#it's always been our thing. and now neither of us even want to watch new sw stuff anymore.
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I don't care about star wars anymore except for when i do. Who give a shit.
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lihhelsing · 3 months ago
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Eddie and Steve who dated for a while but broke up over the most dumb shit. Neither of them wants to admit they were wrong so they just go on like that.
After 6 months, Dustin starts texting Eddie at least once a week asking if he and Steve are back together already.
At first, Eddie laughs it off. The kid went through an adaptation process when he first learned the two of them were together so it's expected that he needs a minute to wrap his head around their break up.
In the first month, everyone thought they would get back together.
And then it just didn't happen.
Dustin would text the most random things.
"Steve's getting us tacos. Does that mean you're back together?"
"Steve's watching Star Wars. I'm sure you're back together."
"Steve bought a new vinyl player. Did you two made up?"
At first, Eddie would just laugh and say no. But the texts went from once a week to every other day. Sometimes it was just like "when are you two getting back together?" and it broke Eddie's heart a little.
Things changed when Dustin sent a photo of Steve sleeping in one of Eddie's shirt.
He texted Steve the next day, asking if they could talk.
Eddie apologized. Said he couldn't live without him. He missed him too much. And Steve apologized too.
They kissed, fell into bed together and never looked back.
A few weeks in, they were all at Steve's place. Eddie was doing a DnD one shot for the kids and Steve was there just because he couldn't stand being apart from Eddie for too long.
Sometimes Eddie would even let him sit on his lap during the session, which always earned a few eye rolls from the kids.
But he didn't care. What mattered is that he had his baby with him again.
Everyone was getting ready to play, Steve was setting up the snacks table when Eddie spoke.
"Kinda miss when you texted me every day, Henderson."
Dustin looked up at him with a confused expression.
"What?"
Eddie smiled. "I know you got what you wanted. I just think we could text more often still."
Dustin shook his head, laughing. "Sure man, whatever. I don't think I texted you outside of our gc in over a year but I can do that if you want."
Now it was Eddie's turn to be confused.
"What?"
But Dustin was already engaged in another conversation and it was only when he looked at Steve that he understood.
Steve was looking at him wide eyed, hands froze mid-air. Eddie frowned at him, a silent conversation and Steve just shrugged, laughing it off.
Damn. Had he been tricked by Steve Harrington into getting back together with Steve Harrington?
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cheapshrimpysheep · 5 months ago
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Yuutsum 2
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SUMMARY: What if you also have a Tsum? Then your Tsum and the Tsum of the person you like keep giving signs that they like each other? Ortho's part is platonic as always.
CHARACTERS: Twisted Tsumderland 2 Tsumsitters (Deuce; Azul; Jade; Kalim; Rook; Ortho; Lilia)
TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader 
WARNING: Spoilers for the Twisted Tsumderland 2 Event and the Tsumsitter cards Vignettes.
WORD COUNT: An average of 600 words per character.
COMMENTS: This was originally a request from @taruruchi for my 1k celebration. Which you can read here. And since so many readers liked it, I decided to do what I normally do when this happens: Do this for ALL the characters! Grouped by event in this case.
Azul's part is different from the one I wrote for the request. At the time the event had not yet reached the English server, if I'm not mistaken.
I hope you enjoy 😉
Yuutsum 1 (Riddle; Cater; Leona; Jack; Floyd; Epel; Sebek)
Yuutsum 3 (Ace; Trey; Ruggie; Jamil; Vil; Idia; Malleus; Silver)
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CONTEXT: Like the original Twisted Tsumderland 2 event, this takes place after the events of the first Twisted Tsumderland. And, surprise, your Tsum is back! But it's the only one, all the other Tsums that came with it are completely new visitors.
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You were with your Tsum in the lounge of Ramshackle Dorm, and it wouldn't leave the window as if it was waiting for something. You ask if it wants to go somewhere, but it shakes its head and continues looking out the window.
A short time later you heard a loud bang at the front door as if something had been thrown at it, and your Tsum finally leaves the window and hops towards the door. Even before you open the door, you can hear Ace laughing and Deuce complaining.
When you open it, you find Deuce struggling to contain his Tsum who is trying to break free from his arms.
“Sorry (Y/N).” Deuce apologizes “I can't contain this guy. It started running... or hopping, like crazy when it realized we were going to pass by here.”
Your Tsum makes that cute tsum noise to get the attention of Deuce and his tsum. The two look down and their eyes light up as they see your Tsum. Deuce’s tsum breaks free from Deuce's arms and lands right next to your Tsum. And the two tsums begin to rub their little faces and noses against each other. Deuce blushes automatically.
Ace, who watched the whole scene, stopped laughing and was now looking at the tsums with a sulky face. “Oi? What's up now with this guy?” he questions.
“I-I-I don't know.” It's the only thing Deuce can say in response.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Ace continues. “Your Tsum came back? Why? Our housewarden's didn't. Neither did Cater's.”
You say you don't know.
“Maybe your tsum is dragged into everyone's messes too.” Deuce says, smiling. “Not even it has a break with us, hum?”
Your Tsum headbutts Deuce's Tsum to get its attention, taps one of its little hands on the ground 5 times and Deuce's Tsum realizes the urgency of something. The two tsums start hopping towards the gate.
“OI! WHERE ARE YOU GOING NOW?” Deuce shouted.
The three of you run after the Tsums, but they reach the Hall of Mirrors first and go through the mirror to Heartslabyul.
“Well, on the one hand they saved us work.” Ace says.
“Yes, but they are on the loose!” Deuce replies.
You go through the mirror, run a little further and stop abruptly when you come across Riddle and Trey. Your tsums were close to their feet and were still very close to each other.
“See? They arrived on time.” Trey says. “They must have just had a little mishap with the tsums. Right?”
Ace and Deuce confirm. Riddle welcomes you and invites you to the Unbirthday Party that will be happening soon. He also tells Ace and Deuce to go do their party preparation duties. After he and Trey leave, Deuce realizes what happened.
“I get it now. Your tsum was telling mine the time, and warning it that we were going to be late.”
“Damn, even your Tsum needs two Tsumsitters.” Ace laughs. And Deuce-tsum hits him.
When it was preparing to hit him a second time, your Tsum got in the way and started rubbing its face against Deuce-tsum’s, calming it down.
“See my point?” Ace adds, and this time it's your Tsum that hits him.
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You were walking through the school hallways, with your Tsum in your arms, when you crossed paths with Floyd. He automatically smiled when he saw your Tsum.
You ask each other what the other is doing there and Floyd tells you that he was playing a board game with Azul and his Tsum. He says that he left them playing with each other in the classroom. You feel your Tsum move excitedly in your arms.
After saying goodbye to each other you go to the classroom where Floyd said they were. You knock on the door and pop your head inside. You see both Azul and his Tsum immersed in the game, but not enough to not notice your presence.
“Oh, good afternoon (Y/N).” Azul greets you with a smile. His Tsum quickly looks towards the door when it hears him say your name. “Please come in.” You do so. “Is there anything you need or-” He sees your Tsum and widens his eyes with a sparkle in them.
Azul-tsum makes that happy tsum sound, jumps to the floor, stops for a second, jumps back onto the table to make its move on the board game, and then gets off the table again to hop happily towards you. Your tsum jumps out of your arms and lands on the ground. And when Azul-tsum finally reaches yours the two begin to cuddle with each other.
Azul was focused on the game and only after making his play “Okay tsum, your tu-” did he look at the two tsums, and blushes slightly. He clears his throat loudly causing his tsum to look at him.
Azul’s tsum turns to yours and makes another cute sound, then the two of them hop back to the table. Azul's tsum returns to its place on the other side of the board, but yours jumps into Azul's arms to his surprise. He managed to catch it, then it looked at him and smiled with its eyes, making Azul stare at it in wonder.
“I'll concede that you are indeed charmingly cute.” He then whispers to himself: “As much as the person you resemble.”
You approach to sit with them and Azul suggests that you sit next to his tsum. The two Azuls exchange a suspicious look with each other.
They keep playing. When it's not Azul's turn, your tsum makes little sounds or something that makes him look at it. And when it's not Azul-tsum's turn, it seems to be undecided between paying attention to the board or looking at you so you can pet it. In the end, the two were practically tied, but Azul-tsum makes a play that makes it win the game. Both his tsum and your tsum celebrate, coming back to cuddle with each other.
“Ah, so that was your real move.” Azul said with a smirk. “You used (Y/N)'s tsum to distract me. Actually no, worse than that, you two are partners in crime.”
The two tsums looked smugly at Azul. But he didn't seem upset despite having lost. In fact, he seemed to be looking thoughtfully at the tsums. You ask what's wrong or if he's okay.
“Oh, don't worry, it's nothing. I was just thinking...” He looks back at the tsums who look back at him with an encouraging look. Both of them. “From what I've been able to observe, tsums have a lot in common with the person they resemble, especially their personality. After seeing how these two work together I was just wondering...” He looks at you and smiles confidently. “Wouldn't you happen to have the same interest as your tsum in being my partner too? Hum... partner in crime, I mean.”
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You were walking through the Main street with your Tsum in your arms, when you see a little thing hopping towards you. It stops right in front of you, at your feet, and smiles at you with its eyes, making that cute tsum sound, as if it were greeting you politely. From the side where the dark grey strand is facing and from the calm demeanor, you can tell it's Jade's tsum.
Your tsum makes the cute tsum sound back to Jade-tsum and you let your tsum jump to the ground for the two to rub their faces against each other.
After that, you hear footsteps approaching you. Looking ahead you see Jade. His tsum looks at him and then jumps into your arms smiling at you with its cute little eyes. When Jade gets close to you he laughs.
“He he. You are quite cunning indeed, tsum. Or should I just say coward at this point?” He was still smiling, but with that look that was worryingly difficult to decode. Then he looks at you. “Forgive me for not greeting you first, (Y/N). I got... worried about the tsum when I lost sight of it. I'm genuinely relieved that you were the one to find it safe and sound.” He looks down at your tsum. “Aw, what a lovely sight, your sweet tsum is back.”
You feel Jade-tsum tense up in your arms, but it barely moves. Jade bends down and holds out his cupped hands for your tsum to jump into them. You feel Jade-tsum once again tense slightly, but without moving. Jade raises your tsum in front of his face. It smiles at him innocently.
“Undoubtedly adorable.” Jade says. “But you shouldn't just jump into anyone's hands like that.” He lowers his hands to chest height, holds the tsum with one hand while, with the other, he makes a claw-like movement as if he were going to imprison it. “It could be dangerous.” He looks at his own tsum in your arms, who still doesn't move.
“But it didn't just jump into anyone's hands.” You say. He looks at you meeting your eyes. “However you're right, it can be very dangerous. But you should have told that to YOUR tsum.”
Both Jade and his Tsum are surprised by what you said. And suddenly you tighten your hug around Jade-tsum as if you were Floyd squeezing someone. But in this case, you are squeezing the tsum with love and affection. It waves its little arms and legs as if it were asking for help, but not trying very hard to escape.
Jade laughs delightedly, and frees your tsum from his clutches, taking it to his chest just to pet it affectionately. He looks at that little angel face face that knew he wouldn't hurt you or your tsum and smiles.
“In fact, you are a danger on the loose.” He jokes. “Tell me, would the both of you like to accompany me and my little lookalike to Mostro Lounge? We came here for a stroll around campus because I thought it would be a nice bonding exercise. But I’m sure that something like sharing a smoothie, for example, could also be great for bonding.”
You look happy with the idea of going with them to Mostro Lounge. But in the meantime you realize that tsums don't have mouths. How could they share a drink?
“Oh, well, perhaps I wasn't referring to the tsums.” He smiles at you with that bold confidence.
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Kalim, his tsum and Jamil took a magic carpet tour of campus. Kalim-tsum’s eyes were sparkling the whole time during it, but something must have piqued its interest because after that it disappeared.
Meanwhile, you were with your tsum in the Ramshackle Dorm lounge when you heard someone knocking on the door. You open it to find... no one. Until you hear that happy tsum sound near your feet. You look down and see a Kalim-tsum smiling at you with its eyes.
As soon as you say hello, it wastes no time in jumping on your shoulder and brushing its face against your cheek. You hear another tsum sound behind you. You turn around and Kalim-tsum sees your tsum. Kalim-tsum makes another happy sound and jumps off your shoulder to hug your tsum. Or at least that's what it looked like despite its short arms.
If that tsum was there without Kalim, most likely he was looking for it. And consequently Jamil too. Therefore, you decide to take the two tsums in your arms and go find Kalim.
Just as you predicted, you found Kalim and Jamil together on Main Street. When Kalim sees you from afar, he happily waves his arms in the air to call you to join them.
“Hi (Y/N)!” Kalim greets you. “I'm so glad I found you! I really wanted you to meet-” He looks at the two little creatures you carry in your arms when you get close to him. “AH! You found it! You're amazing!”
Jamil sighs with relief. And then they both realize what, or rather, who, the other little creature is. Kalim's eyes shine and a huge smile spreads across his face.
“It can't be! There's one like you too! It's so cute! Aw, I want to hug it so much! Can I? Can I? Pretty pleeease~?”
If you’re more outgoing, your tsum will smile with its eyes at him. If you are more shy, your tsum will be too flattered and hide its face in your arms. Which will make Kalim find it even cuter.
“I know they may look like plushies,” Jamil says “but I don’t think you should treat them like one.”
“Don't worry, I won't hurt it.” Kalim says both to Jamil and to you.
“I'm also worried about the other way around. If that is even possible.”
“What? No way!” Kalim stretches out his arms welcomingly for your tsum to jump into them. And it does. He turns to Jamil. “You don't really think this adorable little thing would hurt anyone, do you?”
Jamil looks at your tsum, who smiles at him with its eyes and he blushes slightly to the point of having to look away. “Appearances can be deceiving.”
“And I am a great judge of character.” Kalim completed confidently. He brings your tsum close to his face to see it better. “Oh, if you were bigger I could hug you for real.”
This gives your tsum an idea and suddenly it starts to grow, which takes everyone by surprise, until it stops at the size of a pillow. Kalim has no other way to hold it other than hugging it and that's what he does. He hugs it tight like it's the most adorable thing on earth and he never wants to let it go.
And apparently, Kalim's tsum wants the same treatment, but from you, so it also grows to the size of a pillow for you to hug it.
Jamil looks at you all slightly uncomfortably and can only say: “If you ever do that to each other, at least get a room first.”
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It was already late in the afternoon. You were walking across campus with your tsum in your arms when you heard a "CUT!". You have heard that a few other times before, it was Vil's voice and he must have been filming something for the film club.
Your tsum moves in your arms as if it was also curious to see what he was doing. You follow the sound and walk until you reach the Main Street.
“Rehearsal is over.” You hear Vil say and you stop. “Now we must capture this scene before the sun sets. Focus!”
That sounded like your cue not to interrupt him. You weren't at a place where you could appear in the frame, so you just wait there, watching, just like your tsum. However, someone else was watching the scene as well, hidden in the bushes.
“Now the real fun begins.” Rook says, both to his tsum and to Epel, that he dragged it with him. “Let us watch Vil and the rest of the club shine!”
Rook's tsum hops eagerly and the two observe Vil, until something else catches the tsum's attention and it looks to the side. Rook notices this.
“You changed the target of your attention, monsieur tsum. What could have possible divert your gaze from Vil?” He follows the tsum's gaze and finds you, standing there watching Vil. “Bien sûr, there could only be one reason.” He sees your Tsum in your arms. “Oh, marvelous! Tricster's tsum is back! Even more beauty to behold.”
Everything goes smoothly until the end of the recordings. And it is only when Vil sees you and greets you that you approach him. His attention (and everyone's actually) goes to your tsum.
“I see you've also been assigned as a tsumsitter.” Vil says. “I heard it had shown up the first time this happened, but I ended up not having the pleasure of meeting it. I'm glad I got this chance.” He smiles at your tsum who looks at him in wonder. “One also appeared in Pomefiore. A Rook lookalike.”
You feel your tsum spasm in your arms, and then you hear something jumping towards you. You turn around and a wild Rook-tsum appears and greets you with that happy tsum sound.
Your tsum jumps to the ground and lets Rook-tsum approach it first. It jumps to get closer to your tsum but, to everyone's surprise, your tsum dodges and runs away.
You panic a little, your tsum had never done that until now, and Rook-tsum goes jumping after your tsum, even though it has already lost sight of it. You are about to start running to look for them when you feel a hand on your shoulder. You are startled by Rook's sudden appearance.
“Worry not, trickster. I have been following monsieur tsum and it has been an enriching experience. You could accompany me and we can observe them together. There is no place they can go that I won't find them.” he winks.
You go with Rook following your tsums. You notice that every now and then your tsum stops as if provoking Rook-tsum and when it is about to catch your tsum, it dodges again and continues running away.
“How fascinating.” Rook laughs “Tell me, doesn't it look like they're playing with each other?”
You continue following the tsums to the botanical garden, already in the early evening. Where they finally stop. Or rather, where your tsum finally lets itself be caught, in the subtropical zone. You see Rook-tsum clinging to your tsum and making a movement with its head as if were kissing your tsum passionately.
“I wonder...” Rook says “If this is all some kind of mating ritual for the tsums.” he laughs seeing your reaction. “What's wrong, trickster? That look is not from someone who dislikes the idea~ Is there anything your heart would like to share? Because any question you have about mine can be answered by looking at monsieur tsum.”
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You were walking through campus with your Tsum in your arms when you heard something above you.
“PREFECT!” You hear Ortho's voice shout from somewhere. “LOOK OUT!”
You see an unidentified flying object coming towards you at high speed. Your instinct is to cower and duck. But the object stopped before it hit you and landed on the ground in front of you. You look and see an Ortho-tsum. Ortho approaches you.
“He he he. Did we scare you? Sorry. Are you OK?” He asks. You answer that you are. “I’m glad. We just wanted to surprise you. Have you already heard of these little creatures called tsums, (Y/N)?”
You stand up, revealing your tsum that had been hidden in your arms when you ducked. Both Ortho and his tsum are happy to see your tsum.
“OH! One like you also appeared! So cool!”
Ortho-tsum uses its new device to fly towards your tsum, who got surprised by it. Your tsum jumps from your arms to the ground and gestures for Ortho-tsum to come closer to it.
Ortho-tsum lands near your tsum again and it starts walking around ortho-tsum as if it is examining the new device suspiciously. The tsum make sounds as if they were chatting.
“I don't know what they're saying...” Ortho laughs. “But from the tone and what they're doing, it seems like your tsum is worried about my tsum's new antigravity device. The audio of the noises I'm capturing sounds similar to a scene from a movie I have stored in my memory, where an older sister is saying things like 'Where did you get that?', ‘Are you sure it's safe?’, ‘You could get hurt.’ Ha ha ha.”
After this conversation between the tsums, Ortho's tsum flies for a second, lands again and makes an inviting sound for your tsum. It jumps on Ortho-tsum's back and the two slowly and carefully take flight.
“I think it wants to play with your tsum. Will you play with us too (Y/N)? Pretty Please?”
If you feel safe with Ortho, he will take you flying on his back. If you're scared he'll say: “It's okay, I understand. We can play close to the ground. We don't need to go up to the clouds to have fun together."
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After walking around campus you decided to stop to rest on one of the benches in the Courtyard. You sit down and your tsum stays on your lap. A few seconds later, when you thought you could rest a little, something falls into your lap and on top of your tsum, startling you both.
After enjoying your reactions, the new tsum jumps next to you on the bench and turns to face you. It's a Lilia's tsum.
“Yay! Your tsum is back!” A voice behind you startles you and your tsum again, making it jump from your lap to Lilia-tsum's side.
Your tsum starts making sounds like it's complaining, but Lilia-tsum starts rubbing its face against your tsum to calm it down.
“Khee hee hee. Sorry.” Lilia says upside down, floating next to you. “You were trying to rest, weren't you?” He gestured for the tsums to move away so he could sit next to you.
They jump into your lap, where they get so close that it looks more like they're snuggling in a nest.
“I know it may not seem like it, but my tsum was getting tired too. But neither it nor I could resist surprising you and your tsum. Isn't it as charming and cute as me?”
You look at the tsums in your lap who seemed to be cuddled up sleeping. You joke that Tsum can be cuter.
“Ow, you're just saying that because of the plush shape it has. But looking at you and your tsum, I understand what you mean. Your tsum is also cuter than you.” He sees you pout slightly, and smiles mischievously. “Khee hee hee. Looks like someone didn't like being hit with their own spell.”
Lilia-tsum wakes up from its short nap and jumps to the ground, waking up your tsum as well. Lilia-tsum makes an inviting happy sound to your tsum, who also jumps off your lap to join it.
“I think it wants to play with your tsum now.”
You and Lilia follow your tsums to see what they will do. They prank a student. He was distracted reading a magazine when Lilia-tsum makes a sound that catches his attention. He looks, sees Lilia's tsum, rubs his eyes, looks again, and sees Lilia's and yours tsums. He rubs his eyes again, looks again and only sees your tsum. He gets up startled, looks the other way, looks back to where the tsum were and there is nothing there anymore. You hear him walking away wondering if he's going crazy or hallucinating.
You and Lilia laugh. And then Lilia has another idea for a prank.
The four of you go to the library and find two students chatting at a table. One of them is telling the other that he had seen Lilia transform into a small, round creature in front of him. The other wondered if it was some shapeshifting spell or some prank of Lilia's. Lilia-tsum hopped over to them.
“SEE?! HERE! This was the creature I saw Lilia transform into!”
You appear and greet the students. Lilia-tsum jumps into your arms in front of them and Lilia casts a light spell that temporarily blinds them, long enough for your tsum to take your place. When the students look again, they find two tsums.
