#me and my bestie were laughing about this yesterday too she was like i just don't understand how people can have sex one day and then

[delicatetaysversion]

pata hai last kuch din i was very busy with my project kyunki final dena tha and binding karni thi etc to wo karwayi then i went to the bookfair bekaar tha then parso submit karne jaa rahi to subah accident hogaya (bhai ki bike skid hogayi and we fell down) and now i have a big ass blue bruise on my upper thigh and my parents don't even know lmao and kal ek science conference thi to i had to sit in an auditorium for 6 hours listening to accomplished people speak. that's what you missed now your turn

omg i knew everything in this except for the accident cause i stalk your blog vigorously everyday are you okay!!!!!!!!!! did you get tetanus shots!!!!!!!!!! also on your upper thigh oh no that's where future jiju is supposed to write MINE na as per our beloved song guilty as sin?

[delulujuls]

young, dumb & bwoke | ln4

hi! as u can see i couldn't stop myself from writing about last saturday events in amsterdam with mr norris as main star (he was more popular than the king himself lmao). lando is literally what i always bring to the function and yup, enjoy him being the chaotic drunk bestie while max and y/n are his literal party parents. its nothing crazy and without plot basically, i just added sum to this years' koningsdag so yeah, enjoy!

summary: there is nothing that lando loves more than a good party and his beloved dutch friends so imagine him with drink in his cup surrounded by whole orange nation. it could be nuts and it was

warnings: TONS of alcohol, lando being drunk (and hurted), mentions of blood, basically sum chaos

pairing: fem!dutch!bff!reader x lando norris (ft. max verstappen)

Lando couldn't wait for the plane he was on to break through the heavy cloud cover and land in Amsterdam.

China and Miami, which were the next rounds on the calendar, were separated by two weeks that were nothing else, in Lando's case, than a time of stagnation. Add to this the fact that Lando had bad memories of his performance in China and, what's worse, the sprint he failed so badly and which constantly played in his head like a jammed record, one could go crazy. That's why the Brit was extremely happy when he received an invitation to spend the weekend in the capital of the Netherlands. He was invited to Amsterdam to celebrate King Willem's birthday by none other than his favorite flying Dutch.

The friendship of Y/N, Max and Lando began in 2019, practically from the very moment he entered Formula 1. The kid, who was barely 20 years old but looked like 12, immediately won over the Dutch couple with his smile and sense of humor, who, due to their sometimes severe temperament, could not boast of having many friends in the paddock. Even though the three friends were only two years apart, Max and Y/N naturally became Lando's racing parents, with whom the Brit spent practically every moment, from time in the paddock, through celebrating on the podium, to time away from competitions. So it was no surprise when they invited him to spend the weekend together, to which he, of course, eagerly agreed.

When the plane landed, Lando pulled the hood of his orange sweatshirt over his head and slung his backpack over his shoulder, in which he packed everything he might need for the coming days. As you could guess, there wasn't much of it, he actually had everything he needed on him and the most important part was an oversized orange sweatshirt. Waiting for him at the airport was Y/N, who couldn't wait to see him. She didn't have to wait too long, because a moment later he walked out in front of the terminal. Y/N smiled as she saw her friend walking towards her and she hugged him tightly.

"You knew I was coming, you could have asked the king for better weather," Lando joked, trying to sound serious, which only made the girl giggle.

"If you think that the weather will have any influence on what will happen in the evening, then unfortunately I will have to disappoint you," she replied, getting into the car. "It's already starting to get crowded in downtown, and it's not even noon."

Lando threw his backpack into the backseat and got into the passenger side. He smiled like a child, looking forward to how the weekend would unfold. It looked like he would spend a nice few days, able to finally de-stress and relax, and in the company of friends. But speaking of friends, one of them was missing.

"And where's Max?" he asked as they left the airport and were on their way to the girl's apartment. "I thought he had been waiting for me with the welcome committee since yesterday."

"He's already in town, I dropped him off while I was on my way to pick you up."

"He's fast," Lando laughed and shook his head, "I hope he's still on his feet when we get to him."

At that moment, Lando didn't think about the fact that no one else but himself would be able to stay on his feet. When the Brit set off for Amsterdam, he obviously expected to spend two days drunk, with legs sore from dancing and a sore throat from singing, but he forgot that he has absolutely no immunity to alcohol.

When the three friends were finally together, alcohol quickly appeared in their hands. Y/N and Max started with beer, but Lando had no intention of wasting his time drinking something that would only cause pressure on his bladder. As soon as he boarded one of the barges floating on the Herenbracht Canal, he drank several shots at once. Y/N and Max just exchanged glances as he drank the drink standing on Garrix's console in one gulp, who didn't care one bit about it, being already in a good mood himself.

"I'm a little worried about how this might end," Max said in her ear as she took a sip of her cider, watching Lando jump happily.

"Even if he's drunk, so what," she replied, handing him her bottle and taking away the body paints in circulation, "He didn't come here to be bored."

Max was about to say something, but she pushed his hand slightly, bringing the bottle he was holding to his lips. Max shook his head and took a few sips from it, while the girl started painting flags on his cheeks. When she finished, she waved them up, attracting Lando's attention, who understood what she meant and nodded eagerly. The girl squeezed through the console and stood next to him, leaning him against the barge rails, because Lando had trouble not bobbing to the music for a moment.

The smile that never left his face wrinkled his cheeks, on which she tried to paint Dutch flags. When she finished and turned to pass the paints, Lando took off her sunglasses and put them on himself.

"Have a drink with me!" Lando shouted, holding out his empty cup to her, and she raised her cider bottle in response. He rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction when suddenly a bottle of vodka appeared in the crowd and someone handed it straight to his hands. Without much thought, Lando unscrewed the cap and took a few sips as if the contents were water, which of course met with the crowd's approval.

Y/N took the bottle from his hands, fearing not the amount Lando drank, but the relatively short time it took him to do so. However, not wanting to seem boring, she tilted the bottle herself, letting the liquid burn her throat. Delighted, Lando clapped his hands and hugged his friend, causing some of the alcohol to flow down her chin. She smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist as well, and raised her hand in a toast, which was joined by everyone who had something to drink.

Max also raised his beer bottle a bit. However, somewhere in the background of his mind there was an image of Lando and what he would look like in the near future. However, the Brit himself did not care at all about this. As long as he was in the company of his friends, his plastic cup was full and he could jump to the music and sing along, he was happy. Even the fact that his face was in the wrong place at the wrong time, when someone, completely by accident, punched him in the face, didn't disturb it.

Y/N, who also decided to pick up the pace after drinking her cider, immediately sobered up when she saw blood on her friend's face. She quickly pressed a tissue to his nose, but he tried to assure her that he was fine. His brain didn't encode the impact or the pain, didn't acknowledge that he was bleeding, even when he ran his tongue over his lips and tasted blood on them. People in the crowd started calling out to each other to see if anyone had a first aid kit. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bandage appeared, and just as Y/N, being drunk, thought it would be a great idea to wrap Lando's face in a bandage, Max started asking people if they somehow had band aids. He couldn't let that dumbass parade around like that for the rest of the evening.

“I've sobered up a bit, I can keep drinking,” he said as Y/N finished clumsily bandaging his face, “I probably look worse that i did when i crashed in Vegas.”

Her friend tried to be serious, but it was impossible to stay serious around Lando. "You have to be careful, Lan," she said, trying to retain some sanity and touching his cheek, looking into his eyes, "I hope it's not broken."

"Bwoken," he repeated in silly voice, giggling "Oh no, it couldn't be bwoken"

"Honestly, i also hope it is not," Max interjected when he managed to rejoin his friends after some time, "Getting to the hospital now would be a near miracle."

"Hey, I'm fine," he said as Max waved the Band-Aids in his face and began to remove the clumsy bandage into which their friend had probably poured her whole heart and a few drinks that she drank earlier.

"I'm glad you don't feel anything, but that doesn't change the fact that I won't look at it," he replied, lifting his chin and examining his nose from every angle. Luckily this one seemed fine.

Once Max had placed two tiny patches on him, Y/N handed him his mug with a fresh drink again. "Brave patient," she smiled at him.

"In a state like this, I'd be surprised if he felt something," Max admitted, taking a bottle of vodka standing nearby. He decided that since Lando had had an accident, nothing worse awaited them and he could allow himself to loosen a bit more. He took a few sips and handed the bottle to the younger one, who smiled, tightening his hand around it. He looked at his friends standing in front of him, slightly drunk but still fully focused on him. He knew he was important to them and that he is not alone in all this madness.

"I love you guys," he said, with a bottle in his hand, pushing himself off the railing and hugging them, "You are the best in the world, simply the best."

The rest of the day and later in the evening took place in a great atmosphere and the party lasted until 3. in the morning. For the rest of Amsterdam it probably lasted longer, but for Lando it began to end after two o'clock, when he was barely able to stand. Partly from being drunk, partly from being tired. He didn't stand still during a single song, so the next day, apart from his face, his legs will certainly be visible. Taking a break for something warm to eat, Max, Y/N, and Lando sat down at one of the wooden tables. While waiting for their orders, Lando rested his head on Y/N's shoulder and closed his eyes. It was obvious that he just needed something to lean on to fall asleep.

"I think it's time for us to go," the girl announced, directing her words to Max. "The baby is only fit for bed now."

"He's been in great shape for a long time anyway, judging by how much he was on his feet today," Max concluded, glancing first at him and then at the girl, "But you're holding up pretty well, aren't you?"

"Yes, I do," she nodded and hugged Lando, who began to slide off her shoulder, "But I'm also getting sleepy."

"Me too," Max rubbed his face with his hands, "At least we can be sure that no one will wake us up first thing in the morning to explore the city."

He said, glancing at Lando, who was dozing with his mouth open on his friend's shoulder. After eating casseroles and fries, which were for Lando and which he was unable to eat, the three of them went to the girl's apartment. Of course, only she and Max were walking on their own, Lando was between them, leaning on their arms. He was muttering something incomprehensible under his breath, so it was obvious that he was alive and everything was fine, besides the fact that he was completely drunk.

When they arrived at the address and crossed the threshold of the apartment, they immediately went to put him in the bedroom, not wasting time in unfolding the couch for him. Max was in the process of stripping him of his shoes, pants, bloody sweatshirt, and all the necklaces and ribbons he had collected the previous day, while Y/N placed a large bottle of water, painkillers, and a bucket by his bed, as if the contents of his stomach had suddenly decided that they wants to get outside. However, there was no indication that Lando was going to have a restless night, because he started snoring softly as soon as his cheek touched the pillow. Max covered him with the blanket and took a few steps away from the bed, standing next to his friend who was looking at the sleeping boy.

"Can you hear that?" Max whispered, glancing at her, and she frowned questioningly, "It's silence, listen to it, because when he gets up, the only thing you can hear will be his lamentations about how hungover he is."

The girl snorted quietly and shook her head, taking Lando's clothes to the laundry.

"The most important thing is that he had a good time. And a little hangover never killed nobody."

The next day, however, did not bring anything unexpected. When Lando woke up, the first thing that hit him was a terrible headache that got worse when he sat down and tried to get out of bed. When he stood in the doorway of the bedroom, Y/N and Max's eyes immediately went towards him and Lando could swear that they looked like they spent the entire last evening on the couch.

"Hi honey, did you sleep well?" Max asked playfully, in the perfect mood for jokes since he himself was fine after last night.

Lando just blinked several times and wanted to wipe his face with his hands and collect some words to answer, but when he touched his cut nose, he cursed loudly.

"What the fuck?"

"A souvenir from yesterday," the girl answered him, getting up from the couch and taking out a frozen package from the fridge, which she handed to him, "I recommend a shower and I'll make you some coffee."

He closed his eyes and put the package to his nose, sighing and grabbing the bathroom door handle. Before he disappeared, Max just shouted after him.

"And don't puke in the shower!"

[seungkw1]

better late than never — kmg

♡ pairing: kim mingyu x afab!reader ♡ theme: smut [18+ mdni], best friends to lovers, non-idol au ♡ wc: 2.7k ♡ warnings: size kink, oral (f. receiving), fingering (f. receiving), riding, unprotected piv sex (stay safe y’all), creampie, mingyu is a boob guy, praise kink if u squint ♡ a/n: written for my bestie <3 and posting just in time for his birthday - happy mingyu day!!

knock-knock-knock-knock

“come on! let me in!!” 

you approach your front door, but you don’t unlock it yet. 

“what happened to the copy of my key i gave you?” you inquire to the voice on the other side. 

“i forgot it!” 

you turn the deadbolt, opening the door to reveal the man standing outside - the look on his face is sheepish as he stands there, arms full of grocery bags. 

“kim mingyu i asked you to get me three things, not the entire store,” you say incredulously. 

“i saw your fridge the other day. you literally only had cheese, beer, and a jar of pickles in there,” he retorts, shooting you a judgemental look. 

“the three main food groups.”

mingyu rolls his eyes as he enters your apartment. “whatever, i'm cooking you dinner. a real dinner.”

“aye aye captain,” you say as you jokingly salute him. 

you met mingyu freshman year of college, when he burst through the door of your dorm room - thinking it was his own (he was on the wrong floor). his eyes turned wide as saucers as he realized his mistake. 

“SORRY,” he blurted out before fleeing out of the room. he was gone before you had even processed what happened. 

the next day he returned - this time knocking first. you opened the door to see the tall man, holding two packs of ramen. 

“sorry about yesterday,” he apologized, still a bit embarrassed. “i'm an idiot and thought i was on the sixth floor.”

“you're not an idiot, mistakes happen. it's okay,” you assured him amiably. 

“thanks, i’m glad you’re not mad at me or anything,” he replied with a smile. he extended the ramen to you. “it’s not much but i just… felt like i should bring a gift for some reason?” he told you, looking like he was second guessing himself as the words came out of his mouth. 

“ooo it’s the good kind too,” you replied eagerly as you took the ramen from him. “you wanna have one right now?”

he looked surprised, but delighted at your suggestion. 

“actually that would be awesome, those were my last two,” he admits with a laugh. you grin back at him. 

“well, come on in. again.”

–

and so mingyu inadvertently became your best friend. if not for the dorm incident, you probably never would have even crossed paths with him - he was your typical business bro, while you were majoring in psychology and literature. but, something just clicked between you two. 

a handful of years later now, he’s still your closest friend. and here he is, in your kitchen, grabbing the appropriate pots, pans, and utensils to get started on his spaghetti carbonara. as independent of a person as you are, you're not particularly the best chef - so you're grateful for his culinary expertise and willingness to make food for you. 

over dinner, mingyu is his usual chatty self. he tells you about his day, about how his neighbor has picked up the irritating hobby of learning to play the trumpet, about the dog he met yesterday while at the park, about his new coworker who seems to like him a little too much. 

“well, is she cute?” you ask nonchalantly, swirling the wine in your glass.  

“huh?” your question seems to catch him off guard. “i don't know. i mean, i've never thought about it.”

“bullshit,” you tell him, taking a big sip. 

“it's true!”

“right. well think about it, is she?”

“she's conventionally attractive i guess. i don't know why it matters though,” he says sincerely. 

“well if she likes you and she’s cute, you should ask her out.”

“that would be extremely unprofessional,” he scoffs, appalled at your suggestion. “besides, she's not my type.”

“what, is she weird or something?”

“no. and besides, i like weird. but i definitely don't see her like that.”

“what do you mean, you like weird?” you ask, raising your eyebrow. 

“i mean, you’re weird. and i like you.” he says it matter-of-factly, as if he was telling you the grass is green. 

“okay well obviously you don't want to date me,” you reply, rolling your eyes. “but come on, you haven't dated anyone in years. i'm trying to help to you here.”

the expression on his face changes, but you can't quite decipher what he’s thinking. 

“i don't need help.”

you give him a weird look. 

“not like that!” he quickly insists. “i just mean, don't worry about me, i’m fine.”

“ooookay, whatever you say gyu.”

his face remains calm, but you notice the corners of his mouth twitch upward slightly. normally, he’s not a fan of the nickname, but you know you're the only one who's allowed to call him that. he’s told you before. 

“well, what about you?” he asks suddenly. 

you look at him while chewing a big bite of pasta, confused. “what about me what?”

“are you, like… seeing anybody these days?” 

he speaks timidly, as if treading on eggshells. 

“why? are you asking me out?”

“ha ha, very funny,” he says sarcastically. he then shrugs. “i was just curious.”

“i actually did go on a date last week,” you admit. he looks up, surprised. 

“really? how'd it go?”

“surprisingly, really good,” you tell him.

“that's good. you have a long history of terrible first dates.”

“it was a second date, actually.”

mingyu pauses. “and you didn't tell me about the first one? fake as hell.”

“oh shut the fuck up,” you tease back, grinning at him. 

he picks up the bottle of wine sitting on the table. “should we finish this?” he asks. 

“duh.”

he removes the cork, pouring you another glass before refilling his own. 

after the delicious meal, you begin to clean up the kitchen, but mingyu quickly gets up and takes the dishes from your hands. 

“i got it.”

“you did all the cooking, let me do it,” you tell him. 

“nope,” he insists, already scrubbing plates. 

you help anyway, but mingyu is fast. the kitchen is sparkling within ten minutes. 

“damn, this looks better that it did before you got here,” you remark as you start the dishwasher. 

