#just staring at like ‘someone took time out of their day to draw your oc since they found them instresting’

[boyswillbebutch]

thought ‘ok if i look at ocs art/art people have done of my ocs that’ll stop the dnd oc brainrot’ it did. now i’m thinking about janette and adele again I CAN’T DO THIS I JUST WOKE UP

[leroiestmortvivelareine]

On the corner / the red string theory

What if Wymack met Andrew when he was a kid?

Intro

A while ago, seized by inspiration, I wrote a 16,500 word au fic after this beautiful prompt took my brain hostage. (It also provides the dialogue for the first conversation in this fic.) I don't do Ao3 so in a fit of courage I decided to post it here, in the hope it resonates with some of you.

I wrote it as Andrew's alternative origin story: different to the one we know, but still bringing us towards the Andrew we end up seeing. Wymack is living peacefully as a high school coach in a small town. Most of the others are technically ocs but heavily inspired by canon characters. The sport could be exy or some more mundane form of stickball.

Oh yeah and no Moriyama / mafia angle. They have more than enough problems without it.

Please know the fic makes no attempt to be a textbook for how things should be done. I'm aware some of it is definitely not how things should be done, but this is how the story rolls.

TW - same as for canon Andrew Minyard ie. references to sexual abuse, and even though it's more implied than explicit he's also much younger. Also violence and tragedy in various other forms as this is, after all, aftg. Please take care.

More official TWs (plus related fic recs!) are here.

(all chapters)

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

Chapter 1

The sky is luminous yellow as only winter skies can be, the smoky yellow of baked custard. If you half-close your eyes, the glowing sky merges with the glare from the sodium lights and feels like a scene from an alien world.

In the yellow twilight kids from the neighbouring school laugh and tease each other outside the corner store. Making the most of their transitory world, halfway between day and night, halfway between school and home.

Coach smiles faintly as he walks past them with a new packet of cigarettes. He remembers this - the precious fleeting feeling of independence. He leans against the low brick wall of the For Sale house next to the store and turns his attention to his purchase.

He is currently in the third stage of quitting: buying cigarettes a few blocks away and smoking them on the spot. Smoke hanging around the house doesn't send a good message for a sports professional.

It's not the best neighbourhood. Times have been tough and houses are getting boarded up, even ransacked. Yet Coach doesn't mind. There are nicer places to sit and smoke, but most of them he’d gone to with her, and can never go to again.

He listens as the kids laugh and posture and provoke each other, reading the power dynamics with a coach’s trained ear.

Darkness falls, and now the little circle of yellow from the sodium lights belongs to older, tougher teenagers, a world you need street cred to step into. The tall one resting his back against the wall has already sent two kids hurrying into the darkness using nothing but a scowl. Finally, even the older boys shuffle off home.

One kid still lingers by the wall, nursing the very last breaths of a dead cigarette.

He’s dressed like the hoodlums, but he’s far too small to be out this late. Too small even to be in high school yet. Dirty blonde hair, sullen expression, pierced eyebrow. That kid at the back of the room who always seems about to set fire to something, the kid even the teachers are secretly afraid of.

Coach has a couple like that on his team. They're some of his best players.

The kid looks ill at ease as the last of the older teens leave. He clearly isn't with them. He isn't with anyone. He glances around, as though wanting to draw the last remnants of company from the evening the way he’d drawn the last gasp from his cigarette.

His eye falls on Coach, who raises his own stub casually by way of greeting.

"You ok there?"

The kid just stares, wary, suspicious.

Coach waves his cigarette to indicate the deepening night.

"Bit late," he observes conversationally. "You need to call someone maybe, get picked up?" He holds up his phone in invitation.

The kid stares at him as though memorising every detail. The buzzcut hair, the tribal tattoos, the lounging posture. Those thunderous brows and impatient jaw.

Eyes that had seen many boys going through many different hells, and had never looked away.

Eventually the kid says: "I don’t want to go home."

Coach doesn't want to believe the worst but the flat, dead tone in the kid's voice tells him he probably should.

"That’s ok. I don’t mind company."

He adds, by way of explaining his presence here so late: "My wife doesn’t like me smoking."

It’ll do as an explanation, and it’s technically true. She’d never liked it.

The kid's as skittish as a wild animal, no way he’s coming close, but he clearly doesn’t want to be alone. It’s not too surprising, this isn’t the safest neighbourhood.

The boy’s gaze rests on the nearly-full cigarette packet.

Coach doesn't try to move closer. He tosses the kid the packet, then the lighter.

The boy takes a cigarette and lights up. His fingers hover longingly over a second one for the road, but he leaves it and tosses them back.

Coach explains he's a coach for a local high school team, as if this isn't written all over him, and rambles on comfortably about his sport and his kids.

The boy doesn’t lose his guarded, watchful expression, and he doesn’t speak. But he doesn’t leave, either.

Eventually - reluctantly - he turns to go. Maybe he knows it will be worse if he goes awol. Maybe he feels he’s stayed out past the danger period.

Coach watches him walk away.

—

The kid only makes it few blocks before some wannabe gangsters start to hassle him, poking him, laughing.

His limbs tense, and not only from fear. Despite being half the size of the older boys he welcomes the idea of violence.

"Enough."

Not a loud voice, but it has command in it. The kid doesn’t recognise the easy-going coach at first. There is nothing easy-going about his stance or his expression.

The toughs forget about the kid and square up to the newcomer.

"You want some, asshole?"

One of them holds up a lead pipe and swings it meaningfully.

Coach, unmoved, pulls out a gun. He angles it above their heads as a warning, but this scans as knowledge rather than reluctance. It’s the action of a man who knows not to aim a gun at a person’s face unless he’s prepared for the worst to happen.

The attacker drops the piece of pipe and puts his hands up in a vaguely placating gesture.

"Whatever, pops."

They step back, smiling sarcastically like they’re doing him a favour. Coach doesn’t move until they’re well and truly down the street.

He holsters the gun. It’s then he realises the kid is nowhere in sight.

Neither is the lead pipe.

The blow comes from behind - blackness falling before the pain can be properly felt.

When Coach finally wakes in an agonised fog the kid has gone, and he’s stolen the gun.

—

(next chapter >)

(all chapters)

[xxknockoutxx]

HEAIUSUEYSHEHDHDY!! I’m here to put on a request.. ITS KIND OF LONG BUT PLS BEAR WITH ME

childhood best friend isagi x reader who’s so good at football they got into blue lock purely on SKILL!!(the only girl in blue lock).

Past w them: basically reader has heterochromia (where you have two different eye colors) and basically they got bullied HARD (i’m talking korean bullying hard) for it. But one day during PE class, (they are 6-7 years old here) they were playing football, right? Isagi and reader were on opposite teams (they aren’t friends js yet) and isagi thinks reader is totally cool for how good they are at soccer and tried to befriend them!! (Which is the nicest thing someone had EVER done to reader since even their parents look at them like they’re monsters) so reader is kind of like “hey.. this guy isn’t disgusted by me..?” Ect ext time passes they become besties and mutual pining happens!!

ALSO READER IS VERY OUT-GOING😋 I’m talking more than bachira and shidou combined..

So basically I’d love it if u made a fic regarding this concept and its about childhood bsf isagi and reader meeting again in blue lock and everyone is like “..you two know each other?”

(ALSO READER TOTALLY MATCHES SHIDOU’S FREAK JS TO LET U KNOW😋)

so Ik that this is lowk becoming oc-like but PLS make reader’s description have like one part of her hair cover the other half of her face (specifically her eyes)

Isagi x reader

Hey??? Another person after 50 years? Thanks for the request is it alright if I call you K1o? I love this character by the way. (≡^∇^≡)

Note: RAHH RAHHB THIS TOOK MONTHS BC I'M LAZY MY BAD I'M SO SORRY FOR THE RUSHED ENDING I HAD NO MOTIVATION AND I FELT BAD SEEING THIS IN DRAFTS

For as long as you could remember your imperfections shined brighter than your feats. You parents were just as unforgiving. "Why did you have to be born with that look on your face" "Why couldn't you just be good at drawing, or singing, or as pretty as the rest of the girls?" It didn't even matter that you won championship metal for winning against all the schools in your cluster.

It was all alright tho, cuz nothing made you feel more alive than making kids cry over soccer. The bell rang about 15 minutes ago but you were still focused on getting ready. You heard that some more people were joining soccer practice at you elementary school and that made you excited!

As you walked into the field a whole bunch of unfamiliar faces met your eye except one teammate that waved kindly at you and toks you to hurry before the game started. Once you were ready you stepped oh the field with a feeling of unease. There was never THAT many kids that come to soccer and some of them look pretty good.

It rattled your nerves but in a good way you were still confident in your abilities. After all, soccer is your safe Haven. As the matched started it went just as you expected you absolutely annihilated the other team. Panting and coughs filled the field with a mix of cheer from your team.

That wasn't just it though you had a little admirer. A cute little boy with full cheeks, blue eyes and navy hair. He seemed so focused, so starstruck, so in awe. He stared at you as if you were of the stars shinning in the sky. The moment you noticed him staring, you were going to talk to him before a ball came full force at your head, causing you to lose balance and fall on the floor.

The impact caused your hair scatter, revealing your two-toned eyes filled with tears staring back at the direction the ball was thrown at.

"Your eyes are so weird! Why are they like that it makes you look like a total freak!"

That comment made you come to realization that your hair was shifted. Your hands trembled as you tried to put the hair back in place without getting another ball thrown at you.

The light shinning in your eye was blocked by a silhouette, the silhouette of the boy.

"Hey are you okay? Those guys are total jerks. Are you bleeding?" He quickly cupped your cheek for moment and analyzed your face.

"Can I... Move this?" He placed a delicate hand over your bang. You slapped his hand away out of fear of judgement but he just looked at you even nicer. He was calm and and gentle.

"I won't judge you I promise I just need to check if you're hurt. Pinky promise." The boy held up his pinky finger and smiled at you. It was an act so small but so impactful it warmed your soul to see someone be so delicant with you.

"Promise?" "Promise." He moved the hair out of your face and saw a light red outline from where the ball hut around the eye. "That's not good you must get hurting a lot! Lets get you to the nurse. She'll know what to do!"

The boy stood up and stuck out his hand. "My name's Isagi by the way. I love the way you play soccer!" you tucked your head down and kept you gaze low. "Thanks, I'm y/n, the most popular target and best player in this school." You lifted your head slightly and smiled as you took his hand.

"Eww!! Isagi-chan is dating two-face!" Your face blew up red and you were about to say something until Isagi snapped.

"SHUT UP!" The field was silent and nobody said anything they just looked in shock and some in fear. "You guys are mean and stupid for saying this stuff to Y/N i'm gonna tell the teacher you know!?"

There was something so cute and funny about hearing him be so serious and angry while threatening to tell the teacher on some bullies.

It was moments like that, that got you through life and now you're standing here outside this supposed rare and important meeting about soccer you were so excited you could feel the sweat build up on your hand.

When you entered the facility for the first time with the other 200+ applicants you were surrounded by another crowd of unfamiliar faces. This time it was a smaller group of people, a group of people who would become team V.

Eventually it came time for you to go up against the infamous team Z. They were the lowest of the low so why should you care? You noticed your teammates getting ready and began to head over to them. You nudged your teammates before resting your head on his shoulder.

"Yo ready to blow these motherfuckers into the ground?" You asked with a grin.

Reo and Nagi turned to face you and you were greeted with a grin from the purple devil.

"Yeah, it's gonna be easy crushing them in soccer with Nagi."

You nodded your head before forming a Mischevious grin before light tapping his shoulder and saying instantly.

"Oh I didn't mean it like that >:3"

Silence, damn silence. Before Reo let out a little giggle and walks his team out on the field. You were that smirk with pride as you entered the vacant field.

"Damn, guess they didn't show up toda—"

As the giant metals from across the arena open Team Z makes their way onto the field, getting situated and put in their spots. You could sense a joke coming and you took that chance. "Pshh I think I can take all of them at once" you said egotistically.

"I don't know, seems like a hassle to me, I mean look—"

Once again your smirk disappears into a confused face. "OH I ain't talking bout no soccer >:3"

Crickets. Silence.

Thankfully it was interrupted by the whistle that sounded the match to start. The entire game was filled with great action and excitement but as a whole it was pretty boring. Nothing really striker your attention until you saw.

Navy hair, blue eyes, average height, same determined look... Isagi? Where have I heard that... Isagi, y... Isagi, Yochi? Yoich, YOICHI!

You ran across the field towards him in an instant and completely ignored the match that was slowly coming to an end. Your eyes locked with his and you grabbed his shoulder.

"What the..."

"HEY! ARE YOU YOICHI ISAGI? DID YOU GO TO (ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) ?"

"Uh yeah how did ya kn-"

The sound of the whistle that signaled the match to be over went off and the screen revealed the overall result you..... lost. You got distracted and they scored. You didn't care though all you cared about was finding out if this was your friend.

"Wait..." He turned his head and looked at you, "if you don't mind could you move your hair?"

You hesitated slightly before moving your hair, showing your two toned eyes. It all snapped form there.

"Y/N!?"

"YOICHI?"

You guys jumped at the sight of each other and the confirmation of your reunion. You guys exchanged a hug and a hearty laugh. One that attracted the attention of a good few people on the field but you didn't care, all that mattered was that you and him were reunited

[simplydannie]

Haii pooks!

I know your busy, but when you get the chance, Fanfic about when Veneer and Neena first met? Maybe Nate cameo at the end 🫶🏼

Baii :3

Haii!

Okay so here ya go!

A little context first:

Neena was an OC created WAY before my Under Rageous AU. So this story will not be taking part in that storyline and is completely separate 😊 She was created because I was curious how a HOH character would interact in this kind of world. Also being a V and V fan, my OC befriends them and actually knows them before their fame journey. Her and Veneer had a hard time making friends throughout high school but found each other and became the bestest of friends. Later Veneer would introduce her to Velvet whom she’d befriend as well. Her main form of communication for someone who doesn’t know sign language (like Veneer) is through a notebook which she carries with her everywhere.

A small cameo by @justnat3 OC!

Both drawings for the cover art were done by @skydiverdrawings!

Enjoy!

High school.

This was it.

Elementary school…bust. Middle school…bust. High school was going to be his time to shine…

Velvet and Veneer didn’t want to make a big deal when driving up to their new high school. Instead of the limo, they rode in a black SUV, their Bergen driver up front with his sunglasses up.

“You really think they won't make a big deal out of this?” He asked his sister as he adjusted his beanie.

“Really? This is high school and you're still wearing that stupid thing?”

“What? It was dad’s, it’s my favorite, AND I think it looks good on me.”

”Whatever you say bro…”

Velvet and Veneer Montegue. Their name rang throughout all of Mount Rageous as their father was a renowned businessman and CEO, in charge and overseeing all power industries in the city…basically everything that ran Mount Rageous from the ground up. Since grade school, EVERYONE knew. What made it worse, at least in Veneer’s eyes, was that it was hard for them to make any friends… The most powerful man in Mount Rageous, had the most lonesome children around.

The twins had spent elementary and middle school only amongst themselves. Veneer was the target of bullying, and his sister, well, his personal bodyguard. No one would hang out with her because of how afraid they were. No one wanted to be his friend because well, he was just different, at least in their eyes…

“...People just don’t know how to accept those that are different.” His mother told him one day. He had come home bruised by the beating of the kids at school.

So, all that time, it was always him and Velvet against the world…

“No more playing nice.” Their father had told them as the twins lay in bed one night. He took their face in each of his hands, “They don't like it when you’re nice. Fine. If they want hell, then give them hell.”

”Daddy! You said a no-no word!” Veneer gasped, placing his hand over his mouth.

Vaughn smiled, “Think of it as a motivational word….just don’t tell your mother.”

The twins giggled…

Veneer planned for high school to be his moment to shine…for both him and his sister… This was it. He was going to make friends! He was going to make the yearbook with something more positive on it!

The SUV finally pulled up to the entrance of the school. Both twins grabbed their bags.

“If they want hell…” The Bergen began to say.

“Then give them hell.” The twins replied in unison. They smiled after getting out of the car…The motto their father taught them. There they stood staring at the entrance of Rageous High…

“Ready.” Velvet said.

“No. Not really.”

“Good enough. Let’s do this!”

It has been three months since that day…

….And Veneer had yet to make any friends…

His sister on the other hand was flourishing. She had a whole group of friends now. Velvet would continuously invite him to sit with her during lunch, to hang out with them after school…but Veneer refused. He’d make an excuse; he didn’t want her to worry…For one, when his sister wasn’t around, they would bully him, but they were her friends, so he’d never tell her…He knew she’d choose him over them and he wanted her to have the best high school experience ever. She deserved it after all those years she spent being friendless because of him. He’d even lie to his parents.

“So…How was school today?” Their father asked. Velvet would beam at the time she was having, showing their parents the pictures she took with her and her friends. Veneer could see the relief and happiness in his parents…So when it came for him to speak…he lied.

“Yeah. There are guys from my science class and art class…We sit together at lunch and just kinda have fun.”

“Where do you sit? I never see you.” Velvet declared.

“We rotate. We mainly like to sit outside.” Veneer lied again.

“That's wonderful sweetheart! You are more than welcome to invite them over! Both of you.” Vivian smiled.

“...Well…They wont cause trouble will they?” Vaughn asked.

“Chill dad. You know I'd set them straight if they caused trouble.” Velvet smirked.

“That’s my girl.”.....

…Veneer walked down the hall towards his locker, his head hanging low, hopefully he’d be left alone, hopefully no one would look his way. He made it to his locker only to see the words “moron” written across it.

“Typical.” He sighed, opening his locker.

“Do you need something to clean that with?” He heard a voice call to him. He turned around to see a pale, light- blue haired Rageon standing behind him. He knew him, Veneer remembered, he had him in English class…Nate his name was.

“No…I’ll just clean it later.” Veneer said with a heavy sigh as he grabbed his books.

“….Don’t let them get to you.” The boy smiled, “See you later.”

Veneer waved. Nate was kind, but the people he hung out with weren’t so. He knew what they thought about him, so Veneer never bothered…better to be safe and alone…

Right now his focus was just to make it to science in one piece. A few boys walked by shoving him hard against the lockers.

BANG!

His head collided with the door.

“Freak.” He heard them mumble, giggling as they walked away. Veneer waited till they were out of ear shot.

”Idiots.” He mumbled as he fixed his beanie. Grabbing his books, he closed his locker and ran off to class….

A Rageon girl sat on a chair at the front office, her mother inside discussing something with the principal. The girl had light, pinkish skin with medium length magenta hair. Her feet dangled as she waited…Today was her first day here at Rageous High. Her heart pounded. Would the kids be nicer here than the other schools? Would they have accommodations for her here? She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. She felt a let tap on her leg, looking up, the girl saw her mother had walked out of the office…The girl adjusted her hearing aid.

”Read for your first day, Neena?” Her mother signed.

“No, I’m nervous. What if they’re mean here too?” Neena signed in return.

“…We have to try. You are strong, brave, and beautiful. Perhaps that one friend will be here waiting for you.”

Neena took a deep breath, “Okay.” She signed with her hands. Her mother bid her farewell as she was shown to her first class…science.

Veneer sat in the back. Out of sight, out of mind, he would tell himself. Today they were to work on some experimentation. Of course the others grouped up, leaving him to himself. He was intrigued in his project, writing down notes when he heard the door of the classroom open. Veneer looked up to see the principal walk in with a Rageon girl at her heel. Veneer had never seen her before, he was sure of it. Was she new?

The teacher signaled her to take a seat in the empty desk in the back. Everyone studied her as she walked, particularly the guys, smirking and smiling at each other.

“Pigs.” Veneer murmured.

She glanced around the classroom with a smile…a little cheerful she seemed to be. Looking at the others, she mimicked their actions as she took out her science book. Confused, she looked around the classroom to see where she could get the supplies for the experiment.

“Okay, Vennie, you can do this…make a friend, make a friend.” He was about to stand up when he saw a group of girls head her way already, “…Nevermind.”

“Hey new girl! Listen we’re going to do you a favor, not everyone in this school is cool.” She coughed and nudged her head towards Veneer.

“….Bitch…” He mumbled under his breath. The new girl stared at the clique in front of her then towards Veneer, she smiled. Flustered he looked away. Great, she’s going to think I’m weird to.

“So as a favor, I’ll let you join our group so you don’t embarrass yourself the first day. How’s that?” The girl smiled….

….Neena saw the lips of the girl moving in front of her, but couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. Nothing but mumbles were escaping the girl's mouth. She saw her signal to a green haired boy sitting towards the back. Neena naturally turned and smiled at him only for him to look away. The girl continued to speak, that much she knew…but Neena couldn’t hear what she was saying…The girl stopped talking, staring at Neena with a smile. Oh no! She must have asked me something! Neena quickly dug through her backpack to look for her pen and notebook, tucking her hair behind her ear…that’s when the other girl saw it…her hearing aid.

“Oh…You’re one of those…Ummm…” The girl said. Neena brought out her notebook and pencil, handing it to the girl with a smile. The girl grimaced.

“…W-w-writtte…” Neena attempted to say, but it must have come out too loud and sounded odd as others in the class turned to face her way. Neena had her mother teach her to try and say some words, especially the word “write”. But being deaf, Neena didn’t know whether she was saying right…or too loud.

“No. Sorry…Nevermind actually.” The girl waved Neena off and walked away… Not, again, Neena thought.

