#nico fic recs

[puckinghischier]

Falling

Nico Hischier x fem!reader

summary: reader gets hurt and nico is worried about her

notes: y’all i ain’t gonna lie, i went through a bit of a rollercoaster while writing this. i loved it at first, then halfway through started hating it, then somehow started loving it again towards the end. so if it seems a little all over place i’m sorry. also i know very little about how a dislocated shoulder works, so just pretended i didn’t if i got anything wrong. i hope y’all enjoy it!! happy reading!! 🫶🏼

request: from my 400 follower celly - “A hears that B got hurt and rushes over in a panic to see if they are okay” where reader maybe gets in an accident or gets hurt in their sport (nothing major). Bonus points if you add “I can braid your hair for you- I mean, only if you want.”

[4.5k]

part 2

“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine. Nothing’s broken, just a nasty dislocation,” you attempt to calm your mother’s nerves, trying to unlock your apartment door with your good arm while balancing your phone between your cheek and shoulder. “They reset it for me and told me to follow up with my primary care on Monday. Gave me some pain meds and sent me on my way.”

“Well, what about until then? What if you need help? What about work? How will you drive?” she rapid fires questions at you.

“I’ll figure it out, don’t worry. Since it was a work-related injury, I’ll still get paid. And they’re paying all of the medical bills, so that’s all taken care of,” you make your way into your apartment, shutting the door with your foot behind you. “Everything else I’ll handle as it comes.”

She doesn’t seem satisfied with your answer, tsking into her phone, making you picture her trademark displeased headshake.

“What about Nico? Why don’t you stay with him until you’re back to 100%? I’m sure he’d be willing to help out,” she suggests, her tone switching from worried to suggestive.

You roll your eyes, knowing exactly where this conversation is headed.

“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you, Nico and I are just friends. We work together. Just because you think you saw him look at me a certain way when you were visiting doesn’t mean I have to call him every time something goes wrong,” you tell her, placing your bag on your kitchen table.

Ever since your mom came in a few months ago to visit, she’s been on your case about making a move on Nico, it all starting when she witnessed Nico helping you across the ice during a pre-game practice while trying to get some action shots.

You work as a photographer for the Devils, not realizing that being able to ice skate would have been a nice addition to your resume.

Your college advisor arranged the interview for you right before graduation. You had no previous knowledge of hockey, having come from a football family. You told your advisor this, but she insisted you didn’t have to know anything about a sport to be able to take good pictures of it.

During the interview, you made sure to inform your now boss that you didn’t know how to skate, hoping it wouldn’t be a problem. He assured you that you could take pictures from the stands or the players bench, the chance of you having to step onto the ice slim.

For the first few months of your job, it was smooth sailing. You were mostly taking pictures from the camera holes in the glass or being told to cover locker room and arrival pictures. You worked with one other photographer, a seasoned sports photography veteran named Phil. Phil was a New Jersey native, having grown up skating, so he took over the duties of any major action shots the director wanted from on the ice.

Unfortunately for you, Phil’s wife had convinced him to retire early, losing his help right before the league’s short Christmas break.

Seeing as they had just hired you, and it was the middle of the season, the hunt for a replacement for Phil was put on the backburner, more important team matters taking precedence.

You were forced to take over Phil’s duties, meaning you were now responsible for any on the ice shots. You had found a way to slowly scoot across the perimeter of the rink, staying out of the way while also getting the shots you needed.

Your system was working well until the morning of a gameday, having gotten permission from your boss to bring your mother along to this particular practice, wanting to show her all aspects of your job.

For this particular game, the players were especially focused on practicing their skills and running drills during morning skate. You were doing your typical shuffle while clutching the edge of the waist-high wall when someone came zooming past you, causing your feet to start sliding uncontrollably, not being able to find your footing on the slick ice.

You felt the moment you were about to fall, waiting for the impact of your butt on the cold ice, but it never came. You felt yourself fall into a body covered by plastic pads, gloved hands shooting out to grab your upper arms.

You looked up, seeing Nico smiling down at you in amusement.

“It’s a bit slippery out here, huh?” he jokes, making sure you’re standing steady on your feet before letting go of you.

“Well, we are standing on ice, so….” You trail off, grabbing onto the wooden ledge again, preventing another near fall.

Nico laughs, looking down and shuffling his skates back and forth.

“Well would you look at that? We are on ice ” He flashes a smile, looking back up at you.

You stick your tongue out at him, earning another chuckle from the team’s Captain.

“You know, most people use these great things called ice skates when they try to walk on ice,” he tells you, lifting one skate up for emphasis.

Rolling your eyes, you scoff out a “Oh wow, why didn’t I ever think of that?”

“Just some food for thought,” Nico shrugged as he placed his foot back down on the ice, skating in a little circle, as if to say “See, told you so.”

You let go of the ledge to cross your arms, forgetting that you needed the stability. When you try to shift your weight from one leg to the other, you lose your footing again, this time falling forward into Nico. You let the camera in your hands fall, grabbing onto his biceps to stay upright, thankful for the camera strap around your neck.

His hands shoot out to grab your forearms.

“You know the sad thing is, even with the skates, I’d still be as clumsy, considering I have absolutely no idea how to use them,” you tell him, the two of you still holding on to one another.

Nico shakes his head at you, placing one of your hands on his forearm, moving you from in front of him to beside of him.

He starts slowly skating towards the bench while you shuffle your feet along, putting all of your focus on keeping yourself upright until you reach your destination.

When you finally reach the bench, you step off of the ice and let out a breath of relief.

“Thanks, Cap. Would’ve hated to make a fool of myself out there while my mom’s watching,” you thank him, looking over to where your mom sits, a smile on her face.

Nico follows your gaze and waves to your mom, matching her smile.

“Well, we wouldn’t want that now, would we? What if she found out her daughter was a skating fraud?” he teases, leaning in to whisper the last two words.

“It’s her fault for never taking me to the rink my town would throw up once a year at Christmas. Who knows, maybe I would’ve been a skating prodigy if given the chance,” you shrug.

A mischievous smile makes its way onto his face. “I think we should put that theory to the test,” he tells you, causing your eyes to latch onto his.

“Come again?” You raise your eyebrows and tilt your chin down.

“I mean, I can’t have some photographer out on my ice during practices that can’t even stand up,” he keeps his tone light, making sure you know he’s just teasing, “So, I’m going to teach you how to skate, and see if you really would have been a skating prodigy.”

He skates off, winking before resuming his practice.

You don’t have a chance to speak to him again until after the game, when you get at text from an unknown number reading “Rink, tomorrow, 2pm. I’ll bring skates, just bring your prodigy skills.”

After that, you meet with Nico twice a week for skating lessons.

The two of you quickly form a friendship, Nico bringing you coffee on gamedays and you slipping him snacks on the bench during games. You even started inviting him over for dinner after your lessons, insisting the least you can do is feed him to repay him for preventing you from making a fool of yourself on the ice.

Today, however, you did make a fool of yourself on the ice.

You were standing behind the net, telling the players to skate towards you so you could get some shots for the team’s Instagram account by request of the social media manager.

Once you were pleased with the amount of shots you had gotten, you left your spot from behind the net, skating slowly towards the benches, still a little wobbly on your skates.

You were looking down at your camera, thinking of how you’ll have to get Nico out here after the game to get some shots, knowing he’s currently doing pre-game interviews in the locker room.

You weren’t paying the slightest bit of attention to the pucks littering the ice in front of you, skating right into one and losing your balance, holding your camera up with one arm while trying to catch yourself with the other.

You felt the way your shoulder shifted, crying out in pain as players turned and started rushing towards you on the ice.

The team doctor came out and told you he was pretty sure your shoulder was simply dislocated, but sent you to the hospital to make sure nothing’s broken.

The ER doctor confirmed your diagnosis, putting your shoulder back into place before pumping you full of pain meds and placing your arm into a sling.

Which leads you to where you are now, back at your apartment, explaining to your mother why Nico can’t be at your beck and call.

“Honey, when are you going to realize that boy is in love with you? I’m telling you, the way I saw him look at you that day I came to visit, the skating lessons and dinners,” she starts, giving you her typical speech when you tell her Nico is just a friend.

“Mom, it doesn’t matter what you think you saw, we’re seriously just friends. And he’s busy, his schedule is too hectic to spend his time babysitting me,” you interrupt her, not wanting to hear her Nico speech for the thousandth time, regretting ever telling her about the skating lessons.

She sighs into the phone.

“I’m just trying to help you, you know…” you hear your mother start, but you tune the rest of her words out, focusing on the three loud knocks on your front door.

Your head turns to your door, the unexpected noise causing you to jump, the sudden motion tipping your bag over, the contents spilling all of your kitchen floor.

“Honey, are you alright? What was that?” your mom halts her one-sided conversation, worry in her tone.

“Shit!” you exclaim, watching the container of memory cards fly open, the small squares sliding across the linoleum floor.

You forget about the sling on your arm, crouching down and trying to reach for the cards with your bad arm, a searing pain shooting through your shoulder at the movement.

Letting out a loud yelp, you bring your arm back to its resting positing in the sling.

“Y/N, what’s going on? Did you hurt yourself?” you barely hear your mother’s voice through the phone speaker, not being able to think about anything other than the throbbing pain in your shoulder.

You hear three more pounds on your front door, this time a voice following the knocks.

“Y/N! Open up!”

You groan, trying to stand up, too many people trying to get your attention at the moment.

“Honey, talk to me. Is someone in there with you? I heard another voice,” your mother asks you as you stand, making your way over towards your front door.

“Someone’s knocking on the door,” you grit through your teeth, trying to think about anything but the pain in your shoulder. “I dropped my bag and tried to pick something up with my bad arm. I’m fine. Just hurts,” you tell her, opening your door to see a frantic Nico standing there.

His wide eyes scan your body, stopping once they see the sling on your arm.

You notice his wet hair and lack of socks on his tennis shoe covered feet.

“Are you okay? They told me you had to be taken to the hospital before the game started, but no one knew what really happened,” he rushed out, looking up at your face.

“Hey, Mom, gotta go, Nico’s at my door,” you tell her, a little stunned that the object of your conversation just appeared, hanging up the phone before she could make any comments about it.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?” you ask him, pointing towards his feet, an amused smile on your face. The shock of seeing him at your door making you completely forget about the pain in your shoulder.

Nico looks down at his own feet, looking back up at you with red cheeks.

“Oh, uh, I couldn’t find my socks after the game and i couldn’t get you to answer your phone, so I rushed over to the hospital to see if you were still there, and they told me you left about an hour ago, so I hopped in my car and came over here to make sure you were okay,” he tells you, not meeting your eye.

You’re shocked at his confession, not expecting him to be so concerned about your impromptu trip to the hospital.

“Well, I’m here and still standing,” you awkwardly stand in your doorway, not knowing what else to say, thinking about how if you weren’t arguing with your mom over Nico on the phone, you might have gotten his calls.

“Yeah, I see that now,” he shoves his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.

The two of you stand there, not really knowing what to say to one another.

“Do you want to come in?” you ask him, moving out of the doorway to let him step into your apartment.

Nico shakes his head yes and walks past you, looking towards the mess on the floor in your kitchen.

“What happened here? Is this the crash I heard?” he asks you.

