#it's not like i'll be able to when I go spend christmas with my family and all but

[harvest-of-the-present]

I've only been pulling a daily tarot card for a week now but I already feel a bit closer to my deck and like it's easier for me to follow my intuition as soon as I see the card, it seems like I found a habit I'd really like to maintain

[girlgenius1111]

stuck with me

alexia x reader

alexia and r get into an argument just before the holiday break, as the stress of ale's knee injury bubbles over. r loses... a lot of sleep over it. alexia makes it up to her, even though she really doesn't have to.

no warnings :)

To be fair to Alexia, she didn't know you had sleep issues. How could she, when she'd practically been the cure for them? You'd had sleep problems long before you'd gotten together with Alexia, but they had... stopped, magically, when you started sharing a bed. Neither of you spent many nights alone once you got together, so most nights, you slept well, curled up against your steady, dependable girlfriend.

The exceptions were, obviously, when you went home for breaks without her and when you both had to go on national duty. You slept fine at home, away from the stresses of your job, in the comfort of the place you'd grown up in. Normally.

And in regards to national duty, you were lucky to have incredibly teammates. Lucy knew of your problem, and also knew that sleeping in the same bed as someone else was helpful. It wasn't Alexia, and it wasn't perfect, but you slept. You knew you'd have to find a solution when [if] Lucy retired, but for now, there was no reason why you'd spend more than the odd night without Alexia.

That was, of course, until her knee re-injury. Before the following surgery and holiday break. And the not insignificant fight that you'd gotten into with her around that time. It was a tough time for her, you knew, and she was coping with it the best she could. You'd been hovering over her, you knew that too.

You were just so worried, all the time. Alexia was so miserable not being able to play, so frustrated with her knee that sometimes you thought she was finally just going to breakdown and herself feel it all. She never did, though. Not until the day her and the medical team had decided on surgery. It was a few days before you were do back in England for the holidays, and you'd already been considering cancelling, and staying with your girlfriend. She needed you, physically and emotionally.

You really should have waited to bring up your plans to stay until she was in a better mood. Instead, you'd suggested it to her over a very quiet dinner, after the date for the arthroscopy had been set.

-----

"I'm gonna cancel my plane tickets to London, I think. Stay here with you." You suggested casually.

"What?" Alexia asked, dropping her fork onto her plate with a loud clatter.

"I want to spend Christmas here. You're having surgery and-"

"No."

"No?" You said, slightly hurt by the tone of voice she was using.

"No, you have to go home and see your family. I will be fine here."

"Ale, I want to be here."

"I do not need you here." Alexia said finally, avoiding your gaze. You knew she didn't mean it; she was in pain, frustrated, anxious, and trying not to inconvenience you. Still, you felt your eyes fill with tears at the rejection, and you nodded silently, before turning back to your food. You wouldn't cry, couldn't add any more stress to Alexia's already insane load of it.

"Now you will not talk to me?" Alexia asked. You looked up at her in shock, surprised that the next words out of her mouth hadn't been an apology.

"Just leave it, Alexia. I'll be out of your way tomorrow." You said back quietly, allowing some of the sadness you were feeling seep into your voice.

"Do not be like that. You tell me all the time to tell you what I need, and what I need is for you to go to England and see your family."

"Alright, Ale. I got it. You want me to go, I understand." You tried your hardest to keep your voice steady, but it still shook towards the end of the sentence.

"Amor, stop. That is not what I am saying and you know it," Alexia argued.

"I don't really know what you're saying, Alexia. It sounds like you want me to go."

Alexia exhaled loudly, before pushing her chair away from the table and standing up.

"I cannot deal with you if you are going to be like this." She snapped, before slamming her plate into the sink and marching off to the bedroom.

You didn't understand, not really. It seemed like she didn't want you here. Because that's exactly what she had been saying to you. You knew it wasn't really you that was the problem, it was Alexia's inability to allow you to see how upset she was.

This was reinforced when you went into the bedroom a little while later to pack. The shower was on, but you could still hear her crying over the soft patter of water. You knocked on the door, prepared to let the fight go in favor of making sure she was okay, but the little whimpers and shaky breaths cut off abruptly, and she didn't say anything else.

She kept you at arms length for the rest of the night, only speaking when she asked you to come to bed, an olive branch she was extending. You did, but you both kept to your own sides of the bed. You didn't sleep well that night.

Alexia hugged you goodbye the next day at the airport, and you thought she held you a bit tighter than normal. She handed you a little note, requested that you read it on the plane, and softly kissed your cheek, before allowing you to go through security.

The note had been a lengthy apology, scrawled in her familiar loopy, messy handwriting, confirming that everything you thought was going on with her was correct. She was stressed, she didn't want you to worry, or change your plans for her. She shouldn't have yelled, or been so cruel, and she hadn't meant it. She loved you. So much, she said. Things would be better after her surgery.

You'd thanked her for her apology once you'd landed. You'd spoken, often, since then, but there was still so much tension. You were both busy with family, and there wasn't really any time to have an in depth conversation about what had transpired.

You knew the surgery had gone well, they'd fixed the problem, and that Alexia was doing much better. The second part wasn't something that she had to tell you, it was obvious in the increase in texts, and the mushiness that she included. Whenever she went through a hard time, she closed herself off, and when it ended, she'd always overcompensate, feeling guilty, until she went back to normal. That was Alexia, and you loved her.

-----

The biggest casualty of this fight was, unfortunately, your sleep. You struggled while you were home, when normally, you slept fine there. Obviously not as well as when you were with Alexia, but fine. This time, though, you barely slept. Nothing worked, and the only time you were able to sleep was when your body literally shut down, forcing you to sleep for a few hours every other day or so. You were sure it was because of this unresolved fight, and you knew that once you physically saw your girlfriend, you'd be fine. Especially once you could go back to falling asleep on her chest, the steady beat of her heart making you feel warm, and safe, and comfortable.

This was why you'd cut your trip short, and were currently touching down in Spain, a full 5 days before you were supposed to return home. That, and you missed Alexia. You knew she was slightly confused; you'd been weirdly distant while you'd been gone, because you were exhausted, but she didn't know that. She assumed you were mad, until you told her you were coming home early. After that, she gave up trying to figure out what was going on with you, and focused herself on cleaning the apartment, going grocery shopping for all your favorite things, and buying you flowers. She'd been awful, she knew it, and she was determined to make it up to you.

-----

Alexia was waiting for you by baggage claim; you saw her once you got halfway down the escalator. She was leaned against the wall, baseball cap sat over her blonde hair. She was wearing an old England sweatshirt of yours, and you couldn't help the grin that your lips lifted into at the sight. Your beautiful, perfect, girlfriend, head on an absolute swivel, determined not to miss you.

You saw the moment she she saw you, too, her lips turning up at the corners, shifting her weight from foot to foot as if she could barely contain herself from running to you, which she wasn't yet supposed to do. You got down the escalator and over to her in probably an embarrassingly short amount of time, taking care not to put too much of your weight on her, minding her healing knee.

"Amor," she sighed into your hair, arms holding you almost painfully tight.

"Hi, beautiful," you said back, words almost swallowed by her [your] sweatshirt, and the noisy crowds around you.

"Te extrañé mucho de menos," Alexia murmured, pulling back from the hug to pull you in for a kiss. She froze, however, eyebrows scrunching adorably, as she finally got a good look at your face. You knew what she was looking at. "Are you sick?" She asked, feeling your forehead with the back of her hand.

"No, not sick. Just a little tired."

She looked at you skeptically, hand unmoving from your forehead until you pushed it away and leaned up, pursing your lips expectantly. She smiled, finally meeting your lips in a sweet kiss. She pulled away much to soon in your opinion, laughing at your disgruntled expression.

"You need sleep, amor. We can go home and you can rest. Once you sleep, I will give you all the kisses you want, okay?"

"Fineeee," you sighed, allowing Alexia to take your hand, and lead you off to find your bag. She insisted on wheeling it out to the car, even though she was actively recovering from surgery, but she seemed determined to spoil you today.

You sat in content silence in the car, your girlfriend's hand intertwined with yours. You felt that you should have been sleepy, but you were completely wired, eyes open wide, tapping your knee repetitively.

"Do you want to tell me what is going on?" Alexia asked finally, about 10 minutes into the drive. She glanced at you out of the corner of her eye, spotting the way you went rigid at her question.

"What do you mean?"

"Amor, come on. You look like you have not slept in days." Your only response is a shrug, as you turn your attention out the window.

"Hey. Why did you not sleep?" Alexia insisted, pulling on your hand to get you to pay attention to her.

"I missed you." You replied finally, feeling Alexia's hand tighten around yours.

"I missed you too. That is why you did not sleep well?"

"I... I never used to sleep very well. Until I started sleeping next to you, and then I slept fine. I normally don't have problems sleeping when I go home, though, but this time... I think I was just stressed about our argument."

"I did not know that." Alexia said quietly. "You never told me."

"I know, I know. It just didn't seem like a big deal, because it wasn't, once I was with you."

Your girlfriend looked like she had a million questions, but she didn't ask them. "I am so sorry our fight made you lose sleep. I was completely unfair to you. You do not need to worry about anything now, though, okay? I made your favorite for dinner, if you are hungry. If not, we can just go right to bed. I am yours for the rest of break, whatever you need."

"Really?"

"Really."

-----

You ate the delicious dinner Alexia had cooked, and then took a warm shower. When you got out, you noticed that Alexia had completely unpacked for you, and laid out your favorite pajamas. She was already in the bed, despite it barely being 7pm, looking adorably cozy in a big sweatshirt, the hood tugged up over her head.

"Ale, we don't need to go to sleep now, it's early, you're probably not tired." You said as you pulled the pajamas on. The exhaustion was starting to hit you, and you wanted to promise that you could stay up until a normal time, but you weren't sure you could.

"A bit tired. Whether I fall asleep or not, I want to be right here. Anyway, I should put my knee up." Alexia said dismissively, patting the bed next to her.

"Ale," you began but she shook her head.

"No arguments, bebita. Get in bed." You sighed dramatically, but did as she asked, climbing under the covers and scooting right over to Alexia, as though she was a magnet. You settled against her, shutting your eyes. You heard the lamp flick off, and felt Alexia wrap an arm around you, tugging you into her side.

You tried to fall asleep. Really, you had no idea why you couldn't. You were here, with Alexia, and you should have been able to sleep, easily, especially considering how tired you were. You couldn't manage it though, quickly getting annoyed when your brain wouldn't just turn off.

After the 6th time you shifted positions, Alexia kissed the side of your head, and spoke. "Having a hard time?"

"Yes," you mumbled, burying your face in her chest.

"Be patient. You are exhausted, you will fall asleep soon. Just relax." Alexia encouraged, rubbing a hand up and down your back.

Another 10 minutes passed, in which you felt no closer to sleep. Rolling off of Alexia with a huff, you glared up at the ceiling. Next to you, Alexia rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow to gaze down at you.

"You are putting too much pressure on yourself. It is just sleeping, bonita." She said quietly, running a soft finger over your cheek.

Tears of frustration beginning to pool in your eyes. It was just sleeping. It should be easy. You were just realizing for the first time how incredibly tired you were, and how difficult the past couple days had been.

"Do not cry, por favor," Alexia pleaded.

"I can't, I can't fall asleep." Alexia looked at you sympathetically, thumbs wiping away the tears that fell. She sat both of you up after a minute. "Take off your shirt," she instructed, pulling her own over her head, leaving her with only a sports bra on.

