#we’re jumping on storyline a bit but that’s fine

[alinelie]

summer activities 🌻

bonus

[glassartpeasants]

How to Love

Eustass Kid/Trafalgar Law x F!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, semi-slow burn?, beginnings to chapters are hard </3

A/N: yeah here we are. just wanted to set a light on what the base plan is. Also, this takes place RIGHT after the prologue ends. hopefully, it's good for a first chapter.

music playlist

~~~

Your heart beats harshly against your ribs as the events of only moments ago replay in your mind like a broken record. The images of the two most significant people in your world, your boyfriend and your best friend, betraying you, makes your head spin. It almost feels unreal, like a nightmare instead of reality.

But it wasn’t a dream. It was a harsh reality, a stark contrast to the life you thought you were living.

Instead of waking up next to your boyfriend, you find yourself in a disorienting place: your ex-best friend's ex-boyfriend's car. Random items you managed to grab scattered across the passenger side and on your lap. The smell of Eustass’s cologne, a scent that used to bring comfort, now only added to your heartbreak, still plaguing your nose.

“Thank you, Law. You really didn’t have to.” Despite being almost inaudible, Law still heard you like you were screaming. The tremble in your voice notifies him of his own inability to speak without breaking down.

“It’s fine. Thank you for telling me about (.....)-ya’s infidelity.” The fact you even told him in the first place shocked him. You had known (.....) for years, and she was your best friend, while you only had a class project with him. Given that it was a whole semester-long, you were willing to throw away a friendship just like that. 

“You're a good guy, Law. You don’t deserve to be cheated on. Whether we’re friends or strangers. I would have told you regardless. No one deserves such heartbreak.” Law can see tears slipping down your cheeks out of the corner of his eyes. The fact that you're trying to stay strong after being the one to discover the affair is admirable in a sense. It could also be that you didn’t want him to see you cry. The latter sounds more plausible.

“I'm glad I didn’t delete your number. It would have been awkward if I had tried to catch you at work.” A small, sad chuckle left your lips. The tension in the car was too much, and you needed something to keep your mind distracted so you didn’t start wailing in front of Law.

“That would have been a scene I’m grateful we avoided. I like to keep my private life and work life separate.” 

“I’m the same in a sense. I don’t tell my co-workers much except to recommend shows or movies. I know you're more of a book guy, but have you seen any shows or movies recently?”

“(.....)-ya made me watch a movie the other day. It was a horror movie.”

“Oh. Was it good?”

“No, it was terrible.” You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at Law's cold tone.

“Bad effects, or was it a storyline issue?”

“I could’ve made a better movie with a budget of two dollars.” Even though tears still fall from your eyes against your wishes, Law manages to make you laugh to ease the pain.

“Well, have you read any good books recently?”

“Haven’t had the time.” Law’s admission made your eyes furrow together. You know the medical field could be rough, but there wasn't enough time for him to read?

"The bookworm hasn't read recently? Are you sure you're the real Law?" A small smile tugs at the corner of Law’s lips as he listens to you talk, but even he can only hide the effects of heartbreak for so long.

Whether Law knew it or not, you could see tiny droplets of water gather in his eyes. Seeing him trying to hold it together made it just a bit harder to prevent yourself from breaking down. You grip the seat of his car and try to regulate your breathing. Clenching your teeth together,  you lay your head on the window and look outside. The sudden tap of water hitting the glass makes you jump. You look around and watch as more water droplets start hitting the car. 

“It’s raining. I thought it was supposed to be sunny all day?”

“I thought so, too.” The thick, tense silence rose once again, making it hard to breathe. If there had been enough room, you would have curled yourself up in a ball and cried. But you could do that when you get to...

“Where are we going?”

“My apartment. Just for now.”

“Ah, okay. Do you have any alcohol at your place?”

“Maybe some (.....)-ya left. Why?”

“So we can drink away our sadness.”

“I’m not much of a drinker.” A second silence covers the car.

“So I can drink away our sadness.”

“We’ll see when we get there.”

~~~

Your feet feel heavy as you walk into Law’s apartment. It’s been a while since you’ve been inside it. After the project was finished, you stopped coming over. Law’s busy schedule and your own just didn’t mix. Sometimes, you’d text him to check up on him and ask him how he was doing. He’d take hours or a day to respond, but you never held it against him. He always answered before it had been 48 hours, so it was okay with you.

Looking around his apartment, you see things that hadn’t been there before: some plants, many pictures on the wall, a TV, and some knickknacks you recognize that belong to (.....). The atmosphere was more welcoming than when you first visited Law’s apartment. If an apartment could feel like a hospital waiting room, then that’d be Law’s place before (.....) put her touch on it.

Placing your things near the couch, you take a deep breath as you rub your sternum to try and soothe the pain in your chest. All the pictures of Law and (.....) smiling happily nailed to the walls made your throat go dry. The images of your own apartment clouded your vision as you remembered your own photos with Eustass. Pictures of times when you did matching Halloween costumes, went to concerts together, relaxed at a beach together, or the two of you would just stay home. Every picture held a memory. 

A once cherished memory is now tainted by the image of betrayal. No amount of effort can make that image disappear. Even your happiest memories become blurry when you hear (.....) calling out Eustass's name. It ignites a fiery rage inside you, and seeing (.....)'s face everywhere makes you clench your teeth. You feel like tearing apart every picture of Law and (.....) just to remove her face from your sight. Every bone in your body screams at you to lose control. To destroy everything that reminds you of Eustass and (.....) until it is nothing but microscopic pieces.

But you weren’t home. The home you once had was now lost to time. For now, your ‘home’ depends on whether Law will allow you to stay the night for tonight.

“You can stay the night on the couch for tonight if you want. I have blankets in the closet over there.” You let out an internal breath of relief from Law, answering your question without being asked.

“Thank you, Law. Can I make you dinner or something? Just so I can repay your kindness?” You watch Law lean against the kitchen counter before crossing his arms. His eyes staring out into space.

“I haven’t gone shopping yet this week, so I don’t have much.”

“I’m sure I can craft up something.”

“If you want, then go ahead.” The sound of a ringtone brings a silence to the both of you. You check your phone and see the screen’s black.

“I think it’s yours.” Pulling out his phone from his pocket, you watch Law look at the screen. A frown crosses his face immediately, letting you know the caller. Letting out a heavy sigh, you watch him answer the phone.

“What do you want (.....)-ya?” While you couldn’t understand what she was saying, the tone of her voice was frantic. You could hear sobs coming from the other line. Hearing them pissed you off to hell and back. Didn’t (.....) have a shred of decency? How dare she plead and beg after she committed such an act?

You had to sit on the couch to calm yourself down just so you wouldn’t start screaming at (.....) through the phone. As soon as your body relaxed on the couch, a wave of soreness came over you. It feels as if you’ve been working out for hours on end and only now stopped. Even your eyelids felt heavy as you feel tears starting to form and blur your vision. Trying to breathe normally falls short as you begin to hyperventilate. Your lungs burn as you can feel your throat constricting. It feels like you're swallowing your heart just to keep yourself quiet.

“I meant what I said (.....)-ya. I’m breaking up with you, and that’s final. You can come get your things tomorrow afternoon.” Hearing Law’s voice helped soothe a part of your aching soul. Hearing something other than your own ragged breathing helped calm down the streams of tears that were flowing down your face.

“I’m done talking with you (.....)-ya. Goodbye.” The sound of Law’s calls ending made you rub your face, trying to hide the tears that plagued you seconds ago.

“Your more civil than I would have been. I probably wouldn’t have even picked up her call.” Your voice cracked as you tried to let out a small laugh.

“She was asking me for a ride. Apparently, her and Eustass got in a fight, and he threw her out in the rain.” Scoffing in disbelief, you turn your head to look at Law, hoping he wouldn’t notice your puffy eyes.

“She asked you for a ride after cheating on you? Serves her right, getting thrown in the rain. Hope she gets a cold.” You can see Law’s body tremble and how he bites his lip. His eyes get glassy as he looks at the ceiling.

“Fucking a man.” Even from across the room, you can hear Law whispering to himself. You hated seeing him like this. Watching someone you care about hurt only adds to the pain you feel.

“Hey…do you wanna watch something to get our minds off them?”

“I should go back to work. They probably need me.” You let out a hum, hearing his words. A slight feeling of rejection crosses your mind, but you're quick to shake it off. The last thing you wanted was to make him uncomfortable. And if he was the type to work away his feelings, who were you to stop him?

“Well, drive safe. It sounds like the rain is hitting harder.” The sound of rain beating against the windows of Law’s apartment was finally acknowledged. Its beat almost matched Law’s own heartbeat as he thought about the phone call only minutes ago.

Hearing (.....)’s voice felt like nails on a chalkboard as she tried to explain what happened. The voice that once calmed his aching heart was now the reason it hurt. It was astonishing how fast his whole world flipped upside down. Earlier today, he couldn’t wait to come home and see (.....) and have her talk to him about her day. But now, instead of (.....) smiling at him, you were sitting on his couch with puffy eyes.

The way he could hear the tremble in your voice and how the light shined against the path of tears left on your face made his own wave of emotions try to surface. Even if he could tell you were trying hard to hold them back, he could see tears collect against your eyelashes. The sight had tears accumulating in his own eyes, making him look up at the ceiling to try and stop them. He didn’t need to show how bad (.....)’s betrayal has affected him. At least not in front of you.

Sure, you guys were going through the same thing together, but it wouldn’t help him or you if he let his own emotions out. It’d just be easier to shove them down, ignore them, and work until the pain left. He’s done it before, so he can do it again. 

“Um, Law?” Looking back down, he sees you standing in front of him. You refuse to meet his eyes as you fiddle with the bottom of your shirt.

“Yeah?”

“Can I hug you?” Law felt his heart skip a beat hearing your request. A part of him told himself no that he’d break down the moment you wrapped your arms around him. Yet, the voice of someone he used to know told him something different.

“Okay.” As soon as the words left his lips, he felt your body smushed up against his. Your arms held him in a tight embrace as the sound of your hushed sniffles made Law finally cave. Wrapping his own arms around you, a sense of comfort filled him. The feeling of being cared for once again was nice yet terrifying. As soon as the feeling would come, it’d leave just as fast.

But for now, he’ll indulge in your hold.

~~~

The blanket that wrapped around you did little to replicate Law’s hug. Sure, you were warm, but it wasn’t the same. It reminded you of how alone you were. You had no family in this city, and your only friends were (.....) and Law, but you wouldn’t count him as an option due to the current predicament. It felt like you were running in circles with every idea that popped into your head. Always leading to a dead end and making you start all over again.

You couldn’t go back home. It’d take you around three to four hours to drive there! Plus, you didn’t leave on a good note with your parents when you left for college. And if their last words to you were anything to go by, they didn’t want you back. You shake your head at the thought of your parents.

“No. No need to drag myself down even more thinking about them.” Slithering your hand out of your blanket cocoon, you grab your phone that was on your right. The black screen stared at you as it showed your reflection. Eyes red from tears earlier and a cut lip from biting on it so hard earlier.

A ding echoes across the empty apartment as the phone's black screen soon turns on. The quick flash makes your eyes burn before squinting to try and get used to the brightness. Once adjusted, you see a message from Law hiding in your notification bar.

-“I need a favor from you.”

-“Sure, what ya need?”

-“(.....)-ya is supposed to be getting her things this morning. I want you to make sure she takes everything and leaves her key in the dish by the door.”

A frown skims across your face as the thought of seeing (.....)’s face makes your stomach churn. It’s only been a day, and you're already forced to see her face? At the same time, Law did allow you to stay the night last night. So, despite your distaste for seeing (.....), you agreed.

-“Will do. Can count on me :)”

-“Thanks.”

-“How’s working going so far?”

-“Fine.”

-“That's good”

The urge to ask him what his plans were with you after you did him this favor ate at your conscience as soon as you sent that last text. Law was really the only one whose place you felt safe enough to sleep at. And he’s the only person you have in the entire city. You didn’t have a license since a lot of things were always within walking distance, so you never had a reason to. 

But now, you were on the complete other side of the city. What used to be a five-minute walk to your job now would take at least thirty minutes. You had no idea where anything was on this side of the city. Sure, you and Law would go grab an energy drink from the gas station when the two of you worked the night away on that old project, but that was two years ago. Who knows? Maybe that gas station doesn’t even exist anymore!

“Do you go here a lot?”

“To buy an energy drink and coffee every now and then.” The sound of small pebbles crunching under your and Law’s shoes goes unnoticed as you walk next to him.

“Okay, so every day then?” A laugh escapes your lips as Law rolls his eyes, yet a small smile plays against his lips.

“This gas station is the only place that sells my favorite one.”

“Which is?”

“Can’t tell you. What if you take it?” A smirk appears on his lips as he puts his hands in his pockets. Scoffing, you place your hand on your chest in fake offense.

“I can’t believe you’d think so lowly of me. Stealing your beloved drink? Only a monster could be so heartless!” Hearing Law let out a chuckle from your words made a heavy feeling of confidence run through your veins. He was always relatively quiet when in class, so it was nice to see him show emotion other than ‘bored.’

“How much farther? I’m dying to know the favorite drink of the future best doctor in the world.” A faint pink tints Law’s skin as he tries to look away from you, hoping you don’t see what your comment did to him.

“You really think so?” Despite trying to copy your playful tone, you can hear his self-doubt and hopefulness that your words were true.

“I know so! No one works harder than you! If anyone says otherwise, tell me and I’ll kick their ass.” Law could feel his palms grow sweaty, and his heart beat a little faster. 

Sure, he’s gotten praise from his teacher, but hearing it come from someone he had just met and barely knew felt a little more sincere? Why, he didn’t know, but he won’t complain.

“Will do.”

KNOCK KNOCK

The sound of light knowing pulls you from your memories. Looking up at the clock, you see it’s nearly three pm. You sigh as you shed the multiple layers of blankets you were snuggled in. The rage and anger from yesterday are still strong in your system, making you clench your fists. You walk towards the door when you hear your fingers popping from the sheer force. Unlocking it, you take a deep breath before fully opening it.

In front of you stood a very unkempt (.....). Her hair was in a messy ponytail, accompanied by red eyes and a red face. Makeup from the night before was still applied to her skin as mascara streaked down her face. Your eyes even caught the barely covered hickeys and bite marks that shined through her concealer.

“(Y-Y/N)?...Why are you…Where’s Law?” Her pitiful voice made you squeeze the doorknob tighter to try and calm yourself.

“He’s at work. Not that it’s any of your business, but he was kind enough to let me spend the night.” Your eyes narrowed at her as you couldn’t help but glare daggers at the marks on her neck. Noticing your stare, (.....) moved her shoulder to cover her neck.

“I see…” You move to let her in and shut the door behind her. She lets out a shaky breath before beginning to take down the multiple pictures hanging along the wall. The sound of sniffles hits your ears as you watch her grab the frames with shaky hands. Listening to her hold back tears made you struggle to hold your own.

How could she have done this? Years of friendship only to throw it away for some dick? Did you mean so little to her? You’ve been with her for everything! Breakups, grandparents passing, getting in trouble together, anything and everything you’ve done for her! If she needed a kidney transplant, you would’ve volunteered right away!

Now, seeing how a friendship can easily be thrown away like trash after years made bitterness fill your heart. If your best friend and boyfriend could betray you without so much of a second thought, what does that say about the strangers all around you?

What does that say about you? Did you do something to deserve this? Was (.....) mad at you and thought fucking your lover would get back at you? There had to be a reason. To be an explanation for the horror you saw yesterday. Maybe after a drink or two after (.....) leaves will calm you down.

~~~

“You got everything?”

“Yeah.” Just as she was about to walk out the door, you remembered that she still hadn't given you the key.

“I need the apartment key.” Putting your hand out, you move your eyes to your hand and back at her.

“I-I don’t have it.” Furrowing your brows, you sigh.

“Don’t bullshit me. I’ve known you for years, and I know when you lie. Now give me the goddamn keys (.....).” You watch (.....) bite her lip before digging into her jacket pocket. The light shined off the key as she gently put it in your hands.

“Can you say goodbye to Bepo for me?” Confusion hit you like a train at her request.

“What the hell are-you know what? Fine. I’ll say bye.”

“Thanks.” Closing the door, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. After locking the door behind her, you placed her old key in the dish Law has near the door for his keys. (.....) request puzzled you as you tried to think of what she was talking about.

“What the hell is a Bepo?”

Just then, a light pitter-patter echos in the apartment. Your heart stops as the sound gets closer. There shouldn’t be anyone else in the apartment but you. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you try to move quietly towards the kitchen to grab something to defend yourself.

“Meow!” You stop in your tracks upon hearing that noise. Embarrassment floods your body as you move even closer to the noise. Upon turning the corner, you see a white cat walking in your direction. A big white cat.

“Can’t believe I got spooked by a damn cat. Didn’t even know Law had a cat…a fatass one nonetheless.” Bending down, you move your hand to let the cat smell you. A smile appears on your face when it rubs against you.

“Hmm? What’s this?” Moving the fluff from his neck, you see a collar with a tag. Squinting your eyes, you finally see the name engraved on the tag.

“Ohhh…your Bepo! Well, aren’t you a cutie-pie?” With (.....) 's request finally making sense, you fight to actually fulfill it. With a sigh, you pick up Bepo and hold him gently. 

“Let’s send your dad a selfie. I think he’ll appreciate it.” You go to the couch, pick up your phone, and find the right angle for the picture. When you find the right spot, you smile as Bepo rubs his head against your face.

“Say cheese!”

~~~

It’d been a long day at the hospital. It felt like nothing went right. Sure, he put in his all, but he had to tell people how they were diagnosed with a terminal illness or dealing with dumb co-workers. The only good thing today did for him was keep (.....) out of his head. But now that work was over, the nagging thoughts could finally bother him once more.

Sighing as he unlocked his apartment door, he was immediately hit with the smell of something cooking. Whatever it was, it smelled good, and he was happy that he didn’t have to make anything tonight. When he went to put his keys in the dish designated for them, he saw (.....)’s key lying in the middle. A wave of relief washed over him as he finished taking off his shoes and coat.

“Oh, Law, are you home?” Your voice rings in his ears as he walks further into his apartment. He spots you setting up the table while humming to yourself.

“Yeah, I’m back. Did you make something?”

“Well, you’ve been at work for sixteen hours, so obviously, you should be hungry! Not to mention that you deserved a home-cooked meal after working so hard.” Moving closer to the dinner table, he sees a plate of grilled fish along with a can of what looks to be sparkling water. The smell of his favorite food drew him closer, and he felt a sense of calm filled him. It’d be the second night in a row you made him dinner.

“Where did you get the fish? I don’t remember having any?”

“Oh, after (.....) took her stuff and left, I used GPS to find a store nearby, and there was an organic type of food store only two blocks away! So I went shopping and got things! Except for beverages, so I stopped by the gas station we used to go to and got sparkling water 'cause you don’t drink and no way you’d drink an energy boost at eight pm.” You continued talking, but it was lost on Law’s ears as he stared at the set-up table. The fact you put yourself to go grocery shopping and making him dinner made his sour mood from only moments ago lighten.

“Thank you.” As he moves to wash his hands in the sink, he sees his beloved cat following you and purring.

“I see you’ve met Bepo.” Upon speaking, the cat changed his attention to Law. Bepo begins to meow as he prances towards Law’s feet before rubbing against them. Leaning down, Law gives him a few pets before washing his hands.

“I didn’t even know you had a cat. Did you just get him?”

“No. I’ve had him for almost a year and a half. Why?” He watches you lift your eyebrows and look at Bepo before looking back at Law.

“What?”

“Law. Do you see how big that cat is?” Despite just washing his hands, Law picks up Bepo and holds him in his arms.

“What about it? He’s growing.”

“That cat is obese. He needs a diet.”

“Bepo is perfect the way he is.” You couldn’t help but giggle as you watched him hold Bepo protectively and away from you.

“You can be delusional all you want, but come eat before the food gets cold.” Turning your back, you begin to dish up after washing your hands. You can hear Law rewashing his own before sitting on the opposite side of the table.

As awkward as it may be, the presence of one another brings a slight calm to your new chaotic world.

