#i’m a little hesitant on posting this but

[thebroccolination]

GMMTV ISN’T CONTRACTUALLY FORCING THEIR ACTORS INTO THE CLOSET

Recently, I saw a fan from the U.S. claiming on TikTok that GMMTV contractually forces their queer actors to keep their sexual identities a secret. Why else would there be so few openly queer actors???

So, first of all, it’s not like the few openly queer actors in GMMTV had to break some corporate closet door to escape, and then GMMTV went, “Aw, shucks. Well, I guess y’all win. We’ll keep paying you, you little rainbowy scamps.” There are only a few of them because being openly queer in Thailand’s media industry is still fucking hard.

Fluke Natouch of Until We Meet Again (and OhmFluke 1.0) fame left his agency years ago to work freelance so he could navigate his career on his own terms. When openly gay director New of Studio Wabi Sabi approached him to offer the role of Pharm, Fluke very actually asked New if he was sure he wanted an openly gay actor in his series. This was a conversation that two openly gay men had! No sexualities whatsoever were hidden in the having of this conversation! Or in the public recounting of it later!

Fluke asked New this because there are still roadblocks for openly queer actors, and as a freelancer, he knew this. Some sponsors are hesitant to have a queer face on their commercials, and some of the industry’s upper management are old bigoted guys holding the purse strings. Why do you think so many of these guys have to appear straight-presenting?

Interfans contribute to the glorification of heteronormativity, too. How many times have I seen interfans lusting over the KinnPorsche actors as “real men” or excusing Joss’s myriad issues over the years because he’s “so hot”?

How many femme actors are given roles with complexity? How many are shunted into comedic roles or tragic figures? How many interfans point at Pharm and complain that He Cries Too Much? You’ve all seen it. “P’DEEEEEAN.”

Regardless of what interfans claim to want, the series that tend to do best nowadays feature straight-presenting actors. Bad Buddy, 2gether, My School President, KinnPorsche, etc.

Ironically, the series that lean hard on queer themes tend not to do as well.

So you can see why most choose to keep at least a veneer of heterosexuality or else keep the glass closet door closed.

New cast Fluke and Cooheart in Until We Meet Again because Studio Wabi Sabi was both agency and production company owned by New, and New could do whatever he wanted. SWS was very much a safe haven for queer actors of all levels of openness.

And regardless of my complaints about New’s directing and perpetual insistence that he do all the editing and sound design himself (stop, man, I’m begging you, learn how to delegate), he has been working for years to create a welcoming space for queer actors in an industry that is still extremely cautious, and I’ll always respect him for that.

As much as people love to hate a corporate body, GMMTV’s myriad flaws are more based in the categories of “terrible organization” and “poor management” and “haphazardly throwing a thousand medicore, half-baked projects at a wall until one of them sticks by chance and then celebrating that surprise hit into the ground”—not “forcing their actors into the closet.”

As far as I’m aware, the only khuujin (“imaginary couple”) in the industry who’s Openly Dating is PorscheArm, and they were already out and together before the fame, so they’re more Public Figures Advocating for Social Progress than they are BL actors. I’d say ZeeNuNew are borderline, because while they seem increasingly more cavalier with their subtlety, even they’ve been excruciatingly careful in their labeling over the past few years. (“Are you a couple?” “You could call us that.”)

And there’s a reason for the caution. Things are changing for the better, but progress is slow.

In an early, post-SOTUS interview from 2016, infant actors KristSingto were point-blank asked by TV hosts if they’re “normal” with a heavy insinuation that they’d be mocked and laughed at unless they asserted their heterosexuality in front of a live audience. Not exactly a warm and kind environment to say, “Actually…” As the first in the line of fire, KristSingto were constantly bombarded with invasive questions and suspicion and homophobia, and it’s only been nine years since SOTUS aired.

Now, you’ve got the evolution of hosts making lewd innuendos at khuujin and trying to “trick” them into Coming Out for content. Yet, all the khuujin seem to know how to play the game Juuuust Right to avoid saying anything concrete and damning, leaving just enough crumbs for fans to pick up on and enjoy.

Because look how the few openly queer actors are treated. Bruce Sirikorn Kananurak’s best-known role is framed villain Aey in Lovely Writer, and Gun Korawit Boonsri is regularly cast as Sassy Gay Side Character. Cooheart gets variety in his roles, but he’s with Studio Wabi Sabi under New, an openly gay CEO who famously allows his actors a ton of freedom in their image. And it says a lot to me that Cooheart didn’t make the move over to GMMTV along with his colleagues last year.

So, y’know, of course I’m not saying GMMTV is paradise. While he was with SWS, Boun said he wanted to get tattoos but New advised him against it because it might have limited potential roles. So New didn’t forbid it, he just cautioned Boun against doing it. Meanwhile, he implied recently that he’d like to dye his hair blond again, but GMMTV has to approve things like that. Hence, you’ll hear about some GMMTV actors who just get a tattoo done or cut their hair without telling anyone and then they show up for work with an insouciant shrug; the beg forgiveness>>>ask permission move.

So GMMTV does have some stupid public image rules, and they have also discouraged certain actors from interacting with each other in case it drives their profit margins down (see: The Chronicles of Management Driving KristGun Apart—I’m making a post about it, don’t worry). And I’m sure the Grammy Powers That Be go ://// if a GMMTV actor says, “Hey, I’m thinking of telling the world I’m bisexual tomorrow,” and go, “Maybe don’t though.” It’s just not something they’re Contractually Obligated to hide; it’s more common sense.

Like I said, GMMTV’s real crimes in my eyes are things like 1) repeatedly trying to push men like Foei and Joss who’ve proven themselves to be toxic nightmares to women and queer people over and over throughout the years, 2) overworking their most popular actors to physical and mental exhaustion, 3) barely promoting their GL productions despite their obvious popularity, 4) shoving their Not Singers onstage with zero vocal training, 5) prioritizing trends over quality, 6) having Zero Plan of what to do Most of the Time, 7) hiring on more and more actors without hiring enough managers to support them, and more.

There’s no “you gotta be Heterosexual-Presenting or else” clause in their contracts. They’re just actors in a conservative Asian country where marriage equality has only recently been recognized, and that’s not even close to having social equality. Plenty of western actors don’t want the extra baggage of being Openly Queer (see the Kit Connor debacle), let alone in a country controlled by military and monarchy.

Thailand isn’t a queer paradise.

Hell, look at Japan: they invented BL and GL and their government isn’t even close to recognizing marriage equality. To the majority of Japanese people, BL and GL are embarrassing subgenres that “Normal People” (ie: what heterosexuals are called in Japan—yes I’m serious) would never publicly admit to enjoying. I know this because I was a Queer Foreigner in Japan for eleven years and my whole existence was weird.

As far as I’ve heard from friends who work with GMMTV, it’s a far more progressive company than many interfans give it credit for. Many of the staff are openly queer, a ton of their directors are openly queer, and their actors who are queer are either open with the understanding that there are limitations to that choice or closeted to protect their job opportunities. Once you’re Openly Queer, you’re pushed into a very different and much smaller box, and they all know it.

So y’know. GMMTV actors aren’t All Straight, and the ones who are queer aren’t Closeted by Force. GMMTV is just a company of people with a wide tapestry of nuance, just like you’d expect from any large organization of artistic and business folk producing queer media for a general audience.

In 2025, let’s please abandon the myth that GMMTV is an evil kpop company. <3

It’s a sloppy, poorly run nightmare factory. :D

EDIT: Also, director X confirmed on Twitter last year that GMMTV has no anti-dating policy.

[meetmypointlessaddiction]

let me chase your demons away | l.howlett

First post of the New Year, hoping to write bigger and better things this year :)

Summary: Logan struggles to sleep... but not when you're around

Warnings: nightmares and panic attacks

Pairings: leaning more towards a fem!reader

Enjoy and please like and comment if you do. Something as simple as an emoji literally makes my day better so please don't hesitate to comment and obviously reblog to share my work.

Requests are also open if there is anything that people want me to write 💛

Logan had struggled with nightmares for as long as he could remember. Up until now, there had never been anything that could prevent the neverending terror loop his brain played on a night. Up until you.

You hadn’t been at the school long, Charles had invited you to come and teach English to some of the younger students, but Logan could tell there was something about you, something about your scent that made him relax. Your sleeping habits were just as messed up as his meaning that, whenever you both found yourself unable to sleep, you would both end up on the couch in the mansion’s living room, watching shitty movies to try and tempt you both to sleep. More often than not, it worked for Logan but little did you know that it wasn’t the mind numbing films or the peaceful silence, it was your company. 

For weeks, Logan would simply allow himself to fall asleep on the sofa beside you and it was the best night’s sleep he would have all week. He would ensure there was a good amount of distance between the two of you, not confident enough that he wouldn’t have a nightmare and go all Wolverine on you. You would wait until he fell asleep and then arrange his legs and neck comfortably on the couch, laying the thick blanket over him and then heading off to bed. 

When you were out on a mission or away from the mansion on a long period of time, Logan would have many nightmares. Nightmares meant a sleep deprived Logan and a sleep deprived Logan meant suffering for everyone else in the mansion. One night in particular, snow was falling heavily when Logan went to sleep and you were out of town, visiting some friends in a nearby village meaning a nightmare was 100% guaranteed. Snow was hard enough for Logan to manage, reminding him of Stryker and the physical and mental toll he went through. 

He woke with a start, his chest heaving and feeling tight, dripping sweat and struggling to concentrate on taking deep breaths. He didn’t know why it occurred to him but for some reason his first instinct was to call you so that’s what he did, not even considering the late hour, knowing that you were more than likely awake. 

In the next village over, your phone buzzing interrupted the conversation you and your friends were having over a bottle of wine. “Who’s calling you at this time?” Your friend, Georgia, asked with a smirk. 

“You got a secret boyfriend, you’re hiding from us?” Faith nudged you with a cheeky grin but you just gave them a half smile, standing and excusing yourself to take the call. 

“Logan? Has something happened?” You asked down the phone, alarmed by the heavy breathing and almost whimpers you could hear. 

“I-I think I’m havin’ a heart attack bub.” He said and you knew from then what was wrong. Since when does the Wolverine have heart attacks?

“Logan, you’re having a panic attack honey. You need to take deep breaths, sit yourself down and stop pacing, okay? Are you sat?” You asked and heard the creak of a bedframe as the man grumbled an affirmative. “Alright, in through your nose and out through your mouth. It’ll pass, Logan, I promise.” 

After a couple of minutes, his breathing began to even out the amount of noise he was making reduced. “I… sorry for interrupting your evenin’.” He ended the call quickly and you were left standing in the hall of your friends house, confused. Why did he call you out of everyone?

~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, upon your return from your friend's house, Logan pulled you aside with a stern look on his face. “What happened the other night, didn't. Understand? Forget it.” 

