#like seriously i’m amazed of this green
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agent99galanzo · 3 days ago
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What are you hiding?
The sound of Y/N’s boots echoed down the pristine hallways of the Avengers compound as she strode towards her room, eager to unwind after a grueling training session. Little did she know, a storm of playful chaos was brewing just around the corner.
Maria Hill stood outside Y/N’s room, twirling a small USB between her fingers, a smirk playing on her lips. She had stumbled upon it during a routine security sweep of the compound’s servers. Curiosity got the better of her, and she accessed its contents. What she found? Pictures of Y/N. Hundreds of them. Modeling. Striking poses in elegant dresses, swimsuits, and avant-garde outfits that screamed high fashion. It was a side of Y/N Hill never would have guessed existed.
When Y/N turned the corner and spotted Maria, her eyes immediately locked on the USB. A pit formed in her stomach as she realized what her friend was holding.
“Maria,” Y/N said, her voice sharp and warning. “What are you doing with that?”
Maria raised an eyebrow, the smirk on her face growing wider. “Oh, just taking a walk down memory lane. You didn’t tell me you were a supermodel before you became a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.”
Y/N’s cheeks flushed red, her jaw tightening. “Maria. Give. It. Back.”
“Oh, come on,” Maria teased, stepping back as Y/N advanced. “Why are you hiding this? You look amazing in these photos. I mean, seriously, you could’ve been on the cover of Vogue every month!”
“Maria, I swear—”
Before Y/N could finish, Maria bolted.
“Damn it, Maria!” Y/N shouted, taking off after her.
The chase began.
Maria darted through the hallways, laughing as Y/N sprinted after her. Agents and Avengers alike stopped in their tracks, watching the spectacle unfold. Some even cheered or laughed, enjoying the rare sight of two of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most composed operatives acting like kids.
Maria slid into the common room, skidding to a stop right in front of Natasha Romanoff, who was lounging on the couch, cleaning her pistols. Natasha’s sharp green eyes flicked between Maria and the USB in her hand, then to Y/N storming in after her.
“What’s going on?” Natasha asked, setting the pistol down and leaning forward, her curiosity piqued.
“Nothing!” Y/N snapped, lunging at Maria.
Maria dodged, holding the USB high above her head. “Oh, it’s something,” Maria sang. “And it’s golden.”
Y/N groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. She turned to Natasha, who was now standing, her arms crossed, looking amused.
“Nat Baby… please, can you tell her to give it back?” Y/N pleaded.
Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Not until I know what’s on it.”
“It’s not important,” Y/N insisted, her voice a little too high-pitched to be convincing.
Maria chuckled. “Oh, it’s very important. Did you know our dear Y/N used to be a supermodel? I bet you’d love to see—”
“Maria, I will end you!” Y/N shouted, finally tackling Maria and snatching the USB out of her hand.
Maria rolled onto her back, laughing breathlessly. “You’re no fun.”
Y/N turned to leave, clutching the USB tightly, but Natasha’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist gently but firmly.
“Wait a second,” Natasha said, her voice low and persuasive. “Is that true? Were you a model?”
Y/N hesitated, her resolve wavering under Natasha’s gaze. “It’s… it’s not a big deal.”
Natasha smirked, stepping closer, her eyes locking with Y/N’s. “I think it’s a big deal. And now I have to see it.”
"No!" Y/N blurted, her face flushing.
Natasha raised an eyebrow, amused. "Now I’m really curious."
Over the Next Few Weeks
Natasha didn’t let it go. She brought up the USB at every opportunity, her teasing relentless.
"So, what’s on it?" she’d ask over breakfast, leaning on the counter with a sly grin.
"Nothing important," Y/N would reply, focusing intently on her coffee.
"Really? Because you seemed pretty desperate to get it back."
At night, when they were alone, Natasha would try a different approach.
"You know you can trust me, right?" she’d say softly, brushing a strand of hair from Y/N’s face.
"I know," Y/N replied, her resolve wavering.
"Then tell me," Natasha whispered, her lips brushing against Y/N’s ear.
But Y/N held firm, refusing to give in.
-----
Weeks later, Y/N prepared for a solo mission in Prague. The briefing had been intense, and she knew it would be a long assignment with uncertain outcomes.
As she packed her gear, she thought about Natasha and the USB, which had somehow become a running joke between them. Y/N sighed, pulling the drive from her drawer. She held it for a moment before slipping it into a small envelope.
Later that evening, as she prepared to leave, Y/N found Natasha in the training room, her sharp movements graceful and precise.
"Hey," Y/N said, interrupting her.
Natasha turned, her expression softening when she saw Y/N. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah," Y/N replied, holding out the envelope. "This is for you."
Natasha took it, her brow furrowing. "What’s this?"
"You’ll see," Y/N said with a smirk, leaning in to kiss her.
When Natasha opened the envelope later, she found the USB inside, along with a note that read: Fine, you win. Just don’t laugh too hard.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she plugged the USB into her laptop.
The screen filled with images and videos of Y/N in her modeling days—walking runways, posing for shoots, and even a behind-the-scenes clip where she was laughing with the crew. Natasha’s lips curled into a smile as she watched.
When Y/N returned from her mission weeks later, she found Natasha waiting for her with a mischievous grin.
"You were incredible," Natasha said, pulling her into a hug.
Y/N groaned. "You’re never going to let this go, are you?"
"Never," Natasha replied, her laughter echoing through the room.
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ellisbian · 8 months ago
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girl don’t be upset your eyes are too gorgeous to be filled with anger only
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wonderjanga · 2 months ago
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We Thought You Died?!
Billy became a hero in 1959, and he was a hit. He was extremely popular. Captain Marvel was a beloved hero. As for the Squadron of Justice? They were beloved too. They, plus Captain Marvel were the superheroes of that time. They were the flipping blueprint for being a hero, especially Captain Marvel. Then the bubble formed in 62, and they just disappeared off the face of the earth and everyone thought he died.
Then, out of nowhere, they just reappeared.
News channel: *showing a clip of Marvel*
Grandson: *tugs on Grandma’s sleeve* “Grandma, that looks like the hero guy the teacher are making us learn about.”
Grandma: “Amazing. He looks just like the real thing.”
Yeah… People didn’t really believe it at first. Though, to be fair, all the Fawcett heroes have been gone for over sixty years.
Old Man: “It’s disrespectful is it what is. Just because you have the same powers doesn’t mean you can dress up as a dead hero.”
Old Woman: “ I just feel bad for the families. To see someone dress up as your dead husband or wife and then go around pretending to be them? Disgraceful.”
It was then the Justice League got involved. They really couldn’t have these people running around like this. Not only that, but some of the imposters are lethal. Not to mention that there are people in the Justice League who used to know the Fawcett heroes. They were friends with them for Christ’s sake. So that’s why unanimously, they went and confronted these guys.
Supes: *hovering over Fawcett*
Marvel: *helps a cat out of a tree and sees him so he flies up*
Supes: *disapproving look* “I hope you know that if you’re trying to be a her—”
Marvel: “Oh my gods, your suit is awesome!”
Supes: “Thank you…?
Marvel: “Are you a new hero? What’s your name? Are you from Fawcett or are you gonna join us here?”
Supes: *computing, still stuck on the first question*
Meanwhile, Flash and Minuteman were arguing which then somehow spiraled into them getting tacos. Batman and Robin, and Mister Scarlet and Pinky are just fighting. And Bulletgirl and Wonder Woman had a civil conversation that actually got them a lot of information.
After sorting out the entire misunderstanding that they were all imposters, things thankfully got lighter.
Marvel: “Oh my gods, Jay, you’re an old man! What happened to your long luscious locks of beautiful brown hair?”
Barry: *holding back a laugh* “Long luscious locks?”
Jay: “Okay, it was not long, luscious, or beautiful. He just insists on calling it that to embarrass me.”
Marvel: “But it’s true! Or it was true.”
Jay: “No it wasn’t. I had perfectly average hair, thank you very much.”
Yeah, Billy met up with some of his old friends, and they were all ecstatic to see their eight feet tall, golden retriever who just wanted to make the world a better place.
Marvel: “So your not an hero anymore? Then what happened to the JSA?”
Alan Scott (First Green Lantern): “We disbanded…”
Marvel: “WHAT? Why?”
Alan: “Well, we were getting old. We needed to retire.”
Marvel: “Oh yeah.” *sounds a little bummed*
Alan: “I mean, there’s now this thing called the Justice League? Wildcat joined them. So did Mr. Terrific.”
Marvel: “That sounds like a ripoff of you guys!”
He joins anyways. So do the other Fawcett heroes cause they might as well. That’s when things go down hill once more because the JL are forced to remember that a couple Fawcett heroes, mostly Spy Smasher, kill people.
Batman and Spy Smasher: *tied up the Joker after beating up his goons*
Spy Smasher (SS): “Alright, let’s get out of here.” *pulls out a gun and puts it to the Joker’s forehead*
Batman: “What are you doing?”
SS: “I’m ending this…?” *cocks his gun*
Batman: *slaps the gun away* “No, you’re not. He’s going back to Arkham.”
SS: *pulls another gun out* “Yes, I am. Are you seriously telling me you don’t want to permanently end this guy? I’ve heard people call him a terrorist.”
The two then duked it out and the Joker still went back to Arkham anyways. Spy Smasher was so salty, not that literally anyone could blame him.
Marvel: “Wait, so people don’t kill villains anymore?”
SS: *sitting next to him, bandaged*
Wildcat: “Nope. Nowadays, you got to turn them into the police and let them break out again. I know it’s stupid.”
Marvel: “But what about the mass murderers? What about the Black Adams or the Captain Nazis? People who have done messed up stuff?”
Wildcat: “To jail they go. Why do you care anyways? It’s not like you killed any of your villains.”
Marvel: “Well, I didn’t, but I gotta ask because Smasher is trying so hard not to physically claw off his own skin at the thought of these guys just breaking back out.”
Safe to say, getting used to the modern world, took some getting used to for everyone. As for Billy, he chills with the gang at the old folks home, reminiscing about times as if he’s aged with them.
Also, like, genuinely, their disappearance would show up in top ten unsolved mysteries vids because genuinely, they just disappeared with no trace.
Billy also doesn’t know what to think of the many memorials he finds of himself and the other Fawcett heroes around the country.
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pucksandpower · 10 months ago
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Of Roomates and Revenge
Lewis Hamilton x fake girlfriend!Reader
Featuring Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Nico Rosberg
Summary: in which your search for a free place to stay leads to helping one half of Brocedes live out his petty fantasy for revenge … and falling in love while doing so
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Cat and Apartment Sitter Needed (Monaco)
Compensation: €1500/week plus all the Red Bull you can drink
I’m a world-traveling young professional who is rarely home. My two beautiful and rambunctious bengal cats need someone to stay with them in my Monaco apartment whenever I’m away for work.
The ideal candidate will be an experienced cat person who is prepared to deal with a lot of energy, chaos, and shenanigans from these two little terrors. They knock everything off every surface, wrestle at 3am, and will likely attempt to smother you while you sleep. If you can handle that, we’ll get along just fine.
In addition to caring for the cats, you will need to keep my place relatively tidy (i.e. no crushed Red Bull cans or fast food wrappers everywhere), collect any packages or mail that arrives, and randomly turn a few lights on and off every evening so the neighbors don’t get suspicious.
The position is ideal for a mature student, digital nomad, or someone between living situations who wants an amazing place to stay for free in one of the world’s hotspots.
Drop me a line if you think you can handle the cats from hell and wouldn't mind living in a 230 m² penthouse apartment with a private terrace, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a badass view of the Mediterranean. Preference goes to non-smokers who follow directions well and won’t throw ragers when I’m gone.
Send a brief intro, your experience with cats, and a couple photos attached. Urgently need someone for various stretches starting mid-February.
Do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers.
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Live-in Cactus Caretaker Needed (Monaco)
Compensation: €1000/week, free snacks, and you can play my Xbox
I’m a young dude who’s rarely home because of my job that involves a lot of international travel. I have a single cactus plant that I promised my mum I would keep alive until she visits again. The thing is ... I have absolutely no idea how to care for plants. Like, I nearly killed it the first week by forgetting it existed.
What I need is someone responsible who can essentially live in my swanky Monaco apartment whenever I’m gone and keep my tiny cactus friend alive.
Duties would include:
Watering the cactus like ... once a month? Twice a month? I don’t know how often it needs water
Not letting the cactus die in any other way (pretty sure they need sunlight too … I think)
Keeping the place tidy (I’m a bit of a mess)
In return, you’d get:
A sick apartment all to yourself with a stunning view, giant TV, and full kitchen (please for the love of god be careful in there ... I almost burned the place down trying to make a grilled cheese once. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. I almost went up in flames over a silly sandwich. If you can't even operate a microwave, we may have problems. There’s only room for one idiot like that in Monaco — and it’s me)
Unlimited snacks/drinks from my well-stocked pantry
Free rein over my gaming setup (just don’t break anything)
First dibs on any events/reservations I can’t make
The ideal person is responsible, shows they can follow basic instructions for cactus care, laidback since you’ll be alone a lot, and trustworthy enough not to wreck the place or throw illegal parties. Having a green thumb would be great, but frankly if you can manage not to kill the one plant, that’s good enough for me.
Send a brief bio about yourself and your qualifications as a cactus/housesitter if interested! I’m gone quite frequently starting in February so could use someone ASAP.
No scammy offers or soliciting, please!
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Roommate Needed to Drink Wine and Listen to My Woes (Monaco)
Compensation: Free rent in a nice apartment, plus all the wine you can drink
Are you a good listener? Do you enjoy dry red wines and occasional bouts of tears and venting? If so, I’ve got the perfect living situation for you!
I’m a youngish guy with a high-stress job that involves a lot of traveling. When I’m home in Monaco, I tend to unwind by polishing off a couple bottles of nice Bordeaux or Burgundy while complaining about work, my colleagues, and my rival who is giving me really mixed signals.
What I need is a roommate who doesn’t mind a little drunken blubbering here and there.
You’ll get:
Your own bedroom in my spacious 2BR/2BA apartment in the La Condamine district
Rights to my kitchen, living room with large TV, piano, and music recording equipment
Access to the building’s pool, sauna, fitness center, and lounge areas
As much wine as you can drink (and more)
In exchange, you’ll be expected to:
Listen to my periodic rants and rave sessions without judgement
Preferably nod along or offer supportive-sounding feedback like “Yeah, that’s really tough man” or “Wow, they sound terrible”
Refill wine glasses as needed
Maybe rub my back or pat my head if I’m really going through it
The ideal candidate is a decent human being who can empathize with the high-pressure struggles of a young professional trying to make it in a cut-throat career.
You’ll need a decent amount of free time and lots of patience. Prior experience as a life coach, therapist, or sympathetic drinking buddy is a plus.
If you can handle crying guys after a few too many glasses of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, inquire within! Include a little about yourself and why you would make a good non-judgmental wine friend. Merci!
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Expand Your Search? Similar Opportunities:
Impartial Referee Wanted for Parking Lot Brawls (France)
Compensation: €400 per event
Two athletic young men in their late-20s are looking for a level-headed third party to oversee and officiate their semi-regular parking lot boxing matches. Yes, you read that right — we’re talking straight-up fisticuffs in the back alley behind the Circuit Paul Ricard.
A little background: We’ve been frenemies/rivals since we were kids — constantly competing in friends, employment opportunities, you name it. There’s a healthy amount of hatred between us that simply can't be resolved through words alone. Every few months, we feel the need to just take out our pent-up aggression on each other's faces.
Up until now, it’s been an unregulated shitshow with no real rules or oversight. We’re looking for someone impartial who can:
Set some fair ground rules around where/how we can strike
Ensure no prop weapons get involved (last time he tried to scalp me with a wrench)
Officiate and declare a winner once one of us is knocked out or quits
Ideally have some basic first-aid skills in case of a nasty cut or broken nose
We will pay €400 cash at the start of each bout. You’ll get a free show of two extremely fit dudes wailing on each other until there’s a clear victor.
Loser exits with his tail between his legs, winner gets to gloat for the next couple months until we run it back.
If you can be a neutral third party and aren’t squeamish about a little blood, send us your info with some details about yourself and your experience resolving conflicts (legally or not). First come first served — our next fight is tentatively scheduled for mid-May!
No flakes or perverts, please. Serious connoisseurs of violence only.
P.S. Don’t be scared to give out penalties (one of us is used to that)
Actor or Actress Needed to Annoy Ungrateful Ex-Friend (Monaco)
Compensation: €2700 per week, free luxury accommodations
I’m a successful guy in my late 30s looking to hire someone to pretend to be my significant other for a few months. Before you get the wrong idea, let me explain ...
I had a major falling out with a former best friend who stabbed me in the back years ago. We live in the same apartment building, just one floor apart.
I’m trying to show him how amazing my life still is without him … and maybe make him jealous in the process.
That’s where you come in. I need you to move into my penthouse temporarily and act as my gorgeous new boyfriend/girlfriend.
Your main duties would include:
Loudly introducing yourself to said ex-friend by knocking on his door and being line “Hi, is [insert my name] here?” Then pretend to be embarrassed and apologize when he tells you that you’re at the wrong apartment
Hang out in the hallway near his place and have very loud fake conversations detailing our imaginary passionate nights together (rated R)
Post cringy coupley photos on your social media of us dressed up going out, cuddling on my yacht, etc
Ideally you’re an aspiring actor/actress or just a really convincing liar. Being somewhat loud and dramatic is a plus. You’ll need to be willing to play along if my petty ex-friend tries to confront us.
In return, you’ll be living in a lavish penthouse with all the amenities for free. You’ll have your own private suite and can hang out on the oversized balcony, by the pool, or in the media room when you’re off the clock. Might also be able to introduce you to some high-profile people if you’re trying to network.
Oh, and my bulldog will provide plenty of cuddles.
If you can pull off a remarkably realistic fake partner act and aren’t afraid of a little light deception, hit me up! Please include a couple photos plus a bit about yourself and your acting experience. Aiming to start mid-April.
I’m an equal opportunity employer — girlfriend, boyfriend, nonbinary partner, you name it. All genders welcome to apply for the role if you’ve got what it takes! Only preference is that you have especially luscious hair … for reasons.
No weirdos please.
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Hi,
Okay, I have to admit — your ridiculous request to hire a fake girlfriend to make your ex-best friend jealous is quite possibly the pettiest thing I’ve ever heard. And I absolutely love it.
I’m literally the perfect person for this role. Petty vengeance is my middle name (well, not really, it's actually Y/M/N ... but you get the idea).
A little about my qualifications:
Took some theatre electives in university so I can really sell the dramatics
Lots of experience putting on an Oscar-worthy performance faking ... well, you know ... thanks to my douchebag ex-boyfriend who couldn’t be bothered to learn how to pleasure a woman 🙄
Not afraid to get LOUD and will happily reenact our “passionate nights” at earsplitting volumes in that hallway
Can pull off playing dumb if your friend tries to interrogate me about you (“Oh [whatever your name is]? Yeah he’s just the best at ... stuff”)
No shame in my pettiness game — I once spent my weekly paycheck on a Cameo just so an ex’s favorite celebrity would call him a dingleberry
In terms of looks, I’ve been told I have just the right amount of “hot” to make your poor pal jealous without it being too unbelievable. I’m attaching a few photos for reference.
Let me know if you want to meet up for a glass of wine and we can workshop some juicy storylines for our imaginary romance. Perhaps I was a former fling you rediscovered? A hot younger thing giving you a new lease on life? The possibilities are endless!
I’m a pro at faking it, so selling our relationship will be a piece of cake. Your ex-friend will be bright green with envy by the time I’m through!
Let’s make him regret the day he double-crossed you, babe.
Cheers,
Y/N
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r/offmychest
u/NotBritneySpears · 16h
My ex-best friend’s new girlfriend is the WORST!
I really need to get this off my chest. My upstairs neighbor’s new girlfriend is, without a doubt, the most insufferable human being on the planet. She’s loud, obnoxious, and seems to take immense pleasure in tormenting me for some reason.
A little background: I used to be really close friends with my neighbor. We had a big falling out a while back over ... well, it’s a long story. We don’t talk anymore and there’s a lot of resentment between us. Clearly the universe is trying to get back at me now with this new girl.
This chick has made it her personal mission to give me a play-by-play account of every single intimate encounter she has with him. And I mean DETAILED accounts. The other day I was just trying to enjoy my morning coffee and I hear her incredibly shrill voice from right outside my door:
“Oh he was an ANIMAL last night! The things he did with his tongue, I thought I was going to pass out!”
Like, seriously? Keep it to yourself, weirdo! That’s just the tame stuff too. Sometimes she’ll go into pretty graphic detail describing body parts and positions that I really didn’t need a mental picture of.
Here’s the thing — she quite obviously positions herself to be as close as possible to my apartment without actually trespassing — I mean, she doesn’t even live on my floor for god’s sake! So every word comes through crystal clear. I’ve confronted her about it a few times and she just plays dumb, like:
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry if I was being loud! We just get so carried away sometimes, you know how it is,” with this stupid ditzy valley girl voice and hair toss.
I don’t know if my former best friend put her up to this or if she’s just a massive troll in her own right. But it’s like psychological warfare at this point. Literally ANY time I’m home, I have to listen to her yap about their Sex Olympian-level escapades.
My wife even heard them once and thought I was playing porn at an insane volume! She doesn’t believe me that it’s just this deranged lady running her mouth constantly.
I’m half-tempted to start recording her rants and blast them back at full volume to give them a taste of their own medicine. Or maybe start describing lurid details of my own (admittedly not quite so colorful) sex life in retaliation.
I don’t know, maybe I’m being oversensitive. But living under these two insufferable assholes is a waking nightmare. I need to move or something because this is massively affecting my peace of mind. Who knows if they will ever get bored of tormenting me and move on.
Rant over. Thanks for letting me vent about the neighbors from hell.
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u/chronicgossiper · 12h
Damn, that sucks man. Your neighbor and his gf sound like immature assholes trying to get a rise out of you. I’d look into noise complaint options or even see if you can get them evicted for harassment.
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Reply to u/chronicgossiper · 11h
Seriously? You really think the landlord would evict someone over this? It’s not like they’re blasting music at 3am. Sounds more like passive aggressive pettiness than anything illegal.
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u/chronicgossiper · 10h
Idk, having to listen to people loudly describe their sex acts against your will seems like it could qualify as harassment or creating a hostile environment. Worth exploring at least if they won’t stop.
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u/NotBritneySpears · 9h
Eviction isn’t really an option here since we all own our apartments and there’s no landlord dictating that. It’s not that type of building.
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u/nosyandproud �� 8h
Did your former friend move into that building first or did you move in knowing he lived there?
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u/NotBritneySpears · 7h
He was there first, I bought my place a few years after him when I could afford it. Never expected he'd pull something this childish.
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Reply to u/NotBritneySpears · 6h
So you willingly moved into the same building as your ex-best friend that you aren’t on speaking terms with? That’s just asking for drama, dude.
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u/NotBritneySpears · 5h
It’s a great building in an amazing location. I wasn’t going to not pursue the opportunity just because he lives there too. It’s a big place, I didn’t think we’d be running into each other much.
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Reply to u/NotBritneySpears · 4h
Still seems like a weird decision to willingly insert yourself into his orbit like that if the relationship was so fractured. Probably should’ve seen some fallout coming.
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u/nosyandproud · 3h
Yeah exactly, why would you move somwhere your ex-friend lives if you two clash that much? Kinda put yourself in this situation.
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u/NotBritneySpears · 2h
Okay, let me be clear — he and I were best friends for over a decade before we had a colossal falling out a few years ago. We’re not just some casual ex-buddies who don’t get along. We were legitimately very close for most of our lives until things went nuclear between us. When I decided to move into the building, our friendship had been over for a while already. I really didn’t anticipate he’d take things to this vindictive level years later. I’m not going to miss out on my dream home just because of what happened between us.
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Reply to u/NotBritneySpears · 1h
This is getting juicyyy, do tell about what caused the falling out!
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u/NotBritneySpears
Not really trying to dredge up old drama, that’s a whole other can of worms. The girlfriend situation is annoying enough as is.
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Reply to u/NotBritneySpears · 51m
Fair enough, you gave context. Still think you two need to have an adult conversation about boundaries. Purposely trying to loudly narrate their sex life at you is unhinged.
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r/relationships
u/yourusername · 19h
I’m catching real feelings for the guy who hired me to be his fake girlfriend to get revenge on his ex-friend ... help?
Buckle up folks, because I’ve got one hell of a tangled situation to unpack here. This is going to be a long one.
About a month ago, I responded to this Facebook Marketplace ad from a guy (let’s call him L) looking to hire someone to pretend to be his new girlfriend. The goal was to make his former best friend/downstairs neighbor jealous after a brutal falling out between them.
I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous. But the benefits were good and I’d be living in his insane luxury penthouse in Monaco rent-free. More importantly, I really vibed with L’s pettiness and desire to get deliciously pathetic revenge on his ex-friend. My last boyfriend was the actual worst, so I was absolutely here for any slightly insane Karen antics.
Anyway, we hit it off immediately at the “audition” over drinks. L is brilliant, successful, gorgeous, and fucking hilarious in a sarcastic, unfiltered way. We both have a wicked mean streak and frankly get off on emotionally messy situations. It was like looking into a mirror — two beautiful trainwrecks finding each other in the wreckage.
From night one, we had crazy chemistry. The back-and-forth banter was electric, we finished each other’s sentences, etc. I felt so comfortable around him despite the bizarre circumstances. I assumed it was all fun and games to toy with his former best friend.
But over the last few weeks of loudly chronicling our “sex marathons”!outside said ex-friend’s door and doing phony coupley things around the city, I’ve realized my feelings are ... complicated. L and I CONNECT on a deeper level, in addition to just being partners in crime. We’ll be tangled up watching movies and he’ll make some perfectly timed quippy comment that has me cackling until my abs hurt. Or we’ll get deliriously wasted and end up baring our souls about our upbringings, dreams, fears — everything.
I’ve never been so open or comfortable around someone before. Our walls are gone. And the most messed up part? Some small, perverse part of me loves the strange intimacy we’ve manufactured through this farce. How much closer can you get than meticulously co-creating a fictional relationship?
In the beginning, I think we were both just in it for the laughs and pettiness factor. But something shifted for me recently. One night we were drunkenly rehearsing how I was going to describe our latest imaginary tryst to his ex-friend and ... I don’t know, I couldn’t stop staring at his lips while he was talking. His face was so close to mine and I felt breathless. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to ditch the script and really kiss him. I had to physically stop myself from lunging forward.
Later, when I went back to my room, I was hit with a crushing wave of realization — I have actual romantic FEELINGS for this basketcase who hired me to play-act as his girlfriend! What the actual fuck?
Guys, I’m in too deep. How did I let this happen? L is technically still my employer and this whole operation has an expiration date. His former friend is already growing visibly annoyed, so Phase 2 (feign a dramatic breakup, I move out, L moves on with his life) is likely coming up very soon.
Do I just bury my feelings and end this gig without saying anything? Do I risk the humiliation of confessing my heart to someone who was only pretending to want me around? Or should I just go for it and make out with him next time we’re tangled on the couch? I’m spiraling here!
The pettiness that brought us together may also tear us apart. Or maybe I’m just a sad clown who read too much into a fake relationship. Someone slap me with a reality check, please! I need perspective from the outside.
Tl;DR - Developed legit romantic feelings for the guy who hired me to be his fake girlfriend as part of his weird revenge plot. Not sure if I should come clean, keep it professional, or start actually making out with him for real. This was NOT part of the deal!
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u/judgingloudly · 18h
Oh honey, you are in a MESS. This is like a bad romcom plot but IRL. I think your only real option is to fess up and tell L how you’re feeling. Contrary to popular belief, the fake dating trope doesn’t always have to stay pretend!
If he doesn’t feel the same way, at least you put it all out there and can move on with some dignity intact. But who knows — from how you describe the crazy chemistry and connection, he might feel relieved you said something first! Don’t let this fire burn out without taking your shot. Oh and definitely keep us updated, I’m invested now!
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Reply to u/judgingloudly · 17h
I agree with this take. You already acknowledged you’re in too deep emotionally. Might as well put those cards on the table and let the chips fall where they may. Shooting your shot is always better than letting the “what if” eat away at you forever!
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u/livefordrama · 16h
I’m sorry but I simply must ask — how did you land a gig like this? And does he happen to have any more openings for a fake girlfriend? Asking for a friend …
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u/yourusername · 15h
Honestly it was a random Facebook ad looking for exactly this — a girl to move in and fake date this guy to drive his feuding neighbor up the wall. I applied semi-joking but he picked me!
As for openings, not that I know of ... yet. I may have to quit soon depending how this all plays out, so will keep you posted if my spot opens up!
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Reply to u/yourusername · 14h
Omg please do! I would 100% take on a role like this, it sounds like a total riot.
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u/unpaidtherapist · 13h
Girl, I think you already know what you have to do here. Is keeping things professional and never admitting your feelings really an option at this point? You’re clearly enamored with this guy and he seems to reciprocate the intensity at least platonically so far. I say GO FOR IT!
Just pull him aside one day, say “hey this isn’t just an act for me anymore, I really like you and need to know if there’s a possibility for us or not.” If he’s as caught off guard and freaked out as you’re implying, a direct conversation is needed to get those cards on the table. Don’t die wondering “what if?” That’s my advice.
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u/everydayopportunist · 12h
This is so wild, I’m living for this drama! Seriously might need to pursue some similar gigs myself, apparently that’s where all the romance happens these days 😂
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u/devilsadvocate · 11h
I’m sorry but I have to go against the grain here — please do NOT make a move or confess any feelings! This guy hired you for a very specific job under very specific pretenses. Catching real feels was not part of the deal at all. Selfishly throwing that at him out of the blue would be so unfair after he opened his home to you. I worry he could feel betrayed and violated even if he did secretly like you back.
My advice? Give it a few weeks, see if these feelings persist or if it was just a passing crush brought on by the intimacy you’ve found yourselves in. If it’s still intense after cooling off, then maybe consider looping him in. But don’t go nuclear until you're absolutely sure. You could risk imploding a good work situation and friendship over a temporary infatuation. Tread very lightly!
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Reply to u/devilsadvocate · 10h
I’m with this take, OP shouldn’t jeopardize her living situation if her feelings might be fleeting. Taking a step back and giving it more time could provide clarity. It’s easy to get caught up in the fantasy.
The more prudent move is to wait until the “job” wraps up before considering opening that can of worms. If feelings persist minus the contrived closeness, she’ll know it's real. But springing it on the guy now seems wildly unfair and could blow up in her face.
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r/AmITheAsshole
u/veganGOAT · 15h
AITA for turning down my fake girlfriend after she admitted feelings, only to want her back days later?
I think I may have tremendously fucked up in a spectacularly messy way. Let me walk you through the tangled web I’ve woven ...
A couple months ago, I (39M) hired this woman to essentially move into my apartment and pretend to be my new girlfriend. I know it sounds batshit crazy … but I was trying to make my ex-best friend/neighbor jealous after a bitter falling out between us.
She was the perfect partner for this ruse — sarcastic and spunky, with a hint of unhinged energy. We bonded instantly over bottles of wine and throwing deliciously overblown “loud sex” performances in the hallway to drive my ex-friend nuts. What was meant to be a transaction quickly bloomed into a legitimately fun, effortless friendship.
Soon after, we started having real sex. It sort of just … happened, albeit very awkwardly at first. Like “well this is weird, want to try it for real just to see?” And what do you know, we had insane chemistry between the sheets too! We were soon sleeping together nearly every night, always swearing afterwards that it was “just for fun” and didn’t mean anything more.
