a sandwich, and tried to make you eat. But you couldn’t. Your mind was blank, your body not functioning. All you could think of was the smile he gave you before you saw the blood.

After what felt like an entire day, an exhausted looking doctor came out. The four men greeted him as Santi, asking him how the operation went.

“He lost a lot of blood, but we managed to stop the bleeding. He got lucky; the bat missed his vital organs. He pulled through. He should take it easy for a while, but he should make a full recovery.”

You took what felt like your first breath since this whole thing happened. Time resumed its normal pace. Dr Garcia, or Santi, apparently, told all of you that since visiting hours were over, only one person could stay with him, the rest will have to come back the next day. Jenny gave you a push, asking you to stay, handing you the small bag she had already packed for you.

When you walked into his room, he was asleep. He looked so pale, but better than he did earlier. You sat down and held his hand, kissing it, and burst into tears. Your heart felt like it was filled again, no longer hollow as it was the whole time you’d been there. You cried yourself to sleep, relieved that he was not taken away from you.

---

You felt someone stroking your hair. The room was much brighter. You must have slept through the night. You lifted your head up and saw him. He was awake, looking weak, but much better than he did last night, his brown eyes fixed on you. He smiled, and suddenly you felt as if the world was bright again. You returned his smile, and got up, leaning in to kiss him all over, glad that you were given the chance to do this again.

“You scared me. I was so scared.”

“I’m sorry, baby, I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not, Joel. This is not bumping your head on the beam. You got stabbed.”

You couldn’t control it. Tears came pouring out, along with all your feelings, fear, relief, worry, pain, fear, fear, fear…

He pulled your hand, weakly, but steadily, silently asking you to get into bed with him.

“No, Joel, your wound…”

He didn’t relent. “I’m fine. I’m not getting out of bed; I just want you on it with me. Pleeeeease…”

Oh my God this guy was shameless. He knew Sarah got those puppy dog pleading eyes from him, and he wasn’t afraid to use them. You huffed a teary laugh, and climbed into bed with him, being sure you were on his left, avoiding his wound. You didn’t lie down straight away, you leaned next to his head, stroking his hair, studying his face, and bent down to kiss him.

He pulled through.

He’s alive.

You’re kissing him.

He’s okay.

It was you in your head, but it was also him, telling you all this through that kiss. His hand began to roam from your back to your ass, but you shot up and smacked it away.

He pouted. “Hey… what was that for?”

“You are injured, Sir, please act like so.”

He rolled his eyes, told you he’s fine, yet again, huffed a laugh, and immediately winced.

“I told you!”

He pulled you down, apologizing again, promising he would behave. The moment your nose found the crook of his neck, his lips found your temple, his hand wrapped around you, yours on his chest, you truly felt like you were home.

“Please don’t scare me like that again. I can’t lose you.” Tears were falling thickly from your eyes, your body shaking, trying not to lose it on him right now.

“I’m sorry baby, I promise I’ll be more careful okay?” he murmured against your temple.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

You phone dinged. Apparently you had been added to the family chat.

Maria: Lynn, is he awake? How is he?

Jenny: Pls update us.

Omera: Sarah wants to video call.

You: Yes he’s awake, he seems okay, waiting for dr to come in.

“Can you handle a video call? Sarah.”

“How bad do I look?”

“A bit pale, but not too bad.”

“Maybe a bit later. I don’t want to scare her.”

You: Maybe wait for the call – a bit later. After he’s eaten, perhaps?

The door opened, and you quickly got off his bed. The next hour was a blur of his wound being cleaned and redressed, medical mumbo jumbos and advice, medication, and the likes. You listened in so you could help when he got home. Finally, two nurses walked in with a trolley, a small basin of water on it, along with sponges and towels. One of them you had met, Nurse Marcy, older than you, very comforting and motherly in nature. You liked her. She even helped comfort you when you were losing your mind yesterday.

The other one, however, was a different matter. She couldn’t have been older than 20. A student nurse. A petite little thing, too pretty for your liking. Marcy told Joel they were there for his sponge bath. The far too pretty nurse was there to learn. Would that be okay with you, Sheriff Miller?

The petite, far too pretty young thing actually had the nerve to bat her eyelashes at him and wasted no time in speaking to him.

“Hello, Sheriff Miller, I am Nurse Carla. I am here to give you your sponge bath.” She turned around and began to get the trolley ready, Marcy standing there, arms crossed, watching her, making sure she didn’t screw up. “That was very heroic of you to do what you did, Sheriff. We are all lucky to have such a brave, strong Sheriff to protect the town. You deserve to be rewarded for your bravery,” she shamelessly purred at him.

Why wasn’t this bitch being reprimanded for speaking like that with a patient? Marcy didn’t say anything, though you could tell she wasn’t happy about it either.

Nurse Carla turned to face Joel, far too excited to do her job, when she noticed you standing there.

“Oh, hello. I’m sorry, ma’am, but you need to step outside. You need to give Sheriff Miller some privacy for a bath.”

Ma’am? Ma’am? You’re only 32 and she called you ma’am? Okay, 33 in three months but still… Oh… this bitch was going to get it from you.

But it was like your vocal cords, tongue and lips stopped working altogether.

“Actually, it’s alright. She can give me the bath. That’s alright, right, Marcy? You can teach her? Since she’ll be doing it at home?” Joel inquired, his face serious.

You could see Carla’s face drop.

“Yeah, definitely Sheriff. We can do that.”

“Thank you Nurse Carla, but she’ll take it from here.”

“But…”

“The patient has made a request that would not negatively impact his well-being, Nurse Carla. You can leave, now. Wait for me at the station,” Marcy said, her voice stern.

Once the door closed, she turned to you and Joel, apologizing profusely for what happened. She proceeded to walk you through the sponge bath, which would only be required for the day, since it was his first morning post abdominal surgery. When she left, you busied yourself with your small bag, getting ready to shower, avoiding eye contact with him.

It’s not his fault. He couldn’t help it if he’s a good-looking man. He couldn’t help it if young, petite, too pretty for their own good nurses want to give him a sponge bath. Right?

You heard him hiss; his face contorted in pain as he tried to adjust his position on the bed. You immediately went to his side, put down the barrier, and prepared to help him out. His contorted face immediately turned into a smirk, his hand on yours, pulling you to him. You sat on his bed; face still hot from what happened earlier, annoyed you fell for his ploy.

“You okay? You looked like you were about to kill a nurse just then.”

You kept quiet. He pulled you to him, his eyes pleading.

“She was far too happy to give you a bath.”

“I don’t need her to give me a bath. I don’t want her to give me a bath.”

“She was cooing at you. God knows what she would’ve done if she was alone with you.”

“I wouldn’t have let her.”

“She’s young and pretty. Why wouldn’t you want her?”

“I have you. I want you.”

You were still pouting. He pulled you into his side, and this time you relented, bending over to let him kiss the pout off your face to his satisfaction before you went in for a shower.

Sarah video called after breakfast, Jello joining, of course. She was worried. She didn’t like the hospital, she was in and out for far too long, and didn’t like that her Daddy had to stay there. He assured her he was okay, just a little boo-boo, and he will be right home in a few days.

He’s okay.

---

You were feeling much better – he was going to be alright. You’re not going to lose him. You went to the cafeteria to finally get yourself some food, confident that he would be alright for a while by himself.

When you came back, his room was filled with men and women in uniform. And flowers. So many flowers, bouquets of them. All over the room. You suddenly felt as if it was hard to breathe. But you didn’t want to make a scene, so you sat next to his bed and smiled politely while his officers made small talks, telling stories and making jokes.

A realisation came to you amidst the sea of uniforms. Something that you were aware of deep, deep inside, had been thinking about since you and Joel got together, in fact, but had not wanted to admit to yourself. You were too out of it, too freaked out to think of it yesterday. But now that you were more relaxed, you were more than aware of this fact at this very moment.

The actual reason you hadn’t wanted to commit to this perfect life you found here.

---

You had been in a room like this before.

Except it wasn’t a patient’s room.

It was the morgue.

So many police officers.

So many uniforms.

But they were not laughing.

No one was laughing.

You were sat on a bench with a toddler in your arms.

A toddler you would lose not one week later, the day before you were in another room like this.

Except it wasn’t a patient’s room, either.

It was a funeral home.

So many uniforms.

So many flower arrangements.

You were in a wheelchair with a broken arm and ankle.

Your husband in his uniform, cold in his casket.

Your toddler cold in the hospital morgue, waiting for her turn to be in a room like that.

That exact same one, in fact, where more men in uniform would turn up.

A sign of respect for the widow of their fallen comrade.

Who had lost her husband in the line of duty.

And her daughter, six days after losing him.

---

You were beginning to panic internally; you could feel yourself losing control. But then Jenny, Maria and Tommy knocked, and the officers took their leave. You felt your lungs expand, the room no longer as suffocating.

‘Snap out of it. Joel is fine. He’s alive.’

But you could lose him. You could lose him like you lost Eric.

‘But you haven’t. Don’t throw this away.’

But you still could lose him. You still could lose him like you lost Eric.

You cannot lose him like you lost Eric. You won’t survive.

‘Don’t overthink this. Live in the moment. Don’t throw this away for a distant possibility.’

But it’s not. It almost happened yesterday; you almost lost him yesterday.

‘But you didn’t. Snap out of it.’

“Oh, I would’ve loved to see that, Lynn, you are one feisty lady, Lady!” Tommy’s voice snapped you out of your own thoughts.

You were about to ask what the hell he was talking about, when there was another knock, and Will and Benny showed up.

“I thought you were supposed to leave today?” you asked Will, giving them both a hug.

“Postponed it for a few weeks, figured you guys could use another pair of hands around while this one rests for once in his life,” he said, hugging his brother, thankful he was alright.

“Did you guys hear? Lynn here almost killed a nurse for trying to give Joel a sponge bath!”

“Nooooo… I would’ve paid good money to see that…”

“Which nurse? She hot? You think I can get her number?”

