#they are just sailing on a boat with their best friend and maybe the two od them are cannibals sometimes. like silly background characters.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

my favorite thing about making self insert ocs is that 90% of the time i dont even want them to interact with canon characters. i just want them to be chillin in the world somewhere

[artisiumstudios]

PART TWO

Part one (OMG I FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THE LINK THING WITH WORDS LMAO)

Anyways people want context so here it is:

Separation at birth AU (name is a work in progress) where Filbrick Really didn't want twins and lies to Caryn saying that only one of the twins made it out. Here he decides to keep Stanford because he thinks that maybe he can use his deformity (having 6 fingers) as an attraction, especially considering his wife is a psychic. So Stanley is given away and Filbrick is the only one who knows about this. Until now. so a couple of things:

Stanley: Despite him always being portrayed as being a people person and very charismatic, which he is when he wants to be, he was actually a loner as a kid since he struggled a lot in school (dyslexia). Without Stanford, Stanley had no one to help him out academically, not to mention his "adoptive" parents were quite neglectful resulting in him feeling like an outcast and even joining a biker gang during his early teenage years (13-14). Until he met Fiddleford Mcgucket, his only real friend (and more) who helped him which lead to him actually realizing that he was actually very intelligent. Which ends up with both of them going to West Coast because of it (both as engineers, Fidds for computers and Stan as a Mechanic) (also Stan does have glasses but he either refuses to wear them or just wears contacts.)

Stanford: Has a role much like Gideon, where basically he is some sort of psychic and is called the Psychic Sixir (yes spelt like that) and becomes a rather famous tourist attraction for the Pines, even resulting in getting a couple of commercials. Unfortunately, he hated the role he had to play. Yeah he was famous but he was a social outcast especially with his peers. His only sanctuary were books and an old boat he found in the beach. Ford is still very smart, and while he had always dreamed of sailing away on that boat he found and repaired growing up, it was far too lonely and his parents (specifically Filbrick) would never allow him to, so his best choice was leaving to a high leagues school. And here we are

anyways thats all I got now.

Next

[mydearlybeloathed]

𝐈 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ¹

𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞...

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you have a decision to make: risk everything for the boy who means everything, or set him free of your doubts.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: opla!luffy x gn!reader

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.7k

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: use of Y/N, gn reader, angst, garp ships it

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬: august, two birds

series masterlist

It took Luffy some time to figure it out, but he’d been in love with you years before it ever rolled off his lips. 

He always knew he loved you, of course. Luffy knew for certain his life would be incomplete without you there by his side, you his first mate, and he your captain.

You were his very best friend, and after the first six times he’d caught you unawares with displays of his affections—heated kisses against the wall of his grandfather’s house were your favorites—you sat him down and discussed what it meant to be lovers. 

He quite liked the sound of being your boyfriend. 

If it were up to Luffy he would have sailed the seas with you forever, if only he could get away from marine training.

He particularly wanted to get you away. You were strong and brave, but you had a dream, and this little town, Grandpa Garp, and your marine father were no good for chasing dreams.

Besides, you smiled less nowadays. Luffy missed your smile like a lost limb.

Especially now, as he sits with you on the sandy beach of your village. You laid between his legs, head resting on his abdomen, his hat on your belly. His arms wrapped around you, and he felt almost fulfilled just like this.

“When we’ve got our own ship,” he said, “there will be a room just for your books. And no one will be able to take them away from you ever again.”

Your heart warmed at the notion, remembering how your father had done just that earlier in the day, prompting this sunset rendezvous on the shore. “And we’ll have a pantry full of all the best foods.”

“And a masthead to be recognized all across the sea,” he went on in a mystified way he only got when talking about the future. 

You laughed and leaned your head back to admire him. “Naturally.”

To you, this was all dreaming and nothing more. A dream so dear to your heart that it was honestly the only thing holding you together at this point—along with his comforting arms wrapped around you, of course. A dream, an ideal, a wish for something more than the path already chosen for you.

You thought Luffy knew that too, or maybe you hoped he knew. Either way, when his arms fled your body and he jumped to his feet, you confusedly flopped back into the sand.

Maybe you didn’t know your life’s greatest love as well as you thought you did, because Luffy’s dream was more than a dream—Luffy would be a pirate, whether you were with him or not.

“Look!” He pointed down the beach as you shuffled to your feet. The setting sun allowed just enough light for you to spy a ship rocking back and forth along the water, beaching itself on the sand. 

From the way it swayed ever so slowly, and the lack of any light or person, the ship seemed to be abandoned. A lonely vessel to brave the seas.

Luffy latched onto your hand with practiced ease and tugged you along down the shore, kicking up sand all the way there. A shriek full laugh escaped you as he halted suddenly, staring up at the little sloop with admiration usually reserved for you. 

“I wonder what happened to the crew,” you mumbled, creeping up the side of it and bringing him along with you. No name was etched along the side, the deck was littered with bird droppings, and the sail had a few stains. The boat was loved by no one, and probably never had been before.

“Dunno,” Luffy said. His hand left yours so he could jump up onto the deck, leaving your palm an uncomfortable cold. 

You crossed your arms as he inspected the ship, coming back to the railing a moment later to grin down at you. You raised a brow at that look on his face. “Well?”

Luffy leaped down beside you, the sand giving under his feet, and he scooped up both your hands in his. A string in your heart stuttered then snapped at the gleam in his eyes, like it already knew the end was near. 

“This is it.” He was out of breath when he said it. “Our chance.”

You laughed mirthlessly through your answer. “What?”

He tugged on your arms, pulling you to hop onto the boat with him. “We’ll sail out at dawn. What should we call it?” You gaped a moment as he shook it off. “We’ll name it later. Look! Just enough room for your books and some food. It’s perfect.”

You ripped your hand away from his, crossing your arms over your chest and taking a slight step away from him. Terror creeped under your skin. “Luffy, what’re you talking about?”

He looked at you like you were the crazy one. “Our dream.”

His dream, you thought but didn't say. “You can’t be serious, Luffy.”

“I’ve never been serious about anything,” he mused, approaching you to cup your face in his hands so gently, like he was holding his whole world. “But this I’m serious about.”

“Luffy…” Slowly, your hands drifted over his own, taking them away from your face to hold them between you. “But… we can’t survive on our own.”

“We won’t be on our own. We’ll have each other.” If that wasn’t more salt in the wound.

Panic flooded your senses. If he left, you had no one. Surely, he would never leave you. “Yeah, but—but we can’t leave tomorrow. Look at this thing, there’s no way it’ll last a storm out there.”

Luffy pursed his lips, thinking, nodding. “Give me a week. I’ll have everything done by next week.” The wonder left him for a split moment. “We have to leave before next week.”

You gradually caught on. “We start as cadets next week, Luffy.”

“Exactly. We won’t be able to get away after that. This is our chance.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to return his smile, certain your face betrayed your intense reservations. You stepped away from him and turned your back, going to the edge of the little ship. “This is crazy.”

Luffy watched your shoulders shake. He watched you walk away from him, and felt something fragile slip between his fingers. He stepped up beside you, grazing his shoulder against yours. “What’s wrong? Isn’t this… isn’t this what we always wanted.”

The silence to follow was everlasting, and it let you think.

Somewhere inside you, you’d always feared this day would come. When Luffy outgrew the satisfaction of dreaming and truly set out to make it all true. He could do it too. You knew that if nothing else. Luffy was everything you had ever wanted, but his desires stretched beyond just you.

Was it unfair to wish to trap him here with you? Was it terrible to wish his dreams would die for the sake of never leaving you? You reacted to the thoughts, flinching at their truth. 

Yes. It was evil of you. Terrible and evil. A tear slid down your cheek. 

The wood of the boat burned beneath your bare feet. The chill night air froze your skin. Luffy’s shoulder was a brand he didn’t know he’d given you. 

“Luffy,” you whispered. “I… I can’t.”

His confusion was even more crushing than anger could ever be. “But we were just saying…”

“Yeah,” you laughed breathlessly, wiping at your cheek. “We were just saying stuff to make us feel better. That’s what it was to me.”

His hand found your shoulder and forced you to face him. Careful, like he feared you would break, he wiped away the increasing stream of tears. “You know it’s always been more to me.”

“I know.” You leaned into his touch. “I’m sorry. I’m…”

“Afraid?” You nodded into his palm, sniffling. “Of your father?”

Were you really so transparent? “Among other things. It’s just… we can’t leave.”

“Who says so?” Luffy left your side and spun around, gesturing to the little ship. “Once we’re out there, nothing can stop us. We’ll be free. Just like Shanks.”

You’d always held a grudge against Shanks. He was dangerous in your eyes, not for any other reason than the spirit he inspired in Luffy. The red haired pirate was kind and just and brave—and you had admired him as much as Luffy in your youth—but he threatened this peace you’d made. Luffy would leave this little island in his name, and that made you hate Shanks.

Luffy’s smile found you again, never relenting in its passion. He raced up to you and held you by your arms, shaking you slightly. You had no choice but to look right into his eyes. “Let’s leave. Nothing’s stopping us. Let’s go the night before we’re trapped forever.”

Sniffling, your eyes skimmed all over his face. There was really only one answer, in the end, as much as it killed you. “Okay.”

Luffy planted a burning kiss to your forehead, then your cheeks, then your lips, drawing you in as yet another tear traced your face. Breaking away, you hugged him with the ferocity of a person who knew it was their last. 

“We’ll start preparing the ship tomorrow. Then we’re free. Captain Luffy and his first mate, Y/N.”

જ⁀➴

All week you helped Luffy load supplies into the sloop, hidden away in the cove, out of sight from those who would thwart you.

From crates of food to medical supplies you convinced him he needed, to the minor repairs the sloop needed, everything was ready by the deadline Luffy had set. 

“Not yet,” he said through a grin, confusing you. “We need your books.”

You’d gathered the most important ones. The ones you used to read to him on particularly boring nights. Stories of grandeur he’d always promised to take you on one day. Books that held sentiment from over the years, that made him pause when he saw one and remind you of memories held close to your heart.

“Remember this one?” he asked, holding it up and flipping through the pages.

Of course you did. “Yeah. It’s my favorite.”

Luffy laughed and showed you the pages, as if you needed reminding of the memorized little drawings the two of you had scribbled into the margins. Yours were better by far, but you much preferred his little stick figures. Then he turned to the little messages he’d written you, and you’d written him, scrawled onto the pages when you were meant to be studying.

“The Two Birds,” he remembered, starting to read the pages. “It was my favorite too. Two birds of a feather say that they’re always going to stay together.”

Your heart thundered in your chest the longer that book lay open. “But one’s never going to let go of that wire.”

“He says that he will, but he’s just a liar.”

You hated that damn book.

Then came the morning of Luffy’s departure. He woke up before the sun, racing to your house and poking on the window. No one ever came to open it, so he gave it a push, swinging it open to find you were absent from the little room.

Not thinking anything of it, he headed down to the cove, deciding you must be there already.

Only, you weren’t. He looked all around the sloop and up on the deck, but aside from the crate of your books, there was no sign of you. 

“Luffy!” A voice bellowed from up the shore, and Luffy’s head snapped up as horror rushed up his spine. Vice Admiral Garp was racing toward him, tripping down the sandy slope.

Jumping to action, Luffy started pushing on the hull of the sloop, using all his might to get it into the water. Garp wasn’t making good time, his feet sinking into the sand and getting stuck every other step. 

The sloop got free of the beach and Luffy shoved off, chest heaving from exertion and panic, head swimming. He kept pushing and pushing till it was deep enough and he pulled himself onto the deck. 

“Hey!” Luffy whirled around just as you leaped at his grandfather, dragging him down to the sand with you. Holding the man down you looked up at him, and Luffy swore his heart dropped. “Go, Luffy!”

You had never intended on joining him, he realized, jaw setting as he spurred into motion, guiding the ship deeper and deeper into the sea, till he was too far away for Garp to catch. He kept going and going till he was just a speck on the horizon.

And with a throat burning with unspent tears, arm tight in the grip of the Vice Admiral, eyes locked on the sea, you found it in yourself to smile. 

Luffy would never have left you, you knew. He was too good. But, gods, he needed to leave. Your thoughts may be evil but you are not. To trap him would be to kill the light in him you so loved. It was better this way, for everyone involved, probably. 

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Garp growled down at you.

“Yeah,” you murmured. “He’s free now.” The smile faded to make way for a sour frown that would grace your face for decades to come. “I’m ready to join the marines, Vice Admiral.”

His hold on your arm loosened enough for you to lead the way back to town, head ducked, and Garp watched you go. A puzzled crease was in his brow, and something in him admired you. Something in him decided you’d make an honorable marine, even if his grandson would not. 

જ⁀➴

Garp never told your father you’d played a part in Luffy’s departure, and you never paid a too hefty price. He figured cadet training without your best friend was enough punishment. And he had been right on all accounts; you made an excellent marine, one of the coldest and most efficient of your time.

Your superiors commended you. Your peers envied you. As for yourself, well, it was hard to stave off the self loathing. You missed Luffy, but this was all for the best.

He was free, and honestly, that was as good as freedom itself.

Some months later, you were sitting at a desk going over the files of recent prisoners, when a new wanted poster was slapped onto the table. You jumped, glancing up at Vice Admiral Garp, who wore a strange kind of grin on his face.

“Take a look at your boy,” he said, walking off not a second later.

Glancing down, you spilled your ink with how badly you spooked, practically throwing everything aside to pick up the poster. A watery laugh slipped past your lips as you cupped a hand over your mouth, eyes suddenly teary. He’d done it. Luffy was a pirate with one of the highest bounties you’d seen. 

“Care to go after him?” Garp wondered from the doorway. “We need our best on this crew. They’re a dangerous bunch.”

You looked away from the poster of a face you hoped to never see again. You’re not sure what you’d do if you saw him again. “I don’t think I should.”

“Why?” He settled you with a glare. “You’re one of the most promising soldiers I’ve seen. But you’re losing your edge. Perhaps some action away from the desk will bring it back.”

You started to shake your head. “Vice Admiral, I don’t think seeing him would end well for anyone.”

“Perhaps. But you should know he asked about you.” Your eyes widened a fraction.

“You talked to him?”

“And he asked how you’re doing mid fight with me,” he chuckled.

You tried to think about the implications. “He did?” Taking a moment to think, you shook your head. “Respectfully, I decline. I fully believe hell would break loose if he saw me.”

Garp seemed to smile at that, like that’s exactly what he wanted. “Respectfully, I decline your decline. You report to your new post tomorrow.”

Gaping, you chased after him as he stomped down the hall. “But Vice Admiral—Garp! Stop!”

He had the nerve to laugh at your panic, and without thinking you grabbed his sleeve and jerked him to stop. “I’m a coward! That’s why I’m here. I’m not a promising soldier—I’m a dirty coward.”

Garp stared at where your hand held his sleeve, his frown a thin line. “And how do we fix that?” He took hold of your wrist and gripped it tight. “We take you to the source and crush it.” 

His hand found your shoulder. “You chose to stay, cadet. Never forget that.”

Ouch. You nodded swiftly. “I know… Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Garp said through a tight lipped grin.

You gave him one last solid nod and returned to your desk, shoulders stiff and blood rushing in your ears. Your eyes skimmed over the paperwork you had left to finish, all scattered over the floor, some dirtied by spilled ink. Luffy’s wanted poster smiled up at you.

He had always been too good for you, you think, rolling the poster up and slipping it into your coat pocket. Hell would break loose should the Strawhat Pirates cross paths with Cadet L/N, for many, many reasons. Cracking your neck to relieve some stiffness, you considered that may not be such a bad thing.

>>

[descendantsramblings]

Hi! I literally LOVED your morgie fic! I was just wondering if I could maybe request something like the siren scene from sinbad where reader is sailing with hook and his crew and they all become like entranced by the sirens and reader saves the day and at the end hook is like super proud of her? Sorry if that made like no sense😭

Ahh! I won’t lie I’ve never seen Sinbad so I had to go watch the scene but now I’m gonna have to watch the whole movie. I’m taking some creative liberties obviously to avoid making this toooo much like the movie but I literally LOVE the concept of this. Also, I made the reader Harry’s mom in the future, I hope that’s okay but I wanted to make a fic of them reminiscing when Hook sells the Jolly Roger to Uma anyway so I kinda used this as a “two birds one stone” situation. You made perfect sense, Baby, don’t you worry!

Also!! I saw that crowpickingss also got a very similar request and i didn't read his yet because I was scared of accidently getting inspiration from it, just to be clear.

Call of the Sirens

Captain James Hook x Pirate!Reader

Pronouns Used: she/her/hers

Summary: Hook and his wife retell the tale of when she saved a whole pirate crew from the song of sirens.

Warnings: a touch of swearing, the pirate crew is a little sexist to the reader, sirens are their own warning around these parts, death mentions but mainly in passing, concubine mention, pet names but with my writing that's basically a given, underage alcohol mention

Word Count: 2.2K

     “I just can’t believe you’re selling the old girl,” she shakes her head as she speaks, looking over the ship she’d loved so much in her youth. The body of mighty oak and rope that held the hand of her wanderlust way of life until it landed her behind the barrier of the Isle, deeming her one of the lost simply by being in the Captain’s crew. (Y/n) loved being a pirate, the salty spray that seemed to constantly coat her skin and hair, the rum and laughter on warm nights, the adrenaline rush when something would begin to go wrong. Everything about being a member of the Jolly Roger’s crew set her heart on fire. Even if it did get her deemed a villain, it gave her more than life outside the barrier ever could. 

    “Darling, she’s run her course with us,” he sighs, strutting across the deck to lovingly cradle his wife’s face, “Time for her to host a new set of teenager’s wanderlust egos has come so we can grow old together.” She looks over his shoulder as her son and his two best friends inspect the ship, the niece of their old dear friend seeming to glow as she studied the old body of the boat. “I’m surely going to miss this boat, she was too good to us.” He hums, shaking his head as he can’t fight the smile that threatens his features, “She got us into a world of trouble.” The comment leads the teenagers closer to them, Harry leading as he gets closer to his parents. “That’s not fair and you know it,” (Y/n) shakes her head as she raises a finger to tap against his nose, “You got us into all that trouble, not the Jolly Roger.” “If I remember right,”  he dips her down, smirking down at the glare of the sun on her face, “You seemed to be the one getting us out of it. A right hero you were, aye?” 

      Harry cringes as his father leans down to place a teasing kiss on his mother’s lips, letting out a forced gag that anyone who knew the Hooks would know was playful. “Sounds like Mom was the Captain then.” It causes Hook’s head to snap up, glaring daggers at his son. “I’m the captain, I will always be the Captain. Your mother was just the best under pressure.” She laughs, standing back up and walking to her son, brushing off his shoulders and fixing his collar as she speaks, “I wasn’t even first mate, your father would’ve never let me in on the action by choice. But someone had to keep an even mind on the old girl, you wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t. The two of us would’ve been well past dead before we even turned eighteen.” She shoots a look back at her husband, taking in the adoring look on his face as he watches the two of them, “Especially that one.” 

     “Had I not been so scared to lose her, she would’ve made a fine first mate,” his hook slinks around her waist, looping into a belt loop as he kisses her cheek. “You threatened it once.” “Aye,” he turns his attention to his son and his friends, truly making a show of the exchange, “I’ve never been so proud of her. Saved me and our whole crew.” Harry nods, looking between them, “So the day that I was born would be second?” Hook waves his good hand, “Third.” It catches him a swat to the chest, leading him to chuckle. “Darling, tell them about the sirens.” 

   “Sirens? You faced sirens?” Uma stares at the woman as if she’s the coolest thing on the seven seas, wide eyes aglow with excitement, “No one faces sirens and lives to tell the tale.” The woman smiles, shaking her head, “We wouldn’t have, if the siren song worked on women, or dogs.” “Dogs?” Harry looks at her with confusion, “We used to have a dog?” “I used to have a dog, Cocktail. He was the best dog a girl could’ve had, bless him. They took him from me when we got put on the Isle.” The kids watch her intently, each taking a seat on the deck like dominos falling in a line “Well, get on with it Momma.” 

                                  🪼⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🪼⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🪼⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🪼

     Caves were never her thing. Open waters, lagoons, abandoned islands, she’d take anything over sailing through caves. “James,” her voice is soft as she approaches him, hand slipping onto the steering Captain’s shoulder, “You know how I feel about caves.” She hated to sound whiny, weak. She gave the crew enough reason to think she didn’t belong there. Certain members of the crew even spoke to her as if she was nothing more than James’ concubine. But caves had an evil air to them that the girl couldn’t stand. Nothing good ever came from one, and she was positive that one of these days one would crash in on them. The unstable caverns tended to do so to overzealous explorers.

      “Yeah, Captain, you know she’s too much of a scaredy cat to go through a cave. She’s gotta whine the whole time, in case it gets her,” Starkey teases, rolling his eyes before turning back to his conversation with Turk. She glares daggers at him; next time Tick tock came by she wouldn’t think twice about tossing his brutish ass overboard. Let the creature have him instead of the captain. “It’s just the fastest route, Darling. We’ll be out of here in no time,” he pays no mind to his crew as he addresses her worries, sending her a cocky grin over his shoulder. She sighs, giving him a nod as she goes back to her previous seat on the deck of the ship, Cocktail resting his head back on her thigh as she did. Her hand finds its way to the top of his head, nails scratching gently against his skin as she tries to think of anything but how uncanny the cave was. With its muggy atmosphere and dark edges. Rigid calcium buildups hanging from the ceiling with sharp rocks jutting out the water. The air around her smelt dank and the dripping of water from the ceiling's build ups coupled with the odd harmony that hung in the air was enough to drive her insane. 

      The harmony? Since when did caves have their own harmonies? What is that sound?

She gets up to head back over to her lover, Cocktail hot on her heels as she does. “Aye, Captain?” He hums, seemingly not paying attention to her. “Do you hear that? There’s something off about this cave.” She waited for another snarky comment to come from the rest of the crew but nothing does. Carefully, as her hand finds its foundation on James’ shoulder, her eyes scan the deck. Every man on the ship seemed to stare off, a strange haze taking over their faces. Cocktail begins to bark at her side, nose pointed at the edge of the ship in alert.  She looks back to James, the same haze over his face, hand losing the grip he had on the steering wheel. Something about this place was entirely wrong; cursed. That’s what it was, there was some sort of black magic that hung in the air around the place. She just couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

    (Y/n) grabs hold of the steering wheel, holding it steady as she looks around in the water. Faint ripples and flashes of large black and deep violet tails. The melody began to make sense, and she took a moment to wonder how the group had been lucky enough to avoid the creatures until now. Never the wisest in their adventures. Seems it was catching up to them now. 

   “Captain,” she bumps his hip with hers as she speaks, earning no response from his statuesque form. “James,” her fingers snap in his face, not stirring so much as a blink from the boy. “Mr. Smee?” He’s looking over the edge of the ship, blowing a kiss to one of the creatures in the water. “Starkey? Tusk?” Nothing, they were all entranced. Everything had to fall on her now, the realization of it all making her stomach feel as if it was in her throat. Heart beating so loud that it sounds like cannon fire between her ears as she pushes James off of his post. Lip between her teeth as she catches the wheel again, attempting to pull it steady from the way his body weight had swung it right. 