But I started catching feelings. She was hilarious, confident, beautiful — everything I could ever want in a partner. We had connected on a deeper level through the medium of batshit pettiness. And our physical intimacy only amplified that bond.
Cut to a couple weeks ago. We had just finished a particularly athletic round and were cuddled up, spent. Out of nowhere, she pipes up nervously: “Hey … I think I’m really falling for you. I don't want this to just be sex or games anymore. I want to really try being together.”
I froze. The words I had been longing to hear suddenly terrified me in that moment. My throat clenched up as a wave of panic crashed over me (yes, I’m well aware of how stupid this was in hindsight). After an agonizing pause, I managed to choke out: “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. This thing between us was only ever supposed to be fake. I don’t think of you that way.”
I could actually see her face crumble. She quickly mumbled “okay” and slid out of my bed, wrapping a sheet around herself to cover her dejection. I swear I heard muffled sobs through the wall once she was back in her guest room. I felt like a piece of shit.
The next few days were some of the most awkward, brutal tension I’ve ever experienced. She was now acting like a scorned woman just doing her job, no intimacy whatsoever. We could barely make eye contact.
It took seeing her so closed off, so cold, for me to realize how much I desperately missed her warmth, humor, friendship. How much I longed for the easy intimacy we once had, both emotional and physical. I tried a few times to apologize or explain myself, but she brushed me off — utterly walled off to protect herself.
After days of wrestling with my suppressed feelings, I realized that I was in love with this wonderful woman. Hiring her as a fake girlfriend was one of the best things I had ever done because it brought her into my life … and now I didn’t want to let her go. She was becoming my person, even if she had started out as a farce.
But here’s where I really need some impartial perspective — AITA for freezing up and rejecting her confession?
I didn’t meant to tank her feelings so callously. I think I just ... panicked in that moment. The idea of committing to a real relationship terrified me in ways I didn’t expect. My career keeps me constantly on the go, always jet-setting to the next thing. Could I really give a romance the time and energy it deserves right now?
Part of me also felt massively conflicted about the circumstances. I’m literally paying her to pretend to be my girlfriend as a sort of ongoing petty revenge. If I admitted I wanted to actually date her, wouldn't that blur consent lines in some messed up way? Like, is she just going along with it because she’s on the payroll?
I know these both sound like flimsy excuses, but they were very real fears racing through my mind in that moment. Fears that made me impulsively reject her, despite how utterly gone I was.
Now, days later, those same hangups don’t seem so insurmountable. Maybe she and I could make something work, travel schedules and all. And if she reciprocated feelings, it would be a starting point — not her just placating me for a check. We could rip up the old arrangement and start fresh.
But I haven’t confessed any of this to her yet out of gut-wrenching cowardice. She’s still giving me this cold, professional shoulder. I don’t know how to begin recanting my idiotic reaction and opening up about the REAL reasons I panicked — the commitment fears, the moral dilemma, all of it.
Part of me wonders if I even have the right to try and pursue things with her at this point? I absolutely shattered her feelings for my own hangups just days ago. AITA for potentially stringing her along further by trying to retroactively take it all back? Maybe I’ve missed my window and should just let this phase of my life be over before it gets even more painful and messy?
Ugh, I’m rambling now. The crux is — AITA for how I recklessly rejected her in that moment? Do I even have a right to try and make amends after that thunderous fumble? Or should I just take the L, chalk it up to collateral damage of being in the world’s most messy pseudo-relationship, and move on?
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u/juryofone · 14h
YTA, but only because you handled the initial rejection in the worst way possible. Your reasons for hesitating are somewhat understandable. But you really dropped the ball in communicating that to her in the moment.
Instead of calmly explaining where your headspace was at, you just blurted out a kneejerk rejection that crushed her feelings. No wonder she went ice cold — that had to sting like hell! If you had taken a breath and talked it through with more nuance, maybe you could’ve reached an understanding.
The good news is, you’ve now realized how much you DO want this woman in your life as more than a pretend romance. I don’t think you’re an AH for having those feelings or wanting to pursue her again, provided you make a sincere, thoughtful effort to apologize for your tactless approach before.
My advice? Explain the real reasons you froze up, how torn you felt over everything, and make it clear you still have feelings. But lead with a heartfelt apology for how horribly you botched it at first. If she’s willing to give you one more chance after that, DO NOT blow it.
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Reply to u/juryofone · 13h
I agree with this take. He’s not an AH for the situation, but majorly the AH for the WAY he handled rejecting her. That had to sting badly after putting herself out there. The mature thing is to own up to that and properly communicate where his head was at.
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Reply to u/juryofone · 12h
Yeah, going straight for “I can’t do that, I don’t think of you that way” after she bared her soul was so harsh and unnecessary. He could have let her down wayyyy more gently if he was that conflicted about it all. She must’ve felt like a fool!
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u/neutralpartier · 11h
NAH — I get that you panicked in the heat of the moment and why this whole situation is heavy with ethical quandaries. The reality is, you two started off pretending but real feelings developed, and that’s okay! It happens. The moral issue only remains if you knowingly took advantage of or manipulated her feelings while she was on your payroll. Since you seem just as confused as she was, I don’t think any lines were really crossed.
The way forward is to rip off the bandaid once and for all. If you have mutual feelings now, figure out if you want to date as equals. If not, it’s time to part ways amicably while you both still can. But don’t keep paying her while catching feels — THAT would make you an AH.
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u/glasshalfempty · 10h
ESH ... look, you suck for how you handled rejecting her confession. That was really hurtful and avoidant no matter your internal struggles. She sucks for going into this thinking it was all pretend, catching real feelings, and expecting you to want to be serious too. You PAID her to be your fake GF and made that clear.
My suggestion is to have an honest discussion about whether you can BOTH separate the transactions from reality. If you’re both all-in on trying for real, great! But one of you is going to get burned if expectations don’t align. And please, for the love of god, stop paying her!
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Reply to u/glasshalfempty · 9h
This is exactly what I was thinking too! Way too messy ethically to keep paying her as the lines blur between fantasy job and real romance. Either take the plunge and date properly or go separate ways for good.
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Reply to u/glasshalfempty · 8h
Agree but like ... is this even real? How does someone end up hiring a fake girlfriend to make their former best friend jealous? That alone sounds like a bad romcom plot.
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u/criticaloverthinker · 7h
I’m calling cap on this whole wild story. Childhood besties turned feuding enemies living in the same building? A fake girlfriend who moves in as part of an elaborate revenge plan? It’s all too unbelievable.
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u/struggling-with-reddit · 6h
I’ll play along and rate, but no way is this post legit lol. Having a fake girlfriend you eventually catch feelings for while pranking your neighbor? What’s next, one of you is actually royalty or a secret millionaire? Too much happening here.
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Reply to u/struggling-with-reddit · 5h
Hahaha I know right, the excessive details and backstory gave it away as creative writing practice or something. No judgment from me, it was an entertaining read at least!
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u/struggling-with-reddit · 4h
Next thing you know, OP will be claiming he’s Michael Schumacher or something 😂
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r/AmITheAsshole
u/veganGOAT · 8h
UPDATE — I’m the idiot who rejected then realized I loved my fake girlfriend … and she took me back!
When I made my initial post a bit over a month ago about this whole fake girlfriend situation, most of you understandably called it outrageously far-fetched.
Which, fair. How does someone actually end up hiring a woman to fake date them just to make their neighbor jealous? It does sound ripped straight from a Nicholas Sparks fever dream.
Well put on your straight jackets, because this ridiculous saga is 100% real. And I’ve got an update that’s even crazier than the original tale ...
After reading the feedback on my initial post (and getting a whole lot of shit from some friends too), it became crystal clear that I had to make things right. I put her through the emotional wringer by callously rejecting her in the moment, when her feelings were just as tangled up as mine were. I owed her a sincere apology and a proper explanation of why I froze — with no more deflections or excuses.
So I wrote her a long letter. I laid it all out there. How torn I felt about the ethical and emotional complexities of our arrangement. How her vulnerability awoke my own fears about commitment, my transient lifestyle, and whether I could realistically be the partner she deserved. Mostly, I repeatedly owned up to being a thoughtless prick who shattered her trust out of pure pathetic self-preservation.
But above all, I made one thing clear — despite my bumbling, I had fallen for her too. Completely and utterly. She had cracked through my defenses and healing her hurt became the only thing that mattered.
I ended the letter by owning up to the fact that she now held all the power. While she had moved into this arrangement under certain pretenses, I had violated that implied contract. The ball was entirely in her court now. I would abide by whatever decision she landed on — friendship, an amicable parting of ways, or taking the terrifying gamble of trying to make this the real deal.
When she emerged from her room the next morning, I could barely look at her. I was a sweaty, nauseated wreck, steeling myself for the worst. She sat down next to me in silence and unleashed the longest, most blistering dressing down of my life. How I had made her feel so small, so foolish, so painfully vulnerable. Words like “coward” and “asshole” were thrown around. But you know what phrase stung most?
“I wish you had told me all of this up front instead of dealing with it like a child. I could’ve understood where you were coming from.”
It was a dagger — she was absolutely right. My dumb automatic rejection utterly betrayed the openness and intimacy we had built. Still, she didn’t dismiss me entirely. She would need some time to think, but asked that I stand by for an answer.
The limbo period was … not fun.
After four excruciating days, she came to me again. This time, she was almost shy, like her old self. She told me she had thought it over extensively, and ultimately my explanation and full-hearted apology won her over. I may be an idiot, an asshole, and a bit of a mess (her words), but I was an honest idiot with a good heart under all the bravado. And that’s what had drawn her to me in the first place.
So with the understanding that we would both need to work on our communication skills and respective hang-ups, she was in. We would press the reset button altogether, end our old arrangement, and try to make this relationship happen for real — messy origins be damned.
That was exactly a month ago today, and things have never been better. Sure, we still lean into some harmless (and vaguely unhinged) pettiness with my former friend from time to time. Some habits are too fun to quit cold turkey. But ultimately, I’ve never been so grateful for the insane set of circumstances that brought this amazing woman into my life. We may have started as an acting exercise, but we took a leap together into something beautifully real.
And yeah, I still have to hear shit from literally everyone about how our romance origin story is the most unbelievable meet-cute of all time. But I’ve learned to lean into the absurdity. After all, what’s life without a little chaos and a perfect partner to share in the pandemonium?
Thanks to everyone who offered candid advice on my original post. You may have received an update sooner if not for all the people accusing me of faking it! All I can say is … this is my blissfully ridiculous reality now.
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u/juryofone · 7h
Well hot damn, I have to hand it to you — this saga is even wilder than the original post let on! I went from being totally skeptical of the whole outrageous situation to being fully invested in this insane romance. Love that she put you through the wringer a bit before taking you back. You absolutely deserved that and more after treating her like you did.
But huge props to you for manning up with that apology and giving her the power to make the next move. That vulnerability and respect for her feelings despite your own doubts is what true partnership is all about. I have a feeling you two chaotic bastards are going to be just fine as a real couple now that all the crazy pretenses have been stripped away. Wishing you both nothing but more pandemonium and pettiness together!
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u/neutralpartier · 7h
I’m officially obsessed with this love story. You went from hiring a woman off to punk your neighbor, to breaking her heart over catching feelings, to doing the MOST to grovel your way back into her good graces, to ACTUALLY SUCCEEDING. It’s romcom gold! I need this to get optioned for a movie immediately.
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u/glasshalffull · 6h
As wild as this story has been from start to finish, this update has me straight up emotional! The groveling, the way you explained your fears, her roasting you for days before mercifully taking you back … my heart. Love that she cut straight through the bullshit by calling you an idiot AND acknowledging your good heart. That’s the ideal balance.
I’m so invested in this nonsense and need regular updates on how things progress from here. You better not blow it after all this chaos or I’ll be leading the charge to vandalize your apartment!
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u/romanticempath · 5h
What a journey! To go from manufacturing a fake relationship purely for petty vengeance, to developing REAL emotional stakes, to breaking each other's hearts quite viscerally, to finding your way back together through sheer vulnerability? Incredible stuff.
I laughed, cried (a little, don’t judge), and cringed throughout this entire saga. Thank you for bringing us all along for the insane roller coaster. I wish nothing but ridiculous happiness for you and her moving forward!
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u/fairytaledreamer · 4h
I’m sorry but I still can’t get over the fact that this is somehow a real series of events? You’re a madman and this is truly unhinged (but also incredible). How did ALL of this unfold before your 40s?
Romcoms have been put to bed. Welcome to 2024, where people actually hire fake GFs to get revenge on their scorned former friends, develop legit attachment issues, torpedo everything in a panic, grovel for redemption fit for cinematic history, and somehow STILL end up together in some sort of demented happily ever after!
All I can say is cherish the chaos you've manifested. I can’t wait to see what bonkers plotlines await the two you. Start recording everything for the biopic!
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Reply to u/fairytaledreamer · 3h
“Cherish the chaos” is absolutely the perfect sign off for this update. I’m deceased at this whole wild drama, but also soooo invested! Cannot wait for the inevitable Netflix mini series. Thanks for the laughs, drama, and emotional whiplash!
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r/offmychest
u/NotBritneySpears · 21h
My ex-bestie’s wedding to his obnoxious girlfriend was a nightmare … and so was their wedding night (unfortunately)
You’ll have to bear with me on this one, because I’m still reeling a bit from one of the most cringey, uncomfortable, and downright baffling weekends of my entire life. I need to get this off my chest before I have a full mental breakdown.
A couple years ago, I made a post venting about my former best friend’s new girlfriend at the time. For those who missed the saga, she was an insufferably loud woman who seemed to take immense pleasure in loudly narrating her sex life with my former friend right outside my apartment door. It was psychological warfare, plain and simple.
Well, I’m sure you can all see where this is going based on the title. Against all odds and reason, this woman and my ex-friend somehow stuck it out … until he put a ring on it last year. Which leads me to the first in a cascading series of mind-numbing events — receiving a wedding invitation from the happy couple!
Now, let’s be clear — I have not spoken to my former best friend in almost a decade at this point. Not since our cataclysmic falling out (a story for another day). We were thick as thieves until our bond was shattered beyond repair. For him to invite me to his wedding with the woman who crudely mocked their intimacy for my benefit was … certainly a choice.
On one hand, why on EARTH would you invite the person whose heart you deliberately stomped on so many years ago? It felt like a cruel joke, rubbing salt in an open wound that never fully healed. A reminder of their domestic bliss and my bitter ostracism.
Yet on the other hand, maybe there was a subconscious part of me that would have felt insulted if he didn’t invite me after so many shared years? As if he had utterly erased me from his life without a second thought? The thought gut punched me too in an admittedly unhealthy way.
Long story short, I RSVP’d yes … half out of morbid curiosity and half out of a deeply unwell desire to not get excluded from such a significant life event. In hindsight, a foolish decision that kicked off a horrifically uncomfortable series of events.
The wedding itself was … a lot. An over-the-top spectacle at an insanely expensive venue. My miserable self stuck out like a sore thumb surrounded by all the adoring couple’s friends and family. I sat through mushy vows reaffirming their “unlikely origin” in the “most unexpected yet fortuitous way” … while trying not to puke.
So yeah, sheer cringe start to finish. Little did I know the worst discomfort was yet to come!
In perhaps the most on-brand grand gesture of the entire weekend, the groom rented out an entire boutique hotel for all out-of-town guests to stay at after the reception. That way we could all keep the party going nearby before he whisked his new bride off to parts unknown on their honeymoon the next day.
Ever the gracious host with a penchant for the spectacle, he let wedding guests draw for their room assignments out of an actual top hat. I somehow managed to get seated right next to his parents who, while cordial enough, knew me as the ex-best friend responsible for so much fractured history.
But wait, there’s more! Wouldn’t you know, the universe is supremely messed up because I ended up with the room directly underneath the newlywed suite. Yes … I spent their wedding night listening to a live-streamed porn broadcast courtesy of the paper-thin walls and floors.
Dolphin sounds didn’t even BEGIN to cover the unholy noises raining down from above around 2am. I’m talking full-on screams of unbridled passion echoing off the walls at maximum volume. Mind you, this woman had become infamous for over-enunciating their coitus for my benefit previously. Now it was a frighteningly real-life rendition that no noise-cancelling headphones could drown out.
I finally had to flee my room to the lobby. I ended up crashing on one of the lobby couches until an employee politely asked me to leave around 6am. Disheveled, disoriented, and officially diagnosed with PTSD from the sounds I cannot unhear.
So yeah … not exactly a therapeutic reunion that could have allowed my ex-friend and I to bury the hatchet. If anything, this wedding was one massive “screw you” that opened up all the same unresolved wounds. I need about 20 years of intensive therapy to move on.
I also need to find a new place to live because I can’t bear returning to that cursed apartment building.
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u/chronicgossiper · 18h
Dude, I think you need to get some serious perspective here. Your ex-friend getting married and going on a honeymoon has absolutely zero to do with you. That level of self-centeredness is off the charts.
Why in the world would this guy plan an entire wedding — one of the biggest days of his life — around secretly tormenting you again over ancient history? That makes no sense. He invited you as a polite gesture after years apart, probably hoping to start burying the hatchet. The room assignments were random by your own admission.
As for the … “noises” … look, they were on their wedding night. Maybe overenthusiastic, but 100% to be expected between newlyweds. It’s not some psychological ploy, just poor planning on their part for thin walls. You’re projecting like crazy if you think that was directed at you specifically.
At a certain point, you have to realize the universe doesn’t actually revolve around your grudges or history with this person. They’ve clearly moved on to live their best life. It’s on you to stop obsessing over them and do the same.
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Reply to u/chronicgossiper · 16h
I agree, this is just pure paranoia from OP. No newly wedded couple is sitting around thinking “how can we sneakily stick it to your ex-best friend during our wedding festivities?” That’s deranged thinking.
They invited you to be polite, you drew an unlucky room assignment near their suite, and then biology happened on their wedding night. Hilarious and awkward coincidence? Yes. Intricately designed fuck you from the bride and groom? Come on now, that’s giving them way too much credit.
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u/NotBritneySpears · 13h
Maybe you all have a point, and I am still holding onto way too much resentment and baggage from our falling out. My intention wasn’t to imply they orchestrated an elaborate sting operation around their wedding. More just a general sense that the universe has a funny way of reminding me about them at highly inconvenient times over the years.
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Reply to u/NotBritneySpears · 12h
Even that line of thinking is incredibly self-centered though. Why would random coincidences or them just … living their lives be the “universe’s way of reminding you” about your failed friendship? That makes it sound like they should perpetually be walking on eggshells and avoiding certain life events just because you can’t get over the past.
Look, it sucks that things fell apart so badly between you two. But they have clearly moved on, as you should too. This obsessive framing of their marriage as some universal affront to you is … not healthy, my dude.
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u/nosyandproud · 10h
The wedding itself sounds like it was in poor taste for sure, so I can certainly understand feeling aggravated and triggered being there as the scorned former friend.
That said … you’re borrowing A LOT of trouble by assuming any of their private wedding night activities were purposely being broadcast to you specifically. Projection level 1000 there.
At the end of the day, these people have built a whole entire life and future together now that quite literally has nothing to do with you anymore. You looking for “signs” that they’re still fixated on you is just self-involvement. For your own mental health, you have to let go of whatever happened and see them as background characters in the story of your life now.
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u/realitychecker · 7h
OP, you need to take a step back and realize that the sheer logistics involved in purposely torturing you at their wedding are just not plausible. Do you really think they were like:
“Alright honey, for our wedding night I was thinking we should make sure your former friend gets the room directly below ours! That way when we really get after it, he’ll be able to hear every excruciating moan and body smacking sound in haunting detail! That’ll show him for being your friend a decade ago! Mwahaha!”
Come on, mate. That’s delusional cartoon villain level scheming you’re attributing to them. Occam's Razor — they just wanted to consummate their marriage in privacy and didn’t account for the thin hotel walls. The world doesn’t actually revolve around your history with this!
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Reply to u/realitychecker · 5h
Lmaooo the idea of them sitting around strategizing the most psychological warfare possible on their wedding night is killing me. “Yes honey, we simply MUST reenact scenes from our noisiest adult films for your ex-best friend’s terrible pleasure!”
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u/buildingbridges
OP, it seems like you really miss having your friend in your life if I’m reading between the lines here. Getting invested to this level over random coincidences at his wedding doesn’t come from a place of hatred, but hurt and longing for that bond again.
My advice? Use this weekend as a wake-up call to stop obsessing, reflect on whatever caused your rift, and decide if you want to properly reconnect. If not, you need to rip that band-aid off for good and stop torturing yourself over what will never be again. Or the walls between you two will just get thinner and thinner ...
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r/ask
u/amateurdetective · 15h
I think these juicy Reddit posts actually interconnect … but I need your help cracking the code
I think I’ve stumbled onto something wild here and I need the Reddit hive mind to help me piece this tangled web together. Are you ready for some batshit conspiracy-level connecting of barely-there dots? Too bad, I’m going in anyway.
So, over the past few years, I kept seeing these extremely juicy, dramatically-written posts pop up every few months that seemed … oddly interconnected despite being in different subreddits.
Hear me out:
First there was the unhinged post in r/offmychest from a guy ranting about his former best friend’s obnoxious new girlfriend. Dude was griping about how this woman would loudly recount the smutty details of her sex life with the ex-friend whenever she was in his general vicinity, seemingly just to mess with the OP. We’re talking legitimately disturbing stuff about feeling “psychologically tortured” by her oversharing.
Fast forward a few months and I stumble across a wild post in r/relationships from the perspective of this same “obnoxious” girlfriend! Except her story painted a whole different, unhinged picture — she was hired on FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE by the former friend to literally move in and fake date him as part of an ongoing revenge plot against the OP from the first post. She rapidly develops legitimate feelings for the guy and it becomes a messy will-they-won’t-they romcom situation.
But THEN there was a follow-up post from the fake boyfriend’s side in r/AmITheAsshole about him realizing he caught feelings too before nearly blowing it, followed by another saga-capping update about them deciding to pursue a real relationship against all odds and absurdity.
Are you seeing the parallels here? These three posters each gave one side of an absolute dumpster fire of a convoluted love triangle situation that seemingly intersected. And based on the intricate backstories, my crackpot theory is they all emanated from the same formerly tight friend group that experienced a bitter falling out.
The insane attention to detail, literary flair, and geometry of it all almost had me utterly convinced these were all fictionalized creative writing exercises posted separately across Reddit … but building on the same unhinged storylines each step of the way.
I’m utterly obsessed with mapping this all out into one cohesive narrative now. My working theory is something like this:
Some guy hired an actress to pose as his fake GF and torment his former friend as revenge for some past betrayal
The two fake partners rapidly caught real feelings amid the ruse, he panics and nearly torpedoes it
Meanwhile, the ex-best friend is losing his mind overhearing the fake girlfriend’s loud performances and comes to Reddit for advice, not realizing it’s all a ploy
After a saga of miscommunication, the fake boyfriend comes clean and the couple decide to actually date for real
Capping things off, the former friend is forced to attend their wedding where he’s subjected to one final night of unholy noises
Does it all track? Or have I completely unraveled the conspiracy and stumbled onto a drastically personal set of circumstances being workshopped on Reddit? If so, that’s some ludicrously elaborate storytelling!
I need to know if I’m onto something here or completely off my rocker. If the former, I’ll burn every last calorie mapping out a master record of events across all the posts. If the latter … someone needs to drop their juicy fanfic writing prompts because these were WILDLY entertaining reads.
Help me connect these dots or point me towards any other potentially linked tales! This has been a public service aneurysm brought to you by pure boredom.
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u/scepeticbynature · 14h
Wow, you’ve gone full Sherlock Holmes with this. I’m dying at how insanely detailed your working theory is in tying together these random Reddit posts into one cohesive narrative. This is either a brilliant piece of performance art … or you need your meds adjusted, my friend.
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Reply to u/scepticbynature · 12h
Hahaha exactly! The amount of time and brain power OP has devoted to mapping this out is beyond obsessive. I don’t know whether to applaud the commitment to the bit or get them professional help.
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u/amateurdetective · 10h
I’m sorry, did you actually read through the posts in question? The intersecting pieces of random, elaborate backstory between all three distinct voices is way too specific and layered for it to be an accidental alignment. There are unambiguous throughlines about:
A pair of feuding former childhood best friends
One hiring a woman off Facebook to pose as his fake GF and torment the other as revenge
Said fake relationship descending into a very real emotional entanglement for both parties
The eventual fallout of the ex-friend having to bear witnessing the real couple’s wedding and chaos that followed
Like that’s such a bizarrely specific plot keeping consistent across three different users’ lenses! So you’re either pointing out the artistry of someone doing an incredibly elaborate creative writing exercise across multiple subs … or these people are just leading unbelievably unhinged lives. And part of me hopes it’s the latter? It’s too batshit crazy not to be true!
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Reply to u/amateurdetective · 9h
Or, and hear me out … it’s all an internal dialogue you’re having with your numerous Reddit personalities to work out your own unresolved relationship issues. We’re all just incredibly intricate fragments of your aching psyche!
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u/opinionatedtruther · 7h
Lmao you are both nuts, but I have to side with OP on this one. The chances of these being all interconnected fabricated stories is way too perfect to be an accident. All the tiny threads and recurring backstories/character details woven between wildly different subreddit posts? That’s not a coincidence.
I could buy it maybe being some extended Reddit fanfic experiment between a couple of redditors seeing who can craft more engaging characters and drama while world-building off each other’s plot threads. Like a weird form of collabing through the confined lens of Reddit posts. It would be pretty genius if so.
But for it to be entirely real with all the coinciding details scattered across entirely unrelated posts like that? I’m sorry, but there’s just no way. That’s beyond the scope of believability for me. OP may be bungling the conspiracy, but they’re onto something for sure!
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u/amateurdetective · 6h
THANK YOU, someone gets it! And to answer your other theory … while I can’t 100% rule out some sort of viral Reddit fanfic experiment, I struggle to believe even the most creative writers would be capable of improvising THAT intricately interconnected of a storyline stream-of-consciousness style like that.
Like each voice and perspective they inhabit remains remarkably consistent across such wildly different contexts (relationship drama, life events, ethical debates, and updates). It would take incredible skill to stay in the headspaces of these distinct individuals and keep their personalities/plot orbits from tangling into an incomprehensible mess. While possible, it seems incredibly unlikely.
That’s what has me believing there’s a remarkable kernel of stranger-than-fiction truth at the heart of this whole saga being teased out piece-by-piece. Or again … I’ve finally been gaslit into being a tin foil hatter of beautiful Reddit fantasies. Either way I’m here for it!
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Reply to u/amateurdetective · 3h
All I have to say is please touch some grass and post to r/creativewriting instead 🙄
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heyjudeb · 5 months ago
Text
It Couple - Jude Bellingham
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Summary: Jude and Y/N share a cute and affectionate moment on the red carpet Word Count: >1k Warnings: fluff, romantic moment The red carpet was a dazzling cascade of lights as celebrities and influencers made their grand entrances. Among them, Jude Bellingham and Y/N Y/L/N, the stunning Victoria's Secret model, stood out like a royal couple. Jude, dressed in a tailored black tuxedo that accentuated his athletic frame, exuded an aura of confidence and charm. Y/N, radiant in a custom-made Versace gown that hugged her curves perfectly, looked every bit the goddess she was often portrayed as on the runway. The gown, a deep emerald green, brought out the striking color of her eyes and contrasted beautifully with her cascading waves of chestnut hair. "You look stunning, baby." Jude said in her ear while keeping his hand on her waist constantly, tugging on it from time to time. "You're my best accessory, that's for sure." Y/N said giving him a kiss on the cheek. As they posed for photos, Jude kept his arm firmly around Y/N’s waist, pulling her closer every now and then. Each time their eyes met, their smiles grew, the connection between them clear to everyone watching. Jude’s subtle tugs at her waist were more than just for the cameras; they were a silent reassurance, a display of his affection. They moved down the carpet, Jude spotting a familiar face in the crowd. “Hey, mate!” he called out, giving his friend a quick hug and handshake.
Y/N continued down the carpet, her graceful walk turning heads. An interviewer approached her with a microphone. “Y/N, you look amazing tonight. Who are you wearing?”
“Thank you so much,” Y/N replied, her smile radiant. “I’m wearing Versace. They did an incredible job with this gown.” The interviewer nodded. “And how’s the event going for you so far?”
“It’s been fantastic. It’s great to see so many talented people here,” Y/N said, her eyes sparkling." So, I'm enjoying it very much?" "Where is your mister, Y/N?" the interviewer asked Y/N, smiling. Just then, Y/N felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind. Jude gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush. Jude has no problem showing affection in front of the cameras, which is the opposite of Y/N. She's more reserved and shy, that's why Jude likes to put her in the spot and finds it very cute. "There he is" Y/N said resting her hands on his arms. “Ah, here’s Jude!” the interviewer exclaimed, turning her attention to him. “You two make such a beautiful couple. Can you tell us a bit about your relationship?”
Jude grinned and pulled away from Y/N, holding her hand. “Well, I have to say, it’s been a challenge. You know, trying to keep up with a supermodel,” he said, winking at Y/N. “But seriously, she’s amazing. I think we just balance each other out.” Y/N nodded at his words, looking in his eyes, admiring him. The interviewer smiled, then hesitated for a moment before asking, "There have been some rumors recently about you two possibly taking a break. Can you address those?"
Y/N's expression dropped slightly. She saw those rumors going around on social media and the comments of him being better off without her still affect her. But before she could respond, Jude squeezed her hand reassuringly and stepped in. “Oh, those rumors,” he said lightly, a charming smile on his face. “We hear them too, and we just laugh. I'm not going to let this beauty slip away from me that easily, so rest assured, everyone!” Y/N felt so happy and at ease once she heard these words coming from him. Obviously, she was sure about his feelings for her, but hearing him say those things openly with no regrets made her feel even more special.
"That's great to hear! May I ask shortly, how did you meet? I don't think you've shared that story in an interview before." The interview asked again, eager to get as much from them as possible. "Well, I don't think we shared, did we?" Y/N turned to Jude to ask him. "Nah, I don't think so," Jude replied, smiling. "We met at a charity event a couple of years ago. I saw her across the room and knew I had to talk to her. Best decision I ever made."
Y/N laughed softly, her eyes glowing with affection. "He was so nervous. It was adorable."
The interviewer beamed. “That’s a lovely story. What do you enjoy most about your relationship?”
Jude looked thoughtful. “I think it’s the way we support each other. We both have busy careers, but we always make time for each other.” Y/N nodded. “We also love having fun together. He makes me laugh every day.” The interviewer smiled warmly. “You two are truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
As they walked away, Jude leaned down and whispered in Y/N’s ear, “You’re amazing, you know that?”
Y/N blushed, her cheeks warming. “And you’re my favorite person,” she whispered back, her eyes full of love. They finally reached the end of the carpet, where a sleek black car waited to take them to the after-party. Inside, the atmosphere was cozy and private. Jude held Y/N’s hand, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles. “I’m so glad you’re here with me tonight,” he said sincerely.
Y/N leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling a deep sense of contentment. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she replied softly.
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peachy-wolfhard · 6 months ago
Text
island in the sun
summary: you go to a waterpark with your jjk boyf
includes: megumi fushiguro, yuta okkotsu, and toge inumaki
a/n: weezer title sorry, i pulled a muscle in my knee :((
warnings: swimming, mentions of kids peeing in pools, megumi almost fights a child, toge meows and pinches
word count: 677 (about 200~ish each)
Megumi:
A waterpark would probably not be his first plan when it gets hot, he's more of an indoor pool/wave pool person
But! Once you get him there and he finds out there's a lazy river? Oh you're going to have to PRY him out of there
Intentionally pushes you into the waterfall things in the lazy river
He does NOT like the slides, something about them makes him nervous
Will only go on the slides if there two person ones, he goes down YOU go down
Religiously reapplies sunscreen, to the point he has a white sheen on him permanently 
Swims around like a sim and tries to avoid all small children
“You’re being so weird,” you giggled swimming up to Megumi’s left side, resting your head on his shoulder.