“OH MY GOD BENNY!”

You laughed along, your heart calming down. No. You’ll be fine. You will be alright. Joel was fine, you’ll be fine. You want this life here, this life with him and Sarah and their cooky family.

You’ll be fine.

---

The door opened, and Santi walked in, a playful knock-knock on his lips, a folder in his hand. He went around the room hugging everyone – apparently he served with Will, Benny and Frankie in the military, and was practically family to these people. He gave you a hug, nice to finally meet Sarah’s Lady, or I should say Joel’s lady now, he said, causing you to blush, Joel’s hand squeezing yours, the man winking at you.

“Well, I was actually gonna give Joel this,” flapping the folder, “but I can come back?”

Joel straightened up, wincing slightly. “Is that..?”

Santi nodded.

“No, you can tell us. We are all family here,” Joel said.

“What is it?” Maria asked.

“Information on Sarah’s donor. I want to reach out, I think it’s time,” Joel said, and the whole family looked at Santi expectantly.

You looked at Joel, giving him an encouraging smile, and squeezed his hand.

“Well, the donor was a two-year-old female, passed away in an MVC from internal bleeding and cerebral haemorrhage. Heart was healthy, size and blood type were a match.”

The whole room went quiet, mourning the life of this poor little girl, the reason Sarah was still around.

“Is the family open to be contacted?”

“Yes, but unfortunately, the address we have is no longer active. They must have moved.”

“Do we know her name? Maybe I can find her family, I can make some calls.”

“Yes, that we do know.” He flipped the page back to the front.

“Ellie Williams.”

---

PART 11

#joel miller x reader #the last of us fanfiction #joel miller #tlou fanfiction #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x you

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pruneunfair · 27 days ago

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Hae Soo is a boring character+ what I do like so far about the story.

Before I start, I want to make it clear that while I do think Hae Soo is a dull FL, she is not the worst FL ever written.

This manhwa is frankly overhyped. I gave it the benefit of the doubt before since it only had around 20-30 chapters so of course it wouldn't be full of complexities right off the bat, but given how the story is going.. I predict this will just be a wattpad-esque tale.

I really don't like saying but first of all: Hae soo has all of those Y/N traits. Okay maybe that's a little exaggerating but it's still there in a way. Hae Soo is described by a lot of other characters as "aging" "ugly" and even calling her aunty/grandma depending on the translation. These are other people thinking this, not just Hae Soo and it's supposed to make her "relatable" for not being seen as totally hot by everyone.. but if you saw her body type and even her face which is just perfectly smooth with tiny lips and eyelashes that just look like eye bags, this gets contradictory.

And I'm not just saying the body type alone is bad. A lot of fans often retaliate with "your just jealous of her" (which why would anyone be unironically jealous of a drawing?) But that her body type is possible and actually yes, it is, is incredibly rare to get that body type without any modifications but it is possible. However this isn't because TOAWF wants to represent someone. Its the sexualize her.

I really dont know how to explain how the art is made to show off how sexy Hae Soo is without sounding creepy so I'll just drop a bunch of panels I found of her doing ordinary day-to-day things while her body becomes the most defining feature.

Personally, I think it's because the arms are too small for that torso. I'm sure there's more but I don't wanna be too nitpicky.

I do also want to specify that plenty of other female characters in the comic like Ari are also sexulized but most of the time with those characters, it's only when they are in inherent sexual situations. (Like all of the panels of Ari after she was either in the middle of or already finished sleeping with Micheol) wheras Hae Soo can be doing absolutely nothing at all and her clothes are drawn right as hell while all her body parts are sticking out like a sore thumb.

Another thing that makes Hae Soo dull is that she relies on how much the readers pity her. Left and right she's either being insulted or she's getting cheated on or she's getting bullied in flashbacks. Almost everything about her that is interesting is something that hurt her, not to say she doesn't have any personality at all, I can definitely see a little something in her but she still heavily relies on something bad happening to her to garner care from the audience, if it's not that it's her super sexy romance with Tae Ha.

speaking of Tae Ha, he isn't very interesting so far either. I think his reasons for being obsessed with Hae Soo are still largely unknown, hes mostly just the same "Mafia boyfriend." Archetype, he made a straight up doll to look like Hae Soo which..yeah that's creepy. He is only really liked because well, he's hot and NOT Micheol so he's already "better".

What I do like about TOAWF though is that they aren't skipping scenes just to get to the mid romance. We are actually getting chapters explaing Hae Soo and Micheols relationship before and how it used to be a sweet one until debt and miscarriage. We get to see Micheol with his new life with Ari that has hints of how much she is being manipulated. The comments might say "I don't wanna see trash. I wanna see my sexy Tae Ha with his Hae Soo." But differing perspectives and highlighting other characters is what's saving this story a little. You can't just skip all the important pieces for the "good stuff." And expect a good story.

That said I do understand the commenter's impatience because so far Micheol is leagues more interesting then the ML Tae Ha and like me, we just wanna know why this dude randomly liked Hae Soo to the point of making dolls of her. There just needs to be a middle ground between the two perspectives.

Final thoughts: I don't think Micheol should receive karma. I know, a really weird idea but here me out.

I understand the allure of these types of stories where the babe gets revenge on the loser ex but if we wanted to be both a unique and interesting story than Micheol being allowed to live on being a shitty person would work. It would be awful to think about, yes, but this is unfortunately the real world and in the real world, it is REALLY rare that a cheater will actually face karma. Micheol should be allowed his life with Ari, where she could either realize she's in an abusive relationship down the line and find the courage to nope out of there or she could stay and it would be a tragic ending and the painful truth that life isn't always fair. This could work well as long as the plot doesnt make it out as "Haha Ari! You deserve this! Haha!"

#tears on a withered flower #na hae soo #Ari #micheol #beom taeha #manhwa #webtoon #tapas #wattpad #analysis

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starberry-cupcake · 10 months ago

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I come here with further updates on my gideon the ninth read as per the favorable responses in my previous shares . You asked for it, so you're gonna have to hear it (@lady-harrowhark maybe you'll have fun with this one)

previously, in gideon the ninth:

this happened

currently, having just finished chapter 29:

gideon had tea with the eighth

actually no, scratch that, gideon sat in a chair while mayonnaise uncle's hair got braided, they never got to the tea part

false advertising

mayonnaise uncle gave half info, as people seem to like doing here

duracell bunny nephew stepped up and called him out

good for him, actually

you go, duracell bunny nephew!

it's gonna end terribly for him, but we stan

gideon left that Situation and found teacher saying ominous things

gideon left that Other Situation and found regina george twin being intense with swords

chad came in and she bit him

I see a trend alert with these third necromancers and the biting

gideon left that Yet Another Situation and went to the ninth room

gideon proceeded to open the closet

gideon got brad pitt-ed in the movie seven, but instead of gwyneth paltrow's head it was protesilaus'

it's not gideon's best day

now, hear me out

I know how this will sound, but hear me out

I haven't read past this scene, I haven't started chapter 30, all I know is she found the box

but hear me out here

just, just listen

hear me out

I still blame dulcinea

no, no, come back, I have a theory

I don't trust her, she's shady, she's too suspiciously fake kind, she's desperate and she has mentioned wanting gideon as a cavalier

I think it was back when gideon was turned into a blood sprinkler during the whole temple run key second trial thingy

or maybe later, after jeannemary left the mortal plain, but she said it at some point

and gideon has told harrow she wants her to free her to be dulcinea's cavalier

which, over my dead body

or maybe not, people here are dropping like flies, but anyway

dulcinea knows things others don't seem to know

she says things that gideon doesn't follow up on because she's horny and dense (affectionately)

I don't trust dulcinea

in case that wasn't clear

so what if

hear me out

seriously, I swear I have a point

what if harrow was set up?????

no, no, come back, listen, listen

gideon said something like the box wasn't well hidden

and I doubt very very very much that if harrowhark harrowldine harrowmina nonagesimus would have ended a bitch, she would have half-assed anything, much less the hiding

like, she'd either kill in plain sight and make a show of it or make it disappear and nobody would know

harrowhark harroweena harrowline nonagesimus pulled an edward and alphonse on her parents and only 3 people know she did

the entire system of these houses is unaware of that fact, as far as I know

so, if she wanted to hide a murder, I think, I hope, she would do better than this

also, keeping a head in a box doesn't seem her style, that's very haunted mansion and she's more halloween horror nights

what if she's been set up????

and gideon has like 3 brain cells working right now so she might fall for it??? hopefully not but maybe????

and side with my mortal enemy dulcinea instead?????

am I crazy????

am I too latina for this and seeing things???

is dulcinea the soraya montenegro of this story??? or is it me??? am I the drama???

this might all be absolute nonsense and in like 1 chapter I might be proven wrong but I don't trust dulcinea del toboso the seventh and I never will

if you pictured the always sunny meme while reading, that's the right energy I'm trying to share here

#luly reacts to tlt #tlt #gideon the ninth #the locked tomb #tlt spoilers #long post

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steodraws · 1 year ago

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Crimson Snow: Mistletoe and Memories ❄️

disclaimers: this story contains angst, sad, tension, literally no happy ending feels, drama and it's bada's pov. remember it's a work of fiction, none of this represents what i truly think about bada's/bebe's character or nature! it is meant for fun and entertainment purposes only. also, i'm not a native english speaker and this is my first ever fanfiction so keep that in mind and be nice please. thank you 🩵

Summary: "Old flames, city lights, and buried memories — Bada Lee, against her own wishes, returns to Incheon for Christmas. Amidst the moonlit whispers and the unyielding snowfall, she's compelled to confront a past she believed buried beneath the frost."

WC: 2.1k

"Yes, mom, i'll be there for Christmas," i muttered into the phone, my voice tinged with a hint of disdain.

"This city gives me the creeps," i ponder.

Incheon is like a patchwork of bitter memories; every street corner bears the weight of choices made and opportunities lost. This place represents a chapter of my life I struggle to bury.