    Water splashes over the sides of the deck from where the sirens beckon to her crew,  the men heading further to the edge as they do. She was losing them, and Hades as her witness (Y/n) was not ready to lose the crew that she’d learned to see as her own twisted form of a family. She leans down as far as she’ll allow herself to, “Cocktail, baby, you're going to have to help me here.” Her fingers grasp around a rope, tossing it to her beloved pet, “Go 'round the deck.” The mastiff takes off, dashing forward with the rope clenched between his teeth, wrapping the crew up in the harsh lead. It was rough, surely something that would catch her hell later, but it was tight enough to stop them. “Good boy, my god, you’re such a good boy.” She calls, focusing her energy back onto steering the ship. She could see the exit of the dreadful dugout now and if she could just avoid the rock to her left they’d be out free. Sirens hated the daylight, thank Merlin she’d remembered to attend class that day. 

     As she focuses on steering she notices the rise of something maroon in the corner of her eye. James making his way to the edge of the ship, the song getting louder as the siren realized she’d soon have control of the ship’s Captain. And (Y/n), unsure whether it be from love or jealousy, could not let that happen. “Cocktail,” her voice is stressed and jagged, catching the dog’s attention as his head tilts. “Go get Hook!” The large ball of fur barrels forward, entrapping the man’s good arm between his jaws. It solicits a sharp gasp from the pirate, Hook attempting to rip his arm from the dog’s mouth with little success as he tries to reach forwards for the dreadful creature calling out to him. Instead, Cocktail throws his head back, sending the boy stumbling into (Y/n). His lips crash against hers but it’s not right. Sloppy and hazy, like a kiss after a few too many drinks. If only true love’s kiss could work on a siren’s song, she’d have help instead of his dead weight pressed against her. It makes her feel uneasy, shoving her boyfriend off of her as she attempts to regain control of the wheel he’d knocked astray yet again. Just a few hundred more feet and one ugly jagged rock until she’d be far enough into the light that the creatures would lose their control on her ship’s crew. She was almost there. 

     What (Y/n) had no way of knowing  was that there would be a waterfall at the end of the cave. The girl making it all the way to the edge just to plummet to the lower seas. Body being thrown to the ground and on top of the captain's, holding her breath as she waits for the worst. The way their bodies all slam back into the deck as the ship’s hull hits the water again seems to stir something in the crew. Hook sitting back up with a firm grip settling on her, hand ghosting over her cheek. “What the hell happened?” She only laughs, grabbing his face and kissing him as if she was never coming up for air. (Y/n) could feel the stress melt from her shoulders as she leaned further into the boy’s lips, near whining against them. He’s the first to pull back, brows furrowed as he stares into her eyes. “My love, what happened.” She shakes her head, “You drove us into a siren’s lair is what happened,” a soft slap falls to his chest, “No more caves.” Each word is said as if it's punctuated, an accusatory finger hitting his chest as she says them.

     “I hate to agree with the girl,” Starkey sighs, attempting to undo the rope around him and the rest of the crew, “But no more caves, Captain.” The statement is followed by the rest of the crew, each member seeming to suddenly share the girl’s hatred of caves. “Alright alright,” he pushes her off his lap to stand as Cocktail makes his way over to his owner. “No more caves. Though,” he looks around his ship, nodding in approval, “It seems you may have a rival for first mate, Smee. My girl did a darling job of taking care of my ship and my crew, look at this.” He looks to her with a genuine smile before leaning down to untie his crew, “A marvelous job, Darling.” Starkey glares at the Captain, a breath of jealousy in his eyes, “Says the man who doesn’t currently have rope burn.” The comment earns him a hook under his chin, Hook’s eyes squinting as they look into his own, “I’d watch your mouth matey. Seems to me that she just saved your life.” 

[collinrobinsonsglasses]

I have two words for you: jealous Izzy

Maybe reader is simply very close to someone on the ship and Izzy thinks they are dating, or reader's ex shows up and Izzy (since his only other time he was in love, that we know of, it was the unrequired disaster with Ed) figures reader will leave him and the crew for this twat and he keeps being a grumpy ass

These are just vague ideas, honestly there is so little Izzy/reader that I am happy with whatever I can get

⁽ˢᵒʳʳʸ ᶦᶠ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶦˢ ⁿᵒᵗ ʷᵉˡˡ ʷʳᶦᵗᵗᵉⁿ, ᴵ'ᵐ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵃ ⁿᵃᵗᶦᵛᵉ ˢᵖᵉᵃᵏᵉʳ⁾

This request was written super well, and I loved the idea. <3

Izzy Hands X Reader (GN)

Jealousy, Jealousy.

Masterlist

Your gaze lingered on the shoreline, soaking in the familiar sights, as The Revenge sailed closer to the place you once called home. It had been years since you last set foot on the shore where you grew up. Though you no longer had family there, the nostalgia stirred excitement within you. As you mentally compiled a list of your favorite places to share with the crew during shore leave, a flicker of movement caught your eye. Across the deck, Izzy’s gaze found yours, and for a moment, your heart skipped a beat. With a nervous smile, you returned his gaze. There was an unexplainable anticipation to reveal the place you once called home to Izzy, a desire for him to truly understand you, even though nothing romantic had ever happened between you. 

The longing to be closer to Izzy was a secret you had only shared one drunken night with Olu, Jim, and Archie. After a few too many swigs of rum, you let your desire slip, expecting ridicule or disbelief. Jim’s immediate reaction was to dismiss the idea as pure idiocy, while Archie, always one to revel in chaos, egged you on, perhaps sensing the potential for drama. Yet, it was Olu who offered the most genuine support, his caring nature shining through in that moment, as it always did. All three of your friends showed their support in distinct ways, each with your best interests at heart. 

You made your way towards Izzy, who stood at the edge of the ship, his gaze fixed on the tiny town ahead. His grip on the boat’s railing was steady, his expression unreadable as always. As you approached him and settled beside him, you couldn’t help but wonder what thoughts occupied his mind. With an awkward smile, you greeted him, resting your arms against the rail, trying to summon the courage to start a conversation. 

“Hey, Izzy,” you began, lightly tapping the wood beneath your fingers. “The crew’s planning to hit a bar tonight. You should come with us.” 

“The whole crew?” You observed as Izzy’s expression tightened, you assumed he was envisioning the lively chaos that usually came with spending an evening with Stede Bonnet’s crew. 

“I think even Stede and Ed are coming,” you added, unsure whether this news would be received positively or negatively by Izzy. 

“Someone has to stay with the ship.” he remarked, you observed as Izzy turned abruptly, leaving you behind, though not without a moment of hesitation. He pivoted back to face you, his expression hinting at an unspoken urgency. “Thank you for inviting me.” he grumbled, before taking off once more. You stared off into his direction, feeling defeated, you could feel your shoulders slink down. 

“Eso fue embarazoso” Jim whispered, wrapping their arm around you teasingly. 

“Vete a la mierde” you retorted playfully, but as you rested your forehead on the side of the ship, a sense of embarrassment washed over you. 

“It’s him that’s embarrassing, not you,” Jim reassured with an eye roll, yanking your arm gently to lead you towards the main deck where more members of the crew were waiting to go ashore. 

The night took a turn for the better once the familiar sights of home surrounded you, leaving your interaction with Izzy a distant memory back on the boat. Your favorite bar looked exactly as you remembered, with its simple decor and the same cheap rum. Halfway through the night, your gaze caught a familiar face across the crowded bar - your childhood sweetheart, Samuel. He seemed almost surreal as memories from the past flooded your mind, but the love you once felt for him now felt like a distant echo of someone you used to be. It was still a comforting sight to see his face, and the remainder of the night, he stayed by your side, engaging with the crew. 

He bought everyone drinks, eagerly listened to Stede’s tales of piracy, and repeatedly expressed his joy at seeing you again throughout the night. His presence brought a sense of relief, making home truly feel like home. Seeing him transported you back to your younger days when everything seemed simpler. You and Sam had been so young when you were together, and although relationships like that often don’t last, your parting had been amicable. You were both heading in different directions - the sea calling you while Sam seemed content to stay rooted at home. 

In the end, it had been a successful night. Despite Izzy’s rejection weighing heavily on your mind, Sam’s presence provided a temporary distraction. The lively atmosphere of the bar, coupled with the antics of the rest of the crew, kept you on your toes. Sam left with a promise to find you the next night, and the crew set off back to the ship, the night’s events lingering in the air as they made their way home. As you walked back to the ship, Jim’s arm slipped around you, while they gave you a knowing gaze. 

“No,” you interjected, feeling the weight of their unspoken question. 

“I didn’t say anything.” Jim’s arm still draped comfortingly over your shoulder. 

Archie caught up on your other side. “I like him,” she stated simply, lightly punching your arm. 

“Leave it, you two,” Olu laughed from behind. 

“It was good to see him,” you sighed, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips. “But we’re only here for a couple days.” 

You and the crew returned to the ship, your arm linked with Olu’s as you strolled along, pointing out different buildings and sharing stories from your childhood. Though a part of you wondered what Izzy had been up to tonight, being with the crew always lifted your spirits. 

⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

Izzy had spent the entire night pacing the ship, consumed by curiosity about what the crew was up to ashore, yet lacking the courage to join them. He cursed himself for being such a fucking coward, especially when it came to you. After everything that had happened with Edward, he had vowed to guard his heart against developing feelings for anyone, if he could help it. But slowly, without him realizing, you had managed to sneak your way into his heart, leaving him uncertain of what to do next. He had never been good at this kind of thing. 

You had extended the invitation to spend time together, even if the entire crew would be there. Izzy regretted his hesitation and that he declined your offer. Izzy couldn’t shake the feeling that you were only including him out of kindness. He didn’t particularly enjoy big group gatherings, rowdy drinking, or any of the activities that typically accompanied shore leave. For him, it was much simpler to focus on getting a job done. Even still, he felt like he had made a mistake. 

The next morning, Izzy found himself in the captain’s quarters, attempting to gather information about the day’s plans while absentmindedly running his finger through the flame of one of Stede’s candles. Stede calmly sipped on a cup of tea, nibbling on his breakfast, while Edward sat beside him, his fingers lightly tracing over Stede’s. 

“You missed a fun night out, Iz,” Edward remarked with a smile, his fingers now intertwined with Stede’s. “You should come tonight.” 

“Samuel was lovely. Wasn’t he, Ed?” Stede replied, a goofy grin spreading across his face. 

“Yeah. He was,” Edward answered plainly, a small smile directed at Stede, though Izzy noticed the nervous glance Edward shot in his direction. 

“Who the fuck is Samuel?” Izzy huffed, curious about Edward’s strange reaction. 

As Stede explained that Samuel was your childhood sweetheart, Izzy’s lips tightened into a thin line, feeling a surge of heat rising from his chest. He sensed Edward’s eyes fixed on him and watched as Edward squeezed Stede’s hand, attempting to swiftly change the subject. Part of Izzy was thankful he wasn’t there, because the mere thought of you with someone else made his blood boil, yet having to imagine it was equally unpleasant. 

“Like I said,” Edward whispered after Stede had finished, giving Izzy an encouraging glance, “you should come tonight, Iz.” 

“Fine,” Izzy grumbled. 

As the crew walked through the city, Izzy found himself reluctantly trailing towards the back of the group, keeping a watchful eye on you as you walked alongside Olu. Your gaze met his when you glanced back, offering a warm smile and a pat on Olu’s arm before halting in your tracks. You waited until Izzy caught up, falling into step beside him. 

“I’m glad you’re coming tonight, Iz.” 

Izzy felt your fingers lightly squeeze his arm. Despite trying to maintain a stoic position, Izzy felt his heart swell at your touch. 

Izzy felt a small smile spread across his face. “Me too,” he replied nervously. Walking beside you, and feeling your small touch, had already made coming out tonight worth it. 

At the table in the bar, you stayed by his side, engaging in conversation with him, Ed, and Stede. As the night progressed, Izzy found himself pleasantly surprised by how at ease he felt in your company. Your laughter was infectious, and the warmth in your eyes made him forget about his earlier hesitations. With each passing moment, Izzy found himself opening up, letting down the walls he had built around himself. His expression shifted abruptly as the crew began calling out Samuel’s name. A tightness crept into his features, his jaw clenching involuntarily at the sight of the unwelcome presence. 

Izzy’s glare intensified as Samuel glided over and smoothly positioned himself next to you, his arm casually draping around your shoulders and drawing you closer. Izzy scrutinized your expression, noting the awkward smile that appeared on your lips. 

“Samuel, this is Israel Hands, the first mate,” you gently introduced, directing your gaze towards Izzy. 

Samuel extended his hand for a handshake, but Izzy only grunted in response, his body tensing with a mixture of annoyance and rage. Izzy quickly stood up, retreating to the bar and leaving the crew behind. 

After a few minutes, Izzy felt someone join him and looked over to see you peering curiously at him. 

“You okay, Iz?” you whispered. 

“Fuck off.” 

Izzy turned, leaning on the bar, to face the table and his crew. After glaring at Samuel for a moment, he noticed you were still standing there next to him. 

“He seems like a twat,” Izzy hissed towards you.

He saw a small frown beginning to form on your face, but he felt his anger fueling him. 

“You could give him a chance at least,” you said quietly. 

Izzy only replied with a snort. 

“He’s a good man. He cares about me” Izzy heard the anger beginning to rise in your voice. “He asked me to stay here with him.” 

“Maybe you should,” Izzy shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant, but inside, he was consumed by panic. The mere thought of losing you from the ship fueled his hatred towards Samuel even more. 

“You think I should stay here?” you asked, your tone tinged with uncertainty. 

“Do whatever the fuck you want,” Izzy hissed back. 

Izzy watched with a sinking feeling as tears seemed to form in your eyes, and you quickly turned away from him, heading back to the table. Instant regret flooded through him as he watched you from afar. He had pushed you away again, right into the arms of some twat named Samuel. 

Izzy noticed Jim glaring at him from across the room, a clear indication of disapproval on their face. Before long, Ed joined Izzy by his side, patting his shoulder in a gesture of support.

“Hey, Iz,” Ed whispered, his expression clouded with concern. When Izzy made no move to speak, Edward persisted. “You’ve got to tell them how you feel. Talk it through. Stop being a dick.” 

Izzy left the bar as quickly as he could, but Edward’s words echoed relentlessly in his mind. The mere thought of you leaving, staying here with another man, and no longer being on The Revenge made him feel sick to his stomach. When he finally reached the ship, he paced back and forth on the deck, his mind consumed by imaginary conversations with you. He desperately searched for something he could say to make you stay.  

⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

Tonight, as you walked back to the ship with the group, you remained silent, keeping to yourself instead of engaging in conversation with the group. You had made a decision earlier, telling Samuel that you were leaving with The Revenge. He had been understanding, as always, making goodbye feel harder. You had never entertained the idea of staying behind, not when you had finally found a new family on your ship. The truth was, you had only mentioned it to Izzy to gauge his reaction, to see if he cared enough to ask you to stay. But it was painfully obvious that he didn’t. 

As you and the crew boarded the ship, you felt a soft grasp around your arm, gently leading you to the back of the ship. Turning, you saw that the grasp belonged to Izzy. Curiosity piqued, you followed him silently as he led you away from the group. Once you reached your destination, you and Izzy stared at each other for a moment, a palpable tension hanging in the air. Izzy appeared lost, unsure of what to say next. As the moment stretched into a long silence, you opened your mouth, intending to break the tension, but before you could speak, Izzy quickly began to talk. 

“Don’t leave,” Izzy’s words pierced the silence, catching you off guard. 

“What?” 

“Don’t leave. I know I don’t have any right to ask you to stay, but don’t stay with that fucking twat.” Izzy’s gaze bore into yours, his eyes filled with intensity, almost pleading with you to reconsider. 

“Why?” you whispered. 

“Samuel might care about you, but there are people here who care about you more.” Izzy whispered back, his voice vulnerable as he nervously tugged at the ring around his neck. 

“Like who?” The anticipation built within you, as you silently hoped he would say himself. 

“Olu, Jim, Archie… the whole crew,” Izzy grumbled, his eyes shifting nervously towards the floor. 

“Do you care about me more?” you asked sweetly, hoping to coax Izzy into meeting your eyes. “Because I care about you.” 

At your words, Izzy’s gaze quickly met yours, a flicker of emotion dancing in his eyes. Then, slowly but steadily, Izzy’s features softened, his guard melting away as he reached out to gently cup your cheek. “I care about you more than that twat,” he whispered, his voice barely above a breath. 

“I’m not leaving, Iz,” you smiled warmly towards him, relief flooding through you. “I don’t know what I would do without the crew, without you.” 

You and Izzy gazed at each other for a moment, the warmth of his touch lingering on your cheeks. Suddenly, a smirk flashed across your face as you finally understood what had been weighing on Izzy’s mind. 

“You were jealous,” you teased, a knowing smile dancing on your lips. 

“Fuck off,” Izzy replied, but you could see a smile stretching across his face, his attempt to maintain a stern facade failing. 

“You like me,” you whispered, your eyes tracing his lips with a playful glint. 

Izzy interrupted your playful banter with his lips, silencing your teasing words with a kiss filled with longing and desire. His lips were soft yet demanding against yours. You responded eagerly, your hands finding their way to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. 

“Wooo,” you heard Archie’s voice echo across the deck. “About time.” 

The sound of her voice broke the spell, and you and Izzy turned to see the rest of the crew watching with amused grins. It was clear that your moment had not gone unnoticed, and a chorus of cheers and whistles erupted from the gathered crew members. You noticed Edward give a small wink to Izzy, a knowing look passing between them. 

“I should make you jealous more often,” you giggled, the playful tone in your voice carrying a hint of mischief.  

Izzy only rolled his eyes at this comment, unable to suppress a fond smile as he pulled you in again for another tender kiss. 

[echantedtoon]

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Ch2 Red Shines Bright Tonight

(Tagging @punks-never-die205 @feiatjjk

@karmadglory @babygurlenthusiast @swampstew @purplesoulsapphire

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

I apologize if I write Kid or his crew OOC in this. I only wrote for Kid like one other time. Also apologies for the inaccuracy of anything. I'll research everything in One Piece as accurately as possible. I'm only planning on this to have four parts so bare with me. The first three chapters are post the two year time skip.

Warnings for spicy things implied or mentioned maybe some innuendos but it will STAY sfw otherwise. Kid's cannon killing streak and violence mentioned. Some cussing and mentioned drinking.)

The measurements of one's own worth weighed heavily upon the beauty of outer looks. Or the wealth from the status you had upon thee either from birth or taken for one's own self through selfish means. 

Wano was no stranger to that way of life.

The crystalized glamor that was painted over the true cruelty of the withering Flower Capital of Wano hid the true meaning underneath. The streets bathed in the battered blood of civilization tainted with selfish desire and covered in a layer of cherry blossom petals and silk robes to distract those from the real monsters underneath. 

Which was exactly why they felt so at home being worse than the monster's already inhabiting the district.

The many hours of sailing had made the residents of the blight known as the Victoria Punk had grown restless in excitement and desire at their Captain's promised reward for their gastly deeds done not a mere day ago. The celebration of their bloodshed would soon be upon them. Morning sunlight shown upon them all as that night slowly slid to a close to make way for the morning light. Many a crew slept the day's voyage away minus those whom had duties to perform or were too excited to sleep. Slowly the day trickled by. The morning sun rising towards the middle of the sky. Winds favored the boat full of sins as they pushed the sails ever faster towards their desired promise. However no greedy pirate would miss the loud voice carried upon the breeze and instantly awoke any slumbering hellions.

"LAND HO!!"

The voice calling down from the crow's nest caused quite a stir up. Men and women crew members alike bursting from below deck charging up towards the deck stampeded out. Some snorting awake and tripping over themselves from beds to rush within the growing board. Some already up top rushing towards the railings. No matter where they came from, all cheered and talked with glee spotting the glittering land so close now on the horizon and having their desires so close to being fulfilled.

The dull thudding of boots against wood under his feet sounded out before he stopped just on the upper deck looking upon the sunlight glistening off the beautiful blue sea and seemingly added an extra shine to the glamoured land. 

"Huh. We got here earlier than expected," the red headed man commented shooting a grin at the right hand man next to him. "Guess today's our lucky day after all, ain't it?"

"The winds were favorable is all," he calmly stated but couldn't hide the happy undertone of his voice. "We got here a couple hours before sundown." A sigh was let out. "I wish you didn't make such a big deal about it. The entire crew's riled up now."

"You would be too if you're promised the night of a lifetime which I did promise you." The blonde didn't respond beyond a sigh as his best friend and captain patted his back. 

"Just don't do anything really crazy like burn half the district down. I heard Kaido's had his eyes on this place and with what happened a day ago, it's best to at least lay semi low."

"Don't worry. If there's a barbecue then you're the first person to get dibs on the food." Killer didn't respond to his joke as he turned grinning eagerly to himself and rubbing his own hands together in his own anticipation. "The district is a walnut and the best way to get the goods inside is to crack it wide open."

The closer to the glittery land they got, the more the excitement and desperation truly grew within greedy heart. It was only a matter of time before they truly were there.  And the horrors of the Victoria Punk brought with it would not be lost on the people who gazed upon it's visage either. For when the danger pulled into the docks only the sounds of sloshing ocean waves and the groans of the ship coming to rest into the docks were the warnings onlookers got before the cheers of the greedy hellions were had again.

Those within earshot or eyesight of them were always the same and upon this land there was no exception. Those who recognized the immediate threat shrieked out in terror, fled, or both. Some of them seeking to hide in the nearby streets and buildings while some could only watch in horror. Those who didn't know looked on in confusion but fear as the bridge connecting the Victoria Punk to the docks lowered until connecting with a resounding thud and then the desperate board descended onto the promised land. Whoops. Bollard. Cheers. All were heard alongside the desperate steps thundering down onto land after hours at sea, and right behind them following slowly behind was the Red Devil himself.

Slowly coming down off his ship with each slow step of those boots until he took a deep inhale of air before slowly letting it all out. The sweet smells of seawater and the distant cherry blossoms were both an enticing and delightful change of the usual smoke and fire from the misdeeds done and the oil and rust from the workshop located right next to his own private courters. 

"Smells nice..Almost makes me sick." Amber eyes darted towards the latest victim of the devil. And a nearby man shouted in fear as he was suddenly in the air, held there by a fist holding the collar of his shirt. A maniac pirate smiling up at his as a crate of fish, no doubt, what he'd been doing at the docks, crashed onto the ground below. "Which way's the Red Light District?"

Terrified a arm shot towards the right, down a stretch of road. Good. His reward was getting to live another day. With a squawk of fright, the man was tossed aside. Flying off the docks only to splash into the seawater below. Earning a round of laughs from some but most were interested in following the thudded footsteps of their Captain as he walked down the street towards the desired night or another night of horror at his own hands.

The streets were as beautiful as the buildings and each were obviously made to show off wealth and status, and yet they looked so breakable! The annoyance in pattern only continued on with each step they took, each street passed, each house going by. Becoming more bigger and tacky looking the more wealthy into the district they marched. Getting stares of disgust, horror, confusion, and in most cases a mixture of all three. Mothers pulled their children inside. Ladies closed windows and doors. Men quickly retreated out of their path and in some instances even diving into nearby buildings to escape his path. 

He reveled in the fear he brought automatically. Yes. Fear him and his decaying death and drear he brought with him. It'll only benefit them all to listen to the warnings. 

Then a soft glow settled amongst the glam and glitter that paves the streets. There was still plenty of light only just beginning to turn sundown, but most of the light came from above. Strings of lanterns hung up over the streets and connecting the buildings within the dazzling glow of red lantern lights. Sparkling like mini stars and giving off the red glow the district was known for. Finally. The heavy scenes of sweet perfumes and food ravaged the air. And the sights before Amber eyes were what they were hoping for.

