#peak father and son energy
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everyone shocked that kevin was wymack's son when this was literally them in the first book:
#peak father and son energy#this part of tfc is my roman empire btw#kevin day#coach wymack#david wymack#aftg#all for the game#tfc#the foxhole court#the foxes#palmetto state foxes#nora sakavic
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đ„: a take-off vlog brought to you by Jamal Musiala and Thomas MĂŒller
#peak father-son energy#also#Konny is so me#mans just wants to go to sleep đ#Manuâs soft little âheyyyâ đ„ș#I love how in every vlog leon looks like he just spawned in#jamal musiala#thomas mĂŒller#thomas mueller#thomas muller#manuel neuer#konrad laimer#leon goretzka#papa thomas#mama manu#keeping up with the neullers#fc bayern#fc bayern munich#fc bayern mĂŒnchen#fc hollywood#videos
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[29.8k] Pairing | Luke Hughes x afab!reader Summary | if y/n knew how their friendship would play out, she wouldâve never spoken to Luke in the first place. Now she finds herself in a game of cat and mouse except sheâs ready to surrender. But heâs not. Warnings | 18+ smut, angst, childhood friends to lovers, swearing, underage drinking, dry humping, choking, making out, praise kink, size kink, fingering, oral (f & m receiving), very creepy behaviour towards y/n, protected sex Authors Note | slow burning again. Covid also never happened. This is a work of fiction, please remember that my dudes â« love lost - mac miller [small worlds masterlist]
The house next door to the L/nâs had been vacant for six years after they moved to the lake until the Hughesâ moved in with their three boys. To say the l/ns were relieved to have neighbours finally would be a significant understatement, they were running straight to the Hughesâ front door with offerings of freshly baked cookies and a two-year-old y/n tucked in their arms. It started a beautiful friendship between families, but temperamental summers when the Hughesâ would return to the lake.Â
When y/n and Luke first met, they had been no older than a couple of five-year-olds with faces slathered in sun cream and the highest peak of curiosity in the world. She and her father had been seconds away from taking their boat out onto the lake, a bow-seated bowrider that most of the lake's inhabitants owned, but to the Hughes boys next door, it was the coolest thing theyâd seen. Before they knew it, Jim was dragged across the docks by Jack, Quinn keeping up with Luke behind them. Y/nâs dad stood up, placing his hands on his hips in a typical dad manner, chuckling while y/n snapped her head around to face the docks.Â
âApologies about him,â Jim smiled, referring to his middle sonâs enthusiasm. Quinn and Luke stayed tucked into Jimâs sides, âHeâs got far too much energy.â
âHeâs all right, anything I can do for you?â her dad asked. Y/nâs eyes jumped between all three boys, she knew theyâd lived next door during the summer for years, but sheâd never really spoken to them, Quinn was nine, and that was scary enough, not that he looked scary with his brown hair sticking out from under his cap and gentle eyes. Jack was a dirty-blond, eight-year-old ball of energy with a constant smile on his face, she heard him in his garden all the time. Luke was the shyest, but he had the cheesiest grin out of them all.Â
âEllen and I are about to head off to view a boat, actually. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to take the boys out with you? Iâm hoping itâll get them used to the waters.â
Y/n perked up, looking back at her dad and then back at the boys buzzing on their toes, eyes glowing under the sun, and she held her tiny hand out towards Luke, âYeah! Come, come!âÂ
It was safe to say that after a full day of exploring the lake, listening to the boys talk about hockey, reminding them to sit still, her father had never been more grateful to only have two children, one being a daughter who seemed to love bossing Jack (specifically) around.Â
*
That was how the two families managed to occupy the children as rambunctious kids. Shuffling them between each other, introducing various activities from each other's lives just to cure their boredom and get them befriended. The boat trip had been such a success that Jack had insisted they teach y/n mini sticks, her brother was only two and still far more interested in what toys he could chew on. So, they did just that, Quinn gently teaching the rules and watching over the younger ones, especially when Jack got really into it. But it was Luke whoâd stick to her like glue, choosing her as his teammate every time, whacking his brothers if they hurt y/n (which they giggled about, planning to bring it up later). Â
Another day when the weather was particularly calm, Ellen and Mr. L/n took the children paddleboarding, Jack and Quinn picking it up rather quickly, able to stand on their feet when both used the board together. That didnât last long when Jack supposedly elbowed Quinn in the back, resulting in the eldest Hughes shoving Jack into the water, which then meant the board capsized and both boys became drenched. Y/n and Luke giggled, opting to sit on their board cross-legged and facing each other, talking about their favourite TV shows and school stories. Ellen thought it was a sweet sight, her little Luke warming up to someone, having a refuge from Toronto, someone of his own so he wouldnât be confined to his brothers all the time. Not that that was a bad thing, but the other two boys had people at the lake they knew, their own friends and he seemed to adore her, just as she adored him the same.Â
*
Every year the nearby town held a carnival that featured rides, food stalls, almost impossible games and the publicâs favourite, the firework display. The one night a summer when everyone seemed to spring to life, families, couples, and friends, all came together for the memories. Strings of fairy lights hanging around the walkways, colourful, flashing stalls and rides with music drowning out under the crowdâs chatter and the floods of people making it too easy to get lost in. It was one night Luke in particular would never forget, fear shook him to his core seeing how busy the walkways were, and how big the world was and he concluded that if he was scared, y/n mustâve been too.
Both families attended together with a chain of their children clinging to them, weaving in and out of people just to reach a good spot for the fireworks. Quinn hated it the most, somehow, he had been roped into getting Jack through (who made it his goal to play every game possible), clutching his wrist while Jack complained about his grip and that he was pulling him too fast. Ellen guided Luke through, and Lukeâs hand held y/nâs in a vice grip, as tight as he could for a child. He couldnât look at her though, his cheeks burned pink the whole time and he concentrated too hard on getting away from the crowd, y/n with him. He thought heâd cry if he lost her.Â
It was then that Luke experienced butterflies for the first time. The moment they reached the fireworks spot, both families huddled together, ear defenders ready in case they got frightened by popping and squealing. But not Luke and y/n, the only thing clutched in their hands were each other. The comfort of another was all it took to rid the fear, children donât seem to mind if their hands are clammy, they held each other's hand as the fireworks lit up the sky in beautiful shades of reds, oranges, yellows in bouquets and whistles to willows and cackles, the first display theyâd remember and have reflect in their beady eyes of awe. He squeezed her hand, turning his head to search for any fear in her face but she gazed back at him, lips grinning as his blond curls bounced in the breeze. They never let go, even when they didnât need to hold each other anymore.
*
Crickets chirped throughout her garden, fairy lights running along the fence illuminating ever so slightly in the dark. No chatter from the docks, lights in the house absent and the time hitting midnight on the dot when young voices, terrible at whispering broke through the silence.Â
âLuke, move over!â she kicked his leg, attempting to roll away from the box of board games next to her.
âI canât, the wall is there!â Luke protested, rolling into y/n, trying to shove her back to her side.Â
Group sleepovers are the pinnacle of good times but also the cause of a war. Y/n had a treehouse in her garden before she was born, her dad had built it after having fond memories from his childhood when he had one. Her mother suggested she invite the Hughes boys over one night since they werenât far, and the treehouse had board games and cushions in there anyway, all they needed were sleeping bags and roll mats and they were set and wouldnât be disturbed, as long as they closed the door.Â
It wasnât large, a squeeze, in fact, the four top-to-tailing (Luke and y/n together in the smaller section, Quinn and Jack in the larger where there wasnât a big box) but it was cosy and as long as Jack kept his arms and legs in his sleeping bag, everyone would be happy. Except he didnât. Just before they were about to fall asleep, Quinn was awoken by a Skittle bouncing off his head and rattling against the wood. He ignored it until another hit him. Then a Skittle hit Jack, who threw one at y/n and Jack failed to stifle his giggles until someone smacked him with a pillow. Y/n grinned, watching the boy pout but grab his own and hit Quinn, whose eyebrows couldnât have knitted any further into his forehead as he, with a stronger momentum, swung around and whacked Jack clean around the face.Â
âOh Lu~â she chimed, watching him shield himself with his own pillow. She hit him but softer than sheâd hit Jack and the four fell into a pattern of giggles and pillow swinging, burning all that pent-up energy children had. It was moments like those that brought the fondest memories to people, the ones that stuck with people forever and no matter how much time passes, the memory stays in the very place where it all happened. Always. People never forget things that made them laugh until their stomachs ached, even if they did get scolded in the morning for going to sleep too late or being too noisy. The memory never fades. Everything always stays.
When Luke was eleven, his family moved officially to Michigan, on the opposite side of the lake. The town separated them, albeit not far, he still wished he could live next to her all the time, but that wouldâve taken the magic out of the vacation home. She was still the girl next door but now theyâd get to see each other every day instead of once a year, he could invite her over to his, hang out on the weekends, after school, and visit all the places she used to talk about. He could see his best friend all the time.
Y/n hadnât known about the Hughesâ move. Of course, her parents told her they were moving out of Toronto but where to be a guessing game. Out of all places, it was at school she discovered theyâd moved to Michigan when the locker next to hers had been given a new lock. She closed her locker door and turned to take her leave for class until she came face to face with Luke Hughes and his bright blond curls, standing next to her just as awestruck as she was. They broke into smiles, arms thrown around shoulders and faces buried into necks, hugging until the final warning bell rang.
If you had asked Luke at the time if he liked y/n, he wouldâve rejected the idea profusely out of embarrassment, but even years on, he still attached himself to her at the hip. He didnât know what love felt like, or what a crush felt like at that age, but he did know that he always felt this warm sensation in his chest when he was around her, like flowers blooming and he couldnât help but smile and tune the rest of the world out when she spoke. Heâd always ask her for homework help, even if he knew the answers, he just wanted to hear her talk. If her friends received compliments and gifts from other boys, heâd provide her with them. When she didnât have a partner, sheâd find him. When she cried, she cried into him, when heâd lose his temper, she was his serenity.Â
He remembered the first time she bawled her eyes out to him, clear as day and the first time heâd seen her vulnerable. He had been flustered through and through, never having a girl throw herself into him and nuzzle into his neck the way she did, tears soaking his hoodieâs collar and arms winding around his torso tight. He rubbed her back timidly, copying what his dad did when his mum was upset and let her cry at their lockers, the hallway scarce of anyone else but her muffled sobs and his hammering heartbeat.Â
âWhatâs wrong?â he whispered, his stomach sinking.
Y/n sniffed, turning her head and pressing her ear to his shoulder, avoiding his gaze, âItâs stupid.â
âWell, itâs not if youâre crying.âÂ
âBasically, Mark C had this list that ranked most pretty to least pretty out of me and my friends and he and his friends put me at the bottom and itâs stupid because it doesnât do anything but then he said that âthereâs always an ugly oneâ. Jenny found it and tore it up.â She babbled, tears soaking his hoodie, but he didnât mind. He just held her tighter, stroking her back until sheâd cried herself dry.
âHeâs such a jerk, I think youâre the prettiest, so he was wrong anyway.â Luke, fuelled by a bitter taste in his mouth, hadnât thought through what he had said or the weight of it and spoke from his mind. Hearing that a boy thought she was pretty and openly admitted it without shame or fear exiled any sort of misery from her. Somehow, and she didnât understand why at that age, it meant everything that it came from Luke. Luke whoâd grown up with her and seen her worst moments already (like horrifically sunburnt).Â
She squeezed him. He wasnât the kind of guy to throw around compliments or comments, he was a thinker, just like his oldest brother.
âDo you wanna come over? We can watch movies and Iâm sure we can drop you home.â He asked, his voice soft. She pulled back, hands fisting his hoodie, eyes sore and puffy and Luke felt his heart shatter at the sight of her sadness. She nodded eagerly, failing to contain the smile that crept onto her lips. She couldnât help it, Luke just did that, and had that effect on her.
It was just a movie to make y/n feel better, but Luke being the youngest of three meant he fell victim to relentless teasing from his brothers the moment he got home. With bags dumped in the hallway, he and y/n made it to the large living room that opened into the dining room on the right-hand side which overlooked sliding doors into the garden, a breakfast bar dividing the kitchen and dining. Jackâs eyes lit up, first, engulfing her into a bear hug and then wiggling his eyebrows at Luke. Quinn simply ruffled both their hair and took his seat on one of the sofas, engrossed in his phone.Â
âWoah, look at Lukey bringing a girl home, we only got here a week ago an-â Jack started announcing but Ellen soon ushered him quietly, guiding Luke and y/n into the living room. She apologised for the mess, they had only recently moved in and there was still a lot of decorating to complete. The basics were down, sofas, TV above the fireplace, and dining table in the dining room but the place lacked photos and other miscellaneous decor for now.Â
âWhat do you wanna watch, Lu?â she curled up on the sofa, tucking herself into the armrest. Luke sat next to her, an awkward distance between them.
âYou choose, I would pick Harry Potter, obviously.â He slumped into the backrest so his feet could reach the coffee table, just about.
âHarry Potterâs good, put that on.â Luke did, loading up Netflix and hitting play. He wanted to do something, cut the awkward air between the two of them but she seemed happy curled up in the corner, but he imagined her cuddled into him instead. Y/n burned to lean into Luke, bathe in his embrace again, the warmth of sitting close to someone and perhaps she would have if Quinn left the room. It wasnât like he was paying attention to them, so she readjusted and shuffled closer to Luke, butterflies flittering in her stomach as she closed that awkward gap between the two of them. Luke glanced over to Quinn, but quickly turned back to her and sat up straight, turning his body into hers in return and putting his attention back onto the film.Â
They hadnât made it halfway through the film when they fell asleep, Quinn too. Y/nâs head lay on Lukeâs shoulder, his head leaning on hers. It was tough work surviving a day of school, clearly, but at least they were comfortable. The whole house fell into a silence, if a pin were to drop, the rattling against the floor would echo. When Jack emerged from his room, he genuinely thought heâd been home alone the whole time and crept down the stairs, flinching when he accidentally kicked a hockey glove to the bottom. He hung a left into the living room, catching sight of Quinn knocked out with his hood pulled over his head and Luke and y/n cuddled together, Harry Potter still playing on the TV. He could have woken Quinn, he could have woken Luke and teased him red, but he fumbled in his pocket for his phone, snapped a photo of his little brother and scooted around the house to find Ellen as if he had a rare treasure to show her. Sometimes siblings arenât all that bad.Â
*
The summer of twenty-fifteen worked slightly differently than either family were used to. The l/nâs were used to having an eleven-year-old and an eight-year-old, with the additional two teenagers and Luke next door but now Jack was allowed to bring his friends Trevor and Cole. That was four teenagers, two pre-teens and a child, the Hughesâ now with two cars on their drive and double the noise level. Jackâs friends werenât trouble, though. Trevor was like Jack, loud and full of spirit while Cole was on the quieter side, yet still as adventurous as the other two. When Jim had told the l/nâs the situation, y/nâs parent's souls were sucked straight from their bodies, how were they supposed to entertain that many kids?Â
One tradition that hadnât changed was the carnival. That still stayed but the world wasnât so big to them anymore. The fairy lights stayed, the food and game stalls were still the same, the rides had been refurbished and chatter still muffled the music. They had the strength to move through the crowds on their own now, recognise each other amongst the people and knew exactly where their meeting point was. Quinn was relieved he didnât have to babysit Jack anymore, he met up with his friend Brady before the firework display. Jack, Trevor and Cole played every game they could afford with brotherly competitiveness raging through them and Luke still held her hand above it all. Weaving through bodies, hand clasped in his, she followed him with every ounce of trust she had, feeling a spark surge between them and watching his ears tint pink when she squeezed. When theyâd arrived at the spot, the parents were already huddled together, Jack and his musketeers arriving shortly after with various prizes hanging around their necks and stuffed under their arms and Quinn arrived last. They werenât huddled as close as they all had been in previous years, the little groups seeming to form their own huddles and Luke and y/n were included in that pattern, standing slightly to the side, almost in their own world.Â
Spinners of blues, glitters of whites and brocades of purples painted the inky sky in tune with the song that played in the background, following every beat almost perfectly. Their hands became warm in each other's hold, almost too warm but letting go wouldâve felt wrong and awkward, especially since the electric feeling felt too good. Maybe they were too old to be holding hands now, there wasnât much of a point anymore but perhaps they felt like it was all they had left of the innocence of childhood before school got harder, friendships got messier and before everyone started changing. Luke peered over at her, smitten by the way the fireworks always brought a smile to her face. She had such a lovely smile, the kind where her eyes crinkled in the corners, and she was confident about showing teeth. A burst of adrenaline shot through him, and images of couples heâd seen around flashed through his mind and maybe he would regret it, maybe he would burn hotter than his sunburn but at least he could say he tried.Â
With a hitched breath, Luke placed a sweet, quick kiss on her cheek before turning back to the sky above as if heâd done nothing at all. Her eyes widened and her head whipped around to look at him, confirming as if she hadnât been dreaming and the way he smiled victoriously gave her every answer to her questions.Â
âLuke!â he flinched at his name, eyes wide, his worst fear hitting him like a brick; did someone see that? Was he about to be yelled at for kissing a girlâs cheek? Is Jack or Quinn going to chirp him for the rest of his life about it? He sheepishly turned towards his family, only to have relief wash over him when it was just Ellen calling him and y/n over.Â
âI want a photo of you and your brothers,â Ellen called, and he and y/n shuffled over, hearts thumping in their chests with cheeky smiles that kept a secret only they would ever know.Â
Quinn, Jack and Luke stood together, Luke in the middle wearing his University of Michigan fleece (which he wasnât sure who it actually belonged to), Quinn on one side, hands tucked into the sleeves of his grey hoodie and Jack on the other, who, for reasons unknown, decided to don an all-burgundy jacket and beanie in the middle of summer. Neither of the boys smiled, more so due to being forced into a photo with everyone else watching and giggling at them but unknown to them at the time, that photo would be hung up on their staircase and be one of the favourites.Â
*
The problem with growing up is that the big world starts to become smaller and more enclosed. You learn and feel new things that you never thought existed. Unfortunately, the group found out the hard way that things change. The ladder on y/nâs treehouse had rotted over the winter, but her father replaced it with a staircase instead, for ease but she thought it looked cooler that way. It also made getting the mugs of hot chocolate into the treehouse easier than it would have been. But because everyone had grown, and theyâd gained two extra bodies, it meant the inside was even more of a squeeze than before, even after replacing the large box of board games with a small cabinet instead. Top-to-tailing once again, Jack, Cole and Trevor on one end with Quinn, Luke and y/n on the other, but this time Jack was kept awake by Trevorâs snoring. He should have expected it really, it was usually him keeping everyone up with his antics, but he loathed how everyone else managed to fall asleep but him, but he hated more that if he dared wake anyone, heâd be sleeping outside.Â
He couldnât blame everyone for being out cold, theyâd spent the afternoon making friendship bracelets, Luke and y/n giving each other matching blue ones that he just knew would become the most prized possessions with the way their eyes lit up. Jack may have been loud and chatty, but he observed his brothers intensely and learned vicariously and what he figured out was that his little brother was utterly obsessed with this girl he desperately tried sitting closer and closer to. Luke even blew on her hot chocolate, the way Quinn used to do for him. To think that an eleven-year-old made bolder moves than he did. Quinn had told him to lay off Luke, let him be enamoured and that it was sweet to watch him break out of his comfort zone. Of course, the eldest knew exactly what it was like to feel so tucked away in your shell all the time, so if anyone was rooting for Luke and y/n, it was Quinn.Â
The air around her slowly warmed, her shivering stopping and a hot breath fanning across her pillow. Opening her eyes a crack, Lukeâs curls fell in front of his eyes, sleeping bag zipped to his lips and he shuffled closer to her. If this was his way of cuddling, she accepted it immediately, shuffling closer until foreheads almost touched.
âGoodnight, y/n.â he whispered.
âGoodnight, Lu.â
*
Jack vaulted over the sofa, clutching the diary to his chest and manically laughing as Luke chased him desperately, with sheer panic in his eyes and a face redder than Coleâs sunburn. Luke had never felt so hot in his life, never wanted the ground to swallow him up more. He wished heâd never let Jack in his room, he wished heâd been more careful and tidied his room when he was asked because everything from that point further could have been prevented.Â
âCâmon Jack! Give it back!â Luke whined, lunging at his brother, who dodged him. âYou canât tell me you havenât thought it too!â
âIt doesnât matter if Iâve thought it, you wrote it down!â Jack teased, opening the diary above his head to read more of the paragraphs. More of Lukeâs deepest secrets. âI think y/nâs the prettiest girl in my grade and even the world, I like her smile a lot and she makes me feel all tingly when she laughs.âÂ
âShut up! Muuuum!âÂ
Jack eventually handed the diary back, his laughing taunting Luke as this was now something that would hang over him for the rest of his life, be brought up every summer until the end of time and he begged the universes and any deity out there that Jack didnât spill the secret. He was awful at keeping secrets. He and y/n were best friends. She didnât even feel the same anyway, or at least he thought but, if he was lucky, perhaps took the risk, even just once, it could work out. What was the worst that could happen?
âLukey and y/n sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!â Jack sang, eventually ending the tune with kissing noises as Luke's face grew redder and redder. If he could hit him with no consequences, he wouldâve hit him hundreds of times, he wished he was big enough to cross-check him hard next time they were on ice.Â
âShut up!â Luke yelled and shoved him, but Jack repeated the song, âMum! Tell him to stop!âÂ
âYour face is so red! You do think she's pretty! Wait âtil the otherâs hear this!âÂ
âJack, stoooop!â
Jack grinned like a menace, running away through the sliding doors and through the yard towards the dock, âQUINN! Luke has a crush on y/n!â
To Jack, it was harmless, brotherly teasing. Theyâd make up, move on and forget about it. They couldnât do anything anyway, Jim and Ellen would scold him (or Quinn) for messing with Luke if they continued, and y/n would find out and everything would be ruined. So, it became a Hughes secret, and everyone would let Luke pine himself to death and decide if he wanted to make a move or not. And Lukeâs nerves exploded. His mind raced and emotions tangled into a knot. He was still a growing boy, he didnât know anything, and he was just about to begin middle school and after that high school where y/n would likely and undoubtedly make new friends, like other boys and heâd fade into the distance as nothing but the boy next door. If anyone were to have their heart broken it would be him, and heâd do everything to ensure that never happened.
When you start high school as a freshman, you don this mentality that youâre a lot older than you are. Perhaps itâs because youâre in a larger school with kids a year to four years older than you are, youâre all mature now. You dress better, follow trends, are influenced by the people around you and the media, and develop into your own person and your classes are more challenging. Yet, there are twice as many people, twice as many judging eyes, people you know and others youâve never seen before. People openly tell you your flaws, force you into a shell and all the rumours brainwash the consensus and nobody knows whatâs real and whatâs not, if thereâs a correct way to wear something, enjoy something, who was in your league and who was far out.Â
But it was also a clean slate for most. When Luke and y/n started high school, their friendships hadnât merged like they used to. Luke found his crowd, like-minded boys who enjoyed sports and finding ways to cure teenage boredom and y/n found hers, a mix of different personalities that found common interests out of the blue. The differing schedules and groups pulled them apart more than they had liked, only sharing two classes in the end and Luke despised whoever made their timetables. Sheâd pout when they compared schedules, a violent urge to cry knowing she wouldnât see his smile and curly hair every day, wouldnât be able to find him easily for a hug when she needed it, and wouldn't have him by her side anymore. When sheâd looked back up at him, with glossy eyes, his stomach dropped, and he knew exactly how she felt. He opened his arms and let her bury her face into his chest, arms winding around her, and they both mourned the loss of being two peas in a pod as dramatically as angsty teenagers would.
He did his best to see her at her locker, leaving cute little notes through the vents with hearts doodled under the message. He smiled and talked to her in the halls, they hung out after school when they could, he glared at anyone who dared talk shit about her and they hugged whenever one had a bad day, Luke hanging on longer, always. But as heâd feared, she had shown interest in other boys like his efforts had been wasted, and other boys had reciprocated but for some reason when they left cute notes, it was romantic, not that led to anything. But seeing the real world lit the fire under him, he needed to be a go-getter now, do something.
*
Nothing sucked at the lake though. There was no competition at the lake, no interruptions and he had the whole summer to make a singular move, or at least drop a hint. That was his one goal, drop y/n a hint that he liked her. She was a smart girl; sheâd catch on but if she accepted it was an entirely different anxiety. Heâd watched Jack make moves on girls before, it wasnât that hard, surely. All you had to do was just go for it. And he would if his nerves didnât eat him alive like vultures. This was his best friend he liked; heâd cry like a baby if she rejected him but hate himself for ruining something precious more.Â
Michigan could get hot during the summer, a blazing hot sometimes where the UV was high enough that thirty minutes outside, youâd feel that burning sensation along your skin. All those years ago, Jim and Ellen had bought that boat they viewed, it had sat identically to the l/nâs on the dock until Quinn had been old enough to drive it himself and take his brothers and friends out on the lake. Well, it was more like Jackâs friends as, for another year, Trevor and Cole had tagged along for their lake house getaway.
Luke had no problem with Trevor and Cole and quite liked them as people. So did y/n, maybe a bit more than the youngest Hughes liked. Y/n sat opposite them and Jack on the boat, donning her new bikini and sunglasses she begged her parents for since she wasnât a kid anymore. Thank the heavens for those sunglasses, if either of the two had caught her staring at them, she may have just jumped overboard because they looked divine. Trevor with his flowing hair, always perfect no matter what direction the wind blew and tanned skin that glowed in the sun, immaculate humour that made anyone laugh. Cole who was the embodiment of the sun and so soft-spoken, shoulders broad with inviting arms. The boys in her grade werenât like them, hadnât grown into their features yet, and still had awful haircuts but not Trevor and Cole. They worked out, proudly sitting shirtless and flashing their six-packs off to the poor, fumbling girl in front of them. Her friends would have killed to be there, these guys were so much hotter than the ones she knew, but also so far out of reach that all she could do was admire them.Â
Jack elbowed Trevor, subtly gesturing over to a zoned-out y/n with a playful smirk on his face. Catching onto his hint, he tensed just to watch y/n look away, attempting to play it off. The older boys chuckled, Luke sending a stabbing glare towards Jack. Sheâd been caught, been too sloppy and now they knew she was staring. How embarrassing. Luke shuffled closer to her, thighs pressing together as he slung his arm over the back of her seat, just as heâd seen Jack do before.
âCâmon, dude, uncool.â Luke scolded, irritation bubbling in his chest as his brother and friends laughed until they moved to the seats at the front of the boat, likely intending to get Quinn to stop so they could jump in the water. He wanted her to look at him the same way, desperately. He also worked out regularly, grew out his curls the way she liked them, and wore the clothes she said looked good on him so what was so much better about them than him? What was he doing wrong?Â
Heat flushed up the back of y/nâs neck, tingles jolting through her as their skins touched softly. His arm around her felt secure like it was meant to be there and suddenly the embarrassment faded. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, listening to Luke mumble something under his breath. God was he cute when he pouted, cute that heâd stood up for her once again. He was taller, more confident, attentive, and wearing the clothes she loved on him, heâd listened when she rinsed his last haircut, completely warmed up to her presence, talking all the time with her about anything, going everywhere with her. Luke was her anchor. She leaned into his side and tucked herself into him, his muscles relaxing underneath her touch, and he hesitantly rested his head against hers, shutting the surrounding world out as they bathed in each other's company.
