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#16:26
goldenpinof · 2 years
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this kitten cured my depression
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elicatkin · 14 days
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ajarofpickledtears · 1 year
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I just read "Germanic poem + Christian?" but not as in "a Christian poet" but as the name and was very confused who the fuck Christian is
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witchinatree · 2 months
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i know the whole "do you think jon ever used his powers to Know what his parents looked like" thing is far more devastating than this but what if he tried using his powers to remember original sasha? jon and sasha always seemed closer than the rest, he picked her (and tim) to work with him and tolerated a lot more nonsense from her than anyone else (using his password to access his computer [161], debating his pronunciation of calliope [25], etc)
and ofc jon and martin became significantly closer as the podcast went on, but in the beginning he was cruel to martin when he gave a statement but accepting of sasha? idk i think their friendship was a lot deeper than we realized (ESPECIALLY since his first murder in season 5 was because NotThem provoked him about sasha) and i think jon wouldve used his powers to Know the original sasha, not sure if it wouldve worked though
so so sorry to distract from the post but can yall read the tags for me because i suffered immensely for this post
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96percentdone · 2 years
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some of you guys talk about Damian like he's an adult man who just happens to be really small and not like. A six-year-old. every week there's like at least three new posts in the sxf tag talking about damianya and why its bad and its always because of damian's behavior like it isn't just like. standard faire six-year-old behavior. why are we upset that the six year old who experiences child neglect and grew up wealthy acts like a brat sometimes. he is a brat; he's fucking six.
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— flufftober (day 16) —
Warnings: fluff, dad!bucky (he’s a warning), sexual tension, a bit of sad!Bucky, pregnancy
Prompt: Fireplace
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader
@flufftober || flufftober masterlist
A/N: these are going to be veryyy late submissions. but it’s not my fault writer’s block hit me now. i mean kinda but not really. i’ll be posting these randomly here and there when inspiration comes. enjoy!
Bucky surveyed the living room with a small frown adorning his lips and a small twinkle in his eyes. His eyes trailed over the couches covered in crayons and papers before falling to the action figures and toys laying on the floor like casualties of a battlefield. The smell of chicken nuggets and fries lingered in the air, mixing in with the vanilla scented candle he had lit after the boys were sent to bed.
He heard you before he saw you, the telltale creak of the second step alerting him before you could remember it existed. He saw you step up beside him with a sigh and send a long glance at the pile of dishes in the sink. He smiled softly at the adoring smile that had somehow, in amidst of the chaotic closing of the night, appeared on your lips.
He nudged your shoulder with his. "Think we'll survive this?" He joked when you turned your head to look at him. The teasing tone in his voice made you giggle, lowly so that you didn't wake the sleeping boys.
"We always do, don't we?" You replied swiftly, looking at the family portrait you had managed to take last month at Disneyworld—a gift from Tony. You and Bucky were at the center, holding the one of two-year-old twins each, Grant & Thomas, while the four-year-old Grayson was held in the middle by Bucky. The smiles on each of their faces were adorable enough to have you slightly hazy with the memory.
With a huff, you looked at Bucky and said, "Let's split up."
"Toys or dishes?" Bucky raised his eyebrows and waited for your answer. You smirked and looked at the floor covered in Legos, action figures, and blocks.
"There's no way I can bend down for that long, Buck," you answered, placing your hand on your swollen belly. Bucky chuckled and nodded, a rare grin on his face that lit his face and flashed his dimples.
You two were done with kids—you really were done after having three boys—but you knew Bucky had wanted a girl. And you secretly did, too. Especially after seeing him with Morgan, you both starting trying again. It wasn't as if you weren't opposed to having another boy either—all three boys were such mama's boys that it made both you and Bucky all warm inside.
When you had brought that up, Bucky had laughed and kissed your concern away, adding in a simple, "If this one turns out anything like the boys when they grow up, I'll be more than happy. Boy or girl." That was the end of your worries. When you two learned that you were having a girl, it became apparent that Bucky's phrase third time's a charm turned out to be true.