Veneer saw the whole thing happen, he heard the girl utter the word “write” a little too loudly and rather awkwardly. The girl and her clique walked off leaving the new girl with a sad look on her face. Out of all people, he knew what it felt like to be left hanging…

Okay, now is my chance, he stood up from his desk and walked over to her. When he approached her he could see the tears beginning to fall from her face. She quickly wiped it away when she looked up to see him. She gave him a small smile waiting for him to proceed.

You, got this…You got this….

“Hi,ImVeneer, woudyouliketobemypartner!” The words came rolling out like an avalanche, one after the other…word vomit. Crap!

Neena stared at the boy in front of her. He seemed shy yet kind. She saw his lips move ever so quickly, then stopped. Wait? Was he done talking? Did he even say anything? Neena couldn’t make out what he had just told her. It must have taken her a moment too long to answer because she saw his smile drop from his face. Oh no! I ruined it again! She thought to herself. As he began to walk away, she instantly reached up to grab his arm to keep him from leaving. She saw the look of confusion on his face and quickly withdrew. She signaled him to wait as she began to write something down in her notebook.

Veneer cocked his head to the side as she scribbled away. She gave him the notebook and pen with a smile on her face. Taking it in his hands, he looked down to read it…

Hi! I’m Neena. I’m deaf, so I don’t know what you were asking me :( Can you please write it here? If you want.

He looked at her…She seemed to have a hopeful glint in her eyes…Maybe she was like him…Looking for a friend… just someone who would understand her too…He smiled. Taking the pen, he began writing in her notebook…He slid it back to her.

Hi Neena! I’m Veneer. I’m sorry. I word-vomited, that tends to happen when I get nervous. Would you like to be my partner for this project?

Neena read his note, looking at him with a wide smile on her face, she nodded.

“Oh! Um, okay! Give me one moment.” He signaled her as he ran over to his desk to gather his things, moving next to her. Neena kept the notebook in between them so they could write back and forth to each other to communicate…

Do you sign? She had written. A look of genuine confusion crossed his face.

Sign like autographs? He wrote. This caused a giggle to escape Neena’s lips. She shook her head. Instead of writing, she made signals with her hands.

“Oh!! You mean sign language!” He said aloud. She saw the movement of his lips and understood what he had said.

“Yes.” She signed, “Sign language.”

“No.” He shook his head. Neena smiled taking the notebook in her hands once again.

It’s okay! I’ll show you! If you want?

He smiled towards her, “Okay!”

At the end of the day, Neena got into her mothers car…a smile on her face.

“You seem happy. Did everything go okay today sweetie?” Her mother signed.

“Yes.”

“Do you think you’ll like it here?”

Neena looked down at her notebook. For the first time it was filled with notes and silly doodles from a friend…A FRIEND!…. Something she had waited so long for.

“Yes. It’s going to be fun!” She signed.

Veneer waited for his sister out front, a smile on his face…

“What’s with the goofy grin?” She asked as she approached him.

“Vels!” he jumped a little too happily. “I finally made a friend!!”

“...Wait…what do you mean finally…What about those guys you talked about from art and science?” She said.

“......Uuuhhhh….”

“You little liar! So all these months you lied to me about making friends! You lied to mom and dad too!”

“I just didn’t want you guys to worry! You seemed so happy with your group and mom and dad seemed so proud when you finally told them.”

“Gosh Veneer! You’re horrible!” She sighed, taking in a deep breath, “Whatever….who is this new friend…If you’re even telling the truth.”

“I am!! She’s a new girl at school! I have her for my science, gym, math, and art class! Her name is Neena…she’s deaf. Some girls were already giving her a hard time..”

Velvet looked at him. He was always one to sympathize with people who had a hard time making friends, with people who would get bullied…

“So she doesn’t know what a complete weirdo you are yet?” She teased.

“Yeah!!...Wait…” He paused, finally realizing what she had said, “Oh, you’re cruel.”

[smoooothoperator]

Beautiful Stranger

10: Ready Or Not

Driver! Lando Norris x OC (Lily Barton)

Summer love, strangers to friends to lovers, Greece and Greek mythology references

Words: 2.7k

warnings: Lily's pov, handritten and falshbacks in italics

Masterlist

Official playlist

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a/n: hello guys!! I'm warning you, the next chapter will be the last one of the story! (not including the epilogue, obviously). I hope all of you like this chapter even if for me seems boring, love you all❤️

Every type of feedback is very welcomed

She was broken.

The moment she heard the knocks on her front door she knew he was leaving. Leaving forever.

No matter how much pain he gave her, no matter if he lied to her. She fell in love with the person that shared those days with her. She should forgive him, right? Give him a second chance and let him explain.

But how? How can she do that? Why is it so hard to control her emotions? 

Logan, or Lando, whoever he is, lied to her. It's not funny when someone lies to you. But when that person knows everything about you, all your fears and deepest secrets, the trust is gone so quickly.

And that's what happened to her. She trusted him enough to let him sleep on her bed, to let him take showers in her bathroom, to have a bath with her. Enough trust to give herself to him.

And now she's standing in the middle of her apartment, with cushions and blankets on the floor, balls of paper ripped off of her sketchbook with portraits of him. 

"How could you?" she mumbled, looking at the first draw she ever made of him. Those eyes staring back at her, this time with a mocking gaze. "Why…"

She spent that day in her bedroom, under the blankets trying to find some comfort and emotional support. 

But the pictures on her phone weren't helping at all. All the memories coming back while watching them, those weren't helping at all.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed excitedly, walking closer to one of the pillars of the ruins. "We are in Delfos!"

She was looking around, like a kid in a candy store, and he took pictures of her. He took pictures of her smile and how her eyes were bright while looking at all those ruins.

"I only see broken things" he joked, making her slap his arm softly.

"Just imagine it" she said, pointing around. "It just gives me shivers thinking about it"

"You are so cute" he chuckled, kissing her temple. "Come on, take a picture with me"

She sighed, locking her phone and leaving it on the other side of the bed. 

She took a deep breath, feeling how the wave of sobs started again. Her brain was punishing her for trusting someone like him, making her remember all the moments she had with him, all the moments she started to fall harder and harder for him.

Logan was a liar and she loved him. 

Lily tried to love before. To fall in love with her fiance, or even like him. That man was good with her, he didn't deserve to be left alone in that church, without a wife and with all their family laughing at him.

"Liliane, would you like to go out for dinner with me?" Adrian asked her, walking inside her apartment. "Come on, get ready"

"Adrian… I really don't want to go outside" she sighed l, closing her book and leaving it on the coffee table. 

"Then I'll make you something and we'll have dinner here" he nodded. "I saw you have a nice wine around, maybe I can make something and we can open it"

She took a deep breath, looking at the man. How can someone like him accept what his parents did? He's 26 years old and she's 23, how can someone accept something like that just to make their parents happy? What type of parents are them? 

"Alright" she nodded. "What are you going to make?"

"Well… I heard that you love Greece" he said. "And casually one of my coworkers' customer is the owner of one of the most famous Greek restaurants in London"

"The Andromeda?" she gasped. "No way, that's one of my favorite restaurants in London!"

"I know, that's why I asked if I could have the recipe of their most famous dish" he said, showing her the screen of his phone.

"That's… that's awesome, Adrian" she smiled softly, visibly touched by the gesture he had with her. 

"So yeah, continue reading whatever you were reading while I cook our dinner" he nodded.

Adrian was a handsome man, someone that has all the girls of the company behind him. But she wasn't jealous. She didn't see him that way, she couldn't see herself being in love with him even if she tried.

She blames the karma for everything that is happening to her. If only she tried to be how her parents wanted her to be, or accept her destiny and marry a man she couldn't love.. if she didn't abandon her family, none of this would be happening.

She was heartbroken, knowing that she was having an inner fight, wanting to get up from her bed and go talk with him or just ignore him until he leaves the next day.

The first half hour was easy. She only had to close her eyes and take deep breaths, ignore the noise of her surroundings and focus on her heartbeat. 

But again, memories with his face on it came back.

"Lily!" he giggled, getting out of the water of the sea and running towards her.

"Don't you dare! No! Logan!" she exclaimed, knowing that he was going to hug her with his body wet from the water. "Stop it!"

"Come on, let's cool down a little" he chuckled. "You are too hot. And I'm not saying it because you are hot and sexy. If I out an egg on your thigh I bet it would fry"

"You are exaggerating" she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Come to the water with me, come on" he asked her, kissing her shoulder. "It's really nice"

"I was tanning, Logan" she sighed, sitting on the towel.

"And you can continue that later" he smiled. "Come on, are you the same Lily that the same day you had your ankle bandaged, needed to be in the water and fell to the floor of the bathroom? Or the one that literally dragged me out of my apartment to take you to the beach?"

"Oh, and you loved doing that" she smiled, pecking his lips. "Didn't you?"

"Of course I did" he chuckled. "And I loved every minute of that and what came next"

She felt tears again, making her close her eyes hard and gasp while opening them again and sit on the bed.

She heard that love comes with pain, but never imagined it could be that painful.

She doesn't know when she fell asleep, thinking it wasn't possible after what happened, but the knocks on the front door were the reason she woke up.

She heard him. His voice was sad, it didn't sound the same as the previous days. 

Lily wanted to open the door, to ask him to stay and never leave. But it was for the best, for both of them. She wanted to tell him so many things, ask him so many things… but her body wasn't helping at all, staying still on the door of her bedroom.

She saw the paper slipping through the door, making her breath get stuck in her throat and her heartbeat increase. She was battling her own body to walk towards the door, wanting to see him one last time. But her body wasn't cooperating.

Maybe she has to forget him. Maybe it's a sign her own body is sending her. Her brain and heart were having an argument, her angel and demon were fighting on her shoulders.

"Why would you want to go to him? He lied to you! He deserves your hate and your silence" her mind and demon groaned.

"You love him, Lily. And he just said he loves you. Everyone deserves a second chance" her heart and angel argued back.

"No" she frowned, looking at the paper. She wants to pick it up, to read it. Maybe it has the answers she's been searching for.

"He hurt you, Lily" her demon said. "Burn that thing. Rip it off. He doesn't deserve your pardon"

Her body was working. Her legs were taking her to the door, letting her grab the paper. It was like her body was being controlled by cords, she was a ragdoll.

"Please, Aphrodite" she mumbled.

She believes in love. She always wanted to find someone who loves her no matter what. Someone who would give her everything she needed and deserved. 

And he, Logan, gave her everything.

Ignoring the paper, she opened the door hoping to find him there, waiting for her.

But there was no one waiting. 

"Fuck" she mumbled, looking down and closing the door.

The paper remained untouched and ignored for days. All her answers were there, and still, she didn't want to read them. Every time she walked out of her apartment she stepped on that letter. 

"Kalimera, Lily" Nora smiled weakly at her. "How are you feeling?"

She looked at the woman in front of her, watching her sad smile directed to her. She knows what happened.

"Good" she lied. 

"Lily…"

"No, really. I'm good" she nodded. "I’m really good”

“How many times will you repeat that you are good? Are you doing that to convince yourself?” Nora sighed, placing her hand on her shoulder and squeezing it softly. “You don’t have to lie to me, kid”

“I just…” she sighed, feeling how her shoulders got heavier. “He lied to me, Nora… he made me fall in love and believe his lie from the start. You know me. You know that I don’t like lies…”

“Was it really a harmful lie?” the woman asked, grabbing the chair next to her and sitting on it. “You know why he did that?”

“It doesn’t matter. He lied” she mumbled.

“It does matter. He’s famous. You know how that life is, you know how it is being the daughter of someone that has an important name” she said. “You came here to escape, just like him”

“But that’s not a reason to lie! To tell me that he’s a person he’s clearly not”

“You are being selfish here, Liliane” Nora said, making her flinch when she heard her birth name. “You came to this town escaping from your life, making everyone believe that you are someone you are not. Tell me this, kid. Do you keep that ring you came with? Do you still have the money your parents gave you?”

“Nora…”

“No. This is my time to talk” the old woman interrupted her. “You came to Parga the same day of your wedding. You came to this town with things from your previous life and locked them in a wardrobe. You know you can’t hide from f¡your past forever, Liliane”

“Stop calling me that name…” she mumbled.

“It’s your name. Can’t you see? You came here and did the same thing he did! You changed your name and made everyone believe your lies” she frowned. “That guy loves you. That guy came here all days asking how to make your favorite dishes, which places he should take you. That guy called to check if there weren’t any paparazzi around because he didn’t wanted to expose you two because he knew that sooner or later someone would find him”

“I didn’t ask him to do any of that!”

“Exactly! He did that because he loved you! He loves you! Did you read the letter? Did you read the emails?”

“W-what emails?” she frowned.

“I gave him your email address”

“Nora!”

“Lily, please. I want you to be happy, he made you happy” Nora sighed holding her hands. “Just give him a chance”

Lily sighed, getting up and getting ready to work, trying to get distracted and not look at her phone.

If he sent her emails, why not send her a text? Oh, right… because they never exchanged their numbers.

Summer finished. And then autumn came. 

She read his letter a month later, having to grab it after receiving a package with his name on it. 

The moment she opened the box, his perfume invaded the apartment, knowing that he sprayed it on the clothes inside of it.

She sighed, grabbing the baby blue hoodie and hugging it. It definitely smells like him.

"Idiot" she whispered, breathing the scent of the material. 

A card caught her attention, making her sigh when she recognized his handwriting.

My amazing Lily,

I hope you like this hoodie. I read that the cold in Greece comes late, but I know that you like to wear hoodies no matter the weather outside. 

I hope next time we meet you wear this hoodie. 

I miss you.

I love you.

Yours,

Lando.

She sighed, tracing the handwriting with her fingertips. She remembers how he used to write on her notebooks, trying to copy the words she wrote in Greek.

She imagined how he looked while writing this letter, how he could be biting his lip, how he could shrug his nose.

The day she received the box, she read his letter and emails, making her wonder how he's doing, how is his life without her.

She wanted to answer, write to him and call him. But there was something stopping her. 

What was it? Fear? Maybe… Anger? No. 

Pain. The knife of betrayal was still buried on her chest and everytime she read about him, it slipped deeper and deeper. 

Maybe his life is better without her. Maybe she was only a summer fling for him. Maybe he doesn't need her anymore.

That's what she thought while opening her email app, not finding news about him. 

Maybe… maybe he forgot about her.

He went from writing all weeks to write only once a month. Even if he said that he loves her, she feels alone, not loved anymore.

Maybe she should write to him. Maybe she should ask why he doesn't write to her anymore. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe…

Maybe she deserves this, all the torture and the pain. Because Nora was right: she's a liar too.

What she considered her home was now a torture room, making all the memories of them come back to her. The town she loved was now the stage where ghosts of them danced in synchrony, making her remember that he's no longer with her.

Everytime she walked through that street she could remember the first time he saw him, making her feel goosebumps on the ankle she injured.

Everytime she went to that private beach she could remember all the times they nearly kissed, how he confessed that he was dying to kiss her, searching for orange shells and talking about nothing. Now she looks around trying to find those shells as a way of having him close to her again.

This place holds too many memories of him, of someone that is no longer hers.

Maybe she has to leave and find a new home, a new place, and start from zero. Be herself, Liliane Barton. 

She called him immature. But how wrong was she, when the immature here was herself, living on a lie she created even if she escaped from one. She never wanted to be what her parents asked her to be. She thought that she could be like those women from the tales her babysitter read to her when she was a kid. She thought she could be brave and strong, a fighter everyone could respect.

But to be fair, she's still being a little girl that wants to escape from the real world.

"Mature, you idiot" she groaned looking at herself in the mirror. 

She tried to find somewhere to go. Somewhere to settle down and act like the adult she is. A home, a job… whatever she needed.

"What if he comes back?" Nora asked her with a sad smile, grabbing the keys of the apartment. "What if he's searching you?"

"Will he?" she smiled weakly. "Do you really think he will come? I don't think so… he stopped writing, Nora. Even if I wrote to him once he never replied. I'm the past…"

"Oh, Lily…"

"Liliane" she corrected her. "I learned my lesson. No more lies"

"I'm proud of you, little girl" she smiled, hugging her. "But… I'm sure he will come"

"Then if he does that you know what to do" she whispered, hugging the woman that was like a mother to her one last time, pulling away and grabbing her suitcase.

When she came for the first time to that town, dressed with a summer dress and her hair styled as a bride, she was a scared girl.

But now, dressed with a red hoodie and the name of the eSports team of someone she still loves on it, she feels free.

This time she's free.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights @livster8 @kakorrhaphiphobia @starkeyellow @celestialpierre @ophcelia @msliz @lorarri @ironmaiden1313 @imsorare @mycenterfold @im-an-overthinker @soosheee @karmabyfernando @landoyesrizz @sticksdoesart @beatricemiruna @nonameishere @flwr-stella

[danceswithsporks]

Clone X OC Week 2025! ( @clonexocweek )

(Late) Day 5- Future!

Rex X OC (Zirena)

Warnings: Pregnancy

Two months later

“Hey, Zee. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Kix was surprised that she’d called him. Sure they were close but never this close. Was her cousin okay?” 

Zirena swallowed “You guys are arriving today, right?” 

Kix raised an eyebrow. “Uhh, yeah. Should be there in about three hours. Why?” 

“Could you come over with your kit?” She couldn’t believe she was asking this. 

“Yeah, I’ll head over with Rex if that’s okay?” Why did she want him to bring the kit? 

“No!” Zirena took a long breath. “I’m sorry, can you come alone? It’ll be easy since Rex said he had a lot of reports to finish after you guys landed.” 

Now that was weird. “Uh, yeah. I’ll message you when I’m on my way.” 

“Sounds good.” She hung up and placed the communicator down on the counter next to a small square device. Her fingers ran over the cool metal as her mind ran wild. “What am I going to do?” 

-*-

The sound of someone at her door made Zirena practically race across her living room to open it. It slid open with a hiss. Before Kix could even say ‘Hi’ she was grabbing his hand and pulling him into her apartment. The door slid shut quickly behind them and suddenly they were standing silently in her living room. “Kix, I’m glad you could squeeze me in before going to see Liza.” 

The speed at which she’d pulled him into her apartment was surprising to Kix. Never had he seen her so hurried. “Of course, what’s going on?” 

Zirena chewed her lip nervously, the square device in her pocket. “Do you want something to drink? Or something to eat?” 

“Zee, I really want to get over to Liza. What’s going on? Why did I need to bring my kit?” He pulled said item off his back and placed it on the floor. 

She swallowed the large lump in her throat and pulled the device out.” this.” Passing it over to him, she waited. 

What was that? Kix took the device and flipped it around a few times before realizing what it was. “Oh.” He looked up at Zirena who looked like she was on the verge of tears. 

“Can…can you use your kit to double-check?” Her heart was racing. 

Kix quickly dug through his kit before finding his blood testing device. “Should give us an answer immediately.” He pulled a finger pricker out of the kit as well and motioned for her to pass him her hand. 

She complied and nervously watched as he stuck her finger before dropping some drops on the device. Nervously, she watched the screen. A few seconds later the results popped onto the screen and she felt her head get light. “Is…is that…” 

“Positive.” Kix looked up at her and watched as her face went pale. “Woah woah woah.” He dropped the blood tester and quickly grabbed his friend as she began to drop. “Shit.” He picked her up and carried her over to the couch. “Come on, Zee.”

 After placing her down, he ran into her kitchen and grabbed her a glass of cool water. By the time he returned to her, she was sitting back up with her head in her hands. “Hey, it’s okay.” 

Zirena listened to his footsteps draw closer, but didn’t look up. How could this have happened? Kix cleared his throat next to her, making her look up. “Thanks.” She took the water from him and sipped it slowly as he sat next to her. “I can’t believe this.” 

“Have you two talked about this?” When she shook her head, he sighed. “He’ll understand.” 

“It’s not fair to him. He’s got enough on his plate.” Her leg began to bounce. Should she tell him? Keep it a secret? Rex tended to be fine for months on end, it would give her time. 

Kix sighed while shaking his head. “Just talk to him.” 

Zirena bit her lip and stared at the holo screen across from them. Talk to Rex. Right. 

-*-

“Kix?” Rex stopped and watched as his brother walked out of Zirena’s apartment building. What was he doing there? 

“Rex.” Kix froze at the sight of the Captain. Not good. 

“What are you doing here?” He spotted the med kit on his back and swallowed. “Why do you have your medkit? Is Zirena okay?” 

Shit, he’d forgotten that he had the kit. “Zirena wasn’t feeling good. So Liza asked me to swing by and check on her before heading over to her place.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, she definitely wasn’t her normal self. 

“Oh.” Rex stared at his medic who seemed slightly nervous. “Thanks for checking in on her.” Why hadn’t she told him she wasn’t feeling good when he called her earlier? 

“No problem. Gotta go.” Kix began to walk away when he heard Rex call out to him. Kriff. Turning he smiled at his brother. “Yeah?” 

“If she’s feeling up to it ya wanna meet up at 79’s with us tonight?” Surely she couldn’t be that sick if she didn’t tell him earlier. 

Something told Kix that wouldn’t be happening, but he still nodded. “Yeah, let us know.”  Rex nodded to him and the medic made a speedy getaway. 

Rex looked back at Zirena’s apartment building. Something was going on and he’d get to the bottom of it. 

-*-

Rex used his code to enter her apartment only to find the living room empty. That was strange, she usually waited for him there. “Zirena?” 

