#the next few days until Christmas are all busy… | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

taojjang · 3 days ago

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𐙚 riize reactions: i want to marry you .ᐟ

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ advent calendar, day twenty-two! pairing: fiance!riize x reader, genre: fluff! warnings: pure love <3

synopsis: there's no better time to confess your never-ending love for someone than the holidays!

note: we're on the final four! ty guys sm for enjoying the advent calendar series i appreciate it so so so much :( i hope you guys are looking forward to the holidays coming up!! this one is kinda longgg i was feeling a bit too romantic so i hope you have the time and patience for this

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shotaro . . .

since the beginning of november, shotaro had planned a romantic getaway for the holidays. he booked the resort the second you agreed to his idea. from then until the day he drove you to the resort, he wouldn't stop talking about how excited he was. on christmas night, you finally realized why he was so excited.

taro knew you wanted to try ice skating. every time you'd open instagram, you'd watch reels about cute winter date ideas, and somehow ice skating was always a suggestion. you've been bugging taro to take you ice skating. the two of you got ready together in your fancy hotel room, taro letting you pick out your matching outfits. after you got all dolled up for the date, you were on your way to the skii resort.

taro held your hand as you entered the skii lift, reassuring you everything would be fun. but you were terrified. the lift seemed to be going way faster than you anticipated, causing your anxiety to palpitate in your chest. but once you entered the skii lift, your every thought was clouded by the breathtaking view ahead of you. but within seconds of reaching the mountain peak, you felt a tap on your shoulder. as you turned to face your boyfriend, your gaze was stolen by a glistening ring in taro's hand. your heart grew lighter as you looked down into taro's doting eyes.

"you've made every day of my life feel like a dream. would you let me live in your fairytale for the rest of our lives?"

the two of you held hands and explored the snowy mountain together, not being able to stop giggling as the idea of being with each other for the rest of your lives sank in.

eunseok . . .

eunseok is truly the most nurturing boyfriend you could ask for. no matter how busy or tired he is, he'd drop anything and come running to you the second you call his name. but with such a caring boyfriend comes so much nagging. eunseok is always complaining about how you spend too much money ordering food when he could just cook for you, or how you need to prioritize paying bills before buying new clothes. so of course it shocked you when he suddenly told you he was taking you to a tropical resort for christmas.

but of course, you couldn't complain. you were already envisioning so many cute things to do with eunseok on the vacation. you were a bit too excited, packing your things the same night although you had two more weeks until your flight. but it was all worth it. the resort he booked was absolutely stunning. you had your own little house on the beach and you bedroom had a window view of the deep turquoise waves.

the next few days, eunseok would take you on fancy tours of the island and luxurious dinner dates every night. you felt a bit emotional when things were coming to an end. the amount of beautiful memories you made with eunseok this week was all starting to overwhelm you. you felt like your love for him was at its capacity. seeing how sentimental you were, eunseok decided to lift your spirits by taking you on the final activity he had booked: a romantic ride on a yacht. it was absolutely lovely sitting beside eunseok with a glass of champagne in your hand. the wind breezed through your hair, refreshing every lingering thought in your mind. as you soaked in the tropical sun, eunseok called from behind you. "i think you'll like this view more." your heart stilled in your chest as you turned to eunseok, who was on one knee with the most stunning diamond ring you've ever seen

"you're the only person i'd wish to share the rest of my memories with. darling, will you marry me?"

sungchan . . .

every date with sungchan is typically organized by you. sungchan is quite clumsy and unorganized, so whenever he plans something it usually goes wrong. though you don't mind it and enjoy the thrill of how unpredictable his dates are, he's too insecure to plan dates. after all, sungchan wants the best for you.

but he knew you couldn't plan his proposal. he wanted it to be a complete surprise, which he succeeded in. you were shocked by how beautiful the house looked when you got home from spending time with your family for christmas. there was a romantic trail of rose petals leading you from the entrance to the dinner table, which was prettily decorated with fancy candles and flowers. though sungchan was such a klutz, you were proud of him for how luxurious he made the house.

everything was going as planned: he cooked up his best dish and it turned out delicious having you get up for seconds. you even complimented how well he planned out this date. to finish off the night, sungchan poured you a glass of pink champagne and served two slices of your favorite cake. the two of you were eating cake by the fireplace and sharing affectionate words with one another until suddenly, sungchan winced in pain and he covered his mouth with his hand. concerned and panicked, you put down your plate and leaned closer asking him what was wrong. you were surprised to see sungchan pull out a small object from his mouth. it was a diamond ring. you could see the embarrassment rise to his face as he looked down at the ring. "well, that wasn't supposed to be there..." as you realized what had just happened, you bursted out into laughter and took sungchan into your arms. "oh my gosh, sungchan, you're the cutest!" sungchan whined and threw his head into his hands crying, "it was going so well!" you smiled and left a doting kiss on sungchan's lips. "it's alright baby, now's your chance." sungchan sat up and cleared his throat, taking your hands into his and looking into your eyes.

"i know that was so stupid of me, but i promise to take you on countless more dates even better than this one. would you be my wife?"

wonbin . . .

wonbin loves home dates. whenever wonbin is in the mood to take you on a date, the destination is almost always his living room. something about the intimacy of being alone in such a comfortable space makes him so much sweeter than usual. but the christmas spirit makes wonbin even sweeter.

the two of you have a holiday tradition of going on a date to the annual christmas light festival at the nearby park. after walking around and taking cute pictures of every display, you would both find a seat in front of the frozen lake and share one early christmas gift.

but this year, wonbin forgot all about your gift. you stood in front of him with a blue gift bag in your hands, staring at him in disbelief as he stood empty-handed. you were furious. you'd been keeping up this tradition for five years, how could he forget? wonbin had even been bragging endlessly about how amazing your gift is, yet he conveniently forgot to bring it with him. you sat down on the bench and crossed your arms, not daring to look at him. all you could do was sulk as he cooed apologies. but your tough demeanor was soon cracked when wonbin sang, "listen baby, i can make it up to you, hm? look at me." finally giving in and turning to face him, your heart dropped to your stomach. wonbin got on one knee ahead of you, pulling out a small black velvet case from his pocket.

"you're the best gift i could ever receive. i'd never trade you for anything else in the world. will you marry me?"

seunghan . . .

seunghan spoils you rotten all throughout the year. you're having a hard day? dinner date! you just got a promotion? shopping spree! you gave him a few extra kisses that morning? flowers at your doorstep! after all, you're his entire world. what better way to show you that than giving you everything you could possibly ask for?

christmas is your favorite time of the year. you love going on all of the winter dates seunghan plans and enjoying the christmas spirit with him. but it gets a bit stressful sometimes. every day, there's at least two more gifts under the christmas tree despite not asking for a single thing this year. since seunghan spends so much money on you, you told him not to fret about christmas gifts this year and to focus on his family and friends. but its obvious those words didn't stick with him. by the time christmas eve came, more than half of the gifts under the tree were for you. you went to bed that night excited to open all of the gifts he'd gotten for you.

but you woke up to a christmas tree with no gifts beneath it. the tree skirt was bare with no boxes in sight. instead, four bouquets of flowers were sitting where the gifts usually were. confused, you called for seunghan in hopes he could explain what happened. but he never answered. as you investigated further, you noticed a single gift sitting on the branches of the tree. your eyes welled with tears as it revealed a silver ring with a stunning blue diamond. you turned around to see seunghan standing at the doorway with all of your gifts and another bouquet.

"what do you say, angel? would you take my hand in marriage?"

sohee . . .

as much as sohee loves you, it's rare for him to express said love through physical touch. here and there, he'd hold your hand as you walk beside each other or he'd brush your hair behind your ear when you're resting against his shoulder. but typically, he struggles to openly express his affection.

so of course you suspected something was off when he awkwardly held your hand for days straight. since the day before christmas eve, sohee's been so much more cuddly than you're used to. after spending the holidays together for the nth time, he wouldn't leave your side. he was practically clinging onto you from the moment he woke up to the moment he fell asleep in your arms. though you loved every second of it, you began to worry.

to end off christmas day on a cozy note, you put on your coziest sweater and got comfortable in front of the fireplace. not even a few seconds later, sohee hesitantly sat beside you, linking his arm around yours and resting against your shoulder. you pulled the blanket over the two of you and looked down at the clingy boy beside you. resting your hand on his cheek and stroking his soft skin, you asked out of pure concern, "sohee baby, is something wrong? is there something from your christmas list that i missed?" sohee chuckled and shook his head, snuggling closer to you. "what? of course not. i just... have a lot on my mind." even the slightest pout on sohee's face caused you immense discomfort and pain. you couldn't stand hearing he was stressed. "tell me about it, what's upsetting you?" sohee took a few seconds to simply breathe and take in your presence. swallowing back all of his fear, he looked up at you and let everything fall from his lips. "i think... i think i wanna marry you." your heart stood completely still. not a single breath escaped your lips. it was as if your entire world had froze. your love for sohee began overflowing in the form of tears.

"i've never felt so much love for someone as long as i've lived. i want to marry you, y/n."

anton . . .

christmas is always so serious for anton. he does not play when it comes to the holiday festivities. from november 1st all the way through january 31st, your house is full of the prettiest christmas decorations and even gifts. anton buys tons and tons of gifts for you that could last even past christmas. all year round, he takes notes on what items you express a desire for and he brings home all of those gifts on christmas. he just wants nothing but the best for you.

you're far too precious to anton. everything you do makes him feel so overwhelmingly in love with you. no matter how cranky you are, anton will always spoil you with snacks and affection every night. so of course he goes above and beyond for christmas, seizing the opportunity to spoil you rotten.

but you didn't expect there to be this many presents under the tree. you shook your head in both disbelief and astonishment. after eating a fancy breakfast anton had prepared, he urged you to open all of your gifts. you were more than touched to see all of the things you've mentioned to him sitting under the tree. from new clothes to fancy jewelry, anton covered everything you wished for. just when you thought things couldn't get any better, you opened the final box. inside lied a white teddy bear and a pink book sitting beneath it. you wound emotional flipping through the pages and seeing all of the prettiest photos he's taken with you, from the lowest times to the happiest memories you could recall. lying in the center of the last page was a gift you've been waiting for since the moment you met anton. it was a promise ring. looking up at anton with love flowing down your cheeks, you couldn't help but cry out of pure happiness.

"the happiest moments of my life were spent with you, y/n, and i want nothing more than to make even more with you. may i be your husband?"

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⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ tag list! (ask or comment to be added!)

@endtostartbreathin @gacktsa @hanninova @ramyeonzprincess @taroddori

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massivedrickhead · 2 days ago

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merry christmas, merry christmas (but i think i’ll miss this one this year)

Words: 1907

Summary: Chloe isn’t going home for Christmas, and her aim is to make it to the 25th without the Bellas finding out.

Notes: Merry Pitchmas @psychoteacher90, I’m your secret santa! So, confession time - I misread the initial message and thought you’d said you like a little angst sprinkled in with your fluff, but after I re-read it last night I realised it said you could tolerate it… I hope you like this anyway, and next year I’m definitely going to read the message more than once 🙈

Read on AO3

@merry-pitchmas

“Hey, when are you going home for Christmas?”

The question caught Chloe off guard. Not because she wasn’t expecting it, she just wasn’t expecting it so early into December.

She thought she’d have more time to come up with an answer. A lie that wouldn’t result in further questions.

But she didn’t get that time. Beca asked her on the first weekend of December while eating toast with one hand and scrolling through her phone with the other.

“Oh, I dunno yet,” Chloe replied, trying to sound casual. “Why?”

Beca shrugged. “Just wondering.”

Chloe thought about maybe telling her the truth. The Bellas’ house was quiet for once, with the rest of the girls either still in bed, or out, or home for the weekend.

Now would be as good a time as any.

She opened her mouth to speak but shut it just as quickly.

No, not now.

Besides, she didn’t usually go home until a few days before Christmas Eve. Anything could happen between now and then.

Beca asked again a few weeks later, a scowl on her face as she squinted at her phone.

“Do you know when you’re leaving for Christmas yet?” She asked. “I’m trying to organise the Bella’s Christmas party, and no one is free on the same night. Since when were a capella nerds so popular?”

Chloe couldn’t help but smile and roll her eyes as she pulled Beca’s phone out of her hand.

“You’ll give yourself a headache,” she said, looking down at their shared calendar. Chloe had completely forgotten all about their Christmas party, which was especially surprising since she was the one who had organised it for the past few years.

It was true, there was no night that was free. Each square ticking down to December 25th contained a coloured dot representing at least one of the Bellas and their plan for that day.

Chloe noticed her own baby blue dot was the only one absent. There were no Christmas market trips, or festive nights out with classmates, or neighbourhood carolling.

She hadn’t been feeling particularly Christmassy this year.

“I guess we just skip it this year,” Chloe said, handing Beca back her phone.

Beca raised her eyebrows. “Skip it?”

Chloe shrugged. “I don’t see any other option, everyone is busy.”

Beca shook her head and looked back at her phone. “You love the Christmas party. I’ll figure it out. Even if we have it at 2 pm on a Tuesday.”

“I wouldn’t stress about it,” Chloe said, standing up from the sofa and grabbing their dishes from the coffee table. “It isn’t important.”

“You didn’t answer my question by the way,” Beca asked, looking up from her phone as Chloe stood. “When are you going to your parents?”

I’m not.

“I don’t know yet.”

Their Christmas party never happened, but Chloe didn’t notice. Or, at least, she pretended not to.

She had been trying to spend the majority of her December trying to pretend that the holiday didn’t exist.

When the Bellas had decorated the tree, Chloe had been hiding in the library.

When they made gingerbread houses, she went to the gym.

When they got drunk on Amy’s mulled wine, she’d been studying in her room, ignoring Beca’s repeated attempts to get her to join them.

For the amount of time Chloe had spent trying to avoid Christmas, Beca had spent double trying to get her involved.

Chloe couldn’t blame her, she knew she wasn’t herself, but she still couldn’t bring herself to tell Beca the truth.

It would start a much bigger conversation that Chloe wasn’t ready for. One she’d never intended on having in the first place.

She kept it buried and tried to avoid Beca as much as she could for the next couple of days.

“Are you sure you don’t need a ride to the airport?” Beca asked on the 23rd.

“I’m sure,” Chloe said. “You were supposed to leave for your Dad’s like 20 minutes ago, you’ll be late.”

Beca looked at her watch but still dithered. “You’ll text me when you land?”

“Yes,” Chloe said. “Get out of here already.”

“Jeez, Merry Christmas to you too,” Beca said, giving Chloe a hug.

“Merry Christmas,” Chloe replied, trying not to hold on too tightly.

She needed Beca to leave, because if she didn’t she might cry.

“See you next year, I guess,” Beca said, ending their hug and grabbing her keys from the counter.

“Drive safe,” Chloe said.

Beca raised a hand in farewell before closing their door behind her.

Chloe’s tears fell quickly after.

She picked up her suitcase and carried it back to her room before dumping out the contents on her floor.

Her plan had worked.

She would make it through Christmas without anyone finding out she’d spent it alone. Without anyone finding out why she’d spent it alone.

Later that night there was a knock at the door which Chloe assumed was the pizza she’d ordered.

She had assumed wrong.

Beca was standing on their doorstep, hands shoved into her pockets because she’d forgotten her gloves.

Chloe could only stare back, mouth slightly agape. She swallowed. She could still get out of this.

“Forget your keys or something?”

“You aren’t going to Florida.” It wasn’t a question, and Chloe couldn’t argue. She was standing there in her pyjamas after all. Her hair up in a towel, face scrubbed of makeup. It was hours after her supposed flight was supposed to have taken off.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked, her shoulders dropping.

“I could ask you the same question.”

Chloe sighed and stood aside so Beca could come in. “Fine,” she said. “I’m not going to Florida. Your turn to answer.”

Beca tilted her head as if confused. “I came here for you,” she said. “You aren’t spending Christmas on your own.” Again, it wasn’t a question.

“Beca-”

“Look, you’ve been distant and sad since Thanksgiving, and I’m guessing it has something to do with you not going home for Christmas,” Beca said. “And you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to - and I’m assuming you don’t otherwise you’d have said something before now - but just because you aren’t going home, doesn’t mean you have to spend Christmas alone.”

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by another knock on the door, and this time it was the pizza guy.

“I’m fine,” Chloe said, returning from the door with her pizza. “I have pizza, and trashy movies, and wine. I’ve spent plenty of days by myself before, and this one won’t be any different. It’s just a day, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“I don’t think you believe that,” Beca said. “But, whatever, if you don’t want to spend it with me that’s fine.” Beca pulled out her phone. “But you also have an invite from Jessica to spend it with her family, as well as Ashley, Flo, Legacy, Cynthia Rose, Amy, and Stacie also told me to tell you you could crash her and Aubrey’s Christmas plans. Also Lily offered too, but she also mentioned something about needing a sacrificial lamb, so maybe don’t go to her place.”

Chloe laughed and shook her head, tears burning her eyes.

“Even if you can’t go back to Florida, you can still spend Christmas with your family. Maybe not the one you were born into, but a one that loves you.”

“I don’t want to impose-”

“Chloe I had barely finished typing out my message to them, and all the Bellas were falling over themselves to invite you to their homes. You’re not an imposition.”

“And you?”

“I said I had first dibs,” Beca said. “Plus, this way I’ll get to give you your present. I pulled your name in Secret Santa this year.”

“I didn’t do Secret Santa,” Chloe responded, confused.

“Fine, I pulled Legacy but I have a gift for you anyway.” Beca took hold of Chloe’s hands. “Come on,” she said. “Sheila bought a turkey that’s way too big, my dad needs someone to talk about books with, and I… I want to spend Christmas with you.”

Chloe pulled her teeth across her bottom lip before she eventually nodded her head.

They ate the pizza while Chloe changed and packed, and then they piled into the car for the short drive to Beca’s dad’s house.

“How did you know that I wasn’t going home?”

“Your flight didn’t exist,” Beca replied. “And I just had a feeling that there was something you weren’t telling me. You haven’t been yourself.”

“I know,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry I’ve been so… Well, you know. I just didn’t want to get into it.”

“You still don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I’m here to listen if you do.”

Chloe didn’t respond right away. She rested her head against the passenger window and watched the flurry of snow begin to fall.

“I had a fight with my parents at Thanksgiving,” Chloe said.

Beca turned down the music, but didn’t interrupt.

“Things have been tense with them for a while,” Chloe said. “It all sort of boiled over. They overheard me on the phone to Aubrey… Heard me talk about stuff they didn’t know about me and… Yeah. A lot of yelling later and I was, I mean disowned sounds so serious but I guess… I guess that’s what it was.”

Chloe tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it wouldn’t budge.

She recognised where they were, and knew they’d be entering Beca’s neighbourhood soon. She wanted to pull herself together before then.

“Jesus,” Beca said, her voice just above a whisper. “I mean unless you were confessing to multiple murders on the phone to Aubrey, I don’t-”

“I was telling her about someone I like. About… About a girl I like.”

“Oh,” Beca said, glancing across the car. “They didn’t know?”

“No,” Chloe said.

“I’m really sorry, Chloe. You… You don’t deserve that. And they don’t deserve you.”

Chloe sniffed. “I know.” They pulled into Beca’s drive but neither made a move to get out of the car. Chloe could see the glow of Christmas lights through the window, and she felt a pang of homesickness mixed with a rush of gratitude for Beca. “Thank you for coming back for me.”

“I always will,” Beca said. “I hope you know how loved you are, Chloe.”

They sat in silence for a little while longer before Beca spoke again. “So, there’s a girl you like, huh? Anyone I know?”

Chloe laughed. “You know, considering you were able to figure out I lied about going to Florida, you can be a little oblivious sometimes.”

“It’s that obvious? It can’t be Stacie or Aubrey, or Jessica or Ashley. Is it Emily? Or Cynth-”

Beca’s voice died in her throat as Chloe pressed their lips together.

“Oh.”

“I get it if you don-”

It was Chloe’s turn to be cut off as Beca pulled her back into a kiss.

They didn’t break apart until they heard the front door of the house being pulled open.

Light from the hall spilled out into the driveway.

Beca’s Dad sighed. “Sheila, I owe you 20 bucks!” He shouted before shutting the door again.

Chloe giggled, and Beca felt it in her chest.

“I guess we should go inside,” Chloe said.

“I guess we should. Merry Christmas, Chloe.”

“Merry Christmas, Beca.”

They kissed again.

