#they are happy and nothing can hurt them 😌

[gregmarriage]

this is a renaissance painting to me <3

[daycourtofficial]

It’s just to satiate the bond

Pairing: Eris x Rhysand’s sister!reader | WC: 2.3k | warnings: smut, piv, oral (f!receiving)

Summary: an agreement to have sex just to satiate a mating bond neither party wants is a great idea. Surely no one will get hurt, right?

Author’s note: this is part of my gingerfucker series but can be read by itself 😌

Her teeth were grinding as she walked down the hallway, her steps getting faster, trying to put as much distance from her and the large meeting room. She had to get away, she had to hide. She moved further away from the gathering of High Lords, pushing her instincts down, down, down as she went.

It was ridiculous how her body was reacting to just being in his presence, being so close to her mate. She shook her head, angrily trying to dispel that word from it.

Her ears twitched at the sound of quick steps behind her, nearly catching up to her. She quickened her pace, almost breaking out into a run, but the male that had followed her was quick to push her into an open door, shutting it behind them.

“What the fuck, Eris? Let me out of here.”

Eris stood blocking the door, not letting her move past him. Her arms reached for the knob before quickly being swatted away.

“No.”

“What is wrong with you?” She huffed out the question, not expecting much of a reply.

“Me? What is wrong with you?”

“I’m mated to an asshole.” Being so close to him was making her head spin, his scent of whiskey and smoke made her heart rate pick up.

His amber eyes danced with amusement. “Surely you understand mates are equals, so whatever I am, so are you.”

“You are a child.”

“You are the one who ran away.”

“To get away from you!”

“How did that work out for you, princess?”

He was grating on her, annoyance causing her teeth to grind again. She tried taking in a deep breath, hoping it would calm her nerves.

“It’d work better if you weren’t keeping me in here.” Her voice attempted to make the words sweet, missing the mark they came out with too much bite.

“I have a proposition.” It was difficult being this close to him. She picked up nearly every detail about him in this proximity: the freckles that trailed beneath the color of his shirt, wondering if they continued further down. The faint scent of what must be his hounds that clung to him. The necklaces that hung from his neck, draping over ornate fabrics she wanted to run her fingers over.

“We are both less than thrilled at this mating, however I am sure you are having urges that can’t be satisfied by anyone else or yourself.” His words pulled her from the visual inspection, looking up at him to find her distraction didn’t go unnoticed.

She moved her hands across her chest, fingers tapping her elbows. She didn’t want to admit how right he was - even the sight of other males made her want to gag. Nothing and no one had satiated the intense need that thrummed inside of her since it made itself known to her.

She nodded at him to continue, but he merely stared at her. Exasperated, she finally asked, “how do you suggest we go about fixing that?”

“We need to convince our bond we are happy.”

Our bond. The words struck something primal in her, some deep desire she had to be with him.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Don’t think I can’t feel you in my chest in the middle of the night.”

“And what of it? Do the males of Autumn not want their females to know sexual desire? Rather it be unpleasant for her?”

Eris growled, the sound shooting heat through her.

“I can do more with my tongue than any male in the Night Court can do with their cocks.”

His scent was suffocating, the air around her coated with him. It was surely making her delirious, surely the only reason she heard herself saying, “prove it”.

Those two words, spoken an exhale, was all it took for the Autumn heir to move quickly.

He buried his face in her chest, his teeth nipping at the exposed skin of the tops of her breasts. A soft moan escaped from her mouth, his face tilting just enough for his amber eyes to show. He looked like a true predator as starving, wolfish eyes looked back at her.

He lifted her, grabbing the backs of her thighs to hoist her around his hips before she felt the wall hit her back. There was no time to object as he stuffed two of his fingers into her mouth.

“Hush now, Princess. Would hate for your moans to expose us.” Heat pooled in her stomach at his smirk.

Eris didn’t let himself think about what he was doing as he undid the ties on his pants. He didn’t think as he slid her panties to the side, sliding his fingers through her wet folds. He bit back the groan that was making its way up his throat at how wet she was. He didn’t think as he lined his cock up to her entrance, something inside him desperate to keep her gaze on him as he did so.

He watched her violet eyes widen as he sheathed himself inside of her, nearly coming undone himself at how perfect she felt around him.

He wouldn’t think about his previous sexual encounters, never caring about who he was with. Sex was transactional, a means to an end. This was to satiate the godsdamned bond thrumming between the two of them.

He would never admit to her he had taken all his previous lovers from behind, never caring to watch them. Never admit to the stirring his cock felt watching her eyes close, swallowing her moans.

Eris felt himself getting close to that high, felt it creeping through his body as his thrusts got sloppier.

He had to take control, couldn’t allow this weakness. His fingers held her jaw tightly. , examining her eyes with each thrust.

“I hate you,” she gritted out, teeth grinding.

He thrusted hard into her, his gaze seering as he watched her eyes roll back.

“You hate me so, and yet you buck like a common whore for my prick.” His hair was falling into his face, his punishing pace making it harder to concentrate.

“Do you ever stop talking? You’d be much more likable if you did.” Her voice was high and breathy, something inside him knowing just how close she was. Their mixed arousal was pinging throughout his chest, a sensation he had never felt before.

“You weren’t worried about likability when you started dripping on my cock.”

“Fuck you.” Her eyes were closed, searching for every ounce of pleasure he was giving her.

“Aren’t you already?” Hushed words were sending both of them closer to that edge, each desperate to land just one more barb. The arrogance in Eris’s tone sent her spiraling, pleasure ripping through her in uncontrollable waves.

Eris was furiously pumping into her as she milked his cock, her high cresting as he met his own. Between their shared orgasm, there was a split second their eyes met. The vulnerability of what they just did passed through the glance, and then it was gone, locked away deep in both their souls.

Eris’s head met her shoulder, struggling to catch his breath.

“Winded there, Lord?”

He growled at the question, his fingers quickly gripping tight to her before immediately letting go. He pulled back from her, the loss of contact making his chest go heavy. His fingers quickly redid the ties of his pants, a hand moving through his long hair.

The only sound was their labored breaths, filling the room with the knowledge that they could not go back. A fact neither of them would accept.

She moved her skirts back down, desperate to cover that seed that ran down her inner thighs.

Eris moved to the door, his back to her enough for him to bring his fingers to his mouth, swirling his tongue around the remnants of her arousal on it.

-

“It’s just to satiate the bond.” The lie fell from her lips, something she had been telling herself over and over again over the past few weeks since that first time with Eris.

“Do you like how the bond makes you hot for me?”

The pain from the tree against her face was nothing compared to how good each of his thrusts felt.

Her fingers dug into the tree, desperate for some bit of reality to cling to. It felt absurd how common this occurrence was - meeting almost weekly now just to keep the bond inside from exploding.

It was ridiculous how many nights she spent in her bed, her fingers not enough to satisfy her as her mind drifted to the male behind her.

“Better than being eternally sad over you.”

A chuckle came from him before he thrusted deep inside her, his fingers a tight grip over her hips she was sure was going to bruise.

“How would Rhysand react to finding out his precious sister has been reduced to little more than a common whore?”

“Don’t tell me you have to think of my brother in order to get off, hmm?”

His pace was punishing at her words, their back and forths doing more to him than he wished to admit.

Long fingers wrapped around her neck, tilting her head back just enough for her to see his amber eyes full of lust. She couldn’t stop the moan coming from her mouth at the intensity of his gaze, how just the sight of his eyes and one swift thrust of his hips sent her toppling over the edge of pleasure.

His pace quickened, his thrusts working her through her orgasm until he pulled her as close as possible, emptying himself inside of her.

Eris kept looking at her, his gaze focused as she tried to catch her breath. With more effort than he anticipated, he pulled his hands away from her, helping her straighten herself off the tree.

He moved her skirts, helping her straighten them out. His hand met her waist, an almost tender touch before he quickly pulled it away.

“Next time don’t make any plans afterward. You reek of sex and have the markings to prove it.” His fingers pointed at his own face, showing a line where the bark had made indentions into her skin.

He waited, not saying anything, only nodding at her before winnowing away, leaving her stranded in the woods, confused and alone.

-

“I just need a taste.”

Eris Vanserra was kneeling on the ground before her, his body disappearing beneath her skirts. He was not gentle as he grabbed her leg, throwing it over his shoulder.

“Er-oh.” Protestations die on her tongue as his mouth latched onto her cunt, his tongue pressing against the cloth of her underwear.

Her strained ears could barely make out his grumbling about “coming unprepared”, his voice muffled as his tongue made long, sweeping strokes through her folds.

He was pressing his weight into her, the only thing keeping her upright against the tree as he held her in place. The woods were echoing with the obscene sounds from underneath her skirt, but she could not care less.

Suddenly Eris grabbed her other leg, leaving her hoisted against the tree, his neck her only support.

She couldn’t hold in the obscene noises coming from her mouth. One of Eris’s hands let go of her thighs and she could hear him fiddling with the ties of his pants.

“Eris, you filthy thing. Are you touching yourself while you eat me out?”

A growl was all her retort was met with, a bite to her clit making her practically climb up the tree.

He was moaning into her, the vibrations sending waves of pleasure through her.

A biting quip was on the tip of her tongue, replaced by a moan as Eris’s fingers pushed the cloth to the side, rubbing his nose through her folds. His usual sharp tongue laid flat as he licked a long stripe across her heat. She shuddered at the sensation, trying to hold off her orgasm for as long as possible. The bond inside her was thrumming, bursting with joy at being pleasured by her mate.

Her hips were desperate as they rode across his face, thighs squeezing his head to keep him in place.

The sound of Eris pumping his cock into his hand was pushing her past her limits, their weekly rendezvous leading her to know exactly how it felt in her chest when he came.

Her high was quickly squashed as he pulled away from her, causing her to fall unceremoniously onto the ground. She let out a soft gasp, both pain and surprise unable to be contained.

“What are you-“ She looked up, chastisement at the ready, only to find her mate gone, nowhere to be found. She stood on shaky legs, using the tree as a support, not wanting to admit the disappointment that followed her as she left.

-

The ground was wet beneath her skirts, the tree biting into her back as she waited. The air was cold and uninviting, as if no one should be out in it without a coat or a lover’s embrace. She tried to ignore the heaviness in her chest, telling herself, “it’s fine.”

She waited. Minutes quickly turned into an hour, the moon high in the clearing above. Goosebumps ran up and down her arms at the late hour. The bond hummed lightly in her chest, nerves too strong to find out the consequences of pulling it.

Were these daliances getting to her, meaning much more than they should? He was supposed to arrive hours ago. He had never left her waiting this long.

Worry consumed her, but the everpresent bond assured her that he was out there somewhere, fine with the distance that lay between them.

She had never waited this long for a male to show up to a date before. She stopped that line of thinking quickly, shutting it down. Reminding herself this is not a date.

She sighed, rejection and embarrassment coming off her in waves. Her chest felt hollow as she looked about the clearing one last time, desperate for any sign she missed him before winnowing far, far away.

Permanent taglist: @vanilla-seabass @cyrygher @lees-chaotic-brain @topaz125 @chessebookgirl @fides25 @lady-of-tearshed @ashbatz @fxckmiup @lilah-asteria @justvibbinghere @daughterofthemoons-stuff @mybestfriendmademe @heartless-tate @tsunami-of-tears @idrkwhatthisisimsorry @olive-main @azrielsmate3 @pit-and-the-pen @durgenyx @dee-writes-smut @chairofchaos @thelov3lybookworm @throneofsmut @kennedy-brooke @prythianpages @itsswritten @acotarxreader @milswrites @the-golden-jhope @hannzoaks @secretlyhers @tothestarsandwhateverend @sarawritestories @chxosangxl

Eris taglist: @magicstrengthandcourage @book-obsessed124

Gingerfucker taglist: @bookwormysblog

Thanks for reading ❣️

[lavendertales]

I don’t even know but for the love of god PLEASE more age gap/ dads best friend trope with Joel Miller 🥵

I got not one, not two, but THREE requests with age gap reader x Joel Miller, so here we go, this one's for you babes 😌

Not enough || Joel Miller x f!reader**

summary: Joel is not happy when your recklessness nearly puts your lives in danger.

word count: 1.8k

WARNINGS: age gap (Joel is in his 40s, reader is like late 20s), unprotected doggy, cum play, choking, enemies to fwb.

AGELESS/EMPTY BLOGS & MINORS WILL BE BLOCKED!

gif: @azertyrobaz

Oh, he’s pissed. He’s pissed, alright. You can tell in the way he’s pacing around the room, hands on his hips, brows furrowed in sheer anger. Your negligence has been more than an inconvenience today; it could’ve risked a lot of people’s lives, including your own and Joel’s.

And Joel is not a man you wanna fuck around with.

Well. Not technically.

You just so happen to be in the same shift for the night watch, that’s all. And he just so happens to be Tommy’s brother, so you know from a solid source that he’s got a temper. Inexplicably enough, you find yourself gravitating around him quite often, and not just because duty calls. He’s got an attitude too, which makes him annoying more than anything. He makes your blood boil, makes you want to scream at the top of your lungs.

And yet, your eyes search for him in a crowd, eager to spot that bitter face you’ve grown to detest.

Usually, your disagreements are easily solved: he grunts, you mumble, both of you cuss out loud, maybe yell a little, and call it a truce. In many ways, he doesn’t think of you as equal, you believe; why should he? He’s a skilled hunter, gunsman, and you’re just some gal in her twenties, doing your duty towards Tommy and the people in Jackson.

But today, you’ve really done it. You know it; you just refuse to give Joel the satisfaction of knowing he was right.

He told you to wait for the group to return, then you can go check for clickers. You told him for hours on end that you’ve heard about clickers in the area, and yet Joel refused to believe you. “Till I see it with my own eyes, there ain’t nothing out there,” he said. “No reason to worry everyone”. But the group took too long, and you’ve grown more and more impatient, so you sneaked out the perimeter and went to check for yourself. Surely enough, your instinct and sources have been correct, and there you were, face to face with at least a dozen clickers. Just you and your shotgun against them all.

“Are you really this stupid?”

His question makes your forehead crease with anger as well.

“Well?” he pushes. “Are you?”

“I am far more capable than what you give me credit for.”

Joel snarls, the sound mocking in and of itself, and, weirdly enough or not, you relish into it. There’s something primal behind it, something that suggests care, and that has your undivided attention.

“You could’ve been killed,” he says. “Those fuckers could’ve come in here, have their way with us. All because of you.”

“What the fuck do you want me to say, Joel?! You wanna hear me beg for your forgiveness? Want me to beg, on my knees?”

He gulps. You see it, it’s undeniable. It’s not quite the reaction you had in mind, so it takes you aback for a moment.

Joel inches closer towards you, his face reading the same anger as before, eyes darkened by some emotion you couldn’t name at this very moment.

“Do you?” you boldly repeat.

“You’re on mighty thin ice here,” he warns, voice husky and intense. “Don’t push me.”

“Or what?”

Joel stares at you, half incredulously and half impressed. He’s always been impressed by your candor and your boldness, your uncanny ability to just face danger without a second thought and come to the others’ defense.

But today, less so. The thought of you getting infected, getting hurt in any way… he’d hate you forever if that were the case. He’d hate himself for it, too.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for here,” Joel seems to warn.

But you cock an eyebrow, causing him to gulp again and question his every moral, and every portion of his sanity.

“Give me some credit here, Joel,” you say in a ridiculously sultry voice. “I think I know what I’m looking for. If only you’d stop treating me like some kind of—“

Your words are cut abruptly by the harsh press of his mouth against yours in a surprisingly hot and needy kiss. On the one hand, you’re thankful he acted before he might’ve asked you to beg for it, like you cheekily said. You’re somewhat embarrassed that such a thing was insinuated, let alone acting upon it. The two of you do not get along, after all. He might actually hate you, simple as that.

But this right here, his calloused hands slipping underneath your shirt to feel your skin and his mouth clamping on yours, this is anything but easy. The amber light breaking through the window as the sun is setting allows you a final clear glimpse of what is happening, and your body shivers at the sight: Joel is hastily undressing you first, as if he’s in some sort of race to see you naked before you see him. You realize that yes, you do want to see him, all of him, just the way that he is, and feel him in this inappropriate moment.

It’s obvious it’s been a long time for both of you; all of the sloppy and rushed movements, getting right to it, suggest a desperation that can hardly be verbalized. Your hands drop to the hem of his shirt, tearing off some of the buttons that keep what’s underneath concealed. You take but a rushed moment to admire the scars covering his chest and belly, as well as the chest hair that you’d love nothing more but nuzzle in. nothing but a stolen moment, though. You wouldn’t want to ruin this moment with anything.

Your hands drop to his jeans, removing his belt and watching him shimmy his way out of them. Your eyes widen in surprise when you brush against him, feeling him rock hard in his boxers.

“Turn around,” he commands, and you obey.

You find yourself bent over the couch in his living room, a strong hand keeping you in place. Anticipation is killing you, the perverted thoughts soaking your mind and pussy alike. it’s ridiculous, really; how the fuck are you soaked when all you’ve done so far is argue with him? Him, Joel Miller, of all people. It feels wrong and forbidden in some way, but at the same time, it feels exactly right. Like this is what you’ve been missing all this time. Him, his arms, his eyes and mouth devouring you alike, and his cock slipping inside you.

Which is precisely what he does.

You can’t possibly control or prevent the wanton cry that comes out of your mouth when you feel his cock sliding inside of you. He pushes with ease, and in any other case it would’ve been alarming to acknowledge how soaked you are, but now, it feels oddly understandable.

“Fuck, you’re soaked,” you hear him grunt. “Have you been wanting me to fuck you like this for too long, sweetheart?”

Motherf—

Again you moan when he pushes so far deep inside you, you think you’re gonna black out.

“Answer me,” he grunts.

“Screw you, Miller,” you smile.

He chuckles, because of course he does. “Isn’t it the other way around now?”

He grabs a handful of your ass, squeezing it as hard as he can, and he drags his cock all the way out just to push back inside, burying himself in you to the hilt. Then, he just starts slamming his hips into yours, deeming that he’d given you enough time to adjust and all that. After all, this is rushed, needy, and far too agonizing to prolong. It doesn’t mean anything. Why should it?

Fuck, you wanna see him right now. You wanna see the crease on his forehead that betrays his intense concentration, the way a few locks of hair fall down and the way he’s working up a sweat just by staring at your ass brushing up against his cock with each additional thrust. All you can do is moan brokenly as your body is being used as leverage for him to propel himself into, but hell, you could not possibly complain.

Neither of you says much except the occasional cuss word or grunt. Those are the only sounds filling the dead air. It’s hard to focus on actually doing what you’re doing and saying something. Maybe you don’t need to; adding words to this already complicated situation would only make it more meaningful when it’s just about blowing off some steam.

Although you cannot ignore the waves of pleasure that rip through you when Joel’s hand curls around you from the very same position he’s fucking you. A cry leaves your throat, currently held by one of his calloused hands, and Joel smiles in some delirious ecstasy.

“That’s right,” he teases, almost breathless. “This is all you needed—isn’t it?”

If you couldn’t speak before, you certainly can’t now. Joel doesn’t tell you how good it feels to feel you this way. He doesn’t tell you how feral it makes him to have your body at his will, to fuck you this hard and fast from behind like you’re running out of time.

Maybe you are, maybe you aren’t. All he knows is that the buildup in his belly is gonna erupt soon, but he needs to feel you first.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” he says, leaning over and squeezing your throat just a little more. “Make it a good one for me, hm? How ‘bout that?”

It’s like he presses an automatic switch as he says that; within the next few seconds, you clamp down all around him, your body seizing up and soaking his cock with your juices as you reach the throes of ecstasy.

“J-Joel—“you finally manage to get out.

He fucks you through your climax, only to pull out as abruptly as he entered you, stroking himself to completion right on your ass. Breathless, he can only stare at the hot, messy canvas he’d painted on your body. The image triggers something inside of him, something deep and primal, urging him for more.

But he can’t. He shouldn’t. There are about a dozen reasons why he shouldn’t, and yet, he just did.

A final smack over your ass lets you know that the exchange of bodily fluids and pleasure has come to an end. When your eyes lock, he doesn’t say a word to you, and neither do you. Instead, he grabs a towel to clean you gently with, a stark contrast between the feral man from mere moments ago and the current one.

“Don’t make me care about you,” he warns.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” you say, highly doubting that sentence.

[callmewrinkles3]

Nothing new - DR3 x Fem!OC

Masterlist

Summary: Some decisions are difficult and bittersweet to make. During rocky times, sadness can be an unwise advisor, but with friends and family around, taking those decisions becomes easier.

Warnings: Fluff. Angst. Sex talk. Pregnancy talk. Mentions of mental health issues, pregnancy loss, injuries and past crashes -we don’t like you, Zandvoort 23- and past abusive family. McLaren being mentioned too, sorry.