"I'll get cleaning here then," Bucky said while reaching out to grab your hand and kiss your knuckles. "But you gotta promise me that you'll sit down if your feet hurt. And you—" his eyes flickering down and his metal hand coming to your stomach— "don't give your mama a hard time, 'kay?"
A soft kick landed on his hand and his smile widened. "I hope that was an 'okay, papa' and not a hard no," he teased with a wink at you.
"Yeah, okay. I promise." You smiled up at him and tilted your head as an invitation. He leaned in to peck your lips and then you two split up as planned.
He quickly gathered the bigger toys first, knowing he would trip over them or not see a Lego piece before it was too late. After dumping those to the side, he bent down and started piling the Legos together and then dumping them into its container. He fell back to sit on his butt after noticing that he had been balancing on his toes. He sat with his legs bent and elbows resting on his knees.
He had barely begun and he was already tired of cleaning up. He glanced around the couch to look at you. You were almost finished with the dishes, wearing an apron to reduce the water from staining your clothes. Well, they were his hoodie and sweatpants, but he was pretty sure you wore them more often than him. He never minded it, even if he complained about never having his clothes with a playful glare aimed at you.
Bucky got up and walked over to you silently, purposely missing the creaky board. He wrapped his arms around you, feeling you jump slightly in his arms before settling into his chest.
"Thought I told you to sit down if—"
"If my feet hurt," you cut in with a chuckle. "I know, but I'm okay right now. Promise." He hummed and pulled you closer to him. He kissed the curve of your neck and made his way up to the sensitive spot that made you squirm away.
"Hey," Bucky protested with a boyish smile. He tightened his arms around you with mind to the swell of your belly and the baby girl inside to keep you in place as he kissed that spot again.
"Bucky!" You squealed, but pressed your lips together the next moment with his little hush.
"The kids are sleeping," he murmured against your skin, causing a shiver to seep through your body. "Don't wanna be too loud—"
Your hiss made him pause and move away, suddenly scared that he had hurt you with his strength. It wouldn't be the first time that he had, but those times were under different circumstances and controlled. Just as he was moving away with his arms loosening around you, you grabbed his forearm and leaned back into his chest.
"Doll?" He whispered, afraid to speak. He swallowed when your breath hitched again.
"She's kicking my ribs again," you mumbled, eyes closing and head tilting onto his shoulder. He relaxed a little, wrapping his arms around you again, and slipped his hands under the hoodie to rub little circles into the soft skin. "She's strong, though. That much is obvious."
Bucky kissed your neck. "Just like her mama."
"Pretty sure it's that super-soldier serum."
"Don't drag my wife down." He bit your neck playfully. "You're the one who gave birth to our boys. We both know I'm not that strong."
"There's other complications with that, anyway," you remarked, relaxing when you realized that the kicking had ceased.
"Just take the compliment, doll." Bucky saw you smile and open your eyes, placing the last dish on the rack to dry and turning in his arms. You grinned and an idea sparked in his head. "What d'you say we turn tonight into a date night?"
"What?" You laughed slightly and placed your hands on his chest.
"Just—" Bucky let out a breath— "Just go sit down on the couch, the only one not covered in papers and crayons, and relax and wait for me to clean up. Then we can watch a movie with the fire going. What d'you say, huh?"
"I say," you started, moving your hands around his neck and tangling them between his locks, "it sounds like we'll be watching what I want to." Your eyes sparkled with amusement and mischief.
Bucky rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Sounds about right."
"Well, then, get ready to watch Scream."
You backed away and walked into the living room. You hopped over the toys still scattered with a smile and flopped down on the couch. Bucky followed you and grabbed the remote to pass to you before he started to clean up the remaining toys. He started the fireplace and watched it blaze for a second. Then he realized that the lights had been turned off.