#pitchmas 2024 #merry pitchmas #pitchmas #secret santa #bechloe #bechloe fanfic #pitch perfect fanfiction #pitch perfect fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #beca mitchell #chloe beale #beca #chloe #pitch perfect #bechloe fanfiction #bechloe fic

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loverboysturn · 3 days ago

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. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ starcrossed!chris has a gift for starcrossed!reader

note: this is a bit further down the timeline than what has been posted so far for the starcrossed lovers au but i wanted to write something christmassy :)

you can read all the starcrossed lovers writings here and find everything else for the starcrossed universe here.

you were hating every second of this.

your parents sat at the head of the table at their annual christmas eve dinner surrounded by their group of unbearable friends, all of them talking in a superficial way about business deals, luxury events and expensive vacations they had planned.

your brother sits across from you, smiling and nodding at ease as someone who wanted to belong in this world, he had every intention of taking over the head of the family role from your father one day, however, you, especially now wanted out.

your thoughts keep drifting back to chris.

you’d spent the last few months sneaking around — whispered conversations in hidden corners, him sneaking through your window in the middle of the night, stolen kisses that left your heart racing long after they were over. the love that had blossomed between you felt undeniable, every moment you spent together felt like it was always meant to be. it was reckless, thrilling and he was all yours, the risk of getting caught only made it all the more intense, something you both knew was forbidden, but neither of you could resist.

a buzz from your phone brings you back to the moment, you glance at the screen; a message from nate.

22:17 new message from nate chris is waiting for you. meet him at his car in the diner parking lot.

your pulse quickens at the thought of seeing chris, you quickly reply back:

22:17 leaving now

you stood up, faking a smile, and excused yourself from the table, no one noticed, all too busy discussing their next business project and plotting their next big move but none of that mattered to you when you were about to see your love.

as you begin to slip away, you catch the eye of your housekeeper. the older woman has worked for your family for years and had been more of a second mother than an employee, she had known about you and chris from the start and she’d never once judged you for it. instead, she’d quietly become your ally, always ready to cover for you when you needed her.

you smile as you approach her stood in the hallway, she was waiting by the back door giving you a knowing look before glancing over her shoulder, ensuring you that no one was watching.

“I’ll cover for you” she whispers, “i’ll tell them you are feeling ill and need some time alone, they won’t question it”

your heart swells with gratitude for the lady, what would you do without her? “thank you, i’ll be back by midnight, promise”

she nods, brushing your shoulders, “just make sure you’re back by then, i will keep them all distracted until then, now go darling, your love is waiting for you”

you slip out the back door, cool air hitting your face like a breath of freedom, you walk quickly down the quiet path towards the side gate, your heart pounding in your chest with the excitement of seeing chris.

once you’d reached the gate, you glance over your shoulder one last time to positively ensure you weren’t being followed, once you felt at ease, you move quickly toward the parking lot that sat behind the old diner a few blocks away, it was a place no one would ever visit, far from anyone’s nosey eyes, perfect for moments like this.

when you reach the parking lot, you spot chris’s car immediately, he’s leaning against the car, arms crossed, waiting for you.

he pushes himself off the car as you approach, his eyes lighting up when he sees you, “you’re late” he teases, corner of his mouth quirking up into a grin, but his eyes soften as they meet yours.

you smirk back at him, “i had to make sure nobody noticed i was gone”

“get in” he says with a slight nod, motioning towards the passenger seat, “i’m freezing my ass off”

you giggle to yourself and climb into the car, heart still pounding from the thrill of sneaking away from a family event like this, chris closes the door and slides into the drivers seat.

as soon as he gets in, he hands you a small velvet box, his voice quiet, almost sounding like he’s nervous, “merry christmas baby”

you look at the box, then up at him, confusion clear on your face, “chris, what? you didn’t have to—“

“i wanted to” he interrupts with a slight shrug, trying to play himself off as casual as could be about the gift.

you open the box to reveal a delicate diamond bracelet, simple yet elegant, with small dainty shimmering stones that catch the light. it wasn’t flashy or over the top, it was beautiful. you felt a wave of gratitude as you gently touch it, realizing how much thought he had put into choosing something so perfect for you, it was a small thing, but the meaning behind it enormous.

“it’s perfect,” you say, looking over at him, but before you could say more, he reaches for your wrist, lifting it gently to place the bracelet on, “thank you” you whisper, voice full of soft and shy, then with an added breath “i love you chris”

chris’s eyes soften, never breaking eye contact, before you could say anything more, he pulls you into his arms and onto his lap, the movement smooth and natural so you’re now straddling him, those three words you’d just spoken weren’t new to him, he’d heard them from you before, but in this moment, they felt different.

“i love you” he murmurs, voice and low before pulling you into a kiss.

you respond instantly, arms wrapping around his neck as you deepen the kiss, slow at first, but as chris pulls you closer, the kiss becomes more urgent, desperate, and full of all the longing that had been building up between you.

when you finally pull away from each other, he rests his forehead against yours, hands still holding on to yours, “i’ll never get tired of hearing you tell me that” he says softly, voice quiet, “never”

you smile, butterflies erupting in your stomach at his words, “good” you whisper, then kiss him again, this time with everything you have, because in this moment, nobody or nothing else matters, “because i love you” you whisper again, pressing a quick peck to his lips, “i love you” you peck him again, “i love you” and again.

chris grins, arms tightening around your waist, “and lucky for you, i love you right back” he says, pulling you in for another kiss.

started working on this last week and accidentally deleted the draft LOL then when chris got his licence, i had to bring this idea back and re-write it!!! hope you enjoy :)

pictures are not mine

#. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁starcrossed!chris x starcrossed!reader #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #chris sturniolo x reader #christopher sturniolo x reader #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo triplets #christopher sturniolo x you #chris sturniolo fluff

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ihavenoideawhatiamdoingjustgay2 · 2 days ago

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On the first day of Christmas

Genre : Fluff

Summary : Arlecchino and you celebrating Christmas.

Notes : Arlecchino x reader, Christmas fluff, domestic fluff, fluff, yeah lots of fluff, I published this on AO3 while I church, I had this idea only yesterday so sorry for any mistakes, will probably come back and edit later

Chapter 1 > Chapter 2 > Chapter 3

Take me to AO3

You wiped the window clean, looking at your reflection, before focusing your eyes upon the decorations outside, the shining ligths, the carriages that were driven.

You had expected nothing less from the country of snow and ice.

You sighed, turning your ring around your finger, a small red X was engraved on it. Your Husband had a matching one. Your husband who sneaked up on your side with a hand on your waist. You smiled, watching as your wolf hid in the crock of your neck.

"Hello there."

She muffled something into your neck.

"Yeah, probably, the children must be waiting for us."

She kissed it, before standing up straigth and watching the scene outside pass by.

"Looking at the ligths, love?"

"Of course, I simply can't help it." You shrug.

"Ever the sentimentalist. That's a weakness, you know?" She gave you a quick peck on the cheek, before moving towards the closet. You meanwhile were busy watching a set of coralers knock on the neighbors door, it did not take long untill their door was opened and a few coins landed inside a hat. Faint singing reached your ears, or maybe it was just imagination, like the dream like clouds that surrounded them. Like the green and red ribbons that were hanging everywhere.

"Well, you're the only one who knows it, so, unless you wish to use it against me."

"Perhabs I will." she held your coat out and you took the offer, slipping your arms inside it. You adjusted it a bit as Arlecchino buttoned it up and you helped her in turn.

"What a cruel husband you are~" you coed, but only earned a "Tch" and eyeroll from her side. She still needed to get used to your antics. Even after all those years.

Arlecchino led you down, towards the big wooden doors, to the decorative pine tree that stood rigth next to the door. You looked it up and down, it was lazy compared to the one in the orphanage that stood uprigth and proud with self made little Christmas tree balls and other ornaments. You stared upon one of them, a dull face greeted you as Arlecchino talked to one of the servants. You wouldn't be really home for the next day, only for sleep, and she'd be gone for the half of the third day. You leaned upon her shoulder, nitpicking some fluff from her coat. You barely noticed the click of the door opening, would gave ignored it completely if it wasn't for the fristy cold that hit your face.

"Can't we take a carriage?" You pouted, clinging onto her.

"It is faster when we walk."

You continued pouting.

"I will keep you warm." She promised and you already felt her warm hand through the thick of your coat. You melted onto her, resting in the warmth of her body.

"How lucky am I, to have my own personal furnace."

She chuckled. "Odd choice for a pet name, but I suppose it's better than just calling me an icicle."

You shrugged, listening to how horses and carriages made their way through the salted streets, listening to the far laughs of drunks, the smell of mulled whine.

"Can we make a small stop at the Christmas market?"

She grumbled.

"I just want to fill my pockets with sweets for the children."

"I don't know." She said, pushing you two to your rigth as muddy water was about to be sprayed onto you, but she took most of it. The driver stopped and decided to make a spectacel out of it. Arlecchino stared at him as if he was an insect, but waved him off. She continued your path, stopping in front of the market.

"I love you, you know that?"

She smiled at your small confession. "Of course, I love you too."

Her love for you was an open secret.

Oh look, oh everyone look,

The Knave has found her spouse,

And oh how much she loves them.

That's what they'd whisper.

You pecked her cheek, leading her into the Christmas market. She was frowning about it, but she had no choice but to follow you.

"I will admit, the cover is great, considering all the people, and we are most likely not the only important ones here." She started while you stopped at a stand, buying a few of the sweets and stuffing them carefully inside your pockets.

"Exactly." You took her arm back, having her lead you through the market, pulling you away from any distractions.

"Don't you think that hat would be great on Louis?"

"He already has a Christmas gift." she'd say and you'd sigh.

You sighed even louder when the two of you left the market and with it all of the eliciting smells and attractive prices. "The world is unfair."

"You act like a child sometimes." she commented, rubbing your side. You sighed again.

"Is that the only thing I will get from you for now?"

You shrugged.

"My impossible spouse." she'd mumble, but there was no real bite, no destain in her voice.

"Your impossible spouse." You agreed.

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

The cold was replaced by a warm feeling that enveloped you, seeping into your bones, deep under the fur of your coat that you were taking off. The door clicked behind you and Arlechino pulled the sleeves of your arms, hanging it onto a clothing rack together with hers.

The big ligth wasn't on, instead there were candles scattered all over the place.

"Your courtesy?" You ask with a grin, interlocking your arms.

"No. I wouldn't create a firehazard."

You snickered, looking around, finding...no one. "It's so empty..."

"And silence." There was alert in your husband's voice as she dragged you to the huge door marking the living room, you meanwhile listened to hushed voices and stopped her, listening in closer, as it all fell silent, it made you grin.

"What is it?"

"It appears the children have a suprise for us."

She crocked a brow and your grin widened, which made her role her eyes to then push the large door open. You recognizes the Christmas tree touching the ceiling, the warm fairy ligths spun around it intricately, the cookie ornaments. It made your heart swell up. And then you saw the children's choir in front of the fireplace. You leaned upon your husband's shoulder, listening as they sung.

"Have they done this before?" You whispered, not being able to tear your eyes away from them, your ears away from their voices.

Arlecchino leaned down. "Once, a few years back, you were back in Fontaine, remember?"

You hummed, before nodding.

"I'm honestly impressed they were able to set it up withouth us noticing." She mumbled and you could her her knitted brows and pinched eyes. She was impressed, probably trying to figure out how they did it. Your eyes grazed over them, admiring untill they stood still like stone pillars, awaiting judgment. You looked at Arlecchino. "We are impressed, aren't we Arle?"

She nodded, her eyes lingering on you for a second before swooping towards the children. "Indeed we are."

They smiled, chattering, congratulating, or running towards you for a hug.

Arlecchino had it run its course before clapping her hands. Everyone's eyes were on her, she who was standing in front of the tree, the glow surrounding her, the image made you blush and tuck your hair back.

"Since you have already eaten, how about opening the presents?"

You saw the glimmer in their eyes, heared their cheers, before they huried towards the tree and stood in a line to get their handed by Arlecchino, or you. This would certainly be an evening.

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

You sat on the sofa, food on your rigth and husband to your left with children playing before your feet, showing of their games, sorting through clothes, polishing new weapons.

"Are you sure that a new set of knives was a great idea for El?"

"Of course. She's quite handy with them and obviously happy."

You nodded, slowly, watching her sort through them with a content smile on her face. "You are rigth." Her hand stroked your waist and she kissed your cheek, you leaned into her. Everything went well, for today atleast.

"Now it's work Chrismas tommorow and then...only us."

You kissed her cheek. "I can't wait for it."

#genshin impact #arlechinno genshin #genshin #genshin arlecchino #arlecchino genshin #genshin impact arlecchino #genshin arlecchino x reader #arlecchino x reader #genshin x gn reader #arlecchino x fem reader #arlecchino x gn reader #genshin impact fanfic #genshin impact fanfics #genshin impact x reader

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disastrouscanasta · 22 hours ago

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@evidenceof happy christmas yna!!!! i was your secret santa this year, and it was an absolute BLAST! you were the best giftee, very thorough in your answers to my asks, and if i didn't need to maintain anonymity for so long, i would have picked your brain on soooo many of your wonderful thoughts. YOU UNDERSTAND ALL THE PAIRINGS SO WELL, and literally every prompt and idea you gave me was SO amazing, and incredible to explore. thank you for being so lovely <3 for you, i have a fic that i've worked on over the past few weeks, inspired by your prompts!

A Busy Blur | runner/leckie | 2k | post-war, developing relationship, a touch of epistolary & long-distance love

“You’ll write to me, won’t you Cobber?” Runner said, a playful lilt in his voice. Leckie could have sworn he caught a flash of something more vulnerable, more honest, from around the bags under his eyes, under the furrow of Runner’s brow.

“If you learn how to read, sure.” Leckie said.

And Runner laughed, mouth splitting open in a bright smile that drew Leckie’s attention away from the bruises and the sling his friend’s arm was suspended in.

The first letter was simple.

Leckie,

I bet you’re home safe, now. And if you’re not, well, that’s your fault for being the only idiot sonofabitch to get hurt on the train ride from the harbour, instead of being killed by artillery. Somehow, that sounds about right.

Hope the mailing address is right,

Conley.

Leckie smiled wide when he read it, forgetting that he was sitting across from his stone-faced father at the table, half-eaten eggs forgotten in front of him when he had Runner’s letter in his hands.

“Did you get a cheque?” His father asked, speaking up for the first time since he’d come into the dining room and filled the seat at the far side of the table, away from his son.

“No,” Leckie answered simply. If his mother was there, she might have pried, probably asked about a girl, she’d have put just an inch more effort than his dad ever had.

His father made a short grunting sound before turning back to his paper.

(He read the Philadelphia Inquirer. Leckie himself worked for the Philadelphia Record. Figures.)

Leckie kept a notebook on him at all times, but he used it most at sports games, taking notes on the plays and activity of the baseball season. The notepad was filled with shorthand accounts of who was doing best, who was doing the worst, teams and rosters and everything he could come up with.

Some days (most,) he wasn’t granted the privilege of good seats, or even tickets to whatever sport was being played. But he had to write the damn article, anyway. So he sat by the radio, listening to the play-by-play accounts as they happened, with their paper’s roster open on the table in front of him.

His notebook looked something like this:

23/04/‘46

NY Giants vs. P. P.

JUDD, Oscar - pitching.

^ 3 SO

NORTHEY, Ron - batting

^ Home run, flyball to deep RF

SEMINICK, Andy - batting

^ Single, F. MCCORMICK SCORES

Playtime : 2hrs 14mins

PS: tell Runner about the weather

He’d been surprised at how easy it was to slip back into camaraderie with Runner.

But then again it had been easy on the boat, too, when—

Well, that was in the past. And even if there had been a few road bumps, they had never stopped being friends.

The war being over, reassuringly, didn’t stop that.

Runner,

He wrote at the start of his response, and paused.

Runner’s letter sat next to him on his desk, under the warm light of the lamp. It had been dark for hours, and Leckie just couldn’t bring himself to put anything on the page until nearly midnight.

That letter had started with Leckie, and wasn’t that awfully formal? They’d gotten to know each other more intimately than most people would ever manage and— Leckie. It was impersonal. He’d expected something more ridiculous, Peaches, Cobber, something like that.

Leckie was sticking with Runner, for his own purposes.

(It had taken everything in him not to write Dear Vera. Less out of intent, and more out of habit. He’d never sent her any of his letters, and by the time he got him, she was already married. She looked happy, at least.)

Runner,

Got home in one piece. Based on your letter, and the fact that that chicken-scratch is unmistakably yours, I’ll guess that you’re alright stateside.

Since we haven’t got a war to talk about, I’m telling you a bit about work (a bit of complaining, so that you know it’s really me.)

The Philly Phillips won, 5-2. The paper made me sit by the radio box and take notes like some kind of spook, you’d think I work for the Russians, if you saw me hunched over my notebook like that. Last week, they got me a ticket to the actual game. We lost, with three points down. I think I’m cursed, if my presence makes the team lose.

Whatever. It’s still better than scraping out a latrine, with you sorry folks for company.

Leckie.

He posted it in the morning, and tucked Runner's letter away in his drawer.

Hoosier promised to write, so did Chuckler, and that Phillips kid, but ultimately, every time he got handed a personal letter by the postman, it was always, always, from Runner.

It felt ridiculous. He’d gone a whole war with those fellas, and they didn’t say so much as hello? But hey, what was he supposed to do?

(Their mailing addresses were tucked away in the same drawer that he kept any letters he got from Runner. They had his, he had theirs, and maybe his was part of some ongoing game of Chicken that he was playing with Hoosier. Either way, Runner didn’t care.)

Cobber,

The newest letter said, because Runner had quit with the Leckie pretence and cut to the chase with the stupid nicknames. Leckie couldn’t help but feel relief. Too many people had called him by his surname in the Marines. And back home, too many people called him Bob. Runner managed to find that surprising middle ground, by letting Leckie be someone else completely, just for a moment.

I’ve got a reason to write this, for once. Today, is Memorial Day. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is the government telling me to take the day off and get wasted, flashing that little veteran’s tag to get a discount at my local drink house.

Now, you’ll get this on, what? Beginning of June? Take some time for yourself, have a drink. (I’m not paying, though. That’s up to you, and your fancy paper job.)

Runner

If there was one thing that Leckie could be assured about, it’s that Runner’s letters would make him smile. He started reading them in his bedroom, instead of cracking the letter open in the dining room, where his parents had to see.

Everyone seemed to expect him to have left the war overseas. And it might have been over, but he couldn’t help but yearn for something that he’d had then. Not war, but something that had been so closely linked with the brutality of it all, that he didn’t think he’d be able to articulate it to anyone.

Maybe, he pondered, Runner understood him. Runner had understood him better than a lot of people had. On the boat ride home from that Australian hospital—

Runner just got it.

Runner,

He started, a couple weeks later.

You should get this by July 4th, and I wish you a good Independence Day. Go to a barbecue, wear your dress blues, go to a banquet.

I hope it’s better for you than it will be for me. My parents are leaving me all alone to spend time with my brother and his wife, a couple towns over. I’m expecting to spend the night tucked up in my bedroom, shouting bah, humbug! everytime I hear fireworks. I hope the reference doesn’t go over your head— I can explain it in my next letter.

Leckie

The Fourth of July was more miserable than he’d expected. The commotion stirred up more in Leckie’s chest than he wanted to admit. The fireworks were too loud, and July was too hot. He laid on his childhood bed in nothing but his boxers, staring up at the ceiling, working through his third glass of beer.

At some point, he got up, pulled a paper from his desk and started writing.

Runner,

These damn holidays might be more exciting if you got closer.

There’s a good bar near my work, they do swing dancing on Thursday nights: I’m sure it’s your venue. You’re the best dancer I know!

I hope you can hear the sarcasm.

I won’t pick Hoosier over you, this time.

Leckie.

In the morning, after a cup of coffee and an aspirin for his headache, he read it through (as well as a typed page-and-a-half of hazy memories from Mbanika, which he crumpled into a ball and tossed under his bed.) and tucked it carefully into the drawer with Runner’s letters.

He didn’t really want to think too hard about all that.

Peaches,

I got the reference, thanks. I like to think you have those big mutton chops that I remember from those old pictures. You’re called Peaches, but you’re not all that sweet, are you?

That’s not a real question. I know the answer.

Hope your Independence Day was as boring as mine. I forgot how loud those things were.

Runner

Leckie couldn’t stop writing them. Stupid, ridiculous messages that really meant nothing.

He put them in his drawer, tucked away just in case he ever needed it. Leckie didn’t think it was vain, but some of them were well written. He didn’t feel that too often, so he kept them.

I saw a guy with your haircut, made me look twice just to be sure. I should have known it wasn’t you; he was taller.

That one was scribbled in his work notebook, while he was at the game (Phillips vs. Chicago Cubs), and the audience clapped and jeered around him.

You’re a marine, but how well can you swim? I’ve never asked.

Leckie wrote that question on a napkin in a diner. His pen ripped through it at the end.

I miss the boys. I miss you.

He didn’t write that one, but he heard it reverberating in his head when he flicked the lamp off. It was burned into the backs of his eyelids, anyway.