Zirena looked at herself in her bedroom mirror. This was it. After this, their relationship would completely change. She turned and headed out of her room. She met Rex in the hall. “Rex.” Walking over to him, she placed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m so happy you’re back.” 

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “So am I.” This kiss took him by surprise. Usually, she kissed him on the lips, why had she opted for his cheek? “Saw Kix on my way in. Said you weren’t feeling good.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. “You okay?” 

That lump was back in her throat. “Y-yeah.” She reached down and took his hand in hers. “Can we take a walk?” 

Rex raised his eyebrow at her. He’d been hoping to spend some alone time with her. “Sure.” 

-*-

“The Tintolive Camellias look beautiful, don’t they?” Zirena reached up and ran her fingers over the soft and delicate petals. They’d decided to take their walk in the Galactic garden and had found their way over to the Chandrila section. A section that had become so special to them.

Rex stepped behind her and placed his hands on her hips. “They do.” Giving them a gentle squeeze, he pulled her away from them. “What’s going on, Starlight? Why was Kix at your apartment?” 

She turned and looked up at him. Of course, he’d picked up that something was going on. “Come sit down?” She walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. Her hand slid over the spot next to her where she tapped it a few times. 

“Yeah.” Rex followed behind her and sat down. She reached over and pulled his hand into her lap. He looked into her eyes and could see tears beginning to form. “Zirena, talk to me?” 

Zirena took a long breath before sliding her free hand into her pocket. She pulled out the square device and held it tightly in her hand. “You know I love you, right?” Rex nodded carefully, concern washing over his face. “More than I ever expected to love someone.” 

“And I love you, Zirena. Forever and for always.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. 

“I…really hope that continues after what I’m about to say.”  She watched as Rex raised an eyebrow at her. “Here.” She passed the square device to him and waited. 

Rex flipped the metal square around a couple of times trying to understand what it was. “I’m confused.” He’d never seen something like this before. 

Fuck, she needed to try another approach. “There’s…a reason why Kix was at my apartment today. I asked him to come over with his kit and do a test for me.”

“What kind of test?” Rex placed the metal square down on the bench and moved closer to her. Concern now turning into worry. 

She tugged his hand gently and placed it against her lower stomach. “Rex…” 

He felt the warmth of her body against his hand as she held it against her. Slowly, the dots began to connect. “Starlight?” He looked into her eyes quickly. 

“I’m pregnant.” There it was, out in the open. She tried to read his face for any emotions. Happiness, sadness, worry, maybe even anger? But his face was as neutral as ever. “I’m…I’m sorry. I know we haven’t discussed kids and…and there’s a war going on. I’d never ask you to transfer to the guard to be closer, either. You’re needed out there. There’s opt-“ 

He pressed his lips against hers and pulled her even closer, his hand still pressed against her stomach. “Are you sure?” His head rested against her forehead. 

“Yes, Kix confirmed it.” Was the kiss a good thing? A bad thing? Her head was rushing through a hundred different scenarios. 

Rex took a long deep breath. “When did it happen? I thought…” His question was in a whisper

“2 months at least.”. She answered softly.  “3 months ago I was supposed to get my injection updated, but I wasn’t able to. Do you….remember what happened 3 months ago?” 

3 months ago? What had happened? He closed his eyes and thought for a moment before it hit him. “Dollian.” 

Zirena nodded slowly. “I was supposed to go a few days after I was arrested, but I wasn’t able to. Because of the coma, I forgot to get it.” A few tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Rex. I understand if you’re upset.” 

“Why would I be upset?” Rex ran his thumb over her belly. 

“B-because we didn’t plan for this. We didn’t discuss this. You have so much on your plate already.” Her hand rested on top of his as it stroked her. 

“If you’ve taught me anything, Zirena. It’s that things never go to plan.” He kissed her once more. “Is this a surprise? Yes. But it’s the best surprise I’ve ever received.” 

Zirena looked at him quickly. “R-really?” 

Rex chuckled deeply. “Of course.” He moved off the bench and knelt in front of her. Zirena parted her legs for him allowing him to easily slide between them. He placed his forehead against her stomach and sighed. “Hey, Kid. I’m your buir. Things are crazy out here. But I’ll do everything in my power to protect the two of you.” A few droplets fell to his face making him look up at the beautiful woman who was now carrying his child. “Forever.” 

-*-

2.5 months later

“Zirena, go sit down. I’ll make dinner.” Rex followed his fiancé around in worry. She had not sat still for more than 5 minutes since he’d gotten there the day before. Even in bed she’d tossed and turned countless times. She’d complained that she had been unable to get comfortable. 

“Rex, I’m pregnant, not crippled. I can make dinner.” She paced back over to the conservator and opened it once more. Half of the things in there that she’d bought a week ago now made her stomach turn. In annoyance, she shut the door once more. A hand was felt on her shoulder and she turned to face it. 

The Captain shook his head. “That may be true, but I would still like you to sit down. I’m only here for two more days before I ship out again for another month. I’d like to take care of ya as much as I can.” 

Zirena let out a long sigh. How could she say no to those gorgeous brown eyes? “Fine.” She walked with him over the couch and sat down. A long content sigh left her lips as Rex helped her turn before laying her down. He pulled the blanket up to her chin making her smile. “Thank you, Fiancé.” 

“Of course, my starlight.” She watched him move down to the side of the couch and on his knees. He rested his chin on her arm and his hand on her stomach. “Kix will be here soon for my checkup.” 

Rex’s eyes never left her stomach. “Yeah. Probably should get ya something to eat before that happens.” He made no motion to move. 

Green eyes watched the clone just stare at her. The hand on his stomach gently moved back and forth. “What do you want it to be?” 

A part of him wanted to say, boy. He was used to boys. He knew how to handle them. “A girl.” A girl would be a new experience for him. Plus she may look like Zirena. Then he’d have two beautiful women in his life.

“She’d be so spoiled by the guys.” The thought alone made her giggle. 

A knock on the door drew their attention. “Guess that’s Kix.” 

“Guess so.” He stood from the side of the couch and walked over to the door, opening it for the medic. Liza and Kix both stepped into the room with bright smiles. 

“Look at my poor cuz!!!! Is my little niece or nephew making you miserable?” Liza raced across the room and leaned over the back of the couch. Her hand flew to Zirena’s stomach. “When does it start to kick?” 

“While it can start to kick this early. It is more likely that it will begin to kick within the next month or so.” Kix placed his kit down and dug through it for a moment before pulling a few devices out. 

Zirena moved awkwardly. “Can we stop calling it an it yet?” 

Kix walked over to the group. “Actually.” He set the devices down. “In theory, we should be able to today.” He carefully pulled down the blanket and pushed up her shirt. “Rex, you’re gonna want to be over here for this.” 

Rex quickly moved next to Kix. He was passed a material tablet to hold as Kix began to run a scanner over Zirena’s stomach. They all sat in silence as the sound of the fetus’s heartbeat began to fill the room. “Well, that’s a damn pretty sound.” 

A few tears trickled down her cheeks at the sound. She wanted to record it and keep it forever. The scanner rolled across her stomach a few more times while Kix looked at the scanner. He stopped and turned the scanner so that  Zirena, Rex, and Liza could all see. “Seems like we’ll be welcoming a girl into the squad.” 

A swell of pride coursed through Rex’s entire body. A girl! They were having a girl. Zirena and Liza squealed in excitement while realization suddenly dawned on the Clone Captain. A girl. He knew nothing about girls. Just the bare basics. He felt his shoulder squeezed a few times. Blinking away the daze he’d fallen into, he looked at the source. His beautiful Zirena was looking at him. “Huh?”

“A girl. Just like you wanted! Are you excited?” Her eyes were sparkling while Liza began to ramble off everything she’d be able to buy for the little one. 

“More excited than I ever thought possible, Starlight.” He leaned over and kissed her deeply. 

After a moment, the two separated and looked back to Kix. “Please continue to keep this a secret. I’d rather everyone be surprised if possible.” Zirena looked between the two quickly. “We’re the only ones who know. Plus my parents and manager.” 

Kix nodded before pulling out the next device. “Of course. Let’s check over your vitals now.” 

A girl.

Rex had so much to learn.

-*-

1.5 months later.

6 months. She was now six months through her pregnancy. In three short months, their daughter would be with them. Zirena stood in the doorway of her extra room and took in the sight of the almost complete nursery. “Soon.” She rubbed her hands protectively over the now visible bump as their baby kicked. “Your father should be here soon.” Turning around, she made her way over to the kitchen. Her appetite had grown so much over the past few weeks. She stepped in front of the conservator and stared at the food within. Nothing seemed appetizing at the moment, it seemed that was the current downside to her cravings. She’d already eaten it all. 

The apartment door slid open and she sighed while shutting the conservator. “Rex” to her delight, he was carrying a bag that was bursting at the seams with food. “Please tell me there are some Sparklemint sticks in there.” 

The clone took a minute to dig through the bag before pulling a large package. “As many as I could get, Sarad.” 

“Oh thank the maker.” She walked quickly across the room to him and excitedly took the package before kissing him. “You’re amazing.” 

Rex chuckled as he returned the kiss before moving into the kitchen. Her current favorite foods were put away as Zirena settled into the couch. “How are you feeling?” 

Zirena hummed while pulling the blanket over her and laying back on her pillow. “Ready for a nap, honestly.” She’d been so exhausted lately.

“Then take a nap, my love.” Rex carried a glass of water over to her. 

“You just got here and are only here for two days. The last thing I want to do is sleep the entire time.” Sleeping the entire time he was here would make her miserable. She wanted to be able to spend this special time with him. 

Though she’d never tell him, it had been hard going through this pregnancy without him. Sure, he was just a call away, but he was missing out on some of the bigger milestones. Like when she first felt her kick. It had come out of nowhere. She was relaxing in her bed reading a novel on her datapad when suddenly it felt like a bird's wings were fluttering inside her stomach. A call had quickly been made to a doctor that Kix had recommended here in Coruscant where they reassured her it was normal. That it was the baby kicking or punching her.  It was the most wonderful feeling she’d ever experienced and yet she’d been sad. Rex had missed it. 

This was actually the first time she’d seen him since they’d found out the gender of their baby. He’d been able to help set up some of the nursery. But once again, he’d missed out on things. Like when she picked the crib or some of the decorations. She knew she shouldn’t be mad at him. It wasn’t fair to him in the slightest. He had a job to do after all. But a small part of her was. 

“You need to get as much rest as possible. Kix said it was good for the baby.” He lifted her legs carefully before settling into the couch as well. The glass of water was passed to her as he relaxed her legs across his lap. “Get some rest, I’m right here.” 

Zirena stared at him for a moment before finally nodding. “Okay, but only for an hour. Then wake me up?” 

Rex nodded, his hands running up and down her legs. “Of course.” He watched as Zirena settled deeper into the pillow. After a few minutes, she was asleep. The clone hummed in thought as his hand rested protectively on her stomach. 

Suddenly, he felt something press against his hand. His heart stopped. That was his daughter and she knew he was there. “Ni cuy' olar ner ad.” (I am here my daughter.) He’d been researching how to raise a little girl. The things to expect and prepare for. As he read, he realized there would be so many milestones he’d be missing most likely. Her first steps, her first words, the first time she lifted her head or rolled over. 

Rex could request a transfer to the Guard. Then he’d be able to spend every day with them. Zirena hummed softly in her sleep before shifting slightly. The feeling of the little foot or hand was gone now. Suddenly, a fear washed over him. What if he missed her birth? There was no guarantee that he’d be here for that. Things were constantly changing in the war, one minute they’d be on their way back to Coruscant and the next they could be sent back out to the outer rim for months on end. 

He chewed his lip. There was one way he might be able to guarantee he’d return in time. It did involve telling Anakin. But it would be worth it to be there for the birth of his daughter.

A long sigh left him as he leaned his head back against the couch. He’d be a dad in 3 short months. The idea still seemed so foreign to him and yet at the same time it felt right. There had always been jokes that the clones would have strong fatherly instincts thanks to Jango Fett. Perhaps there was some truth to that. 

-*-

General Skywalker stood on the bridge of the Resolute, watching as the blues and purples of hyperspace swirled around them. When the door opened behind him, he paid it no mind. The telltale sound of heavy boots on the floor let him know it was a clone. The familiar sound of his Captain clearing his throat let him know it was Rex. “Captain, how was your R and R?” 

“It was well spent, General. Yours?” Rex stopped next to Anakin and clasped his hands behind his back, watching hyperspace pass them by.

“As good as it could be.” He’d spent most of it by Padme's side as she attended meetings and other social events. 

The two stood in silence for a while before Rex cleared his throat. “General, could we speak in private for a moment?” 

Anakin glanced to the side at Rex before nodding. “Lead the way, Captain.” 

Rex exited the room with Anakin behind him. Once the door shut, he turned to face his General. Taking a deep breath, he decided to get to the point. His datapad was pulled from his pocket and turned on. “Zirena…is pregnant.” The tablet was passed to his leader who now wore a look of shock.

“I see.” He looked down at the holo on the screen. Zirena was in the center, her body turned to the side and a bump visible. “How far?” The device was handed back to the Captain. 

“Six months.” Rex looked down at the holo. “It’s a girl.” 

Well, this was not what he was expecting in the slightest. He’d figured they would have waited until the war was over and they were married. But life was never straightforward. Was it? “Well congratulations, Rex. Are you two excited?” 

“It was a shock at first.” He crossed his arms. “But we’re now excited.” The clone hesitated. “Which brings me to my question.” 

“What would that be, Captain?” He felt as though he had a general idea. No doubt his longtime friend and Captain was requesting to be moved to the Guard.

 “When we draw closer to her due date, I’d like to go back for leave.” It would only be for a while. 

Anakin raised an eyebrow. “You’re not requesting to transfer to the Guard?” 

The Captain shook his head. “The thought crossed my mind. But when I brought it up to Zirena she quickly refused. She said that I was needed out here.” They’d discussed the topic three times and she never changed her mind. 

“Are you sure? It wouldn’t be hard. Not with your countless decorations.” Anakin looked at the clone who had been running through this scenario in his head. “Wouldn’t you like to be there for all those first steps and whatnot?” 

“I would. More than anything.” To be there with her through it all. She would be the both of their daughter. It would only be right that they both help raise her. Not just Zirena. “But she is firm that I shouldn’t give up my post out here.” 

“I understand.” Anakin hummed in thought. “I can give you a month of leave and I’ll start sending you on more escort assignments.” It wasn’t much, but hopefully, it would be enough for now. 

“Thank you, Sir.” 

-*-

3 months later

Zirena stood with her family in the crowd of civilians waiting to rush to the clones. Friends and loved ones watched as the first few venators landed at the base. It would take weeks for all of the clones to return and to be redistributed across the galaxy. Many planets had been affected by the war and could take years for them to recover. Already the Senate had passed laws allowing clones to willingly retire from the Grand Army. They’d receive retirement pay and assistance with starting their new lives. 

It had all ended when the Chancellor was assassinated a month ago. They still didn’t know who’d done it, there was speculation but nothing concrete. After his death, the entire Separatist army seemed to fall apart. Most of those in charge scattered to the many parts of the galaxy and the ones who didn’t were quickly captured. Peace treaties were signed and then it was over. After that, the Grand Army spent a lot of their time going after the stragglers and bringing them in for war crimes. Countless Separatist leaders were tried and punished in the last month. Their supporters and the others went deep underground. 

“You okay, bulabird?” Neu placed a protective hand on his daughter's shoulder, pulling her from whatever had her deep in thought. 

“Hmm?” Zirena looked up at her father for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, just can’t believe it’s over.” Her hands protectively cradled her stomach. 

“We can find a place to sit down. I’m sure your father won’t mind finding Rex for you.” Trixa reached up and pushed a strand of hair out of her daughter's face. 

Zirena reached up and shooed her mother's hand away. “I’m fine you two. Just ready for my fiancé to finally step off that damn ship.” She was now officially a week past her due date and ready for her fiancé to get back and hold her. 

Trixa shook her head disapprovingly. “Keep talking like that and my granddaughters gonna come out swearing like a soldier.” 

“If she comes out talking I think we’ll all be amazed.” Liza reached over and rubbed Zirena’s belly. 

A long sigh left Zirena as she pushed Liza’s hand away. She was ready for this to be over. Too many people were touching her belly. “Okay, that’s enough. Rubbing it won’t bring you good luck.” 

“You must have been rubbing it yourself these last few months. How else has no one figured out you were pregnant?” Liza tapped Zirena’s stomach gently before pulling away and looking towards the large ship in front of them.

Zirena shrugged as the doors to the ship began to open and the ramps descended. “My manager is really really good at her job.” Somehow her manager had always positioned her piano to hide her stomach even when she stood to bow. The last few months of her pregnancy she’d only done sound recordings, nothing visual. She winced slightly and placed her hand on her lower back. It had been happening infrequently throughout the day, perhaps her daughter was pushing on it?

Trixa squinted at her daughter for a moment. But before she could say something the crowd around them cheered loudly. Turning around, she watched as rows and rows of clones began to file out of the ships in uniform order. No doubt Rex and his men would be one of the last groups to disembark. 

Nearly an hour went by before Rex finally stepped off the ship with Torrent company behind him. During that time Zirena’s twinges had begun to increase. But she didn’t care, she was so close to being back in his arms. He’d already confirmed that he’d be taking a few months off to simply enjoy their daughter before heading back out. Zirena groaned softly as she rubbed her back. She just needed to hold out a little bit longer. 

With Rex’s group finally off the ship, everyone was free to disperse. The crowd around her surged and she felt her father's protective arm pulling her close. “Thanks, Papa.” 

“Of course, Bulabird.” He waited until the crowd around them thinned out before releasing her. “Come on, let’s go find my son-in-law.” 

Zirena rolled her eyes as she followed behind her father. “We’re not married yet.” 

Liza shrugged as she took her cousin's hand. The way she was groaning and rubbing her back hadn’t gone unnoticed by the woman. “You two are as good as married.” 

The group walked together quickly as they tried to work their way through the hoarders of people. Three months. It had been three long months since Zirena had seen Rex last. Every part of her wanted to run through the crowd and scream out for him but she knew too much excitement could throw her into labor.  Then she saw it, the familiar blue markings on his helmet. “Rex.” It came out in a happy whimper as her group neared him. 

“Rex!” Neu called out happily for the Clone Captain. 

Rex turned at the sound of his name and smiled at his soon-to-be father-in-law. “Neu!” He worked through the crowd with his men following behind him. Kix rushed past him and quickly scooped up Liza. The Captain's eyes shifted to his finance standing next to said woman. “Look at you.” He stepped forward and placed his hands against her stomach. “Hello, beautifuls.” 

Zirena smiled happily up at his helmet. She reached up and unlatched the bucket before pulling it off. “Hello, handsome.” 

“How are you feeling?” He leaned down and kissed her deeply. 

“Right as rain.” She placed her hand on top of his and smiled. 

“Woah. Hold on.” Fives stepped next to Rex and looked at the woman in front of him. “Are you gonna have a kid?” 

The pianist blushed and nodded. “Y-yeah.” 

“And it’s Rex’s?” Fives gasped as someone hit him in the back of the head. “What? Am I wrong to ask?” 

“Yes, you are.” Kix released Liza and stepped over to Zirena. “Liza said you're getting twinges?” 

“What?” Rex looked at her quickly. “Are you?” 

Zirena waved her hand dismissively. “They’re infrequent and small on the pain scale. I’m fine.” 

Kix shook his head. “You’re two weeks past your due date. I recommend taking any twinges seriously.” 

Fives shook his head quickly. “Hold on, I’m still trying to grasp that the Captain is about to have a kid. How is that possible?” 

Everyone froze and looked at Fives. Dogma was the one to speak. 

“You…you do know where babies come from, right?” They had classes about this on Kamino.

“Huh?” Fives looked around the group. “Of course I do. I just mean how is Rex of all people the first to have a kid? No offense, Sir.” 

Rex squinted at the domino twin. “None taken.” 

“It’s simple, Fives.” Zirena squeezed Rex’s hand gently. “He’s jus-.” She froze while squeezing Rex’s hand hard. 

Kix raised an eyebrow as she made a pained face. “Zirena?” 

“It’s…it’s okay. Just…a deeper pain.” She took a few deep breaths. After a minute the pain subsided and she sighed softly. Looking up at the group, she was surprised to see everyone staring at her intently. “What?”

Trixa stepped beside her daughter and placed her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “You’re in labor. It’s time to go.” 

Zirena tried to wave her mother off. “I’m fine. They aren’t frequent enough…” She felt something trickle down her leg and she swallowed. Looking up at Rex, she locked eyes with him. “We need to go.” 

Rex raised his eyebrow. “What happened?” 

“My water just broke.” 

-*-

Rex stood in the middle of the waiting area surrounded by torrent company, a small bundle in his arms. “Boys, meet the newest member of the 501st. Aoife.” 

“Woah.” Fives stepped forward and took in the child. “Black hair, huh?” 

“Just like her mom.” Rex smiled at his daughter. His daughter. He was a dad. “Got our brown eyes though.” 

“That our newest recruit?” Anakin walked over to the group with Padme next to him. A small package in her arms. 

“Sure is, General.” Rex allowed the Jedi to get a closer look at Aoife. 

Padme stepped forward and sighed at the sight of the child. “Oh Rex, she’s beautiful.” 

Rex nodded to the Senator. “Thank you, ma’am.” 

“General Skywalker, you’re here. It’ll save me a call.” Kix stepped into the waiting area, his datapad in hand. “I’ve received the test result for Aoife’s midi-chlorian count.” 