~~~

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[notsoattractivearenti]

Wherever You Are (Mason Mount x Reader)

Song Inspo: Wherever You Are - 5 Seconds of Summer (I recommend you to listen to the song while reading this fic!

Word Count: 1392

Warnings: Angst, maybe a little fluff

A/N: This is my first fic after I stopped writing for almost 7 years so apologies for possible crappy storyline and ending or any mistakes I might've not realized! Also this one is for my girls in Puli gc (I just found out some of us are also 5sos fans 🤭) – UPDATE: PART 2

“Mason! I got THE call! I got the job!!!” You said loudly as you were jumping up and down out of happiness like a little child. Mason’s eyes widened when he heard you and came running to you to give you a hug, then he picked you up, swung you around, and gave you a sweet and passionate kiss on the lips. “See!? I knew you’re going to get it Y/N! I’m so proud of you!” His excitement was crystal clear and you loved to see how he reacted. The day you’ve been waiting for has finally come. You got your dream job in your hands. You’ve always wanted to work in fashion industry. You went to college and earned a bachelor’s degree in Fashion, and you basically have prepared your life for this career. You’d applied to multiple companies and landed some interviews but you never got an offer call... Until today. But the thing is... You had to move to America. The company you’re going to work for is in New York City, and now that you’ve got accepted meaning you had to relocate there. You suddenly felt your mood shifted, you were incredibly happy before and now you weren’t sure what to feel anymore. Your boyfriend for 5 years is here in London, and obviously since he's a football player who is currently playing for Chelsea he has to stay in London. You now realized you have to talk about your relationship’s future with Mason because you two are about to live in two different countries, thousands miles apart.

You grabbed a chair, sat down quietly and tried to find the courage to have a (possibly) difficult conversation with Mason. “Mase, I think we need to talk.” “I know what you’re about to say,” he said as he sat down next to you then held both of your hands, “you know I love you so much and I know this job is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you absolutely deserve this more than anything in the world. I will always be yours no matter where you are, you have nothing to worry about.” “But are you sure? We’ve never done this long distance thing before. There’s going to be actual distance between us. We won’t see each other every day and also the 5-hour difference... Those things don’t sound easy to me at all.” You kept looking down because you were afraid you would start crying the second you saw his eyes. “It’s obviously won’t be easy Y/N, but don’t you think it’s worth to try? I don’t want to give up on us and I hope you don’t too.” You could hear his voice was breaking when he said it, and of course you didn’t want to give up as well. “Hey,” he said softly as he touched your cheeks and leaned down a bit “look at me. We’re gonna be okay. Nothing has to end, right?” You looked up, locked your eyes with him, let out a little smile and replied “You’re right. We’ll be just fine.” He kissed your forehead and your lips, and you heard him saying “We don’t have to say goodbye.”

---

Two weeks had passed and it was time for you to leave. You knew this day would come but you still didn’t feel ready. You spent most of these past 2 weeks with Mason; you both did everything you could together before you move away. You two were pretty much in denial about your relationship situation and just wanted to focus on spending more time together. Since most of your belongings had been packed and shipped to NYC a few days before, for today’s flight you only brought one backpack and 2 suitcases with you. Mason helped you packed your things and he was the one who drove you to the airport. On the way, you two acted like nothing big was happening; you had a fun little carpool karaoke and laughed at how horrible you both were when singing, told stupid jokes to one another and were talking about other things but you both were clearly trying to avoid anything about the future – your futures, separately. You finally arrived at the airport and Mason walked along with you until the front gate. “Well,” he said as he held your hands tight, “I guess it’s time for you to go M’Lady.” You laughed a little, tried to hold back your tears. “Yes, yes it is, M’Lord. I’m so glad you’re here, Mase. I uh, I... I’m sorry I have to leave.” You started breaking and before you know it your tears had fallen down, you could no longer pretend this wasn’t happening anymore. You saw how Mason’s big smile – which is and will always be your favourite smile in the entire world – just disappeared, now replaced by a frown, and you could tell he was trying so hard not to cry. “Y/N...” “Mason, I know you said we don’t have to say goodbye, but I don’t think I can do that. I love you...” you paused because you had to catch your breath from all the crying. “Y/N, please sto-“ “I really, really love you Mase. I don’t want to say goodbye, but it seems like the right thing to do. It is the only right thing to do, no matter how hard it may be but you and I both know it’s for the best...” You could feel how his hands were cold and trembling because he was still holding yours, then he let go and wiped his tears off his face. You saw his red, puffy eyes filled with tears, and it broke your heart even worse. He didn’t say a word for a minute as he was trying to calm himself down before saying anything. “Y/N, I’m not... I’m not ready to let you go. I’m not ready to let us go...” He took one deep breath before continuing, it was really hard for him to say what he felt at the moment. “You are the only girl I’ve ever loved, Y/N. You are the most special girl in the world and I don’t know if I will ever find another woman like you. But as much as I hate saying this, you’re right. It’s time to...” he paused then he bit his bottom lip “uh, to say... Goodbye.” You felt like you were so close to falling down on your knees when he said those words, you knew it was coming but you didn’t know how badly it would hurt you. “Maybe one day we’ll be together again, who knows?” you smiled a little when he said that. You and Mason then gave each other the longest and tightest hug, none of you wanted to let go. You both whispered to each other “I love you always”, he kissed the top of your head and released the hug after you heard the boarding call for your flight. You both wiped the tears off each other’s faces, then leaned in for one final kiss. “Okay,” as you fixed your backpack “I have to go now. Goodbye Mase...” as you waved at him. Still crying, he forced a smile and waved back at you. “Goodbye Y/N.”

---

It has been 3 months since you left London. You love your job so much and you’ve settled well in NYC. You obviously miss everyone in London but you wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe one thing... Since the last time you saw Mason you still couldn’t stop thinking about him. About the what ifs, should’ve beens, could’ve beens, everything. You couldn’t help but wondered: has he moved on? Or is he still waiting for you? You don’t know and you don’t want to know. Checking out his contact on your phone has become your before-bed routine. You wanted to call him to hear his voice, to tell him everything, to hear about his day like how it used to be. You really wanted to tell him how much you still love him but you don’t have the guts to. You’ve heard about how nothing lasts forever, yet your love for Mason is still strongly there within your heart. Every night, you would look at old photos of him on your phone and you always told yourself: “Mason, it will always be you... Wherever you are.”

[and-claudia]

Against All Odds (Joel Miller x reader) Prologue pt.3

Warnings: CT Violence

Word Count: 1359

General Warnings for later on: The main story will have an age gap between Joel and the reader (Reader will be 25 once we get to the main storyline), this will also be your warning that it will eventually be an x pregnant reader (if that's not your jam, I'm sorry) there is also going to be more graphic/trigger parts later on so please always to be sure to read the warnings BEFORE reading. This story will also be 18+ and TO BE ON THE TAGLIST YOU CAN NOT BE AN AGELESS BLOG (i do actually check that) also there first hand full of parts are all prologue so Joel won't actually be in it for a bit

This is the last part of the Prologue!!!!! So there will be a pretty big time jump in the next part.

Taglist Sign-Up

Yn was used to getting checked for infection. It was nothing new to her. She knew she wasn’t, but it always made her nervous watching her brothers and father get checked as well. She watched and held her breath as Scott got checked. Green. It turned green. 

“Breathe, kiddo. It’s okay.” He said, patting her back as they waited for Zeak and their dad to get checked as well. 

Once they were cleared they were led to some beat-up, old military vans to be transported. Yn tuned out the men barking orders around her. Scott helped her in and handed her her bag before climbing in behind her. 

“How long will this take?” She asked. 

“About 8 hours, give or take…” 

“That’s going to take forever.” She sighed. 

“You’ll be fine.” Scott reassured as their van pulled off. 

Yn and Zeak played a few rounds of ISpy, even getting Scott to play a few times before they got bored of that. She eventually got restless and decided it was time for a quick nap. So with her head resting on her brother she slowly slipped into a light sleep. 

When she woke up, the sun was setting. She looked all around trying to figure out where they were but most of the road signs along this highway had been overrun by the plants. Before she got the chance to ask though, she was cut off by the driver’s hand-held radio going off. 

“Hey, there’s a situation up here…” A voice on the other end said. 

“What’s going on? I got a van full of people I gotta drop off.” Their driver said, clearly annoyed. 

“Baltimore is gone…” 

Yn’s eyes went wide and she looked up at her brother. He knew this wasn’t good but wanted to find out more, so he held up a finger to his lips to tell her to stay quiet so he could listen. 

“What do you mean it’s gone? The QZ is in Baltimore… you can’t miss it. It didn’t just grow legs and walk away.” Their driver said. 

“Well, I see it. I also see hundreds of infected stumbling around it.” 

“Shit. Turn off your lights and drive out slowly. Don’t startle them, are they will swarm your van.” 

Yn’s chest felt tight as her heart began to race.

“Fuck. They’re coming! Turn around NOW!” 

The whole van fell silent as the screams of the people in the other van crackled through the speaker on the radio.

“We’re taking a detour.” Their driver said before making a sharp turn. 

He grabbed his radio, “Baltimore has fallen, I repeat, the Baltimore Quartine Zone has fallen. Change route to Boston. We should have enough fuel to get us to within 5 miles. Van 1 has been attacked.” 

Although she knew they were, Yn checked and made sure that both her brothers and Pa were all in the same van. 

“How long will it take to get to Boston?” Someone in the back of the van asked. 

“Another seven hours. So get comfy. We will drive through the night.” 

Since she had slept earlier, Yn wasn’t super tired. Instead, she passed the time thinking about what awaited her and her family in Baston. She figured she’d finish school while her brothers and Pa found work. What types of jobs did they have there? From what she knew every QZ did things a little differently. Who knows if she’d even go to school? As she’s gotten older she’s realized it was different now. 

Scott went to school when he was young with the plan of going to college. Now, colleges weren’t really a thing, so was there even a point? Maybe she could get a job… help provide for her family as well. 

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed up but eventually, she fell asleep. When she woke up this time it was to Scott nudging her awake. 

“Wake up kiddo. We gotta go.” He said. 

“Why?” 

“Just come on. Stay close.” He said, grabbing her bag from where it sat at her feet. 

He got out and then turned to help her. The man that had been driving turned to face them. Now he held a shotgun in his hand. 

“Stay close. We’re about two eight miles away from the outskirts of the QZ. Infected aren’t common here but they can be here. If you have anything you can use to defend yourself, I suggest you grab it now.” He said. 

Each of Yn’s brothers and their dad had their own gun. They were her dad’s from back in Texas that he grabbed when they fled the night of the outbreak. Yn didn’t have one, she was too young. She did however have the knife she used to cut down her brother after he had hung himself. Scott told her to keep that night and it’s never left her pocket since. She pulled it out and flipped the blade out, then she looked to Scott for his approval. 

He gave a small nod, “Be careful. Stay right beside me.” He instructed. 

They had made it about 6 miles. Two more to go. Nothing had happened and the closer they got, the least likely they were to run into something… right? 

Yn heard something and snapped her attention that way. In the trees, she swear she saw something. 

“What’s wrong?” Scott asked. 

“The trees.” She said, now standing still, watching for something to move. 

“Just keep walking.” Scott said. 

She turned back to the trail they were walking. She made it a few paces ahead before Scott was yelling at her to watch out. She turned her head just in time to see it as it took her to the ground. She held her hands out, keeping it from biting her. 

“Scott! Scott! Help! Help me! Please! Please help me!” She screamed, clearly struggling to keep it off of her. 

Scott reacted quickly, pulling out his pistol and shooting it in the head twice. As it went limp, Yn managed to push it off of her. She sat up and pushed herself back along to the ground until her back hit a stump. 

“Did she get bit?” The driver asked, coming over to them. 

“No, she didn’t. She’s okay.” Scott said, crouching down in front of her, “Are you okay?”

She shook her head as the tears fell from her eyes, making tracks in the dirt on her cheeks from where she had fallen. 

“Did it bite you? It’s okay, we’ll take care of it, make it all better if it did. We just need to know. Did it?” 

Again she shook her head. 

“Positive?” 

She nodded this time. 

“Good, come here.” Scott said opening his arms. 

Yn launched herself into his arms and cried into his shoulder. 

“Thank you.” She mumbled through her tears. 

Scott opted to just carry her the rest of the way, she was still clearly in shock. He handed his gun back to their father so he could hold her better. He carefully stepped over the infected person and continued on down the trail. 

When they made it into the QZ they were checked for infection once again. This time it was Scott who held his breath while he watched his little sister get checked. Green. Good. It was green. She was okay. 

They were given a small apartment to live in and were told they would have to start working within the next couple of days. Someone would come to show them where to go tomorrow morning. That night, after supper, Yn was laying down in bed. Scott was nearby, watching her, making sure she was okay. When she was attacked, it scared him. He couldn’t lose her. He kept her sane in this crazy world they lived in. He knew their dad held a lot of resentment toward her ever since Chris’s death. He knew their dad blamed her. But he didn’t, he never could. 

Ever since that night, he made a promise to himself that he would do everything in his power to protect his sister, and he’d be damned if he was going to break that promise. 

tags:

@sexyvixen7@joelmillerslays@elliaze@strawbaby@little-lovely-darling@swimmjacket@watercolorskyy@mserynlarsen@sebby-staan@beelanie@fan-g0rl @paige96 @pedropascalfanclub @ameliadraws @mavs101 @azerty29 @rileyferg @belliedellie @rhaenyrasgf @imcreepininyourheartbabe @nani-kenobi @lunas-sstuff @holb32 @reidsgubbler @katmae1997 @dizzywinterdaydream @mrswidowjohansson @abzidabzy @givemeth @morgaussy @summerchicken

@strawbab

(Remove straw baby)

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #49 — Guys, This One Was Kinda Fucked Up

Sunder’s got his magic eyes in and is currently eating Skids’s brain. Not to worry though, because Dr. Rung of the Pious Pools, PhD, psy-op specialist and master of stick-fu, who goads people into shooting infants and also himself, is handling the situation.

Well, thank god we’re minding our Ps and Qs with the literal serial killer.

Sunder, of course, doesn’t see why Rung’s so upset, as he believes himself to be doing Skids a favor by unearthing his repressed memories. Honestly, I think if he’d asked first, Skids would’ve been all for it. Maybe not the cannibalism aspect of this activity, but the unearthing for sure.

Hopping back into those memories, we skip forward a bit, as Tarn comes in to check on Skids’s progress for fixing the teleport machine. He transforms, because we need to reiterate that he really fucking loves transforming. Snare is also here. You remember Snare? The man who’s never seen his feet? He’s here too. Weird that he keeps finding himself dealing with the worst of the Decepticon upper command.

Anyway, Skids and Tarn have worked out a little deal, where Skids fixes Grindcore’s teleporters, in exchange for the release of fifty Autobot prisoners. If Skids doesn’t manage to do it, Tarn will kill 500 prisoners as punishment. Which is sort of like decimation, with deci- times the slaughter. Luckily, Skids is god’s favorite little man, and Tarn seems aware of it, as he congratulates him on a job well done. Then he throws him back in his cell, where Quark is waiting to make fun of him for smiling like a doofus over having gotten in Tarn’s good graces.

Quark doesn’t trust Tarn to keep his word, and thinks that Skids is a fucking moron for having faith in the guy with all this power over their lives. Skids admits that while Tarn probably isn’t going to keep his word, it’s still better that their mass teleportation machine is working again, so that prisoners can at least be transported to do slave labor on other planets, where they’ll need to be fed and kept alive, unlike Grindcore.

That’s when the radio cuts on, playing a song that would one day become infamous for its implications— The Empyrean Suite.

...But I’m sure it’s fiiiiiiine!

Back in the present, Froid’s unlocking Sunder’s cell and taking off his handcuffs, just in time for the flamebots to show back up and tell him to cut that shit out. Sunder, of course, does his thing, and Rung and Skids watch in horror as something super gross happens off-panel, complete with wet, squishy SFX. Rung also transmits something via his recorder thumb, likely a warning to the others on the ship. But we won’t know for sure for a bit, because now we’re jumping forward in time.

Over in the maximum security section of the Lost Light’s brig, we finally see Mr. Pugface Charisma himself, strung up and restrained in a way reminiscent of how Alternate Rung was in the epilogue of the “Elegant Chaos” storyline, but decidedly hornier. Tailgate zips by on his hoverboard, apparently having woken up at some point. Seems like he’s doing fine, though, so I’m not too worried about how long he slept.

Tailgate isn’t thrilled to have run into Getaway, and is even more displeased when Getaway refuses to speak to him about what exactly is happening; everything is dark, everyone else has disappeared, someone’s graffitied the walls, and there’s a bunch of greebled orbs laying around.

Tailgate shows Getaway Cyclonus’s vial of innermost energon that he left by his bedside (aw, he does love him!), then tells Getaway to go fuck himself, punching the steel plate door to his cell and shattering the windows as he does. Of course, Getaway genuinely does have a reason for not speaking to Tailgate, so it’s not like he’s being intentionally petty.

Now who was the sadistic little bastard who decided that he needed his limbs off and voice taken away? This is some freak shit right here, this is borderline fetish material.

Tailgate goes to investigate one of the weird greeble orbs, and Rung, Skids, and Froid show up just in time to warn him not to touch it, as it’s actually one of the crew members, having been turned inside out, thanks to Sunder making them think that’s what shape they need to be. It’s fucked up. This is a fucked up storyline. Tailgate’s most worried about Cyclonus though, as should be clear by his vial lanyard. He grabs Rung by the arm and demands to know where his not-boyfriend is.

It turns out that after Megatron heard that a guy with eyeballs that make you turn into a bowl of haggis was loose onboard the ship, he turned the lights out and had everyone lock themselves in their rooms. So Cyclonus is probably in habsuite 14, staring out the window, which he was probably going to do anyway. Very little about today is switching up his standard routine.

Rung and company aren’t locked up because they’re looking for Chromedome, so he can put Skids’s memories into the proper lockbox in his head, seeing as he’s gonna die if he recalls them too fast. Rung’s also out here to yell at Froid, because he can’t fucking believe he’d go and get close to a guy who’s got Megatron turning out the lights and hiding. Froid, however, swears his motives are purely professional.

Skids starts groaning again, which means that Sunder is nearby, and sure enough, the brain goblin comes ‘round the corner not a moment later.

In the flashback, Tarn is congratulating Skids on a job well done, then shows him proof of the fifty prisoners having been let out of Grindcore, now roaming around in the Manganese Mountains. Because the last time Roberts had robots holed up in the mountains, it worked out so very well for everyone.

Skids tries to sweeten the deal for next time, but Tarn says that he’s no longer useful to have around, since he’s an Autobot, and Snare watched him do all the stuff that fixed the teleporters. However, Tarn would be loathe to let Skids’s good deed go unpunished.

Don’t worry about the corpses in the background; they’re part of the decor.

Skids, however, is a selfless little man, and he has the bright idea to ask if he can give his free ride to someone else.

