#i was thinking about this earlier today and after our talk yesterday and I got around to writing it down | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

starkwlkr · 2 years ago

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omg can you write charles reaction to baby leclerc first kindergarten boyfriend and how jealous he would be 🥹🥹

no boys allowed | charles leclerc

in honor of my birthday, here’s one more baby leclerc fic <3

Ruby woke up ten minutes earlier than she should’ve. It was a new school day and she was more excited than ever. While her mom slept peacefully, Ruby was in her bathroom trying to untangle her hair, but each time she would end up with a knot in it. She gave up and ran to her mom and dad’s room with a brush stuck in her hair.

“Mama, I need help. Mama, wake up.” Ruby poked Y/n’s cheek repeatedly until her eyes fluttered open.

“Baby, what? What’s wrong?” Y/n rubbed her tired eyes. She then saw the mess on Ruby’s head. “Oh, baby girl.”

Y/n was alone with the kids since Charles was coming back from Italy for his home race. Mathéo slept in his nursery. Y/n got out of bed and took Ruby to her bathroom to fix the tangled hair.

“Why did you do this, Ruby?” The mother asked.

“Because I want to look pretty for my boyfriend!”

Y/n choked on her own saliva when she heard Ruby mention the word ‘boyfriend’. “When did this happen, Rubes? Does papa know?”

Of course Charles didn’t know. If he did, he would immediately change Ruby to a different school. Even if it was a pretend boyfriend, Ruby was still too young to be thinking about boys in his eyes. Thank god Charles wasn’t home.

“Yesterday he told me he loves me. Papa doesn’t know . . Yet! Can I tell him?” Ruby jumped up and down, eager to tell her papa about her love life.

“Not right now, baby. He’s working. But you can tell me all about him. What’s his name?” Y/n asked as she continued to brush through Ruby’s hair.

“His name is Ben and we’re getting married! Can you be my flower girl, mama? And uncle arthur can give us a ring.” Ruby said. “I want uncle pierre and kika to be at my wedding. I love Kika.”

Y/n chuckled. Ruby reminded Y/n of a younger version of herself, planning out her dream wedding, not having a single stressful moment. Y/n wished her Ruby would stay little forever.

“Okay, all done. Go get dressed, I have to get your brother ready.” Y/n pressed a kiss to the top of Ruby’s head and watched as the little girl ran off to her room. Before Y/n walked to Mathéo’s nursery, she grabbed her phone and texted Charles.

Y/n

Good morning my love. I’m going to take Ruby to school and when you get home, I have news to tell you. It’s important.

Charles

Good morning mon amour❤️ tell Ruby I love her and I miss her. Are you not going to give me a hint? I can’t wait that long

Y/n

Well it’s about our daughter. That’s all I’m telling you.

Charles

You’re an evil woman

I love you ❤️

Y/n

Love you more 🥰

She left her phone on her nightstand and walked to Mathéo’s room where he was not laying awake staring at the ceiling. “Good morning my little boy. Let’s get you ready for the day.”

After both kids were dressed, the Leclerc family was on their way to school. Ruby kept telling her mother about Ben and how good he was at drawing, counting from 1 to 100 and apparently he knew about f1 because of his dad. The school wasn’t that far away from their home so they walked.

“When is papa coming home?” Ruby asked.

“He should be here tomorrow or maybe even today.” Replied Y/n. Mathéo squealed from his spot in his stroller. “You’re exiting to see papa, Théo? He misses you too.”

“I can tell him about Ben! Can Ben come to the race with us? Please mama!” Ruby stopped walking to face her mother.

“I don’t know, Ruby. We have to talk to his parents first.”

When Ruby got to school, she refused to set foot into the classroom until Ben arrived. Five minutes later, a little boy with a Ferrari cap on ran towards Ruby and hugged her.

“Ben! Don’t run! You’ve tripped enough already!” A woman about Y/n’s age scolded the boy.

“Mama! He’s Ben, my boyfriend!” Ruby yelled as Ben put his arm around her shoulder.

“Nice to meet you Ben. I’m Ruby’s mom.” Y/n said to the little boy.

“So I guess we’re in laws?” Ben’s mom laughed. “I’m Clara, Ben’s mom. I’ve heard so many things about your little girl. Were you invited to their ‘wedding’?” Clara asked.

Y/n nodded. “You’re looking at the flower girl.” She joked.

“I’m jealous, Ben told me I have to pay for the whole thing!”

After school, Pascale, Lorenzo and Arthur would always arrive at Y/n and Charles’ house just to spend time together. Ruby absolutely loved it. This time, Charles joined since he had taken an early flight from Italy so when he got home, he found Ruby and Arthur doing some crafts on the kitchen table while Pascale, Y/n and Lorenzo were with Baby Mathéo in the living room.

“Papa!” Ruby threw her crayon on the table and ran to Charles.

Charles let his suitcase fall to the ground. He wrapped his arms around Ruby and picked her up, spinning her a couple time as she laughed. “You didn’t cause any trouble, did you?” He kissed her cheek.

“No! I’m a very good girl. Ask mama and Théo!” Ruby giggled.

“Okay, I’ll ask them right now.” Charles set her down and turned his attention to the rest of his family. “How was my boy while I was gone? Was Ruby good?” He sat next to Y/n on the sofa.

“He didn’t cry at night often, but he did miss his papa a lot.” Y/n passed the baby to Charles. “And yes, she was an angel.”

“Just him and Ruby missed me?” Charles teased.

“I missed you!” Arthur spoke from the kitchen table.

“Anyone else missed me? Anybody?” Charles looked around, ignoring Arthur. “I’m kidding, I missed all of you.”

“Oh! The news! Ruby, want to tell papa now?” Y/n prepared herself for Charles’ reaction. Everyone did.

“What news, Ruby?”

“I have a boyfriend!”

“Mon amour, grab Théo please.”

Y/n took the baby from Charles’ arms and watched his confused face.

“Baby, you can’t have a boyfriend.” Charles said to Ruby. “You’re too young and he is too.”

“But I already made him a card! Uncle Arthur is helping me!” Ruby pointed at Arthur, who immediately dropped the marker from his hands and froze.

“Arthur! Why are you helping my daughter make a card for a boy?!”

“She didn’t tell me it was for her boyfriend.” Arthur defended himself.

“Yes I did. I said ‘uncle arthur can you help me make a card for my boyfriend?’ and you said yes.” Ruby innocently said.

“I thought she was joking.”

Charles shook his head. He knew it wasn’t a real relationship but he still didn’t like the idea of his little girl already thinking about boys and relationships.

“And you haven’t even heard the best part yet. They’re getting married.” Lorenzo added followed by a loud laugh.

“No one is getting married!” Charles announced.

“So you and mama aren’t getting married?” Ruby asked.

“We are married, baby.” Y/n said confused.

“But Ben’s parents got married two times. He told me.”

“So his name is Ben. Where does he live?” Charles asked and before Ruby could answer, Pascale hit his arm. “Maman! This Ben can’t date my daughter!”

“They’re kids, Charles.” Pascale said, bringing in her granddaughter for a hug.

“You’re telling me you’ve never had a girlfriend when you were a little kid?” Y/n asked Charles. Not that he could remember, no he never did that.

“And you had a boyfriend when you were little?” Charles rolled his eyes, and watched Y/n stay silent. “No, someone was your boyfriend before me?!”

“This isn’t about me, now excuse me I have to practice my flower girl skills before the big wedding.”

#formula 1 #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagine #f1 imagine #f1 x you #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc one shot #cl16 x reader #ferrari #baby leclerc series #charles leclerc imagine #dad!charles leclerc

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tulippanes · 2 months ago

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𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐆

vi. — introductions, finally

warnings: N/A

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"Did you bring my money?" Koushi flinches and immediately avoids eye contact. That little bet yesterday had you gaining 25 dollars. That's what's supposed to happen if he had brought you your damn money. He didn't have the money yesterday—his words—and now you're starting to think he just did the bet because he actually thought he would win.

Of course, he was no help bathing Hank. You did 99.9% of it on your own. At least the little corgi turned out smelling good after he was all dry. Clean and shiny. You trimmed his nails too, which he usually doesn't give any difficulty on. Surprisingly, he'll give you a hell of a time when it comes to bathing but trimming his nails he's a good boy. What a weird dog. Cute, but weird.

Koushi glances over at you before going back to wash the dog bowls. "Huh? What? I forgot it," he says. Your eyes narrow at him.

"Yeah that's what you said yesterday," you spit back at him.

"And I forgot it again today," he retorts. He narrows his eyes back at you.

"I want my money."

"I have leverage over you."

"What leverage?" The two jump at the sound of Kanoka's voice and turn to look at her. She simply smiles while glancing between the two.

"Nothing." Both you and Koushi state at the same time. He goes back to washing the dog bowls and you leave the kitchen. Kanoka trails after you, unsurprisingly.

"What leverage?" she asks again. You didn't think Kanoka of all people would be persistent. Who were you kidding? They were all persistent when it came to subjects they were curious about.

"What are you talking about?" you fein ignorance.

"Koushi said he has leverage over you."

"Uh. No. Why are you listening in to our conversations? Didn't you have something to do in the kitchen?" you ask. Suspicion is written all over her face.

"He said leverage," the tall girl continues to persist.

"Who said leverage?" Hitoka perks up as she walks towards the both of you.

"Koushi said he has leverage over [Name]," Kanoka explains. You want to rip your hair out.

"Why does he have leverage over you?" Hitoka asks, turning to face you.

You groan, "He doesn't."

"But she said Koushi has leverage over you," Hitoka says.

"Koushi has leverage over you?" Tadashi joins in with a grin.

"No– Why do you sound sick? Okay, hold on. Where the hell are you guys coming from?"

"What are you all doing?" Yui questions. She walks towards your group, whom of which were crowding around you. They all immediately disperse and head back towards whatever they were doing before. Some breathing room was given, all thanks to your wonderful and magnificent supervisor. How thankful you are for this blessing in disguise.

You sigh in relief. Yui lets out a huff of amusement. "They're a little nosy, huh?" she says.

"Extremely."

"Oh, can you throw out the trash for me? You should go out through the front though. A dog had an accident right by the door out back," Yui states. That's odd. Most of the dogs aren't really allowed out back nor do they ever head back there. Oh well. They were still dogs after all. You'll take your own dogs out for their walk a little earlier today. You were already going to take out the trash as requested, so why not?

When you head to grab the trash bags, you fail to notice Koushi strolling up to Yui with a skeptical expression. "A dog didn't have an accident out back."

She's startled at his sudden appearance. "You all really are nosy," she huffs.

"Do you know something?" he asks.

"I know a lot more than you that's for sure." She grins then proceeds to walk off. He's quick to follow her, not letting up.

"You're barely in the group chat."

"Doesn't mean I don't read the messages. I've got eyes everywhere, don't you know?"

"You're messing with me," Koushi grumbles. Yui shrugs with a small laugh. These prying little coworkers of hers are quite the entertainment.

He's been casually walking past this doggie daycare five times now. Emphasis on the casually because he wasn't being casual at all. He was the opposite of discreet. After being cut off from their conversation yesterday, he wanted to see her just one more time. Only to get her name is all. He stares up at the sign that hung above. He went straight towards this place instead of going to the gym per usual; his legs had a mind of its own it seems and they took him here. The Bone Zone, he remembers when she pointed at this place the first time they ever met. Which... Wasn't even that long ago. It was like last week.

That's besides the point. He's allowed to reminiscence about it.

The front doors suddenly open and he's met with that same old corgi, Hank from what he recalls. The little dog realizes it's him and it yips, trying to run towards him but is restrained by its leash. The two other dogs beside Hank were a lot calmer. Well, just one actually. The golden one—seeing the way Hank got excited—started to get just as excited as well. It's comical how the other dog with the curls was the only one that seems at peace.

He sees her coming out, the leashes of the dogs in one hand and a trash bag in the other. She looks to be struggling and the corgi's tugging probably wasn't helping. Rushing over to her, he swiftly takes the trash bag from her hand. The widen of her eyes before they soften ever so slightly as she gazes at him.. It has his heart instantly thumping against his chest.

"Hey! You visiting me or something?" she playfully says. It's just a little teasing yet he almost blurts out a yes. That he did come to see her. Again, only to get her name. That was it.

"Ha. Maybe," he replies. She snickers in return.

"You're always helping me. First with Hank, now taking out the trash? You're like a white knight," she chirps. She nods her head as an indication to follow her towards the dumpster behind the Bone Zone. His grip on the trash bag turns a little tighter and he purses his lips. She says things that she probably doesn't even know gets him all hot in the face. It's really embarrassing but it makes him feel good.

He clears his throat once they reach the dumpster and he tosses the trash bag inside. He hears her command the three dogs to sit. "I never– Uh. Got your name," he says awkwardly.

She blinks, "You didn't? Oh! Right! Koushi interrupted." Her name escapes past her lips and he repeats it back to her. She nods eagerly with that bright smile on her face that can light up any dim room. That may or may not light up his own world. He cringes at the thought. She's making him think stupid cheesy stuff.

"Well? What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Your name, silly!" she laughs. He can't help but let out a little huff of amusement himself.

"Hajime."

"Hajime, huh?" she hums, "Hajime. Hajime. Hajime." He's can feel himself grow bashful at the way she continuously repeats his name. He likes it but it makes him nervous. He likes hearing her say his name.

"Haji!" He flinches at the nickname. It's reminding him of those three idiots. Ugh, he can see them now giggling and poking fun at him. Hajime shudders and quickly shakes off those thoughts. He doesn't think he really wants her to call him that, his dumb friends will continuously pop up in his mind if she does.

"Can I call you that?"

"Yes." Damn it. He can't take it back now, not when she looks so happy. The corgi barks and the golden one follows in return. She looks down at the two

"I was just about to take them out for a walk! Wanna come along? If you're willing to lend another helping hand... Again," she says with a sheepish look.

He doesn't mind. He doesn't mind at all. In fact he was hoping she'd ask. Of course, he was here to get her name but since she asked so kindly he couldn't say no! That'd be rude. It 100% was not because he wanted to spend time with her, to linger in her presence a bit longer. "I'll go. I haven't done my workout yet anyway." Maybe it was a bad idea to say so.

She lets out a small gasp, "You haven't? Is that why you were in front of the door, you were walking to the gym? Why didn't you say so? I wouldn't have kept you! I don't wanna ruin your routine."

"No!" he coughs, "Uhm. I meant like no, I really want to spend time with you– uh, help you out. Help out." He doesn't know if she decided to ignore the part where he said he wanted to hang out with her just for his sake, or maybe she really didn't hear it. But she moves on from the topic.

"Okay, we're just heading to the park nearby anyway. But you don't have to walk with me the whole time. You can leave whenever," she insists. As if he'd even think about leaving. He didn't think about leaving last time they went on that quick little walk, why would he want to now?

He glances at the three dogs as they stand up from their sitting positions when she motions for them to do so. They walk side by side and his movements feel insanely robotic. Why he's so stiff, he has no clue. He was as awkward during their first time walking together, maybe even more so now. They turn the corner after exiting the back area where the dumpster was. He simply follows where she's going since she seems to do this every day.

Hajime reaches out his hand, grabbing one of the leashes from her. He just so happens to have gotten Hank's leash and the small dog seems to happily walk beside him. He hears her protest, "You don't have to–"

"It's fine. I'm here to lend a helping hand, aren't I?" he quotes her. She blinks, staring at him for a moment. A soft laugh erupts from her.

"Yeah.. I did say that, huh?" she says and lightly nudges his side with her elbow. He lets out an incoherent noise, one that sounds like a snort. She glances over at him, furrowing her brows. Fuck, this is so embarrassing.

That cheeky grin that spreads across her face isn't helping either. "Hajime.. Are you ticklish?" she asks quietly as if it were some sworn secret.

"No– No," he stutters. He looks to the side where the cars were passing by while they walked on the sidewalk. He was on the outside and her on the inside. How generous of him, acting like such a gentleman. When she leans in closer ever so slightly, Hajime leans back. He cannot handle being any closer to her than he already is. Who knows what he might—No. He's not going to finish that thought.

"You totally are! No way. I didn't think of you as the ticklish type."

He's confused, "Why not?"

"You're just so.. Serious looking," she shrugs. Oh.

She switches the two leashes of the big dogs to hold in her other hand. Her right arm reaches behind him and pokes his right side. "Are you ticklish here too?"

He quickly grasps her wrist, his face burning with embarrassment. "You're... Very curious," he tries to put lightly. He lets go of her wrist and she sheepishly smiles.

"You can say some people rub it off on me," she mutters. "Anyway! I'll keep that in mind."

"Huh? Why would—"

"Oh look! It's there," she states as she points towards the small little park up ahead. She really has a knack for cutting him off and changing the subject. They quickly cross the street on the crosswalk before arriving at the park. The small familiar area was quite empty. He recalls that she said she always takes the dogs on walks here.

She leans down to unhook them from their leash and watches them run off. "You can let him go."

"I thought you weren't allowed to unless it was a dog park?"

"Well, yeah. But usually there isn't anyone around so it's safe to. Unless there's more people than usual then we don't. As long as we don't get caught or something," she states with a wink. Hajime looks around, it is deserted. Maybe because it's also quite early in the morning. He lets Hank go from the leash and the little corgi rushes towards the other two dogs.

He takes a swift glimpse at her and she looks so at ease as she observes the three dogs playing. He wonders, what is she thinking about? What goes on through her mind? What are her days like? There's a chance he's getting too ahead of himself especially with how little they recognize one another. However, is it not normal to want to get to know a person you're interested in?

"Haji?" The voice of her calling out to him makes him snap out of his thoughts. His gaze his fixated on her while she continues stare at the dogs under her care. Okay, he'll admit he's interested in her in some way.

"Yes?"

"Wanna go down the slide?"

"Sorry, what?" The question was so sudden, so random he thought he was hearing things.

She calls the three dogs over and the animals stop their playing, perking up and trotting over to them. "The slide. C'mon," she says as she leads him towards the slide at the playground. She climbs up the stairs and signals for the dogs to do the same. She then crouches down and pats the space at the top of the slide. The golden dog happily steps up, panting as it eagerly slides down and hops off. Its tail wags and stands beside Hajime who wasn't too far off. The curly-haired dog slid down not long after, shaking itself off from head to tail and walking to sit beside the golden one.

Hank was up next but he barks straight at Hajime. "He probably wants you to slide down with him."

"What? No, maybe he just wants to get down." Said dog barks two more times before whining. She raises a brow expectantly.

The golden dog beside him barks as well, nudging its nose into his knee while the other one exhales through its nose. "Alright.." He walks over towards the play area, climbing up the stairs and he reaches the top. Hank jumps up, setting his front paws on his legs. He looks over at her, she was still crouched down. She gives him a reassuring smile.

"He won't bite. Probably," she teases.

He carefully grabs the corgi and holds him in his arms. It's as if he hasn't held the small animal twice now but it feels different this time. Most likely due to the circumstances, while he only held Hank to catch him for the sake of helping; this time it's out of pure... Fun, he supposes. With the small dog securely in his arms he sits and pushes himself down the slide. He sits at the end, allowing Hank to jump out of his arms and safely back onto ground.

The three dogs go back to the grassy area to continue to play with one another then Hajime suddenly feels something collide with his back. He lets our a soft grunt and looks over his shoulder only to see her peering back at him. "Couldn't wait to let me get off?"

"I'm impatient, y'know?" she hums. He shakes his head, the smallest of smiles grazing his lips as he stands up off the slide. She does so as well and examines the three dogs in the near distance.

"You're not worried they'll trample over Hank?" he asks. She knows he's referring to the other two dogs which were practically twice the corgi's size.

"I was.. At first. But they're trained well by their owners. Usually those two are a lot gentler with Hank. I wouldn't still have them together if I had issues. Besides, I always make sure to supervise them. If there was a problem, I'd intervene," she says. He has been seeing her keep a close eye on them ever since they got off their leashes.

A pleased expression takes over her, "They're smart dogs."

"They are."

"You curious about the other two or something?" she queries.

"I am." In the corner of his eye, he can see her cast a fleeting glance at him. She almost looks taken aback. He can't really find a reason on why she would be.

"Oh, uh. The golden one is a golden retriever, that much is obvious. His name is Lucky. The one with curly hair is a poodle and her name is Zuzu," she explains as she points at towards the two other dogs.

"So that one's a girl," he says, more so to himself.

"Uh-huh," she nods. Hajime checks the time, it was almost ten. He doesn't notice her peeking over his shoulder until he turns and he recoils back.

She visibly holds back a giggle. "We should head back. I wouldn't want to waste too much of your time," she says. She's always saying how she wouldn't want to waste his time and yadda yadda. When in fact, he really does like spending time with her. No matter how little it is.

"Oh, hey! You work don't you? What do you work as?" she questions.

"Did I... Never tell you?" She shakes her head at his question. Huh. He could've sworn he did.

"I'm an athletic trainer."

"Woah! Don't you have to work a lot then? How come you have this much free time?"

"..That's a secret." A small smirk graces his lips and she stares dumbfounded at him. She opens her mouth to ask something but then purses her lips. She then huffs and calls the dogs back over, the three rushing over towards them. She hooks Lucky and Zuzu on their leashes while he hooks Hank onto his.

They walk back towards where the daycare was. The walk back will always be shorter than the walk towards a destination. Hajime hates it. "Are you still gonna go to the gym? I'll walk you there! I wanna walk them around the neighborhood so they can be outside a little longer," she beams. He wasn't planning to go to the gym but since she's offering.. He can get a quick workout in. He agrees but when they arrive near the Bone Zone, she subtly urges him to walk a little faster when they past by the entrance.

It isn't really subtle since he notices it, especially with the way she frequently glances over as if anyone will pop out any minute. He doesn't comment on it. When they arrive at the gym he frequents, he hands Hank's leash over to her. "Thank you," he states.

"Huh? What for? I should be thanking you!" she retorts.

He leans in a little closer, close enough where she can see that faint little smile he has. "I had fun," he quietly utters. He then playfully nudges her side, just as she did to him. She lets out a surprised squeak and before she can say anything else, he's already heading inside.

"What the.." she mumbles as she watches him practically scurry off.

Hajime feels like he should've done something, asked for something. But he doesn't know what. Oh well. It'll come to mind eventually.

You finished doing a lap around the neighborhood and you're back at the Bone Zone, slaving away at work. You were playing with Hank and Lucky, Zuzu laying beside you. You think back to earlier, the way Hajime ran off and you quietly chuckle to yourself.

"What are you laughing about?"

You whip your head around only to see the devil himself, Koushi. You look up at him from your spot on the ground as he towers over you. "I'm laughing at my dogs. Because they're just so funny."

"Something happened."

"Nothing happened," you insist. He continues to eyeball you for a moment longer. You two have a stare down and he continues to interrogate.