"I'm too tired for sex," you cried, the thought only making you more upset; you had missed your girlfriend. A lot. The fact that you were too tired to do anything about it was painful.

"Not sex, amor, just take your shirt off." Alexia insisted, pulling at the hem. You did as she asked, looking rather miserable. You, too, were left in only your bra, but Alexia's eyes were only on yours as she laid back down, rolling onto her side and pulling you in so your head was pressed right over her bare chest, where her heart was.

Your body relaxed without you telling it to, the feeling of Alexia, and only Alexia, engulfing you. Your skin was pressed to hers, inhaling the soft scent of her perfume, feeling her hands rub rhythmically up and down your bare back.

"There you go," she said into your hair, feeling your body sag against hers. "Sleep for me, okay?" She asked.

You couldn't have told her no if you wanted to. Your eyes shut almost immediately, and you felt suddenly so peaceful, brain slowing down until you were only thinking about how good your girlfriend felt against you.

-----

When you woke up, you knew you'd been asleep for a while, if the amount of light flooding the room was any indication. It was bright, even with your eyes shut, which indicated that it was past noon; the sun only came in through the bedroom window after noon. Your body felt stiff but, for the first time in a while, you felt well rested. You were content to wake up slowly, enjoy the comfort of your bed

You attempted to roll over, searching for Alexia's side of the bed so you could use her pillow, (you swore it was comfier). Instead, you rolled right into Alexia herself, and heard her let out a soft laugh. You cracked your eyes open, finding Alexia laying on her back, arm still tucked around your shoulders. Her fingers flitted through your hair, and you relaxed back into her, scooting closer until your head was crammed into the crook of her neck.

"Why are you still in bed?" You mumbled into her. Her body vibrated under yours as she laughed again.

"Are you complaining?" She teased, clearly referencing the way you'd moved yourself so that every part of your body possible was be touching hers.

"No. It has to be late, though. You've been sleeping fine, you didn't have to stay in bed with me." You told her.

"I always sleep better with you, amor. I wanted you to rest, as much as you needed. You are cute when you sleep, anyway. Your nose scrunches up and you make little sounds when you roll around." Alexia murmured into your hair, and you didn't have to see her face to know she was blushing at the information she'd just revealed.

You left a kiss on her neck, before pulling away so you could see her face. "What time is it?"

Alexia didn't say anything, a slightly guilty expression on her face.

"Alexia Putellas, what time is it?" You demanded.

"3PM." She told you quietly.

"3PM?" You shouted, sitting upright in the bed. Sure enough, the clock on the nightstand reflected the time back to you. You'd slept the whole day away. Two of you didn't have any plans, but still.

"How much did you sleep while you were gone? Really, amor? The least I could do was help you rest." Alexia avoided your eyes.

"What do you mean the least you could do?" You asked, softening your tone.

"I was so horrible to you before you left. And then our fight made you not sleep well," the blonde explained, looking miserable.

"And you apologized, Ale. You were under a lot of stress, I get it." You really weren't mad anymore.

"No, that is not good enough. I have to make it up to you. I wanted you here with me, more than anything, but you have already done so much, and I did not want to ruin your Christmas." Alexia insisted, getting seemingly worked up.

"Alexia, I understand. You said all of this in your note."

"I want to say it again." Alexia said stubbornly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Look at me." You instructed, turning face towards you with a hand on her cheek when she refused. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears. "Amor, I forgive you. I told you I forgave you, when I read your letter. Do you not believe me?" You wondered, as your girlfriend didn't look the least bit relieved at you letting her off the hook.

"I believe you, it is just that...no se como decirlo." She sighed.

"Try, please. We've fought before, Alexia, worse than this. What is it about this one that is making you so upset?" You pressed, not relenting even as she shrugged in response.

"I do not want to lose you," Alexia whispered finally, a single tear sliding down her face, as she clenched her jaw, trying to keep together.

"Baby, you are not going to lose me." You promised, moving closer to take her hand in yours. "I knew you didn't mean what you said. You apologized, Alexia, it was just a stupid fight. We got past it, just like we'll get past every fight. Always."

"But what if I push you away again? And you get tired of it, and leave?"

"You could never push me away. I might give you space when you need it, but I will always be here for you. Even when you try to pretend you don't need me. I could never get tired of you, Alexia, and I could never leave you. Ever." You said the words slowly, trying to gauge if she believed you or not.

Although she looked slightly unsure, she did look less upset than she had a minute ago, her face relaxing somewhat as she finally look into your eyes.

"You're stuck me with, Ale. For as long as you want me." Alexia let out a wet laugh.

"I will always want you." She said, pulling you in closer to press her lips to yours. The kiss grew heated quickly, until you were straddling her lap, checking multiple times that her knee was unbothered by the position. She promised that it was fine, distracting you by sliding her hands up your sides, and pulling you back in for another messy kiss.

"Alexia, that is not exactly what I meant," you joked, pulling away briefly as she pulled your bra over your head.

"Me neither, but it has been days, and I have missed you. Let me show you how much I have missed you. Please?" Alexia asked, surprisingly shy as she ran her hand up and down your abdomen, teasing at the hem of your shorts.

You leaned in, you agreement clear in the way your lips met hers, tongue slipping in after a minute. As if you'd ever say no to that offer. You don't think you'd ever say no to anything Alexia asked you. Your love for her was the kind that transcended every issue that could possibly come up. It was you and her, forever.

-----

inspired by my inability to sleep <3 [and my deep belief that sleeping next to a pretty girl would solve all my problems]

[blubffsd]

— THE SISTER THAT I NEVER HAD.

summary: where the reader wants to spend a whole day with Ethan to make up for missing his birthday.

note: writing this i realize how much i wanted a little brother

This year you decided to spend the holidays with your family in Montpellier since you hadn't seen them for a long time and you wanted to spend time with them. You would only stay for Christmas to be able to spend the New Year with Kylian and his family and you would return on December 27, to be present for Ethan's birthday. But your grandfather got seriously ill the day before Christmas and was in the hospital until the afternoon of December 29: Ethan's birthday.

You felt very guilty for not being in Paris with him, you had promised him that you would return before his birthday but you didn't expect what happened to your grandfather, who fortunately was fine now.

You sent Ethan thousands of text messages apologizing for not being there and assuring him that you would be back as soon as you could. He told you not to worry, that he understood why you didn't come back and that everything was fine.

You knew your little brother-in-law too well to believe his words.

The conversation with your boyfriend didn't help you calm down at all, so after hugging your grandfather many times, you said goodbye to your family to go to the airport and try to get a flight to Paris.

Luckily there was a flight available in an hour and a half so you sat patiently waiting listening to music.

You hoped you could make it up to Ethan but you didn't know how. Although you thought of many things to do with him and places to visit together you wanted to get a second opinion, so you decided to ask Fayza what to do.

You quickly received a notification of an incoming call from Fayza.

—Hi Fayza, long time no talk –you heard your mother-in-law's laughter over the phone.

—Something bad happened?

—No! It's just, you know, since I wasn't there for Ethan's birthday today, I'd like to make it up to him somehow, and I wanted to see if you could suggest a place to visit or something he wants to do.

—Oh, honey! that's so sweet of you. Of course i will help you.

You let out a squeal of happiness and smiled completely excited.

—Thank you so so so much! I don't really know what to do.

—Don't thank me, it's a pleasure. Ethan mentioned something about an amusement park that opened recently, if you want I'll give you the address.

—Yes, text me the address, it'll be fun, I'll take him there.

—Okay honey, I'll do it. Y/N, really thank you very much.

You frowned slightly without understanding.

—Why?

—For doing this for Ethan, you really mean a lot to him. And also for always being with Kylian, my children adore you and I couldn't be happier that you are the one with my son.

You smiled slightly feeling the tears in your eyes about to come out, it made you very happy to hear her say that.

—I'm going to cry. It makes me very happy to hear that, all of you really mean a lot to me and each one of you has a very big place in my heart, thanks to you.

—I think I'll cry too –you laughed slightly– Y/N, I have to hang up, Ethan and Kylian are making a mess in the kitchen. Have a good trip, see you in the new year, honey.

After the call with Fayza you kept listening to music until it was time for your flight and you were finally on your way home.

The flight was pretty quick so you didn't have time to sleep, but you did have time to finish planning what you would do for Ethan, it wasn't anything fancy, but you were sure he would love it.

You went by taxi to your shared apartment with Kylian, you didn't want to call him because he was probably asleep since it was half past two in the morning.

But surprisingly he wasn't asleep when you got home. He and Ethan were in the living room playing FIFA.

They both looked at you surprised and you immediately had them both hugging you with no intention of letting you go.

—Amour, I thought you would come tomorrow. Why didn't you tell me? We would have gone for you at the airport.

—Sorry, I just thought you were asleep. Nevermind, I missed you guys so much.

You broke away from the hug to kiss Kylian on the lips and hug Ethan again.

—We missed you too, sis. I really wanted to celebrate with you.

You moved away from Ethan a bit so you could look him in the eye.

—I know and I'm sorry. I also wanted to celebrate with you but you know why I couldn't come, although I promise to make it up to you.

You saw your brother-in-law look at you somewhat confused but interested in knowing more.

—Really? How?

—Would it be okay for you to spend a whole day with me?

Ethan couldn't hide his big smile or his excitement, he really missed those days with you and he was happy to do it again.

—One hundred percent yes, i want the funny days back.

—"Funny days"?

Your boyfriend, who had been watching the entire interaction between the two of you with a smile, had a completely confused frown.

—Let him, he doesn't have to know. –Ethan let out a giggle and he said goodbye to you and your boyfriend to go to sleep in the guest room.

You took your boyfriend by the arm and dragged him into the room while you listened to his complaints because he wanted to continue playing FIFA.

—Amour, please a few more minutes, I promise I'll wash the dishes tomorrow.

—You were going to do it anyway.

Kylian gave up and lay back on the bed with his arms folded like a little boy.

—You would have let Ethan continue playing.

He pouted his lips and you lay down next to him laughing.

—Oh, my baby is mad and trying to make me feel guilty so he won't admit he's upset?

Your boyfriend looked at you and chuckled knowing you had figured him out.

—I just want to know what is the funny day.

On the afternoon of December 31, you and Kylian were driving to your boyfriend's family's house to celebrate the New Year.

You were very excited since you loved visiting them and you felt very comfortable with them.

Also, "the funny day" (as you and Ethan liked to call it), started tomorrow morning and you couldn't wait any longer.

Once you got to your destination, Kylian parked the car, opened the door for you and took your hand, then you both walked to the door and he rang the bell.

Fayza opened the door for you and gave you both a hug, inviting you to come in.

When you entered the house you saw Ethan with his nephews and cousins ​​playing with the toys they had been given for Christmas, as soon as they saw you they ran to hug you.

—Y/N! We miss you so much.

You smiled completely touched by the treatment of the little children and gave each one a kiss on the cheek.

—I miss y-

—Hi guys, I'm here too by the way. –your boyfriend interrupted you with sarcasm in his voice, pretending to be angry.

—Uncle Kylian! –now everyone was hugging your boyfriend and he was more than happy with it.

You knew that he pretended to be annoyed that the children were with you and not with him because he liked the attention he got after that. He loved it.

—Look at his triumphant smile, he loves the attention.

You chuckled slightly and you looked at Ethan, who was standing next to you.

—Ready for tomorrow, little boy?

—Of course, I'm excited too.

You hugged him by the shoulders pulling him a little closer to you.

—It's going to be the best day of your life.