Back in the present, Froid is trying to run away from the monster he helped create, and it gets him about as far as you’d expect, as he explodes into a beautiful spaghetti flower and then orbs up. It looks like Rung, Skids, and Tailgate are next, but luckily there’s still a hero left to save the day.

Careful now, Tailgate, you’re a (possibly(accidentally)) married man!

Thunderclash and Megatron chase after Sunder, taking a moment to note that one of the balls in this corridor is Rodimus, while Chromedome sticks his fingers in the holes in Skids’s compartmentalization. Rung and Tailgate also run off to face Sunder, Rung claiming to have an ace up his sleeve.

Megatron and Thunderclash catch up to Sunder in the shuttle bay as he’s entering his ship, which makes Megatron remember something very important: Septre was a fucking ship.

Honestly, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

Thunderclash isn’t concerned with Sunder now being the size of a McMansion, claiming that he must be scared, considering he’s stopped using his black speech bubbles. Apparently those were meant to convey a “Mortilus impersonation”. Why they know what their gods are supposed to sound like isn’t addressed.

Sunder makes a speech about being too hardcore to be afraid of death, because he’s a mnemosurgeon and eats memories and flies around in his brother’s corpse. Then he orbs Thunderclash, husband of millions, thus officially barring himself from the kingdom of heaven. This is the point where Rung attacks him with his fleet of model ships, which are apparently also RC planes. This plan only works for a moment, because, again, Sunder is currently the size of a house.

Megatron, having been knocked down in the direction of the fusion cannon Thunderclash had been wearing, is in the perfect position to strap it on and blow this giant hungry bitch away. However, he probably knows that if he resorts to violence, Rodimus will take away his Rodimus Star for abandoning his evil ways. Tailgate, no doubt frustrated by Megatron trying to talk down the guy who keeps haggising the crew, takes matters into his own hands.

No, he couldn’t do that before. Tailgate himself isn’t sure why exactly he can suddenly pick up midlife crisis purchases and hurl them with enough force to incapacitate serial killers. We’ll have to get Velocity on this, since she’s the only doctor left on the ship.

Because Rung is resigning.

When Rung sent that recording of Froid and his conversation, as a way to warn Megatron of the danger on the ship, it also included their little argument over being “too close” to patients, and Rung’s delicensing. Knowing that more than one other person is privy to his crimes, Rung’s decided to beat things to the punch and retire, as if the Lost Light could afford to lose their mental health specialist, even if he does suck absolute dick. Megatron seems to see it that way, anyhow, suggesting that Rung still tell his patients about not being licensed, but let them decide if they still want to see him anyway.

Rung calls him a stupid fuck in the most polite way possible, then leaves, just as Rodimus is arriving. Megatron makes a pun, then we get the skinny on what’s going on with Tailgate. As best as Velocity can figure, the background radiation caused by quantum travel, combined with being stressed the fuck out by Cyclonus being shot and seemingly killed in front of him, caused his spark to evolve. Which is a much better deal than what I’d assume that sort of thing would do for a human being. I figure that’d be a heart attack situation.

Rodimus wants to know what happened with Sunder in the shuttle bay, and why Megatron tried to talk him down instead of firing. Megatron’s figured that he’s tried the way of violence for the last several million years, and he’s really trying to be better than that now, even if it gets people hurt. He’s a pacifist now. Which sucks, because it’s probably going to bite both him and those around him in the ass later, and also he’ll never be Vash the Stampede, so he really shouldn’t even bother trying.

Getting back to the flashback (sort of, anyway; Skids isn’t remembering this next part, it’s more for us as the readers to get closure) Quark’s queued up for the teleporter, having been given Skids’s spot. He’s gonna be doing hard labor on “New Tarn”. Skids is also here, having apparently touched Tarn’s cold, dead heart with his kindness. Everyone loads up into the teleporter, and it looks like everything’s gonna be just fine!

I said EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE JUST FINE.

The music comes on, significantly louder in this chamber, and Skids is suddenly teleported out and away, Quark screaming for him as he disappears. He arrives in Tarn’s office, where he’s leaning on his desk and drinking out of his fancy little decanter, waiting for the show to start. Skids knows by this point that the machine he was sent to fix was in actuality a smelter, and Tarn explains that they need that fancy shmancy sentio metallico to build bodies for their upcoming MTO forces. Then he drags Skids over to the window and melts the belief in a loving god out of his head.

And that’s a series wrap on Quark! Let’s give him a hand, folks!

...Nobody tell Brainstorm about this.

[chirpsythismorning]

Fixations in fandom are valid.

Yes they can be unhealthy, just like too much of anything in life can be unhealthy.

But just like in life, you can’t control other ppl and force them like/unlike things bc of your own preferences and fixations.

What bothers me so much about the whole ‘all bylers care about is byler argument’ is that while… yes. Who tf cares?

The whole point of the ‘will they’ ‘won’t they’ trope is that it’s known for engaging viewers more than most storylines are able to, and it also tends to keep fans engaged for long periods of time. And it’s because they’re literally designed to keep you guessing and anticipating what comes next.

If romance isn’t your thing, fine. If gay ppl on your screen isn’t your thing, whatever. It is what it is. It’s not like we want to spend our time fixating on the stuff you like either.

Regardless of whether or not you ship byler, that still doesn’t mean you have to be insufferably incapable from analyzing their scenes and the show in general whatsoever?

Like the subreddit literally deletes/blocks posts that mention Will and Mike romantically at all, with the sole argument that there’s already similar posts to it.

But like be fr there are hundreds upon THOUSANDS of posts humoring the same old theories and shit takes, and yet they have no problem letting those constantly circulate on a regular basis.

But when it comes to byler, one post is enough! Two? Three? More than three?? Oh no. Now that just won’t do! This is too much we’re tired of talking about this! Can we talk about something else? ANYTHING else.

Idc if there have been 100 byler posts inquired on that sub over the last year, bc I can guarantee you, x that by 100 and that’s how many times ppl in that tag have posted stuff like ‘hot take but I hate Erica.’

Believe it or not, a majority of the ppl on there run-off of one brain cell and said brain cell is not the least bit impressive. Most of the time all they have is tired ignorant takes that only require ppl with basic critical thinking skills to unpack as crap right from the jump.

Seriously those mods are awful and the way they dictate what does and doesn’t stay posted on the sub is a fucking joke.

Idc if you like byler or not. If you’re so convinced it’s all reaching, actually look at the all evidence instead of censoring it followed by calling us delusional.

Bc while we may be annoying for obsessing over anything and everything, y’all are the ones not even willing to look at any of it. And as a result you’re soon gonna find out you misinterpreted everything because of your bitterness. Bc you were too close-minded to look behind the curtain at all.

[tineteenieworld3]

Mike may have terrible aim and not know how to fight, but we’re all lying to ourselves if we believe he wouldn’t be front and center ready to throw hands with whatever object he was able to grab. That boy is the embodiment of ‘I’m gonna lose, but I’m not going down without trying to fight.’ And I love him for that.

So yes, I do believe he’d have a sword. Would he do well with it? Eh hard to say, but that fucker isn’t gonna just NOT TRY.

I think Mike was so kinda pushed off in season 4 that we’ve forgotten about his actual character and kind of labeled him just as this loser goofball. Which is okay! Ain’t nothing wrong with having fun with characters, but I think we also forget what he’s actually like and who he is in the story. (Not that he’s not a loser goofball, but that’s a very small characteristic he has in the storyline) I always use that interview where Finn Wolfhard says that Mike is an intense guy, cause that’s very true.

I said this yesterday, but Mike is their leader. He’s not weak, he doesn’t need protection, he’s not a baby calf that can’t take care of himself. He’s actually the least like that out of every younger character. He’s very independent and has this vibe of ‘it’s fine I’ll take care of it, don’t worry I’ll take care of it everything is okay’ and takes on a lot of weight that we’re shown so little of.

I think his relationship with El has really overshadowed his true character because of the power she holds. She and Mike are extremely similar in a way that clashes a lot. Mike is a protector and so is El, she doesn’t really have the choice though. So we see this insecurity in Mike with her for a multitude of reasons, but I believe a big on is that he feels like a damsel in distress and useless to her. She doesn’t trust him with personal stuff, she doesn’t want to try and relate to him, she doesn’t need him to protect her.

So sometimes I think we say that El came in and took Will’s place in the group (she didn’t actually take anyone’s place she’s part of the group and she’s just her, but this is for research purposes) k think she actually took Mike’s. El might have ‘replace’ Will at Mike’s side (not really but ya know) but overall in the group, El became this person they all look up to and rely on. You can even see that when Steve keeps mentioning her in season 4. She became this leader because of the power she has.

Mike’s spot as the leader was taken over a little bit. Of course that’s an extremely broad statement and there’s alot more to it, but in general everyone looks to El now and that’s probably a whole new reason why Mike doesn’t feel needed. Dialogue from characters is almost always extremely vague. So when Mike is talking to Will in the van, we see him really spill his thoughts, but I don’t think he was just talking about El.

He’s afraid she doesn’t need him anymore yeah, but maybe, he’s not just talking about her. Idk it’s possible that he’s felt unneeded by everyone since things happened.

Anyways I’m just thinking aloud and this is all over the place. Mike is one of my favorite characters because of how complex he is and I think that can make people uncomfortable sometimes so we narrow him down to very stereotypical terms and stuff.

A lot can be said with how his relationship with El has caused his real character to get overshadowed, but I’m excited for season 5 because it’ll remind us of who he is.

The Mike that literally had no fear going into the woods and hatching plans to find Will.

The Mike that jumped off a cliff to save his friend’s teeth

The Mike that tried to use a candlestick as protection because he doesn’t like being empty handed

The Mike that tried to warn everyone that they were about to be attacked in the hospital and was trying to run right into where the danger was coming from

The Mike that hatched the plan to go into the upside and burn it

The Mike that tried to square up with Billy without hesitation

He is and always will be their leader, he’s just been shoved into a corner because he feels like he doesn’t fit. They need him and he’s going to be essential in season 5.

I rambled so much I’m sorry, Mike is my boy

[mildly-intrusivethoughts]

We're Still Acting, Right?

Word Count: 1,146

Warnings: Has the tiniest bit of angst. Also… Kissing 🤢

A/N: Really been in the mood for some Actor!Mark. Had to get this idea out before more of ISWM comes out. Honestly, I really like seeing Actor!Mark be a demanding diva. Love me a man that's not afraid to do what he wants. Gender neutral for the besties.

The day had been long. Too long, even for a filming day. The amount of setbacks in this single day of production was enough to almost make you walk out. Probably didn’t help that Mark needed the occasional cosmetic touch up as well as many breaks to rest his “god gifted” voice. “It’ll be fine,” he said, “We’ll get it done.”

 The hours you put in today made filming feel like an absolute nightmare. Scene after scene, you and Mark pushed to put out your best acting for the camera. Maybe it was the late hours, but you strive even harder than normal to make sure you absolutely get it right the first shot. Pouring even more feelings and meaning behind all your movements. Despite all of Mark’s complaining and drained energy, you carried on. The show must go on.

Once more, you and Mark stood on the beautifully designed set. Filming again in the main deck of the Invincible II. The lighting to the set this time is dark, with hues of red and blue. And once more the director set the scene, ”Alright, so at this point we’re near the climax of the storyline. Mark, Y/N, for this scene I want you to go ahead and follow the script but feel free to improvise a bit. Go ahead and add in any extra bits you think will give this scene that extra raw emotion that’ll have the audience shaking and crying. Remember: You’ve gone around in circles. You’re starting to feel hopeless, but you’re still trying to remain strong for each other. Alright? Annnd ACTION.”

The lighting casted a shadow on your face while Mark’s was slightly visible from the consoles emitting a soft light. Letting the lighting set the mood, you then turned dramatically to Mark and brought your hands to your face and yelled in despair.

“I’m tired of this Mark! How many times do we have to keep doing this? Doesn’t it bother you? The amount of times we’ve been running around! The amount of times we’ve had to watch our crew risk their lives! This almost feels futile. Our colonists aren’t even aware of everything going on, about how many times I’ve failed them!” You brought your hands down to your sides, fist closing tightly, speaking slightly above a whisper “I don’t know if I can keep doing this.. The amount of times I’ve had to see you d-...” Your voice faltered, feigning tears, unable to finish your sentence. Before you managed to let the tears trail from your eyes Mark closed the gap between you, strong hands grasping your shoulders. His voice sounded so reassuring, unlike how you know him to normally speak, “Captain, I know. I know this isn’t ideal, but we have to keep trying! Please, we can’t just stop now. Not when our next jump into the wormhole could be the opportunity we’ve been needing!”

Out of your peripheral, you can see the production crew leaning forward in their chair. No one dared to make any kind of noise. We must really be selling this scene. 

Suddenly Mark inched closer to you, hands sliding up to hold your face delicately in his hands. His eyes looked deep into yours, it took all your might not to look away. He was awfully close to you. This was nothing different from the many other times you’ve shared scenes together and by no means was this your first romantic scene, but something about this moment felt different. Maybe it was the late hours but something was off, something had changed. His lips felt like they were only a few centimeters away and you could feel his breath. It warmed your lips and left a tingling sensation. You couldn’t recall your next line. Truth be told you were caught off guard, but the director did say to sell it however you wanted. You almost didn’t even realize he went ahead with his line. “We’ve got to try, Captain. Doesn’t matter how many times it takes, we will fix this or go crazy trying to.” There was a twinkle in his eye, it was gone in a second but you could tell it was something mischievous. “But maybe..just this once Captain.. Let’s try something different.. Let me try something different…” the last word trailed off, as he leaned closer and closer till your lips touched. You quickly reacted, grabbing the front of his jumpsuit pulling him in closer, making the kiss more passionate. His mouth moved effortlessly against yours as he leaned in, deepening the kiss. You opened your mouth to allow him to slip his tongue against yours and just as you were about to sweep your tongue against his- “CUT.”

Mark quickly pulled away, “Are you KIDDING me?! The scene was going so well!” You had briefly forgotten your surroundings. It’s like you were truly living in that moment. The director waved off Mark and shook his head “Look, I love it, I really do, you really are putting in that passion but this isn’t a goddamn romance novel! Remember: Your crews’ DIEING! You admire the Captain but that’s IT! We don’t got a spot in this storyline to add in this sudden romance!”  While Mark and the director argued, you simply stood there in disbelief at what happened. In all your years acting together, he’d never kissed you like that. Damn, he’s never actually kissed you at all. Even as improv. It was all for the camera though, right? 

“Alright! Let’s reset the scene!” 

Your costar grumbled over, taking his place in front of you while mumbling on about how they simply just didn’t see how great his direction would have been. “Hellooo, Y/N? You alright?” You nodded quickly but you just had to ask, “That was all for shows, right?” You didn’t dare let your eyes look up at him. There were always some one liners that you threw at each other, all in which you always told yourself was in a joking tone but you just had to make sure it wasn’t the long hours making you get in your feelings, “We’re still acting, right?” When your eyes finally met he gave an annoyed nod of his head. “Uh, yeah. C’mon focus, Y/N, this is the big leagues. I need you to be with me and give it 110%.” Before you could even make a response back he pulled you in once more, close enough so no one else could hear him and tapped a finger to your chest, “Now here’s the plan: I say we try that again and really go all out. Screw the director, they’re gonna see that I had the right idea all along!” 

“Enough talkin! ACTION'' You were in for a long couple of months if filming was gonna keep like this.. not that you were complaining much.

[jwnchstr]

dare you to doubt me pt. 2

title: dare you to doubt me (part 1)

pairings: you/zahara/zara x daniel ricciardo

summary: daniel got into an accident in 2020. he lost the ability to drive. he lost his seat. he lost his career as an f1 driver. ashamed, he hides himself. until he met you at australian grand prix in 2021.

disclaimer: i changed the actual timeline a little bit to match with my storyline.

other f1 fics | masterlist | my wattpad

dare you to doubt me pt. 1

dare you to doubt me pt. 3

*   *   *

ii.

maybe both of you are easy-going. maybe you are open to have friends again after luke's death. maybe daniel isn't pushing you anymore because the next time both of you meet again, the conversation feels natural. you didn't feel like you're trying too hard for daniel to like you. after all, he is your favourite f1 driver. former f1 driver but he is and will always be the person who made you watch f1.

    a few evenings after the last meet, you found yourself sitting with daniel again in the same restaurant you brought him for lunch after australian grand prix. something about the restaurant feels the same but different at the same time. it feels as if you're trying the restaurant for the first time again.

    "okay first things first, you are offering me this because you're on a project, right?"

    you raise an eyebrow. "a project of what?"

    "a writing project," daniel states a matter-of-factly. "you're on writing about me?"

    you laugh. "daniel, i'm a professional. if i were to write about you, i'd ask. and i'm honest. i'm not making money on someone's life."

    daniel doesn't regard your honesty but jump to the main topic of your meeting today. "and you do realise that adam already has a coach in the academy, right?" daniel asks.

    "yes. i do realise that."

    "and you do realise that if i did this, i might get sued, right?"

    "sued?" you pull a face. "they're not going to sue you. even if they will, i'm going to get affected too so that's okay. we're in this together."

    "seriously?" daniel looks at you unbeliveable. "we're not playing bonnie and clyde here. i might getting blacklisted from f1 and all my dreams and my hardwork is going to be useless."

    both you and daniel pause when a waitress comes and set down a meal in front of you before doing the same to daniel.

    today, unlike the last time, daniel was braver. he orders a different food for himself unlike last time where he told the waiter that he will have whatever you were having. you saw how daniel hesitated to grab and turn the page and skim the menu himself. you didn't say anything, but you watched him carefully, aware of his trembling hands. when he finished ordering, he pushed his menu to the edge of the table and looked at you with a shy smile on his face while you had a proud one.

    "okay. i have an idea," you say first after the waitress left. "how about you coach him after his karting class in the academy? think of it like home tutor after school to improve and sharpen his skills. come on. that kid has a lot of potential. and i didn't ask for you to be his coach forever. enough until he finds motivation again."

    daniel throws himself to the back of his chair sighing. "i don't know, zara. i was an f1 driver. i should've known not to interrupt adam's official coaching with the academy. they're not going to appreciate me if they see me there."

    "pleeeaassseeee." you gives daniel a pleading look as best as you can.

    daniel's heart skips a beat. it's not your voice but the look on your face that makes daniel softens and immediately changes his mind.

    "you know what, fine. i'll do it," daniel finally agrees.

    you beam. you almost throw your hands up in the air as if to celebrate your victory but your mind is quick to remind you that you're in a restaurant.

    "but i'm warning you. i'm strict when it comes to coaching especially with kids."

    to be honest, you understand and you already can see daniel pushing luke's four-year-old nephew to his limit. it was not like that with luke though. with luke, everything was fun. there was never a day that went by without laughing your ass off unless something was happening with financial department.

    "how about an agreement?"

    "i didn't bring my computer now to write them down but i can always do that later," you say. "what are those agreements?"

    and daniel begins to list out his terms and conditions:

    1. not to comment on any of my coaching styles.     2. 2% of your salary is mine.     3. be on time.     4. i'm out as soon as adam's academy finds out and decides that they don't want coaching outside of their schedule.

    luke would make these agreement longer. he would make these agreement official. he would add more so he'd have profit because he was always a businessman and an investor. he would not agree if he didn't benefit anything. but now it's only you without luke to guide. you wish luke taught you this and you to listen to him.

    you open your mouth to protest condition number two. you weren't serious when you said you would pay him. it was only a hook so he would accept your offer to be adam's coach. all thoughts about him being a disabled f1 driver long gone. just the thought of a former, outstanding, f1 driver to coach luke's nephew.