Words: 16.2k

A/N: HELLO AGAIN. After a little post this morning we’re finally back with our long-as-hell-oneshot regular schedule. Let’s forget about what happened in Zandvoort for our own mental health 😌 Hope you like this mess of a oneshot, hope you are all well and promise we’re gonna post soon. See you around, kiddos.🫶🏻

June 2024.

If Em had to put a date on it, she'd say it started during Monaco weekend. But in her heart and soul she knew it was before then. It started with the realization that she didn't want to return to work. She wanted to just be Lulu's mum and Dan's wife and do it properly. She couldn't do both that and get back to work as Dan's assistant and do it right.

She simply didn't want to run around people anymore. She didn't want to squeeze through the paddock and the pit lane to organise things and get Dan on track. She was there anyway because she was Dan's wife. She was always going to support him. But now she had a chance to do it because she chose to, not because she had to.

It started while she was standing in the garage after FP3 in Monaco while she watched the sponsors looking at their brands neatly printed on the car. She understood people's passion for cars even though she didn't share them. However, she was disgusted by the men in suits who were only there to be there and take photos. That was the day she admitted she didn't want to go back to work and deal with them.

Em knew it all started with McLaren. She could make a ridiculously long list of the things the orange team took from her and her family. Her and Dan's physical and mental well-being was at the top of the list. A close second was her trust in people when she finally learned how to. She'd begun to make friends and trust and open up to people, but it was ripped away so suddenly it left a brand new wound that she was still trying to heal.

The other major thing they ruined was how much she adored her job. And if she was brutally honest with herself in therapy with Mildred she could admit it hurt the most. She loved her job. At the beginning when Dan told her she was getting paid it felt weird. Being paid by the man she was sleeping with and who she loved? It was strange. But she loved the job and the work she did. It gave Em a reason to be in the paddock and spend time with her boys. Working by Blake's side every day made her happy. She had a reason to spend basically every day with her best friend. Even when they joked they were sick of each other, Blake would give her a hug and swear he couldn't do it without her.

She used to find joy in planning their trips and booking places for dinners. It was fun to colour code schedules so they could tell at a glance what could be moved if needed. She liked running around the paddock with her pit access badge around her neck, her tablet in her arms, and her boys by her side. While she hated the spotlight and the whispered comments about her, at least at Renault she could deal with it. She had to deal with it and learned how by the time they arrived at McLaren.

When their bags became orange and Dan’s half of the wardrobe was filled with the colour it became a constant struggle. Work was a battle for her to be heard and listened to and able to get her point across, and then thanks to the poisonous atmosphere it affected her home life. And then it all fell apart.

McLaren broke them and it took a miracle to get them back together. Love gave them the patience to work on themselves and their relationship. They put the pieces back together once at a time, gluing them into place until they could hold. But even then something inside Em just felt dead.

Something in her had broken, and Dan couldn't help her fix it like he’d helped with everything else. She couldn’t even admit it until now. Back then she thought it was everything she’d lost in such a short space of time - Dan, their relationship, their home and her family. Then she blamed the miscarriage. She blamed her parents and everything they said and did. She also blamed Michael because he made everything more difficult even though she knew she shouldn’t.

There were times when she didn’t feel that broken part inside. She had her Danny, their family, and rebuilt their home together. She had his ring on her finger and their little wedding to promise they loved each other and then their big one to tell the world. They had their sunshine girl and there was nothing that could have prepared Em for the love she had for her baby Luna. But that broken love for her job never came back.

She wasn’t in a position to work when she got back to Dan’s side. She couldn’t think straight at the time, so it was ridiculous to consider working. She knew Blake and Dan agreed and said yes when she said she wanted to return. She knew it was their attempt to distract her from the mess of their lives, but it never happened, at least not in full capacity. Looking back, Em was aware it was all a terrible need to feel like things were normal in some way. It was her way to feel like she didn’t blow out her whole life for not having the courage to stand up to Dan and all her fears and ghosts. 

If she could barely gather the strength to make it to the paddock as Dan’s girlfriend, she wouldn't have the strength to work like she used to. The only thing that kept her going were Dan and Blake. She also knew she could stay hidden away from the world when she wasn't in the garage. Strength temporarily returned when McLaren decided to fight against Dan. She could barely keep herself standing, but she lifted and carried Dan, putting herself together as well as possible to keep him moving. Dan had been doing that for her for months, so she had to do it for him. 

The one last time the strength to work came back was when she had to walk into the MTC and face McLaren and the people she despised. She had to fight for the man she loved. She got there fought them and won, but all the energy was drained after that. It was a brief period and then her pieces started falling apart again. 

As the months passed the attention never turned back to that. She hated herself for leaving Blake on his own when he had too much on his plate, but she needed to focus on herself and Dan. She needed to hug him, kiss his cheeks and remind him that it was only a matter of time until they could be home for a year. In some months they would burn everything that was orange and had the name McLaren on it. It was a matter of time, then they could figure out what they were doing next. 

Em thought she could do it. She could keep it together for what was left of the year, but then she had to break her hand. Then everything was a constant battle with Michael, the criticism about her husband wouldn’t stop no matter what he did, and on top of that they faced her parents. By the end of the year Em could barely leave the bed, and any work-related matter was long forgotten inside one of her suitcases. 

Blake insisted she didn't have to return to action any time soon. Summer break was supposed to be used to disconnect and that's what Em and Dan needed to do. They could think about it later in the year, but in the meantime, they deserved some time off to heal, plan their wedding and be with their family. Blake had the same plan and after spending some time with Em and Dan in Perth, he was gonna fly home for the holidays to be with his family, but Charlie happened. He wasn’t expecting to meet and fall in love with a gorgeous, brilliant woman who was head over heels in love with him too. When it happened everyone was happy that it did. If someone deserved love and happiness that was Blake, so it was wonderful to see it come true. 

The idea of working became even less appealing to Em. Seeing her husband smiling again at a car launch was a sign she hadn’t seen in a while. The sight of Dan actually having fun again doing press and sponsor work was something Em thought was long gone. Even seeing Blake smiling so bright and big while looking at his phone made Em forget how terrible the previous year was for them.

That's how months passed and with them the incredibly excited news about their pregnancy. Then came their wedding, Scotty and Chloe’s wedding and Dan testing for Red Bull. Everything happened so suddenly that Em had to keep her focus on her Danny and that's what she did. By then, Em was in some meetings, but she was mostly on the side, holding Dan’s hand and promising everything would be alright. After all the difficult things they faced through it had to be alright for him and his career.

Dan breaking his hand wasn’t on her bingo card that year, making it all messy and complicated. He was finally in a car and had to step to the side before he could even taste it. Em never thought that at seven months pregnant she would be holding her husband’s good hand as he lay on a hospital bed ready for a multiple fracture surgery. She never thought she would have to sit there promising her husband everything would be alright while she was fighting one of their former friends for talking about Dan’s injury to the press. The last thing any of them needed was Michael sneaking into their business. Em was already nervous enough and it wasn't good for her pregnancy. 

Em hated to say it, but the accident was part disgrace and part blessing. Thanks to it they got more time off, allowing them to return to Perth for some extra days. They had the chance to be with their family for Grace’s birthday, Blake got to spend some extra days with Charlie, and they knew more than anyone how they needed to cherish extra time with their loved ones. Dan and Em even had some time to slowly putting something together at Lulu’s nursery in the farm, so something good came out of it. 

As months passed by, things got crazier with organizing their lives and Dan returning back to racing, but nothing ever got as crazy as when Lulu finally arrived. Their whole universe changed, their world shifted and nothing really mattered after that. 

There was a lot of mess in their lives, but they were happy and for the first time, things seemed to be going their way. Maybe that is why Em found it so difficult to think about finishing her maternity leave at the time. It was agreed that Em would take a few months off and then we would see how things were going and how she felt at that time. She was thankful to be able to spend as much time as possible with her newborn baby. She was grateful for the opportunity to spend this time with her family, and she made the most of it. That's why Em decided it was best for her to stay off work.

Not only was Dan too busy, but Lulu was so tiny. If Em was working Lulu would be right there with them in the paddock and Charlie was gonna be looking after her, but Em just couldn’t. It wasn’t about Charlie. She was like Lulu’s second mum. They knew Charlie and Blake would always love her and protect her, that's why they were her godparents. It wasn’t them, but Em not willing to take her attention from her daughter. She really wanted to be with Lulu and spend time with her. In one of her therapy sessions, Mildred told Emma it was perfectly normal and understandable. Being a first time mom, considering all the things that have happened to them and how much they wanted to have a baby, it was logical that given the option Em would want to be there with their daughter all the time. Em wanted to take that chance. Dan always reminded her how privileged and lucky they have a good life not worrying about a lot of things. For once she was gonna pay attention to her husband and enjoy doing nothing except looking after her family. Em finally had the life and family she never thought she would have and wanted to enjoy them. 

Admitting it to herself was one of the most difficult things Em had to do in a long time. She felt that she had no reason not to work. There were two voices in her head: one was her mother's voice telling her to stay at home and not work because that was what a woman should do and the other was her own feelings of regret about not working. She had no idea what it was like not to work. Emma has worked non stop since she was seventeen and had to take care of herself. Having a baby was no excuse because there were all those other mums out there having their kids, doing their jobs, and running their homes. Not loving her job anymore shouldn’t be an excuse. 

As Mildred told her, being with her family was a strong reason. Not wanting to compromise her mental health was comprehensible. Not wanting to do it was a perfectly fine reason too, but if Emma needed something stronger, then her family was good enough. The main reason why Emma started working with Dan was to help him and Blake, so now she could keep helping as a wife and a friend instead of as an assistant. Priorities shifted and hers changed. Her priority was her family and it was perfect. 

Before she took any decisions Emma decided she needed to talk to Blake and then to Dan. Even when back in the day Dan was the one paying her salary and technically her boss, Blake was the one who worked side-by-side with Em. For the world Blake was Em’s boss, but they worked together to make things run as smoothly as possible. After all the messes she made she wanted to talk to him before making any decision, especially if it included him.

“If technically I didn't want to work again, what would happen?” Em asked Blake once they were alone for more than two minutes. Charlie was napping, Dan was out on a short walk with Lulu and Steve, so it was only her and Blake as she worked on dinner.

“Nothing. I mean, I miss working with you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask you to double check one small thing for me cause you are going to be right there sitting in front of me.” Blake shurgged as he drank his coffee.

“Really? You won’t be mad at me? And how many cups did you have today, B?”

“Emma Charlotte Ricciardo, I swear to God. Really? Ain’t we way past that? You know I won't get mad at you. And don't ask me such thing as how much coffee I had.” He smiled, knowing the answer was probably too many cups. Between work, a wedding being planned on the other side of the world, and helping care for his baby niece Blake was tired, but he was a happy man.

“Fine. But about the other thing, I just wanna know, alright?"

“Timmy, I’ve been waiting for you to say the word for months. I knew you weren’t coming back for some time now, and if I'm honest I’m happy you are not. It means you’ve got something way better going on. You’re too good for all this mess, Em. You’re seriously too damn good for this weird circus."

Em smiled shyly as she looked at the water starting to boil in front of them. She really had something good going on in her life. She really had an excellent reason not to go back. The fact that Blake agree was a big relief. It was a big weight off her shoulders. “I wanted to. I really did. Working with you again would be so good. But I… They need me, Blakey. They need me and I need to be Lu’s mum and Dan’s wife and nothing else.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Em. If that’s what you want, then you'll do that.” Em simply nodded at her friend’s words. She couldn't imagine doing anything else. She hoped it would be different in the future, but not at the moment. “Hey, you know how proud I am of you? That shy woman next door is this brilliant woman with a husband and a baby and a life. And a pretty cool brother, too. That’s pretty cool, Timothy.”

“You’re a silly man. But you’re right. I can’t believe it either. It’s kinda scary, you know?”

“Nothing and especially nobody will take that from you. I promise you. You just look after them and let me make sure you’re ok too. We’re a family, Timmy. We don’t need to work together to look after each other. You’re my sister and that's it. I love you no matter what. And I know Charlie feels the same way."

The shy girl Blake met all those years ago and was absolutely lonely and scared of everything wouldn’t have asked for a hug, but it was another story with the actual Emma. She didn’t hesitate, leaving the spoon on the table and moving the sauce she was making away from the fire to give Blake a hug. Her brother was on her top five list of Best hugs in the world, and she would steal one whenever she could. That afternoon seemed like an excellent time to get one.

“I love you too, B. And I love that wife of yours." Emmy smiled, resting her head comfortably against Blake’s chest.

“Three months and she’ll finally be my wife. Can you believe that?” As Blake kissed the top of her head, she could feel him smiling at her. Em didn’t think she ever saw someone as excited to get married as Blake was. Dan was happy and excited when they did too. He always said meeting Em, getting her back, marrying her and having Lulu were the highlights of his life. She never doubted her husband's words, but Blake was next level of happiness and joy. He was like a happy kid with candy and a brand-new toy, still pinching himself to check it was not a dream. At least once a week he asked Charlie and even Dan and Em if it was really happening, simply because he couldn’t believe he was marrying the love of his life.

“Honestly I can believe it. But it was the best decision you ever made, darling."

"That and saying hi to my nice new next door neighbor. That was an excellent call too.” Blake insisted, giving Em one last squeeze and kiss on the top of her head before he finally let her make dinner.

“It was a smart idea. Second smartest after proposing to Char.” Em smiled, grabbing the wooden spoon to stir the sauce. After filling it, she placed it in front of her friend. “Now try it and let me know if it's good or not."

“What do you mean if it's good? Mama Emmy's sauce is always good." Blake grabbed the spoon and ate it all up. As he smiled, Em could tell what he was thinking about it. She couldn't help but smile back. She knew they all loved her magical sauce, and that made her feel special. Em always felt a some sense of pride as she watched her family enjoy the food she made. She always thought her cooking was more about love than skill, so it filled her with joy to know it put a smile on their faces. "It makes so much sense that you married into an Italian family. This is so incredible it's ridiculous."

As simple as her talk with Blake was, she was terrified of talking to Dan. He wasn't going to say it was a terrible idea or anything like that. She knew her husband would support her in whatever she did. He was always supportive and made sure his loved ones had smiles on their faces. But admitting it to Dan would make it real. If she admitted it to him, then it would be like finally admitting it to herself and signing the resignation letter. Talking to Dan meant making it final. It was terrifying, even when she knew it was the right thing for her and her family.

Before Emma could find the right moment to do it, Dan found it for them. With Lulu in the park and grocery shopping with her godparents, Dan and Em were at home to give them some grown-up time. They never complained. They loved spending time with their daughter, but Charlie insisted.

"Do married couples stuff, alright? No work, just normal people stuff. We're gonna go get some candy and swing in the park before we get sick of you, mum and dad". Those were Charlie's words as she held Lulu and Blake laughed, grabbing Lulu's bag ready to leave. It was a kiss to their daughter before they walked out the door. Soon after, Dan dragged Em to the couch.

She always said she had the superpower of knowing what Dan needed, and that day it was to hug his wife. He needed to wrap his arms around her body and hold her as close as possible. It took Em a minute to realize it wasn't about him, but about her. Dan knew something was bothering her, so he held her until she found the words. He knew it could take a couple of minutes or even hours, but he waited patiently.

"You're waiting for me to say why I'm overthinking, right?" Em finally broke the silence as she placed kisses over his neck and shoulder.

"I have all day, so there's no hurry." Dan's patience was one of the things she admired about him. Or at least his patience with her. It gave Em a safe space where she knew there was no hurry or rush. No matter what her fears or anxieties were, no judgment was made. Dan understood better than anyone else that some conversations needed time, so he held her safely, giving her all the time she needed.

“We gotta go back to mum and dad when Lu is back, so not all day."

“You know Blake and Charlie won't have any issues looking after her for the night if we need it."

“You and I both know it won’t happen. A day off at home? She’s gonna be squeezed between us as soon as she crosses that door." she smiled, feeling how Dan nooded in agreement. Days off were family days, so there was no way Lulu was going to spend the night away from them. But Dan was right and Em didn't want to have that conversation with their daughter at home. “I don’t need you to promise me you won’t get mad, right? ”

“Not at all. You know you can tell me anything you want, Emmy." Dan assured, looking down at her. His big brown eyes always made Em feel better. Dan always looked at her with love and adoration, exactly the kind she thought didn't exist before they met. Combined with the sweet way he kissed her, it gave her the strength to finally talk to her husband.

“I just- I don’t think I want to work anymore? I mean, not forever, but for some time? It's not about you or B. You know I love working with you both, but... I don't know, baby. I guess F1 is not my cup of tea, y'know? I don't want to work there, Dan. Not in the paddock and around all that craziness. I thought it was fun for a while, but then I got tired of it. They ruined the fun for me. I can't do it anymore. I keep showing up because it's your job, but I like it less and less every day, Dan. There are so many people around that it's hard to cope. I know it won't be healthy for me to work again. Not there and especially when Lu is so small and you need-"

Emma suddenly stopped talking when she realized what she was gonna say. She didn't want to overstep, but Dan kissed her before continuing talking for her. “You can say it. I need you. I really need you. I know it. I’m not ashamed or scared to admit I need my wife and daughter by my side. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it."

“And I need you. I need my family. I need to just be your wife and Lulu’s mum. I want to just be just Em for a while. I have to look after my family, baby. I want to keep things like this and be available for my babies. And it's scary because I don't even know what it was like not to work. The only time I didn't do it was when I was sick. And there’s this voice inside my head saying it's the wrong thing to do, but I really need it."

"Remember the day I knocked on your door asking what to do with Red Bull?" Dan asked, taking Em's hand to kiss her wedding rings.

"You at my door with lemon cake, wine and the biggest puppy eyes? How could I ever forget?". It felt like yesterday even though it had happened six years later. She would never forget his crazy curls and handsome face on the other side of the door asking if he could come in. If she closed her eyes she could feel the nerves in her stomach for having him there. She even remembered his perfume filling the room. It was his eyes that Emma remembered most. He really looked like a kicked puppy. He had a mix of confusion, sadness and worry that made her want to hug him and kiss the frown away from hid face. There was no way she would ever do that, so instead she sat there in front of him, trying to be helpful to the the man she was convinced that was never going to look at her as more than just a friend.

"I was shitting my pants all the way to your place. I had no idea how to knock on your door and say I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to see you so badly you have no idea." Dan confessed, making Em smile shyly. She had no idea about that day. She couldn’t believe Dan was scared about it, but deep down she knew her Dan was a shy guy. The man behind that extrovert personality and big smile was still a shy person who took months, a difficult race, and an unbelievable amount of drunkenness before kissing her for the first time.

"We were just kids, huh?"

"Yeah, we were just kiddos. We really were just kids trying to figure shit out. But you remember what you asked me that day?"

"The wrong thing probably?"

“It wasn't wrong, baby.” Em couldn’t help but smile at her husband. She wasn’t surprised by his answer. Despite the fact that it probably wasn't the best thing, Dan was sure Em never said anything wrong. For Daniel, his wife was always right in some way. He was convinced she was the brightest, smartest, wisest person in the world, so his Emmy was absolutely right. She knew she had fucked up by not telling him not to sign with Renault and especially with McLaren. Em knew she should have stopped him right away, but Dan always insisted she hadn't said anything wrong. Em only gave him advice, but he took the decision on his own. “You asked me what I wanted. You told me to follow my gut. You told me to listen to my heart. That’s what I did. Now I'll tell you the same thing. What does your heart say? Not your head, just your heart and guts."

It was such an easy call. Because it was such an easy decision, Em didn't have to think twice before saying it out loud. “I want to be with you and Lu as much as possible, Dan.”

“Then we do that.”

“What about the brand?”

“Thats not a problem, Em. We keep doing what we've done so far. It's working just fine, but if it doesn't, we'll figure out a way. It's not like you won't give me your opinion. You know you can be in meetings whenever you want. It's alright. And if you ever want to go back, you can do it. Enchanté will always be our thing. It was our first real project together, and that won't change. It's ours no matter what. And if one day you want to do something completely different, that's fine too. You have all the choices and time to decide. We're lucky to be able to do this without worrying about many things, so just stick with your heart."

"I just don't wanna disappoint you, Dan. And it won't be forever"

"You could never do such a thing, baby. The fact that you're doing this in part cause I need you? Cause our family needs you? I'm nothing but grateful, Wrinkles. I just want you to be happy. If it lasts forever but you're happy, that's it. You know what they say, 'Happy wife happy life'. Here at home it's more like 'Happy wife, happy baby, happy husband, happy life'. If my baby mama's good, then we're all happy."

"Thank you. For everything you do for us. And for loving me so hard and not giving up on me."