"What took you so long to take out the trash?"

"I went to take the dogs on a walk. Duh."

"You didn't bump into anyone? No one at all?" Does he have a sixth sense for this thing? Actually, do all of them have one? You recollect that Kanoka said something about a [Name] tingle. What the hell is wrong with these guys?

"Look, one of your dogs is eating stuffing," you point towards said dog who ripped apart a toy and was now eating the inside fluff of it. He immediately spins around and runs over, reprimanding it.

You snicker and turn towards your own dogs, only to see them staring at you. "What? It's a secret between us, okay?" you say and place a finger up to your lips. Hank and Lucky go back to playing with their perspective toys. Zuzu lays her head back down and you gently run your fingers through her fur.

Having that walk with Hajime was fun. He's fun. Thoughts of today, being at the park with him, doesn't leave your mind and... It's nice to know he has a little playful side to him. It's nice that he listens to you, and that he's actually curious about you. That he doesn't dismiss you, or doesn't mind your little ramblings. That he actually puts effort into talking to you.

So yeah, he's pretty fun.

𝐏𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒:

• Koushi did in fact, have your money but he's not giving up those 25$

• Yui knows about all your encounters with Hajime, she just so conveniently happened to be taking out the trash every time it happened

• She also knew he was outside the Bone Zone walking back and forth like an idiot

• I like to think Hajime is insanely ticklish bc its a funny thought

• Mf was so embarrassed after saying goodbye to you that he took out all of it on the treadmill

• Ending is slight indication of how much Hajime and your ex are polar opposites

• Did Hajime google if time travel was real? We'll never know.

a/n did u miss me was i missed i'd hope so😞 im SO so sorry for the delay its been like 3 weeks and i've been putting it off last week was so shitty and i've had sm on my plate im gonna go insane so i hope this 3 chapter release will make up for it💔 i also have the other chapters planned out to be released the rest of the week so😜 written portion is slightly proofread... I wanna flesh out my writing a lot more so hopefully it improves in the upcoming chapters

tags

@blueballslock @akaashislovee @shookykookie30 @wyrcan @darling-eos @pelicanpizza @bakugouswh0r3 @mawenskiblue @phoenix-eclipses @s777athv @toorusfangirl @zazathezaer @strawberry-sanzu @oneiratxxia10 @tsukiesimp @yessimo @ghostreader0307 @nifflermini @mochroialainn @bunninio @honeyynuttsss @purple-snowfox @weezerbby @mjustag1rl @iluv-ace @nightscarab @madiexuberant @ikisswonbin @thiisisntlovely @idkanymorebuthere @bakingcuriosity @cupidsblonde

p.s. those in blue couldn't be tagged😞😞

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clarisse0o · 5 months ago

Text

Camp Wiegman-Part 62

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words : 5K

Masterlist

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Friday, February 26; 9:00 AM - Zoo.

"Come on, hurry up," my brother urges next to the car.

"Joan," I tease. "Stop it, please, and stay here."

"If you don't listen, we'll turn back," Lucy scolds him.

That threat earns a grumpy response from my brother. He turns his back on us, crossing his arms. I smile, keeping an eye on him in case he seriously considers walking away. Meanwhile, Lucy grabs our backpack, which we prepared last night while Joan was already asleep. Since we couldn't go yesterday, we rescheduled the zoo for today. Joan was over the moon once he figured it out. We didn’t talk about it at all yesterday. We were too busy. We ended up at a small fair with our friends after visiting the local market. My brother had completely forgotten about the zoo because of that, and in the evening, when he asked, we pretended we weren't going anymore to surprise him. It worked quite well. He's very excited now. I hope today will be better than the fair. We came home late, in the late afternoon. We offered to have our friends stay for the evening, but they politely declined, likely feeling awkward about being invited again. Perhaps it was for the best. Joan was so exhausted that he fell asleep right after dinner. We managed to get him to sleep in the guest room thanks to that. Sure, he woke up at the crack of dawn this morning and squeezed in between us, but we couldn't hold it against him. At least we almost got an entire night to ourselves. Joan sulked all morning, but it seems like his bad mood has vanished. Now he’s beaming with anticipation.

"Alright, we’re good to go," Lucy announces, shutting the trunk.

Joan spins around excitedly at the news. His smile brightens, and he looks at me, waiting for my go-ahead.

"Go ahead, but stay in front of us, okay? I don't want to lose you in the crowd."

He nods and takes the lead. I smile, following him with my hand in Lucy's. Lucy sighs softly, probably relieved that we’ve finally arrived. Joan was unbearable the whole ride. I've seen him impatient before, but never like this. It felt like he was deliberately trying to annoy Lucy, and he succeeded. I had to keep him entertained, or else Lucy would have lost her mind.

"I hope today goes smoothly," she says.

"There’s no reason it shouldn’t. Though, there are more people here than I expected," I remark. "I didn't think it’d be this busy."

"It's Friday, the last day of school vacation before the weekend. Of course, it’s packed," Lucy replies. "At least the weather is warming up a bit. It’ll be more pleasant."

I nod. It’s still a bit chilly, but unlike what one of Lucy’s neighbors told us earlier this week, the icy wind has finally died down. The snow has also melted, and in a few weeks, the temperature should finally rise. I can’t wait for that. In Barcelona, we rarely experience bad weather, if ever. It’s the complete opposite here. It’ll be tough at first, but I think I can get used to it. There are perks to the snow and cold. First, you can have fun in different ways, and with the cold, you get way more cuddles. Not that we don’t cuddle in Barcelona, but it’s much more enjoyable here, under a blanket. We reach the ticket booths. We wait a bit before it’s our turn. I handle the tickets, not giving Lucy a chance to argue. It’s about time she lets me contribute financially, even though I’m not working yet.

"I could have paid," she says once we pass the security gates.

"No," I reply cheerfully.

"Yes."

"No, and that’s the end of it. Today, it’s on me."

She rolls her eyes with a small smile before Joan reminds us of his presence by tugging on my jacket sleeve.

"Come on, Ona! We need to keep moving!"

"The animals aren’t going anywhere, you know," I say with a small laugh. "Come on, give me your hand. There are a lot of people here."

"I'm not a little kid anymore," she complains.

"That’s not the point. I just said there’s a crowd, and I don’t want to lose you."

I accompany my words with a stern look. He’s been arguing nonstop since we got here, and I’m starting to lose patience. He sighs and eventually gives me his hand. In the meantime, I turn toward Lucy, but I notice she’s no longer beside me. A brief moment of panic sets in until I spot her at a nearby map stand. I sigh in relief before dragging us over to her.

"Hey, if I tell Joan to give me his hand so I don’t lose him, it’s not an excuse for you to run off."

She laughs softly, leaning her head toward me.

"Sorry. I saw the maps and thought they might be useful."

"Haven’t you done the zoo before?" I ask, surprised.

"No. It’s a first for both of us," she says with a little smile.

I return her smile. She finally takes a map and stops when she sees my hand extended toward her. She laughs but takes it without protest.

"Alright, let’s go."

"What should we start with?" Joan asks, looking around with excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Well, let’s check the map."

As I speak, Lucy unfolds the map. Everything is super organized. They’ve laid it out by zones based on the animals’ origins. My attention lingers on the penguins. Knowing Joan, that’s what he’ll enjoy the most.

"I’d save that for last," I say, pointing to that part of the map.

"Okay, well, let’s start here then," she points to the opposite direction.

"Should we join a tour group?" I ask, noticing one gathering beside us with a guide.

"No, that’s boring," my brother groans.

"Looks like you’ve got your answer," Lucy says.

"Alright, alright," I reply with amusement. "Just us, then."

"Can we start with the lions?" he asks.

"That’s actually over that way. Let’s go."

We move forward through the crowd to start with the African animals. Joan might be excited, but so am I. I love these kinds of outings, just the three of us. I also love animals. We linger at some exhibits and pass by others more quickly. It’s our first time here, but the layout is really well done. I’m sure we’ll come back, just Lucy and me. The zoo is organized like small villages at various points along the path. They’re often animated by staff, and they even offer activities in certain spots. We managed to get Joan to participate in one of them. He didn’t really want to at first, but in the end, he seemed to enjoy it. Then, we had the chance to feed the zebras. We were lucky to arrive at the right time. That was definitely Joan’s favorite part. Of course, the activity was supervised by staff, but they weren’t obligated to involve the visitors. The African section ends with the lions, which he kept talking about the entire time, even after all the things he got to do. I mentally note that my brother is becoming more and more spoiled and that I need to talk to our mom about it. I’m not the one responsible for his upbringing, but it’d be good for her to keep an eye on this not-so-pleasant change.

"What’s the next section?" I take advantage of my brother’s distraction to ask Lucy.

"The Asian animals. Then the Australian ones. But I think it’d be a good idea to grab lunch before that since we’ll be near a restaurant."

"Okay, that works for me," I reply with a smile.

We’ve been walking for two hours now, so that sounds like a good idea. By the time we finish the next section, I imagine we’ll be ready for lunch just before noon. It seems less busy than the one we just completed, according to the map. That’s good news, considering the crowd around us. Lucy was right earlier. The weather is mild, and it’s the end of vacation, so people are making the most of it. We’ll have to consider these factors next time if we want a more peaceful visit. Lucy kisses me and then wraps her arm around my shoulders. I keep an eye on my brother, who’s been ahead of us for a while now. He’s captivated by the lions. He’s holding onto the railing, looking down as if he never wants to leave this spot. Unfortunately, I have to burst his bubble if we want to see everything.

"Come on, Jo, let’s go."

"A little longer, please," she pleads, pouting.

"No, we’re moving on," Lucy jumps in. "Otherwise, you won’t be able to see everything. There are other animals like leopards and jaguars."

"Tigers too?" she asks excitedly.

"Of course. We’re getting to them soon, but we need to keep moving. »

Finally, without further resistance, he complied. He walked ahead of us. From the start, he had been negotiating to stop holding my hand. It must have been torture for her to see the other children running around while he couldn't. I agreed on the condition that he stayed in front, didn't run, and didn't stray too far. I also didn’t want to spend my day holding his back. So far, he had respected my terms, which was a first since this morning. Lucy had gotten so fed up with his behavior in certain situations that she left him to me to handle. She was probably right. I had noticed that the more Lucy got involved, the worse his behavior became. I imagine it will take some time for him to adjust to having someone else in my life. After all, he had never really seen me with anyone before. When I was with Mapi, he was too young to remember, which was for the best. He would probably have made a fuss about us no longer being together, given how much he adores my best friend.

With these thoughts in mind, we continued along, taking our time to observe everything. The scenery was beautiful, a peaceful place where you almost forget the disrespectful kids shouting everywhere. Almost. Lucy might complain, but at least we didn't have to deal with that with my brother. As someone who dislikes drawing attention, I appreciated this.

Finally, it was time to eat. As planned, we arrived just before noon. There was a bit of a wait, but not as bad as it could have been.

“I’m not hungry,” my brother mumbled. “Do we have to stop?”

“Yes,” I replied. “You’re not alone, and knowing you, you'll be hungry as soon as we leave.”

“But there’s still so much to see!”

“And we’ll have time to see it all.”

“But—"

“Joan, that’s enough,” my girlfriend interjected with a stern look. “My threat from this morning still stands.”

“Oh, stop. He’s been good all morning.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at me, and I pressed my lips together. Last night, she’d told me it would be a good idea to support her when she said something to Joan, to avoid making her look like the bad guy. Admittedly, apart from a few grumpy remarks, which I had managed so far, Joan had behaved well this morning. My girlfriend sighed softly and turned back to Joan.

“We’re eating now. If you’re not hungry, you don’t have to eat, but don’t complain later.”

In response, my brother groaned, crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks. It seemed like his favorite thing to do since he arrived, and it was pretty funny to watch.

“Come on, move along,” I guided him with a hand on his head as we advanced in line.

“But I’m really not hungry,” he insisted, looking up at me. “My stomach hurts,” he added, rubbing his belly.

“Really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded, eyes filling with tears. I sighed and glanced at Lucy, who shrugged. I knew she was aware, just like me, that this was probably a lie.

“Well, I suppose you can take some medicine beforehand. We brought those dissolvable sachets, just in case.”

In reality, we only had tablets. I would have crushed one if she truly needed it, as he can’t swallow them whole. It’s not like I don’t know how to do that. I also knew he hated it, which was clear when he grimaced at the idea.

“No!” he whined.

“Well, what? You’re feeling unwell, aren’t you?”

“I-I think I feel better now.”

A small laugh escaped me. I shook my head. So the negotiations were working after all. Lucy wasn’t wrong to have me handle this. It seemed effective. We finally reached the buffet, which reminded me a lot of a school cafeteria. I grabbed a tray for Joan and myself, while Lucy took care of hers. We helped ourselves to the food. Lucy and I got chicken cutlets with fries and a green salad, while Joan chose spaghetti Bolognese. For dessert, we picked cookies. I think I also slipped a few snacks into the bag in case we got hungry later. We finished with drinks—iced tea for Joan and me, and water for Lucy. Once everything was ready, I paid, and we found a table. The place was somewhat crowded but not so much that we had to wait for a table to free up.

The meal passed peacefully, with Joan chattering nonstop. It was the first time he’d talked so much, so we let him. He had just started his first year of primary school, and since I no longer lived at home, the change was pretty drastic. Not just in personality, but intellectually as well. This morning, he had fun reading all the signs to me, showing that he could read now.

“And then Paul got a new dog. It’s so cute! I wanted to go to his house to see it, but Mom wouldn’t let me.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm,” she nodded with her mouth full. “I wanted to have a sleepover, but we already had plans that day.”

“I see,” I chuckled. “Maybe next time.”

“When are you guys going to get a dog?”

Lucy, who had been silent until now, nearly choked. I stifled a laugh. That question caught me off guard too. I’d forgotten how unfiltered Joan could be. If anything, he talks more now than before.

“Why do you think we’d get a dog?” I asked, once I composed myself.

“Well, I already asked Mom, but she said no. So now I’m asking you guys. It’d be great! I could take care of it when I visit.”

This time, I laughed out loud. It wasn’t like he would be spending half the year with us. Besides, knowing him, even if we had a dog, he wouldn’t actually take care of it when he was here.

“We’re not getting a dog, Jo, I’m sorry.”

“But why?” she pouted.

“Well, we’re hardly ever home right now. It just wouldn’t work.”

"Home." The word slipped out before I realized it. It didn’t seem to bother Lucy, though, as she kept watching us with a faint smile. I cleared my throat and continued, giving a more realistic explanation that Joan could understand.

“Don’t you think a dog would be miserable, locked up in an apartment all alone? And dogs require care, which we wouldn’t be around to give since we don’t live in the apartment during the week.”

“Or on weekends when you don’t have leave,” Lucy teased, continuing to eat as if nothing happened.

I stuck my tongue out at her in response. She had said that on purpose. The worst part was that she was the one who enforced this “punishment.” It was funny, though, and I appreciated that she still saw me as the person I was before we got together. It meant she hadn’t labeled our relationship or changed how she viewed me. Now that I think about it, our behavior toward each other hadn’t changed either. Joan’s voice brought my attention back to her.

“But yeah, not now, duh! You could get a dog once you’ve finished school and have a house. You said you love Lucy, so that’s what will happen, right? You could have a dog then, and you wouldn’t even need a baby!”

Lucy burst into laughter—literally. Meanwhile, I died of embarrassment, hiding my flushed face behind my hands. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that in front of my girlfriend. I could feel Lucy’s eyes on me from across the table, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I forced myself to, though, and saw her smiling at me with amusement, clearly expecting me to respond.

“You’re really talking nonsense. We don’t know yet. And who says we won’t have a baby, huh?”

“Well, I’m already here. You don’t need one. And besides, you can’t have one anyway. I’ll just move in with you.”

Once again, Lucy snickered softly. Joan, who seemed very sure of what he was saying, pouted and crossed his arms. I bit my lip to hold back my amusement. He was definitely giving me plenty of stories to remind him of later.

“All that, huh?” I asked.

“Isn’t it a good idea?”

He was sulking. I recognized the tone in his voice when he did that.

“Where did you get all these ideas, huh?”

“Well, my friends say two girls together can’t have a baby.”

I ran a hand through my hair. He must have talked to them about me. I knew he often mentioned me to them, so it wasn’t impossible. Poor thing must have a lot of questions if he’s already discussing this with his friends—or anyone else, for that matter. It must be tough for him to understand everything at his age. I couldn’t wait for him to grow up, if only to understand this better.

“They’re right,” Lucy said. “But there are other ways.”

“That’s true,” I confirmed. “Like adoption, for example.”

I gave him the simplest version of the truth, something he could grasp. Lucy and I hadn’t had the chance to talk about it yet; it was way too early for that. But if I were to give my opinion, adoption wasn’t something I’d want to prioritize. Joan seemed to latch onto the idea instantly, and his reaction caught me off guard.

“Then you can adopt me!”

I rolled my eyes playfully and grabbed a napkin to wipe the tomato sauce covering his face. A few more seconds, and it would have dripped onto his clothes.

“And why would we adopt you, huh? You have a home with two parents. Adoption is for children who don’t have that, you know?”

I can see through his eyes that all the hopes he had thought so much about have evaporated. I don't like seeing that glimmer. I feel bad for him.

“So, you don't want me?”

“We didn’t say that,” Lucy responds. “You can come see us as often as you want, and we’ll visit you in Barcelona too.”

“But… I want to stay with you! You’re way too far from home, and Mom and Dad aren’t around much anyway.”

I give him a sad smile. I know what that’s like, unfortunately. I run my hand through his hair before pulling him into a hug. He lets himself go without any fuss.

“I know, sweetheart, but we can’t do any better. It’s not that we don’t want you, but you can’t just leave home like that. Besides, Lucy and I will probably have another busy year ahead. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t take you in permanently.”

I think about the opportunity at the Art school for me and the opening of the gym for Lucy. This upcoming year will be just as busy and complicated as this one, if not more. I dread it as much as I’m excited to see what the future holds. I’m still waiting on a phone call, and I’m starting to worry that I haven’t heard back yet. Lucy says it’s normal, and I hope she’s right.

“Hmm… I would have preferred to live with you anyway,” he admits.

I don’t know what’s going on at home, but there’s clearly something wrong. I think I’ll call my mom when I get the chance. If Joan isn’t feeling comfortable there anymore, I need to know so I can get my mom to react. There’s no way I’ll let him go through what I went through. I know how that ends, and if we don’t find the right person to help, things can go very wrong.

“Alright,” Lucy interrupts. “We should finish up quickly if we still want to do everything.”

This news brings a small smile to my brother’s face before he quickly resumes where he left off before our conversation.

“Slow down, please. Otherwise, you’ll really get a stomach ache.”

He nods but doesn’t slow down, which makes Lucy and me laugh as we exchange a glance. She may not have said much at the table, but I know she heard everything. I’ll ask her what she thinks about it all when we’re alone. We finish dessert, then head off to explore another area. Even though Joan claimed he wasn’t hungry, he still ate well. The day goes on, and surprisingly, Joan has become calmer than before, which delights my girlfriend. It’s understandable. As much as he pushes her limits, it’s annoying to have to constantly put him back in his place when we’re supposed to be having a good time. He must have realized that his tantrums don’t work with us. Maybe I should call Sofia as well to see how she reacts to his. Unlike my mom, I don’t doubt Lucy knows how to manage him as I do. It’s just that my mom doesn’t have patience for this sort of thing, so it’s very hard for her to react calmly. She loses her temper rather than defuse the situation.

“Hey,” Lucy calls out after a while. “Stop worrying. It can’t be that bad.”

“I don’t know,” I admit with a small, anxious smile. “We’ll see. I’ll call my mom tonight. I need to know what’s going on.”

She nods understandingly before giving me a soft kiss. Unfortunately, it’s the moment Joan turns around. His new habit is to let out disgusted noises whenever he sees us. But it seems he didn’t hear the rest. We change the subject as we finish this park, which Joan seems particularly fond of. It’s true—it’s very well done. We’ll definitely come back.

Friday, February 26th; 9:00 PM – Lucy’s apartment.

We’re back home. Everything is peaceful. It was six o'clock when we got back. The day was good. We all enjoyed it, especially Joan, who has already showered, eaten, and even gone to bed. He fell asleep in the guest room without even protesting. In fact, he went there on his own with his new penguin plush. We managed to finish the park, and it seems I was right—Joan loved it, and I couldn’t resist buying him a plush when he asked for it. He earned it with how well he behaved in the afternoon. As for Lucy and me, I had just settled on the couch with Netflix on in the background. I had already showered, and Lucy should be joining me soon. I hadn’t heard the water running in the bathroom for about five minutes. Now that everything is calm, I wanted to call my mom. Joan’s behavior wasn’t normal. I knew he had behavioral issues, but now we needed to figure out why. Nothing ever happens for no reason. It seems like everyone’s already forgotten what happened with me. I’m not going to let them forget. Just as I was about to call, an unknown number appeared on my screen. I don’t recognize it, but it seems to be from here, from Manchester. I frown, intrigued by the late call. Could it be Feli? Would she really come here? How would she even know where I am? The thought makes my stomach knot. I inhale slowly, glancing behind me to check if Lucy is around. Not yet. She’s still in the bathroom. After the fifth ring, I force myself to pick up.

“Hello?” I answer cautiously, my voice uncertain.

“Miss Batlle?” a voice asks.

“Yes...?”

“Hello, this is Bennett Fields! I’m sorry to call so late. I lost track of time,” he says with a small laugh. “Am I disturbing you?”

Bennett Fields, Bennett Fields... Oh! He’s the gallery director. I immediately sit up straighter on the couch, as if he could see me from afar.

“No, no! I’m at home,” I tell him.

“Good.”

If he were in front of me, I’m sure I’d be able to see his smile. It’s amazing how you can read him so well.

“How are you?”

“Well, I’m pretty nervous now that you’re on the line,” I admit, which makes him chuckle. “And you?”

“I’m well, thank you. I apologize for not contacting you sooner. I had a rather busy week. I know I said I would get in touch with the person who sent me your drawings, but I preferred to speak with you directly.”

“No problem.”

In any case, I would’ve gotten the answer tonight since the other person is also in this apartment. I now understand why he asked for my number at the end of our meeting. He seems to like dealing with people directly, which is completely normal.

“I’m calling to follow up on our meeting.”

“I figured,” I reply with amusement.

I like the way we talk. I should be stressed, but he puts me at ease. His laugh is contagious.

“You impressed me a lot, Ona. Certainly not by your lack of experience, but by your undeniable talent.”

Blushing, I feel flattered to hear that from a professional.

“So, here’s the thing. I have a proposal for you. Of course, as we discussed, it would mean going back to school. Are you still okay with that?”

“Of course!”