"You ready, Jamie?"
Bucky sat down next to you. Your presence seemed to warm him more than the fireplace.
"'Course I am."
———
Taglist: @pinkposttragedy
add yourself to the taglist >here<
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zhansww · 1 month
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In December 1936, I was assigned to go back to Shanghai under a different identity to meet comrade Guyan, an undercover party member. Over there, we will work together to create a new financial legend.
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marvel-lous-guy · 10 months
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Tony: here, hold this *hands Peter a wrench*
Peter: *now holding 17 different tools* I think I'm gonna drop it
Tony: You're fine
*loud clang and crash*
Peter: ...I dropped it
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amethystroselily · 8 months
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Wait!
I think Shen Yuan and Ming Fan might actually be the same age by the end of the book… That’s so funny actually.
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marshmallowgoop · 23 days
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To have failed in killing Shinichi Kudo . . . he's made a huge oversight.
My video for SLICE (Short Little Iron Chef Edits), at BentoVid! The goal was to create at least a 90-second AMV within 100 hours, using a song from a list of songs only revealed at the start of the challenge. Given my slow editing, I can't believe I did it, but I did!
The song can be found here, and my video is also available on YouTube here, in full 1080p and with subtitles that can be toggled on and off.
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goldenpinof · 5 months
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so soft for @swiftlydnp
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elicatkin · 7 months
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yonemurishiroku · 5 months
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Good thing I'm a law breaker then. haha.
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queerprayers · 1 year
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Happy Transgender Day of Visibility in honor of El Roi, God Who Sees, who made all things, visible and invisible. We know a God of justice and protection, of vulnerability and truth, a God transfigured and transubstantiated, unashamed of scars, breaking gender roles, bringing resurrection. The God who loves us knows firsthand the rotten fruit of political oppression. They have commanded and blessed name changes. They are father and mother, beyond and encompassing our ideas of gender. To all my trans siblings: I am so lucky to know you, to see your God-given gifts, to be present in your joy. I pray today especially for those for whom visibility brings danger, and for those only fully seen by God. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. Amen.
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singsweetmelodies · 6 months
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Hello Katie 👋🏼👋🏼 :D
For the 50 romance prompts ask meme, I'll like to request for 44: soulmate AU: timers <3
but if possible... with a twist...? (you don't have to include a twist if it's too difficult to work it in!)
The twist being, for whatever reason, their countdown timers for each of them to the time they meet their soulmates doesn't match, so they think "we're not each other's soulmates. that's cool. (no it's not)" but it turns out that they're each other soulmates anyways. or they choose to be with each other in spite of not being each other's soulmates. idk. *nervous laughter*
hiiii charlotte 🥰 first off, i am SO sorry for the incredible delay with this answer!! i saw this prompt and i absolutely LOVED IT (and the twist!! 🙏 *chef's kiss*) but unfortunately i got struck with a horrible case of writer's block/work deadlines, and just couldn't get to it at all.
until yesterday: i decided to just open my inbox and see what came to me. no thinking, just following the vibe of a prompt and writing. and uh. this happened... not only did it get ridiculously long (oops?) but it also somehow became a mini "investigate montreal" fic?? so in that vein, i'm tagging @1016week and submitting a belated entry for Day 6 "Montreal"... ❤️
i love this one. hope you love it too!! 👀⌚
~
Charles' soulmate timer stops when he is seven years old, and he meets the boy with the bluest eyes he's ever seen.
He's been vibrating with excitement all weekend - not just because it's a karting cup, but because his soulmate timer has been ticking down to this day for months now. Well, not just months, not really. It's actually been his whole life, but Charles doesn't remember all of that. He only remembers the past few months, when the little numbers had been getting smaller and smaller, until there were only ten days left and Charles gasped when he realised that the day would fall on the same day as the Bridgestone Cup.
"Of course the girl I marry is going to like racing, too," he'd told Maman and Papa, confidingly. Not a lot about soulmates made much sense to him, but this did.