"Loving you is the easiest thing to do, Mrs Ricciardo." After one long hug the decision was finally taken and sealed with a kiss. It was the right thing for everyone, so Em was happy to accept it.

The one thing they agreed on was to take care of the paperwork for her resignation in another moment, probably during the summer break after Charlie and Blake’s wedding. For too imany reasons it wasn’t the ideal moment to deal with it, so they would rather wait and focus their energy and time in other more important things.

The last couple of months - to not say the last couple of years - have been an emotional roller coaster for them. They had been doing every single possible thing so Dan could focus his energy on work, that’s why after Monaco he decided to take drastic measures. Dan talked to his team, friends, and family, but then his with wife. She knew what was coming when they sat in bed. She knew what her husband asked everyone. For six long, difficult, crazy, and beautiful years, they had most of their crucial conversations and made most decisions from their bed. It ended up becoming their tradition and none of them planned to change it, especially not that night.

Em held his hands and brought them to her hips, kissing his wedding rings before the question fell over them. She knew the answer to "What can I do to not waste that much energy during race weekends?" The team would do its part by cutting sponsorship presentations and marketing obligations. Blake would take care of more things, but Em could only do one thing. The second they found out Em was pregnant they made a deal that she would take care of most things if Dan was working. She reminded him of their deal the second Dan had an AlphaTauri contract over the table ready to sign. Now the only option was to reduce family time during race days. No more getting up extra early to cuddle Lulu and give Em some extra minutes of sleep as he fed her and changed her for their day. No more staying up extra late to cuddle their baby to sleep and do their bottle-pjs-storytime routine at night and then have five extra minutes of cuddling with Em. There was no more running around the paddock to see them for a second when he had more than three seconds free. The other thing that Em decided to give up on over the weekend was sex. It was the first thing Em cut from the list, choosing to let it go long before she decided to do full parenting over the weekend on her own. She was Dan’s wife, but she was also Luna’s mom and they swore to put their daughter first no matter what.

She was terrified of what could come of all that. After all they had been through Em was aware of how strong their relationship was. She knew where their priorities lay and how it worked for them, but it was scary. They changed from a pair of scared young adults with a highly active sexual life who could barely stay away from each other and keep their clothes on when they were together to a married couple and parents of a six-month-old daughter. Their sex life was still active and they still loved it, but things were different and that was scary. She knew herself and her Dan, but fear was always there. She knew Dan was never gonna allow it, but Em was terrified all those decisions were going to push her husband away and ruin her family.

Emma knew that was not the answer Daniel wanted. There was a list of things Dan wasn’t willing to do. Leaving his wife and daughter to the side and spending even less time with them was not one of those things. They were the best part of his life. He had his family and friends and loved them to pieces, but Em and Lulu were the air he breathed. His girls were the center of his world and who he loved more in the entire universe. They had his whole heart in their hands and he was happy it was all theirs. They were the whole reason for absolutely everything and he was not ashamed of saying it out loud. That's why he didn’t want to spend less time with them. He knew the sacrifices they were making for him to live his dream. Em had to live the pregnancy in a rollercoaster that was nothing like the chill year off Dan promised. She had to travel the world, live part of the time in Italy, help their friends in a long distance relationship, lift Dan when he broke his hand and see him get back to racing all in half a year. Then when she was absolutely not ready for it they had to move from the comfort and happiness of their lives in Perth all the way back to Europe when she should be home getting used to being a first-time mom and all that it brought with it. They had to deal with the insanity of being first-time parents and a new season while having a legal battle with Emma’s parents. At six months old Lulu visited more countries and had more stamps in her passport than many adults had in a lifetime. They never signed for that life, especially not Lulu, so he wanted to make it count. He wasn’t making them pass through all that to end up outside the points on a race weekend. Daniel wouldn't do that to them. He wasn’t willing to be that kind of husband and father. 

When she saw her husband's eyes shining with tears, the fear only became stronger. Em could see how he rethought and reconsidered every option and decision he made. Dan promised again and again that she would be his top priority. He swore their child was going to always be the top priority in his life, but now it was all slipping from his fingers. He had counted hours to be a husband and dad for three or four days, and now his job was taking that away. Emma felt like the villain because she was taking it away from him even if it was for the sake of his career. She was feeling like the most awful person in the world when she did it. She felt like the worst mother and wife that ever existed when her husband whispered “Baby please don’t take that from me” as she mentioned how night routines would be her thing. Her main job was to look after Lulu and Danny. Her one thing was to protect them and help them but instead she made her husband cry silent tears. She was a failure and it felt like she was bringing her marriage to an inevitable ruin, but she had to do it for Dan. Work was work and she knew that from day one, no matter how it hurt. Between tender kisses all over his face, Em promised them they would be there no matter what. She was gonna be right by his side with their baby, holding his hand and loving him as much as she always did. Their schedules might change, but not their love for each other.

The one thing they agreed on was to take care of the paperwork for her resignation in another moment, probably during the summer break after Charlie and Blake’s wedding. For too many reasons it wasn’t the ideal moment to deal with it. Instead, they would rather wait and focus their energy and time on other more important things.

The last couple of months - to not say the last couple of years - have been an emotional roller coaster for them. They had been doing every single possible thing so Dan could focus his energy on work, that’s why after Monaco he decided to take drastic measures. After talking to his team, friends, and family, Dan spoke to his wife. She knew what was coming when they sat in bed. She knew what her husband had asked everyone. For six long, difficult, crazy, and beautiful years, they had most of their crucial conversations and made most decisions from their bed. It became their tradition and none of them planned to change it, especially not that night.

Em held his hands and brought them to her hips, kissing his wedding rings before the question fell over them. She knew the answer to "What can I do to not waste that much energy during race weekends?" The team would do its part by cutting sponsorship presentations and marketing obligations. Blake would care for more things, but Em could only do one thing. The second they found out Em was pregnant they made a deal that she would take care of most things if Dan was working. She reminded him of their deal the second Dan had an AlphaTauri contract over the table ready to sign. Now the only option was to reduce family time on race days. No more getting up extra early to cuddle Lulu and give Em some extra minutes of sleep while he fed her and changed her. No more staying up extra late to cuddle their baby to sleep and do their bottle-pjs-storytime routine at night and then have five extra minutes of snuggling with Em. There was no more running around the paddock to see them for a second when he had a moment free.

The other thing that Em decided to give up on over the weekend was sex. It was the first thing Em cut from the list, choosing to let it go long before she decided to do full parenting over the weekend on her own. She was Dan’s wife, but she was also Luna’s mom and they swore to put their daughter first no matter what.

She was terrified of what could come of all that. After all they had been through Em knew how strong their relationship was. She knew where their priorities lay and how it worked for them, but it was still scary. They changed from a pair of scared young adults with a highly active sexual life who could barely stay away from each other and keep their clothes on when they were together to a married couple and parents of a six-month-old daughter. Their sexual life was still active and they still loved it, but things were different and that was scary. She knew herself and her Dan, but fear was always there. She knew Dan was never gonna allow it, but Em was terrified all those decisions were going to push her husband away and ruin her family.

Emma knew that was not the answer Daniel was looking for. There was a list of things Dan wasn’t willing to do. Leaving his wife and daughter to the side and spending even less time with them was not one of those things. They were the best part of his life. He had his family and friends and loved them to pieces, but Em and Lulu were the air he breathed. His girls were the center of his world and who he loved the most in the universe. They had his whole heart in their hands and he was happy it was all theirs. They were the whole reason for everything he did, and he was not ashamed of saying it out loud. That's why he didn’t want to spend less time with them.

He knew the sacrifices they were making for him to live his dream. During the pregnancy, Em lived a rollercoaster ride that was nothing like the relaxing year off Dan promised. She had to travel the world, spend part of the time in Italy, and help their friends in a long distance relationship. She had to lift Dan when he broke his hand and see him return to racing in half a year. Then when she was absolutely not ready for it they had to move from the comfort and happiness of their lives in Perth to travel all the way back to Europe. She should have been home getting used to being a first-time mom and all it brought. If it wasn't enough, they had to deal with the insanity of being first-time parents and the upcoming season while having a legal battle with Emma’s parents. At six months old Lulu visited more countries and had more stamps in her passport than many adults had in a lifetime. They never signed for that life, especially not Lulu, so he wanted to make it count. He wasn’t making them go through all that to end up outside the points on a race weekend. Daniel wouldn't do that to them. He wasn’t willing to be that kind of husband and father. 

When she saw her husband's eyes shining with tears, fear only became stronger. Em could see how he was rethinking and reconsidering every option and decision he made. Dan promised she would be his top priority. He swore their child would always be the top priority in his life, but now it was slipping from his fingers. He had counted hours to be a husband and dad for three or four days, and now his job was taking that away.

Emma felt like the villain because she was taking it away from him even if it was for the sake of his career. She felt like the worst person in the world when she did it. She felt like the most horrible mother and wife that ever existed when her husband whispered “Baby please don’t take that from me” as she mentioned how night routines would be her thing. Her main job was to look after Lulu and Danny. The only thing she wanted to do was protect them and help them, but instead, she made her husband cry silent tears. She was a failure and it felt like she was bringing her marriage to an inevitable ruin, but she had to do it for Dan. Work was work and she knew that from day one, no matter how it hurt. Between tender kisses all over his face, Em promised them they would be there no matter what. She would be right by his side with their baby, holding his hand and loving him as much as she always did. Their schedules might change, but not their love for each other.

But even knowing it was temporary, the guilt didn’t go away for weeks. They had one week off after Monaco and half of it was both of them feeling guilty about their decisions. Dan promised that the week would be exclusively for the three of them, and it started by taking Lulu to the beach Dan bought Em over their first weekend together in Monaco.

Em couldn’t help but think Monaco was cursed for them. They cursed it after getting together. Year after year, it was one terrible thing after another. It was so awful that she didn't like being there at all. She knew they had to for legal reasons, but she didn’t like to spend more than necessary there. Monaco had so many memories Em felt like she couldn’t breathe there. After they got back there, they moved their things to another apartment on the opposite side of the city. The apartment had a beautiful view, two rooms and a more spacious kitchen than the old apartment had, but Em still wasn’t happy. Em couldn’t help but feel out of place because she didn’t belong there. She was still the girl who loved her simple life in London. She loved being home and having a normal life doing normal things such as grocery shopping, fixing dinner for her family and doing laundry. She could tell Dan wasn’t happy to be there either. He could see how his wife was uncomfortable and his daughter was less chilled out. Lulu wasn’t grouchy, but she got irritated faster when they stayed there.

The one happy day they had in Monaco after their terribly difficult conversation was when they decided to return to the beach where they had been all those years back after they slept together for the first time. It was Dan’s desperate need to spend time with his family who brought them there, and Em was delighted they did it. Seeing Lulu giggling was one of the counted good things that happened to them there in the last few years. Maybe it was the one happy thing that happened to them. Watching her husband holding their daughter so she could wet her tiny feet in the ocean was one of those memories that would last forever. Watching her water-loving baby smiling at the sensation of the waves hitting her skin was all Em needed to feel lighter even if just for a few hours. That and being held by her husband as he promised everything would be alright kept her going through the week.

Having some family time in New York and traveling to their house in Austin also helped ease her heavy heart. She knew it was a matter of days until they started their ‘No more distractions over the race weekend’, but first they had some normality. They lived a couple of days like any normal family, doing mundane things any couple with a baby would do. Doing the dishes at their home and taking Lulu to the park felt like a privilege and Em soaked it up. She enjoyed every second with her loves until they had to fly to Canada.

When they reached Thursday and press day it was all gone and the reality of her words hit her as hard as possible. Waking up to Dan still asleep and not sitting down in bed holding Lulu almost brought tears to her eyes, but she stopped herself. She took a deep breath to control her emotions, trying to keep them together. The last thing Dan needed was to wake up with his wife crying. He had been through that too many times in the last couple of years. Two years earlier they were in Montana, crying all day and giving Dan the chance to walk away from their relationship before heading to Canada. When they were there she had to ask Dan to keep Michael away from her for some time because she just couldn’t handle his comments. Things were completely different, but memories weren’t easy and she knew it. It was not easy, it was still somehow in the back of his head, that’s why Em didn’t want him to add more worries to his already long list. 

It was her job. One of the reasons Emma left her job as Dan's assistant was that she didn't love it any more. She had a much longer list, including her mental health on top. But one of the most significant reasons was focusing on her family. Her priority was her family. The first two people on her list were her Dan and her Lulu. She got up, made her way to the bathroom and walked straight to their daughter to start their morning in silence while Dan rested. 

She loved the quiet, soft, slow moments with Lulu in the morning. Em loved cuddling and feeding her baby while ignoring the world outside their room. Lulu’s big brown eyes looking up at her were one of the most incredible things that ever happened to her. She couldn't believe how that six-month-old beauty with crazy tiny curls was her daughter. She couldn’t believe how each day Lulu looked more and more like Dan. For Em it was glorious because if Lulu didn’t look like her, she wouldn’t look like Emma’s mother. Thankfully, their baby was full Ricciardo which gave Em nothing but joy, especially considering Dan was the most handsome man in the world for her. Being able to stay there with Lulu in her arms looking at Dan sleeping peacefully was a privilege for Em.

For an hour and a half, her husband's snores were Em's background noise as she cuddled, kissed and changed Lulu. As Em got ready for their day, she smiled at Dan. She had no idea how she used to sleep without Dan as her white noise. She barely remembered how it was to go to bed without his arms wrapped around her. She couldn't even think how it was to wake up without his curls and stubble tickling her skin. Em could not help but laugh because she never imagined marrying a man who occasionally loved a mustache on his face. However, she loved Dan and all his weird and questionable facial hair choices. She must have giggled too loudly because Dan stirred as she talked to Lulu.

Maybe Emma giggled too loudly and made too much noise without realizing, because as she talked to Lulu, Dan started to stir. Like every morning she kissed his forehead. It became a small tradition and whoever was up first always did that while whispering a little good morning. Em cut too many things from his routine, but that wasn’t one of them. Em wouldn't leave behind the extra five or ten minutes of cuddles in bed. Those small things she was not willing to give up on. She might not let her husband get up earlier, but her family was gonna have their usual cuddle session to start the day like they always did. She wasn’t willing to take from her beloved family their morning little ritual of Dan kissing Lulu good morning. It was her face first, then her hands, tummy and feet, making her giggle with joy, dimples full on display, exactly like her daddy. It was all those moments that made Em remember every single decision and sacrifice was worth it if the loves of her life were happy. She was exhausted, but it gave her an extra shot of energy to hear Dan call her Mama as he talked to Lulu.

Em knew it was probably too soon to say and see any changes, but seeing her husband doing so well in Canada was like a breath of fresh air. A wonderful P5 in quali and P8 in the race was more than they expected. Em never doubted him, but trusting what the car could do was a completely different story.

Canada was wonderful, but they were just incredibly excited about visiting Barcelona. They were looking forward to meeting their family there, so it was good news for everyone. With Isabella and Isaac on school break, the family spent some time in Europe with Dan, Em and Lulu. It was all they really needed. Just as a toothless smile from their daughter could lift their spirits, a hug from the kids or Grace or Joe could lift their spirits. It was healing to watch them all cover Lulu in love when they couldn’t do it for months. It was magical to see Joe and Grace holding their tiny granddaughter and the kids playing with their baby cousin.

Having their family there not only meant much needed family time, but also Grandparents in charge. Lulu would spend at least a whole afternoon with Grace and Joe every time they were with them. They loved their grandkids, so spending the day with them was absolutely wonderful. That also allowed Dan and Em to have adult time without their baby around. Grace and Joe insisted the four of them needed some time to be just adults without thinking about the baby in the family and that's what they did.

Dan and Blake promised to join Charlie and Em later in the afternoon after press day in the circuit, which left the two women having brunch and part of a girls day. They normally did it with Lulu, going for a walk, lunch and maybe some shopping just the three of them until the boys returned. One of the things Em got thanks to Charlie being around was more freedom. With Em not working and Dan not in the car on Thursday, there was really no need for the girls to be at the track while the boys worked. One day they decided to turn Thursday morning and afternoon into girls days and it stuck. They sometimes skip it depending on the country, but for a big part of the calendar it was their thing. It didn’t change when Lulu was born, only transformed into a more baby-friendly version of it. With Lulu around it wouldn’t include alcohol, but when it was only Em and Charlie they would always have a glass of rosè.

Doing it in sunny Barcelona normally would put a smile on Em’s face. It was one of the places with more happy memories for them. Her first race was there and she couldn’t forget how happy Dan looked when he saw she was really there after insisting so much. She remembered his cute selfies back in 2018 when it was snowing and he was all covered in a scarf and a Red Bull beanie complaining how he didn’t like the cold and especially the snow. The same happened in 2019, Dan coming and going to London to see her on his free days between one week of testing and the other. She could never forget their nights snuggling in her hotel room in 2020 when she was finally working with him, trying to hide from the world because they weren’t supposed to be together but they just couldn’t stay away from each other. Dan hiding his face against her chest as he hugged her body, saying he was too cold even when the room was perfectly warm, enough for them to not use clothes while they slept. Even the previous year, because they weren’t there during the race but Dan gave them a reason to visit to have his hand surgery. Those were some of the most stressful days of her life, but she was never going to forget her husband waking up from the anesthesia whispering “You’re really pretty but I have a very hot pregnant wife” as he smiled lazily at her, trying in vain to reach her bump with his good hand.

Barcelona had too many good memories and she didn’t want anyone ruining that for them. But even with all those happy memories and stories, Em couldn’t stop thinking about everything that was happening. All the comments and rumors and talks about her husband were haunting her, making it hard for her to stop overthinking, even when she was supposed to be enjoying her day off with her friend.

Doing it in sunny Barcelona would normally put a smile on Em’s face. The place held many happy memories for them. Her first race was there and she couldn’t forget how happy Dan looked when he saw she was really there after insisting so much. She remembered his cute selfies back in 2018 when it was snowing and he was covered in a scarf and a Red Bull beanie, complaining how he didn’t like the cold and especially the snow. The same happened in 2019, Dan coming and going to London to see her on his free days between one week of testing and the other. She could never forget their nights snuggling in her hotel room in 2020 when she finally worked with him, trying to hide from the world because they weren’t supposed to be together but they just couldn’t stay away from each other. Dan hid his face against her chest as he hugged her tightly, saying he was too cold even when the room was perfectly warm, enough for them not to wear clothes while they slept. Even the previous year, because they weren’t there during the race but Dan gave them a reason to visit to have his hand surgery. Those were some of the most stressful days of her life, but she would never forget her husband waking up from anesthesia whispering “You’re really pretty but I have a very hot pregnant wife” as he smiled lazily at her, trying in vain to reach her bump with his good hand.

Barcelona had too many happy memories and didn't want anyone ruining them. But even with all those happy memories and stories, Em couldn’t stop thinking about everything that was happening. Even on her day off with her friend, she found it difficult to stop overthinking due to all the comments, rumors, and discussions about her husband.

“What’s going on?” Charlie asked out of the blue, glass in her hand as the sun shined down on her, making her look like something absolutely divine.

“Nothing.” It was typical Em trying to avoid the inevitable conversation, but knowing it was in vain to try at all. It was Charlie after all.

“Baby…”

“Nothing, Char.”

“Kay, right, lie to your bestie.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Then tell me what’s in your head. I know you, my dear. Maybe you don’t remember but I have a PhD in psychology. Might be in child psychology, but people’s minds are the same. Plus I know all of your faces and you've got the 'I'm worried' face on right now. I know a lot of things worry you but tell me which one is putting a frown across your face." Oh my God, how much she loved Charlie. The fact that she was right about everything she said made it funny. She was so skilled at reading people that it was difficult to hide something from her. It was especially difficult when they spent hours and days together, but Em tried. She tried to keep it chill and quiet, hiding behind her own wine glass. "Alright, I'll guess. Is it Dan and the noise of the silly season?" Check mate.

“You really know me a bit, don’t you?” Em smiled, taking a sip and breathing deeply before talking about the issue. “Yeah, it’s that. I’m just tired and we’re just in June. And Dan told me I could talk to Bayer and Mekies to get some peace of mind but I don’t want to. One of the reasons I quit was because I was tired of meetings with team principals and CEOs. I don’t fully believe them."

“Nobody can blame you. You have your reasons not to.”

“I know. And even if I did I’d still be worried. People talking about my husband is never easy. I hate people acting like they know him or what's going on. All these years and I still hate it. I feel powerless. Like I get to sit there and watch while it all happens when I should be able to do more." It hurt to confess it, but it also felt like a weight off her shoulders as she said it. It was like a bit of pressure came off her chest, which really helped her feel lighter.

“Em, darling, there’s nothing you can do. You’re already doing everything to help him. Goddamn, many women wouldn’t do half the things you do and wouldn’t help with half of the things you help.”