    "if you agreed to these, i can train adam better than his academy and bring him to the front row before the season ended."

    both of you eat your dinner in silent soon after. occassionally have a small talk about politics--a topic that you're uncomfortable talking about even with your circle. other conversations include your favourite music, favourite season of the year, favourite books, favourite country and more. there are a little arguments here and there but you laugh before any of you are pissed.

    the whole restaurant and the employees pretty much leave you and daniel be, though maybe one or two of them keeps staring back at the man in front of you, wondering if they recognised him somewhere. daniel has been in hiding for months. with his disheveled beard, thick and curly hair, it's hard to know it's daniel ricciardo if it's not because of his rose tattoo.

    you keep an eye on daniel as you finish up your dinner just in case daniel needs a help with something that needs stronger grip. you're on your last scoop when daniel is only half finished. and like last time, you order a dessert, thinking that it doesn't hurt you to enjoy the sweets while waiting for daniel. you eat slowly even though you're aware that your ice-cream is melting fast.

    and it seems that daniel is eating fine this time. he has improved since the last time you had lunch with him. maybe the common interest daniel has with you makes him relaxed and comfortable when you're around. maybe he practices to eat with spoon and fork by himself at home. maybe michael helps him. either way, daniel makes you proud with his improvement.

    "should we keep this relationship professional?" you ask after dinner.

    daniel's face falls with your suggestion. your heart sinks. you were confident that daniel doesn't like that either but when he agrees, you feel light-headed. the coaching hasn't started but you already do not like this arrangement. but you still have to do it for adam.

    5. professional relationship.

    you send daniel back to his apartment before driving yourself back to your house. the house that you once shared with luke not far from hampshire go-kart circuit. everything is still right where it used be three years ago. you haven't moved even a thing except for his old belongings and clothes that you donated to an organisation for charity. but even without his posessions, the house still reminds you of him.

    luke was always busy with his job but when he had a time to spare, he would be at the kitchen cooking. if cleaning the house and watching sad movies were your therapy after a stressfull life, cooking would be his. he said he loved the smell of stir-fried onions. he loved the sound of sliced meat being fried on the frying pan. the first taste of a successful cooking was always the best. and you missed seeing the smile on his face everytime that happens.

    sometimes, when you take a seat the kitchen bar to write, you were still hoping that luke would come in through the back door with a handful of herbs and veggies for lunch. it has been three years and you are wrong to still hope for that.

*

when there was no race or competition at the hgc, the whole circuit is free for you to do anything you want there. the parking lot is empty too except the hgc employees cars, cleaners bicycles and adam's go-kart mechanic's. and you are free to park your car anywhere you like but you still chose your designated spot.

    once inside, you bring daniel to every part of the building--the coach room, luke's old room before it became yours, public toilets, private toilets, small media centre, the cafeteria. the building even has a gift shop but there were only a couple of merchandise on the rack, selling at lowest price to clear the old stock. daniel thought of buying one but didn't because he didn't think it's worth his penny.

    don't want him to feel like an alien, you introduce him to several securities who work there. you introduce sarah who works as an event manager at the front desk. her office room is updtairs but she likes to work at the front desk when it's not a busy day. several employees are there to clean up the kitchen and offices. and lastly, you bring daniel to the garage area. in f1 world, it's called the pitlane.

    johann is already there at the garage with adam and his mother lila. they are talking about kart spare parts from the bits and pieces of the conversation that you manage to catch. but their conversation is put to a stop when you arrive with daniel. adam runs towards you and you pick him up.

    "daniel. this is johann. adam's kart mechanic. johann, this is daniel."

    "hey. pleasure to meet you."

    johann offers his hands to shake. it's the common gesture between men while women usually give a light kiss on the cheek. but because it's a common gesture, daniel doesn't look confident to shake hands with johann. he hesitates for the first few seconds. lila looks confused. adam doesn't understand that he watches the scene with a smile. johann doesn't look bothered that daniel still hasn't shook his hand. but you give daniel one more minute before you have to explain to johann what happens.

    but then daniel shake hands with johann. it surprises you in a good way. it makes you proud too. his confident is rare especially after the acccident. you saw it when you first met him, and the lunch "date". his self-esteem is slowly coming back.

    "sorry about the..."

    "don't worry about that, mate. if it makes you feel better, i have an amputated leg, see. it's metal all the way from my thigh down." johann pulls up his jeans and shows daniel his metal leg. both of them laugh in a way that only people who faced accidents understood.

    daniel was not kidding when he told you that he is strict with his training. in which, it makes you wonder if this was exactly how he was trained back in the day or it was only his improvisation or if it was only that he was showing off. his demanor changes 180 degrees. coach daniel is not necessarily scary to look at but your stomach churns when he is forcing adam a routine. his voice is so firm and fierce.

    daniel started the training with physical exercises 45 minutes ago and since adam's physical capability matches with daniel's coaching, they are on track sooner than you thought. in no time, daniel is already coaching your fiance's little nephew. of course it is not easy to adapt a new way of coaching. adam struggles to understand daniel's instruction at first. there are more than a couple of times where you found adam being punished at the side of the track, but soon, everything seems easy for adam.

    you remember how it was with luke though it was not a serious training session because adam was not in the academy yet at the time. adam was in the car driving his go-kart and luke, being the best and funny uncle, would try to chase the little man. you could hear adam's cackle inside his go-kart with luke's voice "i'm gonna get you! i'm gonna get you!". you shake the memory away before daniel sees it.

    on the first day of training with daniel, adam managed to beat his own lap time. yes, he is one of the slowest but there is an improvement from adam, daniel says. adam understands that karting is not only about who is the fastest but also finding a faster curve on the track to gain you advantage. it not only about who finishes first but also about defending your position. adam hasn't get to that point yet but he understands.

    after the training, adam runs towards his mother who is waiting for him inside the lavish building. with her is adam's favourite mercedes-amg water bottle and adam grabs it from her and drinks the water until it finishes in one go. meanwhile daniel reunites with you at adam's garage.

    "enjoying yourself?"

    "so much."

    "reminds you of something?"

    you sadly smile but didn't say anything further.

    "okay."

    "by the way, i think it's working out. adam. he beats his own lap time!" you cheer, happy for the little man.

    "yeah. he's a smart kid. he picks up fast."

    you are so proud for adam that you wish luke is here to see his nephew's improvement. "thank you for today. you ready to head home?"

     as daniel gets changed in his coach room, you wait him at the front desk where sarah is sitting, minding her own business. not like you care the way she ignores you because you know sarah never liked you. sarah never said it to you, but she hated to see you with luke together and that's why she was always scowling when you're around. at some point, you think sarah was born permanently with that scowl as if its her birthmark.

    luke and sarah had been friends before you came but unfortunately for sarah, the love she had for daniel was one-sided. since both of them were born on the same exact day and year, luke only saw her as a twin sister instead of a soulmate. lila told you that sarah once tried to confess her feelings to luke but then you came. though it's not your fault that luke found you more attractive but you did feel bad for her.

    since you dated luke, sarah never talked to you until the hgc. but even then, you only talk to sarah on important occassions like the one where they first launch the hampshire go-kart circuit. for once, you thought you and sarah could be the best business partners because everything turned out to be perfect until after the event ended, sarah was back to ignoring you.

    and then there was a media open-day that sarah and you had managed to introduce the hgc to the go-kart world. after dividing the task, you ended up with the invitation part. and you invited several media companies to come to the hgc. sarah loved what you did there because those who came were polite so everything went smoothly. but again, at the end of the day, when the event finished, sarah ignored you.

    when luke died, sarah pratically thinks you died too so you never talked to her for three years especially when she refuses to let you take over any of the hgc work. that is until today. it happens to be today that sarah decides to talk to you again as you wait for the former f1 driver himself. though this one doesn't relate to any of her work.

    "are you some kind of friends with him now?"

    you blink.

    "what? are you deaf now? you know i'm talking to you."

    you turn to sarah and point to yourself. "me?"

    "no. the security who always saved your ass. of course it's you, bitch. who else is around here?"

    you gulped. her words are too vulgar for your liking but when you think about how you can be as vulgar as her, you squared your shoulders. "why do you want to know?"

    "you seem friendly with him."

    "he's a nice guy."

    "so you're totally over luke?"

    you heart drops. "what does it matter?"

    "because if you did, i'm happy for you."

    you kept quiet.

    "you know what, just forget i said that." sarah closes her laptop and stands up to leave to save herself from the humiliation.

    you're too shocked to say anything, but as she rounds the front desk and you catches her arm. it's an instinct.

    "i'm sorry, sarah." it feels like there's this burden lifted up from your shoulders as soon as that sentence escaped your lips.

    sarah didn't expect that so she stands there frozen, doesn't know how to react except staring at you back in shock. and maybe because of that she didn't try to let you off her arm.

    "i know everything about you and luke. and i'm sorry it took me years to apologise but everytime i tried, you run away."

    sarah's eyes water.

    "and i know it had been three years since he died but i just want to let you know that he loved you, okay? there's not one day that went by he didn't think about you. he always did. and one day i wish to grant his wish to bring you to one of the f1 races with me. would you like that?"

    through sadness, you see a small smile slowly creeps onto sarah's face. you feel your chest expands. there's something in that smile that makes your heart warms. it feels like she's accepting you and you love it.

    "yeah, i would like that," she says before leaving.

    you watch as sarah walks out of the main building. her heels click-clocking as she walks down the stairs. daniel joins you soon after and the freshly smell of his cologne makes you melt. he smells manly like it makes you feel as if he does that for you. the way his body leans closer to you as both of you head out of the building towards you car makes you think he is ready to protect you from harm. but what or who is he protecting you from? there are barely people here. and maybe you're imagining things.

    daniel is hugging his duffel bag instead of holding them by the handle. you figure that he is still too weak to put force on his arm. as soon as both of you reach your car, without saying anything, daniel hands the bag towards you before you can open the car door for him. you frown, almost shouted at him until you see what he was trying to do.

    you let daniel try to open the car door by himself even though it doesn't look like he will make it. his hand is shaking when he grips the handle but is shaking more when he tries to pull it. it hurts. by the deep wince on daniel's face, you know that it hurts. and you cannot see daniel being hurt that you tried to help him. but he slaps your hand away.

    you hiss.

    "let me do it." daniel is serious.

    you obey. you retreat your hand to your side. you watch daniel struggles for three minutes.

    "that's very good."

    proud. you don't know how many times he'd made you proud today. and daniel is proud of himself too that he smiles widely, showing his perfect white teeth before entering the car. you push the door close for him, get to the back of you car and throw his bag inside.

    the same thing repeats itself for weeks although it doesn't happen on the same day. but you see daniel's improvement in holding things. he regains his strength though slowly but everytime he manages to open the tap water, or open the door, or brush his own teeth, he will text you. sometimes, he even calls just to tell you that he can clench his hands for more than 20 seconds. and there's nothing that you can say aside from "i'm so proud of you, daniel!"

    just like how you found a friend in daniel, you found a friend in michael. you may rarely hang out with daniel's former coach but ever since you shook hands with him and followed him back on instagram, he will always try to find a way to reply your instagram story. but that's normal for you because your other friends do that, boys and girls. but it gets weird everytime michael mentions daniel.

    you shake your head at michael. in some ways, both of them are very similar. childish. chatty. funny. never really take things seriously outside of work. how you wish you met these people sooner because you knew you needed them three years prior especially right after luke's death. or maybe god was trying to help you mourn.

*

when daniel is by himself, all he wantd to do is sit at hime and sleep and do nothing because that is the only way for him not to meet people. michael is always out of town but when he is back in australia, he tried to bring daniel out for a walk but the stoneheaded man refuse to listen to his own best friend. michael would either found himself hanging out in daniel's apartment or he didn't come to meet daniel at all.

    however, everything changed when you came. it started when you let daniel worked himself out during a lunch. then things happen and he found out that you were once engaged and experienced panic attack. soon, when you showed him around the hgc. the handshake with johann was a miracle. the smell of the familiar oil and gas and burning rubber lifted daniel's spirit. it might take daniel a few weeks to confront that he is ready to go out again but you are absolutely happy for him.

    "oh, look at you." you show a picture of daniel standing with a fan, smiling at the camera. he is wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, long jeans. his hands in his pockets. he cut his hair a few days before going out but said he felt different with his new look so he wore a hat.

    daniel leans closer to you to look at the picture. "ugh."

    you laugh at daniel's reaction, undersands where that groan came from. you remember everything about that night. daniel refused to sign pictures and caps, afraid people see his hands. but his fans were excited to see him again so they mobbsed him. that caused daniel to almost having a panic attack in front of a crowd. you quickly pulled his arm and take both of you somewhere secluded. a long sigh escaped both of your lips.

    "what does the headline say?"

    "that went rogue but came back with a mystery woman."

    daniel chuckles. "i am sorry they say that about you."

    "i've been called worse."

    it's true because you remember what sarah called you the other day. you remember all the bad reviews your readers gave on your writer's page. they are even badder than "mystery woman". words like "she doesn't know how to write" or "her writing is not that good" or "the book is painful to read." but your life continues even after luke died.

    the next time daniel goes out, you are not available. but michael and some of their old friends are there with them to protect them from media and getting mobbed.

    and then it's you, daniel and michael. sometimes, it's you, daniel, michael is his girlfriend. the hang outs are getting better and better as days pass. more public. and his smiles bigger than each of the last time. he still doesn't sign picture and hats. and then there is you who was once a  "mystery woman" now become "the same mystery woman".

    you face a hard time yourself when daniel's fans start to know your identity. they start shaming you, throwing bad words at you, giving death threats. and they are all written on your writer's page, cause a bad impression on your new readers who want to read your book. your agent tried to delete them one by one. she fails. instead, more comes in. your writers fellow help backing you on social media but now, the so-called fans hate your writers friends too.

    "oh my god. what in the world i'm living in," you groan.

    sitting by yourself in your bedroom, you look outside the window, thought the greens would help you calm. but a shadow of luke appears on the reflection on your window. it makes your heart leaps. you turn around to see him but he is not there.

    and you cry. you didn't know exactly why your cry. you bet if luke was here, he would know. he would tell you what's your problem and he would help you solve every one of them. but he is not here now. and despite being old enough to make your own decisions, you're stuck.

    that night, you dreamed of luke. you dreamed of him killing those people who sent those death threats. you dreamed of him shutting down people who said bad things towards you. you dreamed of luke making you happy. he was happy. both of you were laughing. but right before you wake up, you heard him saying the crucial word.

    "good-bye."

    and just like that, when you wake up the next morning, it feels as if you were being born again. it's like this is a different place you are living in. those death threats stop. those bad comments on your writer's page had been deleted overnight. it feels like your day couldn't have gone better when you received good news from michael.

*

you would guess it would get easier after a few months of coaching, but instead it gets the other way round. daniel becomes more serious. adam has improved in many aspects. he is no longer at the back of the grid. he is winning the top 10, constantly and consistently beating his own lap time. he doesn't only understand the hampshire go-kart circuit, but other familiar ones too. it becomes a routine to bring adam for ice-cream after every win. daniel included. he is the reason why adam is winning after all.

    but some things are bothering daniel's mind these past few days because he is not being himself lately. like everything adam does is wrong. he is quiet most of the time with you. he doesn't meet your eye everytime you're talking to him. recently, he made adam cried for a silly mistake he did on the track. this causes adam's performance to drop. his academy coach gives daniel a look. you know something is wrong and you wonder why.

    "i don't know, michael. it seems that daniel changed."

    "he's... changed?" over the phone call, you can feel michael raising one of his eyebrows.

    "or maybe not. but something is totally bothering daniel's mind."

    there is a pause from michael. "ahhh. shit."

    of course! last year today was that infamous accident between daniel and fernando alonso that people have been talking about for months. so it has been a year. while daniel is still struggling with his physical illness, struggling to find a job, stuck in australia, his old team is striving on the track. they are not yet a podium team but they are good enough to maintain as the mid-grid team. always finishing the race above 10 unless there were technical issues. even their qualifying session and their sprint races results are impressive.

    michael knows you can handle daniel by yourself but he also knew that as a friend, as a person who was there during the accident, he has to be with daniel and you. michael was on the other of the world when you called him to talk about daniel, but he manages to get back home. and this morning, he calls to tell you that he is with daniel at the hgc.

    you were supposed to have a meeting with your agent this morning, but after michael told you what daniel has been doing at the hgc, you decided to postpone the meeting and drive to hgc immediately. you are so worried about daniel. his mental is not stable at the moment. he could hurt himself so here you are, standing with micheal, looking over at daniel who is at the garage trying as best as his trembling hands could to start the public go-kart.

    for some reason, both of you watch daniel without saying any word. but really, are there any?

    "have you tried talking to him?" you ask michael.

    "tried everything. but he didn't want to listen."

    you sigh. "what should we do?"

    there is a pause from michael as he thinks. "he misses driving. and i think coaching adam and watching these kids makes him misses it much more."

    "can he drive?"

    michael shrugs. "no approval from the doctor. but i did let him drive once and we almost got into an accident."

    "you let him drive? in a state like that?"

    "he begged me. and he's my friend. i couldn't say no."

    you shake your head. boys. you find it funny to see how they're born to break rules, risk their life for something stupid, laugh while doing them. luke used to be the same. he once drove a jeep with his eyes blindfolded on a dare. his jeep ran into a tree. he hit his head on the steering wheel hard. the car smoked. he passed out. we had to bring him to the hospital for an emergency case. good thing nothing serious happen though we lied to the doctor saying that he fell when he was trying to help our friend cleaning his house.

    you sigh again and make your way towards the former renault f1 driver. your heart thumping in your chest, something you haven't felt for a long time. since the australian grand prix. how long has it been? you have lost count. in your head, you rehearsed some soothing words to help daniel calm down. but when you finally reach the garage, everything in your head vanished. you watch daniel kicks the metal kart shelf. it rattles loudly.

    "daniel."

    "i tried, okay! you saw it! i tried! but i can't! i can never be an f1 driver anymore!"

    you rushes towards daniel and hugs his side when he lowers himself to the ground beside the public kart. "shhhh." you coo, carressing the side of his arm as you rock him back and forth, back and forth to calm his tornado down. "hey, it's okay. i understand."

    "no. you don't understand, zara."

    your name is too long for him so he nicknamed you.

    "f1 is everything to me. i trained hard for it. i gave up everything in my life to be an f1 driver. i gave up my childhood. i gave up australia one time and moved to europe. all those for an accident and these stupid trembling hands. i can't even hold things!" he holds your hands. despite what he claimed, you feel his strong grip. and he is shaking uncontrollably.

    "don't blame yourself for everything." your thumb adsentmindedly carress the top of his hand. "look, i know you miss driving. i know you think you lost everything since that accident. i'm not saying that it's not a big of a deal. hell, you lost a seat. you lost people's trust. but look where you are now."

    "what? in some kid's garage? this is not how i imagined my retirement would look like."

    how would he see his retirement look like, you never know.

    "and i happen to hurt a kid's feelings just because of his passion."

    "adam knows everything about you, daniel," you say which makes daniel freezes. "he loves hamilton because he reminds him of luke but he knows daniel ricciardo and other f1 drivers too. he knows what happened to you. he notices your trembling hands. he asked me about it but i told him not to say anything in front of you because it makes you sad. and he understood what sad means."

    "and i made him cry."

    "i'm sure you didn't mean it. you can apologise to him tomorrow."