Rex stared nervously at the medic. If it was high then his daughter could be taken away. “And?”  He watched as Kix passed the datapad to Anakin. 

Anakin sighed softly. “Her count is too low to be considered a force user.” He could see Rex visibly relax. “Congrats Rex, I’m happy for ya.” 

“Thank you, sir.” Rex reached up and stroked his daughter's cheek gently. She stirred in her sleep before settling. 

“Soooo…can I hold her?” Fives looked at Rex excitedly. 

Kix sighed before digging into his pocket. He pulled out a sanitizer container. “Sanitize your hands first.” 

Padme stepped forward with the small package. “Mind if I pop in and see Zirena?” 

“Go ahead. She’s in the fourth room on the left.” Rex watched as the Senator waved sweetly at Aoife before heading down the hall. He turned and looked at his men. “Anyone who wants to hold their niece needs to sit down and disinfect their hands.” 

-*-

“Knock knock.” Padme stepped quietly into the medical room to see Zirena sitting up in her bed. 

“Senator Amidala. What a pleasant surprise.” Zirena smiled brightly at the woman. “What brings you by?” 

Padme walked over to Zirena and placed the small package on the bed next to the woman’s leg. “Anakin told me you’d gone into labor. Thought I’d bring you a gift.” 

“You didn’t have to do that.” Zirena picked up the package and carefully opened it. 

“It’s a silk robe from Naboo. Plus a nightgown for your little one.” She watched as Zirena pulled the dark blue robe out of the box. “I asked my mother what was one thing she would suggest a new mom have. She said a nice robe to relax in on days she didn’t feel like getting dressed.” 

Zirena ran her fingers over the soft material. “This is so lovely. Thank you, Padme.” She gently folded the robe and placed it back in the box. With a soft hum, she leaned back in her bed and smiled softly. 

Padme grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the bed. “What’s on your mind?” 

“Just…Crazy to think we met years ago when I was still in the junior Senate and you were a queen. Now look at us.” She watched as Padme placed her hand on the bed. Taking it in hers, Zirena gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“Never in a million years did I think I’d be married to a Jedi and that you’d be marrying a clone.” Padme leaned back in her chair. 

“You’re telling me. Never expected to have a child so soon either.” She was thankful it wasn’t a long or difficult pregnancy. Would she ever want to go through it again? Maybe not anytime soon. But the idea of another child was nice. Two kids. Yeah. That sounded nice. 

Padme looked over at the little pink blanket lying in the empty bassinet. “So what’s next for you guys?” 

Zirena tilted her head side to side in thought. “We’re going public with our relationship. Now that the war is done we can focus on each other and Aoife. I don’t want to stress about having to keep this all a secret. I want to be able to walk around Coruscant with the man I love and our beautiful daughter.” She looked up at the ceiling. “Think you and Anakin will ever go public?” 

“After he takes over the council. Yoda has stated that he will step down in a few months once everything from the war has settled. Obi-Wan and the others are surprisingly ready to assist Anakin in changing things.” Would it be hard? Of course. Naboo wasn’t built in a day after all. “Think your mother would be willing to go back to the order and help him?” 

“I don’t know honestly. Moms really enjoyed retirement with my dad. But it would allow them to be closer to Aoife.” She thought about it for a moment. “I’ll ask her when they get here. They went to my place to get some supplies for me.” 

The door to the room opened, drawing the attention of both women. “Thought Senator Amidala would like to hold Aoife.” 

The Senators' eyes lit up. “Yes!” She held her hands out carefully for the small child. Once she was placed into her arms, she sighed. Aoife was beautiful. 

Rex walked over to Zirena and kissed her forehead. “She’s perfect, Starlight.” 

“Absolutely perfect.”

-*-

6 months later

Rex laid in bed and watched as Zirena slept with Aoife in her bassinet next to her. 

It had been six wonderful months since they’d brought their daughter home. Already she was so much bigger than when she was born. 

“It is normal for a child to grow sustainably in the first few months of their life. You have nothing to worry about.” Kix had told them. 

It still didn’t make the Captain worry less. 

His wife shifted in her sleep before reaching out and taking their daughter's hand in hers. His wife. It was still so hard to believe that they’d been married for two months now. 

After coming out to the public about their relationship things had moved quickly. So many people wanted to interview them both about the relationship and how they’d met. While many were surprised, others had already speculated they were together. 

They hadn’t exactly been completely covert about their relationship. 

Countless people reached out to assist with the wedding. Florists from Naboo, a gown designer from Alderaan, and chefs from Chandrila plus so many others. 

In the end, though, they’d decided on a simple small ceremony in her home village on her home planet. Very few had been invited, much to the dismay of so many. Even the media had been kept away. The boys of Torrent company had attended, as well as the Clone Force 99 and the Skywalkers. Plus her family members and their precious Aoife. 

Zirena looked stunning in her gown. Never would Rex forget the way it flowed around her, nor how the veil with pressed flowers around the base blew in the wind. Aoife had been put into her matching dress. 

They’d planted a tree then. A Tintolive tree that represented their love. It would grow as their life together did. Right now it was a tiny sapling. But according to Zirena, it would be a large powerful tree in a few years. 

“We can come back when Aoife is older and sit under it with her. Tell her all the stories about how we met and grew our relationship. Tales of your battles across the galaxy and my performances.” Zirena had smiled at the thought as they sat next to their tree. 

The idea had been brought up about them moving back to Chandrila. But Zirena enjoyed their life on Coruscant far too much. Not to mention it would be easier for him to head back into the field. 

The field. Rex hated that his leave was coming to an end so soon. While the war had ended, there was still so much work to do. 

Zirena had smiled sweetly at him while holding their daughter when he told her it was almost time for him to go. “Go. We’ll be here keeping our home warm and safe.” 

General Skywalker had now taken over as Grand Master of the Jedi Order. A position he was taking surprisingly seriously. Perhaps it was with the guidance of Zirena’s mother by his side, or perhaps it was Padme’s influence. Whatever it was, Rex was impressed. 

“Rex?” Zirena looked over her shoulder at her husband. “Come on, get some sleep, my love. Your daughter will be up soon.” 

The proud father nodded before settling behind her. He reached over her and placed his hand on top of hers that was on top of Aoife’s. It was so odd to see his large hand encapsulating their small hands. Over a year ago the only thing these hands knew how to do was kill. Now they had a new job. 

A job to lead. 

A job to protect. 

A job to love.

[tcwmatchmakingau]

The Beauty In All, Part One

Editor's note: written by @deejadabbles

Pairing: Echo x GN!reader Rating: General Audience (but minors DNI) Summary: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice- still shame on you, don't take advantage of my kindness! After so many times of falling for people who mock and manipulate your kind nature, you thought that love, true love, was simply not in the cards for you. Thankfully, Right to Love is here to make sure you and a lucky ARC trooper get your happy ending together. A.N: did you know there's giant garden in the senate building that has tons of different nature environments? I just loved the idea of a reader working there and tending all kinds of exotic and dangerous plant life. Tiio is my Corrie Guard OC and Maura is a matchmaker OC that will show up a lot in my future fics for this AU! Word Count: 2853

Warnings: Mentions of past bad relationships and toxic exes.

His eyes were staring at you with that expectant intensity again, just a shade off of his infamous tooka-eyed stare. If it wasn’t for the fact that you were able to hide behind the felucian ficus you were pruning, you probably would have caved instantly.

“I don’t know, Tiio,” you hummed, looking down at an unhealthy leaf, rubbing it between your fingers and trying not to get lost in memories of previous attempts at romance. “Wouldn’t something like a matchmaker make the whole process seem…” you scrambled for a word and settled for, “robotic?”

Tiio’s eyes went wide, “No, not at all! Oh, vod’ika,” he stepped around the ficus, catching you on the other side so he could keep his gaze on you, “If that’s what you’re worried about, I promise it’s not like that!-”

He paused and looked around, making sure his suddenly loud words didn’t draw too much attention. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be in the garden when he was off duty, but the other guards had gotten too used to him swinging by to chat with you at the end of his shifts to really care. After all, what good was working in the senate building if you can’t enjoy the few luxuries it has?

When he turned back to you, he spoke calmly again, “It’s not like they just take a few basic facts about you and put them in an algorithm or something. It’s done with real people- people who actually care about others finding love and connections.” Tiio ran his hand through the halo of curls around his head, and when he got that far-away look, you knew who he was thinking about, “they want you to find someone who’ll see you for you, who shares values and interests,” then he gave a sigh, a dreamy sigh of content adoration, the kind of sigh only someone deeply in love is capable of making. “Someone who’ll treat you the way you’re supposed to be treated.” That’s when his eyes snapped back to yours, “That’s what I want for you, vod, I think it’s the perfect way to find someone who actually deserves you!”

The determination in his eyes made you smile, Tiio always had a way of making you feel appreciated. Of course, he just insisted that it was ‘returning the favor’, a reference to the event that sparked your friendship in the first place. 

Being the head arborist of the Senate Botanical Garden meant that you saw and interacted with the Coruscant Guard every day. During the war, you had been witness to numerous counts of senators and civilians mistreating clones, and like any decent being, it had infuriated you.

About a year into the war, when anti-clone protests had really reached a head, you had asked the children in your volunteer herbology class to help you with a little project. Armed with a barrow overflowing with flower crowns and letters from the children who made them, you spent a whole day passing them out to the guards as a show that there were some out there who appreciated and supported them.

Many troopers took a shine to you after that, and Commander Fox once mock-complained that his men were always begging for guard posts in the garden because of you, but Tiio had become closest to you in the following time. Now, he was one of your best friends, an amazing listener who always reminded you of your self-worth, he was someone who reminded you why it was so important to stay gentle and kind, even when the galaxy tried to make you hard and jaded.

Tiio knew you, and your past, your heartbreaks and string of lovers who took and took and took from your wealth of kindness without giving you a drop of true devotion in return. And he knew how hard it was for you to trust someone like that again, especially after the last one.

So, if Tiio, who was even more protective of your heart than you were, thought this was a good idea, then maybe…

“I know that look!” Tiio was smiling now, realizing he was winning you over and when you tried to hide among the foliage again he laughed. “Listen, I won’t push you, vod’ika, but I really think this is a good idea. I just know one of my brothers will make you happy, and Right To Love will make sure you find the perfect one.”

You reemerged from the leaves, unable to hide how flatter and flushed his words made you. “Sure you aren’t just determined to prove that clones ‘do it better’ than natborns?” you said in a playful tone, paraphrasing something he and some of your other clone friends had said once while discussing your past relationships.

Tiio had the good grace to look away bashfully, “Maaaaybe?”

A laugh made its way out of you at that, “Alright, Tiio, you win. I’ll schedule my appointment when I get home tonight,” and you laughed again when Tiio whooped in triumph.

Dating and love always had risks, and maybe this avenue of dating wouldn’t be any different, but if that was the case, you weren’t any worse off, right?”

You knew that it might be a slow day for the matchmaking service. One of your days off coincided with a day that most were busy at their standard jobs, which was by design. There was never a day when Coruscant wasn’t bustling at all hours, but days like this made shopping and other chores just the slightest bit easier. 

There was only one other client in the waiting room, a twi’lek male who seemed to be calm in a way you couldn’t fathom right now. You were fidgeting with the questionnaire they had handed you, struggling to concentrate on answering the questions in the thorough, thoughtful way you wanted to.

When a woman’s voice called out the twi’lek’s name you even jumped in your seat. Maker, why were you so nervous?

About that moment is when you caught the eye of the man behind the front desk, he was smiling at you, in a warm and understanding way that said he had seen your kind of reaction often. When the other client disappeared behind an office door, the man spoke up.

“Having trouble with your questionnaire?”

You looked away from him, opting to stare at the form in question instead, “Something like that…”

There was the sound of chair wheels rolling on the floor, then of steps coming towards you. When you looked up he had just put his hand on the back of a chair near you. “Mind if I sit?”

“Oh- not at all, please,” you waved your hand in invitation, and he immediately took the chair.

He was a clone, not too young like some of the “shinies” you'd met in the senate building, but not one of the older ones like Fox from what you could tell. His haircut looked like he needed to trim it every few days to maintain, even if he only wanted to show off the aurebesh tattooed across his head.

“Do you wanna know a secret?” he asked, something twinkling in his eyes. You raised an eyebrow at him but nodded, and he leaned in a little closer to you, “everyone who comes in here is nervous, some are just better at hiding it,” he said in a dramatic, stage whisper.

That made you laugh, and the thing that had your insides in a vice grip seemed to loosen it’s hold just a little. “Oh yeah? You’re just talking about natborns like me, right? Can’t imagine something like this,” you wiggled the questionnaire, “shakes men of your training.”

“Oh I wouldn’t say that,” he chuckled, then jabbed a thumb at the wall across from you both, which had the service’s slogan painted in cheerful lettering: ‘Love is a battlefield where we fight for you!’. “Our saying is right, and this is a battlefield we were most definitely not trained for. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to calm one of my brothers down while sitting in these very chairs. And don’t even get me started on easing their nerves before their first dates!”

That time you both laughed together and your shoulders felt lighter now too. “I’m sure you’re very skilled at that- at calming people, I mean, Mr…?” You asked, realizing he hadn’t given his name when you walked in.

“No need for a ‘Mr’, just call me Kix.”

“Well, Kix, your brothers are lucky to have someone like you to help with this new step in life.”

He gave a little shrug, “I hope so. I’ll be able to help them more when I get my degree in counseling.”

“You’re studying to become a therapist?” you couldn’t hide the excitement in your tone. You knew the clone rights and personhood act had a whole section to it regarding mental health resources, which was amazing, yes, but, everything had flaws. Tiio had mentioned that, as well-meaning and helpful as natborn therapists were, there were some aspects of their lives that no one but another clone would ever quite understand. “That’s wonderful, I’m glad your brothers have someone like you working so hard to help them.”

Kix let out a little noise that might have been a cough or a hum or something else. He might have been a little flustered by your comment. If he had been, he recovered quickly and said, “That’s my hope and in the meantime, I volunteer here.” He shook his head at that, trying to get his thoughts back on track. “But we’re not here to talk about my life’s story. I just wanted you to know that it’s okay to be nervous, and, if I could offer some advice?”

“I’d love any you have at this point.”

He tapped at your list of questions yet to be filled out. “Don’t overthink these, okay? I know it’s tempting to get into your head and overanalyze every answer, or worry that you’re not being accurate, but chances are, you know yourself well enough to give us any information we need, without too much trouble.”

You hadn’t realized just how stuck your own breath felt in your chest, until you let out a cleansing sigh at his words. Wow, if Kix was this good now, he was going to make a spectacular therapist. 

“Alright,” you said with a nod, “I’ll get out of my head and just say what feels natural!”

“There you go!”

If Kix had any other advice to give, it was lost when the feminine voice from before called his name from the office and he had to excuse himself. With some (not all, but some) of your nervous energy calmed, you turned your focus back to the file in front of you. At one point the other client walked through again, taking his leave, right before someone else came in for their appointment. Thankfully it didn’t take a horribly long amount of time to finish the rest of the questions and pass it off to Kix.

Now there was just the waiting. 

You didn’t know what the process was, exactly, or even how many matchmakers were there right now, but it felt like time was crawling by as you waited for someone to call you back to the offices. Eventually, you had to distract yourself by playing a game on your personal datapad, and that at least kept some of your wandering, anxious thoughts at bay.

The moment you heard your name, your head snapped up to see a woman standing beside the reception desk. She was dressed in a flowy blouse with wide sleeves and flared pants, giving her a more casual look than you’d expected. Her dark hair framed her face in waves and her smile was warm, reaching her eyes as she said, “I’m Maura, and I’ll be taking care of you while you’re here at Right to Love. Are you ready to start?”

You gave a nervous noise as you stood, “I thought I’ve already started with that whole personality quiz,” you joked.

All Maura did was widen her smile before waving for you to follow her. Her office was towards the back and inside she had obviously made an attempt to make it feel warm and inviting. Soft-looking, romantic pictures hung on the wall and the dark wood of the furniture made it feel more cozy and less sterile. There was also a stuffed tooka and a handmade blanket on one of the guest chairs.

She gave you a chance to settle into the cushioned chair, before she got down to business. “So, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you. While reading your answers, I couldn’t help but notice a certain…pattern. If you’re comfortable with it, may I ask what some of your previous relationships have been like?”

You weren’t sure if she was just that good, or if maybe you were just too obvious. Still, you supposed if she was going to help you find love, she needed to know your experience with it.

“They’ve been…” Kriff, how do you even put it? “Unfulfilling…? No, no, that's not the right word.”

Maura looked perfectly patient as she watched you flounder, “Take your time, my dear.”

Not being able to hold her gaze, you found yourself looking over at the tooka plushie in the seat beside you as you gathered your thoughts. You didn’t want to come off as someone who couldn’t admit their faults, or as if you couldn’t recognize when the blame was yours, so, you chose your words carefully.

“I…tend to attract people who don’t appreciate certain parts of me…” When she didn’t interrupt you, you went on. “See, I always try my best to see the good in people. I always want to give out second chances, I want to give them a space to grow and be happy,  those things are really important to me. I want to be someone who sees the beauty in the world and a lot of my partners have mocked me for that.”

Maura tilted her head. “They think it’s a negative trait, not something to be admired.”

“They think I’m naive-” your eyes met hers again, finally getting some certainty in your tone. “I’m not, though. I refuse to give in to this stereotype that just because someone’s nice and wants to see the good in others, that that means they’re stupid or don’t know how cruel the galaxy is. I do know how cruel it can be, that’s the whole reason I want to see the good, I don’t want to just give up and think there isn’t any good, and become cruel and jaded too. What kind of galaxy does that give us then?” Suddenly, you snapped your mouth shut. “Sorry, I kinda rambled, didn’t I?”

“Not at all. Please, keep going, this kind of honesty is what I want from everyone who comes here!”

A smile to match hers made its way onto your face. “I’ve just had a lot of partners who make me feel like I have to change for them, or like my views on the world somehow made me childish.” You swallowed hard then, smile fading as the memories of fights with your last partner came back to the surface. “Or, they’ve taken advantage of my good nature.” Some relationships left scars, deep ones. “I think I’ve gotten to the point where I’m scared of risking that again. Scared that my next date will be with someone who sees those parts of me, and just sees them as something to manipulate to their advantage.”

You hadn’t noticed that you grabbed the tooka plush until it was in your lap and you were practically hugging it. Maybe that was the reason it was there, talking about love and relationships did mean a certain kind of vulnerability after all.

Maura called your name again, gently, warmly, and you met her patient gaze again. “You’ve obviously been through a lot with past relationships. But I promise you, we do extensive screening here, and I’m going to make sure we find someone who can appreciate those parts of you.” She leaned back in her chair then, looking thoughtful, “I’ll also say that I admire your emotional intelligence. Whoever called you childish obviously doesn’t know the meaning of the word, you’re quite mature, my dear.” She hummed and stared at nothing in particular for a moment, “Give them a space to grow…” she repeated your words to herself almost absentmindedly, then sat up straight again. “Alright, I have a few more questions, but, I’ll say this now: I’m going to make it my personal mission to find someone who will care for you as deeply as you obviously care for others.”

That made your face warm, though you weren’t sure why. It was her job (well, volunteer work) to find you someone to love, but that specific vow made you feel…reassured. Cared for.

Maybe, you really were in good hands here at Right to Love.

[arvandus]

Picture Perfect (Sakura x f!OC)

Warnings: None! Pure fluff!

WC: 1,832

Author's note: this is a (very late) commission for @shhroomer as part of the @ficsforgaza event that I'm participating in! Thank you again for your support, and my apologies it took me so long to get this finished for you! I hope you like it!

----

Sakura wasn’t sure exactly when Fujiwara started joining him, Suo, and Nirei on their patrols.  All he did know was that he’d gotten used to it. Even though half of the time she got distracted, trailing behind to sketch in her sketchbook, or take pictures with the camera on her phone.  She took pictures of everything, he realized... storefronts, people, the sky... even the graffiti.  And she was always drawing, her sketchbook in one hand and her pencil in the other.

Sakura always liked peeking glances at her as she drew, taking in the way her brow furrowed in concentration, the way her pink tongue would stick out of the corner of her mouth.  From a distance, she looked intimidating – black hair with long, bleached strands, piercings lining the pinna of her ears, her clothes loose and baggy, with an edge to them brought on by her chosen color palette.

But where others might have seen someone aggressive or off-putting, Sakura simply saw her as cute.

Today was different than the other days, though... today, Fujiwara had something box-like hanging from a thick strap around her neck.

“What’s that?” Sakura asked as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, this?” she looked down at the object and lifted it up.  “It’s a polaroid camera! Isn’t it cool??”

“Eh?? Why don’t you just use your phone?”

“I like this better. The pictures feel more real and kinda nostalgic.”  Plus,” she giggled, “It’s fun to flip the polaroid to make the picture show.”

Sakura stared down at her for a moment, then gave dry scoff.

Fujiwara’s violet eyes widened, and she poked Sakura’s arm. “Are you laughing at me??”

Sakura felt his cheeks warm.  “What?! No!”

“Oh, he definitely laughed...” Suo said with a smirk.  Nirei vigorously nodded his agreement next to him.

The heat in Sakura’s cheeks spread to his ears and down his neck.  This whole time his two vice captains had kept their mouth shut and kept their distance.  The fact that they chose now to chime in...