We haven’t discussed next year much with Lucy yet, but we both kind of know what to expect.

“Good. However, the offer wouldn’t be for the Manchester gallery…”

“What do you mean?” I ask, feeling a bit worried.

“Well, here’s the thing. My gallery is expanding. I’m developing new locations in the region. I’m about to open one in Cardiff, and I’m putting together a team. I think you’d be a great fit there, under the direction of my new manager.”

Cardiff? The news leaves me speechless. What should I say to that? I definitely can’t accept such an offer on the spot. My lack of response prompts him to speak.

“I know it’s a big decision to think about. You’ve already traveled a lot, but this would be an excellent opportunity for you.”

“It definitely requires some thought…” I murmur.

“I didn’t expect an immediate answer. I’ll give you time to think it over. Just so you know, there’s also an Art school there, and the program can last two to three years, depending on the student’s choice.”

Two to three years? My vision blurs. There’s no way I’m staying away from Lucy for that long!

“If you’d like, we can schedule another meeting in two weeks. Do you think you could get some time off from school for a weekday meeting?”

“I-I’ll have to check.”

“Well, call me when you know. That way, we can set up a time to meet and talk face-to-face. Can we do that?”

“Yes, we can do that. I’ll call you then.”

“Great! Well, I wish you a good evening. Talk to you soon.”

“Talk to you soon, Mr. Fields.”

I hang up, completely overwhelmed by the conversation. Damn it! I think I’d have preferred if he’d just rejected me rather than making me face such a decision!

“Who was it?”

I jump, not having noticed Lucy’s presence. I turn toward her as she slowly approaches to sit beside me.

“Ona?” she calls gently. “Is everything alright?”

“I think we need to talk…”

Concern flashes across her eyes. Oh yes, she has reason to be worried. If she only knew how I’m feeling inside right now... I almost feel like crying.

#woso #lucy bronze #woso community #ona batlle #barca femeni #lionesses #woso soccer #sefutbol fem #ona batlle x lucy bronze

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tomorrowxtogether · 3 months ago

Text

SOOBIN: “I thought I should just try to shine as I am.”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY comeback interview

2024.11.11

He once strived to become a lush, towering forest. But he realized that people will love him for exactly what he is—a deep, rolling ocean. And so, he decided to remain as whom he always has been: an ocean named SOOBIN.

You took a trip to Vietnam earlier this year with BEOMGYU. I heard you planned the whole thing. SOOBIN: I’m usually the kind of person who just goes around without a real plan, but since we don’t get much vacation time, I figured we’d better go all out and do everything we could in one go, so I tried planning it all out. (laughs) BEOMGYU just wanted to go with the flow, but there was a ton of stuff I wanted to do.

I’m sure it’s not easy taking a trip or spending your off time with the same people you spend all your time with. SOOBIN: I hang out a lot with the rest of the group on my own time too, though. Three of us were all hanging out together just yesterday. To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t feel like anything special since we’re always together 365 days a year, but I’m also most comfortable around them for the same reason.

Sometimes people start bickering with each other when they get too comfortable with one another, but you’re always so kind—like how you gifted BEOMGYU with a nap in that “The Perfect Way to Rest” video when you remembered he was feeling tired. SOOBIN: I think I’m good at picking up on things. I don’t know if I can do it with everyone, but at least with the other members of the group, I’m pretty good at telling how they’re feeling or if they’re not feeling well. As soon as I see one of them, I can tell, Oh, he looks a little rough today, or, He’s sure in a good mood today. (laughs) If they seem down, I go over to them to find out what’s wrong and talk it over.

Your kindness also comes across when you’re with animals, like in the “OUR TOMORROW” video, where you took care of one dog who was so nervous that it didn’t get a chance to eat any treats. Have you always been drawn to people and creatures that are small and left out? SOOBIN: So, so much. In fact, I was really shy and struggled to fit in when I was a trainee. I was really lonely at first. So when time passed and I finally got accustomed to things, if I saw another trainee who was shy and couldn’t adjust, I felt like looking out for them. Kai was among them. (laughs) That’s how I ended up becoming really close with him.

You talked about the cat your sister adopted recently, explaining how it used to be shy because it had a hard life in the past but that it finally opened up this year. SOOBIN: I went to see the cat when my sister first got it, but I couldn’t even see it that first time—it just hid under the couch. It was so shy that I thought I’d never get to pet it, but the last time I saw it, it came right up to me and started purring, wanting to be petted. It was able to overcome its painful past and open up to my family thanks to all the love they show looking after it. Love really does have the power to change anything. (laughs)

You also said on weverse LIVE recently that you made a new friend who you can talk about dramas, movies, and books with. SOOBIN: For me, dramas and movies don’t end with watching them—after you’re done watching, that’s when things are just getting started. I always look up reviews and analyses online. People can watch the same thing and they’ll all have their own thoughts on it, so I’m curious about all those different views, and now I have someone to talk about that with. They know a lot more about books and movies than I do, so I end up learning a lot when we’re sharing our thoughts together. Just having a friend to share my interests with is really fun.

You mentioned talking about Inside Out 2, and you looked at how it features a place to store things you’ve heard that you want to keep for a long time, which got you thinking about what sort of things you would want to hold onto. SOOBIN: I kept recalling things my friends say after we hang out—things like, “SOOBIN, I’m so happy we’re friends,” and, “I feel great whenever I’m with you.” Hearing things like that really touches my heart. Seriously, how often do you get to hear things like that in life? I used to find expressing things like that awkward and weird, but thanks to my friends, I’m getting used to saying I love and appreciate people. You empathized with how Anxiety works harder and feels more anxious than others because they want to be good at things. Are there things you feel you should work harder at than other people? SOOBIN: I’m actually slower at learning choreography compared to the other members. I assumed I’d get a lot better after debuting and regularly performing onstage, but progress was slower than I expected. I didn’t say anything about this before, and I even kept it a secret from the other members, but I actually got separate choreo lessons on the side when we were doing “Chasing That Feeling” and “Deja Vu.” We’d take lessons as a group, and then once I was alone I’d always spend about an hour dancing and working on the little details. I tried so hard with those two most recent songs that I even practiced on my own like that. Seeing as I’m slow, I have to work harder to keep up with the other members. If I have more time, I want to practice more for this comeback, too.

With all the touring you’ve done and the encore performances you have coming up, it must’ve been really hectic getting ready for your Star Chapter: SANCTUARY comeback. SOOBIN: The schedule was really tight this time around—we even had to record vocals in Japan in the middle of the tour since we were in and out of the country—but now that we’re in our sixth year, the five of us were all really fast about things. I could sense that we had grown compared to before since we were faster at recording than we could’ve expected to be in the past and it took us less time to work out the details of the choreography.

The album’s subtitle, SANCTUARY, is a word that’s appeared in TOMORROW X TOGETHER albums before. What’s been your sanctuary these days? SOOBIN: I never used to have a sanctuary, which made getting through tough times hard, but I do now: simple things like working out or reading. It feels like the things that break me away from overthinking and let me immerse myself in something else are my sanctuary.

You were complimented on your previous promotions for your improved vocals and high notes. What about on this album? SOOBIN: Actually, every other album we’ve done had a song in a genre I wasn’t confident in, but not this time. The single “Over The Moon” is really laid-back, and I felt like it was perfect timing for us to try out a song like that. What’s unfortunate is that I caught this horrendous cold during recording. We started practicing for live performances recently, and the director said, “SOOBIN’s singing better than he did when recording. He makes it sound effortless.” So I couldn’t help but think about how much better I could’ve done if only my throat had been in better shape.

You always focus a lot on lyrics. Were there any on this album that have stuck with you in particular? SOOBIN: This album isn’t so much about telling some big, sweeping story as it is about everything we’ve been through together. Now that we’ve been through all that chaos, it’s about the universal emotion of love, which everyone can relate to, and I liked that about it. There’s a line in “Higher Than Heaven” that sticks with me that goes, “I think I kinda get what forever means now.” I even once said, “I never used to believe in the word ‘forever,’ but I think I can now, thanks to our fans.” I didn’t write that part, but it’s like it was written to perfectly capture my feelings.

The other members have probably had an impact on your belief in the word “forever,” too. SOOBIN: I’m pretty sure we’re going to grow old together and that we’ll be together till the day I die. We do the same thing and basically live the same life day in and day out, so we know what makes each other cry the most during concerts, too. Whether it’s my tears of happiness or BEOMGYU’s tears of disappointment from a leg injury, having friends to understand and share those feelings with is nice. They’re all just really kind people—calm and clear, like a stream. None of us is domineering or splashing around, disturbing the peace, and nobody’s dirtying the water, so I think we’ll be able to stick together for a long, long time.

You said before that you had found being onstage tough while touring. Now that you’ve already wrapped up your third world tour, do you still find that to be the case? SOOBIN: I think I’m getting better over time. I still can’t say that I completely enjoy myself, but the worries I used to have before going onstage have gone away entirely. There used to be times where I found it hard to watch myself onstage because I didn’t like how I looked, but now I see myself up there and I think I look cool. (laughs)

The way you have a different outfit on for every sound check when you’re on tour is definitely cool. SOOBIN: For fans who come even though they’re busy, showing up hours before the concert just to wait, doing it purely out of love, I wanted to be more stylish, so I bought a lot of clothes just for sound checks. The glasses-plus-cardigan combo was something I bought in advance for summer, and the reaction from the audience was amazing! They showed me on the big screen and MOA was screaming their lungs out—like, not the usual “wow,” but, “aah!” Like shock and awe. (laughs) I was worried I went overboard with the look, but they showed they liked it, so I was happy.

There’s no way not to bring up your cover of the Choi Yu Ree song “Forest” when talking about you. You said that the people around you are like tall trees in a forest and that you thought you’re one of them, but that you figured out you’re actually more like the ocean. SOOBIN: It’s easy to find people around me who are better looking and sing and dance better than I do. I actually started thinking about that at Lollapalooza. The other members looked so happy and like they were having so much fun onstage, but I couldn’t. I felt eaten up inside seeing myself not being able to fully enjoy it because of all the pressure. Then I heard Choi Yu Ree explaining that “Forest” is about feeling like you’re not good enough and I thought, “Ah, so that’s what I’ve been going through.” I started to understand my emotions a little bit better. Everyone ends up comparing themselves to others at some point in their lives—it’s unavoidable. And they have times where all they can see are the things they hate about themselves, but it’s ridiculous. I was overflowing with negative feelings when I was working on my “Forest” cover, and I wanted to sort of deal with those feelings and express them.

The music video echoes your thoughts that someday you’ll come to shore and become one with the forest. What does the forest mean to you? SOOBIN: Just being a singer who’s good at singing and dancing, interacting with my fans, enjoying performing, and being able to do it all with complete sincerity. I think I was showing how the forest to me means being happy with the other members when they’re happy. Nothing big—just simple things I’m not always that good at.

Do you feel more like a forest now that some time has gone by? SOOBIN: Umm … I saw a ton of comments from fans after I covered “Forest.” My mindset when I was doing it was, Right now I’m like the ocean, but I’ll become a part of the forest just like you guys—so wait for me until then. But once I saw what fans were writing, I changed my mind and thought, Do I really need to become a part of the forest? I could be similar to the forest, but I don’t have to change myself to be one. My fans kept saying, “The whole reason we liked you in the first place is because you’re like the ocean, not because we hoped you’d become like a forest. If that were the case, we’d like somebody else. Why do you think it was you?” The ocean comes with its own perks, you know. You need to have some ocean near a forest to add to the scenery and have more things to do. Now I think maybe I tried too hard to fit in by trying to be like the forest. Now I feel like I can shine bright just by being myself.

That lines up with what you recently said in an interview you did in Japan when you said that your 20s, the best and most energetic time of life, are dazzling and fun thanks to knowing MOA. What do you think you’ll see when you look back on this youthful period of your 20s? SOOBIN: Joy. Every moment of our lives is packed with good times and bad times, joy and sorrow, but in the end, I think, I’m on a path towards joy. Even things that are so agonizing that you want to die—so bad you feel like the whole world is against you, and so bad you’re certain they’re weighing on you forever, eventually pass.

Doesn’t it almost feel funny sometimes, looking back after all that? (laughs) SOOBIN: Yes. It ends up feeling so trivial somehow. Things that felt massive at the time are like a speck in the distance once you get even a little space between them and yourself. Even after all the hardship I went through being a trainee, I can look back now and see there were a lot of good times. Maybe we tend to romanticize the past a bit? (laughs) Even some of the stuff I’m going through now can be tough, to be honest, but I’m never going to give up. There’s still so much I want to give. The amount of joy I derive from doing this is way higher than the amount of difficulty. I think my life’s amazing, even right now.

So amazing. (laughs) SOOBIN: I think so too! (laughs) As time goes on and I get older, when I look back on my youth, my time with TOMORROW X TOGETHER, I wonder if it’ll look that much more shiny and amazing. Maybe I’ll feel I was even cooler at this time than I feel I am now.

#txt #tomorrow x together #241111 #weverse #soobin #choi soobin #weverse magazine #the star chapter #sanctuary

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sachirobabe · 7 months ago

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Chapter 6

Kuroo Tetsurou x reader

Wc: 4119

Summary: You, a dedicated member of the girls' volleyball team, find an unexpected connection with Kuroo Tetsurou. Igniting a bond over shared passions and stolen moments, love blossoms on the court; all because you met him at a captains meeting.

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Taglist: @merlucide, @lemurzsquad, @02shuuu, @michakune, @ivy-taylorsversion, @scinclaitnoir, @v-e-r-t21

"Found you." You cross your arms and glare into Himari's eyes.

She had avoided walking with you this morning, claiming she was running late and would have her mom drive her.

You were heading over to Himari's house, but before you left the door, you got a call from her.

"Hey, go ahead and walk without me, I'm running super late." She says.

"It's okay, I can wait with you—"

"My mom said she'd take me, sorry!" The call ended and you frown.

Then she had avoided all eye contact with you throughout class.

You raise an eyebrow as you see Himari in her assigned seat, she had beaten you to class, despite her saying she was running late.

Your mouth was open, but before you could say anything, your teacher had begun class.

And now she tried to sneakily go off to eat lunch somewhere else when she said she'd meet you in Mori's class.

"Y/n!" Kuroo smiled, he began talking about plans for practice today, you drift your attention to Himari.

She makes eye contact with you and quickly gives an excuse of having to use the bathroom. "But I'll meet you in Mori's, 'kay?" She says and leaves.

"You found me." She shrugs, a small smile creeping on her face.

"You've been avoiding me." You sit down next to her on the roof table. "Is this all about yesterday?"

She sets aside her food for a moment, "I was just having a bad day, and I let some things get to me."

"And today too?"

"And today too." She confirms. "I'm sorry, I've never had to go through this before—it's all new to me and I'm scared I won't be by your side for our final year."

"We'll still play together, we're on the same team—just because you might have some competition, doesn't mean you're going to get replaced just like that." You say to comfort her.

"I know, but what if? This sounds so selfish of me, but I want to continue to be the main setter." She frowns.

"Then you're going to have to put the work in." You're honest with her, "Saori is a first-year remember? She makes mistakes that you don't anymore, so get out of your head." You slightly nudge her and she laughs.

"I'll try not to." She smiles, her hair blowing in the wind.

"We're going to nationals again, we need you." You say with confidence and she smirks. She shared her lunch with you and the two of you talked every now and then.

"So what were you and your boyfriend talking about?" Himari smirks, remembering earlier that he had come up to you.

You choke on your strawberry and began coughing, "What?" You croak out.

"The captain." She rolls her eyes.

"He was telling me that we'd probably have to reschedule the practice match because they might play Karasuno today." You take a long sip of water to ease your coughing.

"Karasuno?" She's taken back, "They were really good a few years ago."

"So I've heard. Not their girls' team, though." You say, remembering that you had watched some game film on them.

"Yeah, I'd love to go watch that game." She says.

"You wanna watch your boyfriend play?" You hit her back with the same line.

"Ha ha, very funny." She rolls her eyes. "I just want to...see how they play."

"Yeah okay." You laugh.

The day had finally ended, you were bored during the lessons today, it felt like it'd never end. You planned on watching the Karasuno practice match after your own practice.

"You excited?" You ask Kuroo as you bump into him in the hallway. Himari had gone to talk to her sister before practice.

He nods, "Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun. I'll see you there, right?" He recalls last nights conversation with you.

You hum and nod, "I think Himari will too." You smile.

"She feeling any better?" Kuroo asks curiously.

"A lot better. I talked to her during lunch, she was avoiding me all day." You chuckle, recalling how you had to practically hunt her down.

"That's good to hear, can't have a setter getting in their head, right?" He chuckles and the two of you walk up the stairs to the club rooms, but don't go in yet.

"Oh yeah, that's awful." You recall one practice match where Himari had shut down, "Hasn't happened in a while."

"Same here, only issue is Kenma gets tired quickly." He laughs, "but that's why we make sure our passes are perfect for him."

"That's ideal." You say, "You guys are really annoying to play. You dig up basically everything!"

He laughs loudly and almost doubles over, "You guys are practically the same! And very scrappy."

You laugh along and agree with him, enjoying your conversation. "Yeah, it's worked out for us."

"A little too well," he smirks, "hey-uh after the practice match a few of us wanted to get some food, would you wanna come?"

"Oh totally," You smile, "Thanks for inviting me."

"Yeah no problem, it's a nice day out, too." He smiles widely to himself.

"Hey, Y/n, you changing or what?" Misaki peeps her head out the door, you check your phone and your eyes widen as you see there wasn't much time to get ready.

"Shit. I'll see you later, Kuroo." You quickly wave and walk into the club room, changing quickly. He chuckles to himself and goes into his respected club room as well.

"She was talking to her boyfriend." Himari makes kissy noises and the team laughs and coos.

You feel your face get a little hot, "We're friends!"

"I walked past you and you didn't even notice!" Himari says and the entire room erupts into more laughter.

You feel a little embarrassed at being called out, "Yeah—well I was being polite and engaging in the conversation." You cross your arms.

"Uh huh, sure." Emi joins in.

"You always seem to be really engaged when he's around." Misaki teases.

"I'm being ganged up on!" You huff grabbing your shoes and walking towards the gym. Just your luck, Kuroo was also leaving at the same time as you. He smiles and waits for you to catch up.

"What's all the ruckus in there?" He chuckles.

This was not helping your allegations right now. You just hoped nobody was watching. "They're being idiots, as usual." You joke.

"We could only hear laughter." He says, the sun kissing his skin. You admire him for a little, thinking he looked nice...maybe a little more than nice, but you wouldn't dare to tell anyone that.

You sigh, "I'm sorry if we were loud."

"Oh no, don't worry about it." He smiles, "My team's way worse, trust me."

You chuckle, 'I'm not so sure about that.' You think to yourself. You both go into your respected gyms. Today was all about attacking, after last night with Keiko and Saori you knew coach Mori would want to work with them more.

"Let's warm up!" You say and do a few laps to get warm and then stretch.

"We're going to be split into groups." Himari takes a place next to you while stretching.

"Really?" You say, "I haven't looked at the practice plan yet."

She hums, "I start off first and then halfway Saori will set. We're working on combos for games."

"That makes sense." You nod. "Gather up!" You say and your team listens and circles around your coach. You drown out her voice, already knowing what she'll say.

The first drill was just regular hitting lines to get everybody warmed up. "Cross-shots only!" Coach Mori yells and stands on the side lines to observe and give pointers.

You jump and hit the ball onto the other side of the court, "Nice set, Himari." You compliment and grab your ball to put it in the cart. After a little your coach instructed to only do line shots now.

"Let's do the spread attack." Your coach says, "Give me 5 more players on the court and make lines behind the hitters and rotate in after you hit."

You frown at the play, it was one of your least favorites defensively if the ball got blocked. You're in the outside position and Rikako passes the ball to Himari. All at once everybody begins their approach and jumps, Himari sent it to Naomi who was in middle back.

She effectively slams the ball onto the other side and cheers, "Nice hit, nice set!" You smile.

Naomi high fives Mei and switched places with her. This went on until everybody got a chance to attack a few times.

"Let's run some gaps, Himari after this you'll switch with Saori." Coach Mori says, she was excited to work with Saori and Keiko.

You hit the ball and smiled at its placement, Himari and you had great chemistry, she was able to adapt to anyone. You high fived your teammates as they hit, the liberos and the ones who wanted to work on digging went on the other side of the net.

Keiko hit well off of Himari, but with Saori and her set yesterday...it was just amazing, and would be deadly against other teams once it was more consistent.

"Setters switch!" Himari high fived Saori and she went on the other side of the court to work on digging up the hits.

Keiko was next in line, "Are we doing the fast one or the regular one?" She asks.

"Do the fast one, right coach?" You suggest and Mori nods.

You watch as the ball was tossed and Keiko immediately leaves, the ones who were passing looked confused. You smirked at their faces, loving the reaction.

Saori sent the ball flying...and it was too high. "Sorry!" She apologized.

"You're okay, now do normal ones for the rest of them." Mori says. You were able to hit off of Saori, and quite well too. She was very skilled, but she did make mistakes.

You got a little bored of hitting so you went to the other side to pass for a little. You were able to work on reading the players and fixing your arms when needed.

But when Keiko got back up, you relaxed a little more. Not thinking they'd be able to get it to work again, they hadn't gotten it once today.

You blinked and the ball had already hit the ground beside you.

"Oh! We did it!" Keiko cheers, you and a few others were amazed he hugs Saori, "Finally!"

"What the fuck was that?" Misaki yells amused, "I wanna pass that."

"We figured out Saori can do super fast quicks—honestly I don't even know what to call it." Himari chuckles.

"It's still in the works." You say, "Damn that was amazing."

Practice was over after that and you and a bunch of other girls wanted to go watch the practice match with the boys.

"Where's everyone going in such a rush?" Coach Mori laughs, amused at how quickly her team was cleaning the gym.

"The boys are having a practice match against Karasuno." Himari explains.

"We might've just missed it, but we've gotta check it out." You say and quickly take your shoes off.

"To go watch your boyfriend?" Mori smiles.

"He's not!" You say and the team bursts into laughter again and explain all the things that happened. You huff and walk to the club room to grab your things and go to the boys gym.

As you enter you see that they're just finishing up their game. You greet the coach and sit down next to him, eyeing Karasuno's players.

You see the orange haired kid run quickly behind his setter and the ball was set impossibly fast with perfect precision, he avoids the block and hits it to the other side.

Yaku was able to get a touch on it, but it goes flying into the net, Kai manages to get under it and pass it out of the net, it was a little sloppy. Just as it was about to touch the floor, Kenma dove and hit it with one hand, sending it over the net.

You watch the ball fly onto Karasuno's side and go deep, their number 10 and libero both run for it, but it lands onto the floor before they could pick it up. You look at the score and see that was the boys' last point.

