#i just. i wish we could have been there for each other

[mapis-putellas]

𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔/𝑳.𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏

Requested. Based of ‘Happiness’ by Taylor swift.

The apartment was quiet, the kind of stillness that presses heavy against your chest. It was the sort of quiet you could only find after an argument so final that neither of you had the strength to fill the silence anymore. The coffee table between you and Leah was cluttered with a half-drunk glass of wine, her phone, and the ring you'd taken off just moments earlier. It sat there like it was mocking you, gleaming under the dim light as though it didn't represent the end of four years together.

Leah sat on the couch, her head in her hands. Her hair fell around her face like a curtain, hiding her expression. But you didn't need to see her eyes to know what she was feeling. Her shoulders were hunched, her breathing shallow. She wasn't crying, though. Neither of you were. Maybe you'd passed the point where tears felt useful.

It had started as a small argument, one of those little things that always seemed to spiral into something bigger. You couldn't even remember the exact words that had tipped you over the edge, but it had escalated into the same recurring fights—the kind about schedules that didn't align, the feeling of being left behind, and the crushing realization that neither of you knew how to fix what was broken anymore.

"I don't know how we got here," Leah said finally, her voice so quiet you almost didn't hear it. She looked up at you then, her eyes brimming with a kind of sadness that you hadn't seen before. "But I think... maybe it's time we call it quits."

You nodded, your throat too tight to respond. What was there to say, anyway? She wasn't wrong. You both knew it. The weight of her words settled deep in your chest like a stone.

There was no big betrayal, no villain to blame. Leah wasn't a bad person. Neither were you. Maybe that was what made it hurt the most. It would have been easier to hate her, to turn her into some twisted version of herself in your mind so you could let her go. But when you looked at her now, with her tear-stained cheeks and trembling hands, all you could think about was how much you still loved her.

She stood up, rounding the coffee table to come stand in front of you. Her hands, balled up at her sides, clench slightly before she holds them out. You sniffle softly as you take them, allowing her to haul you to your feet. You stared at each other for a quiet moment before she reached up to cup your cheeks. Her touch was soft, reverent, and you instinctively find yourself leaning into it. She smiled sadly as her thumbs linger just beneath your eyes, wiping away the tears, and then she leans in, looping her arms around your waist.

Her hold was tight. Desperate, even, and you could feel the way her hands clutched the back of your jumper. The once fading tightness in the back of your throat returns with a vengeance, and you're forced to swallow heavily as you secured your arms around her shoulders, your chin hooked over her shoulder. She sniffled, adjusting her head so her nose grazes the underside of your jaw. You cup the back of her head, wishing desperately that this wasn't the last time you had the opportunity to do so.

"I love you." A whisper. Barely audible against your ear.

"I love you too." The truth.

"I'm sorry." Please forgive me.

"Me too." I already have.

*

The first few weeks after the breakup were the hardest. You moved out of the apartment you'd shared, packing up boxes of your life together while Leah was away at training. It felt easier that way, cleaner. But as you stood in the doorway for the last time, the emptiness of the space hit you like a tidal wave.

There, in the kitchen, was where she'd taught you to cook her mum's roast dinner recipe. The bedroom was where you'd spent lazy Sunday mornings tangled in her arms, and where you'd laughed until your sides hurt over something ridiculous she'd said. The memories were everywhere, and no matter how much you tried to shut them out, they clung to you like a second skin.

At night, in the apartment you’d rented that felt painfully empty, you’d spend hours on the phone with your best friend, trying to convince her, and yourself, for that matter, that this was for the best. "I wasn't happy," you'd said one night, the words leaving a bitter taste in your mouth. But even as you said it, you knew it wasn't entirely true. There had been happiness. So much of it. It just hadn't been enough.

Months passed, and you threw yourself into anything that could distract you. Work, friends, new hobbies. But no matter how busy you kept yourself, Leah was always there in the corners of your mind. You saw her face on social media, heard her name in interviews, and felt her absence in the quiet moments when there was nothing to distract you.

You tried dating again, but it was impossible not to compare everyone to her. They weren't as funny, as driven, as alluring as Leah. They didn't have her competitive streak or the way she could make you feel like the most important person in the world with just a look. Every time someone asked about your past relationships, you found yourself stumbling over your words, unsure of how to explain the profound, aching love you'd had for her.

One night, you sat on your couch with a glass of wine, scrolling through old photos on your phone. There she was, smiling up at you in a selfie from your first anniversary. Her hair was messy from the wind, and her cheeks were pink from the cold, but she'd never looked more beautiful. You stared at the photo for what felt like hours, the memories flooding back.

There had been happiness. Real, unfiltered happiness. And it felt like a betrayal to pretend otherwise.

It was only a few months later when you ran into Leah at a mutual friend's party. You weren't expecting to see her, but there she was, standing across the room with that same easy confidence that had drawn you to her in the first place. She looked different—older, maybe—but her smile was the same.

You weren't sure what to expect when she saw you, but when your eyes met, she crossed the room without hesitation. "Hi," she said, her voice softer than you remembered.

"Hi," you replied, your heart pounding in your chest.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. Then she gestured toward the balcony. "Do you want to step outside? It's a bit loud in here."

You nodded, following her out into the cool night air. The city lights twinkled in the distance, and for a moment, you both just stood there, taking it all in.

"You look good," Leah said after a while, her tone genuine.

"Thanks. So do you."

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "How have you been?”

You hesitated, unsure how honest you wanted to be. "I've been... okay. Busy, mostly."

She nodded, her gaze dropping to the ground. "Same.”

There was a long pause, the kind that felt heavy with unspoken words. Finally, Leah turned to look at you, her eyes searching yours."You know," she said after a long silence, "I think about us sometimes."

Your breath caught in your throat. "Yeah?”

She nodded. "I don't regret it," she said finally, eyes flickering to the sky. "Any of it. Even the hard parts. You made me happy, you know? And I hope... I hope I made you happy too."

You swallowed the lump in your throat, your chest tight with a mixture of emotions, only some of which you could decipher. "You did, Leah. You really did."

She looked at you then, her eyes soft and filled with something you couldn't quite name. "I'm glad," she said simply.

You often found yourself looking back on your relationship with Leah with a bittersweet kind of clarity. Time had softened the edges of your pain, turning the once raw wounds into faded scars that no longer ached. You'd both moved on, finding happiness in different ways, with different people.

But every now and then, you'd think about her—the way she'd laugh, the way she'd hold you when the world felt like too much, the way she'd look at you like you were her entire universe.

There had been happiness with Leah, real and undeniable. And though it had ended, you knew there would also be happiness again, just a different kind. Because life goes on, and sometimes, letting go is the kindest thing you can do for someone you'll always care about.

**

Tags:

@ceesimz @marysfics @girlgenius1111 @codiemarin @simp4panos @silentwolfsstuff @goldenempyrean @xxnaiaxx @liloandstitchstan

[the-modern-typewriter]

Could we get a love triangle where the rivals fall in love with each other instead of the intended love interest? (Would love if it's m/m and enemies to lovers)

"Tell me," Cassander murmured. "Is it that you don't like my hands on her, or simply that you wish I had my hands on you instead?"

Azael glared at the other fey. His jaw clenched with the sudden horrible realisation that the truth wanting to slip passed his lips wasn't "her" immediately and without question.

Cassander, bastard that he was, smirked at his silence. He sauntered closer, his gaze fixed on Azael with the disquieting familiarity of any good enemy. He wasn't like the human. Cassander didn't look at him he was some beautiful, otherworldly and magical thing. All positive qualities and power. A dream within a dream within a fantasy. Cassander looked at him like he knew every filthy, dark thing about him and still wanted to sink his teeth in for the rest. Rake out every lingering secret with clawed hands. Rend and own and conquer.

Cassander was not fragile and caring and brave. If Azael shoved Cassander into a wall, if he grabbed him by the shoulders, experience told him there would be no need to be gentle. No fear of breaking something fleeting and perfect.

It should have been about her. She was the better choice in every way. She should have been what he wanted.

"I think you're very quick to physically put yourself between me and her," Cassander continued, in a confiding sort of voice. "Quick to get in my face and see if I'll put you back down . I think, when the three of us are in a room together, I'm the one that you're always watching."

"That's because you're the one who can't be trusted."

"She's drawn to me."

"You're a high fey. She's a human. She can't help it."

"How very patronising and mildly misogynistic. Does she like that about you?"

"I'm trying to keep her safe!"

"Maybe she does," Cassander mused. "Certainly, it's been centuries since I've seen you so worked up. It's an excellent look on you, possessiveness. It reminds me that, no matter how civilised and cold you pretend to be these days, you're still just the vicious little scrap willing to fight every other member of my court. Aren't you?"

Azael seethed. Still, no good response could leave his mouth without damning him. He'd never envied the human's ability to lie quite so much as when Cassander was in the room. He'd never felt quite so much like his very blood was burning up in the heat.

Cassander's smirk grew.

"But what about you, Azael?" His head tilted, as he paused on the other side of the dining table. His voice was ancient music, fey-tongue, home. "Can you help it?"

"It's not my fault you're - maddening."

"Maddening, am I?"

"The worst."

Azael realised, abruptly, that he'd leaned in across the table to snarl the words into Cassander's beautiful face. There were mere inches between them.

What would Cassander do, if it was the human, standing where Azael was? No doubt he'd be charming. He was never charming to Azael.

Their eyes met.

"Kiss me," Cassander ordered.

Without thinking, savagely, Azael did. He tangled his fingers in Cassander's hair and yanked, half hauling him across the table. He bit down claiming at Cassander's lips. He only stopped when he felt Cassander laugh with feral glee against his mouth.

They broke apart. Cassander's eyes were dark, devouring.

"I guess you can't help it, either," Cassander said. He licked his lips. Slow. Taunting. "So how can you hold it against her? Maybe you should apologise."

"Stay away from her."

"Why?"

"Because -" Azael drew in a breath. He could still imagine the heat of Cassander beneath his hands, the scent of him, the wily danger of the summer court's most favoured son. "Because I said so. And you're in my court."

"Would you like me to leave?"

"I'd like you bloody well kiss me again."

It slipped out. Too lacking in the silver that was supposed to coat his frozen tongue.

Cassander grinned with the same triumphant smile he'd once had on the battlefield. He rounded the table, pushing Azael down into the chair and straddling his lap.

"I'll have to send our sweet girl a fruit basket," he said. He mockingly, gently, tucked Azael's hair back from his flushed face. "She might just make an honest thing of you yet."

"You-"

Then he kissed Azael, and Azael realised he was well and truly screwed.

Him.

Maybe it had always been about him.

Damn it.

[estrellami-1]

Growing Young

The BIGGEST of happy birthdays to my spouse @gloomysoup !!! You are an absolute DELIGHT to know and I’m so sorry this is late 😭 I’m in love with you and we are going to run away and be very happy together. ❤️

Eddie wants it put on the record that he didn’t run this time. Well, he did, but it was only to lead the bats away from Dustin, and he cycled more than ran, anyways.

Not that the semantics matter when Dustin’s kneeling beside him and sounds are getting echoey.

Dustin yells for Steve, and Eddie wants to tell him it’s no use, Steve can’t hear, he’s too far away, except here he comes like an action hero, sliding in like it’s third fucking base. Damn Wayne and his sports shows, Eddie’s not supposed to know any of that.

“Hey,” Steve says, clear as a bell in Eddie’s addled brain. “Thought I told you not to be a hero.” He looks off, tells someone to get Dustin out, now, before returning his attention back to Eddie. “You’re gonna make it, y’hear me?”

“Dunno,” Eddie says, gasps for breath. Coughs up blood, if the new wet feeling in his mouth is any indication. “‘M not- not cold, anymore, y’know that’s worse, ‘s okay ‘f I don’t-”

“Shut up,” Steve hisses. “Actually, no, keep talking, stay awake. This is gonna hurt like a bitch but I’ve gotta get you outta here. If you’re gonna throw up, please don’t throw up on me.”

Eddie’s brain is lagging full seconds behind, so by the time Steve’s words process, he’s already being lifted.

He doesn’t throw up, but it’s a close thing. “You’re gonna be okay,” Steve tells him again.

He wakes up from the weirdest dream of his fucking life to his alarm and realizes three things in quick succession.

One: that’s not his alarm. It’s a heart monitor.

Two: he’s in a hospital.

Three: it was not, in fact, a dream.

As he finishes categorizing these things, Steve walks in, doing a double-take when he realizes Eddie’s awake. “Oh, holy shit,” he whispers, freezing for a second before darting back out.

He’s back a minute later with Wayne in tow.

Eddie would like it stricken from the record that he cried like a baby upon seeing Wayne. The record can keep the fact that Wayne cried upon seeing him, though.

“Uncle Wayne,” he whispers. He can’t move his arms enough to wipe his face, so he’s just laying there with tears running down his cheeks, undoubtedly making a terrible face. But Wayne’s an ugly crier, too, so they’re just sitting there, crying, making ugly faces at each other.

They eventually calm down and realize at the same time that Steve’s standing awkwardly by the door. “Sorry,” he says, like any of this is somehow his fault. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Wayne pulls himself together, gestures at a seat across from him. “You ain’t interruptin’, son. You saved my boy’s life. Far as I’m concerned, you got any right you want t’be here right now.”

Steve ducks his head. “I didn’t really- I mean, he was just… passed out, the doctors did the saving.”

“Sure,” Eddie says quietly, “but you got me outta there.” He glances over at the seat, a smile flickering on his face. “C’mon.”

“If you’re sure.” Steve matches his volume, takes the chair. Moves a book onto his lap.

Eddie notices, glances at it. “What’s that?”

Steve colors. “Oh, uh…” he holds it up for Eddie to see. The Lord of the Rings. “Dustin and I have been taking turns reading, just in case you could hear while you were under.”

Eddie pouts. “No, but I wish I could’ve.”

Wayne bursts out laughing. “Well damn, Ed, he ain’t killed your puppy. Fact, I’d bed he’d read t’you right now iffen y’asked him.” He stands, grabs Eddie’s hand and squeezes. It’s the one part of him that doesn’t hurt, but it still makes tears threaten to fall. “I’ve gotta get to work. Y’gonna be alright, son?”

Eddie smiles, does his best to squeeze Wayne’s fingers back. “I’ll be fine, Pops.”

Wayne leaves, and Steve opens the book, pausing halfway through trying to find his page. “D’you want me to start at the beginning?”

Eddie smiles at him. “‘S alright. I’ve read it so many times, you can start from wherever. I won’t be lost.”

Steve nods, flips through a few more pages. Fingers a corner, works his lip between his teeth. “I, uh… Dustin does voices. I’m… not good at that. And I’m probably gonna say half the names wrong.”

“‘S alright,” Eddie promises him. “‘Sides, it’s a made-up book with a made-up language. Maybe you’re saying it right and everyone else is saying it wrong.”

Steve snorts. “I doubt the author is saying it wrong,” he retorts, but settles back in his chair and begins to read.

A couple pages later, Steve stumbles over a few words in a row and shuts the book, grimacing as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, man,” he murmurs. “I’d read more if I could, but I need to be able to drive home.”

Eddie frowns. “Reading’s hard for you?”

Steve rolls his eyes. It’s more of a self-deprecating thing than anything else. “I’ve had… four? Five? Concussions. I wasn’t the best reader before that. It’s definitely gotten worse. Too much and it’ll trigger a migraine.”

Eddie’s frown deepens. “Is there- something you could take? A prescription? Or- or some kind of help?”

Steve colors. “There’s something,” he admits. “I just… don’t like wearing them.”

Eddie’s frown turns curious. “Wearing them?”

Steve nods. Won’t look at Eddie. “Glasses. I just… don’t like the way they look on me.”

“Have you-” he’s interrupted by a cough, and Steve rushes to hand him water. “Thanks,” he rasps out after a couple sips, then clears his throat. “Can you get different frames?”

Steve rolls his eyes. “I did. These are the ones I hated the least.”

“Could I see them?” Eddie requests. “If you- if you’re here tomorrow. Would you bring them?”

Steve looks at him for a long second. “Sure,” he finally says. “I’ll be here tomorrow. And I’ll bring them.”

Eddie smiles at him. Steve smiles back, and leaves.

He arrives the next day while Dustin’s there. He leans in the doorway, crossing his arms and smiling at the scene. “Hey, dipshit,” he calls.

“Hey, Steve,” Dustin says back. “Anyways, so Mike was really stuck, right? So he decided-”

“Hey, dipshit,” Steve says again, jerking his head back. “Your ma’s out front.”

“Oh!” Dustin jumps up, gathering his things. “Okay, Eddie, don’t let me forget!” He calls over his shoulder, pointing at Eddie, almost running into the door before Steve nudges him out of the way.

He’s chuckling when he sinks into the chair Dustin had just vacated. “That kid.”

“He’s pretty good, isn’t he.”

“He really is.” He shifts uncomfortably for a second, pulls the book onto his lap, and sighs. “Just… I know I look stupid, okay? Just please don’t laugh.”

“Never,” Eddie swears immediately.

Steve pulls the glasses out of his pocket and puts them on, blinking at Eddie through the lenses as his eyes adjust. “Well?”

“They look good,” Eddie tells him immediately.

“Don’t-” Steve takes a breath, looks away. “We… we’ve been flirting. Right?”

Eddie’s heart rabbits in his chest. “I can stop.”

Steve shakes his head. “No, just… just tell me the truth.”

“The truth?” Eddie murmurs. “Sweetheart, the truth is if you’d been my teacher, wearing those glasses, I would’ve graduated the first time with fucking honors.”

Steve’s cheeks are pink. “You mean it?”