Regrets, disappointments—I tried to shove those aside a while ago, or at least attempted to.

Nevertheless, i made a promise to my mother about being there for Christmas. What foolishness it is to commit to something i might not fulfill. Yet, is it too late to reconsider? Can i claim i couldn't secure a flight on time?

Idiot; no turning back now. I wonder how much longer i'll keep evading my past.

"I just wish i don't run into her there," i murmur with a slight tremor in my tone. I knew all too well whom i was talking about.

It's exactly 9 o'clock, my train departs in about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, i'll be in Incheon in a few hours.

"I can't believe you're finally coming back here! I guess i'll have to spend Christmas at your mom's house if that's the case," a sharp, loud feminine voice speaks over the phone; Lusher, a childhood friend.

Lusher has always been with me throughout our high school years and even into adulthood. Despite me moving to Busan a few years ago, we've kept in touch. She always mentions how much she misses me and that i should visit more often, to which i consistently reply, "Maybe someday."

It seems that day has finally come.

"Stop. Don't get too excited; i don't intend to spend much time in this place," I retort, my tone indifferent.

"The entire city already knows you're coming back, Bada."

Briefly, i freeze and fall silent. I only plan to make a short visit to my family, precisely.

"Incheon is wide-ranging; i doubt everyone really knows," I reply, an attempt to reassure myself that my plans won't change.

"Lin knows."

As soon as she counters, i instinctively hang up the phone, my back colliding with the seat of the moving train.

This definitely cannot be happening.

I was praying fervently not to encounter her during my time in Incheon, and i hope it stays that way. Regardless, she wouldn't want to see me after all these years... no, she hates me. I hope she hates me.

It felt like time stood still; i couldn't tell whether i had plunged into a deep sleep during those four hours of travel or if i had ended up in a temporal lapse. I open my eyes, and there's Incheon Station outside the window.

The time has come to face this city once again, with people bustling around, knee-deep in Christmas preparations just hours away.

I step off the train, grab my luggage, and find myself compelled to smile at strangers who somehow recognized me, waving as they passed. Perhaps they did, considering i gained some visibility after opening my dance studio in Busan. Or maybe it's simply because i am notably taller than the average Korean women; either of these reasons would be plausible.

My eyes scan the surroundings, searching for a familiar figure in the crowd. Mom said she would be waiting at the end of the station, my next stop.

"Bada!" Someone yells my name amid that human sea, resembling canned sardines.

My older sister came to greet me, slightly shorter than me, with a delicate and sweet appearance framed by her impeccably cared-for dark brown hair and welcoming smile.

"Haeda!" i respond, happy to see a familiar face, rushing to hug her.

"Mom couldn't come; she's busy with preparations for the dinner later," she shares, helping me with the luggage. "Lots of people are excited to see you, little sister! We're glad you've come back."

"I haven't come back; i'm just joining you for this Christmas season," I respond seriously, making it clear my stay won't extend beyond Christmas.

"You've always been a bit grumpy, haven't you?" she laughs, teasingly.

Finally out of the station, we settle into a taxi. During the ride, we chat casually and laugh about things that happened during our time apart. I'm trying to have some fun as much as possible.

"So, how's your love life?" she asks, innocently.

Oh, crap.

"I don't really want to get into that," i reply, slightly irritated by the question. The fun and nice atmosphere that surrounded us moments ago seems to have abruptly evaporated.

"Seems like you still think about Lin," she murmurs softly to herself, sighing calmly, yet i hear her loud and clear.

I arch my eyebrows, surprised and bothered by Haeda's comment. I plan to stay silent, but i can't resist.

"Why do you always bring her into everything? It's been years since we last spoke; she was just a kid. Now, forget about it," i assert firmly aiming to put an end to the subject once and for all. The silence in the taxi becomes deafening.

Not even five minutes pass, and i ask the taxi make an unscheduled stop.

"Aren't you going home?" my sister inquires, confused.

"I promised to have lunch with Lusher; there's a café around here," i reply, still maintaining a slight arrogance in my voice.

"I'll drop your bags off at home then," she understands, nodding.

I step out of the vehicle and grab my phone, immediately calling Lusher, asking her to meet me where i am. She agrees without a second thought.

A short time passes, and i spot a girl of average height, black hair, always smiling, with a high-pitched voice that stands out in the crowd. She runs towards me as soon as she sees me.

"Is that really you, Bada? It's been ages since i saw you. Have you grown even more?" Lusher enthusiastically hugs me, talking without even taking a breath.

"Looks like you're still talkative... and no, of course, i haven't grown more. I'm already 26. Now I'm just going to shrink," i reciprocate her warm hug as we head to the café.

"Tell me, how's Busan? How's your studio doing? I want the whole scoop!"

"We don't have time for me to give you the full rundown. Overall, the city is comfy, and the studio is doing well," i say, a bit curt; i'm not one to drag out my words.

"That's it? Nothing interesting happening?" she says in a frustrated sigh, still curious about my life.

"I know where you're going with this, miss Lusher, but i'm not commenting on that. I'm kind of fed up with this topic," i respond, making my exasperation clear.

We lapsed into silence for a few minutes until someone finally spoke up; she seemed nervous.

"Listen, i messaged Lin yesterday." She pauses, intending to continue talking.

Lin, Lin, Lin—I'm tired of hearing that name.

"She seems to want to talk to you," Lusher finishes, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Unfortunate. I've already stated that I'm only here for Christmas with my family," i halt, clenching my fists, wanting to say more but finding myself unable.

"Bada, you know she was deeply hurt after you left." Lusher attempts to ease the situation. "After all, you left without telling anyone, not even me."

"I didn't have to tell anyone. I've said that before; new opportunities arose, and that's what happened. Am I to blame for considering my future?" I say, feeling a slight warmth in my body due to the anger this topic brings up

"There's no issue with you wanting to pursue your dreams; the problem was leaving her in the dark out of nowhere. I think you should talk."

"Lusher, i've had enough. I don't owe her any explanations, it's over. I've paved my own way, and she's chosen hers, end of story." Rising abruptly, i toss money on the table for Lusher to settle the bill and i make a swift exit.

I sense Lusher's gaze on me, even though i haven't cast a glance back after leaving the place.

This is why i hate this city—the people, the environment, everything reminds me of her. I despise it; I despise being so coward and weak, unable to endure an environment where her name lingers. Tears stream down my face as i silently reassure myself, "The past is the past; it'll be fine."

It won't be fine.

For quite a while, i just roam around the city, immersed in the festive Christmas decorations and the chilly yet pleasant atmosphere. Families stroll along snow-covered roads, little cafes are buzzling with events, and everyone radiates happiness, caught up in the joy of being together—while i meander alone. I'm the odd one out here.

The city lights gradually begin to flicker on, signaling the encroaching darkness. It's time to head home for the Christmas Eve feast, but before that, i need something to ease my stress.

I head to a nearby convenience store, searching for a pack of cigarettes. I randomly choose any available brand, pay, and head towards a secluded alley.

Turns out, i'm not the only one there; a woman next to me doing the same, and i can't quite see her face. I shake my pockets, searching for my lighter.

"Fuck..." i mutter softly as i lean against the wall, frustrated.

Suddenly, i notice something fall to the ground, accompanied by words.

"Pick it up," the woman, slightly mysterious but oddly familiar, says, tossing the lighter onto the snow-covered ground.

I quickly bend down to grab it. "Thanks," I express promptly, attempting to say something more. "Do you come here often?"

"Sometimes, only when i think about my ex." She pulls the cigarette calmly, allowing the smoke to envelop her face in a thin mist. An ephemeral cloud of smoke slowly wafts around me.

"We're in the same boat," i muse, giving a little laugh at her comment. "Does your ex smoke?"

"Since I've known her. She was always cautious so i wouldn't end up like her; nevertheless, here i am," she narrates with a tense tone.

"You shouldn't smoke; judging by your voice, you've quit for a long time. You should stop while you still can," i suggest while lighting my cigarette with the borrowed lighter.

"Look who wants to give me a moral lecture," she laughs, mocking. The whole situation is ironic.

"Pfft, you don't even know me; you probably think i'm a hypocritical smoker," i admit, in a casual tone.

"Definitely."

"Maybe i really am, but I still have feelings!" I laugh, playfully.

She seems serious now, and we stay silent for a few seconds.

"Have you ever thought about your ex's feelings when you two broke up?" she inquires, finishing her last drag before dropping the cigarette on the ground and crushing it under her foot.

I remain motionless, confused, and unsure of how to respond.

"I'm just messing with you; after all, i don't even know you." She lets out a nervous laugh before completely disappearing into the darkness of that dimly lit alley.

"I'm home," i announce, slipping off my shoes and opening the door.

My mother greets me with a smile as she sets the dining table with the help of my father and sister.

"You're here! It's so good to see you, dear," my mother smiles warmly and hugs me. The scent of kimchi fills the air; she must have been cooking for a long time.

"What's that smell of smoke..." She makes a disgusted face, and i quickly plan an excuse.

"There were some delinquents smoking in the streets; the smell must have clung to me," i say cautiously.

"Looks delicious," i observe the meal on the table after greeting everyone present, trying to change subjects. Despite my reservations about Incheon and the memories this city brings, i feel welcomed and relieved with my family by my side.

"Let's eat!" My father exclaims, excitedly, sitting down and preparing to enjoy the eagerly anticipated tteokguk, a unique skill of my mother.

A few minutes were left for the long-awaited December 25th, and the countdown unfolded gradually.

"I'm eager to know what you brought for us from Busan, little sister!"

"Did i have to bring a present?" I laugh ironically, joking. "Just kidding, i'm sure you guys will like it!"

1 minute to the 25th.

"Wow, i can already hear the neighbors starting the countdown," my sweet and dear mother says.

A sound echoes at the door.

"Knock, knock."

30 seconds to the 25th.

"Oh, let me get that!" I quickly get up from my seat and head to the door.