Nekoma cheers as they win against Karasuno, you smile and clap for them. Waving at Kuroo as he spots you. Taketora slings an arm around Kenma and ruffles his hair, you chuckle at his team.

"One more time!" You hear from the other side and see the ginger kid speak. "Another game..please!" He says.

"Sure! I was planning on it. Wouldn't be a practice game if it wasn't followed by a match or two." Nekomata chuckles next to you.

"You made it." Kuroo smiles and takes a seat beside you, drinking from his water.

"They're interesting." You say, "I only got to watch one play so far, but those two," you point to the setter and the ginger, "they're crazy."

Kuroo laughs next to you, gaining the attention from his own team and the opponents. "Yeah, keep watchin', they get even more interesting."

He stands up and gets ready for another game. You honestly lost count at the amount of games they had played, but each time Nekoma won. It's not that Karasuno was bad—you could just tell that Kuroo's team had been practicing as a team for a while now and Karasuno looks like they're still getting used to each other.

Your own teammates had slowly gone home, needing to do their own things and get ready for school the next day, but you remained.

"They're exhausted." You chuckle as you look at both sides.

"One more match!" The ginger says and his setter glares at him.

"Again?! You haven't stopped moving since you got here! Where'd you get that energy?!" Nekomata says slightly impressed, but mostly baffled.

"Give 'em a rest, ginger!" Karasuno's coach scolded him. You laugh at their antics.

"Not bad." You high five Kuroo and he smiles widely at you.

"Thanks for coming." He says, "Nobunaga, can you mop over there?" He says quickly and earns a 'yes' from his teammate. "Yaku, you mop too." He orders.

"Okay." Yaku reluctantly does what he says.

You watch the ginger and Inuoka talk, they used a bunch of sound effects, you notice a tall blonde near Kuroo.

"Do you...understand that?" He asks Kuroo and gets his attention.

"Nah, they sound like a couple of toddlers." He says, "You know, maybe you should try goofing off every once in a while, instead of acting all stoic." You hear him tell the blonde.

"That's not one of my strong suits." He says and walks away.

"He sounds like an old man." Kuroo chuckles.

You shake your head, "Who is he?"

"He's one of the middle blockers from Karasuno." Kuroo sighs, "He's a tough one." The gym was now clean so you all headed outside to bid Karasuno goodbye and safe travels.

You stood next to Kuroo for most of the time, waiting to get a bite to eat. Kuroo laughs as the captain from Karasuno approaches, he was laughing as well.

They both shake hands, but using both hands, and squeezing each other hard. "You won't win next time." He says.

"Oh really? Cause I think I will." Kuroo irks.

"Cut it out, you're being weird!" A member from Karasuno and Yaku say.

You facepalm at Kuroo, you have heard he was an instigator, but never had seen it. After the two let go of each other, Daichi notices you.

"I don't believe we've met, I'm Daichi." He introduces.

"Y/n." You smile, "You guys played well."

"Ha, thanks." He chuckles and scratches his neck, "We're still in the works of things."

Kuroo frowns at Daichi and how easily he was able to get your attention and pull you into a conversation.

"I've actually—uh the team, we've all seen your team play." Daichi says, "You've got a killer team."

"Oh wow," You say surprised, "Thanks, that means a lot." You politely smile.

"She's great, right?" Kuroo slings an arm around your shoulder, you pay no mind to it, knowing he was doing it to tease. Daichi's eye widen in surprise as he reads Kuroo's face, getting the hint.

"Uh—yeah! I'm sure you'd get along with the Karasuno girls' volleyball." Daichi says.

"That'd be fun." You nod.

Karasuno eventually gets on their bus and leaves, you all wave at them, wishing them safe travels back to their high school.

"Himari went home, so it's just me if you still wanted to get a bite to eat." You say to Kuroo.

"Oh yeah, totally." He smiles, "it'll just be us two, the guys wanna head home and rest." His heart was pounding much quicker now, hoping you wouldn't back out of it was just him.

"You sure you still want to? It's pretty late and you played a lot." You ask.

"I'm starving." He chuckles, "Let's go." He guides you.

"Where's he going, hey kur—" Inuoka began to say but his mouth was covered by Yaku.

"He's getting food with her, don't butt in!" Yaku says.

"I'm hungry, I think I'll ask to join them." Inuoka frowns, watching his captain walk away.

"It took him days to muster up the courage to ask her." Kenma says, "He used the excuse that we'd be going too to make it not obvious, and then said we didn't wanna go anymore."

"Game is game." Yamamoto crossed his arms, proud of Kuroo.

"You should talk coach Nekomata into letting Karasuno join the Tokyo training camp." You get Kuroo's attention, he was looking at his phone for nearby places to eat.

"Yeah, they'd be great practice. I'm sure for them too, since they fell off." Kuroo thinks and types away at his phone.

You hum, enjoying the sunset. You enjoyed being around Kuroo, not like how your teammates or coach Mori think, but you do wish that you had gotten closer to him sooner.

"Does this ramen sound good?" Kuroo asks hopeful.

"Yeah, it sounds great." You smile at him and internally Kuroo thinks he's about to die. His heart should not be going this fast.

He clears his throat, "Great. It's about 5 minutes away." He says, trying to slow his heart down. He also texted Kenma he thought he was going to die and how he was freaking out over what to talk about.

"Have you eaten here before?" You ask as you approach to the restaurant, he beats you to the door and opens it for you, "Thank you." You smile.

He shakes his head, "No, I don't eat ramen often, but I'm really craving it right now." He says.

"I always have to get a take home container. The portions are way too much." You chuckle as you're being seated.

"I think I could finish two bowls. I'm starving." He emphasizes and scans the menu, he quickly was able to make a decision.

You furrow your brows as you try to decide what you wanted. He watches you contemplate your choices, his chin resting in his hand, he thinks you look way too good right now. He practically has heart eyes for you right now.

The people around you look at him in adoration when they see the way he looks at you. The workers have even whispered to each other, making their own stories that they think would fit with just observing you two.

"Okay, I've finally decided. Sorry for making you wait." You raise your head and he quickly looks off to the side, not wanting you to get suspicious.

"Took you long enough, you have the menu memorized yet?" He jokes at how long you stared at the menu for.

"Oh be quiet." You playfully roll your eyes and hand the waiter your menu. "Interhigh is just in a month." You say surprised, your phone lighting up and the date caught your attention.

"Time flies." Kuroo sigh and flicks a crumb off of the table. "You nervous?"

You think for a moment, normally you wouldn't be too nervous, but the thought of it being your last interhigh tournament frightens you a little. "Not much right now...but I know when the day comes I'll be a wreck."

He raises his eyebrows in surprise, "You? Nervous? I can't imagine it."

"I try not to show it, especially around my team." You say obviously, "But it being our last interhigh tournament is getting to me, what if something happens and we choke?"

Kuroo shakes his head, "I know you'll do great. Especially with the way you've been playing against us." He mentions his team and you smile, your nerves being settled for now.

"Still, only two teams are able to represent Tokyo for the summer interhigh tournament." You mirror Kuroo's position, resting your head in your palm.

"Yeah, I get you." He nods, his cheeks feeling hot when he sees you copied him. Your food arrived and you couldn't wait to dig in, you look at Kuroo who's practically drooling over his food.

"Hungry?" You tease and grab your chopsticks.

"You have no idea." His stomach growls loudly and he takes a bite, his eyes shutting softly as he's finally getting something in his stomach.

You ate your food, occasionally talking, but Kuroo was too busy on finishing his food. He quickly ate his first bowl and you were about halfway done, already feeling your stomach get to its limit.

"I don't think I can do it." You laugh and wipe your mouth, placing your chopsticks back down. "You want it?" You ask him.

He's reluctant on accepting it, "It's okay, I can just get another bowl."

"Really, I insist." You say, "I'm done eating."

"You sure?" His question makes you laugh l because he's already pawing at your bowl, ready for you to give him any words of advancement.

"Yes," You laugh, "It's all yours. You deserve it."

"Thank you," He smiles widely and finishes your bowl as well, "I think I'm finished." He says and holds onto his stomach. "I feel pregnant."

You laugh at him again, "Wait before we leave, I need to use the bathroom." You excuse yourself. Kuroo's a little glad you're gone because he didn't want to fight you for the bill, he quickly asks the waiter for it and pays for the two of you.

"Did you pay already?" You ask, seeing him hand off the check and he nods while smiling.

"I invited you out, my treat." He says.

You shake your head, "No way. Let me pay you, please." You reach for your wallet, "You also paid last time, too."

He laughs, grabbing your wrist from searching for your wallet, "Trust me, it's okay."

You look up at him, your faces so close you can properly see both of his eyes in the mess that is his hair, "I'm—"

He shakes his head, "I'll leave you here if you try to pay me back." He threatens.

You frown at him as he begins to walk away, "Fine." You catch up to him, "Thank you. But next time is on me."

"You're welcome." He smiles and shakes his head, holding onto that 'next time', and even then he knows that he won't let you pay, not a single cent while you're out with him. "Tell me about your practice? I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner."

"It's okay," You assure, "Practice was good. We've got Saori and Keiko working more as a pair."

"Really? That's exciting." He can't take his eyes off of you while you're speaking, the way your eyes light up at the mention of volleyball is adorable to him.

You hum and continue, "We mostly just worked on our plays and offense."

"I can't wait to see it in action." He watches you talk animatedly about the sport, your ideas and goals are very admirable to him.

If he were to be asked what his favorite thing was, he doesn't think he'd be able to answer. He'd start listing off everything about you. Some things you didn't even know about yourself, he was very perceptive.

He was too scared to get close to you for years, but he's so glad he did now, relishing any moment spent with you, even if you had no clue about his feelings. That's the next hurdle for him, and he'll save it for another day.

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sophaeros · 2 months ago

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my chemical romance for inrock, august 2007 / vol. 284 - english translated interview

Ray and Frank talk passionately about their views on life

When I thought about playing at the Budokan, I got so nervous that I couldn't sleep a wink.

Ray Toro & Frank Iero / My Chemical Romance INTERVIEW: YUKO KATO

On the morning of the Budokan concert, Frank and Ray were a little hyper and excited. It was such an important concert. It was a milestone for the band.

── How are you? Ray Toro (g): Awesome. This is actually the first time I've had this much time off in Japan, so I finally have time to explore this beautiful country.

── Where did you go? Ray: Asakusa and stuff... This time, my girlfriend Christy came to Japan with me, so we went together. We had two days off, so the day before yesterday we went to see some sumo wrestling. It's just great to be able to experience so much Japanese culture. (Frank comes in, interrupting Ray, taking off his jacket and putting on a T-shirt.)

── Woah, you have a lot of tattoos. I didn't know that because no one takes their clothes off on stage. Frank Iero (guitar): Yeah, he's covered in tattoos. Ray: Then maybe I should start playing shirtless from today onwards (laughs). Frank: Haha, you want to show off your tattoos? Ray: Well, I think it's better to be a little mysterious, so maybe it's cooler to hide it (laughs). Oh yeah, going back to what I was saying earlier, apart from sightseeing, I've been having a great time this time, performing on "Music Station" and the VMAs (MTV Video Music Awards Japan).

── Frank, what did you do during your two days off? Frank: I was with Ray and the others almost the entire time.

── Oh, you brought your girlfriend too? Frank: Yeah, only Ray and I did. Ray: Because we're smart! Frank: Yes, because we're smart (laughs). But seriously, if I hadn't brought her along, I don't think we would have been able to do as much sightseeing as we did. She knows how to use the subway. (As the interviewer checks the recorder) Are you making sure it's recorded properly? My dad writes for a magazine called "Modern Drummer," so like you, he's always nervous about making sure the interviews are recorded properly.

── Oh, I thought he was a musician. And an instrument instructor too… Frank: Yeah, he's a drum teacher, a magazine writer, and a band drummer.

── Woah, is that so? Frank: That reminds me, my dad once interviewed Carmine Appice, the drummer of a band called Vanilla Fudge, but he didn't record it properly, and he was pretty panicked. When that happens, you have to rely on your memory or start over. That makes the artist angry... well, it's a story that doesn't really matter to me (laughs). Um, what were we talking about? Ah, that's right, sightseeing. As I said, we went to Asakusa, and we drew our fortunes, lit some incense sticks, and after purifying our hands and mouths with the smoke, we went inside a temple and prayed. My fortune was great, by the way. After that, we went to Shibuya and Ginza, and last night we went to Roppongi Hills to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End".

── Did you like the movie? Frank: Oh, it was amazing! I can't believe a Disney movie could be so brutal. Especially… Ray: Come on, I haven't seen it yet! (covers his ears)

── By the way, I'm really relieved to see that you both look healthy. When I watched "Music Station," Gerard (Way, vocals) looked so skinny… Frank: Yeah, I guess you lose weight when you're on tour that much. He hasn't been feeling too great lately.

── Oh, is that so? Frank: We were all pretty sick, because we got food poisoning. Gerard didn't get food poisoning, but...

── Well, what happened to him? Ray: No, it's just that when you're on tour, you get tired. You have less time to sleep and eat. But don't worry, everyone's fine (laughs). But I hardly slept at all last night... I was so nervous (laughs).

── Oh, why? Because you're playing at Budokan? Frank: Yeah. I get to play at the historic Budokan with my favorite band (Bouncing Souls). It’s such a big, important thing for our career, and I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about it. I couldn't sleep at all.

── But compared to where you'll be performing at Wembley Stadium (June 16th in the UK, supporting Muse), the Budokan only holds 10,000 people. Frank: It's not a question of size. I have a lot of DVDs of Kiss playing at the Budokan, and it's a place where a lot of our heroes have played, including Cheap Trick.

── Are there any plans to release the footage from that time on DVD? Frank: We're going to film it, but we're not going to release it. We just want to keep it for ourselves as a keepsake. And with Mikey (Way, b.) gone now, it just feels wrong to release something without him.

── Speaking of Mikey, the host of "Music Station" also asked him, "Is it okay to take a honeymoon?" There aren't many musicians who take honeymoon holidays. Frank: Ah, well (laughs). We have a motto that the message is more important than the messenger. That is, our show and music are more important than the individuals in the band. That's why Mikey told us that he wanted us to continue doing that. On the other hand, being in this band, you get to have a lot of really great experiences, but in exchange, you don't get to experience the little things that normal people experience on a daily basis. For example, going on a honeymoon, traveling with the people you love, spending time with your family. So I wanted Mikey to experience those things, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to do so.

── Hmm... To be honest, I thought Mikey's hiatus was for a different reason. I read his interview with SPIN magazine earlier this year, and it seems like the situation in America is pretty crazy right now, right? So maybe it was a bit tough for him, since he’s a sensitive person… Frank: Yeah, yeah he's definitely sensitive, but this time it was a decision that we made to respect Mikey's desire to do the same thing as everyone else. Ray: It's because of this crazy schedule that we can't do normal things. We've been doing this for five years straight. Can you imagine having a job where you only get one or two weeks off a year? Frank: Plus, they got married on the road. They never had a chance to be alone together.

── But what about you? You didn't get a honeymoon holiday, did you? Frank: When I was really sick, I did take time off (laughs). Like at Big Day Out. I got a doctor's order. I've said this before, but when you do this kind of work, it's not so easy to take time off just because you're a little sick.

── That's right. There are a lot of things that you have to sacrifice. Frank: Exactly. But sometimes you just refuse to sacrifice your body or your mind. I think that's what happened with Mikey. He was overwhelmed physically and mentally and he needed to take a break. And he just got married, so now was the perfect time to take a break. And we're not just a band, we're like a family... so I miss him a lot and I'd love to be on the Budokan stage with him...

── When is he going to return to the band? Frank: I was actually just talking to him recently, and he said he wants to come back for the Projekt Revolution tour (with Linkin Park), so around August. But that's just a tentative date, and if he needs more time, it'll be a little later.

── It seems like someone is missing every time you come to Japan (laughs). Frank: Well, it's because other bands have time off and we don't have any, because we're always working.

── If that's the case, shouldn't you think about taking a proper rest? After the "Sweet Revenge" tour, everyone was in a bad mood and exhausted, and the atmosphere in the band wasn't very good, was it? Frank: Uh-huh. It's not like we hated each other or anything. But like you said, the tour was exhausting. That's why we took a month off after that. We didn't even talk about music for a month. And then we came back with renewed energy. But you know, we love music so much, and we love the art we do, so it's really hard to leave it. We feel like we can't be satisfied if we're not working or playing music. It's no exaggeration to say that this band saved our lives. We have to play music to survive. Sometimes we got sick. I have a particularly low immune system, so I get sick easily. Even when we played at Wembley, I was pretty sick on the second day.

── I wonder why. You look so healthy… Frank: I'm glad to hear that (laughs). But I do have some internal issues... I have problems with my digestive and immune systems, I get tired more easily than the average person, and I can't function without a lot of sleep.

── So you chose a profession that didn't suit your body. Frank: No, no, it's the job that's making me sick. I got really sick on the first tour and it just got worse and worse. I have a permanent immune system disorder. I have to take medicine every day for my stomach.

── Ray, are you okay? Ray: I feel amazing. I used to be sick all the time when we were touring in a van and stuff. I had an upset stomach… Frank: Maybe you gave it to me? (laughs)

── You two don't smoke, right? I think that's very important. Ray: Yeah, I smoked a little bit a year or two ago because I was feeling stressed, but I quit because I was worried it would turn into a habit. Frank: I've been smoke-free for about four years now.

── So the band has a smoking and a non-smoking tour bus? Gerard and Bob (Bryar, dr.) are the smokers… Frank: Yeah. But Gerard and Bob are both trying to quit this year. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, so I think they'll have a hard time too. Ray: Every time Gerard smokes a cigarette I say, "That one will kill you." It's bad for your throat and it might even affect your voice, right? If he doesn't quit this year, I'll cut off one of my fingers every time he smokes. That's the only way to stop him (laughs)! Frank: Haha (laughs). That's how bad cigarettes are for your health.

── A lot of things happened within the band during this tour. Mikey got married backstage in Las Vegas, two of the band members got food poisoning… Ray: Yeah, me, Bob, (Matt) Cortez who plays bass for Mikey, and about half of the crew were affected. Frank: Luckily for me, I don't eat chicken or any meat at all. Ray: Because of that, everyone was in and out of the hospital for about a week. The members of Muse also got food poisoning.

── It seems that fans have even sent threats, including death threats, to the restaurants where you had meals? Frank: (with a serious look on his face) Yes, that's awful, right? I'd like to take this opportunity to say one thing about it: please don't do anything like that. We still don't know exactly what caused the food poisoning, and we're still investigating. Ray: Yeah, we don't want that either.

── By the way, in your interview with SPIN magazine you said something interesting: "We're not afraid to live." Is that a kind of mantra for the band? Frank: Uh-huh.

── But for us humans, just living is normal and we don't think about it, so why do we tell ourselves these things? Frank: This is just my opinion, but I think that in our culture these days, whether it's Japanese culture or American culture, but in all of our cultures, we're slowly forgetting the simple thing of love. I think we're exhausted by the violence that's happening in our daily lives, the wars that are happening in the world, and the hatred that we have for each other. Because of that, we tend to forget how wonderful life is and how connected we are as humans. We know the desire to interact with each other and the love that we should have for each other. Isn't it strange that all the smart scientists in the world can come together and invent these high-quality recording machines, but they can't feed the poor in other countries? I think it's strange. It's really sad that we have completely forgotten how wonderful it is to be alive and how important it is to help each other. We should never forget how beautiful life is, and that's why it's so important for us to spread that message. Also, everyone has a fear of death, but I think death is something that should be celebrated, to look back on the life that a person has lived. That's why it's important to think about what you do while you're alive and what kind of change you can bring to the world. Even one person can make a difference. We're just five ordinary guys, but our music has had a big impact on people all over the world, and I think that's a change. So wouldn't it be great if everyone could live with that kind of awareness? And I hope we can tell the next generation that it's okay to feel anxious or think that you're not okay. Anyway, I think it's important to have the desire to make some kind of change. Even if it's something small. If you have an extra dollar bill in your pocket, give it to someone who needs it. In addition to that, in a world that is so cruel and full of misery, I think it's important not to be afraid to live your life to the fullest for yourself and make yourself as happy as possible.

── Are you guys happy now? Ray: I'm happy. Frank: Me too. A healthy body and a happy mind is enough.

#my translations #bands #mcr #my chemical romance #frank iero #ray toro #tbp era #interviews #inrock #super cute interview #they talk about mikey not being there w them because hes on his honeymoon and their ethos as a band

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putschki1969 · 7 months ago

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2024/06/30 Blog post by Wakana 6月最後の日！〜皆さん、本日締め切りです‼︎＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Last Day of June!〜Everyone, Today is the Deadline!＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／〜

And just like that it's already the last day of June! I'm spending this day looking at photos of the gorgeous hydrangeas at Yokosuka Museum of Art ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／Amazing… they were in full bloom😳✨The days are getting longe and I really feel like it's summer😊

Hello, this is Wakana(0￣▽￣0)／

I always feel energised by nature🌳

Well! Before starting with the big Sarushima arc, I'd like to talk about some of my fangirl activities from a while back😊These pictures are from April when I went to see "Detective Conan: The Movie 1,000,000" by myself. Before heading to the movie theatre, I had a special Kaito Kid collaboration ice cream at Baskin Robbins!! It was called "Kaito Kid's Jewel Sundae"🍨I went on a weekday morning so I was the only one in the store. When the sundae was brought to my table, the first thing I thought was, "it's huge!!"😂I immediately opened the acrylic coaster that came with the order so I could take a commemorative photo with the sundae📸It really feels like I was doing my very best to support my favourite character. By the way, this acrylic coaster is the same one that made a special appearance during my online after-talk event. It matches perfectly with my own acrylic stand😭 Amazing😭✨ There's a moon just like Kid-sama's trademark moon in the background, and our outfits are matching too😭 It's an incredible miracle😭✨

There were two types of ice cream to choose from, one of which was my favourite "Chocolate Chip"🍫 (unfortunately, it is no longer available…) The other one was a special limited edition "Detective Conan Yogurt-Berry Ice Cream"😊I took so many pictures, the sound of my "snap📸snap📸" echoed throughout the quiet store.