“don't go on a third date.”

you freeze. you look back at mingyu - he's reclining against the kitchen counter. his face, sincere. 

“what?” you ask hesitantly. 

“i said, don't go on a third date.”

he rises, walking toward you. he stops inches away from you, extending his arms, leaning his palms on the counter on either side of you. his face hovers above yours, his warm eyes locked onto yours. 

“gyu, are you drunk?” you ask, knowing full well he's not. your heart is suddenly pounding. 

“i'm not.” he brings his hand up to your chin, tilting your face upwards. “can i kiss you?”

you’re stunned, standing motionless, breathing deeply as he strokes your jawline softly with his thumb. sure, you’d thought about the possibility of dating mingyu before. more than once, even. and you figured he’d probably thought about dating you before. but truly, you never thought he had serious feelings for you. 

but here you are, pinned against your kitchen counter by your best friend. your best friend, who happens to be incredibly attractive. and the way your heart is racing - you really do want to kiss him right now. 

you try to think logically, rationalizing whether this is a good decision, but the emotional part of your brain takes control. you kiss him. you kiss him - and he kisses you, and you stand there, in your best friend’s arms, kissing each other, as if you'd both been waiting for this moment for years. and deep down, you know you have been. 

mingyu grabs hold of you, pulling you up onto the counter. you wrap your arms around his waist, running your hands slowly up and down his torso, feeling his toned body through his soft shirt. he caresses you gently, kissing you still - you're suspended in time, just the two of you, bodies connected like never before. you suddenly cannot believe you've spent years with this man and never once made out with him - but better late than never. 

he softly brings his hands to your sides. your lips finally part - you instantly miss the sensation. he slides his hands under your shirt, pausing right before he reaches your breasts.  

“can i touch them?” he asks, his voice breathy. you nod fervously. he caresses your over your bra, kissing you again as he squeezes your tits in his large hands. you inadvertently let out a soft moan. mingyu grabs the hem of your shirt and pulls it off of you. he looks at you in awe. 

“you're so perfect.” 

he is utterly gushing and swooning over you right now. you feel your heart skip a beat. 

you slip your hands under his shirt, running your hands over his abs and chest. he pulls his shirt off too, standing there before you. you've seen mingyu shirtless before, but not like this. his muscles are striking, perfectly sculpted - his golden, sunkissed skin glows beautifully. you feel a sudden, strong carnal urge to lick him, kiss him, bite him all over. 

you look up at him - the look in his eyes reciprocating your desire. you hop off the counter, taking his hands in yours. you pull his arms, tugging him in the direction of your room. his cheeks turns flush as he realizes your intent - a roguish grin spreads across his face, revealing his pointy canines you’ve always loved.

mingyu wastes no time taking your pants off as you throw yourself onto the bed, reclining against the soft pillows. he gazes at you lustfully as you lay there in your lingerie, unzipping his pants and pulling them off as fast as humanly possible. you feel throbbing in your core at the sight of him standing there - his light gray underwear doing absolutely nothing to disguise the prominent erection underneath. 

he crawls into bed, his body hovering above yours. you wrap your arms around his broad torso, pulling his large frame into yours as you begin to move your hips, grinding against his cock - the wet spot on your panties grows as you rub your cunt against him. it was clear from the moment he took his pants off that he is big, but feeling its length, its thickness, against your clothed pussy is making you clench around nothing - making you wish you were clenching around him instead. 

mingyu gently grabs your arms, pinning them next to your head as he interlocks his fingers with yours. his lips lightly graze against yours. 

“are you sure you want to do this?” he asks softly. you nod immediately. 

“yeah.”

he buries his head into the crook of your neck, kissing you repeatedly. he gradually makes his way down your body, his hands moving to take your bra off, but he pauses.

“can i-”

“you can do whatever you want to me,” you interject.

you feel his cock twitch. “oh god, don't tell me that.”

he unclasps the hook, letting out a moan at the sight of your bare tits. immediately he takes your nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hardened bud before taking it between his lips. he sucks on your tit like his life depends on it - his hand squeezing and pinching the other as his cock grinds against your core. you're gone already - a moaning mess, putty in his hands. he eventually switches sides, cool air hitting the wetness remaining on your nipple. you get the feeling mingyu could suck your tits forever. 

he eventually moves on, planting kisses down your stomach as he situates himself between your legs. he kisses your inner thighs - slowly approaching your core, but not touching you just yet. you whimper as he finally touches his lips to your clit over your thoroughly wet underwear. he licks you slowly, his tongue running over the thin fabric several times before he slips his finger underneath, pulling your underwear aside, exposing your soaked core. he groans at the sight of it. 

“fuck, just as pretty as i imagined.”

you part your lips to say something, but your words become lost - instantly replaced with cries of pleasure as he begins eating you out. you run your fingers through his hair, grasping onto it as he sucks repeatedly on your clit. he places a large hand on your belly, applying pressure, as he takes two fingers to your pussy, slipping them in with ease. you moan as he begins to fuck you, your hips beginning to buck. 

“more,” you beg. 

you cry out as he adds a third finger - your cunt has never felt so full, but you know this is nothing compared to how his cock would feel in you. he continues sucking your clit, heat rising in your lower stomach as you feel yourself nearing orgasm. you writhe in pleasure, screaming mingyu’s name as he makes you cum - and he makes you cum hard. 

your head spins as you come down from your powerful high. as you catch your breath mingyu crawls back up, laying against you, his radiant body heat making your skin turn hot. he strokes your cheek, pressing his lips hungrily against yours once more. 

“can you… will you ride me?”

your pussy throbs at the mere thought. wordlessly you nod. mingyu reaches down, sliding your panties off before discarding his own underwear. you gasp softly as his cock springs free. you reach down, taking hold of it - its size making your hand appear tiny in comparison. he leans his head back, sighing as you stroke his length, your palm becoming wet with his precum.

you give him a push, rolling over on top of him. his tip grazes your wet cunt as you straddle him, his eyes locked onto yours intensely. you sit up, taking his cock in your hand, rubbing it against your folds a few times, before finally slipping it inside. you slowly lower yourself onto it, whining softly as its thickness stretches you. mingyu groans as you bottom out, sitting entirely on his cock. you haven’t even moved yet, but his breathing is heavy, inhaling deeply as he reaches up to grab onto your breasts. you begin to ride him, slowly moving your hips up and down, his cock filling you up beyond anything you could’ve imagined. you gradually increase your pace, both of you moaning at the overwhelming sensation, until you are fully bouncing on his cock, your palms resting against his muscular chest to steady yourself as you unravel over him. 

mingyu begins to whimper. “you’re so fucking hot,” he utters between heavy breaths. “you’re gonna make me cum.” 

you ride him relentlessly, crying out at how good he feels inside you. his eyes close as he releases, thrusting his hips powerfully as he cums in your pussy - the warmth of his cum filling you up. your pace slows, riding him gently as he finishes, his moans tapering off as he begins to come down. you settle onto his cock, laying on him as you kiss him. he kisses you back lovingly, one hand running through your hair, the other caressing the small of your back. you lay there for a while, his chest rising up and down as he breathes deeply. your heartbeat slows, pounding heavily in your chest as you recover.

slowly, he finally pulls out. you roll to his side, wrapping your arms around him in a warm embrace, squeezing him with all your might. he giggles. 

“mingyu?” you ask softly after several moments of silence.

“hm?”

“you should’ve told me sooner.”

he sighs. “i wanted to - many times. but i didn’t want to risk our friendship. i didn’t think you felt the same way.”

“i think… i think i’ve always loved you. i just never realized it.”

mingyu smiles. he gives you a kiss on the forehead.

“so… what does this mean? for us,” he asks you.

you look up - his warm eyes are fixated on you, optimistic, awaiting your answer.

“well, i really don’t think anything is going to change.” a nervous look washes over his face - you quickly add, “except that we fuck now and also i want you to be my boyfriend.”

he closes his eyes, letting out a laugh. he pulls you closer into his embrace.

“i like the sound of that.”

–

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

Growing Pains

Pairing: Eddie x Reader

Word count: 2.2k

Notes: I’m gonna cry they don’t need to be THIS ATTRACTIVE, also boy did I NOT edit this 🥹🥹🥹 what a lovely lil request from my bestie who you know in this moment I’m realizing I don’t remember how to spell your user I’m sorry I love you 🤣🤣🤣 okay I checked it’s @chihard20

The day started out normal, waking up snuggled in Eddie’s arms as he nuzzled your neck. He was always affectionate in the mornings, too sleepy to really want anything but you.

“Mornin’ Gorgeous” He mumbles into your neck, his hands trailing down your sides until they reach your hips. His fingers splay out over your plush body as he guides you on top of him. You giggle into him, rolling your eyes as you sit up. He likes when your hair is all messy like that after waking up

“Good morning baby” You grin, your hands sliding over his torso before planting them firmly on his chest. He grins wickedly at the way your back arches, blushing a little in the process as you start to roll your hips in slow circles. He smirks, sliding his hands back up your sides and squeezing lightly

“Ow!” You flinch away from his touch, and he stops immediately, sitting up

“Y/N? Hey… what’s wrong?” He feels your sides again, this time a little slower and you wince when his hands flow over a certain spot. He lifts your shirt and looks, there’s a bruise there, and it’s hot to the touch.

“What the hell is this??” He asks, his voice dripping with worry. He pushes your hair gently out of your face and you lean into his touch

“Okay wait wait don’t worry, Buck and I were working out yesterday and he got me in the side. It was a total accident I forgot about it”

He rolls his eyes, pulling you in carefully to kiss you “Remind me to kick his ass when I see him” you giggle and kiss him back, your lips moving slowly against his

“Will do”

Eddie painstakingly tells you he doesn’t want to have sex, and you’re snickering through it the entire time he’s trying to reassure you. It’s not that he doesn’t want it, he just doesn’t want to hurt you or anything. You begrudgingly accept his reasoning and get out of bed.

He takes his time in a very…very cold shower, cursing Buck with every pass of the loofah on his skin and you take that time to get washed up. You stare in the mirror, you look a little pale… a little tired. Huh maybe you just didn’t get enough sleep? Eddie was… enthusiastic last night to say the least. You just decide to shrug it off and finish getting ready for work.

After a busy breakfast and goodbye kisses to Chris, you’re both out the door, Buck is actually on time for once and you climb into the jeep.

“Thanks a lot cock block” Eddie mumbles as soon as his seatbelt is on and you snort loudly, holding your side lightly

“Don’t make me laugh! It hurts!”

“What do you mean cock block. I specifically did not call you this morning because I know y’all get it on every five seconds!!”

“You hurt her side! I couldn’t…. You know when she’s hurting like that. What kind of a man would I be!” Eddie frowns at him, crossing his arms over his chest

Buck looks at you in the rear view mirror “Damn, I didn’t think I hit you that hard Y/N, I’m really sorry.”

You shrug your shoulders, the pain is starting to flare up a little more so you adjust your seatbelt to not be over it.

“Hey it’s okay! It truly was an accident Buck, don’t worry about Mr. Horndog he’ll get over it”

You and Buck spend the rest of the ride teasing Eddie and laughing at him and he threatens to break up with the both of you. He slouches down in his chair, his arms crossed and pouting like a little kid. It’s impossible for you and Buck to not laugh at him.

It isn’t until a couple hours into your shift you start sweating. It’s not unbearably hot like it could be in L.A so maybe it’s just a you problem. You sit in the break area with a fan in front of you, your head laying on the cool table, you don’t realize your eyes were closed until someone’s hand is on your back, rubbing soothing circles to rise you.

“Hey Y/N, Cap wants you to…” Chim looks at you, you look worse than you feel which is pretty hard to achieve right now.

“Eddie?? Hey Eddie come up here, quick!!” Chim calls over the railing before coming back to stand by you. He gets down on one knee, pushing your sweaty hair off your forehead

“Hey… hey kiddo what’s going on?” He asks you softly and you look at him, your eyes a little hazy.

“Chim?” You say softly, you move your head slowly to the sound of Eddie’s footsteps as he jogs over

“Baby?? Y/N what’s going on” He repeats the question and you look at him with those same hazy eyes. He looks worried sick. You can see the panic behind the mask. You try to push yourself up slowly, but curl back up in a ball, crying out in pain and holding your sides

Chimney gets up from the floor, running to the railing “Call an ambulance!! Hen we need you, bring your med pack”

Buck holds back Eddie, standing in front of him as you’re laid out on the floor. Hen needs room to assess you and Eddie can barely give it to her

“Hey, she’s gonna be fine, it’s gonna be okay” Buck says softly, holding his arms, he’s just as nervous. His hands are shaking and Eddie looks at him, taking a deep breath and nodding. He pushes Buck to the side but puts his arm around him too. He knows how much Buck loves you and he knows Buck is probably freaking out thinking he caused this.

“It looks like appendicitis” Hen says, looking up at the boys.

“Oh thank god. I thought I killed her. I can’t go to jail! I’m too pretty for jail!”

You wheeze with laughter but stiffen and hold your side again, Eddie whacks Buck’s torso

“Don’t make her laugh!”

The ambulance comes in record time and you’re loaded into it. Eddie gets in back, holding your hand tightly and kisses your knuckles softly. The team promises they’ll come to the hospital after their shift and Buck swears he’ll take care of Chris.

The ride there is a bit slower, and Eddie looks like he’s going to have an anxiety attack

“I’m stable. Stop worrying” your words are short puffs of air and Eddie lays his forehead on your arm

“God you scared me… you are scaring me” He whispers to you, can’t this thing go any faster?

“This happens to a hundred million billion people Eddie” your voice is soft “I’m gonna be okay”

“I’m not dating a hundred million billion people, I’m dating you. I’m loving you.”

Your heart flutters when he says that, you sniffle a little and he wipes away your tears.

“I love you too” you whisper back, closing your eyes slowly to rest

“…I love you guys too” Adam the paramedic wipes away a fake tear and you snicker, wincing and groaning in pain but it’s just too stupid not to laugh

“Don’t make her laugh!!!”

Buck is in the waiting room when Eddie is told he has to be there. His head snaps up and he gets up from his chair, Eddie hugs him tightly, patting him on the back

“What are you doing here?? I thought you were gonna watch Chris?”

“Isabel dropped by, and forced me out of the house” he chuckles, pulling away from Eddie.

“Said you shouldn’t be alone…Chris begged me to give this to Y/N, how could I refuse that face?”

Eddie sits in a chair and Buck plops down next to him, he passes him a piece of construction paper, Chris made a get well card, it’s got a picture of the two of them on the front cover. Eddie holds it, looking through it. God he couldn’t lose you, he should have been more serious about it earlier, maybe if he’d just asked a few more questions-

The card is snatched from his hands and he snaps out of it, Buck shakes it out. Eddie hadn’t even realized he was crying.

“There was nothing you could have done in the time you were with her to figure out it was appendicitis” He says firmly, giving Eddie no room to even fight it.

The wait isn’t long, two hours or so but it feels like so much longer to Eddie. He paces back and forth for a bit, before Buck gets up and trades places with him

“I’ll take a turn” he jokes a little and Eddie smiles sadly at him. Just glad he’s not alone anymore. He watches Buck pace slowly, breathing in time with his steps. He’s slouched in the chair, his arms crossed. He’d been in the same position this morning for more fun reasons and he wishes he could just go back to that.

“Mr. Diaz?” A doctor in scrubs comes out, taking off his bandanna. He sighs but smiles wearily at him. Eddie jumps out of his chair

“Is she okay? Please tell me she’s alive”

His voice cracks at the end of the sentence and Buck walks over, putting his arm around Eddie’s shoulders

“I’m Doctor Pascal. Of course she’s alive Mr. Diaz. She’s perfectly fine” He puts his hand on his arm and reassures him, a look of worry on his face

“Are you okay?” He asks, looking him over. Eddie is a wreck if he’s being honest. He nods fast, wiping the tears from his face

“I’m okay I’m fine. Can I see her? Can we see her?? Please”

Doctor Pascal gives Eddie another once over before nodding

“Yeah, yeah you can see her. But we only allow immediate family back there… so?” He looks at Buck kindly

“Oh I’m her boyfriend, he’s her husband”

Buck says it so calmly and smoothly, like he’s absolutely rehearsed this moment and was so ready for it

“Oh uh” Doctor Pascal just shrugs his shoulders “Follow me gentlemen”

Buck gives Eddie his biggest, shiniest smile and for the first time all afternoon Eddie laughs.

As soon as they all get to the room Buck is at your side, dramatically pushing Eddie out of the way, it makes you giggle and he cups your face in his hands, peppering little kisses all over

“Hi baby” he coos softly “It’s daddy Buck”

You snort and push his chest away, Eddie stands very still at the end of your bed, you look over to him, reaching your hand out weakly. You’re seeing two of him from the killer pain meds they gave you… but that just means you can see two equally as panicked faces

“I’m alive, Edmundo. I’m here” you say steadily and Buck kind of tugs him around the bed, joining your hands.