“AHH! It's not a spell, it's some curse!” the other student says. “If any of them touch us, we become one of them too!”
Your two tsums walk slowly but menacingly towards them, and the students run away. Lilia bursts out laughing.
“This must have been the best one yet. Don't you also think it's funny when two big boys run away in fear from a cute little thing?”
The two tsums return to you. Lilia-tsum looks tired.
“We don't have that much stamina at this age, do we?” Lilia says smiling. He holds out his arms for his tsum to jump into them, but it doesn't. “Um? You don't want me to carry you?”
Lilia-tsum walks up to your tsum and cuddles with it.
“Oho, I see. In that case...” Lilia takes his blazer off his shoulders and ties the ends together as if making a hammock. “Okay you little lovebirds, here's a nest for you.” The two tsums jump in and snuggle together. “In fact, there is one thing cuter than our separate tsums: them together.” He looks at you, but the cute smile turns into a mischievous one when he sees your face. “What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't think they would make a pretty couple. That would break my heart.”
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If you would like to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX
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aaagustd · 14 days ago
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friends & lovers | jww (m)
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title: friends & lovers pairing: jeon wonwoo x female reader genre/rating: fluff, smut, best friends to lovers,  idiots to lovers; 18+ summary: Sometimes the love you’re searching for has been right beside you all along. Patience is the key…the right moment will present itself eventually. wc: 2.2k warnings: swearing, unprotected sex (reader is on the pill), restraints (wrist pinning), grinding/dry humping, clit stimulation, slight orgasm control, cumshots, crying, begging, soft sex, pet names, nipple play, cum play, aftercare release date: february 9th, 2025; 9:23pm est author’s note: Hello!! This was a bday gift I wrote for @beomcoups a while back. Huge shoutout to @hobeemin for beta reading it for me at the time. I’m currently moving all of my old content here, so if you’ve read this before don’t be alarmed lol. I’m the original author.
playlist: My Boo by Usher ft. Alicia Keys | Focus by NCT 127 | ‘bout you by Seventeen | Let Me Hold You by Bow Wow ft. Omarion  | Tonight I Celebrate My Love by Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack | Candy by Baekhyun | By My Side by JUNNY | Boo’d Up by Ella Mai | Like You by Ciara & Bow Wow
masterlist | inbox | join my taglist | read on wattpad | read on ao3 | divider credit
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“People are staring at us.”
You both giggle as the carousel makes its final round, shyly peeking over your shoulders at the crowd of people watching you. Somehow, Wonwoo managed to get the ride operator to start it up with just you two on. 
Both of you hopped from seat to seat like you used to do when you were kids, and your parents had to threaten to take you home if you didn’t remain seated. Although you’re adults now, you’re still fond of the old habit.
“So, let them,” you shrug. “Maybe they’ve got eyes for the cutie on the horse.”
“Can you stop?”
Wonwoo throws his head back when he laughs and clutches his stomach, giving you a glimpse of the smile you haven’t seen in months.
Ever since he and his girlfriend broke things off, he’s been cooped up in his apartment, feeling down and not wanting to be bothered. You’re glad he accepted your offer to go to the fair and take his mind off things. He says he’s fine and looks better than he did five months ago, but you know that something’s still bothering him, and you hope that tonight you can dig deep enough to find it.
“Why would I? This is fun.” 
You both step off as the ride stops, feeling high with adrenaline. Suddenly, you feel his fingertips at your sides, and he playfully tickles you, making you shriek and squirm. 
“Wonwoo!”
On-lookers coo and clutch their chest, mainly older couples and romantics. Neither of you even notices the admiration they have in their eyes until someone grabs your attention.
“You two are such a beautiful couple. May my husband and I have a picture with you? You just remind us of our younger selves,” a lady in her golden years asks with a genuine smile.
Immediately, you begin to break the news to her, but Wonwoo interferes.
“Oh, ma’am, we’re not—”
“Sure! I’ll take it. I have long arms,” he insists, taking her phone when she hands it to him. Wonwoo throws his arm over your shoulder and holds it high enough to capture all four of you. He takes the picture but doesn’t stop there. “Now one for us.”
After returning the woman’s phone to her and her husband, he pulls his device from his pocket and takes another, but this time he brings you in a bit closer. He wraps his arm around you a little tighter and whispers in your ear as he snaps the picture.
“For new memories,” he says to you.
You release a shaky breath when you disperse, and you can’t do anything but smile and wave as the couple bids their farewells. 
You never could explain the butterflies in your stomach whenever Wonwoo would be so close to you in that way. It always seems so intimate, but you wouldn’t dare say it out loud. You know it’s only those buried feelings that are causing you to react this way and nothing you should feed into.
When you’re finally alone, you turn to him and ask, “So, what now? Are you ready to go?”
“A little bit,” he answers. 
“Well, don’t let me hold you up. I’m probably just gonna go grab something to eat until my roommate’s done fucking her boyfriend. I had fun, so thanks for coming—”
You pause when Wonwoo shakes his head.
“I said I was ready to leave here,” he informs. “Not leave you.”
“Oh, okay. So umm, where do you wanna go?”
“Aren’t you hungry?” he quizzes. “We can go grab something.”
You open your mouth to speak, but he continues.
“Or…we can meet at my place, and we can order something. You can stay over if you want.”
“Really?”
“Yup. I don’t mind,” he assures.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to rush you—”
Your mouth shuts when he gives you a look, but your smile grows when he turns away and starts walking toward the parking lot.
Both of you get in your vehicles and drive towards his apartment, the tingling sensation still coursing through your veins. You try your best to calm yourself before you get there, but as you get out of your car, your legs are wobbly and shaky, indicating that you are far from okay.
Wonwoo turns to you as his door opens.
“Wanna shower?”
Gratefully, you sigh. “Yes, please.”
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After a shower, slices of pizza, and a couple of movies, you and Wonwoo lay awkwardly in his bed. Both of you scroll through your phones, trying to ignore the thick tension in the air. There’s something on his tongue; you can hear it. You want to ask him, but you don’t know how.
Eventually, you start to believe it’s just your nerves. You haven’t hung out like this since before his two-year-long relationship, so you figure you just need some re-adjusting. You wiggle your way towards him so you can familiarize yourself with the feeling of being so close to him.
It isn’t long before his fingers start playing in your hair, making your eyes slightly heavy. You roll over on your back so you can look at him and try to stop yourself from falling asleep so quickly.
His smile greets you and leaves you slightly curious.
“What?” you giggle.
“Nothing, I was just thinking.”
“About?”
He sighs. “I missed you. That’s all.”
When his eyes begin to wander, you follow them once they’ve set on a particular sight. It just happens to be your thighs, and you start tugging down your borrowed shirt upon the discovery.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispers, more to himself than anything.
You clear your throat. “Wonwoo, I’m glad you’re feeling like yourself again, but I don’t think I can be your rebound. I’m not—”
“What? No, love. It’s definitely not like that. It’s just…Fuck it.” He shifts in his spot so he can speak to you face to face, leaving you no option but to look at him, even though you’ve been avoiding eye contact since you got here. “I need to tell you something.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“It’s about the breakup…why it happened,” he explains.
You blink a few times. You never knew the reason behind the split or how it happened; it wasn’t your place to ask. Now that he’s finally telling you, there’s an uneasy feeling growing inside of you.
“We broke up because we liked other people. She wasn’t over her ex, and I…”
“And you?...”
He takes a deep breath as if he’s about to lay it all on the table.
“I had to be honest with myself and admit that I’m really in love with my best friend,” he confesses.
Your eyes widen, lips ready to run a mile a minute, but he speaks before you do.
“I thought about this before, but the timing was just never right. And now…” he sighs. “I don’t know. I just feel like we’re on the same page, but then again, you’re looking at me like I’m crazy.”
“Wonwoo, I—”
“I know. You don’t feel the same.”
The disappointment in his voice gives you all the courage you need to come clean, and you do so before you can change your mind.
“I do feel the same,” you admit. “I’ve loved you since we were teenagers. I just never knew how to tell you.”
He seems a little shocked after hearing this.
“Really?” Wonwoo asks, his thumb tracing circles on your hand.
“Yeah.”
Your best friend just stares at you, not saying anything. You hold his gaze and never break eye contact. Moments go by like this, until eventually, his lips begin to hover over yours. They become more inviting the longer you lay there waiting for something to happen.
However, Wonwoo toughens up and makes the first move on your behalf. His mouth presses against yours delicately, and he lowers his body so that you can run your hands through his hair.
You envelop each other and get lost within the first shared kiss between two best friends who have been denying their love for one another for over a decade. The pit of your stomach goes into a frenzy as the butterflies rise and flutter wildly.
Dizziness clouds your mind as you’re swept away by the feeling. You’re light as a feather, so high that coming down seems impossible. 
It doesn’t help that Wonwoo’s lips have become greedier, and his desire is growing by the second. Your legs part to allow him in the space, and he takes the opportunity instantly. Your wrists get pinned above your head while he slowly begins to grind his crotch against yours.
A moan slips out, and he takes the chance to invade your mouth with his thick muscle. Your tongues begin exploring each other’s crevice, and you become drunk off his taste. You can’t get enough of him but the need for oxygen exceeds your lust-driven fantasies.
“I want you,” you say without much thought. Your breathing is labored and rough, but you still try to speak.  “I need you.”
“Fuck, same. But…”
“But what?”
Wonwoo shakes his head. “No condoms.”
His voice oozes with need, and his bulge is straining against his shorts. He’s as desperate as you are, but he’s trying to hold back.
“We’re good on this end. It’s okay,” you assure him. “Are you?...”
He nods. “Yes, of course. I haven’t since…”
“Well, can we?” you try again. “Please?”
“Okay, baby.”
Wonwoo lets go of your wrists and pulls down his shorts, letting his dick spring out freely. A small gasp escapes you when his length slaps your thigh. You lift your head to see it and instantly become mesmerized by its girth. You crave it and want it to fill every inch of you just like you’ve always fantasized about in your room alone.
“Like what you see?” He smirks when you nod and starts to run the tip up and down your slit, coating it with your arousal and secretly stimulating your throbbing clit. “Let’s see if you can take it.”
When he slowly enters you, your mind goes completely blank. You arch into him as he bottoms out, and he holds you and places kisses up your neck.
“Wonwoo,” you call, and he smiles against your skin.
“Ready for me?”
“Yes, please. I want to feel you.”
Wonwoo’s movements start strong, and he makes sure to hold you in place while he thrusts into you, preventing you from flying off the bed. You cry his name over and over with each powerful snap of his hips.
He lifts your shirt and exposes your breasts to his greedy mouth, taking his time with each stiffened peak and making your eyes roll back from the multiple sources of pleasure you’re receiving. 
The coil inside you tightens until it can no longer stand the pressure, and you blurt out a warning to inform Wonwoo of your orgasm.
“Wonwoo, I’m so close!”
“Me too, baby,” he moans in your ear. You run your nails down his sweaty back to ground yourself because it feels like your soul will leave your body any minute. Wonwoo goes deeper and deeper until you can no longer stand the build-up growing inside of you. “Come for me, sweetheart.”
And on his command, your body gives in, and the pleasure takes over you. Tears roll down your cheeks, but Wonwoo kisses you before the salty droplets can reach your trembling lips. Your entire body is set aflame by the heat coursing through you. The intense feeling leaves you a panting mess beneath Wonwoo, and you just lay there as he fucks you through the rest of your orgasm until he finally reaches his release.
“Fuck, where can I?”
“Anywhere you want,” you answer. “I don’t mind.”
He can only nod as he pulls out and paints your stomach with his warm cum. Wonwoo uses the tip to smear his arousal and spell his name on your skin, making you giggle and slap his arm.
“You’re nasty,” you tell him.
“Anywhere you want… I don’t mind,” he mocks but still leans down to kiss you. 
You pout when he pulls away and disappears into his bathroom for about a minute. When he returns, you’re grateful to see him with a warm washcloth and a new shirt for you. He cleans you up and helps you change before he turns out the lights and joins you in bed. Neither of you say anything at first, but eventually, he can’t hold his tongue anymore.
“I really am in love with you. I would have never done this had you not asked. You’re more than a rebound—”
“I know that, Wonwoo. We’re good, okay?”
You turn on your side so you can hug him, and he nestles in your embrace.
“So, are we keeping this a secret or…?”
You release a breath before you answer, absentmindedly playing in his brown locks. You think about your answer for a moment, and then you reply.
“As much as I want to keep you all to myself… I’ve waited all my life to call you my boyfriend.”
“So what does that mean?” he asks shyly.
“It means…” You tilt his head so he can look at you. “If anyone asks, I’ll tell them the truth.”
Wonwoo smirks at you and returns to his position buried in your chest. He whispers as he drifts into his slumber.
“That’s my girl.”
And you couldn’t agree more.
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charlesslut16 · 2 months ago
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-confession to you-
summary : you and lando confess your feeling for eachother
PAIRINGS : lando norris x fem!reader
WARNINGS : none
note : I hope that you have a great next year!
masterlist ; DECEMBER MASTERLIST 24’ 
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The golden glow of the setting sun painted the Mediterranean sky, casting a soft light over Monaco’s harbor. The luxurious yachts bobbed gently in the water, their masts swaying with the rhythm of the waves.
The whole city seemed to be buzzing with energy, the streets alive with anticipation for the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations. It was the perfect setting, but as you stood in the middle of the bustling streets, something felt off.
You’d arrived in Monaco alone, hoping for a change of scenery and to enjoy a peaceful start to the new year. What you didn’t expect, however, was to run into him—Lando Norris.
Lando. The one person you never really got over.
You hadn’t seen each other in years. In fact, the last time you were close, you’d been in university, casually hanging out and occasionally sharing flirty glances and secret smiles. But neither of you ever had the guts to act on those feelings back then. The timing had never been right.
Now, here you were, standing in the heart of Monaco, watching him stride toward you with that familiar smirk on his face, his dark hair slightly tousled in that effortlessly perfect way.
“Y/n?” Lando said, a soft laugh escaping his lips as he reached you. “Of all the places, you’re here?”
You blinked in surprise. "Lando? I can’t believe it’s you. What are the chances?”
“I think we’re both pretty lucky tonight,” he said with a grin, his brown eyes sparkling with recognition. “Monaco for New Year’s. Seems like fate, right?”
For a moment, everything felt like it had fallen into place. The city, the timing—it was like the universe had decided this was the perfect moment for you two to reconnect.
“I guess so,” you replied, your voice betraying the butterflies that had started to flutter in your stomach. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. It’s been... what? Three years?”
Lando nodded. “At least. Longer, maybe.” He hesitated for a moment, as if weighing his words. “I’m glad we bumped into each other. I’ve thought about you, you know.”
You couldn’t help but smile at his honesty. “I thought about you too,” you confessed, the words slipping out before you could stop them.
His eyes widened a little, his lips curling into a soft smile. “Really?”
You nodded. “Yeah. A lot has changed, but I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened if we’d acted on all that... tension between us back then.”
Lando stepped a little closer, his presence suddenly more intense. "Tension," he murmured. "Is that what we called it?"
You could feel the air between you both shift, thickening with something more than just casual conversation. The chemistry was still there, undeniable. It had never really gone away.
"Maybe it was more than that," you said softly, your eyes meeting his.
Lando was silent for a beat, and then he laughed, shaking his head as if in disbelief. "I can’t believe we were both so blind back then."
You raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on your lips. "You’re telling me you didn’t notice how I used to look at you?”
“Of course, I noticed,” Lando said, his voice low, the teasing lilt gone. “But I thought you were just being friendly. I didn’t realize you felt the same way.”
“I thought the same about you,” you confessed. “I didn’t want to make things awkward, so I just... let it go.”
Lando let out a soft sigh, taking a step toward you. “Well, it seems like we both missed our chance, huh?”
“Maybe it’s not too late,” you said quietly, your heart racing as the words left your lips.
He smiled, that same mischievous grin you remembered so well. “You’re right,” he said, his voice filled with a gentle but firm resolve. “It’s definitely not too late.”
The evening went on, with the two of you wandering around Monaco, catching up on old memories and discovering new things about each other. There was an easy flow to your conversation, the kind that felt natural even after so many years. You had spent years apart, but it felt like no time had passed at all.
As the evening turned into night, the city came alive with lights. The streets were crowded, the air filled with laughter and the clinking of glasses as people celebrated the impending new year. The countdown was just moments away.
Standing on a rooftop bar overlooking the glittering city, the excitement was palpable. You and Lando leaned over the railing, watching the horizon. The distant sounds of people shouting “Happy New Year!” mixed with the ticking seconds leading up to midnight.
Lando turned to you, his hand brushing against yours, a soft touch that made your heart skip. He looked at you, his expression softer now, more vulnerable than you remembered.
“I’m glad we’re doing this,” he said quietly, his voice filled with sincerity. “I’ve been thinking about this moment all night, and I can’t help but feel... lucky.”
Your breath caught in your throat. "Lucky?"
"Yeah," he whispered, his gaze never leaving yours. "Lucky that we found each other again, at the right time, when we’re both ready for this.”
You smiled, feeling the warmth of his words spread through you. “I think this is the right time, too.”
The countdown began. “Ten... nine... eight...”
Lando took a step closer, his hand finding yours. The whole world seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you standing there, in the soft glow of the city and the anticipation of the new year.
“Three… two… one…”
And as the fireworks exploded overhead, lighting up the night sky in a brilliant shower of colors, Lando leaned in, capturing your lips in a kiss that was everything you had both wanted for so long. It was slow at first, tender, as if savoring the moment. But the longer it lasted, the more it deepened, filled with all the things you had never said, all the years of missed chances, and now, finally, the freedom to let it all out.
The fireworks continued to burst above you, but the only thing that mattered was the way Lando’s arms wrapped around you, pulling you closer as the world celebrated the start of a new year. You both were finally in sync, and nothing had ever felt more perfect.
As the last of the fireworks faded into the night sky, you broke the kiss, smiling at him. “Happy New Year, Lando.”
He grinned, brushing a strand of hair from your face. “Happy New Year, Y/n. And this time, I’m not letting you go.”
It was the start of something new—a second chance, rekindled under the brightest of fireworks. And this time, neither of you were going to let it slip away.
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wardenparker · 15 days ago
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The Unbearable Weight of Perfection, ch 1
Javi Gutierrez x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst
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When an accident of fate throws Javi G into the path of his soulmate, his instinct is to dive in head first. Adjusting to life as the fated partner of someone you barely know is going to be harder than either of you suspect, but anything worth having is worth working for. Isn't it?
(This story is heavily inspired by the lovely house museums that I work in every day and the fantastic few months that HBO was using our houses to film a TV show in fall! I spent each day on that set in wonder and I can't wait to share the experience with all of you through this story.)
Rating: M for Mature but this blog is always 18+ Word Count: 7.6k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this story include: Cursing, alcohol, food, references to abusive family members -- i.e. Lucas.* Fluff, sweetness, flirting, crushes, reader's meddling bestie. Summary: Waking up beside your soulmate the morning after your wedding, you reflect on the meetings that brought you here. Notes: Welcome to a new story, friends! We're using date stamps as we tell this story, as scenes may appear out of chronological order. Enjoy!
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Saturday, April 5, 2025
Normally waking up is hard for Javi. Too used to having his own schedule, late nights and lazy mornings. Things have changed over the past few years, the loss of his family fortune and business. Not that he minded no longer being the face of an arms dealer family, even if he wasn’t the one selling the weapons. That was his now incarcerated cousin, Lucas’s doing.
No, now waking up meant an alarm instead of the fragrant smell coffee being brought by a servant, he had to get up and make it himself if he wants.
This morning, this morning his eyes are open before the sun even thinks about peeking over the horizon. The early morning lighting up gradually as he watches your face, so peaceful in sleep. His soulmate. His wife.
Sunrise isn't normally your wakeup call. The mornings are always an early start for you because you like to get as much out of your day as you possibly can. It's been so many years of it now that you even wake up early on the weekends – but not today.
A rare morning of sleeping in means that the bright sun streaming through the windows penetrates your sleep to warm your dreams and drift you closer to reality. Although really, the thing that wakes you is the shifting of the mattress. The last time you shared a bed with anyone before last night was...a year ago? More?
But when you open your eyes, knowing it's your soulmate next to you is so exhilarating.
“Good morning.” Javi’s smile is bright, radiant like the sun as he reaches out and caresses your cheek. “How did you sleep? I think I only slept for two hours but it was the best two hours of my life.”
"Good morning." Like a magnet, you slide towards him on the mattress to tuck yourself into his side. "It's a whole new day. What did you want to do with it?" Neither of you have to work, so it's just...going to be beautiful all on its own.
“I should treat you today, no?” He asks with a grin. “It is technically our honeymoon?” The ring on your finger is just barely ten hours old, the excitement of that fact still humming through his system and coming off as nervous energy.
"We've got a whole weekend to do whatever we want." Honeymoon. It's your honeymoon. The last twenty-four hours have been a complete whirlwind. This time yesterday you were already at work. "I feel silly asking but...what do you like to do for fun?"
“Watching movies.” Javi admits shamelessly, although he no longer has the movie theatre he once did. “What is your favorite movie?”
"Oh gosh, that's such a hard question." Shamelessly happy that you can do so, you lay a kiss on his shoulder and gaze up at him.
Your soulmate is so fucking handsome. How did you get so lucky?
"Maybe..." You laugh at how ridiculously hard it is to choose. "I think I have more like a top three. And they rotate depending on what kind of mood I'm in. But one of the top three is always The Princess Bride."
“That is a good one.” He grins, happy that you seem to light up and have a hard time choosing. “I always liked Wesley.” He admits shamelessly and winks at you. “As you wish.”