You look at him, confused and slightly insulted. “What? You think I’m going to tell someone or something? You think I think of you any less because of it?” Your protest seemed to throw Logan off guard and he looked at you with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape. “I don’t know who you think I am, Logan but that’s not the type of person I am.” 

~~~~~~~~~~

For the next few nights, Logan didn’t go downstairs to sit with you on the couch and watch shitty films, didn’t allow himself to bask in the comfort your company gave him. Instead, he suffered on minimal sleep and caffeine, causing headaches for everyone around him and snapping at every minor inconvenience in his life. 

Eventually, you grew tired of it and grabbed him by his forearm just as he was about to head to bed, dragging him towards the couch. “Everyone’s tired of your shit, Logan. Sit on the damn couch, watch a movie with me and sleep.” You demanded, pushing him to his side of the couch and putting the blanket over him before plopping yourself down at your side, closer than the pair of you would normally sit. Logan resisted for as long as he could but pure exhaustion gave him no other choice than to relax and sleep. His eyes fell shut and within minutes he was asleep, snoring and drool coming from his mouth. However, instead of going off to bed like you normally would, you rested your head against his shoulder and let yourself doze off. 

When the students and teachers of the school began waking up and racing downstairs to fight for the tv, they all fell silent at the sight of the notoriously grumpy Wolverine cuddled up with the cute English teacher, his face pressed into your hair as he spooned you, deep snores emanating for the man. Storm and Jean ushered the children out of the living room, telling them to leave the pair of you to rest for a little while longer while Scott immediately found a camera to take a photo to tease Logan with as soon as he woke up.

Dividers: @coolcatsgraphics

I'm also on A03 :)

[p0orbaby]

Request😍: y/n and alessia or leah (you decide! find your tumblr side and aaalll the stories of them. It leads to jealous alessia/leah bc of y/n being with other girls (like getting jealous when your partner cheats in your dream). Reader has to handle the situation and in the end manages to make less/leah focus on all the fluffy/spicy stuff there is about them. If you want to make it smutty (what we all love hehe): they eventually get inspired by tumblr and choose another story (you can decide which of all the good alessia/leah x reader smut on here) to reenact. Thank you!!! (If you dont want to write this feel free to repost for another writer, also you can switch the roles who is jealous, i dont care:)

i amended this a little, pls don’t hate me

it would be harsh to call this a crack fic but i honestly giggled the whole time writing it 🤭

-

You find Alessia on the sofa, her face illuminated by the blue glow of her phone screen. At first, you think she’s watching one of those oddly specific TikToks she loves—something about cats playing table tennis or an American teenager ranking their favourite crisps. But then you notice the furrow in her brow, the way her teeth tug at her bottom lip. Her expression is equal parts confusion, disbelief, and mild offence.

“Everything alright?” you ask, setting your keys on the counter.

She doesn’t answer immediately, which is a bad sign. Alessia always greets you the moment you walk through the door, even if it’s just to ask what you’ve brought for dinner. Instead, she tilts the phone slightly so you can see the screen.

“Do you know about this?” she asks, voice clipped.

You lean over, squinting at the screen. The webpage is clunky, its layout straight out of 2012, and the title reads something absurd like ‘Sunlit Smiles and Shadowed Hearts’. Your name is prominently featured in the summary, alongside a few other recognisable ones.

“It’s fanfiction,” she says, answering the question you haven’t asked yet. “About you”

You blink. “About me?”

“And other people,” she adds, her tone sharp now, like the edge of a too-clean knife.

The penny drops. “Wait—what?”

She sits up straighter, turning the phone to face you fully. “Look. This one has you with… God, Tooney. And this one—oh, this is just brilliant—you’re married to Ona. Married! Like we’re just some passing fling”

You bite the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing, which, given her expression, would be a tactical error. Alessia doesn’t do jealousy often, but when she does, it’s like an overdramatic romcom villain plotting their revenge.

“Well,” you say carefully, “at least they’ve got good taste?”

“Good taste?” she repeats, incredulous. “One of these has you sneaking off with Mary behind my back during a post-match interview!”

“Creative, though,” you offer.

She glares at you, tossing the phone onto the cushion beside her. “This isn’t funny”

“It’s a little funny,” you say, sitting down next to her.

“It’s not,” she insists, crossing her arms. “Do you know how many of these there are? And how many don’t have me in them at all? Like I’m just some side character in your life?”

You try to suppress the grin tugging at your lips, but it’s no use. “Less, you do realise this is all made up, right? None of it’s real”

She huffs, her cheeks pink now. “I know that. But still. It’s insulting”

You reach for her hand, gently uncrossing her arms. “Alright, let’s look at it this way. I’m obviously very popular. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not when you’re popular with everyone except me”

“Oh, come on,” you tease, squeezing her hand. “I’m pretty sure there’s stuff about us too. The fluffy, romantic, borderline inappropriate kind”

Alessia hesitates, her gaze flicking to the phone. “You think so?”

“I know so,” you say confidently. “Because we’re the superior couple. Clearly”

That earns a small smile, though she tries to hide it. “You’re an idiot”

“And yet, here I am, fully committed to proving my devotion,” you say, reaching for her phone. You type in a search, scrolling through pages until you find what you’re looking for. “See? Right here. This one’s about us”

She leans over, peering at the screen. Her eyes scan the words, and slowly, her frown starts to fade.

“This is… cute,” she admits reluctantly.

“Exactly,” you say, draping an arm around her shoulders. “So, no more being jealous of fictional versions of me, okay? They don’t get to go home with you. I do”

She turns to look at you, her expression softening further. “Fine. But I’m still not over the Mary thing”

You laugh, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Noted. I’ll make it up to you”

“You better,” she mumbles, but there’s no real bite to her words anymore.

It’s only later, as you’re cooking dinner together, that you catch her sneaking glances at her phone again, her lips twitching with the beginnings of a smile. If she’s reading more of those stories, you don’t mention it. Some battles are better left unpicked.

[lacehartz]

happy new years!! i’m so sorry cause i saw your post about how many asks you have, but i have to— new years kiss with dad!rafe?🙌

don’t you even worry nonnie i have 63 on my main 😭 hope u had a lovely new years !!! cw in tags.

whilst all your friends were out at the biggest party of the year, drinking ‘n having fun, you were stuck at home with rafe. you’d begged and pleaded with him to let you go, there was nothing wrong with wanting to let a little loose. but rafe wasn’t having it — not with how he knew how those parties got out of hand, and especially not with the kind of guys that’d be there. you’d been lucky to even convince him to let you stay up for the countdown.

“you really think ‘m stupid enough to let you out of my sight tonight?” he’d snapped earlier, forehead vein bulging and tone sharp enough to have you tearing up. you’d sulked off, sending off a message to the group chat about how you wouldn’t be able to make it after all.

hours later you’re in the living room, curled up in the corner of the couch, vaguely listening to the tv. you’re miserable. your phone hasn’t stopped buzzing with notifications from all your friends posting. you’d scroll through the stories and pictures, but the idea of that just makes your chest tighten with jealousy. instead, you toss the phone with a huff and burry your face in your knees.

rafe, who’s been sitting across from you, nursing a beer in his hands (because of course he wasn’t letting you drink either), notices and sighs. “still sulking?”you don’t answer, wrapping your arms around yourself as you sniffle. “what’d i say about that attitude, huh? already told you that y’don’t gotta go to any parties to have fun,” he places his beer on the coffee table, spreading his legs to get comfortable.

you frown and peek at him through your wet lashes. “doesn’t feel like fun,” you mumble. rafe rolls his eyes and pokes his cheek with his tongue. “up, c’mon. c’mere,” he replies gruffly, gesturing to his lap.

you hesitate, fiddling with your fingers. “i— i don’t know, dad..” rafe’s brows furrow as he takes you in, squinting at your disobedience. “that wasn’t a suggestion, baby. don’t make me get up.”

the warning in his tone sends shivers down your spine, and you slowly uncurl, glancing at him nervously. you don’t want him to yell at you again — not like he did earlier — so you slowly peel yourself off the couch and reluctantly shuffle over to him. “there’s m’girl,” he says smugly, tugging you down into his lap before you can protest again.

his arms loop around your waist, locking you in place as he adjusts you to straddle him, your knees sinking into the cushions either side his thighs. “did it t’protect you, sweetheart, ‘kay? i know you don’t like to think but dad does. and dad knows, uh, what happens to drunk little girls out in the middle of the night. what if someone had tried to take you, huh? tried t’take advantage of you. ‘m jus’ keepin’ you safe.”

you swallow hard when rafe squeezes your hips. he tilts your chin up, forcing you to meet his darkened eyes. you hear the countdown begin over the tv as you wipe your cheeks, the sound echoing, “ten .. nine .. eight ..”

“gotta start the new year off right, yeah? gonna show you how t’really have fun,” he whispers, hands soft against your face. you squirm when his fingers brush your mouth.

“four .. three .. two .. one ...”

and right as the fireworks explode across the sky, rafe’s surging forward, meeting your lips with his in a bruising, aching kiss. it’s rough and possessive and wet, his tongue forcing its way past the seam of your lips in a way that has you whimpering. he tastes like alcohol and something earthy, completely and utterly overwhelming. rafe’s hands tighten on your waist, pulling you flush against his chest until there’s not a single inch left between your bodies.

this kiss is messy, desperate, his teeth nipping your flesh and clashing with your own. your head spins as he devours you, making you so dizzy that you forget what you were so upset about in the first place. when he finally detaches from your puffy, tingly lips, strings of saliva still connecting you, you can barely breath, panting and gasping as you twitch in his lap.

“happy new year, baby,” rafe smirks huskily, giving you exactly two seconds before he’s capturing your lips again. maybe he was right after all; you didn’t need any parties, you just needed your dad.

[faithsotherhouseofchaos]

I don’t even know if it’s a request but I’ve been thinking about Pato crushing on or dating an autistic driver reader who he doesn’t realize is autistic but he still happily does things to help and make her feel comfortable

-💙🩵

It’s easy when it’s you||Pato O’ward x fem!Autistic!reader

Word count—654

The paddock was alive with noise—engines roaring in the background, team radios buzzing, and the general hum of race day chaos. You liked to stay on the fringes, close enough to soak in the energy but far enough to avoid being overwhelmed.

Today was no different. You had your favorite pair of noise-canceling headphones on, a small buffer between you and the world, as you studied the data on your tablet.

“Hey, you planning on giving away all the secrets before the race?”

You startled slightly at the familiar voice, turning to see Pato standing nearby, his signature grin in full force.

“I don’t think my data is that valuable,” you replied, the corners of your mouth quivering despite yourself.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he teased, leaning casually against the barrier. “Besides, you’re the only one around here who makes sense half the time.”

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks but quickly brushed it off. Pato had a way of making everyone feel at ease, but his attention always felt a little… different when it was on you.

It started with small things. Pato would always make sure to ask if you wanted to join the group after races, but he never pushed when you declined. If you sat alone during a particularly loud debrief, he’d pass by and drop off a bottle of water without a word, his presence calming without being intrusive.

One day, you found him crouched next to your chair, holding out a bag of your favorite snacks.

“I noticed you don’t always eat much during the post-race chaos,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “Figured this might help.”

You blinked at him, momentarily stunned. “You… noticed that?”

He shrugged, his easygoing demeanor masking what felt like genuine care. “Yeah, I notice a lot of things.”

The moment everything shifted came after a particularly grueling weekend. You’d been caught off guard by a sudden schedule change, and the resulting chaos had left you overstimulated and barely holding it together.

You’d retreated to a quiet corner, your breathing uneven as you tried to ground yourself. The hum of fluorescent lights felt too loud, the texture of your fireproof suit too scratchy.

“Hey.”

You looked up to see Pato crouching in front of you, his brow furrowed with concern.

“I’m fine,” you mumbled, though your voice betrayed the opposite.

He didn’t argue. Instead, he set down a small item in front of you—a soft, squishy stress ball in the shape of a car.

“Thought you might like this,” he said gently.

You stared at it, then at him. “How did you—”

“You seemed off earlier,” he said with a small shrug. “I figured maybe this could help. If not, we can just sit here for a while.”

Your throat tightened. It wasn’t just that he’d noticed—it was that he’d cared enough to do something about it without making a big deal of it.

“I’m autistic,” you blurted out, the words slipping past your lips before you could second-guess yourself.

Pato blinked, then nodded slowly. “Okay. What does that mean for you?”

You hesitated, unsure how much to share. “It means I get overwhelmed sometimes. By noise, changes, people… everything.”

“Got it,” he said, his tone casual but warm. “So, how can I help? Besides this little guy,” he added, gesturing to the stress ball with a grin.

Your chest loosened, the weight of the moment lifting. “This is a good start.”