*
The sun gracefully set into slumber, painting the sky with gradients of oranges to yellows over the lake and the back gardens. Y/nâs legs dangled over the porch of her treehouse, facing out towards the lake and feeling the breeze through her hair, a hot chocolate still warm cupped in her hands. It was peaceful up there, next door was too loud, Jack throwing some party while Jim and Ellen refuged in her living room, chattering with her parents about all the children and presumably the Hughes boysâ NHL drafting. Her parents were hockey fans, but neither child played the sport, not seriously at least, but she knew it was Lukeâs world and because of that, she made sure to attend his games when she could.
Lukeâs footsteps thumped on the wood of the platform, and he took a seat next to y/n, swinging his legs back and forth over the edge. Jackâs party had become too loud to bear, and he felt the sweat radiate off the bodies heâd weaved through to leave the house, deterring him from wanting to join in. Besides, he didnât want to be at the scene of the crime when Ellen and Jim found a broken pool cue in the basement, or a giant stain on the rug in the living room.Â
âWhat are you doing up here?â she asked, smiling at him. Of course, she knew, but she loved seeing him smile.
âWanted to see my favourite person, is that wrong?â Lukeâs shoulders bounced when he chuckled. Something she loved about him was that when he laughed, he laughed with his body, shoulders bouncing, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut, sometimes when he laughed really hard, heâd lean into her.Â
âMmm, nooo, I guess not. Just thought youâd be down there,â she gestured her head towards his house, âgetting the party experience for when you make it with the big dogs.â
He screwed his face up, âThere is the last place I wanna be right now. Itâs a disaster and I donât wanna be roped in with the blame. Plus, Jackâs been making out with a girl for an hour and every corner I took they were literally there, so gross. And Quinnâs at Bradyâs. Would rather be here with you.â
âWell, arenât you a cutie pie,â she teased. Lukeâs ears tinted pink and she raised her mug towards him. âWant a sip?â
Without a word, his lips pressed to the mug, sipping the lukewarm hot chocolate which was more marshmallow than liquid. He wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, watching her lips meet the exact spot his did. His stomach fluttered at the sight, the orange hues cascading over the two in perfect timing. She lookedâŠbeautiful.Â
They fell silent for a moment, attention drawn next door as a group of guys cheered over a beer pong win, jumping into each other and loudly claiming that the winning shots were for the girls watching. They imagined that it was them, at some place in the future, at a party with their friends where they all played drinking games, and it was normal to express such things openly. Where everyone had grown out of their teenage features and minds, understanding the world a bit better and having fun was easier. Y/n knew all the girls that entered the Hughesâ house were pretty, and she admired the way they dressed and styled their hair, their confidence and no wonder the boys liked them.Â
âI canât wait to be like them one day, Lu.â She mumbled, placing her (now empty) mug to the side. âPretty and having fun like that, theyâre all so cool. My friendâs sister goes to college, and she tells the wildest stories, and how she met her boyfriend is insane.â
Lukeâs mouth dried, it was now or never, and he couldnât miss his chance again. Why were feelings so hard? Why couldnât she see herself from his eyes? Y/n placed her hands on the platform edge, fingers curling over the side, and he glanced at them with temptation burning through him. Be a go-getter, now or never, do something. He placed his hand on hers, fingers curling the same as hers did. It was an awkward way to hold someoneâs hand, sure, but you donât really think things through when your heart is pulsing in your ears, and you think youâre about to explode in adrenaline.Â
Y/n turned her head and looked at the heat on her hand, his larger one fully engulfing hers, âYou looked pretty today. You look pretty all the time. I told you that years ago. I like the way you smile, and I like your bravery, the way youâre not afraid to talk to people, that you bring comfort to people. There are lots of pretty things about you other than your face. And hairâŠand eyes.âÂ
Looking up at him, their eyes met, and he wasnât smiling. He was being real. Heâd seen straight through her once again and said exactly what she needed to hear. But the way he said it came straight from his heart, his eyes never wavering away from hers like heâd been trying hard to put up a confident front. His hand squeezed hers, the sunset lighting up the green in his eyes but not in a soul-staring way, they shimmered. His words flowed through her veins, echoing around her head and wrapped around her heart like a hug and no matter how hard she had tried to suppress it, maybe she liked him a lot. And heâd just confirmed that maybe, just maybe, he may have felt similar.Â
âLu,â she asked, his gaze softening at her voice, âdo you really think kissing is gross?â
He shook his head sheepishly, wetting his lips, âNoâŠI just donât know how to do it.â
âI can teach you,â she paused, eyes jumping to his lips and back to his eyeline, âIâve read a lot of romance books to have an idea.âÂ
His voice stammered, eyebrows raising as his chest became heavier, breathing deeper until he managed to spill the words out, âYou wanna kiss me?â
âYeah, likeâŠit wouldn't be weird because likeâŠweâre best friends and all soâŠif weâre gonna learn it may as well be with each other.â Y/n avoided his eyes, looking between his lips, chest and their hands on the decking. They were warm, a nice warm that felt secure, the contact made her stomach flutter because yes, she had thought about kissing him, what it would feel like, if it was acceptable, what he would think of her and if he wanted to kiss her too.Â
âYeah, itâs not weird if we kiss.â Luke piped up, hand leaving hers and fingers gently tilting her chin up to meet his eyes, âI wanna kiss you too.â
Y/n nodded lightly, confidence driving her to lean closer into him and the world fell silent. Luke short-circuited, he really should have asked his brothers for advice before agreeing but he wasnât going to be a coward when she was right there, her eyes fluttering closed, and he copied. His fingers slid to cup her cheek, tilting his head in the opposite direction while his heart pulsed rapidly, faster than hockey had ever made it beat. Their lips pressed together for a closed-mouth kiss, meeting tentatively and tasting the marshmallow remnants but a new kind of euphoria burned through them for those five seconds, an addicting one that when they pulled away with uncontrollable smiles, they leant back in for another, a passionate one that lasted a few seconds longer with more confidence as theyâd found comfort.Â
Pulling back with eyes fluttering open, Lukeâs hand covered herâs again, âAre you sure youâve never done that before?â he whispered, enamoured by the high he was left on. A high that urged him to kiss her again, and again and until they couldnât breathe.Â
âNow you know how to kiss someone.â She giggled, turning back to face the sunset as if it hadnât fazed her at all. No blush as if sheâd kissed someone a million times. Like it was empty.Â
And that was that. It ended as fast as it started and both fifteen-year-olds watched the sunset until the sky bled into ink and the stars rose, not a word between them. That painful desire to keep kissing her terrified Luke through to his bones. Her lack of reaction, lack of sparkle in her eyes gave him the sickening reality check that maybe it was just a kiss. That when the euphoria circled through them it only fuelled a fire in him. Had he not been clear enough when he explicitly said he wanted to kiss her? He needed to be braver, bolder. If she wasnât picking up on hints, heâd just need to spit it out, but not now. He could barely form a sentence as he processed the storm of emotions. Whatâs the worst that could happen anyway?
Y/n whipped her head back towards the sunset, a small smile settling on her lips to mask the twisting in her stomach. The kiss felt electric, joy running through her veins and Lukeâs lips on hers let a new kind of warmth flourish in her chest, one that made tingles of excitement spread through her. She could tell the kiss had him enamoured, he sat wide-eyed like sheâd hung the stars out, utterly infatuated theyâd just shared their first kisses. It wasnât like she hated it, that it didnât mean anything to her because it did, thereâs no one else in the world sheâd rather have her first kiss with. The problem was that it made her feel things. Things sheâd never felt before and she didnât know if she liked the kiss or if she liked Luke. She didnât know anything, and she couldnât risk hurting him out of her own confusion and stupidity.
Leaning up against his locker, half-listening to what his friends were talking about, Luke watched the two from across the hall, his tongue licking his top teeth as y/n laughed with the boy she was with. One year ago, he and y/n had kissed in her treehouse, and one year on he still thought about it. They hadnât brought it up since, it didnât matter anymore, it was only a kiss apparently. They continued their friendship like it always had been but every now and then theyâd stare at each other for a little bit too long and let the memory wash over them again.Â
But he still didn't like what he was watching, it felt like a festering wound in his body with the way she looked up at him with stars in her eyes. Gradually he clocked out of his friendâs conversation and tuned into y/n and mystery guyâs like a satellite. The hall wasnât too busy, most of the crowds retreating towards the stairs, so while their voices werenât clear, he caught the gist. It didnât mean he was happy about it, in fact the way he spoke to her as if she were stupid didnât quite sit with him right, how could she like him? Lukeâs glare only stiffened, burned holes through the guyâs head the more he swayed her with his compliments and smiles, God was it unbearable and Luke was at his wits end with it. Weeks he had seen the two together and his croaky, fifteen-year-old selfâs voice echoed, âbe a go-getterâ.Â
He pushed off his locker, weaving around the passing students and just as he was so close to interfering, he wished heâd never left at all. The world moved around him, but the volume never made it, a ringing in his ears as the words left her mouth easily.Â
Itâs a date, see you Saturday.
He huffed with a lump in his throat, stomach dropping and his heart bleeding out his chest and onto the linoleum, but his feet didnât move fast enough as by the time heâd processed what heâd seen, heard, his eyes met hers and he found himself approaching her. Even at sixteen, he towered over her, shoulder leaning against her locker with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, eyes glossing but holding back the tears.Â
âYou two seem friendly lately, not goinâ around finding my replacement, huh?â he half-joked, trying his best to put on his signature smirk.
Y/n folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, his eyes catching sight of the friendship bracelet he made her when they were kids, âStop it, weâre just talking. And nobody could replace you, Lulu. Youâll always be my number one bestie.âÂ
Bestie.
âSo, whereâs he taking you on Saturday? Not a walk in the woods, I hope. You know what happens there.â He didnât care, no, no, no he didnât. At least thatâs what he had tried to tell himself. He just needed to know she was safe, yeah. That was it.
âHeâs not gonna kill me, and if you must know, weâre going to the roller rink, he wants to be cute and teach me to skate.â She watched Luke cock an eyebrow; his smirk still glued to his lips as if to non-verbally ask her âReally? Does he not know you at all?â. âWhat? I tried to tell him I already knew but he insisted and like, heâs cute and he was trying so why not?â
The bell shrilled and crowds began shuffling. Luke raised his hands to surrender while she rolled her eyes, pushing him by the chest backwards towards their class as he chuckled at her, spinning around. His heart had officially been shattered to pieces; he wasnât even in the running. Heâd lost a love, but he still had his friend, but the part that stung was that he lost his first love to someone else. He had been too slow, a coward. Maybe it would have turned out differently if he hadnât agreed to kiss her in the first place. Maybe he should have said something in the treehouse. Seeing them together would only add more salt to the wound and he didnât think he could just get over that quickly, couldnât bear to see them in school together, it was like having an arrow labelled above his head labelling him as a loser.Â
âOkay, okay, Iâll leave you two at it then. Call me if you need anything.âÂ
Y/n stopped pushing him and walked close by his side, looping her arm around his and holding tight to not lose him amongst the crowd. Luke wished he could have enjoyed the affection, but it was different now. He was just a friend and how would her potential boyfriend feel about her clinging onto him? Would it be his fault? Oh God why was it so confusing.
One weekend. One date was all it took. Luke spent the whole weekend in his basement, shooting pucks and not caring if they hit the wall or the net, that wasnât the point, all just to clear his head and focus on something else. He started to hope his dad would yell at him for being too rough, it would give him something else to be upset about. After the puck slammed into the wall, he stood up straight to catch his breath. Hockey was supposed to channel his energy so why did his body feel so heavy still? His eyes burned hot, glazed over and he wiped the streaming tears with his sleeve. He was used to being on his own now, both his older brothers in the NHL and now his best friend had someone else. The one time he needed brotherly advice, comfort, to hear their voices the most, they couldnât be there, and a call wasnât the same as sitting on the porch roof watching the sunset.
Meanwhile, y/nâs face held an amused facade while her date mansplained Fantasy Football at her, eyes subtly flickering to the clock on the wall periodically. The whole date hadnât gone badly, he paid, bought them drinks, listened intently to every word she spoke but what more was there? Theyâd been skating in circles, and heâd been trying desperately to appeal to her, bragging about his football achievements and now Fantasy Football. He was nice, cute, yeah, but y/n couldnât help but think of Luke every time a word left his mouth. This guy was not special, her stomach was silent, no butterflies like Luke gave her. His smile wasnât contagious like Lukeâs. Luke wouldâve taken her somewhere new they could both try or somewhere they both loved, Lukeâs voice was easy to listen to when he told hockey stories, and heâd already explained fantasy sports to her the same way he would have explained it to a guy. All she thought about was Luke, compared to every guy she met. Poor Luke. She should have told him she liked the kiss then maybe he wouldnât have run blue in the hallway. She couldnât turn the clock back, but what she could do is move forward with the realisation that she did like Luke Hughes, more than a friend.Â
Sheâd told Luke about the disaster date, and heâd been surprised to hear she hadnât enjoyed it since heâd watched the two shower each other with nothing but attention and affection for weeks but Luke had made up his mind. It was time for him to take the backseat, let go of their childhood.Â
Once Monday came around, Luke had to try his best to push his own feelings aside, lay off the romance hints, less like her wannabe boyfriend and act more like a friend, she wasnât interested in him now, she had other boys, and he had to at least pretend he wasnât interested in her. They were besties, nothing more, nothing less. She said it herself. Heâd lost his chance. Even if he tried to ask her out now, what if she rejected him? Laughed in his face? His feelings mattered too, and the last person he wanted hurting them was y/n. Y/n and Luke had made their agreement to be friends, and they hated themselves for letting the flowers of a bittersweet tragedy grow in their lungs violently unless they loved each other the same.
His logic may have been screwed, but it was the only way he would be able to stay in her life, yes girls and guys could be best friends but when you were in love with yours who liked someone else, that became horrendous to bear. Especially on the daily. How was he supposed to be just her friend if he had to be reminded of why heâd go to all ends of the Earth for her every day? Heâd head straight to his friends between bells, pretending heâd not seen her face sink when he walked past. At lunch he sat with his friends most of the time, got involved with their shenanigans while she sat with her group, as if he didnât notice the longing in her eyes. In classes, heâd join his friends a little more, not all the time but more than he used to. When the final bell rang, it was her he sat with on the bus, and it became the best part of the day listening to his voice talk, having a conversation like they used to. It wasnât until heâd started putting a wedge between them that he realised how deep heâd fallen into her grip, and getting out would be the hardest, most confusing and painful part of it.Â
Y/n wasnât used to the whirlwind of emotions, the on-off behaviour but after months of Luke being unable to decide if he wanted to hang out with her or not, sheâd gotten used to it. She didnât expect to see him after the first bell anymore, didnât expect him to find her in the halls (but he did give her a smile and that little upwards nod guys do when they passed each other) or at lunch anymore but when they met on the bus at the end of school, they fell back into each other like magnets. She didnât know what she did wrong that made him build such a wall, but for the first few weeks there wasnât a night she hadnât cried about it, not a day where sheâd see his face in the halls and her heart not gain a heavy weight. It had her emotions in one giant blender, he wanted nothing to do with her throughout the day but once they got home, he replied to texts almost instantly, hung out with her over the weekends, glared daggers into every guy who ever spoke to her and what the hell was going on? He had her engulfed in blankets of loneliness and then bouncing back into that warmth of giddy sensations. The one thing she did know for certain was that the further apart they floated, the more she realised how much she loved Luke Hughes.
*Â
When Valentine's Day rolled around, y/n closed her locker, cheeks aching from smiling so much. It would be the day she asked Luke if he wanted to celebrate the day of love with her, go into town, on a date. As she turned to leave, Roller Rink guy unfortunately cornered y/n to her locker, a cocky grin on his face. Nausea riddled; her smile dropped. She thought telling him that they should just be friends would be enough, but he was persistent on wooing her. Luke chewed the inside of his cheek, a cold glare on Roller Rink, he couldnât have cared less about his name, he didnât want that taste on his tongue. How could this guy not get the memo?Â
âSo, you got plans tonight? Gonna give me a second chance?â Roller Rink smirked, stepping that inch too close for her liking. So close that y/n stepped back, bumping into someone else a lot taller, broader.
Luke almost left it, almost walked away but his blood boiled too hot, âWe do, yeah. Sorry buddy, maybe next time.âÂ
âWell look who it is, havenât seen you in a while, Hughes. How about you let the girl speak, yeah?â Roller Rink mocked, condescending. Y/n had never been more grateful for Luke to step in, never been more grateful for a friend like him. Relief fell through her, shoulders becoming weightless, and her muscles finally relaxed.Â
âActually, heâs right. I asked him to meet me here. Bye.â She stuttered, grabbing Lukeâs hand and dragging him through the hall, leaving the other guy in their dust. She grinned the whole way to Lukeâs, hoping he was just as ecstatic as she was. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, falling weak to her.
It was their childhood all over again, Luke and y/n curled up on the sofa, but this time she had her head tucked into his chest while his arm sat comfortably over the back of the sofa. Her ear pressed to his heart, listening to its calm rhythm as Harry Potter played on the TV. They werenât supposed to be that close; he was supposed to be keeping his distance, pushing those ecstatic feelings aside, being her friend but the way she snuggled into him, fitting like a glove in his figure, had his head spinning. The last time, it would be the last time heâd let her do this. Perhaps he could make an exception for Valentine's Day.
Valentineâs Day had been the exception, and the final one. When she left his house, heâd taken a long shower, staring at the wall and rethinking his options. Y/n was playing with his feelings, tugging his heart strings and he couldnât do it anymore. He couldnât cope with the bursts of paradise when their met eyes, only to remember that if she really liked him, she wouldnât have agreed to a date, and wouldn't have avoided his eyes after kissing him. Maybe he was immature, unable to regulate such strong emotions, but he hated the back and forth, he just wanted someone he couldnât have. She went on a date; she didnât like it so she went back to him to seek the affection he couldnât give her. Best friends werenât supposed to be rebounds; he didnât want to be a rebound. If he was to have her, he wanted her, exclusively but maybe right now just wasnât the time.Â
He stopped speaking to her in class, she tried her best to crack him, grab his attention and hopefully heâd return her energy like he used to but all he gave were dry, short replies. He couldnât let himself fall for the sweet sound of her voice and she couldnât let him ignore her interest. When theyâd pass each other in the halls, sheâd smile that warming, toothy grin at him, but he barely looked at her. She caught him after school, asking him if he was taking the bus but Luke waved her off, saying he was carpooling with his friends. Luke was always busy when sheâd asked to hang out, which was okay, he was allowed to have friends. At least he still texted back, not instantly and the messages were shorter, but she took what she could get. Was part of growing up watching friendships float apart? She knew that the older you got, your friends either become closer or further from you, and Luke had been her childhood friend, but she never imagined he would be the one to drift. He was also a human though, he had his own life and his own friends, she would always be there, but his current friends wouldnât so maybe he was just making the most of things. It made sense, next year they would be graduating, and theyâd never see most people again. After all, she still had summer, and youâll never have the summer you had at seventeen.Â
*
Y/n pulled the photo album out of her wardrobe, brushing the dust off before sitting cross-legged on her bed. It had been a while since sheâd taken a walk down memory lane, more prompted to revise over what life was like before high school started, when times were simpler and smiling came easy.Â
Each photo still had pristine quality, her and the Hughesâ boys on paddleboards, from her and Luke sat together to Jack and Quinn drenched with a capsized board, their treehouse sleepover where they got yelled at in the next morning for being noisy, the time where they played roller hockey and she grazed her elbow, her decorating Jackâs hair with glitter hair clips and a whole lot of her and Luke thick and thieves. Her and Luke at the fireworks, hand in hand, playing Swingball, asleep on the sofa, making friendship bracelets. The bracelets they still wore, even if they werenât as close anymore. Both blue with a little white braided in, a matching pair.Â
In every photo of herself and Luke, there was not even one where Lukeâs attention was on the camera, his eyes were always lit up and focused on her. Each page she turned, the memory played like tapes, vividly and she remembered all the times heâd tried his best to impress her. When she told him that she liked his hair longer, he grew it. When she liked a specific item of clothing, he wore it more. He defended her when Jack and his friends laughed at her, held her closer in the crowds at the carnival, everything about his life revolved around her. Kissing her cheek when they were eleven must have taken a lot of courage and she brushed it off as a friendly gesture. And what did she do? After all his efforts, the way he was utterly enamoured when they kissed in her treehouse, she went on to agree to a date with some loser she didnât really like because she was too oblivious to realise that Luke, her best friend, had been heads over heels for her since they were kids, and she was too late in accepting that. Luke would have never kissed her if he didnât like her and now at seventeen, he really didnât.
How things fall into a complex circle, a game of cat and mouse. Chasing, running, chasing and running, back and forth, back and forth. Guilt tore through her body and she slammed the album closed, running her hands over her face. Perfect, she liked him back the moment he was hard to reach. That horrid guilt in her, that empty feeling when her stomach dropped to the bottom, heart twisting in her chest when she thought about the pain, sheâd put him through. It wasnât over, it couldnât be over, there mustâve been some part of Luke that still held on to hope. What felt like a fire lit inside her stomach, she wasnât going to lose him yet. The summer was approaching, and over summer sheâd have him all to herself with endless possibilities to talk to him, win him over again, prove that he wasnât just a friend. She would not give up on Luke.
*
When the summer hit, all of Lukeâs efforts hit the fan. She lived right next door now. He woke up every day only to see y/n flaunting around in her bikinis, he didnât think she could get more beautiful but now she was stunning and as much as Luke tried not to check her out, he did every time. Luke himself spent more time at the gym, grew into his features and he towered over his brothers, he wasnât hard to miss, y/n resisted the urge to gawk at him with his summer glow.Â
It felt like his childhood all over again, all of them hanging out on the boat, him and y/n sitting opposite each other, Quinn driving, Jack, Trevor, Cole towards the back hogging the wakeboard and now y/nâs friend, Kim (who had bulging heart eyes towards Cole) sitting next to her. Every now and then heâd catch a glimpse of y/n from the corner of his eye, posed pretty with her chest puffed out, large sunglasses perched on her nose with her lips wrapped around the straw of a canned cocktail as she listened to Kim talk. Butterflies fluttered into his stomach all over again, he hadnât looked at her properly in so long, he felt eleven again looking at her like she was the embodiment of Aphrodite sent down to Earth for him. What he couldnât see was y/n looking at him back, eyes raking his figure and the way his curls bounced in the breeze, shorts fit around his thighs, smirk sat pretty on his lips. It was like the sun shone a halo around his head and her heart couldnât have beat more profoundly out her chest.
When the evening fell, Luke stood on his porch, empty bottles of beer in his hands as he watched her boat pull into her dock, Kim lugging a picnic bag over her shoulder and waving off as she left for home. He hadnât meant to, but it was a moment of weakness, one of those moments where he wondered if he had just been a little stronger, able to cope better with being so close to her while living in pain, if heâd be the one out there in the boat, enjoying a cute picnic dinner on the waters. Â
Y/n struggled as she failed to tie the boat to the dock, the knot slipping, and she groaned in frustration. After a long day in the sun, the last thing she wanted to deal with was her own lack of strength. With the rope clutched in her fingers, she groaned loudly, glancing around for at least someone to help her until her eyes fell upon Luke at his porch. She called his name, waving him over desperately, letting him discard the bottles in his hands before he waltzed his way down the porch and through his garden.
âNeed help?â Lukeâs voice called out to her as he strolled along the dock, shading his eyes from the setting sun as he approached her.
She stepped away, handing him the rope, watching the way his arms flexed as he pulled the knot tight against the cleat, âThanks, that was being a pain in the ass.âÂ
âThey always are, the worst is waking up and seeing the rope snapped, thatâs a pain in the ass.â He chuckled, remembering the morning he found Quinn with his head in his hands with a snapped rope at his feet and boat floating four feet away from the dock. They stood in an uncomfortable silence, the lakeâs critters singing their songs with the occasional car driving in the distance. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, shaking his hair out of his eyes, âSooo, itâs been a while, huh? How have, uh, you been?âÂ
âAll right, you? Congrats on fourth overall pick, by the way, I knew youâd get there. You excited?â She smiled, rolling back on her heels and folding her arms under her chest.
âYeah, Iâve been okay too. Sorry I didnât reply to your text, I had so many Iâm still getting through them, but thank you,â he chuckled, watching her shoulders raise as she gave a little huff in amusement, âand I guess, Iâm happy that Iâll be with Jack but itâs gonna be tough. But Iâll worry about it later, Iâm planning on college first, making some friends and that. Speaking of, Cameron, really?â
She forgot about him; he was that irrelevant she had actually forgotten sheâd briefly dated her classmate, Cameron. She only did it in hope Luke would interrogate her, it made her a horrible person, yes, but Cameron was no saint by any means either. She hoped Luke would do what he normally did, get protective and ask her a million questions, like he did with Roller Rink, and heâd swoop in and woo her away instead, but when Luke only glared and scoffed, her plan for his attention had failed.Â
Y/nâs eyebrows raised, and she blew out a defeated puff of air, shaking her head at Luke, âDonât even go there, Lu. A wet rag would have a more interesting personality than he ever would. Thank God itâs over, finally. Surprised you didnât interrogate me at the time.â
âEh, I thought about it, but I didnât wanna be that guy, yïżœïżœknow?â he shrugged, a static sensation crawling its way from the pits of his stomach where heâd shoved it, scuttling through his limbs and into his muscles. That euphoric feeling from the treehouse two years or so ago prying its way back into his memory the more they spoke. The feeling was exactly what he was running from, he couldnât help liking her more than a friend but all the weight on his shoulders lifted and he felt free again, like being a professional hockey prodigy didnât matter to her, she would like him anyway as just Luke.Â
âYouâd never annoy me like that.â They fell into a silence, Luke prodding the decking with the tip of his slides, y/n watching him occupy himself. She forgot how being with him felt. He felt exactly like they were standing, warm summer evenings on the docks with the breeze in their hair, in a smitten haze where nothing mattered. âLu? Whereâd you go? What happened to us?â
He froze and stood properly, eyes squinting from the sunâs glare as he looked up slowly. He hadnât gone anywhere, is what he wanted to say but the wet glaze in her eyes suggested that y/n wouldâve torn him to shreds if he kept avoiding her. Heâd hurt her enough. His throat dried, a lump forming when he swallowed, âIâŠI got swept up in this whole draft business, family were really on my back about the whole thing, then I had Five Nations last year and Worlds next year, practice was intense and um, I was losing time with my friendsâŠI guess. Theyâre likely moving out of state for college, and weâll probably never see each other after high school.â
He wasnât lying but what he really wanted to say refused to leave his throat, like the words were stuck in his chest.
She nodded, it was a valid answer, it made sense, she knew how his life revolved around hockey, when had it not? It just didnât feel like heâd said everything he wanted to say, but he didnât continue. He watched her purse her lips, the pinks from the sky fading into dark and the moon reflected over the lake, little lamps on the dock glowing yellow around them. If there were any moment he could kiss her, it would have been then. It had to be that moment when he felt his younger self spring to life within, entranced with her existence alone and the memory of the day they met, her hand reaching out to him specifically and never letting it go. Not Jackâs, not Quinnâs, always his.