“Im avoiding the kids, they're probably pissing in it. The moment I feel warm water I’m fighting a child.”
Goes into the pool first and immediately starts splashing you as you’re trying to walk in
“Gumi oh my god stop splashing me. It’s cold!”
“I’m getting you acclimated”
As soon as you get in, you dunk him underwater then get the whistle blown at you
Plays mermaids with you but doesn't get fully into it
Yuta:
Another one that doesn't immediately think of a waterpark on a hot day
Not that he doesn't like waterparks, he just doesn't think of a waterpark
Nevertheless, he has an amazing time
Like Megumi, he’s anxious about the slides but once he goes down them with you, best believe he’s glued to them
Swims exclusively in the very deep end
If you’re short and can't reach the bottom (real me too) Yuta WILL swim around with you in his arms bridal style
Speaking of that, Yuta LOVES the game where you guess colors and if you get it wrong, you get dunked (he picks the most obscure colors to the point you think he’s making them up)
Caked in sunscreen, please help him rub it in he looks like a piece of paper
“Honey, you're a mess,” you giggle at Yuta, who looks as if he’s wearing white face paint.
“You put too much on,” you say, wiping the excess off his face and onto yourself.
“I'm just trying to stay protected, love,” Yuta mumbles sticking his tongue out as you both continue rubbing the sunscreen in.
After he gets all of his slide fun out of his system, you guys go on the lazy river until you leave
Toge:
Ugh my freak
A menace as normal
Meows when he sees your swimsuit (no matter what it is, he's meowing)
Goes down ALL the slides even the kid ones
When he goes down the slides, he pushes the slide so you guys go even faster down
(spoiler: he gets the whistle blown at him so much)
Forgets to put sunscreen on and gets so burned
Brings goggles and swims underwater just to pinch you
“You need to stop,” you say pulling Toge up from underwater “Get a grip freak”
Likes to hum the Jaws theme song while following you around with only his eyes above the water
Follows behind you, slowly humming the theme to Jaws. turning around you crouch to his level, chin touching the water. As Toge gets closer you put your arm in front of you pushing his forehead away from you giggling.
Splashes you by flicking the water
Fights with you on the lazy river to try and get you wet (gets the whistle blown at him AGAIN)
Ends up losing his goggles and needs eyedrops desperately
After his goggles are gone, you guys cuddle on one of the lounge chairs (he’s back to being nice toge) ((the goggles are his green goblin mask))
WILL play mermaids with you and takes it seriously
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earlysunshines · 11 months ago
Text
eyes on me (and only me)
myoui mina x fem!reader ; fluff, angst, smut ; wc: 9.1k
synopsis: mina’s not fond of the attention you’re receiving, but it’ll take more than a glare to get that message across.
warnings: smut smut smut! ; alcohol ; almost fucking in the bathroom lmfao ^_^ : angst if u squint ; friends to fucking to lovers or smth like that ; rushed lowk ; not proofread and anything else i missed??
a/n: not my best work plus i wrote this on my phone. lots of mistakes oops
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the light turns red, you slow down smoothly. the glow from the traffic light illuminates mina’s face with a red glow. you turn to catch a glimpse of her.
she catches you glancing over and raises a brow, you smile playfully and turn back to watch the cars pass.
“why do you do that?” she asks you, rolling her eyes. “you’re so weird.”
“don’t say that, i’m amazing.”
mina shakes her head and turns to face the passengers window, hiding her smile from you. the music in the car continues to play, you giggle, and the light turns green again. you gradually press down on the pedal.
you and mina have been friends for 8 years and counting, luckily you both ended up at the same university—which meant no long-distance friendship and no problems.
(well— there was one problem, one that kept the two of you up at night: the mutual attraction the two of you had for each other.)
(but both of you choose to ignore that in order to keep yourselves sane.)
(it doesn’t keep any of you sane.)
mina was someone you could be completely transparent with, and despite how stupid or unhinged you’ve been, she’s stuck by your side throughout the years. and speaking of which, throughout the years she’s only gotten prettier, and she’s been undeniably beautiful. she matured physically and mentally, the physical aspect unquestionably catching your eye more. years pass and her features are sharper, yet as elegant as ever. more eye candy for you, and more excuses such as: “i was zoning out” to repeat after getting caught staring. both of you had a staring problem.
“and~ we’re home.” you beam, watching mina unbuckle the seatbelt. “give me your bag, you must be tired.”
mina hands you her small shoulder bag and smiles at you, you return the smile. she gets out your car and stretches her arms out, sighing as she does so.
the night breeze hits you in the face hectically, but it passes through mina’s hair in a way that reminds you of some commercial, with her as the conspicuous model.
the two of you walk over to the entrance of your apartment complex, then up the stairs. you follow mina up as she walks to the third floor, and you feel a little bad since her legs must hurt.
once you get to your shared apartment, mina reaches inside the pocket of her jacket for the keys, then pulls them out and starts to unlock the door. she turns the lock to the right once and pushes the door open, turning on the light as soon as she steps inside.
mina plops on the couch and you giggle, smiling at your best friend and roommate. you plop down next to her and she puts her feet on your lap, sinking into the cushions deeper.
“shift must’ve been rough, huh?” you ask, watching her nod in response. she closes her eyes and turns to the side, sighing.
“i have a test tomorrow too.”
“seriously? on what?”
“physics.” she groans, then sits up. “i figured majoring in architecture would be less grueling. i was wrong. so wrong.”
“you set yourself up for more of that.” you tease, tapping her shoulder and urging her to turn around. “let me ease the tension, then you can rest a bit and study a bit. it’s only 5:50.”
she hums and turns around; you place your hands on her shoulders and begin to work at the stiff muscles with your nimble fingers. she gasps at the sudden contact, shrugging then easing into your touch. mina lets out a variety of sighs and groans here and there, but otherwise stays pretty inaudible the rest of the time. she leans away from you after she’s had enough, rolling her shoulders back and then cracking her neck.
"thank you y/n, for everything.”
you can’t help but chuckle after hearing her words of gratitude. she sounded so serious and sincere, which caught you off guard. you stand up and intertwine your own fingers together, stretching them up and behind your back a bit.
“i just drove you back from work and massaged you, that’s what friends are for. no need to be to sentimental minari.”
she rolls her eyes and scoffs at your teasing tone, “oh so i guess i’ll just quit showing my gratitude.”
“hey i didn’t mean—”
a pillow is thrown at your stomach before mina starts giggling, showing her gums and all as she beams; just how you adore. you throw the pillow back at her and she catches it with her hands, then stands up and sets it down on the couch.
“okay now go study, can’t be wasting your tuition on a failed physics grade.”
“i don’t want to hear that from you y/n. didn’t you get a 67 on that anatomy module?”
“hey!” you raise your hands up in defense, “i passed, that’s all that matters.”
“yeah, whatever. i’m going, thanks again.” mina mumbles, grabbing her bag and walking over to her room.
she smiles as soon as she enters her room, then laughs to herself. she sighs dreamily, something out of a romcom.
--
“so the both of you aren’t actually togeth—”
“no.” mina dismisses momo immediately. momo looks at you whilst you talk with the girl you met in your kinesiology class, the girl that’s a little too touchy and flirty for mina’s liking. “she’s occupied anyway, always talking with any girl that’s in her line of sight.” mina scoffs.
“oh, so you’re jealous?” momo laughs, grinning at mina.
the younger woman shoves the older one in the shoulder, rolling her eyes. “no. she’s just taking her sweet time when we need to be somewhere.”
you’re smiling, you’re laughing, and she is doing the same. her hands are resting on your chest every now and then and she’s also giving you heart eyes. of course, you’re too oblivious to realize – just how you always are with girls like that – mina hates it.
finally, after what feels like an eternity, you finish talking to the girl, make an excuse that you have to leave, and check your phone. you look up and mina is talking to momo, and then you walk over — no, rush over and almost trip in the middle of the lobby — and apologize for being a couple of minutes late. mina grimaces and momo gives you a toothy smile.
“let’s go, we need to pick up sana too—right?” you ask, mina simply nods, no small smile or anything before she turns away.
she starts walking out the doors first and you frown at the sudden moodiness from her. you know mina well, well enough to know when she’s having her mood swings and feeling down. you learned to be attentive at a young age, and mainly — only — for her.
you look over to momo and she shrugs, then suggests, “maybe if you weren’t so late.”
“it was six minutes.”
“maybe it’s more than the time then.”
“momo—” you’re unable to finish your sentence because now she’s the one turning around and following mina’s path. your shoulders sink and you frown again. your legs carry you out the doors to follow the two women despite the sinking feeling in your heart.
mina is standing beside the passenger door waiting for you to unlock your car, and momo is on her phone leaning against the door to the backseat. you click the button on your keys, your car makes that clicking noise and lights up, then mina and momo get inside at the same time.
you get into the drivers seat and turn on your engine, then face mina to ask, “want the aux?” then she hums in response, plugging her phone in. momo observes from the back seat; the way you clench your teeth subtly, mina’s hesitance, the way your hand grips the steering wheel tighter than usual, mina’s body turning away from yours.
sana is in the car ten minutes later and immediately, the tension starts to die down.
“i’m so hungry…” sana sighs, linking her arm with momo’s.
you laugh and assure her, “i’ll drive quick, i think everyone is as hungry as you.” mina smiles and you catch it from the corner of your eye; you grin sheepishly..
it’s silent for the most part other than sana starting all the conversations and everyone responding. then, halfway through the car ride, sana beams and mentions: “hey, sebastian is throwing a house party, everyones going to be there you know.”
“…and?” you hum, eyes on the road.
“we should go!”
“sana,” mina begins, “you know i’m not a party person.”
sana pouts. “come on~ that chaeyoung girl you’ve been all flirty with is going to be there. maybe you can hit it off with her.”
the light turns red and you hit the brakes – not so smoothly – and quirk a brow at mina. you’ve been able to hit it off with some girls on campus, hooking up with them and whatnot, but the mention of mina talking to someone – which, you’re been completely unaware of – strikes a nerve in you for some reason. she’s not yours, you’re not hers, yet there’s a sick feeling in your stomach.
“you’re— you’re talking to someone?” the uneasy atmosphere makes its comeback as soon as the question slips past your lips, and mina shrinks in her seat. “you never told me that.”
“you never tell me about all the girls you talk to, i can’t talk to one?” mina says, her tone vicious.
“i- no, i just, i thought you would’ve told me about something like that.” you look at her apologetically, she doesn’t bat an eye at you. “i didn’t mean that, mina.’
sana and momo glance at each other in the backseats; momo shrugs, sana raises her brows, and then sana decides to clear the air.
“so, let’s go as a group?” she insists, and you can only hum as you pull into the parking spot near the café.
momo decides to find seats for the four of you and you thank her before grabbing mina’s wrist and dragging her to the bathroom. sana and momo watch, both as surprised as mina.
it’s a single person restroom, and you close the door behind you harshly before backing mina against the sink. you’re only an inch or two taller, nothing too significant, but somehow it feels like you’re towering her completely.
she looks into your eyes, you look into hers tenderly; mina surrenders and breaks the eye contact.
“what’s going on mina?”
“i’m sorry, it’s nothing.”
“it’s clearly something.” you murmur, curious and confused. “please, you can tell me anything.”
without thinking, you cup her face. your hands are warm, they’ve always been warm and mina’s have always been on the colder end. mina feels her heart shatter and pound against her chest at the same time, her cheeks flush but her lips twitch into a frown.
hesitant to give into your touch, she shudders away subtly. “it’s nothing, i’m just, you know—“
“mood swings?” you ask, moving your hand to her shoulder and rubbing your thumb against the material that covers it. mina leans in to your touch this time and nods, looking back at you. “i’m sorry for, sounding so… i don’t know, angry. it’s not my business, and if you’re talking to someone…” you gulp down your feelings and decide on what anyone would say. “then i hope they make you happy and whatnot, it’s not my business. i shouldn’t have pushed it.”
“no,” mina mumbles. you turn your head, confused. “i think i’ve been a bit distant recently, i haven’t been as open.”
“hey don’t say that, i guess the stress is killing both of us.”
“i’m sorry again.” mina sighs.
“it’s okay, i love you always, no matter what.”
“and how do you?” mina questions, tensing up at the feeling of your thumb rubbing against her shoulder now. you slide your hand down to her forearm subconsciously, pausing your actions.
“what? mina, you know i love you. we’ve been friends since like, forever. i’m just saying i’m always here if you need me.”
friends.
“okay, yeah thanks.” mina rushes her response out, then recomposes herself. she grabs your wrist briefly before letting go, then opens the door. “i’m hungry, hurry up.”
“yeah yeah, whatever.”
--
mina’s normal for the rest of the week and there are no complications or mood swings for the most part. the two of you are pretty busy anyway, no time for arguments when your professors are up your asses.
there’s those moments of solitude with your roommate that bring you some peace of mind here and there, which makes it harder to push down the trivial feelings you have for mina. like that one time mina helped you out with dinner, pushing you to the side with her hand on your waist. yeah, that one had your heart racing.
other than a near heart attack and some domestic and weirdly intimate alone time with mina, there hasn’t been any tension or bickering since that car ride. things seem good and you’re happy with that.
sana reminds you of the party the day of, it reminds you of what had happened in the car. you’re reminded of mina’s ‘talking stage’ and it bothers you more than you’d like to admit, but there’s nothing to worry about since mina isn’t the biggest partygoer. she’d probably be cooped up in her room playing games while you drank more than you intended to again, just like always.
tonight was an exception.
you’re leaning against the counter in your baggy jeans and the fit t-shirt where the sleeve cuts off just above your bicep – the shirt that makes your arms look good and shows your tattoos better – and sana is texting the group chat saying she’ll be there in five. you wait patiently and pass the time by mindlessly scrolling.
what you don’t expect is to see mina emerging from the hall looking effortlessly beautiful like she always does. she meets your gaze then drops it to your own body, quickly returning back to the shared eye contact. there’s something in the way she holds herself up that’s keeping your look on her for a moment longer, afraid to look away just in case you’ll miss something.
she’s fucking stunning, no doubt about that. a cropped, white top hugs her figure perfectly and shows a good amount of her defined abdomen, the light shines in a way that highlights her grooves. she has that naturally striking body, the one that girls envy or swoon over, and the ones that guys eye not so subtly in public, much to your dismay. she’s also wearing some light makeup — a rosy sunset lightly decorating the outside of her eyes and a darker shade of red painted on her lips — and even without it your jaw would be on the floor. her wavy hair falls loosely around her and her bangs are tousled – different than her usual well kept look – it all captivates you. mina’s fucking hot, no doubt about that.
your eyes do a lot of the talking, they run up and down her body, down to the curve of her hips that are covered by her low-rise boyfriend jeans. mina’s inching closer and you recompose yourself, try not to eye fuck your roommate too hard.
“you’re going to the party? thought you weren’t a party person.”
“i don’t have anything better to do.”
“not going to stay and play games? that’s new.”
she scoffs, then crosses your arms and it makes you realize that you’ve been looking at her exposed tummy again. you make eye contact with her again. mina raises her brows, then responds with a hint of test in her tone, “do you not want me to go? sounds a lot like it.”
not when you look like that. you should only look like that for me, you think, and you want to respond with that thought. but you hold yourself back and decide to laugh it off, masking your odd jealously that looms.
you clear your throat, then respond, “no, just curious. we should take my car over then, just in case you want to leave early.”
“yeah, okay.” mina says, suspicious of your sudden change in mood. “let sana know then, and don’t drink too much, or really anything since you’re driving.”
“you know i’m a heavy weight. three shots and i’m still walking straight, functioning, and able to have fun. don’t worry about me.” you wave your hand and grab your phone. “i’ll ring up sana.” you say, then motion for her to leave the house with you.
-
the walk to the house is not too long, but unfortunately you were too late to bag a spot in the astonishingly large drive way. it was already filled with seven cars, all different brands besides the two honda civics that are next to each other, one red and one black. how generic, and probably driven by men who’d try to hit on you and your friends later.
there’s a fence to the backyard and you easily lift up the metal that prevents the door from opening. you push the door open and mina slides in through the gap, then you slip through and lock it again.
the music was already noticeable before the two of you had actually made it on the property, but now it’s much louder and disturbingly raucous. but that’s just how parties are. there’s a good amount of people in the spacious back yard, maybe fifteen or more – give or take – some are talking in a group with bottles of beer in their hands, two people makeout against the tree in the right corner, and others are cackling while some shirtless guy with a buzzcut and shotguns a can of cheap alcohol. nothing too surpassingly other than the size of the house and yard, pretty normal for everything that’s unfolding.
you lean down a bit to bring your lips to mina’s ear, making sure your voice is heard over the drake that’s playing at a volume that’s surely going to bring noise complaints.
“you okay?” you ask loudly, almost a shout. mina nods, then turns over, her face only inches away from yours. you look down at her lips, and back up to peer into her dark eyes. “we should go inside.” you suggest, mina nods once more.
compared to outside, the house held a lot more people. the kitchen was filled with people getting refills of sodas alcohol, and maybe one or two people ended up with water in their cups — though only those few — the rest of the bunch that crowded the house were either tipsy or drunk out of their minds.
“i think i’m gonna grab a beer or something, text me if you need anything – actually, just call me.”
mina wants to cling onto you the whole night and if anything, she only came in hopes of making you jealous. but here you are, actually indulging in whatever the hell is going on around the two of you. she feels sick to her stomach when she sees you wave goodbye, and prays that you won’t end up like those two girls in the corner of her eye that are eating each others mouths. at least not with anyone but her. fuck.
“hey, it’s you.” mina feels a tap on her shoulder and turns around to face the girl she met in her design class. “i didn’t know you were a party person, didn’t strike me as the type.”
chaeyoung is also wearing a crop top, revealing the various tattoos that decorate her skin. mina liked the tattoos, but all she could think about was the ones you had on your own skin, the ones mina always found herself staring at. her dark hair is messy, yet it suits the younger woman, so does her whole outfit: some crop top and paint splattered jeans.
“you here with anyone?” chaeyoung asks, then takes a sip from her can of beer, mina thinks it’s the rocket pop based on the colors.
“no, you?”
“nah, i came here with a friend though. i think she’s out flirting now though.”
“yeah, i came with a friend too. she’s probably doing the same too.”
“you don’t sound too happy about that.” chaeyoung says, observing the faint disappointment that spreads across mina’s features. “wanna get a drink?”
mina hesitates, then nods. chaeyoung smiles and grabs mina’s hand, leading her to a fridge in the kitchen.
“oh, and by the way,” the younger woman starts, turning to mina. “you look good.”
“thanks.” mina responds.
it’s not that mina doesn’t enjoy chaeyoung’s company, if anything she’s actually really intrigued with her little anecdotes and cute little rambles. mina likes the way chaeyoung giggles with her over some small thing, and mina doesn’t necessarily hate how chaeyoung leans closer to her, the skin-to-skin contact isn’t anything that bothers her. mina simply can’t feel anything for chaeyoung, and it frustrates her because one: chaeyoung is pretty, quite nice on the eyes. that’s something mina can’t deny. two: she’s attentive and sweet, mina know’s this from the times she’s interacted with her before this headache of a party.
she’s just not you.
“you okay?” chaeyoung asks, rubbing her thumb on mina’s hand.
“yeah, i just, um— i need another drink.”
“you’ve had two cans already, and you seem all hazy. you sure you can take it?”
“it’s fine, i’m fine. yes, yeah.”
“okay… careful then. let me go with you.”
“no.” mina says almost immediately, then pauses. “i mean, um, i can go myself. sorry.”
chaeyoung nods, letting go of mina’s hand. “i’ll see you around mina, hope we run into each other again. i liked talking to you.”
“me too, i’m sorry.”
“it’s okay.”
mina leaves chaeyoung on the couch alone, finding her way through the crowd and towards the kitchen to grab something stronger. she does in fact find something stronger in the fridge: some bottle of (most likely) cheap vodka. mina fucking hates vodka, but she also fucking hates that you’ve been plaguing her mind all night. so, mina grabs some small, plastic shot glass and pours herself a quick remedy to her growing disturbance. she shoots her head back and winces, groaning at the stinging taste of it dying down in her throat.
to make matters worse, you only plague her mind further. and to make it even worse (yet again), she catches you in the corner of her eye.
the girl from that day she got mad at you stands awfully close, putting her hand on your chest as she laughs. you only smile and laugh with her, not really paying attention to anything else.
this is the closest you’ve been to the girl, courtney was her name. she’s in your anatomy and has a similar hairstyle to mina, though mina’s looks ten times better. her eyes shine as she looks at you, well, mostly your lips. she smiles and slides her hand around your neck.
“you know, i’ve always thought you were pretty.” she says, “how about we find a spot to be alone?”
“oh,” you say, features shifting into one of confusion. “courtney i don’t— i thought we were just having fun…?”
“don’t be stupid baby,” you wince at the petname, it doesn’t sound right coming from her. she twirls your hair around, it irks you, you definitely don’t like it. “we can have fun if we find a place with a door that has a lock.” and all you can do is laugh awkwardly.
“courtney i don’t—” you look past courtney and towards the familiar girl in the kitchen, making direct eye contact with her and freezing as soon as you realize just who you’re looking at.
mina huffs, frowning at you disappointedly. she shouldn’t be disappointed, but she is.
if only that were her, she thinks.
she bites back a tear, clenching her teeth and shaking her head – which somehow makes her more uneasy than she already is – and starts to walk away. she doesn’t know where she’s going, just as long as it’s less overwhelming and there’s no sight of you with someone that isn’t her.
“shit,” you mumble, and then courtney desperately tries to postpone your departure with small talk, but it’s no use. you speed through the crowd and bump into various bodies as you try to keep mina in your vision, pushing anyone in your way just to find her.
you watch her turn into the hallway and manage to make it to that turn only two seconds later, but by the time you get there she’s already stepping into some room and closing the door. a curse slips from your breath as you run towards the same door a second after it had closed, hitting your fist against it in defeat.
“mina!” you shout – no response. “fuck, mina, please.”
you lean your forehead against it, flattening your hands against the door before you bang on it again.
“please? please mina, i know something is up.”
“go entertain yourself with whoever you were with earlier.” and what the fuck did that mean? you didn’t know. could mina mean courtney? you didn’t want her like that, mina can’t possibly be bothered by her – and, if she were, that wouldn’t make sense. courtney is just a friend, if anything, you wanted mina in her place.
“what does that mean? mina you’re being so—” she cuts you off, opening the door. she’s got that flush, the same one that she did when she lost to sana in that one drinking game a few months back. mina’s not sober, meaning she’s ten times more vulnerable and even moodier, but why? hell, you never know.
“weren’t you enjoying that? that girl, she’s all up on you so why do you run after me.”
“courtney? mina you’re being irrational, she’s just a classmate, a friend i guess. i don’t want her like that.”
“we’re friends and you never look at me like that,” she says, voice being muffled by the music playing in the house. “why don’t you smile at me like that?”
you step inside and close the door, now it’s just you and mina, alone.
“mina what are you saying? i smile at you all the time. are you pissed over a smile?”
“you’re so dense.”
“well i don’t know what the fuck is wrong if you’re not going to fucking tell me mina.” maybe that was harsh, considering the fact that she’s most definitely drunk, but you’re also irritated because she’s been tip toeing around the things that have been pissing her off. “you always tell me what’s bothering you and about your mood swings, but what’s been going on recently? you’ve been so, i don’t know—difficult to read.”
“and you’ve been so dense.” mina scoffs, looking you in the eye. “you flirt and charm all these other girls – any girl – why not me? what’s wrong with me?”
“mina there’s nothing wrong with you. and… you want me to charm you? what does that even—”
“why do you run after me when you don’t even want me like that, why don’t you love me like i love you.”
you halt, watching mina’s bottom lip twitch and brows crease as she looks at you.
“mina,” you begin, shoulders relaxing a bit. “of course i love you.”
“then why do you-“
with no warning, you lean in, capturing her lips with yours and cupping both cheeks with your hands. this is one of the dumbest decisions of the night, undeniably so. reality hits you and you’re pulling away, but mina pulls you back in.
you should stop this, you have to stop this, it can’t be right.
you don’t stop, partially because mina is wrapping her arms around you, keeping you close.
(and mainly because this is what you’ve been needing – dreaming – of for years. you’ll let your morals come back to you later, because right now this contact feels better than anything.)
her hands almost sting from how cold they are when they graze your neck, sliding up to grip your hair. you reciprocate and place your hands on her waist, the music fades out in the background, her back is pressed against the door, and you’re keeping her place as you savor what you’ve daydreamed about countless times.
using the part of your brain that isn’t overtaken by lust, you try to make sure everything is alright after remembering she’s had a drink or two – at least before you indulge again – and that she’s not sober—which is very rare for someone like mina. you pull away first and fight the urge to ruin her right here and right now.
“wait mina—” mina doesn’t give you time to speak, immediately leaping back onto you and locking lips again, whining as she tugs at your hair. she bites your lip slightly, which makes you push her against the door harder, fingers leaving marks in her skin.
there’s too much going on, too much you want to do all at once – mina wants the same.
you pull away successfully, mina doesn’t pull you back in hurriedly this time. her eyes are partially closed, lips puffy, her breath is heavy – chest heaving up and down since she hadn’t gotten the chance to properly catch her breath – and her cheeks are a rosy shade of red.
“y/n…” mina murmurs. her tone is whiny and desperate, and all it urges you to do is close the distance again.
first, you’re exchanging saliva as you slide your tongue in, sloppily making out as you shift mina over to the counter of the bathroom sink. her moans are muffled as you kiss her and it leaves you ravenous, wanting to hear it clearly. the two of you indulge in each other, just as you’ve been craving for years.
you fall to her jaw, then the soft skin of her neck, spending your time marking it up and tending to it how you’ve been wanting to. no, needing to.
mina grips your shoulder tight and her head tilts back as her lips part. it’s odd, this is what you’ve been craving, but there’s a uneasy feeling in your stomach and it’s not from anything you’ve consumed.
“shit,” you murmur, partially because mina’s tugging at your hair again, but mainly because the realization hits you: mina’s under the influence. “what am i doing.”
the spell she’s casted on you by giving you the taste of her lips finally wore off, it takes a good amount of self-restraint to pull away one last time – and this time it’s for real, you don’t dive back into her pool of temptation – though you linger a moment, lips dangerously close to the skin just above the crook of her neck.
again, you look at her: hair messy, eyes now opening, and a pout plastered on her face.
“y/n… please, keep going.” you can’t, you know better than to keep going, despite how bad you want it.
“we should get going, minari.”
“but i need you, please.” fuck. fucking shit. you want her too, more than words can tell.
“mina…” you start, bringing a hand to cup her cheek. she leans into the touch, not hesitating for a second. mina’s beautiful, you know that. she’s against the counter of the bathroom and the only thing you can really notice right is how beautiful she is despite the music from outside getting louder. it’s strange – time slows down for a moment.
your fingers push the strands of hair that messily frame her face behind her ear and she frowns harder. against a canvas of flushed cheeks and pale skin, her eyes radiate an ethereal luminescence under the glow of the bathroom light. exuding an ineffable brilliance. her eyes, wow, her eyes are pretty in the moment. they’re staring at you and captivating your senses, holding you captive as you try to fight everything telling you to go on with your desires.
“you drank lots, didn’t you?” you ask, laughing a little to shake off your nerves. two beers is the equivalent of “lots” for mina. enough to make her all hazy and cuddly. “let’s go.” you insist, “home isn’t far and i can drive. i only had a can of beer, and i have work in the afternoon.”
“why can’t you just— fuck, y/n, i just—“
“we can talk when you’re sober.”
mina mumbles something under her breath, the sound of her voice thin and vulnerable. you hold her hand and squeeze it gently before letting out a breath.
“stay close, you were stumbling earlier.” you insist, “keep my hand in yours, ‘kay?”
you don’t let mina respond and instead, you’re out the door with her hand in yours trying to find your way out of the overwhelming atmosphere. trying to get yourselves home so you can compose yourself in an environment that isn’t making your skull pulse.
momo is dancing with sana, heat radiating off the both of them as their mutual allure drags them closer and the alcohol kicks in. momo’s eyes are only on sana, that is until she catches two familiar figures struggling to pass by the crowd blocking the door.
your hand slides down and snakes around mina’s waist, keeping her ever closer as you swim through the crowd and towards the door. sana looks at momo, who’s looking in a different direction, then turns to see what’s up with whatever is going on. “whatever is going on” is something that has sana smiling cheekily, giggling and then turning back to momo.
“you see it too?” voice low yet audible as sana speaks into momo’s ear, lips brushing against the lobe. “i wonder if they had any fun. most likely, knowing how y/n is.”
“mm, maybe,” momo mumbles, distracted by the woman placing a hand on her chest. momo gulps, then faces sana fully and smirks. “maybe… they’ve never been that close, touchy yeah but…” momo shakes her head. her hand slides to the curve of her waist and pinches just barely, just enough for sana to gasp. “let’s find out tomorrow and find out way to the bathroom instead, hm?”
sana smiles, nodding eagerly before they find their way out the crowd and into the same bathroom you and mina had been in.
it takes a few at least ten curses under your breath before you reach the door, opening it and slipping past like you had done before with the entrance to the backyard – though this time, none of you are afraid of being close.
mina is following you, your hand still on her waist – holding onto her even though it’s not necessary – and leading her to the car.
another small curse slips your lips while looking for your keys, scared that you’ve lost them throughout your late night rendezvous. luckily, they’re shoved in one of your pockets, you sigh out a breath of relief as you press the small unlocked logo.
you help mina get into the passengers seat, then close the door for her and get into the drivers seat yourself. once you close your own door, you reach over mina and grab her seatbelt, invading her personal bubble with your own body. mina watches you with tired eyes, watches you grab the end and fasten her seatbelt with a click of the locks. before you lean back into your space, mina stops you, putting a hand on your shoulder.
she presses her lips to your temple – sloppily and sweetly – then leans back into her seat, closing her eyes.
you huff, then your lips curve--? turn? they display something that’s something in between a frown and smile, something that shows both at the same time, even if it sounds impossible.
the engine starts, you turn to look at mina once more, then drive.
-
hangovers are not for the weak, and they’re surely not for mina.
mina wakes up and it feels like she’s gotten run over countless times in the head. she groans and sinks into her matress more, hugging the pillow in her arms and then groaning once more – if the first, annoyed one wasn’t enough already.
she tries to recall everything from last night, only remembers a brief image of chaeyoung and a beer in her hand; and then everything else. everything.
it’s like being hit by a life-threatening gust of wind that’s trying to knock you over and over, it hits all at once and keeps bombarding you more and more and more. each gust is worse than the one before. it feels like being stuck in the middle of the sea while waves keep crashing and crashing and crashing against you. that’s how mina feels when the memories come piling back.
she remembers the push and pull – desperate fingers clawing at cloth or skin, lips parting so the two of you oculd catch your breaths – she remembers the sensation of it all – her shoulder blades meeting the material of the door – the chill of the material making her shiver – your tongue against her own, the teeth nipping at her skin, and shit she even remembered the smell of your perfume: amber and vanilla. she could seriously lose herself in that fragrance if it meant being that close to you again.
mina jumps when she hears three knocks, groggily rubbing her eyes before seeing someone her bedroom door. her eyes are squinty, but the figure is unmistakable. mina feels her cheeks burn again, and now she’s figuring out that they always grow warm whenever you’re around.