“Yeah, the bag fell and spilled everything. When I went to pick it up, I forgot and used my bad shoulder,” you gesture to your slinged arm.

Nico shakes his head at you, crouching down to pick up the camera disks all over the floor.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to-“

“Well you’re sure as hell not trying to pick them up again,” Nico interrupts you, standing and placing the now full box of disks on your table.

You roll your eyes at him, walking over towards your fridge.

“So, what exactly happened? Jack told me you hurt your shoulder?” he follows you over to your fridge, watching you scan its contents, or lack thereof.

“Well, I was looking at my camera and skated right into a bunch of pucks on the floor, then was too focused on saving the equipment instead of remembering how to fall properly,” you told him, remembering his words during your first skate lesson, telling you not to catch yourself if you fall on the ice.

“See, I told you to just let yourself fall. Never try to catch yourself,” he echoes his words in your thoughts.

“Yeah, well, it’s a lot easier said than done,” you deadpan, shutting your fridge door and looking at Nico.

Your stomach growls at that exact moment, making you groan at your lack of food in your fridge, not having eaten since before your accident.

“When was the last time you ate anything?” Nico asks you, looking down at your growling stomach.

“Uhhh, breakfast?” you recall.

Nico’s eyes widen. “It’s almost midnight. Did they really not feed you at the hospital?” he asks you.

“Considering they were busy doing x-rays and scans to make sure nothing was broken or torn, no,” you walk over to your cabinets, finding them also bare.

“Alright, go sit down and I’ll order us something to eat,” Nico shoos you out of the kitchen, walking over and opening the drawer where you keep all of your takeout menus.

You wonder how he knows where your menus are, forgetting for a moment that he’s over at your apartment at least twice a week after your skating lessons. Sometimes more, the occasional movie night making its way into your weekly routine.

“What do you want? Sushi? Chinese? Burgers?” he questions, flipping through your menus.

For some reason, your brain chooses this moment to register how much you enjoy the sight of Nico in your kitchen, looking through your takeout menus and offering to order you dinner.

You think back to all the times he’s helped you make dinner, laughter filling every moment of your time together. You think about how he always wear his pjs when he comes over for a movie night, bringing a different chocolate candy to put in the popcorn each time. You think about how he somehow learned your coffee order without you ever telling him, bringing you a coffee every morning, even at away games.

You think about your mother’s words, and how you didn’t even have to ask Nico to come over tonight, or to give you skating lessons. You think about how you never have to ask Nico to do anything he does for you – which is a lot, you’re realizing – he just does it. He does it because he wants to, because he’s kind and caring and wants to spend time with you.

“Hello? Earth to Y/N, what do you want for dinner?” Nico snaps you out of your sudden revelation.

“Sorry, spaced out for a second. Must be the pain meds,” you tell him, knowing that your mind isn’t the least bit impaired right now.

“Okay, go sit down, we need to get some food in you then,” he fishes his phone out of his pocket, mumbling out “Can’t believe they pumped you full of meds on an empty stomach.”

You make your way to your couch, sitting down and taking your shoes off, making yourself as comfortable as you can.

You remove a stray piece of hair that fell onto your face, knowing how awful it must look.

When you fell on the ice, the claw clip that was holding your hair in its up-do broke, causing it to fan out over the cold, wet ice. Once you got to the hospital, you were put in and out of so many different machines, you can only imagine the tangled, matted mess it is.

You get up and go to your bathroom, finding your brush and trying to comb it out. The task proving to be difficult with only one hand. The tangles keep pulling your head back and hurting your tender scalp, but you keep trying, whimpering each time the brush gets stuck on a particularly bad tangle.

You don’t even hear Nico approach your bathroom, just a sigh and “I told you to sit down,” before the brush is taken from your hand and you see Nico’s reflection behind you in the mirror.

Without another word, he proceeds to brush your hair for you, ensuring every tangle is gone before setting the brush on your sink.

The two of you make eye contact in the mirror, neither one wanting to break the silence during the surprisingly intimate moment.

You clear your throat, looking down after the silence got too intense, causing Nico to avert his eyes as well.

“I really wish i could wash my hair, but i know that’s a no go tonight,” you chuckle, wishing your bathroom was a little bit bigger in this moment.

“I can braid your hair for you,” Nico starts, staring at you in the mirror, watching your eyes snap up to meet his. “I mean, only if you want,” he stutters out.

“Really?” you ask him, a little stunned.

“Yeah. I used to help Nina with hers all the time when I was younger,” Nico mentions his older sister, grabbing your hair lightly and starting to section it off. “Anytime she would have a sleep over I would always weasel my way into the party. So one day, she made me sit in a braiding chain and learn how to braid her hair.”

You let out a giggle, picturing a smaller version of Nico sitting at the end of a line of girls, braiding their long hair.

“Then, Nina claimed I got so good at it she always wanted me to braid her hair before her volleyball matches, then her friends all started wanting me to do theirs, too,” he continues talking, nearly lulling you to sleep with the soft movements of his hands as you listen to him speak.

“I think that’s adorable,” you quietly speak, closing your eyes.

“What can I say? When a pretty girl needs her hair braided, who am I to keep my skills to myself?” he jokes, making you wonder if he meant you or his sister’s friends.

“I’m sure it’s any little boy’s dream to have an entire volleyball team at his mercy, all those pretty volleyball players begging him to play with their hair,” you tease him, handing him the hair tie that you always keep on your wrist.

“I don’t know, I think playing with a pretty photographer’s hair is better, if you ask me,” he ties the hair tie around the bottom of the braid, reaching up to pull the braid loose, making sure it’s not too tight.

You keep your eyes closed, knowing he can likely see the redness on your cheeks at his words.

“Alright, eyes open. Need to make sure you like my work,” he places his hands on your biceps, making sure to keep his touch feather light on your bad arm.

He turns you around so you’re facing him, holding a handheld mirror that was laying on your sink in front of your face, allowing you to see the reflection of the braid.

You’re shocked to see the flawless Dutch braid that cascades down your back.

“Nico, you’re like…really good at this,” you reach your good hand to the back of your head, running it down the braid.

“Told you, I had a lot of practice,” he shrugs, setting the mirror down.

You yawn, the relaxing nature of having your hair braided allowing you to realize how tired you are from the day’s events.

“Nuh-uh, gotta keep you awake until we get some food in you,” he tuts, taking his hands and patting your cheeks.

You groan, leaning into his palms that stay resting on your face.

“C’mon, let’s get you changed and on the couch,” he motions for you to leave the bathroom.

You walk to your room, Nico helping you carefully remove your sling before leaving and giving you some privacy.

You change into your pajamas, somehow managing to get your arm into an oversized Devils shirt you found at the bottom of your drawer.

Nico is standing outside of your door when you open it, helping you back into your sling.

He stands in front of you, staring at you with a look that you can’t decipher.

“Is…everything okay?” you question him, noticing his stare after adjusting your sling.

His eyes snap up to you, seemingly unaware that he was even staring at you in the first place.

“Uh, yeah, sorry. I just- is that my shirt?” he asks you, pointing to your pj shirt.

You look down at the oversized shirt, trying to think of where you got it.

It had just showed up in your laundry basket one day, assuming it was one they gave you when you got your job, but Nico’s question makes you think harder.

You realize, suddenly, you do remember where you got it.

During one of your post lesson dinners, Nico had spilled his drink all over his shirt. You offered to wash it for him after he changed to a shirt in his duffel.

You meant to take it back to him after you washed it, but forgot about it entirely, packing it away in your pajama drawer.

“Oh, crap, it is. Do you want it back, I can go change?” you ask him, worried he’s upset that you forgot to give it back.

“No…no it’s fine. Keep it. I have plenty,” he shakes his head, glancing down at it once more.

The two of you make your way to your couch, finding something to watch on tv when there’s a knock on the door, signaling the arrival of your food.

You start to stand to go get it, but Nico sternly tells you to stay put.

Rolling your eyes you sit back down, grabbing the remote and continuing to channel surf.

Nico’s gone for longer than you expect, causing you to sit up and turn back towards your kitchen, wondering what’s taking him so long.

You see him walking over to you, a tray full of food in his hands.

He had ordered from your favorite sushi place, figuring it would be the easiest for you to eat one handed.

As he sat down the tray on the coffee table in front of you, you realized what took him so long.

Nico had put a toothpick in each piece of your sushi, knowing using chopsticks with your non dominant hand would have been hard for you. He poured soy sauce into a small container, allowing you to simply pick up each toothpick and dip it in the sauce before popping it in your mouth.

He had also ordered you a bottle of cherry coke, which he knew was your favorite, and placed it on the tray with the lid unscrewed and a straw peeking out of the bottle next to a glass of ice, just incase you wanted it that way instead.

You looked up at him, feeling that funny feeling in your chest like you did earlier in your kitchen, blown away at how he always seems to think of everything he can to help you out, even when you’re not injured.

You must’ve been looking for longer than you realized, because he cocks his head at you, confusion present on his face.

“What?” he asks, not understanding what’s wrong. “Did you not want sushi? I thought you said it was always the one thing that could cheer you up?”

You shake your head at him. “No, sushi is perfect,” you tell him, a small smile on your face as you look up at him.

He smiles back for a few moments, then started scooting the coffee table towards you so you don’t have to reach to grab your food. He moves around the table to sit beside of you, the size of the small table causing him to sit so close to you that you can feel the warmness of his large thigh against yours.

You once again think about all of the things he’s done for you without you even having to ask. Now including coming over after a game—no doubt exhausted and sore—and taking care of you without even thinking twice. Braiding your hair and calling you pretty. Staring at you unintentionally wearing his t-shirt. Modifying your food so it’s easier for you to eat with one hand.

You sit there, staring at the man you fear you’re falling in love with, already planning out the apology text you’re going to have to send your mom.

[blorbocedes]

Hi love, I don’t suppose you have any Nico fic recs??? But not just entirely brocedes because as much as the dynamic is interesting, I want to read more of Nico as his own person as opposed to a side character in the Lewis Hamilton story. If you wouldn’t mind sharing any recs then that would be great!

I think you will enjoy 👉 this, they're my Nico/Jensen and Nico/Seb fic recs (this list includes some of my all time favourite fics)

some other recs down below:

sing myself a lullaby by kaytheologie is a brocedes but it's 46k and actually all about nico -- very much the nico rosberg story, and journey to self acceptance.

second star to the right is one of my all time favourite nico fics, and there's 2 versions of the ending so you can choose the jenson version if lewis isn't your vibe

on the faultline by limabina, a 47k canon accurate masterpiece brocedes

blanket reccing sionisjaune on ao3. seriously. just everything they write but especially their dirty valentine series, a take on brocedes in 2023/present day cedes

MasterEyebrow has written an insane amount of Nico/Valtteri aus -- a ship I had never considered until I read their work. The vampire/fashion fic is one of my faves just cause of how creative all their aus are

this fic from 2010 about Nico/Michael is incredibly fascinating

Kimi/Nico... Nico's such a fascinating and sad creature in this

the mark webber/jense/nico threesome

these are off the top of my head but I hope there's something there for you!