“I know that, but it's that constant small voice in my head saying I should be doing more. I wanna do more.”

“You’re doing enough, Em. Believe me. You’re flying the world with your baby daughter and raising her on your own most days so your husband can stay focused on his dream job. Damn, I can’t wait for the summer break and it's not even about my wedding. I want it so you can have Dan all day for you and Lu.”

It was the final countdown to their summer vacation and Em couldn’t remember the last time she waited for it as much as that year. Being cozy at home with the family sounded like a dream. It was even better when the excuse was their best friends’ wedding.

“I really can’t wait for you and Blakey to get married, you know? Having time off is nice, but your wedding? That’s gonna be incredible. I’m so happy you’re the one who gets to marry him. I really can’t wait.” Em affirmed, looking at Charlie's happy face. She normally lights up at any mention of her man, but the grin only grew bigger as she talked about the wedding.

“I can’t wait either. I really wanna be my squishy face’ wife. He’s gonna look terrific being my Mr Friend-Clarke.” Charlie proudly blushed, drinking from her glass to justify and hide the pink color on her cheeks.

“He’s really doing it, isn’t he?” Em curiously asked. She knew Blake intended to add Charlie’s last name to his. He couldn’t care less about whether Charlie wanted to change her name or not. He said again and again that it was all up to her. However, when Charlie decided to do it, Blake said he was doing it too. If Charlie was gonna add Friend to her name then he was determined to include Clarke to his.

“Fuck yeah. You know, it was his idea, so I won’t fight him. If he wants to be a Clarke, that's his thing.” Charlie shrugged. Em knew she was pretending it was not a big deal, but it meant everything to her. The fact that her future husband wanted to also carry her family’s name right beside his felt surreal. “But don’t change the subject here. We were talking about you and your man. You guys are alright? I mean, overall and despite all the vroom-vroom craziness.”

“Yes, we’re okay. We're doing really well. Trying to adjust to the new weekends routine. Good thing is all this won't last longer than 2026, so it won't be that terrible. Or at least I hope it won’t be.”

“Its bad that I can’t wait for that?” Charlie breathed as her happy smile faded into a rather sad smirk. 2026 wasn’t coming fast enough for them.

“No, it's not. Me neither actually. I’m not gonna miss not being on a race track almost every weekend."

“How did you do it? I mean, you don’t like it. You don’t enjoy racing. You get nervous every time. You don’t like the mess and fanciness and fake shit that comes with it. I see your face every time you see how the garages are full of people outside and the track is also packed. You’re this little miss introvert sunshine in the middle of a circus full of extrovert people. How have you survived all these years? Like seriously, in how many races have you been?” Charlie wondered, making Em laugh at all the questions at once. She wasn’t surprised coming from her friend, especially not after all that time together.

"I have no idea how many. Less than a hundred I guess? I never counted them.” Em tried to do fast math, but there was no use. As the number of races changed every year, Dan missed the entire season the previous year, and she missed too many, so it was impossible to guess it quickly. “I really don’t know. But to your other question, I did it for Dan. I want him to be happy. He’s happy racing, so here I am.”

“I know but anyway, it's insane, Em.”

“Why did you leave your job and your family to follow Blake for two years around the world, partly living in a country you dislike?" Em replied, leaving Charlie thinking with her mouth slightly open and a frown showing on her face.

“It’s not that I don’t like the UK. Charlie defended herself just like every time someone accused her of not liking Em’s country.

“You don’t have anything against it, but you hate the weather.”

“It’s cold in summer! Summer is supposed to be warm, not cloudy and rainy!” Charlie and Dan sometimes disagree on some stuff. They were like siblings who fought over which M&M color was the best or which song was better, but they loved each other. But they always agreed on the weather. They hated the cold, they didn’t like the rain and they loved sunny skies and warm days. Living in London was like a nightmare for her because of the weather. Em was not surprised to hear the same words her husband normally says, but they came from Charlie’s mouth.

“You kind of sound like my husband, you know? Like a lot like him.”

“Cause we’re from cute sunny Perth, baby. We’re not made for cold European weather.”

“Your man is from Sydney and he doesn’t complain.” Em remarked, finishing what was left in her glass, acting like she said the smartest thing in the universe.

"It's because he's a saint. He’s marrying me, poor thing. He already has a spot in heaven for handling me and my shit. For handling us all. If he can deal with that, then I can deal with the cold weather for him.”

“And flying around. Because you’re scared of planes and there you are traveling around the world, jumping on planes every week." Em pointed out. Everyone around her knew how scared she was of flying. It was as overwhelming as Em's airport anxiety, but Charlie made it time after time. It took time, love, and patience, but she made it as long as Blake held her hand and reminded her everything would work out.

“I just don’t like turbulence and I told you, people are not supposed to be in the air! Same with huge machines. It's not natural." Charlie explained, giving the same answer she gave everyone who asked how she could be terrified of the safest transport system that existed.

“I know that, but my point is, you do it anyway cause you love Blake. You handle cold and rain and planes to be with him and because you want him to be happy. You fly and get cold, I get in noisy, packed places. We do what we have to do.” Em concluded, as Charlie grabbed the bottle of wine and poured what was left between their both glasses. “We are gonna get drunk, Char!”

“We have to finish it! It's to celebrate how fucking ridiculous we are, babe. We both know we wouldn’t have it any other way. We wouldn’t change our boys for the world and I drink to that, so cheers.” Charlie grinned, clicking her glass with Em’s to toast for their happy lives. “Or you know, Enchanté, as your husband says."

"Since you asked, we're talking about boys and relationships. How are you and my brother doing?” Em asked, taking another tiny sip and leaving the glass back on the black table. It would go to her brain sooner rather than later, but it was her one afternoon off, and the wine was really good. Good enough to send a photo to Dan and add it to their 'Wines Emmy likes' collection.

“We’re good. Better than ever really. Stressing a bit about the wedding cause it’s not easy to organize it from the other side of the world, but enjoying engaged life. A lot of engaged sex before it turns into married couples' sex. Just in case it changes and gets bored, y’know? But yeah, we’re okay. Really happy."

"Getting married doesn't change much. At least it didn't for us. And considering it's you? It won’t either. Like, I know I will regret asking this but really Char, how many days a week you…?” There was the wine finally and officially taking over and talking for Em. Her little prudent brain never let her talk about those things just like that, unless there was alcohol in her body.

“You’re trying to ask me how many days a week we have sex? You better keep drinking, sister.” Charlie smirked, knowing she finally got to the point she wanted to have ridiculous conversations. “And depends? Almost every day?”

"Oh, come on! That's insane."

“You shut up! B told me how you and Dan were basically like horny dogs for years, so don't come here judging, little missy." Check mate. Em hated to admit it, but Charlie was kind of right. Right enough to make Em blush.

“But not every day!” Em tried to defend herself, but her red cheeks and the silly smile gave her away too fast. Besides, Charlie knew when she was lying so it was in vain. “Maybe at the beginning when he came home and I didn’t see him every day but if we spent time together we didn’t have sex every day.”

“Okay but how many days? Spill it, sister.” That damn question.

“Charlie!” Em exclaimed, looking to the tables around them. Luckily, they were too far and too involved in their conversation to listen to what they said. “I don’t know. Four? Five on vacation? But normally, three? Depending on the week."

“Sounds logical. But I don’t care, really. I won’t lie and say it's too much for me because it's more than alright. If B doesn't complain we’re good. As long as he lets me sit on his di-“

“Char! There are people around!” Em interrupted, laughing like a small kid who was almost discovered doing something bad. The fact that she stopped Charlie from saying something worse let her know she wasn’t that terrible. Maybe. “If Dan was here he would say his dick is gonna fall one of these days.”

"Oh boy wine is finally hitting her!” Charlie laughed, not really believing the word ‘dick’ came from her best friend’s mouth, at least not in such a way. “But yeah, nah, it won’t. I know how to take care of my pretty boy. He is really looked after, so don’t worry about it. I take care of him so damn well that one day soon there might be two babies flying around the world with us."

Emma could see the exact moment Charlie shifted. She could see how she wasn’t supposed to open her mouth to say such a thing, but trust and wine together were bad advisors and they betrayed her. Em could only think of how her face reflected Charlie’s. A surprised expression on her face as she processed the words.

“Oh boy… Char are you…?”

“No.”

“But you’re trying, aren’t you?”

Charlie answered in a second. Em could see how she was trying to decide if she should say the truth or lie, but there was no use lying about it. “A bit. Maybe a lot. Like a lot.”

“I need a coffee. We need coffee. We can’t have this conversation like this, seriously." Em breathed, taking what was left of her wine and calling the waitress to order two coffees and water for them. It felt like suddenly more than one thing about her friends’ behavior made sense. Suddenly too many of the things they did had more logic about them. “Goddamn, that's why you stopped smoking at all.”

"How do you know that? Only Blake knows I stopped for good and he told me it was our secret.”

“Someone asked for a lighter the other day and you didn’t have one with you. You always have it. Always. Even if it’s to burn a building. Or a body. Or evidence.”

“I was planning to stop anyway. It's terrible for you guys and B hates it too cause it's bad for me.” Charlie tried to justify as they smiled and thanked the waitress for bringing their order.

Before Em could answer, she first drank water. Straight after she poured sugar on it and took a sip of her coffee. She needed to try, even though it wouldn't take effect fast enough. “We all hate it because it's terrible for you, Charlotte. And it went from one every once in a while to too many a week."

Em knew Charlie’s smoking history. She knew how it started in her university days, mainly recreationally, as she had drinks with her friends and classmates. As time passed, she got caught up in it, using it as a way to cope with stress from exams. She promised to quit after getting her PhD, and she did it. Charlie would only get one in a year, maybe two and only when she was really drunk. But the 'only while drunk' clause was omitted from the equation. Between planes, airports, hotel rooms, cameras, photographers, and strangers knowing who her boyfriend was, her anxiety only grew. When it happened and Charlie felt anxiety reached her peak of the day, she would sneak away from them and try to put it away with some nicotine. She would never smoke around them, so it would be a fifteen minutes break to return with her face and teeth washed and clean clothes. But as it happened more and more often to the point Em was thinking about making an intervention, one day it completely stopped. Now it made sense why she did it.

“We have a stressful life, Em." Charlie tried to justify, but there was no point in discussing that at the moment.

“Don’t change the subject."

“We’re trying. We started less than a month ago. We talked too much about it and we really really thought about it. We had a plan and were waiting, but with my family history of fertility issues? I’m not getting any younger and I don’t wanna risk it. I won't risk our chances. I can't wait, Em. I'm afraid of waiting too long and then finding out it won't happen, y'know?. I’m older than my mom was when she had Cal and I just- We always knew we wanted this at some point so we’re trying for it. I know it's terrible timing with the season and all that but-"

“Charlie, no." Em interrupted her friend, grabbing her hand from over the table to stop her from rambling. "Love, don’t do that. It's not bad timing. It is not. It could never be. Lulu having a travel buddy sounds wonderful."

If there was something that Em admired about Charlie, it was the way she always looked like she could own the world. It was effortless somehow. There was something about the way she carried herself. Em knew Charlie carried her heart on her sleeve and was the sweetest, most loving, protective, honest woman in the world. However, there was something about her that said she could take over the world if she wanted to. Em always joked that Charlie and Blake could take over the world if they wanted to do it, but they would rather snuggle on the couch. But just like Charlie was the most badass woman Em ever met, her friend also was one of the most sensible people she ever knew. That afternoon was not the exception and Charlie could see how her friend's face completely shifted. There was absolute relief on her face as she heard those words, her brown eyes shining even more.

“Really?” Charlie asked, and the happiness in her eyes slowly reached her smile, giving Em a tiny smirk.

“Yeah it does. It really does. Those babies will be so lucky to have you and Blake, Char." Em smiled, squeezing her friend's hand as the shock hit Charlie. "What? Don't look at me like that. I know you'd like more than one. I'm not silly. I saw you and Blake looking at the kids and whispering numbers. I kind of live with you, remember?"

"Is that obvious?" Charlie blushed, taking a sip of her water as she realized her friend had caught them.

“Not for anyone, but me and Dan its obvious. But I can totally see you with a bunch of tiny brunette babies running around the house. If someone has the patience for something like that, that's your husband."

“I know. Nobody has as much patience as that man. But maybe it's just one baby? I’d love to have a couple but I'd be happy with one.”

"One, three, seven, whatever. They’re really gonna be the luckiest kids in the world." Em had no idea if someone was ever really prepared to be a parent, but if someone was close enough, that was Blake and Charlie. After a bunch of nieces and nephews from Charlie's side and after spending the last months helping raise Lulu like she was their own, Em knew they were more than ready for it.

“You think?”

“I know it. Just like my Lulu is lucky to have you as godparents”

"We're lucky to be her godparents. You know I love all my nieces and nephews with all my heart and I don’t have a favorite but damn it, little baby Lu really is something else. That girl is a shining little star. There’s no way you don't smile when you see her with those big eyes and crazy curls. Like you really made an excellent one.” Charlie smiled proudly as she talked about her youngest goddaughter.

“That toothless smile is really something else, isn’t it?" Em grinned, still not believing how incredible her baby girl was. Charlie was right. Lulu was a bright little star who would put a smile on anyone's face. She was sweet, smart, funny, and gorgeous, the light of her parents life and the reason for everything they did. "But hey, soon enough we'll be covered in diapers and running around with two tiny ones. Just wait and see."

“You think our kids will be besties?”

“What's that question? Of course they will be best friends. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Charlie exclaimed excitedly, making Em laugh at her. "Maybe they get married and all!"

“Oh so you really don’t wanna get rid of me, uh? That’s why you want our babies to marry? So we’re family forever?” Em joked, but there was nothing that made her happier than thinking about spending the rest of her life like that, sharing lunches with Charlie and then returning back to their boys and babies.

“Exactly! Us? That's forever, baby.”

The most enjoyable thing about spending time with Charlie was how she always brought a smile to Em’s face. They were always able to make each other smile. A glass of wine and a long walk while shopping mostly for Lulu, Em could almost forget about her worries. She couldn't completely forget about them, but as Charlie dragged her to a fancy shop to buy some new lingerie, Em could at least put them to the side for a while.

Having a double dinner date was probably another thing they needed. More than once Steve switched from Dan’s trainer to Lulu’s babysitter, offering himself to look after her for a couple hours or even the night so the rest could have a night out without a baby car right by the table. Normally they would say no and it would be the six of them having dinner together, but on some weird occasion Steve would basically kick them out. Every hour, everyone in their group chat would receive a photo of Lulu, attached to a text that said something about their own date running perfectly. He always made sure Em and Dan didn’t worry about their daughter and they were thankful for it. That night they didn’t have to feel guilty about leaving Steve to the side because he was on his own FaceTime date with his girlfriend Sophie, so it was all good.

Just like Canada was wonderful, Barcelona was a disaster. The car was supposed to be faster with the new parts, but Em had to see her husband qualify P18 because the team decided to sacrifice their quali to test the ungraded parts. The last thing they needed was that. The last thing Dan needed was that, especially in front of his family. 

It had been a while since Em wanted to cry after a race, but that day she had to fight the tears. Knowing the kids were in the hospitality, Em took a deep breath and pretended everything was alright. It hurt her to see her husband fighting for something that some days seemed impossible no matter how hard he tried.

That terrible race was the reason why they didn’t say yes when Grace and Joe offered to take Lulu for the night after the race. Depending on the race and how tired Dan was, Blake and Charlie would look after Lulu for the night, giving the parents some time off to sleep without worrying or waking up in the middle of the night. But that night they couldn’t do it. Dan was tired, but he needed his girls. Em knew he needed both his girls, so after a family dinner they headed back to their room for some cuddles.

“You think she'll be proud of me one day? Even with the not so good years?” Dan asked in the dark, his head resting against Em's chest as she kissed his forehead while Dan did the same on her chest.

Even then, his focus was on Lulu. Their daughter slept in her crib right by their bed, never out of reach. They both slept better knowing Lu was there, especially in case a bad dream hit one of them and they needed to hold her tiny chubby hand.

“I know she will. As soon as she is old enough to understand, she will be so proud of her dad. Not only for everything you have accomplished but for how amazing you are. Just like I am proud of you, not only for going fast but for being the best dad and husband in the world.”

It melted her heart when Dan looked up at her as she said those words. It made her feel butterflies in her stomach, the same ones that appeared the night she met Dan. It was the same ones that never went away. They only grew stronger as time passed, especially when Dan kissed her as he did that night. “You’re the best mama and wife in the world. Absolutely the greatest.”

“I try my best cause my loves deserve it.” Em whispered against his lips, enjoying the feeling of her husband right there by her side. Her whole universe was in that room and she couldn’t ask for anything more. “I love you. I don’t care where you end up in the race, alright?”

“I love you too. So so much, Wrinkles. You have no idea how much. Six Barcelona races later and I wouldn’t change us for the world.” Between more lazy, soft, silent kisses to not bother their daughter, Em couldn’t help but smile again. Dan still made her blush, not really believing her luck in life when he said those things.

"How is it already six?" she wondered, still amazed. It felt like an eternity and three lifetimes passed since they met at Blake’s. But at the same time it felt like it was yesterday. Six years of the highest highs and lowest lows. Six years of the happiest and saddest days of her life. Six years and she would do it all again if it meant she ended up being Lulu’s mum and Dan’s wife.

“Dunno, but I love it. Best six years of my life."

“Don’t lie to me” she joked, biting casually his lower lip.

“Best six years of my life. And best six months of my life thanks to our baby moon.”

Leaving Barcelona to go to Austria wasn’t her favorite thing to do. She has nothing against that place, but she loved Barcelona way too much, so if she had to choose, she'd stay in the Spanish city.

Before they headed to the track, they decided to spend some days in Vienna to visit and show Charlie and Steve around. Em's favorite thing was also on the agenda. It was her annual tradition to go to the Belvedere museum to see some paintings, but mostly Klimt's The Kiss. She had it tattooed on her thigh, Dan loved to kiss it and say it looked a lot like them, but they also loved to go to the museum and see it. From the first time Dan made it happen and took Em there in 2019 it was their tradition to do it. They would stand there, Dan standing right behind her with his arms around her waist as Em rested her back against his chest. Sometimes they stayed silent, sometimes Dan whispered sweet words into her ear. But nothing ever compared to the feeling of being there with their best friend and especially with their daughter. Em walked with one hand holding Dan's and another holding her daughter's tiny foot. Like always, Lulu was strapped in her carrier against Em's chest, looking at everything around her.

"See that one, Lu? That's mama's favorite painting ever. I come here every year to see it cause it makes me happy. Your poor dada always comes with me, but now we can do it together to not drag him." Em whispered, kissing her baby's head making Lulu give her the best gummy grin.

"I love coming with you, so now it's the three of us." Dan answered, kissing both his girls. "There's nowhere I rather be than here with you."

Having walked around the city, shopped, and visited places for two days, it was finally time to leave for Spielberg for her husband's 250 race.

Em was never as skilled at maths as she appeared, but, in this case, maths was simple. Two hundred and fifty races were about four years and a half of racing. Two hundred and fifty Sundays when her husband got into a car and raced his heart out. He was almost in the top ten of F1 racing drivers with the most Grand Prix starts, and she couldn’t be prouder. Em was always proud of her boy, constantly reminding him how she loved him for who he was and not for his job, but she was tremendously proud of him. Dan always said the things he did weren’t sacrifices but choices, but Em knew half of it was true. Not being able to spend more time with his family and friends was both a choice and a sacrifice to do what he loved. Not being able to give his wife and daughter more of his time, not having the opportunity to take Em on more dates, letting her do most of the parenting was nothing and not being a full-time dad for Lulu every single day was on the top of his list of things he would wish to change. It was at the top of his list of things he wanted to change the second he retired. In the meantime, she kept kissing his cheeks, smiling at him and whispering how much she loved him and how he had a job to do.

But what surprised her the most was when Blake told her Dan’s 250th race was also her 100th race. When Charlie asked at lunch, Em still didn't have the courage to check. She still didn’t have the heart to count. Like she told Charlie, searching for a list and doing the maths would mean she had to look at the races she missed back in those terrible orange days and she didn’t intend to. She didn’t have the heart to do it. Her list of things to do grew, and she did not get upset about it. Most days she didn't let herself think about that and how tired she was. Her job was to look after her babies. Thinking about her tiredness would lead her to think about how much she wished to get home and it was impossible. It would lead to spiralling about her leaving a big part of her job, being a full-time mum, missing home, longing to be with their family, and a hundred things more. The saddest part was it made Em think how she knew Dan wanted another baby but they couldn't. Lulu was too young, Em didn’t plan to get pregnant again until their daughter was at least two years old, and she didn’t want to deal with a pregnancy and a toddler. She couldn’t deal with it if Dan was racing. She wanted to be home to do that, and Dan agreed, but she knew he wanted more babies. They didn’t want Lulu to be an only child like Em was. They wanted at least one more baby, but she could do another fifty races and celebrate her husband’s 300th with two kids on the road.

