#or someone snitches on me which happened before too

[augustsails]

Finally took the time to download Octopath Traveler Arrangements Break and Boost Vol 2, and y’all….it is so fucking good.

Ochette’s them??!? So damn good! The songs from Champions of the Continent?? Stellar.

[aakeysmash]

college!sukuna accidentally bumping into you at a café. *inspired* by this ask!

college sukuna masterlist

The bells right next to the front door chime when he enters the café. Today he’s distracted: the kitchen sink back at the apartment is currently leaking and he’s searching online for someone to come look at it. Not that he didn’t already try to fix it, but he doesn’t have the right bolt to repair it alone. He’s just going to order the usual, sit at one of the tables in the corner and play candy crush until Yuuji gets out of school.

He’s a regular here since his brother’s elementary school is right in front of it. Sometimes he just wants to kill time, and pastries here are good for his macros. Or at least he tells himself so.

“Hello, what can I get you?” A female voice asks him from the register. He doesn’t strain his gaze from his phone.

“The usual,” he says. Then he thinks about the familiar voice he just heard and snaps his head up.

“What are you doing here?” “Sukuna?” You both say at the same time.

His surprised face morphs into a smug one in a split second.

“Didn’t know you liked me so much that you started to follow me, baby. You could’ve just waited for me at home if you missed me that much, I would’ve made sure to put some cream in your… coffee,” he says winking at you.

You put on a fake smile before answering. His innuendos are getting worse by the day, he’s disgusting.

“I’m going to poison your coffee if you keep this up, Itadori,” you whisper, as to not make the manager hear you. “Go get some pussy, please, you’re insufferable,” you whine when he gets closer.

He looks you up and down, licking a corner of his lips, mischief still in his gaze. He knows you’re right, sometimes he does a bit too much, but the way you huff and puff brings him more joy than any game on his phone does.

“You know I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole, Y/N. I don’t fuck snitches,” he responds, rolling his eyes.

You chuckle at that. This has been one of your inside jokes since the start. You managed to file 15 noise complaints in the first three weeks of your stay in the apartment, and the owner had to threaten to kick out Sukuna if he didn’t stop fucking girls so loudly. Sukuna had to agree and bite his tongue 5 times during that conversation. He knew you filed the complaints just because he didn’t want to say he was the one who ate Yuuji’s cookies, instead blaming you. Yuuji didn’t talk to you for a day for that, and you took it to heart.

Also, you exaggerated how many times he fucked inside the apartment. By a lot. You knew he had game, or at least you were certain of that seeing how confident he was, but he also hated when Yuuji managed to see some of the girls. Which happened only one time and it was when you moved in. You just filed noise complaints for every little noise you heard from his room, and seeing how the landlord didn’t doubt Sukuna had game either, you won by default.

“So… One black coffee? I don’t know your usual, I’m just covering a friend for today. It’s been a long day,” you say sheepishly, putting some of your hair behind your ear, cringing when you hear your own voice. Suddenly, the screen of the menu is so interesting to you. It’s not like you’re embarrassed as hell to see him here when you’re clumsily trying to understand how things work. It’s not like you’re trying not to look at him at all. Fuck. He is never going to let you live it down if you make a wrong move.

“I can see that,” he adds, serious. He sees your crestfallen look when he finishes his sentence. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that out loud, even if it is pretty obvious. He never saw you this nervous.

“Couldn’t you just fucking lie?” You grit out, composing yourself, pinning him with some sort of rage.

“Not my style, doll,” he answers, raising his shoulders. Your eyes turn into slits and you’re about to say something else when he catches movement behind the counter. The manager.

“Two coffees and a strawberry cake,” he says, getting back to his phone.

You raise an eyebrow. You thought he hated strawberries. You start typing his total when said manager turns to Sukuna.

“Your total is-“

“Man, I haven’t seen you in ages,” the man behind you enthusiastically interrupts you.

“Satoru,” the pink haired man nods, pocketing his phone and making some sort of special handshake with him. They know each other?

“Mind if your coworker here comes home with me?” Sukuna asks the handsome man you have next to you.

Your manager is silent for what feels like 10 long seconds. “Y/N, don’t give into this brute,” he tells you, staring at you behind those dark ass black glasses he wore the entirety of the day. He managed to do the work of three people without breaking a sweat, but he also spent most of his time tasting pastries the chef cooked. He’s nice, you think. But he’s weird as hell. No wonder they’re friends.

“He’s actually my roommate, boss,” you say, smiling up at him. Then you look at Sukuna and your smile drops. “Unfortunately.” Your said roommate flips you off.

“You know what, fuck you. I was just doing you a favour by letting you go earlier, stupid,” Sukuna says, bored.

The white haired man chuckles at the interaction, then tilts his glasses down his nose to look at the man in front of you, amused. “Oh, it’s her, huh.”

Sukuna snarls. “She’s a pain in the ass.”

“Oh, he’s talked about me? What did he say? Is it enough to kick him out and ask for Yuuji’s custody?” you ask, mockingly. Your manager turns to you and you’re almost blinded by how blue his eyes are. You genuinely have to blink a couple of times to make sure you’re still able to see.

He completely ignores your questions, giving you a once over. Then he gets his glasses back on correctly.

“Go home, Y/N, don’t worry. You’ve done an excellent job today. Feel free to come whenever,” he says, giving you a smile as bright as his eyes, then leaves while you think about how your cornea must be damaged now.

“Off the clock, come on,” Sukuna says, taking his phone out again, not sparing you a glance.

“Why don’t you jump off of my dick instead,” you hiss, going to take your purse from the service room. You don’t see the way he tips you anyway, even if you didn’t ask, and takes his order to the nearest table, positioning the cake in front of him. Like he’s waiting for someone.

You get back out front and side eye him, rummaging through your purse violently before sighing defiantly. You forgot your keys.

You turn around to look at Sukuna, who is just a couple of tables away, jumping a little when his eyes are already on you. He gives you a confused look behind his cup of coffee, before putting it down and mouthing “You look stupid, come sit.” You raise one of your eyebrows and you’re going to flip him off when someone bumps into you.

“Yo, cutie,” the man in front of you addresses you. You smile politely and sidestep to the left, getting out of the way, but he follows your movement, positioning himself closer to you.

“I was wondering if you were free now that you don’t have that little apron on,” he tells you languidly, swiping your arm up and down with his hand, stopping at your shoulder. When you try to get it off, he just grips you harder.

“Get your hand off of me or you’re getting kicked in the balls in front of everyone,” you deadpan. He’s slimy, probably conventionally attractive for a lot of girls, but he’s creepy.

He whistles lowly. “I love it when they’re a little feisty,” he smirks, trying to get even closer. You’re raising your knee when he gets pushed off of you and you kick a strong thigh instead. You widen your eyes comically and the man you just kicked winces.

“Man, what the fuck-“ the creep starts, before getting interrupted.

“Don’t touch my girl,” Sukuna seethes. The man takes a step back. Your heart skips a beat. You didn’t think he’d come to your rescue. “Even if her kicks are strong as fuck, I gotta say that. I might have unfortunately just saved your sorry ass’ future sad child,” he says, glancing at you. You giggle.

“There’s no way a fine thing like that is with you,” the man continues blabbering, albeit scared of Sukuna’s imposing feature.

“There’s no way a fine thing like me could ever be with someone like you, you mean,” you say, standing closer to Sukuna.

The man scoffs. “You could do so much better.”

"You? Lying is a sin, motherfucker."

On cue, Sukuna raises one of his arms and drapes it over your shoulder. You’re surprised by how delicately he gets you closer to his body, like he’s thinking you aren’t going to like what he’s doing. You look up at him, laying your hand on his chest, giving him the okay. He stares down at you, swallowing.

“Yeah, I’m lucky,” he says thickly, smirking, before lightly kissing your forehead. The kiss is barely there, you wouldn’t even have felt it if right now you weren’t hyper aware of how intoxicating and warm his body pressed to yours feels. You think you might have a fever from how much the spot he grazed is scorching. Your ears are buzzing, and you don’t distinguish the words the two men are exchanging, getting out of your daze only when the creep exits the cafe with his tail between his legs.

“I didn’t need you, you know,” you say to Sukuna, still looking up, letting your hand fall from his chest. Fuck, he’s ripped.

He nonchalantly gets the bag your manager (grinning behind his hand) is passing him before escorting you out. You notice he didn’t get his arm off of you, and you realise you don’t really mind the soft weight of it. Or maybe you just don’t mind being close to him. Or maybe you don’t mind him at all.

“Now you can tell Yuuji how fucking cool his brother is,” he shrugs, getting you imperceptibly closer to him. You roll your eyes, whining, while he huffs out a laugh.

Back at home, Sukuna goes to take a shower, leaving you with a yapping Yuuji. He’s telling you about his day at school and you get your phone out to read the text you just received, noticing the ping sound.

Worst roommate ever: the cake is urs. eat it. or don’t. idc

[love-belle]

i should hate u !!!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ in which their post break-up era is them using shady captions to communicate and the media and fans being confused.

or

for when you loved them too much. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

social media au // max verstappen x fem!reader

sequel - today and tomorrow and every day after that ⋆·˚ ༘ *

warnings - language

author's note - hello!!! i really hope u like this <3 i was initially gonna do daniel ricciardo one first but i already had 1/2 of this done so i just decided to post this :) thank u sm for reading <3 i love u

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by paddock.club, f1gossippage, y/n4everrr and 6,829 others

f1news y/n y/l/n and max verstappen called it quits almost a month ago and it seems like they didn't end on good terms at all. the singer, at her london show last night, threw shade at her ex-boyfriend, saying and we quote, "the next song wouldn't have been possible without this one dude who inspired it obviously. so — here's 'i should hate you'. spoiler alert, i do. thank you!" the reason for the split is still unknown but sources who claim to be close to the pair said that 'it was bound to happen — with their different goals and plans for the future," seemingly referring to the talks that y/l/n wanted to get married and verstappen didn't. both of them have yet to comment on the situation. for more details, click on the link in our bio.

278 comments

username WOAH

username pause.

username ahahahahaha say what.

username oh my god 💀💀💀

username NOT HER CONFIRMING THAT I SHOULD HATE YOU IS ABT MAX

username no bc the way her voice cracked so many times in between the songs like girlie is angry AND hurt

username OH MY GOD

username i genuinely have no words

username omg the photos are NOT of her shading max. it's her laughing at a fan who yelled "you're the baddest bitch of all baddest bitches" at her

-> username YEAH LIKE SHE WAS SO CLOSE TO CRYING WHEN SHE SANG ISHY

username my delusional ass thinking they ended on good terms 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

username nah it's so champagne problems and you're losing me kinda thing i can't handle this whatcthe fucj

username OH WHATCTHEBFUCJ

username me getting the big guns out to defend her AND max with my LIFE

username still processing their breakup give me a year to digest this information

username STOP WHAT THE FUCK

username my parents ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

username no bc she's genuinely such a sweet person so if she said this max must've done something 😭😭😭😭😭

-> username STOP NO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

username can't believe she's saying this about a dude for whom she wrote "feels like" for like wow.

username I WAS AT THAT SHOW AND SHE LOOKED SO SAD AFTER SHE SAID THIS I FELT SO BAD

-> username SHE ALSO STARTED CRYING WHEN SHE FINISHED SINGING I MISS U IM SORRY AND ZARA (HER LEAD GUITARIST) HAD TO RUN AND CONSOLE HER

-> username AND SHE SAID THAT THE LAST MONTH HAS BEEN HARD ON HER AND SHE APOLOGIZED IF THE SHOW WASN'T AS GOOD AS THE OTHERS

-> username NAH MOTHER ATE AS ALWAYS

username y'all saying this but not the fact that she ALSO said "in another life we would've worked but im grateful for everything i had because for a moment you were mine"

-> username MY HEART JUST BROKE WHATCTHEBFUCK

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by lewishamilton, carlossainz55, pierregasly and 799,155 others

maxverstappen1 i know i say that i am better now, spoiler alert, i am

8,926 comments

username the way my jaw dropped

username THE PICTURES

username GODDAMN

username someone take away y/n's phone before she hits back 💀💀💀

-> username the way i know that she would absolutely destroy him

username NOT THE PHOTOS OMG

danielricciardo spoiler alert, also a liar

-> maxverstappen1 you promised you wouldn't snitch

username he definitely cried while posting this idc

username max babe it's okay to admit that u miss ur wifey bc same 💔💔💔

-> username "wifey" girl he didn't even wanna marry her

-> username not another word.

username funny haha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 im crying 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 now get back with mom.

landonorris no you're not

-> maxverstappen1 i will block you

username lando and daniel exposing max 💀💀💀

username no bc he probably cries whenever he remembers that he fumbled a baddie like y/n

username "it's all better with you ❤️"

-> username i could've gone along with my day without seeing that just saying

-> username delete that RIGHT NOW before i start crying

username missing max simping for y/n like ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

charles_leclerc i swear i can hear you crying from my hotel room

-> maxverstappen1 WE'RE NOT EVEN IN THE SAME HOTEL

username the way im SO sure he heard y/n saying that she hates him and that was the moment he gave up

-> username nah bc he was one of the "my girl's mad at me i hope i die" kinda guys

-> username wonder how he's surviving this tbh

username I CAN'T TAKE THIS SERIOUS IM SORRY THE POST IS JUST TOO FUNNY

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by selenagomez, carmenmmundt, dualipa and 2,246,826 others

yourusername i hate you lol

12,628 comments

username HELP

username she could only get this much in before her manager took away her phone ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

*liked by yourusername*

username no bc girl had a lot to say she's just trying to keep it cute

*liked by yourusername*

username the way i know y/n FOUGHT for the right to post this caption

username this is MILD bc i know y/n can be ruthless 😭😭😭😭😭😭

landonorris "in love" alright.

-> yourusername IT'S FOR THE AESTHETIC

username mother and father are fighting i can't take this what tye fyxk

username 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

username mother slays everyday just saying

username no bc if y/n ever said ihy to me i would give up just a thought

lilymhe pretty bitch

-> yourusername u sure that's not u?????

username i REALLY hope she's at the next gp

-> username no bc the way max and her meeting would definitely be more entertaining than the race itself

username NOT THE SONG LYRICS WHAT HAVE U PLANNED

-> username oh fuck that broke my heart what the fuck

username missing my man max in the comments section being a whipped bitch so bad ://////

carmenmmundt can't wait to see you darling 🤍

-> yourusername counting down the seconds omg i missed u!!!!!!

username y/n's manager has her on lockdown i can tell 💀💀💀

-> username with what she said at her last show i wouldn't be surprised

landonorris the post has reached the target and the target is currently eating ice cream while singing your songs

-> yourusername OH OKAY

-> yourusername good to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

username she's so pretty it's not fair wtf

username the caption omg

-> username it's SO mild compared to what i was expecting tbh 💀

username slay

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by danielricciardo, georgerussell63, charles_leclerc and 892,628 others

maxverstappen1 it's all better now

comments are disabled for this post

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by carmenmmundt, charles_leclerc, landonorris and 2,829,626 others

yourusername and i swear to god i'd kill you if i loved you a less hard

13,728 comments

username SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

username OH MY GOD

username IS THAT MAX WHATCTHEBFUCK

username NOT Y/N SOFT LAUNCHING HER EX BOYFRIEND

username GIRL 😭😭😭😭 get up

username this is INSANE

username MOTHER?????? WHAT IS THIS??????

danielricciardo the most stressful week of my life if we're being for real

-> yourusername u can send m*x the therapy bill

-> maxverstappen1 don't. i did not agree to that.

username HER SONG LYRICS OH MY GOD

username SHE WROTE THIS SONG FOR MAX 😭😭😭😭😭😭

username okay but like. are we SURE that's max?????

-> username i simply refuse to believe that it's someone else so yes. that IS in fact max.

username OKAYYYYYYY

username did NOT see this coming in a thousand years

username obviously VERY happy for them but y/n censoring max's name is so fucking hilarious like

-> yourusername babe it's m*x

-> username my bad ur absolutely right it's m*x

-> maxverstappen1 this is bullying

username DID HE PUT A RING ON IT WHATXTHEBFUCK

-> username NO BC THAT WOULD MAKE SM SENSE

username so i lost SLEEP over nothing????????

maxverstappen1 nice pants

-> yourusername thanks they would look better on ur floor

-> maxverstappen1 say less

-> username i think i just died whatcthebfuxk

-> username oh they're GOOD now

username imagine they just drop engagement photos out of the blue then what.

-> yourusername imagine lol

-> username WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

username i just know y/n's eating up every moment of this chaos

-> maxverstappen1 demons thrive in chaos so

-> yourusername well! it was nice to reconcile for a couple days, goodbye now.

username im crying whayctrhbfcuk

landonorris mother father

-> yourusername child

-> maxverstappen1 no

-> username ah yes the four family members mother father child and no

username THE HEART THE EVERYTHING THEM

username they STILL don't follow eachother LMFAO

[traveler-at-heart]

Brave

Summary: The sudden loss of someone in your family leaves you broken. Natasha tries to help.

A/N: Special thanks to @happychopshoppenguin for helping me to sort out ideas for this plot.

It was a regular day for the Avengers.

Mission, explosions, fighting some bad guys and then fly back in the Quinjet.

“Fury’s gonna be mad” Clint taunts, looking at you.

“He didn’t say how to stop them from sharing the drive with the Chinese” you smile, thinking that blowing up their entire control room was a bit much. But, you were in a hurry to finish the mission and go home.

Clint rolls his eyes and steers the Quinjet.

“Alright, it’s gonna be at least seven hours. Go get some sleep, dynamite. Tasha, you ok?”

Natasha had been quiet, which was nothing new around you. To most people, it was probably the contrast in personalities; while the Russian was reserved, you were very outgoing.

You’d hope it was just that, and not that she disliked you. After a few attempts at conversation that turned cold, you decided to be cordial, but give her space.

Right now, she’s sitting in the back of the Quinjet, no visible injuries. But still, her hand is over her ribs, and she seems to be deep in thought.

You know what’s happening and that she’d never ask for help.