But… really… this sundae was huge!! 🍨🍨😂🍨🍨When I saw the whipped cream on top, I was worried whether or not I would be able to finish all of it. And as expected, I was struggling😇 By the time I got to the chocolate chip ice cream, my stomach felt a little bloated 😇 (or rather, I was craving something salty to make up for all the sweetness) But of course I ate it all!! And I was freezing!! (It was a chilly day) When I got to the bottom, I realised for the first time that Kid-sama was printed on the other side of the cup.✨

After eating delicious ice-cream and getting really cold, I headed to the cinema!! Once I was seated, I peeled Kid-sama off the back of my phone to take a took a picture 😂But thinking about it, I should have taken out the acrylic stand I got earlier 😭 How stupid of me😭Following an exciting and happy time watching a great movie, I went to Sushizanmai on the way home and ate my favourite torotaku maki🥰🍣I love torotaku!! ︎I want to start and finish my meal with torotaku 😻 (and have something grilled in between) Even though I love it so much, my photo doesn't do it justice🥺 But it still looks delicious 🤤 (at least in my opinion)

So, everyone, today is the last day of June which means it's the submission deadline for the talk topic of my next "Wakana's Talk Garden" Vlog which will be posted on July 10th! … Don't forget to stay hydrated and protect yourself from the heat♪

Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

2024/07/04 Instagram post by Wakana

Yesterday, I went to Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse to see Day 1 of "Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024"!! The venue is so big. For the first day of the event, live performances were held by the event's producer, ISEKI, alongside Simon Isogai and Yohei Hamabata. 🤗 The distance between the stage and the audience was small so it was an exciting and heated live performance. 😳💓Summer has finally begun…!! 🎐🌻🏝️🌊🌞See you all here on Saturday the 13th. ☺️(Source)

Title: “AirTrip presents Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024” Date and time:July 13, 2024 Open 18:30 / Start 19:00 Venue: Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Performers: RYTHEM・Wakana Official site: http://omatsuridays.jp/

#kalafina #wakana #wakana blog #botanical land #fan club exclusive content #wakana on instagram #Everyday's Omatsuri 2024 #Everyday's Omatsuri

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simslegacy5083 · 3 months ago

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Today's (11/12/2024) Episode: Prank Day Potluck

“This potluck is such a delight” Luigi lied, wishing he had stuck to the plates he had prepared himself earlier. He didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings, especially when he knew the issue was less their dishes and more his very high culinary expectations.

Skye was glad no one was asking him about his meal. The bangers and mash Isra had made had looked quite tasty, but something about the combination of greasy sausage and fluffy potato really weren’t doing his tummy any favors.

Once everyone was finished eating, they broke into small groups to catch up with each other and enjoy some fun in the sun.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Skye told Bruce as he and Elyse sat with the other kids, “My dad said you got hurt pretty bad at the trials.”

“Tales of my downfall were greatly exaggerated” the teen quickly replied. Elyse, who shared classes with Bruce at Copperdale and had seen him hobbling around after he’d been cleared by his doctor to return rolled her eyes but didn’t comment.

“Anyway” Bruce continued “the trials were stupid, but I heard a wild story there. Did you know that stargazing can get you abducted? This guy I met heard it from a guy whose cousin works at the science lab.” Skye listened, rapt. Who knew using a telescope could be so dangerous!?

“I can’t believe Skye is almost a teenager!” Noemi lamented to her girlfriends “I swear some days it seems like only yesterday I was waddling around the university, feeling as big as a house, wishing the desks were bigger and my classes were closer together!”

Breanne laughed. “The teen years will fly by too, believe me. It seems like only yesterday my oldest girl Bailey was dating the captain of the chess team, and now she’s married and expecting her second little one.” “Congratulations!” the others chorused.

“So, do you want to host Skye’s birthday party at our place again?” Isra asked. “Thanks” Noemi replied “but Luigi and I are planning to take him on one last trip with just the three of us. Once he ages up, I’m not sure when we’ll get to see him again without making an appointment with Elyse first.” Isra chuckled “So you say, yet I seem to recall both our kids spent all morning at your house!”

“Sheesh, someone needs to lay off the garlic noodles!” Beau complained, holding his nose while waving his hand in Luigi’s direction.

“What!? That wasn’t me!” Luigi protested before his friend started laughing uproariously “Gotcha!” “Argh, I should have known! I’ll get you back for that, just you wait” Luigi told him as the men enjoyed a game of cards.

“Hey, when will you have that Cyberworld item from the Expansion Pack ready for us try out?” Rhys asked, tactfully changing the subject. “I can’t wait to battle myself in the game!” Beau agreed, adding with a grin: “and I can’t wait to have another way to kick both your butts! Seriously man, let’s test it!”

“Soon” Luigi promised “we’re still working out some kinks in the interface. Creating a virtual world within a virtual world turned out to be significantly more difficult than it seemed; but I just know its going to be awesome when we get it right.”

“Thanks for agreeing to help with the motion capture and voice your NPCs.” he continued, before turning back to Beau “I think the new candle making hobby is going to go over well too. I don’t know how Breanne does it all day, my fingers were sore for hours after my visit!”

“My wife is a pro” Beau smiled proudly “only noobs like your highness get singed every 5 minutes!” he laughed “Honestly though, thank you for thinking of her. She was thrilled to participate and having the official hobby lot in the game be modeled after her shop was very flattering.”

After a few more hours talking, pranking, and enjoying some snorkeling and deep-sea diving in the waters surrounding the bungalow Luigi and his family said their goodbyes and headed home, happy to have spent a wonderful day enjoying one of their favorite holidays with some of their favorite sims.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

#sims 4 #sims 4 challenge #sims4 #sims 4 nsb #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 not so berry #sims4nsbstraud #sims 4 let's play #sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 lets play

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umgeorge · 1 year ago

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george russell, p3, during the post-race press conference, abu dhabi - november 26, 2023 (transcription under the cut)

Interviewer: "George, coming to you, can we start by talking about P2 in the constructor's championship? With Lewis coming home ninth, you were Mercedes' main man in that fight. How much pleasure does it give you to come home ahead?" George: "Yeah, it was a great weekend, and really pleased to fnish on this high because it's been a really challenging season; one, as a team, but on the personal side, just not getting the results that we probably deserved. The pace has been really strong on so many occasions, but just results kept on slipping through our fingers, so lady luck may be on our side slightly today with Checho's penalty, but I think that more than made up for the other races this year." Interviewer: "And let's talk about the race. It looked tough for you, both on track and physically." George: "Yeah, I've been really ill the last two weeks, firstly in Vegas with a big fever-couldn't sleep and just feeling awful-and then I've had a horrendous cough that's stayed with me all week, and in the car I was coughing every single lap, but when you're strapped into the car you can't take a deep breath in to get the cough out, so it was just constantly with me and it was pretty miserable, so I was pleased to bring it home when I saw that checkered flag." Interviewer: "Look, final one from me: are there any positives from the W14 that you'd like to see taken into next year, or do you want a fresh start, a completely clean sheet with next year's car?" George: [laughs] "Yeah, I think we'll take a clean slate into next year's car. I think the positive is we're not scratching our heads why we're so far behind Red Bull. We see so many flaws with this car, which gives every single person back at the factory so much motivation and fire to chase after those problems and find those solutions, which we think we'll make a good step into next year, but of course I expect Red Bull to make a step again. But I've got no doubt, come Bahrain, we'll be in a stronger position than we were in, in Bahrain this year." Interviewer: "Alright. Thank you, George. Very well done to you. Get better soon." [time jump] Journalist: "Luke Smith from The Athletic. George, just on how you're feeling right now… Esteban Ocon, he was ill earlier this weekend and he'd said yesterday that the body's not really designed to do 23, 24 races a season. Particularly with the calendar structured as it is, the trip from Vegas to here, how much do you think F1's got to really consider wellbeing for the drivers and everyone in the paddock, moving forward, for how we structure the calendar and approach things? 'Cause it's been a long and testing season for everybody." George: "I think the drivers, we have it best from every single person in this paddock; the way we travel, we're in a very fortunate position. But everybody up and down the paddock… I've got so many mechanics who are ill, people in the engineers' office, just really struggling with the constant time zone shifts. The body not knowing where you are, eating at different times, staying in different hotels, different environments, different climates, yeah, the body's getting confused, so I think there are talks for next year about personnel being regulated that they can't do every single race. I think that would be a good thing. I don't think it's sustainable for 4,000 people, I think it is, to do 24 races a season, especially when you see how, geographically, it still doesn't make a huge amount of sense." [time jump] George: [coughing] Interviewer: "Thank you to all three of you. [laughs] George, get better soon. Guys, thank you very much for all your contributions this year. Thank you."

#george russell #f1 #formula 1 #abu dhabi gp 2023 #fic ref #fic ref 2023 #abu dhabi #abu dhabi 2023 #abu dhabi 2023 sunday #charles leclerc #tw max

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jsprnt · 1 year ago

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Healing Hearts PT. 12 | Virgil van Dijk

Would a fresh start bring you more than just a new job?

A/N: I’ve been watching the national team games lately and man I miss the World Cup so much :(

WC: 3.199

Summary: Y/N L/N is a very skilled and praised physiotherapist. A certain event pushing her for a fresh start, as a physiotherapist for Liverpool FC. One question always being in the back of her mind: Will she be able to let go of her past and allow herself to experience new things?

I check the time before I get up, walking out of my office to look for Cody. I knew he would be in the gym, that's were he'd been at this past week.

Not being able to train or play in matches definitely made him want to be still be at the training center. Just to not miss out. He had been in a brace since the game against Tottenham, causing him to miss out on yesterdays match against Union St. Gilloise.

Walking into the the gym and spotting him sitting on the exercising equipment, watching the other players exercise as he chats with them.

"Cody!" I call out, realizing it had probably attracted way more attention then if I had just gone up to him. I ignore the looks of some staff members and players, particularly Virgil's as I walk up to Cody.

I had pressed on to hide our relationship. The only thing everyone should know was that we were friendly as physiotherapist and player, nothing more or less. I was wondering if we were even good at it, so far we did not have any hiccups. Or so we thought.

"Hey, are you ready to come with me?" I ask.

"Oh yeah. Of course." He says, getting his crutches together to stand up.

"So, no greeting today Doctor." I hear a Scouser accent say.

Turning my head I make eye contact with a cheeky looking Trent.

"Hello Trent." I say, a smile on my lips.

My eyes dart at Virgil behind him who's talking to another staff member. Though, it seems like he can feel me staring at the side of his face as his eyes move to make eye contact with mine.

And of course he fucking winks

No, not even a fast wink and look away- no he had to keep staring after

I catch myself quickly trying to play it off swiftly and return my gaze to Trent.

This man was testing me.

"You've been very busy lately? Not having lunch with us either." He says pointing at me.

"Well my schedule has been packed you know that. I got to make sure you and your fellow national team players are in top shape."

He chuckles his hand coming up to my shoulder, slightly squeezing it. "Appreciate it Doc."

I nod at him, warm smile forming at my lips. I loved it when my work was respected or praised. It was definitely a huge motivation to keep helping and supporting my patients.

"Thank you. Speaking of, I have to see you in a about thirty minutes. Southgate's people have been emailing nonstop for your progress report. I've got to update it before sending it tonight."

His grin turns wider, his pearly teeth showing as the corners of his mouth crinkle.

"I'll leave before I boost your ego even more! See you in a bit." I say, laughing at his change of expression.

I look back at Cody who had already found another chatting partner and tap his shoulder to signal we had to go.

"You need any support?" I ask watching him walk with the crutches.

"Oh no it's fine." He say as we walk towards my office.

"Alright so-" I begin, reading my notes again to a worried looking Cody.

"I did discuss your injury earlier with the other physio's. I was advised to check your injury again today. Just to confirm our final conclusion. Initially, we estimated the healing time would be around seven weeks. With the progress you have already made with the brace you have on- we think you'll be back on the pitch in about four weeks. We're guessing it won't take anymore time since you definitely have a record of healing pretty fast."

"So no EURO qualifications?" He say a disappointed look on his face.

"Yeah- I'm sorry Cody. You know you have both internal and external help ready for you. Just mention it if you think you need extra support to one of us and it will be handled. Besides, I think our country definitely has a huge chance of making it to the EURO's. Just focus on healing so you can be in Germany next year. I promise you you'll be back better than ever." I say, looking at him with sympathy.

"Thank you. I know I can definitely trust the team." He smiles, though he still has disappointment written all over his face.

"Speaking of the EURO's- are you taking the optional leave during it? It has probably been a while since you've seen your family and friends." He asks changing the focus of the conversation from him to me.

I hadn't even thought of home in a while. After the infuriating phone call with Theo I had vowed to myself I'd stop letting it bother me as much. It wasn't healthy for me mentally. So I let everything be handled by my new attorney I had recently become acquainted with and of course the authorities.

I had moved back home, installed some fancy security system that costs me thousands and changed my key-code and lock. I was so done with being stomped on like a bug by a ratty looking man - I had to take control of my life somehow.

Me living alone again did take some convincing on Virgil's side. He was understandably very concerned for me- but obviously I was grown enough to handle that part on my own and he understood. He helped me move back in and everything was going very smooth so far. Of course Sophie made sure to check on me many times by knocking on my door. We had girls nights almost every other day at this point.

"I don't know- haven't thought of it yet." I answer, it did sound nice to go home to see my friends and parents. None of them knew what had happened. FaceTiming with the girls when I was living with Virgil was difficult. Especially, when his house looked so different compared to mine. To try to hide that I was living somewhere else was an actual pain in the ass. I was glad I did not have to do that anymore.

"It does sound nice but I'll have to think about it since we could have some more injuries coming up. Fingers crossed everyone will stay healthy though."

Cody ends up leaving shortly after, and I follow him out to find Trent. Hoping he's still in the gym. Thankfully, he is, and we walk into my office together and I go over the most important things that needed to be updated on his progress report.

It doesn't take much time and my appointment with Trent is done quicker than I had scheduled. Leaving me alone in my office, absentmindedly doodling in the corner of my planner, oblivious to the world outside of my office doors until the door handle is moving. The sound of the door being opened and locked after removing my attention from the flower I had drawn.

"Virgil? Did something happen?" I ask, worried about something going wrong at the gym.

He smiles walking up behind my desk and turning my office chair towards him so I face him.

"Just wanted to see my doctor." He says, and I try to not look flustered. He effect his words had on me needed to be studied by a renowned university.

I stand up, looking up at his tall frame, it slightly sweaty. The smell mixed with his musky cologne.

His hands travel to the small of my back pulling me closer.

"Virgil!" I hush, my eyes darting around even though I didn't have any glass panels or windows facing the hallway.

"What I can't see my beautiful girlfriend now?"

He smirks, his eyes roaming around my face.

Oh he was definitely enjoying this

My hands travel down to remove his hands from my back, stepping aside for a moment.

"What if there is like paparazzi hiding into those trees or houses? Can't they see us?" I whisper, my expression bewildered. My eyes travel to the window that faces the training pitch, darting around to look at the scenery behind the large pitch.

"Don't be absurd how would that be possible. No one will see us y/n." He says, his hands traveling to my jaw, gently making me face him.

"You're fine. We'll be fine. Just tell me- did you miss me?" He asks another cheeky smile on his face. I roll my eyes, though a smile pulls at the corners of my lips.

"Nope, not at all. You weren't even gone. Besides, you smell like sweat. Move!" I tease, stepping away again. He reaches out again and I step away again, a laugh leaving my lips at the desperate look in his eyes.

"Now you're being childish."

"I'm not. Go back to training. I have another appointment in a bit." He steps towards me again, this time managing to catch me in another hug.

I open my mouth to protest again, but we're interrupted as someone knocks on my door. My blood going cold for a moment as I pull away from Virgil. I look at him mortified, my heart thumping in my chest.

How would it look? If the physiotherapist and a player of the team were in her office. With the door locked?

Virgil notices the panic in my face, his face coming closer to my ear. His hand coming to run up and down my upper arm.

"Calm down. Go open the door. I'll sit on the table to pretend you just treated me and I wanted privacy."

"Okay." I whisper back, trying to release the tension in my body.

"Muscle tenseness." He adds.

I walk quickly, glancing back at Virgil before opening the door.

"Why is your door locked. Got someone in here?" The German accent booms, and I don't know if I should be relieved or embarrassed.

"Oh Jürgen?"

The name falls off my lips awkwardly, he'd insisted we'd be on first name bases. It would break down some hierarchy and our teamwork would be better he had said.

I step aside to let him in.

"Oh yeah- treated Virgil for something- tense muscle." I lie, forcing a smile on my face.

He raises an eyebrow as he catches Virgil on the treatment table, his shorts slightly hiked up to pretend I had just finished treating him.

"Boss!"

He exclaims getting up and greeting Klopp with a hug. Leaving me practically third wheeling there for a moment.

"I am sorry y/n thought you were free but you had a patient here." He says and I can't help but notice he's definitely teasing us.

"It's okay- what was it that you wanted to see me for?" I ask, trying to dismiss the topic. Discreetly trying to make eyes at Virgil for him to leave. But he shakes his head, obviously this wasn't torturous enough for him.

"It was about you staying here or taking a leave during national break. Should he leave or is he allowed to hear about it?" He points a thumb at Virgil both of them obviously now trying to crack jokes about the entire situation.

I chuckle, sure I shouldn't be awkward around Klopp. He'd known about almost everything so far, our relationship, the break in. Most embarrassingly a bit about my relationship with my ex. He was required to know at least some of it, so there was no reason to feel weird around him.

"Shouldn't he be in the gym right now?" I ask raising a cocky brow at Virgil.

"You heard your missus get out of here already!" He jokes, using the British slang, lightly punching Virgil's shoulder. His perfect pearly white teeth showing.

"I need you to leave."

"Excuse me?" I ask, the tone of my voice high as his words make my heart skip a beat.

"You need to leave for a bit during national break. I do not want you working then."

I quietly exhale at the rest of his sentence. He almost had me thinking I was getting fired.

"Why?" I ask, fidgeting with the pen in my hand.

"You've been through a lot and I think it's best that you go home for a bit. See your family and your friends."

I raise my brow at his words, my face morphing into a confused expression.

"Oh I'll be fine here there is no reason-"

"Listen and trust me y/n you've been through something that requires some more rest and healing. It's a little longer than a week and I need you to get out of here for a bit."

I stare up at him with wide eyes- a manager also taking care of the staff. That was new.

"I'll think about it Jürgen. Thank you."

"Fill in the leave application and I'll make sure it gets confirmed immediately."

I lean back in my chair after finally emailing some progress reports to my fellow physiotherapists of the national teams.

I let Klopp's words sink in, it was occupying my mind when I wasn't treating or assessing the players. Why was everyone so curious and insisting I'd take a leave?

My thoughts are cut short as I hear a notification pop up on my phone. My hands going to reach over as I'm still leaning in my chair.

The message being from Virgil. He's says training ended and to come over to his when I clock out. I shoot a quick message back agreeing before sitting up and working on the last progress report I had to send before getting out of the office.

"Should I come with you? Back home?" I say, fidgeting with the blanket on my lap as I look at Virgil. He turns his head from the Netflix show he was occupied with, a slight surprise on his face.

"You want to?"

"Yeah- thought it would be good for me and everything-"

He suddenly throws his arms around me, his face coming closer to mine to plant kisses on my face and lips.

"Of course- you’ll come to my matches and everything- let me check the flights. There should be a lot of availability."

I watch the plane land through the window. I had taken so many flights in my life due my work, that I could practically fall asleep through the turbulence. Though, first class made it ten times more comfortable.

I rub my tired eyes, the last few days had been hectic with me not knowing what to pack and in true me fashion I over packed. Virgil had already left a couple days earlier. The training camp in Zeist requiring him to be there earlier.

I had told everyone back home I was returning and everyone was very surprised to hear I was visiting so early. My dad was picking me up from the airport which did make a bit nervous. I hadn't seen him in a while. Which made me curious as to how he would react.

Thankfully, my luggage comes quickly and I immediately make my way outside of the airport. Dragging my heavy baggage behind me. Of course in typical Dutch fall fashion the weather was shitty as ever. The rain dripping on my face and body, making me shiver.

Spotting my dad in his car I nervously approach it. Taking deep breaths to try to calm my nerves.

He steps out after parking, his door opening immediately as he walks towards me.

"Hi dad."

I'm caught of off guard as he wraps his arms around me in a hug. My dad giving me this much affection? That was a new one.

"Let me have a look at you." He mumbles, pulling away and planting his hands on my shoulders.

"You've gotten skinny. Is the food there not good enough for my daughter?"

I chuckle, dismissing his concerned expression.

"I'm fine, but can we go home? It's cold out here."

"Here we thought y/n was going to England for a new job, but she also snatched a man as well?" Monet exclaims, taking a sip of her drink.

I had told them of my relationship with Virgil. From beginning to end, leaving some- crazy details out, but they were happy for me.

We all came together to Monet's home for a nice movie night. We had a lot of catching up to do. The movie had long finished, leaving us lounging around her huge sofa with drinks and snacks on the table.

"Oh stop you know I didn't plan shit." I exclaim throwing her a piece of popcorn which she avoids quickly with the duck of her head. A laugh leaving her nicely painted lips.

"Hey, no reason to be embarrassed. You're a WAG now-" Juliette teases and I resist the urge to throw another piece popcorn her way this time.

"Stop making it sound so weird- it just happened."

I complain taking another sip of my drink. My eyes dancing over the marble tiles of the home. Monet had opened her own clinic a couple years after graduating, and looking at how beautiful her home was maybe I should've taken that route too.

"Right- let's talk about something else, or we're never passing the Bechdel test." Priya chimes in.

Oh yeah, that would be much appreciated.

The night passes with many laughs and juicy gossip. Half of the friend group being flat out drunk when it's time to go home. Clumsily calling Uber's and getting home late. Making them remember their old university memories of partying it up on weekends.

y/n enters her childhood bedroom, stumbling across across the pink carpet before drunkenly throwing herself on her twin bed. She groans softly, the mattress being harder than she had recalled.

Her sleepy and drunken daze is interrupted by her phone ringing in her hand bag. She grumbles before sitting up, moving her hands to look for the bag. Only to find it on the floor, and sleepily pulling out her phone.

"Hello?" She mumbles holding the cool phone against her warm cheeks and throwing herself on to the bed again, her cheek squashed against her fluffy pillow.

"y/n?" The deep voice calls out, and she gasps softy at the recognition of the comforting voice.

"Virgil? Why haven't you called me all day? I've missed you." She giggles, her cheeks hot from the alcohol.

"I've been busy at the training center. You okay? You sound different." He asks, wondering why his girlfriend sounds so giggly and is slurring her words.

"Drinks with the girls. Half of us got drunk. Liz almost tripped when entering the cab." She laughs, trying to whisper so her parents don't wake up.

"Oh yeah?" He says, amused by her drunken story and speech.

"It was funny." She whispers, her drunken mind repeating the scenario, making her burst out in laughter again.

"Okay, but when can I see you? We're in the same country but I still miss you." She unconsciously pouts.

"We'll be in Amsterdam tomorrow, two days before the match. Come over to my place yeah? I'll see you tomorrow night. Go to sleep now sweetheart. You must be tired."