    "oh my god. after all these while, i'm the cunt."

    you laugh at his choice of word. luckily this time, there are not kids around so he doesn't have to apologise. "maybe it's time for you to think of something else, daniel. other than being an f1 driver as a career."

    "i seriously don't know. i never had plan b."

    "maybe you should start having more than one plan. plab b, c. maybe f? and seeing how good you are with adam, i would recommend you to be go-kart coach. you are literally doing one right now and you're very good at it."

    "ah, that reminds me. you haven't paid my salary for seven months now. and that's what. 10 grand worth?"

    "yes. and it also reminds me that i have a present for you." you take out an envelope that sits neatly in your sling bag. "here."

    daniel eyes it suspiciously. he hopes there's money in it but the enveope is too thin to be 10 grand. or is it a cheque? it could a cheque, daniel thinks. and he only takes the envelop fom your hand when he sees you nodding your head at him. he opens the envelope, peers inside and notices one familiar pass card sits at the bottom of the envelope. there is also a thin paper and a wrist band.

*

michael flies out that night for his olympic game so you have to bring daniel home. your heart eases once you see daniel's smile and you planned to continue writing once you get home but daniel did the unexpected. he invites into his apartment.

    "cozy."

    daniel scratches the back of his head. "it's... okay."

    his couch is messy. like somebody had a big fight here. several types of different blankets sprawled on the couch. pillows are all over the floor. his clothes are everywhere in his living room. there are several more in the kitchen where he must have thrown when he's sweating after cooking. there are even more in the dirty basket literally beside the washing machine. his jackets and sweaters on the kitchen chair. his shoes are... oh you can't see them like that anymore.

    "daniel. how can you sleep at a place like this?"

    "what?"

    "there are piles of dirty clothes everywhere. the kitchen sink is... oh my god, daniel. they smell! that's it. i can't anymore. i need to clean your apartment."

    you started with throwing your beg on an empty chair along with your cardigan. then you start grabbing his t-shirts in the basket and throw them inside the washing machine. to daniel's surprise, you know how to use them.

    "zara, what are you doing?"

    "i'm cleaning. now shut up and help me."

    daniel is taken aback with your seriousness. he did not know where this side of you came from but not like he is complaining either. if anything, he feels bad. he thinks that you think him as that lazy, sick, motherfucker who does nothing but dwell on his trembling hands.

    "zara, you don't have to do it."

    "i have to. otherwise, i cannot sleep thinking about your apartment."

    when you pick up daniel's boxer and underwear, daniel shies away before noticing how you didn't look bothered at all with man's underwear. something unpleasant stirs inside daniel. he doesn't know what. his temper rising. he almost threw you out until he realises that you were once enganged. to luke, if remembers it correctly. a man. of course you're used to seeing a man's underwear.

    daniel probably thinks that this is what he might have to deal with if you move in with him though he doesn't know where did that thought come from. it's just that seeing you going around his apartment as if isn't your first, makes him think of you as his wife. yes, what if you are his wife? going out for grocery shopping together. cleaning the house together. doing shit together.

    like right now what both of you are doing. even with his trembling hands, he tries to help you with anything possible. and he might think that he is helping you taking his clothes out of the washing machine and hang it to dry. but really, he is helping himself out. you are only helping him to help himself out if that makes sense.

    you help daniel sweep and mop the floor. you help daniel rearrange some of the items in the apartment like his dining table. with the right angle at the corner, it helps his apartment looks bigger. then you help him wash the cups and plates on the sink. most importantly, you didn't leave the toilet unattended. you clean the toilet too. and at the end of the day, his apartment smells like your favourite cleaning shampoo.

    "i'm sorry you have to do this. i swear, i didn't invite up to make you clean my apartment."

    "i understand."

    you grab your bag and throw your cardigan over you arm. you are still sweating in the armpit to slip under your cardigan.

    there was a silent that falls between you in daniel's apartment. though with the smell of the cleaning shampoo, but your nose cannot ignore the smell of daniel's manly perfume that still hung on his body even after the cleaning session that went for hours. the sweats on his forhead dried but the t-shirt he is wearing still wet.

    you feel daniel stepping closer towards you. slowly as if every pause is a sign for him either to take another step forward or backward. but when you didn't move from your spot, daniel continues forward until he is only one breath away that you can smell his sweat. you look at his chest. you didn't care to look up at his eyes. you are afraid of what might happen if you look at his eyes.

    "i've got to go," you say before you left.

    daniel doesn't know what to do. it's been a while since he has a woman in his apartment. and since the accident, he doesn't flirt much. he doesn't look at a woman like he used to. not saying that he likes men, but he lost any interest with the thought of relationship. but ever since he met you, ever since he had lunch with you... something stirs inside him.

    daniel watches you leaving. slowly, he closes his door, hoping you to come back and hug him and kiss him. but you're a woman. and he's the man in the relatinship. he should be those chasing you not you to him. but instead, he stands frozen in his apartment. every fibre in him knows that women love it when men chase after them, but even with that wise thought he still cannot move from his spot. leaning against the front door, daniel slowly fall to the ground. his eyes on his trembling hands.

*   *   *

part iii.

[27emailsicantsend]

How many seasons do you see the show getting? I think it depends but if season 4 has around 12 episodes I could see it as the last and I would be fine with that. I think Ricky is the protagonist now when he graduates the show ends. T1m may want to do some type of spin off with totally new characters but that's all. Also isn't Seblos going to have the same problem as Rina? One graduating and the other don't? That was such a lame idea I hope somehow it gets changed like with Kourtney

I wrote something before so some people might have seen what I wrote. But after thinking about it a bit I changed my mind, so here’s the edits:

Yeah I’ve been a little concerned with how all of this “graduating” business is going to pan out. I actually think it’s going to be 5 or 7 seasons. Tim directly said in an interview he would like it to go between 5-7 seasons. If we follow filming dates and what happened the first two seasons, we could see a direct split between season one and two for first and second semester, as well as filming for season 4 is from September to December (Salt Lake has seasons, so it would be difficult to convince us it’s summer when there is snow outside during filming). I also think you’re right, anon, that Ricky is the protagonist so a lot of the story is going to follow him. I think we can easily deduce from this information ^ that season 4 will be semester one of Ricky’s senior year and season 5 his last semester.

If we’re following Ricky, then logically we’re following the Rina storyline as well. If Rina is the troyella of the show, and Ricky’s arc and growth hinge so MUCH on Gina, one logical ending would be at season 5, because this is when we see where Rina goes for the rest of their life post Ricky’s graduation. How will rina complete their storyline together and on their own?

I think either the show pretends gina is a senior (which I doubt will happen) and they end up together when they graduate. OR we see that Rina split so Ricky can go to college and it ends with a time jump. He finds out that as an adult, Gina is still who he wants to be with and after a year or two of them separated and both in college, they come back together with no more splits. OR we get two more seasons (so we end at season 7) where we watch the journey of them splitting at graduation (as friends) and coming back together later, while also seeing Ricky in college and Gina’s senior year.

Either way, I think Ricky will be there for Gina regardless of the endings. If Ricky doesn’t do anything with his life EXCEPT wait around for Gina after graduating, it would completely undermine his character growth. I think he would definitely go to college and learn more about himself, while also being there for Gina. (It reminds me a lot of Jim and Pam, where Jim KNOWS he can’t do anything but be her friend, but he is still in love with her. He knows that’s his wife and will keep living his life as he waits for them to get together).

I do want to add that what I would love, if I had my way, is the show ending at season 5 with them splitting at graduation. Not because they want to, but because they feel like it’s for the best so they don’t get hurt in the process. Then we get a MOVIE about the next two years where Ricky goes to college for two years and Gina for a year, then they find their way back to each other because they stay friends the whole time and realize they don’t want to be apart. This is the last big hurdle where it’s not a love triangle interfering with them and their arcs are near complete, but the realities of life are their final relationship trial. It would test if they can actually handle their growth and who they’ve become as people in high school. College is a time where a LOT of change can happen and people can become different. To see them come together again after all of that? Once and for all? It just makes sense to me. It shows that they really have changed completely. In every context, they’re the best versions of Ricky and Gina.

Seblos might have the same issue too, which is also painful to think about. I would hope they stay together, but I don’t know if I see them staying together as much as Rina. Which HURTS me. I loveee seblos. I would hope they find each other again in the end too.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt~ hoping you'll like it ♥️

Things between the Nie brothers are not always nice and happy, they fight, just like any other pair of brothers, and sometimes things are said, sometimes these things are heavy and painful. Sometimes they're said in the wrong moment (maybe at the eve of a battle? Sunshot campaign?) and huaisang doesn't know what to do with the broken look his brother gives him before leaving the unclean realm. Because what if he doesn't return? What if the last thing he said to him was how much he hated the man he became?

Labyrinth - ao3

“But I didn’t mean to wish him away!” Nie Huaisang cried out.

“That’s really too bad,” the goblin king said, looking pleasant and humble and charming the way he always did, even in his cape of glittering gold and high-browed hat. “I wish there was something I could do for you, but the rules are the rules. You wished him away, and I took him.”

“Aren’t you supposed to only take babies?” Nie Huaisang demanded.

“Your brother’s enough of a crybaby to count, it’s close enough.”

“It is not!” Nie Huaisang wrung his hands. “You don’t understand, the last thing I said to him was that I hated him! Meng Yao, please!”

“It’s Jin Guangyao,” the goblin king corrected. His smile looked a bit strained. “Listen, do you think I’m happy about this? He’s my sworn brother! I’m only doing what I have to –”

“Oh, save it for Lan Xichen,” Nie Huaisang growled. “Show me the labyrinth already.”

“You’re going to face the labyrinth,” the goblin king said. His voice was very polite, and yet still expressed significant doubt. “You.”

“Yeah, me!”

“You remember that it goes ‘through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered’, right? Not ‘through a nice teacher and a forgiving grading system’?”

“Yeah, well, your father is a fragging aardvark. Let me at the labyrinth already!”

-

“You know what,” Nie Huaisang said thoughtfully. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The life-sized animated puppet blinked at him. “You – don’t want my help?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

“You haven’t even gotten into the labyrinth yet!”

“It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t have a chance to get in,” Nie Huaisang said, patting around his sleeve and pulling out a fan. “So I’m just going to walk over and beat at the wall till something happens.”

The puppet followed him, staring blankly. Quite a change from his original apologetic ‘I’m sorry, I’m busy with my own things, I really can’t help you, also it’s too dangerous and you shouldn’t go’ response.

“You were blackmailing me to help you just a moment ago,” the puppet said after a little. “Don’t you need a guide?”

“Listen, I’m bad at memorizing things and I’m a little useless, but I’m not actually dumb,” Nie Huaisang said, fanning himself. “Jin Guangyao is a demon of the mind above all else, and the labyrinth is supposed to be ‘fair’ – which means, more than likely, that the labyrinth is a reflection of the subconscious, specially tailored to each person’s strengths and weaknesses. And that means that you, who sound exactly like Lan Xichen, are almost certainly a set-up sent by Jin Guangyao to ‘reluctantly’ aid me and then betray me.”

“Uh,” Lan Xichen-the-puppet said. “My name’s Hoggle, actually.”

“Whatever makes you feel better, er-ge…A-ha!” Nie Huaisang beamed at the gates that automatically opened. “Perfect!”

-

“Oh, don’t go that way,” the worm said. “Never go that way. And are you sure you don’t want to come in for a cup of tea?”

“No time,” Nie Huaisang said. “Thanks a lot – wait.”

The worm blinked at him.

“You’re a pretty attractive worm, in a slimy sort of way,” Nie Huaisang said, frowning at him.

The worm blinked again. “Why, thanks!”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Is your name Su She, by chance?”

“Definitely not!”

“Mm. Oddly vehement of you. Never mind. Just, quick, could you tell me exactly why do I not want to go that way?”

-

“I don’t suppose straight ahead is an option?”

The hands-faces stared at him.

“I’m just saying, I feel like most of my problems so far have come from the fact that I decided to accept the whole concept of turns. It seems like a mistake.”

“…it’s a labyrinth,” another set of the hands said. “You have to make turns!”

Nie Huaisang shook his head mournfully. “I should’ve brought Baxia or something and just – ZIP. Gone straight through. You know what I mean?”

“I’m dropping you in the oubliette regardless of your decision,” the first set of the hands said. It sounded a bit like Sect Leader Yao. “Just so you know.”

“My life is so hard,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “So hard! Do you know what it’s like to be overlooked by everyone? Do you know how hard I have to work at being this useless?”

“Drop him,” the set of hands that sounded like Sect Leader Ouyang said, and the set of hands that sounded like Sect Leader Yao said, “Yes. Now!”

Down Nie Huaisang went.

-

“I can take you back to the beginning of the labyrinth,” Lan Xichen offered.

“What, and waste all that time? I have a time limit, er-ge!”

“It’s better than being stuck in an oubliette. That’s where they put people to forget about them, you know.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes filled with tears. “You want to forget me, er-ge? You think I’m useless, don’t you? A good-for-nothing, who’ll never amount to anything –”

“Please don’t cry.”

“ER-GE! WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME!”

“Please stop crying!”

-

“So what’s the point of you?” Nie Huaisang asked the Wise Man with the Talking Hat.

“Not everyone exists to contribute to your storyline,” the Talking Hat snapped at him. “Some of us’ve got our own problems. Now hand over the candy!”

“Don’t be mean,” the Wise Man said. He had a white cloth over his eyes, and was smiling like he found the hat funny.

“Awww, but daozhang…!”

“Different plotline entirely, I guess,” Nie Huaisang decided. “Probably just here as a foil. Shall we keep going, er-ge?”

“I can’t believe you scammed me to get out of the oubliette,” Lan Xichen mumbled. “I can’t believe…”

-

“Oh, leave him alone, he’s just sensitive!” Nie Huaisang snapped.

“Am not!” the upside-down creature snarled, curled up on itself and trying to hide from all those that had been hitting him. Its fur was a vivid sort of purple. “Go away!”

“Don’t you have some sort of special power to help you here,” Nie Huaisang asked him as he tried to get him down before the goblins came back with weapons. “Rocks, maybe?”

“…lightning?”

“Well then get to it, will you?” Nie Huaisang frowned. “Wait. Lightning, constantly being tormented, terrible at communication, and purple? You’re Jiang Cheng, aren’t you?”

“…maybe.”

“Well then get down faster! I need to copy someone’s notes here!”

-

“Leave me aloooooooone!” Nie Huaisang howled, running away from the measuring snake.

-

“Wow,” Lan Xichen said, holding his cheek. “You kissed me.”

“You saved me from the snakes,” Nie Huaisang said. “Can we focus on how we’re in this awful stinking bog?”

“It’s not that bad!” a voice piped up. “I don’t smell anything!”

Nie Huaisang turned to stare, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course you don’t,” he said. “I bet the total absence of a sense of smell helps when you eat spicy food, Wei-xiong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with spicy food!”

“You’re short,” Nie Huaisang informed the small goblin-like creature with the big grin and the red ribbon in its hair. It looked vaguely fox-like, or possibly like certain large breeds of rabbit.

“Why you..!” Wei Wuxian crossed his furry little paws over his chest. “Just for that, I’m not going to help you.”

“Uh-huh,” Nie Huaisang said. “Really. That’s awful…oh no! A dog!”

Wei Wuxian jumped high into the air. “A dog?! Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Save me!”

Much to Nie Huaisang’s surprise, a furry dog immediately darted out of nowhere – only Wei Wuxian didn’t seem afraid of it, but rather hid behind it, teeth chattering.

Truly, Nie Huaisang reflected, the eyes of love are blind.

“I think the ‘dog’ is gone now,” he said. “Your brave and noble Lan Wangji must’ve scared him away.”

Wei Wuxian’s head popped out from behind dog-Wangji. “Well, Lan Zhan is really cool…hey. Are you trying to manipulate me?”

“Is it working?”

“No!”

“So you won’t help me?”

“No!”

“Not even if it means you get to figure out a really tricky puzzle?”

“No – wait. A puzzle?”

“I can’t believe this is going to work,” Lan Xichen muttered from behind Nie Huaisang. “I mean, I can. But also…Wangji…I love you, but you could do so much better than this.”

-

“Ugh,” Nie Huaisang said. “I’m so thirsty.”

“Have some Emperor’s Smile,” Lan Xichen said, offering a jar.

“Amazing,” Nie Huaisang said, accepting it and taking a swing. “I had my doubts, you know, but you’re actually good for something after all, er-ge –”

-

The golden bird was Nie Huaisang’s favorite.

He’d worked so hard to bring it back to his aviary – it couldn’t be forced, he knew; it would play along at first but in the end it would turn on you and bite you. It had to be coaxed with gentleness and kindness, approached indirectly so as not to spook it, convince it that you really did mean well – that you were harmless, that it had no reason to fear you. It was arrogant, too, proud of its shining feathers and ashamed of the brown plumage of its chick days, which still remained visible on its tender underbelly. Ironically, that was Nie Huaisang’s favorite part of it, the soft and gentle part; it might not be as pretty as the gold, but it felt more genuine.

Nie Huaisang smiled as he brushed the beautiful feathers, and the golden bird allowed him. He felt cherished, treasured. So what if he had to hide all the sharp parts of himself to get this close?

It was fine. He didn’t like to be sharp.

He wanted to be soft. Soft and gentle, careless and free, relaxed and without effort, good for nothing –

Wait.

No!

-

“It’s all junk,” Nie Huaisang hissed at the pile of burning fans, tears in his eyes. “I want my da-ge!”

-

“You’re all right!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, helping pulled Nie Huaisang up.

“Huaisang-xiong,” Jiang Cheng said, looking relieved. “You’re back.”

“We have to go to the temple beyond the Goblin City,” Nie Huaisang said, teeth gritted together. “We have to. I won’t let that bastard…we’re going to go there and throw all his damned tricks right in his face!”

“Just us?” Wei Wuxian asked. “I mean, I’m awesome, Lan Zhan is fantastic, and of course Jiang Cheng is great, too, but…uh…there’s a lot of goblins in the city.”

“We’ll sneak in,” Nie Huaisang said. “He thinks he’s sidelined me entirely – he thinks I’m useless. He won’t be expecting me to get this far.”

“I can get help,” Jiang Cheng said. “I have friends.”

“…not to be rude, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said. “But – really?”

-

“You know what,” Nie Huaisang said, eyeing the pile of rocks following Jiang Cheng around, each one painted with a name. One of the names was yellow. Two were in white, with forehead ribbons. “This is fine. I feel like it says something really rude about my empathy for and interest in our junior generation, or lack thereof, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s fine.”

-

“You saved me,” Nie Huaisang said blankly, looking at Lan Xichen, who shrugged, abashed. The remains of the mechanical temple guard were scattered all over. “Over – him?”

“Huaisang –”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said, holding up his hands. “Don’t. Don’t…I don’t want to hear you talk.”

Lan Xichen’s head dropped down and he looked at the ground. “You knew from the beginning what I was like,” he murmured. “I never tried to hide it –”

“I forgive you for being what you are,” Nie Huaisang told him, and Lan Xichen looked up at him, startled and pleased. “I forgive you for not having the backbone to stand up against Jin Guangyao for me – or for da-ge. For being willfully blind for so long, for needing someone else’s proof of his ill-intentions, for always picking him first, for never trusting me…I forgive you, even if you’d never forgive me for the same.”

He dashed away the angry tears in his eyes.

“I just wish this wasn’t a fucking metaphor.”

-

Nie Huaisang left the fighting to the people who knew what to do – Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, even the rock-juniors – and went to the temple at the center of the city alone.