[puckinghischier]

yeah, i’ll be obsessing over this for the next 3 business days

Him and I: Savior

Warnings: Smut, blood, weapons, injuries, kidnapping, cursing, gun violence

A/n: I am so sorry this took so long but it's finally here! Thank you all so much for being patient and for helping me out with this one! I hope you all enjoy!! xx

________________________________________________________

Everything feels hot and sticky; the flames that lick in the fireplace, the knitted blanket beneath your knees, the back of your thighs every time they touch the skin of your calves. And Nico, god he’s so hot.

The heat comes off him in waves, almost stronger than the fire he lit for you earlier after Timo left to spend the day with his own family. His damp skin sticking to yours, his large hands that are intertwined with yours, even his breath.

“Come on baby,” he encourages, accent thick and heady with lust. “Doing so good, fuck.” You squeeze his fingers, palm pressing into his and his biceps flex to support your weight as you lift your hips up.

“Nico,” you whimper, tired and hot but he feels so so good, especially when you sink back down on his cock. You hiccup, the thick head of him nudging so deep it almost hurts. Nico doesn’t often request that you be on top, mostly because he likes being the one to pin you down, but he was all mushy and soft this morning when he snuggled into you on the large rug.

He bites at his lip when you fully sit on him again, the muscles of his neck and abdomen clenching. He’s so pretty like this, laid out in front of you with his chest glistening and splotchy, lips bitten red. And his eyes so dark they look black, glossy and wild with lust. Demanding too, like no matter where he’s at he knows his power, his hold over you.

“Just a little more,” he grunts, smirking when you immediately press into his hands again and roll your hips up until just the tip of him sits snuggly in your walls. “Work for it baby, I’ll make it worth it.”

And he always does, so you ignoring the burning muscles and skin, riding him with all you’ve got. It’s not enough though, every time you sink down on him your legs grow shakier. It feels too good, he feels too good and you’re used to be spoiled by him.

Frustrated, you blink back the tears in your eyes and pout down at him. “I can’t,” you mumble, everything in your body wound so tight it aches. You’re so close, so so fucking close but you need him to get you there.

As much as Nico enjoys seeing you all desperate and whiny above him, he prefers it much better when you’re like that below him.

Knowing he’ll break, you slump forward into him until he has to sit up and catch you, wrapping an arm around your back.

“Ok, ok,” he concedes through a laugh, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You kiss at his collarbone, trail your lips up the damp skin of his neck. “Help me out here, just for a sec.”

Pleased that your pouting worked, you help Nico maneuver until it’s your back pressed into the warm rug, thighs spread to accommodate the large frame of your boyfriend.

Rough, warm hands ghost over your thighs before hooking under your knees and Nico hauls your ankles over his shoulders. You feel like mush, following whatever way he decides to move you and there’s something so freeing about getting to just be here with him.

Nothing to think about, nothing to do but be.

“Sweet girl,” Nico murmurs, kissing the inside of your calf and taking ahold of his cock. You dig your fingers into the blankets around you, hips lifting impatiently as he teases his cock through your folds.

“Please Nico,” you beg, teary eyed and pouting. Shaking his head in amusement, Nico shifts forward and sinks back into you. Breathe caught in your lungs, your hands find his forearms and hold on for dear life.

The noise that comes out of his chest, all deep and breathy through an almost manic sounding laugh, has your toes curling.

Back in his element, Nico shakes off that pleasure fueled giggle that sneaked out of him, grips your thighs and holds you still while he begins fucking into you.

His right arm wraps around your thigh, palm pressing into your lower belly and the pad of his middle finger easily finds your clit.

“Atta girl,” he mumbles, nimble fingers drawing circles that have you desperately tightening around him. “Come for me baby, please.”

Fueled by his words and the work of his hips and hands, you crash over the edge. Nico fucks you through it, rough and strong rocks of his hips that make you dig your nails into his arms.

Letting your legs slips from his hold, he presses down close to you until the pendant of his chain lay in the hollow of your neck. Boneless, you gently stroke through his sweaty hair and kiss him until his cock is twitching, his own high trembling through him with every stroke of his hips.

Hot and sticky, Nico peels his chest off yours just enough to kiss you. You tug at his hair, teasingly licking into his mouth and he grunts, softening cock twitching.

“God I love you,” he pants, lips moving to your cheek. You giggle, let him flatter you with kisses for a moment before returning the sentiment.

Lazily, he slips off you and onto his back, large hands molding your cooling skin into his side. You curl into him, lay your hand on his chest and watch the little flames of the fire flick.

“I think we should get married.”

It slips off his tongue so casually you’d think he was talking about the weather. But maybe within that, you suppose, is the truth of them. He’s not nervous about them, questioning of what he’s saying.

Obviously you know that Nico is your future, that the unspoken plan this whole time has been a life together. But that’s never come out of his mouth in the form of marriage. First it was your pendant, then it was your Devs ring, and moving into the house.

Him telling his sister you’re his prinzessin was already a huge leap to that next big thing in your relationship.

This is something he undoubtedly wants, even if it’s coming from his orgasm-loosened lips.

“That better not be how you’re proposing to me Nico Hischier.” You reply, playing coy even though your heart has begun thumping eagerly.

He breathes out a laugh, tugs on a tangled strand of your hair with his fingers. “And if it is?”

You hum, rolling onto your elbows so you can look down at him. He’s all pink and splotchy cheeks, smiling mischievously. You want to bite into the apple of his cheeks, dip your tongue in the dent of his dimples.

“It’s not,” you shrug innocently “because you know me and you know that I’ll only say yes if you do it the right way.”

“The right way?”

“Mhmm” you hum, trailing your finger between the pecks of his chest and into the soft tuft of dark hair. “You, on your knees obviously,” you continue and he laughs “and a ring, and preferably not when I’m all sweaty and messy.”

“Messy with me,” he quips, pouting his lip. “That’s not so bad, right?”

“More like messy because of you.” You giggle, kissing his lips back into a smile. Your lips still tickle his when you separate.

“Fine I will do it right,” he concedes quietly, “and afterwards I’ll make you messy with me.”

You seal the promise with another kiss.

~~~~

A day with Nico in Switzerland is the best therapy you could’ve asked for after the stressful day with his family. Following up the conversation of the morning, spending the rest of the day with no one but him is a dream.

He’s lighter here, almost floating through the streets of town square with you. A far cry from the man that dominates the streets of Jersey with you under his arm.

It almost makes you feel guilty for bringing the uneasy feeling that’s been following you all day.

“Nico?” You murmur, turning your head into his body. He hums, sipping his ice coffee through his straw. Glancing around the busy street, you tuck further into his side in an attempt to hide your words. “I think someone is following us.”

Like a flip has been switched in his brain, Nico quickly falls back into his mafioso role. You can tell he’s on alert, feel how rigid his body’s become but he stays casual.

“Where baby?” He asks, nonchalantly. “Who’d you see?”

Biting at your lip, you shrug. “No one specific,” you admit “I just - I don’t know, something feels off. Like when you’re at a red light and the person next to you is looking at you but you can’t see them through the window tint.”

“You just know.” He agrees, nodding. Nico stops you two on the sidewalk, his free hand moving to hold your face and he dramatically frowns. Even then, you can tell he’s scanning the area in his peripheral, but his eyes stay locked with yours.

“Your cold baby,” he takes the beanie off his head and pulls it over yours, then unravels the scarf around his neck and slips it over yours. Catching on, you help him bundle your face until just your eyes peek out from the fabric.

Smiling, he kisses between your eyes. “Perfect,” he compliment, taking your hand in his. Then he’s motioning for you to slip under his arm, and you do, hiding in the thick wool coat he’s wearing. He guides you to the edge of the street, looks around like he’s checking for cars but you know he’s looking for faces.

Deeming it safe, you two cross the street, turning down a block to an even busier street. Joining the crowd, you slowly filter along and the prickling feeling of unwanted eyes on you fades.

Nico speaks up once he feels you relax. “There’s no one baby,” he sounds worried, but not in the way you’d think. Worried for you for thinking that, and not worried that it might be true.

“I know they were there, Nico.” You reiterate, voice muffled by your covered face. He can practically picture the stern pull of your eyebrows, the pout of your lips.

“I know, I know, I just…”

“What?”

“I don’t want you to think anyone here is out to get you.”

You can hear the underlying truth. He doesn’t want you to think his parents, his family are watching your every move. He’s worried you think they’d do something like that.

“Ok Nico.” You mumble, slipping out from under his elbow and reaching for his hand instead. It’s a stupid and petty thing to do, but he’s not listening to you. You don’t think people are watching you, they’re watching him.

And his family would do that to him, he told you himself they would.

So you’ll be petty, and he’ll just have to deal with it. Which he does, walking hand-in-hand with you back towards the car. It’s a roundabout way, one that seems to be taken more by tourist than locals due to the amount of shops and people.

You’re silent as you go, hiding from Nico’s gaze every time he looks over at you by tucking into his scarf and pulling the beanie further down your forehead. By the time you make it to the car it’s basically over your eyes, and Nico huffs out a laugh as he pulls open the door for you.

You wait until he’s in the drivers seat and the doors are locked before peeling off the scarf. Neck and chin hot, you pull your hair off your skin and adjust the cool air.

Nico takes the scarf from you, flinging it back over your hand and pulling the ends until your leaning over the console and he can kiss you. His lips land on your cheek when you turn away, crossing your arms over your chest. You know how much he hates that.

“Hey,” he barks, tone all business. You look over, glaring at that mean flare of his nose and dark eyes. “Don’t do that. I’m listening, I’m always listening. We’re fine.”

“Fine,” you agree, turning back towards the front of the car. “Ass,” you add quietly and almost snicker when you hear the sharp inhale of his breath.

“Am I ever gonna win one of these?” He huffs, “Come on, we had a perfect morning. So romantic and sweet, and now you’re gonna ruin it pouting.”

Frustration burns at your ears. “M’not ruining anything! When there’s a bounty over my head at the end of the day because you’re being naive, that’ll ruin the day.”

Two fingers lock around your chin, strong and biting as they force you to turn back to him. Thick eyebrows lowered, jaw clenched, and eyes blazing, Nico shakes his head.

“Don’t say shit like that.” His tone is sharp and commanding, accent think. “I would never let that happen. I would burn every inch of Europe to the ground to keep you safe, and you know that.

“You’re gonna be my wife, my prinzessin. And no one is stupid enough to mess with that.”

You soften at his words, knowing you should trust him. But at the same time he should trust you, and you know something is off here. Still, you don’t want to fight with him, you know not to fight with him when he’s like this.

Gripping his wrist, you pull his fingers off your face and shy away from his hold. “Ok.”

He starts the car. You hold his hand. “Can we go see Timo?”

Nico sighs, puts the car in gear and takes your hand again. “Yeah baby, we can.”

~~~~

Timo can tell you two have had a disagreement. If your monotone voice and autopilot like movements weren’t enough of an indication, Nico following you around like a puppy is.

Some friends of his are throwing a roof top party, the whole area warmed by large heaters and hot alcoholic drinks. You don’t need any of them though, not with the way Nico has plastered himself to you. He’s hot on your tail for every movement, a strong arm wrapped around your waist or hand in your back pocket.

“Stop fighting with me,” Nico begs when you ignore his offer of a drink. He easily presses in behind you, hefting you up by the waist and sitting you in one of the bar stools at an abandoned corner table.