10 seconds to the 25th.

I grab the keys and swiftly unlock the door, while my family had already started the countdown.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

I can't believe who is on the other side of the door.

"Lin?"

"Merry Christmas!" the whole family celebrates in unison as i stand there, paralyzed, looking at my former love standing right in front of me.

aaand we're done! i don't know if i should make it a series or not since i'm the lazy type but lmk! also tysm for @/kiyaedits for the dividers. i hope you enjoyed this as much as i did, thank you for reading. ❄️

#bada lee x reader #bada lee #angst #light angst #swf2 x reader #swf2 #bada lee swf2 #bada x oc #bada x reader #sw fic #bada lee au #bada lee fanfic

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problemswithbooks · 7 months ago

Note

The 6 chapter epilogue moves to 'end' the Tododrama this chapter leaving a divided fandom...

For me I think that given the story the Todorokis have had up to this point it both makes sense and is the best we could have hoped for. I'm not one hundred percent happy with it, but I defiantly don't view as negatively as a lot of people seem to.

First off Touya dying makes sense and this is perhaps harsh but I hope he does. People theorizing that the mysterious Tenko like figure is Shigaraki and he will heal him and the rest of the LoV with his restored Overhaul powers is insane to me. With only four chapters left idk how that would even be covered or concluded, since even if they were healed they would all still be put in prison--it wouldn't erase the fact Touya killed 30 innocent people by his own omission. So, how Hori would cover that kind of plot in a cohesive way in four chapters is beyond me. It's pretty much people wanting a worse story because they want their favorite character to live.

Also, I'm a bit frustrated that yet again people are acting like Enji should die instead and making wild accusations based on nothing. Namely that Touya dying supposedly soonish negates Enji saying he'll watch him and his death will let him off the hook so to speak.

Enji has shown that he really loves Touya and feels immense guilt and rightful responsibility for how he treated him and his the rest of the family. Touya dying doesn't suddenly heal his permanently crippled body or give him back his Hero job. It will only make him feel worse. Also it's not as if once Touya is gone he'll ignore the rest of his family either. He still owes them as well, and will probably try to help them in whatever way he possibly can.

People acting as if Touya's death will free him or that afterwards he'll go on with his life completely happy and forgetting about him is just not in any way accurate to what we've seen of his character.

The other thing I've seen floating around is the idea that if Enji had been killed off during the first PLF War, Shoto would have saved Touya and the family would have been happy in the end. I don't think that's true. I will admit I'm bias because I like Enji and I'm not a fan of Touya, but given how Hori seems to have delt with the LoV and villains in general (unless he pulls a 180 and heals them last min) I think Touya was always meant to end up dying slowly in a hospital or get some other bittersweet ending.

BNHA is not grimdark by any means but it is not the idealistic manga of the past like Naruto. Hori punishes characters that make bad choices no matter how understandable or even shitty the choices they had were. Aoyama, despite helping defeat Afo, being a child and under the threat of death to him and his family, still drops out of UA because he feels he still has to earn his place there. Bakugou dies and his heart and hand will never be the same, while also having to deal with the guilt of Izuku loosing his Quirk (if that sticks). Enji, even though trying to change and atone for most of the Manga's run is still left permanently crippled, the job that meant everything to him, lost, his legacy gone.

For Touya who killed so many people without care, only to get back and his father. Who plotted to kill his little brother despite knowing he was abused. Not caring if his plans got his other innocent family members killed. After everything we've seen with other characters who did far less wrong and tried hard to amend those mistakes getting harsh consequences, I doubt it was ever the plan to have Touya sitting at the table with his family eating his favorite food with a smile, regardless of Enji being alive or not. To suggest that Hori only had Shoto fail because Hori needed Enji to be involved just isn't true. If Hori wanted to give Touya a happy ending he would have--many fans have already come up with how that could have happened even with Enji still alive.

The only criticism I agree with is Rei's ending. You can defiantly read how she wheels Enji around and answers his phone as them being back together or in the very least her becoming his caretaker. Now, That might not be the case--she could just doing those things because they were both going to see Touya and she's just helping him out that day, while they actually live separately, with Enji having a paid home assistant that couldn't or wouldn't go with him to see Touya (because of the stigma or visiting regulations). The issue is that we just don't know for sure and Rei has been shafted pretty badly.

That said, I wasn't expecting much from/for her anyway. I think getting a little blurb about what she was doing like Natsuo and Fuyumi did would have helped, but I sort of doubt Hori had any idea what to do with her character outside being Enji's abused wife and Shoto's mom. With him rushing to get these last chapters out I'm not shocked he just stuck her in the background, especially when Enji and Shoto as secondary characters needed the screen time.

#bnha 426 #bnha spoilers #ask #thanks for the ask :)#todoroki enji #endeavor #idk i just think people expected a Steven Universe/Naruto/ She-Ra kind of ending #where everyone is happy in the end #(minus Enji of course because he deserves to suffer for all eternity apparently)#but I've noticed alot of modern Manga are way more cynical then those in the past #BNHA is no JJK #but it's not super unrealistic idealist story either #it's not a downer but it doesn't sugar coat things #one of the major themes is that people can change #but that it's really hard #and it doesn't necessarily mean everything works out perfectly afterwards #Bakugou is constantly punished for making bad choices #so is Enji #Even shoto gets some when he fucks up--like the during the Hero exam #for the lov particularly Touya who never made a different choice even when he was given multiple opportunities to #I don't think the story would have made sense if he just got a happy ending anyway #after so many other characters were punished and forced to learn/change #Yes he was abused but so was the rest of the family #and they didn't decide to kill strangers or each other just to spite Enji #that was Touya's choice and even after his entire family nearly died to save him he shows no real remorse #heck in the end he only apologized to Shoto #like at least Natsuo deserved one too after he nearly killed him twice

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paniniichan · 5 months ago

Text

Ballade of the Lost Ones - Wandering / Chapter 4

Characters: Yuruzu, Niki, Madara, Rei, Tsumugi

Proofreaders: Aru, Oli

＜The Next Day. During the script reading session＞

Yuzuru: “Huff…”

Rei: “Are you alright?”

Yuzuru: “...Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll recover soon enough.”

Rei: “You’re lying. Look. Even for a wound like this, it’s taking so long to heal.”

Tsumugi: “Everyone’s faith… Truly has faded this much.”

Madara: “Hey, is there even a reason for us to keep protecting this place…?”

Niki: “D-Don’t just say stuff like that~. It’ll be a-okay! This place is like our home after all.”

“And that way we can protect the tran…tran…kill..ity…?¹

Yuzuru: Shiina-sama, it’s read as ‘tranquillity’.

Niki: Ah, thanks~♪

“And that way we can protect the tranquillity of this land!”

Director: – Ummm. Could we stop it here?

Niki: Uwah! I’m so sorry! Is it ‘cause I can’t read the kanji!?

Director: Well... I was more concerned about your acting abilities than your ability to read kanji.

The character Shiina-kun is playing, “Hikaru”, is also beginning to doubt it himself…

To try to shake it off, he acts as cheerfully as possible. He has to say these things out loud to try to persuade himself.

So I want you to try not to become a character that is only cheerful.

Niki: Being totally cheerful is no good… Right, got it!

Director: Alright then, let’s resume from the next scene–

＜30 minutes later＞

Niki: …Ugh. T-Too hard…

Director: Yeah… Maybe Shiina-kun needs some more time to read through the script.

Niki: The others aren’t finding it that hard, I feel bad for causing so much trouble…

Yuzuru: You do know that the rest of us are not able to give a perfectly satisfying performance from start to end either?

Tsumugi: Besides, Shiina-kun only had shallow experience in dramas to begin with, so I guess it can’t be helped to some extent.

Niki: It’s probably a little late to ask but… Why was I chosen to play the role of “Hikaru”? Even weirder, I’m one of the two lead actors.

I know that some of the films Fushimi-kun acted in were selected for big awards. But I’m just a plain old idol chef?

Rei: That makes you sound like some dangerous person who cooks idols.

Director: My reason for choosing the two of you is clear.

I believe Shiina-kun and Fushimi-kun are people with a ‘switch’.

Niki: Switch? But I’m a member of Crazy:B, am I getting transferred without notice?!

Tsumugi: Uwah, welcome to Switch ☆ We welcome you with open arms~

Madara: Let’s all calm down. Let’s not finalise a verbal transfer without the producer’s prior knowledge. Anzu-san’s panicking, don’t you see?

Niki: So it’s not the idol group Switch? But what does ‘switch’ mean then?

Director: A ‘switch’ is a, well… um… I guess you could describe it as a “change of personality”.

When you’re in my position, you watch a lot of actors. But it’s rare to find someone with these traits.

Someone who can change their personality into another as if just flipping a ‘switch’.

These sorts of people are most definitely perfect for acting jobs!

When the two of you were chasing that bag thief, I was positive I could hear the sound of your switches!

It was then that I thought, “This must be it! This has to be fate!”

Niki: Back up back up! Please don’t just get up in my face like that!

This director has to be the type of guy who loses sight of his surroundings when he’s excited.

Yuzuru: Yes. But that reasoning is…

Your viewpoint is very unconventional, no? It seems to be quite a strange one… I believe he fits the mould of someone within the creative field.

Niki: Ugh? Even if you call it a switch, it doesn’t click with me. I can’t get a feel for it.

What even is a switch? I’m not some kinda tool to test a bunch of lightbulbs.²

Hm? What’s wrong, Anzu-san?

Uh~, sorry ‘bout that. It really is just what you say.

If I keep carrying on like this I’ll never get good results, so I’d like a bit more time to look over my role.

I think I need some time to mature, just like a piece of ham.

Yuzuru: That sounds good. Even if the director wants to speed up production, filming while the script reading is unsatisfactory would be counterintuitive.

Let us dismiss this meeting for today.

＜Same Day at Night. Resting Room＞

Yuzuru: …… (drinking coffee)

Niki: Uu… Guuu…

Yuzuru: …What was that noise? It sounds like the groan of something dragging itself across the ground.