His Maman had tried to smile, and Charles had hugged her tight to let her know it was going to be okay. He would find his soulmate, and then everyone would be smiling, because that's what people do when you meet your soulmate.
(Later that night, when Charles had been too excited to sleep and he'd gone to the bathroom quickly, Charles had heard his parents having an argument in their room. The door was closed, so their voices were muffled, but Charles could still make out his Maman saying "I just don't think it's a good sign, to meet your soulmate so young!" But Papa had countered, "Many people do, and they have beautiful stories. You have to trust that our Charles will meet his perfect match tomorrow." And then there had been an icky noise, like kissing, and Charles had flushed the loo quickly and ran back to his room.)
Now, with the beautiful blue eyed boy standing in front of him, Charles thinks of Papa's words again. Our Charles will meet his perfect match tomorrow.
Charles thought it would be a girl who really liked karting, but this is even better. This is a boy who wins at karting, because he's holding a trophy in both hands and grinning like he couldn't be happier.
Of course Charles' perfect match would be someone who wins at karting. It's only right, because Charles also wins at karting.
Charles clears his throat. "Hi," he says shyly, and the blue-eyed boy jumps.
"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," he says apologetically, and then he laughs. He has a nice laugh, Charles thinks - like he knows how to have fun. "You are a bit short," the blue-eyed boy adds, and hey.
"Hey," Charles protests. "I'm tall for my age. I'm seven."
"Well, I'm nine," the blue-eyed boy says, like that's the most impressive age in the world.
It is a bit impressive, but not very, because Lorenzo is much older than that. Still, it is a little scary - Charles is only seven. What if this blue-eyed boy doesn't like him because he's only seven? Older kids can be mean like that.
No, he is your perfect match, Charles reminds himself. This blue-eyed boy won't be mean to him, because that's not how perfect matches work.
Charles takes a deep breath, then he sticks out his hand. "I'm Charles," he says.
The blue-eyed boy takes his hand, and it feels... weird. A little bit like when you get shocked by static electricity.
Charles giggles, unable to stop himself, and the blue-eyed boy smiles, as though he likes that.
"Hello, Charles. I'm Pierre," he says, squeezing Charles' hand. His eyes widen a moment later. "Oh! You've met your soulmate?!"
Charles doesn't understand what he means. "Well, yeah," he says. "It's y-"
And then he notices it.
Pierre's soulmate timer, right there on his wrist, right above where Charles is gripping his hand - it's still ticking.
Now, Charles doesn't know a lot about soulmates yet, but he knows that that's not good. Not good at all.
"I, um," Charles stammers, and then he does the one thing Maman and Papa said you should never do to your soulmate. Charles lies.
"I met so many new people today. I don't remember who it was."
Pierre's face falls. "Oh," he says, and he sounds unbearably sad for Charles. "But..." He chews his lip, shaking his head with a deep frown.
Then, mid-shake, Pierre's expression changes to one of determination. "I will help you find them," he says, with the kind of confidence Charles can only dream of when he's not on the racetrack.
He tugs on Charles' hand - which he still hasn't let go of - and Charles is helpless to do anything but follow.
~
They don't find Charles' soulmate anywhere, of course, and then Charles has to go win his race - but Pierre makes him promise that they will find each other at the next French karting event, and Charles will tell him all about his soulmate.
Charles promises, even though the idea makes his stomach feel all funny. I shouldn't be lying to my soulmate, he thinks, guiltily.
But Pierre's soulmate timer didn't stop ticking, and... that's not how soulmates are supposed to work.
The moment he's in the car with his father after the race, heading back home, Charles asks him about it.
Papa is quiet for a long moment, then: "Are you sure there wasn't someone behind Pierre, Charles?" he asks, in his careful, kind way. "Someone who's timer stopped at the same time as yours?"