“I’m not,” you argue and he steps between your parted thighs. “I didn’t want a drink.”

He sighs, placing his hands on your knees. “You don’t want anything from me, it seems like. Or anything to do with me either.”

“That’s not true.” You argue, meeting his gaze. “I just - I want you to take me seriously when I say something is wrong.”

Nico’s eyebrows pull together, lips falling into a frown. “I am taking you seriously. I’ve been watching you, everyone all day since you told me. My first priority, always, is your safety.”

You can tell by the simmer in his dark eyes that he’s being earnest. Maybe you’re unaware of how he goes about his work when he’s in his home country. He can be obvious in Jersey, can glare and hound anyone he wants because he runs the place. Here is different. And maybe that’s why it seemed to you like he was doing nothing.

“I know,” you concede “I’m sorry. Just scared me I guess.”

Nico nods, something sad settling in his features as he looks over your features. Reluctant and silent, he steps back from you, fingers trailing after him like he knows he shouldn’t let go.

You ignore that stupid, hopeless voice telling you to just forgive and forget in favor of having your loving, sweet boyfriend back. But you’re too upset.

“We should go back.” You say instead, ignoring his gaze as you climb down from the stool. Nico nods, jaw clenched and nostrils flared as he follows you back towards Timo and his friends.

You sit with some of the local girls around them, purposely avoiding Nico’s gaze from the other end of the table as he fits back into conversation with his childhood friends.

The girls chat with you, doing their best to stick to English or try and translate, but after awhile you just feel like a burden. You don’t belong here, you can’t even speak the same language. It makes your skin crawl with embarrassment, cheeks feeling hot.

Ready to give up, you look over through glossy eyes hoping Nico’s watching, that he sees you and knows. Instead you find him laughing, that beautiful belly laugh that crinkles his eyes and makes his teeth buck out a little. He takes a swig of a drink, shifts through the playing cards in his hand.

“I’m gonna run to the restroom,” you say quietly to the ladies, and they pause politely to acknowledge you before continuing in Swiss German.

You hightail across the rooftop, unsure of where the bathroom even is. All you know is you need to get away from this for a moment, need to hear yourself think. Sniffling, you bound down the staircase and through the muggy hallway until you find the door outside.

The air is cold and biting, makes your lips tremble but feels so good in your lungs. You gulp down ragged breaths of it, feel your heart begin to slow down and you reach up to place a hand over your pulse. You can’t feel the metal of your Devs pendent through the layers and the thought jolts you back, makes you realize that you’ve just ran out of a foreign building without Nico after you’d thrown a fit for feeling unprotected.

Your brain has just registered to turn around, Nico’s name on your tongue when the scarf he’d wrapped around your neck goes taut, cutting into your windpipe.

Immediately you kick back, struggling for breath as a thick body presses into your back. You reach up, claw at any exposed piece of skin you can and your brain fights to remember everything Nico taught you.

All you can think about is his eyes. His warm, beautiful eyes that makes you feel so safe.

You kick again, try to tug the scarf loose but it’s no use. Not when something hard and heavy hits you in the temple and everything goes black.

~~~~

There’s a reason Nico and Timo don’t work extremely close anymore. Yeah Timo is his second in command still, but Nico knew what he was doing when he moved his friend to training and educating new Devs. And again when he made him your body guard and eye.

The two of them together ultimately fuck up.

Like when they delayed the opening of the coffee shop Jesper wanted to invest in by insisting they could put together the espresso machines themselves. Instead they spend two hours fooling around with the bubble wrap and then another two making each other really bad shots of caffeine that kept them up all night.

They just get too caught up in having fun.

Which is how Nico drinks his way through a pitcher of beer and gambles himself into $700 before he realizes. He’s stuffing his cash in his pocket, fending off Timo’s grabby hands for the money when a sudden longing for you hits him in the chest.

He started screwing around here in the first place because you were mad at him. And he’s mad at you too, actually. Pissed because he’s trying his best here. This is all new to him, being so fucking in love he feels like he could die. No matter how hard he tries to get that out to you, it never comes out how he wants.

Not knowing how to fix it but knowing he needs to touch you, to see you, Nico calls game.

“Tapping out,” he says, shoving Timo’s hold off and rising from his seat. “Don’t want to push my luck.”

The boys jeer and tease but he moves along, heading towards the other end of the large table where he left you. Only you’re not there when he finally looks up. Your seat next to Anna is empty, but nothing is left behind to indicate you were even there.

Panic rises in his stomach, hammers in his chest. “Anna!” Nico calls in his native tongue. It always makes him sound scarier, more powerful. “Where’s y/n?”

Wide eyed, the girl looks at him and then the rest of the table. “She went to the restroom like an hour ago, we thought she ended up going to sit with you.”

Another pipes up. “Yeah she didn’t seem to be having fun with us. Thought she was looking for a nice way to go back to you.”

A few more say something but it falls on deaf ears. Nico looks around the rooftop, scanning for your coat and his beanie but he comes up empty handed again. He feels sick as he digs out his phone, frantically hitting your favorited contact and holding it to his ear.

It’s goes to voicemail.

He tries again.

Voicemail.

Squeezing his phone in his fist, he thinks of that look on your face in the street when you told him someone was following you. How pale you were, the way you bite at your cheek and your lips seemed to shake. How easily you fell into him and let him watch over you.

Even then, your eyes still held that alarmed baby deer look.

He let you down.

Throat and chest tightening, Nico rushes back to Timo. He can’t even get the words out, just grabs his friend by the back of the collar and hauls him up from his seat.

Everyone around them catches on. Mafioso Nico is rushing across the rooftop, his right hand man being drug with him. They all move out of the way.

“Nico? What’s wrong? What happened? Wh-“

“I lost her.” Nico spits out, releasing Timo who gains his footing and follows him down the stairs. “She told me someone was following her and I blew it off.”

They crash through the door, out into the street and towards the car. “Who was she with?”

“Anna said she got up an hour ago. Haven’t seen her since. Phone is going to voicemail-“

“Tracker?”

“I don’t know,” Nico huffs, digging around for his keys. “I need the computer to be able to pull it up.”

They climb into the car, Nico starting it and focusing on the road. “Call Luca and Nina,” he instructs, forcing himself to keep it together. Even though he wants to cry, wants to throw up, wants to find a blow torch and knock on every door until he finds you.

He has to find you.

~~~~

The room around you seems to swim every time you blink, the floor tilting just a bit. It’s a nice tiled floor, white and pristine. Familiar looking, but every time you think you know where from a stabbing bolt of pain shoots across your brain and you have to squeeze your eyes shut, fight off the nausea and vomit rising in your throat.

Whatever is tied around your wrists isn’t that strong and you think you know how to get out of it, if your brain would just work right.

You can’t even try to turn and look over your shoulder. It feels like the skin of your neck has been burned and rubbed raw, swollen and tight when you look up at the figure walking towards you.

“Hello beautiful,” she purrs, familiar eyes gleaming proudly at you. Who is this girl?

You’re not supposed to speak, you know that. So you stay silent, head and throat throbbing and burning. Behind her trails a man in bulky black gear. The red flag pin on his chest is bright and eye catching, something clicks in your brain.

He’s Swiss. Which means this man came from Nico’s family.

“No greeting?” The girl scoffs, crossing her arms. You blink slowly and confused, waiting for anything to recognize from her. “I knew Americans were dumb and rude but I didn’t think like this.”

It’s way Americans fall off her tongue, how her accent twists it. She was at the bar the first night, the group of girl that Nina and Maja talked about.

“Lena,” you mumble out, voice raspy and so painful it makes tears spring in your eyes. The word was enough though, because she lights up.

“Nico talks about me?” She giggles, lips curling into a smirk. “I always knew he couldn’t stay away. No matter how hard he wanted to pretend like this isn’t home - like I’m not home.

“Even his parents think so.”

She’s trying to goad you into answers, make you beg for information on what she means and why you’re there. But even if you wanted to ask, you don’t think you can. Everything in you hurts, your head especially. Through it all, you know to stay silent.

You can hear it in Nico’s voice, that tone that rattles your bones. Never tell them a word.

“She’s not gonna say anything,” the man calls out behind Lena. You can’t see far enough to know what he looks like. “She doesn’t even look like she knows who you are anymore.”

You do but you’re not gonna say that. Head lolling, the ground swims and your vision blurs.

“You hit her too hard.”

Lena curses in German. You think it’s German. “She’s a brute, what else was I supposed to do?”

“Let us handle it,” the man argues and you can hear him walking but your eyes refuse to focus on anything but the blurry flag pinned on his chest. “Do you think we’ll get anything out of her if she can’t even tell us her own name?”

You want to know more, to listen in. You force your eyes to focus, find both Lena and a scruffy blond man standing over you. Angry red claw marks run down his face, fresh and painful looking. Your handy work.

“We don’t need her to say anything,” Lena argues, nudging your leg with her foot. “Nico will see it for himself, they all will.” Nico. They’re talking about your Nico.

“Hischier,” you mumble, the word slurred and nothing more than a raspy crack. The man looks down at you, tilts his head curiously. Your stomach swoops, nausea churning but you force your chin up, look him dead in the eyes that’s been marked by your nails. “My name is y/n Hischier.”

Something in the air shifts, you can feel it. Despite the fogginess and pain, you see the way the man’s eyes soften into confusion, into fear. Does he really not know who he was messing with?

“She’s lying, Marcelo.” Lena cuts in, and you immediately shake your head. The red hot sting of pain stabs at your brain again, makes you squeeze your eyes shut and curl into yourself.

“I am not,” you spit back, your own voice unfamiliar to you. Fighting the burning in your chest, the piercing in your temple, you glare up at him again. “I’m a Hischier and you are committing treason.”

