#sister!reader

[urmum-lovesme]

I feel like bunny and JJ had more fights with Luke where Bunny stepped up to protect JJ and then JJ felt bad that his sister had to protect him and not the other way around yk. And then maybe he would go to y/n��s room with an ice pack as if it would help with the million bruises forming on y/n’s body. But y/n would still be grateful 😭😭 ahh a good ass sibling moment🥹🥹

No definitely I think ever since they were young, given Bunny is the older sibling, she's always been the one who would step up. Also like I've mentioned in chapter 5, if the night was really bad, she'd take JJ down to the beach, and they'd ride down on their bikes and just sit by the shore.

However if we're talking about Bunny taking the blame for something he's done and then having to suffer the consequences- well she would do that for him in a heartbeat...

I'm imagining the aftermath of an argument, Luke had just left and Bunny would be wiping rapidly at the tears rolling down her now burning red cheek. Desperately trying to erase any evidence of what she was feeling because we all know she hates crying. Luke has always told her, ever since she was a small girl- that crying makes you look weak, that crying didn’t change a damn thing.

Then she's hearing a timid knock at her bedroom door and she already knows who it was before she even moves. She cracks the door open, there he is.

JJ's standing on the other side, hair still messed up a little, his lip still split at the side from a few days ago when he had to tell Luke he borrowed some money for gas. But it was his eyes that made her stomach twist, wide and filled with guilt. I think at first he wouldn't say much, just hold up the bag of frozen peas he'd pulled from their near-empty freezer. As if they would somehow fix the bruises blooming across her arms, the handprint still searing red on her cheek. Y/N swallows hard, her throat tight, before she reaches out, gently taking the ice pack from him and holding it against her sore wrist.

"Thanks"

She murmurs, her voice rough from the yelling, from the crying she was pretending she hadn’t been doing. JJ doesn't move though. Just stands there, shifting on his feet, his jaw clenching as his hands curl into fists at his sides.

"You shouldn’t have—"

His voice cracks before he can finish, and he shut his mouth fast, looking away. Y/N sighs, leaning against the doorframe as she pressed the ice pack against her cheek now, wincing slightly at the sting.

"You know I wasn’t just gonna stand there and let him—"

"You never should have to"

JJ cuts in, voice sharp and she knows it's not rude or defensive - it's hurt. When she looks up at him, his eyes are glassy. His lips pressed into a tight line, like he's fighting every damn emotion clawing its way to the surface.

"It’s supposed to be me. I’m supposed to be the one protecting you."

"J, we both know that’s not how it works."

Y/N lets out a short, humourless hum, shaking her head. JJ sniffs, dragging a hand down his face, shaking his head like he hates himself, like he hates that she's the one taking the hits for him. She reaches out, hesitating for just a second before she ruffles his hair, something she used to do when they were kids- and he'd run to her cause he'd messed something up and she'd tell him not to worry cause 'big sis will fix it'.

Before things got worse. 

Before life got hard.

"You're my little brother," she said, voice softer now, "That means I look out for you. No matter what, P4L yeah?"

JJ didn’t say anything. Just clenching his jaw and nodding, blinking hard as he took a step back. He asked, his voice a little rough, like he was pretending not to care as much as he did.

"You need anything else?"

Y/N gave him a small, tired smile. "Nah. This helps."

JJ gave her one last look before nodding, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he turns down the hall, most likely to pick up the mess Luke had made in the kitchen. Y/N watched him go, her chest aching, not just from the bruises but from something deeper because no matter how hard she tries, no matter how much she protects him-

They're both still stuck.

:(

[invincibledc]

Imagine the baby al ghul-Wayne twins, Y/N & Damian, these two are babbling their mouths off to each other. Bruce is just watching with an intense face, he’s trying to understand baby body language as he soon sees the brown skinned boy slap you. Your eyes widen before you start to cry. You definitely said something offensive to him in baby language. As Bruce sighs and goes to pick you up and punish Damian, Damian himself picks your hand up and makes you slap him.

Now he’s crying. Bruce just sweatdrops at this. what in the world just happened? Two baby twins crying as Damian just fails his arms around as you sit perfectly still.

Time skip, to the twins being 10. You and Damian are arguing as Bruce sighs at his kids. You hit his shoulder and he hits yours. You stay quiet as your face puff up, Damian puffs his face up as well, mimicking you. Before you can get more angry, Damian hugs you and says sorry. It’s different than what it was when you both were babies.

Bruce could only look in confusion, the twins are confusing.

[vanteguccir]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤSTURNIOLO'S GO TO THE SUPERMARKET * NATE DOE

SUMMARY　::　Where Y/N, younger sister of the triplets and Nate's girlfriend, participates on the 'Sturniolo Triplets go to Europe' video.

FEATURING　Nate Doe x sturniolo!reader　REQUESTED?　yes.

WARNINGS　::　none.

AUTHOR'S NOTE　::　that is my work, I DON'T authorize any form of plagiarism; copy, "inspiration" or translation! | english isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

The car hummed softly as Chris maneuvered through the Burger King drive-thru lane, his hand resting lazily on the wheel. Matt sat in the passenger seat, holding the camera aimed casually toward the rest of the group while Nick sat directly behind Chris, leaning forward slightly to catch glimpses of the menu ahead. Nate was behind Matt with his arm draped comfortably over Y/N, who was nestled between him and Nick.

"You getting your apple pie, babe?" Nate asked, his voice low as he turned his head to Y/N, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over her shoulder.

She glanced up at him, her eyes sparkling with mock offense.

"When do I not get my apple pie?" She quipped, a playful smile tugging at her lips.

"Fair point." He said, chuckling, his pearly teeth making an appearance. Nick, overhearing, snorted.

"She’s literally more predictable than Chris when it comes to Pepsi." Nick teased, earning a playful nudge from Y/N.

"You're just jealous." Y/N shot back with a grin, sticking her tongue out at her older brother.

"Yeah, okay." He replied sarcastically. "Jealous of having a partner who steals half my fries every time we eat."

"Nate, blink twice if you need help." Chris chimed in, earning laughs from Matt.

"She doesn’t steal them." Nate answered Nick, purposefully ignoring Chris. "She claims what’s rightfully hers."

Y/N snorted as Matt turned to face the camera, raising an eyebrow.

"This is what we have to deal with every time we come to Boston, folks."

When they reached the intercom, Nick leaned forward with a gentle smile, his tone dripping with kindness.

"Hi! How are you?"

Y/N looked at the woman from above Nick's shoulder, quickly joining in.

"Oh, you’re the pretty woman who got our orders last time!" Her voice sounded warm and cheerful.

The woman on the other end chuckled.

"Back again, huh? Can you just... just give me one second?"

"Of course, no problem!"

As they waited, Nick turned to the rest of the car, holding up his phone.

"Okay, Matt, you’re getting two plain cheeseburgers. Nate, two plain cheeseburgers with pickles. Chris and Y/N, one plain cheeseburger each. Everybody’s getting fries. Chris wants a Dr. Pepper, Nathan wants root beer, and you’re splitting it with Y/N. Matt, you’re skipping soda. Y/N, you want an apple pie."

Everyone stared at him for a beat before nodding in unison.

"How do you remember that every time?" Nate asked, meeting Chris’s eyes through the rearview, widening his as if asking 'how crazy is he for that?'.

"Because none of you have the courage to make your own orders." Nick retorted smugly, folding his arms.

When the woman returned to the speaker, Y/N jumped in to help Nick relay the orders, letting him list the items while she clarified little details, like, "No ketchup on Matt's burger, please", and, "Yes, we want mayo packets".

Once it was finalized and paid for, they pulled forward, settling into a comfortable buzz of conversation while waiting for the food, the sound of Chris's fingers tapping the steering wheel with a rhythm only he could hear echoing as background noise.

Y/N leaned back against her seat, a realization look crossing her face.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys." She started, her voice soft but filled with excitement. "I talked to Breanna this morning. She’s so excited about the wedding. And honestly, the way she talks about Ryan..." She trailed off, shaking her head with a soft smile. "She just sounded so in love. It’s the sweetest thing. You can tell how happy they make each other. It’s amazing."

Nick nodded quickly, letting his phone fall from his hands to his lap, turning to Y/N.

"True! I texted her yesterday, and she told me about how Ryan's been so involved with the wedding planning." He commented. "I can't wait to see the decor-"

"I was the knight in shining armor in your-" Chris cut Nick's trail of though, singing a song that, apparently, was on his mind the whole day, showing how little attention he was paying them.

"Chris." Y/N interrupted sharply, rolling her eyes before looking at Nate with a 'is he being serious right now?' look. "Shut the fuck up. That’s the fourth time today."

Chris spun around in his seat dramatically, almost hitting Matt's hand still holding the camera.

"You shut the fuck up."

Before Y/N could fire back, Nick cut in, groaning loudly.

"Can you both shut your gay mouths, please?"

Chris cackled at Nick’s deadpan delivery.

"Nick, don’t call me that with your gay mouth... unless you want me to kiss you on that gay mouth."

"Great, now I forgot what I was saying." Y/N leaned back, sighing loudly.

Nate laughed at them, exchanging a shake of head with Matt while pulling Y/N closer.

Before long, their food was handed through the window, bags crinkling as Matt took them from Chris and carefully distributed everything while the youngest triplet found a space to park.

"Okay, who’s plain cheeseburger with pickles?" Matt asked, holding up a wrapper.

"That’s me." Nate said, taking both burgers with one hand while the other stayed firmly holding the cup full of Dr. Pepper.

As they began unwrapping their food, Matt reached over to steal a fry from Y/N’s box - which she had out on the car console, earning him a swat on the hand.

"Touch my fries again, and I’ll start charging you rent." She warned, narrowing her eyes.

The conversation turned light and casual as they ate, filled with the usual teasing and laughter, with comments directed to the camera. Between bites of her burger, Y/N turned to the group.

"So, are you guys excited? Milan, first fashion show, Prada? Kind of a big deal."

"Are you kidding?" Matt said, wiping his hands on a napkin. "It’s insane. I’m still trying to figure out why they invited us."

"Because you’re their model now, Matt. And they obviously also love Nick and Chris. Do you realize how many gifts you three received from them just in the last three months?" Y/N replied matter-of-factly.

Chris shrugged.

"She’s not wrong. I mean, we’re kind of a big deal there."

"She's right." Nate nodded, noticing that she had just taken the last bite of her cheeseburger. "Matt will be a real model in no time."

His hands were quick to leave his own second burger on top of his legs and pick Y/N's apple pie from the car console, opening the packaging carefully before taking the crumpled wrapper from her hands and tossing it into the paper bag at his feet, finally handing the sweet pie to her.

A bright smile stretched across her face, directed at him, silently thanking him before taking a bite.

"And I'll be waiting for Sebastian Stan's autograph."

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

The bright fluorescent lights of the supermarket reflected off the aluminum cart Matt was pulling, the squeaky wheels occasionally echoing down the empty aisles. The five of them walked together, Chris holding the camera and making sure to record everything.

"All we need to think of is what we’re eating tonight, and then we’re leaving tomorrow." Nick said to the camera, his tone matter-of-fact.

Y/N, holding Nate’s hand tightly, froze mid-step. Her eyes widened as she turned to Nick, her expression a mix of shock and disappointment.

"Wait, no! Is it tomorrow already?" She asked, her voice laced with sadness. Her lips formed a pout as she stared at her older brother, the reality that she just had a few more days with her brothers before they went to Milan and their routine went back to the usual - them in LA, her in Boston - hitting her hard.

Nick turned his head to her, softening at her expression.

"Yeah." He said, almost apologetically. "Tomorrow is Saturday already, so we’ll have breakfast, lunch, and maybe dinner, depending on how late we leave."

Her shoulders slumped slightly, her pout deepening. Nick sighed softly before stepping by her side, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him as they kept walking.

"Come here, sweetheart." He muttered, ruffling her hair gently with his free hand. "Don’t look at me like that. You know we’ll be back soon."

Y/N let herself melt into the hug, though the pout didn’t leave her face.

"I just don’t want to be away from you guys again." She mumbled. "It’s been so nice having you here for so long."

Nate watched them with a soft smile, his hands buried on his hoodie pockets.

"We’ll miss you guys, you know? It’s been fun having all of you back." He added.

"We’ll be back in no time." Chris lowered the camera slightly, his tone unusually sincere. “Let’s not think about that now, though. Let’s enjoy the rest of these days, alright? We still have the whole wedding together."

Y/N nodded reluctantly, her spirits lifting slightly as Nick gave her a squeeze before letting her go. Nate reached for her hand again, threading his fingers through hers and giving her a reassuring squeeze.

They turned into an aisle lined with shelves of sweet treats, and Nick perked up instantly, scanning the options.

"I think we should get powdered donuts or something." He suggested, pointing to a shelf. "You guys like those, right? And then we should get milk and cereal." He looked at Chris and Matt expectantly, but neither answered, both seemingly distracted by something on the shelf opposite them. "Yeah?"

Noticing the silence, Nate chimed in, chuckling.

"Yeah, Nick, I agree. Powdered donuts sound good."

Chris snorted at Nate’s answer, glancing up from the camera.

"Yeah, sounds good." He said, finally catching on. Matt nodded in agreement, still looking at the random colorful items on the right shelf.

Y/N looked around them, quickly spotting the sweet treat. She wandered a few steps ahead, grabbing a pack for her brothers. As she walked back toward the group, she glanced at Nate.

"Babe, do we still have powdered donuts at home?" She asked him.

Nate frowned, seeming to think for a second before shaking his head slightly.

"Nah, it’s almost gone. I think there’s like one left."

Y/N frowned thoughtfully, then turned back to the shelf to grab an extra pack, tossing it into the cart.

"Alright, one for you guys, one for us."

Nick watched her as she added the donuts to the cart, then turned back to the camera.

"Okay, so tonight, we’re going to make pasta with sauce-"

"I want Mac N Cheese." Chris interrupted from behind the camera, speaking over him.

At the exact same time, Y/N also talked, turning to them from a shelf full of cookies that she adored.

"If you’re having pasta, I’m having dinner with you again."

Nick stopped mid-sentence, looking between them with exaggerated annoyance.

"Alright, listen." He said, holding up a hand to stop any further interruptions. "We can get mac n cheese to eat tomorrow..." He compromised. "And you both can stay with us tonight." He added, looking at Nate and Y/N. "Deal?"

Y/N beamed, her earlier sadness momentarily forgotten.

"Deal." She said, happily observing Matt grabbing a box of Mac N Cheese from the nearby shelf and placing it in the cart.

Chris turned the camera toward her with a grin.

"The way she’s acting like this is some grand negotiation is crazy."

"Because it is!" Y/N replied, laughing as she moved to stand beside Nate again.

"Y/N’s just excited to spend more time with us." Nathan slid an arm around her waist, pressing a light kiss to her temple.

"She loves us too much." Matt teased, earning an eye roll from his sister.

"Can’t argue with that." Y/N shot back with a grin.

Nick resumed his walk, pulling the cart and making his way to the front of the group as they approached the refrigerated section. Without a word, he reached for the milk, sliding two cartons into the cart Matt was pushing.

"Milk’s in." He announced to no one in particular, already walking again, pulling the cart with him this time.

The others followed behind, their laughter and chatter echoing softly.

As they passed the hygiene products aisle, Matt - who was looking around while talking to Y/N and Chris - slowed his pace, his mischievous grin already forming as he placed his hands heavily on Nate’s shoulders.

"Hey, shouldn’t you grab some condoms, Nate?" His voice carried just enough volume to catch the attention of the rest of the group, quickly bursting into exaggerated laughter, reacting as if he was the funniest person in the world.

Nate froze mid-step, his face going red as a chuckle immediately erupted from his throat.

"Bro, what?" He choked out, his tone both incredulous and amused.

Y/N, walking beside Chris, immediately rolled her eyes, clearly used to Matt’s way. But instead of letting the comment slide, she crossed her arms and tilted her head with a sly smirk.

"Nah, we don’t need them anymore." She quipped, her tone light as if she was talking about the weather, keeping walking.

The air froze for a split second. Matt’s jaw dropped, Chris nearly dropped the camera, and Nick snapped his head around so fast it was a miracle he didn’t break his neck.

"Wait, what?" Nick blurted, his voice high-pitched and absolutely panicked as his wide eyes locked on Y/N.

Nate froze, blinking in confusion before looking at Y/N with a gaze that screamed 'you didn’t just say that', noticing the playful glint in her eye and the way she was trying not to laugh.

Matt, however, didn’t.

"Excuse me?" He shouted, his voice filled with a mixture of horror and disbelief. "You’re kidding, right? You’re kidding!" He gestured wildly between the couple, his eyes going from them to the camera in Chris's hands and back, clearly unsure if he wanted them to keep filming or put the camera down and probably faint.

Y/N, unable to keep a straight face anymore, burst out laughing, doubling over as she clung to Nate’s arm for support.

"Oh my God, you should see your faces!" She wheezed, her shoulders shaking as tears of laughter formed in her eyes. "I'm not pregnant. We're safe. It was a joke, Matt! A joke!"

Nick groaned, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation.

"You are the worst." He muttered, though his lips twitched like he was fighting back a smile, shaking his head while returning his walk.

Chris exhaled a long, dramatic breath, trying to steady the camera above his trembling fingers.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked, his voice still tinged with lingering panic. "I almost had a heart attack, you know?"

Nate chuckled, nodding his head as he looked down at Y/N, who was still laughing.

"You’re trouble." He teased, his tone soft and affectionate, kissing her temple softly before nuzzling her hair, exhaling the fresh scent of shampoo from their shower earlier. "Pure trouble."

Matt finally straightened up, pinching his nose bridge with his fingers.

"You're not my favorite sibling anymore after that." He affirmed, shaking his head.

Still giggling, Y/N waved her hand dismissively.

"You’ll get over it." She said, sealing her lips with Nate's for only a second before walking toward Nick, leaving the others behind.

"Anyone want juice?" Nick asked over his shoulder, his attention already shifting to the brightly colored juice aisle.

"Lemonade!" Matt called out immediately, forgetting about what had happened not even 5 minutes before, spinning on his heel and heading down the aisle without waiting for anyone to answer.

He grabbed a single plastic bottle of juice, walking just some steps closer to the group before placing the lemonade bottle in front of his covered crotch.

"Come drink it, Nate." He said, wiggling his eyebrows and holding the juice suggestively.

Nate let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head as he looked at Matt and then at Chris, who was with a disbelief look on his eyes.

"You’re sick." He said, his tone dripping with mock disgust, waving his hand at the triplet.

Y/N, who had just turned back to pick some apple juice for her, froze for a second, her eyes wide.

"Oh my fuck, Matt." She muttered, running a hand through her face before glancing at the camera. "Well, my boyfriend’s boyfriend, everyone." She said dryly, throwing a pointed look at Nate, who was still laughing.

Nick, who was now at the cart putting some strawberry yogurt in, looked up sharply at Matt's figure approaching with the juice still in front of his dick, his face stern.

"Matt, put it down." He said, his tone that of an annoyed parent dealing with a disobedient child.

Matt laughed harder, but he did as Nick said, setting the lemonade by the yogurt's side with an exaggerated sigh.

"You guys ruin all my fun." He muttered, though the smile never left his face.

Their next stop was the cereal aisle, where Chris immediately zeroed in on a brightly colored box of cereal.

"Fruit Loops Rainbow Sherbet Scoops." He read aloud, holding up the box so everyone could see. His tone was a mix of awe and disbelief while reading the small descriptions.

Nick wrinkled his nose, looking at it over Chris's shoulder for a second without stopping walking.

"That looks horrible-" He began, but Y/N cut him off, her face lighting up as she stepped forward.

"No, shut up, it looks cute! I want it." She said, her excitement clear as she moved to Chris’s side to get a closer look at the box. She tilted her head as she read the description over his shoulder. "Wait, it cools your mouth? That sounds so cool."

Chris grinned, passing her the box.

"Alright, it’s yours, kid." He said, handing it over like it was a prized trophy.

Nick sighed, though there was a hint of fondness in his expression, his eyes meeting Nate’s, who just shrugged as if to say 'there's nothing you can do besides accepting it, bro, I've tried'.

"Fine, put it in the cart." He said, waving a hand dismissively. "But don’t complain to me if it tastes like toothpaste."

"It won’t." She said, grinning.

After that, he group made their way to the pasta aisle. The shelves were stacked high with every type of pasta imaginable, from spaghetti to bowties, and Nick was quick to reach for a box of rigatoni and a jar of vodka sauce, stopping in front of the cart and holding them up for everyone to see.

