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#and she just wants to spend time with him and be with him
fox-guardian · 2 days
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starting to feel like part of the reason that Sam and Celia's romance thing feels a little off rn is cuz like. what do you mean they're actually dating. he asked her on a date and she said yes. and it's working out so far. it's chill and fine. what do you mean they're not pining for 4 seasons, not communicating, and then getting together only after one of them walked through hell to drag the other out and make sure they know they're loved and wanted. they haven't even patched each other's wounds yet hello. aren't y'all moving a little fast.
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propertyofwicked · 2 days
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WANTED - LN
based on this request ✧ my inbox is open for requests (or if u just want a chat!) ✧
warnings - smut! MDNI!! jealous!lando, fingering + oral (fem receiving), possessive!! unprotected (stay safe yall), spitting, light slapping (u have been warned) not proofread
ur girl has finally officially finished first year!! i have never felt so freeee (im ignoring the fact i now have to move out rip) (also osc p2 monaco lets gooooo)
masterlist the playlist
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lando had been busy lately, too busy. between races, training, and quadrant, it seemed like he barely had any time to himself, or to spend with y/n. she understood, of course, she knew how demanding his career was - but understanding didn't make the loneliness any easier to bear.
and even when he was around, it’s like he wasn’t there at all, not for her at least.
everyone was stood around at the end of a quadrant shoot - it had only been filmed at max’s house so the group settled into the living room easily. y/n there to accompany lando since she had little else to do, desperate to spend any time she could with her boyfriend before he flew off to the next race - even if it did mean sleeping in max’s spare room.
lando stood on the opposite side of the room, talking almost exclusively to max, whilst she sat on the sofa, alone.
y/n didn’t think anything of it when will came and sat next to her, showing her a meme on his phone that she laughed at. and she didn’t think anything of it when they continued the friendly conversation. it felt good to be noticed, to have someone ask her how she’d been - maybe she laughed a little too much at a joke that wasn’t funny, maybe it was just the first time anyone had shown her any attention in a while.
across the room, lando watched the interaction with a frown. he saw the way y/n laughed, the way she leaned in a little too close to his friend. he knew he had been neglecting her, but seeing her with someone else made his blood boil. he wasn’t possessive, no, and usually the sight of his girlfriend laughing with their friends didn’t strike any anger in him. but this was different.
“— we can post that next week sometime?” max said, interrupting his thoughts.
“yeah, yeah - sounds good,” lando replied, not really listening, “i’ll be back in a minute, just need to do something,” he added before striding across the room, leaving max stood alone, his face contorting into slight confusion.
“hey," lando said to the two, his voice low, "mind if i steal her for a minute?"
will looked somewhat confused, but nodded. lando reached out, taking y/n wrist before yanking her from the sofa, pulling them into the hallway. the door shut behind them, y/n’s mouth opened, ready to ask him what was so urgent.
"lando, what are you—"
but he didn't let her finish, pushing her against the wall, his hands on either side of her head, caging her in.
"what the hell were you doing?" he demanded, his eyes sharpening with jealousy. he was met with her eyes glaring up at him in defiance.
"i was having a conversation, lando. something i rarely do with you because you're always so busy."
"so your idea of fun is flirting with my friends?" his jaw clenching.
"flirting?" she shot back, shocked, “he was asking me how i was?”
“and that’s why you were two seconds away from giggling and twirling you hair for him, no?” lando continued to argue, anger still bubbling in him as one hand dropped to her hip, gripping tightly.
“ok, i was flirting with him and now, we’re going to run away and live a long and happy life together - is that what you wanna hear?” she continued, shrugging slightly as she sighed at the ridiculousness.
he stared at her for a long moment, his chest heaving. without warning, he crashed his lips onto hers roughly, his possessiveness filled with pent-up frustration and desire he'd been ignoring for weeks. y/n responded instantly, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss, his tongue swiping her bottom lip, begging for more.
"lan," she breathed out as he broke the kiss, whining slightly as his mouth moved to press kisses down her neck, nipping at the flesh harshly, "there’s people here."
"’don't care," he growled against her skin. "you're mine, and im going to remind you of that."
he kissed her again, his hands roaming over her body, gripping at her hips. she moaned into his mouth, her resistance melting away. she was engulfed in him, the way he touched her, the way he pushed her further into the wall as his hips rolled into hers.
"need you," she breathed when he pulled back for air, his forehead resting against hers.
he nodded, his pupils blown with his own need.
"come on," he told her, taking her hand to guide them up the stairs to max’s spare room.
stumbling through the door, clothes already being discarded, lando pushed her onto the bed, his eyes raking over her body.
"you're so beautiful," he murmured, crawling over her. "and mine. only mine."
"only yours," she whispered, pulling him down to kiss him again.
“gonna need you to be quiet f’me, ok?” he told her as his lips trailed her body, his body sliding down the bed till he was resting on his knees. he pulled her legs closer to him so his face was level with her heat, her hips moved upwards, desperate for anything after weeks of nothing.
“patience, angel,” lando breathed out, moving his finger to toy with her clit slowly. he wrapped an arm around her leg, pulling it over his shoulder as he rests his forearm over her stomach, stopping her wriggling. his finger returns to her folds, slowly he pushing a digit inside her, feeling the stretch around him. his lips joined onto her clit, sucking harshly as he added a second finger, curling them up into her.
“please lan,” she moaned out, unsure of what she was even asking for.
his fingers never faltered, continuing their assault as they hit that spot that had her pushing her hips up, his tongue circling her clit once more before he pulled his face away from her heat. his eyes flittered from looking up at her before moving back to watch as his fingers disappeared inside her. she tightened around him, her breathing heavier as she began to fall apart for him. she was getting fidgety, her moans gaining in volume as his thumb returned to her clit, rubbing deep circles, his other hand still pushing two fingers into her at an alarming rate.
“shush angel,” lando told her, before trailing his spare hand up her body and pushing his thumb into her mouth slowly. her hand moved to grip his arm as her tongue glided along his thumb. as much as he wanted to hear her, as much as he wanted everyone to know who she belonged to, he also wanted her all to himself - no one else deserved to hear her fall apart for him.
his mouth barely had time to return to her clit before her legs were shaking around him, clamping around his head periodically as she came around his fingers.
“good girl,” lando mumbled against her thigh, his fingers slowing inside her as she rode out her high.
“need more lan, please,” y/n begged, pulling at his arm to bring his body back to hover over hers.
“so needy,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her lips, allowing her to taste herself.
“been too long,” she told him, a hand reaching down to tug at his hardened length a few times.
he would’ve felt guilty about neglecting her needs for so long, if it wasn’t for the feeling of her fingers wrapping around him, her thumb circling his tip before spreading pre cum down his cock.
“let me make it up to you,” lando told her, pressing a kiss to her jaw, before taking himself in his hands and running his tip through her slick folds. he pushed into her roughly, finding himself desperate to feel her after so long.
“breathe for me angel,” he told her, pulling out slightly as he felt the way her body tense,, “feel so good.”
his cock pushed into her again, setting a steady pace as he leant back over to kiss her harshly.
“feels good,” she told him, eyes looking into his. his necklace dangled from his neck, the cool metal settling on her skin.
“yeah? ‘my the only person who makes you feel like this?” he asked bitingly.
“you snatched me away before will had the chance to do a better job,” she teased cautiously.
lando pushed himself back, rising to stand at the end of the bed, his cock never leaving her. he pulled her legs again, yanking her roughly to the edge of the bed before pulling one of her legs over his shoulder. her eyes began to glaze over from the new position, his length thrusting into her tightening walls at a relentless pace. however, a sharp sting on her cheek brought her back to reality, sending shots of pleasure to her core whilst tears pricked her eyes. lando’s had slapped at her face lightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to tell her that she had pissed him off a little too much.
“you wanna say that shit again?” he grunted, slowing his pace to roll his hips into hers tauntingly.
she genuinely considered it for a moment, contemplating how possessive he could get if she teased him further, but his fingers dipped into her cheek, holding her jaw tight.
she shook her head quickly as if to say no, refraining from flinching as his hand moved, but this time it fell gently, stroking her cheek where it stung.
“good answer,” lando added, returning to a regular pace, “you gonna behave now?”
“i wi- will,” she choked out, nodding despite his grip on her face, “i promise.”
satisfied with her answer, his fingers moved to toy with her clit. using the leg over his shoulder and her other leg wrapped around his waist as an anchor, her hips rose from the bed, moving in circular motions to match the pattern his fingers drew on her heat. lando’s free hand gripped at her calf, pulling her closer to him, deepening his thrusts. the tip of his cock pressing desperately into her as she whimpered and moaned his name.
lando leaned forward to kiss her, letting her leg over his shoulder drop to his waist so that she wasn’t folded literally in half. y/n wrapped around him tightly, pulling him in to kiss her deeper, tongues clashing as his thrusts faltered slightly. he balanced on his arm as his head dropped from her lips, his teeth nipping at the skin of her breast before his lips wrapped around her nipple, his free hand moved to grip tightly onto her other breast, fingers toying with her.
y/n whimpered, trying to keep quiet as she remembered how many people were also in the house. lando smirked to himself, loving the way she sounded, the way her heat gripped around his length as he moved inside her. his teeth pulled at the skin of her breast again, the flesh moving with him as he pulled away before dropping, bouncing slightly as it landed.
“so pathetic,” he grunted, feeling his high coming rapidly as he looked at her head thrown back. her mouth hung open, heavy breaths escaping, and her nails gripped tightly into the skin of his bicep. his other hand moved to settle lightly on her neck, thumb and index finger holding her jaw open for him. lando’s face hovered above hers, their eyes locking as a trail of spit fell from his mouth, landing on her tongue. he watched as she swallowed it, before re-joining their lips in a messy kiss.
“look at you, taking me so well,” he cooed, “’m so stupid for neglecting you,” he added, his tone softening from his previous frustration.
“not stupid,” she reassured, kissing his jaw.
“i love you,” he told her softly, despite his hips quickening in their movement, feeling the way her legs tightened as she got closer to her climax. his lips returned to her neck, sucking softly at the flesh, blood running cold as his ears picked up on the way she panted out his name.
“lan, baby, im go-”
“i know,” he told her, eyes squeezing shut, “let go baby, i got you.”
she came hard and fast around him, the tightening of her walls bringing him to his own climax.
“can i come inside?” he asked her, almost begging. she nodded rapidly, unable to talk as her mind became fuzzy.
“fuck,” he grunted, hips snapping into hers desperately before shooting ropes of warm cum into her, filling her completely, “all mine,” he said, more to himself than her.
lando pulled out slowly, careful of the way her eyes screwed up from the sting before rolling to lay next to her, chests heaving in unison. he turned his head to face her, noting the bruises forming on her neck and her chest, till his eyes settled on the red flush of her cheek.
“i didn’t hurt you did i?” he asked softly, hand reaching up to stroke at the redness.
“not really, it was hot,” she said with a shrug, smirking as she turned her head to face him.
“noted,” lando replied, laughing lightly.
“love it when you get possessive,” y/n added, cautious with her next statement, “makes me feel wanted.”
“im sorry i ever made you feel unwanted, angel. i never meant to,” he sighed, pulling her body close to his so that her head rested on his bare chest, “ill do better i promise.”
“i know you will, lan - i just wish i didn’t have to ask to be wanted, you know?” she told him, her fingers stroking lightly at his shoulder.
“you are wanted, y/n,” he repeated fiercely, “you are everything to me. i think i just got too comfortable with how things were, i jus- it took the thought of you leaving, the thought of you with someone else to bring me back to reality.”
“i am yours lando, forever,” she assured him, holding out her pinky to join his, “i promise. besides, if you keep fucking me like that i don’t think i could ever leave,” she joked.
“yeah?”
“but if you keep spitting in my mouth i may go completely feral, you won’t be able to get rid of me,” she said, smirking up at him, “do that again and you’re actually having my children.”
“that’s…not possible?” he questioned, smiling at her.
“so you don’t love me? is what you’re saying?” she asked, pushing herself up to look in dead in the eyes, her mouth straining to stay clamped shut in fear of laughing.
“i fear for what i have started,” lando laughed, pulling her back tightly into his chest.
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woso-dreamzzz · 1 day
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Dogs II
Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle x Child!Reader
Summary: You don't like Ona
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Mum and Mummy break up.
That's what they tell you anyway.
They say they're not in love with each other anymore.
You ask if that means they don't love you anymore.
They say no.
You ask if that means they don't love Narla anymore.
They say no.
You tell them that as long as you and Narla can stay together then it's fine.
Mum and Mummy call it a custody schedule. It means that you spend two week sleeping at Mum's house and then two weeks sleeping at Mummy's house.
Narla comes with you too.
You have the same custody schedule as her.
Things are different now that you don't all live together. Most of the different things are at Mum's house.
Like Ona.
She's from the bad Manchester and she's been hanging around the house a lot. You don't know what to make of her but you don't like the way she's taken Mummy's old seat at the table or the way that she's been sleeping on Mummy's side of the bed.
She sits in the front seat of the car too when Mum drives to training and does other things like the laundry or the hoovering in the house.
It's weird because none of Mum's other friends do that.
You stare at the food in front of you, poking at it with your fork.
Mum sits opposite you and Ona sits next to her, both of them digging into the meal that Ona made after practice was finished.
You sniff it.
It doesn't smell like food Mummy would normally cook and you look down at the floor, where Narla is waiting.
You dump your food onto the floor for her.
"Hey!" Mum catches you doing it and you wilt a little at her stern voice. "That's not very nice. Ona cooked for us."
You wrinkle your nose. "No."
"Yes, she did."
You shake your head.
"Sorry," She says to Ona," She's not usually like this." She turns back to you just as you dump another forkful of food onto the floor for Narla. "Hey! Stop it! Eat your food!"
"No." You stick your tongue out.
"It's not a question."
You dump more food on the floor. Narla's having a lot of fun eating it.
You're glad she's having fun because Mum very quickly puts you on the naughty step to 'think about your actions' before she returns to the table to eat.
"I swear she's not usually like this," Lucy says," I've no idea why she's acting like this."
"It's okay," Ona says, though the pit in her stomach at not getting you to like her is deep," She'll come around."
Ona's not quite sure what she's doing wrong. She's good with kids. She knows she's good with kids. Everyone's told her she's good with kids.
She just isn't sure why she isn't good with you.
She's tried everything. Toys. Food. Tv time.
But you just don't seem very happy with any of it.
You shuffle away when she sits next to you. You don't play with the toys she buys. You feed her food to Narla.
Ona's unsure how she's meant to win you over.
She stews on it on the sofa as Lucy gives you your bath. She forces herself to take her mind of it by scrolling through her phone, stopping on a picture of Coco she took just last night.
"Pup," Ona hears Lucy say," Say goodnight to Ona, please."
"No."
"Pup," Lucy's voice is firmer than before," Say goodnight to Ona or I'll call Mummy and tell her about how bad you're being."
That gets you moving and you shuffle over to the sofa.
"Goodnight, Ona," You say begrudgingly. You make a move to leave before you catch sight of the picture on her phone. "Is puppy."
"Er...yes," Ona says.
You shuffle closer, hands resting on Ona's leg as you lean to get a closer look.
"Is not my puppy. Is it yours?"
"This is Coco," Ona says," He's mine, yeah."
"Is he friendly?"
"Very."
"He likes dogs too?"
"Yeah."
You turn to Lucy with a disgruntled face. "Why you not say Ona has a puppy? I want to see her puppy!"
Your sudden turnaround shocks a laugh out of Lucy.
"Sorry, pup," She says," I didn't know you'd want to see Ona's dog."
You turn back to Ona. "I love puppies," You tell her," Why you not bring your puppy to see me and Narla?"
"I can bring him next time."
You nod. "Good." You grab Ona's hand. "Got a story about puppies. For my bedtime story. Read to me please?"
Ona grins, tightening her grip on your hand. "I'd love to."
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ellecdc · 2 days
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thank you, McLaggen
inspired by the TikTok audio of Phil Dunphy saying "if you ever say anything disrespectful about my wife again, I'll kill you. Sorry, I don't know why that sounded like a joke; I will actually kill you."
James Potter x fem!reader who was apparently 'too much' for McLaggen
CW: they're at a party, readers last relationship left her feeling small, but she loves James and is all good now
It took a bit of unlearning when you found yourself in a relationship with James Potter. 
He sensed your hangups immediately; as if you were a duffle bag containing paraphernalia and he was a well-trained drug dog.
He noticed the way you seemed to fold in on yourself when you were excited, the way you cut yourself off when you began rambling, and the way you seemed to make yourself smaller as if that was what was required for the people around you to feel comfortable.
“Why do you keep snuffing out your own light, lovie? I miss your spark.” He’d said to you one night.
In all honesty, you hadn’t been aware you were even doing such a thing.
But you certainly knew why. 
Though your mother always told you to never look back on life with regrets, you’d spent about a year in what you now consider to be a rather unfortunate relationship with Tiberius McLaggen. 
And though you hadn’t noticed he’d been doing it; by the time your relationship ended, you realised you were perhaps a mere shadow of the person you used to be.
He’d ended the relationship after suggesting you were ‘too much’.
The irony of it was you were the smallest you’d ever been at that point; the ‘least’ you that you could possibly be. How could you be ‘too much’ and diminished at the same time?
You spent a lot of time reflecting after that, but it seemed that when you and James started your relationship, those old habits and qualities made their way back into your subconscious and it took James pointing it out for you to even notice.
You were glad he had, though. He was lovely, and he was caring, and he loved you. He loved your energy, he loved your passion, he loved your excitement, and better yet, he loved sharing those qualities with you.
All of the traits that your ex had deemed unseemly or unflattering were the traits you loved most about James, and in turn what he most loved about you.
And why would you deny such a lovely person of anything they wanted?
You just couldn’t.
So the two of you had been dating for nearly five months already, and you felt more comfortable in yourself than you ever had before.
You thought perhaps that this was just the effect James had on people; you found it almost impossible for any of his friends to be anything but their best selves when they were in his presence. 
You loved him immensely for it. 
You were getting a first hand look at exactly that from your spot on the arm of the sofa as you watched Peter throw his head back in boisterous laughter not usually seen from the typically soft spoken marauder. James didn’t even spend any time being smug about eliciting such a laugh from the cushion below you before he was complimenting Remus on his jumper, knowing very well that Sirius was the who picked it out for him - and also knowing Sirius would absolutely take full responsibility for the compliment - only to coo about how sweet they were together and leaving both boys blushing messes. 
You had almost forgotten you were sitting in the middle of a Gryffindor party when someone sidled up beside you.
“Lookin’ good, Y/N.” McLaggen commented as he looked you up and down.
You fought the urge to grimace as you narrowed your eyes at him. “Tiberius.” 
“Didn’t think I’d see you here; not really your scene, is it?” He commented with an air of casualty you knew was entirely for show. “I’m here with my new bird; she’s in Gryffindor.” He carried on without waiting for you to respond.
You hummed in acknowledgement as you looked around the room. “It doesn’t look like you’re here with anyone, McLaggen, seeing as you’re standing here talking to me.” 
“Come now, can’t old friends catch up?” He said salaciously. 
“We’re not friends, Tiberius.” You retorted forcefully.
He held his hands up in mock surrender as he chuckled at you. “Down girl, no need to get all jumpy now. You always were a bit of a handful, weren’t you?” 
You didn’t even have a chance to tell McLaggen where to shove it before James was standing up from his place hidden behind you as McLaggen’s face fell. 
“Ah, if it isn’t Tiberius McLaggen; kicked off the Ravenclaw quidditch team, failing Astronomy, received a mere acceptable in Herbology last term, and totally shit the bed with the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts. I’ve heard so much about you!” James recounted with faux cheer as he stuck his hand out to McLaggen, forcing the bloke to give him an awkward handshake as James stared at him hard.
James Potter was still flashing his (what should be award winning) smile, but it never met his eyes which were no longer their warm hazel. 
“Sounds like you’re the one I have to thank.” James carried on as he dropped McLaggen’s hand, wiped his own hand off on his trousers and threw his other arm protectively, possessively, affectionately over your shoulder. “Turns out if you hadn’t been such an absolute fucking tosser and fumbled the best thing to have ever happened to you, I wouldn’t have my sweet, gorgeous girl here. Congrats on losing the most lovely little thing to have ever looked your way; now sod off before I decide to do something that might just be worth making her frown over.”
You were unsuccessful in hiding your snort of amusement as you hid your face in James’ shoulder and listened to McLaggen scoff and stalk away. 
“Merlin’s tits, Prongsie! Did anyone else know James could be mean!?” Sirius cackled as the two of you turned back towards the group. 
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen James end a conversation without at least wishing someone a good day.” Peter carried on.
“Did you actually threaten the sod?” Marlene continued.
“No, I didn’t threaten him.” James muttered somewhat petulantly. “I promised him pain if he ever spoke to my girl like that again.”
The group cheered as you felt a shy yet pleased heat spread across your face and you shoved your face back into James’ shoulder.
James, for his part, accepted you eagerly and rubbed his hand up and down your arm as he pressed a kiss into your hair. 
“I’ll never let anyone make you feel small ever again.” He promised quietly; whether he was promising himself, or you, or McLaggen, you weren’t entirely sure.
What you were entirely sure of was that it was a promise he intended to keep.
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likeumeanit9497 · 3 days
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please baby | c. s. |
chris sturniolo x fem!reader
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summary: chris and y/n have always had what felt like a perfect relationship. that is, until a few weeks ago. chris had been treating y/n poorly, and after one especially hurtful conversation, she is forced to make a difficult decision. when chris comes to the realization that he is about to lose it all, will he swallow his pride and do what he needs to win her back?
warnings: established relationship; smut; angst; fighting; (relatively) toxic chris; crying; unprotected sex; fluff; 18+
notes: based on this request by 🎀. i've never rlly written an angsty fic before, so let me know what u all think! also wrote this super quick so i don't think it's my best work, but still i hope u enjoy <333
ᵕᵕᵕᵕ୨♡︎୧ᵕᵕᵕᵕ
Through tears, I stared blankly at my phone. My eyes had been glued to my lit up screen for the past two minutes — unmoving, and unable to register what I was reading. Even with blurry vision, Chris’ last message to me was seared into my memory.
Chris: Ffs Y/n, just shut up. I said I’ll get there when i get there jesus.
Just as my brimmed tears finally spilled over, so did the water I was boiling on the stove. The immediate steam and sizzling noises pulled me from my phone, and frustrated for more than one reason, I raced over to the stove and shoved the pot off of the element; leaving the boiling pasta noodles to sit in the water. Just looking at my failed attempt at dinner brought on a new level of pain, as it was a reminder of what I hoped that the night could be.
Chris, my boyfriend of almost one year, was supposed to be coming over tonight. I had been super excited, because both of our schedules had been especially busy lately and we hadn’t been able to spend much time together over the past three weeks, plus I had some good news to share with him about my work. I had wanted to make the night special, so I had decided to cook one of Chris’ favourite meals — chicken alfredo — to surprise him with once he arrived.
He was currently stuck at the warehouse for a merch meeting with Nick, Matt, and his manager, and he had told me that he would come over and spend the night once he was done there. That was a few hours ago, and I had been patiently waiting for an update from him until about thirty minutes ago, when I sent him a simple message asking if he had any idea when he would be done at the warehouse. Little did I know, that singular message would cause a massive storm to erupt.
Y/n: hey babe! just wondering if you have an idea on when you can come over?
Chris: Not rlly sure
Y/n: okay…rough estimate maybe?
Y/n: just have some things i need to get done before u get here hehe
Chris: I’ll get there when I get there.
Y/n: uh..is something wrong?
Chris: No why
Y/n: ur being kinda mean???
Chris: No I’m not
Y/n: ok
Chris: My god Y/n I don’t have time for this rn
Y/n: i just said ok
Y/n: you go ahead and go back to your meeting
Y/n: i was just asking for an update, that’s all.
Y/n: didn’t realize that was such a horrible thing.
Chris: Ffs Y/n, just shut up. I said I’ll get there when i get there jesus.
Even though I hate to admit it, this wasn’t the first time that Chris had been an absolute asshole to me lately. Just last week, he had started a fight that ended with him hanging up the phone on me; only to call back a little while later to apologize. And then a few days before that, he had put zero effort into making time for me when I had tried to make plans for us to go to the movies. And during all of this, he has been incredibly dry over messages. It had been bothering me for a while now, because to me it was clear that he was losing interest. I knew that our relationship would be far from perfect going in to it, considering Chris had never been in a real relationship before me, but deep down I hoped that it would always be as perfect as it was at the beginning. Unfortunately for my hopes and dreams, his actions — or lack thereof — were shattering.
I wasn’t some oblivious girlfriend either; it was clear to me that Chris was going through something. I knew that for a fact, but every time I tried to get him to open up to me about it all, he shut me down with lame excuses: “Oh, I’m just tired,” or, “I’ve just been stressed lately”. I figured that he just needed time, and that eventually he would come to me and explain exactly what had been going on so that I could help him through it.
But now, after his hurtful words to me tonight, I was seriously considering my other options. I had been in far too many toxic relationships in the past, and had learned that I deserve more than what I had been accepting. I wouldn’t let myself be Chris’ punching bag anymore, and I knew right then and there that I had an incredibly painful task to do.
Allowing myself to be overtaken by my build up of tears, I slowly walked into my bedroom; turning off the lights and covering myself with my comforter. My shoulders heaved as I let the tears stream down my face; my brain accepting what I needed to do but my body rejecting it in every way possible. Through the tears, I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Chris — telling him that I was tired and that he might as well not come at all tonight, but we should talk tomorrow — before curling into a ball and wallowing in my own sorrows.
I stayed in the exact same position for what felt like ages; allowing myself to get all of the emotions out now so that when I had to do what I had to do tomorrow I could do so without breaking down so hard. Eventually, my tears slowed and I felt my burning eyes begin to grow heavy. Sleep was beginning to overtake me, and as I gave into my exhaustion my mind filled with scenes of the nightmare that I was going to have to face tomorrow.
ᵕᵕᵕᵕ୨♡︎୧ᵕᵕᵕᵕ
I was startled out of my sleep by the sound of keys jangling from the direction of my front door. Disoriented, it took me a moment to be overtaken by the feeling of dread that came from hearing that noise. The only person who had a key to my apartment was Chris. Before, hearing his keys at my door filled my stomach with undeniable excitement — now, my stomach did anxious flips knowing what had to be done.
As I heard the door open and close, I rolled over so that I was facing away from my bedroom door and glued my eyes shut; pretending to still be asleep. I heard his soft footsteps on the other side of the door as he wandered through my dark apartment, before a hushed “shit!” broke the silence. After a few moments, I listened as his footsteps grew closer and closer to my bedroom door, and as I heard it slowly creak open, I braced for impact.
The room stayed silent, though I couldn’t really say that for sure since I couldn’t hear anything above the sound of my own racing heart in my ears. I did my best to stay completely still, though it felt like every part of my body was vibrating; waiting for his next move. Suddenly, I felt a shift in my mattress as his body leaned against it, and physically jumped at the feeling of his hand on my shoulder; shaking it gently.
“Y/n, wake up.” He spoke in a faux whisper, and, even though I had been pretending, I felt my body grow hot in anger that he would have the audacity to wake me from my sleep after showing up to my apartment uninvited. However, my body still not understanding that it wouldn’t belong to him much longer, I shot up from my place on the bed and searched for his eyes. The room was pitch black, but I could sense exactly where he was in front of me.
Rubbing my eyes, I searched the bed for my phone, checking the time to find that it was already nearly 2 a.m. I felt the mattress shift once again and watched his faint outline as he sat on his side of my bed. “Y/n, you left the stove on.” He was still whispering, and his sentence ended in a slight chuckle; clearly oblivious to the decision that I had made on my own just hours before.
Too heartbroken to really care about the stove, I shrugged my shoulders. “Whoops.” Was all I said to the silent room. “What happened? You fall asleep in the middle of making dinner or something?” His voice was still light-hearted, and was far from a tone that matched his previous texts to me. It made it so difficult for me to remember what I had to do.
“Turn the lamp on please.” I said simply, using every ounce of strength in my body to keep my tone monotonous. Chris stayed still for a moment, clearly thrown off by my behaviour. “Uh, okay.” He finally said as he leaned toward the bedside table closest to him and switched on the warm-toned light. After allowing my eyes time to adjust to the sudden brightness, they immediately fell on him.
Oh, my Chris.
His beautiful blue eyes were so kind and bright, his long hair was wet and messily draped across his forehead, and his matching oversized sweat set made me want nothing more than to curl into him and breathe him in. He stared at me blankly for a moment, clearly beginning to register that I was upset, before finally speaking. “I’m really sorry about earlier, baby. I had been in the meeting for hours and was getting really stressed out.” I felt the lump in my throat begin to grow. Some variation of that exact sentence had been the same excuse he had given me each and every time he had hurt me over the past few weeks, and it had lost its sincerity long ago. So, instead of giving into his cheap apology, I sat up in my bed and faced him; taking a deep breath before speaking.