Em couldn't and didn't want to let her brain overthink all that. She wanted to celebrate her husband and all his races and the ones she had been by his side. She wanted to celebrate that and then his birthday and the fact that it was his first birthday with Lulu by their side. All Em's worries could wait for another week or two. If extra therapy sessions were necessary, she would have them for her family.

At the end, it was a miracle that she didn’t need it, but maybe it was the joy of seeing her husband smiling in his special helmet. She remembered the day Dan had the idea to do it like his helmet from his kart days, and she loved it. She remembered the excitement on his face as they lay in bed and Dan asked if it would be an good idea. There was a big difference from that night months ago to the day it became a reality. She saw the helmet when Dan brought it home, but there was a huge difference from when she saw it at the race in the Red Bull ring. Em looked at Dan taking it off its bag and for some reason, tears fell down her face. From that little boy who only wanted to go fast in his kart to the wonderful man he became, he had come so far in life. She was so proud of him. She was the luckiest girl to be there for six years of his career. She was the luckiest woman to be there for hundreds of those races.

“I thought we said no tears” Dan smiled, closing the gap between them in his room. As soon as they were one in front of the other, Dan reached her face, cleaning the tears with his fingers.

"I know, but they're really good ones. I’m so proud of you. All you did and you keep doing? God, I’m seriously so proud of you, baby."

“Y'know what's my favorite part about it? That you and Lu are here to see it. It's been crazy, but having you here makes it better and easier. Having our potato here?" Dan asked, pointing to their daughter with his head as she took her morning nap in her seat before the craziness and the noise started. "It really feels like a dream.”

“We have a little saint for a daughter." Em smiled, wrapping her arms around her husband and resting her head against his chest. She knew they didn't have much time, but she would enjoy every second of it.

“Just like her gorgeous mama. And thank goodness she's nothing like her papa.”

“Only on looks."

"That's why she’s precious."

“Then it sounds like she's exactly like her dad.” Em affirmed, kissing his chest before looking at her husband's face. “Thank you for letting me be by your side for a hundred races. It has been my pleasure, baby. No matter what form we were in, it's been awesome.”

“99 of those races should've been as you as my girl.” Dan admitted, kissing Em's nose before tucking her hair behind her ear. "I know what you'll say. You were my girl. You've always been my girl, but you were not my girlfriend. That's my one regret."

"It's your 250th race, there’s no time for regrets." she reminded him, moving one of her hands from his waist to his face, stroking his cheek with her fingers.

“There's no time for regrets, but there’s time for one more big hug from my lady wife." Even when they were still holding each other, Dan hugged Em as tightly as possible. For some reason it felt so peaceful that it didn't feel like they were on the track. It felt like they were home, except for the detail of her husband wearing the team's clothes. “Thank you” he whispered against her hair, breaking the silence in the room.

“For what?”

“For Lu. For existing. For being here. And for handling my daily shit. I think I don’t thank you enough for it.” He did. Heaven knew he did. Em was well aware of it and it was never an issue. Dan was always in awe of his wife and all she did for their family. But she also knew that after what happened with them and not talking about their feelings for years, Dan needed to remind her how he felt about them.

"You know how you can thank me?" Em asked, moving her face from his chest to his neck, kissing it a couple times and then his jaw. "Don't cut your curls during the summer break." Em liked the mustache and she was more than used to it, but if she had to pick she always rather the full bear. There was counted things Em loved as much as running her fingers through it. If she could get it back, she would be happy even if it was temporary.

"Emmy!" Dan exclaimed, forcing Em to cover his mouth for a moment with her hand.

"Shhh, you'll wake Lu up." Em whispered as Dan kissed her palm again and again. "I'm just saying. That and a full beard. That's how you make your wife happy. The whole daddy looks suits you."

"Fine. Anything else?" Dan asked as he took Em's hand off his face and held it against his heart.

"One of those new helmets for my collection."

"You know one is always for you. Anything else?"

Em said no with her head, then got in her tiptoes to kiss her husband's lips to close the deal. One. Two. Three kisses. That was the lucky number. She hated to let it go, but it made her heart warm even more as she looked at her husband kissing their daughter’s forehead carefully to not wake her up. A simple “I love you and see you later, yeah baby girl? Be good with mama while papa’s working, potato” was all Dan whispered while Em couldn’t stop thinking she had done something right in life to get them. No matter how crazy or difficult things were, no matter where they ended up working or living, if Em had her little family things were going to be okay.

---

Taglist: (Let us know if you wanna be added!)

@dr3lover @sabrinaselina55 @majx00 @tall-tanned-tattoo @lovingdennishauger @lauehr @msolbesg @f1medlife @idkwtfimdoing2 @leclercsbae @hiphopdancer101universe @mehrmonga @lewispool @saintandrea-droidsmuggler @coldheartedmar @sugarbabygirlofdaddy @nonsensical-nonce @a-distantdreamer @tita010 @leslizzle @javden @mloyer @saintandrea-droidsmuggler @magical-imagination-kgp @danarysstormborn @kakorrhaphiphobia @g-l-o-b-e-w-h-o-r-e @elizanav @neiich @luckyladycreator2 @scotlynaurora @belledawnidk

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Jumping on the headcanons bandwagon: do you have any for professor Sharp? Love your work, this is one of my favourite blogs.

A/N: I'm happy you enjoy my work 😌 💕

AESOP SHARP HEADCANONS

Sorted to Slytherin

Quiet and reserved, but not shy, just heavily introverted

He was a quick study of DADA, charms and potions; top of the class

Struggled with transfiguration, a bit too technical for his liking

Always wanted to be an auror, most of his family members were

Had one best friend in school, they both strived to be aurors

Never had a girlfriend in school; he didn't understand the romantic obsession some teenagers had, he likes his alone time

Graduated with high marks and went straight to auror training

It was his mentor that taught him "Shortcuts only lead to shortcomings"

This is where his lack of interpersonal skills hurt him; he could track and fight dark wizards till the stars themselves fell, but calm a distraught person over the death of a loved one? ....nope. awkward as hell.

And office politics at the Ministry? Actual hell. Hated the lot of them.

Except one

A young secretary working for one of the higher ups, she was one of the few people he could stand to be around without losing his mind

He found himself making excuses to go see her or finding the most mundane reasons to go talk to her

His best friend turned work partner knew right away what was happening, would tease him endlessly about it

She made the first move to go on a date; nothing fancy, just a casual lunch date

They never made it back to work from talking for so long

Both of them got writeups but didn't care

He knew within months of knowing her that he wanted to marry her

He proposed privately in his family's garden, just them and the spring butterflies

He was on top of the world; being one of the best aurors the Ministry had and about to marry the love of his life

....but we all know it doesn't end that way

December 31, 1875

He and his partner were ambushed while on assignment

His partner, his best friend, dies

Death curse to the chest, his eyes frozen wide with surprise

Aesop fights off a total of 35 dark wizards single handedly, being critically injured in the process

He holds his fallen partner as he uses the last of his strength to apparate to St. Mungo's

He passed out on the street in front of the hidden hospital where he is found by staff

He sleeps for days in the hospital, his fiance staying with him as long as she can every day

When he wakes up, he's silent

Even when he looks at his lover, his eyes are dark and hollow

The healers did what they could for him but the damage his body took from the curses would leave him with chronic pain and a limp for the rest of his life

He struggles to walk out of St. Mungo's but refuses to use a cane; pride won't let him

His injuries result in his medical discharge from being an auror, his response is anger

His grief over the list of his partner and career sent him down a dark spiral of self destruction

He becomes belligerent, aggressively arguing with everyone over anything about his condition (mentally or physically)

He drinks to numb the pain

That only makes things worse

Any money he had for a wedding is slowly squandered away by drink

Hangovers made him even more insufferable

He refused to talk to anyone about the night of his friend's death, even his fiance

He didn't even go to his friends service, it made things too final and he wasn't ready to accept his friend's death

His behavior eventually led to a fight with his fiance, a big one

She left the ring on the table

He never saw her again

He was alone

Weeks later a familiar face came knocking, his mentor

His mentor gave him the talk he needed to hear

There where shouts of anger until tears of sorrow flowed

He broke and finally accepted that he was in a bad place

Everything he had was gone and he needed to let himself greive

Even after he finally took the time to take care of himself, he still didn't know what to do next until Hogwarts needed a new potions professor

He could try that

Teach kids...not his first choice but he wasn't doing anything else with his life at the time

Worst case scenario, he quits

Turns out he loves it. as much as teaching comes with its own stresses, watching them figure out and admire a well earned accomplishment makes it all worth it

In his time at Hogwarts, he's tried contacting his lost love to no avail

It's one of his deepest regrets, pushing her away

He's well settled as a professor and living life one day at a time

[mountttmase]

Hiii, can you please write something based on “Until I found you” Stephen Sanchez song?? Thank you ❤️

Until I Found You

Note - okay but I love this song 😌 thank you so much for sending this to me I hope you like this 🩵 if you haven’t listened to it then please do here. feedback would be very much appreciated like always 💕

Pairing - Mason Mount x Reader

Word count - 4.1k

Warnings - angst and fluff

Mason hadn’t been right for a few weeks now, a far cry from the boy you met a few months back and it’s like you could physically feel him pulling away from you yet you’d barely been together long enough to feel like what it could be like to be in his life properly.

You’d met Mason in a coffee shop after you’d brought the last millionaires shortbread that he also had his eye on and after failing to convince you to sell it to him, he’d somehow managed to trick you into giving him your number. You met him the week after for dinner after texting for the whole week and he’d swept you off your feet from the moment he flashed you his pearly whites.

You knew things hadn’t been great for him at Chelsea, and string of small injuries weren’t helping but you were hoping you could help take his mind off of things and you saw each other as often as you could. He was becoming a shell of himself though, that gorgeous smile of his never seeming to quite reach his eyes anymore and his loud and talkative persona had seemingly vanished. He didn’t seem to want to talk that much, evenings now spent quietly in each others arms where you tried to reassure him with gentle touches and kisses.

He was driving back after a candle lit dinner where he’d been nothing but charming and made you forget about everything you’d been worrying about for weeks, but the drive home was tense and silent and you couldn’t work out why but when he pulled up outside your building rather than his house like you had already agreed you looked at him him confusion.

‘Mase? Why are we here? I thought we staying at yours?’ You asked, turning to look at him but you felt you tummy drop immediately. He wasn’t looking at you but you could see the tears running down his face and he started down at his fingers that sat in his lap.

‘I’m really sorry, y/n’ he whispered, your heart sinking as you knew what was coming next but you were unsure as to why. ‘I don’t think I can do this anymore’

You couldn’t speak, the breath knocked out of you as you took in his words. He was ending things before they’d even really started and you couldn’t figure out why.

‘Did I do something?’ You whispered, wanting some sort of explanation even if it hurt more than anything else ever had and you felt him reach for your hands, gripping them tightly as he turned to face you but you didn’t have the strength to look at him.

‘You haven’t done a single thing, I promise you. It’s all on me’ he told you, his voice sounding pained as he tried to explain his thoughts. ‘I’m not myself at the minute and I can’t be what you deserve right now. You’re so so lovely and kind and beautiful and you should be with someone who can give you the world. I’m not that guy right now’

‘Don’t, Mason’ you sobbed, trying to pull away from him but he wouldn’t let you, grabbing your face gently so you would look at him and the sincerity in his eyes.

‘It’s true, y/n please please listen to me. If I was ready to fall in love with someone then you would be it. I swear on everything I have you are the perfect girl for me, but I can’t be what you deserve right now’

‘Why? I don’t understand’ you whispered

‘I Just think I need time on my own to sort myself out and be a better person. Not just for me but for everyone around me. Including you’ he explained and even though you understood it still hurt like hell. ‘I don’t want you to wait for me though, I don’t know how long this is gonna take and you deserve to be happy, even if it’s not with me’

‘But I… but I thought..’ you tried speaking but the words weren’t coming out, your heart breaking as you slowly came to terms with why he was saying before the sobs wracked through you. You hid your face in your hands and you let everything out in his passenger seat, his arms holding you close to his as you felt his body shake as you both cried out all out pain.

You could hear him sobbing out the words I’m sorry and even though you were hurt beyond belief you knew he needed your comfort. There was no way he’d be able to get home in this state so you took his face in your hands, pressing small kisses to his cheeks and whispering to him that it was okay until he had calmed down.

‘Are you gonna be okay getting back?’ You asked him gently ‘you can come in for a bit if you want? Just to sort yourself out I don’t want you to have an accident on the way home’

‘I’m fine I promise’ he told you, rubbing his eyes to get the to stop watering before he looked up at you again. He looked so incredibly sad and it made you want to cry all over again. ‘I just want you to know, I’m doing this for you, yeah? Cause I care about you and your happiness and I hate feeling like I’m bringing you down’

‘You’re not-‘

‘Please don’t, y/n please. You deserve the world and I haven’t been able to give you that in a while’ he told you, holding your hand again gently as if he was scared that you were going to pull away. ‘I want you to know that you can still trust me yeah? I mean everything I’m saying. This isn’t me trying to fob you off so I can go date half of England. I don’t wanna be with anyone if it’s not gonna be you but I cant be what you need’

‘I understand’ you told him, and you heard him let out a little breath of relief at your words. ‘I know we haven’t said it but I do love you Mason. And if this is what you need to do then I’ll accept it’ you said, eyes on the floor as you heard him gasp in surprise before titling your face up to look at him.

‘I love you, too’ he whispered, fresh tears falling from each of your eyes as the reality of each others words hit you. ‘That’s why I’m doing this. It’s out of love and I know it doesn’t make it any easier. ’

‘I know’ you murmured, reaching down to the floor for your bag so you could make your way out of his car, turning back to him slightly so you could say your final words. ‘If you need me, just call me yeah? I’m here for you even if you don’t think you deserve it’ you told him quietly before reaching for the door handle.

‘I really am sorry’ he whimpered and you nodded as you looked out the window.

‘I know. I hope you figure things out Mase’ You whispered and fearing you might break down in front of him again you swiftly made your way of his car

He let you go without a fight, sitting in his car until you’d made it inside and once you were in the safety of your own home you finally let your walls come crashing down again. You’d thought you’d finally found him. The elusive one that everyone is always looking for but in the blink of an eye you were alone again

The coming weeks were tough, your emotions were all over the place and whilst you tried to hold it together, you didn’t fully understand what had happened for you to process it properly.

You knew anything to do with Mason would hurt too much to be around at the moment so you unfollowed him on everything as well as most Chelsea related things which stung a bit as you’d come to support them over the last few months but you couldn’t face the thought of seeing him. The only thing you kept was his number as you’d promised that he could text you if he needed to but you were starting to wonder if that was a good idea.

You weren’t quite sure how, but you’d made it to three months without him. You were still crushed about how things had ended but you’d grown to accept it as he felt he couldn’t give you what you deserved and you were partly thankful that he hadn’t dragged you through a relationship he couldn’t fully commit to.

You hadn’t been able to look at another guy though, using the time to also work on yourself a little bit and figure out what you wanted out of a relationship. Unfortunately your mind always came back to Mason and what could of been as he was seemingly the perfect guy for you however you just wished the timing would of been better.

It was a Sunday night and you were sat scrolling through TikTok when your arm got tired and you ended up dropping your phone on your face before it fell off the bed and down the side where you couldn’t reach.

‘Oh shit’ you huffed, rolling over and reaching down to feel for it but it was just out of your grasp. You could just about touch the screen though and your worst fears were suddenly realised when you heard the sound of the phone ringing through the AirPods in your ears. You’d obviously pressed the call button and you had no idea if they’d pick up and no way of ending the call either but you were hoping whoever it was wouldn’t answer.

‘Hello?… y/n? You there?’ You heard Mason say, your blood running cold at the sound of his voice. It had been months since you’d heard it and you hated the way it still gave you butterflies. ‘Y/n? I can hear you breathing’ he laughed and you sat yourself up, coughing quietly before speaking.

‘H-hey, Mason. Sorry I dropped my phone down the side of my bed and I’ve been trying to grab it. I must of called you by accident’

‘That’s okay, don’t apologise’

‘You can hang up if you want, I can’t quite reach it still. Unless you wanna listen to me struggle for another five minutes’ you told him, trying to ease the tension a bit and when you heard him laugh properly you felt your chest tighten at the sound.

‘No, I don’t wanna hang up. I’ve sort of been wanting to talk to you for weeks now but I’ve been too scared to call’ he murmured, making you gulp and you sat up properly. ‘Is that okay?’

‘Um, yeah that’s okay’ you told him but you were freaking out inside. You had only just settled back into life without Mason so to now have him back in your ear was making your tummy churn. ‘H-how have you been?’

‘Yeah not bad, not bad at all. You?’

‘Yeah I’ve been good thanks’

‘Good, I’m glad’ he told you, and you could hear the smile in his voice. A sound that you’d hadn’t heard at all towards the end of your relationship.

Their pair of you carried on chatting lightly, not even paying attention to the time as you still didn’t have your phone to hand. You both seemed to of slipped back into how things were, cracking jokes and laughing as you reminisced about the past but caught each other up on what you’d missed. Your whole soul felt lighter than it had in months listening to him laugh and you wanted nothing more than to see his face so you could watch his eyes light up like they used to. ‘Listen, it’s getting late and I’m conscious of your bed time’ he laughed, trying to make a joke of how much you loved to sleep and you shook your head as you laid down to try and reach your phone again.

‘How late is it? I still don’t have my- ah! Got it’ you cheered as you finally made contact with your phone, pulling it to see it was now gone 11 and you’d been on the phone for the better part of an hour and a half. ‘Oh Jesus I didn’t think it would be that late’

‘I’m sorry’ he laughed before you heard him gulp, getting ready to say something he was nervous about. ‘So listen, I go away with England for a little while in a couple of weeks and I was hoping I could see you beforehand?’

‘Oh…’ you breathed, your heart hammering in your chest at the thought of him wanting to see you and if you could physically handle it.

‘You don’t have to tell me now, just think about it yeah?’

‘Okay’ you whispered

‘Okay’ he laughed and you felt yourself smile too. ‘Just text me or something yeah? I’ll let you go get your beauty sleep but I’m really glad we got to talk today’

‘Me too’ you whispered, feeling your face heat up as you shut your eyes.

‘Good night, y/n’

‘Good night, Mase’

You gave into him quicker than you had meant to, texting him the next afternoon to say you were free to see him one evening next week and he let you know he’d arrange everything and pick you up on Wednesday night so he could take you to dinner. He didn’t give you much more information other than that, and you felt nervous as paced up and down your living room. You were unsure if you were over dressed or underdressed, if he’d like you did your hair now or the colour of your nails but a knock on the door made you stop in your tracks.

You curiosity went over to open it, unsure as to who would want you at this time but you opened it up to reveal Mason looking back at you with the heartwarming smile you fell in love with all those months ago.

‘Hey’ he breathed, his whole face lighting up with a smile that you couldn’t help but mirror. ‘it’s so good to see you’ he told you, and he looked like he really meant it, unsure if he was allowed you pull you in for a hug or not but in the end he just stuffed his hands into his pockets to avoid any awkwardness.

He looked different, a good different. His hair was a bit shorter but his beard was longer and he seemed to be standing taller than he ever had. His skin was glowing and your favourite dimple popped in his cheek as he gave you a genuine smile that made his eyes crinkle.

‘Hey Mason’ you swallowed nervously, unable to look at him properly as the nerves took over you. ‘I didn’t expect you to knock, let me just get my things’ you told him, quickly running off to grab your coat and bag before meeting him by the door again.

‘Sorry, just felt a bit weird texting you I was here, thought I’d be a gentleman and come and get you’ he smiled as you locked your door, scratching the back of his neck before leading you down to his car where he opened your door for you. The last time you were in here he was breaking up with you and the memory hit you like a slap in the face. You gave him a shy smile as you climbed in and you watched him take a few deep breaths as he made his way round to his side. ‘You ready?’ He smiled and you gave your head a nod as he pulled away from the pavement.

‘So where are we going?’ You asked, trying to get a bit of conversation going as you could tell you were both a bit terrified but he looked over with a gentle smile that eased you a little bit.

‘It’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it though’ he winked and you felt your face flush at the gesture. You kept the conversation light, talking about what you’d been up to that day and as soon as he pulled into the car park you knew where you were. The place he’d taken you on your very first date all those months ago.