He finally snaps out of it, kicking off his shoes and climbing into bed with you. Dr. Pascal’s head snaps up from the computer

“Mr. Diaz wait you-“

Buck runs to the other side of the bed and helps you move over some, enough for Eddie to fit next to you. You wrap your arms around him so tightly, squeezing him as close as you can. You can feel tears falling onto your chest as you stroke his back, shushing him softly. He clings to you like his life depends on it and you understand that it probably does in this moment

“Just. Be careful with her okay?” Dr. Pascal scolds Eddie, who just nods slowly and gives him a thumbs up. The doctor leaves the room and you continue to stroke back, your hand trails up his neck and you start to play with his hair

“Daddy Buck?” You ask him, and you feel Eddie snicker into your neck

“I told Dr. Pascal I was your boyfriend and he was your husband

“You’ve been waiting to do that for so long how did it feel”

“Pretty triumphant not gonna lie”

You turn back to Eddie now, he finally pulls his face from your neck 

“Hi” 

“Hi”

He kisses you softly, it takes a second for your fuzzy brain before your lips respond to his, he slips off your heart monitor and holds it out to Buck who rolls his eyes and puts it on his own finger. 

Eddie’s hand moves slowly over your body just feeling you. His hand settles on your chest right over your heartbeat and you smile softly, pulling away and taking his hand, kissing his palm

“Are you okay now?” You ask quietly and he sighs, nodding slowly 

“I’m so glad you’re okay… I haven’t been that scared in a long time.” 

“I know baby…but I’m okay now alright? I just have to heal” 

“And I promise I’ll wait on you hand and foot. You won’t have to lift a finger” he kisses your forehead

“Hey! I’ll even stay over and watch Chris so you can take care of her” Buck offers, as he messes around on the computer 

Eddie swats him away from the computer and you giggle

“Thanks Buck” He says sarcastically, but he means it, honestly.

“Hey it’s the least I can do for my partners!”

“Oh my god we’re not actually-“

Buck slaps his hand over Eddie’s mouth

“Do you want them to find out and kick me out?!”

[astranva]

Instagram Live

Word Count: 1k

Category: Fluff

Summary: Harry joins his girlfriend’s Instagram live.

..

There were a lot of labels that people never seemed to like.

There were relationship labels that people fought over, sexuality labels that every media outlet liked to plaster, and scandalous labels that could break a royal’s reputation.

However, your label as Harry’s girlfriend was one that you actually seemed to enjoy.

Harry’s normal girlfriend.

Sure, you were called “Harry Styles’ girlfriend” more times than you were called by your own name ever since you became public three years ago, but if there was anything you felt like you had bragging rights about, it would be that you managed to form a connection with his fans for being yourself, and especially on TikTok.

It came as a surprise to many and most when people caught up to the woman Harry seemed so infatuated with that he was grinning some more, directing sappy lyrics to on stage, and going shopping with at places that weren’t Gucci. You were relatable.

Your TikToks were international treasure, especially ones where you pranked Harry or participated in couple challenges with, so it was no surprise that even your Instagram harbored some following who were instantly excited and urgent to join once they had got the notification.

yourinstagram started a live video. Watch it before it ends!

Clad in a black Pleasing crewneck, hair up in a microfiber towel, your legs were pushed up slightly against your chest as you painted your nails, peaking to see you already had 14,374 viewers.

“Helloooo,” you dragged, smiling once you saw the excited comments coming through.

user1: OMG HEY BESTIE

user2: PLEASING

user3: NO WAY YOU’RE LIVE

user4: hey, y/n! how are you doing?

“I’m doing okay,” you answered, sighing a little, “Just taking a quick break from studying and thought we could have a chat.”

user5: you’re still studying?

user6: OMG SAY HI ANGELA PLS

user7: @/user she’s getting a master’s degree where have u been

user8: do you miss harry?

“Hi Angela,” you smiled, “Yeah, I’m getting my master’s degree. Guys, I literally forgot how awful exams and assignments were because I graduated like, four years ago, so I don’t miss it,” you said, “Do I miss Harry? No, of course not. I don’t know who that is.”

user9: STOP DID THEY BREAK UP?

user10: I hope you’re joking

user11: NOT YALL BELIEVING HER ALKJWKJFH

You chuckled, “Some of you are new here, huh?”

user9: Y/N HARRY IS WATCHING

user12: HARRY

user8: HARRY IS WATCHING WEIFWEFH

harrystyles: Boo. You miss me.

user13: NO FUCKING WAYYYYY

You laughed, “You’re going to break them.”

user2: I CAN’T BREATHE

harrystyles: Oops.

harrystyles: Have you eaten?

user14: PLSSSS I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M SEEING THIS

“Yeah, I-Oh my God, H, I made one the best salads ever. It had chicken, like grilled chicken, and I had bell peppers, corn, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red beans, onions,” you counted on your fingers, “Then I made this creamy avocado dressing. It was so fucking good.”

user4: share the recipe bestie

harrystyles: Yum. Can’t wait to try it when I see you.

harrystyles: Breakfast?

“Yeah, I had breakfast, too,” you nodded, “Butter toasts and those olives we got from Italy,” you said, “What about you? Are you eating well?”

user5: I can’t believe we’re witnessing this

user15: it’s like they’re on the phone together

user16: I want to sit on a highway

harrystyles: We had tacos! 🌮

You gasped jokingly, “Did you actually eat tacos because I was telling you about how much I’ve been craving them yesterday?”

paulithepsm: Y/NNNNNNN

user7: PAULI IS HERE

harrystyles: Yes. Hehe.

“Pauli!” You grinned, “I missed you too much!” You were beaming before pointing a finger at the screen, “Same doesn’t go for you though, H. I can’t believe you ate tacos without me.”

harrystyles: PAULI

user8: KEHFKWJE CRYING

paulithepsm: HARRY

paulithepsm: I miss my best friend 😭😭

user18: PLS

harrystyles: I’m sorry. I’ll make you tacos when you get here. Promise.

harrystyles: Show me your nails.

You showed your freshly painted nails to the screen, “Some Citrico Vibrante Cremoso greens,” you showed them off, “Buy Pleasing,” you teased, “Or find more affordable dupes, babes.”

user6: PLSSSS SHE’S SO REAL FOR THAT

harrystyles: I’ll match with you.

“You can wait until I come. I’ll paint them for you,” you said.

harrystyles: OKAY ❤

user3: HE’S SO CUTE

user10: THE EMOJIS HE'S SO REAL

jeffazoff: Come get your man. He’s a pain.

You laughed, “Aw come on, Jeff. He’s not too bad. You just need to cuddle him and feed him.”

harrystyles: Agreed.

harrystyles: Jeff, don’t cuddle me.

user19: KEUDUEWFKHJ PLS

jeffazoff: I wasn’t planning on it 🙄 I’m waiting for Y/N to come and do that

“I leave you for two weeks and now you’re about to kill each other,” you sighed, “Hey, before I forget, can you tell Lamby that I’ve been trying to send him my final thoughts about the outfit but it won’t get to him for some reason?”

harry_lambert: My phone’s been acting up, babe. Send it on email! 🖤

user20: I just want to be her

harrystyles: I love your outfit.

“Okay, Lamby, will do,” you said before giggling, standing up and backing away a little to show the Pleasing crewneck and the baggy green sweatpants you were wearing, “Oh yeah? What do you think?” You put a hand to your hip before pretending to flick back your hair, “My boyfriend got me that sweatshirt,” you pointed at it, “And these are his sweatpants,” you pointed again, “Hair by me, nails by me but using my boyfriend’s nail polish,” you said, wiggling your fingers before approaching your phone again, “He’s kind of a big deal.”

user6: PLSS WHY IS THIS SO CUTE

user7: she’s so cute

harrystyles: He’s so fucking lucky.

You giggled, cupping your hand around your mouth, “Harry Styles just cursed on live,” you whispered.

user18: LMFAOOOOO

user21: “he’s so fucking lucky” I DIED BYE

jeffazoff: Scandalous

harrystyles: OH FUCK

harrystyles: 😎

You laughed, “This is some content your fans will absolutely go feral over,” you said, “I need to go now.”

harrystyles: Call me?

user20: I’m not okay

You nodded, “I’ll call you right after I end that thing. Bye, guys! Talk to you later!”

[sebscore]

Hi! I was wondering if you could do female driver and her side of the garage shenanigans. Like her and her team just being besties and entertaining. Love your work can’t wait to see what you do next!

MONTE-CARLO MADNESS

pairings: f1 grid x driver!reader

warnings: swearing. slight slander of two dutchmen (nothing too serious). mention of checo’s quali crash last year.

author's note: i was bored during the race so i wrote this :) I know it’s not exactly what you asked, but it does include more of her and marco 💜 (also, I know that gif is from 2021, but it was too beautiful not to use lol)

masterlist

• • • • • • •

''Y/N!'' A hand on her shoulder pulled her attention away from her conversation with her engineer, and to the older German man next to her. ''Norbert! Hey, how are you?''

''I'm in Monaco!'' He exclaimed, pulling the young woman in a hug.

The driver's face broke out in a smile, endeared by Norbert's excitement over being in the foreign country. ''Yeah, you are!'' She laughed, her face resting on his shoulder.

''Can I get a hug too?''

Her eyes widened as she recognised the voice, pulling away from the older man, she was met with the bright smile of Sebastian. ''Seb!''

Y/N almost jumped into her mentor's arms, delighted to see him for the first time in months. ''What are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming.'' She held an accusing but disbelieving tone, shocked to see him in Monte-Carlo out of all races.

''Surprise!'' He joked, holding up his arms as if it were a surprise party.

The woman slapped his arm in return. ''When did you get here?'' She asked him, still in shock about the former driver's appearance.

''Just now, my dad and Fabian got here yesterday- I came by car.'' Sebastian answered, pointing at his father who was busy catching up with the Aston Martin team.

''Of course you did,'' Y/N chuckled at the mention of his transport, ''are you staying here the entire weekend?''

The German shook his head. ''No, just today- Stefano invited me, I'll be there for the driver's briefing, though.'' He clarified, pouting at the flash of disappointment in her eyes.

''That's nice, everyone will be happy to see you.'' She was slightly let down about his one-day visit, having hoped he would at least watch qualifying on Saturday.

Sebastian nodded. ''Yeah, it will be nice to see all the drivers again.''

''You know,'' Y/N spoke up, catching his attention, ''retirement doesn't really suit you- I think you should come back.'' She smirked, a mischievous grin on her face.

The older man let out a chuckle, shaking his head. ''I put on some nice clothes for you today, I'm hurt.'' He feigned to be hurt by her words, an overdramatic pout hanging on his lips.

''It's definitely better than the usual attire, for sure.'' The driver glanced his outfit up and down, the man wearing blue pants and a white loose shirt.

Sebastian simply laughed, scratching his voice. ''So, uh, how are you feeling about the race?'' He asked her.

Y/N unsurely nodded her head, not too confident. ''The car felt good today so I think there's a good chance for pole.'' The first free practice of the GP had gone well, taking the second top spot right before Lewis.

''Well, I'm quite confident you're gonna take pole.'' Sebastian retorted, matter-of-factly.

The young woman snorted at his response. ''Thanks, I'll keep that in mind when I'm in the car.''

The German patted her shoulder. ''I hope you win,'' he confessed, a serious expression on his face, ''I like Max, but the Dutch anthem is not to my taste.'' Sebastian grinned

''You won last year. Who says you can't do it again or at least make it onto the podium?'' He didn't expect an answer out of her, he just wanted her to feel more confident in herself and especially at a circuit she had consecutively done well at.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders. ''Last year, I got lucky with Checo's crash during quali and with the Ferrari strategy. The Red Bulls are way too fast, Seb. I'll be happy with a podium.''

The young driver knew a win would be practically impossible if either one of the RBR cars made it in front of her in qualifying. The previous year, she managed to qualify P3 behind the two red cars and due to Ferrari's disaster class, she was the first to take the chequered flag.

''But you still held up the Red Bulls last year, you're being too negative.'' Sebastian argued, discontent about her certainty that she wouldn't win again.

''It's whatever, anyway- I have to discuss some things with Marco. I'll see you later?'' Y/N made the move to leave, sticking out her fist.

Sebastian bumped his fist against hers. ''Yes, Turn that frown upside down, Y/N!'' He yelled after her as she walked away, resulting in a joking middle finger from the young woman.

''What's the best time now? I have one more lap in me, if I need to.'' Y/N asked her engineer over the radio, on an out lap.

There was silence on the other side for a few seconds. ''Uh, the leaderboard is very chaotic right now, it changes every time a driver crosses the line.''

''Who is on top now?''

''De Vries.''

''Are you fucking serious?''

She knew Monaco qualifying would be absolute madness, but an Alpha Tauri on top of the leaderboard? She was not expecting that.

''Push for one more lap- we're safe, but everything is changing very fast.'' Marco encouraged her to do one more flying lap, wanting to be confident they made it into the next round of qualifying.

Y/N was the last car on the circuit starting her last lap right before the time of the quali session ran out. She had the fastest second sector and crossed the line, moving up to P2 and being safe from elimination.

''We're good, nice job!'' Marco complimented her, confirming that she made it into Q2.

''He he, that was a little scary.''

''You gotta push like a beast now, Y/N! Verstappen on pole now and no one is behind you.'' Marco's words sounded over the radio, doing his best to hype her up as this was their last chance to take the pole position.

''Copy.'' She simply answered, before starting her flying lap.

''Y/L goes faster than Verstappen in the first sector. Look at how she's pushing the car to its limits! It's absolutely unbelievable!'' Crofty's voice boomed through the speakers.

''A purple second sector as well! Is Y/L going to take her first pole position in Monaco? She's very close!'' Ted continued, his eyes glued to the big screen.

''UNBELIEVABLE STUFF! Y/N Y/L TAKES THE POLE POSITION HERE IN MONACO! SHE SURPASSES THE RED BULL OF MAX VERSTAPPEN TO SET THE FASTEST TIME! WHAT A PERFORMANCE BY THE TALENTED YOUNG WOMAN! WHAT A LAP!'' The commentators couldn't believe it as they saw her name rising to the very top of the leaderboard, not expecting her to set a better time than the Red Bull car.

''YOU DID IT! POLE POSITION, Y/N! YOU DROVE LIKE A MANIAC!'' Marco shouts over the radio, trying his best to give his congrats as their entire team jumps around him.

Her eyes widened as she took in the news. ''I'M ON POLE? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? WOOOOO!!! MONACO BABY!'' The driver loudly exclaimed, so loud that her team had to remove their headphones from their ears.

''Guys, I'm so proud of all of you! Everyone worked so hard and this is for the entire team, thank you so much!'' Y/N expressed her appreciation for her team, knowing she couldn't have done it without them.

She made it to Parc Fermé and parked behind the No. 1 standee, already seeing Charles and Max there. It took her some time to get out of the car as it was difficult to turn everything off with shaking hands.

The young woman stood on top of her car and threw her hands in the air, pointing at her team who cheered for her- along with the crowd who went crazy at the sudden turn of events.

She ran to her team, immediately hugging Marco upon spotting him at the front of the fence. ''I told you to drive like a beast, not a maniac!'' He laughed, patting her back.

''I don't remember anything from that lap, I think I blacked out.'' Y/N told him, pulling away from him and shaking the hands of the rest of the team.

Charles was the first one of the drivers to congratulate her. ''That was crazy, congrats.'' The former Prema teammates hugged each other.

''Thanks, it was absolute chaos out there,'' she sighed, taking off her helmet and balaclava, ''I know you wanted a different result, but you still did well.'' The younger one told the Ferrari driver who simply brushed it off.

''You fucker!'' A sudden slap on her arm, took her focus off Charles. ''How did you do that?''

She found the smiling face of Max, holding out his hand for a typical driver's greeting. ''Dude, I don't know! I for sure thought it was over for me.'' She told him, a shocked expression still on her face.

''Congrats, you deserve it.'' The Dutchman praised her, a genuine tone found.

Y/N nodded her head at him. ''Thanks, appreciate it.''

''It's the three of us again.'' The Red Bull driver laughed, pointing at the three of them as it was also the same trio in Baku, just a different order.

Charles sighed. ''I have to meet with the stewards after the interviews so I don't know if I'm gonna stay at P3.'' He told them, confusing the two other drivers.

''What do you mean?'' Y/N asked him.

''Lando was on a flying lap and I got in his way- in the tunnel.'' The Monégasque explained, informing them on the unfortunate moment.

Max frowned. ''That's not good, no. You didn't saw him coming?''

''The team didn't tell me.'' Charles answered, holding in the urge to roll his eyes.

''They didn't tell you that Lando was coming? That's fucked up.'' The youngest one said, puzzled on why this even happened in the first place.

The Ferrari driver shook his head. ''I'm gonna get a penalty for a mistake I didn't make.'' The defeated look on Charles' face upsetted both of his competitors, disappointed that the Monaco curse had found its way to him again.

A silence fell upon them, not knowing what to say as the three of them were all feeling very different emotions after the chaotic qualifying session.

''Well, I'm gonna grab my award.'' Y/N sheepishly smiled, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them.

The two men nodded at her as she walked away, but she turned around as a thought came into her brain. ''Oh and Charles?''

''Yes?''