"Okay, rigatoni and vodka sauce." He said, looking around the group. "Do you guys want to get a different pasta shape, or is this good-"

Before he could finish, Matt’s voice rang out from behind the camera in an exaggerated baby tone.

"I want ice cream sauce..." His voice was so ridiculous that it was impossible not to laugh, and he immediately broke into a fit of giggles at his own joke.

Nick’s expression didn’t falter, his face a mask of pure boredom as he glanced directly at Matt.

"You’re so funny, Matt." He deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"I’m kidding." Matt said between chuckles, zooming the camera in on Nick’s annoyed face before panning back to the group.

Nick turned back to Y/N and Nate, ignoring Matt entirely.

"So, are you guys okay with this for dinner?" He asked, holding up the rigatoni and sauce again.

Y/N, standing close to Nate, was quick to respond.

"Nick, you know I love vodka sauce." She said, shrugging as she placed a hand on her hip. "You could’ve picked any pasta, and I’d still be happy."

Nate nodded in agreement, his hand resting lightly on Y/N’s lower back.

"Yeah, I fuck with it." He said with a grin, his casual tone earning a laugh from Chris behind the camera.

"Perfect." Nick said, tossing the items back into the cart. "Dinner settled. Let’s find a cashier and get out of here."

The group began walking toward the front of the store, their chatter light and easy as they weaved through the same aisles. They were almost at the registers when Matt, who had been walking beside Nick, suddenly froze mid-step.

"No way!" His tone was incredulous and loud. The abruptness of his reaction startled Nick, who jumped slightly, his hand tightening on the cart.

"What the hell, Matt?" Nick snapped, his tone exasperated as he turned to his brother.

But Matt wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were wide with excitement, and he bolted toward a nearby fridge like a kid in a candy store.

"Y/N, oh my God!" He shouted over his shoulder, his voice filled with pure glee. "Look at this!"

Y/N, initially confused by his sudden outburst, followed his gaze. When her eyes landed on what Matt was pointing at, her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"No way!" She gasped, her excitement matching Matt’s as she grabbed Nate’s arm. "Babe, it’s apple cider!" She exclaimed, giving him a light shove before sprinting toward Matt.

"I can see that, angel." Nate's soft voice echoed from behind her, a laugh escaping his lips.

Matt was already standing by the fridge, practically bouncing on his heels as he pointed to the neatly lined rows of apple cider bottles.

"I thought it wasn’t the time of year anymore!" He said, his voice still filled with amazement as he grabbed one of the bottles and held it up for Y/N to see.

Y/N joined him, her eyes wide with joy as she stared at the cider.

"This is amazing!" She declared dramatically, picking up a bottle of her own and cradling it like it was a prized possession.

"Kids are losing it over apple cider." Chris said through his laughter, zooming in on Y/N and Matt, who looked like they’d just won the lottery.

Nick, who had finally caught up with the group, shook his head in disbelief.

"You two are ridiculous." He muttered, though there was a fondness in his voice as he watched his siblings freak out over something as simple as apple cider. "Are you actually going to drink that?"

"Absolutely." Y/N said without hesitation, handing the bottle to Nate, who rolled his eyes lovingly, taking it from her before putting it in the cart.

"We can come back after LA to get more, yeah?" He said softly, his voice low enough that only she could hear as his hand found her hair, brushing a strand out of her eyes.

Y/N opened the biggest smile, her eyes meeting his full of love.

"That would be awesome!" She exclaimed, making him laugh, nodding softly.

"Alright, let’s pay and go before these two decide to move into the store." Nick said, steering the cart toward the registers.

As they made their way to the checkout, Matt turned to Y/N.

"I call first sip when we open it."

"Not a chance." Y/N shot back, crossing her arms while frowning deeply.

"Over an apple cider." Chris said sarcastically, shaking his head as he filmed them bickering all the way to the registers.

© vanteguccir

[lancestrollsgf]

# THE BETTER NORRIS ! F1 GRID X ADOPTED NORRIS! READER, SMAU

introduction master list request list

part one, part two, part three.

# WARNINGS : cussing, i know nothing about the parents of lando so everything is fictional. lowercase intended, spelling errors (english isn’t my first language). lando's actual siblings are not really mentioned in this since I don't know anything about them. reader hitchhikes. an excessive usage of emojis such as “🙄, 🤫, 😝, 😭,😊,😉”. reader is 17 in the story btw (the age isn’t really mentioned so i guess you can imagine it however you want)

# SUMMARY: the adventures of the formula one driver lando norris adopted sibling, y/n norris.

# AUTHORS NOTE : this is my first smau (that i’m posting). there’s no meaning behind this story i really just wanted to make it for fun. backstory for how reader (you) were adopted is not explained. reader is kinda of portrayed as bisexual, sorry only like three times. pretend lando is a soccer/football fan (and likes messi). some of these scenarios/comments actually happened to face claim.

# FACE CLAIM : marian guevara/theatomicbabe on instagram (i love her so much)

VOTE FOR FUTURE LOVE INTEREST (now closed)

— instagram !

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc and 529,289 others

thebetternorris visited jamaica once again, spent every moment with the children and made memorial memories that i will remember forever, thank you @junglenonprofit for making this event happen🤍🇯🇲

landonorris: very cool hair style in the last photo is that your new look?

-> thebetternorris: maybe it is. you should also try finding a new look instead of looking like a washed up mop you have on your head that you call curls

-> carlossainz55: ay no, she got you with that one 🤣

-> landonorris: I WAS LITERALLY BEING NICE. WHY DID YOU COME AFTER ME??

landonorris: since when did you go to jamaica???

-> thebetternorris: since two days ago, man keep up with the times 🙄🙄

maxverstappen1: y/n does your mom know you’re in jamaica??

-> thebetternorris: no.. don’t tell her, she doesn’t have instagram 🤫

-> ciscawauman: y/n norris.. you said you were with friends for this week?

-> thebetternorris: hi mama 😊😊 im with bsf/n. but im on my way home! (max emilian verstappen this is all your fault, im coming after you)

-> maxverstappen1: sorry y/n.. hi mrs.wauman!

-> ciscawauman: hello max 👋 y/n please don’t threaten someone through comments

username1: y/n’s interactions with the drivers will never fail to make me laugh

username2: i love you y/n!!!

username3: will forever appreciate how y/n is not pr trained. her posts and comments heal me

-> mclaren: that will change very soon, sadly.

-> thebetternorris: @.mclaren YOU WILL NEVER CATCH ME ALIVE

lewishamilton: good work, little norris, very proud of you, keep doing good in the world 🥰

-> thebetternorris: I LOVE U SIR LEWIS

-> lewishamilton: love you too

-> landonorris: lewis please ignore her

username4: y/n’s reply to lewis’ comment is so real

username5: the third picture is so cute 🥹

view all 5201 comments

april 21, 2024 (dates are for the post above ^^)

liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, and 661,201 others

thebetternorris 🍸🪩🌃🍾

landonorris: who is that guy in the last photo?

-> thebetternorris: i have no clue, i js chose it because i looked good. i think he was trynna lure me into a cult?

-> landonorris: WHAT?? CALL ME RIGHT NOW

username4: you can always rely on y/n to never disappoints with her outfits 😫😫

oscarpiastri: how come you never invite me to party out with you?

-> thebetternorris: because you steal all the girls and guys too 😕😕 also you’re too old

-> oscarpiastri: i’m barely 23??? and thank you or sorry idk man, you confuse me

username6: y/n’s life is so entertaining

username7: i wanna be like y/n when i grow up

username8: my goal in life is to party like y/n does

view all 6229 comments

april 25, 2024

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc, girl3, and 786,929 others

thebetternorris no caption 🌞 👤: @.girl1 @.girl2 @.girl3 @.guy1

girl3: i had so much fun y/n see you soonnn

-> thebetternorris: me too! see you soon 😊😊

-> landonorris: y/n what is this???? what do you mean see you soon???? ANSWER MY CALLS Y/N

landonorris: who are those girls and guy on the last two photos???

-> charles_leclerc: leave your sister alone, as if you weren’t doing crazy stuff this week either 🤣

-> thebetternorris: @.landonorris they have names you know, you shouldn’t just call them “those girls”. i thought mama taught you better. 🤨🤨

-> landonorris: @thebetternorris sorry..?? but you didn’t answer the question.. also please @charles_leclerc don’t expose my doings of this week onto the internet

username9: you’re the loml in a another universe 😔

-> thebetternorris: why not this universe 😉

-> danielriccardo: damn little norris has more rizz than her brother 😭 @.landonorris

-> landonorris: why do i keep getting attacked 💔

username10: having the caption as “no caption” is having a caption

-> thebetternorris: 🤓🤓

username11: does y/n like girls cause that third photo is a bit suspicious LMAOO

-> username12: i think so, especially because of her response to oscar's comment on her previous post

view all 3620 comments

april 27, 2024

liked by landonorris, newyorkcityfc, and 887,292 others

thebetternorris thank you @.newyorkcityfc for inviting me to document the New York City fc vs charlotte game. visiting the new york city fc game made me want to try out soccer, turns out it might be time that i change career path 😝

landonorris: you’re in new york??? since when. and @.newyorkcityfc just invited you???

-> thebetternorris: since two days ago and is that an insult?

-> landonorris: who are you staying with?

-> thebetternorris: man stop asking so many questions 😕

charles_leclerc: weren’t you in jamaica like less than a week ago?

-> thebetternorris: weren’t you in china less than a week ago? why you judging where im traveling, i don’t judge you. you literally fly somewhere each week for your go karting 🙄

username13: y/n’s post are so unpredictable each time 😭 she was just helping children in jamaica and is now at a soccer game in nyc

-> thebetternorris: gotta keep y’all on your toes 🤫

-> username13: toes 🤤

-> thebetternorris: NAH GTFO LMAOOO

username14: y/n becoming a soccer player when??

username15: all of the norris siblings are so talented

view all 2928 comments

april 29, 2024

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1, and 997,929 others

thebetternorris miami grand prix day 2 & day 3 🤙. found out some guy with the same last name as me won? idk but congrats @.landonorris

username16: dang her brother just won his first race and she doesn’t even make a post about him?

-> username17: for real, like everyone congratulated him right after but not even his own sister

-> username18: @.username17 well she is adopted 🤣

username19: it was so fun meeting you y/n!!!

-> thebetternorris: thank you pretty

username20: thank you for the water y/n 😊😊

-> thebetternorris: of courseee, had to give you that rich voss water ����😉

-> landonorris: you gave a stranger water?? when?? you were with me the whole time???

-> thebetternorris: hey man you gotta start appreciating the people that support you, he was a worker ✊🏼

username21: hey i was the guy you were signing “way 2 sexy” with lolll

-> thebetternorris: AYY MY MANNN, i posted u on tiktok look at it 😉

jamescharles: omg i met you!! you’re gorgeous 🥰

-> thebetternorris: JAMESS HEYYY, i put you in my tiktok 🤙🤙

username22: omg you hugged me, remember i picked you up 😭

-> thebetternorris: I REMEMBER YOUU, that hug was great thanks man i needed that 🫵🏼 posted a full tiktok abt you

username23: your first outfit is so art teacher-coded

-> thebetternorris: is this a compliment or?? thank you though 😭

-> landonorris: @.username23 THATS WHAT I TOLD HER

landonorris: the number of people commenting that they met you is insane. @thebetternorris

-> thebetternorris: what can i say i'm js that guy 😼

view all 6282 comments

may 5, 2024

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1, and 1,000,010 others

thebetternorris congrats to @.landonorris for winning your first grand prix, in america 🦅🇺🇸, i’m so so proud! turns out having an adopted sister isn't so bad for your racing career after all 😜. btw to everyone in the comments section getting their gears all tangled because I didn't congratulate him sooner, chill out. I was busy practicing my own racing skills. yk, just in case he needs some real competition 😴 sorry @.maxverstappen1. i’m so proud of you, i'm forever grateful that i got picked from the “bin” i was found according to you 18 years ago, and it resulted in me being your sister :) 👤: @.landonorris @.oscarpiastri

landonorris: thank you for the congratulations, but did you really have to use those photos of me?

-> thebetternorris: damn you got your congrats just be grateful man 🙄

oscarpiastri: so this is why lando was crying, btw thank you for using a good photo of me

-> thebetternorris: OSCAR ARE YOU SERIOUS. @.landonorris YOU CRIED?? LMFAOOO

-> landonorris: @.oscarpiastri YOU SNITCH.

maxverstappen1: thank goodness you’re not a f1 driver, you’d be some real competition. we need to try go karting together soon 👍🏼

-> thebetternorris: i know this is a joke but thank u max 😔 we should go karting soon so i can beat you at it 😈

-> username24: i would pay to see y/n kart against max

username25: i don't even know anything about f1 but this made me tear up

username26: y/n getting hate for not congratulating her brother is insane

username27: people getting mad about y/n not congratulating lando as if they know anything about them

username28: y/n was one of the first people to congratulate lando, yall are hating a literal kid for smth so little 💀

view all 4593 comments

may 7, 2024

liked by landonorris, leomessi, 1,102,920 others

thebetternorris pov that one unemployed friend on a tuesday (saturday). thank you @.mles for the invite and for letting me meet the goat @.leomessi 🩷🩷

joyboy: finally found someone that is everywhere like me

-> thebetternorris: paris fashion week next 😉?

-> landonorris: NO???

username29: IS THAT LIONEL MESSI??

-> thebetternorris: that’s literally oomf what are you talking abt 🙄

ueername30: y/n is literally everywhere but home

username31: y/n's smile 🥰🥰

carlossainz55: Real Madrid CF>>>

-> thebetternorris: carlos get outta here 😕😕

username32: te encantaría ser un hombre nunca lo vas a ser y eso es lo que te jode (you’d love to be a man and you’ll never be a man and that fucks with you)

-> thebetternorris: @.username32 me encanta ser mujerrr (i love being a womann)

-> username32: @thebetternorris pues lo disimulas fatal (well you hide it well)

-> thebetternorris: @.username32 que es ser mujer para ti? (what is being a woman to you?)

-> username33: SHE GOT YOU THERE 💀@.username32

landonorris: you meeting messi before me insane 😔

leomessi: gracias por tu apoyo 🩷 que chistoso la caption 🤣 (thank you for your support 🩷 how funny the caption is)

-> landonorris: oh you’re joking.

-> thebetternorris: @.leomessi 🩷🩷 (i’m so normal abt this..)

username33: i wanna be y/n's camera man

username34: who is taking these pictures of y/n

-> thebetternorris: for this game, some guy named jarvis took these photos idk but we're homies now

-> landonorris: WHO IS JARVIS???

view all 12920 comments

june 5, 2024

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1, and 1,293,021 others

thebetternorris i look sunburnt, swear it's just the lights 👤: bustarhymes

bustarhymes: it was nice meeting you little norris

-> thebetternorris: it was great meeting you man, your music is great

danielriccardo: mate i think you need a new cameraman because most of these are blurry...

-> thebetternorris: my pictures look better than yours, you're letting your jealousy show

landonorris: nah bro how did you meet busta rhymes before me.

-> thebetternorris: because i'm better than you

username35: you dead ass look like han jisung omg

-> thebetternorris: thank you, idk who that is but i get that a lot 😭

username34: y/n looks so much like young miko it’s insane

charles_leclerc: you look scary in the first picture

-> thebetternorris: i saw your paparazzi picture from the beach, your shoulders look scarier, learn how to put on sunscreen 😬

username36: y/n’s style is so 🥰

view all 5934 comments

june 30, 2024

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc, and 1,304,393 others

thebetternorris back at the big apple 🍎🏙️

itsyoungmiko: hi twinn

-> thebetternorris: hey twin, we should meet up soon

lancestroll: how do you travel everywhere?

-> thebetternorris: walking and hitchhiking

-> lancestroll: hitchhiking? be safe norris

-> thebetternorris: yea hitchhiking. not all of us have private planes that our daddy pays for🙄(just joking, love u @lawerence_stroll pls give me money)

-> lancestroll: your brother literally flies private. please don't ask my dad for money 😭

lawerence_stroll: hello y/n, how much money do you need?

-> thebetternorris: HI MR.STROLL, thank you for the offer I was just joking, you're so nice. see you at the next gp 😊

username37: who is that on the last photo?

-> thebetternorris: THATS ME. LMFAOOO

username38: ain't no way you're in new york city rn, you were in florida a day ago.

-> thebetternorris: that's what hitchhiking is for, duh

-> username38: you dead ass hitchhiked a ride from florida to new york city. that's like 20 hours...

-> thebetternorris: “that’s like 20 hours…” ☝🏼🤓

username39: are you gonna go to the british gp?

-> thebetternorris: yes sadly 💔 lando is forcing me against my will 😕

oscarpiastri: don’t forget my keychain pls

-> thebetternorris: ofc man ill give it to you soon 🤙

zhouguanyu24: very cool pictures y/n and cool outfit

-> thebetternorris: HI ZHOUUU, i got you something for you and sweet corn 🥰 thank u for the compliment 😙

username40: future mom lore is gonna go insane

-> thebetternorris: 😈

landonorris: y/n are you ever not in the US. come back home..

-> thebetternorris: USA 🇺🇸🦅🦅

-> logansargeant: USA USA 🇺🇸🦅🦅

-> landonorris: @.logansargeant logan please don’t lure my sister into your cult that you americans have

-> logansargeant: @.landonorris we don’t have a cult in america 😭 well… don’t quote me on that 😔

-> username41: “you americans” is crazy 💀

view all 4402 comments

july 1, 2024

comment to be tagged in the next part 🤫🤫

[cookiepao]

Hi how are you, can you make a alhaitham ×sister child female reader.?

Yes I can!!

I kinda went overboard with this one but it’s so cute 🥹

Alhaitham definitely helps reader study

I’d imagine him with a reckless younger sis

And here’s some extra sht

The others also babysit her but cyno and kaveh are very reluctant to hand her back

[cameronluvr]

BRUISES — toxic!rafe cameron x routledge!reader ; john b x sister!reader

summary: your brother sees a bruise on your neck, but it isn’t a hickey. he questions you about it, but it quickly turns into an argument when he discovers exactly who hurt you.

warnings: mostly john b x reader, mentions of choking, DV, toxic/abusive relationship, not much rafe x reader directly, angst, reader and john b arguing, name calling, mentions of jealous!rafe, toxic!rafe — lmk if i missed any! ✮

: ̗̀➛ 𝓶𝔂 𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

you sneak into the chateau at 10 minutes past midnight, only to be greeted by your brother who had turned the light on which made you jump. “where have you been?” john b asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“out.” you say, looking down to hide your face from him. you had been crying, but he’d already noticed your red-stained eyes. “what’s wrong?” he asks, frowning with concern.

“nothing, just don’t worry about it.” you answer with your head still down as you attempt to walk straight past him, but he stops you, lightly grabbing your forearm to turn you back around.

“what, john b?!” you snap at him, yanking your arm out of his grip. you don’t mean to be mad at him, but you just want to be left alone after a stressful day. “what’s the matter with you? why are you acting like this?” he raises his voice at you, wanting to know why you’ve turned into a bitch all of a sudden.

“i’m not!— oh my god. just leave me alone!” you yell at him, turning around to rush to your room, slamming the door shut after you. john b stands in the same spot as before, loudly sighing at you.

he decided to leave you alone for the night. even though you’re older than him, he still liked to look out for you ever since your dad went missing. he went to his room to go to sleep, hopefully you’ll talk to him in the morning.

༉‧₊˚. the next morning arrived faster than you’d hoped for. you cried all night feeling guilty for the way you spoke to your little brother, but he really has no idea of the situation you’re in.

you got out of bed and slowly exited your room, seeing john b up and awake already, sitting on the couch and watching tv. “hey…” you say, walking past to head to the kitchen. “hey…” he responds, just as awkwardly as you did.

you open the fridge and grab a snack, before turning to look at your brother. “uh— i’m sorry for last night. i didn’t mean to act like that… i just…” you explain, closing the fridge door and sighing. “you’re good. it’s fine. y’wanna talk about it?” he asks, switching the tv off to divert his full attention to you.

“uh, i don’t know…” you hesitate, knowing you’re hiding a kind of huge secret from him. you had been secretly seeing his biggest enemy, rafe cameron, behind his back. you knew how badly he tormented your brother and his friends, but for some reason, he was different around you.

you hadn’t personally dealt with rafe for yourself, until now. he saw you at the beach a few weeks ago, and thought to himself about how pretty you looked in your bikini, how tanned you were, how contagious your laugh was… and that was it. he introduced himself to you as a completely different person, despite having heard all the stories about him from your brother and the rest of the pogues, including rafe’s own sister.

rafe was kind, sweet and funny at first. ever since you saw him after that, your heart skipped a beat. he was so handsome, you liked him so much, but you couldn’t do this to your little brother. your brother who had been threatened by rafe, bullied, tormented, fought with…

you knew you had to keep it a secret, because once rafe cameron claims somebody, he really claims them. and this time around, it’s you. a pogue, a routledge, someone nobody would ever expect to be rafe’s.