âThatâs fair enough,â she gave a gentle chuckle, âmaybe a little warning next time, I thought I pissed you off.â
âNever, Iâm sorry about that, I shouldâve said,â he laughed with her until they settled, âwell, I should get going before I ruin game night for the family, it was nice to chat again.â
âYeah, it was. Thanks for tying the boat, see you âround.â With little nods and longing smiles, they both turned, heading in opposite directions towards the paths up their yards until the sudden burst of adrenaline rose in her chest. There wasnât a lot to lose anymore, they were on good terms, he wasnât pissed off with her and what better way to give him a fat hint, âLu!â
He stopped in his tracks and turned towards her yelling, he hadnât made it too far down the dock, her voice was crystal clear and his nickname in her voice just made his chest swell.Â
âYouâre looking good these days!âÂ
That uncontrollable urge to grin took over his muscles like he was a puppet, sheâd finally noticed. His hair kept long the snug swim shorts, t-shirts and polos in styles sheâd once said suited him. How could he not feel a buzz run through him, almost dizzying. As if on autopilot, fuelled by this sudden nostalgic rapture, he called back,
âAnd youâre still pretty!âÂ
No, she was beautiful, but heâd rather not yell when he knew his brothers were chewing table legs waiting for him. If he admitted it now, heâd never go back, heâd fold all over again and although she thought he looked good, spent their conversation glancing at his arms and lips, showing sprinkles of indications that perhaps he was still in the running after all, making his move after heâd sat in the backseat for so long pretending like he wasnât interested just felt wrong. He had so much to explain before he even tried.
*
Another year, another carnival and y/n thought sheâd be enjoying the games and food stalls with her best friend, Kim. She thought theyâd be in photobooths, laughing over the stupid games that the odd person won and trying out the new churros stall but instead, the moment Cole offered to accompany her on a few rides, y/n knew sheâd be on her own until the fireworks. She had no idea where Luke was, so tagging along with him was off the list as well and she was not going to hang around the parents and her brother and his friends, gross.
The woman behind the counter smiled, handing the cone of churros to y/n before turning to the family next to her. Kim may have been missing out, but she sure was not going to pass up the opportunity for fresh and warm sweet treats that only cost her a couple dollars. She stepped to the side, away from the counter, the aroma of sugary delights filling her senses as she took her first bite. She hadnât tasted something so incredible since she discovered what pancakes were.Â
A firm hand on her lower back wiped all sense of a blissful retreat from her body, her grip on the churros tightening and she froze, a cold presence looming over her with his hot breath plaguing her neck. Why? Why in all places where there are families with children? She wanted to run but her legs locked into place, that horrific fear chilling her spine and the default thought that it was over echoing in her mind.Â
âYou look a little lonely, I can keep you company.â The guy breathed deeply in her ear, with a suggestive tinge in the way he spoke. She didnât dare look him in the eye, just peered through her peripheral vision enough to know he was at least in his twenties.Â
âIâm not, Iâm with my boyfriend, actually.â She replied, as confidently as she could possibly bear without bursting into tears. His thumb rubbed against the fabric of her jeans, her appetite sinking into nausea.
âItâs okay, sweetheart. I donât bite.â He pinched a churro from her cone and now theyâd been infected, now she didnât want them anymore. The closer he stood to her, the filthier she felt like it was all her fault for not moving away. Y/nâs eyes remained fixed to the grass below, tears welling and her throat closing as she choked back a sob. She squeezed her eyes shut, helplessness overruling every ounce of strength she had the closer the guy pressed himself into her back.
âYeah, but I do so fuck off.â Lukeâs voice clipped, his hand sliding over her shoulders gently. Y/nâs eyes snapped open, immediately recognising the white Air Forces and the voice in her ears, legs finally gaining the ability to move again, and she let Lukeâs hand guide her into him instead, dropping the churros into the bin nearby. She wrapped her arms around his middle, ear pressed to his chest and the tears ran hot, yet the way his arms secured around her shoulders brought a warm sense of belonging somewhere.Â
âWoah, easy tiger. Was just making sure the little lady was safe in a place like this-â the guy raised his hands in front of his chest as if to surrender, an amused smirk smeared across his face as Lukeâs stare darkened. His guilt taunted him, he shouldâve been there and then she wouldnât be shaking in his arms. Kim shouldnât have ditched her, and he should have been a friend and stuck by her side. The minute he saw the guy approach her, his vision burned red and he was shoving his way through the crowds, whatever people were shouting at him couldnât have mattered less.Â
â-Iâm calling security.â Luke exasperated, and he wouldâve called security if the woman with her child at the stall nearby hadnât already done so, the creep swearing and making a break for it. Y/n pulled her face away from his chest with red eyes, arms loosely wound around his waist still as she peered up at him. Lukeâs eyes softened and on instinct his palms cupped her cheeks, wiping the remaining tears away with his thumbs. âI got you, sâjust you and me.â
Her eyes sparkled under the fairy lights, stared at him like he was an angel sent from the skies to watch over her and he knew it. He saw it just as she saw his ears tint pink again. They hadnât done that in months. He hadnât felt that hot in months and the outside temperature was breezy.Â
Y/n hoped he kiss her. Right there, where they were alone. Their eyes never leaving each otherâs and his hands jolting electrifying sparks over her skin. Sheâd forgotten what it felt like to be touched my him, how light she felt. The less and less theyâd touched, spoken, been in each otherâs proximity the more intense the memory and feeling crashed over her in waves of yearning. The voice in her head begging him, Luke! Please stop running! I love you! Love me like you once did!Â
His hands dropped and slipped into his shortâs pockets, his gaze eventually leaving hers and jumping to the flashing lights of the stalls surrounding them, âYou all right?âÂ
âI am now, thanks.âÂ
âIâm sorry,â he watched her open her mouth to speak, but he couldnât keep it in his chest, she was there, and his emotions were running too fast to think about what he was doing. The words spilled out, âIâm sorry for not being there. Now and over the past year. Y/n, Iâm so fucking sorry. I wanted to tell you at the docks but, I dunno, I fucked it and then it was too late and-â
Her hands balled around his t-shirt, pulling him closer, âLu, itâs okay. I forgive you.â
âNo, no you might not,â he ran his hands through his hair harshly, âit wasnât just because of hockey and my friends. I was jealous and insecure and that feels so good to finally admit. You went on a date with whatâs-his-face, and I donât know, I guess I thought I was being replaced and I was stupid about it, then it got too deep and fuck!â And I was so in love with you and then I lost my chance.
Y/n didnât let go of him. His hands slipped back into his pockets, and he waited, eyes searching hers with sympathy written in them, the guilt on his face with shaky breaths. That was it? He was just insecure and was unable to process it? She heard him out, she would have probably thought the same and at that age, it wasnât easy to just speak up about it, especially when you think you have no chance at all. She wasnât mad, disappointed slightly, angrier at herself that he felt like he couldnât tell her.Â
âI forgive you. I probably would have done the same thing, honestly. Yeah, you were stupid, that was really stupid, and it really hurt. Iâm also sorry for making you feel like you were being replaced. But if it brings any reassurance, no one would ever be able to replace you.â She pulled him into a hug, arms wrapping around his middle again and his around her shoulders, their height difference making them fit perfectly.
They pulled away after a few seconds, Luke clearing his throat as they stepped back awkwardly, âWe should, um, probably head to the spot now.âÂ
âOh, yeah! Yeah, totally. Um, thanks for stepping in againâŠI really appreciate it.â She blinked twice and fixed her hair, snapping out of her daze, the corners of her lips quirking upwards. Luke nodded before they re-entered the crowds, her arm looping around his as he led them through, glancing at her every now and then until theyâd slipped out the other side, catching sight of Jack and his friends heading in the same direction as them.
Their families chose the specific spot when they were kids, it was out the way of the popular viewing places and to reach it required tackling a tedious staircase to the top of the hill, but it was the best spot that looked over the carnival below. Like most years, the two families were divided into their own little huddles, but Luke and y/n stood together like they were eleven again. Her grip around his arm tightened a little, head leaning against his arm and unleashing a giddy tingle into Lukeâs chest. Y/nâs heart raced like sheâd never been alone with him before, like it was the first time sheâd been alone with him and God, just thinking about how Luke had kissed her for the first time in that exact spot just made her stomach warm.Â
He slipped his hand out of his pocket slowly, keeping his eyes on the sky as the firework displayâs music faded in. Like feathers, her fingers ran down his forearm, tracing over his skin and veins that ran hot with a resurfacing captivation like a drug he just couldnât quit. Without saying a word or giving each other any kind of endearing look, her palm met his and fingers interlaced, rebuilding the bridge between the two lost souls as the pinks and reds of whirlwinds and willows reflected over gleaming eyes.
*
The Hughes family threw parties all the time, had been since they moved in next to the L/nâs all those years ago. Jim and Ellen always had some sort of party for the boys and as they grew older, Jack more or less became the main host, especially with the arrival of Trevor and Cole. That night it was the two families along with the Tkachuks, who moved to the lake a few years prior, who held some sort of belated celebration for Lukeâs drafting success. According to Ellen, they would have done it nearer the time, but Quinn insisted the Tkachuks should join since they had played such a big role in the Hughesâ lives.Â
Afternoon barbeques drifted into evening drinks and sâmores around the bonfire, Jack and Cole tossing marshmallows into each otherâs mouths, Matthew telling Trevor (who spilled molten marshmallow on his knee and was trying to wipe it off with great struggle) a detailed story from one of his NHL games, Brady and Quinn debating something, it wasnât entirely clear anymore what the topic was but they seemed to be in disagreement either way and Lukeâs eyes flickered around the fire, in search of his person. Her brother was still there, kicking a ball around on the grass with a couple of his friends heâd been allowed to invite. Her parents were inside talking to the other parents.Â
He stood up, unnoticed by the others, and wandered to the side gate, taking a quick look back before slipping out quietly and ambling next door to the l/nâs side gate, silently turning the hatch and letting himself into their garden. As he suspected, a faint, amber glowed from the window of the treehouse and those fairy lights didnât turn on by themselves. With a sigh of relief, Luke carefully made his way across the garden, his footsteps heavy on the wooden stairs up to the platform and he opened the door a crack before letting himself into the structure.
The treehouse felt tiny compared to when they were kids. He was too tall for it now, having to duck under the door and crane his neck slightly, shutting it behind him. Y/n sat against the wall, staring out the window with her legs stretched out in front of her. Sheâd watched him come up the stairs, and it brought the slightest bit of relief that someone had noticed her absence. Luke sat next to her, shoulder to shoulder with his back against the wall like hers, the little lights that hung around the top of the walls giving their skin a dim glow.Â
âWhatâcha doinâ up here, pretty?â he asked softly.
 She turned her head to face the wall opposite, head bumping the wood, âGot cold and needed to think. What about you? Donât you wanna be down there, gettinâ advice from the big dogs?âÂ
âWould rather be here with you.â He chuckled lightly, Deja vu of the conversation. The last time they sat in the treehouse together, before things spiralled. She shivered, running her hands over her arms to rid the goosebumps. Luke shimmied his sweatshirt over his head, the navy blue âUSA Hockeyâ one he always thought would look better on her, âHere, put this on.âÂ
âYou sure?â he nodded, and she pulled the sweatshirt over her head, the size engulfing her but she was too warm to care, âThanks, but really, how did you know I was here?â
âHad a feeling. Do you wanna talk about it?âÂ
She stayed quiet for a little moment before speaking, âMâjust a little worried about college. My friends applied so far out of state with all these cool stories from relationships and drama and shit and I feel a littleâŠboring. What if people at UMich think Iâm boring? What if Iâm gonna be alone? Iâm not boring, am I?âÂ
âIf it brings you any comfort, Iâm worried too. You know my friends are leaving the state too, and I also havenât exactly been the most exciting socially either, just those odd parties, you remember those surely,â he muttered, his voice raspy as she nodded, âyouâre not boring, by the way, never losing a game of beer pong is a talent people will kill for in college, and you wonât be alone. Youâre the most likeable person Iâve ever met, and I admire how you find talking to people so easy. Remember when we started high school? You jumped straight into the jungle and made friends within the first day, took me a week to properly make mine, I was terrified. Besides, Iâll be there so you can always come find me.â
 Y/n didnât reply, but she soaked in his voice and how easy the words left his mouth. He always knew just what to say, and that was yet another reason why she loved him. She sighed, leaning her head against his bicep, gently nuzzling her cheek into him as if to comfort herself. If only heâd wrapped her arm around her, but resting his head against hers was enough, just like they had when they were kids watching Harry Potter. Back when Luke pined over her and she didnât think too much of it, not knowing what it was, what it meant. He may have been the only guy that ever loved her like that. Roller Rink was far more interested in the idea of having a girlfriend and CameronâŠCameron couldnât have cared less about who she was as long as she had female anatomy.Â
âDo you think Iâm lovable? Like, not because of the way I look.â She babbled out of the blue, Lukeâs eyebrows knitting with confusion at her sudden question, but he had asked what was on her mind.
âI think youâre the most lovable person there is. Youâre funny, youâre witty, you have this admirable determination and ability to socially chameleon. Oh God, and youâre so sweet, always know how to make someone feel at peace. Whatâs-his-face and fucking Cameron have no idea what theyâre missing.â He rambled, a smile spreading across his face as the lights in the room sparkled in his eyes. She looked at him with awe, his voice like a song that would now become her favourite as he talked with adoration, valuing her as a human being with her flaws and perfections that crumbled the walls heâd spent so long building.
âLuâŠâ She wanted to say something back, kiss his face all over, take him by the cheeks and kiss his lips so hard they wouldnât be able to breathe. That comfortable silence between them where eyes met and debated leaning in, submitting to his childhood crush and her adolescent realisation.
Her phone buzzed, she hesitantly pulled her eyes from his and after reading the notification she slammed the device back onto the floor, groaning and rolling her eyes. She grabbed her phone back, swiping and blocking Cameronâs Instagram. Blocking was crazy, but it was the only way heâd stop begging her for âanother chanceâ.Â
âGoing by that reaction, Iâm taking that was Cameron?â Luke raised his eyebrow, watching her place her phone to the side and lean back into the wall.Â
âCan I tell you something, but you canât tell anyone, not even your brothersâŠokay?â She breathed out, staring at both their feet.Â
Luke hesitated, shivers running up his spine, âYeah, I didnât tell anyone about the twenty-fifteen fireworks, did I?â
âUgh, he was awful, Iâm actually glad it didnât last long. Such an asshole, I just couldnât do anything right for him. Bad girlfriend, bad person, bad kisser, prude. And talk about peer pressure, I didnât wanna have sex with him, right? Because if Iâm gonna lose my virginity itâs definitely not gonna be with him, and then he got all pissy and said that if I didnât, heâd tell people I was a bad fuck, couldnât make him cum or whatever. Anyway, you probably heard the rumours.â Y/n took a deep breath, she wasnât sure why she was telling Luke that, but why would he tell anyone? It wasnât like he had any more experience than her.
âWhat happened next?â he asked, deep down his blood boiled, the nonchalant facade heâd been building up began to crumble the more they found themselves alone, the more childhood memories that flooded back to him and reminded him of how much of a coward he was, that he shouldâve just shoot his shot instead of running away.
âThen I caught him cheating, broke up with him and he threw a tantrum about it, started talking shit about you, saying how I was probably cheating on him first anyway, so it all cancels out. Told his friends that he caught me sucking your dick and how distraught he was over it. Next day he happily made out with his new girl in the hall, so I obviously did not matter at all and was just a plaything.â She chuckled sadly, leaning her head onto Lukeâs bicep. He wanted to scream, hold her tight and tell her how wrong she was about herself, that she wasnât a plaything, that he was a prick. But he couldnât, instead his mind travelled to the worst parts of him, he wouldâve beaten the hell out of Cameron given the chance. His deepest fantasies crept back to him like a virus all over again.Â
âYou donât deserve to be treated like that,â his voice lowered, gaze peering down to her with a fiery glaze in his eyes and she looked back at him, curious. âIâd never treat you like that, youâd mean everything to me. Every word, every kiss, everything.â
She released a shaky breath, adrenaline sparking in her chest, âI canât stop thinking about how easy it was to move on for him, I just want to forget the humiliation, but I donât know how to do that.âÂ
His gaze burned through her, a rush of desire surging, and sheâd never seen his face soften like that before, like he was thinking carefully. Lukeâs hand reached for hers, sliding over her thigh and lacing their fingers together, like they always seem to do. From the pits of his brain, eleven-year-old Luke squeaked out to him and his heart screamed to grasp the opportunity: stop being stubborn, you like her, you like her, you like her, you still like her.
âWe could make out, weâve already kissed here, and if he can do it, why canât you? Think of it as liberation.â She would have thought he was joking if it werenât for the way his voice dropped and calm tone. He was dead serious, not a drop of amusement in his voice but he was right, they had already kissed once so what was the harm in doing it again? She peered up at him, eyes scanning his features, flickering between his lips and waiting gaze.
Sheâd be a fool to pass up Luke Hughesâ attention after growing apart from him. When he suggested making out, why would she pass it up, the guy still gave her butterflies even if she was just holding onto a painful delusion written by the past. It wouldnât do any harm, it would take her mind off her turmoil, the haunting thoughts that a boy used her, and humiliated her. It wouldnât do any harm; it was just a kiss. Only a kiss that would stick with her, their mutual magnetic pull over the summer striking up the same thought between them. Maybe they did like each other the same.Â
Letting go of his hand, she hoisted her leg over his and straddled his lap, hand settling on his chest. A newfound adrenaline lit up inside her like wildfire, his large hands cupping her jaw with nerves wrecking his body, thumb rubbing her cheek. He wet his lips, his one hand sliding to her nape, and he pulled her in slowly.
âYeah, liberation.â She whispered, closing the gap between them, lips meeting timidly before she melted into his body, Lukeâs tongue ran across her bottom lip, a moan drawing from the back of her throat as she let him in, licking into his mouth with a sweet desire.Â
Neither had an expert understanding of how to make out, but the more they fell into a rhythm of disconnecting for a breath, just to connect again for another taste, the more electric the tension between them became. She slid her hand from his chest to his curls, fingers tangling in the loose ringlets and tugging tenderly, too caught up in the pleasure to think coherently. Luke moaned hungrily, his hand gliding from her nape down the curve of her spine and his hand settling on her hip, fingers gripping her hipbone the moment she rolled into his crotch. The buzz from the gathering next door was silenced in their ears, the only noises in their proximity being the sound of their lips eating each other and tongues lapping in a hot and heavy haze, whines slipping in as a warm temptation flushed through them. He bucked his hips up, as if on an instinct, following his heart rather than his head for once.Â
Even if they couldnât keep their hands off each other, they pulled back panting, eyes locked in a risky delirium. He ran his thumb over her swollen bottom lip, gulping when she wrapped her lips around the fingertip, sucking softly and swirling her tongue while refusing to drop the intense eye contact. Lukeâs heart thundered, hard. So strongly he could feel it in his ears and undoubtedly his cheeks were pink. They were in each otherâs grasps, overridden with a lewd rhapsody that had the bottom of their stomachs twisting and eyes half-lidded with lust. If Luke could feel how her underwear stuck to her in that moment, she would have never been able to recover from it. Kissing him so deeply with every ounce of desire that riddled her bones sent her into a dizzy haze, pussy throbbing for more every time he adjusted his hips up to meet hers.Â
âWhat else can that mouth do?â he muttered, watching a new side of the girl he grew up with. His head was in a whole new place, a foggy mess all because she squirmed on his lap, felt euphoric on his tongue and kissed him like she meant it, like his hands over her body was all it took to light the spark that burned between them.
She released his thumb with a coy smile, a string of saliva between her bottom lip and his thumb. She could feel how tight his shorts had become and gave her hips another roll over his crotch, thriving in how his breath hitched, âWanna find out?â
âPlease.â He said with a shaky breath, hands finding their way to her thighs, running his palms along the flesh.Â
Y/n bit her bottom lip, readjusting her seating by spreading his legs and setting herself on her knees between them. Although not comfortable, that was the least of her concerns. She flipped the hem of his t-shirt up and unbuckled his belt, fumbling with the button of his shorts and tucking her fingers into his boxerâs waistband. He lifted his hips, allowing her to shimmy his bottoms down just enough for his cock to spring free. He leant his head against the wall, hands covering his face when she rubbed languid strokes over his cock, thriving in his muffled whines when her thumb circled the pre-cum around his tip.Â
âMm, so big, Lu.â She hummed, spitting into her palm and giving him hard strokes from the base, smiling at how his Adamâs Apple bobbed. God, he wished he hated it, wished he didnât feel ecstatic when she called him his nickname, the name only she called him. He wished he hated how her hand looked tiny against his cock, how good he felt.
âShit,â he whined, âneed your mouth already, please, y/n, please.â
âOnly if you stop hiding, I wanna see your face.â She gave his tip relentless kitten licks, a vicious thrill shuddering down her limbs to her core. He did as he was told, hands trying to grip the wood beneath them and she grinned, taking him into her mouth and just to drive him insane, moaning and his taste blessing her taste buds.Â
âOh God,â he breathed raggedly, a twinge of a groan mixed in as her tongue lay flat on the underside of his cock, swallowing him as if sheâd done it hundreds of times before like sheâd thought about it intensely. Her name left his mouth in a mantra, followed by swearing and whimpers he never imagined himself making.Â
She peered up through her lashes, the moan she let out reverberating around his cock with such a tainted pleasure that he gasped, his eyes fluttering open to the sight of her bobbing her head over him, watching him lose himself with a burning face and submissive mewls emitting from his lips. Writhing under his childhood best friendâs mouth, in her treehouse of all places while she sucked him off with shameless lust wasnât something he expected. She had him a moaning mess and for a moment he thought that only she could be capable of doing so. There wasnât a chance any other girl could make him feel that much emotion during such a filthy act, his childhood crush flooding back to him all over again, all that excitement, nerves, butterflies in his stomach and now the adolescent storm of love, lust, desire, dedication and everything that got mixed up in between.
He tensed, y/nâs free hand skirting up his shirt and splaying over his abs, feeling all the dips in muscles as his core tightened the deeper she took him, hissing when his cock hit the back of her throat. How on Earth she managed it, he wouldnât know, and he didnât care because it felt exhilarating, sweat forming on his forehead. He bucked his hips up, an erotic, deep moan drawing out from her.Â
âFuck, so close, mâgonna cum,â he breathed, âgonna cum, y/n, please.âÂ
His thighs shuddered, her hands lying flat on them as Luke exhaled deeply, the knot in his core unravelling as he thrust into her mouth, his hot cum coating her tongue and throat and his jaw slacked, panting when she swallowed every drop of him, as much as she could before pulling her lips off him. His eyes pricked tears from overstimulation, fluttering shut as his chest rose and fell.
âWhere-whereâd you learn that?â he whispered, tucking himself back into his underwear and re-dressing himself. It was as if his high wore off, the world tuned back in, and he could hear the buzz of his familyâs gathering next door again.Â
She wiped the dribble of cum from her lip with her finger, taking it into her mouth and licking it clean, âI read a lot, followed my instincts.âÂ
âFuck, that felt incredible. Youâre incredible, never gonna forget that. Fuck, youâre still an amazing kisser, oh my fucking God.â He couldnât help but smile, it felt like old times. The easy air where no judgement lurked, secrets could be spilt and theyâd stay between the two of them, heâd sit there, admiring and folding over how pretty she was while sheâd treat him like a prince. Perhaps theyâd just made another bad choice, how could he not ignore his feelings now, it was so hard to resist temptation and push back the butterflies. After all those months running away from himself, from her and all that achieved was him running back around straight into her grip again. He was done with running; he was going to give himself one last chance.
With a giggle, she crawled out from between his legs and re-took her seat next to him, âNow that was memorable. Remind me to kiss you more. Do you make noises like that for every girl? They were so fucking hot.âÂ
âNah, only you. Been only you. Kissed only you.â Luke let a chuckle pass his lips, closing his eyes and grinning to himself. She exhaled, peeking up at him in his peaceful state. Only her, only her. Even after all that time, heâd never looked at another girl. She was the only girl heâd ever kissed, only ever done anything with and even after heâd kept her far from his reach, it was because he only ever wanted her. Now they had each other, side-by-side, in her treehouse where sheâd given her first ever blowjob and she didnât regret one second of it, and never would despite however life turned out.Â
âYou wonât tell anyone about thisâŠwill you?â her voice was quiet, and she pulled her knees to her chest. âNot because Iâm ashamed but like, well, you know, kinda embarrassing people knowing our businessâŠâ
Luke copied her, resting his arms over his knees, âIâm not gonna say anything if you donât want me to, y/n. You know I wouldnât do that, but I get what you mean. I really donât want my brothers talking about it, and you know Jack canât even keep his own secrets.â
âAre we cool now? No more of- whatever weâve been doing?â she held out her fist.
âWeâre cool. Just you ân me again.â He bumped her fist with his, âWeâre thinking of taking the boat out again tomorrow, you should come.â
She nudged his shoulder with hers, âMaybe I will, maybe Iâll wear my best bikini.âÂ
âMaybe you should, maybe Iâll wear the blue shorts.â He nudged back, both knowing exactly which items of swimwear they were referencing. The hibiscus pattern bikini that couldnât have suited her any more perfectly and the swim shorts that hugged his thighs too nicely, that he only wore after heâd caught her staring.
They smiled brightly, lights reflecting in their eyes as they leaned into each otherâs sides. The sweet sensation of closure, burying a hatchet in the place it all started. It wasnât a conventional way to make up, but feelings resolved that night, messages conveyed and for those few hours they spent up there, they were finally on the same page.
*
Reconnecting with someone who was once your entire world changes your perception of life itself. The sun shone brighter, the air warmer and serotonin at an all-time high. What they hadnât realised was that reconnecting after straying away came with a thick tension between them, not like a negative, doom and gloom but something else. Something exciting.
On boat days, every time their eyes would meet, stomachs would twist and feel a heat pool in their cores. Every little move felt suggestive, every time he adjusted the way he sat so his shorts would rise up his thighs slightly, every time she adjusted her bikini, when heâd place his hand on her hips as heâd walk past, sitting on his lap and playing with his curls to make more space for the others on the seats.
At the golf course, with his lean arms wrapped around her, hands on top of hers and guiding her positioning and swing of the club, his breathing on her neck making her body melt into his and Luke fighting off the urge to drop the club entirely and pull her into his embrace, to pepper her neck with butterfly kisses until he found her sweet spot.
Nights around the firepit, cuddled on his lap in the lawn chair wearing his hoodie, his hand stroking her thigh and mumbling conversations between each other, lips dangerously close with hot breaths on each other's necks.
Naps where they lay on each other's chests, arms wound around bodies and legs tangled under sheets and blankets.
The difference between their reconnecting and the average personâs reconnecting was that actions spoke louder than words, but neither were speaking up. Luke had done his best, been explicit in the treehouse, held her close whenever they were together. Y/n was in a bumbling state, accepting every one of Lukeâs attempts, relishing in the feeling of being loved and appreciated, hoping her time and attention would be enough for him.
The difference between Luke and y/n couldnât have been more obvious to a bystander. Luke, a shameless loverboy enduring the relentless teasing from his brothers about how down bad he was and y/n, endeared but tortured Luke with her inability to verbalise her feelings, an overthinker. Luke spent so many years being direct about himself and y/n spent so many years stuck in her head and generating the worst possible situations. All he wanted was confirmation, something that said âYouâre my only too, my everything. Only youâ, something from her vocal cords.
Y/n wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm, knees sore from kneeling on the grass for so long and hands soaking from the gardening gloves. Her mum had gone crazy with her flowers again, and insisted she needed the family to help her plant the new bulbs much to her father and brotherâs dismay. The worst part was the chatter from the Hughesâ, taunting her with how much fun they were having and how she was doing manual labour in the heat. A whole morning of listening to laughter, Jack and Trevorâs voices above anyone else's but all she thought about was Luke and his smile, his real laugh that came from his chest, the way he laughed with his body. All while she dug holes just to refill them again.