Charles thinks about it for a moment, but even the idea of that feels - wrong, somehow. Like going into a corner and knowing you braked too hard, and you're going to flip the kart.
He shakes his head decisively. "No," he says. "It's Pierre."
He hears rather than sees his father blow out a soft sigh. Charles catches his eye in the rearview mirror, feeling confused and a little shaky inside.
When Papa sighs like that, it's never good news - it's usually something about sponsorship, which is a word Charles is already coming to dread.
It doesn't make sense how this could be about sponsorship, though. It probably isn't.
Charles waits for his father to gather his thoughts, like he needs to do sometimes to make sure he says exactly what he means. (It's something Maman keeps telling him he should try doing as well, but he's not so good at that yet.)
"You know how even the greatest racing drivers make mistakes sometimes?" Papa asks.
Charles frowns, but he nods. "Yes?"
"Sometimes the universe is like that, too. Sometimes the universe makes a mistake, and stops the timers too soon," Papa explains.
Charles frowns. He hasn't heard about that before, but he guesses it makes sense. It's true what Papa said - not even Senna was a perfect driver who never made mistakes. It makes sense that the universe is the same.
"But this doesn't mean you don't have a soulmate, okay, Charles?" Papa says before Charles can spend too much time thinking about the whole thing. His voice is firmer than Charles was expecting, and he reaches up to tilt the rearview mirror to see Charles better.
"It doesn't mean you don't have a soulmate," he repeats, like he doesn't want Charles to ever doubt that. "It just means it's going to be a little harder to find them."
Charles frowns, and he can't help but be a little annoyed. Isn't the whole point of soulmate timers to make it easier to find your perfect match?
It's just his luck that his soulmate timer doesn't work properly.
"I understand," Charles says, though, because he can tell it's important to his father.
Papa nods, but he keeps watching Charles in the rearview mirror for the rest of the drive, like he sometimes does after a race where Charles crashed the kart badly and he needs to keep making sure that Charles is fine.
Of course Charles is fine. He doesn't think this is comparable to a bad race at all! It's a little annoying, yes, but it's not that bad. It's just a bit of extra work, isn't it?
Charles shrugs his shoulders, glancing quickly down at the stopped soulmate timer at his wrist.
Whatever. Racing is more important than soulmates, anyway.
~
Almost twenty years later, Charles still says that to himself almost every day, even if he doesn't believe it with nearly the same careless seven-year-old confidence anymore: racing is more important than soulmates.
It is, because it has to be.
The thing is this: his father's explanation to Charles' seven-year-old self had been true - if a little oversimplified, and painted with an overt layer of kindness.
The truth Charles knows now is that there are two reasons, two categories, for people whose timers stop when the other person's keeps running.
One is, like Papa had said all those years ago, a simple case of mistaken timing - cases where the universe or fate or whatever controls it all stopped one person's timer a little too soon, or the other's a little too late.
It's harder to find each other in those cases, but it's still quite possible.
And then there's the second category. The unrequiteds. People whose timers stopped at the right time - when they met the person who would be their perfect match - except that they are not that person's perfect match in return. It only goes one way.
It's rare, but it happens sometimes. No system is perfect, after all - not even a system of soulmates.
For years and years, Charles tried to convince himself that he fell into the first category. His soulmate timer simply stopped too early, by some cosmic accident - but it's okay, Charles insists to everyone who asks and to himself as well, because what it's done is given Charles more time to focus on his racing instead. He's not constantly glancing down at his wrist and wondering when his timer is going to stop ticking - he can just get on with the racing.
He'll find his soulmate eventually, but on his own terms. There's nothing bad about that, surely.
Charles believes that. Really he does.
Except.
Except, if it's true and Charles falls into the first category - the mistaken timing category - then it would mean Pierre isn't his soulmate.