— “cmon, i’m here for you. you know that, sis. what’s goin’ on?” he asks, patting the space on the couch next to him, motioning for you to come sit. you sigh, knowing you won’t be able to tell him without him getting upset that you’re dating rafe.

you know that no matter how or when you tell him, he’ll be angry. after thinking for a second, you walk over to him and sit down. he frowns at you as you sit down, noticing something on your neck. “what’s that?” he asks, putting his hand on your face to look, but you push him away. “nothing” you shake your head, trying to brush it off.

“is that?— that’s not a hickey,” he looks into your eyes with nothing but concern. “just— leave it.” you look at him with widened eyes to show that you were serious. “y/n, what the hell happened? who did that?” he asks, raising his voice in frustration now.

“nobody, john b, god!” you yell as you stand up again, “don’t walk away from me, and don’t tell me to leave you alone either like you did last night. you’re acting weird lately, what are you hiding?” john b stands up too, trying to get an answer out of you. your brother is genuinely concerned for you.

you sigh, turning around to face him head on. “john b, i— ugh.” you begin to say, but cut yourself off, not knowing where to even start. “what?” he asks in annoyance, needing to know who hurt his sister.

“who?” he asks one last time.

“… rafe,” you hesitate, looking around the room to avoid seeing your brother’s reaction. “rafe?” he asks, not sure if he heard you correctly. “…yes” you nod, looking at him now with teary eyes.

“rafe did that?” he asks, getting visibly mad now. he reaches his hand over, forcing your head up by your jaw but not enough to hurt you. he looks at your neck again, before you push him away, again.

“why the fuck did he do that?” he asks, huffing through his nose with anger, looking back and forth into both of your eyes, trying not to go insane. “it’s, uh— we were… having an argument last night.” you slowly explain the story. “an argument? about what?” he asks, not seeing a reason for you to even speak to rafe in the first place, let alone fight with him…

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ᴸᴬˢᵀ ᴺᴵᴳᴴᵀ .𖥔 ݁ ˖

“i saw the way you were laughing and giggling with topper, don’t lie to me!” rafe argued, turning around to point in your face. he had walked away from you and the rest of the kooks, causing you to follow him.

“i wasn’t flirting with him, oh my god!” you argue back. rafe had somehow come to the conclusion that you were flirting with his best friend, even though you were just having a conversation. yeah, maybe you did laugh once or twice, but since when aren’t you allowed to laugh?

“yeah, sure, whatever you say.” he scrunches his face up, sarcastically nodding at you. “you are so strange, rafe. now you’re insecure about me talking to your friends? what, do you want me to just sit in the corner by myself?” you raise your voice, however he doesn’t like your attitude.

“don’t raise your voice at me.” he demands with a threatening look on his face. “jesus, rafe, we aren’t even together! who cares if i was talking to other guys, it’s not like you want me to be your girlfriend” you shrug, trying to act smart but he reached over and grabbed you by your throat, shoving you into the wall.

“oh, so you were flirting with him?” he asks, choking you to the point where you can’t breathe. you try to say no, but nothing comes out, so you shake your head drastically.

“you sure? cause i’m almost certain you just admitted you were.” he tuts, acting so casual whilst he’s got you pinned against the wall. his grip on your neck was intense, it felt like all of his fingers were slowly digging into your neck.

…

“nothing. i just… i don’t even remember.” you lie to your brother, shaking your head. “y/n, don’t play games with me. why did rafe choke you? those are clearly finger—” john b says, leaning down to look at your neck again, “stop!” you cut him off. “look. i don’t wanna’ talk about it. we were just fighting over something petty. it doesn’t even matter.” you shake your head.

“it does matter when it’s turned you into a whole different person,” john b sighs, making you sigh too. “are you seeing him?” the dreaded question comes. “what? no…” you give him a look of disgust. “are you sure? because pope told me he saw you with rafe at the golf course like… what, 2 days ago?” your brother catches you out.

“… i wasn’t with him. i just— saw him there.” you try to make an excuse.

“oh really? since when do you normally decide to hang out at the golf course, where all the kooks are?” he asks, raising his eyebrows at the word kooks, reminding you of where you came from, and that you were a pogue. not a kook.

“does this whole kook vs pogue shit even matter? i mean, seriously, how long is it gonna’ last?” you raise your voice, making him shake his head at how much you truly have changed.

“y/n, you were the one who always hated the kooks. you hated rafe, topper, kelce… and now you’re on their side? now you suddenly wanna drop the whole kook vs pogues thing, too? you are definitely fucking rafe. no wonder you’ve turned into such a miserable bitch lately.” your brothers words hurt you deeply, but he was right.

he shakes his head at you, giving you a look of betrayal. he was upset, and it was all your fault. “where are you going?” you ask as he walks away, grabbing the keys to the twinkie.

“to find rafe” he says, before walking out and slamming the door shut after him. you sit and sob for a minute, realizing you might have just ruined your entire relationship with your brother. as his big sister, he trusted you, but for you to go behind his back and chase the one person he despised, it hurt his feelings. but you are still his sister, and nobody hurts his sister.

“J. HUNTING DOWN RAFE. U COMING WITH?„

john b sent a text to jj, who answered almost immediately.

“HELL YEA MAN„

jj doesn’t even know what rafe did this time, but he’s always down to beat him up.

this was angstyyyyyy 😩 as u can see, i love to write arguments and toxic stuff lol. hope ya enjoy pretties ᥫ᭡ ᥫ᭡ WILL DEF BE WRITING A PART 2 TO THIS ; )))

@cameronluvr

[ericshoney]

Driskill Hotel ~ Brothers!Sturniolo Triplets

Summary: You join your brothers in their trip with Sam and Colby

Warnings: swearing, ghost hunting, nicknames, protective!triplets, targeting, spirits, crying, slight angst, fluff

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were tagging along with Nick, Matt and Chris with their trip to Texas to collab with Sam and Colby at the Driskill hotel. You've watched Sam and Colby for years now so your brothers just had to bring you along.

When you arrived and got the introductions out of the way, the guys started to film. You looked around taking in the place.

"What's up guys, today we have some special guests, you've been requesting they join for a video for months!" Colby began.

"It's the Sturniolo triplets and their sister, Y/n!" Sam cheered.

The guys cheered and clapped as you giggled. Sam and Colby started asking different questions and how much you all believed.

"I'd say nine." You answered.

"I'm an eight." Matt said.

"Ten, even though nothing has happened to me for it to be a ten." Nick said.

"I'd say seven." Chris said.

The guys nodded as you all started to explore with the guides for a while, taking in the whole hotel and listening to their stories and experiences. It took a few hours and you laughed at the many jokes the guys made. Nick, Matt and Chris kept an eye on you at all times, making sure you were okay.

"Now it's investigation time!" Colby cheered once you went through the tour and the guides left you.

"First off, let's go talk to Samantha." Sam said.

You followed the guys to the old painting of the young girl. You looked at it seeing it was turning green and remembered the guide said it was the only one turning green out of the many paintings in the whole hotel.

"Now we're all going to offer a piece of candy to Samantha, but one of us is going to say Ruth." Colby instructed.

It was chosen that Matt would call on Ruth whilst the rest of you called on Samantha. You all placed the candy in front of the painting and then went to the stairs where Samantha died.

"You feeling okay, bub?" Chris asked you quietly.

"Yeah, just taking it all in." You answered.

He nodded, wrapping an arm around your shoulder as Sam set up the flashlights on the stairs. You then saw something out of the corner of your eye, making you look back, which caught your brothers' attention.

"What?" They all called at the same time, shocking Sam and Colby.

"I...I swear I saw something go by." You answered.

"Can we just talk about how you all said that at the exact same time!" Colby exclaimed, making you all laugh.

"What did you see?" Matt asked.

"It was a shadow....but it didn't look tall." You replied.

"Samantha." Sam said.

Just then, one of the flashlights went off, making you all gasp. Chris who was still next to you, pulled you closer to his side. You watched as the guys asked various questions, getting a few answers. You then placed your hands in the pockets of your sweats and gasped.

"Oh my fucking God." You called out.

"What!" Nick shouted.

"I have a piece of candy in my pocket." You responded, holding some of the candy that Sam had in his backpack.

"You only took one piece and offered it to Samantha." Chris mentioned, making you nod.

"Yeah you saw me and it's on camera. How did this get here?" You asked.

"Let's go check and see how many pieces are left at the painting." Sam suggested.

You all nodded and headed back to the painting. You saw there was five pieces, where there should have been six.

"The piece I left is gone." You said.

"That's fucking crazy." Nick said.

You all took a short break, trying to gather some thoughts, before heading to the Maximillian room. The one Empress Carlota was supposed to be in. As soon as you walked in, you started getting a headache and felt dizzy. Nick, who was behind you, noticed you grab your head.

"Hey kid, you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"I just started feeling really dizzy and got a headache." You answered.

"First Samantha and now here, you think it's Carlota?" Matt asked.

"You seem to be drawing them in." Sam mentioned.

You took a deep breath and watched them set some equipment up. You then had a crazy idea after seeing them set the EMF rope up.

"What if I do the estes method in here?" You suggested.

"No!" Nick, Matt and Chris all shouted at the same time.

"You said you felt dizzy, we're not having our sixteen year old sister get attached to a spirit!" Nick added.

"We don't want to cause any family drama, but it could be a good idea. You guys can try it later in room 525, but Y/n might get something more since she's a girl." Colby replied.

After a bit of convincing, you sat on the floor in the middle of the EMF rope, blindfolded and with the headphones on. You sat for a few minutes with nothing.

"I don't know why I feel so nervous." Chris said, laughing to try and cover his fear.

"She's your sister, it seems more scary when it's someone you love." Sam responded.

Suddenly, you started saying some stuff. It was a few random words at first, the guys tried to piece together, but then you said something that scared them.

"Her."

"Her? As in Y/n?" Colby asked.

"Yes."

"What about her?" Nick asked.

"Want."

"You can't have our sister." Chris said.

"Are we talking with Carlota?" Sam questioned.

"Threat."

"Is Y/n a threat?" Matt asked.

You didn't say anything for a minute, giving the guys a chance to think and ask some more questions. But they then noticed you weren't responding and your breathing started picking up.

"Get her out!" Matt shouted.

Colby rushed over and tapped your shoulder gently, helping you remove the headphones. You threw the blindfold off and looked at the guys, your breathing still faster than normal and tears in your eyes.

"Hey, hey your okay. We're here." Nick said, hugging you tightly.

Sam placed the camera down, knowing you needed to stop for a bit. Matt rubbed your back as you clung to Nick, Chris standing besides him, all their faces showed worry. None of them said anything as you calmed down.

When you had calmed down, your breathing back to normal, you all went and sat in the lobby, feeling safer in that area.

"Can you remember anything you said?" Matt asked you.

"A few words like her and want, but it was like someone was squeezing my head tightly. It was static and my body started feeling light till Colby touched my shoulder." You answered.

"Did....Did you get it on camera?" You then asked.

"A bit, but we can cut it out." Sam answered.

"If that's okay." You replied, making him nod.

"Of course, whatever makes you feel more comfortable." Colby replied.

You gave them a small smile and knew that Nick, Matt and Chris would be watching you like a hawk for the rest of the investigation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist

@mattsfavbigtitties @lgbtq-girl @onelesslonelygirlbieber6 @riowritesitall

[tinylilacbun]

Hi, can you please write an imagine where Rafe ( before where he's hasn't killed anyone 💀) has a toddler sister (Rose is her mom) she is crying for her mom because she has a fever but Rafe takes care of her and then she clings on to him and he's very protective of her?

Thank you 🎀

Rafe is in his room, sitting on his bed with his back resting against the headboard as he scrolls on his phone mindlessly when his ears pick up the sound of you crying out from your room.

"Mommy-" You whine pitifully, a cough interrupting your call and you continue to cry.

The Cameron boy sighs, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed he pushes himself up, making his way to your room down the hallway, seeing the door slightly ajar.

Pushing it open he sees you sat up on your bed, rubbing at your eyes tiredly and your cheeks flushed red.

You have been running a fever the last few days, only laying in bed and being fed soup every day mostly by him or Rose.

"What's wrong, kid?" He asks as he sits down by your side, placing a hand on your forehead he hums at feeling how warm it still is.

Pouting up at him your bottom lip quivers, making grabby hands at him in a silent request for cuddles and he complies, laying down beside you he lets you crawl on top of him. "There...I got you."

You sniffle, clinging onto his shirt desperately. Seeing you in this state is hard for your brother, he's only used to your bubbly and overall happy personality that brightens everyone's mood the moment you enter the room.

Not to mention that Rafe can't stand to see you in any kind of pain, his big brother instincts flaring up the moment he notices that something's bothering you.

He rests his chin on top of your head, rubbing soothing circles on your back as you keep letting out little whimpers and whines from discomfort.

"I know, I know. You'll feel better soon." He whispers, glancing at all the medication on your nightstand. "Someone gave you your medicine today?"

You mumble something incoherently and Rafe chuckles a little at your stubbornness to take medicine. "S'icky..."

"Trust me, I know it does, but it's there to help you get healthy again, y'know." He explains, feeling you squirm in protest. "You wanna be able to play soon again, don't you? And go to the beach or to the country club with me, hm?"

You huff, your cheek pressed against his chest as you nod your head slowly.

"See, but we can't do that if you don't take them." He says, carefully sitting up he keeps an arm wrapped around your back while he reaches for the bottle of medicine, opening it and pouring some in the small plastic cup.

He pulls you back a little, holding the cup to your lips but you still keep them shut tightly. "A'ight, how about a little trick. Imma pinch your nose shut and I swear you won't taste it as much."

When you nod your head, giving him permission to do so he gently pinches your nose shut and smiles when you open your mouth, quickly swallowing the medicine, only scrunching your face when he lets go of your nose again.

"See, wasn't so bad, right?" He asks, placing the bottle back on the nightstand he grabs your sippy cup with juice instead and you instantly reach for it, taking some big sips. "Slow down, kid."

You do, your eyes are already feeling heavy again. Your small body exhausted from the fever. Rafe takes the sippy from you again and you reach out to grab your bunny and pacifier before snuggling back against his chest.

He places a kiss to the top of your head, pulling the covers over you and you let out a long sigh, completely content in your brother's arms.

"Get some rest, I'll be here when you wake up..." He whispers, smirking at hearing your soft snores.

Taglist

For everything:

@my-river-lilly @pauntedblacknails @fanfictioniseverything @devilslilbabysblog @buckymydarlingangel @hallecarey1 @daybreakwinter @loveshineslikethesky @wandaslittlewhore @vase-of-lilies @white-wolf1940 @simpingbutch @mischiefsemimanaged @alina02 @teddybearsgrr @doozywoozy @angelbabydoll28 @glxwingrxse @lilymurphy03 @veryvaughnny @lokigirlszendaya @youngstarfishdinosaur @little--baby--bear @minideathgoddess @rach2602 @gh0stgurl @flourishandblotts-inc @lovelyy-moonlight @yoruse

@mythixmagic @iris-xoxo-juhu @mylettterstoyou

For Rafe:

@chiaraanatra @chimindity @erikasurfer

[ellieslittleburrow]

Resuested by @outof-spite : was wondering if you could do a winchester bros & little sister! reader where theyve been arguing constantly lately, and reader is usually combative and always argues back but, this time shes just over the arguing so she just gives up trying to argue with them and kinda goes mute?

Warnings : family fights, yelling

Pairings : Sam/Dean Winchester x sister!reader

A/N : Sorry for the late postt ❤️❤️

-----

Things happen, right? Misunderstandings, judgement, reproaches and blame, all of them, the worst thing that could happen to a family, more importantly-right now-to yours.

Back from a hunt gone bad, you heavily lay in the backseat of the impala, your feet hung over the left window while your head rests over the opposite side of the car.

"Hey-get your feet off my damn leather." A complaint you've heard one too many times, and one you usually fight but- this time, as a sigh leaves your lips, you uncross your legs and bring them down, consequently lifting your upper body to sit up. An avertion from your side that's different from your usual habits, causing the car to fall into heavily loud silence.

And although it is loud with almost audible thoughts and anger, you still enjoy that while it lasts.

And it fucking doesn't last, in fact, just as soon as you entered the motel, another sentence commenced by Sam sent Dean into a fury, and just as things heated up, you found yourself in the middle of it all-again-

"Hey!!-" The shout is directed at you, this you know and choose to disguard. You would answer but- your body is fatigued and so is our mind, answering seems to lead to no vail. You answer, he fights you, you all go to sleep and wake up forcebly normalizing things, as if your throats aren't sore and your brains aren't fried.

"Hey-i'm talking to you-"

The words sound more bitter this time around, and you find yourself reluctantly lifting your gaze up . You look at Dean, slow and undetermined, exhausted.

"I asked you why you did that-You could've waited for us. I know you said there was no time le-" Dean pauses. "And fucking answer me when i talk to you-"

You shrug, causing a choking gasp out of Dean. His eyes widen and he leans forward. "Are you-Is she provok-are you-"

You throw your jacket over the bed, disdain discerned in your every move and you flop on the bed, unaware of the sudden tension that-again- suddenly settles in.

But the thing is--You don't care anymore. You haven't enough energy to get you to fight them once more, neither to explain or defend yourself. Too damn fucking tired is what you are at the moment-Too damn tired of it all.

"Kid?"

You rest your hand over your forehead, closing your eyes in an effort to soothe your aching muscles, and maybe suck in a little more patience.

"Kid."

Your stomach tightens and soon, you'll recess into a bawling mess, so you get off the bed and pick up your jacket.

Please don't lead to another fight, please..You just want it all to be ov-

"What's wrong?"

You shrug once more, shaking your head to motion that all is fine before heading for the door. But Sam comes your way, blocking the door and you blow a long sigh.

"Come here"

Sam grips both of your arms and swiftly-you find yourself glued to his chest. But all happens all too fast-why would he suddenly get all feely- and before you even realize it, you find yourself pushing against him.

"'im sorry-i'm sorry."

A lump builds up in your throat and as flashes of the past few weeks occupy every single space in your brain, your breathing increases-just as it gets harder to breathe. Just the thought of it all_

Your eyes are slowly flooded with warmth, announcing the tears gathering at your eyes. You need to leave. You need to go.

You choke on a sob.

You can't do this anym- "I know, honey. I've been there. I know." And with that, another sob loudly escapes your throat and a whimper follows.

"i've been there with Dad, i didn't realize we were doing that to you-i'm sorry. I see you. I really am sorry."

You shake your head as your cries fill the room, getting increasingly louder the harder Sam rubs your back. But that's not what you need. Not for them to see you-but for them to fucking stop.

"We'll stop. We'll talk. I promise."

You pull away from him, skeptical of a promise you doubt he can hold. And just as you're about to process that, Dean speaks.

"I'm sorry too." His honest tone makes you sigh. This isn't.what.i.want.

"Sam and i are sort've used to it- we lost sight of the fact that it wasn't affecting just us, but you as well. I really am sorry." Sam looks into your eyes and you slightly lean back, averting your gaze.

"It must've been really stresstful for you the past few weeks." Taken aback by his words, you pull your chin away from his hand and turn around, wiping at your tears before resting your hand against your forehead.

"we're sorry, kid."

You shrug, still mistrusftul. Mistrustful but hopeful. Because Sam and Dean are different, fights and bad things might accure but no matter how disconnected from each other they might be, they always come back to each other. And you are no different. You know them well enough.

Your silence is apprehended as anger. "Okay..We understand, we'll leave."

But it's not anger and it's most certainly not hatred. So you envelop Sam again and bury your face in his chest.

Maybe that'll be enough for him to understand?

His surprise manifests through his still figure. "Thank you, honey." That surprise quickly dissipates and he hugs you back. "It..."

"it's going to be okay, honey. We'll make it okay."

------

I hope it isn't too cringe or too cliché because like-who would say sorry in under a minute. But yeah anyway much love sorry byyiii 🍁🍁🍁❤️❤️❤️

[unconventional-lawnchair]

There's not much Barty Crouch Jr content out there. If you don't mind writing about him, can I make a request? After escaping Azkaban, he serves his Lord to the best of his ability, but there is someone from his past that he still can't get out of his mind. A Slytherin and from a family of followers of the Dark Lord. They had a relationship during their youth. After many years, he finds her again. He always had a soft spot for her. But the reader (like Snape, a sort of spy) is secretly thinking against the Dark Lord and stays away from these things as much as possible, but she is definitely in danger. Things are complicated, but the strong attraction and longing between them cannot be ignored...

