#yes I know it's fatigue for different reasons

[thebibliosphere]

Dysautonomia is so annoying. I'm trying so hard to be good about getting more calories and eating consistent meals (take that executive dysfunction), but as soon as I eat, my body needs to lie down.

Like, what's that girl? Little Timmy fell down a well? We need to use the digestive system? Better shut down the rest of the body. Energy for productivity? Hahaha, bless your soul. No. No, we won't be doing that. Nighty night.

[eu-nicola]

one night

summary: one night with Max left a problem that you didn't talk to him about

warnings: pregnancy, and idk you tell me

word counter: 8005

author’s note: english is not my first language

The night was charged with a strange electricity that you didn't know how to explain. It was one of those improvised meetings in the house of a mutual friend, where laughter and talk mixed with the low sound of the music. You had known Max all your life, shared years of friendship, confidences and mutual support. He had always been your refuge, the kind of person who could read you with a single look.

That night, however, everything felt different.

Max was sitting next to you on the couch, closer than usual, and you couldn't help but notice every detail of his presence. The way his fingers played with the edge of his glass, the sound of his deep laughter when someone told an absurd joke, and how his eyes seemed to look for yours more than necessary. You tried to ignore it, attributing everything to your imagination, but it was useless. There was something there, something that both seemed to feel but did not want to admit.

The night advanced and the hours became more blurry. Most of the guests had left, leaving only a small group of close friends. But even they began to disappear, until you found yourself alone with Max in the dimly lit room.

"Another glass?" he offered you, getting up to fill your glass of wine.

"I don't know if I should," you replied, laughing softly, but you accepted anyway.

The conversation became more intimate, the topics more personal. They talked about the moments they had shared, how they had changed on time. At some point, Max leaned towards you, his expression more serious than usual.

"Have you ever wondered...?" he began, but left the phrase in the air.

"What?" you asked, feeling how your heart was racing.

He shook his head, as if he had decided not to say it. But his eyes told you something he couldn't put into words. Then it happened. A moment of courage - or madness - led you to close the distance between the two. The kiss was unexpected, intense, full of years of repressed feelings that finally found a way out.

The night continued between caresses and whispers, the outside world disappearing completely. For a few hours, everything felt like it was fine, as if this was what both had been waiting for without knowing it.

But the next morning, reality struck like a bucket of cold water. Max was in the kitchen when you woke up, his movements tense, avoiding your gaze. They barely spoke, an uncomfortable silence that looked nothing like the dynamics they had had for years.

"Last night..." he began, scratching the back of his neck, "it was... unexpected.

"Yes, it was," you admitted, pretending to feel a tranquility that you didn't feel.

They both knew that something had changed, something they couldn't ignore, but they didn't know how to handle it either. So, slowly, they began to move away. Messages that were previously constant became sporadic, and then non-existent. The calls stopped. His absence hurt, but you didn't know what to do about it.

Weeks later, while trying to move on with your life, you realized that something was not right. Morning sickness, constant fatigue, and the absence of your period led you to buy a pregnancy test at the pharmacy, your hands shaking while you waited for the result.

Two lines. Positive.

Your mind was filled with questions, fears and doubts, but one thing was clear: the baby was Max's. And although your first instinct was to call him, reason prevailed. Max had been in a serious relationship with Kelly for a while, a woman who had a little daughter whom he had accepted as his own. You knew he was committed to that life, and you couldn't ruin it all.

You decided to keep quiet. You would raise your baby alone, without complicating anyone else's life. But deep down, you knew that this secret would not be easy to carry. The life you had shared with Max felt like a distant memory, a "and if" that would never have a response.

You refused to think too much about what it implied. The more you thought about it, the more you sank into a whirlwind of contradictory emotions: fear, sadness, pride, and a kind of determination that you didn't know you had. You knew that your life would change drastically, but you also knew that you didn't want Max to be part of this new chapter. Not because you didn't trust him, but because his life was already defined, and you didn't want to be the person who broke it to pieces.

The decision was clear to you: you needed space, distance, something that would help you start again without Max's shadow and his responsibilities. So, little by little, you began to prepare your escape.

First, you stopped frequenting the places where you knew you might meet him. You changed your phone number, blocked almost all mutual friends on your social networks and pretended that you needed "time for yourself" when someone asked about your disappearance. Weeks passed, and your pregnancy began to be harder to hide. You looked in the mirror every morning, noticing the changes in your body and reminding yourself why you were doing it.

One day, after a visit to the doctor, you sat in your car and made the final decision. You looked at the familiar streets around you, the places that had always been your home, and you knew it was time to leave them behind.

London. You had always wanted to live there, and now it seemed like the perfect opportunity to start over. Without telling anyone but your boss, you submitted your resignation, packed your things and booked a plane ticket. The plan was simple: you would settle in an apartment, work in your family's company as they had wanted so long, and raise your baby away from any possibility of Max discovering the truth.

When you arrived in London, the city greeted you with a cold and humid air, typical of early autumn. You moved to an apartment in a quiet area, with enough cafes and parks nearby to keep you busy.

Then you had disappeared from the digital radar for months. Your social networks, which used to be full of spontaneous photos, updates and everyday moments, had been left in absolute silence. You hadn't posted anything for a long time, and although you kept looking from time to time, reviewing the stories and publications of others, you made sure not to leave any traces of your presence. It was as if you had become a ghost that I watched from a distance.

People began to notice your absence. You knew it because, when reviewing your old posts, you found endless comments asking you where you were. "Everything okay?", "We miss you", "Why haven't you uploaded anything?" some said. Others simply left emojis, hearts, or words of support. But even when nostalgia for your previous life invaded you, you still didn't respond.

It wasn't exactly fear, but a feeling of wanting to protect this very personal stage. The pregnancy had been a roller coaster of emotions: illusion, uncertainty, and moments of loneliness that you fought remembering why you were doing this. Your little world in London had become your refuge, and sharing it with the rest of the world still didn't seem necessary to you.

But everything changed when the month came in which you decided to know the gender of your baby. The doctor's appointment was marked on your calendar, and you couldn't deny that you were excited and a little nervous. It was a strange feeling, as if knowing the gender made everything even more real, as if the baby that grew inside you began to take the form of a person you would soon meet.

The doctor's room was lit with a warm light, and the constant sound of the monitor filled the air. You lay back on the stretcher, taking a deep breath while the doctor applied the cold gel to your belly. The screen in front of you showed the blurred silhouette of your baby, and you felt that knot in your chest that always invaded you when you saw it.

"Do you want to know the gender?" the doctor asked, with a smile.

"Yes, please," you replied, your voice barely a whisper.

The moment they told you was unforgettable. A child. A child who would soon become the center of your world. You smiled as tears accumulated in your eyes. For an instant, all the doubts, fears and difficult decisions vanished, replaced by pure and simple happiness.

That same afternoon, while you were walking back to your apartment, you decided it was time. For the first time in months, you felt the impulse to share this part of your life with others. It wasn't out of pressure, or to please anyone, but because you wanted to celebrate this little miracle you were waiting for.

You took a couple of pictures, wearing a white dress that highlighted your belly. The brightness of your skin, the pride in your eyes and the shy smile on your face were more than evident. You weren't the type to plan great revelations, but you knew you wanted to do something special.

You sat on the edge of your bed, carefully selecting the images and writing a description that reflected how you felt:

"After months of silence, I finally want to share the reason why my world changed. I'm expecting a beautiful baby, a boy who will arrive soon to light up my life. I can't explain in words the joy and love I feel knowing that I will be a mom. Thank you to everyone who has been asking about me and worrying in silence. I'm fine, better than I've been in a long time. 💙”

You took a breath before publishing it, hesitating for a moment. What would happen if this reached Max's ears? You knew I would do it but you pushed those thoughts away from your mind and pressed the publish button.

Within minutes, notifications began to flood your phone. Comments of surprise, love and congratulations appeared one after another. "Congratulations!", "You're going to be an amazing mom!", "A child? What a thrill!". The answer was overwhelming, and as you read them, you felt a warmth that enveloped you.

You allowed yoursellelless to smile again. For the first time in a long time, you let the world know a part of your new reality.

You didn't expect all that to go so far. After posting the news on your social networks, you felt a mixture of relief and vulnerability. You had shared your truth with the world, but you couldn't control who could see it, how they would react or what they would say behind your back.

Then Max's message arrived.

It was almost ten o'clock at night and you were on your couch, with your legs crossed and a bowl of ice cream in your hands, responding to the hundreds of comments that kept coming. Your phone vibrated, and when you looked at the notification, you felt how the air left your lungs.

It was a message from Max.

"Congratulations to you and the baby's father. I hope you are well. Really, I'm glad to know that you're happy."

You were frozen, reading and rereading the message as if you were unable to process it. How did he get your number? Who had told him? Why had I decided to write to you after so long? All these questions crowded into your mind, but none had an immediate answer.

You didn't know what to do. The most instinctive part of you wanted to ignore it, as if you had never seen the message. But another part, more emotional, I knew that would not be fair. He had been kind, had respected the distance, and had not hinted at anything that could complicate things.

You put the phone aside, squeezing your eyes as you took a deep breath. You had to answer, but what to say? You couldn't reveal the truth, that was clear. But you didn't want to sound cold or distant either. So you took your time, thinking about every word, every semicomon, before writing:

"Thank you, Max. I'm fine and so is the baby. I'm glad to hear from you."

You hit "send" before you could regret it, your heart beating hard while you waited, not knowing if he would answer. Every vibration of your phone made you jump, but the minutes passed, then the hours, and nothing else arrived.

Silence was a relief and torture at the same time. On the one hand, you were grateful that he didn't insist, that he didn't ask questions that you couldn't or didn't want to answer. But on the other hand, you wondered what he would be thinking, if he had really believed your version.

That night, before going to sleep, you thought about his message over and over again. It was so typical of Max: courteous, respectful, but letting out that closeness that had always existed between you. You knew him well enough to know that he must be curious, even if he didn't say it.

Max didn't write to you again. There were no more messages, calls or contact attempts. And although one part of you hoped it wasn't like that, another, more practical, deeply thanked him. The conversation had been at a neutral point, without complications or confrontations, exactly as you wanted.

The days passed with a strange tranquility. Since Max's message, you had not heard from him again, and life in London was on course. Your daily routines had become a kind of comfort: working from home, walking through nearby parks and mentally preparing for the arrival of your baby. But that calm was suddenly broken when your family called you with news that you did not expect.

You were lying on the couch, reviewing a list of things for the baby, when your mother called you. Her voice sounded excited, almost as if she was holding herst out so as not to scream with joy.

"We have something to tell you," he said, without even saying hello first.

"What happened?" you asked, anticipating that something important was coming.

“Your father and I have decided to go back to Monaco. The company is doing better than ever, and we believe it is the perfect time to return home. We've been away too long.”

The news hit you like a gust of cold air. Monaco Your lifelong home, the place where you had grown up, where you knew everyone and everyone knew you. But also the place you had left behind when you moved to London, in search of a new beginning.

"When do you plan to move?" you asked, trying to sound calmer than you felt.

"In a few weeks." We want you to come with us, of course. It's time for us to get back together, especially now that you're expecting a baby.

The proposal left you silent. You knew that your mother didn't say it with bad intentions; she was excited about the idea of having her first grandson around. But for you, the decision was not so simple. London had become your refuge, the place where you had managed to rebuild your life away from everything that tied you to your past. Returning would mean facing everything you had been avoiding, starting with Max.

Monaco was not a place where you could easily hide. Your family was well known, with important connections in the business and social circles of the city. If you came back, everyone would be behind you with questions. And even worse, there was a high probability that you would cross paths with Max during the Formula 1 break.

The following days were a storm of thoughts and emotions. On the one hand, the idea of being alone in London terrified you. With the baby on the way, you knew you would need support, and your family had always been by your side in important moments. But on the other hand, returning to Monaco meant opening a door that you had closed with so much effort.

You sat in front of the window of your small apartment one night, looking at the city lights while reflecting. You were mature enough not to worry about what people would say, but facing Max was something else. You knew each other, and you knew that his presence had an effect on you that you had never been able to fully control.

Finally, after days of thinking and rethinking, you made a decision.

You would return to Monaco.

It wouldn't be easy, but you were tired of living in fear. You didn't want your child to be born in a place where you felt isolated and vulnerable. Your family was important to you, and you knew you could trust them to support you, even if they didn't fully understand why you had made certain decisions.

The next day, you called your mother to give her the news.

"I'm going back with you," you said, your voice firm but with a touch of nervousness.

She couldn't hide her joy. He started talking about the plans for the trip, how they would organize everything so that you were comfortable. His enthusiasm made you smile, although a part of you was still restless.

The weeks passed in the blink of an eye. You packed your things, silently saying goodbye to London and the small shelter you had built there. When the day of your departure came, you looked for the last time at the streets that had become your temporary home, promising yourself that, whatever happens in Monaco, you would be strong.

The plane landed in Monaco at sunset, and the view of the city filled you with a mixture of nostalgia and nervousness. It was as if a part of you had never really left. But you knew the real test was yet to come. Max was there, somewhere, and sooner or later, you would have to face him.

It didn't take long for that, "The event" as your family used to say was something typical: a great meeting in one of the most exclusive lounges in Monaco, where the closest families could live together. Your parents had organized it as a kind of welcome to resume old connections after returning to the city. From the invitation, you knew that it would be inevitable to cross paths with people from the past, but you didn't think too much about who might be. There were so many names, so many familiar faces, that you assumed you could stay on the sidelines without drawing too much attention.

You dressed up with care that night, choosing a simple white dress that enhanced your figure. The fabric flowed gently over your growing belly, marking it delicately without being too flashy. You left your hair loose, with natural waves, and applied light makeup. You wanted to see yourself well, but without trying too hard.

When we arrived at the event, the room was already full. Laughter and conversations filled the air, and the children ran back and forth while the adults met in small groups. There was something familiar in the atmosphere, something that transported you to the years when you had also been a girl in those meetings. It was at one of these parties where you met Max.

Years ago...

You were a restless girl, full of curiosity and not afraid to talk to anyone, even if they were older than you. Max, on the other hand, was more reserved, even a little grumpy for his age. However, somehow, you found a way to break his serious facade. With your energetic personality, you managed to let my guard down. To everyone's surprise, he, who always seemed uncomfortable in these meetings, got along with you from the beginning. In those days, both became inseparable, exploring together every corner of these events while the adults chatted.

Returning to the present...

That memory made you smile a little, but it also made you feel a knot in your stomach. You tried to shake the nostalgia and focus on the night. You walked among the guests, chatting with those who approached you, most of them congratulating you on the pregnancy. Although you felt out of place, you tried to stay calm.

That's when you saw it.

Max was standing near one of the tables, dressed in a dark suit that sat him spotlessly. He was accompanied by Kelly, and her little daughter. The air seemed to disappear from your lungs instantly.

He also saw you.

For a second, your eyes met, and his expression changed. He seemed surprised, maybe even uncomfortable, but he immediately regained his composure. You, on the other hand, felt that your heart was beating so hard that it was hard for you to breathe. Instinctively, you turned on your heels, looking for a way out. You weren't ready to face him, even less with Kelly by his side.

But Max was faster.

Before you could disappear into the crowd, he and Kelly approached you. His every step made the panic inside you increase. You wanted to run, excuse yourself, anything to avoid that moment, but there was no escape.

"Hey!" Max said, with a smile that seemed contained, as if he was also dealing with something internal. His voice was warm, as if the months of silence between you had not existed. He pointed at Kelly and said—: “This is Kelly, my girlfriend.”

Kelly smiled politely and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said. Max has told me that you two have been friends since you were little.

Your mind was going a thousand per hour, but you managed to force a smile and shake his hand.

"Yes, that's right. For... many years” you replied, striving to keep your voice stable.

Max, as if he wanted to relieve the tension, added with a more relaxed smile:

"It's amazing to see you here, and congratulations again, both for you and for the baby's father.”