"Hush." Even though you nudge him a little, your warm cheeks have nothing to do with the morning sun. It's all mixed in with the dreamy expression on your face as you talk with him. Your husband. Your soulmate. "What's your favourite movie?"
“You must promise not to laugh.” He tells you seriously, although there is humor twinkling in the depths of his dark eyes as he gazes into your hauntingly beautiful ones. “Paddington 2.” He admits, his tone flat and honest.
“Why would I laugh? That’s such a sweet movie!” Daring to reach up to brush a curl out of his eyes, you end up smiling all over again. “I…actually really love watching kids’ movies. They’re great for comfort and cheering me up when I don’t feel too good.”
“They teach us lessons we could all use.” He agrees, capturing your hand and kissing the back of it. “We can watch them together. Snuggled up.”
“That sounds perfect.” Practically everything he suggests sounds perfect, and it’s not just the gorgeous purr of his accent. “It can be a sweet way of unwinding at night.”
“You would not mind?” He asks, brows raised and a hopefully look on his face. “I wish I had my old movie theatre, but we can turn the second bedroom into a viewing room?”
"You..." Confusion makes your eyebrows draw in. "Used to have your own movie theater?"
He tilts his head. “Of course.” He nods. “I will have to build one again. It will not be as big as the one in Spain, but the house will be much smaller too.” He sighs softly, feeling a little bit like a failure for not being able to give you the things he once had. Before he ever knew you carried his marks. “But maybe one day, no?”
"If it will make you happy, then we will absolutely do that." There are plenty of things that you don't know about each other yet, but you have every confidence that you'll be able to settle into things together well. You're soulmates, after all. You're meant to be together. "I just...I've never known anyone who had their own movie theater before. That sounds so fancy."
“It was a large house.” He admits, frowning slightly. He loved the house, hated the bad memories of some of the things that happened there. Although it was never all bad. “You know, Nic Cage came to my birthday party there?” He asks. “It’s how we met.”
"Is it really?" He had told you that they were friends -- hell, the Cages had come to your wedding last night -- but it was still something that you were wrapping your head around.
“Yes.” He chuckles. “I paid him one million dollars to come to my birthday, and somehow, we became friends.”
Your eyes widen, catching on a breath of disbelief. "So that's how you get a movie star to come to your birthday? Color me impressed."
He hums. “Back then, yes.” He admits, leaning in and kissing your shoulder gently. “Now, they are starting to want to come on their own. Not because I pay them.” He doesn’t have the money to do that anymore.
"You're an amazing writer. I'm sure you're just at the start of something really grand." The two movies he has had made so far have both been fantastic. You went home and watched them back-to-back after the first time he told you he was a screenwriter. "I consider myself very lucky that I'll get to be beside you during all of it."
“Really?” His eyes widen, as if he had never really considered that you would be happy to have him as your soulmate. “You want to be beside me?”
It almost makes you laugh, but the wonder on his face is so genuinely sweet that it sort of comes out as a sound of disbelief. "Of course," you promise him, and take his hand to hold both his and your left hands in his view. The hands bearing your brand new wedding rings. "That's what this means."
“Married.” The word is whispered, almost reverently, as if he is still in disbelief that it was ever possible. For him, it had started to look that way. He had loved Gabriella and had been determined to be a good partner no matter if they had not shared marks, but she had left him. He had floundered slightly, bemoaning love and at the encouragement of Nic to start working on his next screen play, he had stumbled upon the soulmate he had always yearned for.
******
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 Valentine's Day
The slowest pay of the week for the museum seems punctuated with particularly melancholy moments today. There was a private tour this morning with a proposal, and the squealing bride-and-groom-to-be had been allowed to take photos together on the grand staircase before regular visitors began arriving for the day. Their family and friends had been hiding in the house, waiting for the moment, all ready to burst out and shout with joy after the question was asked and answered. It had left you with a migraine.
Another lover had popped their question to her beloved out in the gardens while you were trying to get some fresh air on your short morning break. You'd fled back to the breakroom and hung your head in your hands for the rest of your fifteen minutes of quiet.
Now, in the middle of the afternoon, there are so many couples on dates strolling through the halls of Hazelwood House that it felt like an intentional taunt. Being fresh off a breakup at Valentine's Day is no one's idea of a good time. So you just pace your area, walking through the three rooms of the house museum that are under your care for this hour, and hope that the floor just opens up to swallow you whole.
Which is how you accidentally walked straight into a guest.
"Oh! Excuse me! I'm so sorry, that was entirely my fault."
Javi Gutierrez manages to keep himself from stumbling but immediately reaches out to steady you. “No, no, I was wandering around.” He shakes his head, ready to take the blame himself as his eyes meet yours and he swears that his heart skips a beat. He straightens slightly, still holding your arms. “Are you okay?” He asks softly, as if you had been injured by the minor collision.
"I'm totally fine." Shaken, sure, but only because of your own clumsiness and the fact that you just had to bump into the hottest guy you've ever seen in your entire life. "I—I'm sorry." Come on, get it together. "I was distracted." Lie, for fuck's sake. "I just noticed a little detail in the flooring that I had never seen before."
“The floor?” Javi frowns as he looks down at the intricate tiles beneath both of your feet. “What about the floor?” He asks curiously, wondering if it is something special.
"Well..." It's nerdy. It's so nerdy. But there actually is something special about the mosaic tile in this particular room of the house. "The billiard room is covered in mosaic, but I've never paid much attention to the grain of the marble before." An utter lie, you stare at it every day. "Do you see the swirls of blue and gray here? It's the same marble as the fireplace."
Instead of looking at you like you are crazy, Javi squats down and brushes his fingers over the glazed tiles, staring at the colorful patterns for a long moment, memorizing them. Then he lifts his head to stare at the fireplace. “So they tiled the mosaic with marble instead of regular tiles?” He asks, trying to follow.
"It looks like it." He gets excited easily, this incredibly handsome man, and it relaxes you a little. Guests who get excited about little details are one of the things you love most about working in a museum. "Now I'm thinking about taking a photo of the different colors and comparing them to the other fireplaces in the house."
“Can you backtrack through the house?” He looks around worried for a moment and then back at you. “The guides won’t get mad?”
"You're only a few rooms in, I can walk you back to the first fireplace if you'd like?" That would be the breakfast room, which is an easy stroll backward from where you are now and you point it out to him on the map that is printed on the packet of information in his hand. It seems he opted not to download the audio tour as so many do.
He tilts his head, contemplating it seriously. “Then we should do it, no?” He asks. “See if it matches? It should, or no? Maybe it depends on the style of the room?”
"Let's find out, if you're curious. We can check the three fireplaces in this section of the house and you can compare the pictures you take here to the others as you keep moving through the house." You would walk with him, guide him yourself, because it's just so nice to stumble upon someone nice and not on a date today...but abandoning your area of the house would get you in a hell of a lot of trouble.
“Okay.” He smiles at you and wonders if you are waiting for your partner to arrive. It’s Valentine’s Day after all and he had thought to distract himself with work. “The house is very, um, nice.” He says as you start to steer him back towards the other rooms. Small talk can be awkward and he’s not as good as it as he would like at times. Nervous about making a negative impression.
"The whole place is gorgeous." The grounds are a popular tourist attraction, with plenty of weddings and other parties happening on the grounds in addition to the mansion being a museum. "Have you ever visited Hazelwood Park before?"
“This is my first time.” Javi confesses. “I have heard of it, but woke up this morning and decided today was the day.” He had honestly figured there wouldn’t be a lot of couples here. He had been wrong.
"Well, welcome." Back in the breakfast room, you turn to face the soft green marble fireplace. "This does look like the same green of the turtle in the mosaic," you admit. The shades are remarkably similar.
“So they matched the edging of this floor to the fireplace.” The entire floor isn’t a mosaic, but the banding around the edges is. “This fireplace is larger.” He tilts his head. “Perhaps they did not have enough of the leftovers to use, hm?”
"If they only used the pieces that were considered scrap during the carving of the fireplaces, then it would make sense that they wouldn’t have any large pieces." The thin tile line around the otherwise parquet flooring has always charmed you unexpectedly. You had never seen anything like it before.
“It is a good way to use up all the materials.” He agrees. “Because I’m assuming the marble was imported?” It’s nothing he’s ever considered before but your enthusiasm for the details excites him.
"Oh yes, absolutely." In fact, you had had to memorize where all of it came from as part of your knowledge test to be a full-fledged docent. "This particular stone comes from Italy."
“You know a lot about this.” He smiles. “Is the house a favorite place to visit for you?”
"Oh!" You break out into a nervous laugh and realize that this entire time, the nametag and lapel pin that you wear on your cardigan marking you as an employee haven't been visible. "No, I--I work here. I've been here about a year now."
“Oh…oh I am sorry.” He bites his lip as he tries to hide the embarrassed grin. “I didn’t realize. I thought you were just an enthusiast.”
"Being an enthusiast is sort of how I got the job," you admit. Shrugging your shoulders, you straighten out your cardigan again and do up one button to make sure both pins stay visible. "It turns out that I really love it. Beyond just thinking the place is beautiful."
“That explains your comment about this section of the house.” He chuckles, wiping his hands on his pants and shoving them in his pockets. “I had assumed you were waiting on someone. Now I know that’s it’s other tour groups.
"Have to stay in my section." A light, awkward laugh travels between you but even that little sound from him sounds angelic. "But if you like these first few rooms, then you'll love the rest of the house."
“Which is your favorite room?” He asks, looking down at his map.
"Today?" You laugh a little, emboldened by the way he seems to smile with his whole face. Like he really doesn't mind talking to you. Like he might even enjoy it. "I love them all, but I think the library might be the best part of the whole house."
“Do you like to read?” He asks, charmed by your laugh and the way you seem to light up at the question. As if you aren’t normally asked a personal question. “The library was always where I was chided, but then it was also where I could escape into different worlds when I couldn’t do other things.”
"That's the beauty of books." Something you believe unabashedly. Stories are an escape -- whether that is books or movies or plays, or whatever else. "Being able to run away into a different world is powerful. It's freeing." Warmth creeps up your neck and into your cheeks and you nearly feel embarrassed for getting so excited about it except that he's still smiling. "The library in this house? I would curl up in front of that fireplace with a stack of books beside me on the chaise lounge and one of those little table all covered in the blue China from the butler's pantry and a whole plate of scones. I would just stay there all day and night."
“That sounds perfect.” He hums. “With the fire built up?”
“Oh, of course.” The scenario has played out in your head a thousand times, and one day you might just have to go antiquing for your own chaise so you can fulfill it. Of course…you’ll also need a home legitimate enough to have a fireplace. Not your shitty little studio apartment.
“Storm beating against the windows?” It would be a miracle in California, but he could imagine it in the setting of his latest screenplay. “Or snow?”
"Oh, it's been years since I saw a good snowstorm. I used to hate them, but I sort of miss it."
“I have not ever lived somewhere where there was snow.” He admits with a small shrug. “It is beautiful in pictures but I do not think it would be fun to have every day.”
"Oh, it's definitely not." Not even a little, and your immediate answer elicits laughs from both of you. "My favorite was when I was going to college in Boston and the college dug out our sidewalks for us. All the beauty of snow with none of the work."
“That is probably the best way to have the snow.” He admits with a laugh.
"Well..." Realizing you've probably monopolized enough of this extremely handsome, extremely charming man's time, you offer him a smile and try to smother the butterflies accumulating in the pit of your stomach. He has the most beautiful, soulful eyes you've ever seen. "Enjoy the rest of the museum. Take an extra look at the library when you pass through the south wing and you'll see what I mean about it being comfy."
He’s entirely disappointed to realize that he’s being dismissed. Enjoying the way you banter with him, he wishes he could ask you to give him the tour of the entire house so he could continue talking. Feeling more at ease with you than he has with anyone ever. “Thank you.” He hums softly. “I hope you have a wonderful day, full of beauty.”
"You too." You flounder for a few seconds, but you know you'll get in trouble if your supervisor sees you on the surveillance cameras talking to the same guest for too long, so you gently extract yourself to stroll as casually as possible back into the corner of the great hall that is included in your area of the house right now.
Javi watches you walk off and he sighs before he looks down at the map and pulls out his phone to take pictures of the rooms. Your attention to detail will have to be included in the film.
******
Saturday, December 23, 2023
It's the Christmas season the next time you see him, when the house is all done up in twinkling lights and wreaths with trimmed trees in almost every room. Bowls of chestnuts and pine cones and cherries replace the usual decorative hazelnuts and oranges. Pine boughs and poinsettias instead of big, beautiful flower arrangements. It's a nice change of pace, honestly, and on the weekends guests can buy tickets to the after-hours light display on the grounds. Out in the garden there are even refreshments and music plays from the trees that drip with even more lights.
Javier tucks into his light jacket. It’s not completely necessary, but it helps the spirit of the season. The lights are beautiful and he’s heard that the decorations are truly a sight to see.
The music outside just reminds you of the years that you worked in retail -- repetitive and sickly sweet Christmas songs pouring through speakers, but you dole out cups of cocoa and coffee at one of the refreshment tables outside with good enough spirits. There's bits of broken cookie to sneak every now and then, and the little gingerbread men are tasty morsels when you and the other docent working at the table can grab them.
“You were right about the library.” He hadn’t been looking for you. At least that’s what he tells himself, although he lights up for some reason when he recognizes you. “It’s perfect for a cozy day reading.”
"You..." It takes all you've got not to grab your friend's hand beside you, as the specter of the random guest you've had a crush on for almost a year materializes in front of you. "You remembered?" The full sentence is 'You remembered me?' but you don't say that.
He grins bashfully as he steps up to the table and looks down at the cookies and paper cups, trying to keep from staring at how pretty you are. Javi’s been around gorgeous women, but there’s something about the naked honest in your eyes that makes him feel almost feverish. “Of course I did.” He chuckles. “I went back through to find you that day, but you must have already gone home.”
“We move around the house every hour. To keep on our toes and so we don’t stare at the same set of walls the whole day.” Did he get even more attractive since last time? That would be so unfair. Criminally unfair, actually. “I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Enough to come back, even.”
“I had to see it during Christmas.” It also got him out of the tiny cottage he lives in. Around other people. Hopefully to distract from the loneliness of the holiday. “I don’t know if this might not be the best look for this place. Although I see it with candles lit all around.”
“It’s perfect in spring,” you tell him all too quickly, and end up flustering yourself so you have to tear your eyes away from his to look down at the grounds gather your damn wits back. “I mean…in early spring is when all the orange and hazelnut trees blossom. That’s how the property got its name. Hazelwood Park.”
“Is that so? I will have to check it out.” He looks suitably impressed and then motions to the table. “So, um, how much for a cookie and a cup of coffee?” He asks, not sure what else to say, but wanting to continue the conversation.
"Oh, they're free for guests. Help yourself." Your coworker offers helpfully, seeing you fluster and thoroughly enjoying the level of teasing that is going to happen after work tonight. "Why don't you take your break while we have a lull?" She suggests, practically batting her eyelashes with glee over the suggestion.
"Thanks, Moira," you hum with a tone that suggests you're going to kill her later. Then again? She has a point. These days that there are special events at work can be long. You've been on your feet for hours.
Javi is disappointed, sure that you will disappear on him since you have a chance to get off your feet and possibly get something to eat or drink yourself. “Oh, um, okay.” He takes a cup of be coffee and a cookie. “Thanks.”
"Make sure to show him your bench!" Moira suggests, far too loudly and excitedly to not be obvious, as she thrusts a cup of cocoa and a gingerbread man into your hands.
“Your bench?” He could kiss your friend for giving him something to grasp on to in order to keep the conversation going. “What is your bench?”
"It's...it's over on the west side of the property." You gesture to the left of were you're both standing and try to suppress the giddy and awkward shivers running up and down your spine. "Do you...would you want to walk?"
“Are you sure you want to?” He asks seriously, happy about spending time with you but it’s your break. “You don’t want to rest?”
"Benches are made for resting." Now that the chance has presented itself, you would actually be pretty bummed to miss out on the chance to chat with him again. And, in all honesty, you're pretty sure it's not your break at all. Moira just threw you out of the nest like a mama bird.
“Okay.” He agree to that easily and shifts to move the cookie into the same hand as his coffee to offer you his arm. “Lead the way.”
The chivalrous gesture damn near makes your knees buckle, and you follow suit. Shifting your snack into one hand lets you take his arm to lead him toward the ocean. "It's just...where I like to come sit." Of course it is. You groan at yourself internally. What else would you do at a bench but sit? "I take my lunch out here sometimes and things like that."
“So it’s your special place.” He likes the sound of that. Showing him something that you might not show every guest.
"I suppose you could say that." It's only a touch chilly tonight and the breeze coming off the ocean is welcoming. "It's a nice place to sit and think. To just watch the ocean and...dream."
“Hopefully the dreams are nice ones.” He offers, wondering what you might dream about. “Having a quiet place to think is always a good thing. I used to sit out at the cliffs and dream, plot, plan.”
"Cliffs?" Hazelwood Park is more or less on a cliffside, and you motion out toward the ocean again. "Like this one?"
“A little larger than this one.” He smiles as he thinks back to jumping off the cliff with Nic. “Mallorca has cliffs that go hundreds of meters in the air.” He tells you. “Some so steep you would be terrified to slip off the edge.”
“Mallorca?” Spanish. Damn. They really do make hotter men in Europe. “I’ve heard it’s beautiful there. You…traded one beautiful place to live for another?”
He shrugs slightly. “Hard to write movies anywhere else but Hollywood, no?”
“Hard, but not impossible.”
So there it is. Even the screenwriters in Hollywood are sexy. Maybe you should be grateful to live so close by, then? Southern California does have some fun things that back home didn’t. Rather than fawn over him — that’s never been your style — you just smile. “So you like libraries and you’re a writer. Stories run through your veins.”
“I would live in them if I could.” He admits wistfully. The little bench is drawing closer and he can see from the view from this point why you would like it. It’s a stunning place to look out over the water. The wind just a touch brisk as it ruffles his hair. The smell of the saltwater taking over.
“Me too.” And for reasons you can’t quite discern, you just keep talking. “That’s why I like history so much. It’s all just stories. Especially in big houses like this. Somebody’s whole life — their whole story — is wrapped up in that house.”
“And do you sometimes pretend you are the lady of the house?” He asks, imagining you in the skirts from that time.
"It would be sort of a shame to dream about the place and not dream the grand, elegant things. Wouldn't it?" When you reach the bench together, he seems to set you down first, letting you settle, and then sits beside you. "I think it's romantic. Curtis Hollingsworth built the place as a birthday gift for his wife. They were outgrowing their home because they were pregnant again, and he'd made millions helping to turn Santa Barbara into a spa town." The soft smile on your face is whimsical, but you can't help it. "Apparently, she loved oranges and hazelnuts. Which is why the trees are everywhere."
“He brought those to her.” He looks out over the water and takes a sip of the rich coffee. At least they had served a strong brew instead of something heartbreakingly weak. “To build a house for someone you love is a perfect way to show it.” He frowns slightly, remembering that he has a building site that was halted before the foundation was ever poured.
“It’s certainly a grand gesture.” Something in his tone and manner makes you hesitate, but you don’t know this man nearly well enough to ask a single personal question so you try to just press past it. “Of course, grand gestures aren’t the only way of showing love. Not by any means. But they do make wonderful stories.”
“Sometimes it’s just listening.” He agrees, thinking about how things between him and Gabriella had turned after moving to L.A. two years ago. She had been uninterested in the future he envisions and started working towards. Stopped talking to him about anything that wasn’t part of her own interests. He had tried to course correct, but it had ultimately not meant to be.
“I couldn’t agree more.” This time you do chance to look at him — sharp jaw and soft cheeks outlined against the night sky like a fully grown cherub, golden brown curls neatly and artfully tousled and waving in the breeze. He looks like a Romantic painting. “Lots of people talk about communication but not enough realize listening is included in that.”
His eyes find yours again, seeing the softness and understanding swimming in their depths and he feels like bearing his soul to you. “Is it probably the most important part.” He admits. “The world would be better if people understood that.”
“Again…” you swallow hard, feeling your mouth has run dry and chest fairly ripped open with the feeling of familiarity. “I couldn’t agree more.”
The silence falls between you. It’s not unpleasant, it’s almost hesitant. As if both of you are afraid of disturbing the uncluttered beauty of the moment as the waves crash against the coast at the wind batters playfully against your cheeks. Javi breaks off a piece of the cookie and dips it onto the coffee.
“You chose a beautiful night to come visit.” It’s clear and typically warm despite the ocean breeze, and even in the end of December, Southern California is a beautiful place to be. He could have gone to any of a thousand places but he chose to come here, and a small voice in the back of your head wonders — hopes — that maybe you had a part in making this place happy for him.
“I was compelled to come back.” He admits softly, looking over at you for a moment before breaking off the gaze to look out at the sea again.
“The house is like that.” When he looks away, you do too. “It draws people in.”
It’s not the house, but it would sound crazy to say that he wanted to see you again. Instead he hums. “I don’t think it’s just the house.”
“Well…” If you wanted to take that to heart, you feel like you could. It wouldn’t be difficult to give yourself that little bit of hope. But despite being easy, it would probably be very foolish. “I hope it helps you miss home a little less to sit on these cliffs, instead.”
“I think it does.” He takes the bite of the cookie and groans happily. “These are good.”
“Gingerbread is highly underrated,” you agree, and take a bite of your own after dipping it into your cup of cocoa. “I get why they’re seasonal but I wish I could find them so easily all year long.”
“Yes.” He agrees. “They would be good anytime.”
“What’s your favourite kind of cookie?” The question is innocuous enough, but you find yourself curious anyway. Curious to know about anything he feels like telling you.
