#jo's happy hour of positivity

[luvismenu]

happy birthday master — jjk one shot

happy birthday to our golden boy!!! 🥺🫶🏻

pairing: boyfriend!jk x fem!reader

warnings: lower case intended, maid cosplay (role-play?), making out, oral (male receiving), praising, hair pulling, spanking, clit play, unprotected sex, use of 'master" , bigdick!jk

wc: 1.7k+

note — not proof-read! y'all better ignore the mistakes cuz i wrote this quickly in one sitting 🥴

♡ — permanent taglist: @wnteraezz @jkvias @jksctrl @blaricee @blluee28 @letmekookk @whoa-jo @wobblewobble822 @jkslvsnella @clxssy1997 @nikkinikj @kayleesaltzmann @rrosiitas @naurnonope @lola75111 @somehowukook @redcherrykook @parkinglot-nights @deluluisdasolulu @minghaosimp @hyeon-yi

you love jungkook more than anything.

and you'd go to the ends of the earth just to see him happy.

it’s his birthday today, and he’ll be home in just a few minutes. he had to go to his office for some work, which, to your relief, ended up taking him a few hours. that extra time was a blessing because it gave you the chance to get everything ready.

you want this to be perfect for him.

after all, he deserves nothing less on his special day.

that is why you bought a cute maid cosplay as a surprise for him!!

you’re a bit nervous about it, unsure if he’ll like it, but you remember the way his eyes lit up when he once mentioned maid cosplays... and just cosplays in general.

jungkook is always so generous with you. he gets you everything you want, often before you even have the chance to ask. and when it's your birthday, he makes sure it's an unforgettable experience, with grand celebrations that leave you in awe.

what you're doing right now might not compare to the extravagant surprises he plans for you, but you’re determined to make this the best birthday he’s ever had.

anything to see that smile on your boyfriend’s face, right?

you’re hiding behind the couch, dressed in your maid outfit, your heart racing with excitement.

your outfit is adorable—the skirt is mid-thigh length, and you notice how it rides up slightly, teasing just a hint of your ass.

the fabric hugging you just right, with a little bow on your chest that really completes the look.

you look like a birthday present (at least, you hope so!)

you’re excited, maybe a little nervous too

you’ve planned this surprise down to the last detail, and all you can do now is hope he’ll love it.

when he switches the lights on, you’re going to jump out like a bunny, and in that moment, you’ll find out if all this effort was worth it.

then, you hear the sound of the door unlocking. your heart skips a beat as you quickly get into position, ready to do your little jump.

“baby? you planning to scare me or something?” you hear him call out as he walks in, the sound of his keys jingling and you don't miss the slight teasing tone in his voice.

your heart is pounding in your chest as you quickly adjust your outfit, trying to steady your nerves.

the lights flick on, and you take a deep breath, jumping right into character.

“welcome home, m-master,” you stammer slightly, a blush creeping onto your cheeks as you see him standing there, his eyes wide with surprise. you almost laugh when you notice him nearly dropping the wine bottle in his hand.

“baby...” he slowly looks you up and down.

you catch the faintest hint of a curse under his breath, and it makes you smile, relieved to see that he’s clearly impressed.

“happy birthday,” you say softly as you walk over to him

“huh—oh, right, it’s my birthday, yeah wow.. fuck” he struggles to find his words, too distracted by your appearance. you chuckle, taking the bottle from him and placing it on the table with the cake and decorations.

his eyes never leave your body, tracing every curve and detail

“what do you think, master?” you ask, biting your lip as you look up at him.

“master?” he echoes, a smirk slowly spreading across his face as he meets your gaze.

“i am your maid for today, gonna serve you good” you reply, your fingers playing with the collar of his shirt, “do you not like it, master?”

“like? baby, i fucking love it!” he says, pulling you close, his arms wrapping around your waist.

“you look so fucking pretty,” his hands slowly drift down, cupping your ass in his palms. you gasp softly, and he grins with satisfaction before leaning in to kiss your neck. “so beautiful,”

you let him grab and squeeze your ass gently, feeling his touch grow more intense. then, he captures your lips in a kiss.

“are you really gonna serve your master, baby?” he whispers against your lips.

“yes,” you breathe out, and he squeezes your

ass harder.

he kisses you again, this time more passionately. his tongue slips into your mouth, making you let out a soft moan. his hands make their way to your hips, giving them a soft squeeze.

after what feels like two minutes, you gently push him back. he looks at you, a little confused.

“you have to at least take one bite of that cake before we do anything else,” you say pointing at the cake.

“oh i'm definitely gonna take a bite,” he says as his hand lands a playful spank on your ass, making you yelp.

you quickly light the candle, the tiny flame flickering. as you finish, he pulls you closer to his side, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“birthday wish?” you ask, tilting your head to look up at him, a soft smile on your lips.

he gazes down at you, his eyes softening, "i have you; what more could i want baby?" he murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of your face.

with a content sigh, he leans forward and blows out the candle. you carefully slice a piece of the cake, and then lift the piece to his lips. he takes a bite, savoring the taste, his eyes never leaving yours.

“delicious,” he says and you smile, pleased that he's enjoying the cake you made.

as you set the rest of the cake down, you notice a bit of cream on your fingers.

you smirk to yourself before you bring your fingers to your mouth, making sure he's watching every move. you slowly and deliberately suck the cream off your fingers, your tongue swirling around each finger, savoring the sweetness, while your eyes lock with his.

he kisses you immediately, his hands cupping your face, your tongues moving together as soft hums escape both of you. the kiss is urgent, yet passionate.

his breath catches, eyes darkening as he watches you.“fuck,” he breathes out, the word barely audible.

you start unbuttoning his shirt, your fingers fumbling slightly in your eagerness. he helps you take it off with one hand while his other hand grabs a fistful of your hair, pulling you closer, leaving no space between you as he deepens the kiss.

after a few heated minutes, he pulls back, his breath unsteady. “I'm your master for tonight, yeah baby?”

you nod quickly, your heart racing.

“gonna be a good girl for me, hm?”

“yes master,” you drop to your knees before him.

“mmph-fuck, yes baby, you're doing so good,” he groans, his voice thick with pleasure as you gag and drool on his cock. his breathing becomes ragged, each gasp echoing in the room as you take him deeper.

“you look so cute sucking my cock like that,” he murmurs, his hand gripping your hair as he watches you. the sight of your lips wrapped around him, the way your tongue swirls and your eyes water drives him wild. he groans, the sound low and deep, vibrating through his chest as he feels the warmth of your mouth engulfing him.

“fuck... get up, baby,” he orders, his voice filled with urgency. he moves his hand from your hair, helping you to your feet. he turns you around, guiding you into position.

"bend over for me, yeah?" he whispers, his tone commanding yet filled with affection. he pushes you gently down, and your hands grip the couch.

his hand travels down to your ass, giving it a sharp slap that makes you gasp. the sting makes you bite your lip, a mix of pain and pleasure coursing through you.

he doesn't stop there.

he continues delivering several more spanks, each one making you whimper and wriggle.

“you like that, baby?” he asks as he massages your now reddened ass, soothing the burn with soft, circular motions.

“mmfh... master, want you in me,” you whimper

he pulls your panties down in one swift motion, exposing your wetness to him. one hand stays on your hip holding you steady, while the other trails down to your clit. he moves his fingers slowly, rubbing them in teasing circles that make your legs weak. your moans grow louder, and your hips move involuntarily as he continues playing with your clit.

”will you let me cum inside you, baby?” he asks, his voice strained as his fingers continue their assault on your clit.

“yes... yes, please,” you moan out

he slaps your ass once more, the sound sharp and loud. “yes what?”

”yes, m-master,”

a satisfied smirk tugs at the corners of his mouth as he positions himself at your entrance. he teases you for a moment, rubbing the tip of his cock against your wetness before slowly pushing inside.

it feels so fucking good.

your walls stretching as his cock fills you completely.

he feels so fucking good.

“f-fuck master, so big!!” your grip on the couch tightens as you moan loudly. the feeling of his big cock inside you is almost too much, the pleasure so intense

“so tight, so good for me,” he grunts, his thrusts becoming faster, more forceful. the sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room, each thrust driving you closer to the edge.

“such a perfect pussy,”

his hand stays on your hip, holding you in place as the other reaches up to your hair, grabbing a fistful and pulling your head back slightly. the added pressure makes you cry out, your body arching as he pounds into you relentlessly.

“so good... so fucking good,” he groans,

you can feel the heat building inside you, your body trembling. “master, i-i'm close,” you whimper, your voice shaky

“cum for me baby,” he growls, both of his hands moving to your hips to hold you as his thrusts become more urgent.

your body tensing before you cry out his name, your orgasm crashing over you. your walls tighten around him, pulsing as you moan, lost in the pleasure.

“fuck, baby, i'm gonna-" he gasps, his thrusts quickening before he drives into you one last time.

he cums hard, his grip on you tightening as he finds his release, filling you with warmth. for a moment, you both stay still, breathing heavily. slowly, he pulls out, a soft groan escaping his lips.

he then pulls you into his arms

“i love you so fucking much baby," he murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to your shoulder. "you're perfect.”

“happy birthday, master” you let out a tired chuckle and so does he

“best birthday ever”

[obvithe-bestsoph]

Prompt 85 with pau cubarsi please

No. 85 | "Please come back to bed." PC2

masterlist requests

prompt list (if you request a prompt, please request a player for it as well!) warnings: none.

Today’s match hadn’t gone well. Barcelona lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad. In the last game, in the 2-5 win over Crvena Zvezda, Pau had taken a cleat to the face, scratching himself up real bad. So in the match today, he was wearing the mask for the first time wearing the mask in the match. Training with it had been fine, so he didn’t expect it to be so distracting to wear while playing, it wasn’t enough to impact his performance at all, but he just found it a bit annoying. 

So when he got back to you guy’s shared apartment, he was frustrated from losing the match, overstimulated by the itchiness of the healing scabs on his face and around his hairline, and generally not in the best mood. He would never take it out on you, no matter how angry he is, because that’s not Pau, but the apartment is pretty quiet that night.

You shower separately, respecting his space, although the shower does feel a bit emptier than usual without Pau’s chatter, teasing, tickling and gentle washing of your hair. He’s already in bed, laying on his side, when you re-enter the bedroom, now in your pyjamas. He gives you a small smile and continues scrolling on his phone as you slip in next to him.

After 20-30 minutes of scrolling on your own phone, you reach for the charger and put it on the nightstand.

“I think I’m gonna sleep now, amor. Està bé que apagui la llum (is it okay for me to turn off the light)?” he a small hum to say that that’s alright, and turns his head to give you a goodnight kiss like always. 

“Bona nit, mi nena (goodnight, my girl).” he whispers, pressing his lips against yours briefly. 

“T'estimo. (i love you).” You whisper back. “Jo també t'estimo (i love you too).” He gives you another kiss before rolling over again and turning the lights out for you, but he stays up on his phone.

Having had a long day yourself, you fall asleep fairly quickly, but Pau is awake late into the night.

At 3 AM, you wake up for the toilet, but when you slowly flutter your eyes open, you realise you have a missing boyfriend. Yawning groggily, you head out into the main area of the apartment. Sure enough, there he is, sitting on the edge of the couch, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Seeing him cry, you wake up fully, rather quickly moving to sit next to him. Pulling him into your side, he removes his face from his hands and instead buries it in your chest/neck.

You just hold him for a minute, stroking his hair, kissing his forehead, and rocking him slightly, until his tears stop. After he finishes his little cry, it’s silent for a moment, before you break it.

“Què passa (what’s wrong)?” you ask in a soft whisper.

“I’m just frustrated. The match was crap, I hate losing, and the scabs are itchy but I can’t scratch them or they’ll just break again. I couldn’t sleep and now I’m frustrated because you’re here comforting me and not warm and in bed getting a good night’s sleep.” he replies, his usual cheery tone a little dulled.

You spend about an hour talking with him, letting him vent, occasionally chiming in with advice or comments until it goes quiet again. “Please come back to bed?” your voice comes out comfortingly quiet and persuasive, and before you know it, you’re back in bed once more, a clingy Pau taking the ‘little spoon’ position, something which you’re rather happy about, as sometimes you like to take a turn cuddling him too.

When you wake up again in the morning, properly this time, there is once again a missing boyfriend. You look around the room for a minute, and just as you’re about to get up to go look for him, the door cracks open. 

In walks Pau, smiling once more, a tray of (your favourite breakfast) in his hands. 

“What’s this?” you laugh, surprised. “Breakfast.” “Well, obviously,” you laugh again, “I mean, why?”

“As a thank you for helping me last night.” he smiles, placing the tray over your lap and getting into bed next to you again. 

“Pau, you’re so funny sometimes. You don’t need to thank me for just listening and being there for you. I’m your girlfriend, that’s my job.” you scold lightly. Pau laughs sheepishly and shrugs, “Well, then, it’s just a nice surprise.”

You roll your eyes and chuckle at his new excuse, kissing him on the forehead in thanks. You donate a piece of toast to the never-endingly hungry teenage boy that is your boyfriend, and eat the rest of your breakfast happily. 

Once you finish, you put the tray down on the floor beside the bed, and snuggle up with Pau once more. He’s now reading a book for his classe d'història (history class), but happily let’s you tuck yourself under one of his strong, muscular arms, laying your head on his broad chest. For a while, you read along with him, but eventually doze off on him once more.

Pau reads for a little longer before putting in his bookmark and placing the book on his nightstand. He just watches you for a while, feeling luckier than ever. He kisses your forehead, and gently whispers against your skin, “T'estimo, meu ànima (i love you, my soul).”