The Boy I Knew

Barty Crouch Jr. x Black!Fem!Reader

Cw; Y/N, obsessions, one sided love(Barty pining), Barty being unhinged. Reader is morally grey, Remus Lupin onesided love (Rem pining), sexual themes and scenes, mentions of murder}} Please tell me if I missed anything!

AN- this fanfic is now well over what it should have been. I am posting a fraction of the proofread bits as of now, as I realize this is probably not at all what you wanted and if so I am SO sorry. If you want more I have a pouch that just needs to be beta read

Wc-5670

Taglist: @defnotfrey @au-ghosttype

{. 1972 - Barty’s Year 1 .}

Bartemius Crouch Junior couldn't have been older than eleven when he first met {Y/N} Walburga Black.  A cool upperclassman, if only by a year. 

Bartemius, at that ripe age, knew only a handful of things, and two of those was how badly he wanted to be seen and known. He wanted to be seen for who he was, and known for what he would do. That's likely what drew him to you. 

At only twelve, you and your brother had made a name for yourselves, in much different ways. Your brother was popular, for his quick tongue and clever quips, his innate ability to get under anyone's skin and stay there. Those traits could be forgiven, and they always were, for his big heart and intense sense of moral. 

You, however, were known for harboring a few very non Black traits, like your intense empathy and your crazed thirst for knowledge. Even as a Slytherin, your loyalty and curiosity rivaled the students around you tenfold. Your bravery knew no bounds, even with all the wrongs you had been done, you were forgiving and understanding. You were seen by everyone, you were known for everything.

As he got older, he wondered where that forgiveness went. You grew cold.

When he was innocent, when he had done no wrongs, you cradled him in your hands like he was a gift. You looked at him with eyes you shared with everyone, so much care and patience, so much understanding and kindness. So if those eyes were shared with the masses, he struggled, but was determined, to keep them focused on himself at any chance given.

It was obvious to anyone who saw the two interact. Barty wanted to be witnessed by you. The halls filled with the judgeful and teasing murmurs when he found you in the halls.

“There goes {Y/N}’s prodigy.”

“Barty is off to find his guru.”

“That boy will never learn.”

“How annoying.”

Barty had never been ashamed of his declarations for praise. He knew most of the voices were bitter with jealousy. He would be jealous too. You were both so young, and yet even some older students looked to you like you were twice your age, yet every Friday when the tests were returned, you sat in the courtyard and waited for him. Your personal underclassman.

You would meet in the yard and he would brandish his flawless marks, you would praise his abilities in absolute pride. He had never had someone prideful of him before. Everyone knew him to be a mother’s boy, but he would challenge any of those claims. He was a {Y/N}’s boy, he'd tell them, no shame as students snickered and made their fun of him. He was never afraid of how much he liked you. How much he admired and respected you.

He would turn from the RavenClaw table and look to you after his announcements everytime, you would be eating with Lily Evans and the other girls of her group, but your eyes would be on him. You would give him a soft smile that drove him mad. He would return it with his own, the smile he would save for you. Just you.

When he was only eleven and you were twelve, everything was perfect for him. You focused your attention on studies, your friends, and of course, Barty. That's how it stayed for years.

He would reminisce in his cell, running his dulled nail along the jagged stone walls, carving intents of every minute that passed. Remembering all of the things he regretted most in his life. Losing your trust was where his spiral began. He was a foolish kid.

{. 1974 Barty’s Year 3 .}

“It's getting embarrassing.”

Barty was eating lunch with one of the many friends he had made during his years at Hogwarts, Evan Rosier. He was once again bringing the conversation back to you, as he had been for the past few days.

“You trail after her like a loyal dog. Has she even given you a hint that she may return your feelings?” 

“What feelings?”

Evan and you did not get along. You never had. When he first found himself growing closer to him, you voiced your distaste for Evan the very next day. Barty always trusted your judgment, he obeyed you without much of a fight in most cases. This was not one of those cases.

He figured you to be biased, your brother thought him to be a Death Eater and you despised them. Something he could never understand, you were a pureblood, a Black, you were a powerful witch, and you would never have to worry about falling for a half blood or muggleborn, or Merlin forbid, a muggle. You were smarter than that. He always figured. You wouldn't taint your legacy.

Not like your useless brother, who he could see even now, describing his entanglements with witches and wizards of any kind, to the other Marauders.

As the years went on, you and Barty’s meetings became scarcer and scarcer, they went from Fridays to every second Friday, finally, you now only met every last Friday of the month. Still, Barty clung to you with a desperation he never would give anyone else.

Recently, you had gotten into a fight. One where you expressed your worry for what could possibly happen to him if he got involved with the wrong crowd. Barty, admittedly, didn't respond in kind. He was furious with you. You questioned his company but pushed away from him, you questioned his morals and his standing on the war. He told you there was no war to him, there was no fight.

At the end of the day, he would be standing by you.

The answer seemed to distress you further. It turned into a match of shouts and desperate pleas of compliance. It caused a scene, people watched as you defended your standing on your side of the war, this fight you were having with yourself he assumed. There was no war. This was a power struggle.

Evan’s scoff snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up from his plate to his eyes. 

“Barty, half the school knows you've been in love with her since first year.” He hissed and Barty frowned. Would he call it love? He didn't think about it long before he had his answer. Love wasn't something he looked for, but he found it constantly. From the love he shared with Pandora, to the love he shared with Regulus, even the love he was nurturing with the brutish Evan.

No love in his body burned hotter then his love for you. 

He never thought about it because he never had to. Why would he? He knew you loved him too. He knew what you two shared was never anything that could be challenged. He was your prodigy. He was your prodigy. He didn't care for much, as long as he was yours. 

Evan snapped his fingers in his face and drew his attention back to him. He gave a slick smirk and wet his lips. “Come on, Barty, she's just a girl. You're wasting talent. Talent that could be used for someone who actually appreciates you.”

“She does appreciate me.” Barty challenged immediately, before Evan smirked and gestured to the Gryffindor table. “Does she?”

Barty turned just in time to see you, he never had to stare at a crowd too long to find you. 

You were sitting with your brother and his friends, side by side with Remus, sitting far too close for comfort. He was whispering something in your ear, making you giggle. Turning to look at him with the truest smile he's ever seen you make. Flashing your beautifully uneven teeth, your cheeks dimpling and eyes seeming to sparkle. Your eyes met Lupin’s and he took in your expression like he could die in that moment. 

Barty had never seen you smile like that before. He had never seen you look that way before. You had never looked at him like that before.

He hadn't even noticed as he began to bend the fork in his hand, fist tightening as he watched as Remus lean in and stole a kiss against your cheek. You gave a bigger laugh at this. Moving in to kiss his lips carefully. 

The wonderful moment you were having was interrupted when a loud snap sounded threw the cafeteria. Your eyes snapped over to the RavenClaw table, as did a lot of your peers. Barty had snapped a fork in half with his thumb alone. Before a professor could scold him, he got up from his seat and stomped out of the grand hall, and your eyes followed them.

You muttered a quick apology to Remus and he nodded in understanding as you scrambled to your feet to follow after him. 

He wished he could take every word he called you in that hall back now. He wished he had been smart enough to know that loving you with you in his life would of been far less torture then loving a girl who hated your guts. 

“You blood trader!”

“This! This is what I meant, Bartemius! My Barty would never-”

“You don't have a clue about me, you insolent heartbreaker! What of us, Black?”

“Us? What Us, Barty?”

That night he realized that no matter how genuine his love was for you, how deeply it ran, those times spent alone meant far more to him then it ever meant to you. You did stuff like that for everyone. 

He wasn't entitled to your love. Running his nail down until it was blunted against the wall. Azkaban could no longer do more harm then it already had.

{. 1974 Barty’s Year 4 .}

An entire school year. You and Barty didn't speak for an entire school year.

He kept his tabs on you, of course, because no matter what you said to him that day, you were still his person. Knowing how ignorant and how dangerously minded you could be, he took it upon himself to look over you. You may have been older, you may have sworn him, at one time, your loyalty and protection. But now, he had power of his own. He would repay you. He would repay and reeducate you, given the chance. With all the training him, Evan, Muliciber, Avery, even Snape had done? By Merlin’s beard he could do anything.

He had the mind to back that up, but he kept his power under wraps. You were always frightened by what you didn't understand, the last thing he wanted was for you to fear him. He wanted everyone to know him as fear, not you.

Never you.

When the school year started Barty noticed the shift instantly. He knew you like the back of his hand, far more than he let on most days, but it didn't take a genius to see that {Y/N} Black sitting with Regulus Black at the Slytherin table was odd. 

He soon learned of what happened between Sirius and his family, a right disgrace. Then to learn Sirius scorned you from his life for choosing to stay with Regulus, that was probably what started Barty’s absolute disdain for your brother. You had gone through training per Regulus. Saying before Sirius left he let it slip about you and Remus, trying to entice you to leave with him. You refused and your mother lost it. Walburga was a stain on this earth for what she had done. Even then…

It was all for the better, as he saw it. You don't need the impressions of Sirius Black, Lily Evans, Mary Macdonald, Remus Lupin, or any others that pour their venom into a perfect witch as yourself. He would make sure it stayed that way, even if it hurt you. However, he couldn't lie.

You always looked your best when you knew your worth. 

It wasn't just your routine that changed, you became cold to your old friends, dropping the Muggle borns and staying weary of the half bloods. You started to associate mainly with more influential Purebloods.

That meant him. 

He knew his father was good for something.

“Crouch? Would you like to accompany me to the library?” Your voice sang out to him, despite your listless monotone and drifting eyes. It was the first sentence you muttered to him in 13 months. Your voice was more reserved, your back straightened and your lips pouted. You didn't look like that 12 year old he knew, you were 16 now. Even in his depravity, he took notice of every lovely advancement you had taken in care of your appearance. Your mother instructed you with glamours and proper wear, even now wearing a black feathered choker and brandished a black quill. A family heirloom, Regulus would tell him.

Now, he hated your mother, there was no question about that. What she had done to Regulus was unforgivable, what she had done to you was cause for retaliation in his eyes. But Merlin, did she put you back on the path of greatness.

“Crouch? {Y/N}, my love, it will always be Barty to you.” He lit up like a child, voice sugary sweet. It was your turn to take notice of his change. He was still the same boy you met in first year. Endlessly obsessive, devoted, and excelling at all the things you liked about him. Unfortunately, also the things you hated. 

But, he was still your Barty in your heart. The boy you loved, the boy you cherished, the boy who charmed your soul in ways you didn't know possible. If you had to pick anyone to fill the hollowed out ache in your chest, you chose dangerously, Barty Crouch Jr would be your reprieve.

He was just older now. He was becoming a man.

Everyone knows what they say, about a boy and a girl, coming into their own together. Barty figured this was your love story, you weren't one to argue any longer.

He didn't care that you only seemed to speak to him out of necessity. When he heard from Regulus that your mother was making you pick your friends based on their social standing, any males to soon be a suitor, he was ecstatic.

He was remarkable. He was seen. He was valuable enough to you to not be a mere pawn but maybe even a queen on your chest set. To be used by you? It was worth every moment of the ache. All of this because his father just so happened to keep his filthy hands to the purest bloodlines.

That was his value to you. His blood, his sweat, his labor, and his mind. They were yours, no questions asked. He clung to your heel with new found determination. He would keep you on the right track, the promised one. The one that would ensure your children had the same opportunities. 

He knew he wanted this the moment he walked in on you and Severus arguing in the courtyard.

“You dare call her a Mudblood, you incessant pompous Half Breed?!” Your voice echoed through the halls. People watched in horror, some in absolute shock, the sweet kind girl they had grown attached to was a right monster now. Barty, however, was loving it. You were a proper pureblood.

“{Y/N}-” Severus spoke carefully, something about his tone was far too familiar for Barty’s liking, him addressing you by first name made his jaw tighten. He didn't have to say a word. You rectified it.

“Do not address me as anything other than Black, you dirty mutt!” You screeched. Severus looked stunned, the usually stoic boy looked broken. Barty watched as your eyes trailed over a shocked and watery eyed Lily Evans, he almost didn't catch you muttering, “You lost that privilege.”

He, of course, came to your rescue, as he always promised. Hand around your back and escorted you away from the fight. As you both walked down the corridor your path was blocked. 

Barty almost laughed, Remus Lupin. He was standing with Sirius Black, both staring threatening daggers at Barty. When you both kept walking, Barty shoved a path between the two boys, you hand a fistful of his cloak so as to not be left behind.

He didn't like how Remus’s eyes softened at the sight of you. He didn't like how Sirius reached for you. He walked faster, putting your sniffling form in front of himself.

After that, he knew he had you. 

You were becoming who you were meant to be.

~~~

He took his mark that summer, standing alongside your brother Regulus Black, Lucius Malfoy, Beatrix Black and Evan Rosier. They were at your cousin’s manor, in the ballroom standing side by side. He was as straight as a board, brimming with pride, smirking to himself and brandishing his left arm.

He could feel your eyes on him, from where you stood, next to Narcissa, your aunt and your mother. Waiting for him. 

Evan was first, standing beside Barty and holding out his wrist. When the wand hovered over his wrist and the Death Eater began to mutter the incantation, Evan let out a blood curdling sound. Pure brutish pain shot through him, leading him to fall back. Quickly held up by two other death eaters behind him.

When the wand brushed Barty’s wrist next, he hardly flinched. Tilting his head back as sweat gathered around his temple and neck. He bit his lip and let himself feel every sharp intrusion the spell took, letting himself succumb to the blissful pain.

When he returned to you, not standing to wait for dismissal like the rest of them, he wrapped his arm around your waist and yanked you in. He stole your lips for his own, making you give a slight gasp. You don't fight it, so he pushed further, letting himself taste your bottom lip and pulling it punishingly between his teeth. Through his high he was able to recognize and memorize the feel of your lips and the taste, in his mind, it was the closest to the gods he'd ever get. What was true heaven, however, was when you took his cheeks in your hands and kissed him back.

“Enough.” He heard your mother hiss from beside you. She shooed Barty away like he was some stray dog. He backed down from where you stood, licking his lips and admiring just how shaken and red you looked. Your mother, the hag, pushed you behind herself and hid you away from his eyes.

When you looked away and covered your mouth, he almost didn't notice how you also licked your lips clean. That drove him mad.

He had come to the conclusion early on, you were a temptress. A vixen. A damned Siren as far as he knew. 

Memories of that night, your first kiss, the moment he could see you falling for him. A proper man, worthy of the worship he planned to give you. Worthy of serving a goddess like you. It kept him up most nights, it was a high even the dementor's couldn't take away, but they did manage to warp his obsession from what he believed to have been holy, to the truth.

He was brought on this earth for you. Without you, he was nothing. He was rotting.

{. 1976 Barty’s Year 6 .}

The next year he took your hand and promised you the world. To his delight, you responded in kind. You began dating his sixth year and it was absolute bliss. 

It didn't last long, that bliss. It became a thrill.

Despite his power and loyalty to the dark lord, your mother favored another's for your hand. Particularly, Avery. His father came to your mother with the proposal, your mother liked his offer of the estate and your own power over the house.

You, however, much to Barty’s delight, were way too far gone. In your now secret meetings, where you would take you strolls along the city street, to the shop or to the boutique. You made a show of it; but you only truly left for Crouch Manor.

Where Mr. and Mrs. Crouch turned their other cheek as you snuck your way to Barty’s chambers. Behind those locked doors your love was dangerous. His whispers and promises of treachery against your family name were met with nothing less than desperate devotion and promises in kind. As your palms glided over his bare chest and his large hands found their way under your skirt.

His favorite memories were all locked away in that room. The room he made you his own, where his hands grew familiar with your skin in ways no one else ever could, where he found an affinity for you breathless, and where he heard you let out sounds no self respecting Black heiress should ever let out. 

He claimed what was his birthright, between your legs. Bruised your lips numb and left marks you had to charm away when you made it back home. Just in time for supper.

With the feeling of him still fresh on your body. The pureblood heir your parents thought so lowly of. The heir they didn't see fit to sit at that very table, was still there. His lips were on the rim of the cup you sipped from, his hands were on the arm rests you relaxed against, and his teeth and claws were buried into their perfect daughter.

{. 1978 .}

By the time you both graduated, you took your place at the table. Having fought to hold off your engagement to Avery, Barty took it into his own hands to get between the two of you. Every time you glance in the boy's direction, he shrivels in on himself.

“Barty?” You whispered between his greedy kisses, in the halls of the Malfoy manor.  The only times his hands could find your hips and his lips could find yours outside of his own room now. He was starting to see less and less of you. The war was in full swing and with his desperation for you was all that was driving him most days. 

Thinking now, he wondered what drove you. Even now, having spent a year in Azkaban, you were still the light he flew to, no matter how much it hurt him. He could have sworn, at one time, it was him.

“Darling.” He whispered low against your lips. You tangled your fingers into his hair, before pulling him down. He rested his chin against the curve of your chest and looked up into your eyes.

You bit your lip, running your thumb along his own reddening ones. “Do you love me, Barty?” You cooed.

“I do.” He affirmed, licking the skin you touched along his Cupid's bow, “I do, more than anything.” His voice was raw and rough, he pulled at your hold, trying desperately to kiss you again.

“Do something for me, Barty.” 

“Anything, Darling. Anything.” He muttered, eyes still on your lips.

“Be within my reach. Always.” You whispered before releasing him. He took your lips once more, pushing you back against the wall like the very prospect of not touching you in some way was physically painful. His hand traveled up from your hand to rub over the mark you took just days earlier.

Every moment like that seemed fleeting. 

The very next year, Regulus Black passed. He had gone MIA and your mother, despite her loyalty to Voldemort, commanded you home. It got worse when they officially announced his death.

You stayed locked in those walls, by order of your mother. He missed you dearly. Barty never wanted to be your hero, some great commander, he couldn't care less now about who else even knew his name anymore. He was older now, and he just wanted to be yours. 

So, it pushed Barty to work even harder. Anything to appease The Dark Lord, get this war over with, so he could return to the only true person worthy of his reverence. 

Without you, his life went by in simple clips of reality. When Voldemort fell, he was imprisoned in this hellhole, and even now, he found himself unable to let anything else consume his mind.

The dripping of water from the rusting metal doors drove him mad. No other sounds but the miserable screams of inmates and slamming of bodies against pavement. It was a torturous and hopeless place, some people preferred punishment by their own hands. There was suddenly a loud clanging of keys that cut his thoughts.

He looked up from the corner of his cell, putting his thumb in his mouth and sucking on the bleeding torn skin. The marks he had made on the cell walls marked his 354th day in this nightmare. His eyes locked with his father and his mother, furrowing his brow as he stood.

His mother two out two veils of a slug colored potion, his father had another potion in his hand.

Barty didn't stay in that cell to see his 355th.

~~~

{. 1994 POV Shift .}

“It's a bit cold, don't you think?”

Remus Lupin's voice cut through the fog of your mind like a knife through butter. He was right, of course. Even as the year grew warmer with the summer months growing closer, the astronomy tower always gave a pleasant and persistent chill. 

You were used to it, by now. Being the Astronomy Professor for almost twelve years. About the same amount of years you managed to avoid coming into contact with Remus himself. 

You had to give him credit, Remus Lupin, he was persistent. Doing everything in his power to get you alone. As if one conversation would melt away years of what you had done, the people you deceived, the lives you took, the lies you told… all in the name of a crazed boy long lost to the history of the wizarding world. For the family who was as faded as the family tree you used to tend to with your brothers, painting names and burning faces. 

As if speaking to you would somehow bridge a gap. A gap in his heart that still ached for you. It was never something he was able to understand, your persistent and endless love for Crouch had come out of nowhere for him. He couldn't look Sirius in the eye for a long time, learning he had outed your budding relationship. 

He took every chance he could, to reach out, to speak to you, it was met with closed doors and a reminder of remaining professional. 

“It is. Heading out, Lupin?” You muttered to him. You couldn't lie and say having him here didn't make you feel, in some ways, nostalgic. To the loving, caring, respectful girl you once knew. One with so much patience and kindness you shared it with all kinds of souls. Souls you've watched drop like flies under the man you swore your life to.

“I am.” Remus muttered but didn't turn to leave. You shifted on your heel to look back at him from the entrance of the tower. He had his hand resting on the railing, his palm thudding against the railing as he tried to gather the courage to continue.