I miss you.

He was surprised that he meant it.

Professor,

That was how Runner opened his next message. It made Leckie smile. (Of course it did. They all did.)

Why DO we celebrate Labour Day? I saw them putting streamers and banners and what-not up in the streets today. New York City is a funny beast— you should come by, watch the parade.

Hope you get a day off work, and some time to yourself. (I’m still not paying for your drinks)

Runner

Leckie stared at that message for longer than he had any right to. By the time he sent his reply, Labour Day had passed, and he could only wonder what Runner had meant by any of it.

Runner,

I’ve got to come up with something more exciting for you. It’s difficult when I can’t see all the ridiculous shit you’re getting yourself into. And you don’t have the inclination to write it to me, I bet.

I’d call you a coward, but you’d call me one right back. Have you ever realised that we bicker like school children?

Leckie

To the man who mocks me,

Yeah, well, it’s hard to come up with nicknames for you too. That one just now was shit.

You want to know what I’ve been up to? Really? Well, I’ve got a job at the steelworks, which is great and all. Except I ran into a piece of machinery the other day, busted my lip wide open. There was a hell of a lot of blood. I think the 16-year-old kid who works next to me fainted. How’s that?

We’re both cowards, so what? We served our damn country.

Buster (I sure buster’ed my lip open. Get it?)

Bruiser,

All I have to say is that: you’re an idiot!

Yours,

The brilliant professor who’s kept himself out of danger

Leckie thought about Runner too much, he realised.

Some part of him was always waiting for the next letter, waiting to write, to come up with something short and stupid to say to the man, just so that he could imagine Runner’s familiar laugh.

Shit. Leckie thought, as he folded up another half-drafted, but unsendable letter.

Professor,

Tell me a story, if you’re so wise.

Your bruised-lipped-friend,

Runner

Runner,

If you really want to know, I’ve been more of an idiot to you.

My mother asked me this morning if I was getting married soon. I told her no.

She said that she thought I had been in contact with “that lovely girl from across the street,” and the woman she meant was the dearest Vera that everyone was so tired of hearing about. I had to break my mother’s heart and tell her that Vera moved away months ago, and that she was already married— to an army man, no less.

The old woman was more distraught about it than I was. Turns out she thought that Vera and you were one in the same. I’m surprised she never sent you an engagement present.

Leckie.

Leckie,

Hell, why didn’t you say so? I would have acted soppier.

In that case, you should come to New York this November and visit your sweetheart, how’s that?

Runner

Leckie blinked at that, then he stared for a long time, hoping to make sense of it all.

Runner,

November’s no good, I’m all booked up. How’s early December?

Leckie

To a difficult guest,

I guess I can fit you into my busy schedule.

I’ll see you in three weeks, then?

Runner.

Leckie booked a train ticket before he could convince himself otherwise.

Then, he stuffed a handful of his little messages into an envelope, scribbled Runner’s address, and mailed it all without a second thought.

Five days letter, he got an envelope back, inside, with no signature, was something simple, etched in Runner’s charming chicken-scratch:

We should have done all this in February. I would have wished you a happy Valentine’s.

#hbowarsanta24 #the pacific #runnerleckie #leckierunner #whatever they’re called lol #ruckie

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echantedtoon · 8 hours ago

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A Lovers' Circle (Poly Haishira x Reader) Ch24 A Little Closer

Taglist: @shadyd3ar @jcrml

@tengensangel @miniverse-zen @mysteri0uz @jjamsbangtan

@the-unknown-fandom

@lavenderdropp @mimisweetz. @purplesoulsapphire

@kksmush @denkpanda18 @whomisi @lessthanimperfect @silver-rin

@namis-noodlebox

@k1ttyluverz @akiramente

@rascalraccoon @ravenclawkae1

@gilded-sunrays @crescent-blades

@yukari1k @bloodymarysgirl21

@artbyrebel @abaker74 @lunarluna9482

@rainbowidol @lanabanoms

Remember if you want to be added to the taglist lemme know

(Hearts conquered so far: Gyomei, Sanemi, Tengen, Kyojuro, Suma, Hinatsuru, Makio, Shinobu, Kanae, Mitsuri, and now Obanai. Congrats! You've successfully conquered all hearts! But the journey isn't over yet. The painting Tengen painted is similar to the picture above I found on Pinterest but different. The poem Obanai wrote is also something I found on Pinterest. Also warnings for mentioning of Obanai's scars and the death of most of Tengen's family. The song Y/n sings is Golden Dreams from The Stingiest Man In Town by Rankin Bass linked below.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/600104719130125897/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=skhZiUkKtkc&list=LL&index=14&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB )

It was Tuesday. Just a few days until New Year's Eve and the party Tengen and Kyojuro would be hoisting at The Uzui's home. You agreed to go when Kyojuro texted you the day after Christmas inviting you to said party. Of course you accepted since you couldn't remember the last time you were invited to a party surrounded by friends. Actual friends you made that you liked a great deal. However this particular day, you had nothing to do and no one else to do anything with. So you cleaned up your house a little bit before deciding on trying out one of the recipes from your new cook book.

You'd gotten a few Christmas gifts from your friends including a pretty necklace, a cute little throw pillow, and a new cookbook from Sanemi whom looked so flustered when giving you the gift bag it was in. Guess he wasn't used to giving anyone presents outside his partners and family. It was still a good gift however and you settled on trying out the no bake cookies recipe after flipping through the pages trying to decide on what to make. So there you were in one of your aprons mixing the dark brown dough together for the next step of the recipe when you had heard it. The knocking at your door.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

You stopped mid stir blinking up towards the front door as it came again but louder this time. Odd. Who could that be? You weren't expecting anyone today. Everybody else was so busy. Maybe it was the mailman? When the knocks came the third time, you gently placed the bowl down and made your way towards the door. Opening it up and blinking at who was on the other side.

A man your height stood there staring at you. A thick wool scarf around his neck and lower face, and and even thicker black and white coat making him look comically round. Yellow-green eyes stared at you from between the black locks around his face and you instantly knew who you were staring at.

"Oh. Hi, Obanai. I wasn't expecting to see you here." You smiled but you were a little confused by his presence here. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer at first before saying two words. "Totoro kombu."

You blinked. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Totoro kombu," he repeated seriously.

You still stared at him confused at first before it hit you. "Oh. Do you want me to make you more?" He instantly nodded eagerly. "Oh sure. I can do that right now since I got some seaweed. Do you wanna come in? It's cold out there."

He nodded again and you stepped aside to allow him to come inside. He gave a curious look around your house and turned his head hearing you close the door and turning to walk around him.

"I wasn't expecting you y'know."

"Oh." He slowly blinked. "Did you rather that I have not come?"

You shook your head holding up your hands. "No, no. It's not that." You assured him. "If you just wanted me to make you some more food, you could've just called me instead. You didn't have to go out of your way to come all the way here." You paused when a realization hit you. "Wait. How did you get my address?" You know Giyuu and Shinobu gave everyone your phone number but as far as you knew, no one gave Obanai your address.

"I remembered it from when Mitsuri brought me here before Halloween." Ah. When you asked her to help you bake cookies for Kyojuro's party. That explained it. He then reached up to unzip his coat. "I also wanted to return this to you." You watched as he reached into his coat and pulled out an empty tupperware container, the one you gave him that day at the cafe, before he held it out to you. "Here."

"Oh. Thank you. I hope it was ok," you said while taking it from him.

He nodded looking down. "Yes...Thank you."

You smiled at him. "Of course! I'm just happy you liked it. Do you want some hot chocolate while you wait?" Your head nodded towards the kitchen. "It'll take me a while to make you some more food since you caught me in the middle of making cookies."

He hummed before shrugging. "Sure."

"Alright. Come on in and make yourself at home."

He made his way into the kitchen taking off his coat and scarf before placing them on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. His eyes watched her form walk past him and back towards the kitchen, placing the tupperware in the sink before going back to her bowl of cookie dough, starting to pull out enough for a cookie before rolling them up, placing them on a tray covered in parchment paper, and repeating again and again until the bowl was empty and the tray was placed in the refrigerator. He was silent during the entire process just watching her work from his seat at the table.

When her business with the refrigerator was done, she turned to put the dishes she used in the sink and pulled out a mug from the cabinet. The process of making him a cup of hot chocolate was a little longer than he thought was necessary but when she placed it in front of him he understood why. It was one of those fancy hot chocolates like you'd buy at a cafe. Whip cream on top perfectly with marshmallows stuck in its white creaminess, a candy cane and reusable plastic straw sticking out of it, and some spices sprinkled on top to give it a brown tint to the top. Cinnamon or more powdered chocolate maybe?

"Careful. It's hot."

"Thank you."

He'd let it cool down a little bit before he drank it. Instead he just focused on observing her work still, fetching a small pot from the kitchen and filling it with water from the sink before placing it upon the stovetop. Turning it on before she opened the fridge and brought out a jar. From the sight of it, it must've been the pickled vinegar seaweed used for the recipe.

"I see you don't have Kaburamaru with you today," you broke the silence as you just simply continued to work catching his attention. "Is there a reason for that?"

"It's too cold for him to be outside," he said simply, "It's safer to just keep him at home warm in his enclosure."

"Oh, I see." Some splashing sound went off as you poured the seaweed from the jar into the pot of water turning on the stove to boil it. "I suppose winter is no place for a cute snake like him."

"No....He didn't feel detect you as a threat."

You paused looking over your shoulder at him. "Come again?"

He stared intently at you still pointing a hand. You noticed that he still wore a medical mask over his face without the scarf to cover him. "Kaburamaru doesn't like people plain and simple. Even only tolerates some of my partners because he knows that I care about them, but that doesn't mean he likes them. He loathes strangers coming up to me however..." He slowly lowered his hand still intensely staring at you as if you were some kind of revaluation to him. "He hadn't once threatened you anytime you were near me. It made me wonder why that was."

You were speechless for a long moment pausing to stare at him. You never once thought of his snake as a threat. After all he wasn't even venomous. According to Obanai, Kaburamaru was just a harmless albino rat snake. He never hissed at you when you saw him, and you only saw a cute noodle with big eyes staring back at you.

"Well.. maybe it's because I never saw him as a threat?," you offered with a shrug, "I mean he's just a harmless little snake, he's not even venomous. If anything he'd probably be more scared of me because I'm a lot bigger and could hurt him if I stepped on him by accident."

"You aren't scared of him at all?...Why?"

"I grew up with an aunt who had a few pet tarantulas and believes in things like talking to spirits with ouija boards and reading palms to predict the future." You shrugged at his wide eyed expression. "A harmless little snake isn't going to phase me."

Obanai slowly blinked even slower nodding his head. "That..makes more sense now..I guess. But if Kaburamaru sees you as no threat, then that means a lot."

You smiled. "Well I'm glad he's not scared of me. Are you going to drink your hot coco?"

He hummed again but simply just took the straw sticking out of the cup to poke it under his mask, taking a few sips of the sweet drink as you continued to walk around the kitchen grabbing utensils and spices you'd need to make Obanai the food he came all the way out here for. After all you didn't want to be a rude host. He continued to watch you in silence once more as you worked for the next ten minutes taking sips of the drink to not seem rude.. before he stopped glancing down at the drink, contemplating something in his head for a moment, before his eyes glanced back up to you.

"Did you see my face?"

Again you were caught off guard almost dropping the spoon in your hand. "What?"

"On Christmas. My mask was taken." A single finger pointed at his face. "Did you see my face?"

The silence increased in an awkward degree as you both stared. No sounds other than the boiling water upon the stove before you sighed through your nose with a worried expression.

"I did." You decided to be honest with him. "But you reacted so fast running away and covering yourself, that I didn't really get to see what you looked like under your mask." You answered truthfully. And it was true. He reacted so fast it was almost inhuman. "Plus it's been a good while since last week and I haven't been thinking about it." You really hadn't given it a second thought too busy with so many other things, and you thought the whole situation was behind you. So you never thought about it again until Obanai brought it up again just now. "I honestly don't know what you look like under your mask, Iguro."

He still stared silently at you not saying a word before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. They slowly looked you all the way down to your feet before slowly raising all the way up to your eyebrows. He seemed to be studying your body language as well as your expression. Seeming to trying to find a single shred of deceit. But strangely found nothing in your face or posture to back up his suspicions. You only had a concerned frown.

"You... hadn't seen anything?"

"I mean..I did saw what looked like marks-" He flinched and you quickly held up your hands. "-but like I said, I don't know what you look like at all. It was too fast and long ago for me to make out anything about you."

He had tensed up upon your honest answer...but with an inhale slowly forced himself to relax. "I-I see. So you really hadn't seen my face?" You shook your head no and with how your reaction was, he was inclined to believe that this time. "I see." He repeated again but this time he sounded relieved.

"Did...you want me to know what you looked like?"

"NO!!" You jumped again and he seemed to since at how loud he was. "I mean no. I-I'm not comfortable with showing it." Perhaps maybe in the future but definitely not now.

"That's fine. You don't ever have to show me if you don't want to," you assured him turning back to the stove to finish cooking the food. "I won't ever pressure you too and it's none of my business. If you ever do decide to show me just know that I won't judge you but I want you to do it because YOU want to and only if you're comfortable with it. Not because you think you should. We don't even have to talk about them if that makes you more comfortable."

He said nothing as he just stared wide eyed. So you just continued cooking away as the minutes ticked on and the kitchen was filled with the smell of food. Obanai hadn't moved from his spot even when a plate of food and a pair of chopsticks was placed in front of him before you pointed towards the living room.

"I'll be in the living room." You decided to give him space to eat comfortably. You have to wait for the cookies to get really cold in the fridge anyways. "If you need me, I'll be cleaning up in there. Ok?"

He slowly nodded watching you walk off towards the other room leaving him alone to eat in the silent kitchen. Ever so slowly, his hands reached up to remove the mask from his face. The chopsticks left to the side getting picked up and picking up the strands of shredded seaweed before him, making it's way to the scared mouth from the accident long ago. A sigh leaving his nose as the peaceful atmosphere allowed him to relax. Although his head perked up slightly at the sound of a voice singing softly from the other room alongside the shuffling of footsteps and sound of broom bristles gliding across the wooden floors.

"I think of you and my future gleams.~ My mind is filled with golden dreams.~ I think of you and I love you so.~ All the world takes on a golden glow.~ So hold me close tonight, and fill me with dreams of delight.~ I think of you and your love for me.~ And I know that life with you will be more beautiful than it seems in my golden dreams.~"

That was a song from a Christmas movie wasn't it? Although he wasn't sure what movie if it was from one it was from one but he enjoyed listening to the singing and humming in the background as he ate. You decided to busy yourself by sweeping the floors in your living room and under the furniture. Biding your time to allow Obanai some privacy, however you hadn't noticed the man standing within the same room until he cleared his throat. You looked back up and smiled at Obanai awkwardly standing there coat in his arms, mask back over his face, and his eyes looking down.

"Oh. Are you finished?"

He nodded. "Yes. I left the dishes in your sink."

"That's fine." You glanced at his jacket. "Are you leaving now?"

He nodded again. "Yes. I came to do what I needed to."...He slowly looked back up to you again. "Here." He held up a hand holding a small folded piece of paper. "Before I go."

You slowly took it from him turning it over in your hands. "What is it?"

"Something to say thank you for your help. Nothing more."

A gift? But is wasn't Christmas anymore. You curiously looked at the paper before putting the broom to the side and unfolded the paper. On it in scribbly handwriting looked to be..A poem?

'If I'm being honest

it was a disturbingly short

amount of time

between meeting you

and wanting to say

'"I love you."'

You were surprised by the love poem from Obanai of all people and gave him a confused look but he only looked to the side to avoid eye contact. Oh wait a minute. Didn't Tengen mention that Obanai liked poetry? He must've written this as the thank you he mentioned earlier. You looked between the gift and himself before smiling at him.

"How sweet. Thank you, Iguro. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." He mumbled slipping the cost over his body. "I was just thanking you. Don't take it the wrong way."

"I won't." You beamed at him in a similar way Mitsuri does. "Thank you, Obi. I love it."

He stared before his face lit up a pink and he swiftly twisted to the door swiftly walking away. "Right!Seeyouatthepartybye!!" He quickly forced out as he all but rang out the door leaving you dumbfounded staring after him.

Huh. That was strange but maybe he felt too awkward in the moment or wasn't comfortable with your prescense yet. Either way you appreciated the gift and later pinned it up in your bedroom that night. The rumors Murata had warned you about him was absolutely wrong. He was just as big of a sweetheart as Sanemi and Tengen was. Even if he was a bit strange, he had a good heart.

Another four days passed by. You hadn't heard from Obanai since Tuesday but you didn't expect to when he said he'd see you again at the party. But you were glad for Shinobu calling and giving you a heads up that she and Giyuu could carpool with you much to your delight. If you were going to attend a party until midnight then you didn't think you would be awake enough to drive back home in the middle of the night.

So here you were late that evening sitting in the back of Shinobu's car as she drove herself, Giyuu, her sister, and you to Tengen's home. Already the sky was dark and the first few stars were out. This was very peaceful. It didn't take long to arrive at the familiar fancy Uzui household where other cars were parked and your party walked right up to the door. Snow crunching under your feet and the cold air nipping at your noses. Giyuu got there first and knocked loudly. Just a few seconds later you all heard someone literally run up to the door before it was thrown open and you all were face to face with a beaming Suma.

"YOU'RE HERE!," She cheered loudly before backing up and quickly beckoned you all to come inside. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Everyone else is already here!"

The inside was decorated beautifully. Black, white, and gold streamers and balloons were tied up everywhere and a large table of pizza, sodas, and other party food was displayed out on it. By said table you spotted Mitsuri holding an entire pizza box for herself scarfing it down. Next to her was Obanai whom was watching her with adoration. However he turned to as soon as you walked in the door. You smiled and waved at him to which he quickly turned away turning a pink and making Mitsuri blink at him.

"Well if it isn't my flamboyant muse!" Your attention was quickly turned to Tengen whom smiled at you and waved a hand. "I was wondering if you were ever going to show!"

"I wouldn't miss this. Not when you promised to finally show everyone your painting." You'd been anxious to see it ever since he promised to show everyone at the party. "Is it finished?"

"Of course it is! I never lie about my painting skills!," he stated matter of fact as he puffed his chest out in pride hands on his hips. "I put the finishing touches on it just yesterday but you're gonna have til midnight to see it just like everyone else!" A hand was held up. "I want this masterpiece to be my first art showcase for the next year!"

"Ok. Fair enough. I'm so excited to see it!"

His smile turned softer then looking at you. "Y'know...this just might be my new favorite painting thanks to you." He gestured a hand to the table. "Make yourself at home! We're gonna be playing a few games and watching a movie tonight so might as well pregame!"

"Thanks, Tengen!" You smiled at him as he walked away and you turned to go hang your coat up when you ran into Hinatsuru.

"Here. Let me get that for you." She gestured to your coat.

"Oh. Thank you and thank you guys for inviting me to your party."

Her pink eyes softly smiled at you in response as she took your coat. "Actually.. it's us who should be thanking you." You were visibly confused so she sighed. "Tengen often gets very sad around this time of year because of his family's tragedy but you managed to lift his spirits this year. I just wanted to thank you for that."

"Oh. There's no need to thank me. I didn't do much aside from posing for a picture."

"Actually you've done a lot more for everyone here than you'll ever realize."

Huh? What did she mean by that? You didn't get a chance to ask her before she had already turned and left. Well...That was certainly strange but you assumed she was just happy with your attempts to help everyone here and be friendly. Shrugging it off, you made your way to Gyomei whom greeted you with a kiss and an arm pulling you against his side as he continued to speak to Sanemi and Kyojuro about how their classes had been going and discussing some historical facts Kyojuro brought up. Gyomei and Kyo seemed to really enjoy discussing the history of religion and the shrines he loved to visit.

You didn't mind just enjoying the company for now until you felt something like your arm to get your attention, making you turn and look surprised to see Obanai standing there. He stared at you before looking off to the side and holding up a single can of cold soda.

"I-..got you a drink."

You blinked but smiled at him before taking the can. "Thanks, Iguro. That's very thoughtful of you."

He just quickly mumbled something under his breath before spouting out some excuse and walking away quickly. Earning a raised brow from Gyomei and Sanemi but the two were quickly drawn back to Kyojuro when he brought up the name of a famous mathematician from history. None of you noticed the pink and green haired woman who had been watching the interactions between you and her boyfriend VERY closely. You hadn't even noticed Mitsuri following close behind you until you excused yourself from the men to go get some of the pizza on the table. Well not until you had gotten to the table and started to get some pizza.

"Hi, Y/n!"

You looked up and smiled at Mitsuri happily tilting her head towards you. "Hi, Mitsuri. Am I in your way?"