#virgil van dijk fanfiction #virgilvandijkimagines #virgil van dijk #virgilvandijk #vandijk #liverpoolfc #football #liverpool fanfic #football fanfic #football imagines #liverpoolimagines #virgil van dijk x reader #virgil x reader #footballer x reader

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translucent-at-best · 5 months ago

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Scatter-brained...

Today was one of those days that I scrolled all the way down my message threads to find your voice notes. My brain keeps trying to convince me that it's weird to still be grieving you like this, but deep down, I know that's not true. You were an amazing person and it only makes sense that you left such a mark. I really miss you, Big Spoon.

I went to a SiR concert a couple weeks ago and at the end, him and his brothers D Smoke and Davion sang "Love's in Need of Love Today" by Stevie Wonder and dedicated it to the memory of their mother who recently passed. It was beautiful and definitely got some tears out of me, but I didn't record it and now I'm stuck sitting here wishing I could relive that moment.

I've been getting followers out of nowhere lately. Usually there might be a lil influx after posting a picture, but I haven't done that in weeks. I don't know how y'all are finding me, but hey!

I dropped my sister off at the airport earlier last week. She came out here for her birthday and we had so much fun. It wasn't until she got here that I realized that it's been a minute since we've just had time to hang out on our own. The past few times she came out here, it was with our cousin and the times I've done the traveling, I'm going home to see the whole family.

We got to catch up on so much and she is one of my favorite - perhaps my absolute favorite - person to talk to. I love being her big sister and I miss her a lot. I really wish she would move out here. Not only for selfish reasons (I promise), but also because I feel like given her work history and experience, she could really thrive out here.

Sometimes, I really would like to eat a whole cucumber. Especially that salmon everything bagel recipe. That Logan look like he know what he doing. And I know mandolin slicer stocks must be going crazy right now.

I miss Waffle House. Need me an All-Star Special with a chocolate chip waffle in the worst way.

You know what's some really beautiful shit? That moment right before somebody's son covers my pussy with their mouth for the first time. I'm hopeful and waiting, he's excited and plotting, we're both hyper-aware of each other's bodies and movements, the air is thick with anticipation... And don't let me feel his breath on my lips. Shitgotdamn. That specific sensation should be bottled and sold.

My supervisor at my last job texted me yesterday asking if we could talk over the phone. Don't y'all know this woman called me for a therapy session? She was crying and said she's been feeling super overwhelmed lately and since I know the most about her living situation (after sitting next to each other every day for the past two years), she thought it'd be good to talk to me. My flabbers were gasted.

Although I will say... she's a lot better as a friend than she was as a supervisor. I enjoy being able to tell her when she's doing too much and - this is being said without a hint of sarcasm - I sincerely think she may be on the spectrum. For a few reasons, including but not limited to the fact that her and social cues seem to always miss each other.

#scatter #scatter-brained

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tia-amorosa · 4 months ago

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Sunset Died - Wolff/Sekemoto

Leighton's last journey (longer Part - 1)

The next morning, Thornton woke up quite early because his daughter was hungry. His wife took care of the little one and he went downstairs. But he hadn't expected Yumi to be awake and was a little startled when he saw her standing there. She looked at him with an almost blank expression. “I can't find my toothbrush, did you put it away again, Leighton?”. So there it was, one of those moments where her mind seemed to be far away. But he knew how to react. “Um… No… But I can help you look”..

Thornton helped her find her toothbrush. It was in its usual place. Morgana had explained the consequences of dementia to him in detail. And that she might well mistake other people for her dead son. And that Thornton should deal with it as naturally as possible, however strange it may be at the moment… negative reactions would only upset her too much. But when Yumi looked in the mirror again after a short time, she saw the real person standing there. She paused for a moment, but didn't let it show…

After she had finished, she went into the kitchen. But she stopped just before the fridge, as if she had forgotten what she actually wanted. “Would you like something to eat?"/ ”No, I ate a bowl of cereal earlier. But it was still dark…where are my clothes, I wore different ones yesterday"/ ‘You were asleep, those are your pretty pyjamas’/ ”oh, yes, they're really pretty. Are the clothes on the chair?"/ ‘mhm’. Yumi always put her clothes on a chair for the day. So she went back upstairs.

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Over breakfast, Thornton talked to his wife about what had happened earlier. “She called me Leighton… It's really hard not to say anything."/ ”I know. But we still have to make her as comfortable as possible. Who knows, maybe her thoughts will be completely different again later.”

“Do you think she'll have a waking moment like that again?"/ ”Maybe, but maybe not. She's living in a completely different world at the moment. If her son were still alive, it would be the same. He once told me that there were probably a lot of cases like this in his family. And if he got this illness, he would have preferred to kill himself before he forgot who's his son "/ ‘uh, that's hard’.

“Yes, Leighton was sometimes a bit harsh in his answers and actions. But he was a good person. If at least Sam's mom was still alive…hh, but he's all alone then. Oh, don't you want more? Okay, then we'll have some pasta and cheese later"/ ‘Leave the plate, I'll clear everything’/ ‘Thanks, Thornton.’. She had to smile a little to herself. Because her husband had developed very positively - in many ways.

After breakfast, Morgana got dressed and then went into Yumi's room. There, the old lady stood in front of the window and stared out. From here, she could watch what was happening around the small makeshift hospital. “Yumi, how are you?"/ ‘It's good weather today… But you don't have to work?’/ ”No, I'm still on vacation for a bit.”.

“Vacation?"/ ”mhm, because of the baby, you know? I need to take some time off to look after the little one. But now Thornton's taking over for a few hours. I'd like to go for a walk with you and Sam. And maybe… Would you like to take Leighton with you?”. Yumi looked over at the urn sitting on the dresser. “Why should I take him with me?”.

Morgana knew that Yumi's head was sometimes mixed up. That's why she spoke to her calmly and gently. “Do you remember our conversation when you told me you wanted to bring your son to a beautiful place? Where the cherry blossoms bloom in spring?"/ ‘hm…oh, yes, but… Our cherry tree is no longer there’/ ‘But I know where there's still one around here’.

Yumi turned to the urn where she kept her son's ashes. She found him under the rubble of her collapsed house after the disaster. And even though she sometimes has these empty moments in her head, she could still remember to all very well. “h-hh, that's still my wish, yes"/ ‘then let me show it to you, all right?’.

While Yumi was still looking at the urn, a tear ran down her almost expressionless face, which she realized almost too late and quickly wiped it away. And then Morgana realized that the thick fog in Yumi's head was slowly clearing again “oh dear, I'm sorry…we're going to the cemetery, aren't we? I never wanted to see us both there, we can't go back to our old home either."/ ”That's true. But I'm sure he and you will like it. “/“I hope so…all right, I'll come.”.

While Morgana and Yumi get ready for the trip, Thornton stares at his smartphone with a slight smile. Because he knows that in a few hours, it will be possible to get in touch with the outside world again. A little bit of normality has returned.

After it took a little longer, the two of them came downstairs. Morgana took Sam in her arms, while Yumi, with a rucksack in which she had stowed the urn, was already heading for the door with her own thoughts. Thornton gave his wife a questioning look. But she just smiled. “I've just given the little one another drink, she should sleep for a while now”/ “well then…see you later then”. Morgana was determined to leave early in the day. Because she figured that everything would surely take a little longer - especially the walk.

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End of this Part

@greenplumbboblover 😊

Note: I had a really hard time finding a suitable second title today… I hope this one still fits somewhat.

#sims3 #simsstories #sims3 story #sims3 gameplay #sunset died #post apocalyptic #yumi sekemoto #morgana wolff #thornton wolff #sam sekemoto

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squoxle · 1 year ago

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𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒－𝑆𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑖𝑚 😵‍💫 {𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡 5}

*𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓯𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓫𝓸𝔂𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭*

✩✩𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴：ⓌⒶⓇⓃⒾⓃⒼ

<<𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭, 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐱, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲-𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥, 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟

✩𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔：𝖧𝖾𝖾𝖩𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗑 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 （𝖿𝖾𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖾）

✩𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑒：𝖫𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖳𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗅𝖾／𝖥𝗈𝗋𝖻𝗂𝖽𝖽𝖾𝗇 𝖫𝗈𝗏𝖾

✩𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡：3,604

✩𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦：𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞'𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝...𝐇𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠.

✫꥟⁂✵⁂⁂✰✵✵✵𓇽✩⁂🜸✵✵🜚⁂★🜚✪✩✵꥟✥✩✪𓇽✵

꧁𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢...

❀𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐲. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦? 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭?

<<Prev★☆Link to pt. 4☆★

❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥

The next day, you and Jake got dressed for the mall. The weather was hot, but the constant cool breeze made it bearable. Jake had to wake up earlier so that he could pick up the rental you guys would use for the duration of your stay. When you were around Jake, you pushed all sensual thoughts about Heeseung in the deepest corner of your brain, because there’s no way you could look at him thinking like that. You were in love with Jake, but you weren’t against the idea of being with Heeseung. However, when you were alone, that dream replayed vividly in your mind, as if you were experiencing it all over again.

“Woah! Babe! Check this out!” Jake chirped, pointing to a Lego store. Both Jake and Heeseung loved building Lego sets. You never really understood why, so you just dubbed it as a guy thing. Although you knew most guys weren’t interested in legos. He bought two sets, one for him and one for Heeseung. “Do you think he’ll like this one? Or should I have got the other one?” Jake debated with himself. You couldn’t help but giggle at his cuteness.

After what felt like hours at the mall, you had bought a few souvenirs for your family back at home and a few outfits to wear on the beach and when you go to meet Jake’s parents. You were getting a little hungry at this point, so you asked Jake if he was feeling the same way. “Yea, I’m hungry too. We can pick up something on our way to Heeseung.” Jake replied. You had completely forgotten about the fact that you had to see Heeseung today. Yesterday, the boys talked about how they wanted to play soccer together.

After picking up Heeseung from Jake’s parents' house, you headed to McDonald’s. The three of you sat at a booth near the window to eat. Maybe you were crazy…or maybe not, but the way Heeseung looked at you seemed deeper than what you initially assumed. You wanted to be alone with him just to clarify one more time. You had to be sure.

Jake drove you and Heeseung to a public soccer field. Jake opened the trunk to grab his blue and white soccer ball. “Oh, kids are already here. Did you want to come back later?” Heeseung asked Jake as he noticed the group of kids on the field. “Nah, we can play with them. It’ll be fun.” Jake giggled. “Hey guys! How ‘bout a game of football? 4 against 4?” Jake said to the kids. “Sure, but I wanna be team captain.” Said one kid. You watched as each of the boys played and laughed together. It was really cute to see Jake playing with kids so well. As time passed, their voices grew faint as you dozed off in your head.

You thought back to the way Heeseung’s behavior changed since you established a strict friendship between the two of you. Yes, he was different, but you didn’t want to accuse him of an assumption.

The boys continued playing until late. You hadn’t even noticed when the kids left. Not until the quiet settled in. Heeseung and Jake were laying on the field talking. You didn’t want to be nosey, so you took this opportunity to think about what you were gonna do when you met Jake’s parents. Even though you guys went over to pick up Heeseung, his parents didn’t come outside. Jake talked about his parents here and there, but nothing like how they feel about you being his girlfriend. Honestly, you weren’t even sure if that’s what you wanted to be anymore. Jake’s girlfriend…

After Jake and Heeseung were finished playing, we dropped Heeseung back at Jake’s parents’ house. One more day before Jake introduced you to his parents…this was your last thought before drifting off to sleep.

The next day, Jake took you on a tour around Brisbane. He showed you a few places from his childhood before eating at his favorite food stand. “Maybe tomorrow we can go on a picnic. It’s been a while since we did that…what do you think?” Jake said as he ate into a handful of fries. “Huh?” You asked. Jake’s question cut through your thoughts. “Did you wanna go on a picnic together tomorrow?” Jake repeated. “Don’t we have to go see your parents tomorrow?” “Oh, yeah…I forgot.” Jake chuckled before sipping his coke. Jake has been really sweet, but only one person was on your mind and that’s who you’d rather be with.

After the two of you finished your meal, Jake looked at you in a way he had never looked before. “Well, how about we go on a picnic right now?” Jake smiled as he jumped from his seat. “What? How are we supposed to do that?” You were genuinely confused. “Just trust me,” Jake said, before grabbing your hand. He ran with you into the nearby field before reaching a clearing. “Well, we already ate…so technically we were in part 1 of a picnic. Now, we’re in part 2. This is when we lie in the grass and talk about our cozy cottage life.” Jake breathlessly chuckled. *God…why’d he have to be so cute* you thought to yourself. Playing along, you entertained Jake’s fantasy. You liked Jake a lot, but deep down in your heart, you loved Heeseung.

While you were out with Jake, Heeseung was back at Jake’s parents’ house thinking about one person…you. As badly as he wanted to let you be happy with Jake, he also wanted you to himself. He intended on shooting his shot one last time, but he felt like it would be unfair to ask you something like that when you’re on vacation with Jake. But this wasn’t just any ordinary vacation. Jake had brought you out here to meet his parents. He has never done that for any of his exes. This proved that Jake was very serious about you. “Heeseung. Do you mind taking Layla out for a walk?” Jake’s mom asked. “I didn’t want to bother you, but she’s getting quite jumpy, and I don’t want her to get hurt.” She continued. “No, I don’t mind. I’m here to help you with whatever you need,” Heeseung replied with a smile. “Oh, thank you so much. I kinda miss having a son around.” She said with a sigh. “Well, maybe Jake and I can come out more often.” Heeseung replied before Layla yanked the leash. “That sounds like a great idea, but we should talk about it more later. Looks like Layla is growing more and more impatient.” She chuckled.

While Heeseung was walking Layla, he spotted the two of you walking out of the field, holding hands and smiling. “Heeseung! Hey!” Jake shouted upon seeing him. “Oh, hey guys.” He replied. “What are you doing out here?” Jake said as he caught up to pat Layla’s head. “Your mom told me to take Layla for a walk.” He replied. “Oh! Well, let’s take her to the park.” Jake smiled. “Hey, girl. You wanna go play at the park?” Layla barked excitedly as Jake took the leash and walked toward a nearby playground. “You don’t mind if I spend a little time with Layla, do you?” Jake asked you. “No, you have fun with her and I’ll be over here when you’re done.” You replied. “Okay. Thanks, babe.” Jake said before kissing you on the cheek.

Now it was just you and Heeseung. Alone. Together. Again. At first you quietly watched Jake play with his dog, but then your mind wandered…right back to Heeseung. “Hey—“ you were cut off by Heeseung attempting to start a conversation. Oddly enough, the two of you spoke at the same time. “You can go first…” you said shyly. “Okay…but don’t get mad…” he hesitated. “Why would I be mad?” You asked. “Just promise me, please.” His expression and the tone of his voice worried you. “I promise.” You said in a quiet voice. “Remember that time we stayed up all night on the phone and we went to that cafe the next morning?” He started. “Yea…what about it?” “I lied.”

Before you could respond, Jake and Layla came running back to the bench where you and Heeseung were sitting. “Heeseung, I’d love to play with Layla all day, but I have a few things I have to do before tomorrow.” Jake said as Layla waved her tail around. “Umm…yea sure, man. That’s fine. I should go now anyway. Your mom is probably waiting for me to help her or whatever.” Heeseung said, before shoving his hands in his pockets. “Let’s go Layla.” He continued as he walked back to Jake’s parents’ house.

Jake stopped to pick up a gift for his mom and dad before heading back to the resort. That night you were restless. You couldn’t stop thinking about what Heeseung was going to say. Was it something about Gemma? Was it something about Jake? Or was it something about you?

It was finally the day that you had to meet Jake’s parents. You were excited, but not as much as you felt like you should’ve been. “Baby…what’s wrong? Are you nervous about meeting my parents? They’re super chill, so you don’t have to worry. I know they’ll love you.” Jake whispered in your ear as he placed soft kisses on your neck and shoulders. He gave you a gentle squeeze from behind. “Do you wanna talk about it? You know you can tell me anything.” He continued. Jake is such a sweet guy and you love him for it, but you couldn’t bring yourself to speak up about what was really bothering you. You couldn’t think of what to say, so you said nothing. The two of you continued to get dressed before leaving to go see his parents.

“Hi Mom. Hi Dad.” Jake greeted his parents with a hug. “Long time no see bud. You really should come around more. Your mother is missing you like crazy.” Jake’s father said, nodding his head toward his mother. “Don’t be silly. I know you’re busy with school and I’m proud of you for doing so well.” “Awww, so you don’t want to miss me?” Jake chuckled. “Of course I miss you.” She replied, giving Jake another hug. “So, who’s this lovely young lady?” His father asked. “This is my girlfriend, Y/N.” “It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Jake has been telling us so much about you.” His father said before shaking your hand. His mother then gave you a hug and invited you to their house. “If you need help finding anything, just let me know. I’ll be in the kitchen making some tea. Jake either be on the couch with his father or outside with Layla.” His mother said before walking to the kitchen.

You were just about to go in and help her when you saw Heeseung in his room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, playing with his phone. He must’ve felt you staring at him because he looked up and met your eyes. He then tucked his phone away before getting up to greet you. “Hey.” He said in a calm voice. “Hey…” you replied. You didn’t want to jump straight into interrogating him, but you had to know. “What were you trying to tell me yesterday?” You asked. “Oh…it was nothing. Don’t stress about it.” He brushed off your question as if it had never happened. “What was so important about the cafe? Huh?” You weren’t giving up so easily, so you continued to push for an answer. “Nothing. Forget about it.” He said, this time his voice was more stern. “I don’t want to forget about it. I want to know right now.” You demanded. “Will you just drop it already?” He was getting really upset at this point, but the two of you kept your voices low to avoid drawing attention to yourselves. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and I don’t think I ever will. So tell me.” Heeseung grabbed your arm and pulled you into his room. Closing the door behind you.

“You really wanna know?” You could feel the anger and frustration burning off of him like fire. “Yes.” You replied just as strong as he did, but you were not prepared for what you were really getting yourself into. “I love you…not just as a friend. I love you more than that.” He said, staring into your eyes. “Sorry I lied.” He continued. “I love you too, Heeseung.” This time, when you said it, you meant it. Upon hearing you say these words, Heeseung pulled onto your waist and started kissing you desperately. This was unlike anytime you’ve ever been with him. He shoved his tongue between your lips without fully departing from your face. He would come back every so often to bite your lip or catch a breath. He moved down to your neck and slipped his hands in your panties. He was rubbing your clit and sucking your neck at the same time. You couldn’t help but let out a few soft moans. “Shhh. We don’t want anyone to hear us.” He whispered before turning you around. Now your hands were against the door and Heeseung was behind you. He reached his hand around and continued to stimulate your clit before hiking up your dress, exposing your ass to him. He slid your panties down to your ankles. Then he turned you around again to face him. He tucked your panties in his pocket before lifting one of your legs over his shoulder. He lapped at your pussy with his tongue. “Fuck. You taste so good.” He said before sucking on your clit and inserting two fingers into your pussy. You winced because you hadn’t been warmed up enough for two of his fingers. “Ah ah ah…what’d I tell you about being quiet?” Heeseung quickly jerked his fingers in and out, causing you to groan from pleasure. He stood back up and turned you around to face the door again. You felt him glide his dick between your ass before ramming it into your pussy. As you were about to let out a scream, he covered your mouth with his hand. “I told you to be quiet.” He said, pounding your pussy. “Be a good girl and listen to daddy alright.” He continued before slapping his hand hard across your ass. Out of instinct you let out a yelp, but a knock at the door surprised the two of you.

“Heeseung. We’re gonna take Jake out to go see his cousin and we’ll be right back. Call us if you need anything. Oh, and Layla is outside playing around. We’ll be fast, so you don’t have to worry about feeding her or anything.” Jake’s mom said through the door. “Okay, thanks for letting me know.” Heeseung replied. You could hear footsteps followed by the front door opening and closing. “Hmm…you’re not very good at listening.” He said before walking you over to his bed.

He wrapped his hands around your throat as he continued to fuck your sloppy, wet pussy. “You like it when I fuck you like this?” You nodded your head. “Good girl.” He said before kissing your lips. “I could fuck you all day, but we both need to finish before they come back. You can make as much noise as you want.” Heeseung fucked you harder while rubbing your clit. Your pussy was throbbing at this point and you were nearing your climax. “That’s it Baby. Cum for Daddy.” Heeseung said before you let out a loud moan. It was something about his voice that turned you on. He pumped his hot load into your pussy.

The two of you fixed your clothes before walking out into the living room. You could still feel your pussy dripping. And that’s when you realized that Heeseung still had your panties. “Heeseung…I need my panties back.” You pleaded. “You can get them back when you give me a new pair.” He winked. You hurried to the bathroom to clean yourself up…since you’d be going comando for the next few hours.

It wasn’t long before Jake, and his parents returned. Remembering what had just happened in that room not too long ago, it was hard for you to look him in the eyes. “Hey. What’s wrong, baby? Are you ok? Did I do something?” Jake asked, squeezing your shoulder as he pulled you to his chest. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” You replied with a heavy heart. “Come on. Please. You know you can talk to me. I can tell that something’s up. You’ve been off since this morning.” He said, turning to face you. “Let’s go somewhere private to talk about it, okay? It’ll help you feel better if you get it off your chest.” Jake stood up to take your hand. “Hey, Mom. We’re gonna step out for a bit. We’ll be right back.” “Okay, but don’t be late for dinner alright. We’ve been waiting long enough.” His mother replied as he walked with you outside.

Jake hopped in the rental car with you before pulling out of the driveway. He started to play some music in an attempt to set the mood, but you were silent. “Alright. Talk to me.” He said in a concerned tone. You were becoming so overwhelmed with shame and guilt that you cried. “Hey, whatever it is, I want you to know that I’ll still love you no matter what.” “I-I can’t.” A stifled cry escaped your mouth. “Try for me, please. I want you to be happy.” He reached over to hold your hand before placing a gentle kiss on the back. “Jake…I...I love you.” “I love you too.” “But…” “But what, babe? Did someone do something to you?” “No!…well, not exactly.” “I don’t understand. What happened?” By this time, Jake had pulled over. The car was parked near a beautiful scenery of trees and water. You could even see the sun setting on the horizon. What a beautiful place to share such ugly news. “You know Heeseung…" “If he did something to you I’ll—“ “No, it’s not like that. We used to be friends a few years ago.” “Really? He never told me that. But I remember him saying something about a girl he had a crush since 6th grade…wait…was that…you?” “Yea…” “Do you like him as more than a friend?” The question sat in your mind. This was like déjà vu, but worse. You could tell that Jake’s emotions were now all over the place. You’d already made it this far, so you might as well tell him the truth. “Yes.” You dropped your head as Jake let go of your hand. “Jake. I’m s—" the sound of the car horn cut you off mid sentence. Jake had slammed his fists on the steering wheel. “I can’t believe my own friend fucking betrayed me.” He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “And you…you fucking lied to me. You know someone had told me they’d seen you two kiss, but I didn’t want to believe them. I know I fucked up, but I changed who I was for you. I left the party life because I wanted a life with you. You were more important to me than popularly among multiple women. I loved you and I trusted you. And my best friend…what else did you do with him? Huh? I know that couldn’t have been the only thing.” You had never seen Jake so upset. He was enraged. Even though he was crying, his voice hadn’t cracked once. “We…had sex…” “FUCK!” Jake stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind him, causing the car to shake from the force. You could hear him screaming outside. It hurt you so much to see him cry. Were you being selfish for choosing Heeseung? No, because if you stayed with Jake, the cheating would continue and that’s way worse than just letting him go.