It’s coming from over here.

Niki: Uu…

Yuzuru: Oh, Shiina-sama, what seems to be the problem? Why is it that you’re dragging yourself along the ground like that? Are you pretending to be some type of dead insect?

Niki: I wish I was a dead bug… B-But more important… Food…

Yuzuru: Food…?

These are some sweets I was saving as a snack, but I’ll hand them to you.

Shiina-sama, please have these.

Niki: ！Nomnomnomnomnom! Nomnomnomnomnom…!

– Fwah, I’m alive again~! Thank you so much, Fushimi-kun!

Errr. Today’s reading session really had my brain working at full power, so now I’m super duper hungry.

I thought I could replenish my sweets stash here, but I ran out of steam mid-way~.

Yuzuru: So that’s what happened. I’m relieved you didn’t pass away in the hallway here.

Well, the script reading today did stretch on much like a marathon, so it can’t be helped that you’re exhausted.

Niki: Nomnom. I guess you’re right~. My brain sugar levels pretty much ran out. My eyes got all blurry, and my hands started shaking. I thought I was gonna die.

Besides, this acting stuff is super hard.

I’m flattered by the director’s high expectations of me, but I honestly don’t think I can do it.

I’m not even used to acting, so playing a non-human character is way out of my league.

If it was a role for a chef, I could probably get that no problem. Sigh…

----- ¹ In the original, Niki is having trouble reading the kanji 安寧, which refers to public peace. I decided to translate this as ‘tranquility’ as it gets the general meaning across while being more complicated than simply ‘peace’ (which Niki would 100% be able to read). ² Referencing how testing lightbulbs in the past required someone to screw in the lightbulb and another to flip a switch.

#niki shiina #yuzuru fushimi #enstarstl #enstars #tsumugi aoba #rei sakuma #madara mikejima

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sakuraryomen01 · 2 years ago

Text

Valentino /Sukuna Ryomen x Female Reader/ .o7

warnings: asshole sukuna, college prep. school (aka bitch u at an expensive ass school), former friends to lovers, slow burned love, yuji is sukuna's little brother, sukuna gets a hangover + sick!, being ignored(-ish???), talking about that kiss, pizza and wings with your roomie [brief]

reader: female reader; 23 years of age, college prep.

plot: It's been years since you've moved from country life, since you've forgotten about all the things you used to love about your hometown and where you grew up from... you didn't think it'd chase you to college in the city after almost a decade..

words: 3.826k

fanfic masterlist: .o1 .o2 .o3 .o4 .o5 .o6 .o7 .o8 .o9 .10 .11 .12 .13 .14 .15 .16 .17 .18 .19 .20

a/n:: I started writing this chapter while I was finishing up chapter .o6 lolol!! also, tell me if u're not getting tagged in the chapters so that i can fix it! thx for the support and i hope you guys enjoy reading this fanfiction to the end! ❤

Thank you for reading this bit! Enjoy~

. . .

After you had woken up from last night in Sukuna’s arms, you got up to take a small shower. Even though you didn’t want to think about it, it made its way into your mind. What Sukuna had said, the way he touched your body and kissed your neck. Why he mumbled little things like “you’re mine” made your heart ache.

How could you give up on Sukuna when he says things like that?

Reaching down to grab some shampoo, you slick your hair back and start to lather the soapy substance into your hair. You lift your head back and scrub all the worries and thoughts from your mind.

But wishing the thoughts away, or the touches you shared, wasn’t going to change anything. Yes, you managed to defuse the situation, but it wasn’t with a little work.

Sukuna’s mumbling replayed in your mind as you finished washing last night’s events off. Quickly grabbing one of his shirts to borrow and wearing your pants from the night before, you went to his kitchen and looked for something that’d be good for a hangover and breakfast.

You had managed to find some eggs and bacon, adding in some coffee as a drink for Sukuna. Eventually, the sounds of Sukuna showering surfaced as you were plating the meal and adding some butter to a slab of toast you just finished toasting.

"Morning," You heard Sukuna grumble from the hallway.

Seeing that he was clearly hungover and hungry, you guided him to his living room and placed his meal and coffee onto the coffee table in front of him. Also giving him a pat on the back, you went to grab your food to join him. He wasn’t visibly upset by the events of the other night, making you wonder if he really cared at all what happened.

Wasn’t it nerve wracking for him too? Didn’t it make him upset or nervous?

You didn’t get your answer for another few days. Not a text, nor a call. Even during classes, Sukuna was either not attending or he was taking a sick day. It worried you, since he had started skipping his tutoring lessons too. Concerned for his health, and all around well-being, you decided that stopping by with a few gifts would make him feel better.

After classes and work, you took another moment to send Sukuna a text that you’d be stopping by for a few minutes with some Advil for his headache. Although you felt it was cringey, you grabbed him some stomach medicine as well, making your way over to the male’s dorm a little after 10:30 pm.

You knocked on the door of Sukuna’s dorm and patiently waited for some kind of sign that he was home, and awake. Though, you doubted after a while of waiting. Making you wonder if he was intentionally ignoring you after the kiss. You didn’t blame him, if you kissed him and told him he was yours, you’d want to stop talking to him out of embarrassment.

“Sukuna?” You tried after a minute or two of waiting, knocking again before there was a click and the door began to slowly creak open.

Seeing a tired, and disgruntled Sukuna behind it, with messy hair and hoods under his eyes, you let out a small coo of pity. He looked worn out and stressed, making you feel guilty for making him look like this. Sukuna, though, took a breath and mumbled a small greeting before letting you into his home.

“I’m sorry about not going to class,” He finally said, as if to defuse the awkwardness between you. “I haven’t been feeling well, I might’ve caught some bug.”

“Oh, really?” You asked, looking around the living room and seeing tissues strewn across the couch and coffee table. “I thought it was something else. Sorry for bothering you, I just came to tell you about the assignments you were missing.”

Sukuna hummed, sitting back down on his small throne of warm blankets and dirty tissues. “Ah, alright. I noticed you texted me too. Did you really bring Advil? It’d help right about now..”

You nod and sit next to Sukuna on the couch, handing him the bag you brought with you. Inside sat a small container of Advil, a bottle of water, some quick and easy to make chicken noodle soup. He looked at the bag’s contents before handing you the soup and taking out the water and medicine.

“Can you make this for me?” He asked, opening the Advil and water, taking a pill and a sip before laying back on the pillow he had under his head. “You can make yourself something too, but I haven’t been shopping yet.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” You said, standing and heading to the kitchen. “I’ll go out while you’re asleep to get you some things!”

You heard a grunt of disapproval that made you giggle, grabbing a pot from the cupboard and turning on the heat. Turning your attention to Sukuna, you see him lying face up with a pained expression. He looked more tired and ill than you’ve ever seen him before; even as a child it was hard for Sukuna to even get something small.

Half the time, you thought he was invincible while you got the cold a lot during the snowy season.

“The soup should be done in a few minutes,” You announced, walking around the living room and gathering the dirty tissues that littered the room. Grimacing, Sukuna nodded as you got closer. “Let me get your temperature too, just to be safe.”

“Fine,” He grumbled, taking a few steady breaths as you sat down and pressed a cold hand to his forehead. “Mm, your hand feels really nice.”

“‘Cause you’re burning up!” You exclaimed, quickly standing to grab the chicken noodle soup and return with a bowl prepared for Sukuna to eat. “Here, eat some of this okay? I’ll go get you some food for your fridge.”

Sukuna shook his head, sitting up to start eating. “No, that’s fine. I already feel pathetic for your help enough.”

Pathetic? Sukuna? Nah, that couldn’t be true.

“Don’t get all stubborn and pissy with me,” You said, a firm frown placed on your face as Sukuna ate. “Just because you’re sick doesn’t make you pathetic.”

There was a distant look that crossed Sukuna’s face before he went quiet and put down the bowl of soup. “It’s not that I’m sick.”

After waiting for a few minutes for an explanation, you dropped the conversation even though you knew exactly what he was talking about. That kiss. He probably regretted it, or thought what he said was stupid and childish. You pat Sukuna’s shoulder as he looks up at you, a confused expression now on his face.

“Now’s not the best time to talk about that,” You muttered, smiling warmly at the grumpy man. “You need to focus on getting better, and then tutoring for the next few days. Alright?”

Sukuna slowly nods, taking in your words. You didn’t need an explanation right now. Waiting a little while wouldn’t kill you.

“..Okay,” Sukuna muttered, finishing his food and laying back down. Watching you stand and gather your things before leaving the small apartment like home.

You left the male’s dorm to go grab some more medicine when you got a text message. Quickly, you climbed into your car and picked up your phone. It was from Yuji. Thinking back, it had been almost a month since you had last spoken to him on the phone. That is, if you included all the studying you were doing for tests and such.

Yuji- Hey, Y/n! I was wanting to ask you something about Sukuna?

You tilted your head in confusion, wondering if Sukuna had told him about what happened. Maybe he did? No, he’d probably keep something like that secret. Then again, you barely know him now. You’d never know.

You- Yeah? What’s up?

You also added another small excuse for your absence and you almost immediately got a response. The conversation started with Yuji asking about Sukuna’s grades, which you thought were pretty tame and understandable, so you told him point blank what was happening.

You- Sukuna’s kinda struggling in some classes, so my professor asked for me to tutor him. He’s getting better though. Did he tell you he got sick at all?

Yuji- Ah man! That explains it I suppose… I was wondering where he went after telling me what happened between y’all. ><;;

And just like that, you knew your suspicions were confirmed. With a sigh, you asked what he meant for confirmation:

Yuji- He told me about that party. He said something to a guy named Fushiguro about you and him. It was a really random convo, but I thought you knew already?