[sukirichi]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 (𝐔𝐍)𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐉𝐎

+ contains fluff, banters, choji kinda chokes sakura, and cursing. fluff !! fem reader. shy! togame (divider from @/enchanthings)

+ wc. 1.5k

Togame sat in the bustling café with Sakura and Choji on his sides. They’d gathered around the small, circular table cluttered with coffee cups and dessert plates. Outside, the early evening lights of the city flickered to life, highlighting their faces as they all sat – hunched, heads nearly bumping into each other and speaking with hushed voices. They were talking about an issue of most importance, after all. Extremely confidential, according to Sakura, but more like extremely impossible, according to Togame.

“So, Togame,” Choji started, leaning forward with a mischievous grin. “We’ve been talking, and we think YN likes you.”

Togame, who had been sipping his latte, nearly choked. He coughed, setting the cup down hastily. “What? No way,” he said, shaking his head with a nervous chuckle. “She doesn’t like me like that.”

Sure, you looked at him often, and even rewarded him with the prettiest smiles, but Togame wasn’t stupid. You were just nice like that – smiling and waving at everyone.

He wasn’t special… right?

Sakura rolled his eyes, exasperated. Choji had been the one insisting that you liked him back, but Sakura had been the greatest ‘witness.’ Said he would dye his hair completely black if Togame remained blind to the way you stumbled over your words whenever Togame was involved. “Come on, Togame. She’s always laughing at your jokes, even the terrible ones. And she goes out of her way to spend time with you. It’s pretty obvious. Plus, you’re not that fucking funny, y’know?”

“Right,” Choji nods his agreement. “You don’t laugh at someone’s shitty jokes unless you like them.”

Togame felt a blush creeping up his neck, thankful that the collar of his jacket hid it. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he protested. “She’s just nice to everyone. Besides, I’m sure she’s not interested in me that way.”

Unbeknownst to Togame, you had just entered the café with the plans to join them. Choji had sent you a quick text half an hour ago that he needed your help with something, but never specified with. Still, you came as fast as you could. It wasn’t every day that Choji requested for anything, and honestly, after introducing you to Togame – your crush – you kind of owed him a favor.

Until you heard bits and pieces of their conversation, your name thrown in, and you stopped short in your tracks. You quickly stepped back and hid behind a nearby plant. Your heart raced as you listened it, uncaring of the ache in your thighs at the uncomfortable squatting position. There was just no way you’d miss a word of what they said.

“Togame, you’re clueless,” Choji laughed. “She’s always finding excuses to be near you. Remember that time she showed up at the park, ‘coincidentally’ when you were there? And the countless study sessions she insists on having, even though she’s a total genius and doesn’t need help? Hell, she’s smarter than you. The hell does she need you to tutor her on?”

Togame scratched the back of his head, feeling increasingly embarrassed. He did remember that. There were times you came up to him, a pout on your pretty face as you told him your struggles on math problems. Not that Jo could count for shit, but he didn’t want to turn you down. Or worse, to appear stupid in front of you. “I thought she just wanted to hang out. We’re friends, that’s all.”

Sakura sighed, a hint of frustration in his voice. “You’re so dense, Togame. It’s obvious to everyone but you. She’s into you, trust me.”

Still hidden behind the plant, you felt your heart swell. You bite your lip to suppress your smile, a whirlwind of happiness and nervous swirling in your belly. You’d liked Togame for a long time, but you’d always been too shy to say anything. He was the Togame Jo, second of Shishitoren. Talks of his strength and greatness were shared across the streets. Compared to him, you weren’t particularly special. You had always assumed he only treated you kindly because you were Choji’s friend, and whoever Choji liked, Togame did, too.

It just never would’ve occurred in your wildest dreams that he liked you like that. So hearing his friends insist that Togame was so oblivious to your feelings were both amusing and endearing.

Togame shook his head, trying to stay composed. “Even if that were true, which I doubt, why would she like me? I’m just... me.”

“Exactly,” Choji said, as if that explained everything. “You’re funny, kind, and you’ve got that whole devil-may-care attitude going on. Girls dig that. I know she does.”

Sakura hums in agreement. “Plus, you’re always there for her. You care about her, and she knows it. Maybe she’s waiting for you to make the first move.”

Togame felt his face grow hot, his mind racing with the implications of what they were saying. Could it be true? Did you actually like him? He shook his head again, more to clear his thoughts than to disagree. As much as he fancied (he dreamt of it happening everyday) the idea of having his feelings reciprocated, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Besides, you had a great friendship with one another. He couldn’t – didn’t  want – to ruin that.

“I just... I don’t see it. I mean, she’s amazing, but I’m not sure she feels the same way.”

Hearing the hesitance and self-doubt in his voice made your heart ache.

You couldn’t stay hidden any longer. With your heart pounding in your chest, you stepped out from behind the plant, your eyes fixed on Togame’s fresh undercut. Sakura and Choji were the ones to find you, the former’s eyes widening, while Choji’s face lit up in a mischievous smirk.

“Oh shit–” Sakura exclaimed, nudging Togame in what was a failed attempt of being discreet.

Togame turned to see you standing there, looking both nervous and determined. He felt his stomach drop, a mixture of panic and anticipation swirling within him. You didn’t hear what they were talking about, did you? At least he hoped you didn’t, because he could barely muster a genuine smile right now.

“Oh... hey,” he stammered, his voice betraying his surprise. Underneath the table, Togame kicked Choji in the shin when the shorter man giggled.

You took a deep breath, your gaze. “I heard what you were talking about,” you begin, your voice steady despite the fluttering in your chest. “And I just wanted to say... your friends are right, Togame.”

Togame blinked, his mind struggling to catch up. “What?”

You smiled softly, stepping closer. “I like you, Togame. I’ve liked you for a while now, but I didn’t know if you felt the same way. I was too scared to tell you.”

The café seemed to fall silent around the two of you, the moment stretching into eternity. Togame’s face flushed a deep red, his heart racing as your words sank in. Sakura and Choji watched with bated breath, their eyes wide with anticipation. They’d made a bet before arriving at the café on who would confess first – a bet Sakura was losing miserably. With a low groan, he fisted his five hundred yen and shoved it to Choji’s waiting hands.

“You... you like me? Is that right?” Togame repeated, hardly daring to believe it.

You nodded, you smile widening. “Yes, I do. A lot.”

Togame’s mind raced, replaying every interaction you’d ever had, seeing them in a new light. The times you laughed at his jokes, the study sessions, the ‘coincidental’ meetings – all of it made sense now. He felt a rush of emotions – relief, joy, disbelief – overwhelm him.

“I’ll be damned,” he finally managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper. “I really thought these two–” he gestured to his friends, “–were messing with me.”

Your smile brightened. “Well, now you know,” you said softly.

Before they could say more, Choji erupted into cheers, breaking the spell. He nearly knocked over Sakura when he slung an arm around his neck, dragging him down to mockingly point a finger in Togame’s direction. “We told you!” he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “Finally, you both admit it! I thought my hair would turn grey before either of you said a thing!”

Sakura sighed, and fought against Choji’s choking hold. “Yes, yes, we get it. They’re perfect for each other. Now stop lying and admit you’re just happy because you won the bet.”

“Of course I would,” Choji scoffed, “I’ve known Togame a long time. You really think that cool bravado of his means he actually has the balls to confess? Nah, it’s all for show. I knew YN had more guts than him.”

You and Togame were both flustered, but you couldn’t stop smiling. The café buzzed with excitement as the four of you celebrated the not-so unexpected confessions. And Togame? A sense of warmth settled over him, knowing that the person he’d secretly admired for so long felt the same way about him.

As Choji and Sakura bantered back and forth, Togame dared to reach out and slip his hands into yours under the table. The first contact made you jolt, heat creeping up your neck. It takes a few moments, and Togame’s equally shy smile, before you squeezed his hand in return. And for the first time in a long while, Togame felt like everything was exactly as it should be.

[thichnhathanhgems]

15 practical steps Thich Nhat Hanh says we can take to bring mindfulness to our work:

1. Start your day with 10 minutes of sitting in meditation.

2. Take the time to sit down and enjoy eating breakfast at home.

3. Remind yourself every day of your gratitude for being alive and having 24 brand-new hours to live.

4. Try not to divide your time into "my time" and "work." All time can be your own time if you stay in the present moment and keep in touch with what’s happening in your body and mind. There’s no reason why your time at work should be any less pleasant than your time anywhere else.

5. Resist the urge to make calls on your cell phone while on your way to and from work, or on your way to appointments. Allow yourself this time to just be with yourself, with nature and with the world around you.

6. Arrange a breathing area at work where you can go to calm down, stop and have a rest. Take regular breathing breaks to come back to your body and to bring your thoughts back to the present.

7. At lunchtime, eat only your food and not your fears or worries. Don’t eat lunch at your desk. Change environments. Go for a walk.

8. Make a ritual out of drinking your tea. Stop work and look deeply into your tea to see everything that went into making it: the clouds and the rain, the tea plantations and the workers harvesting the tea.

9. Before going to a meeting, visualize someone very peaceful, mindful and skillful being with you. Take refuge in this person to help stay calm and peaceful.

10. If you feel anger or irritation, refrain from saying or doing anything straight away. Come back to your breathing and follow your in- and out-breath until you’ve calmed down.

11. Practice looking at your boss, your superiors, your colleagues or your subordinates as your allies and not as your enemies. Recognize that working collaboratively brings more satisfaction and joy than working alone. Know that the success and happiness of everyone is your own success.

12. Express your gratitude and appreciation to your colleagues regularly for their positive qualities. This will transform the whole work environment, making it much more harmonious and pleasant for everyone.

13. Try to relax and restore yourself before going home so you don’t bring accumulated negative energy or frustration home with you.

14. Take some time to relax and come back to yourself when you get home before starting on household chores. Recognize that multitasking means you’re never fully present for any one thing. Do one thing at a time and give it your full attention.

15. At the end of the day, keep a journal of all the good things that happened in your day. Water your seeds of joy and gratitude regularly so they can grow.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"15 Practical Ways To Find Your Zen At Work", Jo Confino - The Huffington Post.

[adventuringblind]

Oscar the Matchmaker: Chapter Three

Oscar Jack Piastri x Reader x Max Verstappen

Summary: Jos overhear a conversation and the trio finds themselves in a confrontation

Warnings: Jos being Jos, Oscar throwing hands, implied homophobia and slurs

Notes: I definitely wasn’t listening to eye of the tiger while writing this…

Previous <-

Masterlist

It’s was only a matter of time until someone noticed. Max had been more then smiley as of late and it wasn’t just because he was dominating the sport. He’d fallen head over heal and looked like a love sick puppy.

His smile tends to grow a little extra when someone brings up either of his partners. He just blamed on the fact he thought they were doing well and had become friends with both.

Christian didn’t fall for it. He wasn’t team principal for nothing. He’s an observant man and had seen it in the way Max moved, his he talked, even in his driving.

Max found himself being pulled aside by Christian into a space where the people either didn’t bother them or didn’t care what they were talking about.

“Care to tell me what has you so happy lately?”

Max panics and stutters, then ends up just shrugging his shoulders. “The weather.” He mentally face palms at the terrible lie.

Christian laughs at him and grabs his shoulders. “It’s a miracle you can make it through interviews sometimes.” He releases him again before continuing. “Are you going to tell me the truth now.”

“First promise me you won’t be mad and that you won’t judge.”

“Would you like me to pinky swear it?”

Max rolls his eyes but continues one. “I’m in a relationship.”

“Well I already knew that part.” A skirt tugs on Christian’s lips. “Who is the lucky lass? Or is it a lad?” The playful eyebrow raise puts Max oddly at ease.

“Both actually.” His hands get clams and he wants nothing more to disappear at the confession. The fear of judgement giving him nervous energy.

“… Like two partners or gender-fluid?” The genuine curiosity in the older males voice made him relax. He wanted to know and was supportive it seems.

“Two Partners. Y/N and Oscar, actually.” He is hopeless. He can’t even say their names without smiling.

Christian is also smiling widely. “I’m so happy for you! Remember this is a safe space and if anyone says anything please let me know. If not afraid to tell someone off.”

Max feels the tension leave his body. His initial panic evaporating into think air. “Thank you, it means a lot really.”

“Are you three going to go public? If so then please tell me sooner rather then later so the team is prepared.”

“No plans for that right now, just figuring things out. But I’ll make sure to let you know.”

Despite their plans to not go public or let more people into their secret, someone was ,siting just around the corner.

~

Max texted them immediately after the conversation. They still had a few hours before the race so he wasn’t to worried about time.

Max: Christian knows

Y/N: … is he upset?

Max: No, he’s actually really supportive

Oscar: interesting turn of events

Max: you two aren’t mad with me?

Y/N: why would we be mad? Christian is basically your dad!

Oscar: we made a decision that we are disowning Jos

Max: I don’t think that’s how that works

Y/N: don’t care. He’s disowned.

Max chuckles at their comments. They are both younger then him but neither would hesitate to protect him from anything. Including his aggressive father.

He didn’t notice a problem at first. He thought it was normal until he got up to formula 1 and Daniel told him that it’s not. Christian and Seb followed after him. Soon Max was in a position where he had to come to terms with his childhood.

He’d yet to do that because despite it all, Jos is still his father and he loves him.

All that to say he wouldn’t be surprised if the female in their trio ended up punching him one day.

~

It had been an absolutely shitty race for her. She’s on the verge of tears when she’s getting ready to leave until Yuki comes sliding around the corner. “They have more stuff to talk about.” She can hear the annoyance in her his voice.

“What if we just run away.”

“I may be fast, but my legs are short. We’d never make it.”

She groans and sends a quick text to the boys telling them she is going to be late and they can leave without her. Instead of the response she was expecting, they said they’d wait for her by the paddock entrance.

She smiled reading the text, then locked her phone again.

~

Her legs feel heavy as she walks through the dark and almost deserted paddock. Her brain has already shut off and she wants nothing more then to curl up with her lovers and sleep until next year.