The words "baby's father" echoed in your mind like an echo. Kelly also congratulated you, and although there was nothing in his words that sounded malicious, you felt that your whole body tensed up.

"Thank you," you managed to say, nodding with a shy smile.

You couldn't take it anymore. You made up the first excuse you could think of.

"Excuse me, I need to go get something to drink." It has been a pleasure to see you.

Before they could say anything else, you walked away with quick steps, feeling the eyes of both of them fixed on your back. You didn't stop until you were far away, in a corner of the living room where you could catch your breath.

Your heart kept beating hard, and your hands were shaking. You had managed to get out of that conversation, but the meeting had removed all the emotions you had tried to bury. Max was there, and although you hadn't admitted it out loud, seeing him had made everything feel real again.

The night continued as a blur of superficial conversations and forced laughter. Every time Max and his little family appeared in your line of sight, you found a way to dodge them, pretending that someone else required your attention. You kept busy talking to acquaintances, checking your phone and serving yourself lemon water in an attempt to distract yourself. All in vain. His presence weighed like a cloud on you, a constant that you could not ignore even if you tried.

As soon as you finished pretending to be interested in a business conversation, you decided you needed a break. The bustle of the living room began to suffocate you, and the fresh air outside seemed like the perfect solution. You walked towards the gardens, feeling the relief of the silence as you left the music and laughter behind.

The sky of Monaco was clear, and the city lights were reflected in the nearby water. You recharged against a railing, closing your eyes and letting the breeze caress your face. For a moment, the world seemed calmer, less complicated.

Until you heard his voice behind you.

"It's not very typical of you to escape from the party."

You turned quickly, with your heart racing. Max was there, with his hands in his pockets and an expression that you didn't know how to interpret. He seemed relaxed, but there was something in his eyes that made you feel that he had come with a purpose.

"I didn't escape. I just needed a little air” you replied, trying to sound casual while your hands fiddled with the railing.

Max approached, leaving enough space between you, but enough to make his presence impossible to ignore.

"It was nice to see you today. I didn't expect to find you here," he said, his words loaded with something you couldn't define.

"I say the same," you replied, looking at the horizon instead of him.

There was an awkward silence before he spoke again.

"Your family must be excited about the baby and his father too. I'm sure they're spoiling you a lot.”

You smiled slightly, although his tone made you feel a pang in your chest. You decided it was better to be honest before he continued to assume things.

"They are happy, yes. But my baby doesn't have a father.”

Max seemed to stop in his tracks. His expression changed, and for a moment he seemed to be looking for the right words.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know."

You looked at him then, meeting his look that seemed sincerely hurt.

"Don't do it," you told him, your tone firm but without hardness. “Don't be regretted. I'm happy, Max. My family is happy. I can't ask for more. This child will be surrounded by love, and that's all that matters.”

Max nodded slowly, but his eyes continued to reflect something else, something he didn't say out loud.

"I always thought you would be an incredible mom," he said after a moment, with a small smile.

You forced yourself to smile too, although his comment stirred you inside. You wanted to change the subject, prevent the conversation from taking a more emotional turn, but Max was the one who spoke first.

"I want to be in your life again."

His words were like a direct blow to the chest. You looked at him, stunned, trying to understand exactly what he meant.

"Max..." you started, but he raised a hand, interrupting you.

"I'm not saying that I'm going to get into something that doesn't belong to me. I just... I want to be part of your life again, as we were before. I could be a good uncle for that little one," he added, with a smile that seemed sincere, although also somewhat sad.

That was too much for you. His words, his tone, the way he seemed so sure of wanting to be close but at the same time setting limits... It was a reminder of what had been and what it could not be. You felt your heart tighten, as if the air became denser.

"I would love to have you back in my life, Max. You've always been a good friend” you managed to say, although it was hard for you to keep your voice stable.

He nodded, his eyes fixed on yours for an eternal second. Then he looked towards the house, as if something was calling him back.

"I'm glad to hear it. See you inside," he said softly, before turning around and walking towards the living room.

You stayed there, watching how his figure disappeared between the lights of the party. You felt a mixture of emotions that you couldn't fully decipher. There was something reassuring in knowing that he wanted to be in your life, but also something deeply painful in hearing the words "good friend" come out of his lips.

You took a deep breath, trying to calm the lump in your throat. You knew that the best thing was to return too, but before you needed a few more minutes to pull yourself together.

When the night finally came to an end, and while you were helping your mother say goodbye to the last guests, you felt the exhaustion creep into every fiber of your body. Between smiles, short conversations and the unexpected meeting with Max, everything had been a whirlwind of emotions. You went up to your room, closing the door behind you and letting out a long sigh. You had succeeded. You had survived that night without collapsing, although the cracks in your facade were deeper than you wanted to admit.

You took off your dress carefully, letting the fresh air ease your skin. You put on a comfortable nightgown and got rid of the makeup with slow movements. Every step of your nightly routine was an attempt to distract you from the only thing that really occupied your mind: Max. The conversation outside, his insistence on wanting to be back in your life, his words loaded with a meaning that you refused to interpret... Everything kept spinning in your head.

When you got into bed, you took your phone out of habit, checking notifications and messages before going to sleep. That's when you saw it. A message from Max.

Max: "Good night. I liked seeing you tonight."

Your heart skipped a beat when you read it. You didn't expect me to write to you, not after what they had talked about. You thought about ignoring him, but you knew you couldn't. Something inside you drove you to respond.

You: "Simely. It was nice to see you."

You sent the message before your mind could stop you, and just a few seconds later his answer came.

Max: "I don't know if this sounds weird, but I feel like I've missed you more than I thought."

You bit your lip, your fingers floating on the screen as you decided what to say. Finally you wrote:

You: "It doesn't sound weird. I've missed you too."

The conversation flowed with a naturalness that baffled you. Talking to him was like returning to something comfortable and familiar, as if the months of distance had not existed. They talked about trivial things at the beginning: how he was, how you were, small anecdotes of the event that had occurred while you were escaping to the garden. But then he wrote something that made you stop.

Max: "We should have a coffee or something. Really catch up."

Your first reaction was to doubt. You knew it wasn't a good idea. Seeing him was to risk letting your guard down, saying something you shouldn't have, opening doors that you had closed for a reason. But, at the same time, the idea excited you. You wanted to see it. I wanted to see it.

"I'd love to," you finally wrote, almost with fear.

Almost instantly came his answer:

Max: "Tomorrow? I have something in the afternoon, but I'm free at night."

You bit the inside of your cheek, weighing your options. You knew you shouldn't accept, but your fingers were already writing.

You: "It's okay. Tomorrow night."

They quickly confirmed it, deciding the place and time, and after a few more messages, he wrote:

Max: "Sleep well. See you tomorrow."

"You too," you replied, even though you knew that sleeping was the last thing you would do. You put the phone aside, but your mind was still at full speed.

As you settled in bed, you looked at the ceiling with a sigh. You had done something you knew you shouldn't have done, and the anxiety of what could happen consumed you. But, at the same time, a small spark of emotion lit up inside you.

The idea of seeing him, of talking to him face to face after all, made you feel like you were playing with fire. And yet, you found yourself counting the hours for the next day.

The next morning the day began in a rather routine way, although you felt a slight tingling in your stomach when you remembered your plan for later. After a light breakfast, you made sure to review your to-do list, and among them was the doctor's appointment. Although all the previous reviews had gone well, it always gave you a little anxiety to attend. You wanted to make sure that your baby was perfect, that everything went as it should.

You put on a loose and comfortable dress, choosing a pastel shade that highlighted the shine that lately your pregnancy had given to your skin. You looked in the mirror quickly before leaving, noticing your already noticeably rounded belly. You had reached that point in pregnancy where it was impossible to hide it, and although you felt proud, there were times when that reality made you think about everything that was to come.

The clinic was calm when you arrived. After signing some papers and waiting a few minutes in the room, they called you to go to the doctor. She was a kind woman, someone you fully trusted and with whom you had developed a good relationship since you arrived in Monaco.

You lay down on the stretcher while they did the routine ultrasound. The screen lit up with the image of your baby, and as always, your eyes filled with tears of pure emotion when you saw it.

"Everything looks perfect," said the doctor, smiling as she checked the measurements and heartbeat of the little one. “He is growing well and has a lot of energy, as always. Have you felt good?”

You nodded.

"Yes, although he's been a little restless today. I don't know if it's me or him.”

The doctor laughed softly.

"Probably a little bit of both. They feel our emotions, did you know? If you're anxious or nervous, he feels it too.”

You were thoughtful with that comment. It was true that you had been nervous since you woke up. The idea of seeing Max again, of sitting in front of him after so long, had you in a constant state of anticipation.

"I guess he's right. Today I have... an important day.”

You didn't go into details, but she gave you an understanding look.

"Well, try to relax." He's fine, you're fine. Enjoy your day and make sure you rest.

When you left the clinic, the mid-morning sun greeted you warmly, but you still felt some restlessness in your chest. You knew there was no reason to worry about the baby, but the conversation with the doctor left you thinking. Your little one was connected to you in a way that no one else could be, and his well-being was completely up to you.

The rest of the day was spent in a blur of domestic activities and small errands, but your mind always returned to Max. You wondered what it would be like to see him again, this time in a more intimate environment. Would he be nervous like you? Would it still be as easy to talk to him as it had been last night?

As the afternoon progressed, you noticed that your baby kept moving. Every time you tried to sit down for a moment to breathe, he kicked or settled down, as if trying to get your attention.

"What's wrong, little one?" you murmured, placing a hand on your belly. “Are you also nervous about tonight?”

The thought made you smile, although you felt a knot in your stomach. You caressed your belly with gentle movements, trying to calm it down and calm yourself down in the process.

You sighed as you looked at the clock. Every minute that passed brought you closer to the meeting, and although you were nervous, a part of you couldn't wait.

The afternoon was sliding into the night, and with each passing minute, you felt how anxiety was taking over you. You repeated to yourself over and over again that everything would be fine, that there was nothing to fear, that it was only Max. Max, your lifelong friend. Max, who was now much more complicated than you had ever imagined.

When it was time to get ready, you went into the bathroom and looked at yourself in the mirror. There was something different about you, a mixture of emotion and tension that made you feel like you were about to cross an invisible line. The dress you chose was simple but elegant, a dark blue tone that highlighted your skin and concealed your belly. You left your hair loose, falling in soft waves on your shoulders. The makeup, just enough to give a touch of color to your cheeks and highlight your eyes. You wanted to look good, but without looking like you had tried too hard.

While you were putting on the last touches, your phone vibrated on the table. You took it with slightly trembling hands and read the message.

"I'm outside. I'll wait for you."

You toom a deep breath before answering.

"Ok."

You picked up your bag, taking one last look at your reflection before leaving the room. You went down the stairs calmly, although your heart was beating hard in your chest. When he opened the front door, there he was. Max Verstappen, waiting for you next to his car with a smile that, despite all the time that had passed, was still the same you remembered.

"Hello," he said softly, his eyes running over you for a moment before returning to your face. “You look... good.”

You smiled a little shyly.

"Thank you. You too”

Max was dressed casually but flawlessly, a dark shirt and jeans that fit him perfectly. I had always had that ability to look good without much effort. He opened the car door for you and, once you were inside, he circled the car and sat behind the wheel.

The journey was comfortable, although full of silences that spoke more than words. Through the reflection in the window, you watched him sideways. His firm hands on the steering wheel, the way he concentrated on the road, everything was so familiar and at the same time so distant.

Finally, they arrived at a small secluded, discreet and cozy restaurant, a place that Max had chosen carefully to avoid curious glances. Upon entering, you were greeted by a warm atmosphere, dim lights and tables separated enough to ensure privacy.

"It's a quiet place," he said while helping you sit down. “I thought we would be more comfortable here.”

You nodded, grateful for your consideration.

"It's perfect."

You both asked for dinner, and for a few minutes, the sound of the cutlery and the soft background music filled the space. But soon, the conversation began to flow.

"So..." you said, breaking the ice. “How is everything? Life, the team, your relationship?”

Max took a sip from his glass before answering.

"Life... is fine. Busy, as always. The team is doing well, although this year has been more complicated than I expected. And Kelly...” he paused briefly. “We're fine. Things are stable, which is good for me, for P.”

He mentioned his girlfriend and stepdaughter naturally, but you couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest. You forced yoursellsel on your smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. You know I've always wanted you to be happy.”

Max looked at you with an expression that seemed to contain more than he was willing to say.

"And you?" he asked, leaning slightly forward. “Why did you disappear like that? One day you were here, and the next, you were gone. Without a word.”

You tensed up a little in your chair, fiddling with the edge of your glass. You had known that question would come, but you were not completely prepared to answer it.

"It was something... I needed to do," you finally said, choosing your words carefully. “London was an opportunity to start again. And... I didn't want to complicate anyone's life.”

Max frowned slightly, his eyes looking for yours.

"Complicate life for whom? To me?”

The air seemed to become denser between you. You avoided his gaze, concentrating on the napkin that you now held between your fingers.

"You already had many things in your life. You didn't need... more complications.”

Max was silent for a moment, but his eyes didn't turn away from you.

"We were always friends, remember? No matter what happened... that doesn't change.”

The sincerity in his voice disarmed you, and for a moment, you felt that the weight of the last few months was about to collapse on you. But you stood firm, smiling softly.

"I know. And I'm glad we can talk like this, like before.”

The conversation continued, returning to lighter topics: childhood memories, career anecdotes, moments they shared before everything got complicated. But, deep down, they both knew that there were things that remained unsaid.

When dinner ended, they both left the restaurant, the night in Monaco unfolded calm and cool, with a gentle breeze that caressed your skin. You felt strangely light, despite everything that dinner had moved in you. You thought the night had come to an end, but Max, standing next to you in front of the car, seemed to hesitate before saying goodbye.

"Are you tired?" he asked, with a look that contained more than what his words said. “Because... if you're not, we could go for a walk.”

You were surprised by the invitation, but a part of you, the one that was still looking for any excuse to prolong the moment, did not hesitate to answer.

"No, I'm not tired. I would love to walk a little.”

Max smiled, a soft smile that lit up his face for a moment. He walked by your side, and soon they both left the restaurant behind and went into the quietest streets of the city. The night in Monaco was a spectacle in itself, with the lights reflected in the sea, the distant sound of laughter and music, and the constant murmur of the nightlife that unfolded around it. But at that moment, nothing seemed to matter more than the presence of the other.

The silence between you was not uncomfortable. On the contrary, it felt almost like a conversation in itself, a pause that allowed both of them to think about everything that had been left unsaid for so long. They walked at the same pace, their steps synchronized, and from time to time your fingers brushed his, which caused a small chill that ran through your body.

Finally, it was Max who broke the silence. His voice was low, almost a whisper, as if he feared to alter the stillness of the night.

"I like walking with you at night," he said, with a sincerity that took you by surprise. His eyes looked at you sideways, looking for your reaction.

Your heart turned upside down, and you bit your lip before answering, allowing a soft smile to form on your lips.

"I like it too. I enjoy it.”

And you meant it. There was something intimate at that moment, a connection that didn't need words. The world seemed to have reduced to you two, walking together under the dim lights of Monaco. The breeze was fiddling with your hair, and Max noticed it, because his eyes stopped a second longer on you, before looking away.

Both continued walking in silence for a few more minutes, until both of you reached a small viewpoint that overlooked the port. The lights of the yachts and the soft waves of the water created an almost magical atmosphere. You leaned on the railing, contemplating the landscape, but aware that Max had come closer, until he was a few centimeters from you.

"It's beautiful," you commented, trying to stay calm, although your heart was beating hard.

"It is..." he replied, but when you looked up, you realized that he was not looking at the landscape. He was looking at you.

The atmosphere became denser, loaded with electricity that seemed to envelop them. You felt trapped between the desire to maintain that closeness and the need to step back, to protect yourself from what that moment could mean. But you didn't move.