You were kind of confused for a moment, although you did see them talking you assumed it was about something else. Never did you think it was about you and Sukuna. Starting up the car, you dialed Yuji’s number and waited for him to answer. After a few moments, Yuji’s cheerful voice rang from your phone and you put the device to your cheek. Pulling out of the parking lot, you ask Yuji what Sukuna had talked about.

“It’s the first time we’ve talked on a phone!” Yuji chuckled. “A little weird, but I think I’ll get used to it, haha!”

You laughed with Yuji, starting to drive to the drug store. “I know, it’s a little weird for me too.”

There was a small silence before Yuji brought up the conversation Sukuna had with him.

“He told me that Fushiguro gave him some advice about y’alls relationship. Something like, ‘Just tell her what you’re feeling’, I think. Knowing my brother though, he’d keep all those feelings inside, and nudging him would just piss him off.”

You nodded, as if Yuji would see it, pulling into the parking lot of a local grocery store. The lights were dim, but it was quite apparent to you that it was still open. You unbuckled yourself and stepped out of the car, quickly putting your keys away and making note of what to buy.

“Sorry if this is really sudden, but..” You mumbled, walking through the rows of parked cars and vacant spots, lowering your voice slightly. “How were you and Sukuna after I left?”

You were rewarded with a small silence, a sigh and then a response: “It’s complicated.”

“I can handle complicated things, Yuji.”

He grumbled, but you understood why. The situation that they were in while you all lived there was rather harsh. Sukuna and Yuji’s dad was in a constant drunken state, making your parents worry a little about your safety and their’s. Often offering help to the boys whenever they needed a break from their father’s yelling and abuse. Although they couldn’t take Sukuna and Yuji in, they ended up like their second parents.

Sukuna and Yuji loved your parents as much as they adored you, and it filled you with guilt now that you were unable to mend things for the past. Even though you couldn’t, you were determined to make it up to Sukuna, to Yuji.

Half of you felt like you were trying to mend your own broken ego, but the other half was telling you that you owed it to them. Unable to swallow down that guilt, you began to accept it as Yuji started to talk to you about the events that transpired after your move.

“While I didn’t have many problems other than our old man, Sukuna kinda..” Yuji trailed, exhaling probably a lot of emotions he didn’t want to feel. “He went out of control, really.

“He got into lots of fights at school, got suspended a lot. Sometimes, he’d yell at me when he wasn’t in a good mood. Started smoking with the older kids. It was a lot for him.”

There was another pause as you got into the shopping area, pushing a cart in front of you and looking at the items that lined the shelves. Looking from ramen to other assorted things you felt were alright, you began to pile some basic things into the cart.

“Sukuna almost dropped out,” Yuji cut into your train of thought, making you stop suddenly in shock. Phone shaking in your hand and making some passerby glance at you with a confused and concerned look on their faces. “He didn’t, don’t worry. He made it to college, didn’t he?”

You pressed your brows and lips together and a frustrated pout. He’s barely passing though. He was gone for a lot of the year and is taking even more sick days right now.

You didn’t tell Yuji this, seeing as it’d worry him. “Y/n?”

“Sorry, I’m shopping right now,” You say sheepishly, laughing weakly as you make your way over to another aisle and looking through a bunch of small pre-made meals that Sukuna might enjoy. “Go ahead, continue.”

“Alright.” Yuji responded, although he whined about bothering you which made you smile. “So, now, I suppose you can say that he’s doing well. He’s still smoking and shit, but that’s expected since it’s a habit. He’s working on it though.”

You let out a small hum, looking through the protein section, gathering what you thought would be good for some breakfast meat. Once Yuji voiced his concern about your silence, you reassured that you were alright.

“I promise, Yu.” You said, stopping once again as you continued to chat on the phone. “Sorry for bringing that stuff up again for you, I know it can be a little hard to talk about it–”

“It’s okay,” Yuji says in an attempt to calm you, with a boyish giggle ringing out from your speaker. “To be completely honest, it helped me relax a little while talking about it. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

A burn in your heart rested heavy in your chest. The feeling of guilt and worry made you ache, knowing that Sukuna had every right to want nothing to do with you. But the gratitude you felt for it was unimaginable. It was like it lifted your spirits, knowing Sukuna was still there to help if something went wrong. Yuji and you continued to talk on the phone for another few minutes– more like an hour or so –until you were in line to purchase your items.

Once you got to the cashier, you smiled. “I’ll see ya soon, Yuji.”

“Mhm, c’ya!”

“Having a good day, hun?” said the woman at the register. Her messy dark hair up in a very loose bun. Her dark eyes shimmering with a sleepy delight.

“Yea, it’s alright so far,” You answered as she started scanning your items. Looking through your pocket, you pulled out your wallet and began looking for your card. “I’ll be paying with a card.”

She nods at this, bagging things up as she rang your receipt and total. In the midst of this, you looked down at the shirt that you had borrowed from Sukuna. Realizing quickly that you still needed to return it even if you didn’t really want to. It smelled just like him, an almost calming smell that made your heart flutter.

“22.35 is your payment.”

Running the card through the small scanner, you started grabbing bags and piled them back into the cart. Tugging at the ends of the large shirt and pushing the shopping cart outside to where you parked. It had been almost twenty minutes since you got to the store when your phone buzzed with a notification in your back pocket.

You got back into the vehicle and paused to look at the message, seeing Sukuna’s name on your lock screen. “He texted me?”

He’s so sick, I hope he doesn’t end up pushing himself..

The text consisted of a small thank you and to text him when you were finished. While you didn’t think it was much, you decided to text him back.

You– I just got finished. I’ll be coming by shortly. I need to return your shirt to you too lol

Starting up the engine once again you pulled out of the parking spot, making your way over to the main road and turning on your blinker. Your phone buzzed again, but you decided to wait until you got to your college before looking at it. Thoughts raced through your head as you drove back home.

What should you tell Sukuna when you see him? Apologizing wouldn’t do much since it’s already too late, it’d be worth the shot though. You sigh, slowing down as you near your destination.

Sitting in the car quietly and taking a moment to breath and work through all the events that’s happened. You pick up your phone and see Sukuna’s name again, unlocking the device and going to messages to see his text.

Sukuna– Keep it. I’ve been meaning to get rid of it anyways.

There was a small tingle in your body, a shiver that ran up your spine. Unable to make out what this shiver was, you looked down at the dark clothing piece. Seeing an old band name with a few small holes in the bottom of the shirt around the hem, ending just at your mid thigh. It was worn out, a random shirt you grabbed, but it felt like it was more than that to you.

You responded with a small okay, quickly getting out of the car and collecting the groceries. It took a few tries, but you managed to get all the things you purchased up to the male’s dorm.

“Sukuna, I’m back,” Knocking on the door, you waited for a few moments with shaky arms. The weight of all the food was making you tired at this point, and when Sukuna opened the door you rushed inside to put the bags on the counter.

“Haahh!! Finally!”

A shocked expression was written on the sick man’s face mixed with an amused smirk. He closed the door and made his way over to you, looking through all the bags and then at you, taking in your panting figure and chuckling weakly.

“I told you before, you didn’t need to do this.”

“Shush, just accept it,” You sighed, with a small smile on your face in return.

Sukuna rolled his eyes and put down the blanket that covered him on the couch before he started helping you put up things. You bickered and whined about him helping you, but he told you it didn’t matter and that it’d be done faster if he helped. Reluctantly, you agreed and continued putting things in the fridge.

After everything was put away, you turned back and bumped into Sukuna. His maroon eyes angled downward, connecting with yours. Silence clouded over you and him, the air becoming thick again as you both stood in the middle of his kitchen.

“Y’know that it was nothing, right?” He eventually mumbled, his breathing low and voice deep. Sukuna’s words made your stomach churn, an uncomfortable feeling that you didn’t really like boiling in the pit of your gut.

You averted your eyes, pressing your lips together and breaking eye contact. Despite your silence, he continued, crossing his arms as well. “I was drunk, and acted without thinking.”

“..Thought so,” You mumbled quietly, clasping your hands behind your back. “I’ll see you later.”

It had been days since it had happened, and bringing it up so suddenly made you uncomfortable. Your heart ached, your stomach hurt. Everything was in pain. It tore you to bits, but you understood where he was coming from.

He doesn’t want me to get my hopes up.

So, after you had gotten your things and said a quick goodbye, you headed over to your dorm. A heavy heart laid bare in your chest, an ache that you felt wouldn’t be able to heal by tomorrow. With each step farther and farther away from him made the strings inside pluck a sad tune. You had denied you wanted any sort of thing for Sukuna, and for it to be returned, but even so you felt the pain was too much. Too much for your fragile heart, weak mind.

Unlocking the door to your home, you pushed open the door to the smell of pizza and chicken.

“Shoko?” You try, taking a few steps inside and looking around before spotting her in the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

“Just getting some things made for you.” She answered, pushing a place of your favorite pizza and some hot wings with ranch towards you on the counter. “You were missing for a few days, hun. Got me wondering what happened to you.”

With a distasteful sigh, you grab the plate and make your way into the living room and she follows. Sitting on the couch with you and waiting silently to hear any form of a response. You didn’t want to talk, but letting the heartache sit and fester like a disease wouldn’t do you any good.

“I visited Sukuna,” You finally mumble, taking a bite of pizza and letting the flavors sit in your mouth for a moment before swallowing. “He’s sick, so I brought him a few things and some food.”

“...And?” She pressed, scooting closer while her show continued to play on the T.V.

“And nothing. I just said goodbye and will see him later.”

The response obviously didn’t make her happy, her brows pressing together slightly before she huffed and rested her cheek on your fist. Letting her elbow hang from the top of the couch, relaxing her body into the cushions. “That’s odd. Aren’t y’all a thing?”

You cringed. Getou probably said something like that. No, Gojo.

“No. Just friends.”

Shoko shrugged, stealing one of your wings and looking at the T.V. “You two looked like you were dating.”

Whatever that meant, you didn’t let it get to you. No matter how much it made you blush or it made the feelings in your tummy churn. “You and Getou have lost brain cells.”