The streets were full of people crowded yet still more were coming in. Once a buzz like bees murmuring of speech, now slowed down to a full stop as eyes from streets, doorways, and windows looked down to stare wide eyed at the band of murderers and thieves standing loose in the streets. The streets were filled with beautiful women adoring flattering dresses and make up, and working men in loose fitting Hakama shifts showing off their impressive builds, both men and women of the night ripe for the taking for any paying customer. They'd often catcall out to potential customers to entice them out of their money and lure them to an early empty wallet.

However there was nothing but silence as the mere presence of the pirates was noticed. 

Eventually the silence was broken in by the chuckling of a Red Devil. "Well? What the hell are you bastards standing around for?"

That was it.

The straw that broke the camel's last remaining restraint.

The floodgates burst open like a dam of water rapidly pushing a trail of dominos.

A woman's squeal was the first thing heard amongst the domino's effect. First by a man of their group shoving aside a man who might've been talking to said woman moments ago, but was now caught up in the arms of the hellion cackling in pure delight at his catch. A domino effect started on as they descended amongst the crowd and buildings. The sounds of women squealing and maniac laughing filled the air as he just smiled...And then turned hearing a sigh next to him. 

"'Nothing's gonna go wrong', huh?" Killer crossed his arms in a 'i told you so' way as he stared at him.

"Eh, fuck off, Kil. Let 'em get some stress relief in." He waved off the concerns of the blonde, rolling his eyes with a grunt. Before setting his sights up on a establishment he was itching to see. An unmistakable pub. Whoever placed that in the middle of an entertainment district had a smart investment idea. "Speaking of which-"

Killer watched him start walking off. "Where are you going?"

"I've had a long day, so I'm going to drink until I black out or you drag me back to my ship! Whichever one comes first!"

An inwardly sigh left the killer's brain, but the thought of getting a drink was appealing so follow Kid he did. Through the chaos surrounding them all and straight into the pub which was already swarmed in other members of their hellish parade. They passed by Wire who was in the middle of working an honestly eight out of ten barmaid. Whispering something sweet to her mad face before slowly kissing her hand. Ah. Wire always had a thing for charming the ones who caught his eye. A couple more feet away from him was Quincy eyeing the nervous bartender with a list filled smiling face.

Proof in point. Doesn't matter what gender they were, any crew member of his hell scape was fearful. 

The poor bartender quivered more when the stares of both himself and Killer stopping at the bar looked down upon him from their rather taller heights. The pupils in his skull shrinking as the Captain leaned down to give him that satisfied smirk.

"Gimme a beer. Make it strong because I'm planning on not being able to walk come morning."

"Give me a shot of whiskey and leave the bottle..Please," Killer added watching as the trembling man quickly nodded and turned around to scramble around the many bottles visible on the shelf before looking back to Kid. "Let's not loose ourselves too much and act like semi civilized gentlemen at least."

"HA! Since when are we civilized?" A pint of the alcohol he wanted was placed in front of him and he pointed it at Killer snatching it up into his grasp. "We don't fucking pretend to be something we aren't, Kil. If we want something then even Kaido couldn't stand in our way." He made him point by downing the large pint in front of him before slamming down the mug loud enough to be heard above the many voices around him. "Give me another!"

Killer hummed again casually reaching out to poor himself a shot of the whiskey the trembling barman had placed in front of him, plucking a straw from a nearby cup before poking said straw into one of the holes of his helmet. "This is why Heat n' I are the designated babysitters." 

Despite the sigh leaving his lips, anyone could tell Killer was smiling under his mask as he drank the preferred drink tonight. For tonight was about nothing but celebrating the Red Devil's whims.

Step after step through the crowd.

His legs carried him closer and closer towards the destination of the festivities. Music played. Many people celebrated. Lots of guests coming forth to celebrate the creation of hellions' escapades. 

"Almost shameful behavior."

He commented to himself  despite the gleeful smirk on his face watching as one of the men drunkenly pulled his laughing woman of the night onto his lap, giving her a big kiss to her cheek, and holding up a large mug. "TO CAPTAIN KID!! MAY HE BE HALF AS HAPPY AS ME AND MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE LADY HERE!" The woman busted out laughing high pitched giggles in his lap as he pulled the mug back chugging down the sake.

A loud laughing fit emanated throughout the crowds followed by wolf whistles as the man went back to smothering his wife back with affection as she just laughed. It made his eyes roll and a chuckled huff escape his lips at the sight. Truly degenerate. But he meant it in the best way.~

He heard the sounds of loud laughter a mile before he even stepped back outside and was hit with the reek of alcohol long before he even stepped foot outside and made his way quickly through the throngs of people and towards the center. Back towards the pub. His senses were attacked by the strong smells to the point he was sure he'd get drunk from just smelling it. The crowds were terrible. Pushing against his body uncomfortably so and bumping his arms annoyingly so but he kept going his way towards the pub.

The loud laughter, music, and other blurring noises blending together from the crowds was mixed together in a vile assortment of degeneracy. The only thing to remedy this would be to seek shelter at the ship...But why would he want to do that?~ Finally he managed to get back to the bar and find his way inside. It had been a good three hours now. The sun had finally set and early night had just arrived. Now truly the city was alive but the hellions made no signs of stopping anytime soon. Knowing them, they'd be at this all night only to get dragged back to the Victoria Punk to sleep off angry throbbing hangovers. However he didn't bother with their fun.

Once inside he made his way over towards a small table in the corner where a few of his fellow crewmates were sitting by themselves and just drinking. Those included Killer still sipping on the draw poking out of his mask, Heat, and one other crew member whom was in a conversation with Heat while both drank some form of alcohol but they looked up as he just casually sat down across from the three of them.

"There you are, Wire. I thought you went back to the ship when you left," the pink haired man said before again taking a sip of his drink. Ah. Mosh. By the smell of the drink, it was some kind of margarita but bigger.

"No. I was just simply tending to business."

"Uh huh..And would that business be the pretty lady you were sweet talking a few hours ago?"

A grin was all Mosh got back, head settled in his hands. "I don't kiss and tell.~ But speaking of missing people-" Dark eyes gazed momentarily around the room and rose a brow at the missing red headed Captain. "-where'd Kid go?"

"Compo got drunk and someone dared him to stick his head in a bucket. Kid's outside helping him get it off."

His words got Heat to sigh tiredly but otherwise no one else really made a comment on it. "Hm. Seems about right. Honestly I'm surprised no one's done anything REALLY stupid yet-"

"DON'T jinx it, Wire." Heat narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't want to have a repeat of last time everyone got drunk. Killer still can't find his favorite spatula." At the mention of his name, Killer nodded in agreement with the other man.

"Heh. Well I can't say everyone's not enjoying themselves. Except maybe Kid and Compo at the moment. Surprised it's not one of you two trying to help him out."

"Kid actually volunteered for it."

Well that certainly surprised Wife as both his brows rose at his masked companion. "Really?"

Killer nodded. "Said we did a good job so we deserved to have a break tonight. That and he could probably get Compo out of there easier with those magnetic abilities of his."

That got Sore humming. Not in a 'oh ok' hum but a 'Im thinking of something' him. Head in hand allowing his eyes to gaze around lazily, and the other tapping on the table. "I don't suppose he's gotten any breaks himself yet."

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"Well he's doing the damage control tonight and if he's sober enough to do that then I can conclude he hasn't had a lot of drinks either. That's not enjoying himself."

"Well you know Kid. Once he does something he's too stubborn to let anyone, except sometimes Killer, to talk him outta it."

Wire hummed again still looking around the room until his eyes finally locked onto UK. At the moment he was a blushing mess of a man both no doubt from the booze but also because of the lovely lady cooing at him. That's when his eyes slightly widened and a smile graced his features.

"I know that look. What are you thinking?"

"What if we get the boss a gift?"

"Gift?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He's doing so much he should enjoy himself too." He finally looked back to them. "Let's get him a girl for the night."

"A girl?" Heat tilted his head in question.. before shrugging. "That's doable I guess. There's plenty of girls workin' the establishments so it wouldn't be hard to find one."

"I'm not talking about any regular working girl. There's plenty of them around. I'm talking about getting him something REAL special. Something even Kid's never had before."

"What are you talking about now? You want to get him a working guy instead?"

"What if we got him an oirans?"

There was silence around the table as the three stared at Wire before Heat and Mosh exchanged glances and Killer spoke up.

"You want to get Kid an oirans...Do you know the crazy conditions surrounding Kumorasaki? She takes and takes men of all their money and then raises the prices every second you're with her. She's a dam good digging witch and that's me putting it politely."

"Did you forget what District this is? Just because Kumorasaki is the most popular and well known Oiran in the Flower Capital that doesn't mean she's the only oiran here. C'mon, Killer. You still have the key to that chest right?" Killer slowly nodded. "Then what's the harm in surprising him with a gift?"

A long thoughtful him came from the blonde man. The cup in his hand slowly lowering until it says on the table with a light thud, his head tilted at Wire. Mosh and Heat exchanging unsure but thoughtful looks in turn to Wire's suggestion.

".....Which house do you think would have an oiran?"

-One Hour Later-

Lanterns as heaven's echo play above the street, come to the night as if they are our brightest of dreams and forever lighting our way. Lanterns are the stars we make in salute to the black heavens. The red glow shining down upon the masses as they walked the streets below.

It was then that the red glow matched with the red hair of the man walking through the masses, only to stop short just outside the pub of where he was headed. A curious sight to behold seeing everyone drinking outside the pub instead of in. Even more so seeing tables placed on the street where he saw familiar faces that attracted him towards them. 

A number of faces smiled up at him as he exasperatedly pulled out a chair only to plop himself down into it with a grunt. Sighing as he allowed his muscles to relax for once sinking into the hard oak wood.

"There ya are, Cap'n. Where have ya been?"

"Don't ask!," Kid growled out head leaning towards the lanterns and night sky above, "Killer, take a fucking mental note. Compo is not fuckin' allowed near booze again and NEVER in the same room as fuckin' Bubblegum!"

"Got it. Heh."

Immediately amber eyes shot up and narrowed at the blonde. "What's so dam funny?"

"Nothing really," Killer replied genuinely. "Just drinking my whiskey."

Those eyes narrowed more, brows scrunched up as more Snickers could be heard around him. Slowly tilting his head back down, he was met face to face with chuckling and his men not only at this table but a few surrounding tables snickered. Stealing smiling glances at him to which he felt annoyance bubbling up from his chest.

"Alright. What's the fucking joke?" He demanded slowly looking at Killer whom shook his head no. "I'm fucking serious, Killer! Did someone put something on my chair?!" Wood screeched as he immediately stood up and snapped his head around. "I swear if anyone-"

"Calm down, Kid," Killer held up a hand to calm the angry man, "No one's playing tricks." He gestured to the empty chair as if to prove his point.

Kid still stared suspiciously but slowly sat back down. "Then why is everyone looking at me like I'm the but of someone's dam joke?"

"They're excited and grateful to ya for the reward. Like you said relax and enjoy a little. C'mon. Drink and have some food with us!" He motioned for the barman still inside.

A small chorus joined in agreement with Killer. He didn't loose that suspicious look..but soon turned his attention to the new mug of beer and plate of delicious smelling turkey legs brought out and placed in front of him. Not as good as Killer's cooking but still delicious. He soon mellowed out, loosing himself to the tender taste of seasoned meat and butter taste of alcohol. 

The laughter and music around them continued through as he stuffed his face and laughed at a crude joke Wife told him. Meanwhile excited looks and whispers still glanced up and down the streets in anticipation of what's to come.

Slowly the loud laughs and talking with the occasional scream filled down to a murmuring him until it reached a silence. The new slowed silence wasn't lost to the captain who slowly rose a brow at the sudden change. Noticing the way everyone's faces turned down the street behind him. Still chewing on the food, he turned to see why such a change in direction occured. 

The entire middle of the street had been cleared and what looked to be two giant crowds of men and women lined the street on either side. As if something was blocking them from crossing with each other. What was stopping them? Did something happen just now? He then looked up the street and immediately knew the reason why.

Slowly coming towards you was a parade of people. And smack dab in the middle of them all was a woman.The most BEAUTIFUL woman he had ever seen.

 She glowed under the lantern lights like a beacon of beauty, slow steady steps she took gracefully step after step slowly but surely as if she was dancing, by the way she was doing so he knew she must've done this countless times before. Her makeup and hair done perfectly. Her robes the fanciest he's ever seen yet so beautifully matched perfectly with her complexion. But what struck him the most about her was her smile. Her eyes were the most striking beautiful he'd ever seen. Lips pink in lipstick catching onto the red lantern lights shiny with the lip gloss she used. In a way it she was angelic with the way they shined in the light. 

However her demeanor was... Strange. As she got closer he could see the slightly worried look in her eyes. As if she didn't want to be here, but yet at the same time there was something... Powerful almost scarily heavy about her body despite how graceful she moved. Entranced by the new sight he only stopped and stared as she ever so slowly and gracefully walked, continually up the street with her escorts.

"Huh. She's coming pretty close to us." He made sure to note in his head giving a look around at the awe filled looks from men and women alike. Taking special care to note the tackily dressed men that weren't his crew. "Her customer must be one of the rich snobs close by. Lucky bastard."

The moment of silence was deafening with only the sounds of the oiran's parade coming down the street, the red lanterns being her spotlights for the whole district was her stage and her the one glittery star. The rummage of fabric like flowing wind danced amongst her body as her flesh and bone became flowing water, gracefully dancing each step she took up the long stage of streets. 

Her face was memorizing with each flutter of half lidded lashes, the flashing of those beautiful eyes reflected in the reddened lights, her smile warm as she offered a smile as thanks for the watchers standing there. The gold ornaments shining in her styles silk of hair caught the glitter of moonlight and lantern reds, causing an almost uthereal glow around her body as she danced in her silks.

Beauty. Grace. Elegance.

Like a current in the sparkling blue ocean, she flowed.

Amber eyes were transfixed upon her with everyone else as the party of people in front and behind her came closer, but no one paid any attention to anyone other than the main gleaming star herself because..Well he's never seen such a display before. An oiran's procession was always a sight to behold and he'd be damned if he didn't also want to stop and watch her dance to the sounds of bells and her own graceful steps. 

Closer and closer to the end of the street they came. Angelic face coming closer and closer to his eyes, until they stopped in front of them all. And he realized that he was able to gaze right at those beautiful eyes and smile. The air was tense with silence anticipation and awe from everyone awaiting at the dancer's words. Slowly the hand a hold of the pint brought it up to his lips. If he didn't know better, he could've sworn that she was beautifully directed to him. As if a pirate like him would be given the smile of a woman like this.

"Captain Eustass Kid." The voice so calming and sweet carried with it and aura of grace as those lashes fluttered shut as she bowed.  It struck his veins like an icy ghost's hand dipping into his body and seizing his throat. "I'm so honored to have the pleasure of meeting you."

"PPFFFTT-?!" 

The metaphorical ghost hand entrapping his throat clogged up the alcohol going down forcing him to choke it out of him. Back into the mug of all over the table, whichever one was closest. A loud series of coughs and hacks left his throat disrupting the serenic scene and finally bursting that seed filled bubble.

"Surprise, Captain!", someone shouted from the crowd, "WE GOT YA AN OIRAN!!"

A series of laughs, cheers, whoops, and a few wolf whistles filled the air. Amber eyes widened as his face snapped in shock towards the crowd of cheerers. The mug dropping to the ground with whatever was left inside spilling out all over the ground. He sat there in stunned shock only stiffly looking over when Killer reached out to pat his shoulder grinning under that mask he wore.

"Well, Kid. You said you wanted the night of a lifetime."

[pinkrangersarah]

some Fearless 7 hc's since i'm sailing this boat by myself

merlin

youngest of the group and arthur doesn't let him forget it, i speculate somewhere between 18, like snow, and 20.

shortest of the group, too, with jack only being an inch or two taller

is honestly the biggest baby and hates scary stories. will put on a brave face, though, especially in front of snow.

100% made up his own theme song at some point. you can't tell me a guy who says "you just got merlin'd" didn't also make up his own dumb theme song.

ambidextrous

hates stagnation. hates to be bored. always needs to be doing something.

arthur

the oldest of the group, 21 at the very least and maybe 24 or 25 at most.

also the tallest and strongest, but i honestly think that's just canon.

puts on that tough guy, macho act, but tbh is really just the biggest softie. a giant teddy bear. gives the best hugs. probably cries during cheesy soap operas and rom coms.

also kind of a baby when it comes to scary stuff. lowkey competes with merlin by mocking him to see who's the most scared.

jack

second youngest, second shortest, but honestly the most mature out of the group. lowkey the mom friend.

scariest temper. is honestly pretty relaxed and doesn't get angry often (irritated and annoyed with the antics of the others a lot though), but when it does happen it will put the fear of god into anyone there to witness it. the triplets are the only ones to have yet to be subjects of his wrath.

has 100% used the invisibility cloak to mess with roommates, typically when they've been annoying and he's feeling exceptionally petty.

has dirt on everybody. no one can prove he's eavesdropping but it is strongly suspected. how else can he hold merlin's theme song over his head?

reads trashy romance novels.

hans

second oldest, second tallest, and the second most mature despite his bumbling and naivety. highkey the mom friend.

the house would literally fall apart if he wasn't around. jack might be a tad bit more mature, but it's jack's indifference that sets them apart. hans is the "should we stop them, we should stop them" to jack's "not yet i want to see how this plays out".

second scariest temper, though. no one has actually yet to see it, but the vibe is there and nobody wants to find out for sure.

is the sole reason why the triplets ever eat because they'll forget if he doesn't practically drag them out of their workshop.

pino, noki, and kio

younger than arthur and hans, but older than merlin and jack. definitely no younger than 20.

no preservation skills whatsoever. very "will leap before looking if there's a lure of scientific excitement". curiosity killed the cat and it'll probably kill them one of these days--if hans and/or jack weren't around to stop them.

different heights if you look closely, but all three are taller than merlin and jack. only one of them is about the same height as hans.

are fairly content in their dwarf bodies! the height change is an inconvenience at most, though they rarely notice since they're hardly ever apart.

at least one of them has found and read jack's trashy romance novels and he isn't sure which one. they won't tell him and lowkey enjoy watching him squirm.

also hate stagnation, being bored. they're always doing something. at least one of them jiggles their legs when they're sitting down.

[a-dam-leo-valdez-lover]

Anyone But You

Leo Valdez x Reader

6k words

TW: implied sexual content

When you’re trapped on a magical flying boat with 7 other people, there’s somethings that you definitely don’t want to happen, like getting caught after making out with your best friend who you may or may not be in love with, you also don’t want them to overhear you to say it meant nothing. AKA I watched Anyone but you this weekend because I’m in love with Sydney Sweeney and all I could think about is the amount of drama that would’ve happened if this was a teen flick. Like no adults (or Annabeth) to think things through, the drama would be unmatched. Soooo yeah and I know this doesn’t fully fit into the actual plot of the books and it doesn’t really follow the plot of the movie either but canon be damned. I’m gonna just make things up sorry.

Y/N’s POV:

They were friends, that was it. Sure Leo Valdez was cute, and yeah maybe he had this way of smiling at you that made it impossible not to blush, and of course his jokes were hilarious, despite you being the only one laughing most of the time, but it didn’t mean anything. At least not at first, but on a boat filled with couples, by default you spent most of your time with Leo, at first you were sort of forced into it, but eventually you sought him out when you were bored. His non stop talking was sure to fill the silence that you found suffocating. Eventually you two became joint at the hip, everyone could see it, but it's not like you two were ever truly alone with one another, especially after Percy and Annabeth’s little “falling asleep talking the the stables” incident when you first set sail. Coach Hedge spent more time patrolling for indecent activity between the crew than he did for monsters. Still, your moments with Leo managed to keep you up at night, you woke up with a smile on your face every time. That was of course until everything went wrong.

Percy and Annabeth were gone, lost in the depths of Tartarus and as you rushed to try and save them, there was a constant cloud of doubt and stress covering the ship. The only saving grace was the departure of Coach Hedge, Nico, and Reyna as the set off across the world to deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. Not that you disliked having the later two around, it just made it simpler to not have so many people on a small ship, and as for Coach Hedge, it didn’t take long for the couples to start spending a night together with no fear of an angry satyr with a baseball bat intruding. Slowly but surely everybody seemed to be bunking with someone else at night, not just the couples, you often found yourself sleeping over with Hazel and Piper or falling asleep on Frank or Leo’s floor while hanging out. The only persons room you didn’t find you self in was Jason’s and that’s because the boy was always up at 4 am no matter what time he went to sleep, and you weren’t crazy enough to be awake at such an ungodly hour.It was obvious though, that nobody wanted to be alone, especially now the the crew’s size had shrunk significantly. That’s how you found yourself in Leo’s room late one afternoon, nobody besides Jason could stand being on the ships deck for too long do to the storm brewing meaning you needed a way to occupy your time. Everyone seemed a bit on edge that day, but you figured Leo could make you laugh and probably would be alone working on some project anyways. You were right, slowly as the day moved on, talking turned into something more, at least that’s what the cluster of hickeys that painted your neck implied. You hadn’t thought too much about it when you were in the heat of the moment, but now, laying in Leo’s arms as the sun began to rise, you were panicking. Before you could even think about what you were doings, you had already gathered your belongings, doing your best to make yourself presentable before sneaking out and back to your own bunk.

You thought you had gotten away with it too, styling your hair in a braid an throwing on a oversize sweatshirt, you didn’t think anyone would notice, but over course Piper did. The very first thing she did when you emerged from your room was call you out.

“Looks like someone had a fun night”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about Pipes,” You tried your best to sound oblivious but it wasn’t working.

‘‘Right, so you didn’t spend the night in Leo’s room and come out covered in. Hi-“ She was cut off by you shoving your hand over her mouth just as Frank turned the corner to head into his room.

“Do I even want to know,” He laughed as he looked at you both.

“No, bye Frank” You said way too quickly to not be suspicious before dragging Piper into her room and closing the door behind you.

“Spill” She commanded.

It left you wondering for a moment if she had used her charmspeak on you because it was like you couldn’t get the words out fast enough, desperate to tell someone about how you felt. It was more than just something physical, Leo was your best friend, your confidant, last night almost seemed to be too good to be true, with you talking for hours about everything under the sun. You told Piper about how you felt after, about how you snuck out first thing in the morning, panicked about what to do and what to say, about how all you could think about the entire time the two of you had been in her room talking, is what you were going to say when you saw Leo on deck later.

“So what you’re telling me is that instead of telling Leo you’re in love with him you snuck out and didn’t say anything. You just left him alone in his bed.”

“I never said I was in love with Leo, I just-“

She cut you off, “No Y/N you didn’t say it, but it's pretty damn obvious. So?”

“So what?”

“Are you going to tell him?” She asked

“I can’t do that! What if he doesn’t feel the same, what if it-“

“Y/n I swear if you don’t get your ass over to his room right now and tell him I’m going to do it myself”

“Is that an option? Because I’m totally okay with that”

“Y/n GO”

So you went, and as you approached Leo’s door you saw it was cracked open and could hear 2 voices coming from inside, Hazel’s and Leo’s.