''Tell them it was just an inchident.''

taglist :: @cl16version @missskid @missthem @rosesintj @evans-dejong @thehistoryone @dreamycloudsworld @alonsogirlie @muushmeg @topguncultleader @the-great-adventures-of-me @love13tter @xcharlottemikaelsonx @kiwisa @starkwlkr @nora_moon @princesselle2111 @valluvsu @thatsadsmallchild @babyyoda89 @milkbreadforlife @fxllfaiiry @hc-dutch @its-ash-not-grey @princessbetsy123 @mehrmonga @nyenye @screechingtrashkid @ahnneyong @holybatflapexpert @itsnotgray @beautycinders @rowansshit @uhhevie @revengze @nylaslife @majx00 @multi-universe21 @jaydensluv @isasalom @gentlemonsterjennie1 @appledashhh @breathinfive @lighttsoutlewis @champomiel @ooooohmicky @koufaxx @flannelforthetoads

@mysticfalls01 @ghostcorazon @mango-bear @totally-random-person @youkissedareaderinthedark @phoenix-luv @hamilton-mount @calcaneous @aurora-maria @idkiwantchocolatee @anonymous-platypus

[theycallmemarcy]

Sweetheart

Steve Raglan x Reader

Warnings: Age gap, reader is in their 20’s, steve is in his late 40’s.

Wordcount: 1,5k

This is my first ever fic! This is my first time writing anything ever. I hope you like it <3, also english is not my first language bear with me.

You’ve been crushing on Steve ever since you started working at the counseling center. How couldn’t you ? He was tall, attractive and he really took a liking to you, treating you delicately and always complimenting you, which made you incredibly flustered.

“Someone’s nervous today” Your co-worker Mia said teasingly. Last night Mia called you over the phone. You guys gossiped for a while and then she asked something that made you get all embarrassed and awkward.

“What's going on between you and Mr. Raglan? He seems to be really interested in you” you hear her say over the phone.

“There’s nothing going on Mia!” you were as red as tomato “Why would there be anything going on?”

“Oh come on y/n, the guy is always talking to you and honestly, i think he checks you out quite a lot” You heard Mia giggle over her phone.

“That's not true! He’s just polite Mia. I don't think he likes me that way” You say trying to dismiss her thoughts, even though what Mia just said has definitely piqued your interest.

“Why do you sound so defensive babes? You like him too or what” she said it in a teasing tone, but you stayed silent, you didn’t know what to reply. 

“Oh my god you like him don’t you?” You stayed silent once again.

“Y/n ! When were you gonna tell me, I thought we were work besties, we’re supposed to tell each other everything!” you can almost hear her pout through the phone. 

“I’m sorry Mia, it's just weird isn’t it? He’s my boss, and he’s probably 30 years older than me” You said embarrassed.

“It would be weird if he didn’t like you back but let me assure you sweets, the man likes you back” she said giggling “You should ask him out”

“No way, imagine how embarrassing it would be if he didn’t like me back, we work for him Mia, he’ll sack me!” you were trying to laugh it off but you were thinking about it, honestly, you really liked him.

“Come on y/n, give it a shot, I promise you he likes you back, the man is literally obsessed with you”

“You really think I should do it? it's really risky Mia, shouldn’t he be the one asking me out if he’s so ‘obsessed with me’?”

“Just try y/n ! what's the worst thing that could happen”

“He could fire me for starters”

“Okay that’s really bad, but it's just a question, he cannot fire you for that! Please y/n, you’ve been way too long without going on dates, you need it! and honestly? He’s kinda hot” You just giggled, you couldn't believe that this conversation was happening. Were you really going to ask Steve out? It could make things weird and he was so nice to you, it could screw things up right?

“You know what, screw it I’m gonna ask him tomorrow” The call ended with you and Mia giggling like teen girls. You were gonna ask Mr. Raglan out! you couldn’t believe it.

Back to today you were feeling so nervous you felt ill.

“Shut up Mia, I feel so sick right now” You woke up feeling so nervous you almost threw up on your way to the counseling center, overthinking what you said yesterday on the phone, was this really a good idea?

“It's okay y/n, I’m sure it’ll work out, I think he really likes you” she was trying to comfort you by softly rubbing your arm, “and if it doesn’t work out we could always go for a pizza tonight and you could maybe stay over?” All this talk made you even more nervous.

“That sounds good Mia, thanks, I don’t know what I would do without you” She got up from her desk and hugged you tightly.

“You would probably die, now go get him tiger” She whispered to you as she pulled away from the hug so no one would hear, after all she was the only friend close enough to know this, you didn’t want a rumor going around about your crush on Mr. Raglan.

You decided to just get over with it and walked directly to Mr. Raglan’s office, which was very near your work station, and thank god for that  so that you couldn’t overthink everything on the way there.

You paused in front of his door, you were getting really nervous. “It's okay, everything will be okay, just take a deep breath” you said to yourself in your head. Before you could think about it more you knocked on the door. You heard a faint “come in” before you opened the door.

“Oh, hi y/n, I wasn’t expecting you. We didn’t have a meeting arranged did we?” He sounded worried, that made you soften up a bit.

“No Mr. Raglan don't worry” you said softly with a smile on your face, he just loved that about you, always cheery. “I just wanted to see if you had a minute. I wanna ask you something” you were starting to get a bit nervous, but you brushed it off to seem more calm.

“Sure sweetheart, sit down, what is it? everything at work okay?” he asked you, he seemed, worried? you chuckled before answering, finally sitting in front of him.

“Everything’s okay Mr. Raglan, it's not work related” to this, he tilted his head sideways, what were you going to ask him? He was starting to get nervous himself.

“Oh, shoot then” he coughed and bent his arms over his desk, trying to get more comfortable.

“Um, I was just wondering if you would wanttogoouttodinnersometime” your voice became quieter with each word you said.

“Sorry sweetheart I didn’t understand that well, could you repeat it for me?” He was talking to you with that sweet voice that drove you insane, he was being so attentive gosh.

“I was wondering” you took a deep breath, Steve chuckled at this. “If you wanted to go out to dinner sometime” you said clearly this time. He must've choked on his own air because he immediately started coughing and stared at you with wide eyes.

You stood up, immediately heading to the door “Oh my god Mr. Raglan I’m sorry I shouldn't have as-” you were cut off by Steve.

“Sweetheart, I was just surprised, don't leave, sit down again please” he said while chuckling a bit. You sat down again in front of him, looking down, you couldn’t look him in the eyes, this was so embarrassing, why did you do that?

Your train of thought got cut off by Steve, who got up and sat at his desk in front of you. “Are you asking me out, bunny?”

“Well yeah, didn't you hear me?” this was so embarrassing he was going to reject you and now you were going to lose your job.

“You really want that y/n? This isn’t a dare or anything right?” Why wasn’t he screaming at you? he should've been mad, why was he being so soft?.

“It isn't a dare Mr. Rag-”

“Just call me steve sweetheart” He interrupted you politely.

“It isn’t a dare, Steve.” you repeated yourself, this time using his name. You were quiet, but he wanted you to continue so he stayed silent as well. “I really like you, and I know it's inappropriate and you’re my boss and every-'' with that, he kissed you, interrupting you once again, he made your mind go blank. He cupped your face softly and you held his hand over your face. You couldn’t believe this was happening, after a brief moment he pulled away.

“I’m sorry that was very impulsive of me. I shouldn't have done that, I shoul’v-” You were the one to cut him off this time, you stood up and kissed him while putting your arms against his chest. He groaned softly at this and brought his hands down to your waist, holding it tightly. After a few seconds you pulled away from the kiss, but you stayed in place.

“I take that as ‘you like me back’” you whispered close to his face, smiling a bit too much, and not being able to look him in the eye..

“That I do sweetheart, that I do” he chuckled against your neck as he nuzzled into it slowly, planting a few kisses along his way, making you sigh in bliss.

“I should probably get back to work” you said, trying to pull away.

“Right now? after all that effort you put into asking me out you have to leave now?” This made you giggle, he was like a child, not wanting to let go off of you.

“Steve you’re supposed to make me work, not skip it” to which he laughed against you. He didn’t want to let go of you anytime soon.

“Alright bunny, go back to work” He patted your hip on your way out. Before opening the door you turned back to steve and said,

“Does tonight sound good? You can pick the place if you want!” you said enthusiastically, this was all very exciting, you haven't been on a date for forever.

“I’ll pick you up at 7 sweetheart, dress pretty”.

[quack-quack-snacks]

Time Will Tell - Chapter 6

My Time Will Tell Masterlist

My Cha Hyun-su Masterlist

My Navigation and Masterlist

The Time Will Tell Glossary

Warnings: Arguing with Seok-hyeon. Word Count: 1,902

prev | current | next

The night was restless for you, luckily having warmth from your jacket but becoming increasingly uncomfortable on the cold concrete floor as the hours passed. You woke up multiple times, visions of your family dying in your arms from the creatures you saw outside the gate flooding your head and making it nearly impossible to rest properly. It was about 6 a.m. when you gave up on getting any more sleep and decided to just get up. 

After a while of wandering around, you found yourself sitting next to the girl who came in after the bitten and well-dressed man from before. You weren’t sure how exactly it came to this and why you were sitting with her but you felt a peaceful and somewhat comforting feeling in her sarcastic personality. 

You learned quickly that she was Eun-hyuk’s sister, Eun-yu, and she was taking possession of his flannel until further notice. You laughed when she told you that. 

“So, why were you with that guy yesterday? It seemed like you were walking together,” you asked.

“There's no reason, really. I’ve met him in passing before, the fucking bum, but yesterday he helped save me from this freaky cannibal contortionist. We were both just walking down to the lobby after that.”

“Ah. That makes sense. Your brother helped save all of us from another freaky cannibal creature. It was a really scary situation, to be honest, and I’m glad he was brave enough to do something. Everyone else just ran away. I tried to be helpful too but all I could really do was press the button to close the gate,” you explained to her while playing with the cuffs of your jacket. She rolled her eyes and smacked your shoulder. “Ow!”

“Don’t belittle yourself! You did your best with what you could and guess what! Most of the people down here are still alive! So shut the fuck up,” she scolded you. Her tone was rude and even her words were a little condescending but you understood the message she was trying to get across. It made you smile. 

“How would you know that I did my best? You only met me 10 minutes ago,” you teased with a small smirk. 

“Only met 10 minutes ago and yet now we’re besties,” she teased back and interlocked her arm with yours, pulling you closer to her from where the two of you were sitting and over-cheerfully smiling at you. It made you burst into laughter which she quickly joined in on. 

The two of you started talking about anything and everything. It was nice having someone like her around because she seemed like such an easy person to talk to. You liked her bluntness and how she wasn’t afraid to call someone out on their bullshit. You never asked but you were pretty sure you were about the same age as her, so that was a bonus too. Safe for Eun-hyuk, everyone else staying with you seemed to be much older than you and more awkward to make friends with. With Eun-yu, you were positive you could call her a friend. 

It must have been hours later when you were in the middle of talking about your family, specifically your siblings and your fears about leaving them alone, that Eun-hyuk walked into the area you were chatting in and looked at the two of you. 

“The group has decided we will be staying in the daycare. It’s the safest place on the first floor and farthest from the entrance. You should head over whenever you can,” he told you both. Eun-yu scoffed from beside you but you subtly elbowed her in the rib while giving him a smile.

“Thank you, Eun-hyuk. We’ll head over soon.”

He nodded at your words, shooting a fleeting glance at his sister before walking back the way he came from. 

You turned to face Eun-yu and lightly pat your thighs before standing up. “Well. I’m going to go to the bathroom before heading over. So, I’ll see you when I get there.”

She grabbed your arm before you could go and shot you a serious look. “I’m going to head back upstairs to my apartment first to get some stuff. Don’t wait up.”

You hesitated before nodding and squeezing her hand. “Just stay safe, okay?”

“I will.”

The bathroom still had running water, which was a blessing you wanted to appreciate to the fullest while it lasted. If the government wasn’t able to contain this whole disaster before it spread worldwide then you would savor every bit of the modern tools you had before they were gone. 

Your point of that was proven later that day when the sun had gone down and you were sitting in the daycare reading a book. You'd found a small bookshelf in the security guard’s office with many classical reads like Romeo and Juliet, The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice as well as some more indie authors that you’d never heard of before. You got about halfway through the book you chose when the lights suddenly went out and you were plunged into darkness. Confused, you sat up from your reclining position against the wall, as did everyone else in the nursery. You stood to your feet and walked toward the management room where you knew Eun-hyuk was looking at the surveillance cameras. You weren’t one to shy away from scary situations, and you decided this wouldn’t be the day you started. 

Just as you neared the door, it shot open and Eun-hyuk walked out. He looked startled at the sight of you in front of him before his expression cooled back into his normal neutral look. “Oh. Hi. I’m guessing you noticed the blackout as well?” He asked you, motioning for you to follow as he walked in one direction. 

“Yeah, none of us could see anything in the daycare so I wanted to see if you had an idea what was going on. And also offer my help if you needed any.”

“I’m not sure,” he said just as you passed some barred windows that were higher up on the wall. 

“Wait,” you said when you noticed there was still light shining through them. You quickly climbed up some of the boxes stacked against the wall, nearly falling but catching yourself in time, and looked through the window. “All the buildings down the street have their lights on. Do you think there’s a circuit problem or something?” You questioned somewhat rhetorically as you got back down from the boxes. 

“Could be. We should meet up with Yi-kyung and figure out a plan. I know the electrical unit is down in the basement so that could be an option,” he thought out loud and your eyes lit up. 

“Yeah, that’s definitely the most promising. I could maybe go down and look around, figure out if maybe something got flipped or broke,” you offered. He suddenly got more serious and looked at you. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go. It could be dangerous.”

You scoffed light-heartedly. “Everything is dangerous right now. At least this way I’ll be doing something that could benefit the group and I won’t just be sitting on my ass all day.”

“The answer is no,” he shot you down, continuing his walking while you stared at his back for a moment. You could tell he was just worried and probably a little protective but it aggravated you. You just hoped the reasoning behind why he wouldn’t let you do anything was because of some stupid sexist reason - though you somehow doubted it.

The biggest reason you could think of was because of Eun-yu. Anyone with eyes could see they cared about each other like true siblings, despite Eun-yu’s complaints about him and Eun-hyuk’s cool, calm, and indifferent facade. 

You wondered if he saw some of her in you because of your similarities in age. 

When you caught up with Eun-hyuk, you walked with him in silence until the two of you got to the small supermarket with Seok-hyeon, his wife, Seon-yeong, and Yi-kyung already inside.

“Can you two stay in the management office? I need to check the electrical room,” Eun-hyuk asked Yi-kyung and you before speaking to the woman directly. “We saw some places with their lights still on outside on our way here. A blackout would affect the whole district.”

“Which means it’s probably something to do with this building and we should get it under control as soon as possible,” you urged. 

“I’ll confirm all of that when I go down there,” the boy told you with a reassuring nod. “That’s all the food we have,” he said, looking at the food inside the fridges of the market. “So, we have to be quick.”

“What?” Seok-hyeon asked as he looked at the boy beside you. “Hey, you don’t think this is all yours, do you? Don’t be fucking ridiculous,” he scolded him. 

“You shouldn’t be so selfish. If you hog all the food and we all die, then it’ll be you who’s living with twenty corpses and spoiled food,” you told him with a sarcastic smile. “You don’t want that, do you?”

“Why you little punk!” He yelled but Yi-kyung diffused the situation by responding to Eun-hyuk and his original statement. 

“I’ll do it,” she declared. While part of you was thankful Eun-hyuk wasn’t the one going down there - not only for his own safety but for the sanity of your new friend, and his sister, Eun-yu too - you were worried about the firefighter in front of you who started stuffing certain items from the shelf into her bag as she prepared for the trip. 

Seok-hyeon started screaming at her for stealing, making your ears ring while he was at it, meanwhile, she ignored all his complaints. “You’re stealing you know!”

“It’s an emergency,” she reasoned, though you felt she didn’t need to. 

“Hey!” The man screamed again and you rolled your eyes in annoyance before taking your backpack off and pulling out your wallet. Taking out 30,000 won and throwing it in the rude man’s face. 

“Please just shut up. You’ll burst my eardrums,” you complained, nearly laughing when you saw his shocked face at your audacity but holding it back. You walked out to follow Yi-kyung and Eun-hyuk after they’d left, grabbing a small pocket knife from off the shelf and bringing it with you. 

You jogged to catch up to the two just as they finished their conversation and Yi-kyung turned to leave. “Yi-kyung!” You called out to stop her. She turned around and you held the closed pocket knife out for her to grab. “Just in case anything goes wrong, you should keep this on you.”

She took the knife and looked up at you, giving a grateful nod before silently turning and heading to the basement door. 

“I’m worried. I have a bad feeling about the basement in general,” you confessed to the boy. He was staring in the direction Yi-kyung just went but looked at you at your words. 

“I know what you mean. All we can do is hope nothing goes wrong,” he said. You nodded but couldn’t shake the strange feeling you got from his tone. There was a hint of something like guilt underneath, though you couldn’t be sure you heard it correctly. 

“Hope might be all we have.”

[delicatereader]

No way (part 2) - Anakin x reader

• brother's bestfriend trope

• summary: Anakin and you had a moment before, now you're friend invites you to their party but you must have dates...

• warnings: idk jealousy, mentions of sex, swears

• a/n: I got carried away with their friendships but idc. I used Taylor, Gracie and Harry bc I couldnt think names. I havent proof read it and I'm trying to make a flashback to their kiss. The party should be interesting...