After you had eaten and said goodnight to Shoko, you made your way into the bathroom and got into the shower. Washing your hair and face, making sure to try and relax despite the fact Shoko’s words didn’t leave you.

“You two looked like you were dating.”

She’s just seeing things then! You said to yourself, pouting your lip a little. Her and Getou acted like a couple too, but it’s not like they were actually dating. They were just fuck buddies that got high together whenever he visited.

Sukuna and I are too different to be dating.

Sukuna doesn’t forgive me either.

Once dried off and dressed, you went into your bedroom to sleep. But sleep wouldn’t come easily when you felt a sting in your chest and a never ending flow of nightmares that kept you on your toes.

a/n: i've been worried that my tagging isn't really working >_>;;; but i'll try retagging as many as possible so that you guys get the reading you wanted! ik chapter .o6 was a lot, seeing as we've got a long way to go before the ending, but i wanted some action so that it doesn't get too boring and plain. anyways, thx for the support and hope to see you guys soon! ❤

Chapter Song Theme: — Stela Cole - Love Like Mine (Lyrics) - YouTube

taglist: @mageyboo, @mzladyd , @mysticwonderlandangel, @sukunaspersonalfleshlight, @kawaiipenguin20, @k-indie, @okkotsufav, @cafeinthemoon93, @pulchritxde, @bontenbunny, @deepinballs, @kleeboomed, @fallenfeversstuff, @fiierytearzx, @wo-ming-bai, @ririkaxbz, @instantgalaxysheep, @watyousayin, @z3r0art, @sukunaobsessed, @lik0, @sukunasfirstlove, @princesstiti14, @nemoyr, @ladywolf44005, @cat-mak20, @coffee-on-a-rainyautumn, @hxlalokidottir, @instantgalaxysheep, @domainofmarie, @the-moongoddess, @dark-n-dirty-duchess, @agentdedf1sh, @sukunastoy, @lyn-soso, @bao-yu-sarah-morningstar-wang-9, @heyitstacy, @lost-in-tokyo, @marksassybanana, @bozos-r-us, @gumis-girl, @p-3-4-c-h, @chaoticqueen33, @dxxny-loves-u, @l0tus-n-l0ve, @jiordeci

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sammysstolenbirks · 6 months ago

Text

silver storm

chapter II

I'm really enjoying writing this so far so i might just speed run it atp 💀 also there might be some typos, I've been righting bits and peices at like 3am but I'm trying

WARNINGS

angst, swearing, mention and uses of drugs and alcohol, mentions of mental health issues, death, smut (eventually)

JOSH POV

i wake up to the sound of my alarm blasting in my ear. i quickly shut the annoying sound off and check the time. 6:30. perfect. i get up and stretch before heading to the bathroom. unsurprisingly sam is already in there, no doubt styling his hair. and they call me a diva. i bang on the door "Cmon sam other people live here too"

Sam yells through the door "i got here first, you can't wait 10 minutes?"

"We both know your gonna spend an hour in there. Hurry your ass up."

I hear Sam yell something else but its too late for me to hear as i walk back to my room to check my phone. I smile as I see a text from y/n.

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐥. 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥?

𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡

𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐤?

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 :)

i smile at my phone before hearing Sam finally getting out of the bathroom. I run to it before he has a chance to change his mind and take another 40 minutes. I finish up my morning routine which consists of showering, personal hygiene things, getting dressed and grabbing all of my stuff before walking downstairs. Im just about ready to leave when I hear Sam behind me.

"Hey Josh? Can I catch a ride to school? Jake took my car to see valerie again and he's not back yet, surprise surprise.

I consider telling him no, as I'm sure he doesn't want to see y/n this early, but that thought is quickly replaced with the possibility of them getting along.

"Yeah sure Sam let's go"

Y/n would never come if she knew Sam was invited, and Sam would try to find another ride if he knew where I was going. So I decided not to tell either of them. Maybe they could put their differences aside for one morning, and maybe that could turn into a couple mornings, and before I know it I'll be an uncle. Okay maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but it would be nice for them to be friends at least.

Sam and I get into the car and drive. I see his confusion through my peripheral vision as were not driving on the road we normally go to school on.

"Uh Josh? Where are we going?"

"Oh did I not tell you? Were getting coffee this morning... With y/n." I try to fight off the grin creeping onto my face, but just let it take over. Sam looks at me like I just shit in his Cheerios. He scoffs writhes in his seat like a toddler. Typical sammy

"Are you kidding Josh? Yeah I think you forgot to mention that. Asshole."

I chuckle "youll thank me one day"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean"

I simply shrug my shoulders and smile. as we pull into the parking lot I see y/n through the window of the tiny shop on her phone. i smile at the sight, while I'm sure Sam had a completely opposite expression. I park and have to bribe sam with a free coffee to get him to go inside with me. We make it inside and make our way to y/n, whos jaw clenches as she sees sam dragging his feet behind me. I say a silent prayer that this won't go nuclear, But knowing them, this will be world war three.

Y/N POV

As I see Josh come around the corner, i smile widely. but as he closes the gap between us, i see the raven haired boy strolling behind him. There goes my hope for a good morning. i get up to greet Josh, pulling him in a hug, also preparing to reprimand him for bringing Satan himself.

"Hey kid" Josh says, searching my face for a reaction.

"Hey" i lean up into his ear to whisper, "why is he here?"

"He needed a ride since jake still has his car, seeing you know who"

I nod and feel my eye twitch "can he stay in the car"

Josh chuckles "itll be fine y/n, who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it"

I roll my eyes and chuckle. We sit down and a waitress comes to take our order with a smile

"good morning guys, what can I get y'all?"

Josh answers first, reading the lady's name tag, "good morning to you too, 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢, Could I get a chai tea latte please?"

"Of course," she says smiling at him, clearly charmed by him already. Josh always had that affect on people. "And how about you guys?"

"Matcha latte" "Matcha latte, please" Sam and I say at nearly the same time. We look at each other, both of our muscles tensing, making a cloud of tension overcome the quiet little corner of the shop. we stay like this until he clears his throat, "actually just a coffee. Black" he says as he fixes his gaze onto his interlaced hands resting on the table. Sabrina nods, clearly confused. She smiles and says "yeah I'll be right back with those" Josh sends her an apologetic look which she smiles at and walks away to the counter.

Josh chooses to ignore what just happened, turning to me and starting up a conversation. Every so often I would catch myself looking at Sam from the corner of my eye, finding him in the same position as before. I think about why he decided to change his order. he was probably just being childish, not wanting to have anything in common with me. I laughed internally at it, but a part of me was slightly hurt, and I didn't understand why.

Sabrina eventually came by with our drinks, and from the corner of my eye, I swore I saw Josh pass her a napkin, but when I gave him a confused look, he only offered a shrug and a smile.

When it was time to go, we cleaned up the table the best we could and made our way to our cars.

"See you in a bit kid" Josh says as he smiles at me with a wave

"See you" you return his smile and we all drive to school.

The morning classes went pretty normally as most do, apart from the lingering thoughts of this morning swirling in your head. Why did it upset me? Sam is just an asshole, i should expect these types of things from him. Whatever.

Lunch finally rolls around as i sit at my table with my friends, well, acquaintances, making sure to keep an open seat for Josh like I promised. I finally see Josh roll in, about 10 minutes late (shocker) and he makes his way over to me. he reaches the table and smiles and sighs as he sits down.

"Who knew being an assistant could be so stressful?" He chuckles

"Well you know who our director is, shes crazy. shes going to drive you crazy too."

"Yeah.. I guess I shouldve known, Mrs. Vanderbilt is.... yeah"

"I bet you're doing great though. What are you doing for the play so far?"

"Well right now shes focused on making sure we have plans for the set, doesnt want to make the same mistake as last year"

Josh laughs as he refers to last year's play, where in the middle of the most heart wrenching scene, a wall fell down, making everyone break character and it was a mess.

I laugh and nod and I continue listening to him tall about his new duties. As he finishes up, he adds a comment that makes me jaw clench.

"So have you thought at all about your audition?"

"Not really.. Ive never really done plays before, well aside from little kid ones. But never ones like this. I don't even know what I should prepare, what I should wear.. " i feel my mind start to spiral, but Josh quickly puts a stop to it.

"Well consider yourself lucky, you have a man on the inside who knows exactly what she's looking for" Josh says as he smiles widely at me, "besides I can always bribe her too, she's weirdly obsessed with subway" Josh says with a wink.

I smile and try to listen to his advice. Maybe I really could get the lead. And maybe this would just be the beginning. The push I need to finally put myself out there. Maybe.

JOSH POV

After helping y/n with her audition, I finish up the rest of my assistant duties and head home for the day. I see jake sitting on the couch as I walk in the front door.

"Hey Jake, finally home I see"

He rolls his eyes at me and smiles "Valerie wanted to hang out longer, I couldn't say no"

I sigh and laugh "yeah I get that, but next time, get your car fixed and don't take Sam's. I had to take him to get coffee with me and y/n this morning."

"Oh man, how was that?"

"Wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be actually. Who knows, maybe they'll finally get along soon"

"We can only hope" Jake says with a laugh. I nod and laugh as well before heading upstairs to my room

The rest of my afternoon is filled with editing some lyrics to show to the boys later. This song has been in the making for many, many years, y/n being the muse. I wrote this so when we eventually have to leave each other to go to college, or in my case travel the world, hopefully, she can always come back to it and it would remind her she's never alone, no matter how it may seem. This song also helps remind me that home is where ever the people you love are, and I hope she interperates it the same.

as I'm finishing up, I hear the front door open. 3:13.

I hear shuffling up the stairs and I open my door to investigate. I see sam basically dragging himself up the stairs. He notices my presence and looks up at me. On his face I see a purple tinted bruise protruding around his eye. He looks pissed.

"Hey what's up, you look like hell"

"Dont fucking talk to me right now."

I stop him with my arm before he has a chance to walk by me

"Hey, im here for you, you know that right? Talk to me. What's going on?"