“hey… morning.” you greet softly, smiling. “i um, i have work soon. i just wanted to let you know there’s advil and vitamins on your bedside before i left. figured you’d need it.”
“t-thank you.” mina stutters embarrassingly. “y/n i’m sorr—”
“let’s talk about it later. just take your time, you have work later, right?”
“shit,” she mutters, closing her eyes tight and pinching the bridge of her nose. “yeah.”
“i’ll be home later, you should ask momo to take you.”
“i’ll do that, yeah.” mina answers. she watches you nod awkwardly, and then without a word; you leave.
--
mina calls momo later, later as in 12 o’clock pm because there’s no way momo would ever be up before then on a saturday – especially not after a party with sana around. still, momo answers tiredly, voice all stuffy and low.
“mina it’s so fucking early can we please—”
“come, now.” mina orders, “i’m tired too but i really need to talk to you and i’m saying this as in it’s urgent. you know it is if i’m begging like this. momo please come, now.”
she hears momo groan on the other end of the line, a few seconds of silence pass before momo answers: “give me ten.”
“thanks.”
momo gets to the apartment in thirty minutes and mina answers the door, making the older woman look at her shockingly. mina’s hair is disheveled with some strands loosely having a mind of their own. her eyes peer at momo tiredly, and she’s wearing an oversized tee with pajama pants to finish the “i just got out of bed and no hangover remedy could fix the headache i have” look.
“um, morning sunshine?” momo tries. mina turns and walks over to the couch, landing on it exhaustedly. momo follows over and sits down in the space next to her, watching her stare up at the ceiling.
“i think—no, yeah we definitely…” the younger woman starts, shutting her eyes. “there’s a hickey on my neck and i know it’s from last night. i remember, vaguely – but also so much at the same time.”
momo deadpans. “mina what the fuck are you saying.”
mina practically breaks her neck trying to lift it up just to glare at momo. “y/n gave me the hickey.”
“holy shit mina, that’s great! so you guys fuc-“
“no. i think we just… madeout.” mina sounds dissapointed when she says it, and she definitely is. “y/n’s being distant and i’m just—scared i ruined everything.”
the younger woman groans again, then leans back against the cushion. momo watches and moves over to sit criss-cross on the couch now, pulling mina by the wrists to sit her up. “stop moping, you kissed her. you’ve been complaining to me like, ages about her.”
“what if she regrets it?”
“i doubt it. maybe y/n is just worried that you regret it, i mean, you seemed pretty fucked last night.”
“i wish i were.” it slips out of mina’s mouth, momo tilts her head in surprise, this isn’t something mina would say, ever – at least out loud. “don’t start.” mina warns, glaring at her friend.
“i wasn’t going to.” momo assures, putting her hands up in defense. “maybe you should talk to her, she’s picking you up after work today, right?”
fuck.
“yeah.”
“perfect. good time to bond then.” momo chirps – mina deadpans, then collapses into the cushions again.
“i can count on both hands how many years we’ve known each other, i just can’t lose her.”
“you won’t. don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
-
mina’s worrying, and everything is not fine.
mina cannot take her mind off of you, the night before, and just you in general. it’s you you you you you running through her mind as she collects tips from the old couple in the corner of the restaurant. even as they compliment mina’s features she can’t help but think of you. it’s only you, you’re plaguing her mind even worse than how you did while she was all hot and heavy.
you tap at the wheel anxiously with your pointer and middle finger – a habit you’ve developed as soon as you had gotten your license at seventeen – as you wait for mina. the restaurant closes at 10, but mina’s leaving at seven because she can’t do closing shifts, you remember her rambles and complaints. you remember everything about her.
work had been as rough for you as it had been for mina, just the thought of her pulling you closer, bruising your lips, and just her drove you crazy. it took everything in you to function normally as people would come up to you asking where a certain book was in the library you worked at or if you could renew their copy of who fucking knows what novel.
your head shoots up when you see a familiar figure step out from the entrance to the restaurant. she pats down her clothes and adjusts the bag that hangs from her shoulders. mina looks at you through the window and you simply smile at her, fixing your posture. she smiles back and walks towards the car, then gets into the passengers seat.
you greet her like you always do: “hey.”
“hi.”
“how was work?”
“busy, but good tips.” she says, putting on her seatbelt and desperately trying to compose herself. “how was your work?”
“good, good. just the usual.”
“could be worse.”
“yeah.” she responds. there’s a short silence that sits in the air and that urges you to start driving. mina looks forward, but still, she can see you shifting the stick with your hands – the hands that were leaving mina breathless.
the car ride is silent, deathly silent.
sure, carrides back to the apartment after mina’s shifts have always been pretty nonverbal, but at least a few jokes and anecdotes were shared. the only thing shared is the silence, it makes you grip the wheel tight and has mina facing out her window.
“did you um, eat yet?”
“yeah, did you?”
“yeah… jonathan gave me half his sandwich before i clocked out.”
“good.”
“yeah.”
you reach the apartment complex after the most apprehensive car ride you’ve ever been in – which says a lot, considering the fact that you’ve been in a car driven by sana. not the best experience ever, she’s definitely a passenger princess, and should stay one.
the engine stops, you two get out the car at the same time – no words exchanged, but you’re both thinking the same thing – and then you hold out your hand so mina can give you her bag, just like always. the two of you head into the complex with you following behind mina, then up the stairs to your shared place.
the tension is cleared for a moment, mina watches you fish for the keys in your hoodie pocket, only for you to drop them on the floor and curse under your breath. mina laughs, you laugh with her and this is the first time you two have shared eye contact since last night, probably.
“you’re so clumsy, always.” mina snickers, looking at you with a gummy smile. you roll your eyes and put the key into the lock, twisting it right and responding,
“shut up.” you say in a tone of fake annoyance.
the door opens and you step inside, mina follows behind. your shoulders sink, untensing as soon as you close it again.
“i’m sorry, i made a move while you were drunk and if i hadn’t controlled myse—”
“shut up.” mina orders, using one hand to pull you close by the wrist and the other hand immediately slides to the back of your neck as she closes the distance again.
mina kisses you first this time, and now both your senses are fully there, no alcohol to fuck any of you over this time. you almost stumble backwards from how ttaken aback you are, but shortly after the contact you’re kissing her with the same force.
you drop the bag in your hand – it’ll be tomorrows problem, it’s not that big of a deal anyway – and cup her cheeks, slowly inching forward towards any surface that’ll keep you two from fucking on the floor right then and there. where’s the fun when there’s no action building up to everything?
mina’s feels the marble of the counter in the kitchen above her waist as you push her against it. her hands find the edge and grip onto it tightly as your hands start to roam down the curve of her hips. mina’s tugging at your hair and it earns a small whine from you, and then she’s swiping her tongue against your bottom lip since it’s the only way to ask you to sloppily make out with her without pulling away for too long.
it’s actually not that sloppy, it’s like your tongues know each other already, they accustom to each other almost immediately. minutes – it feels like hours – pass and you pull away to glance at her for a moment; cheeks? flushed. pupils? taking over mina’s eyes completely from how dilated they are. your lips? oh, they’re craving more of the woman trapped between your arms right now.
your lips fall to her jaw, pressing feathery kisses that leave her breath shaky. when mina thinks it can’t get any better, you take your time tending to her neck – which, is too empty for your liking – sucking, nipping, doing anything that’ll make her have to wear a scarf, your hoodie, or extra foundation the next morning.
as you mark up her skin, she blindly reaches to take off the jacket you’re wearing, and you reach for the end of her black shirt that she has on, then slide it off her figure.
you eye her up and down, lingering on her chest. “fuck, fuck i want to leave you a mess.”
“do it then.”
“gladly.” you say. mina feels a pulse in between her legs.
the two of you make it to mina’s room and leave pieces of clothing out on the way. mina grows louder with each kiss, and you grow touchier.
she pushes you through the door – you make sure to quickly turn on the lights so you can get a good view of her the whole night – and then her hand is on your chest, pushing you down on the bed. you prop yourself up with both hands, watching her take off her black pants and then making her way to your lap.
you can’t help but smirk at her, smirk at the exposed skin, the new territory, the groove down her abdomen, everything. she’s grinding on your lap and it feels like a dream, but it isn’t, not when you’re hyperaware of your hand sliding up the smooth skin of mina’s ribs, hyperaware of all the contact, the heavy breaths, the shaky ones, mina’s arms around your neck.
“my bra, take it off.” she orders. of course you’ll comply, it’s mina telling you this after all.
you slide your hands over her skin and feel her shiver against you, then you unhook her bra, sliding it off and throwing it somewhere around the room.
“fuck,” is all you can say. mina’s topless, she’s on your lap, straddling you, and you give up on trying to savor anything because all it’ll do is make you short circuit. it’s all so much to handle, far too much for you, so mina helps you out while she watches you amusingly.
“just gonna check me out? how about you use that mouth of yours again baby.”
“yeah.”
mina moans as soon as you indulge in her tits. she trembles as your hold on her tightens, as you swirl your tongue around her nipple, and as your other hand stimulates her other breast. she grinds against you, trying to ease the tension down in her soaked pussy, but it’s no use. she thinks she might cum just from you tending to her chest, and honestly she could—she might.
but you won’t let her reach her high that easily, not so quick. you need to savor everything—well as much as your overwhelmed brain can — because this is mina.
“so,” you kiss her breast once more, then pull away with a slight ‘pop’ sound. “fucking pretty.”
she throws her head back as you trail back up to hee neck, sinking your teeth until you get the faint hint of blood on your taste buds.
“i’ve been wanting to do this for years.”
mina’s breathless. “hnghh— yeah, fuck y/n, me too—“
you stand up slowly snd hold onto mina, who’s still straddling you. her legs wrap around your waist and she lets out a sharp breath as you turn over and set her down on her back. you stand in between her legs, then brush a finger over her nipple while running a hand down her stomach. her skin twitches as you trail down to her underwear, sliding two fingers under the rim of it and pulling it off.
“you’re so pretty mina, always have been.” you mumble, brushing your fingers over the sensitive area. “bet you sound even prettier when im going down on you.”
“y/n,” mina gasps, watching you lower yourself so that you face her cunt — it’s aching, it’s craving. “please.”
you kiss the inside of her thighs lovingly. “if you say so.”
mina’s hand grips at the sheets tightly as soon as your lips meet where she needs, a loud moan reverberates around the room. you work at her pussy with your mouth at first, eating her out at more relaxed pace since this is your first time with her. when mina ruts her hips and pushes your tongue further into her, you quicken the pace and add a finger in.
“oh fuck y/n, ngh— keep going, don’t stop.”
she twitches and jerks around the more you fuck her, a plethora of whiny moans of your name leaving her mouth. another finger is added in, plunging in and curling at the spot that makes mina’s hand immediately move to your head, gripping your hair tightly as she loses her voice.
“c’mon, gonna cum soon?”
“y-yeah, fuck i’m so, fuck, so close.”
you reach up for mina’s hand, accidentally meeting her wrist but then finding her fingers and intertwining them with your own. mina’s thighs close around your head slightly, making you groan into her lazily. then, mina moans loudly, so loud and it sounds like a near cry. her thighs tremble around you, and she holds your hand tightly as her chest heaves up and down.
you slow down your pace, taking your fingers out and savoring mina’s essence with your tongue. she’s sweet and warm, you’re drunk on her arousal. the repeated murmurs of your name ring throughout the room like a song you could listen to and never get tired of. her grip loosens and you pull away, climbing up the beauty of mina’s body and leaving kisses as you make your way up to her jawline.
she lazily puts her hand on your neck, then gradually pushes her fingers into your scalp as you kiss her lips. she tastes herself off you, then hums once she’s satisfied.
when you pull away she’s looking at you with hooded eyes, putting her hand on your cheek and rubbing her thumb against your warm skin.
“everything okay?” you ask, and mina just kisses you.
“i’m tired.” she mumbles against your lips after a peck, “stay and sleep here.”
“i didn’t plan on leaving.” you say, laughing lightly. “let’s clean up a little, okay?”
mina nods and kisses you again, letting herself sink into the cushion as you run your hands down the side of her body.
-
the morning after is so normal it’s as if you two have been fucking ever since you moved in together.
there’s some morning pillow talk that consists of you groaning into mina’s bare skin and her teasing you for being so tired. her hands massage your scalp and your lips kiss the skin that covers her ribs. her cheeks flush.
“do you have work?” she asks, voice low and tired.
“no, do you?”
“no.” she mutters, “let’s sleep in.”
“okay.” you say. you weakly lift yourself up so you can lay your head on her shoulder. “how long have you been wanting to do that?”
she turns around so you’re spooning her, then lazily moves your hand over with her own so that your arm is over her body. you pull her closer and she answers, “sophomore year.”
“highschool?”
“yeah.”
you laugh. “why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“you were too busy getting attention from other girls.” mina says annoyingly, though she scoots back so she’s closer to you. “didn’t want to waste my time waiting in line.”
“you should’ve skipped the line.” you feel for her hand and hold it, linking your fingers together. “i’ve liked you since middle school and you never noticed.”
if mina weren’t half asleep she would’ve had a bigger reaction, she’d be punching your shoulder and scolding you for being such a coward for not telling her. but what use is it when she’s already living the scene she’s been dreaming about for years. your breath is warm on her skin and she’s too content to yell at you.
mina yawns. “well it’s all figured out now, sleep.”
you kiss her shoulder and smile. “okay.”
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atsro-slut · 14 days ago
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Would you be willing to write a fem!reader x Remus where you're good friends with Remus, but one lingering touch and you were head over heels, so you're ranting to Lily about your feelings, and she comes up with a plan to set you up with Remus? Team efforts with the other marauders seem fun but you're completely free to do whatever you want! 🫶
Catching Lupin
Hey!!! My literal fav is back! I hope you enjoy bby!!
Remus Lupin x female!Reader
Y/N’s crushing on Remus, and with a little help from Lily and the Marauders, it’s about to go from friendship to something way more.
☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:☆
Y/N had always considered Remus Lupin to be one of her closest friends at Hogwarts. Their friendship had blossomed over years of late-night study sessions, shared laughter over ridiculous inside jokes, and quiet walks around the castle grounds. But lately, something had shifted. The comfortable camaraderie they’d always shared suddenly felt… different. At least, it did on her end.
It all started with one lingering touch.
It wasn’t anything overly flirtatious—just Remus gently brushing her arm when handing her a book during their usual spot in the library. But the moment his fingers grazed her skin, a spark had ignited inside her, leaving her breathless and painfully aware of just how close he had been. Since that moment, she couldn’t stop thinking about him—about the warmth of his hand, the way his brown eyes glinted when he smiled, how she felt safe and seen whenever they were together. It was maddening.
And now, Y/N was pacing back and forth in the Gryffindor common room, her hands tangled in her hair as she vented to her best friend, Lily Evans.
"I can't stop thinking about him, Lily!" Y/N exclaimed, nearly knocking over a cup of tea in her haste. "Remus! And it’s driving me insane. I mean, what was that touch? That touch—it was nothing, but everything, you know? I swear, I’ve never been this pathetic over a guy before."
Lily raised an eyebrow, a small smirk tugging at her lips. She had been watching the two of them for a while now, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that there was more between Y/N and Remus than either of them realized. She set her tea cup down, a mischievous glint in her green eyes.
"Oh, I know exactly what you mean," Lily said with a knowing tone, crossing her arms. "I’ve seen the way you look at him when you think no one’s watching."
Y/N groaned, flopping onto the couch dramatically. "This is ridiculous! He’s my friend. My good friend. And now every time he’s near me, I’m… I don’t know, melting like some kind of love-struck idiot."
Lily laughed softly. "Well, it sounds to me like someone needs a little nudge. What are you waiting for? A grand confession from him?" She paused thoughtfully before her eyes lit up with a spark of inspiration. "Wait, I have an idea."
Y/N sat up, her eyes wide. "What? What idea?"
Lily leaned in conspiratorially, lowering her voice as if they were planning the most intricate plot in wizarding history. "You want Remus? I’ll help you get him. But we need to make a plan. A plan where he realizes just how amazing you are."
Y/N blinked, slightly stunned by the sudden shift. "Wait, are you seriously going to help me? You, the one who always says I should wait for things to happen naturally?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Lily said with a wink. "Plus, you’re clearly head over heels, and you’ve been too busy staring at him to actually do something about it. Leave it to me. I’ll get the Marauders involved. They owe me a favor anyway."
Over the next few days, Lily set her plan into motion, gathering the Marauders for an impromptu meeting in the common room. Y/N had no idea what was going on, but she was already feeling the heat of anticipation in her chest. The Marauders—James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus—had always been close to her, but now that her feelings for Remus were growing, the thought of being around all of them was starting to make her feel a little self-conscious.
One evening, while they were all sitting by the fire in the common room, Lily subtly nudged her toward Remus. He was sitting on the other side of the room, a book in his lap, looking so effortlessly handsome that Y/N could barely keep her focus.
"You know what I think?" Lily whispered, leaning closer. "I think you should go over there. Sit next to him. Get a little closer. Let him see just how much you’ve been avoiding him."
Y/N’s eyes widened. "You want me to just… sit next to him?"
"Yep. And don’t be all nervous about it. Just be yourself." Lily gave her a sly smile. "And I’ll take care of the rest."
Lily’s plan was set into motion the very next evening. As Y/N walked into the common room, she found Remus lounging near the fire, reading a book. His hair was slightly messy, his glasses perched low on his nose, and his warm smile greeted her as she entered.
"Hey, Y/N," he said, looking up from his book. "How’s it going?"
"Good," she replied, her heart pounding in her chest. She hesitated for a moment before taking the seat beside him, her knee brushing his in the process. It wasn’t intentional—at least, not entirely—but the moment their legs touched, she could feel the heat spreading up her spine.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked casually, trying to hide the way her stomach was doing flips.
"Of course not," Remus replied with a smile, not seeming to notice the nervous fluttering in her chest. He continued reading his book, but the proximity made Y/N acutely aware of every little movement he made, of the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, of the faint scent of the woods and parchment that always lingered around him.
"Y/N," Lily said from across the room, catching her attention with a pointed glance. She gestured subtly toward Remus, then to herself, as if signaling some silent code.
Y/N blinked, her heart pounding in her ears. What was Lily up to? Before she could question it, Sirius, who had been watching the whole thing with a grin, leaned toward James and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, "So, what do you think, James? Should we help these two out? I feel like we could, you know, nudge them in the right direction."
James immediately caught on. "Oh, absolutely. Time for a little friendly intervention."
Peter, who had been quietly observing the conversation from the corner, suddenly piped up. "Are we talking about Remus and Y/N? I think we can help. A few well-placed compliments, maybe some strategic distraction…"
Before Y/N knew what was happening, the Marauders had begun their campaign. James and Sirius started joking around with Remus, purposely steering the conversation toward how “amazing” Y/N was—her intelligence, her kindness, the way she could make the most mundane tasks feel fun. Meanwhile, Peter, being the expert in misdirection, kept Y/N distracted with casual small talk, occasionally giving her a teasing wink.
Every time one of them said something about her, Y/N’s heart skipped. She was blushing. She had to admit, their plan was working.
Finally, Remus glanced over at her, his brown eyes meeting hers with a soft, almost shy smile. "You know," he said, his voice low and warm, "I’ve been meaning to tell you something."
Y/N’s heart leapt into her throat. "What’s that?"
He hesitated for a moment, then chuckled softly. "I think I’ve been a little oblivious... But I do like spending time with you. A lot more than I’ve realized."
Y/N blinked. "Oh," she breathed, a smile tugging at her lips. "I think I like spending time with you too."
Sirius, from across the room, gave a thumbs-up, and James clapped dramatically. Peter, ever the strategist, even pretended to be busy so they could have the moment to themselves.
Remus, looking a little sheepish but pleased, finally leaned closer. "Would you maybe want to… go for a walk? You know, just the two of us?"
Y/N’s smile widened. "I’d love that."
As they stood up together, heading toward the door, Lily gave Y/N a wink, mouthing, “Mission accomplished.”
Y/N couldn’t help but laugh, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. Maybe it hadn’t been so hard after all. And thanks to her friends—especially the Marauders—Remus Lupin was no longer just her good friend.
He was something much, much more.
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sycamorelibrary754 · 9 months ago
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Happy Easter
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Summary: You are three weeks from your due date, but the thought of you and Natasha missing Easter at the Barton’s farmhouse in Iowa was simply inconceivable. What will you do if your little bundle of joy makes an early, unexpected entrance?
Genre: Fluff
Pairings: Natasha x reader, Avengers x reader (platonic).
Word Count: 5.7k
Warnings: None
A/N: Happy belated Easter! I wanted to post this fic on Easter, but there wasn't enough time. This is part 3 of Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! I recommend reading those stories first, but it can be read as a stand-alone story as well. This was so much fun to write. I hope you enjoy it! 
"Does anyone know where the purple egg dye is?" you inquired, scanning the table as you addressed the Barton kids. "I could have sworn we had two cups of every color." Cooper and Lila were fully engrossed in the Easter egg decorating contest, meticulously crafting their designs, while Nate seemed to relish in using every color available on the table. "Oh, it's on the counter.”
You were just about to rise from the kitchen table, no easy feat at this stage of your pregnancy. It felt like yesterday when you surprised Natasha with your pregnancy at Thanksgiving in front of her family and announced to the team that they would all be aunts and uncles at Tony’s annual Christmas party. Your due date was three weeks away, but missing Easter with Clint’s family in Iowa was out of the question.
“Don’t get up, Y/N. I got it!” Nat said as she jumped up to grab the paper cup of purple egg dye behind you.
"Thanks, sweetheart," you said as Nat placed the cup on the table.
"How are you feeling?" Natasha asked as she gently caressed your cheek. "Maybe you should take a break?”
“Nat, I promise I’m okay. Come sit back down and color some Easter eggs with us,” you replied, trying to put your wife at ease. 
Natasha was looking forward to Easter, too, but she was more focused on you and the final weeks of your pregnancy. Dr. Cho had given you the green light to go, with the condition that you'd have daily check-ins by phone and go on bed rest as soon as you returned home.
"Auntie Nat, look at this!" Nate proudly showed off an egg with The Black Widow symbol on it.
"Look, Auntie Nat," you echoed with a smile.
"This is amazing! Maybe I should have you design my next suit instead of Stark," she said.
"Shall we start the judging?" Clint asked as he entered the room with Laura.
"Yep, all set," Cooper confirmed.
"Just a sec," Lila said, focused on decorating her egg. "There, done."
"Where are Yelena and Kate?" Laura asked.
"We're coming!" came a shout from the living room.
"It's not a Fabergé egg, you two, come on!" Nat yelled.
"Tada!" Kate exclaimed, revealing a beautiful purple egg with green and orange stripes.
You whispered to your wife, "So that's where all the purple dye went.”
You placed your egg on the table with all the others. Pink and blue with red polka dots. Symbolic of your current anticipation over the impending arrival of your bundle of joy. You and Nat both agreed you wanted to be surprised.
“Hmmm, this is going to be a tough decision,” Clint said, stroking his chin. “As you all know, you will be judged on creativity, technique, and presentation.”
Walking back and forth in front of the kitchen table, you couldn’t help but giggle at his mock seriousness. 
“Allow me to confer with my fellow judge,” he said. After a few moments of hushed whispers with Laura, Clint returned to the group. “We thank you all for your participation. You all decorated beautiful Easter eggs. The competition was tough this year, but one egg stands head and shoulders above the rest,” pausing for dramatic effect. “The 2024 Barton Easter Egg Decorating Champion is Nathaniel Barton!” 
You shouldn't have spent so much time on the sketches!” Yelena said, slapping Kate on the arm. 
“Yes!!” Nathaniel cheered. 
“You are hereby awarded this Lindt Milk Chocolate Gold Bunny,” his father said, handing him the gold-wrapped chocolate as big as his head.
“That you will share with the rest of the family and not eat in one sitting,” Laura added.
“Aww!” Nathaniel whined. 
*^~^*
You spent the evening on the porch, surrounded by the laughter of the kids playing on the lush green lawn as the sun set over the farm. Laura served her delicious homemade Lemonade as you shared stories and reminisced about old times. The air was filled with nostalgia so vivid that you could almost reach out and touch it. Natasha sat next to you, holding your hand gently, her calloused touch a reminder of the strength and resilience she had acquired through years of training.
You were taken by surprise as you felt the baby begin to kick.
"Wow!" You exclaimed as you gently placed your hand on your belly.
All eyes turned to you. Though unspoken, everyone shared the same nervous anticipation as your wife for the approaching due date.
"Are you alright, malyshka?" Nat asked, her eyes filled with concern as she squeezed your hand.
"I'm okay. The baby is kicking. Here, feel." You said as you took her hand and gently guided it to your stomach, trying to find the right spot. 
“Oh,” Nat squeaked. “I’ll never get used to that feeling.”
“Move aside, sestra; I want to feel my little plemyannitsa or plemyannik.” (Niece or nephew).
Yelena playfully bumped her sister out of the way with her hip and eagerly reached to touch your stomach.
"Wow, that's amazing!" she cried out. "Hey there, little one. I'm Aunt Yelena, and I will spoil you rotten!"
"Have you two settled on a name yet?" Kate inquired.
"No," you sighed. "We just can't seem to agree. Since we both want to be surprised, it's been twice as hard to come up with two names."
"Don't worry, you'll know when you see the little bundle of joy," Laura reassured.
"This wouldn't be an issue if either of you were open to any of the names I've suggested," Yelena added with a grin.
“Yelena is not an option,” Natasha frustratedly replied.
“What about—“ 
“Neither is Alaska! That isn’t even a name!” Your wife is exasperated.
“It could be!” Yelena said. “What about—“
“Or Wolfgang!” Nat interrupted.
“You lack all originality, sestra,” Yelena berated.
^*~*^
The soft glow of the table lamp reflected off your glasses as you delved into the pages of your latest beloved read. You placed your bookmark between the pages at the sound of your wife closing the bathroom door and crawling into bed beside you.
"Did you get a chance to talk to Helen today?" Nat asked as she helped me fluff up my pregnancy pillow.
"Yeah, I did. She was glad to hear that the swelling in my ankles went down and suggested taking a warm bath to help with the discomfort," you replied, shifting to get comfortable against the pillow.
"Mmm, a warm bath does sound amazing," Natasha hummed as she settled down on her side, facing me.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d be joining me?” You said softly, with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow.
“Of course I would, detka,” leaning over and kissing your baby bump. 
You gently squeezed Nat's hand, feeling a wave of anticipation as your due date drew near. Thoughts of what your baby would look like and who they would become filled your mind. Would they inherit Nat's fiery red hair, or perhaps have your Y/E/C eyes? The anticipation was almost overwhelming, but knowing that Natasha was by your side made it all feel possible.
"Are you looking forward to the Easter egg hunt tomorrow?" You asked, pulling yourself out of your daydream.
Nat giggled, "You make it sound like I'm the one participating."
"Well, you might as well be. I can never tell who's more excited, you or the kids," you replied.
Natasha glanced down at our intertwined hands and then back up at you. Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds.
"I think it's because holidays in my childhood weren’t real. We filled the photo album with fake pictures and empty boxes. But this," looking around at the small details of Clint and Laura’s farmhouse, "Is real, and I’ve always done my best to help ensure that Cooper, Lila, and Nate have everything I didn’t. A carefree childhood filled with love," Natasha explained.
"You’ve done a wonderful job with Clint’s kids, Nat. They love you so much, and I know you’ll be just as amazing with our little one," you said, doing your best to reassure her. “Goodnight, Natasha,” kissing her lips. 
“I hope you're right, detka,” Nat said, kissing your lips in return and laying a hand on your stomach. “Goodnight, malen'kiy (little one).
*^~^*
The following day, you awoke to the sun shining through the window and a soft breeze that caused the curtains to dance gently on the wind. Your back was aching, and you were tired, but you were determined to make it through today. You slipped into the most comfortable maternity outfit you had. Natasha helped you with your shoes, and you both went downstairs to the kitchen. 
“Happy Easter, you two!” Clint said upon seeing you two enter the kitchen. 
You sat down at the kitchen table as Laura placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of you and Nat, along with two glasses of orange juice. The kids were already eating and arguing over who would find the most Easter eggs this afternoon. 
Yelena and Kate walked in a few moments later, clad in bathrobes and their hair disheveled. 
“Against the idea of showering and dressing before breakfast, were you?” Natasha asked.
“Kate Bishop kept me up all night with her snoring, and Lucky and Fanny woke me up by sitting on my face,” Yelena mumbled as she flopped beside you. 
“Hey, that’s how dogs shows affection,” Kate interjected.
“So, I should consider your snoring a Valentine?” Yelena deadpanned. 
After breakfast, the kids ran upstairs to prepare for the Easter egg hunt while Clint got a head start on hiding the eggs. Nathaniel insisted Nat accompany him to help find his Easter basket, but she hesitated to leave you.
“Go ahead, babe. I’m fine.” Motioning for her to follow her namesake. 
“So, how are you really feeling?” Laura asked, now that Nat was no longer in the room. 
You let out a deep sigh, “Tired and sore,” resting your head in your hands. “But this quality time with you all means so much to both of us. I can make it one more day before going on bed rest.”
Laura rubbed her hand softly on your back, “Why don’t you sit in the family room with Kate and Yelena until the fun starts.” 
“Okay, that’s a good idea. Make sure Yelena and Kate haven’t snuck into the Easter candy,” you laughed. 
Laura helped you to your feet and then began to clear the table. As you started to walk, you felt a minor twinging pain in your stomach. You winced but thought nothing of it. With the amount of shifting the baby was doing these days, you had every spasm and cramp in the book. Unfortunately for you, you were in a house full of spies, and Laura picked up your discomfort. She made a mental note to watch you as the day progressed.
*^~^*
"Look, there's one!" Cooper exclaimed, pointing at the leather seat of the tractor in the front yard. He dashed towards it, but Lila beat him by a step. "Ha! Slowpoke," she teased.
From your spot on the porch, you glanced over and saw my wife hoisting Nathaniel onto her shoulders to carefully grab an Easter egg from the crook of an old sycamore tree. 
After about 15 minutes, everyone's baskets were full of eggs. Now came the fun of opening them all. You watched as all three kids dug into their baskets, opening the eggs to find mini Hershey bars, M&M's, jelly beans, or starbursts.
Nathaniel walked over to you and placed an Orange Starburst in your hand. "Here, Aunt Y/N. I know the Orange ones are your favorite."
"Aww, thank you, Nate," you said, kissing his forehead.
As you were about to open the soft toffy candy, a sharp contraction cut through my stomach. “Aaah!” you reached for your stomach as you bent over at the knees. Much stronger than anything you had felt before.
Natasha rushed to your side. “Y/N?! Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Reaching for your hand.
"I don’t know," you grunted.
Natasha's voice quivered with anxiety as she tried to rationalize the situation. "This—this can’t be it. We’re still three weeks out," she said, her mind racing with worry. "Maybe it’s just false labor."
That was the moment when your water broke. "Oh God—" you took a sharp breath as another contraction hit.
"Okay, not false labor," Nat conceded.
"It’s okay, Y/N," Laura reassured you calmly, gently taking your hand. "Most first births are a long labor. But we’re going to get you inside, okay?"
You felt a surge of panic. "What? No, no. I can't have the baby here. I'm not ready. We had a birth plan; I don't have my overnight bag!" you started to ramble, the anxiety rising in your voice.
"You're not boarding a Quinjet now. “I'm going to call Helen,” Clint said as he started to run inside.