He chuckles and lifts a shoulder innocently. “A good chocolate chip cookie is always a comfort.” He admits. “Sometimes the simple things are the best.” He twists his head and looks over to you. “What is yours?”
“Have you ever heard of a hermit cookie?” You ask, raising an eyebrow, and grinning in amusement when he looks confused. “It’s a soft, spice cookie. Like gingerbread. Sometimes with raisins and nuts in it. They’re a bit old fashioned, but wonderful with coffee.”
“They sound like I should try some.” He would try anything you recommend right now, a fact that should scare him but it doesn’t. “How old are the cookies?” He asks, thinking about his screenplay.
“They’re from the 1880s or 90s, I think?” It does not escape your amusement or notice that this is the same time that the house you work in was built. “I don’t know if they’ve ever been popular outside of New England, but we do love them there.”
He hums and takes note of that. Deciding he will research it. “Hermit cookies.” He repeats. “Are there recipes for this? Online?”
"Probably." His entire attention has now focused in on this just because you said it was your favorite cookie and that makes you smile in a way you can't quite explain.
“Then I will have to look it up.” He smiles as he takes another sip of his coffee. “I like researching things. It is very interesting. Like your marble mosaic tiles.”
"You researched the tiles?" It's the sort of thing that you would only think of you or your coworkers doing, but hearing that he has enjoyed his time in the house -- and possibly with you -- so much warms your heart.
“It was interesting to learn how they chose the marbles.” He nods. “I never imagined a trip to Europe to pick out building materials.”
"It's a heck of a reason for a vacation," you agree, laughing slightly at the opulence of it all.
“Yes. And trips would take months.” He chuckles.
"I can't even imagine." To take a vacation at all would be a miracle. But one that was months long? It sounds positively absurd to your ear.
“Do you think they ever got bored?” He asks curiously. “Or tired of being away from home?”
"I have to imagine that they did." It's a question you've thought on more than you want to admit, but the stories in your head are always about everyday things. Wondering what the mundane things were like. "If I had a home like this I can't imagine ever wanting to be away from it. But I suppose the right person can make anything worthwhile."
“Were they soulmates?” He asks softly, having avoided the personal backgrounds of the homeowners when taking the tour. He had tried to keep his own characters in mind.
“They were. And when they left the house to their daughter, she married her soulmate here. And then her daughter married her soulmate here, as well. The house has a history of lifelong loves.”
“That is nice.” His tone is wistful. “I don’t know if I will ever meet my soulmate.” Javi confides, normally keeping that information to himself but he blurts it out. “I worry about it sometimes.”
“I don’t know a single person who hasn’t worried about it at some point.” Even your sister, who said she didn’t mind not marrying her soulmate as long as the woman she found was a loving partner, had been thoroughly overjoyed when she had found her now wife on Mate Marks. Everyone thinks about it — worries about it — even if they don’t want to admit it. “I wouldn’t worry, if I were you.” You offer him a smile, knowing you’ve gone over your fifteen minutes for your break and not wanting to be caught flirting with a guest on company time. “Whoever you do find is going to be very lucky to have you.”
He smiles again. “Have you found yours?” He figures you probably have, you are beautiful and captivating.
"Not yet." Even though you'd rather not, you stand from the bench. "I don't know if I ever will. Only time will tell."
“I know you have to go back to work.” Javi leaps off the bench and shuffles, wishing he could ask you to stay. “Thank you for showing me this place.” He bites his lip. “Uh, can I walk you back?”
The warmth rushes back to your cheeks, and you practically squirm with delight. "Thank you. I'd like that."
He offers his arm again, taking your empty hot cocoa cup from you to hold with his own trash. “Imagine the parties they used to hold here.” He breathes out as the two of you turn back towards the house.
"We're setting up an exhibit with some of the gowns. It's meant to open in about six weeks." You light up with that fact, excited to see all the swishing gowns and glimmering jewels for yourself. "Descendents of the family donated a large collection of clothing, shoes, and jewelry to the museum this part year."
“Wow.” He chuckles, thinking about the parties he would throw when he was pretending to be an olive oil exporter. He’s much happier being a screen writer, even if he can’t afford those parties and bought friends anymore. “That was generous of them.”
"They say the most spectacular pieces are still privately owned by the family, but the things I've seen so far have been absolutely gorgeous." If you're a little dreamy-eyed at the prospect, he doesn't seem to mind.
“It sounds like you would have loved to live during that time.” He smiles, knowing that he will have to insist the movie be filmed here.
"I'm probably overly romanticizing it," you admit. But the tent is in view already and you hate the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that wonders if he'll ever come back again. "I hope—" Biting back what you really hope, you go for a polite encouragement instead, "That the things you've found in your research have given you plenty to think about. And maybe romanticized it for you, too."
“It has.” Even if you have no interest in him, you’ve given him a focal point for his movie. “Thank you. This is a magical place.”
"Then I hope you'll come back again." At least in that you can be honest. There is nothing you would like more than to see him again.
“Really?” He’s surprised by your comment. Unless you are just being polite.
"Really." You promise him, but at the edge of the refreshments tent, you have to let his arm go.
He’s disappointed by the loss of your fingers on his jacket. “Well. I hope the rest of your night is magical.” He offers, bowing slightly and smiling at you.
"I can all but guarantee it now." One more smile. One more lingering, dopey smile, and you know you have to tear yourself away. "Have a good night..." Oh no. Have you really gone and sat and flirted with this man for your whole break and not even learned his name?
He nods and turns away, sure that it would be rude to try to extend the conversation. He will just have to go home and write about this, working it into the plot of his movie somehow.
******
Monday, June 10, 2024
The email went out before opening time, when only your bosses were up in the offices and the docent core hadn’t gotten to work yet. You’d nearly crashed your car in excitement while CarPlay read the email out to you on the highway.
A movie. An actual Hollywood movie is coming to film at the museum!
The second you clocked in and sprinted to the break room to put your things away, you almost clobbered Moira with squealed, giddy glee.
“Did you hear?? Did you see Leslie’s email?!”
“Oh my god, yesssss.” She lights up and nods quickly. “It’s a movie by that guy who did the Nic Cage movie a couple of years ago.” She informs you. “The one that won an Oscar and restarted that man’s career?” After a long slump of bad movies, the older actor had exploded back on the scene, apparently full of new life and motivation for his trade.
“I can’t wait until we find out more!” Being able to hug your friend and squeal together is such a rush. The two of you have become joined-at-the-hip work friends to the point where the friendship has bled into everyday life. “A name, a plot, any of the stars?”
“Actors.” She sighs dreamily. “Imagine if your soulmate or mine, is an actor who comes to film?” She loves the glitz and glam of Hollywood and always secretly imagined being an actress herself, although she’s realistic enough to understand that it would be impossible to have happen.
“Maybe yours will be.” You laugh, hugging her again before you have to break away to pull your radio headset out of your bag. There is still work to do today, desire the excitement. “You’ll have to make sure you always wear your hair up so your tattoo is visible.” The little raven behind her ear would be a hell of a lot easier to show off than the tarot card on her though, anyway. Moira’s tattoos are gorgeous and just unique enough that you would bet there was no duplicate in the works besides her soulmate.
“Oh I’m planning on it.” She licks her lips and waggles her brows suggestively. “What about you? Yours aren’t so visible.” She knows how much you secretly want to meet your soulmate and be with them. It was a drunken girl’s night confession but she had never teased you over it.
“There’s no reason to go around showing everyone my marks.” You shrug a little and busy yourself with plugging into a walkie-talkie and adjusting your headset in your ear. “A lot of people have ankle scars, don’t they? And I can’t exactly show off my butterfly.” Exposing that much skin is definitely against dress code.
“Is it your scar or his?” You had never mentioned that, just that you had a scar.
“It’s theirs.” However your soulmate is, you’ve tried very hard not to make assumptions about them. The person you hope for might not be the person you get, and that wouldn’t be fair to them. “I was nine when it appeared, so my best guess has always been they fell out of a tree or play sports.”
“And the tattoo is yours?” She knows, she’s just chatting because it’s better than actually getting ready to work right now.
“Twenty-first birthday.” You nod, knowing that she knows but that Moira likes a slower start to her day than you usually do. “I did the opposite of most people. I got the tattoo and then went out to get drunk.”
“Which is a very valid and smart thing to do.” She praises. “That way you don’t bleed too much and it’s a nice way to numb the pain after.” Her own walkie comes out to begrudgingly clip to her waist. “But this movie, it has to be a period piece, right? No way a modern millionaire would live in a house like this.”
“It has to be. There’s no point in renting out a historical house museum for four entire months unless you’re going to use it all.” Not that you know too much about the filming process, but it just makes logical sense. “And besides, they’re here in spring and summer, which is usually our busy season. So I’m sure Leslie charged them a fortune. But HBO can afford it, I guess.”
“What if they let us be extras?” Her eyes widen at the sudden thought. “Oh god, we could wear our work!” She giggles happily at the thought.
“I assume there will have to be extras somehow.” Truthfully, you’d let your Hollywood dreams die out a long time ago. Moira’s were much more present. It would be amazing to see her to be able to fulfill them with even just a morsel like being an extra. “I guess we’ll just have to find out, won’t we?”
“When it gets closer you will be just as excited as I am.” She predicts with a knowing grin.
“I’m plenty excited,” you promise, happily hugging her to your side as the two of you head out into the house together. “I just think you belong in front of a camera much more than I do.”
“You’ll change your mind.” She teases. “When you see what gorgeous actors and actresses they bring, you will be begging to flirt with them. On and off camera.”
“Maybe.” Her confidence is catching, and you laugh again at the thought of it. Hollywood has come knocking on your door and it’s already making work a hell of a lot more fun.
------ Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon   @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit @mikeyswifie @guelyury @lizzie-cakes @for-a-longlongtime @vabeachazn @purplerain04 @weho2kcmo @madnessofadaydreamer
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kelloggsenthusiast · 2 months ago
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if you're reading this - luigi mangione x reader
just want to let you all know that all the accusations made against this and are just that- accusations
innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt
(not beta read)
he had been caught.
that's all you had been seeing all day. his pictures all over social media and the news, some demonising him and calling him a terrorist, others calling him a hero. you were just confused. three weeks ago, he just up and left your shared apartment without so much as an explanation. you wished you knew better but you couldn't explain it. you loved him and you thought he lived you right back. he was so sweet and doting and attentive to you, even if he hadn't been the same since the accident.
the accident... it had dimmed his light significantly. he couldn't hike or climb or do the things he once loved, being too financially and physically incapacitated to do it, and that's when you noticed his shift. you'd been seeing each other for some years, even talking about the idea of marriage before the accident happened. after it, though, it's like a switch flipped. he came to stay with you while he was covering his medical bills and you could see up close how it changed him. he became distant from you and obsessed with a lot of socialist literature, reading while he wasn't working. his parents and family called you several times because he had effectively stopped speaking to anyone since then. he was different and it was difficult for you to watch what had become of him now that...
you were on your way home from a long day at work, only made longer by seeing your boyfriends face everywhere. you had to turn off the radio because of all the news reports every few seconds. you couldn't believe it, but at the same time, you could. he had an implicitly calloused way of handling things that you'd always said would land him in prison. little did you know, it was literally landing him in prison. the health care system, after all, killed your childhood best friend and left him disabled and in debt. he was the one who just went to go and make his grievances known.
upon your arrival at your apartment, you headed straight for his desk and flipped through all the papers and manuscripts, reading through his detailed notes and excerpts from books and studies. then you saw it. a letter, starting with the words: if you're reading this, they got me. and I'm sorry.
your heart lurched when you saw those words and you didn't even realise that tears were running down your face. you continued reading thr note in his familiar messy handwriting, sharp and thin lettering you recognised as his.
I'm so sorry. I know I've been abandoning you and our relationship. I've been abandoning everyone. but I can't just deal with this pain any longer, and I can't bear to see you suffer because of something neither of us could have predicted. I've cleared the medical debts and paid for the apartment for the next three months. you're free now. and I want you to use that freedom to find happiness beyond me. I love you. but I know I won't be there for you much from jail. you've always been headstrong and intelligent, so I hope you'll understand why I chose to do what I did. I'm truly, truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me. and more importantly, I hope you can find happiness beyond me. I love you.
a short something for all of you. prayers for all of you in the states, I never knew it was this bad. if ceo's were popped as often as kids in school, gun control would be a thing. once again, free luigi. he didn't do anything wrong. - saïe
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alba1221141 · 15 days ago
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Mary Janes
.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.☁︎
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵
12
(T.W bpd episode towards the end, if that's at all triggering skip Jinx's second POV <3)
Jinx
The bass thrums through the walls, vibrating my bones, and the air reeks of sweat, liquor, and the sharp tang of people pretending they belong here.
Caitlyn Kirammans party.
Fucking fantastic.
I can already feel the chaos simmering, the way the room shifts with every new body that spills in.
I like it here. I thrive on it.
But Y/N? She’s quiet, like she always is. Not her scene, not even close. But she’s here, and that’s all that matters.
She’s standing next to me, like a little wallflower in a sea of jackasses.
We’re close enough that I can feel the tension rolling off her in waves, but neither of us has said a word about it.
We don’t need to.
It’s our thing.
Our secret.
I’m half-focused on Y/N, the way she’s standing there, shoulders pulled in, trying not to get noticed.
She doesn’t belong here, not like this. She’s got a quiet aura, a stark contrast to the noisy, wild energy around us.
But she’s with me, and that’s enough to keep my blood pumping. I can’t let her get lost in the crowd.
Cait and Mel swoop in like vultures, all manicured nails and perfectly placed grins, and before I can stop it, Y/N’s wrist is in Cait’s hand.
She barely has time to glance at me before they’re dragging her away, swallowed by the mass of bodies like she was never even standing next to me in the first place.
I feel my jaw clench, but I don’t move. I could. I could storm after her, could grab her back, could tell Cait to keep her prissy little hands to herself. But I don’t.
Because that’s not how this works.
Instead, I lean back against the wall, tapping my fingers against my thigh. Watching.
Mel says something, and Y/N laughs, but it’s that tight, polite laugh, the one she does when she’s being the good girl everyone expects her to be.
I fucking hate it.
I hate how easy it is for her to put that mask on, to pretend she’s one of them. I wonder if it ever gets exhausting, all that pretending.
Then I hear it.
“Alright, time for a game,” someone calls, and the crowd shifts, bodies pressing in as the living room turns into some kind of makeshift arena.
Great.
I push off the wall, weaving my way closer, close enough to see Y/N standing there, stiff as a damn board, while Cait and Mel laugh like they’ve already won something.
There’s a table in the center, scattered with shot glasses, a deck of cards, a stupid-looking bowl filled with crumpled-up slips of paper.
Truth or dare.
Of course.
I should’ve known Caitlyn and her bougie ass parties wouldn’t settle for anything normal.
I move to the edge of the crowd, close enough that I could step in if I wanted to. But Y/N’s shoulders are squared, her chin lifted just a little.
She’s handling it.
For now.
Mel reaches into the bowl first, plucking a slip and unfolding it like it holds the secrets of the universe. Then she smirks. “Y/N,” she says, her voice silky smooth, like she’s been waiting for this.
Y/N’s fingers twitch at her sides. “Truth.”
The air fucking shifts.
The question hangs, sharp and invasive, like it’s dissecting something private.
Y/N’s breath catches, just for a split second, but it’s enough for me to notice. Her back straightens, and her eyes dart around the room, like she’s looking for an escape.
Like there’s no way out.
I hate the way everyone’s looking at her now, waiting, eager. I hate that I can feel the pressure of their gaze too.
I hate that she’s stuck, caught in this moment where she has to lie or risk her privacy.
She looks at me, just for a breath, and I see it—the panic behind her eyes.
She can’t say it.
She can’t tell them about us.
And I get it.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
“I… I don’t know,” she says finally, voice too steady, too practiced. “I haven’t really had a romantic moment recently.”
The words hit like a punch to the chest. Her voice is steady, but her eyes flicker—flicker—back to me, and I feel it.
It’s a lie.
A lie so heavy I can’t breathe.
Mel’s smile is wide and expectant, but Y/N can’t bring herself to meet it. Instead, she looks down at the floor, as if she’s trying to disappear into it.
The whole room is dead silent, like they’re waiting for her to elaborate. I can feel the weight of their curiosity, the subtle shift in energy. It’s too much. Too fucking much.
I stand there, frozen, while her words wrap around me like a noose. It’s not the truth. It’s not even close.
But I can’t force her to say it.
I won’t make her.
But God, does it hurt.
And then, without a word, Y/N stands up straighter, pasting that smile of hers back on.
It’s weak, like it’s barely holding together, but it’s there. She’s doing what she does best—pretending.
The game moves on, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t shake the feeling that something has shifted.
I can feel the distance between us growing with every breath. And I can’t help but wonder how much longer we can keep pretending.
But I don’t ask. I don’t need to.
I already know the answer.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿
Y/N
The weight of the moment lingers like a heavy fog, suffocating everything around me. The game moves on, people laughing, clinking glasses, like nothing’s wrong.
Like I didn’t just shatter something precious. But I feel it. The crack that just split between me and Jinx. The way her eyes—those eyes—refused to meet mine when I lied. When I denied what we were.
I don’t even realize I’m moving until I’m pushing through the crowd, desperate to catch up to her, desperate to fix whatever this is, before it breaks.
She’s already halfway out the door, her shoulders tense, her back a line of defiance. Like she’s preparing to leave. Like she’s already gone.
“Jinx!” I call, my voice a little too sharp, a little too broken, and the moment she hears me, she stops. But she doesn’t turn. She doesn’t give me the satisfaction of seeing her face, not yet.
I can hear her breath catch, feel the walls she’s putting up between us—cold, rigid, like she’s made of stone.
I take a step closer, and the words tumble out before I can stop them. “Jinx, wait. Please.”
She finally turns, but it’s not the way I want. She faces me with that look, the one that says everything’s messed up. That look that makes my chest tighten and my throat close. Her hands are clenched at her sides, her expression unreadable, like she’s afraid I’ll see too much.
“What do you want, Y/N?” Her voice is quiet, too calm, but I hear the edge underneath it, the tremor she’s hiding, and it's almost like my name tastes foul on her lips, there's no honey laced teasing. Just my name, so hollow and empty.
“Please, just let me explain,” I try again, my words tumbling over each other, desperate, pleading. “I didn’t mean it. You know I didn’t—”
“You didn’t mean it?” Her voice breaks, just a little, and I feel the sting of it deep in my chest. Her eyes narrow, and she steps forward, her gaze sharp, cutting through the distance. “You think I’m just some—some experiment to you?”
The words hit like a slap, and I stagger back, the realization sinking in like a weight I can’t shake.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Jinx, I—”
“Don’t.” She cuts me off, her voice low, deadly. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to use me when it’s convenient and then act like it’s nothing when things get real.”
Her words are a punch to the gut.
I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. I can’t form the words. Because deep down, she’s right.
“You think I’m just some fucking game, Y/N? Some person you get to play with until you’re bored?” She’s shaking now, her breath ragged, fists clenched so tight her knuckles are white. “I’m not your fucking experiment. I’m not something you get to try out when it suits you and then throw away when it’s inconvenient.”
The hurt in her voice is a raw, jagged thing. It cuts deeper than any insult, any accusation. I want to reach out, to fix it, but I don’t know how.
“You never even told them the truth,” she continues, her voice trembling with rage and pain. “You lied to everyone. You lied to me. And now you’re telling me you didn’t mean it?”
I open my mouth, but the words stick in my throat. I didn’t mean it. But the truth... the truth feels like a weight I can’t bear to carry.
“I didn’t know how to—”
“Exactly,” she snaps. “You never knew how to. You don’t know what it’s like, Y/N, to be someone’s secret. To feel like you’re not even real.”
The words fall between us like shattered glass. And in that moment, I know she’s right. I’ve been so afraid of everything—of us, of the consequences—that I forgot she was real. That she wasn’t just some thing to hide away, tucked into the corners of my life where no one could see.
But now she’s here, raw and real, and she’s done pretending.
“Jinx, I’m sorry. I... I don’t want to lose you. Not like this.”
Her expression softens, just for a moment, but it’s not enough. Not enough to erase the hurt, the feeling that she’s already slipping through my fingers.
“Then stop making me feel like I’m nothing,” she says, her voice small, broken. “I’m not your fucking secret, Y/N. And I’m not some experiment you can toss aside when it gets too hard.”
I stand there, speechless, the weight of her words pressing down on me. And for the first time, I don’t know how to fix it.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿
Jinx
“Pow, please, it’s scary—”
Y/N’s face is all scrunched up, like she can’t decide if she’s going to cry or scream, her little hands clutched together like they’re trying to hold herself together. She’s always been like that, so gentle, so careful.
I don’t understand it then. I don’t understand why she’s scared, why she’s pulling away. All I want is to make her laugh, to make her stop being afraid. I just want to see that soft smile, the one she only gives me.
But it’s not happening.
“Don’t be a baby, Y/N.” My voice comes out harsh, too sharp, the kind of thing that cuts when it’s not meant to. But I don’t see it. I can’t see it.
Her lip trembles, and she takes a step back.
“Pow, I—I don’t like it when you do that.”
I laugh, but it’s bitter. “What? You don’t like it when I make you laugh? When I make you feel something?”
She shakes her head, eyes wide, like she’s suddenly seeing me for the first time. It’s like the ground is shifting beneath me, and I don’t know how to stop it.
“Pow…”
I don’t hear her. I’m already moving, already too far gone in my head to care about her feelings. The world around me is spinning, and I’m trapped in it, my thoughts fraying. I want to push her, make her laugh again, make her stop being scared.
But instead, I see it. I see her, backing away from me, her small hands held up like shields, like I’m the thing she’s afraid of.