Somewhere around noon, she had thrown the gloves off and stood up, exhaling deeply and next door still had fun without her. God, if her fear of missing out was that bad then college would be excruciating. Having enough and falling submissive to her FOMO, she climbed her treehouse stairs, settling on the step that was high enough to see over the garden fence.Â
You donât deserve to be treated like that, Iâd never treat you like that, youâd mean everything to me. Every word, every kiss, everything.
For a guy whoâd been all over her, confessed that he felt something for her and told her that everything between them meant something to him, she sure became suspicious of it. Her stomach sank, tongue poking the inside of her cheek at him looking perfectly entertained pressed between two girls on the outdoor sofa, one of them suspiciously close to his face. She could only see him from behind, but she knew any girl who entered the Hughes residence was drop-dead gorgeous and if there was one thing she had learnt was that boys suck. He didnât flinch out the way, didnât move seats, didnât push them off, he just let them. Jumping to conclusions wasnât the person she wanted to be, but the festering irritation in her stomach wasnât ignorable. Yet she trusted him, and before she would deep it, she wanted to think first, at least ask him about it before her jealousy got the best of her. She turned on her heel, thumped down the stairs and continued her gardening, which was now a lot more fun than next door.
Lukeâs face burned red, only Jack would do him dirty in front of his cousins like that. His business was apparently the familyâs business. The whole morning heâd been interrogated by his cousins about y/n, how she was, what she was up to, was she cute, did she make him happy, what she looked like. He pulled his phone out, opening his camera roll and pulling up a photo of her, his cousins leaning into him for a better look of the screen in the sun.Â
âOh my god, sheâs so pretty, Luke!â Beth mused.
âHow have you not asked her out?â Stephanie asked in a hushed voice, earning giggles from Jack and Quinn.
âI have been trying since I was eleven, okay? Sheâs justâŠnot easy to read sometimes. I mean, I think weâre on the same page now, so I was gonna ask her next time I see her, ask her on a date to our favourite arcade.â He grinned at the thought, heâd planned it when he was fifteen and had been counting down the days to finally ask her himself.
He lay in bed that same night, seconds away from rolling over and turning his lamp off until his phone flashed, an influx of y/nâs texts coming through like wildfire. Running his hand over his dreary face, he picked his phone back up, reading each message one by one with unease. He squinted his eyes as if it would clear his confusion, her sudden outburst of accusations making him replay the events of the day.
Y/n/n Who were those girls??? Why were they literally on you Luluuuu how many girls are you gettiiinnng Lulu Huh? What are you talking about Oh they were my cousins. You met them years ago. I was showing them pics of you They were not on me thats gross they were looking at my phone so untwist your panties
Y/nâs heart skipped a beat, or it felt like it. He was showing pictures of her? To his family?
Y/n/n ?? Beth and Steph?? That was NOT them they were blonde as fuck My panties are fine thank you Lulu LMAO yeah it was Didnât know you were spying on me you lil peepin tom Yeah sure sounds like it. Itâs okay to be âšjealousâš but youâre still no.1 Y/n/n Ok I believe you WAS NOT SPYING WAS STUCK DOING GARDENING AND WAS CURIOUS Not jealous loser
Luke blew a puff of air through his nose, liking the message and placing the phone on his nightstand before rolling over. Usually, he was the one biting back his tongue, but seeing her jealous for once just made his heart swell a little more, it was cute, she cared.Â
Y/n lay face down in her bed, face stuffed into her pillow and arms by her side. At least the irritation left but now she just felt like an idiot. But not a big idiot since she at least asked Luke what was going on, but still an idiot for even assuming heâd go and do something like that to her. She just hoped Luke didnât think she was stupid.
*
Y/n hung her head in defeat, she tied the knot exactly how Luke had and yet she still couldnât win. Another evening out on the lake with Kim, another evening where she wished she didnât have to tie the boat to the dock.Â
Hands nudged hers out the way and once again Luke had come to her rescue, crouched next to her and tying the rope to the cleat, like he had at the beginning of summer. They stood up straight, smiley, waiting for someone to say something with the crickets chirping and Lukeâs brothersâ voices in the background.
âThanksâŠagain. I should get it someday.â She scratched her neck.
His mouth faltered, opening and closing to speak but he couldnât choke the words out. He wanted to ask her, scream from the rooftops but something in his mind stopped him. What if she said no? How awkward that would be, theyâd have to spend the last weeks of summer pretending as if nothing was going on, even if it was more than obvious that feelings were mutual. But what if she rejected him again? His hands slipped into his pockets, and he rocked on his heels.
âSo, uh, since we're cool, um, was wondering for a while now if, um, and you don't have to but, uh, if you wanted to,â he started, sweat forming on his temple as his body ran hot. Heâd watched Jack ask girls out, he made it look way too easy than it was, why couldnât he just spit it out, he wanted it, that moment was what heâd been waiting for his whole life, she was right there. Chest tight, stomach doing flips, the adrenaline surging through him making his cheeks flush pink.
Her heart throbbed, cheeks ached but in a nice way, in a joyful way. This time, she would not miss her chance, it would be her and him until the end and she hoped, she begged the stars that he was going to ask her on a date. The whole summer with him, kindling spirits and rebuilding what had crumbled, two flames burning together and feeling as if she were the only girl in the world to him.
What was the worst that could happen? Rejection. Fear. Lukeâs knees felt like jelly, his hands trembling and his mind coming to a blank. He couldnât breathe, his heart wouldnât pace itself and the words tumbled from his mouth in a panic, âum, well, Jack, Quinn and I were gonna check out this beach tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to come?â
He wasnât lying, they were, but it wasnât what he wanted to say. Y/n kept her smile even though it felt as if all her organs had been sucked from inside her to leave her a void. All that hope just for it to dissipate into thin air. All the little moments they shared, holding hands, exchanging secrets and forgiving, forgetting and going nowhere. It wasnât until then it occurred to her that some people just werenât meant to be more than friends. Just werenât meant to take that leap into romance. Some people just were not ready.Â
âYeah, sure. Text me the details.âÂ
The closer they were just felt like theyâd drifted further apart. Theyâd come so close until one of them just couldnât do it, pushed the other away and not out of dislike either, because it was hard to not love each other but when youâd been friends for so long, everything - friends, family - felt at jeopardy. Right person, wrong time? It didnât matter. Y/n and Luke would spend the rest of their summer as close friends. Nobody could hate Luke more than he hated himself, that bubbling in his stomach, boiling blood at only the boy who would stare back at him in the mirror. Nobody cried more than y/n, that pang in her heart every time theyâd hang out, bottomless hollowness in her stomach when she soaked her pillows in the comfort of her bedroom. So close yet so far, like the stars that sparkled in their eyes when they looked at each other like theyâd hung them out for each other. Once again, theyâd signed that contract to be friends and if they were just that little bit braver, then maybe theyâd stop letting the flowers of a bittersweet tragedy grow in their lungs, choke and suffocate them until one couldnât do it anymore and concluded their decision. It was time to move on, stop waiting and set themselves free from the one who couldnât decide.
Starting at the University of Michigan was like a breath of fresh air. New people, new environment, new life. Although she missed waking up on a lake, she and her roommate, beautiful and blonde, Bella (if she was going to make friends she may as well start with her roommate, right?), clicked well and decorated their dorm cosy with little lights hanging along the walls and bed frames, a rug to give the place personality and photos on the walls of family, friends and interests. Gave the cold place a bit of warm character. They giggled as they listened to the room across the hall already break out into an argument who-slept-where, they sympathised for the girl who struggled to say goodbye to her family and watched the two boys move in down the hall, y/nâs jaw dropping upon recognising the familiar head of curls.Â
Luke and Dylan were long-time friends, theyâd met back in the USA Hockey Development Camp when they were around fifteen and felt the pressure of new beginnings lift off their shoulders when theyâd found out they were roommates. It was the best thing ever for them, setting up their room as their den, a blue rug, two plush folding chairs with the essentials: speaker, mini fridge, fan and a TV perched on top of one of the deskâs shelves. Theyâd spent most of their time rearranging their room to create maximum space, bickering like a married couple about the little details like no shoes on the rug and which way the desks should face. He and y/n hadnât texted until later that night, Luke thrilled over her being just down the hall but y/n indifferent to it. Once upon a time, she would have been bouncing off the walls but now, it didnât matter that much at all.Â
In the first few weeks of university, you start making friends, join clubs and attend everything you can and go out when you want to with no one telling you when to be home. Y/n met a group of girls when she and Bella attended a social, Luke made friends through hockey. Both ended up back together when the two groups mixed by coincidence one night at some party theyâd found and it was Dylan who brought it up.Â
Y/n and her friends had been standing to the side in the living room of the dimly lit house, red solo cups held to chests and shuffling further away from the speaker at the other end of the room. Dylan weaved through the crowd, Luke, the three other guys, Mark, Ethan and Mackie not far behind him. She had been tipsy and grabbed Lukeâs arm, Dylan immediately stopping to group with the girls.Â
âHey, Lu! Havenât seen you in a while.â She yelled over the music, Luke standing close to her while Ethan, Mackie and Mark joined the little bundle.Â
âHey, y/n/n! Good to see you here.â He replied, dipping down closer to her ear.
Dylanâs eyes widened with his grin, pointing his drink between the two, âOh shit! You know each other?â
âYeah, we grew up together.â She smiled. Something inside Luke almost died that night. Something inside Luke also lit ablaze.Â
âYouâre y/n?! Hughesy talks about you all the time!â Dylan nudged Luke and Luke rolled his eyes, he would always have someone in his life whoâd share his secrets, obviously.Â
Y/n hadnât added to the conversation after that and the group fell into a casual chatter, getting to know each other, that sort of thing. Luke felt the world bite him in the ass, that wedge heâd shoved between them now forced back and he felt like he was at square one all over again.Â
That same night, on their way back to the dorms, Luke had made the clearest statement yet without opening his mouth. Ethan had been talking with her most of the party and since Luke knew her best, wanted advice. But when Ethan asked him about her number and favourite flowers, the youngest Hughesâ eyes could not have shot a dirtier look. Of course, the boys laughed, partially due to the alcohol and partially due to how real Luke seemed. Ethan flinched back, half-laughing out of nerves more than anything but that was the moment the boys realised something was going on. And they would not let Luke live it down.
Luke couldnât bear his reflection sometimes. He had to face a coward and under the surgical white light of his and Dylanâs bathroom, where every feature and crevice of everything he hated just stuck out to laugh at him. Not physically, but all the memories of days he'd spent hyping himself up, ready to ask her out flashed in front of his eyes and he couldnât stop the images of seeing his younger self utterly disappointed in him. He gripped the sink tight, knuckles turning white as he hung his head in shame, his eyes burning hot as they glassed over, a knot in his chest between angry and distraught igniting his tear ducts. He and y/n were part of two different groups with two different schedules, hockey was demanding, she would be with her crowd and when he thought he could finally have her without prying eyes, she was slipping further from his reach. But he wouldnât lose her a second time. He wasnât ready to surrender almost eight years of pining, heâd try just one last time.
*
It was exciting, it was new, it was refreshing. Weeks of classes, weeks of making new friends and weeks of finally gaining and learning independence. Things were going well for once and she even had her first date as a college student. Tony was a guy she met at a party, he didnât resemble Luke at all and had approached her with smooth talking but lacked the character Luke held. She wasnât sure about that, a cardboard personality but that was why she had agreed to go on a date with him, to learn.Â
Sheâd knocked on Lukeâs dorm on her way through, pushing him into his room abruptly and fixing her hair, Bella was out, and she was in dire need of a second opinion, and despite how the universe played out, Luke was still her most trusted and oldest friend. His eyes widened slightly, once again sheâd quite literally taken his breath away with how gorgeous she looked all dolled up.Â
âDo I look okay?â she asked, panic in her voice.
âUh, yeah.â He fumbled out, like heâd forgotten how to speak entirely.
âThatâs all? Oh God, I look bad, donât I?âÂ
âWhat? No, you look good, Iâm just confused. You going out?â he felt his cheeks warm at his sudden confession, why was it easier to admit that now and not back then?
âIâm going on a date, Lu. Iâm freaking out, what if he doesnât like me? What if I say the wrong thing or say something unfunny?-âÂ
Luke placed his hands on her shoulders, eyes meeting hers and her voice faded out. For a split second she questioned if going on the date was the right choice, but she caught herself, not letting the comfort of his thumbs rubbing her shoulders distract her. â-There isnât a reason why he wouldnât like you, chill. You will be fine, and you are funny, if he doesnât find you funny then heâs boring as fuck. Who is this guy anyway? Whereâs he taking you?â
âThanks,â she relaxed with a smile, he always could make her feel better. âAnd are we really doing this again? His nameâs Tony and I am meeting him at a bar near campus.âÂ
âOkay, you want me to walk you? Which bar-â but before Luke could get any further, sheâd looked at the time and rushed out. He watched her power-walk down the hall before shutting his door roughly, hissing swears through his teeth. Perfect, just perfect, Lukeâs love life was just going so perfect. Whoever this âTonyâ was, he despised him with every fibre in his being.
Dylan opened the bathroom door a crack, peeping out as if he hadnât been eavesdropping the whole time. He didnât grin like usual, his raised an eyebrow as Luke ran his hands down his face and threw himself onto one of the comfy chairs like a ragdoll.Â
âYou wanna talk about it? Fill me in here?â he asked, stepping into the room.
As Luke opened his mouth, someone knocked three times on the door. Dylan answered, revealing Mark, Mackie and Ethan kitted out for the gym. Ushering them in, they stood in front of Luke, like a council waiting for him.Â
âHughesy's pissed,â Dylan told the guys, âLuke, weâre here dude, let it out, brother. Whatâs the deal with you and y/n. You gave Eddy the evils and now youâre slamming doors and swearing your ass off when she goes on a date.â
Luke paused, thought. It wasnât high school anymore; they were all adults. They werenât going to tell everyone, they werenât going to throw it back at him, tease him. He wasnât sure if he wanted to admit it out loud, he already felt like a loser as it was. They were his friends, his brothers.Â
âI like y/n, and I have since we were kids. And Iâm pissed off because Iâm not the guy sheâs going on a date with. Okay?â Luke groaned, the guys breaking into menacing grins and nudging each otherâs arms.
âDude, you could have just said something. Come on, Hughesy, we got you.â Mark laughed, grabbing Luke by the arm and pulling him from the chair. They say the friends you make in university are some of the best friends youâll ever have, and that was the day Luke realised that. If anyone wanted him to be happy, it was them. He wasnât on his own anymore, he wouldnât be in an empty house all the time, he wouldnât have to arrive home and hear the absence of his family. His family were with him all the time now.
*
Seven oâclock. Seven-thirty. Eight oâclock and Tony wasnât coming. Cars passed, customers entered and exited, the neon lights flickered on and hummed in the dark. The world just passed by. Y/n had never felt more humbled in her life, more embarrassed. To think that he had an interest in her was too ambitious. How could someone do that? Just leave someone outside the bar for an hour with no text or apology. She sat on the curb with her knees to her chest, mascara running down her cheeks waiting for the miracle that he showed his face, and it was an innocent delay. Maybe he got caught up? Maybe he was late from somewhere? Why was she waiting, making excuses for him? But she still waited until the evening faded into the night. She waited on that curb, drained of all feeling, limbs heavy and even her stomach felt void of anything, she didnât feel like walking back to her dorm, it may as well have been a walk of shame while everyone laughed at how hopeful she had been. No matter what she did, who it was, she was always waiting.
The Yost rink took hockey seriously, team rooms for everything. Gym, common, kitchen, locker room, showers, everything for aspiring professional NHL stars. The guys had started their fixed routine advised by the coaches, an intense gym routine, yes, but anything for hockey. Luke had taken a break from weights, wiping his face with his towel and taking a breather when heâd overheard the conversation, stopped dead in his tracks as the words almost echoed around the room. He didnât want to have to look at the guy, but did he really have to play on the same team as him too? The worst part was it wasnât just Luke hearing the conversation, Dylan and Mackie had paused their music to listen in, eyes switching between each other and at Luke, whose jaw clenched tight, and gaze couldnât have been sharper.Â
âArenât you supposed to be on that date?â Tonyâs friend asked, leaning against the treadmill Tony jogged on.
âHuh? With who?âÂ
âYâknow, the chick from the party? The one who wore that USA Hockey sweatshirt on move-in day? Wonder whose dick she sucked for that.â His friend continued, âMan, she was cute.â
Lukeâs blood boiled and his breathing deepened. He bit his tongue; it took everything in him to not bite into both their throats. She didnât have to suck his dick to get the sweatshirt, he gave it to her before that, because he cared.
âOh yeah, forgot about that. Sheâs probably still waiting for me. Leave now and you might catch her.â
Luke huffed, turning on his heel and storming out the gym, scrambling in his pocket for his phone. Tony and his friend snapped their heads to his sudden exit, catching the eyes of Dylan and Mackie who shook their heads in disappointment before turning back to what they were doing. Tony had no idea he had an enemy until then.Â
He burst out the gym doors into the hallway, pacing up and down with his fingers tangled in his hair, phone pressed to his ear but every attempt going to voicemail. He gave up texting, he could send a hundred texts, and she wouldnât see them anyway, her phone was always on silent but with enough hope, she may see him call.Â
Goosebumps rose along y/nâs arms, the autumn breeze catching up to her and perhaps she should have worn a jacket after all. She thought about getting up and heading back to her dorm, but the energy to do so had been sucked from her, limbs feeling heavy, and heart shattered. The longer sheâd sat there, the more she realised she wasnât upset about Tony, it was being stood up. He really did not want to see her that badly after all. Watching the same customers walk out the bar that she watched walk in, she pulled her phone out, lockscreen filled with Lukeâs contact and five missed calls. What was so important that he had to call now? Why was she suddenly so popular with him again? Just as she scoffed and went to slide her phone into her back pocket, his name flashed again, for the sixth call. Her thumb hovered over the accept button, biting her lip with nerves crawling in her stomach.
âWhy werenât you picking up? Where are you?â His voice was panicked, and she could hear how fast his breathing was through the speaker.Â
âSorry, was too busy sucking off Ohio Stateâs hockey team.â Her voice clipped, running her nail over her jeans, tears welling in her eyes and reactivating her mascara, if there was any still left on her lashes.
âHaha, so funny.â He laughed sarcastically, âWhere are you?âÂ
âWhy do you care suddenly? Youâll probably just laugh in my face anyway.â
âFucking God, y/n/n. Where are you?â
She flinched slightly at his raised voice, jolting her phone from her ear before replying with a sulky pout, âDiabloâs, but Iâll probably come back soon.â
He hung up, stuffing his phone back into his pocket and bolting out Yost without thinking about anything else. The only thought was getting y/n back safely before the worst happened. What was she thinking? She should've started walking the second Tony failed to arrive, before it was dark. His jogging gradually shifted into a run, Diabloâs wasnât more than fifteen minutes away from campus, and he was aware that he looked a little crazy running with the bare minimum of usual running gear but that wasnât the issue. He would have never stood her up like that, he should have walked her to the bar in the first place and waited until he arrived. He shouldâve, he shouldâve but he didnât. Heâd been harbouring his feelings for so long, yet he couldnât even provide something as minimal as a walk, but he wouldnât let her sit outside a bar because of some shitty guy.Â
Y/n stretched her legs in front of her, eyes locked on her shoes as her ears tuned the world out, letting it pass by slowly before she thought about getting up. She knew exactly what she was doing. Fallen into yet another trap set her heart, she was waiting for Luke. Again. If it werenât for the familiar maize and navy trainers appearing in front of her, she wouldâve punished herself for even considering that Luke may have cared about her in the slightest. Slowly, she tilted her chin up: the gym shorts, the compression shirt, the flushed cheeks and unruly curls from the wind. What was once a heavy anvil on her shoulders ascended, taking the blues out from her body and replacing them with that spark. That electric spark that made her limbs all tingly with life and energy. Lukeâs eyes softened at her, although his fears had been wiped, she was okay, but Tony made her cry. That time and effort sheâd put in had ran down her cheeks and if he wasnât so fuelled with captivation, he wouldâve lost his temper. But she was his serenity, always had been.
âYou came.â She squeaked, doe eyes peering up at him lovingly.
âOf course I did.â Luke panted, taking her by the hands and pulling her to her feet. He didnât let go for a while, neither did she. His hands were warm, and she remembered how safe they always made her feel, how heâd always have his arm draped over the back of her seat during the summer, how she felt like the only girl in the world when their eyes met. âCome on, Iâll walk you back.âÂ
It wasnât a long walk back, but neither was it romantic. Luke had his hands in his pockets and y/nâs in hers but the distance between them couldnât have been closer, like two magnets once again, hauling back into each other. When they had taken the fifteen-minute walk back to their dorm block, he walked with her all the way until they stood outside her door and only they could somehow make it awkward.Â
They gave each other a small nod, as if to give a silent goodbye until y/n span on her heel, her arms winding around his torso against her better judgement. He blinked twice and froze, he couldnât remember the last time sheâd hugged him so tight, she fit like a glove, and heâd forgotten how much he felt like he belonged somewhere, with someone when in her arms. He melted into her, arms wrapping around her shoulders and resting his lips to the top of her hair. The violent urge to kiss her, only a peck but he knew that if he kissed her once, itâd lead to more. It always did.Â
Pulling away, she tilted her head up at him, hands holding the sides of his shirt while his glid to the tops of her shoulders. The silence thick, eyes searching for something, rolling tapes of lost memories theyâd tried to forget: the treehouse, the boat, every second they even considered that they had a chance. Lukeâs hands cupped her jaw, thumbs caressing over her cheekbones as he licked his lips. Her grip tightened, mouth parting and leaning onto her tiptoes while he dipped down, breaths tying together, noses bumping. He said he wouldnât do it, she said she didnât want to do it but in the end all they ever ended up doing was intertwining back into each other. Their lips ghosted, eyelashes fluttering against their cheeks until lips grazed in the slightest.Â
The reality of the situation crashed down upon her heavily, like getting caught in a hailstorm. She was a strong soldier, she could resist. Everything would circle back like it always did. They would kiss, things would be fine and then heâd disappear. If it can happen once, it can happen again, and again and again until one of them stopped the chase. Luke would just hurt her again; she would just look for guys to fill the hole in her heart he made when he would leave, and the self-destruction had to stop at some point. Her eyes snapped open, and she nudged him back lightly, âNo. I-I canât do this, Lu.âÂ
Lukeâs world darkened, a hollow sorrow washing through him as he let her push him away. Pathetically, he looked at her, a pleading guilt jabbing him in the stomach as his hands yearned to reach out for her. They hung by his sides instead and she inhaled deeply, shakily.
âI don't get it. One minute Iâm everything to you and the next itâs like I donât existâŠyou keep coming back at random times like nothingâs happened, at times when I think that you donât want me anymoreâŠitâs just so- so confusing! I feel like Iâm always waiting on you to make up your mind, Luke.â She pinched the bridge of her nose, the defeat rising inside her. âYou like me and then you donât and I canât keep playing cat and mouse all the time. Thank you for picking me up and looking out for me, but until youâve figured out what you want, please leave me be.âÂ
 Like that, she was gone. Turned away and retreated to her dorm, leaving him standing like a lost puppy in the hallway. He didnât want to cry, not there at least but how heâd managed to make things worse, he couldnât say. All he knew is that she was right, and that was the part that hit him the hardest. He knew his answer, he knew he did want her and was going to give them one last chance, but she didnât know that. From her perspective, he was just getting close to running away, hoping sheâd chase him back but now she wasnât. The next time theyâd meet would either be the last of everything they built, or the start of something new.
When y/n stepped into her dorm looking like sheâd been through several horrendous break-ups and four bushes backwards, Bella jolted up from her bed, scrambling out her covers. Y/n told her everything. Everything from her mess with Luke to Tony ditching her. The good, the bad and the ugly about the whole story and while Bella was pissed about the latter, even she could see Luke in a battle of his own.Â
âHave you ever considered that LukeâsâŠyâknowâŠscared?â Bella asked, leaning against the bathroom door frame, eyes meeting y/nâs in the mirror as she scrubbed the mascara from her face.Â
As if she couldnât have made the ordeal any messier than it was, she feared she just had out of her own borderline selfishness. She hadnât considered his side of the story. Ever.
*
One intensely lit house with LED light strips covering the walls, pulsing and flashing changing colours in beat with the music blaring through the speakers, two girls weaved their way through a sea of bodies into the kitchen, five boys hovering in the living room, making conversation with sophomores in the frat.Â
Their first frat party as freshmen and the nerves were skyrocketing. The only reason y/n and Bella went was because Dylan had invited y/n, and she begged Bella to tag along since it would be a fun experience and so she didnât have to go alone. So far, so good. Theyâd lost count of how many drinks theyâd poured, shots taken, people spoken to, they were just girls.Â
The boys were on a mission. Well, Luke was, the boys were just orchestrating events and giving Luke multiple pep-talks about it being ânow or neverâ. They were right, of course. Luke had just over a week of no contact, a week for staring at his reflection in the mirror, lying in bed at night staring at the ceiling, thinking, planning, anticipating and now it would all stop.Â
Ethan lined up his shot, ping pong ball loosely held between his fingers, and he released, biting his lip as the ball bounced into the opposing teamâs cup. The boys cheered, throwing each other into fist bumps and bro-hugs, a few girls applauding around them. Y/n and Bella stood within that surrounding crowd, Mark wiggling them to the front as if they were VIPs, part of their group. When Lukeâs turn came around, she noticed the fan club heâd gained, pretty girls giggling and whispering between each other, cheering when Lukeâs shot landed in the cup. She ran her tongue over her top teeth, a lethal glare on the girls as they tried to loop their arms around Lukeâs, but her muscles relaxed seeing Dylan and Mackie stand beside him, ushering the girls back.Â
Bella nudged her, leaning over to murmur in her ear, âSomething tells me heâs made up his mind.â
Y/n opened her mouth, but Mark stumbled over his feet in front of them, asking if they fancied another drink (of course they did) and taking both their wrists gently with a goofy grin on his face, leading them through the people, brushing past a couple guys in the doorway whose eyes followed them towards the back corner of the kitchen, where the rest of the guys had managed to claim. Mark was sweet, baby faced and a ball of sunshine with contagious energy, ensuring they were in the circle securely. He ushered y/n between himself and Luke, Bella on the other side with Dylan and Mackie but no matter how tucked away she was in the boys, the looming gaze of someone else clawed at her.Â
Ten minutes passed, the group still in a deep conversation amongst themselves and she peered back over her shoulder again, the - presumably older guy, maybe a senior - still watching her every move like a hawk, leaning into his friend and pointing at her with smirks. Thereâs nothing more terrifying in a womanâs life than knowing youâre being watched because being watched means thereâs a further plan. If she had known she was being watched at the carnival, she could have moved somewhere else but now, she did know she was being watched and her legs paralysed, staying where she was would keep her safe. But she wanted to run, run home, run to her bed, run to her dorm where she couldnât be found, and security cameras lined the halls. The only security blanket keeping her heart from palpitating was Mark and Luke beside her, yet the guy didnât seem bothered by that at all.