Before another word can be spoken, Lena is swinging into your temple again and the world goes dark.

~~~~

It’s a joke. It has to be a joke. This whole day, ever since it took that awful turn in town today, has to be some kind of joke.

“She’s at your grandfathers house?”

The large red dot of your location stares back at him on the computer screen. You’re not even 15 minutes away from him, in the old house his grandfather built when he first started the business.

Nico hates that house. It’s been abandoned since Luca took over, their shared memories of that damned mansion enough to make him condemn it.

“Is father behind this?” Nico growls, looking over to his siblings. Nina, always so easy to read with her big brown eyes and eyebrows of expression. Unlike him and Luca, she’s never learned to hide her features behind anger.

He knows immediately that she’s just as lost as him.

Luca on the other hand. Set jaw, stern eyes, a mirror of Nico’s face. Tossing his phone to the side, Nico storms over and grabs his brother by the collar.

“Only your men have access to that house,” he pushes back until Luca is pinned against the wall “was it you or was it father?”

Nico is seething, feels it burning in his gut and veins. If he tried hard enough he could probably throw his brother through the wall without a second thought. Even when Nina grabs him by the bicep and tries to haul him back, Nico is fighting and shoving.

“It wasn’t me!” Luca shouts, eyebrows pulled together. He grips Nico’s wrists, pries his hands off. “It is my men, but they’re under no orders from me or father.”

He lets his sister pull him away, raking his hands through his hair as he thinks. Why would Luca’s men take her? Is it some kind of rebellion? Some reason for them to go against the family?

“Nico calm down,” Nina tells him, somehow soft and stern at the same time. “We know where she’s at, we’ve got backup, we’ll go get her.”

It’s easy. He knows it is. Whoever put this together obviously doesn’t know what they’re doing, for his family it’ll be amateur hour. But just because this person is an amateur, doesn’t mean they don’t know how to do damage. Especially if they were trained by his family.

“What if she’s hurt?”

He doesn’t recognize his own voice. He sounds weak, scared, pathetic. Like a child crying to his mother. Nina’s always had a way of making him feel like a little boy again though.

Luca and Timo begin calling for backup. Nina sits him down on the edge of the desk, stands in front of him with that warm, motherly look she gets with him.

“She’s strong, Nico. She’ll be fine.” With tender fingers, she pushes his hair out of his face and he looks up at her through watery eyes. “You picked the right prinzessin.”

The word echoes in his ears, shakes and rumbles in his chest. “I was gonna propose,” he mumbles, feeling wobbly when her eyes widen in surprise. “I brought her here to ask her to marry me and now she’s-“

“Oh Nico,” Nina gasps, and she’s hugging him, stroking his shoulder. “She’s going to be ok, I know she is. That girl is tougher than even you, I think.”

She’s right, he knows she is. You’re the strongest person he’s ever met, you’ve handled everything he’s thrown at you with grace and confidence. You’ve jumped headfirst into his life without a second thought.

“She has to be,” Nina continues, pulling back to smile at him. “If she’s going to deal with your craziness.”

He laughs a bit, lightens up and nods. He is a pain in the ass, takes everything a little too seriously, and often kicks himself when he’s down and takes it out on those around him. All things you’re well aware of and love him despite of.

“Let’s go get your prinzessin,” Nina encourages, squeezing his shoulders. Nico pushes himself back up, finds his phone on the desk, and nods.

He’s gonna go save you. And god save whoever dared touch you.

~~~~

The room is even harder to see when you come to again. Splotches and blurs of white, spinning in your vision to the point that you think you’re gonna throw up if you look at them any longer. You look up towards the ceiling, inhale deeply and try to focus on the banisters of the open second level.

“Good morning princess,” Marcelo greets roughly, stepping into your line of sight. “Do you think you can stay awake long enough for us to put a bullet in Nico’s head and then come back for you?”

It’s an empty threat but that doesn’t stop you from getting angry, jaw clenching and eyes narrowing into a glare. They’re not laying a finger on him, so help you god.

“Sure,” you agree, voice raw. “But when you fail, I’ll be putting that bullet right between your fucking eyes.”

Marcelo grips your face, pinching your chin between his fingers so hard you think you’ll bruise. It reminds you of Nico, how he does the same thing when you’re not listening to him. But he’s never rough, never with the intent of hurting of you.

“Aw she’s crying,” Lena voice tuts, and you blink rapidly, realize that part of the blurriness is in fact tears in your eyes. Big, fat tears roll down your cheeks, soak into Marcelo’s hand that restrains you.

It’s embarrassing, this whole thing. You know better, you should’ve never stepped away from Nico at that party. And you should know how to get out of here, you should be fighting back but you can’t get anything to work. Hell, you can’t even see ten feet in front of you. If you somehow managed to get free and get outside, you don’t even know where you’d go.

You’re lost in a country you don’t know. All alone.

Angrily, you sniffle and try to pull away from Marcelo’s fingers. It’s in your fighting to get away that you spot him. He’s hard to miss, Timo. With his tall build and broad shoulders, you can always find him in a crowd. And you can certainly find him when he’s sneaking across the open floor above you.

You meet his gaze, relief flooding your veins. If he’s here, Nico is with him. Holding a finger to his lips, he shakes his head. Adrenaline rushing through your body, you glare back at Marcelo.

“Even pretty when you cry,” he murmurs, shaking his head. “Nico has good taste, I’ll give him that.”

“Thank you,” his voice is meaner than you’ve ever heard it. Rough and angry, like he’s got oil burning under his skin. That last bit of fight, of adrenaline that had been holding you up fades. You cry even harder, holding back sniffles and hiccups.

Marcelo and Lena both whip around, Marcelo reaching for the gun on his thigh but he’s not quick enough. Luca is standing next to him, the barrel of his very own gun pressed to Marcelo’s temple.

“Move away from her.”

Luca kicks the back of Marcelo’s knee, sends him tumbling to the ground in front of you. Lena holds her hands up in surrender but doesn’t obey.

“I said move the fuck away from her!”

You close your eyes, inhale deeply as nausea bites in the back of your throat. You may have cried in front of them but you refuse to show any other weakness.

“Come on Nico, it’s me.” Lena purrs, “you wouldn’t shoot me, would y-“

The gun shot is so loud in the empty it jolts you, forces your eyes open just in time to see Lena collapse to the ground. She’s holding her thigh as red blood spills across the tile.

“Oops,” Nico grunts humorously, “missed your head.”

You can’t look away from the blood. It’s dizzying, even more so that just the floor was. Now red and white swirl together, mix with Lena’s sobs and it hurts your head. Everything fucking hurts.

“Y/n?”

You blink, feel soft fingers on your tear soaked cheek. Familiar fingers, fingers that run through your hair and trace your smile before bed.

“Look at me baby,” he coaxes and your muddled brain finds a way to blink, to look at him crouched in front of you. The sight almost breaks you.

Those big brown eyes that you love stare up at you with so much guilt, so much sadness you want to rip out of these restraints and hold him, let him know you’re ok.

“Nico,” you whimper, fighting at the ties around your wrist and ankles. You must look crazy or scared or something because he’s immediately shushing you.

“Ok, ok let me get them hold on.”

He flicks open his pocket knife, swiping it through the cable ties that had locked your feet to the chair. Then he’s covering your right hand with his, holding your trembling fingers still as he frees that one. You immediately reach out and grab his shirt, holding onto the fabric for dear life while he moves onto your next hand.

“My head hurts,” you tell him and he frowns, taking your hand between both of his. His eyes search your face, eyebrows pinched together.

“What happened to your voice?” He asks and you can practically see him making up things in his head, picturing the worst. Imagines of you crying and shouting so loud that you’ve lost your voice. You’re almost scared to show him the truth.

You look away from him, instead focusing on his hands as you release his shirt and reach up to peel back the scarf he’d slipped on you. The gasp that leaves him rattles your heart, makes tears well in your eyes again.

“Stop, careful.” Nico warns, taking the fabric from you and ever so gently unwrapping it. It must be bad, look bad. You can feel the skin throbbing, the change in pressure making you wince.

“Is she ok?”

It’s Nina, somewhere behind Nico but you can’t look up. He’s taking the pendant around your neck and slipping it out from under your shirt, trying to pull the chain away from your injured throat.

“Let’s get up baby,” Nico requests and you want to, want to stand up and follow him anywhere but here. But the thought of putting one foot in front of the other makes you physically nauseous.

“I- I can’t,” you whisper, wide eyed and scared when he rises, reaching for you. You plant yourself further into the chair, squeezing his hand. “I can’t stand up.”

Nina is by his side now, both of them looking at you with worried eyes. “It’s ok, you can get up now. They’re not gonna hurt you.” Nico promises and you almost smile at that. He thinks you’re scared of them, that you could ever be scared with him around.

“No,” you argue, trying to explain but you can’t put the words together. All you want to do is close your eyes, feel his hands on you while you go to sleep. That sounds so nice.

Frustrated, you let go of his hand. Your fingers feel numb as you tug at the hem of the beanie on your head, the black fabric soggy and caked with blood. He hasn’t realized the extent of your injuries because he can’t see them. You don’t even think Lena and Marcelo really knew.

You tug the beanie off, crying out in pain when it disturbs the split on your temple. If there had been a clot or scab of any kind, you just ripped it out.

A thin trickle of blood slips down the side of your face, the wound now throbbing and beating angrily.

“Holy shit,” Nina gasps, and Nico is taking the beanie from you, pressing it back into your temple and cursing under his breath.

“We gotta get her to a doctor.” He says quickly, and you look up at him, woozy and tired. He’s panicking, you can tell because he’s talking to his sister like you’re not even there. And he’s stopped asking you to do things, instead holding the beanie to your head with one hand while maneuvering you up and into his arms.

It’s a smart idea, for him to carry you. Because you can’t walk. You want to tell him that, tell him he’s really smart and you missed him.

You don’t get the chance though, because as soon as he’s got you sitting up straighter, every last bit of blood is rushing to your feet and you’re seeing black.

[mallowsweetmiri]

I think it’s cute how at first, Annabeth initiated everything in their relationship. But as time goes by, Percy gets more and more confident, even to the point where he’s kissing Annabeth shamelessly in front of Piper, the kiss lasting so long it leaves both girls breathless and red in the face.

[neo-kid-funk]

A scene from and if I stare at you, baby, will you stare right back? Written by the most amazing @rafyki

Note: FYKI this one for you!!! Your writing is sosososo good and this fic literally made my brain fuzzy so thank you thank you for being awesome!!! Hope you like it 🥹💖

[jiilll]

My favourite genre of solangelo is the ones where will is just insane. a loser. ken only has a great day if barbie looks at him type. yes will is regarded as mature caring and calm but truthfully if nico smiles at him from across the yard while he was doing something there is a 100% guarantee that whatever he was doing is now ruined beyond repair because inner voice will is shaking screaming crying at himself to go burn an entire table’s worth of meal to offer to the olympians as a sign of gratitude for letting him breath the same air as nico di angelo

[goodnightoilcountry]

jo's nhl fic rec list !

hi - welcome to my attempt at being a fic writer again. i have a wip list in the works but first things first: my fic rec list of all the works i've found and adored.

if you don't know yet, you will know soon that i am such a sucker for angst. i hope you find something new to love from the list below !

how to navigate

i update this list weekly (try to) and place all the new fic recs at the top under NEW.

when searching for a specific player, they will always be listed under their current team.

* updated sunday 17 november 2024 *

weekly note: very tiny, tiny update for this list this week but i hope it's enjoyable nonetheless 🤍

like my selection of fic recs? have a player who's not been featured? let me know and i'll go on a deep dive for you!