“I heard you gave Snape quite the earful.” He hummed, walking deeper into your classroom. You thinned your lips and shook your head, turning away from him. He gave a weak scoff. 

“Could you at least look at me?” He pushed, his voice wavering. You closed your eyes and gave a deep sigh. Your hands moved to grab the railing.

“What is it, Lupin?” 

“It's not too late.” He whispered and you closed your eyes. His words were exact, aimed to cut deep and retrieve from you the heart he knew was there; it just had grown cold. “You could come back. With me, tonight, we can meet with Padfoot and-”

“And what, Lupin?” You spoke calmly as you turned to face him. He went rigid at your stare. “Live this wonderful life you have weaved out for us? Pretend that everything is okay and the last few years never happened?” You pushed and he closed his eyes. 

Anger bubbled in his throat with something familiar, jealousy and bitter melancholy. If he could hear you any clearer you would be cotton in his ears. Your words were empty because he knew you could. Put Hogwarts behind you and come back to him, come with him and Sirius like you should have done back when you wore uniform and not cloaks like proper professors. Nothing was proper about you two aching hearts anyway. 

Yet history repeated itself.

It always would.

“You know he's gone.” Remus started slowly and your breath caught in your throat. You felt your eyes grow glossy with grief and you placed your left hand over your heart. 

“I never thought I would be someone's second choice. To Bartemius Crouch Jr.” He continued. “I see I never measured up, did I?” 

“... I am sorry, Remus.” You whispered, your voice, for the first time in years, was vulnerable. It was careful.

Because of course you loved Remus. You loved him dearly, but no man would own you like Barty had. You were terrified to let yourself be loved with anything less than what he had shown you. Steadfast and faithful love. No one could challenge the status of Barty in your life.

Even in death his ghost reminds you of your place. Next to him. 

Once this was over, once Dumbledore had seen and used his worth in you, when you were no longer under his wing like a servant, you would go back to 12 Grimmauld Place. You would retire. And you would wait for Barty to take you back home. Let it be a year, let it be ten, you would return to him as promised.

“... What have you become?” He whispered to you, and your eyes finally raised to meet him. You caught your tears and quickly cleaned your face. Shaking your head you put back on your practiced and perfect pout.

“.. A Black.”

Your exchange ended there. 

Remus returned to your brother, you presumed. You forged ignorance when you were questioned by the Ministry of your brother’s whereabouts. It didn't take much for them to let you be, especially with Mr. Crouch Senior’s particular protectiveness of you. Probably a gift from Mrs. Crouch, oh, how you missed her.

When Barty was taken and your mother was far too weak to control you, you visited the Crouchs’ daily. You helped Winky with taking care of his parents, particularly his sick and fragile mother. You grew a weak repore with his father, though you despised him. 

As a proper pureblood you just silently reaped the benefits of what the world had gifted you.

Including your wealth. With the house of Black fallen you were left to be the soul heir. Though, the moment you heard of Sirius Black’s escape, you reopened your joint account. Soon, you heard someone was able to access it. It was true; your brother was alive and well.

That was the only olive branch you extended to him. 

Once the school year was officially over you returned home. To your modest house down in an old town just a broom ride away from Hogwarts. Feldcroft.

You returned home, it was uneventful. Until you opened your door. 

You were greeted by Winky, the Crouch’s house elf. That wouldn't be unusual, Barty had preached to her about how you were both intended. How she should attend to you, how she attended to him. So she would appear at your house from time to time, with gifts and food she had prepared for Crouch Senior that she made just too much of.

“Winky?” You called out to the figure in your hall. The sheepish girl turned to face you with a careful smile.

“Madam Black has returned! How happy Winky is to see you, mistress.” She declared and hurried up to you. Her path was cut short as Creature stepped in front of her, snapping away your bags. He seemed in a foul mood. Fowler then usual.

“Your mother would not approve of your company, Ms. Blaaaack.” He warned and you furrowed your brow. “Nor would she approve of this home-”

“Kreature.” You demanded and he huffed. Winky was always coming in and out, Creature never voiced displeasure with her company and your mother, well, she could care less. “What company?”

“The noisy Crouch, Ma'am.”

Your heart dropped. He apparated away, assumingly to unpack your bags. Your eyes widened as Winky appeared in front of your full view. Showing off the black quill you had most definitely left at home. Your mothers old quill. You took it carefully from the house elf.

“Winky..” You spoke carefully and slowly. Holding up the quill between your fingers. “Who gave this to you?”

“I think you know, Darling.” 

Before Winky could answer, a voice lost to time spoke first. You knew it before you even turned around. 

Still, you jerked your entire body to face him. Your eyes locked, full of longing and hope.

 And there he was. Your Barty.

He was holding a newspaper, licking his bottom lip but his eyes were on you. His eyes were just how you always remembered them. So full of danger and appreciation for your simple presence. He stepped towards you and you took a step back. He tsked at that, reaching out to grab your waist. “Darling..” He whispered.

You were still in shock. Staring up at his brown eyes and waiting. For anything. “Barty?” You whispered.

When he kissed you, alarm bells went off in your head. You didn't listen to any of them, grabbing him just as greedily as he held you. Both of your eyes closed and you held each other like you might perspire. 

He was home.

He truly was.

[be4chywritez]

never grow up | hughes bro.

hughes bros. x sister!reader

your brothers don't want to let you grow up.

recs are open + prompt list

beachy’s masterlist🐚

warning: completely fucked up timeline

The living room is a mess of wrapping paper and half-eaten cupcakes, remnants of what your mom swore would be a “small graduation party” but somehow turned into a full-blown celebration. You’re still holding onto a stuffed bear in a tiny cap and gown, a joke gift from Ellen, but Quinn keeps side-eyeing it like he’s considering stealing it just to make a point.

Luke is lounging on the couch, flipping through your high school yearbook with a growing look of horror. “Dude,” he mutters, nudging Jack. “She has, like, a whole section in here. How do we not know about half of these people?”

Jack takes the book and immediately flips to the senior superlatives. “Oh my god,” he groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Please tell me you didn’t get ‘Most Likely to Break Hearts’—I don’t think I can handle that.”

You snatch the yearbook out of his hands and smack him lightly with it. “Relax. It’s ‘Most Likely to Brighten Your Day.’”

Quinn, who’s been suspiciously quiet, speaks up from the kitchen. “Yeah, well. That’s worse.”

You roll your eyes. “How is that worse?”

“Because it means people are gonna miss you,” Quinn says simply, but there’s something about the way he says it that makes you pause. Like the realization is just sinking in for him, too.

And that’s when it hits you—this is your last summer before everything changes.

It starts when you casually mention that you’re making a packing list.

“I mean, I don’t need to bring everything,” you say, folding a t-shirt as Quinn watches from the doorway. “I’ll be home for breaks anyway.”

Quinn’s arms are crossed, his face unreadable. “Right,” he says flatly. “Because you’ll totally want to come back to Michigan instead of spending breaks with your college friends.”

You glance up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He shrugs, but the tension in his shoulders is obvious. “Just that once you’re gone, you’re gone.”

Before you can argue, Jack yells from down the hall, “Why do you even need a list? Just bring what you have now. Do they not have Target where you’re going?”

You groan. “Jack—”

“I mean, really,” he continues, appearing in the doorway. “What could you possibly need that isn’t already in this house?”

Luke suddenly pops his head in too, pointing at you. “And if you think you’re taking the good blanket from the living room, you’re out of your mind.”

You throw a sock at him. “I bought that blanket!”

Jim, who’s been passing by, doubles back and frowns. “Wait, wait—who said you were taking anything from the house?”

You stare at him. “Uh… me?”

He scoffs. “Yeah, well, maybe I decide what leaves this house, and maybe my decision is that you stay.”

Jack smirks. “Yeah, Dad. Ground her.”

Jim actually pauses, rubbing his chin like he’s considering it. “You know what? If she can’t leave, then problem solved.”

“Oh my god.”

It happens at the dinner table.

Tension has been simmering all summer, but tonight, it boils over.

Jack is picking at his food, Luke is sulking, and Quinn has barely said a word. Jim, trying to keep the mood light, asks a simple question:

“So, kid, excited for move-in day?”

The room freezes.

You swallow, already bracing yourself for the inevitable.

Quinn drops his fork. “Oh, great. Let’s talk about it.”

“Quinn—”

“No, really,” he cuts you off. “Let’s talk about how you’re leaving and we all just have to deal with it.”

Jack scoffs. “We’re allowed to be upset.”

“Yeah,” Luke mumbles. “It sucks.”

Something inside you snaps.

“Oh, it sucks?” you echo, voice sharp. “That’s funny—because I don’t remember any of you feeling bad when you left me.”

Silence.

Quinn’s brows knit together. “What?”

You shove yourself back, your back now flat on the chair. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. Did you all forget how this works? You left first, Quinn. You packed up and went to Vancouver. Jack, you left right after, and then Luke followed.”

Jack opens his mouth, but you steamroll right over him.

“And guess what? Nobody asked me if I was okay with it,” you continue. “Nobody sat me down and said, ‘Hey, we’re all leaving, but we know it’s going to be hard on you.’ No. You guys left, and I was just supposed to be fine.”

Luke shifts uncomfortably. “That’s… different.”

“Oh, is it?” you snap. “Because it sure feels the same.”

They all look guilty now.

Jim exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. “She’s got a point, boys.”

The weight of your words settles over the room, thick and suffocating.

You cross your arms. “So don’t sit here acting like I’m the bad guy for growing up. I learned it from you.”

And just like that, dinner is over.

Ellen has been quiet throughout dinner, letting the boys sulk and stew in their feelings. But when you throw down the ultimate truth bomb, she puts her fork down with a soft clink and just leans back in her chair, watching.

Jack shifts uncomfortably under her gaze. “Mom—”

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me,” Ellen says, taking a sip of wine. “She’s right.”

The boys look at her like she’s just committed some deep betrayal.

“But—” Luke tries.

Ellen raises a hand. “No. You don’t get to ‘but’ this. You all left her. And now that it’s her turn, you’re acting like she’s the one abandoning you.”

Quinn frowns at his plate. Jack rubs the back of his neck. Luke suddenly finds his drink very interesting.

Ellen sighs, a little softer now. “I get it. You love your sister, and you’re gonna miss her. But she’s not a little kid anymore.” She glances at you, giving you a small, knowing smile. “And you’re allowed to grow up, sweetheart.”

That’s when you feel the lump in your throat.

Jim, sensing the emotion rising again, claps his hands together. “Alright,” he says, standing up. “Dinner’s over. Boys, you will apologize when you’re ready. And if anyone else gets dramatic at the dinner table, I’m making you all sit at the kids' table for the rest of the summer.”

Jack huffs. “We don’t have a kids' table.”

Jim raises an eyebrow. “I will build one.”

Ellen just shakes her head, standing to start clearing plates. As she passes by you, she squeezes your shoulder gently—just enough to let you know she’s on your side.

Quinn was six, Jack was four, and Luke was two when Ellen and Jim walked through the front door with you bundled up in a tiny blanket.

Luke was still clumsy on his feet, gripping Quinn’s hand for balance as he stared at you with big, round eyes. Jack, ever the loud one, scrunched his nose. “She’s small.”

Quinn, the oldest, tilted his head. “How old is she?”

Ellen smiled, adjusting the beanie on your head. “Just a little younger than Luke.”

Jack frowned. “So she’s the baby?”

Jim nodded. “Yep. You’ve got a baby sister now.”

Quinn blinked at you, something protective already settling in his chest. “She looks squishy.”

Luke let out a little giggle, wobbling closer. His chubby hands reached out, poking at your cheek. Your tiny hand curled instinctively around his finger, and his face lit up like Christmas morning.

Jack, still suspicious, leaned in. “Where’d she come from?”

Ellen smoothed a hand over your head. “From a different family. But now she’s ours.”

Jack looked at Quinn, then back at you. “Do we have to keep her?”

Quinn smacked his arm. “Mom said she’s our sister, dummy.”

Jack huffed. “I’m just asking! What if she’s annoying?”

Jim chuckled. “Then you’ll just have to deal with it.”

Jack pouted. But then you made a tiny noise—something soft, a little curious—and Quinn’s hand was suddenly there, gentle against your back, like he already understood what Jack didn’t:

You belonged with them.

You avoid them. It’s not subtle, and you don’t care if they notice.

Jack walks into the kitchen for breakfast? You walk out. Quinn parks himself in the living room? You suddenly remember you have something to do upstairs. Luke tries to catch your eye across the dinner table? You focus really, really hard on your food.

At first, they pretend not to care. Jack scoffs and mutters, “She’ll crack first.” Quinn just sighs like he’s too old for this. Luke pouts but doesn’t say anything.

But as the days pass, it becomes clear: you’re serious.

Jim and Ellen, bless them, intervene before things get too ridiculous.

It’s a setup. You know it the second Jim corners you in the kitchen and says, “Need your help fixing up the boat.”

You’re about to refuse when he casually adds, “Jack’s already out there.”

You were twelve when Jack left for the NTDP.

He was throwing things haphazardly into his duffel bag, way less meticulous than Quinn had been. You sat on the floor by his bed, fidgeting with the strings on your hoodie.

“You’re really going, huh?”

Jack huffed a laugh, shoving more clothes into his bag. “Yeah, I mean… it’s not like I’m going to war.”

You frowned. “Feels like it.”

That made him pause. He turned to look at you, his usual cocky smirk softening. “Hey, don’t make that face.”

You tried to glare at him, but the lump in your throat made it hard.

Jack sighed, dropping onto the floor next to you. “C’mon, don’t be sad.”

You stayed quiet, picking at your hoodie. Jack nudged your arm.

“You know I’m gonna miss you, right?”

You scoffed. “Then don’t go.”

Jack groaned, flopping onto his back dramatically. “Ugh, you sound like Mom.”

You rolled your eyes. “Maybe because she’s right.”

Jack sat up, resting his chin on his knee. He studied you for a second before reaching out to ruffle your hair. “Listen, baby Hughes, you’re my best little buddy. And you know what?”

You looked at him warily. “…What?”

Jack grinned. “I’m gonna be a big deal one day, and when that happens, I’m taking you with me.”

You wrinkled your nose. “To hockey?”

“To wherever I go.” He bumped his shoulder against yours. “Deal?”

You bit your lip, then nodded. “Deal.”

Jack grinned and held out his pinky. You linked yours with his, sealing the promise.

Of course, you didn’t know then that Jack’s world would get bigger, that he’d go from the NTDP to the draft to New Jersey. But you remembered his words.

Damn it.

When you step onto the dock, Jack is hunched over the open engine, frowning like he actually knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t. He’s wearing sunglasses and a backwards cap, and his shirt is already discarded on the deck like fixing the boat is some grueling manual labor.

You cross your arms. “I don’t see Mom or Dad supervising, so I’m assuming this is an ambush.”

Jack grins, but when you don’t smile back, his expression falters. He clears his throat. “Okay, fine. I may have—” he waves a wrench vaguely in the air “—suggested that Dad needed you out here.”

You raise an eyebrow. “So you’re admitting you need my help?”

Jack scoffs. “No, I—” he stops, narrows his eyes, and exhales. “Okay, maybe.”

A beat of silence stretches between you.

Then, quieter, he says, “You’re really mad, huh?”

You shrug, crouching down next to him. “Not mad. Just… tired of feeling like you guys only get sentimental when it’s convenient for you.”

Jack nods, tapping the wrench against his knee.

“Fair,” he says eventually. “But, like—cut us some slack. We’re not good at this whole… feelings thing.”

You give him a look. “I noticed.”

He huffs a laugh. “But we do love you.” He hesitates, like he wants to say something else, then just nudges your shoulder. “Even when you’re being dramatic.”

You roll your eyes, but your lips twitch. Jack sees it and grins.

Small steps.

You were nine when Quinn left for Michigan.

He packed his bags carefully, making sure his jerseys were folded just right. You sat on the edge of his bed, hugging your knees.

“You’ll come back, right?” you asked, voice small.

Quinn stopped, turned to you. “Of course I will.”

“But not for long.”

He sighed, crouching down so you were eye-level. “It’s not like that, baby sis. I’m not leaving you—I’m just… doing something for me.”

Tears welled in your eyes, and Quinn immediately pulled you into a hug. “Hey, hey. You’ll be okay.”

You sniffed. “What if I’m not?”

Quinn held you tighter. “Then I’ll come home.”

He did. But never for long.

Then Jack left. Then Luke.

And now, it was your turn.

Ellen hands you the list. “Take Quinn. And please, real vegetables this time.”

You grumble, but before you can argue, Quinn’s already waiting by the door.

The car ride is quiet.

Then, out of nowhere, Quinn sighs. “I’m sorry.”

You blink, caught off guard. “For what?”

He grips the steering wheel. “For making you feel bad about leaving. That wasn’t fair.”

You swallow. “Yeah, well… it does suck.”

He nods. “It does.” Then, softer, “You’ll always be our sister. No matter where you go.”

Something in your throat tightens.

“Yeah, well,” you mutter, trying to sound unaffected, “maybe I don’t want to be the baby forever.”

Quinn smirks. “Tough luck.”

You huff, but for the first time in days, the silence between you isn’t so heavy.

Ellen and Jim had taken Jack to some tournament, Quinn was away with the Canucks, and for the first time, it was just you and Luke.

You were thirteen, and he was sixteen, but it felt like an even bigger gap back then.

You weren’t feeling great that day—some stomach bug or something—but you had stubbornly refused to call Mom about it.

Luke had been playing Xbox in the other room when he finally noticed you hadn’t bugged him in a while. He found you curled up on the couch, looking miserable.

"Why didn’t you say anything?" he asked, frowning.

You shrugged weakly.

Luke hesitated, then sighed. "Okay. Come on."

You blinked. "What?"

He grabbed a blanket off the chair and threw it over you before lifting you up.

"Luke—put me down!"

"Nope," he said, hauling you up the stairs. "You have two choices: you can walk to bed like a normal person, or I can keep carrying you."

You groaned but didn’t argue. You were exhausted.

Luke tucked you in (with way too much effort, like he thought you’d try to escape), then disappeared for a few minutes before coming back with ginger ale and crackers.

You stared at him.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"You’re being… nice."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Shut up and eat the crackers."

You smirked. "Are you gonna feed me, too?"

Luke groaned, dropping the pillow he was holding onto your face. "I take it back. I hope you feel worse."

But later that night, when you woke up feeling even worse, Luke was still awake, sitting on the floor by your bed with his phone.

"You need anything?" he asked groggily.

You swallowed past the lump in your throat. "No."

Luke nodded and yawned. "Alright. Go back to sleep."

Luke drives. He doesn’t play music, which is weird for him. Usually, he’s blasting something obnoxious, forcing you to suffer through his terrible playlists.

He doesn’t say anything until you pull into the parking lot.

“I never thought about it like that,” he blurts.

You turn to him, confused. “What?”

Luke shifts in his seat. “That… you were alone when we left.”

His voice is small, guilty.

You sigh, staring out the windshield. “I didn’t want you guys to feel bad about it. You were chasing your dreams. It wasn’t like I wanted you to stay back for me.”

Luke frowns. “But you still missed us.”

“Yeah, dumbass.”

He huffs a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

After a beat, he hesitates. “You know you can always come back, right?”

You roll your eyes. “I know.”

Luke nudges your shoulder. “We’ll visit. All the time.”

You smirk. “Promise?”

He nods, grinning. “Obviously.”

For the first time all week, your chest feels lighter.

You’re sprawled on the dock, staring at the stars. It’s just the four of you—Jack, Quinn, Luke, and you. The air is warm, the lake is calm, and for once, nobody’s arguing.

Jack exhales. “So. This is it, huh?”

You nod. “Yep.”

Silence.

Then, quietly, Quinn says, “We’re really proud of you, you know.”

You blink, caught off guard.

Luke nods. “Yeah. Like, so proud.”

Jack scoffs. “Even though you’re leaving us.”

You roll your eyes, but there’s no bite in it.

Quinn nudges your arm. “We meant what we said. You’ll always have us.”

You swallow, feeling that familiar lump in your throat.

Then, because you’re still their little sister, you smirk. “Yeah, yeah. You guys are obsessed with me.”

Jack groans. “God, I take it back—go to college already.”

Luke laughs. Quinn shakes his head. And for the first time all summer, everything feels right.

Because no matter how much things change, one thing never will:

You’ll always be their sister. And they’ll always be your brothers.