You didn’t know what to say, and he was out of the door and opening yours before you had time to think about anything else, gently taking his extended hand so he could help you out and you felt the butterflies swarm as your skin touched his for the first time in a long time. He dropped your hand soon after but it founds it’s place on your waist as he guided you inside and he was as charming as ever with the staff as they led you over to your table, pulling your chair out for you and you sent him a grateful smile as he tucked you in before sitting opposite you.

‘Is this okay?’ He asked opening up his menu with a shy smile on his face and your heart raced at how good he looked in the dim lighting.

‘It’s perfect, thank you’ you told him quietly before you both looked over what you wanted.

‘Thank you for agreeing to see me, I know it can’t of been an easy decision so I appreciate you being here’ he told you as soon as your orders had been placed and your waiter had gone.

‘It’s okay’

‘I need you to know though that this isn’t random or just a catch up for us to say goodbye again. I asked you here for a reason and I’d really like it if you could hear me out’ he told you seriously and you could sense the nervousness in his voice. ‘I’m really fucking sorry’ he told you, brown eyes boring into yours. ‘I know you said you understood and everything but it was still a shit thing to do. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing for the both of us’

‘I know you did’ you nodded, reaching over for his hand to offer him some sort of comfort as you could see he was getting upset about everything. His shocked eyes met yours but his beautiful smile melted you as he squeezed your hand in his. ‘Have you been okay?’ You asked

‘I’m better than I was’ he laughed, threading his fingers through yours ‘it was rough at the start I’m not gonna lie, I shut everyone out and just tried to focus on myself but that only worked well for so long. My mum came and knocked some sense into me and I started letting more people in. Everything started slowly falling into place after that.

‘Thats good’ you smiled and he nodded shyly before looking up at you with a loving stare.

‘Yeah, but there’s one piece of the puzzle missing’ he told you quietly but you were interrupted by your food arriving. Mason sent you a quick wink as you both dug in before he started asking what was new with you and if anything had changed over the last few months. You knew the he was trying to ask if you been seeing anyone lately or if you been on a date since that fateful night but you were quite happy letting him sweat about it for a little bit, choosing to talk about everything but that but he seemed happy enough catching up on everything he’d missed.

‘I’ll be honest, I sort of unfollowed everything to do with you’ you laughed and his head fell into his hands in mock disbelief. ‘How are Chelsea doing?

‘We’re getting there’ he laughed ‘took a while to find our rhythm but it happens’ he shrugged and you sent him a sympathetic smile. You both decided when you’d finished eating you weren’t quite ready to say goodbye yet and he convinced you to join him for a drink in the bar, grabbing a small table near the back where he sat next to you on the small sofa. His arm around the back of the seat and you couldn’t help but lean into him. ‘Are you really gonna leave me guessing then?’ He smiled, slightly bringing his arm around you and when you didn’t protest he held you to him properly.

‘Whatever do you mean Mr. Mount?’ You chuckled and he ticked you side playfully.

‘You know what I mean. Please put me out of my misery’ he laughed and you decided to put your big girl pants on and be honest. All the signs he was giving you made you think he wouldn’t brush you off but you still had that little voice in your head holding you back. You pushed passed it though, letting Mason know how you felt.

‘Mase, it’s alway’s been you. And as hard as these last few months have been for me, that hasn’t changed. I haven’t so much as looked at anyone else let alone talked to anyone or dated anyone’ you told him, finally looking up to meet his glossy eyes.

‘I thought I told you not to wait for me’ he smiled and you shrugged gently.

‘I’ve never been one for listening to you’ you whispered but you didn’t have much time to say anything else as he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours.

You couldn’t help but smile, reaching up to cup his jaw as you kissed him back. You kept it gentle, revelling in the feeling of be close to him again and touching your person. He pulled back too soon for your liking, resting his forehead against your as you got your breath back.

‘I’m a fucking idiot’ he whispered, letting out a small laugh as he pulled back to look at you. ‘I was so lost in my own dark thoughts I wasn’t thinking straight. I should’ve never let you go and I promise I never will again’

‘Mase, don’t blame yourself’ you told him, resting your hand on his chest as he kissed your cheek.

‘I meant what I told you that night. If I was ready to fall for someone then it would be you. I already knew I loved you then and when you told me you loved me I knew I didn’t deserve you but I’ve not been able to get you out of my head. You’re all I’ve thought about these past months, praying that by some miracle things would work out but I was too scared to talk to you cause I’d figured you must of moved on by now. And then when you accidentally called me last week I was so close to not answering because I was petrified about what I might find out but I’m so glad you dropped your phone on your face’ he laughed and you patted his chest gently. ‘I knew I’d never fall in love again until I was back with you’ he whispered, kissing you softly as you melted at his words. ‘Let me love you again. Fall with me, I promise I’ll catch you’

You were so overwhelmed but you knew in your heart you wanted him back in your life. Too tongue tied to say anything back to him you reached up and connected your lips once again, hoping you could say everything through the touch of your lips against his rather than words and he seemed to get the idea, kissing you back before pulling back reluctantly.

‘I know I’ve got a lot of making up to do and we can go as slow as you like but can we please get out of here?’ He laughed, kissing your cheek gently as you nodded, letting him help you up before walking back to his car. Just before he opened the door up for you he lightly pressed you against it, holding you by your cheeks as he looked you in the eyes.

‘I’ll never let you go again, y/n. I promise’

[the-slytherin-writer-12]

Give up some heartbreaking stiles angst for us please but with a happy ending I beg of you

Your wish is my command 😌

A Fine Line

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Pairing: Stiles x fem!reader

Warnings: angst, then fluff

A/N: there will be a part 2. I didn’t have time to finish this like I wanted, but I felt bad for not answering this earlier

*credit to gif owner*

Teen Wolf Masterlist

General Masterlist

Beacon Hills was a concoction of different supernatural species: werewolves, werecoyotes, banshees, hellhounds, etc. But one thing is constant…..Stiles’s chaos.

Being the only human in the pack, Stiles knew what it felt like to be left out. Only having a bat and sarcasm as his only defense, he often felt alone. Until Y/N came around.

Y/N Whittmore was Jackson’s cousin. After Jackson moved away, his parents felt like the house was empty. So following Y/N’s parent’s unfortunate deaths, they invited her to live with them. She started at BHHS at the beginning of her junior year. Scott, being the kind person he is, took Y/N under his wing. Naturally, she was accepted by the entire pack and become one of their own.

Stiles, on the other hand, didn’t like her. She had an ‘attitude problem’, as he liked to say. It wasn’t her fault that she could stand up for herself, or that she had a strong personality.

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for Stiles and Y/N to get into fights. Most of the time, it was Lydia that played the middle-man, well woman.

Currently, the pack was at a warehouse. Scott and Malia were leading them inside, with Lydia and Liam following closely behind. Stiles and Y/N were sitting in Roscoe.

Y/N was on her phone, watching videos and getting on Stiles nerves. Stiles sat in the drivers seat with a scowl on his face. At one point, Y/N laughed quietly at a video. Stiles huffed and whipped his head around.

“Do you mind?!”

Y/N paused her video, and looked up at him, confusion clouding her face.

“I’m sorry?” She tilted her head to the side. Stiles chuckled dryly.

“Yeah, you should be,” he muttered. Y/N’s face then shifted into annoyance.

“What did I even do?”

“You-you’re just annoying!” He huffed. Y/N turned to face him in her seat.

“I haven’t even done anything, you idiot!” She spat. Stiles rolled his eyes and shifted his body to face her as well.

“You have and you don’t even realize you have! You sit there, acting all perfect. You waltz in here and-and you just worm your way into the pack. You steal MY friends, you try and insert your self in any way you can! And, you don’t even do anything when we’re out-“ he was cut off by an angry Y/N.

“Last time I checked, I don’t have any sort of supernatural powers, Stiles. And neither do you! So don’t go pointing fingers at people with no purpose because you don’t have one either!”

Stiles just stared at Y/N with anger in his eyes, his faces screwed up.

“You know what, you should go in there with them next time. Maybe you’ll be useful for something like being bait or maybe even a distraction,” he started, sneering. And he leaned close enough to where she could see specks of green in his eyes, “and maybe you’ll get killed. It’ll do us all a favor.”

Y/N reared back in shock. Her mouth dropped open and tears sprung to her eyes.

“Screw you, Stiles. All I’ve ever done is be nice to you! I’ve never hurt you, never gotten in your way, nothing,” she spat. “Never, ever have I thought someone so nice an-and kind could say something so hurtful and s-so malicious.”

With that, she opened the car door, got out, and slammed the door of the Roscoe. As she walked away, she could hear Stiles’s groan of frustration in the Jeep.

————————————————————————

As Y/N was walking home, she heard a car driving behind her. She tightened her arms around her torso and sped up walking. She heard the car slow down when it got beside her.

“Hey pretty girl, need a ride?” Said an unfamiliar male voice. Y/N just kept walking and ignored the man. “Hey now that’s no way to treat someone trying to help.” The man chuckled as he said this.

Y/N continued began jogging. She heard a car door slam shut and reached into her pocket, trying to grab her phone. She pulled it out and opened the phone app, clicking on Scott’s name. Just as she hit the dial button, she felt the man wrap his arms around her waist and pick her up.

“You’re coming with me.”

And then everything went black.

[milks-thoughts]

hi it me, the best ROTTMNT writer to ever exist I know 😌

BUT I HAVE COME WITH AN ASK GRRR IM GOING TO DESTROY YOUR WRITER BLOCK

I need the turtles trying to teach their s/o something, and they stance is just a little bit off so they come up behind them to fix their posture and 😳 I'D KILL FOR THAT 😍😍😍😍

bye bye love you boo 💋 /p

PLEASE IM SO SORRY IF THIS IS OOC FOR MIKEY OR DONNIE- I DUNNO HOW TO WRITE THEM VERY WELL (blame Nick for their lack of episodes >:()

BUT YAYAYAY OKAY IMA TRYYY I HAVEN’T WRITTEN FOR THEM IN LIKE A YEAR OR TWO

this isn’t beta read! nor is it proofread- any mistakes are there now. there is no getting rid of them, they are part of the writing now. this is so short I’m sorry

tw: NONE ITS JUST HEART THROBBING FLUFF <33

Raph

“ can you teach me how to knit? “

That’s all you have to say before Raphs enthusiastically taking you to his room

Little did you know knitting is hard

you were trying your hardest at knitting, you really were! But you couldn’t get the movements right, and the needles were so hard to move. It was honestly frustrating. Your eyebrows furrowed together as you again attempted to start a chain, you didn’t know how Raph did it. Your thoughts were disrupted by his voice ringing out “ -you’re not doin it right, here let me show you! “ he would walk over to where you were sitting and leaned over you. His plastron hitting your head slightly. It didn’t bother you, since you were distracted by his big hands grabbing yours and leading your movements, his voice didn’t process in your ears as you tried keeping your blush down. You decided it was best to focus back in so you could do it without him leading your hands, has it always been this hot in here? it was probably just you. He eventually let go of your hands “ you alright? your face is all red, are you sick? “ you could only chuckle and shake your head “ I’m alright love “ you promised before going back to knitting, so what if you were purposefully accidentally messing up? you were happy to be spending time with him.

Leo

You were genuinely so excited when you found out he could skate

“ can you teach me!? “

Didn’t even think about how hard skating is

You didn’t take in account that even when walking you kept falling over, so on wheels? Forget it your ass is grass. a few hard falls and scrapped knees later you eventually could balance on it. Trying to get going was the hard part, you brought your foot down and completely fell off. you landed on your rear-end so at least you weren’t bleeding again “ that must’ve hurt wheel bad “ you glared up at him, but your brows lifted as you chuckled. stepping back on you felt his hands on your waist as he walked next to you. “ your posture and stance is so bad “ Leo chuckled, you gave him a playful glare. your face was red though, Leo’s hand held onto you as you put down a foot and touched the floor. Letting out a excited cheer you smiled up at Leo he smirked “ I guess I’m your lucky charm Hm? “

Donnie

Coding was intriguing, to you at least

Watching Donnie spend hours on it while you do..your own thing was fun

“ can you teach me to code? It looks cool “

you poor unfortunate soul. Donnie was a amazing teacher, and nothing but patient at that. you just didn’t realize how hard coding actually was. “ okay! so- “ typing in the code you hummed in frustration. It didn’t work. Donnie reached over you, his hand taking on top of yours and like a puppet on a string he used your fingers to type in the code “ that will make it work. You weren’t listening dum-dum “ he gently reprimanded. You just simply leaned into his touch. you were on his bed, sitting in front of him. He simply laid down, it was the quiet hours of the night when both of you couldn’t fall asleep. you listened to all of Donnie’s rambles, tonight you wanted to use that knowledge. Typing away you noticed as he watched, even when you stilled or slowed down as your brain picked apart what you needed to do. Eventually you got it to work. It was a simple website for your art, but god was it amazing “ you finally did it, salutes “ his tone blunt and calm, but you could read the fine print, he was proud of you.

Mikey

You loved watching Mikey spray paint

It was obvious because of the hours you’d spend watching him

“ I wonder how I’d do spray painting? “

you got the answer to your own question: you’re shit at it. Mikey was painting next to you before he paused “ you’re holding it all wrong silly! “ he walked up behind you and grabbed your hand moving the paint can he took control off your arm and made a few strokes down like you were doing. His head resting on your shoulder, music blaring into your ears from the headphones he was wearing. Mikey simply smiled at you, his orange mask stained with paint from his messy fingers working it, you’ve come to realize Mikey has many masks. And not just Dr. Delicate Touch or Dr. Feelings. But he literally has a whole drawer full of him and his brothers masks, in case anyone needs a replacement. He let go of your hand as you continued the movements getting brought back by his comforting weight leaving your shoulder “ there we go! see now you’re holding it right, you should put on some music really get in the moment “

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

📖 ⛵️ 🩹 + something to do with his hair? I’m obsessed with his hair and decided he should be too (I love the sailor boy now damn)

Morning Tide - Wojchek/Reader

Warnings: Hurt/comfort, bit of drinking, the sad sailor is even sadder.

Wordcount: 2697

Summary: When his crew walks in, all of them garner your attention with their stories and toasts, but it's him who makes you leave your place behind the bar when you spot him drinking alone.

Notes: This is the second fic where I get him into bed for softness, I just can't help it 😌 Thank you for your patience! I know it's been a whiiiile since my last request, but from now on I'll be writing these at work when it's not super busy so I can keep up~ It'll be slow work, but I'd rather do that than wait for the weekends when my shifts are shorter, so as I get back into the swing of things I hope you enjoy 💗💗💗

It was a busy night tonight, all the ships seeming to come in that weekend as your work was flooded with sailors, some there for a drink, some there to borrow company, all of them there for a good time. You liked sailors, they tipped very well generally, your pockets full of coins of all shapes and sizes by the end of the nights when they crammed themselves in from wall to wall, and tonight was just as successful as the old clock outside ticked over into the early hours of the morning. 

You were washing off the bar from a rowdy spill with his crew walked in, all of them tired and downtrodden as they pushed through the doors and looked for an empty table; this wasn't new, you'd seen your fair share of sad sailors after bad hauls or near wrecks, but this was different as one of them, an Irishman with a loud voice, tried to cheer them up and bring them over to grab some drinks, his energy clearly forced even as he hopped onto the barstool and slapped down a handful of coins.

‘A round a’ pints fer the lot a’ us,’ he declared to you as the others started to join, your co-worker coming over to help fill the order now that his own patrons were heading out. You filled mug after mug of the foaming liquid, each one sliding down the bar to outstretched hands, the mood rising as they downed them all back and reminisced about good times. You smiled as you listened, getting to know them through their stories, how close they all were after many years on the seas together. Their captain had retired years ago so he could buy a cottage and let his grandson experience life on land for once, you'd learned as they raised their glasses to him for bringing them together, tears in their eyes as they grinned wide and drank it all down, cries for more getting you to cry out right along with them as you raised your arm high and hit the tap.

You loved happy sailors most of all, but one of them caught your eye as you noticed him sitting by himself, no longer with the others as he sipped at his beer and stared out the door like he was waiting for someone else to walk in. He was captivating, nothing like the other men with their loud singing and stories, and you felt something settle in next to the greed for another good tip as you signaled to your co-worker that you wanted a break. You filled up another mug and brought it over to him, his eyes glancing up at you through his bangs, his expression hardening from longing to annoyance at you disturbing him. 

‘On the house,’ you said as you pushed the drink towards him, and he eyed it before grabbing onto his current one and pulling it a little closer to himself.

He muttered something you didn't understand, and your smile faltered a little as you tried to recall the few words you'd learned from your patrons to see if you could guess what he was speaking. ‘I'm fine with this,’ he repeated in English, his tone alone warning you to go back to work and leave him be, but never in your life had you ever seen a sad sailor turn down a drink, not in all the years you'd worked there, and you looked back to the bar before grabbing onto the cold handle.

‘Mind if I sit, then?’ you asked as you pulled out the chair, and even when he shook his head slightly you still let your tired legs rest as you hit the old wood. ‘Your crewmates are having fun without you,’ you told him as you watched the condensation roll down the glass, and he looked at them before focusing on the table.

‘My crew, I'm the captain,’ he corrected you with a grumble, and you felt your cheeks redden because he certainly didn't make that obvious at all.

‘My apologies, sir,’ you quickly said, the beer offered to him again before he waved it off, he really didn't want it. ‘Well, they seem to be in good spirits now,’ you led, turning to face them as your eyes looked back at him, but he didn't notice as he stared at the door again.

‘They needed something to enjoy,’ he still agreed with you despite not looking, that forlorn expression returning as he gripped his mug a little tighter. You turned back to him, that something pushing the greed more out of the way as he took a deep drink then, your quest for tips falling to the wayside as you spun the mug back and forth a little, the foam rolling over the side and dripping down to the table.

‘Bad voyage this time, Captain?’ He glanced at you, trying to find the reason why you were still there, still trying to get him to speak, and you just flashed him your best bartender smile to get him to open up; he looked from you to his men and sighed, he was tired, weathered by too many storms, and for a moment you thought he might take the mug from you when he took another drink from his own.

‘We ran aground coming to port, hit some rocks we didn't see in the storm when we veered too far south,’ he told you seriously as he kept looking at the door, and as you followed his eyes you realized that he wasn't waiting for someone to walk in, he was gazing past the wood to watch the docks outside. ‘Been years since I took over the Demeter, she's been good to me for decades now, but the damage is too much for her… for us to pay for…’

So that explained their moods, they were here to drink the night away since they were all losing their jobs.

‘I know plenty of shipwrights, maybe I can help broker an arrangement?’ you offered, and you were a bit surprised with yourself as soon as you'd said it, since you actually wanted him to get his boat fixed, no strings attached. 

He considered it a moment, a bit of hope showing on his face, but then a resigned misery took over instead, he'd already accepted he was going to lose his ship, they all had.

‘She had a good many years, it might be time to let her rest,’ he mumbled into his mug, and you felt a genuine sadness at his loss as his crew loudly toasted to the Demeter behind you. You watched him go to take one last drink, and your hand moved on instinct as you held up your own mug in a matching toast; he stared at it before clinking your glasses together, and you could feel the sadness radiating off of him as he gulped down the final drops. When he was done he slammed down the glass and went to stand, he was done already, his hand in his pocket to count the coins he owed you, but you stopped him before holding onto his wrist and giving him a small tug in the direction of the stairs.

‘I'm not just a bartender, Captain,’ you let him know, and he eyed you before starting to pull away, ‘and… borrowed time can be anything you need it to be.’

He looked down at your hand, and you felt the way he shook as he gave the door one last glance. ‘I can hardly afford to pay my crew for their final voyage,’ he admitted softly, he was ashamed that it'd gotten this far, but you just shook your head and held on a little tighter.

‘On the house, since you didn't want the drink,’ you offered gently, and a small bit of life came back to him as he stood. No one noticed that their captain was leaving as you signaled your co-worker again, and he just shouted for some assistance from someone else as another round was demanded.

This part of the building was for paying customers only, no one was allowed up without being escorted by a, well, escort, and it'd been a while since you'd been up there since patrons were more likely to pick one of your prettier and promiscuous fellow servers. You unlocked the first door at the top of the stairs, the captain following you in and looking around. You went to light the lamp nearby but he stopped you, he wanted it kept dark, and you were okay with that as you shut the door and walked up to him. You placed your hands on his collarbone, pushing aside his tattered sweater to touch his heaving chest, but he took your hand and simply kissed it before letting go.

‘No,’ was all he said, this wasn't the company he needed, and you nodded before climbing onto the bed and holding out the hand he'd kissed. He took it and climbed up after you, laying down and resting his head on your lap, and you brushed his windswept hair out of his eyes before getting caught slightly, it was a little too windswept.

‘Can I?’ you whispered, and he nodded before sitting up just enough for you to brush his hair carefully with your fingers.