Some things, he knew, needed to be done alone, even if it was the type of alone when you were surrounded by other people. Even when those other people stood by his side and made him promise that if he needed them, he would only need to call. Some things…

“I want my da-ge back,” he said to the maze of stairs.

“Then go and find him,” Jin Guangyao replied, looking smug, and Nie Huaisang had to go up and down all those fucking stairs, because Jin Guangyao was nothing if not predictable with his trauma, looking all over, looking for –

Looking for pieces.

“It’s just a metaphor,” he whispered to himself, ignoring how tears were streaming down his face. “It’s just – I need to put him back together, it’s fine. I’m not too late – I’m not too late –”

-

Jin Guangyao held Nie Mingjue’s head in his hands, blinded and gagged and bound with talismans, pulled out of whatever oubliette he'd shoved it into to forget about what he'd done. “Beware, Huaisang,” he said, still smiling. Always smiling. “I’ve been generous up until now, but I can be cruel.”

Nie Huaisang laughed, scoffing. “Generous? What have you done for me that’s generous?”

“Everything! Everything you’ve wanted, I’ve done – I cared for you, I gave you attention, I got you out of work, doing your schoolwork for you and coming up with excuses to get you out of saber training. I gave you presents, fans and pretty clothing, and when that brute of a brother of yours tried to take them from you, I rescued you. And then I even managed your sect for you, answered all of your questions, any time you had – Huaisang, I’m exhausted trying to live up to your expectations of me. Isn’t that generous?”

Nie Huaisang bared his teeth. “Half of those are burdens that only fell on me because of you. Why should it matter to me that cleaning up your own mess and satisfying your own guilt is hard? Why should I pay such a price when all I wanted was to be your friend? When all da-ge wanted was to be your friend? How dare you, Meng Yao!”

“Huaisang…” Jin Guangyao shook his head mournfully. “Huaisang, the last step here is to say the words to break the spell. But you were never good at memorization, were you?”

Nie Huaisang bit his lip until he drew blood.

“Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered,” he said. “I have fought my way here to the temple beyond the goblin city –”

“Huaisang, stop! Look at what you’re risking here. You know how everyone loves me – do you think anyone will forgive you for taking me down, for tricking them all? You’ll be all alone!”

I already am, Nie Huaisang thought.

“My will is as strong as yours,” he said. “And my kingdom is as great…”

His voice trailed off.

“I ask for so little,” Jin Guangyao said beseechingly, convincingly, looking just like he always did, like the man who'd been their friend. “Just let me fool you, and you can have anything you want. No responsibilities, no stress, a life of your own. You can even have Lan Xichen, if that’s what you want…”

What’s the last line, Nie Huaisang thought, hating himself for being such a poor student, for cramming things into his mind without any order, for never being able to retain a single drop of it no matter how hard he tried. What is it? Why can’t I ever remember?

“It’d be so easy,” Jin Guangyao crooned. “Much easier than this. Just fear me, love me, believe me, and I’ll be your slave.”

Sharp teeth in a false smile.

Nie Huaisang shook in terror. He couldn’t – his da-ge needed him – he couldn’t be afraid, couldn’t be a coward, couldn’t be good-for-nothing – couldn’t let Jin Guangyao win – couldn’t let him –

That was it.

Nie Huaisang raised his head until his eyes met his enemy’s.

Sensing something wrong, Jin Guangyao’s eternal smile dimmed, and he began to step forward, reaching out, but it was too late.

“You have no power over me,” Nie Huaisang declared, and the world within a world collapsed.

-

Nie Huaisang opened his eyes.

-

Nie Huaisang sat in his desk in the Unclean Realm, trying to amuse himself by trying to figure out what exactly he’d eaten the night before that had given him such bizarre dreams. It was not successful, on account of him being alone.

Alone, just as he had been every night, and every day as well, since the success of his scheme at the Guanyin Temple.

Just as the dream-Jin Guangyao had threatened.

It wasn’t that Nie Huaisang regretted what he had done – the dream was clear enough about that; he’d do it all again in a heartbeat if he had to. But in the dream he’d been working alongside his former friends, with Lan Xichen betraying but then returning to him, with Wei Wuxian dragging Lan Wangji around, with stone-faced Jiang Cheng and the rather interchangeable junior squad behind him…and in his dream, in the end, they’d let him go to take his revenge, telling him that if he needed them for any reason, he could just call.

Just call, and they’d come back to him. Instead of turning from him in disgust, they’d stand by his side…

“Stupid subconscious,” Nie Huaisang mumbled to himself. “What do you expect? That I'd write to them and say ‘for no real reason at all, I find that I rather need you’?”

Silence answered him.

“Well, I do,” he said with a sigh, putting his chin on his hands. “Does that make you happy? I do need you.”

“You do?” Wei Wuxian’s voice rang out, and Nie Huaisang jumped nearly out of his skin. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

Nie Huaisang turned, staring: it was Wei Wuxian at the door, the human version of him, and of course there was Lan Wangji right before him, and Jiang Cheng, and the (still mostly interchangeable) juniors, and – and even Lan Xichen, who Nie Huaisang was sure had gone into seclusion with no intent to leave.

“What are you doing here?” Nie Huaisang squeaked. And why hadn’t any of his sect disciples warned him?

“We just bullied our way though the door before anyone could stop us,” Wei Wuxian said cheerfully, answering the unspoken question first. “As for the rest – it turns out that I had the strangest dream the other night, really, truly bizarre, and obviously I had to tell Lan Zhan all about it, except it turned out he had a strange dream too.”

Nie Huaisang’s jaw dropped. “But –”

“I felt da-ge’s qi woven into the labyrinth,” Lan Xichen said quietly. “I thought it’d have long ago dissipated or been locked away, but – it was there, in every stone, in every turn. Every obstacle that didn’t really hurt you, every goblin that was more silly than scary…he was there. It was unmistakable.”

Nie Huaisang swallowed. The story of the labyrinth, baby-stealing wish-granting goblin king and all, had been one that Nie Mingjue had told him as a bedtime story, when he'd been a child in need of comfort; he hadn’t thought of it in years before last night. “But…why…?”

“Because Chifeng-zun has a demented sense of humor?” Jiang Cheng suggested, looking irritated.

“Jiujiu means that he hasn’t had that much fun in years, and also that you should throw a party,” Jin Ling said. “You are hosting all three of the sect leaders of all the other Great Sects. Also, why were we rocks?”

“Uh, no idea,” Nie Huaisang said. “Da-ge’s weird sense of humor, no doubt! Anyway, did you say party? I can do a party!”

He rushed out of the room, calling for his servants, calling for them to bring food and wine and tea, and as he did, he looked out of the window – a golden bird was flying away, looking hunted as if something was chasing it, and even as he watched, it crossed the borders of the Unclean Realm and suddenly dissolved into a fizzle of golden dust.

Nie Huaisang put his hand on the stone wall, and felt a familiar echo.

A very familiar echo.

“Oh,” he said, to his servants, feeling somehow simultaneously sheepish and filled with joy. “And while you’re at it, can you bring me my saber? I seem to have – misplaced it…”

[bibbawrites]

Don’t Mention This To Anyone - Alive!Luke Patterson x Reader (SMUT)

Request: Hi can u do a luke x reader smut with an enemies to lovers storyline? Maybe they’re at a party and they’re playing truth or dare and luke and the reader get dared to play too hot to handle and later on at the party they get drunk and hook up? // can you do rough sex with luke?!! // Can u do a luke x reader enemies to lovers smut? //  Would you make a Luke and Y/N smut and just make it whatever you want but super smutty?

Word Count: 2163 words

Summary: Your best friend Julie invites you and Flynn to come over to hang out with her bandmates, and a game of too hot to handle ends up making you re-evaluate your relationship with Luke Patterson

Warnings: swearing, mention of underage drinking, unprotected sex, choking, praise kink, dirty talk, grinding/groping

A/N: hopefully this makes sense, i’m editing it half asleep lol  i’ve also put together a masterlist which you can find here anyways hope you enjoy :) 

You should have said no when Julie batted her eyes and asked you if you wanted to come hang out with her bandmates after school one Friday night. 

You should have said no when she used alcohol as a bribing tactic to get you to come. 

You should have made up an excuse not to go. 

Don’t get the wrong impression, you loved Alex and Reggie. The two boys had become close friends of yours since the day Julie first introduced them to you and Flynn. 

It was Luke Patterson that you had an issue with. The lead guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms and the lead pain in your ass since the minute you met. 

If you had said no to coming you wouldn’t have been in this situation. 

Staring down at the bottle on the floor after you drunkenly agreed to a game of Too Hot to Handle, watching as the bottle slowly stopped and pointed at the one person you were praying it wouldn’t. 

Luke fucking Patterson. 

“Oh fuck no.” You exclaimed loudly. Luke shook his head. 

“No way. Not doing it.” He said, his tone matching yours. 

“You have to, the bottle chose you.” Reggie grinned. You rolled your eyes. 

“The bottle doesn’t know what it’s doing.” You spat. 

“It’s simple, if you don’t want to do it that bad just give in straight away.” Flynn raised an eyebrow, looking between yourself and Luke. 

“I’m not a quitter, Y/L/N can give up.” Luke said. Your eyes narrowed. 

“What makes you think I’m a quitter Patterson.” You stared at the boy across from you, venom in your eyes. 

“There’s only one way to settle this then.” Julie spoke up after a moment of silence. 

“Play the fucking game.” Alex finished, his head resting on Willie’s shoulder. 

You rolled your eyes, standing up and making your way over to Luke. You knelt down in front of him, glaring at him. 

“I still hate your fucking guts.” You told him. He smirked. 

“The feeling’s mutual princess.” His tone was condescending. 

You placed your hand on his thigh, leaning in and sucking on his neck. He scoffed. 

“Is that all you’ve got Y/L/N?” He teased. 

You pulled away, glaring at him again before moving your hand up his thigh, getting dangerously close to his crotch, your eyes never leaving his. He didn’t even bat an eyelid. 

You held back a scowl, frustrated that Luke was so good at this game. Standing up you sat down in his lap, grinding your ass into his dick. You grabbed his hand and placed it onto one of your boobs, and your friends whistled at the scene. 

Luke fake yawned and this time you couldn’t help but scowl. 

“Are you fucking kidding? Nothing? Maybe Carrie is right and you are in love with Reggie.” You said, and Reggie choked on his drink. 

“Guess you’re not as seductive as you thought, sweetheart.” Luke teased, ignoring the comment about Reggie. You moved again so that you were straddling his hips, and you could feel that his dick was slightly hard in his pants. Motivated by this you started rocking back and forth, trying to ignore the feelings of pleasure shooting through your body. 

“I feel like we shouldn’t be watching this.” Flynn joked, covering Julie’s eyes with one hand and Reggie’s with her other.

“You guys were the ones who wanted this.” You reminded them, stopping and looking Luke in the eyes. You had always known that Luke was an attractive guy, his arrogance often outshining his good looks, but up close he was stunning. You hesitated and he smiled, glancing down at your lips. Your heart started to race and you mentally kicked yourself. 

This was Luke Patterson, the same boy who you had hated ever since Julie had first introduced him to you. 

The boy who was so self centered he couldn’t handle things not being about him.

The boy who you fought with every single time you saw him. 

He lent closer and you froze. Was he going to kiss you? 

“I- I give up.” You stuttered, jumping out of his lap and rushing back to your spot. 

“I knew you’d chicken out.” Luke sung, a smug look on his face. 

You were silent, and Luke’s cocky grin fell, concern flicking through his eyes for a brief moment. 

“Hey Julie, it’s getting late, everyone needs to go home.” Ray said, stepping into the studio and you stood up quickly, rushing to grab your bag as the others stood up slowly. 

“You sure you don’t wanna stay the night Y/N?” Julie asked as you flung your bag onto your back. You nodded.

“Yeah I’m sure, my mum would kill me.” You said, and she nodded understandingly. 

“Can I walk you home?” Luke blurted out, and everyone turned to look at him in shock. He shrugged. 

“What? I may hate her guts but I still don’t want her to be murdered on the way home.” He said, and you could have sworn you saw a slight blush on his cheeks.

“No it’s fine, my house is just around the corner, Alex or Reggie can walk me.” You replied, glancing at your two friends. 

“Yeah I can-” Reggie stopped, noticing the glare that Luke was shooting him. “Actually sorry Y/N, I really have to get home quickly before my parents realise I was gone.” 

“Alex?” You tried. The blond boy shook his head. 

“Sorry babe, Willie and I are heading in the complete opposite direction.” Alex shot you a sympathetic look. You sighed, turning your attention to Luke. 

“Fine, let’s go Patterson.” You said, giving in. 

Luke followed behind you as you left the garage and headed out onto the street, walking in silence for a few minutes before you decided to speak up.

“So what’s your motive?” You asked. Luke frowned.

“My what?” He asked.

“Why are you walking me home? You said yourself you hate my guts.” 

“Can’t I just be a good friend?” He tried. You rolled your eyes.

“We’re not friends.” You reminded him. He shrugged as you turned heading down your street.

“Okay.” He replied simply. You stopped in front of your house, spinning on your heels to look at him.

“So?” You questioned. He hesitated, his normally confident aura gone. He opened his mouth to speak but decided against it, instead taking a step towards you. You looked up, your eyes meeting his, and your heart skipped a beat when you noticed the lust in his eyes.

“Luke.” You muttered quietly, and suddenly your back was pressed against the front wall of your house, his lips on yours.

Your brain short circuited. No one had ever kissed you with that much passion before.

You kissed him back with just as much force, the lust and alcohol clouding your better judgement.

He pulled away to take a breath and you wordlessly grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him towards your front door. You reached into your bag to find your keys, Luke’s lips on your neck sucking hard enough that you were definitely going to have a few marks to cover in the morning. You got the door unlocked and you kicked it open, spinning around to capture Luke’s lips with your own again, kissing him as you dragged him into your house.

“Are your family home?” He questioned breathlessly as he pulled away. You nodded.

“Just mum.” You told him as you lead him up the stairs, him trailing behind you like a lost puppy. “But she doesn’t care if I bring people home to fuck as long as we’re safe.”

You reached your bedroom door and opened it, shoving Luke inside before shutting and locking the door behind you.

He roughly shoved you against the door, lips connecting once more in a passionate kiss full of tongues and roaming hands.

You kicked off your shoes and began to strip down, your lips never once leaving his, and he did he same. You briefly pulled apart for him to remove his shirt, but once it was off his lips were back on yours again.

“Fuck.” He groaned, as your naked bodies pressed against each other.

“Speaking of, can you please?” You teased, pushing off the wall and placing your hands on his shoulders, leading him to your bed.

You gave him a light shove so that he fell backwards, and you climbed on top of him, straddling his waist, almost moaning at the feeling of his hard dick slipping between your folds.

“God Y/L/N.” Luke groaned as you began to move your hips, grinding into his boner.

“Shut up.” You told him.

He flipped you over, pinning you against your bed, his hand coming up to grab at your neck, choking you slightly.

You moaned loudly, not even caring that your mother might hear. She’d know in the morning by the marks littering your body.

“You like that? You like it when I choke you?” Luke questioned, placing a bit more pressure on your neck but not enough to hurt you or constrict your airways. 

“Fuck, yes.” You moaned in response.

“Of course you do, you dirty little whore.” His words made you even wetter, hips bucking up for some kind of contact.

“Patterson please just fuck me.” You groaned. He smirked.

“If you say so.” He sat up, hands running down your sides, before hesitating slightly.

“Do you have...” He paused, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

“Are you clean?” You questioned. He nodded. “Me too. Just fuck me.”

“But what about-” He started.

“I’m on the pill.” You cut him off. “Please Luke.”

He smirked.

“I think you need to beg a bit more.” He teased. 

“Fuck me right now or you’ll be jerking off in the street alone.” You threatened.

“Jesus princess, no need to be so pushy.” He said as he lined up his dick with your hole, pushing in roughly causing you to gasp.

“Fuck.” You exclaimed. He barely gave you time to adjust before he was pounding into you again, causing the both of you to swear loudly.

“Again.” You stuttered out, and he obeyed, slamming into you again.

“That feels so good.” You groaned.

“Oh yeah?” He smirked, repeating his actions to see your reaction.

“Yes you cocky bastard.” You spat, and he grinned.

“Fuck you.” He said.

“Please.” You bit back. He grinned, before beginning to thrust hard, creating a rhythm. His hand went back to your throat again, pressing down causing you to moan loudly.

“Fuck if you keep this up I won’t last.” You groaned. He bit his lip as he continued to pound into you.

“Me neither.” He admitted. He sped up his pace, the room filled with the sounds of slapping skin and your breathless moans.

“Fuck, I’m close.” He said, and you felt the familiar feeling pooling in your stomach.

“Me too.” You said. He glanced at you, seemingly hesitant to say something.

“What?” You questioned.

He bit his lip.

“Could you... tell me that I’m doing good?” He questioned, somewhat shyly.

“You have a praise kink?” You asked.

“Maybe...” He replied quietly.

“God Luke this feels so good. You feel so good.” You moaned, smirking at his reaction.

“Okay yes, I have a praise kink.” He admitted, squeezing your throat slightly as a warning not to tease him. You gasped.

“Yes Luke. So good.” You praised, and he moaned slightly.

“I’m gonna cum.” He said between moans.

“Ugh yes, fill me with your hot cum like the good boy you are.” You moaned, and he came undone, hips stuttering as he came inside you. The feeling of his cum coating your insides was enough to set you off too, your walls clenching around him as you came hard.

“I hate you.” You moaned.

“I hate you more.” He replied breathily.

You rode out your highs together and he pulled out, flopping down next to you.

“Mind if I stay the night?” He asked softly. You hesitated.

“No, I don’t mind.” You eventually decided. You turned your head to look at the boy next to you, his hair stuck to his head with sweat, and you suddenly realised that maybe you didn’t hate Luke Patterson as much as you thought you did.

You forced yourself to get up and clean off in the bathroom before climbing back into bed still naked with Luke.

He snuggled into your side and you pressed a soft kiss to his head, an oddly intimate gesture to someone you had claimed to hate up until an hour or so ago.

“Goodnight Y/N.” Luke whispered softly, his voice full of sleep.

“Goodnight Luke.” You replied, and with that the two of you drifted off to sleep, until the next morning when a shout woke you from your slumber.

“Oh my god did you two fuck?” Alex’s voice startled you, and you groaned, pulling the covers up over your head.

You were never going to live this one down.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Walk Me Home

Summary: Jared is hosting a small dinner party and introduces his new co-star to his old one where they seem to hit it off...

Pairing: Jensen x reader

Square: Quote B “Tell me what I can do to help”

Word Count: 2,600ish

Warnings: language, small accident, mention of smut

A/N: Enjoy! Written for @supernatural-jackles​ Tell Me A Story Bingo!

________

“Hey, sorry I was late,” said a guy ducking in through the front door. You turned your head from where you sat at the counter with Jared, the two of you talking with Gen while they cooked dinner. He smiled when he saw you and you watched the slightly curious look spread across his face. “Hi, I’m Jensen.”

“Y/N,” you said, shaking his hand as he stepped over. 

“Oh wow,” he said, looking past you to Jared. You raised an eyebrow and he shook his head. “Sorry, I’m...frazzled right now. You’re gonna be in Walker, right? Jared’s told me a little about you.”

“Yeah. I’ll be playing Kit, Walker’s kid sister,” you said. “Have some bourbon, relax a little.”

“Bourbon? I like her. She can hang out with us,” said Jensen as he walked around the island, getting a glass from the cabinet like he knew where everything was. “Kid sister huh? How many siblings Walker got anyways?”