"Party at mine, tonight" Stephen announces as he walks into the living room. All of you were hanging out (meaning scrolling through your phones and talk shit). Of course Ben and Anakin were in attendance, your friend froup was small but not too small. In addition of you, Ben and Ani, Taylor and Gracie (your besties), and of course Ethan and Stephen. You, tay and grace have been inseparable since you could remember. Ethan and Stephen came into your lives later (through Ben's college experience).

Anyway, Stephen continues to provide you the info for the party. "It's gonna be so cool, dark lighting, scary but hot costumes"

"Costumes?" Gracie interrupts

"Costumes. For you girls, I would recommend a pirate or a slutty nurse!" he advises. You hear Anakin's chuckle across the room. You roll your eyes at him, "speak, ass" you push him to continue.

"Ok ok fine!" he responds

"Drinks provided, strong ones provided. Also bring dates." he informs

You freeze at the word 'dates'

"Dates?" you repeat shrugging

"Dates." he confirms

Gracie has been flirting with Ethan for a while now, you've been sensing some sparks and signals, so they'll go together. As for Tay, your brother will follow her everywhere and try to persuade her into going with his charms. Stephen gets dates easy, that guy is the definition of a good looking frat boy man.

"These four are set I guess." Stephen breaks the thoughts in the air

"What?" Tay speaks up

"I mean, Gracie and Ethan are going together" our heads turn to their blushing faces. "I'm assuming Ben is going to annoy till you go with him" he grins in your brother's direction.

"No, not this time" she claims

"We'll see" my brother replies with a wide smirk on his face

"So you two who are you going with?" Ethan breaks his silence to ask you and Anakin

"I don't know" Anakin replies not caring about it

"Why don't you two go together" Gracie shoots

"Yea you two go together" Ethan agrees with Gracie. Soon everyone shakes their heads in agreement, except you two.

"No way I'm going with him" you reject

"And no way I'm going with her" he supports you

The last thing you want is something like what happend yesterday to happend again. You told him to stay away from you and that's what he is doing. He looks just as disinterested as you in this suggestion.

"Ughh" Taylor complains in the background

Suddenly you have an idea. You dive back into your phone and search through your contacts to text Harry, a "friend" of yours. He's had a crush on you for years and a few weeks ago you slept with him, it was a drunk decision.

"Then who are you going with? huh?" Stephen asks with a worrying look, not for you but for his party.

"I have an idea" you respond. Suddenly, Tay and Gracie jump from the bean bags on the floor to your side in the sofa.

"No, is that who I think it is" Taylor squeals whilst whispering

"I don't know, you tell me" you smirk answering her question

"Come on, isn't he dating someone?" Gracie asks

"No, not since...you know." you reply hinting at your night with Harry

"God he's so- " Taylor mutters

Ben clears his throat and furrows his eyebrows towards me and Tay. Anakin takes a quick glance up at you before focusing back on Ben's little interruption.

"Shut the fuck up!" Tay yells, causing everybody to laugh at Ben

"Who are you talking about?" Ethan asks

"No one" you shoot out, a but too fast

"I'll give you a hint" Tay speaks up

"No!" you warn her, but before you could interrupt she spills-

"Tall, brunette, greeny blue eyes, cheshire smile and HOTTT!" she said the "HOTT" way too aggressively and loud. She wasn't wrong though.

"Harry? You fucked Harry! Like Harry Crest?!" Stephen explodes out of surprise

"What! you fucked him? I left you with him thinking he will take you home safely" Ben follows Stephen's path of emotions

"Oh he took her home alright!" Gracie mutters under her breath

"Shut up Gracie! I don't even know if he's gonna be there" you reply to this hysteria

"Oh he's gonna be there!" Stephen says

"There's no party without him" he continues

Anakin again looks up when Stephen mentions him, but this time staring into you deeply

"We'll see" you conclude the conversation and head to the kitchen to find a snack.

You hear some steps behind, it was Anakin

"You fucked Harry Crest?" He asks plainly

"What happend to hello? How are you?" you tease him (taking inspo from the tiktok audio of course)

"Hello you slept with Harry?" He repeats

"Ummm- yea" you respond

He pauses for way too long, looking at you with confusion

"First of all its none of your business and second of all why do you care?" You shoot at him

"I don't care!" he states

"Ok you don't care" you repeat his answer to annoy him. You move past him and grab and apple.

"I mean it must be easy for you to get a date? right?" you ask him

"Oh yea? why is that?" he looks at you with his tongue pressed onto his cheeks inside his mouth.

God he's so hot

"I mean come on-" you you wave your hand around loosely in his direction

"Come on what?" he moves closer to you

You hesitate to respond, giving him more confidence to close the space between you

"Come one what sweetheart?" He towers you trying to push out an answer

Fortunately you hear your phone buzz, it was Harry. You step away from Anakin and attend the phone. You press it to your ear whilst looking at Anakin. He lowers his head and let's out a chuckle.

"Hi Harry!" you speak into your phone. You continue to have your conversation standing infront of Anakin staring at him.

"So I was thinking...are you going to the Stephen's party tonight?" you slip in the question

"Yes" Harry replies

"Good cause I need a dancing buddy" you smile (kind of blushing) and speak into the phone

"I'm free" he replies whilst letting out a chuckle

"Alright I'll see you there" you nod your head still smiling uncontrollably

You end the phone and tilt your head up to look at Anakin, who wholeheartedly hated that phone call but found it amusing in his own way.

"Sorry I have to get ready" you clear your throat moving towards him. In response he hums.

"I have a date" you smirk at him in victory

He looks up and down at you as you leave the kitchen, "ok" he mutters under his breath with a questioning smirk across his face.

[vamossainz55]

hi bestie, thank you for tagging me <3

i think i speak for everyone if i say that we all need some cute carlos

❛ you can hold my hand, if you want. ❜ + carlos sainz jr

summary: you should have known the invitation to collaborate with the Scuderia Ferrari was too good to be true (or the one where you regret saying yes to Ferrari Land)

a/n: not my favorite, feel like the transitions were not the best, but i hope you like it dom <3. wrote this w all my heart !!

part of my drabble party <3

hold tight, & don't let go — (cs55)

“Tell me again why I agreed to do this?” You’re shaking a bit, palms clammy and toes almost numb from the sense of dread that had been coiling in your stomach all morning. 

Your manager laughs, clearly unbothered by your distraught expression that was only getting paler by the second. The sounds of metal grinding against each other only makes your skin rise, you were definitely regretting your decision now. 

“Come on, you were excited about this yesterday,” She’s not wrong, you were in fact excited. How often could someone say that the Scuderia Ferrari team had invited them for a collaboration on their social media platforms? Not only would you be getting good promotion and money from the collaboration, but it was an amazing accomplishment for an account like yours who was still just starting to grow. 

You would’ve just been more excited if the venue wasn’t harboring one of the things you were most scared of; roller coasters. 

A part of you blames yourself, remembering the eager email you had sent out to the media team. ‘I’m open to do anything’ you had typed out excitedly, but now, looking at the itinerary you had been handed during a quick meeting you asked yourself whether you really were open to do anything. 

It’s the boldness of the letters, contrasting red against the rest of the schedule. You figure it’s because it’s the most important part of the day, but it’s still intimidating, almost taunting.

Roller coaster video with Carlos : A Get to Know Driver #55

You stare at the words, hoping that the universe would somehow change them. You’re so focused that you don’t even hear the footsteps coming from behind you. You almost feel light headed again, folding the paper in half before you’re pressing your hand against your eyes. 

“First time doing a collaboration?” The words are said jokingly, laced with an all too familiar accent that is impossible for you to not recognise. 

You slowly peek through your fingers, spotting his usual disheveled mane, and that’s the only confirmation you need. You lower your hand, his face slowly coming into view. 

“Hi, y/n.” You introduce yourself sheepishly, offering your hand out to shake. “Sorry- yeah. First time doing this.” You laugh nervously as Carlos takes your hand into his. He laughs, earnest and sincere and it somehow relaxes your shoulders as your nervous smile turns genuine. 

“Carlos,” He says back, giving you a firm handshake. He knows he doesn’t need the introduction, not when you were there to interview him, but he still does it, smiling at you before pulling his hand away. His eyes linger on you for a bit too long and you feel your cheeks flush slightly.

“How are you though? Excited?” Carlos asks, clearly trying to be friendly. It’s nice for him to ask, sweet even, but you can barely entertain a conversation when your stomach is twisting into knots. 

“I’m gonna be honest,” you murmur, “I’m terrified.” You spill, unable to hold your words back. Carlos’ eyes widen slightly. 

“Am I that intimidating?” He asks, and the words surprise you to the point that you have to let out a laugh. 

“No- you’re not intimidating.” You say, quickly slipping in an apology. “I’m scared to get on the ride.” The explanation seems to make sense to Carlos because his demeanor changes, his cheeks going red. 

“Ah right, shit.” He says, scratching the back of his neck. “Not to be rude, but, why did you agree to do it?” Carlos asks and you look at him with a feigned expression of insult. 

“Didn’t you say it yourself? When Ferrari calls, you answer.” 

—

Quoting Carlos seems to strike a chord with him because he does try his best to make you feel better. He grabs you a bottle of cold water, sits next to you, and you both end up talking about the interview, the questions you had been given to ask him.

You feel bad for him as you go through the questions, most being the overused generic ones; understeer or oversteer, day or night race, circuit or street race. You can tell he’s a bit bored as he tells you the answer. 

“What question would you add onto if you could?” Carlos asks curiously, knocking his shoulder into yours. You think for a moment in thought before speaking. 

“What are you scared of?” You ask curiously looking over at him. His brows perk up at the question before a smile plays at his lips. 

“Heh, haven’t thought of that actually,” Carlos says, putting his fingers to his chin. He’s in deep thought, but before he can ask the question you’re both being called over to be guided to the ride’s entrance. 

All the blood leaves your face as you get up, the nerves that Carlos had shooed away suddenly coming back. 

You both walk anyway, following the park’s worker. To your surprise Carlos holds the lower of your back the whole way, hand gently rubbing you soothingly. “You’re gonna be fine.” He smiles once you’re both at the platform. 

“We’re gonna have a test run first,” One of the people wearing a Ferrari shirt explains as the park’s worker helps you into your seat. Carlos slides next to you in your booth, handing you the cue cards for the questions you’d have to ask later. 

“Okay, ready?”  Carlos asks with a smile at you. You look at the tracks in front of you, heart leaping the moment the metal bar of the carriage clicks you both in place. Carlos’ leg is pressed against yours and you can hear the way the tracks click underneath you but you give him a nod. Your hand wraps around the metal bar, knuckles going white as the carriage begins to move. 

It’s slow at first, the carriage climbing up the hill. It’s not too bad, you’re far up but the scenery is nice, but the moment you start seeing the drop in the tracks you’re shaking again. 

“I’m scared. I’m scared.” You say, voice shaking as you look around, terrified when you realize there’s nowhere to go.

“Hey, hey,” Carlos says, his hand gently taps at your wrist, smiling. 

“You can hold my hand, if you want to,” He offers it with a soft voice. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.” He says just as the carriage stops at the top of the rollercoaster. 

“Okay, but don’t let go.” You murmur quietly taking his hand. The track clicks and you’re hanging, about to drop down the hill. “Carlos,” 

He laughs softly before nodding. “I won’t let go, I promise.”

[allison3k0]

I went to see him after school today and it was a small but cute interaction.

Okay so basically I walked in and went "Hiii" and he said "Hey" just casually, nothing too crazy. Then I started to turn on the computer and whatnot, and I said "It's been a long week..." and he said "Oh yeah, it has been, good but long, pretty busy" I said "Yeah, exactly. I'm so glad it's Friday, I wouldn't make it another day this week." and then I opened my school work. Usually at this point we would just go silent for a while since he would usually just be finishing something up and then leaving. But, this time he asked "Working on English?" and I said yeah, and proceeded to explain that we're doing poetry and it's good cuz the work is shorter, and I already have to read a bunch for my independent novel study. I told him "Yeah since my book is like 400 pages long" and he was like "Wow that's long" and I said "Yeah and I'm on page 75..." and started laughing. He said "Oh wow, just a little more to go" in a sarcastic and comedic tone, it was a funny and cute little interaction. And then I told him about my psychology class and he praised me for doing well on the last psych test that I told him the grade of. And then, when he was going to leave, he told me "Well, I'm gonna head out, have a great weekend! I locked the door so just shut it on your way out." and he gave me a smile as I told him bye. Also, he was talking in a more gentle tone which felt more loving and intimate (?) than usual, so that was nice.

Idk, I'm just enjoying his presence these days.

ALSO SOMETHING ELSE THAT HAPPENED TODAY- My Bestie M (Not supportive of my feelings for Mr S) asked me to name 20 reasons why I like him, since every time she asks "Why him? Like why specifically him?" I usually respond with "Idk why him specifically" but after yesterday when I realized that I actually have feelings for him, I named 20 reasons why I like him... And then I just kept going until I hit 30... And I had more I could've said. When I was talking about the things I like about him, I was smiling so wide and got excited when I mentioned his cute little habits and things like that. After I finished my Bestie M said "Wow, I asked for 20 but you just kept going til 30..." and I said "Yeah" and she was like "Wow, so you really do like him. You really like him. You seemed so happy when you were listing reasons why you like him, I've never seen you so happy, you seemed like, genuinely happy." and I started laughing, and said "Am I not usually genuinely happy???" as if I'm not happy when I'm around her 😭 but it was so funny at the same time. I think my Bestie M is finally starting to accept that I like him and just let me be, because when I went to see him after school and she went to leave, she simply said "Have fun." instead of her usual "You better not do anything stupid" or "I'm staying with you" (when she doesn't have work). But this time she just let me go, so, things are looking up all around.

[red1culous]

Lunch Is A Paper Sack

A/N: I was bored waiting for my bestie to arrive for luncheon. So take this. A little something about nothing really.

You showed up at the garage the following day. A little bit unsure of how to behave you stood there staring at the large numbers on the door just above the knocker. Should you knock or ring the bell or shoot her a text telling her you had arrived? Internally you groan because just a few months back you would not have hesitated to call. How time flies.

Still debating your next course of action the door unexpectedly opens and she’s standing there with a wide smile painted across her face. Seeing her reminds you of the panic attack you had the day before. This was going to be interesting.

“Are you just gonna stand there?” she says the smile never leaving her lips.

“How’d you..” you answer a little flustered.

She points to the CCTV just above the door. “Come in and stop being weird” she laughs grasping your shoulder and pulling you inside. 

She locks the door behind the both of you and motions for you to take off your jacket which she hangs on the coat rack already groaning under the weight of several other heavy coats. 

“Please tell me you’re here with some good news” she looks at you hopefully. 

You laugh. With all the awful scenarios swimming around in your head of how this day would play out this was not one of them. “I’m here to accept your offer, if it’s still on the table?”

She grins widely at you. Of course it was still on the table. She had lied yesterday when she said there were several eligible candidates waiting for a callback. 

“Great, come with me,” she says leading you further into the garage with a skip in her step. You follow her into the back office. You were happy to be able to spend some time around her. She was always fun to be around. And very easy on the eyes. 

The space was a large rectangle with plenty of room. It looked deceptively small. The office on the other hand, looked like an afterthought. Built as if the architect forgot they needed a space for admin work.

It was cramped with a small table and just enough space for 2 large filing cabinets. Nat leads you inside and grabs a large stack of files that were on the floor leaning precariously to one side like a miniature leaning Tower of Pisa. You chuckle remembering how she hated filing or any form of paperwork. 

“What are you smiling at?” she jokes as she drops the files onto the desk with a solid thud. It shakes you out of your daydream. 

“I can’t believe you’re paying me to sort these” you say adjusting the tower of files to stop it from tipping over.

“We could up your pay if-“ she starts.

“No! I meant you’re paying me too much for just filing” you quickly interrupt her. 

“Well…,” she adds, “you’re getting paid the big bucks because all this is confidential and we trust you.”

You look up and catch her eyes. 

“I trust you” she corrects herself quickly before adding, “the hassle will be converting them into digital files” she smiles apologetically as she notices your eyes widen a little.

“I’ll get right on it, boss!” you salute and she shakes her head in amusement. 

You take a moment to centre yourself once she leaves your small space. Being around her always left you feeling lightheaded like you had been sucked, chewed on and unceremoniously spat out of a whirlwind. Luckily for you, you had an excellent view of her fussing over her bike, or biting her lower lip in concentration. Just because you were on a diet didn’t mean you couldn’t look at the menu. 

[phoenixinthefiles]

Wash Away All My Fears

My First Flowerbyte fic 💻📱💜... it's about Wash Day which is very on brand- not as dramatic as the title makes it seem tho this is not beta-ed at alllll I'll make any needed edits when I wake up gn ya'll

Margo drags her hand down her face with a sigh. She’s been trying to psych herself up for wash day for 8 minutes. She’s already procrastinated and pushed it off for three days, she can’t go another day wearing it out in a fro. It's getting too hot for that. 

She groaned and leaned to drop her head against the counter. She literally did a whole deep clean on her bathroom yesterday because she was procrastinating. 

Which technically wasn’t procrastinating because she was still doing something productive.

She raised her head up and grabbed her phone. Her contacts were still open, washing her hair wasn’t the only thing she was putting off.