A pair of heavy footsteps fall in line behind her. She assumes it’s just leftover staff and continues her journey. That is, until she hears the thick Dutch accent of Jos Verstappen. The last person on the planet she wants to see.

“Can we talk for a moment?” He yells out to her.

“I’m late for something, sorry.” She doesn’t look at him. She fears if she does she might not be able to hold her tongue or hands and the last thing she wants to do it get in trouble.

It doesn’t take long for him to catch up. She blames her uncooperative appendages.

“We need to talk.” He grabs her bicep and she yelps in surprise.

“I really am la-“

“You and the Australian keep away from my son.”

She panics. Her breathing gets labored faster then she would’ve liked. Questions fill her mind of how he knows. She tries to yank her arms away but he tightens his grip.

“Never.” She spits. He used his free hand to wipe his face. She can feel him heating with anger as his movements become jagged. She readies herself for the possibility of a swing. At least if he hits her first then she can hit him back.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” The much more soothing Dutch accent yells from behind her.

“Is it true? You’re really lumping yourself in with this nonsense?” Max had almost forgotten why he doesn’t tell his father things. He’d had to relearn everything when he was finally able to spend time with people who wanted him to understand that the internalized homophobia that he’d grown up with was not okay in any sense.

“Yeah, I am.” Max keeps his distance. His father is prone to aggression and Max fears for the girl currently in his hold.

The fear and simultaneous relief flood through him as he pushes her straight to the ground. The look of pain and exhaustion in her eyes is hard to look at.

She doesn’t move. She can’t find the energy to do so.

“Your no son of mine. My son would never be a fa-“ He does not get the chance to finish his sentence. Oscar had connected his fist to the Dutch’s face and sent him stumbling backwards.

She could feel Oscar seething. She’d never seen him lose his temper. Ever. Since she’d known him. He could be cold and calculated but this was a whole new level.

She looked at Max who was now gently hugging Oscar from behind and trying to calm the anger behind the Australians eyes. He also looked at her for some sort of understanding. Neither of them had any clue what to do.

“Say it again. I fucking dare you.” Oscar held his gaze on the older man. It felt as if time had frozen around them. “You have no right to say such things.”

Oh. It clicked for her then. He’d done this before with one of her exes. A few of them actually.

It’s not like she’d never been with a female before. She’d been called that F slur before and it definitely didn’t feel right. Oscar had also punched them. There was no hesitation behind his swing either.

Jos just stares back at them and Max had no other ideas except to get Oscar away before he gets himself in trouble. She watches as he starts tugging him back towards the entrance. Stopping to give you a hand up. Then she held Oscars hand in hers the entire way back to the hotel. Despite his earlier anger, he held her hand so gently and occasionally placed kisses on her knuckles. Reciprocating the action to Max when they came to a stop sign or red light.

He’d still not settled down when they got to the hotel room. His frantic pacing and angry rant seemed to help, but only so much.

“Love, pretty sure there are other ways to help you get some of this energy out.” She purrs. Had she noticed max is turned on? Yes. Is she also turned on? Yes. Have both of them been whispering about the rage fueled Aussie being turned on? Again, yes.

He freezes and eyes both of them with a rather lustful gaze.

Sometimes the best cure to pent up energy is really good sex.

~

Max wakes up to the awful sound of his phone buzzing. The blissful feeling of his lovers tangled in the sheets with him now ruined by the terrible sound.

Still he looks at the caller ID and almost chokes when he sees Christian’s name on his phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Max… I was wondering if you could shed some light on why your father called to tell me not to let, and I quote, ‘the deranged McLaren Australian’ anywhere near out garage?”

Max laughs. It’s probably not the right time and the other two are now awake and trying to tug him down into the bed, but he can’t help it. “Oscar punched him last night because he used the F word.”

“The F word? Doesn’t Oscar say fuck? I’ve heard him before I think.”

“I should clarify: the F slur.”

Silence falls from the other end of the line. For a moment Max things he lost connection until he hears Christian grumbling. “Tell Oscar he’s allowed in anytime he wants and your father will be receiving a strongly worded letter about how he’s not welcome back.”

Again, Max can only laugh at the situation and how it’s unfolded. He’s not complaining though. It’s nice knowing that he doesn’t always have to fight for himself.

[yourbasicqueerie]

My thoughts on passion

- stanning patti lupone has led me to places i wouldn’t even go armed with a gun

- steven sondheim really heard patti yell smth during one of those Mia Farrow moon parties and though  “oh hell yeah, her screams would be divine for fosca”.

michael cerveris just GLARING at patti lupone (my man is jealous of her cunty ass gigantic wig)

FUCK YOU STEVEN SONDHEIM AND YOUR BIGGER THAN LIFE CHARACTERS! WHY IS IT THAT EVERYTIME I START A SHOW OF YOURS I SUFFER TOGETHER WITH THE PERSONAS? ABSURD MEN WITH A GREAT UNDERSTANDING FOR FEELINGS I ADORE YOU AND YOUR AMAZING MIND

“they hear drums, we hear music,👏BE👏MY👏FRIEND👏”AHHHHHHH

the wish to not be treated as if you were special and to not be babied by others all because of your illness, something so small and trivial about you as a person, but that ends up taking over all of you until all that the others can see about is that. ohhhh i’m not felling well

WHY DID I MAKE MYSELF WHATXH PASSION IVE BEEN GOING DOWNHILL IN MY MIND FOR THE PAST HOUR, OH FOSCA MY LOVE MY HEART, PLEASE LET ME HOLD YOU AND HAVE YOU NEAR ME, UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE DESPERATE FOR ANY KIND OF LOVE, TO SETTLE FOR THE LESSER IS NEVER THE CORRECT CHOICE

to obcess over somebody because they have given u the slightest ammount of affection in a setting where you once where short of invisible ohhhh fosca i see you doll

i’m no fool, i know you don’t feel the same towards me. but, one loves a dog, an animal, what can i do to get you to love me, a human being such as yourself” ??????? sondheim in kicking the doors of heaven and screaming at you

“my emotions sometimes overpower my judgement” ????? i feel called out

every single character is so deeply fucked i cannot-

fosca my roleplay queen fr, make ur fantasy mama pop off

SHE MAKING HIM WRITE A LETTER FOR HER AS HIM SAYING WHAT SHE WISHES HIM TO SAY OHHHHHH MY BABY ARGHHHGG

“poor unhappy creature” FUCK YOU I HATE THE MEN FUCK THR MEN FUCK YOU FUCK YOU SHE COULD HAVE BEEN SO HAPPY IF SHE HAD BEEN PROPERLY LOVED YOU FUCKERS YOU TERRIBKE MEN FUCK ALL OF YOU

i love foscas cousin 💕💕💕💕 he’s a good man 💕 AND I HATE THE FAKE COUNT FUCK YOU IDIOT

“loves not a constant demand, it’s a gift you bestow. love isn’t sudden surrender, it’s tender and slow, 👏it👏must👏grow👏”

“if my breast were big and full” MISS LUPONE PLEASE BE FUCKING FOR REAL, TAKE ONE GOOD LOOK DOWN YOUR SHIRT AND DARE TELL ME UR FLAT AGAIN

giorgio being torn between obcessive love, the kind where someone would kill theirselves for him and hidden love, the kind that is hushed and quiet, where you’re not someone’s first priority OHHHH IM ILL

FOSCA DIES????????????????????????

NO

NO

NO

NO

oh she’s not dead okay i though my girl was gone for a sec

“to die loved is to have lived” BANGER, AMAZING, SO CUNT, @anotherain UR TATTOING THIS SHIT ON MY FOREGHEAD

COUSIN DIES??????

the conductor sitting down like a diva and waving that piece of wood like his life depends on it, ate.

FOSCA DIED???????????????????????????????????????

NO FOSCA NO NO JO

I HATE THSI FUNERAL FUCKINGHEK FUCK ALL OF LIFE I HATE THIS MUSICAL SONDHEIM COUNT YOUR DAYS YOUR FUCKING MAN FOSCA LIVING WHEN SHE WANTED TO DIE BUT DYING WHEN SHE EANTED TO DIE HELL FUCK IM THROWING MYSELF OFF A BIUKDING

how’d yall reckon patti tastes like? she just be kissing everyone

“i’m someone to be loved, and that i learned from you” ANAHAGAHAHAHAGGAHAHAHAHAHA

i hate this musical, it made me feel too much, i’m deeply tortured by it already.

HA he’s bald, even when he is dying inside he looks funky

IT ENDS LIEK THAT????????????? SO SIMPLY))!???????? I LOVED IT

bowing to the audience as an act of gracefulness and respect, to show how the actor is thankful for true audiences presence in the way they can, and that is by putting themselves in a position of inferiority i live. there’s a gratefulness and humility in it. great. now i have a new obsession.

OH I HEAR HWO VOUVE AT THE END AWWWW SHES SO CUTEEEEEEEWEEEWWHAGAHAHHAJA bruh???? a whole ass interview right after a whole as show?!?!?! i woudeve been dead, theater really is a muscle huh

throwing her shoes down 😭😭😭

at any possible moment patti will mention her sicilian blood, she is so me, at any possible moment i’ll tell ppl i’m italian

[alwaysonf1]

lewis is doing what?

Pairing: Charles LeClerc x Hamilton!OC

Genre: Slice of Life; Fluff

Word Count: 3k

Warning: Changes in the timeline for the sake of the story.

Rating: PG-13

Author's Note: This is my first F1 fic, which makes me nervous so why not start with a series.

Many Drive to Survive haters like to pretend everything that comes from the show and what it’s about are beneath them. That they couldn’t possibly care, and that the only important thing is the race on Sunday. And yet the day after the latest season drops you can find them amongst the chaos trying to figure out what the hell were all those hints about a new form of content that F1 plans to release. 

Interwoven with the usual storylines and mild dramatics there was a lot of talk about how drivers show their families the support they’re given. How they show up for them in their careers and bits of their lives. It was weird at first, but then it sent off alarm bells when an almost fourth wall breaking moment happened where the Netflix team was blatantly dismissed. 

“I think we have this one Netflix, but thanks for the help.” Those were the exact words spoken by the head of marketing as she closed the door to a room where you get a glimpse of team paraphernalia but see no faces. 

Every social platform that you can find an F1 fan on has it trending and the conversations (and screams into the void) are fast paced. But Twitter is where the real unhinged and brain cell losing behavior is happening. 

And the most accurate guessing.

Almost everyone within the community is discussing what that snippet could mean. Is it the end of DTS as they know it? The end of it completely? Are F1 and Netflix severing ties? Will F1 be taking over? Is this some little game they're playing with their viewers to keep them tuned in? Is it something completely different? What the actual fuck is going on?

In the middle of those questions are those who think themselves a genius or are delusional enough that they can’t help but form some wild ideas of what’s to come.

Someone must be retiring. Multiple people are retiring. There’s going to be a reality show ala Keeping Up with the Verstappens, where everyone learns that Max’s little trauma dumpy memories with Jos are just the surface level of how insane that man is. Someone is getting married. Someone is getting married to another driver. A nepo baby is going to become the “voice of the fandom” and host a show about the drivers during race weekends and it’s going to be all the wrong things. A dating show for all the singles. A behind the scenes at the lives of drivers and their families, but like Family Feud. And the penultimate dude bro dream of them getting to spend the season hanging out with drivers and get confirmation that their toxic thoughts that alienate most of the fan base is true.

After about twenty-four hours it all dies down. Everyone is still wondering, but they don’t feel like they’re losing their minds while they try to be the one who can say they were right when they news drops.

As if timed, the second that F1 drops in trends the F1 admin drops a graphic with the faces of six people who are clearly positioned like the thinking face emoji on every platform that they use. In the captions it says: Week in the Life - Sibling Edition.

If Twitter was home to the first wave of screaming, it belongs to Tumblr the second go round. Everyone is so excited for the content that someone must have thrown up from how aggressively happy they feel. Everyone is talking about who they want it to be and what content they’d love to see from which sibling. Those who make gifs are especially excited to get everything they can, though they won’t be outdone by those whose brains and fingers will be entities on their own once they get hold of a singular moment that will inspire the fic of everyone’s dreams.

Those who always have something negative to say are there as usual, but they aren’t as loud or upset as they often are. Being nosy doesn’t stop just because you want to pretend that you only care about the race, as if someone doesn’t have a file of screenshots from all the times, they’ve attacked the character of a driver for something not race related at all.

The reaction to this is the kind that instills faith in what is being done. The kind of thing that tells all the upper management who didn’t like it that it was a good idea, but also puts a certain bit of weight on the content team. They need this to deliver. Need to keep the hype, especially since the first episode doesn’t drop until the start of December and they’ve already recorded half the series so a failure could stop the rest.

So once the Singapore GP ends, Daniel Ricciardo’s face is no longer gray. You get to see that goofy smile and wink. You’d think they told everyone he was getting a permanent seat with a three year contract with the reception to it.

It’s Charles Leclerc for Japan. 

Lance Stroll for Qatar.

Carlos Sainz for COTA.

Alex Albon for Mexico.

And coming off his first P1 of the season, Lewis Hamilton for Brazil.

For the next week or so if a tweet isn’t about excitement, disdain, or shock in regard to this new F1 exclusive content, it has a certain main character at its center.

[minheelovelee]

who in &team would like to get called daddy 🫣

anon :((((( pls ur gonna send me into sub hours. not a lot of my followers know what i’m into, but daddy kink is high on that list.

&team: daddy kink

this belongs to everyone besides ej 🥺

k

- tough love. he loves his baby and wants the best for you. if that means being a little mean, that’s fine with him. if ur a brat, that’s okay. just know that you’ll get treated like one.

- he’ll implement the punishment system if you’re really naughty. don’t expect a reward from him any day of the week. but if you pass a class or make a big achievement at work, he would reward you for sure.