“Do you need to clean any wounds? I’ll take over the Quinjet while you do” you offer to Clint and he shakes his head no. Walking to the first aid kit, you pull out a bottle of water, painkillers and a pack of ice. You’re about to walk to sit next to Natasha, when you bring a hand to your forehead.

“Great. Blood and sooth. I must stink�� placing the first aid stuff next to her, you mumble to yourself about taking a quick shower.

By the time you come out, Natasha has already taken a pill, and has the ice pack over her bruised ribs. Her eyes are closed, and much as you’d like to stare, you go sit next to Clint, hoping to get home soon.

—

Maria is waiting on the hangar when you land.

“Told ya” Clint mocks and you turn to glare at him.

“Did you snitch on me, Barton?”

“Y/N” Maria says, and her tone alone erases your smile.

“What’s wrong?” you say, going over every possible scenario. This is your last mission before a two week break to go back home. “Is it…?”

Your mom was supposed to have surgery. But she was fine. It couldn’t be…

“I’m sorry”

It’s as if a bucket of ice cold water was poured over your head. Your hands are so numb, you can’t feel Natasha taking one of them, her arm around your shoulders.

—

It’s been a week. Natasha tries not to think about you, mainly because there’s nothing she can do to help.

And it’s none of her business when (or if) you come back. Still, she feels a certain heaviness in her movements as she makes her morning coffee.

You always made enough for the two of you. And it tastes so much better than the one Natasha makes.

“Is Y/N around?” Maria walks in, looking for you.

“I thought she was still with her family”

“She came back earlier. It didn’t… it sounded bad. Like a family disagreement had happened on top of everything else” Maria sighs.

“Do you know what it was?”

“All I know is that her mother’s condition had been bad for a while… and then they did emergency surgery but her heart was too weak”

Natasha nods in silence, imagining how hard it must be for you. How your mother always sent something she knitted for everyone on the team on their birthdays, or how your parents would fly to visit at least once a month.

“If you see her, will you let me know? I just want to make sure she’s alright”

“Of course”

—

No one saw you, not even for movie night. It’s not like the team was expecting you, but it was quiet as the movie played on the screen, and only Sam seemed to be paying attention.

Natasha looks at the table in the middle of the room.

You always got her Dr. Pepper. Her guilty pleasure, a little indulgence in her life of strict physical activity and healthy meals.

This time, there’s only beer that no one bothers to drink. A headache threatens to sour her mood even more, but the cupboard with medical supplies is almost empty.

That’s how everything feels without you around.

Natasha had hoped you’d be at the staff meeting next Monday, but everyone took a seat, your chair remained empty.

“We have to do something” Steve says, looking around. His eyes meet Maria’s.

“Well, she’s been going on solo missions”

“And you think that’s a good idea?” Barton challenges, clearly annoyed. Would it be so hard for Fury to give a damn about his team?

“Listen, any one of you is welcomed to join her but I don’t think…”

“I’ll go” Natasha says.

“Good. Maybe she needs some… girl talk” Steve says and everyone laughs for the first time in weeks.

“Yes, we’ll braid our hair while we wait for the bad guys, Steve” Natasha mocks.

“Nice one, Capsicle” Tony says.

Truth be told, Natasha wasn’t expecting such a strong reaction when you saw her at the hangar.

“I’m on solo duty, Natasha” you say without looking at her, getting inside the small aircraft.

“Fury’s orders” the redhead lies, following you. She almost crashes against your back as you stop and turn around.

“If you’re coming, I don’t want to hear any scolding or complains. I’m running this operation”

“That’s fine by me”

Either way, from what she read on the file, it was only information extraction. And yet, you were gone for thirty minutes, after she successfully hacked into the database.

“Where the hell have you been?” Natasha scolds, forgetting about her previous promise.

“Can you get us on the air? I’ll take over in a minute” you answer, your face evidently beaten up, as one of your eyes was starting to swell.

Natasha is torn between concern and anger, but she figures it is better to talk to  you once they’re away from the enemy. With a sigh, she starts the engine and sets the coordinates of the Compound.

A spot on the floor catches her eye.

Blood. A lot of it.

“Y/N?” she stands up, looking around. Following the trail of blood, she opens up the door to the small bathroom. She sees you, your uniform torn around your thigh, a gash exposed. “Oh my God!”

“Ever tried knocking?” you say, without looking at her. Next thing you do is use the surgical stapler to close the wound, not caring to use anesthesia.

“You need stitches”

“I’m fine” you stand up, taking off the top of your uniform. Natasha spots bruises that are just starting to heal.

Maybe that’s why the medical supplies were gone the other day.

“Y/N…”

“If you’re not gonna fly, I’m taking over” you walk towards the cabin, and she stands there, looking at all the blood that you left behind.

What the hell is she gonna tell Maria when you come back?

There’s a moment of silence as you land the Quinjet. You hope that Natasha will not even start about your injury, so you wait for her to leave.

“Y/N?” 

“I’m fine, Natasha”

“I’m worried” she admits in a low voice, which catches you off guard. You’ve never thought she cared enough, not about you at least.

“I’ll stop going on missions until I’m better”

She wants to tell you it’s not enough, because an injury isn’t the issue here. But Natasha also recognizes when she’s about to cross a boundary. 

So, she just nods and leaves the hangar. The feeling of defeat comes with her as you’re left alone on the jet.

—

Another Monday, another staff meeting. 

To everyone’s surprise, you’re the last through the door. Steve sits up, but the rest of the team just looks at you, afraid that saying anything else might scare you away.

For your part, you ignore everyone but Natasha, placing a paper bag from her favorite bakery in front of her. 

She smiles at you, because it’s something you always do on Monday meetings. This time, you don’t mutter your usual excuse of being around the bakery first thing in the morning. You do give a little smile in return, and Natasha tries to ignore the warm feeling she gets from the gesture.

“Everyone, have a seat” Maria says, trying to pretend she isn’t surprised to see you as well. “We have word of a HYDRA base storing potentially dangerous technology. It’s big enough to send the whole team”

“Surely some of us could stay behind if we’re not up for it” Barton says, avoiding your eyes. He’s the only one that knows about what happened on your mission with Natasha. 

“It’s not ideal, but if anyone wants out, speak now. Very well”, she continues after a beat of silence. “Here’s the map of the facility. You leave in an hour”

—

The mission was completed. 

Barely. 

You’re holding a gauze against your side, to stop the bleeding from a bullet graze. Fury’s been called to go over what happened. 

He doesn’t seem pleased.

“You better do something about her” Tony says, his finger pointing at you.

“Stark” Barton warns but you don’t even react to his confrontation.

“No, I don’t want to hear it. If she wants to go and get killed, that’s her deal. But we were just about done with the mission when she decides to fight a dozen HYDRA agents on her own”

“We need to calm down” Steve says.

“No, there was a town a few miles south and HYDRA had nuclear warheads. Have we learned nothing? This could have been catastrophic” 

“But it wasn’t, so…”

“If you have some mommy issues to deal with, do it on your free time. I’m not gonna burden myself with civilian deaths over your trauma” 

“Tony!” Steve reprimands, standing up. They’re so busy facing each other, they never see you approaching. You throw a punch that hits Stark square in the eye, followed by another one that breaks his nose.

“Say that again, you fucking asshole” you shout, throwing a kick that never lands. It takes Steve and Bucky to hold you back. “Talk shit, Stark, see what happens” 

“That’s enough. You’re suspended, effective immediately” Fury says.

“I’ll do you one better. I quit” you push Rogers and Bucky away, not bothering to look at the rest of your teammates. 

It’s better this way.

—

It’s not hard to find you. Being a professional spy works in Natasha’s favor, but you’re basically bouncing from your apartment to the bar around the corner.

Sit and drink.

That’s all you do from the moment you walk in, around noon and then you leave past midnight. Before going up your apartment, you stop by the bodega to get another bottle of whatever cheap booze they have and call it a night.

Natasha looks from across the street, debating between going inside and talking to you or just going home.

What can she tell you to make it all better?

That’s the question she asks herself all week, and come Friday Natasha still doesn’t have an answer. 

The bar is crowded and the redhead figures it’s safe enough to go inside without being spotted.

You’re in your usual spot, leaning against the bar while sitting on a stool. The loud music and conversations make you dizzy, but you still ask for another scotch and drink half of it in one gulp.

“Are you moving anytime soon?” a twenty something year old pops out of nowhere and you don’t even look his way. “We want to sit at the bar and watch the game, I’m sure you can go be a sad drunk somewhere else”

“Fuck off” you say after finishing your drink and asking for another one. When they give it to you, the idiot knocks it from your hand. 

“You have ten seconds to apologize or leave” you rub your temples, thinking how much worse your headache will be after kicking his ass.

“I don’t think so” he says, throwing a punch at you. Even with all you drank, you’re able to avoid his fist, knocking him down in one swift motion.

“Crap” you kinda forgot he was not alone. Three more guys show up, and while you’re busy blocking some kicks, one of them manages to punch you in the face. You fall to the ground, feeling a kick to your side and a fist that connects with your nose.

At this point, you give up, thinking that getting your ass kicked in a bar is just as effective as drinking the day away.

But the next attack never comes. In fact, all three men are down.

“Get up” you hear someone say. 

It sounds like Natasha.

You try to stand, but there’s a pain in your side. Before you can collapse on the ground, arms go around your waist and help you stand, walking side by side all the way to your apartment.

The lavender scent and the gentle touch confirms it’s Natasha, and you try not to think about how much you’ve missed her.

The redhead opens the door to your apartment, letting you down on the couch. You grunt as you sit, blood running down your nose and temple.

Yeah, this is going to be the worst hangover of your life.

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Natasha says looking around the place. 

You really did miss her and the thought finally breaks you.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” Natasha kneels in front of you the minute you let out a sob, tears mixing with the blood.

“It’s not worth it, Nat. I’m not worth the trouble. You should go” you plead, overwhelmed at the guilt that’s been consuming you for weeks now.

“What are you talking about?” 

“She kept asking for me. When they were at the hospital. She wanted to see me, she was scared and in pain and I wasn’t there. My mother died and I didn’t get to say goodbye” 

“Y/N…”

“What kind of person does that? How can you fail so badly to the people that loved you?” 

“You didn’t fail”

“Yes, I did” you say, struggling to breathe.

“You didn’t. It’s ok” Natasha tries to calm you, her hands going through your hair until your breathing evens out. 

The rush of adrenaline leaves your body, and pretty soon, you’re slumped against the couch, Natasha’s hands still in yours.

—

There’s light. And pain.

A different kind than the one you’ve had. As you sit up, you feel your bruised ribs and when you grimace, the split lip reminds you your face didn’t fare any better during your fight.

Natasha…

“How are you feeling?” you turn to find the woman standing in the middle of your kitchen. 

“Like shit” you reply and she chuckles.

“There’s some coffee. It’s not as good as the one you make, but it will do. I should go” she sets her cup down, sighing.

“You don’t have to…” you want her to stay. But you don’t know what will happen if you ask her.

“I do, actually” she walks towards the door, but you endure the pain to meet her at the threshold. 

“Nat”

“No” she shakes her head, without looking back at you. “You have no idea how hard it is to watch someone you love hurt themselves”

The word love echoes, making you take a step back.

Natasha turns to look at you, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“I guess you were bound to find out eventually”

“Natasha” you plead, not knowing what to say.

“No, I don’t want to hear it. I won’t go into this when you’re going through hell and all i’ve done is watch you from afar. I guess I just want you to know…” she wipes the tears and looks at you. “You buy my favorite brand of peanut butter. You wake up one hour before I do, but the coffee is done only when I’m up. My water bottle is always full and cold before going to the gym. You charge my phone when I forget to, and when it’s late and I’m still working you stop by and tell me you made too much pasta just so I eat something…. You’re not a bad person. You’re wonderful and I wish I could have told you sooner. I’m sorry” Natasha turns around and leaves.

You don’t stop her this time.

—

It’s been three days and Natasha hasn’t heard from you. To be fair, she said a lot of things and didn’t wait for you to reply, so that might have been a bad idea.

Talking to Clint might be the only solution and she’s looking for him when you leave the conference room, followed by Maria and Steve.

Tony approaches you from the other side and Natasha waits around the corner.

“I’m sorry about what I said” Stark says and you nod.

“Fair enough. Not sorry about punching you, though”

“Fair enough” he repeats, smiling.

When they all leave, you turn back, your eyes meeting Natasha’s.

“Hi” you approach her, hands inside your pockets.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sober”

“That’s good”

“Mhm” you nod, holding her stare. Your eyes travel to her lips and you sigh. “Can we talk?”

“We don’t have to…”

“I wanna show you something. It won’t take long, I promise. What do you say?” you offer your hand and she stares at it for a second.

When Natasha nods and takes it, you hold her tight, leading her out of the Compound.

—

“She loved Central Park” you remember, walking around the benches, Natasha’s hand still in yours. “The whole city, really”

“She liked it because you live here, I think” Natasha says and you nod.

“Well, that and the pizza”

“Right” the redhead nods. You find a bench and lead her to it, pointing at the plaque.

Love is only for the brave, followed by your mother’s name.

“Is something she said often. Figured it might be nice to have it here, for people to read and gather courage”

“That’s a beautiful way to remember her” Natasha nods, aware that you’re moving closer.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you what I thought back at my place, Nat” 

“You don’t need to explain anything” she interrupts, giving you a way out.

“I didn’t think you liked me that much. And I absolutely thought I was being more discreet about my feelings for you” 

“It’s hard for me to think that love makes you brave… or strong” Natasha says, taking a step forward so you’re inches apart. 

“I know. Please let me show you?”

“I think I’d like that” she nods, leaning forward until your lips meet in a short kiss.

When you break apart, you remember that time your mother visited. How she insisted Natasha looked at you in a special way. 

“What’s so funny?” Natasha asks against your lips when you smile.

“I love you” you say and she pulls you closer.

Everything will be ok, as long as you have each other.

[prayerforlovingsorrow]

HALF LIFE TUMBLR SIMULATOR:

🌐 breenofficial follow

This is your daily reminder that we do in fact see your internet history. Please refrain from looking things up such as "breen leaked feet pics". Thank you.

🗨 combineofficial follow

To add on: please stop looking up "Metrocop x Reader", thank you.

🪄 c17-mp2901 follow

whoever keeps stealing my rations from the breakroom owes me AT LEAST six days worth at this point.

📀 c17-mp183729 follow

Its happening to you too, 2901? I thought it was just me...

🔆 c17-mp89388 follow

This is a reminder that we work hard for our rations and it's kinda fucked up to steal people's hard work... idk if its just me but why is it normalized to make fun of Civil Protection?? We're just doing out job.

@combinefeedback can you fix this??

💠 combinefeedback follow

Hello! Please email us at combinecomplaints@theoverwatch11.com to submit a formal complaint.

🍻 bcalhoun follow

Lol

🛡 the-resistance follow

Double agent of the week has been announced! Special thanks to @ bcalhoun for his hard work. He has reportedly stolen weeks worth of rations from the City 17, District 6 breakroom, thoroughly demotivating the metrocops :).

🟠 gfreeman-fan follow

Looking for a roleplay partner! I'd be roleplaying my BlackMesa!OC, Jamie. I'm okay roleplaying with BlackMesa!Ocs or Gordon Freeman. Breen roleplayers please do not interact!

🩵 breen-defender follow

What's wrong with breen?? /gen

🟠 gfreeman-fan follow

What do you mean what's wrong with breen?? U literally support... ☹️☹️ blocked and reported.

🛡 the-resistance follow

Gordon Freeman fanart drawn by @gfreemanlefttoe!

[gordon_fanart_final_FINAL_FINALREALLY.jpg]

🔬 eye-kleiner follow

Wow! 😍 Most Accurate Drawing I've Seen Yet! Amazing Work, gfreemanlefttoe!

🪼 justice4cremators follow

THE FUCKING USERNAME I CANT.

🍻 bcalhoun follow

As someone who knew Gordon before all this... kinda wild ngl.

⚓️ a-d-vanced follow

My dad literally worked with Gordon I can't imagine how he feels knowing gfreemanlefttoe is a real username.

🔭 elivance388 follow

It's funny asf.

🪨 lazlo-greatest-mind-of-our-generation follow

DNI: Breen defenders (wtf is wrong with you), Gordon Freeman x Breen Shippers 😭😭, Resistance snitches, if you work with the combine AT ALL (THIS IS MY BLOG OKAY??), antlions, if you own any headcrabs as pets. They're literally exotic creatures wtf is wrong with you..

⚓️ a-d-vanced follow

[dog_picture.jpg]

Here's a selfie with my pet dog!

🚫 alyxvancehateblog follow

I literally saw him attack a combine soldier yesterday...

⚓️ a-d-vanced follow

And???

🚫 alyxvancehateblog follow

Kinda weird ngl...

⚓️ a-d-vanced follow

Ermmm in literally neurodivergent and a minor 🤓

📘 real-history-facts follow

Today, 10 years ago, the Resonance Cascade happened!

🧠 brmy-md follow

Who remembers x files... 😭😭

☢️ stalkerk follow

Rb with what you miss most about pre combine life

🎶 dmmeformusic follow

Predictably, music...

🎁 cindyc follow

Holidays...

🐱 catlover2882777 follow

Cats@

[Cat.jpg]

🍻 bcalhoun follow

WHICH MUTUAL REBLOGGED THIS I HAVE ALL CAT TAGS BLOCKED PLEASE TAG YOUR CAT PICTURES. JESUS CHRIST.

🔭 elivance388 follow

WHO FUCKING DID THIS.

🫐 ocubbage follow

hehe

⚓️ a-d-vanced follow

CUBBAGE??? WHAT???

🌐 breen-grub follow

Username change. Gfhhhh 👍

🍻 bcalhoun follow

Who hacked breen again?

🥬 cgreen follow

Lmao

🗨 combineofficial follow

PLEASE STOP WRITING BREEN X METROCOP STORIES. THANK YOU.

[honorarysimp]

Chapter 1: Bite Me

series masterlist

Mabel really, really, doesn’t want to be doing this right now.

There’s at least five other things she could be doing right now, but no, she’s doing the one thing she swore she’d never do again.

Is this rock bottom? It has to be.