Max leaned slightly forward, resting his arms on the railing next to yours. His fingers brushed yours, and this time he didn't move away. Neither do you.

"I missed this," he murmured, with a voice so low that you barely heard him. “I missed being with you.”

His words disarmed you. You felt a lump in your throat, but you tried to stay calm.

"Me too..." you admitted, almost in a whisper. I missed this, you.

Both stayed like this, in silence, letting the moment last, feeling the closeness of the other. There was so much you wanted to say, so much you had saved for months, but you held in. You didn't want to ruin it. Not yet.

Max turned his face towards you, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. His blue eyes, intense and full of contained emotions, met yours. The world around him disappeared, and all that existed was that look, that instant in which the past, the present and the future seemed to collide.

"I'm glad you're here," he said, with a softness that almost made you lose your balance.

Your breathing quickened slightly, and without looking away, you replied:

"To me too."

The silence that followed was different. It wasn't uncomfortable or empty.

But before either of them could do or say anything else, Max took a step back, breaking the spell.

"We should go back," he said, his voice a little more controlled. “I don't want you to get too tired.”

You nodded, grateful and at the same time disappointed. Both began to walk back, this time more slowly, as if prolonging that walk could change something.

When both got to the car, Max stopped before opening the door for you. For a moment, he seemed to doubt, as if he was about to say something important. But instead, he just smiled.

"Thank you for tonight. I needed.”

"Yeah. Me too..." you murmured. “Thank u.”

He leaned slightly, as if he was going to say goodbye with a kiss on the cheek, but he stopped halfway. Instead, his fingers gently brushed your hand before opening the door. You got into the car, still feeling the warmth of his touch, and when he left you at home, they both said goodbye with a smile that said more than words could express.

That night, while you were lying in your bed, with the breeze of Monaco coming in through the window, you thought about every detail of that walk. In his gaze, in his words, in the touch of his fingers. And for the first time in a long time, you allowed yourself to dream about what could have been... and what it could still be.

[onlyangel4]

pushed too hard. mv1. SMAU + written.

max verstappen x chronically ill! reader

in which max's girlfriend has a very valid reason for not attending the races but the public doesn't know. and when the hate gets too much she pushes herself too hard.

author's note: so i have written this completely from experience, so the reader has elhers danlos syndrome (which i also have) but if you suffer from a different chronic illness please do imagine it as that.

warnings: chronic illness. hate. hospitalisation. injury.

face claim: katie douglas

y/ninsta posted a story tagging maxverstappen

written: y/sister managed to get a picture of me as soon as i woke up to find out that max won the bahrain gp with a twenty second lead. i am such a proud girlfriend rn.

maxverstappen replied to your story: good you are awake i'll facetime you rn. i miss you and the cats.

user1 replied to your story: if you really were a good girlfriend you would have been there supporting him

maxfan: you are such a bad wag you didn't even stay up to watch the race.

you had woken up on a high. you had turned your phone on to see all the messages informing you of your boyfriend's impressive win and you had even managed to facetime max before he went to bed. it felt like a good day. but then you made the mistake of opening social media. people on twitter were doing what people on twitter do best, talk shit. your eyes scanned over the screen as for the millionth time people picked apart your relationship and called you every name under the sun. they saw you as a villain that just did not support her boyfriend and that could not be further from the truth.

if you could attend every race you would but that just was not plausible. you suffered from elhers danlos syndrome and on top of that you had chronic fatigue. the elhers danlos effected your joints making every day painful to some degree. yes there were good and bad days but there were never pain free days. both of your knees had been operated on and you were awaiting surgery on your ankle due to frequent dislocations. the simple description of elhers danlos is that you had fault collagen, this collagen is what makes your connective tissue so your connective tissue was faulty and therefore your joints had a habit of dislocating and causing you a hell of a lot of pain. it was a domino effect the constant pain that you were in made you incredibly tired and that is where the chronic fatigue came in. max often called you his sleepy girl because you needed at least one nap per day to function properly.

you knew the problems you were having with max's fans could be solved by you telling them what you suffered with medically but they did not deserve an explanation from you. you should be allowed to live your life how you want to without thousands of strangers telling you that you were doing it wrong or that you were a bad girlfriend. you wanted to keep your medical issues private and max completely understood and supported your decision to do so. so instead you had to deal with all the hate. you just had to remind yourself that these people did not know the real you and if they did they, hopefully, would not treat you like this.

y/sister posted a story tagging y/ninsta

written: y/n finally left the house for the first time in five days and it was just for a snack run.

maxverstappen replied: is she having a bad week, she only eats reese's when she is a lot of pain

y/sister: i didn't tell you this but she is not doing well at all, she slept all of yesterday and then today the internet hates her because she wasn't at the race.

as the saudi arabian gp came and went max was busy with stragety meetings and such this meant that instead of coming home for a few days like he had previously planned he stayed out there and was going to go straight from there to australia and at this point you were really missing your boyfriend. the hate had not subsided either. it was just a very difficult time for you. one night where you had just been scrolling through twitter reading through the cruel things that people had been saying about you, you hit your limit. there was no way that you could deal with this for the rest of the season. so insteadyou decided to do something about it.

the morning you needed to fly to australia was when you realised that this was a bad idea. you had woken up in enough pain to down a horse, joints aching and head spinning. but danny had pulled strings for you. he had arranged everything just so that you could surprise your boyfriend and there was no way you were going to cancel when the plan was already in motion. so instead you just grinned and bared it. the flight was okay, luckily daniel had booked you a first class seat.. but sleep was hard to come by due to your body not being used to sleeping while being in flight. you were already tired when you landed in australia. due to the lack of notice the only flight daniel could arrange got in late on the saturday night. so you had booked a hotel next to the airport and arranged for a car to pick you up in the morning.

it had been so fucking hot in your hotel room and that meant that sleep was incredibly difficult to find. you tossed and turned all night only getting five hours of low quality sleep. in the morning you had pulled on a comfortable outfit and made your way out to the car that daniel had arranged for you.

y/ninsta posted a story

written: fit check

f1wags

liked by user30, user31, user32 and 89,172 others

f1wags: y/n y/ln has arrived to her first ever grand prix. y/n has been dating max verstappen for 18 months and had never been to a race before. but today that changes. she is not dressed in usual wag attire instead in an oversized shirt and bike shorts with a red bull cap. she may not be dressed like the others but we are happy to see her in the paddock

view all 628 comments

user30: we wait for her to show up and she comes wearing that. what an awful wag

user31: go on girl. give us nothing.

user32: i'm actually so happy she is here. i love y/n and have never understood the hate i think she is the cutest

the red bull garage was incredibly easy to spot. your eyes found danny loitering outside having a meaningless conversation with your boyfriend, "i got you a present mate. as it is my home gp i decided to spoil you", danny spoke and max raised an eyebrow.

"whatever it is i am sure that i don't want it", max responded

"i wouldn't be so sure", you cut in and max turned around instantly at the sound of your voice a wide smile gracing his features.

"oh my god, y/n", he spoke as his arms engulfed you in a tight hug. "what are you doing here love?"

"i wanted to surprise you"

"well consider me surprised"

you laughed softly as you followed your boyfriend into the red bull garage he gave you a tour of the garage and you followed him clinging onto his arm. he was used to having to hold you up so leaning on him did relieve your aching joints. max knew all about your medical issues he had helped you with them for over a year. he knew that coming to australia was pushing your body past its limits so every so often he made sure to check in on you. make sure that you sat for a little bit before interacting with the rest of the team. however when he left to go and race there was no longer anyone in the garage that knew about your medical issues. and this is what led to you being stood all of the race. stragestists and other people who you gathered were important to the team took the seats, while you stood towards the back of the garage.

it was around lap twenty when your left ankle began to properly hurt and your eyes felt heavy. a clear indicator of fatigue and your body telling you that you needed to rest. but your boyfriend was racing so well and you wanted to be able to watch him. the race continued for a few more laps however just as max started the thirty first lap your ankle gave way, dislocating from the strain of you being stood on it when it was already under pressure. you crumpled onto the floor a yelp leaving your lips as you fell but you were unable to put your hands out to soften your fall so you ended up hitting your head on the hard ground. this was enough to knock you out. first aiders ran over and called the ambulance into the paddock but you next regained consciousness inside the ambulance, on the way to hospital. alone.

f1updates

liked by user35, user36, user37 and 54,092 others

f1updates: as the drivers go into the 4oth lap of the australian gp an ambulance was spotted leaving the paddock with full lights. sources say the ambulance was parked outside of the red bull garage, but no one knows who was inside of it when it left the paddock

view all 554 comments

user35: the stress finally got to horner

user36: shit i hope whoever it is is okay

user37: the red bull garage do look rather stressed

"well done max you have just won the australian grand prix", christian had called over the radio. he felt guilt twinge at him. his girlfriend had been rushed to the hospital thirty laps ago but christian had made the decision to not tell max until the end of the race. he knew that the dutch driver was going to be mad when he heard the news. christian decided he needed someone else to tell max what had happened. "daniel can you come find me as soon as you are out of the car", he had intercepted the racing bulls radio just to give daniel the message, christian knew it would be better to have bad news coming from him rather than himself.

"thirty fucking laps ago", max spoke pacing back and forth in front of one of his closest friends. "you are trying to tell me my girlfriend had an ambulance called on her thirty laps ago and no one told me. she is in a foreign hospital. alone and probably scared shitless", max ranted to danny.

"i know man, christian just asked me to tell you. we can go to the hospital after the podium ceremony"

"oh fuck that i'm going now"

"you aren't driving", daniel knew better than to argue with max in that moment. yes christian would be pissed to find out that max was skipping the podium ceremony but daniel was not going to stop him from leaving. instead the two man snuck out the back of the paddock and to danny's car. the two racecar drivers got to the hospital in record speed with max running up to the front desk asking the nurse where he could find you. he was ushered through the hospital to a ward.

you were sat in a private ward you ankle elevated, an ice pack on your head and fluid iv in your arm. "max. you won.", you spoke softly. you had the television on and the grand prix on, you had just watched footage of a frantic christian looking for the driver that was now in your room.

"that does no matter my love, what happened?"

"i just pushed myself too far max. i forced myself to stand the whole time and my ankle dislocated, the doctors want to operate on it soon. and when i fell i gave myself a nasty concussion", you explained and the look on max's face could only be described as broken.

"oh my love", he spoke softly pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"i just didn't want the fans to think i was a bad girlfriend. that you deserve more than me", you spoke quietly, "they all hate me because i can't go to races", you spoke tears forming in your eyes but max's thumb quickly wiped them away.

"they don't hate you. they just don't know you honey."

"we should put out a statement, tell them what has been going on with me"

"you just read my mind my love"

maxverstappen posted a story tagging y/ninsta

y/ninsta

liked by maxverstappen, landonorris, daniel ricciardo and 830,121 others

tagged maxverstappen

y/ninsta: a long awaited health update. after a week in hospital i am now finally back home from australia. i am expected to have surgery on my ankle in the next couple of weeks. and i am on a strict diet of hourly lollipops because my blood sugar was low. i just wanted to say a massive thank you to max who literally ditched his own podium ceremony (sorry christian) to be with me. i am so incredibly lucky to have you and i love you with all of my heart, even if i am pissing you off while i'm on bedrest.

view all 28,001 comments

maxverstappen: you could never annoy me

y/ninsta: even when i try to walk when i'm not supposed to

maxverstappen: y/n sit tf down

danielricciardo: so glad to hear you are doing better

y/insta: thank you for bringing me take out every day i was in australia

user40: the world owes this girl an apology. you all bitching and moaning about her not being present just to find out that she has a chronic illness. some of you should be really embarrassed rn

[lilacxquartz]

pregnancy woes;

toji fushiguro x pregnant!reader

summary: lil drabble post, i might do more pregnant reader x jjk in the future but i got a request for a milf reader x any, so here we go! requested by @lolitamermaid123 — i hope this was what you were looking for🩵

tags/themes: pregnant reader, very in love toji, praise, validation, suggestive undertones, massage — w.c: ~700

ao3 • masterlist • more drabbles

Nothing prepared you for how lovesick Toji would be when you were carrying his second child. The guy had always been sarcastic, maybe even arrogant, but never before had he been this obsessed with you. From the moment your stomach started showing visible signs of growth; he simply couldn’t keep his hands off of you.

Despite this, you didn’t quite feel the same. You didn’t deny that the miracle of life or what have you was a beautiful prospect, yes, but it was also exhausting on your body. You were not only constantly in a state of simmering fatigue, but you were once again feeling all sorts of puffy and achy with very little that could be done to alleviate the symptoms.

Yet, Toji didn’t quite see it that way. Or maybe he saw it differently. To him, you were the living embodiment of what could have been perfection in his eyes.

Every morning, without fail, he would roll over to his side and wrap his strong arms right around you and pull you in as close as he possibly could. He would bury his face right into the crook of your neck with his large hands palming over the swell of your stomach while acting surprisingly sweet—given who he was and what he did for a living.

“Good morning,” he murmured, his breath hot against the exposed area of your flesh. His voice was lower than usual and thick with sleep.

You mumbled something out in response, although it was barely coherent. You tried to shift away slightly because as it turned out, you didn’t quite feel as hot as you usually did and his touch would only feed your insecurities even further.

“Oh no you don’t,” he teased as he pulled you closer, not quite letting you get away. He could see right past you and you were being harsh on yourself—like usual—and for no good reason.

“Toji, please…” you sighed into a weary groan, appreciating his effort but feeling groggy from all of the exhaustion. “I feel so bloated and big… you wouldn’t get it…”

Toji however simply rolled his eyes. “There you go again, talking down on yourself like that. You have no idea how sexy you look to me right now and it hurts.”

You tried to stretch the remainder of the sleep away to little avail, leaning your head back against him as you finally gave into his hold. “Yeah, well it’s hard to feel sexy right now.”

He shrugged as he didn’t back down, digging his lips even further into your skin while planting lazy kisses along your neck and shoulder. His voice was laced with want and need the more he pressed himself right against you, unable to quite let you go, if at all, “You’re not seeing my vision then, huh? You don’t get it. You look so hot, so incredible like this…”

Finally, you managed to thaw into a slight smile as his words were finally starting to get to you. Even if you didn’t quite believe him fully, Toji had a knack for making you feel like you were the only thing that mattered in the entire world. His attention to you was dedicated and you were his only focus.

“Would be better if I wasn’t so achy though,” you slightly whined while attempting to straighten out your back.

He hummed at your statement, seemingly forming an idea in his mind. “How about a massage then? Give me an excuse to keep my hands on you.”

“That could be nice…” you admitted.

“Yeah,” Toji murmured, repositioning you gently so that you laid against his lap with your back in between his legs. You could tell that he was very excited to this, given what else you felt. “I’ll knock those knots clean out of you, babe. You won’t even know what tension is.”

“I’ll hold you to that one,” you replied, feeling already relieved from just how well his hands could work into your shoulders, kneading and squeezing in all of the right places.

In turn, he leaned down to press a kiss on top of your head as he slowly felt you come undone and relax in his company. “Trust me,” he added, “I'll do anything to help you feel good, you’re doing all the hard work after all in getting our next kid here. So leave it to me to take care of you.”

[ilovejoostklein]

HAIII, sorry if this is confusing, but can i request joost with a reader who is like... a TERRIBLE social reject but also makes music... they dread doing concerts, releasing full albums, and interviews but they still do it for their career?...

hii, yes ofc <3

-

Bed Peace

You’re an anxious singer and your boyfriend Joost comforts you the morning of one of your shows

sfw: fluff, light angst

-

You lay tangled in the bed of your hotel room with Joost. You grimaced at the empty bottles and shot glasses littering the coffee table, the headache from your hangover squeezing your head and pinching the back of your eyes making you more miserable than you felt last night. Your body was destroyed with fatigue and from the two-hour concert you’d had last night, ears still aching from the sounds of the music and screaming fans. You dreaded the fact of knowing what the day held in store for you today. 