NEW

with or without you (jack hughes) by @nhlclover summary: jack grapples with overwhelming guilt after betraying you, struggling to reconcile his love with the mistake that threatens to destroy your relationship. word count: 3.5k

dress (juraj slafkovsky) by @nhlclover summary: caught up in a secret romance with juraj, you find yourself toeing the line between desire and discretion. total word count: 2k

all's fair in love and war (quinn hughes) by @nhlclover summary: trevor invites you to a lakehouse for the summer, attempting to set him up with his friend. however, the summer doesn't go to plan when you meet his older brother who captures your eye and flips everything upside down. word count: 11.6k

FIC REC MASTERLIST

total number of fics: 171

anaheim ducks fic rec list players: trevor zegras

carolina canes fic rec list players: andrei svechnikov - jack drury - pyotr kotchekov - sebastian aho - seth jarvis - tyson jost

colorado avs fic rec list players: cale makar - nathan mackinnon

detroit red wings fic rec list players: jt compher

florida panthers fic rec list players: matthew tkachuk

montreal canadiens players: juraj slafkovsky

nashville preds fic rec list players: brady skjei

new jersey devils fic rec list players: jack hughes - luke hughes - nico hischier

new york islanders fic rec list players: mat barzal - matt martin

philadelphia flyers fic rec list players: erik johnson - jamie drysdale

pittsburgh penguins fic rec list players: anthony beauvillier - michael bunting - sidney crosby

toronto maple leafs fic rec list players: auston matthews - mitch marner - william nylander

utah hc fic rec list players: clayton keller

vancouver canucks fic rec list players: arturs silovs - brock boeser - quinn hughes

ALL OUR WONDERFUL WRITERS

thank you to all the incredible fic writers on this godforsaken app ! i am always so in awe of how creative people are and am constantly inspired by your minds ! i can't wait to find more of you on here 🤍

@43-hugs @adoristsposts @austonwithan-o @babydollmarauders @bagopucks @bedsyandco @behoright @bitchinbarzal @blueskrugs @bqstqnbruin @cellythefloshie @chewingcyanide @comphersjost @comphy-and-cozy @doc-pickles @eyesthatroll @fallinallincurls @happer08 @hischierdevils @hischierhoney @hockeyboistrash @hockeywhy @hockey-fics @hockey-hoe-24-7 @holy-pucks @hookingminor @huggybug @hugshughes @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 @islesnucks @itsjusthockey @ladylooch @letsgetrowdy43 @marnerparty @matthewtkachuk @mattyanonwrites @matwith1t @mendeshoney @misshoneyimhome @mrsensitive @nhlclover @ohmyeyesmyeyes @pennylanefics @prettytoxicrevolver @pucksnsticksnhockeyboys @silovsmenot @starry-hughes @senditcolton @silverstonesainz-archive @stormsplurge @sunkissed-zegras @sunnyskiesscareme @sydnikov @thatintrovertedwriter @theemporium @thewintersoldierdisaster @undertaurus @unluckyhoneybee @withwritersblock @yelenasdog @youunravelme

[turtletaubwrites]

TurtleTaub Fic Recs ~ Part 3

I think it's so fucking cool that we can hop onto this silly site, and swim around in all these amazing One Piece stories together. There's so much talent, creativity, and all around awesomeness in this community, and I'm so grateful that I get to enjoy it with you. Please check out these wonderful fics, and show the writers some love!! 🖤🖤🖤 | NSFW ~ 🔥| ANGST ~ 😭| FLUFF ~ 🥰| DARK CONTENT 🌑| | SERIES ~ 📚| HEADCANONS/DRABBLES/IMAGINES ~ ✍🏼| | Other Fic Rec Lists ~ | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 |

Ace

fading flames (😭✍🏼) ~ by @lowkeycasanova  ~ Ace x Reader ~ I love this premise so much, and it's short but sweet (by sweet I mean ANGSTY painful ouchy!) It has a high likelihood of making you cry, and I love it 😭🖤

No time for playing games (🔥) ~ by @oxymorayuri ~ Ace x Reader ~ This so captures what a charming lil ass he can be. Reader (like me) can't help but swoon over this guy, and the end result is so satisfying 🥰🥵

Buggy

A Line from Me to You (🥰📚 + eventual 🔥) ~ by @hey-august  ~ Buggy x afab!Reader ~ I adore this story! It's so cute, a secret book club with Buggy who wears reading glasses, and has FEELINGS. It's so sweet, and I can't wait for more!

Untitled (but bittersweet) (🔥😭✍🏼) ~ by @hey-august ~ Buggy x GN!Reader ~ Beautiful, hot, and painful, ooh it hurts! Ugh, this one really got to me, such good, smutty angst 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Crushing On The Captain (✍🏼) ~ by @soft-mafia ~ Halp, we've gotta make sure this sweet, pathetic clown knows that he's loveable!! 😭🤡 So stinkin' cute!

Crocodile

Cleaning Up (🔥) ~ by @discordantwritings  ~ Crocodile x Fem!afab!Reader ~ This had me squealing 😭🥵 I loooove Crocodile in this. So fucking hot, and I need to live there now, please and thank you 🙏🏼

Law

Sweet Dreams (🔥) ~ by @strawheart-pirate  ~ Law x afab!Reader ~ The best part of waking up is not Folger's in your cup. It's Law watching you have a sex dream, and making it come true 🥰🥵 This one'll be stuck in my brain for awhile

Imagine refusing to wear a boiler suit while travelling with Law… (✍🏼) ~ by @theladyofmanyfandomsfanfiction ~ Law x Reader ~ Flustered Law is so fucking adorable, I wanna squeeze him 😠 This one is super cute and silly, and I love it

So Pretty (🔥🥰) ~ @maddddstuff ~ Law x afab!reader ~ soft law soft law SOFT LAW!!! This is so fucking sweet & hot. Warning: It might make you catch MORE feelings about this guy, ugh!! Had me twirling my hair, and spinning in my desk chair 😭

Multi and/or Character x Character

Take What You're Given (🔥🔥🔥) ~ by @indydonuts  ~ Sanji x Straw Hats ~ Holy fucking smut 😳🥵🥵🥵 Insanely hot SMUTSMUTSMUT with Sanji, and the Straw Hats taking turns with him. Go have fun 😊

Somewhere Inbetween (🔥) ~ by @discordantwritings ~ Nami x gn!afab!reader x Robin ~ My absolute dream come true, holy shit. Seriously, it's like this was pulled from my lil desperate bisexual brain, and I will forever be grateful for this glorious smut with our perfect Straw Hat ladies 🥰🙏🏼

The Long Con (📚🥰😭 + eventual smut 🔥) ~ by @emptystove ~ Nami x Law ~ This series is so much fun! I binged the first 5 chapters in one sitting, and I'm loving the plot, and the way Law and Nami are written. I can't wait to get to more of the drama/action, and of course the smutty smut 🥰

Sanji

Cup of Coffee, and a Tall Glass of You (🥰 )~ by @decorativetrashbag  ~ Sanji x Fem!Reader ~ Fluffy, adorable workplace crush 😍😍 I would be a mess if I had to work with this guy everyday, lol.

Entirely at your service (🔥🥰📚) ~ by @vespidphoenix ~ Sanji x Fem!Chubby!OC ~ This is so DECADENT! I adore Sanji and the OC's (Amy) banter, chemistry, and the lovely consent and extra sexy, sexy times. So good, I'm excited to see more of these two!

Through Shadow (🥰😭📚) ~ by @gingernut1314 ~ Sanji x Fem!Reader ~ I adore the reader's backstory and struggles, and Sanji is so fucking precious! Falling for the cook again 🥰

Smoker

Pet Name - Love (🔥✍🏼) ~ by @honeyshiddendesire  ~ Smoker x Fem!Reader ~ Oof, this old man can get it. (Lol, just looked up his age, and the white hair deceived me. He's 34, only one year older than me pre timeskip 😅) But seriously, this is soo fucking hot 🥵🥵🥵 I've been avoiding Smoker fics because I knew I'd get obsessed, and this fic did it. I need him so bad 😭

Zoro

Forgive Me if I break You (📚😭🌑 + light 🔥) ~ by @shewrites02  ~ Zoro x Fem!Reader ~ This story is soooo goood!! I'm falling in love with Zoro all over again 😭💚 The reader's angst and struggles are written so beautifully, and I can't wait for the next chapter!!

Oi, you wanna die? (✍🏼) ~ by @zorosbeau33 ~Zoro x gn!Reader ~ I love the vibes! Gala setting, the Straw Hat's on a secret mission, and Zoro being absolutely obsessed with the reader 🥰💚

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 |

[vroomvroommuppettrecs]

aa23

cs55

cl16

dr3

eo31

fa14

gr63

km20

ls18

ln4

lh44

ls2

mv1

nh27

nr6

op81

pg10

sv5

tw0

[mediumgayitalian]

fic rec friday 20

hi!! welcome to fic rec friday. every week, i pick five fics i have bookmarked and rec them with a little review. check them out!

farm to table by @buoyantsaturn*

“There’s another group of kids here,” she said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. “Said they’re looking for the Ghost King.”

I FUCKING LOVE THIS SERIES. NO WORD OF A LIE IM OBSESSED. i got an ask a couple weeks ago on what i see will & nico doing in their futures and i havent answered it yet BUT this series in particular is never what i would have thought for them and yet it fully and completely convinced me. i love the way their relationship is portrayed here, i love the nuances about will's gender, i love them figuring adult demigodhood out! i love the solace family! this series is another one of those stories that i think back to when im writing bc it's so spectacularly done

2. hopeless case by @restinreesespieces

“Nico,” Jason wheezes as he slams the door to the Hades cabin open. “Nico, I think I’m in love with my best friend.” “No, really?” Nico drawls, barely looking up from his book. Or: in which nico is jason’s wingman this time around.

i was sold on the 'jason is a disaster. nico is also a disaster but more subtle about it' like that SENT me 😭😭 such an apt description of their friendship. and leo wearing crop tops bc there's less clothes to burn and jason losing his mind over it is so real and true

3. seize the day by @restinreesespieces

“-Hey, Jason? Are you okay?” “No,” Jason snaps. “You’re distracting me.” Silence. Leo comes forward. Jason’s back digs into the wooden edge of the table. “I’m distracting you?” Leo’s hand twitches, like he’s not sure where to put it. It lingers in the air between them, making a choice. Instead of a friendly shoulder pat or slap on the back, Jason’s fingers are met with the familiar warmth and completion of Leo’s. Their hands interlock, sliding into place as they’ve done so many times before under the cover of darkness. But this time there’s light, and they can’t escape the bright truth that it brings. “How, exactly, am I distracting you?" or: valgrace dead poets society au (with a happy ending)

this fic was so FUN like jason in theatre....ur so absolutely right. loved loved this story it was such a delight to read like who cares about reality what if everyone is gay at whatever time period we wish forever

4. crush the size of jupiter by @restinreesespieces

“Aw,” he joked. “And here I thought we had a connection.” “Yeah, maybe that’s because we’re tied at the ankle, Solace.” Or: In which Nico thinks he can ignore his budding feelings for a certain son of Apollo, and fate decides otherwise.

the flower symbolism had me GAAAAGGGGEED and nico going oh. oh, no had me CLUTCHING MY CHEST SHDNSJDNS. WHY IS HE SUCH A MESS

5. stars on my skin by @restinreesespieces

“Will,” he says, “I think you’re being silly.” “What?” Will tries to hide his confusion, and Nico rolls his eyes. “You’re being silly,” he repeats. “I told you your bedside manner is okay. So why don’t you believe it? Do you think I’m a liar?” “No! I just-” “Hmph,” he huffs, pretending to be miffed. “I think you’re afraid of nothing. Nobody’s gonna be mad if you’re a little enthusiastic about healing them. That means you want to save them! That’s what heroes do.” “I’m - I’m a healer,” he says quietly. “Yeah,” Nico replies. “Isn’t that what I said?” or: after the quest group to rescue annabeth leaves camp, a ten-year-old nico winds up in the infirmary and meets will for the first time.

BABY SOLANGELO BABY SOLANGELO BABY SOLANGELO IM LOSING MY MIND WHAT IF EVERYTHING WAS GOOD AND EASY WHAT IF THE WORLD WAS KIND TO THEM

thank you for joining me this friday!! happy reading!!