The rest of the day was pretty nice. Playing with your boyfriend's nephews, giving love advice to some of his teenage cousins ​​without your boyfriend and brother-in-law listening. With Ethan hugging you throughout dinner fighting with Kylian since he wanted your attention too. Almost crying with the speech that Kylian's father gave during the toast and watching the fireworks hugging your boyfriend in the yard of the house.

It was a good way to start the year.

You woke up with the sound of the alarm indicating that "the funny day" had started.

Between you and Ethan, there was no telling which of the two was more excited.

On the other side of the city, your brother-in-law was getting out of bed just like you, unable to erase the excited smile on his face, he had really missed the funny days.

Your boyfriend was still sleeping since he asked you not to wake him up since he couldn't handle knowing that you would abandon him and he wanted to take his time to take it on.

Or in other words, he was very tired and wanted to sleep late.

You complied with his request, so trying not to wake him up, you gave him a kiss on the forehead as a goodbye. Then you took your car keys and left the house going to pick up your brother-in-law.

The day's schedule you made was: first go to Starbucks for breakfast since Ethan loved it, take him to buy his gift, have lunch at his favorite restaurant, amusement park and movie night.

You arrived at your in-laws house and saw Ethan waiting outside. When he noticed that you were there he smiled and quickly got in the car.

—Hi, E. How are you? –you smiled at your brother-in-law as he put on his seatbelt.

—Hi, sis. I'm fine and hungry to be honest.

—Let's have breakfast then.

Ethan nodded happily and turned on his phone's bluetooth to listen to music.

He put up the playlist that you two created called "yeaiIwidjs" (you guys couldn't think of any names so you opted for random lyrics), it had everything, from songs from Maroon 5 to Whitney Houston.

You two screamed with happiness when you heard the intro of Levitating by Dua Lipa.

—IF YOU WANNA RUN AWAY WITH ME, I KNOW A GALAXY AND I CAN TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE. –you started to sing/scream.

And of course Ethan did the same.

—I HAD A PREMONITION THAT WE FELL INTO A RHYTHM WHERE THE MUSIC DON'T STOP FOR LIFE.

—GLITTER IN THE SKY, GLITTER IN MY EYES, SHINNING JUST THE WAY I LIKE –now you both were singing/screaming.

You did the same thing with every song you heard until you got to Starbucks.

You guys might have a sore throat for a whole week, but it was fun.

You ordered your coffees with some rolls that Ethan liked and you were talking about the same old things, your job, your relationship with Kylian, how Ethan is doing in football and how he feels about it.

Maybe they were the same conversations as always, but you weren't bored at all, you were really interested in what he had to say, even if it was the same as always and he felt the same with you.

You guys finished breakfast and went back to your car, this time going to the mall.

You guys didn't want to sing/scream this time because a couple of people recognized you and you didn't want to see yourself on the internet yelling the lyrics to All Too Well by Taylor Swift.

Now instead of singing you played to imagine the life story of people walking down the street.

Ethan believed that the man with glasses and a blue suit who passed in front of us while the light was red was a lawyer who was frustrated with his profession because he really wanted to be a policeman and now he is dedicated to defending criminals to make it difficult for them to work.

But in my opinion that man was an accountant, who was happily married with 4 children, who works in what he loves and now went to the flower shop to buy a bouquet of daisies for his wife because today is their anniversary.

—I just don't understand why you think he was frustrated with his profession.

—I saw it in his eyes! Don't you always say that the eyes are the soul or something like that? That man hates his life, I know.

You continued discussing for a few more minutes about the profession of the unknown gentleman and entered the mall.

—Y/N, please tell me we're not here to buy you clothes. –you laughed when you saw his panicked face.

—No, we came to buy you something, whatever you want.

Ethan looked at you excitedly, thinking about all the things he once told his mom he wanted but she said no because he didn't need them.

Quickly, your brother-in-law took your hand and began to drag you around the mall looking for something he liked.

After searching for about 20 minutes he was about to give up, until he found the perfect gift.

Headphones.

Good headphones to listen to good music.

—Oh, do you want those? –you pointed to the headphones and saw Ethan nod– Good choice.

Ethan wanted to pay for it but you obviously told him no as it was a gift. So even though you told him it wasn't necessary, he bought you some headphones too.

So you two left the store with a new pair of headphones.

—Thanks for the headphones, Y/N. And for spending the day with me. –Ethan hugged you by the shoulders as you walked.

—Thanks for the headphones too, and you don't have to thank me for wanting to spend time with you, it's my pleasure. –you winked at him making him laugh.

—Okay, can we go for lunch? I'm starving.

—But it's been just a while since we had breakfast, Ethan.

—But I'm hungry, please let's go to McDonald's, order takeout, and walk around or whatever, but i want some food.

—Okay, let's go, I'm hungry too.

You decided to obey your brother-in-law's requests, so in less than five minutes you were back in your car ready to go order food.

There's not much to tell about lunch, you two were so hungry that you didn't speak to each other until you finished eating, and you only talked about how good the food was.

You decided to walk a bit through the streets of Paris to take some photos and talk about the outfits of the people you saw, you always do that. It's a funny day tradition.

—Y/N, when you and my brother gonna get married?

Ethan's question took you by surprise and you stopped walking, causing him to look at you in confusion.

—Why did you stop?

—Not at all, it's just that your question surprised me.

—Oh, okay –your brother-in-law nodded and you continued walking in silence.

You were sure that you wanted to marry Kylian and start a family together. But he wanted the same? Why would Ethan ask that? Is it too obvious that you want to get married?

—Why did you just ask that?

—Why did I ask you about the marriage? –you nodded– It wasn't for anything special, it's just that you guys have been together for five years and it would be nice to have the same last name.

—Yeah, it would be nice to officially be family. –you laughed and saw Ethan nod.

You kept walking around talking about anything but the marriage, but inevitably it was still in your head.

Then you went back to where your car was parked eating ice cream at Ethan's request (yes, he's hungry all day). He also insisted on going to the amusement park early because he wanted to stay there all afternoon, obviously you listened to him and drove there.

—Do you think they would recognize us? –you heard your brother-in-law ask before entering the place.

—No, I don't think so.

You guys walked into the amusement park, Ethan completely fascinated and you completely scared.

You wanted to ignore the fact that 90% of the rides in those kinds of places scared you because you knew Ethan was excited, so you took a deep breath and faked your best smile.

—We could get up there, look. –he pointed to the roller coaster.

There's no way I'm getting on that thing.

—Alright, let's go there.

Ethan took your hand and dragged you toward the waiting line.

Fortunately for Ethan and unfortunately for you, there were only 4 people waiting. There are always waits of more than an hour, and today, when you're there, it's only 10 minutes.

—Ethan, I have to go to the bathroom.

Liar.

—Oh, it's fine. I'll wait for you so we can ride the roller coaster together.

This can't be.

You smiled slightly and you almost ran to the women's bathroom trying to mentally prepare yourself for what you were about to do.

You stayed there for a few minutes until you decided to go out and face your fear, but you saw Ethan, who was waiting for you outside the bathroom.

—Hey, I thought you would wait for me on the roller coaster.

—Yeah, let's go to another ride or something, when you came here a guy coming down from the roller coaster was throwing up and I was eating all morning and I don't want to repeat history.

You smiled with extreme happiness knowing that you were no longer at risk of fainting in front of hundreds of people.

The rest of the afternoon was spent going from ride to ride. Ethan ate everything in front of him, from cotton candy to hotdogs. You took thousands of photos, but most were with Pooh, the teddy bear that your brother-in-law win in a game.

Pooh Mbappé was a new member of the family and Ethan and you couldn't be more proud of that.

It was already close to seven in the evening and you two were too tired.

So you three (Pooh wanted to be included) went back to your shared house with Kylian, who wasn't there since he told you in the morning that he couldn't deal with loneliness and that he was going to his parents' house.

You and Ethan sat on your couch completely exhausted, Ethan rethinking his decisions of eating so much and you in how you could have won your own teddy bear too if you had a good aim.

—Now comes the best part of the day, E. –he looked at you expectantly– movies night!

Ethan smiled happily and celebrated a bit, he loved watching movies with you.

You went to your room to find a couple of blankets and cushions to be more comfortable and put them on the sofa.

—Okay little boy, what movie?

—SpiderMan: No Way Home –he responded almost immediately. That movie meant a lot to you two, since one of the things you shared was your love for spiderman you went to see the movie at the cinema together, it really was an unforgettable day for both of you.

It was pretty funny remembering how you two went into the movie completely excited and came out wiping your tears.

You put the movie on and Ethan rested his head on your shoulder.

—We are so lucky to have you in our lives. –you look at him with a smile.

—I'm the lucky one to have you.

ethanmbappe

liked by yourusername, k.mbappe and 435.690 others.

ethanmbappe Pooh Mbappé, the best of the funny day. Thank you for this, love you always @/yourusername

view all 4.598 comments

yourusername LOVE YOU ETHAN

k.mbappe give me back my girlfriend kid

ethanmbappe @/k.mbappe never

mbappeandyn: i love that Y/N and Ethan get along so well 🥺

kykyswife: POOH MBAPPE IM DEAD

kylvsyn @/kykyswife SAME GIRL IS THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN

You were lying next to your boyfriend lying on his chest talking about whatever came to mind.

—And that's why I think pineapple pizza is delicious. –you heard your boyfriend talking, but you hadn't paid attention to him at all and he noticed it.

—Amour, what's happening? You've been like this since Ethan left here.

You sighed taking courage to speak, it was now or never.

—I want to marry you.

[mewtwoandme]

Alrighty, just a heads up. After today, I'm not gonna be as active on here until after New Years.

Holiday plans are gonna be keeping me busy. The downside is that now I'm sick...(one of my coworkers apparently had been sick and never said anything, and of course, I'm the one that catches it :/)

Anywhooooo, despite being sick, I do intend to at least finish up the thing I'm doing for Christmas, so hopefully, that'll be scheduled to go up on the 25th. It will very likely be my last art post of the year. As much as I'd like to continue working on the Blu Arc while I'll be away, being sick kinda threw a monkey wrench into my plans, not to mention the previous burnout I've been feeling, which had actually started going away. Of course, once I finally start to feel better and get some motivation back to draw, I get sick...I have the worst luck XD

I'm hoping spending time with the family and just being in a warm/festive environment in general will help lift my spirits a bit and just taking it easy. The last few months of the year have definitely been rough for me...I hope that with the start of the new year, it'll feel like a fresh start. So I'll be able to pick back up where I left off when I come back. ^^

[corvid-language-library]

(Mild TW for mentions of depression, grief and suicide)

Still alive, still fighting The Demons, very busy at work because one of my colleagues quit and we were already understaffed, and also I have to prepare a 45-minute presentation for our Autumn Teachers' Seminar all by myself because my partner was supposed to be the aforementioned colleague that quit.

I've had to organise work on my damned house in the UK that cost far too much money and then my ex gave them permission to do extra work because "at least that way it's done" and ???? I don't have the fucking money. I'm trying to arrange the whole selling it but it's a fucking pain in the ass even before you factor in the whole being thousands of miles away. And my ex still hasn't found out how much of a mortgage he can get but it's looking more and more like he'll only be able to buy half the house off of me for now.

I really do not have the energy to study for the JLPT, I really just want to spend my downtime writing and drawing.

I was ill for like a whole month with a cough so bad I was starting to wonder if it was like TB or whooping cough (it's mostly gone now thank god).