But before the playful argument could draw out, they were interrupted by an old shopkeeper, an elderly woman with thick glasses and wide smile.

“It’s so good to see you!” she beamed.  “I have something for you boys....”

A moment later, Sakura, Suo, and Nirei each held a bag filled with containers of yakitori.  Nirei was already opening his to take a bite, while Suo kept his sealed with the intent of taking it home.  Sakura opened his as well, but paused when he noticed that Fujiwara was further away from him now, her sketchbook held protectively against her chest.

He’d come to realize over time that she only ever did that when she felt shy or out of place.

“You okay?” he asked.  “Why are you so far away all of a sudden?”

“Me??” Fujiwara flushed.  “No reason. I just don’t like to be in the way when your fans show up.”

Sakura stared at her for a moment, the stick of yakitori still in his hand.  Then he thrust it out toward her.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

“Have one. They always give me too much.”

“A-are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied.

Fujiwara gently took it from him.  “Thanks!” she smiled.  She subconsciously took a couple of steps closer and Sakura’s chest tightened with warmth.  He liked having her close...

The sticky teriyaki was nearly dripping down the side and she held it out and leaned towards as she took a bite, struggling to keep her sketchbook and her camera clean.

“Oy,” Sakura grumbled. “Give me your stuff before you ruin it.”

Before Fujiwara could respond, Sakura had closed the gap between them and was removing the camera from around her neck and the sketchbook from her arm.

“What about you?” she protested. “You haven’t had any yet...”

“I’ll eat it later, I’m not hungry,” he lied.

“You’re a terrible liar, Sakura,” she teased.  But she ate anyway, making quick work of the food partially out of hunger, and partially to allow Sakura a chance to eat as well.

As she ate, he looked at her camera that now hung around his neck.

“Why do you take so many pictures all the time?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh, because there’s so much to see here!”

Sakura stared at her in blatant confusion.  “Eh?”

“You don’t ever look around and notice how pretty things are?” Fujiwara asked with a curious tilt of her head.  “Like yesterday, the sunset was the color of sherbert.  And the graffiti around here is so unique and cool... oh! I have an idea.  Why don’t you try taking some pictures? Here, you turn on the polaroid right here...” she flipped a small dial switch from red to green.  “And then you look through this part and press this button.”

Embarrassment started to freeze up Sakura’s body, and he glanced back at his comrades...

Only to find that they were nowhere to be found.  They’d managed to sneak away as soon as they reached the end of their patrol route, leaving Sakura to fend for himself.

Jerks...

“You want me to take a picture??” he stuttered. “Of what?”

“Of whatever you want!” she said with a smile.  Her stick was empty and licked clean now, and she threw it away in the nearest trash can.  She didn’t notice, however, that the corner of her mouth still had some teriyaki sauce on it...

Cute...

“You have some...” he started, then pointed to the corner of his mouth.

Fujiwara flushed, her eyes wide with embarrassment.  “What?? It’s on my face? I need a napkin...” she started to look around, spinning in circles, and Sakura couldn’t help but chuckle as he pulled one from the bag he was given.

“Here,” he said.

Fujiwara yanked it from his hand and quickly wiped at her mouth, double and triple checking to make sure she’d gotten it all.

Sakura stared at her for a moment and then looked down at the camera.    He shifted his hold on the items until he could hold the camera with a free hand.  He lifted it and centered the image of her within the eye piece and clicked it.

Fujiwara froze as her pink cheeks turned practically red.

“D-DID YOU JUST TAKE A PICTURE OF ME??” she shouted.

“W-well, yeah! You said—”

Fujiwara was on him in an instant and snatched the polaroid photo that slowly popped out of the bottom of the camera.

“Give me that!!” she demanded.  Then she took it and threw it into the trash can without even looking at it.

“WHAT?? WHAT’D YOU DO THAT FOR??” Sakura demanded.

“I didn’t mean take a picture of me!” she retorted, now entirely flustered. 

Her eyes avoided his, and guilt crept from Sakura’s chest to his gut.  Did... did he do something wrong??

His lips jutted into a pout and he looked away as he took the camera strap off of his neck. He thrusted it back into her arms along with her sketchbook.

 “I told you wasn’t any good at this stuff...” he muttered.

He thrust his hands deep into his pockets and walked over to the fence that followed the river.  He leaned his forearms against it and stared into the flowing waters.  Fujiwara stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide. Then guilt softened her gaze.  She looked down at her camera and then up at Sakura.  She looked back at the trash can where she’d thrown the photo away.  She took a hesitant breath and went over to it.  Lucky for her, the trash can was nearly full, most of it consisting of bags, cans, and papers.  And on top of it all, sat her photo, her surprised face now staring back at her.

Carefully she grabbed it and looked it over, checking both sides.  Luckily it wasn’t dirty.

She stared at the picture and cringed. It wasn’t a good picture of her, at least not in her opinion...

But there must have been something that Sakura saw, something that was worth capturing, even if she might not see it.

She quietly went back to join him against the railing.  Her grip tightened as she held out the undamaged photo to him.

“Here,” she said.  “I’m sorry.  I just... I didn’t think it would be a good picture of me.”

Sakura stared at the photo in her hand, and the icy ache in his gut began to warm again.  He reached out for it, but her hand withdrew it.

“But....” she said, “I’ll only let you have this if you take a picture with me first.”

“Ha??” Sakura flustered.  “How is that fair?”

“You get a picture of me, I get a picture of you,” she replied.

“You have a bunch of pictures of me!” Sakura countered.  “You’re always taking pictures of me when I’m on patrol! Don’t think I don’t notice!”

Fujiwara flushed.  “That... that’s different! That’s for artistic purposes, documenting the memories of Bofurin!”

“And this one is what? Personal?” Sakura countered, his heart pounding and cheeks hot.

Fujiwara froze, her jaw clenching slightly, before she spoke. “Yes.”

Sakura was stunned into silence, his eyes wide as they took in Fujiwara’s stubborn pout, the way her violet eyes both seemed to avoid his gaze but also bathe in the sight of him at the same time.  A soft breeze pushed a few strands of her hair across her face, and he fought the sudden urge to tuck it behind her ear.

Sakura swallowed and then nodded.  “Okay.  Fine.”

He loved the way she smiled, the way everything about her shifted from nervousness to joy.  She held out the polaroid, lining it up as best she could before clicking the button.  A moment later, the polaroid poked out, and she removed it, shaking the photo to help it clear up faster.

Sakura watched as their faces slowly appeared. She was smiling, her head leaned towards him as if she were truly happy, as if she really wanted to be there with him, close to him.  Sakura didn’t smile, but he wasn’t glowering like he used to, and it was the first time he’d seen a picture of himself where he could tell that he was actually happy.

“That’s a good one,” she whispered.

Sakura watched with longing as she tucked it away into the back of her sketchbook.  A moment later, she handed over the photo of her that he’d taken.

He took it gingerly from her and started at it, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly in a hint of a smile.  She really was cute... he wasn’t sure why she got so upset over it...

But for some reason, this new, unfamiliar sense of longing wasn’t entirely satisfied.  His mind went back to the photo she’d tucked away of the two of them.

“Fujiwara...” he muttered.

“Hm??”

“Can.... can we take one more?”

[thesugarclubs-blog]

Be Mine - Bucky Barnes x OC

warnings: speed dating, strangers to lovers, heavy petty, valentines day special

word count: 5.6k

WP: https://www.wattpad.com/1424350312-be-mine-hazel

vibe: “Not enough to scare you I hope,” Hazel voiced, a small smirk tugging at her lips as she studied him fingers tapping the base of her glass.

“Quite the opposite,” he declared his hand inching closer to where she had rested her free arm on the back of the sofa.

“Good, I think we’d balance each other out perfectly,” she mused, her hand meeting him halfway like she had read his mind just as she took a sip of her wine.

Masterlist

“Bucky Barnes, man you’re lookin’ good,” Sam drawled, a sly smile creeping its way across his face.

“Shut up,” Bucky mumbled, nervously running his hand over the long scruff on his cheeks.

He hunched his shoulders and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans, desperately trying to make his large frame look less intimidating. Dropping his head, he stared at the toe of his boot as he scuffed it along the wooden floor of his apartment.

“Don’t know why the hell I let you talk me into this,” he added, his brows drawing down into a petulant scowl.

“‘Cause I’m your friend and you love me,” Sam replied sweetly, throwing his arm around Bucky and drawing the reluctant super soldier tightly against him. “You gotta get back out there, charm those ladies like it’s 1942.”

“Friends don’t put each other into situations like this,” Bucky grumbled, his jaw clenching tightly as he glared at Sam out of the corner of his eye.

“Quit being a toddler. You’re acting like we’re gonna fight someone. It’s not Madripoor, or Seoul, or that time in Belize…”

“I’d rather be back in Belize.”

Sam threw his head back with a cackle and slapped his hand between Bucky’s shoulders. “Whatever, big guy, come on. We don’t wanna be late.”

Bucky spent the whole subway ride with a scowl etched onto his face, deepening every time he caught a glimpse of Sam’s grin in his peripherals. 

The annoying part of  this was, the longer he’d been friends with the guy, the more that grin wore him down. 

“Stop it.” 

“I ain’t doin’ anything, man. You stop it.” 

Sam’s toothy smile grew two times wider and he nudged Bucky’s shoulder as they shuffled off the train at Prince Street Station. 

“This thing would be in Soho,” Bucky muttered, following Sam out onto the sidewalk. 

“Hey! No more complaining. For all you know you might meet a nice girl or guy… or alien I guess, it is 2024, and then you’ll be thanking me.” 

Bucky rolled his eyes. 

“Yes, Sam. Sure, Sam. Just run my life for me, Sam.” 

“Someone’s gotta,” Sam replied just as they stopped outside a coffee shop. Bucky eyed the big A-frame sign advertising the Valentine’s speed dating event and sucked in a breath. 

Here goes nothing.

The sound in there alone was enough to have him turning tail but Sam caught his arm when he made an attempt and gave him a stern look that rang out loud and clear, stay put soldier, that's an order.

Bucky watched as a herd of women fixed their dresses and shirts, chatting politely with the people next to them and sipping on drinks as men lurked in corners, with wide eyes scanning the crowd as they downed beers in feeble attempts to find their courage. Bucky wanted to melt into the wall with them but Sam tugged him toward an empty high table and had the waitress grab them drinks before they even settled in. 

An eclectic looking woman in a bright green patterned dress and thick brimmed purple glasses stepped up on the tiny, open mic stage in the corner and tapped the mic loudly to get everyone's attention. The coffee shop dulled to a murmur as she started to explain how the speed dating would work.

Her nasal whine drilled into Bucky’s brain and he downed the remains of his beer, wishing for all the world that the burn of the alcohol would actually stick this time. He was struggling to form a coherent thought so he had no idea how he’d manage to hold a half-decent conversation. As if someone had heard his desperate pleas, Miss Green Dress came unknowingly to his rescue.

“We know it can be intimidating sometimes, to answer questions from strangers,” she droned, “so make sure you pick up one of our handy yes/no paddles before the first bell rings.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up and he began to move towards the table that held the paddles but Sam’s hand on his elbow stopped him.

“Wait a second, tin man, there’s no way you’re getting out of communicating with real life people.”

"If the lady says to grab a paddle, I'm gonna grab a paddle," Bucky countered, crossing his arms over his chest and staring Sam down as if to say what are you gonna do about it?

"Just promise me you'll actually talk to these people, and I mean talk, Barnes. None of the weird little cyborg grunts I've learnt how to interpret." 

On instinct, Bucky flexed and curled the fingers of his left hand. The leather of his glove creaked quietly as it stretched and Bucky sighed. One glance of the Vibranium and his dates were bound to hop out of their seats like their asses were on fire. 

"If you don't want them to see, you don't have to show them," Sam said. He was speaking in his counselor voice and Bucky hated that Sam could read him like a book.

Bucky sighed softly as he looked around the room again. “They’ll either run or ask me a bunch of questions that I’ll never be able to answer.”

Sam smirked and gently nudged his friend. “You have a bit of a following, you know.”

Bucky only grumbled. “That’s what worries me.”

“I’ve seen some of those messages you get, man those people are crazy,” Sam continued, but his teasing was softened by the sympathetic look in his eyes. “Just…give it a shot and if you really need to get out of here we will, ok?”

Bucky let out a world-weary sigh. “OK.”

“Atta boy, come on, let’s go.” Sam handed him another beer and tilted his head towards the line of tables, where a plethora of women were starting to take their seats.

"Remember, if you are sitting facing the coffee bar, you'll be staying in your seats. If you're facing away, you'll be moving on the ring of the bell," the woman called out loudly, making Bucky wince as he found his seat; James Barnes printed on a little card already thanks to Sam signing them up a week earlier.

The tables were decorated for the event; pink checked table cloths and tiny pink paper hearts scattered across the top. Between him and his first partner, a petite brunette woman with thick bangs and a nose stud, sat a small vase with a single rose. Bucky eyed the tattoos peaking out from the woman's collar and sleeves and gulped, feeling way in over his head already.

"My names Cassie," she introduced herself with a sharp smile. 

"Bucky," he swallowed thickly and palmed his beer bottle. 

"So what are you into?" She jumped right into the questions and all Bucky could think about was the bell ringing, how soon would it happen? Could he ring it if he felt threatened? There was an astounding lack of rules happening, "Like in the bedroom?" 

And boundaries. 

"Uh," he looked around for Sam who was laughing with a pretty blonde girl across the room.

Bucky could feel sweat on the back of his neck as he messed with the label on his beer bottle. 

“You’re not a talker, are you?” Cassie grinned.

It was tensely quiet for a moment before Bucky lifted his paddle with the “no” facing towards his partner.

“Ah, I see. The strong silent type. My kinda guy,” she purred.

Bucky jumped a mile in the air and almost threw his beer across the room as her foot began to stroke its way up his shin. He’d never been more relieved to hear a bell in his life.

Cassie blew him a kiss over her shoulder as she moved onto the next table and Bucky shot daggers at Sam across the room, his nostrils flaring as his so called friend laughed and gestured for him to turn around. 

The next woman in front of him looked a little tamer, if he took her ridiculously low cut top out of the equation. His eyes dipped momentarily — he may have been an ex-assassin, but he was a hot-blooded man first — before he caught himself and met her eye with a tight-lipped smile. 

"So, how many kids do you wa—"

Bucky stared at her wide-eyed and took a long pull of his beer.

"Nope. Next!"

"You're Bucky Barnes," The red head sneered before she even sat down at the table. "That's incredible, show me it."

Bucky stared at her for a moment, her green eyes predatory as they roved over his arm and down to his hand. 

"Show you what?" His brows kissed in frustration. 

"The vibranium arm," she leaned over on the table. "There are bets that it's not real, that the government made it up as a fear tactic." She rambled and Bucky tensed, "I mean we all know you're some kind of science experiment," she continued. "Fear mongering doesn't work when you make the poster child for it with thick thighs," the girl looked under the table and winked at Bucky. 

"I..." he was uncomfortable but wasn't sure what to say to her. 

"Excuse me," a sweet voice floated over the table, "you're in my seat."

Red looked up and looked incredulously at the owner of the voice before turning back to Bucky.

"I said, you're in my seat," the voice repeated, the sweetness dropped a notch.

Bucky's attention was now on the curvaceous blonde who grasped the chair from under the red head and tipped her off. "I said this is my seat, now clear off."

The downed redhead crawled to the next chair, picked up her stuff and disappeared through the cafe.

"Hi Gorgeous, my name's Hazel, pleased to meet you."

Bucky felt himself relax for the first time since he'd taken his seat.

He gave the woman a small smile and nodded in thanks for getting rid of the other woman. “I’m Bucky,” he said quietly as he eyed the now torn off label of his beer.

Hazel smiled at him, her blonde hair bobbed just above her shoulders as she flattened down the skirt of her dress. A pink number with puffy sleeves and a full skirt. 

“How have your dates been so far?” Hazel asked. His eyes flicked down to the corner of her lips where they tugged upwards ever so slightly. Heat crawled up his neck as he took a pull from his beer. 

“Do people not know what boundaries are anymore?” He said after a moment. Hazel stared at him before bursting into a chuckle.

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head and making her blonde bob dance around her ears. “That guy in the blue turtleneck offered me $50 to go home with him.”

“Jesus Christ, I’m gonna kick his ass,” Bucky muttered, semi-rising from his chair, only half joking.

A light touch on his left arm stopped him and the amused twinkle in Hazel’s eyes had him smiling back at her without even realising.

“I don’t need a champion, Bucky, but I appreciate the gesture,” Hazel said, holding out her bottle of beer to clink against his own.

“Ok,” Bucky shrugged as he chimed their bottles together before taking a swig. “Let’s get started then. You wanna go first?”

Hazel scrunched up her nose and tapped her finger against her pouted lips a couple of times. Her eyes lit up before turning a little devilish and Bucky found himself eager to hear what she’d thought of to ask him.

“You know, I could really use a recommendation and you’re just the guy to ask. So…what’s your favourite brand of metal polish?”

Bucky surprised himself with the laugh that escaped him and he didn't miss the proud little smile on Hazel's face, obviously pleased that her question tickled him. 

"Y'know, I'm not a fussy guy," he replied, "I'll take anythin' that'll make it shine." 

"The arm or your eyes?" 

"Hello, smooth talker," Bucky chuckled, "you been talkin' to all the guys like that?" 

Hazel shook her head, flashing him a beaming smile. A wisp of her blonde hair fell across her eyes with the movement and Bucky itched to reach out and tuck it behind her ear, only stopping himself when Hazel leant forward, chin resting in her hand. 

"Guess it's my turn again, huh?"

"What's your favorite drink?" Bucky asked her and felt himself leaning into her smile.

"Espresso Martini," she cooed. 

Bucky raised his hand in the air and a waitress scooted around a table where the dates were screaming at one another, "how can I help?" She asked. 

"Can you get my date an espresso martini please?" He asked and the waitress opened her mouth to explain that she may not be here by the time the drink was made. "She'll be here," Bucky nodded. 

The waitress shrugged and ducked back into the chaos around her. 

"Seems I've met my match," Hazel stared over at him.

Bucky smirked at her as the bell rang, holding her gaze. 

"Time to swap," the next dater spoke from behind Hazel.

"Not happening," Bucky replied, his eyes never leaving hers, as Hazel responded, "He's taken."

As the waitress placed the drink beside Hazel, she shrugged to the disgruntled dater and advised her to move past. "I've bigger fish to fry," she muttered, the couple who had screamed through their date were now heckling each other from several tables apart.

"So, where were we?" Hazel asked, raising her glass in toast to Bucky.

Bucky raised his bottle leaning the neck forward to softly clink her glass, taking a swig as he watched her pink-tinted plump lips part as she brought her glass up to her mouth. 

“I believe you have the floor now,” he smiled, watching her blue eyes sparkle under the soft yellow lighting. 

“Okay serious question now, promise” she winked, “how are you finding the modern world?”

Bucky let out a long breath and chuckled to himself. "It definitely ain't the 40's anymore darlin'." 

Blue eyes regarded him as she tilted her head to the side. "That daunting huh?" 

"And more." He said giving her a lopsided smile. "It's not just the technology that's changed, ya know? It's people too. The way people treat eachother. In some ways the world is a lot more accepting and in others..." His voice trailed off. 

"Like we're always fighting each other for someone else's agenda?" She finished for him.

“Exactly,” he agreed.

He leaned back in his seat and appraised her as he tilted back his bottle and swallowed a mouthful of beer. Hazel did the same, winking at him over the rim of her martini glass and he felt himself flush under her scrutiny. He liked it. 

“What made you come here tonight?” He asked.

“Nancy asked me to make up numbers,” she shrugged, nodding her head towards the organiser in the green dress. “She minded my baby for me last week so I owed her one.”

“Oh?” Bucky raised his eyebrow. “What’s your baby called?”

“Trevor. He’s a total asshole but I adore him,” Hazel gushed. “He’ll sulk for days if I leave him with anyone other than Nancy.”

“Yeah,” Bucky swallowed awkwardly. “I guess kids can be funny like that.”

“Kid?” Hazel threw her head back and cackled. “Trevor’s my cat!”

"Oh...OH!" Bucky chuckled, feeling a little bashful over the misunderstanding. But then with Hazel's laugh, Bucky couldn't help the way his own grew louder. 

Hazel's shoulders shook as she tapered off into a giggle and her eyes creased at the corners, lashes glistening with unshed tears. She was gorgeous, her whole personality infectious and Bucky was more than ready to throw caution to the wind, steal her away from this stupid event. 

"I, uh... I like cats..." Bucky said suddenly, voice going up like it was a question, and the laughter started all over again. He hadn't felt this loose, his heart this full of something that wasn't dread or fear, in years.

"You do?" Hazel perked up and her soft smile curled to the side. 

"I have one," Bucky nodded, "Alpine. Sweet little thing. Feisty too."

"Like father, like daughter, clearly." She teased, her finger rolling down the stem of her glass. "Can I meet her sometime?"

"I'd like that," Bucky smiled at her. "You look amazing in that dress by the way."

"What? This little ole thing?" she quoted. "It's fabulous dahling, I was always told 'go big or go home'. The best advice I've ever been given."

"Who told you that?" Bucky asked curiously.

"My Nan," Hazel smiled at the memory, pausing to take another sip from her glass.

“Must’ve been one wonderful woman as well,” he offered with a tender smile. 