He did say to call her whenever, but Margo still has trouble with talking to him outside of the Spider Verse. 

Sure, her virtual character is practically her carbon copy…but it still wasn’t carbon. Up close there were many more flaws differences between VR and the real Margo. 

They’d had many FaceTime calls throughout their relationship but Margo still worried about making things awkward every time she answered the phone. 

She took another look at her reflection and made up her mind.

If she had to suffer she wasn’t going to do it alone.

Miles answered immediately, bringing the phone close to his face and smiling widely.

Margo laughed a little. He did that everytime, he probably did it when they talked on the phone without video too.

“Hi Miles.” 

He pulled the phone away from his face and propped it up on something in front of him.

“Hey, I was just about to call you.’

Margo blinked, “Really?”

Miles rolled his eyes and adjusted his headphones. “Nah I just said that.”

Margo rolled her eyes back but there was a small smile on her face.

“What are you doing anyway?”

“I’m about to wash my hair, and I’m also trying not to take some scissors and chop it all off.”

“Actually you would need clippers and you would buzz it off.”

“You’re enabling me?”

“Yup, Just chop it all off, girl,” He replied in a high-pitched voice.

Margo burst out laughing and shook her head as she watched him snap his fingers.

“Yeah, I’m starting to regret calling you.”

He raised his hands in question, “I didn’t do anything!”

“Exactly,” Margo said as she turned on the water, she made sure it was the perfect temp before she continued.

“I called you for moral support and I’m not feeling supported right now.”

Miles dropped his mouth open in mock shock and pressed his hand to his chest dramatically. 

“After I did a girl voice for you and everything?” 

Margo snorted, “Yeah not that I didn’t appreciate it, but I called my boyfriend, not one of my besties.”

He nodded, “Yeah I got you.” 

Margo ran her hand under the water to check the temp again.  A strangely deep voice made her look back to her phone,

“Just relax and put the scissors down lil mama, you got this.” 

Miles burst into cackles immediately after and Margo gave up watching him in dumbfounded silence and just side-eyed him as he laughed.

“I cannot believe you let that come out of your mou- I should block you.”

He tried to stifle his snickers but when he realized he couldn't he just muted himself.

Margo shook her head and got her deep conditioner and detangling brush ready. 

Miles piped up again when he controlled himself. 

“I think the water bill has reached a hundred dollars now, you can stick your head under.”

Margo straight-faced him and tucked his lips in so he wouldn’t laugh.

“That’s my last time, I swear.”

Margo shook her head, that would not be his last time. 

“I’m waiting for it to get hot.” 

He nodded, a smile forming on his face. 

He was always smiling when they were on the phone, it’s like his default expression. Margo pointed it out once and she thoroughly enjoyed how flustered he got.

She stopped staring at him, starting to feel warm at the embarrassing amount of time she spent doing so.

She sighed again, remembering the task at hand. 

“Here goes nothing.”

Margo lowered her hair under the flow of the water and brought the sprayer up to rinse out the back.

Miles couldn’t help himself. 

“Damn, you really went for it. Is that a tear or water?”

Margo refrained from throwing up her hand in a very rude gesture towards Miles, and instead tried to get a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror without getting water all over the counter. 

She groaned when she did manage to get a glimpse of her cheek.

“It’s neither. That’s the gel she used, oh my gosh I knew she used too much. I felt the build-up before she even finished.”

Miles watched, amused, as she rambled. His attention now solely on her and not the game he’d been playing.

“This is why I hate washing my hair. Water dripping down my neck and- OH MY GOSH IT GOT IN MY EAR!”

Miles muted himself yet again so she wouldn’t hear the loud laughing he started when she cut herself off.

By the time he got himself under control this time, Margo was already applying the deep conditioner in her.

Miles tilted his head and unmuted himself.

“Why’re you using that first?

She gave him a long look before she responded. He was not nearly slick enough to mute himself before she realized he was laughing.

“I’m doin’ it first because by deep conditioning and detangling before I shampoo, I have less shedding. Especially after braids.”

He nods though she suspects he doesn’t really get it.

Margo resumes her detangling process and Miles unpauses his game. They talk a little which mostly consists of Miles saying things to purposely annoy her and Margo rolling her eyes.

She sighs as she finishes her last twist and pulls a shower cap out of the cabinet and puts it on. 

Miles refocuses his attention on her when she calls his name.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow or something if I haven’t gone crazy and actually buzzed all my hair off.’

Miles scrunched his face up, “You done or something, why’re you hanging up?”

“I’m not done but all I’m gonna do is sit like this for like an hour and a half.”

“So why hang up?”

“Because for an hour and a half I’m gonna be doing nothing but cleaning my room or something and then I’m just gonna rinse this out and shampoo.” Margo says it slowly because she’s actually confused that he’s not getting it.

Miles shrugs and fidgets with his hands a little. 

“Doesn’t really matter to me, I’m fine just keeping you company while you clean. I’d actually kind of like it.”

Margo tried really, really hard to tamp down the massive grin threatening to take over her face but she’s pretty sure she failed.

“Oh, really?”

Miles laughed at the way she cheesed into the camera and shook his head. 

“Yes really.”

“Well Mr. Morales let’s clean.”

Miles chuckles again. 

“Okay Ms. Kess.” 

Margo lets out an extremely embarrassing high-pitched giggle and clicks the light off in her bathroom. 

A couple hours later when she’s completely finished she catches Miles staring at her with a wide grin. 

“What?” She asks, fighting the urge to cover up her face.

He shrugs and his hand goes to rub at his neck, clearly embarrassed he was caught staring.

“Nothing, you just look really pretty.”

Margo tries not to squeal and instead covers up her wild grin with her hand.

“Even with my bonnet and this stupid retainer.”

Miles shrugs again. 

“Yup.”

“Well you look handsome too.”

His eyes widen and he quickly looks away, Margo laughs but tries to lower it when she remembers how late it is.

“I appreciate it Ms. Kess.”

She smirks and with confidence she definitely does not have she replies, “That’s Mrs. Morales to you.”

She hurriedly hangs up on him, barely catching the squawk he lets out and the flustered expression on his face.

Her phone falls to her bed as Margo rolls from side to side with her hands covering her face. 

She grabs her pillow and stuffs her face in it when she hears her phone buzz.

After kicking her feet and squealing into her pillow for a ridiculous amount of time she opens their text thread.

goodnight Mrs. Morales💜

This time the squeal does not make it into her pillow.

Did I finish this at half past midnight? yeah but mind your business

[otherone12]

I Can Help You With That...

Gerard way x Reader

->Masterlist

A/N: Hey!! Sooo i was bored and wanted to "practice" my english. I've never posted something like this and i wrote this instead of sleep... Let me know if you like it (:

- Word count : 1.195

Summary - You are his daughter best friend since ever, and always go to their house. One day, Gerard finds out that you are a comic writter, but you are also in some kind of art block. He says that he could help you if you wanted to and, well... this end up a bit different than you both expected.

- Warnings: NOT SMUT, Big age gap

- Ps: You and his doughter (i will not use her name 'cause i think it's weird) are 20 years old or something, and he's 47 (current era?).

- Ps2: I'll not use y/n...

- Ps3: I'm brazilian, so english is not my first language ... sorry if i wrote something wrong.

___________________________________________

3rd Person POV

   You were walking down the street to your best friend's house. You knock on the door and she comes with a usually smile on her face.

   - Hey! I missed you! - She said as she opened the door.

   - But we saw each other yesterday! - You laugh, hugging her and entering the Way's house.

   The place was absolutely pretty, you feel like you're never gonna get used to that. You've been going there every week since you were 12, but always get impressed with all that stuff.

   She led you to her room and there you two watched a movie and talked about how much better it would be if you were the directors, actors or whatever.

   When the movie ends, you two went down stairs to the kitchen to take something to eat. You saw a familiar face, long brown hair, the cutest nose ever and, of course, THOSE hazel eyes. Gerard was there. You would never admit it to anyone, but you find him really attractive.

   No. You can't think about your best friend's dad like that.

   He looked up the newspaper he was reading and smiled at you. You smile back as he picks a mug with coffee and takes a sip.

***

   - I didn't ask you about your comic! How is it going? - Your friend gives you a cup of coffe while you two are sitting at the table with Gerard.

   In the moment your bestie asked, Gerard looked at you surprised and curious.

   - I dunno... i'm in a fucking art block since the last time i show you the sketches. - you took a sip of your coffee and continued - I mean, i know all the story, but i can't find the way to put this together.

   - I can help you with that... if you want me to - He looks really excited, and even if you thought it was a bad idea, couldn't say 'no' to him. - I've worked at DC Comics, and also my comic turned into a Netflix series so...

1st person POV

   I really don't know how to feel about this. I mean, he's an amazing comic writer, and also he's so cute, and lovely, and- NO! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! It's so fucking wrong think about him this way.

   Well, he's cool, but I think spending time with him could make me fall for him for REAL.

   But i really need help. So i didn't think too much about it and just dropped the first thing that comes in my mind.

   - Sure! It will be awesome!

   - That's right, you're up for it tomorrow?

   - Yeah! After my shift, I'll bring my notes and sketches, then we can talk about the whole thing.

   I just get excited... sue me.

*** time skip ***

   With all my notes, drawings and stuff i'm in front of Way's house, waiting to someone to open the door.

   - Sup? -She looks hurried when open up the door and leaves the house. - I'm going out to my mom's place right now. So... if you need something, text me. - Since her parents divorced, my she keep 'froggin' between the both houses, and i never know where she will be until she say it.

   - So now you're leaving me? - I said, overreacting sadly - I thought you'd help me!

   - i'm not leaving you, and i never said i would help you... i'm not a professional. But I'm sure dad will help you. Now i gotta go. Bye!

   She gave me a fast hug and ran to the taxi cab as i got in the house.

   Gerard was in the living room, seated on the couch. He was wearing his 'Mercyful Fate' sweatshirt, and black jeans, pretty as alway.

   He stood up and greeted me, like usual.

   - So... what did you got in there? - He smirks and points to my bag.

   I started to unpack my notebooks, pens and some drawings I've done.

   - Well... The whole story I think. I know it's not perfect but i guess i-

   - lemme see - he took the script and read it carefully every detail. I'll not lie, i feel really judged and the only thing across my mind was "please like it". After the most slow ten minutes i have ever lived, he finally break the silence.

   - This is awesome. The main character has a good backstory. I also loved your art style.

I felt my face burn while I looked him in the eyes.

   - T-thanks - it was awkward, but i think he didn't notice.

   We spent the whole afternoon working together and everything was perfect, but when I was finishing the last draft of the day, he got closer to see how it was going, and I felt his hand on my leg. My heart started to race as I heard  his breath on my ear. I tried to keep doing my work, but I was melting on that chair and could barely hold the pencil.

   - Damn, this is beautiful. - He said practically whispering in my ear.

   I just smiled as he pulled back, so i started to pack my things to go back home. I stand up and looked at him.

   - Thanks for helping me... I was really confused about what to do with this.

   - That's fine, I mean, it's good to see young artists who are into comics and stuff. Thanks for letting me help, by the way.

   I hugged him. I don't know why, but I did, and damn it feels so good... He smelled like coffee. He was warm and I could easily sleep in his arms.

As I pulled away, he keeped his hands on my hips, I looked up to see his eyes and he moved his hand to my cheek. I pull my arms around his neck and we kiss. A passionate kiss, it feels like he wanted this for a long time.

I pulled away as I remembered that this was wrong. I mean, it feels great, but I was wrong. I'm his kid's best friend, there's no way this was right.

- I- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kiss you. I mean, i wanted to but... this was so fucking- i started

  - That's fine... it's not like I didn't want to. But you're right... we're not supposed to do that. - the look on his face was nothing like regret. Was obvious that he didn't wanted to stop it. - I'm sorry... it was... unprofessional or whatever...

   Okay, it's oficial, he wanted me as much as I wanted him. That's a green flag to try something....

   - That's fine. I totally could do this again... if you wanted to...

   His smile grows as he pulled me closer and kiss me again, a needy kiss. This time shyless, and I felt his tongue explore my mouth, as I runned my fingers through his hair.  

  I was trying to focus just on the way he kissed me, but flashes of conscience passed through my mind, and I started to think about how wrong kissing his soft lips was.

   We stopped the kiss and just looked at each other for a moment. Maybe it wasn't that wrong.

- I gotta go home now...

- Yeah, I think so... maybe we can keep working at your comic next week.

- I would love to.

> Pt2

___________________________________________

That's it... requests are open btw ;)

[wingsonghalo]

A Match(a) Made in Heaven: a Pokémon Fanfic- Chapter 1

Hello everyone!

I posted this on Ao3 yesterday so I figured I should post it over here too. About a month ago, I started talking about the potential of shipping Carmine and Penny with @forwortuntodawn. Penny calls her pretty, Carmine loves being called pretty; they'd both be snarky together; their personalities would balance each other out... there's so much to love about them! Eventually I dragged several other friends into the CarPen pit with me, and here we are.

An extra-special thank you to the aforementioned KC, my #1 Beta Bestie and COO of CarPen. Rarepair Hell's more like heaven with you. Thank you also to two other dear friends, @smilelikeaknife and @litlyre, who along with KC are the KEWLest writer pals ever. You all give me something to strive for, and I admire you all so much! Thank you for all your encouragement and all the laughs. Just as before, this and all CarPen content is for you. 💖💖💖

I hope you take a chance on this pairing, reader. I promise I will do my best to make it worth the read!

================================================

Title: A Match(a) Made in Heaven Fandom: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Pairing(s): Carmine x Penny, Arven x Juliana Wordcount for this chapter: 6,549 Summary: "Hey, Red-n'-Blue," she murmured out the side of her mouth, "am I crazy, or is Juli putting out mad vibes with the tall chef guy?" The shorter girl's gray eyes looked up at her. An eyebrow stretched towards her multicolored bangs. "You ARE crazy if you think we're going to gossip about my friends before you even learn our names, Stretch." Carmine ropes Penny into her plans to get Arven and Juliana together, but she might end up focused on more than just that relationship... Carmine x Penny and Juliana x Arven! Also available on: Ao3 Support me on: Patreon | Ko-fi 

A Match(a) Made in Heaven

Chapter 1: A Pact

Despite what anyone else, especially her brother, might say, Carmine was totally a generous and thoughtful person.

No, really!

She carefully observed others to determine things about them—their emotional state, their likes and dislikes, where they'd come from, their social status, all that type of stuff. Sure, sometimes her observations included just asking other well-informed individuals about persons of interest, but that was its own kind of savvy too, wasn't it? You had to know who to ask, after all.

One of the things that captured Carmine's interest the most lately was the romantic entanglements of her peers. She was a teenage girl and found such matters of the heart fascinating (It had nothing to do with "needing more hobbies" or being "too nosy for your own good, sis," thank you very much, Kieran. Hmph. As if he could talk, when his hobbies were 1) fanboying about an old legend, 2) obsessively training in Pokémon battles, and 3) there was no 3; that was the end of the list). And yeah, maybe sometimes she wished that the romantic drama involved her once in a while, but whatever. Being an observer was cool. Carmine was fine with just sitting on the sidelines. Absolutely. 100%.

It was fine, okay?!

Anyway, she'd recently met a girl from Paldea on a school trip. Juliana was her name. Short, dainty, shiny chestnut-colored hair, big sparkly cinnamon-brown eyes, perfect smile (not as perfect as her own, of course), magnetic personality. She was almost annoyingly cute, like a little mascot designed for people to immediately latch onto. Carmine had initially just thought of her as another lame outsider who'd come to goggle at their tiny backwater hometown. A good-for-nothing tourist.

Juliana had not been a good-for-nothing tourist.

Instead, she had been… probably the second genuine friend Carmine had ever had, after Amarys. She'd been Kiki's first genuine friend. Juliana had taken everything both siblings had thrown at her in stride, and still emerged from the mangled mess of misplaced resentment and jealousy and distrust as their ally and confidante. Though it pained Carmine to admit it, she owed much of her newfound understanding with her brother to Juliana.

(It pained her to admit it, and that was why Carmine had no intention of doing so to anyone but herself. Maybe Juliana, sometime, if Carmine was feeling generous; which, as we've established, was frequently, okay?)

The point was, Juliana was an almost impossibly good person and everyone liked her. Even Kieran had been irresistibly drawn into her thrall at first, totally infatuated within minutes of meeting her, despite Carmine's continual insistence that he not get suckered by anyone who pretended to be interested in lame ol' Mossui Town, talent in Pokémon battling notwithstanding. (Didn't he know that was how evil land development companies got their claws into vulnerable little rural towns, sending people out to get information from unsuspecting yokels before turning on them and erecting a mall or whatever?!) In this one particular instance, however, her caution had been unwarranted: Juliana really was the compassionate, pure-hearted little angel she appeared to be, except in battle, where she suddenly became a demon (or an ogre?) with an angel's face. Carmine had been forced to confront the fact that she had—inadvertently, mind—been keeping herself and her brother confined to their own little world, never letting anyone else get too close until Juliana waltzed in with that silly little cherubic smile of hers. She seemed to exist just to break them out of their shells, to get them to open their eyes to all the people and places they'd never cared to look at before.

It was because of this fresh perspective on things, this newly-discovered consideration for things outside her usual bubble, that Carmine came to be curious about Juliana's feelings.