[invincibledc]

Twin!reader who’s easily sick. They can’t be a hero, they can’t fight, they can’t go out on patrols. They have to live that normal life while their whole family and twin fight bad guys. Damian always comes back home, getting dressed to relax. To take care of his beloved twin. He sits on the edge of their bed, making them take medicine, vitamins. You name it. The twin could only frown in sadness, telling Damian that they “don’t need care.” Damian felt a little anger, but was calm on the outside.

It was always his duty to protect his twin. He’s not letting you perish by your weak immune system. You will be healthy, even if it kills him to realize that you are actually dying inside.

His twin…

[lancestrollsgf]

# THE BETTER NORRIS ! F1 GRID X ADOPTED NORRIS! READER, SMAU (2)

introduction master list request list

part one, part two, part three.

# WARNINGS: cussing, i know nothing about the parents of lando so everything is fictional. reader speaks spanish!! lowercase intended, spelling errors (english isn't my first language). lando's actual siblings are not featured in this since I don't know anything about them. hate comments towards reader and ollie. excessive usage of emojis such as "🙄, 🤫, 🤣,😝, 😭,😊,😉”.

# SUMMARY: the adventures of the formula one driver lando norris adopted sibling, y/n norris.

# AUTHOR’S NOTE: thank you so much for the support on the first part (it’s insane love yall sm). so here is part two, hooray!!! here is part one!!! lowkey worried this isn’t gonna be as good as the first part i'm so sorry 😭😭 this is way shorter because the timeline is until before the hungarian gp so there isn’t much to post about (there will be a part three 🤫🤫) btw for the sake of the story ollie attends all the grand prixs (at least from this point foward). excuse. more in-depth reason this is short is because i started writing this july 11 and i didn’t expect the first part to get that many likes so i only came up with ideas up until after the british grand prix. the next part will have all 9 posts and not only 5 😘

# FACE CLAIM: marian guevara/theatomicbomb on instagram and tiktok

— instagram !

liked by landonorris, lancestroll, lawerence_stroll, and 1,284,820 others

thebetternorris thank you so much, @.astonmartinf1 for the invite to the british grand prix, my home grand prix. i’m so grateful for the gift, thank you @lawerence_stroll 💚. congrats to @.landonorris for p3 and congrats to @.lancestroll for p7 😝😝 👤: @.landonorris, @.lancestroll, @.tommyhilfiger @.astonmartinf1

astonmartinf1: thank you y/n for coming to our garage!! loved having you there 💚

-> mclaren: you better have enjoyed this grand prix because next one we’re keeping y/n.

-> thebetternorris: guys dw there’s enough of me to go around 😏😏

username42: y/n rizzing up the admins is crazy 😭

landonorris: did you really have to use that picture of me. i look horrible.

-> thebetternorris: you always look horrible 🙄🙄

lancestroll: still can’t believe my dad actually got you something.

-> thebetternorris: time to make room for me in the family 🤫🤫

fernando_alooficial: gracias por venir y apoyarnos y/n 💚 (thank you for coming and supporting us y/n)

-> thebetternorris: de nada fernando, tu eres mi idolo 🥹🥹 felicidades con p8 💚 (you’re welcome fernando, you’re my idol 🥹🥹 congrats with p8 💚)

lawerence_stroll: lovely meeting you y/n, hope you enjoyed my gift

-> thebetternorris: thank you so much for the gift, lovely meeting you too mr.stroll

-> lawerence_stroll: @thebetternorris please call me lawerence

-> thebetternorris: @.lancestroll your dad likes me more than you

-> lancestroll: @thebetternorris just because he let you call him by his first name doesn't mean get likes you more 🙄 it’s not like he bought you an f1 team

-> thebetternorris: @.lancestroll you're so sassy...

username43: lance's reply being “it’s not like he bought you an f1 team” IS SO FUNNY LMFAOOO

username44: lance and y/n acting like siblings 😭

-> thebetternorris: @lawerence_stroll please adopt me

username45: y/n is so pretty

username46: why did lawerence gift y/n something from tommy hilfiger?

-> username47: im guessing its because he invests in tommy hilfiger

username48: how come aston martin invited her to her home grand prix but not mclaren?

-> mclaren: unfortunately we sent the invitation too late

-> astonmartinf1: @.mclaren finder keepers looser weepers 😝

username49: even though y/n is one of the driver's siblings they still sent the invitation late LMFAO

-> mclaren: we wouldn't have had to sent an invite if "someone..." hadn't told y/n so late.

-> landonorris: @.mclaren I DIDN'T KNOW SHE WOULD GET AN INVITE FROM ANOTHER TEAM 😞

username50: the mclaren admin trying to clear their name ✊🏼

-> mclaren: i’m trying my best 😞

username51: y/n giving unseen photos of lance and lando

username52: y/n’s camera is probably full of unseen photos of drivers we may never see 😔

-> thebetternorris: 🤫🤫

-> username53: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??

username54: y/n calling it her home grand prix 🥹

zhouguanyu24: thank you for the keychain and the toy for sweet corn 😁

-> thebetternorris: of course!! 😊

username55: lance and lando an underrated duo

view all 9,921 comments

july 7, 2024

liked by landonorris, itsyoungmiko, olliebearman, and 1,402,027 others

thebetternorris parties in london go crazyy 🍾👤: @.itsyoungmiko, @.arcangel, @.friend1, @.friend2

itsyoungmiko: it was lovely meeting you twin 😈

-> thebetternorris: lovely meeting you too 😘

landonorris: do you just take photos with random people.

-> friend1: lando we've met before...

-> thebetternorris: don't talk about my twin young miko like that 😡

arcangle: loved partying with you norris!!

landonorris: you’re finally partying at home and not in the burger land😒

-> thebetternorris: BURGER LAND???

-> landonorris: the united states or whatever 🙄

username56: two posts in one day omg???

username57: y/n and young miko do look so much alike omg 🤨

olliebearman: it was lovely meeting you y/n

-> thebetternorris: hi ollie, it was great meeting you too 😆 congrats on your haas contract 🤫🤫

-> olliebearman: thank you! 😊

username58: y/n and ollie interacting???

username59: is no one gonna mention that y/n and ollie were in the same place??

username60: can y/n drink? i thought she was too young..

-> username61: she is too young. she’s only seventeen, but even then why are you assuming she’s drinking 😟?

username62: a sneak peak of the photo's y/n has in her camera

view all 3,939 comments

july 7, 2024

— instagram stories !

thebetternorris and olliebearman added to stories

replies to thebetternorris story

landonorris replied to your story: WHO IS THIS??? TAKE THAT SMILEY FACE OFF AND COME BACK HOME.

lewishamilton replied to your story: is this what you call soft launching?

oscarpiastri replied to your story: please answer lando’s messages. he’s been pacing back and forth for the past ten minutes.

username63 replied to your story: Y/N IS THAT A GUY???

username64 replied to your story: YOU’RE SOFT LAUNCHING??

pepemartiofficial replied to your story: quén es?

username65 replied to your story: you’re such an artist 😻

replies to olliebearman story:

charles_leclerc replied to your story: son, are you dating a girl?

kimi.antonelli replied to your story: mate. you didn’t tell me you were going to the beach today? you didn’t even invite me 😞

arthur_leclerc replied to your story: 🤨

username66 replied to your story: IS THAT A GIRLL? OLLIEEE

username67 replied to your story: since when did you take such aesthetic photos?

username68 replied to your story: soft lauching omg??

view more messages

july 8, 2024

— instagram !

liked by thebetternorris, charles_leclerc, and 392,921 others

olliebearman got to drive an f1 car in silverstone 👍🏼

username69: i’m sobbing, he’s so cute 😭😭

charles_leclerc: so proud, congrats ollie 👍🏼

-> olliebearman: thank you dad! 👍🏼

-> username70: i can see where ollie got his thumbs up from. LMAO

thebetternorris: a thumbs up is such a dad move

-> olliebeaman: compliment or?

-> thebetternorris: compliment ofc ☺️

-> olliebearman: oh okay then, thank you y/n :)

username71: ollie has rizz???

username72: going from a ferrari reserve driver to a haas f1 driver is such a downgrade 😬

-> thebetternorris: you’re saying that as if you can even drive a formula one car ever 🤣

-> username73: HELLO??? y/n defending ollie 🫣🫣

username74: HIS EYES ARE SO CUTE 😔😔

username75: a semi F1 car

-> thebetternorris: more than you’ll ever achieve. bullying a eighteen year old at 26 years old is embarrassing.

-> username76: Y/N DEFENDING OLLIE 😍😍

username77: i can't wait to see ollie every race week

username78: y/n defending ollie is so cute

view all 500 comments

COMMENTS ON THIS POST HAVE BEEN LIMITED.

july 9th, 2024

liked by landonorris, olliebearman, lilyzneimer, and 826,281 others

y/n.jpg surprise, new account 🤭 very first post is a photo dump, from beach day 🌊☀️ 07/08/24

landonorris: copycat 😒😒 be original for once. same username and everything

-> y/n.jpg: 🙄🙄

landonorris: WAIT A MINUTE. WHAT IS THAT THIRD PHOTO. Y/N NORRIS. WHO IS THAT???

-> y/n.jpg: 😜

-> landonorris: Y/N NORRIS. WHERE ARE YOU.

username80: y/n’s first post on her jpg account is a soft launch. this has got to be a halluaction.

username81: if someone told me that y/n would make a jpg account and soft launch a guy. i would never believe you.

username82: the second picture is so cute 😭

username83: the difference in the two comments lando commented. LMFAOO

-> username84: i’m guessing he commented “copycat” before seeing the photos and then commented the second one 🤣🤣

username85: two of the norris siblings have a jpg account that’s so cute

username86: ollie in the likes 🤨

lilyzneimer: you're so pretty

-> thebetternorris: thank u lily, love u

username87: both ollie and y/n posted about being at the beach the night after they met..

-> username88: nah you guys are reaching..

oscarpiastri: y/n please. don't do this rn 😭

-> thebetternorris: 🤫🤫

username89: you guys are assuming that y/n is with everyone leave her alone 😭😭

olliebearman: should i make a jpg account too?

-> thebetternorris: yes you should!! i can help u make it if you would like 🤫

-> olliebearman: ah yes that would be helpful 😁

username90: y’all won’t even let y/n be friends with the opposite gender before immediately shipping them together

username91: everyone saying that we're reaching and what not. but what about the comment between y/n and ollie… 🤨🤨

username92: the third photo looks a little similar to the one ollie posted on his story; the same day. 🫣

username93: there’s definitely gonna be something happening between the ollie and y/n because why else would she defend him in his own comments

view all 11,191 comments

july 11th, 2024

liked by olliebearman, landonorris, lewishamilton, and 947,829 others

y/n.jpg digital camera photos from silverstone 💫 lando taking a little nap in the fourth photo 😴 btw congrats on your win lewis 😉. 👤: @.landonorris, @.oscarpiastri, @.roscoelovescoco, @ciscawuaman, @adam_norris_pure_electric, @lewishamilton

username93: i love y/n for giving us unseen photos

username94: oscar doing a shoey 🤔

-> thebetternorris: ik right disgusting 🤢

-> oscarpiastri: @thebetternorris hey. i didn’t like it anymore that you did.

-> username94: OSCAR AND Y/N REPLYING TO MY COMMENT. THIS ISN’T REAL.

roscoelovescoco: 🤍🤍

-> thebetternorris: ROSCOEE

username95: oh to be photographed on y/n’s camera and posted on her account 😞

-> thebetternorris: i just dm’ed you!!

-> username96: @.username95 well tell us, what did she dm you omg???

-> username95: @.username96 she gave me tickets to the next gp 😭😭😭 i’m distraught rn 🥹🥹

-> username97: @.username95 HELLO??? FREE TICKETS???

lewishamilton: thank u for the congrats y/n 🩵

-> thebetternorris: of courseee 😉

username98: these photos are so cute omg 💔

thebetternorris: do you guys see how @.landonorris replaces me with another kid 💔 guess i’m not his favorite nor youngest sibling anymore 😞

-> landonorris: y/n. i don’t think mom or dad could or want to adopt another kid especially after dealing with you.

-> thebetternorris: MOMMM 😭😭😭 @ciscawuaman

-> cisacawuaman: @.landonorris please. you may be right but don’t comment this on the internet. @thebetternorris we love you y/n, i would adopt you all over again and as many times i could 😘

username99: y/n is literally living every formula one fan’s dream 😖

-> username98: considering she is literally lando’s sister she’s been living the life since day one 😭

username100: THE FIRST PHOTO HELLO??? 😍

francisca.cgomes: hii y/n! it was lovely meeting you. are you going to the next gp? i would love to hang out with you ☺️

-> y/n.jpg: hi kika 😁, yes i will be!! i loved meeting you, you’re the sweetest, i would love to hang out with you too ☺️

username101: y/n is genuinely so pretty omg 🫣

landonorris: don’t think this is distracting me from the post you made previously..

-> thebetternorris: 🤫🤫

username102: i was at the grand prix and seeing y/n on the fan stage was so surreal.

username103: i met y/n at the grand prix and she got my hat signed by both oscar and lando, she’s so sweet 😭😭😭

-> username104: stop me too. she got all of my mclaren stuff signed by them 🥹🥹

username105: i met y/n and when i asked her to sign my shirt she was so shocked it was so precious 😞

view all 10,829 comments

july 12, 2024

comment to be tagged in the next part. (pls mention if you wanna be added to my general taglist or just this series taglist)

taglist: @yawn-zi @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @d3kstar @inejghafawifesblog @azeal-peal @hadids-world @sumlovesjude @poppyflower-22 @formulaonebuff @bloodyymaryyy @kodzuvk @matchalyne @ynnasaint @morsstuff @2pagenumb @velentine @keii134 @deepeststarlightmoon @wobblymug @xoscar03 @raizelchrysanderoctavius (if you are tagged here, i will mostly likely tag you again in the third part)

READ PLEASE/URGENT: hello!! thank you so much for the support on this story. just wanted to share some links about the crisis/situation in venezuela. an undeniable cause of election fraud is happening in venezuela, spread awareness. how to help refugees near you. explanation of the situation. donate/help families forced to flee. the reason i’m sharing this is because the face claim for this story is from venezuela (will not have a huge effect on the story), but furthermore because the situation in venezuela is not being publicized enough. even just sharing these links will do a lot. sadly, i could not find any more links other than those three.

[writinginatree]

This Wasn't Supposed to be About Horses

Relationship(s): Xaden Riorson & teen!sister!reader, Bodhi Durran & Garrick Tavis & teen!Riorson!reader

Summary: Finally being back home in Aretia is a lot lonelier than you thought it would be, but at least you have your horse.

Warnings: Swearing, loneliness, mentions of parental death, minor spoilers for Onyx Storm (Garrick's signet), reader is a total horse girl™. Set during Iron Flame.

Anonymous requested: I'd love to maybe see a Xaden X Sister Reader where, in a similar vein to him in 'Jealous Little Puppy' he doesn't spend time with her. Maybe he misses quite a few of her milestones where she really 'wanted' him there but he just wasn't, please?

For three days — the whole duration of the ride so far — you've been pestering the soldier babysitting you with questions, but there isn't much he will — or can — tell you.

The man had shown up at the estate where you've been fostered since the apostasy to spirit you away in the dead of night, scaring the hell out of you. The only reason you'd even trusted him enough to go with him was the letter in Xaden's handwriting he showed you, proving your brother had sent the man to collect you. But he either hadn't told him why, or given him instructions not to tell you. All he would say was that, apparently, Xaden was up to something that might anger leadership and wanted you out of their reach.

You're not even allowed to know where you're going until you get there, because knowing would endanger the whole revolution should you be captured on the way — whatever the hell that is supposed to mean.

It's on the tip of your tongue to ask What revolution? but you know you won't get an answer, so you simply add it to your mental pile of unanswered questions. A pile that is starting to get decidedly too big. Where are you going? Why are you going there? How angry will leadership be when they find out you disappeared? Won't this get the other marked kids in trouble? Or are they being taken to safety too? And why didn't Xaden come get you himself if having you out of Navarre's reach is so important?

So many questions, and so few answers.

It's not like being left out of the loop is new to you — during your father's rebellion, you'd been too young to be told much about any of what was happening, and since then, you had only twice been allowed to see your brother. You wrote letters back and forth, but since there was no knowing who might read those, Xaden diligently avoided telling you anything interesting in them. Never a single word about Navarre's lies, nothing about his goals or what he was doing beyond basic stuff about his experience at the war college. He couldn't even tell you more about those venin monster things. That those are apparently real is one of the few things you'd learned during the rebellion, thanks to eavesdropping on Xaden and Garrick.

Unfortunately, eavesdropping isn't currently an option. You hate not knowing where you're going. Aside from the prospect of getting to see your brother again, it feels a lot like you're being kidnapped.

It's only the hope to see Xaden, and the fact you're finally sitting your horse again that make this journey bearable. It's been way too long since you were allowed to simply take Gaoth for a ride, without having to worry about staying in sight of the estate, without worrying about being back in time for whatever nonsense curfew they gave you, without fear of being punished for the abundance of mud on your boots when you return. Finally, a small taste of the freedom you've longed for.

Just you, your loyal black steed, and the mountainous range of Tyrrendor.

Well — and the soldier babysitting you.

But if you look the other way, you can almost pretend he isn't there, that you're riding home after an adventurous day of playing in the woods with Xaden, like you'd done so often until Dad's rebellion threw your whole world into upheaval. Those had been good times. You had rarely been allowed to hang out with the bigger kids, but sometimes Xaden would ditch his friends to spend some time just with you. Sometimes Bodhi would tag along, too, but more often it was just the two of you and your horses, and thanks to Xaden being the big responsible brother, you had always been allowed to stay out long past sundown, bringing sandwiches or fruit for lunch and dinner and eating by a fresh mountain stream or in some cave you'd explored. He always knew the best places to go for anything; where the best trees for climbing were, which mountain lake was the best for swimming, or where some fallen trees made the perfect obstacle course to race with the horses.

You wonder if you'll ever get to go riding together again. Are dragon riders even allowed to ride horses in their off-time, or would that be insulting to his dragon? You grin when you realize you might actually get to ask him that yourself soon. Sure, your babysitter hasn't explicitly said that Xaden will be present wherever you're going, but since it was his idea to get you there, surely that means it's somewhere he has access to.

By the third day of traveling gods-know-where, the soldier is officially sick of your pestering, urging his horse into a canter to escape your questions every time you open your mouth.

"We'll be there soon," he deflects when you try to insist on being told where you're going. "Then you'll see for yourself."

But when you ask when exactly soon is, he refuses to answer again. Eventually, night falls, and you make camp under the shelter of a copse of trees. Clearly, soon does not mean today.

"When will we get there?" you ask for the thousandth time while scarfing down the stew your companion made from the provisions he carries in his saddlebags. He's decidedly better at cooking than at answering your questions. "You said soon, and yet we're still not there, so when is soon? Tomorrow? In a week? It can't be that far, right?"

Your babysitter heaves a sigh, like escorting you is the worst task he's ever been given and he's wishing he were outside the wards fighting monsters instead. You almost think that'll be the only answer you get, but he relents and gives you a tiny piece of information after all. "Tomorrow," he confirms. "Now shut up and go to sleep."

Sure enough, the area becomes more and more familiar with each hour you travel the next day. There, the river you used to swim in, and, there, Xaden's favorite hill. That tree, that's the one you climbed too high into and were too scared to come back down without Xaden's help.

Despite all the signs of nearing your home, it's not until late afternoon, when you actually see Riorson House in the distance, that you let yourself believe that's where you're going. Seeing Aretia before you — smaller than you remember, but bustling with life — has you so slack with shock you almost topple from Gaoth's back. It only lasts a second. Then you tighten your knees and adjust your grip on the reins, leaning low over your mare's neck to gallop straight for the fortress, leaving your babysitter in the dust, forgotten about. You don't care about him and his stupid secrecy anymore, don't care how what you're seeing is possible, that Aretia should be ash and rubble, nothing but scorched ruins. You're home.

People jump out of your path with startled yelps as you race straight through the town. Gaoth doesn't need any directions, as familiar with the way home as you are, so you give her free rein, merely urging her to go faster occasionally while you stare at the new houses flying past you. Some are still under construction, while others look like they might have been standing for a couple years already.

It's Aretia, and yet it's not. Some landmarks you remember from your childhood days are still there, but many are not, replaced by new buildings or simply vacant space. Gaoth finds her way through town all the same, straight toward Riorson House.

Your heart beats faster the closer you get to the fortress, pounding in time with Gaoth's hoofbeats. Only minutes later you're past the last of the houses. Almost there. The ground flies past as Riorson House grows bigger and bigger, until it's all you can see.