It was only moments like these that brought you true happiness, your boyfriend sleeping peacefully behind you with his strong arms around your waist. He was always so calm. He was like a pond, still and beautiful, nothing ever disrupting his mood that always seemed to be cheerful, and if he wasn’t it was still always so contained and rational. You didn’t know what to compare yourself to, a riptide, a never-ending storm that could only be lulled into security with substances and the presence of your sweet boyfriend who put up with your worries. 

Joost woke up when he felt your heartbeat against his hands. It was certainly a strange way to wake up, and incredibly alarming to see that you were already so distraught first thing in the morning. It was crushing to see you this way, he tried whatever he could and still, he felt like a failure. Since you’d been together you’d turned him into a better person, he felt the difference every day when life had slowed down and everything felt and appeared more beautiful. He wished that he could do that for you, but he was beginning to realize that the issue was far bigger than you both. 

“You’re always up before me.” His voice was still groggy with sleep, pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder. “We overdid it last night, hm?”

You didn’t respond, staring at the empty bottles under the exposing morning night you couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed. You felt Joost kiss your cheek, putting his fingers underneath your chin so that you’d face him. 

“I think you have to get up soon.” He dreaded saying it as much as you did. “Big day today.”

You groaned, rolling over so that you’d be able to bury your face into his chest. You breathed him in, he still smelled faintly of the body wash he always traveled with which somehow calmed your nerves. 

“I wish I could cancel the stupid fucking interview.” Your profanity made him chuckle, bringing you closer into his arms. “Do you think I can?”

“For the second time?” Joost asked, his voice gently suggesting you to be more rational. “It’s short, and you’ll do a good job like always.”

Even if you were media trained to the point you felt like a circus animal, you abhorred nothing more than doing pointless interviews and touring. You tried to avoid falling into more dangerous substances, facing it all head-on, and by the end, you were dizzy and overcome with anxiety. You’d always been so anti-social, it was a miracle that you had someone like Joost who was effortlessly charming and sociable. You wished that you could take some of it for yourself. 

“I hate it.” You mumbled, glancing at the clock on the wall realizing that you didn’t have too much time. 

“I know, baby.” He said, kissing you. “But you love to sing, and I love it too, so it’ll be worth it.”

“It’s easy for you.” You retorted. “You know I just want to sing and do nothing else.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” You frowned hearing his tone shift into something more serious, forcing him to be the voice of reason. “Your career isn’t like mine.”

He was right. Your career was much more serious than his. It wasn’t that Joost was careless, but he could be himself and have fun with his career while you couldn’t. You wished it was the same way for you, even knowing you couldn’t be half as charming if you tried.

You wanted to stay with Joost in bed all day. You held him closer, expecting him to pressure you to get up again, but you felt him give into you when he pulled you atop his chest. His arms wrapped around your waist, and you two stayed embracing each other in silence for a while. 

You hoped that Joost would fall asleep, giving you an excuse to do the same and blame him when you’d inevitably wake up and realize you’d missed the interview. You propped yourself up only to make direct eye contact. Your face flushed with anxiety, forcing yourself to smile to try to dull the intensity you felt. 

“How badly do you not want to go?” Joost suddenly asked the blush on your cheeks now feeling unbearable. 

You stifled the tears forming in your eyes. Joost cared about you so much, no matter how stubborn and self-deprecating you could be he was always so gentle. You felt his hands cup your face, his thumb smoothing down on your cheek tenderly. 

“I don’t want to.” You mumbled. “I just want to stay here with you, before my show.”

“Ok then, liefde.” He whispered, bringing your head forward to kiss your nose. “Oh no.” He said in a concerned tone.

“What is it?” You asked, feeling your heart rate pick up. Your anxiety was always set off so easily. “Joost.” You pressed.

“You feel really warm.” You realized he was being sarcastic, feeling a smile form on your face. “I think I have to call your manager m’en meisje is getting sick.”

You watched in relief as he grabbed his phone from your shared nightstand and sent a text to your manager, turning his phone to show their quick response. You could feel their annoyance through the message, but you couldn’t be bothered to care. The relief felt almost invigorating, your anxieties and worries melting away all at once knowing that you could spend the rest of the afternoon in bed with your boyfriend. 

“I love you, Joost.” You said sweetly, kissing him over and over again on his cheek. “You’re the best, I’m serious.”

“I’m just selfish.” He chuckled, kissing you back, “I want to keep you with me all the time.”

“I wish.” You said a bit solemnly, knowing that the time would quickly pass as it always did when you were happy. “I’m glad you’ll be at my show at least.”

“I’m your biggest fan.” He pinched your cheek lovingly. 

You settled into your boyfriend’s arms, the safety and unconditional love soothing your heart completely. You wished that you could love your career, not just the act of singing. You wished you could grow to love the process of waking up before the sun to write and record songs for hours every day until your entire body ached with boredom. You didn’t know what you would do without Joost, he was your person in all of this. 

“I really love you, Joost.” You mumbled, feeling both of you slowly getting taken away by sleep again. “I’m so lucky.”

“I love you more.” You could hear him getting more tired, it was cute. “And I’m luckier.”

“You’re falling asleep again?” You whispered, trying to keep the calmness of the room. 

“Mhm.” He hummed, his eyes still shut. “You should rest too, you’re sick remember?”

-

ya’ll i hope i’m using these dutch words right… hope u enjoyed

[goldenrulemotherfucker]

Real talk, I came to the Fallout series a total newb, knowing nothing about the lore/games and came away with a new favorite show, easily in my top five. In particular, something it does exceptionally well is narrative payoff. Nothing in this show happens just to happen; every choice the characters make shapes their future arcs. As a SFF writer myself, I'm not only impressed--I'm inspired.

I feel this way about the entire story, but in terms of Lucy and Cooper specifically, we get so many great payoffs from their interactions. When he doesn't share his water, it seems like he's just being a dick until we learn that his canteen is full of dirty water. (Yes, he was still being a dick, but he knew she naively thought he was drinking clean water.) When he forces her to use the knife in the "ass jerky" scene, he's absolutely being cruel, but he's also extremely fatigued to the point of near collapse, which only becomes clear only after she's out of sight at the Super Duper Mart. When he cuts off her finger, it seems like nothing more than him "getting even," when he actually took a much-needed replacement part for his hand (from someone he assumed wouldn't be alive much longer).

These interactions are all brutal, give us new insights into both characters, and also set up a massive payoff in Lucy's "golden rule, motherfucker" moment. Even after everything he put her through and how he treated her as disposable, she does the opposite and shows him empathy and kindness. To put it plainly: Her choice in this scene wouldn't carry half as much weight if he hadn't repeatedly treated her like shit. Coupled with her ability to self-rescue, the scene cements who Lucy is as a person--both for the viewer and for Cooper. (And what happens next? He watches a film clip where his old self looks right at him and delivers the line about a villain being ugly and strong but having no dignity.)

The moment when Lucy gives him the vials could have been enough of a payoff for their arc by itself. But it sets up an even better one: The next time they cross paths, he treats her differently. Having already seen himself in her, and knowing that they both want answers to the same (or very similar) questions, he invites her to accompany him on his journey this time--no longer as a pawn, but as someone he trusts and respects at least a little. As a direct payoff for her memorable act of kindness toward him, this fucking rules. It's surprising while also feeling completely earned. "Golden rule, motherfucker," isn't just a satisfying moment (or my favorite line), it shapes the characters' future.

On Lucy's side, when she decides to follow him, she has no reasons to trust or respect him (yet); she likely just recognizes that he's currently the only person who will lead her to the truth. But she's only met the Ghoul so far, not Cooper Howard. She doesn't know that his primary motivation has been searching for his family this whole time. She doesn't know that she's seen him before, in those old movies she watched at home. She doesn't know why he shot the billboard.

Now, I'm not making predictions about how their future arc will play out (nor am I asking for them), I'm just along for the ride. But I feel confident that there will be many more great payoffs to come now that they've gone from "hostile forced proximity" to "traveling together by choice." I've rarely been so pumped for a second season. <3

[358jours]

Yanqing x GN!Reader⎢But I’m so ‘eepy

Word Count⎢1300

Genre/Tags⎢SFW, fluff, Reader is a big introvert and is sleep deprived, shopping dates, PDA, written and posted before game launch⎢Crossposted on AO3

You stifle another yawn as Yanqing drags you around. You’re holding hands, fingers laced together. He walks ahead of you, loud joy in his steps. He’s almost always sporting a smile in public, but the happiness radiating off of him right now is something else. He forced you out of your room today, and though you love his presence, your social battery can only last so long. At this point, you’re practically dead weight he’s carrying on his own.

Yanqing is an energetic young man, extroverted, optimistic, though perhaps a bit naive. He enjoys anything that has to do with swords the most such as taking care of them, training, competitions. He’s also a big spender on his hobbies, always ending up begging his father –or even you– to finance his basic needs. Many people are aware of who he is due to all that, and also the fact he’s the lieutenant. 

You are the opposite. An introverted soul, sleep deprived, fond of staying inside. You tend to stay up far too late into the night, kept up by good video games, and bad decisions. “I can still play, like, fifteen minutes more”, cue three am beeping on your alarm clock after hours passed unnoticed. You could count on one hand those aware of who you are too. First General Jing Yuan, the leader of the Luofu himself, then an unnamed accountant, whose existence only matters for a single reason (your pay), and Yanqing himself. Perhaps Marshal Hua might count as well as she knows about everything, but you never met her personally. 

Yanqing is the only person able to drag you out of your room for more than an hour, and the only person able to drag you out outside at all. Perhaps ‘drag you out’ is too strong a word as you always consent to going out with him, but your mood is a bit sour from your dead social battery and the fatigue in your body. As far as you’re aware, everyone on the Luofu market street has dubbed you “Yanqing’s sleepy partner” (You can’t really blame them, it would be quite awkward to ask “so what’s your name?” while your self-proclaimed knight in shining armor is right by your side). You have a very “cat and dog” personality contrast that makes people laugh, opposites attract or so they say. 

.

Yanqing pulls you forward amidst the crowd. “Finally, we’ve arrived at the Artisanship Commission!”

You take a moment to take in the sight. The sun is high, barely two in the afternoon, and illuminates the red city radiantly, this shop as well. The view is beautiful, yes, but honestly your mind is so jaded, it’s hard to grasp reality. Hopefully this is the last stop for today, Aeons know you won’t survive if you don’t get your afternoon nap. You hear Yanqing's voice and– oh he’s talking to a vendor, nevermind. They seem to know each other, by the way they laugh at least. 

You look over to the swords on display. They’re all impressive, a vast range of different colors and sizes. The one you like best is mainly clear blue and has a yin-yang on its guard, it looks pretty though perhaps a bit heavy for Yanqing? The second one is thinner, it’s mainly black with white and blue accents. It would look good in his hands. The one beside it is ew full-gold yellow, and though the color is less than attractive, the details forged on it are stunning. 

You don’t notice the vendor handing Yanqing a sword. He lifts the hand you’re holding, and looks at you curiously. You let go sheepishly to which he only smiles. The vendor giggles. Ah, embarrassing. 

You space out once more while Yanqing listens with grand attention to the explanations about the ki-controlled attacks the sword can perform. You’re kind of staring at him as he tests the sword through different movements, touching the blade with the tip of his finger. It looks alright, but the swords on display are prettier. He hands it back, the vendor leaves for a moment, and comes back with another. The same happens, and again, and again, and you feel your legs more and more. Trying not to yawn becomes harder and harder.

Your interest is peaked when the vendor brings him the sword with the yin-yang guard. They talk about the features again, he moves it a bit. He hums, does bigger movements, it seems he likes this one too. You rest your head against his shoulder “I like this one.” 

He shifts his head slightly. “Really?” 

“Yeah. It’s pretty and it goes well with your outfit. You should take a dark gray scabbard to go with it.” 

Yanqing hums. He looks at the sword one last time before handing it back. “Alright, I’ll take two, and two dark gray scabbards.” 

The vendor looks very surprised, but happily obliges. They shuffle, occupied in preparing his purchases. Your partner sports a smile on his face, his happiness showing through his proud stance. You don’t fight your yawn this time, and close your eyes. You open them soon after at the sound of a pathetic whine and your name however. Yanqing’s face is contorted in dread. You’re a bit confused about what is wrong, your mind foggy— oh. 

.

His wallet is completely empty. 

You laugh loudly, which makes him even more embarrassed. “Hey, come on! How am I supposed to pay now? And I already said I was taking it home too…” But it only worsens your fit. You grip onto his arm to not fall. The vendor comes back, and Yanqing hastily hides the hollow pouch. He looks at the vendor worriedly as you continue laughing against him. 

“You two are adorable together. Mind repeating your joke?” The vendor smiles at you both. 

“Yeah, thank you. Uh.” Yanqing let out an embarrassed laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. 

You recover enough to hand your credit card to the vendor. “He forgot his money at home.” Yanqing stutters as the vendor snorts. You’re handed back your card, and your partner receives his new swords. He carries them with his left arm while his right hand is occupied, as he refuses not to hold hands with you whenever you are out. 

You walk together for a bit, saying nothing. He’s not dragging you everywhere like before anymore, thankfully. The sun is still high, but at least forty minutes have passed, if not more. Yanqing is the first to break the silence, “You should name it, the sword. But it’s important so you should think deeply about it, yeah?” 

You hum, your mind occupied by other priorities. You pull him in a direction. “Nap time.” 

“What?!” He’s taken aback, clearly confused and in shock. “No way I’ll let you name it that!”

You pull him again and— push him to sit on a bench? He’s still lost, looking at you for clarification. He’s by the far side while you go sit in the middle. He’s about to ask more when you suddenly lay down. Your head goes to rest on his lap. “Nap time, wake me up in one hour or if it starts raining.” 

Yanqing opens his mouth and closes it, still confused although now flustered. “Really? Right here, right now? I thought you disliked being in public.”

You hum a bit, shifting, making yourself comfortable on the hard bench. It would take longer than one hour before getting sunburned right? So this is probably fine. Between the sun high in the sky, the soft breeze, and the comfort of Yanqing, you don’t think you’ll have much trouble resting in public. “Bed is too far, and I’m so ‘eepy.”

He huffs, although there’s a smile on his face. “Alright.” 

[sad-not-glad]

I Know Something You Don’t

Bucky x pregnant! Reader

Warnings: nothing but pure fluff ahead

Word count: 1077

A/N: another repost from my old account. This was my favorite :’)

Part two: Here!

Bucky had noticed several things changing about you lately.

The first thing started nearly two weeks ago. You were going to bed earlier everyday and waking up even later than that. It was very unusual for you, and it worried him. Although it wasn’t quite tot he point of talking to you about it he still made sure to keep a close eye on you as you went about your daily buisness per usual, seeking out anything else that could be wrong.

The second thing began about five days ago. You felt really sick and could never keep your food down. At least that’s what he though, until he saw you squirreling some of his favorite beef jerky away at 3 in the morning. He didn’t mention the fact that you hated jerkey or the odd time, just helped you back into bed where you belonged, wrapped in his arms. While you fell back to sleep his mind kept him awake, staring at the wall over your shoulder as he ran every possible scenario through his head. What could be wrong with you?

The third thing he noticed was only this morning. Well, it was two things actually. To start, your cute face was just a little puffy. He adored you either way but he knew how active you were and it didn’t make sense to him that you would be gaining weight like that, until you stepped out of the shower. Without the hum of the bathroom fan the room was strikingly quiet. With his enhanced hearing he could focus on certain sounds, someone in the next room, a spider in the corner, a heartbeat. And very clearly right beneath your own was a small quick flutter of a new heartbeat. His breath caught in his throat as the pieces slowly clicked themselves together in his head.

Fatigue

Odd food craving

Sickness

Bloating

Pregnancy?

He watched dumbfounded as you went about your morning routine, changing into clothes and brushing out your wet hair. Bucky couldn’t move from the bed, he felt like he was frozen in place. Before he was composed enough to question what was happening you had kissed his cheek and left the bedroom you shared.