From then on, Pato made it his mission to quietly support you in ways that felt almost effortless. He learned to spot the signs of your discomfort before you even said a word, offering subtle solutions that never felt patronizing. And when you finally worked up the courage to tell him how much it all meant to you, he simply smiled and said, “It’s easy when it’s you.”

[fushigurokogane]

~ Megumi Fushiguro Headcannons ~

hiii lovess~!! This is my first post on tumblr so BARE with me!! I hope you guys like these headcannons of our favorite EMO MANNN!!

~ Megumi is the type to show his love through actions rather than words. He may not be the most openly affectionate, but his protective instincts are off the charts. Whether it's making sure you're safe during dangerous situations or just being there when you need him, you’ll always feel his quiet support. If you're ever in a tight spot, he'll make sure you're safe without making a fuss. “Stay close to me. I’m not letting anything happen to you,” he’ll say with a calm but firm tone. If a situation arises where you’re in danger, he won’t hesitate to step in, reassuring you with, “I’ll handle this. You just focus on staying safe.”

~ When Megumi gives you compliments, they’re never over the top or cheesy. Instead, he’ll casually tell you, “You look nice today,” or “I like the way you think.” It’s not flashy, but it’s sincere, and you can always tell he means it. He doesn’t like to draw too much attention to it, but you’ll catch him giving you a soft smile and saying, “You look good today. Not that you don’t always, but today... it’s different.” Or, when you’ve just come up with a good idea, he might say, “I like how you think. You always know what to say.”

~ Megumi prefers quiet, low-key dates. Maybe a walk in the park, sitting at a quiet café, or going to a bookstore. He’s not one for big crowds or flashy outings, but he enjoys spending time with you in peaceful settings where he can focus on you without distractions. He enjoys the silence as much as the conversation. “I like this. Just us... no need for anything fancy,” he’ll say, glancing at you with a rare, warm smile. If you stop to look at something, he might add, “I’ll wait here. You take your time looking around.”

~ When you’re feeling down, Megumi is the type to sit with you in silence, offering his presence more than words. If you need someone to vent to, he listens patiently and gives sound advice without being too overwhelming. He doesn’t need to solve everything, but he’s there when you need him. He’ll sit by your side, saying, “You don’t have to say anything. I’m right here,” in a voice full of quiet support. If you start to share your thoughts, he’ll nod and respond with something like, “I know it’s tough right now. Take it slow, okay?”

~ Megumi respects your autonomy and space. He’s not the type to cling to you or act jealous. Instead, he’s supportive of your goals and interests, even if they don’t always overlap with his. He appreciates your independence and doesn’t feel the need to be in your business 24/7. He’ll reassure you, “You don’t have to check in every second. I trust you.” If you mention needing some alone time, he might respond with, “I get it. You need time for yourself. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

~ Though he’s serious most of the time, Megumi has his playful side that comes out around you. Whether it’s teasing you in a light-hearted way or showing off his random little quirks, he can be surprisingly fun once he feels comfortable. He might nudge you with a smirk, saying, “You really think you can beat me? Let’s see about that.”

~ Megumi is more in tune with your emotional state than he lets on. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, he’s the type to step in and help without hesitation, whether it’s through a comforting gesture or just taking care of things on your behalf. He doesn’t like seeing you stressed and will do what he can to make things easier for you. He’ll gently say, “You don’t need to carry all of that alone. Let me help.” Or, if you seem particularly stressed, he’ll comfort you with, “You’re stressed. I can see it. Take a breath. I’ve got it from here.”

~ He’s not one for grand gestures of affection, but Megumi has his ways of showing how much he cares. From the gentle way he touches your arm to the occasional shoulder rub when you're tense, his physical affection is subtle but full of meaning. When he holds your hand, it’s with a sense of quiet trust. He’ll offer his hand and say, “You can hold my hand if you want. I don’t mind,” or, in a quiet moment, “It’s just... I feel better when you’re close.”

~ Megumi isn’t the type to show jealousy openly. If he feels threatened by someone’s attention toward you, he’ll internalize it and try to focus on keeping his cool. But, if he gets too worked up, he might get a little more protective over time, making sure you're always by his side. He might downplay his feelings with, “Don’t worry, I’m not jealous. I just don’t like seeing you get too close to someone who doesn’t have your back.” If it continues, he’ll lean in and say, “I’m fine. Just... stay by me, okay?”

~ Megumi can be a little awkward when it comes to public displays of affection. He’s not someone who enjoys showing off his relationship in front of others, and he prefers to keep things low-key. However, in private, he can be quite affectionate in his own subtle way, like giving you a quick kiss on the forehead or cuddling up next to you during a movie. When you’re out together, he’ll say with a slight blush, “We don’t have to hold hands in front of everyone, but... I don’t mind when it’s just us.” After a kiss on your forehead, he might add, “Don’t read into it. I just wanted to do that.”

~ Megumi takes your words seriously, even the small things. Whether you’re talking about something that happened during your day or telling him about a random thought, he listens and engages with what you say, showing you that your opinions and feelings matter to him. When you share something on your mind, he’ll respond thoughtfully, saying, “That sounds like it was rough. What do you think you should do about it?” Or, if you keep talking, he’ll encourage you with, “I’m listening. Keep going. What happened next?”

~ When you're feeling under the weather or stressed, Megumi will step in and take care of you without hesitation. He’s the kind of boyfriend who’ll grab your favorite snacks, bring you water, or just stay with you, making sure you're comfortable and rested. He’ll come over and quietly say, “Here’s some water. I’ll stay with you until you feel better.” If you need anything else, he might add, “You need anything else? Just let me know. I’ve got you.”

~ Megumi respects when you need your own space. He doesn’t take it personally if you need time to recharge, and he uses that time to reflect or work on his own things. It’s not about distancing, but about understanding that being together sometimes means giving each other the space to grow individually. He’ll reassure you with, “I know you need some time. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” If you’re taking a break, he’ll tell you, “Take your time. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

~ Megumi finds peace in your presence, even if he’s quiet or a little reserved. Just being around you is enough to help him unwind, whether it’s reading together, having a silent dinner, or simply lying in bed beside each other. He appreciates the stillness you bring to his often chaotic life. He’ll look at you with a content expression and say, “It’s nice, just... being here with you.” On more quiet days, he might murmur, “I don’t need to go anywhere. I’m happy just sitting here with you.”

~ While he might not be the loudest or most expressive boyfriend, Megumi is the steady rock you can lean on. His consistency and reliability are a testament to his feelings for you, and no matter what challenges come your way, you can count on him to be there for you in his own quiet way. When times are tough, he’ll say with calm assurance, “I’m not going anywhere. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out.” Or, when you need reassurance, he’ll quietly tell you, “It’s okay. You don’t have to do it alone. I’ve got your back.”

DID YOU GUYS ENJOYYY??? I might make headcannon for yuji too!! So if you want one LET ME KNOWW!! ILY U SM POOKIES BAI BAIII~~!!

love, ✭ Nika ✭

[gpcwsl]

Warnings: short.

Caitlin Foord x Reader:

Title: Against The Odds

MasterList

The community center buzzed with the energy of volunteers preparing for the upcoming charity football event. Y/N moved with quiet efficiency, juggling tasks that ranged from directing setup crews to arranging stacks of flyers. She had little interest in the spotlight. She thrived in the background, ensuring that things ran smoothly while others took the credit.

It was a quiet life in a quiet town, and that suited her just fine.

But her routine was about to be disrupted in ways she couldn’t have imagined.

The arrival of Caitlin Foord changed the atmosphere instantly.

As the celebrated footballer stepped through the doors of the community center, the room seemed to brighten. Caitlin was magnetic, her confident stride and easy smile drawing every gaze. Wearing her Matildas jersey and her trademark charm, she exuded the kind of effortless charisma that made people gravitate toward her.

Everyone, that is, except Y/N.

Caitlin approached her table, where Y/N stood surrounded by stacks of flyers and a clipboard in hand. “Hey, you’re the coordinator, right?” Caitlin asked, her Australian accent as smooth as her smile.

Y/N barely glanced up. “Yes. I’m managing logistics.” She handed Caitlin a pile of flyers without preamble. “Can you distribute these to the tables by the entrance?”

Caitlin blinked. She wasn’t used to such brusque treatment. Most people fawned over her or at least gave her a moment of recognition. This woman acted like she was just another volunteer.

“Sure,” Caitlin said, recovering quickly. “Happy to help.”

As Caitlin moved off, she couldn’t resist looking back. Who was this woman, and why was she so… unaffected?

Later that evening, the weather took a sudden turn for the worse. Thunder growled in the distance, and a torrential downpour turned the streets into rivers. Caitlin had planned to head back to her hotel in the city, but the storm had other ideas.

“You’re not driving in this,” Y/N said firmly when Caitlin mentioned leaving.

“Got a better idea?” Caitlin challenged, though she already knew the answer.

Y/N sighed. “There’s a spare room at my place. It’s not fancy, but it’s dry.”

“Guess I’ll take you up on that.”

Y/N’s home was modest but cozy, filled with well-loved furniture and a lingering scent of fresh coffee. Caitlin looked around, intrigued by the glimpse into her host’s life.

“You’re not a fan of small talk, are you?” Caitlin teased as Y/N handed her a blanket for the guest bed.

“Not particularly,” Y/N replied, her lips twitching into the faintest smile.

Despite the rocky start, the storm forced them into an unexpected companionship. Over cups of tea and the soft rhythm of rain on the roof, Caitlin shared stories of her life as a professional athlete—the highs, the lows, and the constant pressure.

Y/N listened intently, her quiet presence a comfort Caitlin hadn’t known she needed.

The following day, the storm showed no signs of relenting. Trapped indoors, Caitlin found herself drawn to Y/N’s quiet strength. The two spent hours talking—about the charity event, their favorite books, and their vastly different lives.

“I don’t get it,” Caitlin said at one point, her voice thoughtful. “You’re smart, organized, obviously passionate. Why keep such a low profile?”

Y/N hesitated, then shrugged. “I like helping from behind the scenes. The spotlight… it’s not for me.”

Caitlin studied her, seeing for the first time the vulnerability beneath the surface. “You don’t have to be in the spotlight to shine, you know.”

Y/N’s cheeks flushed at the unexpected compliment.

The next day, the roads finally cleared, and Caitlin returned to the city for the charity match. Y/N thought that would be the end of their brief connection.

But then someone posted a picture online—a candid shot of Caitlin and Y/N together at the community center. Within hours, the image was trending, with tabloids speculating about Caitlin’s “mystery companion.”

Y/N was horrified.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” she told Caitlin over the phone, her voice trembling with anger and fear. “I don’t want to be part of your world.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Caitlin replied, her tone pleading. “But you are part of my world now, whether you like it or not.”

Caitlin drove back to Y/N’s town that same night, determined to fix things. She found Y/N at the community center, stacking chairs in a futile attempt to burn off her frustration.

“Hey,” Caitlin said softly, stepping into the room.

Y/N looked up, her expression guarded.

“I get it,” Caitlin continued. “You didn’t ask for any of this. But I’m not here because of the headlines or the attention. I’m here because I like you. The real you.”

Y/N’s eyes softened, but she remained silent.

Caitlin took a step closer. “I know my life is messy. I can’t promise it’ll ever be easy. But I’m willing to fight for this—for us—if you are.”

For a long moment, the only sound was the rain tapping against the windows. Then Y/N nodded.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “Let’s try.”

The days that followed weren’t easy. Y/N struggled with the attention, while Caitlin juggled her demanding career with her desire to protect their budding relationship. But through it all, they leaned on each other, learning to navigate the challenges together.

At a post-match press conference weeks later, Caitlin surprised everyone by dedicating her performance to “the unsung heroes who keep the world running—like the ones at our community centers.”

Y/N watched from the sidelines, her heart swelling with pride.

As Caitlin stepped off the stage, she found Y/N waiting for her, a rare smile lighting up her face.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” Y/N said softly.

Caitlin grinned, pulling her into a hug. “Only because I’ve got you.”

And for the first time, Y/N didn’t mind being in the spotlight—because with Caitlin by her side, it didn’t feel so overwhelming.

[darksturnz]

DRAWINGS AND APOLOGIES

CONTENTS:・soft angst/fluff-heavy plot (??) ・star!reader ・mild language ・some fruity activity・artist!chris ・bambi!madison + more WC: 2.1K (not proof read)

play this song. on repeat !

The faint smell of nail polish filled Madison’s living room, the kind of chemical sweetness that mixed oddly well with the lavender candle flickering on the coffee table. Star sat cross-legged on the floor, her hoodie sleeves pushed up as she tried to carefully paint Madison’s nails a deep plum color. Comet, however, had other plans. The fluffy cat had sprawled across Madison’s lap, purring loud enough to rival the ambient playlist humming in the background.

“Hold still,” Star muttered, furrowing her brows as she hovered the brush over Madison’s thumb.

“I would if your son wasn’t crushing me,” Madison teased, scratching Comet’s chin.