He sighs, accepting defeat, "I got in a fight."

"Yeah I gathered that" I laugh "why? What happened?"

"Just some kid I had to put in his place"

"Okay, did they call mom"

"Yeah, she said they made an arrangement so I wouldnt get suspended or something like that. I dont know. She said she was gonna call me tonight and let me know what they thought"

"Okay, that's good. It doesn't sound like it'll be too bad" I sigh with relief and put my hand on his shoulder, "if I can help you out with it, I will okay?"

He looks at me and offers me a small smile, "Yeah, thanks josh"

"No worries, little brother" I say as I ruffle his hair. He laughs a little before pushing me away softly and going to his room and shutting the door.

I continue on with writing before I see the time and decide I should make some food.

I go down stairs and start on my signature dish, chicken alfredo. As im draining my noodles, I see my phone light up, its y/n

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐡𝐞𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡

𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐭.

I exit messages and google Romeo and Juliet. I scroll for a bit before finding the perfect one. Mrs. Vanderbilt's favourite scene.

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝟒 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝟑. 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐌𝐫𝐬. 𝐕 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 😉

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮

𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐝

I smile as I shut my phone off and finish up my dinner. I yell at everyone in the house that its ready, and my twin and sister come barreling down the stairs.

Jake is the first to say anything "hey thanks, 𝘮𝘰𝘮"

"Yeah whatever asshole, you wouldn't be eating this good if I wasn't here so shut up and grab a plate" I laugh at Jake and see Ronnie comming up to me

"Thanks J, im starving"

"Yeah of course, wheres Sam?"

"He should be comming? Im sure he heard you, how could he not, you probably scared the whole neighborhood" she says as I lightly shove her head away on my way upstairs.

I reach Sam's door and lightly knock, "hey dude I made dinner, you hungry?"

"Hey no, but could you come in here for a minute"

I walk in to see Sam sitting at his desk with his head in his hands

"Hey what's up? Are you okay?"

He sighs before looking at me "mom called."

"Yeah? What, is it bad? Theyre not sending you to boarding school are they?" I laugh, trying to cheer him up

"No, worse."

"Tell me already Sam, what?"

"Theyre making me do the fucking play."

My jaw drops as I fight a smile from creeping onto my face

"Oh. Well, i mean that's definitely not the worse thing that could happen. Why are they having you do that though? That doesn't seem like a punishment"

"Well yeah to you it wouldn't."

"That's fair. What are they having you do? Stage crew or something?"

"No. I have to be fucking Romeo. This is all your fault. She said that no other guys fit the role and they thought since im your brother I 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 be as 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 as you. Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is? My friends will have a fucking field day with this."

"Sam it'll be okay, Ill help you out, im helping y/n too. Maybe you guys could work together?" I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth. That'll just make this worse right now. My thoughts are proven to be correct as he speaks again "just get out. I need to sleep or something"

"Okay, are you sure you dont want any good? Its alfredo."

"I said no, just get the fuck out dude okay?"

I sigh and nod as I walk out and shut the door behind me. I walk downstairs and give a look at Jake, who immediately understands to not say anything to me right now. He strikes up a conversation with Ronnie to get the attention off me as I take my plate and head up to my room. I eat and think about my interaction with Sam. This can't be that bad, hes just being dramatic. Who knows? He might end up enjoying it or getting something out of it. Same with y/n. I know they both can really benefit from this. I just have to show them.

My thoughts are interrupted by my phone lighting up, I smile as soon as I see the notification.

☕️

𝐇𝐢, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐬𝐡?

A WEEK LATER

AUDITION DAY

Y/N POV

Ive been dreading this all day. What if im not good enough? What if all this staying up late, memorizing a huge monologue was all for nothing? No. Josh said it would be fine. It'll all work out. I step into the auditorium, immediately searching for josh, who I see on stage giving pointers to some helpless freshman who looks absolutely petrified. That's gonna be what I look like up there. I make my way down to the seats, taking an aisle one about 5 rows away from the stage. There's a good amount of people in the room, some doing vocal warmups, some doing last minute read throughs just to make sure they have everything memorized. Every one except one person. a boy, slumped into his chair, hood up, sitting on his phone. I studied him for a minute, wondering who it was before my curiosity was satisfied. The boy sits up in his seat, looking around the room to see everyone who showed up, before his eyes stopped on me. I see Sam in an auditorium. No, that can't be right, I do a double take before realizing that it is, in fact, Sam.

He notices my double take before smugly smiling at me and returning to his phone. I roll my eyes and revert my focus back to Josh, he sees me and basically jumps off the stage and runs to me

"Hey kid, are you excited?" He says with the biggest smile

"Trying to be" I say, forcing a smile which he notices

"Hey, it'll be great. I know how much you practiced and Mrs. V would be an idiot to not cast you. Maybe don't tell her I said that.. I don't want to end up dead by tomorrow." He laughs and hugs me "I have to go but I'll see you up there! Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to" he says with a wink

I smile back and repeat his advice over and over in my head. I can do this. Josh will be here and even if I don't get cast, I can say I tried. More than I could've said 5 years ago.

As the time grows closer for my audition, I feel my hands get sweaty and my breathing increasing. Why is this so hard? It's just reciting a paragraph and moving my arms as I speak. It shouldn't be this nerve wracking. My mind continues to spin and I barely notice the presence stepping up behind me

"Y'know I can hear you breathing from across the room right?"

I turn around to see Sam, once again

"Well sorry if my breathing annoys you sam. Not my fault I need to to live."

He rolls his eyes "your just being dramatic about this. It'll be fine."

"Shut up I didn't ask you for advice. What are you even doing here"

He starts to speak before he is interrupted by my name being shouted across the room. I turn around to see Josh and Mrs V waving me over. It's time. I take a deep breath and wipe my hands on the front of my jeans before making my way onto the stage. I am immediately blinded by the big lights, making this experience feel more real and terrifying.

"Whenever youre ready y/n" Mrs V says with a smile. I look over to josh, sitting next to her, for one final boost of confidence. He smiles at me and blows me a kiss. I smile and take one more breath before starting

"God knows when we shall meet again. I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life.... "

I go through the motions of what I imagine Juliet to look like, giving looks of desperation, throwing my hands up in defeat, stumbling to my knees. I start to get a little emotional as I finish up my last line

"Romeo! I come! This do I drink to thee"

I bow my head, signifying her death, as I wait to be excused from the stage. Instead I am met with silence. I dare to look up and see Josh, his jaw slightly dropped, and Mrs. V with tears in her eyes.

"My stars, Y/n. Who is this new person? That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much dear." She says, smiling wide.

I blink in disbelief. I did it. And they seemed to like it. I sigh with content and make my way to the seats. I trip over my own feet coming down the stairs and try to protect my head from the impact of the floor. But to my surprise, it never comes. Instead, I am met with the feeling of something holding me up, maybe my guardian angel, probably Josh. I open my eyes to see Sam looking down at me, his face softened. I look back at him and blush a little bit before straightening myself back up and looking to the floor before my attention is drawn back to the front row, where Mrs V and Josh are sat. I hear her say "So you've met our Romeo I see". My head whips to Sam, who has a sour expression on his face, obviously not happy about it either. I chuckle involuntarily, and it only grows as he gives me a dirty look, rolling his eyes.

"Wow... Acting? I could never imagine you doing that"

"Yeah well I couldn't imagine me doing it either, but here we are. Actually, I could never imagine you doing this either. Thought for sure you'd choke up there and go running back into the arms of your precious little Josh. Oh well, it's not too late. Maybe it'll happen on opening night" he says with a fake smile, obviously trying to upset me. I glare at him, trying to speak, but nothing is comming out. "What's wrong? Nothing to say?"

I sigh with frustration and start, "listen, asshole. Unlike you, I actually tried to get a role instead of just sitting back and it falling into my lap."

"Yeah well this wasn't my first choice, believe me."

"Oh of course. Sam Kiszka always has more important things going on. Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence. Y'know I feel bad for whoever Juliet will be, they'll have to put up with you all the time"

He glares at me before leaning towards me, making me walk back and hit my back on the ledge of the stage, "Oh yeah? Luckily for both of us, you'll never be Juliet."

That stung a little. But it's Sam, he has no idea what he's talking about

"Fuck off"

I say as I storm past him, shedding off the burden of our conversation in my trail. I decide to just head home. I'll see Josh in the morning and we can talk about everything then

Right now I need a break.

SAM POV

I don't know why I'm forced to sit in this godforsaken auditorium watching all these girls audition for a part they're most likely never going to get, except for the 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 girl who does. She'll get so excited over something so miniscule as a couple lines in a mediocre high school production of a Shakespeare play.

They're all so desperate.

I think back to my conversation, well, argument, with Y/n. I don't know how Josh ever got her to do this. Her audition wasn't even that good, yet Josh and Mrs V seemed to be eating it up. I mean, sure, she spoke clearly... and slowly... beautifully- I shake my head before my thoughts go too far. Its only beautiful because Shakespeare is beautiful, Not a compliment to y/n. She probably won't even get the part anyway, so this was just a waste of time for her. She's lucky not to be given a part. This is going to be torture.

Hours and hours of rehearsals, my friends inevitably calling me names in the hallway, trying to create chemistry with whoever my love interest is..

This is my own personal hell

And it could've all been so easily avoided.

That fight was ridiculous. Why did I care so much what he said? It's not like it's anything I haven't said before. My mind starts re-enacting the scene in my head,

"𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘦, 𝘺/𝘯'𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤."

𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺/𝘯'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳.

I bring my mind back to reality and shake my head. It's all 𝘩𝘦𝘳 fault. Why does she constantly plague me and my thoughts even though I resent her?

Still,

Why do I care about her?

Taglist! (Idk if I'm doing this right)

@fleetingjake

#greta van fleet #sam kiszka #sam kiszka smut #josh kiszka #sam kiszka fic #jake kiszka #sam kiszka fanfiction

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