- if you slip up and call him daddy in a normal conversation, he wouldn’t let you live it down. he thinks it’s funny tbh and would be totally fine if you called him that outside the bedroom.

fuma

- his heart is huge. he loves to spoil you. your happiness is his number one priority. and in the bedroom, he does all the work. he would love to have a pillow princess.

- if you can suck dick, he’s hooked. lay there like a pretty little thing when ur getting fucked, but slobber all over his cock when he lets you have a taste. he LOVES getting head.

- he gets turned on by domesticity. cooking for him, vacuuming around the house, and folding his laundry will all end up with you bent over the nearest surface. he always talks about making you a mommy when he cums deep inside.

nicholas

- daddy :((( he holds onto his baby tight and never lets go. a hand on your thigh, his chin on your shoulder, hugs in the kitchen. he wants you to know he’s always there.

- in the bedroom he’s a bit of a whore. he would refer to himself as daddy in 3rd person. he’d love if you slut yourself out for him. he wants u completely cock-drunk and dazed.

- “daddy’s gonna cum, honey. he’s gonna fill you right to the fucking brim. keep that pussy open for him, princess.” he’s so daddy coded.

yuma

- he goes on a little power trip when u call him daddy. he loves that you trust him enough to open up like that.

- ur not calling him anything else during s*x. it turns into a fun little game where you pretend not to know anything besides his name. he’s not afraid to get rough, so me might yank ur hair or choke you a little.

- overstimulation. he’s mean. you’re done when he’s done. he’s mean enough to tie you up and make you cum over and over again on his fingers.

jo

- he takes it to heart. when you call him daddy, he realizes the role he plays in the relationship. he can be quite protective at times.

- he’s such a lover. his baby doesn’t need to be doing any work. he’s soooo long and lanky. he’ll get you folded up in funky positions. your legs fit on his shoulders so nicely.

- he needs his alone time with you. for you to sit on his lap while he pets you and tells you how much love he has for you. he wants to give you something you’ve never had in a relationship before. if he’s not your first, he makes sure to be your best.

[torotauri]

You Think I Forgot? | Jo Hye-Won Zoa [WEEEKLY]

1164 Words

***

31st May 2023

It was Zoa's 18th birthday, she has been waiting for this day for so long. For Zoa, her birthday is a very big thing for her. She always get a big party out of it with her family and friends. This year, she thought it would be more special because she have you, her boyfriend, to celebrate this day with her.

Zoa woke up that morning very early and got dressed quickly, she normally isn't the type of person who wants to go to school. Today was different though, she wanted to go to school because her friends have planned a big surprise party for her after school.

School was boring like always, Zoa did not enjoy school but she was happy that a lot of classmates came over to say happy birthday to her. That was literally the only positives from school today. Thankfully, she managed to drag herself through the whole day and is now in the final period, Maths, Zoa's most hated subject. Despite that, she had something positive to look forward to. Maths was the only class that Zoa shared with you and as she popped herself down on her seat, you also walked into the classroom.

"Hey Y/N" Zoa waved at you as you walked into the classroom.

"Oh hey Hyewon, how are you doing today" you responded.

"What are you doing after school?" Zoa asked you trying to get more information about the party that her friends had planned.

"I've got football training after school so I can't hangout with you today, but I'll see you tomorrow at school and I can hang out with you then" you told Zoa.

Zoa didn't know if you were playing or were you being serious, but her heart did drop for a second after hearing that you have football training after school. To be fair, she knew you had football on Wednesdays but she would have thought that you would clear your schedules to hangout with her on her birthday.

"Anyways have you got anything to say to me today" Zoa asked trying to make you say something about her birthday.

"Right everyone class is about to begin" the teacher announced before you could give an answer.

"Yes, pay attention to the teacher" you whispered to Zoa.

However, Zoa can't pay any attention to class because of what you said. She was hoping that you were playing a joke. After all, who would say they are hosting a surprise party if they were hosting a surprise party anyways. Zoa tried to shake it off but she can't.

After a very long hour, the bell rang and class was finally dismissed. Zoa followed her friend Jihan to the music room hoping that you would be there to be part of the surprise.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY OUR BELOVED HYEWON" everyone shouted as Zoa entered the room.

Not going to lie, Zoa was surprised by this, but she was also surprised at the fact that it was only her close friends Jimin, Soeun, Soojin, Jaehee and Jihan there to celebrate. You were nowhere to be seen.

"What's wrong Hyewon? You don't seem too happy" Jaehee said whilst holding the cake in her hands.

"Nothing it's just he isn't here" Zoa responded.

"We asked him to come but he seemed to have more important things like football so he said he isn't free" Jihan replied.

"Let's eat some cake" Soojin said trying to distract Zoa from the fact that you weren't here.

Zoa understand why you weren't here. Football has always been a big part of your life and she knows that as well. But what was annoying her was that there wasn't even a birthday message from you, nothing, not even a text. After all, how difficult is it to put in minimal effort and text her a simple birthday message.

The truth was, you didn't forget. Whilst you really had football training to attend, you had your own plans. Tonight you were going to surprise her in her apartment. After all if there is one thing that Zoa liked more than you, it was surprises.

You really wanted to go to her party with her friends, but you can't. You were draft protected by the MLS and therefore you need to put in maximum effort in every training because you never know when the MLS scouts were going to come over to watch you train. You just need to be there just in case.

As training ended, you shot off immediately, hoping that Zoa was not mad at you the slightest. On your way to her apartment, you stopped by and brought her some flowers and her favourite green tea cake. Once the goods were secured, you went straight to her apartment.

Arriving at Zoa's apartment, you used the spare key that she gave you to slowly unlock the door and enter the apartment. The lights were off in the living room, but you saw a glimpse of light down the hallway coming from underneath the door of her room. You know she was in her apartment.

Tiptoeing towards her room, you made sure that she didn't know you were here and as you approached, you slowly opened her door and entered. Once you opened the door, there she was, lying on her bed, asleep. Probably annoyed at the fact that you forgot about her birthday. Walking up towards her you tapped on her shoulder to try to wake her up.

"GAAAAHHHHH" Zoa screamed as you scared her.

"Wait, Hyewon it's me" you tried to calm her down which seemed to work.

"Y/N? You scared me. What are you doing here?" Zoa was surprised at your arrival.

"I got you these flowers and your favourite green tea cake" you responsed.

Zoa was still a little bit mad at you for ignoring the fact that it was her birthday and forgotten about it the whole day. But it was difficult to be mad now that you showed up unannounced, it was a surprise and Zoa liked this surprise.

"What if I don't want them?" Zoa tried to push you away and pretend to stay mad.

"Well then how about if I do this" you leaned down and gave Zoa a quick kiss on her cheeks "happy birthday Hyewon baby" you said.

"I thought you forgot it was my birthday" Zoa said looking at you.

"You think I would really forget about my Hyewon baby's birthday?" you said looking deep into Zoa's big eyes.

"But today, in Maths class you didn't even say happy birthday. I thought you genuinely forgot" Zoa said.

"If I didn't play it like that, then I won't be able to surprise you like this" you responded.

"I'll give you that, this was a pretty good surprise. I like it, but I like you more" Zoa said.

"I like you too, my Hyewon baby" you said as you leaned in and started to make out with Zoa.

***

HAPPY ZOA DAY

I know it's late, but it's still her birthday here where I'm at. Anyways hope you guys enjoyed this little one shot for Zoa. Oh my god, they really grow up so fast, can't believe Zoa is now 18.

Anyways......

......HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOA

[autoantonyms]

I’m finally home now so I guess it’s time for my Joker Out Utrecht gig report

- I had to wake up at an ungodly hour to catch my trains and the JO traveling curse really chose to fuck me over that day. My original 3 hour train journey turned into a 6 1/2 hour nightmare of delays and unexpected route changes. In the end I made it and I mean it was totally worth it!!

- i was going alone again and I expected to make new friends (like the last time as well) which I did! I met so many amazing people, finally got to know some of my mutuals and I can‘t wait to see (almost) all of you on Sunday again! 🫶🏻

- the queuing situation was a bit chaotic (GA) and before the doors opened I felt like passing out at one point cause we were all just smushed together and the air was so bad you couldn’t really breathe

- Raciks art looked so small on the big stage but it is so beautiful!

- Lorem Ipsum was so good!! I haven’t really checked them out before hand but I was positively surprised. The singer has a really beautiful voice and she was getting a little emotional seeing the reaction from the crowd, which I thought was so cute. Some of their songs already made it into my playlist. I can only recommend checking them out. (Even tho I have to admit they sound *way* better live)

- JC Stewart was also very entertaining. His voice is so good omg.

- seeing the boys on stage again was just as surreal as the last time but I loved every second of it.

- first of all the outfits. Like Bojans Shirt. With the fucking lipstick stain. I’m deceased (Lets all thank Maike for the beautiful Shirt). Kris very very good fitting pants were also a highlight of the night. And Jure wearing eyeliner again 😩 holy moly

- Bojan sounded so sick. It doesn’t really come off like that in the videos but you could really hear it live.

- The setlist was nice, I got all of my favorites so I can’t really complain. But sadly no Demoni scream and no NGVOT :((

- Kris was actively working against me this time. Everytime I’d taken my phone out to take a video of him, he fucking disappeared and everytime I was just enjoying the show he stood right in front of me. (Baby I need visual reminders that I saw you 😭)

- I enjoyed the prolonged version of UM and it was nice seeing Bojan in the crowd but the only thing going through my mind was: „This man is so short“ But I love my short king <3

- Kris trying to place the dutch flag on his microphone stand was so cute. The way he looked at it to make sure it wasn’t falling off 😩

- Hearing Everybody’s waiting live for the first time really made me emotional af. That was something I was expecting but damn. I can relate to that song way too much, so it hit me hard. Also Bojan asking us something along the lines of „do you also have panic attacks?“ and the crowd went screaming „yeahh“ and he was like „yuhu let’s go panic attacks“ idk I thought that was funny

Overall I‘m very happy that I went to that gig and I can’t wait for Cologne and Munich!

[maffinstuff97]

I liked the ending of the trainee.

Maybe an unpopular opinion by what I've read in this website?

I really liked that this series didn't focus on the romance but rather on the chemistry of the whole group of trainees. We got to see how they all evolved, how they all got tangled up with each other and how they all became friends. Of course that means that when it came to the relationship of the main characters, maybe a bit was left to the imagination.

______________

But let me start with Tae and Ba-Mhee. I am so happy that they decided to keep them together. I would hate for the start of a GL couple to be cheating... And to be honest, I saw Ba-Mhee and Judy's relationship more like one of adoration and admiration other than them falling in love. Not to say that I don't think Ba-Mhee is bisexual, she FOR SURE IS. But I like that they didn't go there just for the sake of "having lesbians in the show". I also love that they didn't solve the conflict in 2 seconds but rather showed us the characters slowly realizing that they forgave each other and missed each other.

______________

When it comes to Ryan and Jane, I fell in love with them. I think that there were some communication issues at the start but I also feel like they improved on it so much. By the end, Ryan is very vocal and Jane keeps asking him "what do you want to know?" or "what do you want to ask?", even with the mv incident. Plus, it kinda makes sense that they would start like this because Jane is in a position of power over Ryan, so both are scared of crossing that line and saying something wrong.

I love that they also didn't go for the trope where one of the members of the couple drops all their dreams and opportunities to BE in a relationship. I love that Jane actually pursued his dream and is now a director and how Ryan just supports that. Of course Ryan could have forgotten all about him in the years that Jane is out and of course people fall out of love sometimes.

But isn't it more romantic that Ryan trusted Jane to come back other than Jane just dropping everything to be with Ryan?

Plus my final thoughts on this couple is that what we saw in the series were just snippets of the start of their relationship. We see Pie at some point talking about how Ryan and Jane talk for an hour every single night and how their conversations through the printer just got longer and longer. And you can't tell me the kiss on episode 11 didn't evolve to something more.

Though we get confirmation that they didn't talk for the whole time Jane was out, I still think the way it all played out wasn't rushed or problematic. Jane didn't show up and demand to be in a relationship with Ryan, they had lunch and Jane asked if anything stayed the same. That's how nervous one can get. You know he's wondering if Ryan still feels the same, if he stopped loving him.

______________

And I LOVED IT SO MUCH THAT THEY SHOWED JANE TALKING TO JO AT THE END, MY BOY WAS TRAUMATIZED BY A FEW COMMENTS (can relate) AND I LOVED HOW THEY GAVE HIM CLOSURE.

If it's the best gmmtv series I've watched? No, not really. But I laughed and cried watching it and at the end of the day I think that's what you want from a series? idk I'm rambling now

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Wainwright/Sword/Hatch

The Wedding (Part 1)

As Cyclone and Connor had already left a few minutes earlier, they still had enough time to look at everything in peace. “Amazing! And Judy did all that?"/ ”Mhm. I would have liked to have offered Blair more. But she was happy with the result."/ ”Jo. Well, then she'll probably turn up in a few minutes and the guests.

Guests who have received an invitation should arrive in the early afternoon. Provided they were able to come. After all, it wasn't a compulsory event, but simply a nice occasion in the midst of difficult times. “Where is she?"/ ‘She was behind me, just be patient, Mr. Groom’.

And Emma was right. Because after a few seconds, Blair also came through the large barn door. It was a special moment for Cyclone. “Wow…”. And he realized again that his hands were starting to sweat a little. “hnhn, close your mouth again, honey”. Blair walked proudly and contentedly into the barn, where it was pleasantly bright.

“I'm sorry. I've tried to imagine all sorts of things, but this has eclipsed everything.” Blair smiled and looked down at himself once more. “Emma created it for me"/ ”She really has a lot of talents. There's no turning back now"/ ”Hn, right. “. They tried to pass the time a little with conversation. And it was interesting to see which guests would accept the invitation.