[puckinghischier]

Neighbors

nico hischier x fem!reader

summary - reader can’t bring herself to talk to her new neighbor

notes - guess who’s backkkkkk!!! y’all i have missed writing so much, and i’m so happy i could get this out to y’all. i’m a bit rusty so keep that in mind while reading, but i hope you enjoy it anyways. and as always, happy reading 🫶🏼

request - from my 400 follower celly - “Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission!” “What do you mean abort mission? All you were doing was introducing yourself to your neighbor?” “Yeah, and he’s too attractive. I can never speak to him again” with either luke or nico

[3.3k]

“I really think today is the day, Mia,” you speak in to the cell phone wedged in-between your shoulder and cheek, putting away a few decorative trinkets on the newly hung shelf above your TV.

“You’re telling me you’re actually going to talk to him?” She questions, her tone telling you she doesn’t believe you in the slightest.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you miss ‘I don’t believe my best friend has the guts to talk to a cute guy,’” you huff out, stretching your arm as much as you can to reach the high shelf.

“I mean, your track record precedes you, Y/N. You’ve said for three weeks now you’re going to introduce yourself and the universe has given you every opportunity possible,” she references the several hallway and elevator encounters you’ve told her about. “but, instead of hearing about a meet cute to an epic love story each week, all I get are stories of why you couldn’t say more than a garbled hi to him before darting into your apartment.”

Finally reaching the shelf, you huff both in response to her statement and the large reach you just accomplished.

After moving in to your new apartment a month and a half ago, you learned on your second day here that your neighbor directly across the hall from you is the most attractive guy you’ve ever met.

You ran into him while carrying a few boxes up to your new space, almost plowing him over while stepping out of the elevator because of your blocked field of view from the stack of boxes.

You apologized profusely, your line of sight still blocked, telling the stranger you know you shouldn’t be carrying this many boxes at once, but you really didn’t want to make another trip down and up. You made a bad joke about deciding to test out your sonar detection incase your eye sight ever left, and gave a few low, drawn-out beeps resembling those you’ve heard on TV.

When you heard the deep chuckle from the other side of the boxes, you turned yourself sideways to see who you almost ran over.

The man standing before you was simply the most attractive man you’ve ever seen in your life. His dark, incredibly soft looking hair matched his dark brown eyes perfectly. The light dusting of facial hair covering his face was definitely working in his favor. The smile on his face was really what made your cheeks heat, though.

Feeling the embarrassment of your terrible joke creep up your neck, you slipped out one more sorry and then all but sprinted to your (thankfully) unlocked door, not even offering your name.

It was that night you told Mia about the handsome stranger, vowing that you were going to redeem yourself one of these days.

Since then, you’ve ran into him what seems like every other day, but never could find the brain power to actually speak to him. It’s either the cliché of both of you leaving your apartment at the same time, or you both end up in the elevator together in complete silence due to your avoidance of uttering anything embarrassing in the confined space. There was one time you unknowingly parked your car beside of his, the two of you walking together the entire way up from the garage to your floor with only a small hi and a wave from you, because you pretended to be listening to your headphones in order to avoid awkward small talk.

“Well, I was never ready all of those times,” you rotate your shoulder in a few circles, trying to work out the small sting you caused. “This time I’m ready. I can feel it.”

“If I was the one living next to him I’d be feeling something alright,” Mia quips back in a suggestive tone, leading you to scoff at her raunchy joke.

“Mia, I’m being serious. I think today’s the day. It’s Tuesday, so I’m pretty sure he should be getting back from the gym around three, which means if I go down to the lobby and pretend to be getting back from a walk around that time I’ll have the perfect in,” you confide your plan in her, having thought about your strategy since last night.

“You are being so insane right now, can you even hear yourself? Just go knock on his door and ask to borrow sugar or something. Then, when he asks what you’re cooking, invite him over for dinner and BAM! a date you didn’t even have to try for,” she suggests.

“Mia, that sounds like the start to a bad porno, I’m not doing that,” you refuse her suggestion right as you hear several loud voices coming from the hallway outside of your door.

Walking over to look into the small peephole, you see not only your attractive neighbor, but several other insanely good looking-men standing outside of his door. You look down at the watch on your wrist, noticing it’s only two, confused as to why he’s home right now.

You can hear Mia chattering away in your ear, but you have no clue what she’s saying, your brain too focused on the men in your hallway.

“Mia, shut up. He’s home,” you interrupt your best friend, causing her to pause momentarily.

“What do you mean he’s home? Did you not just tell me he would be home at three?” she asks you.

“I mean, that’s how it’s been every Tuesday until now. But he’s home. And he has…friends over,” you whisper, worried that if you can hear them they can hear you.

“Friends? Like, other guys? Or does he have a bunch of girls over? Y/N, if he has a bunch of girls at his apartment right now maybe this isn’t the kind of guy you want to go after. Seems like he can’t make up his mind. Or maybe he’s trying to be the next Hugh Heffner and is holding auditions out of his apartment,” you listen to her ramble. “And if that’s true you definitely don’t want to involve yourself with all that. I mean, can you imagine-“

“Mia, so help me God if you don’t shut the fuck up right now I’ll hang up on you,” you snap out, not enjoying her wandering mind.

Watching the men on the other side of your door laugh and converse has you even more curious. You’ve wondered since you moved in what he does for work. The hours he comes and goes are often inconsistent and don’t line up with any job you know of. He never seems to have the same days off, and sometimes you even go several days without seeing any sign of him.

You’ve wondered if he was a doctor, because it would explain the late nights and odd hours, but you’ve never seen him wearing scrubs, all of the men in the hallway currently sporting athletic wear. You thought maybe he was a lawyer, because you see him wearing suits pretty often, but he never carries a briefcase or anything else to prove your theory. You’ve even contemplated that he owns his own company, seeing as he seems to work when he wants and would explain the random down time in the middle of week days.

Of course, you understand you also have a lot of free time during the week, but you have a typical, nine to five office job, you just haven’t started at your new branch yet. Which is partially to blame for the new found obsession with your new neighbor’s whereabouts. You have way too much free time on your hands.

“Damn, someone’s grumpy today. It’s all that pent up frustration from not talking to mystery man. Just go outside and say hi already. Or is today really not the day?”

Even though she can’t see you, you roll your eyes at your friend’s words.

She’s teased you endlessly about this since the second you mentioned him to her. She’s even made a tally of how many times you’ve claimed you were going to speak to him and then didn’t (13 times to be exact). You know she’s just poking fun, but you also know she won’t stop doubting you until you actually do it.

It’s this that prompts you to tell her “You know what, fuck it. Today is the day,” and open your door.

The voices in the hallway stop, all four heads turning to look at you.

Your phone is still being held to your ear with one hand, while the other hangs down at your side.

Your neighbor, standing in the middle of the group, gives you a warm smile, taking in your appearance.

When you look down at your stained t-shirt and your neon pink pajama pants, you mentally palm your forehead, not even thinking to change before making your grand gesture.

Looking back up at the group, heat rising up your neck and to your cheeks, you freeze, the simple “Hi” lost on your tongue.

With furrowed brows and a tilted head, your neighbor speaks out a soft, “Hey there, you okay?”

You nod your head a little too aggressively and manage to squeak out a ‘Fine! Peachy! Never been better!” before slamming your door.

Turning and leaning against the cool door, you close your eyes and try to block out the memory of what just happened.

“Girl…I don’t know what just happened, but that didn’t sound like a hi,” Mia speaks from the phone, startling you, having completely forgotten you were on the phone.

“Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission,” you shake your head no.

“What? Abort mission? All you were doing was introducing yourself to your neighbor? Just go back out there and try again,” she suggests, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“Yeah, and he’s too attractive. I can never speak to him again. Plan be damned, I’m going to have to move apartments again,” you whine out to her, letting the dramatics take over.

“Oh shut up, it’s not that bad. I’m sure he’s already back to talking about whatever with his friends. He’s probably not even going to remember it by the next time you see him,” she refuses to play into your drama. “Plus, you’re a catch. I’m sure he’s been as curious about you as you are about him. Sometimes the silent treatment works wonders.”

A knock on the door you’re leaning against startles you, causing you to jump away from it as if it’d burned you.

“Mia, someone’s knocking,” you whisper, looking out of the peep hole to see your neighbor’s smiling face looking back at you.

You let out a small yelp, jumping back again while covering your mouth with your hand, knowing it’s likely he just heard you.

“Mia it’s him. He’s literally knocking on my door, what do I do?” you ask he as he knocks again.

“Oh my god, you dumbass, answer it! This is your in!” she exclaims through the speaker.

“I can’t answer it! I’m wearing a ridiculous outfit! And I just opened and slammed my door in his face like a freak. Plus-“ you’re cut off by a muffled voice.

“You alright in there? I know you’re standing at the door, I can hear your voice. I just want to make sure you’re okay and didn’t need anything. Sorry if we startled you,” his accented voice carries through the thin door.

“I’m hanging up now, go talk to your man,” Mia chuckles and hangs up the phone, leaving you on your own to deal with the situation before you.

Cursing her, you bring your phone away from your face and wipe your hands on your fluffy pants.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that,” you speak through the door.

“You know, if you open the door I won’t bite,” your neighbor jokes, causing another wave of embarrassment to settle in your stomach, not knowing why you decided that talking to him through the door was a normal thing to do.

Taking a step towards the door, you reach for the handle and open it. You’re greeted with the handsome stranger standing not even a foot from your door, no sign of his friends.

He gives you an amused, but warm smile.

“See? It’s just little old me out here,” he brings his hands up in a surrender pose.

You give him a nervous laugh.

Observing his athletic attire, you admire the poorly hidden muscles peeking out from under his compression shirt. The sight makes your cheeks tinge red once again.

When he senses you’re not going to speak, he breaks the silence instead.

“So, you sure you’re okay? You seemed a little…frazzled a few minutes ago. Wanted to make sure we didn’t scare you or anything,” he starts. “I imagine four large hockey players standing outside of your door might seem a little intimidating to a single woman living alone,” he brings his hands down from his face, sticking them in the pockets of his athletic pants.

You wonder if the surprise is evident on your face. In all the time you’ve spent brainstorming about his career, hockey never crossed your mind. You knew your new city had a huge hockey following, but you never thought you were living across from one of the sports’ players.

Realizing you still haven’t said anything, you clear your dry throat.

“Oh, no, you guys didn’t scare me. I just…I don’t know why I opened the door, to be honest. Guess I had a major brain fog moment or something,” you lie, hoping he buys your lame explanation.

The man standing in front of you lets out a small laugh, shaking his head slightly.

“Well, as long as we didn’t scare you, I guess we’re alright then.”

“Yup, we’re good,” you pop the ‘p’, rocking on your heels slightly, needing to channel your nervous energy somehow.

You expect this to be the end of the conversation, but he still stands there, observing you.

“So, do I get to know your name, neighbor?” he questions you, breaking the silence between the two of you for the second time.

His question surprises you slightly, not expecting him to drag the conversation out any longer.

“Well, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” you hear the words come out of your mouth, with an unintentional flirtatious undertone.