I'm still coming to terms with the fact one of my favourite people on here probably took her own life and I miss her so fucking badly and I don't know what to do with all these feelings and I'm still clinging onto the hope that she didn't go through with it and she'll message me out of the blue from a new blog to say she just needed time away from it all. The worst part is tumblr deleted my other blog and so I've lost all my messages from her.

My dad doesn't like the flights I booked and is nagging me to change them even though I've said I'm not going to, he told me to get them booked asap and I did. But every other day I get a message from him asking if I've cancelled yet, or he's getting on my back about selling my house etc.

I don't know what I'm going to do in the UK at Christmas, I'm trying to organise things but none of my family's even said they'd like me to join them on Christmas Day or NYE?? Like WOW I really don't think I'll bother next year.

I slept 10 hours last night. Must've needed it.

Plus side: I went to Kanagawa last weekend and I had a really nice time! I'll post some pictures when I'm feeling up to it.

Thanks for still following me. I'll come back when I'm ready, I'm just... not having a good time right now.

[putschki1969]

2024/11/11 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン第15回目‼️〜みんなの素敵な旅のお話と、Wakanaと母が行く！日光の旅のお話その①〜

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

Talk Garden Vol.15‼️~Everyone’s Amazing Autumn Trip Stories! Join Wakana and her Mum on a Nikko Trip ①~

Here's a photo of the "Salted Salmon Set Meal" that I talked about in my podcast🐟 It was delicious...😍 Well, speaking of which, Vol. 15 of my podcast "Wakana's Talk Garden" has been uploaded today. This time, I asked about places you want to go this autumn😊 Just reading everyone's travel stories made me feel better~🤤 Going to an unknown place away from your everyday life is a little nerve-wracking but the fun outweighs all that! ! Because we're trying to make the most of every moment, it's sad when the trip comes to an end, you just don't want to go home...😿I always struggle with that particular feeling of sadness. I always end up thinking that I want to start my journey all over again..."😂 But it's the same as when I'm on my way home from hanging out with friends or when I'm alone after meeting my family. To feel a bit better, I try to remember the great time I just had. I'll cherish those memories and come back to them whenever I feel down. In that sense, adding many fun memories is very important for your life😊 It's very nice to be able to increase the number of happy things you experience♪ Thank you so much for all the messages!! ＼(^o^)／

The next podcast will be posted on December 10th which is my birthday, so the talk theme is 【Everyone's recommended ways to spend your birthday】 !! 🎂🎁🎉＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ Please tell me about your birthday routine, things you do every year, things you eat, places you go, and other favourite ways to spend your special day!! Please tell me what you would want me to eat, and do〜😆 The deadline is November 30th! I'll be waiting for your submissions~🤗

Well, the main reason I chose the talk theme for this time's podcast is because I went on a trip to Nikko with my mother. I would like to post some photos from my Nikko trip in this blog post📸 The title is "Join Wakana and her Mun on a Trip to Nikko"! This post will cover just the first day of our trip. We arrived in the light rain at Nikko Toshogu Shrine＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ (These kanji were apparently written by Eiichi Shibusawa) And it seems that we had hiked to an altitude at approximately the same height as Tokyo Skytree without even realising it. I felt dizzy~（；゜０゜）

The entrance. Wahhh~! Here!! Here it is! I got to sing here! (at the Kalafina World Heritage Live) It's a view from above. Here we have the five-story pagoda. On the left side as you enter, there is the famous see-no-evil, hear-no-evil monkey♪ And some elephants🐘 It was raining heavily at that time. This is Yomeimon Gate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So impressive...😭✨ A beautiful and majestic appearance. The epitome of gorgeousness... Next up is the sleeping cat😻 A close-up...!! Going past the sleeping cat, you will continue on to the approach the inner shrine where Tokugawa Ieyasu's grave is located. A steep staircase!! (I was impressed by the magnificent cedar trees!!) There were also guardian lion dogs. The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Spirited Away. I bought a souvenir, a cedar keychain made of wish-granting cedar (^-^) It's so cute, like a Christmas tree 🎄 For lunch, we had the "Yuba Soba" before going to Nikko Toshogu Shrine 🍜 The yuba was juicy and delicious 😻 And some beer ♡ Well, these were the photos from Day 1 of our Nikko Toshogu Shrine trip 📸

I'll write another blog post about our adventures on Lake Chuzenji ＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ Please be patient a little while longer 😊

All right, that's all for today! Until next time~ ☆( *'▽'*)/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

Wakana’s Talk Garden #15

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

Episode #15 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——«« ・Everyone’s Ideal Autumn Trip ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

For next month’s episode which is scheduled to air on December 10th, the following two topics have been chosen: ・Everyone's Recommended Ways to Spend your Birthday ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

The submission deadline is 11/30.

[trickphotography2]

TrickPhotography2's Masterlist

Welcome! This blog is 18+, please respect this.

Requests and asks are open. If you would like to be tagged for any or all of my writing, please fill out my tag form (hyperlinked). I will check ages.

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

D-Day (Jake Seresin x Reader series)

After finding out his girlfriend is pregnant, Jake is ready to move in and get married. The last thing he expected was to be hit with a six-month deployment at sea and missing the birth of his first child. (Jake x Reader, no y/n used)

First and Goal (Jake Seresin x Reader)

Hangman hosts a college football day for the Daggers, only to have Payback bring a history making Angel. (Hangman x female Reader fluff, no use of 'you')

Overtime (Jake Seresin x Reader, First and Goal pt. 2)

It was just supposed to be a football game. But then Hangman took Syla up on her invitation to watch the Blue Angels perform at the Miramar air show. A month after meeting and facing the last home show of her career, the history making Naval Aviator invited Hangman to visit her in Pensacola. She didn't actually expect him to accept. Payback definitely wasn't happy.

'tis the damn season (Jake Seresin x OC series)

After six years away from home, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin was finally going to make his parents happy and surprise his family by spending Christmas in Magnolia, Texas. Introducing his pregnant fiancee to his family is a culture clash, with rural Texas meeting California influencer. Though unhappy in his relationship, Jake knows he has to buckle down and do the right thing with a baby on the way.

The last person he expected to run into was his high school sweetheart and the one that got away, Julie.

After almost a decade apart, Jake and Julie can't help but feel that old familiar spark. Even with the realities of their lives pressing in, they can't help but wonder what might have happened if just one of them had fought for their relationship all those years ago.

The Perfect Match (Jake Seresin x Reader one shot)

Every third week in March, fourth year medical students find out where they'll be going for their residency. A quick 2.2K word one-shot of Jake's girlfriend going through that process.

we can't be friends (but i'd like to just pretend) (Jake Seresin x unnamed Reader [Ladybug] one shot)

Jake's not entirely sure how the bet came about other than being too drunk and maybe a little bored at the Fourth of July party. But after shaking on it with Yale, he agrees to help the new WSO - Ladybug - out with her crush on Rooster and figure out how to get the two of them to the Navy Ball together. With four months to get it done, it'll be simple. But when the reserved aviator is harder to get to know than expected, Jake has to push her to get out of her own way.

Two Lines (Jake Seresin x Reader one shot)

The last thing Jake expected to see first thing in the morning was a pregnancy test in the trash can. And he definitely didn’t expect a debate with his wife about what those two lines meant. 

Robert 'Bob' Floyd

(Every Step You Take) I'll Be Watching You (Bob Floyd x Reader one shot)

Bob disliked Friday team nights at The Hard Deck but knows they're important to the squad. That is, he disliked them until Penny hires a new summer bartender who gently pushes him to try new things. But when he comes in to find the police asking for her, the last thing he expected was to find himself protecting Evie. Trigger warnings: stalking, attempted assault. (Bob x Reader [Evie], no physical description)

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Santa's North Island Delivery Service (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader one shot)

Stuck at work, Bradley is missing his daughter's first Christmas Eve. But when the squadron decides to turn the hanger into Santa's Workshop, the pilot is able to sneak away to spend a little time with his girls. (Inspired by a true story; Rooster x Reader Christmas fluff)

Wanna Dance with Somebody (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader one shot)

When his girlfriend of three months ditches a night at the Hard Deck after a rough day, Bradley knows just what to do to cheer her up.

[crushculture03]

Ok I have a request idea. It’s the readers first time meeting Mattys Mom/family. It’s like Christmas or something. It’s all cute and then they fuck in Matty’s childhood bedroom lmao

Family Christmas

Summary : You go over to Mattys childhood home for Christmas, and finally get to meet his family. And also mess around a bit in his old bedroom

Paring : Matty Healy x afab! reader

Warnings : Smut, alcohol mention?, meeting the family.

Notes: This is such an adorable idea! i hope i did you proud anon!

"Matty, are you sure it'll be ok? I don't want to intrude on your family christmas" you say as matty packs both his and your suitcases in the trunk of his car. "Baby I'm positive, plus my mum is dying to meet you" he says, before slamming the trunk door shut. "Ok" you whisper, before slipping into the passenger seat. Matty quickly hops into the drivers seat and starts the car, before pulling out of the driveway.

You spend most of the car ride looking out the window, too much in your own head to talk to matty.

His hand being placed on your thigh is what snaps you out of your thoughts. "Y/n, baby it'll be ok I promise" matty says, trying his best to calm your nerves. "I know, but what if they don't like me?" you say, and turn to face him. "Baby they're going to love you, my mum couldn't stop telling me how excited she is for you to join us" Matty says, looking over at you quickly before focusing back on the road. "Ok, Sorry about all this, its just I've never met the family before so this is big '' you say, "I know baby, it'll be fun though I promise" he says, gently squeezing your thigh to comfort you.

After about an hour, you both arrived at his childhood home. "Wow this is beautiful" you say, as you admire the old victorian style home, "Isn't it? I always loved it when I was a kid, I'm excited to show you around!" he says, as he puts the car in park and turns it off. He turns to face you, the smile never leaving his face as he sees how excited you are to be there. "Ready to head inside?" he asks, "Ready as I'll ever be" you respond, before both of you get out of the car.

Matty grabbed both of your bags out of the trunk, while you carried the bag of presents, and the two of you walked up the gravel path to the front door. Matty carefully set the bags down and knocked on the door. You heard a voice shout "coming!" from inside the house, and a second later the door swung open to reveal his mom. "Hello My dears! Happy you made it here safe!" Denise said, before pulling her oldest son into a hug. Once she pulled away from Matty, her eyes met yours. "Ah you must be Y/N, wow matty she's even prettier in person!" she says, which causes you to blush. "It's a pleasure to meet you" you say, "You too dear! I'm so happy you were able to join us" Denise said, as she sent a warm smile your way, you could tell she wanted to hug you but couldn't since you had the bag of presents in your hand. "Now come inside before you freeze! I'll make some tea for you both while you settle in" she says, quickly ushering you both into the warm house.

" I'll show us to our room" Matty says, and you quickly follow him up the staircase. He opens the door to his childhood bedroom, and you smile as you take in the old decor. "Wow" you say, your eyes slowly scanning all the old rock poster he had hung up on the walls. "What?" he asks, "You were definitely a nerd for rock and roll weren't you healy" you tease, before placing the bag of present down on the floor. Matty looks over at you with a fake hurt expression, "Hey! Am not" he says, causing you to chuckle. "Are too" you say back, laughing at the childish exchange you guys are having.