“Stop,” she whispers, so softly, so quietly, but it cuts deeper than anything she could’ve yelled at me.
And I freeze.
Because I’ve broken her.
“Y/N…”
“I can’t... be your friend anymore, Powder.”
Her words hit harder than any slap. They feel like they’re carving into me, leaving jagged pieces behind.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Nothing that makes sense. I can’t fix it. I can’t make it better.
And she’s already gone.
I watch her walk away, and I can feel the walls closing in. My heart is pounding in my ears, and all I want is to reach out, to stop her, but my legs won’t move.
She’s gone.
And I never knew how to make her stay.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵
The sound of my breathing is jagged—too loud—and I can’t catch it, like I’m suffocating on it.
It’s all I can hear. I’m drowning in it, in every breath that feels too thick, too wrong.
The walls are closing in.
The room is too small.
Too tight.
My chest—fuck—feels like someone’s wrapped their hands around my ribs and is squeezing, squeezing until I can’t take it anymore.
No—
I try to inhale, but my lungs are—they’re full of nothing.
I’m gasping, barely breathing, struggling to get air, struggling to stop my heart from exploding out of my chest.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
The thoughts start coming, jagged, violent, louder and louder, and I can’t escape them.
They’re fucking everywhere, stabbing me in the head like knives, ripping through my mind like a hurricane.
You fucked up. You always fuck up.
She’ll never love you.
I scream—louder, but it’s not enough.
It’s not enough to drown out the voices.
God, it’s not enough.
I can’t think.
I can’t feel anything but this, this overwhelming pressure, this suffocating weight pressing down on me, crushing me, until I’m nothing but a pile of shaking limbs.
I claw at my face, trying to make it stop, but the tears—they won’t stop.
Hot, fast, stinging, falling in streams I can’t control. My skin’s crawling.
I’m so fucking hot, like I’m burning alive, but then I feel cold, too cold, like I’m freezing from the inside out.
I scream again, a primal, ugly sound, and my hands shake so violently that they’re hitting the floor, knocking things over.
I don’t know what’s real anymore.
The walls are spinning. The floor is spinning.
I can’t make it stop.
Why didn’t you say it? Why didn’t you fight for her?
You fucked up.
I’m on my knees now, rocking back and forth, my body jerked with each shudder, each scream, each thought crashing through my skull.
I can’t stop moving. I can’t stop anything.
She doesn’t care.
YOU’RE NOTHING.
I can’t breathe. I clutch my chest, fingers digging into my skin, feeling the panic, the fire, the ice, the suffocating, overwhelming nothing that’s making me fucking disappear.
Why didn’t you just leave her alone?
You don’t matter. You never mattered.
I can’t hold it together. I can’t fix it. I can’t do anything but shake, scream, hurt.
And the voices—they’re fucking louder.
No one loves you!
You're a fucking mess!
I pull at my hair, tears streaming, gasping between sobs, but nothing helps. The world is spinning, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to make it stop.
I scream again, thrashing, but there’s no relief. There’s nothing.
I’m drowning.
I’m drowning.
I close my eyes, wishing I could just stop, wishing I could just disappear. Anything. Anything to make it stop.
But it never does.
It never fucking stops.
.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.☁︎
authors note: so the honeymoon phase wasn't for long, but there will be a very nice reconciliation
please like and reblog <3
also timebomb fic is out, if you like mary janes so far, it's a similar writing style and setting so go check it out :)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/62833570/chapters/160875787
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kechiwrites · 11 months ago
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toxic baby daddy!ghost x reader
part 7/8
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synopsis: two weeks into your uneasy truce, simon gets introspective.
wc: 811
cw: afab!reader, angst, banter that becomes arguing, hurt and the tiniest bit of comfort, language, trust issues, simon's pov, no gendered language. no use of y/n ever.
author’s note: well, we back at it, the second last installment of this verse. i'll still take requests/thots for it of course, but soon we'll get closure for these two. for now, simon's thoughts on their situation.
new to baby blue? start here.
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It’s disarming. 
And Simon Riley doesn’t like being disarmed. He doesn’t like being caught off guard, off kilter, unstable. 
It’s been happening more and more often though.
When you and Tommy look at him in perfect unison, he is struck stupid by your eyes, like you copy and pasted them onto your son. His son. His kid. His perfect, funny kid. Unmuddied by everything bad in the world. His life is pancakes and dinosaurs and that horrible fucking tv show that he’s sure rots his little mind. His life is you. Your smiles, your laugh, your cooking, your hugs. Things Simon cheated himself of when he walked out on you, choked with fear and bleeding misery.
Simon is disarmed, totally fucking helpless, a veritable babe in the woods when you let him hold you. When for the first time, in a long ass time, he gets to watch your lids flutter closed and slip into unconsciousness, in that quick, carefree way he’s always envied. 
He barely sleeps, even less so lately. 
After all, no sleeping meant no nightmares. No cloying, choking smoke-like fears reaching for the frayed edges of his subconscious. No sleeping meant he couldn’t play on your kindness, your goodness, and guilt you into holding him back when he woke up screaming, sweating, no matter how bad he wanted it.
It’s two weeks later. Two weeks after sleeping together but not sleeping together. After breakfast and an uneasy truce. Two weeks after kissing you and touching you and holding you like you both had all the time in the world. 
You’re not in a good mood. And he knows that. But he pushes you anyway, pokes and prods you even as you slam through your kitchen, noisily pulling out a pot and a huge bag of pasta shells.
“Let’s talk.” He approaches, arms crossed, full kit traded in for a skull emblazoned cloth mask, jeans and a threadbare black t-shirt, one he’d found in your bedroom days ago, stashed in the back your drawer, crumpled in a wrinkled ball, like you didn’t want to see it, but you didn’t want to trash it either. He’s been doing that lately, staying over for days and rifling through your shit, finding old relics and artifacts from a time neither of you can let go of. An old mask, a hat, t-shirts.
So many goddamn t-shirts.
“Talk?” you snort derisively, filling the pot with water. He watches you test the water with your fingertips and curse under your breath, mumbling something about shit pipes. When the pot is full, you turn to face him, lips curled, sneering. “I wasn’t aware you were capable of that. Thought you just communicated in grunts.”
“You’re funny. That's new.” He jabs, advancing in the conversation much faster than he should have, comforted in familiar territory, finding solace in what used to be commonplace for you, banter, barbs, teasing. The tense set of your shoulders should’ve warned him off it, should’ve told him you’d take it as well as a bullet in the back. But God help him, he’ll take whatever you give.
“Mm.” Your tone is casual but your answering nod is jerky, too fast, “Yeah, I developed a sense of humour when I realized our relationship had been a joke.” You slam the pot onto a burner, giving him your back. 
The air is suddenly devoid of mirth, utterly obliterated where it had been floating between you before. Now the living room and kitchen are a smoking crater, an oil rig on fire, a disaster site. 
He’s never been more grateful for his son’s propensity to nap like he’s dead.
Neither of you say anything. Simon is waiting for you to say something, to dress him down, but when you lower your head and sigh, heavy and deep with pain and exhaustion he planted within you, Simon withers. He slinks back to the living room and drops himself onto your couch. 
You wait, he’s not sure what for. He used to be so good at preempting your actions, your thoughts, your words, now he handles you like you’re a venomous reptile, looking for exposed, vulnerable flesh to strike, to bite.
You set down the glass you’d been drinking from hard. And he’s surprised you didn’t crack it.
“What do you want, Simon?” Question of the goddamn century, it is. And you’ve asked it of him plenty of times. But he never has an answer, can never really deduce just what the fuck he’s doing here, with you. With Tommy. Playing a game? Playing a role? Punishing you? Himself? All of it could be true, but none of it seems right. 
“I want to try.”
All he knows is that before this, four years seemed like a short time, nothing really. But now?
It’s an eternity. Reflected back to him in broken glass, in half full drawers, in his son’s eyes. 
In yours.
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comments + tags + reblogs are so appreciated
oh simon...what do you want?
series masterlist here
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cupidbedsy · 18 days ago
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emma ! Congrats on 1k !! I'm so happy for you ! Mwah !
can I get🪻with the prompt "Stop giving me hope. It hurts so much more." for Luke Hughes please !
How about the reader and Luke dating but he's going to Jersey so they decide to end things, but Luke just keeps giving reader hope. Maybe it ends with one showing up to the others place?
but, if you get another idea feel free to do it ! 🫶🏼🧡
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✿ CUPID'S FLORAL SHOP ✿
here's a freshly picked lonely lavender 🪻 !
warnings: breakup, reader not really trying to fight for the two of them
word count: 774
florist cupid: thank you ana 😚 i hope you enjoy some little lukey angst mhm
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both of you knew it was going to happen soon, between the rumors online and between the talks luke's been having, you knew it was coming up but neither of you wanted to be the first to bring it up.
so for two weeks, you acted like everything was normal: hanging out in your rooms watching movies, going out on date nights, and taking late-night drives around campus.
but soon the anxiety started to eat at you, not knowing what your future was going to be like once he left, if you two would make it through the two years you still had to be in michigan.
luke could see it tearing you down every time you guys hung out, you bit your lip more than usual, went from leaning into his hugs to scooting away from him a second later, short text messages, the lot.
the lack of communication between you two was putting a damper on any hope you could have had for your relationship after he went to new jersey, and now? maybe you weren't so sure if you should continue this.
you showed up to his place after your last class of the day. you knew he didn't have practice and it was uncommon for you to come by unannounced, everyone had gotten used to you walking in, saying your quick greetings and then making your way to luke's room without another word.
you knocked softly on his door, twisting the handle once you heard his familiar 'come in'. you walked in, setting your bag on the ground near the door and made your way over to his bed, sitting on it.
"hey baby."
you internally cringed at how happy he looked, he had been putting on a brave face for the both of you these past few weeks. as much as he wanted this to work out and keep you by his side for the rest of his life, he knew he couldn't, but maybe he would change your mind.
"hi."
there was no mistaking luke's frown when he heard your soft voice, almost as if you were scared all the words would tumble out as soon as you opened your mouth.
"what's wrong?"
you took a deep breath before speaking, "i don't think i can do this anymore."
"what do you mean?"
"i mean that you're going away soon and i don't know if i can do this whole long-distance thing. you're going to be busy with practice and games and i'll be busy with homework and exams and i just- i'm scared we'll get too engrossed in our lives and forget about each other."
"i wouldn't forget you, y/n/n-"
"luke... maybe it's for the best. maybe we need to focus on ourselves and just not worry about putting each other on the back burner."
"sweetheart, i would never put you on the back burner. you're the most important person in my life, i'm always going to put you first." he reached for your hand, taking it in his larger ones, warmth radiating through you.
tears pricked your eyes and you did everything in your power to keep them in, but as soon as one fell, the others were quick to follow.
you shook your head at his words as they finally registered in your mind, "luke we can't. we're going to get so busy and-"
"i'm going to do everything i can to make sure you feel like i want you in my life, because i do, baby. nothing, not even 600 miles, is going to change that."
your voice cracked as you spoke again, "stop giving me hope, lukey. it hurts so much."
luke could feel his heartbreak at both your words and your voice crack. slowly he released your hand, nodding as you stood up and walked toward your bag.
no more words were spoken between you two, just the unspoken agreement that the past year and a half were nothing more than a memory now.
━。゜✿ ゜。━
two days later and luke was gone, in new jersey and all you were left was the deep pit in your stomach of guilt and sadness. you missed him, much more than you thought you would and much more than you wished you would.
you were so overwhelmed with the guilty feeling that you couldn't help your impromptu trip to new jersey. and now here you were, standing in front of jack's apartment getting ready to knock.
but just as you were about to rap your knuckles against the door, the door opened and you were met with the face of your boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend.
"y/n?"
"luke."
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back to the shop ! ; navigation !
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sexy-monster-fucker · 9 months ago
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Lover’s Quarrel
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Lee Russell x Reader
Summary: Reader is the third Vice Principal of North Jackson High. She often finds herself fighting with Lee Russell. Tension builds until it finally breaks.
CW: cussing because duh it’s Lee Russell, p in v, creampie, biting(?), Lee being a panty thief,
~~~
You sat alongside your two coworkers watching some of the kids practice for the pep rally. Neal Gamby and Lee Russell, your fellow Vice Principals. Only a few weeks back they had dragged you along for some harebrained scheme to get the new Principal, Dr. Belinda Brown, fired. Breaking into her home, resulting in Russell loosing it and burning her entire house down. You were in the thick of it with them now, no turning back.
Gamby and Lee argued back and forth about what the next plan was to ensure Belinda Brown was no more. You were halfway zoned out not much caring for their petty bickering.
“I can’t help both of you pussed out on me and ran,” Lee scoffed at Gamby. “You can’t be serious right now, what did you want us to go up in flames with the house?” Gamby rolled his eyes.
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Lee began talking through his teeth, “I’m talking about how we were gonna highjack her car too, Gamby! Could’ve burnt that shit down right in the school parking lot!”
“I think burning her new house down was far enough, Lee,” you finally chimed in.
“Yeah, dumbass. Don’t you think we would’ve been caught then?!” Gamby leaned in.
“She has kids, Lee. We’ve already made them homeless,” you sat up straight rolling your shoulders.
“You two are no fun!” Lee rolled his eyes, “Too invested in her personal life and shit. I don’t give a fuck about her! Neither should you, little miss sensitive.”
“That’s rich coming from someone with a detailed binder on every single faculty member in this building,” you stood up.
“Yeah!” Gamby pointed a finger in his face, “You’re the one who’s invested!”
“Shut the fuck up, Gamby,” Lee scrunched his face up at him. Lee’s eyes followed you as you walked down the bleachers.
“Where the fuck are you goin’, prissy pants?” Lee stood up behind you.
“Anywhere where I don’t have to hear your dumbass complain,” you turned around and threw your arms up.
“You always are the first one to back out on anything! Can’t even commit to a conversation with us,” Lee crossed his arms.
“Ooo a lovers quarrel,” Gamby teased.
“Shut Up, Gamby!” You both spoke together.
Lee began walking down the bleachers towards you. This just pissed you off worse.
It had almost always been like this with you and Lee. Small bickerings that were normally wrapped up with some flirting. All your coworkers constantly teased you both about fighting like an old married couple. Lee was different when you were alone. Staying late to help you with some paperwork that you could’ve done yourself, deeply complimenting you, always making an excuse to invite you into his office or himself into yours, lingering touches between you. Things had changed since Dr. Brown joined the faculty. Lee was sassier than ever. No longer willing to be any form of helpful, just hanging around throwing off-hand insults towards anyone and everyone. It had been growing old. You were sick of constant negativity pouring from him.
You headed down the stairs of the bleachers walking as fast as you could away from him.
“What’s the matter with you?” Lee rushed behind you, his hard steps echoing on the metal stairs. You ignored him, continuing forward. “I thought this was like our thing! Just some back and forth, what’s the big deal?” Lee scoffed.
“I’m not in the mood for this today, Lee,” you rolled your eyes refusing to look back at him. He was hot on your heals.
“What are you on your period or something?” Lee joked.
That was it. That sent you over the edge.
"Oh, sweet God, Lee! You're being a fucking asshole!" You stormed off into the nearby woods. The area in which old school supplies got dumped, also where Lee often took his smoke break.
"Me the asshole? You're the one actin' like a royal bitch right now!" Lee followed closely behind you.
That struck a nerve.
"What the fuck did you just say?"
Lee stood before you, hands on his hips, mouth hanging awkwardly open and eyes wide. He stammered slightly shaking his head.
"Nothing," he threw his hands up doing a circle step.
"No- Go ahead, Russell. Since you want to be so brave, tell me what you said!"
"You're the one that called me an asshole," he mumbled.
"Because you are an asshole! That's all you've ever been and all you'll ever be! A self obsessed, egotistical asshole!" You grunted as you spun around, leaning your arm against a tree.
"Oh, now look whose name callin'!" Lee stomped.
"You act all sweet and friendly to the staff, then do everything in your power to stab them in the back. Laughing and jokin' at the lunch table, pretending to be one of them. Well you aren't! You're a fucking psychopath who loves to pull everyone down with him! You're a sicko with a power trip, Russell!"
Lee scoffed at you, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
"FUCK YOU, LEE RUSSELL!" You got into his face pointing at him.
Lee cocked his head to the side. His hands found both sides of your face, crashing his lips into yours. You were stunned and extremely aroused. You sunk into the kiss full force, your body melting into Lee's grasp.
"You've got a dirty mouth on you, Ms. L/N," Lee flashed a toothy grin at you.
"You have no idea," you chuckled to yourself.
"Fuck, me. I like the sound of that," he pressed his lips back into yours, backing you into the tree you had leaned on prior. You exchanged spit as your tongues tussled, sloppy kissing being shared. Lee's lips found their way to your neck, biting and sucking at it. "Don't be fucking greedy," you breathed out.
"I'll do whatever I want," he kissed your skin, biting down a little harder than before. A small moan escaped you feeling his teeth dance along your skin. You wanted him badly.
Lee pulled you away from the tree, escorting you over to the mattress on the ground. A little gross, but you could not care right now. "Let's hurry things along a little, I've got an evaluation in an hour," Lee helped you onto the mattress, crawling on top of you. A prominent tent pitched in his tight khakis. "You really know how to make a girl feel special, dontcha Russell?"
"Oh, shut up," Lee kissed your lips. He ran a hand down your body, sliding under your skirt, finding your clothed core. His fingers began making circles against your sensitive nub. Your hips jolted forward at the sudden friction. Your eyes shot up to him. "Did you think I was gonna be the only one getting off here?" Lee looked at you with a cocky grin. You ran both hands up his body, tugging him down by his tie.
"Fuck me, Lee," you fluttered your eyes at him.
"Don't have to ask me twice, sweetheart," Lee began pulling himself from his pants. You shimmied your panties down your legs, cool air hit your soaking core. Lee's eyes stared up your skirt, mouth hanging open admiring your sex. Your eyes finally caught his fully erect cock, his hand grasped around it stroking himself. Your face flushed. Lee got in position, lining himself up with your opening. He eased himself in, the tip stretching you first. Lee’s eyes stared down at yours, lust written all over his face.
He continued easing his way inside you, giving you time to adjust to him. He found himself fully inside you, both of you breathing loud and heavy. He stayed for a moment not ready to begin moving. He gently pulled himself back before aggressively thrusting back into you. A moan fell from you.
"Ah, fuck. Has a pussy this good seriously being hidin' from me this whole time?" Lee threw his head back as he continued thrusting into you. His cocked stretched you just right.
"Should've bent you over my desk by now. Fucked you in the teacher's lounge. Hell, I'll fuck you on my future Principal's desk," Lee grinned ear to ear.
"You mean my future desk," you scowled at him.
"Whatever gets you to let me keep fucking you," Lee leaned his head against you. He squinted his eyes savoring the feeling of you around him. He had not been fucked in a longtime, let alone by someone as good as you.
Lee's hips rocked into you consistently quick, your head rested back on the mattress. He felt extremely good inside you, even if that mouth of his was not doing him any favors. He leaned down placing a wet kiss on your lips, his hand creeping down your body and finding your sensitivity again. His name was a soft moan on your lips. You felt your orgasm inching through your body his fingers working absolute magic on you. You were breathless.
“I wanna cum in you, okay?” Lee whispered in your ear. You nodded aggressively. You knew you would unwind any minute now. Lee’s hips grew sloppy and unrhythmic as he began chasing his high. Praises flowed from him as he threw his head back, his fingers finally sending you over the edge. Your walls fluttered around him, a loud moan escaping you. Lee’s body fell flush with yours, his hips snapping into you. “Fuck, Y/N, you have the perfect pussy,” he moaned in your ear. Ropes of him shot inside you, his hips sputtering trying to get as deep inside you as possible. His lips pressed into yours hard. One of his hands cupped your cheek, Lee admired you, being tender with you for only a moment.
“Goddamn, Y/N! That was— Fuck, great,” Lee chuckled awkwardly trying to catch his breath. You ran your hand through Lee’s hair, his eyes softening for a moment. Lee pulled out of you hesitantly. Deep down he wished you could stay like this forever. He would never admit it publicly, but he really liked you. You both sighed. He rolled over to be on the mattress beside you.
You sat up, searching for your panties that had been discarded earlier. “Where’d my underwear go?”
Lee laughed. He patted his chest, “Don’t you worry about those, I’m sure you have plenty more at home.” Your whole body flushed with heat when you realized what he was saying.
“You’re seriously going to make me walk around the rest of the day with no underwear?” You half smiled at him.
“Goddamn right I am. Make sure every time you sit down you remember what happened out here,” Lee laughed, standing up and reaching his hand out to you. You took it, he pulled you to your feet. Your chest was flush against his, you looked up at him. You pressed a kiss to his lips quickly. You saw a slight pink hue rise on his cheeks. Lee’s hands were on your hips, heavy brown eyes staring into yours. A faint smile painted his face.
The bell rang in the distance.
Lee’s eyes shot up to the school behind you. “Uh— Guess we outta get back to work,” he placed a tiny peck on your cheek. You smiled as he walked ahead of you, one of his hands reaching behind him for yours. You intertwined fingers with him, getting a satisfied look over his shoulder. He led you out of the trees, the field that was previously full of loud cheering students was now empty. No one was outside. At least, that’s what you thought. Lee spun around, planting another kiss on your lips. A goofy grin painting his face.
“RUSSELL!”
You both jumped slightly hearing Neal Gamby’s voice echoing through the air.
“Jesus Christ,” Lee sighed as he turned around to face him.
“What the fuck were you guys doing out there? You know we have to monitor the halls during class changes! Plus you guys forced me to have ‘small talk’ with Bitch Brown!” Gamby folded his arms over his chest.
“No need to get your nutsack twisted, Gamby. We just needed to plan out our next attack,” Lee flicked him in the shoulder walking past him to the school.