Gravel sprays under Gaoth's hooves as you skid into the courtyard. Coming to a halt in front of the stables, you leap to the ground and look around, feeling like you're in a dream. Home. You're actually home after all this time. It's almost too good to believe. And then you spot Xaden. You recognize him instantly, despite all the time that has passed since you last were allowed to see him. Descending the steps from the main entrance and striding across the courtyard toward you, he looks every bit the fearsome warrior. The years at Basgiath have hardened him, but you barely see the scar on his face or the swords strapped to his back. You only see your big brother.

You drop the reins — Gaoth will stay put, anyway, she's a good horse — and run at him, not slowing the slightest until you literally collide with your brother's strong frame.

He doesn't even waver under the impact, just looks down at you with a amused glint in his eyes as you wrap your arms around him. He hugs back for a moment, then pushes you back to look you over with his hands on your shoulders. Then he grins. "You still haven't learned how to live without being constantly covered in mud, huh?"

"I've been traveling for four days!" you defend yourself, though he isn't entirely wrong. You've gotten in trouble for trailing in dirt after sneaking into the stables countless times in the last month alone. As if it's your fault you're more cut out for the stables and the outdoors rather than the fancy parties the nobles who fostered you are so fond of.

"Speaking of, where'd you leave the guy who was supposed to bring you?"

"I kinda didn't wait for him when I saw Aretia. 'm sure he'll be here soon." You rub your neck, a little embarrassed of your own rashness. "His horse can't be that slow. Besides, if he'd just told me where we were headed, I could have prepared myself and maybe wouldn't have raced the rest of the way like that."

"No trouble on the way?"

"Nope."

Though you try to focus on the conversation, your eyes keep drifting. It's hard to decide what sight to focus on. Your brother, so much older and tougher and tired-looking, and actually here in front of you!; or the buildings all around you that you'd thought you'd never see again, somehow still here despite everything.

"You're staring as if you've never seen the place before," Xaden chuckles.

"I just can't believe it's still here. I thought there was nothing left of Aretia."

"There wasn't much left of the city itself," Xaden agrees. "Most of the houses are newly rebuilt. But as for Riorson House..." He shrugs. "Stone doesn't burn."

"I know that, smartass. But somehow I thought they just, you know, smashed everything they couldn't burn to rubble with their dragons."

"I guess they didn't think it worth the effort." Someone calls to him from the doorway, and Xaden nods in acknowledgement. Turning back to you he says, "Listen, I'm running late for a meeting. Your room is just as you left it. I take it you remember how to get there?"

"Duh."

"Good. Then we'll talk later, okay?"

He's already backing away, turning his back as soon as you nod.

Watching him disappear inside the house, you suddenly feel like crying. Finding out your home still exists, that Aretia has been rebuilt — or is in the process of it, anyway —, finally seeing your brother again and him just leaving you standing in the courtyard; it's all too much.

You take a deep breath and swallow the tears, turning back to Gaoth. As eager as you are to run into the house and see if everything is as you remember, to find out if Bodhi is here, too, to flop down on your bed and cry with relief — your horse comes first. It's not until she's in her stall, thoroughly groomed and happily munching on a huge portion of hay, that you give in to the wish to head inside.

When Xaden said your room was just as you had left it, you thought he simply meant your things were still there, but as it turns out, he meant it's literally as you'd left it — a fucking mess. In the hurry to evacuate before the Battle of Aretia, you'd left clothes, toys, and books strewn all over the floor, forced to take only the most essential things. The sheets hang down the side of the bed in a tangled mess, a single stuffed animal you'd left behind looking terribly lonely in it's place beside the crumpled pillow. The closet doors are open, its contents spilling out onto a drawer lying turned over on the floor. And on top of it all, a thick layer of dust.

Clearly, no one has entered the room since the rebellion.

You're not sure what you expected. Not for someone else to have cleaned up your mess, no, but you would have thought some preparations would have been made for your return at least.

You slide off your rucksack, letting it thump to the floor by the door. A cloud of dust flies up from the carpet and makes you sneeze.

Tidying all this up is going to be a pain in the ass, so you decide it will have to wait until you've had dinner. But before you head back downstairs to eat, you cross to the window, opening it in hopes the wind will take care of some of the dust in the meantime. Unlikely, but it's worth a try. A faint smell of smoke lingers in the curtains, so you make a mental note to take them down and wash them later.

You cross to your bathing chamber — kicking up more dust with every step — to at least wash your hands. The chaos isn't as bad in there, but the dust seems even thicker, and cobwebs hang from the bathtub's faucet.

Later. You'll deal with all of that later.

On the stairs, you run into Garrick and Bodhi, talking to some other riders. Garrick spots you first, and nudges your cousin. "Look who's here."

A smile lights up Bodhi's face at the sight of you. He pulls you into a hug, and you instantly feel a little more welcome. So what if Xaden barely had time to greet you and no one bothered to check what state your room is in? They can't think of everything.

While you bask in Bodhi's warmth, Garrick takes it upon himself to introduce you to their friends. "Everybody meet the little mud-monster, otherwise known as Y/N Riorson."

"I'm not little anymore," you grouse as you step back from Bodhi's hug, though standing between this bunch of black-clad, muscle-packed fighters sure makes it feel like you are.

"No?" Garrick taunts, and steps closer, propping his elbow up on your head to show off how much taller he is. "Should we start calling you the big mud-monster, then?"

"No! Fuck you!"

Garrick pretends he didn't hear, and Bodhi grins. "Want to come have dinner with us, little mud-monster?" he asks.

You sigh in defeat. There's no getting rid of that childhood nickname the boys had assigned you after a much younger and wilder Gaoth had thrown you off in a field and you'd returned home covered in mud from head to foot. "Yes. I'm starving."

Bodhi chuckles. "We can't have that. Come on, let's get some food into you."

Xaden is late for dinner, but eventually, he does come to sit beside you and joins Bodhi and Garrick in telling you about everything that's happened — though you suspect them of leaving out some details they deem too scary for you. Still, it's nice to just sit and talk with them again instead of only communicating through letters, in which they had to carefully weigh every word and could never tell you about anything that's actually happening in case the wrong person read them.

When you've all finished eating and they're about to leave to do whatever it is that riders spend their evenings doing, you remember you still need to do something about the state of your room.

"Soo, you guys have magic now, right? You, uh, couldn't maybe use it to help me clean my room? Please?"

Xaden looks torn between annoyance and amusement. "I wield shadows, Y/N, not brooms."

"Right..." You turn to Garrick. "But you control air, don't you?"

"Yeah. And?"

"And that means you could totally make some wind to blow the dust from my room."

"Seriously? You want me to use my signet to dust off your stuff?"

"Pleeease?"

"Fine," Garrick groans, "but only because I have nothing better to do right now."

"Thank you!"

When you get to your room, Garrick stops in the doorway and whistles. "Damn," he says. "What the hell happened in here?"

You shrug. "I had to pack up in a hurry the last time I was here."

"Ah, right. I forgot you haven't been back since the apostasy. I can see why you wanted help with all that dust."

You nod, glad he understands and doesn't think you're just lazy.

Garrick lifts his hands, and the air starts to move, lifting clouds of dust and blowing them out the already open window.

You stare in wide-eyed wonder, well aware how silly your fascination must seem to Garrick, but unable to hide it. It's one thing to know that the boys you grew up with are now dragon riders with magic abilities, and quite another to actually see one of them using that magic.

Done clearing the dust from the room, Garrick leans against the door frame with his arms crossed and smirks down at you. "Cool, huh?"

You can't even be annoyed by his bragging, because he's right — that was cool as fuck.

"Yeah," you say, because you know that's what he wants to hear. Then, "Can you do the bath too?"

"Sure."

He repeats the process in your bathing chamber, and just like that, not a speck of dust remains, gone in a fraction of the time it would have taken you to dust everything off by hand.

"Have fun picking your shit off the floor," Garrick says and pats you on the back as he leaves.

You grimace, wishing getting rid of the remaining chaos were as easy as clearing the dust was for Garrick. So much of it is stuff you don't need anymore — toys you're too old for, clothes you've long outgrown. For a second you imagine hurling it all out the window after the dust. It would probably feel very satisfying, but wouldn't solve the problem, so you resign to putting the things you want to keep back into their places and piling all the things you don't need anymore into a heap by the door. Surely there are some families with kids living in town. You'll go and see if any of them have use for your old things tomorrow.

The elation of being back home and reunited with what remains of your family wears off much faster than you would have ever expected.

The whole house is stuffed to the brim with riders and fliers, and as far as any of them are concerned, you're just an annoying kid constantly getting in everyone's way; nevermind that it's your damn home they've been allowed to take refuge in.

Worse, even Xaden doesn't seem to care for your presence. He has hardly spoken to you at all since you got here.

Left entirely to your own devices, you spend most of your time with the only being who is always happy to see you — Gaoth. When you're not riding, you're helping out in the stables. There aren't as many horses at Riorson House as there were in your childhood, but plenty enough that there's always something to do.

You don't know if a school is part of what's been rebuilt of Aretia, and you don't ask. No one says anything about the way you spend your days, either, so you suppose they agree there's no need to further your education.

Sometimes when you've led the horses to their pasture to graze, you sit on the fence, watching the cadets practice flight maneuvers up in the snow-heavy clouds, and think about the future. Now that the older marked ones have deserted Basgiath and are openly rebelling, you suppose you won't have to attend the war college after all when you come of age. You're not sure if you should be relieved or disappointed about that. As terrifying as the thought of riding a dragon is, it also holds a certain adventurous appeal. But when you lower your gaze from the dragons in the sky to Gaoth, grazing a few feet away, the relief definitely wins out. In the end, you'd much rather ride your horse than a dragon.

There are more pressing things to worry about than the distant possibility of whether or not you'll have to become a rider in a few years. The unusually high number of dragons in the area makes the horses nervous. Even inside the safety of the stable, most of them are jumpy, and outside, they're prone to shy and bolt.

Even Gaoth, calm and even-tempered as she normally tends to be, panics whenever she sees them, and outright refuses to go anywhere near the valley where they reside.

Maybe she senses your own unease about the scaly beasts. Because even though you don't like to admit it, it's not just the horses that are frightened by the proximity of so many dragons. The damn things are not just huge and terrifying, they also don't keep nearly as much distance to the fortress and surrounding pastures as you would like. You wouldn't mind seeing them fly far overhead, but when they're close enough to make out their sharp claws and gleaming teeth, that's when things get uncomfortable. The only time you've seen a dragon from that close before was the Calldyr executions, when Codagh set fire to your father and the other separatist officers, which is not something you like to be reminded of. Not that you could ever forget. The sight of the flames erupting from the dragon's maw and the stink of sulfur and burning flesh are etched forever into your memory, despite Xaden's best efforts to shield you from it.

Knowing that these dragons are not your enemies, that they probably won't kill you or anyone you care about, doesn't make having them around any less unsettling. And unlike you, the horses do not know that. All they know is that there are giant flying predators roaming the area, and that they do not wish to get eaten.

After a dragon sweeping down to devour a sheep right next to the horses' pasture frightens a chestnut colt so badly he ends up breaking a leg in his panic, you decide something needs to be done. You understand why the dragons are here, and that they need a lot of space, that it's not in their nature to care for the feelings of lesser creatures than themselves, but enough is enough.

Assembly meetings are open to whoever wants to attend, that's what Bodhi had told you when he explained the concept to you. Well, you do want to attend. Someone has to advocate for the poor horses, after all, and apparently, that someone will have to be you, so when the Assembly holds their next meeting, you square your shoulders and step into the chamber.

Seven heads turn to stare at you, all frowning.

You glare back, refusing to be made to feel like an intruder. You're allowed to be here.

"What do you want, girl?" asks an old man with an eye patch.

Not having had anything to do with the Assembly until now, you're not sure if they're aware of who you are. You don't care. You don't know their names, either, and intend to solve this matter so quickly you won't have to learn them.

"I have a complaint."

"A complaint," Mr. Eye-patch echoes.

"Yes. Your dragons are scaring the horses. You shouldn't let them so close to them."

One of the women scoffs at your audacity, someone else laughs.

Glancing at your brother, he gives you a disapproving look like you should have come straight to him with the problem. As if you hadn't wanted to do that! You'd meant to ask Xaden to do something about the dragons first, but every time you see him, he's too busy to talk. Bringing the issue before the Assembly seemed like the best way to get something done about it quickly.

"Let me get this straight. You're wasting our time," the older of the women says slowly, like she finds it hard to believe, "because a few horses are scared of the dragons?"

"Yes. Something needs to be done about it, preferably before one of them hurts someone in their panic."

"If it's such a big deal to you, why don't you do something about it?"

"This is me doing something about it. They're your dragons, so it's your job to make them behave."

The woman gives you an indignant look and starts to say something that will probably be along the lines of Listen here you little shit, but the other, dark-skinned old man interrupts her.

"We can't help that the horse pasture is so close to the nearest flock of sheep," he says, not unkindly. "The dragons have to eat."

"They don't have to it so close to the horses, though."

Xaden sighs. "We'll ask them to be more considerate of the horses. But it'll be up to them whether or not they listen. Dragons don't take orders from humans."

"Yes, and when they hear about this complaint they might just decide to eat one of your precious horses out of spite," the hostile woman says, a mean glint in her eyes like she's hoping for that to happen.

Your heart speeds up. Did you really make everything worse, or is she just making empty threats to be mean?

"No, they won't," Xaden interjects, leveling a murderous glare on the woman. "Stop scaring my sister."

She huffs, muttering something about kids these days under her breath, but doesn't interrupt when you dare to suggest, "Maybe you could make some kind of schedule so they only take sheep from near the horses when none are outside? And when the horses are there they get sheep from further up the mountain?"

Judging by the looks the Assembly members give each other, that's too much to ask.

"We'll consider it," the slightly younger man says. "But I'm not sure the dragons will be agreeable. They like to do what they want, when they want, where they want."

"Right. It's just—"

"Maybe," Xaden interrupts, "you could train with the horses to be less scared when they see a dragon, hm? Might come in handy, not just because of the pasture situation but in general."

The look he gives you makes clear what remains unsaid: unlike them, you have nothing better to do anyway.

You nod. You'd thought about that yourself already, but the truth is, the horses' fear of the dragons is a convenient excuse to hide your own fear behind. Looks like you'll have to work on that along with the horses.

"Sure."

"This meeting was not supposed to be about horses," Mr. Eye-patch snaps before you can say anything else. "So if that was all, we have real problems to discuss here."

You leave, taking with you the impression that most riders are just as unpleasant as their dragons.

Waking up on the morning of your birthday, a smile spreads over your face at the sight of your room. Home. For the first time in six years, you are home and will get to spend this day with your family. Okay, maybe not the whole day. Bodhi can't just ditch classes just because it's your birthday, and Xaden always has lots of stuff to do, too, but getting to see them at all is gift enough.

You jump out of bed, so eager to start the day you only throw a jacket over your pajamas and slip into your boots. Getting changed can wait until after you've feed Gaoth. Then you'll have breakfast with the guys, and—

Your smile falls when you open the door and see the plate of cake waiting for you, a piece of paper folded into a card beside it. You open it and read.

Happy Birthday, little mud-monster! I'm sorry I can't be there — something came up, and I have to leave without delay. I'll be back soon. In the meantime, there's a surprise for you in the stables. Love, X.

The paper crumples in your fist, its edges digging into your skin, but you barely feel it, too focused on keeping the tears at bay. You refuse to let them fall. This will not become the sixth time in a row you spend your birthday crying your eyes out. Every year since the apostasy the sadness had won and turned what was supposed to be a happy day into one spent in misery. Year after year you'd hidden in Gaoth's box and cried, missing your father, your brother, your cousin, even the mother you could barely remember. No matter how hard you tried to have a good day in spite of that, or to simply ignore what day it was altogether, you'd succumbed to the tears every time. But not again. You refuse. There will be no tears today, no matter what the day brings.

And really, what does it matter that Xaden can't spend the day with you? You're home; that alone should be reason enough to be happy.

But it does matter. Coming home was supposed to put an end to your loneliness; instead, it has only made it more noticeable. Before, being alone equated being safe. It was your best option, surrounded by enemies as you were at all times. But now you're back with your family. Xaden and Bodhi are right there, you get to see them every day, and yet, you still spend the majority of your time as alone as you had in your foster home. It isn't fair.

Taking a step back, you shut the door, telling yourself you should be glad Xaden remembered your birthday at all, that he took the time to write you a note and leave cake, presumably in the middle of the night, despite being in a hurry to get to wherever it was he'd had to go.

It doesn't make you feel better.

You set the plate on your desk and try a bite of the cake. It's your favorite. You haven't had cake like this in years, made just the way you remember from childhood. If you weren't so disappointed by Xaden's absence, you would devour the slice and run to the kitchen to see if there is more of it. But the enthusiasm you'd woken up with has left you, drained away as quickly as it came. You decide you should get dressed before leaving your room after all — you're too old to run around in your pajamas, really, no matter how early it is.

You dress slow and listlessly, in between bites of cake. Disappointed or not, you savor the taste of it nonetheless. Maybe you really can get another slice later. There has to be more of it, right?

As you head out to the stable to feed Gaoth and muck her box, you keep thinking about the note your brother wrote you. He's always coming and going, trying to be everywhere at once, but as far as you're aware, it's rarely this sudden when he gets called somewhere. You wonder what happened, if maybe Tyrrendor is being attacked by Venin or the riders loyal to Navarre. Xaden's note isn't very informative. Something came up. Could he be any more vague?

Gaoth stops you from overthinking by being especially affectionate. She greets you by nosing at your hair and keeps abandoning her breakfast to rub her head against your shoulder while you go about changing the straw in her box. She always knows when you're sad, no matter how well you hide it from everyone else.

Outside her stall lays Xaden's surprise for you: A new pair of riding pants, with extra warm lining for the winter. Your favorite color, too, matching Gaoth's saddle pad. They're lying on top of a small crate. When you open it, you see that it contains a set of new grooming tools — brushes and combs and a hoof pick, everything you need for Gaoth. You'd had to leave your old set behind, and have been using those of an old horse who'd died recently. Part of you is surprised Xaden paid enough attention to know that, considering he's not exactly present in your day to day life.

You'll try them out later, after both Gaoth and you are fed.

Back inside the house, Bodhi waves you over to sit with him at breakfast. He's already halfway done — you've spent longer in the stable than you'd thought.

"Good morning, birthday girl," your cousin cheerfully greets as you slide into the seat next to him, and you find your mood improving a little, as it usually does around him. He doesn't even need to try; somehow his presence alone has a soothing effect already.

"Hi, Bodhi."

He reaches into his bag, which sits by his feet, and produces a book he hands to you. "Sorry, I didn't have time to wrap it."

"That's fine," you assure him, thumbing through the book. "Thank you."

It's a collection of short stories — all centered around horses, naturally. Bodhi knows exactly what a book needs to make you like it, and he even got a pocket-sized edition that you can comfortably take with you to read in the stable or when taking a break during a ride. Gaoth will love it, too. She might not understand the words when you read to her, but you always get the impression she enjoys it nonetheless.

"Do you know where Xaden is?" you ask, putting the book aside to start on your breakfast. "He wrote a note that he had to leave, but it didn't say why."

"They need him at the border, I think. Don't worry. He'll be back in a few days." Bodhi sounds like he's reassuring himself more than you, and adds, "Garrick is with him, too."

You nod, forcing a smile. Truth be told, it hadn't even occurred to you to worry about Xaden until now. He's so powerful, his dragon so big and scary, that it seems impossible anything could happen to him. A stupid way to think, naive. He is strong, but not undefeatable. No one is; your father's death taught you that. He, too, had always seemed invincible to you, until he lost the fight against Navarre and your world went up in flames.

A moment ago, you were merely disappointed that Xaden isn't there to spend your birthday with you, but now that Bodhi unwittingly put the idea into your head, you're scared something might happen to him, too.

Your cousin seems the sense the shift in your mood, because he throws his arm around your shoulder and brings up the one topic that always cheers you up. "Did Gaoth wish you a happy birthday yet?"

You snort. "So far I haven't had any luck teaching her how to talk, but I went out to feed her before getting my own breakfast, if that's what you mean."

Bodhi smiles, shaking his head. "Really? Even on your birthday?"

"Of course! Gaoth always comes first. Besides, to her it's a day like any other. If I fed her later than usual, she'd just think I forgot her."