"What's wrong with Aunt Y/N?” Nathaniel asked.
"Nothing, sweetheart, but the baby is coming a little bit earlier than we thought," Laura said calmly as she and your wife Nat gently guided you up the steps and into the warm and welcoming embrace of the house.
"Cooper and Lila, please grab a soft, warm blanket and clean towels from the linen closet?" Laura called out to the older children, her voice steady and reassuring.
I'l boil some water and tear up some sheets!" Kate announced frantically.
"This isn't Little House on the Prairie," Yelena quipped. She looked at you and Natasha with a warm yet nervous smile. "I’ll call Mom and Dad.”
"I thought you said this was a long process?" you managed to say between deep breaths, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness.
"Yes, but there's nothing wrong with being prepared, honey," Laura replied with a comforting smile, her hands steady as she and Nat helped you onto the bed.
Natasha gently grasped your hand and locked eyes with you. "Y/N, look at me," she said reassuringly. “You’re okay, and I'm right here with you. Let's take a deep breath together.”
You took a deep breath, trying to follow Natahsa's lead. The air came out shakily as it moved around the sharp pain of the contraction.
"Do you remember your Lamaze breathing?" Nat asked, her voice calm and reassuring.
"I think so," you replied, trying to focus on the breathing technique you had practiced during the prenatal classes.
*^~^*
Contractions came and went over the next few hours. You were thankful that childbirth was part of the first aid classes all SHIELD recruits were required to take. Otherwise, the prospect of giving birth in a farmhouse in the middle of Iowa would have been more terrifying than it already was. 
You heard the front door open and the screen shut behind it as footsteps hurriedly approached the bedroom. When you saw Dr. Cho, you just about burst into tears. 
Helen! Oh, thank goodness," you exclaimed just as another contraction began, your face twisted in agony.
"Y/N," Helen responded, rushing to your side and gently pushing the sweaty strands of hair away from your eyes. "Clint and Laura briefed me. They said that you're handling this wonderfully. Let me take a moment to set up, and then we'll check your dilation progress.”
Okay," you managed to say, catching your breath. "Where's Bruce?"
He's in Kamar-Taj with Wong. Something about ten rings? I'm not entirely sure, but don't worry, both of you," she reassured, meeting your and Natasha’s fatigued and apprehensive gazes. "I have a backup.”
Thor strode into the room, effortlessly carrying a collection of Helen's equipment that seemed as light as a feather in his hands.
"Thor? What are you doing here?" Natasha asked, clearly puzzled.
Thor glanced at your wife, then at you, then at Laura, and then at Helen.
"Hello, everyone," he said shyly. "I was, uh, Helen and I—Dr. Cho. She invited me for Easter, and we were enjoying a nice glass of Asgardian Mead when—"
"When Clint called," Helen finished. "Anyway, he's here to help, right?"
"Of course," Thor replied. "I've never witnessed a human birth before, but I've been present for the births of many Gods and am well-versed in many newborn blessings."
You and Natasha locked eyes, your nervousness quickly replaced with gratitude as you realized the significance of having another close friend by your side during this pivotal moment in your lives.
Natasha expressed her gratitude to Thor, finally breaking the silence. "We're both thankful that you're here," she said, her voice filled with sincerity. 
You nodded in agreement, silently acknowledging the sentiment.
"It's my pleasure, ladies," Thor replied warmly.
“Thor, can you bring the rest of my equipment in from the Quinjet while I check to see how far Y/N is dilated?” Helen asked.
“Sure, and do either of you need anything? He asked.
Some ice chips would be great, you said in a tired voice. “Thank you.”
“Water,” Natasha said.
Shortly after Thor departed, Yelena entered, engaging in small talk as they crossed paths in the hallway. "What's the God of muscles doing here?" she inquired.
"It's a long story," Helen responded.
"I spoke with Melina. She and Alexi are en route and should arrive by morning. At least, I think that's what she said. It was hard to hear her over Alexi's ecstatic screams in the background."
"Okay, Y/N, you've done most of the hard work in my absence. You're just about at 10 centimeters. It’s time to start pushing. You two are going to parents soon," Helen announced with a smile.
“Oh my God,” you said, looking over at Natasha. 
“Hey,” your wife said, running her hand through your hair, “I love you.” 
“I love you too,” you said.
*^~^*
“Push. Push, just a little more! Come on, push for five seconds. 5…4…” Helen counted down.
Gasping for air, you exclaimed, '3-2-1 oh!!' as you fought to catch your breath.
Thor gently wiped away the sweat from your forehead with a cloth.
“You're doing great, Y/N. The next contraction should be coming in about twenty seconds," Helen encouraged, glancing at the monitor. 
“I can’t,” you cried. “I can’t push anymore, I can’t.”
Natasha reassured you, "Yes, you can, Y/N. You're so close," she reached out and firmly took hold of your hand.
“Oh God, twenty seconds, my ass!” You shouted.
Natasha screamed in pain and fell to her knees beside you as you squeezed her hand. “Fuck, detka!”
"Here, Lady Y/N," Thor said, taking her hand in his, "Give my hand a good squeeze; you won't hurt me. And when you reminisce on this moment, you will remember that a God has faith in you. You can do this!" Thor's voice was solid and reassuring, his eyes filled with genuine belief in your strength.
Your eyes shone with tears as you held Thor's hand tightly, feeling the strength in his grip while Natasha enveloped you, her arm supporting your back.
I can see the baby's head. Are you ready to push one more time, honey?” Helen asked, “Here we go, on three: 1... 2... 3!”
You let out a final scream and then collapsed back onto the pillows, trying to catch your breath. As the room fell silent, the innocent cries of your and Natasha’s baby filled the air.
"It's a boy!" Helen exclaimed with joy.
Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked at Natasha, who was also crying. It was more emotion than you had ever seen Natasha show before.
Helen held up your son for both of you to admire. His little head was adorned with the beginnings of red hair. 
"He's absolutely perfect," Nat exclaimed with a radiant smile as she affectionately kissed your temple.
Thor carefully cut the umbilical cord, and then Helen gently passed the newborn over to Laura, who began to clean him up. 
Overwhelmed with emotion, you exclaimed, "He's so tiny! Where'd he go?"
Natasha reassured you, "It's okay. They're just wrapping him up," as she wiped away her tears. Concerned for the baby's well-being, you cautioned, "Okay, well, be careful with him. He's really tiny!”
Moments later, Laura tenderly announced, "Here he is," and placed your precious son on your bare chest, swathed in a soft blanket.
"Hi, baby boy," you whispered, tears streaming down your cheeks. "I know you."
As your voice reached his ears, his little Y/E/C irises opened, revealing a world of innocence and wonder.
At that moment, gazing at your son, you experienced a love so profound it felt as though your heart had been laid bare.
Natasha tenderly kissed his head and softly murmured, “Dobro pozhalovat' v mir, moy malen'kiy mal'chik.” (Welcome to the world, my little boy).
We’ll give you a few minutes," Helen said with a reassuring smile as she closed the door behind her. In the serene stillness that followed, the only sound was the gentle cooing of your precious newborn son.
“I can't believe he's finally here,” you said.
"I know. He’s so beautiful," Natasha said, her gaze fixed on the newborn.
"It looks like he’s going to take after his Mama," you chuckled, running your hand over the delicate red hairs sprouting from his scalp.
"Yes, but look at his eyes—sparkling Y/E/C like yours. Wow," Nat said.
You remarked, "I guess this narrows the names down, then."
Nat sighed in relief, "Thank goodness I don't have to explain to my sister why we didn't choose Yelena."
Looking into your wife's eyes, you asked, "So what do you think?"
*^~^*
A short while later, a gentle knock on the door signaled Helen's arrival as she peeked inside. "Hey, you three. I need to conduct a few routine tests, and there are some eager people outside who can't wait to meet your son."
"Please, come on in, everyone," you welcomed them.
You couldn't hold back the tears as you witnessed the heartfelt expressions on their faces as they laid eyes on your baby boy. It was as if he instantly captivated them, just as you were when you first saw him.
"Oh, my goodness," Laura exclaimed as Clint enveloped Natasha tightly. Tears glistened in his eyes as he held his best friend close.
"He's beautiful, Natasha," Yelena said, her eyes brimming with tears. "Privet, malen'kiy plemyannik," she whispered (hello, my little nephew).
"He's so cute, Y/N! Oh my gosh," Kate exclaimed as your son wrapped his tiny hand around your finger.
"He is lovely," Thor added, his voice filled with warmth. "Strong and brave, like his mothers."
Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel gathered around you, admiring the newborn in your arms.
"Everyone," Natasha began, her hand resting lovingly on your back. "We have someone special we'd like you to meet.”
“This is Nikolai Odison Romanoff," you announced with a proud smile.
"Nikolai! What a beautiful first name," Clint exclaimed, wiping his eyes. "It suits him perfectly."
"Oh, my, Odison," Thor said wide-eyed. "Ladies, this is an honor fit for someone else. I wasn't even supposed to be here, I—" 
"But you were, Thor. You were here when I needed someone the most," you said, looking at him with gratitude. "We'll never forget what you did for us."
The God of Thunder exhaled, visibly touched by your kind words. "I'm truly honored, Y/N. Thank you," he said, kissing your cheek.
Excuse me, ladies," Helen said, "May I borrow him for a moment? We'll be right back.”
Nikolai began to cry at the loss of contact with you, and the sound tugged at both your and Natasha's heartstrings. "It's okay, little one. It's okay," Helen soothed him. 
Then, looking up at your wife, you added, "There is something else we wanted to ask. 
“Clint and Laura, we would be honored if you would be Nikolai’s godparents,” Natasha said.
“Of course!” Clint declared.
“Nothing would make us happier,” Laura added.”
The couple hugged you both in appreciation as Helen returned with Nikolai. 
“You have a healthy little boy on your hands! Born March 31st, 2024 at 7:23pm. He weighs five pounds and eight ounces and measures 16.5 inches long," she said as she gently placed your son in Natasha’s arms. "He's a bit small, but that is because he was impatient and arrived a bit early," Helen explained with a warm smile. "Nothing to worry about.”
Natasha cradled the baby in her arms, swaying gently back and forth as a soft yawn slipped from his tiny lips.
“We’ll spend the night here, but I want to bring Mom and Nikolai back to the compound tomorrow. I want to perform a thorough examination in my lab before sending you all home.” Helen explained.
"Of course, whatever you think is best," you agreed.
Natasha nodded in approval before a sudden realization struck her. "Oh, Mom and Dad! They're on their way here."
"They can join us if you'd like," Helen suggested.
"That would be great," you said. "Right, Nat?"
"Yeah, great," Natasha said, her mind racing as she tried to imagine the chaos of the Quinjet flight home with Alexi and Melina.
Yelena couldn't help but burst into laughter, fully aware of what her sister was thinking, until Kate elbowed her in the ribs.
"We'll leave you all to get some rest," Helen said. "I'll be outside if you need anything, and I'll be back in a little while to help you with breastfeeding him.”
"Thank you, Helen, and all of you, for everything," you said, feeling the exhaustion and emotions of the day overwhelming you as tears began to fall.
After exchanging warm embraces, everyone exited the room, leaving you and Natasha in peaceful solitude with your precious newborn son, savoring the tender moment.
Natasha gently settled Nikolai in Nathaniel's bassinet, a family heirloom lovingly retrieved from storage by Clint and Laura. As your little one drifted into a peaceful slumber, you both couldn't help but marvel at the miracle of life, watching his tiny chest rise and fall with each breath. It was a moment you never wanted to forget.
“Rest, detka. I'll take care of Nikolai," Nat offered, her voice filled with warmth and reassurance.
"I can stay up; it's fine. You should rest," you insisted, determined to take responsibility.
"Y/N, you've just brought new life into the world. You deserve to rest for the rest of your life," Nat chuckled, her eyes filled with affection and concern.
She settled beside you on the bed and enveloped you in a comforting embrace.
"Look at your face," Nat suddenly remarked, her expression softening with genuine admiration.
"I must look a mess," you replied, a tired smile tugging at your lips.
"No, Y/N, you look absolutely beautiful," Nat insisted, her words filled with sincerity. "I've never seen your face more radiant than it is right now.
Natasha's soft lips met yours in a tender kiss, and in that moment, you felt the truth of her words resonate deep within you.
*^~^*
The following day, Laura prepared a delicious breakfast and brought it to you and Natasha in bed. Both of you had barely gotten any sleep with Nikolai waking up every couple of hours. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, you didn't mind one bit. This weariness stemmed from the joy of caring for your precious newborn son on his very first night.
Twenty minutes later, the tranquil moment was interrupted by familiar voices outside. Natasha gently pulled the curtain back to glimpse her parents making their way up the front porch steps.
Yelena strode into the room with her arms folded and a mischievous smile on her lips. "Brace yourselves," she teased, "The grandparents have arrived.”
"Where's my little guy?" Alexi eagerly shouted as he entered the room.
"Shh!" Natasha hushed him with a grin, motioning to Nikolai nestled in her arms. "Oh, look at him!" Alexi whispered in awe. 
"Mom, Dad, this is Nikolai,” Nat said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"He's beautiful, Natalia," Melina murmured.
"May I hold him? I washed my hands," Alexi asked eagerly.
"Of course," you replied, carefully passing the baby to Alexi. The sight of the mighty Red Guardian tenderly cradling your newborn son made you smile.
"Hello, Nikolai. I'm your dedushka," Alexi said affectionately. "You're so adorable; yes, you are."
As he spoke, Nikolai slowly opened his eyes, and you could have sworn you saw your father-in-law's heart swell with love. 
Alexi gently placed the baby in Melina’s arms. Your mother-in-law had always been a complex and enigmatic figure. She was one of the longest-tenured widows, and her resilience made her one of the strongest women in your eyes. As she cradled your newborn son in her arms, a single tear traced its way down her cheek, revealing a depth of emotion and vulnerability that you had never seen before.
Yelena inched toward you and whispered, “He won them over faster than you did.” 
*^~^*
The next morning, Thor joined in to assist with packing while Clint hurried to the store to purchase an infant car seat for Nikolai. You were a family of two when you arrived, and you were leaving a family of three.
After a swift diaper change, Natasha placed your precious bundle of joy in his carrier. "Time to head home, Nik," you said, taking his tiny hand in yours. 
You bid farewell to everyone and securely placed Nikolai's carrier beside you on the Quinjet.
Nat smiled as she prepared the Quinjet for takeoff. Your first Quinjet ride," she said. "You're already an overachiever, moy sladkiy mal'chik" (my sweet little boy).
Your phone suddenly vibrates with a flurry of notifications.
"The team group chat is blowing up, sweetheart," showing Natasha your phone.
Nick Fury: Congratulations on the arrival of your precious son, Nikolai! It's heartwarming to see the Avengers family welcoming the newest member. Everyone at SHIELD looks forward to meeting him and supporting you and Natasha.
Steve Rogers: Hey, Y/N and Nat, huge congratulations! I'm so excited to meet Nikolai, the newest addition to our Avenger family. 🎖️
Wanda Maximoff: Congratulations to you both! All those cliches, those things you hear about having a baby and motherhood—all of them are true. Motherhood is the most beautiful things you will ever experience. I’ll drop off some food for you both in the morning. 🥰
Clint Barton: Hey, Y/N! Make sure Nikolai is securely fastened in his infant carrier. I hope he sleeps the whole way back. If he gets fussy, ask FRIDAY to turn on the cabin pressure stabilization. It's a feature I insisted Stark add to the Quinjet after SHIELD found out I had kids. You're welcome. 😏
Laura Barton: I know things didn't go as planned, but I'm grateful we could share in your special day, Y/N. Nikolai is absolutely beautiful! Please let Nat know that I'll give her a call tomorrow. 😊
Tony Stark: Rushman! Y/L/N! Congratulations on the arrival of your precious son. Nikolai will bring you endless joy and fulfillment and become your favorite reason to lose sleep for the rest of your lives. 😉
Pepper Stark: Congratulations, you two! I'm so happy for you and Nat. I can only imagine how incredible it must feel to look into Nikolai's eyes and feel like everything is right in the world. Please don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything I can do to help. Sending lots of love! ❤️
Bruce Banner: I'm truly sorry I couldn't be there; I’m thrilled for you and Natasha. I can't wait to meet Nikolai! 💚
Maria Hill: Congratulations, Y/N and Nat, on the arrival of baby Nikolai Odison! I can't wait to meet the little bundle of joy and see those tiny fingers and toes. The name Nikolai Odison Romanoff is absolutely beautiful. I spoke with Thor this morning, and the honor deeply moved him. 🥹
Thor Odinson: I am incredibly grateful to have been present for the birth of your son, Nikolai Odison Romanoff. Your decision to include me in this momentous occasion is a great honor, and I want to assure you that I will always be there to support and care for all of you. The arrival of Nikolai is a joyous event, and I am committed to being a steadfast presence in his life. ⚡
Peter Parker: Y/N! Congratulations on the arrival of Nikolai! I'm so thrilled for you and Nat. What does he look like? Does he have your hair or Natasha’s? What color are his eyes? I'm already thinking about all the adventures we'll have with him. I'm going to text Nat right now. I can't wait to meet him! 💙
Yelena Belova: Give my little nephew a kiss and hug from me. Also, heads up - Mom and Dad are considering staying with you for eight weeks to help care for Nikolai. Happy Parenting! 😂
Kate Bishop: Yelena is sitting next to me, and she can't stop laughing, so I'm going to assume that everything is going well. Please give Nikolai a kiss and hug from me! 🩵
*^~^*
You and Natasha stood together at the front of the Quinjet, the hum of the engines surrounding you as the aircraft soared safely through the sky. 
“Nikolai is sound asleep. I don't think your parents have taken their eyes off our son since they got here,” turning around to see Melina and Alexi lovingly admiring their grandson. 
Nat lovingly reached for your hand. “Our son,” she repeated with a big smile.
Nat took her place in the pilot's seat and turned off the autopilot as you settled in beside her.
"Come on, Y/N. Let’s go home.”
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judasofsuburbia · 2 years ago
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something something kindergarten teacher! steve who is so tired of going on bad dates. kindergarten teacher! robin who doesn't want him to give up.
“Really? The date went that bad?” Robin asks again. 
“Yes,” Steve drones. “I swear she looked like she’d rather be at the dentist than on a date with me.”
Robin makes a sad face at him. Steve continues to sort the paint jugs and throw out any that have been mixed with other colors. Robin finishes putting toys back into cubbies and sanitizing the fake food. 
“Okay so,” Robin starts. 
Steve immediately holds up a hand. “Don’t say ‘maybe she’s not the one but someone is’. I’m sick of this, Rob. I feel like I’m just better off alone.”
“Not true,” Robin argues. “You’re a catch. You’re attractive and good with kids. You make me laugh so hard my ribs shake. You’re a great listener and you make amazing cocktails. Great helmet of hair. Who wouldn’t want to date that?” 
Steve’s heard it all before. He loves Robin, he does, but it doesn’t seem to matter what she thinks of him because no one in this town wants to make it to date two with him.
He used to be so good at this. Always had a girl on his arm at football games in high school. Always had a date to prom. Always had some girl to make out with at parties. Even when he realized later on in his twenties that he liked boys too, he still couldn’t find one that took his attraction seriously.
Steve Harrington? Like both? Unheard of, apparently. 
Still, Steve didn’t want to start the first day of school on a bad note. “Thanks, Rob. I might need to lick my wounds for a second but I’ll get back on the horse I promise.”
“Good because our marriage pact could be closing soon,” Robin mumbles with a sly smile. 
Steve’s head whips around. “Are you‒”
“I have a ring picked out,” Robin practically squeals. 
Steve does his best to gently set down the paint jugs and rip off his latex gloves before darting across the room to pick Robin up in a twirling hug. He kisses her head repeatedly until she’s groaning, giggling, and shoving him off. 
“Rob, that’s amazing,” Steve breathes. He squeezes her tightly again. 
“You better keep your mouth shut,” Robin warns with a pointed finger. “It’s so hard to surprise Nancy Wheeler but I think I’m finally going to be able to.” 
Steve’s grinning from ear to ear as he mimes zipping his mouth closed. “Secret’s safe with me.”
The alarm on Steve’s phone breaks them out of their little love fest and suddenly the halls are filled with parents, children, and teachers gabbing to high heaven. Robin gives him a salute before crossing over onto her side of the classroom. Technically, there is a foldable partition between the two rooms but it will be a cold day in Hell if Robin and Steve ever actually separate their classrooms. 
Steve goes to stand by his door and greet his new gaggle of students. He high-fives each of them as they walk through the door and points to their assigned cubby and seat.
Fifteen minutes later, he’s looking around the room and sees that two seats are still empty. Dustin and Max Munson. He didn’t see them at parent-teacher night last week but he knows from their file that they’re fraternal twins from a single, widowed dad. He tries to keep an eye out for them but he knows the other kids are getting restless. 
Then he hears, “Oh, Mr. Munson, you’re actually in Steve’s‒sorry, Mr. Harrington’s class. He’s just right across the way.” 
Steve glances across the room and does a double-take. Across the room is the alleged Mr. Munson, this tall, lanky man with curly brown hair that hits his shoulders with a blank bandana tying down the top of his head, big brown eyes, a leather jacket with pins, a white tank top, and coverall sleeves tied at his waist. He’s positively breathtaking. 
Holding either hand are Max and Dustin. A little redhead with a baseball cap, overalls, and a striped shirt. A little brunette curly head with green khaki shorts and a shirt with a dragon on it. Mr. Munson smiles apologetically at Robin and walks across the room to Steve’s. Dustin bolts to his assigned seat and starts talking animatedly to Will Byers who looks a little scared out of his mind but is quickly rescued by Mike Wheeler who is just as excited. Max stays glued to Mr. Munson’s side as he walks up to Steve.
If Steve’s not mistaken, Mr. Munson looks him up and down before speaking. 
“Sorry we’re late,” Mr. Munson says and of course, his voice is pretty too. “This one is a little nervous about being away from her dad.”
Steve draws his eyes away from the strong neck and pale collarbones that poke out from underneath his jacket to the scared girl. He bends down to her level and gives her a soft smile. 
“Are you Max? I’m Mr. Harrington,” Steve says.
Max blinks, inching more and more behind Mr. Munson’s pant leg. 
“School’s kinda scary, huh?” Steve asks. 
Max nods.
“I know I get a little nervous on the first day and I’m the teacher,” Steve admits in a small, dramatic voice. He sees the tiniest sliver of a smile on Max’s face. “I’ve sat you next to Lucas Sinclair,” Steve points to the smiling kid on the other side of the room. Lucas gives a small wave. “He’s a very nice boy and I think he even likes the Bulls,” Steve gestures to Max’s hat. “So, I think you guys will have loads to talk about. We’re gonna have a really fun day, okay? And then you’ll get to tell your dad all about it.”
Max glances timidly around the room again and slowly lets go of her dad’s pant leg. Dustin rushes over and shows Max where her cubby is which detaches her completely. Max sits next to Lucas who does get very excited over her hat. Steve and Mr. Munson watch her relax little by little. 
“Holy sh‒shirt," Mr. Munson coughs and smiles sheepishly. "Wow, uh, you really know how to talk to them. Literally made her a friend within five seconds."
Steve stands and tries to regain composure now that the irresistible dad’s attention is on him. 
“Thanks,” Steve says quietly. “The first day is always a little tricky.”
Mr. Munson holds out his hand and says, “Eddie.”
Steve takes it, feeling a little dizzy over how firm his grip is and the callouses on his hands. “S-Steve. Harrington.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t make it last week. Last-minute towing emergency for Chief Hopper,” Eddie says, finally dropping Steve’s hand. 
Steve playfully rolls his eyes. “I’ve been telling him for years that he needs to dump that old hunk of junk already. I’m guessing you work for Munson Mechanics?”
Eddie smiles boldly and glances down at his attire. “Yeah, that’s where I get this sick uniform. Very exclusive.”
“I’m jealous,” Steve laughs nervously, trying desperately to keep his eyes on Eddie’s face. But even then, his eyes are so pretty and his smile is so radiant. There’s faint stubble on his upper lip and jaw. Steve wants to run his fingers over it amongst other things.
“Well, I won’t keep you much longer,” Eddie smiles, clapping Steve on his back. “Maybe I’ll get you a free oil change for your trouble.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble‒”
Eddie leans forward a little and squeezes Steve’s shoulder. He whispers, “Or maybe I just want to see you when there are not twenty five-year-olds staring at me.”
From this proximity, Steve can smell his cologne and lingering car oil. He can feel his brain cells dying every second he inhales the intoxicating aroma. Steve breathes shallowly, too aware of the growing blush on his cheeks, and says, “S-sure. I’d like that.”
Eddie smirks and has the audacity to wink before going to each of his kids, ruffling their hair, and kissing them goodbye with a big wet smack on their cheeks. He passes by Steve again and murmurs, “I won’t say goodbye to you like that. Not yet, at least. Good luck with my little gremlins” before walking out the door. 
Steve hears the clunk of his boots echoing down the hall and each step makes his heart beat louder against his ribs.
He dares to look at Robin across the room who is staring at him with a smug grin on her face. She mimics getting on a horse and does a little lasso with her hand. 
Steve adjusts his glasses, clears his throat, and says in his best teacher voice, “Alright friends, who’s ready to start kindergarten?” 
EDIT 2/8: READ THE FULL FIC HERE 🤠
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1d1195 · 5 months ago
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Read Most here | ~5.8k words
From me: I've been waiting for this part for a REALLY long time.
Warnings: *drum roll* SMUT, semi-public, unprotected, really needy 18+ also, some pretty angsty chats (and more Lauren)
Summary: Harry has been dying for this date for three years. And all the answers it comes with. Even if he doesn't like some of them. She missed Harry. Plain and simple.
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With Addie off the phone, she gazed at her reflection for a moment. The girls did an amazing job with her hair and makeup. She felt beautiful. Beautiful enough to be on a date with Harry. He was one of the only people she had ever been on a date with (as much as she did it, she didn’t consider third-wheeling with Addie and Carter actually dating; and knowing Harry was her soulmate put a damper on the memory of her dates with one of the only other guys she dated, Beau, in the ninth grade). It was simultaneously terrifying and wonderful.
The thought of him made the nerves return. Closing her eyes, she smoothed down the skirt of her dress. It was light green. Nearly matched Harry’s eyes, which was why she selected it. There was a slight V-cut at her neck and had fluttery sleeves at the top of her shoulders. Eleanor insisted it looked beautiful against her skin and the skirt cinched slightly at her waist accentuating her curves and then came to a ruffled hem that hit just above her knee. With a pair of wedged nude sandals, she tried to create the effect that her legs were longer, but she slightly felt like she was playing dress up and this was not a date she was meant to go on.
“I just need to jump,” she whispered to herself encouragingly.
The full effect had Harry’s jaw nearly unhinged to the floor as she entered the kitchen. Eleanor punched him in the arm to keep him from drooling. Sarah smiled excitedly. “You look beautiful.”
“Extremely,” Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes scanning her in a way that made her feel naked, but in a really good way. She blushed so cutely. It made Harry’s heart skip a beat.  “Ready?” He asked.
She nodded. Because for the first time in ages she felt so ready to go on a date. Eager. Utterly excited to be alone with someone. “Yes,” she smiled.
*
Dinner passed in a blur. Truly, he was only thinking about the way her smile looked so nice on her lips. How soft her hair framed around her face. The way her skin practically glowed and it was only amplified by the makeup that she decidedly did not need but it looked like she was doing the products a favor by wearing them on her beautiful face. He was only pretty sure they spoke. Chatted about a variety of things but he wasn’t sure he could recall them in detail if asked because he was so overwhelmed by the fact that he was with her, on a date. After all that time.
He suspected there was stuff about work and college. He did remember he told her at least twenty stories about Mrs. Peterson and seriously worried she was one of his best friends, now. She talked about Carter and Addie. Gave an update on her mum and how she enjoyed living closer to her aunt.
But all those details disappeared. He was on a date with her. A date with the love of his life after three years of not seeing her and it was so goddamn effortless to talk to her, make her laugh, and smile with her.
It felt so good he could have cried.
“What are y’going t’do when y’finish your degree?”
“Uh,” she sighed, and Harry sensed her worry almost immediately. Wished he hadn’t made her feel uneasy even a little. Even if it was natural to feel that way.
A little anxiety about her future career was new for her. For the first time in so many years, nervousness that wasn’t because she was worried about him or her love for Harry was a bit of a curve ball. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted it badly, but didn’t know if it would pan out the way she saw it in her mind. “I’m not totally sure, actually,” she admitted. “I’ve got an online portfolio of my work, and I’ve sent it to a ton of publishers, magazines, et cetera,” she took a deep breath. “I could be really stereotypical and just continue waitressing by night and writing by day,” she shrugged. It wasn’t a bad gig. But it wasn’t what she hoped for exactly.
“Someone is going t’pick you up. You are too brilliant t’not be,” he sounded so sure—because he was. If there was anything he believed in, it was her, her dreams, and ambitions. “S’nice it can be... remote, yeah? Let you travel and visit your mum and whatnot,” stay here. With me. He thought silently to himself.
She nodded. “Yeah... I guess. But... I think I’d want to stay here.”
For three years, his heart was not inside his chest. But now it was back, the veins and arteries reconnecting to the rest of his body. Literally putting life back in him. It thudded so loudly he could barely make out the sound of the restaurant around them as he smiled at her. “Good,” he nodded. “Good,” he repeated quietly, relief heavier in his tone.
After a brief protest from her, (and for the first time since she arrived home, he didn’t even look at her as he pushed her hand away) Harry paid and signed the receipt for their meal. Once her glass was nothing but ice, he looked at her expectantly. “D’you want t’get coffee?” He asked, his voice full of hope because he didn’t want the night to end. Not even a little.
She nodded. If the night never ended, she would be glad.
Harry ushered her out of the restaurant, and she held her hand out for his. He took it eagerly and marveled at how her fingers fit the spaces between his; it felt like they were supposed to be there, and his hand was empty, not complete without hers attached to it.
They made their way toward the coffee shop up the road. Holding hands like they had done hundreds of times before. They chatted about the weather. He complimented the way her hair had lighter streaks throughout. She looked good. So good. “Louis and I have been running in the morning,” she told him with a shrug. “I think the sun hits different parts of my hair when it’s up and gives me this highlight effect.”
Harry had no idea he had been running with her. “You have?” He asked. Jealousy flooded him. It wasn’t fair to either of them. It was stupid. But the surprise was genuine.
“Yeah... the first time I went out and I saw him, I chased after him because he didn’t want to talk to me. But I buttered him up with those muffins I—”
“Holy shit, y’made the oat muffins?” He asked in shock. Forget what he said. The jealousy was real. She blushed, feeling bad she let Louis’ secret slip.
“You hate him now, don’t you?”
“Immensely,” he squeezed her hand as she giggled. “Did y’make the blueberry ones or the cranberry ones?”
“Do you actually want that answer?”
“No,” he shook his head quickly. “You’re right.”
“I’ll make some extra,” she offered.
Harry was about to ask her about breakfast tomorrow, but his phone began vibrating in his pocket. It was a great effort and made him feel awful, but he looked at it because he had to. As expected, it was his boss. “M’sorry kitten. S’work. Do y’want t’go in and order?” She smiled, nodding encouragingly. “Tell Lauren I said hi,” he said pressing the phone to his ear and stepping away from the shop a few paces.
Of course, someone was having a family emergency and without a family of his own, Harry was always the first call for overtime and help. There were still hours before he would need to go in. It wasn’t ideal, but still gave him plenty of time to finish his date.