After a while, Jake came back to the car and didn’t say a word. The whole ride back to his parents’ house was cold. What did you expect after dumping him for his best friend?

“When we go inside, you’re going to act like everything is normal. I don’t need the drama and neither do they.” Jake said as he parked the car. “Make sure you clean up your face, too. I don’t want to see you near Heeseung anymore tonight. Don’t even speak to him. Make it look like we just went out for a nice ride and everything is okay.” You didn’t want to say anything to anyone, and you definitely didn’t want to make a scene. So you did exactly what Jake told you to do.

“When we get back home, you can run away with Heeseung. I couldn’t care less. But I never want to see either of you again,” Jake said after the two of you made it back to the resort that night. You slept in the bed all alone and Jake slept on the couch. For the rest of the trip, Jake was cold and distant toward you, unless he was around his parents. And just as promised, when you were back home, you started a relationship with Heeseung. Jake had excommunicated with both of you and it felt like he’d disappeared until you’d see him at random moments. But at least you were happy with Heeseung…right?

This is the end of this series. Thank you so much everyone for being patient with me.

I also released the full uncut version of this story.

Taglist: @cherrriesss @furious-eagle

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helloalycia · 2 years ago

Text

moving on [five] // alicia clark

summary: for the first time in forever, you have enough time, time to indulge in a relationship with somebody who wants the same. But as always, something has to get in the way...

warning/s: mentions of minor violence and weapons.

author's note: sorry in advance for this one 👀 also i can’t remember if i said, but Y/H/C = your hair colour

one / two / three / four / six / wattpad / masterlist

With all the ways the world had changed these past few years, it was easy to think I'd never get to feel certain emotions ever again. And yet after sharing that kiss with Alicia, I felt like I was a teenager with a crush.

It was yesterday when she'd surprised me with the visit to the art gallery, doing so much for me that nobody had ever done for me in my life. Her kissing me only confirmed that she liked me, too. A miracle in itself, really.

I was stumbling over my words afterwards, despite any temporary confidence I'd had when asking her if she would kiss me. And she was the same, to my surprise, her confidence dispersing as soon as we pulled apart. Permanent grins fixed on our faces, I knew we had to talk about it, whatever we were. But for the first time in a long time, we had time. And since we were still reeling from such a simple kiss, we still hadn't talked about us just yet.

Today would be the day, I hoped. I was feeling pretty confident about what would happen considering everything she'd done for me wasn't something 'just friends' did. But I was still nervous for it to happen.

It never did, though.

A patrol unit came back from a shift with some newbies, bringing them back to the stadium. Alicia and I were with a few others by the gates, helping them in and making sure nobody was hurt. The group – a family of three – were shaken up as expected, but otherwise alright. Before I could help them out, I was called away by another resident to help with some other chore.

"It's okay, I can handle this," Alicia assured me when she saw I was being called.

She flashed me a small smile, making the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. All I could think about was our kiss, how soft her lips were, how perfectly she seemed to fit against me. I'd had her once and now she was stuck in my head permanently.

"I'll come back as soon as I can," I said to her, returning her smile, before looking to the family. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude."

"It's okay, thank you for helping us out," the mother, Chelsea, replied gratefully as she held her young son.

I nodded briefly to them before leaving to help out elsewhere.

It was a few hours before I could find the family again, having been occupied by some gardening mess that had occurred at the end of my last shift. They looked a lot less startled when I found them in their accommodation unpacking.

"Hi," I said, knocking on their open door with a friendly smile. "It's me, Y/N. I was at the gates earlier when you arrived? I just wanted to check in and make sure you were all okay. I didn't mean to just shoot off like that."

Chelsea returned my smile as the father and young boy hung back, unpacking.

"It's okay, you looked busy," Chelsea replied, meeting me by the door. "We're doing a lot better now, thank you. It's honestly just amazing that there's a place like this out here. We've..." She paused, a frown forming on her face as she remembered something. "It's been hard recently. We really needed this. I guess we got lucky finding your patrol when we did."

I frowned, too, remembering exactly how it had been before I'd arrived here. That felt like forever ago now.

"Has it always been just the three of you?" I asked curiously.

She glanced over her shoulder at her family before motioning for me to join her outside. We both took a seat on the bench just outside the door and she began to open up to me.

"We were with a group, a long time ago," she explained. "But disagreements happened, people became untrustworthy, and my husband, Jack, and I decided it was better if we relied on ourselves. Of course, it's dangerous out there. We just didn't realise how much."

She paused, and then I realised a tear had slipped from her eyes and I immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, Chelsea, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said quickly, wishing I had a tissue or something to give her.

She wiped it away and smiled through it. "It's okay, honestly. I just– we were on the move for a while. Getting by. We were lucky enough to find a temporary safety net in a loading dock at a supermarket. That's when we ran into this girl. She was alone and said she needed help. Jack, he didn't trust her. But I couldn't just leave her. It was one person. We had a lot of supplies from the trucks we'd found."

As she told the story, I could see the instant regret on her face and pitied her without meaning to.

"It was a trap," she said what I was thinking. "The girl was with a group. This big guy, their leader, I think, came in the next morning and stormed the place with his people. Jeremy or Johnny or something like that. They'd planned it all along. The girl was just scouting us out..."

As soon as she mentioned Jeremy, I froze and wondered if I'd heard correctly. It had to be a coincidence, right? But she'd mentioned a girl. It couldn't be... was it Y/S/N?

"We were lucky to have made it out alive, but they left us with nothing," Chelsea continued. "And then we were struggling for weeks before we found your patrol."

I was beginning to feel something I hadn't felt in a long time, and I wasn't sure it was a good thing.

"The girl who tricked you," I said, mouth going dry, "what did she look like? Where did you meet her?"

Confused, Chelsea answered, "That's weird, Alicia asked the same thing."

Alicia had heard this story before?

"It was a few hours west of here. She had Y/H/C hair, about 5'5 in height. A tattoo on her collarbone, right here."

She motioned to her own collarbone and I swallowed thickly because this was Y/S/N. It had to be. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Is this someone you know?" she asked defensively. "Because she wasn't a good person, Y/N. She and her people, they stole from us. Beat up my husband. They could have killed us if they wanted to."

My eyes were stinging as each word she uttered cut deeper and deeper. What had Y/S/N become without me by her side? Why had she stayed with Jeremy? Why had I stopped looking for her?

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I told her, finally finding my words. "Just know that you're safe here at the stadium. Nobody can hurt you here. Especially not– not her."

Chelsea exhaled in agreement, nodding, and I stood up suddenly, feeling overwhelmed.

"I have to go, but I'll see you all later at dinner," I said with a forced smile, before leaving.

The first thing I did was try to find Alicia. Everything Chelsea had said was horrible, and I knew that, but all I could focus on was that my sister was alive and out there! I'd stopped hoping, simply accepting that she'd moved on, but now I had the chance to get her back. To find her and bring her home. I couldn't waste it.

Alicia was hanging by the stadium seats by herself, occupied by a box of what looked like beads. When she spotted me, she began to smile and waved me over.

"So, I found this children's jewellery box and I was thinking of sorting through it before giving it to the kids as a little gift, what d'you think?" she asked with a pride-filled smile.

Any other time and I would have forgotten what I came here for, too enamoured by her kindness, but I couldn't bring it in myself to smile. Not with the news I'd just discovered.

Upon seeing my expression, her own smile fell and she put down what she was holding before standing up.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked with concern, searching my eyes.

I sucked up a breath, still in disbelief myself. "I was talking to the newbies and Chelsea was telling me about what she's been through before arriving here. And Alicia, she was telling me about this group – Jeremy's group. A girl that sounds a lot like Y/S/N was with them. I think I've finally found out where my sister is."

I wasn't sure what I was expecting her reaction to be, but it certainly wasn't the one she was giving me. She was quiet, eyes avoiding mine, and that's when I remembered what Chelsea had said.

"You knew, didn't you?" I asked, hoping I was wrong. "She said you asked... you knew it was her." Her silence said it all and I grew offended. "What were you planning to do if I'd never asked Chelsea? Hide it from me?"

Finally, her eyes looked up and met mine, filled with apologies. "I wasn't certain. She mentioned her and I thought maybe it could be your sister. But we still don't know. We can't be sure."

I furrowed my brows, looking between her eyes. "I know. It has to be her. She's got the same tattoo and everything."

Alicia wasn't convinced. "It could be a coincidence."

"But it's the closest I've ever had to a lead," I defended, not sure why she was so against what I was saying.

"It's a long way away," she countered sternly. "And Y/S/N chose to leave, remember? She isn't lost."

I raised my eyebrows, amazed at how quickly it was all coming back. The argument we'd had when I first arrived here. "You don't know that. They could have forced her to go. She wouldn't just leave me. She probably thinks I'm dead."

Frowning, Alicia tried to be gentle. "No–"

"She's my sister!" I reminded her, raising my voice because she wasn't listening. Why wasn't she listening?! "I have to get her back! This is it, Alicia! This is what I was waiting for all along!"

"No, you tried, remember?" she said, unfazed by my shouting. Her hands rested on my shoulders as she searched my eyes. "You promised me you would leave it."

I clenched my jaw, shaking my head. "If it was Nick, would you leave it? Would you leave him be or would you go after him?"

"Nick didn't leave me for dead!" she snapped, losing her patience and letting go of me. "He wouldn't hurt more people!"

I frowned, stepping back slightly. So my suspicions were correct. She'd never liked Y/S/N, but now... of course she wouldn't see it from my perspective. In her eyes, Y/S/N was the villain. I wondered what she truly thought of me.

"Y/N, wait, I'm sorry," she said instantly, regretfully, trying to grab my hand, but I pulled it away.

"No, you don't get it," I muttered, eyes filling with tears. "I'm the older one. I..."

It was my fault she was like this. I couldn't just leave her. She was my responsibility. Alicia would never understand.

"Y/N–"

"No, forget it," I cut her off, wiping my eyes and looking the other way. "Just forget it."

I couldn't take standing here anymore, not when I knew what she was thinking of me. So, I left to have some space. I'd hoped she would be on my side and help me find my sister. But she didn't care.

Maybe I'd been wrong about her.

That evening after dinner, I was in my room packing my backpack. I didn't know how I was going to find Y/S/N, but I knew I had to try. And whether or not I had the support of Alicia, I was still going.

As I was folding up a change of spare clothes to put in, I heard a knock on the front door and went to get it. I was surprised to see Alicia standing there, assuming she'd leave me be after how badly our last conversation went.

"Hey," she said quietly, eyes meeting mine. "I... I came to apologise. About earlier. I never meant to upset you, Y/N."

I pressed my lips together, looking down and unsure what to say. Before I could think of anything, she spoke again.

"You're packing," she noticed, eyes focused over my shoulder.

I sighed, not bothering to hide it as I left to return to my bag. She followed behind me, a questioning expression on her face.

"I'm going, Alicia," I told her confidently. "And I don't care what you say." She looked like she had a million and one things to retort, so I continued, "I can do this alone. Like I should have in the first place."

Like I should have a year ago, I thought, but kept to myself.

"Y/N," she said, taken aback. "I care about you. I don't want you getting hurt."

I continued to stuff my clothes into my bag as I said, "I've lived this long. The infected don't scare m–"

"It's not because of the infected," she cut me off hurriedly.

I glanced up at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She frowned, pressing a hand to her head with frustration. "I don't want to argue with you again. But your sister might not be the same. You heard what Chelsea said. What her and her gang did."

My confidence faltered slightly. "It might not be what it seems, Alicia. It can't be the whole story."

Remaining calm, she asked, "What if she doesn't want to find you?"

"She will," I said with certainty. "I'm her sister."

Alicia's eyes softened, concern shining through. "Y/N, it's dangerous. Too dangerous. Especially for a lead that isn't solid."

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to hear her doubt this all over again. The last thing I needed were doubts, especially when I was packing to leave.

"I don't need to listen to this," I mumbled to myself, before attempting to walk past her and outside, but she grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"I'm telling you not to go!" she shouted, eyes watering.

"You can't tell me what to do," I retorted calmly, pulling my wrist from her grasp.

She swallowed hard, before a frown formed on her lips. "Please," she pleaded quietly. "Don't go. I'm begging you not to go."

It broke my heart seeing her this upset, and it was bittersweet because I'd never had someone care this much about me before. But I also couldn't listen to her because, deep down, I knew my responsibilities as a sister. Even if it meant hurting Alicia in the process.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking between her eyes. "I'm not asking you to come with me, nor do I want you to. Like you said, it's dangerous. And Y/S/N is my responsibility. So, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna get her. Away from those people. Back to me. Back here, where it's safe."

"Y/N, please–"

"No, Alicia," I told her, shaking my head. "I don't want to hear it anymore."

She didn't speak, just kept her pleading gaze fixed on me. And I couldn't take it, purposely avoiding her eyes because I feared that if she kept it up, I'd give in. Instead, I left to get some air and hoped I'd return to an empty room so I could finish packing.

I'd left during the night, finding it easier to sneak out than to figure out a way of saying goodbye to the person who didn't want me to leave in the first place. My backpack, a little bit of food and a stolen gun was all I'd brought with me, and I was lucky to find a bicycle to help ease the journey without a car.

Leaving things the way I did made me feel horrible, but I could only hope that when I returned with my sister, Alicia would find a way to forgive me. She had to because I was still in love with her and it sucked that I couldn't tell her the way I felt. It wasn't the right time, and now I didn't think it ever would be.

I severely underestimated how difficult it would be to make the journey to nowhere. All I had to go off was that Y/S/N was somewhere out west, or at least she had been. She could have been long gone by now, but it was still a better lead than I'd ever had. Staying at the stadium all this time had made me naïve – I'd completely forgotten how much of a toll travelling and running from infected could have on me. I'd had it good for too long and I was definitely paying the price.

What should have been half a day's journey took a whole day, even with the bicycle I'd been using. If there were any signs of her or her gang, I couldn't find any. The only thing I did find was the loading dock where the Chelsea's family had got robbed because I got Chelsea to circle it on a map before I left last night. Even then, there were no leads on where Y/S/N could have gone afterwards.

The sun was setting when I sat on the hood of a deserted car, tired and miserable. I wasn't ready to give up, knowing she had to be somewhere in this area, but I was definitely thinking about the stadium, about everybody there, about Alicia. I hoped she didn't hate me for leaving without saying goodbye, though I wouldn't blame her if she did. Maybe she was right and this was a long shot. I didn't know. But I definitely missed her. More than I thought I would.

Glancing up at the sky, I grew tired at the comforting orange-pink strokes of the sun. I needed to find somewhere to stay for the night before picking up where I left off tomorrow. Pushing myself off the car, I began walking down the empty road whilst pushing my bike, keeping my eyes peeled for somewhere to sleep. I certainly wasn't expecting to hear the sound of a gun cocking behind me.

"Don't move," a voice said, before I could think to do anything. "Hands in the air."

Cursing inwardly at the consequences of my fatigue, I listened to the stranger and raised my hands with defeat. My bike fell to the ground carelessly beside me.

"Grab her stuff," the voice continued, though speaking to someone else.

Hands grabbed at my backpack, harshly tugging it off my arms, along with my knife and gun.

"I'm not here to start anything," I said quickly. "I'm just looking for someone."

"Shut up," the voice commanded. "Turn around slowly. No funny business."

I swallowed nervously, turning around as they asked and coming face to face with two strangers – a man and a woman, both armed with rifles. The one who was holding her gun at me didn't look pleased, as the other was bent down and searching my things.

"Where did you come from?" the woman asked with narrowed eyes.

"Just wandering," I lied as best I could.

"You got a lot of good stuff for someone who's just wandering," the man mumbled as he pulled out my rations to inspect it. "You're lying."

"I'm not," I defended. "I just found–"

"On the ground," the woman shouted, flicking the safety off her rifle. "Now!"

"Okay, okay," I obeyed, head down as I kneeled before her. "Please, I'm not causing any trouble. I just–"

"Tell me where you got your supplies!" the woman ordered. "I won't ask twice!"

I panicked, trying to think up a decent enough lie so I had more to time to plan an escape. But the woman was pressing her gun to the top of my head and the man was beginning to stand up, his rifle also aimed my way.

"You have three seconds before I–"

"Wait!" another voice called from the distance, and I couldn't look up to see who it was, but it sounded familiar.

"She's got supplies," the woman who was threatening to kill me said. "Check out her bag."

"Fuck the bag," the stranger said, before the voice approached us and gasped. "Y/N. Is that you?"

My heart stopped when I realised why the voice was so familiar. Looking up carefully, my eyes widened at the sight of my little sister, alive and well and stood before me.

"Y/S/N," I murmured.

Her eyes widened too, and then she glared at the two others and pushed their guns down. "Stop it!" she told them. "That's my sister, you idiots!"

Immediately obeying, they lowered their guns and she began to help me stand up. I couldn't keep my eyes off her, too amazed to finally see her again. She was really here. I'd found her.

"I can't believe it," she said with disbelief, before pulling me in for a tight hug. "I thought– I thought you were dead. The fire– I–"

"It's okay," I interrupted, hugging her tightly. "I know."

She relaxed in my arms, and I closed my eyes, grateful to have her back.

"Come on, we can't stay here," she said after we pulled apart. "Our place isn't far. We can walk."

I nodded, grabbing my backpack and weapons from the ground. The other two people she was with didn't look impressed to have me join them, and I wasn't so keen with the idea either, but I wasn't about to leave my sister.

"D'you wanna bring your, er... bike?" Y/S/N asked, glancing down at it.

I grabbed it, feeling the need to take it with me since I'd had it for this long. "Ready when you are," I told her, still in disbelief at her presence.

She wasn't wrong when she said their place wasn't far. It was a well-guarded junkyard of all places, with brick walls surround it and the junk mainly still there. I didn't comment on anything, feeling slightly intimidated at the type of people that were hanging around. Some I recognised from when I'd stayed with them, but there had been plenty of new additions since.

I was led to the centre of their hideout, a shambles of a building that looked like the base of their operations. It was the only standing structure here, surrounded by campfires and tents set up by everybody else. We paused outside the front door and I watched as Y/S/N exchanged some words with others before joining my side again. I wondered if she held some kind of authority here, definitely not used to seeing it. But it had been so long – I had to remind myself that she wouldn't be the same.

"Come on, I'll get you a drink," she encouraged, leading the way inside.

I followed her through the building – past some guards, an office and a measly excuse of a reception – to the back where a small kitchen was. She motioned for me to take a seat at the round table by the wall before grabbing a water bottle and joining me.

"Dinner is still being prepared, otherwise I'd offer you some food," she said when she handed me the water.

"This is fine," I said, accepting the bottle and taking a sip.

She nodded, eyes looking between mine thoughtfully. "I'm sorry about before. Jack and Elise were just being cautious."

I was close to asking her why they were deciding to rob me without question, but figured now wasn't the time.

"You look well," she added, when I didn't say anything.

I stared at her, still dumbfounded. "I am."

"How did you know where to find me?" she asked, surprised. "Where have you been, Y/N? Did you come here alone?"

I leaned back, fascinated. Without meaning to, a smile formed on my face. "We have time, Y/S/N."

She exhaled softly, realising how eager she sounded. "Right. Sorry. I just– I can believe you're here. Alive."

"I could say the same about you," I retorted, nodding to her. "You look different."'

She touched her hair self consciously. "Yeah, I cut my hair shorter."

I winced, shaking my head. "No. I mean your whole persona. The way you carry yourself. It's different."

"It's been almost a year," she pointed out, a reminder I didn't need.

My smile faded slightly. "I know."

She frowned, eyes meeting mine desperately. "Y/N, where have you been all this time?"

I sighed, admitting, "It's a long story. I don't even know where to start."

"The fire," she pressed, eagerness returning.

I nodded, straightening up. "Right, the fire... I was hurt really bad." I pulled down my shirt over my shoulder to reveal the burnt skin. "It was a lot and I thought I was going to die."

"I thought you already were," she said, shaking her head. "I saw you. Jeremy did, too. He said– he said we had to go or we'd be next."

At the mention of Jeremy, my lips twitched, refraining from scowling. "Jeremy," I repeated, his name making me sickly. "Where is he anyway? He still part of this group?"

If she sensed my irritation, she didn't comment on it. "He's out. Overnight supply run. Should be back midday tomorrow."

I hummed, glad he wasn't here otherwise I wasn't sure what I'd do. "Right. Well, I made it out of the fire, but everybody had gone. I spent ages looking. I almost died for real, but then Alicia, she..."

My heart warmed at the mere thought of the green-eyed girl, how kind she'd been when we first met, how patient she'd been when I'd moved into the stadium.

"Alicia?" my sister asked with confusion.

I dove right in, explaining who Alicia was and how she'd taken me into her community to recover. I'd made sure not to tell her about the stadium, or even refer to it as such, considering how nosey her gang members had been with me earlier. It was easier for now, no matter how much I wanted to trust Y/S/N. So, I told her about that, about how I tried to look for her, about how I had to move on. I shared all of the wondrous things the stadium had to offer, how safe and secure it was, just like we'd always searched for. My hope was that I was selling it to her enough for her to want to come back with me.

"You keep mentioning this Alicia girl," she noticed when I paused to have some water. "Did she not come with you?"

"No," I answered, trying to hide my frown. "I didn't want her to. She was needed at home."

"Your community," she said, trying to understand.

"Yeah," I confirmed.

"You like her," she asked, though it was more of a statement.

I nodded, looking down, trying not to let thoughts of her plague my mind. Alicia hadn't wanted me to come out here, but she'd been wrong. Look at me now? I'd found Y/S/N.

"We had some new people show up," I continued, changing the subject. "They told me about how they took a girl in, but it turned out to be a trap and they were ambushed by a group. As soon as they said Jeremy's name, I knew it must've been you. But what your people did... I couldn't believe it. I almost didn't. The things they did, it wasn't you, right?"

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You never understood, Y/N, but it's survival."

I frowned, noticing how she didn't deny it. "It doesn't have to be like that."

"It does."