There were too many people to run, the kitchen too crowded to slip away without getting caught by him but any longer being stared down by the guy and tears may have fallen, making the whole situation worse. Until she stepped to the side, bumping into a familiar arm. An arm that snaked around her torso and hand settled on her hip, tucking her into his side while he casually continued his conversation with Dylan. He held her close so naturally as if embedded into his autopilot, an instinct. Excitement bubbled in her stomach, exploding in her chest when Luke kissed her hair, watching the guy from across the room disappear from his peripheral vision. The guy may have been watching y/n, but Luke had been watching the guy the entire time, flashbacks from the carnival haunting him. Even if she were to shove him away, the least he could do was keep her safe from the start this time. Y/n didnât shove him away, she leant into him like putty melding to his form, if she was with him, all the nerves disintegrated.Â
âNo, thatâs what Iâm saying!â Ethanâs voice raised above, turning from Mark as he turned to the rest of the group, âOkay, is anyone else down for shots? I have this spinner game.âÂ
In a group agreement, Ethan pulled his phone out, loading up said spinner game and showing his screen. The spinner had different shots on a wheel, from tequila to whiskey to rum to vodka to body shots, the aim to spin and take whatever the arrow landed on. Ethan spun first, resulting in his fate being sealed by whatever whiskey they found lying around the counters. The shot burned unpleasantly down his throat, but anything for a good time. Mackie spun next, taking a dance with tequila and if he had learnt something that night, it was that him and tequila were not fated to be lovers. Both Dylan and Bella took their vodka shots with their arms intertwined with each other. Luke took his turn, unbothered by what his result was until the arrow landed on a body shot. He shook his head smiling, the guys allowing him to choose his partner.Â
Y/n tugged on his t-shirt, gesturing her head towards the island counter behind Mark and Ethan. The group grinned, a concoction of âooohâ and âyeahâ filling the corner as she hoisted herself onto the marble, Luke standing between her legs and receiving his tequila shot from Dylan. She tugged the strap of her tank top over her shoulder slightly, giving Luke enough room to sprinkle the line of salt on the crook of her neck while Mark returned with a slice of lime. Lukeâs eyes met hers, giving her a look of reassurance, a kind look asking her if she was all right. She licked her lips, that familiar coquettish look blazing back at him just like in the treehouse last summer. Tequila burned down his throat, tongue licking the salt from her neck, scenarios of slow and wet kisses across the skin, his teeth sinking into her tearing through her imagination, y/n struggling to keep quiet but when his mouth had found her sweet spot like that, she wanted nothing more than for him to devour her then and there.Â
He couldnât have cared less about the salt, his face belonged buried in her neck and if he could rewind the clock just to repeat his actions then he would have. His hands steadied by her sides, heat flushing to his neck and the lime he was supposed to take next may as well have never existed. The opportunity was there, he could finally show her his decision, how he felt and what he wanted. The audience around them didnât matter, to him, it was just him and y/n in some random fratâs kitchen, a simple body shot doing Godâs work but Ethan rigging the game earning the MVP award for the night. He emerged from her neck, parting his lips slightly and falling weak to her and he was done with keeping her waiting.Â
Pulling the lime from her lips, he tossed it aside, both hands cupping her jaw, the world stopping entirely when their lips met hastily. He kissed her like every time before, heavy and with meaning, like it screamed a thousand different tequila flavoured ways to convey his feelings. Her hands delicately placed themselves over his, keeping him close, keeping him in and pressed into her, shockwaves over her body and she melted into him with parting lips. Their friends cheered and hooted, clinking their shot glasses together but it fell deaf upon Luke and y/n, their tongues tangled in a bruising, breathless kiss until they had to pull away for air. His lips pulled into a grin, thumbs soothing over her cheeks as her eyes slowly widened with a smile spreading across her face.Â
Luke dipped closer to her ear, hands falling to her hips and murmured, âItâs always been you.âÂ
âLetâs go somewhere quieter-â she turned her head towards him, lips close to his ear, but Dylan slapped Lukeâs back and yelled something about their room being off limits for the night as he passed, Bella dragging him through the kitchen.Â
Lukeâs eyebrows raised upon initially entering y/nâs room, a homely feeling embracing him when she switched the fairy lights on, and they ditched their shoes next to the door. Y/n waved him over to her bed, her back against the headboard and he followed, squeezing next to her, arm wrapping around her shoulders and tucking her into his chest. They knew they owed each other a talk, their sides of the story, the rise and the fall. Luke needed to explain, and she needed to confess, the longer they pretended like it wasnât eating them alive the thicker that wedge between them became.
âI didnât like Cameron at all, I only went out with him to make you jealous. I thought youâd get protectiveâŠâ she said, Luke humming in acknowledgement, âI just wanted that little confirmation that I mattered.â
âYeah, it worked. But you always mattered, sâwhy Iâve been trying all this time to ask you out.â He mumbled, his voice seductively low, rumbling through his chest.
âThen what were you gonna say at the end of summer, because I know it wasnât supposed to be about the beach.âÂ
Luke inhaled deeply, his hand snaking to her waist and settling on her hip, âI was gonna ask you on a date to the arcade we loved as kidsâŠbut then I freaked out and got scared againâŠâÂ
âWhy were you scared, Lu? What was there to be scared of?â She couldnât get the pieces to click, and Luke grew frustrated, admitting things was not an easy job.Â
âY/n, Iâve loved you my entire life, everything was to be scared of. I thought you didnât like kissing me, then you went on a date with what's-his-face, then Cameron and somewhere between there I donât know, I thought it was over for me, that we were just friends. I thought Iâd lost you after all those years of trying.â He rambled, the pent-up words falling from his mouth, but he didnât sound annoyed, not once. If anything, the weight that latched itself onto Lukeâs shoulders lifted the more he rambled.Â
She had been right; she hadnât thought about his perspective on everything. Heâd done nothing but put her first, hold her hand, kiss her, accompany her, rescue her, be the boyfriend she never had, and she threw him to the side for some guy as if he never mattered. Then wondered why he was so far away. Perhaps she wouldâve reacted the same, after all, seeing someone you love with another isnât a burden easy to bear. Guilt choked her hard, he knew all along what he wanted, and sheâd just made it difficult to confess. Really shitty but she was part of the problem Luke battled.
âYou never lost me, Lu,â with glossy eyes and a delicate touch to his jaw, she turned his head to face her, âweâve been close for as long as I can remember.â
âThatâs why I was scared. I canât just be friends with you and last summer we werenât just friends, y/n. Last summer meant everything to me and I really hoped youâd be my girl and well, I fucked that up.â His eyes flickered to her lips, he should have felt bad as tears welled in her eyes, but he finally, with the liquid courage from earlier, could get the words out how he wanted.Â
Her lip quivered, hand cupping the nape of his neck and her thumb leaving feathery touches over his jaw, a tear breaking through and slipping down her cheek, âMe too. Is there a chanceâŠI can still be your girlfriend?â
âYou think I kissed you for shits and giggles?â He leaned in, half on his own and half with the prompt of her pulling him closer, pressing their lips together tentatively, a warmth of familiarity blooming through them like flowers in their lungs. But those flowers werenât choking them anymore, they weaved between their ribcages and bones like a garden of bliss and beauty, pollinating their hearts with desire.Â
He licked across her bottom lip, tongue finding hers in a languid rhythm while his free hand wrapped around her thigh, pulling her over to straddle his lap. Y/n moaned into the kiss, relaxing under his hands gliding over every inch of her waist and back, pressing her body into his with lips disconnecting with strings of saliva between them. He smothered her neck in electrifying butterfly kisses, from her ear down to the crook of her neck to that sweet spot heâd found earlier, nipping at the skin until her fingers laced in his curls, tugging and drawing a deep, raw groan from his chest.Â
Lukeâs hands, hot and calloused, snuck under her top, slowly following the natural curve of her spine and waist, the fabric rising the further he explored, thumbs teasing her underside of her breasts along the lace of her bra. Lace. The concept of y/n wearing lace underwear sent shivers down his spine, heat to his dick and his hips bucked up as if a reflex, but it wasnât the first time heâd imagined it. A high-pitched whimper escaped her lips, little sparks flushing over her skin the further her top seemed to hike up her body until Luke bunched the fabric at her chest, pulling it over her head and tossing it to the end of her bed, his warm lips attacking her collarbones with little nips disguised by kisses before sucking pink blossoms along her skin to her tits, his large hands cupping and kneading.Â
âNo fair,â her fingers tugged at the back of his t-shirt, clumsily pulling it up his back. He let out a low chuckle into her skin before sitting straight, discarding the clothing over his head and setting his hands on her waist. Sheâd seen him hundreds of times before, but this was different, this was private. âSo fucking pretty, Lu. Just wannaâŠâ
âJust wanna what?â he purred, leaning back into the headboard and adjusting his hips up against her, his jeans failing to hide his solid cock bumping her crotch. âIf youâre gonna talk dirty to me, you gotta use your words, pretty girl. I donât know what you want me to do.âÂ
She gasped, pussy fluttering at the friction and her dreamy gaze brought his cocky smirk back to his lips. Lukeâs hands gripped her hips tighter, guiding them to roll over his dick once more, twice more, until her nails dug into his shoulders for stability, inner core burning like fire with every brush against her clit, panties sticking to her folds in ways that disgraced her dignity. It felt so good, she felt good, just dry humping alone had her jaw slacking and little pants of air slipping through her lips all while Luke tilted his head back, grinning ear to ear with his eyes closed, cock throbbing painfully. He wouldnât have cared if he came right then and there, in his boxers that he would sure have to wear in the morning.Â
She took his hands off her hips, gliding them up her body until they reached her back, his fingers meeting the clasp of her bra as she slid the straps over her shoulders, a sultry yet so encouraging look smeared across her face. He struggled slightly with the clasp, but her hands cupping his face rid of the embarrassment before it had even hit, the underwear falling from her body and discarded to the floor. Luke licked his lips, her hands finding their way to his and placing them over her tits, an invitation to explore how he pleased. His ears tinted pink again, eyes unable to leave the view of his hands timidly groping her chest and every thought heâd been having up until that moment blanked. Soft, so soft and squishy, God he could do that forever, sleep on them until the end of time. He brushed his thumbs over her nipples, her back arching into him and y/n let out an airy whimper, tilting her head back.Â
âSo fuckinâ pretty, y/n,â he hummed, one hand lying flat on her back as he dipped down, pressing wet kisses to her tit, taking the peak between his lips and swirling his tongue leisurely around her nipple. His other hand wrapped around her other breast, groping and squishing it, pinching the nipple between his fingers until her airy whimpers increased into lewd cries of his name, a whirling warmth in her throbbing cunt. He released her - now wet - tit, breathing heavily with disbelief. Heâd just sucked his childhood crush, long-time friendâs tit, in her room and she was really half naked on his lap, definitely feeling how hard he was against her pussy, and he loved every second of this animalistic yearning coursing through him.
Y/nâs hands trailed down his chest, over every dip and definition of his muscles until they fumbled with his belt, mind becoming hazy at the memory of the way she looked at him the last time sheâd taken him in her mouth, the pleasant challenge of getting his tip to hit the back of her throat, his whimpering and begging replaying in her ears. Sliding backwards down his legs, she barely got her mouth anywhere near his cock before his fingers wrapped around her neck, pressing firmly on the sides and pulling her back up to his eye level, her heart pulsing in her ears with the condescending look on his face. He slotted his mouth on hers to find her tongue again, saliva pooling at the corner of their lips and they didnât hate it. She shouldnât have enjoyed the compression as much as she did, but his hands were so much bigger on her body, like he could crush her and her eyes threatened to roll to the back of her head, a strained moan gasping out.Â
âPlease,â she whined between kisses, âtaste so good, so big, need you.â
âNuh-uh, itâs my turn.â He looked down at her before releasing her throat, winding an arm around her and flipping her onto her back underneath him. He painted her body with gentle kisses, from the valley of her breasts, down her stomach to the top of her shorts, smoothly unbuttoning them and pulling the zip down with his teeth, âBeen thinkinâ about how you taste. Can I?â
He peered up at her through his eyelashes, watching y/n prop herself onto her elbows and lick her lips. She paused, the silence comfortable as he waited for her consent, âYeah, pleaseâŠthis is justâŠnever done this before.âÂ
Luke kissed her stomach before sitting onto his knees, giving her a warm, reassuring smile before hooking his fingers around the waist of her shorts, âNeither. Weâll figure it out, okay?âÂ
She nodded, smiling, lifting her hips and letting him slide the clothing down her legs and ditching them somewhere on the floor. He straddled back over her, running his hands over her bare legs before dipping down to place a hot kiss on her clothed clit, sparks skimming over his body by how sopping her panties were.Â
She whimpered quietly, watching him begin to lower himself before she placed her foot onto his shoulder, pushing him back onto his knees, head lulling into her shoulder with a desperate tint in her eyes, âJeans, off.â
The corner of his lips tugged upwards as he slid off the bed, kicking his jeans and socks off and crawling back over her, settling between her legs again. His fingers re-hooked around her waistband, gliding her panties down her legs leaving tingles like feathers along the skin in their wake before she removed her legs from them one by one. He threw of leg over his shoulders, laying on his stomach and left slow kisses along her inner thigh, nipping at the skin to pull a squeal from her and sucking over the spot until a purple blotch marked. One hand lay splayed over her lower stomach, his other holding her other leg slightly apart, enough to catch a view of her glistening folds and give him room to spread them open with his thumb.Â
âFuck, gonna need you to use your words here, pretty girl.â His voice was gruff, breath hitting her sensitivity, and she lulled her head back, readjusting herself on her elbows because there was no way she would miss watching him devour her. His thumb circled her clit dubiously, eyes peeking up at her and even though the sensation didnât hit just right yet, having any sort of attention to a virgin clit still sent pleasure to her head.
âLittle firmer, little faster-oh!â she explained, Luke following her instructions as she spoke until the sensation hit her like a brick, jolting through her, jaw falling slack, âLike that, Lu, shit.â
He grinned, running his other thumb through her folds, spreading the slick before taking his thumb into his mouth, eyes locked into hers, licking and relishing in the way she tasted and humming into the heaven that consumed him. Sinking lower into her mattress, he drew his hand away from her clit, hand pressing down on her stomach and other wrapping her thigh around his shoulder, tongue flicking at her bundle of nerves, small kisses, nipping, sucking until she raked her fingers through his curls, pushing him into her cunt. He ran his tongue through her folds, lapping at the pussy juices without a care about how loud he was being, nose bumping into her clit, her jaw falling agape and helpless mewls slipped through her lips as she bucked her hips up pathetically. He could have eaten her out all day, his new favourite place to hide that graced him with the most beautiful, pornographic noises from his favourite person. He couldnât help himself, there was too much ecstasy intoxicating him that he barely noticed himself rutting his cock into the mattress the hungrier he dipped into her.
He pulled back momentarily, lips vibrating against her cunt that had her wines drawn-out and fingers tugging at his curls in a way that tore guttural groans from him, âSuch a pretty fuckinâ pussy, all fuckinâ mine.âÂ
He dove back in, hands pinning her to the bed and plunging his tongue into her, moaning against her folds so harsh they reverberated through her body, making every hair stand on end. He lifted his head up, middle finger tracing through her folds and sliding inside her easily, a wave of fire washing over her, and his ring finger entered alongside, Luke pumping them in precise and careful motions while watching the way her face contorted with pleasure.Â
âThatâs it, good girl,â he cooed, his name falling from her mouth like a song. He curled his fingers, realising heâd hit the right spot when her breath hitched and whimpered out, âso loud fâme, thatâs it, taking my fingers so well.â
âThere, right there, Luke! Donât stop!âÂ
His fingers thrusted in and out of her with a rhythm, cherishing the warmth and completely obsessed how she stretched out for him, biting his lip and petting her g-spot as she squirmed, his hand on her stomach keeping her still. He drew his fingers out, taking them into his mouth, eyes almost fluttering closed at the taste until he dove straight back into her pussy, messily letting his tongue work its magic with his nose hitting her clit with each dip.
âLu! Luke, please Luke,â she sobbed out desperately, free hand gripping the bedsheets. She couldnât believe heâd never gone down on a woman before, he ate her like a starved man, so many pleasures triggering at once, her body and mind completely short-circuited, and she was left with filthy whines and incoherent sentences. âGonna cum, let me cum, please-â
Her words dissipated into the air, eyes rolling back as the brutality of his tongue lapped and assaulted mercilessly, arousal coating his chin as he attempted to pull her impossibly closer. Heâd never thought heâd be so pussydrunk on someone before, especially going in with only the knowledge his friends had given him after many late-night conversations in random car parks of fast-food restaurants. The coil in her stomach tightened, eyes squeezing shut and she was so close to that final release until cold air fanned her pussy. Eyes snapping open, she whipped her head forward to see Luke staring at her with wild eyes, arousal dripping from his chin and her fingers slipped from his hair as he sat on his knees, her legs falling and wrapping around his hips as he wiped his face with his hand, licking the excess from his fingers.Â
âWhyâd you stop? I was so close.â She whined, but trailed off the further he tugged his boxers off, cock springing free, and he hovered over her, dipping down to kiss her softly, trailing from her lips, along her cheek to the shell of her ear.
âWant you to cum on my cock,â he purred, latching his teeth onto her collarbone, sucking until heâd left his mark, teasing her cunt by running his tip through her folds until her arms wrapped around his back, nails digging into the flexed muscles.
âFuck, need you inside me, Lu,â she said in a small voice, unable to take the teasing anymore with a throbbing pussy and desperate need to be filled up, âmâon the pill, please, fuck me.â
âSsh, I got you,â he murmured, inching his cock in painfully slow but the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. Luke groaned into her shoulder, every vein, every nerve caressing her warm walls the further she swallowed his size. God, she felt so perfect, suited for him and for a moment he thought sheâd struggle to take him until something about imagining the bulge in her stomach as she tried to take him made his cock twitch. Once he bottomed out, their lips met for a long kiss, her tongue darting into his mouth and muffling her moans as she adjusted to his size, core burning at how he stuffed her full and she craved more.Â
Y/nâs nails massaged his scalp, tugging gently, âYou can move,â she whispered.
He steadied his biceps either side of her head, rocking his hips back and forth languidly like she was made of glass until the little high-pitched whimpers sank into his skin, spurring him to increase his pace, feeling her tits bounce against his chest with every push in. Sweat formed on his forehead, curls beginning to stick as he huffed hot air into the crook of her neck.
âSo tight, y/n, feel so fuckinâ good,â his lips laced her neck in sloppy kisses before sitting on his knees, hands on her hips in a vice grip as he drilled into her, gradually thrusting harder and faster the more his eyes locked on the bulge in her lower stomach. His splayed hand over it, a deep chuckle rumbling in his chest, âso fuckinâ tight nâ look at that.â
âFeels sâgood!â she cried, âOh- yes, Lu, yes.â
Her nails dug into the sheets, fisting them as Luke snapped his hips, euphoria erratically zapping him as he watched the way his cock bulged and dipped with his thrusting, her walls clenching around him. She wailed out an erotic moan, mind fogging and the only sense working in her system being the way she could feel his cock pulse inside her, dragging along her walls and stuffing her full like he was meant to.Â
âYou feel me, babe? Feel how fuckinâ well your pretty pussy takes me?â A carnal desire controlled him like a puppet, the deeper he slammed his dick into her, the louder the slapping of skins and he leaned back down over her, feeling her arms struggle to embrace his much larger body and nails clawing angry marks into his skin as if marking her territory. He could get used it, no one else could make him feel the way she did. No one could make him want to fuck her with every drop of love and affection he had in him other than y/n. He wasnât driving into her because he was horny, he wanted to be closer, feel purpose and comfort with being vulnerable and exposed and it just happened to be the most pervertedly enthralling experience of his life.Â
âL-Lu! Mâgonna c..cum.â she panted, letting drawn-out, wanton moans bounce off her dorm room walls the deeper he plunged his cock into her, âSo big- let me cum, please.â
âMe too, pretty, me too.â He planted a kiss to her forehead, ignoring the salty sweat coating his tastebuds, he couldnât have cared less, it wasnât like he wasnât drenched in sticky sweat too.Â
She began to fall limp, her grip on him loosening as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, the coil in her stomach unable to get any tighter and on its last legs. She didnât want the high to end, the volume of the world starting to cut to white noise and vision blurry, Lukeâs stuttering thrusts tearing an orgasm through her while he fucked her through his own, white, creamy release circling the base of his cock as his rutting slowed to a stop. He collapsed onto her chest, buring his face into her neck and panting falling in sync with hers.Â
He pulled out, wiping the leaking cum from her thighs with his finger and taking in the last juices before nestling into her breasts. His eyes fell heavy when her fingers carded through his curls and with the little energy he had left, he kissed her cheek, âYou did so well for me, such a good girl. Pretty fuckinâ noises just fâme.â
They lay in silence to muster up their energy, breathing patterns in sync, y/n tracing patterns over his back and Luke periodically leaving chaste kisses on her collarbone. The world couldnât have been more perfect, even if their skins stuck together grossly, even if they had to sleep in cum-stained sheets for the night, he planned to help with cleaning those in the morning anyway. Y/nâs heart didnât race with him anymore, it slowed with serenity of finally having a person, finally being able to breathe around him. There was truly no greater feeling than the tranquillity of devotion blooming through two lovers.Â
Y/n tapped his back lightly, indicating that she needed to get up. He weakly crawled off, helping her by the hand and following her to her bathroom. They didnât bother with privacy while she peed, theyâd just had sex, what was there to hide now? What Luke did do, was wet a cloth y/n had pointed to him and do his best do wipe up any excess release off the mattress, highly aware that most if it would have dried by that point.
âLu?â she called out quietly, poking her head from the bathroom. He turned his head, calmly, âYou showering now or in the morning?âÂ
Something so simple, so domestic had his heart melting inside his chest, âIâll go after you.â
She smiled, disappearing back into the bathroom. He picked up his clothes, folding them and placing them onto her desk chair. He folded her clothes next, hanging them on the back of her chair and pulling her pyjamas out from under her pillow, where she always put pyjamas, no matter where she was. Lukeâs mind slowly functioned like normal again, the high of sex wearing down yet still giddy in his system. After years of pining, failing, chasing, crying, they finally fell into place. Was it worth it? Yeah, maybe. Was there an easier way? Absolutely, but he was younger then, scared and stupid. It didnât matter anymore, he had his girl, and he loved her more than anything.
*
Y/n stirred, sleepy eyes opening to a weight on her chest, a grounding weight with long, unruly curls brushing against her lips ever so slightly, one palm cupped over her breast with his ear pressed to the other. Lukeâs other arm managed to wind itself around her waist, trapped between the curve of her back and the mattress, one of her hands gently stroking through his hair and the other tracing the red scratch marks along his bare back. His breathing heavy but his face so peaceful and she smiled to herself. No, she didnât think heâd run off before sheâd woken up but she had entered university thinking it wouldnât be him in her bed at all, but she was elated that it was. There wasnât a better sight to see at eight in the morning.Â
Lukeâs eyes fluttered open, groaning deeply at his hair being played with and he nuzzled into her chest. He rasped, morning voice deep and husky, âMorning, beautiful.âÂ
âGood morning, pretty boy.â She smiled, pushing hair off his forehead. She wanted to wake up like that every day, tangled with Luke, him being the first person she saw, listened to. Even if he was much larger than she was, the pressure of him laying on her body was comforting, domestic even.
He shuffled around, removing his arm from around her waist, letting the blood flow back through it before propping himself onto his elbows. His eyes scanned her features, her sleepy eyes, tousled hair, the red bites on her collarbones and his lips pulled into a beatific and lazy grin.
âWhat are you smiling about?â she asked, his smile transferred to her infectiously and she cupped his cheek.Â
âThinkinâ about how much I love you, sâall.âÂ
Y/nâs chest warmed, fireworks exploding at her loverboy gazing at her with awe glazed over his eyes, the words falling onto her ears feeling right, bright and fresh like the first time the sun shines in the spring and all the new life begins.Â
âI love you too,â she kissed his forehead, interrupted by his stomach rumbling, âbreakfast?â
He threw back the duvet, scrambling off her and sighing at his clothes he folded on the chair, y/n shuffling around behind him before handing him his USA Hockey sweatshirt and a pair of shorts heâd left at herâs over the summer. He slipped his phone from his jeans pocket, how it had managed to stay tucked in there was beyond his knowledge and how it still had twenty-percent of battery was also a question for the deities above.Â
Luke almost dropped his phone when two arms wrapped around his torso from behind, his cheeks burning from smiling and his stomach fluttering, âThe guys wanna debrief in the dining hall.â
âMmmâkay, but you know theyâre gonna ask where we went last night, right? What do we say?â she peppered his back with kisses until he spun around, her arms still looped around his torso but now he could take her face into his hands.
âAs if theyâd remember, theyâd be lucky to remember anything after doing shots.â He laughed, planting a kiss to her hair.Â
Luke had been right. The boys and Bella all sat at one of the tables, coffees and bowls of cereals and plates of toast being poked at with hands cradling heads, hoods pulled over. Luke and y/n joined them, their own breakfast in front of them and slightly perkier than their friends.
âYou guys look rough, long night?â Luke quipped, shoving cereal into his mouth. He didnât feel too bad, but by the time heâd kissed y/n on the counter heâd sobered up.Â
âBro donât even go there,â Mark grumbled, his face pale, âthe last thing I remember is Ethan asking to do shots and beyond that is blank. Woke up on the floor in last nightâs clothes.âÂ
âHow the fuck are you okay, man? You were on beer and tequila!â Dylan complained, hoodie pulled high up his neck and drawstrings pulled tight, his hair dishevelled still.Â
âNo, no, thereâs a more important question,â Mackie waved his spoon around at the group, giving Bella an encouraging side-eye, who kicked Ethan under the table.
âOw, shit-â he hissed, but eventually catching the others drift. Y/n gulped, her breathing becoming shaky, and Lukeâs hand found her knee, thumb caressing it softly as all eyes fell to the pair. What was she supposed to say now, anxiety fizzled in her stomach and Lukeâs chest tightened. No, they werenât ashamed but itâs not something you outwardly announce to people youâve known just over a month, âLegend has it that thereâs some deep lore going on here.â
Y/n exhaled, her breathing finding itâs pace again and Luke felt like heâd been freed of all his bounds. ThatâŠwas not what they were expecting at all. They looked at each other uncertainly, shrugging before turning back to the others.
âYeah, come on, do tell. If weâre gonna be friends, we gotta know the backstory of this whole thing we got roped into. We got time.â Mark leaned closer into the group, they all leaned closer as if they were about to hear the greatest secret of all time.Â
They both sighed, Luke speaking up first, âWell, it all started when we were five-â
The retelling began, everyone invested in their cat and mouse game that demonstrated how naive and fragile the world can be. The rumble of the dining hall silenced out in their ears, and while one chapter closed for good, university would open another, but this time, theyâd live it together where theyâd be on the same page instead of skipping sections or tearing parts out. Luke got his girl and y/n got her romance, and neither would be stuck waiting on each other anymore.
small worlds | @bunbunbl0gs
nhl wags | @bunbunbl0gs
[Masterlist]
[Requests CLOSED]
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#luke hughes#luke hughes x reader#luke hughes smut#nhl x reader#nhl smut#hockey smut#luke hughes fic#luke hughes fanfiction#âĄlh43#lh43
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IâLL SPEND FOREVER WONDERINâ IF YOU KNEWâŠ
touya todoroki x reader
you first met touya in winter. similarly, you fell in love and said goodbye in winter. now when the snow falls, he thinks of you.
part 1/2
inspired by enchanted
there he was again, early morning. sekoto peak on a brisk, winter evening. just shy of 8 years old, with fire blazing valiantly.
around others, heâs used to forcing laughter and faking his smiles. he hides that inter turmoil well, determined to carry the mantel of endeavourâs firstborn son. but just because he carries it well, doesnât mean it isnât heavy.
heâs in this same old tired, lonely place. the trees act as walls on insincerity, isolating him on this hill. his flames are controlled, ignoring that slight pain he feels in his palms when the red and oranges shoot out from his hands. the winter chill helps to keep him cool. he doesnât need a jacket, anyway.
the snow drowns out most noises, as do most winter days. but he still catches the sound of soft, padding footsteps crunching in the snow.
all of what heâs feeling vanishes when he sees your face.
its rare, seeing someone his age. two kids, shy and precocious in the middle of winter. heâs the first to speak.