“I have to tell you something. And I need you to let me say this without interrupting, or else I’m scared I won’t be able to go through with it. I’ve had to say this for a while now, and now that we are where we are I know it has to be done. So please, let me say it, okay?” His light eyes were focused intensely on me, he was clearly trying to figure out where this conversation was going. But finally, he swallowed before tentatively nodding his head. “O-okay.”
I closed my eyes, feeling my lower lip quiver as I tried to find my footing on this conversation. After taking a shaky breath, I finally found my voice. “I can’t do this anymore, Chris.” Immediately, my attempt at getting all my tears out of the way earlier proved to be a failure; because as soon as the heavy words left my mouth I broke down into sobs.
Over my crying, I heard Chris’ disbelieving voice. “What do you mean you’re done with this? With what? Me?” His voice cracked slightly as he spoke, clearly being hit with the same emotions that I was. I stayed silent — my eyes screwed shut as I wrapped my arms around my torso; doing my best to comfort myself. “Y/n, please tell me what you’re talking about.” He pleaded, and I felt him scoot closer to me on the bed; placing a hesitant hand on my knee.
After catching my breath, I wiped my tears away and opened my eyes to find his frantically searching my face like an uncertain creature. “I know you’re going through something right now,” My voice was coming out nearly silent, but I continued, “And I tried so hard to be there for you, I really did Chris. But you won’t talk to me! Instead, you’ve been taking out all of your frustrations on me and treating me like absolute shit. Do you really think that’s okay?” I fought the lump in my throat as I got my words out, his shattered face no help in that department. Frantically, Chris shook his head. “No. No, it’s not okay, baby, and I’m really sorry. But please, please don’t do this.” His tone tugged at my heart strings as his desperation grew more and more transparent.
Shaking my head and closing my eyes, I shut him down. “Can you tell me why you’ve been acting the way you have?” I knew my question was pointless before I even asked it, but his silence confirmed it. Releasing an ironic chuckle, I continued. “I promised myself that I would never let another man treat me badly. I’ve put up with it far too many times, and no matter how much I love you, Chris, I can’t allow you to speak to me the way you have been lately.”
I opened my eyes and felt my heart sink at his ghostly expression, clearly on the verge of losing his shit. I brought a hand up to his cheek and stroked it for a moment, and as I did he closed his eyes and let a few tears fall. “I want you to get better, I really do. But I clearly can’t help you, so you need to do it on your own.” My own words felt like a stab in the chest, and I couldn’t help the tears as they streamed down my face. “Come to me when you’ve worked through your shit, and we can see if we can repair things. But for now, I need you to leave.”
At that, Chris’ eyes shot open in a panic and he immediately grabbed onto my leg. “No, Y/n, please. Don’t do this.” I turned my head away from him as his desperation became too much to bear. His hands traveled across my body in anguish, clearly losing all control of his emotions as the reality of our situation began to set in for him. His body slid off of the bed as he dissolved into tears against my comforter. Still having the instinct to comfort him, I scooted towards the edge of the bed, where I let my legs stretch out beside him as I ran my hands through his beautiful curls.
“Please, please baby, I swear to god I can’t do this shit without you.” He wretchedly pleaded with me, clutching my leg and trailing distressed kisses along it. I looked up at the sky, too pained by the scene that was playing out in front of me. “Chris, please, I need you to go.” I begged him, needing to put him out of his misery so that I could hurt in private. He maintained his grasp on my leg, sobbing inconsolably against it. I gave him a moment, in which he slowly began to regain control of his emotions. I watched as his sobbing grew quieter and his breathing slowed, before finally watching as he pulled himself up to his feet; the weight of our conversation evident in the way he held himself weakly.
He glanced down at me quickly, his blue eyes red and puffy, before turning away in what looked like shame. In utter silence, he turned and began walking slowly in the direction of my bedroom door. With his hand on the door knob, he paused for a moment. “I’m sorry.” His words were so quiet I could have easily missed them, but the sincerity cut through my heart like a knife. That sincerity hadn’t been present in any of the other apologies he gave me, and I was gutted that it appeared too late.
And then just like that, he was gone. I felt all the air leave my chest at the realization of what I had just done, and let my body fall back against my bed as tears once again poured down my cheeks. I couldn’t help but immediately question whether or not I had done the right thing. Was I a horrible person for abandoning the man I loved when he was so clearly dealing with something? Did I allow my fears of repeating my past distort my current reality? Were the things he said to me really that bad?
I was pulled out of my tormenting thoughts by a soft voice coming from my doorway.
“My meeting today wasn’t about merch.”
That was all that he said. That was all it took for my heart to begin to beat for him again. One small hint of vulnerability. Feeling humiliated internally, I sat up on my elbows and found him hovering in the doorway. “Talk to me about it Chris.” I sounded exacerbated even to my own ears, feeling frustrated from all of the overwhelming emotions that the evening held. Tentatively, he walked over to the bed and sat beside me on the edge, arms resting on his knees. After clearing his throat, he began to explain. “The meeting today wasn’t about merch, it wasn’t really about anything to be honest.” Confused, I waited in silence for him to continue.
“A few weeks ago, Laura brought up the idea of going on another tour. A European tour.” He paused for a moment. “Nick and Matt immediately agreed and wanted to start planning everything so that we could do it this summer, but I said I didn’t want to do it.” I watched the back of his head, slightly shocked by his words since I knew that he had enjoyed the previous tours so much. “We would be overseas for a month, and I didn’t want to be so far away from you for that long. So I told them I didn’t wanna do it.” He took a deep breath. “Now, Matt and Nick are super pissed at me. They’ve both been giving me the silent treatment for weeks outside of the few times when they’ve just tore me a new one. And sure, we’ve all fought before, but never this bad. It’s been going on for so long, and I feel like I’ve lost sight of everything without having them be there for me.” His voice grew thick with emotion, and I fought the urge to cry along with him.
“Things have gotten so bad between us, that Laura forced us all to come in tonight to basically have a supervised argument. We sat there for hours, Y/n, just screaming at each other. And we got nowhere. I stood firm in what I wanted and so did they, so that’s why it went on for so long. And that’s also why I have been treating you like a complete dick lately. Because even though you had no clue what was going on, I think a part of me was kinda blaming you for all this shit. And I know that wasn’t fair, I really do. I just didn’t know how to tell you all of this because I’ve never been in a situation like this before.”
He turned to look at me, grabbing at my hand that was lying dormant in the space between us. “And I’m so, so sorry that I treated you the way I did. You didn’t deserve it. At all. But please baby, please don’t leave me. Because if you do, I will be completely lost. You are my anchor, and I need you to be there for me.” Tears rolled down my face as his voice cracked in desperation. “And I swear, baby, I won’t treat you like shit ever again. If you can’t believe me, and if you’re really truly done, I’ll understand. But please, Y/n, if there’s any part of you that believes me, please don’t leave.” He dropped his head into my lap, wrapping his arm around my waist and gripping onto my oversized t-shirt. Out of instinct, I brought my hand to his face and began stroking it softly; wiping away his tears as I did.
We stayed that way for a long time, both of us sniffling, heaving messes. I couldn’t lie, his honesty truly impacted me. I knew that he had to have gone against every single one of his instincts to finally tell me what had been going on in his life, and the fact that he did meant so much to me. I knew that Chris was extremely reliant on his brothers being a constant in his life, and couldn’t even imagine how lost he must feel knowing that they’re against him. His problem was much more severe than I thought it would have been prior to him opening up, and I felt an overwhelming amount of empathy for him. I knew that his poor treatment of me — as wrong as it was — had been completely out of character, and as I sat there stroking his soft cheek, I decided that I would believe him.
“Come up here.” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Immediately, Chris lifted his head off of my thighs and sat up, his face inches from mine. Without a moment of hesitation, I leaned forward and engulfed his lips with my own. He immediately reciprocated, and both of our tongues worked in unison to lap up the salty taste of each other’s tears. Chris leaned forward, encouraging me to fall back against my pillows as he continued his passionate assault on my lips. His mouth travelled down my neck, where I shuddered as I felt him place sucks and nibbles sure to leave a trail of purple bruises. His body was warm on top of mine, and I had never before felt so present with him; so aware of his every movement.
He moved down my body, stopping briefly at my chest to remove my shirt, before continuing down below my waist. With his tongue, he created a path from just below my belly button to my right hip bone, where he left another purple bruise; causing my skin to break out in goose bumps. Lifting my hips, he wasted no time in pulling my boy shorts off of my body and leaving me completely bare. He continued to leave gentle kisses along each square inch of my body surrounding my core, but making sure to leave the place where I needed his mouth the most completely untouched.
I began to grow impatient, my body temperature increasing as my body filled with arousal. As he placed a kiss on my inner thigh, I bucked my hips up in frustration; practically begging for contact. Noticing my agitation, Chris almost immediately obliged, and I gasped out in pleasure as his tongue began working its magic against my clit. With each hand holding up my thighs, Chris swirled his tongue relentlessly against my bundle of nerves. I struggled to keep my body still as his movements continued, and failed miserably once he inserted two of his fingers into my core. “Fuck Chris, t-that’s so good.” I moaned out as his tongue and fingers worked my cunt in harmony. The wet sounds of my arousal grew louder and louder as I began to approach my orgasm, and in reflex my hands tangled in his hair; doing everything I could to keep him exactly where I needed him.
“Gonna cum, baby.” I cried out, and his encouraging hum against my clit was enough to get me there. My back arched off of the bed as my body began to convulse. To keep me in place, Chris took his free hand and placed it firmly on my lower stomach; causing me to scream out in pleasure. His mouth and fingers continued to push me through my orgasm, and didn’t stop even after my nerves became over sensitive. “C-Chris please. Can’t take anymore.” I struggled to get out the words, but he listened. Detaching his mouth from my core, he dragged his body back up my own and came face to face with me.
With the glean of my arousal still on his lips, he kissed me so deep I felt my lungs inflate. I could taste myself on his tongue, and my eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head from the intensity of the moment. I broke the kiss for only a moment to pull his hoodie over his head; relishing in the feeling of his bare chest against my own. Through his sweatpants, I could feel his bulging member press against my pelvis, and I reached in between our bodies and pulled his waistband down along with his boxers. Now completely free, his cock dribbled pre-cum down my stomach. With my hand still between us, I collected what was left of his fluid along his slit before slowly stroking my hand up and down his swollen shaft.
His breath hitched as I continued my movements, and he thoughtlessly bucked his hips into my hand to increase the friction along his trembling member. My hand twisted around his dick for a few more pumps, before I slowly guided it down toward my entrance. Once Chris felt the heat of my core at the tip of his cock, he looked down at me with darkened eyes — still slightly puffy from his previous tears — and dropped his jaw as he began to slide into me.
I gasped at the feeling of my walls stretching around his sizeable girth, and released a breathy moan as he bottomed out. Laying on top of me, he grabbed both sides of my face in between his hands and held it firmly as he began thrusting into me. His eyes never left mine as his hips rolled into me, and I watched in ecstasy at the pleasure visible on his face — as I’m sure he was doing to me. Our bodies smacked together in a steady rhythm and the wet sounds filled the room, adding an additional sensation to my arousal.
“I-I’m so sorry, baby.” Grunted Chris through deep thrusts. “It’s — oh fuck — it’s okay Chris.” I replied as I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Just please — please tell me you’re mine.” His voice sounded desperate and choppy, most likely caused by a combination of arousal and real distress. His choice of words and the tone at which he said them caused my stomach to do a flip, and I felt my second orgasm approach. Fighting the urge to give into the overwhelming feeling, I reached up and swiped his glistening lip with my thumb. “I’m yours baby, always.” I managed to respond through my cries of pleasure. Chris smiled down at me lazily before burying his face in my neck; leaving sloppy, breathy kisses along its thin skin.
My walls began to pulse and my skin started to feel like it was being lit on fire; both clear signs that I was extremely overstimulated as I was approaching my orgasm. “Shit, gonna cum again.” I blurted out just as I was hit with a tsunami of an orgasm. My legs tightened around his waist and my nails dug into his arms as I fought to keep my head above water, but my mind grew fuzzy as I spewed guttural profanities into the room as I came in waves.
It didn’t take long for Chris’ orgasm to follow, and that was made clear by his throaty grunts and sloppy pace before he stopped entirely; shouting breathless 'I love yous' into my neck as his cock shot its warm fluid deep inside of me. He eventually pulled out, before curling two fingers into me and shoving all of our conjoined juices up to my cervix. His eyes stayed glued to my cunt as he did so, seemingly in awe of the view.
“You’re all mine, and I’m all yours.” He said it so quiet that he might have just been saying it to himself, before he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the crest of my heat; earning a full-body flinch from me.
He came back up to the top of the bed where he laid down beside me, pulling me towards his chest and running a hand up and down my naked back. I felt so secure in his arms — his familiar smell filling my nostrils and calming my mind — that I nearly forgot everything that had happened prior to the past 15 minutes or so. That is, until he spoke.
“So, are we okay?” His voice was tentative, and he was very clearly afraid to hear my answer. I uncurled myself from his body so that I could look up at his lovely face, his desperate eyes scanning my poker face for any sort of hint.
“You will never, ever, speak to me like that again, no matter what.” I kept my voice firm, even when his face immediately relaxed into a grin. “I swear, I won’t baby.” He responded, trying to tuck me back into his chest, but I pushed back slightly. “And, I need you to talk to me about shit you’re going through, Chris. I’m your girlfriend. That’s my job. You need to promise me, you will come to me about anything, and I will do everything I can to help you through it.” He continued to gaze at me, though his wavering eyes and his chewing on his lower lip made it clear that the idea made him anxious. “Promise me, Chris.” I repeated, making it clear how serious I was.
Finally, Chris nodded his head. “I promise, baby. I’ll tell you everything.” I smiled, then, finally feeling secure in our relationship for the first time in weeks. “Then yes, we’re okay.” I responded before planting a soft kiss to his pink lips. “And you and your brothers are going to be okay, too.” His worried expression deepened at the reminder of his conflict with Nick and Matt. “We’ll talk about it more tomorrow once we get some rest, but we can make the tour work. You know, I’ve always wanted to visit Europe.” I watched as his lips began to turn up into a soft smile. “Plus,” I leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “I wouldn’t mind being your groupie.”
He dissolved into giggles at that. “But what about your job?” He asked tentatively. I shrugged. “I actually got promoted today. I was gonna tell you earlier, but y’know.” His face fell momentarily. “I got a raise, but more importantly I got more benefits. Including thirty vacation days.” His face lit up once again, and it was almost like I could see the weight lift off of his shoulders before he attacked my face with kisses. “So let’s have another meeting with Laura and your brothers tomorrow and work this all out. I can come, and we can fix this easily together.” Tears welled in his eyes, and he nodded his head before kissing me hard. “I love you, Y/n.”
I curled myself back into his chest and sighed, taking in the feeling of him mindlessly drawing random shapes on my back. This was the Chris that I knew and loved, and I knew that this is who he really was. He wasn’t perfect, but I never expected him to be. Problems come with every relationship, and of course there was never any guarantee, but I had a feeling that this night would vastly change our relationship for the better.
ᵕᵕᵕᵕ୨♡︎୧ᵕᵕᵕᵕ
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mariclerc · 2 days
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Hi
So, i watched the video of the radio between Charles and his new engineer at Imola. Safe to say i got some ideas, and was wondering if you could write something with Charles and engineer!reader? Basically something where reader is Charles’ engineer and he’s developed feelings for her, during a race ( could be Imola, or Monaco as thats this weekend) she talks to him like Bryan does and he realizes he has a praise kink. Could lead to smut if you’re comfortable with that. Thank you in advance.
Thank you for this request, I did my best to develop it as much as possible, I hope you like it!! <3<3
Strategies and praises | cl16 (+18)
Summary: you like to praise your driver, but you have no idea how much good it does him. Warning: fluff and some light smut.
a/n: CHARLES WON IN MONACO OH MY GOD, I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! HE REALLY DID IT, I'M SO SO PROUD OF HIM!!! (not to jinx him I wrote this between Friday and Saturday so you won't have exactly the positions like in the race)
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The Monaco Grand Prix is in full swing, everyone is excited and ecstatic as they want to know how the local driver, Charles, will do. You, as his race engineer, are under a bit of pressure, as well as him, but it's nothing you can't control. For you it is a race of mere strategy and that's it, since many overtakings do not usually occur, and that is why you and Charles spend a lot of time studying the different strategies that may happen in the race.
“If we get one last run with the mediums in quali, we can achieve pole position.” He says and you nod.
“That's right, it's just a matter of the track staying the same throughout qualifying and, in case you already have provisional pole and a red flag or something happens, you're already insured there.” you say as you finish reviewing some telemetry data.
Suddenly he lets out a sigh and runs his hands through his hair, ruffling it a little. You know he is stressed and overwhelmed by this weekend, it's not that he doesn't like it, on the contrary, it's the constant pressure to have a good race at home.
“But... But what if I qualify further back? I don't know, that will change the whole strategy, right?” He asks in a whisper, you nod.
“Ehm... That might change the strategy a little bit, of course, but it's nothing we can't recover with a couple of undercuts or overcuts...” you say to finally close your laptop.
You look at Charles and notice how your words calmed him down a bit, you have been his engineer since he arrived at Ferrari in 2019 and you have been known for giving him some praises every so often in the race. And a couple of times you have been criticized for some questionable decisions in the race, but he was in charge of clearing your name with pride those times, which you are very grateful to him since he always believes in you and you in him.
-
It's already race day and you find yourself with a lot of nerves, the day before Charles had qualified P3 and, although it was not what we expected, there was a certain tension and hope on the pit wall. The roar of the crowd fills Charles helmet as he navigates the tight corners of Monaco. You, his engineer, his voice of reason in the chaos, cut through the static.
“Charles, that was a phenomenal lap! You took the Rascasse beautifully, just keep pushing, we can still make a good climb!” you say on the radio. “Just try to make it clean, okay? You're doing a very good job.”
A small smile tugs at Charles' lips under the helmet... He wasn't just pushing or fighting for the podium anymore, he was pushing to hear your voice, to impress you, to make you feel proud of him.
You watch the telemetry with a focused intensity, a satisfied smile playing on your lips.
“Perfect line through Beau Rivage, Charles. You're a monster machine! Let's catch them boy! I know you can do it!” you said watching his lap, he had made a couple of overcuts.
The compliment hangs heavy in the air between you and Charles, a blush creeps up his neck even though you can't see it. He pushes even harder, the car straining under his command.
Charles crosses the finish line, a hard-fought P3. He lets out a guttural yell of exhilaration, the adrenaline coursing through him. Maybe it's not a home win as he wished, but it's a podium and it's something at least.
“Great job, team! That was incredible. Y/n, you were brilliant on the strategy, thank you so much!” you heard his voice over the radio communication and you smiled.
“It was nothing Charles, now let's celebrate! You deserve it more than anyone!” you also say through the radio. “You did an absolutely amazing drive, Charles. You were phenomenal out there. We should celebrate after the podium ceremony!” you say and you let out a little giggle.
A shiver runs down Charles' spine... It wasn't just the post-race adrenaline, it was the way you said it, the subtle soft praise laced with something more, and that sweet and soft giggle of yours. All your colleagues on the pit wall hug you and congratulate you for such a spectacular strategy, Fred also congratulates you with a loving hug. You release a breath you didn't realize you were holding. Relief and pride wash over you, how proud you are to work with someone like Charles is priceless, he is someone who always strives to achieve his own.
-
At the end of the podium and the interviews, the paddock was practically deserted, you found yourself putting some things in your briefcase when you hear Charles calling you to meet you in his driver's room.
The room is a mess of post-race adrenaline, empty water bottles litter the table, fireproof gloves are tossed on a chair, and Charles himself is sprawled on the sofa, he's still in his race suit, sweat clinging to his toned chest through the fireproofs. He looks exhausted but exhilarated and handsome to your eyes. You knock on the door.
“Come in!” You hear him say and you enter the room, a shy and tired smile adorns your face.
“Hey, you wanted to see me champ?” you asked softly.
Charles beckons you in, a shy smile playing on his lips. He pats the space beside him on the sofa.
“Yeah, come sit, please. There's a few things we need to go over, but...” He trails off, his gaze lingering on you a beat too long. You raise an eyebrow, amusement tugging at your lips.
“But what?”
“You did amazing today, you know that? We pulled off a miracle out there, keeping the position.” he smiled shyly.
You smiled lovingly at him. “We did, didn't we? Thanks for trusting my calls. You were a rocket ship on that track, Charles.”
His gaze lingers on you a beat too long. You brush a stray strand of hair from your face, feeling a warmth spread through you.
“Always. You're the best engineer I've ever had. Not just because of the numbers, but...” his voice became a little low, he hesitate a bit, then leans in, his voice barely a whisper. “Because you believe in me... Even when I don't believe in myself, even when everyone doubts about my abilities or myself in general.”
Your heart skips a beat, you reach out, your fingers softly grazing his cheek. The touch seems to spark something in him, he leans into your hand, his eyes searching yours.
You blushed a little. “Hey, I'll always believe in you, Charles! You're incredible. You know that, right?”
His eyes hold yours, a new intensity there. He cups your face, his thumb brushing across your lips.
“There's something else I want you to know... Something I've realized lately.” he says with a husky voice.
He trails off, his gaze dropping to your lips, you feel a shiver run down your spine, he leans in slowly, and you meet him halfway. The kiss is electric, fueled by unspoken emotions and the adrenaline of the race. His hands explore your back gently, sending shivers down your spine.
“Your voice...” he kiss you again. “on the radio...” he give you another kiss. “it does things to me...” he said between kisses.
A laugh escapes your lips, breathless. “Like what, Charles?” you ask him teasingly.
He kisses your jaw, his voice a low rumble. “Like... it makes me want to drive faster, makes me want to win, to archive even more podiums... Especially when you...” He hesitates, then whispers in your ear. “Especially when you tell me I'm doing good, when you tell me that I can do it.” he said huskily.
A blush creeps up your neck. You realize what he's saying, a heat pooling in your core.
“So... you like a little praise, huh?” you whisper too.
He kisses your neck, his touch sending shivers down your spine. “More than you know, mon ange, especially if it comes from you.”
The air crackles with unspoken desire. You let out a soft gasp as Charles undoes the buttons of your t-shirt, his touch lingering on the fabric. You reach up and cup his face, pulling him close for another kiss. This time, it's deeper, filled with a new urgency. His hands slide down your back, sending a fire down your spine.
“Then tell me, Charles. What do you want to hear?” you said breathlessly.
He pulls back slightly, his eyes blazing. “Tell me you're proud of me, tell me I drove flawlessly. Tell me you knew I could do it... Please.” he says in a whisper, practically begging you.
You run your hand through his hair, a slow smile spreading across your face. “I am so incredibly proud of you, Charles. You were phenomenal out there, you took that car to its limits and never gave up. You're a phenomenal driver, the best on the grid.”
His eyes lock on yours, the praise filling him with a surge of heat that goes beyond the race. He leans in again, his voice a husky whisper.
“More, keep going amour. Tell me you knew I could keep that podium, even when I doubted myself.”
You trace the outline of his jaw with your thumb, your voice dropping to a low purr. “I always knew you could keep that podium, Charles. You have this incredible talent, this fire inside you. You were born to be a champion!”
His breath hitches, and he pulls you close, his touch sending shivers down your spine. His hands explore your body, finding the small of your back, urging you closer.
“Don't stop please. You make me want to push myself even further, make me want to win every single race left, just to hear you say that again.” says with a ragged voice.
The praise fuels your own desire. You pull back slightly, your gaze flickering over his race suit, you smile.
“Then let's celebrate your podium properly, shall we? Show me just how good you are at taking some orders.” you say with a husky voice, and a triumphant grin splits his face.
-
The air hums with a different kind of electricity now. Charles's eyes darken, the praise turning him on far more than he expected. He leans in, his voice a low rumble.
“You don't just believe in my driving, do you baby?”
His hand dips under your shirt, brushing softly against your skin. You gasp, a shiver running through you.
“No, Charles. I believe in you... All of you. Your talent, your strength, your incredible heart. You're the most determined, passionate person I know! And seeing you out there, pushing yourself, it does something to me too...”
His touch ignites a fire within you, mirroring the one he feels. You trace a line down his chest, feeling the heat radiating through his damp race suit.
“What does it do, bellissima?” he says with a husky voice.
You lean in close, your lips brushing his ear. “It makes me want to celebrate with you in a very different way.” you whispered in his ear.
He pulls back slightly, his eyes searching yours. A slow smile spreads across his face, a mix of satisfaction and desire.
“Tell me then, how do you want to celebrate?” he asks.
You run your hand down his arm, sending a spark through both of you. “Let me show you how proud I am of the man you are, not just the driver. How much I admire your strength, your focus, everything that makes you so incredible.”
His breath hitches, and he pulls you close again. This kiss is different, slower, filled with a deeper meaning. His touch explores your body, finding the places that make you shiver, places no one had ever discovered before.
“Then show me, bellissima. Show me everything you've been holding back.” he said with a rough voice.
You pull back slightly, your eyes locked on his. “But first, tell me one more thing. Did you ever think your engineer might be a little turned on by seeing you dominate the track?” you say shyly.
His laugh is a low rumble, filled with pure, unadulterated desire.
“Not until now, but believe me, gorgeous, the feeling is most definitely mutual.”
He finally pulls your shirt up all the way, his touch sending a jolt of electricity through you. As he slowly undresses you, his eyes never leave yours, a mixture of gratitude and raw desire burning bright. The celebration takes a turn neither of you expected, fueled by the adrenaline of the race, the praise that goes beyond the track, and the deep connection that has been simmering beneath the surface all along.
His eyes scanned your body at a slow place, he was drinking you in just by looking. His lips met yours in a gentle touch and your back met the couch as he hovered over you. Looking into his eyes you kissed him again, biting his lip which elicited a groan from him and a smile from you.
“Oh god amore, are you sure you want this?” He asked. “We can’t go back after you say yes.” he added in a low voice that send shivers down your spine.
“Yes, I’m sure Charles.” you replied bringing his lips down to yours. Detaching his lips from yours he kissed down your body, your skin crawls when you feel his warm lips on your body, slowly kissing every curve and dip that adorns your silhouette, leaving a burning path on your skin, you let out a sigh. “God, you're so good to me Cha...” You whisper between a light sigh, your words made him let out a light growl, he felt his body react to your praise.
“Oh mon amour, je te ferai te sentir si bien... I will make myself worthy of your praise...” He says in a low and sensual voice, the mixture of French and English makes your head go crazy. (Oh my love, I'll make you feel so good...)
His lips continue their journey down your chest, taking the time to kiss your breasts gently, as if they were the most precious thing in the world, then he went down to your abdomen where he left loose kisses in the area, making you release one or another soft sigh. He continued down until he reached your core, he smiled at the sight of you completely naked, he softly kissed the inside of your thighs and your heart started beating super fast.
He started to leave sloppy kisses until he reached your folds, he began to leave sloppy kisses and licks on your wet folds, you raised your hips a little to give him easy access to that area, and he began to devour you slowly, he was taking his time to taste you. Your soft moans didn't take long, he slowly sucked on your clit, making you let out a loud moan that probably rang throughout the deserted paddock, but that's the least of it now.
“Keep doing that Charlie...” you say with heavy breathing and that gave him the impetus to continue savoring you with such passion, you hold on to his soft, silky hair. “God, you're such a... You're such a good boy.” you moan slightly.
Your words lit the fire in him a little bit more and he continued tasting you completely in his mouth, you were like a blessing in his life, like something he had wanted to try for a long time. You felt your walls tighten and a strong wave of pleasure washed over you, you felt like you were going to faint right there.
“Cha... Charlie... I'm... I'm close.” you whispered as you whimpered in pleasure, he stopped his ministrations on your core and looked up at you, god he looked so damn hot, his cheeks flushed, his face sweaty from the strenuous work he was doing down there.
He smiled and took off his boxers, revealing his erect cock, he brought his lips to yours and kissed you softly and sweetly, it was as if he didn't want to let this moment between you go. “If... If you don't feel comfortable or something, just tell me and I'll stop instantly, okay darling?” He said in a hushed whisper looking deeply at your eyes.
You looked and him and smiled shyly. “Charlie, I... I want this the same way you want it, okay? I want you to continue.” you whispered and he nodded. “Just do it, okay honey?”
He aligned himself with your entrance and gently entered you, giving you time to adapt to his big size, your breathing became erratic, he began to move slowly and a little loosely at the same time. He wanted to satisfy you, to please you, make you feel like you are the one who have the power in this precise moment... His hands ran over your body, just as they did at the beginning, until they reached your hips and he placed them there, his thumbs made circles in that area, he began to thrust into you with a little more rhythm. He began to breathe heavily, his hot breath coming into contact with your neck and that gave you chills down your spine, his movements were meticulously perfect, he took the moment to appreciate you and enjoy this.