Before you know it he's tackling you onto his bed, his hands going to your sides to tickle you. You giggle and squirm as he continues his tickle assault on you, "Ma-matty stop" you giggle, "Not until you apologize and say I'm the sexist man alive" he teases. You roll your eyes at him, "F-fine I'm sorry" you say as best as you can, while still being tickled. "Thank you baby but you're missing the last part" he says, you roll you eyes again and say "You're the sexist man alive", and with that he stops tickling you. "Glad you finally admitted it" he teases, still hovering over you on his bed, "You're so full of yourself Healy" you joke as you look up at your boyfriend. "Yeah but you love when you're full of m-" he says but you cut him off, "Matty!" you scold, your face going bright red at what he was about say. "What it's true" he says, before leaning down and kissing you. "Come on we should probably head downstairs before your mom thinks we're having sex" you joke, gently pushing him off of you and getting up from the bed. You reach you hand out for him to take, which he does, and the two of you make it back downstairs and to the kitchen where you see Denise preparing the tea.

"Oh Y/N, now that you don't have a bag in your hand I can finally give you a hug" she says, before wiping her hands on a towel and pulling you into a warm embrace. "I'm so glad you were able to join us" she whispers in your ear, which causes you to smile. "Thank you for inviting me" you say as you both pull away from the hug. "Of course! You're part of the family now Y/N, you're always welcome here" Denise says, before going back over to finish preparing the tea.

"See I told you she'd love you" Matty whispers in your ear, as he comes up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist. "But not as much as I love you of course" he says, before kissing your cheek, you smile and turn your head just enough so you could place a quick kiss on his lips. "I love you too" you whisper as you pull away from the kiss and smile.

After dinner, the four of you, the fourth being Lincoln, Denise's husband, who arrived a little before dinner, decided it would be a good idea to call it a night since tomorrow was going to be a busy day. "Good night My dears! Sleep well" Denise says as she gives both you and matty a kiss on the check and a hug goodnight. "Goodnight" you both say in response, before heading back to Mattys room. The two of quickly get changed into your Pajamas, before cuddling up in Mattys old bed and falling asleep.

The next day you were woken up by the familiar smell of bacon, you were about to elbow matty awake, but realized he wasn't beside you anymore. You quickly got out of bed and got dressed, before making your way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning my love" matty says in a sing songy voice, as he walks up to you and kisses your cheek. "Goodmorning baby" you whisper, "I hope you're hungry dear because we have a full breakfast" Denise says from behind Matty. "I'm starving and everything looks and smells delicious" you say as you look at the array of breakfast foods on the kitchen counter.

After breakfast, you and matty spent the rest of the afternoon helping Denise cook and decorate for dinner tonight. "You know you're my favoirte of all of mattys girlfriends" Denise says as you both scoop out cookie dough onto sheet pans. You blush at her compliments "You're too sweet" you say, "I mean it, I've never seen him this happy before" she says, before placing her completed cookie sheet, as well as yours, into the oven. "I've never been this happy before" you say as a smile forms on your face, "He's my bestfriend and my boyfriend, what more could I ask for? I mean I never knew love like this could exist till I met him" you finish. "Aww young love" Denise coos as she pulls you into a quick hug, "I'll clean up here if you wanna go find Matty" she says as she picks up the dishes, "No, let me help, after all I did make half of this mess" you joke, but Denise shakes her head "I insist dear go find Matthew" she chuckles as she nudges you out of the kitchen.

You make you way up the stairs, knowing you'll probably find matty in his room. And sure enough as soon as you get to the top step you hear the soft strumming of his guitar coming from his childhood bedroom. You slowly make your way to his room and carefully open the door. "Beautiful as always" you say as you lean against the door frame. Matty stops playing, and turns to face you, "Why thank you my love" he says and places his guitar down, before walking up to you. "Did you have fun baking cookies with my mum?" he asks, his hands finding their way to your hips and pulling you closer. "Yeah it was alot of fun" you say, and reach up to brush a few stray curls from his forehead. "I'm excited to meet your brother and the rest of your family tonight" you say, "Me too, it's going to be fun but you let me know if they ever get too overwhelming ok?" he says, you nod your head before he places a soft kiss to your forehead.

It was now late in the evening, the events of the night were already underway. Most of mattys immediate and extended family was stuffed inside the house, all ready to celebrate the holiday together. For you however, it was hard to focus on what was going on at the party, because you couldn't stop staring at your boyfriend, who looked incredibly stunning.

You watched from afar as he effortlessly conversed with one of his cousins. You felt your heart speed up as he made eye contact with you, quickly sending a wink in your direction, before going back to the conversation. You don't know what had come over you that evening, maybe it was the wine you had been drinking or maybe it was just matty, but every bone in your body wanted him, no needed him.

You decided to slip away from the living room and make your way up to his bedroom, hoping that maybe not seeing him would help you cool down just enough so you could return back to the party. But as you laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling which was littered with tiny glow and the dark stars, you couldn't help but imagine all the things you wanted him to do to you in that moment.

Just as you were about to slip your hand under the waist band of you skirt, you heard the door open. You quickly pulled your hand away and sat up to see who was there, "Matty?" you say, recognizing the familiar silhouette. "Hey baby" he says, the words roll of his tongue effortlessly, making the urge to squeeze your thighs together for relief even stronger. "Wh-what are you doing up here?" you ask as you see him gently close and lock the door behind him before walking over to his bed. "Well I went to go see if you were ok, I saw you slip away upstairs and came to check on you. Now i see you were ok, just horny" he teases. You blush furiously as you realize you have been caught "How can I not when you look like that" you say, motioning towards him. He chuckles lowly, before kicking off his shoes and hovering over you on the bed. "I do look pretty hot don't i?" he says, gently pushing you back down on the bed. You roll your eyes and giggle "Way to ruin the moment Healy" you tease. He smirks at you and slowly runs his hand up your thigh, stopping it right over your soaked panties. "Mm your body says otherwise baby" he whispers and slowly applies pressure to your clothed core, causing you to moan in pleasure.

"Shh baby don't want anyone to hear how good I make you feel" he says, before hooking his fingers in the elastic of your underwear and slowly pulling them down your legs. You gasp as the cold air hits your naked core, "Please matty" you whisper, desperate for his touch. "What do you want baby?" he whispers, slowly placing hot open mouth kisses to your neck. "You" you whimper as you feel his hand make its way back up to your core. He chuckles lowly "you want my cock darling? Is that it" he teases, as his finger slowly rubs circles on your clit. You have to bite your lip to hold back your moans. "What me to fuck you like the slut you are baby? My familys down stairs and you're up here just begging to be fucked" he taunts. "Please matty, I need you" you beg, your hands reach out and unbuckle his belt. He watches as you slowly unzip his black dress pants, and groans when he feels you palm him over his boxers. "You got a condom?" you ask, desperate to have more than his fingers inside of you. He quickly removes his fingers from you and gets off the bed in search for a condom.

After finding one in his old sock drawer he comes back to you. He slowly pulls his boxers down just enough to reveal himself to you. You watch closely as he gently rolls the condom on himself and goes back to hovering over you. "Remember be quiet baby" he whispers, before lining himself up with your entrance and slowly pushing in. He captures your lips in his, swallowing your moans as he quickly sinks deeper inside of you. He gives you a minute to adjust before gently rocking his hips back and forth. Your fingers find their way to his curls and quickly tug on them as you hold back your moans.

"You take me so well baby" he whispers in your ear, as he speeds up his thrusts. "Matty" you moan, not being able to hold it back as you feel him hit a deeper spot inside of you. One of his hands makes its way up to your neck and applies a bit of pressure "Shh or they're hear baby" he scolds. The  pressure on your neck and the way his cock is continuously hitting the sweet spot inside of you begins to become to much, causing you to feel the familiar tenison build in your stomach.

Matty catches you by surprise, when he flips you guys over, his back now on the bed and you straddling his lap. After a second to adjust to the new position, you quickly rock your hips back and forth, having to hold onto his chest for support as the pleasure begins to become to much.

All it takes to make you finish is matty to thrusting up into you every time you rock your hips forward. You collapse onto his chest as your orgasm washes over you. You feel him thrust into you a few times more before he stalls inside of you. You look up at him and send him a dopey grin "I love you" you whisper, before you lean up and place a kiss on his lips. "I love you too" he says, before gently helping you off of him. He places you down on the bed, before getting up and disposing of the condom.

"We should probably head back down before people come to look for us" you say, carefully getting off the bed and going to retrieve your underwear. "If they ask us where we went i'll just say how needy you were for my co-" but you elbow him before he can finish. "If you say that I'll punch you" you joke, as you fix the collar of his shirt, so it doesn't look like you just had sex. "Aw come on you love me" he teases, "True, but would rather not have your family know about our sex lives" you joke, as you go to fix your hair and outfit in the mirror. "Come on lets head downstairs" you say, as you grab his hand and lead both of you out the door and back down to the party . Everyone had been so drunk or distracted that they didn't even notice that you both had been gone for 15 minutes, and that there was a hickey forming on your neck.

[fun-k-board]

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!

AVATAR 2009 with a Human ! S/O who adores Christmas

Characters included: Jake Sully, Neytiri, Tsu'Tey

Pronouns: They / Them

Relationship: Romantic

When text is in bold that means it's spoken in Na'vi, I have no clue if Na'vi have gender neutral language so sorry if this isn't accurate.

Jake Sully

Jake never understood about Christmas, he wasn't one of the lucky few on Earth who had a rich family nor did his family particularly show an overabundance of affection.

He and his brother weren't to close, it hurt when he died of course, but at the end of the day he wouldn't see him for years when he went to Pandora anyway.

So, your sadness over not being able to celebrate it was confusing, but Jake cared for you and tried to comfort you despite this.

"You don't look so good." Jake mumbled and sat down next to you, his eyes stared into you intently as he waited for a response.

"I just miss my family, we use to celebrate Christmas and..." You trailed off, your ears down and tail curling on your thigh. A whimper escaped you as tears began welling in your eyes.

"Oh." He paused, sucking in a large breath "I'm sorry. Maybe we could make last minute presents for each other?" Jake quietly suggested, pulling a shy smile that showed off his sharp teeth.

"That'd be nice..." You quietly whispered, smiling back softly at him while you tried wiping away your tears as calming your breaths.

And so you made whatever you thought would be best for Jake, I could imagine him getting you a weapon or maybe some type of neckwear that would give you a sense of pride.

He doesn't really try to expand it to Neytiri given the cultural differences, but I see Norm getting into the holiday spirit, maybe Grace if her present is a cigarette.

Neytiri

Neytiri taught you and Jake the ways of the Na'vi, to which you both listened, adapted and overcame the differences in your cultures.

However, you still missed your old life. As horrible, polluted and poor Earth became, you still missed family. Apart of family was Christmas, giving to others even outside of who you considered family just to see their smiles, it was something you hadn't experienced in years. You missed that. And you'd never get it back.

"There is something on your mind." Neytiri plainly stated, her words catching you off guard, looking you up and down as she handed food to Jake on her right.

"It's a time of year at home." He replied, looking to me in pity. "Where you can participate in a tradition on Earth, I'll let them explain the details if they want." Jake awkwardly looked away, munching on an unnaturally large amount of teylu. Neytiri turned to me expectantly.

"It's one about family and giving, cherishing those you love, those and even the things around you." You nodded as you spoke even if there was no reason to, awkwardly smiling while Neytiri smiled sweetly.

"It sounds like a wonderful tradition. What is it called?" Her stare bore into your eyes, her own were soft.

"Christmas." You sighed, continuing only because the silence would be unbearable. "We hurt our great mother and caused a lot of pain, it became harder and harder to celebrate as time continued. Now almost nobody truly celebrates it as it was intented, instead a shallow reminder of what it originally was." Neytiri held your hand and nodded.