“That she was. And, thank you.” Hazel smiled back, eyes glossy. 

“So Mr. Barnes, I think we’ve defeated speed-dating. Very succesfully, if I might add,” she winked at the soft laugh that slipped from Bucky’s lips. 

Hazel moved her hand and rested it softly atop his and he was absolutely certain from the little twitch upwards at the corner of her lips, that she could see the flush creeping up his neck and cheeks. 

“You think your partner back there would mind if we took our drinks somewhere else?”  she asked pointing Sam’s way with her plush lips.

"Wouldn't care if he did." Bucky grinned, taking another swig of his beer, "what about you? Do you think Nancy is gonna flip if you leave?" 

Hazel glanced over her shoulder at Nancy, too busy calming down a woman. "Nah, she's got her hands full." Those same blue eyes flickered back to him and his heart skipped a beat he was sure of it.

“Well then,” Bucky grinned, hopping up and sliding around the table to Hazel’s side because he was nothing if not a gentleman. He held out his warm hand out for her and something lit up inside him, a sparkling, soft glow in the darkness, as Hazel’s fingers curled around his. 

She giggled as she stood, straightening out the skirt of her dress with her free hand and Bucky took a moment to really take her in. 

“Why thank you, kind sir.” 

Bucky shrugged shyly, face warm as Hazel beamed up at him. If only he couldn’t see Sam giving him two goofy thumbs up over her head.

"Okay maybe walk a little faster though," Hazel giggled when Nancy gasped from the left of the room. 

The two of them made their way out onto the street in a bundle of laughs and quickened steps as Nancy yelled from the door of the shop. Hazel's cute pink dress was a mess in the wind from their scurried steps and Bucky couldn't help but laugh when he looked over at her to find her hair a mess around her beautiful face. 

"Here," he angled himself in front of her, blocking her from the breeze and used both hands to push the hair from her face. "Much better," he smiled, unaware or unbothered by the proximity of their lips as she stared up at him with light dancing across her blue eyes. 

"Thanks," she said, her cheeks turning red.

"Any time, beautiful" Bucky voiced as he stroked her flushed cheek tenderly with his gloved thumb.

"Now who's the smooth talker," Hazel laughed, so sweet and melodic Bucky hoped he could hear it everyday. 

"Still got something," he chuckled. "Where to next?" 

"Well, there's a small bar not far from here. Cozy booths we could sit side by side in... or across from each other you know, your choice." Her eyes shifted from his lips to his eyes and back, and it took every bit of willpower in him not to kiss her right there. 

"You really think I'm gonna wanna sit anywhere but right next to ya?" He said, moving his hands reluctantly from her face to offer his hand once more. "Lead the way darlin'."

Hazel grinned up at him. "Do you trust me?" 

He saw a twinkle of mischief in her eyes as he glanced down at her but something fluttered in his chest that made him feel like he could actually trust this woman. "and if I say yes?" 

She smirked and tugged on his hand, leading him further down the street. "Then you'd make my night." 

He couldn't help but laugh as they continued to walk in silence. One that didn't feel pressured or awkward. It was just the two of them enjoying each other's presence. Hazel stopped outside of a small brownstone and looked back at him. 

"This doesn't look like a bar, darlin'." He raised a brow. 

"That's because it's my apartment." Hazel bit her bottom lip softly as she looked up at him. "I figured if we wanted some place quiet that this might be the best spot and besides...I do need to feed Trevor."

Bucky didn't realise he could raise his eyebrow as high as he just did, blinking down at Hazel as his lips curved into a smirk. 

“You’re bold,” he murmured darkly, “I like it.” 

“My God, I thought you were about to run for the hills,” Hazel breathed, smacking him lightly on the arm — the left one. 

“Sweetheart, the day I run from a gorgeous woman like you will be the day I need my brain fixed… again.” 

Hazel’s cheeks turned a soft pink as she chuckled quietly and Bucky couldn’t help himself as his fingers found her jaw again,  the pad of his thumb gently stroking the apple of her cheek. 

“Last chance to back out,” she offered but Bucky shook his head. 

“You promised a cat,” he grinned.

“That I did, soldier.” She unlocked the door and led him inside. Locking it behind them as she entered. 

The place was cute, decorated in more color than Bucky had ever seen in his entire life. Completely out of place, the most scraggly cat he had ever laid eyes on. Trevor looked like he had gone five rounds with a wood chipper. 

“He was an alley cat,” Hazel set her purse on the long teal hallway table between a hot pink vase full of fake flowers and a funky looking bowl for her keys. “Believe it or not, Trevor is in better shape than he’s ever been.” 

“I’m sensing a theme,” Bucky teased, squatting before the cat and offering his hand. 

“I promise I don’t make a habit of bringing home strays,” Hazel laughed and her fingers ran through Bucky’s hair as she passed. The sensation curled his toes and forced his eyes upward to where she was disappearing around the corner. Nothing but pink tulle and long gorgeous legs.

“Christ,” he muttered under his breath and almost crawled after her until he managed to gather enough of his wits about himself to clamber to his feet.

He padded after her into a small kitchen, careful to keep his steps heavy so as not to startle her with his usual light-footed gait. The orange and hot pink accents in the room should have clashed but somehow they didn’t. They were perfectly Hazel. She turned to face him, a bottle of white wine in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other, and a cheeky smile on her beautiful face.

Bucky nodded his head towards the whiskey and stepped further into the kitchen as she busied about, pouring them both a glass. Handing him a cut glass tumbler with a healthy measure of amber liquid inside, she raised her wine glass in a wordless toast before taking a sip. Bucky was mesmerised at the way her tongue darted out to capture the stray droplet of wine that lingered on her bottom lip.

Before he even took a sip of the whiskey warmth filled his chest. He hadn't expected to take away anything from the ridiculous spectacle that was speed dating but here he stood, bashful and anxious before a beautiful woman who was anything but those two things. 

She set her wine glass down and pulled out a tiny can that had Trevor sounding off like a fire alarm as she struggled to open it. Bucky moved forward in an offer to help but her blue eyes flickered up to him in warning. Eventually she got the lid popped and fed Trevor as Bucky stood and watched her care for the mangled, scruffy looking alley cat. 

"You stand out like a sore thumb in here," she teased, looking up at him again before moving around the counter and ushering him through the house. 

"I'll confess I feel like one," he said as she sat across from him with her legs tucked under her. 

His tongue darted out over his bottom lip, saddened that she had curled away from him. Desperate to touch all of sudden. Like a love sick puppy, touch starved and wanting.

“Not enough to scare you I hope,” Hazel voiced, a small smirk tugging at her lips as she studied him fingers tapping the base of her glass. 

“Quite the opposite,” he declared his hand inching closer to where she had rested her free arm on the back of the sofa. 

“Good, I think we’d balance each other out perfectly,” she mused, her hand meeting him halfway like she had read his mind just as she took a sip of her wine. 

Her delicate fingers traced along the leather of his gloves and her eyes followed like she was lost in thought before she spoke again. 

“You know, you don’t have to hide with me.” Her blue eyes found his once more as her fingers curled into his. “I’m not saying you *have* to take them off if you don’t want to, just wanted you to know you were, safe." She finished with a smile so tender and genuine that he thought his heart was going to burst right out of his chest.

Bucky smiled and looked down at his hands. He always kept his gloves on unless he was in his apartment or on a mission if he needed to use the arm for strength. Licking his lips, he flexed one hand. "Thank you..." he told her. It was tempting to show her, to relax the worry in his mind. But he didn't want to frighten her either.

She continued to talk, her voice soft and lilting, and Bucky found himself mesmerised by her animated features and expressive hands. A rogue strand of hair was the only thing that interrupted her monologue as it flopped insistently over her forehead. Hazel crossed her eyes endearingly and pursed her lips to blow it out of the way with a chuckle of laughter that turned into a huff as it immediately returned.

Without a second thought Bucky reached forwards and stroked it gently out of her way, tucking the blonde strand behind her ear. The feel of her warm skin against his fingertips was heavenly and then he stilled with the realisation that he’d taken off his gloves. 

“There you are,” Hazel murmured, a smile of pure delight on her face as she leaned into the touch of his hand.

He can’t remember the last time he’d used his hands for such a soft gesture, for someone to see him so metaphorically naked and not be fazed in the slightest. 

“Hi,” he breathed, fingers still lingering on her cheek. 

“Hi, handsome,” Hazel whispered and then, “can I?” 

She gestured for his other hand and Bucky nodded, letting Hazel lead as she slid her palm along the vibranuim plates of his, her thumb stroking his wrist as if she’d feel a pulse there. And then he was cupping her cheeks, metal and flesh framing her perfect face.

"Do you feel anything?" She asks him and oddly enough he had never been posed with such a question. He had to think about it. 

Could he feel the softness of her skin, the warmth, the realness... or was it just his mind playing tricks on him. 

"It's not a trick question?" Hazel whispered, her eyes flickering back and forth over his expression. 

"I'm sort of sick of those," he leaned forward, their lips ghosting and breath tangling as he worked up the nerve to kiss her. "Questions are messy," he said. 

"You know what's not?" Hazel smiled and it made all the lines around her face crinkle, "kissing."

"I feel like-" Bucky started to say that it was messy, in fact kissing was the epitome of messy but Hazel was done conversation and her lips where colliding with his before he could protest further. They were delicate as she leaned into his touch and dragged her teeth over his bottom lip sending a thousand tiny shivers rolling through him like a wave. It had been a long time since he had been kissed, and even longer since anyone had turned him into knots the way Hazel was.

Bucky sighed softly as his eyes closed. He focused on the softness of her lips, the taste of her cherry chapstick. It wasn’t long before one hand moved to rest on the side of her neck, caressing her smooth skin with his thumb.

Hazel’s lips parted in a soft gasp as Bucky let himself get lost in the kiss. He licked into her mouth, deliberate and tentative all at once. He didn’t want to get this wrong, didn’t want to fuck up the first piece of human interaction to coax out the butterflies that had been hidden, scared away and buried away for the last 80 years. 

Hazel’s fingers skimmed along his jaw, scratching over the scruff of his stubble before they tangled into the fluff of hair behind his ears. 

Bucky’s breath hitched and someone made a keening little sound, muffled by lips and soft breaths. It wasn’t until Hazel moved in a little closer, kissed him a little softer, that he realised it was him.

His entire body was vibrating and he never wanted to let go of this feeling, to let go of her. He wanted to be here for as long as she would let him. 

His flesh hand found purchase in her hair, caressing her blond strands as their tongues danced together while he let his vibranium one travel down her neck. His metal fingers danced along her collarbone and arm as the sweet sounds of her muffled moans took over all of his senses. His hand stopped at her waist, grasping softly as he spoke into their kiss. 

“Need you closer, please.” He whined.

Hazel pulled away just enough to where she could speak. “Closer how, handsome?”

He couldn’t put his feelings into words; he was so intoxicated by her, as if the whiskey had actually overpowered the serum that ran through his veins. Sliding his hands lower he cupped her ass over the yards of silky chiffon and pulled her gently towards him.

Hazel laughed, a joyful, tinkling sound, as she let him guide her into straddling his thick thighs.

“Better?” She murmured, running her nose along the length of his jaw before ghosting her lips lightly over his.

“Much,” Bucky hummed as his palms dipped under the hem of Hazel’s dress, caressing the soft skin of her thighs. “Now, sweetheart… you and your gorgeous legs just sit pretty and let me love on you.” 

“Well, I know I can do that,” Hazel replied and Bucky could feel her smile, hear the quickening thud of her heart as he kissed her pillow-soft, dewy lips. 

There was nothing tentative about the kiss this time, he was determined to make Hazel feel good, to draw out every breath and gasp and moan like it was the only thing that mattered.

"I like you Hazel," Bucky huffed against her lips, needy for more but wanting to play every move carefully. "You surprised me."

"Is that a good," she tensed as his fingers tickled her thigh, "thing? You sound unsure."

"Oh darlin', it's a damn good thing I'm sure."

Hazel giggled softly as she ran one hand slowly through his hair, watching as the man beneath her practically melted. “You’re a little bit like a cat, yourself, you know that?” She smiled. “You practically vibrate when I touch you.”

“How can I not when you feel so good?” He rumbled, adding an extra purr to his words just to hear that laugh of hers again.

It worked. The peal of laughter she let out had his chest blooming with a warmth he’d not felt in years. His hands left her thighs, sliding up and around her back so that he could draw her close.

Hazel fit against his chest as if she’d been made for him, humming contentedly when he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Thank you, Bucky,” Hazel murmured softly, tilting up to press a series of sweet kisses along his jaw. Bucky sighed, warmth flooding his belly. 

“What for, pretty girl?” 

“I know you didn’t want to be at that event but you took a chance, you let me see you.” 

“Couldn’t really say no, Hazel. You had me from the moment you kicked that girl out of her seat.” Bucky chuckled, kissing her again. He couldn’t stop, didn’t *want* to stop. 

“You mean *my* seat,” Hazel replied, flashing him that cheeky grin.

[cupcakeshakesnake]

You have m o r e ?!?!? Omg they're amazing, I love them already and it's only been like 90 seconds (I've just been staring at them because. Wow.)

Wait but are you actually getting rid of them/ discontinuing their story? I mean, I saw that post about Sisyphus, but I would love it if we got to see more of these guys. I mean, no pressure if you weren't but I just wanted to let you know that I'm a really big fan of your work. I appreciate that, for your nonhuman characters, while their designs are very visually appealing in the artistic sense, you can tell that they're not at all supposed to be attractive in any modern human idealized sort of way (and what does it mean to Objectively Attractive anyway? Popular opinion is so hypocritcally subjective) but instead that each individual drawing, whether it's a character of your own creation or your take on a preexisting one, is crafted to serve their exact purpose on the page (whether it's Humor of Incongruity, expressing frustration, evoking the beauty in the imperfect, etc.), because you can see both the soul of that being and the way the Otherness of their design sets them apart as new and interesting yet accentuates the uniquely human part of their character (however buried and twisted that part may be, in some cases. Looking at you, Valek.)

. . . I was going somewhere further with this but I lost where I was. I'm sorry, it's late and I'm tired, but I just saw this and felt I had to say something (other than "cool monsters go brrr"). I know we're just strangers on the internet, and I'm not any sort of people person. We don't know anything substantial about each other, and we'll probably never meet. But I hope you know that, for whatever it's worth, there are people out there who see what you're doing. And that it's beautiful in all of it's imperfection, and beautiful *because* of it. And that, miniscule though my knowledge of you may be (because who can truly know anyone?), I can *see* the beauty of your soul shining through the crack of your art. And that I get a little bit of joy and inspiration every time I come across your work, so I hope this clumsily, hasty little message can give at least some of that joy back to you.

(P.S. I wrote this as a AtNC reblog, but by the time I finished writing this I figured it'd probably be better to send as an ask, so that you can decide what to do with it. You are in no way obligated to make any sort of response to this. From what I understand, you don't believe in a benevolent higher power, and that's okay, I'm still on the fence about whether I do or not, but I just... felt oddly compelled to write this. Like something was telling me I had to try to convey this to you, because you needed it. It's fine if you don't understand what I'm saying, I'm not sure even I do, but just hope that wherever you are, whatever you are doing, whatever you are going through, you know there's someone out there who cares for you, and that your existence is w o r t h something immeasurable.)

I hope you're okay. You are stronger than you know.

First of all, thank you. It took me a while to reply because I've been very busy with schoolwork, but I've reread this message at least several times a day and it has brought me such joy each time.

To answer your question, no, I'm not discontinuing or getting rid of anything - I assume this has to do with my monster OCs, and there are two major stories of them so far.

One is Walter, which I simply decided not to use for schoolwork after being told its plot is too boring. That's all. I will do what I want with it in my own time. The other is that one with the mutated office workers, which fortunately got the OK from the professor. Both are still very rough works in progress.

I'm very glad that you like the way I draw... er, things, for lack of a better wording. Things I draw for myself may turn out far from "conventionally attractive", but I like it that way. You made me think about an aspect of my art that I never really considered before, but you have a point; in a way, I could be trying to humanize characters not by giving them a more human face but by giving them their own ways to express humanity.

That being said, I don't know what an "AtNC" reblog is supposed to be, but I wouldn't have minded either way. Your kind words are appreciated all the same.

[melswifeasf]

Safest in your arm pt 3

|| series page || previous chapter || next chapter ||

Pairing: Georgia Miller x Fem!OC

Warnings: (18+) minors DNI, cursing, drug use, age gap relationships.

IT WASN'T IDEAL having to be the oldest daughter.

Especially not when you had to pick up your siblings from school every day. Samantha was never the type to complain but it was getting hard to do so when Maxine wouldn't get in the damn car. With not much of a choice she had to park and wait for the girl to be done talking to the girl she now knew was named Ginny. It was all she could talk about on the way to school and Samantha had already grown tired of the name.

Thankfully Marcus went out with Padma so she did not have to worry about having to hear him complain about how their sister takes too long. The girl was listening to the song playing through the speakers that was being controlled by Jade. Nia and Mathew were in the back. Oliver and Natalie had a date so they weren't planning on hanging out with them.

"Seriously, how long does it take for your sister to say goodbye," Nia complained from the back seat as she scrolled through her Instagram feed. Samantha rolled her eyes in annoyance, she wished she could just honk until Max got the hint and hurried the fuck up but she did not want to draw any attention to her.

"She's lucky I'm not leaving her ass behind," Samantha muttered and threw her head back against the back of the seat.

"Why don't you?" Matthew chuckled. The boy was sitting in the middle and watching whatever it was Nia was doing on her phone. At first, she glared at him until he looked away but after a couple of seconds, he would just pry again so she gave up.

"Because I don't want to hear her nagging about it for the rest of the day." The raven-haired girl answered with a huff. Jade was in the passenger seat also scrolling through her feed and every once in a while she'd show a picture to Samantha and make a sly remark about the post.

At one point the girl laid her head on Jade's shoulder Through the console to see what she was looking at. Maxine was taking her sweet ass time and she figured they'd be there a while. She was caught up on Jade's phone and didn't realize a certain someone had pulled into the school parking lot across from them. That is until a whistle sounded from the backseat.

Samantha looked behind her slightly confused only to see Matthew staring at someone outside with a huge smirk, the girl's head whipped around. A silent and thankfully inaudible gasp escaped her lips at the sight. The woman she had shared a blunt with the night before was a couple of feet away from her. Georgia was wearing an all-white pantsuit and a black sun hat along with glasses, it all really made her look like a housewife and if Samantha were being honest, she loved it.

Memories of her laugh and voice and everything they said just a couple hours ago flashed in a fury. The blonde was staring at her daughter who was just wrapped up in a conversation with Max. Up until Brody approached them staring right at the blonde mom, all of Maxine's friends following his eye sight. Samantha could see Ginny storm away angrily, she seemed to have said something to her mom before she got in the car as quickly as possible.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight. She wondered if they had a bad relationship and if they did, why. Last night she smoked weed with the mother as if it were nothing which made her believe she wasn't a strict mom. Or maybe she just didn't care because Samantha wasn't her daughter.

"God i'm in love." Nia sighed out dreamily taking Samantha out of her mind.

The raven girl chuckles at her friend, "Id expect that from Matthew but not from you." She said looking at her friend from the rear view mirror. Nia shrugged carelessly.

"What? I would literally let her run me over and then i'd thank her for her charity." The curly haired girl said with a smile.

They all laughed at her words, "yeah, okay" Jade chuckled.

The events that took place the night before hadn't been mentioned to the group and Samantha was starting to wonder if she should say something. On one hand she needed to tell someone desperately but on the other she knew they'd be disappointed. They didn't do anything wrong or inappropriate but Samantha didn't exactly have the most reliable track record. It was stupid though.. right? She could tell her friends they smoked and that's that, it's not a big deal. It's not like they could be mad at her for simply going with what the blonde said.

"Can I tell you guys something and you all won't freak out?" Samantha said turning her body to the side so she was looking at all of them. Jade looked at her friend slightly worried.

"Of course." She said quickly.

Samantha swallowed nervously, she had promised to not make the same mistake again. but they were her best friends, they would never judge her. "So I kind of had a smoke sesh with her last night." She rushed out her eyes moving from one face to another to see how they'd react.

They all looked equally confused by her words and one second turned into two and then three and four until finally Matthews loud laugh reached their ears. "Holy shit. No way. How'd that even happen?" He asked extremely amused.

The raven haired girl shrugged, "Honestly? I don't even know. I was just smoking up front like always and she was just chilling on her balcony. I went over there to ask her if she'd keep me smoking on the dl and she said she would but only if I shared and yeah that's pretty much it." She nodded.

Nias eyebrows raised in surprise before she sighed, "Babe. again?" She asked. There wasn't any judgement in her voice but Samantha could tell when the brunette was trying to not hurt her feelings and that was what she was doing then.

"It isn't like that. At least I don't think so. It was just casual. She didn't like.. come onto me or anything." She tried to explain but she could tell by her friends faces that they weren't exactly buying it. even if she wasn't lying.

"Please just be careful. I love you so much but we both know what happened last time." Nia said and Samantha knew she was right.

Matthew nodded in agreement, "She's right." He said pointing at her.

Soon the conversation was changed by Jade. Samantha wasn't paying much attention all she could think about was if Nia was right. it wasn't a big deal for the girl to have an older friend, it's not like she was much older. Eight years wasn't a lifetime and Georgia seemed fun. She didn't really act like all of the moms Ellen was friends with. Although she wasn't sure if that made things right.