Charlie, who’s sat in the passenger, has been prodding her with question after question since she told him she knows someone who might be able to help them.

It’s not that she’s dodging his questions per se, but she isn’t entirely sure how to answer them either.

They’re in deep shit right now, no thanks to her, and the predicament reminds Mabel just why she doesn’t stick her neck out for strangers anymore. Not that Charlie is exactly a stranger, she is sort of sleeping with him, and he is sort of her boyfriend.

But this? This is a bit much, even for her, which is why it puts a bitter taste in Mabel’s mouth knowing who she’s having to turn to for help.

In their defense, it’s not like the guys signed up to get a hundred thousand grand worth of heroin stolen from them. Tom had accused her of being the one who ratted them out, which wasn’t true, so she had to act fast.

Being a snitch around here can get you killed, rumors can get you killed.

There’s only one person who stood any chance to helping her put out this dumpster fire.

And when she pulls up in front of a house on the more secluded side of town, Mabel feels the ache in her chest at the familiar porch steps. That swing, the unkept bushes out front, even from where she’s parked the car on the road she can spot a few beer cans littering the wooden rail.

Seems like nothing has changed at all.

“-Mabel”.

Her eyes snap to Charlie, who’s already looking at her, he’s probably been saying her name for a good minute now based on the confused and worried expression on his face.

He let his brother trash on her at the bar, even when he said he believed her, Mabel was righteously pissed at him for not standing up for her. But, that aside, she agree to let him come with her for this.

Charlie is a good guy, a great guy even. There’s something there without a doubt, and Mabel is fairly sure she could grow to be in love with him. She could be happy even, considering all the opportunity having him around will bring.

Is it wrong? Maybe. But Mabel promised herself she’d get out of this goddamn town, away from everything tainted and poisoned.

And for what it’s worth, she actually does like Charlie.

First, unfortunately for her, she’ll have to figure out how to get them out of something that was suppose to help them.

A hand on hers makes her snap out of her thoughts again, Charlie says her name again, softly. But she instinctively pulls away, because she can’t, not when that house sits just over his shoulder out the window behind him.

“Sorry, just uh… it’s a lot” is what she says, and he nods, trying to reassure her with his softly spoken words, but Mabel tunes them out.

She can’t help it, not when her eyes keep getting drawn to that paint chipped black door, and the familiar car parked in the open garage to the left of it.

Has it really been a year?

“Let’s just get this over with” Mabel mutters, cutting the engine and pushing the drivers side door open far too aggressively.

All she can hear as she walks along the path and up the porch steps is her own heartbeat slowly increasing, fidgeting with her fingers at her sides.

She doesn’t knock, she never did before and she won’t start now. Charlie splutters behind her, glancing around with wide eyes as if expecting law enforcement to roll up, Mabel doesn’t wait for him as she makes her way through the threshold.

It almost relieves her when she doesn’t smell that distinct linger of Mary Jane in the air, but Mabel steels herself, reminds herself what happens here isn’t her problem anymore.

Finally she pushes herself forward, wooden floorboards creaking under her boots as she makes her way deeper into the house that was once the closest thing to home Mabel ever had.

It hurts, how much she misses it here. The worn leather couch, the framed movie posters lining the walls, the tv stand she knows has drawers full of CD’s with a variety of film genres. A line of conch shells along the windowsill, those same windows that always stay cracked open to allow in the sound of ocean off in the distance.

And then she reaches the study.

There you are, back to her as you seem to be reorganizing the books on the shelf you face, even then Mabel knows you heard her walk in.

You don’t turn until she wraps her knuckle against the doorframe, hesitantly stepping into the study, it’s only then when she realizes Charlie had followed her inside. Stepping up next to her, his eyes on you with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

When you do face her, it takes everything in her not to buckle, those eyes never fail to make her chest ache.

She fucking hates it.

“Hey sunshine” you say softly, as if you cherish the long lost nickname rolling off your tongue after so long.

“Lucky” Mabel says flatly, bitterly.

You smile, widely, almost charmingly. Mabel glares, unrelenting and jaw muscle twitching as she clenches her teeth.

Your gaze then goes to Charlie, but rather than any emotion Mabel assumes you’d express, you only look amused.

“Looks like you took my advice” you say as you look back to Mabel, who only feels bile start to work its way up her throat.

“That’s not funny, nor anywhere near true” Mabel deadpans, which makes you shrug, smile only growing as you slide the book in your hand back on to the shelf before turning to face them fully.

Charlie looks between you two, once and then again, “you two close?” he tries to gauge the dynamic as he shifts his weight from one foot to the next.

Mabel’s head tilts just slightly, rolling her eyes as her thumb comes up to scratch the space between her eyebrows.

“Use to be” you answer since she doesn’t, tucking your hands into your jean pockets “back in the day”.

Mabel is silent, jaw slightly offset as she runs her tongue along her teeth in her mouth, “Charlie can you give us a minute?” she says as her gaze lingers on you before dropping to the floor. Watching him from her peripheral over her shoulder.

Charlie laughs humorlessly, mouth quirking up only to fall the moment she turns her head to shoot him a look. He looks ready to protest, eyes flickering between the two of you before deflating slightly, sneakers squeaking against the wood as he begins to walk backwards.

The moment he’s out of the room, you trail after him, pausing at the door and then slowly pushing it until only a slight crack remains between it and the frame.

“What’ve you got yourself into now?” You ask as you turn to head back across the room, your shoulder brushing against hers as you pass.

On purpose? Absolutely.

“Now’s not the time to be grilling me” Mabel says flatly, crossing her arms as you move to sit back against the desk behind you, a sight that once use make her knees weak.

You hum, fingers curled around the edge of the desk as you lean your weight back against your palms “you wouldn’t have come here otherwise, am I wrong?”

“God, you really haven’t changed at all, still thinking that you know everything”.

“I think you forget just how well I do know you”.

“You don’t know me anymore-“

“And yet here you are” you say lowly, one corner of your mouth tugging up slightly as you add “it’s good to see you”.

Those words are like blowing dust off an old record, sat on a turntable, needle being rested down as the familiar melody begins to repeat itself again. A song Mabel has tried to forget the tune to, but with you, it’s her guilty pleasure.

A lapse of silence falls between the two of you, and as much as the words taste like battery acid coming out of her mouth, Mabel says them anyways.

You are, after all, the only person she fully trusts in a hundred mile radius. Even after everything.

“I need your help”.

You tense slightly, because of course you wouldn’t tease her for this, why would you? Mabel asking for help is the equivalent of watching pigs fly.

“Fuck Mabel, what’ve you gotten yourself into?”

Mabel clenches her jaw, looking away from you, wondering exactly how she was going to not only break this to you. But also how she was going to convince you to help once you knew the extent of the current predicament.

“Listen, I was just trying to help the guys and I understand being desperate for cash, and Charlie thought-“

You push off the desk, standing up straight which has Mabel’s eyes going back to you. You’re looking at her like you already know, and she’d be more surprised if you didn’t.

“It’s Weeks” she whispers, shifting her weight nervously before forcing her head up high, feigning a collected aura.

“We owe him a hundred thousand for losing a delivery”.

And then there it is, that familiar look of irritation, “goddamn it Mabel- it’s like what I did meant nothing to you? Unfuckingbelivable-“

You walk right past her, ripping the door to your study open, wood groaning under your quick steps.

Mabel is right behind you, not even sparing Charlie a glance as you both pass where he’s stood in the living room, pretending to keep himself busy until the loud burst of voices pulls his attention.

“Don’t you fucking start with me, I never asked you to do that, and the fact you still hold it against me-“

“-that isn’t what I hold against you and you know it-“

“-you shouldn’t hold anything against me considering the bullshit YOU pulled-“

The screen door cracks against the frame as you shove through the front door of the house, Mabel catches it mid bounce and slips through after you. It smacks the frame again, Charlie not being as smooth as he tries to keep up with you both.

“For the millionth time, I was honest with you from the start, are we seriously going to have this fucking conversation now-“

“-you’re the one who caught a goddamn attitude with me, when I was trying to be reasonable-“

You laugh humorlessly, shooting her a look of disbelief over your shoulder as you opt out the stairs of the porch, slipping over the railing off to the side instead. “You? Reasonable? Get the fuck out of here with that shit.”

Mabel is quick to go around, catching up with you just as you reach the garage, rounding the vehicle just as you tug the passenger side door open “you keep fucking talk to me like that I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass-“

“Yo! Where are we going?” Charlie calls as he finally catches up, rounding the house and standing at the open of the garage, hands cupped around his mouth to get both your attention.

“Not you pretty boy-“ you point a finger at him, your other hand still gripping the top of the door of the vehicle, Mabel scoffs and smacks your arm hard before digging into her jacket pocket for her keys.

“Go to home, I’ll have Lucky drop me off after” Mabel says as she tosses the keys to Charlie, he fumbles them slightly, looking between them in his hand and the two of you just as Mabel slips into the car.

“What-“

“Not. You. Go home” you say warningly, a look in your eyes that leaves no room for argument as you give the passenger door a shove to shut it behind her.

He steps in front of you as you round the hood, eyes hard and chest puffed, he’s got a good foot on you but even then you just gaze up at him with a subtle smug expression.

“I’m not a child, and that’s my girlfriend you’re taking off with, I’m coming-“

“Your girlfriend?” You say with a laugh, which only makes the muscle in his jaw twitch as he clenches his teeth. You look through the windshield at Mabel who’s actively trying to act like she can’t see this confrontation happening.

“She’s came to me, so I can help you clean up your fucking mess, do me a favor and don’t make this worse than you already have” you say as you casually reach forward to give his chest a firm pat, pushing him out of your way as you head for the driver side door.

“Which you’re welcome for, by the way. Don’t worry yourself too much, I’ll have her home by her curfew” you say as you shoot him a wink, tugging the door open and dropping into the driver seat.

He takes a few steps back and out of the way as you start up the engine, the rumble coming from it loud from the confined space of the garage.

Mabel keeps her eyes out the passenger window, looking at nothing specific, arms crossed and stubborn grimace etched into her sharp features.

“Do you want him to come?”

A pause of silence, her shoulders tensing just slightly, “just go”.

You don’t offer another word, shifting the car into gear and slamming the gas. The tires screech as you cut the steering, pulling on to the road and fishtailing the back wheels as you speed down the road.

It’s quiet for a solid three minutes, it’s a bit strange, the both of you being back here. Where it all started.

“Fill me in so I know what I’m working with” you say as you slowly release your death grip on the wheel, the white in your knuckles easing as you flex your fingers.

Mabel takes a deep breath in, propping her elbow up on the car door and pinching the bridge of her nose.

But she does fill you in, briefly explaining to you how she’d met Charlie and then found out they needed quick cash to get their fishing vessel ‘Finestkind’ back from the coast guard, fishing illegally in Canadian waters or something.

They needed money, she put them in contact with Weeks and he gave them a job, a job that was a bust. Considering they got jumped and robbed of all the product.

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you” Mabel says after a lapse of silence, you hum and chew the inside of your cheek.

“Yeah, well, he knows better by now not to mention anything to me involving you” you say bluntly, twisting your neck side to side and easing at the satisfying pops.

That makes her scoff, keeping her gaze out the window “committing arson to get laid definitely wasn’t your best moment”.

“Says a lot more about you for sleeping with me than it says about my pyromaniac tendencies” you say pointedly, which begins to pull a genuine laugh out of Mabel. But she’s quick to cover it, opting to shoot you a glare and swinging her arm out to hit your chest.

You bat her hand away, and then your eyes lock, the both of you clearly fighting back a smile.

“Please fucking pay attention to the road, before you get us killed” Mabel deadpans, looking between you and the windshield as she gestures towards it.

You roll your eyes, shaking your head but doing as she asks as, muttering a “bite me” under your breath.

____________________________________________

“I can’t guarantee he’ll listen”.

You push the passenger door shut as she slips out of it, both of your gazes on the familiar building ahead.

“No, but you’re the only person he’ll hear out”.

The Supreme Donut shop, for reasons you still don’t know, is his stomping ground. The donuts aren’t even that good, but who are you to speak on it.

As the two of you approach, you open the door for her and follow her in. The donut shop is a cliché, but it’s nice. Red booth chairs and white tables, wide windows for all the natural light you could ever need, tile floors and the smell of freshly brewed coffee lingering in the air. You step around Mabel just as you spot Marky and Weeks sitting across from each other eating. Their usual table, you aren’t surprised. Talking quietly to one another, but when they see you they regard you with familiarity.

“We’ve been trying to call you, where you been?” Weeks begins, but when he spots Mabel as she steps around from behind you, the sight of you two side by side pulls a laugh of disbelief from him.

“Did hell freeze over? Or did Marky slip something into my coffee” Weeks jokes, dusting the crumbs off his hands as he glances to his older brother, who’s quiet but has a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

“We came to talk to you about the shipment her people went out to grab” you say smoothly, tucking your hands into your jean pockets as you roll back on to your heels.

His eyes go from you to Mabel, a hum of acknowledgement as he leans back into his seat, rubbing the gruff of his chin before pointing at her “we was about to come have a nice chat with you, your ears must’ve been burning”.

“The crew got robbed by fake cops, Tom got his ass kicked by these guys” Mabel starts to explain, “all I’m asking is you hear them out before doing anything that could get someone hurt-“

“Of course I’ll take your word for it. After being such a help for me? But that doesn’t exempt the guys from being reckless with my product” Weeks says as he weaves his fingers together and rests him on his stomach, eyes lacking remorse as he props his feet up in the chair in front of him.

“C’mon Weeks, be fucking for real for a second” you say as you pull the chair out from under his feet, his eyes snap to you as you sit down in it.

“You of all people understand needing money to take care of your people, we all do, they can’t help it they got mugged. Give them a chance to work the shit out before you go killing people” you say quietly, holding his gaze with your own serious yet convincing one.

He stares unwaveringly at first, he and Marky exchanging a look before he takes a deep breath, chest deflating as his eyes return to yours.

“Alright, but if these jokers fuck me over, it’s your head on a platter” Weeks says as he locks his eyes with yours, without looking away he gestures to Mabel behind you.

“Hers too, and this time there is no forgiving or forgetting, no matter who you are to me or what all you’ve done for me”.

You hold your ground, neither of you looking away from each other. But then Mabel is muttering your name under her breath behind you, and your clenched jaw relaxes slightly.

“Thanks for your cooperation” you say as you give his leg a sharp pat, standing and beginning to walk away.

“I think I miss you two being together, you were always so much more tolerable when your bitch had you on a leash”.

It should’ve been expected, he always enjoys getting a rile out of you, which is why he doesn’t flinch when you spin on your heel to face him again.

“Don’t push it, Lucky”, but then Mabel is in front of you, hands on your chest and pushing you towards the door.

“Go. OUT”.

You hold his malicious gaze until she’s got you out the door, swatting her hands away as you beeline for your car.

“Hey, hey! Stop!”

“You got what you want, alright?! So don’t try and act like you give a shit” you snap as you wheel on her, but as always she’s matching you with an unwavering intensity.

Mabel steps forward, her gaze locked to yours, her entire body is tense and her face stoic.

“Stop acting so cold to me.”

“You’re one to talk” you hiss through your teeth, your gaze going back to the building you’d just walked out of, heart pounding unnecessarily fast in your chest. Not out of anger towards her, but out of something you won’t name: fear.

Mabel lets out a frustrated sigh, her shoulders visibly rising and falling, something is different about her reaction to your harsh demeanor. She’s normally snarky and cold right back but now she just seems… conflicted.

“It’s different with you and you know it, don’t try and pull that bullshit on me.”

You clench your teeth, still glaring at the building as if you have a personal vendetta with those walls rather than the individuals within you’d both just confronted.

“You don’t have the right to say that anymore” you mutter under your breath, forcing your eyes to hers, the unspoken year apart between you suddenly becomes loud.

Mabel’s body tenses once more, her jaw set and her eyes are a mixture of hurt and anger. Everything changes in the tone of her voice, going from snappy and annoyed to tired.

“Don’t make this about that. That- that was months ago.” Her voice is shaky but stern, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

It’s not a wonder why this conversation is suddenly diverting towards digging up the past, every single one you two have always seems to lead to it.

Probably because so much of it was left unanswered and unfinished.

You cover the emotions her words bring with a hard expression, eyes sharp as you turn away from her to walk towards the car again.

“Then you’ll be fine when I drop you off at your new pretty and rich boyfriend’s place”.

Mabel’s expression falters further at your words, her body tensing even more, face falling as you turn your back to her and start walking.

“He’s not my boyfri-“ Mabel can’t even finish that sentence as she begins to speed walk next to you, trying to get you to stop as a mixture of anger and… something else start to bubble deep in her chest.

“He’s under the impression he is” you say as you grab the car door, unlocking it and pulling it open, refusing to look at her.

Mabel follows you to the car but she doesn’t get inside, she grabs the window frame to block you from doing so, trying to get you to look at her “stop acting like you care who I’m dating.”

“You know damn fucking well I do” you hiss, shoving the car door shut, yanking it free from her grasp in effect as you fully turn to face her, “and don’t pull that bullshit on me considering you came to me for help”.

“You say that but then you give me the silent treatment every time you see me around town, it’s childish” Mabel retorts, getting in your face, her breath coming out as shaky, and her teeth clenched.

“And don’t even try to pull that bullshit card. You know I couldn’t have not come to you for help”.

“Well you’re clear now, have your boy to get his fucking shit together because Weeks won’t give him weeks to make up for what he lost” you tell her sternly, chest rising and falling from your short cut breaths.

Mabel rolls her eyes, feeling like this conversation is clearly going nowhere. She steps closer, leaning into your personal space, her hands curling into tight fists at her sides.

“Stop being a prick and stop acting like you know what’s good for me. I asked for your help, what I didn’t ask for was your input on my relationship”.

“I do know what’s good for you, that’s exactly why I told you months ago that you needed a rich daddy’s boy since I’m clearly only what you need when you need it” you say lowly, eyes hard and full of unspoken emotion.

Tension fills the little space between the two of you, a chemistry you both use to bask in, but now it’s only suffocating.