Pierre, who kept the promise he'd made to a seven-year-old who wasn't even his soulmate (because, yes, he had found Charles at the very next French karting cup, and he'd asked to meet Charles' soulmate - and when Charles had to admit that he still hadn't found them, Pierre had hugged him and told him not to give up and that he would find his soulmate someday. Pierre had held Charles' hand and explained that his parents almost didn't find each other, but they did. So it might take Charles some time, but that was okay, because it had taken Pierre's parents some time too, but now they were happier than ever. He'd been so convincing, firm but kind and absolutely sure of himself, and he'd made Charles believe it. He also made Charles smile, genuinely and truly, when he promised he'd stick by Charles' side no matter what anyone else said or whispered about his stopped soulmate timer.)
Pierre, who kept that promise about sticking with Charles, too. Pierre who never stopped being kind, and loyal, and the best friend Charles could ask for, whether he was seven or thirteen or nineteen or twenty-six.
Honestly, how was Charles supposed to not fall hopelessly in love with him?
He tried to deny it. For years and years, Charles tried to deny it - I will find my soulmate someday and it will all make sense, he'd tried to convince himself - but the thing was, what made more sense than Pierre being his soulmate?
It was roundabout the time of Pierre's first win (when Charles was standing under the podium in Monza with an aching back but a heart soaring with joy for his best friend despite the disaster of his own race) that Charles resigned himself to the truth: Pierre is his soulmate.
He has to be. Isn't a soulmate meant to be your perfect match; the person who understands you better than anyone and makes you happier than any other person in the world?
There's nobody else who could make Charles as happy as Pierre does. Nobody, nobody. There's no point in even trying to deny it anymore.
Pierre is his soulmate. But he is not Pierre's.
And that's okay. It's okay.
It has to be.
~
It isn't okay, not really, but that's true of a lot of things in Charles' life, and he's learned how to deal with them. He can deal with this, too.
On the whole, Charles thinks he does a pretty good job of dealing with it. He gets to be Pierre's best friend, after all - isn't that just a different kind of soulmate? True, Charles might want more, but it isn't like he has nothing. He has Pierre, and he will have Pierre for the rest of their lives.
Not in the way he wants, but - at least he will have Pierre.
The one thing he tries never to think about is Pierre's actual soulmate. Because Pierre has one, he knows, and he will meet them at some point.
Charles doesn't know how the hell he's supposed to look at some soulmate of Pierre's, and smile at her, and not be hopelessly, heartbreakingly jealous.
(He will do it, though. He will learn to smile at Pierre's soulmate - for Pierre's sake. He'll do it for Pierre.)
But that's a bridge he will cross when they get there. He doesn't have to worry about it yet (or at least, that's what Charles keeps telling himself even as the months tick by, and he knows there aren't year figures left on Pierre's soulmate timer anymore. Just months now, and then... weeks.)
Charles isn't thinking about it. He's put it out of his mind completely - which is easy enough to do, thankfully, given everything that's been happening on-track this season.
That's probably why he accepts Pierre's invitation to dinner in Montreal without thinking twice about it. (Even if he had realised, though, Charles doesn't think he would have been able to say no, either. He would give Pierre everything, if he only asked.)
So they go to dinner in Montreal, and it's perfect, and wonderful, and laughter-filled, and all in all exactly what Charles needed to distract himself from the fact that he has yet another engine penalty, and the sinking feeling that the championship is beginning to slip out of his reach.
Pierre seems to realise it, because he's in even finer form than usual - teasing Charles and tickling his ribs playfully and making him laugh at every possible opportunity.
Even on the drive back to the hotel: they stop at a red light, and Pierre steals Charles' cap, and Charles is giggling and filming it while Pierre is giggling back, and he's pretty sure neither of them are thinking about it at all, until-
Until Pierre's face changes from laughter to something almost ashen. "Charles," he says, and for all the years Charles has known him, he's never once heard Pierre's voice like that. "My soulmate timer just stopped."
For a few seconds, the words don't even register in Charles' mind.