ââŠwhat are you doing out here?â
âi could ask you the same thing.â
kids are brats.
he huffs, his breath visible in the contrast to the cool air. âwell, i asked you first.â
âgoing for a walk.â you hum, moving closer to him. you take not of the several burns on the trees, black and withered.
you canât help but notice his lack of a jacket, though he seems unbothered by it. youâre here, mittens, jacket and scarf keeping you warm, while heâs in nothing but a thin sweater. âarenât you⊠yâknow, cold?â
he smiles, proud. âno. i have my fire.â
and heâs proud to have it, even if it will inevitably kill him.
but you two are kids, and neither of you know that. in your childhood brains, the only thing that matters is whats in front or you. so you spend the rest of the day chatting, walking around the seemingly enchanted forest. snowball fights turn into snowmen, and eventually graduates into laying in the snow, making snow angels.
âi like winter.â you hum, staring up at the snow tricking onto your face. âmost people hate it. they think its cold, and wet, and dark.â
touya stopped moving for a second. he hummed and considered your words. he had heard people he knew in the past speak like that, namely his younger siblings that craved warmth.
"maybe they just donât like snow." he says quietly, shrugging while drawing random lines in the snow. "you like it, though?"
you nod.
âfor all its coldness, theres tenderness in winter to. the sky is light and pink when it snows at night. its quiet, and still.â
theres a certain secrecy to this moment that he feels when he hears your words. childhood friendship is a precious thing, something you never get back. the heroes and the villains of the world donât matter, and anything important is reserved for a later time. right now, blanketed by snow, touya made one true friend. how enchanted he was to meet you.
â§.* â.Ë âŸ .âË â§.* â§.* â.Ë âŸ .âË â§.* â§.* â.Ë âŸ .âË â§.* â§.* â.Ë
years pass, and you and touya are thrust into adolescence. his hair has changed, now a frosted white that matches the current season. youâre walking home from school together, though heâs got his hands shoved in his pocket like a little kid. not because heâs cold, but because heâs frustrated.
heâs taking his time, pacing back and forth. he almost doesnât want to return home. thinking about it makes him clench his fists, the annoyance he felt quickly morphing into anger. when heâd come home, heâd be met with all that pain, all over again. the thought of his father focusing all his energy and attention on his little brother, all because touya wasnât "good enough" to be his successor, was haunting. its what kept him up at night.
âitâs just not fair.â he mutters, and you instantly know what heâs referring to. âall that work⊠for what? he doesnât even know i exist.â
words fail at times like this. you could tell him that its not true, but it is. you could tell him not to care, but he still will. you could tell him that you love him⊠but would he listen?
so instead, you opt to hold his hand. your fingers are cold against his naturally warm ones. you pretend not to notice the rough texture of his palms, evidence of his training.
the snow begins to trickle down again, falling like a crown on your head. tonight, youâre sparkling, and he doesnât want to let you go. turquoise eyes look at you, wonderstruck as your nose begins to turn that winterish shade of pink. he almost blushes when he sees you tightening your scarf, forgetting heâs supposed to take you home.
âi just,â you sigh, taking both his hands in yours so you can both see the damage beginning to fester on his skin. âi donât know. i donât want you training too hard. itâs hurting you, i can tell.â
âi-its not.â he lies, breath visible in the winter air. he tries his best to hide the wince in his eye when you rub your thumbs up and down the burns on his hands.
âi just⊠i donât wanna lose you.â you say.
he doesnât wanna lose this either. you, and him, standing in the winter. he prays that this is the first page, that this is only the first of many winters he hopes to have with you.
âyou wonât.â he smiles. âi promise.â
â§.* â.Ë âŸ .âË â§.* â§.* â.Ë âŸ .âË â§.* â§.* â.Ë âŸ .âË â§.* â§.* â.Ë
you learn about the accident not through the news, or through his family, but rather through seeing the eruption of blue flames on the hill where you two met.
at first, you cried every day. you prayed that heâd wake up, that this isnât where the story line ends. seeing him laying there, as the years go on, and as the snow falls inevitably, felt unreal.
its been a lonely 3 years without his sassy remarks and his warm hands. you can still feel that warmth, even in his coma. you hold his hands as his body lays there, the only indicator of his survival the beeps of the heart monitor.
his burns are so much more apparent now almost purple against his pale, snowy skin. he doesnât know it, but youâve visited him everyday since he first arrived. through every summer, spring, autumn through every god damn winter, youâve been here.
youâd whisper things heâd never hear, eyes occasionally wandering to the snow falling outside the winter. its a reminder of how much time has passed, how much youâve lost without him.
and though you donât know it, heâs mourning it as well. heâs forced to hold back his words, like heâs leaving too soon.
selfishly, he hopes that in these three years, you havenât fallen in love with someone else. that you donât have someone else waiting on you when you leave.
its the opposite, actually. you donât have anyone waiting on you, when youâre waiting on touya to come back.
normally, youâre alone in his room. so you almost donât catch when the door opens and closes behind you. at first, you think its just a nurse checking in. but the silence makes you turn your head.
shes got the same hair as touya, snowy white. but her eyes are this grey color that you can tell once sparkled. shes just as confused as you are, even when you stand up from your chair but still continue to hold touyaâs hand.
âi-i.. sorry. iâm just visiting.â you say, like youâve committed a crime. you havenât done anything wrong.
she shakes her head, taking a few steps closer and assuring you its okay. the fact that youâre so close to her son, holding his hand isnât lost on her.
theres words she wants to say as well, words that fall on deaf ears. you wonder why its only her visiting.
âiâm sorry, dear.. who are you?â she brakes the silence, realizing she isnât actually sure who you are. how would she know anyway?
âiâm his friend.â you say, quietly. â[y/n].â
she nods, though she wonders how she didnât know that. her first son, the first love of her life, had a friend close enough to visit and hold his hand even through this period of winter.
if anything, sheâs grateful for it.
theres a few more beats of silence, before she speaks again. her voice is quiet, but her pain speaks volumes.
âi tried to stop him.â she says, staring at her son. âi⊠i didnât want this.â
its enough to bring tears to your eyes, nodding understandably. âme too.â
and theres that moment of understanding between the two of you. like snowflakes falling onto the same patch of ground, you both knew that this was inevitable. eventually, touyaâs fire would consume him. eventually, heâd burn too.
theres nothing you two can say to make this better. so you sit there in comfort, winter silence before eventually saying goodnight.
you leave, quietly accepting that youâll be all alone.
and the next day, he wakes up.
#dabi x y/n#dabi x reader#dabi x female reader#dabi x self insert#dabi x you#touya x reader#touya todoroki x reader#touya bnha#touya x y/n#mha touya#bnha toya#toya x reader#toya todoroki#toya todoroki x reader#toya todoroki x you#todoroki x y/n#todoroki x you#mha todoroki#todoroki x reader#bnha todoroki#mha x y/n#mha x gender neutral reader#mha x you#mha x reader#bnha x y/n#bnha x fem!reader#bnha x self insert#bnha x gender neutral reader#bnha x you#bnha x reader
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MAFIA NANDO OR MAFIA STROLL I FEEL LIKE I WOULD DIE IF YOU WROTE PROTECTIVE MAFIA STROLL HE SCREAMS HUSBAND ENERGY
Sneak Peak for my mafia stroll series (that i haven't started, so this might just be an extra bit)
She let out a groan as she rolled over in the lavish bed, big enough for at least six people to sleep comfortably. Her eyes flew open and she looked at her boyfriend. "Hey," she called, reaching across to knock the papers from his hand.
Lance turned towards her, his gorgeous brown eyes staring into her own. He reached across the bed, pulling her closer now that she was finally awake. "What was that for?" He mumbled as he laid down beside her and pulled her into his chest, his lips attaching to her neck.
"You promised you'd spend the day with Ben and I," she muttered as she laced her fingers through his own. "That mean's no work."
Lance let out a grumble, but he didn't much mind. As much as he wanted to go through the work his father had sent his way, he was more than happy to spend the day with his son and his Angel.
He kissed the back of her neck and climbed out of the bed. There was just enough time for him to pull shorts over his naked body before the bedroom door was thrown open and Ben Stroll was running into the room.
"Daddy!" He shouted as he jumped onto the bed. Immediately Angel pulled the blankets close to her chest, covering her naked body as Lance opened his arms.
Immediately, Ben jumped into Lance's arms. Lance picked him up and kissed his cheeks. He glanced at his girl over the top of Ben's head and carried him away, so that she could get dressed in peace.
"Excited for the zoo?" Lance asked as he took Ben back to his bedroom, to get him changed out of his pyjamas and into something more suitable for the zoo.
She couldn't stop the grin on her face as she watched them go. Just a few months she was the one taking Ben back to his bedroom to get him changed out of his pyjamas. She was the one taking him to the zoo alone, she was the one making him snacks and dinner and reading him stories because his father was too busy working.
Too busy dealing with business. Too busy dealing with the trade routes for weapons, too busy distributing drugs around Canada. Too busy doing everything his father asked of him.
But now he had her. He had her and he had Ben again.
#lance stroll#lance stroll imagine#lance stroll x reader#lance stroll fluff#lance stroll x you#ls18#ls18 imagine#ls18 x reader#f1#formula one#f1 imagine#formula 1#f1 x reader#formula one imagine#formula one x reader#formula 1 x reader#formula 1 imagine#mafia!f1#mafia!au
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SVSSS!Sibling Transmigration 2: Electric Boogaloo
a continuation of this nonsense that ya'll seemed to enjoy
While Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe hold hands and jump into the abyss, Airplane is left holding no pizza with the sect on fire (and him-damnit. He could really use a pizza right now)
Shang Qinghua helped organize the Immortal Alliance Conference fiasco, but with his brother's guidance and Mobei Jun's shocking willingness to listen to both of them, Cang Qiong suffers only two losses that day: LBH and SY (none of the other major sects are so lucky, shifting even more power into Cang Qiong (and thus SQH/MBJ)'s sway as they planned)
Shen Jiu (named Qingqiu now ofc, but still Jiu-ge to SY) does not handle his part in this well at all. Did he shove LBH into the abyss? He would say no. He just maneuvered an awakening and unstable Heavenly Demon away from his brother. (Bro did NOT account for said brother to throw himself at LBH and basically take both their asses into the abyss. Not even Airplane saw that one coming tbqfh)
So yeahhh. SJ is not handling this well. While his brother is missing SJ qi deviates no less than two times which has Qing Ding and every peak lord walking on eggshells. No one mentions either of his missing disciples unless absolutely necessary around him. Unfortunately, he spends entirely too much time researching the abyss, tearing through every tome on the peaks
When the lords try to discuss a way to help SJ's instability, the mention of dual cultivation is floated once and while YQY is hand on the trigger to volunteer as tribute, the vehement refusal from SJ has YQY declaring it off limits without hesitation (there are some murmurs about this, but YQY takes pride in protecting SJ and shuts everyone down)
Airplane and SY know each other well enough that he knows SY would be devastated if something happened to SJ (he knows SY had siblings, that he misses them, that his heart aches twice for the family here and home and he won't let him come back to an empty bamboo house. Airplane knows the pain of an empty home and he will find something in his brain to fix it)
This leads to one tense conversation with SJ like "Look I know you fucking hate me but for SY's sake please just listen one time: your brother is coming home. I don't know how exactly, but we both know he's too stubborn not to" (this does not endear him to his villain son, but he would swear SJ glares a little less at him after)
There is then a Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom tier research saga but it's Airplane alone digging through tomes and notes and getting a little xianxia stoned to try and remember the obscure world building he created. (You know what he remembers? That's he created TOO MUCH world building shit while three energy drinks deep at 2am for any one man to remember!! Cucumber-bro get back here!!)
Meanwhile MBJ is playing a differently game entirely while every cultivator is stressed out of their minds. He's got a spy who is assisting him with power grabs that his father would never have imagined. He's courting a pathetic little mouse of a man. LBH is not a name that means anything yet. MBJ is THRIVING. Everyone else is in a drama and he's in a dating sim
And with two Shangs? The first time he does something too aggressive-demonic in his attempt to court a flailing sleep deprived Airplane, SQH is there to be like 'wtf do you think you're doing you beast?' Does SQH nearly get his ass beat for this insult to his king? Maybe a little bit. But!! Airplane gets woo'd! Without bloodshed!! (his own anyway. SQH picks his battles and cannot pry MBJ's desire to hunt big, rare game to prove his worth as a partner to Airplane which ofc leads to moments of the Shang brothers just standing over the corpse of some ancient-possibly-mythical beast just... in their living room on An Ding like 'wtf do we do with this? my king pls')
Of course, the plot finds everyone eventually. And however the fuck it happens, MBJ crosses path with a power-grabbing LBH, is forced to surrender to return home alive to his consort-to-be (MBJ is waiting for the MBJ title to be 100% his before cementing the courtship), becomes second in command to this brat, and goes home to his Shangs to lick his wounds (MBJ does not expect Airplane to shake his face and demand to know if there was a human cultivator with this half-demon brat and then demand to be taken to them if so when MBJ just 'wtf' stares)
Turns out, several years in the abyss even for the protagonist and a man who knows far too fucking much about abyss nuances for a human is still not an easy time Being human in the abyss? It's a dinner bell for every big monster that SY wants to just observe like the worst tourist. LBH cannot figure out why his shixiong keeps putting himself in danger like this (shixiong!! if you know the deadly thing is hiding in this swamp what if!!! we didn't!! go in the goddamn swamp shixiong!!!) But! That abyss knowledge is hard to beat. SY is able to guide LBH through safe routes and help guide him on his demonic journey (LBH ofc asks how his shixiong knows about any of this and SY panic changes subjects like a dozen times. Even in the back of LBH's head Meng Mo is like 'kid IDFK what this brat is but it's not normal and I need you to 1. understand that and 2. do not let him get away') And you know what is great for SY (and by extension LBH)? SY isn't juggling a persona that isn't his. He's allowed to come to terms with himself and his feelings on his terms. He gets to watch his white lotus LBH fight alongside him in the abyss and save his life and oh. OH. Maybe. Maybe he can have this? (SY being SY is still like PLOT EXISTS!! HAREM!! WIVES!! And look. He figures his own shit out a little bit, he's still a blind bastard. He doesn't notice how many wife plots he and LBH have stumbled into together, or how many LBH has skipped entirely. He can just be part of the harem, that's fine. He can live with that. Totally normal thoughts) LBH meanwhile can't even spell harem cause he only has eyes for this weird wonderful shixiong of his Given that the plot is a mess (happening, sure, but a MESS) they stumble into a new wife plot in the abyss (How was SY supposed to know full humans triggered nonsense plots down here?? It's not like LBH's human wives were ever down here with him!!) and so SY might be dying a second time. (Whoops! Whoops! Whoops! (Hey System? STFU if you have nothing useful to offer thank you!!!) But you know what could help this mortal cultivator trapped in the abyss? Demon qi. You know who has a lot of demon qi he doesn't know what to do with?? Best boy Binghe, that's who (they're both young and awkward and SY is dying and Binghe can't lose him. He can't be left alone again. It's declaration and promise and hope and when he kisses his shixiong he wills the transfer of qi between their lips and he can feel the way SY grows stronger in his arms with it) Let's just say that even when they clear the realm of the abyss that threatened SY, LBH still persistently insists that his shixiong share his qi mwah! (SY does not put up half as much complaint as he once might have over his sticky shidi) Also you know SY is going to find some horrific abyssal monstrosity and decide it's just the best and cutest most perfect and loyal pet (it's an honest to god nightmare and everyone they encounter is afraid of it and Binghe shoots it glares whenever it steals his shixiong's affections HOW DARE??) With SY's omnipotent abyss GPS sense and LBH sharing his excess of demon qi with SY, they're able to find Xin Mo, break the seal on LBH's powers, and then continue on his training montage (definitely too unstable to go back to the mortal realm early), also he has a fantastic anchor in SY at his side to soothe the Xin Mo urges and (don't ask shidi, pls he's begging) also teach him how to tame the sword
Cut back to several years of time passing, Airplane squishing his king's face, demanding to know about a human cultivator with this heavenly demon only for MBJ to (still face squished) say he wouldn't call the man at LBH's side human per se but if this is what his Airplane wants, he will take him with him to the meeting LBH has arranged for the following day (now please, let him pout and huff and receive head scritches)
Hey you know how people always get taken aback by Xie Lian being just absolutely filled with ghost qi??? SY is a cultivator, not a god, just a lad trying his best to follow that immortal master path, and he just spent SEVERAL years in the abyss and getting regularly dosed by HEAVENLY demon qi â this boy ain't right anymore, guys. He's definitely feeling some kind of demon-tier differentâą after all of this and man is THRIVING because Now That's What SY Calls Lore
Please imagine heavenly demon LBH with a demon-touched SY holding demon court with their weird demon allies when MBJ shows up flanked by two totally human Shangs and the just.... the awkward staring these four members of Cang Qiong do at each other (LBH, oblivious to the spy on the mountain plots, just 'why tf is Shang-shixiong and Shang-shifu here??) (SQH looking at LBH and SY and just taking furious mental notes about these Developments and how this may affect his brother's safety) (SY and Airplane just seconds away from slapping the shit out of each other like cats in a bag just 'where the fuck have you been???' 'what have you done???')
Court gets to proceed as planned, but Consorts Shen and Shang make hasty exits together to figure out just what the fuck has been happening to Airplane's plot (There is minimal sibling-tier beat downs in the process and neither is free from sin)
Airplane explains that SJ is a mess and that they need to do something if SY wants to continue having a brother ('bro, he will go off the deep end soon if he doesn't find you but if he finds you like this BRO WILL GO OFF THE DEEP END!! DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM??')
Their scheming gets them on the idea the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom and between both their whipped demons, it's very easy to acquire it, cultivate it, and prepare it for SJ (ofc monster loving son SY shares some with a cute snake he sees, obviously)
SY sneaks onto Qiong Ding with their near ready science project and meets with YQY who is... not thrilled with the demonic influence all over his shidi's brother. But he listens, because end of the day they both care for SJ. SY can't risk SJ having another deviation if he sees him, so he entrusts YQY to present this fix to SJ: a way to repair his broken core and shed the scars of his past (ofc they both know he will be suspicious, but after doing his own research, he would take it in a heartbeat)
When SJ has a shiny new and powerful body, that's when LBH and SY return to the sect. No demon army, no attacks, no Huan Hua bs. Just two lost disciples making their return from the abyss. (There is much distrust. SQH plays his role as well as ever, siding with the other lords that certain tests must be passed to ensure they are not demons--- oh wait one of you IS a demon. and the other has been influenced by that one. Mhhh. Mhmmm. This is fiiiiiine)
SJ doesn't deviate! But he is! Mad! There is much yelling and shouting and disciples are made to run around Qiong Ding peak while every other lord just has to sit through the most chaotic family reunion.
But things can go back to normal from here right? Just casual transmigration, not plot threats? (System? System you're laughing. They're having a nice moment and you're laughing)
#svsss#svsss sibling au#moshang#bingqiu#mbj is my son and he deserves to just play a little dating sim as a treat#i am back with more nonsense because why not#everyone said such nice things about the last one so I had to
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DEAR READER | C.L 16 (ONE)
Notes: (This involves an Original Character btw)
* English isnât my first language and Iâm still trying to get back my writing mojo ehehe
* No trigger warnings besides mentions of catcalling ??
*This was written to be intentionally a bit vague since itâs just the first chapter
next parts: TWO | THREE
THE AROMA OF FRESHLY watered plants hit her senses. She exhaled the nature-given scent, producing a wave of serotonin in her body. A hand came up to brush away the brunette locks flying across her face from the strength of the wind. Her eyes gazed upon the calm rhythmic waves of the sea, smiling as the floral fragrance mingled with the salty taste of the air.
She was aware of the consequences. The blissful silence she was feeling had a price and the piper would eventually come for the gold. Nonetheless, she chose to bask at the few moments that she had left. Later, sheâd be back to scrubbing at a her bossâ expensive yacht. Getting a nice manicure had been long rendered useless at how easily theyâd get chipped.
Glancing down at her hands, a grimaced presented itself on her mouth as she spotted the dirt clinging on the inside of her nails.
As she got lost in her thoughts, she raked at her fingernails to clean through the icky substances. She truly had no qualms working for the rich. Not only do they pay handsomely, they also handed her occasional gift apart from her daily salary.
The amount of times sheâd been mistaken for a hooker were extremely unhealthy. She often recalls the eye rolls sheâd give the old men whoâd whistle at her across the port as if sheâs some sort of animal.
Lucky for her, her present employer was far from the elderly rich men, sporting beer belly that prey on girls younger than their own daughters.
Her boss was not passed sixty years of age. Instead of bothering young girls, he has this lovely wife and son whom he never fails to show his unwavering devotion to.
One could only dream of a life like his.
âNatalia!â
And here we go.
âYes?â She yelled back, turning her body to look at the direction of her boss. She watched his towering stature make its way to the harbor, steps creaking beneath the wooden surface.
He squinted at the glare of the sun behind her head. âWould you like to join us for dinner?â
Her eyes widened at the invitation, hands waving from left to right. âOh! I couldnât possibly intrudeââ
âNonsense. Youâre not.â He silenced her worries. âCome on.â Lending an arm to assist her down the step she was standing on.
Natalia stared at him, her features conveying incredulity. âRight now?â
He peaked at her curiously, slowly tugging her away from the port, taking care not to step on her dress. âItâs passed 6 PM . . .â At his remark, she raised her arm to take a look at her watch.
The hands did indicate a 18:37. Her mouth formed into an âoâ at the confirmation. She hadnât realize she had been dilly-dallying for that long. Her break started nearly two hours prior. The thought to recharge her energy were originally to last only an hour at best.
âIâm sorryâ I completely lost track of time,â She apologized, tilting her head up to her boss who simply chuckled at her hushed tone.
âItâs quite alright.â He hummed, returning her gaze. âYouâve finished everything, havenât you?â
She nodded her head, eyes glistening with pride. âI did! The magazines are back inside the father right cabinet, scrubbed the deck and the body. And I swearâ Itâs so clean, I could see my reflection ever surface,â
Her enthusiasm brought joy to him, optimg to approve her hard work. âVery good, then.â Natalia spotted his wife by one of the many luxurious cars they own.
A kind smile graced her lips as the pair approached her. âOh, look at you! What have you been doing?â The motherly scolding tone was anything but scary to Natalia as the blonde woman began to fuss over the her.
âYou should really tell her to come inside when sheâs done, Toto . . .â Your boss winced at his wifeâs glare.
Her graceful hands worked through Natalia damp locks, untangling the knots the had formed on her head. âI mustâve gone for a short swim. . .â She released a laugh to cover up her growing anxiety at the glare she threw her way. âIâm fine, Susie! Just need a showerâ if we still have time?â
She glanced up at Toto, who suppressed a playful eye roll, nodding at the smiley girl nonetheless.
âGreat! Iâll be back as soon as a can!â Natalia landed a peck on Susieâs cheeks before waving a hand to Toto, running back to their estate.
âThat girl. . .â Toto clicked his tongue, but the grin on his face betrayed his true feelings.
âAbsolutely adorable,â Susie chipped in, eyes crinkling at her husbandâs own glee. But as she stared at Nataliaâs retreating form, her expression fell serious. âI thought I told you to tell her that she doesnât have to work for us anymore,â
Toto strides along with Susie as he answered the question. âI will, later over dinner.â
Susie raised an eyebrow at her husband, arms crossing to her chest. âDinner? The one youâre having with Fred?â
âYesâ but,â He got ahead of her disapproving look, lifting a finger up to soothe away her frustration. âIâm taking her with me to broaden her connections.â
The enlightenment brought recollection to Susieâs features, heart warming the generous gesture Toto was giving to Natalia. âItâs nice that she knows what she wants, no?â
The tall man agreed, tucking his hands inside his pockets. It had been a nearly a year since Natalia started doing minor tasks for them. In her own faith, when she arrived at their residence, a natural rhythm fell place in her actions. The chores that were usually done by the usual cleaning lady was finished by her.
In her persuading self, she tried to Toto that she could do some of the boat cleaning as well. Of course, he was quick to deny her insistence, stating that her studies are the only thing she needs to focus on.
Natalia Valle was an exchange student from the Philippines. She had passed the examination for the University of Monaco and had been staying in the dorms for the last 3 years. That was until a financial crisis arose between her parents and before she knew it, a wet sponge and a bucket of water was her saving grace to get by everyday.
Thankfully, Susie had found her by the harbor. She sat there, eyes falling close a few times. The bags under her eyes were impossible to miss, conveying her lack of rest. Her hands gripped lightly at a fishing rod. The wooden handle constricted at her hand instinctively as the pull of an object from under the water awakened her spirit.
She flinched, eyes flying open at the force. Susie remembers hearing her devastated groans as the string snapped from its hook, light splashes appeared at the large body of water, indicating the fishâs escape.
One would turn away and go on with their life, Susie would have if she hadnât seen the distinguish cut on her palm. The one she later turned over to use her fingers as a grapple to dig for another hook and string in her bag.
Getting Nataliaâs wounds treated by Susie Wolff was definitely not in her bucket list. But she sat there, trying her best not to look too nervous as Susie herself dressed the long cut on her hand.
Susie didnât need to make small talk, Natalia thought. Unknown to her, the genuine intentions that harbored Susieâs questions.
From there, Susie struck a deal with her after hearing how she ended up on that port. Susie offered to pay off her last year as a journalism student and her dorm rent. All she wanted in return was for her to graduate.
Of course, disbelief was a natural reaction. To Natalia, she hasnât done anything special to earn a free pass for her burdens to be lifted off her shoulders.
As she expressed her hesitance, stating that she should not leech off someone else so easily with anything in exchange. Irises expanded at her sheer assertions to at least do something for them in return. To wrap her in solace, Susie agreed to the simple tasks.
Here they were, in the present. Natalia continued to work for her allowance despite Totoâs futile attempts to take the chores off the girlâs hands.
But tonight, heâll finally be telling him a news that would make her, hopefully, drop all those cleaning supplies.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
Natalia clenched her hands in her lap, settling on admiring the silver bracelet adorned with the crystalline diamonds given to her by Susie last Christmas. Her fingernails chipped at her cuticles, watching the car pass through a series of establishments, deliberately crating a closer approximate to their destination.
The silk of her dress wrinkled at the spot which had had enclosed on her hand, leaving the mark of her worries.
âWhatâs the matter?â
Totoâs voice made spring her though back, choosing to return Totoâs waiting gaze.
âYou didnât tell me Charles was coming,â She sulked, her whiny tone caught a tug at the corners of Totoâs mouth.
âI knew you wouldnât go if I told you,â The nonchalance of his shrug expelled a sigh from Natalia.
She tucked a stray curl behind her ear, twiddling with her phone. At the silence, her thoughts scrambled into one idea. One she couldnât let go, electing to ask it.
âAre you switching teams?â
Toto didnât seem astonished at her rash query, solely negating her with a soft âNo, Iâm not.â
The furrow of Nataliaâs brows relaxed at his answer, shoulders sagging in defeat. She swore she had it.
The car came to a holt in front of a popular restaurant she was all familiar with. The bright lights twinkled in her vision as the valet opened her door. She tipped her head as a polite greeting, plucking herself from the seat. Her hand drew the rest of her dress out of the vehicle, proceeding to stand her full height.