“Every word,” Eddie swears. “Why don’t you think so? Did someone say something? Was it one of the kids? Because I will kick them out of Hellfire until the end of the campaign-”

“No- Eddie,” Steve laughs. “No, it wasn’t the kids. It wasn’t anyone. I just… don’t think I look good.”

“Well you do,” Eddie returns, mildly affronted. “Don’t look good,” he grumbles, halfway under his breath. “Honestly.” It gets a laugh out of Steve, which is what he was going for. “Can I ask you for something that’s probably way out of line?”

Steve blinks. “You… can ask me, sure. Doesn’t mean I have to listen.”

“Guess so,” Eddie chuckles. It turns into a cough, which makes Steve get up, but Eddie waves him down. “Can I ask you to wear your glasses whenever you need to? And tell me if anyone says something, because again, I will kick the kids out of Hellfire until the end of the campaign. Just say the word, and they’re out.”

“You don’t have to do that for me.”

“I don’t have to do anything. I’m doing it because I want to. Because you’re worth it.”

“Okay,” Steve agrees quietly.

“Good,” Eddie agrees nonsensically.

With that, Steve opens the book and begins to read. He gets through quite a few more pages than the day before, but does eventually stop, rubbing his brows. “Sorry,” he says, “Guess I still can’t read much even with the glasses on.”

“That’s okay,” Eddie murmurs. “Do you like reading? Or are you reading for my sake?”

Steve rubs the back of his neck. “Mostly for your sake,” he admits. “I don’t like reading as much as you do, or as much as Dustin does. But I want to know what you like. I want to understand what you like. And I feel like reading is the best way to do that.”

“Makes sense,” Eddie replies, “but you know you don’t have to, right? I’d like you even if you never picked up another book again.”

Steve grins, a small, shy thing. “You like me?” He teases.

“I do,” Eddie murmurs. “I thought – I thought we-”

“No,” Steve interrupts, “we are. We do. Or I do, I don’t know–”

“I do, too,” Eddie promises. “Just… Maybe when I’m out of the hospital?”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, “of course. Do you have any news on when you get out?”

“Not yet, but hopefully I’ll know soon. I just don’t know what I’m going to do when I get out… I can’t even lift my arms to feed myself. And if I get out soon, before I’ve healed enough…”

“I get it,” Steve swears. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Okay,” Eddie agrees softly. “Okay.”

“I don’t think I can read anymore today,” Steve says, “but I can stay for a bit if you want company.”

“Please,” Eddie agrees, far too quickly, except it makes Steve blush and smile, and Eddie would make himself the fool a hundred times over to make Steve smile.

They decide to watch TV. At some point their hands end up intertwined, and Eddie wants to stay awake, he really does, but he’s still pretty broken, and he finds himself waking up when Steve pulls away. “Sorry,” Steve whispers, “I didn’t wanna wake you.”

Eddie wakes himself up more, makes some kind of groaning noise that he’s pretty sure he’s heard Wayne make before. “‘S okay,” he mumbles, twitching his fingers to pull Steve closer. “Wan’ed’a be ‘wake.”

“It’s okay,” Steve swears. “You need the rest.”

Eddie hums, lets his eyes slip shut. Lets Steve pull his fingers from Eddie’s limp grasp. “Wan’ you t’wear the glasses,” he murmurs. He hears Steve pause as he gathers his things.

“I will,” Steve whispers. “Promise. I’ve got them on right now.”

“Good,” Eddie mumbles, and falls asleep before Steve’s even out of the room.

The doctor comes in a few days later to talk to Eddie while Steve’s there, once again reading to him. “My apologies,” the doctor says. “I’ve got some information for Mr. Munson, if you wouldn’t mind stepping out for a moment.”

“He can stay,” Eddie says before Steve can move. Steve blinks at him, and Eddie nods, inclining his chin down to the chair Steve’s practically levitating in. Steve shifts his weight, sits back down.

“Very well,” the doctor says. “I’ve got good news for you, Mr. Munson, as long as you’ve got someone to look after you, you’ll be free to go as soon as your guardian arrives.” He shuffles a few papers around. “We’ve got some painkillers for you, as well as a round of antibiotics.” He offers the papers to Eddie. Steve takes them, puts them on the chair beside him. “Your wraps will need to be changed once a day and stay dry for another two weeks, so sponge baths only. After that, your wraps can come off while you shower, then be put back on as soon as your skin is dry. If you have any questions once you’ve been released, there’s a number on the paper you can call at any time. If you pop a stitch, come back in. If you have any adverse reactions to the medication, come back in. If you pass out or throw up repeatedly, come back in. If your wounds look inflamed or infected, come back in. Understand?”

Eddie nods, biting his lip. “My guardian- my uncle. He works. I-”

“He’ll have someone to look after him,” Steve interrupts, looking up at the doctor.

The doctor looks between them, then nods. “Very well then. A nurse will come in and make sure you’re okay to be released. As soon as your uncle is here, you’re free to go.” He smiles. “As much as you’ve been a model patient, I hope to never see you again.”

Eddie snorts. “You too, Doc.” He looks over at Steve as the doctor leaves, raises a brow. “I got someone to look after me?”

Steve colors, looks down. “The, uh. The trailer was…”

Eddie winces. “Yeah.”

“Yeah.” A sigh. “And the government’s dragging their feet about getting you guys another place. I offered up my place to Wayne. He’s been staying there since… well, since we got back topside. There’s more than enough room for the three of us.”

Eddie grins. “And this has nothing to do with you liking me, right?”

“I mean,” Steve shrugs, “I wouldn’t say nothing.”

They spend a long minute looking at each other before Steve looks back down at the open book in his lap.

Wayne arrives not too much later, just after the nurse finishes her duties. He grins at his nephew, finally freed from all the wires and tubes. “Y’ready to go?”

“Please,” Eddie agrees, looking at Steve. “I know my legs are generally fine, but just in case-”

Steve moves around the bed to stand next to him. “I’ve got you,” he murmurs, and Eddie believes him.

They get Eddie out of the hospital, into Wayne’s truck, and back to Steve’s house. “Welcome home,” Wayne deadpans, but Eddie can hear the slightest note of pride in Wayne’s gruff voice. He likes living here.

Eddie thinks he will, too.

“Your bedroom’s upstairs,” Steve murmurs. “The only bedroom down here is my parents’.”

“I’ll take the upstairs bedroom,” Eddie agrees, looking up at the aforementioned stairs. “Might need some help, though.”

“I can help,” Steve agrees. “Let’s see how much you can do by yourself first, though.”

The bannister is just about elbow height, so Eddie’s able to grab it and use it for support. He gets a third of the way up before he’s gritting his teeth, then halfway up before he shakes his head. “I can’t.”

“You did great,” Steve tells him, then picks him up bridal-style.

Eddie squawks, causing Wayne to laugh at him. He raises his hand just enough to flip Wayne off, then focuses on not making a fool of himself while Steve carries him upstairs.

“First room’s mine,” Steve tells him, nodding towards his door as he carefully sets Eddie down. “Wayne’s is two doors down, and yours will be here, between us.” He points towards a room, and Eddie walks towards it.

Walking on flat ground is a lot easier than walking up stairs, but he’s still pretty injured, so he’s glad for the chance to sit down on his bed when he gets into his room.

“Now,” Steve says, “way I see it, you’ve got three options.”

“Oh? And what would those be?”

“Sleep, eat, or bathe.” He gives Eddie a tiny grin. “I know you’ll need help with the last one. If you’d rather your uncle do it, I understand, but I’m willing.”

Eddie glances over at the en-suite, bites his lip, and shakes his head. “I think… if you’re willing. I think I’d prefer you.”

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t completely serious.” He holds his hands out, offering Eddie help getting up. He takes it and leverages himself up, and together they walk into the bathroom.

“Sponge bath,” Steve murmurs, recalling the doctor’s words. “There should be a washcloth in here somewhere.” He gestures for Eddie to sit on the toilet for the time being, rooting around in the cabinets until he comes up with a wash cloth, shouting a triumphant, “Aha!” And waving it around like a flag.

“Man,” Eddie says, “I can’t believe anyone ever thought you were cool.”

“Fuck you, I am cool.”

“You’re a complete nerd, Stevie.”

Steve flips him off, tests the water temperature, nods. “Need help undressing?”

Eddie grimaces. “Probably.”

“That’s alright. Anything you can or want to do yourself?”

Eddie focuses on his jeans first. They unbutton and unzip just fine, and Eddie can get them most of the way over his hips, but he eventually gives up with a sigh. “‘M sorry,” he murmurs.

“I volunteered,” Steve reminds him, helping him out of his pants.

He quickly undresses Eddie the rest of the way and alternates between two cloths, one wet and soapy and one dry, so he doesn’t get the bandages wet. He zones out halfway through, glancing over at the sink multiple times.

The last time he does, Eddie gently taps him on the forehead. “I’d say penny for your thoughts, but I don’t think I have a penny.”

Steve chuckles, grins up at Eddie. “Then it’s a good think I’ll give them to you for free.” His smile turns smaller, more genuine. “I was wondering if there was a way to get a chair in here so we could wash your hair.”

“Oh,” Eddie murmurs, because it had been far too long since he’d last washed his hair. “That would be really nice.”

“Then I’ll find a way to do it,” Steve swears. “But I think the chair will work. Once you’re dressed again, I’ll go get it.”

He finishes bathing Eddie, helps him into clean clothes, and guides him back to the toilet. “Wait here,” he tells him, and runs out of the room in search of a chair.

He finds one that’s roughly the right height and brings it back, draping a towel over the edge of the sink for cushion, gesturing Eddie over and holding his hair up as he gets situated.

He starts washing, and it’s different in the sink, with a faucet that doesn’t move and is so close to the basin, but he makes do; cups warm-almost-hot water in his hands, lets it dribble over Eddie’s scalp.

He massages the shampoo in and Eddie hums. He rakes his fingers through the ends of Eddie’s hair, lathered with conditioner, and Eddie makes a breathless little sound.

Steve’s breath catches in his throat and he stills. “Good or bad sound?”

Another hum. “Good. Sorry. Jus’… relaxed.”

“‘S alright,” Steve murmurs back. “Just making sure.”

“‘S good,” Eddie promises, voice barely a whisper now.

“I’m glad,” Steve whispers back, and finishes washing his hair in silence.

Eddie’s tired after, eyes slipping shut even as he sits up in the chair and Steve dries his hair, so Steve takes mercy on him when his hair is half dry and leads him to bed. “Take a nap,” he whispers. “I’ll clean up and be out of your hair. I’ll be in my room with the door open if you need anything.”

Eddie hums, eyes slipping shut again as he grabs at Steve’s hand. “Stay?”

“Okay,” he agrees. “Just let me throw the towels in the hamper.”

Eddie hums, hand dropping back down to the bed and eyes slitting open as he watches Steve walk to the bathroom.

He’s back less than a minute later, smiling at Eddie as he tries to stay awake. “Go to sleep,” he laughs, sliding in between the sheets next to Eddie. “I’m here. I’m not leaving. Now sleep.”

Eddie lets his eyes close as he moves his hand under the sheets, searching for Steve’s. When he finds it, he grabs and squeezes it, just once, and falls asleep.

Steve doesn’t mean to fall asleep, but there’s not much keeping him awake. He awakens later to Eddie trying to leverage himself out of bed.

He sits up with a snort, blinking at Eddie. “What’re you doing?”

Eddie tosses an apologetic look over his shoulder. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to wake you. I just needed to use the bathroom.”

Steve hums, stands, walks over to Eddie and helps him up. “I don’t mind you waking me. I’d actually prefer you did, instead of popping your stitches.” He grins, pokes at a bit of Eddie’s side that he knows is unharmed.

Eddie grins back, wide and happy. “I’ve gotta learn. ‘S not like this arrangement is gonna continue. You’ve got your bed and I’ve got mine.”

“It could,” Steve considers. “What if you’re trying to get up in the middle of the night and can’t? What if you have a nightmare and thrash around and pop a stitch?”

“What if you barely sleep because you’re not used to another person in bed with you?”

“What if,” Steve whispers, “that nap was the most restful sleep I’ve gotten in a while?”

“Really?”

Steve looks down, realizes he’s still holding Eddie’s hands. He lets go, takes a step back. Doesn’t look up; he knows his face is burning. “Really.” He flicks his chin over to the bathroom. “Go ahead. I’ll help you downstairs after, it’s almost dinner time.”

Eddie doesn’t move for a minute. Steve chances a glance up at him, and his breath catches at the naked affection staring back at him.

It’s only after Steve looks up at him that Eddie moves, stumbling over to the bathroom and quickly finishing up. Steve stands still, staring at where the sheets are messed up. Two spots. He’s not used to that in his bed. Even when he’d have girls over, none of them wanted to stay the night. Even Nancy left.

But here he is, in a room in his house that isn’t actually his, with a guy, and they’ve been flirting with each other, and-

He thinks he needs to call Robin.

He thinks, as Eddie emerges from the bathroom and smiles at him, he knows exactly what he’s feeling, and doesn’t need to call Robin after all.

They make their way downstairs and Steve settles on a simple pasta dinner. Eddie somehow wiggles his way up onto the counter, and sits beside the stovetop, kicking his leg out and occasionally hitting Steve’s thigh. Steve always glances at him when he does, and it becomes a game, and soon enough they’re both giggling as Steve dumps the pasta into the boiling water.

The water splashes, and Eddie hisses, jerking his arm away and rubbing at it. Steve looks up, worried. “Did it get you?”

Eddie waves him off, nudging his thigh with his foot again. “‘M alright. Not even a mark, ‘s just hot.”

“Still,” Steve says, and steps closer. “Can I see?”

Eddie stares at him for a minute. Offers him his arm.

He’s right. There’s no mark apart from an old scar, years old and years healed. Steve’s hand comes up, and his thumb strokes the scar, then down a little, towards his elbow. “Well?” Eddie asks teasingly. “What’s the prognosis, doc?”

Steve stares at him flatly, playing into it. “You’ll live,” he says, completely deadpan, grinning when Eddie giggles. He bumps Eddie’s knee with his hip, moves away to collect plates and silverware. “Make yourself useful and stir the pasta, would you?”

Eddie sticks his tongue out but picks up the spoon and does as he’s asked.

And so it goes. They’re mostly left unattended, as Wayne is usually at work, but sometimes he’ll sit on the couch with Steve and they’ll watch football or baseball, much to the chagrin of Eddie, who takes every opportunity possible to bemoan the existence of sports for stealing Steve’s attention away from him.

Steve doesn’t tell him that even when his eyes are on the TV, his mind is on Eddie. He’s well aware he falls too fast, too hard.

He helps Eddie up and down the stairs. He gives him sponge baths and washes his hair. Eventually his wounds begin to heal, and he’s able to get up and down the stairs on his own, if not a lot slower than usual.

He starts taking quick showers on his own. Steve still washes his hair in the sink, and now he helps Eddie change his bandages after he showers.

One day, Eddie hesitates on the edge of the bathroom threshold. “I don’t…” he looks away, bites his lip. Puts his arms up, tousles the top of his hair to prove his point. “I can do it on my own now.”

“Oh,” Steve says, feeling strangely heartbroken. “Right, yeah, that’s great. I’ll just, uh-” he takes a step back, angles his thumb behind him.

Eddie jerks forward, wraps his fingers around Steve’s wrist. “But you could help? If you wanted?”

Steve tugs Eddie over to the bed, sits on the edge. Doesn’t say anything until Eddie sits, too. He plays with the frame of his glasses as he says, “You’ve been flirting with me.” Eddie lets go of his wrist. Steve tries not to miss it. “It’s… it’s okay. You don’t have to stop. I just need you to be honest with me.”

“Anything,” Eddie whispers, and Steve drops his voice to match.

“Do you mean it? Or are you just flirting because you can?”

“Baby,” Eddie murmurs, bringing a hand up to cup Steve’s jaw, and oh, Steve thinks.

Oh.

“Really?” He whispers, and Eddie nods.

“Really.”

“I can’t,” Steve murmurs. “I can’t do this if you just like me. If this is… is gonna be a fling, or whatever.”

“Baby,” Eddie murmurs again. “I’ve long since healed enough to sleep alone. I don’t want to. I want to wake up to your face every day. I want to bring you your glasses when you forget them, I want to stir your pasta sauces and annoy you in the kitchen until you threaten to throw me out, even if we both know you never will. I want to be the one you come home to every day, the one you turn to when you need support. I want you to feel safe with me the way I do with you.” His thumb strokes Steve’s cheek, wiping away a tear. “Because I do. I feel safe with you. You make me feel safe. You- baby.” He strokes Steve’s cheek again, studies his eyes. “Baby. Can I kiss you?”

“Please,” Steve gasps, and Eddie does.

He leans in slowly, enough time for Steve to close his eyes and part his lips the barest amount, not out of any desire to tease, but just because he’s feeling so much he can’t contain it all, and it has to come out in gasps and breaths and small, shaky moans, when Eddie licks into his mouth, pulls his tongue into a tango, back and forth and in and out until Steve’s positively dizzy with it.

He pulls back just to tilt his head the other way and dive in with just as much fervor, sucking Steve’s bottom lip into his mouth, nipping at it until it’s swollen and tender and Steve feels like he could float away.

Steve breaks the kiss first, dizzy and panting and overwhelmed, leaning forward and pulling Eddie into a hug. “I’m so glad,” he murmurs. “I didn’t think…”

“Of course I would,” Eddie mutters back, holding Steve tight. “Of course I would, baby. Didn’t have a chance, really, was just gone on you from the moment I saw you.”

Steve pulls back, tugs Eddie down until they’re both laying down, halfway on the bed, noses nearly brushing. “And you want me to… to help?”