“I’m supposed to be involved in all conversations about this!” Gamby protested.
You laughed and rolled your eyes, following closely behind Lee. Turning to make a face at Gamby as you headed inside.
“You guys suck,” Gamby mumbled as he hustled to catch up with you.
You and Lee walked side by side inside the building, occasionally bumping into each other. Exchanging small smiles back and forth. Continuously grazing hands, longing to interlock fingers again.
Save that for another time.
~~~
[END]
~ Thank you for reading! This is my first time writing for Lee Russell so I hope you enjoyed it! I am currently on Episode 6(?) of Vice Principals and am absolutely obsessed. I will be more than happy to write more for Lee Russell if anyone has requests! If you want to be tagged in my future work let me know! ~
[TAGS]
@megangovier ~ @lacey-mercylercy ~ @dichromaniac ~ @toogaytofunctiondangit ~ @justme12200 ~ @aliisa-jones ~ @one-of-thewalkingdead ~ @madladysix ~
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robinsegghead · 8 months ago
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Danny's Daycare Part 7
[Master List]
   “This ain’t some weird trick, right?” Miguel asked for the fifth time since Danny had showed them their new place. Both boys had been shocked into silence upon entering the space, eventually following Danny around to see their rooms and bathroom.
            Shaking his head, Danny swallowed his bite of pizza. “I bought the building with the intention of giving the apartments to people who needed them. You guys need a safe place to stay.”
            Miguel eyed him warily, glancing at Jazz who’d been mostly quiet since they’d arrived, knowing they were overwhelmed. “We can’t stay here without pullin’ our weight. Wha’s rent like?”
            Danny hummed, considering. Jazz looked at him in shock, thinking he was actually planning on charging the boys rent. Finally, Danny wiped his hands of the pizza grease, folded them on the table, and looked at both boys seriously. “Here’s the deal I’m proposing. You two live here until you’re at least eighteen AND,” He emphasized the word, so they knew he was serious. “have graduated from high school. That’s it. That’s the rent. You’ll be paying me back by getting an education.”
            “But tha’s ridiculous!” Santiago shouted, clearly torn between confusion and hope. “Nobody gives nothin’ out for free! It just ain’t done!”
            Sitting back, Danny contemplated what he’d need to say to help them understand his intentions. Jazz met his gaze and gave him a subtle nod, knowing what he was thinking about doing. “My parents,” Danny started. Jazz stood up, clearing away trash and dishes as he told a story neither wanted to relive. “didn’t pay me or my sister much attention.”
            That was a safe start right? He didn’t need to explain the whole ghost thing or that they tortured him, just a bit of background. “They forgot my seventh birthday, too caught up in work to be bothered and after that it wasn’t occasional forgetfulness. Most days they didn’t know where I was, what I was up to, how I was doing in school, who my friends were, because they were too busy to care.
            “That put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders and even more on my sister’s. She basically raised me.” He dipped his head in her direction as she put away the leftovers. “In my freshman year my grades began to suffer, and I struggled with really bad anxiety, but I didn’t have parents to help me with that, because they didn’t really know me as a person.”
            Taking in a deep breath, Miguel looked between the Nightingales. “What’s that gotta do with us, though?”
            “My sister, who spent her entire childhood taking care of everyone but herself,” He added with a smirk. “likes to remind me that I can’t help everyone, as much as I might try. But,” the two boys were watching him closely, absorbing his every word. “I can help some people. And I can help you. Don’t tell Jazz but I’m always trying to be more like her. And I think, if she had the resources I do, that she’d help you guys out.
            “Let me help a couple of siblings who don’t have parents looking out for them.” Danny pleaded. “Please.”
            Miguel and Santiago had a silent conversation, the air hung heavy in the room as they seemed to come to a decision. “A’ight man, you seem chill.” Miguel shrugged, the rest of the tension leaving his body. 
            It didn’t take long after that for the boys to start showing how tired they were. Jazz grabbed her stuff and headed out with a ‘I’ll call you tomorrow, brother’ thrown over her shoulder. Danny reminded the boys that he was across the hall and one door down and that if there was an emergency they could use their emergency key to get into his place. They’d seemed surprised by that, but Danny reminded them that he was, essentially, their guardian now, and he was there if they needed him.
            “Tomorrow I’ll come by around ten and we can go get you guys some school supplies and anything else you want or need, yeah?” Danny asked, moving towards the door.
            Miguel was pushing Santiago towards his room like a good older brother. “Sure, sounds good.”
            For the first time in a while, Danny got a full night of sleep. This was the shocking realization he came to when he awoke to his alarm and felt rested. The first thing he did was search his fridge for food- he was starving- and remembered Red Hood’s little gifts. The chicken parm had been pretty good, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a home cooked meal, even if he did have to reheat it.
            Sticking the stew in a pot, Danny began the process of reheating another Red Hood MealTM and planned out the day mentally. They’d need to get some basic school supplies to start working on tutoring, they’d get more specific items when school actually started, but for now, calculators, notebooks, pens, pencils, and some workbooks would be fine.
            After that they’d need to get the boys each a phone and at least one computer for them to share. It would be necessary for school anyways, hopefully he could convince them to just let him buy them each a laptop but that might be difficult.
            Although it was Saturday, and he planned on Saturdays being tutoring days, Danny didn’t plan on working on any school stuff once they got home. They would certainly be overwhelmed by everything else going on and didn’t need one more thing to add to it. Plus, Danny needed to figure out exactly how to teach these kids everything they needed to know. 
            Had they ever gone to school? If so, what level had they gotten to? What were their learning styles? Who would he bring in to teach the subjects he sucked at? Like English- Danny was bad at the arts. English, Social sciences, even history, he wasn’t very good at. 
            Shaking his head, he dished out the stew and tried not to get caught up on the details. He was winging it, and maybe that was a bad thing when it came to kids, but it was better than what they’d had going on before, so he wouldn’t be too hard on himself.
            (Who was he kidding? Danny was only ever hard on himself, and he only ever piled the work on until he was buried under an avalanche of paperwork and drama.)
            The boy seemed almost surprised when he knocked on their door at ten AM sharp.
            “You have a key, y’know.” Santiago muttered, closing the door behind Danny.
            Danny frowned. “This is your home, Santiago. I’m not using my key unless there’s an emergency.” He offered a smile to Santiago’s contemplative face, before clapping his hands together. “All right, where’s that brother of yours?”
            The younger boy frowned. “He wasn’t feeling too good.” Right. Because stab wounds don’t heal quickly, not for normal people- Danny you can’t just forget things like that! “Said we should go without ‘im.” 
            “Well that won’t do.” Danny sighed. “We need to get those supplies, but I don’t want to go without Miguel, do you?” Santiago shook his head hesitantly. “Then it’s settled. We will simply order everything we need and when Miguel’s feeling better we can go out. Have you eaten yet?”
            Santiago shrugs, not meeting Danny’s eyes. So that’s a no. Without another word, Danny begins searching the fridge and cupboards for what he needed. He wasn’t much of a cook, there was a reason he hadn’t had a homemade meal in a long time, but he could do pancakes, and he knew he’d bought the ingredients for it too.
            The younger boy just watched, silently, as Danny began measuring out flour. 
            “So,” Danny started, immediately regretting it and feeling just as awkward as he was in high school. “I did my best to get you guys the necessities. I don’t want to overwhelm you, but when I say that you can ask for anything, I mean anything.” He emphasized his words by looking Santiago directly in the eye until the boy looked away. “If you want a TV, tools for a hobby, books, literally anything, you just have to ask.”
            The boy licked his lips, still not making eye contact but at least he nodded. They’d work on it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?
            Danny tried again. “What do you do for fun, Santiago?”
            The boy shrugged again, leaning against the counter and watching Danny closely.
            “So you… want to help me?” He asked, hesitantly, maybe he was reading the boy wrong. But before he could rescind the offer or change the subject, the boy nodded slowly, moving closer to Danny. “Okay, first things first, you gotta wash your hands.”
            The morning was filled with the smell of fresh pancakes and the quiet conversation between Danny and Santiago. At one point Miguel ventured out of his room and Danny gave him a stack of pancakes, drawing him into the conversation. Early afternoon Miguel moved from the living room back to his room to take a nap but not before Danny could change his bandages. There was something incredibly domestic about it. Danny didn’t think too hard about it.
            He let Santiago help him pick out some school supplies online as well as a phone case and anything else that caught his eye- including a TV which Santiago assured him he ‘didn’t need especially because it had been three years since he’d seen a movie so what was even the point?’ which Danny thought was code for ‘a television is an absolute necessity’. 
He bought the TV. 
~~~
            The rest of the weekend was spent making sure the boys felt comfortable and Miguel was healing well. He made an appointment with Dr. Thompkins for the following Saturday to check up on the boy and maybe get his stitches out depending on how everything was looking- Danny wasn’t a great judge of such things on humans anymore. 
            He’d pushed his own organs back inside himself, held his chest closed, snapped bones back into place-
            Humans were fragile.
            He was somewhat grateful he wasn’t that fragile anymore- though he was sporting a rather purple bruise under his left eye from yet another power nap. (He’d thought those were gone after his restful Friday night but apparently not.) It was fine, the bruise would be gone within a day or so and he’d be more careful to take his power naps on sleeping surfaces instead of while standing.
            Miguel had insisted they’d be fine; that Danny didn’t need to take another day off of work to watch over them, and Danny (who’d promised not to act like their parent) had agreed. Still, he left a clone in his apartment to be there in case of an emergency. 
Anxiety was a feeling Danny was familiar with, after much introspection in his adult life he’d come to the conclusion that he’d had anxiety since he was seven, but anxiety relating to children he was responsible for on this level was new, and terrifying. Of course he’d felt responsible for all of the people in Amity Park, and all of the ghosts he came across, but never had he been so completely responsible for the safety of two children who had no one else to depend on. 
 How he got into this situation escaped him. He’d never cared much for kids- Jazz said him not wanting kids was because he’d never been allowed to be a kid in the first place- and yet, here he was, with a daycare, four cats, and now two teenagers dependent on him. 
Ancients help him…
When he got to the daycare there were already two families waiting outside to drop their kids off- should he open earlier? Quickly, he unlocked the doors, turned the power on, and signed the kids in for the day. He had a couple of hours before Mia showed up (and Ember had already told him she wouldn’t be coming in for a few days) so he cloned himself to entertain Clara, Maru, and Benji while he looked over paperwork.
It never ended.
There was a steady increase in kids, Danny had to get rid of his clone every time someone new showed up and then reclone himself after they left, and by the time Mia arrived he was managing fourteen kids by himself. Sort of. Obviously, with clones, he was fine albeit a little tired, but once Mia showed up it was just the two of them.
Nap time couldn’t come soon enough.
“They’re all out cold.” Mia whispered, closing the door to the nap room. “You look like you also need a nap.”
He dropped an armful of toys into the toy bin and sighed. “A nap sounds good but I can’t. I need to finally finish setting up the website for this place so we can hopefully start getting applications online.” He paused, feeling Mia’s concerned gaze on his back. “I want to extend the hours of this place.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was. Two families were waiting at the door this morning because we didn't open early enough for their needs.” He rubbed a tired hand across his brow and leaned against the nearest desk. “So… I need to hire some more people to maintain not only the hours we already have that are abysmally understaffed, but to open earlier. I haven’t been able to accept any new families recently either, we just can’t safely take care of anymore kids without more staff.”
Mia pursed her lips. “School’s just about out. I’ll be graduating and looking to work a bit more. I was going to bring it up anyways, but I’d like to work full time.”
He nodded, pulling out his phone to order food. “I can do that. You want to work earlier or later? And what do you want for lunch?”
“Earlier is better, Mama and I switch off cooking dinner so I don’t want to be home too late. What are you thinking? Thai kind of sounds good.” Mia took her usual spot in a bean bag towards the entrance of the room and pulled out the monitor set up to watch the kids.
Before Danny could respond, the bell rang. He and Mia shared looks, no one ever showed up in the middle of the day- not unless it was a last minute emergency. Mia made to move but Danny shook his head, and set his phone down. Someone needed to watch the kids while he saw who had shown up so late.
What he’d expected was a frazzled parent with a child, hoping to leave them here for a few hours because their babysitter had fallen through or they got called into work or some other reason most parents had.
What he did not expect to see was the very tall, very well built, Red Hood, holding a tupperware container. Before he could get a word out- which he wasn’t sure wouldn’t have simply been some kind of ‘wha?’ Red Hood tilted his head.
“Do you not eat or something?”
“Huh?”
Hood offered the food container. “Cause I’ve left you food a few times now and every time the old stuff is still there. If you think it’s poisoned I can take a bite first to prove it’s not.”
Danny’s jaw hung open, face screwed up in confusion, not really knowing what he was supposed to say. “Uh… I’ve been busy…” He took the container trying to ignore the stupid flutter in his stomach when their fingers brushed and noted how warm it was. “I had the chicken parmesan the other day and… uh the stew as well. They were really good- why are you leaving me food?”
The vigilante shrugged, hands on hips (which Danny tried very hard not to look at). “Think of it as a thank you for-” He glanced at the closed door. “What you did when we met. If you told people it was you I wouldn’t be the only person thanking you.”
Shaking his head, Danny set the container down. “You- YOU are thanking me for kill-” He looked at the door again. “For what happened?”
“Why’d you say it like that?”
Why’d he say it like that? Why’d he say it like that? “You- I-” Danny shut his mouth before he could accidentally reveal he’s the King of the Infinite Realms and that he had always wanted to meet the Red Hood to thank HIM. “No reason. Uh… well, you don’t have to do that, you know, if you don’t want to. I mean- it’s really good though! I appreciate it!”
A thought occurred to him. “How did you know I worked here?”
It was difficult to tell exactly what expression Hood was making sometimes, but he was pretty sure the bastard was smirking as he turned away and pushed the door open, pausing in the entrance. “It’s my job to find people of interest- and you are certainly a person of interest.”
Danny might have died again just a little bit.
~~~
  Miguel POV
It had been a week since he and Santi had moved into the apartment Danny had provided for them. A week since he’d been stabbed. Doc Thompkins had said he was healing well at the check up he’d had the night prior and he felt like he was. The first few days had been… frustrating. He’d moved into an entirely new place and instead of being able to assess the situation, search for threats, create escape plans, he’d been stuck in bed, eating homemade pancakes and taking washcloth baths.
Danny was… strange. He came over at least once a day, usually after work because he left so early in the mornings, and cooked a meal. Again, usually dinner because he came over in the evenings, but twice he’d come over, cooked dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and then cooked a meal for breakfast the following day before cleaning the kitchen again.
He asked about their days, what they needed, what they wanted, and didn’t act like their dad. It was refreshing and surprising but not once did Danny scold them, lay down ground rules, or try to tell them what to do. He acted like a friend.
Miguel hadn’t had a friend in a long time.
So on Friday night when Danny came over to make dinner and asked if Miguel felt well enough to go shopping the following day, he’d agreed. Well, he’d argued a bit- they didn’t need anything else Danny had given them more than he’d ever be able to repay! But the man was insistent that they needed more clothes and he wanted them to pick them out so he knew they actually liked them.
That’s how he found himself in a clothing store in the diamond district feeling wildly out of place trying on dozens of items of clothing. 
“How about this one?” Danny held a shirt up to Santiago who examined it closely, felt it between his fingers, grimaced, and shook his head cautiously. “Got it, no polyester.” Danny put it back and moved on. 
Miguel caught the incredulous look Santi sent his way and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Their father had been an angry man, one who didn’t take no for an answer and thought Santiago was trying to be difficult when he ‘acted special’. To say Miguel and Santiago were surprised that Danny accepted the no and moved on without any hint of anger was an understatement.
Danny held up a different shirt. “This one’s one hundred percent cotton.” Santi reached out carefully, felt the fabric, and nodded, a shy smile forcing its way onto his face. His brother pretended to be tough because that’s what the streets demanded from all who lived on them, but he’d always been a softy with a big brain and a bigger heart. If Miguel had been hesitant to accept Danny’s offer about school it had dissipated the second he thought of what it would mean for his brother’s future.
“I hope you’re finding some things for yourself, Miguel.” Danny teased.
Scoffing, Miguel held up the three shirts and two sweaters he’d picked out. “I know how to shop for clothes, Danny.”
Danny looked Miguel’s way with a retort clearly on the tip of his tongue, but his eyes were pulled away from Miguel and locked on someone else. “Damian?” He called, waving to someone a few aisles away.
Following the direction of Danny’s eyes, Miguel saw a boy about his age standing across the store. He wore a serious expression, not quite a scowl but close, and said something to the man next to him who was much older than the person Miguel thought was Damian. The pair made their way closer much to the boy’s disapproval.
Danny set down the clothes he’d been showing Santiago, and moved out of the aisles to greet Damian. “I thought that was you! Nice to see you again. I was actually going to let you know that Curiosity’s finished his meds and has made a full recovery!”
Ah. Danny had shown Miguel and Santiago his cats earlier in the week and mentioned that someone had been giving him advice on how to take care of them, especially the sick one. So this kid had been the one helping Danny?
“I’m glad I was able to be of assistance. The cats seem to be in good hands.” The boy dipped his head.
The older man gasped. “Why Dami- that was almost a compliment!” By the sound of his teasing, they were brothers. “I don’t know how you did it, but I think Damian might actually like you. My name’s Dick, by the way, pleasure to meet you.”
“On purpose?!” 
The group turned to Santiago who was still watching the entire encounter from where he’d been looking at shirts. His brother’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said and that he’d practically insulted a complete stranger based on their name. Luckily, Dick offered a smile and Danny laughed.
“Yes, on purpose.”
Danny held out his hand which Dick shook. “Danny Nightingale, Damian’s told me about you, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Dick’s eyes widened. “You told your friend about me?” 
“Tt. Relax Grayson, I simply mentioned you in passing. I didn’t think Nightingale would latch onto such information.”
Miguel exhaled quickly, suppressing a chuckle, but it was too late, he’d been noticed.
“Oh right! This is Miguel and Santiago.” Danny pointed at each of them and smiled. Miguel wished this encounter would be over. He didn’t enjoy meeting new people, it made his skin itch and his mouth dry out. As much as he disliked shopping for clothes and Danny spending way too much money on him, he disliked meeting new people even more. Danny seemed to sense this and did his best to finish things up. “We were just finishing up some clothes shopping before working on some stuff at home.”
Damian, sensing the dismissal, nodded once. “It was nice to see you again, Nightingale, do message me if you have any more animal related questions.” He grabbed Dick’s arm and began pulling him away, Dick grumbling about wanting to get to know Danny more as they left and Miguel released a sigh.
“Sorry guys.” Danny apologized. “Let’s finish up and get food on the way home, yeah?”
~~~
When they got home Miguel and Santiago put their bags in their rooms and joined Danny in the kitchen. He looked… exhausted. To be fair, they all did, but Danny hadn’t been homeless or recently stabbed (as far as Miguel was aware) so he didn’t really have a great excuse. Before he could say anything, Danny clapped his hands together.
“So I’m thinking while we eat lunch we can touch on some school stuff just for a bit, and then we can all relax.” Santiago straightened up a bit, some of the exhaustion disappearing from his face and Miguel couldn’t help but smile. As the boys grabbed their boxes of takeout Danny grabbed them drinks. He’d already learned that Miguel liked coke and Santiago liked grape juice and had continued to supply them both with it.
“I don’ know how you’re gonna catch us up on three years of schoolin’.” Miguel said honestly, Santiago’s shoulders drooped slightly.
Danny took a bite of his food and considered what Miguel said. That was something about him Miguel liked a lot. He always seemed to think before speaking- at least, when it was something important.
“Well I’m really good at math and science so I should be able to figure out a good way to catch you guys up, it’s the arts we have to worry about. English, history, that kind of thing. Now, tests suck, I know.” He took a sip of his coffee- he drank way too much of that stuff. “But I want you each to take a few placement tests so I can understand where you’re going to be starting. Then I’ll put together a plan to get you back to the levels you would be at before the entrance exams at Gotham Academy.”
Miguel groaned. “Man tests suck.”
“I know.” Danny assured. “But these aren’t graded. I don’t care how well you do, I want to know what you don’t know so I can help you learn it. This is a judgment free zone- always.” He looked at the two seriously, Miguel’s skin itched. “I’ll just have you take two today, how's that? And you can do the other two tomorrow while I plan around the ones you take today?”
That seemed fair. He thought it seemed fair. While taking the placement tests he wasn’t so sure anymore. His brain hurt almost immediately and he wondered why he was really doing this. He wasn’t going to pass high school, he’d never been very smart and when Danny realized he wasn’t smart enough to get a good job he’d just be back on the streets again. 
His brother let out a happy sound as he solved one of the science problems and moved onto the next one. 
Taking a deep breath, Miguel remembered why he was doing this. Just because he’d fail out and end up back on the streets didn’t mean his brother had to. His brother was smart, smarter than him, and he’d be damned if he held Santi back from getting into Gotham University someday.
He could do this. For Santi, he thought he could do anything.
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coleskingdom · 11 months ago
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Want Me To Prove It
Will Ospreay x F Reader
Minors DNI NSFW
@midwestmade29
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The tension between Will and I could be cut with a knife, the cat and mouse game had been fun, but I had made one snide remark and now I regretted ever saying it. The two of us had toyed with each other for weeks, the innuendos, then he had held a candy bar out of my reach, and the words that now haunted me when I said “ I don’t beg” his eyes flashed at the words, and a new game had begun.
“What do you mean we are sharing a room?” As he handed me a room key. “Why are you so nervous?” as he took my bag off my shoulder grazing my my arm as he did leading us towards the elevator. “ I’m not nervous just irritated, I don’t like sharing “ he stood behind me as he leaned in “Good neither do I” his low whisper felt on my neck I involuntarily shivered at his words.