Her head shook braids swaying. "Nope! I was just wondering what you and Oni were talking about."

You blinked. Obanai? "Nothing really. He was being nice and got me a drink. That's all."

She hummed interested in that fact much to your confusion. "Really? That's it?"

You nodded. "Uh huh. I guess he wanted to try and talk more since he visited me."

"Obanai visited you?" The shock and surprise on her face took you aback a bit.

"Yeah? On Tuesday. Did he not tell you?"

"No." Her green eyes glanced up towards said boyfriend but he was busy with Kanae probably discussing the similar sciences behind their studies. "What did he want?"

"Oh. He was just returning the tupperware I gave him a while back." Obanai didn't tell Mitsuri he visited you? That was strange considering how close they were but you supposed he really didn't want anyone to know about what happened. "He also wanted some more Totoro kombu so I made him some."

"Really? That's all he wanted?" She almost sounded disappointed. "You guys didn't talk or anything?"

You shrugged. "We talked about some stuff that happened at the fair last week and he thanked me but that was it." You told her the truth but left out exactly what happened at the fair you two were discussing and what exactly he thanked you for in order to keep your promise to the snake loving man. "Oh. And he told me a little about his snake but that's it."

Immediately Mitsuri's expression when from disappointed to surprise to absolutely BEAMING. "He told you about Kaburamaru?!" You nodded. "How do?!"

Again confused you shrugged. "Just about what kind of snake he was and things like that. Why?""

You just got an excited squeal out of her which wasn't uncommon as she smiled widely. "Obi, told you about Kaburamaru! He only talks about his snake with people he likes!!"

You blinked. "Really?" She nodded excitedly which made you smile. "I guess we're starting to become better friends then!" You were genuinely happy to be making process with befriending him.

Mitsuri had a strange gleam to her eyes but happily nodded in agreement. "Oh yes! Friendships are a beautiful thing! And so are other relationships too!"

You have her a strange look but nodded in agreement anyways. It was true but a strange choice in words. "So how did you like playing Clara in The Nutcracker?"

You both chatted with each other a bit discussing the play before Shinobi announced she was putting in a horror movie she had brought along called simply 'ONI' as everyone waited for midnight to slowly approach. Hour after hour ticked away and despite the movie taking up a lot of the time, you still felt yourself getting more and more tired. So Tengen decided of another way to distract everyone from the time. And arm wrestling contest between the girls. Of course no one was too enthusiastic about that but complied as just a means of passing the time...You probably should've known better when you sat down and immediately Giyuu stood next to you with his arms out ready to catch something. You should've seen it coming when you agreed to go first against Mitsuri-

"Ready? Set. GO!!"

It was all one big blur. One moment you were sitting at the coffee table as Sanemi shouted go, then the next you were flying to the left and into Giyuu's awaiting arms like a goalie waiting to catch the ball. He stumbled back from the sudden force of your body flying into him causing him to stumble back and you both landed in a heap on the floor.

"OH MY GOSH!! ARE YOU TWO OK?!," Mitsuri instantly shouted shooting up to her feet. "I'm so sorry! I was trying really hard to not do it so hard!"

"We're ok." You both slowly got up with the help of everyone else. Now you knew why Giyuu prepared himself to catch you. Mitsuri had insane strength! "I guess this just means I'm disqualified."

It was no surprise Mitsuri had won in the end. Tengen suggested another arm wrestling contest between the guys but that was quickly dismissed in favor of Kyojuro offering to go get Saki for everyone. You declined staring that you didn't drink but Obanai was nice enough to get you another soda surprising everyone else but making you happy.

Hours continued to tick by slowly and slowly until someone realized that it was eleven fifty right. Then everyone seemed to completely stop what they were doing to stare intently at the clock on the wall as the hands slowly moved with each passing second. Two minutes felt like an eternity as the hands carefully turned to eleven fifty nine p.m.. Everyone intensely staring at it with baited breath as the seconds tilted down..

Down..

Midnight-

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"

You nearly went deaf from the loud shouts and claps that sounded off around you and someone squeezed you in a happy hug amongst the festivities. Being super tired and fighting sleep,you didn't fight back and just chose to smile at everyone until the cheers slowly subsided and only a happy murmuring was about the home.

"Hey, Tengen! Are you gonna show us that painting you've been boastin' about or what?!"

That made you perk up a bit. The painting you've been posing for hours for. The only one's who's seen it had been Tengen himself and two of his wives. You were VERY interested in seeing it before your body forced yourself to pass out. The silver haired man seemed to beam brightly at it being brought up and placed a hand to his chest.

"But of course! I've been waiting ages to show this!" With a smile everyone watched as he simply waltzed on into the kitchen and a few seconds later he came back out carrying a wooden stand with a tablecloth covering the square top. Covering a painting! He took his sweet time setting it up in the middle of the room, and grabbed the top of the cloth. "Behold! The eighth wonder of the world!" He gestured to it with his other hand. "I call it 'Newest Adoration!'"

With one swooping motion, the tablecloth was torn off the top and fluttered to the floor. A round of awed stares and gasps filled the room and your eyes widened at the sight of what you saw.

It was you!

Well half of you. Your face looked as if it had been magnified, before strands of your f/c hair had been turned into sickened strands flowing in the wind across the soft skin. Your pupil turned into a f/c diamond crying miniature diamonds falling down your cheek like crystallized tears. A few jewelled strands of the crown you wore for the costume dancing around your forehead.

"Well?" Tengen gave an expecting look around. "What do you think?"

"It's so pretty!!," Suma gushed clasping her hands together. "You did it again, Tengen!"

"How the fuck is he able to make them look like real jewels?" "It's lovely! You really captured her complexion." "Good job, Tengen!"

He smiled proudly at the praise it garnered but laser focused back on you as you continued to stare at it silently. Wide eyes looking at the beautiful painting before you just looking at it before slowly an arm half reached out towards it before it stopped and instead your hand reached up to run over your own cheek.

"Is that really me?" You almost didn't recognize your voice, it was so small barely a whisper.

Tengen nodded before rubbing his chin looking over the painting. "I mean I did add a fantasy tweak to your eyes but the rest of the painting is just what I saw when you modeled for me." Magenta eyes glanced over you gauging your reaction. "What do you think, Y/n?"

"... It's beautiful. I-..I didn't think I could ever look that beautiful."

"Are you kidding me? You were always this beautiful! You still are even as you stand there!" He gestured to the painting. "The only difference here is that one version of that beauty is engraved in paint."

A sniffle left your nose. A sleeve reached up to wipe at your eyes before they could start tearing up.

"Aw. Hey, Y/n. It's ok to cry." You felt Mitsuri hug your side patting your head. "There, there."

"I-I don't know what to say. *sniffle* T-Thank you."

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sturniololuv08 · 3 days ago

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On The Ninth Day Of Nickmas...

Day 9 of Juno's 12 Days Of Nickmas

He kissed me. Nick thought about it over and over. He felt stupid. He hardly reacted, and now Jared probably thinks he isn't interested in him like that. Was he into Jared like that? He knew everything would change for them, but would that be so bad?

"How was your night?" Chris popped up out of nowhere, causing Nick to jump.

"It was fine," Nick mumbled.

"What time did Jared leave?" Chris pried.

"A little bit after you guys dipped." Nick felt his cheeks flush.

"Any plans with him today?" Chris wasn't subtle about anything.

"Why all the questions? Damn." Nick stood up and walked off to his room. He flopped on his bed and sighed. He was an idiot for being all up in his feelings like this, but he couldn't stop thinking about everything. He was thinking all the way back, even to the first time they met. He pulled out his phone and clicked around until he was in his car video folder. He watched their secret video more than he'd ever admit. He smiled at the thought of the fans clipping and making edits of him and his best friend. He never put any more thought into how their fans would react to him and Jared. The video played on a loop a few times as he got lost in the moment. The video ended without their lips touching, but now he could replay the kiss they shared last night to finish it.

"Hey, Nick." Nick shot up from lying down.

"Jared?" He wasn't expecting to see him so soon after their shared moment. His phone smacked his chest.

"I thought we could do something today. Christmas shop for your bros? Watch a movie?" Jared's demeanor changed once he saw Nick being uncomfortable around him. He didn't forget what happened last night. He just wanted to pretend he did. He wasn't going to bring it up unless Nick did.

"Sure." Nick picked his phone up and closed out the car video.

"What do you want to do?"

"We could go shopping." Nick doesn't usually opt to go out, but he feels more nervous about staying in and spending time alone with Jared. He wanted to use going out as a chance to see how Jared felt about last night without all the pressure from being alone. He wasn't going to bring it up unless Jared did.

"Great, Matt said I could use the car." Jared held up the keys.

"Oh, he did." Nick felt like Matt was silently plotting since they shared that quick talk at the ski lodge.

"Come on." Jared nodded at the door. Nick got up and searched for his wallet and some shoes. After they were in the car, the air was stiff. Nick was sitting in the passenger seat, completely unsure of what to do with his hands. Jared had both hands on the wheel, gripping it tight enough to turn his knuckles white. The radio was playing some shitty Christmas song. Nick turned it up to try and lessen the feeling of suffocating. Jared eventually parked at the mall.

"The mall?" Nick gulped.

"Yeah?" Jared cocked a brow at him.

"It's going to be pretty busy. You know, with Christmas in two days." Nick looked at the parking lot, which had a lot of different cars.

"I just figured it had the most stores in one spot." Jared shrugged as he unbuckled. Nick nodded, seeing his reasoning. They walked in, and Nick held the door for Jared. The door led them into the main bookstore at the front. To get inside the rest of the mall, you had to walk through the large archway at the back of the store. They sniffed the dusty paper smell emulating off each freshly printed book as they walked through the rows. "We could get Matt a journal, maybe?" Jared stopped and looked at a few leather-bound pads of paper.

"Yeah." Nick backtracked his steps to be next to Jared. They picked one out together, and Jared purchased it. They continued further into the mall. Nick bought coffee to sip while they weaved around people. It was mainly so he was forced to bite his tongue and not say anything to Jared. It was an oral fixation for him to bite the straw while he watched Jared examine each item he debated on buying. They managed to have regular conversations for them, and Nick was starting to feel better about yesterday not being brought up. They bought a few new things for Matt and Chris and were on their way to Jared's favourite store.

"Nick?" His head swiveled. "Oh my god, you're Nick Sturniolo." A group of girls caught him in the crowd. As if he wasn't irritated enough from his thoughts about Jared and the crowded mall, he now had to pretend not to be.

"Hi." He waved sweetly.

"We won't bother you long, but could we get a picture?" They giggled.

"Sure. Jared, would you?" The girls smiled and looked at one another when Nick handed their phone to Jared. This wasn't the first time a fan had spotted Nick while out, but this was Jared's first involvement. He fumbled their phone, shocked Nick brought his presence into the interaction.

"Thank you so much." The girls gushed as they started posing silly with their idol.

"Yeah. That's good." Jared encouraged.

"Okay. Have a nice day. Merry Christmas." Nick shut down the interaction. As Jared and Nick walked off together, Jared peeked behind him and saw the girls still taking photos without Nick paying attention.

"Are you okay?" Jared was starting to feel Nick's tension rubbing off on him.

"Yeah, we've been here a while, and I hate people." Nick looked around at the crowd surrounding them.

"Ready to go home?" Nick just nodded. Jared grabbed his hand and led him through the sea of bodies. Nick followed, contently tugged along. They made it to the car, and Jared tucked the presents in the back seat while Nick got in. The drive home was the same suffocating silence. Just when Nick thought he was over yesterday, he wasn't. The car was parked, and they were just sitting in the awkward silence.

"You want to watch a movie?" Nick sighed. He felt terrible that his attitude ruined most of the mall for Jared.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Jared grabbed all the bags and successfully snuck them into Nick's upstairs room. Nick started loading Netflix on his desktop monitor. "What are we watching?"

"Please don't make fun of me." Nick was already embarrassed by his choice.

"Okay...?" Jared sat on the bed and took his shoes off.

"I've been obsessed with Netflix's Princess Switch trilogy." Nick waited to be judged.

"The one with Vanessa Hudgens, right?" Jared knew very well that was the one.

"Yes." Nick swiveled around fast.

"It's amazing." Jared laughed at the fact Nick thought he would be judged.

"It's soo good." Nick gushed. He joined Jared on the bed and got comfy. The movie started playing creating soft background noise. Jared laid back and was close to Nick. The first movie finished and Jared got up and stretched.

"I should probably go."

"You could stay the night if you want." Nick avoided Jared's gaze.

"I don't have anything comfy." Jared looked down at his jeans and tight shirt.

"Funny you should mention that." Nick got off the bed and opened the closet. He grabbed a wrapped-up ball.

"Nick..." Jared rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Just open it," he pressed. He had this present for a while, so it wasn't as extravagant as it probably should have been after they had shared a kiss, but it was the thought that counted, right? Jared unraveled the crappy, wrapped-up ball. Something dropped on the bed. He held it up.

"Pajamas?" Jared looked at Nick.

"Matching ones." He answered back and grabbed his pair out of the closet.

"Thank you." Jared started stripping. Nick gawked briefly, then turned around, not because he hadn't seen Jared change before but because it never made him flustered before. He felt a tingling sensation behind his boxers and started to panic. Jared couldn't see him getting turned on.

"I'm gonna get us something to drink." Nick darted out of the room and down the stairs. This didn't even happen when they kissed yesterday. "Why now?" Nick whispered as he opened the fridge.

"Why what?" Chris appeared behind him.

"Chris!" He yelled.

"What?" Chris stepped back, expecting to get hit for scaring his brother.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting a Pepsi." He grabbed it out of the open fridge and popped the tab on the can.

"Whew." Nick sighed loudly. Chris's scaring him was precisely what he needed to cool down. He went back upstairs empty-handed and saw Jared in his new outfit.

"Where are the drinks?" Jared asked.

"I totally forgot." Nick wasn't lying. "Chris scared me, and I forgot."

"I'll get them." Jared left the room. Nick changed fast to make sure Jared didn't walk in and accidentally heat him up again. Once he was back with drinks, Nick started playing the second Princess Switch. They were on the bed again in the same positions, but this time a few inches closer. The movie was rolling through, but Nick couldn't stop looking at Jared. He'd sneak glances over and over, trying to figure out what was going on in his best friend's mind.

"Do you wanna talk?" Nick whispered. His voice was weak.

"About what?" Jared again decided to play stupid. He didn't want to offer up any information without being wholly prompted to do so.

"Anything?" Nick chickened out. Jared rolled to his side, and his leg lapped over Nick. Nick felt his body heating up again. He turned to face his best friend. He saw Jared with a slight blush creeping on either side of his nose.

"We don't have to talk about it," Jared assured Nick. He knew his best friend well. Well enough to know that's what he wanted to talk about but also well enough to know he was stubborn enough to avoid it for forever.

"Okay." Nick sighed and closed his eyes. Then he felt the bed shifting, and he opened them.

"We don't have to talk about it, but I want to do it again," Jared whispered right on Nick's lips. Jared didn't wait for any confirmation. He pressed his lips to Nick's. He leaned further into Nick and grabbed below his ear. He pulled Nick by the neck and forced him to roll over on top of him. Jared wasn't sure what any of this meant from yesterday, but he planned on exploring it all the way through. Nick decided he didn't want to ruin the moment by freezing up again and he submitted. After rolling over on top of Jared, he ran his fingers through his hair. Jared moaned, enjoying the sensation. Nick felt himself get hard from the noises Jared was making beneath him. Jared grabbed Nick's waist and squeezed. Nick liked the feeling of being physically intimate but he still was unsure if crossing this line with his best friend was worth losing him if it didn't work out. Nick broke the kiss off.

"You're -"

"I'm still your best friend." Jared beat him to the punch. Nick's mouth gaped open a little. Jared was tired of talking, even though they only exchanged a few words, and grabbed Nick's neck again for control of the younger boy. Jared didn't want to get rough but wanted to be in charge. He continued to kiss all over Nick's face and ended sweetly on the tip of his nose. "Let's go to sleep," Jared whispered. Nick nodded.

"Yeah." He was completely hard again and knew Jared could feel it, but he didn't want to push into something they both might not be quite ready for yet. Nick fell off Jared's stomach and slid under the covers. Once under the covers, Jared grabbed Nick and pulled him into him. Their legs intertwined and Nick was breathing in Jared's chest. "Still don't have to talk about it?" Nick asked in a joking manner.

"Shh. Go to sleep." Jared hushed him. He kissed Nick's forehead softly and settled back down on the pillows. Nick wanted to talk about it now.

Taglist: @trevorsgodmother @strnilolover @chrissbug333 @kirby0strombolli @abbilmao @ksturnz @marrykisskilled @thenickgirl (Okay I know this one had to get you going... just a lil????)

#junos 12 days of nickmas #12 days of christmas #12 days of nickmas #nicolas sturniolo christmas #nicolas antonio sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #nick christmas #nick sturniolo

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warriorfujoshi · 1 year ago

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good morning everybody… i had a dream i started working on a beautiful document abt envyautumn vn containing character bios, themes, plot points and inspirations… and then I woke up and executive dysfunction exists

#why would my subconscious taunt me like this #heres a dream where you can easily do things that you enjoy.#now return to reality. fucker.#😭#AND ALSO I HAVE A TUMMY ACHE.#literally waking up every day is like gacha rolling which part of my body hurts #le dies #my dreams #I have been intending to make this document. for like. weeks now #but I can’t do it today bc I have to do laundry #🥹#the next few days until Christmas are all busy…

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flightyalrighty · 7 months ago

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FIRST | PREVIOUS | NEXT CH 1 PG 36

Infested will return on June 27th. --- Thank you to the following Ascended supporters: @chaogongoozles, @fiiresiidefrfr, @elizard4227, @grogar, Ezzoh, @susivoi, @calculuscacophony, Eros, @ivycorp, @summersdale @borrelia, @mizukiz, @sanicdetails, @combinegrunt-echo-1, Pica, @veeceear, @quackenburt, ItsmeMonarch, @memendoemori, @trans-girl-sonic, & savarsenic

Content Warnings | Store | Ko-Fi (Discord!) | Read On Comic Fury! DISCLAIMER: "Infested" is a horror comic ft. content not suitable for those under the age of 17.

A long-winded looking back on things below the cut:

The first few pages of Infested were uploaded to this blog on March 2nd, 2023 -- Over a whole year ago! I was so busy, too, that I completely missed its birthday (Sorry Infested). Looking even further back than that, the original story was was something I began writing on December 25th, 2022 (Merry Christmas).

It took two years to get to this point.

And hey, not to toot my own horn about it, but completing even one chapter of a webcomic is a big deal. Especially for me. My first webcomic, Fight/Flight, didn't get very far. I completed the prologue, started Chapter 1, and then had to drop it for a number of reasons (I didn't really agree with what baby-me had to say, politically, anymore).

This comic was born from a lot of intense feelings. The story, itself, too. Some good. Some bad.

I had been forced to move away from my hometown, and with that move, I lost the physical connection that I had to all of my friends. I lost the familiarity of a place I'd known for most of my life. I'm now stuck somewhere... Worse. It felt like a cage. Still does. Disconnected from the life I thought I would be living after college. I didn't have health insurance, either -- Got kicked off of it because of the move -- And as a result, I was off my antidepressants.

So there I was, at a pretty low point in my life. I miserable and lonely and every single day dragged on. And on. And on. And I felt so disappointed in myself. That disappointment became self-loathing, and it all kinda spiraled.

Have I mentioned that I'm a huge Sonic fan? I don't think I need to. I'd say it's pretty obvious. But for the sake of this story, I'll say it again: I'm a HUGE Sonic fan. I've been that way since 2003 with Sonic Heroes. The franchise has been in my life for over two decades. I had a monthly mail subscription to Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog was something that I truly loved more than any other piece of media. It brought me endless joy. Until I didn't.

I had dropped Sonic after Lost World was... Itself. I had already felt pretty irritated with the Meta Era, and Lost World was the final straw. The last bit of hope that the series could recover was snuffed out when Forces was released. It was over. I was done. If Sonic was truly that embarrassed by itself, if they had truly lost touch with what made the series so great, then I wouldn't waste my time any longer. I was so sure that I had to just... Grieve and move on. My beloved childhood game series was dead. Long live the king or whatever. I'd just bitterly read IDW Sonic and think about what could've been. I was lucky to have that comic, at least. Archie had been canceled, too, after all. I was lucky to have my scraps.

Then Sonic Frontiers came out. And it changed everything.

And my god, it was everything. It was everything to me. Flaws be damned, it was everything. To. Me. The spectacle. The serious tone. The vastly improved writing. Kellin Fucking Quinn. It was FUN! It was actually FUN to PLAY. He was back. I was back. Sonic pulled me by my hand out of the ocean of misery I'd fallen into, and he looked me in my eye and he said;

"Hey. You're gonna be alright."