You felt your walls tightening around him, making the two of you let out moans at the same time, to you, he looked like a Greek god at that moment, sweat taking over his toned torso, his darkened and dilated pupils watching you as if you were a goddess or some kind of miraculous apparition in his life.
“Mhm, bébé, I'm... I'm gonna cum.” he whispered against your neck, his agitated and husky voice a delight to your ears. “God, you feel so good around me chérie.” He murmured as he kissed the skin of your neck, making you sigh again and again.
You moaned as you felt the pleasure wash over you. “Such a good boy my precious Charlie.” you said with a husky voice. “I'm close too, handsome.” you whimpered and you closed your eyes.
The climax reached you two making you tremble with pleasure, your legs trembled and you felt how your breathing stopped being erratic. He rested his forehead against yours and kissed every little part of your face, while you just smiled, the love you feel for this man is incredible, something that goes beyond a simple discussion of strategies or friendly companionship.
When you finally felt that everything in you was completely normal, you spoke. “That... That was, amazing charlie.” you whispered softly, giving him a kiss on his cheek, he smiled. “You made me feel good... I haven't felt like this in a long time.” there was no lie in your statement, it had been a long time since the last time someone had made you feel as good as Charles had.
He smiled and blushed. “It was nothing sunshine, everything for you and only you.” he kissed your cheek. “I think you deserve good things more than anyone else.” he whispered too.
After a few seconds, silence was present in the room, but it was a fairly comfortable one, your hands were intertwined with his and your thumb caressed the back of his hand, you smiled shyly at the sight, it was something that looked so cute and innocent.
He smiled again and looked at you with great affection in his eyes. “I love you, darling... Thank you for this!” He whispered sweetly and kissed your temple.
You smiled tenderly. “I love you too charlie.” you whispered too. “Don't you think we should take even a quick shower?” You say and let out a shy giggle.
He smiles and raises his eyebrows, blushing. “Oh... Of course love!”
You just smile at him again and you kiss his cheek. “And then you take me to my hotel?”
He denied and picked you up in his arms to walk to the small bathroom in his driver room, you let out a soft gasp. “Oh, no my love... We will go to my house!” He said.
You raised your eyebrows and chuckled. “But... And my things? Everything is in the hotel...” You started to say but he interrupted you, leaving several small kisses on your lips.
“Don't worry about it honey, we'll look for that before we go to my house.” he smiled. “Just worry about being pretty and smart, my honey.” you giggled at his words.
“You forgot to mention bossy.” he laughed and blushed.
“Oh sure, a little bossy, but that's how I like you.” he whispered on your lips and kissed you again.
You just smiled while you went into the shower, you felt very happy because you never thought that Charles had something for you and that at the end of the day it was something that you also wanted at some point. You admired him as a driver, that was for sure, but as a person it was a totally inexplicable thing. Today showed you that, apart from being good at taking orders, he was excellent pleasing you and showing his true emotions, you can't wait to see where this new journey might take you both.
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ivysangel · 2 days
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imagine the sexual tension between you and college au!jason and y’all finally take care of it during a one-night stand at some random ass party and the TENSION ONLY GETS WORSE ⁉️ like first y’all were ignoring how bad y’all wanted to fuck each other and NOW you have to act like he wasn’t just devouring your pussy a few nights ago
-🦦
tutor!jason who your teacher sets you up to study with twice a week since he's acing the class. the first time you meet, it's in the library, and you almost sit down next to a different guy because jason doesn't look at all like the type to know the ins and outs of gothic lit. if he wasn't nose-deep in mary shelley's frankenstein you would've assumed he was a jock doing recon and looking for some pussy.
but he's not; he's actually really kind and smart and also really fucking hot. your tutoring sessions go on longer than scheduled because you spend more time staring at him than you should. you're actually kind of embarrassed about it until you catch him staring at you one day with a familiar look, one you'd given him many, many times when he wasn't looking.
from then on, things are pretty tense between you two, not in an angry kind of way, but more of an unprecedented level of horniness kind of way. and the growth of your friendship is temporarily stunted because of how badly you want to fuck each other.
but it all comes to a head at some dumb frat party. you're a little buzzed but still lucid enough to know that jason's out of place in this environment. he hates frats, hates the culture around it, hates the fact that he gets mistaken for one so often.
so why the fuck is he flirting with some random sorority girl who's trying way too hard to keep his attention. you're thinking to yourself, "he's not gonna fuck you." but you're not actually 100% sure about that, so you find your way over to him just in case.
his attention immediately shifts to you and little miss greek row makes herself sparse when she realizes his eyes are locked on you and only you.
you're making conversation, but it's kind of awkward; you were clearly green with envy over the prospect of him fucking someone else despite having no claim to him or his dick, and now you were just hitting him with a "sooooo fancy seeing you here!" and he's just looking at you; peering down at you with this look in his eyes that just so dark. unlike anything you've seen on his face before. and then he's finishing off his drink and asking if you want to go somewhere quieter.
ok, so boom. he's leading you up the stairs and into an empty room, and if either of you were sober or not blinded by an intense need to fuck the other, you probably wouldn't have hooked up on some frat guy's unwashed sheets.
and using "hook up" is generous because you're the only one that got anything out of it. he was pretty much hiking your dress up to eat you out before the door was fully closed, and he continued to stay there, between your legs, with his mouth sucking on your clit until someone knocked on the door and killed the vibe. #jasontoddcertifiedmunch
you thought the tension before was bad, but it gets so much worse. you start skipping your tutoring sessions, and the few you do show up to end early because you can barely look at him. you can't get the image of him licking his lips after eating you out out of your head, and it was beginning to drive you insane. 
he was also going insane, but for a different reason. while you were scared that it ruined your friendship, he was craving you more and more with each passing day, wondering where you'd be if you'd gone all the way. he was on the verge of knocking out the teeth of the asshole that interrupted you and shooting you a "u up?" text in the middle of the night.
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devoutekuna · 1 day
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Family bonding
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Includes- Toji, Sukuna, Nanami, Gojo, Geto
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Sukuna-
Sukuna never brings his child around his followers, finding them unworthy to grace their eyes upon his offspring. Sat in a vacant room, laid out on the floor as he watched his followers trying to entrain him, dancing around, telling stories or jokes. Nothing could suffice him, a pile of heads adorning the corner of the room, yet to become of everyone. Small giggles being heard from the slightly open door, pink hair sticking out from beside it as he looked at it, hands working magic as he sliced their head off, ushering for the next person. Door slashed open just like those people, leaving wooden remains all around. "Show yourself" crimson eyes peering out from the last standing part of the door. A smile glistening on her face, flashing her canines at him. "Papa!" Running towards the king. A smirk on his face as he felt his daughter's embrace, staring at the one servant who raised their head just for it to be cut off, leaving no witnesses to the matter.
"Next!" Motioning for the next person to come in, only to receive the news that there was nobody left, leaving a pile of corpses in the corner of the room, blood seeping towards him.
Gojo-
"Won't mummy be mad?" Sat in his father's arms as he fought a curse, using his infinity to block all the attacks, still flinching from the idea of them getting through. "Not if she doesn't know" grinning at the little boy, he loved to mess with you, hearing you scold him was some of his favourite highlights. "But still" covering his head in his father's shoulder, white hair rubbing against his neck. "If you're that scared we can go home" exorcising the curse as he looked away, making sure not leave a mess and just use the excuse that it ran away. Kicking his leg into his chest on accident. "No!" Smiling at how much his son wanted to spend time with him.
Nanami-
"If your going to stay in here, help me out" trying to declutter his office. Taking down a box full of files, throwing them onto the sofa since he knew that they were no used to him. Reaching for the next one as he noticed a small pair of hands reaching towards him first. "To me" on her toes as she reached for it, wanting to be helpful like she said. "Don't drop it sweetheart." Handing her the box, noticing how she reacted by lowering her body, waddling over to the sofa since the box was too big for her. "Ooo, what's this daddy?" Pulling out a memory box you two made when you reached your 10 year anniversary. Ripping the box open before he could even get a good look at what she was talking about. Ripping the box from her arms, not knowing what she would discover if she opened it up. "Awh" folding her arms over her chest, trying to act cute to get it back. "Let's leave this up here" straining his arms as he put it back up.
Geto-
He's rambling on about his stupid followers, talking about how useless and belittling them, cup in hand as he took a few sips of the drink before he carried down talking. "Here you go daddy" running up to him with a new glass of milk, having it come out of the microwave, it was warm, but still a little cold. Ripping the other cup from his hands, running back to the kitchen to hand it you. "Thank you sweetheart" smiling at the girl as she seated herself next to him, leaning her body onto his.listening to whatever he had to say despite not understanding the meaning behind it at all. "And then they have the nerve to say something about my actions!" Maybe he was drunk with the way he was acting. Small hands leaning over to grab the felt tips, refusing to get out of her comfortable position only for her father to step in and pass them to her, stroking her hair in the process.
Toji-
"Keep up" strolling in the park, he would've kept his normal quick pace but he had his daughter with him, both dressed up in pyjamas as they walked through the park. He was only here because the lines for the food truck were shorter at nighttime. Nightie swaying in the wind despite her coat. "Wait up daddy!" Running up to him to try and grab his hand, only to grab his fingers because she was too short. Picking the girl up as he sped up, wanting to get back before you woke up since he knew you would scold him.
Sat on the bench eating some ice-cream, it was a quick stop by to the shop before they made it to the food truck since she was so hungry. Wiping the ice-cream off her nose with the spare tissue he had. "We've got to go before your ma' wakes up"
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Text
Let The Light In: Part 7
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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Words: 2.7K
Pairing: Paige Bueckers/Media Manager! Reader
Warnings: Angst, Fluff (?!), Friends to enemies to lovers, reader is actually so incredibly in the wrong, slow burn (but we're about to be on fire).
A/N: A few hours later than planned but still, as promised! Also, time jump???!!! Lmk if we hate and if it should never be done again.
2/5/24
“Leo, I’ve told you 100 times I’m not comfortable doing shoots with Paige anymore. I really need to be taken off the schedule for tomorrow,” you insist, frustration tinging your voice. This is not the first time the two of you have had this particular conversation and you doubt it will be the last.
The morning after your talk with Paige you’d gone to Leo and told him everything. Over the course of your time at UConn Leo really had become like a second dad to you, but this was the first time you really had bothered him with your personal life. 
Luckily for you, he’d been very understanding and even took you and Charlie out to breakfast. You, because he wasn’t quite sure how to handle a sobbing 20-year-old and he figured throwing free food at the problem would be relatively pacifying, and Charlie because he figured she deserved a thank you for having dealt with a sobbing 20-year-old all night (and for saving him from the unfortunate task).  
The man turns to you with a heavy sigh, his eyes weary. “I’ve tried, for three months now I’ve kept you from being assigned to her, but this time I need the best of the best, and that’s you, kid. I’m sorry.”
The relationship between you and Paige had been hastily sewn back together over the past few months, a single, weak thread intertwining the two of you again. And things have, admittedly, been rougher than you’d like. 
The best conversation the two of you had shared took place over the course of a two-hour-long phone call where you let her know that you’d removed yourself from any future shoots with her. She immediately argued that you hadn’t needed to do that. You disagreed, then she disagreed with that, the process repeating again, and again, and again until the two of you realized that the time on the clock was now well past midnight and it was in both of your best interests to head off to bed.  
She came up to you after games, just like old times, greeting you in a quick hug and stealing your camera off your neck to flip through a couple of the photos before nodding in approval and wandering off again.
After finals you’d run into the team on a night out and joined them. Paige had walked you home, each of you drunk off your asses and using it as an excuse to cling to each other like ivy to an old brick wall. It had started snowing so you’d offered to let her stay the night, she’d said no.  
The holidays stood out only for their flurry of awkward ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy New Year’ texts.
Everything else, however, had been remarkably unremarkable; seeming so insignificant that even when you were spending hours over analyzing each interaction the two of you have had, remembering these felt like a waste of time. 
But now, standing in Leo’s office, for the first time in months, even with the lack of real communication, you felt that fragile thread between Paige and you threatening to snap.
“Leo, please,” you said, your voice softer now, almost pleading. “I don’t want to mess things up with Paige again. We’re barely holding on as it is.”
Leo looked at you with a mixture of sympathy and frustration. “I get it, but you’re both professionals. You can do this. It’s one shoot. Just one. After that, we can reevaluate.”
You took a deep breath, trying to steady your racing thoughts. “Fine,” you said finally, the word feeling like a lead weight on your tongue. “But if it becomes too much, I’m out.”
Leo nods, relieved. “I understand. Just give it your best shot.”
The next day, you arrive at the shoot early, the familiar buzz of the studio doing very little to calm your nerves. You busy yourself with setting up your equipment, trying to focus on the technical aspects to keep your mind off the impending interaction with Paige, or rather, the interaction in the setting the two of you had been trying your hardest to avoid.
When she finally walks in, your breath catches in your throat.  She looks as beautiful as ever, you had desperately missed being near her, the occasional run-ins the two of you had doing very little to stifle your aching need for the blonde. 
The shoot begins, the atmosphere almost painfully tense but still professional enough that Leo was satisfied. You direct her with a calm, steady voice, doing your best to maintain the distance she seems to need. 
Paige follows your directions flawlessly, her movements graceful and precise. It is almost like old times, except for the invisible barrier she's put up between you.
During a break, Paige approaches you, her expression tentative. “How’s it going?” she asked softly, her eyes searching yours.
You shrug, trying to keep your tone light. “I mean, it's photography and it's you. Hard not to love it.” Admittedly, the last bit was a lie, having to capture her like this again was nerve wracking to say the least.
Sure, the picture of her on the court is what had gotten the two of you here. But in your mind, these shoots marked the beginning of the end, where you had started getting selfish with your art, where you had been given to much control and in turn, abused it.
She nods, biting her lip. “I appreciate you doing this. I know I’m kinda ruining your thing for you right now which I really didn’t want to do.”
You look at her, the sincerity in her eyes tugging at your heart. “I’m trying P.” 
She looks around briefly, confirming that no one is watching before swooping down to briefly press her lips against your cheek. “I know you are.” She whispers before Leo calls everyone back to set. 
By the end of the night, almost everyone had left, leaving you and Paige, who had apparently decided to stay with you a while longer instead of returning to her dorm, to pack up alone. This would have been fine if it wasn’t so eerily reminiscent of all the other times you two had worked together. Everything was just still so painfully raw, even nostalgia hurt.
As you tried desperately to busy yourself, ignoring the blondes lingering stare, Paige finally broke the silence. “Do you remember our first shoot together?” she asked softly.
You paused, a small smile tugging at your lips, there were a only a few moments the two of you have shared that didn't immediately make you tear up for one reason or another when you recall them, this was one of them.
“Yeah, I do. You were so nervous, kept fiddling with your necklace, I had to photoshop like half of those damn pictures so you weren’t grabbing at it in all of them.”
She chuckled softly, shaking her head. “I was terrified. But you made it easier. You always did.”
“It only ever felt easy when it was with you." You looked at her, the memories flooding back.
—-
The studio was buzzing with activity. Assistants scurried around, adjusting lights, setting up equipment, and preparing the backdrop. You were standing near the camera, checking the settings one last time.  For you, the energy in the air was nothing short of electric, this was your game day, this was the thing you lived for. 
Paige walked in, her eyes wide and filled with dread. She always liked the end result of getting her picture taken but the process was tedious and dealing with photographers could be just downright unpleasant. 
She was clad in her home jersey, the navy blue 5 contrasting sharply against the stark white. She clutched the necklace around her neck, a small silver cross pendant that she would continue to fiddle with incessantly the whole day. 
You looked up and saw her, your heart skipping a beat. You'd taken pictures of her before, of course, the night at the gym, a few games, and for a few homework assignments that’s she’d, thankfully, agreed to help with, but this was something else entirely, a shoot. A shoot for Leo.
"Hey, Paige," you called out, offering her a reassuring smile. "Ready?” 
She walked over. "Yeah," she replied, her voice missing its usual enthusiasm. 
You positioned her in front of the camera, giving her small tips on how to stand, where to look, and how to relax her shoulders. She followed your instructions diligently, though you could still see the tension in her posture.
"Remember to breathe," you said gently. "And try to think of something that makes you happy. It'll show in your eyes."
Paige closed her eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. When she opened them again, there was a spark of confidence that hadn't been there before. She smiled, and you could see the transformation happening right before your eyes. 
You didn’t know at the time but all she had done was think about the night she met you.
"That's it," you encouraged, your own excitement growing with hers. "Just like that."
As the shoot progressed, Paige began to relax more, her movements becoming more fluid and natural.
You clicked the shutter repeatedly, the two of you inventing a silent language; thumbs up: all done with this look, change your pose, thumbs down: this isn’t working, give me a second to do change things on my end, palm out: stay still, etc, etc. 
By the end of the day, you had captured a series of stunning photographs, each one better than the last as she had gotten more and more used to being in front of your camera. 
As you packed up your equipment, Paige had approached you, her eyes shining with renewed sense of excitement. "Need a ride?” 
"Oh no it’s okay, thank you so much though” you replied, turning to the girl. “I’m just gonna walk.” 
She smiled, her fingers once again playing with her necklace. "No come on, it’s late, I’m driving you.” 
You had hesitated despite already knowing your answer, “only if you’re sure," you said, unable to hide your relief.
The two of you left the studio together, stepping into the crisp evening air. The city was quiet, the hustle and bustle of the day giving way to a serene calm. Paige led you to her car, popping the trunk and helping you load all of your stuff safely in the back. 
Once inside, you both settled into a comfortable silence, the only sound the hum of the engine and the occasional rustle as Paige adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. You glanced at her, noticing the way the streetlights cast a soft glow on her face.
"Wanna get ice cream?” Paige said suddenly, breaking the silence. “There’s this cute little place nearby and I’m starving, plus there’s no way the dining hall is still serving dinner.” She’d been so nervous that her words had come out in one breath. It would have been more than just bordering on incoherent if you hadn’t been giving her every single ounce of your attention already, clinging to every word.
You looked at her, surprised by the sudden change in plans but also grateful for the suggestion. You were starving. “Let’s do it.”
Paige grinned, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she turned the car around and headed towards the ice cream parlor. The streets were quiet, the cool evening air settling over you two.
When you arrived, the bell above the door had chimed softly as Paige opened the door for you. The smell of freshly made waffle cones and the sound of soft music filled the air.
Somewhere in the back of your mind you registered that the song playing was the one on an old Etta James record. The same one your grandmother had said was playing at the jazz club her and your grandfather had gone to on their first date. But, you pay in no mind, all of your conscious thoughts consumed by the blonde in front of you.
The parlor was cozy, with a few small tables and a counter displaying a rainbow of ice cream flavors. Paige immediately made her way to the counter, her eyes wide with delight as she scanned the options.
“What are you getting?” she asked, turning to you. 
You took a moment to consider, then decided on your usual favorite. “I do this weird thing, I get two kiddie scoops, one cherry and one strawberry and mix them. When I was a kid, my mom used to get strawberry and I used to get cherry and she’d always let me have her leftovers so I mixed them together one day and now I can’t eat ice cream any other way.” You said, smiling. 
Despite the fact that you had known Paige for a month, the expression on her face when you told her this was one that could only be described as love struck. There was a gentle warmth in her eyes that caused your heartbeat to quicken and your breath to catch in your throat. It was as if the entire world had melted away and all that remained was the two of you, standing there in that moment, caught up in each other's unspoken affection.
“Here, how ‘bout I get strawberry, and we can do that. You’ve got me curious now” she said. 
“Deal. You won’t regret it.” You’d chuckled, reaching your hand out to hers for her to shake, you really had just wanted an excuse to touch her.
You both placed your orders, and the worker, recognizing Paige, had scooped more than generous portions of ice cream into the two cups.
Paige handed you your cherry scoop, and you both sat down at a small table near the window. Paige took a bite of her strawberry scoop, then mixed a bit of it with your cherry. She paused, the spoon still dangling out of her mouth, and her eyes lit up. “Shit this is really good.” 
A smile quickly spread across you face. “Told ya.”
For a moment, you both sat in comfortable silence. Each of you dipping into each others cups, giggling when one of your spoons got caught on the others, inevitably making the dessert fall back into the bowl it had just been scooped from. The world outside the window seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you in this cozy little bubble.
When Paige had finished hers and the remainder of yours after you’d pushed your leftovers at her, the two of you returned to the car. 
The drive home wasn’t long but the combination of your fatigue from the long day and the gentle rocking of her car had made you fall asleep without even realizing what was happening. 
Pulled up at your dorm, she gently shook your shoulder, “hey, we’re here.” 
You blinked awake, disoriented for a moment, then realized where you were. 
“Oh, sorry,” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
Paige smiled, her expression tender. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve had a long day.”
You gathered your things and hesitated for a moment, not wanting the evening to end. 
“Thanks for the ice cream, Paige. And for everything else.”
“Anytime,” she replied, her voice sincere. “Get some rest, okay?”
You nodded, stepping out of the car. “You too. Goodnight, Paige.”
“Goodnight,” she said, watching you walk no more than 10 steps away from the car before she was rolling down her car window to talk to you again, “hey, same time next week?” 
You’d turned back to her, confused. “What?” 
“Ice cream, you and me, next Thursday. Come on it’ll be like, our thing.” 
A warmth spread through you at the suggestion, and you found yourself smiling back at her. “Yeah, I’d like that. Ice cream Thursday.”
“Awesome,” she replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “It’s a date then. Goodnight for real this time.”
“Night,” you said, waving as she drove away, her taillights disappearing into the night.
—-
“Hey do you need a ride home, for old times sake?” Paige grabs your attention again as you let the memory fade from into the background.
She's rocking back and forth on her heels as you finish packing up; obviously trying to gauge whether or not she’s overstepping.
You grab the rest of your bags, replying, “that’d be great, thank you" before getting an idea, "hey you know, it’s Thursday, we’ve missed dinner, and if you’re free, I think our ice cream place is still open.” 
Paige’s eyes light up, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You're on."
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dazednmatthews · 1 day
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for now, let’s get away ~c. sturniolo x reader
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drummer!chris x reader au
this took me i’m not kidding three weeks to finish and i still hate the end omfg. i hope yall like it. this was the chris fic i was teasing for fucking ever. this shit is 7.7k words.
this is the second to last thing i have to post before i leave 🥹. all that’s left is the finale to number neighbors (ik i said two more parts but i changed my mind cause the part 15 was pretty much perfect and there’s nothing more for me to do but end it on a funny silly note so). i love u all so much pls tell me what u thinks bout this i worked so fucking hard LOL. okay bye MWAH ENJOYYYYY
there’s lights flashing, smoke billowing through the air and scattered screams floating through the semi-crowded bar. y/n sits with her group of three, nursing a too-strong cocktail, watching the band on stage with interested eyes.
her eyes keep wandering back to the drummer, a long haired, brunette that’s hammering down on his instrument like there’s no tomorrow. she’s already deduced that they’ve got to be siblings, him and the lead, because honestly she thought she was seeing double from the moment her and her friends walked in.
they’re performing a cover of hole in the earth, by deftones, a song that she adores, which is honestly making her shift in her seat slightly. the drummer wears a long sleeved, black and white shirt, red stars on the shoulders. his hair is falling down into his face, which he pushes back in between his parts, causing the light to reflect off of a silver bracelet hanging off his wrist.
y/n’s been staring at him shamelessly the entire performance. he’s hot and talented and she’s a little bit tipsy so her art of subtlety is very much off. not that she cares.
he’d been looking at her too, periodically through the show. she’d caught his eyes more than once, opting for a small smirk and look away, usually to his carbon copy on the mic. it makes him shake his head with a smile every time.
her attention is shifted from the stage when her best friend nudges her. “you and the drummer have been eye fucking since the moment they got up there.” there’s teasing to her tone and y/n just shrugs.
“well, look at him,” she claps when they announce that they’re done for the night and start to thank the crowd. “how could i not?”
her other friend, who’s standing in front of her nods with a dreamy sigh, “you’re so real for that. i think i’ve been staring open mouthed at the singer for like half an hour.”
y/n laughs, looking back at the stage. she’s disappointed to see the band gone, their empty set up the only thing left in their wake. she picks up her drink, finishing it, before calling the bartender over to get another one.
before she can say anything though, a voice cuts through. “whatever she wants, make it two.”
y/n looks up, surprise filling her face. mr drummer man was right beside her, damp hair and wide smile blinding her. she raised an eyebrow before giving her order, then turning in her stool to face him.
“do you typically buy drinks for every girl that’s at your shows?”
he laughs, short and breathy. “only if they look like you do.” he says, leaning forward so she can hear him better. “and if they spend my entire set staring me down with eyes as pretty as yours.”
warmth spreads through her cheeks, but she doesn’t falter. “nice one.” she takes a sip as the drinks are placed in front of them. “wonder how many times you’ve used that one.”
drummer boy leans his elbow on the bar, slotting his body in the space between her and the person in the next seat. “maybe like, six times. but it doesn’t make it less true.”
she laughs, throwing her head back just the tiniest bit. “you’re unbelievable.”
“i’ve been told once or twice.” he runs a hand through his hair. “you have no idea.”
y/n feels loopy, between the alcohol in her veins and the warmth in her stomach from his attention, she thinks she might be in for a little bit of trouble here.
“i’m just kidding though. i noticed you pretty much the second i got on stage.” his eyes are so blue it’s freaking her out. in a good way, though. “knew i had to look for you afterwards.”
y/n raises her eyebrow. “oh, you had a plan?”
“of course i did. no way was i letting you walk out of here without talking to you.”
she knows it’s a line, knows his type. the smooth talking, shit-eating grin that could make any girl fall to their knees. part of her wants to ignore him, just for the sake of it. but a much bigger, much more attracted to him, so badly it’s putting crazy thoughts in her head, part of her is incredibly down for the chase.
y/n turns to look at her friends, who are now talking to the rest of the band. she chuckles, seeing her best friend and the lead singer basically pressed up against each other talking, her looking up at him with what y/n knows are the eyes. her other close friend is talking to who she thinks is the guitarist and a new face, who coincidentally looks exactly the other two.
when she turns back to the boy in front of her, she picks up her drink, looking him dead in the eyes. she’s not entirely doing it on purpose, wrapping her glossed lips around the straw slowly, before putting her glass back down on the bar, but she can tell that it takes a toll on him.
drummer boy blows at a breath, moving his eyes from her lips back up to her eyes. “can i know your name now? or do i have to beg?”
he’s slightly closer to her now. she can smell his cologne in the space between them, and now can see the silver dog tag that hangs from his neck. she notices the silver hoop in his right nostril that she didn’t see before. it makes a chill go down her spine.
“hm,” she basically purrs. “you begging me for something has a nice ring to it.”
the smirk in the corner of his mouth widens. “i’ll beg you for anything you want, sweetheart.”
she decides to stop torturing him. “y/n.” she offers him her hand.
he looks down, bigger one enveloping hers immediately. his hand is warm and slightly rough. it makes her shift again. “chris.”
chris, she thinks. of course his name is chris.
“so who’s in the band with you? cause it’s kind of freaking me out how much you look alike.”
he lets her hand go, not without lingering slightly. “my brother matt,” he looks up and laughs. “who is five seconds away from making out with your friend right now, is the lead. nick’s the photographer and does the behind the scenes shit. jack is just our friend.”
she nods, “triplets.”
“yeah, unfortunately.” his eyes are fond. “i’m the best looking one by far though.”
y/n rolls her eyes, ready to humble him through a lie, when all of sudden there’s a shout behind them.
“she said get lost, you fucking loser.” nick says, standing in front of the friend of y/n’s that isn’t attached to matt.
the presumably drunk asshole sneers at him, “i’m sure she can speak for herself, dickhead.”
“i did speak for myself, dumbass.” her friend says, rolling her eyes. “i’m not interested, not even in the slightest. walk away.”
“you’re not all that anyway, bitch.”
matt speaks next, “watch your fucking mouth, bro.”
chris can tell it’s getting out of hand when the guy keeps taking steps forward, matt’s hand on nick’s arm to stop what feels inevitable. y/n’s friend scoffs. “i was ten seconds ago when you thought, for some odd reason, that you could ever approach me.”
the guy doesn’t seem to like that answer or the various insults the group of them keep giving him, so he shoves past nick and gets right in her face.
y/n takes less than three seconds to throw her drink and shove him backward, causing him to stumble into another drunk asshole, which doesn’t end well.
there’s liquor flying everywhere, fists being thrown and all out chaos in the bar, causing security to come bustling through the crowd. people have started to fight just for the hell of it, and now they’ve got to go.
chris grabs y/n’s hand, tugging her towards the back exit. “we’ve got to go, now.” despite the chaos, he’s grinning, and she kinda wants to kiss him.
her eyes find her best friends, shoving through people recklessly. when she gets to them, they’re laughing incredulously at the chaos they’ve all inadvertently caused.