Eddie grins big enough his eyes are slits. “I’m gonna be honest here, sweetheart, I definitely imagined help would come after.”

Steve giggles back, leans in to steal a peck of a kiss. “I can do that,” he agrees, standing up and pulling Eddie to the bathroom.

They’re both laughing like little kids as they go, and a part of Steve wonders if that’s what falling in love is: growing young again.

[lolana101]

𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

⤷ JINX/POWDER & EKKO: BUMPING AND GRINDING

⤷ feat. jinx/powder & ekko (arcane league of legends)

⤷ cw: kissing, fluff, light smut, drabble, short and sweet

your sitting beside ekko, four eyes constantly looking over the dance floor for one person. powder. your legs are crossed, humming the tune of the french artist playing, as you look for your best friend, ekkos girlfriend.

you gaze at him smiling, and ekko just has this heartwarming smile on his face when he looks at you. his eyes soon snap at to a familiar soft distant patter of powders boots - her favorite. he practically jumps up, and you do too. quickly walking over to her bright eyes and shining eye eyeshadow.

powder giggles, her eyes falling into a deep stare with yours, before doing a little twirl and landing on ekkos. her pretty white dress floating with every spin. you three move closer, eyes shining, gazes on her as you all dance around each other.

everyone is giggling, ekko grabs you and powders hand, twirling you both as he pulls you in. his smile is so wide, as he stars down at you both, adoration filled in his eyes. gazing at powders you notice her eyes set on his lips.

everything seemed to move in slow motion, as powered twirled, ekko hugging and rocking his body against the two of you with the sway and tempo of the beat. powder pulled you close, you two being roughly the same height, as she stared into your eyes. hugging your waist and spinning you around, ekko joining behind power.

“some night huh?”

powder speaks softly, leaning against ekkos shoulder, you resting with your head laid comfortably on her lap. this is probably a little dangerous, considering you three are right on the edge. but this has always been you threes spot.

powder is smoothing your hair against cheek, achingly slow. you look up at powder as she looked down at you, smiling softly. she was your “best friend” after all.

“where did you two learn those moves, huh?”

ekko let’s out a soft chuckle, smiling at powder’s question before his brown orbs drop to meet yours.

“just following your friends moves. she sure knows how to work it.”

you smile at ekko, sitting up from powders lap and letting out a soft huff, gazing down at the bustling city below.

“you two are such lovebirds.”

“i mean we are dating.”

ekko seems surprised by this revelation, you don’t know why since they have been together for years probably. he has been acting weird.. different.

he’s leaning on powders shoulder, kissing her neck softly. he seems hesitant. your hand is crossed over hers, squeezing softly. she smiles, giggling sweetly at the tickle of ekkos lips on her neck.

you and ekko are now weighing your heads on her shoulders, gazing mindlessly of down onto the world. she’s just that lovable.

“i wish this could last forever.”

ekko murmurs, he knows he doesn’t have long in this timeline. he still has to save his powder.

a/n this was supposed to be smutty but i wanted to make it fluff lol, i can make a smut of these three just lmk!!

haven’t posted in a while due to school but heyy!! requests are open to any fandom, not just arcane!!

past fic here.

tags : @b3autyist3rror @kylorey25

[hookedonhuge]

Drink Your Milk (Part 2)

(Part 1)

Two weeks later.

“I’m home!” Your housemate Riley beams with his signature smile that is accentuated by his thick beard. He bounces his enormous, hairy pecs a few times for you as he enters. “That was quite a workout!” Riley says, glistening with sweat from carrying twenty bottles of milk between the reinforced bags in each of his hands. “Here I am sweating like a hog, and I can only just carry half the amount you do.” 

Riley, thanks to you, has quickly become nothing short of the epitome of masculinity. Raw muscle explodes out of every part of his body. He has the manliest beard and hairiest chest most people will ever see in their lives. Not to mention his unforgettable and potent musk that reeks of testosterone. He looks like how you did just one week ago. You are like his twin, just bigger, hairier and stinkier.

Riley trudges through the swamp of empty bottles, which are almost up to his knees. To think you two cleaned out the apartment only two days ago. Once he reaches you he gives you a passionate kiss on the lips. “You looked so hot in that commercial yesterday.” Riley whispers in your ear. “I can’t believe they made you shave your beard though.” Luckily for you, your hair grows so fast that you already have a thick stubble. “Also, I know it must have been hard having that milk poured down onto your chest. I know how much you hate wasting milk.”

“It was tough wasting that milk, I just wish you were there so you could have licked it off me. The good thing is I managed to negotiate and get us a lifetime supply of milk because of it. They don’t know the mistake they’ve made.” You smirk as you play with Riley’s sensitive nipples. “By the way, I got you a gig with them next week for another ad.” You twist his nipples a bit harder so that Riley’s excited reaction becomes a moan. “At this rate we will be able to ditch this apartment and buy our own place. Somewhere that can fit us better”

“I won’t miss having to take the elevator separately from you,” Riley smiles, temporarily daydreaming about a long future with you. “And we better hurry up as the building manager is already not happy that you take the elevator even by yourself.” 

“It’s discrimination. I can’t help that I’m a growing boy.”

“Safety is what he told me,” Riley teases. “Anyway, I’ve never known you to wait this long to drink some milk. So let’s get into it. I think I’m ready for us to do ten each.”

“All at once? I’m confident I can do it but are you sure about yourself?” Riley nods. “Well we need you to catch up to my size so it sounds like a plan.”

GUUUUULP! GUUUUULP! Nowadays, you manage to down a whole gallon in just two big gulps. Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp. You find it cute that Riley tries to match your pace, but it just makes him gulp even more. You consider slowing down to Riley’s pace but you also know how much he loves it when you smash through gallons in just seconds. 

As Riley finishes his second bottle you finish your fifth. You both take a break, both of you panting in unison. Your belly now extends out in front of your massive pecs and it is extremely tight. “You are doing so well,” you say to Riley, patting his bloated belly.

Both of you resume. You have to slow down your pace now. The most you have done in one sitting is actually nine, and you are getting close. As you finish your ninth both with difficulty, Riley also matches his personal best as he finishes up with his sixth.

“You are catching up,” you say between heavy pants. Riley wants to respond but is too breathless. “I am so proud of you for getting this far, I know you can keep going.” 

You both explore uncharted territory together. You go slowly and match Riley’s pace. Each gulp makes you feel like you are about to burst. It hurts, but stretching yourself out just that little more turns you on so much. You know that Riley is experiencing the exact same thing. You finish together, as you stare deeply into each other’s eyes.

The pressure in your stomach is unbearable. You want to burp so bad but you have to save it for once Riley is done. Riley looks defeated but you know that he can push through. “I’ll help you out Riley,” you say soothingly, rubbing his gigantic belly. God, he is so hot like this. Blown up like a balloon, milk sloshing around his big belly and massive pecs. He already looks unrecognisable from ten minutes ago, just imagine the muscle he’ll have once he has let out all the gas.

You take Riley’s eighth gallon and pour it into his mouth for him as you stare deeply into his eyes. “Just imagine how gassy we will be after this.” Seven and a quarter. “We will gas out this entire apartment building. “Seven and a half. “And after this session we will keep going for more.” Seven and three quarters. “We will be doing eleven, twelve each.” Eight done. “Twenty before we even know it.” Eight and a quarter. “Imagine how big we will be then.” Eight and a half. “Our muscles will be twice the size.” Eight and three quarters. “We will be able to lift trucks.” Nine done. “And imagine how hairy and smelly we will be.” Nine and a quarter. “Burps that the whole city will smell.” Nine and a half. “We will never stop growing together.” Nine and a quarter. “We will grow until we are as wide as we are tall. Then we will keep growing past that. We will both finish gallons in one glug. We will drink hundreds in one sitting, what will stop us? To get there you just need to finish off this one. You have smashed your record already and you are about to match mine. I know you can do it” Ten done.

He is a beast just like you. That’s why you love him. You make Riley stand up with you so that you can assess just how huge he is. Just like you his gut has over tripled in size and his pecs have ballooned out as well. “Was someone a little thirsty? You poke his belly teasingly. “You know one gallon of milk a day is a lot for an ordinary person. Let alone ten one after the other. Didn’t you already have five gallons this morning?”

“You had four gallons before I even woke up,” Riley teases back as he grabs your belly with both hands and shakes it. “Then another eight after that. I’m not nearly as gluttonous as you are, but don’t worry I will be soon.” Riley saying that makes you rock hard.

You are really feeling the cramps now and can only imagine that Riley is feeling worse, so it’s time to let it rip. Before you do Riley leans in, able to catch his breath enough to speak. “By the way, all those dreams you spoke about before. It’s unrealistic. We’ll drink more than just hundreds, and we’ll be bigger than is humanly possible and then we will grow bigger than that.” You somehow get even harder. You don’t have anything left to say. Well there is one thing that you want to say, and you just have to say it with Riley…

BRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH-UUUUUUUURRRRRRRR-OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRP!!!

[stevesgother]

i'll be your mirror - S.H

Pairing - Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

WC - 1.3k

Warnings - depictions of depression/anxiety, depressive episode, self neglect, cursing, mental health themes, non-sexual nudity

Contains - soft boyfriend steve helping you take care of yourself during a depressive episode

AN - man i am just pumpin fics out rn huh? i am NOT having a depressive episode rn, but if u are, ily. take care ~ emma <3

The previously soft flannel of your pillowcase was now stiff with mascara stained tears. A look outside your tiny window informs you that it’s started to snow, and suddenly you can’t remember the last time you left your room, let alone your apartment.

What’s supposedly meant to be the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ for everyone else, for you just feels like drowning in a thick, inky sea. The absence of twinkling, multicolored lights on your walls leaves the room bathed in an intimidating darkness, and you just can’t seem to bring yourself to leave the confines of your bed– it traps and keeps you there, not unlike sticky quicksand in a desert.

The landline that hangs on the wall just right of the kitchen has been ringing for at least a day and a half, whoever it is--consistent. There’s logically only one person it could be. There's only one person who still bothers with you when you’re like this.

You hear the jingling of a spare key being shoved through its matching lock, and the distinct rush of a draft being let in through an open door. There's no effort made to get up– to save face and pretend like you haven’t been rotting in your bed for days– you can’t bring yourself to feel anything other than apathy.

Heavy, booted footfall and the gentle sound of your name being called float through your thin apartment walls as your boyfriend makes his way towards the room you’ve been holed up in.

“Thought I might find you here,” he says as he clicks the door shut behind him, “brought you some soup,” he waves the tupperware container at you in an attempt to make it look enticing, but the sight just makes bile rise in your throat.

“I’m not hungry,” you mumble into the sheets.

“You have to eat, baby,”

This is why you hadn’t been answering his calls. He too sweet for his own good, and you don't feel you deserve him, or his unconditional love for you-- so you just say, “I already ate,”

“You haven’t left this room in days,” he sets the plastic dish on your dresser next to the decaying vase of flowers his mom brought you on Thanksgiving, toes off his shoes and makes his way towards your bed. You feel the mattress dip under his weight, but your head is still buried in your pillow– a poor attempt at disguising how awful you look.

He rubs your back in slow, comforting circles. Steve’s only ever seen you like this a handful of times, and each time, it breaks his heart just a little bit more than the last. He wishes fiercely that there was something more he could do for you– that if he wasn’t able to take the pain from you altogether, then at least maybe he could be miserable with you– but instead, he brings you your favorite comfort foods, and waits with you for the storm to pass.

“I’ve been calling you for a few days,” he says, not unkindly, as he runs his fingers soothingly through your knotted hair, “was worried about you, you know?”

“I know,” you whisper, beginning to feel the sting of guilty tears, “I just didn’t want you to have to take care of me,”

“I want to take care of you,” he says matter-of-factly, “I love you, and I care about how your wellbeing,”

You reply with only a barely noticeable nod.

“How about we take a shower? Or a bath?” he offers, “I could wash your hair for you,”

“I just want to lay here,” you sniffle.

“I know, honey, but you’ll feel better,” he moves to kneel on the floor by your bed, and pushes the hair away from your face that's been plastered there by sticky tears, “I promise. And I’ll be with you the whole time, alright?”

“Okay,” you whisper and he helps you sit up slowly; dizzy from how long you’ve been horizontal. He seals the deal with a gentle kiss pressed to the center of your forehead

–

In the bathroom, he sits you on the closed lid of the toilet and turns the shower faucet on and all the way to the left. While you wait for him to grab you both towels, you reluctantly stand and dare a glimpse at yourself in the mirror. Your hair is matted in places, the bags under your eyes are nearly blue and you've been in the same pajamas for three days too long. You hate how disheveled you look, and you don’t understand how Steve can stand to see you in such a state and still want to be with you. It’s all too much, and you begin to quietly weep.

“Okay, I threw the towels in the–hey,” his tone colored in concern as he reemerges from the hallway and sees you sobbing at your own reflection, “Baby–what’s wrong? C’mon, talk to me,” he says as he tries to sidestep in front of you and block your view of the mirror.

“I just–hate–I don’t–” you struggle to speak through gasps, feeling as though you’re trying to inhale through a straw.

“You have to breathe, sweetheart,” he tells you, this time a little more firmly, “Can you breathe with me?”

He counts for you both as you take synced, exaggerated breaths in increments of three seconds. In three, hold three, out three.

Once your breaths come more evenly, he tries again, “Now tell me what’s got you so upset, huh?”

“I just don’t want you to see me like this,” you tell him between hiccups, your cheeks blotchy and red from your sudden rush of tears.

“See you like what?” He looks genuinely lost, like he can’t comprehend what you could possibly be referring to.

You glimpse down at yourself, “I just look so–”

“--Beautiful?” He interrupts before you get the chance to insult yourself, “Strong? Brave? The most lovely person I’ve ever known? What??” He rambles, exasperatedly trying to understand how you don’t see yourself the way that he does.

You glance sideways back at the mirror, though your view is obscured by Steve’s shoulder now.

“Stop.” You’re startled by the stern clip of his voice, “Stop looking over there, and look at me,” he commands, gentler this time. His calloused hand cups your cheek and he thumbs away the tears that still threaten to spill, “You’re so wonderful, love. And I know you don’t see what I see, so I’m gonna see enough for the both of us, okay?”

“Okay,” you murmur into the cotton shoulder of his t-shirt, one you’re quickly soaking with tears.

“Good, now let’s get you out of these clothes, yeah?” He lifts your arms over your head slowly, just enough to get you out of your soiled shirt.

–

After he washes your hair, and holds you firmly against his chest under the hot spray of water from the showerhead, he coaxes you into the living room to watch a movie with him on the couch.

The Breakfast Club plays quietly on your small, boxy television while you sit cross-legged on the floor in front of Steve. In a fresh pair of pajamas, the twisted and unkind corners of your subconscious feel less daunting. It doesn’t heal you, not really, but it’s a step in the right direction.

You sip on the soup Steve brought you from home–Minestrone, your favorite– as he runs a wide toothed comb through your damp hair.

“Want me to braid it, baby?” He asks.

“If you don’t mind?” You look back at him over your shoulder. He’s so pretty in the glow of the TV– looking down at you like you put the stars in the sky.

“Of course I don’t mind,” he chuckles, “You say the silliest things sometimes,”

And for the first time in days, a smile graces your features.

divider credit to @/enchantingthings-a

[rose24207]

Lando dating a princess for a while and they love each other alot and when it's brought to Landos attention by a friend like an off hand comment about how if he married into the family he might not be able to be an f1 driver, he panics. Because he loves f1 and loves his princess girlfriend as well. And when he brings it up to her reader says she can talk to her dad, but a few days later lando is still panicking and he says hurtful things about how he can't give up his biggest dream for her. So the reader breaks up with him and tells him he doesn't have to worry about it anymore. And Lando feels awful and to make it worse he gets a letter from her actual father saying how if they did ever marry that he can continue his career and that he's happy his daughter is happy with him and that he makes her happy. And it makes Lando resize the huge mistake he made and goes and wins his girl back. 💕

Racing hearts

Summary: Lando panics over the fear of losing his F1 career if he marries his princess girlfriend, says hurtful things, loses her, and later learns from her father that his fears were unfounded, prompting him to win her back and reconcile.

Genre: angst, fluff

TW: breakup, doubts

A/N: it’s been a while!! Okay so I have like so many requests ready to post and I thinking do it through the week because I have my German exam tmr 🫡 wish me luck!!

English is not my first language. I hope you enjoy it though! Requests are open and welcome!

Masterlist

Lando had never imagined his life could look like this. Fast cars, roaring crowds, and champagne-soaked podiums had always been the dream. But now, amidst the whirlwind of his racing career, he had something he’d never expected: love.

And not just any love—he was dating a princess.

You were nothing like he thought royalty would be. Grounded, kind, and utterly devoted to making the world a better place, you brought balance to Lando’s life in a way he hadn’t known he needed. You also fit seamlessly into his chaotic world of Formula 1. At races, you stood quietly in the background, proud and supportive. You didn’t mind the hours he spent on the simulator or the late nights studying data. You understood his passion because you had your own—a commitment to your people and your duties.

For a while, everything felt perfect.

It was during a casual dinner with some friends—Max Fewtrell among them—that things started to unravel. The group was laughing, trading jokes and stories, when someone tossed out a comment.

“Lando, you know if you marry her, you might have to quit F1, right? I mean, can you really imagine a prince flying around the world chasing lap times?”

The table erupted in laughter, but Lando froze. The thought hadn’t occurred to him.

“You’re joking, right?” he said, forcing a laugh.

“Maybe,” Max replied with a shrug. “But royal life has its rules, mate. They probably wouldn’t want you risking your neck in a car every weekend.”