‘She was only mine a few years,’ he confessed to you as you worked, and if you hurt him at all he never let it show. ‘I've been part of the Demeter's crew since I was a boy, picked up right off the docks of my home back in Poland, and ever since I stepped foot on that deck I knew I was home.’ He spoke so quietly, almost like he'd forgotten you were there, and you just kept brushing while he let it all out to you. ‘I knew better, but the storm was coming in stronger and the shore was in sight…’

He shuddered and you didn't say anything, just cooed comfort to him as you brushed out the last tangle and got him to lay against your chest. He was tall, curled up between your legs and still reaching the end of the bed, strong from working every day out on the sea, his facial hair scratching your arm as you kept brushing; he was intimidating, anyone else might've been too nervous to approach him based on looks alone, but you saw the real him, how much he was hurting over losing not his job or his ship but his home, and you couldn't help but press a kiss to the top of his head when he trembled again. 

You didn't know how long you stayed there with him as he told you the same stories the others reminisced about downstairs, all of them from his point of view sounding so much more full of life if that were even possible, his voice so quiet and holding even more emotion than the others as they shouted and laughed so loudly you could still hear them through the floor. He was passionate about his time on the sea even when he was telling you about not just the good times but about all the bad times as well, the voyages that went wrong, the close calls, all of them dear to him just as much as the good ones. 

The clock outside chimed loudly to signal the hour, you'd be closing soon, and you finally stopped brushing his hair as you shifted and got ready to finally speak; you stopped when you noticed that he'd dozed off, his tired eyes looking like he really needed the rest as he gently snored into your chest. You gave him another kiss, something so soft you were sure it wouldn't wake him, and he didn't even stir after so many years being rocked by the sea. You couldn't wake him, couldn't bring him back to his reality, and the longer you stayed the more you couldn't let this be the end for him.

Your co-worker unlocked the door and peeked in to look for you, obviously worried when you'd never returned, and you just placed your finger to your lips and shushed him as your captain lay there blissfully unaware. You motioned for him to come over, keeping your voice down as he leaned in. ‘Write to O'Brian, tell him I want to trade in that favour,’ you whispered, and he just nodded before running to find the quill and ink you kept in the office for end of the day tallies; you wouldn't let him give up after everything he'd been through, not when the others downstairs were counting on him.

You let him sleep for another ten minutes or so, long enough for you to almost join him, before waking yourself up and giving him a little nudge. ‘We have to close for the night, your crew might be waiting for you,’ you let him know softly, your voice still just barely above a whisper, and when he opened his eyes and gazed up at you you could've sworn he looked a little less lonely.

‘One more night to call me that, need to see if anyone needs a strong pair of hands tomorrow.’ He was still resigned to it, and you crossed your arms over his chest to keep him from leaving just yet.

‘Maybe good luck will come on the morning's tide,’ you promised as you brushed his bangs aside, and he held your hand in place, soft against his rough cheek and stubble, and for a moment the thought of him going back out there made you understand why people flooded to your bar after the boats left.

‘Maybe…’ He let go of you then so he could sit up, and he held himself so proudly you could finally see why he was made captain as he stood and looked down at you. ‘Thank you, for your time,’ he said as you also stood, the sounds of his crew heading out onto the street and calling for him the only reason you were both able to turn away from each other. You cleared your throat and gestured towards them, and you saw his eyes glance at the sea beyond the pane before he reached into his pocket and pulled out what little he had on him to hand to you.

‘I already said it was on the house,’ you reminded him quickly, but he shook his head and pressed the money into your hand. 

‘A tip,’ he explained, and then he was gone, the gold weighing you down as you looked at all the money you usually strove after during your shifts. Your fist clenched as you then raced downstairs, the letter waiting to be signed by you on the bar, and you set down the coins before going to the stash you'd been collecting the entire day. You didn't answer as you were asked what you were doing, all of the money sliding into an envelope along with your letter after you'd added more details, and the entire crew was gone when you raced out onto the dark street.

He wouldn't be up but you could at least leave him this as you slipped the packed letter under O'Brian’s door, a talented but very thirsty shipwright who frequented your bar and often built up his tab with the promise of paying you back later, since he'd known you for so long. The letter promised his tab gone and free drinks for the rest of the year if he accepted your job, as well as all the money you’d made that day along with your final tip, and you hoped he would as you walked back to the bar and saw them all still celebrating what they thought was their final night on deck on what had to be the Demeter.

‘May you find good luck with the morning's tide, Captain,’ you wished him from the doorway, and you swore you heard his voice join in with the shanties before you headed inside for the night.

[buttercupjosh]

Seasons of Love

(Gif credit to @youmustlovehim)

Word count: 2,772

Genres: strangers to lovers to exes, a little bittersweet

Warnings: none

A/N: I’ve had pieces of details of this fic in mind for a while and I started to slowly write it out over the past few months. This title comes from Seasons of Love from the musical RENT, although there’s nothing in the story connects to specific details from that. The story is not based off of anything specific, just a plot that had been simmering in me for some time. It’s not set at a specific moment in time (It’s taking place in a fictional future but you could also say that it’s set this season. However, the season is still ongoing at the moment and anything can happen or change). It’s written with a female reader in mind because I’m a female of color but the reader doesn’t specifically have to be a POC or a woman and there’s little dialogue. As always, I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you so much in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌

(P.S. I have other stories (linked here) that I have written for other players as well if you want to check it out)

““How do you measure a year in the life? How about love?” -Seasons of Love from the RENT musical soundtrack

Prologue

“Excuse me, is this a good book to read?” a deep accented voice asks you.

“Dune? For sure, it’s an epic story,” you reply.

“Do you think I could finish it in 4 days?” the voice asks.

“4 days? Unless you’re an Olympian at reading and processing complex storylines, I’d say it might take you close to 4 weeks or even 4 months to read it all,” you respond.

“Oh,” the voice says in defeat, “what do you recommend then?”

You list off some sci-fi recs for the towering cute man and he takes your suggestions into mind before deciding to get a copy of We, a novel written by his fellow countryman Yevgeny Zamyatin.

“I’ve never read that one,” you chimed.

“Should we start a book club then so you can read it?” the voice asks with a chuckle.

“Um, how can I start a book club with someone whose name I don’t even know?”

Slightly embarrassed, the voice introduces himself as Andrei and you introduce yourself to him as you shake hands. His hand in yours felt so comforting for someone you just met under an hour ago. Andrei was impressed that you knew so much about books. One of his New Year’s resolutions was to read more so that’s how he ended up at Barnes and Noble talking to you. You were at the store, just looking around for something new to read, and stumbled into the sci-fi section before checking out with your new copy of Happy Place by Emily Henry.

“So are we starting this book club then, Andrei?” you slyly ask.

Andrei wanted to have someone as a reading buddy to discuss reading with him (the other guys on the team weren’t as into reading as him) and it didn’t hurt that he had someone who knew a lot about literature right in front of him so he agreed to it.

“As long as you read “We” with me, please?” Andrei charmingly requested.

Although sci-fi wasn’t your thing at the moment, you couldn’t quite say no to the man with big brown doe eyes so you grabbed a copy off the shelf. Before going over the parameters of the newly formed book club, Andrei kindly paid for both of your books and you decided to discuss the rules in the cafe located inside of the store.

You and Andrei sat in a semi-secluded booth towards the back of the cafe and began sharing some of your backstories with each other over drinks and muffins. Andrei was again impressed by your educational background of holding an MFA in Creative Writing from NC State and your job as an adjunct English professor at Wake Tech Community College; it definitely explained your love of reading but your dream was to move to New York and become an author one day. You were working on a manuscript for a cute romance novel but still had a lot of things to do before it was ready to be presented to a publisher. The professor job was just a placeholder until you finished up your manuscript and saved up enough money to get a literary agent; you loved writing as much as you loved reading but getting your foot in the door in the writing industry was rough. You listened to Andrei as he told his story about his life and how he ended up in America through his hockey career. You and Andrei were both curious about each other and asked so many questions to each other for such a long time that you didn’t even notice that the store was going to close. Neither of you wanted your time together to end but you both had lives to get to outside of the store. You both laughed when you realized that you and Andrei spent so much time getting to know each other that not once throughout your conversation did you discuss the rules of the book club. Before leaving, you and Andrei exchanged numbers. You both agreed to read the first 50 pages and scheduled to meet up at a different cafe to discuss what you read so far in two weeks.

————————————————————

Winter

Within a year, the book club didn’t last long but it did lead to you and Andrei being in constant contact with each other. Due to both of your schedules, neither of you really had the time to sit down and have deep intellectual discussions about what you read; you both did end up finishing reading We but you finished it at different paces. Being the book lover you are, you completed the book first but Andrei finished reading the book while on the road and he wanted to discuss the ending with you so bad that he surprisingly FaceTime called you. That one FaceTime call with Andrei turned into a long series of texts, phone calls, and more FaceTime calls and eventually spending time together offline. You and Andrei considered each other to be just friends but that friendship eventually turned into you falling for each other.

Andrei was a hot commodity around Raleigh and in Russia with his DMs bursting at the seams but he only had eyes for you. He had never fallen in love with someone the way that he did for you; being with you was different than what he was used to but it worked in the best way. You knew the risks and chaos of being with a busy, famous athlete but Andrei was worth all of it. You blended and adjusted well into the hockey romantic partner lifestyle and Andrei even taught you how to ice skate. Despite the busyness of your lives, you and Andrei still showed up for and made time for each other, even if it was something as small as meeting up at your place for a post-afternoon game milkshake from The Shiny Diner or as big as taking Andrei as your date to your work holiday party. Whenever you had the time, you and Andrei created fun, everlasting memories together. A somewhat sweet memory that Andrei would always remember was when on one cold evening, you wanted to surprise your Russian boyfriend by attempting to make him borscht, a traditional Eastern European soup that was his favorite comfort food. The soup did not come well at all so you and Andrei ended up ordering Panera Bread to warm your bones. Although the soup you made tasted unpleasant, Andrei appreciated the fact that you took the time and effort to learn something from his culture and did that from your heart. The poetic thing about your relationship was that you patiently understood each other, despite the language and culture barrier; your relationship just worked like two puzzle pieces clicking together into place.

————————————————————

Spring

As the flowers bloomed around Raleigh, the school year for you ended on a good note and unsurprisingly, the Canes made playoffs. Deep into your manuscript writing, Andrei surprised you with a trip to New York after the Canes were eliminated from playoffs. You and Andrei were already spending the entire off-season together so this trip wasn’t a necessity but it was a nice thing to do.

Your time in New York was amazing and full of love, fun, and plenty of delicious food. While you were in the City, you took the opportunity to meet with some potential literary agents and publishers; although your manuscript was about 90 percent done, it didn’t hurt to check those things out. Andrei was supportive of you and your dreams but he selfishly wished that those dreams didn’t include moving to New York and that you would stay in Raleigh and have a life with him there. He had already known his future was tightly connected to the City of Oaks but you had a desire to create a future somewhere else. You knew these dreams of yours could possibly involve leaving the love of your life; neither of you tried not to dwell too hard on the stress and pressure that those dreams added to your relationship. You also knew the publishing industry was cutthroat and competitive and that there was no guarantee that your book would be picked up by a top publisher but those realities didn’t stop you from at least trying to take the steps towards that dream.

Outside of this pressure, you and Andrei still made the best of your time in NYC. You also loved musical theater so of course, you had to catch a Broadway show. Andrei, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, actually secured tickets for the two of you to see Hamilton at the Richard Rogers Theater. You had watched the live stage production on Disney+ and knew the entire soundtrack; Andrei went into the show blindly, only remembering bits and pieces from the songs that you played around him. Seeing Hamilton live on Broadway was a great experience that you both enjoyed. You and Andrei got to see New York City in a different light; you got to explore more of the city that you longed to call home and Andrei got to see more of the city as a true tourist. This entire trip was something that you both would forever cherish.

————————————————————

Summer

Not long after you left New York, you went to Russia for the first time to meet and spend time with his family and friends and to see the place that made Andrei into the man that you love. You learned more about Russian culture, Andrei’s childhood, and even was a guest at his cousin’s wedding. Andrei’s friends and family approved of you as a person and they liked you with him; they could all tell how truly in love you were with each other. You also spent some time together in Turkey and around Europe for some much-needed relaxation; you got to see the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea in Greece, eat authentic handmade pasta in Italy, and kiss your lover in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Traveling around with Andrei made you feel like you were the protagonist of a great summer read. Speaking of reading, Andrei still maintained his goal of reading more books, reading just about anything and everything, and even started to recommend things for you to read. Before you would fall asleep at night, you would share with each other a fact or synopsis of something that you read that day.

While Andrei was occupied with his off-season training during the day, you applied for publishing jobs, presented your finally completed manuscript to several literary agents, and ended up securing one. It was relieving to officially have a literary agent to represent you but the next biggest hurdle was the painstaking editing process and waiting for your work to be picked up by the right publisher.

————————————————————

Fall

After the bliss of the off-season ended, it was time for the hustle and bustle of your teaching job and hockey season to return. About 2 weeks before preseason started, you and Andrei moved in together. It was exciting to get to live with your lover and spend even more time (whenever you could) with him. It was also nice that you got to add your style to the place and make it your own; having a home also meant that you could host your friends, Andrei’s teammates, and sometimes family for holidays and events and create more cherished memories together. Being a hopeless romantic who loved romance novels, you had always wondered who would be the man to sweep you off your feet but you sort of already knew that man was Andrei.

A fun memory that you made together was the Sunday before the season opener, you and Andrei took a trip to a local corn maze with a pumpkin patch to take cute couple photos together and to also check it out. These photos would be added into some of the new picture frames and a scrapbook of memories in your shared home. The photographer did an excellent job, capturing the love that flowed between you in still moments. For the rest of your time, you wandered around the corn maze, hand-in-hand, with your lovely boyfriend. The infamous oak trees in Raleigh began to shed their leaves and the year began inching closer and closer towards the end.

————————————————————

Winter part 2

One snowy morning, you got an email from McGraw Hill, offering you a job as an educational copy editor in their NYC office. You couldn’t believe it, you were on the path of working at a publisher and hopefully, one day getting your book published; all that you had been working so hard for was starting to pay off in tremendous ways. The only issue that was concerning you was breaking the news to Andrei. You knew he would be happy for you but you also knew what the next steps were. You tried to hold in your tears but after practice, Andrei came home to you crying. He immediately dropped his stuff and concerningly asked you what was wrong. You explained to Andrei that you were crying joyfully over the news you received. Words couldn’t describe how proud Andrei was for you so he picked you up and spun you around in happiness.

“I’m so proud of you, my love,” Andrei repeated as he peppered kisses around your face.

He was truly proud of you but the ecstasy of the good news came with the most painful come down. Andrei didn’t want you to move to New York but he had already known for a while that you wanted to leave. He did try to convince you to stay and he hoped for months that you would change your mind but you didn’t so he helped you pack some of your things. Andrei couldn’t help you move up there so he entrusted Nykki, Martin Necas’ girlfriend, to help you settle into your new home and life, more than 500 miles away from the address you once shared.

You and Andrei did try dating long distance but your relationship unfortunately didn’t last very long. Between the responsibilities of your new job, revising over your manuscript, trying to get your book published somewhere, and Andrei’s hectic hockey schedule, you began to drift apart from each other and the physical distance between you didn’t help either. You enjoyed living in New York and you did miss each other from time to time but Andrei knew it would be unfair to ask you to give up on your dreams to come back to Raleigh and be with him. Despite not dating anymore, you and Andrei talked occasionally but not as frequently as it was when you first met and still remained friends. It was okay that the relationship had run its course because it taught you both a lot about love. Andrei came into your life for a season and those seasons you shared together were full of so much undeniable light and love. The love that you shared was different from the romance novels you read but your relationship wrote its own beautiful story.

————————————————————

Epilogue

Before catching his flight to Miami for the NHL All-Star break, Andrei went into the bookstore at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to look for a book to read on his flight. In the book section, he spotted Seasons of Love, written by you with a New York Times Bestseller sticker on the cover. Over the years, Andrei had heard some things about your novel in passing but he purposely avoided reading the book because the breakup was a bit painful for him. After you achieved getting your book published, you wanted to send Andrei a signed copy but decided against it because you weren’t sure if he would actually read the story and didn’t want to come across as pretentious either. He debated back and forth about getting the book before finally asking a store employee about their opinion about it.

“I read that one. It’s a fictional story but I heard it’s loosely based on a true story about the author’s relationship with some cool guy. It’s a super good read if you like romance," said the store employee.

Hearing what the store employee said about your book made Andrei’s heart warm a little and he purchased it as his read for his trip. After returning back to Raleigh, conveniently, there was a book signing by a familiar author at a local Barnes and Noble that Andrei decided to attend. Although Andrei didn’t get his happy ending with you in real life, you sure gave him one with the words that you wrote on the page.

[skulls-soul]

OK imagine with me Luigi is really sad, Bowser finds out that his friend is sad comes over to the Mario’s place mario is like “what the F are you doing here” Bowser is like “I’m here because Luigi is upset and he’s wallowing in his sorrow and none of my friends are allowed to do that” bowser with all of the strength that he could muster will ask as politely as he can to come inside Mario shock at bowsers politeness would end up allowing him in with a scoff

Bowser comes in checks on Luigi who is wrapped up in a blanket, eyes are puffy and glossy with bags underneath them, nose all red, dried tears on his cheek,  and he’s set up with his knees towards his chest as he tries and read the book that he’s holding.

Bowser ask him what’s wrong and I imagine Luigi is upset because his feelings for a certain bean Prince accidental he got revealed and he’s either hiding away from the prince not wanting to talk to him and confront him or finished talking to the Prince found out that the Prince still wants to be friends with Luigi which Luigi is more than happy to still have a friend but it still hurts to be officially rejected

And Bowser continues to have mixed emotions about the situation and you can go many ways with that like here’s an example



 example one: Bowser is currently struggling with trying to keep his feelings for Luigi platonic but after hearing this he can’t help to be a little relieved that nothing went with the bean prince but also ashamed because his friend is heartbroken and he’s over here being giddy like I have a chance

Example two: Bowser‘s upset that the bean Prince rejected Luigi but there’s a small hint of relief which confuses Bowser because he shouldn’t be relieved that his friend got rejected?!? He should be furious his friend deserves someone That can love and appreciate and hold him >:(

Either way Bowser tries his best to comfort his friend in which somehow leads to Luigi falling asleep cuddling bowser which leads Bowser to think oh shit I’m in love.

Sidenote: Luigi is definitely the type of person who would read a bunch of romance novels when he’s having his own romance problems. does that low-key kind of torture him because he’s reading about people falling in love  when his own love life is in shambles causing him to be a little bit more sad yes, but does it also kind of help because he gets to live by curiously through it all so yes, it’s like a double edged sword.

I think it was about time that my brain came up with hurt/comfort you know? Anyways if anyone decides to I don’t know make a fic about it👀 you should at me

@waifuconqueror yoooour luck 7 thank you for your participation FUN FACT I’m working on making this a full on fic it will be 2 one offs on from bowser pov and the other Luigi’s 😌

Tho if anyone reads and think “I have an idea on where to go with this and would like to make/post about it” then by all means go ahead just cuz I’m using The concept doesn’t mean you can’t make you own little add ons and stuff I love to see the many ways peoples minds go with thing

[angelbaby-fics]

Mustache

Pairing: CG!Lloyd Hansen x Little!Reader

Word count: 660

A/N: I just think Lloyd would have a wiener dog... that is all 😌💕

“Boring.”

Lloyd lifted his gun to point it right in the face of the man in front of him, the man he’d been interrogating for hours to no avail. The sun had long gone down but the torture still continued, both for the man being interrogated and for Lloyd, who wanted nothing more than to get back home to you. He was just about to pull the trigger when he heard something, a scratching sound from across the room. “What’s in there?” Lloyd asked, not yet moving the gun. 

“It’s just a dog! I-I make some money selling puppies, that’s not a crime!” 

Suddenly an idea popped into Lloyd’s head. You’d been begging him for a pet lately; not only that but he’d also been trying to cut back on the violence. Maybe now he could figure out a way to do both at once.

“How about I cut you a deal then: hand over the pooch and nobody has to get hurt. Well, not too hurt at least.”

It turns out, getting you a pet wasn’t the problem, it was keeping the pet a secret until Christmas morning that Lloyd struggled with. The house he shared with you was huge and abundantly staffed, so it was easy enough to keep the dog hidden and well cared for until the big reveal, but every time you looked up at him with those big sweet eyes and begged yet again for a furry friend, it took all the energy he had not to just tell you everything. For what felt like endless days and nights of pleading, Lloyd kept his secret, until it was finally the night before Christmas. 