It was well worth getting no sleep if it meant he could spend more precious time with her. It was one thing he was never going to take advantage of ever again. Time with her was the most invaluable thing he had.
“Everything okay?” She asked, holding out a cup to him.
“Thank you. Yeah... jus’... gotta do the overnight at midnight.”
“Oof,” she frowned. Then, much to his delight and surprise, she slipped her hand right back into his, like three years of nothingness didn’t stretch between them. Like they held hands for the last eleven-hundred odd days, every day. “Is that hard?”
For a moment, Harry was speechless, breathless, unable to remember what her question was asking. But then he brought himself back to reality. Harry didn’t like sleeping much. It was where he saw her most. All those dreams of what could have been... so no. It wasn’t hard to do overnights because at least when he was dead tired in the mornings after his shift, he didn’t dream. Didn’t see her. But he didn’t want to make her feel bad. “M’used to it.”
“Well, we can head home if you want to get a couple hours of sleep in before—”
“Do y’want t’go home?” He asked immediately, cutting her off, frowning at the idea of ending their night so quickly.
“No!” She answered just as immediately. Then, with a pink color painting her cheeks, she cleared her throat. “Just... want to make sure you’re... okay.”
Now he dreaded it. The couple of hours that he had seemed like nothing. There was no way he would get all the questions he wanted answered out in the open. But he had to start somewhere. “M’fine. Promise. Do y’want t’jus’ drive around for a bit?”
Silently, she nodded. “Please.”
*
Something shifted as they got back in his car. He wasn’t sure what, but it was a feeling like something had changed in the short time he was on the phone. It was in her eyes, the spiral of anxiety that was beginning to surface from inside her.
It seemed utterly unfair, and he silently hoped she wouldn’t retreat into herself. The thoughts of her leaving like she did three years ago rolled in his head so frequently now that she was home, he had a whole new set of nightmares to keep him company when he did sleep at night.
But right now, she was still in his car, and he had questions to ask.
For the time being, he pointed out new details on road signs that had been fixed and renovations to things in town she couldn’t see from the outside. She asked polite questions but really, he was just wasting time. So finally, Harry went to the next town over. He pulled into a little spot off the side of the road that fit exactly one car and gave a great view of the town. It wasn’t a mountain by any stretch, but high enough to make them feel tall and important.
He imagined it was a popular spot for teens with new licenses to make out as well.
Not that that was his intention.
There was a pause in their conversation. Comfortable and quiet. Then as Harry was about to ask her another question, she bounced in surprise at the sound of fireworks decorating the sky in front of them. “Wow,” she laughed. “All for me?” She winked at him.
He laughed and nodded. “M-hmm, had it all planned,” he watched the sky for a bit but the most beautiful thing he had the pleasure of looking at was her. So, he turned to watch her enjoy the display. She looked so pretty, her face illuminating every few seconds with a different color from the sky. He missed her so viscerally. Like even the freckles on his skin missed her. Every inch of him was plagued with wanting her even though she was right next to him.
If she went silent on him, he was going to lose his mind.
It was now, or never.
“Why did y’do it?” He whispered.
“Do what?” She asked, frowning at his quiet tone.
He closed his eyes, gripped the steering wheel tight. She had to know what he was talking about. “Why did you leave?”
Her breath caught and Harry felt bad for catching her off guard. But she had to know this needed to be said, needed to be dealt with. “Harry,” she sighed, swallowed hard. She looked out the passenger window avoiding the fireworks. “You should just... enjoy the fireworks. This isn’t—”
“Kitten, I need t’know.”
“I know,” her head knocked against the glass. He could just make out her reflection, her pained expression. It was rude of him to press. But he had to keep going. “But we—”
He pressed anyway. “You have t’tell me. Y’jus’ show up after three years of nothing. It killed me.”
“I know,” she croaked. “God, Harry, I know.”
“So tell me,” he was practically begging. “Don’t y’think I deserve t’know? You were m’whole world, kitten. S’not fair of you—”
“Harry, I fucking know!” She clenched her hands into fists in her lap. He was being unfair. In the time they were together they never fought. What did sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds have to fight about? When she left it was just sad. They never argued. So asking her to do this in his car on their first date after so many years, so many days of sadness and heartache, was completely unfair of him.
“I was so lost, kitten,” he wasn’t fighting fair at all. Coaxing her to breaking even though he had every right to know. She didn’t want the night to end and she feared it would if she told him.
“Harry—”
“Please, kitten. Baby, I just want t’understand—”
She choked out an involuntary sob the moment he said baby. “Because you deserved more than me! Okay? You deserved so much more than me and you wouldn’t have let me go so I just left, alright? You deserved more. So much more than me.”
The fireworks seemed quiet after her explosion.
But it didn’t make any more sense to Harry than the very day she first said it. “What does that even mean?”
Clearly, he broke something in her. She cried, hard. Breaking his heart further. He felt like an asshole, but he desperately needed to know. Her pretty makeup was going to be ruined thanks to him. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” she covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed into the window.
At least he had an answer.
Now for the next question. “Why did y’come back?” There was no answer for that. Just her quiet sniffles filled the car. She dug into his glove compartment for a napkin to wipe her face. If Harry wasn't so upset, he would have marveled at how she knew where everything was; some things didn't change even if they had. “Kitten, tell me.”
“Harry,” she whimpered. “Please...”
But he was desperate for answers. Desperate to put his heart back together. “I needed to see...” she croaked, her voice dying part way through the sentence.
“See what?” He was exasperated.
“That you had...” she swallowed. “That you had moved on.”
He turned away from her briefly, face twisting in anguish. He shook his head then turned back to her. He put his hand on her shoulder, asking her to face him and look at him when he said the next part. “Moved on?” He repeated. The words didn’t make sense. “How was I supposed t’move on, exactly?”
She sobbed and Harry wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Hold her and kiss her. He wanted to promise it was going to be okay. The way he always did when she cried. But he couldn’t. He needed to know how she thought that it was possible to exist without her. “I thought if I—”
“You are my soulmate, kitten. You know that.”
She whimpered, cheeks flushed, and tears streamed down her face. It pained him to look at her so upset but he had to finish this. Now. “You don’t believe in soulmates,” she whispered. Almost as if she wasn’t talking to him.
“But you told me we were,” his voice was crystal clear, definitive. No room to persuade him of anything else. She was his soulmate. She believed in them, so it had to be true. He believed in her. So that was enough. Harry gripped the steering wheel for all he was worth. Gritted his teeth as he asked his next question. “Did you move on?” The question was lost to the fireworks and the sound of her cries. But she clearly caught some of it.
“...What?” She whispered, tilting her head at him at a strange angle. Like he just told her that the grass was orange and it rained flower petals.
He inhaled sharply realizing he was agonizing over the thought. How long had he been holding that question in his head? Why didn’t he ask it sooner? Well, he knew why he didn’t ask it sooner. A large part of him never wanted to know the answer. “Do you have a boyfriend? Or... a fiancé?”
“Harry,” she rubbed her hands into her eyes.
“Goddammit," he sucked in a deep breath. "Tell me!” His heart was breaking.
“I didn’t date anyone while I was gone. I told people that I, and my heart, were happily taken. It never even crossed my mind, Harry,” she looked at her lap and swallowed nervously.
The fireworks complimented their evening perfectly. He released the breath he was holding and the grip he had on the steering wheel. The feeling came back to his fingers. His knuckles returned to the right color. “You said y’were taken?” He asked, thinking of the same notion he told Mrs. Peterson whenever she wanted to set him up on a blind date. Her gaze returned to his, and she held it for a moment, still in complete silence. Then she nodded. Her sniffles subsided.
Then she snorted, shaking her head with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “A fiancé, Harry? That’s ridiculous.”
“S’not,” he didn’t smile like she did. It was so serious to him. Felt it in his bones how serious it was. “Because if y’thought I was going t’move on from you... I don’t know, kitten,” he shook his head.
“No,” she repeated. Relief flooded him further. “I couldn’t... I took this first aid class,” she swallowed. “You would be really proud of me,” she smiled more genuinely through tears that filled her lash line. “I thought about all the things you taught me yourself when you practiced first aid and whatnot. I knew so much stuff. I was the class pet—”
“Course y’were.”
“—but we practiced taping wrists and ankles and I had to work with this guy, and I thought he was going to kill me,” she sniffed but that smile never left her lips. “I flinched every time his hand touched mine. He probably thought I was in a horrible relationship and that’s why I was learning how to tape injuries. I couldn’t even tell him that it was the exact opposite because I couldn’t tell him about you.”
Harry was silent, watching the explosion of color against the dark sky.
“I thought you would have moved on,” she whispered.
“Y’got your mom t’leave. I couldn’t even ask ‘bout you. You stopped talking to all of us.”
“If it helps at all, it was really lonely. Even with Addie and Carter...” she shrugged.
It didn’t. The thought of her being sad and lonely felt about as painful as her leaving. He was so grateful she had a friend to look after her. Someone to confide in. Because she left a lot of people behind who loved her, but at least Harry had them to comfort him as best they could.
“I thought about you every day,” she whispered. “I’ve been thinking about writing our story. I’ve been outlining it... reliving every memory through it. Every painful thing. I think it’ll be a series and honestly, I think it will be really good because the ending will be sad, and no one will see it coming because we didn’t see it coming and—”
“Our book?”
She paused. “You were my favorite thing to write about.”
He shook his head. He knew that. It wasn’t a conceited kind of thing. She said it all the time and he knew it. “What do you mean a sad ending?”
Another pause. She closed her eyes and sighed. “You can’t possibly want me back.”
Another long pause. Harry mulled it over and he realized just how angry he was. What had he done wrong that she didn’t feel adored by him? Where had he messed up and not made her feel safe? Did he let go of her hand like when they were on the balcony the other day? It was too much for him. His grip tightened on the steering wheel again. “What is the matter with you?” He put his head on the steering wheel against his hands as he spit the words out. He hated arguing with her. He felt pulled in two directions to have this conversation and comfort her. It seemed impossible to do them both at the same time.
“Harry,” she frowned. “I’m—”
He shook his head and smacked his hands against the wheel as he sat back. “I am never going t’stop wanting you. Don’t you get that? There is no ending with us. There can’t be. I have been waiting for three years for you t’come back t’me. You’re here and y’think I’m jus’ supposed t’have move—”
She was kissing him.
Her lips covered his in a hungry kind of way. Raw, achy, and hot. She pulled away briefly, her breath short pants. Her hand at the back of his head, her fingers pulled and tightened snuggly against locks of his hair. Poor Harry was so surprised he didn’t fully grasp what was happening and forgot to kiss her back.
He hoped she didn’t think it was too late. Or too soon, maybe, for him to agree to this kind of thing. But he only let one additional second pass before his lips were back on hers. His hands held each side of her face pulling her close to him, awkwardly around the console.
She seemed to melt into the kiss, her whole body releasing a long breath that made her shoulders fall, her body sinking forward. Harry moaned quietly into her mouth. One hand slid from her face into the back of her perfectly styled hair. Within five more seconds he started to pull her over the console separating them. He heard the clunk of one of her shoes falling onto the floor. With one hand on the small of her back, he used his free hand to push the seat back to give her more room between his body and the steering wheel.
Harry wasn’t her first kiss. But the way it felt, he may as well have been. She wished he was. There was nothing better than kissing him. There was a familiar possessiveness in the mix of their lips and breath. It was like he was saying no one else was ever going to kiss her as well as he did. Softly, his tongue slid across the seam of her lips to get her to open further.
Harry knew she didn’t like lots of tongue in her kisses. Which was fine with Harry, a quick brush of her tongue against his was plenty and not the part he cared about much anyway. The way she sucked his lower lip into her mouth and traced it with her tongue nearly made him finish in his pants. Her lips were so sweet. Just like her. It was the most natural feeling in the world to kiss her. Like he kissed her yesterday, the day before, all last year, and every other day succeeding her departure. “God,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Hmm,” he hummed. His hands touched everywhere. Roamed along her sides and around her back, up her arms and cupped the sides of her neck. He wanted to touch her everywhere. It felt so good to hold her and the way she moaned made him assume she was enjoying it just as much. It had been ages since she had been touched and that was fine because she didn’t want anyone to touch her but Harry. His hands were warm and felt so good on her back. Even through her dress. Even though it was summer and very warm, she shivered and nuzzled closer. The car was too small and the space between them was too big. “Baby, can we—”
“Yes,” she whispered. It didn’t matter what he asked. She was a yes to anything he said. He groaned into her mouth and slid his hands between them, lifting the skirt of her dress just above her hips so everything was covered but easier to access.
“Kitten,” he moaned when she reached between them as well and fiddled with the button of his jeans. Why on earth would he have a condom? The thought of being with anyone else so intimately was laughable. “I don’t have—”
“I don’t care.”
He groaned again and kissed down the length of her neck, his tongue poking out to lick at the spots he kissed. She thought she was going to pass out, but she didn’t want to miss a second of this feeling. So, she refused to pass out. “I forgot,” he was breathless as he shifted trying to make space between them so he could pull his pants down just a little more, just enough. “Forgot how much I missed this.”
“What did you miss?” She whispered just as breathlessly, her lips against his neck as he reached between the two of them, slid his fingers against her underwear and pushed it to the side. She whimpered at the light friction of his knuckle barely grazing her clit even though it wasn’t his intention.
Harry’s moans were nearly obscene. They turned her to jelly. “I missed everything, kitten. Everything.”
She shivered again at his response. When she felt him lining himself up, pressing through her folds so easily because she was already an aching wet mess for him, she cried out again. The electric feeling coursed through her and it wasn’t fair that she made him lose this feeling for three years. “Oh,” she tucked her face into his neck.
“I’m... fuck, baby,” he whispered as the head of his cock slipped deeper inside her. He didn’t want to know if she had sex while he was gone. In his mind he was the only person that got to be inside her like this—to feel her like this. His voice was raspy. Not even a whisper really. “I’m not...” his other hand that wasn’t helping her slip further down on him cupped the back of her neck. “S’not going t’last...” He couldn’t even give a time frame because he was so far gone. “S’been...”
She didn’t want to know how long it had been for him. The idea he had sex with someone else would probably make her inconsolable while he was inside her and it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own. She shook her head and kissed the space just below his ear that used to drive him crazy. “I don’t mind,” she promised.
“God,” he closed his eyes and pressed his face to the front of her chest. Her dress was still in the way, but he wanted to rip it off her. He couldn’t because as much as he was enjoying this—and yes, he would have loved to feel her nipples in his mouth—he refused the risk of anyone seeing her naked like that. This was already bolder than anything they had ever done before—and the intimacy of seeing her fall apart was for him only. A possessive stance he would never let go of.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. It was too hot in the car; her skin was damp with sweat from pressing so close to Harry and the exertion of fitting in the small space between him and the steering wheel. She wanted nothing more than to stay glued to Harry like that, his dick deep inside her for as long as she lived. They really were two puzzle pieces just meant to fit together. For a brief moment she paused the way she was moving slowly up and down his cock; hoping that maybe she would just die in that car because at least this would be the last thing she ever did. Their breathing stilled, quieted. He tilted his neck back, smiled as he gazed up at her.
“You’re so beautiful, kitten,” he whispered.
It was embarrassing that she could come that quickly and that hard from just his compliment and he wasn’t even moving inside her.
She gasped so loudly. Her whines and moans releasing from her without warning. She felt distraught and whole. It was practically primal the way she started to bounce up and down again, only ever so slightly, her legs shaking to find purchase on the side of his seat near the door and dodging the seatbelt holder with her knee. It wasn’t conducive to do this here but what choice did they have when they couldn’t wait a second longer?
“Oh my God, fuck, kitten,” he groaned, wrapping his arms tight around her waist, kissing at her throat and the exposed cleavage he did have access too. He met her greedy little bounces to prolong the euphoria that was coursing through her, making her clench around his cock so hard he thought he was going to exist outside of his body. “Baby, I can’t pull out,” he warned her.
They were young, but not in high school young anymore. Getting pregnant wasn’t their worst fear anymore as it was their first go around leading to her going to the doctor and asking for birth control. In fact, getting pregnant probably didn’t even crack the top ten. But even still... “Pill,” she rasped. “Please,” she begged.
“Oh fuck,” he moaned. His hand slid beneath her dress. He pressed the tip of his finger directly on her clit and rubbed perfect little circles on it.
So perfectly, she was going to explode again. The fireworks had nothing on her. “Oh my God, please,” she cried. The plead, the feel of her squeezing around him again, the heat of her and the car... all of it was a heady combination that left Harry completely useless as he finished inside her at the exact moment that she dropped her face to his shoulder again and fluttered around him. As Harry finally released a breath, he had been holding for three years it seemed, he found she was still trying to squeeze her thighs around him to savor the pleasure. He couldn’t blame her. All he wanted to do was make her come over and over.
There were a lot of firsts they shared over their relationship, and Harry was so grateful to have another even after all the time between them. His body twitched as she stayed in place, her breathing finally slowing. Harry felt hot, too hot but didn’t dare remove her from his body. He held her to him as he shifted more, her bum bumped into the car horn. She giggled once and Harry smiled. His breathing slowed, following hers.
The car was silent except for their labored breathing. They were young when they had sex back then. They thought it was good back then. But it didn’t compare to that. She felt a wave of worry that he had practiced all while she was gone. The same worry went right through him nearly at the same time. Maybe she sensed it because he relieved her with one sentence. “I read an embarrassing number of books with scenes like the one we just reenacted.”
Harry sighed with relief; his nose pressed to her ear. His lips brushed her temple and he spoke quietly. “Send me every single page y’read, kitten.”
She giggled making her clench around him as he softened. He groaned involuntarily. He didn’t want to leave her body. Terrified it would never be like this again. As he started to move, she stopped him. “Um... Do you have a towel?” She whispered; her cheeks probably would have flushed asking the question, but it was impossible to tell with the endorphins that flooded her blood doing most of the work now.
Harry felt a little stupid at the moment, so he nodded, then shook his head. He didn’t fully understand her question but wanted to try for her.
“Uhh... here,” he reached in the backseat for a T-shirt with the station’s logo on it. As he shifted, she whimpered at the feeling of him moving inside her again. He kept a hand on her dress, right at her hip and rubbed his thumb soothingly against her.
“I can’t use this and then have you wear it around town,” she frowned.
“Baby,” he snickered. “I wouldn’t wear it... in public," he teased. She lightly hit his chest with the back of her hand.
She slowly pulled off him, falling back into the passenger seat, the T-shirt between her legs. She finger-combed her hair as best she could and checked her makeup for obvious smudges. Harry mussed with his hair quickly and then placed his hand on her knee. She held it with both hands, brought his fingers to her lips and kissed his knuckles no less than ten times.
“That was perfect,” she whispered.
Forget her writing, she was her very own poem. He smiled. “Always, kitten.”
*
Harry took the long way back to her apartment. Her grip didn’t loosen around his hand. Not even when he needed to take a turn. When he finally parked, she looked at him expectantly. “I don’t want t’go,” he whispered. “I would quit right now, if I could. I want t’talk all night and tell y’everything and know everything, kitten. M’so...” he shook his head terrified that if he left right now all the progress, everything would be gone. “I missed you so completely baby. I need t’know everything there is t’know ‘bout you and the last three years and all the thoughts y’had. S’not fair and m’so—”
“Harry,” she smiled, squeezed his hand encouragingly. She brought a hand to his chin and rested her forehead against his. “I’ll see you tomorrow; right after your shift, okay?” she kissed him gently on the lips. A soft brush of promising more.
Relief flooded him. “Yeah?” Their mouths were so close as he spoke, his lips touched hers the entire time.
“I’ll be here,” she promised. That little saying, “it was music to his ears,” never really made much sense to him. But right then it did. It made so much sense. She was music. She was the sun. She was fireworks. “Good night, Harry. Have a good shift,” she whispered and pressed her lips solidly against his once more making him feel like he could do anything.
--
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babygirlhaljordan · 5 months ago
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WAAA!!!!!!! SHES GORGEOUS!!!!
thank u for drawing her!!! she’s everything i imagined (and more! didn’t expect the pink to suit her so well but…/pos)
since damian doesn’t really have his own green lantern, i decided to create one: tala >:3 more information can be found here about her but a very basic summary can be found here.
tldr version: tala is a 13-15 filo-american that uses her green lantern abilities to be a magical girl bc she’s a HUGE anime fan. with damian also being an anime fan… u can imagine the chaos that ensues
damian & tala hcs
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hal jordan is her mentor, so you can imagine the amount of annoyance damian holds for her. much like her mentor, she’s impulsive and acts before she thinks. but she has a big heart and always aim to do the Right Thing. much like batman, damian often insults her but unlike her mentor… she never really catches it. if she does, she’s left unbothered
damian follows her tumblr + ao3 acc. he did it to figure out her secret identity but she all she does is post about anime & write precure fanfiction. he does NOT find anything useful except what she believes is the Correct Ships for sailor moon
they discuss anime together. while tala leans more to the magical show genre, she enjoys shoujo. and with a lot magical anime girls being apart of the shoujo genre they are able to bond >:3 she makes damian watch anime and unlike hal, he’s able to follow up with what’s going on. she gets so excited about that and declares him as her “best friend” (he refuses the title but can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside)
being the youngest in the family… they complain about older siblings. while tala only has one, that one is equal to damian’s 5… her sister makes fun of her interest in anime (despite watching it with her in the past. so, if anything, her sister is a hypocrite)
damian actually enjoys some of the fanfiction she wrote. he actually makes fanart for her works. and when they get older & tala needs a job… she becomes an author and damian (who wants an outlet for his superhero work bc that shit is stressful!) is an illustrator for her works
i imagine they’d meet thru being apart of a team together, all with heroes their own age and NOT friends with damian’s other family members bc i’m tired of him being friends with characters that were initially the other batfamily’s teams (kory for jason, raven for damian, etc)
it’s great for both of them because neither have worked with a team before outside of their own mentors (hal jordan or bruce wayne/dick grayson) with other members they’re challenged to work with new ppl (which u often deal with in life threatening emergencies) + learn from each other
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purpleceline · 5 months ago
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Boba's Bubble Shack.
Looks like Boba Fett is diversifying his streams of income! That being said, the establishment reserves the right to refuse entry to any and all smugglers, especially the cocky ones. Tiny green children and their dads are welcome, however.
Combining 3 things I like, aka bubble tea, Pedro’s scruff and little Grogu :> No but seriously, why haven’t I included bubble tea in my art before we correcting this right now!
I’m neck deep in prep for SDCC next week (anyone going? I'll be in artist alley, BB-04!!) after being down with con crud for another, but I’m trying to not neglect my socials too much!
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pucksandpower · 9 months ago
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Something Sweet
Charles Leclerc x Reader
Summary: the story of your relationship … as told through gelato (in honor of Charles opening an ice cream shop)
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The warm spring sun beats down on your face as you stroll along the winding streets of Monaco, gelato in hand. You savor each sweet bite, the rich hazelnutty flavor melting across your tongue.
This is bliss.
You just moved here to attend university and every day feels like a dream come true exploring your new home principality.
The picturesque buildings with their sun-baked stucco walls and colorful tiled roofs line the narrow alleyways. Locals bustle about, chatting rapidly in French as scooters whiz by. The air carries a tang of salt from the glittering Mediterranean just beyond the palace ramparts.
You could get used to this.
Suddenly, a body careens around the corner, slamming right into you. You stumble backward as the gelato goes flying, splattering across the quaint cobblestones in a sticky mess.
“Oh mon dieu, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” A frantic voice rings out as a pair of strong hands steady you before you can topple over completely.
You look up, slightly dazed, into a pair of warm green eyes filled with concern. The man is clad in athletic shorts and a snug t-shirt, damp with sweat from an obvious run. Tousled chestnut hair flops across his forehead in an effortlessly tousled way.
He’s … incredibly handsome.
Like, stupid levels of handsome.
“I’m fine, really,” you stammer out, feeling your cheeks flush as his hands linger almost ... protectively on your arms. “Just clumsy me dropping my gelato.”
He grimaces, following your gaze to the melting puddle. “I’m such an idiot, let me replace that for you.” His face is the picture of remorse as he gently releases his grip.
You wave him off with an awkward chuckle. “Seriously, it’s not a big deal ...”
But he’s already shaking his head adamantly. “No, no I insist. That looked delicious and it’s entirely my fault.” He shoots you a lopsided grin that makes your heart skip a beat. “I know this amazing little place that makes the best gelato in Monaco. My treat to make up for barreling into you like that.”
You can’t help but be charmed by his earnestness as you nod slowly in acceptance. “Well, when you put it like that ...”
“Perfect!” He beams at you, that bright smile crinkling the corners of his eyes in the most delightful way. “I’m Charles, by the way.”
You introduce yourself as well as Charles begins leading you deeper into the winding backstreets, clearly knowing exactly where he’s going. You can’t help stealing sidelong glances at him as you walk, admiring the strong muscles of his arms and shoulders visible through his fitted shirt.
Finally, he ducks into a tiny alleyway, stopping before an unassuming doorway you surely would have just passed right by. A faded sign hangs above reading Gelatomania in curling script.
“This place is my favorite,” Charles confides in a conspiratorial murmur as he holds the door for you. “Family-run for generations and miles better than any of the touristy places.”
You step inside and are immediately enveloped in a thick, sugary aroma that makes your mouth water. A few little metal tables with rickety chairs are squeezed into the compact space, but it’s the immaculate glass cases lining the walls that draw your eye.
Filled with every flavor imaginable, the gelato looks utterly divine — from naturally green pistachio to decadent chocolate hazelnut to tangy lemon. An older woman with a grandmotherly face greets Charles like an old friend in rapid Italian from behind the counter.
He responds easily in kind before turning back to you. “What’ll it be? I recommend the hazelnut again if you liked your first one.”
You nod and watch, utterly charmed, as Charles places your order for a fresh hazelnut gelato with a deferential “per favore” and that knee-weakening smile of his. He gets a simple vanilla for himself before paying and leading you over to a little iron table outside in a sliver of sunshine.
You take your first bite and … oh my god. This is gelato from the heavens themselves. You can’t contain the downright blissful moan that escapes your lips as the divinely creamy, rich concoction melts across your tongue.
“Good, right?” Charles looks incredibly pleased at your rapturous reaction as he digs into his own treat with gusto.
“This might be the single most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted,” you admit fervently between increasingly enthusiastic licks and bites. “How have I survived this long without knowing this place existed?”
Charles throws his head back with a full-bellied laugh at your passionate proclamation. God, even his laugh is unfairly attractive ...
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” he grins around a mouthful of velvety vanilla. “I’ve been coming here since before I could walk. Quickly became my favorite gelato spot.”
“You’ve lived here a while then?” You ask between savoring bites of the impossibly luscious confection. “I only just moved for university.”
Charles nods as he licks a stray drip from his thumb. “Yeah, born and raised a few streets over actually.”
There’s a slight lull as you both focus on thoroughly demolishing your gelato for a few contented minutes, exchanging occasional muffled hums of sheer delight. The warm sun filtering through the awning casts a soft golden glow over the little alleyway, lending everything a dreamlike haze of perfection.
“So beyond being from here, do you have any exciting hobbies or interests?” You ask eventually, dragging the conversation back into the open.
“Well ...” Charles’ expression morphs into one of almost sheepish amusement as he leans back in his rickety chair. “You could say my hobby is also kind of my job. I’m actually a Formula 1 driver, believe it or not.”
You damn near choke on your next bite as his words register. “You’re what? As in ... a race car driver? In Formula 1? Seriously?”
There’s no way this stunning man is being truthful. Sure, he looks like he could be some kind of athlete with that perfectly toned physique. But a literal professional race car driver? The thought is almost too crazy to be believed.
Charles just laughs again at your dumbfounded reaction, clearly used to this response as he nods. “Seriously! I compete for Ferrari if you follow the races at all?”
You think you might pass out from shock as everything clicks into place — the athletic build, the way people seemed to stare as he passed them on the street, the laid-back confidence and easy smile of someone incredibly comfortable in their own skin ...
“Oh my god, you’re ... you’re Charles freaking Leclerc, aren’t you?” You gape at him in abject disbelief. “As in, the guy literally plastered on the huge billboard across from my apartment? Leading the championship? Incredibly talented and famous?”
He lets out an almost bashful chuckle at your rapid-fire incredulous questioning, shrugging one broad shoulder. “Well, I don’t know about incredibly talented or famous. But yes, that’s me — just your average local race car driver currently making an absolute mess while eating gelato.”
Here you sit, having just shared an utterly divine dessert while shamelessly ogling one of the most popular and well-known athletes in the damn world … and he’s acting like it’s absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Like you’re just two regular people enjoying a sweet treat together on a sunny day.
“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation right now,” you murmur, shaking your head slowly. “Do you have any idea how many people would kill to literally just ... sit across from you like this while you eat mediocre gas station ice cream, much less the world’s best gelato? I’m … stunned you’re so nonchalant about this whole thing.”
Charles merely flashes you a self-deprecating grin as he pops the last bite of cone into his mouth. “Well, to me you’re not some screaming fangirl, but just a lovely new friend I enjoy gelato with. Though my ego certainly appreciates the compliments.”
He winks at you impishly and you feel an unwitting smile tugging at the corners of your own lips despite your lingering disbelief. You suppose being surrounded by such incredible wealth and luxury every day in Monaco, Charles likely doesn’t register it anymore. Not to mention the clearly down-to-earth personality he seems to possess given that genuine humility.
The hours just seem to slip effortlessly by then as the two of you continue to chat and laugh and bask in the perfect afternoon contentment of the moment. Charles regales you with ridiculous behind-the-scenes stories about increasingly crazy bets with his friends and crew during the season. You share equally hilarious tales of your own coming-of-age mishaps as an overeager teenager.
At some point, you both reach for your long-empty dishes simultaneously, fingers brushing in a spark of contact that sends your pulse stuttering. Charles doesn’t pull back, letting his hand linger outrageously close to yours as his warm gaze stays locked intensely on your face.
You try to swallow past a suddenly dry throat as the atmosphere shifts abruptly, suddenly heavy with the hot crackle of unmistakable chemistry and unspoken tension. But then, just like that, the moment passes as quickly as it came.
Your phone buzzes loudly in your pocket with a text, the notification startling you both back to reality. Charles sits back, clearing his throat slightly as you pull your hand away to quickly check the message.
It’s from your roommate asking when you’ll be home for dinner and if you need her to start cooking.
You glance up at Charles with an apologetic grimace. “I should probably head back. I didn’t realize how late it’s gotten.”
He blinks rapidly before seeming to visibly shake himself. “Right, of course! Time really got away from us, didn’t it?”
You stand as Charles rises smoothly to his feet as well, shoving both hands casually in his pockets. “So ... I had a really great time with you today,” he says carefully, something almost hesitant flickering across his face. “And I’d love a chance to take you out again sometime soon, if you’re interested? Maybe grab dinner when I’m back in town?”
Your breath catches in your throat at the unmistakable request for an actual date. With Charles freaking Leclerc no less ...
Tamping down your sudden nerves, you nod slowly as a shy smile blossoms on your lips. “I’d really like that,” you admit truthfully. “Let’s definitely do dinner whenever you’re free.”
His whole expression brightens immediately at your affirmation, lips stretching in a wide grin of pure delight. “Perfect! I’ll be back from my next race in just over a week then. How about exchanging numbers so I can let you know as soon as I’ve returned?”
You quickly rattle off your number as Charles punches it into his phone before doing the same for you. As if sealing some unspoken deal, he sticks out his hand to shake yours, that warm roughened grip lingering perhaps a moment longer than strictly necessary.
“I’ll text you soon then,” Charles murmurs intently, that spark of heat flickering in his eyes again. “Promise me you’ll say yes this time.”