Metaphorically speaking. Sonic The Hedgehog didn't actually literally speak to me -- And sure, okay, maybe it's a little dramatic to describe a game as this great Depression Annihilator but I'm dead serious when I say that, for that time, before I was able to get back on my meds, I was self-medicating with Sonic.

Sonic was all I was thinking about. I reread the Unleashed arc in Archie Sonic, which got me sorta realizing something, and which led to my post where I said something along the lines of "Sonic would hide a zombie bite."

Archie Sonic would, at least. Because he basically did do that in the Unleashed arc of that comic. He let that problem fester until it became an even bigger problem because, ironically, he didn't want to be a problem.

So one thing led to another. I thought more about Sonic becoming a zombie. Bada-bing, bada-boom, Infested was born.

I didn't expect it to get the attention that it did. I felt lucky when the first page I drew Rouge on (Page 6 I think?) blew up. The right people saw it at the right time. I'm extremely grateful for that.

I'm extremely grateful for all of you.

So yeah, one chapter. Woo! Here's to many more.

#infested sonic comic #sonic the hedgehog #tw blood #tw gore

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gutsby · 11 months ago

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Trigger Tease(r)

Pairing: Mob!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Before his morning briefing, your mob boss husband decides to take a pit stop in the sauna with you.

Warnings: 18+. Oral (f!receiving). Gentle fingerfucking. Praise and degradation. Daddy kink. Dirty talk. Bucky talking you through it. Bimbofication if you squint.

Notes: @sluttylittlewaistenthusiast - you inspired me 🪽 I just had to crank out a little teaser for the third installment of Wedded Bliss. I hope y’all like it 💓

Full version here

In between breakfast and the start of your husband’s early briefing, you found yourself situated in much the same way you’d been spending a lot of time these days: pinned up against the wall of a wood-paneled sauna, Bucky’s broad shoulders supporting both of your legs as he buried his face deep between your thighs. You sighed.

“Hold still,” Bucky grunted, voice muffled as he tried to keep your slick, squirming body in place above him.

You yelped and seized a fistful of his hair when he wedged his tongue even further inside you, nudging your clit with his nose almost too teasingly and deliberate.

“I can’t…help it,” you bit back, ignoring the brief glare you earned from your husband as soon as you said it, “Your tongue’s just so— s— James!”

This time, Bucky let out a full-throated groan when you yanked on those poor wet locks of his—‘Gonna make me bald by next Christmas if you keep doin’ that, honey’—and he pried his head from your legs just long enough to knock you flat on the sauna bench close by.

The western red cedar seared hot on your skin, already flushed from the exhaustion wrought by Bucky’s tongue; you hardly had the strength to hold yourself up when he pushed you onto your back and crawled over your body.

“How ‘bout my fingers, doll? Can you take a couple’a those for me?” Bucky crooned above you as he stroked your hair, bathed in pure sunlight pouring in from the windows. His voice was a touch more sympathetic now.

After all, this was your third orgasm of the morning. It really wasn’t fair for him to use that biological weapon of mass destruction he liked to call his tongue when he knew how sensitive your clit would get from just one ‘O’. Even his hands might be too much in your current state.

Bucky was busy peppering your skin with kisses, working his way from the base of your neck to the crown of your head, when you whimpered and tried to fight a smile.

“Finger,” you corrected him, “Just one finger, Barnes.”

You would’ve thought you’d just thrown your wedding ring in his face and told him to eat shit. Just one?

“How’s one finger s’posed to stretch you out for my cock, huh? Practically had you screamin’ when I stuck it in last night,” Bucky wasn’t one to hide his amusement, grinning even bigger when you swatted him on the arm.

“Who said anything about your cock?” You tried to keep cool as Bucky’s fingers trailed right back down to the place you felt yourself throbbing, aching for his touch, “You have a meeting in ten minutes.”

“Meeting doesn’t start until I say so, my love,” Bucky reminded you just as his index ghosted over your folds.

In truth, he was willing to play this game any way, and for however long, you wanted it done, so long as he was the one bringing you pleasure. Be that his cock, his finger, or all fucking five on one hand, Bucky just wanted to get you off. It was better sustenance to him than the whole damn meal the two of you had eaten that morning.

Bucky kept it down to one digit and lightly circled your bundle of nerves when he sensed you were ready.

You gripped his forearm and shot a quick look between your legs, still in disbelief as to how he could make you feel this good so soon after you’d cum twice before. You felt his lips drift over to yours and steal a few kisses.

“Always doin’ so good for me,” Bucky praised, moving his finger in circles. When you whined against his mouth, he pressed it even harder, “Such a good girl for daddy.”

“James,” you breathed, clenching your legs together.

“Everything OK?”

“Uh-huh.”

More than OK, in fact. That delectable coil of sweet, euphoric release was already swelling gently in your tummy. Bucky moved his finger even faster.

“Tell me how it feels,” he murmured low in your ear.

Bucky loved seeing you try to articulate your feelings—relatively fresh and new to your world, still—while he was giving you pleasure. Adored the way you winced and whined and arched your back into his touch as a whole blustering hailstorm of sensations crashed over you.

He sank his tongue in your mouth as he kissed you, as if trying to extract the words from between your lips. Your response, in consequence, came somewhat stifled.

“Mm— feels so, oh—” Your voice broke off in a moan when Bucky tightened his circles, “—so good, daddy.”

“Wanna show daddy how good and cum for me?”

Bucky knew by the way you were whimpering under his hand that the tendril in your stomach had almost tripled in size. It wouldn’t take much to tip you over the edge.

“My sweet girl,” he said, rubbing your cunt at the same time he was stroking the back of your head, gently, “Feels so nice down there, doesn’t it?”

You rolled your hips against the bench and nodded. Your breaths were short and ragged, panting helplessly into Bucky’s mouth when he adjusted his hand just a little: pressing the pad of his thumb to your clit, with his index moving down to your entrance. Pushing inside you.

“Another,” you choked, not thinking.

Bucky met your desperate gaze and nodded, knowing this was exactly what you needed to make it over the precipice.

Still, he wouldn’t be Bucky if he didn’t tease just a bit.

“I thought my wife wanted one finger,” he hummed, brow pinching inward.

“No, no.” You could’ve shrieked when he curled the digit, “Want more— Bucky, please, please, I need more.”

Again, your husband appeared to nod in understanding, but his fingers didn’t budge. He worked his thumb a little faster and watched you writhe on the seat beneath him.

“How many, honey? Don’t wanna hurt my baby.” His words were all kindness, it seemed, but his tone laced with shameless condescension—the kind that said, yes, I know you need this, and no, I won’t indulge you just yet. Bucky was the worst when he wanted to prove a point. You could’ve ripped at his clothes and torn them in two if you weren’t both stark naked and shrouded in steam.

You opted to pull at his hair instead.

Bucky winced, but the smirk never left.

“I said how many?” he pressed again.

“Three. Four.” Fuck if you knew.

Your husband raised both eyebrows and hummed, a single finger still plunging in and out of your cunt in quick succession. He teased the tip of another at your entrance and smiled even more when you whined.

“Needy little thing, isn’t she?”

“Bucky—”

“Just wants to fuck daddy’s hand to get herself off, hm?”

Bucky didn’t bother to mask his sweet, degrading tone any longer as he talked down and teased you to no end. It drove him half-insane to see you squirm around, rut your hips, let him say the filthiest fucking words he could conjure up, and just bob your head to whatever he said. His impeccant wife and her insatiable needs—Bucky couldn’t even begin to express how turned on the sheer dichotomy got him. He stared in your eyes, all glossy and soft, and felt his cock stand even more rigid on his belly.

He didn’t give a shit if he’d taunted you enough or not; he just shoved his middle and ring fingers alongside the first and clenched his jaw to start fucking you hard with all three.

Your whole face contorted with pleasure, tinged with the faintest shade of discomfort at the tail end of it. You’d forgotten how big his fingers felt all together.

“Bucky,” you whined, mindlessly clawing at the wrist that was moving back and forth, fast, between your legs, “B-Baby, slow— slow down a little.”

But Bucky was deep in the zone. He knew you wanted it too—sensed that you liked to play it safe when it came to your pleasure and grew a little timid at times it got to feel too much—and he needed to talk you through it.

Rather than turn his head and keep to himself as he got you up to your peak, Bucky pressed his face down to yours and nodded again—this time with a tender sincerity.

“Feel a little stretch down there, huh?”

You didn’t have to say anything, just whimpering in time. Bucky kissed your forehead and let you fold into him as his fingers wreaked havoc down below. He kissed you again, and again, and in between kisses, mumbled,

“That’s daddy’s sweet, needy little slut.”

“My perfect fucking wife, so good at taking my fingers.”

“Gonna be nice and stretched out for my cock, hm?”

Every syllable spoken aloud was like a brand new catalyst for your impending release. You barely nodded your head, opened your mouth and whined pathetically, but that’s exactly how Bucky wanted you. Exactly how you needed to be, bucking your hips in time with the cadence of his fingers fucking inside you, and soon, those whimpers were turning to moans as that soft little helix inside you reached its breaking point.

Bucky brushed once or twice more against your sensitive spot, and suddenly you were coming undone all over him—crying his name, clawing his skin, squeezing your legs so tight around his wrist you feared you might snap it in two, and then getting kissed again, over and over while Bucky drank in your every sound, and the few tears that sprung to your eyes as they always did, like sweet nectar.

You were still moaning, curling your tongue feebly against his own and leaning into him as far as you could, when your husband slipped three fingers up between your mouths and pushed them past your parted lips.

“Suck,” Bucky said, gritting his teeth as he watched you, “C’mere, honey, taste your cunt on my fingers.”

You took him in and sucked your arousal off his fingers just like he asked. Took him by surprise and dragged a mindless, lazy, half-crazed and careless tongue all over his hand, where your juices had no doubt collected too.

That slutty, fucked-out look you gave him—like your brain had all but fallen out of your head with the orgasm he’d given you—was everything Bucky could’ve wanted.

He climbed on top of you and took the base of his cock, rock-hard and weeping tears of precum from the tip, almost drunk from the feeling himself. His mouth hung open as he dragged himself over the seam of your cunt.

“I need to fuck you.”

Taglist (STILL HAVE TO UPDATE THIS I'M DUMB AS SHIT): @vicmc624, @she-could-never, @mcira, @kentokaze, @identity2212, @unaxv, @buchi91, @ordelixx, @stinkerbelle007, @opibarnes, @wilsons-striped-ties, @desigirlxx, @pono-pura-vida, @geminiflanagansblog, @fandomsfeminismandme, @buggy14, @sky-full-0f-fl0wers, @buckysdoll1520, @armystay89, @minimarvelingmarvel, @kunakizen, @ghostiebby06, @blackhawkfanatic, @dameron-grant-spector, @sushiseoks, @deansapplepie, @mrsjoequinn, @lunaroserites, @first-edition, @kaybaby2494, @jaggedsi, @excusememrbarnes, @daisychainsoflove, @mostlymarvelgirl, @diannana, @shawnberry, @yujyujj, @urmomsalex, @mrs-bucky-barnes-73, @athenabarnes, @christinabae, @wintrsoldrluvr, @bethbunnyy, @i-heart-smut @dixsond

#THE TITLE WILL MAKE SENSE LATER I PROMISE #it’s ‘tease’ not ‘teaser’ in the full fic that was just my attempt at humor #bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #marvel #mcu #mob bucky barnes #marvel smut #marvel x reader #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #mob boss bucky #mob!bucky

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longing-for-the-past-times · 1 year ago

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their reaction to you wearing a flavoured lipstick

task force 141 x reader headcanons

synopsis: headcanons of how would they react when the reader wears a flavoured lipstick/lip gloss/lip balm

notes: can you tell who is my favourite?

comments and reblogs are always appreciated🙈

warnings: mentions of smoking, occasional swearing, tooth-rotting fluff

find it on a03 masterlist

Captain 'John' Price - chocolate and red velvet

He may be slightly old-fashioned and love it when you wear red lipstick as he considers it a classy, but bold choice of colour

He is aware that you own more than one red lipstick, yet he secretly cannot differentiate one shade from another. Not that he'll ever let you know

That is until one day you visit him at work. He won't let it show, but he becomes jealous the second you walk in the base, your lips painted in a rich, velvety crimson. He cannot take his eyes off you, hypnotized by the captivating movement of your lips as you speak to him, telling him about your day and what you thought you should have for dinner.

John does not miss the hungry looks that are thrown across your way. He is quick to snake his hand around your waist and usher you to his office, where he could be the only one relishing in the allure the red lipstick cast over you-

"John, you're not really listening, are you?" your playful tone snaps him out of his reverie, a sheepish look plastered on his face.

"Love, did I ever tell you how much red lipstick suits you?"

"Only twice per day and more than ten times per night…" you roll your eyes at his antics, cupping his cheeks in your hands and planting a kiss at the corner of his lips, letting out a small giggle as his stubble tickled your lips.

"Well, I am headed home to get started on that dinner you didn't pay attention to!" you keep teasing him, amused by his dazzled expression. Little did you know, you had him wrapped around your finger.

"A…Alright, drive safe! I'll be there as soon as I finish this paperwork!"

Only he spends the next hour daydreaming about your red lips and the tender way they made contact with his skin, the phantom touch still lingering on the corner of his lips. Unconsciously, he traces his tongue over the place, freezing when he feels a mild flavour of chocolate.

He checks it once again, partially ashamed of the childish gesture. If any of his teammates caught him at that moment, they wouldn't let him live it down. But the subtle taste is there, sweet yet distant, almost as if it was teasing him.

The paperwork's long forgotten before he realizes it must be your lipstick. You might have told him that you found a new flavoured collection, but he had been too busy staring at your giddy figure to pay attention.

So he becomes a man with a plan and does not delay heading home anymore. The drive there seems endless, but it's all worth it the moment he opens the door and sees you standing by the kitchen counter, wearing the apron he gave you for Christmas

One second he's by the door, the next he's smashing his lips against yours, a small sigh of pleasure leaving him as he relishes in the now-intense aroma of chocolate.

"Warn an old man next time, will ya?"

From that day on, he starts calling you "chocolate". The pet name raises a few eyebrows here and there, but none of you are bothered by it. Not when you could tease him about his newly-found sweet tooth and he could lose himself in your delicate kisses.

Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley - strawberries and cigarettes

There are times when he becomes a heavy smoker, sitting on the balcony of your shared apartment and burning through a pack in one day while his mind is mulling over the previous or the next mission

In times like those, he has nothing against your presence, secretly enjoying when you lay his head atop his shoulder and hug him from behind, but he always refuses to kiss you afterwards, arguing that the acrid taste of cigarettes would gross you out

It definitely doesn't- it is an integral part of him that you'd come to accept and love- and now you couldn't live without it

Until one evening, you opt to sit across him, leaning your hands on the balcony railing, while your eyes wander over the city lights. Over the course of your relationship with Simon, you had grown used to his long bouts of silence, becoming accustomed to all of his telltale signs: his left eyebrow would twitch when he doesn't like something, his right foot would continuously tap against the ground when he is distressed.

Three cigarettes in, and his foot is reenacting Radetzky's March. He is utterly unaware of the amused glances you steal at him

"Something the matter, love?" you ask him in a sweet tone, trying to pull off your most innocent face.

"'s nothing", he begins hesitantly, his voice rough from not using it. "…just a little cold, I guess"

You have to turn your head away from him and back to the city, a satisfied smirk spreading on your face. Simon might have been the deadliest operator the Special Forces have had in a long time, but deep down he was also a touch-starved man who found solace and peace in your arms

When the foot tapping does not stop, you struggle to school your face into a neutral expression and turn towards him, your eyes melting at the sight of his dishevelled blonde hair and furrowed brow. He sheepishly looks up in your direction, a silent plea dancing in his chocolate eyes.

You stand and approach him slowly, stopping only when your faces are inches apart. His half-burnt cigarette is forgotten in the ashtray, the remnants of smoke in his breath fanning over your face.

His eyes hold a hundred unanswered questions: did he do something to upset you, did you grow sick of him, can he do anything to get you back; but they are all silenced when you lean in further, placing a gentle and intimate kiss on his lips

The unexpected gesture sends shivers of pleasure down his spine and he has to take a moment before cupping your cheeks in his hands and kissing you back, the way you deserve to be kissed

You chuckle in his mouth before pecking both his eyes and forehead and returning to your original position, your head resting in the crook of his neck as your arms engulf him in a warm hug

He opens his mouth to scold you for kissing him when he is smoking. In his mind, it is almost like he is tainting your presence with the stale smell of smoked cigarettes. But as the words form on his lips, he hesitates, his mind struggling to acknowledge the foreign taste on his tongue

He turns to look at you with a confused look on his face. It was October so there could be no strawberries at the market and the freezer was empty as you had eaten all ice cream when you were on your period-

So why did he taste strawberries on your kiss?

"I may have found a lip gloss from high school", you eventually break the silence, blowing a huff of strawberry-scented air in his direction. "One I bought and swore to keep untouched until I found someone worth using it for!"

His thunderous laugh has you opening your mouth in shock. You could count on your fingers the number of times he'd laugh openly and without reserves

"Bloody hell, darling. You'll get me killed before smoking does! That thing must have been expired for years now!"

You shake your head in disbelief, faintly blushing at his words. You know he is teasing you, but that does not stop you from taking revenge as you start to plant messy pecks and kisses on his neck and cheeks. You eventually stop when your lips are once again inches apart from his, your breaths slowly mingling into a shared one

"Then I guess we are going down together"

Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish - cherries and chapped lips

It all begins one cold morning when he leans in to kiss you goodbye before leaving for work

"Hold on! Johnny, you've got to do something about your chapped lips! You know what, let me get you a lip balm!"

He is quick to place a hand on your shoulder to stop you. His eyebrows are raised in disbelief and he has to do a double-take before words tumble out of his mouth

"Ain't no way I'm using such a thing, bonnie! Lip balms and such are made for wee lasses like you, not for demolition experts like me!"

You roll your eyes at his badly constructed argument and give him an unimpressed look when an idea pops into your mind.

"You stay right here, I'll be back in a jiffy!"

"What even is a jiffy?"

But you don't bother to answer as you head towards the bedroom, looking for the cherry-flavoured lip balm you bought specifically for the cold season. With precise movements, you apply a thick layer on your lips, smacking your lips to check if the cherry flavour is strong enough to linger. It fortunately is.

So you hurry into the hallway where Soap's waiting for you, hands on his hips as he angles his head in your direction. If he notices that your lips have just got shinier, he doesn't mention it

Instead, he leans in to properly kiss you goodbye this time, eyes comically widening when you deepen the kiss and make it last longer than usually

A small chuckle leaves his lips as you cup his cheeks in your hand and place a small kiss on the top of his nose

"How about we continue this when I come home?", he smiles at the ticklish sensation of your lips against his skin, the constant stinging of his own being forgotten for the moment

"Is that a promise, Sergeant?"

He has a hard time leaving home that day, the drive to the base being plagued by thoughts of you and how much you care for him. His lips have been chapped ever since spending the last two weeks on a mission that required him to be on constant watches in freezing temperatures. He eventually got used to it, the cracks and fissures becoming familiar from the countless times he dragged his tongue over lips, in a hopeless attempt to soothe the pain radiating from them

He does not realise that he is currently doing the same thing, his brain temporarily freezing as it detects a new, yet familiar aroma

Why do his lips taste like cherries?

He remains in the car, long after he's parked, his mind deep in thought as he runs his tongue over his lips once more, partially scared that he'll make the mysterious taste go away if he's too insistent. He does not see Ghost approaching his car from the back and actually flinches when he hears someone pounding on the window.

"D'you lock yourself in here, Johnny? The briefing's about to start in five and you haven't even geared up yet!"

"Bloody hell, you should really do something about your lips- they look like cracked desert earth or something…"

"Did not take you for a poet, L.T."

"Never said I was."

He is in the middle of the briefing when he figures out the source of the mystery taste. It all starts to make sense - the quick detour you had to take, the passionate kiss. He has to give it to you - you could do anything you put your mind to.

Because, besides the compelling taste, the chapstick you must have used started to have a soothing effect on his lips, the stinging becoming more bearable with every passing moment

He spends the rest of the day struggling to make the cherry flavour last longer, but it eventually fades out after he's forced to drink water. A small pout etches itself into his face and he starts to regret not listening to you.

The moment he comes home, he's in the bedroom, unscrewing the cap of every lip balm and smelling it before trying to place it back exactly as it was

You silently linger in the doorway, an amused smile creeping across your face as your fingers shift with the cherry-flavoured lip balm. Soap is so distracted by his covert operations task that he does not hear you trying to contain your chuckles.

"I believe you are looking for this?"

He is quick to snatch the small tube from your hands before bringing it closer to his nose and drawing a deep breath in. You shake your head in exasperation, a loud laugh escaping your lips as he clumsily tries to rub the chapstick across his lips.