After training with Natasha you joined whoever was present at the tower for breakfast on the communal floor. You’re preparing to sit next to Bucky when he takes your waist, gently guiding you to his lap instead, and it takes you by surprise. Bucky was never big on PDA, he had multiple reasons and you respected them. So for him to be so affectionate in front of the team, it was shocking to say the least.

He wouldn’t let you feed yourself, keeping one hand trapped in his while he raised the food to your mouth bite by bite. You both kept getting weird glances from your friends. After breakfast he followed you around like a kicked puppy, showering your exposed skin with soft kisses and clinging to you any chance he got. It was cute to start but now it was starting to worry you. Bucky made you stop walking down the hall so he could squeeze you to his chest, placing a breathtaking kiss to your lips. When he pulls back you blink, trying to remember what you wanted to say. He smiles down to you, petting the hair away from your face softly.

“Bucky, what’s wrong with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been… different. Needy.”

He stares down at you before his face slowly rises in heat as a dark blush stains his cheeks.

“No, I haven’t.”

You raise an accusing eyebrow as he shuffles nervously on his feet while checking the hallway for other people.

“Seriously, Bucky, what-“

“You’re pregnant.”

That wasn’t what you were expecting in the slightest. Your jaw softly falls open as you gape at him in shock, because how could he possibly know that?

“I’m not pregnant.”

“Yes, you are. I can-“

He takes a deep breath, hands coming down to gently pet across your stomach.

“I can hear them, (Y/N). Its so small but it’s there, I can hear another heartbeat.”

Your eyes shoot down to where his hand rests as you slowly start to really consider what he was saying. You were feeling more tired lately, and eating things you hate, and your period was late, but that was all normal, right? It’s just my hormones wasn’t a good excuse anymore, clearly. Finally you look back up at Bucky who’s almost vibrating with nervous energy.

“I have to take a test.”

“A test?”

“A pregnancy test, Buck. I need to go buy some.”

He nods, hauling you up into his arms as you shriek in surprise.

“Bucky!”

“What? I’m taking you.”

“I can walk just fine-“

“But my baby can’t walk yet!”

You stare down at him in astonishment as he makes his way quickly to your room so you can get your shoes, wallet, and keys.

This was easily the longest two minutes of your entire life, waiting for the little digital screen to display the words that were about to change your entire life. The loading bar disappeared for a second before the word ‘PREGNANT’ flashed across the screen. You choked back a strangled sob as Bucky stepped closer from his spot near the door.

“Is it…?”

You turn, hands shaking as you look over to him.

“I’m pregnant.”

There’s a beat of silence and you can’t stop your smile from splitting your face. Bucky grins back at you, pulling you forward against his chest as you both rocked gently from side to side.

“We’re gonna have a baby!”

He pulled back just a fraction to smother you with kisses. You screamed with laughter as his stubble tickled your cheek, trying in vain to push him away. When he finally looks up at you it takes your breath away, the pure love and adoration in his gaze. All for you. Before you can think to stop yourself you grab his face, pressing your lips together in a sweet kiss as the tears begin to break free.

“Oh honey, I’m so happy.”

Softly you brush the tears from his cheeks as you ignore your own. He chuckles, leaning his head into your hand as you stare at each other in silence. This was the start of their new life together, and neither could wait for the new addition to their little family of misfits.

[stayinlimbo]

Returned Call

wc: 765, genre: exes to lovers(?), warnings: cursing in beginning, slightly unedited

note: although i feel this could be read as a stand-alone, here is the sequel to Missed Call you guys were asking for. i hope you enjoy ♡

Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system: You know. Lee Minho. Not available. Voicemail. Speak. 

Fuck you, Lee Minho. No, seriously, fuck you. 

Tell me why I was contacted by not one but three of your dancing buddies within the past twenty-four hours about how you’ve been moping around and trudging through your routines for the past week. 

They were all essentially the same. You haven’t been the same since we broke up, is there any way we could reconnect, give you one more chance, blah blah blah. 

You must be doing really bad if one of them was Hyunjin, of all people. 

Two months too late, don’t you think?

As if any of this was my fault.

…

I was getting better before you called, you know?

I finally fixed my sleep schedule. I won’t lie, it took longer than I’d like to admit to break the habit of staying up late for you. At least I was already used to sleeping alone. 

I reconnected with some old friends since I couldn’t talk to Jisung as much without being reminded of you. They can still read me like a book, even after all these years.

I even went on a date. 

Granted, it was with myself, but I like to think it still counts.  

…

You know what I realized on my “date?” And while out with my friends? And on the sleepless nights I spent staring up at my childhood bedroom’s ceiling?

I had forgotten what it felt like to be seen. To be appreciated. To be loved. 

It seems like you’ve come to that conclusion as well, because you’re right. I deserved better. I deserve better. I may have ended our relationship, but I wasn’t the one who left first.

I remember our last kiss, paired with another one of your lies I foolishly kept believing in until I finished the movie night you promised you’d be home in time for. And I remember waking up on the couch with a sore neck to see your fatigued silhouette entering the front door, barely sparing me a glance as you dragged yourself towards the bedroom. 

You didn’t even look sorry. 

How could you, I guess, if you left everything back at the studio?

…

I used to admire your passion, Minho. I hate that I still do. You pour everything you have, everything you can possibly give, into what you love. So why couldn’t you do the same for us? For me?

You say you love me, but why does it feel like I lost something I'm not sure I ever had? 

…

Where did we go wrong? What did I do wrong? I gave everything to you. I gave you my heart, my body, my entire being. I gave you everything until there was nothing left to give.

I never asked for anything outlandish. I think it’s reasonable to want to talk with your partner, to share your lives with one another. I think it’s reasonable to ask about when you’ll be home for our anniversary without being yelled at in front of your friends. 

You want me to be proud of you? You want me to be happy about one of the very things that ripped us apart?

Yes, you’re selfish, but I’m no better. 

…

Maybe this is my fault. After all, no one should feel obligated to love someone. I just never thought it’d apply to us. 

…I wish I could hate you. I really do. 

But all I see is your stupid face smiling at me when I close my eyes. I hear your laugh ringing in my ears when I remember the ways you said or did something ridiculous to make me feel better after a stressful day. I still feel the warmth of your body wrapped around mine when we did wake up next to each other, our legs entwined together to where it was impossible to escape. Not that I ever wanted to. 

I want you to keep smiling at me. I want you to hold me. I want you to miss me. I want you to want me. 

Because I still want you. 

…

I want to give you a second chance, Minho. If things could be different this time, if we could be different. If we could share ourselves, wholeheartedly, as lovers, and not strangers.

I want to fall in love with you again, Lee Minho. 

…

Call me back, when you get the chance. You can keep the shirts for now.

Just please, don’t make me regret this.

liked this work? want to let me know how i did? please like, comment, and/or reblog; they are greatly appreciated my asks are always open ♡

taglist: @linospuddin @linocz @spicyhyunn

ending note: I hope this didn't disappoint. I really tried my best to make it work with all the angst in here :D. I also tried incorporating parallels from Missed Call so hopefully that wasn't too annoying or anything <3

[silentsneezes]

MLM jay/vik sickfic! it’s around 2k words, there are brief mentions of mess/spray but nothing excessive

i appreciate any feedback or comments! it’s my first time writing these characters, so if they’re out of character at all please lmk- i won’t take any offense to it :)

there are no spoilers, it’s set sometime in act 1

anyways, i hope someone enjoys:

Between their time in the lab and their developing “partnership”, Jayce and Viktor spend a significant amount of their time together. Being in such close proximity with one another means noticing the little details. Details which are admittedly insignificant, but still catch Viktor’s attention. He’s become accustomed to their unspoken but persistent routine in the lab: Jayce arrives around 8 AM, hangs up his coat, exchanges pleasantries with Viktor, and begins his work.

But today was different. Viktor didn’t hear the same habitual click of the coat rack as Jayce deposited his jacket, nor did he receive his “good morning Viktor” upon Jayce’s entry.

‘Unusual, yes, but people can have bad days’ Viktor reasons, biting his tongue as Jayce sits wordlessly at his desk.

After a painstakingly unproductive hour of work, Viktor grows tired of stealing glances at Jayce. It’s been taking every ounce of patience for him not to say something as his clearly sick partner tries not to pass out at his desk. Viktor’s fingers tap soundlessly along his workspace as he watches Jayce’s head stoop down with fatigue.

“Rough night?” Viktor breaks the silence, offering Jayce a sympathetic expression. Jayce’s posture straightens a little, and he shakes his head dismissively, “Jusd behind on sleeb.”

Viktor only nods in response, taking note of the congested, nasally quality of Jayce’s voice.

Viktor turns back to his journal, but his mind remains on his lab partner. His attempts to focus only become more futile as he hears a quiet sniffle behind him.

Unable to help himself, Viktor chances a look back at Jayce, swallowing as he catches the sick man rubbing his nose with a knuckle roughly.

The next thirty minutes pass in a quiet, but tense haze. Neither man completes any work, both preoccupied over Jayce’s illness: Jayce is too busy trying not to cough or sniffle too loudly, and Viktor is too busy trying not to fawn over his sick companion.

Viktor shifts in his seat as he hears a quiet, but distinct “hh-“ from Jayce. He tenses, his ears straining as he watches Jayce from the corner of his eye.

“hehh-“

Viktor purses his lips as Jayce’s breath hitches again, his expression hazy.

“hhHZZDSCHhew!” Jayce doubles over as a wet sneeze tears through him. His cupped hands do a poor job of muffling the sound, but they do manage to catch the spray.

Viktor’s heart hammers in his chest, his stomach swirling with arousal as Jayce lowers his hands from his face.

“Excuse mbe,” Jayce murmurs politely, snapping Viktor out of his haze.

Viktor’s slim fingers fish into his vest pocket, retrieving a silk handkerchief, “it seems like you need this more than I do,” he comments as he moves across the lab, leaning against his crutch for support as offers the handkerchief to Jayce. The silk almost looks illuminated in Viktor’s hands, his slim fingers holding the fabric with indescribable ease.

Jayce hesitates before accepting the handkerchief; realistically, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll need it. “Thanks.” Jayce can’t help but feel a flicker of disappointment as Viktor lowers his hand, wishing it had remained outstretched– he misses the closeness already.

“Don’t mention it,” Viktor dismisses lightly. His eyes linger on Jayce’s face, meeting his gaze in an uncomfortable silence.

Jayce breaks first, sighing and admitting “Look… I don’t wand you gedding sigk-”

Jayce pauses, the word “sicker” lingering on his tongue with a bitter sting. Viktor notices his falter, letting out a quiet sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. Neither of them need to say anything, they both know the stress Jayce feels over Viktor’s health, the responsibility he feels to take care of and protect his loved ones.

“For once in your life, rest, and stop worrying over someone else,” Viktor says, a softness to his voice intermixed with the hurt from Jayce’s unsaid quip, “Besides, I’m better equipped to handle undercity illnesses than you are.”

Jayce rubs his nose roughly with a knuckle as an itch blooms in his sinuses, “no need to rub it in.”

Viktor grins, “even ill, you feel the need to bicker,” he taunts lightly, placing a gentle hand on Jayce’s shoulder. He watches as Jayce’s eyebrows knit together, his shoulders tensing as he draws in a desperate, “hhH-“ before pitching to the side, “hhHG’ZZSXhh!”

Viktor’s stomach pools with heat as he watches the spray settle on Jayce’s forearm.

“Bless you,” Viktor murmurs, his accent thicker as he forces himself to speak through his arousal. He tries to focus on anything but the sound of Jayce’s sneeze, which plays on repeat in his mind.

Jayce buries his nose in the handkerchief, giving it a soft but productive blow.

“I assume you haven’t taken anything for this… cold of yours” Viktor questions as he takes the seat next to Jayce. It doesn’t take a genius to notice the strain it takes for Viktor to lower himself into the seat, his legs shaking with painful instability.

Jayce places a hand on Viktor’s knee, his gaze softening as he rubs his thumb along Viktor’s pant leg gently.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Viktor prompts, his heartbeat quickening as the touch of Jayce’s warmth settles against his knee.

“No, I haven’t taken anything,” Jayce admits with a huff, earning a slight smirk from Viktor.

“You know, your ego won’t suffice in fighting illness. You need medicine too.”

“Ha-ha,” Jayce enunciates sarcastically as he rolls his eyes. A slight smile tugs at his lips; he may feel like shit, but it's easy to feel content in Viktor’s presence.

—-

Over the next few hours, it becomes increasingly evident that Jayce is no match for undercity illnesses. After treading carefully around the subject for a painfully long time, Viktor finally pushes Jayce to admit how shitty he feels; although the admission is more credited to Jayce’s rising fever than Viktor’s prompting— his feverish haze has left him uncharacteristically docile and clumsy.

Jayce has always had a gentler side hidden beneath the councilmember persona he created. Although at the moment, ‘pathetic’ might be a more accurate adjective to describe the sick man. His skin is coated with a thin sheen of sweat, his clothes sticking to his uncomfortably hot body. His nose is raw and red after hours of being pestered.

The once soft handkerchief is stuffed in Jayce’s jacket pocket, sodden and overused. Viktor sits beside Jayce at his desk, cautiously resting a hand on the small of the sick man’s back.

“You should rest,” Viktor prompts simply, his fingers trailing little circles along Jayce’s back.

“We need to figure out how to control the hex core,” Jayce mutters in response, his head in his hands as he tries to think coherently, which is proving to be impossible in his feverish state.

“And we will, in time,” Viktor assures him as he gently massages Jayce’s shoulders with a hand, his fingers pressing into the knots with ease. A smile tugs at his lips as he manages to elicit a soft, contented breath from Jayce.

Viktor freezes as he feels Jayce’s shoulders tense with a sudden, “hh-“. His hand remains on Jayce’s back, feeling his body shudder slightly as his breath hitches, “I’m ghhh-gonna- sn-hheh-“

Viktor’s chest tightens with arousal, his stomach filling with heat as Jayce’s voice intermixes with the desperate hitching.

In his fever haze and busy with the pretense of not sneezing directly on Viktor, Jayce completely forgets about the handkerchief in his pocket. He snaps to the side, spraying the air with a harsh, “hhHRZSXCHhew!”

A moment passes before a second sneeze follows, spraying Jayce’s hand as it hovers halfheartedly in front of his nose, “hhHDTSZCHh!”

Viktor swallows, his arousal only heightening as Jayce sniffles liquidly, mumbling, “bless me.”

Viktor’s mind reels as he tries to formulate a coherent thought, his brain short circuiting as Jayce blesses himself. After a moment, he clears his throat, “the handkerchief might prove more sanitary than your hand,” comes out of his mouth without second thought.

Jayce’s cheeks flush pink, suddenly realizing how disgusted Viktor must be with him, “Right, sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Viktor dismisses quickly, his eyes trained on Jayce’s nose as he presses the silk handkerchief to his septum.

The silk’s contact with Jayce’s nose seems to be a mistake, only bothering the itchy appendage further. With the handkerchief held haphazardly under his nose, Jayce snaps forwards, “hhDT’GDSXHchew!”

Viktor swallows as he feels Jayce’s shoulders shudder with the expulsion, his fingers still tracing gentle patterns along his sick partner’s back, “Bless you.”

“Thangks,” Jayce mumbles, his voice thick with congestion.

“You need to rest, Jayce,” Viktor tries again, although part of him longs for Jayce to stay in the lab. An admittedly selfish longing, yes, but he can’t ignore the persistent, adamant desire to be in Jayce’s company while he’s ill.

“I’ve dealt with worse, and our problems aren’t going to solve themselves,” Jayce says in response, his voice catching in his throat with a phlegmy crackle. He swallows, trying to keep any semblance of control he can as his body revolts against him.

“Stubborn,” Viktor tuts, his hand resting on Jayce’s shoulder again. Jayce’s lips curl into a slight smile at Viktor’s taunt, his glassy eyes doing their best to focus on Viktor’s face, “you’re one to talk.”