Then they do, and Charles can feel his heart drop. "What?" he breathes.
His hands shake, and he doesn't even register the fact that the light has gone green as he glances all around them, craning his neck to see if there's anyone behind the white Ferrari, or around to the side.
Just a few minutes ago, their car had been surrounded by fans on all sides, all jostling to try and get pictures of them. But now, somehow, they're all alone in the Montreal night.
(The irony of it all is not lost on him - is this how Pierre felt all those years ago, when he was trying to look for Charles' soulmate at a karting cup, but not finding anybody it could be?)
"Are you sure it stopped just now? And not earlier?" Charles asks, willing his voice not to shake.
"Yeah," Pierre whispers. He sounds... devastated.
"But," Charles says, and then he has to take a deep breath. "But there's no-one else here, Pierrot."
"I know," Pierre says, somehow even softer.
Charles' fingers clench reflexively around the steering wheel, and he's moving in blank autopilot as he puts the car into gear and starts driving forward again.
He doesn't even realise he's shaking his head until Pierre says softly, "Charles." There's something wounded about it.
Charles stops shaking his head and slams on the brakes instead, jerking the car into something he hopes is a parking space at the side of the road.
"I don't understand," he says, far more calmly than he feels. "You can't - I can't be your soulmate."
Okay, maybe he's not so calm after all. But he doesn't think... he doesn't think anyone would be calm, in this situation.
Pierre makes a sound that could almost be a laugh, except that it sounds too strangled. "Do you know," he says, "that I have spent half my life wondering if the soulmate system got something wrong in my case? Because if you're not my soulmate, then who is? Who could possibly..."
Pierre does laugh this time, shaking his head. "You know, I asked to go out with you tonight for a reason. I knew - I knew it would happen tonight, so I needed to..." He swallows. "I needed to see you, one last time. Before I wouldn't be allowed to love you anymore."
It jolts through Charles then, what Pierre is trying to say. "Pierre," he breathes, and now it's his turn to say his best friend's name in a way he doesn't think he's ever said it before.
But Pierre's not finished yet. "I thought I could have one last night with you," he says. "One last night, before I had to say goodbye to my feelings, and try to love someone else."
My feelings. Try to love someone else.
Charles Leclerc is a lot of things, but an idiot is not one of them. He knows what Pierre is saying. He's...
Pierre loves him too. All along, Pierre has loved him too.
Only, he never had the option of thinking we're soulmates, Charles realised, and his heart twists in his chest.
Because Charles, for all that he accepted his soulbond toward Pierre was unrequited - at least he'd had the option of them being soulmates. Yes, it was in a twisted way, but at least he'd had that.
Pierre didn't. And he still fell in love with Charles.
The thought hits him like a shell-shock, and it's enough that Charles can only sit there for a moment, staring blankly, as Pierre continues talking beside him.
"I meant for tonight to just be a quick dinner together, something fun but normal for us," Pierre is saying, wringing his hands. "But I lost track of time. I always lose time when I'm talking to you, Charlito, I could talk to you forever - but the point is, I forgot to tell you I need to go back. I forgot that I was meant to meet my fucking soulmate tonight, because I was spending time with you, and - "
He takes a deep breath, and then he laughs again, leaning forward to drop his head into his hands. "I felt it happen, you know? I knew exactly when my soulmate timer stopped, because I could feel it, and it's - it was when I put that fucking cap on my head, Charles."
The cap that he's still wearing. Charles' 16 Ferrari cap.
Charles' hands shake as he reaches out to touch it, just the brim. "Your soulmate timer stopped when you put my cap on," he says, because a part of him still can't believe that this is real, that he's not living in some kind of heartbreakingly wonderful dream.
Pierre straightens up so fast that Charles is left with his fingers dangling awkwardly in mid-air. "Yes," he says, suddenly looking wild, "but this doesn't have to change anything, Charlito, I promise. I will still help you find your soulmate, and I will - I'll learn how to live with an unrequited bond, it's -"
"No!" Charles interrupts, half-throwing himself across the car to catch hold of Pierre's hands. "No, no, no, no. No more unrequited bonds, Pierrot."