"Love, you're doing it wrong! You might break it if you apply that much pressure!"

"Here, let me help you!"

Ends up insisting you order a batch just for him.

In just days, his lips go from cracked and fissured to soft and plump, perfect for the customary morning kiss

Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick - vanilla and stained teeth

Combat training is fun and games until you are paired up with someone like Ghost, Soap, or Gaz and get your ass handed to you

Lucky you, today Gaz is the person who slams your back on the hard mattress and pins your hands above your head, interlocking your feet with his

Your mind replays the steamy events of last night and you can't help but give him a suggestive smirk which is quickly followed by a toothy grin upon seeing the blush that spreads on his face

He shakes his head in disbelief, not letting go of your arms or feet. Instead, he leans forward, cocks his head and openly stares at you

"Darling, you've got lipstick on your teeth!"

You comically widen your eyes and try to bring your hands to your mouth, struggling to escape his firm grip, but to no avail.

"'m n't s'ppos'd to we'r lipstick 't w'rk", you try to mumble with your mouth closed while your tongue is running over your teeth, looking for any traces of lipstick.

"Ok, has it gone now?", you open your mouth and practically bar your teeth at him, frowning at his unreadable expression. "Gaz- you're scaring m-"

Before you finish your sentence, he smashes his lips against yours and it takes all you have not to whimper when you feel his tongue repeatedly swiping over your teeth

Once he breaks up the kiss, he makes a show of checking you up, his thumb slowly tracing the outline of your lips

"Yeah, I think I got it all…"

You roll your eyes at the shit-eating grin he's sporting as he runs his tongue over his lips and freezes, his jaw going slack

"Why am I tasting vanilla? Are you tasting vanilla?"

You try to give him an answer, but before being able to say a word, his lips are back on yours and he is kissing you hard and long, his hold remaining as firm as before

"Alright, lovebirds - go get a room before I cite you for public indecency!"

Upon hearing Captain Price, your combat instincts kick back in and you manage to push Gaz off of you, switching position, so that you are atop him, pinning him to the ground

"Sorry, Captain! We'll go back to training!", you call out to him, offering him an apologetic smile which he accepts with a subtle nod.

"Next time you wear that lipstick, let a man know!"

"It screams you need someone to kiss it better"

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enwoso · 19 days ago

Note

Would you do a follow up to 'Pretty Chains' where Leah gets Tiny a Hamster and Less freaks 😂

YOU BETTER BE JOKING — alessia russo x child!reader

hey guys! long time no see ay? but this will probably be my last normal fic of the year as i have next the twelve days of christmas uploads coming. there may be a few before the new year but if not i’ll see yous all in the new year!

i’ll be here and there over the next few weeks, dw i’m not disappearing and if you ever wanna drop something in my inbox feel free, whether that’s a question about a fic, series or character.

but if not i’ll see you on the other side🙃

grumpy masterlist

“le?” you paused looking up to the blonde as leah walked you around the arsenal complex hoping to keep you occupied for the half an hour while your mummy was in a meeting. leah hummed as you held her hand.

“when am i getting my hamster, the one you promise me” you asked so casually. it having been playing on your mind ever since your first match.

your football had actually progressed too as you had actually started playing your games and alessia and some of the girls had shown up in their numbers — as always — but they were yet to break the spell where you’d spend the entire warm up picking at the ground and making daisy chain.

but with each one you gave your mummy, she kept the daisy chains in her long black puffer coat pocket — well until they died.

it had been a week and half since you had been promised your hamster — much to alessia being non the wiser of the promise actually being made come true.

a small cough came from leah as she was slightly caught off guard as the topic was slightly different from the previous conversation you’d just been having with the blonde about your new favourite colour — of the week.

“oh-“ leah hummed, “i- i have been trying to get you one. i promise!” leah rambled out as she opened a door to the canteen for you.

“okay, just i have my named picked out already and i’ve already started making him his own little arsenal corner in my room!” you said so proudly as leah internally awed, it being such a you thing to have done.

“well i’ll get searching then! but as for right now should we go and get lunch before katie steals all your favourite crisps again” leah smiled as she swung your arms hoping to change the topic and hopefully you would forget about the hamster as you began to pick the pace up a little bit, not wanting katie to steal your favourite crisps from the canteen.

much to leah’s dismay, you didn’t forget about the hamster. quite tho opposite actually as for the last three days every time you saw the english captain all you spoke about was your hamster which you didn’t have, yet.

so which is how leah found herself sneaking a hamster into her girlfriend’s house hiding it under a blanket as she brought other bags in to hide the rest of the things she had been convinced to buy in the pet store.

this hamster was going to live like royalty.

so while alessia was on a call downstairs, leah had strategically gotten the hamster up the stairs with a little help from you as you’d been too busy watching the tv but you noticed leah sneaking around up and down the stairs.

“what under there?” you asked as you peered around the doorframe pointing at leah who was carrying a large-ish box which was covered by a red blanket as she looked down at you looking like a deer who’d just been caught in the headlights. but she was quickly telling you to shush and to follow her.

so with a small shrug of your shoulders you followed the blonde up the stairs along the landing and into your room where leah placed the box onto your set of drawers.

“take the red thing off-“ leah pointed to the blanket as you cautiously pulled it off a loud gasp coming from you as you a huge smile appearing on your face as you turned back to hug leah, repeating thank you over and over again.

“can we take it out?” you asked looking back at leah as you peered at the crate with the hamster which had grey and white fur. leah nodded as she moved to help you take the little fur ball out of the crate.

“you wanna hold it?” leah asked as you nodded, the two of you sitting down on your floor, leah telling you how to hold it which admittedly was just how the lady in the pet store had instructed leah how to.

small giggles came from you as you could feel its little feet across your hands and legs. you falling in love with the little fur ball it being more than you had dreamed of for the past two weeks.

“is it tickling you?” leah asked as you nodded, a wide smile on leah’s face seeing how happy this small hamster had made you as she started to show you all the accessories she had got the hamster. from hamster balls, tunnel to weird little snacks she had seen for it in the shelve which looked well interesting.

“what you gonna name it then?” leah asked as you looked in awe of the small hamster humming and haring for a few minutes mumbled names to yourself to see which fitted best.

“benny” you smiled as you lifted benny the hamster up, a proud look on your face as leah grinned, “hello benny” she cooed as she stroked his head with her finger.

the two of you sat and watched benny crawl along the floor, small giggled coming from you a his feet tickled your legs. leah almost forgetting the fact that alessia was also in the house and she had no idea about benny well until-

“leah!” alessia called from the bottom of the stairs, hearing her sock covered feet start to climb them. leah scrambling to get to her feet to stop her before she had a chance to explain the hamster.

“yes love” leah smiled as she stood a few metres from the doorway of your room hoping she was blocking the view of you sat with a hamster in a small hamster ball.

“where’s lovie?” alessia asked as she could of swore she could hear the two of them laughing from downstairs, knowing that when the two of you were quiet it meant you were more than likely up to no good.

“oh- i- she’s um, she’s asleep” leah stuttered out as she tried to play it off cool, failing miserably though.

“swear i heard her voice less than five minutes ago?” alessia questioned as leah hummed shaking her head, a confused look starting to faze over alessia’s face.

“no noo- she’s been asleep for at least 15 minutes” leah was dragging her words out something she did when she was lying as she looked down at her watch on her wrist making up a reasonable amount of them for how long you’d been asleep.

“well i’ll just quickly check on her then we can have lunch” alessia smiled sweetly, still slightly wary of leah’s odd behaviour but shrugging it to further back in her mind.

“oo lunch why don’t we go now. i’m pretty hungry, are you?” leah rambled taking a step towards alessia who quirked an eyebrow confused as to why her girlfriend was acting weird. alessia made a move to take a step closer to your room but leah moved in front of her.

alessia tried a few times more but leah kept moving in front of her completely blocking her attempts to try and get into your room.

“leah, move. i would like to see my daughter.” alessia sighed as she was starting to get a little agitated with the small childish antics.

“baby i’ve told you she sound asleep-“

“mummy! look look at benny the hamster!” you giggled as he crawled up your arm, alessia’s jaw dropping as leah blinked wincing slightly as she saw alessia’s initial reaction.

“and where has benny the hamster come from?” alessia asked so sweetly and for a moment leah thought maybe the blonde wasn’t going to do annoyed about the new furry addition to the family.

“leah got me him!” you smiled so innocently as did alessia before sending a glare towards leah and that was when leah realised, alessia wasn’t annoyed — she was furious but of course she wouldn’t show that in front of you. not wanting to dampen your excitement.

“oh lovie he’s lovely, why don’t you put him back in his little crate while we have lunch” alessia cooed so sweetly as she had kneeled down to your height, probably more inspecting the small fur ball in your hands.

“leah. you better be joking me.” alessia said with an angry look on her face once you’d scurried back into your room.

“i love you?” leah winced not really knowing what to do or say that may make the situation the slightest bit better.

“you’ve got five seconds to run, leah cathrine williamson”

#woso x reader #woso #woso imagine #woso blurbs #alessia russo #alessia russo x y/n #alessia russo x reader #leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #awfc #arsenal wfc #arsenal women #grumpy universe asks #grumpy universe #enwoso

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truelovepolinator · 6 days ago

Text

Nicola and Luke are ABSOLUTELY TOGETHER and have been all along and here’s how I know

(Friends, I’ve just finished this and it is INSANELY LONG. Like, two looong book chapters long. But I PROMISE it’s worth it. I was gonna cut it into multiple parts to make it more readable, but I’m going to be super busy over the next few days, so I wouldn’t have a chance to post subsequent parts until probably Christmas, so I’ve decided to drop it all now so I don’t delay the final victorious conclusion. Sorry, it’s so long, but I don’t really have time to rethink it and try to tell the story in a more concise way. Again, I think you’ll be glad you stuck with it if you want to feel as thoroughly confident as I am that Nic and Luke are absolutely together.)

(Also, I have to run now, but I'll come back to add relevant photos/videos as time allows. But I'm sure you're all familiar with them anyway.)

So I want to start by saying something I’m sure I’ll repeat. This is, of course, just my opinion and supposition based on the evidence available to me. But I also want to say, I am absolutely, positively sure now in a way I have never been. Genuinely not a doubt in my mind, and I think you’ll agree by the end of this.

It’s also worth noting that this may be nothing new to some of you. I’ve only been on this platform for a week and have barely scratched the surface of the great content here. So this is how *I* came to the final, joyful conclusion that everything is right with the world where lukola is concerned. I had long been sure they belonged together, but was afraid to embrace the theories about them actually being together now for fear of heartbreak, plus all the confusing signals about A & J, etc.

But all that changed a couple nights ago when I finally got the last piece of the puzzle I needed to see the big picture. There were just too many things that didn’t make sense, until they did! I literally couldn’t sleep that night (seriously only got about 2 hours) and then spent next day telling my husband the story for hours (in 20-30 minute increments as he could spare them during his slow, Christmas time work day).

My husband has been a patient, long-suffering skeptic through all of this. He’s put up with my rants and constant videos I just had to share, but he’s been completely convinced from day one that they simply leaned into their friendship to turn on faux relationship vibes for PR. He was absolutely sure it was all just make-believe for the fans. No matter what I showed him, he could not be convinced.

Until yesterday. Yes, I convinced the toughest skeptic in town.

I think it’s important to start with my journey into the Lukola fandom for context. I was a casual Bridgerton watcher until this season, and had never read the books. I liked season 1, I loved season 2, and I was looking forward to watching season 3.

I had planned to wait to watch the first 4 until the second half was about to launch (so I wouldn’t have to wait for more), but I realized after about a week that we needed to watch it immediately before everything was completely spoiled by timeline gifs and clips.

Needless to say, I was beyond hooked. Instantly. Season 3 was another level for all the reasons you all know. Finally I could engage safely with the fandom, but the process from occasional Polin/Lukola content to nonstop immersion took some time. So even following the second half, there was a TON of footage I hadn’t seen.

All of this to say, I basically missed all of the World Tour stuff as it was happening, and it took well into the summer to finally see so many amazing clips and edits that I was absolutely fucking sucked into the lukola wormhole. However, I was well behind many of you on the curve, and even to this day, I’m still catching up on things.

But by late summer, I was all in. I was sailing high on USS Lukola (or I suppose that should be the HMS Lukola!) because I saw exactly what you all saw. This was clearly real, their feelings were indisputable, and everything about their behavior and much of what they said was so far beyond PR, even “faking couplehood” PR.

They were real. Even if he had this dumb girlfriend. (I say that only in the good-natured, abstract sense that I wanted him with Nic, not in a personal “actually about her” sense. In fact, I’ve never said anything hateful about either A or J and I hope I never will.)

WHY AREN’T THEY TOGETHER???

I couldn’t resist the mystery.

It drove me absolutely crazy for months trying to understand why they weren’t together. Nothing made sense, but I mentally explored literally every possibility. They’re afraid of ruining their friendship? They’re afraid of disrupting the production if it goes wrong? These possibilities at least made some kind of sense and seemed to be the only explanations I could find. But in my mind, they weren’t good enough reasons to resist what these two so obviously had. Still, I’m not them, so that was easy for me to say. I had nothing to risk in this.

One or both of them is/are secretly gay? Soulmate besties instead of soulmate lovers? I didn’t think this was the case and nothing made me believe this. Yet, I was attempting to allow for every possibility. Still, with Nicola being the super vocal “gay icon” that she is, it was hard to imagine she wouldn’t live out and proud if that was the case. And apparently she lived with an unknown man for two years. Though she does always keep her private (romantic) life super private, so I suppose who knows? And, of course, Luke had two very public past relationships with women, but again, who knows, I suppose? This option doesn’t ring true at all, but it does exist in the universe of possible explanations for this inexplicable situation.

They love each other in a soulmate way, but somehow one of them just isn’t “attracted” to the other? Certainly, if the stories about Antonia were true, that might suggest that Luke might be attracted to an entirely different physical type than Nicola. But that didn’t ring true either because LOOK AT THEM TOGETHER! He can’t take his eyes off of her, let alone his hands. And the same for her. They are magnetized to each other. If that’s not attraction, what is?

One of them has baggage and isn’t ready for a real, serious relationship? This one seemed possible. People can have hang-ups or wounds for all sorts of reasons, and letting someone in – especially someone who might actually be your soulmate – can be terrifying. Self-protection by avoiding relationships and/or distracting yourself with less meaningful relationships is a natural way of coping with baggage. Yes, maybe this one? Neither of them seems obviously wounded, but what would I know? Most people don’t wear their wounds on their sleeves, least of all during a PR tour. Still, the energy flow between them seemed anything but wounded. It seemed like the healthiest, happiest thing in the world.

People kept saying, they’re blind and they don’t see it yet. But I don’t believe anyone can be that blind. Especially after watching all the countless edits and clips of their tour, which we know they did because Nicola is chronically online and sharing with Luke the best of it all (and sneaky Luke is likely lurking also).

So at the end of the day, I had no good explanation. It just kept not making sense.

Then those music festival photos of Nic and Jake (I’ll abbreviate sometimes for ease, but I do say their names) showed up. The fandom erupted into chaos with full reactions across the spectrum including a bizarre, almost immediate burst of (not yet named) jakolas, which felt like a disproportionate response to a few photos.

Admittedly, those photos did look quite friendly, and touchy, and yes, they stood arm-in-arm. But lots of friends stand like that at concerts. And Nic is known to be touchy-feely, so let’s not go overboard, I thought. However, I did acknowledge (in my head, I didn’t weigh in online at all) that it suggested that it COULD be romantic. I opted not to freak out, because either way, Nic’s love life is her own and I want her to be happy.

And it’s worth saying here that both of their private lives are none of my business, none of any of our business, and even writing this is completely at odds with that truth. I acknowledge that. But what I told myself, and actually meant it, was that I was going to stay out of it unless and until NicLuke got together. That was the only place I would invest my energy since they’ve both said they think it’s sweet that fans ship them. If they dated others, good luck to them. Be happy. But when the time comes…

Yes, friends, the time has come!!! But back to my story.

Note that (because again, I was still catching up), I hadn’t yet seen the swimming in Sorrento photos and had missed that piece of the puzzle at that point. Throughout this time, I’d see people refer to things on Twitter like everyone already knew what they were talking about, but hardly anyone ever took the time to explain. So I got lots of glimmers of things that others felt were notable, without actually knowing any details. Those pictures were an example. Another was the Claddagh ring.

I’m very grateful to some amazing deep dive blog entries by @threeacttragedy that explained the ring, “Bless the Telephone,” and other meaty, important history that I’d previously only heard mentioned in passing. In fact, one of her blogs is what first brought me here by referral from Twitter. And if you don’t follow her, you should!

In the past week, as I started reading blogs that broke down past dates and clues, I finally started looking them up one by one and trying to put the pieces together in my head. I’d seen the swimming photos by then, but I revisited them. I dug in to try to understand the references to a “New Year kiss” from the night the friend group (Rory, etc.) posted photos together from a Soho House party. I reviewed Hot Boy Summer, I rewatched the incredibly emotional video of Luke meeting Nicola’s mom, I looked at photos of the Claddagh ring and went to Chupi’s website. I learned about the LA photos from April, both Antonia’s version and the InStyle Polaroids. I reviewed all the photos of Luke and Antonia that I could find. And I reviewed all the photos and videos of Nic and Jake that I could find. Also, I listened to “Bless the Telephone” about one hundred times. Lol.

Regarding Luke and Antonia, I had the same response in this deep dive I’ve had every time. Weird. I mean, if I didn’t feel so strongly that Luke was in love with Nicola, and if I knew nothing about him except he was some hot actor, could I see him dating someone like A? Sure. But the fact that there are almost no pictures of them posing together, alone like a couple, is weird. Even if it’s super casual and she was just his date to some stuff. The fact that Luke looks grumpy in both sets of pap photos (premiere night and swimming in Sorrento), but A is smiling happily in at least one of the premiere night photos is weird. The fact that after the Sorrento pap photos, Luke seems to leave his friend group to come home early, and then stops liking any of his best friend Rory’s photos from there on, weird.

The fact that in the fall, she posts pictures harkening back to a place and time they were apparently together, but without any actual photos together, weird. And the continual drip, drip of Likes from Luke is weird. And then when a photo of Luke in a restaurant in Rome is posted by the restaurant, she immediately follows with a video story of someone making pasta in the same restaurant, weird.

Perhaps weirdest of all, the fact that she pre-posted the LA pictures, and then he gave other versions of the same shots to InStyle. Especially the switching seats thing. If my husband and I were taking pics of each other at a café, I’d take his picture in front of the traffic, and he’d take my picture in front of the restaurant, because that’s where we’d be sitting. Across from each other. So why switch seats to take the photos? It’s not like that street with traffic was such a fantastic backdrop that we’d each need our turn with that shot? And they’re the same, with the same table number, but different. Sure, traffic moves, but weird coincidence that they each had a white truck, but a DIFFERENT white truck. So, like I said, weird. Always implying they were together, but never actually saying/showing it. Weird.

I read all sorts of theories from pragmatic (we just have to accept that they’re dating) to hateful (they’re not together/never were, but she’s obsessed and keeps inserting herself in a pathetic, desperate plea for attention and followers) to seemingly far-fetched (some sort of NDA that means for some reason Luke is obligated to Like her photos). Only the first of these seemed plausible. I maybe didn’t like it (not maybe, I didn’t like it at all), but I thought, “Yes, I guess we just have to accept that they’re probably together until they tell us otherwise.”

(Though I held out a small sliver of “but we don’t know anything for sure until L and/or N tell us themselves” hope, which remains true even as I write this.)

Now, let’s talk about Nic and Jake. First, there were those shots from the concert (discussed above). Then, I believe, were the NYC shots (if I’m not confusing the order). In the NYC shots, they were both there, but they weren’t especially intimate in any interpersonal sense. Then, the pap shots on the street posted on DM, ostensibly catching them walking home together, holding hands and arm-in-arm after a night at the pub. With those photos came an onslaught of fandom fury and gossip site reporting about how “Nicola Coughlan confirms her relationship…” Same story runs across a bunch of trashy sites, all saying the same thing and citing an unnamed source talking about how besotted they were, or whatever the quote was.

Admittedly, I was among the furious fans. Not because of what the pictures showed. Again, I was trying to be serene and Zen about them and their private lives. I believed with all my heart that NicLuke belonged together, but if now wasn’t their time, I’d have to wait. I didn’t love that I’d heard he was only 24, but I was trying to balance my efforts to be a non-judgmental person with my discomfort over that issue and reminding myself that her choices are none of my business (unless she chooses Luke!).