Viktor is about to reply when Jayce holds up a finger as a silent ‘hold on’, his face contorting into an itchy expression as he takes in a desperate “hhHHh-“

Jayce tucks his nose into his shoulder, his upper body shuddering forwards with the force of the sneeze, “hhHZZDXCHhh!”

Viktor blinks, his heart racing as he mutters a quick, “gezhuentiet.”

Jayce keeps his head tucked against his shoulder for a moment before he straightens up, his movements slowed. His ears ring as the beginnings of a headache bloom behind his eyes.

Viktor sighs, rubbing his thumb along Jayce’s shoulder gently as he says, “understanding your body's needs is an essential skill in succeeding as a counselor. You can’t help anyone if you can barely function.”

Jayce looks at Viktor with a tired expression, “‘barely function’ is a bit overdramatic, no?” he murmurs lightly, offering Viktor a little smile, “but you’re right.”

“I am?” Viktor speaks without intending to, shocked that he finally made progress in breaking down Jayce’s walls. His blunder earns a smile from Jayce, “you are. I’m not helping by sitting here and exposing you to whatever it is I have.”

“So you agree to rest?” Viktor asks, his eyes scanning Jayce’s face for any idiosyncrasies that might suggest he’s lying.

“Yes,” Jayce admits, running a hand through his hair before reaching down to rub his nose. Viktor smiles, feeling an odd sense of pride at having persuaded Jayce to take a break.

“Good.” Viktor stands, propping himself upright with his crutch before holding a hand out for Jayce, “Come on.”

Jayce’s haze lingers on Viktor’s outstretched hand, a rush of warmth blooming in his chest at the affectionate gesture. He stands up with the assistance of Viktor’s hand, though he avoids putting too much of his weight on Viktor.

Viktor starts leading Jayce towards the exit, but Jayce steers himself towards the cot in the corner of the lab instead.

“Jayce-“ Viktor starts, but he’s interrupted before he can get too far.

“I want to stay here,” Jayce says, and Viktor finds himself unable to argue. Even glassy and feverish, Jayce’s eyes always implore Viktor to listen to him, however foolish he might be.

Viktor doesn’t have the time to reply as Jayce plants himself on the cot, slipping off his shoes. After a moment of hesitation, Viktor leans forwards to pull the blanket over Jayce’s torso. It’s small and frayed, but it suffices.

It’s not long before Jayce’s congested snores sound through the lab, reminding Viktor of the sick man’s presence. To some, it might be irritating, but Viktor rather enjoys the sound as he works.

sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors i might’ve missed in my editing!

i hope i did jay/vik justice. if anyone has prompts, suggestions, comments or whatever feel free to reach out to me!

[kookieskookiejar]

Alpha! Jeongguk x Omega! Reader

This is a part two of Don't Blame Me, but can be read as a standalone as well :))

Synopsis:

It's been two years since you've moved in with Jeongguk, and since then, the global tour your dance academy was on has since ended long ago, allowing you to have more time to spend with your boyfriend. However, Jeongguk still feels like the two of you have been going around in circles in terms of where your relationship is at. Should Jeongguk make a move to ask you about it? Or is he just being worried for no reason and should just let the relationship grow at its own pace?

Warnings: unprotected s*x, upcoming rut mating, marking, knotting, bre*ding k*nk, really fluffy.

A/N: sorry this took soooo long, mental health has not been looking good lately so...yeah, I hope you guys like this!

Everyday Jeongguk wakes up feeling like the luckiest man in the universe, he can’t believe it’s been two years since you’ve moved in with him.

Your job hasn’t gotten any less busy, and Jeongguk respects that, he’s gotten busier lately too, and recently he just wrapped up a long term project, and now they’re out to celebrate with his friends, and that consists of you, his sister, Jihyo, his Namjoon hyung, and his girlfriend of two years now, yes, the resident third wheeler of the friend group is finally dating, Jihyo’s still doesn’t want to settle down yet, and that’s perfectly fine, in Jeongguk’s opinion, she needs some growing up to do before she sends someone to therapy.

To put things in perspective, he feels like everyone around him, other than his sister, have started the next chapter of their lives, okay maybe that’s a stretch, he’s just feeling a bit stagnant with you after hearing Namjoon talk about how he and his girlfriend are planning on getting a matching couple tattoo after sealing their mating mark.

Is it considered quick to seal the mating mark after two years? Maybe, but they are planning to get married next year, so it wasn’t a hasty decision, Jihyo even chastised them for making the decision only after two years, to which she deemed, too impulsive, so maybe two years is seen as hasty in this time and age, but that doesn’t make Jeongguk feel all that much better about the pace between you and him, not that he’d ever voice that out, he knows you want to take things slowly, you’ve always been a build the foundation type of person.

However, you and Jeongguk have been dating for four years now, and you haven’t brought up about the mating marks before, you did talk about it briefly, but it wasn’t even a serious conversation, although you sounded very much sincere.

So now Jeongguk’s sulking in the pub where all his friends are laughing about something they’re reading on Jihyo’s phone, absently, a pout is on his lips, and his hyung notices it immediately, snapping Jeongguk’s attention away from staring at the rustic decor of the pub.

“Hey, you’re tired, aren’t you? You haven’t been talking all that much tonight,” Namjoon points out, his brows furrowed, he’s always seen Jeongguk as his little brother, brothers from a different mother.

“Nah, I’m okay, I was just spacing out,” Jeongguk dismisses, finishing his drink.

“We can leave if you want,” you say, immediately, preparing to get up from your seat, grabbing your purse.

“Yah, he said he’s gonna buy us drinks with his bonus, don’t you try skimming out on us,” Jihyo complains, arms crossed.

“He’s tired, Jihyo ah, I’ll buy you drinks next time okay,” you promise with that sweet voice you use to get things out of both the siblings, something that Jeongguk can never say no to, to which his sister sighs, nodding begrudgingly.

“Be grateful she loves you, can’t believe my brother stole my best friend,” she says, obviously joking, and Jeongguk nods absentmindedly, letting you lead him out of the pub.

Jeongguk heads home to sleep off the fatigue, but it was probably due to his bad mood and the alcohol that made him sleepy.

When Jeongguk woke up the next morning, he was feeling hot, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary to him, it is summer after all, but what had him questioning was the fact that you were cooking breakfast in the kitchen instead of going for your morning run with Jihyo.

Jeongguk clambers out of bed, messy hair and everything, hurrying to wash up, eager to have your cooking as breakfast.

“Hey. you’re up earlier than expected,” you joke when Jeongguk wraps his arms around your waist, his nose buried in your neck, lips almost slobbering near where your mating mark should be.

“It’s 9.30, of course I’m up,” Jeongguk says with a whiny voice, you just love to tease him, says that he sounds and looks cute when you do, so he indulges you.

“I don’t know, I thought you’d be more tired when you’re near your rut.”

Jeongguk freezes up at your comment, he was so busy that he hadn’t even noticed his scent had some minor changes over time, and he doused himself in cologne last night, craving for the scent of fresh laundry over his natural scent, so that’s probably why his friends hadn’t noticed.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I know you’d tell me to sleepover at Jihyo’s,” you say, turning around to run your hands over Jeongguk’s arms comfortingly, the act so sweet, but it instantly has Jeongguk hard.

“But, we, what if I accidentally mark you? What if your heat gets triggered? Then we’d have to-

“Hey, I’m ready, and I’m ready to have our mating marks now, I think it’s time, if you think you’re ready,” you reassured, you know he’s wanted this for quite some time now, but you were nervous, it isn’t an easy decision, choosing to be connected to someone in the closest way possible.

“But you’ll go into heat a bit later, don’t you have any performances lined up?” Jeongguk asked, eyes darting to every corner of your face to make sure you weren’t doing this out of obligation.

“I called out of work once I realised you were going into rut, and I’m really ready, Jeongguk, unless you’re not,” you look at him quizzically, but both of you know there’s no malice behind your tone, and the slight bossiness of your tone is certainly waking him up in more ways than one.

“How long till the brownies are done?” Jeongguk asked with a fluttering heart, he loves your brownies, and making it for breakfast is weird, but you love how weird he is, and you actively indulge in his quirkiness.

“About 20 minutes, think you could make me cum before they’re done?” you ask with a challenging tone, quickly taking off your apron.

“You bet,” Jeongguk says before he wraps his arms around your thighs, carrying you back to the bedroom where he emerged from not too long ago.

Jeongguk throws you on the bed lightly, getting a giggle out of you at the bounciness of the bed.

“Let’s see if you’ll be laughing in a bit, baby,” Jeongguk teases before he captures your lips with his, his lips still taste minty fresh from brushing his teeth.

Jeongguk breaks off the kiss to take off his shirt, his abs looking like they’re sculpted by greek gods under the morning rays.

Jeongguk manhandles you onto his thighs, he’s not a horny teenage alpha who can’t control his urges, but he just enjoys the process of having your cute butt grinding on his clothed cock.

You got the message quickly, rotating your hips in circular motions, arousal dampening Jeongguk’s sweatpants once his length starts to grow under your ministrations, getting turned on by the fact that you’re the only one with this sort of power over him.

“I need you fuck me, Jeongguk, 20 minutes, remember?” you remind him after having caught a whiff of the scent of chocolate mixing with your scents.

“Yeah, sure, baby,” Jeongguk promises, tugging your shirt up to reveal your bare breasts, your nipples pebbling up from the cool air of your shared bedroom, the AC still lingering in the air after you turned it off before leaving the room, catching the attention of your boyfriend, who quickly envelopes the closest nipple he could get to, sucking diligently, his other hand occupying your other boob, twisting, sucking, and licking, your back arching off into his hold, his free hand’s fingers dipping into the curve of your back, he tightens his hold on you before he ceases all actions.

“Present yourself, baby,” Jeongguk says, his voice dropping into a lower octave, his eyes flashing red, he’s not using his alpha voice, Jeongguk would rather chop off his dick than force you into having sex with him, he just knows you get your panties drenched whenever you hear his ‘sexy voice’, as you often call it, which is why you’re quick to get into position, hands and knees on the bed with your ass perched high for Jeongguk’s taking.

Jeongguk mutters curses under his breath at the sight of you, your pretty pussy shining with arousal that flows down to your smooth thighs, Jeongguk is definitely a lucky man.

When he starts dipping his fingers into your core, you whine.

“Just put it in, Guk, I’m ready,” you complain with a whine as you wiggle your butt enticingly, and it worked like magic, his hands smacking one of your cheeks, that recoil is going to kill him.

Then you feel it, the blunt tip finally breaching your walls, if your heat hasn’t started, it definitely has, with the way you get wetter with every inch Jeongguk feeds you, your omega accommodating to your alpha naturally.

When Jeongguk finally sinks his entire length into you, your toes curl at the feeling of being full.

“Can I move, baby?” Jeongguk asks, he knows the two of you are in a time crunch, but he’d rather let his favourite dessert burn than hurt you in any way.

“Yeah you can move,” you say breathlessly, Jeongguk steals your breath away at any situation, whether it’s because he’s fresh out of the shower, dressed up for a date, or merely cooking, he looks flawless executing what he does, especially in bed.

Jeongguk starts off with shallow thrusts, biting on his lower lip at the way your walls hug him right back deeper at every movement.

When Jeongguk feels your walls finally accommodating his size, he increases the pace of his thrusts, groaning when he feels you clenching onto his length when he finally hits that sweet spot that has you whining and body coursing in pleasurable ecstasy, your back arching into his touch, the sight of your round ass catching his attention, smacking your ass, hands grasping for a bit before he lets go, choosing to make his way to your pretty little clit.

Jeongguk knows you’re close, it’s written in the way you’re gripping him in an almost death grip.

“Cum for me, baby, need you to drench this cock so I can pop my knot inside you, fill you up with pups,” Jeongguk says with a groan by your ear before he feels his knot swelling, the added girth pushes you over the edge, your body spasming as you feel your breath being knocked out of you.

Soon after, Jeongguk’s knot starts to deflate, gushes of cum spilling into your womb, and that feeling kick starts this carnal need inside you.

“Need you to mark me, Guk, I’m ready, ready to be your mate,” you confess, still clenching onto him.

Jeongguk halts his movements, but the jerk of his cock gives him away.

“Please, your omega needs you,” you plead, stretching your neck to reveal the tempting expanse of your neck.

“Baby, we should talk about this-

“No, please, I’ve thought about this for a long time now, I’m ready,” you reassured.

“O-okay,” Jeongguk finally agrees, his alpha growling in agreement.

Jeongguk continues on with shallow thrusts while he rubs your clit in quick circles when he finally bites down on your neck, sealing the two of you together, and you would’ve never imagined this feeling.

The feeling of a weight lifted off, your omega that used to feel so restless, now being a part of you and your alpha.

Jeongguk quickly laps up the wound, easing the healing process before he pulls you sideways, wrapping his arms around your figure.

You curl up next to him seamlessly, sighing in contentment.

“When we’re done eating the brownies and your heat strikes again, you have to promise to give me my mating mark too,” Jeongguk says with a slight whine to his voice, the alpha image dissolving right before your eyes.

You weren’t surprised he asked for his own mating mark, the last time you guys discussed about mating marks, he had insisted on you marking him.

“I promise, now hurry up and deflate your knot or my brownies are really going to burn,” you say with a huff.

“Hush, there’s still 9 minutes left, we can just waddle to the oven together,” Jeongguk teases, which earns him a playful slap on his butt that’s conveniently within reach.

You definitely won’t regret being Jeongguk’s mate.

[darkserenity24]

𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 - 𝑪𝒉. 6

Loki x Reader

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙠𝙞 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣.

𝘈/𝘕: 𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦-𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘤. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 🫡

𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 🃏

Tony had recently hired a live-in chef for the team, one whose services you certainly didn’t hesitate to take advantage of. 

Loki on the other hand did not seem to share in your enthusiasm as he stared blankly at the breakfast spread before him. 

You had all but dragged him from his room to sit out in the common area for breakfast. He made sure to vocalize his complaints and grumbled about as normal, but he still did as you requested.

As you ate through your sleepy haze, you barely noticed Loki’s attention had shifted onto you.

You paused in your eating, sending him a cautious look. “What? Is there something on my face?”

He shook his head negative but continued to eye you strangely. 

“I…” He hesitated, brows pinching together slightly as he observed you. “Are you well?”

You sat your fork down with a clink and cleared your throat before nodding. “Yeah. Why do you ask?” 

Leaning forward on the table, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied you. “Something seems… different.”

You frowned, rubbing your forehead. “Yeah, I know. I haven’t been getting much sleep lately for some reason.  I’m sure I look kind of bad.”

“That isn’t it. I am used to your constant appearance of fatigue. The lines under your eyes are ever-growing.” He smirked at the look of disbelief growing on your face.

Your mouth dropped. “That is so mean!”

“Only the truth. However, there is something unusual. I simply cannot put a finger on it.” He hummed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You uttered. “But what I do know is that the team has been pretty satisfied with how our outings have been going so far.”

He stared at you for a moment before raising a skeptical brow. “Truly?”

You grinned, relieved he didn’t notice your swift subject change.

“Yes! They have been approving more and more outings for us which is very exciting.”

“Yes, very exciting indeed.” He muttered dryly.

“That’s the spirit! I’ve already started planning our next outing.”

“Which is?”

“We’ll be visiting the Men’s Covenant House of New York.” You grinned before taking another bite of your food.

His face screwed up in distaste. “Excuse me?”

“It’s a homeless shelter a few blocks away. Tony donates to them pretty regularly. I thought it’d be good for you to see what non-rich people or princes' lives look like.” You shrugged. “Plus, it’s always good to give back when you can. I know you don’t necessarily cook or anything like that, but maybe you can provide some sort of encouragement or conversation for them.”

The bewildered expression on his face was almost kodak worthy. He blinked rapidly before leaning forward slightly.