You can only nod mutely, mouth gone bone-dry at the pointed words and heated look washing over you. Charles maintains that blistering eye contact and heart-stalling grip on your palm for another loaded handful of seconds, leaving you dizzy with giddy anticipation.
Then, just like that, he releases your hand with one final squeeze before taking a step back, seemingly satisfied by your stunned agreement. Charles shoots you one last lingering look and crooked grin before turning to stride easily back the way you came.
You remain rooted in place for a long moment, utterly dazed by the entire surreal scenario as you watch his broad shoulders and narrow waist disappear down the narrow alleyway.
Today started out as any other nothing-out-of-the-ordinary spring day in your new home. But now … now you have an actual date scheduled with an unbelievably charming and disarmingly down-to-earth racing superstar.
A giddy giggle bubbles up from deep in your chest as reality finally settles in. Who could have ever predicted that bumping into your new acquaintance — quite literally — would lead to not only discovering the most heavenly gelato on the planet, but lining up a date with an internationally famous athlete?
Suddenly, your bright future studying in Monaco just got about ten thousand times more interesting …
***
The week passes by in a blur of anticipation after your initial meeting with Charles. You can barely focus during lectures, your mind constantly wandering to that charming grin and those warm eyes crinkling at the corners whenever he laughed.
Finally, the evening you’ve been eagerly awaiting arrives. You’ve just finished getting ready — pulling on a flowy sundress and brushing out your hair one last time — when your phone buzzes with a new text.
I’m outside whenever you’re ready for our date night. Looking forward to seeing you again 😘
You can’t bite back your giddy smile as you quickly reply that you’re heading out before taking one last steadying breath.
It’s just Charles … the internationally famous and absurdly handsome Formula 1 driver you’ve somehow managed to snag a date with.
No big deal at all.
The evening air carries a pleasantly cool breeze as you exit your apartment building, scanning the idling line of vehicles for Charles’ car. You spot him immediately, leaning against the gleaming metallic side of what you now recognize as an eye-wateringly expensive Ferrari.
Charles looks … unfairly gorgeous. He’s shed his athletic wear in favor of a simple white linen shirt and tailored slacks that somehow make him appear even more effortlessly suave. His hair is artfully tousled and damn if those clothes don’t accentuate every hard plane and corded muscle of his built frame.
You must be staring because suddenly Charles is pushing off from the car and straightening to his full height, those intense eyes crinkling warmly as soon as they land on you.
“You look stunning,” he murmurs appreciatively once you’ve drawn closer, making a show of trailing his gaze slowly up and down your figure. You’re abruptly grateful for the dusky twilight hiding your furious blush at the blatant admiration in his tone.
“Thanks,” you manage to get out without your voice shaking too noticeably. “You don’t look half bad yourself, race car man.”
Charles throws back his head with one of those deep-bellied laughs you’re quickly becoming addicted to. “Why thank you, gelato girl.” He shoots you a wink before surprising you by gallantly offering his arm. “Shall we?”
You take it without hesitation, reveling in the solid warmth of his bicep pressed against your side as Charles leads you to the waiting glossy black sports car. He opens the door for you like an old-fashioned gentleman, closing it carefully once you’re tucked inside the buttery leather interior.
The engine roars to life with a powerful rumble and you can’t resist shooting Charles an impressed look as he deftly maneuvers out onto the street.
“You know, I’m starting to think this little hobby of yours might not be too bad of a gig,” you tease lightly, waving a hand at the sleek interior compartment.
“I can’t complain,” Charles volleys back with a crooked grin, seamlessly navigating the tight turns of the old city. “Sometimes they even let me drive in circles really fast just for fun.”
You roll your eyes at his retort, but can’t quite wipe the smile off your face as Charles guns the engine, the car surging forward in a burst of speed and power. Clearly the man knows how to leverage any opportunity to show off those expert driving skills … not that you mind one bit.
Eventually, Charles pulls up in front of an unassuming doorway you never would have noticed tucked down a quiet side street. The understated sign above simply reads Trattoria Giovanni.
“This place has been run by the same Italian family for over fifty years,” Charles explains as he holds the door for you. “Best authentic cuisine in the city, but you would never find it unless you knew where to look.”
The interior appears to have been plucked directly from a rustic Tuscan villa — burnished wooden beams criss-crossing the curved ceilings and terracotta tiles underfoot. You breathe in deeply, savoring the mouthwatering aromas of garlic, tomato sauce, and fresh bread wafting from the open kitchen.
An older man with a thick mustache and crisp white apron greets Charles immediately in fluent Italian, ushering you both back to a cozy alcove table secluded in the very rear. He pours you both generous glasses of deep red wine before disappearing again with a conspiratorial wink in your direction.
“So, how was your race?” You ask between sips once you and Charles are alone, genuinely curious about the difficult career he’s managed to carve out.
He shrugs one broad shoulder almost dismissively. “Decent enough, I suppose. Grabbed another podium finish, but didn’t quite have the pace for the win.” There’s no disappointment or frustration in his tone as he speaks, just a simple statement of fact.
“I’m endlessly in awe that you treat accomplishments like that so casually,” you admit with a shake of your head. “Finishing in the top three in Formula 1 seems like the kind of thing most people would be over the moon about.”
Charles lets out a low chuckle at that, leaning towards you over the small table with eyes twinkling mischievously. “Well maybe I need to find a new way to impress someone like you then.”
You open your mouth to respond with a playful retort of your own, but Charles’ gaze has already strayed to somewhere past your shoulder.
“Ah, perfect timing then. Here’s Giovanni himself with our orders.”
Sure enough, the older man you spotted earlier bustles up with a tray overflowing with piping hot plates of food. He doles out the dishes methodically while rattling off a stream of explanations about preparations and ingredients that have clearly been passed down for many generations.
Everything looks and smells utterly divine — from the heaping bowl of glistening spaghetti blanketed in a simmering tomato sauce to the golden-baked chicken drenched in rosemary and olive oil. The endlessly affable Giovanni even sets down a small ceramic dish full of creamy pale cheese, patting Charles on the shoulder.
“The burrata for you and your lady friend. Freshly made this morning by my wife,” he declares proudly before whisking himself away again.
For the next blissful hour or two, you and Charles completely lose yourselves in this veritable feast for the senses. You savor each and every decadent bite — moaning around the pillowy strands of spaghetti and tearing off chunks of the crusty, herb-brushed breads to soak up the savory juices.
Charles, for his part, dives into the meal with just as much enthusiasm, occasionally reaching over to snag a bite off of your plate until you resort to smacking his wandering fork away between fits of laughter.
Stuffed and utterly content, you both eventually push away your long-cleared dishes to nurse the final sips of your wine as the evening stretches languorously on. You fall into these simple moments like an old habit by now — trading comfortable silences and contented looks between impassioned recounts of childhood anecdotes or musings about life.
Finally, as the candles on the small wooden tables begin to gutter and wane, Charles summons over your waiter to settle the check with a few murmured words and one of those knee-weakening smiles. Rising smoothly, he extends his hand in a wordless invitation for you to join him back out into the balmy evening.
This time, instead of heading for the car, Charles tucks your hand into the crook of his elbow before choosing a new direction — down a maze of narrow streets until you finally emerge along the harbor’s edge. Strings of twinkling lights reflect off the lapping waves while the soft strains of background music filter out from somewhere nearby.
“Feel like grabbing a little dessert to walk off that incredible meal?” Charles asks in a low murmur, bumping your shoulder conspiratorially.
You shoot him an incredulous look even as you nod. “You mean in addition to the literal feast we both just had?”
Charles tugs you closer to his side until your hips graze together as you match strides. “There’s always room for gelato,” he counters with an arched brow. “Besides, when in Monaco ...”
Any further protests die on your lips as Charles guides you around another tight corner to reveal that familiar cheerful gelato shop from your initial meeting. The old woman behind the counter greets you both like regulars already, no doubt thanks to Charles’ frequent patronage.
You maneuver through the small line until it’s your turn to order. “I think I’ll go with the tiramisu flavor this time,” you decide, mouth already watering at the prospect of that rich coffee and creamy goodness. “What about you? Mixing it up or still sticking with the basics?”
Charles shakes his head resolutely as he hands over a few crisp bills to pay for your treats. “Trust me, a heaping helping of simple vanilla is just as gratifying as all those overly complicated flavor combinations.”
You balk at his slander, bumping his shoulder with your own without any real heat. “How dare you insult my incredible palette like that?” You glare at him in mock offense. “I’ll have you know I have some of the most refined gelato taste in all of Monaco now.”
“Oh yeah?” Charles tips his chin down with a challenging smirk twisting his full lips. “Well what if I told you that vanilla is scientifically proven to be the most popular and beloved flavor in existence?”
“By who? Basic boring people?” You volley back mercilessly, eagerly leaning into the playful banter now. “If anything, those findings just demonstrated how sadly uncreative society at large is.”
Charles barks out a booming laugh as he grabs your hand and tugs you back out of the shop, gelato in the other. “You heathen! We’re clearly going to need to educate you on the finer points of flavor appreciation.”
Your eyes narrow dangerously even as you let yourself be lead to a nearby bench overlooking the gently lapping waves. “Oh, you’re on, Leclerc. Let’s see if your vanilla snobbery holds up after a taste of tiramisu heaven.”
You scoop up an exaggeratedly generous spoonful of the divinely rich, creamy gelato and make a show of savoring it with overstated moans of delight. “Oh my god, this is so good. Here, you have to try this! It’s life-changing.”
Charles wrinkles his nose even as you wave the spoonful enticingly in front of him. “Nice try but I would never cheat on vanilla!”
The two of you devolve into helpless laughter at that point, dissolving into breathless giggles over the ridiculous debate getting more outrageous by the minute. Finally, you relent in the battle, settling back into the cool metal of the bench and turning your face up to the inky sea of stars glittering overhead.
“You’re right though — sometimes simple really is best,” you admit finally in a softer tone, slowly licking another sweet bite off your spoon.
Charles hums in agreement next to you, shuffling closer until your arms brush together with body heat and contact. “The classics never go out of style.”
The next comfortable silence stretches out between you as you take your time savoring your treats while simultaneously drinking in the breathtaking view laid out before you. The water laps almost hypnotically at the shoreline, twinkling reflection of docked yachts bobbing gently on the calm surface.
A breeze skates across your bare arms, raising a faint ripple of goosebumps along your skin. Charles notices immediately, shifting even nearer until he can shrug out of the lightweight jacket he had been wearing.
Without a word, he swings the soft fabric around your shoulders, tucking it securely around your front. You burrow instinctively into the material, the lingering body heat and remnants of his cologne wrapping you up in an cocoon of soothing warmth and intoxicating comfort.
With your free hand, you toy idly with the collar until Charles’ arm comes up to curl around your shoulders, effectively enveloping you into his solid frame. You let your cheek tip onto the firm muscle of his arm as Charles squeezes you closer with a contented exhale.
Time becomes meaningless suspended in that perfect sea-side bubble, waves flowing rhythmically while you enjoy every last savored bite of your melting treats. You let the quiet inevitability of dropping your head onto Charles’ shoulder wash over you, his familiar cologne invading your senses until your entire world narrows to just him.
When Charles polishes off the final bite of his cone and you go to shift away, another cool gust skitters across the harbor. He tightens the arm curved around you, making no move to let you up or leave the cozy haven you’ve made.
“I could get used to evenings like this, you know,” he murmurs eventually, lips brushing the top of your head. “Just taking it slow and savoring each other’s company without a single worry or care beyond where to find the best gelato.”
You hum in sleepy agreement, luxuriating in the casual intimacy of having Charles wrapped so protectively around you. Part of you can scarcely believe how instantaneous and natural this connection has blossomed between you already. But another part feels like you’ve finally found your soul’s missing piece slotting seamlessly into place after stumbling around lost and incomplete for so long without ever realizing it.
The two of you remain suspended in that perfect, tranquil bubble for what could be minutes or hours more. You’ve completely lost track of any sense of time beyond the lullaby of the gentle waves and occasional murmur of Charles’ breathing ruffling your hair.
Eventually though, his stirring signals a slow return to the real world as Charles regretfully extricates himself from your entwined position with clear reluctance.
“I should probably get you back before your roommate starts to worry,” he says remorsefully as he slides off the bench to offer you a steadying hand up.
You accept it without hesitation, but can’t resist clinging to his jacket still cocooned around your shoulders, unwilling to shrug off that lingering cocoon of comfort and safety just yet. Charles notices, allowing a tiny grin to quirk one side of his mouth upwards as he takes in your refusal to part with it.
“Looks good on you,” he murmurs with unmistakable heat in those hypnotizing eyes. “I may have to let you hang on to that one for a while.”
Your mouth goes abruptly dry at the blatant implications in his tone, but you manage a coy smile in return as you turn to make your way back towards wherever Charles has his car crookedly parked.
The streets are all but abandoned by the time you arrive at the discreet entrance of your apartment building. Charles hesitates a split second before rounding the front of the gleaming Ferrari to face you properly on the quiet sidewalk.
“Thank you for an incredible evening,” you say honestly, gazing up at his silhouette in the dim glow of the streetlamps. “I don’t think I can even put into words how special you’ve managed to make me feel these past couple weeks.”
His expression softens instantly. One calloused palm comes up to tenderly cup your jaw, tilting your face up towards his with feather-light reverence.
“The pleasure has been all mine, I assure you,” Charles rumbles in a low tone that steals your breath away. “I don’t think you’ll ever realize just how remarkable you are, ma belle.”
Your eyes flutter shut without conscious thought as his nose brushes yours. Charles’ lips glide torturously against your cheek leaving a blazing trail to the very corner of your mouth.
The softest, most infinitely gentle press of satin flesh on flesh and then he’s pulling back — his ragged exhale warm and intoxicating against your tingling lips. You chase his retreat on instinct, but Charles is already withdrawing further with clear reluctance.
“I’m afraid I don’t trust myself to take things slow quite yet if I stay,” he murmurs in a strained rasp, pupils blown wide and dark. “But I do hope you’ll allow me to make this our new gelato tradition from now on ...”
It takes you several faltering attempts to find your voice again, chest rising and falling rapidly in the aftermath of that lightning bolt of affection. Finally, you manage a jerky nod, sliding one trembling hand over his where it still cups your cheek.
“I want that more than anything,” you confess in a hushed tone. “Just ... promise me we’ll see each other soon.”
He releases a shuddering breath of unbridled relief, dipping his forehead to rest against yours. “Soon,” Charles vows lowly. “I promise.”
You stare up into his earnest eyes. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Charles’ lips quirk in that lopsided grin you already adore so much. “I’m counting on it.”
With obvious reluctance, he finally steps away, snagging your hand to press one last searing kiss to your knuckles that has your heart stuttering all over again. Charles holds your gaze as you carefully back away towards the entrance, unwilling or unable to fully turn your back until the very last moment.
You chance a glance over your shoulder as you reach the front doors. Charles is still there, unmoving in a pool of streetlight beside his idling Ferrari, hands shoved in his pockets as he tracks your every step until you’ve slipped safely inside.
Exhaling a shuddering breath, you lean back against the cool stone wall, fingers coming up to ghost across your still-tingling lips almost disbelievingly.
When you finally muster the courage to peek through the glass once more, Charles has moved to lean against the side of his car, head tilted back as he stares into the lobby with an unmistakable softness etched across those chiseled features.
You can’t resist pressing your palm to the pane in a gesture you know he’ll recognize. Sure enough, Charles’ intense gaze instantly snaps to lock on you from across the quiet street, expression melting into pure adoration and wonder. His lips shape the same promise he uttered just moments ago — soon — as your own quirk in a delighted smile.
One last impulsive spark of inspiration has you playfully blowing him a single kiss through the barrier between you. Charles catches the invisible token easily, hand flying up to press over that broad chest as he throws back his head with a laugh that you can’t hear but imagine with vivid clarity.
You stand there transfixed, drinking in every last detail of him — the effortless elegance he carries himself with, the striking planes of his handsome face, and those beautiful eyes glittering with a thousand unspoken promises under the streetlamps.
Finally, with your own vow to reunite pulsing between you, Charles slides behind the wheel of his car. The powerful engine roars to life, twin beams from the headlights sweeping up to briefly wash through the windows of the lobby in a silent farewell before he’s peeling away into the night back towards the glittering city center.
You remain at the entrance for several long minutes basking in the memory of Charles’ phantom embrace still clinging to your skin. Only once his Ferrari has faded into the distance do you finally turn towards the elevator up to your apartment — every footstep lighter than air in the wake of an evening that lived up to even your wildest dreams of romantic splendor.
The simple joy and humble pleasure of a perfect scoop of creamy gelato will always hold untold meaning now as the spark marking the start of something beautiful blossoming between you and Charles.
And, as you finally drift off that night with a permanent smile etched across your face, you know without a shadow of a doubt that no flavor in the world could ever compare to the sweet indulgence of a life together just waiting to be savored and explored.
***
The warm spring breeze carries the sweet floral scents of the Brera Botanical Garden through the air as you stroll hand-in-hand with Charles. His fingers are laced through yours, his thumb gently stroking over your knuckles. You can’t help stealing glances at his handsome profile — the defined jawline, those soft kiss-curled lips, those kind green eyes that always seem to be smiling even when the rest of his face isn’t.
“What are you looking at?” Charles says with an amused grin, catching you staring again. You just shake your head and squeeze his hand tighter.
“Nothing. Just admiring the view,” you tease. Charles laughs that bright, infectious laugh of his that never fails to make your heart flutter.
You come to a stop beneath a blossoming cherry tree, pale pink petals floating down around you. Charles turns to face you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.
“Y/N … there’s something I want to talk to you about,” he begins, suddenly uncharacteristically nervous. You tilt your head curiously. “You know how passionate I am about racing, about Formula 1. It’s been my dream since I was a little boy.”
“Of course,” you nod, unable to stop a small smile. Charles’ love for motorsports is one of the many things you have come to adore about him.
“Well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately,” Charles continues, taking both your hands in his. “And I’ve realized that I want to have something else in my life too. A … passion project, you could say. Something that’s away from all the spotlight and pressure.”
Your brow furrows slightly as you try to imagine what he could mean. Charles has spoken before about potentially getting more involved in charity work or environmentalism on top of his racing career. But the almost childlike excitement dancing in his eyes tells you this is something different.
“I’m going to open a gelato shop,” he blurts out finally. You blink dumbly.
“A … gelato shop?” You repeat slowly. Out of all the possibilities, that was definitely not what you were expecting.
“Yes!” Charles grins broadly, clearly delighted by your surprise. “Think about it,Y/N. What’s more perfect than gelato made right here in the heart of Milano? And I’ve already found the ideal location — a little shop just across the street from here. Can’t you just picture it?”
He starts gesturing animatedly, that bright smile never leaving his face as he outlines his grand vision. You can’t help getting caught up in his infectious enthusiasm, even if the idea still seems a bit random.
“I’m going to call it Lec,” Charles says with a proud smile. You let out an undignified snort of laughter.
“Lec? Like your last name?” You shake your head in amusement. He looks almost offended by your reaction.
“No, no, not just my last name,” he corrects you seriously. “Lec as in … our last name. Yours and mine.”
The words hang in the air as realization slowly starts to dawn on you. You open and close your mouth dumbly as Charles takes a deep breath, sliding off the path onto one knee on the ground before you. With shaking hands, he pulls out a small black box from his pocket and flips it open to reveal the most stunning diamond ring you’ve ever seen.
“Y/N Y/L/N … you are my world, my everything,” Charles’ voice is thick with emotion as he gazes up at you. “I cannot imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else by my side. I want to wake up every morning and go to sleep every night with you beside me forever.”
Tears are already welling in your eyes, one hand pressed to your trembling lips as you listen to the beautiful words.
“Will you ...” Charles’ voice catches in his throat and he has to clear it before continuing. “Will you do me the greatest honor and become my wife? Will you marry me?”
The last few words come out in a rush of breath. You’re vaguely aware of several other people in the gardens who’ve stopped to watch, but all you can see is Charles’ face — hopeful and vulnerable and so full of pure adoration for you.
“Yes!” You finally manage to choke out through your joyful tears. “Oh my god, yes! Yes of course I’ll marry you!”
Pure relief and blissful ecstasy bursts across Charles’ face at your answer. With hands trembling just as badly as yours, he eases the glittering ring out of the box and onto your finger where it nestles perfectly, the diamond catching the dappled sunlight.
Before you can even look at it properly, Charles is on his feet again, pulling you into his embrace and spinning you around in a deliriously happy circle. You cling to him, laughing and crying at the same time as he peppers every inch of your face with kisses — your forehead, your cheeks, the tip of your nose.
Finally, inevitably, his mouth finds yours in a long, deep, loving kiss that has your knees feeling weak. You get lost in the warmth of his arms around you, the gentleness of his hands cradling your face, the tenderness of his soft lips moving reverently against yours.
When you finally part, you’re both smiling so much it almost hurts, foreheads pressed together as you share the same breath. Charles brushes away a few stray tears on your cheeks with the pad of his thumb.
“I love you so much, mon cœur,” he murmurs softly. You mouth the words back to him before stealing another lingering kiss.
Hand-in-hand once more, Charles leads you out of the botanical gardens and across the street. You come to a stop in front of a quaint yet sizable storefront, the windows covered in brown paper and a faded For Lease sign still hanging crookedly in the door.
“Here it is,” Charles says, gesturing up at the building with undisguised pride. “What do you think?”
You take it in slowly, trying to envision what the space might look like once renovated and filled with cozy seating and the alluring scents of freshly-made gelato.
You picture the two of you working side-by-side behind the counter when Charles doesn’t have a race, laughing and bantering as you serve up delicious treats for smiling customers.
It’s such an endearingly normal, domestic dream compared to the fast-paced frenzy of the Formula 1 lifestyle. But standing here with your new fiancé, it feels absolutely perfect.
“I think … I think it’s going to be incredible,” you lean into Charles’ side and wrap your arms around his trim waist. He responds by kissing your temple and pulling you closer.
“Just think,” he says happily, his warm breath ruffling your hair. “We’ll be the owners of the best little gelateria in all of Milano.
“Sounds like heaven,” you smile. “Just be sure to make plenty of hazelnut and tiramisu for me.”
“Done and done,” he promises solemnly. “Though you know vanilla will always be number one in my book.”
“Oh really?” You arch an eyebrow challengingly. “Is that so?”
Without warning, you loop your arms around Charles’ neck and pull him in for a long, lingering kiss. You can feel him melting into your embrace, his arms snaking securely around your waist.
When you finally manage to pull apart again, you’re both slightly flushed and out of breath. Charles’ usually perfectly tousled hair is charmingly mussed from running your fingers through it. He looks at you with such naked affection and desire that your heart flutters.
“You know what?” He murmurs huskily, resting his forehead against yours. “I take it back. You’re definitely my favorite flavor. And I can’t wait to start this next chapter with you, mon amour.”
And with that promise lingering sweetly between you, Charles takes your face in his hands and kisses you deeply once more, pouring every ounce of his devotion into the embrace.
You can taste forever on his lips.
When you finally part, grinning giddily at each other, Charles takes your hand and leads you back towards your next adventure. Whatever lies ahead, you know you’ll take it on fearlessly and joyously, side-by-side with the man you love more than anything in this world.
***
The reception hall is a whirlwind of joy and celebration as you take in the scene, your heart overflowing with love and happiness. The elegant decorations, the twinkling lights, and the smiling faces of your loved ones surrounding you all blur together in a beautiful haze.
You can scarcely believe this day has finally arrived — the day you’ve dreamed of for so long.
You turn to Charles, his warm green eyes sparkling with so much love, and your breath catches in your throat. He looks devastatingly handsome in his perfectly tailored tuxedo, his million-watt smile making your knees go weak.
This incredible man is now your husband.
“Hey you,” he murmurs, taking your hand and brushing his lips across your knuckles. “Having fun, mon amour?”
A joyful laugh escapes your lips as you nod enthusiastically. “More than I ever thought possible. I’m just … I’m so happy, Charles. I can’t believe we’re actually married!”
He chuckles, that rich laugh that never fails to make you melt. “Believe it, Mrs. Leclerc. You’re stuck with me forever now.�� His expression softens as he cups your cheek tenderly. “I love you so much. I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
You lean into his touch, savoring the moment. “I love you too, Mr. Leclerc. More than anything.”
A throat clears behind you, and you whirl around to see Arthur, your new brother-in-law, grinning mischievously.
“If you two lovebirds are done making everyone else nauseous, it’s time to cut the cake!” He teases, jerking his head towards the lavish gelato cake that sits on the dessert table.
Charles throws his head back with a laugh. “You’re just jealous that you don’t have someone as amazing as my wife to make gooey eyes at.”
Arthur rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “Whatever. Get your butts over there before I eat the whole thing myself.”
With a wink at you, Charles takes your hand and leads you towards the dessert table, the crowd of guests parting like the Red Sea to let you through. Your heart does a little flip as the magnificent gelato cake comes into view — a towering masterpiece of creamy gelato in vanilla, hazelnut, and tiramisu, all artfully swirled together and decorated with fresh fruit and chocolate shavings.
“It’s perfect,” you whisper in awe, giving Charles’ hand a squeeze.
He pulls you into his side with a content smile. “Not as perfect as you.”
The crowd applauds as you approach the cake, and a chorus of cheers and wolf whistles rises up. Straightening your shoulders with a grin, you pick up the gleaming cake knife and lock eyes with Charles, suddenly feeling bold.
“Ready to do this, husband?” You ask with a teasing lilt.
His eyes blaze with undisguised desire. “More than ready, wife.”
Together, you slice into the towering gelato cake, the creamy filling oozing out and already making your mouth water. Once you have a generous slice on a plate, you scoop up a spoonful and lock eyes with Charles again, arching an eyebrow in challenge.
His pupils dilate as he catches your meaning, a low growl rumbling in his throat. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, mon cœur.”
“Who says I can’t finish it?” You take a step closer, holding the spoonful of gelato up temptingly.
Charles tips his head back with a groan. “You’re killing me here.”
“Good thing you have me to bring you back to life then,” you quip, pressing the spoon to his lips.
He opens obediently, letting you slide the gelato into his mouth with agonizing slowness. His eyelids flutter shut as the flavors explode over his tongue, and he actually moans — deep and guttural and utterly sinful.
A choked sound comes from somewhere in the crowd. “Oh please, get a room!” Joris, Charles’ best friend and best man, calls out with a mixture of amusement and mortification.
Charles doesn’t even open his eyes, simply raising one middle finger in Joris’ direction as he savors the last of the gelato. When his tongue finally darts out to catch a stray bit on his lips, you feel an unexpected flare of heat low in your belly.
Okay, two can play at this game.
Deliberately holding Charles’ heated gaze, you dip your finger into the gelato drippings on the plate and slowly, so slowly, bring it up to your lips. You let the very tip of your tongue dart out to catch the sticky sweetness, swirling it around luxuriously. His Adam’s apple bobs as he watches you, jaw tense.
That’s it.
You slip your finger into your mouth fully, hollowing out your cheeks as you suck the gelato off with an utterly obscene sound. Charles’ knees actually buckle, and he grips the table behind him for support, pupils blown wide.
“You are so dead,” he growls under his breath, low and dangerous.
Unable to stop yourself, you let out a breathy giggle, drunk with a dizzying cocktail of desire and sheer bliss. Charles takes a half step closer, his eyes burning into yours. You quickly scoop up another fingerful of gelato, desperate to keep pushing those buttons and draw out that delicious intensity.
But before you can bring it to your lips, quick as a flash, Charles is on you. He drags you flush against his solid form, his free hand cupping the back of your neck to angle your mouth up to his. The scorching kiss steals the breath from your lungs, leaving you dizzy and clinging to his lapels for purchase.
When he finally breaks away, his eyes are blazing with unconcealed want.
“You missed a spot,” he rasps.
Then he’s ducking his head, and with one torturously slow lick, he clears the stray bit of gelato from the tip of your nose. The heat of his tongue on your overly sensitive skin makes you whimper.
The catcalls and whistles from your guests fade into white noise as you melt against your husband, lost in the endless depths of his hungry gaze. Screw being appropriate — you’ll give them all a show to remember if you have to.
“Fuck, I love you,” Charles rumbles, his voice low and rough with barely restrained desire.
Before you can respond, he’s kissing you again — deep and thorough and all-consuming. You sigh into his mouth, bunching the fine material of his tuxedo jacket in your fists to pull him even closer. His hand slides from your neck into your hair, cradling your head reverently as he pours every ounce of his love and passion into the kiss.
An eternity later, he breaks away with a ragged breath, resting his forehead against yours. “I think it’s time to get out of here, don’t you?”
You can only nod breathlessly, already imagining the deliciously wicked things he has in store. As if in a trance, you allow him to take your hand and lead you towards the exit, shouting and wolf whistles following in your wake.
Just before you slip out of the hall, you hear Pierre Gasly’s teasing voice behind you.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you two!”
Charles pauses only long enough to call over his shoulder, a mischievous glint in his eye.
“But there’s nothing you wouldn’t do!”
Then he’s sweeping you into his arms with a playful growl, carrying you into your new life together as man and wife. Peals of laughter and cheers chase you down the hall, but you only have eyes for each other in this perfect moment.
You’re married to the love of your life. You have forever with this incredible man. And if the wedding is anything to go by, forever is going to be deliciously amazing.
Literally.
1K notes · View notes
worldlxvlys · 1 year ago
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hey babe, i love ur writing its acc soo amazing. can you write about like chris or matt seeing you at one of their hockey games and while you were talking to some other guy, they score and do a celebration for you and obvi you don't see so they get pissed and then after the game they see you talking to the guy again and then they come up to you and grab your arm, pulling you into the locker room and then they yk fuck you for like three rounds and them they pocket your underwear and make you walk up to the guy you were talking to before and talk to them, but you're yk walking or limping and the guy notices and the you can do whatever you want
also this could be for either matt or chris or even nate
attention
chris sturniolo x reader
warnings: smuttt (don’t read if you don’t like), p in v, cream pie, oral (fem receiving), cursing, semi- public sex
a/n: i did chris cause i feel like i’ve seen so many hockey matt fics
ummm yeah hope you like :)
———————
i watched as chris skated on the ice, my eyes never leaving him. the game was pretty close, but chris was playing really well tonight.
i felt someone tap my shoulder, making me turn towards them, and breaking my gaze on chris.
“hey” i was greeted by a guy that looked to be around the same age as me. he was a tall brunette, with green eyes.
“um, hi” i said, confused.
“sorry, um i just- do you recognize me?” i narrowed my eyes at him, now even more confused.
i’ve never seen this kid a day in my life before.
“um, should I?”
“ i’ll take that as a no. i sit a few rows back from you in history”
well this is awkward as hell.
“ohhh shit, sorry! yeah, yeah you’re…” i trailed off, waiting for him to say his name.
“blake” he finished.
“blake! yes, yeah! sorry, i’m a little out of it today” i said awkwardly.
this is why i don’t talk to people.
“yeah, no worries. i get it, you pay attention to the teacher, why would you even be facing the back?” he said, trying to justify me not knowing him.
i really really don’t like talking to people.
“exactly” i said, before starting to turn back to the game. before i could, he starting talking again.
“yeah! very studious of you. i’m normally just staring at the back of your head” he said, chuckling a little.
i really want to side-eye the shit out of this kid.
“hmm, normally i’m paying more attention to my boyfriend. you know, the kid who sits next to me?”
hopefully this kid takes the god damn hint.
“oh, chris, right?” i nodded my head.
“isn’t he like, a player, or something? you sure he’s the right guy for you? ”
i just side-eyed him.
this kid isn’t real, there is no way he just said that shit.