Leo’s POV

Last night changed everything, for the first time in his life, Leo wasn’t the odd man out. For the first time in his life, Leo felt like things were going right, the girl he’d been in love with for weeks was in his bed, in his arms, and yet the most exciting part by far was the way she smiled, the way she blushed whenever he made a joke, Y/N was perfect. Everything was perfect, until he woke up and she was gone. At first he sat there wondering what he did wrong, maybe he should go find her, or maybe give her space. It wasn’t like there was a manual out there for what to do after hooking up with your best friend who you’re secretly in love with and she snuck out on you. So instead he found the next best thing, after a quick iris message Hazel was in his room in no time at all. So Leo told her everything, well not everything, she was still pretty naive in a lot of ways, and he was pretty sure some of the 21st century occurrences would’ve given the girl an aneurysm. But Hazel listen to every word of the slightly abridged version of events and came to the simplest conclusion.

“So you’re in love with Y/n” She stated quite directly.

“In LOVE with Y/N? No not at all” He didn’t even know why he said it.

“Okay but you talked all night and kissed and said everything is different? How can you say you’re not in love” She asked, she seemed genuinely confused, but so did Leo to be fair.

“Look all of this is new to me, and I don’t really do the whole love and relationships thing” He tried to say it in a way that seemed cool like some sort of playboy, it wasn’t working.

“Okay but you like her right”

He thought about it for a minute before answering, the thought of being in love was enough to make his stomach churn with anxiety, romance was uncharted territory. There were too many feelings, too many moving peices that were out of his control. Sure Y/n was basically his entire world, some days he could’ve sworn he woke up just to see her, but at the same time she left so quickly without even saying goodbye, what if he was overthinking what happened last night. So he let his insecurities take over, and his hurt fueled the words the came out of his mouth.

“Honestly Hazel, I think I was just bored, I mean Y/N was there. Besides I don’t do love, Y/ns great and all but, its never going to happen between us”

“Are you sure about that” Hazel was shocked

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life” And for a brief moment Leo could’ve sworn he heard footsteps in the hall outside his room .

“I don’t know Leo, maybe she just left because she was nervous”

“Nervous? Nervous about what? I was nervous too, but I didn’t leave, I stayed.”

“Why did you stay though?”

“Because,” He hesitated, “ Because I thought maybe we could be together, that she loved me too”

“Then maybe you need to tell her that, she deserves to know”

Y/N’s POV

“Honestly Hazel, I think I was just bored, I mean Y/N was there. Besides I don’t do love, Y/ns great and all but, its never going to happen between us” Leo’s words hit Y/N like a punch to the gut. Maybe he didn’t mean it. Hazel seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Are you sure about that” Hazel said almost too quietly to hear despite the open door.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life”

That was all it took for y/n to run away, trying your best to be silent knowing you were probably failing. You did your best to hold it together, with each step closer to your room however the tears seemed to flow harder. How could you have been so stupid. Y/N thought that maybe Leo felt the same, even Piper had agreed, if they were both wrong, Y/N must be damn near delusional. It was moments like these where Y/N missed Annabeth more than ever, she would’ve been straight to the point doing some analysis of the situation and determining the best way for Y/N to move on. Hell it was moments like this where Y/N wished Coached Hedge was running around with a baseball bat and could’ve prevented this from ever happening in the first place.

You made it to your room slamming the door behind you, the impact shook the room, causing a picture frame that had been hung on the wall to fall the the ground shattering in a hundred tiny pieces. You couldn’t even be bothered to clean it up instead you sat down on the floor and cried. Y/n’s body shook with sobs and realized why they called it heartbreak. Just like the picture frame on the ground he heart felt like a piece of glass that had been broken beyond repair.

Y/n didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, maybe 10 minutes or ten hours but you did know you had no tears left to cry. Your lips were dry, your eyes were lined with red, and your head was aching. You had enough medical training from your time living in cabin 7 to know you should probably get some water and try to eat something, but you just didn’t have the energy so you kept sitting there. It felt like eternity later when there was a knock on the door. Y/N wasn’t sure if she said come in or if Frank out of worry took it upon himself to open the door unprompted, but there he was looking at the sniffling mess of a girl sitting on the floor surrounded by broken glass. He had a plate of food in his hand, vegetarian enchiladas, it was Leo’s night to make dinner. Without a word, Frank set down the plate and started cleaning up the glass. When he finished that he looked at Y/N who still hadn’t said a word to him, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do or why she was upset but he knew that this was going to be someone else’s problem so he got Piper.

When Piper got to Y/N’s room a few minutes later not much had changed. Y/N still sat on her floor but unlike Frank, Piper knew what the look on y/n’s face meant and what had caused her tears.

“Don’t tell me he turned you down” She said softly wrapping y/n in a hug as she sat on the ground next to you.

“I didn’t give him that chance to say it to my face not after what he told Hazel”

“What do you mean? What did he say to Hazel?” She questioned

“He said it was never going to happen between us, he said he was sure about it.”

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I shouldn't have told you to go over there. He’s such a jerk. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Just don’t tell anyone, please” You said softly. It was bad enough you looked like an idiot, it would be worse if everyone knew Leo Valdez had rejected you after everything that had happened. “Promise me.”

Maybe it was just the overwhelming emotions you were feeling, but you didn’t even notice that Piper never responded.

1 Week Later

Everyone was on edge, petty fights and disagreements became blowouts far too often, and more than ever it felt like the 6 of you left on the ship would rip each other's throats out if given the chance. Y/N and Leo weren’t immune, it was probably worse for you two since he couldn’t take the hint you wanted nothing to do with him. You’d been trying your best to avoid him whenever possible but he continued to seek your attention, as if he had any right to talk to you after everything. While Leo didn’t seem to take the hint, everybody else seemed to pick up on what was happening. Piper had talked to Jason about what happened, after all it only seemed fair he knew since the 4 of you had gone on your first quest together and he was the only one who didn’t know the story but she had sworn him to secrecy. What Y/N didn’t know however, was that everyone but her seemed to be talking about her relationship issues.

Frank thought he had put two and two together after seeing y/n crying and seeing Leo act like more of a love struck idiot than normal, but what he didn’t understand is why Y/N would be upset that Leo liked her. Sure Leo was basically the most annoying person to ever exist second only to Octavian, maybe, but Y/n very clearly liked him so it didn’t make sense. At least not until he talked to Hazel and Piper one afternoon as they made a pit stop in a small town to get some groceries.

“Maybe I’m just dumb, but why is Y/N avoiding Leo? I thought she liked him and he clearly likes her back” Frank asked.

“Look they’re both my friends and I’m not taking sides here, but just because he had a sudden change of heart doesn’t mean she automatically has to forgive him,” for someone who wasn’t picking sides, Piper was being pretty clear how she felt.

“Forgive him for what?” Hazel looked lost

“What do you mean change of heart?” Frank asked

“Look Y/N asked me not to talk about it she feels awful enough as is without everybody knowing what Leo said” Piper said looking slightly torn, she didn’t want to betray y/ns trust but its not like she promised her anything.

“Okay but it's not like I’m going to go to Y/n and ask her about it, I’m just trying to figure out what happened. One moment she’s laughing with you in the hallway Piper, and the next she’s crying and ignoring Leo whenever he tries to talk to her,” Frank explained, “from where im standing it makes no sense, she’s clearly liked him for weeks, but now that he is trying to get with her she just pretends he doesn’t exist.”

“No I’m sorry but that is so not what’s happening” Piper said all worries about betraying Y/N seemed to disappear pretty quick, “I don’t know why Leo all of a sudden is all over Y/n considering he told Hazel there was no way he’d every date Y/n”

“Wait, he told Y/N about our conversation?” Hazel looked more confused than ever, “because if they talked about it, then she knows he’s in love with her, he admitted it right after he said that , he was just scared she left without saying anything because she didn’t like him.”

“Wait so he does like her” Now Piper was confused.

“So they both like each other? I was right, but this still doesn’t explain why Y/n is all mad at him then.” Frank looked a little too pleased with himself for someone who still had no clue what was happening.

“Of course he likes her, I mean he’s totally in love with her,” Hazel acted like this was the ost obvious thing in the world, “but I’m with Frank here, if she likes him too I don’t get why she’s mad.”

“Because she went to go talk to him and heard him say it was never going to happen between them, and she just left” Piper stated

“Which means when I went to Y/N’s room and she was crying its because she didn’t hear the rest of the conversation” Frank said

“And Leo took my advice to tell her he loves her, but” Hazel continued

“She won't listen to him because she’s upset” Piper finished

“So, what do we do?” Frank was asking the important questions.

“I mean we should probably let them handle this on their own right?” Hazel, sweet innocent Hazel couldn’t be more wrong.

“No, we have to set them up,” Piper looked at hazel who clearly disagreed, “and before you say anything, think about it, we need the two of them on their best behavior if we are gonna save Percy and Annabeth and what better way to make them get along than if they’re getting it on”

“Getting it on?” Hazel asked

Frank looked panicked. “What Piper means is we need them to date, or at least be willing to be in the same room with one another.”

“And how are we going to do that,” Hazel asked.

“Easy, divide and conquer” Frank said

When Hazel, Frank, and Piper got back to the ship, things were worse than when they had left. It seems Leo had given up on trying to talk to Y/N, instead he had resorted to leaving when ever she walked in the room, and at one point at lease according to Jason, while fighting a monster who had gotten on board, the two were so busy arguing they almost killed each other instead. This could only mean one thing, they were going to need more help to set the two up so Jason was enlisted in the plan. It started simple at first, Seats were taken strategically at the table forcing Y/n and Leo to sit either directly next to each other or across from one another. It didn’t make for a pleasant dining experience to say the least. For the first few meals most of the dinner conversation went from bad to worse.

“Can you pass the salt” Y/N asked, the shaker was right in front of Leo, and while she’d rather not talk to him, her mama would’ve killed her for not using her manners at the dinner table.

Nobody moved. The silence was thick, it was salt for gods sake, one of them could just pass it over, but it was right in front of Leo and he wasn’t moving.

“Leo, can you pass y/n the salt” Hazel whispered, may he just hadn’t heard her.

“Oh she was asking me,” his voice was dripping with sarcasm, “I thought we weren’t speaking.”

“Yeah well if we aren’t talking you may as well just shut up and pass the salt” Y/N’s voice was laced with venom.

“What’s your problem” Leo practically jumped out of his chair.

“Me? I don’t have a problem”

“Oh please it looks like you have plenty of them”

“Okay, that’s enough you two” Jason tried to intervene before it went too far, it had been the same conversation for the past 3 meals and it never ended well, “Leo could you just give her the salt.”

“That depends, is she just going to use it then disappear?”

“Leo-“ Jason warned”

“Fine take it, whatever makes you happy right Y/N” He didn’t wait to hear ehr response before storming off.

Clearly they needed to try harder than that. So that night Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Jason devised a second part of the plan. If the root of the issue was Leo thinking Y/N didn’t like him and that’s why she was ignoring him, and Y/N overheard the conversation where Leo insisted he wouldn’t date her, then it was up to everyone else to subtly tell let the two know just how wrong they got things. The plan was mostly Jason’s idea, but he was definitely right. Piper was almost annoyed she didn’t think of it sooner, especially considering her mom was the goddess of love and all that. So they set into action, Frank and Piper would patrol the deck while Leo was steering the ship and talk about how Y/N is clearly just upset because she thinks Leo doesn’t like her just loud enough that he would overhear, Jason would have Y/n help him make dinner and be a bit more direct asking her what’s happening between her and Leo and do his best to push her into talking to him. Hazel was the final step, if nobody could get them to make up she would do her best to guilt trip them into speaking, she wasn’t sure how yet but she’d come up with something should the need arise.

Leo’s POV

Steering the ship late at night got boring, sure one of the others gladly would’ve taken over if he asked, but none of them quite understood how to operate the whole ship, well no one except Annabeth. Besides he wasn’t getting much sleep nowadays anywhere, maybe it was the impending war with Gaea, or the fact that his best friend hated him, but he was up all night all the time. If he was going to be awake he may as well be productive. So he steered the ship, checking the radar on occasion and talking festus when things got a bit too quiet. He knew Piper and Frank were on patrol and would eventually make their way in to talk to him, but until them Leo was left alone with his thoughts. He didn’t have any clue what he did to Y/N but he knew she had no reason to be ignoring him after she left him alone that night. Plus, he tried talking to her more than once to tell her how he felt, but she wouldn’t even give her the time of day so really she was the problem. Clearly that night together meant nothing to her so he decided it would mean nothing to him. He no longer loved Y/N. It would be much simpler that way. At least that’s what he told himself as the exhaustion started setting in.

“Look Piper, I know I’m not Leo’s biggest fan or anything but I don’t understand why Y/N just tell him how she feels” Franks voice broke through the steady beeping of machinery as they walked down the hall.

“It’s because she overheard him talking to Hazel and now she thinks he doesn’t like her which is ridiculous”

Y/N overheard him talking to Hazel? That couldn’t be right, she’d left and he didn’t see her all day. He thought back to that morning as he talked to Hazel when it clicked, he swore he had heard footsteps, it must have been Y/N.

“I get that, but why didn’t she just talk to Leo”

‘Frank, you’re the one who found her crying that night, she probably felt terrible and didn’t want to get hurt but talking to him again. We all know she isn’t the best at emotions.” Piper’s voice sounded weird.

“Yeah well neither is Leo.” That wasn't weird especially coming from Frank, but still he didn’t need to say it like that, “ But its pretty obvious to everyone but Y/N that he is head over heels in love with her. Maybe he just needs to give it one more shot, you know, talk to her alone and apologize for what she overheard and explain the full story. If he tells her he’s sorry and just explains he was worried she’d reject him, she would definitely forgive him and they could just live happily ever after.”

“Either way until one of them decides to be the bigger person and talk to the other, we’re in for a long ride.”

It was settled, as much as he would never admit this publicly, Frank was right. He needed to talk to y/n and he needed to do it now before she could hate him anymore. He put festus into autopilot and did his best to pretend he didn’t overhear Piper and Frank talking.

“Hey Leo, didn’t know you were still up” Piper said casually

“Of course, someone’s gotta keep this ship moving if were going to get to Percy and Annabeth in time” Leo forced a laugh, he didn’t really have time to stand here chatting

“Well we will be here all night if you need anything,” Piper offered

“Actually I have to run down to the boiler room for a few minutes if one of you wouldn’t mind keeping and eye on the radar, we don’t really have time to deal with any monster attacks right now”

“Yeah you got it bro, and hey dinner is in like 5 minutes try not to come back covered in grease or Hazel may kill you” Frank said with a smile

Leo didn’t even have time to think about how weird Frank was acting, like seriously when had Frank ever referred to anyone let alone Leo as bro. Still Leo was already on his way down the stairs to the living quarters, he needed to talk to y/n.

Y/N’s POV

Y/N was just about ready to go hide in her room for the next 3-5 business days, or at least until they reach the doors of death, whichever ever came first. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally exhausted. When she wasn’t patrolling or trying to come up with some sort of plan to save the entire world, she was arguing with Leo, and when she wasn’t arguing with Leo she was thinking about him. Actually she thought about him basically 24/7 but she didn’t want to think about that too much. Leo was a condescending little jerk, and he didn’t deserve the space he held in her mind, now if only her brain would get the memo. All Y/n wanted was a distraction. If she were back at Camp Half-Blood right now it would be easy to get her mind off Leo. She would just curl up with a book or do target practice with Will, heck she’d even volunteer for extra shifts in the med bay if it meant getting her mind off things, but abroad the Argo II the only distractions they ever seemed to get were monster attack and Y/N really did want one of those. So she settled on taking a nap. All she had to do was curl up under her blankets and at least until dinner she wouldn’t have to think about Leo and his stupid, adorable, obnoxious face. So that’s what she did it felt like she’d only been asleep for a few minutes when there was a pounding at her door. Y/n walked over to open it, surprised to see Jason there of all people.

“I need your help” He said looking but panicked.

“Yeah of course, what’s wrong” Y/n was concerned, it wasn’t like Jason to ask for help and she was the last person he’d come to normally. It was weird, something must be seriously wrong.

“I was making dinner and I burned basically everything and I mean you can’t even eat it and we only have like 20 minutes till dinner I need your help.”

“Can’t someone else help? I’m a terrible cook.” Y/N insisted, it wasn’t that she was all that terrible, it was just not something she really enjoyed doing. Baking on the other hand was her favorite.

”I can’t ask Hazel she made dinner the last 2 nights, Piper has never cooked a day in her life unless you count cereal, and Frank is Frank, he’d say yes because he’s too nice but he’d be miserable. Plus he’s already on patrol right now so it wouldn’t be fair to pull him off to help me cook.”

“Fine, I’ll help but you have to help me make breakfast tomorrow then”

”Deal” He was quick to agree.

So Y/n and Jason made their way down to the kitchen, there wasn’t any evidence of burned food but Y/N figured Jason had already gotten rid of it. The two of them worked side by side to make up a pasta dish that hopefully looked like it was the original plan. It was actually pretty nice, Jason’s no Y/N hadn’t had time to hang out in a while and it was nice to catch up. They talked about all sorts of things, what they wanted to do after the quest was over, their favorite movies, and Y/n least favorite topic as of late, Leo. Jason was good Y/N would give him that much. Despite her managing to avoid the topic so far he was able to sneak it in when they were talking about their favorite foods on the ship.

”I mean your breakfast sandwiches are killer Y/n but i really think Leo’s the best chef here” Jason laughed hoping Y/N wouldn’t snap at him for mentioning Leo’s name.

”I hate that you’re right” Y/n admitted, looking rather annoyed at herself for doing so.

”What happened between you anyways? It’s like all of a sudden someone flipped a switch and you went from loving each other to hating each other, did he do something because I’ll kill him.” Okay Jason was definitely being weird, he wasn’t normally one to but into peoples lives.

”I have no clue what you’re talk about.”

“Don’t lie, you guys were fine and now you can’t be in the same room without screaming at one another, so clearly something happened.” Jason insisted, Y/N just didn’t understand why he wouldn’t just drop it.

”Jason, seriously its fine,” it wasn’t fine.

”Look you’re both my friends, and I know all of us being trapped here can get intense sometimes, but he likes you and you like him. Maybe you should just talk it out.”

“And we are done here, I’m going to my room to clean up before dinner. I'll see you in 5.” And with that Y/n walked away effectively ending the conversation.

Gods, she should’ve known something was up. Since when had Jason ever wanted to talk about feelings, he was plotting something. Scratch that, Piper was probably the one plotting something since nobody else would be able to get Jason involved. Besides, he didn’t know anything, Leo didn’t like her and it was like nobody besides Y/N could get the hint and move on. She closed the door to her room before quickly changing out of her current clothes. Just as she was tying up her hair there was another knock at the door.

”Hey Y/n dinner is in like 2 minutes wanna walk up with me?” Hazel asked.

”I’m changing right now so just go without me”

There was no response, y/n continued to tie her hair up when there was another knock.

”Hazel I said go without me”

”Um, its not Hazel, can I come in and talk to you for a second?”

Leo. This is just what she needed, she could probably just say no and head up to dinner now right? Besides anything he had to say he could say in front of everybody else at this point. It wasn’t like everybody wasn’t up in her business anyway. She debated what to do for another minute when Leo’s voice rang out again.

”Y/N? Please I know you’re in there” He said it with a slight laugh, almost involuntarily she smiled, its like he knew she was trying to figure out how to escape the room without talking to him.

There was only one thing she could do at this point, so Y/N opened the door.

There was a palpable tension in the room. Leo shuffled in awkwardly unsure what he should be doing, is this the sort of conversation you have sitting or standing. Should he keep the door open? Maybe he should close it, the walls on the ship were pretty thin so if y/n decided to murder Leo someone would probably hear it. No he’d keep it open, that way if things went south he could just run away.

”What do you want Valdez,” Okay straight to the point, clearly this was going to be harder than Leo originally thought.

“I’m sorry.” Gods that wasn’t what he wanted to say, well it was, but he had so much more to say and he couldn’t find the words.

“Okay if that’s all then I’m going to go grab dinner”

“No that’s not what I meant,” Leo said quickly

“So you’re not sorry? Great talk Leo” Y/N began to push her way to the door.

“Y/n stop.” His voice seemed to echo in the room, y/n froze and turned around to face him. “Please Y/n, I need you to hear me out and when I’m done you can chose to hate me if that’s what you want but first i need you to listen, promise me you’ll listen.”

“I- I promise” Y/N had never seen Leo like this, he looked worried, upset, gods when she looked at him its like she could see all the sleepless nights engraved in his eyes.

“I’m terrible at apologies, I normally just make a joke and laugh it off but I’m not joking about this, I need you to know I’m 100% serious with what I’m about to say,” He looked at you as if waiting for you to shut him down, to break your promise instead you just nodded. “That night we spent together was basically the best night of my entire life and I was really happy because I’ve been in love with you for ages, basically since the first day I laid eyes on you. And when you disappeared without saying anything I panicked. I thought maybe it didn’t mean anything to you, I thought maybe you regretted it so I talked to Hazel. And I know I said some awful things, I said that I would never date you but I was lying, I was just hurt and trying to pretend I wasn’t. Gods Y/N I’d give the world to take it back but I can’t, and that’s what you overheard, me being an asshole because my feelings got hurt.

“And I know you had no reason to stick around but if you did you would know that i also told Hazel I was in love with you, not was am, I am in love with you. And I didn’t know you overheard me, Hazel told me I needed to talk to you so that’s why I kept trying and I wouldn’t leave you alone, and clearly you were mad at me but i didn’t know why at the time, and I know i was jerk to you and I can’t undo that but I’m hoping you’ll forgive me. Gods, I’m such an idiot and I should-“

Gods the boy could ramble forever if you’d let him, but you didn't have time for that. Instead you cut him off by kissing him.

”Wait, so does this mean you forgive me?” Leo asked

”What do you think” You laughed leaning in to kiss him again.

”Well I want to think yes, but I’m pretty sure we’ve established thinking is not my strong suit”

“I forgive you Leo.” His face lit up, “and I’m sorry too, my feelings were hurt and I didn’t give you a chance to explain anything, and you should know I only left because I was worried, I mean what do you say to your best friend after-“

“after you blurred the lines of your friendship and haven’t figured out what comes next?” He finished for you with a laugh.

“yeah”

“We really should get better at this whole talking thing, it would probably save us a lot of trouble.” He smiled, taking you into his arms.

“Speaking of trouble we should probably make our way up to dinner before one of them comes down here.” You smile and start pulling him to the door.

Okay so I know that about halfway through I started writing she/her instead of you but in my defense I stayed up all night writing this and also I’m literally just a girl.

[teecupangel]

The otome game is called Ikemen Sengoku

https://www.tumblr.com/chasing-storm-s/721651359035932673/mais-guide-to-life-in-the-sengoku-period?source=share

Better believe Desmond would apply these lessons

It would be so funny if Desmond was transported in Ikemen Sengoku after his death and he believes that he was just transported into his world’s past.

So he does the first thing he thought of…

Look for the Japanese Brotherhood.

He knows they should exist.

By the time Altaïr was 80, they had gotten in contact with Japan and had been building their own Brotherhood.

Desmond still remembered that.

And, hey, it’s the 15th century.

All he needs is a ship and a crew and he can sail to Italy to be with Ezio after he gets some help from the Japanese Brotherhood.

He already had his ‘cover story’ all worked out.

He’s a descendant of the Ibn-La'Ahads and he got shipwrecked while chasing a Templar who he already killed.

(Something in the back of his head that smelled like the sea and rum felt like it was laughing at his cover story but he just ignored that)

He’ll help out in exchange for them helping him secure a ship.