"I am understanding of your pain, I hope all sky people learn to see as you and Jake have."

She doesn't go out of her way to celebrate it, but notes the general time it happens around and maybe gives you little trinkets that would be meaningless to most.

I can definetly imagine Neytiri showing you in depth Na'vi culture, as she already does, but with more pride as she realises how important you can take cultural and traditional events. But, most of all I imagine you'd be spending time with each other, even if she personally doesn't believe in Christmas, she believes in you. Neytiri sees you.

Tsu'Tey

He mainly made fun of you and Jake for being 'demons', so getting to know you was a lengthy process and required patience on both ends.

Given you were already learning of Na'vi culture from Neytiri, he didn't find the need to teach you anything other than fighting and flying, so when you asked him about something the explanation was very short and simple.

Tsu'tey couldn't say he was too interested in sky people or their traditions, but he noticed you weren't doing too well for the past few weeks. Your sour mood showed in your training and pushed you back, so it was garunteed he would speak on it eventually.

"Why are you sitting here? The ikrans are-" He was momentarily stopped in his words by your tear stained face. Not only was your face uncanny for him with your features unlike natural Na'vi, but beyond that, you were hurt.

"What... What is bothering you?" You noticed his switch to English as hesitantly placed a hand on your shoulder, lowering into a kneel as he stared deep into your eyes.

"Us human- uh, sky people, have a tradition." You began, Tsu'tey was interested in your words and the curious look he had told you to continue "This time we begin giving gifts, we spend more time with family, friends and... Significant others." You coughed shyly, unsure of the word in Na'vi before remembering "Mates." You clarified.

"It sounds like a prosperous time for your people." He nodded respectfully, holding your hand and looking comfortingly into your eyes. "I see your pain, and I am sorry brother/sister."

He, like Neytiri, doesn't go out of his way to celebrate. Mainly taking part in spending time and showing how much he loves you. Sometimes it can be awkward and stiff, but Tsu'tsy is quite literally an alien who viewed all humans as demons. Unless you explain to him how you view Christmas, he's unsure of how important it is to you and doesn't want to come off as offensive.

In turn, I can imagine him pointing out things similar to his own culture, feeling like a part of him was always with you even before you met.

[canirove]

Friends, lovers… and an orange | Chapter 23

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

“Yes. I know, yes. I… Yes, Erin. I know” Mason sighed. “I will. Ok. You too. Bye” he said before hanging up. “Erin wishes us all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

“It will be merry and happy if we manage to get rid of her.”

“Mum!” he said, trying to look serious and not laugh.

“Sorry” Toni shrugged. “Anyway, have you decided yet what you are going to tell her to not go back to London and sign the new contract?”

That year for the holidays they all had decided to spend them in New York with Luca and Alex, hoping that putting an ocean between Mason and his agency would help them forget about them and everything that what was coming for a while. But judging by how Erin was calling him daily, it was going to be more difficult than they thought. 

“That I got sick. Like with a cold or something like that. Then that Addie got sick too and I want to be with her. And if in the meantime it wants to snow so we can't fly…” he shrugged.

“Your wish may be granted very soon” Adele said, joining him and Toni in the living room of the house their parents had rented. “It has started to snow.”

“Really?”

“Yes” Elizabeth said, walking behind her daughter. They had gone out to do some late Christmas shopping, Adele not being able to find one of her gifts for Mason back home. “It isn't too much, but if it continues during the night, it's very likely that this year we will also be having some white Christmas.”

“Ready for another snowball fight, Turlington?” Mason asked Adele with a teasing smile, walking towards where she was standing.

“I was born ready, Mount” she replied.

“Have I told you today that I love you?” 

“Not enough times” she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Ok, I think this is our cue to leave” Toni said, getting up from the sofa. “Fancy a cup of tea?”

“Please” Elizabeth replied. “Who knew they would become so…”

“Cheesy?” Toni chuckled.

“Yes. Adele has never liked that.”

“Growing up you were allergic to anything romantic too. But then you met the love of your life, and boom! You became a real life heart eyes emoji. It must run in the family.”

“I never giggled like that.”

“Oh, you did, Elizabeth. You did” Toni laughed.

“But do you… Do you really think he is the love of her life? The one?” she asked while looking at Mason and Adele kissing and giggling like two teenagers.

“I do. And she is his” Toni smiled. “C'mon, let's go make us that tea and give them some privacy.”

“Yeah… I don't want to be here when your son starts putting his tongue down my daughters throat.”

“Oh, shush!” Toni laughed again, linking her arm with Elizabeth's and leaving the room, Mason and Adele definitely not noticing.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Addie… Adele… Don't.”

“Too late, Mount.”

“Addie, I swear I didn't mean to hit your face with that snowball, it was just my bad aim” Mason said.

“Excuses, excuses.”

“Addie… please. Remember that I need my face for work, that I make a living out of it.”

“But you are taking a sabbatical year, aren't you? You won't be needing it any time soon.”

“What about you, tho? Do you want an ugly boyfriend? One that can't kiss you because his lips are all swollen after getting hit by a snowball? Think about it.”

“Umm…” Adele said. “You actually are a really good kisser.”

“I am.”

“Then I guess I'll have to hit you somewhere else” she shrugged.

“What? Addie!”

“I'm sorry, Mase. It is what it is.”

“But I also need my body! Like, what if you hit my chest and hurt my heart?”

“What?” she laughed.

“And think about my abs. You love following the shape of them with your finger, and if you hurt me there, that will be painful and you won't be able to do it.”

“Mase…”

“And what if you miss and you hit me between my legs, uh? Goodbye to our children!”

“Mason!” Adele laughed again. “I'm going to throw this snowball at you whether you like it or not. I'm sorry.”

“But Addie… Addie!” he said when she threw the ball. “Oh my God, Adele. And then I have bad aim” he laughed. 

“Mase...”

“That was so bad, Addie.”

“Mase…” she repeated.

“You had to hit me, not the tree behind me.”

“Mason!” Adele said, throwing herself at him and pushing him down, a huge chunk of snow falling from one of the tree's branches just where he had been standing.

“Shit” he said, Adele on top of him. “That was close.”

“So close” she whispered, flashbacks from the previous Christmas coming back. “Did you know that during winter you have nineteen freckles?”

“What?” he laughed. 

“During the summer after being in the sun you get a lot more, but right now you have only nineteen.”

“Have you counted them?”

“I have.”

“Oh my God, Addie” he chuckled. 

“They are cute.”

“Because I am cute” he smirked.

“Seriously, guys? We are in a park, a public place where there are children!” Luca said behind them. “Can't you wait until we are home to have sex?”

“Oh, fuck off” Adele said, standing up.

“Hey!” Luca complained when she hit him with the snowball she had made as she got up. “That hurt, Addie!”

“Not sorry” she smiled.

“Not sorry? Oh, you asked for this!” he said, making another snowball to throw at her but hitting Mason instead as she hid behind him. 

“Adele!”

“I'm sorry, Mase. But you deserved it for hitting me.”

“I… come here” he said, making a snowball and starting to run after her while she laughed and screamed.

“Urgh” Luca groaned. “I liked you better when you weren't together. You are insufferable now with your cute couple crap.”

“Shut up and let them be happy” Alex said from behind a tree before hitting him with a snowball. 

“You little shit” Luca said before starting to run after him just as Mason was doing with Adele, the four of them ending up fighting against each other like they used to do as kids, laughing and screaming until they were soaking wet from all the snow.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Three, two, one… Happy New Year!” everyone in the room screamed.

“Happy New Year, Addie.”

“Happy New Year, Mase” she smiled before kissing him.

“Urgh, you two are seriously insufferable” Luca said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, stop it” Adele laughed, hitting his arm. “It's not our fault that you are sad and single” she teased him.

“Actually…” Alex said, Luca giving him a murderous look.

“Actually what?” she said, looking between him and her brother. 

“Luca may be seeing someone.”

“What?” Adele and Mason said at the same time.

“You are seeing someone and you haven't told your sister about it?” she said, hitting him again.

“I'm sorry” Luca said. 

“Who is he? Do I know him? Have I met him?”

“No.”

“Don't lie to her, Luca” Alex said. “She's into football, she's definitely seen him play.”

“He's a football player?” Adele gasped. “Oh my God.”

“Shh, lower down your voice” her brother said. “Anyone could hear you.”

“People are too busy dancing and celebrating. I don't think they are paying attention to our conversation” Mason said.

“Exactly. So spill the beans, Luca. Who is he? How did you meet? I want all the details.”

“Again, I'm not gonna tell you everything about him in a place like this. He isn't out, you know? But we met this summer in Miami.”

“Likely place for a footballer to be during his holidays” Mason chuckled.

“Yeah, well. A mutual friend introduced us. When he said I was your brother, his friends started to talk about how hot you and mum are, that Mason is the luckiest guy…”

“I am” he grinned, kissing Adele's cheek and making her giggle.

“But then when we were kind of alone, he told me that he thought I was the hottest member of the family.”

“Smooth” Adele laughed. “So is he the reason why you've been going to London so often these past months?”

“Yeah” Luca said with a shy smile. “He can't travel because he is playing all the time, so since my schedule is more flexible…”

“He's actually thinking about ending his degree back home” Alex said.

“Really?”

“Yeah” Luca said again, his shy smile growing wider. “But I don't know, I haven't made up my mind yet. What I do know is that I like him a lot, that I have never felt this with any other guy, and that even though it isn't going to be easy because of his career and everything that surrounds it… I think he's worth it.”

“Aww, Luca” Adele said, hugging his little brother. “I am so happy you've found someone.”

“Thank you, sis” he said, hugging her back. “It was about time, wasn't it?” he whispered, doing a little nod towards Alex and confirming what she had always suspected: that he had feelings for him. 

“Yeah” she smiled. “Should we make a toast? To Luca and his new love!”

“To Luca and his new love” Mason and Alex said before drinking. 

“I guess there won't be a New Year kiss this time since you are seeing someone” Mason said.

“We actually made that up” Luca shrugged.

“You what?”

“Yeah” he shrugged again. “We don't have that tradition. We kissed so you would also kiss and realize that you were in love with each other. Though if I had known you were going to end up being so annoying, I would have not come out with that plan.”

“Idiot” Adele said, hitting his brother once again. 

“Anyway, I have to go. There is a phone call I have to make.”

“To your boyfriend living on the other side of the pond?” she smirked. 

“Precisely. So if you'll excuse me…” Luca said before leaving, Alex disappearing somewhere else too.

“I can't believe they made that up” Adele said.

“I actually can” Mason laughed.

“Was that kiss the reason why you were so weird the next morning? Because I said it meant nothing but to you it actually did?” she asked, remembering that night and what had happened after.

“Yeah…” he sighed.

“I'm so sorry I hurt you, Mase” she said, caressing his cheek. “But I was so confused and scared… Because I did feel things when you kissed me last year, you know? I just… I just didn't understand them. Or wanted to.”

“It's ok, don't worry. What matters is that everything worked out, and that here we are. Together” he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Together” she smiled back. “I guess it did bring us good luck.”

“Definitely” Mason chuckled. “And we are gonna need a lot of luck this new year for your crazy plan to work, so I think we should kiss. A lot.”

“Can't think of a better plan.”

“Not even if I suggest…” he said, whispering into her ear some of the naughtiest things he had told her yet. “Shall we?” he said, meeting her eyes and making her feel goosebumps all over her body, her body temperature rising. Will she ever stop feeling like that when he gave her that look? Probably not. 

“Let's go” Adele said, taking his hand on hers and leaving the party.