Your words sting with a truth that Mabel can’t deny. And it only makes the mixture of anger and sadness bubbling in her chest all the more intense. She feels like drowning, a feeling that’s only reserved for you, or maybe she never got over it. Mabel’s jaw clenches once more and her eyes are full of fire as she stares back at you.

“You always have something to say, don’t you? You don’t get to just give me fucking financial advice and then judge my goddamn relationship months after we broke up”.

“So you are only dating him for what he’s offering” you laugh, shaking your head as you round the car, heading for the passenger side.

Mabel’s face falls, and a pang of guilt runs through her. Why is that your first thought?

Mabel scoffs, following behind you.

“No! It’s not like that, it’s more complicated than that.”

You say nothing, holding her gaze as you open the passenger door for her. So many unspoken things linger in the air, you both know each other far too well, two sides of a coin you use to say.

Too similar, too different, too hot-headed, too compatible.

Your eyes cut to the car, then back to her, indicating she get in.

Mabel stays quiet and just stares back at you for moment. She can practically see the thoughts working through your head. You two always have been a mirrored image, and Mabel hates it because it makes it easy for you both to read one another.

It’s why you worked, and why you didn’t.

Mabel wants to say something, but a voice in the back of her head tells her to just get in the car, this is a fight she won’t win today.

Not that she can blame you, it’s not like you know the full extent of the truth behind what happened back then.

For now at least, considering how bad things are looking right now, it may only be a matter of time. You are helping her after all, she isn’t sure if you’ll hate her more or less if you were to find out the truth.

Mabel finally relents, getting into the passenger seat of the car, and as always you close the door behind her.

You truly shouldn’t be doing this for her, Mabel should’ve just dealt with the consequences, this is her mess.

Somewhere, deep within the confines of her chest cavity where her heart beats under the cage of bones surrounding it, she knows the truth.

To her you were a compass, a guide and martyr, her salvation that kept her grounded.

But Jesus fucking Christ, now you’re the biggest pain in her ass.

next.

[multific]

The Yule Ball

Mattheo Riddle x Reader

Summary: With the Triwizard Tournament came the Yule Ball.

The Yule Ball, something that both excited and terrified you.

You were super excited to have a night which you can spend dancing and having fun with your friends.

Terrified because there will be a big dance and you were yet to find a partner. 

You felt like everyone already had someone they were going with. You caught some couples practising their dance.

And yet, there you were, alone. 

No one asked you to the Ball.

And you didn't know why.

But everyone else knew why.

They were waiting for Mattheo to ask you for the dance.

But nothing happened.

But Mattheo was dense. And so were you.

You two were barely even friends, you were friends with Theodore, it is how you met Mattheo.

You knew he was a troublemaker, but there is something about bad boys. Always the bad boys...

As the Ball began to near, you grew more and more nervous. You thought of asking a boy out yourself, but you were too shy to do so.

You knew you will go to the dance, that was for sure, you didn't just waste all your money on a dress that you aren't going to wear after all.

But, somehow no one seems to be interested in taking you.

It got to the point where you asked your friend if you smelled or looked ugly, to which you only received a laugh.

"Guys are not asking you, because everyone knows that you should go with a certain someone." this surprised you.

"Who?!"

"Oh, you will know."

But you didn't.

You had no clue at all who she was talking about.

The next day, you found yourself going to the next Quidditch match. Grabbing some snacks, you were about to head up to your seat when someone called out your name.

You turned and saw Mattheo in his Quidditch attire with his broom in his hand walking over to you. He stopped not far from you and smirked.

"Y/N, if I win, you come to the dance with me!" your eyes nearly fell out of your head.

"O-Of course!"

"Good!" he smiled, such a sweet smile before he walked away. It all happened so fast, after about ten minutes you debated if it really happened in the first place.

You sat down next to your friend to whom you told everything.

"Finally! Basically the entire school was waiting for him to ask you!"

"What?!"

"Draco even told him that if Mattheo won't ask you, he will."

"What? Why?"

"Mattheo obviously likes you, duh!"

"Duh?"

"And you like him, right?" your eyes left her moving to the boy in question who was the seeker for Slytherin. He was focused and very skilled in flying.

"I thi-I do."

"Now you have the perfect dress and the perfect boy!" she giggled, clapping his hands. "I can't wait to see his face when you walk in with that gorgeous dress."

Your eyes never left Mattheo for the entire match. 

Slytherin played against Ravenclaw. 

You smiled as everything turned green.

Slytherin won. Mattheo held the golden snitch, smiling directly at you. You offered him a smile back. 

---

On the day of the Ball you were both excited and nervous.

You didn't know what to expect.

It ran through your head a couple times that Mattheo was possibly joking or pranking you. 

But he wouldn't be so cruel, would he?

No.

Yes?

Maybe?

No.

He looked serious.

And if what your friend told you is true, he wouldn't be pranking you.

Right?

You let out a long sigh as you looked at yourself in the mirror. You absolutely adored the dress you were wearing. 

Such a simple yet amazing dress. 

You even managed to do your hair perfectly.

"Y/N! Your knight in shining armour is waiting! Let's goooo!" your friend yelled from your door as she came in.

"Do I look okay?"

"OKAY? Do you look OKAY?! You look stunning! Mattheo will be a fool if he at least doesn't kiss you!" 

"Please stop joking around!"

"I'm not! He will be amazed! I'm telling you! Now, let's go!" she grabbed your arm as she lead you out of your room down the stairs towards the Ball room.

You felt your heart hammer in your chest as she let go of your arm and headed down, giving you a wink before running towards her boyfriend. 

You took one last deep breath before stepping out. You immediately saw Mattheo but his back was towards you, he was talking to your friend and Theodore. Theo then pointed at you which made Mattheo turn and your eyes met.

You were already halfway down the stairs when you offered him a smile.

His hand reached out and you took it immediately.

"You look..." he looked you up and down, and when he didn't find the right word, you let out a small giggle.

"Thank you, you look really good as well." you smiled as he lead you into the great hall. 

He was a surprisingly good dancer. You certainly didn't expect him to be able to twirl you the way he did.

He had the choreography down to a tea. It was certainly a pleasant surprise.

You wondered if he practised so he wouldn't disappoint you.

And you were not disappointed.

"I'll grab us some drinks." he said as you walked to your friend. 

"I see Mr Riddle is quite the dancer." she said.

"Right? I didn't expect it for sure." you said as she laughed.

"He is completely obsessed with you." she whispered and soon, Mattheo appeared next to you handing you a cup.

You two danced a lot.

Soon the songs changed to slower ones and you were delighted by the way he was holding you. His hand was so gentle around your waist as he held you to his chest. 

"I'm happy you asked me to come with you." you said and he looked down at you, you noticed the scar on his nose now.

"I'm happy I won that match so you would come with me."

"I would have even if you asked."

"You are... just amazing." he said letting out a sigh.

"And you are bad for me." he smirked.

"Oh, but you love it, Babe."

"I sure do." you smiled as he leaned down and placed a quick kiss on your lips.

"I can't promise I won't get into fights. I can't promise you won't see me bloody and beaten. But I can promise that I will try and be the best boyfriend."

"Who can say no to that?" you smirked.

He nodded before moving you, swaying to the slow music which played.

You very well knew who he was. Mattheo liked to get into fights. Possibly too many fights.

You swore you saw him with blood on his face, or clothes more than you saw him without.

He was bad for you.

But you would be damned if you wouldn't at least try. 

Taglist: @fleursirvart @greenarrowhead @thisismysecrethappyplace @sincerelyfan @theoneanna @aestheticsandmarvel @rororo06 @castellandiangelo @destynelseclipsa @spilledinkindumpster @capsiclesdoll @puknow @alwayshave-faith @alex12948 @lxdyred  @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl​ @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek @praline357 @trshngyn @avengers-r-us @violet-19999 @top1bbgloak   @manduse   @jacalineiscomingforyou  @mandoloriancookie

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

DO NOT STEAL, REPOST OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORKS  

[literaryavenger]

Broken - part 4

Summary: You get woken up, still in Bucky's bed, by a very unpleasant guest.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: Minimal use of Y/N. Language. Innocent and broken Bucky. Tony being an insensitive asshole. Reader still being dramatic, lol. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 2.4K

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

A/N: I finally finished this chapter! I have some ideas for like one more chapter but after that I do not know where to go with this. excellent. Yes, it will take a while for me to keep going. Sorry. It's also getting harder to choose a Bucky photo to put here, lol.

Masterlist

You wake up to the sound of someone near you yelling. Again.

Slowly, You open your eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the morning light.

After you’re no longer blind, you look for the source of the noise that woke you and see a very angry looking Tony yelling at Steve.

Something about 'how dare he go near her' and 'if she gets hurt I'll kill you both', those are the only things you're able to understand between the yelling and your still half-asleep mind.

It takes you a second more to realize that you’re not in your bedroom, so you look next to you and see Bucky already awake, watching the scene that's unfolding before you without making a sound.

The fear and hurt on his face are like a bucket of cold water that wakes you up completely.

You turn back to the other gentlemen and, finally, you’re able to comprehend what's happening. 

Apparently Tony and Steve went looking for you in your room to talk about yesterday and, not having found you there, asked Jarvis where you were.

The AI promptly snitched on you, and Tony came barging in to 'save' you from Bucky, Steve hot on his trail.

Steve obviously wouldn't let Tony hurt him, so, Tony being Tony, is being a dramatic bitch acting as if he walked in on Bucky straight up choking you and not the a good way and not just two grown ass adults peacefully sleeping.

So Tony started yelling about wanting to do something drastic about the situation and waking up both you and Bucky in the process.

Because fuck sleep, right?

You’re not really sure how long the current events have been going on for, or how long you just sit and watch after waking up, trying to get a handle on reality.

All you know is that the moment the words 'he's gonna kill her and it's gonna be your fault too' come out of Tony's mouth, you've had about enough of both of them.

You take both of your shoes, which were in front of the bed where you left them the night before, and throw them at the screaming idiots with as much strength as you could master which, when you train everyday with a trained assassin that pushes your limits further and further, is a lot of strength.

You hit Steve in the back of his head and Tony deadass in the face. Thank god for Clint's lessons. And for the fact that you were wearing combat boots yesterday.

The second Tony gets hit, he turns to the bed with a murderous look on his face, probably thinking it was Bucky, but when he sees you wide awake and with a satisfied smile on your face he quickly pieces things together and calms down a bit.

Steve is just confused, but when he also realizes what is happening, he looks kind of amused at the sight of you and Bucky on the same bed.

When the men's attention is finally away from each other and on you, you ask the question you’ve been wanting to ask since you were very rudely woken up. "What the fuck are you two dumbasses yelling for?"

Steve cringes at your choice of words but seems to think better of saying anything seeing that you're already pretty pissed at them.

"Hey! You don’t get to ask questions right now!" Tony’s still yelling and suddenly you wish you had more military approved shoes to throw. "What the hell do you think you’re doing sleeping with this monster?!"

"Tony, stop with the name calling, for the love of God!" Steve says, clearly as exasperated with him as you feel.

"Yes, for fuck sakes, Tony, stop. You can’t just keep showing up every time I’m near Bucky acting like he’s planning my murder!" You feel Bucky tense up next to you at your words, so you turn towards him "alright, poor choice of words, but the sentiment remains."

You turn back to Tony, who's about to say something, surely some more insults for Bucky, but you don’t give him a chance.

"I’m getting really tired of your judgment, of you thinking you know what’s better and making decisions for me. I thought I was clear yesterday: I don’t care what you think Bucky is, I have a brain of my own and can make my own decisions based on my own opinions. The Bucky that I met is nothing like you say he is, and I’m not going to avoid him just because you have hang-ups. I’ve been kicking ass since before you decided to play superhero and definitely can take care of myself. I don’t need to be saved from anything, especially not from Bucky, who’s been nothing but quiet and sweet and right now is about the only person in this tower who has never lied to me. Now, get the fuck out of here and, unless somebody’s ass is on fire or dead, do not bother me. And you better leave Bucky the fuck alone or I’m going to be pissed. Clear?"

You honestly didn’t think that would’ve been the end of it, but to your, and Steve’s, surprise Tony merely nods his understanding before stomping out of the room.

"Same goes for you, Captain Dumbass. Out, now." you tell the blond super soldier, who looks like he was dying to say something.

Thankfully, he thinks better of it and, with one last smile towards Bucky, leaves the room.

You sigh, relieved that they’re gone, but now the room is eerily silent. Just when you can’t take it anymore and are about to say the first thing that goes through your mind, Bucky finally says something for the first time since you woke up.

"Thank you." it’s so quiet that you almost think you imagined it, but when you turn to face him you find him already looking at you and he keeps going "You didn’t have to do that. You know, defend me. So, thank you."

"Don’t worry. He was being an ass, he deserved it." you smile at him "Let me know if he bothers you again, I’ll be sure to shove one of his helmets up his ass." he smiles at you, but it falls almost instantly.

"I don’t deserve your kindness…" he looks away from you and it breaks your heart a little.

"You actually believe that, don’t you?" you say quietly, more to yourself than him.

"Bucky, look at me." you say with the same soft voice you had yesterday while you were helping him.

You wait patiently until he looks you in the eye and when he does, you slowly move your hand towards his face. When he doesn’t pull away or stop you in any way, his eyes never leaving yours, you let it sit on his cheek.

"I hope you know that I really meant what I said. I don’t think any of the things Tony does. It doesn’t matter to me who you were, I see who you are now and that’s what’s important. Everyone deserves kindness, but, based on everything I’ve heard these past two days, I think you might deserve it more than anybody. The world failed you once, I’ll be damned if I let it fail you again. Okay?"

He looks at you with teary eyes and, before you know it, he's giving you a hug much tighter than yesterday, almost like he's afraid that if he lets you go you’ll change your mind.

"Okay." he whispers into your shoulder when you hug him back just as tight.

You can’t help the smile that creeps onto your face. There’s just something about Bucky that draws you to him and maybe, just maybe, the feeling’s mutual.

You let Bucky decide when he’s ready to let go and after a few minutes he does. You give him one last smile and then move to get out of bed, when his voice stops you again.

"Can I ask you something?" you look back at him nodding. "yesterday, at the gym…" he starts and you tense a little, knowing where he was going with this so you decide to cut him off before he even gets the chance to ask anything too specific.

"It was nothing, I was just angry and needed to work off some energy" you get up and put on your shoes while you talk "honestly sometimes I lose track of time while I’m working out, it’s no big deal."

He must’ve seen the change in you tone and body language, because he quickly says "I’m sorry, it’s none of my business, I didn’t mean to make you mad."

You stop on your tracks as you were making your way towards the door, turn around and look at him.

He seems to feel actually bad just at the thought of upsetting you, which makes you feel guilty for giving that impression. This was just a topic you weren’t ready to talk about.

"I’m not mad, Bucky, I promise. I just don’t particularly want to talk about it." he nodded his understanding. "tell you what, I was thinking of taking a quick shower and changing and then going to the big kitchen to get some breakfast. How about we meet in 15 and go together?"

He seems to hesitate a bit at the idea of going to the kitchen where everybody else is going to be, and you can't blame him.

You yourself would gladly avoid everybody, but the big kitchen is just better stocked than the one on your floor.

"C’mon nobody will bother you and, if they do, they’ll have to deal with me. I’ll make us pancakes." you add with a smile, trying to convince him.

Finally, with a smile, he nods. Nobody can resist pancakes.

With a victorious nod of your own, you leave his room and go next door to yours where you take a shower and change into some comfortable sweats.

About 15 minutes later you come out of your room to find Bucky already waiting for you, leaning on his door. As soon as he sees you he pushes himself off his door and smiles at you, then you both make your way to the elevator in silence.

It's a comfortable silence, not like the one before in his bedroom, this was one you didn’t feel the need to fill, and apparently neither did he.

You make your way to the kitchen and you pat one of the stools at the island, signaling at Bucky to sit. He does and then watches as you make your way around the kitchen picking all the necessary things.

You work in silence, but you can feel Bucky’s eyes on you the whole time. Not like it bothers you.

It isn't like when guys ogle you in bars, where you know what they’re thinking just by the look on their face, and is never clean thoughts.

No, Bucky’s gaze feels like being seen for the first time in your life.

Somehow you just knew he wasn’t thinking anything dirty, every time your eyes meet his and you give him a smile he gives you the cutest smile back, and you can't help but think that his face looks like a little kid’s on Christmas.

You somehow feel like he's just so amazed by you and he makes you feel like you're the only person in the world at this moment.

Every now and then a different Avenger enters the kitchen, but you do your best to ignore them all. You're still pissed and don't feel like yelling at anyone else today.

You finish making pancakes and make a plate for Bucky and then one for yourself. Knowing he's a super soldier and probably has as fast a metabolism as Steve’s, you give him a generous serving, still leaving plenty for everyone else.

Yes, you're angry, but you aren’t cruel.

You sit down next to Bucky and smile at him when he says a quiet ‘thank you’.

You watch people come in and out, throwing a thank you for the pancakes but then giving up when you won't even look at them.

That is, until Scott came in. He sits in front to you while he eats some pancakes, and when he's finished he tries his luck. "Hey, Cassie’s coming over later. Do you want to hang out with us?"

You narrow your eyes at him, pointing your fork in this direction. "Are you using your cute daughter to get me to talk to you? ‘Cause that’s a dick move."

You hear Bucky chuckling and turn your head towards the amazing sound with a surprised smile on your face, but before you can comment about it, Scott answers you.

"Can you blame me? You won't talk to any of us, what’s a guy gotta do to get his best friend back?" He says laughing.

You turn back to him and can't help but laugh at the pout he's giving you. "Fine, you win. Just stop making that face, please, you look like a sad puppy."

"That’s why it works!" he laughs victorious "She’ll be here around eleven. See you later." he puts his plate in the dishwasher and leaves. You do the same thing with yours and Bucky’s plates and then turn to him.

"Ok, so I have a couple of hours before Cassie gets here. Do you have anything planned for today?" he shakes his head no and you hum in response, but before you can propose anything Steve comes into the kitchen.

"Hey Buck, ready to go?" at Bucky’s confused look, Steve elaborates "We have a meeting with Fury. We need to discuss your hearing, remember?"

"Oh, right…" is all Bucky says, glancing at you before he gets up while looking at the ground.