One by one, the guests arrived at the venue. Each one is greeted individually. They exchanged a few short sentences and then moved on to the next. It's rare to be with so many people in one place. “Oh, look, Xander's coming too. My goodness, he looks like his father when he was young”.

And of course, guests who aren't actually there yet are also welcomed. “Normally I would ask if you already know what it's going to be. But I think we have to let ourselves be surprised at this time"/ ”that's true. And as they always say: the main thing is that it's healthy"/ ”Exactly. We'll start right away, then there'll be cake for you two, hnhn”.

Now Blair was getting a little nervous again. “Are you all right?”/ “I'm just wondering if we should wait until my parents get here or…”/ “ your mother is here, she just came in”/ “Really? Oh how nice… All right… Let's get started then, I hope I remember what I wanted to say”. Cy had to smile a little. Because he could understand her nervousness at that moment. “hnhn, in case you've forgotten, be spontaneous. let's begin”..

The guests chose a seat and the bride and groom also got into position. “Look how she's woven the tendrils through here. That's very pretty"/ ‘I can see what else is pretty here’…Blair had to grin a little after his compliment. „Don't make me any more nervous than I already am"/ ‘I'm sure it'll be completely gone soon, darling’.

Susan had the involuntary pleasure of sitting next to Xander. “Do I have something on my face or why are you staring at me like that, huh?”. His voice was rough, but not unfriendly. “Sorry… I just thought this cardigan looked so familiar"/ ‘My dad wore it a lot, that's it…’/ ”God rest his soul. I'm sure he'd be proud…"/ ”hmhm. Your daughter is getting married, I'm not important”…

Blair looked around and could only see her mother among the guests. But her father wasn't there. “Maybe he's fallen ill…"/ ”Maybe, yes. But you can still ask her that. Or…"/ ”I'm not going to wait any longer. We can start now.”.

It was time for the two to say a few words to each other. And Blair took the liberty of going first. “I don't know how to begin. I just want to tell you, my dear Cy, that I am eternally grateful to you for being my loving and safe companion in my darkest hours. I was often afraid of losing you and also of losing myself”

“But I could always rely on you. You've always been by my side and I hope that we could go all the rest of the way together.” Blair would have wanted to say so much more, but she knew that the day would never end otherwise. So she left the rest of the words to her groom. “hn, you almost leave me speechless, love”.

“When I saw the cute blonde girl back then, I thought I'd never have a chance with her. What does she want with a nerd like me? But you discovered sides of me that nobody knew about. And you made so much more of me. I'm grateful to you for that.” Cyclone would also have liked to say more. But they wanted to save more words for later. “Kiss, kiss… now!“..

Of course, you don't need to be told twice. Even if not all the invited guests came, it was still a successful wedding for the couple. All fears were now gone and they could devote themselves to more pleasant things. “Hey, no more snogging, otherwise there'll be no more cake"/ ‘hahaha’.

And just as it was all over, Blair's father walked in the door. With a look on his face that spoke volumes. He was incredibly sorry he was late. “Look who's here”. Cy made a head movement towards the door.

Blair looked to the side and saw her father standing there, which gave her a smile of joy. Then she ran to him and hugged him. “Oh, you're still coming"/ ‘yes, just too late, it looks like’/ ”Oh no, not at all. I know you wanted to be there, but I'm sure you had your reasons"/ ”yes, but they really wouldn't have been as important as your wedding. Congratulations"/ ‘thank you’.

Blair was happy that her father had shown up after all. The only sad thing at that moment was that no one from Cy's family could be there. But that was something they had to accept. Then finally the best part of the party came. "Who wants cake?".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of this Part

@greenplumbboblover🥰

Note: I had to move the wedding cake table during the process because, strangely enough, you couldn't put anything on the CC table. I should have tested it beforehand, oh well. And I'm glad that the party went reasonably well. Apart from Connor, who didn't stay on his chair for long, everyone stayed seated. Maybe I'll take a wedding photo of the two of them at some point... in the next part, an uninvited guest shows up...

[aheathen-conceivably]

Josephine had been sitting with Antoine for hours. Her years at the brothel had taught her what to do when someone was drunk and unresponsive; so with great difficulty she had hoisted Antoine off his back and into an upright position. She stayed there next to him, smoking an endless chain of cigarettes as she monitored his breathing and occasionally attempted to wake him again.

Her brother’s physical presence didn’t make her feel any less alone there. Giorgio was gone, almost all of her friends were gone, even Zelda was gone. She was only thankful that Violette wasn’t here to see this.

Jo hadn’t seen her brother drink this way in almost a decade. Sure, they had drank far more than they should throughout their youth, who hadn’t? The halls of Storyville were practically flowing with champagne, and she wouldn’t see a John or get on stage without at least a bottle.

And all their lives she and Antoine had liked drinking. Even before she had started working, they would often galivant through the clubs of Storyville together as teenagers. Dressed in whatever clothes they could gather from the pieces men left at the brothel, they would pretend to be upstanding, paying gentlemen.

Of course the owners of the clubs all knew who they were. Delphine’s little ones. So late at night, when couples began to pair off and the men were too drunk to notice the interlopers, the bartenders passed them shots of whiskey or champagne and let them dance to the piano without paying the cover fee. It was how Antoine has learned how to play, how he had heard Jelly Roll and Tony Jackson in their primes.

Josephine realized that looking back now, it was perhaps a bit sad: two teenagers given free reign of the vice district as their mother worked. But in the moment she only remembered them feeling free and happy, and having each other amidst the heavily gilded debauchery all around them.

But once he got back from the war, it had all changed. Antoine never drank for fun after that. Only to forget, or to rage and get into fights; only to pass out on the floor of the club, disappointing their mother and teaching Josephine how to rouse him from yet another drunken episode.

Josephine was pulled from her memories by a groan at her side.

“Jo?” He asked, lifting his head, “Fuck, was that you? Had you been here all along?”

As she shook her head yes, he rubbed his temples, the hangover clearly already settling in, “Did you hear all that? Everything I said?”

“Some of it,” she answered, unwilling to say how much. She had always assumed that he wouldn’t want to leave, always assumed it wasn’t worth telling him about Giorgio’s offer, just as he had never told her that Gio had offered him part ownership in the farm.

Neither of them wanted to be the first one to jump ship, to abandon their home or their mother’s memory; but at that moment they both knew that they were ready, both thought it separately without wanting the other to know.

Instead Antoine cleared his throat, doing his best to hide his thoughts from his sister, “Have you heard from Zelda? She should be home by now, shouldn’t she?”

Josephine shook her head, not wanting to acknowledge her own fear that perhaps Zelda wasn’t coming home at all. Each day they woke, expecting a telegram with the information of her return ship; yet each day it didn’t come, until weeks became months and its arrival seemed less and less likely.

Josephine buried her fears and stood on unsteady heels. She offered her hand to her brother, “Come on, let’s get you some food.”

Antoine took her hand, the room once again beginning to spin as he rose to his feet. Jo put her arm around his waist to steady him and they crossed the now empty dance floor. Unbeknownst to her, the wisps of phantoms still danced there, threatening to pull Antoine under once again. He leaned his weight onto his sister, trying to ignore their calls and bury the whole ordeal deep in his mind.

Part 2/2

[frikatilhi]

Please blame @reserved-fruit for this one, for she was speculating about Bojan's absence from JO's instastories, and requested crack-fic about how the boys would react to Bokris's reunion.

So, dialogue-only ground-rules-setting under the cut.

“So, moving on to item 8…”

“Hold on.”

“Where do you think you’re going, Kris?”

“Bojan is suffering. I’m going to get him a pillow.”

“…he’s only sitting.”

“Yeah, and clearly it’s killing him. So, if this is going to take long–”

“Fine. Even though those bite marks on you look a lot more painful than–”

“Please do not finish that sentence.”

“Ok, so, item 8– Bojan, are you listening?”

“Sorry, got distracted by Kris walking. Have you seen that ass?”

“Bojan, you can’t possibly still be horny!”

“We were apart for three days!”

“And you’ve been together for 12 hours, of which you have been going at it relentlessly for at least 10, so again, you cannot be serious.”

“Do we need to go over your sins again? Because I will. Item 1 - no sex outside your own room.”

“We thought you were gone already–”

“We were after that! Sitting in that bar, staring at walls, half-hearted attempts at jenga, trying to erase those images from our minds. I will probably never recover.”

“You didn’t have to leave.”

“Bojan, we all know you are a needy, loud motherfucker, and none of us want to hear that. In fact, I just came up with a new item. Which number is it?”

“Uhhh.. 13?”

“Another one? You had hours to think of these at the bar!”

“Yes, hours. And now you sit and listen. Item 13, I need new noise cancelling headphones. Reimbursement. Write it down.”

“Writing it down.”

“So, now we have covered… Allowed places, allowed times, allowed types of PDA during work hours, the number of socks on door, acquiring locks for said doors, doing your own sheet laundry, minimum amount of coverings on body parts necessary when trying to sneak into the bathroom afterwards… Is this about it?”

“One more thing.”

“Uuurrgghhh.”

“No groaning. You brought this upon yourselves.”

“So what is it, pray tell? Allowed positions?”

“God no. Even though, I am a little worried about how that bed can take it if you–”

“No, please, stop talking. What were you going to say?”

“Only that… You know we’re happy for you, right? Took you long enough.”

“Oh.”

“Just, don’t make us regret this whole London thing, because– oomph!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Okay okay, that’s enough. Group hug over. Put some goddamn pants on. Please.”

[ironwoman18]

Guns & Blue Roses - Part 10

Chapter 10: Football with Yoichi is fun

The next day, all the players were doing light training, they were getting massages by the Bastard physician and putting on special bandages to improve their muscles.

Then after lunch, Noa called the players “ok after checking the numbers and the performances of all of you, I will say the starting 11 vs Barcha”

Bastard: Gagamaru; Hiori, Alessandro, Birkenstock, Yukimiya; Karasu; Isagi, Reo; Ness; Smith, Kaiser.

“What the fuck? Why is Yoichi in the midfield, shitty Master?” Said Kaiser in a very aggressive way.

“He asked me to…” he said with his usual poker face.

“W…what?” He turned to him “is it true?”

“Yes, Micha…” he said standing up and walking toward him “I will be Josep’s personal mark and I will be more useful as a playmaker”

“But I thought we would be the strikers again…”

“And we will but not in this game. Today I have a more defensive role”

“I can’t convince you to change your mind so… let’s crush them” said Kaiser running his fingers into his hair, trying to calm down.

After this, they talked about strategies with this formation and they ended the meeting, all the played left but Kaiser who walked towards Noa “I want to talk to Luna and Sae”

“Sorry Kaiser, but you can’t go to the Spanish block. Our match is in three hours”

“Then allow them to come over” Noa sighed and called Luna.

He talked to him. After it he hung up “Stay here, they are coming” he nodded and a few minutes later, the two players arrived.

“Miguelin!!” Said Leonardo with a big smile and rubbing his blonde hair. Kaiser just growled like an angry cat “how are you?” He sat down in front of him.

“Could be better…” he said and Sae noticed him playing with his fingers nervously “guys… what can you tell me of Josep Ramírez?”

Sae looked at Leo and the Spanish striker said “he joined Real when we were about 9 and 11. Our coach, Don Alejandro Anterra, wanted us to practice every position. We all learned how to be a goalkeeper, how to defend, how to be a good midfielder and a striker. Wherever we were more comfortable it will be our final position at the end of the season. Carlos was great as a goalkeeper even though he kept complaining, Jose Maria was great at defense, Josep was a natural midfielder and Ichi could be as a midfielder or a striker, he was good in both so whenever the coach needed him in that position he worked great” explained Leonardo with a little smile “when Josep and Ichi played in the midfield, Jo was happy but he wasn’t himself when Ichi became a full on striker”

“Then I joined in and Josep was sent to the bench, he left a month after Yoichi left to Germany”

“Yeah… we thought he left football but we watched him against Gunners and realized he never left, he might just played in the U-19 team or something like that” Leo looked down.

“Ichi just wanted to play against him in the same condition and showed him football is fun and not an obligation like his father keep telling him”

Kaiser nodded “thank you guys for explaining this” Kaiser looked down then at them “I will do my best to help Yoichi” they smiled and patted his back.

“Excellent, now back to the warm up exercises, have a good game and don't leave Yoichi alone” said Sae with his normally cold eyes but Kaiser always noticed how they melt when they talked about Yoichi.

“I won't” he said dead serious.

“Good” Leonardo smiled big and left the room with Sae.

After that conversation, Kaiser did his exercises in silence, focused and listening to music while doing so.

Yoichi once made him a playlist with his favorite songs and some Yoichi’s favorites, that matches Kaiser’s style. 

One of those was “Another one bites the dust” by Queen which made him smirks, sure they will. He wants to play against Sae and Leo again and the only way is winning all their matches.

After the warm ups were done the players got dressed, putting on a muscle compressor long sleeve shirt, their shirts and shorts alongside with their socks and cleats.

“Let's do this, Bastard!” They scream at the same time after putting their hands in the center of a circle.

Then all the players left except Yoichi and Michael. The blonde player looked at him “enjoy today Yoichi, I will be watching your back”

“I saw Sae and Leo leaving, did you speak with them?” He nodded and Isagi sighed “I should have told you my plan beforehand but I knew you wouldn’t accept it…”

“I would accept it if you explained to me, you are important to me, I… care about you and I wish you could come to me first but I guess I’m a stubborn man and you didn’t think I would understand”

“Look… Kaiser…”

“It’s ok… I understand that, you want… no… you need this so, it’s ok”

“He was my first crush… Yoichi said, looking down but I never told him and I didn’t understand back then what I was feeling so I never told anyone, Leo and Sae realized that years later” he played with his fingers “and it hurted me to find out he left football, I didn’t know he returned but was playing in the lower category” Isagi continued “then I met you and things progressed between us up to this point. You are the one I actually… love”

“I know that” he walked toward him and wrapped his arms around him “I love you too” he whispered on his neck, it was the first time he said it word by word, they kissed softly and they went back to the line to enter the field.