You don't add that you know exactly how much feeling forgotten hurts, because it is something you've become very familiar with as of late. Bodhi would only feel guilty if he knew, and that's the last thing you want. It's not his fault. Not really Xaden's, either, though he is the one who most makes you feel so left behind. There's no one you can blame for your loneliness, except maybe the gods. It's the circumstances causing it, you know, and not malice or uncaringness. Your brother and cousin are grownups with grown-up responsibilities that demand their time, while you're just a teenager dedicating your days to your horse. There's not much the both of them have in common with you anymore. A depressing thought. You used to be pretty close when you were younger, despite the big age difference, bonded by your shared love for horses and adventure. Looking at Xaden nowadays, it's strange to think he used to be just as crazy about horses as you are. Did he really outgrow that love, or has he merely shoved it aside out of necessity? When you're as old as he is now, will you be such different a person from who you are now, too?

You shake your head. Pondering nonsense like that isn't how you want to spend your birthday.

Chatting with Bodhi about this and that is a good diversion, but after a while he checks his pocket watch and gives you an apologetic smile. "I really have to go now. See you later, yeah?"

"Sure." You already knew he can't just skip classes, so why are you so disappointed? "I was going to take Gaoth for a ride anyway. I'll try to be back for dinner, but don't count on it."

"Alright," Bodhi laughs, and ruffles your hair. "Enjoy your day."

Left alone once again, you take the rest of your breakfast out to the stable to finish it in Gaoth's company. When you're done, you stuff your new book and some food for later into a saddlebag and get to work with your new brushes, grooming Gaoth until her black fur is so clean it gleams in the bright morning light. Then you saddle up, and leave all your worries behind as you ride out into the snow dusted landscape.

It's late at night when Bodhi finds you sitting in front of the wall with family portraits.

You rode far up into the mountains with Gaoth, and only returned a few moments ago, long after the moon had risen. After a long day of riding and fresh mountain air, you should have fallen into bed and slept like a baby, but restlessness and a deep longing for the way things used to be keep you awake. You know you should at least try to get some sleep. You'll have to be up as early as always tomorrow, or Gaoth will be very unhappy. You just can't bring yourself to get up.

You're not even sure why it was that your feet had carried you here, of all places. Staring at your father's face on a portrait isn't going to bring him back. Still, you don't have it in you to look away, even when you hear footsteps and notice Bodhi in your peripherals.

He wordlessly sits down beside you, leaning his head back against the wall to look up at the same painting you're fixating.

It shows a much younger version of him sitting beside a much younger Xaden, who holds a tiny toddler you on his lap. Your dad and Bodhi's mom stand behind the plush armchair the three of you are squeezed into, and everyone is smiling. There are other pictures; just your dad, just your aunt, two more of the whole family — one from before you were born, another from when you were seven or eight, your mother notably absent in all of them. But you like this one the best.

After a few minutes of looking at the painting in companionable silence, you finally make yourself look away, and lean your head against Bodhi's shoulder.

Wrapping his arm around you, he scrunches his nose. "You smell like horse."

"I was out riding. Just got back like half an hour ago," you answer in the same quiet tone Bodhi used. You glance up at him from the corner of your eye without moving your head. "You smell like dragon."

The corner of his mouth twitches up. "I was out riding, too."

"Aren't your flight lessons in the afternoon? You could have showered."

Bodhi shrugs, chuckling softly. "I guess I could have. I saved you some cake from dinner, by the way."

"Yeah?"

You totally forgot about the cake. It makes sense they offered it at dinner, since you hadn't shown up for more, but you're glad Bodhi saved you another piece. He just is the best.

"Yeah. Want to go have a midnight snack?"

"Fuck yeah."

Today is the day. After weeks of practicing with Gaoth to be less scared of the dragons, you want to try riding right past them, closer than ever before. Not so close as to anger them, of course. You're no fool. You don't like getting too close to them, and they don't like it either, which is just fine by you. You'll get only close enough to comfortably ignore each other.

At least that's the theory. While Gaoth has gotten pretty good at ignoring them while you gradually reduced the distance you kept to the dragons, a risk will always remain. It isn't easy for a horse to fight the instinct telling it to flee from predators.

But you believe in her.

Setting out along the path that leads from the fortress up into the mountains, you make sure not to look at the two dragons standing somewhere to the left with their riders, doing gods know what. Even without looking it is a conscious effort to keep your posture relaxed. But you have to. If Gaoth feels you tensing up, she'll mirror you and you'll make each other more and more nervous until one of you spirals into full-blown panic. You can't have that.

From your peripherals, you note one of the dragons stretching its wings, getting ready to fly. Gaoth's ears twitch at the sound of its wingbeats when it takes off, but she doesn't balk. Pride flares in your chest. Weeks ago, she would have reared and fled. Now she just keeps walking, despite the other dragon looming a little to the side of the path further up ahead.

You really wish Xaden were there to see your success, but he's stuck in some meeting or other, and had impatiently waved you away when you'd tried to ask if he had time to show him the progress you made in getting over Gaoth's fear of dragons.

You do tell him about it later, though. He nods along and tells you "Good job", but it sounds halfhearted.

"Challenges are about to start. Why don't you go watch?" he suggests as soon as you finish talking. "I'm sure you could learn a thing or two."

He's been making comments like this for weeks now, ever since you accidentally reminded him that you were among those of the marked kids who hadn't received any combat training by the families who fostered them. It doesn't matter to him that you don't want to be a fighter, that you're perfectly happy just working in the stables. No, just because he likes to fight, he thinks you would too, if you only gave it a try.

You pull a face and stare down at your boots. They could really use some cleaning. "I dunno what's supposed to be so interesting about people beating the shit out of each other."

Xaden heaves a sigh. "There's more to it than that. You could learn a lot about the techniques behind it by watching."

"I don't care about fighting techniques."

That was the wrong thing to say. His face darkens. "You should."

"What's the point?" you argue, just like you do every time you have this conversation. Usually, he doesn't have the time to listen to you list the reasons why you don't feel the need to learn about combat, but this time, he lets you go on. "It's not like I'll have to attend Basgiath, now that you guys are doing your own thing. And even if that wasn't the case, I have years—"

"You need to able to defend yourself, even if you don't end up becoming a rider. We're at war, and nowhere is truly safe. Knowing how to dodge a blade could make the difference between being killed or getting away in case Aretia gets attacked." He folds his arms over his chest, a hard look on his face that tells you he's made up his mind even before he continues. "You are going to train, Y/N. I tried to be nice and convince you to learn willingly, but since you won't, you can consider this a fucking order. Be in the gym at six tomorrow morning."

Out of all the protests that come to mind, the one that comes out of your mouth is, "But that's the time I usually feed Gaoth!"

"She'll survive it if you feed her a little earlier."

With that, he walks away. It would be no use to run after him to argue further. Once Xaden has made a decision about something, it's practically impossible to change his mind, so you might as well accept that starting tomorrow, you'll have a new hobby.

The next morning, you make sure to be in the gym five minutes early to avoid giving Xaden a reason to scold you before the training even starts, but he is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it's Garrick who walks in. Watching him approach, it dawns on you that Xaden hadn't specified who would be instructing you. Foolishly, you had assumed he would do it himself. It stings a little that he won't, even though you know how many other, more important things he has to do.

Garrick beckons you to an unoccupied mat in the corner. The gym is still relatively empty at this time, which is fortunate — you're sure you'll be making a fool of yourself in no time. You're not normally clumsy, have good balance and strong muscles from riding and tending to the horses, but you're not sure how much good that'll do you. This is all completely new. Even the mat beneath your feet feels foreign. You have no clue how to hit someone, or stop them from hitting you, and knowing Garrick, he won't take it easy on you. He'll expect you to learn fast, to double your efforts for every mistake you make, which there will certainly be a lot of.

Sure enough, he throws you right in the deep end. "Alright, punch me. Come on."

You eye him with a healthy dose of trepidation. "You're not going to punch back when I do, right?"

"Nope. For now I'm just taking the role of the punching bag we're lacking."

That would have been a lot more reassuring if it wasn't for the two little words for now. He can't really expect you to handle yourself in a fight against him in the very first lesson, can he?

"Come on," he urges again. "Just try it."

"Shouldn't you show me how to do it first?"

You can tell you're already getting on his nerves by being so hesitant. It's beyond you why Xaden picked Garrick for this. You love the guy like another brother, you really do, but in your humble opinion he's not a good choice for teaching anyone anything. Maybe you're a little biased. You remember all too well being five or six years old and struggling to learn how to tie your shoes on your own. Xaden and Garrick had made it their mission to teach you, but all their well-meant tips had only confused you more. When you'd misunderstood their instructions for the umpteenth time, one of them — you're almost certain it was Garrick — had started yelling, you had started crying, which led to more yelling from both of them, this time at each other, which made you cry even more. You had run off to hide in your father's office for the rest of the day, and in the end, Bodhi's mom had been the one to teach you to tie your shoes.

So while you might not know anything about combat, you do know that it takes patience to teach someone something, no matter what it is. And though you have no doubt that Garrick is a brilliant fighter, patience is something he has always lacked.

"You telling me you don't know how to make a fist?" he challenges now.

"Of course I know how to make a fist, but—"

"Great, then do it and hit me. Today, if you don't mind."

Okay, fine. You're starting to want to hit him, even if you know damn well it will probably hurt you more than him. You ball your hand into a fist, draw back your arm, and punch him right into the middle of his broad chest.

Garrick doesn't even blink. You punched him as hard as you could, and he fucking stands there like he didn't feel anything.

You shake your hand, glaring up at him. This is bullshit.

"You held your hand at the wrong angle," Garrick explains. "Try again, but this time make sure your middle knuckles take the brunt of the impact. And don't bend your wrist."

He holds his fist against the palm of his other hand to demonstrate it, then gives you an expectant look.

You obey, and it continues like that for a while. Garrick tells you to do something, you do it wrong, he shows you the proper way to do it and makes you do it again and again until you get it right.

Only you keep getting everything wrong, and Garrick's meager patience is quickly exhausted.

"Whoa, no!" He stops you from completing the move he just demonstrated for the third time. "Not like that you fucking idiot! You'll hurt yourself that way. Do it like I showed you."

"I'm trying!" you yell back, fighting tears of frustration. Idiot is far from the worst insult anyone ever called you, and you know Garrick doesn't even mean it, that he's just annoyed because you're not catching on as fast as he would like, but that doesn't make the words hurt any less.

"Really?" he scoffs. "This is really the best you can do?"

"Yes!"

"Gods, you really know nothing about hand-to-hand combat, do you?" he groans.

"Yeah, no shit," you snap. "That's exactly what I've been telling you for the past hour!"

You're not sure if it really has been an hour already, but that's how long this session was supposed to go on for, and you're fucking done.

"No need to be a brat about it," Garrick growls back, just as frustrated by how badly the lesson went as you are. "I didn't think that just because you've never fought before you'd be this fucking clueless. Did you never at least watch a fight?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?!" Garrick asks, completely exasperated. It seems the idea that anyone could not be interested in fights is too absurd for him to believe.

"Because I don't like it."

"I'm getting the feeling you don't like anything besides Gaoth." When you don't contradict him, he shakes his head, saying "There's more to life than horses, you know."

"To you, maybe. Are we done now?"

To your relief, Garrick nods.

Without another word, you turn on your heel and storm from the gym and then the house. You'll probably get sick, going out into the cold without a jacket and soaked in sweat like this, but you don't care. Quickly bridling Gaoth, you swing yourself onto her bare back and urge her outside, too desperate to get away to bother with a saddle.

You're never doing that again, you think as you gallop away from Riorson House, the wind driving the tears you've been fighting from your eyes. Not in a thousand years. You don't care what Xaden says, if knowing self-defense is important. You're not a fighter, and you never will be. He can't change that. Garrick definitely can't. Deep down you know you're overreacting, but you don't care. You hadn't wanted to learn how to fight in the first place, and your failure to follow Garrick's instructions only solidified that. Fuck hand-to-hand combat. If you ever need to defend yourself, you can always let Gaoth kick the foe in the head.

When you return — shivering and numb from the cold, but calmer inside — Bodhi is waiting for you in the stable with your jacket. Shouldn't he be in class?

"I take it your lesson with Garrick didn't go well?" he asks, holding it up for you to slip into.

"He can shove his stupid fighting lessons up his ass."

"Who?" Bodhi asks, buttoning the jacket for you, since your own fingers are practically frozen stiff. "Garrick? Or Xaden?"

"Both of them."

Bodhi sighs. "I could have told him Garrick isn't a good choice as your instructor. I think he wanted to teach you himself at first, and when he realized he doesn't have the time he just picked the first person who came to mind. It's not your fault. Garrick just doesn't have the patience for this kind of thing."

"I don't care. I don't want to learn how to fight."

"Which certainly didn't help matters."

"I tried!"

"Of course. I'm not doubting that. I'm just saying you probably weren't in a good mood to begin with, so it's no wonder you and Garrick clashed. You know that just because you're not good at it right from the start doesn't mean you can't learn, right? You just have to keep trying."

You grab a carrot from the grain room, taking two angry bites before giving the rest of it to Gaoth. "I don't want to."

"It's for your own good—"

"Not you too!"

"I know you don't want to hear it, but Xaden is right. Just imagine if Aretia gets invaded!"

"That won't happen. And if it did, I'd just get on Gaoth and hide somewhere until one of you comes to tell me it's safe."

"And if the enemy blocks the way to the stable before you can get there? What then, huh?"

"Then... Then I would... Uhh..."

"Then it'd be very helpful if you knew how to fight, don't you think?"

"I guess..."

"So how about you give it another try with that in mind, hm?"

Bodhi says it so gently, the way you would talk to a skittish horse. You don't like that thought, but it's true you're still agitated, even now that the worst of your frustration is gone. You understand his point, but that doesn't change the way you feel.

"No."

"Y/N—"

"No! I don't want to fight!"

"I don't want you to have to fight, either. And you'll hopefully never have to do so for real. But, as we just established, you need to know how to do it just in case. Sparring can actually be pretty fun once you get the hang of it, you know." He rubs his hand over his face, sighing when you don't reply. "What if I train with you? Will you give another try then?"

You're about to say no, that you won't try again no matter with whom, but then it occurs to you that letting Bodhi give you fighting lessons would mean you'd get to spend more time with him. And he would definitely be more patient with you than Garrick was, kinder about all the mistakes you're bound to continue making.

Realizing something else, it's your turn to sigh. "I don't really get a say anyway, do I? I'll have to try again, whether I want to or not."

Xaden is so set on making you learn how to fight, there's no way he'll let you off the hook just because the first lesson didn't go well. But if Bodhi could convince him to let him teach you, maybe it would be bearable.

Bodhi nods, smiling apologetically. "It's for your own good."

"Fine. You can try if you can teach me how to fight. But only you. And only if there's cake after lessons."

"Deal."

You just got back from practicing with the throwing knives Xaden had gotten you upon Violet's suggestion. As sceptical as you had been of the idea at first, you find yourself enjoying it, much more so than the hand-to-hand fighting moves you begrudgingly practice with Bodhi thrice a week now. You can even do it on horseback! Well — theoretically. Your aim is not yet good enough to hit the target even with both feet on the ground, nevermind while riding. Nonetheless, it's fun to try.

You've almost reached your room when Xaden's door opens, and he and Violet come out, dressed for flying and strapped with weapons.

"Are you going to one of the outposts again?" you ask. If he's taking Violet with him, he must be expecting to stay away longer than usual this time.

But he shakes his head. "We're flying for Basgiath."

Oh. Right. You've heard about Melgren's prediction of the Navarrian outposts being overrun by Venin, and Violet's theory that the real battle has to happen at Basgiath. It hadn't sounded like the Assembly wanted to do anything about it, though.

"I thought the vote went against helping them?"

"Yeah, but we're going to do it anyway. Some of us, at least. Stay out of the Assembly's hair while I'm gone, yeah?"

"Sure." You push down the fear of knowing he's headed for battle; there's no way he'll listen if you ask him not to go. "Be careful."

"Always am."

That doesn't seem likely, but you've never seen him fight except for practice, so you can't argue.

With a last look at his and Violet's retreating forms, you slip into your room and send a prayer to Dunne that they'll make it back in one piece.

[chucky-vs-the-giant-tortoise]

tangled

JJ Maybank x toddler!sister!reader

(REQUEST): thinking of baby sister maybank maybe being 1-2 and jj is really struggling with her hair, and he wants her hair out of her face but doesn’t know what to do. so sarah and kie step in

warning(s): N/A

a/n: thank you for the request, m'love. if i'm being honest i may rewrite this in the future because i have unfortunately had very little motivation to write this week. :( but even still i hope that you enjoy.

also, to everyone who has written me a request, i promise i'm working on them! they should all hopefully be finished by this week or the next.

“Ow!” Y/N squeaked, her plump digits failing to swat away JJ’s hands.

Her elder brother huffed, struggling to tame the toddler’s head of unruly curls. It was hard enough to pull all of the odds and ends of her hair into a ponytail far too small for his large fingers–let alone when she was intervening in the already troublesome process. 

“I know, I know,” JJ said, instinctively jutting out one of his hands to keep a wriggling Y/N from jumping out of his lap. He just barely managed to foil yet another one of her escape attempts. “You’ve just gotta sit still for a minute, peanut. Almost done.”

Y/N continued to whine, squinting against the harsh sun whilst JJ fiddled around with an elastic band in several failed attempts to create a functioning ponytail. The task only got harder as time trekked on—Y/N was antsy to join Kie and Sarah up at the bow of the HMS Pogue, and the more she tried to squirm her way to freedom, the worse JJ’s makeshift ponytails became.

“Jesus, dude. What the Hell are you doin’ to our mini Pogue, huh?” John B teased from the helm after several minutes of Y/N’s aggravated complaints, tonguing his cheek in amusement.

JJ had managed to get a good chunk of Y/N’s hair held sturdily away from her face, but several of her thick curls still fell like a veil over her large blue eyes. 

“Don’t listen to him, Jay. You’re a pro,” Pope laughed from behind him. JJ glared from behind the lenses of his shades.

“Ha-ha-fucking-ha. You ever tried to do this shit, man? It’s harder than it looks.”

The girls laughed as they caught a glimpse of JJ’s masterpiece. Y/N pouted, blonde curls spilling over her chubby face. “Need some help over there, Jay?” Kiara finally asked, taking pity on JJ who now wore a nearly identical pout to his baby sister. 

The boy sighed, running a hand through his own hair. “Please.” He scooped up his sister and carefully set her down on her unstable feet. “She’s all yours.”

Y/N, content with her newfound freedom, barrelled over to where her favourite Pogues had been sitting all afternoon: lounging around as they tanned and took swigs from their respective beers. Sarah laughed as the young girl fell onto her legs, wasting no time in sitting the little firecracker between herself and Kie.

“Wow,” Sarah said, observing the elder Maybank’s work up close. It was worse than she thought. “JJ really did a number on you, huh?”

“Jay bad at hair!” Y/N accused, brows furrowed in annoyance as she pointed a crude finger at her big brother. JJ rolled his eyes.

“Did better than you could've, peanut.” Y/N stuck out her tongue in response, and the girls chuckled as JJ reciprocated her gesture.

“Don’t worry, Y/N/N. We’ll take care of it,” Kie said, carefully undoing JJ’s handiwork without so much of a wince from the toddler. Sarah dipped into her bag to find a hairbrush and the few extra elastics she always kept on hand. “Gonna make you look so pretty, bub.”

“Promise?” The little girl beamed up at her, and Kie lightly pinched at her cheek.

“Promise.”

It took an embarrassingly short period of time for Kie and Sarah to get Y/N’s hair in order, brushing it into two braided pigtails on either side of her small head. The smile never left Y/N’s face as they worked, efficient and gentle in their process—the complete opposite to JJ’s hectic routine.

“Alrighty,” Sarah declared as she manoeuvred the final hairband, twisting the elastic a few extra times around the toddler’s braid to keep it in place. “You’re all done, Y/N!”

“I look pretty?” Y/N asked, eyes shining with anticipation. Kiara tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

“The prettiest.”

Y/N wasted no time in toddling back over to where JJ was now busy talking to the other two boys, her cheeks dimpled with pride.  “Jay!” She cheered, bouncing with excitement. The blond looked down at her, a grin breaking out over his face as he caught sight of his baby sister’s new hairdo. “Pretty?”

JJ chuckled, lifting her back into his lap and pressing a sloppy kiss to her nose.

“Beautiful as ever, munchkin.” Y/N wrapped her small arms around his bronzed shoulders, and JJ gave another quick kiss to her temple. “What’d’ya say we get Kie and Sarah to do your hair all the time now, huh?”

He barely had enough time to complete his sentence as an empty beer can came flying at his shoulder, thrown by a now smirking Kiara.

“You wish, Maybank!”