I walked towards the room using the key to let us in. “ One bed seriously Will it’s one thing for us to be in a room together, but the same bed.” my eyes on his, “You’ve been in my bed before love, are you afraid I’m going to be a bit of naughty boy.” his grin made me weak in the knees. “ You’re not wrong but we’d watch a movie and then I’d go back to my room.” putting my phone down. “ Yeah and what would you do when you’d get back to your room?” his eyes on me, “Sleep Will, I’d go to sleep.” frustration and irritation in my voice, if he’d only knew the things I did and thoughts I had about him. Looking at him now though he looked as if he was reading my mind. “Y/N it’s one night, I’m just giving you a hard time, I’ll be a proper gentleman. I’m just giving you shit. I’m sorry if I took it too far.” his voice softer. “You’re fine, it’s me, I’m stressed and it’s been a rough day. It’s not your fault, I’m going to shower and get ready for bed.” reaching for my bag. “You haven’t eaten all day, I’ll order food, go shower, by the time you’re done. Food will be here and we can watch whatever you want.” he was always looking after me, but to be fair I was always looking after him as well.
I took a long shower psyching myself up that I was perfectly capable of sleeping next to that perfect man without it being an issue. He’s my friend, if I’m honest he’s my person. I put on my shorts and my favorite T-shirt, my hair in a messy bun my stomach in knots.
I opened the door, and there he was shirtless, and in those damn gray sweatpants that left nothing to the imagination. He brought in the food, and set it on the table, turning he sees me staring at him. “See something you want?” leaving the food and walking towards me my back against the wall.
“ I bet I can make you beg” Will’s eyes scanning me, my focus on his lips, where he’s peeking his tongue out a little bit.
“I don’t beg” my voice portraying confidence my body doesn’t feel as he leans in his elbows enclosing me against the wall
“ Want me to prove it then” his words were my undoing as he leans into kiss me, his lips softer than I had imagined. He pulls back slightly to see if he’s misread the situation. I close the last inch parting our lips, teasing his tongue for a second before he seizes control, dominating the moment the way he always does.Tasting, sucking, nipping, devouring me. "You think I'll get right into it, don't you?" he humorously hums in my mouth. "Love.. I haven't even started yet. You've no idea what you're getting into with me. I'll make you beg for more even while you're coming undone.”He nudges my chin with his nose, hot lips latching onto the delicate skin of my throat, sucking, pecking, biting between words. My mind focuses on him, every sense starved for his words and touch..
“Will, please" my eyes find his, “Please what? Tell me and I’ll give you what you need.”his mouth on my neck still, “ I want you, I need you, I b….” His hands move so fast that I’m naked and on the bed with him over me my hands on the waist band of the sweatpants tugging them down , he manages to kick them the rest of the way off.
"What do you taste like?" he muses.The question isn't aimed at me. More like he's voicing his own thoughts, twirling his tongue over my pebbled nipple. He toys the other between his fingers, pinching, rolling, and driving me wild.
Satisfied with my hips arching off the mattress, pleading for more, he grips my thighs, pushes my legs back, then rests my ankles over his shoulders. The first tiny kiss to my mound forces the air from my lungs.
"You're trouble," I sigh. "Stop teasing." “Teasing is the best part, sweet girl”
Spreading me with his thumbs, he licks me slowly, bottom to top, dragging the flat of his tongue up and over my clit. And then he sucks. Hard. The move lights up my body and my thighs quiver in time with a surprised gasp.”You taste like mine." I grasp his hair, forcing him back down, and feel him smile against me.
"Greedy... needy... pretty little thing." He punctuates every word with a thorough lick, and then... the show begins.
"Oh my," I mewl, fisting his hair.
"Will.” He doesn't respond with words.Instead, he slides one finger inside, timing the thrusts with the flicks of his tongue. He doesn't let me come when the orgasm looms close by. He eases off, kissing and biting my inner thigh as his hands knead my hips. He does it again but this time “ Sweet girl look at me, tell me how much you want to come.” eyes. “ Will please let me come.”His head drops down, torturing my clit with his tongue. I'm so ready for the orgasm it's mere seconds before it hits. I'm vaguely aware I've clamped my thighs around his head, holding him hostage as he licks me through the release.
"I've got you, love."He's suddenly closer, higher, his arms flush to my sides. He kisses me as in one long, slow thrust almost has me coming again. He drives himself home, letting out a low growl that forces my body into high alert.
"Fuck," he breathes, pressing his lips to my forehead. "So wet. So tight... so fucking mine.”His movements are slow, caring,tender. So slow so thorough that I feel every inch of him. His grip on my waist is nothing short of possessive. His thrusts calculated to drive me crazy. His light eyes filled with emotion, the pace is not frantic or mindless. Like with everything he does it builds to the moment every nibbling, biting kiss, every time he sinks into me, every push meticulous...as I come hard, tears fall from my eyes as I understand everything so clearly. Not changing the pace one bit as he drives himself home over again. The weight of his big body pinning me to the mattress magnifies how erotic this feels. How close we are. I feel him come inside me, the groan the restraint, the little moan as he buries his head in the crook of my neck.
My arms wraparound him keeping him there, for this moment it all makes perfect sense. I’m afraid of what I’ll see when the moment is over. “Darling“as he turns his head into the side of my neck. “Yeah” my words not knowing what’s coming next. He rolls off of me , laying on his side, “ hey look at me, you don’t get to hide from me. If we need to talk let’s talk.” His hand brushing my cheek “ what if? “ I began “ What if what?” his tone gentle “ What if all of this just made perfect fucking sense, and I don’t know if I can go back to how we were before?” I hear him let out his breath as I close my eyes realizing the absolute truth and vulnerability in my words. “Darling please open your eyes. Look at me, I don’t want to go back.”
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shirefantasies · 11 months ago
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Omg of course you can do something with the idea if you want! I don't mind at all and the fact you liked the idea so much makes me so happy💕
And I'm also fine with being called girl in like a gender neutral way yk like the same way people say guys to refer to everyone sometimes, so no worries with that either!
-🌱
YEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW with permission then I present.......
A Failure of Words- Haldir x GN!Reader
Warnings: brief implication of past trauma, GOOFY ELF CONTENT 😌🤙🏻
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“What are you going to do, then, shoot it down?”
And you had laughed at that. Was it really so funny? Complaining about a cloud and his brother suggests firing an arrow at it? Haldir scoffed. Surely your giggling was only to respond politely to their inane humor.
You had been excelling in your target practice of late, your skills with a bow increasing thanks to Haldir as much as his brothers, while Rúmil and Orophin were more to thank for your progress in Elvish. Necessity, of course, as he was the only one with any skills in Common, something you had initially bonded over. Yet somehow your simple bond with his brothers seemed...different. Had Haldir himself ever made you laugh so? Had he ever tried?
"Come, now," Orophin addressed you by name, "hit three more targets and we'll show you that old painting of our beloved Haldir!"
Grinning, you took up your weapon again, stretching some exertion from your muscles before you followed the others' motions toward the next dangling piece of chipped wood. Rolling his eyes, Haldir followed.
~
Rúmil struggled several times to pick up the roll he'd dropped, and upon final success at lifting it he thrashed about as if the thing was fighting back. Again you laughed, a hand falling to the table you sat at.
"My father used to do that too- it's as if you knew! I had no idea you two were so funny. I suppose Haldir is the serious one," you teased, gaze shifting to the eldest brother.
All this time he'd thought of them as the ridiculous ones more than himself an outlier. They had not been promoted, neither had bothered to learn the common tongue, both preferred an aimless life in the trees to the ambitions of the world, protection of what they held dear. Not that they couldn't fight, but... Was Haldir himself the outcast? Heart sinking, he gazed around the table, taking in how easily conversation flowed between you and his brothers. Like the breeze. Haldir was the one who had accepted you when you first came to Lothlórien as a refugee, fought for an outsider to stay despite his usual prejudices. The torture you'd had to endure at the hands of your captors made him sick to even imagine, and fortuitously Galadriel had agreed.
He was the only one who truly knew your secrets, and so he had desired to be the first to truly make you smile again; now, it seemed, his brothers had robbed him of that, forced him back into his station as "the serious one". Worst of all, perhaps not the one who would hold your heart.
Instant it was not, but the elf had found himself falling for you more and more during his time as your guide. Watching your wonder as you were led higher and higher into the sun-soaked trees, chuckling at your confusion when you pronounced and repeated new Elvish words. Seeing you bloom like a sunflower finding its roots once more. Always had he struggled with displays of affection, and perhaps that had cost him more than time. Or else this was another challenge for the captain, a new type of battle to undertake: correcting the many times his words failed him in the face of your fair spirit.
"You might be surprised," he finally spoke, interrupting his own whirlwind of thoughts again to meet your eyes, "you are aware, after all, of how much I taught them."
Rúmil and Orophin's heads both tilted, gazing at their eldest brother with new interest. Newly widening smiles. Knowing ones. An unfortunate side effect he would deal with later. For the time being, there were more pressing matters to deal with.
"Of course I am," you replied, taking a sip from your goblet of water, "Tracking, archery... And surely they would not know so much of your history were it not for you."
"And about the beasts of the land, of course." A breeze blew through his hair as he inhaled, next line at the ready. "After all, my name is Hal-deer."
Groaning, Orophin and Rúmil both simultaneously dropped their heads into their hands, shaking them with great disapproval. Lacking fluency though they may have been, they knew enough to recognize such a play on words, and it was clear they did not like it. Too bad- it wasn't for them.
You? Bursting into laughter, you clapped your hands lightly, head thrown back in amusement that had Haldir grinning widely for the first time in likely far too long.
Still shaking their heads, both younger brothers excused themselves, Orophin practically shoving Rúmil away from the table as they scrambled off to refill their drinkware.
"Never have I heard you make a joke, Haldir! Why now? And why one so-" Words failed you, too, inquiry wholly aborted by a fresh bout of laughter. Well did it convey the rest of your question, however.
Suppressing a wince, Haldir willed his smile to return. Wait, perhaps it looked forced. Was he overthinking this? His brothers would probably say yes.
His brothers. "My brothers...they make you happy in a way I seemingly never can. Perhaps I envied them." His voice emerged as little more than a whisper, eyelids fluttering half-shut as if they could conceal him from your vision.
Your brows furrowed at this. Head giving a faint tilt of confusion, you leaned forward, forced his grey eyes to meet your gaze. "I...I confess I do see your brothers differently," you told him, your own voice shy, "I always wished to think of them like my own brothers."
Heart lightening, Haldir replied, perhaps a bit too readily, "You can."
"No," you shook your head, paused, "well..."
It was your turn to drop your gaze, your posture straightening as you gave a supplying incline of the head, clearly hoping Haldir followed.
He did. Did he? Jaw dropping slightly, he reached out a tentative hand, saw that you did not flinch. Lifting up your gaze gently by your chin, Haldir spoke again.
"That you may wish as well, for though my words have failed me again and again it is the very same in my heart. It vexed me not being the one to make you smile, to win you over, when your name had been so inscribed upon my heart. But if you'll have the serious one, he shall have you."
Your answer came in the form of a kiss that had his heart soaring, one a bit too quick for Haldir's liking, but he quite literally had all the time in the world if he wished. He could wait. For once, his words had not failed him.
"Again and again, my Hal-dear," you replied with a devilish grin.
The golden-haired elf let his own face fall into his hand at that one. "I'll not be forgetting that one anytime soon, will I?"
As fate would have it, Rúmil and Orophin designated that moment to return, whooping as they set their goblets back down, clearly having spied upon him through some curtain or another as they often had in their youth.
"Not in the slightest," they answered for you, voices perfectly synchronized.
Taglist: @lokilover476 @fuckyoumakeart @mossthebogwitch @ibabblealot @kilibaggins @joonies-word @stormchaser819 @pirate-lord-of-narnia | Reply/Ask/Message to join 🥰
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melancholicmelanin · 4 months ago
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Compress/Repress | Chapter 2: Sister, Sister
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Pairing: art donaldson x black!oc x patrick zweig, tashi duncan x black!oc (platonic)
Summary: As the summer of 06' winds down, Maya is anxiously prepping for a secret adventure: flying to New York to watch her half-sister Tashi compete at the Junior US Open. The only problem? She’s doing it behind her grandparents’ backs.
Word Count: 5k
Warning(s): minor challengers spoilers (if any?), mild cursing, a non american writing americans, self edited and no beta.
masterlist | prev | next | wattpad | AO3
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BEL-AIR, CALIFORNIA – August 30, 2006
“Look, you’ve already got the plane tickets, right? And you’ve figured out how to get to LAX. You’re halfway there!” Tashi exclaimed. Her tone was light-hearted, like the gravity of the situation was no big deal, as if sneaking across the country wasn’t an act that could land Winston Pratt in the hospital.
It had been a year since they’d made their first connection—one impulsive friend request that had led to a secret sisterhood neither of them had anticipated. An outsider looking in would deduce them as a close-knit pair of sisters. Heck, maybe long-time best friends even. Now, they spoke almost every day—through texts, phone calls and sometimes in person, always careful to keep their connection hidden from their respective families.
Maya let out a low, breathy laugh, though it sounded more like a sigh. Like she was failing at convincing Tashi to change her mind and ditch the plan altogether. Her heart raced as she listened to Tashi’s voice echo through the receiver. Maya’s heart raced as she took in her sister’s words, a mixture of excitement and nervousness bubbling beneath her tummy.
“I know, I know.” Maya said as she paced between the four pastel walls of her room, her Paul Frank slippers gliding against the plush white rug.
“I can’t stop thinking about the worst-case scenario. Like what if I get human trafficked at the airport and the kidnappers want ransom. They’d freak!” She exclaimed, dramatically tossing her arms in the air.
“Oh my god, M!” Tashi blurted out, sounding both exasperated and amused at her sister’s active imagination. When her guard was down, Maya Pratt-Duncan’s true form always showed, she was an anxious nervous reck at the end of the day.
Maya shut her eyes and clutched her phone out of embarrassment as she heard Tashi's befuddled voice coming through on the other end. Despite being miles apart, she could almost see the jokes forming in Tashi’s mind.
“You watch too many movies,” Tashi quipped, trying to ease Maya's worries.
“They’re not going to find out,” She explained further, firm and unbothered, the usual confidence Maya admired in her spilling into every word. “You’ve got everything under control. This is our moment. And I want you there when I win.”
Maya made her way towards her bed, her suitcase laid bare on top as she prepared for tomorrow's flight. She carefully checked and rechecked all her belongings, her nerves still prickling despite Tashi's reassurance.
The thought of seeing her half-sister for the first time in action—on the court, in her element—made her heart flutter. But the idea of lying to her grandparents, Tabitha and Winston, weighed on her heavily. They had raised her, protected her, and shielded her from so much of the world. And now, here she was, planning to deceive them.
Maya's voice was soft and hushed, a small smile playing at the edge of her lips as she spoke. "I know you're going to win," she said, her words filled with admiration and confidence. "But...I've never done anything like this before, you know."
Tashi's laughter came through the other end of the phone, light and teasing. "Oh, come on, Maya. You're going to be just fine."
Maya couldn't help but bite her lip, a habit her grandmother couldn’t stand. "It's one thing meeting up at South Coast Plaza, but flying all the way to New York? That's a whole new level."
"Hey, trust me," Tashi reassured her. "You've got this."
“And besides, it's not like I've been completely innocent this whole time.” Tashi leaned against the kitchen counter, her fingers fiddling with the telephone cord as she recounted one of their rebellious antics. “Remember that college party we went to? My dad definitely doesn't know about that!" Maya’s laughter echoed throughout her room as she reminisced about ditching the party in exchange for the local 7 Eleven at 2AM. Till this day she couldn't believe they had gotten away with it, but then again, Tabitha was under the impression that she was at UCLA college scouting.
A warm, genuine smile crept onto Maya's face as she listened to Tashi speak, feeling a sense of comfort and ease wash over her. Tashi had always been one to remain unfazed by anything--whether it be societal rules or the constant pressure of her successful tennis career. It was a trait that Maya both admired and secretly envied, wishing she could exude the same level of nonchalance in her own life.
“I just don’t want to mess this up,” Maya admitted, her voice barely above a whisper, her words carrying a hint of vulnerability and uncertainty.
“You won’t,” Tashi reassured her, her tone softening. “Look, you’ve covered your tracks. You told your grandparents you’re staying with that friend of yours, right? The one with the gap in her teeth?”
Maya nodded, despite Tashi not being present to see her affirmation.
“Yeah, I told them I’m going to Reneé’s for the weekend,” She confirmed, biting her lip. “I mean, they’re really good friends with her family, but I still feel guilty.”
"Maya, listen to me. You have nothing to worry about. You're not doing anything wrong," Tashi insisted, her voice filled with conviction and confidence. “You’re just… bending the rules a little. It’s not like we’re committing a crime,” Tashi said, her voice filled with the kind of certainty Maya wished she could muster herself.
Maya paused, her mind swirling with Tashi's words. At the end of the day, she knew she had to do this. Her entire life had been spent following the strict rules and expectations set by her grandparents. They lived in a world of high society and legacy, where image was everything. But Tashi's world was different. Spending time with her free-spirited sister had taught Maya to break out of her shell and live in the moment. She longed to let go of Tabitha's expectations and just be herself. This trip was for her, and it would be the last time her grandmother's disapproval stood in the way of her desires. As she gazed at the open window ahead of her, she could feel a sense of freedom and adventure calling to her, beckoning her to embrace this new chapter in her life.
“Okay,” Maya said, taking a deep breath. “I’m doing it.”
"Hell yeah, you are!" Tashi's voice echoed through the phone, filled with pride and determination. Maya could practically picture her sister fist-pumping into the air. "Plane tickets aren't cheap, babe. But trust me, M. You're going to love New York City. It's vibrant, pulsing with energy." Tashi's words sparked a feeling of anticipation in Maya's chest. "And just wait till you see me on that court at the Open—I'm going to dominate."
"Now get some sleep and prepare for the most unforgettable weekend of your life," Tashi exclaimed with a wide grin.
They exchanged goodbyes, and after ending the call, Maya stared at her phone, still buzzing from the energetic conversation. She walked over to her window, gazing out at the dazzling skyline of Los Angeles as it shimmered under the night sky. The city lights twinkled like stars as a plane sawed the sky, beckoning her to join in on the fun. Her reflection in the glass appeared small and hesitant. Could she really go through with this? She had never been one to break rules or rebel – every decision she had ever made was with her grandparents' blessings. But this... this felt like stepping into a whole new world. A world where she could let loose and be free, even if just for a few days.
It’s just one weekend, she told herself. Just a couple of days. I can do this.
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The Next Day
Now, most people would think the hard part was packing, right? How in the world do you fit a week's worth of clothes into a carry-on suitcase for a weekend trip? Well, lucky for Maya, that kind of job needed experience, and she’d been practicing for years. She had honed the art of over-preparing for every kind of situation—always with the perfect mix of practical essentials and stylish options, who cares if it ends up with you lugging around two suitcases in the middle of LAX. But packing was the easy part; it was everything that came after that was trickier.
The hard part was actually figuring out how to get out of the house without waking any suspicions. Maya knew her grandparents’ routine like the back of her hand; it helped that it hadn’t changed in years. Tabitha woke up every morning at 6:30 A.M. on the dot for her morning jog with "the girls"—her circle of wealthy friends who gossip as much as they power walk. Winston would follow shortly after, making his way down to the breakfast table with the morning newspaper already tucked under his arm. Ettie, the housekeeper, would be brewing a pot of Italian coffee for him. The whole ritual was so ingrained in the fabric of their household that Maya could practically set her watch by it.
Her grandmother always had a way of figuring out when Maya was up to something, so timing was crucial. If she was going to slip out unnoticed, she’d have to be long gone before Tabitha finished her jog. She calculated that the best window of opportunity was during those precious few minutes when Winston would be alone in the kitchen, sipping his coffee and absorbed in the day’s headlines. She’d leave a meticulously written note on the entryway table, some excuse about the early bird catching the worm and hope that would be enough to buy her a few extra hours.
Her heart racing, Maya reached the top of the grand staircase and paused. The entranceway below seemed impossibly vast; the polished marble floor gleaming under the faint light of dawn that streamed in through the stained-glass windows. A family portrait, prominently displayed by the foyer, seemed to gaze down at her—a beautiful oil painting of her grandparents, herself, and her late mother. Her mother’s soft eyes seemed to follow her every move as she cautiously descended the stairs, almost as if silently questioning her decision—Are you sure about this?
Maya tiptoed down the staircase, gripping the banister as if it might help her tread more lightly. The large grandfather clock in the hallway ticked steadily, the only sound breaking the quiet of the early morning. Her pulse quickened with every step, the echo of her shoes on the marble floor sounding far too loud in the stillness. She couldn’t risk alerting Ettie, who was always the first to rise before her grandparents. If Ettie caught her, there would be questions, and then she’d have to explain why she was up so early, where she was going, and why she had two packed suitcases for a sleepover with a family friend.
Her suitcase’s wheels glided silently over the marble floor as she made her way to the front door, keeping her movements slow and deliberate. She caught a glimpse of the kitchen down the hallway—Winston was already there, sitting at the breakfast table, absorbed in his newspaper. Her note, propped up against the sugar bowl, looked small and insignificant, and for a fleeting moment, Maya wondered if she should just go in and tell him the truth. But she quickly brushed that thought aside. There was no way they’d ever let her go if they knew where she was really heading.
Taking a deep breath, she turned the handle on the front door and slipped outside, closing it softly behind her.