“Nico,” he tells you with a smirk, leaving room for your own reply.

“Y/N,” you move to cross your arms over your chest.

“Since you didn’t protest, I’m guessing you are?” he asks vaguely, causing your brows to furrow in confusion.

“I’m what?”

“Single and living alone,” his smirk only deepens.

Well shit. Is he…flirting with you? While you’re dressed like this? And have only ever made terrible impressions on him before?

“Well, Nico, that depends on why you’re asking,” your mouth is apparently miles ahead of your brain right now, not knowing where this sudden burst of confidence and flirty personality is coming from. “Are you asking because you’re curious about your weird new neighbor, or are you asking because you’re some kind of serial killer that’s stalking his prey?”

This earns a real laugh from him, not just a short chuckle, and you want to melt at the sound.

“I’m asking because I think my new, ‘weird’ neighbor just so happens to be very attractive, but I can tell that she’s far too shy to ever make a move on her own, so I figured I’d help her out a little bit,” he leans forward slightly.

His words make your mouth snap shut and causes you to stand up a little taller, not at all prepared for the conversation to take this direction.

All these weeks of you avoiding Nico, dodging him in the hallway and the elevator, flat out ignoring him from the car garage to your doors, not even being able to say one coherent word to him, and it’s all been pointless? He’s been thinking about you all this time too?

You feel so stupid in this moment. Knowing that he caught you, and knew that you were running from him this whole time makes you squirm, and not in a good way.

Your mind immediately goes back to Mia’s words not only earlier today, but every other time you’ve discussed the man standing before you. Her insistence that you were psyching yourself out for nothing and all you had to do was talk to him echoes through your mind.

“Oh…uh…well…in that case, yeah. I live single. Wait, no, I mean, I’m alone,” you wince, hearing the trainwreck coming out of your mouth. “Okay, I’m just going to shut up now and nod my head,” you shake your head yes, preventing any more jumbled words.

Nico laughs at you once again, clearly amused and not at all repulsed by your awkward nature.

“Well, I live single too. Just incase you were wondering,” he echoes your previous word stumble, shoulders still shaking from laughter.

“Twinsies,” you blurt out, holding your hand out for a high-five.

Before you can make your brain work like a normal, functioning person, Nico slaps his open palm against yours, biting his lip to keep from laughing again.

“I think I’m going to stop while I’m still slightly ahead,” you start, taking a step back into your apartment. “Thanks for checking on me, but clearly I’m lacking any coherent braincells right now, so I think I’m gonna get back to decorating,” you try to end the conversation, not wanting to give yourself anymore embarrassing moments to keep you up at night.

“Wait!” Nico quietly shouts, his face showing it was his turn to be embarrassed, clearly not meaning to have screamed in your face.

You pause the closing of your door, staring at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. It’s just, do you want to grab dinner sometime? If you’re not interested that’s fine, but I wanted to at least put the offer out there before I don’t get the chance to speak to you again for another month,” he rushes his words a bit.

You’re so shocked you just stand there and stare at him for a solid minute, the braincells you lacked mere minutes ago now bouncing around in your head like a pinball machine.

Nico stands there expectantly, waiting on either an acceptance or rejection.

“Are you sure?” is what you manage to come up with.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Nico huffs out a laugh through his nostrils. “I’ll even do all the talking if you want.”

You knew you were already going to accept, but his offer made you feel slightly warmer inside. Obviously, he’s been victim to your inability to coherently speak during moments like these, but not pressuring you to carry a majority of the conversation and still wanting to spend the time with you despite your nervous habit sealed the deal even further.

Not trusting yourself to not botch your words once again, you nod your head yes, unable to hide the smile that makes its way onto your face.

Nico returns your smile, a triumphant look in his eyes letting you know he was genuinely worried you’d say no.

“Alright. Good. Awesome. Great.” Is all he says, taking a small step back towards his door.

“Well now you sound like me,” you tease, that small bit of confidence making its way back to you.

“Guess you’re rubbing off on me already,” he shrugs. “See you around?” he continues to walk backwards until he meets his closed door, jumping slightly when he runs into the solid material.

You giggle at him, nodding your head yes again, finding his sudden nervousness cute.

“See you around, Nico,” you give a small wave before shutting your door, taking in what just happened.

You unlock the phone still in your hand, clicking on Mia’s contact before bringing it up to your ear.

“Listen I know you’re mad at me, and I probably shouldn’t have hung up on you, but I knew you wouldn’t talk to him if I was on the phone and you needed a push, so really I did you a favor-“

“Mia, today was the day,” you interrupt another one of her rambles, grinning while hearing her screams to spill every detail.

[fourtyforever]

doodletober day 8 has to be the iconic gossip girl by @monacotrophywife. rarely have I ever been quite so amused and delighted by a fic, and if you haven't already guessed the ending you MUST read it I promise it is SO worth it

[mango-yoyo]

you have really good taste in fanfics in the tag game so was wondering if you would mind sharing so more of your favourites?

oh my god YES

i would love to thank you for asking <3

because i have no self control, i'm going to restrict myself to 3 5 10

1. the condominium community committee by @jusst-you-race . it's funny, it's light-hearted, and it has all the good feels. honestly it's the chat fic of chat fics, where the grid all lives in the same apartment building and have different lives, but are still super close! if you're feeling a bit down or if you want something fun, this is a great fic to read! status: WIP. word count: 28K+

2. crash landers by @janinaduszejko . carcar omegaverse my beloved, where oscar is an alpha and carlos is (secret) omega. a little bit angsty, a lot bit smutty, and overall delightful. it hurts a little bit, but it feels so good, and there's a happy ending! status: completed. word count: 57K+

3. i’m going back to 505 (if it’s a seven hour flight or a forty five minute drive) by julodinae_sunsets. another omegaverse (my weakness) but this time it's maxiel, where daniel is an alpha and tries to court max by accident, but stops himself because OBVIOUSLY max is an beta and doesn't want that. well. he's wrong. but second chances exist for a reason. it's really enjoyable so far, and it's made me grin stupidly way too many times, so. it's a win! status: WIP. word count: 19K+

4. Don't Want Your Sympathy (Just Your Company) by @1425fivefive . landoscar, where oscar is outed via blurry photos of him kissing another guy at the club. to get his mind off it, lando offers to have him stay at his place for the summer. a very cute teammates to friends to lovers, with a little bit of hurt but a lot of comfort. and smut. also, logan is best friend goals, honestly, and the little pockets of humor make you laugh when you least expect it. status: completed. word count: 64K+

5. Sunlight by @onboardsorasora . an absolutely delightful magical realism au (my other weakness) with a dewis pairing. they're one of the authors that got me into the pairing in the first place! people are touched by the elements in varying degrees. some people aren't touched, while others are touched by rare elements (like sunlight). daniel doesn't think he's touched by any. it's whumpy and a bit angsty but so, so sweet. honestly a lot of fluff too, with a sweet ending. status: completed. word count: 10K+

6. Loud and Clear by @oscatmeowstri . race engineer oscar with driver lando au, landoascar. it was wonderful. the formatting was so cool, and their relationship developed really well, from colleagues(?) to friends to occasional kissing buddies to lovers. some angst, but it's resolved pretty quickly, and there are lot of fluffy moments. status: WIP. word count: 48K+

7. cheap wedding (sticky pretenses) by @wormeo-and-juliette . i know i've mentioned the strollonso work by her before, but this is also so, so good. honestly, all her works have got me in a chokehold. it's lesteban, with a marriage of convenience (that eventual turns into love!). lance shows up in rural France, meets esteban, decides they're both lonely, and proposes marriage. absolutely delightful, and there's even the public coming-out which had me squealing. status: completed. word count: 12K+

8. champagne problems by @brocedesmadhouse . it's a love story to brocedes, and it's beautiful, heart-wrenching, and utterly amazing. toto gets replaced with a new team principal — who happens to be nico rosberg. it's set during the 2024 season, and it made me both cry and laugh — sometimes at the same time. absolutely wonderful. status: completed. word count: 60K+

9. empty streets, it's only you and me now by @the-ships-to-rule-them-all . intriguing and sweet, it's an exploration of Jewish folklore and golems, with sweet, sweet strollonso. lance has a golem, who happens to be incredibly protective of fernando. lance also happens to be in love with fernando. it's very cute and has the perfect plot-to-smut ratio. status: completed. word count: 5K+

10. k19tog (knit 19 together) by @nobrakesdown . really sweet and lovely, it's set in the 2022 season with seblance teammates. lance is a knitter, and seb convinces lance to teach him — and eventually, the rest of the grid. really heartwarming, and it has serious grid-as-family vibes that had me smiling like an idiot when I read it. also got me interested in the fiber arts, and it's really cool! status: completed. word count: 7K+

there are so many more fics that i could rec, but the sake of this post (and my need to study) i will limit it to just 10. please let me know how you like these recs, and feel free to rec for more (and if there are any particular pairings you're looking for)! this was a lot of fun, thanks for asking!

[mallowsweetmiri]

Percy’s protectiveness over Annabeth is simply perfect. He is fully aware of how capable she is and always lets her fight her own battles. But at the same time, he is fiercely protective of her in the sense that he gets set off by even the thought of her in danger. He will go to any lengths to ensure her safety, to ensure that he is by her side through it all. If keeping her safe means risking his own life, he doesn’t give it a second thought. His loyalty never wavers and he makes sure she knows it too.

[misshoneyimhome]

S’s summer fic rec list

➼｡ﾟ

This summer has been full of incredible fics, so I just wanted to share a small list of the ones I’ve read over the past few months that deserve a special shout-out 🥰

(I know there are so many more that could be added, my apologies) 🌺

_

I Wish You Would // William Nylander by @wildrangers

By @laurenairay:

felt like magic - N. Hischier I can't help it if I like it - M. Martin no hesitation, what are we waiting for? – M. Tkachuk

Betting On Brats | Nico Hischier by @sc0tters

Don’t Chirp My Girl | M. Knies by @hockeybabe

Elsker by @mp0625 (Freddie Andersen)

By @couldawouldashoulda50

From Completely Different Worlds (William x OC Loren Girard) Chapter One - Easter Seals Skate Chapter Two - Bath time Chapter Three - The Filler Chapter Chapter Four - Time Alone Chapter Five - Toasting to the Present Chapter Six - The Whiskey Lounge Chapter Seven - The Inevitable

[mentallyunstablequeen101]

Will solace does not swear

But when he’s passionate about something or *someone* it can get messy

But you do not want him mad. If you make Him mad good luck for you my friend highly doubt you will come back normal lmao. He goes hardcore cussing it’s really terrifying to say the least

I just imagine Kayla and Austin trying not to laugh at Will victim like “ oh hell no, buddy you are dead for underestimating him”

Nico is debating stoping it or he glitches and is secretly proud that his boyfriend is a badass

The whole camp is terrified and surprised

Chiron and Mr D are shocked since they hadn’t seen him this distressed in years since last time it was when getting to camp (in this senerio he had a abusive step father)

Apollo ( he and Will got close) and Nico manage to calm him down enough to bring him to a safe place and not hurt himself or others ( when’s he’s mad his plague powers get out of control)

Feel free to use this as a prompt let me know so I can read it when done, I LOVE reading what you guys come up with :)