And then…

He saw her.

It was the way she carried herself.

The words she spoke.

He knew…

She was just like him.

Unfortunately, she was always surrounded by high ranking-

No.

By freaking daimyos.

Desmond has no idea how this young woman managed to get entangled with the most powerful men in this era but he has this sense of responsibility to look after her since they’re in the same boat.

… and he needed information.

The young woman looked like she had been in this situation far longer than him and he has not found any clues that the Japanese Brotherhood even exists so she’s his best lead.

So… he infiltrates Azuchi.

And…

What the hell was up with all these guys???

Why were they all drop dead gorgeous??? Something was absolutely off with this situation.

Look.

Desmond wasn’t vain and he has high standards when it comes to beauty (thanks, Ezio) but, my god, they all looked like they could be a boy band, not the warlords ordering people to die for this and that reason.

When he finally manages to get to the young woman, she had been absolutely surprised to see him, not because he did appear in her bedroom out of nowhere but because he was a foreigner.

And he learned two things:

(1) She’s been here for a while and she has a friend named Sasuke who is trying to find a way to bring her back to her present day

(2) She’s not weirded out by the fact she’s surrounded by hot dudes. Sure, she thinks they’re handsome but she doesn’t think this is weird.

And that’s when Oda Nobunaga came upon them.

They managed to bluff their way into making it seem like Desmond is a foreign ninja (not exactly wrong?) who had been close to her family and that he was there to help her get back to her family.

He knows Oda Nobunaga doesn’t believe that but he also let Desmond stay.

Obviously to keep an eye on him but Desmond’s going to let it go because…

Something is off with this entire thing and being this close to the biggest evidence (all warlords are hot) and his only clue (the young woman named Mai) are his best bet to figuring out what the hell is happening here.

Unorganized Notes:

When he saw the warlords of Kasugayama Castle, he flipflops between “of course they’re all handsome too” and “whhhhyyy???”

Desmond takes a backseat over the entire thing. He doesn’t help with the fighting because he doesn’t have enough information to know if there is even a right side in this one or if both sides are selfish bastards destroying the peace of the land for their own greed. Of course, because he is staying with the Azuchi Warlords, he can be persuaded… maybe. He still remembers the Auditores’ loyalty to the Medici and George Washington’s betrayal so it’s a toss up.

He doesn’t trust Oda Nobunaga but he is polite when he’s talking to him. He starts to warm up to him once he starts to learn about Nobunaga’s ideas that were surprisingly progressive considering the time.

Mai becomes like a younger sister to him and he even gives her some self-defense lessons (sorry, Mitsuhide)

Oh, speaking of Mitsuhide. They’re completely suspicious of one another. Desmond doesn’t know enough of history to know that Mitsuhide is supposed to betray Nobunaga and his suspicion is based on Mitsuhide’s actions.

He’s nice to Masamune because he saw him caring for his troops. His bartender skills comes to play once and that’s how he learned how Masamune can’t hold his liquor.

He and Tokugawa butt heads a lot because Tokugawa thinks of him as a freeloader. After that, he hunted and smacked Tokugawa with raw meat and… that’s the start of their sorta feud XD

Hideyoshi and him get along quite well, especially since he saw Hideyoshi treat Mai like a big brother. He thinks “finally, a reasonable dude” then sees how devoted he is to Nobunaga and goes “ah, nevermind”. Still, he and Hideyoshi are what many would call… friends.

Mitsunari reminds him of Leonardo and Shaun combined so he has a soft spot for him. He tries not to show it and Hideyoshi finds it adorable.

And just when Desmond was trying to get a hang of his life here, Sasuke finally gets in touch with Mai and Sasuke recognizes him…

As Desmond Miles, the modern day protagonist of the first 5 games of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise.

(So @princesslikefanfics likes Mitsuhide and I played the early sections of Nobunaga and that’s why Mai is following the Azuchi Warlords route. If anyone wants an idea of him with the Kasugayama Warlords, let me know XD)

[itsasainz]

the poison drips through | Roman Roy x Reader

Summary: grief is a natural instigator of reflection; Logan’s funeral forces you to look back on your own grief, and your relationship with Roman.

Word count: 7.3k

Warnings/tags: death of a parent (Logan Roy, reader’s mother), discussions of abuse (physical, emotional), grief and breakdown, mentions of addiction, depression and associated mental health struggles in a parent and in reader, implications of suicide, toxic and/or abusive familial relationships.

a/n: roman roy has a special place in my my heart. he’s awful, he’s product of his environment, I can’t justify his actions, I love him, it’s confusing, I don’t know. I binge watched all of succession in seven (7) days.

masterlist!

You’re not sure how old you were when you first met the Roys, but you find it strange to think of time pre-Roman, pre-Roy, when you were free of proxy-politics, hidden slights and subtle digs. You must have been a preteen, maybe twelve. It would make sense—the second summer after your father moved to New York, when he bought the house in the Hamptons. Your mother had stayed in London that summer, leaving you and your siblings to battle the sweltering Long Island heat alone with your father, who worked most of the summer anyway. Had it been the Sailing Club or the Golf Club where you’d first met Siobhan Roy? You aren’t sure, but you remember the bathroom where you’d run into her, and how a five minute conversation had turned into five weeks of friendship. It had gone beyond that five weeks—even when you got back to the UK, you’d found ways to keep in touch, and spent holidays together when you were in the same place; you’d grown accustomed to Kendall’s strange attempts at seeming “hip” and cool, and Roman’s whining and jokes.

Shiv had been, and is your friend—in many ways, your best friend—but you’d always had a sweet spot for Roman. It wasn’t until you moved to New York more permanently, right after you graduated, that you actually befriended him, your work at his father’s company at first forcing you into the odd work dinner or late night at the office, but routines were formed, at some point. Thursday lunches together, Monday morning coffees. At some point, he’d stopped seeming like Shiv’s whiney older brother, and become funny—most of the time. Roman, you had, at some point understood, took time. But most of your relationship with him came after Greece.

The first time you went on holiday with them—beyond the Hamptons or British countryside—you were twenty-three, and had found yourself on a ten-day trip through the Greek islands on Logan’s oversized yacht. It was that ten days that you realised that you were in, not particularly intentionally, but in nonetheless. You remembered everything about that trip; the private jet that took you to Thessaloniki, the starting point of the trip—you’d fly back to New York from Heraklion, with the entire family, who were coming from various outposts across the globe. To start with, though, it was just the two of you, walking on the scorched tarmac of Thessaloniki’s international airport, leaving the gleaming private jet behind, already feeling slick with set in the hot, midsummer air. You had appreciated the perks of a private jet that day—no queues, no crying babies or seats reclined into your knees—and didn’t have to think twice about where your luggage was, because everything had been taken care of by a team of people you barely saw, working like ants under the foliage. A refreshingly air conditioned car had brought you smoothly to the port, where a smaller boat, already stacked with your luggage, had taken you quickly to the gleaming palace on water that was the Roys’ yacht. The boat was like a small, disturbingly empty, city; an almost utopian place, gleaming and shimmering under the Mediterranean sun, a labyrinthe of rooms and decks and corridors. Despite the surplus of space, it was split between a select few; Logan Roy, of course, his four siblings and their own guests, a selection of board members and his third wife, who you’d met only once or twice before, Marcia. That day was languid, a steady flow of arrivals as the hours passed and the yacht sat just outside of the port, watched by the locals and tourists alike, most likely speculating about the owners of such a gratuitous yacht, carelessly waiting for all the world to see.

You and Shiv had been greeted by Connor, in his pre-Willa days, already in his forties though; Kendall had appeared at first without your notice, but the sound of his children, still babies then, had alerted you of his arrival, alongside his then-wife, Rava, who you still respected wholeheartedly. Roman had been next, harder to miss, making sure to “jokingly” insult everyone aboard within five minutes. You weren’t sure whether to feel flattered when it took him a minute or so to come up with an insult for you, but that train of thought was quickly lost to the arrival of the man himself; Logan Roy came with a fleet of people. He spoke about three words to you directly on that first day, but you supposed that wasn’t so bad—you were hardly novel to him anymore, given how your recent promotions had drastically increased your time spent with him and Kendall. Roman, however, was a different matter entirely.

You’d seen him around an awful lot, and spoken to him maybe twice, never for longer than a passing comment or introduction, though he knew of your friendship with his sister. And yet, here you were, on holiday with his family, and he was suddenly fascinated. Over those ten days, between your hours spent gossiping with Rava and his hours spent talking business with his brother and father, you somehow found time to get attached to the youngest son of the Roy dynasty.

Roman was a piece of a work, there was no denying it. He was insulting, defensive, childish, et cetera, et cetera, but he was often funny, too, and within days you had understood him well—he, like Kendall, Shiv and Connor, was driven by his father’s approval, but as is the way in any family, each of the siblings had manifested the same fears and motivations in different ways. Shiv’s fear of intimacy made for relationships with people who depended on her—for money or status—but who she could keep at an arm's length, and cast aside if they got too attached. Roman more openly craved connection, but his fears and traumas came to light in a more physical expression. The jokes at his expense had swiftly enlightened you to his troubled relationship with sex and affection, while, even this early on, Kendall’s addictions were beginning to form cracks in his determinedly “hip” façade. Most of these things you had already understood, but an extended amount of time on a vehicle that you can’t exactly leave had opened it all up to you—unlike the Hamptons, you couldn’t piss off to the other side of the island or back to the city, but only to the other side of the yacht, and even for a big yacht, it never allowed you to genuinely leave. The thoughts that would later become a strange, fucked up mantra began to formulate on that holiday; before you’d put it into words, or understood what you were asking yourself, the statement was swirling around your consciousness; the poison drips through.

Each of the Roy siblings was broken and damaged in a way you’d never seen before, but your long standing practice of people-reading and your love of untangling the dynamics within groups made the holiday a sort of project—by the end, you’d created a map in your head of the different events and people that made up the complex web of Roy troubles, built off the foundations laid by your friendship with Shiv and many brief interactions with her extensive family over the decade. It was an incomplete map—there would be things you didn’t discover until his death, a decade later, and things you would never know, but that initial map, fraction of what it would become, was the starting point for your relationship with Roman.

Your morbid fascination with the family, and apparent loyalty (though you only realised it years later) met with his intrigue with you. Shiv never brought friends on holiday, he disclosed on the third or fourth day—as such, everyone was trying to work you out, your game, your presence, beyond the limited stuff they already knew. But at the end of the trip, it wasn’t Shiv who you’d spent the most time with, but Roman.

You’d thought of it as a ten-day deep-dive into the family, one that wouldn’t be repeated and that would have few repercussions—for you, anyway, but something had been pushed into being on that yacht that would change the trajectory of your life.

Upon your return to the company, tanned and rested from your break, you found that your routine at work changed a little at first, and then a little more, and then completely. A week after the end of the holiday, Roman had barged into your office at around lunchtime, insulted a photo on your desk and dragged you out for an overpriced lunch to discuss work stuff—a legitimate offer, you later found out from Gerri, about an actual deal that he genuinely wanted to pick your brains about. The work-related talk had lasted maybe fifteen minutes before the two of you were side-tracked by something entirely inconsequential and spent the rest of the hour essentially gossiping. His coarseness surprised you a little, though it shouldn’t have, and you remember your initial reservations about his overt slights and hyperactivity—though nowadays you’ve grown to love both. The deal—the one he’d wanted to pick your brains about—had gone better than anticipated, partially, it was said, due to your counsel. So it became more regular—Thursday lunchtimes became your lunches with Roman, and he would stop by your office for discussions almost every day, uncharacteristically invested in his work, according to his siblings. You started to move up through the company too, taking on more responsibility, spending more time with the family, getting closer to the top.

At some point, you and Roman had become friends. You gravitated towards each other at galas and occasionally went for drinks after work on a Friday night. But, despite your time together, there was something odd about the dynamic—neither of you particularly spoke about your pasts, your childhoods. There was a certain shame you had about your upbringing—you knew it was entirely unfounded, that you’d been better off than the vast, vast majority, but then again, you spent most of your time with multibillionaires these days. Generally, you avoided discussions about family wealth, and guarded the inner-workings of your family, and all its troubles, in a way that is far more impossible for a family of the Roys’ calibre—you had your own secrets, a great many things you refused to discuss, and he knew that. In turn, Roman didn’t seem to want to delve into what it was like to grow up with the mighty Logan Roy as a father; so neither of you pushed it, and the subject of who you were pre-Roman began to fade; it would take a couple of years for it all to be disclosed, and even then, most of your big revelations about your relationship with him seemed to come in times of crisis.

You were friends. Work friends, really, but edging into the ground of the simpler terms; you were friends. You were, perhaps, his only one, or one of very few, and he was one of a fair few on your part, though he and Shiv were almost entirely separate from the company you kept outside of Waystar; you’d sometimes wondered what they’d think of the people you spent your Saturday nights with, or the clubs you frequented. But for years, he was your friend, and only your friend.

You’re not entirely sure when things began to get muddled, and lines began to blur. After one crisis or another, he had turned up at your door, late into the night, too tired and too upset to take the piss out of your apartment—a sure sign something was wrong—and ended up in your bed. You hadn’t slept together, but had spent the night beside one another, in hushed conversation or drifting into restless slumber. You’d woken up with his back to you, and it hadn’t been brought up again, not even when he turned up at your door a week later. Sleeping in the same bed as Roman became more common, though it was never sexual—it eased slowly from the simple need for company to admissions of wanting some form of affection—you would sometimes wake up to find that you had curled into one another, that in your unconscious states you had found an intimacy that was impossible in your waking lives.

And then, at some point, something had changed. You’d created a setting in which Roman could actually communicate—not without difficulty, but a space where he could say what he thought and attempt to move away from what he felt he should think. The emotional stuff took longer, but with those changes came a definite change in the nature of your relationship—namely, there was a newfound romance to it.

You’d held off the idea of a relationship with Roman for a long time—through all his joking, overly casual proposals, which you suspected were a way of him affirming some need for rejection, assuring himself that he was unlovable by presenting the ridiculous to have it shot down, as expected. But that had changed as he had, gradually, changed. As he became more open, more honest in that mesocosm of your apartment, developing a unique ecosystem of trust and loyalty and, you supposed, love, allowed him to become accessible to you in new ways.

Sex had taken longer. You were, to all intensive purposes, his girlfriend for a long while before you actually had sex. It was tentative, a slow process of breaking down barriers and rebuilding his relationship with a lot of things, in order to create a version of him that was capable of vulnerability. It’s still a work in progress. At some point (a nonchalant way of putting it—your milestones with him may have been muddled, but they were still deeply significant to you), the relationship had been opened for scrutiny at the hands of his family. You had, in some senses, created a healing process that they couldn’t comprehend, and you think that for that they will always resent you, but for the most part his siblings saw someone who made their brother a little happier and a little less skittish, and his father saw someone who could talk business and keep his son in check.

You didn’t know if there would ever be a wedding to commemorate it, and you doubted there would be children, but your ever-evolving relationship with him made you happy, and you knew it made him happy. Sometimes, you just wished that all that progress you’d made with him would translate to other aspects of his life, but such hopes never came to fruition—at the end of the day, he was still the young boy desperate for the approval of his hard-headed, abusive father.

It was that relationship with his father that made his relationship with his siblings so twisted. You and Shiv weren’t so close these days, but there was still amiable respect and remnants of that original loving friendship, but circumstance had torn rifts in the friendship of your teen- and twenty-something selves. In your thirties, that love had been somewhat lost, or changed—you’d probably always feel that friendly love for Shiv, the one responsible for this entire trajectory of your life.

Now, however, feels simultaneously like the best and worst time for a reflection on the ins and outs of your relationship with Roman Roy. Your bed is a mess, sheets tangled from Roman’s tossing and turning, his frame tense as he paces back and forth, pink flashcards clutched in his grasp. You’d helped him write them over the last few days, through the frustrations that he couldn’t get the words right or couldn’t express his true feelings.

It is only natural that on the morning of a funeral, you think of the funerals you have been to before. The one that stands out, the paradox, is the funeral that exposed your true upbringing to him; it wasn’t the wealth—Roman had hardly expected anything quite so extreme as his own family, but rather the people, your people, and how different they were from his.

You’d received the call late at night—UK and US time differences had gotten confused, your uncle thought you were five hours ahead, not behind—and had tried to gloss over the reason you were suddenly going back home for a week. Of course, in registering your time off with work—paid compassionate leave—he had discovered the truth, and insisted he accompany you. So Roman had met your family at a wake—not ideal, but it made sense. Your family, for all their flaws, had an open, friendly attitude; anyone was welcome in your home, and help was always offered where it could be, a notion so foreign to him that he’d never quite managed to grasp it.

Your family had been confused but welcoming of him; the context of your mother’s death was a strange setting to first impressions, but they liked him nevertheless. Your brother found his jokes more than a little amusing, and your little cousin seemed to think he’d hung the moon, which had more than baffled him—he’d never liked kids, even when they looked like you might have when you were little, even (perhaps especially) when they made him wonder about having children with you. That funeral had been a modest affair with a large turnout—most of the neighbourhood seemed to be there, but there was no fancy coffin or grand church; it was a small funeral, as your mother had wished, and as fitted the circumstances.

You remember a conversation with your sister a day or two later; sat in the garden, smoking, she had turned to you, posed that fatal question; What if the poison drips through? You had dismissed it initially, but at some point, probably after another depressive episode after, you had understood it. The poison drips through. But that was then, and this is now. This is not a modest funeral in your mother’s hometown, but a lavish one, in New York City.

No, this funeral is different.

Logan Roy’s funeral is not a neighbourhood affair, but an international one, and your Roman is doing the eulogy—hence the pacing and the flashcards. He is already dressed, and you are still in your pyjamas, but that is hardly the consideration—in this moment, you are simply concerned over whether or not Roman will make it through the eulogy; with every hour that passes, you become less convinced by his claim that he has “pre-grieved” his father’s death. If Roman breaks, the whole world will see it, abuse it, manipulate it; but everyone, Roy or not, should be able to grieve their parent’s death—no matter how awful they were—without judgement or manipulation.

He looks up from his cards— “You’re not dressed yet.”

“We have time.” you chide, but slip out of the tangle of bedsheets and turn the shower on. “Getting there on time is not going to be an issue.”

He dismisses you again, announcing the lines from his flashcards to himself as you shower, still going as you do your make up and dress, eat a little food—as much as you can stomach on a day like this, and make sure everything in terms of logistics will run smoothly, send a quick text to Shiv to make sure she’s coping—you’re sure none of them are—and eventually let Roman know it’s just about time to go.

His composure is already cracking by the time you get to the car. There is a sense of foreboding, and though you can’t bring yourself to iterate the thought, you have a distinct premonition that Roman’s eulogy will not happen as planned. You’re even wondering if he’ll sneak out before it’s his turn to speak, but you push the thought away. Roman would be okay, he always managed to scrape himself out of trouble, somehow.

The funeral is sombre, to no one’s surprise. You end up on the front pew, between Roman and Kendall, though you’re not entirely sure how. The service is long, as Roman Catholic funerals usually are, in your experience, and Roman will have to sit through the rest of it after his eulogy—whether it’s good that he’ll get it over with, or bad that he’ll have to sit with it for ages after is something you can’t decide on. You suppose that regardless of which point in the service he did the eulogy, he will always have to sit with his words.

And then it’s his part, and he doesn’t even manage the first sentence. You realise, the moment that he looks over to the coffin, that it’s over. You’re the first to get to him at the front, pulling the cards from his hands and letting him collapse into you, the cards getting taken by Kendall, the Roys all there to offer some form of support to their faltering sibling. His questions, his grief, are concerned with Logan’s body, lying and waiting in that coffin. It does, admittedly, seem unnatural that such a force could be contained in such a simple box. You feel almost like you are carrying him back to the pew, tucked under your arm, and welcoming him into your side, his body pressed into yours as though you are the only thing keeping him on earth, as if he would be gone without you. You let him cling, you make it to the end of the service without a further disruption, and then tell Shiv you’ll walk him back to the reception yourself, make sure he’s in a better state before you present him to the world once more. You sneak him out somehow, find a long route back that is not impacted by protests or by paparazzi.

The walk is slow, and he comes to himself little by little by the simple process of walking. He calms his breathing, starts to look about, register his surroundings and the events of the last few hours.

“Why’d you take us this route?” he asks. It’s not the quickest route, and it’s too strange a route to simply be about avoiding photos or crowds. He’s frowning, but you don’t seem embarrassed or confused by his line of questioning.

“My grandparents used to say that you should leave a funeral in small groups, and never all take the same route. It was some superstitious thing—like, if you all took the same route back then the soul of the dead would be able to follow you home, and they’d never leave.” You don’t say that you would hate for Logan’s soul to remain here, to follow him for the rest of his life.

He frowns at you. “I don’t think there’s much we can do to stop him from staying.”

You sigh. “You’re probably right.”

“I’ll never escape him, will I?”

“Roman, for the first time in your life you can step out of this sphere. You can look at the world without the oversight of that bastard, and you can pick a direction. You have the choice, the ability to choose for yourself without his consequence. If you want so badly to escape him, then you can. It’s in your grasp.”

He doesn’t respond, meandering toward your destination. Eventually, he formulates a response. “He’s gone, but the rest of them aren’t.”

You don’t push it—it’s for another day. Instead, you hold his hands in the street, and the pair of you head towards the reception.

He’s beside you for the majority of the evening, until you go to get a drink so that kendall can have a word—a bad idea, in retrospect—and you return to find him gone. Kendall shrugs you off, and no one else knows or cares where he’s gone. You call him a few times, wonder if he just needs some quiet, and then feel your instincts correct you; Roman has not gone for a moment of quiet, you know him better than that, and there is no guarantee he is safe or calm or well.

So you leave, try his phone a few more times, and some morbid curiosity leads you toward the sounds of the protestors. Perhaps it’s your gut, perhaps there is something that viscerally understands his masochism and self destruction. You know you’ll find him in that mob, at the mercy of the only people who will show him violence like his father used to. You feel sick with the thought, nauseous with the understanding of what he is doing to himself.

Sure enough, by the time you find him he has been beaten to a pulp, he is black and blue and bloody, damn near smiling with the pain despite being barely able to stand or walk, destroyed by a sadistic crowd. They do not know this man, you think, as you bundle him into a car, they do not understand grief if they can do this to a man who had freshly lost his father.

At your apartment, you sit him against the bathroom wall, on the floor, splatters of blood on his clothes, tainting the white tiles. He’s incoherent as you sort the first aid kit, and find a cloth to clean him up with. You work methodically, sure to keep him conscious in case of a concussion, as you clean and dress every part of broken skin, and treat his bruises with an ointment you find in the bottom of the kit, and strip him of his stained clothes, providing him with a change. You do not leave him alone, for fear of what might happen, and help him into some new clothes, sweaters and top, too casual for him to ever actually wear—you’d bought the joggers over a year ago and seen him wear them twice—before settling him into bed. You know enough about concussions to know you should wake him up frequently to check on him, but for now you let the tears come in waves. You’ve cleaned the physical wounds, and you hope that with every round of tears comes a cleanse, one that will make the wounds of his broken life easier to heal come the morning, as though the tears themselves will act to wash the grit from the graze, or to pick the shrapnel out from the marred flesh of this open wound.

You look around your apartment, out the window at the city below, and an idea strikes you—almost certainly a bad one, but you’re beyond the point of caring. “Rome,” you say, “You wanna go to Barbados?”