He almost looks sad at having something to do today, even if it’s something important. Steve looks from you to Bucky a couple of times, but your attention is solely focused on the brunette, still trying your best to ignore Steve.

"Well, I’ll find something to do." you tell Bucky, getting a little closer to him.

"Come find me when you’re back? You know, to tell me how it goes?" you try your luck and, when he looks up, his eyes are a little wider, even if he was smiling, clearly surprised that you still want him around.

"I will." he says. You return his smile and give him a quick peck on the cheek before making your way to the elevator.

"Bye, Bucky." you say as you get on it, and hear him say ‘bye’ while the doors close, as you think about a way to make yourself busy for a little while.

You completely miss the way Steve grins at Bucky and the groan that Bucky lets out at his friend's stupid face before going his own way with him.

Part 5

Taglist: @aesthetic0cherryblossom @buchi91 @sapphirebarnes

[mochamamii]

mafia!nct: how you meet.

▹ a/n: hello loves, wow two uploads in a day? are you proud of me ? 🤭 it’s been so long since I wrote in the mafia universe! I hope you enjoy this, have a great day or night gorgeous 😘💕

▹ pairing: mafia!nct x reader

▹ triggers: mafia!au, crime, manipulation, violence, light smut

Taeil first meets you at your job. Taeil owns a plethora of companies, both small and large, and all used as a cover to launder and legitimize his behind the scenes criminal activity. You just happened to be a regular girl working at one of these companies, only working in an entry level position at a front desk you would’ve had very low chances of running into someone like Taeil at work. That was true for the most part, it had been at a company wide holiday party nearly two years working at said company before your paths finally crossed. You were tipsy and flirtier than usual that night, completely ignorant to the fact that you’d been chatting up your boss for the better part of an hour. Taeil was intrigued by your forwardness and wanted to keep seeing you. It was fun and exciting for you too, Taeil seemed like such a puzzle to you, he gave you very few details about his life and even fewer about his career. It’d be months after your secret rendezvous begins before Taeil reveals to you he owns the company you work for, and it’d take years for him to ever share that he runs a criminal organization under the table, if he ever actually did, because if he can get away with not telling you he won’t.

“Why do you always ask so many questions baby? Why don’t we just enjoy our time together and we can talk about my job another day…”

Johnny meets you at a nightclub. Because of the dangers involved in his line of work he’s become a shut in more or less, only going out when it’s absolutely necessary. He’d take drinking at home with friends over a noisy club but his associates and him had been having a string of successful pushes in the expansion of their clan. There was much to be celebrated. You were there with a group of friends also that night, out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Johnny took notice of you right away. Shameless in his ogling of you, his eyes were fixed on you alone in the sea of bodies on the dance floor. He approached you with a pep in his step to offer you a drink which you accept, afterwards you offer him a dance which he accepts. On the dance floor your hands eagerly grip and squeeze at each other’s bodies. You two spend the night together that first night, a fairly brief and passionate situationship ensues after night one. For months your relationship with Johnny feels purely sexual, there’s not much about him or his life that you really know and he never seems eager to share. Johnny drags his feet on cuffing you officially for fear of involving an innocent person in his life.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve always had serious feelings for you. The only thing stopping me was wanting to keep you safe.”

Taeyong meets you after one of his associates dragged you into his warehouse. Apparently, you had been the witness to his crew “taking out the trash” as some would say…Instantly upon seeing you Taeyong realized you really were just an innocent girl who had been in the wrong place at the right time and not a secret spy from a rival. He pitied you. You had seen his face and plenty of the others faces’, releasing you could be risky but keeping you here was tiresome and more of a chore. Taeyong decided he would give himself a few days to decide what he wanted to do with you, he let you go home, under heavy surveillance of course. He needed to know if you were going to try and run to the police and snitch on anything you’d seen so far. Taeyong starts visiting your home in the evenings, he told himself it was a strategic intimidation tactic to keep you from calling the cops. Truthfully, Taeyong just wanted to be near you. He’d become really drawn to you, his visits getting longer and longer as he gets to know you better. It’s a nice slow burn before your relationship turns romantic. Taeyong is actually grateful he had met you in the manner he did, it was refreshing to start a relationship and wonder whether he should tell them about his career. You knew from the start, and that made courting you a guilt free indulgence for him.

“You know more about me than most people do. I like that and I want it to stay that way, I promise there’s nothing I’ll ever keep from you.”

Yuta meets you during the middle of a heist of all places. In his crew he was the go to man for high intensity missions like bank heists, and assassinations occasionally. You were on your way home from work when you made a stop to deposit your paycheck into your account. Your corporate slave job had yet to transition to the twenty first century and go digital with their payroll system. You were stuck with paper checks for now. Your interaction with the bank teller across from you was almost done when you jumped due to the fire alarm suddenly going off. The alarms went off followed by the sprinklers on the ceiling, creating a heavy downpour, drenching you and everything else. Yuta and his gang strolled in confident as ever, heavy machine guns in tow. They were the picture of frightening nightmares. Yuta made it known he was clearly in charge, barking orders at his crew, all of them moving in harmony. They cleared the bank’s reserves in minutes, sweeping the vaults like they knew the floor plan by heart. Yuta floated over to you as his crew began piling the bags of cash into their van. Yuta caught you hiding under a table near the back. He thought you were absolutely adorable the way you looked at him in fear. He pulled you from under the table to get a better look at you, he gave you a quick two second once over before nodding with a content hum and tossing you over his shoulder. You squealed and squirmed to get down but he only held you tighter spewing out nonsense like he had decided to keep you for a little bit.

“Stop squirming so much bunny…I’m not that scary am I?”

Doyoung meets you through a match maker interestingly enough. Doyoung was born into an infamous crime family, arranged marriages between associates was a common practice for families like Doyoung’s. As Doyoung begins to take the reigns from his father he knows a marriage is on the horizon he’d need to find a match from another strong clan to join forces with. You happened to be the daughter of not a fellow mob boss, but a wealthy man who earned his wealth legitimately.. As an only child your parents were eager for you to settle down and give them some heirs so you went to a matchmaker for help. By fate you and Doyoung had been paired together, he was introduced to you as your average successful businessman. The attraction was there immediately and a relationship between you two quickly blossomed. It was easy, you both had similar ambitions and goals. You fit together perfectly from the start. Doyoung isn’t sure he’ll ever reveal to you his real job, why should he when things are already great between you two?

“I never thought I’d meet someone this way, but I’m glad I did. I’m glad I met you, my other half.”

Jungwoo meets you through a mutual acquaintance. He was in the market to buy a second property, it would be a safe house for himself and other people close to him. He had a friend who recommended Jungwoo contact you. He was a busy man who needed a realtor to find the perfect location for him, that’s where you come in. You’d sold a number of properties to Jungwoo’s friend already who made sure to give him a stellar review of your work. Jungwoo was running out of time and his friend had convinced him well enough so he called you. Upon the first meeting in person Jungwoo was struck by your beauty. He forced himself to remain professional not wanting to be distracted. You’d begun working for Jungwoo for months at this point, sending him several properties you’d found throughout the week. It didn’t matter what you sent him, he always seemed so unimpressed and displeased with what you’d shown him. You were growing annoyed and worried that you’d never find a property he would close on. Truthfully, Jungwoo loved nearly every listing you showed him, he loved spending time with you even more. He wasn’t ready to close on something quite yet, he wasn’t ready to stop spending time with you, he liked talking to you. Jungwoo’s crush on you grows more every day, eventually he has no choice but ti confess his feelings after you nearly threatened to quit if he refused to finally close on a property.

“I just needed any excuse to be close to you, that’s where I’d always rather be.”

Mark meets you at the hospital. You were working an overnight shift. You were in your third year of residency, working under the guidance of your seniors. That night was like any other night until the doors of the receiving dock flew open and paramedics quickly wheeled a wounded man on a stretcher inside. You were among the staff called to attend to him. You learned from the paramedics that he had been in some kind of shootout. You helped assist the surgeons during surgery as they removed any bullet fragments still remaining. The man remained in the hospital until he was well enough. During this time you cared for him everyday, cleaning and dressing his wounds, checking his vitals, etc. Mark recovers quickly, he’s upset with himself for caving and going to a real hospital, it was a risky move but his clan’s only private doctor was preoccupied and the severity of his injuries definitely called for medical attention. The only good thing that came out of risking getting his identity exposed was the cute nurse who was in charge of caring for him. He was attracted to you and it wouldn’t be long before he asked to take you on a date. You say yes to his offer and the rest is history. Mark won’t outright admit to what he does over time you come to find out on your own.

“You don’t need to know everything about me just yet, I don’t want to scare you off so soon…”



Haechan meets you at a restaurant. He’s having a celebratory dinner with his clan, at the restaurant you waitress for. As luck should have it you were the one picked to serve the loud rowdy bunch of drunk men. Surprisingly the bulk of them left you to do your job without any pushback from them. All except one. The one who sat himself at the head of the table, Haechan. He couldn’t keep his eyes and hands off of you all night. Every time you walked by he’d wink at you from afar and when you were close enough he’d try to pull you into his lap. You were used to serving drunks of all kinds and had your fair share of customers trying their best to flirt with you, Haechan was the most aggressive customer you’d ever had. Haechan was diligent and persistent, he didn’t press further that night and made sure you were tipped well. You thought you had seen the last of Haechan but you were so wrong. Haechan came in almost every day after he first saw you, always requesting you as his waitress. You were uninterested and ignored his advances every time but Haechan could appreciate a challenge.

“That’s fine, ignore me now…I’ll come in every day until you respond beautiful.”

[bvidzsoo]

Lust we both share

◆Vampire!Seonghwa◆

TW: cursing, blood, suggestive

◆Read this before reading this one or else it won't make much sense, trust me◆

Word count: 6,1k

A/N: I have no idea what to call this lol, a drabble? I really don't know, but I swear to God ever since I've written that request for Halloween (@seonghwasbobaeyes repectfully this is your fault haha, so uhm, I hope you enjoy the short part 2?) this Seonghwa has been plaguing my mind and yesterday I decided, why not, I'll write some more and see what happens lol. I might write one more part like this one, short since I don't want to turn it into a full story. Lol, I hope y'all enjoy it! Feedback is appreciated!

1. Moroi-are born vampires, imbued with the magic to have power over the elements;

2. Dhampir-are half-human, half-vampires who are born to protect the Moroi. Don't have elemental magic, but have enhanced strength and senses making them the strongest protection against the Strigoi;

3. Strigoi- are the type of vampires that one would expect from an old horror classic

           Everything went back to normal after we returned from the one-week long test. Seonghwa continued being his usual self, arrogant, and awfully annoying. And I continued ignoring him as best as I could and making fun of his existence behind his back. Seeing him everywhere I went suddenly became even more infuriating compared to before the whole test, and I couldn’t decide whether I was paying more attention to Seonghwa now or if he was everywhere on purpose. His words held an unsaid promise, ‘One or two won’t, indeed’, and I couldn’t help but feel on edge almost all the time. For some unexplainable reason, I expected him to show up in the middle of the night and suck my blood dry, leaving me dead in my own bed, only to be found in the morning when Seonghwa has already had time to flee and cover his tracks. It didn’t help that I started having nightmares too with him showing up when I least expected it, when my guard was down, his eyes crimson red and face smeared with blood, face oddly pale. It looked like Seonghwa, yet at the same time it didn’t. He didn’t look like his usual self in the nightmares, and sometimes it made me ponder that, perhaps, I wasn’t seeing the Seonghwa I knew. The moroi Seonghwa, but a strigoi turned Seonghwa. That thought didn’t sit well with me and it also scared me. When did I start caring about his safety? Was that one week spent with him long enough to mess with the chemistry of my brain? Or was this the doing of his vampire venom? Was I already addicted? Was my body craving for more? I couldn’t decide, nor quite understand my own thoughts and wants, and that scared me. It’s not like I could go and talk to Kazuha about it, a moroi drinking from a dhampir was strictly forbidden, and no matter how tight and close our friendship with Kazuha was, I knew she’d snitch on me to the Principal the second she was out of my sight. I knew she loved me, but she followed the rules quite strictly and anything which went against them and she caught whiff of it would be reported immediately. And besides, I just simply couldn’t talk about it. A dhampir offering up their blood willingly was…something like prostitution. I would be called a blood-whore. Everyone would look down on me and cast me out. I wasn’t afraid of being on my own, but I couldn’t allow such thing happening in my last year at the Academy, right before graduation on top of it all. Three more months and I would be free. Three more months and I wouldn’t have to see Seonghwa’s face ever again. Or that’s what I thought.

As I walked down the fancy corridor, headed towards the Principal’s office, all kinds of thoughts ran through my mind. Perhaps he found out I was the one who pulled that prank yesterday in hand-to-hand combat class. Or perhaps Jennie finally told on me to the Principal that I always pick on her. Or perhaps someone spread another obnoxious rumor about me. Or perhaps…everything was fucked because the Principal somehow found out what Seonghwa and I had done while we were away. Did Seonghwa have it in him to tell anyone about it? I knew he liked to boast about anything he could, but this…this thing was serious. It would ruin my life, but it could taint his own reputation too. He wouldn’t say anything about it, right?

I sighed and stopped abruptly in front of the Principal’s office; door wide open. Great, I couldn’t even collect my thoughts before I stepped inside. He was a moroi, so he has already heard me approaching, he swiftly glanced up and beckoned me inside. I tried to remain calm, aware that he could hear my heartbeat and would instantly pick up on it. I didn’t want to give myself away if perhaps I wasn’t called here for facing the repercussions of my actions.

“Good evening, Miss Lee.” The Principal said with a smile and I nodded, sitting down across from him. His desk was huge and made of oak, it looked extremely expensive, but when the Academy had good funds, I guess he could afford it, “How have you been? Haven’t had to call you to the office in quite a while.”

I chuckled, rubbing my hands together to distract myself, suddenly my heartbeat picking up. Don’t panic, he seems to be in a good mood, “I have been behaving, Mr. Yoon. I’m doing quite fine lately, stressed about the graduation.”

The Principal hummed, rubbing his chin as if he was confused, “Good thing you brought that up. It’s why I called you here to talk.”

Fuck, what about it? I cleared my throat and my body suddenly tensed, but I leaned back in the chair, trying to look nonchalant about it.

“You know Park Seonghwa—it would be hard no to—” The Principal’s eyebrows suddenly rose as my heart somersaulted, and I cursed myself for reacting so quickly. I cleared my throat and looked away embarrassed, avoiding eye contact as the man grinned at me. Why was he bringing Seonghwa up? Did he know? Did he somehow find out? Did Seonghwa tell him?, “I see hearing his voice alone makes you quite—angry.”

For someone who could hear my heartbeat and pick up on body language, the Principal misread my reaction quite badly. It made me chuckle as I tried acting like I was angry, since that’s what the Principal thought I was feeling like, “Yes, well, everyone knows how I feel about Seonghwa.”

“Indeed,” The Principal chuckled and quickly became serious soon after, “well, you might have to work on your differences with Mr. Park, because he requested for you to be his guardian after graduation—”

“What?!” I nothing but shouted as I sprung up to my feet, feeling angry for real now, mouth hanging open, “He did what?!”

The Principal only looked amused as he stared at me, waiting for me to sit down, but I couldn’t. My blood was boiling and my muscles were tense, I couldn’t sit still. So, I walked behind the chair and started pacing up and down, chewing on my lower lip as the Principal chuckled again, way too amused by my dismay.

“I see you left a deep impression on him during that one week of testing, Miss Lee, it’s impressive.” The Principal started, face coated in surprise, “He came in very determined and confident today, formular about his request in his hands and already completed. He even kept a long speech about how serious you were about your duties and how safe he felt with you, never having to look over his shoulder or fear for his life. Everyone knows you’re an exceptional student at the Academy, Miss Lee, even if a little bit mischievous, but Mr. Park’s words were a rather pleasant surprise. I’m very pleased to see you evolve into a mature and responsible dhampir, and I can’t wait to forward the request to the Queen—”

“No!” I exclaimed, looking at the Principal wide-eyed, “What—what if I refuse his request?”

“You know you can’t do that.” The Principal reminded me of the protocol, I knew that, but I really didn’t want to become Seonghwa’s guardian. Spending one week with him was one thing, but spending who knows how many years with him would be pure torture, “At least not until you have guarded him for five years. After that you’re free to decide whether you want to continue guarding him or change to someone else.”

“Can’t I decide right now that I don’t want to guard him for the next five years, Mr. Yoon?” I asked defeated, closing my eyes and running my hands through my hair. This was really bad. It didn’t help that my hair was all knotted up from the wind and I pulled on the tangled strands painfully with my fingers, adding only fuel to my anger. I really couldn’t deal with anything right now.

“I’m afraid not, Miss Lee,” The Principal chuckled as if I had said the joke of the year, “Thank you for coming tonight, though, a special request like this hasn’t been done in decades at our Academy. The Queen will certainly be proud of you, there’s few female dhampirs and to have you so talented and dedicated is indeed something to be proud of.”

I couldn’t care less about the Queen and what she thought about me, this was horrible. Suddenly, I didn’t want to graduate anymore, “Am I dismissed?”

“Of course, go enjoy your night, Miss Lee—” I turned and basically sprinted towards the door, but the Principal called out, “Not too much, though, I know about the party!”

That was least of my problems right now as I stormed down the hallways, headed for my shared dorm with Kazuha. Perhaps getting called to the Principal’s office for misbehaving suddenly sounded so much better than for what I got called in just right now. I couldn’t believe Seonghwa followed through with his words just because I let him taste my sweet blood. God, I am such an idiot, if I never allowed him to drink from me this would’ve never happened. I did this to myself, and I couldn’t help but feel desperation crawl all over my body and rage fill my veins as I saw red, Seonghwa’s name like a chant echoing through my mind, wishing for nothing more than to put a dagger through his heart.