[ricciardoswife]

Podcast

Warnings: none

Summary: y/n talks life and all things motherhood in her best friends podcast

Materlist

Hello and welcome back to the simple life podcast my name is y/f/n and today we have y/n ricciardo with us. Firstly for those of you who don't know y/n has been my closest friend since highschool but also when i first started this podcast in 2020 if you have been listening since then the one person I've always been asked to have on is y/n and I finally managed to get her to come on y/f/n says laughing "you make it sound like I was avoiding coming on" y/n replied laughing. "Okay okay in all seriousness she's been itching to get on but she's never been in Perth long enough since covid the get the time but now she has plenty of time" y/ns friend replied back seriously

"So how have you been y/n" "I'm doing amazing lifes great at the moment it's slowed right down and we're just enjoying each moment as it comes I honestly feel like in the last couple of months we've been able to stop and take in the moment more. Also being back in perth has had its perks no doubt I love this place with everything I got"

"People will get mad if I don't ask this early on so how's daniel and baby Olivia doing" "Their both doing amazing olivias six months old and she's just loving life since we've been back in perth we take morning walks down to the beach as a family and her and daniel just love playing in the sand together. I love watching it because she's at the age where she's more in tune with what's going on and just seeing her and daniel interact is amazing"

"She's six months already it feels like just yesterday I was flying out to Monaco because you had gone into labour. Did she enjoy Christmas whats every day life like with a six month old " "Christmas in general was great we got to spend it with the whole family which we haven't been able to do since covid, Olivia was in her element opening her presents and I think she enjoyed it alot because her cousins were there so she had someone to play with. Yeh six months can you believe it myself and daniel are trying to soak everything in because she's growing to fast but I also like this stage because she's more aware of her surroundings too. Also she's got the biggest smile for everyone and this huge belly laugh that only daniel can seem to get her to do she's definitely her father's daughter" y/n says laughing

"On the topic of labor how was that" "it was tough don't get me wrong but I had daniel by my side every second which I was so grateful for and he's someone who can make me laugh even when I don't want to so looking back on it I was laughing through all of labor and delivery thanks to him I definitely couldn't have done it without him."

"How's your business going" "yeh it's going amazing we do hold little pop up shops every now and then and people love that too. There's a new collection coming out soon which I haven't told people about so I'm sure they will be excited by that"

"Any plans on giving Olivia a little brother or sister" "look we've both said it we would love more than one child but at the moment we so happy with life and she's only six months so maybe further down the line we'll try for another"

"I'll be hated if I don't ask this how did you and daniel meet its been what 18 years this year" " yeh 18 years, you know this story all to well because me and you talked to much in class I got moved next to the class clown who was also incredibly good looking. After weeks of him annoying me I finally gave in and went to get lunch with him. I never looked back since that day"

"When you were that young did you expect the two of you to still be together so many years later" y/n starts to laugh "definitely not I was a huge overthinker and I fell in love eith him quite early on but I knew Daniels plans to be an f1 driver and I had plans to go to college but we both knew wel over each other so we gave it a go and don't get me wrong long distance was really hard but it was so worthwhile. I don't regret any of it. I'm so thankful for everything I have in life especially daniel and olivia their both the light of my life and Daniels always been there for me and has helped me through so much"

"What's your take on life" "I like to just live in the moment cherish everything I have. I try not to worry because I know there's a solution to everything once I look for it"

"Quick fire round"

"Favourite flavour of ice cream"

"Mint chocolate chip"

"Farm life or city life"

"Farm life it's so much quieter"

"Mornings or nights"

"Morning person"

"Dogs or cats"

"Dogs"

"Favourite travel destination"

Iceland or Austin. Austin brings alot of fun but Iceland was where daniel proposed so its always gonna hold a special place in my heart"

"Thank you so much for coming on today y/n it's been a pleasure having you" " thank you for listening to me babble I hope everyone enjoys"

Liked by danielricciardo, yourfriendsinstagram, michaelitaliano and 45,333 more

Y/nricciardo I had the pleasure of speaking on @yourfriendsinstagram podcast about life and motherhood so please go check it out I promise its a good one

Dannyricfan Olivia sounds like the cutest child ever

Yourfriendsinstagram thanks so much for coming on

Y/nfann I love y/n so much

Dr3fann Daniels life with olivia and y/n sounds amazing

Dannyfann3 Only daniel can make olivia belly laugh 🥺🥺

Sorry I've been away for so long but I hope oyu guys enjoy and again as always send in your asks if you have any 🥰

[monsterswithimagines]

Undisclosed Desires - Part 30

Joe Goldberg x female!Reader

Summary: Twenty minutes before he would have met Guinevere Beck, Joe meets you instead. You intruige him, but it will soon become clear that there is something off about you.

Words: 827

Masterlist

It's not hard to find out where your mother is, (Y/n).

You have her boyfriend’s address in your phone's calendar with the note “niet vergeten kerstkaart te sturen”, which I figure out means don’t forget to send a Christmas card. (I know you never did that, by the way. And good on you.)

The hard part is getting to her. At first, I think I'll go when you're sleeping. But there are no busses out of town after nine pm, and there is absolutely no way for me to get back all the way from Utrecht before you get up, which means I have to make an excuse and go during the day. This is a problem, though, because The Netherlands has two Christmas days, which means we first have to spend another two miserable afternoons and evenings with your grandparents.

Why does this country insist on so many days of forced family time? You guys have something like Christmas on the fifth of December, already. You don't need two days of Christmas on top of Christmas eve, (Y/n). You guys don't even exchange gifts! You just sit around all day and eat and argue, and argue even more the more time you're forced to spend together.

Turns out, Dutch people don't particularly like Christmas.

You've dubbed the twenty-seventh our Christmas morning. We already exchanged gifts on Thanksgiving, but it's still a nice thought. However, it means I can't get away until noon, and even then, you're not very happy about it.

“But where are you going?” you ask, frowning, as I put on my jacket.

“I told you: I can't be in The Netherlands and not visit Amsterdam,” I answer. “I know you said it sucks there, but it kind of feels like a crime.”

“Why didn't you tell me you wanted to go? I could've gone with you,” you complain.

Your aunt asked you to meet her for a late lunch in an hour - you told me she most likely wants to complain about your grandmother - which is perfect. It means you won't insist on coming with me.

“We can do things separately, can't we?” I say.

I don't think I said it in any sort of negative tone, but my words still seem to hurt you. Your expression changes and you press your lips into a thin line.

I want to take what I said back right away, but I can't, because for your own sake I really need to go.

“Yeah, I guess,” you say, crossing your arms. “Well, don't go and get high, or something.”

“Of course not,” I say, and kiss your forehead. “I would never.”

“I like the cap, by the way,” you tell me. “Very sporty.”

I smile.

It's hard to extract myself from you, but eventually I leave. Then I get on a bus. Then a train. Then, another train. It's nearly a four hour journey and without you to look at, I hate every second.

It doesn't help that it's so busy today. I'm sitting in a compartment that has a large ‘silence’ sticker on the window, but nobody is being silent. I can't say anything about it, of course, because if I call attention to myself, someone might remember me later.

The ways I suffer for you know no end.

It's a little after four pm when I arrive at Steef's house. I'll have to be quick if I want to be able to make it back. Trains go until pretty late, though, and you think I'm in Amsterdam. If I don't make it back in time for the last bus, maybe you can call me a cab.

I miss New York.

My plan is to wait for your mom to come outside. I don't know if she will, but I get lucky: she does.

I recognize her from a photo you showed me, but she is not like she was when you were a kid. That woman was happy, smiling, slightly chubby with long hair and sparkling eyes.

This woman is thin, thinner than you to a very unhealthy degree. Her hair has been very inexpertly chopped into a pixie cut.

In the states, we would probably refer to her as white trash. She looks like a drug addict. You'll be better off without her.

She's carrying a trash bag, opening the grey bin in the front yard to throw it away. I have to be quick.

“Miss (Y/l/n)?”

“Hmm?”

She turns to me. There is no recognition, even though I know she's seen photos of me. Her eyes are glassy and she doesn't expect me here. Why would she?

“Is Steef home?” I ask.

“No, he is at work.”

She doesn't expect the blow, which means she doesn't have time to scream. And there is nobody outside, either. It's cold, and this is a bad neighborhood. I'm lucky.

“Good,” I say.

And then I drag your mother into the house.

[bomberqueen17]

whelm

ok so i survived both turkey processing days and all the shenanigans in between, and have made it back to buffalo. I was so tired after driving home I briefly forgot how to use a flush toilet-- not the flushing part, but I just stood there in the bathroom confounded at the notion of all the steps I was going to have to go through in order to answer this call of nature, and genuinely lost a few minutes of time in several scattered interludes at various points in the process to just not knowing how to proceed. I mean like you have to remove clothing and things, you have to sit on the thing, you have to-- do something, which sometimes largely happens on its own but sometimes you do have to like, apply effort, or at least stop applying an effort you may not even have realized you were applying-- you have to then attend to some things-- it's a lot of steps and I fully zoned out between each one, and really had to concentrate to do them in order. it was an ordeal.

Ridiculous.

i'm just gonna put in a cut because this is semi-incoherent bitching.

yet again, my older sister last-minute swapped our Family Togetherness Holiday, too late for me to also change my plans, so the whole family got together yesterday, except me, who had already promised to spend the holiday with Dude's mom (who OFFERED us an out, and like an IDIOT i BELIEVED that the plans my family had made would be honored THIS TIME, lucy won't pull the football away again!!! so I said no, and she made all her plans and I could not back out). I kicked up a whole fuss about this in the group chat when it was first revealed because this has happened every time that we were supposed to have Christmas together for the last SEVEN YEARS, and everyone told me to shut up because I wasn't being excluded on purpose so it didn't count, and so I tried to send friendly messages yesterday so I wouldn't feel so excluded, and really got no responses, because nobody cared that I wasn't there, so I'm feeling real shitty about that. I'm not entitled to be upset, see, since nobody meant for it to happen, but it's what happens every time. And unfortunately by the end of the whole discussion I wasn't feeling very giving, so when my sister said "we'll just have to make our plans for next year", I wrote back "we had made our plans for this year, will it be any different???" and haven't had any response. It will be different, because I just won't ever make any other plans, and so will be able to just "roll with it", which is what my sister wanted, but since we're talking distances of up to 700 miles for me, my deadline for "rolling with it" is a great deal less flexible than hers. but this is all my fault, I guess. I'm not entitled to be upset, see. So I won't be. Whatever.

It sucks and I'm mad. And Mom's mad at me because I made a fuss, and if I'd been quiet about it then nobody would have had to acknowledge any feelings, but don't worry, nobody has really acknowledged any feelings at all so I guess it doesn't matter, I just get to feel guilty for being a Problem.

(The rest of us will get together for Christmas. Older sister, with her three kids, was supposed to come. The last three times when this happened, we scrambled and made alternate plans. But I'm just not free. Which I'll get to. SO there's no alternative really offered. She declined the space I'd had open for her, and I just don't have another one, so it's me not wanting to see my family, I guess, and I don't get to be upset.)

Anyway.

Dude and I had all the windows replaced in our house in October, and contracted with the same company to have our kitchen redone, and when we signed that contract in like April I think (I no longer remember, it was maybe in the summer) they told us the work would happen in probably February.

Last week they emailed and said they could begin now. November 29th.