Lando’s stomach twisted uncomfortably.

That night, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Would he really have to give up racing? Could he? Racing wasn’t just his career—it was his identity, his purpose. But then there was you, the woman he loved more than he thought possible. The idea of losing you was just as unbearable.

By the time he brought it up to you a few days later, the doubt had consumed him.

“Hey, love,” he said one evening, his voice hesitant. You looked up from the book you were reading, immediately noticing his unease.

“What’s wrong?”

“I, uh…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Someone said something the other day, and I can’t stop thinking about it. If we, you know, got serious… married… would I have to stop racing?”

Your expression softened. “Oh, Lando,” you said gently. “We can talk to my father about it. I’m sure we can figure something out.”

But even your reassurance didn’t settle him.

Over the next few days, Lando spiraled. The idea of choosing between the two things he loved most—racing and you—consumed him. And when he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer, the conversation turned sour.

“I can’t do this,” he blurted one evening as you stood in the kitchen.

You blinked, startled. “Do what?”

“This… us,” he said, his voice shaking. “If being with you means giving up racing, I can’t do it. I can’t give up my dream for you.”

His words felt like a slap.

“I never asked you to,” you replied quietly, your voice trembling.

“But what if it comes to that? What if I have to choose? I don’t know if I can.”

You stared at him for a long moment, tears welling in your eyes. “Then I’ll make it easy for you,” you said, your voice breaking. “You don’t have to choose, Lando. It’s over.”

And with that, you walked away, leaving him standing there, hollow and stunned.

Days passed, but Lando felt no relief—only regret. He missed you with an ache he couldn’t ignore. Then, one morning, a letter arrived. The royal seal on the envelope made his heart race.

It was from your father.

Dear Lando,

I wanted to thank you for bringing so much happiness into my daughter’s life. She speaks of you with such pride and love.

I’ve heard there may be some concerns about how your career would fit into our family. Let me reassure you: should the two of you decide to marry, you would have our full support to continue racing. Your dedication and passion are qualities we admire deeply, and we would never want to stand in the way of your dreams.

Sincerely,

[Your Father’s Name]

Lando stared at the letter, guilt crashing over him. He had let fear drive him to hurt you, and he had been wrong—so wrong.

Lando didn’t waste another moment. He booked the next flight to your country, rehearsing what he would say a thousand times in his head. When he finally arrived at the palace, he was a nervous wreck, but determination pushed him forward.

You weren’t expecting him when he showed up at your door, looking disheveled and desperate.

“Lando,” you said, startled. “What are you doing here?”

“I messed up,” he said, his voice cracking. “I was scared and stupid, and I hurt you. I should have trusted you, trusted us. You mean everything to me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to fix this.”

Tears filled your eyes, but this time, they weren’t from pain.

“I got a letter from your dad,” he continued, pulling it out of his pocket. “He said I could keep racing. I didn’t have to choose. But even if I did… I should have chosen you. I’m so sorry.”

For a moment, you just stared at him. Then, slowly, a small smile broke through your tears.

“Do you mean it?” you whispered.

“With everything I am,” he said.

And when you pulled him into a tight embrace, he knew he had finally crossed the finish line of the most important race of his life.

Months later, Lando stood on the podium, another trophy in hand. But as he looked out into the crowd, his eyes found you—his princess, the love of his life—cheering louder than anyone.

He had his dream, his career, and his girl. And for the first time, everything felt truly perfect.

Thank you for reading!

[imhappierthanever]

Billie’s Birthday

-You had been waiting all year for this one day. Billie’s 23rd Birthday. You couldn’t wait to spend it with her.

-You crawled on top of your girlfriend, straddling her, kissing down her body, and back up again until you felt her begin to move, wrapping her arms around you.

-“Are we starting early today, my love?” Billie asks with her eyes still closed, the cutest smile on her face that makes you want to skip everything you have planned for her.

-“Someone I love very much has a birthday today. Do you think she’s ready to celebrate?”

-“Only if it means we get to stay in bed all day like this.” She said letting her lips glide along yours.

-“Maybe later my darling. But for now, let’s celebrate your special day. Happy Birthday, Billie! I love you so much, and I want to make this the best birthday you’ve ever had.” You say sweetly.

-You traced her jawline with your fingers, letting her eyes bore into yours.

-“Thank you, baby. I love you more. You didn’t have to do anything for me, all I needed was you.”

-You couldn’t help but smile at her cuteness. You told her you had a whole day planned for just the two of you.

-You knew she loved when she went to Hawaii with Drew and you decided to recreate that trip, only make it your own with more memories you both wouldn’t forget.

-Once you finally managed to pull apart, you made your way to the bathroom, reattaching yourselves to each other in the shower. Never separating for too long.

-It was all about Billie today. All about her happiness and pleasure. Her every wish was your command.

-After the longest shower to date you both stepped out, getting dressed and getting ready for the rest of the day.

-You both headed to the beach hand in hand, picnic basket in your other hand full of breakfast for the two of you.

-You fed her bite by bite, kissing her every now and then. You couldn’t help being sickeningly cute and sweet with your girlfriend.

-You impressed her by making her vegan noodle soup almost as well as she did. All though Billie said it was exact, you knew in your heart hers would always be the best.”

-You finished everything in your basket, cuddling almost directly after, never forgetting Billie’s love language.

-You went for a long walk on the beach hand in hand before stopping her, making her face you.

-You pulled something out of your pocket and handed it to her. She smiled instantly taking it, her gear fingers pulling it open.

-You were certainly no song writer, but you wanted to try for Billie. You watched her smile as she read the lyrics, letting her eyes lock on yours every now and then, giving your hand a squeeze.

-“Aw babe. This is so sweet. I can’t believe you feel this way about me. I don’t deserve you.” She said

-“It’s me who doesn’t deserve you, Billie. You’re everything and more to me. And I wish I could tell you how much you meant to me.” You said placing her hand on your heart.

-“Lyrics could never capture how I feel. But I hope you know, you’re my everything. And I want you forever. “

-You untangled your fingers, reaching back in your pocket to pull out a ring. You knew Billie loved them, and you hadn’t ever added to her collection. And this one you hoped would be so special.

-You slid the cold metal on her hand watching her face light up.

-“It says together forever with both our initials on it. I know it’s not the ring to make it official, but the next one will be.”

-You grabbed her face sweetly, pulling you close to her. Letting your lips graze hers softly whispering into them.

-“Happy Birthday, Billie. I love you! Thank you for being mine.”

-Your lips finally began to move along with hers as she held on to your face too, kissing your lips, kissing your temple, your cheek, any part of you she could get to before kissing her ring, telling you how much she loved it.

-“There’s no one else in the world I would rather belong to than you, baby. I love you too!”

-“Good. You better!” You joked, before pulling out your phone to capture this perfect moment between you.

-“Let’s get going now, yeah? You have so many birthday surprises waiting for you.” You said excitedly, letting go of her hand to run ahead, waiting for her to catch up with you.

-It was only a matter of time before you would completely belong to each other. As you watched her run to you, catching you on her arms before kissing you again, you knew she was your forever.

a/n: this isn’t how I wanted this to turn out…at all. But December has been brutal. I’ve also spent too much time being lost in Billie world & being sad about suddenly not seeing her Saturday. BUT I hope you guys like it! Also don’t know why I’ve written it this way? Anyways. Happy Billie’s Birthday my darlings 🎂 🍰🧁

[impactrueno]

IS your comic a Beetlebabes art? Cause I love them so so much and I want to see it through your eyes(I think they’re adorable but we all have prefs)

thank you! it's actually not beetlebabes, but i won't stop people from seeing it that way, or the opposite, or familial, or whatever they want them to be.

i actually don't want to say much about how i see it because i don't want to influence how you guys see it, but i'm writing them platonic (this is my preference) with enough ambiguity so readers can relate and connect with it however they wish. it can be whatever the reader wants. it's a very personal comic for me, so i think the way i personally see it can get a bit too personal. judging by the comments i've been getting, it's been the same for a lot of people. people bring up their own similar experiences with all kinds of relationships and how reading their conversation has been healing for them in some way. that alone makes all the effort and opening myself up worth it haha

long story short, they're best friends, as established in the show. but there IS a bit of a shift in dynamics, since they spent decades without seeing each other, so things aren't as simple as they used to be. lydia returned with years of life experience and wisdom. she also had a lot of time to think about BJ's place in her life. BJ himself is trying to adapt to this change, but it's kind of a LOT. last he saw her she was 17, now she's a mother pushing 50, and he's still the same as ever, frozen in time. how do you even react to that if you were in his shoes?? this isn't a real life scenario one can base off of someone's experience, so you just gotta sit inside his head for a bit to figure out how something like this would affect someone. after doing that i realized that there's many different ways that could go down.

and that's where the reader can begin to theorize and come up with whatever they want.

[messedupfan]

Chapter 24

Summary: Billy and Tommy are celebrating their 12th birthday.

A/n: Hellooooooo! I'm so sorry this has taken so long to post. It's been a ROUGH few months. But through it, I've been able to write a bit when I can. I've also fallen behind on a few episodes of Everything Is Fanfiction. I'm working on getting them out soon, just beware, they were meant to be posted in October/November. But November was so disappointing I needed a BREAK. Haha. Anyway, hope y'all are well. Enjoy!

Masterlist | All Stories Taglist  | All Chapters

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“The kids told me that Y/n is going to be at their birthday party,” Vision says as he leans against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. His facial features are contorted into what he assumes is a threatening expression. Once upon a time, his expression did cause Wanda’s stomach to twist in knots and her body to tense up so tightly it was as if she'd turned to stone. But now, all she sees is a man child. Just a boy throwing another fit because he can't have what he wants. She is no longer afraid of his glare and she has to refrain from grinning at the realization. 

Wanda is picking up her boys since it's her week with them. She got caught in this conversation because she was left waiting for Tommy and Billy to say their goodbyes to their younger siblings. They love Vin and Viv wholeheartedly and they feel guilty every time they leave. Even more so because of the relief and safety they feel when they are with their mom. Something they don't know if their siblings will ever feel since Vin and Viv live full time with their father.  

“Y/n will be there with Rachel, their daughter. A lot of parents will be there with their children,” Wanda says with a small shrug. She's trying her best to hide her annoyance over the fact that Vision continues to have this insecurity towards you. As if you're going to replace him in his role as a parent. Of course part of Wanda wishes it could be as simple as that. But she won't ever admit that in order to protect her kids.

“Well I won't be there if they slash them is going to be there,” he states firmly. “I'm the boy's father, so I have to be there.” 

Once again, Wanda has to refrain from laughing. “Vis, you're not even invited. We agreed to do separate birthday celebrations when we got divorced,” she pauses as a fact pops in her mind. “Actually, it's written in our custody agreement. I just haven't held you responsible until now because I was trying to keep you from disappointing the boys at least on their birthday. So, you better think of something for your Saturday with them because I'm not letting you piggyback off of me anymore.” 

Vision opens his mouth to say something but Tommy and Billy are dashing by as they race each other to the car to try and beat the other out for the front seat. Now that they're getting older, they're getting taller. Wanda can't keep them from fighting over the front seat the way she used to. She doesn't give Vision another second as she follows the boys, who are shoving each other, to the car. Billy is claiming that Tommy cheated and Tommy claiming that Billy is just too slow. 

“Boys! No one gets the front seat!” Wanda shouts as she pulls them apart. “Both of you, get to the back!” She demands and they both scoff and sigh as they crawl into the backseat. As Wanda starts the car the boys start to argue over who gets to be in charge of the music. 

“Mom, tell Tommy it's my turn! He played his music last time!” Billy shouts from the backseat. 

“No, that was at dad's house that doesn't count!” Tommy defends. 

“It does too!” Billy fires back. “I'm tired of your music! It sucks!”

“No it doesn't! My music is cool! Your music is for fags!” Tommy says the word a little too harshly. Wanda is shocked to hear Tommy say such a thing but knowing her ex-husband, it was only a matter of time. 

Wanda looks back through the rear view mirror to see that they're still fighting each other. “Hey!” She demands their attention. “Because of that, no one gets to play their music. I'm very disappointed to hear you say such a thing like that Tommy. We do not use that kind of hateful language,” she states strongly to get them to stop fighting and hopefully to get Tommy to never say that word again. 

Many Years Ago 

“Ugh he's so gross,” Crystalia says as she watches Professor Stark pass by while he's in mid conversation with another faculty member. 

Wanda is taking a bite of her food as she hides a nervous chuckle. “What are you talking about?” 

“I'm talking about the rumors going around about him sleeping with students,” she says as she leans in close and speaks in a low tone. Wanda nearly chokes on her food. 

“What? What are you talking about?” She wipes the corners of her lips as she feels Vision’s eyes on her. She subtly shakes her head in hopes that he'll stop looking her way. He looks ahead of him as he continues to walk and talk with his colleague.

“You haven't heard?” Crystalia says as though it's something that everyone on campus is talking about. Wanda shakes her head. “Oh my goodness! Okay. So. Apparently his TA saw a student go into the professor's office and a few minutes later he heard a bunch of moans from both of them. He isn't sure if he should turn him in because he really needs the scholarship that the professor helped him get. But he’s worried about the students' safety. I mean how gross. Professor Stark is in a position of power. I feel bad for whoever the poor girl is.” 

Crystalia’s words begin to fade away as Wanda couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was certain they were super careful about what they were doing. She knew she shouldn't have met him in his office. It was a bad idea from the beginning. She cannot believe she let him talk her into it. But he really wanted to try being intimate in his office because the idea was thrilling. She couldn't deny that it was thrilling, she had never been so terrified and turned on at the same time at the idea of being caught. But knowing that his teaching assistant did catch them has her stomach doing somersaults. She has to push her plate of sushi away from her because she's too nauseous to eat anymore. 

“Are you okay?” Crystalia asks with concern. 

Wanda nods, “Yeah, yeah, I'm just, I'm not sure that the sushi is good is all.” She puts on a fake smile as her mind continues to race with what could happen to her if the teaching assistant were to turn them in. What it could do to her reputation of being known as a girl who screws the professors. It wouldn't matter that he's the only professor that she's been with or that she wasn't his student anymore and hasn't been for a year. It won't matter that they've been in a relationship that was beyond the physical. She would be ruined if anyone found out the student was her.

She knows she should have never started seeing him in the first place. She knew it was against the rules. But she couldn't help herself. It started off as fun and now it's too late to stop. She's so in love with him that she can't imagine life without him. 

Present Day 

A couple of days later, Wanda is sitting on her back porch and watching you lift the finished furniture that you'd made. Taking it from the backyard all the way to the driveway. She licks her lips as her eyes follow your every move, noticing the way your muscles flex as you hoist the chair up. She was starving for your touch again. With the kids' starting middle school and both of you having work piling up, neither of you have been able to find time to spend together. Not since the night the two of you slept together. 

Neither of you really got to enjoy the moments after because shortly after the two of you finished she received a phone call from a nearby hospital. Her mother had fallen and broken her wrist. Wanda rushed to her mother's aid as soon as she was dressed and you drove her to the hospital. Her mother played the injury off as if it was nothing but the doctor stated otherwise. So, Wanda had her mom move in with her for the time being so that she could look after her mother. 

You drove them back to Wanda's once the mother was released from the hospital. It was hard to deny anything going on between the two of you in the disheveled state you and Wanda were in. Not to mention how late into the night it was that the two of you were together. Her mom didn't ask any questions. She simply smiled and squeezed your arm. A silent approval in a sense. 

Then you and Wanda said goodnight to each other because she thought it would be best for you to go home. You agreed as you figured the focus needed to be on her mother's health and not Wanda and yours relationship status. Thankfully, her mom hasn't been pressing her for details of your relationship with Wanda but she has been making comments. “You look happier,” she'll say as she sips coffee. “There’s a glow about you,” she'll say as she walks by the home office. “I think you’re doing the right thing,” she whispered once while the four of them were watching a movie about a blended family. “If you want to have someone over or go out, feel free. Don't let me stop you,” she stated on a Friday night when Wanda didn't have the kids and added a wink when Wanda gave her mother a funny look. 

“Wow, Y/n made those all on their own?” Ms. Maximoff says as she sits next to her daughter while she sips her coffee. “They must have talented… hands.” 

Wanda's eyes widen as she sits up, “Mom!” She scolds softly. “Stop,” she turns around to make sure her boys aren't within ear shot. “Just, please, the kids can't know. Not yet okay? So please, stop with the comments.” 

Ms. Maximoff rolls her eyes and sets her mug on the table in front of them. “I was just paying your friend a compliment. You don't need to get flustered over nothing. I did not raise you to have a filthy mind.”

Wanda shakes her head, “Oh please mother, who are you trying to fool?” 

“Okay, I won't say anything anymore. I just,” she looks around and notices that you and the kids are nowhere to be seen. Noting that they're alone. Even so, she leans in close to her daughter and asks, “Is this a secret because it's far from being serious?” 

Wanda bites the inside of her cheek as she contemplates a simple answer. After a moment she starts to shake her head. “We're taking it slow. We're getting to know each other and figuring out if there is a future here. We're also protecting our kids.”

Her mother nods and places a hand atop her own. She gives her a light squeeze. “How do you feel about them?” she asks in a soft motherly tone that strikes a chord in Wanda. 

The woman grows emotional. Tears spring to the brim of her eyes and threaten to fall as a lump forms in her throat. She takes a shaky breath to calm down. “I'm in love and I'm scared that I'm going to mess it up. I'm scared that I'm not seeing something majorly wrong with Y/n and it'll ruin my life when it comes out. I'm so happy and secure yet I'm so terrified that my instincts are wrong.”