Kaiser was the captain and Yoichi was in front of Reo. Next to them were Josep and Nagi. There was a palpable tension. Nagi was wearing number 7 and Josep was number 11.

Bachira was next to Hiori, Kunigami was next to Gagamaru, Karasu was next to Otoya and Rin was standing behind the captain looking at Kaiser with killing eyes.

“You are Isagi’s fire, I will crush you… fucking Blue Rose” thought Rin.

The players walked in the field, Sae and Leo were watching the match.

“Bastard moved some pieces from their past match and changed the formation and the major change is Isagi Yoichi as a midfielder when the new gen 11 is a striker”

“I agree, it's not his normal position but if he's there, it's because Noel Noa trusts him” Sae rolled his eyes.

“Barcha kept their same formation with Rin Itoshi as their central forward”

The match began with Nagi and Rin starting the attack, Reo was assigned to mark Nagi while Isagi covered Josep. Meanwhile Kaiser was covering Rin.

Yesterday

“We will use a 1v1 mark, just like in basketball. Reo will mark Nagi and if he loses him, Hiori will follow him, Karasu will follow Otoya, with the help of Yuki” said Koman, using the board, the red dots were Bastard and black were Barcha “Kaiser will cover Rin Itoshi, Yoichi will mark Josep, and Alessandro and Birkenstock will mark Kunigami”

“What about Bachira?” asked Yukimiya.

“Yoichi will keep him in check too, he has good eyes” he said looking at Isagi, leaving him the most creative players from their team was risky but they will leave Smith and Ness in the opponent’s area for a counter attack.

“We need to keep in check those players or we will lose” said Noah “I'm sure I don't need to stress that enough to you, let's practice this” they nodded and left the field.

They were covering their opponents “so... Ichi, are you actually personally marking me?” Said Josep with his back to Isagi.

“Don’t call me that... You lost that privilege the moment you quit”

“I didn't quit, Yoichi... I left that team”

“Not to football... You never contacted me”

Josep received the ball and both players fought for it.

“I could say that too” his cold tone gave him chills but he acted like it didn't affect him “you never reached me... I moved to Barcelona and asked to play in a lower category just because I couldn't imagine facing you, Leo, Carlos and Sae as my opponents... but...” he moved the ball from one foot to the other and passed it between Yoichi's feet turning and his cold eyes looked at him for the first time “...I can't see that sparkle... So disappointed” and passed Yoichi with ease, passing the ball to Bachira who was free.

Rin watched this and said “tsk... Is this your favorite little brother, shitty genius?” Said this to the camera, like a challenge to Sae.

The Itochi big brother rubbed the bridge of his nose and whispered “that idiot embarrassing me in front of everyone”

Leonardo smirked but didn't say anything.

The monster danced through the defenders and scored the first goal of the match. Barcha and Josep 1, Bastard and Isagi 0.

Reo approached Isagi and smacked his head from behind “idiot... Will you let him win?”

“Ouch...” He pouted and slapped his face with both hands “No... I won’t ”

“Good... Let's go”

This time Kaiser and Ness began the attack. Sending passes between them, Yoichi and Reo following from behind, Kaiser, by instinct sent a pass with his heel back to Isagi who triangulated with Reo and Ness.

Isagi was moving like always, sending passes back and forth to his teammates and ran next to Josep without looking at him.

The three offensive midfielders were sending passes between them. Isagi noticed Kaiser reaching his “feel good” spot and sent a long pass to him.

Kaiser reached it and shot a powerful Kaiser Impact. Carlos, the goalkeeper, looked a it and thought “a Kaiser Impact, one of the fastest and powerful shots currently in the elite” he jumped to the right pole of the goal “it's so fast, I have to move by instinct rather than trusting my eyes” he couldn't stop it but Kaiser, Ness and Isagi noticed something.

After the celebration Kaiser approached both of them “did you notice it?”

“Yes... He touched it with the tip of his fingers” said Ness as the three of them looked at Carlos checking his finger tips.

“Be careful Micha, he will stop it next time” said Isagi, pretty sure of this affirmation.

“You think so?”

“I know so...” Isagi knows him “he's the only U-20 goalkeeper who can stop the Moon Volley” 

Kaiser and Ness were surprised by this. Then all the players were in position and the match restarted.

Both teams attacked but after the first two goals neither of them were able to score a second goal.

Both teams had good defense and the key players were neutralized by the others. So Isagi called the team and told them “Plan B” they nodded.

Karasu moved closer to the goal as a central back, Yuki and Hiori moved to the midfield next to Reo who became their defensive midfielder Isagi moved up to be next to Ness while Kaiser and Smith were the two strikers.

“Yoichi quit defending me” said Josep Nagi “get ready because we will be able to play”

However Reo started to use his chameleone technique and copied Aiku’s moves to keep Josep in check. Nagi was marked by Hiori and Bachira by Yukimiya.

Reo sent a nice pass, copying Sae, to Isagi who was passing to Hiori. When they reached the midfield Isagi noticed something he only saw once in a practice and, by instinct, he kicked the ball really high and with enough power.

The ball crossed all Barcha sides and the ball jumped on the grass and got into the goal.

“How many times do you need to be told to not stay away from your area Carlos?” Said Isagi as the score changed. Bastard 2-1 Barcha.

Carlos cursed under his breath and hit the ground with his fists. It was the third time Isagi scored using the same trick, one was in a practice match, the second was in the Spanish Prince Cup match and today was the third one.

After that goal Lavinho jumped off his chair “I will play now”

“Fine, I will too” both masters got in, Noa did it with an extra change “Ness, go rest. Isagi will be the only offensive midfielder. Smith, you are out too” in their place entered Noa as the central forward, Kaiser has the right wing and Hans as the left wing.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected course of events, Rin Itoshi was sent to the bench. He was neutralized by the good defense of Bastard since they cut the flow of the passes to him.

He was a good dribbler but Bachira and his master and assistant master were better.

He lacked the creativity to do it. Maybe watching the match from afar will be the key. After all, Isagi was winning before the match even started.

Rin hated to admit it but Isagi and Noa read the playing board well.

Sae was kind of disappointed “I was expecting more from you Rin” thought Sae.

The match restarted with Lavinho making some passes with Nagi and Bachira. Reo was watching Nagi moves.

“Nagi changed, like I did in the third selection. His creativity needed to be awakened and who better than this man” thought Reo as he stood in front of Karasu and their three centrals.

“Reo, you became more tactical, more logical” said Nagi as he did an impossible received and sending it back to his master “but I learned new tricks too” 

A week ago

“I want you to tell me, what do you do in football?” asked Lavinho.

“I want to have fun,” said Bachira.

“I want to defeat strong opponents” said Nagi

“I want women,” said Otoya.

Lavinho laughed then looked at Rin “I want to defeat my brother” said Rin

“I need a new purpose,” said Kunigami.

“Alright, all that can be achieved. At first you will feel the need to copy the style of other players but then you will learn how to create your own style. Do you know how to dance?” most of them shook their heads no “Starts by learning, we have good dancers in here” pointed at some Barcha players “learn from them. Pep” he said looking at Josep “Teach Nagi about good players that can do what he can so he can learn from them” he nodded and the classes began.

“I thought you didn’t want to teach them something,” said his master assistant.

“I just gave them the basics, they need to lose themselves” said the master striker “specially Itoshi, Nagi and Kunigami”

During that week they took dancing lessons with weights around their waist and feet. So when they played without them, their movements were more fluid and faster, all this was the assistance idea.

Lavinho was about to face Reo but Noa was there “Reo cover Bachira with Yukimiya*

“Tsk... What an honor... The world's best is in front of me” said the Brazilian player with a smirk.

“Of course, I wouldn't let you bring my kids down with your dance moves,” said Noa, following his movements and trying to predict where it would go.

Isagi wanted to join but he knew better, he would just stop him so instead he remained out of sight, waiting for a lucky chance.

Lavinho couldn't find an opening so he sent a pass to Otoya, who used his stealth to pass Reo and score the tight.

Noa turned to Isagi and said “you did the right thing, Isagi”

The Japanese player nodded and walked towards him “what should we do?”

“We will use Reo this time. I believe he wants revenge” said Noa looking at him “you cover Nagi” he nodded and swapped places with Reo.

Reo and Noa checked the watch, they had minute and thirty seconds to attack so they moved the ball coordinating passes with Noa, Kaiser, Reo and Hans.

Meanwhile Isagi’s eyes were on Barcha attackers and his defenders, but also on the ball. He will make sure to read their counterattack.

Otoya was trying to stop Reo but the purple haired copied his moves without the ball, Noa had the ghost of a smirk on his lips as he sent a pass to Reo, but, as the ball approached him, Reo realized that the pass was perfect for him to copy Nagi so, moving by pure instincts he copied Nagi, controlled the ball and scored.

Bastard 3-2 Barcha

Rin looked down in anger, he lost against Isagi once again and this time, not only by goals but also by the tacticals of their team. He was blue lock’s number one but today he went out without goals and he was substituted.

“You are amazing, Isagi Yoichi” said Bachira as the match finished. “It was so much fun, and if we ever play on the same team I'm sure we will be unstoppable because you have a monster in you... Like mine!!” He said and smiled big.

Isagi was confused but shook his hand and the rankings were updated.

1- Shouei Barou 150M (Ubers)

2- Yoichi Isagi 120M (Bastard)

3- Darmian Sloterberg 110M (Berserk)

4- Rin Itoshi 100M (Barcha) 

5-  Reo Mikage 80M (Bastard)

6- Hyoma Chigiri (City) 60M

7- Michael Kaiser (Bastads) 50M

8- Kenyu Yukimiya (Bastard) 45M

9- Shuto Sendou (Ubers) 40M

10- Oliver Aiku, Jyubei Aryu, Ikki Niko 35M (Ubers)

11- Sae Itoshi (Real) 30M

12- Tabito Karasu, Gin Gagamaru (Bastards) 25M 

14- You Hiori (Bastards) 20M

OOooOOooOO

Hope you liked this one.

[virgo-mess]

The Birds and the Bees

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

Chapter List

1.Alexithymia- The Inability to Express your Feelings Parts 1 and 2

2.The Woes of Adolescence/ What the heck Happened that Summer Parts 1 and 2

3.Caught in a Summer Storm/ What the heck Happened that Christmas.

4.Summer Bluffs? Part 1

5.Disco, Strippers, and Margaritassss Part 2

6.Sleepless in a Hotel Suite Part 3

7.Shades of Pink

8.The Things I’ve Dreamed Part 1

9.Renewal Part 2

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

TW: Mostly just fluff and repressed feelings, I ended up splitting this chapter into two parts for my own sanity, ENJOY!

The Woes of Adolescence/ What the Heck Happened That Summer Part 1

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

“Yet the summer which was to change everything was coming nearer every day. When boys and girls are growing up, life can’t stand still, not even in the quietest of country towns; and they have to grow up, whether they will or no. That is what their elders are always forgetting.”- Willa Cather

Shay's Pov

 The days leading up to the wedding ticked by like the hands track the minutes and hours on a clock, some days flew by, and others were agonizingly slow. Shay wasn’t sure which she preferred, the fast days were the ones where she and Cash had the most fun. They seemed to get along better on those days when the planning felt less like planning and more like hanging out, but not the way you hang out with a friend. It felt more like dating than anything and Shay found it comparable to those carefree, albeit fleeting beginnings of her relationship with Tyler and those early buddings of her crush on Cash. When the butterflies in her stomach were endless and the bashful giggles were a dime a dozen, the sweet days. The ones before Shay’s anxiety induced depressive spirals surfaced as a result of her parents’ contentious divorce and threw a wrench in her and Cash’s friendship. The quote on quote, sweet days, in her and Tyler’s relationship, however, were the ones before his narcissistic and abusive tendencies surfaced. Shay was about as happy as she could be in those days, having settled for being in a relationship with someone she only kind of liked because the person she really wanted felt just out of reach.

   The slow, tedious days Shay and Cash spent planning, however, were a lot less fun. They were the days she and Cash seemed to do nothing except bicker, they couldn’t agree on anything on those days. That was the primary reason they still hadn’t managed to come to a consensus on the bachelor parties. Shay knew she was just being difficult but how could she not be? She had come to a point in her life where nothing made sense anymore and being with Cash, the man she could admit she wholeheartedly still loved, was only making her more confused. There were moments they’d shared over the past week or so, intimate ones, where Shay got the feeling, he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him. That talk at brunch about their dreams was one of a few. Shay couldn’t stop thinking about the way his fingers ran down her arm, the way his thumb caressed her cheek, and the way his ocean blue eyes gazed into her in a way that felt like he was seeing into her soul. Shay had evidently mistaken the emotions swirling in his blue orbs, but it wasn’t like it was the first time Cash had brought her hopes up to an embarrassing all-time high.

 “Shaylee, where are you?” Shay’s mother, Maggie Harris’ chipper voice floated out at Shay from somewhere down the hallway near her bedroom. Shay craned her neck to peer down the hallway from her current sprawled out position on the living room couch and saw her mom standing in the hall with a suitcase by her side for the trip she was taking this week with Cash’s mom Jo. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her blue eyes were scanning Shay’s empty bedroom slowly, people often mistook Shay and her mom for sisters more so than mother and daughter. Shay never really thought they looked all that much alike aside from the blonde hair. Shay had her father, Beau Harris’ eyes, whom she only really saw on holidays because their close relationship suffered significantly when she came home from school early one day to find him cheating. Not that Beau Harris hadn’t tried to adamantly repair the rift that his infidelity had caused between them, in fact he still called her once a week to catch up and ask her how she was doing. The answer was always the same of course, fine just fine. Shay supposed she should forgive him by now but for whatever reason, she couldn’t help but still feel so betrayed.