“Well, I can’t spoil anything but just the two. Not that I’m getting sister of the year award,” you laughed. Gen was smiling as she worked over a pot and Jared excused himself to help her with something. Jensen used some of the orange peel you’d cut up and put it in his drink and took a long sip. “You like it? I can’t cook so I figured I’d bring some booze and dessert.”

“This is good,” he said. “Really good. I want some for myself. Also, did I hear dessert?”

“I made pull apart pumpkin cinnamon bread. It’s like a cinnamon roll but bigger,” you said.

“You and me are gonna get along great,” he chuckled. He moved around the island and stood on the end just to your right, looking you over quickly. “What have you been in? I’ve not heard of you before.”

“Not much. I did one commercial when I was twenty and I was an extra in a TV show about two years after that. I haven’t had my break through yet. Well, until now. This is...this is huge. I’m kind of terrified to be honest.”

“I worked with him for a very long time,” said Jensen, nodding to the far end of the kitchen. “It’s gonna be a good set, good environment. A few people from our old crew are gonna be working on Walker. You’re gonna fit right in no problem.”

“I hope so,” you said. “Jared’s really been great. He even answered all these questions I had about moving down here and areas and stuff when he didn’t have to. He and Gen have been really amazing. I think I’ll be okay.”

“You’ll be fine. He must like you,” he said.

“Oh I’m just...single and know zero people here,” you said. “I might get a dog? I think my apartment allows them.”

“Well now you know me too,” he smirked, taking a sip. “Or getting to know at the very least.”

“So what were you doing?” you asked. He cocked his head and you smiled. “Being late and all.”

“Who says I was late?” he said, smiling back. “Just frazzled. Also late but mostly frazzled.”

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“Not your fault. My ex was claiming she left something at my house. I was oh so thrilled to see her and her husband there to pick it up,” he said.

“Oh. She moved on fast, huh?”

“She started to see him before we were quite done. He’s an idiot that thinks she’s amazing and he’s richer than me so she’s happy. That’s all she wanted. Wish I’d figured that out in the first place. Glad we never married though,” he said. He shrugged but he didn’t seem too upset by it. He finished off his drink and poured another. “Where are you staying?”

“I’m renting a house just north of the city in some suburb. Jared said there’s nothing to the east and the south ain’t great and I can’t afford west so, north it was,” you said.

“North’s not bad. Your commute shouldn’t be too bad. You got a driver or you taking yourself?”

“Myself. I’m not the star or anything.”

“It doesn’t have to do with that. You work a late night, call an uber. Hell call me. Better than getting in an accident,” he said. “By second season, you’ll be making enough to afford one.”

“Assuming I get on in the second season,” you said. You quickly shut your lips, Jared chuckling to himself.

“Jensen worked for the same company for a long time. Don’t worry about your non-disclosure agreement with him,” said Jared. “Y/N might get killed off at the end of the season. We’re not sure yet.”

“This may or may not have an impact on our friendship,” you said with a laugh.

“Oh, come on, Jare. Look at that face. You really gonna kill her off?” said Jensen, turning you towards Jared. You saw Jensen pout and put on one of your own.

“I told you getting those two together would be a good thing,” said Gen. Jared rolled his eyes but bit his bottom lip.

“The powers at be haven’t made up their minds yet. I’d personally love it but storyline might get changed which I’m okay with. If fans love you, I’ll get my way,” said Jared. “You guys want to head out to the patio? We’re almost done cooking.”

“We can help,” you said, Jared shaking his head.

“We got it,” he said. You shrugged and followed Jensen out a back door to a covered patio area and took a seat at the table.

“He’s up to something,” chuckled Jensen. “Not sure what yet.”

“They’re just playing good host,” you said.

“Nah, those two are scheming. I can tell,” he teased. He took the seat beside you and leaned back in his chair.

“You check me out a lot,” you said. He quickly looked at his glass and made a small shrugging motion. “You like me?”

“I don’t know. I barely know you,” he said, still averting your gaze. 

“I didn’t mean to make you shy. I’m not opposed to you checking me out. I just wasn’t expecting it. I heard you were dating someone,” you said.

“Rumor. Put it out there so people would leave me alone,” he said. “I’m not shy around you either, you know.”

“Alright.”

“At first I am with most people. I mean, I can act like the life of the party and like the coolest guy in the room.”

“Act would be the key word there,” you said, taking a sip from your glass.

“Yeah well, most people put up some kind of front with strangers or people they don’t know that well.”

“Very true. I do it myself,” you said.

“So like I said, I ain’t shy.”

“Like I said, shy boy is attracted to me. When the confident boy that is really a shy boy is interested, laid back girl will become confident flirty girl very quickly if you understand,” you said.

“Are you saying you’re attracted to me?”

“Yeah,” you said. “Considering you’re attracted to me, I don’t see how this is a problem.”

“You are something else,” he said, some of his confidence returning.

“Yes I-” you said, Jared walking out with his phone to his ear. He looked worried and you both put your full attention on him.

“Shep just fell. He and Tom were jumping off the bunk bed and…” said Jared. “Looks like he might have broken his arm.”

“Is he okay?” you asked, Jensen echoing the sentiment. 

“Yeah. We just…”

“Tell me what I can do to help,” you said.

“Everybody relax,” said Jensen as he stood up. “You guys take Shep to get taken care of. Y/N and I will watch the other munchkins.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Dinner’s in the pot on the stove. Eat it up. No need to waste it.”

“Text us to let us know how it goes,” you said.

“Sure thing. I owe you guys one,” he said.

“No, you don’t. Go,” said Jensen. You both ducked back inside and five minutes later they were gone. Tom was feeling pretty bad about what happened but Jensen gave him a talk and put him to bed while you packed away some leftovers for Jared and Gen.

“How’s he doing?” you asked, sticking the tupperware in the fridge.

“He’ll be alright. Wasn’t his fault. They were just being kids,” he said. He helped you find the plates and you dished yourself up the rest of the food, eating at the kitchen counter quietly. “That was nice of you, to be so concerned.”

“They’ve been nothing but kind to me. Besides, it’s a kid,” you said. “I don’t mind staying.”

“You don’t have to. They’re both fast asleep. I can stay until they get back.”

“I said I’d stay. I’m gonna stay,” you said. He licked his lips and hummed, cleaning up his plate before you.

“Say you had a point earlier. I’m not saying you did but hypothetically speaking,” he said.

“Go on.”

“Say my frazzledness was because when I saw you, my head sort of short-circuited, hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically,” you said, finishing with your food.

“Say that happened and say you were good with that, happy about that...where exactly would this go seeing as I hypothetically have never been the hook up guy. Never actually done it but I’m now questioning it for the first time. Hypothetically, what’d your response to that be?”

“Well, if that were the case,” you said as you took your plate and put it in the dishwasher, “I would tell you not to hookup with me simply for the fact that sex for you is very likely part of being in a relationship and something you do when you feel comfortable with a person which I completely respect and understand. I wouldn’t want you to change how you treat sex just for me. Hypothetically.”

“But what if I said I’d never felt that kind of attraction to anyone before, at any stage in a relationship, not to that level. Not that floor you kind of overwhelming sensation.”

“I would tell you the attraction is reciprocated and while I would very much like to see what you are capable of and what we’re capable of doing together, I would tell you that you’re not the hookup guy and you’re not about to start being one. You should continue to have sex with your romantic partners and that’s all. It means more to you. A hookup will leave a sour taste in your mouth and I’d rather we don’t think of each other like that seeing as we’ll likely be spending more time together.”

“It’s not just physical you know. It’s that, it’s that logic and that kindness and compassion.”

“I get it. I would. I really, really would. But I’m breaking your record. I don’t want to be the girl that breaks that record, Jensen.”

“If we dated though, that’s different.”

“I don’t date to get sex.”

“Neither do I.”

“So you want to date?” you asked. He leaned back against the counter and smiled to himself. “It’s an easy question.”

“I wanted to date you the second I saw you but that comes off as a little strong,” he said. 

“I personally believe it’s important that people click when it comes to dating and relationships,” you said.

“So is there a click?” he asked. You walked in front of him and smiled, bringing your lips just an inch away from his. 

“There’s a click but there’s got to be something else,” you said, Jensen’s lips parting. “After my last failed relationship and it sounds like yours too, it’s important.”

“What’s that?” he asked quietly, not moving an inch.

“I want to be friends with my next boyfriend, someday when I find whoever I’m gonna be with. It’s always miserable when you’re not friends,” you said.

“Who says you didn’t just meet your best friend for the rest of your life tonight,” he said.

“Now that’s a strong statement,” you said.

“It is. I don’t like the sentiment though that there’s gonna be a somebody else after me. I’m not filling time with this,” he said.

“Neither am I,” you said.

“Good,” he said. He leaned in a hair closer and his lips tugged up into a grin. “I’m going to heat up that pumpkin roll you brought and then play video games while not kissing you. I’d be very happy if you joined in.”

“Tease,” you said. You took a step back and went to the container you brought. “Can you preheat the oven for me?”

“Sure thing,” he said. “It looks amazing.”

“It’s not the only thing,” you said, flashing him a wink.

“I see how it’s gonna go.”

“You started it,” you said.

“Yes, yes I did. Now how high do you need it?”

Four Hours Later

“Thanks again guys,” said Jared as you and Jensen stepped outside.

“It was no problem. We saved dinner and dessert for you guys in the fridge,” said Jensen. 

“I’ll make something for Shep and drop it by. He like chocolate?” you asked.

“Yeah, he loves it. You really don’t have-”

“Jared, like Jensen said, it’s all good. We’ll see you,” you said.

“Alright, alright,” he said. “Tell me when you two get together.”

“Already late on that one,” said Jensen with a smirk. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“You better. Night guys. And take her home like a gentleman,” said Jared.

“Yeah, yeah. Night,” said Jensen. Jared locked up and you wandered over to your car, Jensen smiling as he stood by his truck. “So I guess this is good night.”

“It could be a good night,” you said as you started to yawn. “Maybe tomorrow though.”

“Tomorrow maybe,” he smirked. “Text me when you get home.”

“Why?”

“Cause I worry about my friends,” he said. “Please?”

“Alright. So...tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow night,” he said. “Maybe I can cook you dinner. Bring a bathing suit, we could go for a dip in the pool maybe.”

“Maybe,” you smirked back. “I’ll see you tomorrow Jensen.”

“You too. Oh and Y/N? Might want to sleep in tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I got a feeling you’re gonna be up late tomorrow night,” he said, winking at you.

“Oh really? We’ll have to see how a good a cook you are first.”

“I guess we will. Drive safe, Y/N,” he said, voice soft and sweet.

“You too, Jensen. You too.”

_______

[roswellnmsource]

Michael Trevino Talks The CW’s ‘Roswell, New Mexico’

So first off, what was your reaction to finding out you’d be doing that time jump this season? Michael Trevino: For Kyle, I think jumping — I mean yeah, time has passed, right? And I think whenever you start a new season, we always ask that. We’re like, “Well, how much time has passed? Where are we starting from? Has as my character been here, been there?” So this is one of those seasons where yes, time has passed, kind of a restart, reboot and it’s fresh. I think our first episodes were showing people in their different dynamics and kind of briefly alluded to what they’ve been up to, and that’s always nice.

I had the chance to see episode nine early and really enjoyed it. What can you preview for the fans about what this episode has in store for them? I feel that episode nine is a turning point for Kyle. Kyle, as we all know, is there for everybody, whenever he can be. He seems to be the one that they go to. He’s always putting out fires, I keep saying that but it’s true. Whenever there’s a problem, Kyle’s there for you. And I think this episode is kind of where — not that he’s reached a limit, but it’s taken a toll on him and we get a very frustrated, little angsty Kyle for good reason, I feel. I think that that frustration is a bit earned after everything, but we are going to find out in 3×09, as we’ve been finding out, a bit more about who Jim Valenti was, who was Kyle’s father, who is Eduardo, what is Deep Sky about, and it’s going to kind of jumpstart Kyle for the rest of the season. It’s a big episode for him because he finally makes a decision on, “Okay, enough is enough. This is how I feel about this and this is what we’re doing next.”

How was it for you to play with that sort of stroyline as an actor? As you said, it is such an important point for him. Well, I gotta be honest, I just saw the episode and I’m coming in hot! I’m coming in real hot and in the moment I didn’t think it was that hot, but damn, we’re there. And so I think it’s fine because I get a lot of feedback, which is great, that Kyle is such a good guy and “I like his character, he’s there for everybody.” That’s nice, right? So I feel like after three seasons of that, to see Kyle a bit over it with what’s going on and everything that he’s being told, new information, more new information, I think it works. For me, you try to find those moments of like, “Okay, can I keep being there for everybody,” or at some point I’m going to be like, “Okay, I’m done,” right? Or “I can only do this much.” He’s never going to turn his back on people, but in this episode we see him a little frustrated.

Fans love the show, what does it mean to you when you go on social media or meet fans in person and hear their response to your work? It’s great. It’s a beautiful feeling because we’re currently filming season four and that’s rare for a series to really last that long, to build these characters, and to still have these interesting storylines. So, to know that people are still engaged in these characters and the story that we’re telling, they’re still tuning in, it’s nice. What makes it even more special this season is because we’re watching season three right now, but we’re currently at the same time filming season four. Through the scheduling it just worked out that way, but it’s almost instant feedback and it’s also an instant reminder of “Okay, where have we been? What have we done?” So we feel closer to the story, which is great for us as actors, but sometimes it’s not that way. You’ll see something and be like, “Oh yeah, we shot that a year ago. Where am I coming from? Where are we headed,” and you want to track these stories but right now I’m just thankful for everybody that’s continuing to watch and who’s invested in these characters.

The show was picked up for a season four ahead of season three even premiering, which was so amazing to see. What was your reaction when you heard the news? I was genuinely surprised because usually you don’t get a pickup until at least the season has aired or the season is four or five episodes in, but I guess because in the year COVID and the delay, the network was able to see all these episodes and see the ones that we’ve done already. It’s great feedback. I think that we have something special happening here in Santa Fe, New Mexico with this crew, this cast, and our writers back in LA, who are back to visiting us on set per their episode. Everybody’s still invested. It’s a great feeling because we’re all here, we’re happy to be here, grateful to be telling these stories and working, and we’d like to continue.

What has been your favorite storyline of the season so far that fans have already seen? I think — okay, well, to answer that on what we’ve already seen, I did like and enjoy the scenes with Kyle and Michael. Those were fun to shoot. I get along great with Mr. Michael Vlamis and it’s always fun to be in scenes with him because, as we know, Michael Guerin is a bit of a wild card. With that, Mr. Michael Vlamis on the day is able to be a little bit unpredictable and I like that. I like performing with him and feeding off of what he’s bringing. He always keeps it fresh and new in each take. So, I like those scenes with him

I know you can’t tell me too much, but what can you tease about the rest of season three? The rest of season three, I feel now that Jones is really flexing on us, we have this bit of the Avengers assembling right in Roswell, like everybody having to come together, everybody has a job, and it’s to really take care of Jones and get him out of here. So I think that’s really what the rest of these episodes are going to be about.

I love that metaphor you did. It’s perfect. It really is because it’s like from season one to season three, we’re all separate. Now, it’s like, “Okay, we have to join forces to handle this guy.” And that’s what we’re gonna see.

You filmed season three with the COVID pandemic and now you’re filming season four with those safety precautions since the pandemic is still going on. What did it feel like for you to wrap season three with those circumstances, but then also come back for season four? Well, I have to give it to our producers, really, because everybody in the world had to pivot. We all had to make changes in our lives and I think the changes that have been made to keep everybody — crew, catering, casting, post production, accounting, whoever — safe on set, there’s been some different rules and it’s kept everybody safe. I’m proud to say we didn’t have to shut down once in season three. Unfortunately, there’s other productions that had to, but up here in Santa Fe, no. We were just lucky or we followed the rules, I don’t know but we were great and we were able to keep to our schedule, not have to shut down, and now we’re back for season four and we know what to expect. So things are running smoothly and there hasn’t been any problem. I’m just happy, glad, and grateful that we’re able to still tell the stories.

What is your personal favorite dynamic (friendship or relationship) when it comes to Kyle? I’m going to say that I want to see more Kyle and Isobel. I think that Isobel brings out a different side of Kyle whenever they’re in scenes or have interactions with one another. I’d like to lean more into that storyline for whatever it may be, I just want them to have more interaction because I think Kyle acts a different way around her. She’s just such a big ball of energy, so I think that would be fantastic and I would want to see more of that.

I know you’re probably not going to be able to give me too much on this, but I have to ask you, what was your reaction when you read the scripts for season four? Well, my reaction is a kind of going off of my last answer, Kyle ends up having more storyline with Isobel and it’s nice to see that play out. And so far, it’s been refreshing to see them in scenes together. I will tease this: so far in season four, the scenes that are with Kyle and Isobel have a comedic feeling to them. I feel like their scenes are fun and funny to shoot, but there’s a comedic element to it.

Is there any other show that you are personally a fan of and would like to see Roswell, New Mexico do a crossover with? Oh damn, that’s a great question. Off the top of my head, we’re gonna have a Roswell, New Mexico and The X-Files crossover event. This episode is going to air right after the Super Bowl and millions of people are going to watch it. It’s going to be Scully and Mulder pulling up to Roswell, New Mexico and Kyle will be there to greet them.

Is there a memory that sticks out to you as a memorable moment from filming season three? Oh gosh, it’s our season finale, it has to be our season finale. I can’t give away too much, but like I said about as far as Avengers assembling, it’s those scenes when we’re all on set together. It’s the season finale, we’re in Santa Fe in the middle of February and March, it’s freezing, it’s like 10 degrees outside, we’re getting the exterior night shoots that we need, and we’re all in. It’s not even just the cast, it’s the crew, it’s everybody. We’re just trying to get the final shot done of the season and we are working against all the elements. It’s a bit chaotic but it’s organized — organized chaos, that’s what it is. Those feelings are you got to get the job done and that’s what we do. I mean, we all know Jones is the big bad and everybody’s gonna have to get involved to take care of him and we see that in our last episode. Those scenes are really fun to shoot. They were challenging but I think it’s gonna come together well and it’ll be a strong finish for us.

If you could create a tagline or a phrase of your own to describe Kyle as a character, what would you pick? Kyle Valenti: I’m there if you need me.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

This Is Still Marvel, Right?

Summary- 2.5k Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes x Wade Wilson x You. Deadpool the character from the comics is sitting across from the table from you, real right in front of your eyes. Not only is time travel a thing, but dimension travel is as well, and he is here for a very serious reason. Warnings- swears. Written for @what-is-your-backupplan-today​ CATFA 10th Anniversary Challenge. Prompts are highlighted. 

Masterlist

“You came from where?” Sam questioned with a tilt of his head, arms folded across his chest as he raised a quizzical brow at the man in all red. 

“And why the clown suit?” Bucky right next to him asked, trying to make sense of what was going on. 

“I’m from the X-Men verse, you know… bald dude in the wheelchair, Wolvie with butter knife hands, we have our own pigeon boy. Not as sweet as your wings though.” Wade said with a sigh. “And we had a Peter, but the winds… god the winds were too strong. I will never forget you Sugar Bear.” He sobbed in his hand a moment, sniffling a moment. 

You were thoroughly in shock, your jaw was dropped to the floor as Wade mother fucking Wilson sat in the interrogation chair, one leg crossed over the other, his ankle jiggling as he leaned forward on his elbows, planting his chin in his palms as he made an cooing sound at the two men. “Aww, they are so cute when they are confused, aren't they cute? The cutest little puppies.” He went to boop Bucky's nose, but Bucky reared his head back away from his hand and a whir of his hand closed around Wade's wrist, which caused the masked mercenary to gasp out excitedly. 