            Kazuha wasn’t in our room when I had returned, which made my state worsen as I threw everything off my desk, screaming and punching my least favorite pillow for five minutes straight. I wasn’t always good at managing my anger, that’s why I was so good at training classes. I channeled all the pent-up rage and frustration into fighting, beating everyone, even the largest and strongest dhampirs at our Academy. Despite wanting to scream for longer, our next-door neighbor banged on the shared wall and shouted for me to shut up and go for a walk, making me scream back a fuck you, before I stormed inside the bathroom and took a cold shower, wallowing in nothing but despair as I refused to cry. I wouldn’t cry about something like this, all I had to do was find a way to sabotage myself of being Seonghwa’s guardian, but not the point that I wouldn’t be able to guard anyone else. Perhaps if I incriminate him with something forbidden I could get rid of him, but these thoughts were currently pushed to the back of my mind as Kazuha and I were huddled together in a quieter corner of the room, with me retelling everything the Principal has said. She was tipsy, but she paid close attention, her eyes wide and mouth open as she ignored a guy who tried pulling her towards the drinks table. I cast him a glare before he hurried off, sending me nasty looks that I didn’t bother to care about.

“Are you serious about Seonghwa wanting you to be his guardian?” Kazuha repeated for the third time, and frankly, I was getting fed up.

“Yes! If you ask once more, I swear to God, I will punch you.” I threatened and Kazuha laughed.

“I’m just too shocked to accept reality—and perhaps tipsy too, but—this sounds like a nightmare for you, Y/N, I’m really sorry.” She said with a pout and patted my arm, feeling sympathetic for me. I scoffed and crossed my arms, my grip around the red cup tightening.

“Sounds like a nightmare for me? Doesn’t it for everyone?!” I exclaimed, but it went unnoticed as the music was blasting through the speakers loudly and everyone around us was busy with whatever they were doing.

“I hate to break it to you, sweetie, but the other dhampirs at our Academy would kill to get to be Seonghwa’s guardian. He’s filthy rich and will most likely inherit his father’s business, meaning you won’t ever have to overwork yourself as he will sit in a fucking office chair, doing nothing all day long. And on top of that, his family doesn’t live in a moroi community, so you won’t have to worry about seeing a strigoi too often, Y/N, you quite literally hit the jackpot with him.” Kazuha’s voice sounded slightly tinged with jealousy, but I knew it was the alcohol making her feel like that, “Imagine if you got paired up with San, who likes hiking, and lives in a remote area somewhere in the mountains! Y/N, that’s literally where nests of strigois live, I’d rather die than spend the next five years with San—or Wooyoung, for that matter! Jesus, that guy never shuts up—”

“Speaking of the devil!” I groaned as Wooyoung bounced over, two red cups in his hands.

“Here you two were!” Kazuha and I turned to look at Wooyoung quite unimpressed, his mouth pulled into a lazy smile, quite obvious that he was drunk off his ass.

“Wooyoung, I told you to leave me alone—” Kazuha started, but Wooyoung pressed one cup against her lips, making her cringe away from the strong smell of whatever alcohol he had mixed in there.

“Baby, did you forget about our bet?” Suddenly, Wooyoung’s lips pulled up into a smirk and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. I looked at Kazuha with a questioning glance, having not heard of this up until now. Kazuha looked uncomfortable for a second as she glanced back at me and then sighed.

“Fine, lead the way.” She muttered, but thanks to Wooyoung’s heightened senses, he heard her and chuckled, turning around to lead the way to wherever they were headed. I raised my eyebrows at Kazuha as she glanced back at me with a pout, but she only shook her head, meaning that she’d explain later. I watched as my best friend walked off with the moroi she had to protect during the week of testing, her shoulders pulled back and strut straight, signs of her tipsiness all gone. I shook my head and downed the rest of my drink, needing a refill immediately. I had to stop thinking about Seonghwa and the request.

            After some dancing and chit chatting with other dhampirs from my classes, somehow, I found myself involved into a truth or dare game. Ten of us sat in a circle and spun the bottle, daring each other stupid and outrageous things, hollering with laughter whenever someone said or did something stupid. I was positively drunk by now, but I was aware of what was happening around me and to me. It’s why I decided to be the boring one for the first time while playing this game, and opted to only take truths. My hyper senses were dim due to the alcohol, and it was hard to keep up with everyone around me, not as alert as I usually would be. It’s why I didn’t notice Seonghwa sneaking up behind me as I had stood up, ass numb from sitting for so long, stretching out my legs. The question I had to answer was, “Have you ever done something forbidden, and if yes, what was it?”

“Forbidden as in—school level forbidden or—by law forbidden?” I asked with a smirk and the guy who asked me previously shouted out that ‘law forbidden’. I hummed and shrugged, pretending to think about it for a moment.

“Nope, I might do stupid shit but I’m not that dumb—” The chuckle got caught in my throat as an arm sneaked around my middle and a chest was pressed against my back. I didn’t have time to freeze or to even throw the other person over my shoulder before a hot breath hit my neck, cold lips pressing lightly against my ear.

“Are you sure about that, love?” My body went rigid, breath catching in my throat. After Seonghwa drank my blood we haven’t spoken as I did everything I could to avoid him, and he seemed fine with that, not particularly fond of spending his time with me.

“Get off.” I snapped and wrestled myself out of his iron grip, heart beating franticly and throat dry all of a sudden. Silence settled upon the group I was playing with as they watched us curiously, expecting a fight as it often happened when Seonghwa and I talked to each other. He seemed so smug as he stared me down, pink hair slicked back, and white shirt unbuttoned until the middle of his chest, showing off his milky and flawless skin. I scowled at him, fighting the urge of punching the smirk off his face.

“Playing without me?” He suddenly addressed the group, looking at them boredly. I rolled my eyes and collected my cardigan from where I had been sitting, wearing it as I had no intention of continuing playing the game with Seonghwa here. With the alcohol in my system nobody could stop me from beating his ass up.

“Wanna join?” Someone very drunk called out from the group and Seonghwa shrugged one shoulder, not looking too interested as his eyes fell back on me.

“Leaving so soon?” He asked, taking in my attire as his eyes ran up and down my body. Despite being fully covered and dressed, I was wearing black jeans, a black crop top and now the velvety cardigan, I felt exposed under his gaze. I could’ve sworn his eyes flashed crimson for a second, but perhaps it was a trick of the party lights around us.

“I’m not in the mood to see your face tonight, Seonghwa—”

“Pity,” He hummed, fake pouting, “I really wanted to run over some clauses our contract will contain once we both graduate—”

“Fuck you, Seonghwa,” My blood was boiling again, and thanks to the alcohol, I found myself all up in his face, glaring up at him furiously, “I will do anything I can to stop it from happening.”

Seonghwa’s eyes slightly narrowed, his icy long fingers suddenly wrapped around my wrist. Why was he so cold? And why did the corner of his lips look slightly red? Like something was smudged. Did he—just come back from feeding? The sudden tinge of my cheeks made me curse myself, and I hated how my heart picked up just from the thought of it. I felt dirty.

“That’s a pity, Y/N, my mother already spoke to the Queen about it, and she was delighted to hear such amazing news.” My jaw clenched and I yanked my wrist out of his grip, storming past him as our shoulders crashed together, leaving me fuming.

            I did everything I could to avoid Seonghwa at the party, and so, that led me to dancing almost the whole time. I was feeling the music and the vibes as I moved to the beat of the music, even found some random dhampir to make out with. As long as we didn’t do anything stupid, it was fine. A dhampir shouldn’t mingle with a dhampir, but we were only enjoying ourselves, it wasn’t anything serious. But I started feeling tired after a while and decided to take a breather. I sauntered over to the bathroom to freshen up a little bit, only to talk to myself in the mirror when I saw my reflection. Drunk me was rather funny as I scolded myself for drinking too much, suddenly remembering that I hadn’t seen Kazuha since she walked off with Wooyoung. Did they even come back? Finding her became my next mission, and so I was walking around the place, looking for my best friend. My head was spinning and if I wanted to see the people’s faces clearly I had to lean in very close, getting weird looks and glares as I did so. Turns out finding Kazuha was harder than I thought. Then, I realized that I should probably peek inside some rooms around the place where the party was held, we were on the side of the campus which wasn’t used anymore. But my plan might’ve not been the smartest idea as I saw some unwanted things, but still no sight of Kazuha. There was one more room I had to check before I would head back to the party, and when I pushed the door open, I realized it must’ve once been a study room as it held three desks and chairs, the room coated in darkness. There was nobody inside. But before I could walk away, I was pushed forward and I stumbled inside the room, almost losing my footing as I gripped onto the chair, startled. I gasped and turned around sharply, having to squeeze my eyes shut for a few seconds from how badly my head started thumping. The person inside didn’t turn on the lights, and as I opened my eyes, I took in the man standing in front of me. I could see well in the dark, and I could recognize that silhouette anywhere. I groaned as I went to push Seonghwa out of the way and walk out the small room, but his arm shoot out, making me run into it. I threw him a glare, but he just looked down at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

“What are you doing?” I snapped, jaw clenching as Seonghwa leaned to the left, where his hand was, and narrowed his eyes at me.

“I saw you wandering around mindlessly—”

“I wasn’t wandering around mindlessly,” I scoffed, “I’m looking for Kazuha.”

“She’s busy with Wooyoung, no need to look for her.” Seonghwa said nonchalantly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Do you know what’s happening?” I asked accusingly and he shrugged, removing his hand from the wall and blocking my path with his body now.

“They are probably fucking, love, that’s what’s happening.” My face pulled up into disgust. I desperately hoped the bet didn’t have to do anything with that outcome.

“Great, you can fuck off then.” I muttered with a fake smile, but when I tried sidestepping Seonghwa, he blocked my path again.

“Not so fast, Y/N, we have some catching up to do.” Seonghwa said with a smirk, stepping closer, making me step back. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at him, feeling unsure all of a sudden. What did he want? Why was he here?

“No, we don’t.” My voice was firm, but Seonghwa just chuckled as he reached out for me, holding me by the waist as he pulled me into his body. The breath caught in my throat as his body heat warmed me up, his sweet scent intoxicating. His eyes were rimmed with eyeliner and I gulped as they flashed crimson, red swirling in his irises. Could he…want something from me? At that thought my heartbeat picked up and Seonghwa inhaled deeply, closing his eyes momentarily, flustering me. His plush lips parted, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes were a deep red, almost glowing in the darkness. I didn’t feel scared, even though I should’ve as his features turned hungry, menacing even.

“You smell so fucking sweet it makes me lose my mind.” He let out a long breath, leaning down and nuzzling his nose against my neck. I grew stiff, mouth parting as my breathing picked up, memories of that night returning. Seonghwa said nothing else as his hot breath fanned my neck, covering my skin in goosebumps as I gripped his bicep with my right hand.

“I don’t—you can’t—” I didn’t know what I wanted to say, I didn’t know what to do. My body felt hot and electrified by Seonghwa’s proximity, yearning for something more. But we couldn’t let that happen again. It was a mistake the first time too. Seonghwa hummed in understanding, perhaps thoughts straying in the same direction as mine, and instead, I felt his warm lips press feather like kisses up to my jaw. My grip tightened around his bicep as he pulled his head back, staring into my eyes as his own flashed between red and their usual brown.

“I know we can’t.” He whispered and then perhaps we both moved at the same time, but our lips were pressing against each other as I leaned up on my tiptoes, Seonghwa’s head ducked down to reach my height. My arms wrapped around his neck and his hands around my middle as he pulled me into himself, mouths hungry as they moved against each other passionately. I couldn’t help but breathe in his scent, nose pressed against his cheek as Seonghwa’s lips pressed bruisingly against mine, eager for more. He walked me backwards until my legs hit the desk and I was climbing up on it, Seonghwa’s hands guiding me. His hands gripped my cheeks and fingers dug into my skin painfully as he sucked on my lower lip, making me hiss when he wouldn’t release it. He was trying to draw blood and I yanked my head back, glaring at him. He stood between my legs and one of my finger’s hooked against his belt as Seonghwa pressed closer, lean body pushing against mine. He tilted my head back, biting my earlobe and slowly kissing down from there to my collarbone, making me let out long sighs, my grip on his hip tightening when he sucked harder on the juncture between my neck and shoulder, finding my sweet spot. I moaned quietly as Seonghwa’s tongue licked at the mark, his teeth suddenly biting down against my skin. I jumped and body tensed in reaction, ready to fling him off myself, but his fangs never shirked and no pain followed. He was probably fighting against his own urges, trying to control himself. I pulled his head back and Seonghwa’s jaw was clenched as we stared at each other, his breathing ragged as he looked like he hadn’t drunk blood in years. It didn’t bring as much dread as I expected it to, but my heartbeat picked up again and Seonghwa quickly crashed his lips against mine, kissing me hungrily as his tongue pushed past my lips and I sucked on it, making Seonghwa moan into my mouth, sending an electric shock through my body. I pulled his body closer as our tongues danced together, lapping at each other’s mouths, Seonghwa’s body just as affected by our actions as mine as my hand briefly brushed against his semi-hard on. I kissed him back more eagerly, more messily, making Seonghwa groan into my mouth as suddenly his hand was gripping my neck firmly, pushing me backwards. I allowed him to do so, my back arching as his free hand was placed on the small of my back, flushing our lower bodies together. My hips moved on its own as heat pooled up in my lower stomach, needing some friction as Seonghwa groaned, his own hips grinding down against mine, making me grip onto his pink locks tightly as he sucked on my lower lip harshly again.

“You have to stop doing that—” I panted out, words cut off as Seonghwa ground against me again, harsher this time. These clothes on us were getting frustrating and I felt Seonghwa’s grip on my throat tighten as I went to undo his belt.

“Not tonight,” He choked out, gripping my wrist harshly, making me hiss. But I didn’t listen to him as I palmed him through his pants, his grip around my neck close to cutting off my air, perhaps that would bruise by tomorrow, “Not tonight, love, I’m on the brink of losing control.”

My jaw was clenched as I allowed Seonghwa to take my hand away and pin it against the table, “Fuck, I hate you. Why would you start something you can’t finish—”

“If you want me to suck you dry while I fuck your brains out, then by all means, Y/N, let’s keep going.” His voice was hard as he snapped and I finally opened my eyes, looking up into his crimson red ones. I didn’t think his eyes could darken anymore further, but the look on his face made fear root deep into my bones. My senses kicked in, and suddenly, my hand was around his wrist which was holding my neck, muscles tense as I calculated the best way to free myself without doing much damage to him. Seonghwa sensed my change in demeanor and loosened his grip on me, but still didn’t let go.

“I don’t plan on killing you, you can relax.”

“Yeah, well it doesn’t feel like it right now.” I snapped, eyes narrowed as Seonghwa chuckled and the grip from my neck disappeared as he instead held my chin with his thumb and forefinger, raising my chin up. He stared down at me with a smirk, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“Despite your body sensing danger you’re still here in my arms, enjoying whatever I’m doing to you, don’t you?” I couldn’t help but glare at him and slap his hand away, head clearing enough to realize I was just about to have sex with Seonghwa had he not stopped us. I felt even more hatred towards him as I yanked my other hand out from underneath his as pushed him back by his chest, but Seonghwa didn’t budge. How was I weaker than him? That was impossible. Seonghwa just chuckled and leaned down, resting his hands on both sides of my knees.

“I like to play the damsel in distress, love, but it doesn’t mean I’m actually one.” His words were mocking, and suddenly, I realized I had no idea who Seonghwa was. Well, who the real Seonghwa was. I gulped as I watched him reach out and pull a strand of hair behind my ear, tilting my head up as he leaned down and pressed a long kiss against my lips. I didn’t react at first, but when he deepened it, my mouth opened automatically and I was back to making out with him, the pace a lot slower this time and more sensual. My heart was racing and body jittery all over again, but this kiss didn’t last for long as he suddenly pulled back, eyebrows furrowed.

“Why did you let me drink your blood?” He suddenly whispered; voice strained. I gulped, but my mouth felt dry as I realized I didn’t have a real reason other than a very dumb one.

“I—I was curious—” When Seonghwa’s eyes opened, I felt ashamed of myself, “I was curious of what it felt like.”

Despite expecting him to call me names, his jaw just clenched and his eyes flashed red again, “I should have known better. We made a mistake, Y/N, I—I can’t feed off of humans like before anymore. Their blood isn’t enough—the taste, it’s terrible.”

My eyes widened as I gaped at Seonghwa, trying to understand what this meant. But I really couldn’t, I didn’t know how morois worked, I didn’t know what would happen next or what he was supposed to do to fix the situation. Despite knowing better, the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could think more, much like last time, “Are you hungry?”

Seonghwa froze for a second before he nodded his head rigidly, jaw clenching as his eyes fell onto my neck, “Starved.”

My breath caught in my throat and our eyes connected as I chewed on my bottom lip, body flaming at the memory of what his bite felt like. My mind was suddenly silenced and all I could think about was the feeling of his fangs as they started sucking my blood, making me gasp. I couldn’t be already addicted to his venom; it would be too soon. But was it possible that Seonghwa would get addicted to my blood? I’ve never read about such thing before. As Seonghwa let out a long sigh I pushed my hair behind my shoulders, and bared my neck for him. He huffed, but his finger ran along my skin, his eyes seemingly mesmerized by the action.

“Seonghwa—” His name came out in a throaty breath and before we could think more, his mouth parted and his fangs poked through, head leaning closer and closer to my neck. My body tensed when his breath hit my skin and I leaned my head further back as he pressed a soft kiss against my skin, much like last time, teeth clamping down on my skin, fangs pushing deep inside my flesh. I yelped and my grip on the table tightened until my knuckles turned white as the pain lasted longer this time, Seonghwa took his time before he started sucking, before his venom spread through my bloodstream. His cold fangs felt very uncomfortable and I whined as my neck went numb, on the verge of asking him to stop, but then suddenly, I felt him sucking on my blood, a hand coming up to hold the side of my face. Seonghwa moaned loudly when my blood entered his system and I sighed as suddenly my head felt fuzzy and mind empty, jitters all over my body as goosebumps covered my skin. The warmth was back in my body, heath pooling in my stomach, as Seonghwa drank more, pushing his fangs even down deeper, making my mouth open in a silent mewl, feeling like his fangs touched a nerve as pleasure exploded in my body, vision blurred and eyelids heavy as my brain felt fogged up. If it weren’t for Seonghwa holding my head, it would’ve fallen back, and his grip tightened when suddenly my body softened, momentarily having lost feeling of all of my muscles, dark spots covering my vision. He was drinking too much, my body wouldn’t hold on for too long as I went numb against him, unable to speak or pull away. But Seonghwa knew what he was doing and suddenly stopped, fangs still in my muscle, breathing hard against my skin. My head started spinning even worse than before as the dark spots very slowly cleared, and I hissed as he pulled back, cold fangs disappearing from my skin as his eyes glowed a light red in the darkness as he shook my head lightly.