-

Caroline’s place in Barbados is lovely, if a little mosquito-ridden, and it feels oddly bonding to care for Roman together with his distant, almost neglectful mother. She loves him, that much is true, but it’s never enough.

You have thought more about your own mother in the last two weeks than in the last few years—not because you’d wanted to forget her, you saw her in everything—these thoughts were more active, like you were searching for the memories that might guide you in how to deal with this, or help Roman to cope. Your mother had been a different kind of a parent to Logan, and her issues had never been sought out—it was like no matter what she did, she would always have been claimed the same way, her life would always have made yours worse, despite anyone’s efforts to change that.

The poison drips through. That had been your sister’s line, and now Kendall’s. You’d experienced some of what your mother had first-hand, and it always made you wonder if everyone is destined to become their parents, to mirror their lives no matter how consciously they tried to avoid it; whether they resign themselves to it, or try so hard to avoid it that they do a full circle, returning to the likeness of their parents, everyone you’ve ever known is the product of their parents; it is biological, cultural, psychological.

It’s no surprise when Shiv arrives, ready to turn Roman to her side of the discussion about the board meeting. It’s late afternoon when you and Shiv find a moment—Roman has disappeared, and you sit on the paved surrounding to the pool, legs soaked up to your knees, weight leant back on your arms. The youngest Roy is somewhere behind you, to the right, probably on a deck chair.

“Do you think—and tell me to fuck off if you like—that maybe this whole deal is a good thing?”

You hear her sit up, and turn to look at her. She’s frowning at you, “How so?”

“I don’t know, ‘cause, like, you guys—all of you—have just been trapped in this sphere of Waystar and ATN and your dad, and all of you are just fucking miserable. What if you—what would be so bad about just getting out? You could free yourselves from all this bullshit, and there’s no Logan to pull you back in, so you could just… be. Just, y’know, learn a bit more about who you are outside of your father’s sphere of influence. Plus, like, Kendall’s gonna break, Roman already has, and you—all of you—are, frankly, pretty fucking fragile at the minute.”

She moves to come and sit next to you, slipping her feet into the pool beside yours. “You don’t understand.”

You shrug. “I’m sure I don’t.”

“We’re never, really, going to be free of it. Any of it.”

She shifts, her head resting on the bare skin of your shoulder, hair ticklish on your neck. You rest the side of your face on the crown of her head. “Maybe, maybe that’s true. But for the first time in your lives, the door’s open.”

The silence stretches out over the pool, filling the air, making you wonder what’s going on in her head. You sit like that for a while and at some point you realise she’s crying— not sobbing, not shaking with the force of it, but just sitting there, letting the tears stream; you don’t think she’s even really blinking, but the stillness remains, you don’t move. She needs this. You know about the scheduled meeting rooms for crying—Roman mentioned it—but this doesn’t feel like mourning. Not for her father, at least.

“Hey, fucknuts,” Roman calls, appearing at the edge of the courtyard, still barefoot in the shorts and top Caroline had gotten him when you first arrived. Shiv swiftly brushes the tears away, smiling up at him. He looks between you. “Ah, fuck—what… nevermind.”

Suddenly, you are plunging through the chlorinated water, lungs straining at the shock, hands splaying out through the cyan waters, in some momentarily suspended, bubbly universe, the tiled walls of the pool reflecting its pale, eggshell blue translucence onto your skin. You burst upward, drawing in a deep breath and flicking your hair from your face as your toes find the floor of the pool. “Argh, fuck you!”

Roman is laughing, Shiv in a similar state to you, and the moment feels distinctly child-like. You wade through the neck-deep water to the edge, and reach up to him to help you out, but he shakes his head. “Fuck that,” he chides, “I’m not that stupid.”

Shiv is laughing now, and you realise that you’re smiling despite yourself. “Rome, come on, at least help the pregnant lady.”

“Yeah, Rome, help the pregnant lady!” Shiv echoes, joining you at the edge and reaching for him. He knows what’s about to happen and submits himself to it regardless, letting her get a grip of his hands and be practically thrown over your heads, crashing sidelong into water. The splash and waves lap at your chin but you and Shiv are too busy laughing to notice; he struggles upright and rolls his eyes through his smile.

“Cunts.” he groans.

Shiv splashes him in the face with some water, and he swears again, splashing her back and catching you in the process. The ensuing water fight is short and chaotic, halted by Caroline’s arrival to tell you all to be quiet. Roman is laughing, the three of you paddling to the shallow end through some half-hearted apologies. Clambering out and grabbing some towels, you meander down to the seats and drinks table overlooking the seas, drying out your hair and letting conversation turn to business. This is where Kendall finds you, twenty minutes later, in a serious discussion about the board meeting.

The next few hours are a rollercoaster. Calls, discussions, debates, the classic Roy egoistical outlook on why each of them are better suited to the CEO position and why they have been groomed for it. Privately, as you meander in and out of their discussions, conscious that you’re not really involved in their family stuff at all, you settle on the idea that perhaps none of them are. Your feelings about the deal are one thing, meant to be separate from your feelings about them, but they intertwine now—the future of the company lies with them, and their capabilities, and their decisions. That’s not particularly your concern, you’ve been starting to manoeuvre your way out of your current position of influence, toying with the idea of leaving completely, selling your shares and heading elsewhere, but the idea of leaving them behind, leaving Roman behind, is too difficult to consider. What if you didn’t have to factor that in? What if you could walk away knowing it wasn’t them you were walking away from?

It’s this spiralling thought process that subdues you during dinner, ignoring Peter’s friend—James? John?—and knocking back continuous cocktails. Shiv frowns at you, “Trying to get hungover before the board meeting?”

You let out a half laugh. “If I drink a bit more tomorrow I won’t get the hangover.”

Kendall watches you for a second. “Clear minds tomorrow.”

You roll your eyes. Caroline glares at you all for ignoring the pitch you’re currently being presented with and you glance at Roman beside you. He’s anxious, he has been since the morning of the funeral, and you get the sense that he—body, mind and soul—is consuming himself, like he’s just destroying the fabric of himself from the inside out, so destroyed by his father’s death. The whole structure of his life, its fabric and its character, has been defined by his father’s presence and absence, and the man’s ability to maintain his presence even through his absence, but that presence, that famed presence, their “dear, dear world of a father” diminishes with every passing second.

Roman’s hand finds yours under the table, slightly clammy, taking you by surprise. His initiation is uncharacteristic. You give his hand a slight squeeze, and in response he laces his fingers into yours, a more substantial hold. Be here, he seems to ask. The world goes quiet—it’s just you, Roman, and your palms against one another under the table.

Like all things, the moment passes, the chaos returns. More phone calls, an equivocal end to the dinner, and you end up at the house, the Roys down at the beach. You lie at the end of Roman’s bed, feet still on the floor, staring at the ceiling fan; there could be any manner of discussions going on between the siblings at the sea, you could wake up to find they’ve drowned one another or something. Knocked each other out with a coconut or some shit. Roman, your Roman, and his grief, his deep felt love and guilt and terror, lost in the storm of this entire shitshow. You think of that day at Connor’s ranch when you saw the scars on Logan’s back, Ewan’s eulogy about his polio and self-blame, the mirror he made his children look in when they cried. Broken people make broken people. It’s easy to think of time as linear—past, present, future—but it’s more of a circle, you think. Infinite, never-ending, always repeating the same old mistakes. Kendall’s distant fathering, Logan’s abusive fathering—were they really so different?

The poison drips through.

It’s difficult to compare your childhood with the Roys’, but you remember those same thoughts, of a different nature—you’d been lucky enough to live in a world where things were talked about, and you had been able to process things as they happened, rather than let them bubble under the surface, but there had always been that idea. Your family history, the mental health troubles, ECT treatments and various crises in your family history, long before your time, and the effects that you had grown up with. You remember the first time you understood that your mother wasn’t quite right. You remember trying to get her out of bed to walk you to school and the realisation that she wasn’t really there, not in her mind, anyway. And in your teenage years, when you felt that yourself for the first time, you remember the terror of becoming her, of losing all feeling until you couldn’t get out of bed for days at a time.

When you took Roman to her funeral, you hadn’t told him how she’d died, too scared it would be weird or uncomfortable. He’d worked it out, and confronted you in the bathroom at the wake. Sat on the bath met, you had unleashed it all on him, and it had been one of the few genuine conversations you’d had with him in those first years. It had been a different kind of a struggle to his—it wasn’t actively inflicted by your parents, it wasn’t an intentional abuse like the kind he had experienced, but an enforced bystander effect—instead, you had had to stand at the sidelines as your mother collapsed in on herself, decaying before your eyes until you gave up and left. Half the world away, you had learned to understand those things, but now Roman had hints of it in him—he was barely even a bystander in his father’s death, but the grief and guilt were parallel.

This deal was his version of moving to NYC. An escape, an out.

You must drift off, because you open your eyes to the muffled chant; a meal fit for a king. Downstairs, you find them, concocting some awful smoothie, cackling like maniacs. As teenagers, it had been one of those games you’d played when their parents were away, seeing who could stomach the most awful of concoctions for trivial prizes and rewards—apparently this is similar, an initiation to a proper CEO position, on Kendall’s part. You make yourself known by handing Shiv a bottle of Tabasco, Kendall groaning and the other two cheering.

Caroline’s interruption only spurs it on, and by the time you’re heading back to bed, the smoothie having been dumped on Kendall’s head, a crown, you can barely stand you’re so tired.

Still vaguely unfamiliar, you wake up with Roman’s face pressed into your neck, his breath warm and ticklish on your skin, arm thrown over your waist and legs tangled together, a position that makes you think he really is comfortable with you, even if it’s taken a ridiculously long time to get here. You wonder if he can hear the air in your lungs or the blood in your arteries, or whether he notices the patter of your heart as you recognise this display of unconscious affection. Eventually, the rest of the building comes to life, and Roman wakes, moves from you with a sort of embarrassment, changing from his Walmart shirt into business attire. You wear the pantsuit you’d gotten with this board meeting in mind a while back, your office fashion being a slight point of pride—you weren’t the biggest fan of the drab stuff people usually wore, and liked to use interesting cuts and shapes to create range in the endless blouses and blazers and skirts and trousers of your work clothes. Subtle, but not boring.

Back in NYC, after a morning of calls and diplomacy and last minute bids for votes, you are greeted with a room full of people in expensive suits waiting and chattering anxiously as board members start to file in. You still don’t know how to vote, whether you’ll side with the siblings or not. Instead of stressing, you wrangle some gossip out of Stewy and do a shot in the bathroom. Zero hour.

With a pencil, you tally up each vote on a Post-It note stuck to the page of your notebook where you were planning to take notes, both Shiv, to your right, and Roman, to your left, glance at the tally every few seconds. You will be the last three votes.

When it reaches Roman’s turn, it is 6-4 toward the deal, he votes against and you are faced with a choice. If you vote for the deal, Shiv’s vote is purely nominal, and the deal will go through whether she likes it or not—you will be the decider; if you vote against, then it is an even 6-6 and she will cast the deciding vote. You look at the faces of each of the Roys, the children who have grown up to get to this moment. It feels ridiculous that it might be your choice. In the end, that is what makes you vote how you do—this is their livelihood more than it is yours, and you want Shiv to have the options in front of her—you can cope either way. So you vote against the deal—not for any loyalty to Kendall, but for one of your oldest friends, to give her some ounce of autonomy when you know that’s something that has been scarce in her life. Perhaps it's cruel to give her the choice between her brother and her husband, but, selfishly, you don’t want Roman to hate you.

“No, I vote against.” you eventually utter out, earning a triumphant nod from Kendall. Shiv glances at your tally, confirming the equal scores, confirming that it is her choice that makes or breaks the deal—literally.

And she breaks.

You see them, the Roy children, through the glass walls that separate the various conference rooms. You see the pain, the anger, the fear; it comes to a head, and all of the raw emotion of the last days is borne into the world, witnessed through the glass. You listen to Kendall’s rage, and for a minute you are a teenager, listening to one of Logan’s tantrums after one of Roman’s misdemeanours. For a minute, you realise how quickly Kendall turns into his father. For a minute, you feel your heart break on their behalf—at the end of the day, they are children, mourning for a father whose love was confusing and hateful.

The poison drips through.

You are your mother’s daughter, and he is his father’s son.

Afterwards, as you stand beside Shiv in a commemorative photograph, it is understood that there is no singular reason behind this. The freedom of her siblings; the power as the wife of a CEO, not the sister; the wishes of her late father; Kendall’s rage; Roman’s breakdown; the inevitable becoming of one’s own mother. When you and Roman leave, despite the knowledge that Roman is emotional and angry and probably confused by a sense of relief, you resolve that you will call her in the morning. You’ll make your exit as quietly as you can, but you will try to book Saturday morning brunches with her like you used to when you were in your early twenties. You’ll text Rava a little more, and try to create some positive influences in the next generations of Roy children.

You think of your parents. Of Logan, of Caroline, of your own siblings and your own childhood. The poison drips through. What if it doesn’t have to?

[konaanaria13]

Alcohol is Toxic as well

Charles Leclerc x Fem!reader

Warnings: a lot of swearing cuz that's my fav thing to do.... ahm idk just like oh google translated French, Its a big one and I've been working on it for a while so I don't remember!

word count: around 8K

so its enemies to Lovers but also their toxic friends who are friends but just always fight and kind of are very nasty to each other yep yep yep!

nice.... (also rly bad grammar I think, nobody proof reads this)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

It was as if we we're just meant to like each other.

Both of our Families we're high in status so it was just natural that we had to spend a lot of time in the presence of rich people.

Wearing the right clothes and The right smiles, It was rather a surprise for my Mother when she heard the absolute disliking I took in The Leclerc boys.

Arthur and Charles the most since Arthur was just always repeating what Charles was doing and oh gods Charles was so irritating.

Enzo wasn't. But since I already Disliked two I went for the three while talking.

Sooner or Later My mother made me wear the Ferrari colours and stand in the paddock and having to watch the races so everybody knew that we we're connected of sorts.

She wanted me to marry rich and in High status so she could be happy.

Me and Charles we're different, he liked car's and I like Quiet study sessions so we simply didn't get along very well, but we had to spend a lot of time together as my mother and his mother we're basically best friends even though they we're two completely different people.

But it wasn't as if we didn't talk, we talked a lot, me and Charles the most since we we're about the same age and it was easy to talk with him, to sneak out at a gathering and get drunk on a rooftop talking about our lives as if we weren't screaming the dumbest insult at each other five seconds earlier.

It was an understandment that even though we didn't like each other we we're in the same boat both holding our heads high and smiling when the camera was in our face.

But Charles family was supportive, I loved his mother almost more than mine, but i couldn't since she wasn't my real mother.

My parents always needed me to be the perfect Daughter, I was the middle child before me came the Golden Boy who went on as a doctor and below me came the baby Boy who sailed the world and did whatever he wanted with our parents money but never got scolded for it.

I stayed. not that I wanted my parents we're cruel... or rather strict, They words stung almost harder than they're open palm even though my mother hasn't dared to lay her hands on me. at every gathering I liked having the Leclerc family there, for Charles mother to pull me into a hug, for all three of the boys to kiss both of my cheeks with a smile and for Charles to notice my exhaustion.

"You look wonderful" Charles handed me another glass of champagne.

We we're on a yacht in Monaco, a weekend before the race. The Stroll Family had organised some of the upper class people to attend it and My mother couldn't miss the opportunity to show of her new earing's, she looked beautiful as always.

"Thank you" I took a sip and we watched as Arthur and Lance talked.

The boy was talented and attractive. Just maybe I could try...

"Do you like him?" I ask Charles and he raises an eyebrow.

"As a driver I mean? Lance? He seems nice-"

"Very nice. He's naïve" Charles agrees and I roll my eyes as Charles takes out a whisk of Alcohol and pours some into my empty glass of champagne.

"How's University?" Charles asked.

"Fucking boring. I've been stuck on like five paragraphs and I have to attend this stupid Party rather than go to an actual one on my Saturday evening" I complain and he laughs.

"It does surprise me that you chose law" he says and I frown

"Why's that?" I ask annoyed.

"You just never seemed the type-" Charles started and I rolled my eyes again

"Cause I'm a woman?" This time he rolls his eyes

"No! Oh my god you always have to do this!"

"Maybe if you weren't a sexist dick-"

"I was ten! And I was simply surprised that you wanted to go karting! It wasn't about you being female!" He whispered so he didn't have to scream.

"Well I beat you anyways-" The race of luck I liked to call it.

"You could never beat me now so"

"Yes but the last time we raced I did so be quiet" The pure luck i had in that race was unbelievable.

"I am a literal formula one driver and you have karted twice how could you beat me now?"

"I don't have to beat you again. I already did so it doesn't matter" Charles looked like he was gonna explode.

"Your such a cunt" Charles whispered under his breath and I chuckle.

"Says the raging asshole" I mutter and suddenly I feel a harsh slap on the back of my head.

"Ow!" Charles had already turned to slap the person back just as I did but we both turned away as it was Enzo.

"Y/n your mother told me to tell you that if she see's you roll your eyes again she will kick you out of the house and Charles Mamon said that if she see's you insulting her again she will also throw you out of the house-" Enzo had that strict look on his face but me and Charles glanced at each other

"I don't live with her anymore-"

"Me neither"

"Both of you. Be nice and fucking smile."

"Yes." I whisper and Enzo leaves.

"You wanna ditch?" It was maybe thirty seconds after Enzo told us to be nice.

"Yeah. You got you car?" We slowly made our way to the stairway only to be greeted by Arthur and Lance.

"Hey- oh Lance its nice to meet you I'm y/n I'm sure Leclerc has mentioned me?" Charles pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Yes... nothing nice I believe" I glare at Charles.

"Snitch" Charles mumbles

"We'll he's simply always embarrassed because i am a better driver." I laugh it off and Charles roll's his eyes.

"So not true do not believe that-"

"I have a video? Dm me on Instagram and I'll send it to you? Maybe we can talk more on there as well?" I flirt my way in a circle so that now the two boys were in our spots and we we're at the staircase.

"Oh- yeah sure?" Lance smiled like a puppy.

"No. Your not getting her socials. Arthur take him away." Charles put his hand on my waist and pulled me away and off the boat.

"Hey! I was getting myself a date?" I push his hand off.

"Your not dating another driver on the grid!" He objects and I push him away.

"And why not?" I walk on the pond until I reached the side walk going into the harbour.

"Because your mother won't allow it- come on I'll drive you home? Or anywhere come on?" I pushed him away.

"Leclerc fuck off, I'm calling a Taxi it's fine" I hated when he did that. Interfered in a perfectly fine build up.

"Stop being a bitch and come with me" he grabbed my wrist

"Oh I'm being the bitch?! You always fucking do this and I'm so not putting up with it"

"Y/n I will literally drag you come on"

"Don't you dare" We've been in this situation before, if he pissed me off he would always make me go with him anyway and either walk me home or drive me home or drive me to his place it was all the same.

"Are you coming?"

"No go away." I try to take my wrist away but he pulls me closer and there it is again. When he is close and for a second I forget all the insults and stupid remarks he makes, all the pranks and games he's played on me. All of the rumours he made up and all of the harsh slaps i got because of him. In a second where he is so near its almost frightening me.

"Please y/n? I'll drive you home and you can sulk and cry about how much your parents hate you there." But it only lasted a second.

"You fucking asshole" I slapped him

"Let me go or I'll scream" I've slapped Charles plenty of times and every time he looked like he wanted to straight up punch me back but he never did.

"I will literally choke you to death" I couldn't help but laugh.

"I really didn't think of you as the kinky type Leclerc" I chuckle and Charles rolls his eyes.

"Come on" He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to his car.

It was funny how i never got interested in formula one over the years or racing of any sorts, even though I had to attend a good amount of the races.

"My mother is calling" Charles informed me about ten minutes into the drive.

"Yes Mamon" I looked in the backseat to see the duffle bag of Clothes

"Charles where are you two? Y/n moth is about to explode in anger, reporters came and you two are nowhere to be found" I chuckled while i got some boxers and one of Charles shirts out of the bag.

"Yeah Y/n got sick so we had to leave? I told Arthur to tell you" Charles raised his eyes brow at me as I put the shirt on and took the dress off beneath it.

"What its uncomfortable?" Charles looked way embarrassed as his eyes glued to the road.

"Noh Chére, Arthur ne nous a pas dit" and there was the French again.

"mère j'emmène Y/n dans mon appartement elle va bien" I heard his Mother frown

"S'il te plaît?"

"Fine, I'll tell her mother something"

"Mercy"

"Mercy Pascale!" I shout into the phone and Charles chuckles as he puts the phone away.

"What did you tell her?" I ask and Charles shrugs.

"Your coming to my apartment because your sick we can get drunk and watch a movie?"

"Do you maybe have....?" Weed brownies, It was Pierre's recipe and the first time I had them I wanted to merry Pierre.

"I can't I have a race next weekend" The stupid FIA and their stupid drug test...

"Yes but do you have?" Maybe it was mean but it wasn't my fault that Charles became a driver

"I do and yes you can have some" I smiled at him tossing the rest of my clothes in the back.

"Thanks gods its night or people will think we fucked" Charles says after it got dark.

"Hah?" I look up from my phone putting my legs up.

"Your dressed in my old shirt and my boxers what would you think?"

"That their comfortable" I remark and he smiles.

"Can you put your seatbelt on?" He asks after another beat of comfortable silence

"Are you worried about me?" I can't help but smile.

"No we're about to pass The police." I roll my eyes putting the seatbelt on.

As we get to his apartment my mother calls me.

"Are you absolute mental?!" Charles leaves me alone in the car.

"You cannot just leave! I will talk to you Father!"

"Mom Just- I was sick and I'm at Charles I'm sorry I should've told you? " I tried to avoid arguing with her.

"I'm still here so I won't talk about this now but your going to the race next weekend and I won't tell you father about your stupidity"

"Yes yes. Mom Leclerc is waiting I've got to go ill talk tomorrow" Charles was waiting he opened the door for me and helped me out giving me his coat so I wasn't completely naked in the street.

"Thanks." I mutter And he lets me hold onto his arm noticing my unstable state.

"How much did you drink?" He asks and I shrug.

"I had like three shots before I got on the yacht" I mutter.

"Why didn't you tell me I would've drove slower I don't want you throwing up on me."

"I'm not gonna throw up on two shots of vodka Leclerc" He opens the door for me and I enter his apartment.

"Never say never" Charles mutters with a laugh.

"I'm just annoyed at my mother" I explain and jump up on the counter while Charles gets me a glass of water as well as a shot.

"You're being nice today?" I take the shot

"Had a rough week" He says and I smile.

"What movie do you wanna watch?"

"Something scary so we can laugh" I ask and Charles takes another shot to survive the night.

"Alright you chose I'll get you your brownies" I jump down and find myself into the couch where I put Anabella on.

The next morning was torture. Not only did this bitch let me sleep on the couch and not bother to put me into the guest bedroom he also left with no breakfast in the fridge.

I cleaned the kitchen from last night's drinking session and took a shower until a friend picked me up with a fresh change of clothes.

The Monaco Grand Prix was the most grandiose GP and Everybody wanted to be the one holding the trophy at the end of the dat.

I arrived at the Paddock at Saturday walking in all black and wearing my sunglasses so people got the hint that I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Yo! Y/n" Pierre kissed my cheek and I wrap my hands around his neck.

"Hey" I take my Sunglasses off.

"You don't look good.

"I was up late studying. I had an essay to write till today and I forgot about it."