“i think i’m gonna go with chris,” y/n says over the madness.
“you don’t even know him!” her friend replies, eyebrows sky high.
“yeah,” she says, looking back to chris who is urging her forward. “but i think i want to.”
her other friend grins ear to ear, looking back at his brothers. “go. text us wherever you end up. we’re going with them.”
they shout love you’s and go in opposite directions, her friends with the band and her with chris.
he takes her hand as security gets into the main crowd, pulling her through expertly. once they get to the back door they’re running, fast and hard, feet slapping against the pavement.
she can hear their laughter roaring in her ears, can feel both their pulses in her fingertips where her and chris’ hands connect. it’s crazy, her following him blindly.
she couldn’t even pretend to be bothered by it.
***
“i can’t believe i actually just ran from a bar brawl with you,” y/n says, texting her friends to make sure they ended up okay. they told her that they were at a diner right now with the rest of the band, safe and sound.
chris is also texting, his brothers she assumes, before he slides his phone back into his pocket. “i can’t believe you started the bar brawl.”
his face and tone is teasing. she rolls her eyes, nudging his shoulder as they walk side by side down the city streets. “i did not start it. that drunk dick that couldn’t take no for an answer did.”
chris’ hands are in his pockets as he leads her down the road. she thinks, hopes he knows where he’s going. “i know. it’s just funny watching your face twist up.”
they don’t say anything as they continue their path. they’re in what looks like another bar strip, except it’s pretty much deserted. there’s walls with beautiful graffiti next to them, parking meters decorating the sides of the sidewalk. the street lights are on and bright, and occasionally a car will speed down the one way road like a bat out of hell.
y/n pulls her jacket, which she managed to grab off her bar stool before they escaped, around her tighter. december in new jersey was unforgiving, and the short skirt and fur lined tights she had on weren’t doing enough to protect her from the cold. she’s just glad she opted for vans tonight.
she looks over to the man next to her, hands shoved in his front pockets and hair falling into his eyes. chris’ nose and cheeks are dusted pink from the cold air, and she wants to brush it out of his face. so she does.
she stops him in the middle of the sidewalk, grabbing his arm. he looks at her quizzically, breathing soft. she reaches up and rakes a hand through the soft, brown locks, positioning it so she could continue to see his eyes. he lips turn upwards.
“where are we going?” she says, her arm falling back to her side.
he nods his head towards a car parked a little bit away. “my car.”
she cocks her head. “why the hell are you parked this far from where you’re performing?”
“we were here earlier,” chris says, walking ahead. she follows. “after we set up at the Phoenix, we came here to get some drinks. too much time to kill led to a round of drunk pool. we ubered to the show.”
she doesn’t know him very well, but she knows it makes sense. “very professional.”
chris unlocks his car, leaning over and opening the passenger door. he leans his forearm on the roof of the car, grinning. “that’s rock and roll baby.”
she scoffs a laugh. “never say that, ever again.”
he laughs too. “yeah, alright.”
once they’re settled in the car, chris hands her the aux. she looks at him, surprised. “you want me to play music?”
he nods. “it’s a good character tester. show me what you got.”
she thinks there’s something more underneath the words. she takes the challenge. “you’re on.”
chris pulls off into the night just as pyramids starts.
***
something y/n had never understood was magnets. sure, they had a specific and concrete explanation, scientifically proven, but it just never really settled in her brain right. the concept of push and pull and attraction to metal was a mystery to her.
she kind of feels like a a stray paper clip right now, though. as chris glides through the streets of jersey she’s encapsulated with the way the fleeting lights ghost over his face, outlining his jaw. he’s got one hand on the wheel and one on the middle console, which makes her wish he’d reach a little further to the flesh of her thigh.
when he parks in the back of a big building that she knows far too well, she’s mystified. “why the hell are we at my childhood rec center right now?”
chris leans forward, looking out the windshield. he shrugs. “i didn’t even know that’s where we were. i was just driving to be honest.”
y/n notices the pull towards him again. cause what a coincidence right?
she unfastens her seatbelt and turns her body towards him, leaning her back against her door. “so what made you wanna be a drummer?”
the question seems to come out of nowhere, to chris at least, but he welcomes it. he copies her movements, facing her as well. his seat is pulled all the way back. “just always loved music. so has matt. my brothers are my best friends, so getting a chance to create music with them seemed like a life i’d always wanna live.”
she loves that answer. makes her heartbeat a little faster. “big softie.”
chris smiles wide, teeth poking out. “kind of.” he fiddles with the steering wheel cover. y/n has noticed that he’s always moving in some capacity. fingers always twitching or drumming on a surface, hands in his hair, cracking his neck— he can never sit still. “what’s your thing?”
she thinks. “don’t know if i have one.”
he tuts. “everyone has a thing.”
her eyes laser focus on his necklace. she’s searching her brain for the best thing to say, but keeps coming up short. there were things she loved, books, movies, art— but there was nothing that really made her feel like she could do it forever. it made her feel boring in comparison.
“i don’t know, really.”
chris looks at her like he’s trying to decode a riddle. she kind of shrinks under the gaze. “i think you’re holding back.” she rolls her eyes, because she doesn’t know what else to do. “but even if that’s true, you’ve got time. nobody has everything figured out.”
the words are comforting, but a little too heavy for the night. what she’s going to do with her life is so not the conversation she wants to be having with the hot drummer she ran away from a bar fight with.
“thank you so much, dr. chris.” he laughs, shaking his head. y/n has a sudden stroke of recklessness genius. she smiles like a cheshire cat, slow growing and completely mesmerizing to the boy across from her.
“what’s with the evil smile? you’re freaking me out.” except he’s lying. he’s quite literally hanging on to her every word.
“let’s go.” she’s climbing over the middle console now, stopping briefly on his lap before reaching for his door. why she just didn’t get out on her side, she doesn’t know. she does. the inexplicable need to be close to him compels her to do it. stupid fucking magnet theory.
before she can grasp it though, chris’s hands plant themselves firmly on her hips. she looks down at him, raising an eyebrow. he just grins up at her, looking peacefully.
“just give me a minute. this is pretty much the view i was imagining the entire show while looking at you.” y/n feels herself pulse at the sentence. “it’s even better than i could’ve ever pictured it.”
“dirty dog,” she teases, but settles down anyway.
“oh come on,” he replies. his hands are wandering the tiniest bit, brushing the curve of her spine. “you’re telling me all your thoughts of me have been perfectly respectable?”
she scoffs in amusement. “you need to be humbled, like immediately. maybe the fame’s going to your head.” she trails her eyes down his chest where their bodies connect. “and there’s no telling which one.”
chris chuckles. “not my style, sugar.”
“oh?” y/n leans down, head above him and hair acting as a curtain around them. “am i your first groupie?”
the smirk that slides on to his face is sweltering. his fingers are rubbing circles into the skin of her back and she forces herself not to shiver at the feeling.
“is that what’s going on here? i thought we were just hanging out.” there’s a sly smile on his mouth, eyes implying less than pure things. he leans up on his elbows, causing his hands to disappear. she misses the touch as soon as it’s gone. there’s barely an inch apart. “looks like i’m not the only one who had a plan. hm?”
she shoves his shoulder, causing him to lay back flat with a laugh. “you’ve bumped your head on one too many tour buses.”
y/n opens the car door, reaching down and grabbing his hand. chris lets her pull him up. he’s still laughing. “what are we doing?”
“being quiet,” she says, leading them to the back door she’d seen almost every night back in her teenage years. “not a word.” she warns.
she’d left her purse in the car, but it doesn’t really matter. pulling a bobby pin from her hair, she gets to work jamming it into the lock and wiggling it around. she can feel chris’ body heat behind her, and the cold air makes her want to sink into it. she’s a woman on a mission though, so she pushes the thought from her head.
she smirks when the lock clicks, like always, and pulls the door open. “lets go.”
the surprise on chris’ face is evident. he’s cautious, looking all around him. “are you insane? we are not breaking into a community center right now.”
y/n leans on the door with her arms across her chest. “scared?”
“very much, yes.” he looks at her with something incredulous in his eyes. “don’t really feel like getting arrested tonight.”
she rolls her eyes. “i promise you this isn’t the first, tenth or hundredth time i’ve done this.” she moves to stand directly in front of him then. “it’s a jersey teen rite of passage. we’ll be fine.”
he looks unsure, but he’d be kidding himself if he thought he could ever say no to her. the way she’s looking at him, with wide, sparkling eyes and plump, glossy red lips stretched into a smile that makes his heart thud. he’s a goner. already.
“fine.” he says, despite his better judgement. “lead the way, miss criminal.”
she just laughs as she pulls him inside. the sound makes him think that everything could go to shit in a matter of minutes, and it would all be worth it.
***
the sounds of their foot steps echo through the abandoned space. y/n leads chris through the darkness with expertise, helping him dodge strewn about chairs and walls that he nearly smacked into several times.
she’s giggling like a mad woman, making chris’ lips freeze in a permanent smile at the sound. when they get to where she wants to be she stops and tells him to close his eyes.
he hears the sound of a switch or two, and when he opens his eyes he’s met with a giant community sized pool and some bleachers in front of it. there’s a couple overhead lights, some benches lining the sides of the pool. it looks exactly like what you’d picture a rec center pool would look like.
the thing that catches his eyes though is the graffiti that paints the walls around him. vibrant colors and designs that are so intricate he can’t even wrap his head around it. he’s in awe. when y/n comes to stand in front of him, he looks from the wall to her still dumbfounded.
“this is fucking sick.” he travels to see the art up close, running his hands along the pictures. there’s a flurry of random images with a distinct style chris could never figure out the name for, but all his eyes and brain can register is that it’s fucking beautiful. “have these always been here?”
y/n is looking at the wall with nostalgia swirling through her irises. “kind of. there were a bunch of random additions over the years and it just became this big piece. heard the artist got caught a bunch of times but nothing could stop them.”
chris scoffs. “um, yeah, if i was this good at anything artistic i’d draw that shit on everything too.”
she laughs, turning to him with a mischievous look. he raises an eyebrow at her, questioning what the look was for. she doesn’t say anything, just leans down and starts taking off her shoes.
chris watches her with raised interest, heartbeat speeding up when she gets to the hem of her shirt. “i’m confused on the signals i’m getting right now.”
she shrugs, “strip.”
and with that she pulls of her top, exposing her deep red bra. chris’ eyes trace the valley of her chest and even though he feels like a dick, he can’t help it. he already thought she was the most beautiful girl he’d seen clothed, so her stripping in front of him wasn’t doing him or the pants he was wearing any favors. not to mention that moment in the car was constantly burning through his brain, making him hear. for her touch.
her skirt is off in the next second, and she’s looking at chris like he’s missing an opportunity. “are you gonna stand there and creep on me or are you gonna take your clothes off?”
he’s snapped out of the trance he was in and sends her a sheepish grin. “i’m still kinda lost on what we’re doing right now.”
y/n walks to him slowly, hair fanning out around her shoulders. chris find his hands itching to bury themselves in it, pulling, grasping or even just playing with it softly. when she’s right in front of him, he looks down at her. the sight nearly knocks him off his feet. she’s peering up at him through her eyelashes, eyes dark and sensual, mouth quirked up in a sinful smile. she brings her hands to the waistband of his cargo pants, toying with the button.
chris is hot all over. he can’t do anything but keep his eyes on her hands, following their every move. she pops the button with ease, “do you want me to do all the work or..?”
chris’ voice is shaky as he blows out a breath. “i mean kind of, yeah.”
“i think you’ve got it under control,” she says, voice like honey. “can you finish for me?”
it should be embarrassing how fast chris steps out of his shoes and shows his pants down to his ankles. he’s hoping his dick isn’t standing straight up because he’d probably try to drown himself.
when he’s down to his boxers, y/n trails a nail up his chest and puts her lips to his ear. “good boy.” he shudders, then questions himself cause what the fuck? but then he mentally shrugs because he knows that anything that fell out of her mouth would turn him on. “i really hope you can swim.”
the words register a second too late, because chris is suddenly submerged in water before he can even think to say anything. he hears y/n’s cackle on the way down, and can feel the break of water as she jumps in after him.
he pushes to the surface with a glare, splashing her as soon as she emerges. “you’re evil,” he says, huffing. “you distracted me.”
she splashes him back with a wide, genuine smile. “you’re a guy. distracting a child would be harder.”
chris rolls his eyes, taking the opportunity to lunge at her through the water. she squeals, manically laughing as he chases her around. they spend the next however long slashing each other and trying to dunk each other under water without getting too close to be grabbed.
y/n doesn’t know the last time she felt this good around a guy. the last time she was so allowing to have someone in her space. it makes her stomach turn in a delicious, tantalizing whirl of want.
chris catches her off guard finally, wrapping his arm around her waist as she tries to get away. he pulls her to him and she turns, taking it upon herself to get as close as possible. they’re treading water, looking at each other in the eye.
it feels like they’re having a conversation without saying the words, and y/n is terrified chris can hear her heart beating in the silence. he reaches up, tucking a wet strand behind her ear. the moment is oddly tender. “you’re beautiful.”
he says it so concretely that it makes her stomach (among other places) clench. like there was no room for debate. it’s probably the shyest she’s been all night when she looks down at the distorted sight of their legs underwater.
like a mind reader, chris nudges her burning cheek, making her look up. he’s close as he can be but still giving her space. he searches her eyes for a moment, before he starts to say something. “i-“
y/n is looking at him, waiting for him to finish but ultimately he doesn’t. “fuck it.” is the only thing he says before slotting his lips perfectly over hers.
it’s instantaneous, the way her body suctions itself to his. his right hand is gripping the base of her throat hotly, his other hand in her hip. her hands are in his hair and she’s moved to wrap her legs around his waist.
they’re pulling at each other like they’ve been apart for years. it’s desperate and needy, the way chris trails his lips down her neck, nipping and sucking on any part of skin he can see. the way she tugs roughly at his hair to pull him back up to her lips, like she can’t stand to be away from them for a second.
it’s the hottest thing either of them have literally ever experienced and she strongly believes that she’s about to fuck this man right here, right now.
only, they can’t, because there’s a sudden slam of a door and a jingle of keys. “hey! you can’t be in here!”
they pull apart instantly, and y/n’s eyes widen. “oh shit, we gotta go.”
“what the fuck—“ chris looks like a deer caught in headlights, but y/n has been through this way too many times to let them be caught.
she’s pulling chris’ arm with an iron grip to the side of the wall their clothes are at. “let’s fucking go, chris.”
it takes all of two seconds for him to move with her instead of against her. they pull themselves up the wall as the security guard moves from the open door with haste. y/n can’t help but laugh as chris fumbles around with his shit, almost slipping and falling to the ground.
“is that you, y/n?” the guard says, and she can feel chris’ confusion. she doesn’t stop though, continuing her escape with chris in row. “damn kids.”
“you’re fucking insane,” chris says through his own laugh because well, he can’t fucking believe this night. can’t believe this girl.
“little bit!” she calls over her shoulder as the guard chases them around the border of the pool. they run to the door in the other direction, bursting through to the arctic air.
“oh my fucking god my balls are shriveling up i can feel it.” chris says as they run barefoot, soaking wet and freezing cold.
they make it across the parking lot, all the way to chris’s car by the time the guard is at the back door, throwing their clothes and themselves in haphazardly.
chris shakes as he blasts the heat and slams on the gas. he’s out of the space in record speed, driving on to the main road a little fast until they’re a safe ways away. he looks over at her, and she’s already looking him. they burst out in the most insane, bizarre bout of laughter.
they look ridiculous. wet hair and in their underwear, shaking like falling leaves. it’s comical and unbelievable and they would never want to be anywhere else.
“god i was kidding when i called you a criminal but you really fucking are,” he shakes his head. “he knew your name and everything.”
“hey!” she says, holding her hands up. “there’s not much to do around here. sneaking into here was like a weekly routine when i was in high school.”
“my little jailbird. what the hell am i gonna do with you?” there’s a glint to his eyes and she shivers again, not from the cold.
she ignores the feeling and points up ahead to a small alley. “you’re gonna pull in there so we can put our fucking clothes on. i’m freezing.”
“completely your fault, by the way.”
“blah, blah, blah.” she looks at him while he focuses on the road. the smile that spreads on her lips makes her skin heat. “pull over.”
and he does.
***
it’s a little while later and chris and y/n sit in his backseat, joint being passed between them, now fully clothed.
y/n lays with her back pressed up against the back left door, legs outstretched and wide with chris laying between them. the weight of his ribs on her hips is heavenly, and all she’s been thinking about for the last ten minutes is how it’s not close enough.
her hand is resting at the top of his head, lazily twisting a strand of hair around her finger. chris hums every so often, body slouching down more into her body heat.
“hey,” he says. “tell me something true.”
she takes a long hit, holding the smoke in before exhaling. “i’m high as bones right now.”
they share a giggle, before chris swipes the joint from her fingers. “i said true, not obvious.”
she shrugs, watching the smoke around them swirl. “it’s both, actually.”
he shakes his head, looking up at her from his place on top of her. “seriously.”
she thinks for a minute. there’s one thing she can think of, but for some reason it feels embarrassing. the way chris is looking at her though, completely enthralled with low eyes makes her not care. “that was my graffiti at the pool.”
chris flounders for a second, mouth dropping open in slow motion. he moves slowly, but it feels abrupt. he spins his body so his back is now facing the other door. she misses his body weight already.
“no fucking way?” his eyes are as wide as they could possibly be, considering how intoxicated they both are.
y/n just shrugs, pulling the last hit and leaning forward to place the filter in an old pepsi can in the front seat. “not a big deal.”
chris scoffs incredulously. “not a big deal? not a big deal?” he shakes his head, his mop of hair bouncing. “you lied to me.”
“about what, exactly?”
“i asked you what your thing was. you told me you didn’t have one.” he gives her a pointed look. “that’s a pretty big thing to have.”
“i haven’t done any art in years,” she argues. “so not really my “thing” anymore.”
he won’t let it go and she has no idea why. a couple random pieces she did out of teenage rebellion were so far back in her brain that it wasn’t even a factor. it’s been years since she even drew anything.
“well get back to it,” he says. “cause that’s not the type of thing you just stop doing. you’re fucking incredible, y/n.”
the authenticity in the words makes her shift uncomfortably. she doesn’t know how to take it and she damn sure doesn’t know what to make of him staring at her like she was pablo picasso reincarnated. it was kind of freaking her out.
“yeah, yeah.” she says, because it’s all she can.
“i’m serious. you’re so talented.” he moves his face directly in front of hers. his eyes trace the expanse of her face so delicately, it makes her want to been seen by him always. “so fucking perfect.” he whispers.
the words fill her with a softness she doesn’t think she’s ever felt. he really means it. she can tell by how honest his eyes are and how tightly he’s gripping on to the spot right above her knee. she doesn’t know how to thank him, so she connects their lips as a sign. he takes it immediately. they stay like that for a couple moments, learning the ins and outs of each others mouths, languidly kissing.
then, she’s back to being on top of him, but with a fire igniting in the pit of her stomach. she’s grinding her hips down into him, chasing those pretty noises he makes at the back of his throat. she’s breathing heavily, mewls falling from her lips as he sucks a particularly deep bruise into her neck.
“your pace,” he says through a groan. although it almost physically pains him, he slows her hips. she whines, chasing the friction like a woman on a mission. “whatever you want.”
“what do you want?” like a brat, she removes his hands, rolling her hips sinfully slow. chris almost chokes on his own spit.
“just want you.”
it makes her dizzy, the desperation in his voice. she needs him now. “well you have me,” for the second time tonight, she pops open the button of his pants. she places a searing kiss on his lips, making him chase her own when she parts. “now make it count.”
and he does. so much so that y/n has to remind herself several times during it that this man, this moment— is just for tonight. no matter how much she wants differently to be true.
***
“yeah,” y/n says, disoriented and out of breath. “yeah we’re coming.”
chris snorts from his place in the drivers seat. he puts on his shirt, taking a second to run his hands through his hair, trying to fix it.
“already did. several times.”
y/n punches him in the arm, trying to listen to her best friend rattle the location they ended up at. she hums in reply, not really listening as she watches chris watch her, his hand wandering to the flesh of her thighs.
when he gets a little too close to her underwear she clamps her legs shut, sending him a look. he only smirks in reply.
she pulls the phone away slightly. “you’re insatiable.”
he shrugs. “when it comes to you? yeah.”
y/n hears her best friend gasp. “oh my god. you just got finished fucking!”
she can feel the heat rise to her face. “i’m hanging up now.”
“oh my god, bitch!” y/n heard shuffling, no doubt grabbing the attention of her other friend. “y/n fucked chris.”
she can hear a protesting bleh! that sounds like nick over the phone, before squeals fill her ears. she already knows her friends are very much drunk. “goodbye.”
when she hangs up, she turns and slaps chris on the shoulder. he flinches, but he’s laughing nonetheless. “you idiot.”
“what? like you weren’t gonna tell them?”
“yeah, tomorrow.” she emphasizes. “not tonight when they’re surrounded by your drunk brothers in the middle of a bar!”
“trust me,” he says, toothy grin shining. “nick and matt have heard worse.”
y/n rolls her eyes, “slut.”
chris doesn’t do anything but send her a dirty smirk, turning up the music and backing out of the parking lot they were in, weaving through the streets like he’s lived here all his life.
y/n can feel a dreadful weight settle in her gut, thinking that the night was approaching its end. through the silence she studies chris, wondering what he’s thinking. if he felt the connection between them as much she did. if he was just as unwilling to let it go. when they pull up outside the bar, she can see his brothers and her friends standing and laughing loudly outside, waiting for them. she wants to speak, but she doesn’t know what to say or how to say it. luckily for her, chris has never been one to stay silent for long.
“so.” he says, looking at her with what she thinks is nervousness. “am i gonna have to beg for your number? cause i have no shame. and i will.”
y/n lets out the breath she’d been holding. he felt it too. of course he did.
she outstretches her hand to which he places his phone into. she types in her contact, but before she presses save, she motions him close to her. “come here.”
she snaps the picture of them, cheeks pressed together sweetly and makes it her picture, sending it to herself as well. when she’s finished, chris grips her face in his hand and turns her to him, placing one last kiss to her lips.
it’s slow and intimate, no trace of tongue or the desperate need from before. it feels like a promise or a nudge towards the future. like this couldn’t possibly be the last one.
“text me. or call me. whatever. i’ll answer for you anytime.” he whispers into her mouth. she snaps a mental picture of the moment.
“i will.” she means it.
she gets out the car then, alerting her eccentric friends of her arrival. she gives nick and matt a brief hug as they pass her on the way to chris’ car, thanking them for keeping her friends safe.
she watches them all the way to the car, waving at chris once more as they pull away. she kind of feels like a piece of herself went with him.
“you have to tell us everything.” her best friend says, but y/n is somewhere far away.
“yeah, i will. tomorrow. for now, let’s get you drunk fucks to bed.”
he’s the only thing she can think about the whole way home.
***
eight months later
there’s a distinct difference in atmosphere between this night and then last is all y/n’s thinking as she pushes through the crowd of screaming girls to the back of the venue.
before, it was a lowkey bar with more drunk customers than excited fans. now, there’s people with band tees and signs, nearly passing out as she watches the band throw guitar picks and drumsticks into the crowd. her leather pants are sticking to her tightly, sweat collecting at the small of her back.
she’d gotten matt’s number from her best friend, texted him and told him that she’d be here tonight. chris had no idea, and while she was excited beyond belief to see him, there was a part of her that was riddled with insecurity that he wouldn’t share the same feelings.
they’d texted consistently for a couple months after that night. the odd phone call every few weeks to catch up. it was never awkward, despite how much time had passed. she missed him all the time when he wasn’t around, so every time they talked it felt so comforting she yearned to be in his presence again.
but then they got busy, and consistent texts turned into a random conversation here and there and a call once in a blue moon. the eventually, it turned to nothing at all. she still thought about him all the time, but she her fear held her back from ever reaching out. she assumed he felt the same. well that, and the fact that the guys’ band had found massive success seemingly overnight. she was happy for him, she just hoped there was still room in his memory and his life for her.
y/n paces around the band’s small dressing room while she waits. the anxiety is eating her alive, building a lump in her throat she’s scared won’t ever go away. she’s half a second away from running out of there and never looking back when the door opens.
and in walks chris, shirt off and slung over his shoulder. his hair is drenched with sweat, dark, baggy jeans low on his waist. the emotion that floods her makes her hands shake, so she wrings her hands together to make it stop. doesn’t work one bit.
chris hasn’t seen her yet, but she sees nick and matt in the entry way at the door, smiling and flashing her a thumbs up before they shut the door loudly. chris looks back the door in confusion.
“where the hell—“
“i’ve been stuck in this room for twenty minutes and you still haven’t noticed i’m here. remind me to never try to surprise you ever again.”
chris’ entire body stills. he looks up slowly, hair on his arms standing at full height. when he sees her, his eyes widen three times their normal size. his mouth opens and closes helplessly, so much so y/n can only laugh at him.
“you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
chris doesn’t move from his spot. “i feel like i’m looking at one.”
the eye contact they make is sweltering. all of sudden, the thoughts that had been plaguing her for so long fall away. chris walks to her slowly, like he’s afraid she’s gonna disappear if he moves too fast.
“are you really here right now?” he says, voice full of awe. “i feel like i’m going insane right now.”
she chuckles under her breath. “yes, chris. i’m really here right now.”
the sun opens up in that very room in that moment as soon as chris realizes what’s happening, cause he smiles so wide it looks like it might hurt. he closes the space between and hugs her, lifting her body off the ground.
“chris—“
“what the fuck are you doing here?” he questions, pulling back with his hands on her waist. “not that i’m not glad, i’m just fucking flabbergasted by it.”
y/n’s smile matches his. wide and unrelenting. “well,” she says, pulling a folded up flier out of her bag. she hands it to him, motioning for him to open it. “for this.”
chris’ eyes light up as he scans the paper. he looks at her with so much pride it almost knocks her off her feet. “you have an art show.”
“i do.” she nudges his shoulder. “someone told me once that it was my thing.”
chris wants to kiss her. so badly. he hadn’t seen her in months, hadn’t even spoken to her, but he feels that same thrum of electricity in his veins that he did that night. she looks even more beautiful than before. he can’t take it.
“so that’s why you’re in los angeles?” y/n knows the question is bait. she knows and she wants to keep up the calm and collected ruse really bad, except she thinks she might explode if she doesn’t feel her lips in his very soon.
“yeah,” chris’ shoulders shrug the tiniest bit. “that and this band i like was playing tonight. don’t tell anyone, but i kinda have a thing for the drummer.”
they’re moving closer to each other without even realizing it. chris’ hands have righted their grip on her and she’s about an inch from his face.
he smirks. “mm, good choice. i’ve heard he’s the hottest one.”
“biggest ego too.”
they don’t even have to question it. don’t even have to say the words. chris pulls her to him and closes the gap, his lips finding hers after so long. way too long.
y/n can feel how much he missed her in the way he’s holding her so tightly. she hopes she’s pouring the same feelings into this. kissing chris was like coming home after a hard day to your favorite spot on the couch. she never realized just how much she needed it, never knew how much she missed it until she had it again.
“i missed you.” he says, barely pulling away to say it.
“me too.” she says, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck.
with one final peck to her lips, chris hesitantly pulls himself away from her. “let me pack my shit and then we can get out of here. it’s my turn to show you around.”
y/n watches him move through the room in haste, dropping shit and bumping into chairs out of pure excitement. her heart swells twice in size, eyes sparkling at the thought of the night to come. she knows this time is different. there was no way either of them was going to let go for a second time.
chris sends her a blinding smile while he packs his backpack and she knows, just knows this man is going to be someone special to her. with the way her heart pounds just by looking at him, he already is.
thank god for boys in bands.
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katsu28 · 24 hours
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i want you here
pairing: steve harrington x reader
summary: you finally gather the courage to ask your boyfriend if he'll move in with you (3k)
a/n: steve girlies i have returned!!! been straying away from my roots lately but i’ll always come back to my favorite guy <3
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Steve was on the couch when you came home, only looking up from the cooking show he was watching when he heard the key jingling in the door. 
He’d been camped out at your place for hours now, having taken the morning shift at Family Video today which meant he got off work early. He’d beelined right here, using the key you’d given him to let himself in and wait until you got home. 
He found himself doing that more often than not these days, preferring to spend his time at your apartment over his own place so he could see you right when you got home. Sometimes it was just what he needed to make his day a little brighter than normal. 
Sure, it was just a ten minute drive from his to yours, but those ten minutes always seemed like forever. 
“Hey sweetheart!” He chirped, muting the program in favor of twisting around in his seat to face you, his arm hooked over the back of the sofa. When you only let out a vague noise in response, his smile turned sympathetic.