“I’m—here.” I muttered, gulping multiple times, letting out a shaky breath as my body regained feeling, muscles tensing all of a sudden, brain on high alert as it pushed away the euphoric feeling. The crash from the high was worse this time as I felt nausea pool in my stomach and I gagged, slapping a hand against my mouth.

“Are you alright?” Seonghwa asked alarmed and I took a deep breath, fighting the urge of throwing up. I probably needed water. I have drank too much alcohol. I nodded wordlessly as Seonghwa helped me off the table, but supported my weight, “Alright, I’ll take you back to your dorm.”

“I can go on my own.” I muttered as my head spun harshly, forcing me to take deep breaths.

“No, you can’t.” Seonghwa rolled his eyes and suddenly I was up in the air and then secured in his arms, held bridal style. My eyebrows furrowed as I threw him a glare, but Seonghwa ignored me as he went to open the door, “I can’t decide if you’re about to fain or throw up, you clearly can’t walk.”

“You took too much this time.” I whispered as he hurried down the hallway, his longs legs allowing him to take long strides.

“I stopped in time.” Seonghwa’s jaw was clenched as he briefly glanced down at me, but I just shook my head.

“You still took too much.”

“The marks will be gone by noon.” He changed the subject as he walked out onto the courtyard, the crisp air of the early morning was refreshing and I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath.

“You have to fix your problem, because this won’t happen ever again.” I hoped Seonghwa understood, he had to. He could kill me anytime by accident. Or I could get addicted and then my whole life would be ruined. Or someone could find out and we’d be fucked, me, especially.

“I know, it won’t happen again.” Seonghwa was serious for once and we shared eye contact briefly before my body suddenly felt too exhausted, tried to even keep my eyes open as whispers of how this was a huge mistake lulled me a to dreamless and restless sleep.

Dread filled me as a voice whispered in my head that this wouldn’t be the last time this happened.

Masterlist (divider)

[bellezaycafe]

Get Your Shit Together - Chapter 6

genre: 2024 Season AU

pairing: Romantic! oc x two people because y'all voted on a triangle ;). platonic! oc x literally the whole grid.

warnings: lots swearing, mentions of the accident and crimes, discussions about gangs, mentions of bars and alcohol. Paranoia and an argument. love triangle crumbs

context: Part 1 and Masterlist…

Comments: massive lore drop but I've tried to keep the story moving and interesting. I'm a sucker for small details so I hope y'all have good memories ;)

"I'm in a witness protection program."

Sadie clenched her jaw, unsure what else to say. Lando and Max were silent.

"What did you see?" Lando's voice was so soft Sadie barely heard him over the road noise.

Her right hand flexed on the steering wheel. "I can't tell you that."

"Why did you volunteer?"

"Because I love F1."

Max chimed in. "You said it's too public, too many cameras."

"What I reported happened after Melbourne and just before SIlverstone. I- I think it would be better if I just told you, wouldn't it."

"Yes," Lando muttered, not meeting her glance.

"Okay, well. I was working a bar in Sydney and witnessed a crime. I was seen calling the cops and..." She took a deep breath. "And let's just say that I had dobbed on someone dangerous. Someone influential and known to police."

"You snitched on a gangster?" Lando's wide eyes would have made Sadie laugh in any other situation. "A real life gangster?"

"I didn't know who they were! I was cornered in an alley the next day and after that I spent all of my money on a two week stay in England. From there, I reported the attempted assault and was told to stay in England for the two weeks. The police said they could use that time to get me into witness protection and set up the right safeguards, if I anonymously testify in court. It happened to be the Grand Prix weekend, so I volunteered instead of sitting around."

"Attempted assault?" Max stressed.

Sadie glanced at him in the rear view and her silence was answer enough. You don't need to know.

"Let me get this right. You snitched on a gang, were threaten and then ran to England?!"

"Yeah, pretty much." Her tone didn't match her racing heart.

"What happened to 'too many cameras'?" Lando toyed with his silver necklace.

"Obviously I didn't consider how dramatically you were going to break your ankle in turn, whatever it was. I figured, as a medic, I’d spend a lot of time in areas with very few to no cameras.”

Sadie glanced at the phone Lando showed her and, with one hand on the wheel, swung them left and down a small side street.

“You are right, though,” Max observed. “The reporters aren’t allowed in the medical tents unless they’re unwell themselves.”

“Is that why you’re in Melbourne? Are you from Sydney?” She could hear curiosity in Lando’s voice.

“It’s complicated.” Sadie grimaced.

“It’s seems like everything is,” Max muttered.

“Oh, shush,” she joked. She knew it had landed when both boys smiled slightly. “I grew up just outside of Melbourne. I’ve been working back at that bar since I was 18. I took some unofficial leave in June to experience working in another city while we had extra staff. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have chosen Sydney.”

The boys were quiet as Sadie explained her time working at bars in Sydney and enjoying the nightlife of another city. She talked about the move up there and the sudden disappearance to England. Some of her stuff was still in Sydney, including some personal keepsakes like a bracelet from her mother. Sadie explained that Lewis and Max knew about the witness protection, but nothing further. She’d only told them when they visited her in hospital the day after the accident and after some significant convincing. She answered questions about her leg and how it had healed, which had turned out to be quite well.

“How much physio did you have to do?” There was guilt in Lando’s question.

���Just some at home things, it was quite easy,” Sadie admitted. She didn’t want to elaborate on the facts she hadn’t done any official physio because she couldn’t afford it. Australian public health care was good, but not that good. “How well has the ankle healed?”

“It was slower than I wanted but I’m cleared for next season which is good.”

Max grumbled, “but he didn’t stop complaining about it for months.”

“I was in pain, mate!”

“I know! You told me every chance you got!”

Sadie smiled at their banter, glad they weren’t holding up walls of suspicion anymore.

As she pulled up to the Piastri Family home, she cleared her throat. “I- ummm… It was good to see you again Lando, and good to meet you Max.”

“Oh no,” Lando chided. “We’re not done, I am not letting you just drive into the sunset again.”

“It’s already dark,” Sadie pointed out. “And that’s not what happened the first time.”

“And on that note, I’m out,” Max exclaimed. “It was lovely to meet you, Sadie. Thank you for what you did at Silverstone.”

He jumped out of the car before she could say anything and practically ran to the red front door of a small, low set home.

Lando undid his seatbelt and turned to face her, pulling a leg onto the seat.

“Sadie, you vanished.”

Straight into then.

“I feel better seeing that you’re in one piece, and not hearing it from news,” she murmured.

“That’s what you have to say?” he scoffed.

Sadie pushed down irritation. She might struggle to stay in one place for very long, but she was a patient person who had drawers of calm, collected masks to choose from.

When she didn’t answer, Lando shook his head and closed his eyes.

“How do you think I felt?” he snapped. “Lewis told me you had stitches. How many? I know you can walk, but how long did it take for the limp to go away? Did you need crutches? Because you know that I did, and you know how long I needed them for.”

“How much did Lewis tell you?”

“You’re focusing on the wrong thi-“

“How much, Lando?”

The panicked edge to her voice had Lando pausing, looking closer at her face through whatever haze was over his mind.

“Just that,” he breathed. “He told me you’d needed stitches but were okay. He wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

The fist around Sadie’s heart relaxed slightly as she sighed with relief. “Okay, as long as it was just that.”

“You’re scared,” he stated like he’d only just noticed. His watercolour eyes were lit slightly by a nearby street lamp. They appeared hazel in that light and it was a detail Sadie wished she hadn’t noted.

“I’m paranoid,” she replied just as curtly.

“I was scared,” he admitted, breaking the eye contact.

“That’s fair. If your ankle didn’t heal properly, your career might’ve been over.”

“No, that’s not- Well I was scared about that but I meant that I was scared for you.”

Sadie frowned. “What? Why?”

“I didn’t know if you were okay! You put yourself on the line for me, you saved my life and I didn’t know if you were okay!”

“I didn’t save your life,” she scoffed. “It wasn’t headed for your heart.”

“I rewatched the footage,” Lando confessed with a sheepish smile. “If you hadn’t put yourself between me and the track? The debris would have hit me and my career could have been over.”

“Your career, Lando. Not your life.” Her voice was the softest it had been all night. It even surprised her.

“My racing is my life, Sadie.”

“I-“ but he cut her off.

“I never got to thank you in person.”

“You can do it now.”

“No.”

“Why the fuck not?” Her patience was slipping. She pulled another mask from the drawer.

“I think you’d take it as closure, or something. Then you’d leave and I would never see you again.”

He wasn’t wrong. She’d began to form a plan on how to give him the answers he needed, and then vanish again. He was a liability to her safety.

“Would that be so bad?”

“Yes.” No hesitation.

She didn’t know what to say to that. Sadie couldn’t bring herself and meet the gaze she could feel on her.

“Max almost punched a reporter,” Lando said.

That had her looking up at him, a confused smile on her lips.

“What?”

“In the media pen, Max almost punched a reporter that wouldn’t stop asking about you.”

A laugh bubbled out of Sadie. Max Verstappen? Protecting the young woman who had ego-checked him at Albert Park?

“I’m serious!” Lando insisted, but his smile was widening. “The guy asked every driver, but Lewis and Max had already told everyone to say nothing. The reporter was so frustrated at getting ‘no comment’ from every driver. Max’s interview was second or third last and the reporter asked something so out of pocket. If you find the interview you can see Max trying not to hit the guy.”

Sadie laughed again, and she caught Lando grinning in her peripheral vision.

“I did make him swear on his championship,” she commented it.

“What?” It was obvious that detail was also new to Lando.

“After the incident, while we were still at the track, I made Lewis promise to hide me from the media. Max visited my hotel room a few days later, and I made him swear the same thing.”

“On his championship?” Lando was trying to hold back a laugh.

“Yeah.” Sadie couldn’t hold back her own.

They laughed for a few minutes at the absurd notion of Max swearing anything on his championship.

“Jesus,” Lando sighed. “That makes so much more sense now.”

“What does?”

“I tried to find you, after a month. Fuck, I even tried to rope half the grid into helping me find you, but Lewis and Max always shut it down. They never told my why, but I guess that’s it.”

“I’m not going to apologise for trying to protect myself.”

“You’re good at protecting,” he said.

It wasn’t the most random comment he’d made that night but it was the one that stuck out the most.

Sadie didn’t know how to reply.

She didn’t have a chance to think about it when she saw a shadowy figure moving toward the car.

“Lando, get out of sight,” she warned.

He was too shocked by the immediate change in demeanour and topic.

“What?”

“Just- oh. Nevermind.”

As the figure came closer, they stepped into the lamplight and Sadie recognised Oscar Piastri.

“It’s Piastri,” she breathed.

Lando wound down his window and waved.

Oscar leant down, rested both arms across the opened window and glanced between them.

“Hey, how are you?” He began.

“Could be better,” Sadie quipped with a joking smile.

“I’m trying to convince her to stay,” Lando explained.

Oscar raised an eyebrow. “Stay the night or-“

“No, Oscar!” Lando laughed and Sadie couldn’t help but like sound.

“He means in your lives. But I can’t.”

Oscar tilted his head sideways quizzically and some of his hair fell into his eyes. “Can’t or won’t.”

“Both.”

“You make it sound like you don’t have a choice,” he observed.

“She does,” Lando said at the same time as Sadie’s “I don’t.”

“Lando, I-“

“No, Sadie you do have a choice. Not every part of our lives is public.”

“I’m still very confused,” Oscar added.

Sadie’s patience slipped again. “Piastri, I fucked with some dangerous people, and I can’t let them find me. Lando, you don’t have a private life. If you’re not doing Formula One, you’re doing Quadrant; if you’re not doing Quadrant, you’re partying with Martin Garrix; and if you’re not partying, you’re posting something on Instagram. You live an incredibly public life, and that’s okay, but I can’t join that in any regard.”

Lando looked at her with stunned silence. Oscar was watching her with a very concerned expression. She pointed at him with an intense stare.

"You might think your life is fairly private, but when you post on social media everyone nit-pics at it because of how rare your posts are. And every sighting of you is scrutinised.”

A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth but he didn’t say anything.

Sadie pulled in a deep breath and pulled on another mask from the drawer.

“I’m sorry, to both of you, but I’m going to vanish again. I have to.”

“Are you in witness protection?” Oscar asked.

Sadie nodded with a frown. He’d put it together fast.

“When’s the court date?” Oscar’s deep brown were intensely focused on her.

“Wednesday, next week. I will be testifying anonymously.”

“So even if they have gang members who aren’t convicted, they won’t know it was you.” Lando pressed, catching onto Oscar’s train.

“Gang members?” Oscar’s went up an octave.

Sadie waved off the question and focused on Lando. “I see where this is going.”

“Then you can see why I’m right.” His eyes were set on hers, a hand set on the handbrake between them.

Sadie sighed and closed her eyes.

“All of the members who saw my face will be going on trial. A few of them have been convicted already.”

“So after next week, you won’t be in witness protection anymore.” Lando pressed.

“That will depend on whether they’re all convicted and how long their jail time is.”

As Sadie spoke, Oscar pulled out his wallet and an old receipt. He pulled a random marker from another pocket and wrote something on the back before handing them both to Lando. He took this hint and wrote something as well.

When he handed it to her, Sadie noted both their phone numbers and tiny signatures at the end of them.

“Text when the trial is over. Just a yes or no. A yes doesn’t mean that you’re going to to be thrust into the spot light. It’s a maybe.” Oscar said, running a hand through his brown hair.

“It’s a maybe I could thank you properly." Lando added. "A random dinner or a paddock pass to which ever race you want.”

That brought a small smile to Sadie’s face.

“Everyone at McLaren would want to thank you,” Oscar added, but there was a tightness to his jaw Sadie hadn’t noticed until then.

She caved.

“Alright maybe,” she said. “I’ll keep this but I'm not promising you anything.”

Oscar's soft smile said that's enough, but Lando's slight frown meant he wasn't ready to give up. Oscar noted it.

"Lando," he interrupted whatever the older driver was thinking. "Mum made chocolate cake while you were out and wants you to try it."

"She knows about our diets right?"

"She'll insist until you fly out."

Lando sighed with an amused smile and opened his door.

"I'm not going to say thank you, not yet. I'm not even going to say goodbye."

"It might be your only chance," Sadie reminded him.

Lando shook his head as he stood, brown curls waving in the small breeze. Oscar pushed his door shut gently and ducked his head back through the window.

They watched Lando walk away, oblivious to the fact Oscar wasn't on his heals.

"I saw it happen, at Silverstone," Oscar murmured. "I saw you make the choice."

"I didn't choose. I reacted. There was no choice, or thought process, or thoughts at all, actually. It was just an action."

"An action we're all grateful for, but-" His voice dropped, as if Lando would hear him if he was any louder. "- I want to thank you for making that choice, or doing that action, whatever."

"Stop," Sadie demanded. "Stop, Piastri."

He did. The first one to stop the first time she asked.

She pulled in a deep breathe and calmly explained, "I did what I did. It happened. I know you're all grateful, but it has to stay at that. This is not a movie, where a chance meeting leads to years of friendship."

"I wouldn't call being hospitalised for being a human shield, a chance encounter," Oscar noted dryly.

"You get my point," she replied.

"I do, and I think I understand." He stepped away from the car. "You have our numbers. Call us and we will be there."

Sadie smiled slightly but didn't give him any hope.

"Go, before Lando comes back out."

"It was good to meet you, Piastri."

"Good luck, Sadie."

With that, the handbrake was off, car in gear and she was gone.

----$----

I know y'all loved the Max/Sadie dynamic in chapters 1 and 2 so how about some more Max content next chapter? ;)

Masterlist…

Taglist; @snubug

[lgbtlunaverse]

ok, people who've read erha, help me out here: are there any moments in volume 6 and 7 in particular that you'd warn someone for?

My 13 year old sister is reading the series – which. she probably shouldn't. But I'm not her mom and I remember what it was like being 13 so I'm not snitching to our actual mom either – but we did have a talk about the content that would be too much for her to handle and she said that she knows it's an 18+ book and there's rape in it, but that all happens in the first 2 or 3 volumes so she skipped those.

(the way she consumes media is very spoiler-forward. She'll often know most of a story's plot via summaries or internet posts before actually starting it, so she gets the gist of what happened in earlier volumes without having to read them)

Now, she'll be getting volume 6 and 7 as gifts this christmas, and she told me she actually hasn't seen many spoilers for that part of the story yet. So I just want to know if she's correct in her assumtpion that those two won't contain any noncon. I haven't read erha, I'm only familiar with it through fandom osmosis, so I wanted to ask someone who did. I trust her to stop if she needs to, but it'd be useful to give her a heads up for what to look out for and where because she is still a kid.

[jazzymarie1006]

Logan and Ororo in the two parter episode "One Man's Worth" are still so very great!

Warning: Long post is LONG!

First there's this gem of a scene. Not sure which is better. Logan believing that Ororo called him beautiful, Ororo telling Logan he's beautiful in his own way, or the implication that they've had more than one picnic (with or without Charles).

The apple scene was great. Ororo knowing that Hawk would make a "Garden of Eden" parallel is too great.

When the Timeline is being absolutely DESTROYED, Logan and Ororo run into each other's arms as Charles disappeared from existence.

Which brings us HERE! A timeline where Magneto is leading the mutants in a war against machines and super humans. And Logan and Ororo are married! Also Logan took Ororo's last name, that's the only right answer.

The close-up on the the rings was great! But it had me thinking... how were they even married in the first place sense Mutants clearly aren't treated as people? Did Morph turn into the Justice of the Peace again?

Logan catching Ororo and making sure she's safe is great! Love to see it.