“Firstly, your planet does not house all of its inhabitants?” His pitch rose to a comical level. “And second, what could I possibly say to these pitiful humans? We are clearly not the same. Complete opposites if I must say.”

“Sadly, we do have a large homeless population here in the U.S. We’d rather spend money on destructive wars than help people in need.” You sighed. “And you do have something to share. You have your charm, your charisma, and your confidence. A lot of these people have been through so much and have lost their spark.” You smiled, placing a hand on his. This quickly grabbed his attention.

“If anyone can help them get it back, it’s you. Let’s put that silver tongue to good use for once.” You grinned.

He stared at you in contemplation for a moment before finally giving in with a dramatic roll of his eyes. 

“If I must.” He obliged, sighing heavily.

You placed your fork down on your plate to do a little happy dance in your seat. You didn’t miss the subtle twitch of his lips as he watched on, attempting to hide his amusement with a steady look of annoyance.

Sam walked into the room, quickly greeting you with a quick fist bump. “Hey, missy,” 

“Hey, Sam.”

To your shock, he didn’t hesitate to acknowledge Loki as well. “What’s up, Loki.” He nodded politely.

“Samuel,” Loki remarked tensely, causing Sam to grimace.

“Please, not the government name, man. Just Sam. Or Wilson. Really, anything but that.” Sam pleaded while filling his plate with food before pausing.

“Wait, not anything… whatever. You know what I mean.” He rasped, shaking his head.

Loki only smirked. 

That little interaction made a smile grow on your face. You doubted those two would ever become the best of friends, but it was nice to know that there was a lot less tension in the air. 

Things were seeming to move forward in a positive direction. 

******

You fidgeted nervously as you sat upright on the examination table, the bright shine of the fluorescence above you making you feel a bit queasy.

You stared down at your hands, noticing how short your nails were getting. Nail biting was never your go to coping mechanism before, but lately, you’ve found yourself subconsciously doing it more and more.

A light knock sounded on the wood-colored door before it opened. Dr. Cho walked in. She greeted you with your name and a brief smile.

Glancing down at the clipboard in her hand, a look of stoicism was quickly shrouded upon her elegant features.  

“So we ran a few more tests with the fresh blood samples you provided us earlier and just received the results.”

You rubbed your sweaty palms against your pants, swallowing nervously. “And?”

She paused a beat before meeting your gaze. “I think it’s best if we upped your meds.”

You blinked. “Oh.”

“It shouldn’t be permanent. Just for now. We’ll continue to monitor your levels and will reduce your intake when they go back to a normal and safe looking position.”

You looked down at the floor with a hesitant nod. “Alright. I’m assuming this means that things aren’t improving like we wanted them to.” You felt defeated. You’ve been doing everything she instructed you to do, but you guess that didn’t matter much. 

“I’m sad to say so. Your vitamin deficiency has been spiking, and your red and white blood cells count is decreasing. Luckily it’s happening at a slow rate, which is good. It was almost undetectable, but since we’ve been keeping an extremely close eye on you, it sparked a bit of alarm for my team.” She sighed. “Have you started noticing any further symptoms?”

Unfortunately, you had. “Yes, a few more, but I mostly feel tired and worn out more than usual. A few coughing fits here and there but I think I have that under control.”

She nodded at that. “The best thing for you to do is take the new meds I’ll be prescribing you. Please be careful that you take them during their scheduled time, every time. Missing any one of these doses could make these symptoms increase.”

“I understand. Thanks, Dr. Cho.”

You hopped off of the table and began gathering your things while she lingered by the desk, still watching you with a tinge of concern mixed within her gaze.

She cleared her throat. “I don’t normally like to get so up close and personal with my patients, but like I said before you are quite special. I suppose I wanted to know if you have anyone um, waiting for you in the lobby?”

Your mouth thinned and you shook your head silently. 

Her disappointed look told you that was not what she wanted to hear. This was the fifth visit you’ve had with her in the span of two months, and you came alone each and every time. And each time she’d take note of the guarded look on your face that expressed your discomfort with talking about the others in regards to your health. Thankfully she hasn’t pushed you any further on it, remembering your previous conversation about doctor-patient confidentiality and discreteness when she first broke the unfortunate news to you.

“Thanks, again.” You said to her before exiting the room.

“Of course. Take care of yourself.” You heard her say before the door closed behind you.

*******

After receiving such grim news, you really needed a mood booster. 

Luckily for you, it was game night at the tower, or “family game time” as Tony liked to call it.

You found yourself on the other side of Loki’s door, asking him- no begging for him to attend. 

“Come on, it’ll be so much fun! I promise.” You sang while leaning against the other side of the apartment door. He hadn’t even had the decency to let you in but blamed yourself for that y since you texted him about your intentions beforehand. 

“I said no.” His semi-muffled voice repeated from the other side of the door. “I am fairly confident you understand what that word means. If not, I am happy to let this be an example for you.”

“I’ll be right by your side the whole time.” You insisted.

“I’d feel more at home in a room full of sharks than I would if I had to spend even one second in their presence. Especially if he will be in attendance.”

You raised a brow at his dramatics, knowing exactly who he was talking about. Yet, you didn’t give up on your task. 

“I know, but sharks may try to eat you. This’ll be different. It’ll just be a group of friends playing a few fun games together, not the Avengers.”

He went quiet on the other side for a moment, and you thought you had him. The door flew open and you were met with his critical stare. 

“Are those not the same people?” He questioned.

You tilted your head. “Well, yeah but-”

“Then no.”

You felt a strong gust of air rush past you as the door closed right in front of your face. 

Your smile dropped into an unamused frown. It was time to wave your white flag and admit defeat. At least you tried.

“Fine.” You grumbled to yourself. “I’d really like it if you would come by. You wouldn’t even have to stay the whole time unless you wanted to. But I’ll leave you be tonight. Maybe next time.”

You accepted your defeat and moved on, only to be pleasantly surprised when Loki shuffled into the game room an hour later with a strong look of disinterest on his face. 

He looked around the room, seeming to be searching for someone until his gaze met yours. You perked up and waved him over, and with what seemed to be a great amount of reluctance, he made his way over.

You were in the middle of playing a game of spades with Sam, Bucky, and Natasha who had yet to notice his presence until Loki stiffly sat in the empty seat next to you.

The group faltered in their movements only for a second when they registered who exactly it was who joined them, but to their credit, they continued on with the game. Sam even provided Loki with a friendly nod.

Loki didn’t nod back, but you did see him relax a little. The others were located in different sections of the room, deep into their own games. You noted that everyone was in attendance save for Tony and Steve, which was probably for the best. 

You noticed them glancing your way every now and again, Thor even sending Loki a friendly wave which in turn made you smile and Loki roll his eyes.

You leaned his way, nudging him lightly in the ribs. “See, not so scary after all.” You whispered. “Much better than sitting in a room with sharks.”

“We’ll see about that.” He retorted lowly.

As the night went on, you found that the team was being surprisingly cordial with Loki. Your mood picked up even more because of that. You knew that this wasn’t easy for anyone, but the fact that they were all trying was a great improvement.

You moved around the room to join in on the different games the others were playing. Loki was right by your side the whole time. If you moved, he moved. It seemed to be an unspoken rule, and you were just fine with that. 

Regardless of his unfamiliarity and slight discomfort with the situation, his face remained neutral, which was much better than the permanent scowl he tended to put on around others.

There were times where a look of mild uncertainty would cross his face if anyone spoke directly to him. He would look to you for directions on what to do and you’d give him a subtle nod in return. He didn’t speak or interact with the others much, but he didn’t straight up ignore them if spoken to. So much progress was being made, and you were feeling on cloud nine. Not once had your mind wandered to your earlier visit with Dr. Cho.

There was a point in the night where Loki became more vocal. Sometimes he would tease you about how bad you were doing at a game, and other times it would be him throwing semi-insulting remarks at Thor from across the table.

Having made it to the last game of the night without a fight, you were just about to call the night a success. Then Steve sauntered in.

He walked over to the large table where everyone sat, taking a seat next to Natasha before apologizing for his lateness. 

“Thought you were skipping out on me, punk,” Bucky remarked to him. 

“No, I just got caught up in a project. Tony’s still knees deep into it but I’ve had enough for the night.” Steve explained, adjusting in his seat.

“Oh yeah? I just assumed you didn’t feel like getting your ass handed to you in bingo yet again.” Bucky smirked.

You snorted in amusement, covering your mouth. Of course, they’d be competitive at the world’s most elderly game.

Your laugh caught Steve’s attention, and he glanced your way, only to freeze when his eyes caught onto someone else. The mirthful look in his eyes disappeared immediately.

He had finally noticed the outsider in the room. 

You felt Loki tense up next to you, and without thinking much about it, you carefully slid your hand atop his from underneath the table. A small smile formed on your lips when you felt him physically relax ever so slowly. 

Steve on the other hand still looked taken aback, his unwavering gaze directed at Loki. 

When his eyes connected with yours, you sent him a reassuring smile, yet he barely returned it, lips only twitching before sliding his gaze back to Loki.

By the way the conversation died down, it was obvious everyone else had noticed the tension in the room but were trying to not make it even more noticeable.

Sam leaned over to clap Steve on the back, breaking him out of his trance. 

“Glad you could join us, man.” He chimed. “We’re just getting started.”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded distractedly. “Me too.”

Then the game began. Time passed and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Steve was unusually quiet but had yet to say anything to Loki which you were grateful for. 

However, his eyes frequented your side of the table throughout the game more often than not. You paid it no mind, especially when it didn’t seem to phase Loki at all.

“How pitiful,” Loki remarked as you picked up a losing card. “Getting fired from one’s employment is no small feat. I’m afraid of what might happen to you next.” He smirked, giving you a suggestive look. “Jail, perhaps?”

You scowled at him and playfully pushed his shoulder. “Keep talking and I’ll flip your family’s car over.”

“Physical abuse and an intent to murder my tiny people? Well done, I am so proud of you! But unfortunately, imprisonment might be sooner than you think if you continue at this rate.” He grinned teasingly.

You shot him a look, shaking your head before turning back towards the board game. Your smile faltered when you saw Steve’s intense stare focused directly on you. You could practically feel his gaze burning into you as he studied you and Loki, eyes flitting between the both of you.

You gave him a tight-lipped smile before averting your eyes. You began to feel a slight sense of discomfort at his fierce observation. You understood that Steve was not a fan of Loki, but hoped he would work on moving past it just as everyone else. Even Loki himself was behaving much better than expected tonight.

Sadly, your hopes fell through the cracks when Steve loudly cleared his throat. You inwardly flinched when he said your name and your gaze hesitantly met his.

He sat back in his seat with his arms crossed, a curious (and very scrutinizing) look covering his face.

“I have to say, I’m a bit surprised you brought him along with you tonight.” He professed, nodding his head over at Loki. “Thought you’d keep him away from the rest of us as much as possible, considering the history he has with everyone at this table.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

That caught you completely off guard. You sent Steve a confused look before looking around the table.

The playful and competitive chatter between everyone completely stopped. No one said a word, but everyone looked pretty uncomfortable at Steve’s obvious but unnecessary observation.

But not Loki. He kept his attention on the board game in front of him with an intense focus. As if he hadn’t heard Steve utter a word.

“Um, y-yeah” you finally voiced. “I thought it would be good for everyone to be around each other. It is game night, after all. Everyone on the floor should be included. I don’t think anyone has a problem with that. Do you?”

You looked around in question and heads shook. 

“Nope. All is good.” Sam remarked before turning back to the game. “Now, where were we? I was just about to choose the righteous path of getting my college degree-” 

“Really?” Steve interrupted Sam’s clever attempt to move on. He looked around at everyone with a high brow, gaze narrowing. “Is that truly the case?

Your pulse increased slightly when you noticed Loki direct his gaze towards Steve from the corner of your eye. That was not a good sign at all.

“It appears as if you are the only one to have an issue with my presence, considering you are the only one constantly yapping about it.” He sneered.

Steve's gaze flitted back over to Loki, and a slow smile spread across his face. 

Your hand quickly found his underneath the table yet again. But, this time he didn’t relax. He was already on the defense, body rigid and expression firm as he met Steve’s gaze with fierce challenge. 

Seemingly triumphant in his goal of finally getting Loki to tick, Steve let out a wry chuckle, tilting his head to the side mockingly.

“You see, I find it really hard to believe that no one has a problem with you being here, sitting with the rest of us like we’re all just the best of friends.” 

“Steve-” you tried to interject but he went on.

“So what that the team as a whole decided to move past your most recent events? You got lucky this time around, but what about the personal attacks you made on us? Do you not remember throwing Stark straight through a window he could’ve possibly dropped 300 feet to his death? Or when you controlled Clint’s mind with that stupid scepter to turn him against us?” 

Clint shuffled uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of that. 

“I can’t even remember how many times you’ve tried to kill your own brother. You tried it with Bruce, and we all know how that went.” Steve snorted before pointing over at Natasha. 

“And when you said those disgusting things to Nat?” 

“Steve, not now,” Natasha warned, glaring at him from underneath her lashes. 

“What was that you called her? A mewling quim? How charming of you.” 

Your eyes widened in shock.

“Yet, here she is, forced to sit around a table with you, playing games like you never said those words to her.

“No one can force me to do anything I don’t want to do,” Nat stated, directing her glare at Steve. “And thank you for that, Steve,” she spat. “I'm sure everyone loves hearing their past mistakes replayed in front of an audience.” 

Steve frowned at her. “Mistakes? No, everything he did was intentional.” 

“If I recall, he was under the influence of Thanos, cap,” Sam muttered, yet Steve wasn't having it, waving his hand in a gesture of refusal. 

“That was his choice. All of it was. And now here he is sitting here like we’re like he didn't try to destroy our lives time and time again.” 

You sat forward, about to speak in Loki's defense, but Loki himself beat you to it. 

“You’re right.” he concurred, causing everyone, including Steve, to turn their attention to him.

“Your claims are true. I cannot deny any of those incidents, and I am sorry to anyone I have harmed in my previous path to power.” He assured carefully. You were surprised to find a note of honesty in his tone.

“I do not plan on repeating my past mistakes. Nevertheless, things have to move forward, yet you are the only one who cannot seem to get over it. The one person who I've barely laid a finger on.” 

You swallowed nervously trying to think of the best way to end this conversation before it spiraled out of control even more. 

“You, Captain America,” Loki mocked, “are an utter joke. Your whole existence stems from a foolish experiment, and since we seem to be in the mood of reminding each other of our respective pasts, do you recall being a five foot nothing fragile stick of a man that no one respected?” 

Steve’s expression darkened considerably and Loki grinned.

“Hey,” Bucky’s warning tone met your ears. “I think that’s enough.” 

Loki didn’t bother to spare him a glance, continuing his verbal assault on Steve.

“We are all aware that no one wants me here. I am used to not being wanted, but let me remind you that your own country did not want you. The country you still fight for today. You weren’t even good enough to fight for them until after they injected you with that pathetic serum.” He spat tauntingly. “With that being said, I would suggest you do as the others have done and get over yourself. I am disinterested in this petty grudge you continue to hold against me.”

You could tell that hit home at the sight of Steve's chest rising and falling rapidly. His jaw was clenched and his brows were lowered.

A tense and uncomfortable silence filled the air between them as they glared daggers into one another. 

You sat rigid in your seat, not really knowing what to do or say to make things better. It was probably too late at this point.

Bruce was the first to speak up. “Alright, that’s enough monopoly for the night, folks.” 

“We were playing the game of Life,” Sam weakly corrected him. 

“Same difference,” Bruce replied before getting up out of his seat with a quiet groan. 

Most everyone else followed, gathering their things and trailing out of the room. You stood up from your chair and placed a hand on Loki's shoulder. 

“Come on, let’s go,” you whispered, giving him an encouraging squeeze. 

Thankfully, he listened to you, finally tearing his fiery gaze away from Steve and rising gracefully from his chair. 

You walked Loki out, turning back to glance at Steve once more. He sat at the table alone, staring off into the distance with a dejected expression.