He patted the cushion next to him, prompting you to come over and collapse face-first onto the sofa, stretching out your sore muscles with a tired groan. 
Steve’s hand came to rest at the nape of your neck immediately, fingers rubbing along your shoulder blades like it was second nature. “Bad day?” 
“Understatement of the century.” 
“Ouch.” 
“Hold me?” 
“Surprised you even had to ask.” He patted his lap a few times and you sat up, curling up with your head on his thigh comfortably. When you were satisfied with your position, you gave a content sigh. “All better now?” 
You nodded, shifting your focus back to his amused smile. “How was your shift? How’s Robin?” 
“Oh y’know, the usual. Scanning, restocking, same thing different day,” He shrugged, hand waving in the air vaguely before coming to settle just above your heart, fingers rounding out absentminded circles against the material of your shirt. His touch radiated warmth through your entire body, making you more at ease than you’d been the entire day since you’d kissed him goodbye this morning. 
Steve always had that kind of effect on you. 
“Robin’s doing good, her and Nance are planning a trip to New York sometime in the summer, asked if we wanna join them. I said I’d ask you tonight, but we can talk about it another day. They’ll understand.” 
“No, it’s okay. Sounds fun, we should go,” You insisted, smiling softly up at him just to see the pink bloom on his cheeks. 
“Yeah?” 
“I’d be completely okay with a vacation.” You must’ve sounded more tired than you meant to, because Steve frowned. 
“They’re really working you hard these days, huh?” 
You shrugged, letting your head loll to the side until your cheek was pressed to the soft blanket covering his lower half. Steve was concerned, you could hear it in his voice clear as day. “S’fine. Means they know I’m reliable, so if a higher position ever opens up maybe they’ll think of me.” 
“As long as you’re not overworking yourself.” 
“I’m okay, Stevie.” 
He didn’t look like he believed you one bit, but he nodded warily, sensing that you just wanted to change the subject. So he did. “Hey, you remember my neighbor, Mrs. Anderson?”
“The one who power walks around the neighborhood every morning?” 
“Yeah, her! She popped into Family Video today, and it turns out that she divorced her son of a bitch husband because he was fooling around with some floozy from his fencing class—had been for months!” He exclaimed, looking like he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. You played along, raising a surprised brow at the news, more interested in the way he was telling his story rather than the story itself. 
Call it creepy, but sometimes you just liked to watch your boyfriend talk. 
“And he had the nerve to ask for more than his share of their money because ‘he had to start from scratch’. I mean honestly, if you’re gonna fuck up your marriage, at least have the decency to just walk the fuck away.” He continued, shaking his head with a disgusted grimace. You fought the urge to laugh at his reaction. “Anyways, she’s doing good, she’s got a date tonight with some guy she dated for a bit in high school who reconnected recently and wanted to get a good movie, so I gave her Doctor Zhivago. Seemed kinda fitting—y’know, reuniting lovers and all that.” 
You snorted. “Did you seriously just use the word floozy?” 
“Really? That’s all you got from my story?” 
“I just didn’t know that word still existed.” 
“Were you not listening to me? I might’ve just kickstarted a new relationship! I should see if Keith would let me start up a new service at the store.”
“Service? Like, you recommending movies to customers?” 
“Yeah!” 
“Isn’t that already technically part of your job description?” 
“I mean technically, but who knows, maybe I could get a raise. A few cents, a buck or two, I dunno.” Steve was mumbling now, more so to himself than to you, rubbing a large palm against his cheek in contemplation. 
You inhaled a deep breath through your nose, gearing up to ask Steve if it was okay if you took a quick nap, but one whiff of fresh laundry distracted you. Propping yourself up on your elbow, you squinted up at your boyfriend.
“What?” He asked, looking simultaneously confused and like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 
“Did you—did you do laundry?”
Steve let out a huff of air, shoulders sagging in relief. All traces of annoyance from the former Mr. Anderson and his fencing floozy were long gone. “Yeah, I did. I figured I’d make myself useful for once, get some stuff done around here so you wouldn’t have to when you got home. I hope that’s okay.” 
It was more than okay. Beyond okay, if you were being honest with yourself. 
Steve had been doing that a lot recently, taking care of little things around your apartment while you were away at work. Putting clean dishes away, changing that pesky flickering light in the bathroom that you couldn’t reach, fixing a wobbly table leg. Things that, among others, you’d been too tired to take care of when you got home. 
“Do you wanna move in with me?” You heard yourself asking, shifting yourself into a sitting position, knees pressing against his. 
Steve’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “You want me to—you want me here?” He sounded taken by complete surprise, honey eyes wide as he blinked at you slowly. 
Sure, was your name on the lease, but there were already traces of Steve everywhere in your apartment. 
A collection of his hair products mixed in with your skincare on the bathroom counter, a few mugs with cheesy puns littering your collection in the cabinet. A handful of sweaters of his in the drawers of your dresser that you’d stolen and he’d never taken back. 
His work schedule tacked onto the fridge with a magnet one of the kids had made for him, almost lost within the various notes he’d written you over the years. Chicken scratch and awful doodles on Post-It notes, receipts, Family Video notepads, anything he could get his hands on, then tucked into your pocket, stuck onto the bathroom mirror. Anywhere and everywhere he could, just so you’d smile and think of him. 
You look really pretty today. 
Do you have a bandaid? I think I scraped my knee falling for you. 
Someone call the cops because I think you’ve stolen my heart. 
You wanted more of him. You wanted all of him. 
“Of course I want you here, Steve,” You murmured, rubbing your thumb along the ridges of his knuckles soothingly. “I wanna come home to you at the end of every day and have dinner with you every single night, breakfast every single morning. I want your toothbrush in the cup next to mine, your clothes in the closet, your weird stolen DVDs from Family Video under the TV.” 
Steve’s lips parted like he was about to say something, then closed again before any words could come out. 
Maybe you’d overstepped by asking him to move in. Maybe you’d been entirely misinterpreting where you were in your relationship, and he wasn’t on the same page as you, and that’s why he wasn’t saying anything. 
“D’you think—is that…something you would want?” You asked hopefully, feeling a bit shy now. 
“Yes.” He replied immediately, nodding so quickly his hair flopped over his forehead. “God, yes. Please.” 
Your smile grew unbelievably wide at his enthusiasm. “Really?” 
“Yeah. Yes, really,” He insisted, nodding again. “I’d love nothing more.” 
“Well, it’s settled then. We’re gonna live together.” 
He beamed, and you swore it was like pure sunshine injected straight into your veins. You’d get to see that smile whenever you wanted now. “Holy shit, sweetheart! We’re gonna live together!” 
Steve moved in very soon after that, only weeks between the day you had the conversation and the moment the last box was shoved into the backseat of his car. 
He dusted his hands off on his jeans, slamming the door shut with a sense of finality before making his way over to come stand next to you. 
“You gonna miss this place?” You asked, tilting your head at the looming house in front of you. You’d never tell Steve, but his house always gave you the shivers. It was nice, of course, but it was too nice. Too staged, like everything was just for show, and not the place that made your Steve into the person he was now. 
“Not a chance.” He replied. His arm snaked around your waist, fingers coming to twine through yours in your jacket pocket. “Not when I have you to look forward to everyday for the rest of my life.” 
“That’s so fucking cheesy.” 
Steve leaned more into you, bumping his hip against yours. “What can I say? You bring out the best in me.” 
“Are you excited?” 
“Do you want me to jump for joy and run around the yard to show you how excited I am? ‘Cause I will.” 
“Please don’t.” 
Steve stuck his tongue out at you childishly. “Party pooper.” 
-------
“Dude, I thought you lived here already. You’re over here all the time anyways.” Dustin scoffed, popping a grape into his mouth. The younger boy had agreed to lend a hand in your unpacking endeavors today, though you suspected he was more here for the promise of dinner after everything was said and done. The same could be said for Eddie, who hadn’t shown up yet. 
“You literally came to my house last week to use my pool?”  
“Yeah, but I thought Y/N had just, like, kicked you out for the day. Like you were in the doghouse or something!” Dustin explained, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Steve squinted at him, brow furrowed. “But yeah, congratulations on the new home, welcome, whatever!” 
“Babe, we should change the locks. Gotta keep the local riffraff out.” He whispered loudly, to which Dustin flipped him a playful bird. “Speaking of riffraff, where’s Eddie? I thought he’d be here by now.” 
“Probably still sleeping.” Dustin shrugged, taking a seat on the couch. 
“It’s the middle of the day!” 
“You know him, he’s like a fucking bat. Sleeps all day, stays up all night.” 
“Henderson! Language!” Steve chided, flinging a grape at the boy. It bounced off Dustin’s arm and rolled across the floor, disappearing under the coffee table. You turned your gaze on Steve, raising an expectant eyebrow at him in an expression that he recognized immediately. The grin on his face disappeared and he nodded once. “Sorry. Getting it now.” 
“You’ve got him on a tight leash, I like it.” 
“How do you think I lured him here in the first place?” You hummed, shooting Dustin a cheeky wink. 
Steve made some sort of noise of protest from under the table, quick to insert himself back into the conversation. “Hey, I have my own free will! Lemme tell you, I—ow, shit!” 
“Better watch your language there, Harrington,” Dustin snickered. 
“This is my home now too, I can kick you out anytime I want!” 
“No you can’t! Y/N would never let you, she loves me.” 
Steve reemerged with the offending grape clutched between his fingers, glaring at Dustin. “Fifty bucks says she loves me more.” 
“I’ll take that action!” Both boys turned their attention on you, waiting for you to settle the score.
You shook your head, lips pressing into an unassuming line as you raised your hands in surrender. “I’m not getting involved.”
-------
Dustin proved little help on the unpacking front of things, as did Eddie when he finally made it over, both of them too enamored with rifling through the boxes looking at everything rather than actually taking them out like they were supposed to. Steve wanted to scold them, but you’d convinced him not to with a simple kiss. He was always easy to persuade like that. 
Most of the boxes had been emptied and littered around the main rooms by the time the sun set, so despite your helpers’ very unhelpful demeanor, things had gotten done anyways.
You’d ordered a few pizzas as a thanks, but Eddie had shuffled Dustin right out the door with the excuse of an emergency Hellfire meeting (which he not-so-quietly whispered was a lie, and that he wanted to give “the two lovebirds some alone time”), much to the dismay of the curly headed boy. 
Missing out on free pizza was a top ten betrayal scenario for him. Maybe even a top five, but Eddie had let the door slam behind him before Dustin was able to finish that thought. 
“Meals til we go to the store, I guess?” Steve offered, picking a green pepper off his slice to discard onto your plate. You were sitting cross-legged on the kitchen counter, Steve leaning on it across from you with his elbows propped up as he passed you every single one of his peppers and claiming your pepperoni in return. 
“I have food in the fridge, y’know.”
“Oh, right, right. No yeah, I’ve seen it. Leftover takeout and a bag of shredded cheese?” He raised an amused brow, cocking his head. You scowled. “Very self sufficient, babe.” 
“I’ve been meaning to go shopping!” 
“And tomorrow we can. Together. Because we live together now.” 
“Is that something you’re gonna be saying all the time from now on?” 
“Until the end of time, sweetheart.” Fondness dripped from his tone like syrup, nearly giving you a cavity from how sweet he was being towards you. 
He met you in the middle, kissing you happily in the middle of your kitchen like he’d done so many times before. Only this time it felt different, because it was now Steve’s kitchen too. His home. 
-------
You were the first one awake the next morning. That was usually how weekends went when Steve was there—you’d wake up before he did, but you wouldn’t rouse him from his deep slumber. You usually just watched him sleep for a bit, in the least creepy way possible. 
It was just…Steve was so pretty in the mornings, and today was no exception. Sunlight poured through the curtains, washing over his sleeping form in a golden glow that made him look goddamn heaven-sent. 
Sometimes you couldn’t even believe how lucky you were to have the privilege of loving him. 
Steve’s arms were tucked under his pillow, face smushed into it and hair a fluffed up mess, and there might’ve even been a little bit of drool gathered at the corner of his mouth. You thought he was pretty nonetheless. 
You must’ve been staring a little harder than you meant, because Steve inhaled a deep breath, sniffling a few times before blinking awake slowly. He yawned big and loud, flipping over onto his back with a sigh. 
“Well good morning, roomie,” He hummed, voice heavy with sleep. He smiled lazily at you, reaching out to trace a line along your arm, past your elbow, your wrist, all the way down to your hand until his fingers were laced tight with yours. “Y’know, it’s not nice to stare.” 
“That’s your fault for being so easy on the eyes.” 
“Oh yeah? I could say the same for you.” Steve’s grin only grew bigger, even though he probably couldn’t really see you clearly without his glasses on. “Okay, wait. Hold on, hold on, I can’t see you properly. Where’s my—'' He felt around the bedside table blindly for the aforementioned glasses, nearly knocking them to the floor before grabbing them and shoving them onto his face. 
He shook his head, blinked a few more times to get used to the change, then focused back on you. “There you are. Hi, my beautiful roommate.” 
You swiped the pillow out from under Steve’s head, swinging it at him so it thumped against his chest. “Call me your roommate again and I’ll kick you out of my bed.” 
“Jesus, ow—did you not hear the part where I called you beautiful?!” Steve yelped, snatching it out of your hands and jamming it back under himself. “Plus, I think you mean our bed now.” 
“You’ve already slept in it enough times to call it yours too, even if you hadn’t moved in.” You pointed out. Steve sighed loudly. “What?” 
“You’re supposed to say yes, I love you, my favorite person in the world.” 
“I love you, my favorite person in the world.” 
“Well, now it feels like you’re just mocking me.” 
“Maybe I am.”
“That’s rude. Anyways, breakfast? I’ll make one of those fancy egg scramble thingies you like.” Steve was already swinging his legs out of bed before you responded, because he knew you’d say yes. He lifted his arms high over his head, stretching out his stiff muscles with the loudest of groans before letting his hands slap back down into his lap. 
When you didn’t reply, he turned around. “There you go again with the staring! Honestly, if I’d known you’d shamelessly ogle me this much, I would’ve thought twice about moving in, you creeper.” 
“You know you love it,” You sing-songed, aiming a teasing smile over at him. “Now go make me breakfast, roomie!” 
“God, you were right. That does not have a nice ring to it.” 
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randomdragonfires · 3 days
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Time Can't Stop Me Quite Like You Did | Chapter 2
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Text Divider by @saradika-graphics
Chapter 2 | And So, We Begin Again
SUMMARY | She leans on the doorway and watches as Aemond Targaryen takes a lengthy drag out of his cigarette - tiny embers of the burning tip being the only light in all the space around him. He is withdrawn and lost in his own thoughts, always - just as she knows him to be.
It is at this moment that it strikes her.
It's him that she's in love with. It's always been him.
WARNINGS | 18+; SMUT; Angst with a Happy Ending; Grooming; Attempted Rape/Non-Con; Blood and Injury; Violence
WORD COUNT | 10.2k
Check out the lovely artwork my friend @azperja has made for this fic, HERE!
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IT'S A LONGSTANDING BIRTHDAY TRADITION OF THEIRS. 
For each of Daeron’s birthdays, she comes in with two drinks in hand. Her choice is a Sunspearino, while his is an Iron Throne Iced Tea. There’s also a box of lemon cakes from the King’s Landing Roastery, a huge chain of cafes co-owned by two of her eight older half-siblings. It's a place they often visit when she craves coffee.
Sometimes, they would sneak whiskey from Viserys’ liquor cabinet, mixing it into their drinks while lounging on his bed. They'd watch the rom-com she selects, spending the afternoon together before Alicent’s planned dinner, a big party she always throws for each of her children's birthdays every year. Initially, their mothers arranged snacks and playdates, but as they grew, it evolved into what it is now. However, this year, on his seventeenth, it would seem that the tradition is at its end.
She has been waiting for him for three hours.
The house staff let her in and inform her that Daeron isn’t home. Despite their recent strain, she was confident he wouldn't forget her and their time on his birthday.
He’ll come, she thinks.
The clock's tick-tock seems never-ending as she hopes for his arrival to drown it out.
He'll walk in right now, and apologize for being late, she thinks.
The posters on his wall appear to mock her, reminding her of the disrupted tradition caused by a girl he's been seeing for less than a month. She wants to cry, to tear the papers to shreds and glue.
Any moment now, she thinks.
Her fingers dig into his mattress, catching her charm bracelet on a loose stray thread. It pricks her wrist as she waits, tears blurring her vision and wetting her skirt. He’s going to come right now, she thinks.
The ice in her Sunspearino, a strong black coffee with three sugars, has completely melted, forming a layer of water on top. The melted ice creates drops on the to-go cup, making her wait evident.
He's on his way, she thinks.
Perhaps she is wrong. With every passing second, her faith in him dwindles.
How did they come to this?
Her heart weighs heavy as she finally gathers the courage to stand up and leave. She takes her drink but leaves his, hoping he'll realize what he forgot when he returns to find her gone. Would he even think of her?
He’s not coming.
She leans out of his window, watching Alicent oversee the garden's decor for the outdoor birthday party. She knows what it’ll look like, having attended many of these before. Fairy lights, candles, good wine, and delicious food - she has fond memories of Daeron’s birthday parties. Last year, he convinced the string quartet to play a song they could dance to, and he spun her around - making her feel like she could fly high, higher and higher still.
The longer she stares, the blurrier her vision becomes. Rubbing her red, puffy eyes, she walks out, each step feeling heavier than the last. Helaena and Aegon will likely arrive later in the night, and her own city-residing siblings may make an appearance. Aemond will be coaxed out of hiding, and they'll all have a good time. She won't join tonight, and as she resolves to stay away, she wonders.
Is he bringing Floris Baratheon tonight?
She closes the doorknob with a flick as she steps out.
Will Floris sit with him as she has for all these years? Held by him, as she has desired for so long?
She clenches the drink tightly, some of the coffee spilling onto her hand as she allows the tears to fall.
Will he kiss Floris and dance with her this year, just as he did with her?
She walks swiftly, hoping to remain unnoticed as she desperately hides her face within her hair, which falls on either side of her shoulders like a dark curtain, allowing in just the right amount of light.
Will he even consider her presence? Will he--
First, she hears the moans, then she notices the slightly open door.
She is not quite in the headspace to make out what’s happening, but she knows this for a fact - she is not meant to see. 
The drink slips down her hand and spills in a puddle, wetting her shoes and the carpet that she has no doubt will be cleaned up by angry staff in the next few hours. She gasps just enough for the woman, in between whose thighs Aemond Targaryen’s unmistakable head is nestled - the longer silver hair, an easy contrast to the haircut of the younger brother that she is very familiar with is a dead giveaway - to hear, and she looks straight at her.
She’s got striking green eyes, jet black hair and a piercing gaze that makes her want to squirm. Alys Rivers is definitely enjoying herself as Aemond continues his ministrations with his tongue between her legs. Her moans, each of which are loud and encouraging to him, come as she maintains steady eye contact with her as her own tear-struck, heavy eyes struggle to make sense of the scene before her.
She is older than his mother, and he’s just eighteen.
She runs. 
Her foot kicks away the discarded coffee cup in her rush, drawing Aemond's attention to the unexpected audience. She hears him swearing faintly as she runs. First, the sound of the door closing, then opening again, but she doesn't stick around to find out what happens next.
What had she walked into?
Alys Rivers - she's seen her at numerous gatherings with her father. Co-owner of Harrenhal Communications with her brothers Larys and Harwin Strong, all children of her school's principal, Lionel. Alys isn't close to Aemond's age, and that worries her. But she can't figure out what to do - her legs are moving faster than her mind can process. She heads to the garden, intending to leave, but Alicent spots her and beckons her over, diverting her escape.
"Your movie time ended early! Come try the cak -” 
"He didn't show," she blurts, noticing Alicent's softening and then hardening expression.
"I'm so sorry, my sweet." Alicent begins.
"It's fine. He was probably busy," she replies, struggling to think clearly. She just wants to leave, but Alicent insists she stay for the party. Overwhelmed, she pleads to go home, and Alicent eventually lets her go.
She's almost out when Aemond catches up and pulls her outside the gate to avoid any messy explanations. He's about to tell her something she's not ready for, she knows. As he grabs her shoulders and gazes into her eyes, she realizes she wasn't prepared for this when she arrived.
“You can’t tell anyone, Wylde.”
His words serve as a vivid reminder of the scene she has just witnessed. Aemond, buried between Alys Rivers' thighs, while Alys locked eyes with her, as if daring her to acknowledge the ecstasy. Startled, she spilled her drink and ran, ran, ran-
"How long?" she manages to ask through the fog in her mind, her grip tightening on her skirt, unable to face him, thoughts swirling in her head.
"A little over six months," he admits.
He turned eighteen six months ago. Apparently, they had been involved since he became legal to make his own decisions. The implications dawn on her - had she pursued him when he was younger? Her breath catches.
"Is she... is this..." she looks up, and Aemond, sweating, grapples with the sudden exposure of his clandestine affair. "Is she... she's old enough to be your mother!"
Silence engulfs them, the kind that’s not comfortable. Aemond's tight grip startles her, and his furious violet eye, contrasting with his brother's, glares at her. "Don't be stupid. Don't tell anyone, and you'll listen to me -" he asserts, the anger palpable.
She suggests, "Is she grooming you? Gods, is it blackmail? Should I tell your mother? Are you afraid? I-"
“Fucking hell,” he seethes. “She’s not fucking grooming me, you’d think that I’m smart enough to not let that happen to me -”
“Aemond, you can tell me.” She struggles with her words.
"You're fucking dumb, Wylde," he retorts sharply, his words spilling faster than he can process. His prosthetic eye appears to take on a life of its own in his rage.
“People usually deny it first. You don’t have to, it’s just me and I want to hel-”
“You’re fucking dumb, Wylde.” The words tumble out of his lips faster than his mind can catch up. She sees the way his jaw tightens and she knows Aemond has always been angry and too quick to react, but she is not prepared for the way his throat bobs as he swallows and prepares to strike at her heart.
“Perhaps if you weren’t such an idiot and jumped to stupid conclusions, Daeron would actually fucking like you back.”
The words are painful, harsh and probably true, and they hit her like whiplash. 
With what she’d seen of Aemond and Alys Rivers, she had momentarily forgotten what she was actually at the house for. But it all comes back to her as she curls into herself as much as she can in his hold, the tears free falling in her embarrassment and sadness. Her head faces down and she refuses to let him see, and it is all becoming a bit much.
She feels her legs become wobbly and she wants to breathe and be let go of so she can run to the comforts of her room like the coward that she is - but she cannot get her body to listen. It refuses to comply and move and she stands there, still held in Aemond’s vice grip as he mutters Valyrian curses under his breath - she’s heard Daeron mutter some of the words before. He smells strongly of coffee and cigarettes and it is too much, too much -
“Shit, fuck, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, I’m so fucking sorr-”
“Let go of me, Aemond.” Her voice is eerily calm and she can see that it momentarily stuns him. He doesn’t let go, however. “I’m sorry, Wylde. Just… you can’t fucking tell. I-”
“Let. Go.” She tries to wrangle out of his hold and he refuses to let her leave until she agrees to keep his secret. Her mind is running a mile a minute as she imagines Aemond being a young lad, being preyed on by an older woman and not knowing a thing. She does not want to keep his dirty secret, she wants to go-
“LET GO OF ME, AEMOND!”
Her louder tone seems to have attracted Criston Cole’s attention, and he’s quick to rush to them and pull Aemond away from her. His black shirt-clad figure moves away from her and she is stunned - so bloody stunned - and not at all prepared for Criston’s low voice. 
"Your mother is looking for you," he tells Aemond, who leaves, imploring her silence with his stoic gaze - one that he does not drop till he’s out of her sight.
"Are you alright?" Criston asks, checking her for injuries. She mumbles apologies and retreats.
“No.” Her voice is cracked and the bodyguard is at a loss for words - he’s not quite used to comforting teenage girls, she can tell. She uses this as her cue to hastily mumble her apologies, and the trusty guardian does nothing as she walks away.
Later that night, she’s locked up in her room, nestled under the covers as she thinks over all that has happened. She’s sure that the party at Maegor’s is in full swing, and that they’re all probably having loads of fun.
Without her. 
Her brother, one that she does not see often, texts her and asks why she isn’t there. He says he'll be staying at Rain House tonight, and she does not respond. Alicent texts her to check if she’s eaten. Helaena texts her and asks if she’s home so she can come over, and Aegon sends her a plain, “Where the fuck are you, Wylde?”
It makes her want to cry.
Aemond does not bother with her at all - and if she's being honest, she’d say she’s glad for the distance he’s put between them in the last few hours. Almost an hour later, when it’s close to midnight, Daeron texts her. 
I’m sorry, can we talk? 
She lets her phone fall away, leaving him to make his own assumptions. She is reminded once again of the hours she spent in his room today, waiting for him to come. She feels pathetic, wondering if he thought so less of her that he’d chosen to forego something that they’d done for years, without so much as a warning. She feels the tears prick at her eyes once more, but she is resolute - she will not spend any more time crying or missing a boy that did not want to give her time of day anymore.
When she looks back, she is thoroughly convinced that this is the day that she finally fell out of love with her best friend, even if she isn’t quite ready to admit to it yet.
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OVER THE COMING WEEKS, HER LIFE BLURS into a haze of avoidance, deliberately steering clear of anything related to the Targaryens. At school, she strategically distances herself from Daeron, swiftly darting away when the bell rings, determined not to give him a chance to approach her.
"I don't want to speak to him," she asserts to Elinor Beesbury, her gaze fixed on her untouched food. Daeron’s persistent attempts to reconcile only fuel her resolve to keep her distance. It's a delicate balance between her lingering attachment and the painful recognition that their bond has irreversibly shifted.
Elinor studies her with concern, "You'll have to let go at some point, love."
She nods silently, acknowledging the futility of holding onto resentment. Months of grappling with her feelings have taught her the necessity of moving on. Yet, the wounds still sting fresh, the memories of his repeated indifference are etched into her heart.
"Soon. But not now," she affirms.
"Alright, just so you know, I hear Floris Baratheon's asked him to come with her to her senior prom," Elinor adds, trying to infuse levity into the conversation. But the prospect of Daeron moving on so swiftly brings forth an unsettling wave of emotions, mingling with her lingering frustration.
“Come on, don’t be like that! You're sexy and awesome, and he's a piece of shit! Like, sexy is… in your blood! Wasn’t a great grandmother of yours like, the OG sex guru or something?”
“Great great great great great great grandmother. And she wasn’t a sex guru, she was the first recorded published author of erotic fiction  in Westeros!”
Many in the world know of Coryanne Wylde, with the wild woman being known for having written A Caution For Young Girls - an erotic cult classic that opened the doors for erotic literature in Westeros. History candidates in college end up reading it sometimes for their lessons, and it never fails to surprise her.
“Exactly! You get it from your grandma! And next year, our prom is gonna be so sexy, babe. You mark my words!” She grimaces at the suggestion of involving herself with another boy, her focus fixated on Daeron and what little that remains. Despite her friend's efforts to lighten the mood, the weight of her unresolved emotions lingers - she supposes it will take a bit of time.
Heading to her locker after lunch, her path unexpectedly intersects with Aemond, whose intense presence startles her. The curious gazes of their peers heighten the tension, drawing attention to their rare encounter. Aemond's enigmatic aura, accentuated by his leather jacket and disheveled man bun, exudes an unsettling magnetism, contrasting sharply with Daeron's more approachable charm.
Her mind involuntarily delves into the memories of Alys Rivers, a stark reminder of Aemond's heavily inappropriate relationship that she is now privy to. The betrayal, the hurt, the raw emotions from what he’d said to her later surge within her, and she blurts out, "What do you want?" with an edge of apprehension, unwilling to be drawn into another tumultuous dynamic.
Aemond stands so close that she can feel the warmth of his breath, and she is stunned by how, within days of stepping away from Daeron, she's standing so close to Aemond, especially after having not even properly spoken to him in many years. They both stand in the corner of the corridor with their backs leaned back against the lockers. Aemond surprisingly murmurs to her, asking if she and Daeron are fighting because she wasn't at his birthday party or the Sunday lunch. She grunts at him, her non-response making her emotions clear.
You’re fucking dumb, Wylde.
Perhaps if you weren’t such an idiot and jumped to stupid conclusions, Daeron would actually fucking like you back.
He seems to wrestle with something within himself, his jaw clenching before he finally speaks. "I didn't mean what I said that day, you know. I was angry and it came out all wrong."
She scoffs, her hand shaking as she points a finger at him. "It doesn't matter! You had no right to say those things to me."
Aemond's grip on her wrist startles her, his commanding gaze penetrating her defenses. Despite her efforts to distance herself, she finds herself drawn into a tense exchange, confronting the pain he had caused her at Daeron's birthday.
The conflict within Aemond surfaces, his facade of aloofness crumbling as he attempts to reconcile with her. Her anger flares, yet the sting of his remorse momentarily softens her resolve, only to be replaced by the bitterness of his persistent complications.