 “I’m in the living room” Shay said, turning back around to put a bookmark in the book she’d been reading before fully sitting up. She filled most of the time she wasn’t wedding planning or hanging out with Cash reading, she hadn’t really had a chance to read for pleasure with all the long and often times sleepless nights she spent going through client files and crunching numbers back in New York.

  “There you are, what are you reading? You know you’ve got boxes full of books in the attic still, I thought you were going to ask Cash to come over and help you with all that stuff up there?” her mom said, walking into their open concept kitchen and living room with her suitcase rolling behind her. Shay didn’t miss the almost impish grin on her face as she stared at her from the kitchen island and eyed her mother suspiciously from her spot on the couch with an arched eyebrow. Maggie Harris had been nosier than usual these few weeks that Shay had been home and that was saying a lot, to say the least. After that summer between eighth grade and high school, Maggie Harris, had become a bit of a hover parent. Not that Shay could blame her, that meltdown she had on the last day of school that year, the day she locked Cash out, refused to open the window, and screamed at him for the first time ever was a rollercoaster for them all.

“Between wedding planning and trying to talk him into a western themed bachelor party I forgot, I guess… Why are you looking at me like that?” Shay asked her wearily, the impish grin on her mom’s face only seemed to grow as she shuffled towards the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

  “I’m not looking at you like anything, pumpkin but I figured you forgot so I asked him myself. Jo put a lot of his stuff from the basement up there when she was having it renovated and with both of you lovebirds gone for the past two years, we haven’t gotten around to getting everything back over there. Cash said he’s more than happy to help you with the attic and to keep you company while I’m gone” She replied taking a seat on one of the bar stools near the island with the same grin on her face. Shay felt her cheeks flush at her mom insinuating that she and Cash were anything more than friends.

  “Mom, Cash is only hanging out with me because Pete and Daisy gave him no choice... we’re just friends. I can go through the stuff in the attic by myself and make sure he gets his stuff back; I don’t need a babysitter. I’m fine, really.” Shay sighed; she knew what her mom meant by Cash keeping her company. She knew it as soon as Miss DeDe Green stopped her at the farmers market last weekend and asked, “But how are you really cupcake?”. 

 “I know you don’t need a babysitter Shaylee Rose; Cash isn’t coming to babysit you at all. Have you ever considered he just likes spending time with you, I only asked him to help you with the attic he’s the one that wanted to keep you company.” Maggie said there was a sincere note in her tone, but Shay still found herself highly doubting her words given her mother’s meddlesome history.

  “Uh huh, and what excuse was that mom” Shay huffed, rising from her spot on the couch she felt a bit, exasperated as she walked over to join her at the island. Maggie chuckled under her breath as she reached out to stroke Shay’s cheek affectionately.

  “His exact words were ‘She’s got to stop leaving unlocked lower-level windows around your house Mrs. Harris, it’s not safe. I’ll help her with the attic and crash on the couch for a few nights, so she doesn’t get kidnapped.’” she said with amusement swirling in her blue eyes.

“That’s what I said but he insisted I leave it unlocked for him like I used to, or he’d wake me up before 9:30” Shay huffed rolling her eyes to herself at Cash’s silly antics, he had reined in a good portion of his usually, incessant teasing over the days they’d spent together, much to Shay’s surprise. At least when they weren’t having a bicker fest that is, an action which had Shay feeling as confused and besotted as she was when she was fourteen. Which only meant all those anxious and insecure tendencies she had during those bewildering days of her early teens were starting to resurface the more time she spent with him. She could tell Cash was really putting forth the effort not to escalate their bickering into full on arguments, but part of Shay found herself wanting him to. There was so much to be said and they both knew it…

  “That sounds like another excuse to spend time with you to me. He sure had a lot of them when you were kids too.” Her mom said with a fond smile on her face. Like she was recalling memories of the summers their families spent down in Cape Cod before happy homes became less happy. Doomed in the gloom of a tumultuous melodrama, fit for a some scandalous tell-all, at least that’s what everyone in town said.

“What do you mean.” Shay said, propping an elbow up on the granite counter, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and looked at her mother in expectation and mild suspicion. She could feel one of her mother’s deep, heart to heart chats quickly approaching and Shay wasn’t sure if she could handle another one, it would be about the fourth heart to heart chat since Shay had come home. Cash of course had been the subject of every single one of them.

“Well, he didn’t have to spend the night every day after Huck was gone did he?” Maggie said with a knowing smile though her blue eyes were still incredibly impish as they held Shay’s gaze. Shay pondered her statement for a brief moment, she hadn’t really considered the fact Cash didn’t have to spend as much time with her as he did back then after Huck Ewing went to prison and basically dropped off the face of the earth after his release. Shay always just assumed it was because Jo needed someone to keep an eye on Cash while she was busy putting in extra hours at work so she and Cash wouldn’t have to move to a more affordable section of Plymouth.

“I don’t know, I guess I never really thought much about it because he stopped doing it by the time I got home that summer. He kind of just left me alone” Shay said, she caught a glimpse of a memory in her mother’s eyes like she was recalling something Shay knew nothing about. She wished her mom, Daisy, and Pete would just get over wanting her and Cash to talk everything out and just spill whatever it was they were all holding back. It was very obvious they all knew something she didn’t…

“Did he or maybe you were just having a hard time seeing too far outside of yourself, Shaylee?” Maggie asked in a soft but pointed tone, Shay let out another sigh partly in exasperation and partly in relief that the awaited heart to heart was finally being laid out on the table.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shay asked mostly just to humor her mother but also because she was genuinely curious what wise, parent psychology mumbo jumbo she was preparing to throw at her today. Shay watched the last remnants of the impish proclivities leave her mom’s blue eyes, they became a soft mix of maternal seriousness and sincerity as they gazed into Shay’s green ones.

“You were very much going through the woes of adolescence that summer, pumpkin, that whole year really. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s normal and scientifically proven teens are a little self-centered during those years. Adolescent egocentrism is what they call it, it makes it hard for you to accept other points of views, makes you feel like the world’s out to get you, and everyone is judging you. Even if they’re not and I know the divorce only made this worse for you.” Her mom admitted in a soft tone. Shay wordlessly nodded her head in acknowledgement, feeling a little exposed among other things.

“Oh, so you think because I was suffering from Adolescent egocentrism among other things, I may be misremembering things about Cash and our friendship. Okay mom…” Shay muttered more to herself than anything else, her mother wasn’t wrong, and she found it mildly irritating. That age when you realized your parents were right, that they did get it, and they weren’t just saying it because they’re your parents, was actually no less aggravating than the age when you shouted the opposite at them constantly. Shay wasn’t quite ready to give her a “you were right mom” just yet…

“You could be… take going through your old things as an opportunity to look at stuff with a pair of fresh eyes, maybe there was something you missed the first time around, maybe you might even find yourself up there…hmm. Fourteen is a rough year for everybody, things that seemed easy to say suddenly aren’t. The woes...” Maggie trailed with a faint smile on her face because she of course knew what Shay was actually thinking. Shay rolled her eyes to herself and wondered why her mom’s motherly intuition radar was always on the up and up.

“The woes of adolescence got it mom no need to get so philosophical on me…” Shay said just as a soft thud came from her bedroom. Shay rolled her eyes, peering down the hall she saw Cash clamber in through her bedroom window with a large black duffle on one arm and a few bags of groceries on the other. He set his duffle near her bed before his tall, muscled frame stalked down the hall and into the kitchen with the groceries and a big grin on his face.

“Hey Mrs. Harris, Cherry Blossom” he greeted in a cheery tone and dumped the bags on the kitchen island. Shay peered down at all the bags to find a plethora of her favorite snacks, candy, and a few decks of playing cards.

“Not babysitting me, huh, he brought games and snacks…” Shay said raising an eyebrow at her mom pointedly, Maggie flashed her an almost sheepish smile. Cash looked down at her amused as he rounded the island and wrapped his strong arms around Shay’s waist in the form of a tender embrace. Shay jumped slightly in surprise at the action because she still wasn’t used to Cash being this touchy with her. The hugs after that lonely summer were so far and few between but each one still had nervous, smitten butterflies swirling in her stomach every time.

“Hadn’t planned on babysitting although I am the oldest and the most mature out of the two of us blondie. We’re just best friends having a sleepover like old times.” Cash said teasingly into her ear, Shay felt his chest rumble against her back as he let out a soft chuckle and placed a long kiss into her hair, gingerly. Shay felt her stomach do about a dozen nervous flips and let out an almost nervous giggle despite herself at the display of affection.

“I think that’s the best joke you’ve made in a long time, Cash, Cash parties always a smash” Shay said nonchalantly, ignoring the way her cheeks flushed a bright, rosy shade of pink at the feel of his lips brushing against her ear as she craned her neck to give him a teasing smile.

“I resent that title, Cherry Blossom; Pete was the one throwing the parties I was just providing the space. Cute jammies by the way” Cash crooned, toying with the thin strap of her floral top as he stared down at her with a coquettish smile on his face. Shay rolled her eyes at him almost playfully though she was sure her face was the brightest shade of pink imaginable by now. She hadn’t missed the way his eyes would linger on certain areas of her body the last few days and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t give her a bit of an ego boost though Shay wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

“Yeah, a space for underage drinking. How’d you become a cop again, were all your teachers at the academy divorcees that caressed your muscles during target practice or something?” Shay said teasingly, though the thought of Cash being in such a predicament had her heart twinging with jealousy. Cash let out another soft chuckle, his blue eyes were swirling with amusement and his smile was still tormentingly coquettish as his arms tightened their hold around Shay’s waist ever so slightly.

“No but if you’re looking for an excuse to caress my muscles darling, you don’t need one. You can touch ‘em all you want while I’m moving boxes in the attic, can’t believe you forgot to ask me to give you a hand for a whole week Shaylee.” Cash said teasingly, Shay rolled her eyes again though her heart was racing a mile a minute at the mere thought of running her hands down the length of his arms and chest. She’d had a number of heated dreams about doing just that since she was a hormonal teenager and even more so now that she was a lost, single woman approaching her thirties. This past week alone Shay had endless dreams about the amorous entanglements that would follow her running her hands along his chiseled form in both a passionate want and need. Fantasizing really, and no amount of time, distance, or the mental cage that came with a traumatic sham of a relationship could prevent her mind from getting lost in a maze of steamy yet romantic trysts with the man that really had her heart. Shay held onto those deeply personal entanglements and yearnings in her perfectly crafted, sheltered fantasy world of unbridled passion and romance. A world void of the fears and loud thoughts that talked her out of crossing that pesky imaginary line Shay had convinced herself lay between her and Cash Ewing. Shay gazed up at Cash absentmindedly for what felt like forever, he held her gaze with an unreadable emotion now swirling in his ocean blue eyes though his smile was still mildly coquettish even as beaming as it was at the present moment. Maggie Harris cleared her throat, breaking the brief stretch of silence that had lulled in the air. Shay felt her cheeks heat up again under her mother’s amused gaze.

“Skipped my mind, he’s been very distracting you know mom, with his Casanova ways.” Shay said, she felt Cash tighten his hold on her waist yet again and his chest rumble against her back tantalizingly. She gazed back at him still rosy cheeked as she tried to stifle an amused, slightly smitten, giggle under her breath.

“I think you’re starting to like my Casanova ways, Sweetheart.” Cash crooned in a flirty tone and rested his chin on her shoulder with an almost sheepish grin on his face as he stared deeply into her eyes. Shay stared back at him, completely breathless with the familiar fluttering of butterflies in her stomach. She found herself resisting the strong urge to kiss him again, she’d been resisting the urge to throw herself at him for days now and she wondered just how long she’d be able to keep it up. That imaginary line between them grew blurrier with each of the clocks tedious ticking hands. Shay’s mom cleared her throat again, pulling Shay and Cash out of their intimate staring contest with an almost smug smirk on her lips.

“You two are going to have a lot of fun this week, I can already tell so it’s best I get out of your flirty way. Please keep her busy Cashton, when you’re not here all she does is lay around all day and watch TV.” Her mom said pointedly as she slipped off the bar stool and made her way towards the pair, wheeling her suitcase behind her. Shay let out a breathless sigh and narrowed her eyes at her mom’s subtle attempt at bringing the long-buried events of that lonely summer to the surface again. If there was one thing Maggie Harris would go down in history for, it would be stirring the pot.

“That’s not true… today I laid around and read a book.” Shay said giving her mom a weary look in warning. Shay didn’t think she could handle trudging up the past yet, though she wasn’t sure why such a thing scared her so deeply. It’s not like Cash could gossip about her past predicament to the whole school now or anything, so what was standing in her way?

“Make sure she eats something too.” Maggie said, ignoring             Shay’s statement as she focused her blue eyes on Cash. Shay’s eyes only narrowed further as she looked quickly between her mother and Cash with a scowl-like pout on her face. She couldn’t believe the two of them were actually trying to have a silent conversation in front of her right now, all while Cash still had her wrapped up in his arms.

“Alright Mrs. Harris” Cash said, lifting his chin off Shay’s shoulder he flashed her what she could only assume was an attempt at a reassuring smile. Shay looked up at him suspiciously and wondered just what he and her mother had discussed when she wasn’t around and when they even had managed to make time to talk about her.