So I did my best to refrain from judgment, even as I saw the fandom erupt into toxic madness about whether it was true, whether he was gay, whether the age gap was wrong, whether DM lied about the date, and if they did (which they did), why? But I figured, unless the photos were very, very old, things weren’t likely to have changed in their relationship over a couple weeks, so I wasn’t overly concerned about the date.

However, I was angry about all these stories (basically the same story across the board) announcing that she’d “CONFIRMED” the relationship. It made me very angry that they said she confirmed something when she’d done nothing of the sort. I wasn’t prepared to argue that she wasn’t dating Jake at that point, but why would they all run this story, with this headline, when what actually happened was a paparazzi photographer snapped shots and sold them, then the media drew conclusions from what they saw.

Nicola never confirmed a damn thing. So why were they running this headline so universally?

I was also angry that the photos existed at all. Photos in her neighborhood could reveal her location and put her safety at risk. Also, how did they happen to be there to take those photos late one specific night? Felt like they must have received a tip. But I moved on and forgot about that part.

Time went on and I saw more and more discussion of Jake’s sexuality. I don’t really want to get into that here because I don’t really feel comfortable speculating about anyone unless they choose to explicitly come out, but I did finally start poking around his page, Douglas’s page, etc. and began to understand why people were saying what they were saying. However, I reminded myself that bi/pan-sexuality exists and I wasn’t willing to partake in bi-erasure, so I held my tongue and kept watching.

Now, at this point, I want to remind us all that Nic has always been extremely private and uttered nary a peep in public about her romantic/sexual life. And fair enough. It’s none of our damn business. Also, she’s talked extensively about how women are not just men’s girlfriends and her feminist take on many things and how it doesn’t feel nice to know that people are more interested in her love life than her work. She’s worked freaking hard to achieve the success she’s now enjoying, and she certainly should not be reduced to a woman in a relationship. No matter who is on the other end of that relationship.

(Again here, I feel the need to acknowledge my hypocrisy in writing this, but I really do genuinely love Nic’s work and spirit and activism, etc. as well.)

So, in light of her position on all of that, we wouldn’t expect her to go public with a new love interest. The fact that she was papped with this guy (if indeed he was a love interest) was just an indication of how much her celebrity and profile have grown. There’s greater interest now and she’s more recognizable now, so it’s to be expected that she’d have a harder time keeping her love life private now than in the past. Not so strange then, that she got caught a couple times in paparazzi photos at this point.

However, would she really then go public with that guy? That would mark a radical change in her behavior just when you’d think she’d want to be the most private because the glare of the spotlight is brighter than ever. Still, she allowed a public photo with him, Camilla, and Evan Ross Katz to go out shortly thereafter. If one believed they were dating, that could certainly be interpreted as a launch. Yet, as I said, would she really do that if she were dating him?

Then he started popping up everywhere. I won’t get the chronology here right because I don’t want to research the dates right now, but there was the Charlie xcx concert, in which she appeared with Jake and Dylan, who is out and proud. The Queer premiere where he was just caught in the background of a fan photo. The simultaneously released photos from the red and gold restaurant (with a mysterious third person taking the photos). There was the apparently brunch-time photo of her with Jake and two others, taken by Dylan. And most recently, Louisa’s photo with Jake and Douglas (who is also openly gay and close friends, if not more, with Jake).

I’m not mentioning all the players in all of these because it’s not critical to the story, and I may be forgetting some photos, but there is a point to all of this. First, there’s potentially a notable shift in what she’s allowing to be shared here. Again, historically, she’s never shared anything about her love life. Suddenly, she’s letting him be photographed everywhere. Also, at most of these events, there were other queer participants and/or queer content (the movie premiere).

And while she’s never allowed her romantic life to be shared, you know what she has often shared? Photos with all of her platonic friends, including her huge friend group of many, many gay men. So this trend in what she’s allowing to be shared suggests that she’s telling a story and clarifying Jake’s role in her life.

But then there’s that one mystery release, the simultaneously timed restaurant photo drops. Clearly coordinated, clearly indicating they were there together. No indication about the third party. Why? Just enough to hint that there might be something going on, and to continue wreaking havoc in the fandom.

Because remember that toxic fandom bickering over all of this? The jakolas swearing they’re in love and soon to be engaged and furious at the lukolas for “being blind and refusing to accept the truth and it’s so disrespectful to Nic ('who you claim to love') by disregarding her feelings and treating the love of her life so badly. They keep showing you they’re in love and you won’t listen!” Etc., etc.

Meanwhile, the lukolas fall into a couple camps. By this point, most have decided Nic and Jake aren’t dating, but some remain circumspect. Some scream back at the jakolas, ostensibly in defense of Jake, saying very similar things about “Jake and his friends are doing everything in their power to show you the truth and you refuse to see it.” And a variety of other responses. Everyone’s mad at everyone.

And all of it, every bit of it, keeps us ALL talking about Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton. Nonstop, every day.

Now, we are nearing the big mic drop of all of this, and I want to say at this point that we need to remember that Nic and Luke are HUMAN BEINGS who have a right to privacy. And they are celebrities living in a world that has an intense interest in their love lives. And sometimes, we might not feel good about the measures they must take to protect their privacy. We might hate those measures. We might feel manipulated, and we are. But if we love and respect them as much as I hope we all do, we can also understand and forgive them for taking such measures.

A quick review of important factors in all of this:

THINGS THAT TELL US IT’S REAL

The Galway trip and that very emotional introduction to Nic’s mom, which looked for all the world like a woman meeting her future son-in-law

The Claddagh ring and how she’s been wearing it

The things reporters, cast, and crew have said in passing and/or posted, not to mention recent open shipping from Ryan Wheeler and Shondaland’s IG

Everything we saw with our own eyes on the world tour, not to mention everything we’ve seen in the BTS

Little droplets of NicLuke over the recent months like Bless the Telephone and (not yet mentioned above) the S4 selfie and the photo of them in costume that Nic said she thought she’d shared, but now it’s ours (while she hasn’t posted any Jake)

The absolute consistency of all of this as a story that makes sense

THINGS THAT MAKE US DOUBT IT’S REAL AND/OR KEEP US GUESSING AND DISCUSSING

The premiere night pap photos (and though I didn’t mention it earlier, the fact that Nic went home that night so she wasn’t around for A’s attendance)

The friend group photos at Soho House with Luke, A and others

The weird LA InStyle photos

The Sorrento swimming photos

The multiple sets of pap photos of Nic and Jake, including grainy night-time neighborhood photos (with a woman walking a dog in the background)

The way every gossip news outlet ran the same “Nicola confirmed her relationship” story with the same headline and the same anonymous quote

The weirdly devoted, intensely defensive jakolas/Jake stans that seem to care about nothing but Jake/jakola out of nowhere and love screaming at and stirring up shit with lukolas

The chaos and constant discussion of all of this over the past 6+ months

The absolute inconsistency of any of this with anything in the top group

So, this mystery just gets deeper and deeper, and none of it makes sense. Every time I’d try to accept that they were just seeing these other people, something would bump in my head. There were just too many weird things that didn’t quite make sense and the biggest, weirdest one of them all was that NICOLA AND LUKE ARE CLEARLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER.

So while the pieces would always almost fit, the puzzle never quite took shape. Until two nights ago when I stumbled on @lukolafan ’s page after they liked one of my posts. I scrolled down their page and found a link labeled “Lukola PR Strategies and Fake Narratives.” I cannot scream this loudly enough. GO VISIT THAT LINK!!!!! (I’ll add the links myself later if I have time.)

I did and it led to a series of Reddit posts taking an academic approach to teaching us, the general public (and lukola fans) PR Media Literacy. Among the various topics it discussed were things like:

“PR Firms and Entertainment Media: Coordinating “News” Across Gossip, Entertainment, and Official Publications,” which talks about using anonymous sources, more about staged paparazzi, and repeated narratives (“outlets echo identical stories, reinforcing PR-approved messaging, for example, multiple outlets platforms describing a celebrity ‘rising above’ a controversy, quoting the same anonymous insider” – Sound familiar?)

“The Invisible Hand of Celebrity Privacy: How PR Fabricates Narratives and Manipulates Fans,” which includes ways that PR strategies intentionally manipulate fans to fight/debate celebs faking relationships, and more (sound familiar?)

There’s honestly so much meat in all of these (there are a couple others as well) that they are ALL worth reading. There is definitely some repetition, but still, the content is super insightful and revealing and can help us all be more savvy consumers of media.

But I want to focus on two CRITICAL posts, in particular.

“The Role of Staged Paparazzi and Gossip Outlets in Celebrity PR Campaigns”

The first part of this piece talks about the method for staging fake paparazzi photos to create narratives. Two items of particular note (and I’m excerpting directly):

Quality Control of the Image: While professional photographers use high-quality cameras, staged paparazzi photos are intentionally manipulated to appear grainy or blurry. This adds a layer of authenticity to the photo, making it look as though the photographer stumbled upon the celebrity by chance.

Extra Figures in the Background: Another key tactic in staged paparazzi photos involves the use of background extras—people who might be walking with dogs, pushing strollers, or simply in the vicinity.

Think of Nicola’s photos walking home with Jake, a woman walking a dog behind them. Some of them are clear, but some are quite grainy, despite the fact that professional photographers have great equipment and are more than capable of taking a night-time shot.

Another excerpt…

Gossip Outlets: DeuxMoi and the Symbiotic Relationship with PR Firms

With the rise of user-generated content and anonymously submitted tips, gossip websites have become integral to the modern celebrity PR machine. Sites like DeuxMoi thrive on rumors and speculation, providing a platform for fans and anonymous sources to share celebrity gossip. PR teams exploit these platforms to feed their desired narratives without appearing to directly control the flow of information.

How Gossip Sites Like DeuxMoi Work:

Anonymous Tips and Leaks: PR teams often send anonymous tips to gossip outlets, offering details about celebrity activities or sightings. These tips are deliberately vague, leaving room for interpretation and speculation. Once posted on sites like DeuxMoi, the stories tend to snowball as they are shared across social media and republished by larger outlets.

Fueling Speculation: These posts generate buzz and speculation, keeping celebrities in the public eye without any direct confirmation. Gossip sites become a key player in amplifying the narrative, as fans, influencers, and media outlets continue to discuss and spread the information.

Mutual Benefits: While gossip sites operate independently, there is a mutual benefit to the relationship between them and PR teams. Gossip sites thrive on traffic and engagement, while PR teams can ensure their client’s name stays relevant in the public discourse. By subtly feeding stories, PR teams maintain control over how their celebrity’s narrative unfolds.

The piece goes on to give specific examples like Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, Tomdaya, Gigi Hadad and Zayne Malik, etc. then talks about fake fan interactions and how to spot them.

It offers key questions to ask about the photos you see (like what story is it telling and why and who benefits?) and then it gives this example. If your ears aren’t already fully perked, this will do it:

Example: 37-Year-Old Famous Actress and 24-Year-Old Lesser-Known Celebrity

Narrative of Romance or Distraction: In this case, the 37-year-old actress is likely fueling rumors of a relationship with the 24-year-old to either distract from something else in her personal life (like a real romantic partner) or to refresh her public image. The younger celebrity could be hired to play a temporary love interest or interest figure in the media, leading people to speculate whether they are more than just friends.

Creating a Romance or Mystery: The photo of them walking arm-in-arm, laughing, or holding hands might suggest that a romantic connection exists. This could be used to make the actress seem more relatable, desirable, or single, even if there is no romantic involvement behind the scenes.

Diverting Public Focus: If the actress is privately in a relationship with another celebrity or involved in an ongoing controversy, the staged photo with the younger celebrity helps to deflect attention. By inserting a "mystery romance," the public is more interested in who the new partner is, leaving the actress’s real partner or issues to stay out of the spotlight.

PR Stunt to Revitalize Publicity: The actress might not just be looking for romantic gossip but also fresh exposure. A curated paparazzi shot could serve as a PR tool to keep the actress's name in circulation—be it through romantic rumors, new partnerships, or simply new media content to fuel speculation.

Potential Body Double for Real Partner: If the real partner is shying away from the public eye or trying to avoid the media, the younger celebrity might act as a "body double" or decoy. This helps maintain an image of the actress being in a public relationship, while allowing her to keep the real relationship.

Don’t think I need to explain the relevance of this very specific example. There’s a lot more in the post, but I’ll move on for now to the next key post.

“Breadcrumbing and Coordinated Campaigns”

In this piece, they offer first some key breadcrumbing tactics, many of which sound awfully familiar.

Common Types of Breadcrumbs:

Cryptic Social Media Posts: Celebrities post vague messages or abstract references, sparking fan theories. Example: Harry Styles posts cryptic images or quotes, prompting speculation.

Coordinated Social Media Timing: PR teams synchronize posts to create the illusion of a shared narrative. Example: Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss posted similar content at the same time, fueling relationship rumors.

Accidental Social Media Interactions: Liking posts or commenting on ambiguous tweets creates intimacy and speculation. Example: Kendall Jenner engages with fans on social media, fueling rumors.

Seemingly Innocent Photos: Casual photos subtly hint at a larger narrative. Example: Zendaya and Tom Holland posted photos together, teasing their relationship.

Cryptic? Like Bless the Telephone? Or a mysterious left-handed guy holding a phone in the background while Nic gets ready?

Synchronized like Nic and Jake at that restaurant? Or as far as that goes, like Nic and Luke with the S4 selfie?

Accidental social media interactions? I didn’t go into that here, but we’ve seen lots of odd likes and things, lots of Nic interactions, oh, and those RW and SL likes of late.

Seemingly innocent photos. Like very happy looking S4 pics and the “now it’s yours” BTS photo?

Perhaps most of this could be interpreted as just genuine fan interaction and fan service, which I think it is to some extent. It’s a natural part of the business. But it’s also very often done with intention.

But here’s the more important part of this piece. It gives some case studies (Ben and JLo, Shawn and Camila), then it gives two “abstract” examples.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS. Note that the second example changes to an actor and a musician, but don’t let that fool you. Keep reading for some unmistakable specifics.

Breadcrumbing with a Fake PR Girlfriend: Case Study of Celebrity 007

For Celebrity 007, breadcrumbing is used to create a false narrative about a relationship with a PR girlfriend. This helps maintain fan interest while deflecting attention from the celebrity’s true personal life.

How It Works:

First Breadcrumbs: The PR strategy begins with posts from both the celebrity and the PR girlfriend, hinting at a connection without confirming it. Example: Celebrity 007 posts a picture from a Paris restaurant or cafe in LA and the PR girlfriend shares a similar post from the same location but from a different day with different white trucks in the background (double check the Instyle Stunt images!!!)

Expanding the Narrative: Shared travel posts and indirect interactions continue the illusion of a relationship. Example: Matching geo-tags in posts from Rome suggest they were there together.

Indirect Engagement: Likes, comments, and ambiguous interactions increase intrigue without confirming the relationship. Example: The PR girlfriend comments, “Great to be here with you! 💖,” on Celebrity 007's post.

Paparazzi Shots: Carefully timed candid shots further reinforce the illusion of a relationship. Example: Paparazzi photos of Celebrity 007 and the PR girlfriend walking hand-in-hand, fueling speculation.

Note:

Café in LA, same location, different trucks?

Matching tags in Rome?

Likes and ambiguous interactions

Carefully timed (say at a premiere party) candid paparazzi shops w gf walking hand-in-hand

And then there’s the next one. In the interest of length since this is already hella long, I’ve removed some less relevant parts, but I encourage you to read it yourself.

Breadcrumbing to Hide a Real Relationship: Case Study of Celebrity 009

Why Hide the True Relationship?

In celebrity culture, the decision to keep a relationship private—or hidden—can be a strategic move, driven by a mix of personal privacy and professional interests. Some celebrities may choose to share their personal lives openly, but for others, particularly those who value their privacy or wish to control their public image, keeping a relationship private is key. This is especially relevant for two celebrities who are romantically involved but prefer to maintain discretion, despite public curiosity about their relationship.

Whether it’s a high-profile couple like Beyoncé and Jay-Z, or a less conspicuous pairing, the decision to hide the true nature of a romantic relationship often involves balancing personal desires with career strategy. In this scenario, let’s explore why two celebrities might choose to keep their relationship under wraps and the complex PR considerations that lead them to do so.

Media Scrutiny/Escaping Constant Surveillance: Navigating the Spotlight Together (I’ve combined two sections here for length)

When two celebrities become romantically involved, the media will inevitably take notice. The relationship can quickly become the focal point of constant headlines, paparazzi photos, and gossip columns. For celebrities who value their privacy, this level of scrutiny can feel overwhelming, as every public appearance or moment shared can quickly turn into speculation, even if the couple doesn’t wish to attract attention.

Romanticized Expectations: The Pressure of Perfection

Media scrutiny often creates an unrealistic, romanticized version of a celebrity relationship. Fans and the public tend to project their fantasies onto famous couples, imagining them as the perfect, unbreakable pairing. The real complexities of a relationship—differences, compromises, and struggles—often don't fit neatly into the idealized narratives created by the public.

For a couple like Actor A and Musician B, the pressure to live up to these idealized expectations can be exhausting. By choosing to keep their relationship private, they can avoid the constant pressure to fit into a preconceived mold. Hiding the relationship from public view allows them to keep things grounded and avoid being turned into a media spectacle.

Brand Control: Managing the Image of "Singleness" or "Availability"

For many celebrities, their public image is closely tied to their brand, and that brand may depend on their perceived "availability" or their status as desirable, unattached individuals. The way the public perceives a celebrity’s romantic life—whether they are single, dating, or in a long-term relationship—can have a significant impact on their professional success and marketability.

Creating Room for Desire: The Allure of the Single Celebrity

Consider Actor A, a leading man known for portraying romantic heroes on screen. The public’s perception of Actor A as a single, unattainable figure is key to their marketability, both in the media and as a brand. If they were to publicly reveal a relationship with Musician B, it could diminish that aura of unattainability. Similarly, Musician B may want to maintain a flirtatious public persona, which could be undermined if they were publicly involved with someone. By keeping the relationship private, both celebrities retain the allure of being desirable and unattached, feeding into the fantasies of their fans.

Avoiding the "Couple" Brand: Risk of Being Reduced to a Package Deal

When a high-profile couple’s relationship is made public, they may become known less for their individual work and more for their collective identity as a couple. In some cases, the couple's public appearances or shared brand messages may overshadow their individual projects. Think of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who have an incredibly powerful couple brand that often eclipses their solo endeavors in the media. For celebrities like Actor A and Musician B, the fear of being seen as a "package deal" might drive them to hide their relationship. This allows both to maintain their distinct identities, keeping their projects and brands separate and preventing the public from viewing them solely as a pair.

Respecting Boundaries: The Vulnerability of Celebrity Relationships

Even when two celebrities are involved, the vulnerabilities of a relationship can become the focus of media attention if they go public. Romantic relationships—especially those in the high-pressure world of celebrity—are often fraught with ups and downs. The public might demand to know every detail, fueling rumors of breakups, infidelities, or relationship drama. By keeping their romance under wraps, Actor A and Musician B can avoid becoming the subject of constant gossip and can maintain some semblance of normalcy in their private lives.

Avoiding Disruptive Publicity

Celebrity relationships often attract media scrutiny not only about their romantic lives but also about how their relationship affects their careers. The public and the media often delve into the smallest details, speculating about how the relationship might impact their professional trajectories, previous relationships, or future projects.

Career Disruption: The Challenge of Balancing Love and Work

For celebrities like Musician B, a new relationship can take attention away from their upcoming album release or concert tour. The media’s obsession with their personal life might overshadow the launch of a new professional project. Similarly, if Actor A is in the middle of promoting a film or preparing for a big role, the press could focus more on their relationship than their craft, disrupting the flow of their work.

I won’t bother reviewing the relevance of all of the above. I’m sure you can see it plainly for yourself. The examples are absolutely, positively referencing Nicola and Luke, and the reasons for hiding it are super relevant. Especially boundaries, disruption, pressure to be perfect, and being reduced to a package deal.

Now at this point, it’s worth asking the question, do we trust this source? I don’t actually know who posted this content, so I can’t verify their credentials. Perhaps this is yet another PR person’s tricky efforts to continually confuse us and keep us guessing? That seems unlikely since the entire purpose is to help lift the veil on all the other tricks. If you wanted the other tricks to be effective, you’d hardly be revealing them to your target audiences.

But even setting that very logical assumption aside, the reason I know with every fiber of my being that it’s true is that this is literally the only version of events that makes sense of absolutely everything.

All those mysterious and confusing signals, all those weird photos and changes in behavior, all the inconsistencies between what we all saw with our own eyes (they are IN LOVE) and what we saw subsequently with the adjacents, all the tiny Lukola crumbs keeping us hanging on, and all the fandom bickering, especially from bizarrely rabid jakolas.

Every bit of it makes complete sense if we accept that Nic, Luke, and their PR teams have been using a classic PR handbook to distract us from the very real truth that they are together and in love.