Aemond's expression falls, and he reaches out as if to touch her, but hesitates and drops his hand to his side. "I know, I'm sorry, Wylde. But you have to understand, it's not easy for me either."
As hurt as she is by his words, she knows she wants to help him and see him through the mess he’s gotten himself into with Alys Rivers - even if he doesn’t see it that way right now. So she chooses to reach out. Just one more time.
“Then tell me. What's going on? Aemond, I know we haven't been close in a long while, but I want to help.”
Aemond's gaze softens, and he opens his mouth and shuts it close, almost as though he wants to say something but opts not to - but she's had enough. She does not want to be put in a difficult position where she’s navigating relationship dynamics that are probably a lot more problematic than anything she’s ever known - especially not if he doesn’t even want to tell her.
Pushing away from the lockers, she turns to walk away, her steps quickening with each stride. But before she can get far, she feels a surge of frustration and pain erupt within her, and she turns around, her voice raised to a shout. "I don't want to hear from you or him, ever again! You’ve both done enough."
She looks around for just a moment, very conscious of the students that were now noting them by the corner of their eyes. She knows she shouldn’t go on, and that if she did, they’d become gossip fodder - but she cannot help herself.
“You Targaryens have got everyone wrapped around your finger, don't you? Think you can say whatever you want and get away with it," she lashes out, her voice trembling with the weight of her wounded trust.
Aemond winces, the impact of her words evident in his pained expression. "I never wanted to hurt you, Wylde. Things are complicated and I…" he murmurs, gulping as his gaze pleads with hers for understanding. But her resolve remains unyielding, fueled by a well of hurt and resentment.
"I don't care about your complications. You had no right saying those things to me, and now I want you to leave me the fuck alone."
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HE'S ALWAYS HAD STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THE YOUNGEST WYLDE BEING A PART OF THEIR LIVES.
Aemond can't quite discern the exact nature of his emotions. She has been a constant presence in the family ever since her family returned to the Red Keep town all those years ago, after her father secured his place as one of the executive directors on the board of Targaryen Consolidated. Over time, Jasper Wylde had grown to be a reliable work companion to his father, leaving his wife and youngest daughter behind to reside near his boss' family.
When her second pregnancy failed and Jeyne Wylde passed, their young daughter seamlessly fell in with the Hightower-Targaryen fold under the care of his mother. Rain House had become desolate with Jasper's older children from previous marriages moving away, and the young girl was sadly left behind.
Aemond isn't certain what his mother had in mind when she practically ushered the Wylde girl into his and his siblings' lives thereafter. She had never been keen on outsiders stepping into their lives as much as Wylde had. Yet, he couldn't find it within himself to complain.
Through life's ebbs and flows - be it his eye or her mother's passing - she had always been there, gradually weaving herself into their existence. Before he knew it, she had become a daily fixture in their lives - laughing as Aegon spun her around, attempting to flirt with her; accompanying Helaena on her bug expeditions across the estate; reading quietly with him in his father's library during their childhood and transforming into Daeron's shadow in every way. She was always there when he embarked on mischief, a quintessential trait for any youngest child.
Daeron was the prankster, and she, the lookout. Always.
He witnessed their first day of school together, navigating the challenges of being around children other than each other. He observed their struggles with tying uniform ties for weeks until Alicent stepped in to teach them. He's seen her occasional presence at breakfast, sometimes ending up in the car with them on the way to campus.
He listened to their endless chatter, her incessant and somewhat annoying foot tapping during weekend lunch conversations when she felt uneasy or self-conscious, and the way Daeron's friendship with his best friend had grown stronger over the years. He noticed how her gaze upon Daeron had evolved, her friendship gradually transforming into something more, something his younger brother clearly did not appreciate or reciprocate.
He has watched and listened. For years, it's been his means of engagement during times when he preferred not to be directly involved. Perhaps, if others did the same, they might uncover why Wylde hadn't returned to Maegor's since Daeron's birthday.
"I don't know, Mum. I texted her, but she didn't respond," Daeron says.
The chair next to his younger brother remains empty, and curiously enough, the atmosphere during lunch seems quieter than usual. Aemond attributes this to Wylde's absence. Her mindless chatter effortlessly filled the gaps of awkwardness, and now, the Targaryens were left to grapple with a Sunday afternoon meal without the lively girl.
"You should apologize to her in person," his mother advises Daeron, yet her gaze remains fixed on him. His eyes inadvertently shift to Cole, who undoubtedly divulged details about the incident he had with Wylde outside the gates after she had seen him and Alys.
How much do they know?
"She's been avoiding me like the plague, Mum. I'll give her some time to cool off, I suppose."
He's watched, listened, and picked up cues over the years. It comes in handy with his mother, who never lets her emotions overpower her. Any instinctual response she has is always gone in a flash - quicker than you know - and right now is no exception. She wants to get Daeron to see sense - but if there’s one thing that Alicent Hightower has given her children, it’s autonomy.
Given how little he believes she had of it when his grandfather essentially pushed her into his father's arms, Aemond has always appreciated that it's the one thing she'd never take away from her children. He knows she has made peace with watching her children make peculiar choices she wouldn't make, but it's not her burden until they make it clear they need her. Her palpable anger at Daeron's indifference towards his best friend dissipates as swiftly as it emerged.
He knows she's concerned. They all are. Jasper Wylde is rarely present, and Rain House is a hollow residence compelled to seem lively with the presence of staff. It had been a much warmer place long ago, back when Jeyne Wylde was alive. His mother has always considered the youngest Wylde one of her own, and she's cared for her over the years as well.
"She doesn't pick up when I call either," his mother muses, her furrowed brow betraying her stoic nature and making her momentary worry obvious. However, Aemond knows. He watches and listens, always.
Just a few days ago, while atop his motorbike, he heard that Jason Lannister had asked her out on a date.
Lannister had started on the school football team when Wylde's half-brother was captain. While he made his interest in his former captain's little sister known, he knew better than to make it obvious to her brother.
He had never favored the golden-haired fool. Now in the same final year of school as Aemond, the current football team captain is shallow, self-absorbed, and, in a way that puzzles him, still popular among the students. He fails to see the appeal of someone like him - he prefers Tyland, who is much easier to converse with and not easily provoked. He always assumed that Wylde was wise enough not to slip up.
He had assumed wrong.
She was likely out with Jason, learning to replace her Sunday lunch times at his house with something else. Adjusting won't happen swiftly, he knows. It takes a great deal to disrupt an established routine - but he won't hold it against her. It was obvious to him that Daeron started it first.
"You can't be upset with me for having a girlfriend, Mum. Neither can she... It's not fair. Things change," Daeron huffs. “You’re both ruining it for me. Floris has asked me to go to her senior prom with her, and I’m going. I'm sorry that you both will probably hate me for it, but she should get over herself, and so should you!”
His mother does nothing apart from poking at the insides of her cheek with her tongue. Wylde's absence looms over the house whenever awkwardness settles, and this time is no exception. Daeron sighs at his mother's subtle disappointment and storms out, muttering about having dinner with Floris.
It doesn’t escape Aemond's notice that in a better time, he'd actually be grabbing breakfast pancakes for dinner with Wylde instead. Aemond recalled the last time she'd come for lunch. Her foot tapping had bothered him so much that he nearly contemplated plunging his fork into her thigh to make it stop. She seemed highly anxious that day, evident in the relentless tap, tap, tap, tap of her feet.
Not seeing her for a while, the absence of the irritating sound, usually accompanied by the loud jingle of her bracelet on the hand she keeps near her thigh, should bring him a sense of calm. It shouldn't bother him at all.
But it does. It does, it does, it does.
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[A MONTH LATER, PROM NIGHT]
STANDING THERE IN HER EXQUISITE PROM DRESS - the fabric shimmers in a delicate blend of blue and gold - she can't shake the feeling of unease gnawing at her insides. It's a dress she painstakingly picked out, hoping it will add a touch of glamour to this otherwise mundane high school memory. But now, amid the flashy lights and pulsating music, it feels like a facade, a flimsy disguise.
Her mind drifts back to those countless mindless hours she's spent with Jason in the past month, now seeming like distant echoes of a hazy past. Going to football games with his jersey on, pretending to blend seamlessly into his world, she often finds herself feeling like an impostor, a misfit amidst his circle of friends. On her way back home from one of the games, she’d caught Aemond's gaze as she passed by their house. He was seated on his motorbike, getting ready to go out somewhere as he lifted his helmet in his hands, his loose messy bun probably about to get messier from the helmet. In that brief moment, she was sure she’d seen an expression of silent disapproval as he raised his eyebrow at the oversized jersey hanging loosely on her frame. It felt like an unspoken judgment, and she couldn't help but feel out of place - an outsider masquerading as a loyal fan in a world that was never truly hers.
She had curled into herself right then and there. She owes him nothing - just as he owes her no explanation about his messy entanglement with Alys Rivers - but it was not enough to make her feel confident in her choice.
As the days go by, she finds herself entangled in a half-hearted routine of a seemingly typical high school relationship with Jason. They often spend their afternoons at the local diner, sipping on milkshakes and sharing fries, engaging in shallow conversation that never quite delved into the depths of her thoughts. On Friday nights, they would go to the movies, his arm draped loosely around her shoulders, the scent of buttered popcorn lingering in the air. And then, they’d usually end up in her bed.
She enjoyed the sex. She wouldn’t deny it. Jason Lannister knew what he was doing. 
But it wasn’t enough.
Despite the outward appearance of bliss, there lingered a persistent emptiness, a hollow void that echoed within her. She had become a fragment of someone else's world, a mere accessory in the narrative of Jason's life, her own desires fading into the background of their mindless high school romance. And as she retraced these moments, each memory served as a silent reminder of the gaping chasm between her facade of contentment and the relentless ache for something more, something she had yet to discover.
Lost. She is lost.
Standing at the prom, she feels suffocated, trapped in a reality where she has pushed away those who cared for her. 
Floris Baratheon's entrance shifts the atmosphere, drawing everyone's attention with her elegance. Beside her is Daeron, exuding a charming confidence that had always captivated her. Her heart sinks as she realizes that he'll never truly belong to her.
Her gaze meets Daeron's, and she senses a detachment that cuts through her. She stands there, feeling the weight of her insignificance in his life, a mere footnote in his story.
As she turns away, her gaze skimming over the flashy arrival of the popular couple, her attention is drawn to Aemond. He stands aloof in the corner, his immaculately pressed shirt forming a stark contrast to the nonchalance with which his jacket lay carelessly slung over the edge of the nearby bench. A small group of girls from his year encircle him, all seemingly tied to his on-and-off fling, Arianne Martell, whom he has an arm draped around.
A familiar pang on condescension accompanies the sight of his disinterested expression, almost as if it were a trademark of his persona. She isn't taken aback; it seemed to be ingrained in Aemond's very being to treat those around him as if they were inconsequential. How many times has she attempted to initiate a conversation with him, only to be met with cold indifference or a curt dismissal? It is a pattern she has grown accustomed to, yet it still stings with a twinge of rejection each time.
Does Arianne know about the woman that he fucks when he’s not with her? Does she know she’s competing with someone like Alys Rivers?
As she climbs back out of her thoughts and becomes cognizant of her surroundings, she finds that his one violet eye is trained on her. And his gaze is nowhere close to normal as he eyed her date, and observed him being an utter fool in his drunkenness.
For some reason, the thought of Aemond being disappointed in her makes her want to scream.
As she glances around the crowded room, the euphoric energy of the dance floor slowly dissipated, replaced by discomfort. She finds herself feeling suffocated, trapped in a reality she couldn't quite escape - she’s pushed away those that wanted her, so what choice did she have anyhow? 
Jason, in an inebriated state, becomes oblivious to her unease, accentuating her sense of alienation. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she excuses herself, seeking solace in the corridors.
What a waste.
She hasn’t been alone for long when Jason catches up to her, his demeanor laced with a restless energy that seems to mirror her own nervousness. He leans in, his voice laced with a casual nonchalance that grated on her raw nerves. "It’s starting to get boring, I think. I'm ready to bolt. You wanna get out of here?"
She musters a weak smile, attempting to downplay the unease that swirls within her. She’s not quite sure when he’d gotten to standing so close to her, but her discomfort is overpowering and apparent as she inhales the scent of his cologne. "I don't know, Jason. I think I might just stick around for a bit longer." Her voice quivers slightly, betraying the weakness that she struggles to hide.
But Jason seems undeterred by her apprehension. His hand slowly slides around her hip through the fabric of her dress, a touch that sends shivers down her spine, though not in the way she usually longs for. He moves closer, his breath warm against her ear as he whispers. "Come on, it'll be fun. Let's get out of here together."
She tries to step back, to free herself from his grasp, but his hold only tightens, encircling her with an intensity that borders on limitless possessiveness. The glint in his eyes, clouded by the effects of the spiked punch, flickers with a hint of something darker, something she refused to acknowledge until now. She looks to the side, trying to see if she could escape, trying to see anything but him. "Don't be like that, babe. You know you want to be with me."
A surge of fear courses through her, freezing her in place as she feels the cold, hard wall against her back. She leans her head back, her breaths coming in short, panicked gasps as she struggles to find her voice. "Jason, please... let me go."
But his grip remains unyielding, his touch branding her skin with an invisible imprint that fills her with a sense of helplessness. His hand grips onto her wrist, pressing the charms of her gold bracelet into her skin - it will bruise later, she knows. His voice takes on a harsh edge, a sharp contrast to the charming facade she has come to know. 
"Come on, you know you want this.”
In that moment, as the weight of his possession bears down on her, she feels a surge of anger rise within her, mingling with the fear that threatens to consume her. She pushes against him, her voice rising in desperation. "Let me go, Jason."
But his fingers only tighten further, his breath hot against her cheek as he leans in, his eyes clouded with a sense of entitlement she had never noticed before. "You don't get to say no, not now." She could feel her heart racing, her mind sprinting for a way out of this suffocating grip. Panic seizes her, and as she struggles against his hold, her eyes brim with tears that threaten to spill over. She could feel a slight wetness where her charm bracelet had dug into her skin - blood, pricking through her skin in small spots of dark red. 
She’s not quite sure how the scene changes, but it does. All she sees is a flash of silver hair zooming past her, taking Jason down with him.
Aemond.
In the dimly lit corridor, the scene transforms - a blur of chaos and violence as Aemond's fists rain down on Jason, each blow punctuated by a guttural grunt. Jason's face is a mess of blood and fury, his attempts to fend off Aemond's relentless assault futile as he claws and thrashes in a desperate bid for escape.
Aemond's voice cuts through the chaos, edged with a raw fury that she has never heard before. “Fucking stay away from her… stay the fuck away.” Each word is punctuated by a wild hit to the football team captain’s face.
Jason's cries of pain mingle with his own enraged shouts - a mix of aggression and retaliation. "You crazy bastard! Get the fuck off me!" Jason's words are punctuated by the sickening thud of Aemond's fists connecting with his flesh. “Targaryen, for Gods’ sake…”
As the violent altercation unfolds before her, she finds herself unable to process the reality of the situation. The air seems to thicken around her, suffocating her with its weight, and she slumps down to the floor, her hands pressing firmly against her ears in a futile attempt to block out the cacophony of pain and anger as she rocks herself back and forth.
Tears stream down her cheeks, her sobs blending seamlessly with the chaos that engulfs her. She feels the slick warmth of her blood from when the charms on her bracelet had dug into her wrist, now dripping down her arm and onto her elbow - a visceral reminder of the brutal consequences that had been averted by Aemond's timely intervention. Her vision blurs with the weight of her own helplessness, the fear of what might have been gripping her with an intensity she had never known before.
Aemond's voice slices through the chaos with a relentless intensity. "Touch her once again and I’ll make you regret your miserable life!" 
Each word carries a seething rage, matching the force of each brutal strike that fell. Jason's desperate cries are swallowed by the unyielding onslaught, his pleas for respite being drowned out by the unrelenting ferocity of Aemond's fury. "Please, just stop! I didn't mean it!" 
But Aemond's resolve remained unyielding, his voice laced with an unwavering determination. "You're not going to touch her again, you hear me? Not ever! You so much as look at her again…"
As the struggle continues, she feels a surge of gratitude mixed with an unshakable terror. Her mind races with the realization of what might have transpired if Aemond hadn't appeared when he did, the thought of her own vulnerability in the face of Jason's aggression sending chills down her spine. She huddles against the cold wall, her entire being trembling with a wave of fear washing over her.
As Principal Lyonel Strong steps in to diffuse the escalating confrontation, he finds himself confronted by Aemond's seething anger, his one working eye ablaze with an intensity that seems to ignite the very air around them.
"Enough, Aemond!" Principal Strong's voice thunders through the corridor, commanding attention even amidst the chaos. "This is not the way to handle things. We will sort this out, but you need to calm down." Aemond's chest heaves with unrestrained emotion, his bloodied fists clenching at his sides as he glares at the teachers who now surround him. "You don't understand! He had his hands on her! He had no right -"
One of the teachers - she can’t quite place who it is in her disturbed haze - steps forward, her expression as careful blend of concern and authority. "We understand, Aemond, but violence is never the answer. You're all students, and I need to ensure everyone's safety here."
Another teacher, his features etched with concern, attempts to reason with Aemond, his voice a measured attempt at diffusing the tension. "This is not the way to go about things, Aemond!” His jaw tightens as she looks, his gaze flitting between the teachers as he struggles to rein in his emotions. "You're not understanding me! He's not going to get away with this. He was touching her, she didn’t want it! Fucking look at her!"
Jason Lannister has gone limp, possibly unconscious from the beating he’d taken. She cannot bring herself to feel sorry for him.
Principal Strong's voice softens slightly, his stern facade giving way to a hint of understanding. "We will handle it, Aemond. But you need to go home for now. We will inform your mother, and we will discuss this further tomorrow."
Aemond's shoulders sag, the weight of the situation finally settling in as he nods, his expression a turbulent mix of frustration and concern. "Fine. But you better make sure he's dealt with. I won't let this slide. Swear to the Gods I…"
“We take allegations like these very seriously, son. But it does not change the fact that you were caught assaulting a fellow student. Remove yourself from the premises, Aemond. We will ensure that appropriate action is taken after a thorough investigation of the matter.”
The teachers come closer to her, trying to see if she is alright or if she needs to be spoken to. Their presence becomes suffocating to her really quickly as she slinks into herself, and Aemond is near her in an instant.
His voice cuts through the tense air like a sharpened blade, his words a fervent demand that brooks no argument. "Give her some fucking space, all of you! Can't you see she's had enough?”
The teachers, caught between maintaining order and understanding the gravity of the situation, exchange uneasy glances as Aemond kneels before her, his intense gaze a stark contrast to the gentleness that now flickers in his eyes. "Hey, it's okay. It’s me. Look at me, it’s me.”
Aemond. Aemond. Aemond.
“We're getting out of here," he murmurs, his voice a calming presence amidst the chaos that threatens to overwhelm her. She feels the warmth of his rough palm against her cheek, a gentle anchor that tethers her to the present, grounding her and making her feel safe. The echoes of chaos from the school corridor gradually fade into the background, replaced by the rhythmic cadence of her own ragged breaths, each one a testament to the fragile balance she now works hard to maintain.
As they walk, Aemond's voice, low and steady, resonates within her mind, a lifeline that guides her through the tumultuous waves of shock. "Breathe. In and out. You're here, with me. You're safe," he whispers, his words a soothing melody that offers solace in the aftermath of the storm.
She nestles closer to him, her body drawn to the reassuring strength that radiates from his very being. The weight of his presence envelops her, shielding her from the lingering tendrils of fear and uncertainty that threaten to consume her. With each step they take, the distance between them and the chaos of the school grows, replaced by the tranquility of the night and the sense of quietude that blankets their surroundings.
Aemond's unwavering gaze is on her as he guides her along, his touch a constant reminder that she is not alone in her struggle. "You're doing great," he murmurs, the tenderness in his voice a stark contrast to the raw intensity that underscores her earlier encounter with Jason.
Aemond's voice, usually reserved and clipped, softens as he speaks, his words a gentle murmur that cuts through the tense silence between them. "You're going to be alright," he reassures, his tone laced with a rare warmth that belies his usual stoicism. "Just take deep breaths. We'll get you out of here. Okay?”
His touch lingers on her jaw, a silent reassurance that transcends the chaos that still echoes within the confines of her mind. "Let's get you cleaned up," he suggests, a quiet and comforting invitation.
With careful precision, he removes the blood-stained bracelet, each movement deliberate and considerate. As the bracelet disappears into his pocket, a fleeting sick sense of nostalgia washes over her, a bittersweet reminder of the memories she seeks to leave behind. Aemond's intense gaze softens, his eyes reflecting a silent empathy that speaks volumes.
"You're safe now," he assures her, the weight of his words offering a sanctuary that she had thought was beyond her reach only a few moments ago.
Aemond's touch, gentle yet resolute, traces a path of solace along her jawline, each stroke a tender caress that seeks to alleviate the lingering remnants of the chaos that still pulse beneath her skin. He leans his head back as he scans her for any other injuries. "You're safe now," he murmurs again and again, his voice a steadfast anchor in the tumultuous sea of emotions that threaten to engulf her.
With a haphazardly crushed pocket square that he brings out from his other pocket (his mother has forced it upon him when he leaves for the dance), he wipes away the traces of drying blood on her arm - his movements deliberate and precise. The night's breeze carries with it the whispers of uncertainty, but in the steady rhythm of Aemond's movements, she finds a sense of fleeting calm that she had thought had eluded her grasp.
Amidst the whirlwind of emotions that still swirl within her, his repeated words of comfort seem to fade into the backdrop of her consciousness. She grasps onto the steady solidity of his presence, finding a fleeting anchor in the warmth of his protective embrace. As he settles the weight of his helmet onto her head, she feels the sturdy reassurance of his world enveloping her, the scent of leather and motor oil intermingling with the rhythm of her own turbulent thoughts. She sits and makes herself as comfortable as she can on the planes of his hard leather bike seat - she has never sat on his bike before, so it is ridiculous how familiar and made-for-her the comfort feels.
His bloodied knuckles hold the handlebars of the motorbike tight, fists turning to get the accelerator going. The silver ring that he wears and the steel bracelet he has on his wrist are coated in Jason's blood.
When had he begun wearing those?
While his hands become redder in his tight grip, and the cold air hits her calves, now exposed from her hiked-up skirts on either side of the seat, she is reminded that she is with him, and nowhere else.
Aemond, Aemond, Aemond.
She leans into his back, her cheek finding solace in the reassuring cushion of the interiors of his helmet. She calms down to the feeling of the contours of his spine rising and falling as her vision clears up from the dried tears under the hard glass of the pulled-down visor. Her arms wind around his chest, holding onto him for dear life as the rumble of the motorbike becomes louder and louder, the pace of the noise matching her own ragged heartbeat. The chill air of the night hits her as the school becomes but a distant figure in the distance, smoke from the motorcycle exhaust billowing behind them.
This is the closest she has been to Aemond Targaryen in years. Despite them drifting apart, it is as though all the chaos of the world could be kept at bay, at least for a fleeting moment. She doesn't know where they are going, but she finds that she doesn't care - she is at ease with him.
In the faint chill of the night, he smells of coffee, cigarettes, and smoke - a blend of comfort and safety that lingers in a moment suspended in time.
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THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT SHE KNOWS AEMOND TO DO.
He has his room cleaned each week, like clockwork. He washes that motorbike of his with his own hands every weekend, even though he has staff at the house that would do it for him each day of the week if he so wishes. He rearranges his books often when he thinks nobody is looking. Always makes sure that his clothes are pressed and ready, because Gods forbid he be found looking less than perfect. He can be found spending time with the horses at the stable on the grounds of Maegor’s Holdfast - he took to horse riding after he lost his eye, and has become quite good with intense training. He jogs in the night, always right before dinner. He reads in the house library, long after the other inhabitants of the home have gone to sleep.
Beating the living shit out of someone is not one of those things.
That show of violence is not something that she attributes to him. There’s always a resigned calmness to Aemond that she only ever sees in two other members of his family - his mother and Helaena; you never know they’re thinking.
The rest of the family seems to have something that the old, absent patriarch has funnily dubbed ‘the Targaryen fire.’ But it seems like she is wrong in her assessment, for the boy that stands before her is the complete antithesis of all that she has believed him to be.
The wrinkled white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and bright red splotches of blood that now adorn it, is not something she associates with him. The heavy silver signet ring and Valyrian steel bracelet - an heirloom that she now remembers was given for his eighteenth birthday - are both accessories that he takes great care of. And yet, tonight, they are both doused in blood. His knuckles are bloodied and bruised, nail marks visible from where Jason tries to claw at him to make him stop - the lack of cleanliness on a sharp man like Aemond jars her.
This is a completely different side to him.
She watches as he wipes off his own hand with the pocket square that is now just as dirty as she feels. She watches him remove the hair tie that he keeps his hair looped in to keep the strays away from his face. She watches him as he hangs the helmet that he takes off of her head, and lets it dangle over the rearview mirror.
She watches, keeps her eyes on him like her life depends on it. She has to. If she doesn’t, she won’t have much else to do. If she is left to herself now, she is convinced she’ll fall apart. For her own sanity, she holds onto Aemond.
Aemond, Aemond, Aemond.
They stand in front of Chataya’s , the all too familiar neon lights buzzing just slightly as she leans on her back against the motorbike. His black leather riding jacket is probably three sizes bigger on her, but she feels warm in it as she pulls it tighter onto her body. The parking lot is almost empty, and the air plays with her hair as it falls haphazardly in multiple directions. The beautiful dress that she wears now feels cheap to her, and she's decided that the jewelry that she wears is now tacky. Everything that she enjoyed about herself tonight is now tainted by what has happened - she can’t bring herself to think too much about it without physically recoiling.
Shame she'll have to burn the dress.
She watches Aemond through the glass, waiting for their coffees as he stands at the cash counter - ramrod straight. His blood-stained shirt is gaining him many dirty looks from the staff, but no one dares to say a word - he is a Targaryen, after all. The Aemond that she knew back when they were younger - long before they drifted apart - wouldn’t have hit someone. He was too gentle and sweet for that.
Now, however, it’s been made clear to her that he’s willing to fight if he has to.
Aemond asks one of the waitresses for something, his hands not moving much but still enough to convey the message. The woman blushes and points him to the washroom, which he emerges out of a while later, looking comparatively cleaner, blood wiped out. He then pays for the hot drinks and walks out, placing his cup on the bike seat and nudging hers into her grip as he presses the back of her hands into either side of the cup. He is so close to her that he is exuding heat, much like a furnace.
She’d almost forgotten how beautiful she thought his mismatched pair of eyes were. She remembers now.
Her eyes remain fixed on where his hands rest over hers, attempting to warm them up with the hot cup he's holding. She can't muster much beyond a sense of comfort at this moment, acknowledging how much safer his touch feels compared to Jason's.
Jason. Jason asked her out and tried to -
Aemond, Aemond, Aemond.
Her coffee spills out of the to-go cup, scalding her, leaving her gasping at the brown drops on the edges of his jacket sleeves. She recovers swiftly, wiping her fists on her dress and gathering herself as best she can in her hazy state. They drink in silence, gazing ahead, observing the vehicles zooming past.
The silence is soothing, but she needs a distraction. So she speaks.
And so, after years, they begin again.
"You could have killed him," she murmurs, her eyes fixed on the steaming liquid in her cup. From the corner of her eye, she glances at him. He doesn't turn to look at her, but responds in the same tone she used.
"He would have deserved it."
She can't argue with that. "I didn't know you could punch like that."
"Neither did I." A new side to Aemond Targaryen, yet his responses remain true to his character. Direct, yet everything she needs.
They stand in silence once more as she sips her coffee. He's already finished - always a quick eater, a trait she's noticed from the many times he's hurriedly left the table in recent years - and he crushes the cup, walking to the bin to discard it. On his return, he retrieves a cigarette from his pocket and bites the tip, scanning the surroundings with a searching gaze.
Then, he removes it from his mouth, using his index and middle fingers, and looks at her as if they're just casually hanging out for coffee, not as if he just rescued her from an assault and beat up a fellow classmate to almost death in the process.
"Light?" he asks, before realizing a girl with nothing but the prom dress on her back, the jacket he gave her, and the coffee he bought for her probably doesn't have a lighter with her. He raises an eyebrow and shakes his head before heading back into Chataya's - most likely to charm the cash counter staff into lighting his cigarette despite the no-smoking policy. She watches as he does exactly that, striding out with the lit cigarette between his teeth, as if he owns the damn place.
It is a Sunday night. In an ideal world, she’d be grabbing breakfast pancakes with Daeron for dinner. Tonight however, she is outside at the parking lot, looking out of place in her dress and his jacket, with Aemond fucking Targaryen.
The way the tables have turned is not lost on her. Does Daeron even know what had happened? How Jason had -
Aemond. Aemond. Aemond.