“it was a joke! sorry, i just wanted to get you to laugh. don’t take it too seriously” he nudged me with his elbow.
i should’ve sat next to nick, he would have a comeback that would scare this kid off.
suddenly, the crowd went crazy. as i went to turn towards the game to see what happened, blake grabbed my shoulder making me turn towards him.
“listen, i’m sorry that wasn’t funny! i’m kinda just trying to impress you” he admitted.
“jokes are usually funny, that was not” his smile dropped. “not that it’s any of your business, but chris treats me well. i’m not interested in anyone else”
he didn’t say anthing else, so i turned back to the game. which is now over.
fuck. this dumbass made me miss the rest of the game.
i looked closer, realizing chris’s entire team was slapping chris on the back and giving him high fives.
i looked at the score, his team won by one point.
fuck. chris scored the winning point, and i missed it.
chris happened to look over at me, locking eyes as his jaw clenched.
oh, he’s pissed.
CHRIS’S POV
i scanned the crowd, looking for a particular person.
when i finally found her, someone was standing next to her.
who is this kid?
whatever, it doesn’t matter. i have to focus.
the game is so close, all we need is a score and we can win.
when i saw an opportunity to score the point, i took the shot and made it.
i just scored the winning point.
“YEAHHHHHH” i yelled, starting to celebrate.
i looked in her direction, wanting to see her reaction.
what the fuck.
she was facing towards that random kid, his hand on her shoulder.
she didn’t even see.
was she ever even watching the game?
i saw matt and nate, along with the rest of my teammates skate towards me.
i was graced with multiple “congrats, dude” and pats on the back. i didn’t even care, all i could focus on was her.
when i looked back at her, we locked eyes. her face dropped as she realized how angry i was.
i just rolled my eyes and turned away.
READER’S POV
i waited right next to the locker rooms, where we usually meet after chris’s games were finished.
suddenly, i heard blake’s voice again.
he just won’t stop.
“hey, you waiting for chris?” he asked.
“yup.” i kept my response short, looking for chris.
“yeah, that was some game-winning goal, huh?” he asked.
i turned towards him, “how would you know? you were never even focused on the game, you were too busy trying to get my attention”
“i-“ before he could even finish, my arm was grabbed and i was pulled into the locker room.
i didn’t even have to look to know it was chris.
he pushed me up against a set of lockers, “ i scored the winning point” he said as he looked into my eyes. “but you didn’t see that, huh? too busy talking to that kid”
i didn’t say anything, too shocked to speak.
“hmm, lost your voice, baby? or are you just having trouble paying attention to me?”
“no.” i answered.
“no? no, what?”
“i’m sorry chris, he just wouldn’t leave me alone. i told him i had a boyfriend”
“yeah? is that why he had his hand on your shoulder?”
“chris, i’m sorry” he pulled my hoodie over my head, sucking on my neck until it left marks.
“chris, what if someone walks in?” i asked, worried someone would see us.
we were in the very back of the locker room, but we were still out in the open.
“nobody has a locker back here, so as long as you’re quiet, there’s nothing to worry about.”
he unclasped my bra, taking one nipple in his mouth, while squeezing the other in his hand.
“shit, chris” i moaned. he lightly bit my nipple. “fuck!”
“didn’t i just say you have to be quiet? i swear to god if someone comes back here i’m not stopping.” he said as he continued to lick and suck.
my head fell back into the locker, as one of his hands snuck past the waistband of my sweatpants and into my underwear.
i gasped as i covered my mouth with my hand.
he rubbed circles on my clit, as he continued his work on my tits.
“think he could make you feel this good?” he whispered into my ear.
i didn’t open my mouth, scared a moan would spill out.
he inserted two fingers into me. “answer me.”
“fuck, no no no. no one can, just you chris” i whispered.
suddenly, he pulled away and pulled my underwear and sweatpants down.
he brought me over to a bench and laid me over his lap. the bench was wide enough that i could position myself on my hands and knees without falling off.
he slapped my ass, making me whine, and rubbed it after.
he spit into his hand before rubbing my clit with his thumb.
“shit, chris”
“remind me, whose pussy is this?” he asked. i couldn’t see his face, but i’m sure he wore a smug grin on it.
“yours, chris” he slapped my clit, making me jolt forward.
“fuck” i whispered.
he continued to rub my clit with one hand while inserting his middle and index fingers into my pussy.
“FUCK CHRIS” i yelled out, not even caring about being loud.
his fingers moved in me at an abnormally fast pace. i didn’t even know anyone could move their fingers that fast.
i approached my orgasm quickly. “chris! CHRIS! i’m gonna-“
“go ahead cum, on my fingers ma”
my legs started to shake uncontrollably, and i clutched the bench under me for dear life.
“ oh FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUUUUCK, CHRISSS” my voice shook as my entire body twitched.
he continued to assault my pussy with his fingers. “oh my god, chris” i moaned as i reached behind me to pull his hand away.
he slapped my clit, making me cry out and move my hand away “you know your safeword”
he maneuvered my legs so that he was in between them and without another word, he gripped my thighs and began to run his tongue through my folds.
i couldn’t contain the loud moans coming out of my mouth as he shook his head from side to side, completely suffocating himself.
my legs instinctively closed around his face, as i squirmed and whimpered.
his nose rubbed against my clit as he moaned into my pussy, sending me over the edge.
“CHRIS- CHRIS I’M CUMMING” i yelled as i finished on his face.
when he pulled away his face was covered in my cum, his eyeblack smudged all over his face.
that is hot as fuck.
he quickly took off his gear and underclothes, leaving him naked.
he placed me on my back at the end of the bench and stood between my legs.
he pumped himself a few times and lined himself up with me and pushed himself in.
“hmmmmm” i whined as he groaned out, “so fucking tight. look at how perfectly i fit in you, this pussy was fucking made for me” he mumbled.
he didn’t even give me a chance to adjust, pounding into me mercilessly.
this side of chris was driving me absolutely insane. he looked too good snapping his hips into mine, lust-clouded eyes, his face red and sweaty.
my head fell back, and my eyes squeezed shut.
“open those pretty eyes, you’re gonna pay attention to me this time” he growled.
he growled.
i’m losing my fucking mind.
suddenly, he increased his speed and thrusted into me with all his force.
“ my GOD, CHRIS” my eyes rolled into the back of my head.
he reached down and started to rub my clit.
“what did i tell you about those eyes”
“sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry” i repeated it like it was a mantra.
he started to squeeze my boob with his other hand.
i started to twitch again, clenching around him over and over again.
“fuck ma” he groaned before painting my walls with his cum, launching me into my orgasm.
i moaned his name over and over again before cumming all over his cock.
he then picked me up, and held me up against a locker fucking me against it.
“chris! chris! sensitive, i- FUCK” he groaned into my ear as he continued to slide in and out of me.
he lifted up my leg, letting him directly hit my g-spot.
suddenly, the locker room door opened. footsteps could be heard, but they were nowhere near us.
chris covered my mouth with his hand, his nose pressed against mine as he stared into my eyes, almost daring me to make noise.
he continued to fuck me into the lockers, his speed increasing.
there was rustling, before a locker door closed. and the footsteps retreated.
i silently gasped into his hand, and he rubbed my clit, making me grip onto his biceps.
as soon as i heard the locker room door close, signifying that the person left, i let out a scream.
“CHRIS I’M GONNA CUM, GONNA CUMMM”
“fuck, give it to me baby” he said as my front half shot up, and i wrapped my arms around chris’s shoulders.
my juices shot out onto chris’s cock, and he released his load into me.
he fucked me through my high, giving a few more thrusts.
when he pulled out, our cum dripped out of me and down my leg.
“here, i’ll help you get dressed” he handed me all of my clothes, except my underwear.
“chris, you didn’t give me my underwear” i said, my voice hoarse from all of the screaming i did.
“i know, i’ll be holding onto that” he said as he put them in his pocket.
“now c’mon, we gotta get you dressed so we can go talk to our friend”
oh. that’s not good.
i didn’t argue, knowing it would make things worse.
once we finished getting dressed, chris grabbed his stuff.
as we started to walk towards the door, my legs started to shake slightly.
fuck. i can barely walk.
“you ok, ma?” chris asked with a slight smirk on his face.
i just narrowed my eyes at him, making him chuckle.
when we left the locker room, there blake stood. directly across from the locker rooms.
i know this kid did not sit here and wait for me.
i glanced over at chris, and he motioned for me to go up to him.
i slowly limped over to him, chris not too far behind me.
“hey” i said to him.
his eyes widened, noticing the limp, as he took in our features. the hickeys all over my neck, my shaky legs, the sweat all over chris’s face, and our messy hair.
“um…hey” blake said.
i nodded, slowly and awkwardly.
chris then stepped in.
“hey, i’m chris. her boyfriend. what’d ya think of the game?” chris asked with a head tilt and a smirk on his face.
“uh, yeah! n-no, great, awesome game! you’re a great hockey player”
this kid is fucking shaking in his boots.
“really? that’s crazy! i didn’t realize you were able to watch the game by staring at my girlfriend!” he said sarcastically.
blake’s eyes widened.
“i didn’t know, sorry”
“you didn’t know she was my girlfriend? alright well, now you do” he got closer to him. “and if you ever forget, i swear to god you’ll end up with a lot more than a black eye, got it ?”
blake just nodded.
“great, walk away” he waisted no time in doing exactly that, getting away as quickly as he could.
i turned to chris.
“hey, i’m really sorry i didn’t see your big moment. i genuinely was trying to pay attention, he just wouldn’t leave me alone”
he gave me a kiss to my cheek, “it’s ok baby, i don’t think we have to worry about him doing it again” we laughed together.
“he looked like he was gonna piss himself” he grinned at me while he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“ok, c’mon ma. gotta find my family” just as he said that, they came into view.
chris helped me walk over, as i was still limping.
nick and matt just looked at us and shook their heads.
“you two are fucking disgusting”
“whatever, let’s go”
matt stopped us, “ hold up, i gotta get my stuff from the locker room”
chris and i glanced at each other.
“yeah, you dirty fuckers i saw you two go in there, which is why i waited” he said as he walked in the direction of the locker rooms.
we looked at each other and busted out laughing, trying to catch our breath.
——————————
…hope you like <333
masterlist
lmk what y’all want
tag list: @lovingsturniolo @lustfulslxt @gwenlore @flowerxbunnie @sturnssx @mattslolita @its-jennarose @frankeelovesthesturnio @sophssturn @bernardsleftbootycheek @queen161718 @chrisdevora @cupidsword @nickmillersn1gf @stramboli4life @mattsneezing @chrisstankyleg @sturniolobltch @vib3swithanuk @ciarasturn1 @bethsturn @bernardenjoyer @mbbsgf @soursturniolo @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @ssturniolo
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amywritesthings · 5 months ago
Text
seven days. | part one.
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( Read on AO3 )
Pairing: armin arlert x gn!reader (attack on titan / shingeki no kyojin) Word Count: 3.9k Summary: Armin gets bamboozled into joining the annual Yeager family beach vacation — and accidentally meets you.
Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI - alternate universe (modern), beach house, summer vacation, eventual romance, alcohol, partying, Armin deserves a romcom, Eren & Zeke have zero braincells Credits: dividers by @saradika-graphics
part two. | masterlist
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“Zeke, you Point Break bitch, did you steal my boogie board?!”
Ah, yes. 
If he was looking for a week of tranquility and peace, then Armin Arlert should have declined the invitation to join the Yeager family for their annual summer vacation.
Time and time again, Eren has begged his best friend to tag along.
As far as he's aware, this has been a family tradition ever since his best friend was a toddler.
One week, the same week, every single year.
Not to mention it's the same beach house merely two blocks away from the boardwalk and sandy shores.
Home away from home.
It’ll be amazing!
(Eren likes to claim.) 
There is so much sick shit we can do!
(His words, not Armin’s.)
You’re gonna sit on your ass and read anyway, so why not do it by a beach?
(...okay, maybe that sold him.)
Then again, nothing is more humbling than standing with your duffle bag in one hand, filled to the brim with ‘maybe’ shirts and ‘just in case’ medicines, and your pillow in another while the Yeager family chaotically dissolves into a panicked army of four battling to even get to said beach in one piece.
Chaos.
It’s their collective middle name.
“Armin, sweetie, do you want any snacks for the road?”
Carla Yeager — doting mother figure and matriarch of the family.
She’s the reason they’re taking two cars this year, too afraid she may forget something important at home.
From fresh tangerines to a plethora of board games, she’s thought of it all.
Shuffling his bag to give his hands some equal soreness — ouch, that's freaking heavy — Armin offers an apologetic smile.
“No, Mrs. Yeager, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“How many times do I need to tell you to call me Carla?” 
Every time, actually.
Although Zeke very easily calls his stepmother by her first name, Armin can't bring himself to do it.
Blah, blah, raised a certain way by his ever-traditional grandfather, blah.
The awkward blonde merely nods once and watches as Carla shuffles by to throw another box of napkins into the trunk.
“Here,” she gestures, waving her arms while she’s in front of the hatchback, “that looks bulky.” 
It is, but he’s a kindred spirit in the name of overpacking.
“I can find a spot for it,” he promises, but relents when the woman gives him that mom look that straightens out her son and stepson. “I— Thank you, Mrs. — Carla.”
Close enough.
He hands her his duffle bag, careful to spot the bottom of it in a sneaky attempt to help her ease his luggage into the first car.
Boom.
The front door bursts open to reveal Zeke and Eren, shoulder to shoulder, frantically fighting to see who can walk out first.
Grunting, Zeke tries to push ahead with his neon-green boogie board against his torso, but Eren manages to dip at the hip and rush down the steps. 
The momentum nearly knocks Zeke’s oval glasses off the bridge of his nose.
“Could you be normal for two seconds?” the blonde groans.
Eren merely answers by sticking his tongue out and holds up a hand, wiggling his thumb and pinkie back and forth. “Fucking loser.”
Carla immediately glares. “Eren, language.”
“Forking, sorry, forking,” Eren corrects with little remorse.
“Seriously?” Zeke laments as he walks by, squinting at his brother. “What are you, ten?”
“Zeke,” a voice chastises softly from the garage. "Be nice to your brother."
Grisha Yeager, father of the year, rolls out a large cooler to bring it towards the second yet-to-be-filled car.
He’s wearing a Margaritavilla button-down, his long hair tied similar to Eren’s. On his forehead is a tie-dye headband.
“We'll be within close quarters of one another for seven whole days," Grisha reminds in that airy tone of his. "We should hold off on the in-fighting until day four at the very least.”
"I'll give it until day three," Zeke mumbles under his breath as he passes by, shoving his boogie board into the first car and smushing Armin's duffle bag down to half its size.
Yeah.
This is what it’s like to vacation with the Yeagers.
Except when your grandfather gets a new girlfriend, and they go to Key West for the summer, you’re stuck without being able to say no to your best friend’s family.
Seven days.
He can handle the Yeagers for seven days.
.
.
— —
.
.
  It took less than three hours for Armin's pale skin to burn like an overcooked egg.
“It’s really not that bad,” chimes in Eren, mouth occupied by the hair tie between his teeth.
Invading his pessimistic mirror space, the taller brunette dips to look at himself while fixing his staple half-up bun hairdo.
The shorter blonde frowns even further as he checks out his tomato-red shoulders, standing shirtless and shoeless in front of him.
“It looks pretty bad, Eren.”
“Nah. Just slap some aloe on it, alright?”
Ruffling sounds behind him.
Glancing over his shoulder in the reflection of the mirror, a bag of potato chips flies into view as Eren carelessly rips it from the cardboard variety pack — courtesy of the emergency snack stash in the corner of the room.
(The emergency snacks are, quote: So that bitch-ass Zeke doesn't steal the goods.)
The sun-kissed boy walks barefoot to the edge of the twin bed and flops down.
Right.
He forgot to mention he’s sharing a room with Eren, which only makes matters forty times worse.
Two twin beds with doily-esque blankets and flat pillows.
Thank god Armin had the sense to pack his own.
“Besides, the alcohol will make it feel better," Eren adds, chewing on a potato chip.
With a noise of defiance, Armin turns from the mirror to stare at his best friend.
“You do realize alcohol dehydrates a person, right?”
“So?”
“So—” Armin protests tightly, “—it’ll make it worse.”
Eren pops another chip in his mouth, shaking his head. 
“Nah.”
Eloquent as always.
Groaning, he slowly — agonizingly — pulls his pastel blue polo over his aching shoulders and breathes out through his nose.
That SPF 50 was supposed to work, but he must have lost track of time binge-reading his first book of the trip.
A spy thriller, actually, that fell flat right around chapter three and nosedived bad just at the cusp of act three.
The wildly out-of-left-field twist made him so mad that he missed his alarm to reapply another coat of sunscreen, and—
Well.
As a result, human lobster is now on the menu tonight.
Regardless, he promised to go out.
It isn't ideal, but a promise is a promise.
About ten or so blocks away from the beach house is the coveted spot known as The Point.
From what he could gather from Google, The Point is a tiki bar boasting high-top bar tables nestled in sand, recreational volleyball courts, and live music all week long.
It’s about the only lively place in this rather family-friendly beach town.
While not technically a dry town, bars are few and far between and there are approximately a whopping zero nighttime entertainment venues, so The Point was about as wild as any college kid stuck on vacation was going to get.
Earlier, Eren spent most of the car ride to the house hyping it up.
Zeke, in surprising fashion, seemed to hold the same sentiment.
(It’s probably the only thing the brothers could agree upon.)
Plus, Zeke apparently had some surfer friends he’d met online that were going on the first night of vacation, so that solidified the night’s plans.
After showering, dressing, and having family dinner with the parents, it's go time.
A little past nine at night, the three boys walk on the sidewalk in a triangle unit, with Armin trailing behind.
Ever a wallflower he keeps quiet, observing carefully as the two brothers figure out their game plan.
Zeke is anti-shots.
Eren wants shots or nothing at all.
“We’re on vacation, why the fuck wouldn’t you do shots?”
“Because,” Zeke explains, “if you start with shots, then you’re setting yourself up for failure.”
“Yeah, if you can’t hold your liquor.”
“Eren, you just turned twenty-one.”
Eren’s nostrils flare. “So?! I had plenty of practice at university!”
“Is he a lightweight, Arlert?”
Wait.
What?
Oh, shit, they’re including him.
“Be honest,” Zeke adds over his shoulder.
Like a deer in headlights, Armin blinks between the brothers. “Uh… sometimes?”
“What?!”
The yell out of his best friend is piercing.
“You goddamn turncoat!”
“You’re not exactly somebody with an iron stomach, Eren,” the blonde reminds softly as if calming a petulant child, only to wince when he's met with a look of pure anger. “But that isn't to say you can't hold a shot down.”
“Or five,” Eren challenges.
“Three at best,” Armin relents.
“Three and a half.”
Armin squints as they turn the corner leading towards the entrance of the bar.
“In what world does half a shot cou—”
“Wait!”
Eren yelps, holding out an arm to stop Zeke in his tracks.
Armin subsequently also stops — as does his wearing patience.
“I have a solution.”
Zeke pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “And what’s that?”
“Look at me, dude.”
The boy with the man bun demands attention, using his pointer and middle finger to gesture between him and his half-brother. 
“You know what I’m thinking. Give it nine seconds.”
Right.
Not ten, because Eren’s favorite number is arbitrarily nine.
Zeke squints with about as much confusion as Armin’s feeling, but Armin knows by now how this is going to go.
Although they’re born with two different mothers, they’re eerily in sync with one another when they want to be extra annoying. 
Some kind of Yeager sixth sense tying them together; they fall silent, staring—
Then the thought strikes.
Like two brain cells clicking together, they simultaneously grin at one another.
“Jagerbombs.”
Great.
So even worse than a shot or a beer.
That’s all it takes for the two to become best buds as they stroll into the tiki bar like they own the place.
The blonde and brunette zero in on an open spot at one of the several pop-up bar locations at this venue—
—leaving Armin in the dust to fumble out his I.D. to the bouncer.
It's nothing new.
Cover charge? Paid.
Hand stamp? Accomplished.
Careful not to get any sand in his sneakers, Armin treads carefully across the uneven landscape towards the same lively bar as his best friend.
Music thumps right into his ribcage. 
Flashing lights threaten to blind him if he so much as looks over his shoulder to the west.
It’s more than he’s used to.
More than he wants, really.
(What happened to the leisure part of vacation again?)
“We got you one!”
Eren.
Blinking back into his body, Armin glances at the shot glass filled to the brim of Jagermeister waggled in his face. Immediately responding with a grimace, he steps back.
“No, I’ll just grab myself a drink, alright? You two enjoy — that.”
“What?” Eren’s frown is immediate. “Seriously? How else are you gonna get wasted with us?”
I’m not, is what he’d like to argue, but he knows Eren by now.
“What do you mean us?” Arnin shouts over the music. “I don’t see Zeke!”
“He got a text from one of his dumbass surfer bros and ditched,” Eren answers, “but to be perfectly honest, I’m thinking of playing the field tonight.”
“The what?”
“The field!”
“Eren, it’s really hard to hear you when they won’t stop mixing Pitbull with ABBA!”
“What?!”
Oh, this is impossible.
He raises his hands to gently push the shot glass towards his best friend’s chest. 
“You take it and show Zeke you can handle it!” Armin calls back at the top of his lungs, his shaggy blonde hair waving in the wind as he nods with encouragement.
That: giving Eren a challenge.
(Works like a charm.)
Determination spreads across his face. Eren nods, hyping himself up for a double-fisted success story. 
Armin simply nods, too, using the chameleon effect to build up Eren’s trust.
(Maybe he shouldn’t be using his psychology notes against his best friend, but desperate times call for desperate measures.)
“Yeah!”
Eren shouts while dropping the shot into the energy drink left perspiring on the bar top.
“I’m gonna!”
“Okay!”
“And then I’m gonna talk to a girl! Or a guy! Or someone!”
Armin’s eyes shoot wide with surprise, but he chooses not to rain on his best friend’s parade because Eren is already chugging the drink, spilling a little of the Jagerbomb down his oversized black tee.
(Good call, wearing dark colors, unlike Armin’s poorly planned pastel.)
Slamming it down on the bar top with a howl of victory, he pats Armin on the arm and trudges forward to the dance floor to do…
Well, that’s between the power of Charli xcx and God.
“Oh, Eren,” Armin mumbles, watching the little man bun bounce in time with the beat of the music until it’s consumed by dancing bodies.
Turning back to the bartenders, the blonde debates.
Agonizes, really.
He doesn’t drink very often.
It’s not really his thing.
But… when on vacation, right?
(Alone, apparently, since Zeke isn’t coming back anytime soon and he’s going to need to deal with dragging Eren’s drunk ass home in the next two hours.)
“Vodka soda, please,” he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.
The bartender behind the counter nods his way before pulling out a plastic cup. 
Within a few seconds the simple alcoholic beverage is concocted, and he leaves a reluctant ten-dollar bill on the sliver of the bar that isn’t covered in condensation or sloshed liquor.
He reaches—
Oh.
That’s not a cup.
Freezing in his place, his blue eyes zero in on a pair of fingers entwined with his, nestled on the very same cup.
He can feel them tense under his own slender digits.
Dread. Pure, existential dread.
Apologize, apologize—
“Shit—”
“I’m so—”
“Sorry!”
A stranger’s voice yelps with his in unison.
Before he can move, their hand rips away from his, leaving his fingers to meet with the cold plastic.
His neck cranes to his left and—
Oh.
Oh, no.
You.
Blinking several times to get his wits about him, he can feel his mouth growing dry.
The way the blinking lights illuminate off of your face completely force his train of thought off the damn tracks.
Flickers of blues, greens, pinks — they compliment your face so nicely as each shade seems to highlight another feature that he hadn’t noticed a second before.
He shouldn’t stare, but he can’t help it: you’re drop dead gorgeous.
“It’s okay,” Armin breathes out after holding his breath for some time. “That was my bad. I didn’t see you.”
Your eyes are just as wide as his. “No! No, it was my fault. I thought that was my drink.”
“What did you order?”
“Uh, a hard seltzer? I think?” you answer, scrunching your nose as you respond.
Mayday.
That’s a type of adorable he is not equipped to handle in his sunburnt state.
“You think?” he repeats with a small chuckle.
You move your head side to side, tilting with an uncommitted air about it.
“It’s bubbling, right? Means I’m on the right carbonated track.”
“Yeah, but don’t hard seltzers usually come in cans?”
“Not always at this place,” you correct, before pushing the cup towards him. “I also kind of panicked when I ordered, so sorry for almost being a drink stealer.”
“Trust me, I know a thing or two about panic ordering,” Armin admits with a huff, taking the cup into his hands.
“Yeah?”
You give a carefree laugh that causes his stomach to give an Olympian-grade somersault.
“Is that why you got a vodka soda?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“We’ve all been there,” you empathize, briefly pouting your lower lip. “I won’t judge.”
He’s not nearly drunk enough to deal with this (see: at all) but that doesn’t mean Armin is going to waste his opportunity.
He may be a wallflower, but he’s equal parts an opportunist.
“So you’ve been here before?” he tries instead, hoping you don’t suddenly snatch your seltzer can and walk away.
You do get your seltzer from the same bartender — a slender aluminum can, nothing fancy — but you don’t walk away.
The opposite: you angle towards him.
Shit, okay.
He can do this.
“My friends love this place,” you tell him over the music. He finds himself leaning closer, angling his chin down, so he can hear you better. “So I just tagged along to make sure no one got black-out drunk or made out with anyone weird.”
“A noble effort,” Armin teases, and your eyes sparkle with amusement. “My friends dragged me here, too.”
“Dragged?” you catch with a growing smirk as you take a sip. “I said I tagged, not dragged.”
“Oh.”
Idiot.
Recover.
“I mean, it wasn't — yeah, no, I was definitely dragged here,” Armin confesses, sipping his vodka soda for some liquid courage.
No use in lying to seem cool.
That facade would crumble like a house of cards.
“Partying at The Point not your scene?” you ask without judgment laced in your tone.
Armin nods. “I could be sitting on the balcony reading right now.”
Your brows slide high with intrigue. "Reading?"
Yeah, he should have expected a reaction like that.
The blonde shuffles, shrugging his shoulders.
"I know, lame."
"I don't think it's lame at all," you answer instantly.
His eyes widen. "I— no?"
"Uh, no," you snort. "If I had a choice, I'd probably be doing the same thing."
Oh, shit.
Oh... shit.
So he's not lame, and he found a possible fellow bookworm.
Armin sips his drink so fast that a little dribbles out the corner of his mouth.
Liquid courage; he needs it, badly.
"If you could be home right now instead of here, what would you be reading?" he decides to ask, knowing it's the most unsexy question he could offer.
You scrunch your nose again, seriously contemplating the question while bobbing your head to the music.
"I brought maybe two books? I should have brought more."
He nods eagerly, his blue eyes round with interest.
"I have a romance that takes place in the summer — I know. Very on the nose," you relent with a small huff. "And, uh, this thriller? But I'm not crazy about it, so I'm mostly reading the romance book on the beach."
"I brought a thriller, too," he admits. "Bounty Run."
"Shut up, you too?"
"Huh?"
You laugh, and it's a melody that makes the music at this venue pale in comparison.
"I literally bought Bounty Run last month and never got around to it until now! It's so bad!"
To whatever deity is smiling upon him today, Armin has to thank them.
Not only has he met someone who likes reading, but they think Bounty Run sucks.
Maybe he's hallucinating from the burn screaming through his polo right now.
"It's really bad," he agrees breathlessly with a chuckle.
"Like dogshit terrible!"
"I know. What the hell was Tracy thinking in chapter six?"
"Oh my god, when she decided to call the hostage guy?"
"Yes!"
"Like, I'm pretty sure that's not how those situations work."
"Not even close."
You both laugh, and all Armin Arlert wants is to know every miniscule thought of yours.
What other books you may have read.
If you have any recommendations.
If you're single.
Nope.
No.
He's not Eren Yeager.
He is not his best friend— 
"Are you from here?" you ask over the music, breaking his panicked train of thought.
Armin swallows more alcohol, shaking his head. "No, we're not locals. We're just vacationing."
"So are we!"
"With your friends?"
"My friend's family," you correct, leaning closer to stop shouting so loudly.
He can feel his blood pressure spike exponentially.
"I'm with my friend's family, too," Armin tells you. "Our shore house for the week is something like ten blocks from here."
“For the week? Which way’s your house?” you ask, before holding up your free hand. “Not in, like, a mega-stalker way.”
“Oh, I didn’t take it that way,” he promises, earnest intent pouring from his mouth. “It’s, uh… wait where are we — oh! That way.”
He swivels and points, like somehow that’ll triangulate where the beach starts.
Your chin turns, noting the direction. “So near the… beach? No fucking way, our house is that way, too, but more like a seven-block walk from here.”
Oh.
No fucking way, indeed.
"Seriously?" Armin asks, voice cracking just a tad.
"Yeah! Do you guys camp out on the beach by third street, too?"
He nods almost too eagerly. "We were just there this afternoon."
"So were we," you confess with a light laugh. "Small world! We were both being subjected to that god-awful book and could've warned each other to pick a less shitty book."
"Well, I brought about a dozen books if you want one to borrow."
Way to go, mouth.
Armin tenses instantly as the words pour from his mouth.
"I... you know, just in case the romance book doesn't work out! Or if you're a fast reader! Or if you—"
"Promise?"
Your question cuts through like a knife.
He is in awe.
Enamored.
He'll give you all of his goddamn books if it means you'll talk to him after tonight.
Suddenly your chin drops, and your free hand fishes for your phone in the back pocket of your jean shorts.
A frown tugs at the corners of your lips, causing the blonde to simply wait.
Stare.
Don't go.
Don't go, don't go, don't— 
"Shit, mayday with my friend."
You sigh as if you were expecting a disaster.
Hell, he's expecting one, too, but he's selfishly forgotten about saving Eren or finding Zeke.
"Are they alright?"
"Yeah, just..." You trail off, typing back a response. "They pre-gamed before we came here to save money. I told them not to, but... best laid plans, right?"
"I could give you my number?" he blurts, and your attention leaves your phone.
Your eyes round with surprise, and he feels immense shame in even offering.
Yet—
"For the books," he adds hastily. Shakily. "To borrow. O-Or if you ever want to just... talk about them."
"For the books," you agree, biting your lip between your teeth. "Yeah, sure, give me your phone."
His cup is empty, but he almost drops it trying to yank his phone out of his pocket.
Armin holds it out to you, unlocking the screen. He watches as you pocket your own phone and take his, typing your number into a new text chat window.
This is happening.
This is seriously, actually happening.
"Here," you offer, handing his phone back. "I put my name in."
He glances down, memorizing your name with newfound vigor.
"Okay, perfect. Oh — my name. My name is Armin."
"Armin?" You repeat. He nods. "I like that name."
Suddenly, he likes it, too.
"See you around?" he asks hopefully.
With a parting smile, you take a slow step backwards.
"...yeah, Armin. See you around."
You look just as sheepish as he feels when you turn on a heel, disappearing into the crowd.
For a moment he stands there, dumbfounded — phone in hand, slack jawed —
Hopeful.
Maybe...
Maybe Armin Arlert won't hate spending seven days at the Yeager shore house after all.
.
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author's note:
Thank you SO much for reading part one of my little summer story! I've been dying to write a proper Armin fic for a while now, and a casual, warm vacation setting felt perfect for him. This is meant to be a cozy read, so I hope you enjoy my love letter to my favorite boy. xo
How are we feeling after part one? Let me know in the replies! (And thank you for any reblogs, likes, engagement, etc. Every comment gives this writer wings.)
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