Star rolled her eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t love the chunks”

Madison grinned, holding up her hand for inspection. “seriously, not to body shame but he’s huge now! He wasn’t this big in that picture you posted.”

Star snorted. “Yeah, he’s been eating like a starved Victorian child who just discovered McDonald’s for the first time.” She capped the polish and leaned back against the couch. “And he’s been rotting in bed with me all day. We’re both a little pathetic.”

The comment came out casually, but Madison’s eyes flicked up, watching Star closely. “Rotting, huh?” she asked, keeping her voice light. “Very Girl, Interrupted of you.”

Star snorted and shrugged, fiddling with the bottle of nail polish. “I’m very Winona Ryder, we know this already. Life’s just been… a lot, I guess.”

Madison shifted slightly, gently moving Comet off her lap and onto the couch beside her. “What’s been a lot?” she asked, dipping her fingers into the nail polish remover as if she wasn’t paying too much attention.

Star hesitated, the words stuck in her throat. But Madison’s quiet presence, her calm patience, made it easier to start. “My dad’s been…” She trailed off, her voice tightening. “He’s just been worse lately. Everything’s my fault, y’know? The house isn’t clean enough. I’m not enough. He just—” Her breath hitched, and she shook her head.

Madison didn’t interrupt, just nodded slightly, her hands folded in her lap.

“And Chris,” Star added, her voice quieter now. “He was such an asshole. Like, I get it—he’s stressed. He has so much going on. But it felt like everything he said was aimed right where it’d hurt the most, like he was just… unloading all his shit on me.”

Her fingers curled into the fabric of her hoodie, and her words spilled out faster now. “And the worst part is, I’m not even mad at him. I just—” She swallowed hard, her eyes shining. “I care about him so much, it makes me feel stupid. It’s like I can’t stop caring even when I know I should.”

Madison stayed quiet, her expression softening as she leaned closer.

“And I miss my mom.” Star’s voice cracked, and the first tear fell before she could stop it. “I miss her so much. I just… I wish things were different. I wish she was here.”

The tears came faster now, slipping silently down her cheeks. Comet, sensing her distress, immediately leapt down from the couch and climbed onto Star’s chest. He curled up there, his warm, heavy weight grounding her as he began purring softly.

Madison slid down to the floor beside Star, leaning against her. “Do you remember that time your mom took us to the pool?” she said, her voice soft and steady.

Star blinked, looking over at her.

“She jumped in fully clothed because you were too scared to go in,” Madison continued with a small smile. “And then she made a huge splash on purpose so we’d all get soaked. I thought the lifeguard was gonna kill her.”

A shaky laugh escaped Star’s lips. “I remember. She had to drive us home in her wet jeans.”

“And then there was the time she tried to help us bake cookies,” Madison added, her own laughter bubbling up. “But we didn’t read the directions, so we added like three tablespoons of salt instead of sugar. She ate one anyway and said it was the best cookie she’d ever had.”

Star laughed again, the sound soft and bittersweet. “She was such a liar.”

“She really was,” Madison agreed, nudging Star’s shoulder gently.

The laughter faded, but Star felt a little lighter. She wiped her face with her sleeve, looking over at Madison with a sad smile. “I think I might miss him,” she mumbled.

Madison shook her head, smiling knowingly. “Really? You’ve only been a little bit obvious with the whole Bella Swan vibe you’ve got going on.”

Star’s eyes widened, and then she burst into laughter, hitting Madison’s arm lightly. “Okay!”

“I’m just saying,” Madison teased.

“Well, now I need to binge Twilight,” Star said, still laughing.

Madison grinned. “Say no more.”

They quickly set up for a movie night, grabbing blankets, snacks, and, of course, Comet. Star curled up on the couch, a sense of ease washing over her for the first time in weeks.

Chris sat at the dinner table, staring down at his sketchpad. The drawing was finished, the lines crisp and deliberate, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop fidgeting with it. His pencil tapped against the table in a steady rhythm.

“Can you stop?” Lila mumbled from the couch, her eyes glued to the TV. “You’re bein’ annoying.”

Chris sighed softly, glancing over at her. “What’re y’watchin’, bug?”

“Snoopy in Space,” she said, barely looking at him.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t Snoopy from, like, when Mom was a kid?”

Lila giggled. “Star said you’d be a hater about it. That’s why we only watch it together.”

Chris’s stomach dropped at the mention of Star. He hummed in response, his fingers tightening around the pencil.

“I miss Star,” Lila said quietly.

Chris looked over at her, struggling to find the words. “I know, bug,” he said finally, his voice soft. “S’bedtime though, c’mon.”

Lila pouted but didn’t argue when she caught the exhaustion in his eyes. She grabbed her bunny and walked over to him, wrapping her small arms around his neck. “Goodnight, Chris.” She kissed his cheek and padded off toward her room.

Chris blinked, stunned for a moment, before following her. He caught her just as she climbed into bed. “What was that about?” he asked.

“What?”

“You just tried to put yourself to bed. Since when’re y’too good for my tucking-in?”

Lila shrugged. “I didn’t wanna bother you.”

Chris’s chest ached, but he forced a smile. “Kid, you could never bother me. I’m tuckin’ you in ‘til you’re 50, alright?”

Lila rolled her eyes with a giggle as Chris flopped onto her bed, tickling her sides until she squealed.

When the giggles subsided, Chris looked at her seriously. “You know how much I love you?”

She nodded.

“You know how much Ma loves you?”

Another nod.

“Is Star mad at us ‘cause Momma’s not here?”

Chris’s heart clenched. He shook his head. “No, bug. She’s not mad at you or Momma. I was just an idiot and said some mean things I didn’t mean.”

Lila scowled. “What? Why! Go say sorry!”

Chris shrugged softly. “S’ not that simple.”

“Yes, it is!” Lila said, her small voice fierce. “You just say what you say to me—“I’m sorry let’s get feel better ice cream”— duh.”

Chris shook his head. “It unfortunately doesn’t work like that, kiddo.”

Lila yawned, snuggling deeper into her blanket. “You’re just bein’ a scaredy-cat.”

Chris kissed her forehead, tucking her in tightly. “ yeah, Goodnight, bug.”

Lila was sound asleep in her room, her bunny clutched tightly to her chest, the soft rise and fall of her breathing the only reminder that someone else was there. Chris sat at the dining table, staring down at the sketchpad in front of him.

The drawing was delicate but deliberate—a blend of shadow and light. The background was dark, with faint, swirling shapes blending into the shadows, but the stars stood out, scattered across the page in sharp, bright white. It wasn’t anything obvious, but it felt like it captured something he couldn’t put into words: the feeling of being adrift, of wanting to reach for something but not being sure if it was still there.

He’d started it thinking about Lila, about Evelyn, about how everything in his life felt like it was slipping out of his control. But somewhere in the hours he’d worked on it, his thoughts had drifted to Star. To the tears in her eyes, the way her voice had broken as she tried to reach him. To the silence that had stretched between them in the days since, heavier than he wanted to admit.

Chris folded the corner of the paper, unfolding it again, his jaw tight. He couldn’t shake the memory of her face—hurt, but not angry. Just sad. Like she was already bracing for him to walk away.

Finally, he stood up, grabbing his jacket and the drawing. He glanced into Lila’s room one more time, making sure she was still fast asleep, before slipping out of the trailer as quietly as he could.

Chris reached her trailer faster than he thought he would. It was cold, his breath visible in the night air, but he barely noticed. He stood at the door for a moment, staring at the chipped paint and the flickering porch light. His hand hovered over the door before he knocked, sharp and quick.

The sound echoed in the stillness, and for a second, he thought she might not be home. Then the door opened abruptly, but it wasn’t Star standing there. It was Danny, his expression hard and irritated.

“She ain’t here,” Danny said flatly, his words clipped. Before Chris could get a word in, the door slammed shut.

Chris stood there, frozen, his mind racing. He thought about leaving, about heading back to his own trailer and letting the silence win again. But instead, he pulled the drawing from under his jacket and reached into his pocket for a pen. The stars stared back at him as he scribbled on the back of the paper, the letters quick and messy but clear: Can we talk?

He folded the drawing carefully and walked to the side of the trailer where he knew her room was. The window was cracked open slightly, the tapestry hung over it swaying gently in the breeze. He slid the paper through the gap, hoping it would land somewhere visible, before stepping back. He stood there for a moment longer, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets, then turned and walked back toward his trailer.

Breaking Dawn: Part 1 played on the TV, the overly dramatic music swelling as Bella stared broodingly out the window. Madison couldn’t help but snort. “Okay, but who actually stares out the window like that?” she said, shaking her head.

Star, sprawled out on the couch with Comet curled up at her feet, grinned. “It’s iconic, Madison. Don’t question the art.”

Madison rolled her eyes, but her smile didn’t fade. She wasn’t really paying attention to the movie—not when Star looked so relaxed, her face lit up with laughter for the first time in weeks. Every time Star laughed, something warm bloomed in Madison’s chest, her heart beating just a little faster than usual.

She tried to focus on the TV, but her gaze kept drifting back to Star. The way her hair fell over her shoulder, the way her lips curved when she smiled, the way she absentmindedly scratched behind Comet’s ears. It wasn’t the first time Madison had noticed these things, but it was the first time she let herself admit what they meant.

Star shifted, leaning over to grab a handful of popcorn, and then settled back down, her head resting in Madison’s lap. Madison froze for a second, her breath catching, before she gently rested a hand on Star’s hair, letting her fingers trace soft patterns. Her heartbeat quickened, but she kept her movements steady, careful not to let Star notice.

The room felt warmer now, the flickering light from the TV casting soft shadows across Star’s face. Madison barely heard the dialogue on the screen, too focused on the way Star’s breathing slowed, her body relaxing completely.

For now, she didn’t say anything. She just brushed a strand of hair out of Star’s face and let her fingers linger there a moment too long, hoping Star couldn’t feel how her hands trembled ever so slightly. She studied the curve of her face, the way the faintest smile lingered on her lips even in the quiet. Madison felt a soft ache in her chest—not painful, but full, as if her heart had grown just a little too big for her ribs. The moment felt fragile, suspended between comfort and something else entirely, but Madison didn’t dare break it.

AUTHORS NOTE: TWILIGHT MENTION😸���

TAG LIST: @jetaimevous @sturnsblunt @riasturns @ifwdominicfike @chrissturns-wife @mattsmunch @pip4444chris @ribread03 @ariestrxsh @angelic-sturniolos111 @pvssychicken @mattslolita @stvrnzcherries @dottieboo @lovergirl4gracieabrams @bluestriips @sturniolo-fann @chrisslut04 @owensbabygirl @sturnslutz @sturniqlo @st4rsturns

[1toreyouapart]

What It Cost

****THIS IS A FICTIONAL STORY BASED ON REAL PEOPLE. 18+ ONLY. I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE PEOPLE OR MUSIC MENTIONED IN THIS STORY OUTSIDE OF LILITH AND SADIE AND MAYBE A COUPLE OTHERS. DO NOT READ IF YOU’RE NOT UP FOR FANFIC INVOLVING REAL PEOPLE***

Terrible summary: Five years since she last spoke to him. Since she last saw him. Now his face and his voice is everywhere. She can't escape him.

Five years ago Noah destroyed her and the life they had built. Now he’s back and seeking to make amends. As much as she wants to say that it's too little too late, is it?

CW/TW: Angst, mention of addiction, cheating. Mention of character death. Language. Smut (later on). PinV, unprotected PinV (wrap it before you tap it, friends), oral (f&m receiving). All smutty warnings happen later on, so I’ll update TW/CW warning labels as those parts are written and posted. If I forget anything, please let me know so I can fix it! Thank you!

14-Noah

He stood outside her bedroom door, listening to the sounds of her pacing in there. Hadn’t been hard to find which room was hers. All he had to do was listen for the faint sound of her talking to herself. Something she had always done when agitated. He tried not to dwell on how often he had heard it back then. How often he had disappointed her.

Raising his hand he knocked gently, listening for any kind of acknowledgement. None came. Just the continued sounds of her pacing back and forth, muttering something to herself. Heart in his stomach he leaned closer to the door, trying to decipher what she was saying. Something about how she had ruined something.

Carefully he cracked open the door, not wanting to startle her. What he saw there broke him. Lily was pacing back and forth, alternating pinching her inner arm and digging her nails into the palms of her hands. Her eyes stayed locked on the floor as she paced, muttering to herself about how dinner was ruined. How she had fucked it up. Good God. How many times had he listened to her in this state downstairs and he had just ignored it? Dismissed it as her cursing him?

“Lily? Bambi?” He knocked on the doorjamb before attempting to run away the ache in his chest.

Lilith stopped in her tracks, her bright eyes meeting his. Her brow stayed furrowed, mouth slightly turned down into a frown. Those same eyes that he remembered holding so much life broken. Noah didn’t hesitate. He stepped inside her bedroom, quickly shutting the door behind him.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out, wringing her hands.

Noah crossed the room to her in two long strides, grasping her hands in his. Anything to stop her from hurting herself more. Jesus Christ. He had really let her do all this alone. Let her hurt herself and berate herself all because he was too much of a pussy to face the consequences of his own actions. All because he didn’t want to face her every time he had upset her.

“Bambi. You’re fine. You didn’t do anything.”

“No. I drank too much and I snapped at you and now everything’s ruined. And dinner’s a waste. And I’m sorry.”

“All justified, Lily. You’re justified in being frustrated. In snapping at me. I want to fix everything, I do. But I don’t know how or how I’m supposed to act.” As he spoke he let go of her hands, reaching up to hold her face in his hands instead.