"Daeron was there, wasn't he?" Her voice trembles as she chokes out the word, remembering the reason why she stepped away from the dance floor in the first place. "Yes."
Daeron and Floris Baratheon stepping in together -
Aemond. Aemond. Aemond.
If his disheveled appearance and blood-stained clothes rattle her, she is not prepared for the way he seethes as he hears her answer. "Always behind you like a lost pup, how did he let that happen to you?" His anger at his brother's supposed lack of care for her is only set aside by the long puff that he takes out of his cigarette.
She gulps, the overwhelming emotions taking over her entire being as she holds back the tears that threaten to spill. This is perhaps the first time anyone has asked why Daeron isn't with her ever since they begin to drift apart.
She’s heard many things. At least Targaryen isn't keeping you all to himself now, is one. Found himself another girl to fuck, is another.
She is not prepared for someone to see past Daeron and ask about her.
She does not answer. She cannot. The weight of the night’s events have taken away any and all strength she may have to entertain those around her, and she stands in silence as tears pool in her eyes. The sinking feeling takes over her, and she wipes off her eyes before the tears spin out of control.
Aemond seems to understand, and gives her all the time she needs to compose herself. When she’s done, he seems content to simply stand by her with his cigarette as she takes comfort in the silence around them. The only sounds are the distant clanking of plates, the faint buzzing of the neon sign and horns from vehicles zooming past them.
Somehow, it is enough to help her climb back to the surface. She’d drowned in herself for a moment there, but the fog in her mind is clearing slowly as she tells herself over and over.
She’s safe. Safe. Safe.
Aemond, Aemond, Aemond.
His presence, though quiet, provides a much-needed anchor amidst the storm of emotions threatening to consume her. In the dimly lit parking lot, the city's pulsating rhythm seems to offer a peculiar solace, a reminder that time passes regardless of what happens and that the world does not stop to allow her a moment to catch her breath.
Aemond's eyes flicker with concern, the smoke from his cigarette dissipating into the night air. He doesn't offer empty words of consolation, recognizing that sometimes silence is the most potent balm for a wounded soul. The night sky above, mottled with the city's glow, bears witness to their shared solitude, a fleeting moment of understanding that needs no verbal exchange.
As the minutes pass, the weight on her chest lightens imperceptibly. A sense of resolve, tempered by the raw vulnerability of the evening, settles within her. She knows the road ahead is fraught with uncertainty, yet a newfound resilience kindles within her. Aemond's silent companionship, unobtrusive yet steadfast, keeps her standing.
Eventually, she draws in a deep breath, steadying herself against the unforgiving reality that awaits beyond the sanctity of this secluded safety that he’s brought her into. With a nod of gratitude to Aemond, she straightens her posture, the remnants of tears drying on her cheeks. Determination flickers in her eyes, an unwavering resolve to confront whatever challenges lie ahead, even if the path seems shrouded in shadows.
The message is clear. She’s ready to be taken back home.
In the soft glow of the streetlights, Aemond navigates the bustling city streets with a practiced ease, the hum of the engine merging seamlessly with the rhythm of her heartbeat. She leans into him, seeking solace in the sturdy presence of his frame, a silent reassurance that she isn't alone in this dizzying world. The wind rushes past them, tousling her hair as she holds onto him, feeling the steady rise and fall of his body beneath her grip.
The cityscape unfolds before her in a blur of neon lights and towering skyscrapers. A fleeting sense of serenity washes over her, cocooned in the safety of Aemond's embrace, as if the world beyond their world of warmth and motion is a distant, inconsequential dream.
Yet, as her house looms into view, a sudden pang of reluctance tugs at her, a gnawing apprehension that threatens to unravel the fragile peace she has painstakingly cultivated in the past hour. Stepping off the bike, she reluctantly peels off Aemond's jacket, feeling the sudden chill of the night air seeping into her bones, mirroring the chill that seeps into her heart.
She turns to him, her eyes meeting his in the muted glow of the streetlamp, searching for a semblance of the solace she had found in his silent companionship. Her fingers linger for a moment on the fabric of his jacket, a poignant reminder of the warmth she craves, both physical and emotional. The weight of unspoken words hangs heavy in the air.
Thank you , she wants to say. She can only manage a weak nod, one that she struggles through while looking down at the road, rather than his mismatched pair of eyes.
Aemond's gaze lingers on her, a flicker of concern mingling with a quiet determination. He reaches out, his hand brushing against her cheek. As though he is convinced there's not much else he can do but give her space, he nods.
As Aemond revs the engine, ready to fade into the night, she stands on the threshold of her home, enveloped in the bitter chill of the evening. She watches the tail lights disappear, and with a steadying breath, she steps inside, the echo of the bike's engine fading into the distance, leaving behind a lingering sense of quiet resolve in its wake.
When she finally manages to sleep, her mind is painted with the image of a captivating pair of mismatched eyes, etched into her brain like a welcome dream.
The bracelet that he’d removed from her wrist - still in his pocket - does not cross her mind at all. 
Not once.
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SERIES MASTERLIST
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mickandmusings · 2 days
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something in the orange
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pairing: jake seresin x f! southern! reader
word count: 1.2k
summary: when jake is back home in texas for football season, he tries to spend as much time as possible under stadium lights enjoying his season tickets. his girl, a loyal fan of her own state's team, begrudgingly trades in her own home colors for his gaudy orange.
warnings: fluff, simply just flirty hangman, reader is referred to as 'honey' by everyone, little knowledge of the university of texas at austin (born and raised in mississippi, msu fan by proximity, lsu fan through my dad, i'm just a sec baby) purely self indulgent for me, i'm obsessed with southern boy jake, author has limited knowledge on football
based on this request from the always lovely @fraaaaankiiiiieee i'm so in love with all of your ideas <3
this is short, but its a preview! it is part of a future series that's all about texas boy jake and southern reader!!! however, it can be read as a stand-alone!
**please note: since this is an extended series the love interest is referred to as 'honey' just because Y/N didn't seem right.**
-
Honey was used to this routine after all these years of being married to Jake Seresin. Monday through Friday were for the Navy, while he was on a mission at least, or for working on the farm when he was home. Most Sundays were reserved for the Cowboys, but Saturdays, oh Saturdays, were reserved for the UT Longhorns. Game Day Saturdays were proper nouns among the Seresin's, which Honey had adopted as soon as she took his last name. She didn't mind it much, truthfully, she was passionate about her own home state's teams, almost equally as excitable as Jake.
More often than not his missions took him far from their home in Texas, which didn't allow him to enjoy the full extent of his season passes. It was rare for Jake to be home long enough to swing into Austin to watch a game, so most of the time the couple opted to enjoy it from the comfort of their living room couch. Jake would sling his arm around her, pulling her around by the waist, making comments about this year's lineup, which players would be starting, simply making small talk about the game. As the game progressed, however, he'd coach from the couch, sitting on the edge of the cushion, hands folded as his green eyes watched the players in either pure elation or complete disdain. His well-worn orange Longhorns cap would sit backwards atop his blonde locks, stationary, until he got frustrated, then the cap would come off for him to run his hands through his hair. It was one he'd owned since high school, well-loved, partially sun-bleached, and the fabric was starting to fray around the bill. His Grandpa Seresin had given it to him after he'd joined the high school football team, and he'd worn it ever since. It was his favorite, and he wore it with pride. After football season, the cap lived on the dash of his truck. He'd sometimes throw it on if he was running errands on a particularly sunny day, or if he was in a dire need to cover his windswept hair, but it seemed more often than not that the hat had become part of his otherwise spotless truck.
Today, however, Jake was finally home for the first time in several months, and there was nowhere else he wanted to be than under stadium lights on a beautiful, albeit warm, Texas afternoon. He was sitting in the living room of his and Honey's farmhouse, already dressed in his burnt orange polo with the little white longhorn on the corner, his aviators hanging loosely from the one button he had fastened at the top. He had been ready for nearly half an hour, and had made his home on the couch as he waited for Honey to finish getting ready. Jake was scrolling mindlessly through his phone when his wife's voice sounded from their upstairs bedroom.
"Jake?!"
His eyes looked up, laying his phone face down on his chest as he shouted back so she could hear.
"Ma'am?!"
He received no response, but her footsteps were heavy as she stomped down the stairs, one of Jake's many orange UT shirts tied on her torso, a little oversized. Denim shorts covered her legs to mid-thigh, a comfortable pair of shoes on her feet. Jake stands as she enters the room, as he always does, noting the unamused expression written across her face.
"What's the matter, baby?" His calloused hands reach to rest on each side of her hips.
"I look ridiculous, Jake," her voice is deadpan and serious. Jake's green eyes scan her frame, a sly smirk forming on his face.
"Nothin' wrong with what you got on. In fact, I think you look smokin'." He pulled her closer by her hips. Honey rolled her eyes, smiling up at her husband despite his cheesy flirtations. He leans down to kiss her, only taking a few seconds to deepen it before she's pushing him away from her lightly.
"Don't start that, Seresin," she bats her eyelashes. "Or we'll never make it out of here, and I'm not wearing this gaudy orange for shits and giggles."
"I don't know, darlin', orange might be your color."
She scoffs at her husband's statement and she grabs her bag as Jake ushers her out the door. She stands in front of his truck, already knowing Jake's insistence of opening her door. As he finishes locking the door Honey speaks.
"I look much, much better in maroon."
Jake knew his wife was right. As much as he loved her in his burnt orange, there was something about her in her home colors, sitting in the blistering southern heat as she cheered on her beloved bulldogs. He'd pay attention to he game, but never as much as he paid attention to her. His heart would nearly beat out of his chest as he watched her standing in front of him in the stands to get a better view, the anticipation in her eyes as the players lined up for the next play. He'd laugh as she jumped up and down for touchdowns and field goals, loving it most when she gave him a celebratory kiss.
Jake rolls his eyes, opening her truck door, nudging his head to motion her to get in, closing the door behind her before moving around to his side. He slides in and starts the truck, his usual country music station sounding through his speakers. He backs out and heads down their long driveway. Honey looks out the window, surveying the acres and acres of farmland, noting the livestock grazing and the scenic landscape. Once out of the country and onto big city roadways, her focus turns to her husband in the driver's seat.
Jake is leaned back in the seat, his aviators now perched on his nose. His left hand drums against the steering wheel to the song playing, his gold wedding band shining in the sunlight. His right sits on her thigh, his thumb drumming on her skin. His golden hair and tanned skin gleam in the Texas sun. She smiles, his time stationed in California had done him well.
"You're starin' sweetheart," his southern drawl is thick, completely prominant from his time back home.
"Can I not stare at my husband?! I didn't realize it was a sin."
"It's not, look all you want, baby, but the sight of you in my shirt sure is making me want to sin."
He turns his attention from the windshield of the truck to his wife for a split second, his green eyes staring her down over the tops of his aviators.
"You're stunnin', but I think I know what the outfit's missin',"
Honey's eyebrows raised at her husband, her own eyes cutting at his frame, his eyes now staring back ahead at the roads getting busier with traffic.
"Missin'? Didn't realize my outfit needed more. It's a football game, baby." Her voice is laced with humor as she speaks.
Jake's arm reaches towards the dash, his calloused hands grabbing the infamous orange hat, and tossing it backwards onto her head.
"Perfect!"
Y/N shakes her head at her husband's actions, straightening it so the longhorn emblem is facing the front, adjusting the strap in the back to fit her head. She rolls her eyes as she looks at her reflection in the small visor mirror, Jake's hand returning to her thigh. As he turns to look at her in his cap, Jake's grin is wide on his face, the kind of shit-eating grin only a man completely in love would have.
"No matter if the boys win or lose, baby, I'm still taking home the best looking trophy tonight."
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Plans Changed | Jung Wooyoung
-> Pairing: Jung Wooyoung x Wife!Reader ft Kyungmin
-> Request: No
-> Synopsis: Wooyoung's brother's weekend with him is disrupted when Wooyoung gets a last minute call into the studio. To take his mind off it, Y/N takes the younger Jung out for ice cream and to the arcade.
-> Warnings: Pregnancy thing near the end. Fluffy and Cuteness overload.
-> Word Count: 1,087
-> Requests: Open.
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©️ 2024 dancinglikebutterflywings - do not copy, modify and/or repost anywhere.
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"Can we take a photo and send it to Wooyoung hyung?" Kyungmin asks Y/N before stuffing his face with another spoonful of ice cream. “Show him what he’s missing.”  
“Sure thing," She laughs, grabbing her phone. Kyungmin scoots over, holding his ice cream up. She snaps a few photos - one with them smiling, one with them pulling a silly face, and one with them pretending to be sad.  
After sending the pictures to Wooyoung, she sets her phone down and resumes enjoying her ice cream. "How about going to the arcade next and then grabbing some snacks for our movie night?"  
Kyungmin eagerly agrees, "Can I still choose the movie this time?"  
Before she can respond, her phone rings. It's Wooyoung video calling her. Kyungmin quickly moves closer to be in the frame, almost sitting on her lap. 
 "You guys seem to be having a blast," Wooyoung smiles after she answers the call, watching them through the screen. "I wish I could've been there with you." 
It was supposed to be free weekend for Y/N and Wooyoung. His little brother has been pleading for months to spend the weekend with them. When they found out they were both supposed to have this weekend free, Wooyoung contacted his parents and arranged for Kyungmin to stay with them. 
Unfortunately, the night before, Hongjoong called and asked if Wooyoung could come to the studio so they could rework one of the songs they’ve been working on. Kyungmin was obviously disappointed that his big brother wasn’t about to go through with what they originally planned.  
However, when Y/N offered to take him out for ice cream and to the nearby arcade, he became excited again. In fact, he seemed even more thrilled about that than what Wooyoung had initially planned. He even teased Wooyoung, bragging about ice cream and saying that Y/N likes him more than him, her own husband.  
Naturally, this made Wooyoung pouty until she reassured him that he is, without a doubt, her favourite Jung Brother.  
Kyungmin exclaims with a huge grin, "We’re having so much fun! After ice cream, we're heading to the arcade. I'm going to win all the prizes!"  
Wooyoung jokingly asks, "Hey, can you win something for me?"  
His brother replies with a straight face, "Nope, I'm going to win something for Y/N but not you because you’re not here." The mischievous twinkle in his eyes gives away his playful intentions. 
“Yah! I’d be there if I could,” he starts rambling. “Blame Hongjoong hyung. It’s his fault that I can’t be with you. I’ll take you to the arcade tomorrow before I drop you off home. You can win me something then. Okay? Okay.” 
"I'm sure we can win something for you," Y/N says as her and Kyungmin giggle at his rambles. "You won't miss out, Jagi. I promise." 
He's about to say something when San calling him could be heard in the background. "I have to go but I'll see you both later. Enjoy the rest of your day out. I love you both," he says blowing them kisses through the screen. 
"I love you too," Y/N & Kyungmin say at the same time. The call ends and Y/N places her phone in her handbag. 
As they finish their ice cream and make their way to the arcade, Kyungmin's excitement grows. He rambles just as fast as his brother does about all the games he wants to play and the prizes he hopes to win. Y/N can't help but smile at his enthusiasm, grateful that she could still salvage the weekend for him despite the change in plans.  
At the arcade, Kyungmin's eyes light up as he ran from game to game, trying his hand at everything. Y/N watches fondly as he concentrates intently, his determination evident in the way he furrowed his brow and stuck out his tongue in concentration, just the same way his brother does. She joins in when he asks for her help or when he needs a second player. He also has Wooyoung's competitive spirit. 
After a few hours of gaming, Kyungmin began to grow bored. With a bag full of prizes, he asks Y/N if they could go get the snacks for movie night and then head home. She agreed and they made their way to the convenience store. 
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Later that evening, when Wooyoung returned home, he found the lights dimmed and the faint sound of the TV playing in the background. Kicking off his shoes, he enters the living room seeing Y/N and Kyungmin on the couch. Kyungmin is laying down, his head on Y/N's lap, sound asleep as she absentmindedly runs her fingers through the boy's hair, watching the ending of the second movie they put on. 
"Sorry, I'm home late," he says leaning down to press a kiss to her lips before placing a kiss on his brother's head.  
"It's okay," she tells him, smiling reassuringly. "We saved you dinner and some snacks. Kyungmin wanted to wait up for you and show you all his prizes he won." 
"How long has he been asleep for?" he asks, looking down at his sleeping brother. 
"About 20 minutes," she replies.  
"I'll go put him in bed," he says, picking him up carefully to not wake him. He carries him into the guest bedroom and puts him to bed.  
He leaves the room, finding Y/N in the kitchen heating up his dinner. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he places his hands on her stomach and kisses her shoulder. "You're going to be an amazing eomma." 
"And you're going to be an amazing, Appa," She smiles, turning around, handing him his food.  
"Even though our original plans completely blew up in our faces?" he asks, still feeling some guilt over how things went.  
"That has nothing to do with whether you'll be a good father or not. There will always be plans that will need to be changed and that's okay. We just make new plans instead," she assures him.  
"I love you," he smiles, taking his food and kissing her once more.  
"I love you too," she replies, kissing him back. "Now go eat and look at the table." 
Wooyoung walks over to the table and takes a seat. In front of him are all the prizes Kyungmin won at the arcade but what catches his eyes is the black cat stuffed to with a note written in Kyungmin's handwriting. 
"To Wooyoung Hyung, thank you for being the best big brother. I love you." 
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Text
HBCU CONFESSIONS.
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Part Two
The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy sat on a circular table within the study hall of the dorm building. Erik was dressed down in a red graphic hoodie that read Lost Tribe in black letters with the map of Africa on the back. He paired it with grey joggers and Jordan retro 11’s. He checked his I-watch for the fifth time. It was going on 5:20 pm and Valencia hadn’t shown up yet. Erik wished he’d gotten her number.
Two minutes later, Valencia came rushing over, carrying her books in the crook of her arm and a flustered expression on her face. Erik sat up straighter in his seat and his eyes couldn’t help but scan her body. She was still wearing the same curve-hugging dress she’d worn earlier that day. Her braids were now up in a ponytail with a few hanging in front of her face.
She sat her bag down beside the table and before she could even pull out her own seat, Erik was behind her in a flash. Valencia’s back stiffened and she gasped. Erik gripped the back of the chair and slid it out across the carpet. Valencia couldn’t help but notice how Erik towered over her. He was standing at 6’3. She looked up at him with a faint smile and bashful eyes.
“Thank you, Erik.” She says with a light voice.
“You’re welcome.”
They each took their respective seats. Valencia opened her bag to retrieve her book and her notes. Erik waited patiently, staring at her with a slight, dimpled smirk.
“I’m so sorry, I’m all over the place.”
“No worries, Valencia.”
She finally had everything in order. Valencia exhaled and sat her palms down on the table to calm herself. She giggled and Erik couldn’t help but to laugh himself.
“I’m not always late, you know.” Valencia said to her defense.
“Can’t always expect to be on time every single time.” Erik replied with a smirk.
“I knowww,” Valencia tucked a braid behind her ear, “But you’re a TA. This isn’t a great first impression.”
Erik folded his arms against the table and leaned in. He quirked a brow up at Valencia, staring her down through his gold-rimmed glasses.
“You have a point,” Erik swiped the bottom of his lip with his tongue, “Prove to me that you know your shit, and I won’t hold it against you.”
Valencia turned away because she couldn’t stare him in the eyes.
“You have a deal,” her eyes darted towards his face then down towards her lap.
Erik’s eyes burned with mischief. He loved that she was shy and he wanted to push her limits. See how far Miss Valencia could go.
“Aight, let’s get started.”
Erik opened his textbook.
“Where exactly are you in class?” Erik asked.
“Free will,” Valencia sorted out her notes, “Yes, Free will.”
“Okay…”
Erik combed through the textbook until he found where he needed to be.
“What do Philosophers believe about free will?”
“Uhm—”
“Don’t look at your notes, tell me.”
Valencia was startled by Erik’s command. She cleared her throat and started playing in her hair.
“Uh—well I know that it’s a requirement for agency, rationality, creativity…”
“Okay, that’s good. So, as far as accounts of Free Will, what exactly is the Faculties Model of Will?”
Erik glanced over at Valencia. She was pondering his question.
“…It’s the dominant view of the will for much of medieval and modern philosophy…their possession of certain powers or capacities…”
“Very good. They also possess the capacities for intellection and volition. Another way of saying this is that free agents alone have the faculties of intellect and will.”
Valencia clicked her pin and scribbled down what Erik said like a good pupil. Erik continued to throw questions and topics at her, challenging Valencia. It was the way he did it that helped her retain the information.
“I’m so used to just…reading from my notes over and over.” Valencia said.
“It’s the active recall. Don’t get me wrong, using notecards is okay, but all that time you spend creating fifty cards, you can use this study technique by asking questions about the subject you want to learn after reading the subject, which will help you retrieve information deeper. You want it to go deeper, right?”
Valencia stared at Erik with a dazed look.
“Valencia? Did you hear me?”
“Ye–Yes—”
“I said, deeper, right?”
Valencia chewed on her bottom lip. Erik wanted to chew on it himself…
“I do. I want to remember the information better. The method helps me out a lot.”
Erik smiles at Valencia and she glanced up at the ceiling with a blush. He couldn’t visibly see the heat creeping up her face, but her cheekbones and half-smile was enough to tell. They went on to cover one last topic, Epistemology. After another thirty minutes, their study session was complete.
“You got it, just a little more practice and you’ll be set.” Erik encouraged.
“I hope so. How did you get so good at everything?”
Erik laughed, “Everything?”
Valencia giggled into her hand. She couldn’t stop smiling. It was the most adorable thing Erik had ever seen. Her giggling and smiling was infectious. This is probably the most Erik has ever smiled and laughed in one sitting.
“I mean—what I’m saying is—I saw your achievements and you’re pretty impressive. I aspire to be like that.”
“…Thank you. What are you studying again?”
“Psychology. I want to branch off into Neuropsychology. I plan to go back to school for my PhD.”
“There’s so much you can do in psychology. Believe it or not, I wanted to major in psychology at one point but engineering just stuck to me.”
“Why engineering?”
Erik gave Valencia a lopsided grin that showed off a glint of confidence. She focused on his plump lips, porcelain teeth, and gold slugs.
“There’s so much you can do. You can choose to work on projects that benefit society, help clean the environment, develop prosthetic aids, create clean and efficient transportation systems, find new sources of energy, alleviate the world's hunger problems, and increase the standard of living in underdeveloped countries. The possibilities are endless. And on top of all that, you make a lot of money…”
Valencia couldn’t tell you everything he was saying honestly. This man was too fine. The way his voice sounded to her ears felt like asmr.
“…job security and excellent job prospects—”
“You’re like, very attractive.”
Erik rested his hands in his lap and cocked his head. Valencia jerked her head in the direction of the window and shook her head.
“That came out unexpectedly,” Valencia laughed with embarrassment, “But you are—”
“Thank you.” He drew in a long breath, “Coming from someone as beautiful as you…”
Valencia held her breath. She hung her head and smiled. Internally, she was jumping up and down.
“Thanks,” Valencia fidgeted.
“Anytime, beautiful,” Erik continued to stare at her while his fingers tapped on the table.
“Are you from Houston?” Valencia questioned with a timid voice.
“Nah. I’m from California. That’s where I live currently but I decided to come back here for my doctorate.”
Valencia nodded her head. She crossed her right leg over her left thigh and leaned in with her elbow on the desk. That gesture showed that she was warming up to him.
“I love California. I have an aunt and a few cousins that live there currently. They’re in San Francisco.”
“That’s where I’m from. Oakland. I’m staying in LA right now though. Are you from here?”
“Yes. Born and raised in Houston.” Valencia replied.
Erik stretched his arms above his head.
“Tired?” Valencia asked.
“A little. I worked out really early this morning and I had to deal with that party.”
Valencia giggled, “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. I didn’t see you there.” Erik said.
“Rochelle used to let us get away with a lot…”
Valencia looked over at Erik.
“I know. Which is why she’s no longer your RA…”
Her body shivered slightly. The air was too cold in the building. She thrust her chest out unknowingly and Erik could see the outlines of her erect nipples through her dress. He leaned back in his chair to admire her fully.
“I’m not an uptight motherfucker but I’m not gonna let these students walk all over me. I have a great rep here at TSU and I wanna keep it that way.”
“Oh, no, I totally understand,” Valencia reassured him, “I love that you follow the rules. Rochelle acted as more of a friend and she really didn’t know how to discipline…”
Hm,” Erik licked his lips, “I’m really good with discipline.”
“Oh?” Valencia says. She felt her body tremble.
“I’m very assertive. I tend to…take the lead in situations. It can come off as aggressive…sometimes I have to work on that.”
“Okay…”
Valencia rubbed her arms.
“Cold?”
“A little—”
“Here…”
Erik stood up and proceeded to take off his hoodie. Valencia paused, staring at Erik’s torso. He had on a white T-shirt underneath that clung to his biceps and chest. The muscles put her in a daze. He handed her his hoodie from across the table. Valencia accepted it and pulled it over her. It fit her like a dress. She fixed her braids and smoothed down the wrinkles in the hoodie. It smelled like him. She fought to press her nose into it.
“It looks good on you.”
“You think so?” Valencia wasn’t so sure.
“Yeah. So Valencia, do you mind if I have your number?”
She was not expecting that. Her eyes went wide with surprise.
“Is that okay?” Erik asked with furrowed brows.
“YES!”
She covered her mouth with her hand. She didn’t expect to scream it. Erik was cracking up.
“Yes, it’s okay. I’m sorry I don’t know why I yelled like that.” Valencia toyed with one of her braids, “Yes you can.”
She retrieved her phone and unlocked it. Erik did the same. They exchanged numbers and switched back.
“That way, you know how to get in touch with me if you have any questions about philosophy or just…anything in general really.”
“Definitely. Thanks so much, Erik. I really appreciate you.”
“Anytime. And you know you can always knock on my door…”
Oh, yes. He does have a dorm on the same floor as hers. She beamed at him and he smiled back.
“Sure…I can do that.”
They both stood up and gathered their things.
“Well, this is goodbye for now. I have to get ready to meet some friends tonight.”
“I hope I didn’t hold you up,” Erik tucked his textbook inside his bag.
“No, no.”
They stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Valencia broke eye contact first and turned away to leave. She glanced back at Erik, giving him a final wave goodbye before heading towards the elevators. Erik returned the wave with a smirk, his eyes never leaving Valencia.
—————-
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Cindy, Skai, and Brielle were sitting in a booth nursing mixed tequila cocktails. Skai was sitting next to Brielle and Cindy was third-wheeling. She rolled her eyes every time Skai and Brielle would eye-fuck each other. Valencia texted Cindy’s phone that she just parked and is on her way in.
The Poetry Party Live is a college hotspot. They’re known for playing great music, having tasty food, and drinks that sneak up on you. It was definitely a more romantic vibe that Friday evening. So many couples were on dates. Cindy spotted two professors in the booth in front of them. Professor Boyd and Professor Parham.
Valencia came in and she searched the throng of people until she recognized Brielle’s ginger coils. She changed into an orange dress that compliments her mocha skin. Cindy looked up and over her shoulder, waving Valencia over with pleading eyes.
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“What took you so long?! I’m dying over here!”
“My bad. I had a tutoring session that ran a little late.”
“They’ve been torturing me,” Cindy cringed, “And Dior isn’t here yet.”
Valencia frowned.
“Who invited Dior?”
Cindy pointed to Skai. Skai sipped her drink with a guilty look.
“I’m sorry! She really wanted to come. You still don’t like her?”
“No, I don’t, Skai. She’s weird.”
Skai rolled her eyes. Brielle laughed.
“Is she drunk already?” Valencia asked.
“You know she is. This is her third one.”
“Brielle!”
“It’s a Friday night and I passed my lab practical!”
“WOOHOO!!
Skai bounced up and down in her seat. Valencia squealed, reaching over to shake her friend excitedly.
“YES BITCH!—oh shit, I’m loud as fuck.”
Andrea looked up from her seat in the booth over and noticed Valencia. They locked eyes and waved to each other. Brielle glanced over her shoulder at Andrea. James turned around with a smirk on his face and a glass in his hand with dark liquor.
“Oooh! Ya’ll on a date?!” Cindy teases.
“Yes, we are,” James replied with a chuckle, “Hope you’re ready for that test on Monday, Cindy.”
Cindy shot James a playful glare that had everyone laughing.
“I’m kidding! Enjoy!”
James turned back to his date and the girls snickered.
A waiter brushed past Valencia and Brielle shouted to get her attention. She halted her footsteps, long ombré braids swaying against her back. She smiled and made her way over to them.
“Need anything else ladies?”
“Our friend just showed up! Can you get her a—”
“Long Island Iced Tea please.”
“Okay! Can I see your ID?”
Valencia opened her small white Telfar bag and plucked her license from her wallet. She showed the waiter and she put a thumbs up.
“Almost your birthday!” The waiter said.