At first, she was only interested because Kieran was all googly-eyed over her. She had to scope out anyone who might eventually become part of their family, right? She couldn't let anyone get all buddy-buddy with her brother if they were just going to break his heart.

(It turned out that her efforts to watch over the two of them, to protect her brother's feelings and safety, had only cemented Kieran getting his heart broken—though not for the reasons she feared.)

(Whatever, Carmine wasn't thinking about that right now. Not again.)

Juliana had treated her brother with kindness, acceptance, and good humor. She had always worn a gentle smile, and frequently asked Kieran what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go, what he thought about things.

Actually, she had been so considerate of Kiki that at times Carmine had found herself wondering whether Juliana had any thoughts or desires of her own.

This willingness to let others take the lead had nearly tricked Carmine into believing that Juliana was weak-willed, but it turned out that their new friend was merely one of those people that kept their own thoughts hidden for fear of hurting others.

Hmph. Like that ever turned out well.

(Carmine did not envy Juliana's selfless nature. Not one bit… that she would ever admit to out loud, anyway.)

Regardless, she had gleaned from her careful observation—and okay fine, consulting other people—that Juliana was not interested in Kiki. Not in a romantic context, anyway. She seemed to dote on him in an almost sisterly way, which Carmine tried not to be too offended by. Kiki already had the world's best sister, thank you very much. But she understood. Kieran had a way of making you want to protect him, take care of him, even when he was being an antisocial little jerk.

Or maybe that was just Carmine that felt that way, because it was Kiki.

Whatever; not important.

Where was she? Oh yeah. Juli friendzoning (brotherzoning?) Carmine's brother.

Though at first she had wondered what the hell Juliana's problem was in not responding to Kieran's obvious infatuation, Carmine was almost positive she knew the reason for it now:

Juliana was already in love with somebody.

For an annoyingly long time, she'd been stumped as to who the object of her friend's affections could be. Juli tended to treat everyone with the same level of friendliness and warmth, so it could have been anyone from back home in Paldea, or maybe one of her fellow students in the BB League Club, or perhaps even Carmine herself, if Juliana had had any taste.

(Okay, she at least knew it wasn't herself, but honestly, why not?! She was a catch, damn it!)

But as soon as Juli's closest friends from Paldea visited Kitakami—and, well, as soon as Carmine was no longer a mochi zombie—it had become pretty glaringly obvious who had captured her inscrutable Paldean pal's heart.

She lingered around him even when she didn't need to, sticking close at his side; glancing back at him when she got too far ahead; tucking her hair behind her ear as her warm brown eyes shyly flickered up to glimpse him. When he walked into a room, Carmine swore she could watch little flames spark to life in Juliana's eyes, see her smile spread like a spring bud opening its petals.

It would have been adorable, if it wasn't so hard to watch.

The guy—what was his name again? Carmine still hadn't committed it to memory—seemed just as enamored with Juliana. His gaze followed her as if magnetized whenever she moved around, wonder reflecting in his pretty turquoise eye, as if the short girl was an awe-inspiring sunset. He hovered around her like he was her guard dog, fixing an intimidating glare on anyone who dared get too close to his "little buddy," as he called her. He could have made a pretty good living as a bouncer or a bodyguard, with those muscular arms, wide shoulders supporting the most ridiculously oversized backpack Carmine had ever seen, and brooding expression that warned others to keep their distance… but it couldn't have been more clear that there was only one person he wanted to protect. He was gorgeous, honestly, but he seemed devoted to Juliana to the point where he could barely see anyone else, so he usually came off as surly and reserved unless she was around, at which point he pulled a complete 180 and became jovial and perfectly gentlemanly. What was his deal? Had Juli saved his life or something?

Despite his obvious admiration of her, he seemed content to just be near her, like she was the sun and he was a pathetic little weed growing by the side of the road. Juliana, similarly, seemed happy to just exist beside him. Evidently they weren't an item. Carmine wasn't even sure if either of them were aware that they looked at one another like the other person was an oasis in a desert.

She needed more context from someone who had been around them longer. Luckily, Juliana had brought two more of her female friends with her for this little visit, both of whom had also fallen victim to that renegade wannabe air-freshener's mind-control mochi.

The taller one was kind of intimidating. She had the reckless sort of hyperactive energy that Carmine was usually only used to seeing in wriggly Lillipup that hadn't been housetrained yet and knocked the fine china off the walls. She was friendly, but frankly, Carmine was afraid if she struck up a conversation with her, she would demand another 5 battles.

That left the other one—a small, scrawny girl with short, brightly-colored two-toned hair, enormous glasses, a frumpy gray sweater, and the cutest little Eevee backpack the world had ever known. She seemed quiet, her bespectacled eyes always moving over her surroundings like she was scanning them into a database. Or perhaps she was simply zoning out and was just very good at pretending otherwise. The few times Carmine had heard her speak, a rather posh Galarian accent had emerged, which had somewhat startled Carmine at first but now sort of fascinated her. Did she say so little because she was self-conscious about her accent, or did she just truly have little to say?

She intended to find out as she sidled up to her, her eyes still fixed on Juliana and What's-His-Face engaged in lively conversation. "Hey, Red-n'-Blue," she murmured out the side of her mouth, "am I crazy, or is Juli putting out mad vibes with the tall chef guy?"

The shorter girl's gray eyes looked up at her. An eyebrow stretched towards her multicolored bangs. "You are crazy if you think we're going to gossip about my friends before you even learn our names, Stretch," she said, and it kind of wasn't fair how her accent made everything she said sound more intelligent.

Carmine frowned. "Well, I bet you can't tell me mine either!"

The girl in the sweater shrugged, crossing her arms. "Make yourself more memorable, and then I'll consider it."

She scoffed, her temper beginning to flare already as she clenched a hand into a fist by her side. "How rude! Anyone would find a face like mine memorable!"

A smirk lifted one corner of the other girl's mouth. "Maybe the face you're making now, sure—talk about scary."

Carmine's mouth dropped open in shock, and then her other hand curled into a fist as well. "I—you—how dare you!" she sputtered. Her face was filling with indignant heat, but when her nails bit into her palms, the unexpected sensation worked to ground her. She'd just met this frumpy little runt; why was she letting her rile her up? She let her eyes fall closed, took a deep breath, and let it out before opening her eyes once more and staring right into those cold, appraising ones. "Yes, I agree, I'm so beautiful it can be scary," she fired back smoothly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But if it helps you remember me, fine. The name's Carmine." She threw out her best charming smile, the one she was fairly sure had stolen the hearts of many a wretched suitor that was simply too awed by her radiance to approach her. "Don't make me repeat it."

An intense thrill of satisfaction buzzed down her spine at the sight of those gray eyes widening behind the big round lenses, pale, slightly-sunken cheeks coloring slightly. "Hmph," was all the other girl said, though, as she averted her gaze and fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater. "I remembered your name anyway because your brother said it before, but whatever… guess your face is plenty memorable too."

Ha! It was big of her to admit it. "And you?" Carmine prompted, resting her hands on her hips.

The shorter girl locked eyes with her again, silent for a moment before thrusting out her hand. "Penny," she said, and Carmine read a challenge in the determined set of her mouth. "Better remember mine too, or I'm never telling you a thing about Arven."

Carmine was never one to back down from a challenge. "Nice to meet you, Penny," she purred as she squeezed Penny's hand. A grin crept across her face. "I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship…"

"I have a feeling I just made a pact with a demon," Penny replied mildly, but there was a smile growing on her face as well.

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

Penny, Carmine would soon discover as they walked around the festival the next evening after making their little deal, was rather difficult to get information out of… unless you knew what to offer her in return.

Having used the rest of yesterday to talk to Penny about Kieran's and her own history with Juliana, she had decided that today she would focus on inquiring about Juliana's history with Arven. But she hadn't gotten any further than asking, "So like, what's their deal? How did they meet?" before Penny was raising an eyebrow at her, unimpressed.

"What, you want all this intel for free?" Her usual gray ensemble, which usually served to help her blend in, now stood out like a sore thumb amid all the festivalgoers in their traditional jinbei and sandals, but it was Penny's own fault for not accepting any of the clothes Carmine's grandparents had offered, in Carmine's opinion.

Carmine scoffed at the other girl's audacity, frustrated at being shut down before she'd even gotten her first bit of information. She had brought a small drawstring money purse for the festival, of course, but she'd really been planning on using it for—hey wait a second, why was she even considering paying this twerp for answering such a basic question?! "I don't think this really counts as 'intel'!" she huffed, attempting to toss her hair before remembering that Grandma had put it in an updo for her. "I could just ask Juli about it for free!" Juliana was probably wandering from stall to stall with Arven right about now, actually, their hands close enough to touch, but neither of them daring to close the distance. Even the thought of it was irritating.

"Hmm, you could," said Penny, nodding with a half-smile like Carmine had just passed some sort of secret test. She plucked a bit of Carmine's cotton candy without asking, then popped it into her mouth and silently dared Carmine to comment on it with the quirk of an eyebrow. "So why don't you, then?"

Carmine contemplated that for a minute. While it was true she could hear this straight from the source, she had a sneaking suspicion that Juliana would become flustered and evasive if she tried to probe her for information about Arven. "Juli's the type to downplay her own victories and gas up everyone else's," she finally settled on, also taking a nibble of her fluffy pink festival food. "And Arven…" She snorted. "If I asked him, I'd probably just get a sermon about how great Juliana is."

Penny's eyes were glinting behind her glasses. "Wowww," she said, drawing out the word in a way that was simultaneously sarcastic and yet mildly impressed. "Maybe you do have more than two brain cells knocking around in that pretty head of yours."

"Hey!" said Carmine sharply, and then a moment later, more hesitantly, "You think my head is pretty?"

The other girl just stifled a laugh, which was vexing. It had been a legitimate question! "All right, Carmine," Penny said after stealing another bit of sugary fluff, "the truth is I wasn't around for when they met, so I only know what they've told me. What I can tell you about firsthand is the perilous adventure we all went on that brought the four of us together as friends, buuuut…" She peered around at all the festival stalls, her gaze landing on the shaved ice. "I'm feeling kinda parched since I'm not used to talking so much…" Shrewd gray eyes flickered up to meet hers, prompting.

Carmine sighed. "What flavor might quench your thirst?" she asked flatly.

"Raspberry, please," Penny chirped, a bit of a spring in her step as they made their way over to the shaved ice stand, Carmine pulling out her purse.

***

"That's… that's so sweet!" Carmine burst out after Penny concluded her story. She blamed the thickness in her throat on the sugary cherry syrup, hiding her sniffle by ducking her head to take another bite of the shaved ice. "I can't believe she was there for him when he had to say goodbye to the Professor… geez, I thought Kiki and I had issues about our parents, but at least they were all right while they were around…" She clamped her mouth shut as she realized she'd gotten a little personal there with no preamble, and glanced over at her companion to gauge her reaction. She'd found herself rambling a bit yesterday, too, come to think of it.

Just as before when Carmine had accidentally entered Backstory Mode, Penny's expression hadn't changed, mostly because she was still digging into her blue-raspberry ice with a gusto that would suggest her little plastic spoon was actually an icepick. "Meh. We've kind of all got family issues of varying types," she said once she'd dislodged a syrup-soaked chunk to fling into her mouth. "Crazy that Arven's involved a time machine and a scavenger hunt for magic plants though, I'll give him that."

Oh, and the plants…! Carmine's eyes prickled with emotion at the reminder of the supplemental information Penny had provided—the part about Juliana helping to restore Arven's beloved partner Pokémon, Mabosstiff, to full health after he'd been injured by one of those crazy violent Pokémon the Professor had brought to this time period. Carmine couldn't even imagine something like that happening to her precious Mightyena. The mere notion of it made her lip wobble.

Yes, she thought as she plunged her spoon into the red ice for another mouthful of fake-fruity deliciousness, if someone had helped her save her Pokémon and then journeyed with her to a lawless pit to confront her own family issues, Carmine would also be hopelessly devoted to whoever it was. Her heart would start up a beat like those taiko drums making a racket over there every time she saw them, too. Arven looking at Juliana like the sun shone out of her ass made a lot more sense now. By comparison, Kiki's fascination with her when they'd first met seemed shallow, almost fanciful. Kieran had seen in Juliana a hero from a storybook that he longed to emulate and look up to, not a real-life hero who would take him by the hand to save him personally. It was no wonder Juliana had scarcely noticed the awed looks from Carmine's brother, if she was already used to being looked at like Arven looked at her. "Okay, y'know what?" Carmine decided. "I'm officially on board. I'm getting those two together."

For a few seconds there was only faint crunching as Penny stared at her and devoured her shaved ice. She had a lot of nerve looking at Carmine like she was the silly little child, when Penny was the one who had blue syrup dripping down her chin. "You think you can do that, huh?" she deadpanned. "You got the knowledge and tools to back up that confidence, toots?"

"W-Well…" Carmine pursed her lips and frowned, quite certain no one had said the word toots since last century. "No, I guess I don't…" If she could just win Penny over, she might have a chance, though.

In a move perhaps influenced by the Big Sister Instinct left over from when Kiki had been a baby, Carmine impulsively grabbed Penny's chin and used one of the napkins in her lap to wipe away the dribbling syrup. "But I do have you!" she finished her earlier statement, putting on her world-class charming smile again.

Penny, who had completely frozen up like the ice still lingering in her paper cup at the unexpected contact, blinked widened eyes before quickly regaining her composure. "Hmph," she scoffed, turning her face away and muttering something that sounded like maybe sometime if you're lucky. The flickering orange light cast by the standing stone lanterns near them made her cheeks look as if they were glowing pink.

"What?" said Carmine, having been unable to hear her words well over the din of the festival.

"I said shipping my friends is yucky!" the shorter girl growled as she faced Carmine again. Actually, maybe it was more than the lighting—her whole face looked slightly pink.

Carmine tilted her head slightly, perplexed. She could have sworn those weren't the same words Penny had muttered, but oh well. It probably hadn't been anything important. Things other people said scarcely ever were.

"Anyway..." Penny tossed her empty shaved ice cup into the trash can next to their bench, and Carmine wrinkled her nose as the shorter girl proceeded to wipe her hands on her leggings rather than just using a napkin. "I'm surprised you're not angling for Juliana to date your brother, actually. Weren't you going on about how good of an influence she is on him yesterday?"

She blinked, surprised that Penny had actually been listening then. Carmine had indeed rambled on about that a bit while explaining what Juliana had done for her and her brother, but as Penny had been tapping away at her phone the whole time and only giving an occasional yeah and oh, mm-hmm, she'd thought it hadn't really sunk in. "Well, it's true that I thought she might be good for him at first," she admitted, poking at her melting cherry ice a little, "but now that I reflect on things a bit more, maybe what Kieran needed was just… support." Her shoulders slumped as guilt pressed down on her again. "Support I shoulda been better at givin' him in the first place, as his family." Her voice, which had accidentally slipped a little into the vernacular Kieran still spoke with, was quiet. "I was just lookin' for Juli to solve my problems," she finished in a murmur.

"Psh." Penny's scoff made her sit up ramrod straight again, head whipping over in indignation. The expression Carmine saw on the other girl's face wasn't disdain or mockery, however. There was a wry smile lifting one half of her mouth, and a complicated sort of furrow between her brows. "Welcome to the club," she said, and Carmine realized that the look on her face was the same one Kieran wore whenever he said things like All that stuff happened 'cause no matter how strong my team got, my heart stayed weak or I get why no one would wanna waste their time on me anymore... no one to blame but myself, I s’pose. It looked like regret. Self-deprecation.

Had Juliana played a part in saving all of her friends from themselves, Carmine wondered?

Before she could ask about it, though, Penny was shrugging, watching a little kid in an Eevee mask tear up the stairs despite his father's protests that he slow down. "Well, good on you for realizing it, at least," Penny said as her eyes followed the kid's movement. "Guess you're not the oblivious princess you seem to be."

"I seem like a princess?" Carmine's voice was hopeful.

Penny's gaze snapped to meet hers again in surprise, and this time when she laughed, she didn't stifle the joyful sound. Her eyes crinkled up, and the unguarded smile that broke her usual deadpan facade seemed to transform her. "How... how is that what you got out of that statement?" she asked incredulously, shaking her head as she almost doubled over.

She was laughing at Carmine. Carmine should have been outraged. But somehow, hearing Penny laugh felt like witnessing a rare natural phenomenon—like a rain shower in the sunlight, or something like that. She couldn't help but avert her eyes, confused at the strange bubbly feeling that had just sparked in her stomach. An answering smile crept across her face without her realizing it.

"Okay, Your Highness," Penny said, laughter still lingering on the edges of her words as she got to her feet. "This has been fun, but I've gotta get my hands on one of those masks now."

"What?" Carmine's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "I thought you didn't want to dress up for the festival!" And after she'd been offered the cutest jinbei, too!

"That was before I knew there was an Eevee mask." There was a particular sparkle in Penny's eyes that reminded Carmine of Kieran's whenever he used to get hyped up about the ogre legend (though she guessed she could no longer call it a legend). "I will obtain one of those masks or die trying," she declared solemnly.