Toto came to her side, patiently waiting to get herself ready. When she did, she strode with him to the cemented steps where he lent his hand as assistance.
Just one last step to spare before theyâre at the door, but heavens had other plans.
âToto!â An accented voice came calling from below. His joyful exclamation was accompanied by a chuckle similar to his expression.
Natalia found herself turning back as well. True enough, At the bottom of the stairs stood two figures. The jolly French team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur and the teamâs golden boy, Charles Leclerc were both wearing matching smiles.
Toto mirrored their smiles, extending a hand to Fred when the pair reached them. Natalia greeted the team principal as well, shaking his hand lightly. When she let go, her eyes wondered to the green eyed individual in front of her.
âHi,â She chipped, giving him a soft grin to which he responded with a chuckle.
âGood evening, Natalia.â He roamed his eyes through her well-dressed figure. The silk on her body hugged her curves in all the right places. Charles realized he had been staring for quite some time. Fortunately, Toto invited everyone to come inside and start dinner.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
Dinner was going fairly well. The dimly lit hall invoked an air of ease, along with the delectable dishes that have been served. The candles illuminated her face, giving off a warmth through her skin.
She would go as far as to say it was perfect if it wasnât Charlesâ eyes burning into her face. Granted, when she would attempt to reciprocate his stare, heâd look away. Her consciousness made her click unto her phoneâs camera, thinking there might be a peculiar substance on her appearance. However, after a few checks every little while, she found no disarray to her make up.
Why was he looking at her like that?
âNatalia,â At the sound of her name, she snapped her head towards Fred, who sat across Toto. âToto tells me that you need an internship . . .â
The tone of his voice dripped of knowing. Natalia blinked back at him. âYes, I am.â Was the only thing she could manage as she studied the expression on his face.
Is he? No, surely not.
Fred inclined his body, hands clasped together on the table as a smirk ghosted on his lips. âWell youâre in luck,â No way. âFerrariâs currently accepting interns. Would you beââ
âYes!â A hand slapped on her mouth as her voice resounded through the space.
Charles halted the chortle that crawled up his throat, concealing it with a bow of his head.
âThen itâs settled,â Toto clapped Natalia shoulder in a congratulatory amenity, a sense of pride flourishing in his chest. âWhenever youâre ready. Iâll drive you to the Ferrari headquarters.â
Natalia could barely contain her excitement at Totoâs claim. She stood up, reaching her hand toward Fred who gladly received it with the same enthusiasm.
âThank you so much,â The heat of her eyes were beginning to burn, signaling her near waterworks. âThis is such an honor, honestly. . .â
âActually, weâre heading back to Maranello tomorrow.â Charles joined the conversation, peering up at her standing stature. âYou can go with me, if you want,â
Natalia didnât miss the emphasis on the last words, lips curling behind her teeth at the suggestion.
âThat would be great,â She nodded, shooting him a grateful look. âIs 9 AM fine?â
Trying to catch Nataliaâs gaze, he kept his on her. âPerfect.â
An indecipherable expression crossed Charlesâ features, leaving as quickly as it came when Natalia blinked.
This is wasnât a well thought idea. Natalia was aware of this fact. The thought of spending four hours in a car with Charles sent rippling shudders down her back. Perhaps the yearning to commit to her life long dreams were stronger than the impending discomfort she had to endure for a few moments.
After all, they both agreed never to speak about it ever again. A long car ride shouldnât be so hard.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
NEXT PART: H E R E
#charles leclerc x reader#charles leclerc#carlos sainz#carlos sainz x reader#charles lechair#formula 1#f1 x reader#f1 fanfic#f1 imagine#f1 x you#charles leclerc x oc#f1 poster#charles leclerc fanfic#lando norris x reader#lando norris#landoscar#oscar piastri#lewis hamilton#lestappen#george russell#lewis hamilton x reader#george russell x reader#pierre gasly#fernando alonso#max verstappen x reader#max verstappen#formula one
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The Lakes - ACOTAR
Rhysand x Ilyrian Reader (set in Windhaven Camp when Rhysand still trained there)
âThose Windermere peaks look like the perfect place to cry. Iâm setting off, but not without my muse.â
warnings: woman in ilyria, sexism, wing clipping, angst, mentions of violence
1k words
Masterlist :)
âThose peaks right there, that is where I want to go.â You told Rhysand, pointing to the tallest peak of all the snowy mountains that surrounded Windhaven. He laughed, a sweet, low rumble as he moved his fingers through your dark-as-night locks of hair.Â
âThose?â Rhysand cooed, looking down at you as your head rested comfortably on his lap. You nodded, âyes, Rhys. Those.âÂ
He gazed down at you with all the love he held for you in his heart, violet eyes twinkling for youâ only ever for you. âWhen I am High Lord, I will build you a house in those peaks⊠and right here too.âÂ
You blushed at Rhysandâs words, âa house there and here? Um⊠what if I want to stay here in Windhaven with my brother?âÂ
âYou donât belong here, my love, and neither do I.â His words were soft and his fingers trailed your jaw in the gentlest of manners. You agreed with him, obviously. âYouâll take me with you?â You asked him eagerly, though you knew the answer.Â
âI will always take you everywhere with me. Never to be left alone again, my sweet.â He answered gently, causing you to blush hard at your friendâs words.Â
You were Devlonâs little sister, and had known Rhysand since his arrival at Windhaven camp with his mother. You two were fast friends, always together, always around each other because neither of you ever tired of the other.
The two of you grew up together, and while Rhysand became handsome and strong, you became fair and gentle. You were now young adults, and still as close as ever.
You were a great beauty, so it was to no oneâs surprise when the High Lordâs son lost his youthful appetite for fucking and only ever focused his energies on you. He was in love with you, and you were in love with him.Â
The two of you werenât together yet, not officially, but you might as well be because you were inseparable. Nothing or no one could come in between the two of you. Your bondâ not the mating one yetâ was strong.Â
No, you werenât mates, though Rhysand was sure the bond would snap any day now.Â
âDevlon would rather kill you then let me leave the camp,â you mused, turning your head so you could stare at the lake that glowed in front of the two of you. You had always loved the lakes that surrounded Windhaven, it was your escape from the brutality of your home.
Rhysand snarled, âhe can try. Iâll melt his mind if he ever dares come in between us.â You knew he meant it.
You pressed your lips together and sat up, ânot kind.âÂ
Rhys took a deep breath and stared straight ahead, at the water, âyour brother does not deserve my kindness. When I am High Lord, he will pay for this.â His fingers glided across the healed wound, where your wings had been clipped.Â
Your wings twitched at the gentle touch, âI forgave him, Rhysand. You need to forgive him too.âÂ
He rolled his violet eyes. âI will never forgive Devlon for clipping your wings, nor myself for not being here⊠I should have known better than to leave you alone.âÂ
You knew he blamed himself for your clipping. You were a lucky Ilyrian female, your friendship with the High Lordâs son gave you a certain type of immunity to the wing clipping. Well, you used to be lucky.Â
One night, a year ago, Rhysand had to leave to attend a ball in another court. He had wanted to bring you, but his father did not approve. You thought, and assured him, that nothing would happen to you. But your brother, your cruel brother, came into your hut as soon as Rhysand stepped foot outside of camp.
He didnât come alone, no. Devlon came with four other males, they pinned you to the floor and clipped your wingsâ leaving them crippled for life. You were heartbroken, but you never held a grudge to Devlonâ as you knew that the clipping was a centuries old tradition that would never be changed.Â
You just had the bad luck of being a female in Ilyria.Â
When Rhysand found you the next day, bleeding and crippled, he turned the camp upside down. Though at the end of the day, he couldnât punish Devlon. His father didnât care about Ilyrian females, and when Rhysand tried to get justice for you, the High Lord simply waved his son off.Â
So he promised you, and himself, that when he was High Lordâ he would avenge you and your wings.Â
âHarboring hate in your heart is not right, Rhys.â You muttered, reaching your hand to caress his cheek in a gentle manner. He leaned into the touch, always seeking comfort in you.
Rhysand loved you so much. He could not understand how you were still so pure hearted, even after everything you had gone through in Windhaven. You were a rose, a flower, that had somehow grown in ice frozen ground.Â
âI may hate, but I also love.â He said softly, nuzzling his head in your neck, planting a soft kiss upon it. You knew he loves you, you knew it well, and he knew you loved him. Your love was no secret.Â
âPlease, go live with my mother.â Rhys begged, leaving soft tender kisses all over your neck. You sighed, knowing he would bring that request up again. It was his new fixation, having you move to live with his mother and sister until he finished training. Â
He didnât want you in Windhaven, you were not made to be there. His mother adored you, had watched you grow upâ she would gladly foster you away from the camp, but you didnât want to leave. You donât want to leave Rhys behind, because you knew that it would be a while before he joined you.
âI donât want to leave youâŠâ He groaned at this statement. âPlease⊠you need to be safe. This war camp is not made for youâŠ.â Rhysand pleaded, trying his hardest not to pressure you but failing, because he needed you to be safe.Â
You sighed. âI will go.âÂ
Rhysand perked up. âYou will?âÂ
âYes. But not without you.âÂ
-
Authorâs note:
A small blurb because i love this song and it somehow reminds me of rhysand
Taglist: @mybestfriendmademe @lilah-asteria
#acofas#acotar#acowar#acomaf#acosf#rhysand imagine#rhys acotar#rhys x reader#rhysand#rhys#rhysandofanfic#rhysand x reader#feyre acotar#batboys x reader#acotar x reader#acotar fic#azriel#azriel acotar#azriel one shot#azriel shadowsinger#azriel spymaster#azriel x reader#Spotify
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Any recommendations from your Steve and Hopper deep dive? I love them and just thank you for your Steddie Dads posts they always brighten my day <3
<333333
okay i heard y'all loud and clear. i'm working on expanding my steve & hopper drabble into a full fic. in the meantime - here are some recs from my deep dive the other day :)
The Nightly Stroll - RurouniHime
truly a top tier fic to me in general. it's the hop-POV that makes me want to write a hop-POV. peak dad-hopper energy even if there's less of that Steve-Hopper parent relationship there. definitely the one that made me say *ok but what if Steve got to be a brat about it??*
the road not taken looks real good now (it always leads to you in my hometown) - elsie (the_technorats)
hop and steve talking at eddieâs makeshift funeral. some solid (and sometimes sad) banter b/w them and definitely the sense that steve gets to just be a kid here more than heâs used to
My Heart Has Changed And My Soul Has Changed - Atalia_Gold
Hopper and Steve chopping wood together. feat. both of them fighting against minuscule emotional ranges, and also eddie thirsting after steve in the background
you play the dirt and i'll play the water - birthdaycandles
SO fun. eddie-pov in which cops get called after a bar fight and a perplexed eddie watches as hop and steve (who clearly have a whole history) interact. super similar vibe to mine if that's what you're looking for!!
also, a good handful of greatunironic's fics include a parent-son type of relationship between Steve and Hopper. All of them are totally devastating and amazing and beautiful but I particularly recommend their series eating in the underworld (a what-if situation where steve ends up in russia with hop post-season 3). The first work in the series is from Joyce's POV which, believe me, is even more devastating.
also also, I don't typically self-plug but my series the satellite and the sky has a handful of Steve & Hop father/son-esque moments with the same kind of dynamic as the drabble i posted yesterday - particularly Steve's chapters of honeydew (you love me well) and the first chapter of plant a seed (we'll watch it grow) - definitely not the main story but maybe it's worth mentioning :)
#probably will reblog this and add some more later#liv's fic recs#steve jim father son relationship my beloved#jim hopper#steve harrington#steddie#<- kind of
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MK1 - BI HAN X READER ~ REUNION ~
an: ok hi guys lowkey i havent written fanfiction in years so this is my brief return. so feral for bi-han bro got me writing again
anyways please enjoy this story that i cooked up at work instead of doing what i get paid to do đ„i got really sloppy at the end because this fic ended up being MUCHH longer than what i intended and i lowkey lose the plot bc it was supposed to be much more different
also if you guys have requests send them in i might do them i might not so dont expect too much
ps+ i'm not chinese so if i mischaracterized something pls let me know!! i'm the wrong type of asian to be writing this lmfao
--
you returned to the lin kuei outpost hoisted on the shoulders of the neighboring rocky mountains. it was a heavy winter yet, but a meager layer of snow had curtained everything all the same. your breath was heavy as you sighed and looked at the exterior of the stronghold, smoke spilling from your mouth. it had been years since you had been back here, practicing with the lin kuei as only a young woman. you were never an initiate, but your father was a powerful man who had been good friends with the former grandmaster of the lin kuei and wanted to assist them by having you help them out. after a couple of months of training and bonding with all the other lin kuei initiates (as well as the grandmaster's sons), you had left to pursue your responsibilities. you had been burdened with far too many tasks to just remain in one place -- it pained you but you knew you had to leave to do what was required of you. not one for goodbyes (and the fact that if you had to confront the brothers about your departure, you probably would've ended up staying...), you disappeared into the midst of the dark night.
after all with great power comes......
the gates to the stronghold opened and you entered inside. it was difficult being back. how would you approach the brothers? would they still be upset at you for leaving? surely not, considering they let you back in. but what if this is a trap, a ploy to set up a mediation to get you to explain where you were all these years? thousands of thoughts swirled inside your mind but it didn't matter now. you were inside the courtyard now, watching as initiates sparred and practiced with one another. you could begin to feel the influx of raw magical energy as you walked by, prompting you to take a deep breath in and walk with your head held higher. you opened the gates to the interior to see tomas and kuai liang speaking with some of the younger initiates. kuai had his hands crossed behind his back, his eyes stern as ever as he commanded some of the younger warriors to try out a new training exercise. tomas had a small smile on his face, his arms crossed in front of his chest. they didn't notice your arrival and so you quietly walked up to them, with hands behind your back and a shy smile across your face.
tomas was the first to notice you, and his face immediately burst into a smile. "(name)!" he yelled out, excited like a puppy being adopted by an owner for the first time ever. you were originally going to keep this visit somber, but you couldn't help to keep the smile off your face. suddenly a huge urge to hug him overcomes you, and you spread your arms around the nape of his neck, pulling him in. he pats your back, exclaiming:
"i didn't realize you were going to be here so soon!"
you pull away from him, giving him a big smile. "sorry it took me so long. had a lot of stuff to get to."Â that smile on your face does not betray your intentions. it's the truth--you really did have a lot to get to. procrastinating and putting off the visit for as long as you did, however, was honestly not your intention.
you see kuai glance at you gently, a fond look washing over him as you peak from over tomas' shoulders.
"c'mon, i know you want in on this too," you say playfully as you beckon kuai over. he smiles kindly as he takes you into his arms.
"it's good to see you again, (name). seems that time's been treating you right," he says with his hands on his hips, admiring your character as he gazes at you from up to down. you can't help but blush, and wave away his comment.
"you guys have grown up a lot too! what have they been feeding you guys?!" you playfully ask. the two of them playfully chuckle, as tomas responds with, "been drinking my 7 glasses of milk everyday!" you give him a confused look as kuai gives him a side-eye. "pretty sure it's meant to be water, tomas. but i'm glad you're so lactose-affluent," you say playfully with a grin.
kuai takes you softly by the arm and introduces you to the other members. "everyone, this is (name). she used to train with us and it's lucky for us she wasn't officially trained as an initiate or she'd be better than all of us." his compliments cause you to blush and roll your eyes, as you give a humble bow.
"where is bi-han?" you ask, reluctantly. kuai's gaze becomes sterner and yet more cautious. "he's with some students right now. though i uhh....am not sure how receptive he will be to your....visit." you smile. "don't worry for me, kuai. i can handle the boy i used to beat in our spars." "except he's not a boy now. he's grandmaster of the lin kuei." your eyes fall to the ground. of course he was. their father died just a few years ago and now bi-han had inherited one of arcticka's greatest creations. you look back up and tomas and kuai solemnly.
"sorry i could not attend your father's funeral. i only heard about it just recently and even if i knew about it earlier, i didn't know how you guys would feel about me popping up at his service unannounced."
"you're family, (name). you were then, you still are now. nothing's changed but the time passing," he says tenderly as he rests his hand on your shoulder. you give him a smile in return and nod your head.
"thanks for the sentiment, kuai. but....let's see if your big bro shares the same sentiment."Â kuai and tomas share an unsettling look as they take a deep breath in. "you're welcome to try and get through to him. don't blame me if he throws an ice pick at your head."
you roll your eyes playfully. "i'm sure i'll be fine, just tell me where he is."
tomas points to the other side of the stronghold, pointing to the large training room decorated with gold and red lanterns. come to think of it, most of the stronghold was painted with evidence of the Chinese New Year's festivities. you hadn't realized that the new year had encircled so quickly. as you made your way to bi-han, you felt your heart flutter. there was no telling how he would react. what if he actually DID throw an ice pick at your head? the nerves bubbled up in your gut as the cold air outside did nothing further to ease your unrest. as you walked to the large room where bi-han was at, your eyes briskly caught a glance at the remnants of more festivities at the stronghold. you smiled softly to yourself.
at least bi-han cared enough about his initiates to host what looked like some vendors/merchants and games at the stronghold for all of them. this gesture was sweet, almost like a father providing for the children he's adopted. just like his own father, though you didn't dare to say this out loud. this thought process however, had managed to calm you down until you got to the very wide doors to the training room. you took a deep breath in before you quietly opened the doors, peering in to a room with many masked initiates sitting on the floor inside gazing up at bi-han as he fervently explained something.
you moved to the back of the room, carefully moving past the other member to get a good look at bi-han, leaning your shoulder against the wall. a few minutes passed as he wrapped up his lesson, finally catching your eye. for a ninja he wasn't much aware of your presence. but he also hadn't felt your presence in years, and you were aware of that. when his eyes met yours, he didn't look surprised like a person gazing upon a long-dead wraith but rather he looked stunned as to how you even got here. there was anger hidden behind his eyes, but at the same time....
"(name)?" it had been years but you still felt the same way when he called out your name. his voice had gotten deeper and he had changed into a grown man. your eyes explored his stature -- he was taller, his muscles were defined, and a different aura now defined him. he was no longer the softer boy you knew him to be, now he was grandmaster of earth's last defence; of course he was going to be a changed man now.
you smiled cheekily, not knowing how to react. truthfully, you didn't know how you got this far.
"hi, bi-han. i hope i didn't distract you when you were busy teaching," you speak coyly, not wanting the other initiates to overhear your WHOLE conversation. he looks down at you, almost like he's debating what to say next. you take a deep gulp and you scrape away at the skin underneath your nails, causing them to bleed. after what seems like a milennia of consideration, he furrows his brows and briskly walks past you.
you nod your head with a soft smile. you understand why he feels this way but to be honest, you're not sure whether you would've preferred this treatment or having an ice pick gone straight to your dome. the other initiates look on carefully, trying not to invoke their grandmaster's anger. before they can do anything else, they follow their grandmaster out the room.
"don't take it to heart. if you were anyone else, he probably would've frozen you solid. i'm surprised he actually went the mature route."
you turn around to see whose voice those sentences belonged to. your eyes fell upon a man wearing a yellow uniform, similar to kuai's uniform but the colours inversed. his hair is tied up almost in a ponytail and restrained by a yellow bandana across his forehead. he's a good-looking man, but an unfamiliar face.
"i'm sorry, i don't recognize you," you say as you furrow your eyebrows piecing together who this man could be.
"cyrax. i haven't seen you before here either. though kuai said that there may be a guest visiting today." he gives you a small smile and stretches out his hand so you can shake it. you give him a warm yet stern handshake. you take his hand and give him a small shake.
"i was hoping for a warmer reception from him honestly. though it was my fault for thinking he might've reacted the same way i might've towards him."
"eh, he's been cranky for the last few days. still, that makes him not snapping on you all the more interesting. are you familiar to him? personally?"
"oh, ha, no," you wave him away embarrassingly, "i used to train here with the brothers. i'm acquainted with them pretty well. just haven't seen them in years, so...."
"ahh. well, good luck with trying to get sub-zero to warm up to you. you're attempting to do the impossible." he replies with a cheeky grin, before bowing to you and leaving the room. you take a deep breath in, unsure of how you were going to get the grandmaster to liven up a little and talk to you. as the day continued, you found yourself wandering the old halls of the stronghold you used to train in. it was night-time now, and you admired the dark glow on all the new year festival decorations. they shone bright as the gold off of them reflected the moon's light. a little upset at not being able to have the reunion you wanted, you walked out to the terrace surrounding the courtyard, looking down at the dimly lit enclosure. no one was out practicing right now, causing you tp scoff to yourself. when you practiced here you went well into the late night and yet none of these new initiates hold the same respect and regard for hardwork as you did. your mind flashes back to your sparring practices with bi-han. when you both were younger, he could hardly touch you you were so fast. your hits were hard and fast, mirroring bi-han's form but you were just that much quicker. he hated admitting it, but you were just a better fighter -- though your elemental magic couldn't hold a light to his cryomancy.
before your mind wandered off to the unknown, you heard footsteps behind you making their way down the corridor. you turned to see bi-han in a dark blue/black hanfu with a few books in his arms. your breath caught in your throat as you gazed upon him. if he saw you, he was doing a great job at pretending he never did. this didn't matter to you, as you quickly hid behind one of the pillars in the terrace. he had his head down, bad idea. as he came closer to you, you waited for the perfect moment to strike before finally revealing yourself. bi-han didn't react at all and if he did, it was out of pure annoyance.
"no. you're not leaving until we speak."
"are we finished?" he says stoically, before attempting to go around you. "that was enough of us speaking."
flabbergasted, you back up quickly and block his path again.
"bi-han." you say, defeated and exhausted. you didn't come all this way to get dejected and leave without getting proper closure. if you had to move on from him, you wanted to at least clear things up with him before getting on with your life.
"did you not leave the last time? i am simply doing to you what you have done to m-us." he replies matter-of-factly.
"i'm here now aren't i? c'mon now, i know you've been dying to talk to me. i wanted to talk to you all this time!" you say coyly, throwing a playful punch at his meaty arm.
he looks a little upset, or at least his eyes and frown betray him if he was going for a stoic look.
"why now? why after all these years. you might as well return to wherever you came from," he replies lowly and yet it shows that he's hurt. your heart warms a little at the fact that you could've had this much of an impact on him. you nod your head slowly and look into the enclosure beneath you.
"i'm sorry bi-han. you know i had to leave soon. it wasn't going to be forever, even if i wanted for it to be so. and i knew......" you look down, a long distance into the ground, "if i told any of you guys i was leaving i probably wouldn't have ended up leaving." the look on bi-han's face relaxes a bit, but you can still see him holding the stress on his face. there's not much more that you can say. he was right in being upset -- if anyone else abandoned you the way that you did to him or his brothers you'd be livid. the two of you spent months with one another and yet neither of you had confessed your feelings. the tension was palpable and everyone else noticed it too, it was just confusing as to why neither of you acted on your desires. for you, it was the fear of rejection. perhaps it was the same for him as well?
you lean on the terrace on your side, gazing at bi-han. just being near him after all these years was enough of a blessing but something in you wanted more, though you would never publicly admit to this. you stop yourself at first, but then reach for his arm, carefully, almost to not startle him like he's a wild animal at bay for now but at risk of leaving at the first sign of danger. he doesn't retreat, moving his gaze from your face to your arm. you gently get a hold of his forearm, grazing your thumbs against them. he's cold, but retracts the cold from his skin so that it's back to normal temperature. you hold your gaze at his arm, almost too shy to look at his face.
"i think you've missed me all this time."
bi-han scoffs. "not in the slightest."
"then why are you so close to me?"
it's like the act is intuition. he notices how close the two of you are now and apparently his closeness has gone unnoticed because only a mere half foot now separates the two of you. he lets out a small chuckle out of annoyance and shakes his head.
"you still remain as aggravating as ever."
you put your hand on your hip.
"i apologize for upsetting the mighty grandmaster of the lin kuei." you say, coming a little closer and almost closing the already-tiny gap between the two of you.
"that can be rectified." he says, almost flirtatiously. you're a bit taken aback by his frisky comment. you thought he might've actually been offended by your comment but it seems that his playful nature has become unfamiliar to you after all these years. you place your hand gently on his cheek, caressing his cheekbones and acne scars.
"i've missed you, you know," you finally express your true feelings.
bi-han's eyes soften a little.
"i should've been here-with you....i know that i didn't exactly give you much closure bu-," before you can continue on with your tedious apology he fills the space between the two of you and kisses you with a voracious hunger you've never seen before. his nose pushes against yours and you lean into the kiss, slightly moaning. he tries to slide his tongue against you and it's almost as though the two of you are young kids again, sparring. you defend your mouth, refusing to let his tongue inside but he grabs ahold of your other arm, surprising you. taking advantage of your shock, he slips his tongue inside triggering another gentle moan from you. the two of you wrestle with your tongues, exploring the smallest crevices of one another's mouths. years of tension and pressure are finally alleviated with this kiss. you lean in for more, like a child fiending for sugar, but he pulls away to gaze in your eyes.
you take a deep breath -- that workout took a lot of your wind away from you. however, your lips still draw near his, lowkey aching for more.
"i've wanted to do that for so long..." he says, pushing his forehead against yours. "are you planning on leaving again?"
you smile brightly. so the cold-hearted grandmaster did hold a soft spot for you.
"that depends. do you want me to stay?"
he removes his hands from your wrist and brings them up to your face, reciprocating your earlier caresses.
"as long as you don't leave again."