Five minutes later Samantha realized they were still waiting on Maxine and decided she had enough. The girl buckled herself in and put the car in drive. The white Camry slowly pulled up to the front and the older sister rolled her window down. She saw Nora point at her and Maxine turn quickly after. "Let's go." She said.

Max groaned, "but i'm still talking to Nora"

Samantha shrugged, "I don't care. I have to drop you off and then I have a shift at six so get in the car, Max"

The brunette rolled her eyes, "whatever." She sighed and said her goodbyes before marching toward the car angrily.

Her shift was from six to ten. It was like any other work day and the three friends she drove home from school kept her company for an hour before Oliver dropped by since Natalie was busy. Once it was eight Oliver and the other three friends left making him drive them all home. It usually always consisted of either the twins or Samantha driving them around. Matthew always offered to take his car but they didn't fit (and they were always afraid of fucking it up) and even though Natalie had one, no one liked riding in her beat up honda. Jade was the only one that didn't have one.

Even though it was like any other work day she did see Ginny on a date with Hunter Chen. No idea how that happened but as soon as she got home Max bombarded her with questions, asking if she had seen them and what had happened between the two. In all honesty it looked like any regular date, they got fries to share and they seemed to be talking freely. There really wasn't anything to say about them, it was kind of disappointing. she would've loved to see one of them embarrass themselves or catch them making out in the bathroom.

Samantha shook her head at the thought, not everyone's first date was like here, she thought. The girl was in her room, she had just taken a shower and was in shorts and an oversized shirt. Ellen and Clint had gone to the school board meeting meaning Samantha and the twins went out to eat and she had to hear Max rant about how hot Georgia was and how Hunter and Ginny would make an amazing couple. It was just weird seeing Marcus so uncomfortable at everything Max was saying. She tried not to read too much into it though, if anything did happen between the two she'd rather not know about it.

The girl laughed at Matthews message from the group chat.

The Real housewives of Wellsbury

Matty

you gonna have another

smoke sesh wth the milf Sam?

Sam

ha ha. i'll make sure your the

last to know if i do ;)

She felt her phone flood with more messages but decided to ignore them as she went to her closet and got out another blunt. She already had two rolled, she was going to smoke one at work but she was too distracted by her friends talking about Ginny to do so. Now she had an extra and she wasn't sure what to do with it. truly she did but she wasn't sure if the blonde woman was still awake at this hour.

The raven haired girl walked up to her window and pulled back the curtain, the house across the street was dark, much like it had been the day before. She bit her lip deep in thought, chances are she's asleep or simply not in the mood to stay up getting high. But what if she was awake? And what if shes just waiting for her to come out. She groaned in frustration and walked away from the window, she grabbed the sweater she had worn the day before and threw it on before going back to the window and unlocking it. Without much of a struggle she slid it open and began to climb down.

She hit the floor with ease and turned around, the girl sprinted down the street and toward the quiet house. The blonde woman wasn't there like she had been the day before and she figured she would just smoke alone. It was always better to have company, especially considering Samantha was rather talkative when she was high but she could always just facetime Nia. She was sure the brunette was probably awake. With that the girl turned around ready to walk back to her house but she was quickly stopped from doing so. A light flickered on and a door opened behind her. she furrowed her eyebrows confused at first but any questions were quickly answered by a familiar voice.

"You got more weed?" The voice said making a smile turn on the tan girls lips. She turned back around and looked up to see Georgia looking down at her with an amused smile.

"Had an extra, better than smoking alone, right?" She answered holding up the two blunts in one hand for the woman to see. Georgia rolled her eyes in slight amusement and motioned for her to come up. Samantha did so with a grin. Maybe she was making the same mistake and maybe it wouldn't matter because things would be different this time. Old habits die hard and all.

She climbed the railing a lot easier then she did the day before and when her feet landed she didn't let out a dramatic sigh of relief, even though she really want to. The blonde was sitting with her legs folded to the side, she had on a robe and a pair of shorts like the day before. And just like last night they didn't leave much to the imagination. Samantha tried her best to not stare, though. She sat down next to the blonde with a shy smile and took out the two rolled up blunts. She handed one to Georgia who grabbed it happily.

"I see you've upgraded." She commented as the younger girl took out her lighter.

The shorter girl shrugged, "had one left over and your a good smoking buddy." She said and motioned for the blonde to put the blunt up to her lips. Georgia did so and watched intently as Samantha flicked the lighter on and brought it up to it. She could see the freckles litter the girls skin, she didn't have any makeup on just like last night and she could see the slight eye bags under her eyes. The shorter girl trapped her lip in between her teeth as she focused on getting the blunt to burn. She could feel Georgias eyes on her and she was trying her best to ignore her.

Finally the blunt lit and she pulled away almost instantly, she brought the one in her hand to her own lips and burnt it a lot quicker than she did with Georgia. She inhaled and then exhaled the smoke, a wave of calmness setting inside her. None of them spoke, all that could be see between them is the smoke they were each letting out of their mouth. They waited until they smoke about a fourth before Georgia decided to talk, she could see how anxious Samantha was and figured she wouldn't be making the effort to initiate a conversation like she did last time.

"Ginny went on a date." She said and blew the smoke out of her mouth. Samantha tried her best to not show a reaction, she was looking down at her shoes. Her knees were up to her chest and she was hugging them with her arms.

"Oh." Samantha nodded calmly, almost as if this was the first time she had heard about it.

Georgia raised a brow at the girl who still wouldn't look at her, she didn't buy it that Samantha wasn't already aware of it. She had seen first hand how much Max talked and there was no way it didn't come up at least once. "You didn't know?"

Samantha finally glanced at the blonde and shook her head, "oh no I did, I just wasn't sure if you knew." She shrugged.

Georgia looked at the girl even more confused if that was even possible. It took her a second to realize what she meant by her words, "you keep your dating life from your mom?" She accused, her eyebrow still lifted in question and Samantha chuckled.

"Dating life? Not really. Other relationships? Yes." It didn't take a genius to understand what she was hinting at.  The blonde was slightly shocked not only be her answer but by how carelessly she said it, almost as if it wasn't a big deal at all. Samantha looked at Georgia when she realized how quiet she went and laughed at her reaction. "It's just easier," she shrugged "I can bring girls home and say they are just friends."

"And you think she believes you?"

Samantha shrugged again, "probably not but she'd never ask." She said and took a long drag.

Georgia nodded, "so you're obviously the favorite?"

Samantha raised a brow, "what makes you say that?"

"Ginny knows I would never believe that bullshit." The blonde said.

Samanthas back shook as she let out a humorous laugh "I just earned her trust, I never gave her a reason to have to ask questions so she just doesn't." She said and ran her hand through her hair lazily.

Georgia nodded in understanding. She watched the way Samanthas free hand would tick every couple of seconds, it seemed to be uncontrollable and Samantha didn't seem to be aware she was even doing it. That made her think about her conversation with Ellen a couple hours earlier. They were in the same spot she is now with her daughter smoking the weed she confiscated from Marcus. The irony. She thought about how Ellen told her Samantha and Max were gay and how she and Clint were supportive of it. She never mentioned either of them having a girlfriend though and that made her wonder about the girl Samantha was always in the car with. The girl she was sitting beside at Blue farm when they first met or on the hood of her car when they were with their friends. There were so many times she saw them together and wondered if they were together. "Are you dating that girl with black hair?"

Samantha looked at the woman in question, who was she talking about? The only girl she could think of that Georgia had seen her with was Jade but that was ridiculous. They'd never done anything to make anyone think they were dating. "Jade?" She asked with furrowed brows.

The blonde finally pried her eyes away from the raven haired girl and glanced down at her hand. "I don't know." She said simply.

Samantha chuckled at the thought of anyone thinking they were a thing. It's not like Jade wasn't her type but she just never wanted the group dynamic to get messed up. It was already feeling really weird with Matthew and Nia, she didn't want to add onto it. "No. She's my best friend." She explained.

The blonde nodded and blew the smoke out of her mouth, it was godly. "She's pretty"

Samantha nodded in agreement, "oh incredibly so," she confirmed, "but that would fuck up our friend group dynamic and we just don't care for it."

The blonde hummed, "so you're not dating anyone?"

With a shake of her head the girl responded "Not right now. I don't really date if i'm honest." The words were leaving her mouth with a lot more ease, she was high to the point in which she didn't really think about her answers before saying them. In fact by now she had put out the small blunt and left it in the ashtray between them. She wondered if Georgia smoked cigarettes as well. She was never a fan of them or the smell but simply the thought of the blonde beside her holding a deadly stick in her hand and smoking it made her stomach twist.

The blonde looked at the girl confused, "why not?"

Samantha shrugged, "it takes up a lot of time." She sighed with a slight shrug. She dropped her head onto her knee caps for support.

Georgia laughed "aren't you, like, twenty?" She asked almost as if what Samantha had just said sounded unbelievable to her.

"Twenty-one," she corrected, "and there's a lot of stuff I wanna accomplish. Getting into a good law school, save enough money to rent a place with Nia and make the most out of the last year I have with my friends."

"Law school?" The blonde questioned.

The girl nodded, "I want to be a paten lawyer."

She looked impressed, her brows had risen up and the look in her eye made it all the more obvious. "And you work? That's impressive." She said knowing how much people complain about college being hard, she couldn't imagine adding work to the mix.

She chuckled "Im saving up to buy a house after I graduate this year. Nia and I want to move in together." She repeated her words from earlier.

Georgia smiled with a nod, "so you've got it all figured out huh?"

Samantha shrugged a bit sheepish "I guess," she said and watched as Georgia placed the halfway smoked blunt on the ashtray. She was taking her time smoking and even though Samantha didn't know, it was because she still felt a slight buzz from when she smoked with Ellen. She realized Georgia wasn't going to talk, maybe excepting Samantha to elaborate more so she did, a lot more serious now. "I don't know, I dated someone throughout college but that ended a couple of months ago."

Finally Georgias attention was intently set on her at her previous words, "and who would that be?"

Samantha almost laughed, she wouldn't be getting an answer this quickly or at all, really. "Wouldn't you like to know."

The blonde pouted, "oh come on, i'm not one of your friends, like i'd know or tell anyone." She looked incredibly cute and a part of Samantha was burning at the thought of Georgia begging her to know something about her life. It was almost ego boosting.

"Exactly, you wouldn't know who they are."

Georgia rolled her eyes, "just show me a picture."

Samantha looked at the blonde slightly amused at how she reacted, "true"

The blonde looked at Samantha intently expecting her to add to her sentence but the raven haired girl simply looked at the blonde with a smile that even though she shouldn't, she found incredibly endearing. "So you're just not gonna tell me?"

Samantha shook her head. "Nope." She said and stood up. "I'll see you around though Georgia." She said and winked at the blonde. Georgia looked at the girl climb down her balcony in slight bewilderment, not expecting her to just up and leave her alone in the middle of a conversation. The raven haired girl glanced at the blonde one last time before running to her house. Maybe she'd find the way to tell her the most heartbreaking part of her life or maybe she wouldn't.

The rest of the week passed in a flash and friday came faster than expected. All four girls decided to get ready at Samanthas house. Oliver and Matthew had gone to the store to pick up a bottle to pregame and Samantha was more than ready to get wasted and not have to think about anything else other than who she's taking home. The raven haired girl was curling her hair, makeup already done. Nia had helped with her eyeliner and even offered her lipstick but Samantha declined. Nia only looked at the girl with a knowing look and continued on with her own makeup.

Jade and Natalie were already done, Jade was vaping on Samanthas bed whilst Natalie was talking to her. It didn't take long for the bedroom door open and Matthew and Oliver walk in with a black backpack. "What'd you get?" Samanthas asked and set the curling wand down. She ran her fingers through her hair to break the curls and make them look more natural. Once she was done she stood from her vanity chair and looked at the two boys.

"Vodka and fireball." Matthew said with a huge grin. He took the bag off his shoulder and threw it on the bed, the bag landing beside Jade who straightened up and began to unzip it.

"Seriously? Fireball? What the fuck?" Jade asked holding the bottle in her hand, practically reading everyone's thoughts.

"What?" Matthew chuckled, "It's the quickest and easiest way to get drunk." He said with a slight shrug.

Oliver laughed and hit the boy on the back twice, "yeah, the quickest way to end up on Anna's bed." He said referring to Matthews crazy ex. The boy shook his head with a horrified look.

"Fuck no. I just didn't have any cash on me." He said and Samantha laughed.

"You could have told me, I have money." She said holding up a fifty. Matthew shrugged and sat down on the girls bed, his eyes lingered on Nias frame for a second too long before he craned his neck to look at Jade.

"You look very pretty." He complimented the girl with his signature smirk.

Jade laughed loudly, "Fuck off. There'll be plenty of girls willing to have sex with you there."

Matthews mouth fell open in shock, "Ouch. I was just giving you a polite compliment."

"To get into her pants." Natalie murmured bringing the vape Jade just had up to her lips. Oliver smiled proudly at his girlfriend and sat down on her lap, who was sitting on the beanbag at the corner of the room.

"I love you." He admitted and kissed her lips.

Everyone let out a dramatic groan at the sight, "get a room." Nia said and grabbed the closet pillow near her and threw at her brother and his girlfriend. Oliver laughed as he held his hand up and caught it easily.

"You guys are so single. Seriously, every single one of you needs to get laid asap." He said pointing at each of them.

"Oh god, I know." Samantha admitted with a frown and walked toward Jade. The taller girl welcomed her with open arms, a genuine smile on her lips as she caught the girls body with her own and let her stay there.

Nia glanced at them and then turned to Oliver who was already looking at her. A second later Matthew stood from the bed and grabbed the bottle of vodka. "Who's up for shots?" He asked and held the alcohol up.

Samantha's ears perked at the statement and she pulled away instantly, not fully just to the point in which she wasn't practically laying on the girl under her. "Fuck yes. I need to get drunk as soon as possible." She said and took one of the plastic shots Matthew was handing out.

The dark haired boy went around with the bottle pouring everyone except for the twins a shot. They were both driving and they all had an agreement that the designated driver could never drink, even a drop of alcohol. Once they all had their cup filled Matthew held his up in the air. "To our last year together." He said making Jade and Samantha laugh.

"You are so corny"

He rolled his eyes, "come on, i'm serious"

The two glanced at one another with an amused smile before they turned toward Matthew and held their cup up as well. "To our last year together." They repeated Matthews words and all hit his cup before bringing the cup to their lips and downing the liquor in one go.

Once they had all swallowed Matthew put the bottle away and slung the bag over his shoulder. "We ready?"

They all nodded, each grabbing their perspective things and following the boy out of Samanthas room. The raven haired girl was wearing a long cardigan over her black mini dress. She'd rather not have her mom see her wearing a dress that barely covered her ass.

"Hey guys," Ellen said smiling at each of them who greeted the woman back enthusiastically. "You're leaving?" She asked directing her words to her daughter.

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile.

The blonde nodded, "Okay. Be home at a reasonable hour." She said earning a nod from her daughter.

"Okay, Nia will probably bring me home." She said pointing at her friend who held her hand up in a slight wave at Ellen. The blonde mom smiled at Nia in appreciation.

"Okay honey, just please be safe and call if you need anything." She said and Samantha held up a thumbs up. She kissed her mother's cheek and waved at her dad who recuperated the gesture. They each said goodbye to the woman as they shuffled out of the house.

"I love Ellen." Oliver said with a huge grin.

"You say that every time you come to my house." Samantha rolled her eyes.

"And I will never get tired of it. She's the best, I mean she asked no questions and you don't have curfew. I mean seriously, im in love with that woman." He concluded making his girlfriend smack his arm softly with a shake of her head.

"Yes, Oliver. We know you have mommy issues now get in the damn car." Nia rolled her eyes at her brother and shoved past him.

Samantha got in the passenger seat of her friends car whilst Jade got in the back. Matthew had decided to ride with Oliver considering he had been victim of having to listen to their 'girl talk' more than once. The raven haired girl let out a cloud of smoke from her nose and mouth as she rapidly texted Marcus to leave the back door open.

"So," Nia spoke glancing at her friend who threw her phone on her lap. "Have you talked to her?"

Samantha felt her chest tighten. She knew who Nia was talking about without needing a name. It was the only constant in her life since a part of her soul died. A constant Nia despised. She didn't care that her friend was hooking up with someone new, that didn't bother her, it was who she was doing it with that did.

"No," she shook her head. "You know we haven't spoken since June." She said looking down at her lap.

"Have you thought about maybe meeting new people?" Nia glanced at the girl. "Chloe was nice." She said referring to a sorority girl Samantha had met during the summer. It was at some kind of rush for her house and Natalie had invited Samantha and Nia.

Samantha sighed. Truthfully she was nice and she was gorgeous too but every time she looked at her all Samantha could see was her. "I don't feel like doing all of that stupid bullshit." She shook her head.

Nia frowned, "you did it with Lay-."

"Don't." Samantha snapped immediately cutting the girl off before she could even get another syllable out. Nias mouth closed shut in that instant watching as her friend turned to look at the road with her arms crossed.

The girl sighed heavily, "Look, I just think it isn't healthy that your caught up on her. I know you miss her. We do too but Laylas just using you."

Samantha scoffed and Nia wished she could make her best friend see things from her shoes. Layla was a huge bitch and Nia hated her. She wished they had never worked at that stupid country club to begin with.

"Layla and I haven't spoken since June." Samantha repeated. "And it doesn't count if I was using her too."

There was some truth to that but Samantha had caught feelings way before January and going back to her after such a huge heartbreak only made those feelings grow toxic. "Just think about it. Chloe is simple and she's nice. There wouldn't have to be any drama or sneaking around. You can just be two people hanging out."

Nia didn't understand, she never could.

"Maybe." Samantha replied simply.

The brunette looked through the rear view mirror, locking eyes with the girl in the backseat. They both knew Samantha was lying. She wasn't even considering talking to anyone knew and neither of them knew how to help her anymore.

The abandoned park shed little light. The only street lamp that illuminated the large area was dimmed and it flickered momentarily. The suddenness of it all probably would have scared the only two in the lot if they weren't so engrossed in each other. The black Porsche was on, the headlights off making it almost impossible for anyone to notice its even there. The lights inside the car were off too, hiding the fogged windows.

Samantha moaned, her hands laced in long hair as she felt open mouthed kisses being littered around her neck. Her black dress had ridden up exposing her lower half completely, her laced panties had been shoved to the side. She pulled away for a second, her eyes meeting a pool of brown. The familiarity of it all was comforting and even though she was doing the one thing she said she wouldn't, she didn't care.

Layla's hair was straightened—although slightly disheveled caused by the girl on top of her. Makeup still adorned her face and she looked flawless. Her diamond necklace would shine under certain lights and Samantha knew she had just come from some kind of party. The moment she stepped inside the expensive car and saw Layla wearing a black gown, she knew wherever she had come from was important. Samantha wondered if she had snuck away and if she'd have to go back.

"I missed you," Layla whispered and leaned up to capture Samantha's lips in her own. Against her better judgement, the younger girl believed her. Even if she simply missed her in a sexual way, she believed that Layla missed her and it made her moan at the thought.

"Yeah?" Samantha whispered, a moan ripped from her throat when Layla curled her fingers, hitting the spot in Samantha that always made her see stars. "How much?"

The older woman smirked, she knew the younger girl enough to understand what she wanted. She needed to know that Layla wanted her, that she missed her, That spent sleepless nights thinking about how much she regretted calling things off that summer. "So much baby." She responded.

Samantha moved her hips back and forth, intensifying her pleasure. It was a sign that she was close, Layla knew all of the things that made the raven girl her. So she knew to wrap her hand around the girls neck and pull her closer. "Your gonna come?" She asked making the raven girl nod. "Beg."

The simple command made Samantha quiver. "Please. Please let me come." She said, not caring how pathetic she sounded. It never came out of her that easily, whenever Layla demanded anything she'd always be met with silence or some kind of back talk from the girl. Samantha didn't like to show how much she needed Layla, she never wanted to look desperate or humiliated so she'd fight it—even if she'd always concede in the end.

The hand that was wrapped around Samantha's neck squeezed just a little, "come for me baby." Layla finally said making the girl on top of her moan loudly. the older woman held the girl close, softly kissing her lips and jaw as Samantha shook. Her orgasm crashed through her body intensely, it had been months since they last saw each other and she hadn't been with anyone since then.

Samanthas leg shook softly with the aftershock, she remained quiet as she let her head fall on Laylas chest. She smelled like her usual perfume, the one she'd always said she loved. The raven woman gently caressed the girls back until she pulled away.

There was silence afterwards, nothing was said when Samantha fixed her dress and moved back to her seat. Not when Layla fixed her hair and then started the engine. Not even on the ride back to the younger girls house. The only thing filling the tense air was the radio playing softly in the background. It didn't ease the tension and it only made the silence feel louder.

Samantha didn't look at Layla for the rest of the ride. She couldn't. She could still feel the mark on her neck that had been made from the woman's ring finger. The stupidly huge diamond that she'd never take off, not even when they fucked. It felt like a sick reminder that she was married and Samantha would never be anything but a nice time. Layla never cared that it bothered the girl, she never took it off, not when the raven girl would stare at it with tears in her eyes or when it would always leave a mark on the girls neck.

When they pulled up to the Bakers residence Samantha took off her seatbelt and grabbed her purse. She didn't look back to say goodbye or even meet Layla's eyes—not until she was forced by her. Layla grabbed the younger girls wrist making her turn as she was opening the passenger door. "Don't call again." She said simply.