Ms. Maximoff nods and moves her hand further up on Wanda's arm. “Vision did quite a number on you, didn't he?” She asks and Wanda looks away. She often avoids talking about her former marriage to her mother because she doesn't want her mom to think that she failed as a mother. 

“Mom, please,” Wanda wipes her eyes and clears her throat. 

“Honey, I'm only,” Ms. Maximoff doesn't get to continue because you are opening the back door, startling both of the women. 

“Hey, I just wanted to warn you that I have to deliver the orders to the post office,” you say as you fail to notice the vulnerable state that Wanda is in. “Do you mind if Rachel stays behind, I'll only be a couple of,” your words fall as Wanda breathes through her stuffed nose, giving away her current state. You crouch near her to get a good look at her. You put one hand on her shoulder and your other gently takes her hand. “What's wrong, Wanda?”

Wanda shakes her head and clears her throat as she forces a smile. Her body responds to your touch, releasing the tension that was building from the conversation with her mother. “Nothing, nothing. It's only allergies,” she tries to lie and you tilt your head as you catch her eyes to make contact. When she finally surrenders and gazes into your eyes you have a nonverbal conversation hoping she will open up without having to verbalize her emotions. She tells you that she is fine and you nod as you accept her answer. You gently wipe a tear that has escaped before you stand up and let go of her.  

“I need to drop off the furniture at the post office. Rachel isn't ready to leave yet, do you mind if I leave her here for a bit? I'll bring dinner for everyone on my way back,” you ask as you look at her carefully. Still concerned about how she is feeling. 

Wanda takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, it's no big deal. I'm sure they're all distracted with a video game or something. I'll be here to keep them alive otherwise.” You laugh at her statement and thank her as you step away. 

“How's the wrist Ms. Maximoff?” You ask as you step closer to her. She smiles and tells you that she's never been better. You give her a half hug goodbye and tell the ladies that you'll see them in a bit. 

Ms. Maximoff looks at her daughter once you're gone and she smiles. “Honey, you have nothing to worry about.” Her confidence in her statement startles Wanda. Her mother had never been so approving of a partner that she's had. It felt different to have this kind of approval from her mom. At one point in her life, she could care less if her mom approved or not. But she didn't realize how much energy it took to be constantly defending her decisions. It overwhelms her once again. She fears how easy all of this is and she isn't certain that she can believe that this is real. 

Many Years Ago 

Wanda paces the bedroom nervously. She couldn't believe that she was in this situation again. She doesn't believe she'll be lucky a second time. What is she going to tell people? What is she going to tell her parents? 

“It's not that bad,” Vision says as he stops Wanda in her tracks. Her pacing was irritating him but he is doing his best to remain steady, for her. “This can be a good thing. You won't need to worry about graduating or what kind of job you need to get. I can take care of us. I can take care of our family.” He puts his hand on her belly. Wanda melts into his touch as her eyes focus on his hand. There could be a baby growing inside. A baby that will change her life. But she doesn't want to fall into the trope. She refuses to give up her dreams of her career just because she had gotten pregnant by a man with means to care for her. She won't be seen as a gold digger. She won't have people believing that she trapped him into marrying her. She looks up at him with tears in her eyes. She shakes her head. 

“No, I still want to work. I would never expect you to take care of our family on your own,” she says softly. Vision's features twitch slightly but he doesn't react too much. He nods and pulls her into a tight embrace. That was not his plan. He wanted a stay at home wife, not a career woman. But he had to be careful. He knew that he could convince her eventually. When she would inevitably get stressed, he knew he could point out that it's not healthy for the baby. He knew that when she couldn't keep up with the housework and the baby and work that he could tell her to quit her job. He just had to be patient. In the end, Vision always got what he wanted.

“Okay, just know that you have the option. You might feel different later on and that's okay,” he says as he strokes her hair. Doing his best to sound supportive. 

Wanda grows emotional as she clutches his shirt. “I'm scared, Vis. I don't think I'm ready,” she admits against his chest with a shaky tone.

Present Day 

That Friday you arrive at her house an hour before the party is supposed to start so that you can help her decorate and set up. She is grateful for the help but she acts a bit standoffish. Since her conversation with her mom about her relationship with you, she has been spiraling. She skipped her therapy session because she wanted to see if she could manage her emotions on her own but unfortunately that only left her to be shut off from the world. 

You could sense that something was off about her but you couldn't ask about it because part of you knew it was something that needed time and care and couldn't be solved in a brief conversation. So you did your best to be helpful and out of the way. 

As the party began and parents and their children began to arrive, you noticed Wanda begin to perk up. But something still felt off about her. You tried not to linger around her too much. You stay with Pietro for some time. Chatting about how exciting it is to be done with one building and starting construction on another. The conversation moves to him asking you questions about your small business and how that's going. 

Later on you're talking with Carol and Val about their wedding plans and you get excited about their ideas for their wedding and offer to build them an arbor as a gift. They try to shut you down and offer to pay but you convince them otherwise. Insisting that it's the only gift idea that you can actually pull off successfully. 

Wanda’s gaze wanders over to you every now and then. She watches you laugh and engage with her friends and family. She watches you play with the kids when they start running around you. She doesn't want to, but she can't help but compare you to her ex husband. How he would have only paid attention to who he deemed the prettiest woman at the event. Even or especially if she was married. How if the kids came up to him, he would brush them off and tell them to go play with other kids. And when he remarried, the only reason he would talk to people was to show off his new wife. 

Eventually you catch on to Wanda staring at you and you relax a little. You casually walk towards her and tip your head towards the stairs. Inviting her for a private conversation. She subtly nods and you make your way up the stairs without anyone noticing. 

For Wanda, it isn't as easy. She has friends come up to her. She has a kid that's never been to the house before asking where the bathroom is. She is pulled every which way until finally, her mom steps in to get her out of conversations and helping others. 

It takes her roughly thirty minutes to join you upstairs in her bedroom. She finds you sitting at the edge of her bed, patiently waiting. 

“Hey,” she says in a soft tone as she enters the room. Carefully shutting the door behind her so that it doesn't draw any attention. 

You perk up and sit up with a warm smile. “Hey you,” you greet her. “Are you doing okay?” You ask as she sits next to you with a deep sigh. She lays her head on your shoulder and you grow worried again. 

“It's hard to talk about with you because it's about us and you. But it's mostly about me. I don't want to hurt you or scare you,” she tries to explain her complicated feelings that she is struggling to voice. You nod and take her hand in yours to provide her some comfort as you listen to her. 

“Have you talked to your therapist about it?” You ask as you rub your thumb on the back of her hand. She nods her head. The fact that this is still bothering her tells you that this isn't something that can be solved in an hour session with her therapist. “What about with your mom?” You ask in order to understand her a bit better.

“I have, somewhat. She's very encouraging of you, by the way. I wouldn't be surprised if she has started a Pinterest board for our wedding.” She jokes as she starts to move her fingers. You huff out a breathy laugh at the idea. You tilt your head to lean against hers.

“Alright, well none of your friends know about us. So I believe that leaves me as your only option,” you keep your tone light, not wanting her to think you're making a joke of her dilemmas, but still trying to cheer her up a bit. “Look, I want you to be able to come to me about anything. No matter how uncomfortable it may be for the both of us. But I'm not going to pressure you into talking to me if you're not ready to do that yet. That's part of taking it slow. We're gaining each other's trust in order to have difficult conversations.” 

Wanda stops moving her fingers and wraps her hand around yours to give it a soft squeeze. “Thank you,” she says. You squeeze back and kiss the top of her head. 

“We should get back to the party,” you suggest. Wanda nods and rises. She looks down at you, finally looking at you for the first time since she walked in. She doesn't see any anger or frustration in your expression. She only sees love and concern. She couldn't express herself to her ex-husband without him appearing annoyed or upset in some way. 

Wanda surprises you with a soft chaste kiss on the lips. “I love you,” she whispers. 

You smile and kiss her again. “I love you,” you say before letting go of your hand. You step out of her room first and rush to get away from the area without anyone noticing. Then Wanda rejoins the party a couple of minutes later. 

Many Years Ago 

“Wanda, I thought you were mature enough to handle this!” Vision shouts at her. They were celebrating his birthday but with that, came his favorite foods that were triggers for Wanda’s morning sickness. She had to run out of the room as soon as he brought the food out. The retching sounds disgusted him. Vision could hardly stand it. 

Since Wanda was a great student and had enough credits to graduate early which she opted to do because she didn't want to have to answer too many questions about her pregnancy. It upset Vision because he expected her to simply drop out. He got scared and as though his plan was falling apart. Then she agreed to wait on getting a job until the baby could be put in daycare. It was a huge relief for him.

The two moved in together shortly after she completed her final class. Since she was no longer a student, she gave up her dorm room. It was a major adjustment for the couple. They were not very compatible as cohabitants. She wasn't as neat as he expected her to be. She was exhausted from the pregnancy and it was hard for her to pick up after the both of them. Vision got upset every time he had to clean his own messes that he expected her to clean up before he returned. But he thought he was able to keep his cool. 

Wanda is in tears as he snaps at her yet again. She doesn't understand what she is doing wrong. This pregnancy is hard on her. She's nauseous much longer in the day than the morning. She isn't able to keep fit the way Vision keeps asking her to be. Nothing feels comfortable to wear. She can't go anywhere anymore. 

“I'm sorry Vis,” Wanda says through her tears. “The boys are just-” 

“What did you say?” Vision’s tone shifts into one of shock. 

“I-I-I shoot! I ruined the… hold on,” Wanda walks away to grab one of the presents she bought to surprise him. It was a T-shirt with the ultrasound of the twin boys she was carrying. The shirt said “Boy Dad” along the top of the ultrasound image. She hands him the gift and as he opens it she explains, “At my last appointment I found out that we're having twins. And they're both boys.” She wipes her tears as she watches Vision for his reaction. 

“We're having two boys?” He gasps, stunned by the news. Then he looks at Wanda with a wide grin. “We're having boys!” He envelopes her in a big hug to hold her close and kisses her in celebration. 

Present Day 

“Mom!! Look!” Billy proudly holds one of his presents up as him and Tommy unwrap their presents. The party was over, everyone had gone home except for Pietro and his family. The boys were eager to open their presents as they arrived with the guests but thankfully the other kids distracted them until the party was over. 

“Wow! That's a nice present, who is it from?” Wanda asks as she writes down the name of the toy on a notepad. Billy rummages through the gift bag to find a card or tag. He finds a small gift card at the bottom of the bag and hands it to his mom so she can read it. She marks it down. 

“Uncle P! Thank you!” Tommy shouts as he pulls out a box with a picture of a drone on it. Wanda shakes her head and groans. 

“Why did you get him that? I told you not to,” Wanda sighs. 

“Because it's cool!” Pietro cheers. 

“It's so cool!” Tommy says with a grin.

Billy gets a saddened look on his face and Pietro notices. He pushes a box of similar size towards his nephew. “Don't think I forgot about you, pal,” he says and Billy lights up as he tears into the wrapping paper. Another drone is revealed as Billy and Pietro cheer. Wanda can't help but imagine all of the ways the boys will get in trouble with the drones. “Happy birthday boys,” Pietro says as his nephews pile on him to thank him with hugs. 

Once the mess from the presents is cleaned up and Pietro and his wife have left with their sleeping girls and the new toys are put away, Wanda is tucking her boys into their beds. 

“Mom?” Billy asks softly as Wanda smooths the blanket over her boy. 

“Yes, Billy,” Wanda asks in a soft tone. 

“I'm glad we didn't invite dad today,” he says as he looks down at his hands. “He can be mean sometimes. And he really doesn't like Y/n. We have to lie sometimes so he doesn't get mad that we saw Y/n.” 

Wanda takes a deep breath as she smooths Billy's hair down. “I'm sorry that you have to lie to your dad.” 

Billy shrugs, “It's okay. I like hanging out with Y/n. They're cool. They never get mad at me when I'm talking and they help me when I have problems. And sometimes when I don't understand some of my school work and they're here, I ask and they will show me so it makes sense.” His eyes get bright as he talks about you to his mom. It warms her heart to know that you're helping her boys with their school work. 

“Yeah, they are really good at making things make sense,” Tommy says from his bed. “Dad just says we should know this stuff and walks away. The only thing dad wants to teach us is sports. Which I like but he gets really mad at Billy.” 

Wanda looks between her boys, paying attention to the one that is speaking each time. As she hears about how her ex-husband treats their kids she shakes her head and mentally curses him out. He always claimed their kids would be smart because they were his kids. They are smart kids, but they both struggle with school work. It's not their fault, it can get confusing and sometimes they just need it to be explained in a different way in order for them to really grasp the subject. She knows this and so does Vision. But Vision is a lazy parent in this aspect. He believes that whatever explanation the teacher gave is all the boys need in order to get their homework and school work done. And because he teaches all day at the college, he refuses to come home and have to teach again. Which meant Wanda was left to do it on her own and is one of her biggest concerns when her boys go to his house because she's not there to help them with their homework. 

“Is that true?” Wanda looks down at Billy again. Her son nods with a frown and scratches his nose. 

“Yeah, I don't like sports. I like dancing and I even want to try out for the school play this year. But dad said no. I have to stick with sports,” he sighs, his expression of disappointment squeezing Wanda's heart. 

“Don't worry about him. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Okay?” She says as he combs her fingers through his hair. Billy smiles a little as he looks up at his mom. 

“You're the best mom ever. Did you know that?” Billy says sweetly. Wanda smiles down at her boy. Right now she feels like the worst mom for having chosen Vision to be their father. But she can't go back in time and change that because then she wouldn't have Billy and Tommy. She can't imagine life without them. 

“Alright boys, get some rest. I'm sure your father has something planned for your birthday tomorrow,” she says as she gives them each one last kiss on their foreheads. As she is about to leave the room, she stops at the light switch. “I love you both. Happy birthday,” she smiles and flips the switch and closes the door before heading to bed. 

Twelve Years Ago 

Wanda is lying in the hospital bed, sweaty and exhausted. She has one of her newborn sons in her arms, her second child is in the arms of his father. She has tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe it. She is a wife and mother. She has a loving husband who hasn't stopped staring at the baby in his arms since the moment he picked him up. 

“They're perfect,” Wanda whispers. 

“Of course they are. They came from us,” he says happily. His eyes never leave the baby in his arms. He can’t stop gazing at his boy. His first born son. “You are perfect Billy,” he whispers to the baby. He chose the name William after William Shakespeare because it's a well recognized name. One day he hopes that William Vison Stark is just as recognized because he plans to raise him to be one of the most brilliant, powerful and successful men in history. Before, second, or equivalent to his brother Tommy. He was named after Thomas Edison. A great inventor. He hopes that his son gets the Stark genetics in that regard. His family is known to be great inventors. One day his brother, Anthony, will be a thing of the past because his son Thomas Erik Stark will be known as the greatest innovator. He will make certain of it. 

Wanda is gazing down at her son Tommy, the baby is kicking slightly and she knows that he was the baby that kicked the most. “I can’t wait to know you,” she whispers. “I promise to protect your hopes and dreams. She smoothes down his tuft of hair and kisses his forehead. She is excited to tell her father her son’s middle name. Since she told him about her pregnancy, he would jokingly ask her that if the baby is a boy, she should name him after her father. Then she revealed that she was having two boys and he said “That’s perfect! One is named Erik, the other Magnus!” Wanda shakes her head at the memory. The remainder of her pregnancy, she spent fighting the men in her life on naming her kids after them. Then Vision came up with a compromise of having their middle names carry on his name and her fathers name. 

“We are going to raise great men,” Vision grins at his wife. 

Wanda giggles, “Let’s enjoy them as babies while we can.” 

“Okay,” he says and leans over to kiss her lips. “I can agree to that. I love you.” 

Wanda gives him a sleepy smile, “I love you too.”

Chapter 25

Taglist: @princessprudy @sayah13 @awkwardmandalorian @bentleywolf29 @thatshyboy1998 @artisannat @thisischaismagic @wqndanat @madamevirgo @likefirenrain @tearsofglitter @feltlikethat @natashasilverfox @karsonromanoff @aloneodi @lovelyy-moonlight @red1culous @jovialsublimecomputer @natasha-maximoff @iliketozoneout @doudouneverte @druggedduck @diealittlesometime @when-wolves-howl @lifespectator @justyourwritter69 @wandaromamoff69 @awesomelygayasf @nekoannie-chan @diaryoflife @wuwu96 @wandanats-goodgirl @sincerely-indi @blueredg52 @sisiofthemultifandom @fuzzyuniversityeclipsefriend @arcturusseer @scarlettwidow34 @chasethemoon @raven-ss @canyonyodeler @sokovianbaby @alexawynters @bittysworld @hopeless-romantic17177 @spongebobtentacles @the-ox-fan20 @shaniiwm @casualreadersstuff @neopolitan-torchwick @inarayofmoonlight

[rubyin-wonderland]

Sanji's Girl

opla!Sanji x fem!reader (technically Zoro x reader too I guess?)

Summary: Zoro wishes that he had Sanji's girl

WC: 4.5k

Warnings/tags: focused on Zoro and reader but reader is Sanji's gf, flirting with others while in a relationship, not talking about feelings, fem!reader, secret crushes thought to be unrequited, love triangle/corner, emotional constipation, wrote this while yearning for someone taken, so make of that what you will, inspired by the song Jesse's girl

Note: running low on inspiration and this one's been finished and sitting in my drafts for a while, so tada

It is well known that you and Sanji are a couple. The way he clings to you whenever you're in sight, the way he lights up as you enter the room, nearly everything he does just shows how deeply in love with you he is.

Zoro is well aware of this situation. After all, you are probably his closest friend on the boat, second only to your captain.