“This sounds an awful lot like babysitting to me…” Shay muttered under her breath, Cash flashed her another smile and began dragging his hands in soothing motions along her exposed waist and navel. The action was almost titillating enough to make Shay forget how annoyed she was getting with her mom’s meddlesome scheming. Shay felt a small wave of arousal wash over her at the feel of Cash’s large, warm hands caressing her now goosebump ridden skin. She found herself stifling a surely erotic sounding sigh of contentment as she gazed up at him doe eyed, nibbling on the inner side of her cheek while her stomach did excitedly nervous flips. Cash seemed to only pick up on her nerves though, he bowed down to place another tender kiss in her hair with a trace of a blush on his cheeks. Shay’s eyes fluttered closed, trying to rein in the now ragged breaths of want and need, escaping her lips. The clock’s tedious ticking seemed to slow to a pause for the briefest of moments and that invisible line was quite nearly erased from Shay’s mind when Cash’s lips left her hair and dared to ghost her flushed cheek. Shay’s eyes snapped open in a bashful surprise and met Cash’s deep blue orbs and sheepish grin once more. But the moment was over as quickly as it began, and the imaginary clocks tedious ticking resumed in Shay’s head with an almost spiteful vengeance as Maggie Harris’ next words hit Shay’s ears.

“She’s been a little depressed, you know.” Her mom said in a soft matter of fact type of tone that made Shay’s jaw clench in frustration. She so wished her mother would stop telling people her problems and diagnosing her whenever she saw fit. Sure, Shay was down in the dumps the past few months… or years, but that didn’t mean she was beyond repair…

“Mom! Stop telling people I’m depressed!” Shay scolded her with a now prominent scowl on her face though her stomach still made excited flips with each soothing pass Cash’s large, calloused hands made over her exposed skin. It wasn’t enough to subside Shay’s annoyance as she glared at her mother with a flushed face.

“Relax pumpkin, it’s just Cash.” Maggie said softly, but her tone was dismissive. Shay let out an exasperated, low groan and ignored the way Cash immediately pulled her small frame closer to his chest when she tried to take an attempt at an intimidating step towards her smug looking mother.

“It’s not just Cash, I know you told DeDe Green the same thing!” Shay said pointedly, Maggie let out an exasperated sigh of her own and gave Shay one of her scolding, maternal stares. Shay let out another groan, though it sounded more like a growl with her increasing annoyance, Cash increased the pace of the soothing patterns his slightly rough finger pads made against Shay’s skin.

“Okay! Mrs. Harris, I think my mom is waiting for you in the car. Pretty sure I heard her honk the horn. You guys go have a good time at the festival this week, Shay and I will get that attic all cleaned out for you, don’t worry.” Cash said reassuringly, he made a few more soothing caresses before finally letting go of Shay’s waist to grab her mom’s suitcase. The loss of Cash’s warm body against hers left Shay feeling cold and almost empty as his sudden shift away from her brought her back to reality. The invisible line was becoming less blurry, but Shay still found herself reaching back out to him with a shaky hand instinctively because all she ever wanted was to feel his warm touch all over her skin forever. Cash glanced back at her with a soft expression on his face and laced her small shaky fingers with his large steady ones. Shay flushed again, this time in embarrassment that she’d reached out for Cash without even thinking about it though part of her wished she could do things without thinking about it all the time. Especially when it came to Cashton Ewing.

“Okay, bye you two have fun but beha…” Maggie Harris didn’t get to finish her sentence because Cash began insistently ushering her towards the front door, rolling the suitcase with one hand while his other held Shay’s so tenderly she thought her heart might burst as his thumb caressed the back of her hand. Shay couldn’t help but stare at their interlocked fingers with a bashfully smitten blush and smile on her face, she could hear her mother babbling about something, but it sounded a lot like when the adults on Charlie Brown talk, utter nonsense.

“Yeah, okay, bye mom, have fun.” Shay said in a dismissive tone that definitely sounded snarky, but Shay was still too focused on Cash and her interlocked fingers to care. It still caught her by surprise when he’d hold her hand even though he held it the whole way into the restaurant mere days ago. In the moment, their tender touches and instant chemistry always made sense to Shay, but the aftermath always left her feeling so confused. She often found herself rethinking every detail of the time they spent together when she sat awake in the wee hours of the morning staring out her window. Something she’d be doing tonight without a doubt, to talk herself out of her brain mistaking Cash’s… friendliness for anything more than it was, for anything more than it meant to him even if it meant the world to her…

“Bye Mrs. Harris, tell my mom bye again for me” Cash said sharply, Shay looked up from their hands for a moment to watch Cash usher her mom out the door hastily before all but slamming it shut. Shay gazed up at him sheepishly through her thick lashes, her mind was still reeling a mile a minute and she found she was unsure of what to do with herself. There were voices in her head screaming at her to let go of his large hand, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. In fact, Shay found herself inching closer to him mindlessly.

“She’s getting to be too much in her old divorcee age, we have to get her a boyfriend or something…” Shay said jokingly though her expression was incredibly sheepish as she gazed up at Cash with doe like green eyes. Cash bit down on his lip and let out another soft chuckle as he gazed back down at her with a coquettish glint in his blue eyes once more. The action had Shay getting swept up in another brief current of arousal and she found herself biting down on her own lip with a dusty pink blush spreading across her cheeks. Her eyes lingered on his lips for longer than necessary…

“Her and my mom both, they’re a little too invested in our lives… They’re going to spend the whole festival gabbing about us you know.” Cash crooned causing Shay to pull her eyes off his lips to meet his gaze with a sheepish smile on her face. Cash returned her gaze of course but she could’ve sworn Cash’s blue orbs had been lingering on her lips the same way her green ones had been on his. Shay awkwardly cleared her throat and realized their fingers were still perfectly intertwined like two pieces of a puzzle. Sometimes Shay thought she and Cash were made for each other because she never really felt complete unless he was somewhere near. In fact, she felt mostly empty without him she swore he was the only one who could make her feel anything and everything….

“Yeah, I’m sure they are…I’m uh, not depressed you know.” Shay trailed softly, finally making an attempt to move towards the attic staircase. She half expected Cash to just let go of her hand at that point, but he didn’t. His grip only tightened on Shay’s small hand as they ventured down the hall towards the attic, almost like he was trying to keep her from slipping away from him somehow though she was sure it was just her mind running away from her again. Shay wondered how he hadn’t figured out she never wanted to slip away from him to begin with. If he’d asked her not to go to NYU all those years ago, she would’ve stayed in a heartbeat, without a second thought but he never did. So, she went off to live something resembling a life though it felt more like existing than living.

“I know you’re not depressed Cherry Blossom…nothing wrong with saying you’re having a hard time though. You wouldn’t be the only one, you know so, no judgement on my part beautiful.” Cash said in a gentle tone of reassurance, Shay felt her cheeks heat up again at the word beautiful rolling off his tongue effortlessly though she couldn’t help the wave of suspicion that washed over her. He hardly ever commented on her appearance after that bittersweet Valentines Day at the movies. Which she took as confirmation of his guilt for inviting her to fifth wheel on his double date at the time. Sure, Cash tried to make it up to her by taking her ice skating and buying her heaps of her favorite candy before retreating back to her house for one of their traditional movie nights.

“Right, Casanova. Are things not going so well for you over in New Jersey?” Shay said lightheartedly though her tone was sincere as she met his gaze for the first time since they wandered out of the kitchen. Cash looked down at her with an unreadable emotion swirling in his eyes just as they stopped their stroll at the bottom of the attic stairs. Shay could feel the sudden emotional shift between them almost instantly and she found herself regretting asking such a prying. She knew a serious conversation between them was inevitable, but she so wished it could wait until she was done holding his hand…

“Jersey is… alright I guess I don’t really know many people outside of the department so, it gets a little lonely. I spend most of my free time staring out my apartment window, watching the waves on the Hudson River.” Cash said softly, Shay caught the faintest hint of a blush sweep across his cheeks at the admittance and found herself wondering why he found such a detail embarrassing.

“I think most adults do that Cashy that’s nothing to be embarrassed about, making friends in adulthood is hard I only talk to people from work too. At least you have a good view of the water, my loft is big and all, but all that space makes it feel quite lonesome and on top of that it only has views of the Manhattan skyline. I’d prefer the Hudson River; you know for homesick sake.” Shay said sheepishly, she wasn’t sure why she’d openly complained about her sequestered loft in such a way. She’d complained about such a thing once to a coworker and was met with the poor little rich girl spiel about how she should be grateful she had a nice expensive loft in the heart of Manhattan. And Shay could understand why she should be grateful to some extent, but a spacious loft didn’t take away the fact she now had no one to share it with. Cash tugged on Shay’s arm slightly, pulling her out of her inner ramblings with a serious look in his ocean blue eyes.

“Well, my apartment is on the smaller side, but I’ve got a view of the river and Manhattan Cherry Blossom. I wouldn’t even charge you rent considering you’re on the fence about making a career shift and all…” Cash trailed nonchalantly, Shay raised her brows at him in dumfounded surprised as she processed what he was proposing to her right now. They’d had several conversations like this when they were kids, she remembered a particular conversation when they were about ten. When Cash declared they’d run away from Plymouth and be together forever, promises only a child untainted by the morose weight of adulthood or the woes of adolescence could make.

“Are you…asking me to move in with you Cashton?” Shay asked with her eyebrows still raised in surprise even as her green eyes took in the fact that his expression was undoubtedly sincere. Cash nodded his head almost instantly.

“Well yeah, I think it would solve both of our lonesome problems and you’ll save a ton of money moving out of the city. Just letting you know it’s an option, I don’t need an answer right away or anything just think about it Cherry Blossom.” Cash shrugged nonchalantly, in a way that made it seem he was talking about something as casual as the weather. Shay nodded her head in acknowledgement even though she had no intention of actually considering such a proposition. Her feelings for Cash Ewing were way too deep for Shay to needlessly torture herself by being his roommate no matter how much she wanted to.

“I don’t think I want a roommate Cash but thanks anyway…um, let’s get started on cleaning huh” Shay said shifting the conversation to something seemingly less daunting and awkward for the time being. Cash nodded his head wordlessly, but Shay thought she saw a hint of dejection in his eyes even as he tightened his grip on her hand yet again as she began to walk up the stairs. An obvious thick layer of uncomfortable silence had fallen between them now and Shay couldn’t help the guilt now swirling in her stomach at the look on Cash’s face no matter how brief it was.

“I haven’t been up here in ages… I see your mom’s been busy with renovation too. It’s very cozy up here now” Cash said trying to ease some of the tension in the air when they halted at the top of the stairs. Shay nodded her head in agreement, taking in the new plush sectional, freshly painted walls and sleek entertainment center her mom had put in the attic sometime over the last few years.

“That makes two of us, no clue why she wanted a second living room, but it looks nice. The last time I was up here I was redoing my bedroom, that’s what most of this stuff is. Some of it’s yours too though I guess, from when your mom redid the basement. You want to bring some boxes over and I’ll plug in a movie?” Shay asked softly, Cash nodded his head once again, but Shay was happy to see a smile make its way onto his face for the first time since they left the kitchen.

“Sure thing gorgeous, but I’m going to need my hand back” Cash said in a soft teasing tone that had Shay’s face flushing a vibrant shade of pink. She reluctantly unlatched her now clammy hand from Cash’s larger one just as a sheepishly nervous string of laughter escaped her lips. She could hear Cash chuckling under his breath before placing a ginger kiss into her hair for the third time today.

“We’ll be holding hands again before the days over, trust me, Cherry Blossom. Why’d you redo your room anyway if you don’t mind me asking” Cash said lightheartedly, Shay watched him pile large cardboard boxes into his strong arms for an embarrassing amount of time. She couldn’t help but be transfixed by the way his rippling biceps flexed with every move he made She had to all but force her feet to walk over to the entertainment center so she could focus her eyes and rein in the implosion of impure thoughts and inklings that stomped through her head at the sight.

“Just wanted something new it was all a bit juvenile, and I know you thought the pink and orange were nauseatingly obnoxious. I thought you’d like the muted blues and grays better, but you didn’t really come over that much after that summer a…” Shay shrugged to herself as her hands rummaged through the entertainment center’s cabinets full of old DVDs and VHS cassette tapes.

“No Shay, I loved your bedroom that way what gave you the idea that I didn’t?” Cash asked seriously. Shay could tell he was near the couch now even with her back turned towards the TV, she let out a soft sigh as she finally settled on When Harry Met Sally for the time being.

“Cash, you don’t have to lie alright I heard you telling Pete and Opal May that you hated it, it’s really okay. I don’t care about it anymore believe me.” Shay said dismissively, placing the disc in the player and hitting the close button. She made sure to wipe the trace of a scowl off her face before she turned around to meet Cash’s gaze, his eyes looked a mix of confusion, anger, and offended all at the same time when they met hers from his spot on the couch. He looked surprisingly small surrounded by heaps of brown boxes full of long forgotten repressed memories and feelings….

“I don’t know what you overheard Shaylee but it’s just not true. I really liked your room I spent more time in yours than I did my own because everything in it was warm and comforting. Especially when my dad was around, I couldn’t really sleep well anywhere else because I felt safest there with you.” Cash said in a way that was so soft and vulnerable Shay swore she felt her heart melt and shatter simultaneously. Shay’s brain didn’t quite register exactly when her feet had carried her over to the couch or Cash’s side but before she knew it, they were face to face. Close enough to kiss him if she wanted to but she couldn't go there…

“If I knew it was that level of comforting for you Cashy, I never would have changed it, I’m so sorry…” Shay’s voice was barely a whisper by the time her arms had flung themselves around his neck in the form of a tender embrace. She could feel Cash snake, his strong arms around her waist and the warm tantalizing caress of his hot breath hitting her cheek and hair as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“It’s okay Cherry Blossom, really” Cash cooed out in a reassuring tone just as his hands started to run along her spine in soothing circles. Shay let out a content sounding sigh at the action and felt small waves of whatever emotion was bubbling inside her leave her small form with every pass Cash’s hands gently made over her exposed skin.

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