All he wanted in that moment, as she looked up at him totally broken, was to kiss her. If only to distract her from the thoughts he could practically feel circling inside her head. He knew that feeling all too well.

“I don’t know, either.” Her voice wavered. “And I don’t know what’s happening and all I know is I miss you. I hate it, Noah.”

“What’s something I can do right now?” He questioned, desperate to do anything to stop the tears in her eyes from spilling over.”Bambi. Baby. Please don’t cry. I hate it when you cry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Helpless and feeling like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole he watched as a tear escaped, slowly sliding down her cheek. Another. And another. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Here he had set out to fix things, make things better somehow. And all he had done was hurt her more. Frantic he wiped away the tears with his thumb, his chest feeling tight. Like someone was slowly cinching a strap around it, cutting off his ability to breathe.

“Lilith. Listen to me. Please,” he begged, trying desperately to drag more air into his lungs. “We’re going to go downstairs. I’m going to finish cooking dinner for you. And you’re going to sit there and look pretty. Just like we used to.”

He waited, watching for any sign that she wasn’t up for it. If she didn’t go for it, he had one last Hail Mary. The one thing he really wanted right now, but wasn’t sure it was appropriate in the moment. He hated not knowing what to do. When they had been together, he could have just kissed her and distracted her. But he couldn’t do that. Not anymore. He wasn’t allowed to just kiss her and distracted her long enough to get the thoughts to stop. And he hated it.

Fuck it. He lowered his face, stopping just a fraction of an inch from her lips, eyes trained on her own. Either he fucked this all up or he knew which direction to go after this. There was only one way to be sure. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, buying himself some time. Giving her a chance to say no. Yes, they had spent an entire day tangled up together, caught between her favorite show and making out. But this? This felt far different. Like if he kissed her right now he wouldn’t be able to stop.

“I love you. Never stopped,” was all he said before connecting his lips with her own.

Tags: @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @alwaysfightforwhoyouare

[airconditionertm]

Aemond Targaryen x stark fem reader

Summary: y/n has been sent to kings landing she is to meet the prince Aemond before the arrangements of their marriage are finalized

Word count: 1606

An: I’m sorry for any spelling errors I’m dyslexic this is my first time posting a fic on tumblr. let me know if you want another chapter .

He never really thought about marriage, he had always presumed he would marry whoever his mother brought him. A simple political marriage that would provide both benefits and heirs. His mother told him that y/n Stark would be visiting Kings Landing, he never quite understood why the Starks were so important they weren’t royals they didn’t have dragons all they were known for was keeping oaths. Aemond had never even been to the north. Though from what he heard northern women could be difficult, to say the least unwaveringly stubborn and prideful to say a little more. She was said to arrive in the following days and Aemond was expected to wo her so she might convince her brother to accept the marriage proposal on her behalf. Cregan Stark was ever honorable and cited concerns about Aemonds' character as his main reason to hesitate.

“Your Highness the Lady Stark has arrived the queen has requested you greet her “a servant interrupted his thought. He didn’t respond simply walked off.

The carriage she arrived in was simple it could be mistaken as the one of a commoner though the clear craftsmanship set it apart. Aemond stood a few meters away from the carriage as he waited for her to exit.

She stepped out of the carriage cautiously onto the cobble below. She wore a light silver blue gown that wasn’t as opulent as the regular court dress but still looked expensive. Some delicate silver thread decorated the neckline. She finally looked up at him waiting for him to introduce herself.

“Welcome to Kingslanding Lady Stark I’m Prince Aemond Targaryen “he spoke coldly.

“Well it’s an honor to be here your grace , “ she said curtly. Aemond noted that she didn’t bow as would have been proper.

“The maids will take your things…” and knew it was expected but he was in no mood to however he had a duty ” Would you like a tour of the grounds Lady Stark, “he asked begrudgingly.

“I’m quite tired from the journey, though I would like to at least know where the most important rooms are mainly the dining hall and the throne room oh and the library if you have more important things to attend to as I’m sure you do certainly someone else might show me “ she spoke quite quickly he was only glad she didn’t speak in a northern dialect one of his nurses when he was a child was this old northern lady and he quite frankly could never understand a word she was saying.

“I do not have other matters to attend to I prefer to do all my work in the mornings so that I might use the rest of the day as I wish, I shall show you the most important rooms before you rest “ he explained.

“Thank you-“to maids carried a wooden cage containing a white-grey dire wolf “Wait can you let her out of the cage I’ll take her with me so she can get used to her new surroundings “the two maids looked scared of the wolf but carefully opened the cage which the wolf immediately leaped out of charging at layana for a moment aemond was worried until the wolf started jumping up and wagging its tail. “Mhm you’re excited right good girl now don’t bite anyone and stay with me, “she said lovingly kneeling to pet the wolf, she turned back around to aemond. “This is my dire wolf Lilly I couldn’t stand to go without her don’t worry she’s trained she just might be a little skittish since she’s somewhere completely new, “she says almost apologetically. “Let us go on our tour “he turns around and begins walking.

———————————————————————

At the end of the tour he takes her to the library “This is the library “ he says. He is shocked to see a look of utter awe on her face.” this, it’s truly gargantuan I’m allowed to be in here right it isn’t restricted “she asked

“No it isn’t anyone can visit it though not many do, most of the books are however not allowed to be taken outside the library to prevent damage “ he replied.“That’s reasonable, don’t mistake my awe for thinking there aren’t any books in Winterfell it is just that we cannot keep many the moisture in the air tends to damage them “ she explains.

“ I see, do you enjoy reading Lady Stark, “ he asked. “Yes well it is more that I like acquiring knowledge rather than the act of reading itself, though I fear many of the most interesting texts here may be in high valerian “she states.“That may be true though there are many books in the common tongue to “ he says. “I must admit I’m tempted to try and learn the language just so I can read more books “she says excitedly .“It’s a difficult language “ he says curtly. “I can certainly imagine that “she replies.“If you truly wish to learn there are some guides to the language here too “he was sceptical she truly wished to learn the language many people tried to flatter the Targaryens by praising their mother tongue. Hells he wouldn’t be surprised if she was informed of his own love of reading so that she might wo him.

“The hour is drawing late I’ll call a maid to bring you to your chambers so you can rest and ready yourself for dinner “he turns to the exit.“It is getting late indeed, can I ask you one last question “ She was certainly chatty aemond thought.“Yes what is it” he replied .“What will dinner be like is it a lot of people will it be formal i don’t know what to expect”she asked.“We don’t often eat dinner together however my mother will probably make everyone ,but my father of course, come to dinner tonight to celebrate your arrival so it won’t be many people, it is formal yes but nothing too opulent “

“ I see thank you “A maid walked up to her and showed her to her chambers he didn’t expect that she would be taken into the same wing he and his family stayed in he hoped for her own sake that her chambers may not be too close to Aegons.

———————————————————————

She walked into the dining room on time she wore a more expensive gown than before though it was a similar color. However, it was velvet and tailored to fit more snugly the decoration was also far more elaborate. Her black curly hair was put in a neat updo with silver ornaments adorning it. Aemond had to admit she was beautiful not in the way southern women where it was more intense not so demure and soft. Aemond and his mother were the only ones already there “Everyone else seems to be late my dear why don’t you sit with Aemond“Queen Alicent greeted y/n .” right of course “She shuffled around for a moment before she sat next to him. He could tell she was nervous facing the queen for the first time.” There is no need to be shy my dear you are here in hopes that we may be family soon, so tell me how where you’re travels” Alicent asked sipping from a goblet. “My travels were pleasant for the most part though quite lonely with only my brothers men though I had my dire wolf Lilly to keep me company “Aegon stumbles in clearly drunk “You spent your whole journey only with tall strapping northern men, brother it seems like she’s already ruined “ Aemond of course knew what he meant with ruined, glaring at his brother. “I don’t quite understand, “y/n asked. “Well you know you probably fucked one of them or maybe all of them “he slurred laughing at his own joke. Alicent tried to give Aegon a warning look but it didn’t seem to work.” that is enough brother I will not let you insult her like this “aemond slammed his hands on the table.

“No need to overact brother I was simply joking, you understand that right Lady Stark” he sat down next to his mother.” I’m afraid I don’t understand how that is a Joke, “ she said sternly.” Bo I thought northern women were supposed to be more fun there’s no need to pretend to be all lady like “. She stood up “I am going to be insulted like this at dinner, enjoy your dinner queen Alicent “ and walked away. “Aegon must you destroy everything we need for this alliance with the north “Alicent rested her head in her hands. “Aemond go after her try to salvage this “. Aemond turned around and followed y/n.

“Lady Stark,” he asked cautiously, he had found her on the balcony looking out on King's landing. “Your grace “ she continued to look out her back facing him.

“ I must apologize for my brother, he’s a drunk and a fool “ he goes to stand beside her. “It’s my first night here and I’ve already been humiliated, “ she says quietly. “ it is not you who should feel ashamed it is my brother, to treat a guest like that to question your virtues and be so crude about it it’s deplorable,”he said firmly. She looks over at him “ I want you to know that I still have my virtue “she says. “ I never questioned it, my lady,” he says. “ I just wanted to be sure, “ she says. “Are you enjoying the view my lady? “ he asks. “ yes it’s quite beautiful and I do believe this high up the stench is less apparent “she says.

[woozisguitar]

happy 200 followers : )

I have a prompt for reader and seokmin, so the reader has parents in almost their late seventies and she is 25, they hope to see her get married but they never pressure her to do that because they like whatever she does.

so, she one day overhears them talking how they like her and are content with whatever they get, she bursts into tears. next thing YK, she tells her best friend seokmin about that and he decides to help her out.

so, yeah, seokmin decides they both can get marry because they both are best friends and he also likes her but never told her and type.

I'm sorry it was so longgg.

jayyyyyy :(((( thank you so so much im so sorry this took far too long but I hope you enjoy!!!

requests for 200 celebration post: open (but closing soon!)

ps: shoutout to @sherlyscatcafe for proof reading this lysm pookie <33

warning: fluff, hints of angst, mentions of weddings

one of the biggest perks in your life was growing up with siblings older than you because not once did you ever have to worry about taking over the family business or continuing a legacy. while they had everything already decided for them, your parents were a lot more lenient when it came to you. they were supportive when you told them that you wanted to take a gap year and go backpacking across europe to find some inspiration. they were also supportive when you got back and announced your interest in theatre, especially playwriting, and that this was your preferred major of choice for college. that's where you first met seokmin.  

it was the first day of freshman year, and it had been a while since you were last in a classroom setting. your parents dropped you off at your dorm, wishing you the best for class and leaving you alone to set up. your parents gave you a fair allowance which, when added to the little money you saved up working jobs, allowed you to opt in for a solo dorm. for the past year or so, you had little to no interactions with strangers who you'd see for a long time, and this made you worry that your social skills were perhaps rusty.  

you saw seokmin near the back of class. the seat next to him was empty, and he was reading a copy of hamlet. you made your way over to him and cleared your throat, announcing your presence. he looked up, pushing his glasses over the bridge of his nose, a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes. you smiled and pointed at the seat next to him. 

“is this taken?"

he shook his head no and smiled, moving his bag to let you take a seat. he went back to reading his book in silence, and you took this as a cue to pull out your own copy of comedy of errors.  

“what's your favorite work of shakespeare?” he asked, after a moment of quiet.  

“oh, me?” he nodded. “it's either hamlet or this,” you said, nodding at the book in your hand.  

“what about you?”  

“either romeo and juliet or a midsummer night’s dream,” he answered instantly.  

“a big romance guy, i see,” you teased him, to which he giggled shyly. “what other books do you like?”  

“not a lot by shakespeare, but i do enjoy other classics like pride and prejudice, persuasion, sense and sensibility, and you get the idea. what about you? big on romances?”  

“hmm, i don’t know. i don’t have a specific genre i enjoy; i’m more interested in the setting of the book and the background highlights of it, you know?”  

seokmin nodded in agreement, and you felt a soft glow in your chest. you barely knew this guy, let alone his name, but already liked being around him.  

“i’m y/n, nice to meet you,” you said, holding your hand out for him to shake.  

“seokmin, and likewise,” he said with a charming smile, shaking your hand. “so, what made you join intro to theatre, y/n?”  