“THE WINTER SOLDIER ARM, VIBRANIUM UPGRADE. I keep telling Cable he needs this hook up, his isn't nearly as cool as yours. Mister Bucky Barnes Sir, can you sign my suit? I’m a super fan.” the white eyes of his mask widened and you finally managed to close your mouth watching all this.

Whatever this was, you were actually wondering if you weren't in some drugged hallucination right now. Mission gone wrong? You had eaten that turkey sandwich out of the compound fridge, maybe it was drugged and this was someone's payback for stealing their food.

“Come on man.” Sam snapped out, still trying to get a straight answer out of him. Bucky let go of his hand which Wade muttered to himself. 

“I'm never washing this hand, not ever.” He cradled it to his chest. “Just wait till I tell Chrome Dome who shook my hand.” 

“ANSWERS!” Bucky yelled out and Wade gasped at the outburst. Bucky reached over to grasp the mask and yanked it off, grimacing as Wade's appearance showed. Both Sam and Bucky recovered quite quickly, you were still freaking out in the corner and Wade gave a suggestive wink to the two of them. 

“Names Wilson, Wade Wilson. No relation to this saucy stud though.” He eyed Sam up and down with a purr, who scoffed at the sudden attention. “Don't worry, I know that one is crushing on you hard. The chemistry. I won't make a move on you. Winter Soldier though is fair game, eh?” He made a chef’s kiss motion after pointing at you. “So are you two… do you… fondue?” Wade asked, Sam and You looked at each other and made disbelieving faces at one another. “Oh we're not admitting feelings? My bad. I jumped ahead in the comics. So much sexual tension.” Making a donut shape with one hand and a pointer with the other, meshing them together, you could feel your throat close up and Sam’s eyes widen. Bucky was struggling to keep his calm at this point, Sam too. Wade made a motion to stand and get up. 

“Do we have any eats here?” He puts his hand on the handle to open the door and a knife flung through the air, landing right next to his face. Wade paused and turned around. “Here I thought this was still Marvel and not Dc. Tony would have offered me a snack by now.” He grumbled while sitting back down. “A falafel, blueberries, I know he likes to snack, I've seen the movies.” 

You finally got over your shock and went to sit across from him. “Mr.Wilson…” 

He put up a hand. “Pool please, Deadpool. Or Wade. Or you can call me Captain Deadpool. Too much?” He glanced up at Sam and Bucky. “Yea too much, just call me Wade.” 

“Wade.” you started again, trying to figure out how to approach this. “We’re confused, because you are a comic book character.” You pulled up your phone and pulled up a screen clip of his movie. 

Wade gasped and grabbed at your phone, studying it. “Look at that handsome son of a bitch. I'm so glad they picked Ryan Reynolds for the part, he looks just like me.” He held the phone up next to his face. “He’s so good looking, it's the Canadian genes.” Then handed it back, you tucked it away and he leaned forward to toss what looked like a beat up comic book on the table.

“What’s this?” You question, pointing at it.

“A comic book. You guys are just comic book characters and I'm here to fix your story. What? You seriously didn't know you are comic book characters in another universe?” 

“Our story?” You pulled the comic towards you and sure enough plastered on the front was Sam in his Falcon Suit, Bucky with his own gear and you were soaring in the air above slightly out of focus. 

“Yes, your story. Listen Cable, you all know Cable right? He's like a moodier you Buckaroo…” The name caused Bucky to growl a bit, but Wade continued without noticing. “... hooked me up with this cool device. Not like those stones you all have, this is some actual batman kind of future fuckery that I got rigged to not just travel back in time. But other dimensions. Whoo... “ He made wiggly fingers. “It's like magic right? Cool.” 

You were flipping through the pages as fast as possible, skimming the storyline. Amazingly all of it was there, the mission report Nick Fury brought Sam this morning, you and Bucky sparring and how he pinned you against the mat, the heart to heart about how you two missed Steve. 

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose while Bucky looked over your shoulder at the comic book. “I'm getting a headache, or I'm losing it. Did I get hit in the head?” Sam rambled a bit and you got to the end of the comic, seeing that the mission Fury had given you three was completed, successfully. 

“Says there we did just fine.” Bucky said and you closed it before pushing it towards the center of the table. 

“It's not all just fine.” Wade threw up his hands in exasperation and you shook your head so confused. 

“Explain it to us Wade.” You grasped the comic again, flipping through it, scanning the pages as quick as you can. 

“Go to page 53.” He tapped his finger against the steel table and you did, the panel showing you and Sam standing on a roof top about to enter a building from above and Bucky was shown in another panel scaling a building. 

“I don't see it…” you shook your head confused as to what he was talking about and Wade pointed at the bottom, that was just barely in view. A hot dog cart. 

“You are here, from another dimension of life… because of a hot dog cart?” 

Wade nodded firmly. “If we don't protect that hot dog cart, bad things will happen.” His voice lowered, turning shifty. “Spooky stuff… anal stuff.” He shuddered and sat back, staring at the hot dog cart in the bottom of the picture. “If we don't protect that hot dog cart, it causes issues you couldn't even fathom. Another life just poof… what did y’all call it? Spanked out of existence?”

You just automatically corrected him. “Snapped.”

“Spanked sounds better, maybe consider changing it to spanked?” 

Sam cleared his throat. “You traveled through dimensions to get here so we could save a hot dog cart? I'm just- trying to keep it all straight. This isn't entirely the weirdest thing I have heard, but it's close.” 

Bucky scoffed. “I say this guy needs some help, maybe his brain got scrambled like mine.” 

“Nah, I didn't get the mind trip you did. I was tortured by a guy named Francis.” Wade snorted gleefully. “Called himself Ajax, like the dish soap!” Slapping his knee, he busted out laughing heavily, starting to cry. 

You rubbed at your face and looked over your shoulder. “I think we should trust him guys. What if what he says is true? We’ve dealt with crazy shit before.” 

“You can't be serious Y/N.” Bucky shook his head and Sam looked doubtful. Wade giggled as he wiped a tear from his eye, pointing a finger at you. 

“I like you, you're the smart one here I can tell.” 

You all turned to Sam who hadn't said anything yet. He sighed and rubbed at his face a bit, before finally saying under his breath. “I'm never going to hear the end of this… Lets take him.” 

Wade did a fist pump in victory, leaping up to grab his mask back from Bucky. “X-Force Ass-” You were quick to cover his mouth, leaving the “-emble” garbled. 

“He's going to get us killed, Wilson.” 

“I said to call me Deadpool or Captain Deadpool.” 

“I WAS TALKING TO HIM!” Bucky jerked his thumb at Sam, gritting his teeth while he yanked open the door and left the room. Deadpool followed after him, the next thing you heard was Bucky hollar. “I'm going to kick your ass Prick.” 

“Will you? You're making me all excited. Like a fairy making a little girl's wishes come true, I feel like I could fly.” 

Then you and Sam heard something loud crack and Wade’s cooing grew fainter. “Nice boots, Tinkerbell!” 

You snatched the comic book and stuffed it in your back pocket. “Uh we probably better go stop Bucky. It's pointless for him to try to kill Wade and will just tire himself out.” 

Sam opened the door, holding it open for you. “Should we really take that away from him?” 

“True and it sounds like Wade is having himself a fan moment anyways and doesn't care.” You stepped out to see Bucky and Wade tangled together wrestling.

Just as the comic stated, You and Sam were able to go in from the top. You could see Bucky below you using rigging to scale the building. Down further below you could see a red dot pushing a hot dog cart down the street well out of harm. Speaking into the comm’s, your wings folded to pull you into a spiral, spinning towards the roof. “Wade’s got the cart moved, and were clear to enter.” 

There was a grunt in the comms and Bucky's voice crackled through. “Well damn, I'm glad the hot dog cart is safe… for reasons spanning an entire dimension that we still don't know.” 

“Who are we to question it, Bucky? I mean, we’ve seen some pretty strange shit.” You stated as Sam landed next to you, shooting at the door and ducking inside together. “Maybe this is just another one to add to the pile.” 

Silence descended on the group as you each made to fulfill the mission. Once the building was clear and the three of you were working on exiting, Wade was waiting on the roof, sitting on the edge eating a hot dog and had three more lined up next to him. “I brought you all lunch, you guys do that sort of thing right? Good Mission? yes I bet. Buckaroo has the happy murder gleam in his eyes.” He took another bite of his hot dog and chewed while studying Bucky closely. 

“Don't do that.” Bucky shuddered a bit and Wade proceeded to pop the last bite into his mouth and chewed slowly while rolling the bottom half of his mask down. 

“Do what Buckaroo?” 

“Stare at me or call me Buckaroo.” 

“While eating a hot dog? Only way to properly eat one. I know you love it James. Well my mission here is done.” He pushed off the ledge to give you a hug and handed you a manilla envelope. “This is for you, it explains everything. Toodleloo Kiddies, it was fun knowing you. Oh and if you see Hugh Jackman on the street, tell him his coffee sucks and bitch slap the prick.” He jumped back on the ledge and looked over the edge. “Oh this is gonna kill my knees but this is a true superhero moment. Wait for it…” He gave you all a salute and stepped over, plummeting down. Sam and Bucky rushed the edge, looking over. 

You knew better, a superhero landing wouldn't kill him. 

“NAILED IT!” you three barely heard, then in a flash of sparks, Deadpool was gone. 

“I thought for sure he was going to pancake down there.” Bucky said with a hint of sadness and Sam shook his head. 

“We gotta get out of here before we're caught and get this back to Fury.” Sam held up a chip that held the actual intel of the mission. 

You silently agreed and together the three of you made your way off the building and back home. 

Afterwards once you were back in the tower and changing out of your suit, you glanced at the manilla envelope Wade left you. 

Sitting down on the bench, you opened it and peeked in. What looked like another comic book was in there as well as a letter. Pulling out the letter, you scanned it. 

~To the Super Duper Trio, 

Thank you for believing me. It was crucial. We're not the only comic book verse out there living our lives. Sometimes they cross intersect in ways that I can't explain, go find the wizard, he can tell you more about it. Also ask him to your next party, because he can do the COOLEST TRICKS. But if you take out the comic book enclosed you will see on page 23 there is a hot dog cart as well as a familiar looking dork named Jake Jensen. Alias- Capt Jensen. 

Perhaps your Captain is alive in some way, the DC universe having changed him to a loveable, cat hating, Petunias loving, super smart idiot.

Tell Birdman thanks for the vote of confidence, caw caw mother fucker.

Tell Buckaroo he forgot to sign my suit, I will be back. He is my favorite after all. 

And what I wanna tell you is take care of those idiots so they dont kill each other. 

With Love, 

Captain Deadpool

Ps- Yes Cap’s as awkward with women in DC as he was in Marvel. 

Pss- Welcome to X-Force! I will be in touch. 

You pulled out the comic book and glanced at the cover seeing six people staring down, the title of the comic- The Losers. Flipping to the page, you found a photograph tucked in between the pages, showing another version of the page. One where the street looked demolished and a man lying crumbled by a cart. Also a familiar hot dog cart leaned on its side, demolished. 

Setting the picture aside, now you glanced over this panel to see the same man making a show of pulling out a crossbow, the bubble above his head with the words “That’s right, bitches, I got a crossbow!” 

The scene didn't really surprise you that much, more like the character now alive in the comic looked just like Steve. 

A thinner version, he had facial hair, and the entire get up was never anything Steve would have willingly worn. 

But it looked just like Steve Rogers and for the second time that day your jaw dropped. 

Maybe Wade Wilson was right, after all… 

Nothing was off limits and stranger things have happened.

[takenbyheartstrings]

Yes, I’m Changing | Corpse x reader

pairing: Corpse x fem!reader

summary: as y/n infiltrates Corpse’s life and his life, he seems to be happier and more alive.

warnings: mentions of anxiety and depression, crying, fluff, angst and more fluff.

request: hello can i please request a corpse x reader where the reader and corpse meet and instantly become best friends and he starts to get happier around her and get a little less anxious - maybe like she’s his saviour? idk, also could you please make her voice the complete opposite of corpse himself? tysm 🤍🤍

a/n: tysm for requesting! i hope this lives upto your expectations ^-^ OBVIOUSLY most of this is made up - and i’m talking about the Leslie and Corpse storyline - so please don’t come @ me S,JDFNKJSDNF

alSO KINDA SHORT IM SORRY

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

You sighed as you logged onto discord ready for your stream, your setup was your favourite colour, so you clicked on your webcam with a smile and clicked to start the stream. People soon started to flood in.

“Hey guys!” You smiled taking a drink of water, “Welcome to the stream, we’re playing Among Us today with Rae and Sykkuno and a few more new friends! I think Corpse is coming to play with us, I’m excited to meet him!”

You quickly joined the discord call, Ludwig, Rae, Sykunno, Toast, Leslie, Poki, Felix and Sean had already joined, so as soon as I joined that was 9/10 of the lobby.

“Hey guys!” You giggled happily.

“Hey Y/n!” They all greet you happily, as you adjust your headphones on your head, pulling your mic a tad bit closer.

Soon one more person joined the discord call, “Hey,” a deep yet soothing voice speaks up.

“Woah.” You mutter quickly realising your mic discord isn’t muted.

Corpse laughs, you two were the only one’s in the lobby who didn’t know each other, “I’m Corpse, and you must be y/n.” You can hear his smile through the screen, “Big fan.”

Your face flushes red and chat takes notice, “Yes, that is me, I am y/n, and I, personally am very excited to meet you!” You cheer, trying to keep your cool.

“Holy shit guys.” Rae chuckles, “Their voices are complete opposite - it’s like the angel and the devil.”

“Hmmm maybe,” You perk up, “I guess I’d be the devil then.”

Corpse chuckles at your comment as the round starts as you smile because of his laugh, proud of yourself that you made the man, the myth, the legend, Corpse Husband laugh.

That was a year and a half ago.

You knocked on the door tugging on your grey sweater as he opened the door quickly, letting you in, before pulling off his mask as soon as the door had closed behind you. Corpse smiled at you as you hurried inside placing Grocery bags on the kitchen counter.

The two of you decided to rent a place together in LA to be closer to your friends and open up a new line of opportunities. Well, that’s how you pitched it to your best friend.

Anyway, it was game night at the Corpse x Y/n residence, last week was at Sykkuno’s house where you all played What Do You Meme, now it was yours and Corpse’s turn. Playing Cards Against Humanity because they all knew you guys had the largest collection of cards. You quickly set out everything on the table as Corpse just admired you from the couch.

“You could help, y’know.” You glared at him as he sat there watching you.

Corpse pretended to think about it, “Well, if I try to help you’re just gonna push me away and do everything yourself anyway.” He smirks - he’s right. You know he is. He knows he is. Everyone know’s he is. You’re a control freak.

You huff, “So what?”

“So what?” Corpse lets out the loudest laugh he can, “Last time you almost broke my finger!!”

You pause, before leaving it at that, Corpse just chuckles as he sits there, you finish in no less than ten minutes, “It’s gonna be fine.”

“Never said I wasn’t.” You retort.

Corpse looks at you, “I know you better than anyone, y/n.” It’s gonna be okay.

And he was right, the night went great. Everyone was smiling and laughing and having fun. It was a night to remember, mostly because Rae almost got blackout drunk and Toast and Sykkuno had to take her home early. But she’d just laugh it off in the morning after you call her and make sure she’s okay.

Corpse stands up, “Anyone need a drink?” He questions, as everyone shake’s their heads. Leslie actually changes her mind and follows him around the corner to a small kitchen.

A lot of people wouldn’t have known this, but Lesilie and Corpse met way before he met Felix or anyone current. She looks at him with a soft smile as she watches him get her a drink from the fancy fridge they have in their house.

“What?” Corpse questions noticing Leslie’s look.

Leslie chuckles, “You love her, dude,” She sighs before he can protest it, “Don’t try to say that I’m wrong either. She’s changed you, you’re slightly happier now, you’re making your way up there, she lifts your spirits every single day and you should see the way you fucking look at her, because I know you don’t know. You love her dude and she loves you too, think about it.”

Leslie leaves the kitchen as her and Edison are the only ones left in the house, it was kinda sad to see it without people in it but you smiled regardless. “That was really fun tonight, thanks Corpse!”

Corpse smiles as you do, “Always. But I’m super beat, gonna try and get some sleep.” In reality, he wasn’t. He was just gonna think about what Leslie said all night.

She was right. You loved him. But you couldn’t tell him that because 99.9% of the time they didn’t reciprocate those feelings back. She had learned not to try with love anymore. So you were sitting in bed that night thinking about a life where you had something good. You had love and comfort. Though you felt it was never going to happen.

Corpse was doing the same - he didn’t take the shots because he was scared. He thinks about her. All the fuckin’ time. How he’s so glad she joined that lobby. Leslie was right she made him happier. She made his life better. Way fucking better. He thought about a life with her, that it would be so good to call her his girlfriend. Never have to see her with another guy again - because yes. He was jealous of all the one’s she’d bring home after a night out with her friends. But she didn’t know they would come out and he’d scare them off.

He didn’t know he was doing that - not intentionally.

Your music fades out of your head as you try to fall asleep to it, but it fails coming back into earshot. You turn to the opposite side of the music. You tossed and turned before standing up out of bed. You had to do it. You had to tell him how you feel and you had to do it now. Something made you compelled to do it. Something made you need to do it.

You opened your bedroom door stepping out of it quickly walking down the hall over to Corpse’s room. 

Your anxiety started to spike, you could feel tears on the brims of your eyes - you were starting to overthink.

“What if he doesn’t love me back”

“What if he’s in love with someone else”

Corpse was having the same spike of anxiety, as he started to overthink feeling his stomach - his gut churn. He knew he had to tell you. No matter how anxious he was, he was willing to take that 50/50 chance. You were practically speed walking, and so was he. The two of you ran into each other, falling onto the floor opposite of each other, your hands catching you, breaking your fall. You yelped before you both chuckled and Corpse helped you up. The two of you hadn’t realise how close you were until Corpse spoke and you could feel the warmth of his breath and minty toothpaste on your face.

“Corpse I- I need to tell you something.” He stopped you.

“No- I do.”

“Corpse I have to tell you!”

“Y/N I LOVE YOU!” Corpse yells pulling away from you as he starts to pace, “I can’t go a day without missing you - I can’t go a day without you here. I crumble, I fall apart. You make me happier, nobody’s done that before. You are a light to my life, you are my sun, you are everything to me and I don’t know how to live without you - how to function. You went to VidCon for three days and I fell apart completely. I. Love. You.”

At this point Corpse didn’t know what he was saying. He was just going with his gut. You sat there shocked. You just smiled at him after a while. You ran towards him and jumped into his arms pressing a kiss to his lips and then pressing them all over the rest of his face.

He was relieved to say the least - probably guessing this is what you were going to tell him and he loved that - he could finally love you.

He carried you to his bedroom, which would soon be the two of yours as it was larger in size and fell asleep comfortably in each others arms as the warmth of Corpse’s body radiated onto yours. His arms around you, holding you to never let you go. To never get hurt. To protect you from all the bad in the world.

The two of your feelings were finally at peace. It was a beautiful masterpiece called love. You changed Corpse for the better and he changed you for it too. You both lived in perfect harmony with each other. It was a comfort you had never truely felt before - same to him. Something that the both of you never wanted to let go of. Let alone each other.