#mk1#mk1 2023#mk1 x reader#mortal kombat 1#bi han#sub zero#mk sub zero#bi han x reader#bi han x y/n#sub zero x reader#mk1 bi han#mk1 bihan
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DAD SEUNGMIN PLSđ„șđ loved the hyunlix one!!!!
ahhhh thank you thank you for requesting! it's people like you who make it a joy to write! ye ye ye
~~~~~
đ€đŸ puppy love~ seungmin as a dad
~~~~~
*~alexa play higher by albert posis~*
đ»you know the feeling when youâre just so in love that your braincells cease up. yeah that's seungmin the pussy drunk guy who was still shocked at the news of the pregnancy like he wasn't the one who knocked you up even though you just had sex two weeks ago
đ»it's the seungmin way to flash the brightest smile even though he is just confused, and that is literally the mood the entire time he is a dad, he mightn't get it sometimes but he'll just go along with it
đ»is somehow the most prepared person in the entire universe even though he pretty much just sits there being himself, don't question it
đ»everything was unexpected, yet he was still so unbelievably stoked to even have a baby with you. he was and still is such a sentimental guy when it comes to his relationship with you and his love and admiration for you and your relationship keeps growing regardless of whether you were pregnant or not
đ»but on that note he thinks you're absolutely glowing these days and seeing you like that makes him the proudest husband or husband to be and he would definitely be the type to make you feel more at home around his family and creating a happy life and vibes for you and your baby
đ»he definitely doesn't see your baby as a pet, that would be terrible but he 100% was the one to keep insisting that he gets to choose their name. it's.... different but in the sweetest way possible so imagine this, meeting seungmin you were absolutely whipped by his wit and intelligence and you knew that dates with him would be memorable and in this case the first 12 dates were so unique and creative in the way that you did the same thing each time
đ»you would receive a text to say the was having a day off and that he wanted to go out, you'd wait for him to meet you on the corner of the dorm rooms and once he was in sight he'd give a cheerful wave and you'd proceed to walk to his favourite park and once you were there you would talk about anything on your mind as he nudged the rocks with his feet until he found a pretty one to give it to you just so you could go and skip it across the water
đ» which makes sense that he pushed the name beomseok which simply means "pattern of a rock"
đ»repeat after me, seungmin definitely doesn't think your baby is the same species as kkami or berry but seungmin happily passed down his puppy boy role to beomseok and dress him up in cute costumes just to spam his entire list of contacts with photos
đ»everyone will know what beomseok looks like, they could pick him out of a crowd thanks to seungmin's monthly updates
đ»every day is a dream because 9 times out of 10 you are waking up to both of your boys smiling brightly. the boys actually get the harsh version of seungmin if they knew seungmin would become this soft during fatherhood they would have adopted many many kids
đ»his kid pops up everywhere and i mean everywhere : on an ad for diapers, skz-talker, music videos, on stage. home boy has a cute ass kid and he lets the whole world know, home boy also has the contacts to make that happen plus your child is a natural entertainer
đ»father-son baseball games whether that means attending games in matching jerseys or actually playing in the backyard
đ»side note- since he was so excited to actually play baseball with his son he definitely set his expectations too high thinking they immediately knew what to do when the ball was flying towards him aka he has totally thrown the ball at his kids head
đ»everyday you hear a lil wahhhhhhhhh from the kitchen, peak seungmin noises as he does a cute little jog around the house trying to escape your sons needy cuddles
đ»seungmin's energy is 1000% contagious so now you are gifted with not one but two seungmin's
đ»oh my god, this kid has everything that they could ever dream of and though you play a part in getting that to happen seungmin is a huge part of why their room is so cozy and comfortable, the brown and orange fairy-tale autumn tones all year around, the plush bears-he gets all clichĂ© too with having mama, papa and baby teddy bears
đ»he definitely gives off the energy of the dad who walks his kid to school and even though he's rushing to get them there on time he's the one getting distracted by a random squirrel or the bug beomseok found
đ»different idol but this is literally dad seungmin and i'm screaming
đ»lastly, dad seungmin is like a calm family vacation at the beach where you huddle under the jetty building sandcastles, collecting sea shells and swimming until it gets dark, he is gentle, fun, meaningful, entertaining, a sense of strong support but most importantly he is yours
#skz soft hours#skz soft thoughts#dad! stray kids#seungmin x reader#stray kids headcanons#skz headcanons#seungmin headcanons#skz scenarios#stray kids scenarios#skz fluff#seungmin fluff#dad! seungmin
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Orion's belt aligned with the Giza pyramids. Al Nitak points to the Great Pyramid. The gods left many signs using mathematics and astronomy, especially those signs built into the Great Pyramid.
Lions Gate Portal 8/8
August 8th, known as the Lions Gate, has been revered for several thousand years as the date that marks the peak of an influx of high-frequency energy onto planet Earth from the star Sirius, which is in its closest proximity to earth from July 26th through August 12th â the full period of the Lions Gate opening or Galactic New Year. Second in brightness only to the sun, to Ancient Egyptians this star was revered as their âSpiritual Sunâ and referred to as Ausetâs star Sopdet â Spdt, meaning âshe who is sharp.â
The Lions Gate is the annual season when Spdt comes into her most pristine alignment with Re [the Sun], Geb [the Earth], and Sah â the Hunter constellation identified with ancient Egyptâs King Ausar â called Orion in Greek. During this cosmic portal, Sopdet â the spiritual Sun â emits an ancient activating energy so powerful as to cause the annual inundation which has sustained Nile River Valley communities over several millennia, whilst spurring the collective ascension of human consciousness throughout earth â the land or house of Geb/Keb. As God Djehuti proclaimed, âIf the truth must be told, this land is indeed THE TEMPLE OF THE WORLDâŠâ The August 8th peak of the Lions Gate is when Sopdet is said to perfectly align with the shaft from Queen Ausetâs Chamber within the Great Pyramid of Giza, in concert with that from King Ausarâs Chamber aligning with Alnitak, one of the three stars of the Hunter constellationâs belt. Known as the â3 Wise Menâ or the â3 Sisters,â these three stars form the cosmic blueprint from which the complex known as the Pyramids of Giza was built.
âAs above, so below⊠As within, so withoutâ are codes which remain key to Kemetâs ancient Mystery System. Thus, the Nile River represents the Milky Way (called Maziwa Mkuu in Kiswahili, meaning âgreat milkâ) on earth âbelowâ as in heaven âaboveâ. Two lions are said to hold open this magnificent time-space portal, one of which is represented by the Great Sphinx whose figure is an earthly representation of the constellation of Leo and a key piece of the puzzle of relationships within the Milky Way galaxy âabove & belowâ. Lying on the west bank of the Nile river, the Great Sphinx is poised with its tail to the west [where the sun exits] as it faces directly east towards the sunâs reentry. The Lions Gate [7/26 â 8/12] opens within the astrological season of Leo, adding to the influx of regal energy from the alignment between Earth and the Universeâs Galactic Center, which reaches its peak on 8/8 over African soil. It is a powerful reminder of Heaven-on-Earthâs potency, symbolized âwithin & withoutâ through the quintessential Divine Love that exists between cosmic Hunter Ausar and his earthly Gatherer, Throne Queen, and Spiritual Sun â Auset.
According to the mythology of Ausar-Auset, in a jealous bid to usurp their Heaven-on-Earth throne, Set murders King Ausar, dismembering his body into 14 parts and scattering them in the wilderness [African Diaspora] so as to prevent his resurrection and return. Set the antagonist is god of chaos, foreign oppressors, violence, perversion, illness, and the desert who caused Egypt to be widowed of the gods and humanity to be trapped in his false predatory & parasitic matrix. After widow Auset searches the wilderness and manages to retrieve and mummify only 13 of her husbandâs mutilated body parts, it is up to Heru, her posthumously/immaculately-conceived son with King Ausar, to become the Warrior who avenges his fatherâs fate and restores divine order to the kingdom by defeating SetâŠ
Pyramid texts speak of Heru as the Great Lion: âHorus who comes forth from the acacia to whom it was commanded: âBeware of the lionâ. May he come forth to whom it was commanded: âBeware of the lionâ.â [Pyramid Text 436a-b]
Africaâs Acacia tree, which is sacred to goddess Auset, has long been associated with ancient mysteries including the secrets to life, death, healing, sustenance, and resurrection â hence their organic ties to matriarchal goddesses. Linked to the Akashic Records, the astral ancestral library where everything that has or will ever occur is recorded, the Acacia trees in Heliopolis were thought to have been the birthplace of the very first deities. Heliopolis (called On in Lower Egypt), was the ancient worship center of sun-god Re whose celestial boat was made of Acacia wood in its hind parts (palm wood in its fore-parts). The mythologies of Ausar-Auset are Heliopolitan in their derivation and orientation, e.g. the reference to Ausar as âthe one in the tree⊠the solitary one in the acacia.â This saying was based on the version of their story in which Auset releases her husbandâs body from a pillar in Byblos [a prophecy relating to the scripted bible?] that had been fashioned out of the tree which enclosed the coffin King Ausar had been tricked into entering as Setâs ploy to usurp/colonize Egyptâs throne. Symbolizing the immortality of the soul in Freemasonry, the thorny acacia tree otherwise represents Ausarâs backbone, depicted as the Djed Pillar in this particular mythological account.
Trees act as resurrection portals and/or gateways between worlds in ancient Egyptian Mysteries, such as the Sycamores (associated with goddesses Nut & Hathor) through which Re rises as the Sun each day from the east: âI know the two sycamores of turquoise between which Re comes forth, when he passes over the supports of Shu to the gate of the lord of the east from which Re comes forthâ [Book of the Dead: Ch. 109]. Auset & Nepthys were regarded similarly as âthe two Acacias.â Thus, these Mother Trees act as do the two lions which hold open the portal for the âSpiritual Sunâ Sopdet to rise as the consort of Sah during the Lions Gate season, in order to usher forth the blessings of the Galactic New Year with the annual inundation of the Nile River. Their child, hawk god Heru-Sopdu is referred to as âLord of the East,â thus presaging mythologies surrounding the Ausar-Auset-Heru trinity as archetypal personifications of key spiritual motifs that connect us organically to our higher selves⊠âAs above, so below.â
âAs within, so withoutâ is a principle that plays out in the eternal relationship that exists between Ausar-Auset, their love representing a Heaven-on-Earth divine order, which is interrupted by the chaos that Setâs predatory & parasitic rule brings, i.e. until Heru is able to successfully accomplish his Heroâs Journey and restore Maâat/UbuNtu⊠unity-consciousness. For Africa, the earthly source and staging of these love-as-salvation narratives, Set is representative of a false matrix built on slavery, (neo)colonialism, apartheid, misogyny, misogynoir, etc. â controlling foreign narratives which have in-formed external elite-run global systems & misled most of humanity into profound states of isolation, alienation, disconnection, and disorientation from organic & natal bonds. Heru â â[the Lion] who comes forth from the acaciaâŠâ [Pyramid Text 436a-b] â thus has his work cut out for him.
Again, in this case the acacia reference represents a fascinating organic matriarchal portal between worlds for Heru as a human prototype resident in each of those who do not entertain predatory or parasitic relationships of dysfunctional dependency [read âslavery⊠apartheid⊠(neo)colonialism⊠misogyny⊠misogynoirâŠâ], but strategically translated into self-referential Europatriarchal scripture as mankindâs singular âsaviorâ [Jesus]. Deep inside Africa â the regal lionâs natal home â the acacia tree itself has a characteristic dome-shaped canopy due to the way indigenous giraffes graze, which they have to do carefully because the acacia senses this feeding activity and releases tannin, a defensive poison that can kill from the overgrazing of its leaves. The acacia then emits ethylene on the wind, a chemical that alerts other acacia trees to preemptively defend themselves against âpredatorsâ by producing tannin also. DMT, a hallucinogen associated with spiritual experiences, is present in various species of the tree such as the Acacia Nilotica.
The Lions Gate represents so much to so many, especially during this dramatic period of humanityâs ascension in 2020 (Gregorian timeline). Feline power, highly revered in Kemet, is front and center as the astrological symbol for Leo and also as the identity of the African goddess annointed as âOpener of Heavenâs Door.â Among her other titles, Goddess Seshat â âForemost of the per-Ankhâ â is also known as the âPanther Goddessâ and âShe of Seven Pointsâ in reference to her highly emblematic dress and crown, respectively. Appropriated by Europatriarchs in their design of Lady Liberty following Americaâs post-Civil War end of slavery, Seshatâs 7-pointed crown has symbolically countered the racist & misogynistic tendencies of false 3D matrix systems. Seshatâs traditional panther-skin dress returns our consciousness to humanityâs African source and the need to descramble & purge predatory Victorian-era matrix codes which, during the receding Piscean era, morphed into parasitic neo-colonial arrangements, hijacking the human spirit and its potential. These & other ancient unity-conscious codes [UbuNtu] are key to human ascension and Heaven-on-Earth reparations in the dawning age of Maâat... âReturn, return, O Shulamite; return that we may look upon theeâŠâ [SoS 6:13] âBehold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.â [Rev. 3:11] Blessed BeâŠ
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Damian walked into the dining room where a few of his siblings and his father had already gathered for breakfast. In a slightly robotic movement, he headed over to his designated spot at the table and sat down. Bruce took a sip of his coffee while Dick yawned in his normal over exaggerated way. It was kind of surprising that he wasnât face first in his cereal yet. Duke sat next to him, not fully awake himself though he was at least able to get a forkful of eggs to his mouth. Small victories. Damian sat in his chair, and Alfred brought him his breakfast of pancakes made of oat flour and almond milk. Setting a small dish of bananas and peanut butter next to it, along with a small syrup dispenser.
âGood morning, Damian,â Bruce said as he took a bite of his own breakfast.
âMorning, Father. Pennyworth.â The boy replied, and he also received a wave in greeting from Duke and a cut-off greeting from Dick as he yawned again.
âGood morning, Master Damian. I do hope you enjoy your breakfast. I made sure to make them with your favorite almond milk.â Alfred said kindly before heading back into the kitchen to finish preparing food for those who werenât up yet.
Damian idly played with his food for a few minutes. Using a knife to put peanut butter on the pancakes or taking a bite of banana. Nervousness bubbled under the surface of his stoic demeanor. He could do this. It wouldnât go wrong. He looked up to his two adopted brothers and his father, who wasnât really paying him any mind. âI am⊠courting someone,â Damian said, watching as Dick and Dukeâs heads whipped up, and Bruce looked at him with a soft smile on his face.
âCongratulations. Thatâs wonderful, Damian.â His father said with a warmth that didnât always manage to reach his voice but this time it had. Duke let out a cheer and Dick was wiping a fake tear from his eye.
Seeing the positive response from his family, Damian continued. âI donât know if weâre compatible yet. I just like him a lot and, physically, heâs very nice to touch.â Duke snorted a bit and Dick managed to keep a smile on his face without laughing as Damian kept talking. âI bought him a keychain. And a bracelet. Also, Iâm going to drag him to a fair with local small business owners. The small one that is being held right outside of town.â
âAs long as you are safe, having fun, and enjoying being with him, then you have my approval,â Bruce stated taking another sip of his coffee. Giving his son a proud look. âSmall fairs are the best.â
Damianâs lips quirked up a small it in a rare smile. âHeâs so cute. And works with small animals so we can bond about that too.â
Dick leaned forward onto the table with his elbows. âIâm glad you are having fun.â
âA fair!â Duke exclaimed with a big smile on his face. âWith local small business owners. Thatâs the peak of romance oh my lordâŠâ he fell back in his chair, fanning his face playfully, and Dick lightly knocked the younger boyâs shoulder.
âItâs so cute and romantic.â Dick agreed with Duke, taking a bite of his cereal and not missing this time since he was now fully awake.
Damian felt himself buzzing in excitement. His family doesnât even know the boyâs name and they already approved. He looked up at them fully, his breakfast completely forgotten. âHe promised to show me a woman who makes tea blends based on superheroes.â Damianâs normally monotone voice had an excited lilt to it that brought everyone in the current room into soft smiles.
âMy best wishes on this romantic endeavor, baby bat,â Duke said with a twirl of his fork in the air.
âWe both have a slight obsession with tea.â Damian continued on almost bouncing in his seat from all of the positive energy he was feeling.
âOh my god.â Dick said at the same time that Duke replied âOh my lordâŠâ
âKeep him!â Dick exclaimed, standing up abruptly while brandishing his spoon at his little brother. âEven if only as a friend.â
Damian hummed in thought for a moment. âItâs more of a platonic one. I am aromantic after all.â
âCourting endeavor then,â Dick replied with a shrug not worried about the semantics and just happy his brother was happy. A smirk formed on his face as he said, âDamian, the aromantic, going on the most romantic date ever.â
Now that Damian thought about it, it really was kind of romantic, wasnât it? âShould I tell him itâs a date? Should I?â he asked looking to his brothers and father for guidance before looking down at his pancakes. âMaybe not⊠Iâm still feeling our relationship outâŠâ
âDOES HE NOT KNOW ITâS A DATE? HEâS TAKING YOU TO SEE THE SUPERHERO TEA LADY?!â Dick exclaimed in slight disbelief and Bruce chuckled behind his mug. He leaned toward his little brother as close as the table would allow him to do. âDamian, is it a date? Because it sounds like a date.â
âListen, the first time we went out, Danny bought me an iced tea on his insistence.â Damian rolled his eyes as he replied to his enthusiastic older brother. âThen brought me into a secret basement vinyl shop and let me place my chin on his shoulder. As in, I was fully pressed up against his back and watched him browse said vinyl.â
Dick stared at his little brother. âI think you have a boyfriend, baby bat.â
âTt.â Damian tsked a bit and looked away from Dick. âI do not. I have only seen him once face to face. He has stated that he has never had a relationship, and I do not wish to make him uncomfortable by springing this upon him.â
âDo you talk on the phone or online? Because that definitely counts.â Dick asked, putting his head in his hands as he continued to look starry-eyed at his little brother.
âYes but only after we met in person.â
âHow did you two meet?â Bruce asked, taking the opportunity to chime in and learn more about the boy that Damian was interested in.
Damian pulled out his phone and scrolled until he found out what he was looking for. âThere is a chat for trans people in Gotham, and occasionally, I will join in asking if anyone wishes to do activities together. Several people will then reply at once. That is how we met.â
Dick moved to sit properly in his chair after getting a stern look from Alfred. His pout turned into a thoughtful look as he rolled over Damianâs words in his head. âAnd on your first meeting, he bought you tea, and yâall cuddled up in a basement vinyl shop while looking at records together?â
âMmm yes.â Damian nodded his head as he recounted the encounter in his head. âAnd he walked me to my designated safe drop-off and hugged me goodbye. He also hugged me hello, as well.â
âWas anyone else there?â
âFor a brief period of time, yes. Others popped in after tea and hung around for about 40 minutes and then went their own way.â
Dick was vibrating in his seat, and it was obvious he was trying to contain it. âIâm trying not to get too excited about all the hugging because hugs entirely depend on the culture people grew up with, and one might see it one way but not another.â
âI am trying to be better with physical affection, but a lot of people arenât so comfortable with me on the first try.â Damian had come a long way from the angry assassin child his mother had dropped off. âHe was, though. Thatâs why Iâm happy too.â
Duke chuckled. âOkay. Do you like him?â
âI do enjoy his company so yes. I do like him.â
Bruce cleared his throat when he saw the slight moment where there was hesitation on Damianâs face. Getting his childrenâs attention effortlessly. He turned his full attention to Damian as he set his mug down. âYou donât have to date Danny or label anything if you donât want to. Just hang out and have a good time.â
Damian nodded his head briskly and quickly looked back to his breakfast with a secretive smile. âYes. Thank you, Father. I will.â
----
The dialog was done by 4 peeps in the batpham server with the one as damian being gay motherfucker.
These peeps are cute ya'll
#dpxdc#dcxdp#damian wayne#dick grayson#trans damian#trans danny#trans for all!!#bruce wayne#duke thomas
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Lookism Chapter 426 Memes/Thoughts I Have:
(I donât own any of the Lookism panels and the translations. Only the memes that I made.)
This little interaction between Gun and Daniel gave me father and son vibes.
Iâm so proud of these two. Theyâve really come a long way, and Iâm glad that they got stronger through hard work and determination, showing that talent isnât everything unlike Daniel. Even Gun acknowledged them for their growth.
When Daniel asked Gun if he was helping, he said no. But Gun literally pulled up to the after-party just to beat up his own children. I thought that was Danielâs job? đ
AlsoâŠ
Anything for you sexy demon man. đđđ
Let the fight beginâŠ
HE AINâT HOT HERE NO MORE, BUT GUN ON DEMON MODE. DEMON GUN. Omg I love his terrifying facial expressions though. Theyâre so disturbing. đ© (As a big horror fan, I acknowledge PTJâs artwork of Gunâs terrifying face. Thank you PTJ. đđœ)
This is what Workers and Hostel had to go through.
FINAL BOSS LEVEL. đŻ
When Workers and Hostel were getting bodied by Gun:
Literally, if this became such a huge commotion, Gun wouldâve ended up in the news by now:
And after all of that, he still giving meâŠ
đ
đœâš đ«đȘđ đ«đČđœđŹđ± đźđ·đźđ»đ°đ âš đ
đœ
Same energy:
Bruh, I found this scene cold af when Kenta was fighting with Gun. đ„¶
But Kenta really spent all his life just to get back at Gun for killing his father, only to get beaten up.
BROOOO RYUHEI!!! ASGDFHDSKFHFGKDS HE'S GOING TO FIGHT GUN.
IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! AHHHHH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HOW RYUHEI VS. GUN GOES.
Ryuhei looking hella fine here. đđđ
And omg. After reading this chapter, I wondered... what happened to Samuel Seo? Is he good? đ
This is what I think of how Samuel is doing rn:
But overall, Gun was the main character in this chapter and he slayed (literally). đ I can't wait to see the fight between Ryuhei and Gun though, that's going to be really interesting.
Also, ik this is unrelated to Lookism Chapter 426 but, I'm glad to see Lookism at its peak again. Now that the anime is being shown on Netflix, and the current Lookism chapters are starting to get really interesting, the Lookism community will be even more active. đ
#GUN ON DEMON MODE#Shiro Oni on XGames mode#can someone make Gun a playable character in Smash Bros#Iâd body everyone if I played as him đ#Ryuhei our savior#lookism#lookism memes#lookism webtoon#lookismaddict#lookism gun#gun park#lookism jonggun#park jonggun#daniel park#zack lee#vasco#eli jang#jake kim#lookism yujin#samuel seo#manhwa#manhua#manhwua#webtoon#lookism spoiler
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the harder the pain, the sweeter the sun
the aftermath of Luke's quest. or the consequences of not being a hero.
a/n: hello i didn't mean to be so sad on my entrance but we move! have fun (i'm so sorry)
It shouldnât be like this, he thinks as he steps back across Camp Half-Bloods borders. Thereâs still the same mill of activity, archery and pegasi and swords grating against one another. Everything is exactly as it was when he left. Some people notice him as he makes his way towards his cabin - they donât make small talk, whatâs the point of that when heâs not the hero returned. His scar, still fresh, still raised and red across his face, feels heavy. Itâs almost a beacon; a guiding light towards his failure. No one comments but he can feel it, the shift in energy as he walks past each cabin. Pity for the son of Hermes.Â
His bunk is untouched.Â
Collapsing onto the sheets, he glances around the space. Itâs only him here, faced with his own reckoning and renown. His bunk is untouched but thereâs two abandoned opposite, a careful stack of belongings at the end of each. Before dinner, heâll change those sheets. Heâll pack Cora and Ericâs belongings into a box to stow away in the big house, amongst a dozen others heâs left there over the years, and heâll burn shrouds to them with his campmates in the evening.Â
Luke wonders, as he takes in the makeshift beds on the floor, if it was even worth coming back at all.Â
Everyone moves on. Within days, thereâs barely a mention of either of his quest companions. Both of them were unclaimed, watching their lives tick by in the two years heâd known them with little idea of who they were. The Stoll twins were given their beds upon their arrival at camp two days after he returned. They had been claimed, sent in the right direction by Hermes himself, and Luke despises the way he has to sit down with people heâs known for years and tell them theyâre back to sleeping on the floor. Seniority is one thing - being claimed is more important.Â
He trains. Itâs the only thing he can do. Thereâs no pride that comes with failure. Some of the Ares kids jeer at him but none of them try to fight him, just watch as he fights with Annabeth like old times. Knife against sword. He trains and he studies and he watches as the floor of Hermes cabin becomes a minefield of belongings as summer peaks.Â
Little will change between now and fall, he knows that with certainty. Heâll still be stuck burning food for his father, willing something to happen that will earn him a deserved quest. Maybe itâs foolish, this desire to try again, to keep going on quests until he returns from one he can say was his. Not a feat of Hercules, but a tale of Luke. He has camp glory, he needs more than that.
*
Summer ends, as it always did. He says goodbye to more cabinmates than anyone, standing at the edge of the borders until the sun is nearly setting in the sky. Thaliaâs tree is behind him as the last kid leaves, an eleven year old girl that had done nothing more than stare with wide eyes every time he lifted a sword. He wonders if heâll see her next June at all.Â
âBack to basics again,â Annabeth says from behind him and he rolls his eyes as she shimmers into existence, baseball cap in hand. âDo you think itâll get easier?â
He forgets sometimes that sheâs still a kid. Wise beyond her years, a strategist to be admired, but just a kid. And a first time cabin counselor. She hasnât said goodbyes like this before, to everyone sheâs housed over three months. Teenagers that had looked to her as their leader, even if they didnât understand her being given such power. Children who revered her position and her history as if she were a Greek tale herself.
Luke had understood it, had fought for it in April when Kieran Ho had sent word to Chiron that he wouldnât be returning that summer. She had seemed so prepared to take on the role. He hadnât realized that it might take more of an emotional toll than she was ready for.Â
âHonestly,â he leans back against Thaliaâs tree, surveying the camp below them as if heâs never seen it before. Annabeth glares at him for it. âIt gets harder every year. It doesnât end.â
âSome of those kids arenât coming back.â Annabeth says it as a statement, a fact of life that theyâve both come to terms with. But thereâs a shake to her voice, the kind saved only for when sheâs terrified of being wrong, so he lets it linger in the air and get carried away. He thinks thatâs answer enough.Â
*
Winter Solstice comes and he feels ready. Months of only fighting Clarisse and Annabeth. Meals spent with the busiest table still, but with nothing to talk about. So long dedicated to being angry, to dreaming, to waking up in a cold sweat from everything heâs been given permission to see.Â
He steals the bolt. Itâs a simple plan, one he doubted originally, but it works a charm. Thereâs no questioning how important the Gods think of themselves anymore, how above everybody else they view themselves (literally and figuratively) to be. He escapes from floor 600 of the Empire State Building with the source of Zeusâ power in his possession and no one bats an eye.Â
Annabeth will never have to come to terms with losing campers. Thaliaâs sacrifice wonât be in vain the way it has been since his return. Hermes wonât be able to ignore him any longer, pretending as if being a glorified mailman means more than his son. By next summer, the world will already have begun to change.Â
Trekking through Manhattan, he understands now why he was destined to fail against Ladon. What his scar will come to represent in years to come. Luke Castellan was never meant to steal an apple - he was destined, instead, to change history and with that, the world.
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request: Jack Hughes and us are married and we have two kids a son who is 18 and a 5-year-old daughter and we're all at our sons NHL draft
As I sat in the arena, my heart swelled with a mix of pride and anxiety. It was the day of the NHL draft, and my husband, Jack Hughes, and I were here to witness our son Blake's journey into professional hockey. The echoes of the crowd's anticipation surrounded us, creating an atmosphere filled with excitement and nervous energy.
Jack, a former first-overall-round pick in the NHL draft many years ago, had experienced this exact moment. He knew the weight of expectations that could burden a young athlete's shoulders. As we anxiously awaited Blake's turn, Â He wanted nothing more than for Blake to succeed, but he also understood the pressures that came with being a highly anticipated prospect.
Sitting beside me was our youngest, Olivia, a five-year-old bundle of energy. She clutched her stuffed bunny tightly, her big eyes scanning the crowd. Olivia adored her big brother, and the separation from him during his training and upcoming professional career had been tough on her. She missed the days when they would play together and share laughter. The thought of Blake leaving for the NHL only heightened her emotions, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Mommy, when is Blake's turn?" Olivia's voice trembled with a mix of excitement and longing.
I smiled and brushed a gentle hand through her light curls that she got from Jack. "Not long now, sweetheart. He's going to make us all so proud."
Olivia's tears cascaded down her rosy cheeks, and her tiny hands reached for her brother. "I miss him, Mommy. I want him to come back home."
My heart ached at her innocent longing. I pulled her closer, enveloping her in a warm embrace. "I know, my love. But Blake is pursuing his dreams, just like Daddy did. We'll always be here for him."
As we comforted Olivia, the tension in the arena reached its peak. The commissioner stepped up to the podium, announcing the beginning of the draft. Every eye in the arena focused on the stage, waiting for the next name to be called.
With bated breath, I glanced at Jack, whose eyes were locked on Blake. The anticipation was etched on his face, a mixture of nerves and pride. Blake's name had been whispered among scouts, and he carried the weight of his father's legacy on his shoulders.
As the moments stretched on, I watched Blake take deep breaths, attempting to steady his nerves. The commissioner's voice boomed through the arena, announcing the next pick. And then, the magic happened. "Canucks Proudly select 1st overall Blake Hughes"
and soon the arena lit up with applause
Taglist~ @cole-mcward48 @stopsign94 @swissboyhisch
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