you hesitated to tell him about your gap year. you weren’t particularly ashamed of it, but you noticed that people didn’t react well to it, often resorting to comparing you to your siblings’ success. but your subconscious argued that this guy knew nothing about your siblings and family, so you decided to tell him the truth. to your surprise, seokmin had also taken a gap year to work as an actor in a local play and decided to go to college after wrapping up to polish his skills further.  

your similar past and even more similar taste in hobbies instantly made you take a liking to him. from asking each other to be partners, taking up almost all the same classes, matching schedules, late-night binge-watching tv, attending (and performing) plays in theaters big and small, you had seokmin by your side. you had seen every possible side of each other: sad, heartbroken, vulnerable, raw—you name it. he had seen it all and still decided to stick by your side. when you told him about your plans to do an mfa in playwriting and direction rather than performing on stage, he had given you utmost support and joked that you should cast him and give him his big break.  

and much less to your surprise, you found seokmin sitting there in your postgraduate class for creative writing. when questioned about his sudden plan to pursue the degree, 'i’m just following where my heart takes me,' was all he said.  

years passed, but your friendship with seokmin only grew. he was one of the closest people in your life, your best friend, and you knew you were his too. he met your family, who accepted him as one of their own and often teased the two of you about romantic ties. he had been your date to all your siblings’ weddings, saving you from sticky situations with pesky relatives, and at this point, everyone was convinced the two of you were endgame. however, whenever someone asked, you’d just politely smile and decline, saying you’re just friends.  

but now that you were twenty-five, and your parents were well in their seventies, they started to bring up the topic of you hopefully getting married. they never pressured you into going on dates or meeting their friends’ sons, not even once, but they did express how much they’d love to see their youngest daughter get married. that was until one night, when you were staying over at your parents’ house, you overheard a conversation.  

“i’m worried, you know,” your dad said. “i’m scared one day we won’t be around, and she’ll be all lonely.” 

your mum made her way from the vinyl shelf to her husband, taking a seat next to him. “she’s capable of taking care of herself, you know.” 

“i know she is, but still, as her father, i worry. i just really hoped to walk her down the aisle to a man i know will always keep my daughter happy. i would die a happy man.”

“yes, but she’s happy now. let her be. her happiness is all that matters, after all,” your mum patted your dad’s hand and squeezed it, giving him a small smile.   your dad nodded, accepting your mother’s words.  your heart absolutely burst into parts. with tears streaming down your face, you decided that you would fulfill their one wish in return for all the love they gave you.  

“i want to get married.”  

seokmin spit out the drink he was nursing at your sudden confession. after leaving your parents’ home, you called seokmin and asked him to meet you at your regular coffee shop.  

“so... so suddenly?” seokmin asked after wiping the corner of his mouth, his drink now forgotten.  

“yeah, it’s just—” you stopped. you knew he wouldn’t judge you, but you weren’t sure yourself. part of you wanted to wait for love like everyone else, but the other, much stronger part of you wanted to fulfill your parents’ wish. you told him about the conversation you overheard and looked back at seokmin to say, “it’s just that i want them to be happy, you know? they’ve done so much for me and let me explore myself into being this person with no pressures. i just want to give back to them.”  

seokmin nodded solemnly, and you could almost hear the gears in his head turning. after a moment of silence, he quipped, “we... could get married.”  

now it was your turn to stay quiet. marriage? with seokmin?  

in hindsight, it wasn’t a bad thought. you trusted seokmin with your life and knew he would never do anything to hurt you. your careers aligned, so you wouldn’t have to worry about what the other does or how it will affect them, and he had spent over enough nights to know the two of you could coexist very peacefully in the same space.  you slowly looked at seokmin and nodded. “are you sure, though?”  

in return, he just gave you his trademark smile and said, “yeah, i’m just following where my heart takes me.”  

the two of you decided to announce your ‘engagement’ to both your families by the end of the month. you tried to be more affectionate in public, in front of your friends especially, so the sudden marriage announcement wouldn’t come as a shock. you even started to show a more romantic side of each other on your social media. seokmin took you to decide on a ring, one that he had saved for, and booked the two of you a dinner cruise with his planned proposal. all he said was, “can’t let the romantic in me die now, can i?”  

now, in the car seat outside your parents’ house, with a ring on your finger, you were worried about how they would take the news. your entire family, siblings and their spouses too, were present for this dinner, and you couldn’t think of a better place to announce it.  seokmin opened the door for you and held your hand throughout. his presence felt like the comfort you desperately needed. your family welcomed the two of you with warm hugs and kisses, no one noticing the ring. when dinner rolled around, you and seokmin shared a look, deciding this was the right time to announce it. you clinked your glass with a fork, standing up and waiting for the room to quieten.

 “we... have an announcement,” you looked over at seokmin, who gave you an encouraging smile. “seokmin and i are getting married,” you smiled in your parents’ direction.  

the whole room erupted into cheers, your sisters fighting over to see your ring while the men patted seokmin on the back. your mom hugged you tight, a small tear sliding down her cheek, and you saw your dad discreetly wipe his own. in that moment, you saw seokmin and realized maybe he was meant to be yours all along.  

the next few months passed in a blur of wedding preparations. both your and seokmin’s families were excited at the news of their youngest getting married and pressed the two of you to plan the wedding of the decade. getting over your initial hesitance, you decided to fully enjoy the planning, and seokmin’s forever-positive outlook made even the tedious tasks seem enjoyable. one night, when you finally had some alone time with no deadlines to finish and no wedding meetings scheduled, you decided to look through your old photos and videos, backing them up and sorting them. you were honestly surprised at the amount of photos and memories you had with seokmin, some of which you didn’t even remember, and you were glad to have them saved digitally. looking at the picture of seokmin you took during freshman year, you felt your heart skip a beat and small butterflies erupt in your stomach.  

he looked so much younger than he does now, yet so much the same. he gave this signature toothy grin, posing with a bagel. you giggled to yourself as you saw more silly pictures of him, and you thought to yourself, ‘what if i like him more than a friend?’ you quickly shook it off because this was seokmin for god’s sake! he had seen you get drunk and throw up in front of your long-time crush, all while trying not to get sick himself. he was your closest confidant, but now that the thought entered your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder if it’s really such a bad idea to love seokmin more than a friend.  

the wedding planning was of no help to your already tumultuous thoughts and feelings that were growing for seokmin, and spending all your time with him, along with the romantic acts he did to come off as the perfect fiancé, took a toll on your poor heart. one week after you first had the thought, you had now realized that you may have been in love with seokmin all this time.  

you remembered precisely when it started: during your second year of undergrad, when your boyfriend broke up with you, and only seokmin was able to comfort you. he held you as you cried, got you ice cream, and binged cheesy sad romance movies with you. he was always there, just a call away, and you now realized that the adoration you held so dearly for him was actually love. no wonder you barely had any successful relationships after that, because all you searched for in them was seokmin, subconsciously comparing them all to your best friend. hell, when the two of you announced your engagement on your socials, everyone from your old university, including your exes, joked that they always knew you’d end up with seokmin. it has truly always been him.

seokmin wasn’t doing so great either. when he first proposed the idea of marriage, he thought he could keep his romantic thoughts to himself. but soon, seeing you in such a romantic and domestic light, all the feelings he had spent years suppressing started to bubble over the surface. he’d catch himself staring longer than a friend should and mentally reprimand himself for slipping. thank god you were always distracted by something to notice. sometimes he felt like he was betraying you by not telling you the truth, and these conflicting emotions led to him making a very stupid decision. or perhaps a great one, his subconscious argued.  

seokmin decided to confess everything during your rehearsal dinner party, finding it harder and harder to keep his feelings under wraps. he arrived at the venue beforehand to decide on the spot where he would confess. he figured if you accepted his feelings, it should be a moment that lived fresh in his mind for all his days, and if you were to reject him, he would at least like to be rejected in front of a pretty view. always such a romantic, your voice rang in his head, and a smile formed on his face. seokmin gave himself a small pep talk, texting you to meet him by the bench around the back of your venue.  

he saw you walk out, looking around in awe at the empty courtyard, with fallen cherry blossoms from the trees scattered around. your eyes met his, and you gave him a shy smile, making his heart skip a beat. you made your way over to him, and his heart started to beat faster.  “what's up?” you said, giving him a questioning smile.  “i—” seokmin’s words were stuck in his throat. for a second, he was so mesmerized by you, just you, that he forgot what he had prepared and just said, “i love you.”  

now it was your turn to be at a loss for words. seokmin took your silence as a cue to continue.  “i... i love you. and i’m not saying this now, just two days before our wedding, for the sake of it. i have been in love with you for so long. years, if i’m being honest. you own every corner of my heart. hell, you are my heart. my everything. that's why i felt compelled to be closer to you, to have you near me. you were the one my heart made me follow, y/n. i just don’t want to marry you, if you still want to marry me, under a fake guise that i am doing this to help you, and i couldn’t help but feel like i was betray—”  seokmin’s spiraling rambling was cut off by you softly pressing your lips against his.  

seokmin’s eyes grew wide, and he froze. when you felt him try to pull back, he grabbed the back of your head and kissed you back. his lips moved slowly against yours before you pulled back to take a deep breath, a smile gracing your face.  seokmin mirrored your smile and dived back in to kiss you again. this time, the kiss was filled with his desperation and longing for you.  “god, i fucking love you, you cheesy-ass romantic,” you whispered breathlessly when the two of you separated.  seokmin giggled and kissed your nose. “not as much as i love you, pretty girl.”  

when you stood at the altar with him by your side saying, “i do,” you realized that this was your destiny all along. like a theater play, the two of your lives were written to play out this way. and while everyone wants to have the romantic interest who follows his heart all for themselves, this one will belong to you, forever and always. 

[bokutosbabe]

*Pokes my head in through your window*

Good morning, I'm here for the 'More Than A Married Couple, But Not Lovers' event. I'll like to request 🍑+🧁 with Yukimiya Kenyu.

well good morning ! ( afternoon as this is posted )

a yukimiya kenyu peach cupcake :)

જ⁀♡⊹｡° home is wherever you are

♡ a/n — for my more than a married couple event :)

♡ content — yukimiya kenyu x gn! reader, gn! reader, childhood friends to lovers, their moms are also best friends, reader tries to deny their feelings for yukimiya

♡ synopsis — from the second you were born, your mother swore you were meant to marry her best friends son, yukimiya kenyu. maybe they'd accept just a fake marriage?

You and Yukimiya Kenyu had been attached at the hip for as long as you could remember.

Your mothers were best friends, bonded by years of shared secrets, inside jokes, and matching visions of the future. And somewhere along the way, that vision started to include you and Yukimiya—together.

“When they grow up, they’ll get married. Mark my words,” your mom would say with a wink.

Yukimiya’s mom always chimed in with a dreamy sigh, “They’re perfect for each other. Just look at them!”

You and Yukimiya? Perfect for each other? You’d laugh it off every time.

But no matter how much you tried to ignore their teasing, the words stuck.

The years passed, and the two of you became inseparable. From sharing homework to cheering him on at soccer matches, you were there for every high and low.

You knew everything about him—the way he hummed when he was deep in thought, how he needed his tea just right, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his dreams.

And he knew everything about you.

But no matter how close you were, there was always an unspoken rule between you: don’t cross the line.

When the marriage simulation program paired you together, you’d both burst out laughing.

“Of course it’s you,” Yukimiya said, shaking his head with a small smile.

“It’s like the universe is conspiring with our moms,” you joked, though your stomach flipped at the thought of living with him for weeks.

You didn’t expect much to change. After all, you’d been friends forever. This would be just like old times—right?

It wasn’t.

Living together was different.

For one, you started noticing things you hadn’t before. Like how he always smelled faintly of citrus, or how his hair looked when he stepped out of the shower, damp and a little messy.

And then there was the way he looked at you—so soft, so open, like you were the only person in the world who mattered.

You told yourself it didn’t mean anything. This was just Yuki. He was thoughtful, sweet—he’d always been like this.