A sharp gust of cool air struck Maya's face as soon as she stepped outside her front door, sending a shiver down her spine. The crispness of the early morning air seemed to whisper warnings in her ears, urging her to turn back while she still could. But Maya pushed the thoughts away with determination. She had made up her mind, and she wasn't going to let any doubts stop her.
In the pale light of dawn, Maya spotted Reneé's car sitting at the curb, its headlights cutting through the dimness like beacons. Reneé stood next to the driver's side door, wrapped in a thick jacket, her bonnet still on her head and rubbing her sleepy eyes. As soon as she saw Maya approaching, she perked up slightly, though her expression remained a mix of curiosity and concern.
Maya had always known she could count on Reneé, her best friend since childhood. They met in the most ridiculously “private school” way possible: at their elite academy’s spring fair. It was 1995, and six-year-old Maya was twirling around in a frilly lavender dress, sparkly shoes, and butterfly clips in her hair like a mini-Mariah Carey. Meanwhile, Reneé—awkward, with wild curls and a shiny new camcorder her parents bought to shut her up—was filming a “serious” documentary titled “Life Sucks When You’re Six".
The collision was inevitable. Reneé backed right into Maya, sending both of them sprawling. But instead of tears, Maya jumped up, adjusted her dress, and grinned. “Hey, can I be in your movie?” she asked, with all the confidence of a little girl who had just discovered Clueless. Reneé, who was usually more comfortable behind the camera than in front of people, couldn’t help but smile. From that moment on, they were inseparable—like two halves of a Spice Girls cassette tape.
Growing up in the same exclusive Los Angeles neighborhood, they were an unlikely pair, more like Cher Horowitz and Daria Morgendorffer at group sleepovers than your typical best friends. Maya was the girly girl: always perfectly put together, with glittery lip gloss and an impressive collection of Lisa Frank stationery. Reneé, on the other hand, had a style best described as “indie film director in training”—baggy overalls, thrifted T-shirts, and always a journal in hand to jot down her latest “brilliant” ideas. While Maya attended etiquette and ballet classes, Reneé was busy trying to figure out how to direct the next Godzilla movie.
Despite their differences, they shared everything: secrets, dreams, and even some epic middle school crushes. In Maya’s perfectly pink bedroom—walls covered in a fancy wallpaper imported from France and posters of NSYNC and fashion magazine cutouts neatly pinned on a cork board—they would lie on the floor and talk about how one day they’d move to New York City, where Maya would become the next It Girl and Reneé would direct films about “the real meaning of life” (whatever that meant at age twelve). In Reneé’s room, which was more of a creative chaos zone, they would brainstorm ideas for homemade movies, often starring Maya as a glamorous protagonist and Reneé providing the scene of what they thought a woman in her 20s would find themselves in
Their bond was unbreakable, forged through years of navigating the ups and downs of adolescence in a world where everyone seemed to have at least three vacation homes. They laughed at dumb celebrity gossip from TRL, whispered about grand plans that sounded straight out of Lizzie McGuire, and found ways to dodge the relentless expectations placed upon them by their parents. With Reneé by her side, Maya didn’t have to worry about being perfect; she could just be herself—even if “herself” meant spending a Friday night reenacting scenes from Titanic while Reneé filmed it as "performance art."
Even in the early morning light, Reneé’s voice was dripping with suspicion. "I can't believe you're actually up this early," she grumbled, rubbing her eyes and leaning against the car door. "This better be worth dragging me out of bed before sunrise. Did you finally get tired of the whole 'good girl' act and decide to run off with some older guy?"
Maya tossed her suitcase into the backseat, the car grumbling to life as she tried to sound casual. "What? No," she said, though her voice came out a little too defensive. "It’s just a quick trip. I’ll be back by Monday." But she couldn’t ignore the flutter in her chest at the thought of how close she was to getting caught.
Reneé raised an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing like a gossip columnist sniffing out a juicy scandal. "Right. 'Quick trip' is exactly what I’d say if I were meeting some mysterious silver fox." Her tone was teasing, but there was an unmistakable glint of curiosity in her eyes.
Maya forced out a laugh, shaking her head as she slid into the passenger seat. "Please. If I were running away to meet some older guy, I’d at least wait until I was done with high school. And I’d have a way better cover story."
Reneé leaned over the steering wheel, still eyeing Maya like she was trying to solve a mystery. "Uh-huh. But I’ve known you long enough to tell when something’s up, and you’re not exactly packing like someone who's just 'going to visit a friend.' Spill it, Maya. What’s really going on? Did you get seduced by some rich guy who swept you off your feet at one of those boring charity events? Because honestly, that sounds kind of romantic. Also, kind of reckless, but still romantic."
Maya fumbled with the seatbelt, her pulse quickening. She couldn’t exactly tell Reneé that she was sneaking away to New York to meet the half-sister she’d only found out about a year ago. That kind of revelation was way too fragile, too precious to expose to anyone else’s opinions—not even Reneé’s. "I’m fine," she said, a little too quickly. "I just… needed to get out of here for a few days before the semester starts. You know, clear my head or whatever."
Reneé rolled her eyes but started the car, steering them down the empty streets. "Okay, sure. But if I find out you ran off with some guy who’s old enough to have his own yacht, I’ll say I told you so."
The car cruised through the dimly lit streets; the city still wrapped in the quiet of early morning. Reneé reached over and switched on the radio, landing on a station playing an old Britney Spears song. "Oh my God, remember when we did that dance routine to this?" she exclaimed, a grin spreading across her face. "Come on, Maya, don’t leave me hanging. Sing it like you mean it!"
Maya’s laughter bubbled up despite the tension she was carrying, and she joined in. As they belted out the chorus together, it was easy to forget, just for a moment, where she was headed and the secrets she was keeping. For those few minutes, it felt like they were back in middle school again, planning sleepovers and giggling about silly crushes. But as the song faded, reality crept back in, and Maya’s thoughts returned to the trip ahead.
The car rumbled to a stop at the departure terminal, and Maya took a deep breath, bracing herself for the whirlwind of the airport. The early morning light was just beginning to stretch across the sky, casting a hazy glow over the glass facade. Despite the hour, LAX was already alive with travellers dragging suitcases, taxi drivers haggling for fares, and the occasional lost soul wandering around with a coffee in hand.
Maya climbed out of the car, her steps slower than usual as she retrieved her suitcase from the trunk. Reneé stretched her arms over her head and let out a long yawn. "Alright, runaway princess," she said, still eyeing Maya like she was waiting for a confession. "Go have your mysterious rendezvous. But I swear, if you come back wearing a diamond bracelet, I’m going to need the whole story."
"Will do," Maya said, forcing a smile. But her chest felt tight. She wanted to tell Reneé the truth—about her real reason for the trip, about Tashi—but the words just wouldn’t come.
Reneé pulled her in for a quick hug. "Whatever it is you're doing, just be careful, okay? I’m all for spontaneous adventures, but try not to come back married to a guy who quotes The Great Gatsby unironically."
"I promise," Maya said, laughing nervously. "No secret weddings."
Reneé grinned as she climbed back into the car. "Good. See you when you get back, okay? And text me if you need a rescue."
Maya gave her a final wave as Reneé’s car rolled away, the taillights fading into the flow of early morning traffic. For a moment, she stood at the curb, feeling strangely exposed against the backdrop of the sprawling airport. She adjusted the strap of her bag and took a deep breath. She was really doing this.
The automatic doors slid open with a faint hiss, and Maya stepped inside, letting the chaos of the airport wash over her. There was a comforting anonymity here—a sense that she was just another traveller with somewhere to be, just another face in the crowd. She weaved her way through the bustling terminal, her suitcase bumping along behind her as she headed for the self-check-in kiosks.
As she tapped at the screen, printing her boarding pass, Maya’s thoughts wandered back to Reneé’s teasing. It would’ve been easier to lie and say she was sneaking off to meet some rich older guy. At least then, Reneé would have had something fun to speculate about. Instead, Maya was about to board a plane to meet a half-sister she hadn’t even known existed until a year ago, and not even her best friend knew the real story.
With her boarding pass in hand, she made her way toward the security line, her pulse quickening. She was about to cross an invisible line—leaving behind everything she’d known to find answers she wasn’t sure she was ready for. But there was no turning back now.
Maya found a seat by the window at the gate and pulled out her phone, scrolling through her messages. There was a new one from Tashi, sent just a few minutes ago.
Tashi: Just got to the courts. Can’t wait for you to get here! It’s going to be amazing; I promise.
Maya smiled, a mixture of excitement and nerves bubbling inside her. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to finally meet Tashi face-to-face, to see the sister she’d only known through late-night phone calls and Facebook photos. It felt surreal, like stepping into a story that wasn’t entirely her own.
As her flight was called, Maya stood and gathered her things, ready to step into the unknown. Whatever lay ahead, at least it was her secret to keep, for now.
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NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK - August 4th, 2019
The sun blazed relentlessly upon the crowd, its heat shimmering off the concrete in waves that distorted the air. Maya squinted behind her oversized sunglasses, their dark lenses doing little to shield her from the sun’s intensity. Her skin prickled from the overexposure of Vitamin D, making it difficult to focus on anything besides the sweltering discomfort that clung to her like a second skin. As she sat in the stands, the familiar scent of sunscreen and freshly cut grass filled her nostrils, triggering memories of summers long past—carefree days spent at her grandparents' estate in Bel-Air Crest, where her only concern was perfecting her bronzed tan.
The hum of the crowd rose and fell around her, but it felt distant, like background noise from an abandoned television. Maya’s gaze drifted across the humble country club, taking in the swirl of colors from spectators’ sun hats and vibrant outfits, and the flashes of bright white tennis gear as players gathered to bear witness to what they suspected to be the match of a century. She was scanning the rows of seats absentmindedly when a tall, slender figure caught her attention. The person was descending the steps slowly, almost as if they were reluctant to be here at all.
As the figure came closer, the cascade of mid-length blonde hair, the effortless grace, and the striking features became unmistakable. Even from a distance, Maya could tell it was Tashi. Her sister’s presence filled her with a complicated rush of emotions—part nostalgia, part unease. They locked eyes just as Tashi reached her row. Time seemed to slow, and an unspoken tension hung between them, as heavy as the humid air. Despite the match unfolding on the court before them, Maya couldn’t tear her gaze away. She watched as Tashi took her seat just a few feet away, their proximity at once too close and yet, not close enough.
'Get a grip Maya, you knew she would be here.'
Maya’s fingers clenched tightly around the edge of her seat, her knuckles turning a ghostly shade of her usual caramel complexion as the internal struggle roiled within her. Her eyes darted anxiously to the tennis court, where the looming presence of the upcoming match filled her with a sense of dread. The players’ shadows stretched long in the late afternoon sun, mirroring the tension and anticipation coursing through Maya’s body. It was as if the scene was mocking her—a snapshot of normalcy while her mind was anything but calm. The roar of the crowd spiked in excitement as the players began their warm-ups, the rhythmic thud of tennis balls echoing like a ticking clock. Maya shifted in her seat, trying to shake off the prickly sensation that crept up her spine.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tashi’s gaze turn toward her. Tashi—the sister who had once known her better than anyone else in the world, who could finish her sentences, who could always sense what she was thinking. Now, it felt like they were two strangers who had to pretend they hadn’t once shared everything. Maya’s breath hitched slightly as she felt Tashi’s eyes on her, the weight of that familiar gaze bringing a sudden rush of memories she had buried beneath layers of silence and time.
Tashi's features, once so easy to read, seemed guarded now. Her cool expression betrayed nothing, but Maya knew her sister too well to be fooled. The slight tension in her jaw, the faint crease on her forehead—it was all there, hiding beneath the calm façade. A year ago, they would have hugged, laughed, shared inside jokes to ease the tension. Now, they were separated by more than just a few feet; a chasm of unspoken words and unresolved issues lay between them.
Tashi's gaze landed on Maya, her once-closest confidante, now a stranger sitting just a few feet away. It unnerved her, how different Maya seemed, even in small ways—the slight slump in her shoulders, the tightness in her jaw. There was something brittle about her that hadn’t been there before, a fragility hiding behind the composed exterior. Maya's forced smile, offered to a couple of teenage girls who recognized her from a fashion magazine, barely reached her eyes. It was the kind of smile people practiced in the mirror, perfected for the sake of appearances.
As Tashi’s gaze drifted back to the court, she felt a pang of something close to regret. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. She had imagined a different future, one where they could lean on each other no matter what happened. But life had taken a different course, and the choices they’d made—some willingly, others out of desperation—had driven a wedge between them that seemed impossible to remove.
The match hadn’t even started, but Maya could already feel the tension tightening around her like a coiled spring, ready to snap at the slightest touch. She stole a glance at Tashi, who was staring ahead, her jaw clenched as though determined not to show any sign of weakness. There had always been that fierce pride about Tashi, a need to present a strong front no matter how turbulent things were beneath the surface. It was one of the things Maya had admired about her growing up, but now it felt like a wall keeping her out.
"Nice to see you made it," Tashi said finally, her voice low and edged with irony, as though she wasn’t entirely sure whether she meant it or not.
Maya's lips parted, but for a moment, no words came. When she finally spoke, her voice was measured, carefully controlled. "I wouldn’t miss it for the world."
Tashi’s mouth curved into a faint smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Right," she said, turning her attention back to the players who were now preparing for the first serve. "Because we’ve always been so good at being there for each other."
The words stung, though Maya wasn’t entirely sure whether Tashi intended them to. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and pressed her lips together to keep the sharp retort from escaping. Instead, she chose to stay silent, gripping the arms of her chair until she could feel the bite of the metal against her palms.
The crowd erupted in applause as the first serve cut through the air, the players diving into the game with all the precision and grace expected at this level of competition. But for Maya, the real match was happening here, in the silent exchanges and unsaid words between her and Tashi. Every ball that flew across the net seemed to carry the weight of their unresolved history, every cheer from the crowd a reminder of how long they had been pretending that everything was fine.
The tension hung between them like a blade, sharp and unforgiving. It wasn’t just a tennis match to Maya and Tashi—it was a collision of everything unresolved, a confrontation without words. The years of sisterhood, of shared secrets and broken promises, all seemed to blur together, fusing the past and present into one inescapable truth: no matter how far they drifted, they could never really escape each other.
And as the players battled it out on the court below, Maya couldn’t help but feel as if she and Tashi were the real competitors, locked in a game where neither of them knew the rules anymore.
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joeybsversion · 2 years ago
Text
I miss yous
Joe Burrow x Reader
You and Joe work through a messy break up
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“Who Dey!” Ja’Marr stuck out his hand for a high-five from Joe. “What’s wrong, bro?” He asked as Joe blinked his way back to reality.
“Good game, Ja’Marr.” He pulled the cigar from his mouth and gave a weak smile.
“You should be celebrating, Joe. That was a big game. What’s going on?” He asked taking a seat next to Joe.
“Just tired.” He lied. “Like you said, big game.” He pressed the cigar to his lips again.
“You miss her, don’t you?” Ja’Marr questioned. He took no response from Joe as a yes and patted his friends back as he walked off.
Across the city you finishing another drink, making yourself look busy so you didn’t have to watch Joe’s post game interview.
You pulled yourself from the couch and stumbled into the kitchen to pour another drink, your best friend close behind.
It had been 4 months now since you and Joe had broken up. Seeing his face all over TV didn’t make it any easier as they progressed their way through the division. The breakup was messy, Joe was away for a game and neither of you really got any closure. With work and taking care of things at home, you weren’t able to travel as much this season with him. You both had wanted to keep your relationship private but it almost became too private. Not even the two of you knew what was going on some of the time.
“You’ll be fine without him.” Your friend reassured you as she watched you down another drink.
“I know. I’ll probably even be happy.” You lied.
“So what’s the problem?” She asked, taking the now empty plastic cup from your hand and tossing it into the garbage.
You stared at his face on the screen across the room. The rest of our friends are watching his post game interview and celebrating another win. “It would have been easier,” you paused “to have been happy with him here.” You looked down. “I’m going to head home.” You pulled out your phone and ordered an Uber. “I’m tired.” You lied, much like Joe had done to Ja’Marr earlier that evening.
“Meet you at my place?” Tee stopped by Joes locker on his way out. They team always celebrated at Tee’s after the games.
“I’m pretty tired, might just head home. Next weeks a big one and I want to make sure I’m ready to go.” Joe lied, taking another long draw from his cigar.
“Ok man, I understand.” He walked towards the door “but if you change your mind you know where to find me.” He hollered as the door swung shut behind him.
Joe pulled on his hoodie and closed up his locker. “Time to get out of here.” He mumbled to himself, digging through his bag for his phone and keys. “Another night alone.” He sighed.
By the time he left the stadium, the sky was dark and it was starting to rain. As he got home, he dropped his bag at the front door, headed upstairs, and got into bed. You were still on his mind as you had been every day for the past 4 months, he so badly wanted to hear your voice. But you hadn’t reached out even one time since the breakup. He figured you had moved on and were fine without him.
Joe pulled out his phone and clicked through until he found your contact. Everything in his head was telling him not to text you. It was almost 2:30 AM now, you were asleep he thought to himself. But he didn’t care. Without another thought, Joe fired off a text “I miss you.” It read.
The rain was coming down hard now and it was pitch black outside. “I should’ve left a light on.” You mumbled as you climbed out of the Uber and made your way to the front door. “Where is my phone?” You fumbled through your bag trying to find it so you could use it as a flashlight. “There it is.” You heard it buzz and dug it out of the bottom of your bag. As you pulled it out you saw 2 new messages pop up.
yourbffsname: Let me know when you make it home!
Joey: I miss you
“I must be so drunk.” There is no way Joe texted you thought. You flipped your phone around and used the light so you could see to unlock the door.
You made your way to your room, quickly threw on an old sweatshirt Joe had left here and climbed into bed. You plugged in your phone and saw you had 2 new messages.
Joey: Alot
Joey: And I want to see you
You froze. Was this really happening? Was it some sort of prank? He should be celebrating with the guys, right?
Joe put his phone down, took a few deep breathes, and covered his face. He wanted you back so bad. He picked up his phone again, checking for a reply but nothing had come through yet. And then he did the unthinkable, he pressed the call button and placed his phone up to his ear.
“Hey.” He croaked out. “Did I wake you?” He asked.
“Hey…. No, no. I’m up.” You replied.
You both sat in silence for a few minutes waiting for each other to speak.
“How are you?” Joe asked.
“You can’t ask me that.” A tear slipped down your cheek. You tried to stay quiet so he wouldn’t know you were crying. “You can’t ask me how I’m doing…” you paused “after you tore me apart.” You managed to whisper into the phone.
“I’m sorry, baby.” His voice cracked. You thought he may be crying. You couldn’t talk without sobbing, so you sat quiet for a few minutes. “I miss you,” he whispered, “I’ve tried to tell myself I don’t. And I think I mean it too when it’s 4 PM and the crowd is going wild and we’re seconds away from winning another game. But before I know it, it’s 2 AM and I’m in bed staring at the ceiling and there’s a tiny ache in my heart that wishes you were here. I can’t close my eyes because it’s too hard to decide if I’m more scared of your absence or the possibility that I’ll always miss you.” His voice cracked again and you were almost positive he was crying now. “I miss how we use to talk. I miss our calls. I miss going to sleep knowing you were still mine the next day,” there was a long pause, “I’m missing you like shit tonight.” He croaked out. “This just sucks because I still care, I still want to fix things, and I still want you. I still want us. I still need closure.” He sighed. “I need you to say something.”
You sat in silence for a few seconds, trying to think of what to say next. “I miss you, Joey.” You whispered. “I really miss you.” Another tear rolled down your cheek. “We keep on exchanging ‘I miss you’s” you said, “but it’s sad because neither of us did anything to just see each other again.” You finished, referencing how you hadn’t seen each other since before you broke up. “I don’t think I can come to terms with how things ended,” you paused, waiting for him to say something. “You told me you loved me in the morning on your way out to the door,” you used your sweatshirt sleeve to wipe your eyes “and that night when you got to your hotel for the game, you didn’t anymore.” You cried out.
“I never stopped loving you.” He interrupted. “I’m sorry for how things ended….” There was another long pause as you both sat in silence. “I read through our old messages earlier when you use to tell me how much you loved me and I would tell you that you meant everything to me,” he continued, “those words are still true. I want to fix things. I’m sorry for hurting you.” He sniffled.
“I’m sorry too.” You cried.
“Come over, baby.” He said.
“Joey, it’s almost 3 AM. It’s late.” You reminded him.
“Please.” He whispered. “I need to see you.”
“Good night, Joey.” You whispered and ended the call.
You put your phone down, dried your tears, and rolled over. It was best to sleep this off and see how you felt in the morning. You really did miss Joe, but you were nervous to see him.
As you drifted off to sleep you heard knocking on the front door. “What time is it?” You rolled over and pulled out your phone. It was 4:27 AM. You had a message from Joe.
Joey: I can’t wait until tomorrow. I’m coming to see you and make things right.
He couldn’t actually be here you thought. You imagined the noises. It’s way too late and it would be too crazy for him to be here right now. You rolled back over.
Joe couldn’t fall back asleep after your call. The next thing he knew, he was standing outside your front door, knocking a firm sound against it. You opened the door, still half asleep, your face showing a mix of confusion and happiness.
Joe reached out and grabbed your hand, pulling you onto the porch with him in the rain. He puts his lips against yours and his hands in your hair. You can feel the uncertainty behind the kiss, but you don’t stop.
When you pull back he looks at you and says “Your favorite way to be kissed is in the rain, you hate the color orange but will always wear it on game day. You love sleeping in on the weekends and vegetables disgust you.” He lets out a big breath before continuing, “You’re still on my mind and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.” With a watchful eye he looks for your reaction.
Your mouth turns up into another smile and you crash your lips together again
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