You were exactly what he needed in terms of companionship. You liked silence, but could keep up with banter if needed. You were a strong fighter and damn good at doing stitches. The only problem he had ever had with you was the way the chef spoke to you like he would die if he forgot to compliment you once every hour. That, and the fact that you reciprocated it.

He was not exactly surprised when you announced that you had accepted one of Sanji's many, many offers to be his girlfriend, but he was not too pleased with it either.

He had never shown any distaste about the situation towards you and he made no attempts to stop bashing Sanji when he came up in conversation between the two of you, but he hated everything about your relationship.

When you announced it that day, Sanji's arm smoothly wrapped around your waist, hugging you to him, he had to admit (to himself and only himself) that he felt a hint of jealousy.

Was his companionship not enough for you? Even worse, was he so inadequate that you had to pick the damn chef who so pathetically threw himself at you whenever  you so much as breathed in the same room as him?

You stayed friends, of course, but Zoro grew even more agitated with Sanji. You had expected this shift. He had never been overly fond of Sanji, and you being his girlfriend was never going to change that, but there was something else to his behaviour. Something beyond irritation at having Sanji being a slightly bigger part of his life.

"Why do you hate Sanji so much?"

The question came up one afternoon while the two of you were lounging around on the deck. You had wondered about it for a while, but never had the guts to bring it up.

"He just pisses me off. Always has." Zoro explained simply, although you noticed the way he tensed up when the chef's name was spoken. Before this, he would usually roll his eyes or scoff at the very mention of his least favourite crewmate. Now, he just seemed angry.

He was angry. Why did you have to ruin a perfectly good conversation with the mention of the cook?

"I know that. But why? What about him pisses you off?" Zoro looked like he wanted to be anywhere else at the moment, but he didn't back down.

"He's annoying. He hates me and I hate him. That's all there is." Zoro huffs and you tilt your head to the side. "Did he do something to you?"

Now Zoro takes the time to scoff. "No. I'd never let him." "So you just naturally hate each other?" He shrugs. "I guess. We couldn't all be winners." "At least you haven't thrown him off the boat." "Yet." Zoro adds.

"Well, thank you for not throwing him overboard. Yet." You say, looking out at the water. "If he breaks up with you I will." Zoro warns. "How considerate." "No problem."

He means it. If Sanji ended up breaking your heart, Zoro did not know what he would do. His relationship with Sanji was rocky enough, he did not need the added knowledge that he had hurt you to make it worse.

That day, when you go ashore to wander through the quaint little town, arm in arm with Sanji, Zoro feels a little hole in his chest. He has always disliked Sanji, but the cook has been more intolerable for the past while.

He cannot stop thinking about why you fell for him. Was it really the never ending compliments and gift giving? He never really took you for the type to like clingy, but apparently you did. He could admit that Sanji was attractive and that probably played a role in it, but there had to be something missing. Did you really like Sanji that much? Was he really that much of a catch?

It was almost a mercy to find out that the town was experiencing issues with a group of people hiding in the forest, occasionally burning down buildings in town and stealing their goods. Zoro nearly thanked the man who told them about it, just because it got his mind off you and your lovey-dovey boyfriend.

After almost immediately witnessing the burning of a young family's home, Luffy decided that justice needed to be served. And so, the crew went into the forest.

A local woman, who was related to a couple people in the forest, had joined you. She was nice enough, and pretty as well, which was what brought Zoro back to thinking about you and Sanji.

He saw the way you looked at Sanji upon her arrival. When he complimented your guide for her work and praised her for her knowledge of the woods, you detached from his side, claiming that the path was getting smaller and you would stay behind.

For the entirety of the walk, Sanji seemed enamoured with the girl. The way he behaved was far tamer than the way he had flirted prior to your relationship, but it was still embarrassing to watch him speak to the girl whilst you stayed a few paces behind, posture straight, pretending that nothing was wrong.

The worst part was the fact that Sanji hardly seemed to notice. He was too wrapped up in his business to see the twitch in your brow every time he leaned a little too close to her. Too busy to see you avert your eyes at the sound of another compliment leaving his mouth and sticking to the girl.

You eventually walked slow enough that Zoro, who brought up the rear of the group, caught up to you.

He said nothing, sure that anything he said would be far too rude to say about the man you were dating, but he had no reason to worry, because you did not start up a conversation. You just continued walking, until the group came upon a little camp site in the woods.

The group showed up at the camp, feeling a little aggressive given the situation. However, the people seemed completely unknowing about this forest arsonist, saying that all their goods were foraged and hunted, and that they had cut off all contact with the town.

There was no altercation. In fact, they were incredibly welcoming, which was likely thanks to your guide, who found her cousins quickly enough.

You stuck with Zoro, chatting with an older man who explained to you that they had separated from the town a few years back and had since been living in the forest, in order to reunite with nature. He made no mention of the fires or the stolen goods. The man hardly seemed mad at the townspeople, and the woman seemed to get along fine with her cousins, despite the fact that they supposedly were out destroying buildings in her town.

You stayed with the group until nightfall, when suggestions for dinner were made. Sanji offered to make the meal, as a show of goodwill, but you could not help but notice the offer was made to the group but directed at the guide.

The entire time Sanji spent talking to the people, the girl stayed nearly glued to his side, and he made no show of discomfort about it.

When you noticed Zoro on the outskirts of the forest, you joined him. Again, neither of you said anything, opting to just glare at Sanji, hovering over his handiwork.

The stew he made was good, as were all of his dishes, but you found that you were not particularly hungry at the moment.

Even as the people huddled around the fire, talking happily to each other, you sat away from them, hidden behind a tent with your full bowl of stew.

Zoro had just received his bowl, giving a judging look at Sanji as he passed, and instantly searched for you. Luffy and Usopp were entertaining the people with tales of their high seas adventures and Nami stood off to the side, looking for any valuables, but they seemed to have no riches to speak of, much to her chagrin.

Zoro looked around the crowd multiple times before he began walking away from the firelight.

He found you quickly enough, huddled behind a tent, barely touched bowl of stew sitting on the ground in front of you as you stared into the forest, eyes glazed over slightly.

"What are you doing?" You jumped at his voice, relaxing after realising it was just your friend. "Nothing. Just sitting. Thinking."

You looked back into the dark of the forest, hardly even sparing a glance at your dinner.

"Why aren't you eating?" Zoro asked, sitting next to you, resting his bowl on his lap.

Your gaze remained locked on the forest. "He's been stuck to that girl all day." You said, trying to keep your voice level.

"And he's doing that damn thing he always does when there's a woman in front of him." You felt a knot in your stomach. "I thought he would stop doing it, but he just keeps finding more women to drench in compliments and attention."

Zoro was not stupid. He was sure almost everyone on the crew realized that after you and him got together, he had not changed much about the way he spoke to women he found attractive on the shore, which -knowing Sanji- was nearly every woman he saw. He had eased off of Nami after she told him to stop multiple times, but he seemed unable to help it when a woman who didn't know that he was already romantically involved entered his line of sight.

"He's an ass." Zoro huffed. You tucked your legs into your chest. "He made a stew like this when we first got together. It was different ingredients and it was on the boat, but he still made it."

"Do you want me to hit him?" Zoro asked. The thought sounded intriguing, but you put a hand out when he tried to stand. "No. I don't need you two fighting on top of this."

Zoro said nothing. He did not want to hurt you, or make the situation worse, even though there was an exaggerated hate in him towards Sanji now. Not only had the chef acted like this in front of you, but he had barely noticed that you were upset.

Slowly, he began to think of how much better he could be. He would never look at other women for even a second longer than necessary. He would pay attention to you day and night, searching for any signs of you being hurt. He would fight for you and love you far deeper than the stupid chef ever could.

And yet, he said nothing. At the end of the day, you were with Sanji. Even if Zoro hated him, he would not try stealing you. You had made your decision. He was going to live with it.

"Can I tell you something?" You asked quietly, voice barely audible. "Always."

You took a breath, and Zoro wondered what you had been hiding that was worth this level of stress.

"I don't think I would've gotten with him if I hadn't been desperate."

Zoro sat in the silence that followed. Desperate? That was the reason you were with Sanji? Desperation? Did that mean he had a chance? Before you fell into Sanji's arms?

"Desperate?" You hesitated. "Yeah. I wanted a relationship, and Sanji was there, complimenting me all the time and cooking things I liked, and begging me to give him a chance, so I did."

"So you settled for him?" You frowned at the way he said it, and shook your head. "I didn't settle. I liked him. I still do. It's just that he wasn't my first choice."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Who was your first choice?" He couldn't help but hope his name fell out of your mouth. You just stayed silent for a moment.

In all honesty, Zoro had been your first choice, but you refused to breach the boundaries of your friendship at the time. You still refused to do it.

"I didn't have a first choice." The lie came out rough, but if Zoro noticed, he did not mention it. "I just wanted it and Sanji was giving it out." You buried your head in your hands, groaning. "So I guess it shouldn't bother me that he's like this."

"You don't deserve him." Zoro did not curb his words. "You're too good." You let out a dry laugh. "Not like there's anyone else on my roster."

"There might be." You resisted the urge to blush. What did Zoro mean by that? Was he offering himself?

"Oh yeah? Who?" You hoped he said his name. You hoped and prayed with everything in you that he admitted to being your secret admirer. That he wanted to ruin your friendship and become your boyfriend.

"I don't know. You're pretty. You're nice. Anyone would be lucky to have you." Your heart sank, but you did not say anything about your disappointment. "You think I'm pretty, huh?" He looked away. "Forget it." You giggled. "The future greatest swordsman in the world thinks I'm pretty. And nice!" You fanned yourself dramatically. He huffed, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Okay, take it easy. I was only saying that to make you feel better."

You scoffed. "Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Then a change came over you, fueled by his admission that he found you pretty. You shifted closer to him, testing the waters. "For the record, I think you're handsome. And you are the best friend I could ever ask for." He laughed it off. "Okay softie, eat your food."

You did, feeling comfortable enough to handle the cooled stew, managing to get halfway through the bowl before you gave up, returning to your thoughts of your boyfriend, clinging to the girl you had just met.

"I'm gonna go to bed." Zoro watched as you picked up the half empty bowl to return it. "So early?" You were no party machine, but you did enjoy staying up late. This was weighing on you heavily.

"Yeah, I don't know. I'm tired." It was obvious you didn't want to be a part of the fun, not if you were going to be forced to watch Sanji flirt with another woman in front of you.

"Come on, don't let that idiot ruin your night. Forget him." The start of Zoro's proposal sounded a little harsh, but it could not be helped. "Hang out with me, let him feel jealous for once."

The words were laced with the undertone of pleading for you to say yes, to spend a night with him, separate from the man who seemed to care about you until another woman showed up.

"Fine." You sighed, peeking behind the tent at the scene around the fire. "But I get to leave whenever I want. No guilt tripping."

Zoro stood, taking your bowl from you. "I don't guilt trip." You hummed in disagreement.

Zoro returned the bowls for you, so that you would not have to face Sanji, who, as expected, was still stuck to the local woman, talking about his cooking. He only hesitated at the sight of the half full bowl in Zoro's hands.

"Was it not to your taste?" Sanji asked. Zoro resisted the urge to tell him that the full bowl was not his, and instead belonged to his girlfriend whom he was currently ignoring in favour of some woman he hardly knew.

"Yeah. Tasted sour." Zoro left Sanji with the bowls, stalking off behind the tents again to retrieve you.

The two of you sat away from the main circle, meeting with a few of the hunters, who were preparing weapons for the next hunt.

You talked with them for a while, enjoying their presence. You had to admit that it was worth it to stay up and talk, even if you spent time occasionally looking over at Sanji to see if he had noticed you not paying attention to him.

One of the hunter's wives came over, sitting next to her husband with a smile. "So how long have you two been together?" She asked, looking between you and Zoro.

Immediately there was sputtering and excuses being made. "He's not- We're not- I'm actually with the cook over there."

You jabbed a finger in front of Zoro, pointing across the way at Sanji, but none of the surrounding people seemed convinced. "If you say so." The woman laughed, clearly not buying it.

It was a terrible excuse in hindsight, to deflect the accusations by pointing out the only member of your crew who was currently making eyes at another girl.

If you had covered with Luffy, Usopp or Nami, that would be plenty convincing. None of them had spent the whole night flirting up the same girl, giving her all sorts of compliments and praises, spending all their time at her side.

You went quiet afterwards, and Zoro even asked if you wanted to go to bed, but you refused. You stayed up until the fire slowly died out, and people went into their tents.

You stayed up late enough that Sanji finally paid attention to you again, coming over to say goodnight.

"Ah, my love!" He came over, wrapping you in a hug that made everyone's eyebrows jump to their hairlines. You had not been lying about the flirt being yours.

"Hey Sanji." You settled yourself, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong. "How did you like your meal, darling? I know your friend here could only stomach a few bites."

You looked over at Zoro, who rolled his eyes at the comment. "It was good as always." You smiled. "I haven't tasted anything better." Sanji grinned, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head, before looking up at everyone around the two of you with a smile.

"I hope my stew wasn't sour for any of you." He said kindly, shooting a brief and scathing look at Zoro.

"Of course not. It was hearty. You're a good cook. We might want to keep you here with us." One of the hunters joked.

"I'm sure Kyla would love it if you stayed." Another hunter added, sounding mildly antagonistic. The name made your blood run cold. So the girl had a name. Sanji seemed to freeze for a second. Almost as if he was about to acknowledge that he had been ignoring you all night. That he now knew that everyone could see his negligence.

"Right. Kyla." Hearing the name from his lips felt like a terrible betrayal. "She's a lovely girl, but I have my lovely girlfriend and a crew to feed. I couldn't stay, unfortunately."

The circle went silent for a small second before Sanji cleared his throat, patting your shoulder.

"I'm going to sleep now, my angel. Okay?" Sanji whispered into your ear. You nodded curtly. "Sleep well. I love you." "I love you too, my dove."

Sanji left with a generous goodbye, leaving you with the hunters. And Zoro.

Nobody said anything, a few people watched Sanji all the way into his tent.

One of the younger hunters, younger than you, at the very least, stared at the scene, slack-jawed.

"That's your boyfriend? He's been stuck to Kyla all night!" She gasped. "Do you want us to kill him?" You laughed off the offer. "No, that's alright. I think it's time for me to go to bed too." Zoro did not protest this time. "It's been so nice getting to meet you all. Tonight has been wonderful. Goodnight."

The hunters said soft goodbyes, and you could feel their eyes on you as you snuck into the tent you were sharing with Nami and a few other women. Not Kyla, thankfully.

Zoro watched as the tent flap swished shut. The hunters immediately started asking questions. They seemed to be terrible gossips, and while Zoro was more than ready to vent his frustrations, he stayed quiet. That was your business. Not theirs.

"I'm going too. Big day tomorrow." He left without fanfare, into the tent set up for the boys. Sanji was inside, and Luffy was fast asleep, sprawled across his grass mattress, snoring. Zoro's jaw clenched at the sight of Sanji, but said nothing.

Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Did she seem off to you tonight?" Sanji asked cautiously.

Zoro's blood boiled. "Who? Kyla? Or your girlfriend?"

"What's got you so moody?" Sanji asked, not expecting this sudden anger. "You spent the entire night flirting with a stranger, completely ignoring your girlfriend. Yeah she was acting off. I'm surprised you noticed her at all, given she tried to hide away from you at any point possible."

"I was being nice. You might want to try it sometime." "There's a difference between nice and eye-fucking a woman you hardly know."

"You stay out of this, if she had a problem with it, she would have said something." "She can't say anything because you won't change! You think this is the first time this has happened? You going off to flirt up some woman while I stay back with your 'love-angel-darling' and watch her cry over a man who doesn't make an effort to care for her over any other woman in the world?"

Sanji's fists clenched. "Why don't you shut up?" "Why don't you pay attention to her?" "This isn't your business!" "It is when I'm the only one who notices she's hiding behind a tent trying to escape the sight of you drooling over another woman!"

"I was not-" "You are so lucky to have her. You don't deserve her greatness in your life."

Sanji went silent at that. The thought had plagued him many a time before. "That's what I thought."

Zoro pretended to go to sleep after that, though he was too angry to actually do so.

Instead, after he was sure everyone else was asleep, he snuck outside to think.

He did not leave the safety of the clearing, wondering and thinking about you.

He wondered if you could possibly have feelings for him. If you thought he could be a better boyfriend than Sanji. If he asked you to love him, would you be willing to?

He hoped with everything in him that this was the final straw. The one thing that broke your and Sanji's relationship forever. He wanted you to stand up for yourself. He didn't want you stuck with the stupid cook out of desperation. He wanted you to find someone you truly loved, who treated you right. Maybe, hopefully, that was him, maybe it was someone you had yet to meet. Either way, he did not think it was Sanji.

As he paced, he heard movement in the woods. A collection of figures darted through the forest, for only Zoro's eyes to see. It wasn't anyone from the camp, they were all safely tucked away in their beds, getting a good night's sleep.

He finally remembered the point of this whole endeavor was to find the root of the problem from the village, back on the shore, but everything there seemed so disconnected at this point.

He logged the strange forest figures in his mind and continued to think of you. Just you. The way you smiled at his jokes. Your eyes and the way you watched him when you thought he was not looking. Your sense of humor and how quickly you were able to give him a witty comeback.

Every inch of you and your personality was intoxicating to him, and it had taken far too long for him to realize that. He wanted you to be with him. Just him.

And he hated that Sanji had what he wanted so badly.

Zoro snuck back into his tent, but there was little sleep to be had. He woke up tired, but covered it up, just in time to hear that Sanji had also volunteered to cook breakfast.