I have made no plans for this, have begun no arrangements, have not begun to consider where the things that live in my kitchen will be stored for the six-week duration of the work. We knew we were going to bring the cat over to Dude's mom's, but we had not yet worked out our own logistics, because like, it was going to happen in February. We had time. I could get through the end of the farm season, Dude could get through some travel he has to do for work in early December, we could regroup, and then we could start making a plan. We still have to buy a dishwasher, apparently. And lighting fixtures, those aren't included (Dude thought they were but I asked which ones he'd picked out, if they are, and he was like well I didn't, and I didn't either, so there is NO WAY they're installing light fixtures if we never picked any out, they made us pick the color of the grout for the tiles and the hinges for the cabinets and shit they're not just going to pick any old light fixture and go with it!), and there are all kinds of little things we haven't even started to imagine and there is no time, we have to pack everything into boxes right now.

Dude's mom will be away for Christmas, starting next week. So what will happen is we'll bring the cat over, and then a few days later, after we bring her to the airport, we'll just go over and stay in her house. This is incredibly convenient. It's less than a quarter mile from our house, so we can easily stop by and check on the work and make sure everything is in order, lock and unlock doors as needed, so on and so forth. The work won't be done by the time she comes back, but there's enough room in her house that we can still stay there if it drags on. So this is all fine.

But in the midst of this, we will travel to my mom's house for Christmas, and that's already sort of asking a lot (we'll have to board the cat, and then nobody will be there to check on the contractors; I expect they'll take some days off, but we'll have to communicate with them about it.)

I simply can't also travel to Baltimore in the midst of this, which is what my sister had offered as the make-up event for Christmas. (Since her family was blowing their holiday travel allotment on the biannual Let's Just Do Thanksgiving Instead event, which always excludes me, by sheer coincidence, and it's like, you know, I don't have to ascribe this to malice, it just is an undeniable example that you don't give a fuck whether I"m there or not or you would not every single time take the option that excludes me? Nobody will acknowledge this. I'm being oversensitive, and also making trouble.)

I'm really considering for next year just going on a fucking cruise with Dude, if nobody cares whether I'm there or not. But it won't matter, and it will really only hurt my feelings, when it turns out that nobody misses me if I don't turn up anyway.

But I don't have time to really worry about that, because I have to take everything out of this kitchen where I've been cooking for eighteen years, and find a place for it elsewhere in this 800-square-foot house, and make sure it's somewhere I'll be able to find it again in case I need it during the expected six weeks (and we all know these projects always run over) that I'll be kitchenless.

Anyway. Hope everyone had a lovely turkey holiday. I, sick of turkey, was happy enough to eat ham. The three of us had quiet conversation and caught up on things. I don't know if or when I'll see my niece and nephews, this coming year, but I know it will have to be at my own initiative if I want it to happen, and even then I need to be prepared for it to get last-minute cancelled.

I miss my dad a lot, he would have at least answered my texts.

[whentherewerebicycles]

ok update: leave specialist says my leave is protected if i take it in a single six-week block and it's no problem at all to change the dates (people do this all the time, she said). if i do it that way, i can go entirely through HR and then notify my team. if i want a partial return to work or to use leave intermittently, though, i have to negotiate the schedule directly with redacted and she can set limits on how i use the time (like, you can only do this reduced schedule for one month, or you can only do four days a week not three, or whatever). so now i have to think about what i want to do. liz asked what my actual ideal situation would be and i really had to think about it. i guess if i look into my heart i wonder if my ideal situation would just be to have the time with my kid. i feel like i've been working so hard this month and last month that i haven't really been "on leave" for a while. it would be nice to spend more relaxed time with him and also have some time to rest/reset before i go back to work. we're planning to go home for christmas and the week after and i was going to have to work remotely that whole week since i don't have any PTO left, but it would be great to just be able to spend that time with family. i still think there are definite advantages to easing back in, but i also think there are disadvantages to opening the door of redacted-related stress part of the way... our interactions often make me feel so bleh i can't stop thinking about them even when i'm away from work. so idk.

i think i need to think about it some more, and maybe gather some more information... i just emailed daycare to see if i could move his start date (in april they said I could move it to anytime in december but not sure if that'll still be the case). then i think tomorrow i'll take a look at my budget to figure out whether or not i'd have to take on another student to make the money work. ok. i think i want to try to make decision one way or another by no later than monday of next week and ideally by friday.

[thedreadpiratematt]

I'm sad and I'm not always great at processing sadness and I think it's supposed to be good to write things out so I'm doing that now. I'm sad because:

-My Great Uncle Ed died this morning, he was almost 101 years old. We didn't get down to see him but once every few years, but when I was a child he was like another grandpa to me. Even with a five hour drive I'm sad we never made it a bigger priority to see him at least once a year. But I'm glad he's at peace and I'm glad I got to introduce him to Christina this Spring.

-Christina has been bad sick with a stomach bug since halfway through Christmas Day, and I feel awful for her, what a miserable way to spend the holidays :( she was sick for 7 of our 8 hours driving home from Illinois on the 25th, and she was too sick to go to her extended family's (belated) Christmas Eve on Wednesday. This leads to

-Christina is still sick today, our 5 year anniversary. Having to cancel our reservations at a real nice place tonight, and she's not even feeling well enough for our traditional donuts from the shop where I asked her to be my girlfriend. But I'm happy she really loved the gift I got her :)

-It is highly likely she won't be able to attend her family's already twice pushed back Christmas day tomorrow :(

-we've basically been living as hermits this entire time in the same house. I'm living in the living room and sleeping on the couch while she takes our bedroom so as to hopefully avoid me getting sick, which has thankfully worked so far. But I've also been off work this whole time for various reasons, so I've had very little social interaction and I'm a pretty big extrovert.

-NYE plans maybe cancelled too?

-the living room is a mess and I need to make my habitat more habitable to feel better, but the old executive dysfunction/sadness combo has me on the ropes :(

I feel much worse for Christina than I do for myself, but I am still sad.

Now, I'm going to get some sunlight, and some breakfast, and maybe a little smoke and I'll take my day from there. Wish me luck!

[lestappenforever]

Hii, could I request prompt no 9 🥺 (and if its something you'd enjoy writing could you include maxes cats in this prompt, I feel like including them or them being part of the plot would work for this specific prompt) -> but ofc no worries if you'd rather write about other things, I'll still love whatever you come up with cause I adore your writing! <3

Hello, my darling anon. ❤️

9. with Sassy and Jimmy coming right up! I also snuck in a little 32. "I love you. So fucking much."

---

9. “It’s all taken care of.” “Even the–?” “Everything.”, and 32. "I love you. So fucking much."

It doesn't happen often, Max getting sick. In fact, Max takes preventive measures on a daily basis to make sure he doesn't get sick.

He takes every vitamin the medical team has recommended for him, drinks every disgusting concoction Brad makes him to boost his immune system, and denies himself foods and snacks he desperately wants to have in order to make sure he stays in the best shape possible.

So no, it doesn't happen often, Max getting sick. But when it does, it has a tendency to hit him hard.

And of course it hits him on December 20th.

He starts feeling it a few days before, with his energy levels dropping and waking up with a headache for no apparent reason. Max finds himself thinking it's just the common cold and it will pass in no time. Then his throat starts hurting, his nose feels stuffy, and his lungs feel constricted with every inhale. By December 20th, he doesn't even have the energy to get out of bed.

It's not a cold. It's the flu, which Max hasn't had since he was a fucking kid. And it couldn't have come at a worse time, because this year, he and Charles are supposed to host Christmas at Max's Monaco apartment, with their mothers, Charles' brothers, Max's sister and her family all invited.

It's less than ideal, to say the least.

He spends the entire day in bed, but on December 21st, despite feeling even worse than the day before, he gets out of bed to start getting things ready for Christmas Eve.

Charles finds him in the kitchen when he lets himself into Max's apartment an hour and a half later, hunched over the kitchen counter with his forearms and forehead resting on the cool marble, breathing labored and wheezing.

"Merde, Max, what the hell are you doing out of bed?" Charles groans, putting the shopping bags down on the floor by the fridge and hurrying to the Dutchman's side.

"I need to start preparing for Christmas," Max tells him as Charles rubs a soothing hand up and down the length of his back.

"Like hell you do," the Monégasque snorts. "You need to get your ass back into bed."

Max lifts his head to look at Charles, and he must look like death because Charles visibly winces at the sight of him.

"Nothing is ready. The tree isn't even up yet!" Max tries to argue, but it's not a compelling argument when he can barely get the words out with his hoarse voice and reduced ability to breathe.

"I'm putting the tree up tomorrow. Now come on, back to bed," Charles says as he winds an arm around Max's waist and carefully eases him upright.

"But what about Christmas dinner? You can't cook, Charles," Max whines as he lets Charles guide him out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

Charles makes an offended noise by his side, but he doesn't argue.

For obvious reasons.

"I've booked a caterer," the Monégasque informs him.

Max blinks in surprise, staring at Charles.

"This close to Christmas?!"

"A very expensive caterer."

"I still need to wrap the gifts," Max continues to argue, even as he lets Charles sit him on the edge of the bed. The Dutchman sighs, but settles back against the pillows and pulls his legs up anyway.

"I wrapped them last night." Charles says it as he pulls the duvet up and over Max.

"The guest rooms aren't ready. My family are coming tomorrow evening," he continues with his never-ending list of things that need to be done, none of which Max has been able to get to.

"They're going to stay at my apartment until Christmas Eve, to give you more time to recover. I went to clean and get everything ready this morning," Charles declares, not at all worried. Not at all stressed.

Unlike Max.

He lays in bed, staring up at Charles through his glassy, red eyes.

"But what about Jimmy and Sassy's litterboxes? I need to clean them," Max says, trying to push himself up into a seated position.

Charles stops him with a gentle hand in the center of Max's chest, pushing him back down.

"I've cleaned them this morning. I gave them breakfast at seven on the dot, and I'll give them dinner at five."

"Their water fountain —," Max starts.

"I washed it last night. It's clean," Charles cuts him off, running a hand carefully through Max's hair.

The gentle motion makes Max's eyes flutter shut and he sighs, exhausted.

"Go to sleep, Max."

"But what about —,"

"It's all taken care of."

"Even the —,"

"Everything."

Max opens his eyes to meet Charles' gaze. He knows he probably looks horrible. But Charles still looks at him as if he's the single most stunning person he has ever laid eyes on.

"I love you. So fucking much," Max tells him seriously, and Charles smiles, letting his hand slide from Max's hair to his cheek, thumb sliding over his cheekbone.

"I know. I love you too."

Max is about to say something else, but then Charles is getting to his feet and hurrying out of the room, throwing an 'I'll be right back' over his shoulder.

Max watches him go, but he's too tired to keep his eyes open.

When Charles returns, he places Jimmy and Sassy on the bed next to Max, and the Dutchman opens his eyes to see Charles pointing at him.

"Heal him," he instructs the cats, who look at him like he's lost his damned mind.

But then Jimmy moves to settle on Max's stomach, curling up in a ball and purring. Sassy watches her brother before she goes to settle by Max's shoulder, laying her little head on Max's collarbone. And then she's purring, too.

Charles looks at the three of them, pleased.

"Good. Now make sure he stays in bed," he tells them.

Max huffs a breathless laugh, and Charles winks at him.

"Now sleep," the Monégasque demands as he leans down to press a soft kiss to Max's forehead.

And Max is asleep before Charles can straighten back up, lulled into it by the soothing purrs of his cats and the warmth spreading within at being so cared for, so loved, by Charles Leclerc.

Max doesn't know what he did to deserve Charles, but he's never letting him go.

Not in a million years.