Story Masterlist

✦ 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰. 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 ;)

✦ 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘰-𝘧𝘪 ✨: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘬𝘰-𝘧𝘪.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺24

𝘛𝘢𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵 (𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸): @aintnooooway @mischief2sarawr @talesofadragon @cass0419 @lcolumbia1988 @timeladyrikaofgallifrey @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @juliannarayvenne

[onlyangel4]

life of pain. LL30. final part. smau + written.

liam lawson x chronically ill reader

reader has dealt with pain for as long as she can remember but what she did not respect was for her pain to be the reason she met her soulmate.

author's note: i shall be writing this from experience so reader suffers from elher's danlos syndrome, chronic pain syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome. but if you have a different chronic illness please do imagine it as that

faceclaim: kristine froseth

part one

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sleeping most of the day helped you greatly, you were able to get all that rest that you truly desired and your joints ached a lot less when you woke up from your second nap of the day. you flicked your phone all and checked the time. shit, liam was going to be at your hotel within an hour.

you reluctantly peeled the bedsheets back and climbed out of the warm abyss and began digging through your suitcase but nothing seemed good enough. you were about to have a racing driver in your room, you needed to look good, but you had never been really good at this shit. so you quickly grabbed your phone a face timed your best friend.

to say that she was shocked to find out you were going to be hanging out with one of the drivers was a little bit of an understatement "holy fucking shit y/n, how do you always get yourself in these situations", you just laughed her off and you guys go to work on picking an outfit that screamed casual, i did not try too hard while also not looking lazy. and once you had finally done that and promised your best friend she was going to get the full run down on your time with liam you hung up and began cleaning the room ready for him to come over.

y/ninsta posted a story

written: today's fit

once your hotel room was finally to your liking you took a moment to breathe. it was difficult to wrap your head around what was about to happen. in mere moments a f1 driver was going to be in your hotel room to just hang.

growing up you watched f1 every race weekend with your father, it was one of the main things that you were able to bond on. you would set up the tv in your hospital room after surgeries just so you could watch it together but as you got older and moved out of your family home. you kind of just stopped watching. yes you kept up with the teams just so you could talk to your father about it on your weekly phone calls but you were no longer the little super fan that you had been.

being able to surprise your father with paddock tickets was a way for you to force yourself back into the world of formula one, you knew that after seeing a race in person you would be hooked for good, who knew that you were also going to get to spend some personal time with one of the drivers.

you had been so caught up in your thoughts that you had not heard the first knock at the door, but the second one pulled you from your whirlwind of thoughts, "coming", you called out taking one last look in the mirror before going to the door, a smile plastered on your lips.

as the door opened you were met with liam standing there, he had two bags in his arms and he returned your smile. "hey y/n", he spoke as he walked inside.

"so i brought you a burger and some fries, i hope you like it", he spoke and you smiled at his thoughtfulness

"you already know me too well mister lawson", you teased playfully as he handed you the bag of food.

liam explained that he was on his race weekend meal plan so he was unable to partake in the fast food and instead pulled out a carefully curated meal that had been made for him. you both took a seat on the floor of your hotel room and just ate and spoke. it was really nice, liam was refreshing. yes he talked about racing and his life but he was more interested in wanting to get to know about you and what your life was like. as you spoke about your family and friends, you caught liam looking at you like you were the only person in the world. it was enough to make your heart jump in your chest and cause you to stumble over a few of your words but you powered on.

it unsurprising that you and liam both caught up in each other's company it was only when liam's watch buzzed to alert him that he had a meeting in fifteen minutes that you realised you had been sat yapping for over an hour.

"you have no idea how much i want to skip this meeting right now, but i think i'll lose my seat", liam spoke making you laugh as you stood up to walk to the door.

"it was lovely talking to you y/n, i'm glad you are feeling a bit better. i for one am really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.", he spoke softly, "and maybe carry on seeing you after the race", he spoke carefully as if he was testing the water between you.

your cheeks flushed softly at the thought of continuing seeing him after this whirlwind of a weekend, "I would like that liam", you spoke softly.

that was when liam reached down and took the unbranded baseball cap off your head putting it on the ground, he removed the rb hat from his head and gently placed it on your head, "much better", he whispered lowly before pressing a soft kiss to your lips. one that you quickly reciprocated. it was gentle and loving as if you had forever.

"goodnight liam", you whispered softly when he pulled away.

"goodnight darling", he spoke before making his way down the hall leaving you to shut the door behind him smiling like the cheshire cat.

y/ninsta posted a story tagging liamlawson

written: someone hustled us garage tickets

y/ninsta posted a story

written: all celebrations in the rb garage DOUBLE POINTS BABY!!

liamlawson

liked by y/ninsta, oscarpiastri, alexalbon and 638,283 others

liamlawson: finally relaxing after a whirlwind of a season

view all 23,485 comments

user1: A SOFT LAUNCH

alexalbon: does the baby finally have a girlfriend

liamlawson: finally

user2: really was not expecting a soft launch from liam, he has not be pictured with any girls at all

oscarpiastri: idc about you, what is the dog called

liamlawson: glad you have your priorities straight mate that is marshmallow

y/ninsta

liked by liamlawson, y/bff, user3 and 643 others

y/ninsta: life lately

view all 23 comments

y/bff: a man???!!1

y/ninsta: babe you have met my man let's not act surprised

friend1: pretty girlll

liamlawson: the prettiest

user3: i was stalking to try and find liam's new girlfriend and i swear i saw him comment here

y/ninsta: who is liam, i don't know anyone called liam

liamlawson posted a story

written: as someone who loves somebody that has a chronic illness i wanted to highlight chronic illness visibility day. people living with these conditions are warriors and we as a society need to treat them as such, please just be empathetic to the strong people in your life that suffer every single day.

liamlawson

liked by y/ninsta, lilymhe, alexalbon and 728,371 others

tagged: y/ninsta

liamlawson: obsessed with you

view all 34,283 comments

y/ninsta: i am so in love with you

liamlawson: i love you more pretty girl

user4: not liam hard launching on a random wednesday

user5: i just stalked her and she has the same medical condition as me, i feel so seen

user6: she seems so down to earth and normal, i love her already

alexalbon: so does this mean i can meet marshmallow this season

liamlawson: yes, yes it does

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

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[tinaswampdweller]

Yandere!Izuku X Reader

This is a drabble and is unfinished. I like it though and thought someone else might enjoy it. It’s rough but still readable. It’s essentially just Writing practice.

“I used to think I was a good person, you know. I used to ask myself why Kacchan did it. I could never understand. I was gonna go to UA, become a pro-hero, settle down and marry an admirable woman.”

I looked up at him, knees sore from digging into the ground for too long. His glowing green eyes looked unusually vibrant as they watched me.

He continued with an unsettling smile as if remembering something fond.

“I once visited a psychic with Kacchan and Kirishima, you wouldn’t know them, but it was something fun to do after class. The psychic, foretelling futures was her quirk, at least that's what she told us.” He chuckled like it was a funny story he was telling.

‘He’s so ingrained in his story, Y/N. This is the perfect time to make a run for it.’ a voice whispered in my mind.

He once told me his quirk made him tired if he used it too much. Given that he was probably on patrol earlier with a pro-hero, there was a chance he wouldn't use his quirk due to fatigue if I slipped past. A small chance.

“She. Said. I’d marry Urakaka, you wouldn't know her but I hadn't even told her her name. Can you believe that?” He let out a laugh, equal parts astonished and incredulous. “But she knew it. And that should have given me some relief, I was gonna marry a pretty and admirable woman, one that my mom would like.”

NOW! I leapt up using a touch of my quirk. It was by no means a heroic quirk, but it allowed me to use a boost from his quirk, whatever it was.

Two steps. Two steps was all I had moved before he had me. Hands tightly gripping my forearms close to his chest. His emerald eyes pierced into mine with that all too familiar dark stare. Amusement swimming in his electric orbs. It was a look unfit for a hero and all too perfect for a villain.

“Dammit, I wasn't finished with my story.” he said, his voice rising with a hint of irritation. I had annoyed him. Unlike most, Izuku thrived under pressure. From now on, his eyes would be fixed on my every move.

“Let. Go.” I spat at him through gritted teeth. His grip was firm, a faint static buzzing where his hand met my skin. He was using only a fraction of his strength, yet it was enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“I should be happy right? RIGHT?” He yelled directly into my ear, his grip tightening as he shook me, the force rattling through my bones. Why was he so strong? Why was he always so much stronger each time he found me?

“I’m gonna be an amazing hero with a pretty wife to show off. But for some reason, it annoyed me. If I marry Urakaka, that leaves you free to take. Any weirdo or creep could just snatch you up.”

I began to struggle against his grip. Whatever weird monologue he was going on about, I didn't want to hear any of it.

“You're the fucking creep!” I shouted as my vision began to blur, desperately trying to tug my sore arms out of his vice-like grip. He’d used only a fraction of his quirk as a warning and just that was enough to overwhelm me. My stupid quirk only intensified his.

“No, no. Come on, don't say that. Yes, I can be creepy but… I’m different from the rest.”

Even in this dire situation, his words still managed to make me cringe.

"You're wondering if I know how I sound, aren't you?" he said with a cheerful, almost childlike giggle, as if this was some lighthearted exchange, a shared inside joke. "Yeah, I know exactly how I sound. But the thing is-" he leaned in, his voice dropping to an almost playful whisper "-if I come across that way, it's really your fault. Think about it. All of this… it’s only happening because of you."

"Wasn't it you who wanted me first?" he spat, his voice tinged with impatience. "You called me cute, counted my freckles, played with my hair –hell, you kissed me first! But no, of course, it's always someone else's fault, isn't it? Can’t you take responsibility for a damn thing in your life?"

………………………………………………………………………….

thanks for reading. If anyone’s up to it, I’m looking a specific yandere!izuku fic where the reader enters her home to find izuku on her couch. He’s being all coy and cute but vaguely threatens her family. I think it ends with her going limp as he kisses her. Just really stuck with me so if you know lmk

[kimbap-r0ll]

Could I request the Vil, Epel, Azul, and Jamil with a who's basically the "team mom" of the first years? She's known for making snacks for the group, scolding them when mess around, getting protective of her friends when they're in danger, etc.

Hi, thank you for the ask! Sorry I'm getting to these asks so late, uni's starting up again and that means I'm starting to get busy again haha. This seems like a fun idea, thank you!

Vil, Epel, Azul, Jamil x mom-friend!reader

Vil

He's glad that you're extremely responsible but at the same time feels bad for you because you're constantly having to babysit your friends haha

Vil is the type of person to notice when you get tired or stressed really quickly, so even if you aren't completely burned out he'll make you do a self-care day with him

I feel like he liked you because of how you were protective of your friends from danger and you had no problem dealing with your friends' antics. If he was in your position he knows he would've had a headache 24/7, so he admires you

I feel like a lot of students would be scared of the two of you because of how strong you seem, but what sets you apart from Vil is how you're able to still be extremely kind and caring (not saying Vil isn't, he's just bad at showing it). He likes the sweet side of you that shows up from time to time

Epel

He was at odds with you first when you told him what he was doing was dangerous and things like that. However, after you two got closer, he realized that you weren't just a "no-fun" person and rather you cared a lot about the people you cared

Definitely tried to make you do some daring things while you two go on dates. While yes being a mom-friend does mean you are prone to saying "that's dangerous you're going to lose an arm" you aren't the type to say no when it comes to something new. I feel like it's a nice balance of safe and fun

You probably saved him from Vil a few times, mainly with him asking you to talk to him with you since Vil is such a scary person haha

Overall he likes that you're super caring and that you sometimes help him adjust to Pomefiore's rules. He wants to be someone people can rely on as well, and so you're sort of a role-model to him too

Azul

I feel like he tried to recruit you into the Monstro Lounge when he found out how efficient you are and how you're super good at catching details. However, he was scared of you a little bit because of how you were able to spot his more manipulative side extremely quickly unlike most students

I feel like once you two get to know each other, he sort of finds comfort in you unlike the comfort he's ever felt after mastering spells and such. You make him feel like he doesn't have to be perfect around you, and he admires how you are able to show kindness to everyone

You two are probably the reason the lounge is extremely well-organized. Whenever something slightly goes wrong, every Octavinelle student working there will come running to you before running to Azul now haha

When he saw how you were like around the first years, I feel like he could sympathize. He's had to manage so many different kinds of people through contracts, but for you it was like you were saving them from fire 24/7

Jamil

Ace joked that you two were going to date because of how similar you two were, turns out it's not a joke anymore!

Jamil and you first got close after taking care of Kalim's antics and then his friends (which were also your friends) and their shenanigans. Jamil and you often joked about how you two were like the parents of the group

Even though he's stressed out of his mind, he goes out of his way to make sure you aren't fatigued. If you need anything from him, whether it would be a cup of tea or just some time to read, he's there to help. I feel like he would almost be a mom-friend to you too haha

Overall you two are literally nicknamed "mom" and "dad" by students because you two sort of act like that haha. I think what Jamil would admire the most about you would be how even though you're strict and aren't scared to face danger, it's because you care about your friends and want the best for them

[cripplecharacters]

Hi there! I'm working on a modern supernatural story, and I've got a side character (the main character's best friend) who deals with chronic fatigue syndrome. He's a sweet, goofy, confident guy, and he has friends who are happy to change plans to accommodate him when he has flare-ups. They'll also help him out with chores or errands when he needs, with his consent. Naturally he gets bummed about his condition from time to time, but he's accepted that it's how he lives and with the help of therapy he's found ways to manage it. He also has plenty of hobbies and interests and grievances outside of his condition.

My question is this: I have a side-plot where the characters learn that a vampire has been feeding off him for weeks without his knowing, most likely using some kind of hypnotism. I'm wondering if the effects of consistent blood loss - fatigue, headaches, dizziness, etc - could reasonably be chalked up to a particularly bad CFS flare-up. Or would that be something where it's more likely he would notice the difference in severity of his symptoms and realize something else was wrong? Assuming the vampire can heal up any bite marks he leaves.

For the sake of clarity, he's had CFS most of his life and I'm taking care to avoid implying that it has anything to do with the vampire attacks. I'm just wondering if his symptoms would help hide the feedings or not.

Thank you!

The short answer: absolutely yes, this seems like it could be chalked up to a bad flare-up.

The long answer: I'm going to use the CDC's description of CFS/ME to lay out pretty exactly why it would work for both you and anyone wondering why exactly it would work.

A list of symptoms from the CDC has 3 core and 2 that you only need 1 out of 2 symptoms to have CFS.

Core: Lowered ability to do usual activities due to fatigue [that is not relieved by sleep/rest] that wouldn't have been an issue before illness

Core: Post-exertional malaise (PEM), which is a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental activity that wouldn't have been an issue before illness. Often described as a 'crash' and can include feeling dizzy, having difficulty thinking, headaches, or feeling ill. It can take days, months, or longer to recover from a crash and it's hard to predict how long a crash will last or what will cause it.

Core: Sleeping problesms; even a full night's sleep doesn't help symptoms much and might not help at all. Might have trouble falling or staying asleep.

Other: Problems with thinking and memory, like 'brain fog' or slowed thinking or trouble remembering things or paying attention.

Other: Orthostatic intolerance, meaning that symptoms can get worse while standing up. This can make people feel lightheaded, dizzy, weak or even faint.

I've bolded the symptoms on the list that match your stated symptoms of vampiric blood loss: "fatigue, headaches, dizziness, etc." and as you can see they match up pretty exactly!

Your character could perhaps do something that required a decent amount of mental or physical extertion, and perhaps it did or didn't cause a crash but at around the same time the vampire could have started to feed off of him. This might seem to prolong the 'crash' and your character might not think twice about it, just realize that they're feeling pretty miserable in a way not unknown to them.

I hope this helped!

PS, I really enjoy modern supernatural stories, and if you ever feel like sharing it I'd love to read this.

— Mod Sparrow