You had just finished dinner. Lloyd dressed you in your special holiday pajamas, a long onesies with candy canes and presents patterned all over, and he even let you have a special hot chocolate before helping you brush your teeth. Carefully, you carried your mug into the main room, deciding you wanted to drink it in the warm glow of your giant lavish Christmas tree, but something caught your eye.

A present was there that hadn’t been there before

You would know, you’d spent the past 24 days carefully inspecting the ever-growing pile of wonderfully wrapped gifts, most with your name on them. But this one was huge, placed right in the center in front of all the other gifts, so your attention couldn’t help but be drawn right towards it. And it was moving. 

Slightly frightened by the moving box, you took a step back, and felt Lloyd’s firm figure protecting you from behind. He took the mug out of your hand and gave a gentle push on your back, whispering in your ear, “Go ahead, open it sunshine.”

You hardly had time to wonder what was inside, as seconds later, the lid popped right off and a little dachshund puppy hopped out. It ran straight towards you, circling around your legs a few times and sniffing you all over before jumping right into your arms. You laughed and laughed as the puppy licked your face, the two of you already over the moon in love with each other.

“What do you think, baby?” Lloyd asked, smiling smugly at your overjoyed reaction to his present.

“Oh he’s so perfect daddy! Can we keep him?”

“Of course baby, he’s all yours.”

“What’s his name?”

“Well, that's up to you pumpkin.”

The pup still hadn’t stopped licking you, his tongue eliciting a similar response from you as your daddy’s mustache when he gave kisses. That was it.“His name is mustache!” Lloyd laughed, not yet making the same connection as you, but you would explain it all later. All he knew was that he finally had a name to put on all the gifts that would be joining yours under the tree tomorrow morning, nearly as many gifts as yours, all full of toys and accessories for the newest member of your happy family.

[raisedbythetv89]

Just finished “Poor Things” and damn what a fucking movie.

The mind of a child inside a woman’s body who has an insatiable sexual appetite and curiosity is uncomfortable as fuck but that’s the entire point. Children are innately curious and experimental and very simplistically seek pleasure and avoid pain and our puritanic (or in the story victorian) western society has turned all things sex related into such an uncomfortable taboo topic and this movie shoves that reality in our faces forcing us to confront how uncomfortable we are when it comes to educating children about sex and the relationships we have with our own bodies and pleasure and often resort to just telling them “it’s improper or wrong” and that leaves the door

W I D E O P E N

For men like the lawyer to come in and take advantage of the appetite others tell us to deny, the curiosity and the naïvety of someone who must venture into sexual relationships with absolutely zero frame of reference or knowledge. If you deny children the ability to learn something from you THEY WILL SEEK TO LEARN IT FROM WHOEVER IS WILLING TO TEACH THEM.

Every man who tried to control Bella failed miserably and what I ADORE about this film is it flips the traditional “poor naive girl goes to the big city, gets taken advantage of and ruins her life and is left with nothing and now she’s just another victim…. Poor thing….” completely on its head and not only that, better reflects real girl’s journeys through this world because we truly overcome so much in order to become the women we are. Yes she is taken advantage of and treated cruelly (“I wasn’t trying to educate I wanted to hurt you. I couldn’t stand to see such blind happiness”) yet she persists, she learns, she forms her own ideas and opinions and beliefs, she shuns societal norms and in the end the lawyer has been driven mad, her sociopathic husband from her previous life is a goat and she’s happy studying to be a doctor surrounded by women and a man who supports her to he exactly who she is and does not view her as her property. It was incredibly refreshing to see what is usually framed as a very dark traumatic journey for girls coming of age as one of self empowerment and agency. It was a magical adventure, an Odyssey. She is a true adventurer. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Barbie to an extent are the only other stories I can think of that frame women’s coming of age journeys in this way (though I haven’t seen THAT many movies in the grand scheme of things so there very well could be others I’m unaware of)

I understand if you get stuck on the “child brain in woman’s body that men then desire” it is icky but this film is in no way condoning that behavior in men it absolutely is criticizing it. The lawyer is driven mad by the very childlike curiosity that drew him to her in the first place, it’s perfect we LOVE to see men go insane by getting exactly what they wished for 😌

It’s important to note that yes it’s a male director but Emma Stone was a producer and has said she had complete say and control with both how her body was shown and how the story was told. I personally tend to just viscerally react to male gaze media in an I’m immediately nauseous and on edge kind of way and didn’t get that at all with this film. My brain was like “this is weird and uncomfortable” but my nervous system wasn’t actually sending up and red flags that this was unsafe or insidious in some way like it did when I watched game of thrones for the first time. I knew shit was off on that set IMMEDIATELY which was then later confirmed to my unfortunate lack of surprise.

But anyway I’m not normally one who cares about oscar nominated films but this one had me laughing HARD and crying and it’s such a visually beautiful and interesting film I absolutely loved it.

[eddieboi23]

i know you only do wednesday x gn reader but can you do a brother sister comfort story abut pugsley crying in the corner because he thought wednesday forgot about him because she has been spending so much time with reader and has been distant, so wednesday sees hi crying and tries to comfort him and convince him she still cares about him.

Do you still love me?

Wednesday Addams x gn reader + Pugsley

(Wednesday )

Summary: Pugsley gets upset when he thinks his sister loves you more than him

Tw: threats, lovey stuff idk

Y/n)=your name

“-this is thoughts-“

“This is talking”

(Not a ship of Pugsley with wednesday or y/n, that’s gross)(y/n x Wednesday 😌/dating)

———————-———————-

Wednesday wasn’t one to get distracted by a person, But with you it was just, so easy.

You met at Nevermore, and clicked.

Maybe it was because you understood her and never judged any dark stuff she said, sometimes joining in.

Or maybe because you religiously respected her boundaries.

Nevertheless, she’s been distracted from everything else, and some people are starting to notice.

—

It was parents day, your parents never showed, as usual, so you hung out with the Addams.

Gomez and Morticia were happy to meet you, although Pugsley didn’t seem as thrilled.

It’s not like he hated you, he was glad his sister wasn’t as heartless as she seemed, but he wasn’t quite ready to let go of his big sisters attention, not matter what kind.

Short story short, he was jealous, and kind of upset, he knows he shouldn’t be, you were so nice to him, buts he’s only human after all.

He should have said how he was feeling, but he didn’t want to bother anyone. no one knew how he’s was feeling.

His parents were distracted by the fact that Wednesday found love, you thought he just wasn’t social, Wednesday can’t see emotions even if it slapped her in the face, and lurch was well…lurch.

So he chose to suffer in silence.

-

He wanted to spend time with Wednesday, maybe go fishing like they used to.

But everytime he tried spending time with her, she was with you, or you came along, defeating the purpose of sibling time.

He just wanted a little time, because parents day was only so long.

After awhile he gave up, snuck away when no one was looking, and sat in a deserted corner of the school.

He knows he’s pouting, but he doesn’t care.

His mind starts to get to him. What ifs and depressing questions. “-what if Wednesday loves y/n better than me, what if Wednesday hates me, what if y/n takes Wednesday away from me forever??-“

His eyes start to water, and he breaks down.

Sobbing, he brings his knees to his chest and cries in his hands.

——

(Pov: Wednesday)

She noticed her brother sneak off almost immediately.

She shouldn’t be worried, but he’s a small pitiful child, someone could really hurt him, and she didn’t want anyone but her to hurt him.

At least that’s what she told herself, as she excused herself shortly after he’d been gone, and went to find him.

She searched for awhile before she found him curled up in a corner, pathetic.

She walked to him and stood above him. “Pugsley.”

He jumps and looks up at her, sniffing and wiping his face. “O-oh hey Wednesday…what are you doing here?” He says, attempting to hide the shake in his voice.

Her eyebrows furrow ever so slightly. “I saw you leave. Why are you crying? You know emotions equal weak.”

He looks down and sniffs. “I’m sorry….”

Wednesday sighs and sits down next to him.

He looks at her confused, and she looks back at him. “Well, go on, talk about it. Y/n said should get better at comforting, although don’t expect much.”

He looks down and fiddles his fingers. “It’s nothing..”

She lets out an annoyed sigh. “Speak before you never get this chance again.”

He sighs. “Ok well…it’s dumb but….I miss you… and you’re always spending time with y/n and never me, and i know you love them but……do…do you like them better than me?” He looks at her with tears in his eyes.

She stares at him, taking in his words and trying to find the right ones to say back.

She hesitantly puts a hand on his shoulder, and he looks at her hand, then at her.

“Pugsley. You are my brother, I tolerate you AND Y/n. There is no need to feel upset. As siblings, we have a bond that me and Y/n will not have. You are as important as them. So don’t wallow in self pity any longe-“ she’s cut off by Pugsley hugging her tightly. “I love you too sis,” he says in a shaky voice.

Wednesday sits there for a second, before patting him. “Yes, now let’s go. We can, spend time together. Perhaps later you can spend time with y/n, they quite like you.”

He lets go of her and looks at her with sparkling eyes. “Really?”

She glances away. “Yes, they said, and I quote, ‘your brother is so cute, I’d love if he spent time with us’” Wednesday say with mild disgust.

He smiles and sniffs before hugging her again. “Ok, thank you Wednesday.”

——————

SOBBING ,BABY PUGSLEY WHO HURT YOU😭

[opinionettey]

ADVICE FOR THE SIGNS :

ARIES - Don’t let your anger or jealous pangs get the best of you. You are a warrior and a natural born fighter, use your strong will to change situations that no longer or haven’t been making you feel happy. Stay away from people who make you feel like you have to dim your light or makes you feel like you can’t do whatever the fuck you want, no matter what you decide you’ll come out on top!!! I promise you, stay true to yourself and your beliefs, love people, but love yourself more 🔥❤️‍🔥😘😤👊🏽

TAURUS - Take as much time as you need for however long you need. You are on your own timeline. It’s not a race, you’ll get to wherever you want to be when you’re supposed to get there. Think things through and decide when you’re ready. If anyone makes you feel less than what you are and is taking your love for granted, leave them for the birds, baby you’ll be more than okay! You were great before you met them, you’ll be even greater after them 💚 Head up sweetie pie, so we can all admire that beautiful face of yours 🥰🌹🧚🏼✨

GEMINI - Becareful who you share information with, just because you have a lot of friends doesn’t mean they’re actually your friends. Please hold weight to your words when you make a promise to someone. You’re very lucky to have people who trust you, don’t break their trust baby. You’re THAT friend for a reason, continue to be the awesome funny light hearted friend that you are without the expense of hurting others. 😌🥳😝✨🙏🏽

CANCER - Don’t let hurt people ruin your ability to love and accept others unconditionally ❤️‍🩹✨ , Your forgiving nature and understanding soul is one of a kind. Let them lose you, because YOU ARE the lost NOT them. Anyone that doesn’t appreciate you and know your worth the universe will take them out of your life because you are special. Let the trash take itself out, you don’t gotta lift a pretty little finger angel baby 💎✨ they’ll miss you, they always do 😏😉💯🙏🏽✨

LEO - You are the light my friend. You don’t need to seek validation from anyone. You have all the answers within yourself! You’re strong, confident, loving and beautiful, your soul radiates just like the sun! Light up the world baby , surround yourself with people who aren’t jealous of your light and who absorb your light. You inspire others to be themselves, don’t try to be anyone but you. They can imitate you but, they CANNOT duplicate you ✨🌞🦁💎😮‍💨🙏🏽

VIRGO - My sweet baby Virgo, stop your worrying my love, everything will work out. You are so caring and so sweet, not everyone deserves the best of you, save yourself for the people who treat you with nothing but support, respect and loyalty. ALWAYS trust your gut , and NEVER give anyone the benefit of the doubt , also try not to project your fears onto others, if you can’t tell the difference, meditate baby, clarity will come 💛✨🌬️🌞🍃 you’re protected and you’re loved, don’t ever doubt that 🙏🏽🤍✨

LIBRA - Love is your birth right. Love will always find you no matter what state you’re in 💛✨ Continue to be the best version of yourself, because you only deserve the best 😝❤️‍🔥 I promise things will be worth the wait because, YOU ARE WORTH IT. Good things come to those who wait my love, don’t stress about it or about them, you always get what you want 😘

SCORPIO - Forgive yourself ☺️❤️ Mistakes will always be made, and you’re not done making them, the best apology is changed behavior. You have the gift of death and rebirth, be kind to yourself during this time and be patient with yourself, you’re becoming someone you’ve never been before, and trust me, this new person was worth everything you’ve ever done in your life! Are you ready to rule the fucking world?!!! Cause it’s YOURS 😈❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 do the work & the rest will follow 🙏🏽✨❤️‍🔥💯

SAGITTARIUS - It’s time to let go love… It’s time to be free.. don’t you miss yourself ? 🥹, let yourself be free, let yourself live!! Go anywhere and be anyone with whom ever you want to experience this life with. You’re not meant to be in a cage, you’re meant to roam and run and leap and fly! go Sagittarius, anywhere, any place! You’ll be happy you did 😘😝✨🤍🌻🍃💘

PISCES - Dream my love, Dream a good dream. Have a great time and love loosely, dreams do come true and yours is happening! Don’t stop for anyone, don’t change for anything, cry, laugh, yell, sing! The angels are dancing because of you 🧚🏼🦄☁️✨You are fine, you’ll always be fine , more than fine, do whatever the fuck you want, you’ll live forever 🙏🏽🥹🤍🦄✨🌻

AQUARIUS - Don’t be so hard on yourself, people love you, you are loved and you are admired by many, anyone and everyone is lucky to have you in their lives with your beautiful wisdom and the way you speak. Don’t stop speaking, don’t stop sharing, don’t stop anything you love to do, no one is judging you 🤍✨🥹 You’re perfect the way you are, don’t change a thing. 🥸😎🙏🏽😘😘😘😘😘

CAPRICORN - Sweet Capricorn, You are winning, at life, at love, at anything you desire. You are precious, you are strong, continue to be strong my love, continue to protect what you love and what you believe, no one can take anything from you. Resilient soul 🔥🔥 don’t let anyone tell you you’re too rigid or strict, you’re just the right amount stable, work hard my sweet Capricorn, riches are your birth right 💯😎❤️

[forever-rogue]

Hiii and happy 11 days till Christmas!!! I saw the prompt list you reblogged and I wondered if you could write something for sweet soft boy Steven Grant 🥺I just looove the way you characterize him, it’s perfect, and I really really miss the moonknight days. Anyways, maybe this prompt with some hurt comfort goodness? " you don't have to be so strong all the time. i can be strong for the both of us, if you'd let me... "

it’s okay if you don’t write I understand 💖

AN |  A lil Christmas pressie from me to y’all! Just some angst and softness with our favorite boy😌

Pairing | Steven Grant x Fem!Reader

Warnings | None

Word Count | 1.5k

Masterlist | Main, Moon Knight

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

It’s been a few days since you’ve seen Steven; a few days since he’d come by your apartment and graced you with his presence. Had it been even a few months ago, you wouldn’t have blinked an eye. Sure, you would have missed him and been dismayed at the emptiness his absence instilled in your life…but you wouldn’t have questioned it. 

But you knew him. Knew that he wasn’t just Steven Grant, the sweet mild mannered man you’d met while working at the museum. You knew his secret and had promised to hold and keep it. It was because of this very knowledge that you grew worried. What if something had happened to him? To Marc? And you weren’t able to protect either of them? You’d never forgive yourself. 

Which is why, at three o’clock in the morning on a rainy Wednesday, you found yourself leaving the comfort and safety of your warm apartment to go to his. Maybe it would lead to nothing…maybe it would lead to answers. Either way…you had to find out. You were still dressed in pajamas, trainers haphazardly thrown on, along with your broken umbrella (you’d meant to replace it but hadn’t gotten to that part yet) as you made the trek the few blocks over to his apartment. 

When you got to his building, you looked up at his window to see if by chance his light was on. But there was nothing; but then again what did you expect? Most people were asleep by now. You let yourself in and walked quickly to the elevator, pressing the button for his floor. You must have looked a sight, drenched and with wild eyes as the ride seemed to take incredibly long. But luckily, you made it after a few long minutes and got out, suddenly nervous.

All the worry you pushed down and compartmentalized were bubbling to the surface as you stood in front of his door, hand raised to knock softly. Should you even knock? What if he was sleeping and you woke him up? At least then you’d know he was okay. Should you just let yourself in? What if that woke him up and then he just found you creeping around his apartment? Maybe you could just hang around until he left the apartment at some point and you could pretend you had just been on your way over. Maybe - 

But any more thoughts, or silly plans that you could have concocted were quickly dashed when you heard the door unlock and open. You couldn’t help the small sound of surprise that escaped your lips when you saw Steven on the other side of the door. He looked tired, curls wild and roguish, along with dark circles under his eyes, but other than that he looked unharmed - fine. 

The relief that washed over you was palpable, as you realized that he was alive and well. You couldn’t help but throw your arms around him and pull him tightly into your body, swallowing him with your love and affection. He remained still for a moment before realizing what was going on, and then he hugged you back just as fiercely, burying his face in the juncture of your neck and shoulder. 

“Steven,” you reluctantly pulled back after a few minutes, “I-I…you’re okay. Oh, I’ve missed you, my love.”

You took his face in your hands and studied his face to make sure there were no marks you hadn’t seen initially. He turned his face into your touch, letting the soft warmth of your palm run along his cheek. The two of you were silent for a few moments before either of you spoke, but when the soft spell of silence was broken, it was him that spoke first, “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have disappeared like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you reassured him softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek, taking your hand in his and threading your fingers together, “all that matters is that you’re okay.”

“How did you…know to come?” he stepped inside and flicked on the lights, gently closing the door behind him, “I thought about calling or coming to see you, but didn’t want to wake you up.”

“You wouldn’t have,” you brushed away the tears of relief that had pearled up with the sleeve of your damp sweater, “I wasn’t asleep. I haven’t been sleeping much the past few days.”

“Because of me.”

“Not entirely,” you smiled softly, settling yourself down on the couch, discarding your damp sweater and grabbing a blanket, “it’s just a lot of things adding up all at once. How did you…know I was at the door? I hadn’t even knocked.”

“Good senses,” he played it off as though it was no big deal and everyone had the abilities that he and Marc had. He joined you on the couch, eagerly scooting under the blanket where you held it up for him. You snuggled into his side and he wasted no time in wrapping his arm around your shoulders. You rested his head on his chest, listening to the steady and strong beat of his heart. You were tired, relieved to have him back, the sound slowly started to lull you to lull you into the land of slumber. 

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you before he spoke again. When he did, his voice was soft, and you could easily hear all the emotion that was behind it. You felt his thumb stroking across your arm, a habit you learned that he had when he was nervous, “I, umm…I came back two days ago.”

“Two days ago?” you moved back so you look at him, a frown settling on your features. He wished he could just brush it away with a gentle kiss, but he knew that you deserved an explanation, “but you didn’t say anything…I’ve been…worried.”

“I know,” he rubbed his hand over tired face and sighed at himself more than anything, “I should have said something but…things felt so heavy. It took a bit to decompress and sort it all out…if you know what I mean.”

And you did - to the extent that an innocent bystander could - but you still couldn’t imagine just how very hard everything he did during his nighttime adventures were. You knew it was hard, and you could see how it affected him sometimes, but there was no way you could understand the full extent.

“I can only imagine what it must be like,” you reached over and touched his face, brushing your thumb over his cheek before carding a hand gently through his hair, “but Steven, I hope you knew that you can tell me whatever, whenever. You don't have to be so strong all the time. I can be strong for the both of us, if you'd let me. You do so much for others, but sometimes it’s okay to let others do things for you. To ask for help…because I want to do these things for you. Just like you always do for me.”

“I don’t think I could accurately put into words just how much you mean to me,” you could see his eyes glistening with emotion which only caused your heart to soften further, “but you mean the absolute world to me. Thank you, for always listening to me, and always being there for me. I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Funny,” you leaned in and kissed him, nothing more than a soft brush of lips, sweet and saccharine that left you both wanting more, “I feel the exact same way about you.”

This time he took the initiative and kissed you, pulling you further into his warm body and eventually into his lap, his hands settling on your waist as you looped yours around his neck. His touch was soft and tender, something you both loved, and you easily could have let him kiss you like that forever, “I love you, you know?”

“I love you,” the words had been exchanged between the two of you many times now, also soft and reverent with the promise of more, but they still managed to make your face flush with warmth and your tummy fill with butterflies. You were sure you could easily get lost in those big, brown eyes, “and I mean it, Steven. You don’t always have to be the strong one, sometimes that can be my job.”

“Okay,” the singular word, the answer to more than just your obvious question, was soft and almost cracked, “thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” you insisted, nudging your nose with his, “that’s just what you do for those you love. And I happen to love you very much.”

“More than-”

“More than anything,” you giggled softly, the sound going straight to his heart, “silly man!”

“I love you more than anything too,” he promised, “silly girl.”