Does it hurt to know we’ve been manipulated? You bet it does! But I quickly accepted that because I was so happy to have the truth verified at last. And because I understand why they would do it.

Relationships are hard enough when lived in private. No relationship, no matter how much people love each other, is without challenge. Even soulmates have issues to navigate. Can you imagine the pressure on them if the whole world was watching?

And their lives have added challenges. Travel and separation. Long work schedules that may often be at odds. Possibly romantic scenes with future co-stars that could stir up uncomfortable feelings. Career ups and downs that may not always synch up. Fans and media watching their every move, dissecting them, judging them, rooting for them, and just putting massive pressure on them. What if they fail? They’re letting down the whole world, not just themselves.

And what about Nic’s longstanding demand for privacy? And her emphasis that no woman is just some dude’s girlfriend. She wants to be known for her own work and achievement and passions, not for who she dates or marries. Even if it is wonderful Luke.

Likewise, Luke is just now achieving a newfound level of success. This is a moment for him to seize and make the most of. Being a hot, sexy, ostensibly single guy is good for his brand right now. Even if we know he loves Nicola, his stans need to be able to fantasize about him, which is easier if his relationship is unconfirmed.

And let’s face it, if they come out as a couple, IT WILL BE LUKOLA all the time. That will be the story. Certainly if they’d come out during the World Tour, every question at every stop would be about them and their personal “friends to lovers story.” It would be irresistible to reporters. Too good a story to ignore. And they’d spend way more time talking about their personal lives than about their work. Does that sound like something either of them would want?

And one last thing. Back to their changes in behavior. Does it make more sense that Nicola, who has always been super private about her love life, would suddenly be willing to be photographed constantly with her new bf Jake? Or that Jake is not her bf and she’s keeping her actual bf (or fiancé or husband) secret?

Meanwhile, Luke, who has always been open about his relationships in the past suddenly decides to tighten up and share absolutely nothing about his private life? Well, that makes complete sense if he’s now in a relationship with a woman who is famously private and shares not one word publicly. Suddenly, literally everything makes sense and is entirely consistent.

So there it is, folks. To me, this is the Holy Grail. There’s not a doubt left in my mind about them. They’re together and everything else – literally everything else – is a decoy and a distraction, and every bit of it comes straight from the PR playbook.

I’d like to maintain a sliver of hope that they’re leaving much of it to their teams and they’re not in on the worst of it, but in any case, I don’t blame them one bit for trying to protect their love. It’s too special to let it be destroyed by public consumption. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Given that I don’t actually know them and haven’t confirmed anything directly, I’ll leave 1.5% room for doubt, and adjust my certainty to 98.5%.

And you may dismiss all of this and draw very different conclusions, which is okay, too. But if I’m being really honest, I’m actually 1,000% sure. And I couldn’t be happier for them.

What do we do now? That’s up to each of us. Personally, I’m going to be blissfully happy for them, not sweat any of the distractions, let them live as quietly as they like, and patiently await the day (whether it’s very soon or far in the future) when they finally go public. I hope you’ll do the same.

And until then, I’m going to keep watching Lukola videos on repeat.

#lukola #luke newton #nicola coughlan #polin #polin bridgerton #nicluke #lukola is real #I've never been more sure of anything #then again #But it's all true and I can prove it

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crowdedimagines · 8 days ago

Text

Last Christmas - Bradley Bradshaw

4k of fluff and a little horniness ❤️‍🔥 masterlist

summary: Bradley gets a 12-month assignment before he can secure a title with the hot bartender he’s been spending the past few weeks going home with… will she still be there waiting next Christmas?

Last year.

“I don’t know you guys, it’s just too early to expect anything of her.” Rooster shakes his head with a sigh. It’s heavy on his mind how soon the holidays are and how few days he actually has left here in San Diego.

Phoenix nods her head sympathetically, while Hangman is more focused rolling his eyes and his aim towards the dart board.

“It is early, but also in all the years I’ve known you I’ve never seen you obsess over a girl this much.” Phoenix admits.

“Just say he’s whipped, Nix.” Hangman interjects while launching another dart at the board.

“It’s a twelve-month deployment. I’ll be gone for a year.” Rooster has to fight the urge to put his head down on the table to show how utterly defeated he feels, “That’s a lot for any relationship let alone one that’s less than two months old and technically doesn’t even have a title.”

“Yeah, whose fault is that on the title.” Phoenix kicks his shin.

“I could get a girl to wait a year for me.” Hangman smirks, his eyes still never leaving the dart board.

“Hangman, you couldn’t get a girl to wait a week for you.” Rooster jabs.

“No, don’t get it twisted.” He smirks while tucking the toothpick back between his lips, “I won’t wait a week for anyone, but I could get a girl to wait for me.”

On that disgusting note, Hangman leaves the two of them at the hightop close to the darts in favor of the pool table that has the rest of their group surrounding it.

“Speak of the devil.” Phoenix teases catching sight of Y/n as she finally leaves the bar with a tray in hand. She stops briefly when a guy asks for a refill and she nods before continuing over to their table.

“Why do you look like someone kicked a puppy?” She asks with a pout in her lips, she sets down a new beer for each of them and takes their old bottles.

“Hangman is an ass.” Rooster defends, glancing to Phoenix for a brief second to remind her to go along with it.

“Awe, do you need me to take away his toys?” She says with a smirk and a squeeze of his bicep before she makes her way back behind the bar still wearing a grin. It’s a Friday so the bar is busy and they’re doing their normal routine.

Y/n has been bartending at the hard deck for two months and she's been hooking up with Rooster for nearly two months. Bradley had to chase her for a few weeks before she finally let him take her home and they’ve kept it up ever since.

She’s quick witted and isn’t afraid to tell anyone off which he likes a lot. He’s witnessed her ring the bell more times than he can count, but he always notes how smug she is to put a man in his place. Hangman has been on the receiving end of the verbal lashings a couple of times, which had Rooster dragging her home early with a proud grin.

“Let me just say this, the longer you wait to tell her the harder it’ll be. Get it over with so you can enjoy the next few days.” Phoenix advises.

“What if once I tell her and then it’s done right then and there?”

He panics thinking about the possibility. It’s why he’s procrastinated telling her since he found out. He knows it’s more than just sex when they hang out, but there haven't been any real serious dates. He knows how she likes her coffee in the morning, and which movies she’s never seen that he tries to push that night. His weekends off they’ll spend the whole day leading up to her shift together, mostly in bed. Then he takes her to work and the whole group comes out to drink, and he spends the night pretending not to count down the minutes until she’s off again.

She’s very quickly become the entire center of his focus.

“Y/n is not like that.” She shakes her head, “You two are feral for each other, and as much as she loves to tease you, it’s obvious she likes you too.”

Rooster nods, drinking down a few more big gulps of his beer. He catches Y/n’s eyes from behind the bar and she throws him a wink not even faltering while pouring a mixed drink. Eventually he pulls himself out of his mopey mood when they join the rest of the group. It’s a good distraction from the upcoming deployment. Some of the group will be going with him too, so they’re trying to enjoy their night too. Last Friday of freedom. He joins for a couple rounds of pool, still nursing the same beer so he can drive later.

“Your girl is making googly eyes at you.” Javy nods his head in the direction of the bar behind him.

Rooster turns to look and catches her eyes and this time it’s his turn to smirk, but Y/n doesn’t look away. Her stare calling him over to the vacant stool in front of where she pours.

“Hey Sailor.” She greets with a name she calls him frequently, “Long time no see.”

“I saw you half an hour ago.” He smiles, “You getting lonely over here?”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say lonely.” Her cheeks dust pink as she drags out the last word. She walks around to the other side of the bar to bring the drink she had just made.

“Do you have to close tonight?”

“Bradley, are you trying to take me home?” She whips around with a grin. She’s bantering with him per usual, as if they don’t always go home together at this point. And by home, they mean her tiny apartment. Rooster is living on base in the barracks for the time being as it wasn’t known how long he would be stationed at Top Gun. Ironically Bradley had been looking at apartments on his phone the last few weeks before he found out about the long-term deployment he would be stuck on.

“I’m always trying to take you home.” He admits.

“Well it must be your lucky day, Sailor. I don’t close, I’m off at eleven.”

Rooster looks down at his watch to see it’s a quarter past ten. He was hoping you didn’t close since he knew you were here well before him and the rest of the squad.

“I’ll be waiting.”

He gives her a knowing smile, backing away from the bar and she gives him a rare soft look. He returns to the group, knowing that since he’s leaving shortly he needs to hangout with them until it’s actually time to go. He waits until she starts to untie her apron and talking with Penny before he stands and starts his goodbyes.

Y/n makes her way out the back door after bringing some more stock up just in case. Rooster is leaning in the same spot as always, insisting on walking her to her car. She reaches out a hand for him to take but she’s surprised when they go down the stairs and he tugs her harder in the direction of the bronco.

“We can get your car tomorrow.” Bradley insists.

“Oh, is that so?” She lets him lead her anyway.

“Yes ma’am. I’m requiring a car ride because I don’t think I can spend another twenty minutes apart.” He leads her right over to the passenger side of the Bronco, swinging the door open for her. Instead of getting in she turns around, trapping herself between him and the car.

“Well, when you put it like that.” She pulls down on the back of his neck so their lips would meet for the first time of the night. She hums in satisfaction and he lets out a groan as she pulls on the curls on the back of his head. They give it a few minutes to get more intense before Bradley is pulling back. He’s got her pushed against the side of the car, both of them out of breath.

“This is gonna be a long twenty minutes.”

“Drive fast.”

They both get in the car after that, his hand glued to the top of her bare thigh. Even with Christmas only being a few days away, the air is warm in the sixties. The windows are cracked bringing a welcomed breeze for the two that are too hot to handle in the moment. Rooster keeps glancing to see how swollen her lips are and Y/n can’t tear her eyes from his messed up curls.

The first parking spot in sight has Rooster throwing the car in park and they both quickly throw their doors open. He chases her up the stairs when she takes off with a laugh, it only takes a few strides for him to catch her and throw her over his shoulder.

“You’re telling me all of this muscle has a use, not just for looks?” She asks from behind him, his arm securing her on top of his shoulder. She traces the center line of his back, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“The Navy doesn’t do ‘just for looks’.” He reminds.

“That’s right, you are Navy property.” She reaches down to smack his ass, not noticing the pang Bradley felt at the reminder. He is Navy property and that’s why he has no say over leaving her for a year.

“Yeah, we actually need to talk about that.” He bends down to put her feet back on the ground. She didn’t even realize they were at her apartment door, but she just stands there with key in hand with her face pale at the serious tone of his voice.

“Bradley?”

“Let’s go in to talk about it.”

She doesn’t say anything in response, just unlocking her door and leaving it open for him to follow. She makes her way over to the couch and sets her keys and bag down on the coffee table. He sits down next to her, fully aware of the fact that he’s killed whatever high they were both on the whole way home.

“I got official orders for a new deployment.” He blurts.

“Oh, okay.” She sighs, “For how long?”

He gulps audibly which brings back her nerves. He turns fully to face her on the couch before answering her question and you could hear a pin drop with the silence that is met after.

“A year?” Her brows shoot to the top of her forehead in shock. The reality sinking in and he watches a dozen emotions cross her face before she looks up to him again.

“I don’t even know the details yet, but from what I know it’s far away and it’s pretty complex. Likely now that I’ve been training pilots at Top Gun, I’ll probably be involved with training too.”

“God, can you try sucking at your job so they don’t take you very long?” She jokes, trying to lighten the mood. She pulls her legs up on the couch to sit cross legged facing him, he reaches out a hand to her knee without a second thought.

“No, ma’am.” He sighs, pushing a strand that’s escaped her ponytail back behind her ear.

“How soon do you have to go?”

“Monday.”

“This Monday?” She shrieks, “That’s before Christmas!”

“I know.” He pushes his lips together in a straight line to show his own dissatisfaction with it. His fluffy mustache on prominent display.

“You’re gonna miss Christmas.” She says sadly.

“I’m gonna miss a lot more than that.”

He leans down to peck her lips, but it doesn’t wipe the slight pout from her face.

“I like where this was headed.” She interrupts him with a ‘me too’ that makes him grin, “But I can’t ask you to wait that long. I won’t be back until next December. I really like you, and I know I’m gonna spend all that time thinking about you, but-”

“But what?” She interrupts once again. She pushes the curls back off his forehead and lets her fingers weave through and Bradley has to fight the urge to close his eyes. “What if I want to wait?”

This has his eyes opening wider in shock of his own.

“What?”

She smirks at his reaction and climbs into his lap, no longer fighting the need to be close to him. Her fingers still running along the sides of his head mindlessly and his hands find her hips.

“What. If. I. Wait?” She presses a kiss along his jaw between each word, his fingers digging in a little harder.

“Are you serious?” He leans his head back to get a clear view of her face. She sits back a little so they both can actually focus on the topic at hand.

“Bradley, I like you and I guarantee in a year I still will. Does this mean you’re finally gonna make me a girlfriend?”

“God, please can I?” She nods excitedly and this time he leads the kiss, desperate to hold her as close as physically possible. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes.” She grins widely.

“Will you wait a year for me to come back?”

“Yes, baby.” He kisses her like his life depends on it. He likes the new nickname and she can feel just how much he likes it as he hardens under her. “Take me to bed, boyfriend.”

The two of them spend all day Saturday in Y/n’s apartment. Not even leaving for food, opting to order delivery and stay in the comfort of the warm bed. Penny gave her Saturday off when she found out about Bradley’s deployment and how soon it was. Sadly she had no one to cover her Sunday shift so their bubble had to come to an end when Bradley needed new clothes and she had to get ready for work.

They decide to meet at the Hard Deck a couple hours after her shift starts. The entire Dagger Squad makes a Sunday night appearance knowing it’s going to be a long time before they’re all back together again.

“God, I didn’t think you guys could get worse.” Hangman huffs rolling his eyes. Y/n pulls away from her boyfriend, who she had been leaning across the counter to kiss. There’s only one other group tucked away by the window otherwise the squad takes up all of the stools at the bar.

“Just wait and see how insufferable he’s gonna be without me.” Y/n teases, grabbing Jake’s glass to refill it.

“Yeah, leave me and my girlfriend alone.” Rooster joins in, putting an extra emphasis on girlfriend.

“That sounds so hot.” She grins wider.

“Okay, yeah now I’m with him.” Phoenix shakes her head agreeing with Hangman.

It’s safe to say the two of them have been soaking in every last second they can. The bar has been quiet enough with it being a Sunday that the whole group just stayed at the bar so Y/n could still be close by. They didn’t know however that it would mean witnessing kisses over the bar and a lot of googly eyes. Penny gave her the all clear to close early if it were slow, so she is all too happy to kick out the squad when they are the only ones left.

Bradley waits for her to finish cleaning up, leaving together hand in hand out the back door to the parking lot.

“Where’s the Bronco?” She asks, noting the empty parking lot aside from her car.

“I left it on base so we could ride together tomorrow morning.” He clears his throat, “Unless you don’t want to take me, I can get Phoenix to-”

“I’ll take every minute I can get.” She smiles, pulling him down for a quick kiss as they make their way over to her car. “As if I would pass up on dropping you off. I was just hoping I was finally gonna drive the Bronco.”

“Yeah, maybe next year.” He rolls his eyes, knowing that she knows he doesn’t pass off his keys too easily.

Knowing she had been working until close at the Hard Deck and he sure as hell didn’t let her sleep much, she looks surprisingly awake at 6:00 a.m. She looks more than awake, she looks perfect. Her hair is a mess that he knows a brush hasn’t met yet today, but it reminds him of himself pulling on it. The fact that they opted for one more round in bed rather than taking the time to actually get ready.

“What’re you looking at?” She teases, catching onto his stare while she looks ahead at the road. They are already on base, he gives her directions when needed for where to drop him off.

“You.” He admits, “Soaking up every last second I can.”

“You won’t have to rely too much on your memory, reach in the backseat.” Her all too familiar wicked grin makes an appearance.

He reaches in the back to find a Christmas bag with bright tissue paper sticking out. He cuts her a serious look, they hadn’t had time to do presents and figure that out before it was time for him to ship out. He tosses the tissue paper behind him and finds a small four by six tin and opens it to find a picture of Y/n, his dog tags on and nothing else.

“I didn’t have enough time to pose for a calendar, so these will have to do.” She laughs, struggling to picture him hanging one up where anyone can see. Y/n is pleased to see how pink his cheeks are turning.

“This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.” He closes the tin without going through all of the pictures inside, opting to pull her in for a quick kiss now that they’re parked.

“Baby, I didn’t get you anything. I wasn’t sure what we-”

“Come back to me. In a year, I’ll be right here and you’ll be my gift.” She reaches out a hand just to hold his face. Her thumb brushes the edge of his mustache, he turns his head slightly to press a kiss to her thumb.

They get out of the car and Y/n sees a few other couples seemingly doing the same dance of dropping their partners off. Bradley sets down his overstuffed duffle on the ground and backs her into a hug against the car. He pulls her as tight as possible while she runs her nails back and forth on his back. He pulls back to look at her once everyone has gone inside and he knows he’ll be the last arrival.

“I’m gonna look so good for you when you get back.” She teases, her arms wrapped around the back of his neck while his hands grip her hips. She’s leaning against the hood of her car with him placed between her legs. It’s not the right height like the bronco, but it’s working plenty fine.

“Oh jesus.” Bradley sighs, already creating a picture in his head.

“You might wanna have the medical team close by, you might go into heart failure.” She presses a hand flat against his firm chest.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

One more kiss he tells himself, then he can go. Y/n opens her mouth wider to deepen the kiss and Bradley goes one step further by sliding his hands down from her hips to the back of her thighs and pulls her up into his arms. The kiss never breaks, the past few weeks have paid off as practice. She moans into the kiss more and he feels himself harden, he breaks off knowing they can’t go any farther if he’s supposed to walk onto a carrier in ten minutes.

“Bye, baby.” He plants her feet firmly on the ground again before letting go.

“See you in a year, Sailor.”

Hours later when he’s on the carrier and he’s already had three different briefings, he finally shuffles through the pictures back in the safety of his room. He’s still trying to wrap his mind around how she had the time to put this together in time for him to bring them, but damn is he glad.

Next year. Xx

The second picture in the stack has her wrapped up in a stunning red set that he’s dying to unravel. If he had to guess that the real in person sight would’ve been his gift this year if he wasn’t deployed. Next year it is.

Waiting a year to see each other in person is easily the hardest thing either of them has had to face. Communication was sketchy at best for Bradley, but he called as often as they would let him. It’s hard for him to believe they’ve been apart longer than they’ve known each other.

His eyes scan all of the significant others waiting for everyone offloading from the ship. He takes a few steps closer, his duffle heavy in hand. The bright blue of the Bronco is familiar and like a beacon for him towards the back of the group of people, especially when he can see a familiar figure leaning against the front in a red floral dress. He fights the urge to sprint, but there’s an obvious pep in his quick steps.

“Hey, Sailor.” Y/n greets once he’s within earshot.

“Is that my girlfriend?” He asks with a bright grin. This is the first time he’s smiled that wide in nearly a year. He drops his bag at her feet and scoops her up, their lips meet and his hand is protective holding down the bottom of her dress while he spins. Finally, for the first time in nearly a year and it’s somehow better than all the build up that they had been waiting for. Worth the wait.

“That’s a hell of a welcome.” He huffs, slightly out of breath.

“I haven’t even started.” She smirks.

“Both my girls are here to pick me up?” He asks, looking behind her to the bronco he hasn’t seen in just as long. Last time he saw it, it was on base and he left Bob with the keys. He was the only one to be trusted.

“I pulled some strings.” She smiles wildly, “I did debate bringing a boombox to hold up over my head and play Last Christmas.”

He can’t help but throw his head back in a laugh.

“And why didn’t you?” He grins, taking another step closer to box her in against the hood. He needs to remember there are families around because the way she runs her hands up his chest has him ready to mount her then and there.

“They’re real heavy, baby.” She gives his arms a good squeeze for emphasis, “I’ll leave that for you and all those muscles for our next big gesture.”

“Noted.”

“You wanna open your gift early?” She asks, taking on her infamously wicked grin. He looks down her chest and can see a hint of red ribbon. It has to be the same set she took pictures in, pictures he became very familiar over the last twelve months. The pictures now well worn, but it doesn’t matter now that the real thing is back in his arms.

“God, I love you.” He sighs into her neck and she chuckles. It’s the first time she’s heard the words directly from his lips. Not in an email or the phone, directly from him.

“I love you, too.” She smiles, the soft look in her eyes that he only gets is fully on display, “Am I a bad girlfriend if I say I don’t want our first time back together to be special, and I’d rather you rail me in the car the second we’re out of view?”

“How fast can you get in the car?”

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