"Did you not see how terrifying it looked on that kid?" Carmine pointed out, getting up as well and throwing out her empty shaved ice cup. "I get that you like Eevees, but you're gonna make kids scream if you walk around in that." Heck, Juliana's other Paldean friend, Nemona, had already frightened people earlier, barreling up to passersby to ask for Pokémon battles wearing that uncanny Pikachu mask she'd bought.

"It's the principle of the thing," Penny informed her with a shrug, jamming her hands in her sweater pocket. "I see Eevee things, I get Eevee things. Also, I want to get back at Nemona for that hideous Pikachu mask."

"Fair enough."

Penny hadn't invited Carmine to keep walking around the festival with her, but somehow that was how it turned out. They went from stall to stall, arms close enough to touch, but both of them comfortable enough to not worry about it.

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

Carmine was used to being the one who could wheedle others into doing what she wanted. Once she figured out someone's weakness, it was only too easy to use it to her advantage. From the time she was a little girl, Carmine had become a master of sucking up to influential distant relatives who might throw some financial support her family's way; of flattering popular kids so they allowed her to hang around them and left her brother alone; of flirting with stupid teenaged tourists who were hoping to sucker an ignorant little country girl but ended up getting bled dry themselves instead. It had become somewhat more difficult the older she got—teens and adults were much harder to dupe than children, after all, and as cunning as she was, her wits regrettably almost never exceeded those of richer, more well-connected peers or socially-savvy adults—but for the most part, she was still fairly confident in her abilities.

With her newest acquaintance, though, she found that she had somehow become the sucker in this equation, continually promised juicy tidbits of information which were withheld from her until she provided some sort of compensation. She would have been angrier about it, if she wasn't so begrudgingly impressed. Penny wasn't even fake-nice about her demands like Carmine would have been—she would just hold out her hand and say, "What do you have to make it worth my while this time?"

Despite this, though, Carmine didn't dislike hanging around Penny during the 3 extra days the Paldean friends spent in Kitakami after the festival had concluded. Her snarky, quietly muttered remarks often made Carmine stifle snorts of laughter, she was surprisingly easy to talk to (if you didn't mind being looked at like you were an idiot), and she was content to let Carmine have all the attention in social situations if she could linger in the background. She'd also called Carmine pretty a few times, though she wasn't sure whether the other girl really meant it as a compliment or a mocking statement.

As for Arven and Juliana, she couldn't find many opportunities to ask them questions about one another (plus Penny said she shouldn't bother them on their vacation, and well, that was valid, she supposed), and it was a bit difficult to observe them without making them suspicious (Penny had also called her a voyeur when she attempted to follow them, and had dragged her away with a strength Carmine hadn't known she had).

It was fine, though. Those two lovebirds were definitely going to get together, especially now that she had recruited one more Cupid (albeit a reluctant one)! Even when Carmine couldn't be there back in Paldea, Penny would keep her updated on any updates via messaging.

"You will keep me updated on any developments on the Juli-and-Arven thing, right?" Carmine pressed her partner in crime—matchmaking, she meant; her partner in matchmaking—as the 4 Paldean students waited at the bus stop for their ride to the airport. Carmine and Kieran had of course accompanied them to say goodbye.

Penny rolled her eyes and sighed. Her hair was still sticking up a little in the back, and there were circles under her eyes that stood out against her pale skin—evidently, she wasn't the best at waking up in the morning. Though the summertime insects cried out noisily and the birds cheeped in the trees, the early morning light was still a sleepy orange haze on the horizon. "Yeah, yeah. But you know it's not gonna happen faster with us scrutinizing it, right? The watched pot never boils and all that?"

"I've never heard that saying," said Carmine primly, lying through her teeth.

The shorter girl pushed up one side of her glasses to rub at her eye with the heel of her hand as she yawned, not even bothering to hide it. It reminded Carmine a little of how Ninetales yawned. "Well," said Penny when she could speak again, "thanks for hanging out with me during this visit, I guess, though I know you had ulterior motives." She fixed Carmine with a lopsided smile. "Despite the crappy cell service and you dragging me around to spy on my friends, I still had fun. I'll kinda miss it here."

Carmine abruptly realized that she had made a friend, completely by accident, and was now going to have to say goodbye to her.

"I… I'll miss having everyone here, too," she blurted, words clumsy with the unfamiliar sentiment. Her gaze dropped to the ground, and she felt fidgety all of a sudden. "But don't be a stranger, all right? You can message me—"

"—if there are any developments with those two; I know," Penny finished with another sigh.

"For any reason," Carmine corrected her firmly, taking a step closer. "You can message me whenever you want." She held out her hand like Penny had done not so long ago. "We're… we're friends now, right?"

Penny stared at Carmine's outstretched hand, eyebrows raised, and then lifted her eyes to lock onto Carmine's. What she saw must have reassured her, because a quiet smile stretched across her face, and she returned the handshake, her small hand cool against Carmine's. "Sure," she said. It might have sounded dismissive from someone else, but the warmth in that single word told Carmine that her acceptance was genuine.

Carmine grinned, joy sparking bright in her chest like a firecracker, as she squeezed her new friend's hand.

After Juliana had hugged Carmine and Kieran both about 3 more times, and goodbyes were exchanged all around, the bus arrived, and the 4 Paldean visitors were on their way.

"I'm surprised ya got so close with them, Sis," Kieran pointed out as they trekked back to Mossui Town from the bus stop. "You're usually so eager for outsiders to get out as soon as possible."

Carmine hummed, her eyes following the Yanma as they came to light gracefully on the standing pools of water in the rice paddies, only to flit away again moments later with a quiet buzz of their wings. "Maybe some outsiders aren't so bad. I wouldn't have minded if they'd stayed longer," she admitted.

Kieran gawped at her. "Wowzers," he breathed, almost tripping on a stone in the road. "Sounds like you're growin' up."

She reached her foot over to kick at his heel playfully. "I don't want to hear that from my little brother. And eyes on the road or you'll go toppling into a pit, dummy."

Kieran stuck out his tongue at her. "I'll just pull you in with me," he promised, and then took off at a jog ahead of her. "Race ya back to the house!"

She couldn't help but smile. Only a month ago or so, Kieran would never have let himself act so childishly. It felt like catching a glimpse of the little brother she'd known while they grew up, chasing each other around Kitakami Road with sticks, laughing and smiling despite the skinned knees and bandaged elbows and muddy shoes. "No fair; you got a head start!" she complained, breaking into a run to catch up.

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

Her phone chimed, and Carmine immediately snatched it up to check it. As she'd suspected, it was a reply from Penny.

she's sitting across from him at lunch. but before u ask: no i don't think they're playing footsie

She suppressed a laugh and merely smiled, tapping out a reply: Well, maybe you should put the idea in their heads!

and how do u suggest i do that miss mind control?

Carmine let a snort escape at that before starting on another reply.

"Sis?"

Kieran's voice pulled her back down to earth from the little world she always went to when she was texting Penny. Her eyes found him, gazing at her perplexed from where he sat at his desk. Carmine was sprawled out across his bed, having come here to get some quiet study time since Kieran rarely had guests at his dorm room. "What?" she prompted him.

"I've been tryin' to get your attention for the last couple minutes," said Kieran, frowning at her. "Are you textin' that Eevee girl again?" He shook his head. "Seems like you're talkin' to her all day sometimes."

"Her name is Penny," Carmine sniffed, sitting up straighter and pointedly putting the phone aside, "and I do not text her all day." They’d have to be in the same time zone to do that, she reasoned to herself.

Kieran looked unconvinced. "Sure. Look, I'm glad ya have a friend an' all, but if you're just gonna sit there and text the whole time, why bother comin' to my room to do it?"

"Your room's quieter," she defended herself. "And is it so unusual that I would want to spend time with my precious baby brother?"

"Yes," Kieran deadpanned, raising his eyebrows. "Seems to me like you're just usin' me and Penny to procrastinate doin' any work."

She scoffed in feigned outrage, even though he'd partially hit the mark. "How rude!"

Privately, though, she was glad he hadn't caught on to her additional motive: keeping tabs on Kieran. Ever since he'd fallen into that self-destructive spiral of his last semester, she'd been trying to keep a closer watch on him when they returned to Blueberry Academy. She’d been haunted by the memory of being so powerless, and was determined to prevent it from ever happening again. Every now and then she was still plagued with nightmares about Kieran descending alone into a shadowy pit; Kieran's eyes, cold and devoid of light; Kieran's cheeks becoming more sunken and gaunt until his uncanny smile became that of a grinning skull's. She would wake up gasping, eyes sticky with unshed tears, a scream still caught in the back of her throat as fear and guilt clashed in her stomach.

She'd been so grateful for Juliana sticking her nose where it didn't belong back then. But there was a part of her that still felt… bitter. Wounded. Someone without any siblings had had to come along and do a better job of pulling Kieran's head out of his ass than she could, and as thankful as Carmine was that Juliana had been that someone, it had also left her with her pride as a big sister damaged.

Surprisingly, Penny had proven to be a great source of comfort in that regard. It turned out that she was a little sibling herself, and recently, whenever Carmine found herself worried about Kiki, she'd message Penny, who would usually tell her to stop hovering over him and let him make his own mistakes. She'd also advised just telling Kieran that she was concerned about him, but she couldn't do that, could she?

just be honest and tell him ur worried, Penny had said the last time Carmine consulted her about this. or if u can't do that, at least threaten to forcefeed him a vegetable. my big sis said that to me once. it was obnoxious but i guess the sentiment's appreciated, lol.

"I… want to make sure you're eating properly," she ventured, catching Kieran's attention before he went back to studying from his textbook. "You lost so much weight before, Kiki…"

Carmine caught the way her brother's eyes widened for a moment before he looked away, putting on a nonchalant face. "I eat fine," he grumbled, his cheeks coloring slightly. "And even if I didn't, what're you gonna do about it? You can't even make tea without Sinistcha's help…"

She jumped off the bed, catching Kiki in a headlock and grinding her knuckles into his dark hair with her other hand. "You've got a lotta nerve insulting your big sister like that! I can totally cook if I want to!"

"Agh, no, not the noogie!" Kieran squawked, flailing in her grip. "All right, fine, you can cook, geez!"

"You're darn right I can!" Satisfied, she released him, popping her hands on her hips. "But I don't feel like it, so I'm going to treat you to a meal instead. Feel free to tell me how generous I am."

Kieran sighed, but there was a reluctant smile on his face as he smoothed his hair back down. "You're a real piece of work, Sis," he said, but Carmine heard the gratitude hidden behind the complaint.

Well, either that, or Carmine was very good at only hearing what she wanted to hear. She'd been told things like that before.

She made a mental note to thank Penny for her advice as she and her brother made their way to the Cafeteria.

================================================

Next time: Penny comes to Blueberry as a special coach, and both girls go to a party! I hope you'll look forward to it, and thank you for reading! 💕

[willsimpforanyone]

bestie i need you do do part two of this where Jason apologizes and fixes his problems with YN and they love each other better than ever: https://www.tumblr.com/willsimpforanyone/716214245734416385/for-some-reason-i-now-have-a-desire-for-angst-so?source=share

bestie i reread what i wrote and broke my own heart so i shall give u what u wish even if it took so long for me to get round to it

this is a part 2 of this fic

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

3 months go by. Breathing became a little more bearable every day. The bags under my eyes lessened, and the urge to cry every time I left my bed slowly released its grip on my heart.

I went outside more, Robert was thrilled to have his big brother back and while I tried my best to take all responsibility off of Daisy's shoulders, she was 14 now and determined to prove she was basically an adult.

I swore up and down that I was fine, I was good! No point missing someone if they weren't around much to begin with, is there?

Missing him wasn't even something I was aware of, for a while. I just knew there was an empty space under my ribcage, numb and cold and nothing I did could make it... go away.

Jason hadn't been in Camp Halfblood for months now. Maybe he was staying away deliberately, too ashamed or afraid to come back and risk facing me. I told myself that was fine, he could be a coward if he wanted.

It wasn't fine, gods above, I missed him so much. I'd broken up with people before, but it had never felt like this, like this feeling would never end.

I was woken up by Daisy storming into the cabin. "Don't go outside!"

Blinking and scowling, I dragged a hand over my face. "W-what? Daise, shh, what?"

She stood in the middle of the floor, eyes darting to the door and back to me, body poised and on edge like she wasn't sure which way to go. "Um, you can't- don't go outside!" Daisy made a split second decision and bolted back out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

My brain was still heavy with sleep fog, but I took a deep breathe and slipped on some shoes, preparing to go outside.

The morning air was cold and I shivered in my pyjamas, standing just outside the now open door of the cabin. "Daisy? What's wrong?"

She hadn't gone far, and she turned around to run back to me, pushing at me to go back inside. Instead, I wrapped my arms around her and pressed a sleepy kiss to her head. "Sweetheart, tell me what's wrong, then I'll go inside, okay?"

"It's..." Daisy wrapped her arms around me, almost protectively. "It's Jason, he's back."

The way she said it, so low and sinister, made me laugh. "Daise, he's not a serial killer, he's not a threat, I promise." She looked up at me, deadly serious in the way only a 14 year old could be. I swallowed, schooling my face into something reassuring. "Thank you for telling me, but I can handle him, okay?"

Daisy pulled out of the hug and I let her tug me back inside. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was only 6:30am and I was suddenly more awake, worried. "Daisy, why were you awake? Why were you outside so early?"

She sat on her bed and I sat next to her. "Um," she began, pushing her hair behind her ears. "I heard yesterday that some people from Camp Jupiter were coming today, real early, and I wanted to... I don't know, make sure he wasn't with them and if he was with them, tell you about it so you wouldn't be surprised."

My heart melted for my adorable little sister, and I nudged her shoulder. "Hey, that was really sweet of you, Daise. It means a lot that you care about me, but right now I need you to go back to bed, okay?" I kissed her temple. "We don't have to be up until 10, so try and get some more sleep, okay?"

Daisy nodded, giving me one last hug before slipping under the covers and closing her eyes. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief that she hadn't had a nightmare or anything- she was too young to be going on quests, and in my eyes she always would be.

Now that I was fully awake, the reality of the situation was hitting me. I'd likely see Jason today, at least I'd see him around if not have to interact with him directly. I looked over at my bed, mourning the idea of catching up on sleep, before I crept out the cabin door, closing it silently behind me.

The air was still cold and I let it chill me, let it counter the warming effect of the adrenaline creeping through my veins. A deep breath wasn't quiet enough to convince me I wasn't anxious, and I started walking.

No one else was really up, and I stayed away from the Big House so I didn't have to hear any of the Camp Jupiter people this early in the morning. I wasn't really aware of where I was going, letting intuition guide me until I was up near the strawberry fields.

I snuck a strawberry, revelling in my tiny rebellious act, and I sat with my back against a tree.

Something snapped, and I was standing again, hand flying to my wrist where I kept my whip coiled around as a bracelet. My eyes met sky blue ones.

"Whoa, just me, I promise."

Jason's voice sent me reeling- it both calmed me down and sent aggressive energy coursing through me. I wobbled on unsteady feet before deciding to slump back down against the tree.

"What, following me now, Grace?" My voice didn't come out as bitter as I wanted it to. Jason slipped down beside me, a few inches between us.

Silence reigned for a minute. He was going to speak first, I was sure of it. I had nothing to say to him that I could admit out loud.

I heard him inhale.

"I'm sorry."

Gods, I hated how much that soothed me. "Sorry for what?"

"For leaving you. For prioritising my work over you every time. For pretending everything was fine when it wasn't." He was looking out over the strawberry fields, hands clenching into the fabric of his jeans. "I fucked up. I fucked up so much because somehow I managed to lose the best thing that's ever happened to me and I've spent the last 3 months wondering why I didn't just... get my shit together."

The last part was said through a self-deprecating laugh and I held my hands in my lap to not reach out and reassure. He was right, he fucked up, I loved him with everything and he only loved me with something.

"Yeah, I wondered that too." I reached over and nabbed another strawberry. "So? If I'm the best thing that ever happened to you, what're you gonna do about it?"

I saw him shrug, and reach into his pocket, pulling out a slip of paper. "Well, this is a start, I suppose."

He handed me the paper, and I opened it up. "You... You're not a praetor? I thought- why are you not a praetor?"

Jason smiled slightly, head hanging down. "Because I'm a kid. Because I don't want to be in charge anymore." He looked up at me. "Because if you were to give me a second chance, I wanted you to know it would already be better."

Oh. Oh, he did this for me? He... he was always going to be in charge, he was the son of Jupiter, how could he not...?

"I know I don't have any right to ask for you back," he continued, the smallest hope creeping into his voice. "But the fact that you haven't thrown that paper back in my face and told me to fuck off is a positive sign, right?"

Despite myself, I laughed. "Watch it, Jason, I'm not forgiving you right away."

He held up his hands, but his smile got a little bigger. "Right away, huh? Does that mean... do you think it would be okay if I tried to win you back? I'll plan a really good first date, I swear."

Curse everything, curse my stupid, hopeless, romantic heart.

"You better court me like a proper gentleman, Grace, or I'll set my sister on you."

He grinned, properly grinned, and it sent a shot of warmth right through me. "Of course, I don't think I could stand up to Daisy if I tried."

I nodded. "Quite right, she's very protective." I reached for another strawberry, letting the inches between us reduce, just for a moment.

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

okay i really hope that was good, thank you for requesting!