"No, it doesn't, that's why I found you," I said hopefully, leaning forward to look her in the eye. "I want you to come home with me. It's safe there and they have everything you could need. You won't need to do this bad stuff anymore. I know it's not you."

She raised her eyebrows, expression unreadable. "Leave? Just like that?"

"Yes."

She shook her head slightly. "I can't."

I scrunched my eyebrows with confusion. "What? Why not?"

Her eyes bore into me like I was insane for not understanding where she was coming from. I was her family, her flesh and blood. What reasons could I need other than that? Why did I have to convince her?

"This is my home," she said simply. "These people are my–"

She stopped herself, pressing her lips together, but I knew where she was going with that sentence and it broke my heart.

"Your family?" I finished for her, and it came out more judgementally than I realised. But I didn't care. These people were psychopaths. How could she think of them as family?

"You don't get it," she said defensively. "It's just like you with Alicia and your home. That's your home. They're your family."

"But you come first," I retorted, refusing to be used as an example. "That's why I'm here. That's why I left them."

"I can't," she said apologetically.

I stared at her with disbelief. "Y/S/N–"

"Not now!" she cut me off sternly, before taking a deep breath and standing up. "I don't want to argue now. I just got you back. You must be tired. Come on."

I drummed my fingers on the table impatiently, not wanting to end this conversation now, but she wasn't going to listen. So, I had no choice but to listen to her.

"Okay," I agreed reluctantly, standing up and following her.

She led me out of the building once more and down to a cluster of tents nearby. I felt extremely uncomfortable as bystanders eyed me suspiciously, but they seemed to keep their distance and have an unspoken respect for my sister. I was seriously beginning to miss the stadium.

"You should have a nap and I'll wake you when dinner is ready," Y/S/N said when we stopped outside an empty tent. "There's already a sleeping bag in there."

I glanced inside before nodding at her gratefully. "Thanks, Y/S/N."

She gave me a small smile. "I'm glad you're here, Y/N. I really missed you."

I watched her walk away, still uneasy with where I was but grateful that I found her. Yawning, I headed inside my tent and decided to make the most of my free time now and have a nap.

Time went by quickly when Y/S/N woke me up for dinner, and after making myself look somewhat presentable, I accompanied Y/S/N. It was roasted rabbit with some tinned vegetables that tasted alright, but nothing compared to the food at the stadium.

Y/S/N and I sat alone by the fire, talking about the good old days and our old lives. I could almost forget about where we were and how we'd gotten here, about all of the things Y/S/N had done in the name of survival. No, right now, we were just sister and sister, catching up after a long day.

Things were going a little too good between us, and I thought I could use it to my advantage. We were talking about a charity mud run we'd done in high school, laughing about when I'd slipped on the way to the water cooler, when I remembered the games we'd played at the stadium.

"You know, we did a series of games back home that was just as fun," I shared, a smile coming to my lips as I remembered it. "It was a competition to celebrate how far we'd come. Alicia organised it. There was an egg and spoon race, a tug of war, a sack race. It was awesome."

"Wow. Sounds like quite the affair," she admitted.

"It was, it was just like old times where we could do stuff for the fun of it and not just to get by," I said, glancing at her. "That's what I meant by it's different there. Different than what we used to do. It's about living. Enjoying yourself."

"Y/N..."

"I'm just saying, it's a good place," I told her as convincingly as I could. "Just the place we were looking for before we found this gang. It's perfect!"

"Y/N!" she warned, narrowing her eyes at me. "I've already told you. I'm not leaving."

"Not even for me? Your sister?" I asked with offence. "I came all this way to find you."

"Why do I have to leave with you? Huh? Why can't you stay here?"

Was she seriously asking me that? Like she didn't already know?

"My place is safer," I said with a low voice, hoping to avoid lurking ears. "It's self-sufficient. Better protected. You'll love it if you just gave it a chance."

She rolled her eyes, standing up. "I've told you that I'm staying. So, it looks like you made the journey here for nothing."

"Y/S/N–"

"You can stay the night, but you should probably leave in the morning," she continued without looking at me. "I can tell you don't want to be here."

And with that, she left me sat alone by the fire, and I wondered how everything could change so quickly.

#alicia clark imagine #alicia clark x reader #alicia clark #alicia clark x you #alycia debnam carey #fear the walking dead imagine #fear the walking dead #ftwd #feartwd

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cheesy09 · 1 year ago

Text

[CN] Kiro’s Habitat Date

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

Note: In order to fully enjoy and appreciate this date, please read the date's corresponding birthday prequel here. (And maybe even Fulfilling Date and its corresponding birthday prequel if you haven't already~)

MC: You’re saying that the boathouse won’t be able to make it to Loveland City today?

??: Sorry, but due to sudden bad weather and low visibility, the transport ship isn’t able to travel.

MC: But according to our agreement, the boathouse should have arrived a week ago, and you clearly stated a few days ago that it would be delayed until yesterday at the latest.

??: I’m truly sorry. The loss caused by the delayed will be compensated according to the contract.

MC: I’m not asking for compensation...

I took a deep breath with complicated emotions and spoke again with the last bit of hope.

MC: Anyway, the boathouse can’t be transported tonight, right?

??: Yes.

MC: ......

After confirming the final arrival time of the boathouse, I hung up the phone and stepped on the gas pedal with complete disappointment.

Kiro was currently directing a remake of a classic film, which coincidently coincided with his birthday. Considering the fact that he would be busy with filming, I had made a birthday plan for him one and a half month ago -

Smuggle Kiro’s boathouse from California to Loveland City, and pick him up from set to celebrate his birthday at the boathouse in the port after work ended.

Originally, the transport ship would have arrived in Loveland City a week ago, but the transportation process had been delayed again and again... and even today, it was still “on the way”.

Thinking back to how I mysteriously asked him to look forward to his birthday surprise tonight before he left for work this morning, I couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly, not wanting to lose the reigns on his birthday.

MC: I’ll have to make other arrangements...

I was thinking about which restaurant to book when the car’s phone rang again. I pressed answer and glanced at the name on the screen, and my nerves jumped.

Kiro: Beautiful lady who’s coming to visit the set~ have you set off yet? The crew’s about to take their lunch break.

The energetic voice immediately filled the entire vehicle, dispelling my bad mood a bit.

MC: I’ll be there in about ten minutes~

Kiro: Got’cha! Also, I want to tell you something--

Kiro: In order to reveal my evening birthday surprise earlier, my shooting today was very efficient.

My smile froze at the corner of my mouth for an instant, and when I hesitated to say something, I heard “Director Kiro” from the other end of the phone.

Kiro: I have to hang up first. Savin will pick you up at the entrance of the studio. See you!

The second after he hung up the phone, I let out a sigh of relief and secretly encouraged myself in my heart.

I’ve got to make a perfect remedy plan and not let him down!

[PART 2]

As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the studio, Savin greeted me.

Savin: MC, the crew’s birthday preparations are all ready. As expected of your ideas, the kid will definitely love it.

MC: That’s fine, but my surprise tonight has changed...

I forced a smile and complained to him about the boathouse transportation.

MC: I just booked a few restaurants for Plan B, and I’ll go check the restaurant layout in the afternoon. If Kiro asks at that time, I’ll have to trouble you to cover for me.

Savin agreed without hesitation, and I confirmed the restaurant reservations again before walking to the set.

The shooting location was located in a villa, and the spacious area was packed with filming equipment. Among the many figures, the eyes of Kiro, who was talking to others, met mine almost telepathically. His blue pupils lit up for a moment, and he glanced at his watch.

Kiro: It’s lunch break, let’s rest!

Seeing everyone leaving the room one after another, I deliberately cupped my fists and walked over with a smile.

MC: You’ve worked hard, Director Kiro.

Kiro followed my example and bowed.

Kiro: Not hard at all. Welcome, Big Producer, MC. Your presence here has filled this small studio with splendor.

MC: Pfft-

Seeing that I couldn’t help laughing, Kiro quietly grabbed my finger and squeezed it.

MC: This seems to be my first visit to “Director Kiro’s” class.

Kiro: Shall I show you around then? I promise there are many things you won’t see in other studios.

Seeing his high spirits, I clapped my hands and followed his footsteps.

MC: Then please lead the way, Director Kiro~

Kiro: ...This sandbag is our decompression artifact. We come her to ‘bangbang!’, throw punches when the pressure is too much.

Kiro: This is the ‘blind box’, which contains a lot of candies and notes with various small challenges, which is our favorite activity during the break!

Kiro: And this...

He gleefully introduced to me various novel things until he led me to an empty room.

Large tracts of sunlight passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spread on the wooden floor, making it appear bright and comfortable.

Kiro: This is the highlight of this "set tour" - the performance training room for the cast and crew.

MC: Are you still doing actor training on the set?

Seeing me slightly surprised, Kiro seemed a little proud.

Kiro: Most of the crew are new actors. Training on set can not only allow them to effectively enter the performance state, but also relax and adjust the state when tired.

Kiro: You must remember that no matter what kind of work you do, your good condition comes first.

MC: [grinning] Being a member of your crew must be nice--

I felt sincerely. I walked in curiously and looked around, and found that there was only one high-end speaker in the entire room.

MC: It's so empty here. What kind of training are you doing?

Kiro: Many, including body movements and lines. But the most popular one is the imagination and sensitivity training.

Kiro: Do you still remember that I like to let myself go and do various imaginings during dance practice? That's a habit I retained because of this training.

MC: So that's it~ I thought acting classes were just about acting non-stop. I didn't expect such training.

Seeing my look of interest, he blinked.

Kiro: Want to try it?

Kiro: But first of all, taking one of my classes is very expensive.

MC: [teasing smile] Can a hot pot meal afford Director Kiro's class?

Kiro: A kiss from MC is enough.

Kiro: Close your eyes, focus on your breathing. Inhale, exhale... You are now in darkness and can only feel your own existence.

Following his words, I felt my heart slowly calm down.

Kiro: ...You see a bright light at the end of the darkness. Through the bright light, you come to a lush forest with colorful flowers blooming on the roadside. The fragrance of flowers and the warm sunshine make you feel comfortable. You continue walking deep into the forest and see your favorite person.

The corners of my mouth turned up unconsciously and I pictured that familiar figure in my mind. The golden sunshine outlined his delicate face, and his clear blue eyes were filled with bright colors.

The eyes in the picture were slightly bent, but the voice in my ears suddenly became happy.

Kiro: Question! Who did you see in your mind?

MC: Eh? Is there also a Q&A session?

Kiro: Hehe, I really can't fool Miss Chips.

I opened my eyes and saw Kiro with a successful smirk on his face. Just as I was about to joke with him, there was a sudden polite knock on the door.

??: Director, please take a look at this long shot.

A staff member pushed open the door a crack with unconcealed anticipation on his face.

Kiro: Right now?

Kiro slowly stood up in confusion.

Kiro: Strange, why are you working during lunch break today?

Staff member: Well... you did it in the past.

The other party's hesitant attitude moved my heart. I secretly glanced at my phone, and sure enough, I saw the text message Savin sent a minute ago.

Savin: The birthday celebrations are ready.

Kiro: ...All right. Miss Chips, I'm going to take a look. Just wait for me.

MC: I'll go with you!

-{Cut to Studio}-

Without waiting for his reaction, I walked out of the room first and sat in front of the director's monitor as planned.

Kiro followed me with a face full of suspicion. When he saw everyone in the crew gathered there, he blinked even more doubtfully and slowly sat down next to me.

The black display screen in front of him immediately lit up, and a close-up of a cake appeared.

Then the scene gradually zoomed out, and a staff member entered the picture and made a big heart sign to the camera--

Staff member: Director Kiro, I wish you all the best~

Kiro's eyes immediately widened, and I continued to look at the screen with satisfaction.

The screen kept panning, and the crew members who came into the picture one after another performed cute poses and shouted their blessings to Kiro.

??: I wish Director Kiro will always be handsome!

??: Kiro, best wishes for you!

With a bright smile, I waited until the camera came in front of me and Kiro. I cleared my throat and solemnly turned to meet his eyes.

MC: Kiro, happy birthday!

[PART 3]

Kiro: I declare that this is the best gift I have received this year!

Kiro, after thanking everyone, he cut the cake and distributed it to the crew. When the crowd gradually dispersed, he stuffed a big mouthful of cake into my mouth while praising me.

Kiro: I can't even remember the last time I had a birthday on set. But what is certain is that this one is the most unforgettable one for me.

MC: So how did you celebrate your birthday on set?

Kiro: Just by eating cake and taking a photo~ After all, the crew had a packed schedule. Everything had to be kept simple, and occasionally, it'd even be missed.

MC: And the birthday?

The news that I saw on the internet the other day suddenly came to mind, and I nodded in understanding.

MC: I'll just say it. Some time ago, someone started spreading rumors online that you didn't celebrate your birthday on the set of "Three Kingdoms" because you were at odds with the crew.

Kiro: We were at odds??

Kiro opened his mouth wide, looking angry and dignified.

Kiro: The people on the "Three Kingdoms" crew were very kind to me! The seniors felt sorry for me for eating fat-reducing meals and often stuffed me with small deserts.

Kiro: And if they hadn't reminded me that day, I would have forgotten that I had a birthday. The director also gave me a special birthday gift.

MC: What did he give?

Kiro: I was still a newcomer at the time. After filming my scenes, I would go to a small corner where no one noticed and watch and learn. As a result, after I finished filming on my birthday, the director suddenly called me over--

Kiro crossed his legs and formed a deep "double eyelid" on his eyebrows.

Kiro: [In an exaggerated deep voice] "Is your life only about the studio?"

Kiro: "Don't hang around on the set, go celebrate your birthday. Eat a cake, make a wish, and meet your friends and family."

MC: So cool... so where did you go?

Kiro's expression paused almost imperceptibly, as if he went into a momentary trance.

The curve of his lips was still very moving, but his starry eyes flickered gently, as if he was quietly touching that past.

Then, he slowly leaned on my shoulder.

Kiro: I asked myself the same question at the time.

His eyes fell on the script in his hand, and his soft voice floated past my ears, like a cloud that didn't know its direction.

Kiro: I thought about it for a long time, but couldn't figure out the answer.

Kiro: So I just strolled along the street, passing by office buildings, parks, departments stores...

Kiro: Finally, I walked to a very busy street and sat down on a bench on the side of the road.

His tone became calmer and calmer, as if something very heavy had reappeared in its lightest form.

But my heart felt like it had been stabbed. At that time, Kiro had just returned to China, and as he was still unfamiliar with the place, he probably didn't have a lot of options to "have a good birthday".

I slipped my fingers between his and clasped his palm slowly and solemnly. Kiro raised his eyes and showed me a beautiful smile, as if relieved.

Kiro: I initially just wanted to take a break.

Kiro: But when I was sitting there, I saw many adults rushing back to their companies after eating, and children being picked up after school with big schoolbags on their backs...

Kiro: I watched them for a long time without realizing it.

No matter how relaxed his expression was, that lonely figure still appeared in front of me.

Unconsciously, there was a sourness at the tip of my nose. I shook his hand and deliberately relaxed my tone.

MC: Sounds like young Kiro was envious of how busy others were?

He also laughed when he heard this and nodded without concealment.

Kiro: I was very envious.

Kiro: I envied that they were spending another ordinary day, completing their menial tasks for the day in different places, and then going home to enjoy a warm meal.

Kiro: I was even more envious that they seemed to know exactly where they were going and what they were supposed to do.

He lowered his eyes again and his fine eyelashes cast a fine shadow on his cheeks, like an unsharpened blade, brushing across the tip of my heart.

Before I could say anything else, he had already raised his head and knitted his eyebrows together in an exaggerated manner, looking a little pitiful.

Kiro: Unlike me. I even took a sudden "short vacation" without a plan in mind, and could only eat the company's fat-reducing meals--

Kiro: Later, Savin found me and decided to give me a birthday present. I was even looking forward to a cake.

Kiro: As a result, that strict and stingy agent excused me on the grounds that I needed to control my weight while filming, and waited until filming was completed to treat me to a meal.

I was momentarily stunned and realized that he was deliberately trying to lighten the atmosphere, so I cooperated and helped him complain about Savin.

But after hearing Kiro's account of the past, an idea gradually emerged in my mind.

--Perhaps the best alternative was the birthday surprise I prepared for him this year.

[PART 4]

The lunch break ended quickly and Kiro got into shooting mode in full swing. While he wasn't paying attention, I quietly left the set.

When I returned, the entire sky was filled with darkness and there was a constant flow of traffic on the streets. It seemed that many people were rushing towards their homes.

There were only a few figures left in the villa, and everyone seemed to have called it a day. Kiro was sitting in a corner, looking at the script in his hand intently.

He raised his head when he heard the sound, and the moment he saw me, his shoulders slumped with a look of discontent on his face.

Kiro: Where have you been? Why didn't you answer the phone? Everyone's gone home. I've been waiting for you for a long time.

I walked up behind him and squeezed his shoulder.

MC: Sorry for the long wait. I had some things to deal with temporarily~

MC: As compensation for keeping you waiting, and as a reward for your hard work today, let me relieve your stress.

Kiro: Relieve my stress?

MC: That's right. Using the way you like~

I winked at him, took out my phone and clicked on a piano song, then reached out and gently touched his eyes.

MC: Now close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Inhale, exhale...

MC: You're in a colorful world, and besides yourself, you can also feel my presence.

Kiro: Pfft--

Kiro: This teacher isn't only suspected of selling what she has learned now, but is also a bit of an amateur.

MC: Don't question the teacher. This is my unique and innovative method.

MC: Anyway, please relax and give yourself to me wholeheartedly~

Kiro held back his laughter and cooperatively took deep breaths, gradually getting into it. I took his hand and walked cautiously towards the door.

MC: You and I are walking in a quiet alley.

MC: The sunshine now is warm and abundant, shining on the walls made of marshmallows, filling the alley with a sweet smell.

I led Kiro, who had his eyes tightly closed, all the way to the front of the car.

MC: We spotted a car parked at the end of the alley...

My brain suddenly shut down, and I couldn't speak any more.

Kiro: [smiling softly with eyes closed] A small car suspended in the air surrounded by stars?

MC: Yes, the star car.

I ignored the curvature of Kiro's mouth, slowly led him into the car and started the engine.

MC: Now we are going to take this star car and drive to a mysterious place.

MC: The sound of the giant trees swaying in the breeze drifts past our ears, and the clouds in the sky are also swaying. The distant horizon vaguely reveals a patchwork of valleys, and several white windmills are slowly turning their blades...

Along with the music, I work hard to weave every beautiful picture.

The starlight outside the car window flickered in front of me, but it seemed like I could really feel the gentleness of the sun. Sometimes I accidentally got stuck on my words, and Kiro would cooperate and pick up the next sentence without opening his eyes.

The vehicle drove around the corner and came to a familiar single-family house. After I parked the car, I helped Kiro down and walked to the door.

MC: I guess we've arrived at the terminal~

MC: To be precise, there is a door in front of you. The door is very ordinary, nothing special.

MC: But behind this door is my full heart for you... and an apology.

Kiro: Apology?

Seeing him tilting his head in confusion, I embarrassedly told him the entire story.

MC: There have been some changes in what I originally prepared for you, making it impossible for me to give it to you today.

MC: So I changed my plan and carefully prepared this surprised now. Hope it doesn't disappoint you.

After saying that, I took a deep breath, grabbed his hand and pushed open the door.

MC: Open your eyes now.

His long eyelashes fluttered and raised, and a warm courtyard was reflected in his clear eyes.

Large bouquets of colorful flowers were dotted on the grass in the garden, and a delicate and beautiful round table was clustered in the center.

The hot plate on the table was filled with a variety of dishes. The breeze spread the fragrance of rice, and the taste of happiness filled the entire courtyard.

MC: Welcome back to our home, Kiro.

Kiro: Did you... run home specially to make these for me in the afternoon?

He opened his eyes wide. There seemed to be stars dancing in his ocean-like eyes.

MC: I was a little pressed for time, so I don't know how it tastes~ And...

I opened the map on my phone and zoomed in on an area of the sea with my finger.

MC: The surprise I originally prepared for you is here - I transported your boathouse to Loveland City.

Kiro was stunned for a moment, then his eyebrows rose up high.

Kiro: You mean the boathouse in California?

I nodded and told him the story in detail.

MC: ...You're so busy now that you aren't even able to go to California even once a year. You probably miss it a lot.

MC: It's also very important to you. In addition to the meaning of home, it's more like an old friend from thousands of miles away. So I thought about bringing it back so that you could go to many places with it again.

Kiro: Miss Chips...

He suddenly hugged me in his arms and rubbed his fluffy blond hair against the crook of my neck.

Kiro: I've wanted to take the time to go to California with you to see it, but I couldn't find the right time.

Kiro: Thank you~ for bringing it to me.

He put slight distance between us and motioned to the food on the table with his eyes.

Kiro: What about these?

The lights in the courtyard fell on Kiro's eyes, reflecting my somewhat distressed and relieved expression.

MC: These... are actually my last minute ideas.

MC: When I heard what you said on set today, I felt very sad... and very regretful.

MC: I was thinking that, if I'd found you earlier, or been found by you, that Kiro wandering on the street wouldn't exist, right?

MC: Because he'd be like those children after school, knowing firmly where they should return to.

MC: So this meal isn't strictly a surprise.

MC: It's just a common meal that came late after many years.

I looked steadily at the quiet Kiro, his warm eyes tracing my brows, as if looking into the bottom of my heart.

Kiro: Miss Foolish Chips...

Kiro: I haven't finished what I said in the afternoon.

He sighed and put his arm around my shoulders again, the familiar warmth enveloping my entire body and filling my heart.

Kiro: In fact, after meeting you, I'm no longer hesitant.

Kiro: As long as you're always here, I'll be confident in whatever I do. This was also the reason why I chose the current script regardless of the controversy.

Kiro: I just simply wanted to do this, not caring about anyone else's opinions or evaluations.

Kiro: I don't need to prove to others that I'm a good actor or singer, nor do I need to find my own place and strive to be recognized by others.

Kiro: Because my place is right here.

Kiro: Right next to you.

Kiro: So don't feel bad or regretful. Today, I just want you to be happy.

MC: [blushing profusely] It's obviously your birthday, why do you want me to be happy?

I spoke sullenly in his arms, feeling a tremor in my skin touching his chest.

Kiro: My birthday is the oldest, so I have the final say.

Kiro: I want to give you half of every birthday blessing I receive today.

His deceitful tone was wrapped in a clear preference, which made me take a deep breath and stabilize my trembling heart.

MC: Okay, then we'll be happy together.

The breeze quietly picked up, making the bouquets of flowers and grass in the yard rustle.

That was also the voice in my heart.

Translation Masterlist: here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc kiro #WHOLESOME 🥺💞

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