"Come I'll walk you" The alpine boy hocked his arm with mine and walked with me to the Ferrari paddock.

"Leclerc hasn't returned any of my calls since last weekend do you know if he's alright?" I ask and Pierre shrugs.

"Has been running around a lot doesn't really have time to breath" Pierre says and I nod.

"Do you think he will win?" I ask and Pierre sighs

"I mean Ferrari started pretty bad but I think if he gets a good pole position then yes. I believe, also your here" He gives me a gentle smile and i raise an eyebrow

"I'm here?"

"Yeah don't you read headlines? Your like his lucky charm" I stop walking and stare at him puzzled.

"Like he performs better if he knows your watching, He would never admit it but it show's, every time you attend the race he relaxes of sorts because he knows your gonna support him no matter what." Unconditional Love. Pascale told me that one's...

"Its easy for you two to love each other, you don't expect anything"

"So he never has to worry about performing bad which leads to him performing good" Pierre talked as if he didn't just made me realize things.

"Oh." Oh

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that he will kill me" Pierre laughs it off and I look up to see us standing in front of the Ferrari paddock.

"Don't worry, our little secret as always." He smile's and I bite my lip as I wat for Pierre to leave so I can walk into the Paddock but he stay's which must only mean one thing.

I turn around Charles smiling down at me.

"Hey" he kissed my cheeks and I greet him.

"Hey, how are you? Why haven't you picked up your phone?" I scold him and he rolls his eyes.

"I was busy calm down-"

"I am calm Charles but you can't just ignore me-"

"Hey Pierre" He ignores me greeting Pierre.

"Oh fuck you" I walk away from Charles into the Paddock And putting my sunglasses back on.

Charles got P1. It was rather surprising. The car wasn't that fast but Charles knew how to push its limits.

"Rather surprising" I set in the Paddock as Charles assistant comments on the subject with a down right look.

"Why? Charles is an excellent driver no one should expect less of him" I snap rather angrily and she nods embarrassed.

"I just meant-" Charles enters the Paddock getting out of the car.

"You did good" he walked over to me taking the bottle of water beside me.

"Best I could" He didn't look at me.

"Are you alright?" I reach out but he almost flinches.

"Yes I'm just stressed that's all love, don't worry" He makes sure to look me in the eyes now so that I know he isn't lying.

"Alright, yeah I'll see you tonight? After media?" I ask and he nods.

"Come by? we can have a drink?" He proposes and I nod.

"I'll meet you there" He let's me touch him, A brief second where his fingers brush mine.

In the evening I waited in the lounge for Charles, then i waited in my room, until I went to his knocking on his door.

"Yes I'm coming!" He sounded stressed and when he opened the door he stared at me.

"Shit- fuck I'm so sorry I completely forgot" He was in his boxer's and his shirt was unbuttoned, it wasn't like I haven't seen him naked, we ended up skinny dipping with Pierre and his friends a few year's back but it was always a pleasure.

But gods, he looked like a mess, his face was slightly red and his eyes we're as if he had cried and his lip's trembled when he talked.

"Jesus Leclerc- you look horrible what's gotten into you?" His hair was wet from a shower and i stepped inside reaching to touch his face.

"I just don't think-" he swallowed running his hand through his hair.

"I don't think I can lose this race, I don't think I can" He was having a panic attack. I pushed the door close and took my shoes off.

"Come on" the first time I saw Charles have a Panic attack was after he lost a karting event, I didn't know why it was so important to him since I rarely listened to them talk about the importance of races but I noticed his jittering fingers so I followed him into the cabin an. I tried to get him to breath, Enzo came thankfully and got him to calm down so I left them. Maybe it sounded cruel but I wasn't going to do him good back then since we we're so immature and I might even say I would have used it against him.

"Hey come on you wanna take a bath?"

He likes cold bath's

I tried to remember what I did the last time when I was alone with him like this but it was all gone.

"No I just need to breath" He looked up to the ceiling his eyes we're read, his skin felt hot and his breathing was uneven always taking one faster than he ended the last one.

" come on you need to breath" I lead him to the balcony where we we're met with the chill air and he set down, his hand's came up to his chest and his fingers trembled as he swallowed a sob after the other.

"Oh fuck- I'm so fucking done Jesus y/n I can't do this anymore" He cried out and I rubber my hands over his knees.

"Come on try to breath you fine" I waited until he leaned into my touch to take his hands where i made sure to give him a rhythm, I took his hands up when i wanted him to breath in and pushed them back down when He should exhale.

"Your doing great" I nodded at him and he nodded back.

After fifteen minutes he was calm and quiet.

I got up and got him water with some gin.

"You need a hug?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Ew y/n" he was fine. I breathed through.

"I should've called Enzo" I mutter as he drinks the water.

"No. Your good." I don't think he was able to complete his sentences that night.

"I'm sorry. I'm really stressed." Short words. He was looking into the night sky trying to find the stars but the lights around us we're to bright.

"Do you want me to stay?" I ask and he find my eyes.

"Yes. Please." He adds and I smile standing up.

"Come on" he took my hand and I lead him to bed where he fell in comfortably.

I looked for his clothes from where i took one of his shirts and changed into them before laying down beside him.

"I am still angry at you" I whisper and he raises an eyebrow

"You couldn't have bothered to put me in the guest bedroom could you?" I ask and I see his faint smile.

"Room's are for people. Not for dogs." I gasp and slap his arm and I can't help but smile when he laughs.

"Gosh I wish I could help you" I whisper and I notice how harsh my words we're.

He didn't seem to mind.

"You are helping me" He says and I smile.

"I hate you with a burning passion" I tell him and he nods.

"Good. At least one thing that doesn't change" He says and I laugh.

"Yeah" He fell asleep first, It was late when I set up and brought my knees to my chest sucking in a shaky breath with a following sob.

It was Hurting me, of course he was an asshole, he did terrible things and made me cry uncountable times.

But I would never wish to have to sit there again, his shaky hands in mine, it was so fucking scary. I felt as if his heart was going to stop any second, His skin felt so cold, His eyes we're losing their pretty colour into a red teary Breath taking pain.

"Fuck" I let my nails dig into my skin.

"Be quiet" He turned around and I scoff returning to reality.

"Fuck off"

"Shut it" He frowned taking the blanket

"Wanker" I fell asleep.

The first time I was interested in a formula one race was in 2020 Baku race where Daniel and Max where on edge, I found myself in a bit of a crush for the Dutch Driver so I paid attention.

The second time was the morning after I had to hold his shaky hands in mine trying to be as steady as possible for him.

The entire race my skin was so itchy, so I scratched it off staining my fingernails.

My mother hated it when i did that but I didn't even notice till the end of the race.

Charles stayed in P1 for 80% of the race, at the start he lost it to Max but quickly got it back when max ran into a wall because his rear end hit the wall.

The second time he lost it was because of a pit stop fail and I swear I was ready to punch the crew member myself.

"Just push a bit" I muttered and he did, he caught up pretty fast as he thankfully changed to soft tires.

When he won My heart skipped a beat, I heard his scream over the radio, It was so full of beauty I needed to breath.

I took the headphones off and waited.

"Y/n Charles asked if you could put the headphones on?" One thing I hated more than Charles was Phone calls (which i got used to) or even worse radio calls (which really wasn't necessary for survival)

"Tell him he can come find me, I'm not talking to him over a radio." I wasn't that desperate was I?

"Yes ma'am" His engineer told the message to Charles and then Looked at me blankly.

"I'm not telling her that" The engineer said into the radio and I smile.

"Did he call me a raging cunt?" I ask and The engineer looks at me in shock

"Yes." He laughs.

"Tell him he can drive into a wall for all I care" I leave the paddock soon after not wanting to be on Charles last person list.

He called me when I got back to my apartment.

"Where are you?" He was clearly in a rush.

"At my apartment?" I asked as if I didn't ditch him.

"Come to the party?" He asked and I laughed.

"I'm not really in the mood-"

"Y/n i just won the most important race in my career put your favourite dress on and get the fuck to the Party or I'm gonna drag you here" His voice was filled with laughter, even though he wanted to sound convincing or demanding he was so over joyed that it was simply impossible for him to be angry.

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, no, you go have fun I'll join you in an hour" He hummed and I Heard the voices around him pulling him away.

"Promise you'll come?"

"Yes. I'll be there don't worry"

"I'll come to your apartment if you don't"

"I'm already on the way" I lie before hanging up and phone down.

I chose a red dress for Charles victory and made sure to wear the Necklace his Mother gave to me on his account on my birthday since he was 'occupied'.

I called an Taxi and took a shot so I wasn't completely sober when I got there.

It was rather cold, the party was on a massive yacht and It was almost overflowing.

I made my way up the steps carefully looking for Anybody I knew.

People seemed to know me and some came over to say hi but my brain was completely shut down.

"Y/n!" It was Pierre, Lovely Pierre who had a girl in his lap and called me over handing me his drink.

"Why did you leave early? Charles was worried! Where is he? Charles!"

"Pierre the night just started how much did you drink? " I laugh and Pierre took his drink back rolling his eyes at me.

"Are you really the right person to mother me? Miss let's see who can chug the most beer? When she was 17?" I laugh.

"Exactly I was 17 how old are you right now? 12?" Pierre scoffed and I looked around spotting Charles.

He wore a black suit and a white shirt underneath the first three buttons undone and he was talking to Max.

He looked pretty, his cheeks we're flushed red and he had a glass of cranberry vodka in his hands which was even more attractive now that i think about it.

"Pierre calm down on the drinking I'm going over to Charles yeah?" He gave me a thumbs up and I smile at the girl apologetic before making my way over to the bar.

"Hey Max" I ignore Charles leaning in front of him.

"Hey Y/n" He noticed my intention thankfully and decided on Ignoring Charles as well.

Charles put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer to him and Max laughed at me as I rolled my eyes at him leaning back comfortably.

"Clingy much?" I ask and he gives me the glass of vodka.

"Its an open bar for you" He tell me and I smile.

"Why be as clingy as you want then" I take the glass.

"Somebody know the real value" Max mutters and I raise an eyebrow in question.

"Free alcohol" He explains and I laugh.

"Congratulations on p2 btw" Max scoff's.

"Thank you but no thank you"

"What? P2 is amazing! It just proves that next time you will so better" I slap his arm as he roll's his eyes.

"You know for all the things you two say behind each other's backs you do make a good couple" Max leaves us and I scoff's pushing Charles away and turning to him.

"Red for me?" He asks ignoring Max's comment.

"No for Carlos I wouldn't wear shit for you." I drink my drink.

"Really? I'm pretty sure I chose that necklace for your 20th?" Charles picked the small red heart shaped gemstone.

"It was from your mother."

"No! I chose it and I wanted to give it to you myself but I had a race you cunt" he dropped it, my skin missing his touch.

"Liar! Your mother didn't tell me you had a race and we all knew you didn't chose it you we're off somewhere while I had to spend five hours in a thight dress smiling for pictures. " I scoffed at him and he stared at me.

"It was a Sunday. I had a race in Spa Belgium. My mother didn't tell you because she didn't want to worry your Mother who always made a big fuss about it and would've want you to join me. But it was your birthday and you hate to attend the races" He explained and I swallowed.

"I got you that necklace a month even before your birthday. I got it In France, me and Pierre we're driving around all afternoon because I knew you wanted That exact one. It was the one you asked your Father to buy you that summer" Charles just talked and explained while i stared at him, how could such an insufferable annoying little shit be such a sweetheart all of the sudden rather has always been and how was I only noticing it now? Charles kept defending himself for another 5 minutes calling me a raging cunt five times as well.

"Thank you" I interrupt him at some point.

"It's one of my favourite necklaces. Thank you" It became my favourite in that moment.

"and I don't hate attending your races"

After another two drinks Lando and Carlos came over and started to talk to Charles about the race.

"Lando you wanna dance?" I asked the brit and he Looked at Charles for an answer.

Charles wasn't listening so he just shrugged and offered me his hand.

"Why not" He let me walk behind him until we got on the dance floor where he put his hands on my waist and guided me to the music.

"Did you and Charles fight?" He asked over the music leaning down so i would hear him.

"I mean we always fight" I shrug letting my hands fall around his neck.

"Yes but like why did you want to dance with me and not with him?" He asked and i raise an eyebrow.

"Maybe Because i don't like Charles?" I laugh and Lando scoffs.

"To be honest The first time i saw you two i thought you we're dating" I laugh at his stetment.

"But then you trippee him and walked over him so I was like nah... But it did take Carlos to tell me that you weren't dating so i would belive it.

"Oh?" I laugh at him and He smiled.

"Well We're really not- so yeah I'm single like a Pringel" I joke and he laugh's again.

The first time I met Lando Charles had told him that I was a huge McLaren hater which obviously wasn't true but Lando believed him and would straight up ignore me for a month.

Carlos confronted him for me and then he laughed at the both of us for a week before clearing it all up.

"Come on let's get another drink before i start sobering up again" Lando took my hand and got us back to the bar where I ordered two beer's on Charles account.

"I can pay its fine" Lando tried but i Scoffed.

"Charles is paying don't worry" I hand him the bottle and he smiles.

The night went away quick and soon the people started to leave, Lando had pulled me into his lap as we set in a couch cirlce where the other drivers had started to gather around aswell.

"To be honest I though I was gonna spin out in the fifth lap but i somehow stayed in control" Lance had started talking to Lando and I watched as the two drivers exchanged infos about they're car's.

"Y/n whats your favorite car?"

"Oh I'm not really intrested in car's" I sip on my drink and they laugh.

"Its a Ferrari" Charles set down beside me and I waved a Pierre who took the seat beside Charles.

"Hm?" I Raise my eyebrow.

"Your favorite car is a Ferrari." He says and I smile.

"Is it now?" I ask and he nods taking my hand.

"Yes so you can get down from the McLaren now." He yanked at my wrist and I almost fell off Lando but Lando made sure to Hold me not paying attention to Charles.

"Ow fuck you" i take my hand away from him as he smiles.

"Y/n i swear if you fuck one of the Drivers im calling your mother" Charles says and I scoff.

"You wouldn't dare! And im not fucking anybody anyways... just having fun" I turn away from him but he doesn't let me.

"I'm being sirius. Nobody on the grid."

"How about I fuck you engineer and check if he will be able to focus on you again while I'm in that fucking garage?" I push his buttons.

"Y/n I'm not joking-"

"Stay out of my love life Leclerc. It doesn't concern you." I spat and Charles stared at me for a while, My head kept spinning and gods his lips looked angelic.

"Don't be like that" he asked and I swallowed harshly.

"You were the one who just tried to push me off a man's lap"

"I didn't push you off your over reacting"

"Maybe because i've been drinking for five hours straight to a party you made me come to?" Charles noted my comment and nodded then turning away.

"Well good point, still you try to much Xavi and I'm actually gonna punch you" Charles Grabbed his beer bottle and I scoff.

"Xavi and I have already fucked-"

"No!" Charles and his nöh's we're rather interesting.

"Yës!" I mocked him and he yanks my hand again.

"Say your joking!" He pull's me off Lando's lap and I stand up so that Lando let's go off my hip.

"Make me" I laugh and jump over some peoples feet as Charles launges up to catch me.

"Y/n i swear to god! Say your joking" I run through some people and out on the open where Charles catches me pushing me against the rails. His hand's lock me in place and I push mine on his arms trying to push him off

"What if I'm not?" I ask and he groan's his hand falling on my waist.

"I'm gonna push you off this boat" Charles said and I smile.

"Push me" I dare him and suddenly his hand's come up beneath my thighs picking me up and I shriek putting my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist as he set's me down on the railing.

"Okay, okay fine I'm kidding! Don't let go" I eased when he didn't push me further and simply let me sit on the rail and look down on him.

Charles breathed through and let his head fall in my lap for a bit.

"Your a torture"

"The best you can get" I lift his head he smiles.

"I don't get us" he says and I nod.

"Yeah you we're about to kill me and now your simping for me again, chose a side will you?" I laugh and he groans again.

"You wanna go home?"

"Can I sleep in an actual bed rather than Your old couch?" I ask and he scoffs

"That's a brand new couch" he protests and I frown.

"Alright get me down" His hand's came up on my thighs again and he put's me down and guides me back to the bar so he can pay his hand resting on my lower back.

"Alright we're off" Charles Kissed Pierre on the cheeks and I hugged Lando kissing his cheeks.

"Bye" I hit Pierre on the back off his head and ducked behind Charles when he hit me back.

"Fuck you" He muttered and Charles guided me down the yacht.

"The cab should be here any minute"

"Ugh" I took my phone out and leaned against his chest with my back.

"What are you doing?" He put his head on my shoulder.

"Following Lando On Instagram" I mumble as I go to DM him

"Why?"

"Maybe we can go out sometimes" I muse and he snatches my phone putting it in his pocket.

"No" I roll my eyes.

"Jesus I'm just being friendly Leclerc, give me my phone"

"No your fine, come on get in the cab" I stumble along the pavement until I Reach the car where He opens the door for me and lets me inside.

I take my Highheels off and he takes them holding them for me. I watch him.

His eyes as he thinks, his lip's as he tries to form words, his hand's (gods his hands) the way his fingers lingered on my shoulder and the way He breathed slower.

He helped me out of the car as i tip toed up the stairs to his apartment so I wouldn't get my feet dirty which he picked up on so he grabbed my by the waist and i shrieked again as he carried me up the stairs in a second.

"Jesus Leclerc you got to stop doing that! How do you have this much strength anyways?" He set's me down on the cold apartment floor after he opened the door for me and I walk into his Bathroom washing my face off and breathing through.

I take off the necklace and my rings leaving them on the small plate where all of his Rings we're placed.

Charles was sitting on his bed scrolling on his phone as I got into the room looking through his closet to get my favourite shirt.

"Can you help me with the dress please?" I ask and he got up unzipping it for me.

"Thank you" I mutter covering my chest as I pulled his T-shirt over my head and turning around to face him.

"Are you tired?" He asked and I nod with a smile.

"Yes very" I look at the clock at his desk which said 05:00 AM.

"Are you still drunk?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Are you alright?" I ask and he smiles.

"I don't think I've ever been happier." He tells me and I smile.

"I don't understand us" He tells me again.

"I know. I don't either. Not since we started to... I don't know become friends." I nod and throw my head back in despair.

"But let's not tonight, let's just be happy tonight and fight about it tomorrow?" He asks and I nod.

"I'm gonna go wash up you can go to sleep already?" He breaks us back into life and I push myself over to the bed falling down.

I don't know if I fell asleep or not but I felt him beside me after some time. I didn't want to open my eyes when I felt his finger's push my hair behind my ear, I didn't want to open them when he pulled me closer by the waist and I didn't want to open them when his lip's touched my forehead whispering a good night.

We didn't talk for a month after that. I went back to studying and he went back to racing, I got out of my mothers way when ever she tried to get me to something he was attending, we had both come to a realization that we did like each other, that we didn't hate each other and I noticed how people had started to ease around me when they knew Charles as if he had stopped Saying all those things about me so Initially I stopped as well, Just skipping over him when he came up in a conversation trying to get myself away from thinking about him.

"Come on we're going out" it was about 11 P.M. and I was sitting in the Library going over some material trying to memorize several text's.

"Hm?" It was a friend of mine Ashley who already took my coat and helped me up.

"You've been stuck here for five hours we're gonna go change and then go drink.

"I really have to finish this" I tell her but she already pulled me away.

We went to a shady club somewhere at the end of Monaco and she made me take about ten shot's one after the other before taking me to play bear pong.

"Y/n I'm off with- what's your name? Julio you have fun!" it was about two when Ashley left, I kept on drinking feeling myself in the moment and dancing with random guys I found at the bar.

It was four when i ended up outside walking along the street trying to think of somebody to call.

"Pick up" I pled Having Charles number pulled up while The phone started to ring.

"Oui? c'est quoi ce bordel? qui est-ce?" Charles picked up his deep voice made me blush immediately.

"Hey where are you?" I ask and I hear him shuffling.

"What? Y/n its 4 A.M? I'm at my apartment? where are you?" I heard him shuffle some more and yawn.

"So your in Monaco?" I ask and I hear him frown.

"Yes? Its summer break? Are you drunk? Where are you?"

"Not drunk! Just a bit tipsy" I balance myself on the pavement falling down.

"are you alright? where are you?"

"Fuck, I'm I don't know where" I look around.

"Are you alright? what happened?" I heard him stand up and go through his closet.

"Just fell down. Uhm I'm sorry I just wanted to.. I don't know we just haven't talked and My mother has been pushing but I just didn't want to see you" I explain and I hear his house door close.

"Send me your location I'll be there in a second" He orders and I sigh Trying to do as he says.

"Y/n can you hear me? your location?" Charles asked again after a while and I swallow a sob. I send him my location looking at his message which was sent a fucking month ago.

"Yeah, yeah, You don't have to come I'm alright I'm just sorry... I kind of messed us up" I tell him and hear him scoff.

"We're fine, your fine, I'm fine, I'll be there in a second just wait" I nod and hear how he gets in his car. I get up and start walking again.

"Y/n?" He asks and I wipe away my tears.

"Just breath alright?" He asks and I Breath through nodding.

"I'm sorry" I whisper and hang up looking around while i wait for him.

Gosh how I love his car. The black Pista pulled up on me and He got out putting his coat around me in a second.

"Jesus you look fucked-"

"Fuck you" I scoff as I wipe away my tears again trying not to cry as I lean into him.

"Hey, hey come on your fine" He pulled me into a hug and I nod against his chest and he Helps me into the car opening the door for me.

"Come on you wanna go to your apartment?" I shake my head.

"I wanna go to yours?" I ask and he smiles.

"As you wish Chérie"

We drove in silence and I took my High heels off.

"Thank you for getting me" I whisper after a while.

"Always" He smiled and I lean my head against the window watching him drive.

"I think you we're right" I tell him and he raises his eyebrow.

"I do like Ferrari the most.... at least if your driving" I add and Charles smiles.

"Thank you I believe myself to be a quiet good Driver" I stare at his hand's.

"can I hold your hand?" I ask and he frowns but holding me his hand anyways.

"Why? Don't bite me please" I laugh leaning into his direction as he let's me hold his hand, i don't hold it but rather examine it letting my fingers run over them, they we're solid and his skin was hard in some places.

"What are you doing?" He asks after a beat of silence.

"I don't know, trying to figure out why I'm attracted to somebody's hand's" I state and when i look at him I see how flushed his face has gotten.

"Alright stay for a second" he stopped the car and I look outside seeing that we have arrived. He opened the door for me and helped me out taking my high heels and I go up the stairs faster than he so he doesn't attempt to carry me up again.

"Let me" He opened the house door for me and I walk into his apartment falling onto the couch.

"Don't do that, go to the bathroom and wash up yeah?" He tapped my leg and i rolled off the couch doing as he told me.

I washed my legs in the shower for a second and cleaned my face off before finding myself to his bedroom where he got me a hangover drink and some water.

"Do you just have those laying around?" I point to the hangover drink which he hand's me.

"I do actually yes" I drink the shot of whatever the fuck is in those things and Cringe handing the empty bottle back to Charles who was smiling at me.

"Thank you" i mutter and see that he already laid out the shirt I liked.

"Can you help me with the dress?" I ask and he does unzipping it for me.

"Thank you" I mutter again and cover my chest as I slip into his shirt.

"Are you alright?" He asks as I sit down on the bed.

"No... I'm so fucking Tired" I laugh and he hands me the water bottle.