But the more time you spent together, the harder it became to convince yourself that your feelings were strictly platonic.

It all came to a head one evening.

You were sitting on the couch, flipping through the program’s assignments, when he spoke up.

“Hey,” he said, his voice unusually tentative.

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever think about what our moms used to say? About us getting married?”

Your heart skipped a beat. “Uh, sometimes. Why?”

He hesitated, running a hand through his hair. “I used to think it was ridiculous, you know? Like, they were just joking around. But…”

You waited, holding your breath.

“But now I’m starting to wonder if maybe they weren’t entirely wrong.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“Yuki,” you said softly, your chest tightening.

He looked at you, his expression both nervous and hopeful. “I know this is probably the worst time to say this, but I—” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I like you. More than just as a friend. I think I’ve liked you for a while now, but I didn’t want to mess things up between us.”

Your heart felt like it was about to burst. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I didn’t want to lose you,” he admitted. “But now… I can’t pretend anymore.”

You didn’t know who moved first, but suddenly his arms were around you, holding you close.

“I don’t want to pretend anymore either,” you whispered, burying your face in his chest.

The simulation ended a few days later, but your relationship didn’t.

For once, your moms were right.

And this time, you didn’t mind one bit.

i love yukimiya so much it's unhealthy

i hope you liked it!

likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated!

[holidaywishes]

Out of Control

Hate Sex Part 5

Requested: 👍 and 👎

Summary: Over the last year, Auston keeps getting into trouble

Warning: angst, fighting,

Author’s Note: So, this is kind of like a prelude to the next chapter which was a request for a new chapter, I'll post the full request in the next chapter, I had it all as one but it was like 20 pages in Google Docs before I even got to the heart of the request and even this is still very long. Finding a way to make it all flow is what has taken me ages to edit and post, so this is my solution. hopefully, this means I’ll have the next part up soon but 🤞. Anyway, thank you loves and Happy New Year!

masterlist

masterlist part ii

the other masterlist

xx

Auston's P.O.V

You missed her. As much as you didn’t want to, as much as she made it clear that you’re not what she wanted, you missed her. You spent two months wallowing or focusing on nothing other than winning as if that could somehow fix everything. On the few days off you had between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, you drank until you passed out and you could tell that your mom was starting to worry but every time you slowed down, you thought of (Y/N).

  “Don’t you think this is getting a little bit dangerous?” Willy asked as he helped you up from the floor of your apartment after you’d fallen to the floor

  “I’m in my own apartment, we don’t have a game for a few days, I’ll be fine for practice,” you slurred as he set you back on the couch, “don’t worry about me”

  “Auston, this is ridiculous,” he scoffed, “if I’d known that this is where you were at, I wouldn’t have agreed to hang out tonight”

  “Calm down,” you huffed, pushing yourself up from the couch, nearly crashing into Willy as you did so, “I’m fine. We deserve to have a great New Year’s Eve, to celebrate!”

  “I think you’ve already done enough celebrating for the both of us”

  “Look,” you said, placing your hand on his shoulder, “Morgan and Tessa are having a baby… so we’re not gonna see him a lot. Mitch is… married. We can try to get him to come out but, chances are, he’s already got plans. We should be having fun, a few drinks aren’t gonna hurt anybody. Hangover’s don’t last forever.” You took a sip from the beer bottle you’d grabbed off the table and waited for Willy’s answer; he was about to cave, you could see it but you had to wait

  “Fine!” he agreed, sighing slightly

“Atta boy!” you cheered, walking to the kitchen to grab him a drink, “now, get started, I’m gonna go change.” The night started slow but when it finally got going, you did your best to keep the mood up but the closer to midnight it got, the more you noticed couples forming around you.

  “Don’t do it,” Willy called to you as you pulled out your phone, “nothing good can come from checking her stories”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about” you lied

  “Celebrate here. Find someone here, it should be easy.” You rolled your eyes but tried to follow his suggestion, looking around at who wasn’t paired up. Your eyes landed on a petite (Y/C/H) girl in jeans and you decided to make a move, chugging the last of your drink before heading over to her

  “Hi,” you smiled as you leaned down to the girl’s ear and she turned around, “I’m Auston.” She smiled in return before outstretching her hand, you were suddenly flooded by images of (Y/N) in your head

  “Hi, Auston,” she said as you shook hands, bringing you back to the moment, “I’m Laura, nice to meet you”

  “Nice to meet you,” you replied, “so… wanna dance?”

  “I-” she hesitated

“No pressure,” you continued, moving closer to her, “we could always just wait around until midnight, sipping Champagne.” You felt someone knock your shoulder and you just scoffed, rolling at your eyes before saying to Laura, “some people hey?”

  “Yeah…” she started before you heard a voice from behind you

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yelled

  “Back off, bro,” you replied, turning around to face this angry guy whose face was red with rage, pushing his shoulder once, “I don’t need this tonight”

  “Why don’t you back off, bro?” he added, getting right up until your noses were practically touching

  “Hey, what’s this romance about?” Willy joked, trying to calm the situation down

  “This clown was harassing my girlfriend” the guy said, gesturing to Laura, who was now crossing her arms in front of her chest

  “Whoa,” you started with a scoff and your hands up in defence, “I was not harassing her. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, I didn’t know you had a boyfriend” you repeated, turning to Laura

  “Well…” she tried, “you didn’t really let me…”

  “She was waiting for me, dickhead,” the boyfriend spoke up again, this time forcefully turning you around to face him, “you should learn to show a little respect”

  “Coming from the douche bag yelling in the middle of a dance floor”

  “Auston…” you heard Willy sigh before dropping his head in his hand before the boyfriend’s eyes narrowed and his fist was flying through the air. The first punch flew past you and, out of pure instinct, you threw a fist in return; connecting with his face immediately. The small feeling of pride soon dissipated when his fist finally met your jaw and the crowd around you quickly stepped back so they didn’t get in the way of the fight. Eventually, you felt hands tearing you away and telling you to stop fighting before you were tossed out of the club. “What the actual fuck, dude?” Willy shouted, pushing your shoulder as you walked down the street with a bloody lip

  “How the fuck was I supposed to know she had a boyfriend?” you yelled in return

  “You didn’t have to get into a fucking brawl!”

  “It wasn’t a brawl, relax”

  “Auston, we just got tossed out of a fucking building,” he said angrily, “if you hadn’t been physically pulled away from this guy, it could’ve been really bad”

  “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing it wasn’t,” you scoffed, patting your lip to see how much blood was there, “I just need to get back home, you can do whatever you want. Happy New Year…”

  “What is going on with you?” he said calmly, stopping at the corner to talk to you, “you’ve been drinking a lot and now a fight? Even before we left, you were so out of it that you could barely stand”

  “That’s dramatic,” you scoffed, “I’ve been drunk a handful of times in the last month and this is one fight. It’s not like it’ll happen again”

  “Better not,” he replied, “because it’s not gonna impress her…” You rolled your eyes at his statement before the two of you went in your own directions. You weren’t trying to impress (Y/N) and, even if you were, you knew this wasn’t the way to do it. She’d hate this. Hate the bravado, hate seeing you like this. You just got caught up in it this time, that’s all. 

xx

4 months later

  “Rumour has it, Auston is the captain of the Leafs now,” Mary said while the two of you walked toward your brunch spot

  “Calm down, Mary,” you scoffed, “it’s just a rumour…”

  “That’s true,” she folded briefly, “there’s still lots of time for things to change, people to change, that kind of thing…”

  “I guess,” you sighed, pointing at a spot to sit when you walked into the restaurant, “why are you bringing this up anyway?”

  “It seemed like a big deal. I thought maybe you’d be interested”

  “Well, thanks but no thanks”

  “(Y/N)...” she smiled and tilted her head, “I know it’s been a while since you’ve talked to him, or seen him for that matter, but you were pretty invested for a minute”

  “I wasn’t invested”

  “I beg to differ” she responded before looking at the menu, forcing you to shake your head in annoyance

  “Look,” you said, “we… I took myself out of his world. Tessa and Mo are the ones I see, they’re the ones I’m friends with. Auston is just… he’s-”

  “Out of control” Tessa interrupted, apparently having heard the conversation you’d been having with Mary

  “What?” you and Mary said, watching Tessa and her pregnant belly maneuver into the patio seat

  “He got into a fight” Tessa finally said

  “I thought that was on New Year’s Eve?” Mary asked

  “Wait what?” you scoffed but the two of them continued

  “Oh yeah but that was then,” Tessa added, “he got into another one like two nights ago at some restaurant”

  “What was it about?” Mary asked

  “Who knows!” Tessa exclaimed, “Mo tried to ask but Auston just got mad and walked away”

  “Well, he’s young. He’ll move on,” you smirked to yourself, sure no one was listening to you only to be met by scolds from your two friends, “what?”

  “You don’t perhaps think this has something to do with you?” Tessa asked, irritated

  “Me?” you scoffed, “what would it have to do with me?”

  “Halloween, 2023” Mary said, dramatically

  “You mean 7 months ago?” you huffed

  “I was going for dramatic effect,” she continued, “but yes”

  “What about it?”

  “Seriously?!” both Tessa and Mary threw their hands up before Tessa tried to get through to you, “whatever happened at that Halloween party, however you ended it, whatever you said to him… it clearly affected him”

  “Hey,” you said sharply, pointing your finger in her face, “it is not my fault that he’s gone off the rails. He’s making his own decisions”

  “He’s hurt, (Y/N),” Mary said softly, “he had real feelings for you. You have to know that, don’t you?”

  “And you were feeling it too. Mo and I saw it, Mitch and Steph saw it, they brought it up after you stopped coming around when you knew Auston would be there. It’s okay to admit it…” Tessa added and you dropped your head, rubbing your forehead as you tried to think of something to say, if only just to get them off your back

  “I couldn’t imagine being in a relationship that started with so much negativity, so much drama,” you finally admitted, “it wouldn’t matter what feelings I had or how strong those feelings were, I’d always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the toxicity to show up again and again and again. I saw his feelings, I heard him confess them to me, I felt it from him and I could tell he was being vulnerable with me so I… I made a choice to let things end before he could get any more attached. So he could realize that he’d be better off without the constant up and down of whatever we were doing”

  “And now he’s getting into fights,” Tessa said

  “Like he’s taking it out on the world,” Mary cooed, “he’s really hurting”

  “Mary,” you groaned, “I don’t know what’s going on with him, I really don’t, but even if he was really hurting, he shouldn’t be acting so immature. Especially, if they’re actually gonna make him captain.” Your phone rang suddenly and you were able to get out of this loop you’d found yourself in, except you couldn’t because Stephanie was on the other line screaming about Auston and Mitch getting into a fight, “slow down, what’s wrong?”

  “Auston is about to get beat up,” she said, clearly scared and on the brink of tears, “Mitch tried to stop it, tried to stop him, but Auston kept riling this guy up…”

  “Where are you?” you asked, Tessa and Mary looking at each other quickly before they looked back at you

  “Grace O’Malley’s” Steph replied

  “Grace O–” you sighed, “I can’t get down there in less than half an hour, you’re gonna have to find a way to calm him down”

  “Can’t you hurry? Just speed through some red lights?” she joked

  “I’m out with Tess and Mary, we took the train,” you said, watching Tessa mouth that she took an Uber, pointing at her phone. You waved her away and went back to Steph, “I’m sorry. Is he drunk?” you asked, not sure which answer you were hoping for. If he was drunk, you could understand it more but it would mean that he was drinking in the middle of the day, if he wasn’t drunk, he was just being an asshole

  “I think, maybe a little,” she admitted, “he’s had like three beers?”

  “You could call the cops?” you offered, voice squeaking as you suggested it, knowing no one would be on board with it

  “ARE YOU JOKING?!” yeah, there it was. Steph’s shocked yell said it all and Tessa’s face added to it. You rolled your eyes at the whole situation, “there’s no way that would fly with the coaching staff”

  “It’s not like anything would actually happen,” you mumbled to yourself to which Mary’s eyes went big and pushed you to do something, “give him the phone”

  “What?” she whimpered

  “Can you get the phone to him? Let me try to talk some sense into him…” you waited for her to give him the phone, looking at the girls in front of you waiting for answers but you could only shrug. You eventually heard a bunch of yelling and swearing on the other end while Stephanie took the phone over to Auston

  “Auston!” she yelled, “AUSTON! (Y/N) wants to talk to you”

  “I’m not talking to her,” he yelled at Stephanie, “tell her to fuck off.” You waited for some kind of response but it did seem like the fight was dying down, so that was a plus

  “He doesn’t want to talk to you…” she said truthfully, “but it looks like he’s out of the fight. I’m so sorry for calling, I was just nervous and I didn’t know what to do”

  “That’s okay,” you smiled to yourself, “are you okay?”

  “I’m okay” she said and you let her know that if she ever needed anything, you were happy to help however you could and then it was back to the two faces looking at you.

  “What?” you said dismissively as you hung up the phone and tried your best not to hear the anger in Auston’s voice anymore

  “Everything okay?” Mary asked

  “What was all that?” Tessa added