Zoro drowsily accepted what Sanji had prepared, slipping off to the hunters, hoping to find you with them as well, but you were missing.

Still asleep, he was told.

When you finally made your appearance, you sought out Sanji and led him away from the group.

The urge to listen in was too strong, and Zoro stood, moving towards the tent you and Sanji had hidden behind.

"I need you to stop flirting with other women. You can tell them they're pretty. You can compliment them. But I am tired of watching you latch onto them like a parasite."

Zoro listened for a while, as you and Sanji went back and forth, discussing boundaries and expectations. Neither of you raised your voices as there was no argument, and Zoro felt his heart drop. Of course you had fixed this. You always could.

He turned around, ready to leave, coming face to face with Luffy.

"Hey Zoro!" He grinned. "What are you doing?"

Zoro felt hollow for believing he could be with you."I was looking for you. Last night, I saw a group of people sneaking into the forest. Could be the ones we're looking for."

Zoro just wanted away. He was happy for you. You had established your boundaries and fixed your relationship. He just needed to distract himself from the heartbreak he was experiencing.

"Oh really? That's great! We should go find them right now!"

Maybe you would break up with Sanji eventually, if he fell into old habits and started ignoring you again. Maybe. Or maybe you wouldn't. That was the problem. He didn't know.

"Yeah we should."

He wanted you to come back to him. Accept his love. Forget the cook and be with him. Forever. But he knew better. You saw him as a friend. He wouldn't ruin your relationship.

"Well let's go!"

Luffy ran to fetch everyone else while Zoro sat, the feelings inside him festering, leaving a stripe of rot against his heart.

You bounded up to his side, a grin on your face. "Me and Sanji talked. He says he's gonna try being better for me."

Zoro swallowed and it felt like a rock was scraping its way down his throat. "That's good." "Yeah, it is. Thanks for dealing with me last night." "No problem."

You gave him a calm smile that made his insides swirl. You had him completely under your spell. "Good job spotting those guys last night. I didn't even see them."

He did not tell you that he saw them after everyone else went to bed, he just hoped Sanji had not told you about the fight.

When Luffy set off into the woods once more, you stuck to Sanji. Fair. You were his girlfriend. Zoro felt the ache in his chest again, but said nothing of it. He was your friend. He would always be there for you if you needed him. Even if you did not love him the same way.

[see-arcane]

When Mina and Seward meet, the way he speaks about her shows an obvious attraction on his part. We never hear from Mina's part if she noticed, but I wonder if she did... Because if she realized it, she might have taken advantage of it, due to the way Seward says she'd look while convincing him ("She looked so appealing and so pretty that I could not refuse her," "She looked at me so appealingly, and at the same time manifested such courage and resolution in her bearing, that I gave in at once to her wishes."). Like not voluptuous but... seeing that he likes her and using her charms on him?

I might buy it if only there weren't some textual hints that Mina finds herself, if not unattractive, not as pretty or easily winning compared to other girls. Or at least the only girl we know she knows. We see hints of it when she and Lucy first go and sit with the old men in Whitby.

Lucy was looking sweetly pretty in her white lawn frock; she has got a beautiful colour since she has been here. I noticed that the old men did not lose any time in coming up and sitting near her when we sat down. She is so sweet with old people; I think they all fell in love with her on the spot. Even my old man succumbed and did not contradict her, but gave me double share instead.

There is no jealousy there, but a frank acknowledgment that Lucy is 1) Beautiful and 2) Quickly admired/given softer treatment as a result. Lucy is also the one Swales refers to as the girl who the dead man in the grave would be happy to have in his lap, entirely leaving out Mina.

“Oh, why did you tell us of this? It is my favourite seat, and I cannot leave it; and now I find I must go on sitting over the grave of a suicide.” “That won’t harm ye, my pretty; an’ it may make poor Geordie gladsome to have so trim a lass sittin’ on his lap."

Considering how small Mina's social circle is and how Locked In she and Jonathan are for each other, I think she would be surprised to learn that she was attractive/desirable to anyone in the same way that other Lucy-looking girls are. As an orphan who had to work for everything in her life, I can't imagine she had many steps up the ladder beyond carefully curating herself as a Good Upstanding Young Lady (of the lower class) and perhaps some unpleasant phrenology-based aid in having 'good' bone structure ~for her sort.~ I suspect Jonathan is in much the same spot.

All of that is to say that, no, I don't think Mina was aware of Jack's crush until after she read his journal entries, as her only romantic context amounts to:

1) Interest is absent both ways.

2) Jonathan being a broken fire hydrant blasting love at her full force. How are you supposed to clock anyone flirting with you, let alone getting a crush, when you have Mr. Eros in Tweed radiating romance at you 24/7? It's like comparing a grain of sand to the Sahara, I tell you

Mina looked at Dr. stammering fumbling sweating bullets stranger who keeps turning tomato red when looking directly at her Seward and went :) ???

So when she does ask to see Renfield, she assumes his immediate folding is just a case of him being an obliging friend for helpful friend reasons :) how nice :)

[runningincircl3s]

Nothing Ever After

Noah Sebastian x Reader x Vinny Mauro

Chapter Twenty-One

chapter warnings: none? :)

i’m posting this chapter from my phone so i’m hoping and praying it doesn’t look awful!! but guys i’m getting so emotional writing the final few chapters now… if you’re stressed now BE PREPARED!!

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The two of you awkwardly walked out of the bathroom, still feeling hazy and exhausted after what had just happened. Vinny looked around, making sure the coast was clear as it would be pretty obvious that you two had been up to something, both of you had wet, tangled hair and your makeup had smudged across your eyes. Anyone would think you had been caught in the rain.

“I’m gonna go to the bus," you told Vinny with a soft smile as you wiped traces off your lipstick from his neck, "Hopefully nobody will be on there right now, they should all be on stage."

Vinny nodded his head, before telling you he got a text from Ricky saying his parents were backstage waiting for him. He reassured you that he knows what he’s doing, they are his parents after all, and after he gave you a kiss on the forehead, you both went your separate ways.

Once you were on the bus, you began to really feel the exhaustion creeping in. You wished you could've had time to take a nap, but instead you hopped straight into the shower, washing your hair, face and body properly this time.

Once you were out, you brought your makeup to the couches and began to get ready, realising there were now marks forming on your neck that would need concealing for the next few days.

As you were getting ready, the realisation set in that this would be one of the first times you'd have to spend time around both Noah and Vinny like this, on your days off the guys would often do their own things, with the exception of the time you went bowling- but you and Vin weren't on best terms then. You decided it would be best to stay well away from the both of them tonight to avoid any suspicion from the others, so you were extra glad to have Shae there tonight.

As you finished your makeup and made a start on your hair you see your phone light up from the table. You pick it up, seeing as it was from Vinny.

The coast is clear! My parents can’t get into the afterparty because their names aren’t on the list. They keep asking about you and I really feel terrible, I should’ve just come clean. I think I'll wait until we're home from tour and say we had a fight lmao x

You frown at the message, and just as you're thinking of how to reply, you received another text. This time it was from Justin, and as you read it you felt your chest tighten.

Hey! Can we talk? I just heard something from Vin’s parents

You took a deep breath before texting back, telling him you were on the bus. 

You finished doing your hair and began to put everything away when you heard the door open and a voice call out. 

“Hello? It’s just me.” Justin smiled at you as he walked onto the bus, being careful not to hit his head on the doorway before sitting down on the couch opposite you.  

“Is everything okay?” You asked, though you had a sinking feeling in your stomach.

“Yeah... Uh..." He sighed, clasping his hands together, "So you and Vin…”

“What have you heard?” You chuckled nervously, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips, clearly struggling with how to phrase his thoughts.

“How long have you really known each other?”

“Since the start of tour, only a couple months. I never knew he even existed two months ago!” 

“And you’re already thinking about having kids with him?”

"What?!" You blinked in shock, your laughter escaping before you could stop it. “No! Why would you-”

“His parents were just asking me about my daughter, and then proceeded to tell me that they think it won’t be long before you two have kids together. What the hell is going on?" He laughed, "I don’t get it.”

The air felt thick, and for a moment, you weren’t sure what to say. You’d never intended for things to get this far, it would be simpler if you just got on stage and announced the truth to everybody.

“Don’t say a word of this to Vin, he will literally kill me. It was bad enough when I told Ricky... But Vin's been lying to his parents.”

“About what? What does Rick know that I don’t?”

“I didn’t go to his parents’ party as a photographer, I went as his... girlfriend-”

“I knew it!” Justin grinned, “They all said it was you and Noah but I knew you and Vin had something going on ever since I caught you in the dressing room-”

“Please, let me finish,” you sighed, “I need to make it totally clear that we aren’t dating, Justin. I can’t remember how long for exactly, but he’s been lying to his parents. They think he’s got a girlfriend when he doesn’t, and they’ve been wanting to meet her for so long now and he said he’ll bring her to their party so he asked me for a favour and… well… I did it.” 

“So… There’s nothing going on between you two?”

“Nope,” you said with a smile. “I swear he's not my type... I’d never think of him like that!”

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Really?"

"I swear!"

“So why were you in the shower with him?”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The afterparty didn't go as planned, everyone still coming down from the adrenaline from the show, so it didn't turn out to be the night you’d expected. Instead, everybody gathered outside by the buses, despite the chilly night air.

As everyone settled around a portable campfire with the fold up chairs they kept in the venue, you suggested playing a game of truth or dare. Shae was the first to eagerly agree, her eyes lighting up as she says she hasn't played this since college.

“I’ll start!” Justin raised a hand as he finished his beer, setting the empty bottle on the table beside the fire, spinning it before sitting back down.

"Where's Chris?" You ask, "Someone should ask if he wants to play."

"I know what his answer to that would be." Ricky chuckled

“Folio!” Justin grins, watching the bottle point in his direction, “Truth or dare, buddy.”

“Truth.” He nodded, his leg bouncing up and down as he sat back. 

“Uh…” Justin thought.

“I’ll google it, babe.” Shae chuckled, unlocking her phone and searching for truth or dare questions, passing it to her husband. 

“Oh, here’s one!” Justin snickered, “Tell us your worst first date story...”

You saw the fear wash over Nick, and Jolly tried to hide his laughter. 

“You’ve got to tell the story, man.” Matt nodded his head, hiding his smirk as he looked down.

“Fuck…” Folio laughed, covering his face with his hat. Letting out a dramatic sigh before slipping it back on, “So, I think this was in 2019… I met this girl at a bar back home and she swore she didn’t know me or the band, so we started talking, we exchanged numbers, then we finally arranged to go on a date when I was back in town after tour. Things went really well, she was a great girl, but then we went back to her place…” He sighed, “Fuck I can’t believe I’m telling you guys this… She had an entire shrine in her room dedicated to Jolly… You can’t make this shit up! She didn’t mention it once, but there were framed pictures, picks that she must’ve gotten from concerts-”

“What the fuck!” Vinny burst out laughing.  

“I know!” Folio chuckled, “Anyway, before we could take things any… Further… I went to the bathroom and called one of my friends to pick me up and I ran away.”

“You ran away?” Ryan laughed, and Folio nodded his head as he held back laughter.

“What did you tell her?” You smirked, and Folio just shrugged. 

“Nothing. I went home and blocked her on everything… And the best part is that nobody believed her when she tried to spread rumours that we actually slept together. But... that’s enough of that story!” He got up and spun the bottle, everyone watched intensely as it landed on Ryan.

“Fuck it, I’ll do a dare.” Ryan smiles, and you all watch as Folio thinks. 

“Do your best impression of Vinny.” 

“Really?” He laughed. 

“A dare is a dare, brother.” Justin laughed. 

“Fuck, okay…” Ryan stood up, “Wait is it okay if I go and get something from the bus?” 

“Sure.” Folio nodded. 

Ryan returned with a pair of Vin’s glasses and a hat that could only belong to him. He put them on and stood with his arms crossed, legs parted. The resemblance was uncanny.

“Wassup! I’m Vinny!” He imitated his voice, “I’m the biggest nerd in the band but I’m cute so I still get more girls than Rick!” 

“Hey, not true!” Ricky chuckled. “Are you sure this is Vin and not Twit?” 

“Twit?” You furrowed your eyebrows. 

“If either of us spin the bottle and it lands on Vinny, ask him about it.” Angela chuckled.

“Okay.” You laugh, and look back up to see Ryan is still impersonating Vinny. 

“...Show me what’s up with the laundry!” 

“Oh God,” Ricky shakes his head, “Are you done yet?”

“Why are you embarrassed?” Vinny laughs, looking at Ricky. 

“Okay I think I’ve done what needs to be done.” Ryan sighs, sitting back down but keeping the glasses and hat on, “Matt you’re closest, can you spin for me?”

Matt spins the bottle, and it lands on… 

“Bryan! Truth or dare?”

“Uh… Truth?”

“What’s the biggest secret you’ve kept from the rest of the band?” Ryan smirked. 

“Wow,” Bryan laughs, “Probably the time I was asked to work for one of the biggest bands in the scene… But I turned it down obviously, you guys are my brothers and if they ever thought I’d leave you guys for them then they’re wrong.” 

“What band?” Noah questions, a rather serious look on his face, and Bryan thinks for a moment. 

“Bring me.” 

“Bring me the horizon?” You gasp, “No way! Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I didn’t tell anybody,” Bryan laughs, “I just didn’t want to. I didn’t want it to upset anybody.”

“That's fair.” Ryan nods and Bryan gets up to spin the bottle…

It points to Vinny. 

“Vin! Truth or dare?”

Vinny’s eyes catch yours before he answers, wanting a truth question. 

“Wait, where's the list?”

“Here.” Shae smiled, passing him her phone with a list of questions and dares.

“Spicy truth or dare questions…?” Bryan laughed reading out the title, “I don’t know which one to-”

“Pick a number between…” Ruffilo leans over and counts the number of questions, “1 and 30.”��

“20.” He said as Ruffilo handed the phone back, and Bryan found the 20th question, “When was the last time you had sex?”

“Oh… Today.” He says casually, taking a sip of his beer/

“What?!” Ricky laughed. 

“No way, you’re lying.” Ryan shook his head. 

You felt Justin’s eyes on you, but you smiled and pretended to be as shocked as everybody else. 

“With who?” You heard Noah ask, and you felt your heart stop in your chest.

“That wasn’t part of the question, was it? Vinny smirks as he gets up to spin the bottle, running his fingers through his hair as he sits back down, “Y/n!”

“...Truth.” You smiled. 

“No!” You heard Ryan complain, “You’re all saying truth, stop being pussies and do a dare!” 

“Okay fine!” You snap back, “Dare.” 

“Oh there’s dares on this list too.” Bryan says as he passes Vinny Shae’s phone, and you hear her chuckle beside you. 

“Okay… Kiss the person you find the most attractive in the room… But we’re outside.” 

“Easy.” You grin, getting up. 

You walk over to Noah and Vinny, and you can see the confusion on their faces. However, every gasps and ‘woo!’s when you lean down and kiss Folio’s cheek, who was sat between the two guys. 

“What? Folio’s a catch.” You shrug, spinning the bottle and sitting back down. You give both Vinny and Noah a smirk as you watch the bottle land on…

“Fuck.” Noah laughs. 

“C'mon, truth or dare?” You smile. 

“Truth- Sorry Ryan if I’m boring.”

Vinny gets up and passes the phone to you, and you smirk at the list of questions. 

“What’s your favourite memory of us?” You ask with an innocent smile, knowing his true answer would be far from innocent. 

“Maybe... the first time we met,” he answered, “Or the time back at home when we got in the pool-”

“The time you tried to freeze me to death?” You laughed. 

“That’s an exaggeration,” Noah smiled, crossing his arms, “The pool wasn’t even that cold!” 

He leaned forwards and spun the bottle, and everyone watched as it pointed at Ricky. 

“Okay, I’ll do a dare.” 

“Really?” Noah laughs, “I dare you to… Read a fanfiction of yourself out loud.” 

"Again?" Ricky frowned.

Vinny and Justin burst out laughing, and Ricky hesitated before pulling his phone out. 

“Can I choose it?” Justin asked, reaching for his phone. “I know all the websites they use.”

“Do you read fanfics, Justin?” Angela laughs, and Shae nods as Justin denies it. 

“Okay, here’s one.”

Ricky takes a deep breath before looking at the screen. 

“Good grief," he shakes his head, "Ricky set his lips upon mine, slowly moving them together. This time around, I actually reacted. I twisted from where I sat on the couch, slinging one leg over his lap so that I was straddling him. His tongue expertly entered my mouth, fighting for dominance. Do I have to keep going?”

“Yes!” Vinny laughs. 

“I immediately grasped for his jeans, unbuttoning them, I yanked them down, leaving his underwear at his hips. I slipped my hand past the elastic waistband and gently grabbed at his member, pumping it to his satisfaction. He let out a low moan as his hand travelled between my legs, massaging between the folds. His other hand grasped at my nipple as he put the other in his mouth, rolling it with his tongue. After what felt like a forever of this pleasing torture, I demanded, “Ricky, just fuck me-” I can’t do it anymore!” He cringes, his face screwing up in disgust as he slips his phone in his pockets and spins the bottle.

An hour or so passed and everyone finally decided it was time to leave and get back on the buses. As the guys finished loading up the vans, you sat chatting with Shae and Angela.

"A certain somebody couldn't take his eyes off you tonight." Angela smirked, checking the time on her phone.

"Who?" You asked.

"Who do you think?"

"There's two of them," Shae chuckled, "I saw Vin kept looking in your direction."

"I saw Noah," Angela confessed, "Maybe I'm just on team Noah."

"Team Noah?" You laughed, "Seriously?"