Pierre starts to shake his head, but then he stops in the middle of the movement. "What do you mean," he asks, very carefully, "no more?"
And suddenly, Charles feels giddy, of all things. "I mean, your timer didn't stop when mine did. So for years, I have thought that we can't be soulmates, or at least that you couldn't be my soulmate. But now your timer stopped when you put on my cap, so -"
"Stop, stop, stop," Pierre says, squeezing Charles' hands tightly. "What do you mean, my timer didn't stop when yours did?"
"Oh," Charles says, and then he winces, the weight of the only real lie he's ever told his best friend (the only real lie he's ever told his soulmate) settling onto his shoulders with uncomfortable heaviness. "Um. Well. Do you remember when we met, and you thought I already met my soulmate?"
"No," Pierre breathes, but it's not the kind of no that says "no I don't remember." This no is more like "no way."
"Yeah," Charles says, and he can't help but look down at his own wrist, where the soulmate timer has been stopped for years and years. "My timer stopped the moment I met you, Pierrot."
"You..."
Pierre doesn't look like he knows how to finish that sentence, but Charles understands him anyway. "How was I supposed to tell you? I was seven, Pierre, and your timer didn't stop. I thought it was a mistake for years."
"But?" Pierre asks, like he can tell there was a but.
Charles beams at him. "But, I realised that there was nobody else who could be my perfect match. So I thought you were my soulmate after all, but it was unrequited."
"Never," Pierre says with a fierceness Charles doesn't expect. "Charles, never. If I knew... if I thought I had even half a chance, I would have been with you anyway."
Charles tries to laugh, but it comes out all breathless. "No you wouldn't."
"Yes, I would," Pierre argues, and his voice is heartbreakingly sincere. "I don't care. I would have chosen you."
Charles hears a punched-out noise, and it takes him a moment to realise it came from him. The next moment, he's unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing awkwardly over to sit on Pierre's lap.
It's not quite comfortable, because for all its luxury, the white Ferrari does not have a lot of leg space - but Charles doesn't think either of them give a single fuck, in this moment.
"I love you," he tells Pierre, reaching up to cup his cheek. "I've always loved you, but I never would have stood between you and your soulmate."
"Funny," Pierre says, his hands coming up to grip Charles' hips, "because that's exactly what stopped me from kissing you senseless."
"Well," Charles says, and if he grinds down just a little on Pierre's lap, he'll swear to everyone who asks that it was accidental. "It doesn't have to stop us anymore."
"Never again," Pierre agrees, tightening his grip on Charles' hips. "Never."
"So kiss me senseless, please," Charles whispers, and then he adds "soulmate," and that's what does it. Pierre surges up and kisses him, wild and desperate and more than a little clumsy, but without question the best kiss Charles has ever had. His own cap digs into his forehead a little, but Charles can't even bring himself to care about that - they owe too much to this cap now, honestly.
Maybe the universe does know what it's doing after all, Charles thinks. Maybe the universe just wanted to write a good story for them. A story that goes like this:
Charles' soulmate timer stopped when he was seven years old, and he met the boy with the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.
Almost twenty years later, Pierre's soulmate timer stopped in a white Ferrari in Montreal, and Charles finally got to kiss the boy with the bluest eyes he's ever seen, the man who is his best friend and his soulmate.
The odds of it working out this way have to be... a million to one, probably, or maybe even less.
But then again, what are the odds that two boys who met at a French karting cup and became friends with a shared dream would both make it to Formula 1?
Maybe the answer is just that Pierre and Charles have always liked beating the odds.
~
(50 Romance Prompts Ask Meme) <- not currently taking more prompts, sorry!
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wiiwheel · 1 year
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the "twink" to "bear" pipeline
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