“Yeah! Twenty-two.”
The waiter sauntered off and then a round of applause erupted around them. A full-figured woman with sister locs made her way on stage. She stopped in front of the mic, testing it to make sure it was on. She scanned the crowd with a warm smile before introducing herself. The instrumental to Floetry Say Yes started playing. She was blanketed in spotlights and the rest of the club was shrouded in low ambience.
“This one is called Enticing Night…”
whisper light, a sigh so deep,
In tangled sheets, secrets keep.
Your touch ignites a fevered glow,
As fingertips trace paths below.
On velvet skin, my hands explore,
Each curve, each line, I yearn for
more.
She paused, appreciative hums making her words all the more real.
Breath mingles in the heated air,
A rhythm builds, we're lost in where.
Our pulses race, in sync they beat,
In this embrace, our worlds complete.
“Thank you…”
Snaps filled the room.
“That was good,” Valencia accepted her drink.
“Dior!”
Skai stood up to get her attention.
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Valencia looked up at Dior fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She didn’t understand what Dior didn’t like about her, maybe it was because of Isaiah? As far as Valencia knew they weren’t together. And she didn’t want him anyway. Dior scooted next to Skai, directly across from Valencia.
“Brie, Cindy, Val…”
“Hello,” Valencia waved.
“Why ya’ll chose this place? Ya’ll don’t wanna shake some ass?”
“Girl, we did that last weekend. It’s okay to switch it up,” Skai argued.
“I feel like I need whatever Brie sippin’ on because she is lit!”
“Peach Tequila!” Brielle shouted.
“Okurrrr. I’ll have that then…who the waiter?”
Cindy pointed at the young girl who was currently clearing off a booth.
“She got a phat ass butt,” Dior bit down on a long acrylic french nail, “She can have all my monies…”
“You’re such a whore for some booty, Dior.” Skai jokes.
Valencia giggled. She swirled her straw around her drink before taking another sip. Cindy rocked back and forth in her seat, singing along to Beyoncé Check Up On It.
“Hi! I’m Chanel…”
“Hi, Chanel, I’m Dior. I wanted to order what she had.”
“Okay, ID?”
Dior flashed her ID at Chanel while giving her a seductive look. Valencia and Cindy share a look before laughing into their drinks.
“you fine. You like girls?”
Skai slapped Dior on her arm. Chanel laughed at Dior.
“I have a man, but thank you.”
It was so cringe.
Chanel walked away and Dior’s eyes were glued to her ass like flies on shit.
“You need to chill. What’s up with you and Brooke?”
“That bitch? Girl…”
Dior and Skai talked about her drama while Valencia excused herself to the restroom. Brielle ended up following her. They entered the bathroom and Valencia let Brielle go first since she was on the verge of pissing herself.
“You never told me who you tutored with!!!!” Brielle yelled.
“My crush,” Valencia smiled.
“For real?! What does he even tutor?”
“A lot of shit but it was for philosophy. He asked for my number.”
Brielle flushed and damn near shoved the door open. She gawked at Valencia before they switched places. Meanwhile, Andrea exited the stall next to theirs and she walked over to the sink to wash her hands.
“So basically that means he’s into you? So the HBCU blog was the right thing to do, huh?”
“Yep! If it wasn’t for the advice the owner of the blog gave me, I wouldn’t have made it this far!”
Andrea slowly dried her hands while hanging onto their every word. Valencia flushed and left the stall. Andrea tossed her paper towel and stood within the mirror to fix her ponytail. Valencia caught her eye in the mirror and smiled.
“How’s everything going this semester, Valencia?”
“It’s going good. A little harder than last semester but I’m close to graduating so that’s good.”
Andrea nodded her head with a bright smile.
“You got this girl. And good luck with your crush…”
Valencia giggled. Andrea left the restroom, holding the door open for a woman to enter.
Back at the table, Andrea scooted into the booth to find another drink. She gave James a look and he chuckled.
“You know I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, James.”
“That’s why you need this drink. Take a damn break.”
Andrea rolled her eyes sassily before grabbing her drink. She toasted with James before taking a sip.
“What took you so long to ask me out?”
Andrea peeked at James from the top of her glass.
“I didn’t want to cross any boundaries. I didn’t wanna look like that guy friend who only wants one thing. That’s not what it is with you.”
“I get it,” Andrea sat her drink down, “I’ve crushed on you hard since undergrad…”
“Same. I always thought you had a thing for Daka though.”
“Seriously?” Andre laughs, “Everyone says that.”
“I see now it’s like a brother and sister thing.” James said.
“I used to sit back and watch you run after all these chicks…Thinking back to that Kappa party, my Delta sistas kept hassling me to tell you how I felt…”
Andrea traced the rim of her glass with her finger. James watched her intently.
“I’m just happy both of us get to sit here and express how we really feel.” James said.
“Me too.”
James cracked a smile before reaching over to grip Andrea’s soft hand. He stroked the top of her hand with his thumb.
Valencia and Brielle walked past their booth and settled into theirs.
“…That D9 party is gonna be lit tomorrow night!”
“I’m tryna go. Took y’all long enough!”
Brielle slipped past Dior and Skai to take her seat. Valencia sat down and pulled out her phone.
“You still talking to Isaiah?”
Valencia looked up at Dior.
“No. I’m over him.”
“Oh wow, what happened?”
“He wasted my time and he’s annoying as hell.”
Dior let out an obnoxious laugh, “YEAH. I could have told you that.”
Valencia looked towards the ceiling.
————
-I know it’s late, you’re probably not up. I just wanted to thank you again for your help 🥰 he asked for my number today! I don’t think it was because he’s interested but it’s a step, right?
Valencia sat alone in her dorm room wearing Erik’s hoodie and some panties with her braids tied down with a satin scarf. She sat at their desk with the television on in the background.
-I’m here ☺️ I’m happy I could help. If he asked for your number, I’d think it’s because he’s interested. It’s a big step actually.
Valencia typed a reply.
-You think so? I mean, he did flirt a little today. I just get so nervous around him.
Erik was in the middle of sprucing up his gold boots. He’s wearing a pair of red briefs with no shirt. It felt weird staying in the dorms when he has his own room at the Omega Psi Phi house. He picked up his phone to see the message that Valencia sent him.
-Don’t be. Try to be more open with him. See where it goes 😏 did you do anything special tonight?
-I went to this poetry club with some friends. Had two drinks and I’m a little tipsy now. It was an okay experience.
-...Is there anything that could have made it even better?
-yes 😭 if I was spending it with Erik. I wonder what he’s doing right now.
-you should text him. See what happens.
Valencia looked over at her phone next to her.
Fuck it. She had a little liquid courage.
Valencia: Hi ☺️
She made her way back to the blog
-I did it! 😭
Erik fell back against his bed. He typed a reply.
Erik: Hello 😌
Valencia: I hope I didn’t wake you.
Erik: I’m up. How was your night?
Valencia: it was alright. You?
Valencia nibbled on her nails anxiously.
Erik: Hazy. Had a little smoke session.
Valencia returned to the blog.
-Is it too late for a dare?
-Definitely not lol. This is fun. What’s the dare?
-I dare you to send a risky text. However you want to.
-How risky though?
-😈
Erik waited to see what she would do. He wanted to see how far she would go. The fact that she would have preferred to spend the evening with him made him wonder what they would have gotten into.
Erik: Did you crash on me?
Valencia:
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She couldn’t believe she sent that picture. She tossed her phone on the bed and stood up from the desk. Valencia paced back and forth. Hands covering her face, heart racing, stomach in knots. Did she do the right thing?
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…
That picture was meant for Isaiah and boy was she happy she sent it to Erik instead. She’d heard her phone vibrate minutes ago but she was too scared to see what he said. Valencia walked over to the bed and picked up her phone. She pressed it against her chest, scared out of her mind. Overthinking per usual. Finally, she looked at his text and boy was she glad that she did.
Erik: Shit girl 😍
Erik: 😍😍😍😍
Erik: I can’t stop staring 😩
He didn’t expect that at all. That was the furthest thing from what he expected. He sat up in bed and drooled over that picture. That ass up and that beautiful arch. He wondered what other pictures she was hiding. He loved her body so much. He knew exactly what to do with all of that. Play into his size kink. His dick was brick hard. No pussy in almost a year. The longest he’d ever gone without sex. He could have easily linked with his ex girlfriend on campus but he pictured himself digging Valencia’s guts out whenever the fuck he pleased.
Valencia: 😛
Erik: You tryna tell me something? 👀
Erik: I see you do like it deep…That tutoring session was necessary after all 😍
Valencia was over the moon thrilled at Erik’s reaction to her pic. So much that she was jittery. Back on the blog, Valencia quickly typed.
-I can’t believe I sent him a risky photo. I thought he wouldn’t have liked it but I was wrong 😂
Ping.
Erik went back to the blog messages. Wouldn’t like them? Was she crazy! He loved them! Boy was he happy that he found out about Valencia when he did. He wanted to put her in that position. Arch that pretty back over the edge of his bed, slip her panties to the side, and slide his dick in deep and slow. He wanted her to feel his length. He had a big toy dangling between his legs. Girls with that type of body can take dick. Girls who arch their backs like that need the dick.
-No. if the feeling is mutual, why would you think that?
-IDK. I’m always overthinking shit. 😭
Valencia had to take a second to rethink what she was doing. Sure, she wanted to do unspeakable things with Erik. Nasty things. But she felt she was coming on too strong. Maybe she should dial it back a little…make him …yearn for more? Tease him. He’s older and definitely has more experience. He’s probably used to woman throwing themselves at him. No. Valencia was going to do the opposite. Who said she couldn’t be shy and purposely excite and sexually arouse while withholding gratification?
She left him on read.
Valencia logged out of the blog and shut off the light for bed. She pulled her duvet back and just then, Brielle came in. She had her curly, ginger hair up in a puff. Her pleated skirt was situated higher around her waist, showing some of her ass. Her cropped shirt was dangling from her shoulder and she looked freshly fucked.
Brielle noticed Valencia was still awake and she gave her an enigmatic smile.
“I’m surprised you’re still awake.” Brielle whispered.
“I’m surprised you’re still walking,” Valencia laughs.
————
It was 6 am and Erik stood on the race track and stretched his quadriceps. Flexing his toes in his green Nike running shoes, he took off running. He liked to go for a run around the track before he did any strength training. AirPod Max Pro’s over his ears, shirtless, and black running shorts on, Erik was a mission. In the zone, the heavy bass from the rap song he was listening to fueled him.
Erik made it around the track once before stopping to take a sip of water he’d left at the bleachers. He jogged over to grab a drink and when he looked up he saw his ex girlfriend from undergrad, Jeanette, stretching her hip flexors. She glanced up at Erik and waved to him. Erik returned the gesture. She stood tall and made her way towards him. She’s wearing a track and field outfit, similar to what she wore back then when she ran.
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“Stevens. It’s been a while. How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Great. Have you been avoiding me?”
Erik arched a brow.
“Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know…you’ve been back for a minute now and I haven’t had the chance to catch up with you. It feels like you’re dodging me.”
“Nah, Jeanette. I’ve been busy. What happened to that dude? The one that keep running his mouth?”
Jeanette broke out in a fit of laughter. Erik was dead serious. That nigga better be lucky he don’t go to TSU. That nigga better be lucky Erik didn’t find him yet.
“Erik, relax okay?”
Jeanette caressed Erik’s sweaty bicep. Erik eyed her down with a stony expression.
“What do you really want, Jeanette?”
“Whatchu think?”
Erik carefully moved Jeanette’s hand away from his arm. She kissed her teeth at him.
“I haven’t seen you in years. You look good…real good.”
“I know,” Erik smirked cockily.
“Still got that big ass ego…”
Erik glanced down at his I-watch. He needed to finish his run.
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Jeanette. I gotta finish my run…”
“Mhm, am I gonna see you at the D9 party tonight?”
“Of course I’ll be there.”
Erik backed away towards the track. Jeanette placed her hands on her hips, eye-fucking Erik while continuing her stretches.
“Ima put this AKA ass on you tonight, Daka!”
Erik sprinted off with a shake of his head.
Some time later, Valencia had finished swimming laps and doing a bit of water aerobics with weights. Her body was sore and drenched. After taking a shower, she gathered her things and walked out of the gymnasium. On her way back to her dorm, Valencia wasn’t paying attention and she almost collided with someone as she was leaving.
She didn’t have the best workout today because her mind continued to wander. She still hadn’t replied to Erik. The thought made her smile to herself. She shouldered her gym bag and took sips from her water bottle. As she approached her dorms, the man that distracted her was busy texting on his phone while listening to music. His head popped up and he paused in his tracks, staring Valencia down hard.
Valencia spotted Erik opening the door for her and she automatically grew timid. She tucked her chin and gave him a shy wave. Seeing him in person was completely different from texting him last night. The recollection of what she sent him hit her like a freight train. Her heart was practically rattling around in her chest cavity. The closer she got, the more his penetrating stare commanded her.
“After you.”
“Thank you…”
Valencia felt so exposed in her little gym shorts. He was directly behind her. She could smell his natural musk and it sent shivers throughout her body.
“Mm…mm…mm…”
She couldn’t contain her shaky exhale. He was probably picturing himself bending her over right there…
“Sleep well?”
Valencia blinked her eyes up at Erik.
“H–Huh?”
“…sleep? Did you get some rest?”
“Yeah! Sorry…”
“I figured you went to sleep since you left me on read and shit…”
Erik pressed the button for them to get on the elevator. Valencia avoided his gaze, her eyes looking around her.
“Valencia?”
She snapped her head in his direction. He was already on the elevator. She could tell he was fighting a laugh. Embarrassed, she walked in.
“You’re hella distracted…I’m the one that should be acting like that after what you sent me last night, girl...”
Valencia took in a breath. He did things to her body she couldn’t control. The trembling, the uneven breathing, the wetness that drenched her panties. She was in lust for this man and she needed him to fuck her. She wouldn’t say that to his face though.
“I…I have a lot of work to catch up on…and I’m really hungry…”
They left the elevator and Erik walked slowly so Valencia could catch up with him. She spotted Skai and Cindy sitting in the lounge studying and when they noticed her they gave her a weird look. Erik looked down at Valencia, biting his bottom lip openly so she knew that he was feeling her. Valencia slowed down her footsteps in front of her dorm room door. Her eyes discreetly roamed Erik’s body. His russet skin glistened with sweat and his muscles looked defined and sculpted. His locs were messy and resting against his forehead. He looked so fucking edible.
“This is me,” Valencia pointed to her door, giving Erik a quick glance with a smile, “I guess I’ll see you later…”
“You guess?” Erik cocked his head back.
“I—I didn’t mean it like that.” She spoke with a barely audible tone.
Erik startled her by reaching out to caress her arm. His hand stroked from the back of her upper arm, past her elbow, and down her forearm until he was holding her hand in his firm grip.
“You know you have a lot of explaining to do, girl.” Erik whispered.
He smelled so fucking amazing. His natural scent crowded her. She wanted to press her nose against whatever area that had exposed flesh. Lick his skin to see what his sweat tasted like—
“Do you know about the D9 party tonight?”
Valencia twisted her lips to fight a smile.
“I do. Are you asking me to go?”
Her eyes dropped down to her hand in his. She swayed from side to side.
“I am. I wanna see you there.” Erik said.
Valencia’s cheeks hurt from how hard she was smiling. She tried to hide her face so Erik took it upon himself to lift her chin.
“You gonna be there, Valencia. I want to see you there.”
She blinked at Erik slowly. His eyes dropped down to her juicy lips. He wanted to taste them…
“I’ll be there….”
“You better.”
Erik stroked her chin with his thumb. It sent shockwaves throughout her body. Straight to her pussy. It was such a small gesture that held so much dominance. Erik finally let go and backed away, his eyes dancing up and down her frame while he drew his plump bottom lip into his mouth. His eyes were low and almost sleepy-like and it made him look dreamy. Valencia giggled and looked away, unable to hold his gaze.
“We should get lunch later.” Erik said raising his brows.
“I’d like that.” Valencia replied.
“Aight, I’ll see you then, beautiful.”
He turned and strolled down the hall with a gait.
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doromoni · 1 day
Text
Gear Shift Failure | MV1, LN4
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Ships : Lando Norris x presenter! Reader , Max Verstappen x presenter! Reader
Genre : Fluff , Angst
Sub tags : Mutual Pinning , She fell too early , He fell too late.
Summary : A new f1 presenter and journalist has entered the paddock and she brings chaos along the way. And as competition looms , will the current Champion be as fast outside the track?
Face claim : Sofia Wylie
A/N: Upon receiving many requests, here’s the continuation you lovely goblins 🤍. Also I am still continuing the Clash of Champions ~ i promise (finals end this week!!)
Part 1.
You fought the smile that was forming on your face, as you re-read your conversation with Lando from yesterday.
It has already been a week since your interview with Lando, yet you somehow found yourself in constant communication with the young British Driver. You weren’t going to deny that you enjoyed spending time and talking to him. And maybe going out on dates with Lando would do you good.
“ Ok, so I have a friend and she has a dilemma”
You suddenly broke the silence in the room. You were in your designated office inside Sky yet again, but this time you had the older drivers lazying around your space. Some with a book in hand — while the rest just played on their phones.
“What’s your dilemma muñequita? “ Fernando asked as he set down his phone, giving you his entire attention.
“Not me Nando! My friend” you exclaimed at the Spanish world champion who was lounging on your couch still munching on the chips he found in your stash.
“Mhm… yes your friend. Continue, sweetie~ “ Lewis urged you to speak, as he settled further into your couch right beside Fernando
“ Yes, let the girl speak! What is it Liefje” Nico added as he clutched your oversized plush into his arms, a half-opened book dangling in his hands.
“My friend likes this guy right? The two of them are very close and they share this connection that to others seems more than a friendship- and at one point my friend thought that he felt the same with her a—“
You once again didn’t finish your sentence when Nando interrupted you once more.
“Really? What happe-“The Aston Martin driver was invested
“LET THE GIRL SPEAK!”
“FERNANDO! “
“MATE, I SWEAR!”
They all collectively scolded the Spanish driver — prompting him to laugh and raise his hands in surrender
“Ok. So my friend thought that the guy that she liked was starting to like her back. But not a week later, the guy that she liked was rumored to have a girlfriend. And he started to avoid my friend…. This was 3 months ago by the way.” You finally finished your story, and now you look at their reactions
Fernando, Lewis, Nico, and Valterri had all fallen into thinking.
“So how long is the guy and the new girl going out? And how does your friend feel” the quiet Finnish driver gently asked you.
“Oh, officially for a few weeks, I guess? My friend felt hurt of course. But it gets less painful overtime… uh she said that to me”
“Oh. That’s good for your friend, liefjie! By the sound of it she slowly moving on” Nico uttered, a sense of comfort rushed through you
“How is your friend now, Is she feeling ok?” Lewis asked empathically
“ She’s great, and you’re right Nico. She slowly moving on.”
“So what’s the problem muñequita?”
“Well, another person had asked her out and she feels guilty because she doesn’t want to use him to get over the guy she likes” you explained to the 4 older drivers.
“WHO ASKED YOU OUT !? Young lady tell us this instance!” You didn’t expect Lewis’ outbursts — you expect Nando to react that way, but not Lewis!
“It’s not me!!” You tried to bluff once more
“Y/N, we know it’s you” Nico explained with a smile, while you pouted as they all chuckled.
“OK FINE! It’s me” You utter as you gave up the act.
“So I assume the guy you were talking about was Max, right?” Valtteri asked, finally speaking.
“I’m very obvious aren’t I?” You said defeated, as you stood up from your seat and wedged yourself beside Nico.
“Everyone with a pair of eyes knew something was between you and Max, “ Nando said as Valterri nodded in agreement.
“Young lady, you haven’t answered my question. Who asked you? Is it another driver?” Suddenly you felt like you were on the hot seat — as all their eyes focused on you with eyebrows raised. It felt like you were being questioned by your dad.
“Uhmm yes, it’s another driver… it’s Lando” You said as you picked on your nails. A shy smile graces your face.
“ He finally had the balls to ask huh?” Nando snickered
“What?? You also knew?!” You asked flabbergasted. You surveyed the room and saw all of them snickering amongst themselves.
“He did ask for my permission, sort of… it was just jumbled words that didn’t make sense then” Lewis explained as he visibly got less tense.
“Lando asked permission from you?? What are you, my dad?” You asked amused, come to think of it Lewis was sort of a father figure to you. Being that he always supported and guided you ever since the start of your journey in Formula 1
“Well, you sticking around me like a toddler in your first year here doesn’t help, sweetie.” Lewis could only laugh at the memories of him taking care of you. Memories like Lewis driving you around, giving you food, telling you to talk to others.
“And what are you guys? My uncles?” You asked the 3 drivers, who only shrugged and nodded.
“Well, should I say yes to Lando then?” You asked dropping all pretense and just laying it all out
“It wouldn’t hurt to try, Liefjie” Nico advised
“Yeah try something new, Dear. Max had his chance and he didn’t take it. So go have fun with Lando!” Fernando added, patting your hand.
You set your eyes on Valtteri — who only nodded his head with a smile.
“ You have our approval, and we’ll support your decision, sweetie! Do what will make you happy” Lewis said comfortingly
the.Y/N
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liked by lewishamilton, landonorris , maxverstappen1, and 472,002 others
the.Y/N Apparently, @lewishamilton is my father?? I was only made notice now, ok I guess.
lewishamilton thank you for the flattering pictures , sweetie 🥲
the.Y/N oh no worries, pops! More to come I swear🤍
user1 Y/N please don’t dogshow the old man 😭
user2 HAHAHAHAAH I swear Y/N is a different breed
user3 Awwww! I always loved it when Lewis calls Y/N sweetie.
user4 The grid father and daughter pairing 🤍
landonorris Oh, You weren’t aware?
the.Y/N No, I was not :)) . I was made aware when someone asked for permission.
landonorris well glad to be of service
lewishamilton @landonorris get your act straight! I already approve
landonorris @lewishamilton will do my very best, sir. Thank you 🫡
the.Y/N I hate and love you both 😮‍💨
User1 Approve of what Sir Lewis?? Lando is approved for what??
mercedesamgf1 family photo with Roscoe when?
the.Y/N already have tons of it in the gallery 😛
You continued to scroll past your feed and Kelly’s post appeared …
kellypiquet
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liked by maxvestappen1 and 638,073 others
kellypiquet Happiest when with you 💙
view all comments
maxverstappen1 💙
You knew that you shouldn’t feel jealousy or anger, but you couldn’t help but frown as you saw Max and Kelly acting all sweet. It still stung that you didn’t mean anything more to Max, all the memories you’ve made you’ve looked at rose-tinted, shattered.
So you strengthened your resolve and focused all your thoughts on your work. You then remembered that you had a date with Lando. You went back to your conversation a while ago
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Then slowly, without noticing, a smile bloomed on your face at the thought of Lando Norris.
One date with Lando turned into two, two turned into three, then four and five.
the.Y/N
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liked by landonorris, lewishamilton, charles_leclerc, fernandoalo_oficial, and 629,920 others
the.Y/N So much fun , laughs , and food 🧡 10/10 would do again!
charles_leclerc you aren’t sneaky with that orange heart y/n
the.y/n 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
lewishamilton stay safe and go home early ~ i’m watching you two.
the.Y/N hehehe will do, promise
User1 Ms. Y/N are you seeing someone 🧐
the.Y/N I dunno~ maybeeee
User2 ok! Im invested. Who is it @the.Y/N?? Please spill
User2 this is so Lando Norris coded I swear.
User 6 I know!! Golf and karting? Could they be more obvious. Ughh I ship it🧡
User3 you look sooooooo pretty Y/N!! who ever’s dating , I hope they could fight . 😤
liked by landonorris
User3 LANDO NORRIS LIKED MY COMMENT??? HELLO?!
User4 Lando????!!
You were progressively forgetting your feelings for the Dutch Red Bull Driver . How can you not? When Lando Norris had been showering you with so much love and affection.
Then finally, Lando asked you to be his girlfriend. You said yes. You were ready to let someone else in your heart— and this time you were sure that there was someone to catch you when you fell.
your story close friends
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story replies
charles_leclerc I made this couple 💪 It was all MEEEE.
landonorris 🧡🤍 someones getting bolder ey?
maxverstappen1 haha i’ve been replaced as your bestfriend 😂
landonorris story
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viewed by the.Y/N , charles_leclerc , carlossainz55, maxverstappen1 , and 5,628,926 others
the.Y/N And I was bold? Ok soft launch ~ Kudos mr. Norris! I won’t go down without a fight tho 🫡
charles_leclerc someones being braveee
carlossainz55 Landino! Are you and y/n ready to share to the world then?
The two of you kept everything on the low, yet you didn’t keep it a secret — only very select few knew. Lando and you wanted to enjoy what you two had to yourselves first. Everyone outside your circle thought that the two of you were just friends.
But that didn’t stop either of you from posting online.
Max saw your posts and the feeling of something clawing in his stomach resurfaced. He didn’t like it one bit. It has been 2 months ever since he found out that Lando held feelings for you. And it has been a month since the two of you properly spoke. And if he were honest to himself, Max missed your presence dearly.
Kelly didn’t have anything in common with him. And most of the time, he grew bored and he just wanted to crawl back to his sim and drive constantly.
Max missed talking about everything and nothing with you. He missed how you shared his interests and how the two of you explored every one of them. Max just missed… You.
The longer he stared at his phone screen, the deeper his anxiety rose. He didn’t like what he saw, not one bit. He needed to do something about it.
***
You are lounging in your Boyfriend’s condo, dressed in a hoodie that you stole from his dresser. Soft music played on the centralized sound system.
Lando was inside his streaming room live on Twitch, while you made your way into his kitchen and started to cook dinner for the two of you. Lando did love your cooking.
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Then suddenly your phone rang and to your surprise it was Max calling. Without any further thought, you picked up the call.
“Hello, Y/N?” You heard Max’s voice on the line, the usual butterflies present in your stomach were now absent. You didn’t feel the bubbling sensation you used to feel when Max unexpectedly called.
Then suddenly, you heard Lando shout nonsense, probably at his best mate. A smile grazed your lips as you heard your boyfriend’s shout in the distance.
“Oh, hi Max! What’s up?” You asked curiously, balancing your phone on your shoulders as you took out the ingredients from the fridge.
“Where are you, right now? No one’s answering the front door” Max’s reply startled you. Why is he at your house all of a sudden?
“What? You’re in my house… uh why?” You asked, a tone of confusion present in your voice
“It’s Wednesday, Movie night remember” You were filled with even more perplexity for the Red Bull driver. The two of you haven’t talked one one-on-one for nearly a month, not even through chat. Movie nights with Max were long forgotten.
“Max…. We haven’t had movie night in 3 months.” You replied carefully.
“Uhm, we can start again?” You sensed the hopelessness in his voice.
“I’m sorry Max, I’m at Lando’s right now… and I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate it if we suddenly continued movie nights”
“You’re at Lando’s? Y/N its already la-”
“Max I think it’s best if we kept our distance… yeah?” You suddenly interjected, clearly stating your boundaries.
“What?! Why?” Max asked incredulously
“Max … you have a girlfriend! I don’t want to create any misunderstandings. And I don’t want Lando to have doubts … considering that I used to have feelings for you before. But we can still hang out … but in a group setting”
You didn’t mean to spill everything and tell Max of your past feelings for him, but you found yourself relieved of letting it out of your chest. Now you could truly say that you have moved on.
There was silence before Max had finally answered. “Oh… ok. I understand”
“Bye Max” At that you ended the call, leaving that part of your past behind.
The sound of the call ending echoed in Max’s head. The words you’ve said slowly dawned on him.
You liked him? Since when? Suddenly understanding and relief filled Max. He realized that he liked you more than just a sister. He didn’t look at you as just a friend. He suddenly understood the emotions that he was so afraid to explore before. What he felt for you was something so strong that it scared him. It wasn’t like what he felt when he was with Kelly, no. But with you, He felt vulnerable, He felt like everything was on the table because you understood him so well.
Then suddenly Max froze, as if cold water was dumped all over him. You said liked … past tensed. You didn’t like him anymore. Max was suddenly filled with dread, chest hurting as if tons of weight pressed on it.
He had his chances in making you his, and his alone. Max Verstappen maybe the fastest driver on the grid , but outside the track — he had failed to switch gears from making you from a friend to much much more. He had lost you and it was all his fault.
landonorris
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liked by the.Y/N , mclaren, carlossainz55, lewishamilton, charles_leclerc , and 1,639,829 others
landonorris the world should see the forever view of my camera lens. Love you , stranger 🧡
tagged @the.Y/N
the.Y/N I love you more, stranger🧡
taglist: @spookystitchery @bibissparkles @newlifeforus @steamy-smokey @leah-also-known-as-creatoronwp @charizznorizz @evesfile @j-lesca @gr1mes-cc @ironmaiden1313
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