Samantha chuckled bitterly, any other time it would have made tears form in her eyes but she had mastered the game. She knew how to prevent them, how to turn her sadness into anger. "Fuck you." She responded. There wasn't a chance for a response as she stepped out of the vehicle and slammed the door behind her.

Layla Khalil was the worst fucking person Samantha had ever met. She didn't care about anyone, no one but herself. She used anyone and everyone she could, she used Samantha when she needed to get off or when her husband was away on business trips. Every single time it would end she'd remind Samantha that she didn't love her, that she didn't care and she never would. Layla only loved her husband, even if she had a fucked up way of showing it.

And even then, Samantha still entered her home with tears in her eyes and the stupid reminder that she had been fucked by a married woman.

Neither one of them had noticed the curious eyes across the street.

[nerdy-prudes-must-age-regress]

hi! Here's my ocs age regress head cannons (I'm sorry it's so long I've grown so attached to them)

Katrina Kacey and kelly age regress headcannons

Katrina:

-she's 35 and regresses 10-12

-even regressed she still feels the need to protect her sisters (there home life is terrible)

-she loves to talk. She hardly ever does on a regular day cause she's deaf in one ear which makes conversation scary for her so when she's little she will talk about anything and everything for hours cause she's not bothered by her deafness as much

-her primary cgs are linda gerald Gary and becky-when she regresses wiggly will kinda show up and regress with her (that's a whole other list of headcannons I can send if you want)

-she loves to build. Like Linda and gerald have bought her like every lego friends set in existence

-whenever she’s little she goes to the monroe house cause it's kinda like an escape for her since it's so different from her everyday life

-linda and gerald even made her her dream kids room

-sometimes she'll play with river. But the other boys make her nervous

-sometimes when she gets really exhausted from talking gerald will carry her to her room and linda or Becky (sometimes Gary when it's just him and gerald) will cuddle with her while she rests

-likes to be called Katty darling and sweetheart

Next is kacey

-kacey is 28 and regresses 6-9

-she works at ccrp. She never wanted anyone to know but one day ted was being well Ted and she had a deadline she didn't know about and started regressing so she ran off mid conversation with Charlotte and Bill. They followed her and thats how they found out

-eventually they helped her tell paul and emma

-her cgs are obviously Charlotte bill Paul and emma

-once Mr Davidson and Melissa took care of her while the others were away on a business trip. They don't speak of it cause she's embarrassed

-she likes to be sang to so Charlotte and Bill will sing to her when she gets tired

-she has terrible arthritis so bad most of the time she needs crutches or even a wheelchair to get around so when the pain gets really bad she has terrible meltdowns.

-these meltdowns are the reason Charlotte bought a weighted blanket and multiple heat pads (the pressure and heat makes the pain more bearable)

-she hates uses her crutches when little so Bill or Paul usually have to carry her around

-she likes painting and drawing when little so she'll set up in Charlotte or bills living room with a movie and just draw or paint for hours

-she has a service dog that somehow just knows when she needs to regress and immediately grabs one of her cg

-for some reason she'll also just like Lay on her back on the floor and stare at the ceiling they aren't really sure why but she giggles a lot when she does it so they're fine with it

-she also loves playing superheros with paul and emma

-she likes to be called ace kid and sweety

Finally kelly:

-she's 18 and regresses anywhere from 1 to 5

-primary gcs are steph grace pete Ruth and sometimes miss holloway and duke

-she was scared for her friends to find out but then she found out Richie regressed and slipped in front of them and they were so sweet about it cause she regressed pretty young

-she does not talk at all when little. She doesn't talk a ton anyway but when little she goes completely non verbal will not make a sound

-she likes when grace sings to her even though it's church songs

-most of the time she'll just sit in front of the TV with one of her cartoons on

-her favs are bluey and backyardigans

-she's blind in her left eye so whenever she walks she gets way more clumsy and will just run into walls

-they are all very concerned so someone usually pete has to go with her wherever she goes

-she also gets very picky and will only eat like stephs grilled cheese sandwiches and ruths French fries

-she likes to be called kels bub and angel

Again sorry it's so long your the first person I've told about them and they are precious to me. Thank you for bring a safe space!

OH MYYY I HEART THEM ALLL <333 also. Wiggly. I heard about wiggly. Say more :3

And, it’s completely ok! I get a tad bit overwhelmed from long messages w/o warning so Ty!! And, lastly, your absolutely welcome! I believe every fandom deserves a safe space for anyone(or at least to the non-toxic side), and I want to be someone to help with that <3

[milo-notfound]

Strawberry shortcake (oc kai)

I used to think strawberry shortcake could fix anything.

When I was nine, I scraped my knee falling of my bike and came home sobbing. My mom sat me at kitchen table, wiped the blood off, and pulled out a little store-bought cake with two-sweet, wiped cream and fake red strawberries. I don't remember if it helped the pain go away, but I do remember it made me stop crying.

That was the deal. sad days got strawberry shortcake.

It became a tradition. A rough math test? Strawberry shortcake. Someone at school said something mean? Strawberry shortcake. Dad yelled too loud, or the silence at dinner got too heavy? Strawberry shortcake.

Until it just... stoped.

No more cakes in the fridge. no more comfort dressed up in wiped cream. I don't know when they stopped, I think it was around the time I started getting quieter. Not sulky or rebellious like movies say teens are supposed to be. Just... quiet. Less "hey mom, look at this drawing," more "I'm tired, I'll eat later."

I think they thought I outgrew it. The cake, the need for softness. Or maybe they just stopped noticing.

Now I'm seventeen, and some days, I feel like I'm made of glass held together with type and extra credit assignments. I walk the halls of my high school like I'm auditioning for a role: The normal kid. I smile when I'm supposed to, nod, laugh even. I sit in the back of AP Lit, write my essays, do everything I should.

But then there are days-- bad ones--where everything feels too much. When I stand in the bathroom and stare long at the inside of my wrist. When I wonder if I deserve small things like strawberry shortcake anymore.

No one notices. That's kind of the point, right? You learn how to fold the sadness into smaller shapes. Something pocket-sized. Easy to hide.

Last week, I was walking home from school. It had been one of the worst days in a while- nothing dramatic, just the slow, aching kind of day that wraps around your chest and doesn't let go. I took the long way home. Passed the grocery store. Something made me stop.

I walked in.

I didn't even mean to go to the bakery section, but there it was. Sitting in the case like it was waiting for me. A single-serving strawberry shortcake, wrapped in plastic.

I bought it with my own money.

Ate it on the curb of the store.

It didn't fix anything. I didn't suddenly fell whole. But for the first time in a long time, I felt... something. Like maybe I still had the right to softness. To sweetness. Even if I had to give it to myself.

I think that's what survival looks like sometimes. Not grand, not loud. Just small moments. Tiny cakes. A breath you didn't think you'd take.

I still have bad days. Still wrestle I still don't always know what to do with. But now when they get too loud, I try to remember the sweet taste of strawberries and cream on a creaked plastic fork.

And whisper to myself; you still deserve this, you're still here.

-Kai Lee

[kohyuuu]

arlo keller & venice levine introduction

started: december 22nd, 2024 finished: december 29th, 2024 pairing: romantic! - (includes renny but you two are bffs here!!)

»»-----------► 

VENICE

you met venice in class during a partner project that your teacher assigned. you and renny wanted to be partners since y’all were literally best friends, but unfortunately partners were chosen by your teacher. 😭

at first, venice didn’t really mind that you were her partner for the project. she just knew she had to get this over with. 

you didn’t know her all too well except that she was part of the defense for the girls’ soccer team, but she seemed pretty nice!

you wanted to start up a conversation with her, but it felt like she was just too pretty to talk to you.

you decided to just.. maybe talk about the project with her?? share your thoughts and what you had in mind perhaps..? you guys had to create a poster for spanish and it had to include drawings on it.

venice weirdly thought you were cute the more she looked at you, she found your voice comforting the more you went into detail about the project

after that interaction, she couldn’t really stop thinking about you the entire day. 

shit.

i think she fell for you.

but at the same time, it felt horrible because she couldn’t do that to her boyfriend. i mean, they say follow your heart but her heart is gliding towards you.

that afternoon, she spent facetiming arlo. rambling on about you while he patiently listened to her.

the next day, venice knew you guys shared a lunch block together, she didn’t really care too much however until that day.

i guess she could use a break from sitting with her friends 24/7.

renny didn’t share the same lunch block, so you sat by yourself. you’d usually just scroll on your phone or stare at the tile wall you sat in front of every day.

as you were beginning to zone out, literally disassociating from reality atp, you snapped out of it when you heard a metal thud right next to you.

like it was venice but it was loud enough for you to think you were on her hit list. 🙁 (LMAO)

you took a look at her seafoam colored stanley cup and then at her as she sat down next to you. 

“hiii!!” she said, as if you two have been best friends since kindergarten

“oh- hi.. venice.” you nervously replied back.

“so… what are you doing her-“

“i wanna spend time with my bestie obviiiii!!! 😝”

»»-----------►

ARLO

the second he heard your name come out of venice’s mouth on that facetime, he immediately recognized it. he’s could’ve sworn he’s seen you somewhere

was it on the field? was it in a class? the library? who knows. he couldn’t remember but he knows he’s seen you around school, never really outside of it however.

getting hit in the stomach while he was playing goalkeeper during soccer practice REALLY helped him snap out of the thoughts of you.

he wanted to see you face to face, to get a better look at you, really. 

you two accidentally met up with each other in the hallway when you were walking to the bathroom. at first you didn’t care so much, all you knew was that you needed to piss really bad and-

“hey!” arlo calls out.

you wanted to think it was probably one of his friends he was calling out to, maybe someone on the team with him?? 

but then again.. who else with semi-long brown hair tied back to a short ponytail using a yellow scrunchie would come up to you

and the halls were pretty empty.. 😭🙏 

»»-----------► 

-- i had to cut arlo's part short because i ran out of ideas and im posting this past midnight, i wanted to get something out for both him and venice without taking so long but here's the first piece for my jock ocs!!

-- again, really sorry that arlo's was shorter. ill make an edit to this with extra headcanons if more ideas pop up in my slow brain

-- edit: 1:48 am, forgot to say that i actually had to go on my pc to format all of this properly cause i cant do it on mobile so yeah! (you probably dont care but i just wanted to say that HELP)

[zablife]

Lily

Tommy x Lily Shelby (OC)

Summary: Tommy attempts to deal with the aftermath of his wife and daughter's kidnapping.

Author's Note: Written for @runnning-outof-time 3K celebration Tales from the Flower Garden with the prompt "Promise you'll come back to me." Congratulations again, K!!

Warnings: heavy angst, mention of blood, child death, mention of murder, trauma, anxiety, catatonia, fighting, drinking

“Kill…kill…kill,” the words fell from her lips in haunting whispers. The only words she spoke since returning from the clutches of the Changretta family, covered in blood. There was so much it caked in her hair and under fingernails. She’d done terrible things, but exactly what transpired was locked inside her mind forever, the price she’d paid to return to Tommy far too great to be revealed. 

“You’re the only one who was there. What happened, Arthur?” Tommy begged to know. It was the question he’d asked day after day, but Arthur had been high on snow that night in the warehouse and the painful memory was erased in the white abyss. 

“Told ya, Tom, it was over when I got to her,” Arthur explained, reaching for the whiskey on the sideboard to stop the aching in his head. Tommy grabbed Arthur’s arm, stopping him with a dangerous glare.

“Have you lost your fucking mind, eh? My daughter’s dead and my wife’s a fucking ghost,” Tommy spat, shoving Arthur into the wall with all the force he could muster. “I won’t ask again. What do you remember?” he shouted, trembling with emotion.

Arthur struggled under Tommy’s iron like grip as he repeated Tommy’s words from the night his sister-in-law and niece were kidnapped. “Do it…do it or else they kill your daughter. Lily knew it was the only way.” 

“My fucking orders…” Tommy muttered as he released his brother from his grasp, stumbling backward as the guilt crushing his chest made it difficult to draw breath. 

“May God forgive ya,” Arthur said, looking at the ground. He wanted peace for his brother, but knew that was impossible. The vendetta Tommy and Luca had started was to blame for all the turmoil and nothing would change that now. 

Tommy rubbed a hand over his eyes as he exhaled a shaky breath. “You think anyone would forgive me now? Would you?” 

“Forgiveness is out of my hands,” Arthur said numbly, looking out toward the garden where Lily sat still as a statue. “It’s not for us to decide.”

Polly walked into the study at that moment, determined to pull Tommy from his work and back to his duties as a husband. “Tommy, you should go to her,” she urged, but he only stared out the window at his wife’s motionless profile. 

“And say what Pol?” he asked, shoulders slumped forward in defeat. 

“You don’t have to say anything. She just needs to know that you’re there,” she advised. It was the only thing anyone could do until Lily decided to return to them. However, she needed the support of her family.

The servants were doing most of the work caring for Lily because Tommy was too afraid to go near, worried he might inflict more damage on her tortured soul. As it was his wife screamed through the night and unless someone took her outdoors in the fresh air, she'd claw the walls until her fingers bled.

Tommy turned with a nod, acknowledging he’d heard his aunt’s words and shuffled toward the doorway to the gardens. Inhaling a deep breath at the threshold, he took a step onto the lush green grass and began a path toward his wife, squinting in the bright afternoon sunshine. He couldn’t deny the lovely warmth he felt on his face, but the aching dread in the pit of his stomach held off any pleasure he felt at the sensation. 

As he approached the bench where Lily sat, he hesitated momentarily. Although she hadn’t attempted it, she looked beautiful. Frances had dressed her like a china doll in a gown he'd chosen for her because she lacked the capacity to decide for herself. Her hair was fastened in a loose braid to keep her locks from her face and Tommy longed to stroke it, smelling the lavender bath salts she used.

God how he missed pressing her against his body, feeling her skin on his when he awoke, and wondered if she might feel the same. Since her return, she slept in a separate room. Tommy reminded himself it was best for her recovery. Her screams the first night she was home were proof she wanted nothing to do with him and why he had retreated instantly, so as not to make the pain worse. She was so fragile now, he worried one touch from him might break her.

Her back was ridged as he drew close, shoulders pulled backward tightly as though someone had forced her into position and her distant stare made him ill at the sight of her. She looked more like a waxwork than a human being. Tommy carefully took a seat next to her, leaving a small distance between them as he swallowed harshly. Did she even know he was there? he wondered. 

Then she stirred ever so slightly, hands raising from her sides to rest in her lap daintily and her head moved to glance over her shoulder. Her eyes didn’t fix on him, but Tommy knew she spied him from the corner of her eye and he cleared his throat to speak. The words would not come to him as his heart thundered in his chest. How could he apologize for what had happened? All that she had suffered because of him? 

A gentle breeze blew through the garden, lifting a few wisps of hair from her neck momentarily and Tommy caught the scent of her perfume mixed with the flowers from the garden. It was an intoxicating mix that reminded him of their days as newlyweds, caught up in the passion of early romance. They’d stroll the gardens after dinner and when the mood struck, he'd pull her into the flowerbeds, crushing the delicate petals as they made love. Lily chided Tommy for ruining her efforts at growing a proper garden, but secretly loved his affections. He smiled at the memory, but it was soon carried away as the breeze died down and he noticed his wife’s eyes staring back at him. 

“Lily? Darling, can you hear me?” he asked hopefully, slipping one large hand under both of hers. “I want to tell you something," he began hesitantly, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear. When she didn't flinch, he continued earnestly, "I know you weren’t meant to be with a man like me. This isn’t the life you deserved and there are things I regret, but nothing more than leaving you to defend our daughter by yourself. Whatever happened with the Changrettas, I hope you’ll be able to forgive me one day." He searched her eyes for understanding, a lump forming in his throat as he choked, "It’s all my fault and I’d do anything to have you back.” Tommy’s eyes welled with tears as he spoke the words he hadn’t said out of fear or pride, but thought a thousand times before.

Lily’s chin raised slightly, lower lip twitching as though she would begin speaking at any moment and Tommy held his breath, anxiously waiting for her reply. Squeezing her hands gently, he noticed a slight change in the brightness of her eyes and he ran his thumb across the back of her hand to encourage her. However, after several minutes, no sound came from her parted lips and he sighed in agonizing defeat. Making one last desperate plea, he begged, “I can’t live without you, Lily. Promise you’ll come back to me.”

Continue reading their story here- Windflowers.

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[savage-rhi]

⭐️ TELL ME ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU GOT GOING ON WITH WIPS

@seradyn OKAY FAM.

I don't have a whole lot going on because I am dealing with so. much. shit. outside of tumblr so my usual writing flow has been capped. HOWEVER, I do have some snippets I'd love to share (and I can't fucking wait till I have the spoons again and creative juice to work on them further)!

Ardyn x Reader (Chapter 2)

“I’m afraid there has been a change of plans,” Ardyn began. He held up his right hand, catching Y/N just before they were about to protest. “Don’t bother tempting me to redirect the circumstance. I did what I could within my influence.”

“This wasn’t part of our deal,” Y/N protested. They took a step toward him. “How am I supposed to get my affairs in order if I can’t go back to where I once lived?”

“Now, now, there’s no need to get theatrical,” Ardyn waved off Y/N’s concerns with his left hand. His smile seemed to grow while his gaze hardened. Purposefully sending mixed messages to Y/N regarding his emotional state.

“I am a man of my word: you will get your chance to sort through whatever is left of your old life.”

Y/N let out a sigh of relief, closing their eyes momentarily. “So what’s the new plan?”

“I thought you wouldn’t ask,” Ardyn chuckled. “There’s a port on our detour. I can drop you off there. I estimate from the port to Galdin Quay will take a half-day walk. You may arrive sooner if you can achieve another mode of transportation, and not tip anybody off that you’re infected.”

“You’re not going to drop me off at the Quay yourself?”

“I’m afraid not,” Ardyn sighed.

“You’re taking the risk of letting your goods fall into the wrong hands, I hope you’re aware.”

“I’m well aware,” Ardyn’s left eye twitched at Y/N’s remark. “I have good faith you wouldn’t let such an event transpire. It’s essential I stay out of sight and therefore out of mind for the rest of my stay in Lucis.”

“How do you know I won’t just take off, and go back on our deal?”

“Nothing outruns me. Besides,” Ardyn stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Y/N’s chin. The sudden touch caused them to gasp, and on instinct Ardyn’s grip tightened to further emphasize his point. “I trust you wouldn’t be so foolish to test my patience. After all, you of all people know what I am capable of.”

Y/N couldn’t argue with him there. Not when their mind flashed with a memory of the night the MedZin facility had been destroyed. Head to toe, Ardyn was covered in blood and bile. He lingered over a corpse, flayed beyond recognition. The ink-like black in his eyes, contrasting with his honey irises looked like dying embers: clutching onto whatever life was left by consuming all around it to keep the flame lit.

Y/N knew they would die by Ardyn’s hand, but not like that. Anything, but that.

ANNNDDDDDDDD A BONUS! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

A little snippet of a chapter to my fic that's been hiatus! (Resident Evil 8, Karl Heisenberg x Sonja Ainsley oc)

The Sacrifice (Chapter TBD)

Karl's head was swimming with confusion. While his body began to rise back into consciousness, he felt a powerful wave of dread fall upon his nerves. He knew instinctively that something was wrong, but his memory was a fog. A groan parted from his chapped lips. The blow to his head continued to radiate with an imperfect pulse. Someone had jumped him, but no particular names came to mind.

That's when he felt something grabbing at his leg, dragging him against the dungeon floor.

Karl shot up fully. His right hand extended and grabbed onto the intruder. Teeth bared and his eyes aflame with rage, he stared at Moreau with fatigued contempt.

The fleshly blob of a man stumbled backward, but never fell over due to Karl's grip. Whimpers began to leave Moreau's wet mouth as Karl's nails became sickle like claws. It was only a matter of time before he'd draw blood.

"You idiot," Karl growled. His eyes sized up his counterpart, breathing heavily while adrenaline began to course through his inflamed body. "What are you doing?"

"Brother...I save you. I get you out of here, before sister hurts you." Moreau said in between sobs. "Please...don't be mad."

Karl's head began to feel heavy. He let go of Moreau and slouched to his right. His left hand reached for the back of his neck. Dried blood was caked on his skin. Karl swallowed, wondering how long he had been in the dark.

"Codrina," Karl murmured to himself. He closed his eyes, trying to retract his steps while taking in deep breaths. "I was--heading to Codrina and---damn it."

"Karl..." Moreau swallowed. "Karl...I--we should go."

"Shut up. Let me think." Karl protested.

"Karl no...not safe...not safe for you or anybody. Karl please...we leave. Karl...Karl...don't run away. Mother will forgive. Mother will forgive if you tell her the truth. Karl...come on. Forget everyone. Let's go."

Karl may not have had the full picture of how he got from point a to point b, but he understood one thing from Moreau's babbling: Sonja was in danger, and somehow, it was his doing. In the back of his skull, Karl could hear the faint dark chuckles of Alcina, right before he had blacked out.

The fear from the trace memory split apart Karl's composure. Despite the agony his body felt, he launched himself like a feral beast at Moreau. His claws dug into the shoulders of his kin, drawing streams of blood and other fluids as he pinned him to the floor and bellowed right in his face.

"What have you done?! What have you done?!" Karl's eyes were filled with venomous rage. "Answer me you sniveling sack of shit! What have they done to her!?"

That's all for now :D