"Me too" he informs me and I press my lips together.

"I shouldn't have called you" I tell him and he scoff's taking my hand and pulling me into him so I flop down on his chest in exhaustion.

"I'd rather have you call me than anybody else" he tells me as I curl up into his side, he holds my waist and I feel how his breath steadies.

"Thank you Charles"

"I love it when you say my name" He tells me and I Smile turning around so I'm facing him, I lift my finger and push his hair out of his face so I can touch him.

"I think we're kind of unhealthy" I tell him and he laughs hugging me a bit more giving me enough room so I can bury my face into his neck and breath in his scent.

-K<3

[knightpetrichor]

i have so many bsd zombie apocalypse fic ideas in my google docs folder and idk which to write so im posting them here lmao

Soukoku

Fifteen-year-old Chuuya is on the run from Arahabaki Lab---the lab that tried to perfect the ARAHABAKI Project, an experiment with the goal of creating a human immune to the zombie virus that's ravaging Earth.  Chuuya searches desperately for a place where the scientists can't get to him, even if it means crossing the Wastes, the large expanses of infested land between Suribachi City and Yokohama, where he hopes to take refuge.

However, the Wastes are hard to cross, and when Chuuya runs into a boy who offers to guide him to Yokohama, he says yes. Dazai is annoying, but he's a good shot; and best of all, he doesn't ask about Chuuya's past.

The trip is long and dangerous. Zombies, violent groups of survivors, and scavenging missions are all hazards, and if they want to survive, they have to work together. Fighting their way through the ruins of Japan, bickering, and encountering new people, the two grow closer, but Chuuya begins to wonder... just who is Dazai? And what is he hiding?

2. Ranpoe

When the apocalypse started, Poe lost all communication with his best friend, Ranpo, who lives overseas in Japan. Now five years later, Poe decides to go looking. (Or: Ranpo and Poe are long distance besties, The Guild are a smuggling ring with a giant ass boat that is actually plot relevant, the Armed Detective Agency are doing ADA things in Japan.) (Or: Poe and the rest of the Guild sail to Japan on the Moby Dick five years after the apocalypse after like 50k words and ranpoe canon)

3. Kunikidazai

Kunikida and Dazai are college roommates that don't really get along. but after the apocalypse starts, they have to work together to survive, at least until they get to the safehouse on the other side of the city. But as they fight their way through Japan, they end up getting closer. (Dazai is immune to zombie bites lol. The idea of having a scene parallel to that one in Dazai's Entrance Exam where Kunikida threatens to shoot Dazai but its because Dazai might turn into a zombie??? mmm)

4. Fukumori (ik, im suprised too. i dont even ship them, idk where this idea came from)

When Fukuzawa was 32, the world ended. Now three weeks later, the Silver Wolf travels from place to place, searching for somewhere to settle down as the chaos of the apocalypse takes Yokohama by storm. When he finds a seemingly abandoned building, he hopes to start a new life there, away from the city.

However, Fukuzawa is not the only one looking for somewhere to live. The building he had intended to make his home was actually an elementary school—and the four children left; Ranpo, Yosano, Dazai, and Kunikida, are still alive. Most interestingly, there is a man there—a children's physician who introduces himself as Mori Ougai. His leg is injured, but as a doctor, Mori is a useful asset to both Fukuzawa and the children, so the two make a compromise: Until things in Yokohama calm down, Fukuzawa will scavenge for food and protect Mori and the kids, and Mori will take care of any medical necessities. It's only meant to be a temporary arrangement, but time passes, Fukuzawa and Mori stay; more kids are rescued, friendships form, and before they know it, years have gone by. (Or: i slamdunk fukumori into the found family trope)

5. Fukuzawa + Ranpo

This is just an Untold Origins zombie au.

When the apocalypse started, Fukuzawa lost his best friend. Five years later, Fukuzawa is a powerful hunter capable of bringing a whole hoard down. And he does it all alone. But when he saves a 14-year-old boy from a zombie hoard and the child insists on staying, he finds that maybe it isn't too late to try again. And when the kid gets in danger, Fukuzawa has to choose between keeping his current life, and starting a new one.

anyways. if any of you guys want me to write one of these, pls comment. (or if u guys want to use any of these as prompts, go ahead, just tag me when ur done writing !! i want to see the finished product lol)

[visionofvoid]

Homewrecker - MV1 Part Seven

Summary: “these are for you.”

Warnings: simp max 

Pairings: max verstappen x oc

Word Count: 2.5k

Taglist: @ravenqueen27, @octaviareina, @formula1mount, @evans-dejong, @ditttiii, @vita-di-moda, @imheretoread, @alwaysclassyeagle, @luxfrances​, @tall-tanned-tattoo​ 

PART SIX 

“He definitely heard you call it a date.” Carmen spoke through the phone as Blake cleaned up her mess around Lewis’ condo before he came back home. She wanted to leave it in better condition from when she arrived. It had been one week since Max had taken her to his secret spot and the two had been inseparable, up until this moment. She loved being in his company, getting to know him beyond being the dick that she was convinced hated her, beyond Kelly and beyond being a World Champion race car driver. He had so many quirks and tidbits about him that Blake found herself admiring, thinking about when she was all alone. 

“No, no. It definitely slipped out but he didn’t say anything about it.” Carmen scoffed through the phone and Blake could just picture her best female friend rolling her eyes playfully. Of course she never saw Max’s reaction when she let the word slip but she can’t imagine he was paying that much attention to her, or she gathered he was just assuming she meant a friendly date, she did mean that right? “Besides, nothing will ever come of it. It’s like a twisted Romeo and Juliette. I work for his biggest rival team an-”

“And what, Blake?” Carmen questioned making Blake take a quick break from her frantic cleaning and listen to what she had to say. “What could be the worst thing that could happen? You already have fan pages you know. Do you like Max?” Blake didn’t find herself searching for an answer, she already knew. She obviously knew where Max stood with his feelings and he was very respectful with giving Blake all the time and space she needed before anything would ever eventuate but Blake was certain there was some attraction there. Okay, maybe a bit more than some, more like a lot. 

“But what will the boys think? What will Toto think?” The boys were referring to Lewis and George, Max’s biggest rivals. She was also afraid that if she was to engage in anything with Max that it might jeopardise her career though everyone knew she was a vital part of the Mercedes team. 

“They can all learn to deal with it if they truly value you. Besides, they would all want you to be happy, no matter who the other person was.” Blake found herself strolling onto the balcony where she sat down on a chair, looking out over the sea. Boats and yachts were coming in and out of the port and she could only imagine what that would be like, to sail away and enjoy the sun warming her skin. She was heading back to her home in England the following day, all of her bags already packed. She would have to get a bus to Nice in France and then a flight from Nice to London. From there she would pick up her car from the airport and drive to Brackley where she had her apartment, only a few minutes from the Formula One base. It would be a long day of travel, that's for sure. “Hey babes, it’ll all work out. Do whatever feels right.”

“I will, thank you. Listen, I have to go, I have to finish cleaning the house for Lewis before I head home tomorrow.”

“Let me know if anything changes, I’m always here.” The two girls bid their farewell, Carmen hanging up after sending kissing sounds through the phone leaving Blake to giggle at her friend. She was left to her lonesome now in Lewis’ condo. She knew she could easily message Max now that they had each other's phone numbers but she also needed time to sort of process her own feelings, figure out where her head was at. 

The past few days had been amazing; Max showed her his favourite places in Monaco and surrounding, took her out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, invited her over to his condo to watch a movie or a TV show or have a cocktail night where they could dress in their pyjamas. He was extremely respectful, working on getting to know Blake whilst she enjoyed her time one-on-one with him. 

Max had reached for his phone a number of times before finally deciding against it. He knew that Blake was leaving the next day and wanted to give her some space so she could relax a little before but it took every ounce of his being not to just send her one simple message. He knew that the time they spent together for the past few days would probably be the most amount of time they will spend together one-on-one for a long time as they start the prep for the new racing season but he just felt so mellow and himself around her. 

He still received communication from Kelly every now and then asking for him to take her back or trying to guilt him by using Penelope as a pawn which made Max feel quite disgusted but he was strong. He is in love with Blake, and nothing and no one would ever change his mind. 

*   *   *

Blake made it through security with ease which was a relief given the fact that she had a restless sleep the night before. There was just something that was keeping her up which was annoying as she spent most of the day prior cleaning Lewis’ house and making him a vegan slice for him to come home to. The drive from Monaco to Nice was dark, reminding her of when Max drove her an hour away to show her a sunrise like no other, but it was peaceful. The shuttle to the airport had several other tourists; a trio of young girls most likely on a gap year, an older couple with the man sleeping on his wife’s shoulder and a small family. Her flight wasn’t for another few hours so she had time to get a coffee and relax at her gate before it was time to leave.

She had her carry-on bag over her shoulder, her earphones in and a double shot coffee in her hand as she strolled through duty-free and back to her gate. Blake was recognised by some Formula One fans and happily waved, said a brief hello or even took a photo with them but she was beating herself up about not wearing something a little bit more fashionable. She would choose comfort over fashion any day of the week. It’s not that she looked terrible but she didn’t want to look at tagged photos of her wearing baggy sweatpants that were tighter around her thighs and waist than her calves or see her shirt bunched up at the back but appear oversized from the front. She was highly insecure about it but was working on trying to not let it get to her. 

As one song changed into another she heard a slight fuss but chose to ignore it. She was itching to get to her gate so she could sit down, get her book out of her bag and just read until it was time to board her flight. The airport was starting to become busy as time wore on, Blake settled into a chair in the middle of her area at the gate and watched fondly as travellers passed her by. She liked to create different stories for them such as where they were going, why they were travelling and so forth. 

Blake was interrupted by a shadow casting over her as a stranger moved closer, gesturing to the seats near her. She briefly looked up at the man, noticing his cap and face mask and nodded whilst her music continued to play, assuming he was going to take the seat a couple down from her even though there was ample space at her gate. Instead, he sat down in the seat beside her, nodding at her before looking forward, toying with something in a backpack that was placed beside him on another seat to the right of him. Blake was caught off guard, feeling slightly uncomfortable yet didn’t make a big deal out of it as she didn’t want any sort of drama. 

She was about to get her phone out of her pocket to get ready to message someone to make it look like she was busy or had people waiting for her incase worse comes to worse and this man had ill intentions. Instead, the man pulled out two flowers and sat them in his lap; a sunflower and a rose, both fake for the sake of security. Blake watched from her peripheral vision and felt her heart start to race. 

Max’s hands were clammy as he held the two fake flowers in his lap, his cap hiding his gaze and his face mask shielding most of his face. He couldn’t let Blake fly back to England without him getting a chance to say goodbye and honestly he wasn’t too sure what he would say if everything was going to go to plan. It was immensely cliche and he knew that Checo would probably tease him about it, or anyone would tease him about it when word eventually got out about his romantic gesture but here he was. 

Blake found herself taking her earphones out and placing them carefully in her case before turning to the man beside her. 

“If this is some sick jok-”

“It’s me.” The voice was familiar. It calmed Blake as soon as she heard his accent. He gained some attention as he removed his hat and face mask revealing Max underneath. He had a nervous look on his face but Blake felt herself sigh with relief. At least now she knew it wasn’t some strange man that had been stalking her. 

“What are you doing here?” They weren’t yet at the point of wishing each other good mornings or good nights every day but the two would easily fall into a conversation via text or social media every day. As far as Blake was concerned, Max should still be in bed, lapping up all the free time he had before he was to start his training regime and then start to focus on the upcoming season. He most definitely shouldn’t be here in an airport with Blake and he most definitely should not be seeing Blake when she wasn’t as put together as she would have liked. “It’s barely even six in the morning.” 

She noticed that some people were beginning to notice that Max Verstappen was sitting at an airport gate with the general public but he paid them no mind and everyone else seemed to understand that he was busy right now. That and it was early in the morning. Blake was no stranger to early mornings, or lack of sleep, so this was rather normal for her. Of course she was tired hence the coffee but she was functioning. 

“I couldn’t let you go back home without saying goodbye.” Max cringed at the fact that he sounded so dramatic but Blake’s heart just pounded in her chest. 

“You have my phone number and all my socials.” Blake chuckled, crossing one leg over the other and leaned against her arm rest towards Max. Max noticed this and remembered seeing something online that if someone’s body faced you during a conversation or in general that it meant they were focused on you, you had their attention. He was suddenly nervous. She was right, he did have many ways to contact her but in all honesty he just had to see her in person before the two of them both got extremely busy. 

“I know but,” Max began to trail off, thinking of what to say. He had practised in his bedroom that morning, whilst making the booking for the same flight. He added different emphases on words on his drive to the airport, bought two fake flowers impulsively after posing for several photos once he got out of security and bought a brand new hat and face mask to surprise Blake. And now he sat beside her at a loss for words. “These are for you.” He held out the sunflower and rose and hoped she wouldn’t notice how clammy his hands were when she took them. “They're fake, as you can tell.” He mentally slapped himself in the face, of course she could tell. “I don’t think you can take real flowers on a flight but they last longer. God, that makes me sound like a wanker.” Max’s face was flushed red as Blake giggled, the flowers pinched between two fingers as she touched her forehead to his bicep with a grin on her face. At least he was making her laugh. 

“You’re absolutely right, you cannot take flowers on public. I cannot comment on private flights though. I would say you're the expert in that.” Blake went back to her normal position before looking back to Max. Max seemed to ease a little more as she spoke and he felt less guilty about not knowing more about flying publicly. “What I really mean is what are you doing here? Past security and everything.”

“I have never felt more at ease or at home than I had this past week. And before you say anything I know you want to start off as friends and I am absolutely okay with that I really am. Plus, I have never been to Brackley before.” Blake’s eyes softened as she looked up at Max, the man turning his head to return her gaze. Brackley was where her apartment was located and where the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 based was. She was surprised Max had remembered where her new home was. Though, it was hardly a home as she had only spent no more than two months staying in it since she started her new job with Mercedes and Toto. “I know I should have mentioned something. It was all rather last minute and I thought it would be a movie like romantic gesture but I really should have asked if it was okay with you.”

“Max, it’s okay.” Blake placed an arm on his bicep as a form of comfort. “I just wish you told me so I could help you navigate through security and everything. I bet you haven't done that in a long time, you know, since you have a private jet.” She teased Max, chuckling before rolling his eyes. “Just one thing.”

“Yes, of course. Anything.” Blake thought back to her conversation with Carmen on the phone the day previous. She thought about everything that had happened in the past year from fights and assumptions that Max hated her and working with Kelly to the confession, a new job and relocation, new friends that were a found family. He patiently awaited her answer, the one thing she was asking of him. He would do anything in a heartbeat. 

“Take me on a date. A date date.” That he can do.

[lightningqueen11]

Got these lads some better references! Not complete ones, but they're still pretty good.

Here are the 8 Links I'm planning on including! I have general characterization concepts for all the others, but they were being kinda annoying designs. I might include em as I continue to figure out this AU, but for now here's what I got!

Our very first hero! I don't really consider the SS prequel manga canon here so Sky's the very first holder of the Hero's spirit. He's a very kind soul, protective of those he cares for and holding the endless determination and courage of any hero.

After the end of Skyward Sword, Sky's taken up a bit of an 'ambassador to the surface' type role, educating those who've come down with while Zelda spends as much time as she can with her family on Skyloft. Though the scars from his fight with Demise still twinge, Sky's happy to move forward with his life on the surface.

Minish is our youngest member, but that doesn't mean you can underestimate him. Minish is quiet, playful, and endlessly curious. He's the best spy this chain has, able to shrink down to the size of a mouse and be completely invisible to everyone but fellow children.

After saving Zelda from being encased in stone and having her light force drained, Minish simply seeks to spend his time enjoying his childhood with his best friend and learning to forge a sword as good as the four sword.

Mask is our resident angst, his life has been far too hard. Mask is mysterious, closed off, and talented. With the body of a teenager and the mind of a young adult, this lad has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

Resuming his travels after Termina, Mask finds himself looking for somewhere to belong. He's travelled to Labrynna, Holodrum, Koradai, and yet the only place he really felt any sense of family remains in that strange war with Tune and Captain. Perhaps, someday, he'll find his way back to them.

Tune's our resident navigator! He can read and create maps and starcharts like no other, plus he knows his way around a boat. Despite the more pirat-y aesthetic, Tune's really a sweetheart. Sure, he enjoys finding abandoned treasure and sailing, but he's hardly a ruthless bounty hunter or thief. He just loves meeting people, and wants to help anywhere he can. A trait practically required for the hero life.

After his adventures, Tune's living a life of travel on the Great Sea. He has his own boat, but broadly he sails with Tetra, the two finding buried treasures from Hyrule. He's always had that itch to go somewhere, to do something, and maybe he's about to get exactly what he wants.

Wolf's a bit of a mysterious edgy man himself, but this time it's all appearances. Our resident furry is just a big huggable rancher with a protective streak when it comes to his family. He's amazing with animals, and with the help of a certain amazing nose, he can track basically anything.

I'm diverging from canon a lot here. Midna's never shattered the mirror of twilight in this universe, she's just not around in the light world because it would hurt to be anything more than a shadow there. Instead, after their adventure Wolf and her hang out frequently. Wolf's pretty content with his lot in life, he's got his family, his home, and his best friend. Really, what more could he ask for?

Unabashed favorite character alert, Four's a bit of an asshole. Like, they're very heroic and frankly, often right, but they've still got an arrogance problem. They're fiercely loyal and incredibly smart, and will take the role as supposed leader because frankly, no one else wants the title.

After returning the Four Sword with Vaati and Ganon completely obliterated, Four's gone back to their life as a knight. There's still a fierce purple ache in their chest for a certain Shadow, but the teal confidence easily shoves that to the side in favor of being the perfect warrior. Now, Four's rising through the ranks of Hyrule's guard, ready for whatever challenge comes next.

Wild fits their name very well. They're quick to explore every mountain and valley, loot every chest, and find every korok. Incredibly different from the Link from before the Calamity, they share memories but not so much experiences. Wild is the best archer in the group, even without their champion ability.

I can't quite decide whether I want Wild to be pre or post TOTK, but it doesn't make too terribly much of a difference. After his adventure he continues to explore Hyrule and the lands beyond it. He's verrryyy close with his Zelda, and the two like to do a bit of mad science with Purah every so often. He's happy with his new lease in life, but if the chance comes to explore something new? Well, Wild's definitely going to take it.

Cap's here! And he's a bit of a mess. Traumatized from his fights with Cia and Dark Link, Captain has trouble being confident in himself at all anymore. He's always been naturally confident, but ever since that first battle with Dark, Captain's been suppressing that part of himself. He's a very skilled leader and tactician, with the most experience working with a large group.

After the war Captain.. didn't really know what to do with himself. His friends had left, and there was no longer anything to fight against. He decided to dedicate himself to being a guard, but he still felt a little empty. He's never really moved on from the events of the war, but maybe soon he'll return to some old friends.

[naturally-recklessly]

⇢ ˗ˏˋ  C L O S E D    S T A R T E R .  ｛ for @bunchamisfits89​ ｝

Leif Eriksson had no idea how he got himself into this mess. After making sure his best friend Harald Sigurdsson and the rest of the Falker’s crew arrived safe and sound in Constantinople, all he wished for was some peace. To sail back to Jomsborg and reunite with his sister Freydis, finally meet his nephew and then maybe go back to Greenland ?  He surely missed the place, but not many of his loved ones were there anymore. Nevertheless, none of his plans came true. Not long after leaving Constantinople, as he stopped by the nearest port to buy some supplies for his journey, he met a young boy who asked to join his crew, who only wanted to sail away from there and travel the world. Thinking he could really use some help aboard, the young viking took him in, only to find out just a couple of days later that said boy was in fact an asian princess who’d ran away from a loveless, arranged marriage. He would have preferred for her to tell him the truth right away, of course, but he understood her motivations, so the two continued their journey. 

A week had passed when they were surprised by a storm, but Leif’s ship, however small, was strong and would surely withstand it. The same couldn’t be said about a smaller boat sailing near his. Looking closer, Leif noticed there was only a young woman on board, doing her best to brave the storm, but he was sure the waves would crush her boat at any minute. “Hey !  You ! ” The viking shouted, trying to get her attention. “Your ship won’t make it, come with us.” 

[allwaswell16]

One Direction fics that take place on a cruise ship as requested in this ask. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading!

—Harry/Louis—

⊹ I Was Made for Loving You by LHStylinson

(M, 127k, kid fic) Harry is on a cruise with his son, and meets a blue eyed man who happens to be a famous voice actor and singer for children’s animated movies.

⊹ You Make Lovin' Fun by @homosociallyyours

(E, 109k, girl direction) Harry is a 28 year old travel writer at a gay magazine who gets the assignment to go a lesbian cruise. 

⊹ It's a Better Place (Since You Came Along) by @phdmama

(E, 51k, magical au) When Harry Styles, a mid-level talent, Finder, and small business owner, sets off on the vacation of a lifetime with his best friend, Niall Horan, he has no idea the changes his life will undergo over the next nine days. 

⊹ Sail away with me by Star_Henderson / @tommosgun

(E, 47k, fake/pretend relationship) Louis and Harry are part of the entertainment team on board a luxury cruise liner. They hate sharing their four berth cabin with two other guys and would do anything to get a cabin of their own.

⊹ Drifting, Weightless by @dinosaursmate

(E, 41k, canon) Harry and Louis are exes with benefits until they're not, and the Mediterranean Sea might just be the perfect place to work through some unresolved issues.

⊹ Found My Hallelujah by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel

(E, 34k, hurt/comfort) Newly single, with the cruise tickets in hand, and his bags already packed, Harry brings along his sister instead. And maybe the cute bartender on the ship might just be the person Harry needs to help him put back together all of his broken pieces.

⊹ Whatever Floats Your Boat by larryftnoctrl / @the-larry-way

(NR, 24k, fake/pretend relationship) When Harry's mother convinces him to attend his ex's wedding, he must enlist support in the form of his handsome and charming best friend, flatmate and convincing fake boyfriend, Louis. 

⊹ It's You or No One by @softfonds

(E, 20k, movie adaptation) When Zayn suspects that his husband is being unfaithful, he sends Harry, a club singer, in his place on a cruise ship. 

⊹ Angel of Small Death and the Murder Scene by @lousmoonshine

(E, 20k, historical) So, naturally, it can only be the worst thing that could have happened to Louis when he gets stuck with Detective Styles trying to solve a murder during his supposed to be relaxing vacation over the seas.

⊹ Sail Your Sea, Meet Your Storm by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou

(E, 15k, strangers to lovers) The strangers to enemies to friends to pining to lovers fic where Louis is cynical, Harry is charming, and they have seven days to get their shit together.

⊹ play it back, spinning faster by  orphan_account

(E, 15k, vacation) All Louis expects from his Caribbean cruise is many frozen alcoholic drinks and an even tan. 

⊹ What Happens Next by @lululawrence

(NR, 5k, friends to lovers) a fic where Harry has to pick up the pieces and ends up on the couples cruise that should have been his honeymoon...with his best friend Louis.

—Rare Pairs—

⊹ Gay Cruise by Alice_Novelland

(E, 12k, Louis/Harry/Zayn/Liam) Harry and Louis go on a gay cruise where they have lots of; wonderful romantic moments, passionate sex and cute titanic references. They also run into Liam and Zayn.

⊹ Solo Holiday by orphan_account 

(T, 10k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw) Louis goes on a singles' cruise. He meets Nick.