Absolutely LOVE how Logan puts the claws away when Ororo says she believes Bishop and Shard. The fact that they weren't together in the main timeline had Logan so upset. You know he was just looking thoroughly through what Bishop and Shard were showing them!

Ororo: My Dearling... would you condemned the whole world just to keep our love.

Logan: You bet I would. Why would I care about anything else?

This man didn't even hesitate! The kiss Ororo gave him was brief, but it of course shows that she’s also going to miss their marriage.

Of course Logan was gonna go if Ororo was going. That's a no brainer!

Later we get one of the BEST scenes in the show! Logan and Ororo are snitched on for being an interracial couple in the 1950s. And Logan immediately jumps into action when Ororo's insulted!

Ororo is also the only person able to stop him. She couldn’t even stay mad at Logan!

Logan coming in the save again! Ororo can NOT be in any form of danger around this man!

After the mission to save Charles fails, Wolverine's ready to go back to where he and Ororo were before (this man said fighting a war alongside Magneto wasn't so bad!). Of course Ororo knew Logan wasn't going let Bishop and Shard down and he knew too!

These two weren't apart from each other for few seconds while in the bad future!

Logan really pretended to pass out JUST TO STEAL A KISS!

How he wiped her tears!! I can't with them!!

Just gonna get this outta the way... Charles fainting when Logan threatened him was hilarious! He regarded it immediately! He does NOT like it when Ororo's upset with him!

After Charles reads their mind, he quickly reveals that someone (Logan) doesn't want the mission to succeed! Of course this has Bishop ready to start blasting. Which gives us this line (which Charles most likely remembers later on).

Logan: I feel the way I feel bub. That don't mean I'd turn traitor!

Watching this now should NOT have still been able to make me tear up!!

After Logan says "Don't you leave me", the two kiss and the timeline is restored. The two are even seen hugging!

The bit of flirting near the end!! The writers KNEW what they were doing!!

Then Charles pulls up, reveals to us that he remembers what happened with the Alternate Duo and watches them briefly before leaving them alone. He knows that these two are willing to give up happiness with each other to do the right thing for the world!

I love all of this so very much!

[specific-dreamer]

the people have spoken and i shall be writing the pic where pony and johnny never went to dally

BUT i can’t decide if it should be in darry’s pov or pony’s so i’m gonna write the start to both under the break and then you guys pick

for the people who asked to be let aware here are your tags, it's not done but here's a progress report i suppose: @theleopardstalker, @darry-queen, @skaryskeletons, @too-damn-good-for-growing-old, @dancertori24, and @johnnyburntcake

(save for when you have time because it is v important to me that you know i’ve only written the introduction, the thesis if you will, and pony section is 642 words and darry’s is 375 words. and im not even done i simply forced myself to stop there)

darry’s

darrel shaynne curtis is not a rough person. full send. well, okay, he was rough during football, but you can’t play ball and not be rough. especially not when you’re captain. then again he also loved ganging up on sodapop with ponyboy when they was younger, and well let’s just say darry always ended up bribing soda not to snitch to their mama at the end.

okay fine, maybe darry was a rough person. maybe it was that part of him that hit pony tonight. it was that part of him that scared his baby brother so bad the poor kid ran away. from him. darry was never going to forgive himself.

“darrel?”

he was never one for dramatics but he had half a mind to cut his hands off, just to make sure he never messed up like this again. he’s not too sure how’s he’d cut his left hand off after cutting his dominant hand, but that was a problem for later. then again, who’s gonna pay the bills if he has no hands to get work done.

“darrel?”

right. scratch that idea. it wouldn’t be fair on soda anyways, leaving him with the responsibilities of paying bills and keeping everyone together because darry was too fucked up to be useful.

his eye starts to twitch and his leg starts shaking. something that usually only happens when darry is real scared. it goes without saying it hasn’t done it since his mama and daddy died.

glory, he really fucked up didnt he? what if ponyboy doesn’t come back home? soda would hate darry for that. or what if pony doesn’t want to come back unless darry was gone? soda might not like it for a day or two, but his littles had always been closer with each other than they ever were with him so he might not mind so much.

darry’s not much for dramatics, he preferred to leave that to pony, but if it came down to it, darry would leave just as fast as their parents died. (…too soon?)

“darrel!”

darry jerks so hard he can taste that metallic twang that blood has. he bit his tongue and somehow, the hurt that came with it quieted his mind a little.

pony’s pov

when ponyboy wakes up, his first thought is that sodapop had to stop throwing him in the lake. no matter how many times soda threw him, pony would never learn how to swim like that.

he sits up to say just that to soda when his eyes sees someone laying on the grass. okay… he's never been at the lake without his parents before. and it’s dark outside which is really weird; his mama never lets him outside past the street lights, the last time he was out late his mama was in a worry and his dad was so mad he was honestly a little worried he was going to get the breaks beat off him if darry hadn't stepped in and took the blame.

staring at the person, pony rubs his eyes. that doesn’t matter, right now he needs to figure out which one of his dumb brothers were laying in the grass before they got a crook in their neck or before they dad came looking for them. he’s not sure what’s worse; on the one hand, whichever brother it is would surely complain and blame pony for the crook in their neck even though it’s totally not his fault. on the other hand, if their dad finds them they’d surely get the lecture of a life time and would never hear the end of it.

yeah, pony thinks with a shudder. his dad finding them would definitely be worse. pony shakily gets to his feet and walks closer to the figure. he’s only about three feet away when he sees the pool of blood and the mop of brown hair. his stomach drops before his brain remembers neither of his brothers have brown hair.

it’s only then that it occurs to pony that they aren’t at the lake. it’s only then that ponyboy is brought back to the present. that he realizes he doesn’t have to worry about his mama worrying or his dad coming to look for them. (they’re never going to worry or look for him again and, god, pony has yet to accept that, but he can’t wait for the day it hurts less to remember it.)

and it is then, when ponyboy is staring hard at the brown hair and the pool of blood, that he remembers where he is. he’s at the park. because darry hit him and he- oh god, he came here with johnny, where’s johnny?

pony whips around, his heart once again dropping. but johnny's still alive. shaking and wiping his blade on the grass, but alive. that’s good, pony doesn’t think he’d be able to make it up back home with his sanity in tact if that was johnny bleeding out.

ponyboy is so in his thoughts he can hardly hear johnny speaking, “i killed him. i killed that boy.”

pony can’t bring himself to look at johnny for too long, out of fear that his mind will start to replace the body with johnny. but yeah. he's right, johnny did kill him. pony can’t really recall his biology class real well right now, but he can remember something about how the human body can only lose so much blood and that boy has definitely lost it.

darry’s gonna be so mad at pony for getting caught up in a murder case. thats if he’s not mad at pony for getting nearly killed himself. his stomachs twists at the thought.

glory.

ponyboy almost died tonight. he knew it was always a possibility, he wasn’t going to live forever. but god. those socs really wanted to take his life tonight and for what? talking to a girl? he’s not soda, it’s not like pony ever even had a shot at cherry, even if he wanted one (and he did kind of, but not if it risked his life).

pony was shivering something fierce when be finally looked away from bob. “johnny, i think im gonna be sick.”

he barely hears johnny giving him the go ahead as he does his best not to vomit all over bob. he never liked bob but pony can at least show him a little respect since it’s his fault the kid's dead.

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

My thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie

I don’t know if I liked it as much as the original films (maybe Mockingjay 1 & 2 as they are pretty emotionally draining), but I still enjoyed it.

I think where it fell a little flat for me is 1. The beginning was a bit slow (tbh I only really started getting interested when Lucy Gray stuck that snake down that girl’s dress & even then I enjoyed the story more when the setting changed from the Capitol to the district) 2. I knew Snow would survive 3. I’d already been spoiled online for a lot of stuff that happens & 4. while I know the director did his best to make Snow as “likeable” as he could for as long as possible, even before he started getting “a little too comfortable” with killing & snitching I didn’t find him as sympathetic as Katniss or Peeta (but that is probably again down to the fact that I know what he goes onto do & there’s no real way around that), this made engaging with him difficult for me.

The world is fascinating. Getting to see all the new locations we never had access to before as well as old locations now in a totally different light (for example district 12 which, while still clearly suffering, seemed like such a bustling industrial town compared to how it is in Katniss’s time). It might have a much more retro aesthetic but there's also just a more vibrant, natural, wild & lawless atmosphere to this movie compared to the others in the franchise. The whole scope of the film just felt more cinematic then I remember the others being yet also weirdly intimate. Maybe because it was one contained story & we knew the main character’s fate from the start. I also loved the title cards signifying the start of each section of the story like from the books & wished they'd done something similar for the other films. It just added a certain flair to the whole thing. Almost gave it the vibe of a tragic play.

The costuming was great. The bright red of the academy uniforms.  Flickerman’s snazzy suits. Snow’s dapper black & white outfit. Both peace keeper uniforms (despite one of them giving very ‘1930’s Germany’ vibes) looked great. Grandma might have been a bigot, but at least she was well dressed. Everything Dr Gaul wore (except the top that looked like a used tampon, lol) was exquisite. The main ladies of fashion, Tigris & Lucy Gray slayed. Our Future Capitol stylist looked like some regal yet exotic bird & Miss Survivor was giving Bohemian, country girl realness the entire time she was on screen. Even the extras were serving (like that random couple Snow walked past on his way to the reaping ceremony).

The music was amazing. Every song that played was fantastic (shout out to Olivia for her end credit contribution). The lyrics & instrumentation were beautiful & my god does Rachel Zegler have pipes! Anyone who says the singing scenes are cringy is just stupid like I’m sorry you can’t appreciate art. Also, the words ‘ballad’ & ‘songbirds’ are literally in the title. Plus, Lucy Gray is from the poorest district, so what exactly do those people want her to do in her free time? She can’t exactly hop on an X-box for a few hours. Not too mention that (as the offspring of someone who’s musically inclined) I can tell you, it’s completely realistic for a musician to use their craft to help them deal with trauma & Lucy Gray clearly had more than her fair share of that.

The Grandma'am helped to paint a sadly very realistic background for Snow. As who among us hasn’t met at least one delusional old person who thinks that their/their group’s suffering (regardless of the severity of it or the reason behind their former/newer status in society) means that no one else are deserving of even the tiniest shred of humanity & there are some people who are unlucky enough to not only be related to these people but be raised by them.

Hunter schafer as Tigris is clearly the superior Snow when it comes to things like empathy & overall mental stability but I do kind of wish they’d been more for her to do. Credit where credit is due though her & Tom did actually look like they could be related & I did buy their familial bond (which makes her appearance in Mockingjay so much sadder in hindsight).

Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom was a bit of a mix for me just due to his purpose as a character & the limit of film as a form of media. Like sure the audience know that Snow’s going to become an irredeemable monster in the end but without a window into his mind it really does just seem like the Dean is just out to get him & even when we find out why it seems kind of unfair. Like sure his dad sucked but haven’t the Games shown that blaming children for violence caused by others is unjust (& like ok he hates Coriolanus & probably the grandma but Tigris hadn’t done anything to deserve living in poverty, as she can’t control who she’s related to)? Plus, it felt like he could have at least tried taking Snow under his wing at some point to try to hinder Dr Gual’s influence. Saying all of that, though, Peter Dinklage is great at playing an addict with depression & the idea that some drunken rambling could lead to such long-lasting suffering is terrifying. Also its pretty realistic that living with that kind of guilt & in such a cruel environment for that long would make most people jaded & bitter, even if they did have good intentions.

Omg we finally get a Mayor family on screen & they’re assholes! Madge would be so disappointed 😭. It was interesting to see how harsh & overall “boot licky” the mayor & his family seemed compared to decades later, which makes sense as the war wasn’t that long ago for them so the dad probably felt more incentive to align himself with the Capitol as well as not feeling very connected to the district people as 12’s decline probably didn’t fully set in until they really started running low on coal & Snow became president (oh I just know he wanted to blow that district off the map 😆). I also wouldn’t put it past Billy to come up with some sob story of how he really does love Mayfair but wicked Lucy Gray is somehow preventing them from being together. Still no excuse to try to send her to her death twice in one week, though. Definitely not a girl’s girl.

Ok, so a liar. Cheat. Drunk & someone who hits women. Is there anything good about Billy Taupe? Also, trying to get your ex back, while your current girlfriend is literally standing right next to you? Dude, have some god damn back bone! You made a choice, now stick to it. Also, fumbling Lucy Gray, for a girl like that? What’s it like having no brains or taste? Well, too bad, coz you’re stuck with her forever now, lol.

Viola Davies, the actress that you are. What else is there to say? Dr Gaul is almost comic book levels of insane. Like she is how the Right see women in STEM, on crack! I don’t know what she did to get into character, but whatever it was, it worked.

Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius Flickerman is a very interesting addition to the story despite playing such a small & seemingly insignificant role. He is strange in how unthreatening he is while also extremely blasé about the abhorrent violence he witnesses that it’s as funny as it is disturbing. Making him come across as  more human yet harsher than his son, who at least pretends to care about the tributes (in a very Capitol way, obviously but still). There’s also a polish & confidence to Tucci’s performance that I think Schwartzman did a great job of avoiding copying (despite knowing what audiences were probably expecting) because not only are their characters in entirely different stages of their careers but the whole ethos of the Hunger Games is different in Snow’s youth than it is in Katniss’s. Caesar is a well established presenter & during his time, the games have always been a success (minus the year with the tundra) that the entire Capitol is invested in & seemingly in support of. On the other hand Lucretius had the unique task of not only coming into a job like this with zero experience (I mean imagine going from announcing the weather to presenting the fucking hunger games) but also there were no vibes to try to emulate let alone guidelines to follow because he truly was the first person to do this. On top of that, the "event" his presenting has been panned for years as both boring & unethical. Schwartzman brought a slightly awkward, experimental, yet try hard vibe (like a comedian who's desperate to get a laugh) that I think worked wonderfully for the character.

Tom Blyth's performance was great & he was visually perfect for a young Snow (the power of a good wig! Who knew lol). Even having the cool, analytical stare of Donald Sutherland, down pat. While his appearance was very Eminem during his peacekeeping days, his realisation in the cabin and subsequent breakdown in the woods were crazy. There was so much tension between him & Rachel in that scene that for a second, it literally felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I could almost hear the record scratch for both of them, & all that building paranoia finally coming to a sudden crescendo in the way that it did? Pure cinema!

Josh Rivera, as Sejanus, was honestly a mix for me. Obviously, I agree with his morals, but his way of going about it did seem a little dumb. However I do think it’s pretty realistic that a teenager, especially a rich one, would be rather naive. Also I’ve heard that he’s smarter in the book & I think at times my frustration with him is more just down to the fact that I’m seeing him from Snow’s point of view. Meaning scenes that would be portrayed as noble in any other film instead come across as almost painfully inconvenient because the focus is always on how they affect Snow rather than the actual victims of the situation. Lastly, sorry, Snowjanus shippers, I just don’t see it (especially on Snow’s end), but whatever floats your boat.

Rachel Zegler played Lucy Gray with the perfect mix of natural charm & emotional vulnerability with clear pride in her culture & a refusal to let the world around her change who she is. Yet there was also an air of mystery & a subtle resilience to her that makes her potentially surviving out in the woods for years without being detected actually believable (though I don’t buy the theory that she went on to become president Coin). Definitely the highlight of the movie for me.

PS. I'd love to know what you think of my review in the comments/tags & am open to criticism (as long as it's respectful) just remember that I'm only talking about the movie so please don't reference anything spersific to the book.

[justlarkin]

So Kanes and Sterio are both brothers and from a family of space hunters. They're expected to take over the family business, but they're more interested in becoming heroes. Their parents aren't really sure if they could handle both roles, but aren't completely rejecting the idea either since they let the boys travel to Earth to get an idea of what being a hero is like.

MC and Huckle are working at the Hero Festa event alone while the rest of Parallel Flight are running a Justice Curry stand at the Grandprix since someone requested MC to work there. Very suspicious considering what we learn later iyam.

They're waiting on a rookie hero who is supposed to be working with them and it turns out it's Tsuneaki- Sorry, I meant to say Rokusei. We learn that Tsuneaki is in his 40s btw! Anyways, Tsuneaki is surprised to see MC here and tries to keep up the ruse of being a random rookie hero, but Huckle can obviously tell that he and MC know each other, so he wants to know what's up.

Tsuneaki pulls Huckle and MC aside to inform them that he's actually working undercover. If you recall from the Main Quest, there's an ongoing civil war between the xenophobes and the non xenophobes, in regards to the aliens, and this has caused some in-fighting within the government. Tsuneaki is here in case the space racist try to pull anything again like they did in Book 2 Chapter 1 or during his first event appearance.

Yeah, MC being requested to work there and Tsuneaki suspecting that the guys who tried to kidnap MC to use them for racism is also there is very suspicious to me ngl.

Tsuneaki begs MC and Huckle to just go along with it and treat him as a rookie, so MC immediately let's the power go to their head and demands that he go get them a coffee. Tsuneaki tries snitching on them for being a newbie bully, but Huckle starts messing with them too and Tsuneaki seems happy that Parallel Flight is a fun workplace.

Sterio and Kanes are walking around the Hero Festa, trying to find some heroes to met, but they're all surrounded by people already. An apprentice mob passes out or something nearby, so they go grab someone to help and that happens to be Lorens, the nurse. They're both called heroes, which Sterio feels good about, but Kanes is more concered about being a legit hero, so he starts asking around about how to do that. A mob tells them that getting a hero licence would be the first step, so they set off the find an available hero to help them do that.

Tsuneaki is saying he's totally positive that he's perfectly fine just standing out in the open because nobody is going to take interest in a rookie when Sterio comes out of nowhere and absolutely bodies him. They were just eager to find a hero and wanted to get to him before anyone else.

They get the introductions done and explain that they want to become heroes. Tsuneaki is very interested in the pair since they're brothers and very close despite being different species. Tsuneaki's backstory involves a lot of integration and racism, so he's usually focused on these topics.

The two brothers very obviously have no idea how heroes work since they didn't know what Operators were until Huckle explained it to them. They both eagerly ask MC about their hero transformations, but MC isn't picking up on anything yet, to their dismay.