"If that's the case I'm on team Vinny," Shae smiled, "I've known him for years, he's a sweetheart. Noah's rude, he couldn't even remember my name!"

"That's probably because he hasn't met you before," you shake your head, "Noah's a sweetheart too, he's one of the most caring and genuine guys I know."

"So why do you keep going back to Vin?" Ang groaned.

"Because I've never met anybody else like him..." You admit.

"Wait..." Shae holds a hand out, "Remember Bryan's question to Vin earlier... When he said the last time he did it was today..." She gives you a look, before whispering, "Was that you?"

You think for a moment before slowly nodding your head, biting your lower lip.

"I would say 'don't tell anybody!' but Justin saw us afterwards when we came out of the bathroom."

"And he didn't tell me?!" Shae scoffed, "Bastard."

"The bathroom?" Angela furrowed her eyebrows.

"We... We were in the shower." You feel your cheeks heat up, you've never had friends to talk to so openly before, especially about things like this.

"The shower?!" Angela's voice was a little louder than intended, causing a couple staff members from the venue to look over.

"Keep it quiet though, Justin knows about me and Vin now, so does Folio, Matt knows something too but I can't remember what- It's such a mess!"

"Y/n?" You heard Noah's voice call out, and you snap your neck, turning to look at him, "We're about to leave, the guys are having a smoke then we're all getting on. Are you ready?"

"Oh, okay," you smile, "I'm ready when you guys are."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

About an hour after setting off on the bus on your way to the next venue, all the guys were in their bunk except Noah and Matt. You sat with Matt, playing a game on his Xbox as Noah was caught up in work on his laptop, writing and forwarding emails and sighing dramatically every couple of minutes.

“That’s not fair!” Matt groaned as the screen lit up saying you won, “I didn’t even see you!” 

“Good.” You smirk, putting the controllers down with a yawn. “I think I might get some work done and then call it a night, it’s been a long day and I just want at least three hours of sleep tonight.” 

Matt nodded, saying he’d join you as he turned his console off. However, as you got ready to walk off, Noah called you over. Confused, you sat down with him and watched as he closed down his laptop. 

"Everything okay?" You asked with a smile, and he shook his head, a very serious look on his face.

"How dare you."

"What?" You ask, a slight hint of panic in your voice.

"You think Folio's hotter than me?!"

"Noah!" You chuckle, "You know that isn't true..."

"It better not be!" He crossed his arms over his chest, giving you a mock stern look.

"Well... Maybe it was a little." You smile.

"That’s just rude.” Noah pouted.

"So who would you have kissed if you were asked that?" You asked, crossing your legs.

"Hm... Probably... Ricky." He confesses.

You stared at him in disbelief.

“Ricky?!”

“Yeah,” he said confidently, “Why? Who did you think I was gonna say?”

The look you both shared told you everything, if you were both able to tell the truth you would’ve chosen each other.

A comfortable silence settled over the both of you before Noah speaks again.

“You seriously aren’t thinking about getting work done at this time of night?”

“Why not?” You ask.

“It’s almost 1am,” Noah said, checking his phone for the time, “Just get some sleep, okay? We've got a few chaotic days coming up.”

“But Matt wants me to send the photos tomo-“

“Matt can wait,” Noah interrupts, “You work your ass off for us and Motionless, I’m just worried you’ll end up… I dunno… Burning yourself out.”

“I know my limits, Noah.”

“But do you?” He frowns, his hand reaching for yours as he holds it in his lap, “I’m just looking out for you. You’ve never been in a situation like this before, y'know, the stress and uncertainty of tour, and to end up working for two bands- it’s a lot! Just take care of yourself.”

“I will- I am.” You confirm.

“So you’ll wait until the morning to work on-“

“Yes!” You sigh dramatically, standing up. “I’m going to go back there, find my ear plugs and sleep until further notice.”

“Now that’s more like it.” He chuckled.

“But what about you?” You asked, the realisation finally hitting that you’ve been busy on this tour, but Noah's been working nonstop.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re sat there telling me about burning out and working too hard, when you don’t even listen to your own advice.”

“I’m used to it, y/n, that’s the difference. I don’t know how to take a break, and when I do it doesn't feel right. I feel lost without the chaos.”

“Well maybe you should get used to… Whatever the opposite of chaos is. Because I worry about you too, Noah.”

“You don’t need to,” he reassures you, “But, what you do need to do is go to sleep.”

"You're right." You say with a soft smile, you bend down, kissing Noah's cheek before saying, "Good night."

"Sweet dreams." He returned the smile and kissed your cheek too, before pulling back to meet your eyes.

As you both exchanged a look, you could tell Noah wanted to say something, he just couldn't find the words.

"You've been a little distant with me lately... Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know." He frowned.

"I've been super busy," you lied, knowing the truth is that you've actually been too caught up in the mess with Vin's parents. You couldn't tell him the guilt of what you had with Vinny was making you question everything with him, whether it's a good idea to carry on with this arrangement you had, but you shook it off, "Like you said, I've been working my ass off."

"I know the feeling all too well," he sighed, "But just try and get some sleep, okay?"

————————————————

@rumoured-whispers @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @lma1986 @thisbicc @dominuslunae @miss570 @miamore0570 @jilliemiw86 @itsyaboinoah @kait16xo @discocowgirly @rainy-darling

[ladykailitha]

A Holly, Jolly Harrington Christmas

Hello and welcome to my Christmas AUvent Calendar! Every day from now until the 24th I will be posting a ficlet that is 500-1500 from an AU I've done over the years.

All stories will be marked with the tag #12 aus of christmas so you can follow along as I will only be tagging my permanent list for this (it would get too confusing otherwise).

The next one on our list is: The Reunion verse. You can read the story here. All links will be to the first chapter, but the chapter itself will have links to the rest of the story.

Thanks to @bookworm0690 for help with the title.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

~

The newly blended Munson/Harrington clan was experiencing the Christmas holiday for the first time.

Edie knew to sit back and watch the chaos. Harri and Eddie did not. She braced for the sonic blast that was about to occur in three, two, one...

“What?!!” Steve squawked. “You guys didn’t do Christmas? But how? Why?”

Harri and Eddie shared a glance and then Eddie just shrugged. “Jai was Muslim and I prefer Halloween. You don’t get mocked for Santa bringing you socks instead of toys when it’s a candy free for all.”

Steve blinked at them in confusion and then tilted his head to side. Edie hid a smile behind her glass of chocolate milk. She always thought her dad looked like a puppy when he did that.

Apparently so did Eddie.

“Oh, no,” he whispered. “The puppy dog eyes.” He turned to Harri. “What have we done?”

“Buckle up, buckaroos!” Edie said cheerfully. “Dad’s going to give you two a crash course in Christmas cheer. He’s almost militant about it.”

“I am not militant,” Steve huffed, putting his hands on his hips. “Just very well organized.”

Edie turned to the Munson boys. “Santa wishes he was as organized as Dad, and the fat little elf has magic.”

~

Eddie realized all too quickly that Edie had absolutely undersold the militant aspect of the Christmas mania that overtaken their home. They had decided to move in Eddie’s place (so he wouldn’t have to rebuild his ridiculous setup regarding the identity of Harri’s surrogate mom. They had told him after the wedding to forestall any meltdowns, but Harri had taken it like a champ and understood why there was so much secrecy.

But Eddie was digressing and his spouse was decorating. It had started innocent enough when he put up the first tree in their main hallway. Then second went up in Steve’s office, in the corner of the room. Then the third one went up in the family room. And this one was the presents and for everyone to decorate. Not the other two. Those were just centerpieces.

Steve scoffed when he brought it up. “You mean like the ten foot skeleton that was there only two months ago? Or the dragon that was on top of the house? Like those decorations, my love?”

Eddie blinked at him for a moment. So, yes. The Munsons had gone all out for Halloween. “Point taken, sweetheart. I will bow to your superior knowledge in this regard.”

Steve nodded smugly. Eddie should have known what was coming next. But he was woefully unprepared.

The train set went up complete with a ceramic Christmas village and its residents. It had working lights on the houses, street lights, and even traffic lights. Eddie had asked Dustin how it all worked.

“Fuck if I know, dude,” Dustin said, “by all rights it shouldn’t. Only Steve in his bumbling way could create such a mess of wires and connections that somehow feedback on each other and still fucking work.”

Eddie looked over at his husband with new appreciation. Because yeah, only Stevie.

Then he learned that there were two Christmas parties. One for the company which was not mandatory, but Steve went all puppy dog eyes and it might as well had been. And the other was the friend and family party.

According to Jeff who had gone to these the last couple of years, was the party. Like Steve hired a Santa Claus to pass out gifts, the food was catered, full professionally tended bar, the works. If Eddie thought the charity gala was obscene, this was that on crack.

The office Christmas party was a blast. Eddie spent most of the time learning new swear words in ASL from Steve’s secretary, Vanessa until her husband Nate dragged her away to meet someone in his department.

Then he spent the rest of the time teaching Dustin the new swears.

Then the day of the Christmas party arrived. And there weren’t as many people as Eddie thought there were going to be. He thought it would be wall to wall with stars like the gala and their wedding reception. But no. It was just friends.

But make no mistake the intimacy of the party did not make it any less grand. In fact, Eddie would have gone as far as to say it made it more intimate.

Eddie slipped his arm around Steve waist and pressed a gentle kiss to his neck. “This has been fun, sweetheart. Thank you.”

Steve flushed with pride. “You’re welcome. I hope Harri is having a good first Christmas.”

“Oh yeah,” Eddie said with a grin. He pointed at his son dancing goofily with his friends. “I don’t think I’ve seen him this happy.”

And then as if called Harri came bounding up to them all smiles. “This is the best holiday ever! Thanks Steve!” He hugged Steve tight.

“You’re welcome, Harri,” Steve said warmly.

Then Harri left the way he came, practically vibrating with joy.

“Betrayal by my own flesh and blood!” Eddie gasped clutching his chest.

Steve shook his head. “As though you don’t have Edie hook, line and sinker for Halloween.”

Eddie looked at Steve for a moment. “Did our children get swapped at birth? Because that is the only explanation.”

Steve just shook his head. This year was the best Christmas he had since his divorce, because Eddie and Harri were apart of it now. And that’s what made it the best holiday ever.

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @genderless-spoon @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

[oncasette]

𝗙𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

zayne x fem!reader

summary: 1k

“I’ll never tire of this,” he whispers once he’s helped you into your shorts and lured you into the bathroom. He undoes the bobs and pins of your hair as you wipe off your makeup, dropping each piece into the dish beside the sink as he goes. His body seems to cradle yours once he finishes, wrapping fully around your frame as you finish your albeit abridged night routine. You’re far too tired to go through with the brunt of it.

or the one where zayne helps you get un-ready from the day.

masterlist

The walk up to Zayne’s apartment is familiar, a trip you take more out of muscle memory than any conscious thought. Even at the late hour, you’re mulling through a million other thoughts as you round the corner and rummage through your purse for your key. You’re as quiet as you can be, slipping it into the lock and gently pressing the door open, not knowing if your boyfriend was asleep already or not. You hope he is. If only for the fact that he’d worked a late shift and you knew he was stuck with an early one the following morning.

“You’re home late,” his voice sounds from the dining table. You don’t bother slipping off your heels, then, dropping whatever’s in your hands on the small table beside the door and walking towards the voice. Even if you’d wished he’d been all snuggled up in bed, already, you can’t help the warmth that surges through you at the thought of him waiting up for you.

“And you’re still awake,” you hum as you walk up behind Zayne. Your hands find his shoulders and run flat palms along the cotton fabric of his shirt. He’s busy typing away one some medical report, something you might have asked about if the thought of sleep wasn’t already wearing away at your eyelids.

“How was Rafayel’s exhibit?” he asks, taking one hand off of the laptop’s keyboard to rest over yours. He grabs both hands with just one of his and links them at the center of his collarbones. His lips find your wrist. 

“Artsy,” you say. He nips at your wrist. You hiss slightly, scoffing. “It was nice. We got dinner after.”

He nods, tapping your hands once before he lets go to finish typing up his document. It’s a few more seconds of clacking before he’s closing the computer altogether and shifting in his chair to face you.

“I assume that’s why you’re home so late,” he says. The clock on the wall reads just after midnight. His hand finds yours again, thumb swiping soothingly over the back of it.

“Yeah. Raf insisted,” you say just as a yawn creeps up your throat. 

“You could have said no,” he chirps, smiling softly up at you as he kisses your wrist again. You cock your head to the side, eyeing him knowingly.

“You know how he is.”

The laugh that bubbles out of Zayne is syrupy, sweet, crinkling the edges of his eyes. He didn’t laugh like this when he wasn’t at least a little tired.

“Alright,” he concedes. “I assume now’s when we should put you to bed then, hm?”

You nod as you step back enough to allow him to stand. He takes both of your hands in his, using this time to take in the gown you’d chosen to wear to the exhibit. You’d sent him a picture earlier to ask for his opinion, but you guess it’s not the same as seeing it in person. He nods once before pulling you into your first proper kiss of the evening. “Rafayel was lucky to be at your side tonight. You look beautiful.”

“He was also forced to listen to my many many heel complaints,” you mumble against his lips, chasing his mouth for one more quick taste. He must have made some tea earlier. Peppermint, you think.

“I’m sure,” he says as he leads you the short distance to his room. Despite not officially living here, you’d made more than a bit of an impression on his apartment. Especially the bedroom. The nightstand beside what you’d claimed as your side of the bed was full of clutter that wouldn’t have come from Zayne. Your phone charger, your planner, the panda mug you’d used that morning for your coffee. Even still, the sheets had been your decision. A creamy pastel blue with snowflake detailing across it. 

Zayne sat you at the foot of the bed before he knelt down to be level with your heels. He took his time undoing the buckles of the right one, thumbing the edges as he went and placing barely-there pecks along your knees. Then, when he’d finished with the first and placed it neatly beside the edge of the bed, he moved onto your left heel. He moved with a sense of grace that only came with familiar touches. 

“I’m sorry I came in so late. I would have rushed dinner a bit more if I had known you were waiting up for me,” you whisper as he stands, your aching soles hitting the plush carpet. 

“Don’t be sorry,” he hums. Another quick kiss finds your lips. “I wanted to wait, and I had a report to finish, anyway.”

“Still…”

You watch him shake his head as he leaves you to rummage through the drawer filled with your pajamas. Well, mostly your pajamas. It’s partially filled with shirts you’d stolen from him over the course of your relationship. He comes back with a shirt he’d owned since university and a pair of fuzzy sleep shorts. Gingerly, he takes your hands in his again to help you stand before turning you around to unzip your dress. The trail his fingers make down your spine coats your skin a layer of goosebumps, but you’re quickly reprieved when he slips the shirt over your head. You help a bit with your stockings, but he’s ultimately the one dragging them down to the floor and out from under you to toss in his laundry hamper. 

“I’ll never tire of this,” he whispers once he’s helped you into your shorts and lured you into the bathroom. He undoes the bobs and pins of your hair as you wipe off your makeup, dropping each piece into the dish beside the sink as he goes. His body seems to cradle yours once he finishes, wrapping fully around your frame as you finish your albeit abridged night routine. You’re far too tired to go through with the brunt of it. 

“Neither will I,” you reply. You let him lead you to the bed, let him pull back the covers and drag you beneath them and into his side. You want this to be your life for however long you’ve got left to live it. Maybe not here in his apartment, or even in your own, but at his side. 

[victias]

My take on the letter from tearstone island prompt I've seen so many amazing fics of (if anyone knows who first did this please lmk so i can credit)

My Dearest Lucanis,

If you are reading this I did not return from Tearstone Island, if I am honest I always believed that this job would claim my life and maybe on some level that is why I accepted it, almost two years ago now, gods it seems like a lifetime. But this letter isn’t about me, not really, its about you. 

There is so much I wish I had been brave enough to tell you face to face despite you changing the subject every time I tried, well you cant redirect a dead woman so I’m saying it now and you’ll just have to brood about it ha! My soul has never felt as at peace as it does in your presence, my smile never as big, my laugh never as free, you have made me feel seen in a way that i never thought possible and I need you to know.

I wish I could help you see yourself as I see you, not only handsome but strong, resilient, kind, you use your training not only to spot weaknesses in your targets but to learn about those around you, how Emmrich likes his tea, picking out the perfect cape for Taash, and my churros, rarely do you ever have to ask but when you need to you do without hesitation, always willing to learn, to be there for those around you. You are determined and protective, more times than I can count you have saved my life. You care so deeply  though you try to hide it and give second chances even when people maybe don’t deserve them – yes i mean Illario (seriously watch your back there lest you join me sooner than your time), your witt is so fast and your heart so big. I truly never deserved the attention you gave me, the gentleness in your voice as we spoke and the way your concerned eye, makers breath your beautiful brown eyes, would linger on me when I would say I was fine and you knew I was hiding my pain, you always knew.

And Spite, you have grown so much, learned so much and whilst doing so you never cease to make me laugh. Your confidence in me to help Lucanis when he most needed it touched my heart in a way I can never truly express, to be trusted by a demon is a honour I never expected in this life, just know that it is mutual. I trust you with my life, Spite and more than that I trust you with Lucanis'. You have so much to offer each other despite this situation you were both forced in to and I hope you continue to make deal after deal until you find that perfect harmony. I am sorry I won’t be there to see it.

There is so much more I wish I could write, but we leave soon and I don’t have the time. Know that I love you. That the time we have spent together, reading, drinking coffee, holding hand, sharpening knives, me ‘helping' you cook, the simplest of things, have been the happiest of my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I love you, always

‘Rook’

PS. A first kiss, I think, would have tasted like coffee and cinnamon, not honey and lavender cream.