  “It’s all taken care of,” you replied, “Steph was a little worried about a fight Auston was in but it’s all over now. The three of you went on with your brunch as if the call never happened, as if Auston didn’t get into another brawl, but your mind started to wander. You started to think about how many fights he might have gotten himself into since the last time you saw him. Almost a year ago? That can’t be right, can it? You thought to yourself, you must have run into him at some point in the last 7 months. Playoffs? No, you were out of town for work. New Year’s? No, Mo didn’t have a party because Tessa was in her first trimester… the more you thought about it, the more you realized you had completely distanced yourself from him. But that’s what you said you wanted, wasn’t it? So, it shouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t for you, but it clearly was for him. Yet, you couldn’t help but ask yourself, why, after almost a year, is he acting out now?

xx

  “He’s been doing this for months” Stephanie explained when you were out with her and Mary for brunch nearly 5 months since the last time, having yet another conversation about Auston’s downward spiral, “New Year’s was a tense night but he wasn’t out of control yet”

  “Probably because the season was still going” Mary added and Steph nodded

  “In between New Year’s Day and Michael’s wedding, he was all over the place. He went to France and like.. went down on some girl on a public beach but it was in a private cabana or something so there was no fine,” she continued. “When he was at the NHL awards, he took his sister to a casino and - from the way he explained it to Mitch - some guy wouldn’t leave her alone, hitting on her non-stop, so Auston yelled at the guy and the guy was drunk, he pushed Auston and they both had to be escorted out”

  “Oh my god,” you said before taking a sip of your drink, “and that fight at the pub was in the middle of all of this?”

  “Kinda,” Stephanie said, trying to recall the timeline, “the latter half for sure, close to Michael’s wedding. That’s about the time John told him that becoming Captain was gonna be a reality. It was like a wake up call”

  “John still thought that he was ready for it? After all of that?” you scoffed

  “I think he is,” Steph exclaimed quietly, “I think he’s just.. going through something”

  “We know what that is…” Mary said under her breath, straw between her teeth, with her eyebrows raised

  “Take a drink, Mary,” you said, rolling your eyes, “Steph, if he’s acting like this because he’s going through something in the off season, how’s he gonna be any better during the actual season?”

  “I mean, these Original Six hockey cities are insane to play for. The highs are massive and the lows are excruciating. Auston’s respected by the entire team and the coaches love him”

  “But,” you questioned, gesturing with your fork in your hand, “do they respect him as a leader or as a goal scorer? He’s got great scoring streaks and he’s friends with pretty much the whole team. The coaching staff love him because of what they can make from him and the guys love him because they like hanging out with him off the ice.”

  “What they can make from him?” Stephanie scoffed, “is that all you think they think of him?”

  “All I’m saying is that Captains are supposed to be leaders on and off the ice. They’re supposed to be stable. They’re supposed to have strong character and if Auston is fighting all the time, maybe he’s not ready to be Captain…”

  “Maybe he just needs the right push” Stephanie said

  “Or maybe he needs the right people to believe in him,” Mary added, “if he’s respected, he could do extremely well as Captain”

  “Or,” you stated quietly, because you knew no one else was going to say it, “he’s going to get eaten alive.” The start of the season was coming soon and hearing about Auston becoming Captain was impossible to escape; Stephanie believed in Auston, whether that was because Mitch believed in him or because she thought Auston was really ready for it, you weren’t sure and Mary was trying to play to your emotions, as she always did, so you tried to swerve the conversation into something else so you could enjoy your time together before life got in the way again.

When you finally made your way to the train, saying goodbye to Mary and Stephanie, you let out a long sigh before letting your mind go blank; your apartment was a refuge at this point. No one was going to bother you or talk to you about bad decisions you’d made in the past, you could just take your shoes off, free yourself from the prison that was your bra, and fall asleep on the couch - something that took immediate effect when you walked through the door. You found the remote and clicked on the power before tossing it lightly on the table in front of you

  “...I think everybody knows the news,” a voice said as the colours of the screen filled your dark apartment, “..to announce Auston as the 26th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs”

“Are you kidding me?” you thought to yourself, scoffing at the cruel irony of not being able to escape him, even in your sanctuary.

[littlestsnicket]

title: lunch break

word count: .5k

post season 2; daniel and real rashid are aggrieved co-workers now; the workplace comedy i want the talamasca show to be and am certain i will not receive; set in the same verse as @mitzvahmelting’s rashid is a zoologist fic because i have adopted it as my personal canon

“Do you miss playing butler to the Stepford Wives?”

“We may share an employer, but I still find you immensely irritating.”

“How did you come by that gig anyway? And did the Talemasca recruit you before or after?”

Rashid sighs in a way that is so artfully restrained it comes all the way back around and makes him seem like a diva. “I hold a PhD in cryptozoology.”

“Are you bragging about your PhD to me? I’m not big on formal education.”

“No, that’s the best answer I can give to your question. I was of independent interest to both parties.”

“So Louis thought it was a good idea to hire a cryptozoologist as a butler.”

“I believe it was primarily Armand’s decision. He dealt with most of the minutiae of household management.”

“Why am I not surprised? Armand is weird, man.”

“And yet, I am significantly more fond of him than you. At moments like this, I regret my part in helping you destroy his marriage.”

“Still? He’s probably creeping around waiting to kill you for your betrayal.”

“If Armand wanted me dead, we would not be having this conversation. He would have done it when I found him lurking in my apartment.”

“That’s not fair, Rashid! I spend all of this time and effort trying to attract his attention and he just shows up in your apartment! Was he upset?”

“He allowed me to explain myself.”

“That’s surprisingly magnanimous of him.”

Rashid shrugs. “I wasn’t entirely certain until then, we never discussed it, but he knew I was a Talamasca agent. It wasn’t so large of a betrayal as it might have seemed.”

“So he paid you to spy on him.”

“I asked a similar question. Armand said he wasn’t aware he was at cross purposes with the Talamasca until extremely recently. But I reassured him that we had little interest in his personal affairs, and only provided Sam’s script on your explicit request, so he really only had one newly minted fledgling at which to direct his ire.”

“Throwing me under the bus, Rashid,” Daniel tsks.

“As I said, I don’t particularly like you. But you have little to fear. Armand is inexplicably fascinated by you.”

Daniel frowns. “I think Armand hired you because you sound like a butler and he’s fried his brain watching too much tv on his stupid fucking iPad.”

Rashid makes a face.

“Fine, man, I won’t insult Armand’s intelligence. Maybe he thinks you’re pretty.”

Rashid blushes at that. It’s so subtle Daniel might not have noticed without his heightened senses. He has to restrain himself from crowing and doesn’t do a particularly good job.

“Were you fucking?”

Rashid doesn’t say anything.

“You were!”

“No.” Rashid says, firmly. “And you are lucky the Talamasca doesn’t have an HR department.”

“I don’t believe that for a second, you wouldn’t have hesitated like that. Maybe you’re not exactly lying. Were you having sex so kinky it didn’t even look like sex anymore? I’m sure Armand is into some weird shit.”

Rashid pinches the bridge of his nose. “If I say yes, will you stop?”

“Depends how convincingly you say yes.”

Rashid fixes Daniel with an absolutely dead eyed expression, gathers up his uneaten lunch without breaking eye contact, and stalks out of the break room, slightly too quickly.

“You can’t hide from me Rashid!” Daniel calls after him. The careful deliberate lack of response is satisfying in its own way.

[lychee-drinks]

Can i request a scenario where

Vasco and jay's s/o take away cuddling access for a month? Like they're in a fight or something

Hope this wasn't too confusing!

Vasco and Jay’s reaction to their S/O taking away cuddling for a month after a fight

(a/n): don’t actually do this in real life

Vasco

So you and Vasco got into a fight over the fact that Vasco always chooses Burn Knuckles over you. You didn’t mind that he valued them a lot and part of the reason why you fell for him were his ideals in the gang. But more often than not, if he had the choice to go to the arcade with Burn Knuckles or to hang out with you, he’d choose Burn Knuckles.

This was a habit of his and it wasn’t the first time the two of you argued over this. Because sure, you understood the issues with gang violence going on and how he wanted to be a dedicated leader, but he was neglecting someone important in the process.

So in retaliation, you banned him from cuddling and a lot of affection from you.

Vasco didn’t know of course. You didn’t want to tell him.

Whenever you and Vasco met, Vasco was always affectionate and would hug you tight. But after your decision, you brushed him off.

“Sorry I’m not feeling it.”

And Vasco was dumbfounded, because you always hugged him back.

He thought nothing of it at first and eventually, he realized you weren’t being affectionate or even cuddling him whenever the two of you did hang out. If he was chilling at yours watching a movie, you would sit up the whole time.

It’s eating him up inside. It’s making him anxious and he’s asking Jace what’s up. He isn’t gonna hold himself back so he asks you what’s up and if there’s something wrong. He’s on his knees and everything.

“Hey, you’ve been really distant to me lately please tell me what’s wrong because it’s really eating me up inside.”

And then you feel bad. The look on Vasco’s face is that he was genuinely worried there was something you were hiding from him.

So you apologize to him, telling him that you just wanted to get some petty revenge, but he really needed to make a change. So he understood the message that he really needed to focus on you and you learned that you should never do something like this again.

Jay Hong

You and Jay got into a fight over Jay’s secretiveness. He’s always been the quiet type of guy, doesn’t really explain things and unintentionally leaves things out.

So then there’s a bad miscommunication between the two of you, not because you didn’t understand, but he didn’t explain something important to you. And it pisses you off because you just want to understand him better.

What’s the answer that you choose? To take away cuddling access for a month.

Jay is an affectionate person. He’s more hugging over talking much. So hearing this from you, it will sound like hell.

You’re upfront about it to Jay and he’s devastated. Jay is a person of few to no words at all and communicates through his affection.

Since you’re pissed at him, you turn down his advances and when you do so, he’s left standing there wondering why.

It’s a bit of a painful look he has that I don’t think you could continue doing that for a month.

So with Jay, don’t take away his cuddling access for a month over an argument because you will lose one of his main forms of communication and his hurt look will devastate you.

But once you really talk with him, he gets the message and really tries to make a change.

[faithsotherhouseofchaos]

Hi! I’m kind of a lurker, but I love your blog! I saw your post asking for requests, and as an autistic female, I totally agree! :) can I request a Fem! Reader where she gets overstimulated (from whatever - it’s random for me) and she is comforted and “brought back to reality” by an older or past driver? No pressure though! Thanks and happy new year!

Too much of everything||Sebastian Vettel x Autistic!fem!reader

Word count— 458

The noise was deafening. The overlapping chatter, the clinking of glasses, and the hum of music in the background seemed to grow louder and sharper with every passing second. Her chest tightened as she stood in the middle of the room, hands clutching her arms as if holding herself together. It was too much. Too many people, too many sounds, too much everything.

“Hey,” a calm, accented voice broke through the chaos. It was soft but firm enough to ground her. “What’s going on?”

She blinked and looked up, her teary eyes meeting Sebastian Vettel’s concerned gaze. He had a knack for noticing things others didn’t, and the way his brows knitted together told her he’d picked up on her distress immediately.

“I… I don’t know,” she stammered, her voice shaky. “It’s too loud. I can’t—”

“Come on,” he said gently, taking her hand in his. His grip was firm but not overbearing, just enough to make her feel secure.

Sebastian led her out of the crowded space, weaving through people with an ease that belied the urgency of the situation. They stepped into a quiet garden illuminated by soft string lights. The air was crisp and cool, a welcome contrast to the stifling heat of the crowded room.

He turned to face her, his hands settling lightly on her shoulders. “Hey,” he said softly, his green eyes scanning her face. “Look at me.”

Her gaze flickered to his, hesitant but obedient.

“Good,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing. “Now, take a deep breath with me. In through your nose…” He demonstrated, inhaling slowly, his chest rising with the motion. She mirrored him, though hers came out a little shaky.

“And out through your mouth,” he continued, exhaling steadily.

They repeated the process a few more times until the tightness in her chest began to ease. Her trembling hands found their way to her sides, and she let out a shaky sigh.

“Better?” he asked, his tone filled with gentle concern.

She nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah. A little.”

“Good,” he said, his expression softening. He reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, his touch light and comforting. “You don’t have to stay in there if it’s too much. It’s okay to take a break.”

“I just didn’t want to seem… dramatic,” she admitted, glancing down.

Sebastian let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. “You’re not dramatic. You’re human. And sometimes things get overwhelming. That’s okay.”

His reassurance brought a lump to her throat, but it was a good kind of overwhelming this time. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. “I’m here for you. Always.”